Photos taken 17 February 2007. Click each photo to enlarge, or click here for the whole gallery.

Photos taken 19 February 2007 at China Camp State Park in San Rafael, California.

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California Street, San Francisco

Flowers

Far from Yare, Pt. Reyes, CA

That bridge again.

I take pictures every day with my Canon Powershot G6.

Performancing

Saturday, December 16, 2006

2 Text -n- 2 Tinkle

I have a very strict policy when it comes to blogging about work. I don't do it. It's just a bad idea.

I'm telling you this because one could easily assume that the following story takes place at work. But it doesn't. I don't blog about work. This story happens to take place in the other location I go every single day and see the exact same people – Noontime Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Redeemer, which is near where I work. (What can I say? I'm addicted to their Eucharist – so flaky, and made from scratch!)

Anyway, so I wasn't at work, but had just finished Mass (and lunch), and was taking my afternoon nap, like I always do, when someone came into the bathroom and stood at the urinal just on the other side of the metal partition from where I was seated (taking a nap). Soon, the sounds of tinkling joined the sounds of my napping.

Tinkle, Tinkle, Nap, Tinkle, Nap, Nap-p-p-p, Nappity, Nap-p-p

So far, nothing out of the ordinary here. But then:

Tinkle Tinkle Tap Tap (beep beep), Tinkle, Tap (beep), Tabeep-tabeep-tabeep

The gears started turning in my mind. What was he doing? Playing a Gameboy or PSP? At the Urinal? Does he have some kind of new-fangled urination technology I don't know about? A bluetooth enabled P-Mobile phone? That's it... He must be texting someone.

I pondered how important the message must be to require mid-tinkle texting. Even on my most frantic and urgent visits to the urinal, the tinkle timetable is no longer than two minutes – tops.

Tinkle tinkle tinkle, Tabeep tabeep tabeep Then – flush, flap, zip – he flushed the urinal, flipped the flap on his phone, and zipped up his fly.

In that order.

By now, I had finished napping and was standing up. I looked over the top of the partition and identified the tinkling texter as he exited the bathroom.

So, I knew who he was. And I knew what he was doing. But why? What text message could be so important that it can’t wait two minutes – tops?

Then it dawned on me: He must be as addicted to those delicious, flaky, made-from-scratch Eucharist as I am and, before he got any, had a sudden, urgent need to go. Standing in line, mouth watering, starting to fidget, he began shifting from one foot to the other, thinking “Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now.” Finally, legs crossed, he realized he couldn’t wait any longer. He broke from the line and whizzed off to the bathroom without even having time to tell a friend where he was going in such a flurry.

I imagined him dashing to the urinal while holding his legs together and doing a sort of half-squat-prance, reaching into his pants and pulling out his phone with one hand (while doing something similar with the other) – getting to the urinal just in the lick of time. With a sigh of relief, he began to text his friend who was still in line for the Eucharist.

Brb. Had 2 p. Snag me a cple xtra Eucharists 4 l8r

So, having answered that question to my satisfaction, I washed my hands and made a mental note that if I ever needed to borrow a cell phone, not to borrow his. If someone else asks to borrow his phone in my presence, however, I don’t know what I will do. I am not the type of person to just stand by and watch when someone is in peril. Whether they are trapped at the bottom of a well, have their hair caught in the doors of a Muni train, or are about to cradle a possibly tinkle-tainted cell phone against their cheek, I’m a take-action sort of guy. That’s just how I roll.

But it would be a little shocking to inexplicably bat it out of his hand before the unwitting borrower got hold of it and brought it up to their mouth. I will have to devise a more discreet cell-block maneuver – some kind of ruse, perhaps, or a distraction of some kind. Something that will trigger a reflex, making people immediately want to hide their cell phones.

Omigod! Is that Naomi Campbell with Russell Crowe?!

That could work.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Heavy Surf in San Francisco

I like big waves (and I cannot lie). So this past Sunday was the perfect day to go to the beach. A series of storms over the Pacific had the water all sorts of agitated. By Monday, 30-foot swells were slamming the beaches along the Northern California coast.

Seeing huge waves crashing ashore fascinates me in a way that thunderstorms used to fascinate me back home. There's something about witnessing such awesome natural power. And the crashing of waves is about the closest thing we get to thunder out here on the WC.

And though it's not quite thunder, you might be surprised how close it actually is to thunder.

On Sunday, I went to Baker Beach to take some photographs and listen to the waves crash. Baker Beach is on the south side of the Golden Gate, just west of the Golden Gate bridge. Being inside the Golden Gate, the waves at Baker Beach don't get quite as big as the ones striking the beaches that directly face the ocean. But something about the shape of the beach, it's angle, or the underwater topography - I really don't know what it is - causes the waves to crash at Baker Beach with an incredible, thunderous BOOM that, in my experience, is quite unique. The waves don't roll in to Baker Beach, they hit all at once: KABLAM!

Here are a couple of videos I took with my not-video camera. I've embedded the videos here, but they don't seem to like to play smoothly from my page. So, if you get fragmented play like I do, I'd recommend going to the YouTube website to view them. Just click the links below each video.

If this plays all herky-jerky, try playing it again. It should play smoothly. And turn on your speakers. See? Thunder!
Click here to watch this on the YouTube website.


And here's one more. Yeah, there's a dude out there. He was boogie boarding and getting totally pummeled. But enjoying it!
Click here to watch this on the YouTube website.

My photos turned out better - probably because that's what my camera was made for. Though there was a lot of spray in the air, and the light was fading, so they're a tad grainy. You can view the entire gallery of 17 photos here.

And a few choice shots:

Here's Baker Beach. The Pacific Ocean is to the left, outside the frame of this picture. Those are the Marin Headlands across the bridge. And San Francisco Bay is on the other side of the bridge. The wave doesn't look that big, but it was easily 10-15 feet high. (Click the photo to enlarge)


Didn't believe me? How's this for a bit more perspective? (Click the photo to enlarge)


I bet that guy would love seeing this picture of him. Maybe he will stumble upon this somehow. (Click the photo to enlarge)


Now you see him...


...now you dont.


See him under there? Underwear! Hahaha! (Click the photo to enlarge)


Looking west towards China Beach and Lands End. The Pacific Ocean is on the other side of that land mass. (Click the photo to enlarge)


Looking out through the Golden Gate to the west, toward the Pacific. (Click the photo to enlarge)

  • I'm Matty G
  • I grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska. Now I live smack in the middle of San Francisco.

    Parallaxis is the view from here (& there).

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