No Fireworks Here

According to weather expert Chris, The San Francisco Bay Area was the coldest spot in the US this Fourth of July, with the possible exception of a few locations in Alaska. Along with temperatures in the 50’s came the famous fog, which obliterated any hope of seeing any fireworks. Oh well… We did get to…

An Exciting New Direction

After ten great years at Affymetrix, thedude is moving on to what will hopefully prove to be greener pastures.

Gettin’ Better All the Time

Things just keep getting better and better in the Jack London District. It’s been a long time coming, but it seems almost every week, there’s a new and exciting business opening in the area. Last night we dined at a new restaurant two blocks away – Encuentro. The 100% vegetarian menu was 100% delicious. And…

Lunch With the Boys

Tom works in the iconic Transamerica Pyramid. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed anywhere near the place, so instead of taking shots of him in his swanky power office, we settled for Dim Sum at Yank Sing.

Happy Birthday, Laminator!

Welcome to your fifth decade, Dude. Hard to believe. Don’t listen to Hillary – I love the shirt.  

The Golden State Turns Green

It’s Windows wallpaper season in California. And that’s no bull. For those who don’t know, most of California looks more like this most of the year. You may be interested in learning more about the the Window “Bliss” wallpaper.

Jim and Wendy Celebrate in the Bay Area

Our foodie friends Jim and Wendy dropped in while celebrating 25 years of wedded bliss. Congratulations to both of you, and thanks for giving us a reason to visit some of the best the Bay Area has to offer. I’m full now.

1962 – 2009

I attempted to recreate exactly the black and white photo, shot in 1962. I took several shots, but could not seem to find the exact spot the original was taken from, but one thing seems clear – the middle of the road has shifted somewhat to the left.

Gualala

I love barter. In trade for some web work, I get days at this fabulous house. This works out great for everyone involved, but the biggest beneficiary is definitely me. Its on trips like this that I am reminded how great my friends are and that I have the most wonderful wife in the world….

Blustery Day on the Bay

With temperatures on the bay hovering around 50 degrees, it might not have been an ideal day for a Hornblower Cruise. Nevertheless, the mighty IT team braved the elements and posed for the obligatory group shot.

Muir Woods With the Girls

We spent the last day of our four-day weekend at Muir Woods with Andrew, Jeri and the girls. After a hike through the breathtaking redwoods, we stopped at the Pelican Inn for fish & chips, bangers & mash and a few pints. A delicious way to end the holiday weekend!

The New Bathroom

We decided we had had it with the white tile and grimy grout. We decided to go in a completely different direction. We think it was a good decision. I can’t decide what I like most, the fabulous shower or the speakers in the ceiling. 🙂 The mood around here is definitely up-beat. Turns out…

Fabulous Fishies!

This was our first visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It did not disappoint. the fact that we were there on a slow weekday made it that much more fabulous. Highly recommended!

Bixby Bridge and Post Ranch Inn

On the second day of Matt & Kerry’s visit, we drove down past the scenic Bixby Bridge through Big Sur and on to our destination – lunch at the Post Ranch Inn. The overcast skies didn’t dampen our enthusiasm for this terrific lunch. I’m getting hungry thinking about that pork chop.

Kerry & Matt

Kerry and Matt paid a visit to the Bay Area. We spent a few food-filled days traveling up and down the coast.

Beach Party? Not!

The buzz surrounding last night’s party was all about 200 tons of sand, five swimming pools and “swimwear encouraged”. Hm. Sounds like an indoor beach party, right? Well, the event resembled a beach about as much as I resemble Brad Pitt. Oh – there was sand scattered about the 250,000 square foot industrial space, but…

Whisky Tasting

Andrew and I tasted a dozen Whisky’s last night at a nice event sponsored by the Whisky Shop. The tasting was held at the swanky E & O Trading Company, which means that in addition to the delicious spirits, we had fabulous food as well. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you attend…

Carnaval 2009

We almost didn’t go this year. We thought that the temperatures in the low-50’s with heavy overcast skies might mean fewer scantily-clad revelers. Luckily, we were wrong.

Hot Day, Cool Stuff

With temperatures more than twenty degrees above the average for this day, thedude decided to take the smartie to NASA’s 2009 Exploration and Sustainability Exposition, where we saw some pretty cool stuff, including a car I’d love to own. Well, OK just the car is just a brochure at this point, but it’s still a…

Carmel Weekend

One of the best things about the Bay Area is that you can drive two hours and see sights like these and end up in Carmel-By-The-Sea. And if you’re like us, you’ll take the wrong turn at least once and discover a cemetery bursting with colorful flowers, lush, green fields, happy cows and sea lions…

Horsie Day at Reinstein Ranch

thedude accompanied horsie-girl Kelly to her favorite weekend getaway. She had a great time with Tilly in spite of the muddy conditions, and thedude went a little nuts with his camera.

Walk on the Wild Side

I enjoyed last weekend’s bug trek so much that we decided to do it again today. This time we brought along a few of our favorite people and, of course, my camera. We found our ladybug friends again, but in smaller numbers. This time they had begun to swarm – behavior we didn’t see last…

thedude Takes a Hike

When Andrew said that he knew of a place nearby where we could see “tens of thousands of ladybugs clumped like piles of scarlet coffee beans”, I knew I had to see it. It also happens that Andrew’s better half is an entomologist known to many as the Bug Lady, AND the topic for this…

Highly Motivated People

My Achiever wife and a couple neighbors got up very early this morning to participate in the KFOG Bridge-to-Bridge Run (OK – walk). I don’t know how they do it. I wish I had a fraction of that energy! While Jack and I were just too busy to squeeze in a 7K walk, we did…

Holey Christ

Here’s a sneek peek inside Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light. Although the 190 million dollar addition to the Lake Merrit skyline will not be open to the public until 2:00 PM this afternoon, I was able to sneak in yesterday and shoot a quick panorama. After scratching my head about the outside of the…