There have been more than a few occasions in my life when I felt that I was witnessing something that few people will ever see. You could say that everything that each of us experiences is by definition, a once-in-a-lifetime event. The thing is that in this case, I was smart lucky enough to have…
Category: Old Friends
Now, That’s C-C-C-CRAZY
Not all of my Danish friends in Greenland were this crazy – but Erik and Randi got this idea… When you live in a place where the average temperature in February and March is -30 degrees Centigrade, it’s only a matter of time before someone will ask to have their picture taken in an unheated…
Reconnecting – Again
Many of you know of my never-ending scanning project. Well, the scope of the task expanded this afternoon. Through the miracle of the Internets, my old friend Erik Larsen found a photo I shot of a cabin he built near Thule Greenland. You can view this image both on the Panaramio web site and on…
Lelah and Lhotse
Lelah found Lhotse in an adoption agency in Saigon about 6 months ago. My hunch is that they’re very lucky to have each other.
Happy Birthday Ben!
All of us – including Orion – love you very much!
Brunch with the Goyas
Still loving the new camera. Any excuse to shoot with it is good enough for me, but especially when it involves good food and fine friends!
Steve Almost Killed Me on This Hike
I’ve known Steve longer than anyone else in California. He’s in somewhat better shape than I am, so when he proposed I go on a hike with him ten years ago, I was worried about keeping up. He promised to “take it easy”, but we still walked for hours – uphill all the way. I…
On Film and Friends
Memories flood over me as I see some of these images unfold on my 24″ display. Some of the images really smack me up and down and back up again – for a number of different reasons. A few things I thought when I saw this shot: We must have been having a great time…
My Never-Ending Scanning Project
A few years ago, my best man Steve and I split the cost of a Nikon film scanner. I figured I’d spend a few days scanning the best of the thousands of slides and negatives I have scattered around. Well, this little project has grown into a monster. I’ve been scanning on and off for…
Our Lives in a Box of Old Kodachromes
You never know what you’ll find. I had a few spare moments this rainy Saturday afternoon, and decided to take up my scanning project again. It didn’t take long to find something fun and timely. These old slides were in the first box I opened. I’m sure Jim will love these! Ha! Food has always…
Another Food and Booze-Filled Day
The fact that there is not a drop left of the 3600 cases of Absinthe bottled late last year at St. James Distillery was was more of a disappointment to us than the blustery weather, but the fruity vodkas and liqueurs helped ease our sorrow. Good thing we laid down a substantial grease and carbo…
We’re Going to NASA!
Andrew, Jeri and Jim plan to leave Oakland very early on Sunday morning to attend a super-nerdy event at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field – home to Hangar One – a truly ginormous dirigible hangar. I’ve been told that it’s OK to bring my camera, so I promise to make a blog entry…
A Beautiful Dream
Last night I had one of the most beautiful dreams of my life. You have to have known my friend Jeff to fully appreciate it, but I felt I needed to write it down anyway and share it with those of you who did. — Kelly and I were vacationing in a beautiful place with…
Pre-Birthday Party Party
Today marked the beginning of what promises to be a long party season. My best man Steve kicked off a string of September birthday parties with a gathering at Tilden Park today to celebrate his 60th. Man, it’s hard to believe. It seems like Steve’s 50th was just a year or two ago. Time does…
It’s a Beautiful David LaFlamme Band
My new-found old friend Robbie set us up with VIP passes to the 40th Summer of Love Reunion in Monterey. The show turned out to be one of our all-time favorite live music events, mainly due to the “unstructuredness” of it all. No one seemed to care much about where anyone sat or if a…
You Haven’t Changed a Bit!
You gotta love the Internet. This week it helped bring me back together with my roommate from 27 years ago. We exchanged a few emails and I learned that my old friend Rob Espinosa would be performing today at the Novato Art and Wine Festival. Kelly and I watched Rob play with the David LaFlamme…
San Francisco Death March
Entertaining guests from out of town is exhausting. Ann and Lynne had made a detailed list of must-see Bay Area “attractions” – some of which I had been successfully avoiding for nearly 25 years. Places like Fisherman’s Wharf, The Haight, Lombard Street, the Painted Ladies, Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco cable cars and Alcatraz are…
To The “Grape One”, With Love
You know that I try to keep my blog upbeat. I rarely post anything even remotely negative. I strive to make everyone look great and happy. This is why most of you thinks that it’s one big party over here. Well, let me assure you that even the most upbeat members of thedude.com staff are…
A Small Gathering
At the last minute, we decided to host a small party this new year’s eve. The party was interesting. The power went out at 11:42 PM and stayed out for almost three hours – the longest power outage we’ve seen in the 11 years we’ve been in the loft! The party became much quieter and…
Portland
I finally made it to Portland this weekend for the very first time! I have been putting this trip off forever it seems, but forces finally converged and I made it. I attended a book launch/award ceremony at Mark Downey’s Lucid Images Gallery, and had an excellent dinner with my dear friends Ali and Neil…
Chris Picks His Top Five Weather Books
Can you even name five weather books? Didn’t think so. Well Chris Burt has no trouble naming his favorites in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Chris’ short reviews are so interesting that I now want to go out and buy all five!
Happy Birthday, Elise!
Happy Birthday, Dear. Seeing your fabulous smile in the office every day has been one of the best things about going to work these last six years. Lots of love to you! More party photos here. A huge thanks to our incredibly gracious hosts Joe and Jeff who made us feel welcome in one of…
One of the First Photos I Ever Shot
My best guess is that this image of best friends Bruce Hagen, Jim Davidson and Scott Wolbers was made in 1971 or 1972, when I would have been 15 or 16 years old. I borrowed a Yashica 124 twin-lens-reflex from my high school photography club, and shot this image at the top of the hill…
Scanning Images from the Past
You know by now that I’ve had a life-long passion for photography, and years ago, made the fateful decision to purchase a beautiful, lightly used Pentax 6 x 7 at the local drug store for a mere 450 bucks. More importantly, I made a commitment to myself to actually use it, and I did. So…
Sam’s Cafe, Tiburon
We had dinner with our friends Steve and Debra at Sam’s Anchor Cafe in lovely, affluent Tiburon. Sam’s Cam showed a crowded deck before we left for Tiburon, but by the time we got there the fog had moved in and it was freezing, so we ate inside. The seared Ahi tuna in an orange…
Farewell, Hugh
Yesterday my coworkers and I met at Kitty’s in Emeryville to send off another of my favorite coworkers. Hugh (aka Huge) and I have worked side-by-side for almost six years. He’s an amazingly talented SysAdmin, musician and a great friend. I am very sad to see him go. Best wishes to you, Hugh!
Our Wonderful Wives
Chris and I have much in common, but by far the best thing we share is our beautiful wives. (Hm. That doesn’t sound exactly right…) There is nothing like the feeling that comes with knowing you’ll share the rest of your life with the kindest, most loving, most talented and beautiful women you have ever…
Keeping Cool in Calistoga
OK, I’m beginning to think that we might be a tiny bit spoiled… Yesterday we attended an amazing birthday party for our friend Leslie. We were a bit hesitant to venture out into the 110 degree heat we knew we’d encounter in Calistoga, but we’re glad we went. Leslie is a family friend of the…
Happy Birthday Sonja!
What a perfect evening. We celebrated Our dear friend Sonja’s birthday at Mountain Winery with Chris Isaak, who, just like Sonja, seems to get better with age. Chris treated his devoted and mostly female fans to awesome impressions of Elvis, Roy Orbison – even Robin Zander. Chris Isaak is a thoroughly professional entertainer who can…