We went to the Holi festival in Sunnyvale today! Lots of fun :)

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Happy Holi!

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Tagged: holi

Check out this sunset timelapse that Mike shot using CHDK. Paragliders streak across the sky like lasers!

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Tagged: CHDK , mike , paragliders , sunset , timelapse

About a week and a half ago, a new state budget was proposed and under it’s terms, 48 (almost 20%) of California’s state parks would close, including these beautiful Bay Area parks

• Tomales Bay State Park
• Portola Redwoods State Park
• Henry W. Coe State Park
• Candlestick Point SRA
• Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park

The whole list is over here. You can petition against these closures through the California State Parks Foundation website which will help you send a letter to your local Assembly Member and Senator if you give them your name and address. There’s a prewritten message you can use or you can write one of your own.

I’d be really sad to see these parks close and hope you’ll send a letter! If you don’t want to disclose your critical info on a website and you live in Bernal, you can also fax a letter to Senator Carole Migden (916) 445-4722 and contact Assembly member Mark Leno.

(the photo above is from this gallery of panoramas of Portola Redwoods SP )

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Tagged: petition , stateparks

A place devoted just to pie! They’ve been around for a year on 25th and Mission but I never knew. I came across it on my way home the other day so I stopped in and had a slice of banana cream pie. It was yummy! Creamy but not too heavy or sweet with small banana chunks. Also, what’s really neat about this place is that the proceeds from the shop support a farm in Pescadero which in turn supplies the ingredients for the pies…and the teenagers who work behind the counter also work at the farm once a month to grow the ingredients and help make the pies. It’s an inspiring project!

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Tagged: mission , pies , snacktime

In a bid to bring the Bay Area up-to-date with last century’s technology, Muni, Bart, and CalTrain will start accepting TransLink in the spring. The TransLink readers have already been installed on Muni lines for testing, and interestingly, they are installed on all doors, not just in the front. This should help loading times for crowded buses. Here is a pic of a TransLink reader in the back of the 9 San Bruno:

I’m glad I don’t have to commute on CalTrain anymore, but CalTrain riders will probably appreciate TransLink the most. CalTrain currently uses ancient technology to timestamp 10-ride tickets, similar to old-school time cards found in 1950’s office buildings. The timestamp machines are frequently broken, and the CalTrain conductors are assholes. Hopefully with TransLink, caltrain riders will never have to talk to a conductor again.

Filed under: bay area, san francisco, transportation | 2 Comments
Tagged: bart , CalTrain , muni , TransLink

Once per year at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse they shut down the weak insipid modern (presumably electric) light and switch over the the 5 kerosene lamps and fresnel lens of the original, as it was 135 years ago.

CC-licensed (by-nc-nd) photo by MumbleyJoe:

via

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Tagged: lighthouse , PigeonPoint

Tomorrow!…Sunday!…at 1!

(more info here)

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Oooh…time for a tiki shopping spree! At the Forbidden Island, Alameda’s first and only tiki bar.

On Sunday, September 23rd from 3-7pm, Forbidden Island will once again host Northern California’s largest sale of collectible & vintage tiki, Hawaiiana, rockabilly, and mid-century modern goods. The sale will feature an incredible selection of original art, collectable mugs and décor, vintage aloha & rockabilly clothes, vinyl, furniture, and much more. We’ll also be offering drink specials and a few surprises. Come early for the best selection- it’s guaranteed to be a sell-out event! Don’t miss it!

i would go but i’m trying to shed belongings, not acquire more. i’d be up for sipping a tiki drink at the bar though :-)

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Paul Addis was arrested today for burning the man, four days early. We are left to wonder.. was is art, or was it arson? And why Tuesday instead of Wednesday??

This post needs a omgwtfbbq tag. Just look at his mugshot:

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Tagged: PaulAddis , wtf???

This article in the NYT a couple days ago is so sad.

“You look around…and the pressures to spend more are everywhere.” Children want the latest fashions their peers are wearing and the most popular high-ticket toys. Furniture does not seem up to snuff once you move into a multimillion-dollar home. Spouses talk, and now that resort in Mexico the family enjoyed so much last winter is not good enough when looking ahead to next year. Summer camp, a full-time housekeeper, vintage wines, country clubs: the cost of living bloats.

To Mr. Milletti, it all looks like a marathon with no finish line.

“Here, the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-one-hundredth of 1 percent,” he said.

“You try not to get caught up in it,” he added, “but it’s hard not to.”

The only things that give me hope are people like Craig Newmark

Newmark’s goal is just to live comfortably and not become a dot-com multimillionaire…Newmark calls his philosophy “nerd values,” which he explains as making “enough for a comfortable living, at which point you do something fun like changing the world.”

Hooray for world-changing-nerds everywhere! :-)

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Last night I had dinner at Estampas Peruanas, which is my favorite place in the Bay Area to get peruvian food, even though it means driving all the way to Redwood City to get there. It’s not a fancy place - the restaurant sits on a block that includes a XXX porn shop, a smoke shop, a liquor store, sad and empty looking dive bars, a tacky lingerie shop, and a really big costume shop…kind of like a slice of the Mission minus the scene. But the food is awesome. I had the Picante de Mariscos which is a plate of seafood (fish, octopus, squid, and giant shrimp with their heads still on) in a chile tomato sauce on rice and it was great. I’ve also had the lomo saltado before (grilled steak, tomatoes, onions and french fries on rice) which I highly recommend. yum.

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On Saturday, I did the Giro Di Peninsula which is a century ride that takes you from the race track in San Mateo to Woodside, down to the coast, back to Woodside and then over to the Los Altos hills. It was pretty and we covered some roads in Los Altos that I hadn’t been on before. I almost missed the ride because my alarm clock didn’t go off in the morning. or maybe it did and I accidentally turned it off. In any case, the ride started at 6:30 but I didn’t roll out of bed until 6:15 so I started at 7:15. Not a big deal, but it meant that I had to pick up my pace a little in order to get to the rest stops before they closed or ran out of food. It was my first long ride in 3 weeks and it felt good to be back in the saddle.

Here’s a map of the route someone created on Bikely. The person who created this map apparently finished the ride in 6 1/2 hrs. I finished in 9 hrs. Still, I’m happy with my time because it’s faster than the first century I did 3 months ago and there was much more climbing in this one (7,000 ft)! one day though, I really would like to be speedy. I don’t know if it’s possible for me to ever be speedy given that I’m a small person with short legs. maybe if i grew wings!

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At the Can’t Fail Cafe in Emeryville there’s a super yummy milkshake made with guinness stout, chocolate ice cream, and espresso. I think they gave it the perfect name.

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Tagged: coffee

My friend Mark’s boyfriend is starring in a musical called Colma and it opens at the Embarcadero on the 22nd! (yep that would be Colma right off the 280, home of the Serramonte Target, among other fine establishments). He also wrote the score and screenplay.

To be honest, Colma in real life scares me…so I can only imagine the musical to be utterly terrifying. here are some glowing reviews and a link to the trailer!

Filed under: bay area, upcoming | 8 Comments

This sad news was in sfgate today. I remember climbing down Half Dome a couple years ago thinking how dangerous it was to have SO MANY people using the same set of cables to ascend and descend what is basically a 400ft vertical wall. It made no sense to me. Given the number of people who do that climb every year (a 30% increase since the mid-90s), that’s a one lane freeway for traffic in both directions. At the very least, there should be separate cablesfor ascending and descending. I’m glad the park rangers are finally going to take a look at making it safer.

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Here are pics from my ride on Sunday. I woke up a little later than usual and didn’t meet up with my lifecycle group. so I did a loop from Woodside to Pescadero and back to Woodside via Stage Road and Tunitas Creek Road on my own. 57 miles with about 4,900 feet of climbing. It’s a hard one but sooooo beautiful. And quiet. Along the 9 mile stretch of Tunitas Creek Rd. I encountered a grand total of 7 cars. It’s my very favorite ride in the bay area! And the weather was great - blue skies even along the coast. I definitely plan on doing this ride a lot this year. If anyone else wants to come, lemme know.

Also, the time has come for me to start fundraising for the AIDS ride…please help by making a donation if you can. Thank you!!

Oh and here are route directions in case you want to go.

(more…)

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this Saturday!! The Alternative Press Expo is coming to town this weekend so I’m proposing a TikiRobot brunch and then a visit to APE to stock up on independent comix, toys, and prints. Check out the neat stuff i got last year. Oh and we can pay a visit to Julia of the Fart Party and buy her a beer before she takes off for Portland. (or at least buy some comix from her).

What say you guys?

Filed under: bay area, comix, upcoming | 8 Comments

Rajbot recently sent out an email asking for suggestions on good brunch places that can easily accomodate 10+ people so I’m going to list some places here.

• Pomelo (on 30th and Church) is my very favorite place to get brunch in SF. Seating 10+ people inside might get a little tight but there’s sidewalk seating that can accomdate 10 and it’s hardly ever taken. My favorites on the menu are the eastlake (smoked trout and red potato hash w/ wild rice and horseradish cream, two poached eggs and toast) and the makena (banana stuffed brioche french toast w/ roasted macademia and warm coconut syrup). It’s the best way to start the day! (although I frequently need to take a nap after eating here)
• Samovar Tea Lounge in the Castro has an eclectic menu and a table that can accomodate 10 as well as a back room for large groups. It’s also a great place to get loose leaf teas and I go pretty regularly to stock up on their Lichee black tea.
• Dim sum is a logical choice for seating 10+ people for brunch since most chinese restaurants have big round tables meant to accommodate large extended families. Unfortunately the best dim sum places tend to be further from home in the sunset, the richmond, or on the peninsula and can be pretty crowded and chaotic. But dim sum is yummy and well worth the trip I think. My favorite places are Fook Yuen in Millbrae and Hong Kong Flower Lounge, also in Millbrae. Koi Palace in Daly City is known for having some of the best dim sum in the bay area but it’s a mad house if you get there after 10. Not really closer to home, but still in the city is South Seafood Village in the Sunset which I also really like. I haven’t been to any other dim sum places in the sunset but we should probably explore some that are closer to us!

Anyways, I’m sure there are lots of other places that I’m not thinking of right now…feel free to add to the list!

Filed under: bay area, food | 3 Comments

The Tech Shop looks an awful lot like a dreaded office park building from the photo on their website and it’s in Menlo Park…BUT it has a full range of equipment for building just about anything (including a 3d printer that can make ABS plastic thingies from your CAD file) and classes on things like How to Use a Plasmer Cutter, Single-Beam Holography, and Choosing A Microcontroller. Ever since my friend Doria gave me this bracelet that she made with a laser cutter, I’ve been wanting a necklace / choker to go with it, so I think I’m going to check out this class after work!

Filed under: bay area, tronix | 2 Comments
Tagged: crafty

This past Saturday, peliom came along on my bike ride and we did a loop in Marin from Novato to Tomales Bay. It was a great day! (though there were definitely more cars on these roads than on the Petaluma-Dillion beach route). The ride was 48 miles with about 1800 ft of climbing. This was also my last ride for the month of March which turned out to be a pretty good month. Aside from the week I spent out of town, I managed to get in the recommended 100-125 miles of riding per week. Yay! My training schedule roughly works out to this (on an ideal week)…

• Mon - 5 miles (commute)
• Tue - 6 miles (commute) + 45 min. swim (or weights if I don’t feel like getting wet)
• Wed - 25 miles (butter lap around the city)
• Thu - 6 miles (commute) + 45 min. swim (or weights)
• Fri - 5 miles (commute)
• Sat - 25-50 miles
• Sun - 50-70 miles (lifecycle training ride)

Of course I don’t always follow this to a T, but when I miss a day, I try to make up for it on another day. Mondays and Fridays are my “rest days” so sometimes I’ll drive to work on those days. Anyways, two more months til I ride down to LA. For the month of April, I’m supposed to bump up the mileage to 125-150 miles / week. I also signed up to do the Wildflower Century in 3 weeks on April 22nd. my first one ever!

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I saw an awesome pickup truck this morning … sorry, no picture. But it was an old school pickup, teal colored with “Tiki Go Go” in fabulous Tiki fonts. It turns out to be Chef Kelley Hawks. The food looks super good, but at $350/person for 5 entrees, I think I’m going to stick with almond butter on a whole wheat english muffin. “A thoughtful gift for new parents or newlyweds” … Neither of those are on the horizon but feel free to buy it for me anyway!

Filed under: bay area, food, tiki lifestyle | 2 Comments
Tagged: family

Last Saturday, I went on a pretty bike ride starting in Petaluma along Chileno Valley Road to the coast and then back. It was a perfect day! Along the way, I saw cows, horses, an alpaca, bunnies, a turtle, goats, sheep, a snake, black birds with bright red cheeks, blue jays, carniverous looking birds with huge wing spans and some other animals I’m forgetting right now. The ride was 56 miles with about 1,800 feet of climbing, so it’s sort of long but not overly strenuous.

Here’s a map and route directions for anyone else that wants to go!

Driving Directions to Starting Point
Take the 101 North to Petaluma and exit Petaluma Boulevard South. Drive north 2 miles and make a left (west) on Western Avenue. Drive 2.2 miles and then turn left on Chileno Valley Road. Drive .8 mile to Helen Putnam Regional Park on the left. (the sign for the park is facing the opposite way so it’s easy to miss…if you go more than 1 mile after you get on Chileno Valley Road w/o seeing the park, turn around and you’ll be sure to see it. It costs $5 to park in the small lot but you can also park on the opposite side of the road for free).

Route Directions
0.0 Park at Helen Putnam Park and ride west on Chileno Valley Road.
3.0 Turn RIGHT to stay on Chileno Valley Road.
12.6 LEFT on Tomales-Petaluma Road.
13.8 RIGHT on Alexander Road.
14.8 RIGHT on Fallon-Two Rock Road.
17.2 LEFT on Petaluma-Valley Ford Road
26.0 LEFT on Valley Ford Estereo Road (in the town of Valley Ford…this small road can be easy to miss…make sure you don’t continue onto HWY 1)
31.8 RIGHT on Dillon Beach Road. Ride out and back to Dillon Beach and then turn around to return to the junction with Valley Ford Road.
34.6 RIGHT on Dillon Beach Road
37.2 RIGHT on Shoreline Highway (Hwy 1) in the town of Tomales. Make sure you get some foccaccia at the bakery!! it’s really good!
37.5 LEFT on Tomales-Petaluma Road.
42.7 RIGHT on Chileon Valle7 Road.
52.3 LEFT to stay on Chileno Valley Road.
55.5 Arrive at starting point.

Route directions are from this excellent book which I highly recommend Northern California Biking: 150 of the Best Road and Trail Rides

Filed under: bay area, cycling, excursions | 3 Comments

I went to a nutrition workshop last night expecting an extremely boring and yet slightly motivating remix of the food pyramid for athletes.

Instead I was blown away by a rapid fire how-to-fuel-your-body talk by Dr. Clyde Wilson, and left with that feeling of “living in the bay area totally rocks.”

Clyde is one of those of those OCD professors that is crazy smart, loves teaching and optimizes every minute of his life to making the world a better place while at the same time having as much fun as possible. In philosophical terms, if there is such a thing as “The California School”, Clyde is headmaster. After high school he spent 6 years in the navy as the “supervisor for reactor chemistry and radiation control” aboard USS Carl Vinson in Alameda. His Standford PhD thesis was “Biochemistry in Single Cells Using Microfluidic Systems.” He is now teaching courses on clinical and popular nutrition at Standord and UCSF, and he is Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Sports Medicine Institute in Palo Alto.

Reading Clyde’s website, which I highly recommend, is a deluge of facts and figures about why and how we should eat and how to make it simple. It is ironic that by following his obsessive regime you actually become less obsessive about reading labels, the right thing just happens automatically. And Clyde jokes that he loves pineapple juice and root beer floats, being healthy doesn’t mean not having fun.

Pinapple Juice!!!!

This guy is one of us …. so check out his

• Vision Statement
• Excellent FAQ on Sports Nutrition
• Crazy Helpful Downloads Page
• Seminar Calendar

Link to Dr Clyde Wilson’s Website

Filed under: bay area, cycling, food, medicine | 4 Comments

So, since this is my very favorite time of year to be out on my bike, your resident TikiRobot cyclist will once again resume periodic trip reports of places to take your bike. And since I’m supposed to be riding 100-125 miles / week this month for aids ride training, I will be covering lots of ground. (although i’ll be gone in texas at sxsw the following 2 weekends, so no trip reports then. not quite sure how i will make up for it yet. eek.)

Anyways, this morning was clear and beautiful so I rode up to the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton which is just east of San Jose. At 4,209 ft, Mt. Hamilton is apparently the highest point in the Bay Area. However, lest you think I’m crazy, I did not ride from the bottom all the way to the top. (maybe one day I’ll be that crazy person, but today was not that day.) My bike ride began at Joseph D. Grant County Park which is about 11 miles from the top and even though you have to ride mostly uphill, the grade was pretty gradual (5%-7%) so it wasn’t so bad. Altogether, I climbed about 2700 feet and the views were spectacular. I was hoping to see lots of wildflowers but we’ve had so little rain this year, I didn’t see any at all. I did, however, see some melting snow and some really big telescopes.

Filed under: bay area, cycling | 2 Comments

In case anyone is interested in doing the AIDS ride from SF to LA this summer, there’s a kickoff gathering and info session this Sunday at Hotel Nikko from 11am-4pm. My friends kathryn and arena are going to be training ride leaders this year so it should be fun. If you sign up there, the registration fee is only $55 (instead of $75). I’m going to sign up!

Filed under: bay area, cycling, upcoming | 0 Comments