MW Mobile Blog

For friends, family and the random search engine visitor. This blog started as an experiment in mobile blogging from my Palm TREO 600, 700, Prē, HTC Evo, Samsung 5, Pixel 3, Pixel 6 Pro. Now it serves as a simple repository of favorite activities. Expect bad golf, good fishing, great sailing, eating, drinking, adventure travel, occasional politics and anything else I find interesting along the way including, but not limited to, any of the labels listed here...

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

So it begins...


We got out of town and to the airport despiteone million fans crowding the City for the SF Giants victory celebration. Flight is scheduled on-time despite the havoc Sandy wreaked on the national air transportation system. Looks like we'll get this trip started without a hitch. Happy Halloween.



We're on the second floor of a 747. Nice view from here.

Prophylactic Gin & Tonic to ward off malaria

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Old Ethiopian (?) Book



This is the book we acquired in an Ouagadougou antiquities shop during our 2007 West Africa trip. As I said at the time, we really don't have any idea what we acquired:
"... lost among the carved wooden doors, masks, fetishes, and beaded jewelry, on a shelf in a glass case, I spot a short stack of dusty old manuscripts. We purchase the smallest book - hand written text on yellowing parchment, bound between covers of wood. No idea of age or origin, but are told it is Ethiopian. An ancient traveler's prayer book? Maybe. A desert trader's ledger? Could be. A forgery to scam tourists? All are possibilities."
Since we were told it was Ethiopian and we are about to embark on our Ethiopia adventure, I thought I would scan the pages and post a few here. Perhaps through the miracle of the intertubes somebody may run across this who can read it and tell us what we've got.

Some sample pages (probably not in order and may not even be right side up): 












Tuesday, October 30, 2012

On civic pride, civil disobedience, civic duty, civic centers and free tacos.


Preparations are underway at City Hall for the big Giants victory parade and celebration tomorrow. Should be quite the spectacle. Hopefully the traditional riot will be scheduled after dark and limited to destroying 2 or 3 more municipal buses.

Every event in Ess Eff attracts protesters demonstrating one cause or another.


Looks like the politically powerful nudist constituency will be making their case tomorrow.  Generally I am pretty libertarian about this sort of thing, but I draw the line on this issue. Most people should be required to wear clothes. Say, for example, the guy in the picture. There are exceptions of course.

There is always something interesting to see on the stroll down to the Civic Center.


This line stretched down the block from a Taco Bell. Apparently they were giving away free tacos as part of a Word Series promotion. This particular outlet is located near the Tenderloin. Think "skid row". Not sure this is what Yum Brands had in mind when they ran this promotion, but these folks were certainly appreciative of the free food offer.

But  - I was not in the Civic Center for celebrations, or protests, or free tacos.

 The Dividist casts his not so secret ballot.

I was at City Hall to perform my civic duty and cast my early ballot for President. If our cab can find a way through the celebration tomorrow, we'll be winging our way to London and Africa. This was my last chance to vote.

I voted for Obama  in the hope of avoiding the disaster of One Party Republican Rule, just like I voted for McCain in 2008 hoping to avoid the disaster of One Party Democratic Rule. That turned out to be even worse than I feared. Perhaps enough independents finally learned their lesson and will vote to keep things divided this time. Neither party can be trusted with all the keys to the castle. Ever. Not under any circumstances. No matter how much you want to "get things done".  If our elected leaders cannot agree to a compromise that satisfies (or dissatisfies) both parties equitably, we are better off with less "getting done".

Perhaps things will turn out better this cycle.We can only...




Sent from my Sprint HTC smartphone. Then edited extensively.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Giants win World Series! Fans riot celebrate!


Two Championships in three years. Quite an accomplishment, even if a bit gluttonous.  But - I am not going to throw a wet blanket on their extraordinary achievement by indulging in the usual whining and self pity so often heard from Cub fans like myself. You know - stuff like:  I am a life long Cub fan and I've never seen the Cubs win a World Series my entire life... My Dad is 90, and he has never seen the Cubs win World Series in his entire life...  Haley's Comet has come and gone TWICE since the last time the Cubs won the World Series... You know. Stuff like that. I am just not going to be that guy. 

There is nothing like being in a city of baseball fans celebrating a World Series. I really enjoyed watching the celebration last time, or at least until I had to listen to some clueless TV announcer:
"I had to leave when the TV broadcasters started going on and on about the "long suffering Giants fans" deserving this title. Hey I am happy to celebrate with my adopted city on a great World Series Championship. But, as a Cub fan, nothing grates on my nerves quite like hearing anyone else moaning about a World Series drought."
No... no. I am not going there. Lets get back to the celebration. The Mayor arranged for the most rabid fans to watch the game as a mob outside of City Hall on a big screen TV,  and the celebration began as soon as the last out was made.  It was interesting to see the choice of words used by various news outlets covering the outpouring of civic pride:


USA TODAY: Giants win in World Series spawns riot in San Francisco

Huffington Post: Giants' World Series Win Sparks Riots In San Francisco

Tech Crunch: Riots With iPads: When SF Won The World Series

NY Daily News: San Francisco Giants fans burn bus, smash windows

Russia Times: World Series victory triggers mass riots in San Francisco

Only the local fishwrap got it right...



San Francisco Chronicle

Bonfires in busy intersections, arrests, destroying million dollar municipal buses - just all part of any good civic "celebration".  I mean, c'mon - "riot" or "celebration" - are we really going to quibble about semantics?  It's all in good fun.


Just not sure how we are going to top this when the Cubs finally win one.

I guess we'll just have to burn the entire city of Chicago to the ground. 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

19th Hole


A beautiful day at Lincoln Park. On a day like this, on a course like this, the actual scores simply don't matter.

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Rick out of the trap on 17



Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

17th hole portrait


Last layer of fog lingers near the bridge.
 
Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Rick tees off on 16


... After 2 pars on 14 & 15. He is playing way over his head on the back. Miles really.


Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Bob and Rick miss their birdie putts on 10

 

But I sank a 12 footer for mine.

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

At the turn


MS 43
BP 45
MW 51
RZ 57

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Enjoying a brew on 9...


... As I wait for the rest of the foursome to catch up to my drive.

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Bob lines up on Mt. Diablo...


... from the top of the hill in 7th fairway.
Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Other Mike tees off under the watchful gaze of the golf gods...

... then cuts the corner a little tight.


Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Rick's follow through on 4...

 

... does not live up to the special lighting effects on the course.

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Golfers in the mist...



... on three.

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Interesting fog effects with the bridge


As we hike above the fog layer between 2nd and 3rd hole.


Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

My drive on the second hole...


... In the foreground. Waiting for the rest of the group to reach my drive.

Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Live Blogging Lincoln Park


In the fog.



Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Ethiopia trip prep


Sigrid has been planning this trip for a while, but it always seemed a long way off.



When Mui Lin at the Sutter Pacific Travel Clinic is sticking needles in your arm,  it gets real.  All immunizations are up to date. Paranoia inducing malaria meds started. We're ready. We'll be flying out on Halloween.

Sent from my Sprint HTC smartphone.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Not Live Blogging Wente Vineyards Golf


Played the Oracle Golf Club last event of the season at Wente with Roy, John and Donna.

Roy, John, Donna, Mike
 Decided not to live blog the round as usual in order to focus on my golf. Yeah... That did not work as well as I might have hoped.

I win the shortest drive competition
You try taking a full swing at teed up golf ball and only drive it 4 inches.

Roy launches one
 Still, a beautiful day and a spectacular setting.

John on the tee
On a day like this, the score is just not important.

This time of year Wente offer free snacks on the course.
In retrospect snacking on the grapes may not have been a great idea. Since the rainy season has not started, I probably ingested an entire season of pesticide. They were still pretty good. 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

EssEff Eventageddon Weekend


 Finally getting around to posting some of our pics from Fleet Week. Better late than never. The annual Fleet Week air show with the Blue Angels is always amazing, but it had some competing attractions in the City this weekend:
"In addition to Fleet Week and the America's Cup, the city is playing host to the three-day Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. The start of the Giants' division playoffs was Saturday evening, and the 49ers are playing Sunday. And then there's the Italian Heritage parade and a couple of festivals that would be weekend highlights any other time of the year."

Not to mention a couple of monster cruise ships arriving for the festivities. The City population more than doubled over the weekend. We decided the only sensible thing was to leave the car in the garage, hunker down, open some wine, and enjoy the view. After all,  a lot of the fun was visible from our home. All these pics from the comfort of our front row seats on the terrace.