Roy's San Francisco Power Tour

On the terrace overlooking Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz

In the future, the SF Power Tour becomes a regular feature of this blog and an easy entertainment for visiting guests. As such, I thought I should reprise the first example - this post-dated retrospective dates from 2005, when high school senior Roy had a short window of opportunity before flying home. His debate team had completed their competition across the bay, when we tacked on a four hour tour (including pick-up and drop off in Berkeley)...

Educational opportunity in North Beach

Chinatown

Twin Peaks Panorama (click to enlarge)

In the Castro

Haight Ashbury


Golden Gate Park with new friend


Finally, at the Pacific Ocean...

Uncle Mike completes the first Power Tour

Oracle vs. Alinghi in Moet Cup Challenge Race

After losing the America's Cup earlier this year, Larry Ellison beat the America's Cup winner Alinghi in the Moet Cup challenge series in the bay. Should the America's Cup ever come to San Francisco, this race series showed both promise and the peril of holding the race in the Bay.

"The hour long racecourse, which begins near Treasure Island, will bring the 80-foot boats within spitting distance of the San Francisco waterfront. The boats will tack along the city front between Fisherman's Wharf and Crissy Field, before rounding a buoy near the Golden Gate Bridge and running downwind, then heading upwind again toward the finish line next to Marina Green."

We have a great view of the race from our terrace on Russian Hill. This series of shots from the terrace showed the kind of visibility the venue would offer the race, which is usually held on an ocean track far from the view of landlubbers.


Watching the race we also saw the perils of holding a race like this in Bay. Here the Oracle entry is forced to divert off it's line by a container ship steaming through the middle of the race.


We also watched one of the races from waterfront near Fisherman's Wharf and got another interesting perspective.


Better pictures of the race action from Chuck Lantz and from Latitude 38.

Backposted for future reference.

Eating and Fishing and Eating and Drinking and More Eating at Green Valley Lake

Some pics from Mike & Stan's fishing adventure at Green Valley Lake in the San Bernadino Mountains east of Los Angeles.

Our first day's catch. The big trout was on the grill that evening, and the small trout were in the frying pan Sunday morning.

 

The first day's catch was prepared "au naturale" on the Weber with alder wood smoke and served with rice and green beans for Saturday dinner.

 

The breakfast fish were sauteed in butter, salt, pepper, a "wee-dram" of Balvene scotch. and served with with grits on Sunday morning.

Then back out on the lake for more fish.

The Day two catch (6 more)... 

 

... highlighted by Stan's "dragged worm" trout as we were heading back.

Sunday night's preparation:

After one hour in a soy sauce, hot chili olive oil marinade, the fish was grilled on hand-hewn year old oak planks.

Served with rice, grilled jalapeno, green salad with blue cheese dressing and a 2000 Gabianno Chianti.

 

It was really really good. I can't believe I ate the whole thing.

EDITORS NOTE: This back post from a contemporaneous e-mail to friends and family

Report from the San Francisco Peace Protest

In honor of the inauguration of our 44th President on January 20th, 2009 - this post-dated report from the San Francisco Peace Protest almost 6 years to the day, and the legacy of the last administration.


E-mailed Report from of the January 18, 2003 protest on the streets of San Francisco.

=================

Yesterday, my hometown of San Francisco was the focus of the west coast peace movement in what the local paper described as a "huge protest". Seeking the truth, I joined the march myself. Anticipating that the SF Chronicle coverage would be less than adequate, I decided to take this opportunity to explore a new career as an investigative photojournalist. You are the beneficiaries of my initial efforts.

Your fearless reporter wades into the crowd armed only with a digital camera.

I was impressed with the range and diversity represented by this broad coalition for peace. Some examples:

Giant Soft Pretzels for Peace.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for Peace.

Tango Dancers for Peace.

Garlic Fries for Peace.

Illiterate Anti-Semites for Peace.

Back Masseuses for Peace.

Stupid People for Peace.

Of course, there were a few malcontents who completely missed the point.

Next, I decided to seek out crisp, clear, logical articulations of the arguments against the war as revealed by the protest signage:

Many signs spoke eloquently of the reasons for peace.

While I found a few of the arguments to be a bit specious...

...other arguments were compelling.

But in the final analysis, it all boiled down to this simple comparison...

This Bush is for War, and ...

This bush is not.

Sonnet for a Shag Lake Visit

Glass is like Lake

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: Sonnet for a Shag Lake Visit
Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 15:39:00 -0800
From: mw
To: Family

Sonnet for a Shag Lake Visit
Iambic Pentameter in Shakespearean Sonnet Format
Illustrated with Digital Photographs
by mw

First Quatrain

While winter's water at Shag ran high.

And the Forties harvest was made complete,

The garden of Harlan and Mom and was nigh,

Emily her betrothed did meet.

Second Quatrain

Poppa declared the lake is like glass,

The Escanaba became a property line,

Mom assuredly captured the bass,

And the Neumann reunion was particularly fine.

Third Quatrain
Smoked turkey and chubs fed the clan
And a fish fry of bluegills, not undersized bass.
Electric hot water is in the plan
After talking and talking about liquefied natural gas.

Final Couplet

Departing we left Ladyslippers still shy.

While turtles basked under a sun filled sky.