Jawa likes to eat yogurt

Click on the image to view the movie. You'll need QuickTime.


The previous post of me was taken with a Unibrain webcam, and the quality is quite good. I took this movie of Jawa a few moments ago with the Treo. I'll mostly be using the Treo from now on because the phone is always with me. The images are not as sharp, but they're very small files so they'll load quickly even with a dial-up connection.

Video Test II

The test video postings last week were very awkward. But now I'm using ourmedia.org to host the video, so it should load cleanly as a QuickTime movie. I'm also using the Firefox browser because it provides for a complete edit toolbar at the Blogger web site.

Click on the image of the QT player to start the video.

Rietveld's Red and Blue Chair

I'm seriously thinking of making one of these. The seat, back and arms are simple enough, and the rest of it is made from stock timber. Rietveld designed it to be easy and cheap to mass produce for the working classes.

Police Practice

Police Practice
Originally uploaded by treough.

If you think you might have to shoot someone one day, it's a good idea to practice first. This cop was on the Presidio.

Click here to view the satellite map. It will open in a new window.

SF Velo Swap

SF Velo Swap
Originally uploaded by treough.

This was one of the hundreds of bikes for sale. The seller described it as a Dutch bike. I think it's the kind of bike that will create the next bicycle craze. Racks, mud guards, kick stand, comfortable saddle. A practical all weather bike.

I want mine to have 20 inch wheels and fold to carry on MUNI and BART.

The Bomb Squad

The Bomb Squad
Originally uploaded by treough.

The police have blocked off Hugo St and are investigating a suspicious parcel at 5th Avenue. And that would be where Lani's garage is, so we're going out to 'Mandalay' for dinner. Hopefully this mess will be cleared up by the time we get back and need to park.

Sears Point Raceway

I've been going out to Sears Pt. for years. Sometimes to drive the track, mostly to watch. The first time I drove on the track was with NASA (National Auto Sport Association) 12 years ago in a Mazda 323. The car was setup to oversteer for autocrossing so it was fun and I had a great instructor. The next time I drove a 1985 CRX si in a SCCA driving school. This car was also setup for autocrossing in CSP and it was fast. Fast enough that I had the quickest lap times that weekend against all other drivers including some who had Formula Fords!

I firmly believe that old cars are faster than new cars. I don't think I'd toss my Mini Cooper S through turn 10 at 100mph.

Fiat 500

Fiat 500
Originally uploaded by treough.

My Fiat 'Bambino' was blue with front hinged doors and integrated headlights. Otherwise this one is the same. I'd roll back the canvas sunroof and feel like I owned the road! With 2 cylinders and 500cc, it would cruise at 45mph, and it was easy to push!

This is a Test of Video and Music

I did say I'd try to post videos. And try I did. Click on the images and curse me softly. They only kinda sorta work. Then if you have any energy left, click on the audio link.

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Click here to listen to The Bees

The new de Young Museum of Fine Arts

So, Monday I visited SF MOMA and left feeling a little disappointed. Now today I visited the de Young and I was delighted with what I saw. There's something here for every taste. Portraits, photography, furniture, sculpture, primitive art. All displayed in a way that stimulates the senses. This building is a pleasure to walk through. It invites you to enter each gallery and rewards you with changing light and themes. Yes, I'm raving about it...

Charles Courtney Curran (1861-1942)
Afternoon in the Cluny Garden,Paris,1889

Rainy day product review- World's best wallet

Ignore that it's made from recycled inner tubes- this is the best wallet I've owned. Why? The rubber looks and feels a lot like leather. It grips the inside of my back pocket and stays put. I've had mine 8+ years and it still looks newish. And your friends won't notice it's recycled rubber, so they won't label you.
You can buy it from Used Rubber USA

Wish I'd thought of that....

Every time I plug in a transformer 'brick' I cover over the other outlet. What to do?
These folks have part of the solution here
Now, how about a power-strip with the same functionality? Pleeease

The Dream Store

The Dream Store
Originally uploaded by treough.

Every trip downtown seems to include a visit here. The Nano is soooo cool and small, with a bright little colour screen. The new iPod was nice too. I noticed the 60 gig version is quite a bit thicker than the 30 gig. That makes it hard to choose. OK, buy me the 60 gig iPod!

The facade of SF MOMA

The facade of SF MOMA
Originally uploaded by treough.

Considered one of SF's best modern buildings when it opened, I find it derivative of earlier buildings by the same architect. I still like it.

SF MOMA

SF MOMA
Originally uploaded by treough.

Today I took the Street Car downtown to visit SF MOMA. This is another of SF's new museums (built 1995). The works from the permanent collection were disappointing, and most of the other exhibits haven't changed since my last visit.



I did find this interesting though. It's a couch made from old telephone books.

Golden Gate Bridge

For a life view of the bridge (updated every 4 seconds) from the Toll Plaza looking north click here

I've lived here for 19 years, but I still love cycling across this bridge. Pedestrians aren't intimidated by the car traffic because the sidewalk is about 2 feet above the roadway. You look down on the cars. (Are you bridge builders listening?)

There are great views of The City on a clear (rare) day. But bring a warm jacket because even on a sunny day cold winds are blowing in from the Pacific.

Video Links

I've added a couple test video links below. Google quite generously hosts video files and I'll be making use of this to occasionally add short movies. We all have QuickTime Player don't we?

Test Video1

Test Video2

Qvale

Qvale
Originally uploaded by treough.

Here's a car with ties to SF and GB. Built by the man who owned SF British Motors and once imported MG and other British makes. This car has a modern OHC Ford V8, and the design was licenced to MG Rover for there 'big' 2 seater.



SF has tons of exotic and interesting cars.

The new de Young Museum

The new de Young Museum
Originally uploaded by treough.

The de Young reopened last week to long lines of visitors. It's in Golden Gate park, a 5 minute walk from my house. The new building is clad in perforated copper and makes a real statement (cf San Francisco's MOMA which opened a few years ago downtown). Notice how the tower twists. I'll be touring the inside soon. Stay tuned.

Triumph Stag

Triumph Stag
Originally uploaded by treough.

Well, I had hoped to do some mobile blogging from SF today, but we're foggged in. So I've cycled north across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito where it's warm and sunny. They must have had a very high tide earlier today because I spotted flooding along Gate Five Road.

But this cool old Triumph was safe from the water. Like most Stags I've seen in California, this one has an engine transplant. A 302 V8. The original Stag V8s suffered from oil starvation.

Triumphs are becoming rare in California. Especially my favorite, the Triumph 2000 4dr saloon.

Treo Wins!

Treo Wins!
Originally uploaded by treough.

OK, so this is probably more interesting to me than anyone, but this post is 100% pure Treo. Photo, text, and upload all done on the Treo. I almost wet myself!

The Brains behind Treough Blog

This is my Palm Treo 650. Sure, it's not the prettiest PDA around (cf Apple design), but IT GETS THINGS DONE!
I'll be using it to maintain this blog, though I'll sometimes also use my G4 iMac when I run into problems. My problem now is uploading images, but I hope to have that solved by tomorrow so I can post photos of my bicycle travels around San Francisco.

Oh, BTW, if you're a Prisoner/Patrick McGoohan fan, check out my eBay auction.

Mystery Solved!

Click here for a good map to the location.
That's it on the Miwok Trail at 1029'

What's this obelisk in Marin?

Click here for the satellite image.

OK, so today I cycled into the Marin Headlands to find out what this is:

It's been bugging my friend Josh for some time. You see, he can see this thing from his home in Mill Valley. It's a great white obelisk on a 1000' hill top. It stands inside a circle of 'mailboxes' and makes a humming noise. I took lots of photos of it, and I now know what it is. So just to be cruel, I emailed him this photo of the thing without explanation. Now it seems even more mysterious to him.
Tomorrow I'll post the explanation.

My cats

Che has been with me for ten years, and Jawa for five years. Che came from the SFSPCA. He is very special to us. Che likes to lick my partners face for about 10 minutes and then 'face sleep' with her. Sometimes he will 'punch' my hand. I try to pull my hand away, and he quickly wacks it. It makes me laugh so hard. He has me trained to brush him and feed him. That's him on the right.
Jawa is a robust little boy. I can rough-house with him. He's fit and strong and likes to spend hours each day outside. Sometimes he comes inside dirty. Last week I gave him a bath! He was good about it. Jawa is our little boy.

Blog from a Treo 650

If you can Blog from a Treo, you can Blog from almost anywhere. Joy! Now we can shoot from the lip...

Try out

Test of the Blogspot