Sparkletack

With each new podcast, Sparkletack is getting closer to being a complete audio history of San Francisco. The podcast is well written and an easy listen.

Sparkletack mostly focuses on that part of the city north of Market St and east of Van Ness Avenue. This is the high density heart of the city that includes China Town, the Financial District, The Tenderloin, Union Square, Cable Cars, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Civic Center, Polk Gulch, North Beach.












If you live here for any length of time, you become curious about the origins of the place names. Throughout the cities history, streets, buildings and locations have been named after politicians, newspaper publishers, Generals, Spanish and American pioneers, and more recently, writers and poets. If you do something to contribute to the good name of the city then eventually you'll get a street or alley named for you.
Sparkletack gives life to the names.

Subscribe to Sparkletack through iTunes

The Misfortune of Others makes me Happy

Give us anonymity, and a format we're comfortable expressing ourselves in.
We'll tell you the real truth about ourselves.






















To get in the mood, listen to The Smiths.
PostSecret is taking confessions.

Tips for using the Treo 650

If you own a Treo 650 (or any Palm OS device) go to Engadget, where readers have been invited to leave comments on their favourite tips and tricks . The list of tips is at 64 and growing.

Simple is Good

In the 'old' country (NZ) my grandparents used Hotwater Bottles that were flat pottery bottles with a stopper. (As a child I thought they were stones used for Curling!)







I rediscovered the modern Hotwater Bottle a few years ago.
Just like the mouse trap, the design hasn't changed for decades, and it can't be improved on.

The instructions say not to use boiling water, but it works best if you do. Put in as much water as you want, then squeeze the air out before tightening the stopper. One side of the 'bottle' is thicker and cooler than the other. Use that side first and then flip it over after an hour or so. Put one in the bed an hour before you get in. Place one on your feet under your desk.
When you're finished with it, hang it upside down on a hook to dry.
Simple is good.

Art and Automobiles

Because of my interest in cars, I get to see a lot of automobile inspired art. I keep seeing it, but it fails to inspire me.

The best paintings of cars are the ones that almost appear to be photographs, as seen at SFMOMA back in June.













Part of the problem is that the car itself can be art, which makes any artistic interpretation of the car, an imitation of art.

Calatrava's Sun Dial Bridge in Redding

Rocky Arroyo just sent me this photo. At first glance I just saw cables and orange which means GG Bridge to me. Then I wondered where the deco detail was, and why the cables where at that angle.

'Orange light tends to travel in the "Golden Hours" which is early in the morning and later in the afternoon' Rocky explains.

He wasn't writing about us...was he?

William Burroughs was a great observer of our American Life. He has a droll and disinterested delivery. Listen to him read "Dr Benway Operates" from "Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales".

Now imagine him reading "Thanksgiving Prayer":






















Thanks boingboing and Realitystudio.

Screen Spanning iMac

Josh has two displays connected to his PC, and they behave like one very large wide screen. When you mouse off the side of one monitor you reappear on the other monitor. This is so cool! I'd much rather add a second monitor for $$ than blow $$$$ to have one very large screen.

Go here for a list of Macs that can Screen Span, and here for the MacWorld article and link to the download.

Thanksgiving

A debt of gratitude to Amy and Josh Tretakoff for hosting a perfect Thanksgiving dinner! And thank you Pauline for carving the turkey.

I had such a good time. You could tell, because I couldn't stop flapping my lips!

WC

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For the code, go to