Some typical Portland weekend

1. Play Friday night pool at some smoky bar on SE Hawthorne
2. Go running with Matty!!!

3. See a high school graduation in rural Oregon (Mt. Angel - home of Oregon's Oktoberfest)

4. Walk Hard on video at Mamma's
5. Shopped at Powell's and Fred's

A vacation back home

I've planned a fun outting for July! Hooray. I am making a homecoming to our nation's capital on July 17. I got a pretty damn cheap ticket, too, the result of playing a vicious waiting game the last two weeks with the discount online ticket sellers.

The bad news is that I have to use Delta, so heaven knows if I'll even GET there. And if I arrive, will I find myself at the arrival gate clad in a frumpy navy blue cardigan and bunchy walking shorts? It is the risk one takes for cheap airfare.

Initial plans are as follows:
1. Visit with my old roommate Amanda;
2. Visit the Wilson Center and see George Seay;
3. Go to Dumbarton Oaks on Friday July 18 from 3-6, take photos, and watercolor;
4. See Jean Paul; and
5. Do some fun runs around town...

In between now and mid July I'll be working hard, losing my vision staring at CAD files, and enjoying my downtown Portland commute.

DC real estate monster

Apparently the sub-prime mortgage crisis has not impacted the neighborhood I lived in when I called home 20009. My roommate Amanda, bless her heart, found this realtor web site for the apartment (now a condo) we used to share up until I moved in 2004.

The building was sold a couple months before I moved to Berkeley in 2004. Current tenants had an option to buy their units cheap and undergo a year plus of renovations. We bailed and went our separate ways. I think I could have bought the unit for around $150K. Today, the same unit is listed for $429K, and the improvements look surface level. Take the photo tour. My bedroom (one of the last photos) still looks uninhabitable and awkward.

Health note

Cholesterol is 170, with LDL under 100 and HDL over 45. Triglyceride levels are also in check. What is your lipid health?

I am fully convinced that this health status is the result of my Omega-3 overload that I've been enjoying for the last 3 years. There is magic in bottles!

Health status at this very moment is questionable. I spent the morning serving LAEP families mimosas and drinking a healthy amount of sparkling wine myself. I came home at 2 and slept until just a few moments ago. I have to find my second wind as I have a bar to show up to at 8:30. I should go outside and walk around a little bit. My blood feel like molasses.

Making up for lost time; cholesterol

I have been more or less off school for the last week. Our final review was last Thursday from 10am-3pm. The day was hot and steamy and so we suffered in agony in Wurster's ground floor lobby while being jabbed and made fun of by local Bay Area design personalities. It was a fitting end to a rather ridiculous 8 week project that focused on the UC Berkeley West Gate.

Since then I have been under forced bed rest. My only diversions have been exercise and shopping activities. I had to go back to studio last night to move all my crap back home. It took nearly 4 hours to clean up and vacate, and boy was it PAINFUL. My car was FULL of junk I keep at studio, including a toaster oven and several changes of clothes I found tucked away in the back of my desk.

Tonight I ate at a Louisiana-cuisine place on Shattuck. Now I have indigestion. I ordered the fried catfish. I guess my body isn't used to deep fried food and simply doesn't want to process it. My stomach has been churning away since I ate nearly 6 hours ago.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment where I will receive test results for my cholesterol levels. We will see if my lipid level health has been maintained by the Omega-3 regimen I've been on since early 2006 (5 huge capsules of fish and flax oil EVERY morning). Last year my LDL dropped by 20-30 points under this diet treatment. I am hoping that things will be along the same lines this year. I've been touting this diet secret for a few years, but I have sparse evidence to back up my claims.

When I post next I will likely be in Portland. I begin work in one week there am excited to be near my awesome family unit.

Landscape and Dragons

As of tonight, I have put one of my final projects into its rightful and deserved grave. Nonetheless (is that one word?), there are still 2 beasts to wage axe battles against before May 15.

I notice my choice of vocabulary is going a certain way...

In other news, I am a bit soured by the political developments. I hope that Oregon gives Hillary a victory. I would be satisfied if that happened, and then she can drop out. We will see. If either of them showed up to one of the rallies on a bicycle, they'd get Portand's vote in a heartbeat. I should do political consulting on the side.

Joseph Ivan Karash (Feb 22, 1912-May 2, 2008)

My grandfather, who I have not seen since 1991, has passed away in Wickliffe, OH.

Monkey biznass

I've officially turned into a monkey. A CAD monkey, to be more specific.

Working in CAD is pretty maddening. I've heard it before, but it will make you crazy. My latest battle has been with with scaling viewports and editing embedded xrefs. Yes, it is THAT exciting!

At least I am surrounded by people that can help me when I am in a pinch. A huge project, which I got an extension for last week, is due in the next couple days. Therefore, I have assumed my banana task and have gotten behind the monitor with willingness. However, tomorrow is Derby Day, so this monkey may have to go to Tim and Danielle's house to watch the pony race shortly past 2pm.

In other news, life at Wurster is getting difficult to stand. My students are getting flaky so prof and I instituted a student-led review session for all the readings in the course. They are probably cursing at us, but they are still getting off pretty easy. Three people are assigned to each article; in between themselves they are responsible for presenting a 1-2 minute synopsis of the article when we meet next Thursday.

My stepdad's mother is about to die. That's really sad. Poor Bruce. Anyway, there's a lot of issues going around. And presently, I add to the woe as I am still unemployed.

Current Grove Street status: people across my interior block are having a party and you men are yelling expletives. Our downstairs neighbors Christopher and Jeffrey are also moving to San Rafael. I overheard Jeffrey talking about it to the neighbors earlier today.

Visual camp out

As promised.....paintings are annotated so there are no labels.














Here Joe McBride is telling us about all the vegetation and geology around us.
























I thought this one was fitting to end the entry. Joe McBride is our hero.

The McBride Graduate Camp-Out

The Joe McBride sponsored camp-out begins tomorrow, er, today, in less than 7 hours. I just returned home from another arduous day and night at studio and there is still packing and preparation to do.

I heard today that I will not need my hairdryer as the places we are staying at "only have pit toilets." The last CA State Park I stayed at had flushing toilets, many outlets, and really nice showers in these cute log cabin houses. A peek at the web link reveals this place also provides free wireless signals these days. So much for getting away from the office...

I am looking forward to seeing Sea Ranch and Mendocino. Both are places I've wanted to visit since I arrived in Berkeley 4 years ago.

I will come back with about 36 watercolors of this journey (12 paintings per day x 3 days = 36). I will scan some of them later down the road and post them here. But probably not for a few weeks.

It could have been a sure win

I just saw this article in The Oregonian. It looks like the competition my stepdad was facing in the mayor's race was flimsy at best. He should have stayed in the race and used this candidate's gaffe to his advantage in the small town Beaverton Valley Times.

This guy Doyle looks like some villianous character from central casting....

There goes another $300

This week my new camera finally arrived in the mail. The thing is really nice, I love the upgrade from the S230.

Sadly, after discussing the screen problem that prompted my recent purchase with a classmate, I learned that the defect has been recognized by Canon and you can get a replacement camera or repair, REGARDLESS of warranty status.

Oh, dear.

I suppose I can bestow the replacement, once I get it, on a deserving soul. Or just have two cameras.

Hibernation

This blog has lately suffered from lack of entries, and outlook for future entries also looks dreary. Check back in a couple of weeks. Much is happening, deadlines are being (barely) met, and my public speaking practice increased by 65 minutes this week. I'll try to be more specific at a later date.

Until then, happy computing.

Free publicity

This postcard is being delivered to various parties in Sausalito. I was surprised that it features one of the images I produced for my boards.

Too bad I won't be able to practice my presentation until the day before. I am swamped to the gills.

Cancion de la noche

We've Been Had, The Walkmen

A favorite for 3 years now. I can still listen to it with fresh ears. But that goes for pretty much any Walkmen song, come to think about it.

There is MUCH work to be done this week. I am going to be lucky to take off for even a few hours for the next 8-16 days.

Cancion del dia

Thirsty and Miserable, The Dirty Projectors

Canon SD 800 IS

I've had to purchase a new camera! This is about my third or fourth big purchase this month, not including my tax bill.

My old Canon Digital Elph, the S230, that I received as a gift in 2003-2004, has decided to die on me. It's been giving me photos like these:



This one below has a purple hot spot. When the photos aren't fuzzy they end up purple and disfigured like this one.



I found one, here below, which is more typical than atypical.



I didn't even include the worst of them....usually the viewfinder is all fuzzy and wavy, and the pictures you take look like that. It is terrible.

Anyway, I figure the old one has gotten tons of intense use the last few years. I am buying another Canon, but this one has some expanded features. It has a 28mm-105mm focal length, so I can finally get some wide angle shots. You really need those extra 7mm when you are taking photos of landscapes as much as I do. It's still a very basic Canon point and shoot, but I don't need one that has anymore features than I already had. Plus, I have a tendency to lose things so I don't want to set myself up for disaster.

It doesn't make much damn sense but oh well

I got word from my studio professor that my Sausalito boardwalk proposal was one of four student proposals that the City Manager would like us to personally present at the next Waterfront Working Group meeting. I was surprised and amused considering the fact I was told my design was "not very interesting" by the a reviewer panel few weeks ago.

However, this doesn't mean the proposal suddenly got more interesting in the last two weeks. It is the plain truth that cities are attracted to practical and prudent things over the sky's the limit brand of proposals a lot of my classmates offered.

I won't let this one go to my head. The presentation is on April 22.

Noo toons

Keep Your Eyes Ahead, The Helio Sequence
Rise Above, The Dirty Projectors
Body Language Six Mixed, Junior Boys

Vine time

For Spring Break this year I traveled to the Central Coast of California. For the know-nots out there, it's the area roughly between Santa Barbara and Carmel-by-the-Sea. My sister accompanied, and we had a very good time. Much wine was consumed. The best day was driving around the hills of Templeton on the west side of 101, encountering turkeys and a number of fine pinots.


From Wild Horse Winery & Vineyards


Big Sur is a great drive, esp. in a convertible.


It was windy at Point Lobos.






I was thinking this scene would look better minus the powerlines and transmission towers, but maybe it's just me....

If someone can claim you as a dependent, do not check box 6a.

Despite the fact that I received a notice I will be receiving $600 later this summer, I still owe dollars to the IRS on my federal return. I've been dragging my feet over getting the paperwork done for weeks, but tonight the pressure climaxed and I took out my pen and worksheets and began the ugly process.

Turns out I owe less than the rebate thing we will get this summer, so that is good, but it's still painful to do this paperwork. I've done my taxes incorrectly the last few years, so this time I am paying careful attention to lines 18 and 26. I have a feeling something will be awry despite my conscientious outlook.

Oh, and one thing I've learned is that doing your taxes isn't so bad if you have both brownies and red wine as companions.

Spring break is around the corner and things look to be turning around...

Sausalito!

Scroll down for FULL effect:































































































Two of two. This one is nearly as long as me. I still am constructing the eighth scale model....

New York's finest!

Eliot Spitzer used prostitutes while he was Attorney General for the State of New York. As his state's highest legal advocate, he thought no one would ever find out he ordered prostitutes to visit him at the Mayflower Hotel, no less than 5 blocks from the White House, on Massachusetts Avenue, in the heart of our nation's capital. Presumably staying there on official business...Perhaps meeting senators for drinks in the hotel bar, then retiring to his room, where some lady for hire was there enjoying the prepaid wet bar.

Pathetic comes to mind. Lonely comes to mind. Willful arrogance comes to mind...

In brighter news, I managed to find my beloved handbag on ebay and it has already shipped. Sure, it has a few scratches, but it is practically the real deal. And I saved quite a few dollars through ebay as well.

Backordered

Nordstrom apparently doesn't have qualms about advertising items on their website that will be backordered for 5 weeks.

I got an email about my amazing handbag, informing me that the expected ship date would be April 15. That is more than a month away. By the time I get the damn handbag, the new lines will be out for late spring.

Lame-o.

I checked around on the web and the item is unavailable everywhere else, too. Apparently it is quite popular. There was one in stock at Macy's but they wanted $25 to ship it. Nord's has $5 shipping, which is why I initially ordered through them. Little did I know of the pending delays.

Spend thrift

I just ordered a very expensive handbag. I don't really deserve the damn thing, but I tend to splurge when I am a computer slave before a final studio review. I hope Nordstrom delivers so I can have it by the end of the week.

Field trip to McNear Brickyard in San Rafael, CA

On Tuesday afternoon, my Design in Detail class took a trip to see a brick factory. It was an amazing day and I learned a lot going to McNear Brick.


Our journey begins at the palettes.


This is where I'd play if I was a kid. It looks very fun and dangerous.


This controls how the bricks are cut as they move through the factory on a conveyor belt. I was tempted to push some of these and pull some levers.


This is a view of the kiln firing bricks down the line. The bricks that are visible have just finished being inside there for something like 12 hours. They were still warm and steamy. 1900 degrees in there.


Here is Mr. McNear telling us how some of the machinery works.

Saturday's tune stopper

Panda Bear, Good Girl/Carrots

Roommate landing

My absentee roommate finally showed up tonight. She signed a lease with us Jan. 15 and has not spent ONE single night at our apartment. I just got word from my other roommate she has, in fact, landed on Grove Street.

RAM installed

I personally installed 1 GB of RAM into my pathetic little laptop. Now I have more than double of the RAM that the system came with. Hopefully this will mean more streamlined computing.



This is an awesome pic of Hamilton Leithauser wailing into the microphone during their concert on Wed. night in San Francisco. I hadn't seen the Walkmen in concert before. If you are a fan of their music, you would have been very happy with the show, although they failed to play Revenge Wears No Wristwatch.

Lunar eclipse, missed it.

A lunar eclipse event transpired on Wed. evening as noted by more than a few newspapers, astronomy user groups, and people in my studio. Apparently the event was not visible in Berkeley as the Berkeley Hills were blocking the moon, which I assume was laying low in the horizon (conjecture). All I know is that someone in our class went up to Wurster Hall's 9th Floor, looked out every damn window, and could not find a crumb of evidence pointing to a lunar eclipse.

Apparently the next lunar eclipse will happen sometime in 2010. I guess I will have to wait. Hell, why not just skip that one, too, and hold off to see this thing until 2012? Either way....

Other events of the week: This afternoon, around 4:30 PM, I enjoyed a private nap in my office. I have keys to one of the shared lecturer offices on my floor. No one really uses the office save for me. I am thinking of equipping the room with a mat of sorts, pillow, and fuzzy blanket - supplies that will increase the quality of my napping. Right now I just nap in a seated position leaning over the desk (it's okay....the chair is height adjustable, so it is more comfortable than it sounds). I came back from my nap happy and well-adjusted, ready to face more hours on the computer. I saw my studio mate Sam sleeping on his studio desk, looking terribly haunched over and labored by the whole process. I feel bad for him, but I can't just be lending out keys to my office willy nilly.

During the weekend I visited the stately Stanford Theater with Jason to see "Spellbound" starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. I was most impressed with the venue.

That is all. It is late and I must retire.

What you said depresses me. about my future

This afternoon and evening my studio class endured a 4.5 hour midsemester pin up. Although we aren't really halfway through the semester, we are, in fact, through 25% of it. For this project in studio we happen to be at the halfway point. There's always some hurdle at the halfway point, in anything you do, pretty much. Today happened to be our hurdle du jour.

The project presentation is for a waterfront project in Sausalito, CA. The way a review works is our professor invites people from the "real world" to come listen to each of our respective design proposals related to needed improvements to the pedestrian and bicycle experience of the waterfront. Some students propose seemingly simple pathway and connection improvements (they are never very simple, though). Some students propose destination interventions (meaning, to build something that people will come to experience). Other students propose building an island out of a peninsula or promote use of artistic installations in the landscape. It all varies greatly, depending on the particulars of the site chosen and the particular student who is designing it.

After nearly 4.5 hours of back to back presentations (each person gets 5 min to present and you get about 7 min of feedback), the main critic, who is an architect in Sausalito, tells us the following:

"Wow, you know, after hearing all about these tremendous proposals, I feel like what I do in the office is just a bore. I mean, in the REAL world, there is a big fear of getting boo-ed out of the room if you propose anything that is even remotely bold. I applaud your work. You've given me a TON of ideas that I hope to relate to our little city in the future. We need to get out of the box, but it is really only with presentations like this, from students like yourselves, that those ideas are produced free from fear of political reprocussions (sp) and the like."

So in just a few sentences, Michael broke us some pretty sobering news. The real world is boring and is subject to very solid boundaries. The work there is to do is to design parking circulation and cheap bike paths. There is no island-building in the real world, either.

Aye. It makes me want to be a little more grateful for where I am. It makes me want to make bold moves while I can before I become harnessed in.

Happy V Day.

I can haz bad taste.

Where's my sticker?

Question:

How much would it take to include one of those cute little "I Voted" stickers in the mail-in ballots? I mean, you go to the trouble to vote early and then on election day people don't see that sticker and assume you forgot about your civic duty. They get the sticker for showing up at the very last minute!

It's the little things that count...

That said, I voted for Hillary, with a bit of worry, but I am happy with my (early) vote. Can't wait to see how it all pans out...

Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget cuts for the UC system have got our department in a shakedown. They need to trim 7% from all expenses and issue a report in a few weeks to the chancellor. It really stinks. I heard that the class I TA for is going to lose its lecturer funding. That means a senior faculty member has to volunteer to teach Introduction to Landscape Architecture. It isn't a class anyone would jump to teach, unfortunately, because it is an entry level course for undergraduates (undergrads from other departments, I might add). Not at all glamorous and a lot of required legwork. Someone told me Randy H. volunteered to teach it next spring. I hope that is good news for me as I really kind of depend on the funding the TA position brings.

I just got home and am waiting for my laundry to be done in the washer so I can change it over. Long day ahead tomorrow, but at least it will be low key.

Thursday ramblings

Heard: Looks Just Like the Sun, Broken Social Scene

Labor:
I worked on this ridiculous graphic all week for P'Boz. It is made out of three individual b&w hand drawings that I had to break apart and carefully stitch back together.

I voted, did you? Also, customer service.

With Super Toosday fast-approaching, I completed and mailed in my California Democratic Primary absentee ballot. More and more, people choose to vote in absentia. I think it is probably a good idea, especially for busy or the mobility impaired. However, there is something to be said for going to your local polling station, waiting in line, and filling in a ballot in-person. I am a little miffed that my absentee status means that I will not be able to vote in person come November. However, I think they allow folk like me to drop off their ballots in person. But it's not quite the same thing now, is it?

Today I also experienced two excellent on the phone (OTP) customer service sessions. Dell has a feature on their web site called Click to Call feature. I wondered if it was even worth trying.



Clicking on the button, I was prompted to select a call back time. Choices are immediately, 1 min, 2 min, 5 min. I chose 1 min and got a call promptly back in 60 seconds (but was put on hold for about 25 seconds when the line was answered....but that's not too bad!). What is cool about this feature is that the person who is calling you knows what product you have been looking at on line and they are prepared to answer questions about that product genre, to assist you with an otp purchase, etc. It's very clever. The guy on the phone was also from America, as far as I could tell and seemed to be a reasonably chipper fellow. (Dell's technical support, on the other hand, usually contracts you out to India. A couple weeks ago when calling about a busted keyboard, I talked to Adnan in New Delhi for over an hour.)

Total time on phone to make inquiry and purchase two products: 7 min

Later in the evening, I had to call AT&T to set up a start-service for our phone and DSL service. After I gave her my basic info (name, SSN, DL#, address) she told me that she would call me back in 10 min to save me from having to wait otp with her while she did a residency and credit check. She called back in exactly 10 minutes and was just as helpful as I could ever hope, remembering my name and exactly where we left off when we'd hung up. She even tried to find out if I could qualify for low income land line service when I told her I was a grad student. On top of that, I also found out her and I share the some astrological sign. She was born on the 17th of August. Myself, the 11th.

Total time otp: 20 min



Totoal

The Sausalito Waterfront tour

My spring studio is spending 7+ weeks investigating design interventions along the Sausalito waterfront. Most of Sausalito is tourist central, but there are large expanses of the waterfront that are nearly impossible to navigate as a pedestrian. It will be our challenge to reveal the potential of these many spots.

Just a few pictures....most of the ones I will actually use are too boring to post here. Here are the more interesting ones.


This is a public trail in Sausalito with a rather rigid looking fence that the property owner can close or open without notice.


This is Tuxedo, the mixed lab that accompanied us on the tour of Sausalito's waterfront today.


This is an interior shot of Spaulding Wooden Boatbuilding School. Here is the current project, the Freda, built in 1885. The hull is being reconstructed. Spaulding finishes about one boat each year.


This is the hood of a very interesting set of wheels.

The good and the not so good

Today's pick: Chris Walla's new tunes
Today's punk: Another dude on Capitol Hill. Go figure....

Fred Thompson's company

Today, in step with Fred Thompson's announcement, my stepfather dropped out of the City of Beaverton mayoral race. See the full story in today's Oregonian.

Bruce cited problems relating to his health as being the main reason for stepping out. I believe he would have made a good mayor. That aside, I am actually relieved I didn't have to hear about the race antics, hob-knobbing, administrative drudgery, fundraising events, uninvited photo-opts, and all the related angst entailed in a typical municipal election.

I have a sense that the prospect of avoiding any one of those things would improve one's health...

I like it when my truck's balls get noticed....

There is a line of vehicle accessories available for purchase that allow you to give your truck or motorbike a pair of big silicone balls. Who ever came up with this shit amazes me....I'd love to meet her/him. In any case, the state of VA is considering banning those balls as they constitute a real distraction to drivers.

The add-on accessory of a pair of lipstick prints on the ball-sack of choice resolves the question of why the Muslims hate us.

But before the Muslims blow us away, they should consider these fine set of special-edition balls as an indicator of American virtue....link to video.

Best new thing to eat

This yogurt is the most delicious. It isn't diet food, but it's not full fat either. Too bad only one store I know carries it...

Wire-tapped

TV status: Tonight marks my completion of Season 1 of The Wire. At least for this viewer. Could I get through Season 2 before next week?? It's possible, but I should probably save it for the hard times I'll see over the next few months.

Neck and headache discomfort status: worse than ever....will seek professional advice..

Work status: progress comes slow....meaning I can't take off after sunset anymore

Computer status: new keyboard, hibernation button, and right speaker. This thing is actually looking real good!

New roommate status: Arrival TBA, but this weekend is the best guess. She is quiet, and doesn't seem to answer emails. Ever. It's weird.

Happily wired

...starting episode 10 of season 1 of The Wire. I am content with this broadcast addiction.

Mavericks, couch chicks

This Saturday was the amazing annual event for the surfing world, Mavericks. I've never actually attended the event, but I usually spend a good day or two marveling over the photos that result from the competition. Here are a couple I swiped of the Chronicle.



Friday, January 11 (1/11/08) was an event for Mr. ??? at 111 Minna Gallery. It was a free event, which was nice, but it also got rather crowded. Some of the pieces I thought had more entertainment value than others....but it is all very subjective.