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!

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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.