Moss Beach

26 September 2009

This afternoon, Ingrid and I drove out to Moss Beach and hiked about 6.5 miles, mostly along a ridge with steep bluffs overlooking the Pacific. Moss Beach is about 20 miles south of San Francisco. The drive out and especially back was slow because of heavy traffic getting onto the Bay Bridge. The hiking was pleasant and scenic.



One of the fun features of this hike was learning about the Moss Beach Distillery, shown at right in the photo above. This establishment, built in 1927, was originally called "Frank's Place," and it was an infamous speakeasy during prohibition. It is designated as a California Historical Landmark. According to a sign on its wall, "Frank's became a popular night spot for silent film stars and politicians from the City. Mystery writer Dashiell Hammett frequented the place and used it as a setting for one of his detective stories. ... Under cover of darkness and fog, illegal whiskey was landed on the beach, dragged up a steep cliff and loaded into waiting vehicles for transport to San Francisco."



We also got a close look at the Pillar Point Air Force Station, shown at the end of the peninsula in the photo above. The station is equipped with sophisticated radar equipment that "can be used for tracking objects off the coast of central California."



On the east side of the Pillar Point peninsula is a well protected harbor. A fog horn was operating continuously inside the harbor even though the sky was completely cloudless. Ingrid said that the fog horn sound would drive her nuts if she had to listen to it all the time. The decrepit pier shown above extended southward from the north shore of the harbor.

My favorite scene during this walk was a magnificent allée of cypress trees that extends several hundred meters near the north end of the ridge, not far south of the town of Moss Beach. According to our guide book, these trees "were planted as windbreaks by coastal farmers and ranchers during World War I." This allée is depicted in the opening and closing photos of the post.

Two other features of this site are noteworthy. The more famous is the Mavericks surf: "After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet (8m) and top out at over 50 feet (15m)." There are also reported to be nice tide pools in the area. The tide was high and our time limited, so we'll have to check these out on another day.

Surf City USA

22 September 2009

I grew up in Southern California, east of Los Angeles. Although I now live in Oakland, about 350 miles to the north, Ingrid and I both have large extended families in the LA area, now mostly living in Orange County.

The Southern California beach scene was very much a part of my youth. Although I never surfed, I did spend a lot of time hanging out on the wide sandy beaches, playing beach volleyball and body surfing. We visit relatives in Orange County several times a year, and I find the beach is still a great attractor.

After the UCLA game on Saturday, we spent the night at Ingrid's parents' house in Huntington Beach. On Sunday morning, we took a walk down to the beach. Mostly only surfers were out. In the water in the background of this photo, you can see numerous small black shapes; those are other surfers. The Huntington Beach pier is seen at a distance, with the restaurant Ruby's at the end.

Huntington Beach is famous mainly for two things. Historically, its first fame was based on petroleum. Here is a bit quoted from Wikipedia on this point:
"The Huntington Beach Oil Field is part of rich pools of oil found along the West Coast of the United States in the early 1920s stretching from Huntington Beach, California to Santa Barbara, California. The conflict of coastal oil drilling with beachfront recreation and tourism has been a central theme in Southern California politics. The discovery of oil was followed by a real estate boom in the surrounding communities."



The second great fame of Huntington Beach is as a mecca for surfing and surfing culture. Indeed, there has been an effort -- not yet successful -- to formally rename the community "Surf City." Here is a quote from the website "www.surfcityusa.com" that speaks to this aspect of their self image in terms that an advertising executive would admire:

"Discover the Orange County city that defines Southern California. A place where the quintessential mild and mellow California beach culture that made the state famous still perseveres; where pretentiousness takes a back seat to casual and cool; where the true trendsetters of West Coast fashion, food and lifestyle reside."

Like all good advertising, these statements encompass some kernels of truth, substantially exaggerated.

UCLA 23 Kansas State 9

20 September 2009

Yesterday (Saturday), UCLA's spirit squad welcomed family and friends to spend a day at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. After a one-year gap, Daniela is back on the squad, on the team that newly combines the mascots -- Joe and Josie Bruin -- with the yell leaders. The other spirit squad teams are "dance" and "cheer." (The cheer team is very much about gymnastic moves and tricks.)



I drove down from Oakland, about 375 miles, with Ingrid and Alexis Saturday morning. We arrived in the early afternoon, just in time to visit with the squad on the otherwise empty field in the Rose Bowl. They put on a small performance for the group. Check out the synchronized moves of the cheerleaders in the photo above!



The evening game started at 7:15, so we hung out around the tailgate parties through the middle and late afternoon. We saw the team arrive and watched the spirit squad perform with the alumni band out in the tailgate area.



Our game seats were close to the field (row 17 at about the 10 yard line), immediately behind the band. I had many opportunities to snap shots of the tuba players from the back!

The game was entertaining. There were a few tense moments, but for the most part UCLA remained in control throughout. Their defense was excellent and their offense was solid. Their biggest problems were caused by several costly penalties for unusual infractions like crackback blocks and helmet-to-helmet contact.

Daniela had several opportunities to shine and she made the most of them. Early in the game, she led a "Bruin" spellout from the central stage during which she was featured on the giant scoreboard. Pretty heady stuff to have 50,000 people shouting in response to your lead! She worked as Josie Bruin for the halftime performance, which included a cheerleader-like lift. After the game had ended, still as Josie, she got to put on some dance moves, as you can see below! You go girl!

Syracuse, New York

15 September 2009

I've been in Syracuse since this past Saturday, attending the "Healthy Buildings 2009" conference.



It's been a busy time. So far, two papers delivered, two sessions co-chaired, a workshop co-led, and many plenary lectures and technical sessions attended. Much of the important networking, brainstorming, and planning occurs in the middle of socializing, over lunch, at coffee breaks, or at dinners. I took a big pause for a few hours this afternoon to take most of these photos.



Syracuse is small, with a population of about 150,000 in the city itself and about 700,000 in the metropolitan area. However, it is one of the bigger cities in central New York. It has a deep industrial history, beginning with salt production early in the 19th century. The Erie Canal ran through the city starting in 1830. It was an important depot on the Underground Railroad that transported escaped slaves from the south in the mid-19th century.

The conference is here because of a relatively young and ambitious indoor environment research program at Syracuse University (SU). I had come to Syracuse for several brief visits in the past to serve on an advisory committee for that research program, so I already knew about what to expect here.

Among the interesting features of Syracuse are photogenic buildings, mostly from an earlier era, sprinkled around the city. The photos at the top and at the bottom of the post show scenes from the SU campus. The second photo depicts a 12 x 60 foot mosaic of the trial and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti (early 20th century event; the mosaic was done in 1967), which also is on the SU campus. (I haven't found a connection between Sacco and Vanzetti and Syracuse that would explain why the mural is here.)

The third photo shows Clinton Square, where the Erie Canal once was. The two smaller photos are of other buildings that I found visually interesting in the downtown area.

Trek Earth

See more photos by BilboCA on TrekEarth

5 September 2009

Alexis told me about Trek Earth this past spring. It's a site whose motto is "Learning about the world through photography." Check it out at http://www.trekearth.com.

I joined in April but didn't become active until late June.

The site allows you to post one photo per day and encourages each member to write critiques of other members' photos. The critiques are accompanied by "smileys," and a big green smiley awards 2 points to the photographer. Since joining, I've posted more than 60 photos and written close to 400 critiques.

My main goal was to improve my ability as a photographer. Learning more about the world was a second goal. An outcome I didn't expect, but appreciate, is developing a community of e-friends. So, I've had extensive exchanges with Way, who was born in Laos, Donato, a Sicilian, and Pablo, from Norway.

In just a few months of involvement, I've learned a lot. Here are a few key lessons, obvious in retrospect, but still usefully taught and reinforced to me at Trek Earth:
(1) Always sharpen digital images in post processing.
(2) Watch out for tilted horizons.
(3) Resist the temptation to put the subject at the center of the frame. (Or, if you violate this guideline, do it deliberately.)

I've also learned that writing critiques is an important part of being involved in the TE community. Writing thoughtful critiques is harder work than posting photos. But a lot of learning takes place through studying carefully the photos that others have shot.

The expectations for photo quality are high on TE and these expectations have pushed me to try to become a better photographer, both with the camera and in post-processing.