In 2023 I finally got it together and started really using the San Francisco Public Library, putting books I wanted to read on hold, reading parts of books and checking out books that I was simply curious about. The library is an amazing resource. Below is a list of books that I finished. I do this exercise to simply reflect on the previous year.
Books I Read 2023
The Shipping News
Annie Proulx
Charles Scribner’s Sons
Without a doubt you can find this book in any Goodwill or Salvation Army. A very interesting read.
Beloved
Toni Morrison
Vintage; Reprint edition
In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist
Pete Jordan
Harper Perennial;
A Black Woman’s West: The Life of Rose B. Gordon
Michael K. Johnson
Montana Historical Society
This is an interesting book I picked up in a restaurant in Glacier, Montana. It chronicles the life of a black woman and family. What is interesting is that the Gordon family became an integral part of the town that they lived in and according to this account the racism was pretty muted.
Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle
Jody Rosen
Crown
Candide
Voltaire
Penguin Classics
Whenever I get a bit too optimistic about things, I like to read this classic to bring me down to earth.
Micromegas and Other Short Fictions
Voltaire
Penguin Classics
Very cool book that actually has a short story about traveling by space ship and visiting other planets and alien beings. Sort of amazing that this is not talked about more and on reading lists. This was written in the 18th century!
Two Wheels North
Evelyn McDaniel Bibb
Oregon State Press
American Studies
Louis Menand
New York : Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2002.
Mexico City – Cradle of Empires
Caistor, Nick,
Reaktion Books
A Most Remarkable Creature the Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey
Meiburg, Jonathan,
Alfred A. Knopf
My Bike & Other Friends
Henry Miller
Capra Press, 1978.
Gulliver’s Travels
Swift, Jonathan
Doubleday, Doran & co., inc.,
Tropic of Cancer
Henry Miller
MEDVSA
One of the great banned books of the 20th century and I found a signed copy! Miller has the ability to make the ugly beautiful. It is understandable why they banned this book. It should only be for adults in the first place, but then again the youth would surely not even understand most of it.
Zionism – A Brief History
Brenner, Michael
Princeton
A very good book for our times. A “just the facts” look at the creation of Israel. Theodor Herzl, one of the early Zionists obviously began something that we are feeling the ramifications of today.
If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?
Kurt Vonnegut
Seven Stories Press
The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months. You are now reading “Slow News That Doesn’t Break” – the exotic internet.
Sporting News
After two very close playoff games, the San Francisco 49ers are headed to the Super Bowl to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. A miraculous catch by Brandon Aiyuk on a very deep pass that actually bounced off the defender’s facemask may be the reason they are in the big game. Of course, the entire Bay Area is excited and it will be a wild weekend. Go Niners!
Weather
The new word of the year is “atmospheric river.” San Francisco has been pummeled by this weather phenomenon which is basically a river in the sky that dumps large quantities of rain in short periods of time. Nevertheless the weather has been wet lately mixed with glorious days of sunshine. Often the sunsets have been beautiful. Out at Ocean Beach the parking lot continues to be eaten by the ocean. It is amazing how the contour of the beach changes.
Politics
Nothing to report as all the entrenched powers that be remain in hold of city government. No one seems to be irate that drug overdoes in the Tenderloin and homelessness are still major problems. Chesa Boudin was recalled a year ago and Brooke Jenkins was installed at D.A.. For the most part, things have remained the same on the street, but for most people San Francisco looks like most west coast large cities. People just living their lives in the tidy neighborhoods. We have a tough on crime D.A. but people often drive their cars like there are no laws. Stop signs evidently are simply a suggestion.
The Depths of his Dishonesty is just astounding… He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life. – John Kelly on former President Donald Trump as reported in The Atlantic
The Depths of his Dishonesty is just astounding… He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life. – John Kelly on former President Donald Trump as reported in The Atlantic
Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors
A street cleaning ticket in San Francisco is now $90. Always best to keep track of your wheels in this town.
Valencia Bike Lanes and the Sunny Side of the Street
The center bike lane has many people up in arms. Merchants say people are not coming into their stores. The center lane is pretty awkward. I have no opinion on the matter but think that the center lane is ugly from an aesthetic perspective. What is more problematic is the fact that the parking is all done with the new digital pay stations and there are no coin meters. This is very confusing as the parking rules are not stated on the street. After some research I have learned that it is basically the concept that between 9am – 6pm you must pay for parking. To me this is discrimination to those not tied into using their phones for everything. Very confusing.
Here are the Valencia Street Parking Rules for you edification
Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine
Not much to report. The parklet situation has stabilized but the red-tape for merchants is often too much and they remove their parklets. This is a topic that a city major Breed could have a lot of impact and instead it ends up highlighting the incompetence of city government.
In February 2024 rarely do bands play outside – more often the music is inside. Remember to tip the band
That is The Quarterly Report – February 2024
Photo Gallery of SF
The Quarterly Report – February 2024
End of an atmospheric river in San Francisco
Auto dealship sign uncovered on Valencia Street
Blondies Bar. Great spot with live music
Ocean Beach where the ocean is winning
Ocean Beach where the ocean is winning
Ocean Beach where the ocean is winning
McLaren Park
McLaren Park
“The Cloud” along 101. It looks so romantic!
Castle Peak – Pleanty of snow now in the mountains
At the very south end of San Francisco, at the eastern edge by the bay, along Highway 101 is Candlestick Point. At one time it was home to Candlestick Park, the massive concrete stadium where the San Francisco Giants played baseball and the San Francisco 49ers played football. It has surely been home to many events – monster truck shows, rock concerts, soccer matches. It was a large stadium made of concrete and a place best used to watch the 49ers play their gladiator sport. No soft chairs and few cozy luxury boxes. It was made like a parking garage and had that same lack of warmth. You could get a seat high in the upper deck and watch the little ants down below. If you missed the amazing play, there was no instant replay – too bad. You spilled your beer and missed the interception all at once. The accommodations and locker rooms for the players were surely not as they are today. Candlestick was a fitting place to see grown men push and shove each other around for an afternoon.
In the 1960s Willie Mays caught fly balls out in center field. By the 1990s you could get into the bleacher seats in left field for a few bucks, squint your eyes and see Will Clark nervously try to send a runner in from second. Of course, Candlestick is famously known for the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s when the Lomo Prieta earthquake hit and everyone thought for a second the world might end.
In the late fall the weather would often be that Indian summer time of year when the the temperature was at a human ideal, the wind light out of the east and the light would have that warm autumn glow. It was football weather. The 49ers played many classic games at Candlestick. Joe Montana connecting with Jerry Rice. John Taylor running back kickoffs. Steve Young running wild until the doctor said that it may be better just to throw the ball to keep all the marbles upstairs intact. Then there were games in the winter storms when the field would be wet. The storm coming in from Alaska and a high tide would make the field like a pig slop.
When you landed at San Francisco International Airport and caught a cab into town, you would often drive up 101 past Candlestick and see the stadium there poetically on the point. True to its moniker, at night it would often be lit up. It seemed a bit timeless, like the Parthenon, and you innocently thought that it would somehow always be there watching over the bay. For a time the name would be bought out. The speaker cable company, Monster Cable, purchased the naming rights and called it Monster Park, not realizing that people assumed it was for the job website. Other large companies, usually in the telecommunications industries, would then take over the naming rights. No one remembers their names now. People in San Francisco would always just call it Candlestick.
Which brings me to Candlestick Park. The stadium was torn down many years ago. One day it was there and the next it is gone. Phfff! All that concrete surely broken up and hauled away to be recycled one truckload at a time. Now when you get off the plane and drive north along the bay, you have to explain to your friend that once a large stadium loomed there. Remember that hill that you would see from the blimp. That’s the same lonely hill. Where the stadium was is now fenced in. It is mostly grassy fields and when it rains ducks and redwing black birds hangout in the ponds that once was around the fifty yard line. It is quiet save for the never ending hum of Interstate 101 a half mile away.
The 49ers left Candlestick years ago and now play down in Santa Clara. The South Bay and all the tech money bought them out. On Saturday, January 20, 2024 they will play the Green Bay Packers in a classic playoff match up. Two young quarterbacks will duel it out and try as best they can to not make mistakes. They will push and shove, run, pass, block and kick. People will go into the blue medical tent to see if their marbles are still round. There is rain in the forecast so the field may be a bit wet. No one will care how high the tide will be at game time. All that matters now is which team scores the most points and maybe who gets the ball last.
Candlestick Point – Candlestick Park once was here
Candlestick Point – Candlestick Park once was here
San Francisco Bay
Candlestick Point – Candlestick Park once was here
Candlestick Point – Candlestick Park once was here
It was probably just a matter of time. I started paying for a subscription to the NYT after a friend suggested I start playing Wordle, the clever five letter word game. It was sort of like giving a taste just to draw me into your house of mirrors. I have enjoyed the game and have had a streak of fifty-four continuous wins at one point.
With the paid subscription I began reading the news primarily and some of the essays by the opinion writers. The guest essays are often quite fun. Big names like Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates and various U.S. Senators have often been interesting reads. I suddenly felt like I was in the “know,” given a view into the rich and powerful. I tend to open the comments section for articles about Trump. Your readers then go on and on in a sort of cathartic release of how insane our times are and “how in hell that guy is not in jail yet” monologues. I have joined in on the ruckus at times but little lately. It really is a waste of time in the end.
And then in November you began publishing your Presidential race polls, which made it so we should rename out country “The United States of Anxiety,” as somehow the guy who was impeached twice and is in all kinds of legal problems is running neck and neck with the other guy. How is this even possible? One thing is for sure. I do not want to spend 2024 watching this horse race that you started.
In a recent episode of “On The Media” – “Is The New York Times A Tech Company?” does a good look at how the The New York Times refactored itself as not a newspaper or even a news publisher, but as a tech company. Publishing is dead. It is about a “platform.” No longer do you make money with good content and intelligent editors and stagnant ads but the with surveillance of your readers. Cull the ads for a demographic. Tease them with sticky content that will make them stay on the site.
I began to notice the formula. News more often than not started to become not events but merely conjecture and what people said. “Trump has decided to not show up in court tomorrow.” “McConnel says he if feeling just fine.” “George Santos says he may parley his fame and become a gameshow host.” And even Ross Douthat goes so far as staging a hypothetical situation where Hillary Clinton (not Donald Trump) stages a coup.
The sticky content just kept coming. The rich and famous, the shysters and scandal were given prime real-estate on your paper. People would often should be in jail were treated as celebrities. Every time Trump would say something outrageous you would put his photo in a suit and a slick red or blue tie on the front page. Make him and our neurotic political environment seem “normal.” Someone who sent an angry mob on the capital is presented as a slick guy in fancy suits. You give the guy free real-estate on a hourly basis. Enough!
So I’m done. Please cancel my subscription to your echo chamber. I will not follow your polls or read your op-eds by your mostly corporate conservative, neo-liberal columnists. I will not read the witty comments from your dedicated readers. I will no longer have to wade through the 10 Ways to Lose 20 Pounds articles. I am done with your high-brow tabloid corporate journalism.
I decided to free up that time I was sucked in to your world for better things. I will get my national news from the many available sources out there. I am giving money to my local paper, Mission Local and 48 Hills. I subscribe to Matt Stollers BIG. But worry not. I will still play Wordle. That was sold to you with the stipulation that it would always be free.
Below are some of the easy to find examples of the new high-brow tabloid journalism at the New York Times.
In the April 2023 issue of The Atlantic is an article by George Packer that was very insightful that oddly did not seem to stir up any debate. The article brings up something that is under the radar in our current society, but on everyone’s minds. The Moral Case Against Equity Language outlines how language today is being regulated by new equity guideline teams. In marketing lingo these guidelines often are a part of what are called style guides. Words have power and the object is to make language more “equitable.” The article explains how these new equity guidelines are used by The Sierra Club, non-profits, corporations, academia and other large organizations to craft their writing. It explains the complicated way that language and words enforce power structures and define identity. How important it is for everyone to “get it right.” It looks at current efforts to equalize and defang language of some of it historical biases and prejudices. Words matter indeed. One cannot help but think of Orwell’s thought police. The article starts out with:
“The sierra club’s Equity Language Guide discourages using the words stand, Americans, blind, and crazy. The first two fail at inclusion, because not everyone can stand and not everyone living in this country is a citizen. The third and fourth, even as figures of speech (“Legislators are blind to climate change”), are insulting to the disabled. The guide also rejects the disabled in favor of people living with disabilities, for the same reason that enslaved person has generally replaced slave : to affirm, by the tenets of what’s called “people-first language,” that “everyone is first and foremost a person, not their disability or other identity.”
The article goes on with
“Although the guides refer to language “evolving,” these changes are a revolution from above. They haven’t emerged organically from the shifting linguistic habits of large numbers of people. They are handed down in communiqués written by obscure “experts” who purport to speak for vaguely defined “communities,” remaining unanswerable to a public that’s being morally coerced.”
That’s the spooky part that is often the elephant in the room these days. Who are these people? The article closes with an argument that the guidelines maybe doing more harm than good. Whether you are “homeless” or “unhoused,” you still do not have a roof over your head. Changing the language does not solve the problem. It really often simply makes people feel less guilty and temporarily more comfortable.
This huge expense of energy to purify language reveals a weakened belief in more material forms of progress. If we don’t know how to end racism, we can at least call it structural. The guides want to make the ugliness of our society disappear by linguistic fiat. Even by their own lights, they do more ill than good—not because of their absurd bans on ordinary words like congresswoman and expat, or the self-torture they require of conscientious users, but because they make it impossible to face squarely the wrongs they want to right, which is the starting point for any change.
Brilliant thinking and something no one dares touch. I am surprised that the article did not stir up more debate. Indeed, “the guides want to make the ugliness of our society disappear by linguistic fiat” is a fair assessment.
It is important to not confuse the new equity guidelines with other issues of freedom of speech. That someone who commits multiple felonies and then threatens judges and elected officials receives a “gag-order” has absolutely nothing to do with the topic in this article.
And to that point, the writing and thinking of authors from before the equity guidelines, who use “slave” instead of “enslaved person” are no less valid in their works because of this use of language. Furthermore, if authors today use the old nomenclature, it does not invalidate their theories or ideas. A vigorous intellectual pursuit is not meant to be a journey towards making everyone feel comfortable.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 31, 2023: Not a single media outlet celebrated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 25 Year Anniversary. Amazing!
It is now October 2023, twenty-five years after the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Seven years ago I published the piece below about the 18 year anniversary of the DMCA. The DMCA has made it so you can listen to just about any recording made in the last 100 years for free on YouTube after looking at some ridiculous advertisement for five seconds. It has made it so tech companies and publishing empires no longer have responsibility for what is published on their applications, websites and what they now call “platforms.” Safe harbor. Everything is just content. Stuff. No one owns the stars.
I predict that on October 28, 2023 very few media organizations will acknowledge the DMCA 25 year anniversary. The world changes and while it is changing hardly anyone notices; we all just roll with it as that is the only option. So pop the champagne corks. To the liberation of content!
FROM MY POST on OCTOBER 12, 2016
Digital Millennium Copyright Act 18 Year Anniversary
Passed on October 12, 1998, by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended Title 17 of the United States Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of the providers of online services for copyright infringement by their users. wikipedia.org
It is 1998 – The Senate Now Has E-Mail
Let’s Have a Party!
25 years ago this month the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed. I would wager that very few people even know what the DMCA is, but it has affected modern life substantially. It is in many ways just one more version of an old story of plunder by larger more powerful entities, and the taking advantage of the smaller, but often more vibrant creators. In many ways, it has made it so the copyright laws in such industries as music are pointless.
But let’s back up a bit. Everyone can remember the transition that happened when CDs came out and then everyone was ripping their CDs to MP3s and handing off 100 gig drives full of music files to their buddies. Then there was Napster that simply stitched all these drives together in one big mass orgy of free MP3s. Napster got the injunction primarily because the established music industry had no cut of the racket. Along come tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung and to cover their liability the DMCA made perfect sense. If someone has “illegal” music on their devices, they should not be held accountable. Furthermore, if someone uploads a Beatles tune as a video with a picture of Ringo Starr as the graphics to YouTube, why should YouTube be held accountable for such blatant infringement? All good and well. But that was 1998. Today is 2016. I am certain that in 1998 most members of the Senate had no idea the true implications of the DMCA. In 1998, most of the members of the Senate probably did not even know how to manage their own email. They were still licking stamps.
The DMCA’s principal innovation in the field of copyright is the exemption from direct and indirect liability of Internet service providers and other intermediaries. wikipedia.org
Let’s look back a bit. In 1998 the leading browser of the day was Netscape 2. Internet Explorer was at version 5.5. If anyone remembers IE 6, imagine how terrible IE 5.5 must have been. Windows 98 had probably just been released. Man, that is scary. My point is that the DMCA has not been updated for 18 years and is an extremely flawed piece of legislation. The large tech companies have in many ways based their entire industry on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It allows for basically everyone to break the law everyday and not have to worry about it. When was the last time that a cop pulled someone over and wanted to check if the person had pirated music on their phone? There probably is thousands of dollars of contraband on everyone’s devices. Ain’t gonna happen.
Times Have Changed – Google Is Our Master of Information
But this is what is disingenuous about the DMCA. Companies like Google know just about everything about you. What you buy. What websites you visit. Your birthday. Your favorite color.
In 2016 they have the ability to determine if a piece of music is copyrighted via matching wave forms, and indeed this is how they “monetize” this work. But YouTube refuses to acknowledge this UNLESS they are in a position to make money off of that music – they make money anyway but that is another post. The only way the copyright holder can get the videos of their music taken down is with take-down notices. If a song is popular, this can mean hundreds of separate videos with the same song on it. The artists cannot simply tell the ISP such as YouTube “I do not want my work on your network.” YouTube is sort of like that creepy neighbor running a crack-house who borrowed your weed-whacker last spring and refuses to give it back claiming ignorance. Musicians, songwriters and composers have better things to do with their time than chase down illegal version of their work.
YouTube is sort of like that creepy neighbor running a crack-house who borrowed your weed-whacker last spring and refuses to give it back claiming ignorance. Musicians, songwriters and composers have better things to do with their time than chase down illegal version of their work.
Which brings me back to 1998. Do you really think in 1998 anyone could predict such entities as YouTube or Facebook? And unlike the owners of these companies, I believe these entities are not just platforms, they are simply publishers with free content providers and creators. These publishers have to take responsibility as well for copyright infringement. It is within their technical realm but they are playing dumb as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 suits them just fine. The DMCA is to their advantage.
The real master of deception with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is YouTube. Facebook, Twitter and the like have simply entered personal lives and monetized birthdays and other important life events until people depart from this world. Personalized marketing on steroids that the users all agree to though without really reading the privacy policies.
But all such companies are the modern-day plunderers. Instead of grabbing continents, forests, rivers, enslaving the natives and digging for gold, they are plundering your personal events and consumer habits along with the likes of great artists like James Brown, Elton John, Charlie Palmieri, Vince Gill, Willie Green, Slayer, Bette Midler, Woody Guthrie (the list is endless) and any person who has recorded or published a piece of music in the last hundred years.
Conclusion
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act needs to be reexamined and rewritten every five years to reflect and take into consideration the changes in technology, creativity and platforms. It is an important part of combating the many inequities in our society.
“In November 2022, San Francisco voters reaffirmed the previous legislation, making the new JFK Promenade a permanent car-free route enjoyed by a wide range of visitors. Along the route, visitors can enjoy art installations, public pianos, rest stops and enhanced entrances featuring seating and lawn games, and live music.” JFK Promenade
One of the beautiful things that happened during the COVID 19 pandemic was the creation of slow-streets. Entire blocks where closed to through-traffic cars. San Francisco got outside and walked down the middle of streets. Kids learned how to ride bikes. Roller skaters searched out the best blacktop and did their thing. It was and is a beautiful thing.
After a lot of tussle, local propositions and screaming and hollering, JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park is a permanent car-free route. Ride your bike. Go for a stroll. Play a game of ping pong. Take in the various interesting sculptures. It is great to have this large drive free of cars. It helps to makes San Francisco a great city. It is one of those places to rejuvenate your soul.
With the swell measuring around 8 feet at 12 seconds, on the morning of December 3, it was observed that the Aqua Surf Shop was holding some sort of surf contest. The surf was gnarly and the paddle-out ridiculous – rows and rows of white water to paddle through just to get to the outside. It looked impossible but the contestants, both women and men in their twenties seemed to be able to make their way past the inside close-outs. Just nasty out there.
UPDATE: The contest is what is called the ‘Battle of the Bay’ competition. This has been held in previous years when San Francisco State was victorious. It seems to be surf clubs from local colleges – SF State University, Cal, and UCSF get together and organize this event. Very cool!
From the NOAA Buoy Report and San Francisco https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46026
The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months.
Weather
While the world has experienced floods, droughts, earthquakes and hurricanes, the San Francisco weather pattern has been quite normal lately. We had a typical Indian Summer pattern for a while then a bit of rain. The skies are clear and we are now experiencing beautiful sunsets. In the coming week there should be off-shore winds out of the east. If you you come to San Francisco, bring a light jacket and warm hat. It does get chilly from time to time.
Politics
Senator Diane Feinstein died on September 29, 2023. Her replacement chosen by Governor Newsom is Laphonza Butler. So it goes.
So the virtue of the young damsel and the driverless car must wait for another day.
“The fashion in those days, among the ladies, was to to travel around without lackeys or coachmen and to drive oneself; husbands preferred wives to be at all times alone, so as to be more certain of their virtue; which goes directly counter to the view of the moralists, who say there is no virtue in solitude.” -From The One-Eyed Porter – Voltaire
Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors
The roads are still terrible in the poor neighborhoods. The pavement on Mission Street looks like a war zone. If you are on a bicycle be careful out there.
Bike Lanes, The Great Highway and the Sunny Side of the Street
The Great Highway opened to vehicular traffic on Mondays at 6 a.m. through Fridays at 12 p.m. and opened to pedestrians and bicycles only from Fridays at 12 p.m. until Mondays at 6 a.m. On holidays, the Great Highway is closed to vehicular traffic.
It is a lot of fun to get out to the Great Highway when it is closed to cars. On the weekends it gets busy with people walking, running a riding their bikes
The Great Highway and Ocean Beach – 0ctober 2023
The Great Highway and Ocean Beach – 0ctober 2023
Ocean Beach – 0ctober 2023
Ocean Beach – 0ctober 2023
Ocean Beach – 0ctober 2023
Sporting News
The San Francisco Giants fizzled away. The 49ers are getting a bit beat up and having trouble winning games when they do not have all of their stars on the field. A young quarterback who is getting a reality check was long overdue.
The surfing has been pretty good overall, with some large, long-period swells now showing up every few weeks. 10 feet at 20 seconds was recorded recently and people were surfing Mavericks.
Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine
Not much to report. The parklet situation has stabilized. Sometimes bands play outside but more often the music is inside. Remember to tip the band
That is The Quarterly Report –October 2023.
updated: 10/31/2023 with more Great Highway photos.
La Familia
To the edge of town we ride along this winding river, through gnat-filled forests, over bridges that dodge the morning commutes. Breakfast at a familiar diner busy with ribbon-wearing war vets and regulars, then farewells to a buddy who navigates me each year to the start of this tale. Past cows, horses, pigs and more cows, fields of corn, by mailboxes with clever designs. Silos of corn. Roadkill large and small plastered to the asphalt in various stages of morbid decay. American flags abound tell me the wind.
Nighttime thunderstorms cool the air as hungry mosquitoes buzz outside my simple tent. The morning is clear as I pedal over the Chippewa and streams too many to name. By the evening I arrive at the timeless Trempealeau Hotel on the Mississippi as locals with guitars gather for songs, laughs and beers.
I rise with the sun to venture over wetlands forgotten save for the cranes, robins, yellow finches, redwing blackbirds and blue herons. A hundred miles of trail to ride with tunnels, old bridges and rail stations from long ago. Nervous rabbits endlessly scamper across the trail. Through quiet small towns where even the bars seem asleep I pedal.
Camping in Elroy with my sis and her pooches as we eat, drink and marvel at our rain-free luck. One more day on farm roads, climbing then flying down these rolling hills and glens dodging more rain to then but roll into my brother’s crib, not far from where I was born.
Second Movement
Continental Divide
I hear trombones and french horns.
Stacked fifths.
Parallel motion like a moose crossing the road.
Earth tilted so that streams can sing and dance.
Strings on a unison line with leaps unknown.
A solo trumpet hands off to a flute.
Timpani rolls.
Octaves call out a forgotten
Blackfoot melody to an open unending sky.
Third Movement
I see Meriwether Lewis in the rear view mirror driving a big rig, horn a blastin’ down Interstate 84. His sidekick Clark riding shotgun. Eyes bloodshot, he pulls a long draw on the flask. Back to the scene, two hundred years in the future as a bird of prey unknown soars high above.
The Columbia Gorge once sang a fine tune. Now it is the never-ending hum of the Interstate and the trains that clamber up and down this geological miracle, shaped by glaciers, volcanos and spastic floods building bridges to the gods.
Fires now burn the hairs that grow like fur on the ranges leaving only gray pointy sticks from once verdant pine. Hike up the canyons, the blackberries now just ripe while the timeless waterfalls wash the modern madness away like cymbals crashing persistent.
THE BACKSTORY
July I spent traveling around three regions of the United States primarily by bicycle. The Midwest and the 300 mile ride from Minneapolis to Madison, much on rail-to-trail paths. Glacier Mountain Park and East Glacier to West Glacier. Portland to the Columbia River Gorge. I traveled between regions with an Amtrak Rail Pass ($499) which worked great. You can get your bike on the train ride for $20. Just remember when you get off the train, you get your bike directly from the baggage car not at the baggage terminal!
The writing above is my summary of these travels. I saw some amazing country and met some truly remarkable people.
The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months.
Weather
Often chilly and foggy with a marine layer along the coast. Air quality generally pretty good. Bring a light jacket. If you are by the ocean bring more layers.
View of the “marine layer.” Coming to a neighborhood near you soon!
Politics
In a 3-to-1 vote, the commission decided to let self-driving cars expand their programs and allow them to basically operate like taxis. So now these cars can pick up passengers and charge a fare at all hours of the day. Up until now, the companies had pretty limited passenger pickup programs. – NPR from Driverless cars can now operate like taxis in San Francisco, raising safety concerns
That the driverless cars are now taxis was inevitable as that was one of the main goals all along. New technology that ultimately was and has been driven as a money making scheme. For anyone living is San Francisco the last few years, the new ruling will probably not change things much on the roads as we have been inundated with self-driving cars for years. In the last year, we have observed them wandering up and down neighborhood streets in the middle of the night, like the ghost of some long-lost insomniac uncle, organizing his toolset after hours.
In the last year, we have observed them wandering up and down neighborhood streets in the middle of the night, like the ghost of some long-lost insomniac uncle, organizing his toolset after hours.
Many of the self-driving cars have elaborate cameras and look very sci-fi. Some have the brand of Jaguar however the two companies that run these vehicles are Cruise, which is owned by GM, and Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet. They are everywhere, mapping every nook and cranny, sometimes clogging up the streets, other times just being spooky.
The Mission Local has good reporting on this topic and one can always just enjoy a famous movie quote.
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors please, HAL. Open the pod bay doors please, HAL. Hello, HAL. Do you read me? Hello, HAL. Do you read me? Do you read me HAL? Do you read me HAL? Hello, HAL, do you read me? Hello, HAL, do your read me? Do you read me, HAL? HAL: Affirmative, Dave. I read you. Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL. HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that. Dave Bowman: What’s the problem? HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do. Dave Bowman: What are you talking about, HAL? HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
From 2001: A Space Odyssey
Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors
“If you park here they will come.” Very creative, playful and surely effective as all-caps usually gets the point across.
Many of the main roads in San Francisco are a disaster and are in need repair. A partial list of roads that need love.
Mission Street road in need of repair.
Mission Street by Holly Park. (we may lose small dogs in some of the potholes)
Mission Street south of Silver Ave.
Bosworth under the San Jose Ave and the 280 Freeway.
Bosworth under the San Jose Ave and the 280 freeway is treacherous for bicyclists. Use are your own risk. Bring an extra chin strap.
Even though San Francisco may score “adequate” in roads passements, these ranking are meaningless when for a decade you navigate roads that are terrible. It does seem that there is often less focus on roads that get a lot of traffic and are critical intersections. Feel free to contact the editorial board of the SF Journal if you need more examples of locations where roads are in need of repair. Remember to wear a helmet on these routes and perhaps bring an extra chin strap.
Bike Lanes on Valencia Street are in Full Effect
The new bike lanes on Valencia Street are now fully functioning. Bikes now ride in the middle. Cars no longer can take lefts turns at a lot of the intersections.
New bike lanes on Valencia Street
Let’s see how this works out and always remember, whether on two or four wheels, be kind. When driving, it is probably best to simply avoid Valencia Street. One day the city may realize, parts should be 100% for pedestrians and bikes.
Sporting News
For anything relating to football and the NFL, it is best to go to the SF Gate or SF Chronicle as that seems to be the only sport on their minds. It is August and we are suppose to get excited about American football?
In San Francisco there has been a lot of excitement about the Women’s FIFA World Cup. Colombia has a team of many talented players and their fans sang the national anthem with such passion, you wanted them to win just because of the fans. The United States played well but lost to Sweden in a knockout round. France is scoring a lot of goals. Sweden may be the team to beat.
COVID-19 Pandemic Update
Very few people wear masks. Sometimes people riding public transportation will be wearing a mask.
Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine
Parklets holding firm. The Page on Page Street has live music in the afternoons, often outside.
The sun does shine and clothes can dry on the line in San Francisco, but you must keep your eyes on the weather, direction of the winds and have your fog meter on at all times.
