Friday, December 25, 2009

Seabrew Paddle

Went on the Sea Brew (Sea Kayaking for Hebrews) Christmas Day Paddle. I guess for Jewish people on the east coast, they go for Chinese food and the movies on Christmas day. Out here, no need to stay inside, so Danny Forer has started an annual tradition of a paddle to Angel Island. I may not be Jewish, but I am also not an active Christian nor have family nearby that I need to go do the Christmas thing with, so I joined them.

The paddle started at Sea Trek's beach in Sausalito, but I decided to paddle over from San Francisco. Maybe it was the spare the air day? Or maybe it was to save the $5 toll on the Golden Gate Bridge? No matter - that is what I did. My GPS track is below.



I was worried about the currents. Supposed to be a relatively strong tide, maxing out at about 2.5 to 3 mph at 10:30 or so. I was paddling from one side of the bay to the other, so would have to use ferry angles (paddle at angles to offset a current going sideways).

As you can see in the picture below, it was a pitiful day to be out. The currents caused huge waves, as did the wind. And a huge number of pleasure craft and sea lice (jet skis) out. Hard to believe we dared to go out in these waters... (click on picture to see the waves in their huge awesomeness that Glenn Nunez and Dennis Holton had to fight)


Danny and his lady friend checking out the tourists from the water between high braces...


Glenn paddling along Angel Island just outside the surf zone after lunch...


And for those that do consider today to be some sort of religious holiday, here's a little nautical season's greetings from the Maritime Museum...

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Boring job for a cop

Sometimes a cop has to hang out and wait until someone comes along to arrest. Even on Christmas Eve, this is an important job to do.


This spot provides a good view of a stop sign that I guess people run too often. And it is likely a 25 mph zone, so speeders may be common also. Thankfully, I made a full stop at the sign, and didn't speed, as I biked by today.


It helps to have a supply of coffee and donuts for the wait until the next speed demon decides to blow through the stop sign...


But, mannequins don't get bored in jobs like this...


Of course, not everyone is happy with the jobs the cops are doing. Maybe this gentleman has gotten one too many tickets from the mannequin?

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Recent happenings

Two recent things going on:

First is that I am working up a business plan for a kayaking magazine called California Kayaker. Web site is www.calkayakermag.com. Print magazine, glossy paper, photo heavy - all distributed for free at kayak and sports retailers. Kind of like Cycle California!, but for bikes. Actually, better paper and more photos and articles, so maybe a better comparison would be a California version of Wavelength. Not sure if it will come together, but if so, first issue will be in the spring.

Second - I also may be posting from time to time on a blog that some folks from my Japanese group started called Sustainable Trivia. http://sustrivia.blogspot.com/

ps - Special thanks to Brian Warkentine who made up the logo for California Kayaker!

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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

shinto lights?

Saw this a few blocks over - a "torii" gate covered with Christmas lights. The gate is a Japanese shinto symbol, where the lights are from Christian roots. Does that make it "shintian" or "chrinto"?
私のうちの近くにある店は鳥居がある。その店は鳥居の上にクリスマスのイルミネーションを置いた。辺だろうか?鳥居は神道だ、でもクリスマスはキリスト教だろう。

I don't fully comprehend the sign on the middle. The main character looks like "憩", which means rest. But it is 1 stroke different, so probably not that.
間中な物の意味をあまり分からない。漢字は「憩」 だろうか?



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