In my earlier posts about the California Academy of Sciences, I introduced you to the Steinhart Aquarium, the Osher Rainforest and the Kimball Natural History Museum. Now it’s time to show a bit more of the technology that went into the building.
Continue reading “California Academy of Sciences Part 4: Sustainable Design”
Some notions, no matter how far-fetched they might appear, are simply too exciting to just whither and die.
The long rumored and awaited Guillermo Del Toro project “at the mountains of madness” based on an H.P. Lovecraft story is getting some renewed interest from a new source, Steven Spielberg.
The new production will likely rely on the motion capture technique Spielberg became familiar with in one of his most recent projects.
We can’t wait…
Summer, the way it should be… Until we point the Bodmobile to points North like Mendocino county, the pointy eared folks continue to “grace” us with their homebound antics.
Nurse Jenny, taking Mazuzu’s pulse:
Mazuzu’s rear end is about to receive some ‘unwelcome’ attention, but those nether regions require regular cleaning he fails to provide for himself. Let’s just say his eyes are about to go big.
Meanwhile, gentleman Tito tries to entertain Jenny with bird watching, despite his audience’s seeming lack of interest.
This summer is unfortunately a sobering time as well, with fires, unpredictable winds and storms displacing many, destroying homes and lives. We have friends currently threading through very dire straits and they are foremost in our thoughts.
At 1017 acres, Golden Gate Park is the largest park in San Francisco. It’s even bigger than Central Park in New York which is 843 acres. We have brought you pictures from our adventures in the Arboretum, Stow Lake, and the Japanese Tea Garden. Winding around the park between all those areas are a multitude of little unexplored trails and park gems. Well, they’re unexplored by us, at any rate.
This little trail is located near the Conservatory of Flowers.
I had been planning on posting part 3 of our trip to the California Academy of Sciences, but we had a fire to deal with. That was followed the next week, by a firm statement of where we stand in regards to our GLBT brothers and sisters. Now we’re back on track with part 3 of the California Academy of Sciences.
The California Academy of Sciences Part 1, was about the Steinhart Aquarium. Part 2 was about our visit to the Osher Rainforest. Part 3 includes parts of the Kimball Natural History exhibit and the Naturalist Center.
Continue reading “California Academy of Sciences Part 3: The Rest of the Museum…Almost”
Do cats dream? Yes, and not just about chasing mice or stealing food from the kitchen. We found out Kitsy likes sour cream, and hot sauce, which of course sends him sauntering to the litterbox right quick with what I call a bad case of volcanorifice. Cats like watching movies as well.
They just get it all confused at times, which in turn confuses us. In other words, you can never trust what a cat thinks…
We haven’t even seen “the woman in black” yet, but after watching this clip from “Fry & Laurie”, they’ve decided to… Re-enact what they haven’t seen yet. What imagination they have… But first the clip:
Somehow, from this, Jenny started acting the part of the kitteh in black:
Mazuzu, still too weak to really play, acted the narrator, as if there was one, but it doesn’t matter because – well, because…
Gigadoon is Tito’s new(ish) nickname, by the way, and Jenny’s is Gigic with hard G and pronounced Guiguitch. Balkans style. Sort of. Doesn’t matter.
In the haunted house, Tito finally surrenders to fitful slumber…
The San Francisco Pride Parade is this weekend. Part of me really wants to go. The other part freaks over the idea of the huge crowds. I’m not sure which part is going to win this year. My heart will be there even my body isn’t.
I was paying a visit to YouTube when I discovered a wonderful video. It’s almost 18 minutes long, but it’s worth every second. If you can spare the time, please watch the video and then read the rest of the post.
Continue reading “The Myth of the Gay Agenda”
We should all take time to smell the roses. However, until computers come in scratch ‘n sniff, we’ll have to make due with a few photos. We went to Golden Gate Park early, as usual, so we had to play “dodge the sprinklers”. It’s worth it though as the park is quiet at that time.
Here are my favorite pics from that trip. I have named the roses where I could.
Here are a few other flower posts
A San Francisco Flower Adventure
Battle of the Sprinklers at the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park: Part 1
Battle of the Sprinklers at the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park: Part 2
On Wednesday, I posted about the awful gas line explosion and fire that happened a few doors down from us on our block. I may have thought it was bad, but our pointy eared people thought it was a lot worse. When the gas ignited, there was a “whomp” that we could feel underfoot. The kitties immediately scattered, diving under furniture and hiding in closets. My fast pace to get outside and see if we needed to evacuate didn’t help any. After that, it was a cacophony of sirens, air horns and people yelling. They were scared, and I don’t blame them.
The poor kitties have been jumpy ever since. Today, they are finally relaxing. While they still startle a bit easier than they did, they are happy to relax and spend time with us again.
We have always appreciated our firefighters. This week showed just how much we rely on them.
We leave you with another photo of our firefighters in action. This was a grass fire that occurred on June 5, 2012.
Yesterday, with tongue firmly in cheek, I made a post and called it Terrible Tuesday is Terrible. I was wrong. I was so very wrong. What I had to complain about was merely a headache. The day took a dramatic and possibly tragic turn. I was merely a bystander, for the most part. Lastech was at work on an odd day shift and the poor guy was left waiting for my updates.
Yesterday I was fighting some serious browser problems. I took a break and walked North a block to the post office. Then I walked back home. I had to walk past a construction site. They have been remodeling an apartment building for quite a while. Today, they were working on some pipes out front.
I had just posted my Terrible Tuesday pics when I felt a firm “whomp!” under my feet, followed almost instantly by the sound of screaming and the smell of smoke. I looked out the window to see people running past the apartment. I immediately went out to check and found that the construction site was in flames and a gas main was broken. It was only a few doors away. I got a few important papers ready to go and the cat carrier was out in case I had to evacuate. It didn’t come to that and we’re all fine.
The construction site that I had walked past, had ignited gas from a broken main. It was awful. Sadly, the construction worker who caught the brunt of the explosion is in critical condition. JBoD is keeping the worker and his family in our thoughts. The dental office next door was able to evacuate everyone. I talked to them. They said it was terrifying because the gas and flames were only a few feet from the door.
This wasn’t a huge gas line, but it was big enough. Also, as you’ll see from the pics below, the buildings in our city are separated only by an inch or two. As a result, instead of fighting fires from the outside, our brave firemen and women fight the fires from inside the building. A miracle happened and there were only a couple of minor injuries to our firefighters, thank goodness.
In all, I saw at least 8 (there were more) engines and ladder trucks. There were multiple rescue squads and ambulance crews. There were LOTS of police officers. I’m grateful to all of them. The damage was contained to two, maybe three buildings. I’m sure I’ll know more later and I’ll update then.
You can see a news report here. I should add that while the smoke doesn’t look that bad, it really was bad. The wind was really howling down our street. It was good in that it dispersed the leaking gas quickly. I normally despise wind, but I’m grateful to it today.
On June 2nd of last year, the city tragically lost two firefighters. I’m glad that today didn’t have the same results.
Also, on Sept. 9, 2010 there was a massive gas line explosion on the San Bruno pipeline. That occured a few miles South of us. It also happened on a San Bruno Ave. in the town of San Bruno. Ours was on San Bruno Ave. in San Francisco. Are you confused yet? I can add to the confusion. The line that blew up in San Bruno wasn’t involved today. However, it passes by our apartment about 100 ft (33.48 meters) to our South. I’m very comforted by that. Yes, that was heavy sarcasm.
Anyhow, with luck, I’ll have something more uplifting soon. I’m still feeling a bit somber at the moment.
