Saturday, November 12, 2005
San Francisco, California - F Market street car
Some of the street cars are even more romantic than the others. Lit by glass fixtures and richly furnished with gorgeous wood everywhere, these are hard to beat!
San Francisco, California
The Civic Center.
The Castro, aka The Gayest Place on Earth. :)
Found in a shop in the Castro district. Hee hee!
Having actually been to Canada, however, I can't really say this is accurate. Just for starters, its beauty takes your breath away and its people are an utter joy to meet. So while I won't deny that the lack of ol' "W" leading its government is indeed a powerful attractant, the fact of the matter is that there are lots of other, more important reasons for Canadian citizenship.
This button is more for someone who has never been there and doesn't know what they're missing! :D
The Castro, aka The Gayest Place on Earth. :)
Found in a shop in the Castro district. Hee hee!
Having actually been to Canada, however, I can't really say this is accurate. Just for starters, its beauty takes your breath away and its people are an utter joy to meet. So while I won't deny that the lack of ol' "W" leading its government is indeed a powerful attractant, the fact of the matter is that there are lots of other, more important reasons for Canadian citizenship.
This button is more for someone who has never been there and doesn't know what they're missing! :D
San Francisco, California - steepest street
At a 31% grade, the steepest street in San Francisco.
Can I remember the name? Of course not! Maybe Nickie will come to my rescue here.
This reminds me of a... let's call it an "incident" ... recounted to me by my parents. We were parked on a hill here in San Francisco, facing uphill, and I was 3 or 4 years old. They got out and stood by the car discussing something, for reasons they can no longer remember. Suddenly the parking brake gave way and the car began rolling backward down the hill, with me still in it, picking up momentum far too fast for my panicked running parents to catch up. Fortunately, it wasn't long before another car obstructed its backward path and brought things to a halt. They checked the back seat for me, fearful of what they might find. There I was, still happily playing and blissfully unaware of any danger. I can only imagine their terror at the time, but now it's something we still joke about to this day.
Can I remember the name? Of course not! Maybe Nickie will come to my rescue here.
This reminds me of a... let's call it an "incident" ... recounted to me by my parents. We were parked on a hill here in San Francisco, facing uphill, and I was 3 or 4 years old. They got out and stood by the car discussing something, for reasons they can no longer remember. Suddenly the parking brake gave way and the car began rolling backward down the hill, with me still in it, picking up momentum far too fast for my panicked running parents to catch up. Fortunately, it wasn't long before another car obstructed its backward path and brought things to a halt. They checked the back seat for me, fearful of what they might find. There I was, still happily playing and blissfully unaware of any danger. I can only imagine their terror at the time, but now it's something we still joke about to this day.
San Francisco, California - the Palace of Fine Arts
The Exploratorium is at the Palace of Fine Arts. So once you've been dazzled by fascinating demonstrations of physics, perception, and life sciences, get ready to be wooed by dramatic architecture built around the same wetland lagoon that was originally found here at the time of development. Swans and migrating waterfowl still populate the lagoon.
San Francisco, California - the Exploratorium
Nickie electrifies plasma, causing it to glow, and then waves a magnet underneath to watch it distort the flow of electricity.
There are some seriously cool exhibits here!
There are some seriously cool exhibits here!
San Francisco, California - the Exploratorium
Traits of Life: chick embryo exhibit
These are live, fertilized eggs that have been carefully removed from their shells, placed in petri dishes and protected by saran wrap. The embryos apparently continue to develop normally into healthy chicks, who can be seen in a separate display.
There was a mom who took one look at this exhibit and told me it made her want to never eat eggs again. It had a strong impact on me, too. It looks so much like a human embryo attached to the placenta. Maybe being a mom, it affects you more to see it.
By now, it's easy to see its little heart beating.
I told her that I am a vegan and that's one reason I won't eat eggs either, so she's not going to get any disagreement out of me. She sat down with a look of revulsion on her face and said, "I'm serious. I think that just changed my life. I don't think I can eat eggs any more."
I don't blame her a bit, but I was surprised at the intensity of her reaction. I usually don't see people struck in such a way. It was interesting to get a little window into someone's life-changing experience, just for a moment.
These are live, fertilized eggs that have been carefully removed from their shells, placed in petri dishes and protected by saran wrap. The embryos apparently continue to develop normally into healthy chicks, who can be seen in a separate display.
There was a mom who took one look at this exhibit and told me it made her want to never eat eggs again. It had a strong impact on me, too. It looks so much like a human embryo attached to the placenta. Maybe being a mom, it affects you more to see it.
By now, it's easy to see its little heart beating.
I told her that I am a vegan and that's one reason I won't eat eggs either, so she's not going to get any disagreement out of me. She sat down with a look of revulsion on her face and said, "I'm serious. I think that just changed my life. I don't think I can eat eggs any more."
I don't blame her a bit, but I was surprised at the intensity of her reaction. I usually don't see people struck in such a way. It was interesting to get a little window into someone's life-changing experience, just for a moment.
San Francisco, California - the Exploratorium
The Exploratorium is described as a hands-on museum of science, art, and human perception. We went here years ago and due to early closing and many of the exhibits as yet unfinished, we didn't get to see anywhere nearly as much as we would have liked. As a result it was a "must-see" this time around. This place is fascinating!
Several displays like this cast rainbows all around the museum. We felt right at home. ;)
What it would look like if Nickie and I had children.
Amusingly, we just so happened to wear the same color shirts today, making the illusion more complete. Even stranger, upon closer examination I see that the wrinkles in our shirts line up almost exactly, the line of her collar matches up perfectly with the strap of the camera bag I'm wearing as though it were trim on her shirt, and the curve of her eyebrows line up as if they were the top half of the frame of my glasses. Wierd! To all of you who call us "Lickie," now you know who you're talking to.
Ice crystals growing. Enhanced by viewing through a polarized lens.
Several displays like this cast rainbows all around the museum. We felt right at home. ;)
What it would look like if Nickie and I had children.
Amusingly, we just so happened to wear the same color shirts today, making the illusion more complete. Even stranger, upon closer examination I see that the wrinkles in our shirts line up almost exactly, the line of her collar matches up perfectly with the strap of the camera bag I'm wearing as though it were trim on her shirt, and the curve of her eyebrows line up as if they were the top half of the frame of my glasses. Wierd! To all of you who call us "Lickie," now you know who you're talking to.
Ice crystals growing. Enhanced by viewing through a polarized lens.
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