Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
I saw The Lovemakers last week at Great American. Their music is incredible, and they put on a great show. I've already listened to the CD about 15 times since then, and I'm forcing myself to stay away so I don't get too sick of it.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Click here to go to the iTunes music store
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Click here to go to the iTunes music store
Thursday, August 25, 2005
We still haven't figured out our exact domain and email list, but until then, you can get all the info by going to:
I want to party on Wednesdays
I want to party on Wednesdays
Monday, August 22, 2005
The roadtrip was simply incredible, the best vacation I have ever taken. 2800 miles total on the Miata. It was great to really get away from life for a couple of weeks and on my own to relax, and see what things are like outside the bay area. Being in a convertible was cool, to be free and in the open air.
The Pacific Northwest is absolutely beautiful. It really is a treat for photographers. Oregon especially has awesome state parks for hiking with lots of cool sites such as Crater Lake and other waterfalls. I did over 50 miles of hiking on the trip!
Once you leave the San Francisco area, roads become a whole lot better. Pretty much anywhere I went there were great new asphalt roads, twisting and winding through the mountains. And in Oregon, there were no other people on the roads slowing me down!
The general plan of not planning anything worked on very well. I definitely changed my route and dates several times as I went, so the flexibility was worth it. I stopped at many random towns along the way, and basically every single "view point" I saw on the roads I took. Some view points weren't too interesting, but most had amazing views, and something you wouldn't see if you were on a tight schedule.
I consistently heard from people that I was going to see more of the sites and attractions of their home town than they had. It's too bad that we can't find time in our lives to experience the places where we live, because we only have free time when on vacation. I'm hoping to do a touristy weekend in SF in a few weeks, all on foot and bus, all over the city.
Vancouver was my favorite city. Waheena Loop was my favorite hike. McCormick & Schmick's was my favorite dinner. Rock Bottom Brewery was my favorite beer. Portland City Grill was my favorite lounge. Feather Falls was the best waterfall. Tigers at the Oregon Zoo are my favorite animal. Stanley Park is the best park. Seattle has the best live music. Oregon has the best roads. The Grouse Grind is the best workout.
Click here to see lots and lots of pictures
Feel free to email me if you are planning a trip and want more info (i have lots of brochures, maps, etc).
The Pacific Northwest is absolutely beautiful. It really is a treat for photographers. Oregon especially has awesome state parks for hiking with lots of cool sites such as Crater Lake and other waterfalls. I did over 50 miles of hiking on the trip!
Once you leave the San Francisco area, roads become a whole lot better. Pretty much anywhere I went there were great new asphalt roads, twisting and winding through the mountains. And in Oregon, there were no other people on the roads slowing me down!
The general plan of not planning anything worked on very well. I definitely changed my route and dates several times as I went, so the flexibility was worth it. I stopped at many random towns along the way, and basically every single "view point" I saw on the roads I took. Some view points weren't too interesting, but most had amazing views, and something you wouldn't see if you were on a tight schedule.
I consistently heard from people that I was going to see more of the sites and attractions of their home town than they had. It's too bad that we can't find time in our lives to experience the places where we live, because we only have free time when on vacation. I'm hoping to do a touristy weekend in SF in a few weeks, all on foot and bus, all over the city.
Vancouver was my favorite city. Waheena Loop was my favorite hike. McCormick & Schmick's was my favorite dinner. Rock Bottom Brewery was my favorite beer. Portland City Grill was my favorite lounge. Feather Falls was the best waterfall. Tigers at the Oregon Zoo are my favorite animal. Stanley Park is the best park. Seattle has the best live music. Oregon has the best roads. The Grouse Grind is the best workout.
Click here to see lots and lots of pictures
Feel free to email me if you are planning a trip and want more info (i have lots of brochures, maps, etc).
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Kate and Tony got married in Memorial Church on Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding. I never realized how incredible Memorial Church is. I think in my old age (and photo skills) I'm looking at things differently now.
After the wedding the reception was at the Faculty Club. Great food, open bar, dancing, open bar. I met Geoff's parents for the first them (they are LOTS of fun). And I met Kate's parents, who I had talked to many times regarding purchases from Apple, but hadn't met in person.
It was a very fun night, moving on to the Nuthouse after the reception, and then Denny's. It felt like we were back in college :). It was really good to see Tony, Garry, Grant, Joe, Eric, Geoff, Zach, Del, and others at the wedding. It was like a Phi Psi reunion.
I didn't take many pictures, but here they are.
http://pictures.isachin.com/gallery/kateandtony
After the wedding the reception was at the Faculty Club. Great food, open bar, dancing, open bar. I met Geoff's parents for the first them (they are LOTS of fun). And I met Kate's parents, who I had talked to many times regarding purchases from Apple, but hadn't met in person.
It was a very fun night, moving on to the Nuthouse after the reception, and then Denny's. It felt like we were back in college :). It was really good to see Tony, Garry, Grant, Joe, Eric, Geoff, Zach, Del, and others at the wedding. It was like a Phi Psi reunion.
I didn't take many pictures, but here they are.
http://pictures.isachin.com/gallery/kateandtony
Sunday, August 21, 2005
People don't go out enough. After college, there was a year (maybe two) when people went out quite often and you could always find something going on. But now it seems like people want to go out on the weekends, and the rest of the week they are too tired.
Al started DJing at Hush Hush every Wednesday, which was great because it got a lot of people to go out midweek. Now he's moving up in the world and has shows on Fridays at big venues, so that ended.
Al and I are going to start a Wednesday night social group. At some point we'll have an email list or yahoo group or something like that. The main point of the group will be to go out in San Francisco mid week. We'll pick a different venue and meet there for drinks and whatnot.
We want to group to be somewhat medium sized. We want to meet new people though it, but it's not cool to have a group of 200 people and 30 random people show up each week.
The first event will be on Wednesday, August 24th at Little Baobab.
If you want to get added to the list, Email Me
Al started DJing at Hush Hush every Wednesday, which was great because it got a lot of people to go out midweek. Now he's moving up in the world and has shows on Fridays at big venues, so that ended.
Al and I are going to start a Wednesday night social group. At some point we'll have an email list or yahoo group or something like that. The main point of the group will be to go out in San Francisco mid week. We'll pick a different venue and meet there for drinks and whatnot.
We want to group to be somewhat medium sized. We want to meet new people though it, but it's not cool to have a group of 200 people and 30 random people show up each week.
The first event will be on Wednesday, August 24th at Little Baobab.
If you want to get added to the list, Email Me
Sunday, August 21, 2005
I just got back from a Mazda test drive event where I drove the RX8 and all new MX5 Miata. Those cars are so incredible. The overall quality, fit and finish, attention to detail, and performance of all their cars really makes them the best value (BMWs are overpriced, and cheaper cars are crap).
You could really tell Mazda cares about performance by the events they had setup. They were well designed courses where you really could push the car to its limits. Instead of warning you to not go to fast and knock over cones, they taught everyone about "the line" including turn in points, and apexes. They said if you couldn't hear the tires squealing, you should be going faster. Sweet!
Mazda is like Apple to me in that I really think they should be more popular then they are, and it makes me sad. It's the superior product, but people go for other crappy competitors (although the Mazda 3 was *very* common in Vancouver, which made me happy). I've recommended and "sold" Mazdas to many people. I think people see Mazdas as just another econo box and don't realize theie quality.
Last week I took my BMW in for a scheduled inspection and got a Z4 to drive for the day. In theory it could have been the best combination of my 330 and Miata, but it wasn't. It was big and heavy, visibility sucked, ergonomics were crap (why did they stop putting window controls in the center console?), and it understeered like mad. No fun at all.
You could really tell Mazda cares about performance by the events they had setup. They were well designed courses where you really could push the car to its limits. Instead of warning you to not go to fast and knock over cones, they taught everyone about "the line" including turn in points, and apexes. They said if you couldn't hear the tires squealing, you should be going faster. Sweet!
Mazda is like Apple to me in that I really think they should be more popular then they are, and it makes me sad. It's the superior product, but people go for other crappy competitors (although the Mazda 3 was *very* common in Vancouver, which made me happy). I've recommended and "sold" Mazdas to many people. I think people see Mazdas as just another econo box and don't realize theie quality.
Last week I took my BMW in for a scheduled inspection and got a Z4 to drive for the day. In theory it could have been the best combination of my 330 and Miata, but it wasn't. It was big and heavy, visibility sucked, ergonomics were crap (why did they stop putting window controls in the center console?), and it understeered like mad. No fun at all.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
I'm back in San Francisco after an incredible roadtrip. I saw lots of cool stuff, did lots of hiking, and took many pictures. It may be a few days before I can get all my pictures uploaded and document my journey, but I want to send out some thanks now.
1. Mazda. Thanks for building the most incredible car I've ever driven. 150k miles and still more fun to drive than my BMW. I decided to do this trip partly because of this car, and it wouldn't have been as much fun without it. The only time I ever drove with the top up was the first one hour as I left San Francisco.
2. Roy and Garry for letting me stay with them in Seattle, a great dinner at the top of the Hilton, and lots of drinks :)
3. Heather for giving me lots of great advice for what to do in Portland (she's from Beaverton, OR)
4. Josh for giving me advice on good hikes to do, great waterfalls to see, and for telling me to hit the Helly Hansen outlet where I bought a jacket for 70% off!
5. Mark Beatty in Vancouver for showing me around town and letting me party with some locals, including the Celebration Of Light fireworks competition.
6. Google SMS. Super useful for looking up phone numbers, especially for cheap motels in random towns.
7. Digital SLRs let any random photographer shoot like a pro. This was another big reason why I took this trip.
8. The state of Oregon. Beautiful parks, amazing roads, and very cool people.
9. AAA for all the free maps, and the piece of mind to let me drive 3k miles in a 15 year old car.
1. Mazda. Thanks for building the most incredible car I've ever driven. 150k miles and still more fun to drive than my BMW. I decided to do this trip partly because of this car, and it wouldn't have been as much fun without it. The only time I ever drove with the top up was the first one hour as I left San Francisco.
2. Roy and Garry for letting me stay with them in Seattle, a great dinner at the top of the Hilton, and lots of drinks :)
3. Heather for giving me lots of great advice for what to do in Portland (she's from Beaverton, OR)
4. Josh for giving me advice on good hikes to do, great waterfalls to see, and for telling me to hit the Helly Hansen outlet where I bought a jacket for 70% off!
5. Mark Beatty in Vancouver for showing me around town and letting me party with some locals, including the Celebration Of Light fireworks competition.
6. Google SMS. Super useful for looking up phone numbers, especially for cheap motels in random towns.
7. Digital SLRs let any random photographer shoot like a pro. This was another big reason why I took this trip.
8. The state of Oregon. Beautiful parks, amazing roads, and very cool people.
9. AAA for all the free maps, and the piece of mind to let me drive 3k miles in a 15 year old car.