Only in California...

do cherries grow at the oil change shop.

Reflections on the Naked City

The Naked City is endlessly fascinating to me. From the food, architecture and most importantly the people. Several moments for me were especially poignant. Grand Central Station will always be a wonder of the modern world to me.
The Chrysler Building never ceases to amaze me. To me it is the pinnacle of art deco and one of the reasons I fell in love with Art Deco in the first place:
Another Art Deco building is the Beekman Tower Hotel. Great Views and a great example of Art Deco at its' best:

Last but not least is the Woolworth Building. To me it is one of the most imposing buildings in Manhattan. It just stand up, out, and about:
It is hard to not fall in love with the vibe that is the Naked City. But alas, Paso calls, after spending time with 8 million of my closets friends.

Yet another flight...

and all alone in exit row!

Japanese Comfort Food in Tribeca

Great japanese curry and Hoegaarden beer. Yum!

All Alone on the E Train

Over 8 million people in New York City and during rush hour I am the only one in this car on the E train.

Eerie...

Warp speed Mr. Sulu

Another Airport. Another Flight

And loud baby behind me again!

From Whiteboard to Reality

Several years ago the builders of this house took it upon themselves to design the landscaping. We started with some simple goals like drought resistant, deer resistant, and naturally offensive to fleas and ticks. We also wanted low maintenance, low overall water requirements, and last but not least it needed to blend in with the surrounding environment AND the house.

The photo of the whiteboard below was drawn in early 2006. The house is to scale as is the landscaping.


Mari Landscaping did a great job in taking this:

To this in Nov 07:



and finally, to this in May 08:

David Brown is going a great job and it shows not only in the work he did for me but in the reputation he continues to develop in North County.


And finally, a plug for Jeff Pipes of Pipestone Vineyards. Even tho he ran out of Zinfandel the Syrah 'almost' made up for it. ;-)

Jeff is doing some amazing work and I wanted to thank him and his wife for taking the time and sharing some of their experiences.

Don't you know i'm loco...

One of the unintended benefits of this blog has been that it is a unique form of therapy for me. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I happened upon THIS article.

Another of the unintended benefits I have personally derived in this experience on the blogosphere is rediscovering how much I enjoy writing. In a way I can sense the new neural pathways being developed when I am attempt to find ways to communicate in writing landscaping projects, flooring work, owls keeping me awake at 2am, and the battles of the tarantula hawks vs. tarantulas.

So to the friends and associates who have been supportive during these most interesting times, I say many thanks. To the ones who have humored me and made me laugh and see things from a different perspective, thank you. And to the very special people who have stood by me during the moments when I actually may have lost my sanity, I owe you a debt I can never repay.

A window to my

landscaping.

Had I known that having the landscaping done would significantly alter my perception of the house, it would have been done 2 years ago. No longer do I have 5 foot weeds to look out at when I sit in the great room...

Patio Work

It only took 1 year but I finally cleaned and resealed the patio. It makes a huge difference in how it looks and hopefully how it wears. Here are the before and after pics

Before:
After after cleaning and scrubbing in 90+ degree weather, this is what it looks like:Of course a weekend in Paso Robles would not be complete with out a little:

Play an accordion, go to prison. That's the law!

On New York Time

Another great day in the naked city

Babies everywhere, must be the red eye to JFK

Babies 2 the left and right. This was one of the worst flights of my life. There were two infants in front of me and one behind. To add to the mix, was a person with the worst smelling body odor in the aisle across from me. Never again will I take the red eye. NEVER

Another airport

and now a word from our sponsors

For the first time in over 40 years a leading politician has made a head on attempt to begin the discussion of race in this country and to begin the discussion on why racial division persists in this country today.

Very rarely in my life have I read or heard a speech that touches my soul.

Obama's 2008 Philadelphia Speech

This is a non-partisan attempt to begin a substantial discussion that has been pushed to the margins vis a vie 'playing the race card for as long as I can remember.

I truly hope that we begin this discussion. Not just on the racial stalemate Obama so accurately touched upon, but by beginning the discussion of "investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in the criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations"

This is the discussion that needs to happen along with why we have this racial divide 45 years after MLK's 1963 Washington Speech

The politics of the last 40 years has been one of division, of Blue vs. Red, Left vs. Right, White vs. Black, and the Haves vs. the Have Nots.

Obama states that "It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper."

Perhaps America will rise to the challenge of having this discussion. Perhaps we will look past the race baiting divisive politics of the last 40 years. Perhaps we will see that the politics of 'values' is frequently used to divide us.

My hope is we will. My fear is that we will not and continue down the path of divisive politics and lack of true leadership.

The reach of the Web

I was chatting with a certain someone who is building a straw bale house in Atascadero and it was never clearer to me that with the proliferation of technology it is possible to influence, impact, and assist, people from all over the world. For example here is a map of one day visitors to this blog:What is amazing is how narrow a category straw bale construction is and yet people from Japan to South Africa find their way here.

Thanks Al Gore...

Spring is almost upon us...

The winter is receding into the background (along with the rain I hope) and warmer weather is on the horizon.

Amazing that the floors are done, landscaping is pretty much complete, and yet there are any number of projects that still remain to be done. Among them:

• Air conditioning
• Weed control
• Re-grading the road
• Sealing the Patio

But I have been finding time to visit a few wineries within 10 minutes of the house. The wines are great, the tasting rooms intimate and the staff are friendly and accommodating.

• Silver Horse Winery
  
• RioSeco Vineyards
  
• Mitchella Winery
  
• RiverStar Vineyards

The flowers are starting to bloom, the days are warmer and unfortunately the insects are coming out as well. Does anyone have a suggestion for environmentally responsible insecticide? Last year was a bumper crop for insects and I would appreciate not having to view the sequel.

It is snowing...

Ah.. first 13 degrees and now snow. NYC in Feburary
No kids playing in this park:

Hula n East Village

Blame Dima

New York State of Mind

Paso worked me..

I finally finished 'remodeling' the master bath. The thing about trying to get a occupancy permit by a certain date is that you make choices about things that are in the heat of the moment. Sometimes not so good choices. The master bath was the epitome of poor choices.

Having written that, here is where the master bath is at today:

Along with that, the floors were in for a serious cleaning and sealing. Imagine having to mop a 2700sqft floor 6 times. That is what needed to be done. Here is looking from the kitchen to the great room:

This is facing the front door:
and this is facing the back door:

Not that Paso

How did I end up here??

Yet another line...

San Diego Southwest line. A01 boarding pass rocks

2007 Was a Long Year

It is hard to believe this year is coming to an end. Many things have changed. Some for the better, others not so much.

The house saw a combination of frenzied activity starting with the pump freezing at the start of this year, to neglect in the summer months, and finally, the landscaping being mostly done.

To that end I want to share these final images from 2007 that show the beauty that was so often not evident in the building of this house.

Ask 7 about the landscaping

If you were to ask 7 about the landscaping, what do you think she would say?


I think the following picture answers that questions. ;-)

Can you believe it...

Landscaping has not only started but there is measurable progress.

I am adding a few pictures for but the great part is that it is drought tolerant, deer resistant, and blends in very nice with the house and the surrounding area.


Mari Landscaping is doing the work.

Denver airport security line

Yet another line in life

Laid back 7

7 after a hard day in Paso

Landscaping is sooooo close

Landscaping is so close I can smell it. A mix of lavender, rosemary and sage. Wish me luck.

I just don't get it...

Are all contractors incompetent asshats? Most likely not. Are most contractors manipulative bastards? Unlikely. But what is true is that a significant percentage of contractors are incompetent, manipulative asshats.
I mention this not because of my own experiences but with a friend of mine who lives on the east coast. The contractor they are working with has lied and manipulated them to such an extent that it should be criminal. While their situation is markedly different than mine, the excuses are the same, the shifting of blame is the same, and evasive, dismissive, communication is the same.

What I don't get is why some contractors manipulate the dreams that people have. How they play off your emotions. Continue to mislead you to cover their incompetence, ignore your request for truthful information and take advantage of the your desire to work to get your dream. Some contractors take your money, take your time and offer nothing but excuses in return.

If you are a honest contractor who lives up to their word, communicates effectively, and works with their customer to help them achieve their dream, thank you. If you are the contractor who makes excuses, manipulates your customers to cover up your incompetence, and refuses to take responsibility for ruining peoples dreams I hope the next client you take advantage of uses this medium we call the internet to let people know that you have liens against the homes you build, that you do not pay your subcontractors, that you consistently lied about your progress, and that overall you are a miserable human being that should not be allowed to ever put hammer to nail again.

I hear my friends pain and frustration. I understand much more than I would ever want to admit the hurt, the disgust, and the loathing they are now experiencing. I wish I could do more for them except listen and offer limited advice. I so wish I could pimp slap every contractor that treats people this way.

Stay strong, you will get through this.

Only in Paso

Mom's 60th birthday n virginia

Mom having fun on birthday

Paso is not red

Guess where i am

Subway

This is cool But warm this time of year