So, give it a shot! Buy me a tea (NOW!) and see the rest of the puppy.

—–

Puppy photo by Ryan Halvorsen

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• Fast Forward/Rewind – Don’t like Adam Curry’s song choice at the beginning of the DSC? Just hold down the “next track” button for a couple of seconds and the Shuffle will scan through the track. You can back up with the “previous track” button if you go to far.
• Go To Top – Want to switch between music and Podcasts? Load your Podcasts at the top of the list in your Shuffle. You can listen to your songs in “shuffle” mode and if you run across a Podcast, skip it. When you’re ready to listen to your Podcasts, just switch to “repeat” mode and tap the “Pause/Play” button three times. Your Shuffle will skip to the top of your playlist.
• Podcast Completion Memory – Admittedly, this is more of an iTunes feature. I like to listen to Podcasts on my way to work, but when I arrive, I’m usually in the middle of a Podcast. I just plug the Shuffle into my laptop, and iTunes detects where I left off. I can then pick up where I left off on my computer using the file on my hard drive while I clear the Podcasts off of my Shuffle.
• Control Tactility – The raised nature of the controls on the Shuffle make it great for listening to everywhere, even places where you may need to pause it quickly to speak to or hear someone. You can easily feel the controls in your pocket. I sometimes even wear it in the breast pocket of my shirt, which makes for an amusing visual when I hit “pause” or “next track”.

I feel like the Shuffle’s brilliance is overlooked. Maybe more people would buy it if they had a better idea of just how much control one can have with it.

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To prepare for my beach expedition, I made a tadalist of things to bring with me: sandwiches, gatorade, clothing of varying warmth, a camera, and a sketchbook/journal. Now I think I would add to that list: even warmer clothing, a towel to wipe the sand off of my feet, and some shoes that are perhaps fit for rock climbing (I wore flip flops). However, I was sufficiently prepared to have a good experience.

To get to the beaches I wanted to go to, I took California route 84, which was a very enjoyable road to drive on. The varied shadows casts by the redwood trees made it difficult to see, but the road was full of curves and hairpin turns that were fit for a car commercial. I saw many people enjoying their sports cars and motorcycles, and there were also many bicyclists. They are either brave or crazy for riding that road, because I don’t know if there would be enough time for a motorist to react to their presence around some of those blind turns. La Honda Road if you zoom in on this map will show you the character of this road. It took maybe an hour to get to a beach. Gas was $3.15 a gallon. Somehow an hour drive to a beach goes by much quicker than say, an hour drive to Lincoln, Nebraska.

The first beach I visited was Pomponio. It didn’t take me long outside of my car to decide it was time to change into long pants and long sleeves. It was sunny in San Jose, as always, but upon arriving at the coast there was no trace of the sun. I asked one of the beach wardens if it was usually this cloudy here, and she said that it was. This must be why these beaches aren’t especially popular. There were still several dozen people there, fishing, surfing, picnicking, or just walking around like myself. I took off my sandals and walked along the beach, and was sure to call a few close friends and family to let them know where I was. It’s not that often that a kid from Nebraska finds himself near an ocean. The tide was low and I saw some beautiful cliffs and rock features.

The next beach I went to was Pescadero. This beach was much more rocky than Pomponio, and there were tide pools with crabs scurrying about in them. As I approached one large rock, I could hear the crabs making some sort of bubbling sound. They were tucked away in little crevices, waiting for the tide to come back in. I saw a couple crawling about on a rocky beach and I thought maybe they were hunting for clams, but they said they were picking out rocks for their gardens. You’re not supposed to do that at a State Beach, of course. I thought they might have been hunting for clams because I saw a notice posted that said there was a quarantine on mussels from California. They may contain a substance that is poisonous to humans. It said it was okay to eat the clams, but you were supposed to remove the dark parts. I’d like to hunt and eat my own clams, but I’d better find someone experienced in that to show me how.

Then I went to Pebble Beach (no relation to the golf course) which is near Bean Hollow. There were even more tide pools here, and amazing rock formations. There were professional photographers there taking pictures of them.

Then I came across Año Nuevo State Reserve, and was delighted to see that elephant seals and sea lions could be observed here, but it was past the hours to purchase passes, and it was a 1.6 mile hike to the observation point, and I was getting pretty tired. That is something I will definitely have to see. I may have to reserve a guided tour during the breeding months (Dec-March), which is when one may see two males competing, or maybe even witness the birth of a pup. Didn’t get to see any of that today, so I just took a short nap in my car.

I did end up driving through Santa Cruz, though I didn’t stop at any of the beaches, and it was certainly much sunnier there. On my way there, I saw some people being pulled on boards by parachutes. I didn’t catch what they call this, and I’ve never seen it before.

This will surely be one of many exploratory adventures in The Bay Area. There is an overwhelming amount of things to see and do.

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A sculpture on the salt flats in Utah. There really is salt everywhere.

A roadside fire in Elko, Nevada.

Battle Mountain, Nevada – officially, the armpit of America.

Horse at gas station in Battle Mountain.

Some pretty roadside hills in Nevada.

Arriving in Reno, Nevada.

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Farewell, good friends – and a good bar.

No matter how promising the road ahead, empty apartments are depressing. This is where I spent many nights over the last three years working toward this day.

The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney Nebraska. As seen in About Schmidt, this is an excellent museum chronicling the various people who came through Kearney, headed west in search of a better life.

Highway sign from an exhibit highlighting the Lincoln Highway.

A sign at a gas station nowhere in Nebraska.

In Colorado.

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Stuff like this is quite common along the highway, which makes me wonder how Iowa remains not a part of Jesusland

I was impressed to see that this cafe in Tama, Iowa offered free wireless internet.

Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tama, Iowa.

Rialto Theater. I don’t remember where this was. I couldn’t get them to put my name on the marquee.

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What was the turn of events surrounding the demise of The Basil Plant? Well, one day I noticed that there seemed to be some sort of white mold growing on The Basil Plant. At first I wasn’t that concerned with it, as The Basil Plant was lucky if I remembered to water it before it’s leaves wilted. But there gradually became more and more of these talcum-powder like spots all over The Basil Plant. I had to look very closely to notice that these spots of “mold” had legs and could move around.

I contacted David Schulz with the Biology Deparment at Brandeis University with the above photo of these questionable creatures, and he identified them as Mealybugs. Here is an excerpt of his reply:

This is a kind of insect called a “scale insect,” named because they secrete a waxy covering (that powdery white stuff) that they then hide under and feed on plants…hence they look like scales on a plant. This kind is also known as a “mealybug.” The scientific name of the family for this particular guy is Pseudococcidae. These are pretty common pests. If you don’t have too large an infestation, you can actually control them mechanically (*squish*). Some people also try dabbing running alcohol on them with a cotton swab or such. They reproduce pretty slowly, so taking them out one-by-one can be effective. For a larger infestation, you may have to ask your garden center what they recommend. Usually you can get away without using chemicals on these guys (you don’t want to be eating pesticides on your basil), something along the lines of an insecticidal soap may work well.

He was right, they were secreting a waxy coating. It was all over The Basil Plant’s leaves and it was getting on the window The Basil Plant sat next to. He was also right that I didn’t want an insecticide on The Basil Plant – because I wanted to eat it. So I tried dabbing the Mealybugs with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol, and they pretty much melted on contact. But try as I did to kill all of the Mealybugs, they just kept coming back. Eventually, there were really small, white, flies flying around The Basil Plant, too. I think those were Whiteflies.

Eventually The Basil Plant died. Here is a photo of its gruesome body.

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Driving through Phoenix.

More driving through Phoenix.

Some of the scenery in Phoenix.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West

Gratuitous baby shot. Welcome to the world, Paul.

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Words can’t do justice to what it is like to enter this space. I’m afraid pictures cannot either, but I’ll give it a try.

I pasted this image together from a series of pictures I took. Like I say, it still doesn’t do justice to the space. The Pantheon was very close to my studio, and one of my favorite pastimes was to sit in the Pantheon and watch people experience it for the first time.

Maybe this couple can explain it to you.

If you ever make it to Rome. Don’t miss this building.

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The Congress Plaza is located right in downtown Chicago, in close proximity to Buckingham fountain, The Chicago Art Institute, and loads of entertainment options, conveniently posted on bulletin boards on every floor.

You get this wonderful location for the best price of any hotel in downtown Chicago, and a charm in decor unlike in any hotel you’ve seen since The Shining.

Here is a preview of the magnificent details you will see at the Congress Plaza Hotel.

As you can see, loads of excitement and adventure can be had both within and near the Congress Plaza Hotel in Downtown Chicago. Last time I stayed there, there was even an employee strike going on outside the front door. Exciting! Any time I tired of it, I just went in the side door.

Okay, so there’s paint chipping off some of the walls. There may be water damage in your room. According to some reviews I’ve seen, you might not even have any hot water! These things are what make travel fun. For an affordable and character-rich experience in Chicago, Congress Plaza is my hotel of choice.

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