in Chinatown

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photo by Donald Kinney

Mysterious substance.   Probably good for whatever ails you...



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photo by Donald Kinney

Chinatown version of a condiment caddy.



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Well, according to my Sunday School teacher, there were these people who decided they would build a tall tower that would reach Heaven.   Evidently they were making great progress until God threw a monkey-wrench into the project and made everybody start speaking different languages.   Utter confusion among the workers was the result and construction was stopped.   And as my Sunday School teacher explained -- that's how we came to have so many languages in this world.   And if you believe that -- I'd like to tell you a little story about a man named Jonah and a big fish...

Don't believe me?   I lifted the following from Wikipedia:
According to the biblical account, a united humanity, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, took part in the building after the Great Flood; Babel was also called the "beginning" of Nimrod's kingdom. The people decided their city should have a tower so immense that it would have "its top in the heavens."(וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם) However, the Tower of Babel was not built for the worship and praise of God, but was dedicated to the glory of man, with a motive of making a 'name' for the builders: "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.'" (Genesis 11:4). God, seeing what the people were doing, confounded their languages and scattered the people throughout the earth. It had been God's original purpose for mankind to grow and fill the earth.



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Here's a challenge -- say Wo Yick ten times, fast.


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more iceplant

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photo by Donald Kinney

On Sunday I thought I would go out photographing -- but I seem to be going through one of those periods where I can't find a good photo anywhere.   The harder I try, the less I seem to find...

When I spotted this iceplant I was relieved that I could get that one photo to fill my quota for the day.

This (above) is the miniature variety of iceplant, but it looks like they have done a lot of hybridizing over the years -- this particular miniature variety is much larger -- about an inch and a half across.   The miniature variety I am familiar with (like what grows on the Pacific Grove waterfront) has small blooms, perhaps only a half inch in width.



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After getting that first shot I remembered I could find some iceplant of the larger variety out at China Camp.   These are new photos, but I shot others a few weeks ago:   http://aphotoaday.blogspot.com/2009/04/ice-plant.html



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San Francisco's Bay Bridge

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I'm not sure if San Francisco or Oakland claim the Bay Bridge as their own, but whoever it is (actually it's owned by the State of California), they can have it -- it's just no good at all...   Parts of the Bay Bridge are rather beautful, but you'll find everybody over at the Golden Gate Bridge -- it's a much more tourist-friendly bridge.



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Oh it will eventually get you from Oakland to "The City", and even manages to do the reverse at the end of the day, but I've heard from long-suffering people who make the trip each weekday -- they say what you need to cross the Bay Bridge is a stiff upper lip.



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After the Big Shaker of 1989 a section of the Bay Bridge's upper deck collapsed, making it evident that the east section of the bridge was unsafe.   Now, years and billions of dollars later we are well into the replacement project.   Doubt if it's going to make the commuters any happier, but I guess they're going to be a bit safer.



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Sunrise -- an old shot.   Well, now that I've told you about the bad parts of the Bay Bridge, I thought I should show you one of the good.


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modern architecture

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During the Dot-Com boom San Francisco developers decided to dot the South of Market area with several new and impressive buildings.



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And even after the Dot-Com bust they continued to build.   These days I'll guarantee that San Francisco has absolutely NO shortage of office space.



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Golden Gate

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That's Black Sands Beach way down there -- you can only see part of it in this photo.   Quite a hike down there, and even more challenging on the way back up.   On a warm weekend Black Sands Beach is thick with nude sunbathers -- so be forewarned -- bring sunscreeen...

I took that first photo (above) a few days ago, but the following six photos were shot over two years ago with my old camera.   They aren't of the highest resolution, but I think they'll do...



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Even in these days of modern transportation a lot of stuff still gets barged in and out of the Golden Gate.   I guess it's still the most economical way.



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Some days it's quite a light show out on the Golden Gate...   The water looks fairly placid in this shot, but it's often choppy in this area -- boaters call it the potato patch.



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That little thing in the center is the light-station out there by Land's End.



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Another delivery of oil for the Bay Area.   They say we're addicted.



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The Marin Headlands has been a strategic defensive position going all the way back to -- believe it or not -- the Civil War.



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Oh, I suppose these days ships have radar and GPS to keep them out of trouble, but I don't think lighthouses are going away any time soon.


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artistic water - Lagunitas Creek

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During a winter storm the Lagunitas Creek turns into a raging torrent, but most of the time it just bubbles and churns.



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When shaded and with the sun at a low angle, the creek is able to reflect the various colors of the illuminated surroundings, in some of the most abstract of ways.



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And it all can get very lively and bubbly...   Lets have a party!



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UC Berkeley Botanical Garden

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A couple days ago, being Spring and all, I figured it was time I pay the U.C. Berkeley Botanical Gardens a little visit.   It's a gem of a place.



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They have a wonderful section of succulents -- all menacingly beautiful...



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Designs abound...



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Colors abound...



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And they've got California Poppies...   Oodles and oodles of poppies...



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And a whole lot of other plants -- all putting on quite a show...


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Bridge girders

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Silhouetted from the back...



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I went a bit overboard with the Photoshopping in the top photo, but I think the style of the design lends itself to a bit of bold experimentation.



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California Bees

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I found this bee buzzing in the wild Lavender Winter Vetch (( thanks Adam )) out at China Camp on Sunday afternoon.



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And yesterday this buzzer seemed to be having a delightful morning, as was I, at the U.C. Berkeley Botanical Gardens, in Strawberry Canyon above the campus.   It's quite a place...



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Oh, if you hadn't heard -- the University of Çalifornia at Berkeley has finally come to it's senses.   Just kidding, but they'll be replacing the tired old Cal-Bears with much busier sounding mascots -- the Cal-Bees.   Yuck, yuck...


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Northbeach, San Francisco

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One of my favorite things to do is to walk down Columbus Avenue early on a Sunday morning -- in that short hour or so before the crowds of locals and tourists start flooding the area.

Northbeach has more than it's share of little restaurants and bistros, and call me weird but one of my favorite things to do is to go around to all of them and check out their style of condiment caddy.

You'll probably never see the same exact style of salt and pepper shaker twice, and it's always interesting to see the oil container and how they deal with sugar and Sweet and Low.

Generally, you're not going to see catchup or mustard, and there may be, but I don't think I've ever seen a bottle of A-1 Sauce in Northbeach.



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I have a photographer-buddy in the Mid-West who is enamored by stacks of plates, so now, every time I see a stack of plates I have to pause and photograph it.   I aim to please...



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There is a rather colorful history behind the founding and operation of City Lights Bookstore over the years, and you can read all about it on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Lights_Bookstore

That tall pointy thing on the left is the Transamerica Pyramid.   I have absolutely no idea of what goes on inside.   One thing I'm pretty certain of -- they're not going to let me inside with my camera...



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I've already forgotten the name of this Columbus Avenue Italian hangout, but it's the one with the checkerboard tile pattern on the sidewalk.   I'm guessing it's kind of on the expensive side...


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a trip to the coast

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On Saturday I meandered over Mount Tamalpais via the Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road, and descended into a fog bank hovering low on the coastline.   Although yuou can't see much of it here, the cliffs between Stinson Beach and Muir Beach are particularly rugged.



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Lower and closer.   The fog is adept at scaling cliffs.



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No fog further inland along the way.   Alpine Lake likes to reflect early in the morning.



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And everything that is going to bloom is blooming...


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China Camp

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photo by Donald Kinney

What you're looking at here is the roof over the land-end of the pier at China Camp.   That smokestack is connected to a boiler, used in the drying process of Bay Shrimp.



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A fine fence, indeed...   I can see an Asian influence -- can you?
Tomato plants are starting to grow on the other side of the fence.



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Looks like China Camp's last remaining resident, Frank Quan, found some nice boards to bring home.   Yep, that's where he has lived his entire life, except for a stint in the Army during WW2.



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It's a quiet place with beautiful sunrises**.   Only one problem -- the Bay Shrimp have all but vanished.   But joggers jog, mountain bikers bike, picnickers picnic, and photographers snap.   A very peaceful place...

**Sunrises?
I've shown quite a few photos of China Camp here in AphotoAday over the past couple years -- here's a link that will bring up all the posts:
http://aphotoaday.blogspot.com/search?q=china+camp



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