31 July 2006
Hetch Hetchy
On Saturday, and on a whim, I drove to Hetch Hetchy for a little hike to Wapama Falls. The day was hot, but it was well worth the sweat, and you'll see from my photos.
I wish I had been able to photograph the nice rattlesnake I saw, but it was too well-camouflaged once it had fled from the trail into the brush. We looked at each other for a minute, while it tasted me with its Jacobson's organ. It looked more or less like this.
Hetch Hetchy Valley is just like Yosemite Valley, except it's been filled with water ever since the construction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Now it's a reservoir that supplies drinking water to the City of San Francisco. The tap water in my Camelbak came from the body of water that I had driven for four hours to look at. In our post-9/11 world, I was surprised to see no real security on the dam that's responsible for sending unfiltered drinking water to a major city.
You can learn about the history of the reservoir here.
24 July 2006
A Sad Bargain
There's a nine-room, four-fireplace Victorian overlooking Duboce Park, built in 1899, and it's on the market for only the second time since then. A steal at $990,000! And yet, at barely under a million dollars, it's not even habitable.
This picture is haunting me. I daydream about fixing up a house like that one, but as you'll see when you read the caption, the reality would be more of a nightmare. Given how extreme its superficial problems are, that house undoubtedly has much deeper problems that only a professional contractor can detect. And of course the previous owner is probably poltergeisting the place, making it even more challenging to redecorate.
In this real estate market, I'd be lucky to afford a cardboard box in a muddy ditch under a freeway onramp next to a crack house. Fortunately, renting suits me fine.
19 July 2006
Taxidermy Class
I just signed up for a one-night taxidermy class on August 9 at Paxton Gate. I've admired their taxidermy collection, but of course the most beautiful specimens are way out of my budget. As usual, the solution is do-it-yourself.
I'm so excited! All supplies are provided, including a mouse. Soon I'll be roaming the hills, collecting roadkill with which to decorate my home. I'm curious where they get the mice for their classes. Are the mice fresh? Frozen? Imported? Raised on free-range mouse farms? The answers will have to wait a few weeks.
16 July 2006
Spooky
I've been sprucing up my photo gallery, including adding photos from a couple of recent adventures:
- San Francisco Ghost Hunt
Floozy throws the best birthday parties. About 20 of us joined her for this ghost hunt. Of course, we didn't encounter any ghosts, but we heard some lurid stories from San Francisco's history, and had a nice walk in Pacific Heights.
- Fire Arts Festival
Lamont and I went to The Crucible's annual Fire Arts Festival. Fire!