August 20, 2013. O Tempora! O Mores!

O tempora! O mores! On Caltrain this afternoon, a charming young man began a conversation by remarking on the unusual humidity. The young man works for a new startup, which he is eager to leave. "It's hard to sell a product that doesn't exist!" he said.

August 19, 2013. Chess.

A Theme in The Life. A few weeks ago, I bought a chess set, in a standard modern style. The pieces are magnetic, and adhere nicely to the board, which folds into a handsome box to carry them. I played chess, badly, when I was young, and gave it up in my university days. I resolved that one day I would turn my attention to it again. That day has arrived. At Aardvark, I bought a splendid book, dating from 1935, on the game. I love the old notation. Modern chess notation is unreadable, and reminds me of the metalogic matrices I studied in school. This afternoon, at the Mechanics' Institute Library, I watched awhile a young man play chess online. And of course, there's the chess club, on the 5th floor, which I will visit one day. Outside, as I passed through the Crocker Galleria, I came upon a very large chess set, in which the kings and queens were between 3 and 4 feet tall. A group of young people were playing. One sporting young fellow was standing on the white queen's square, evidently replacing her. They were a few moves into the opening.

August 13, 2013. Conservatives.

For years I have known that the world that "conservatives" describe is not there. It does not exist. I simply don't recognize the world that they live in. I'm not an imperceptive person. Surely there is something, somewhere. But there isn't.

August 13, 2013. Puzzles.

A Moment in The Life: At the Caltrain station this morning, the newsvendor sold me the Chronicle (only $.50; the usual price elsewhere is $1.00) and said, "I'll give you the [free] Examiner, so you can do the puzzles." "Puzzles?" I queried; "I'm not that clever!" "Guess!" he replied.

August 11, 2013. Pay phones.

I read in the Chronicle the other day that there are 200 pay phones in San Francisco. 200! Where, I don't know. I've seen only a few. But there are people who don't have mobile phones.

August 11, 2013. Yukon territory. 1960s.

I worked in the Yukon Territory, in my student days, as a geologist's assistant with a mining company looking for molybdenum and copper. Worked there two summers, out in the bush, in various places along the Yukon River and elsewhere, in tents in the forests, doing magnetometer surveys up and down mountainsides, collecting soil and rock samples along creeks, mapping magnetic anomalies, flying in helicopters from camp to camp, etc etc.. I spent very little time in towns. I was briefly in Whitehorse and Dawson and other places. My team got lost along some mountain ridge, trying to find our way to a road back to the mine where we were headquartered (I'm the hero of that story......I'll tell you about it sometime). Long , long time before GPS. We used paper maps, geological surveys, compasses almost useless thanks to the deflections of the magnetic field, and so on. A great adventure, really. In my day, Dawson was small, decaying, with one or two small hotels, neither of which would be out of place in the Tenderloin today. There were some tourists and trekkers, but not many. I remember a tiny cinema (a quonset hut, perhaps?). Mostly I recall ruined buildings, empty lots, a population too poor to live anywhere else, gravel roads, and so on. Generally, the ambience was one of a ruined past, and hopeless present.

August 10, 2013. Glock.

This afternoon, a uniformed security guard boarded the 31 bus. He was carrying a gun (a Glock) in a holster. "That's a serious weapon you have," I said, as I was leaving the bus. "I use it only when I have to," he said with a smile. "Good to know!" I replied.

August 3, 2013. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (see 'drab,' 'nondescript' below). From Caffe Zephyr this afternoon, I saw, and heard, two lion dancers, with accompanying drummers and fireworks, spread their good luck and drive away demons, up and down the block between 37th and 38th. A short time later, a young man in a wetsuit, carrying a surfboard, rolled by on a skateboard, on his way to Ocean Beach. A man and his daughter walked by, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows, brilliantly fletched. Summer in The City.

July 31, 2013. A Day in the Life.

A Day In The Llfe, or, What Comes Around Goes Around. After exiting the Muni Underground at Montgomery Street, I came across a dime on the sidewalk. I picked up the coin and pocketed it. I proceeded on my way to the bank, and made a few other stops. On my way back down Montgomery, I observed an older gent, briskly walking north, dressed as Emperor Norton, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. The uniform and beard were accurate, resembling photos of the Emperor. This older gent is Norton II, I presume. Cheered by the realization that What Is Old Is New Again, I went on to Stonestown, to shop at Trader Joe's. After I had finished shopping, and was waiting for a bus (the 18) I was approached by two teen boys, one of whom asked me for a dime. After a brief admonition on the perils of begging on the streets, I gave him the dime I had found. He handed it off to his friend. They went happily on their way. No doubt The Universe Is Unfolding As It Should.

July 24, 2013. Confection.

A Day in the Life. Tuesday afternoon, I was offered a bag of chocolate-covered bacon, obtained from a county fair nearby. This confection was new to me. Delicious. There were several other items, like deep-fried chocolate bars, but I forbore.

July 10, 2013. A Sign of the Times

A Sign of the Times, in the restroom of The Social Study, on Geary at Fillmore: Employees must recite the alphabet backwards before returning to work.

July 1, 2013. Yankees Fan.

I have lived to see, proudly seated in the back seat of a Mercedes Benz convertible, a dog, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. He's a Yankees fan.

June 11, 2013. Motorman.

A streetcar motorman this afternoon announced the '2nd & King/AT&T Park' stop as "the House that Barry Built!"

June 8, 2013. Studio Apartment

I live in a small studio apartment. I like to think that I know what and where everything is. But I frequently come across objects which prompt me to ask, "Where did this come from? And when?"

June 7, 2013. Cafe Zephyr.

Zephyr changed hands June 1. The surfboard and the teapots disappeared, along with a large collection of posters and framed photos and prints that were on offer. The disintegrating wicker chairs, which I remember from the first time I visited the cafe, in 1992, vanished. This afternoon, a workman was tearing up the equally ancient carpet. Meanwhile, the new owners continue to serve lattes and regular coffees, and the posted menus are intact, so far.

MAy 26, 2103. Bliss.

Lunch at a restaurant in Hayes Valley. My tea bag read, "Smooth green tea leaves harmoniously blend with sweet tropical fruits of pineapple and guava. Fragrant and uplifting, this bouquet will transport you to tropical bliss." ....I'm waiting..

May 22, 2013. Cafe.

Life in The City. My local cafe is offering a surfboard for sale. $50. Plus assorted Chinese teapots, $18 each.

May 20, 2013. Haunted.

On the 31 bus this afternoon, I overhead a young man, on his mobile phone, explain to his father just why, and how, his place of employment (a large, hip retail store) is haunted. Poltergeists, evidently. The building was a hospital in a former existence.

May 9, 2013. Fortune Cookie.

Tonight's fortune cookie, from Mandarin Villa at Oak and Franklin, reads: You will soon receive an unusual gift, freely given. Accept!

May 3, 2013. Elephant Bells.

I have elephant bells. I have to ring them every morning at 8:30, to make sure that an elephant won't appear at my front door. It's worked well, so far.