On The Job-East Mall, Japantown

I have posted about Japantown before.  Today, we have an area that infrequently visit in comparison to the other 2 major areas of the mall.  This thrid structure is much smaller than the Kinokuniya and Kintetsu building.  Ergo, there are fewer shops and restaurants whitin it.  Not to mention, there is no physical connection to the rest of the complex.  The other 2 are connected by an elevated walkway.  This is seperated by an open plaza, The Peace Plaza.

Throughout the entire complex, there are small areas that are built up to convey the Japanese feel and sensibilities.  Fountains and rock gardens evoke a sense of being in a faraway land.

This small hallway connects to a neighboring hotel that holds small animation conventions.  A small row of shops and a restaurant line the hall.  I dont believe that I have ever ate here

Most of this is a 2 floor structure with an open area to transition between the elevations.  Alongside a few Japanese restaurants in the second story is a Korean restaurant.  There are two discount stores that can be found here.  In the far corner is Ichiban Kan.  They sell a wide variety of housewares and food stuffs.  Several years after they opened, another discount store from Japan opened a location downstairs near the bottom of the stairs.  All items, unless makred otherwise, are $1.50.  Some items like drinks could be less than that.  They sell many of the same type of things as Ichiban Kan.  This store, called Daiso, originated in Japan and I have been to a few otheir locations their.

On The Job-Ocean Beach

There are several beaches dotted along the city's borders with the bodies of water that surround the peninsula.  The largest one, Ocean Beach, borders the Pacific Ocean.  This strip of sand takes up the majority of the western border of the city.  The tide was low during the time I was there so much of the beach is exposed.  From the Cliff House, it runs south to the SF Zoo.  A portion of that is adjacent to Golden Gate Park.  Along this mutual area, the Beach Chalet restaurant and some windmills make their homes.  The windmills are being restored but one is almost complete while the other hasnt entered is renovation stage.

Theres not much to see at the shoreline unless you are planning to take in the surf and the sun.  The waves around here are not known for being particularly tasty or awesome.  They are more know for the undertow than anything else.  Many solar orbital cycles, decades for that matter, there was a beachside amusement park called Funland.  It was never in competition with the grander boardwalks like Coney Island or even smaller local boardwalk in Santa Cruz.  Long existent even before my arrival to the city, it was the place to go in the city.  There were carnival rides and all the usual accutrements of attractions of that era.  Once gone, it never returned.  However, people have tried to petition to bring something similar back.

Overlooking the surf is a renovated Cliff House, where I took the previous pictures.  There are some gourmet restaurants with great views of the sand and water to accompany lunch or dinner.  A visitor's center provides information about the history behind the building.  A small distance away is Louis'.  This cafe has been in existence for quite a while and still draws a good crowd of people for breakfast or lunch.  the restaurant is situated above what used to be Sutro Baths

Not much is left of the baths except for its foundation.  The indoor pool was supplied by heated seawater from the ocean.  From pcitures that Ive seen, the building had high ceilings and looked to be very large.  Just off in the distance are rocks where birds and seals like to use as a rest stop or perch.  As cold and foggy as the city gets, an indoor pool versus outdoor pool was a no brainer.  However, there was an outdoor pool built near the SF Zoo called Fleischer(?) Pool



Innocence Lost-Halloween

Halloween is fast approaching.  However, if you've visited your local Costco or retail outlet, it feels like we've past Halloween and Thanksgiving and went straight to Christmas.  Many of our childhoods are spent anticipating the sacks of candy and sweets we could get while pandering on the streets of our local neighborhoods.  Even back when I was a child, there were the persistent rumours of tainted candy and the overwhelming fear of biting into an apple with a razor blade in it.  Unfortunately, this age old tradition has begun to lose its luster as I hear from parents and the news about the world around us.  Parents are gripped with fear at the thought of treats that may have been previously tampered with.  None of which are eased with the possibility of predators roaming the streets with their children.  The darkness of night helping to shield them and their nefarious plans.  Parents I know have told me of how they take their kids trick or treating but not allowing them to ingest any of their gains.  Instead, they buy items that they know are safe and trade them in for what they have recieved that night.  The unfortunate sweet tooths at the office the next day are left to be the canary in the mineshaft as they unwittingly partake of the previous nights returns..

Inside out or outside in?

I have noticed the way I attack a sandwich.  If the sandwich is uncut then I assume most people would eat it outside first and either work your way to the middle or plow through it row by row in a left to right and vice versa direction.  With a cut sandwich you can begin from the inside.  With one on a roll, I find that I begin in the middle and work my way to the end.  Do you still begin with the ends and work you way in?

On sliced bread, I dont follow the same convention.  Instead, I start at one of the ends that was bisected by the cut, proceed to the opposite corner then head to the middle.  By then, theres only the original corner.  On a regular sized slice of bread, the little corner can be taken as a whole.

On a round piece of bread that has been cut into wedges, I consume it as I would a slice of pizza.  Beginning at the inside point, I work my way out to the edge.  Very similar to the cut roll, its inside out..

This is my thinking.  When a sanwich is crafted, consciously, unconsciouly or subconsciously, all of the fillings are piled into the center of the contruct, all the good stuff is in the middle.  Hence towards the edges, there is very little except for bread.

On The Job-Mission Bay

This area of the city is located on the eastern shore along the bay.  Over the years, this area has developed at a quick pace after a very slow start.  It began with UCSF, just to the west, moving into the area followed by many others.

Many of the buildings are occupied by biotech firms and UCSF.   Some offices are used by high tech companies as well.  Both industries that have built up our little corner of the state

Remnants of the bygone days of this waterfront space are still visible.  Many if not all of the warehouses in this locale have moved on to different parts of the city to make way for these complexes

Expansion is not complete as more buildings are still being erected and open spaces are still available to build on.  AT&T Park is located just north of here.

A Modern Day Da Vinci/Edison-Steve Jobs

I was working in the office yesterday when my supervisor got word over his iPhone that Steve Jobs had passed away.  Steve may not have produced as many inventions as Da Vinci or Eidson, but his products have become just as commonplace and widespread  as anything those 2 great men ever came up with.  In the US and in most places in the world, you could walk to a person and ask if they own an Apple product.  I would bet that you would easily get a yes answer in less than 5 attempts.  However, I would have to answer "No" if you asked me that question.  Being in the minority,  I am surrounded by many who own many of Apple's portable products but not so much their Mac computers.  Though I have never owned an Apple product, I have always given Jobs his due for creating products that people would sell their birthrights for.  Products that were easy to use and worked well.

The timing of this news seems a bit suspect.  It seems more than coincidental that this is communicated the day after announcement of the new iPhone.  Fears of this overshadwoing the product release or a dip in stock prices makes me scratch my head.  Jobs has been known to be very private and would keep news like this very close to the vest.  Attribute this to the conspiracy theorist in me
Steve Jobs was a rennaisance man/great inventor of our age.  Though he may never win a Nobel prize, he will be remembered by throngs of consumers.   I bet he's listening to his iPod in the iClouds.  Maybe Apple should make a black iPad in his honor.

On The Job-Vaillancourt Fountain

The fountain is situated on the northern edge of Justin Herman Plaza.  Today the water was turned on and the fountain is running.  To me it looks like the remians of a demolished building where someone has not yet turned off the water supply.  Water pours out from many orifices on the structure.  Most fall from heights of 2 feet and aabove while a few gurgle out at water level in the basin.  Looking to the east, the clock tower of the Ferry Plaza is visible.

You can walk around, behind, and on this fountain  Here a path takes you behind the cascading waters of the structure.  However, you will not be free from getting splashed in a few locations

Peering out from behind, the Hyat Regency Hotel abuts the plaza

Moving along, this open area is a favorite brown bag lunch spot on bright warm days like today. Free lunchtime concerts are not uncommon.  Recently a zip line was installed.  For a fee, one can whizz by over the fountains

There are locations well above the water line that one can access and be one with the sound of falling water crashing onto water

Duty calls and I could not spend any extra time at this location.  So, heres the last picture that I took from behind the exit points of water