Looking down the aisle of an empty Caltrain
I love the double-decker Caltrain fleet, mostly because the older ones are the same type as the older Metra trains I sometimes got to ride as a kid. Too bad they swapped out the reversible seats: I guess they were too prone to smash fingers.
Today I boarded at San Jose Diridon (where the non-Gilroy Caltrains start their run towards San Francisco) and the doors were open a few cars down the aisle. In the quiet of a Sunday evening it felt kind of like an abandoned space craft from “2001.”
That is my bicycle on the right. I’m glad to see the reflector on the patch kit blinking back at the flash.
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Row Houses in Mountain View
When I was born, the communities between San Francisco and San Jose were sleepy little agricultural communities developing in to suburbs. These days these towns are suburbs developing greater density along their travel corridors. This row of newer houses stuffed close together on tiny lots is something you might see in San Francisco, Chicago, or the outer boroughs of New York City.
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That “Sea of Glass” building from a different perspective.
While clicking around in a WordPress install last night I discovered that under Appearance > Media I can change the size of images posted through WordPress.
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An antique Chevy pickup truck, spotted in San Bruno.
I rode Caltrain up to San Bruno for a team lunch today. We parked near this beauty, and I got my picture. When this truck was new, the area was mostly orchards.
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I work for a company that rhymes with oh.
I have heard that going through official channels takes months, and will only happen with a doctor’s note, in which case an ergonomic consultant is hired to write up new specifications for the blah-de-blah. I just wanted to try something out, and maybe change my mind, so I used a screwdriver. I hear the term for this is “Self-Initiated Cubicle Reconfiguration.”
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Spring arrives in Northern California!
Two feet of snow in Chicago, all snowplows deployed and garbage trucks fitted with plows. Meanwhile, in the gentler climate we have in San Jose, the plants are bursting back in to life.
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Heading on down the gravel trail North of Moffett. Those are blimp hangars in the distance.
A gravel trail that wanders on down towards blimp hangars, water on either side. No, you don’t see that every day.
Unless your commute is weird.
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The boat launch near the gate North of Moffett, where I figure the hunters paddle out to their blinds.
I was playing with either exposure compensation or the “My Colors” option on the camera. This photo comes out looking sharper than others in the series, though it would be nice to know which button I pressed that caused that. (Probably the “Vivid Colors” setting.)
You can see what I assume to be a hunting blind in the distance.
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An assortment of trucks parked at the fence to the hunting area, North of Moffett Field.
This is the scene that first inspired the rambling in My First “Podcast” . . . I rode past and heard popping in the distance, then I rolled back to grab this picture. I reckon these trucks belong to hunters who came out in the morning to sit in blinds and claim some trophy waterfowl.
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Beware the Shadow
Admittedly, not much of a photo. But here’s a shot from this morning’s local free paper. I always like to see what sort of petty crimes have made the Atherton Police Blotter. (Atherton is where we keep our rich people, sealed off in walled compounds.)
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A sculpture of a boy waiting with the luggage at the Mountain View train station.
This photo brings the song “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” to mind. Though, this kid is sitting at a station in the Bay Area, with his back turned as the trains roll away.
He is taking a moment to idle and people watch and that is when you notice him. A nice piece of public art. I like having the bicycles and the light rail in frame.
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A while back I purchased a Sony ICD-PX820 voice recorder for a different project I’ve been putting off. (Shame on me.) This morning as I was bicycling in to work I heard the pop-pop-pop of duck hunting. I stopped to take some pictures (photo a day?) and then noticed I had my voice recorder on me.
Listen, if you dare: morning-commute.mp3 (14m13s)
It starts out slow . . . just a test, but as it went along I started pausing recording and stringing together more overt narration. I then managed to trim out a little bit using Audacity. I enjoyed listening, but I am biased. It might be more fun to hear years from now: “Hello, younger Danny!”
Conclusions:
- The voice recorder is excellent. One less excuse to start interviewing folks.
- The voice recorder may also be helpful to “jot down ideas” hands-free.
- I thought WordPress had better “podcast” support built in. (Eh?)
- If I want to produce Audio, I should spend a little effort to learn Audacity.
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