šŸ‘‹šŸ»  Hello!

Thanks for visiting! You'll find a bunch of musings I've been writing around these parts since the early 2000's. Lately, I've been reviewing a lot of books. But I also write about code and my experiments using generative AI. But really, you're just here to see pictures of Benson.

Blog Posts

Horrible Faces on the Internet

I remember that my sister and I shared the #1 result on Google for Horrible Faces a number of years ago. Since I moved servers and files got lost in the move, we’ve lost our claim to fame.

It’s time to retake that thrown. Here is my new web page, dedicated to horrible faces.

Photojojo Photo Safari – Urban Ruins on Treasure Island

Photojojo Photo Safari - Urban Ruins of Treasure Island

Join us for a photo tour of the fabulous ruins of Treasure Island, this Saturday, November 22nd.

ABOUT TREASURE ISLAND ==========
A man-made island originally built to host a 1939 World’s Fair, Treasure Island was once home to fantastic (but ephemeral) architecture, gala displays, and the (in)famous Gayway — a bawdy playland for World’s Fair visitors. Treasure Island was also intended to serve as an airport. With the outbreak of World War II, the US Navy took over the island, and it remained in Navy hands until the base was closed in 1994. Elements of all this history survive to this day, but Treasure Island’s abandoned state also makes the island feel spooky — like a post-Apocalyptic ghost town floating in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

WHERE TO MEET ================
We’ll meet near the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco at 1:00pm, specifically at the corner of 1st and Howard. (We’ll take the bus over together.)

Parking is available nearby if you want to drive instead. Map: http://tinyurl.com/56z96v

For those who aren’t able to meet us in San Francisco, you can meet up with us on Treasure Island at 2:00pm, in the parking lot near the the old Guard Shack (1st St and Palm Ave on Treasure Island). Map: http://tinyurl.com/5dhguq

AFTER SAFARI ==================
After this Photojojo Safari, we will travel back to the city and meet at Pete’s Tavern at 5:30pm, where we will share photos, drinks and stories. We’ll also be giving away some prizes from our sponsor Adobe!

Bring your cameras and some friends and we’ll see you on Saturday!

More information: http://photojojo.com/safaris/
RSVP! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=46448949049

(Photo credit: Telstar Logistics)

Tenderloin Murals

A mural I saw while walking through the Tenderloin District today…

Tenderloin Murals

Tenderloin Murals

1,000 Sunsets

One of the (many) awesome things about living in San Francisco? You are almost always guaranteed a fantastic sunset. Here is a selection of some of the sunsets I’ve seen since I moved into this apartment building nearly 2 years ago.

From tonight:
Yet Another Sunset

Last night:
Carillon Towers Sunset

Other previous sunsets from our apartment:
Another San Francisco Sunset

San Francisco Sunsets and Fog

1,000 Sunsets

And a few sunsets from this past summer over the Golden Gate:
Golden Gate Bridge Sunset

Golden Gate Bridge Sunset

Golden Gate Bridge Sunset

Time Lapse Traffic Movies

While some of the newer DSLR’s on the market have some new, high tech HD movie recording mode, I’ve been plugging away with my ā€œoldā€ Nikon D300, creating some time lapse movies using the ā€œinterval shootingā€ option hidden in some of the menu settings.

Here are two movies I’ve shot from the balcony of our apartment, showing traffic on the streets below. I think I may ultimately try to combine these into some sort of larger movie when I get a chance. Something similar to this or this.

Random Images

Here are some photos I’ve taken the past few days.

Sunset behind our apartment building:
Carillon Towers Sunset

Peace in the Tenderloin (Shepard Fairey design):
Peace in the Tenderloin

All Alone:
All Alone

More Photos from the Cal Academy

More photos from the California Academy of Sciences. We went again yesterday and finally got to check out the new planetarium. Top notch! One of the coolest things I’ve seen.

California Academy of Sciences

Living Roof at California Academy of Sciences

De Young Museum

California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences

T-Rex Skeleton

San Francisco Fog – A Time Lapse Movie

Fog rolling in across the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a short time lapse movie I shot from our apartment’s balcony earlier this evening, beginning at 4:30pm with my Nikon D300. Photos were taken every 30 seconds from roughly 4:30 pm to 5:00pm.

The Shifting Electorate


Showing the shift in voting from 2004 to 2008. Blue counties show more Democratic votes compared to 2004, while red counties show more Republican votes compared to 2004. Source: NY Times.

The New York Times has a fascinating writeup on the shifting electorate and comparing the results of this election to 2004. Slowly but surely, we’re turning the country blue.