Tag: Alameda
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Christmas Eve 2014
Thompson Avenue was its usual carnival of lights this year as the neighborhood lit itself up and residents prepared to greet the thousands of people that came to walk our street, see the lighting displays, and of course visit with Santa. Each December, all of the dudes on the block volunteer to play Santa Claus…
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Lighthouse Found
There is a tradition of public mischief and random acts of art in the Bay Area. From The Cacophony Society, to The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Billboard Liberation Front all the way back to Coyle & Sharpe, the people of San Francisco have delighted themselves by poking at authority with a wink and a smile.…
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Barbara Lee, my representative in Congress
Barbara Lee is my Congresswoman. She was the lone voice of reason who, in the wake of September 11th, questioned the language around the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) which was drafted in response the the terrorist attacks because there was no one we could declare war upon. Radiolab did a podcast on…
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The Lighthouse Found Me
After delivering a print out of my previous post summarizing all my notes and theories (thank you everyone who chipped in their ideas) I found this on my front door step. Written on the side was the phrase et respondendum est quod which translates to, “and the answer is that” I still haven’t quite figured…
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Flummoxed by Alameda Lighthouse Mystery
About a month back I read with interest a strange article in our local paper. The byline was from a Hon. Admiral Banyan Azimuth, Retired and it described a mysterious society, acronyms, a puzzle, and hidden treasure. All good material for a quest. The Alameda Lighthouse Appreciation Society (ALAS) has collaborated with the North American…
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Baseball Fandom, Visualized
From a New York Times deep dive into how people list their preferred baseball team on Facebook. “Like the Mets, the Athletics are the less popular team in a two-team region — less popular everywhere in that region, based on the data from Facebook. Again, winning the World Series matters. The Giants have won two…
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Glomar Response
The strange origin of the Glomar Response and its relation to a shipbuilder in Alameda.
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Time Travel
I picked up a book of old photographs last weekend that detailed Alameda’s railroad history. I had heard that the island where I live used to host a network of light rail lines that served the community but had no idea how extensive it was until I browsed the pages of Alameda by Rail this past…
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Christmas Tree Lane
Over the weekend I got to play dream maker again. Each December, my street transforms itself into a carnival of lights. Each house on the 3200 block of Thompson Avenue in Alameda drapes itself in lights including the big pine trees down the center isle. This is a tradition that has been going on since…