Margin Notes: Rainbow Transport Egret

A PCC streetcar pulled onto Market Street near the Ferry Building in San Francisco, California on 3-January-2011

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA - It was like being in transportation mecca when minutes after I arrived in the state of California last week, I stepped off a BART rapid transit train and surfaced at the Embarcadero Station to find myself just steps from a cable car line, the Market Street streetcar line (pictured above), trolley and diesel buses, and the ferries to the north and east bay--and I wasn't far away from the Caltrain commuter rail station (which could have been reached via MUNI light rail). So what did I do? I hopped a bus across the bay to catch an Amtrak train, of course.

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The other thing that was rather mind-boggling to hear as I surfaced was the news that Jerry Brown was just being sworn in as the 39th governor of the Golden State (he had also been the 34th, from 1975 to 1983. It seems like yesterday (well, 1999-2007) that he was the mayor of Oakland, seemingly at first with no higher aspirations. Then, he was suddenly attorney general, and now a hopefully very mature governor--I agree with Mark Shields that his inaugural speech set a very realistic and constructive tone. The question is whether legislators in Sacramento from both parties will be equally sober in facing the state's incredible problems.

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Construction on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge was progressing along as viewed from the old bridge on 3-January-2011

Coverage of the Brown inaugural was playing on the radio as the bus crossed the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. The new cable-stay eastern span is coming along as seen above--the portions of the bridge that are complete appear to have signs posted and lighting fully completed just a few feet from the current end of the structure, which is a bit different to see.

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A Great White Egret was found in the drainage area outside the W Hotel in Newark, California on 4-January-2011

I had decided to take an Amtrak ride after landing for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that I was not expecting another chance this week. I chose to go as far as Modesto and then return, creating about a 200-mile round trip including scenery through the Delta to Stockton that I had not seen in more than twelve years. The wildlife in that portion was disappointing, but a Great White Egret was noted along San Pablo Bay. I thought that was pretty neat--until I noted a Great White Egret just outside my hotel's parking lot the next morning.

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That hotel that my new company's travel agent had booked me into was a W Hotel in Newark, California. I don't care what owner Starwood thinks; this new chain is nearly as weird as Virgin America airlines. Techno music plays in the common areas, the lighting is all muted and colored, and the rooms clearly favor form over function. It was rather a relief to move to a Quality Inn.

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A circular rainbow was noted outside a plane to San Francisco, California on 3-January-2011

I suppose I should have been in a psychedelic mood after seeing a circular rainbow during my flight westward. The above photo shows the double rainbow around what was apparently the shadow of the plane at the center of the rainbow, a rather fun phenomena to observe in the air.

Margin Notes: Mulled Wine, Birds, Joe Canadian

Proud Bavarian Matthias Oschinski poured rum on the sugar cone as part of the process of making mulled wine at his apartment in Toronto, Ontario on 17-December-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - One of the highlights of my visit to the Toronto Christmas Market (covered previously) was the mulled wine, which was a really nice (and warm) treat in the cold weather. When my friends Karimah Hudda and Matthias Oschinski invited me over to actually make their own mulled wine, there was no way I was going to turn that down. Friday night, I was treated to how it is actually done in Germany, prominently using bags of spices, a cone of sugar, a special copper pot, and of course red wine, amongst other details. A native Bavarian, Matthias had expressed minor dissatisfaction with the offering at the market, and after drinking his version, I understood why--the spices were much more nicely accented, leading to a taste that isn't quite like anything else I've ever had. I can understand why Matthias and Karimah make mulled wine an annual tradition.


The blue, alcohol-based flame surrounded the sugar cone as mulled wine was prepared on 17-December-2010

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An annual tradition for most North Americans around this time of year is shopping, and malls know that. It surprised me when visiting the Eaton Centre here in Toronto this fall that it looked like their construction project involving flooring and railings wasn't going to be complete in time for the peak holiday season. Sure enough, when I went to shop there on Friday night, the crowds were having to work their way around the construction. What in the world were they thinking when they scheduled that work?

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I'd also like to know what the CBC was thinking when it named the new co-host of the flagship As It Happens show on Radio One. When the CBC fired Barbara Budd as co-host earlier this year, it claimed it wanted to replace presenters with journalists. So who did they hire? Jeff Douglas, best known as the actor that portrayed "Joe Canadian" in the famous Molson Beer "I am Canadian" commercial. Granted, Douglas has done significant documentary work, promises to push social media for the show, and I rather like him, but it sure doesn't look like the point of replacing Budd was to find a journalist. It makes the whole process look rather cold.

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A small bird braved the elements at Toronto's Lambton Park on 19-December-2010

The weather has been cold in Toronto for the past week, and it has looked like a winter wonderland for about the past week. I went out in the elements today and spotted a Cardinal, but as is usually my luck when male Cardinals are around, I didn't manage to get a decent picture. I had to settle for a LBB ("little brown bird") instead, shown above at Lambton Park.

Margin Notes: Their Way, Birds, Plinky

A "their way" sign seemed to have taken the place of a "one way" sign at the foot of Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario on 14-August-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Sometimes it's better not to be able to read road signs. I have no idea what to make of the above one-way sign, seen looking west on College Street at the south end of Queen's Park Crescent. Is this a political statement about what goes on in the Legislative Assembly? Am I allowed to go "their way" if I want to? Does this mean I can go the other way if I don't like "them"? I'm pretty sure that sign doesn't appear in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) for Canada.

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Continuing in the theme common on this blog of never knowing what you'll see next in on the streets of Toronto, I decided to walk on Gerrard Street this afternoon west of Yonge, which is not an especially busy street. On the sidewalk, I found a man in a wheelchair clearly enjoying some pot. I knew what city I was in!

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A great white egret flew high above the Humber River in Toronto, Ontario on 18-August-2010

It's easy to forget that one is in the city when walking along the Humber River. On Wednesday night, I was treated to quite a variety of large birds, with a great white egret choosing to make several fly-overs and a great blue heron perching in a tree right across the river from me before it decided to head downriver. For some reason, the sight of the herons in a tree never ceases to elicit from me a degree of awe.


A great blue heron took off from its perch in a tree along the Humber River at dusk on 18-August-2010

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Dave Wetherald was at the throttle of the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre's steam locomotive #3, in front of steam locomotive #6213 during a test run on 7-July-2009

Those bird pictures are unlikely to ever appear beyond this blog, but the picture above is in today's Toronto Sun. Mike Filey asked for an appropriate picture for an item on the 6213 steam locomotive from the Toronto Railway Historical Association, and they ended up sending the above photo. However, Filey's column does not appear to be on-line anymore, so the only evidence will be a physical copy of the Sun.

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I've noticed more and more posts on various blogs citing Plinky prompts. Plinky markets itself as a service to overcome writer's block by asking provocative questions. I have no problem with people using Plinky, but if I ever suffer from writer's block, I will simply not write something on this blog for that day. As the past nearly two years have shown, this does not happen very often--in fact, probably not often enough for most readers.

Margin Notes: Blue Jay, Electric Car, Podcasts

A Blue Jay was found where else--Toronto, specifically Lambton Park on 16-May-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Despite the name of its baseball team, I don't see the actual blue jay bird very often in Toronto. The last time I captured a picture of one was in 2007. So, I was quite pleased today when one flew right in front of me in Lambton Park and landed in a nearby tree, affording the above photo opportunity. Perhaps coincidentally, the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Texas Rangers today.

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After taking nice nature walks along the Humber River or High Park and seeing collections of birds and other wild life, I really dislike walking along streets with noisy vehicles. Thus, earlier this week, I was quite pleased when I watched a Ford Escape hybrid take a near-silent turn onto a street and proceed with barely a sound. I think I'm going to really like the electric car era when it finally arrives.

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The first new sidewalk stencil I have discovered in 2010 was this Rafat General Contractors one on Humbercrest Boulevard on 16-May-2010

I was avoiding walking along busy Jane Street when I cut along Humbercrest Boulevard today. There, I stumbled upon my first sidewalk stencil of 2010--a patch of concrete sidewalk that was probably poured on Friday. Rafat General Contractors gets the honor of being the first name I photographed in concrete in 2010.

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My first sidewalk stencil came almost a month earlier in 2010 than 2009, but my observation skills are still pretty slow. I just now realized that the BBC Newshour is available as a podcast. What I consider to be the premiere world news program has apparently been available for months. Getting a downloadable BBC news program on the weekend had long been one of my primary desires for electronic media. The only programs that I regularly listen to now that don't have a downloadable version with at least the bulk of the broadcast are the NPR news magazines (like All Things Considered and Weekend Edition Saturday) and CJAD/CFRB's Dr. Joe Schwarcz science show. In fact, I think my biggest complaint now is that one can't get Jian Ghomeshi's monologue for Q except on the live broadcast.