AuthorPostedbyA Computer In My House. Imagine That!
In 1977, personal computers weren’t a thing yet. But I had Fred Stark. He was my high school teacher. Physics, electronics, and as it turned out, computers. His classroom (room …
AuthorPostedbyAuthorPostedbyHardshell Scenery for the Great Canyon
When I built the floor-to-ceiling canyon on the HO-scale Redwoods and Railroad in 1997, I had some friends come over and help apply the plaster. To make the canyon, I …
AuthorPostedbyDatatables in a Colorbox iframe with Selected Row Returned to Parent Window
A few years ago I created a form where one of the questions was asking for a specific code (specifically, a NAICS code). The problem was that there were almost …
AuthorPostedbyArmy Hospital Trains at Crissy Field
In the summer I go fishing at Crissy Field at least once a week and I often think about some of the fascinating history of the field. During WWII the …
AuthorPostedby3D Printed Balcony
I had mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to create a balcony for one of my small buildings. I’m happy to report I’m almost all the way there. …
AuthorPostedbyThe Best Lure for Crissy Field Beach
Spring and summer mornings at Crissy Field are my favorite. I fish at least once a week, and one lure consistently delivers: the Storm Searchbait Minnow. It’s got the right …
AuthorPostedbyOn Doug Gorney’s Passing
It’s been about two months since Doug passed away suddenly. He was only 63, just a few months younger than me. His passing has hit me hard. He was over …
AuthorPostedbyHow To Subscribe To My RSS Feed
Did you know that you can subscribe to my blog, as well as almost all other blogs that exist on the internet? All you need is a Feedreader app on …
AuthorPostedby31st Avenue: A Walk On The Wild Side of Typography
How many ways can you say 31st Avenue? Apparently a lot. On a short walk through the heart of the Sunset, you’ll find 31 ST, 31ST AVE, 31 ST AVE, …
AuthorPostedbyWatching The Dick Van Dyke Show as a Six Year Old
As a kid, I watched The Dick Van Dyke Show. I was six or seven. At that age, my idea of career and work came from what I saw in …
AuthorPostedbyLegos and Love
Lego kits are made for specific models. Follow the instructions, and you get the exact design on the box. But the genius of Lego is in the parts. Interchangeable. Adaptable. …
AuthorPostedbyDucks at Safeway
We went shopping at Safeway yesterday for the weekend and saw something unusual. Two mallard ducks, a male and a female sitting on the asphalt on in a parking spot. …
AuthorPostedbyTroutmobile Sparks Fowl Frenzy
We went fishing at Lafayette Reservoir yesterday. No bites. Not even a nibble. But we weren’t bored. Lafayette Reservoir is small but it packs in a lot of wildlife. Turkeys …
AuthorPostedbyA City We Can’t Leave
One Christmas, a friend gave us a gift. It was large and heavy. We couldn’t guess what it might be. We opened it. A coffee table book about San Francisco. …
AuthorPostedbyCabin Fever
January hits, and I start thinking about fishing. Happens every year. Sure, there’s winter fishing in the Bay Area. Stocked trout are a thing. But I’m a spring-and-summer kind of …
AuthorPostedbyWet-on-Wet Oil Paintings for Model Railroad Backdrops
In the late ’80s, I painted a series of large backdrops using Bill Alexander’s wet-on-wet oil painting technique. I’d watched his PBS show in the late ’70s and still had …
AuthorPostedbyWhy Do iPhones Never Work Right in Dreams?
Do you ever try to use your iPhone in a dream? Ever notice how it never works? No internet. No signal. Just a useless glass and aluminum rectangle mocking you. …
AuthorPostedbyScrum for One: A Method for Chaotic Minds
I’ve been running my creative life with a weekly sprint plan for years. It’s simple. It works. It’s built for my multipotentialite (and neurodivergent) brain that loves to explore everything …
AuthorPostedbyDrawing PCCs As A Kid
There are a few things I wish I still had from my childhood. Or at least a picture of them. One of those is a series of drawings I did …
AuthorPostedbyThe Amplified Anger Algorithm
I’m stepping back from social media. Threads, Bluesky, Facebook—all of it. Why? The wildfires in LA brought out the worst. Vitriol. Anger. Endless outrage. Grace and empathy? Nowhere to be …
AuthorPostedbyWeathering Freight Cars
Weathering freight cars can be done in many ways. Some folks swear by spray paints. But I prefer pastel chalks in earth tones. Why? Gives more control. You can add …
AuthorPostedbyBalconies and angled downspouts. That’s what’s on my mind.
I’m building an old west town for my model railroad. The inspiration? Virginia City. Unlike the high desert of Nevada, my town will sit in a ravine surrounded by pine …
AuthorPostedbyDoes every county museum in the West have a barbed wire display?
I’ve been to enough small county museums around the West to know to look for their barbed wire collection. It’s usually a small board or shadow box with a variety …
AuthorPostedbyRestoring a San Francisco House… In Miniature
A few years ago, Joyce and I restored the house at 623 32nd Avenue in San Francisco’s Richmond District. It wasn’t the real house—just a 1/12th scale dollhouse model. Completely …
AuthorPostedbyInfluences and Inspirations for the Redwoods and Pacific Railroad
A couple of years ago I gave live streaming a try. I used Switcher Studio. It’s a solid tool for live streams, but it’s pricey. What I liked: you can …