Sooo…I’ve got a friend who would like to visit the Delta. Got another with an SUV. Got a free Sunday with nothing major planned. So…time to move tables and bookshelves and kitchen appliances to the Delta. We’re all getting up and leaving The City early to avoid the traffic and the forecasted 91F (33C) high. Because of the “getting up early” part of this endeavor, I’m actually home at midnight. ON A SATURDAY! Sheesh.
On the plus side, since we’re going to be passing the Brentwood Costco, hopefully USDA Prime New York Steaks are in order! Since the “recession”, big shot steak houses haven’t been as busy as before. There’s lots of USDA Prime that hasn’t been picked up by steak houses and as a result, picked up by Costco, to be picked up by me! This IS a big deal if you like to eat real food. The WSJ even wrote about it back in July.
And once we get this fantastic meat, there’s only ONE way to prepare it. Some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. And then…FIRE!
This is the enviro way to fire up coals. No lighter fluid here!
A message from the past for these troubled times
Delta Money Pit (updated)
I just returned from a quick run to the Delta to finish polishing the hardwood floors on the third floor. It’s a lot of “hands and knees” kinda work, but once it’s done, it looks pretty neat. I also fixed the garbage disposal (so don’t have to buy a new one now). Yay.
This is the great room, door to the deck visible on the right
The hardwood continues into the hallway
The third floor of this building used to be occupied. Then it was broken into and squatters made themselves at home. After they were evicted, the occupant moved out and it has been derelict for a while. Besides wrecking the floors, the squatters broke the thermostats on the wall oven and the kitchen faucet (probably out of frustration because the water and the gas was turned off). The faucet has to be replaced since the stem is clogged with hard water sediment and it was installed in 1992. No spares available. It’s the same with the wall oven. Purchased in 1990, this Modern Maid oven has been rarely used but needs US$400 worth of thermostat controls that are no longer available. New wall ovens are US$700, are more energy efficent and have a warranty.
UPDATE: I took some more photos of the main room with a table and chair set inside. Now that I have a reliable contractor, I’ll probably get around to replacing the oven since that will also require a new trim piece for the cabinet. The room is truly “square” with a quarter cut out for the kitchen. Still, it gets nice light and is airy.
Am trolling Craigslist now for various appliances and furniture bits. Let’s see what comes available out here…
Blog redesign and Delta house
I’ve redone the site so it’s easier to navigate and fixes the broken links that resulted from the last site change. Yay.
This past summer has been a busy one for me. I’ve been learning “home improvement” at a house in the Sacramento Delta. I now know how to rewire lights, install doorknobs and locks, learned the ins and outs of the Home Despot and Lowes, how to clean and polish hardwood floors (on yr hands and knees!) and how to replace a garbage disposal. The aircon works and the gas has been turned on. As a result, the house is now livable save for a broadband connection. I wonder how long THAT will take?
One plus about being out in the middle of nowhere is that there’s a two slip boathouse on the levee across from a slough. On a clear day it’s kinda nice as long as you can deal with oodles of flying stinging bugs. Yuck.
Missing Tokyo?
It’s summer and it’s nearly time for the Koenji Awaodori. And again, I’m unable to attend. I’ve been working on a project for most of the summer. Will blog about it later. However, for those of us who miss the Tokyo Street Style, click on the link!
Let’s visit Singapore!
This is a great price from Tokyo!
Watching this always makes me want to go somewhere. As long as it’s on ANA!
SF North Beach Festival 2009
I made a brief visit to the North Beach Festival last Sunday.
Washington Square all crowded
The North Beach Festival is one of the mainstays of San Francisco summer fair season where Washington Square and part of Grant Avenue is taken over by musicians, food, art and product vendors. The same vendors who are also at the Chestnut Street, Castro and Fillmore Street fairs, in case you missed them there. The North Beach Festival is different. Unlike the Chestnut Street Fair, you’re not confined to a corral if you wish to indulge in an adult beverage. Of course, maybe it was logistically impossible because of the density of the crowd. Problem is that when you have a crowd like this, this is what happens to your AT&T signal.
Notice the upper left corner of my iPhone? It says “searching”. And that’s all.
Of course, it’s not all smug and maturity. It’s an opportunity for local merchants (who are hurting due to the City’s policies) to attract customers too.
Why visit this place?
Because of its creative advertising!
MU A346
Or in English, a China Eastern Airbus A340-600 taken from one of the best planespotting spots at LAX; the Hertz Rent-a-Car lot!
Whooooosh! Coming in for a landing…
Interesting UA flight in new C!
Not to be outdone by ANA’s Pokemon jet, UA now issues their 747s window shades so the dashboards wont be dried out by the sun when the plane is parked.
Do you suppose the headrests have doilies and there’s a keychain alarm?
This was the plane that flew me back to SFO from HKG. My SWU finally cleared when I landed HKG from SIN. Too much excitement for an upgrade…
Speaking of excitement, there was a passenger who decided to give the HKG based crew grief BEFORE TAKEOFF. Apparently he did not approve of the contents of the kosher meal he special ordered. AFAIK, on UA, you get to order the type of special meal, not the contents. This ain’t SQ and you can’t Book the Cook with any other airline but. Anyway, he kept name dropping “Global Services” every 15 seconds and threatened to get off the plane (which he should have done). The captain had to come out of the cockpit to read the riot act to this bozo, who because of his shenagans, prevented the cabin crew from locking down the plane for takeoff. The bozo (which shall be his name now) tried the “Global Services” namedrop but the captain simply said, “I don’t know and I don’t care about what Global Services is, my job is to fly this plane which is now late for take off. Do you want to get off the plane?”
After seeing that namedropping Global Services meant nothing to the captain, bozo shut up and takeoff resumed. Apparently, bozo lived in San Francisco. He was full of smug and was heading home (how appropriate!). I found it interesting he gave far less grief to the non-HK based crew on the plane. Typical. When we landed, I made it a point to shake the captain’s hand and to extend my support for his actions. He and the cockpit crew appreciated the gesture.
My good deed of the week…
Touristy Singapore
I think that each time I visit the Lion City, I will do ONE touristy thing. On my last trip, I had dinner at Halia in the Singapore Botanical Gardens and then a stroll in the gardens, though not in the same visit.
This visit, myself and a friend took a ride on the Singapore Flyer. It’s currently the biggest ferris wheel in the world and is very air conditioned and very smooth. I usually have a problem with heights (that’s why I fly a lot!) but it wasn’t an issue this time. Because I was enjoying the view AND taking night pix!
I think this is the construction site of the Marina Bay casino…
If you watched the Grand Prix last year, I think you’ll recognize these buildings.
The CBD and the Fullerton Hotel.
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