Today's pictures

Yesterday's pictures

The third Saturday of every month, I make telephone calls for
Tele-Care. Tele-Care is a free-of-charge service which has been in
existence of about 35 years and reaches out to elderly shut-ins or
others who are limited in mobility. We call to make sure they are doing
ok. We also call to express our concern and affection for our clients.
For many Tele-Care clients, the daily phone call is the only regular
form of human contact.

I have been a volunteer for about six years. I've often said that I
don't forsee ending my volunteering until I either move out of the area
or pass away. I've not tried to recruit my friends into volunteering
just yet -- but should they be interested I'd be glad to tell them
more.

Several months ago, the SF Chronicle ran an article about the Tele-Care program on the occasion of a great luncheon: East Bay: Lunch brings Tele-Care volunteers and clients face to face.

I like reading the New York Times on a more or less daily basis. Although its columnists (such as Tom Friedman, Nicholas Kristoff, and Paul Krugman) are no longer available for free, I remain an avid reader. There's hardly a day in which I can't find a piece that is either useful or interesting or both. Here are some recent pieces that I've enjoyed:

• Researchers Look to Create a Synthesis of Art and Science for the 21st Century on what Larry Smarr is up to at UCSD in the building of Calit2, which some have likenedd to the MIT Media Lab.

• Learning Everything About an Apartment  As an apartment dweller, I find apartment hunting advice helpful, even if it is specialized for NYC.

• Is It Better to Buy or Rent? covers a topic of perennial interest in the Bay Area.

• I usually find stories like Saying Goodbye California Sun, Hello Midwest interesting because I like many in the Bay Area don't want to be driven out by high real estate prices but wonder whether life elsewhere might not be just as rewarding if we leave.

Hmmm....there's a real estate theme in this list, isn't there?

or

peaceful spot at the GTU bookstore

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

It's been a long time since I spent any time at the GTU Bookstore. Since I walked up to the northside of campus for lunch yesterday (Thursday), I decided to stop in. I didn't remember the couch next to the window, which is a winning feature of the bookstore. How wonderful it would be to contemplate one's life, relationship with the cosmos, with other humans, and with God surrounded by the companionship of books.

Bloggers' lunch

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

A good time was had by all. More pictures are available.

the rains are back

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

I wish that I could be happy with the rains, which are necessary for life in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, I was running late this morning and grabbed a half-functioning umbrella, unprepared for the seasonal return of cold and water.

ad for Sam Harris in NYRB

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

I put a hold on End of Faith from the Berkeley Public Library. Looking forward to reading it.

I love reading the New York Review for its book ideas.

I assiduously avoided every opportunity to carve a pumpkin until Saturday. One of the activities planned for a birthday party to which Laura and I were invited was pumpkin carving. This time, I wanted to carve a pumpkin.

Laura drew the Picasso-esque face, while we be shared in the carving:

We took our pumpkin home and lit it that evening:

I did end up adding a secondary face to the pumpkin, a checkboard reduction of the face:

I'm playing with the drag and drop Flickr functionality in the new flock.com browser which lets me read photo from a particular photostream and drag the picture down into the authoring environment.  For example, let me highlight a few pictures I took but didn't want to spend a lot of time writing about.

An obvious picture of me in a mirror.

I don't know what "tagging" is in this context.  Is this a message to the folksonomic community?

Ten minutes of flipping through this book convinced me that it would be wonderful experience to immerse myself in the visual and tactile world of textiles.

Conclusion:  drag and drop authoring is cool.

Here's a screenshot to show how it was done: