36 Views of Mt. Fuji

Today wasn't a boring day... in fact, quite the opposite. Despite that, I succeeded at stumbling across something online that's completely cool. Katsushika Hokusai's Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Japan) is a collection of woodblock prints done over 150 years ago.

This collection gave me a great idea! "Uh oh," I know... I am going to attempt to make a collection of views of Mount Diablo. I live at the base of the tallest mountain in the San Francisco Bay area, I like mountains, I need something to do with myself sometimes, so why not go for it?

The set displayed at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-six_Views_of_Mount_Fuji

More artwork from Hokusai: http://visipix.dynalias.com/search/search.php?u=2&userid=1240926867&searchmethod=tree&startsearch1=go

My favorite three prints:

Lake Suwa in the Shinano Province

Umegawa in Sagami Province

Inume Pass in the Kai Province

Where the Smarty Pants Are

I stumbled across two articles today that are centered on intelligence/smart people. I just don't see how this could be a popular topic: smart people are just so boring! I kid, because I did find the articles interesting enough to share. It does, however, make me wonder why there is a readership/demand for statistical analysis as in the first article... I think it feeds a collective narcissistic tendency of the smart-folk. I'm just sayin'.

First Article: "America's Smartest Cities-From First to Worst," is exactly what it sounds like. It's a list of the 55 largest cities in the U.S. and which ones are the smart kids in class. I was pleasantly surprised by the high marks for Baltimore. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-04/americas-smartest-cities---from-first-to-worst/?cid=bs:archive9#

Second Article: "Religion and Learning: what we know," puts an argument about atheism/theism into question. If you've heard the remark, "As a group, atheists are more educated than theists," this article shows such remarks to be a bit rash. The analysis does have shortcomings and doesn't disprove said comments, it merely shows the comparison to be more complex than most people have realized. And please don't tell me that theists are the smart ones either, because being smart isn't an excuse or proof of anything. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/oct/05/atheist-religion-education-demographics-class

The China Channel

The NYT ran an article yesterday claiming that China is planning on opening up its media/entertainment companies to public investors. I'm a fan. Despite the whole authoritarianism thing, I've liked our biggest trade partner across the Pacific (second only to Canada) for many years now. I mean, come on! They're the ones that made most of my toys growing up! It is cool to see a country making good choices, cautiously going to an open market system step by step. They have seemed to be making progress my whole life.

The best way to gain foreign investors would be to ease up on the media control, and they seem to be leaning that way. If nothing else, I predict that the influx of money will result in some awesome action movies.

The Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/global/05yuan.html?em

On An Iron Horse I Ride

Well, I'm not always humming Bon Jovi lyrics while I'm riding my bike these days, but I do appreciate a good pun, even when it's not all that funny. In Contra Costa County, where I now reside, there's a multi-use trail that goes right through Walnut Creek.

It's the Iron Horse Regional Trail, and I've started biking on it a bit. What used to be a Southern Pacific Railroad line, now serves the people of Concord, Walnut Creek, down to the folks of Pleasanton. While it isn't a great replacement for the American River Trail back in Sacramento, it does a good job satisfying my needs. I'm hoping to bike the whole thing one of these next few weekends!

Here's where I'll be exploring on my wheels for the next year. Jessica, if I'm missing along with my bike for a day or two, please tell the police to search these paths.
North End:

Central Section:

South End:

Fall Football

Well, the season has begun for both NCAA Football and the NFL League... and my girlfriend is in two pools/leagues. Where does this leave me? On the sidelines. Do I care? Not really, although my sense of masculinity seems to be in question when I contemplate this. Fortunately, I have found other ways to validate my sense of manhood. Like, with, umm... eating a lot.

Haha, I’ve never considered myself a football junkie, but ever since dating Jessica, I’ve been doing a lot more Sunday Sit-ups (Sitting on the couch all Sunday, watching games, and getting up solely for food and commercials). Perhaps this makes me more American rather than more of a man.

It does mean that I need to do more biking during the football seasons. Doggone nachos!

Righty Tighty, Lefty...

I can't say that I fully understand why this is happening NOW, but Samoa has decided to start driving on the left hand side of the road. This hasn't been done by any other country in the past 40 years... what gives? Apparently, they're trying to get on board with Australia and New Zealand (their nearby neighbors). Supposedly, most of their tourists are used to driving on the left. Talk about a bow to tourism... what will happen to all the discarded road signs?

The Articles: Associated Press, New York Times

Out of curiosity, I wanted to know what the worldwide status is for left/right side driving. Wikipedia delivered again:
Red, Orange, & Green countries drive on the right
Blue & Purple countries drive on the left

"How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?"

That's the title of a very informative article published this week in the NYT Magazine. The article talks about the gap between academic economics and real time/world economics and how the unraveling of the market these days has them scratching their heads. While I can't say that I saw this economy coming, I can say that I viewed some of my old professors as a bit too... well, let's just say that they were in their own world.

Thus, I really enjoyed the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Mr. Krugman also does a good job highlighting two schools of thought, saltwater and freshwater economics, which I'd never heard of before. The reason behind that is because I apparently went to a freshwater college in the geographic middle of the country, away from oceans and the New Kenesians of the field. My professors did a thorough job pounding in the freshwater economist's perspective. Unfortunately for their creed, I never quite bit it 100%... perhaps I'm too much of a saltwater economist (which I never knew of until today)!

Read and enjoy!

Eat Real Festival

Oakland, CA, is known for many things… many not-so-good things. But there are many good things that make Oaktown a place worth going to. One great part is Jack London Square and the events that it hosts. My first experience there was the annual Eat Real Festival.

We went to the fest last weekend to feast on the goods of local vendors. There was everything from ice-cream carts wheeling around, to grills representing most corners of the world, and there was even a crème brûlée cart! Delicious stuff! There was even a farmers market going on at the same time inside an adjacent building for everybody who may have been inspired to try some new discoveries at home!

The event’s website with some streaming videos: http://www.eatrealfest.com/

Everybody started with some amazing corn on the cob and tomato/mozzarella plates from Jon’s Street Eats, then we sort of branched out and explored many other stands. I can speak for El Porteno’s empanadas, which were delicious, and Kara’s Cupcakes: mighty small but mighty rich. One last stand to mention, the Crème Brûlée Cart pleased everybody who tried it.

There was live entertainment and a little lawn to relax on.

Did I mention the lines? There were a lot of people there!

Guess who!