The Big Eye in the Sky (Update)

It was just a matter of time. A handful of bloggers have posted some very amusing images from Google Maps Satellite, including an overview of the homes of Bill Gates and Michael Dell, the customary (Alcatraz, St. Louis Arch, White House, Mount Rushmore, etc.) and not so customary (Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch and the Heaven's Gate Cult Mansion) landmarks strewn across the country, and the occasional snapshot of a commercial plane taking off from the airport or, in one of the posts, a small twin-prop plane making an emergency landing on an interstate highway. Here are just a few of the links (here, here, and here). Enjoy.

Windermere-Stanford Crew Classic

This past Saturday, T and I made it out to the inner waterways of Redwood Shores to watch the third annual Windermere-Stanford Crew Classic (link here), purportedly the largest rowing competition on the west coast. The field included all of the top collegiate and club-level teams in various classes (men's varsity eight, women's varsity eight, lightweight, junior varsity, freshmen) and included defending national champions Cal (link), Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Virginia, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, and Stanford. Watching the Henley-style races along the banks of the waterway, just yards from the passing rowers was intense. You could hear the coxswains barking, the oars cutting the air, the seats gliding on their tracks, and the rowers exhaling. While not yet as large a spectator event as the Head of the Charles in Cambridge, Mass. (link), the annual competition will become much more visible in the coming years, for sure. And yes, the Cal men's varsity eight won the men's title (link). Also found out an interesting tidbit. T's aunt was once the coxswain on the Seoul National University collegiate team. That would explain her aunt's unusually high energy level.

The Big Eye in the Sky

Revolutionary. Google Maps not only provides a traditional online map of any location you input, it now offers detailed satellite photograph images of that same location, in varying degrees of detail. You can input your home address and find a clear satellite image of your roof, your backyard, the street, the trees, neighboring houses, and occasionally even stray people or pets! And you can scroll the image in any direction and also, zoom in and out. Imagine inputting any address and having an actual bird's eye photographic image of that location in seconds. A restaurant in Napa Valley, a cafe in Palo Alto, an office building in San Francisco, the Berkeley campus, a post office in Oakland, the tea garden at Golden Gate Park, the ferry station on Angel Island, the Northstar ski lifts at Lake Tahoe, Larry Ellison's medieval Japanese compound in Woodside... ad infinitem. Without getting into the thorny and inevitable matters of privacy and security, I have to say this will be my new toy for the next few days. Here is our home on Crystal Springs Road as seen via the "satellite" option in Google Maps (link here). And here is the Sawyer Camp Trail part of Crystal Springs reservoir (link here).

Biking Crystal Springs

The past two weekends, T and I have been setting aside some time on Saturday mornings to bike along the six-mile path that runs alongside the lower Crystal Springs reservoir from San Mateo through Hillsborough to the northern end of Burlingame. Each time, the weather has been spectacular. Mild with a gentle breeze from the ocean winds blowing over the hills on the other end of the reservoir. This past weekend, we made it to the end of the trail, a wonderful spot at the rim of a tall dyke with views of the reservoir stretching the entire length south to Palo Alto and north a short ways up to the high cliffs of Pacifica. And on the ride back to the trailhead, we came across some young deer feeding along the edge of the path. This has to be one of the best parts about living on Crystal Springs Road, the "backyard" of scenic and expansive greenspace.

Winter Wonderland

Snow, more snow, even more snow… one feet of accumulation, two feet, three, four… on and on it went. This past week, T and I enjoyed a weeklong vacation up in our hideaway on the northshore of Lake Tahoe. The view from our nest was spectacular. The crystal blue of the lake with its ocean-sized waves lapping up onto the beachside, the snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background, and the unending downpour of snow. On our third day, the neighboring children created a makeshift sled run on the natural slope behind our unit. Imagine the entire world around you turning various shades of white. The sky, the mountains, the trees, the dwellings, the ground... everything really. It was amazing. Very much like a dream or a wintry trance. During our weeklong stay, we managed to leave our comfortable roost to hit the customary eateries that have made our trips to King’s Beach so memorable. Old Range Steakhouse for their large-portioned steaks (my vote for the best kept secret on the northshore), Hiro’s Sushi for the most authentic sushi in Northern California (the second best kept secret), Sancho’s for their tasty fish tacos, and Charpit for that late night burger fix. We also had the opportunity to try a few new places including The Log Cabin Café for brunch, Tantara Bakery and Café in the new Squaw Village for an awesome breakfast, and Dragonfly in downtown Truckee for some delicious Cal-Asian fusion dishes like panko-breaded fish and chips. All are highly recommended. The vacation retreat was much needed, allowing us to de-tox and recharge our batteries at least until our next vacation in late summer, early fall. And thankfully, I finally had the chance to finish some of my pleasure reading and catch up on the first two seasons of MI-5 on DVD (an early birthday gift from T). Overall, a wonderful experience.