Rambling Jack's Laboratory: November 2008

St. Francis de Assisi

For Thanksgiving I took the Goddess down to my parents' house in San Mateo for turkey, pie and wine.

We also visited a few attractions in San Francisco.

We explored the "Mision San Francisco de Asis," better known as Mission Dolores. The mission was founded in San Francisco in 1776 and this particular building was erected in 1791.

Here's the inside.

Here's San Francisco's namesake, St. Francis de Assisi. He's known as the patron saint of animals, the environment and Italy. He was a prisoner of war, a beggar, a party animal and all sorts of interesting things.

We explored the old cemetery and then checked out the basilica next door, which has lots of beautiful stained glass windows.

Here's Francis again!

Then we went to the Legion of Honor and saw all sorts of art, including some ancient Egyptian stuff and works by Picasso, Monet and a bunch of other famous fellows. You can't take photos in the museum, so you'll have to just imagine it.

some religious music

Portrait of Amy Winehouse

The Rev. Dick posted this portrait of my favorite celebrity train wreck on his Church of the Sweet Ride blog. It's too good not to share.

The $5 Darkroom (from the laboratory archives)

Some of you young whippersnappers may not know that there was a time when photos had to be developed using film, chemicals and all sorts of fancy equipment. Back in the day, a decent black and white darkroom setup cost about $150. But what if you didn't have that kind of money? In 1988 my friend Steve and I came up with a clever solution called "The $5 Darkroom."

I recently stumbled across these drawings in an old notebook.

It was made using a cardboard box, a lightbulb and a camera. The contraption was pointed at a wall, where a piece of photo paper was tapped. We then used some disposable aluminum trays filled with chemicals from a cheap black and white "hobby pack" to develop the prints.

Focusing was a challenge, but it worked just fine once we figured out that we needed to remove the General Electric logo from the lightbulb unless we wanted it emblazoned on every print!

Evening ride.11.19.08

For a change of pace, I decided to use the road bike and enjoy some pavement. I headed out across the Arcata Bottoms.

We looked at each other suspiciously.

My destination.

The sun was setting as I hurried home.

A cartoon for the kids

Book shopping.11.14.08

And then there was sun...

Through the drizzle, I snaked my way up the Jolly Giant Creek watershed on my mountain bike, passing the old city reservoir as I climbed higher and higher. Then, near the top, there was sun.

Gamey Corn Hens

Look at these lovely Gornish Hen Corns. They're stuffed with French bread that sat in a bag with a bunch of olive oil and garlic. There are also olives, onions and probably some other stuff stuffed inside the stuffing. With the rosemary garnish, this dish could fetch $25 a plate in a local restaurant.

Here's me violating the poor hen after it came out of the oven.

Mornin' ride

Wet, wild, muddy.

I've been tagged, so here it goes....

I’ve been tagged by Kristabel to write seven things about myself, presumably things people may not know about me. So here they are in no particular order:

1. I buy most of my shirts at thrift stores. Most of them cost 50 cents to $1. In the event that I get them covered in paint or bicycle grease, I can just toss them out and I don’t have to feel bad about doing so. I also score other items of clothing at thrift stores. I think I look pretty good in my thrift store clothes, even when I don’t.

2. I grew up in San Mateo, a suburb located south of San Francisco International Airport. I attended Aragon High School, where I ran on the cross country team.

Here’s my senior prom photo. That lovely girl is Margaret Abe. After the prom we drove up to Twin Peaks and smooched. I graduated in 1987.

3. In high school I worked at The Ice Capades Chalet, an ice rink located inside a shopping mall. Here’s a photo of me with some of my co-workers. I was a skate guard and a janitor. Part of my job involved dressing up in a Yogi Bear or Jabberjaws suit and skating around the rink for the kids. I also led the Hokey Pokey.

4. Last July I saw six gray whales spouting simultaneously near Trinidad and I had an epiphany which led to major changes in my life.

5. Not only did I enjoy Michael Mann’s 2006 “Miami Vice” movie, but I consider it a masterpiece. It’s pure emotion with dazzling visuals. But people I know – including people I respect – tell me that the movie was a giant pile of crap. I've yet to find a single person who even remotely agrees with me on this movie. This leaves me scratching my head. On a related note, some of my favorite movies include “Casablanca,” “High Noon,” “Goodfellas,” “Apocalypse Now” and the “Godfather” series.

6. Between my junior and senior years in high school I went to Paraguay for a couple months. When I got back, I was into wearing sandals and smoking a corn cob pipe. I also drank gallons of yerba mate. Almost everyone who tried it at the time said it tasted awful. Now, two decades later, it's served in regular coffee shops. I would not have guessed this would happen in a million years.

7. I own six bicycles and one unicycle. This is down from a high of more than 15 bikes last year. Ideally, a person should have about 10 bikes of different kinds.

I now hereby tag everyone who has a link on the left side of this blog. You know who you are. BAM!

McK Press Power Lunch

Mrs. Wilcox and I had a very important power lunch today to discuss the newspaper. One of the main topics of discussion was how to improve our efficiency so our weekly deadline doesn't extend until 3 a.m. We agreed that we need to spend less time talking – a topic which we talked about for 2 1/2 hours. So we're off to a good start.

And, yes, the drink on the right was mine. Got a problem with that?

Now that my guy is in charge...

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

I got this link from the Rev. Dick's blog.

Some images from this week

On Wednesday evening there was a beautiful sunset. This is the Fischer Ranch in Mack Town. After I snapped this photo I raced home and slapped on some clean rags.

I took a sizzling hot Sicilian babe to the Sea Grill. We ended the meal with coconut amaretto cream pie! You haven't lived until you've had their pie.

We roamed the streets of Old Town like vampires.

I was feeling a wee bit chubby from all the good grub, so I explored the forest on my bike the next day.

You climb uphill along this creek. I huff and puff and think I'm pretty tough. But when I get to the top, I see lots of joggers, many of whom travel faster than I do even though I should have some sort of kinetic advantage.