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Similarly we skipped Mountain View & the San Francisco Symphony and Santa Clara & the World Cup stragglers to head to the occasional DMZ of Milpitas. Not sure the band’s horns to pants ratio was correct.

Such a great day. The best group of people. I think Rini and Dorothy made some new friends of my coworkers.

Went all the way to Tiburon in an abortive attempt to see the 4th July Fireworks on The Golden Gate Bridge. Abandoned the attempt, due to the Bridge being enveloped in fog. So we came home. To watch YouTube Happy Birthday America

Some moar webz pics. Found a fun FB group for interesting signs.....

A little while back I posted somewhere on here about a very exciting project. Some of my work at a San Fransisco book store just happened to have been noticed by Linda Ronstadt and her longtime friend and carpenter. That carpenter happens to live in Fairfax, and is a regular customer of mine at the lumber store. Once my name was mentioned by the store owner ( this owner has become a great friend, and I've now done two of her homes, and her book store), this carpenter said " wait, I know him. He works at Fairfax Lumber. " Long story, still long, he talked with me about collaborating on a large set of bookshelves for Linda. Linda's health isn't great, and that has affected the scheduling of this project. However, we are now into this project. I have not yet met Linda personally, but we have started working on the shelves at Andy's shop. He took great measurements of the space. Usually the sign of a good carpenter, and I'm sure he is. But for me the most difficult part of the project thus far has been slowing him down. He wants to hurry through and get it done. I want to build the best shelves that I can build. Time, though maybe an issue in the long run, isn't really an issue now. She's not pushing this to be quick. Money clearly isn't an issue, so I think I'm winning this little battle. I've made it clear that I'm not interested in blowing out some average shelves. I want to make something that I'm proud of, especially considering the client. We've spent two whole days working together in Andy's shop, and I think he's starting to get it. He's around 80 years old and I'm very respectful of my elders, except when it comes to sacrificing my quality. We will continue working tomorrow and I'm guessing about two more weekends. Then most likely at least 1 day of install. That's when I'm going to meet Linda. That'll certainly be a fun day for me. As most things concerning music or movies, my trivia knowledge is vast. Ask me something about anything important and I'll come up blank, but ask me about a music or movie artist and I can talk forever. This is even tenfold for me on Linda, because the Laurel Canyon crowd, and the beginning of the Southern rock genre really peak my interest. All of the crossovers of the people of this era are just fascinating to me. Linda met Graham Parsons early on, who I consider the Father of this genre. Graham discovered and then worked with Emmylou Harris, another favorite singer of mine. Linda met Emmylou and Dolly Parton at different times, and then introduced them to each other at lunch one day. They of course started harmonizing on favorite songs, and were so impressed with the melding of their voices that they decided to create music together soon. Soon turned into more than a decade, but the results were phenomenal. Linda was also a guest on the Cher show back in the 70's, and started a lifetime friendship. I being a gay man of course adore me some Cher! And anyone who is an Eagles fan owes something to Linda, because she had a lot to do with putting that band together. I could go on and on, but I'm hoping that I can reign it in a bit on the day I meet her in person. Although I doubt that I'll be successful there. Anyway, this project is coming to fruition, and what a way to crown a career that I have deeply loved for over four decades now. This will be a story that I will, well I guess I'll have to tell your Grandkids about it, because I won't have any, but I'm sure that I'll have to be told to "shut up about it already ". I will certainly try to take pictures upon install. More to come later.

Condolences, Todd. The more I live, the more convinced I become that life is often complicated and rarely simple. People are often seen as one thing but that is seldom, if ever, the truth.

You can't fool me, that isn't a woofer.

Giving the Everybody STILL Digs Bill Evans CD box set a listen.

Found some motivation this morning. Weather was fantastic. Calories were burned so beer will be drank.

Glassworks - Expanded Edition by Philip Glass (1981) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0827969039427 Example: It has been some time since I have listened to this. It occupied a bit of my brain in the 80s.

Finally finished UFO, starting Space: 1999.

RIP, RIP

A bit of excitement, and met more neighbors, thanks to this. Due to this Watch DutyWatch Duty - Wildfire Maps & AlertsReal-time information about wildfire and firefighting efforts nearby https://web.pulsepoint.org/?agencies=21105&incident=2513876157&tab=3 Watch DutyWatch Duty - Wildfire Maps & AlertsReal-time information about wildfire and firefighting efforts nearby

The fun part about cycling is his rivals could form an uneasy alliance when he goes on these long range assaults, but they are too busy squabbling over the remaining two podium spots to work together to bring him back. Unless he just has an off day he is nearly impossible for the other GC guys to beat one-on-one. The only guy to get him this year was Wout.

Damn that was nuts. I thought Jonas was going to hang in there with him but he clearly couldn't. My French cousins who are avid cyclists and Tour fans are essentially boycotting the last couple of years because Tadej is ruining it for them. Either he's doping or otherwise cheating and/or he's making it boring because there is no suspense.

^probably about the same for Wimbledon too.🎾

I was not prepped for the Tour this year - it has been many years since I have followed it. But after watching the Highlights of the first two stages, I may get hooked again. I will probably stick with highlights for now, but I may catch a live stream here and there. Good to hear Phil and Bob and again.

Nice article on Pogi and what he means for cycling to coincide with the start of TDF. Guy is hard not to cheer for. https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/49207337/tour-de-france-tadej-pogacar-greatest-all-lance-armstrong

The first 3 were that good?

Reflectin’ back

"Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, Dies at 71 Mr. Graham died of a “brief and sudden” illness on Saturday evening, his office said". https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/12/us/politics/lindsey-graham-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xFA.JhOs.28lT6RPd5YNm&smid=url-share Also: Mitch McConnell mystery deepens as health questions remain unanswered https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/11/mitch-mcconnell-senator-health?CMP=share_btn_url

I didn't even know it existed until just now. Looking forward to it.

Condolences, Todd. I'm glad you got through the baggage and love him for who he was. You're a good man.

My deepest condolences, Todd. The important bit is that he was a good man. There aren’t many, so his passing is a loss for all.

I believe you can change the value of R4 to adjust the current limitation. I_limit = Vgs / 10 A gate stopper may be added for better performance.

^ Some video from Novato Fire District. nextdoor.comOn Tuesday, July 7, at approximately 3:49 p.Join Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where you can get local tips, buy and sell items, and more From reddit re: The Chopper "There was smoke at the start but it was quickly put out by the firefighting helicopter that is a joint effort between PG&E and the county of Marin. I was watching it on FR24 and it was fortunate they had the pond so close, as they were able to quickly refill their tank and dump, then repeat, over and over until it was out. [https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n606pg#408ddcd7](https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n606pg#408ddcd7) From two years ago: >Marin Fire will have use and control of a wildfire-fighting Blackhawk helicopter from today until October 31, and it will be based at Gnoss Field. N606PG is on loan (with flight and support crews) from PG&E under a trial agreement to provide immediate assistance to the county and keep wildfires small. This UH-60A has been modified to carry (and drop!) 850 gallons of water with a 15-minute response to a wildfire anywhere in Marin County. Marin Fire and PG&E have since formalized the agreement beyond that trial. It looks like PG&E bears the cost of the aircraft." Handy to have a useable water source so close by. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n606pg#408ddcd7

Seeing Tadej annihilate on the Tourmalet is good motivation.

Not to keep pushing The Rest Is History, but they have a four-part series on the Ku Klux Klan that is quite informative. https://therestishistory.com/episodes/the-rise-of-evil-part-1 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786?i=1000755744707

Did you see the picture? Of course they were that good! Are you really Doug trolling us?

I’m not sure, but probably not as I never started For All Mankind. Same with the friend who encouraged me to try Star City (he instead talked about Chernobyl). Either way it’s likely the time period covered in the SC first season you’ve already seen in FAM. Its creators address “new” watchers below.

I tried a bunch of different browsers, but nothing worked. I also looked for a way to hide them, but no luck.

Star City https://variety.com/2026/tv/reviews/star-city-review-for-all-mankind-spinoff-1236761675/

Because:

Love your stories, Steve. Forrest Gump comes to mind. Looking forward to the pictures.

Sonoma Plaza dessert With a nice cup of Tea

Dirty Cello @ Music in Place,Sonoma Plaza

Experiments with monochrome (mostly), smoke and flares yesterday. Leica SL2-S and Light Labs Lab 35 f/1.4 AA "11873".

^hehe, Mine is ”summertime”. I would put it on heavy repeat and let it flow over me. Which was the main reason it was in my queue.

4th tomahawk

Smetana: String Quartets No. 1 & No. 2 by Pavel Haas Quartet (2015) https://open.qobuz.com/album/qqnxnrnwvtgqa Example: Recommended by my friend Jerry who just got it on Vinyl. Very nice. Also Qobuz updated the Windows app, and now it shows the Library counts... 843 in the queue?? well minus ^^ this one. I thought I was still in the 600s.

Got up around 6:30 and made a batch of chili. Al's Sister Rini and Neice Dorothy and myself are making chili dogs, smash burgers, corn on the cob, potatoe salad, fruit salad, some type of blueberry angel food cake with mascarpone whipped cream, blueberry custard pie, watermelon and who knows what else? A few of my coworkers are coming by to join in the feast.

RIP to Dr. David Samost, my dad. He was a flawed but good man. Lots of baggage (maybe for both of us) from his and my mom's divorce, subsequent remarriages for both, etc. But had some sit-down's with him years ago, and got a better understanding of who he was and what he meant to me. Since then, we've had an even better relationship. I may not have seen him as often as I could/should, but always good connections when we did. He was pretty much a hermit socially, but loved his family. He would beam when they were all together at an event at his house (he didn't get out much on the last couple years). He got to meet two of his great-grandchildren, which he loved as well. Perhaps my favorite pic, surrounded by many of his grandkids and some of their significant others/spouses:

RIP Bonnie Tyler. One of my first artist crushes, if not the first.

RIP Louise Lasser, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/arts/television/louise-lasser-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wFA.xaqL.j5dyVhLRp_GN&smid=nytcore-ios-share (Gift article)