Posted by Ted on Nov 5, 2011 in
Causes,
Events,
Politics Last week I woke up in anger at the Oakland Police Department (and their affiliates, and the mayor). This week I woke up in anger at some of the demonstrators. Wednesday’s “mostly peaceful” General Strike was overshadowed by the acts of a few extremists which vandalized buildings and broke windows. Dressing ala the ‘Black Bloc‘, they took the opportunity to wreck havoc under the cover of the crowd and confusion of the day. (More coverage here and here.)
Since Oakland is now in the international spotlight, I didn’t want the world to get the impression … [Read more]
Tags: community, Oakland, Occupy, OWS, protests
Posted by Ted on Oct 27, 2011 in
Causes,
Events,
Politics Yesterday morning I felt as if I had woken up in a Middle Eastern police state. In a pre-dawn raid, several hundred police in riot gear tore through Oakland’s Frank Ogawa plaza to disperse the peaceful Occupy Oakland demonstrators. One first-hand report noted;
“It was brutal. Over 300 police in full riot gear fired tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bombs. [..] Then they started pushing us back with barricades and when we didn’t move as fast as they wished, they began grabbing people and trying to drag them over the fences. There was a struggle and then they
… [Read more]
Tags: Oakland, Occupy, OWS, police, protests, violence
Posted by Ted on Oct 21, 2011 in
Events,
Memories,
Photography San Francisco shook twice yesterday, and it wasn’t from a Giants game.
Almost 22 years to the day after the Loma Prieta earthquake rattled the Bay Area during the 1989 World Series, two quakes occurred yesterday along the Hayward Fault, with epicenters several miles below the UC Berkeley campus. At 2:41p, I felt the first one (4.0) from our lab in the SoMa district of San Francisco – a rumble that jiggled parked cars on the street. At 8:16p, I felt the second one (3.8) from our much closer second story apartment in Oakland and did a mental … [Read more]
Tags: Berkeley, earthquake, Haiti
Posted by Ted on Oct 5, 2011 in
Memories,
Technology ”Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything … all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know of to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
- Steve Jobs
I’m not usually one to … [Read more]
Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs
Posted by Ted on Sep 9, 2011 in
Burning Man,
Photography Many burners would agree that one of the most important structures at Burning Man is The Temple, often more so than the central effigy himself. A tradition started in 2000 by artist David Best, each year’s temple is a massively collaborative project with dozens of workers spending weeks to build it, giving thousands of participants an opportunity to write notes to loved ones in the spirit world, let go of emotional baggage, or simply express wishes and hopes for the future. Whereas the burning of “The Man” on Saturday night is a big party, the burning of “The … [Read more]
Tags: temples
