back to the daily grind today. brewed over hot water...
(psst, toastrobot turns 2 today)

remember...

the observation
of reconciliation
is decoration

setting my mind to an all day coffee break today

we find our way to
the bar called heaven where
nothing happens at all

daytripping

so we're out and about today, tripping along the waterfront. playing mad tunes on the wave organ and trying to figure out what it all means. watching that tide roll back out while we think about all that water rolling in and back from way out there. i saw a time lapse video of the backwash of that tidal wave rolling all the way across the pacific and into the banks of emeryville. i felt at once the proximity we all share despite the vastness between us. we are all of us connected...

outside the back door
the cool people hang out and
blow smoke rings of dream

there may be a bit of gray outside your door today, but look closer. a promise of things to come...

think of a number
and close your eyes then wish it
was between today

don't worry, she knows you'll call. just not today...

and the stone cries out
remember me when the day
comes that i am gone

remains of the day

the town i live in is named for the rock it sits on. a solid foundation in fact. much of it has been quarried over the years and the remains lie in evidence all over town. deer creek, once such an active quarry now sits quietly along old hwy 40 as one of the premiere bouldering spots in town. across the street and off the main path is a winding road with so many of these old and discarded granite pieces that now serve as fence posts for much of this old property.


even along our old burying grounds they once marked the original property line for these long rested tenants.


and they show up too in front of people's yards and businesses as little monuments to the hard working cutters of yesteryear.


i think so many people pass them right by without a second look and they miss so much of our local story because of it. but now you know too.

the first taste leaves you
wanting, waiting while you see
it with your eyes closed

favorite things 15

time i finally got around to writing about this one. it's been 4 years now since it showed up in front of my house. but first a little back story.
i used to have this little old cb360. i acquired it from a friend who'd had his fun and grew frustrated with it continually killing batteries. his father-in-law had helped him take it apart to try and diagnose the problem and then put it back together and then abandoned it completely. he wanted to give it to me but i think i ended up giving him the 2 dollars i had in my wallet just to ease my conscience a little.
i experienced the same issues and others and struggled to keep the thing running. and because i was basically helpless i sought out my good friend todd time and time again to help me set it to rights. we finally discovered the electrical problem (burnt out rectifier) but this little scoot just never seemed to run as right as the honda reputation would have one believe.
and then one day todd calls me up on a saturday and asks if i'll be around. when he drove up in his old singlecab, there in the back sat this one. i thought maybe he had come by to show off his latest acquisition, which in a way he had. but this was not one he planned to keep. he told me it was mine! i was speechless. he said he'd been keeping an eye out for something better for me to replace that little honda as a daily rider. something a little more reliable. uh, yeah.
i have long admired these bikes. their dependability and beauty, especially the "toaster" tank version. there was a time when living in sf you would regularly see them parked on city streets and the thought of owning one grew as they even began showing up in my dreams. the slash 5 took bmw out of their long conservative tradition of building reliable long distance touring machines and put them solidly into the company of the new "superbikes" of the late 60's and early 70's. things would never be the same. in an age now where everything is a specialty the r75 is an all-arounder, good at many things though none of them well. except to keep traveling on. and now this one is over 40 just like me, and only getting better with age :^)

storehouses of
innocents kept full in reserve
we all are poorer

birds on a wire

the calendar shows it to be spring, although based on the past several days you might think old man winter had come back around. still, in between the frigid nights and the hail and thunderstorms we have had opportunities to go out and take a look at some of the more seasonal activities near our home.
these little guys hatched recently and have been making quite a ruckus. right outside our patio under the carport the mama has revisited and improved her nest from last year. the same one from which an older sibling got pushed out and whereby i found myself taking the little guy to the nature preserve. (i wrote about him here)
with the glass sliding door open i can hear these babies hollering for momma. when she has found enough food to satisfy them temporarily she flies up into the nest and feeds them one at a time. little by little their cries subside until all the mouths are full. when it is silent once again i look up and see her fly out again to search for more. and i bet she didn't even get a break for mother's day. ah well, good work if you can get it i guess.

switch it up now from
weekend to work week start the
countdown new again

the impulsive advice of long term commitment...

through this looking glass
we stared at the abyss while
it stared back at us

life's a beach

yesterday the ice cream man came by at work and brightened up everyone's day. in addition to the fudge bars and ice cream sandwiches he also brought some of these.


i opted for the sweet citrus sorbet over the heavy chocolate and ice cream and as it turns out, made the right choice.


i also really enjoyed interacting with the little package my tasty treat arrived in. a perfect little self-contained container with smart graphics and complete with a hidden utensil.


i enjoyed mine so much that later i went back and grabbed one for my bride of 15 years to enjoy as well.


as we sat there together at work, an unexpected break in the afternoon spooning our tangy sorbets it felt like a california version of british tea time. a purposed sabbath in the middle of the work day. a brief time to relax and meditate on the cool refreshing flavor that was touching my senses. like i was lying on a beach somewhere far far away.

tend to what matters
where there is no gardener
there is no garden

fifteen

tied the knot 15 years ago today. this year the traditional gift suggestion is crystal which neither of us is really crazy about anyway. we'll probably end up shaking the magic 8 ball and looking down the road of the next 15. people sometimes ask if it gets easier as time rolls on. i wouldn't say easier. life has a way of throwing new curve balls your way. but hopefully by this time we're a little better prepared for them. don't take any marriage advice from me. i'm quite blessed to share this ride with someone who's figured out my act and still enjoys being around me anyway.

morning cup of death
pours out early over the
beckoning new day

happy

i remember somebody leaned out of their car window and called me a "mother" once. happy mother's day to all the "mothers"! take 'er real easy today.

water as patience
drips slowly to a thirsty

and waiting people

creation

ma littel gurl made this world for all of us to live on. a new one. can't wait to move in. blessed are the humble.

individuals
meet at intersections for
collaboration

small houses 07

location: e14th st, san leandro.
i saw this small house while driving one day five years ago and stopped to capture the image with my old 2mp camera. it sat behind a cyclone fence in this empty lot even as the weeds defied the asphalt. behind it is an even smaller house. i'm not really sure what the purpose of these is. but they looked so lonely and isolated as i drove by and so i wanted to share in their loneliness.

youkoso

a little sketch of a little man. he is welcoming you as his guest. come enjoy the graciousness of your paper host and the pleasures of his origami home.

our wall of protection
serves also to make us
a prison of thought

televeision's greatest hits

i grew up a tv kid. in an era before vcr and dvd. definitely before dvr and satellite. so many afternoons and evenings squandered in front of the tube. both my parents worked so my brother and i would plop down after school and watch the re-runs, too many to name. well alright, just a few. batman, star trek, the monkees, wild wild west, brady bunch, gilligan's island, i dream of jeannie, addams family, lost in space, andy griffith, get smart, mission impossible, dick van dyke, flipper, twilight zone, mr. ed and speed racer. whew.

back in the day shows still had full theme songs which provided helpful back story (it's the story of a man named brady...) as well as being catchy. they would get stuck in your head and resurface on lonely walks to school. although i didn't watch these shows when they first aired, their repeats and theme songs have lived on down through the years. a little like comfort food.

and so i have whipped up a little feast for us all to share. i bought this record back in the mid 80's on a whim and break it out now and again at parties. it's also been a continual source for material when making mix tapes and later cds. now everything just lives in the itunes. but if you'd like to add it to your own or yearn to hear some long forgotten tv themes and maybe re-learn the lyrics switch your dial now to here.