Winter is coming
But you wouldn’t know it if you were in San Diego. This is the sunset tonight at Windansea Beach.
One legged Seagull
Everyday he just out their grinding trying to get a fish or two. This was taken in Ocean Beach.
How to iron your pants if you’re a waiter
Being young and just out of college I did what any normal college kid does and I went out and got any job that I could get. I found a job as a waiter in Nordstrom’s Cafe in Walnut Creek. The job required that you wear a pretty ugly uniform of a pink shirt and black pants. They topped off the ensemble with some heinous looking bow tie and things were not pretty.
This is one of the first instructional videos I ever put together before YouTube before Facebook or there was any way to get the video out there to the public. This video is for aspiring and current waiters that are looking for instruction on the proper technique for ironing/over-ironing your clothes. In this video, I teach would be waiters techniques for obtaining the “all day crease”, a technique I patented particularly for waiters. This video has a cameo of the famed Pete Jordon author of Dishwasher Mag as well as the book.
Isabella’s Closet
She has many beautiful dresses. Each morning when she wakes, her mother lets her choose one dress to wear that day. Isabella takes her time to choose the most beautiful dress and finishes off the outfit with a signature pink bow to hold her curly sandy blond hair in place.
After choosing the perfect dress the choices are simple. What cookie to eat. When to take a nap. When to play. Life is good. Life is simple for Isabella and because of that – beautiful.
Bracing for Hurricane Sandy
Bracing for Hurricane Sandy. That is Hurricane Sandy Ego or San Diego as it’s formally known. Not a cloud in the sky here and it is 85 degrees. It is raining sunshine and blue skies on us while the rest of the country is getting doused with rain. Life is tough here but we will survive. This was a picture I took yesterday afternoon to capture all of the drama here in San Diego.
My new D4
It arrived today and it is a beast. My new D4 promises ISO performance up to 204,000 and full HD Video at 30 frames per second. This camera is at the front of camera technology. Take a look.
I entered a San Diego Charger Photographer Contest Today
I entered a photographer contest today. The contest is to give you a chance to become a San Diego Chargers field photographer at one of their home games. You get to on the sidelines with your camera and take pictures of the action. The contest said if you like photography and the San Diego Chargers than this is your chance to do them both together. Well, I just happen to love photography, and love the San Diego Chargers – so it was a perfect photography contest for me to enter.
To enter you had to write in 200 words or less why you wanted to become a Chargers photographer for a day. Well I instantly thought back to when I was a kid and how I sent a letter to the Chargers every month asking them for a job to be a ball boy. My brother Bill told me the only way to get a job is that you had to be persistent and just keep at it. That was his philosophy and he always seemed to be getting good jobs so I did it, and I did it, and I did it. Month after month I sent basically the same letter in asking to be a ball boy. Once in awhile I would get a form letter back from them saying that they would keep my request on file. So I kept hoping. Eventually I stopped writing those letters but I never stopped hoping for the chance to get back on the field with the Chargers just once. So this contest seemed like a perfect thing to do. Now that I love photography and love the Chargers maybe this would be my chance. Well, thousands of people enter so the chances are low, but I still have a chance! – which is all I wanted.
I was going through some stuff tonight that I collected during those years and I found this that I was so proud of at the time. I remembered that I was terrible at drawing school but I always thought that I did good drawing the Chargers helmet that day This was in 1979 that I had this and I kept it in a scrap book for all those years. I have hardly anything left from my young days of what I did but the Chargers stuff has survived all those years, and so has my hope for them. They haven’t made the Superbowl but I keep dreaming they will.
No Cheeseboiger
I was walking through random streets of Chicago and found myself diverted to an underpass in the street. I was trying to make my way to the famous Wrigley building which from the distance looked like one of the most interesting buildings in the Chicago skyline. The underpass was really dark and actually not very clean so I was hurrying my way through it since I wasn’t sure what to expect down there. I had already encountered scores of rats on one of the less walked paths along the river and to tell you the truth it kind of scared me. As I was walking through, I saw a pretty non-descript place – looked like a bar – so I wasn’t paying that much attention. Well, that is until I spotted a small sign on the top of the bar that said ” Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger. No Pepsi – Coke.”. This was no bar. This was the actual hamburger joint that John Belushi made famous in one of the most memorable Saturday Night Live Skits of all time. This is the original, treat you bad restaurant that inspired other copycats like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. I remember when I was a kid that skit was one of the first times that I saw comedy and I remember how funny it was. I snapped a picture of the place but I didn’t have time to head in since I had to get back to work and didn’t have enough time to really take a look inside.
Later in the week, I headed back with my friend Georganne to have a look inside and try the hamburgers. I really needed to experience this place that apparently was started in 1934. We headed in side and it was as you might expect – just a hole in the wall burger joint. That just happens to be my favorite kind. They really only have a few things on the menu – cheeseburgers, potato chips and coke. I went up to order a little apprehensively since I wasn’t sure if they were going to scream at me for ordering a hamburger without the cheese. I mean this place was founded on a tradition of cheeseburgers and they probably would not take kindly to me deviating from the course. I placed my order for a hamburger and a COKE putting the emphasis on the word coke since I wanted them to appreciate the fact that I paid attention to the sign which clearly said, “No Pepsi, Coke”. The lady at the counter then threw me for a loop because she said, no single burgers only double burgers. My mind raced to try to determine what she was saying. I went up with a script of what to say and she was clearly hitting me with a decision that was out of left field. I repeated back my order for a Hamburger and coke thinking that would answer the question. She retorted a little louder pointing the grill behind her – no SINGLE burgers, only DOUBLE burgers. I guess her pointing the grill kicked my mind into gear because I realized that she was saying that they only do two hamburgers on a bun, not one. Needless to say, I was locked in now. A crowded line had formed behind me and everyone was watching to make sure I could place this order without choking. My strategy became to just agree with everything and start handing over cash. I just had to get through this with my dignity intact. It was quite an experience. As I finished paying, I breathed a sigh of relief and I heard the lady behind me who was now in placing her order say to the cashier, “Now I’m not sure if I can say this correct and everyone is going to laugh but I will try. I would like a CHEEZBOIIGER”. And she said it just like that. She said it a little like Elmer Fudd. The cashier lady turned to her and said, “No single cheeseburgers, only DOUBLE cheeseburgers”. And the cycle repeated itself. I realized that this must go on all day in the is place, and it’s what keeps people coming back for more.
Well the hamburger was fantastic. It was really thin and you basically have to put all of your own condiments on it which are sitting next to the counter – lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, ketchup and mustard. As you eat your hamburger you can sit in one of the booths which are lined with old pictures from the 70’s of all the stars and celebrities that came in this place. Another thing I discovered while I was browsing the walls is that the owner of this place was the same guy that brought a goat to the Chicago Cubs game and has cursed them to this day of ever winning a championship. What an amazing place and an amazing burger.
