I've only been gone 18 months! #49ers Stadium

OK, so I've only been gone like 18 months!  The house that we owned is in the Rivermark area, practically in the shadow of the future home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, CA.  When we sold the home, there was nothing more than a proud sign and a parking lot at the site of the planned stadium.



Eighteen months later?



I don't think I've ever seen this much progress on a project in California in such a short time! Supposedly, the stadium is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2014 season, followed by opportunities for Super Bowls and other events.

Parking is a big weakness for this stadium.  There is almost no parking on the stadium property.  But let's not bother with details right now.

The jury is still out as to whether this will improve home values near the stadium.  Some say it will bolster values, and other say it will drag them down.  If this project is handled like AT&T Ballpark by the San Francisco Giants, values will soar due to ongoing redevelopment efforts nearby.  If the project is handled like the Oakland Colosseum, eh, watchout!  I already know the 49ers wanted to avoid the AT&T Ballpark model, so a bit of concern is appropriate.  It all depends on how Santa Clara City itself handles things.

Breakfast with my Father-in-law, and this giant donut

https://www.instagram.com/p/SECKpphR26/

Last movie I'm going to see at Winchester Century 22

[UPDATE: Time has finally caught up with this relic.  This gloriously aged structure was torn down recently to make way for shops and condos or something.  Work continues to protect her sister building, Century 21.]

https://www.instagram.com/p/SCBO2BBR6U/

Monterey Bay in November

Lunch with customer (no, I don't golf)

https://www.instagram.com/p/R--E9jBRy6/

My wife and I enjoyed a pleasant evening (on Alvarado St.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/R_cfdNBR_F/

Praying Mantis

Found this little guy on top of a trashcan in Wellesley.  Didn't seem to be doing much, but it did take notice when my wife and I took a few shots.  It's kinda creepy to have a bug watch you while you are watching it.



Grist Mill

A few weeks ago, Allie and I spent an afternoon on a short drive around the area to catch Autumn near its peak in MetroWest.  It's a beauty place near Wayland Inn just off of Highway 20.  It was just past peak, but still very beautiful.



Kimball Farm in Littleton, PA

A popular attraction just outside of the MetroWest area is Kimball Farm.  It's an outdoor family entertainment place with great seafood, driving range, batting cages, famous miniature golf (designed by some Hollywood types, so I hear), arcade, bumper boats, and even more famous ice cream, oh and a few farm animals too...and don't forget the iconic weather vane.  My wife and I had a chance to enjoy the "farm" several times this summer, but only really explored it at a company event held there.  The miniature gold course is one of the best I've seen in terms of creativity.  There's even one hole that pretty much requires you to float your ball down a stream in order to have a chance at getting a hole-in-one.



Walking around Philidelphia

On a recent trip to Pennsylvania, I had a chance to briefly explore Philidelphia.  The day I was there, it happened to be some celebration as taking place in front of the First Bank of the United States. 

Merchants' Exchange Building was kinda strange.  It is a bit boring on the front ,but the back is round.  Or is that the other way round? :)

Independence Hall from the backside (again, really, is this the back?).

Manhole cover in front of the Independence Hall...wait, I mean, to the building's rear...oh never mind.  I thought this would make for an interesting angle of a shot.

Maybe I'll get more time to explore this city and its long history at some later date.

Recent trip to Lancaster, PA

Well, of all the things not on my bucket list that I got to experience anyway, I woulda never have guessed that I'd passing an Amish horse-and-buggy on state and city roads.  Yet, there I was in Lancaster, PA, the heart of Amish Country. 

At Hersey Restaurant and Inn (no where near Hersey, PA)

I was in Lancaster, PA for a SolidWorks 2013 rollout event to show off the newest version of SolidWorks to our customers.  I don't normally talk about SolidWorks on this blog too much because it's a bit specific to my career, but this story would be incomplete without mentioning it.

SolidWorks 2013 rollout event

Fun in our downtime

On some roads in Amish Country, there are special lanes where trails of horse "exhaust" mark the way, showing clearly which lanes are for cars, and which are for carriages.  There was a lively conversation on a my Facebook posting about driving through Intercourse, PA.

Amish horse and buggy

A funny thing about the Lancaster area are the references to Dutch culture.  This is a bit odd since Dutch influence on Pennsylvania is a bit light.  There is a substantial German population in the Lancaster region who are sometimes referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch, but this is a misnomer that comes from the archaic term that refers to people from Germany.  They aren't Dutch we know from the Netherlands.  Even still, images of old fashion windmills are invoked.  Maybe I'm missing something here.

Another thing that impressed me about this region as its beauty.  I took no pictures to demonstrate this beauty, unfortunately.  Rolling hills of farms and trees and rustic buildings meld together like a series of landscape paintings I've only seen in books.  Words (and even simple photographs) could not due it justice.

Would I go back to this region?  Prolly not going out of my way to visit it again.  I am glad I got a chance to see it, though.

Great New England Earthquake of 2012

Yesterday, some lake in Hollis, Maine was the epicenter of the Great New England Earthquake of 2012.   The best local news interview quote of the night about the little 4.0 earthquake?  Some guy really did say, "I felt my toes tingle a little bit."

Additional comments about this on Facebook here.

October in Massachusetts - Wachusett "Mountain"

Wachusett "Mountain"

https://www.instagram.com/p/Q5KmXZhR7m/

A couple of sites-sights of Pennsylvania

https://www.instagram.com/p/QfZf-YBRyS/

https://www.instagram.com/p/QnnfmkhR3R/

https://www.instagram.com/p/QnxRnzhR_Y/

Fall Day in Marlborough, MA

https://www.instagram.com/p/P634JphR7J/

https://www.instagram.com/p/P7y98qBRzR/

Freedom of Speech not an excuse to incite because we are offended

Protection of the speech that we find offensive is critical to protecting our right to speak. If we ban our opponent's right to speak because we find their words are offensive, then we open the door to someone banning our rights (not just the right to speak, but perhaps even the right to worship) for the same reasons.  Second, each of us as a fellow human control our own selves, and it is our responsible to not harm others. Words by themselves are irrelevent to our actual actions unless we are part of a conspiracy to act together to harm others (such as in the case of gangs that are ordered by their leaders to commit crimes). The only people who should be held accountable for the actions of killing another are those who did it and those who told them to do it. Being offended by the words of our opponents is no excuse for harming others.

No clouds come

For whatever reason, when there's not a cloud in the sky in Massachusetts, there really isn't any cloud, even contrails. That always seems wierd to this California transplant.