Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

Driving from LA to Silicon Valley, we stopped off for a day in Paso Robles.

The wineries off Highway 46 roll into the high hills of the coastal ranges, acres of vines arcing over the curved slopes. Above them, always, are the raptors, ever circling, ever gliding, looking for prey in the narrow gaps between the vines. It must be a hard place to be a rodent, surrounded by food, and waiting for death to come from above.



Paso Robles, California
November 2008

Autumn in the wine country is a time of quiet, after the bustle of harvest and the initial pressing. The wine is starting the slow process of fermentation, and the next bottling is still some months away. The tourists have fled for warmer climes, and the roads are empty and quiet.

The slow turning of the season is lit by the glowing leaves of the vines, red in the low sun.



Paso Robles, California
November 2008

A while back there was a meme going round, asking people to post their current screen backdrops.

This is the current image on my laptop, a picture from a Flickr set of candles and fires. It's a recent shot of a gas fire at the Boulevard 3 night club in Hollywood, itself a restoration of the classic Hollywood Athletic Club. The fire itself was quite fascinating, a large open outdoor hearth in the middle of a pool. It was quite easy to imagine a group of 30s matinee idols standing the other side of the pool, gossiping about the day's shoot.

Or perhaps it was a glimpse of Joseph and Lewis, wondering just where the Company had sent Mendoza...



Los Angeles, California
November 2008