The Birds Take on San Francisco

Folks, many of you might know that I’ve got quite the community of birds right outside my office window. They’ve all got their own personalities and agendas (though, they all like to eat), but they really spruce up my home office.

I kinda like to give ’em personalities based on their expressions and their demeanor. It’s gotten easier the longer we’ve been neighbors. Feel free to chime in with your own captions, too.

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Good morning! part one (…and that hawk is still watching me work):

Good morning! part two (or, planning to raid the Squirrel-resistant Suet Palace):

A Golden-crowned Sparrow is very pleased to be a Golden-crowned Sparrow:

A Varied Thrush greets the birthday (startups, marriage, and other things I did after 35…):

A Cedar Waxwing who’s very pleased with his tail feathers:

A neighbor Hawk (red-tailed?) waits for lunch:

Downy Woodpecker, or, Hey, Honey!

(mutant) House Finch is not impressed (Normally bright red, this one’s kinda orange):

Do you have any visitors to your yard? I’d like to hear about ’em, and see some photos. Speaking of visitors, while it’s not a Bay Area bird, I do have a new neighbor who really chews up the scenery. Seriously, it gets digested…

(New neighbor even works in the rain… goats clear underbrush, working for the city. Bonus: we got goatherds!)

December 22, 2014

Special Thanks to Vets

During Fleet Week, I took a brief tour on the USS Kidd through the Golden Gate and back. They wanted to do something special for the President, so they made this hat for him.

And, folks, I got a non-POTUS version of the hat so you can see what they look like up close:

On board, I learned:

it’s a “ship” not a “boat”
UPDATE: chatting with a senior Marine, he tells me they call it a boat to irritate sailors
the ship floats in what they call “water”

Again, thanks to all the vets out there, for all that you do… (and you can also follow the USS Kidd on Facebook, maybe support ’em.)

November 26, 2014

Bay Area’s Most Influential Biz-Tech Figure, Clerical Error?

Folks, it seems I’ve won the Bay Area’s Most Influential Biz-Tech Figure… (clerical error?)

(you can see a bigger version of the image here…)
And, on that note…

I thought this photo seemed appropriate. Though, it’s a bit of a joke, I’m in a pedi-cab modeled after the Iron Throne in the Game of Thrones. In the Game of Thrones, you win, or, well, you don’t win. On the other hand, Mrs Newmark suggests that in the Turkey chair I look like a Turducken… Yes, the Throne kinda looks like Turkey wings, and I guess that makes it a TurNerden, the tech Turducken. Anyway, Winter is Coming.

Everyone, thanks for the very kind words you’ve sent my way, and please remember my reference to “clerical error.”

November 14, 2014

La Vida Craigbert

Craigbert, or a really accurate portrait

During my IBM and Charles Schwab years (1976-95) I lived La Vida Dilbert [dilbert.com], seriously hardcore.

Dilbert really captures the truth of much corporate life, and does so perfectly from the software worker’s perspective. It’s also a brilliant commentary on organizational behavior.

Personally, I have to always commit to the Dilbert attitude, that things can be better, and that can be very trying when I spend time in Washington or in the nonprofit world.

It’d be too easy to lose hope, and then to work the system much like Wally, or many of the lobbyists of K Street. (There are genuine public service lobbyists, but not a lot.)

Anyway, Scott Adams lives in the Bay Area, not far away, and I tremendously appreciate what he does. I read Dilbert each and every day, not only new strips, online, but on paper.

Scott, thanks!

September 12, 2014

8 Things Only a Nerd With an Appreciation for Nature Will Understand

Craig and the Mrs are ok with our four 2am visitors…they hang out in the birdbath that the pigeons dominate in the day.
It’s imperative to photograph home office visitors. A recent visitor to my home office, right from The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill….
Always use the Squirrel-resistant Suet Palace, or risk full takeover from the squirrels. (note to self: refill the Palace)
New bird alerts are included in my list of important news. For example, recently spotted a Swift, possible a Vaux’s. Will assign spouse to get a photo.
Home cooking at Eileen and Craig’s place:
So, I’m walking through Union Square, and I see this hawk flying to the roof of a clothes store, and the hawk is helping the city with its rat problem, if you know what I mean…
You don’t need a rainmaker when you have this sorta backyard:
Some days spent working to identify the Cole Valley mystery tree! Could be New Zealand Christmas Tree or maybe Red Flowering Gum. Do you know? Thanks!

A reminder: if the photo’s a good one, probably taken by Mrs Newmark

September 2, 2014

20 Awesome Bird Photos

Folks, it’s been a great year for wildlife at my “home office” as I’ve had lots of visitors. I thought the beginning of a new year was a great time to share some of my favorites, especially since I recently posted some tips about how to attract feathery friends (and squirrels, too) to your yard. These photos are all by the Mrs. and myself, and were pulled from the #Crileen (that’s Craig and Eileen) Birdography Spectacular. A Special thanks to Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eBird.org for helping out with some bird IDs, they do great work!

Hummingbird, Anna 2 — Anna’s Hummingbird

Goldfinch, Lesser — A pair of Lesser Goldfinches

Grosbeak, Rose-breasted, juvenile male (a vagrant from the East) — Rose-breasted Grosbeak, juvenile male (a vagrant from the East)

Hawk, Sharp-shinned (note blue-gray upperparts and long banded tail) — Sharp-shinned Hawk (note blue-gray upperparts and long banded tail)

Hummingbird, Anna 3 — Another Anna’s Hummingbird

Hummingbird, Anna — And one more Anna’s Hummingbird

Sparrow - House and Robin, American — American Sparrows – House and Robin

Sparrow, House, female, feeding a Cow Bird — Female House Sparrow feeding a Cow Bird

Brewer's Blackbird (AKA Swoops the bird.) — Brewer’s Blackbird (AKA “Swoops” the bird)

Warbler, Townsends — A pair of bathing Warbler Townsends

Woodpecker, Downy, male 2 — A busy Downy Woodpecker

Woodpecker, downy, male — And another busy Downy Woodpecker, male

I have a feeling that 2014’s going to be a busy year at the “home office” so make sure to stay tuned, and let me know what your local wildlife looks like. A nerd’s gotta do what a nerd’s gotta do.

December 31, 2013

My First Job: What Big Blue Once Was

My first real job was at IBM, in the old Boca Raton lab, in 1976. (Important: IBM has become a very different company in the last twenty years, so please assume none of this applies to the current company. Also, this is all to my recollection, and memory is unreliable.)

The offer was made early, and sounded great. I’ve never been in love with the beach, but thought it might be fun to live near the ocean, and live in a city whose name means “mouse’s mouth.”

The job was in “advanced technology” and dealt with systems architecture.

It took a few years to sink in, but turns out that in corporate language, “advanced tech” is a euphemism: It isn’t what it sounds like. But the software design process didn’t include asking actual customers about usability. I discovered later on, through founding craigslist, that listening to people is about the smartest thing you can do.

I got involved in some software development. That led to some customer involvement, but I was too easy to read, and customers looked to my reactions to see if marketing was, say, stretching things. We nerds are not great salespeople.

After some years, the opportunity to transfer to IBM in Detroit was made, to be involved in a joint effort with General Motors to do factory automation work. Well, I took the offer.

Detroit was pretty good for me, I liked the people and got involved with the local science fiction community, and the local artists community.

After a total of seventeen years, IBM was going through a lot of changes. I took a really good buyout offer and ended up moving to San Francisco, where I got another job and a few years later started craigslist in my spare time.

Photo: Adam Jenkins/Flickr

November 6, 2013

A “Fond Farewell” to St. Anthony’s

Greetings Friends and Colleagues,

On Saturday, February 25th St. Anthony’s is hosting a “Fond Farewell” event in our original dining room. Please join us as we celebrate the space that has served San Franciscans for over 61 years and 38 million meals. This will be your last chance to pay homage and reflect on a miracle that began on October 4th, 1950.

When: Saturday, Feb. 25th
11am – 2pm: Open House
12noon: Entertainment and Speakers

Where: St. Anthony’s Original Dining Room
45 Jones Street; San Francisco, CA 94102

What: A public farewell to this sacred space.

•Paint:
Write a note or paint a picture on the walls about what this space means to you.

•Demolish:
Swing a hammer to help us demolish a wall in the Dining Room and take a small piece of St. Anthony’s with you.

•Reflect:
Contribute a message to our Time Capsule, which will be opened on our 100th Anniversary.

Please feel free to share this invitation with others, post in your organizations, post to your community calendar, etc.

We hope you to see you there as we say good-bye to the old and get ready to usher in the new St. Anthony’s Dining Room in 2014! Please contact St. Anthony’s Events Manager, Kathryn Murphy, at kmurphy@stanthonysf.org or (415)592-2768 with any questions.

See you on February 25th!

February 22, 2012