Goodbye iGoogle, hello My Yahoo

I remember when Yahoo was called a Portal. This was the place to start surfin' the Net. I've been using iGoogle for quite a while to access the RSS feeds (blogs) I follow. I knew iGoogle was shutting down on November 1. I've been experimenting with alternatives. I'm using Feedly on my mobile devices (iPhone and iPad) to follow blogs.
This morning I setup My Yahoo on my iMac. The good news was the ability to import all my iGoogle settings into My Yahoo. You first need to go to iGoogle, Options, Settings, and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you'll find Export. This will create a xtml file which can be imported into My Yahoo.

There are a number of alternatives. I chose Yahoo hoping they would be around for a while.

Now I need to work on customizing My Yahoo page.

What are you using for a Home page?

Autumn Leaves Start to Fall

http://youtu.be/X9v3ufe9sLE

This is one of the first slide shows I created with my iMac. The best part is the music; Eric Clapton's rendition of Autumn Leaves.

Coyotes in Phoenix

It's one thing to see coyotes when you're camped out in the middle of the desert. I ran across these two while taking my morning walk. This photo was taken with an iPhone and doesn't do justice to their beautiful healthy look. This is in a residential area on the west side of the valley not too far from the White Tank Mountains. There are lots of nice green golf courses in the area which are overpopulated with rabbits which I'm sure attracts the coyotes.

A Paean to BookTV.org

I'm a big fan of BookTV.org. BookTV is a creation of C-Span. Each weekend they provide 48+ hours of non-fiction authors discussing their latest books. In addition, each week they have an one hour "After Words" interview with a current author. Once a month they have a three hour "In Depth" interview with a current author. This show is on television over the week-end but the best part is it's available on the web. They have a huge video archive. Here's a sample list of recent shows.
1. After Words: Barbara Perry, "Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch," hosted by Vincent Bzdek, Washington Post News Editor 
2. "Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials" 
Marilynne Roach
3. "Hope After Faith: An Ex-Pastor's Journey From Belief to Atheism" 
Jerry DeWitt

4. "Lady at the O.K. Corral: The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp" 

Ann Kirchner
5. After Words: Karen Houppert, "Chasing Gideon: The Elusive Quest for Poor People's Justice," hosted by Jenna Greene, National Law Journal 

I am Malala

 We've all heard the story of this 15 year old who was shot by the Taliban. She has recently been on a book tour. I watched this interview on BookTV.org and was amazed and moved by her maturity.
"In October 2012, Malala Yousafzai, who lived in the Swat Valley (Northern Pakistan), was shot in the head and neck by Taliban gunmen who tried to assassinate her for being an outspoken supporter of education for girls.  She was 15 years old.  During this event hosted by Politics and Prose Bookstore, Ms. Yousafzai was be interviewed, along with her father, by Michel Martin of NPR."
"Malala Yousafzai was awarded Pakistan's National Youth Peace Prize in 2011 and is the youngest person ever nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She is the co-founder of The Malala Fund, which supports the cause of education for girls.  For more, visit: malalafund.org."
Watch the BookTV program here.

Chefs Keller and Achatz

Watermelon

trout roe

Duck

Charley Rose had a couple of interesting guests on his show last week. Thomas Keller is the famous chef of Per Se in NY, and the French Laundry in Yountville, CA. The other guest was Grant Achatz of Alinea Restaurant in Chicago. Both of these restaurants have  received Michelin's highest rating of three stars.

Check out Per Se's wonderful menu here. The Chef's tasting menu for lunch is only $295 and doesn't include tip or wine!!

Check out a photo gallery of Alinea's wonderful dishes here. You need to scroll the photos from left to right.

Grounding - A New Phenomenon

• Walking barefoot on the Earth transfers free electrons from the Earth’s surface into your body that spread throughout your tissues providing beneficial effects. This process is called ‘grounding.’
• Grounding has been shown to relieve chronic pain, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, thin your blood, enhance well-being and much, much more
• Wearing plastic- or rubber-soled shoes effectively disconnects you from the Earth’s natural electron flow
• In the Grounded documentary, you’ll hear first-hand accounts from residents of Haines, Alaska who have overcome chronic pain, sleep apnea and much more simply by getting grounded
• Like eating right, exercising and sleeping, grounding can be described as yet another lifestyle habit that supports optimal health

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/19/grounded-documentary.aspx

You can only watch the movie through October 26.

The art of Wassily Kandinsky

Hommage to Grohmann

Zersezte Spannung

On White II (1923)

Composition X (1939)

"Wassily Kandinsky (1886 – 1944), the father of abstract art, also a skilled musician, strongly associated music with art. Kandinsky, who named works after musical terms, saw color when he listened to music, and believed color could visually express music’s timber, pitch and volume. At age 30, Kandinsky’s artistic career began when he left a legal career to pursue artistic studies after seeing Monet’s “Haystacks.” Passionately compelled to create, Kandinsky believed that the purity of this desire would communicate itself to viewers of his work."

Madjda - Movie Review

“Wadjda” tells the story of a determined, misfit 10-year-old girl and her quest for a green bicycle. Set in the Riyadh suburbs, where women’s mobility is limited, and bike riding is considered a threat to a girl’s virtue, Wadjda hopes to buy one herself by winning a Koran-recitation competition at school that has a cash prize. It's the first feature film to be made entirely in Saudi Arabia. It was also written and directed by a woman. 

Piazza D'Angelo - Mill Valley

Another wonderful restaurant in Marin. Angelo's is a family run business serving high quality Italian cuisine with excellent service.
My dining partner had Branzino Californiano: Pistachio crusted California bass, sautéed fregola sardo, heirloom tomato, green onion, romano beans, Kalamata olives, capers, and mint. Fregola sardo is a Sardinian pasta which looks a little like couscous.
I had Gnocchetti de Faro Al Ragu di cinchiale: Local spelt gnocchetti, wild boar ragu, and organic Tuscan pecorino cheese.
I drank Rodney Strong Chardonnay, my partner drank Prosecco, DOC  Treviso, Carpene Molvolti, Veneto. Venice is the capital of the State of Veneto.
Prosecco is also the basis of a Italian Cocktail, Sgroppino; 1 cup Prosecco, 2 tbl. chilled vodka, 1/3 cup lemon sorbet, 1/4 tsp. chopped fresh mint.

Goodbye SF, Hello Phoenix

I left Marin on Saturday morning. This video shows the fog which I was driving through. I picked up my RV in Paso Robles. I managed to get all the way to Indio where I boon-docked at the Fantasy Springs Casino. They don't have any hookups but there was plenty of space. The Phoenix weather yesterday was 85 F and 5% relative humidity!

America's Obsessives - Book Review

I just finished reading American Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation by Joshua Kendall.

This book takes a look at compulsive behavior which led to the success of a number of successful Americans including Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, Charles Lindberg, Melvil Dewey, H. J. Heinz, Ted Williams, and Estee Lauder.

This group suffered from what psychiatrists call Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Six  common symptoms of this disorder:

1. Preoccupation with details, rules, order, lists, organization of schedules

2. Perfectionism

3. Excess devotion to work

4. Inflexibility about matters of morality, ethics, or values

5. Reluctance to delegate tasks unless others submit to exactly his way of doing thing

6. Rigidity and stubbornness

Here's a link to a professional review

Aziza - San Francisco

Last night we ate at Aziza. This is the first Moroccan restaurant to earn a Michelin Star. You can read about the chef/owner Mourad Lahlou here.

Idan Raichel - San Francisco

I went the other night to SF to see the Idan Raichel Project. Idan Raichel is an Israeli musician who puts on a fabulous show. His band, blends influences from world music, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish traditions, and sounds from Ethiopia and the Middle East.  Here's a clip from a 2010 appearance in NYC.

Mt. Tamalpais and Stinson Beach

A friend and I took an early morning drive to Stinson Beach this morning from Tiburon. It's a beautiful 12 miles drive through the redwood forests of Mount Tamalpais (elevation 2,574') to reach Stinson Beach (population 632).
The first photo is looking east from Mt. Tam. The valley is covered with early morning fog, but Mt. Diablo (elevation 3,864') can been seen in the distance. The other photos were taken at Stinson Beach.

My First YouTube Video

This is my first YouTube Video. It was shot with my Canon SureShot 50-SX.

 This is the neighbor's little boy Adam. I think he's about three years old.

More Zentangles

I'm showing some more Zentangles today. Check a previous post, "Do You Like to Doodle?" for details.