Fogbelt

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Today we attended WonderCon at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Apparently we did the right thing skipping Saturday -- 20,000 attendees!! Stars from the X-Files and other famous shows were there. We thought it was cool to see Lou Ferigno -- he still looks awesome.

We spent quite a bit of time there watching short films and film trailers (bring on Iron Man) and watching artists draw. Simon has a very keen interest in this. We wound up getting a Batman graphic novel and some custom Star Wars lego pieces.  read more »  

Mother Hips at the Starry Plough in BerkeleyHere's a basket of pics from this winter...  read more »  

As November begins, it occurs to me that we've been Californians* for 10 years exactly. The * is for my friend Hil in L.A. who rightfully notes that I'll never be a true Californian... I will always be a Midwestern Boy. Fair 'nuff, I can accept that. I'm actually proud of it. But make no mistake... Simon and Henry are true Californians. And their mom and dad will be sure to help find them some nice Midwestern Girls, some day.   read more »  

Here it is.... the Hardly Strictly wrap-up. I'm pretty wrecked, probably because I had boys on my shoulders for 8 hours/day all weekend. Highlights and lowlights after the jump...

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Our favorite weekend of the year is almost upon us.... the seventh Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

This year, thankfully, doesn't have any crossover superstars that make the scene entirely too crazy (such as Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton) but we still have to make some utterly cruel choices, especially late on Saturday. We get some good rockin' on Sunday morning and Friday's evening program is great too, although we'll miss it! Continue on for a full rundown....   read more »  

This might qualify as too much information you don't really want to know, but this website pinpoints reality on the other side of the Oakland Estuary. You can select which kinds of crime you want visible and adjust the slider for time frame.

Get actual umbrellas that will make your deck spectacular. Choose from a selection patio umbrellas and find the right umbrella stand to go with it.  read more »  

For Simon's 6th birthday, we convinced Grady to play hookey and join us for a 2-hour presidential cruise about the USS Potomac. The ship is famous for being the "floating white house" of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Winston Churchill was a regular guest!

Bring on the heat wavesLiving in the fogbelt, we appreciate a good heat wave. We enjoyed a teaser 2 weeks ago and got the hint: 2 swamp coolers is better than one. Are you ready for a warm summer?

A swamp cooler is much like a fan that takes air through a "curtain of water." It uses far less electricity than air conditioning, which is overkill here in the Bay Area, especially when really hot days only occur in brief clusters a few times a year. But for those strings of swelter, a swamp cooler is perfect!

You can buy a small, portable swamp cooler online for 100 bucks w/ free shipping. Our model (by Sunpentown, from Compact Appliance, legos not included) has 3 speeds and oscillates. If you keep it running on high you will need to refill the water every 20 hours or so. One thing I don't like is the loud beeping when changing settings/low water notification.

These portable models won't cool your entire home but they cool everything in their oscillating paths... and you don't need to seal yourself in. We wheel it around to where we need it. The best part is: sleeping at night.