I am the ghost of groovymother.com. Woooooo!

This is an old page from Rod Begbie's blog.

It only exists in an attempt to prevent linkrot. No new content will be added to this site, and links and images are liable to be broken. Check out begbie.com to find where I'm posting stuff these days.

Filed under 'sanfrancisco'

March 30, 2012

San Francisco Archipelago

The SF map, readjusted for rising tides. I think I’d like to retire to a lovely beachfront property at Cape Dolores.

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February 14, 2011

Lovers Are for San Francisco

Celebrating Valentine’s Day, SF-style.

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January 31, 2011

San Francisco Gets a Dis*Loyalty Card

Reasons to love SF (number 94 in an occasional series): The Dis*Loyalty card to encourage you to sample the coffees of eight local independent roasters. Yum.

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December 19, 2010

Finding the Best Chicago Pizza in San Francisco

Rigorous scientific method applied to researching deep-dish pizza. Will have to try Paxti’s soon.

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November 26, 2010

Tasty Thanksgiving Day Feast

SF Zoo set up a Thanksgiving dinner for the lemurs. Adorable. Make sure to look at the rest of the set.

October 28, 2010

A Love Letter To The San Francisco Giants

Fab summation of why SF is so electric this week. There is a lot of happiness in the air, and anyone who sneers at it (either by moaning about fairweather fans, or about how sports is dumb) is missing the point.

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October 6, 2010

The Coffee Wars of San Francisco

If Ken Burns covered SF coffee…

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October 5, 2010

A soundtrack to my walk along the Embarcadero

A soundtrack to my walk along the Embarcadero

From the "Why I love San Francisco" file. I kept pace with this guy as I walked from Dogpatch Labs to the Ferry Building!

September 22, 2010

Sticky Guide: Medical Marijuana Ratings & Reviews

Oh, San Francisco. “Medithrive welcomes all new patients by giving away a free House Pre-Rolled Joint to all new patients regardless of purchase!”

September 8, 2010

“NO THANKS”

“NO THANKS”

“OH MY!”

“OH MY!”

August 31, 2010

“Puff my Scrote”

“Puff my Scrote”

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August 25, 2010

Awesome Project offers $1,000 grants for quirky ideas - SF Weekly

Nice write-up for the SF chapter of the Awesome Foundation.

July 31, 2010

Howdy Yoda

Howdy Yoda

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July 11, 2010

Sir Paul Fab Macca Wacky Thumbs Aloft

Sir Paul Fab Macca Wacky Thumbs Aloft

Running through my head every time they showed a close-up on the big screens: "Do we have a picture of Angela Lansbury?"

July 10, 2010

July in SF

July in SF

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June 26, 2010

“11 BUCHHOLZ P 1.000”

“11 BUCHHOLZ P 1.000”

Clay Buchholz batting 1,000 on the season. Sadly, while running the bases he strained his knee and had to sit out the rest of the game.

Balloons over the scoreboard

Balloons over the scoreboard

Balloons in flight

Balloons in flight

Balloon release

Balloon release

Balloon release to celebrate the retirement of Monte Irvin's number.

Boooooooo!

Boooooooo!

Bud Selig, wasting everyone's time.

Much less foggy!

Much less foggy!

“Sox Addict”

“Sox Addict”

Foggy Scoreboard

Foggy Scoreboard

June 23, 2010

Bacon’s Pills

Bacon’s Pills

On a confusing set of daily medications, Bacon is truly a Begbie now.

Be sure not to mix up the "Two once a day" with the "One twice a day" with the "One three times a day" with the "Two every day for three days, then every other day".

DOGS ARE HARD! LET'S GO SHOPPING!

June 7, 2010

If San Francisco Crime was Elevation

You’d get out of breath walking up Tenderloin Mountain. Fun visualization.

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June 2, 2010

SFpark

Innovative street parking system being piloted in San Francisco this summer — You’ll be able to look on the web and see parking availability at meters across the city in realtime. Prices and time limits will alter monthly to reflect (and shape) demand.

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May 21, 2010

nerdnite – San Francisco

Fun looking night of presentations and drinking. “Come welcome Nerd Nite SF and see why dead fish in stinky jars matter, how scientists are using your lipoproteins to create medicine nano-taxis, and how World of Warcraft gold can be exchanged for real sex.”

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May 8, 2010

Not everyone appreciated the pig butchery demonstration

Not everyone appreciated the pig butchery demonstration

Making your own bacon - Pork Belly

Making your own bacon - Pork Belly

BaconCamp 2010

BaconCamp 2010

BaconCamp 2010

BaconCamp 2010

April 15, 2010

Hello World! The Awesome Foundation-San Francisco...

Thrilled to announce that the San Francisco chapter of The Awesome Foundation is now up and running.

Bay Area folks! Got an idea for something you want to build that will advance Awesomeness? Apply for the $1000 grant now! We’ll be picking our first recipient in May.

April 2, 2010

The Streets of San Francisco ... But Flat?

What San Francisco would look like without hills. Obvious in retrospect, but brilliantly done.

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March 30, 2010

The world needs more googly eyes

The world needs more googly eyes

March 27, 2010

“Get Your Muni Fast Pass Here”

“Get Your Muni Fast Pass Here”

The current state of my MacBookPro

The current state of my MacBookPro

You can almost make out that there's a computer under there somewhere.

March 21, 2010

Plastic Flamingos

Plastic Flamingos

Our neighbourhood

Our neighbourhood

Gorgeous day in Ingleside.

Happy grafitti

Happy grafitti

March 10, 2010

“Feeding pigeons is illegal”

“Feeding pigeons is illegal”

""The law is illegal."

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February 24, 2010

Attack!

Attack!

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January 31, 2010

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: English Bulldog

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: English Bulldog

Joy & I were quite taken by the English bulldogs at the show. I suspect that when we're ready for a new dog, we might take on a rescue bulldog.

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Irish Wolfhound

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Irish Wolfhound

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Pugs

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Pugs

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: “Pug Hugs 5¢”

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: “Pug Hugs 5¢”

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Pug

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Pug

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Some sort of flushable biodegradable dogcrap bags

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Pressing the flesh

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Pressing the flesh

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Spinone Italiano

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Spinone Italiano

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Dalmatians

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Dalmatians

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Golden Retriever

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show: Golden Retriever

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show

January 29, 2010

San Francisco's Answer to Westboro Baptist Church

Made me sad that I didn’t know they were in town until they were already here. I’d have loved to have protested outside Twitter with a “God Hates Failwhales” sign.

December 4, 2009

The Evolution of the Hipster 2000-2009

Posted without comment, for fear of offending about 60% of the people I know in San Francisco.

November 28, 2009

Coit Tower, from Columbus Ave

Coit Tower, from Columbus Ave

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Sad Bear offers a Sad Flower

Sad Bear offers a Sad Flower

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“SCOTLAND”

“SCOTLAND”

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Arches

Arches

Mum: "I keep expecting Kermit & Miss Piggy to pop up and introduce us to the Muppet Show"

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Financial District

Financial District

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Photography

Photography

My photo of Mum, using her new iPhone to take a photo of San Francisco.

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IMG_2353

IMG_2353

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Parking lot

Parking lot

The too-small-for-its-own-good parking lot at Coit Tower.

“Artists work in harmony”

“Artists work in harmony”

From the murals at Coit Tower.

Alcatraz, from Coit Tower

Alcatraz, from Coit Tower

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Green

Green

My detailed botanical skills make me certain that this is some sort of fucking cabbage, or something.

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“No Examiner, No Gazette”

“No Examiner, No Gazette”

The annoyance of SF's free sheets is shared among many.

IMG_2304

IMG_2304

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“HOME DELIVERY SUBCRIBER”

“HOME DELIVERY SUBCRIBER”

Details on the crime of littering, sadly not available.

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Hey buddy! English is our national language!

Hey buddy! English is our national language!

None of this French bullshit flies here!

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ObTouristShot

ObTouristShot

from the top of Coit Tower

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October 24, 2009

Blergh

Blergh

October 15, 2009

McSweeney's Next Incarnation: An Old-Fashioned Broadsheet

“McSweeney’s No. 33 is to be in the form of a daily broadsheet — a big, old-fashioned broadsheet.” Sounds fabulous.

October 4, 2009

CupcakeCamp

CupcakeCamp

Yes, that is a piece of bacon in my cupcake!

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September 21, 2009

Randall Munroe and Alexis Ohanian

Randall Munroe and Alexis Ohanian

xkcd book reading event for the EFF.

September 9, 2009

Electronic Frontier Foundation: xkcd Book Reading

Fundraiser in SF in a few weeks for the EFF — Randall Munroe of xkcd will be doing a book reading and answering questions from Reddit. I’ve signed up for the meet & greet.

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August 17, 2009

August 9, 2009

Balboa Park BART Panorama

Balboa Park BART Panorama

The result of a quick test of the exceedingly nifty AutoStitch iPhone app. You take a load of snapshots, and it joins them together relatively-seamlessly.

(Best viewed full size)

July 8, 2009

Tony’s got his rally cap on

Tony’s got his rally cap on

Didn't help! The Giants lost 7-0.

IMG_0885.JPG

IMG_0885.JPG

Fantastic day for a game at AT&T Park.

Garlic Fries

Garlic Fries

With a much-needed bowl of breath mints nearby.

The best ballpark food in the country? Possibly. Also outstanding: the Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs for sale at the Tres Agaves cart.

May 22, 2009

SPENCER ON THE GO French Take-Away

New SF taco truck, selling French cuisine. The thought of buying curried frogs’ legs on a street corner fills me with excitement.

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May 9, 2009

Mum & Dad at Flickr Turns 5.25

Mum & Dad at Flickr Turns 5.25

We were wandering round SF with my parents, not quite sure what to do to pass the time until dinner, when I looked at my phone and saw Rev Dan Catt's tweet about the Flickr Turns 5.25 party.

Apart from the occasional concern that they were the oldest people there, they had a great time! A couple of free beers and some t-shirts later, and they were happy. (OK, it was mostly the free beer.)

Hurrah for the Good Ship Flickr! (And thanks to Cal for using his last Polaroid for this photo!)

May 6, 2009

300 Brannan

300 Brannan

From the 6th floor windows of 301 Brannan. Test shot with my new camera.

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March 25, 2009

March 21, 2009

Applewood Bacon & Apple Pie

Applewood Bacon & Apple Pie

Yum!

Press button…

Press button…

Guess which of these rules I added.

Bacon & Avacado Sushi

Bacon & Avacado Sushi

My favourite dish.

Done Dippin’

Done Dippin’

The aftermath.

BaconCamp screenprinting

BaconCamp screenprinting

Joy’s dip

Joy’s dip

Came third in audience voting. Cal wanted to smear it on his face and enjoy a bacon facial.

Bacon & Eggs

Bacon & Eggs

from You Bacon Me Crazy

Bacon Preparation

Bacon Preparation

Joy starts working on her Bacon & Blue Cheese dip.

March 16, 2009

Feel free to double park in SF right now.

Feel free to double park in SF right now.

Apparently every meter maid in town is parked here. (About 30 other interceptors not pictured)

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March 13, 2009

Gowalla. A location-based iPhone game.

Was wondering when one of these would show up. Virtual geo-caching using the iPhone’s location facilities. Designed by the folks behind the Facebook “Packrat” game. (SF and Austin only at the moment)

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February 13, 2009

1234567890 at 21st Amendment

1234567890 at 21st Amendment

Happy Nerd New Year

February 2, 2009

Damn you, Punxsutawney Phil!

Damn you, Punxsutawney Phil!

I don't think I can take another 6 weeks of this horrendous SF winter weather.

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January 27, 2009

baconcamp

Move over CupcakeCamp, we may have a new challenger for “Best *Camp EVAH!”

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January 20, 2009

January 16, 2009

Slide Inc.

Slide Inc.

SF sunset, as seen from the Slide rooftop.

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January 11, 2009

Made it to the top

Made it to the top

On the way up

On the way up

Clyde is aging, and stairs are not his strong point. (You try dragging 70lbs on little stumpy legs!) He made his way up from the beach masterfully, though.

Bacon Barking on the Beach

Bacon Barking on the Beach

From here to eternity

From here to eternity

Clyde contemplates the ocean

Clyde contemplates the ocean

Downhill is the easy part

Downhill is the easy part

Fort Funston

Fort Funston

Part of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, one of my favourite places in SF is Fort Funston, especially on a 60ºF sunny Sunday like today. It's a fantastic place to take Bacon & Clyde. They run around off-leash with lots of other dogs in a lovely sandy area next to the Pacific.

January 8, 2009

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream

Newly opened gourmet ice cream store in the Mission. “Balsamic caramel” and “Pistachio-bacon” are both calling my name.

November 3, 2008

Bush Street Renamed

I love this town.

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October 29, 2008

I Voted

I Voted

The true symbol of democracy in America -- The smug satisfaction of getting to wear the elusive "I Voted" sticker.

It was the only reason I bothered voting, to be honest.

(t-shirt)

All filled out

All filled out

The seven sides(!) of the ballot, filled out and ready to be deposited in the ballot box.

This sample ballot shows how much crap I had to vote on after making my presidential selection.

What two-party system?

What two-party system?

My first vote as an American

My first vote as an American

The basement of City Hall

The basement of City Hall

There were about 40 people in front of me waiting to cast early ballots.

Polling Place

Polling Place

San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco City Hall

October 23, 2008

Ten Years in My Life: Where I’ve Lived

Ten Years in My Life: Where I’ve Lived

On Saturday, 24th October 1998, I flew from Glasgow to Boston, with little more than a suitcase of clothes and a credit card with a decently high limit.

It's now 24th October 2008. Ten years have gone by. Time for little personal retrospection. How have I spent these ten years?

October 21, 2008

Apparently, they were all out of “San Franciscans: Please key my paintwork” signs.

Apparently, they were all out of “San Franciscans: Please key my paintwork” signs.

Spotted near AT&T Park.

October 14, 2008

Tooths

Tooths

The x-rays of my teeth, displayed on the hyper-fancy computerised x-ray-o-matic software at my new dentist's office. This monitor is expressly positioned above the chair so patients can see what's going on.

October 13, 2008

1st and 3rd

1st and 3rd

The parking restrictions in our neighbourhood have changed from every week to the 1st & 3rd weeks of the month. I think this is a good thing and will make it easier to park, though I am cautious of getting more parking tickets through mixing up weeks.

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October 11, 2008

Sunrise over Niagara St

Sunrise over Niagara St

Up early this morning after falling asleep early last night, and managed to catch this sunrise over our neighbourhood.

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Sunrise over Niagara St

Sunrise over Niagara St

Up early this morning after falling asleep early last night, and managed to catch this sunrise over our neighbourhood.

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October 9, 2008

South Beach, Oct 9, 2008

South Beach, Oct 9, 2008

Possibly my favourite thing Kathy Sierra has created.

(Original image)

The Hallway conference room at Current

The Hallway conference room at Current

Making myself feel better by posting some Kathy Sierra graphics around work. I left a couple in the hallway conference room yesterday evening, since there's a "senior staff meeting" there first thing today. Wonder if they'll be removed prior…

(Original image)

October 4, 2008

The Dandy Warhols

The Dandy Warhols

Uploaded with AirMe

September 30, 2008

I has a cammoflaj!

I has a cammoflaj!

September 29, 2008

Improv Everywhere: MP3 Experiment San Francisco

Load a mysterious MP3 onto your iPod. Show up at Dolores Park at an appointed time. Simultaneously with hundreds of strangers, hit play. Follow the instructions. (See the report on 2007 for an example of the madness that my ensue!)

September 28, 2008

The final strike of the season

The final strike of the season

SF beat LA 3-1.

Joy & I had been a wee bit disappointed not to see Nomar Garciaparra or Manny Ramirez play, but understandably they're resting before the postseason. It wasn't until the 9th inning that we discovered that Nomar was actually making his managing debut at the game -- apparently a tradition of Joe Torré's.

The Pacific Ocean, as seen from View Box 331

The Pacific Ocean, as seen from View Box 331

AT&T Park

AT&T Park

Ever since I first saw the Red Sox on TV playing at "SBC Park" (as then was), I've thought the Giants' park was gorgeous. This afternoon, Joy & I went to see their season closer against LA, and it was as lovely as I'd hoped.

Large, but intimate, and right next to the Pacific, I dream of the day the Red Sox ditch Fenway and build something as special as AT&T Park.

September 26, 2008

The #Current debate viewing party

The #Current debate viewing party

Laptops out, twittering along, hoping to get on TV! (A small handful of us managed!)

September 25, 2008

Production Control Room

Production Control Room

During a test run of Hack the Debate.

Our operators are standing by

Our operators are standing by

This is either the Twitter-scanning nerve-center of the Current TV Hack the Debate coverage, or we're having a pledge drive.

September 22, 2008

LOLZoo!!! at San Francisco Zoo (Saturday September 27, 2008) - Upcoming

This weekend, an excuse to wander round the SF Zoo shooting photos, in the name of the “I Can Has Cheezburger” book.

September 14, 2008

Ridley gets dressed-up

Ridley gets dressed-up

…and our dogs breathe a sigh of relief that they don't make doggie costumes in fat-basset sizes!

Bacon in South Park

Bacon in South Park

Enjoying running round and barking at the other dogs. Loudly.

Ridley the Pug

Ridley the Pug

Tara Hunt's adorable new pug. His tongue seems to be too big for his mouth, so is always sticking out to the side.

Clydepeetrail

Clydepeetrail

Clyde was taking a leak, then decided he needed to sniff something across the sidewalk. Sadly, he's old, so stopping wasn't an option, thus this attractive lumbering pattern.

September 9, 2008

Mogwai Fear Satan

Mogwai Fear Satan

September 1, 2008

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

Trip to Fort Funston

August 27, 2008

The great thing about being a basset…

The great thing about being a basset…

If you're trying to sleep, but it's bright out, you've got your own built-in eyemask.

August 22, 2008

Ice Cream Sandwiches on the rooftop. Hurrah!

Ice Cream Sandwiches on the rooftop.  Hurrah!

The Ice(cream sandwich)Man Cometh

The Ice(cream sandwich)Man Cometh

View from the Current rooftop

View from the Current rooftop

August 10, 2008

Bacon & Clyde meet the Pacific

Bacon & Clyde meet the Pacific

Took the dogs for a walk along the beach at Crissy Field this afternoon.

Two bassethounds and an ocean

Two bassethounds and an ocean

Took the dogs for a walk along the beach at Crissy Field this afternoon.

August 8, 2008

Giants lager mitts

Giants lager mitts

Enjoy drinking beer, but tired of the inevitable handcramps from holding the bottle? Get your SF Giants Lager Mitt from the stand at MoMo's, across from AT&T Park.

August 1, 2008

Wines, not Wings

Wines, not Wings

I only caught this sign out of the corner of my drunken eye this evening. At first, I was bemused that "Rex-Goliath Wings" would advertise with a rooster eating a drumstick. Only once I read it more clearly and realised what the rooster was *meant* to be holding did it seem lest tasteless (albeit mildly more bizarre)

July 31, 2008

Liquor, Coffee & Scripture

Liquor, Coffee & Scripture

An odd selection of signs on this liquor store. (And another Eye-Fi test… this photo was uploaded via the Wi-Fi hotspot in the McDonald's behind me as I took the photo, and was in Flickr before I got back to my desk)

Trinkets

Trinkets

First photo taken (and automatically uploaded and geotagged) with my new Eye-Fi Explore card.

I never saw much point in the olde Eye Fi cards, when they could only upload to your home network (if I'm already home, I'm already near my laptop and can grab the photos), but with the hotspot support, on-the-go uploading suddenly becomes viable from my nice camera.

July 28, 2008

San Francisco, Jul 27, 2008

San Francisco, Jul 27, 2008

July 24, 2008

Fielding Has a Posse

Fielding Has a Posse

New laptop sticker, swiped from Citizen Space. Seems appropriate since my role at Current is making things RESTful. (BTW, if anyone wants a Current TV sticker, ping me)

Could the next Twitterer please sign in…

Could the next Twitterer please sign in…

No meetup with Laura will be complete without a list of attending Twitter usernames! (@sfordinarygirl @beaulebens @meryl333 @dlieberman @jjtoothman @rodbegbie @missrogue @jbumpas @microplace @moyalynne @creativesage)

July 22, 2008

This’ll make an AMAZING fort later

This’ll make an AMAZING fort later

In Somerville, we had a three-floor house with basement. Now we have a one storey apartment. We used to have two offices and a spare room, now we have a combination office/spare room. Which will also hold my clothes, since we've got a smaller bedroom too.

In unrelated news, we'll be renting a storage locker shortly.

No Sleep ‘Til Hopen

No Sleep ‘Til Hopen

New bed from Ikea assembled. I AM THE KING OF THE ALUM KEY!

July 19, 2008

Eddie Izzard, San Francisco, Jul 18, 2008

Eddie Izzard, San Francisco, Jul 18, 2008

Aysys, Beesus, Seesus, Deesus, Eesus, Effsus, and Jesus.

July 16, 2008

AirMe

AirMe

Hurrah! A decent, geotagging, full-resolution, free Flickr-uploader for the iPhone. AirMe.

June 11, 2008

Start!

A one day conference for folks interested in starting their own company. A cheap $200, since this is one of those conferences that’s hard to convince your boss to let you expense. I’ll be there.

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May 22, 2008

Treasure Island Music Festival

Awesome looking two-day music festival in San Francisco — Justice, Goldfrapp, Spiritualized and The Raconteurs are amongst the acts. Tickets go on sale next week.

April 14, 2008

San Francisco Giants Band Together To Score Run | The Onion

I really shouldn’t laugh at this, since I now work across the street from AT&T Park, but… heh.

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April 12, 2008

Splendour

Splendour

Joy & I have been staying at the Mosser Hotel this week in San Francisco while apartment hunting. Come join us on this video tour of our luxurious suite.

(This is primarily a test to see what breaks on my blog when I post a video to Flickr -- Seems to have worked pretty smoothly, but goddamn, there needs to be a way of choosing the frame that becomes the thumbnail!)

April 9, 2008

Torch protest

Torch protest

The "Free Tibet" and "Free Darfur" groups were protesting the torch, but a visibly larger group of Chinese supporters were protesting the protesters.

And in the end, the torch didn't come anywhere near us!

March 14, 2008

Sun in wintertime, We will feel just fine

I’ve posted this as a tweet the other day, but to fill in the details…

I’ve accepted a job offer to move to San Francisco next month to work in the online group of Current TV. For those unfamiliar, the lazy shorthand is “Al Gore’s cable network”, though it’s much more than that. I’m excited to be starting work for a company with a serious social mission, and it’s been clear to me from talking with them that their ideas for how the web can be part of that mission are extensive.

My reasons for wanting to make a cross-country move are varied. A simple one is itchy feet after close-to ten years in Boston. I made the jump here immediately after graduation, and feel like it’s time for a change.

A larger reason comes from becoming more aware of the geek community in the Bay Area, and wanting to be a part of it. The attitudes towards collaborating on projects and trying out clever ideas are lacking in Boston (as anyone who’s ever stood near me at a WebInno event will have heard me grumble), and sites like Twitter and Upcoming have only amplified what I feel like I’m missing out on. Hopefully once I’m there, I’ll be able to dive into these communities.

And finally, I’ve wanted to live in San Francisco ever since the first time I visited, three years ago. Last summer’s California vacation was secretly an attempt to convince Joy that moving to SF would be good for us. She fell for it!

There’s a lot I’ll miss about Boston (I’m already dreading moving to a state entirely free of Dunkin Donuts), but hopefully this is just the next step in Joy’s and my adventure.

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March 3, 2008

Gratuitous SF tourist shot

Gratuitous SF tourist shot

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Balloons

Balloons

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Mel’s Drive-In

Mel’s Drive-In

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Rock-ola

Rock-ola

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June 8, 2007

Inside a kaleidoscope

Inside a kaleidoscope

At the Exploratorium

On Crissy Field beach

On Crissy Field beach

With a bridge in the background

With the dogs on Crissy Field beach

With the dogs on Crissy Field beach

Joy and I sat on the beach for a while, watching some local dogs frolic in the waves.

Happy Rod

Happy Rod

In front of Ghirardelli Square. They have chocolate there, you know.

“LOUD ALARM WILL SOUND - Smile for the Camera”

“LOUD ALARM WILL SOUND - Smile for the Camera”

24th St and Mission BART station.

May 29, 2007

Google Street View - 242 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Good to know — the hotel we’ll be staying at in San Francisco next week is right above a Lush store.

May 26, 2007

Moleskine City Notebook

Just picked up the San Francisco one for our trip next month. A rather lovely little thing it is too, managing to combine being blank and ready for your scribbles, with being well organised and useful. Can’t wait to start filling it up.

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June 22, 2005

Segway ‘Walking Tour’

Segway ‘Walking Tour’

Spotted practically following us around San Francisco. We particularly appreciated that riding around on Segways didn't make you look enough of a dork, so they fitted you out with reflective yellow jackets and helmets. Seeing them glide across the landscape was like a slowed-down Benny Hill chase, but without the buxom lasses or Yakkity Sax.

June 21, 2005

Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts

They don't build 'em like this anymore.

San Francisco at dusk

San Francisco at dusk

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June 20, 2005

The Rock

The Rock

Upon seeing this, my colleagues asked for my Sean Connery impression. It'sh every Shcotshman's birthright to do a pish-poor Shean Connery impreshion. Yesh, indeed.

Some bridge or other

Some bridge or other

Round the corner, fudge is made

Round the corner, fudge is made

The Ghiradelli factory sign, San Francisco. Not an Oompa-Loompa in sight.


About This Site

This is an archive of groovmother.com, the old blog run by Rod Begbie — A Scottish geek who lives in San Francisco, CA.

I'm the co-founder of Sōsh, your handy-dandy guide for things to do in San Francisco this weekend.