388 - Less is Lost

 

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2023 begins 

1/27/23

Surprise! I’m back. And after a pleasant lunch with a martini. Now that “the authorities” are admitting that alcohol is basically poison and even a single drink is bad for your health, I have to wonder if that is not part of the attraction -- playing with death. I think it actually has more to do with just altering your state of mind, but this new alternative is interesting. For unknown reasons -- possibly related to anticipated rioting? -- my Bank Cafe closed at 2pm today so I’ve taken refuge at the Mechanics Institute. Turns out there are more people here mid afternoon on a Friday than I would have guessed. 

I just climbed the stairs to the upper (magazine) level which turns out to be rather good exercise. If I were them I would repaint the lower walls lining the stair with semi gloss or at least a satin finish as I was dragging along it for support. Of course I have a preference for semi gloss anyway so this means nothing.

As of today before lunch I was to the section of “Less is Lost” set in the South. It is surprisingly good. Some really profound passages even though not much is actually happening at the moment. This is why Greer deserves the praise he has received for his recent work.

1/30/23 - This morning I bought my monthly breakfast croissant sand with egg and did not put on my mask for the transaction. And I paid with cash. After that first, I went to the bank and withdrew $40 for the first time since lockdown. Weeee! Some of the staff at Capital One and Peet’s are still wearing masks, so I do as well here at the bank cafe, but not when I’m off by myself. 

I’m dying to go to Pagan, but since we are coming up on a period when I normally go there four times in less than two months, I’m putting that off until my mother’s birthday. 

Still reading “Less is Lost.” As usual, I’m finding there is an advantage to not having read much fiction for so long now. I am newly struck by the wonder of fiction. Greer is an inventive author, but what I’m most struck by is the ordinary creation of characters and situations. I may even need to read Martha Grimes again, the queen of characterization. If, as I can’t help thinking, an author can be responsible for keeping their characters alive, wouldn’t that logic apply even more to gods? Which brings me back to my wondering what the “party line” is for Ultra Orthodox Jews when it comes to the Holocaust. Of course, following this same logic, authors are required to kill off characters at times either to further the plot or for emotional effect. Are there limits to how much you can forgive an author for. “Game of Thrones” comes to mind here.

And, having just read to the very end of the third chapter, how sweet it is for the author/creator to summon a hurricane to avoid the nuisance of a trip to the dump. Now this is something a god would do. So what will he do with the van? I have three ideas: It breaks down, which has already been hinted at, but is that foreshadowing or misdirection?; He gives it away; Or my favorite, it is stolen, suddenly leaving him fancy free

Alas, it was foreshadowing after all.

1/31/23 - Returning to my long ago story set in a retirement home for Boomers, I’m now imagining a Pendelton fad and scooters with banana seats.

325. Library/WPA model tour

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Back to spontaneity

Last night I started re-reading this blog and was reminded that the idea was to do more spontaneous writing. It's a good indication of how un-spontaneous I am that I had forgotten all about that. But I still think it's a good idea, so I will give it another try.

Today I'm sitting in the basement at the Bank Cafe. Not for the greater protection from gamma rays or the convenience to the bathrooms, but because they are finally starting to remodel the inside of this building and this is now where most of the seating is... such as it is.

I was under the impression this was going to be done in phases, but having said that, I can imagine what actually happened. When the architect and contractor presented the plan to the clients -- Capital One 360 and Peet's Coffee -- I'm sure they responded to concerns about interference with their business with assurances that the work could be done in phases so people would hardly even know they were working in the building. Then, as the time approached to start the work, they came back and explained that while they could do the work in phases, that would take much longer and cost much more and the people in corporate who actually write the checks said, screw that. 

So now half the ground floor is blocked off, including the stairs to the mezzanine, and even two walls of the basement are sealed off. We're packed in here like rats in the terminal phase of those over-crowding experiments. I'm trying to keep my back to a wall so I can spot the first signs of cannibalism. And the bean bags never returned to the small area of de rigueur stadium seating, so you can sit there but not comfortably.



Two days ago my friend Cindy and I wrapped up our multi-day expedition to see the WPA model of San Francisco currently on display in our public libraries. (I've violated my tradition of only giving the initial of people I write about because I'm about to give you a link to her blog about the model. HERE.)

This project was fun because of the model, which is both interesting and infuriating -- always a good combination -- but also because we got to visit all the public libraries. Some of my favorites (like the Noe Valley and Golden Gate Valley branches) are Carnegie buildings. Others (like Bayview and Portola) are new buildings that I wish I lived closer to. The Visitation Valley branch, in one of the worst neighborhoods in SF, may have been my favorite just as a venue for reading.

Something that's been ageing in casks 

I still have some things I've written but never gotten round to posting. I'm going to try to get rid of them.

What I don't like about Starbucks is that they put my dead-simple iced tea order in the cue with all the fancy drinks, instead of just doing it first, like they do at Peete's. They do a better job of having electrical outlets and even wireless chargers, but I'm not quite in need of those services. Soon, though.

320. So random

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Every Breath You Take

The day after I returned from Portland I walked down to the Bank Cafe only to find it closed with a vague sign saying they hoped to be open soon. The reason I was going there was because they have a good (corporate) HVAC system and that was a particularly smokey day. I figured being there would be the best thing for the health of my lungs given the poor air quality.

When I tried again on Wednesday, after the air had cleared, I discovered they had been closed because of the poor air quality. The logic of this eludes me as I suspect my air cleaner at home is better than what most people have. Some schools closed for the same reason, which was even worse as, with nothing else to do, some of the kids just went outside and played in the murky air. How many people have HVAC systems at home with air cleaning capacity? I would love to have one of those high end systems that bring in air, filter it, run it through a heat exchanger, and then distribute it around the apartment. There’s a second fan pulling air out of the apartment, and through the heat exchanger. You can even adjust the power of the two fans so that your space is positively or negatively pressurized (I’d go with positively to keep the neighbor’s cigarette smoke out.) I’d also like world peace. My guess is that operating a system like that -- even with the heating and cooling units off -- would take more electricity than I currently use for everything else.

After Black Friday or The day after...

The first two blocks of Stockton street are carpeted and entirely free of construction stuff, but I can’t tell if this is the usual just-for-the-season change or if they are actually done. I passed a dog having a nearly orgasmic roll on the grass-like carpet. I can’t tell if they are not finished setting up the holiday street furniture or what. (They weren't finished yet.) The first block seems in good shape but the next block seems incomplete or thrown together at the last moment. Since this is possibly the last year the street will be pedestrianized -- as the subway is supposed to open next year -- you’d think they would go all out. And that second block is the one with the puppies and kittens in the Macy’s windows. Last year it was kind of a mess because several areas -- like the shaft down to the station one hundred feet below -- were still blocked off. This year the entire block is clear.

Black Friday it rained all day but today is sunny and perfect, really. I’m not having any luck thinking of things I need to shop for. Aside from some groceries. I’m ashamed to admit this, but I really have better luck ordering clothes from LL Bean than from dropping into a store. The decline of local retail is one problem I do contribute to. Though, considering how few clothes I buy... And I do try to save something for Christmas Eve. Sadly, the only thing on my wish list so far is having my apartment cleaned by someone other than me. And I usually end up regretting that.

I've been holding on to this hoping to resolve the question of the future of Stockton Street. I believe they are going to return it to traffic use as soon at they complete the electrical work and possibly repave the sidewalk outside Neiman Marcus. The next block up is still blocked off as a staging site for work on the subway, except for a single lane. Maybe they will wait until that's freed up as well. Though it would be odd to have two, newly paved yet unused blocks of street in the heart of Union Square.

Bank Cafe

Now that the scaffolding is down outside, they’ve moved the comfortable chairs back to the corner window. Where I’m now sitting. And so I’m noticing that the Amazon Go store is now open diagonally across the intersection under the Crocker Tower. I’m curious to see how it works, but I’m afraid if I go over there they will grab me and throw me out on the sidewalk for the crime of not owning a smartphone.

Politics... but not what you're thinking

I’ve written before (I’m pretty sure) about San Francisco’s ridiculously large political footprint in California politics. Both our U.S. Senators and our new Governor have held city offices, two of the three were mayors. But now it’s getting out of hand. The former city DA and former California Attorney General and newly elected US Senator is now running for President. I assume she’s trying to steal a march on Gavin Newsom, our newly elected Governor (and ex-Mayor) as they are both such obviously attractive Democratic candidates. Only I can’t support her this time.

The problem is that she has no administrative or legislative experience. I’m sure she would be better than Trump, but that’s a very low bar. Also, it would be nice if she were to do the job we just elected her to do for at least a couple years before running for something else. I’m still waiting to see if Newsom has learned from the mistakes he made as Mayor. If so, then he would be an excellent candidate in four or so years. 


Kamala Harris would probably be a very good U.S. Attorney General if someone else were to be elected President, but I would still like to see her serve out her Senate term. The only silver lining I can see here would be if she moved on and then Newsom appointed Willie Brown to fill her seat for the rest of her term. Now that would be spectacular.

“Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.”

― Sun Tzu

While I really like this quote, I think it’s only true in part. I can think of plenty of battles and wars that were lost before they were fought, but there are also battles that were won against the odds by playing the situation just right. Midway would be an example. And there are other battles won by the side that made the fewest mistakes -- that would be a long list.

But it is true that you need to be prepared to win. El Alamein would be a battle Sun Tzu would have appreciated. Also the Battle of Nashville.

IJN After action assessment

The DDs were great, just not enough of them as the war progressed. CAs also excellent. CLs 2nd rate, Japan could and should have upgraded here. BBs  only the Kongo class was really useful. The USN got better service out of even the antique Arkansas than the IJN did out of its “real” BBs. 

Besides CLs the IJN should have invested in super cruisers, ships with the speed of a CA, the same weapons with perhaps a heavier main battery, and better protection. A description might sound like the Deutschland class, but what I have in mind is more a large CA than a small BB. The IJN could have gotten much more use from these ships than they did from the Yamatos. (6 x 11” in twin turrets, probably 15-20k displacement.) Ironically, the USN thought the IJN was working on larger cruisers like this which is why they built the Alaska class ships. Only the IJN didn't think seriously about it until they learned of the Alaska class, and then it was too late as even the Alaskas didn't get into service until the last year of the war. The Alaskas are actually a bit more ship than I have in mind. The Des Moines class ships are more like it, though they took advantage of rapid-fire 8" guns rather than larger guns.

312. Not tanks, not panzers

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Bank Cafe

There are finally renderings of what they plan to do with this space. They gave up the idea of extending the mezzanine... not surprised. Most of the changes are actually downstairs and look to be improvements. I’m assuming (hoping) the colors in the renderings are arbitrary as they’ve turned the white ceilings black -- among other random changes. This would be a lot of work for no real gain. And I say that as someone who loves black ceilings, like the ones in the Nike Store. I’m hoping this was done just to make the rendering look better. It is actually pretty bland looking otherwise.

Not quite tanks

I’ve been trying to avoid this but another chapter in my book about armored warfare really wants to be written. Here goes:

Leading up to WW2 the armored warfare doctrine of Germany and America were quite similar. Both envisioned independent armored forces breaking through the enemy front and rampaging in the enemies rear. (There's no good way to say that.) This was the traditional role of cavalry. The Germans saw anti-tank action as a central part of this kind of action -- as heavy cavalry was often opposed by enemy heavy cavalry. The Americans (possibly because the US Army had only employed light cavalry?) saw the tanks more as a light raiding force that could take on enemy infantry (they thought) and artillery and lines of communication. 

Apparently Guderian gets too much credit for developing this doctrine, though he did write an influential book on the subject. Von Rundstedt realized that, with the panzers all consigned to their own divisions, the infantry could use some armored support and suggested the StuG. 

The StuG was a modest vehicle with no expensive turret, a low velocity 75mm assault gun, a very low profile and with a comparatively low cost. With the StuG German infantry forces could take on enemy pillboxes and bunkers, artillery, and in a pinch they could fight off enemy tanks as few tanks at the start of the war were armored enough to resist even a low velocity 75mm  gun. 

Tanks and StuGs seemed to be all the German army really needed... until the invasion of the USSR. The sheer volume of Soviet tanks became a problem for the Germans as only their Panzer III was configured as a tank killer. (The Panzer IV has the same gun as the StuG.) And then when they started running into the Soviet’s newest tanks, the KV1 and T-34, the 50mm gun on the Panzer III came up short. They had an excellent towed 75mm anti-tank gun, but they needed to make it more mobile. At this point they started improvising.

Both the Panzer IV and the StuG were up-gunned to the long barrelled 75mm. 

And they started producing two classes of tank hunters/chasers that were similar to the StuG, but different. The Panzerjager had an anti-tank gun slapped onto the top of a tank chassis. 

There was very little protective armor for the crew, but it got the gun into the battle quickly. The Jagdpanzers were low and well armored, like the StuG.

Over time they became ever more heavily armored and mounted the best anti-tank guns the Germans had at the time. Both the Panzerjager and Jagdpanzer were still less expensive to make than a regular tank and they could be turned out quicker. The StuG remained its own little category, but as the war progressed it’s role overlapped more and more that of the Jagdpanzer. In the end, there was no more important AFV in the German army than the StuG. And no AFV was produced in greater numbers through to the very end of the war.


Because the US Army did not anticipate their tanks fighting other tanks, they did anticipate the need for a Panzerjager like vehicle, which they called the Tank Destroyer. The story of the development of the TD is long and fraught, but they eventually ended up with their “best” anti-tank gun, a 76mm, atop a Sherman chassis. 

The good news was that they were able to place the gun in a turret, so they didn’t have to point the vehicle at the target. The bad news was the turret lacked a roof; neither the turret nor the hull were well armored; the profile was as high as the Sherman; and, for some reason, the US Army 76mm gun lacked a good HE (high explosive) shell so it was not as good as the Sherman in an assault/infantry support role. It also wasn't as good as the German 75mm against armor.

That lack of a good HE round shouldn’t have been a problem for the M10 TD as it’s role was supposed to be simply countering tanks. In fact, German tanks were not that common in the West most of the time (they were too busy in the East) so divisions had TDs sitting around with unused guns so they often used them in infantry support (StuG) roles. After the US Army started running into Tigers and Panthers, they realized they needed a better anti-tank gun so they developed a new turret for the M10 mounting the 90mm gun and renamed it the M36. 

Personally, I would still rather have been in a StuG than an M36, but at least with the 90mm they had a chance of stopping the heavier German tanks if they could get a shot on target before they were destroyed. The US Army finally got the TD they had actually wanted all along in the M18. 

This was armed with the same old 76mm, but was on a new chassis that was much faster. It was able to use it’s quickness to outflank the heavier German tanks and get a shot into their less protected sides and rear. In some ways, this was the best implementation of the Panzerjager concept.

As for the StuG role, while the StuG seems to have been fine for the Germans, the most common variety of the M4 tank, with the low velocity 75mm gun, performed this task at least as well for the US Army. And there was also a 105mm howitzer armed version of the M4 that was probably even better. In retrospect, it might have been a good idea for the US to produce its own version of the Jagdpanzer. Something like the Priest but with a 90mm gun and considerable front armor could have given the Americans an AFV that was still mobile (and transportable) while being able to stand up to the German 88mm guns. Maybe. Only, as I said before, there weren’t that many German tanks on the Western Front anyway.

The German doctrine worked well enough until Germany ran short of fuel. As early as 1942 the Germans were adding more horses for transport because they lacked fuel, even if they had the trucks and AFVs.

The American doctrine also worked well enough. If the Germans could have supported large numbers of King Tigers things might have gotten tricky, but they couldn’t. And as it was, in the last months of the war the US Army finally fielded a heavy tank, the Pershing, that could finally have a chance facing Tigers and Panthers.

301.Rambling, mostly

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Dentist

Just had my second and last cleaning at the world’s worst run dental office. Originally my appointment was a month ago, but the dentist was ill, or something, so no one was there and no one ever responded to phone calls. A week later I dropped by and found the dentist returned and scheduled an apt for today -- only she says it was for last Thursday -- and since all I have is the note I wrote, we will never know if I simply misunderstood her (she has a strong accent) or if she confused it. In any case, she fitted me in and I’m fine for the next six to eight months. 

My usual dentist, the one who did my expensive crown, has a wonderfully run operation, so she only does exams and actual dental work. She delegates the routine cleanings. My dentist for this year does the cleanings herself in this stunning office on the eleventh floor of SF’s premier medical building -- the one I can see out my kitchen window. None of this makes any sense to me.

Something else that perhaps does make sense to me, is that neither this dentist nor my usual hygienists have much praise for my teeth and gums. Over the years I have improved and improved my dental self-care until my gums and teeth are as problem free as one could wish -- though this dentist did mention I could do something about my tea related yellowing. Fine. I’m adding that to my list. But that’s neither here nor there when it comes to the health of my mouth, or the profits of the dentists. I conclude that they are not actually that pleased to see that I’ve done everything that’s been suggested, so that professional intervention is not required. She didn’t even bring up the usual X-ray topic. Since I think trouble free teeth are not all that common, you would think a grudging, “congratulations, there’s really nothing much here for me to do” wouldn’t kill them. If they ever start giving me pamphlets on the alleged dangers of fluoride use, I will know what to think.

Dream

It’s a huge, multi-floor bookstore. But getting from floor to floor is nearly impossible because there are a variety of options but they are all like rides and take time or are physically challenging.

There are also holographic “characters” that are always roaming the aisles. Authors or characters from books. Animals too. And they can interact with each other -- not sure if you can ask them questions, probably not. I had dream deja vu with this place. But this time it occurred to me to wonder how creepy it must be for the staff when there are no customers, only holograms in the store.

Oddly, this dream started with me at a laundromat that had suddenly decided to not provide dryers anymore. There was a bit in between that I can’t even explain. And the transition to the bookstore is equally inexplicable.

The last time I was in Moe’s bookstore in Berkeley I did have a problem navigating their, not that big but multilevel store, because the floors are not as all accessible from one staircase, as you would expect.

The Bank Cafe 2.0

I learned today [actually some time ago now. I've been sitting on this.] that they are planning a major remodel of my Bank Cafe. The sidewalk outside is already boarded off. Apparently this will happen in sections with the Peet’s remaining open until almost the end, when that part of the space is transformed. According to my informant, behind the Peet’s counter, the mezzanine will be extended -- currently it is only about 30% the size of the ground floor. That will involve heavy steel structural work, so this isn’t just tarting up the decor.

I’m surprised the new bank is willing to invest so much in this odd idea of the previous ownership. These “third space” places are a swell idea but I can’t imagine how they make any economic sense. 

In the past week or two the bean bags -- which used to furnish the stadium seating area -- have disappeared. I assumed this was because “undesirables” were frequenting them, but perhaps it was just in anticipation of the coming construction. There is a semi-permanent indigent in residence here. She mostly just sits in the same spot near the door, with her bags, and looks into space. Occasionally, if I’m sitting close enough, I’m aware of her talking to herself, but mostly people don’t sit that close -- unless they have head colds or there’s nowhere else to sit. There is also full time security here now, which didn’t use to be the case.


Today's addition
I'm deep into blogging The Magic Mountain now, which requires room for book and computer and, if I'm at it long enough, access to an electrical outlet. All things I can find here at the Bank Cafe. 

That last sentence above "Today's addition" is interesting, the "didn't use/used to be" part. Normally I judge these questions by ear, the way I judge when "an" or "a" should preceded a vowel -- the rule is not always a good guide. "Used" sounds a shade better to me, in this case, but I looked it up and saw that "use" is preferred. If I hadn't already written this paragraph, I think I would have probably altered the sentence, before publishing, to "There is also full time security here now, which wasn't always the case."

I'm finding the dialectical nature of the juicy parts of TMM particularly hard to blog. I'm not trying to capture one set of ideas but two, or perhaps three. Our two professors are making their respective points but also trying to score off each other. They say things in the heat of argument that they might not entirely mean. And then I have to keep in mind what kind of game Mann is playing.

This is a wonderful review of Western thought on subjects of the ultimate importance, but Mann is also saying something about Europe in the first decade of the 20th century. But is he also saying something about Europe in the third decade of that century? At times I think he must be. How could you be writing this in Weimar Germany (and not Goethe's Weimar Germany) and not incorporate what you see happening around you? It's all more obvious in Doctor Faustus, when he was safely writing in Pacific Palisades.

Yesterday the official high temperature for SF was 84F. I don't recall the temperature exceeding 80 at any other time this summer, and tomorrow is the equinox. I'm still hoping for, counting on, an Indian Summer, but it looks like yesterday was our regular summer. And I didn't seize that day. I went to the gym in the morning and ran an errand in the afternoon. I was over dressed because I've given up listening to the weather forecasts since all we've gotten this summer has been sweater weather. I should have gone to the park. Or something. I will try to seize the next warm day. 

Planning is well under way for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, coming up in about two weeks now. I'm all signed up for my usual shifts. I've floated a revolutionary new idea for getting all the heavy glass bottles off the fields -- don't really expect anything to come of it for this year, but wanted to get the process started. (Also, that part of our process takes place after i go home for the day, so this won't affect me directly.) 

My boss made the sound decision of passing on greening Fleet Week, which, once again, falls on the same weekend. That means the team we used for Fleet Week last year will cover the night operations while our regular crew will cover the days. If it weren't for the fact we've lost so many of our regular people, this could mean we might really get ahead of things during the event, leaving less to do after -- usually there's a crew sorting what's left over for several days after the end of the concert. But that isn't true of the trash from my area, which is almost all sorted by the time I leave. If we can manage to do the same everywhere, we could be finished at the end of the concert, as with most other events. 

That isn't entirely possible, because some trash will continue to be generated (or collected from the grounds) as the concert facilities are taken down. But that's minimal and manageable. I'm told it was much better on Monday last year than in previous years. It would be easier to build on that if we had the same people working the fields during the day.

Not sure what it says about me that HSB is the high point of my year -- and I don't mean the music. The most frustrating thing (so far) is that the two new acts I was excited to see were going to performing this year are both at stages in the most distant other meadow. I can't even recall the last time I was in Lindley Meadow. Usually the acts I like are at the stage in Marx Meadow -- and I could in theory slip over there to listen for a few minutes (would never actually happen) -- but Lindley is a decent hike. My only hope is that Chris Thile and/or Ani DiFranco will join someone else on the Banjo Stage. And that I will be where I can hear that stage at the time.

More likely I will be behind the food vendors struggling with the urge to kill them.

Speaking of an urge to kill... Last week, when I did my laundry, I noticed the dryer was making a loud, bad belt, sort of noise when it started up. No one reported this to me. I called and it was repaired just short of a week later, when I next needed the dryer. Then, the very next day, I noticed the ceiling light at the top of the stairs was out. Again, no one reported this and I only noticed because I was watering the poor plant on the 2nd floor. I could easily have gone a week or longer without noticing that light was out. How hard is it to leave a note on my door?

I briefly considered replacing that ceiling fixture with an LED alternative (why does "an" sound better there?), since it is actually above the stairs and the hardest fixture to get to. And according to my notes, the fixture is thirteen years old. But replacing the fixture is a two person job -- me to do the work and someone else to record my last words if I fall off the ladder and down the stairs -- and my local (and otherwise well stocked) hardware store still doesn't carry that kind of fixture. I would have had to order it online. 

Okay, this is why writing (rambling aimlessly) is actually useful. It occurs to me as I type this, that while a fixture with an LED "lamp" that can't be replaced, as is the norm in the kind of fixtures I have in mind, will last longer than the florescent ring tube in our current fixture, the fixture itself will not last nearly as long. An LED fixture might last thirteen years -- depending on the number of hours per day it is on -- but our current fixture will probably last much longer. And replacing the tube is not really that hard -- compared with replacing the fixture. I just saved myself a nasty piece of work.

This just in: My boss took the Fleet Week gig, too. So it's going to be the usual shit-show.

Gumps

There must be a name for this, but I don’t know what it is, and maybe I don’t want to hear it. I’ve never purchased anything at Gumps or Shrieve & Company or Britex Fabrics, I’ve never even browsed the jewelry store, but these are some of the few remaining grand San Francisco retail names and I was pleased to see them all clustered, as of this year I believe, at the same end of this block of Post Street as the Bank Cafe. But now Gumps has announced bankruptcy and is having an “everything must go” sale. It’s not even like I’m going to score a bargain at the sale -- there’s nothing there I need or want (or have room for). 

This means another grand old SF name is gone and it will be another vacancy on the block, just when it was close to being fully occupied. “Sad,” as the Orange abomination would say. What I will miss most is the wonderful fragrance that has always blown out their front doors. Not sure if it was something they added to the HVAC or simple the scent of various very expensive things, but it has been something I’ve looked forward to for years now on our increasingly malodorous streets. I do think about it every time Murasaki writes about how great Genji smells. 

215. Post street

Mid-century Dwell

Today I'm at a Peet's I rarely visit, on Van Ness (it is of the old, oak and granite style, but so small it's hard to get a seat.) For a time I was blinded by the sun, so had to abandon my laptop for the Dwell magazine I had almost forgotten about in my backpack. 

I have mixed feelings about Dwell magazine, but you have to admire their dedication to Mid-Century Modernism. The "finishing touch" this issue (the little stand-alone feature on the page before the penultimate page, if you're counting the back cover as the final page... I'm confused now) is about Jean Prouvé and a recently published monograph cunningly titled, Jean Prouvé by Raymond Guidot. 

Prouvé is another of those outstanding figures with formal training in neither architecture nor engineering. Seeing his work does take me back to that time, but while I like the strength and simplicity of his furnature, it seems to me to lack the grace one finds in the work of the Eameses and in some of the Scandinavians and Finns.

The final regular feature in this (September-October 2017) issue is of a condo unit on the 31st floor of a Chicago building on the lake. Here they've done a splendid job of recreating everything about Mid-Century Modernism I hated at the time, and I find my taste has not changed. I think it's one of  the most ghastly dwellings Dwell has ever presented. Turn this unit over to me and I would be the one bringing in the crew to gut the place and start fresh, something that usually drives me nuts.

Another feature in this issue shows a smallish apartment in Buenos Aires where the owners (he an architect) gutted the place and found, of course, interesting floors, ceilings, and battered masonry walls in the entry -- all of which they preserved. Now I would have preserved them too, but I would have had mixed feelings about it. The ceiling is interesting, but busy and impossible to keep clean. Ditto the entry. 

It's just as well I can't afford to take on a project like this as I would inevitably be confronted with either preserving something I liked -- but didn't really want here -- or spending money and bringing in more building materials to cover that thing. This would be in some hypothetical space, not my own place. 

A couple days later...

Bank Cafe

My original plans for today haven't worked out, and so I have been pulled here by my desire for a Bun Mee crispy tofu sandwich later this afternoon. On my way home I will hit the Chinatown branch library to return one book and pick up my next. This rarely works out so well, and it would have been even sweeter if the library had opened before 1pm, so I could have hit it on my way here.

This location on Kearny has always been marginal. Kearny is the seam between Union Square and the Financial District -- which works perfectly for a bank cafe but this block of Post has been in transition for years, ever since the Rizzoli Bookstore next door closed. But that is about to change again.

Shreve's (our premier local jewelry store) recently moved from their temporary location where Rizzoli had been, to their new location across the street. And now Britex Fabrics (our premier local fabric store) is transforming the old Rizzoli space for their new location. And since that is next door to (actually the same building as) Gumps (our premier local expensive housewares emporium), this block is suddenly turning into a major destination for people with money. 

I don't know if this has anything to do with the bank cafe's plans to remodel next month, but it might. Honestly, I don't see much overlap in the Gumps/Shreve/Britex crowd and the laptop dependent crowd here in the cafe, but at least the block should be without urine attracting gaps for a change.

All this change might be better for the Mechanic's Institute, which is in the next block down Post toward the subway station. I do expect to join there at some point, but I suspect you would be more likely to find their members in those three other SF traditions than here at the cafe. 

And I do wonder how this retail location musical chairs will play out once the subway under Stockton Street is complete in 2019 (or whenever). Businesses have been chased from Stockton like nervous rodents, causing the retail heart of Union Square to shift to Grant Street. When Stockton Street returns to civic life -- and with another subway station spurring the flow of people at both the Market Street and Union Square (proper) ends -- Stockton will suddenly return to being the most desirable location in the area. Will the shops reshuffle again? 

I don't expect the new subway station (on the Central Line) to do much business at first, so the main benefit will be easier access for people who have been avoiding the construction zone for all these years. Eventually, in ten years or more, Rose Pak's subway will make economic sense and businesses that can afford it will try to cluster around Stockton. Assuming retail shops are still a thing in ten years.

They are now talking about opening just the section of the Central Subway from Union Square to the south in a couple years, to provide better access to the Warrior's new arena (which project has hardly even begun but will probably happen faster than the government projects.) This makes total sense, but I don't think anyone would have suggested it prior to Rose Pak's sudden death this year. I hope her coffin is well secured as I'm sure the thought of her subway opening without the connection to Chinatown proper would have driven her wild. 

I've never been a fan of zombie stories, but I understand there are fast and slow zombies. Rose would be a nasty zombie. 

124. Cultivating our garden

Previous - 123. Drifting off

Link to Table of Contents

Candide

I've just read the penultimate chapter and am hesitating before reading the conclusion. To no one's surprise, both Pangloss and Candide's love's noble brother have both turned up alive, and Candide has freed them all from slavery with his remaining wealth from Eldorado. It is a pity there are no more red sheep. The no longer enthusiastic lover has offered to marry Cunegonde but her brother the Baron refuses this notion because of Candide's low birth. Pangloss continues to believe this is the best of all possible worlds since changing his mind would be poor form for a philosopher. Both Pangloss and the Baron have experienced every imaginable loss and yet have learned nothing at all. 

I like that Voltaire portrays the nobleman and the philosopher as equally stubborn and prejudiced. I can't wait to learn if Candide has changed. Tomorrow.


"...we must cultivate our garden." These are both the final words and the conclusion drawn by Candide, and presumably by Voltaire. (This can also be seen as the conclusion of the fourth volume of Parade's End.) 

Since this is the Norton Critical Edition I'm reading, we are now less than half way though the content. We'll see if these commentators are as interesting as the ones who commented on Faust.

Sugar and oil

In the news at the moment: A Swedish woman is preventing her child from consuming sugar because it affects the child's behavior and sleep; and activists are trying to resume the fight against the oil pipelines Trump is supporting. These stories resonate for me as a veggie and as someone who has boycotted cars for 47 years. 

I gave up my car for environmental reasons and I gave up meat for ethical reasons. But it turns out that there were just as valid ethical reasons to boycott oil (it has funded Islamic fundamentalism), and just as valid environmental reasons for boycotting meat (the process of raising meat and delivering it to the consumer includes a heavy cost to the land and the air. Including a high carbon cost.)

I'm sympathetic to the Swedish woman's position, I think it would be hard to argue that sugar is good for children and there are plenty of reasons to suspect that we are currently underestimating the damage it does to everyone, but especially children. However, as a veggie of 47 years, I'm also aware of the social costs of a decision like this. (This applies to both meat and oil.) It can be done, and there's little doubt you will end up healthier and, if done right, you will be no less happy, but it's also not a trivial change. In this mother's place, I would want to do the same thing but I'm not sure I would. Though banning sugar long enough to see the effect certainly makes sense. Perhaps there can be a generation of children who are "social" sugar consumers -- though that means going through the detox process again every time. There's no easy answer here.

Both on Facebook and in my Webmail, I'm currently inundated by requests to join the fight against the oil pipelines planned or being built up in the border Red States. I've been fighting oil pipelines since 1970, bitch! To what extent are my liberal friends incensed about this issue because they know these pipelines are being built to supply their need for gasoline? It's like a drug addict protesting the crimes of his dealer and his dealer's source of supply. Give me a fucking break.

Vertigo, again

I should have known this would happen. I thought I'd just start again from the beginning to see what it was like after having finished the book once, and of course there's lots I didn't notice before. Here Beyle (Stendhal) is recovering from a serious illness following the retreat from Moscow in 1812, p23 "... A curious lightness such as he had never known took hold of him, and it is the recollection of that lightness which informs the account he wrote seven years later of a journey that may have been wholly imaginary, made with a companion who may likewise have been a mere figment of his own mind." This description could apply to this book as a whole, especially the chapters after this one.

Bank Cafe

I realized I didn't need WiFi this afternoon so I decided to take advantage of the Bank Cafe dollar discount on iced tea. So of course the WiFi is actually working for the moment. (Still slow as shit, so not that much of a change.) I've only been here twice since early October but I recognized the entire crew behind the Peet's counter -- I'm surprised how stable their workforce is. The only noticeable difference I see is that there's now a security guard by the front door. I'm actually surprised it took this long for them to make that change -- would be interesting to hear the story of what finally provoked this addition.

Sorry for the delay

This should have been published last night but I did my taxes instead.

Next - 125. Books for Living

82. I've decided

Previous - 81. Veblen + Barton

Accent wall

Back at the Bank Cafe -- the Pine Street Peet's was still closed on Black Friday, also I remembered that the WiFi is better on days like this when many people are away. It's so quiet here I got one of the nice chairs in the window. Interestingly, the guy taking my iced tea order seemed to remember my usual order without noticing I had been absent for close to two months.

I've decided to de-accent my accent wall... maybe. The thing is I have this eleven year plan to repaint my apartment and still can't decide on colors. What to do? If I paint the accent wall the same color as the rest of the room it will be a little easier to visualize how some of the colors I'm considering will look. Maybe. It could also be that I'm bored and looking for something to change. 

My plan (as of an hour ago) is to also paint the window trim the same as the wall to see how that will look. Since I still have leftover paint from when I originally painted the room, this won't cost me anything and I will even be using up paint that isn't getting any younger. I'll use a paint pad again, so I won't have to move much furniture or clear much of the room. 

The accent color seems to work better (for me) in the bathroom, so I'll leave that alone. I could take this opportunity to raise the storage unit in the bathroom up off the floor, which I've thought about for some time. Eleven years is a long time to wait to make a change. Maybe I should consider using really crappy paint next time so I don't have this longevity problem.

Stockton street

They have returned almost all of lower Stockton to pedestrian usage for the holiday shopping season. I walked up it last night on the way home from the train station after Thanksgiving diner at a friend's. There are still a few areas fenced off, and too much of one block was taken up by infrastructure for what must have been a concert earlier in the day, but, assuming that was temporary, this will be a nice addition for the next month. 

Holiday horrors

Dear Goat, someone just walked past the window here -- on the way to the epicenter of the Union Square shopping district -- in Christmas themed sweater and pants. Did he choose those clothes? Did someone pick them for him? And if the later, what was the motivation? Humiliation or festive blindness? 

Machiavelli

Today I ran into a BBC article about Erdogan's toddler diplomacy with the EU. He threatens to send millions more Syrian refugees to Europe if the EU doesn't let Turkey join. I call it toddler diplomacy since it seems to be the equivalent of a child pounding on the door and threatening to set your house on fire if you don't let him in. 

Since Erdogan is no fool, I suspect the intended audience for this diplomacy is domestic rather than foreign. "See, we are forced to turn our backs on the West (and to get rid of all the refugees who are annoying us) by the EU itself." But that got me thinking.

I try not to think too much about Syria because I can see no obvious end-game there. The more successful the Kurds and other anti-ISIS forces, the more nervous the Turks get -- a dynamic we are already starting to see around Mosul in Iraq. There is a fairly obvious solution to all this, but it has always seemed a remote possibility. But if Turkey turns its back on the EU it could turn its back on NATO at the same time, and that would open up the possibility of it resuming its previous status in both Syria and Iraq. The only thing stopping it would be Russia and Iran. 

When it comes to Russia, Turkey probably has a fair amount to trade -- and Russia has little more to gain in Syria and probably can't afford to do there what the U.S. did temporarily in Iraq. If I was a member of NATO or a country in the Caucasus, I would be a little nervous. 

So what you end up with is just like old times: Russia & Turkey & Iran jockeying for position while Europe tries to manage them all. While that scenario ended in world war back in 1914, much has changed since then, the main change being that European nations are not currently at each other's throats.

Since I'm engaging in wild speculation and prognostication here, let's go even further and suggest that the Euro Zone -- in my opinion the dumbest thing nation states have done in all of recorded history -- will fall apart and the EU will either fail with it or be re-envisioned in a less coercive and more cooperative way. Regardless, I find it hard to imagine Europe resorting to the nationalism that led to ether World War. If that is true, then Turkey, regardless of how much the West doesn't like its policy, gets some lee way as a counter to both Russia and Iran. 

At present, the U.S. is in the awkward position of needing to support Iran -- as the Shia counter to Wahabi fundamentalism. (Does Putin realize he's doing what we can't in Syria?) But if Turkey entered the game then Turkey could be a more acceptable alternative, though even then we might need to lend support to Iran as a counter to Turkey. 

This is where I fall back on my amazement at chess masters who can see so many moves ahead. But then even Bismarck was eventually undone by a fool who couldn't see ahead at all.

Next - 83. Chairs + Democracy

60. 24 - 40

Previous - 59. Ryecroft + Landscaping

Time

This morning I was doing a little math in my head and thinking about how I was 24 when I moved here to SF in 1976. That's the most obvious point to divide my life into a "before" and an "after." For my first 24 years I lived in cities of my parent's choosing, since then I've lived in SF, my choice. 

Since I moved a year after graduating from university, it is also tempting to view my first 24 years as my education, followed by my 40 years of career -- or careers. But that, too, is dramatically misleading. 

I only started to read the Classics when I moved here. Even my knowledge of Greek and Roman philosophy was limited to what I had learned in a couple lower level philosophy classes at ASU. Starting to read Livy was one of those unaccountable -- but life changing -- decisions (like reading Samuel Eliot Morison's history of U.S. Navy operations in WW2 while I was in middle school) that have shaped my world view. 

I also hadn't yet read Proust, Gibbon, Mann, or Fernand Braudel. It's like moving here was the start of my (auto-didactic) graduate education. If I were to meet the "me" of 1976 I would consider him annoyingly uneducated. (Also annoyingly moody and angsty, as are some of my current Buffy Board online friends of that age.)

Even in terms of military history (the subject I know best and the only thing I feel I could teach at a moment's notice) aside from the foundation in Pacific War Naval history and a superficial knowledge of some periods of European military history, I knew almost nothing. It has been a slow, cumulative process of delving deeper and reading wider. My understanding of even the Pacific War, the subject I knew best back then, has probably changed a half dozen times in the past 40 years. (This does help to put Caesar's "over-night" success in his 50's in perspective. Perhaps he wouldn't have been "Caesar" if given an army command 20 years earlier. Just as I maintain Napoleon wasn't "Napoleon" without his chief of staff, Berthier.) 

My 40 years here in SF can still be sub-divided by careers: Student (2 years), bookstore clerk (7?), programmer (13?), greener (10?). Though, while the first and last sub-divisions have been the most learning intensive, the ones in the middle were only marginally less so -- for lack of time, mostly. 

While I sometimes have "What if?" thoughts about attending Wesleyan or one of the Great Books colleges (or Sandhurst), I think SF has proven to be an ideal post-graduate school for me. 

Peet's

I have dumped the Bank Cafe. It pains me to pay an extra dollar for my iced tea, but the impossibly slow WiFi was finally more than I could stand. Peet's opened a new, larger, location on Market a block further away, and I've been coming here now for about a week. 

I've written (a long time ago) about my fondness for Peet's interior design, which they've now updated. The front counter/table I'm now sitting at is still oak, but rough cut and not stained in the same way. I can't say I like it more, but it has it's own appeal. I'm sure this is much poorer quality oak -- probably pieces that would have been scrapped in the past -- so I like that they are doing something nice with wood that would have been wasted. Eventually, I will be writing on a sheet of paper and my pen will sink into one of the crevices and I will curse the high-concept of this surface, but for now I approve. 

The people watching at the Bank Cafe was not bad, but this Peet's overlooks Market, our main drag, with wider sidewalks and a steady flow of a little bit of everything. The crazy woman I first noticed walking here and there in front of the cafe eventually came to rest on the cafe's seating that acts as a barier between the street and the cafe. I say "rest," but she seems unable to be "still." I would guess she's Southeast Asian. She seems childlike, in a demented sort of way -- she's been lying on her back picking at her fingers and toes since she assumed this position, never quite being still. It is hard to tell to what extent she is aware of her surroundings and, in particular, of the people around her. She seems oblivious.

I don't know if this is a Peet's in general thing or just at this location, but they play a surprising amount of Brazilian music from the '60s. Not a bad thing. 

HOA

Back at my building we are in the process of seeking the origin of a leak. It is either coming from above -- though no one has any idea from where or how -- or it is rising from a poorly tiled shower in the bathroom (of that same unit that has been a thorn in my side since June.) For reasons I can only guess at, they thought it wise to paint the room before dealing with the rotted threshold between living room and bathroom. Now, understandably, they are not eager to open up that wall to find where the damage starts. We just today opened up a section of the "box" that conceals our sewer drain pipe as it traverses the bathroom to it's furthest point under the three kitchens stacked above. We determined that the water is not coming from that pipe (which would have been a nightmare to address) but that's about all we've learned. Odds are that it's coming from the shower on the other side of the bathroom wall, though, I admit, I don't quite see how. 

I've now painted the door and doorway (which I originally ignored/forgot) so my participation in this drama should be complete, unless it really is a leak from elsewhere in the building. 

I am happy to see that we are still all being quite civil, given the summer we had. We've all lost patience at one time or another, but the HOA as a whole seems to be holding it together. Still, I will be happy to see the end of this year... and that's even before taking into account the Presidential election. 

TV

To celebrate the end of my greening season, I went to Amoeba on Sunday and bought some DVDs. I finally found a copy of the version of Sense and Sensibility I love so much. And then, since they didn't have any of the TV shows I was hoping to find, I started Rizzoli & Isles. The hook for this particular murder procedural is that it focuses on a friendship between two women -- the Detective and the Medical Examiner. All of these shows have a characteristic way of starting an episode, and almost always it involves finding the body. R&I starts with a glimpse of the victim before death. I wish it didn't. But otherwise, the show has an amazingly talented cast and the core friendship is a shockingly novel thing to see on TV. (Note that this is not a new show, just new to me.)

When I say it's a talented cast, I mean you know almost everyone from previous roles. Isles was previously a beloved character on NCIS. Rizzoli was on Law & Order for years. Donnie Wahlberg played one of my favorite characters on Band of Brothers. 

Aside from two women engaging in a friendship that has little to do with men, the show seems pretty routine so far. It's like they had a TV Trope Checklist and were eager to check all the boxes. To be fair, I'm only four episodes in, but the tricks I learned for determining the murderer from watching NCIS and Bones and Castle and The Closer seem to still aply. And these tricks have nothing to do with evidence but instead with show pacing and how recognizable characters are. It's rare when the possible suspect you recognize from previous substantial TV roles, or from a long career now coming to a close, didn't do it.

I'm pretty sure I will complete the season I bought, but I'm not sure if I will trade this in for the next season. All the shows I mentioned above, had more interesting irons in the fire when they started. But I think this show is still on the air, so maybe what it has is engaging enough. This genre is so popular, you'd think someone would do something really novel -- and maybe someone has, I watch so little TV I wouldn't necessarily know. 

Next - 61. Fadeaway Girl

42. Apocalypse

Previous - 41. Dusty

Doctor Faustus

If chapter XXX. is the key to Mann's true attitude toward the Great War, then chapter XXXIV. does the same for the rise of Hitler and WW2. It is more than a little frightening to read about "the Kridwiss sessions" at a time when Donald Trump is running for President in this suddenly shaky democracy. Substitute "Liberalism" for "Wiemar" and they could be talking about today. And the bit about how science can't defend itself in this climate was seconded just today by a new Senator in Australia, of all places, explaining to his fellow Senators how climate change is a global conspiracy.  

Bank Cafe

At the Bank Cafe for my iced tea and muffin. Since I’m here so frequently, I’m familiar with both the bank staff and the cafe (Peete’s) staff. Of course I haven’t failed to notice two young women baristas who Jane Austen’s Sir John Middleton would undoubtedly describe as “such pretty girls” (the passage I have in mind is not in the original but in the 2008 mini-series, so maybe I should credit Andrew Davies instead) and Mrs. Jennings would be trying to marry them off as quickly as possible before the bloom is off the rose. Anyway, these two are often paired behind the counter and, now, they are both obviously in college -- as they can frequently be seen not working behind the counter but at a table with books before them. 

There are a number of colleges in this neighborhood, including a new campus of the gigantic SF City College. I was sitting here, waiting to get onto the WiFi (takes forever) and speculating where they might be attending when one of the bank employees walked up to the table -- where the blonde of the two was sitting. While it’s handy for them to have such a convenient place to study where they work, the downside is that everyone recognizes them and is tempted to chat them up. The bank guy (I’m two tables over so I could hear pretty well) was intending to be helpful only to discover, to his dismay, that she was studying calculus. He actually recoiled. Another employee, passing at that moment, when she got the news, added her own, “dear God” and they both fled into the elevator. 

I’m wondering if this would also work on planes to keep people from talking to you.

Dragon Boats

Tomorrow is Day 1 of the sadly reduced and relocated Dragon Boat Races here. Officially it’s the San Francisco Dragon Boat Festival but since they’ve lost the Treasure Island location, it will actually be held at Oakland’s Lake Merritt. First we steal Oakland’s basketball team and now we hold SF events in their public parks. No wonder they have so much gun violence.

That was my second favorite event of the year (the Alice radio free concerts in GG Park would be third favorite, and those have been abandoned entirely it seems). Lake Merritt is a lovely setting so I have a feeling the new venue will only be disappointing in comparison with the beauty of TI. And it should be easier to work because it’s a much smaller event now. Though probably hotter since it’s on the lake not in the middle of the Bay.

Dwelling on Dwell

Dwell magazine, from here, has been establishing itself in SoCal for some years now. The current issue of the magazine talks about a “content series” featuring mid-century LA residential architecture from around the Case Study period -- possibly overlapping with the time Thomas Mann was living in Pacific Palisades. That made me think how Faustian -- in Goethe’s sense -- SoCal is. The magazine says, “...they took advantage of the region’s pleasant climate by creating experimental spaces that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living.” 

SoCal is almost magical -- and not a little Mephistophelian. At the end of Faust, Faust, with Mephisto’s help, reclaims land from the sea to build his new world. In SoCal, people reclaimed a desert with water stolen from other places. The lush beauty of SoCal residential landscapes comes with a high price. The Owens Valley is the equivalent of the simple people crushed by Mephisto’s men -- to fulfill Faust’s wishes, though Faust doesn’t want to know about it, just as Angelenos don’t wish to dwell on the consequences of their lifestyle. (Note second meaning of “dwell” played with there.)

And that’s before you even get to the oil that comes from below the city to fuel the cars that ravage the surface and the air above. And naming such a Mephistophelian place “the city of angels” is so perfect. What genius wrote this reality? 

Next - 43. 94 F