Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Bhagwan's car


Bhagwan's car
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
When i saw it, i began to wonder where the other 33 were. It was even purple. Now, we all know the Bhagwan is dead, so this may be what's left of the empire.
Seen outside Pioneer Place downtown.

Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Road tags


Road tags
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
I have posted about some tagging going on in the hood, but lately i have seen an uptick i "road tagging." i sometimes see the culprits doing it too. They don't seem to have a care in the world, whipping out the spray paint cans and walking into traffic to draw arrows and such in different colors. Sometime after they come through, there is usually significant vandalism that sometimes shuts a street down. And yet, the city turns a blind eye at this, instead, going after gangs and metheads. If they don't stop this in its tracks, we could end up with every other street vandelized throughout portland.



Stop the road tagging.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

walky walky walky - and a new New Seasons

went on some good walks today. walked to lunch and did a short walk in the afternoon to pick up some new walking shoes. i'm a big fan of Keen footwear and found a pair that fit well and still look good with the work clothes. see, i'm becoming one of those women from the 80's and 90's who wear different shoes on the way to and from work with our work clothes. oh well, i'm old enough and secure enough not to care.
my walk home took me to the pearl (john hausman voice) to pick up a pair of jeans from diesel i was getting hemmed. i love that store. i then ventured through the pearl to the broadway bridge and n. interstate north to n. mississippi and then home. this is actually a shorter walk than my normal walk via n. vancouver. i'm ok with that because i ventured up to the pearl first. i had a cigar on the walk, La Gloria Cubana No. 5. nice!
we had to take our oldest cat to the vet today. she had a swollen paw and it appears she just cut it or something. she's ok, but on some antibiotics.
we ventured up to our newest store in the hood - New Seasons on N. portland and n. interstate. i am soooooo excited to have it in the neighborhood. obviously we walked. our original plan was to not shop, but ended up with a full basket - which ended up in my shoulder bag. it wasn't heavy until the last 100 feet when i passed it off in order to open the front door. (hee hee). the store looks small, but is actually perfect size. needless to say, it was crowded, being opening day and all. i did see some familiar faces - Nieka, a friend from the past, and max guy, a coworker whom i see both on max and in the elevator at work (i don't know his name, but he seems like a nice guy. i'll introduce myself next time i see him.)
New seasons
we also saw the skankiest ho ever on the walk back. we're walking by the crown motel and this chick is standing there in sheer skirt thing and i swear she wasn't wearing any undergarments. she was also all cracked out. yuck!
what are you doing this weekend? we're going to the Lucky Lab on saturday to see some good bands and support dove lewis. 94.7 is sponsering Pet Aid there with crosstide, delorean and some other great portland bands. you can bring dogs too. come have a beer and support a good cause.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

gotta love cnn's Katrina coverage

in big bold headlines - NEW EVACUATIONS. the whole top of the page and headlines scream Katrina and the aftermath of the hurrican.

but,

if you look closely though, amongs the carnage and horror, you too can buy James Dean's car for $1 million and at the same time, celebrate the Blues Brother's 25th year anniversary.

i love america.

cnn

New Orleans


New Orleans
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
We're praying for you John and family and friends down in New Orleans. This is John's "castle" on Audubon Park. Not sure what state it is in now. He's been remodeling since last Sept. to get ready for a blowout this coming Halloween. I am just sick hearing about the devastation there right now. I wish there was something we could do to help. Like I said, prayers out to you all. Good luck.

Monday, August 29, 2005

comment on downtown portland

just a comment, that's all. no opinion here.

walked to coffee today. saw a rally @ pio square. saw a homeless dog with a raincoat on. saw the governor of Oregon. drank iced chai.

and, wait for it.

watched a line form of 5-6 people outside the Liquor Store on SW Alder just up from the bus mall. it was 10:29 and the store didn't open until 10:30.

just a comment people. no opinion here.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Sunday schtuff


August 27
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
7.3 miles. that's what google maps says we walked today for lunch. yes. lunch. today was a relaxing day, didn't make any plans or goals or lists of "to dos." in the end, i got a lot accomplished. i'm sitting on my porch, smoking a great cigar, feeling the breeze on this nice cooler august evening looking at the newly painted collumns that support the 2nd story. they are eggplant now. i guess i started yesterday with some sort of goal in mind, but knew if i set myself up with an endpoint, i would be dissapointed if i didn't get there. this morning, with nothing planned for the day, i decided to get back out and do some more painting and lo and behold, all but 2 posts are painted.

[segwey] - nopo popo just drove up and parked accross the street. i wonder what's up? the officer is just sitting there chillin'. i wonder if he's watching me wondering what i'm doing. hmmmm. [end segwey]

in the pearl on our walk, we saw a small group of Segwey owners and thier little toys. they were all hanging out at a cafe. none of them seemed that fit. i guess i shouldn't throw stones, but do you see the irony?

oh, yeh, lunch. we had some excellent sushi at sushiville, our new favorite sushi restaurant up on 23rd. normally i wouldn't venture over there for food as there are some great restaurants on the east side, but it was for the 25000 steps baby.

[officer is leaving]

do you like the photo - we didn't find the sale, but it sounded good. also, not too many abandoned clothes this weekend. did find the mac though.

Walking produces fun toys


Walking produces fun toys
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
Look what i found. A macintosh se. I remember these when i was doing my senior thesis 13 years ago. I am going to see if it will power up.



And yes, we found it on a walk.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Friday walk


August 27
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
wow, did i walk on friday afternoon. i took the afternoon off and had lunch with a buddy. after lunch, we didn't want the talk to end, so we sojourned to the Horse Brass Pub on SE 45th and Belmont. after some excellent beer - Terminal Gravity people - i decided to turn down his offer for a ride and walk home. yes, i walked home from the horse brass. i just did the math (thank you google maps) and my route was 5.8 miles. jimminy christmas.
my walk took me thorugh laurelhurst, laurelhurst park, ne sandy, ne glisan, ne broadway, irvington, irvington park, then north. i saw some amazing homes. laurelhurst and irvington are portland's jewels of old portland architecture. people in these neighborhoods also take care of their homes and yard. one doesn't find random grafitti or trash about.
as i came upon ne 21st and broadway, i turned north and discovered i was walking by the church where i was babtised 35 years ago. haven't been there since.
August 27

in the end, it was sweaty and my feet hurt. i enjoyed the walk and wish i had a few hours everyday to explore the streets of portland. maybe i do and just don't know it. hmmmm. lelo challenged me (in a way) to try and walk all of portland's streets. i wonder if that is possible. i guess i have a few years before i get old to do that. i'll keep you posted.

after returning home and cooling down, we decided to walk down to Lovely Hula Hands off n. mississippi for din din. wow, what an amazing dinner. i chose the burger as i had to do the comparison to higgins/cafe castagna. wow, i was not dissapointed and i have to say - Higgins, you got some competition. the dinner and drinks were superb and the service top notch. if you've never been, get up and go! 25,000 steps friday.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Shorter afternoon walk, but walk nonetheless


August 25
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
didn't walk all the way home yesterday afternoon because we had an engagement to attend. i did however walk to the rose garden to pick up max. that's about 4000 steps. my latest route is taking me directly down to the waterfront to walk along the sea wall. why is is called a sea wall when the willamette is a river. hmmm. as i approached the steel bridge, it was clanging and such a the lower span was raised. the picture doesn't show it too well because the black from the ship behind it obscures the lifted span. i love shit like this.
i'm on a grafitti hunt people. i love being able to take a photo of a tag and then email it off to the powers that be. hopefully things will clean up a little.

went to the Dove Lewis event last night and it was great. free drinks, free food, lots of cool dogs, and luminaries. i guess mayor tom potter was there at the beginning, but i missed him. i did get to engage city commissioner Dan Saltzman and say hello. he'll remember me. i know it! the best part was the personal aspect of the whole night. some people told stories of thier animals and experiences and it brought tears to my eyes. all in all, a great night.

Dove lewisDove lewis

ended with sushi @ sushiville on 23rd. yum yum!

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Dogs Dogs Dogs - and Dove Lewis


dogs
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
Thursday night, August 25, Dove Lewis Animal Hospital is hosting a ground breaking for thier new facility in NW Portland. If you are an animal owner, you probably know about Dove Lewis. if you don't, let me tell you, it's the most amazing resource we have in portland for our pets. Dove Lewis is THE emergency room for pets in portland. we've been there a few times and have always left knowing our dogs recieved the best treatment. we also left with peace of mind.
come on over to NW 19th and Pettygrove and join in the event to break ground at the new larger hospital. your pets will love you more if you do.

Today's tag


Today's tag
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
Didn't walk enough today, nor did i get too many photos. I leave you with this. i like the line about not being math.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

How?


Walk
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
so, i was walking by this new bar/restaurant, Voleur, down in old town in the New Market Theater building. i know it's new, very new because over the past year riding max, i watched it being built. one sure sign of newness is the bright green announcements applying for a liquor license.
so, how does a new 2004/2005 restaurant feel they can announce to the world that they've been around since 1871? hmmmm.

btw, not a bad place.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

What's wrong with this picture


Walk
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
think of yourself as a walker. this is the intersection of n. cook and n. vancouver. if you are driving northbound accross the fremont bridge and take the exit into n. portland, this is where you're heading. as i walk north on vancouver, i am normally on the west side of the street, so when i approach this intersection, i need to pay attention as i am walking against traffic on vancouver and the drivers coming to this intersection are looking away from my direction. it hasn't been a challenge yet as the drivers are attentive and usually see me.
my challenge is that this intersection isn't marked properly to delineate a crosswalk. i'm gonna ask the city if they could help me out with some painting. i even have some extra paint.....

Sent from my phone, probably whilst hiding from the man.

Prolific tagger of the day


August 23
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
BRAK is today's featured tagger. i meant to photog his work yesterday when i saw the new style sticker grafitti, but just didn't. today, after seeing the first one on n. vancouver just north of the rose garden, i realized i had seen his work before and wanted to document it.

BRAK on the side of a van (sorry if it's faint.) trust me its there.
August 23

BRAK on a cab of a truck outside SLOANS
August 23

and lastly BRAK along side yesterday's art
August 23

Honorable mention today goes to Quinone(SP you decide). seen only on smooth glasslike surfaces:
August 23August 23


be well, do good work.

Monday, August 22, 2005

Prolific artist


Prolific artist
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
Someone new is "tagging" nopo. I put tagging in quotes because it isn't paint, but a large format stencilled sticker. Interesting.

Prolific artistProlific artist



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Why I love animals and the people who care for them.

over @ who the what the huh?, pero has a great letter from his dog.

i wonder what my cats would write if we allowed them paper and pen?

Lunch from suicide bridge


Lunch from suicide bridge
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
Decided to get out of the office for lunch and walk. Instead of my usual walks wit destinations for shopping, i ventured up the west hills to sw vista and the vista bridge over sw jefferson blvd. What a great walk. I could have gotten here by stairs also as the hills around portland have extensive steps to get from street to street when going vertical. Now back to work.

No clothes yet.

more photos:
Walk



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Clothes clothes clothes


August 21
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
abandoned clothes seem so lonely. now, mind you, i'm not going to start picking it up, cleaning it and donating it. that just sounds yucky. we did however find some nice pants today, a coat, some pumps and some good merril walking shoes.
our walk on sunday was excellent. i think i was pretty meloncholly all weekend as a result of some news i recieved @ work on friday. i didn't want it to affect my weekend, but in hindsight, it did. dang work! well, saturday didn't produce much walking, so we had to catch up on sunday. we walked the dogs over to n. killingsworth to get thier nails done and then came home and planned our afternoon adventure. my thought was to somehow incorporate a trip to trader joe's in the walk. with only 2 of them closeby, the options were hollywood or downtown in the pearl. we chose pearl.
we took max into oldtown to begin our walk and wandered up through chinatown, the north park blocks, the pearl, both Jamison Square and Tanner Springs parks, bridgeport brewing on n. marshal and then up to 21st and glisan to trader joes. after filling the bag with goodies, we began the walk home. i think we initially planned on heading back to MAX, but as we got down toward the waterfront, we decided to cross the broadway bridge. once across, the decsion was made- we were walking home!
in the end, it was a great afternoon. the whole adventure took all of 2 1/2 hrs and we managed to get in something like 18000 steps. that's almost 8 miles. the bag did get heavy, but i made it through the pain.
clothes clothes clothes
August 21August 21
August 21August 21

Sunday, August 21, 2005

fortuitous huh?


August 19
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
while walking home the other day along n. vancouver, i came accross this piece of trash in the weeds. at first, i just glanced and continued walking. then i took a double take and realized of all the trash that could be there, it was the page from the willamette week that anouced my presence on the net. fortuitous huh?

FUH2


August 19
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
my addition to the debate. i have also been thinking about other vehicles and people i randomly flip off. anyone with a bush/cheney sticker, a "one man one woman" sticker, a jesus fish, you get the picture.

maybe i'll start my own website with pics.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Walk every street, climb every mountain

i feel like singing that great song from the sound of music. speaking of singing. . . .

BoingBoing has a great story of an Australian man who is walking every street of his city. i'm going to follow his progress.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

GOAT!


august 17
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
i love seeing livestock in the city. is a goat considered livestock or just a farm animal. today was especially an animal day. i didn't see or interact with any homeless dogs, but i did see this goat, two cute whippets and finally a troubled seagull. down on the waterfront, i eyed a seagull who appeared to have a small fish hanging out of its mouth. upon further inspection, i discovered the fish was a rather large lure that was hooked to its tongue. poor bird.
the walk home was nice. i actually walked during lunch also up to nw portland do get lunch and do some shopping. the weather this week has been perfect. it's still warm, but not blast furnace warm. as I said, i walked home via the waterfront and again over the steel bridge.
as i crossed the bridge, i saw a train on the tracks going north south on the east side. i'm a sucker for stuff like this. just seeing the train and seeing it moving gave me goose bumps. i felt like a child again. also, i was able to admire the amazing grafitti that adorns the boxcars. as i was crossing the bridge over the tracks, a second train came alongside the other train. cool, two trains for the price of.. well, i didn't pay for anything, so it was free. while i was admiring the trains, a guy on a bicycle passed me and on my blind side stopped. before i knew it, he said - "Are you Mr. Kidd?" huh? "Are you Mr. Kidd?" i turned and realized he was a colorful character and stated i am not Mr. Kidd. he kept at it with this look in his eye as if he knew i was Mr. Kidd. it took awhile for him to get it out, but he was referring to Mr. Kidd from the James Bond movie Diamonds are Forever. ok, sure, i'll go with it. he was a crazy, but interesting dude on a bike. he freely admitted he live @ home @ 50, but instead of being taken care of by his mother, he now takes care of her. i realized there was a little white lie here, but he wasn't a crazy dude nor was he trying to do anything wierd, so i chatted with him for a few minutes and then we moved on. i think i made his day because, as he stated - "not many people talk to me."
so, i guess i'm Mr. Kidd now. i'm not sure i have the girth and receding hairline to pull that off.

also, three people today guessed i was under 30. i do like that!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

A day isn't complete without a unique european SUV


August 16
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
the ubiquitous Unimog by Mercedes. i was walking along thinking - I got to get me some photos of me flipping of hummers and the like - and yet, in my walks the past couple of days, i have not seen a hummer anywhere. (well, there was that guy and girl down on the esplanade.....) i digress. i did however come accross this nice Unimog, the ultimate (and somewhat vintage) 4x4 from europe. i have loved these toys since i was a wee lad, so i couln't get myself to flip it off. hopefully, the owner is a liberal free thinking young person who only drove the vehicle into downtown because he is picking up his vw bug (and will put it in the bed.)

the walk home today was great. i picked up a cigar @ cascade cigars on sw 5th (the bus mall.) i don't think i'll go back there as the customer service was a bit lacking. i then proceeded down toward the waterfront via the "entertainment district." i almost ventured into voodoo donut, but then realized i had the cigar. another time perhaps. when i got to the steel bridge, it was up, so i had to wait. it was the first time this had occured on all my walks. interesting....

the remainder of the walk was pretty normal. it was a warm day, so i did get a little schweaty, but oh well.

ps, today i could have clothed 2 people:
August 16August 16

also, there apparantly is a FOOD HOLE downtown. anything with HOLE in the name just seems dirty - and i like it!
August 16

I wish I were an oscar meyer wiener...

That is truly what i hope to be. Sing along. Spotted outside the downtown hilton.



Makes me want to sing the big mac song too.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

life in a cubicle

i haven't left my building since 8:30 this morning for a walk to get coffee. how sad is that! still, i've done 4200 steps so far, so that's not too bad, but what is the air in here doing to me. well, i guess i'll check out and walk some in the nice august evening.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Por Que No - Yummy


Por Que No
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
hungry? want a nice taco? head over to n. mississippi, just about 500ft north of n. fremont and you'll find Por Que No. por que no is a taqueria and it's as simple as that. the menu consists of 6 different types of tacos - beef, chicken and fish. the pescado tacos are amazing with just the right ingrediant and peparation. normally when i have ordered fish tacos, they arrive with soggy soft tortillas, so when you pick them up, it's a mess. at por que no, the tortilla was firm, but not dry. further, the white sauce normally served with fish tacos was there, but not overwhelming and not indiscriminently mixed in with the shredded cabbage. the cabbage here was fresh and shredded and was just the right amount. next, there was a sprinkling of cilantro and last but not least, some mango. yes, mango on a fish taco. at first, i was taken aback, but it was such a great mix of flavors, i devoured it all. needless to say, my eating partner's tacos didn't come out as ordered, so i got hers too while she got new ones to order.
Por Que No is open 6 days a week - Monday through Saturday. the owner Brian is a great guy and will welcome you with open arms. the restaurant serves beer and other beverages and the prices are extremely reasonable.
i'm excited to welcome them to the hood.
T

Clothes


Clothes
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
today, i think i could have clothed someone with all the random clothes i saw on my walk home. wow, 3.5 miles home in the afternoon sun. during my walk, i thought about nietche, gore, the 6 day war, time travel, writing, comics, blood flow, possible walking injuries - you know the regular stuff you think about when you are walking alone for 1.5 hours without any outside influences. my phone did go off once and a chucklehead on the other end gave me shit for not drinking with him. oh well, i'll survive. i did try and IM while walking, but no one was online. i love IM-ing from the "smart" phone. in old town, i came upon Dan and Louis' Oyster Bar and really wanted to partake in happy hour, but alas didn't have a partner. it was probably for the best. after crossing the steel bridge, i eyed an indivual weeding a very steep hill just up from the train tracks. it seemed a strange place to weed and he was putting the weeds in a laundry bag. as i watched, wondering if he was doing something untoward, another walker pointed to the other side of the esplanade bridge where there had been a small brushfire. i guess maybe the gardner was actually minimizing future fires. go young man, go.
as i strolled through the rose quarter, they were tearing down from the Dew Fest, a mt. dew sponsored event based on extreme sports. looked pretty cool. too bad i missed it. up n. williams was pretty uneventful. there were some nice people out watering or gardening and they all took the time to say hi. n. williams is sparse when it comes to single family homes, so it's a nice respite to the walk. as i entered my hood (or should i say, the hood i love) i was jones'n for something moist on my tougue. i thought about hitting Amnesia, but then as i approzched n. albina, i decided to go vist my tweaker friend. he was still there, hangin' on his porch and as I walked by, in a very sarcastic voice, i yelled "howdy neighbor." he responded in kind as if i were just another joe. (i was a little put off.) for the best.
i was glad to arrive home. i was hot, sweaty, and in need of shedding of clothing. dinner was great and the evening has been enjoyable. it's cooler now and i know i'll sleep well tonight.

oh, and along my walk, i also saw sweatpants and some socks. the socks were in the river.
Clothes

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Snuggle ups at Mississippi


Snuggle ups at Mississippi
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
the snuggle ups are playing and they are great. I understand not all the band members showed up. Well, they sound good.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Ride the trolly


Ride the trolly
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
At the street fair they have a draft horse drawn carraige tooo.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Fair part III


Fair part III
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
I love this guy's art.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

tinymeat at fair


tinymeat at fair
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
We're out here shillin for tinymeat and just made a sale. Thank you nice portlanders.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Wow street fair


Wow street fair
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
It is crazy busy here and its still early. Wow.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.

Blogging from the Mississippi Street Fair

Starting in 9 minutes, the Mississippi Street Fair of 2005 will be the biggest street fair in recent history. I speak about the revitalization that has gone on here regularly and I can't say enough how proud I am of my neighborhood and the work they've done. Last year in May of 2004 when we did the last street fair, all of the current restaurants were under construction. Mississippi Commons was a dream. The rebuilding center was under serious construction.

Well, today is the day and we'll be doing some commerce and having some fun. I'll be blogging regularly from my little mobile toy.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Seattle and Vancouver BC

I'm heading up to Seattle and Vancouver BC for a weekend in September. I need hotels in both locations. In Seattle, we'll be in Capitol Hill. In Vancouver, we'll be downtown.

If anyone in blogosphere has recommendations, please throw them our way.

thanks.b

FUH2

my buddy over @ tinymeat hit me up to this hillarious site for those of us who fell the H2 just shouldn't be allowed to roam the same streets as us. Check FUH2.

Further, all week, the morning news shows have been gushing over the latest big truck from International. My god people, when will we learn that we don't need to keep making the vehicles bigger?

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

More stencil graffiti


More stencil graffiti
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.
I just realized i have been spelling graffiti wrong. Oh well. You still love me don't you? We went for a great walk this evening in overlook with the dogs. Both phoebe and frodo were great and we stopped to visit Norm, a neighbor who also has chi's. Norm is older and widowed and it was a great time talking with him tonight. He's one of those guys who you want to talk with at length to learn his life experiences and history. Was he in WWII? What did he do for a living? Always from the NW? These are the questions my history mind wants to ask.

Well, in the end, it was a great evening walk and good night. 10112 steps today.



Sent from my phone, probably while hiding from the man.