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

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.

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.

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!

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:

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

I wish I were an oscar meyer wiener...

I wish I were an oscar meyer wiener...
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

south waterfront

took a walk @ lunch (6000 steps) down to the waterfront and south. wow, things have changed, but things have really stayed the same. down by the riverplace and newport bay, nothing has changed, but further, the walking path is finished and landscaped just underneath the morrison bridge. its pretty amazing to walk under such a behemoth of a bridge. my attempt to get down to the south waterfront buildings didn't go so well. the space between the morrison and ross island bridges is closed and there isn't a pathway. it's too bad, but then again, you don't want people walking through a construction zone. the three new buildings are just skeletons at this point, but it does give you an idea of what's to come. honestly, i'm pretty excited to see the end result and it's affect on the pdx skyline. haters step off. i'm all about change.

side note - check out 2nd Thursday Music night on N. Mississippi tomorrow night.

Have I arrived? Yeeee Haaaaaw

wow, i'm pretty excited right now. my little blog here has made the big time. Willamette Week has a story about the Camry General Lee in which the owner highlights my blog entry about it from June. how cool is that.

WWEEK story - scroll down to July 29

or pick up Willamette Week and go to page 68.

i love the internets.

YEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

images from montreal

IMG_5147
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

i've been sorting through the some 600 photos from our trip to vermont and montreal and came accross all the photos of montreal graffiti. when we were walking around the city (approx 25,000-29,000 steps each of the 3 days) we saw some amazing paint on the walls. after awhile, i realized it all couldn't be vandalism, but was there to prevent vandalism. what appeared to be random grafitti was too good to be true. some of the amazing murals were almost comicy. check out the pics:

Walk home

Walk
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

weee, a new restaurant in the hood. weee. Pix Pattissere is going to open @ N. Williams and N. Failing. happy happy happy. picture brett doing the happy dance will you. next door will be The New Old Lompoc brewery. weeeeee.
i had a good walk home except for a run in with a fricken crazy white trash assclown (see below.) it was a normal path home via SW and NW 4th avenue, down the waterfront, accross the steel bridge and up williams to my hood. even though it was a warm day (actually probably labeled as hot,) i wasn't to uncomfortable in my chinos and tshirt. i was hot, but not miserable. i decided to walk down the waterfront in hopes of finding hungry dogs, but alas no luck. i did find a really nice puppy earlier today who will be happy to eat tonight. as i walked accross the steel bridge, i came accross some grafitti. lately, i've been pretty intrigued by the grafitti i see. i hate most of it as it's ugly and harmful, but there is some that is cool and unique. lately, stencil grafitti has been my fav.

there was some cool stuff on one of the pillars of the bridge, but my camera phone couldn't get the detail. as i cruised up n. williams, i was thinking about my job and life and dogs and family and friends and car and .... and .... and ... and i came to the conclusion that now that i'm of a certain age, i should change something. this isn't a life changing moment, but i do want to begin focusing on something else other than what i've been doing the past few years. not sure what that will be, but hey, who does.
i'll leave you with this - every bit of sidewalk was busy on n. mississippi tonight as they were giving away free ice cream everywhere. it's crazy. and i always like seeing smiling faces young and old. i'll leave you with this:

People Suck sometimes!

my walk home was going fine, i even got free ice cream @ scrap on n. williams. then, while walking down n. failing toward n. mississippi for more ice cream, i came accross a wandering dog. i just couldn't let it go wander so i followed it and tried to get it to come to me. the dog began walking up a stairs so i asked this guy on the porch if he was the owner and he stated no. i then called someone to ask for advice. while i was standing in front of this guy's neighbor's house offering the dog some food to get it to come to me, this guy begins yelling at me to get the fuck out of there. mind you, i was on the sidewalk. he proceeds to hurry down his porch stairs yelling expletives at me, comes on the sidewalk telling me to get the fuck out. i have absolutely no idea what he's talking about and tell him that in a calm manner (as i do.) he physically rushes up to me, gets in my face and is yelling - "you got one chance man, one chance. that's all i'm giving you." this was threatening and he was in my face. all i could do was stand there i was so A) shocked and 2) getting pissed. it was at that point that i threatened and did call 911. i felt he was about to punch me. he walked away, continuing with the verbal barrage. i spoke to someone @ 911, but didn't pursue it and began walking back toward mississippi. it was at that point he came back down the stairs pursuing me calling me a pussy, an ass etc. he was goading me back to a fight is all i could think of.
i'm so pissed, words cannot describe it. i'm trying to help a dog and this guy goes fricken crazy.

assclown lives @ the corner of N albina and failing on the s.e. corner in a white house. watch out for him.

Bridgeport Brewery

Walk
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

The oldest of the craft brewers in Portland is undergoing a major renovation of the main brewery in NW Portland. I always loved going to this location because it was truly industrial down to the street where you parked having huge potholes and a traintrack running through. with the renovation, they finally have decided to pave that road. i went over on saturday to pick up a keg of IPA and was shocked to see the neighboring building gone. leveled! wow how things change fast. btw, the beer was excellent and i still have some cold in the fridge.

Change in the Pearl

Change in the Pearl
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

I guess the pearl can no longer support a business soley devoted to maintaining speedometers. I wonder if they had expanded thier services to cover odometers and pedometers, would they have survived.



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

Tanner springs park

Tanner springs park
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

In the pearl (john hausman voice.) well, i could have gone to higgins again for lunch, but instead decided to walk. Lo and behold, my walk brought me to the new tanner springs park on nw 10th and marshal. Surrounded by new highrise apartments and condos, it is a nice respite from the parks downtown. Tanner springs park is also its own enclosed ecosystem and sustainable at that. They have natural nw grasses and a flowing stream and a pond you can walk on. The backdrop is made of salvaged railroad line. Excellent use of materials.

I put the pedometer back on today. I realized that without it (past 3 months) i wasn't walking as much as i should and want to.

i love portland!

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

35 years ago today...

happy birthday to me
happy birthday to me
(sing along)
happy birthday to me eeeeeee
happy birthday to me

Nopo, what up?

Nopo, what up?
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

While walking up mississippi, i saw this project and began wondering what was the plan. The hill i had to climb made me a little schweaty and maybe lightheaded, but i swear someone cut out a whole corner hillside. Hopefully we don't get a freak rainstorm i august. Will it be a dream house? Will it be townhouses with beautiful views of I5? Hmmmmm.



Sent from my phone, probably whilst out walking...

Another dog will eat tonight

Another dog will eat tonight
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

Today, i crossed against traffic to hand out some dog food to another little homeless puppy. The owner/caretaker was a nice young woman who was very appeciative of the dog food. Don't worry, this isn't another ego stroke by me, but i do have ulterior motives.

i'm scheming to help to pups. trust me it's a good scheme.



Sent from my phone, probably whilst out walking...

on sw broadway downtown

on sw broadway downtown
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

Not sure of the back story on this. I do know it was a young girl who was killed on a bike by a truck. This photo was taken on sw broadway accross from the doc martin store. Chained to a post is a girls bike with a short story about a young girl being hit and killed by a truck. To bad all the cars are just driving by over the stencil.



Sent from my phone, probably whilst out walking...

Multnomah Hotel

Multnomah hotel
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

in my walks home, i always walk by the Mulnomah Hotel and yet forget to take a picture to share with the interweb. well, today is the day. last friday, a beautiful day in portland, i was on my way to Dante's to get some tickets and the opportunity presented itself. i have been fascinated by this hotel since i was a kid and it was a run down heap (actually, when i was a kid, i think it was still being used as government offices, but i digres..)

the multnomah hotel has a rich history. built in the early 1900s, it became a hub for portland's elite travelers in the 1920's. according to PDXHistory.com, the hotel once housed KXL radio. I seem to remember also, an OPB show highlighted the hotel stating it had been host to FDR or Truman. Not sure which, but that's pretty darn cool.

The reason i'm so excited about this hotel is that i remember in 1997, someone was trying to repeat an historic airplane stunt from the rooftop of this hotel. the hotel was in the middle of being remodeled with the pilot approached it about the affair. on June 10, 1912, Silas Christofferson, landed a "Pusher" 40hp bi-plane on the roof to settle a bet he had made the day before (and which had been published by the Oregonian.) the bet was that Silas could fly his bi-plane from the rooftop of the Multnomah Hotel to Pearson Field in Vancouver WA. Silas did such a feat on an tuesday afternoon. one thing people don't highlight though is that Silas didn't carry his plane up in the elevator, he actually had to land on the roof first before he could carry out his stunt.
Like I said, I remember in 1997 when someone tried to repeat the stunt. It was a cloudy stormy day in the spring I think and I remember driving over the broadway bridge wondering if they got off the ground. i know they did later in the day and successfully replicated the history flight.

another interesting fact about the multnomah hotel - one of the top floor corner rooms was used as Sylvester Stalone's apartment for the movie Assassins. The hotel was under repair at the time. just a quick fact.

next time you're looking into portland and see the famous hotel, think of a bi-plane landing or taking off. kinda strange huh?

here's looking at you kid!

here's looking at you kid!
Originally uploaded by dieselboi.

visited the oregon coast aquarium this past saturday with the niece and nephew. since they are under 18 and i can't get them to sign the disclosure contract, i will keep them anonymous. suffice it to say, they are 3 and 5 and look like their dad. the drive out to newport was pretty frickin long- 4hrs. i never thought it would take that long, that's why we decided to do this. initially, it was difficult with the kids, but we had fun. also, they were excellent at lil sambo's in lincoln city.
the aquarium was great. just the right size too. the zoo goes on forever and with kids, it's hard to see everything. at the aquarium, we saw the turtles, the fishes, the sharks, the puffins, the sea lions and walruses. they were all out in force showing off for the kids. my favorite part was the huge windows looking into the fish tanks. there were some great fish there. the smallest one was dissapointed he couldn't bring his fishing pole, but once he saw the fish, i think he understood why. we did a fare amount of walking that day and the drive back was pretty quiet with everyone - and i mean everyone - taking a nice 2hr nap.
sunday was chill day with a walk down n. mississippi to our favorite buritto shop and then later some shopping on hawethorne and then a movie. if you want to laugh your gut out, go see Wedding Crashers - i haven't laughed that hard in a movie theater in a very long time.

so, this will be a busy week. it's my b-day sometime this week and i have to prepare mentally for all the fuss. mind you, i love the attention, but i am also not one to advertise the event and then i get pouty that no one is wishing me happy b-day. vicious circle and all. cya.