I was creating some graphic headers for this site and realized that I had just made a whole bunch of pictures of entropy in action. I could do a complicated discussion of the second law of thermodynamics, but you can read that here if you’re interested. From our real world perspective, entropy is iron rusting, […]
Entropy 101, or why leaks matter Read More »
I headed up to Occidental where I needed to get pictures of some of the Italian style family restaurants for an article Wild Jane is writing on the main sonoma.net site. I made sure to get photos of both the Union Hotel and the classic Howard’s Cafe two blocks up the street. The Union Hotel
The Potter Schoolhouse in Bodega is one of the few remaining buildings from Alfred Hitchcock’s filming of “The Birds”. It’s been a schoolhouse, bed and breakfast, and private residence. I’m a fan of the simple symmetry of the building with the round-top windows, corner columns, and octagonal tower. It’s a timeless building without the gingerbread
Bodega Architecture and Quoins Read More »
I’ve bemoaned the loss of stone and brick as building materials due to earthquakes. We end up with a lot of faux walls where a thin stone veneer is glued to wood framing. This Freestone property has always had one of the most beautiful wooden fences in Sonoma County. They are in the process of
Stone wall revealed…and some far west grapes Read More »
My first significant earthquake came while I was sitting on an under-construction deck in Berkeley. The deck, still unbraced, stood still while the house it was attached to swayed pretty vigorously. It was an interesting demonstration of Newton’s Law that a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an outside
Why do earthquakes suck? Read More »