Palo Alto Daily Photo

the post office is across from the bank

2009-01-19T23:00:00.001-08:00

[waverley st at hamilton ave]

industrial antique

2009-01-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

tower well valve

[hawthorne ave at alma st]

mmm, palo alto water

2009-01-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

[tower well, hawthorne ave at alma st]

"The City's first water rate structure was billed monthly as follows: each House = 1 dollar, each Water Closet = 40 cents, each Horse = 25 cents, each Cow = 25 cents, and for water carelessly allowed to run overnight through a hose or faucet = $2.50/night."

golden afternoon

2009-01-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

[bryant st, the "bicycle boulevard"]

just out for a spin on a saturday

in a california january

check out more skywatch friday photos here

a different tilt

2009-01-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

guesses? anyone?

[hawthorne ave at alma st]

pop quiz

2009-01-13T22:54:00.000-08:00

name that structure!

[hawthorne ave at alma st]

green power art box 2

2009-01-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

[lytton ave at high st]

so it goes

2009-01-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

[bridge over san francisquito creek, palo alto/menlo park border]

thirsty

2009-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

[lytton ave]

pretty much still autumn here

2009-01-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

[civic center, hamilton ave]

flying the flags of the state

of california and the city

of palo alto

no wintry skies here,

but you'll probably find some at

kind of blue

2009-01-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

[kipling st]

blue wall

blue sky

blue sign

all blues

green power art box

2009-01-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

[lytton ave at emerson st]

a few years ago the city commissioned

artists to beautify several utility boxes

around downtown. this one reads:

wind power / efficient shower

ride share / we care

(over 20% of palo altans get their

electricity entirely from wind & solar)

roots

2009-01-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

[in front of civic center, hamilton ave]

discover what you're made of

urban planning

2009-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

[hamilton ave at gilman st]

yes, that's right:

a mail drop lane.

also, see if you can find:

a church (we have many flavors here in town)

a bus stop

a public toilet

turning

2009-01-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

[alma st at palo alto ave]

every day i'm turning into

someone new i just hope

it's someone better too

and

trees = love

pinstripe

2009-01-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

[alma st at palo alto ave]

re-cycle

2009-01-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

[alma st at hawthorne ave]

reduce, reuse, recycle

renew

it's another plastic year

(and yes, you see, even our recycling

bins are made from recycled materials)

no turning back

2008-12-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

[lytton ave]

here we go into

the future (as if we didn't

do that every day). farewell,

2008.

tunes and wheels

2008-12-30T20:43:00.000-08:00

[university ave at kipling st]

december pastiche at

the apple store downtown

late december autumn

2008-12-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

[hamilton ave between bryant & ramona]

believe it or not, this is not another

photo from the archives: this is city hall

on the 29th of december.

not exactly a winter wonderland, is it?

guess how many millions

2008-12-28T22:16:00.000-08:00

[near downtown]

forgive me: i'm experiencing something

of a new-photo drought; here's one from

the archives, taken in early october:

a fairly typical palo alto house

(i love the shapes and delicate colors on this one)

twins

2008-12-27T22:40:00.000-08:00

[palo alto caltrain station]

they're no match for

the catbus, sure, but

they do have a certain

feline quality, i think

left

2008-12-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

[palo alto caltrain station]

fair california, i have

not abandoned you. i'm

coming home soon.

jaunty

2008-12-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

[palo alto caltrain station]

three days before christmas

on the way to the airport

on the way to the other coast

to spend the days with family

among hibernating trees and under cooler skies

happy holidays & happy skywatching!

silent night

2008-12-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

"And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." [John 1:5]

Y es hermosa la luna solitaria,
la blanca luna en la estrellada noche
negra cual la abundosa cabellera
negra del nazareno. Blanca luna
como el cuerpo del Hombre en cruz, espejo
del sol de vida, del que nunca muere.
Los rayos, Maestro, de tu suave lumbre
nos guían en la noche de este mundo
ungiéndonos con la esperanza recia
de un día eterno. Noche cariñosa,
¡oh noche, madre de los blandos sueños,
madre de la esperanza, dulce Noche,
noche oscura del alma, eres nodriza
de la esperanza en Cristo salvador!

[Miguel de Unamuno, El Cristo de Velázquez]

Wherever you may be in the world, I send you warm wishes for a very merry Christmas.

protected by borges

2008-12-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

[university ave]

i'm not quite sure what a security system

by borges might entail:

several circular walls, perhaps,

or a series of forking paths

that must be navigated before the entrance?

red and green

2008-12-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

[middlefield rd, redwood city]

california flora,

nonchalantly dressed up for christmas

(okay, okay, so this is redwood city,

not palo alto. give me a break, please?

it's pretty close. and

i've been at the airport all day.)

nocturne

2008-12-21T22:00:00.000-08:00

[hamilton ave at ramona st]

staying up way past delirium

cleaning the floors

wandering outdoors

overdosing on podcasts

packing my bags...

o christmas tree

2008-12-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

[inside the university art annex, hamilton ave at ramona st]

alternatives (or additions) to the

traditional living breathing greenery

on display at this artsy gift shop

glub glub

2008-12-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

[bike/pedestrian underpass, california ave]

under the train tracks,

under the sea...

magic trick

2008-12-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

[alvarado row, stanford]

what's this? the sky—

it's vanished! where did it go?

i'll bet we can find it at skywatch...

going nowhere

2008-12-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

[webster st at coleridge ave]

stop
look around
go
no not that way
turn around
go
stop
go
on
and on

meow

2008-12-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

[university ave]

sometimes you just can't not
stop to take a picture

it was cold today

2008-12-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

[stanford ave in august]

here's a reminder of warmth

lights, please

2008-12-14T23:45:00.000-08:00

[university ave at ramona st]

a cold, rainy, gloomy,
curl-up-and-do-nothing
kind of day was today
(not when i took this photo,
but it fits the mood)

be alert

2008-12-13T23:57:00.000-08:00

[webster st]

illuminated

2008-12-12T23:50:00.000-08:00

[memorial church, stanford]

façade with a halo of sunlight

twilight cloaked in conifers

2008-12-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

[webster st at hamilton ave]

look east

2008-12-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

[view from hoover tower, stanford]

in the foreground, stanford football stadium; beyond,
a thin strip of the san francisco bay. cross
the dumbarton bridge into the east bay hills, and
on into the horizon...

fading season

2008-12-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

[main quad, stanford]

getting chilly around here,
dropped below forty degrees fahrenheit
last night (that's cold for around here).
most trees are bare by now (except
the evergreens, of course); this one still had most
of its leaves just a couple of weeks ago.

summer color on a winter day

2008-12-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

[middlefield rd]

spotted on an aimless and
disillusioned wandering
in late november

ice cubes

2008-12-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

[gates bldg reflected on hewlett bldg, stanford]

normally at this time of year, i would
use "ice cubes" to refer to the weather
somehow. but it's not quite that cold here.
just an aesthetic reminiscence in this
building (do you sense a theme in the names
on this part of campus?)

larger than a garden gnome

2008-12-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

[melville ave near alma st]

i don't know anything about this
sculpture, and i am especially
in the dark as to why it includes what
appears to be a humanoid figure without
a head. but the fact that someone has this
giant piece of metal in their front yard made it
photoworthy enough for me.

sticks and stones

2008-12-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

[main quad, stanford]

scarlet foliage glowing

on an autumn morning

sail away

2008-12-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

[webster st at coleridge ave]

the weather's nice,
the surface calm and smooth:
good day for a skywatching voyage!

meet me on the roof

2008-12-03T22:08:00.000-08:00

[rooftop of green library viewed from hoover tower, stanford]

last week of classes: need a
break from studying? tiptoe
away from your carrel hidden
in the corner, slip between the
shelves past vonnegut, vollmer,
vizenor, vidal, then glide down
the aisle between udall through
updike and hemingway through
hinton, steinbeck through
stowe and faulkner through
fitzgerald, and sail up the spiral
staircase into the gazebo crown, out
through liquid french windows and a-
light on the sundeck. i'll be
there.

trio

2008-12-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

[melville ave near alma st]

sometimes i wish i lived in
a bigger city, busier, more noise
and bustle going on around
me, but then again
ensembles like this can be
nice company, too

look a-round (it's a glorious place, this)

2008-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

[stanford campus and santa cruz mountains as seen from hoover tower]

whoops, i blew it and forgot
to register in time for
december theme day. (can you believe
it's december already??) so here's
another unofficial theme-day post.

this month's theme is circles/spheres.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

good news

2008-11-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

[bryant st at embarcadero]

i haven't, as i had
feared, completely forgotten how
to ride a bike. (and
lucky for me, this town's pretty
bike-friendly, too.)

round the corner

2008-11-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

[webster st (obviously) at coleridge ave]

pause briefly to reflect
on the road you have traveled, feel
the solid ground beneath you, check
for opposing traffic, slowly round
the corner onto a
new road, in a
new direction, and
move on.

bored with clear skies yet?

2008-11-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

[main quad looking toward hoover tower, stanford]

if you have been here
before, you will have noticed that
bright
blue
spotless
skies
form the normal backdrop. well,
look closely today and
you'll find a spot. a spot
with wings.

visit skywatch and you'll find
a variety of views to
cure the boring-blank-sky blues
(not that i'm complaining!)

for this i am thankful

2008-11-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

[somewhere above stanford ave, i believe]

'i think i'll always feel at
home under the trees,' i told him, and
he smiled. it's true, though i only
recently discovered it. i grew
up surrounded by greenery, beneath
a canopy alive with whispering leaves and
chattering birds, wistful avian songs my
soundtrack, glittering fireflies illuminating black
foliage in syncopated rhythm while i try to keep
track, keep
up with the universal symphony, keep
an eye on the conductor.

the trees they are part
of me, their roots are
my roots and so how joyous to live
once more in their embrace.

not-so-friendly rivalry

2008-11-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

[white plaza, stanford]

another scene from big game week: red
(or shall we say cardinal) dye
colors several campus fountains, and
here a poor cal teddy bear finds
himself in a fatal run-in with "the claw"

not a secret rivalry

2008-11-25T15:03:00.000-08:00

[old union, stanford]

finally took the campus tour last

friday, day before the big game. banners

all over campus emblazoned with the

general sentiment of stanford football

fans. (i don't even know who won.)

symbols of a bygone era?

2008-11-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

[by green library, stanford]

i stop to wonder why
someone has graced the pavement with
an endearing chalk rendition of
pika-
chu!
then
i think it doesn't really
matter, i smile, take a
picture, and walk on

fantastical creatures underfoot

2008-11-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

[by green library, stanford]

about a month ago i found
myself in curious company
in an alley behind
the library (pikachu
was nearby. anybody
recognize this guy?)

polychromatic

2008-11-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

[webster st near hamilton ave]

if you want to park your
car in downtown palo alto, you
could find yourself navigating a
rainbow of purple, lime,
blue, coral (those are the colors i've
spotted so far. who knows but
that right around the corner i might
find goldenrod or aquamarine
or tangerine!)

morning moon

2008-11-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

[university ave & mitchell ln]

clear skies in
november (can it really be
almost winter?) and
a distant lunar
fingerprint on the canvas

keep watching the skies!

stay a while

2008-11-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

[cowper inn bed & breakfast, cowper st at forest ave]

over a century old, elegant
craftsman style, exuding
cabin-in-the-woods and yet just
around the corner from
our bustling little downtown
(anyone want to come visit?)

flora mixta

2008-11-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

[webster st]

cactus. surrounded by
pine needles. welcome to
california.

not your typical road sign

2008-11-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

[somewhere along stanford ave in august]

preserving greenery
protecting new growth
promoting absurdity

is this place real?

2008-11-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

[main quad, stanford]

i mentioned to a colleague that it is sort of
funny that i ended up at a university again
just when i thought that i would take a
break from that world, not set foot on
a college campus for at least a few
years. his reply: "sure, but stanford is
more like a country club than a university!" i mean,
just look at it.

this is your captain speaking

2008-11-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

[center for turbulence research, stanford university]

we're coming up on
some bumpy air; please return
to your seats and keep your
seatbelts fastened

what color was your day?

2008-11-15T19:10:00.000-08:00

[park blvd, i think]

the weather today was
gorgeous, sunny and eighty
degrees in november. golden saturday
morning overflowing with
brightness, afternoon turning sour
lemon. golden. yellow.

floating

2008-11-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

[alma st over university ave]

travel a world of celestial
vistas: flights now departing
from the skywatch portal

despite the warnings...

2008-11-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

[palm drive, stanford]

...i've decided to get a bike.

one too many instances of

dissonance between mine and

the shuttle's schedules, and

the time has come. i hope

that what they say about never

forgetting how to ride a bike is

true (it's been at least a decade

and a half).

trapped

2008-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

[palo alto caltrain station]

the train station has been under
construction for a while now; i guess
that's why this fencing is in place. i just
like its happy orange color

one of the reasons why i love this town

2008-11-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

[near stanford shopping center]

i actually took this
photo shortly before i
moved to palo alto (but
i'm pretty sure the sign is
still there). it's a welcoming
message, don't you agree?

sorry for inconvenient

2008-11-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

CLOSED FOR VACATION
(Sorry for inconvenient)
Thank You

[a subtle instance of engrish on the door of
mint leaf thai & vietnamese cuisine,
university ave, across from the apple store]

this place has been
'closed for vacation' since
before i moved here nearly
two months ago.
i'm missing what
i've never known.
it's a minor 'inconvenient,' though.
i hope that they're having a
spectacular vacation!

we shall see that it is all matter

2008-11-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

[first united methodist church, hamilton ave at webster st]

liquids and gases, i learned
in elementary school, expand
to fill their containers; how then
does spirit behave in such
a curiously defined space?

All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.

Doctrine & Covenants 131:7-8

no need to water the plants today

2008-11-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

[somewhere along bryant st, i think]

saturdays are rainy lately

p.a. is for...

2008-11-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

left to right:
parking garage (labeled PArk)
patagonia store (you can't see the name behind the trees, but it's there, i promise)
pampas brazilian restaurant

[alma st at university ave]

only mild interference in an
otherwise bright sky
last sunday
sandwiched between a
cold, wet saturday and a
dreary, dripping monday

happy skywatch friday! enjoy the views:

that's why they call it palo alto

2008-11-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

[cowper st near forest ave]

redwood trees in the city
heaven in the neighborhood

(in case you're curious, the city
is really named after this tree.)

this nation is a young nation

2008-11-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

[hotel president, university ave]

around here, especially in
california, eighty-year-old buildings are
kind of a big deal

rush hour

2008-11-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

last-minute campaigning at

palo alto caltrain station

follow the election results
minute-by-minute here!

but then again, if you must travel on four wheels...

2008-11-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

[alvarado row, stanford]

before i moved to california, i was living
in utah, where it wasn't easy being green.
there, never did i spot a real live prius;
here, a flock of hybrids is a common sight.

around here the wheel count of choice is two

2008-11-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

[palo alto bicycles, university avenue]

it's no davis, but palo alto
does cater to a large number of cyclists.
without wheels myself, i guess
i'm not a real palo altan
yet

november theme day: books

2008-11-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

[bell's books, emerson st]

"I hope it is true that a man can die and yet
not only live in others but give them life, and
not only life but that great consciousness of life."
[Jack Kerouac]

dressed up for halloween

2008-10-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

one of several rug stores on university avenue
in downtown palo alto, decorated for the holiday

if i were the store owner or manager,
i might have given the place a subtle but fitting disguise
by changing the R in rug to a B, just to see
if anyone stopped in looking for some creepy crawlers
to complete their halloween party atmosphere