My father never leaves Massachusetts, but he is moving slowly into my San Francisco apartment. Dad enjoys projects, like I do, but his craft is carpentry. He builds furniture for his kids and ships the finished furniture across the country. He puts a lot of effort into each piece. He …
A man was attacked late Saturday night by Duboce Park near where I live. He was beaten badly and left for dead. Authorities identified the victim as Feather Lynn, a radical faerie of San Francisco, and contacted his family. His assailant remains at large. Poor Feather did not recover. His …
Twice a year, the American Chemical Society hosts a general meeting in a different city. This week, ten thousand chemists descend on San Francisco. Over the past twenty years, I have attended many ACS meetings, most of them in San Francisco. At these meetings, I have presented posters, attended lectures, …
Regular readers know that I abstain from abhorrent alcohol, almost given up coffee, meditate every day, exercise compulsively before noon, speak sparingly and only kindly, and now float six serene inches above San Francisco’s already sacred ground. Nearby Mission Dolores church wishes to rededicate its patronage to my spiritual works. …
Rest and relaxation are missing from this year away. I spent Saturday and Sunday in an Oakland warehouse lighting an electric sheep. As Burning Man approaches in less than two weeks, artists and engineers scramble to finish projects in foundries. There are no time extensions in Black Rock City. At …
5am Saturday morning, I’m driving the desolate streets of San Francisco to rescue the Platonic Solids from a club across town. I did not expect to be a party planner, but every weekend since I returned to San Francisco, I have been installing art. The Burning Man camp Comfort + …
When tired, I need a coffee. When socially scared, I need a drink. When unwanted, I need to shop. When bored, I need to get stoned. Something outside of me will satiate the want inside of me. I am a child of the 1980s. Prescriptions and palliatives can solve our …
I am one-third finished with my year away – so much accomplished, so much yet to do. In my final month of work, I grew a list titled “What would I do with one year?” I refer periodically to these instructions. Under Family, I wrote three items: stay 1 week …
I woke around five thirty this morning and lay in bed until advancing light drove me to get up. The coffee I drank the previous afternoon may have tinkered with my circadian rhythms. I’m percolating with so much creativity that I can no longer sleep. I have shows to write …
Six years of chemistry graduate study, three years of post-doctoral research, ten years of industrial work– I have built a career in the physical sciences that paid well. Now unemployed, I wish I missed science more. With four months perspective away from the job, I recognize the punishing one-hour commute, …