Pacific Masters Swimming - 18th July 2026

Illnesses at the end of 2025 and start of 2026 prevented me competing in MEMO’s Thrice is Nice in December and USF Valentine's Affair in February. I restarted swim-training in March and added basic weightlifting, progressing to the gym at the end of May. It took until around April to regain the weight I'd lost while sick. By the start of May I was swimming back on pace with my 2026 best, but I got slower in late May and June as I added more weight and weight-training days to my routine.

Based on my prior performance at 100m short course, I entered the 2026 Pacific Masters Swimming LCM Championships 100 long course meter freestyle with 1:05.14, much slower than my 1:00.96 in 2012. I only entered one event as I didn't want to spend the day waiting for just the 50 meter freestyle at the end of Saturday.

On July 1st I twisted my ankle. It continued to bother me through race day but two days before I swam ~63s for 100 yards without a dive, in a shared lane.

It was my first time at the Soda Aquatic Center in Moraga CA. The competition and warm-up pools are nice but the locker-rooms are quite small.

I practiced a couple of starts during the warmup (thanks to a coach from USF staffing a second practice-lane). 

100 LCM Freestyle: 1:02.60 - video.
My start was slow, and still wasn't deep enough, but I kept my goggles secure for a change. I felt good during the first 50m, comfortably keeping pace with the swimmers alongside me. My turn wasn't great (no video evidence to learn from this time), but I had enough energy to push the second 50m harder. In hindsight, I think I could/should have gone faster on the first leg too. I was happy enough with my final time: 1:02.60; faster than October 2025, but much slower than 2012. (1:02.60 converted back to short course equates to 1:01.00 which is much faster than my 1:03.05 in October. Either my race in October was worse than I thought (maybe my flip turns were truly awful?), or I've gotten faster.) I placed second in my heat and in my age group.

Equipment:

• Suit: Speedo Endurance
• Googles: Speed Vanquisher 2.0
• Cap(s): Rocket Science Sports base, Tyr on top 

Personal notes for my next event:

• After the race above I went down a rabbit hole with The Swim Suit Guy and others to learn about modern race gear. I might try to buy more speed with a tech suit and different swim cap.

Other notes:

• The swimmer who finished just after me is about 20 years older, a former All-American, and holds 16 Pacific Masters records!

Results:

• My US Masters Swimming results history 
• Pacific Masters Pool Competition Results 

Possible next events: 

• October 3rd and 4th: Kerry O'Brien Short Course Meters Championship
• February 6th: USF Valentine's Affair

Pacific Masters Swimming - 4th October 2025

After a break of more than 12 years, I restarted swim training in May 2025. More than 13 years after my last race meet, I (re)entered the 2025 Pacific Masters Swimming Kerry O'Brien Short Course Meters Championships in Walnut Creek, CA. I registered for only two events, and needed to guesstimate entry times based on short course yards training at the Chinatown YMCA in San Francisco. My local YMCA forbids diving so I couldn't practice dive-starts, nor properly account for them in my entry times.

In 2010 I raced at the same event and had a bad experience. I hoped for better in 2025. I'd spent the summer re-learning 21st century swimming and nutrition, and trying to put what I could into practice. I was eager to see how much that could counteract my old(er) age, and lack of training and race practice. One study shows swimmers become about 0.6% slower per year. If that applied to me, I could expect to be about 8% slower than I was in 2012. My entry times were significantly slower than that margin. Did I sandbag too much? (Two men I raced against in 2012 maintained their fast speeds for about ten more years! [1] [2]). 

I competed without a club affiliation. YMCA SF has a masters team, but they don't train at my local pool. My old club, USF, is full, and has a waitlist to (re)join.

Pre-event registration suggested my age group was filled with fast swimmers.

In mid-July I tweaked behind my right knee. General hamstring and calf tightness and cramping issues held me back from late July through September.

I ate my normal breakfast around 9am, and snacked on dates and Gu Roctane before my races started around 1pm.

• 100 SCM Freestyle. 1:03.05 (splits: 29.20, 33.85) - video (6th of 12 in age group)
  My guesstimated entry time was 1:13.00, about 19% slower than my 2009 time: 1:01.48. Improvements after race-registration in late September, meant I expected to race around 1:08.00. This meant I would need to break from my heat competitors by several seconds - I couldn't use them to pace myself unless someone else also overestimated their time. 
  My dive-start (my first in 13 years) sucked. I partly displaced my goggles, and didn't get any depth. My final time was about 3.2% slower than in 2009. I think I could get close to 1:02 with a better dive and without leaking goggles.
• 50 SCM Butterfly. 31.64 - video (3rd of 6 in age group)
  I hadn't raced this event since college (or longer, so maybe since the 20th century?). My guesstimated entry time was 0:34.00 which I expected to be close to what I would race on the day.
  My dive was better, and my race felt better than I expected, which means I should have pushed harder on the first 25m. :-) 

Finishing in the middle of my age group twice makes me officially Mediocre!

Equipment:

• Suit: Speedo Endurance
• Googles: Speed Vanquisher 2.0
• Cap: Tyr x2

Personal notes for my next event:

• Find somewhere to practice dive-starts.
• Fix my freestyle turns: 
• my head is too far forward after the push 
• my push isn't straight, it veers right  
• I'm raising my head too soon 

Other notes:

• Andy Grant casually clocking 50.93 for the 100m free (just half a second off the USMS record) and making the rest of the field look slow was something to behold.
• Both my heats placed me in lane 1 with no-shows in lane 2. 
• The pool lane 5 has a bizarre start-block setup. That block is almost over the lane rope between lane 5 and 6. I never want to race from that lane!
• The pool also still doesn't have backplates on their starting blocks (not that I've ever trained to use one!) (Backplates have been legal since 2008.)

Results:

• My US Masters Swimming results history 
• Pacific Masters Pool Competition Results 

Possible next events: 

• December 6th, 2025: MEMO’s Thrice is Nice, San Leandro 
• 50 SCY Freestyle 
• 50 SCY Butterfly
• 100 SCY Freestyle
• 200 SCY Freestyle
• February 7th, 2026: USF Valentine's Affair, San Francisco 
• 50 SCY Freestyle 
• 100 SCY Freestyle 
• 50 SCY Butterfly 

SF Bay Area Concerts - 2012

• Aeroplane @ Mezzanine, 17^th February (Friday)
  
• Oliver @ Rickshaw Stop, 18^th February (Saturday)
  Vaughn Oliver (aka U-Tern) seemed to do all the work. He dropped some great tunes including "Dirty Talk (Black Van Remix)" and "Church" by Jacques Lu Cont, and kept it up despite constant MC interruption "help" from a drunk Viceroy who failed to impress during his own, prior set.
• Radiohead @ HP Pavilion, 11^th April (Wednesday)
  I lost interest in Radiohead during Hail to The Thief. Our seats were too far back to see the performers, but central, and the light show was fun to watch. .
• Miike Snow @ Fox, 12^th April (Thursday)
  Aside from "Paddling Out", "Black Tin Box", and "Devil's Work"; the new tracks simply aren't as good as those from their eponymous debut album; and didn't work well live. Andrew Wyatt seemed to struggle with his vocals. A friend in another part of the venue complained about sound quality issues generally so maybe technical issues were to blame. The crowd loved the "Animal" finale.
• Justice @ Fox, 17^th April (Tuesday)
  What do you do when you have only two albums with quite different styles? Mash 'em up for 90 minutes 21st century ADD-style. Then add occasional live keyboards and a big light show. Win.
• Snow Patrol @ Fox, 4^th May (Friday)
  Still much better live than recorded, Snow Patrol are an occasional guilty pleasure. Cheap, distracting visual didn't help, but "Fallen Empires", "Take Back The City", and the crowd participation for "Shut Your Eyes" were some favorite moments. Gary Lightbody is still a charming front-man.
• Death Cab For Cutie @ Fox, 9^th May (Wednesday)
  Not my favorite band evar (Ben Gibbard's voice grates). However a solid performance, with a live (Magik*magik!) orchestra, a fully-seated crowd in the Fox, and good company, made for a memorable night.
• James Murphy @ Public Works, May 23th (Friday)
  Beegee's death. Disco and 70s music. Left before Murphy did.
• Kaskade @ Bill Graham, July 28^th (Saturday)
  Smokers. Underwear. Very short girls (my not-tall girlfriend remarked on this). Very tall guys. Pretty visuals on lots of screens, smoke; definitely a "hit play" performance. Eric Prydz' "Alein Alein" got a muted response.
• Hot Chip @ Fox, September 11^th (Tuesday)
  Another solid performance with live variations on their recorded material left me longing for Coachella.
• Austra @ Independent, September 16^th (Sunday)
  A much better show than I expected. It was incredibly refreshing to have someone on stage who could sing and hold a note.
• Glen Hansard (and The Frames) @ Fillmore, October 6^th (Saturday)
  Married couple. "Banana man". A guest appearance by Reignwolf.
• The Presets @ Independent, October 12^th (Friday)
  Not as mind blowing as their Coachella 2011 show, but great nonetheless.
• Stars @ Fillmore, October 20^th (Saturday)
  Had more energy in 2010 but still enjoyable.

Bought tickets but didn't attend:

• Geographer @ The Independent, 3^rd March (Saturday)

Pacific Masters Swimming - 11th, 12th August 2012

The 2012 Pacific Masters Long Course Championships were held at College of San Mateo instead of UC Santa Cruz as in previous years. The new venue is closer to San Francisco (about 30 minutes drive versus 90 minutes), bigger (with a dedicated 25 meter warm-up pool), had timing pads at both ends, and includes expansive grassy grounds to relax in.
(Video links below are available in up to 480p).

• 200 LC Meter Freestyle 2:21.54 (PR) (splits: 29.65, 34.20, 38.37, 39.32) - video
  As my splits and the video suggest, I raced the first half faster than I should have, but I was pleasantly surprised by the final result. Watch Lane 4 ("Druz, Loren", age 56) and Lane 7 ("Kenny, Daniel", age 55, red hat) for their counterattacks!
  Prior PR: 2:24.38, in 2011
• 400 LC Meter Freestyle Relay - video
  Confusion reigned when two of our four swimmers arrived late (after the start), and one of them had our timing card. This also seems to have distracted the timekeepers, or swimmers repeatedly bumped the timing pads as they exited, as our splits were screwed.
• 50 LC Meter Freestyle 27.11 - video
  Slower than I would have liked; I may have let myself be distracted by the swimmers on my left, and glided too far at the finish.
  PR: 26.58, in 2010
• 200 LC Meter Medley Relay
  Scratched. Some teammates didn't show up. 
• Mixed 200 LC Meter Freestyle Relay 26:54 - video
  I swam in place of "Chiang, Chris". After my previous attempt at 50 meters, I hit the wall with a bit too much enthusiasm.
• 100 LC Meter Freestyle 1:00.96 (PR) (splits: 28.17, 32.79) - video
  My goggles came off as soon as I dove in. This meant I slowed quite a bit while searching for the wall at the turn.
  Prior PR: 1:00.98, in 2011
• Mixed 400 LC Meter Mixed Medley Relay 1:18.70 (splits: 33.33, 45.37) - video
  I switched with "Letson, Mary" to swim butterfly instead of freestyle. This was my first 100 meter long course butterfly ever, and my first butterfly race in about 16 years. As you may see in the last 15 meters, I need more practice. :-)

Overall, it was a worthwhile and fun weekend. I raced two personal records, and made some mistakes to learn from. :-) It's also inspiring to compete in an event with men and women aged 18 through 96, and witness them break local, USA-national, and world records.

Official Results. Official splits. Official Points. Real-time (unofficial) results.

Thoughts for next time:

• Reapply sunscreen on neck, shoulders, and face, after every swim.
• Practice dives; keep my head down.
• Try 50m butterfly.

Alcatraz Challenge - July 22nd 2012

Alcatraz Challenge 2012 was my 5^th time to participate in the San Francisco Bay's (only?) aquathlon, and my 10^th swim from (near) The Rock back to shore. (For some perspective, Gary Emich has done the swim 926 times...sans wetsuit).


Prologue:

I need to remember to clean my gear more regularly, or prepare it earlier than just the day before the event. Covering my bedroom in dust 24 hours prior to racing does not conduce optimal lung function...


Race Day:

Swim (40:02): By the time we jumped off the California Hornblower, the sun had cleared most of the early-morning fog; I was glad I wore my tinted swim-goggles. The San Francisco Bay wasn't too choppy, and the water temperature was reportedly around 61 ℉, about 16 ℃, relatively warm either way. I stopped twice, fearful I would lose my timing-chip-anklet. I was also redirected twice by kayakers to swim closer to shore (lesson learned from zigzagging in 2011). I made for the beach as soon as I thought it was safe (i.e. rock-fee) and race-legal, but I suspect I could have exited even sooner. My swim split was two minutes slower than 2011, roughly in line with a generally slower swim in 2012.

Transition (1:20): Kiddy pools were provided to rinse sandy feet; bib number 22 gifted me a transition spot near swim-in and run-out; and a new Dakine rash guard meant sunscreen re-application could be skipped. All that meant my transformation was 30 seconds faster than the previous year, and about 3^rd fastest overall.

Run (50:28): Competitor 266, Blake "Magic Mike" Corbin, (nickname used only by me until I found his real name) provided encouraging words up the steps to the Golden Gate Bridge. Corbin also trailed me across the span until the turnaround; then he increased his pace and broke away, back up the bridge incline. Jacques Lu Cont's "Thunderstruck" remix on HeadMusic^TM ushered me home. My run time was similar to 2011, but still about 4 minutes slower than 2009. It was great to be cheered across the finish by friends and girlfriend; Lucky Luke. :-)

Nutrition: Two Gu Roctane and some lemon and lime flavored Gatorade at each of the three water stops. I carried Thermolyte Metasalt tablets but didn't use them.

The 2012 event featured 49 fewer aquathlon racers than in 2011; 295 versus 246. I hope that decline does not continue.

My bib number was 22.

Results (pdf). My finish time was 1:31:50, about a minute slower than 2011.

Photos. (The black stain under my chin is from my old, neoprene wetsuit-cap, which needs to be replaced).

Bay to Breakers - May 20th 2012

2012 marked my 4^th (and the series 101^st) Bay to Breakers.

My "training" was limited to about 21 miles in 2012 (after 32 total in 2011). I also flew back from a work trip to Sydney, Australia, less than 48 hours prior. That didn't prevent a huge grin as I walked to the start and my first foot-race since October 2009. 6:20am arrival at Corral A allowed me to begin directly behind seeded runners, and avoid a line at the porta-potties (unlike previous years). The weather was sunny but not too warm, with little wind.

A few highlights before the horn included:

• meeting an excited MMA trainee on his way to his first B2B; he gave up Gilbert Melendez's (IIRC) victory party to focus on his race (last time I knowingly raced an MMA-guy)
• one of the volunteers poking fun via megaphone at the Google velocipede. To paraphrase "Please make room for the Google team...Trust them...like we all trust Google."
• a handful of costumes among the early arrivals, especially from 4137

An energy gel was inhaled at about 6:50am, atop two Clif Builder Bars forced down around 5:10am. I carried more gels but didn't use them.

Lack of music on most of the course was disappointing, but understandable, given the 7am start and San Francisco rules against noise before 8am. The early hour did make for a drunk/stoner-free run.

The Google-guys passed me at the half-way point.

Similar to 2009, my stamina waned as we moved through Golden Gate Park. Searching for inspiration, I chased 5353's glorious "Catch me if you can"-emblazoned bum; I kept pace until about a half mile from the finish. :-)

Event results. My bib number was 2561. My chip time was 51:35. (In the video, I cross the finish line at 24:39 wearing white baseball-hat, white shirt, black shorts). Garmin record.

Official event photos. (I need to remember to remove sunglasses for post-race snaps).

PS We found the parked car blocked in by Muni on Great Highway, but they helpfully and politely moved several buses to allow us to leave.

PPS Nob Hill Grille brunch of croque madame, sweet potato fries, and seasonal fruit was fantastic!

Mass Effect 3 - Xbox 360

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!


Loved:

• Quick save satisfies my obsessive-compulsive streak without a break in the action.
• Heal nearby, downed teammates without medi-gel.
• More guns. With better-than-original-Mass-Effect weapon mods! And easy gun-statistics comparison!! And the Spectre Shooting Range to try everything!!! (The latter two points are essential, and very welcome additions).
  
• Planet scanning in Mass Effect 3 can still be a chore, particularly when searching for similarly named systems/planets to which the story doesn't allow access yet, but it's an improvement over Mass Effect 2.
  
• Removal of Mass Effect 2's hacking and bypass. They aren't missed.
• "Replacement" of Mass Effect 2 heavy weapons with grenade powers.
  
• Significant impact of prior choices. An amazing breadth of characters and decision are reintroduced and revisited.
  
• Multiplayer seems like simple fun, but with reasonably deep customization.
  
• The "Leaving Earth" scene and music broke my heart. The "Mars" score is also great.
• Shepard's armor variants look cool. Ashley Williams and James Vega are especially badass too.
• (SPOILERS!) The unexpected portrayal of the Protheans as belligerent, interstellar despots was a fun, interesting twist.
  

Disliked:

• The impact of Galactic Readiness/War Assets/Effective Military Strength isn't obvious enough. Mass Effect 2 gives the player blatant (if brutal) results for their action (or inaction). (I think this is part of the dissatisfaction some players have with the Mass Effect 3 ending...).
• The Kai Leng confrontations didn't work for me. It felt like Shepard was supposed to have already developed some festering, deep-running loathing for Leng by their second, brief meeting. In my first playthrough, Leng gave a terminally ill friend's death meaning; this was unintentional on Leng's part, but my Shepard just wanted to kill Leng to stop the Illusive Man, not hate him.
  

The ending(s):

What become apparent as (the original) Mass Effect progressed, and more of the Codex was revealed, was that Mass Effect was unlike most console games. It was deep, deliberate science-fiction. When Mass Effect 2 and 3 were progressively faster paced, action-filled romps, I think players forgot (or just weren't aware of) Mass Effect's "hard science fiction" roots.

Loss, sacrifice and dilemma are prominent themes of Mass Effect 3; it shouldn't be a complete shock to see them feature at the finish. I might be more disappointed if the finale was Michael-Bay-flag-waving-nonsense, but I do feel the visuals and the (great) music focus more on the tragedy than the potentially hollow victory.

(SPOILERS!) All three endings seem to lean more toward Renegade than Paragon. Unilaterally decide every sentient should be an organic-synthetic-hybrid to achieve peace-at-any-cost, based on the dubious word of the Citadel-AI that a critically wounded, confused Shepard just met? Renegade. Continue to centrally control all AI, even though that's resulted in mass xenocide every 50,000 years for time immemorial? Renegade. Destroy all AI, including EDI and the Geth, who seem to disprove the Citadel-AI's "endless cycle of chaos" predictions? Renegade. Destroy all Mass Relays no matter what the decision? Renegade.

(SPOILERS!) A trilogy ending that raises more questions than it answers is not a worthy payoff. How do your immediate teammates survive the massacre before Shepard beams to the Citadel? Where in the galaxy do the Normandy crew crash land? What happens to all those left in the Sol system? Does Shepard survive or not? I don't necessarily want the endings changed, but it would be nice to know that those questions will be answered at some point, even if it's in a future game.

The Buzz Aldrin-voiced epilogue is an admirable tribute attempt, but poorly delivered and overly preachy. The ham-fisted "You finished! Now buy more DLC!" message, is also ill conceived.

(SPOILERS!) My suspicion is that this Mass Effect trilogy is to the Mass Effect universe as the The Old Republic is to the Star Wars universe. Trap the Mass Effect allied races in the desperate graveyard that the Sol system has become, so they must work together to solve interstellar travel without the destroyed Mass Relays (and I mean really work together, not just agree to point their guns at the same bad guys at the same time, or follow Ikea instructions in record time).


PS (SPOILERS!) I don't understand why so many players presume Mass Relay self-destruction would have the same results as destroying one by ramming an asteroid into it (as it did in "Arrival"). Google "controlled demolition".


PPS Penny Arcade shared a series of posts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and comics (1, 2, 3, 4) on Mass Effect 3 and its endings.

PPPS Posted early draft to BioWare after Dr Ray Muzyka's blog.

SF Bay Area Concerts - 2011

• Pendulum @ The Fillmore, 23^rd February (Wednesday)
  Their music isn't very clever, and I'm not the biggest fan of their every-other-song-is-emo style, but they're still guilty pleasure fun. The late 90s dance music from the warm-up DJ was a welcome touch.
  
  
• Kid Koala @ Mighty (Noise Pop 2011), 25^th February (Friday)
  Wore a full-body bear costume. Incredible scratching. Rarely bothered with headphones.
  
  
• TEED @ Rickshaw Stop, 26^th March (Saturday)
  By the time TEED started (around 12:30pm) I was ready to go home.
  
  
• Fleet Foxes @ Fox, 5^th May (Thursday)
  Nice but too sleepy.
  
  
• Adam Freeland @ 103 Harriet, 13^th May (Friday)
  An okay performance, but 103 Harriet was about one third capacity on a Friday night.
  
  
• Willie K @ Yoshi's, 12^th June (Sunday)
  A big man, with a bigger personality, and a huge ego. Played and sang a wide range of music from blues to rock to "traditional" Hawaiian.
  
  
• Glitch Mob @ Regency Ballroom, 24^th June (Friday)
  Very warm venue and the first time I stayed there for a whole show.
  
  
• Digitalism @ Mezzanine, August 5^th (Friday)
  (Presumably) weak ticket sales led to a venue change, from the large Fox Theater to much the smaller Mezzanine; the opener (Caspa) was cancelled. Even then, Mezzanine was not full. Sound problems and a lethargic crowd compounded the band's increasingly obvious frustration. Their set was less than 50 minutes long without an encore.
  
  
• Kraddy, 8^th October (Saturday)
  I went to try to recapture one of the highlights of Coachella 2012. It wasn't quite that fantastic but the combination of DJ and live drums still worked well.
  
  
• Foster The People @ The Fillmore, 14^th October (Friday)
  A very polished performance, numerous instrument swaps, a falsetto singer with a surprisingly deep speaking voice and some fancy dancing, and a dubstep/house mix of "Pumped Up Kicks" to finish off a great night.
  
  
• Soulwax @ The Independent, 27^th October (Thursday)
  Live band set filled with new tunes. I kicked myself when I learned that their 2 Many DJs performance was a separate gig...
  
  
• Phantogram @ The Fillmore, 2^nd November (Wednesday)
  Way overblown base/beat, mostly during the male vocals, which were poor. If I was cynical I'd say one was made to mask the other...(A straw poll of attendees for ear problems the following day would be interesting too). Live drums, live guitar, live singing. All the other melody is recorded. Barely more "live" than Sleigh Bells.
  Verdict: Skip the show. Listen to their great records.
  
  
• M83 @ Mezzanine, 10^th November (Thursday)
  Even by San Francisco standards, Mezzanine was packed with tall people, hipsters, and gay dudes. Some fun dancey tunes. After about 75 minutes, including encore, "San Franceesco" loved M83.
  
  
• Feist @ The Warfield, 14^th November (Monday)
  Her opening four or five songs were forgettable but the new arrangements of her singles, the acapella performance from her three female backing singers, and her duet with Little Wings were fantastic.
  
  
• Wonder-Full @ Mezzanine, 10^th December (Saturday)
  Another fun Stevie Wonder tribute night.
  
  
• Digitalism @ Mezzanine, 14^th December (Wednesday)
  Digitalism returned to a busier Mezzanine with new song arrangements, less live vocals and no live guitar. "2 Hearts Techno Remix" followed by live "2 Hearts" was especially good. A much better performance.
  
  
• Data Romance @ Mezzanine, 14^th December (Wednesday)
  Opened for Digitalism. A two-piece with very impressive vocals; reminiscent of The XX but much stronger.
  
  
• The Naked And Famous @ The Independent, 18^th December (Sunday)
  Alisa Xayalith's vocals were so good that at first, I suspected she was miming. I guess I'm unused to indie rockers who can sing live! In person, her voice sometimes reminded me of PJ Harvey. A strong finish to another good year for live music in the San Francisco Bay Area (but not as incredible as 2010).
  
  

Missed due to work travel:

• Ladytron @ Regency Ballroom, 25^th September (Sunday)
  
• Alex Metric @ Rickshaw Stop, 29^th September (Thursday)
  
• Mike Doughty @ The Independent, 5^th November (Saturday)
  

Mendocino wine and food trip

Nothing was outright bad (we bought at least one bottle at every winery), but the following are listed from favorite to least.


Wine:

As it's closer to the Pacific coast, Anderson Valley is cooler than Sonoma or Napa. Much of the wine it produces is Pinot Noir, Riesling, or Gewürztraminer. This is not the place to visit if you prefer big reds.

• Standish (Yelp)
  Might have felt stuffy and old fashioned if it weren't for Valerie.
  Apple picking...if you get there before the wind blows them all down.
  
  
• Navarro (Yelp)
  Roomy, but not huge.
  Relaxed and unpretentious.
  Free tasting of about fifteen wines.
  Pretty view of vineyard and hills from back patio.
  Tasty mustard.
  
  
• Toulouse (Yelp)
  Ongoing renovations.
  Nearly as many dogs as people.
  
  
• Husch (Yelp)
  Quite small.
  
  
• Greenwood Ridge (Yelp)
  Biggest tasting room of the trip.
  There are award ribbons, trophies, posters etc. everywhere. Unfortunately the appearance is one of gaudy, artificial pride than quality; especially given that every Anderson Valley winery seems to list awards alongside most of their wines...
  Chris' stories (and teasing) were good fun.
  
  
• Goldeneye (owned by Duckhorn) (Yelp)
  Spectacular view of the vineyard, and Hendy Woods from the back patio
  Pretentious and expensive e.g. they charged about $10 for one shared tasting even though we bought a bottle (which was not cheap either). Most of the other wineries charged $5 or less, and the tasting fee is waived if you purchase a bottle.
  
  
• Scharffenberger (Yelp)
  Quite small.
  A little dull.
  

Food:

• Cafe Beaujolais (Yelp)
  One of the trip highlights.
  We ordered six dishes. All were good. Most were great.
  
  
• MacCallum House Inn (Yelp)
  
  
• Moosse Cafe (Yelp)
  

Misc info:

• Sea Rock Inn (Yelp)
  Pretty view of the ocean and coastline.
  Basic breakfast.
  
  
• Jim Ball (Yelp)
  Bought by Roderer (according to Goldeneye across the street). Still grow but their sign is gone and they no longer do tasting (so don't drive up and down the valley three or four times looking for it...).
  
  
• The Highway 128 drive through Anderson Valley to Mendocino is pretty, but the twisty road is not for the easily carsick.

Alcatraz Challenge - July 17th 2011

Prologue:

Alcatraz Challenge 2011 was never going to be easy. It was my first multisport event in two years, and my first competitive run & open water swim since knee surgery. To raise the bar further, it was preceded by a work trip to Orlando; thunderstorms meant I spent six hours in MCO airport (aka The Disney Family House of Horror) waiting for a delayed flight to LAX. When the plane eventually arrived on the west coast, my wings to SFO had already flown without me (and most of my fellow passengers). This left me 24 hours until race start and still 350 miles from the ferry to Alcatraz.

To add firstWorldProblem insult to injury, a Microsoft convention and LA Highway 405's "Carmaggedon" construction meant I struggled to sleep on a chair in terminal 7 until a 7am flight. In the eight hours I spent there, the elevator-style-mood-music paused only for security announcements...

The trip wasn't all bad news. My recently reacquired United Airlines frequent flier "Premier" status granted me roomier seats and priority boarding. (Kudos to United's prompt mileage updates). Flying as a standard passenger would have meant submitting my laptop bag & work equipment to the vagaries of luggage handling; my checked baggage flew separately anyway.

After incessant (but required) Florida air conditioning, and having to yell during a presentation sans microphone, a sore throat worried me, but resolved itself in time for Sunday's race...


Race day:

I completed this event three times before, but this was my first under new Tri-California management. Registering early (still) pays dividends; it grants competitors a seat on a later bus to the ferry i.e. marginally more sleep. Also Tri-Cal kept race day registration; especially welcome in 2011, given my travel issues.

Swim (38:09): I jumped off the boat after about 30 other swimmers. Concerns about fog meant the race directors and their kayakers herded us much closer to shore than normal. Having said that, I screwed up my sighting at the start by aiming slightly behind the lead boat; I ended up on the left border of the field (having started on the right). I also allowed the close shoreline to become a distraction and worried to much about where I would land rather than focusing on pushing my swim pace. Having said that, I exited the water as soon as the beach was accessible, and made up some time on those who decided to stick with the bay.

T1 (1:52): The normally ultra-organized Tri-California neglected to provide a kiddie pool to rinse our sandy feet; I need to add a rinse-water bottle to my equipment checklist. After sunburn the previous weekend, I reapplied sunscreen in the transition area.

Run (50:44): My run split was four minutes slower than in 2009. That might not seem like much to some, but it's about 30 seconds per mile, a significant difference. I felt surprisingly good out of transition but I began to flag while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. After finally getting some Gatorade at the Marin turnaround, I got a nice buzz on the return leg; my face hurt from smiling by the time I was halfway back.My bib number was 412.

Results (pdf). My finish time was 1:30:45.

Photos. Of me. Swim exit 1, 2, 3.

PS Several friends competed and kicked a$$. Donncha. Jen.

Pacific Masters Swimming - 9th & 10th July 2011

After enjoying the 2010 event, I returned in 2011 for the Pacific Masters Long course Championships at UC Santa Cruz. (It's a 50 meter pool despite that some of the headers claim yards).

Unfortunately I got a mild throat, sinus, and lung infection about 10 days prior to the competition; and an upset stomach the work-week before race-weekend. (The latter might have been due to nerves, or gorging on fine food and drink at a Sonoma wedding on July 3rd). I also had a nose bleed the day before.

In spite of imperfect preparation, colder & damper weather, and a lower turnout than in 2010, I enjoyed the weekend.

• 200 LC Meter Freestyle 2:24.38 (split: 1:05.28, 1:19.10)
  • 3.98 seconds faster than 2:28.36 in 2010, in part due to faster second split while chasing a better swimmer, who swam a slower first split.
• Mixed 400 LC Meter Freestyle Relay 5:48.82 (swam 100m free, split: 1:02.21)
  
• 50 LC Meter Freestyle 27.00
  
  • 0.42 seconds slower than 26.58 in 2010.
• Mixed 200 LC Meter Medley Relay 2:52.12 (swam 50m free)
• 200 LC Meter Freestyle Relay 1:57.52 (swam 50m free)
  
• 100 LC Meter Freestyle 1:00.98
  
• 400 LC Meter Medley Relay 5:08.68 (swam 100m free, split: 1:01.31)
  

Official Results. Official splits. Official Points (pdf).

Videos: 100m free, 400m medley relay.

Thoughts for next time:

• Don't sandbag entry times (as much).
• Wear SPF clothing and sunscreen - my pasty white shoulders and back sunburned through my sweater!

Coachella 2011 - April 15th to 17th

This was my fifth trip to Coachella, and marked my return after a two year hiatus.

Loved:

• Arcade Fire - humble and happy to be there. A great headliner performance.


• Cut Copy - great music and a pretty, energetic crowd.


• Kraddy - unexpectedly awesome Do Lab tent action.


• Leftfield - a band I thought I'd never see live. They were my favorite act of the weekend, and their show put other electronic acts to shame. (Looking at you Armand Van Helden/Duck Sauce). The live vocals for "Afro-Left" were welcome too.


• The Presets - their set started well but fell a little flat in the latter half. That didn't stop the crowd; no one wanted the three day party to end.

Liked:

• A-Trak


• Bloody Beetroots - started late and were cut off a few seconds into their finale. One of the band members freaked out and leaped theatrically from the back of the stage; presumably to argue unsuccessfully with organizers.


• Boys Noize


• Broken Social Scene - would have preferred to see them after dark, and maybe on a smaller stage...


• Ellie Goulding - the sound didn't seem to be loud enough...


• Foster the People - also started late but the few songs we saw were good. Would like to see a full show...


• Joachim Garraud - keytar, alien masks, cameras, generally fun entertainment and solid tunes. (From a guy who "looks like a chef").


• Phantogram - heard only a few tracks before we needed to leave for Leftfield.


• Mumford & Sons - most humble act of the weekend.


• Sander Kleinenberg - we arrived as his "Tron Legacy (End Titles)" remix began. Did not enjoy white girl rap (twice!?) or obviously-miming-crappy-dancing-white-guy.


• Sleigh Bells - but they did little other than replay their album with added live screaming (after they figured out some sound issues) and guitar. (They didn't do it nearly as well as The Presets did either).


• The Chemical Brothers - not much different to their 2010 show at The Fox Theater in Oakland, and I still prefer the older tracks, but the brothers still work it out.


• The New Pornographers - with Neko Case!


• The Swell Season - Glenn Hansard broke a string on his battered guitar and fixed it while Markéta Irglová sang solo.

Wasn't feeling:

• Animal Collective - aside from not caring for their music, they had awful, cheap visuals, and for some reason were on the biggest stage late on Saturday night.


• Caifanes


• Cee Lo Green - late, poor sound, (understandably) pissed with his Friday afternoon time slot.


• Duck Sauce - (young, packed, high) crowd loved the mediocre performance. Duck Sauce seemed more interested in toying with costume accessories and smiling for the cameras than playing good music. (A-Trak's solo set was better so I blame Armand Van Helden).


• Death From Above 1979 - hipsters. Yelling. Full of themselves e.g. "I didn't wanna say but we had a riot at our SXSW show", like you know, cos we're so hip, and awesome.


• Jenny and Johnny - boring.


• Magnetic Man - boring. Weren't good enough to stick around for "I Need Air".


• Skrillex - Korn made a guest appearance (??).


• Yacht - weren't good enough to stick around for "Dystopia".

Also heard:

• !!!


• Beardyman - was entertaining but the Oasis Dome sound setup (and stink of horse manure) did not make for ideal circumstances.


• Bright Eyes - I confess, I was writing work emails during this set...


• Ratatat - I was outside the tent. Some of those who were inside assure me Ratatat were awesome.


• Robyn - heard her big single live. Don't like her music.

Closing thoughts:

• Schedule issues - want to see three of your favorite bands? Tough, cos they're all playing at exactly the same time. (PJ Harvey, Leftfield, Bloody Beetroots). How about most of a day where, in spite of seven (or more) music venues, nothing really interests you? (Saturday). Enjoying this performance? Good, but it's a shame you need to leave after two songs to get a spot for the next show.


• Late starts - given the above hassle, having to deal with schedule adjustments due to consistent 20 to 30 minute late starts was not appreciated.


• Logistics - fancy waiting an hour to get out of a parking lot at 1am after three days of partying?


• Spoiled in San Francisco - SF has many great, cheap music venues. My 2010 Fall schedule was at least as much fun (and probably cheaper), than Coachella 2011.


• Stamina - without artificial stimulants, and with minimal sleep, three days on your feet and/or dancing, is tough...


• Energy - ...but there's still little comparable to sharing a Coachella live music experience with thousands of happy people, and your friends.

Will I go again? Maybe.

Favorite Music of 2010

2010 was a great year for new music. The following are some personal favorites. There's a playlist of tracks that are available on Rhapsody - given the mix of genres it seems to work best on random. There are also links to Amazon, Beatport and iTunes where I could find them. Many thanks to all who made recommendations and introductions. Please keep them coming! (And let me know what I missed or got wrong).

Favorite tracks of 2010 (alphabetical order by artist):

• Aeroplane "Superstar (The Krays Remix)"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Beastie Boys "Sabotage (Alex Metric re-edit)"
• Ellie Goulding "Salt Skin Alex Metric rmx"
  • iTunes UK
• Gorillaz "Stylo (Album Version) (Feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Groove Armada "History (feat. Will Young)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Junip "Without You"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Kaskade "Fire In Your New Shoes (Sultan & Ned Shepard Electric Daisy Remix)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• LCD Soundsytem "Drunk Girls Holy Ghost! remix"
  • Holy Ghost!, NNM
• Local Natives "Wide Eyes"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Magnetic Man "I Need Air"
  • Amazon UK, iTunes UK
    
• Massive Attack "Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto Remix)"
  • Amazon
    
• Phantogram "When I'm Small"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Pryda (aka Eric Prydz) "Niton (Original mix)"
  • Beatport
    
• Stars "We Don't Want Your Body"
  • Amazon, iTunes

Also love (alphabetical order by artist):

• Adam Freeland "Fake Your Own Life"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Andreya Triana "Darker Than Blue"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Broken Bells "High Road"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Broken Bells "Ghost Inside"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Canyons "My Rescue (Dr. Dunks Disco Extension)"
  • iTunes
• Caribou "Sun"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Cee-Lo Green "F*ck You"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Crystal Castles "Not In Love featuring Robert Smith (Radio Version)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Daft Punk "End Of Line"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Evil Nine "Stay Up"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Gorillaz "Empire Ants (Feat. Little Dragon)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Gorillaz "Stylo (Alex Metric remix)"
  • Beatport
    
• Groove Armada "Warsaw" (White Light)
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Groove Armada "Time And Space" (White Light)
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Holy F*ck "Red Lights"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Holy F*ck "Latin America"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Joe And Will, Ask? "Man The Cannons"
  • Beatport, iTunes
• Junip "Always"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Kaskade "Raining (dance.love Edit)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Kaskade "Everyday (Digital LAB Remix)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Kele "Tenderoni"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• LCD Soundsysyem "Dance Yrself Clean"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• LCD Soundsysyem "I Can Change"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• LCD Soundsysyem "You Wanted A Hit"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Little Boots "New In Town (album version)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Massive Attack "Girl I Love You"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Maximum Balloon "If You Return featuring Little Dragon"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Maximum Balloon "Lovely View featuring Nayfo"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Maximum Balloon "Groove Me (feat. Theophilus London) (Alex Metric Remix)"
• Midnight Juggernauts "Lara Versus The Savage Pack"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Monarchy "Phoenix Alive (Kris Menace Remix)"
  • Beatport
    
• N.E.R.D. "Hypnotize U (Alex Metric Remix)"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Om Unit "Searching (Adam Freeland Remix)"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Phantogram "Mouthful of Diamonds"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• Röyksopp "This Space"
  
• Rubberbandits "Horse Outside"
  • iTunes
• School Of Seven Bells "I L U"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Sleigh Bells "Treats"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Stars "Dead Hearts"
  • Amazon, iTunes
• Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs "Household Goods"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes
• The Souls "Sunlight (Radio edit)"
  • iTunes
• Underworld "Always Loved A Film (AmpLive Remix)"
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)"
  • Amazon, Beatport, iTunes

(Obvious?) omissions include anything from Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs", Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record", OK Go's "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky", and "High Violet" from The National. I didn't get into any of them in time.

Finally, special kudos to Alex Metric; his remixes, BBC Radio 1 DJ sets and Twitter feed, are my source for about half of the songs above.

SF Bay Area Concerts - Fall 2010

Fall and spring normally provide many opportunities to see live music in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fall 2010 was exceptionally fruitful.

• The Chemical Brothers @ The Fox Theater, 28^th August
  Great sounds. Fantastic visuals. Superb venue.


• Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ Mezzanine, 18^th September
  Lead singer was ill and didn't show so they played a short set of their "bangers". New tracks sounded promising.


• Kele (Bloc Party) @ Mezzanine, 18^th September
  Kele sang and played a little guitar while his group (three more people) did percussion, keyboard and effects. He also took off his Public Enemy t-shirt for the last few songs - the crowd approved. (He kept his basketball shorts on).


• Local Natives @ The Fillmore, 22^nd September
  High energy indie rock with mesmerizing choral harmonies and numerous instrument rotations. More lively than expected, they resisted the urge to rock psychedelic. Methinks they will be awesome at Coachella 2011.


• School of Seven Bells @ The Independent, 30^th September
  Great and also much more energetic than expected, thanks in part to their drummer - he beat the s**t out of his kit and enjoyed doing it.


• Kaskade @ The Warfield, 1^st October
  The show was a bit different - it was 18+, so there were semi-naked teenagers aplenty. Kaskade came on stage soon after midnight and played for nearly three hours. There was a lot from dance.love but he also mixed or sampled The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Justice and Swedish House Mafia among others. I was tired from the night before but we danced long enough to hear "Move For Me" close his set as we left.


• Treasure Island Music Festival, 16^th October
  
  • Holy F**k - I feared the open air, daylight performance would not work for their style. They proved me wrong.
  • Die (fokken) Antwoord - When I grow up I want to be a Ninja...but maybe without the incessant dick slang.
  • Phantogram - sounded good...even from the food and merchandise stalls.
  • !!! aka Chk Chk Chk - Nic Offer's funky dancing took him into the crowd. On returning he proclaimed "...advice for you! Join a band! It's a lot of fun!!".
  • Four Tet - great, livelier than expected.
  • Kruder & Dorfmeister - good tunes, first-rate light show, slightly annoying MC.
  • Deadmau5 - fantastic light show, quirky DJ goofiness, disappointing music. After two opening tracks, Joel Zimmerman played 20 minutes of tuneless beats that did not impress this fan or win new ones. He also didn't play "Hi Friend" at all (which strikes me as perfect festival music).
  • Miike Snow - much harder, better dance music than their recorded material might suggest. So much dry ice!
  • LCD Soundsysyem - excellent, polished, sober (I think!). We were a ways back and left after about four songs to catch the bus home.
  I had tickets for Sunday too but I wasn't as excited about the lineup - cold, wet weather meant I made other plans.


• Bell X1 @ Swedish American Hall, 21^st October
  The venue was cool but the seats were very uncomfortable. Bell X1 were funny and charming.


• Laura Veirs @ The Independent, 2^nd November
  Had tickets but strep throat intervened.


• Florence and the Machine @ The Fox Theater, 5^th November
  Florence was like a supernatural force. She was entertaining to watch and a joy to hear. At times, her show verged on over-indulgent (e.g. the "shawl song") but that was easily forgiven.


• Thievery Corporation @ Greek Theatre, 6^th November
  Thievery Corporation's live performance (by twelve people!) was brilliant but they made the mistake of opening with their best-loved tunes e.g. "Lebanese Blonde" - some fans had not yet arrived or were still searching for seats.


• Massive Attack @ Greek Theatre, 6^th November
  Massive Attack's propaganda machine blew my mind (again). A captivating light show of incredible, infuriating and shocking statistics (that we strained to read from near the back/top of The Greek) was accompanied by a melancholic, Mezzanine-drenched soundtrack e.g. in Britain anyone can be detained without charge for up to 42 days. In USA, imprisonment is (still) indefinite. (Canada is a single day). The concert closed with the words "beyond petroleum"...
  
  PS A thick blanket to sit on makes all the difference at The Greek!


• Stars and Geographers @ The Fillmore, 10^th November
  I'm a recent Stars fan and until this gig, I'd never seen them in person or paid attention to their publicity shots. They did not look how I imagined. Amy Millan was five months pregnant but still rocking out. Torquil Campbell's melodious voice belied his physical and facial intensity (which quite often, more closely matched his lyrics).
  Opening acts aren't always worth seeing but Geographers were great. Solid vocals, interesting electronic melodies and beats, strings and a drummer that looked like "Vin Diesel in a beard and sunglasses".


• Junip (Jose Gonzalez) @ The Independent, 13^th November
  The focus was off Jose and on his new band. His vocals were good but not quite as enchanting as the recorded material. Jose also refused to play any solo songs insisting "This is Junip".


• Pretty Lights @ The Fox Theater, 24^th November
  Watched and danced from the perfect spot - one section back, behind the barrier, beside the stairs. The "white-boy hip-hop" was fun but eventually the tunes became difficult to distinguish. The amount of weed smoked by crowd was impressive. No need for dry ice!


• Bonobo @ The Rickshaw Stop, 28^th November
  The nine-person band including live drums, lead guitar, trombone, trumpet, flute/saxophone/clarinet, bass guitar, keyboard and live vocals (from Andreya Triana) squeezed into a small venue that was packed in spite of the Sunday night and late start. The set was mostly tracks from Black Sands. This one was very impressed.

PS Gigs I missed included: Ratatat, Dirty Projectors, Gotan Project, Broken Bells, Caribou, Paul Oakenfold, Birds & Batteries, Hot Chip and Sleigh Bells, Clinic, The Frames.

PPS Acts I'd like to see in 2011: Soulwax, Alex Metric, Eric Prydz (aka Pryda), Phoenix, Broken Social Scene, Wolfgang Gartner, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (aka TEED). Joe And Will Ask?, The Souls.

Pacific Masters Swimming - 9th Oct 2010

The months preceding the Pacific Masters Short Course Championships included knee surgery, gum surgery, gum infection and strep throat. In spite of all that, I thought I was fit to compete. I ultimately proved myself very wrong.

My expectations were fueled in part by my surprisingly speedy swim in the relay earlier in 2010. My 1:00.09 split in a 50 meter pool translates to between 58.35 and 59:29 for the same distance in a 25 meter. [1][2][3]

My only event on Saturday was the 100 meter freestyle. I guessed it would take place before midday but it didn't get going until after 1pm. As a result, I hadn't eaten since breakfast (around 7am) and hoped (in vain) that Gatorade would be enough to sustain me.

The pool was outdoors but I stuck to the sparse shade. This worked fine until about 20 minutes before my heat began; a senior female competitor decided to hang out in the same area and badmouth my coach (among other things). In hindsight, I should have diplomatically asked her to get f**ked, but I listened politely while my positive energy drained away.

When it came time to race, I felt rushed and under-prepared. My dive was a too deep; my turns were poor, the halfway flip was terrible - I got much too close to the wall; my stroke felt sloppy; I ran out of steam on the last length and my finishing touch wasn't clean. I was bitterly disappointed to look up and see my time at 1:01.48, roughly three seconds slower than the equivalent distance in July. (My splits were 27.97 and 33.51).

Given my performance and since transport logistics (aka Sunday BART service) meant that I might miss the 200 meter freestyle on Sunday morning, I decided to throw in the towel.


PS Walnut Creek Masters' achievement board claims they won the Long Course Championships but USF beat them 2,777 points to 1,019.