Morro Bay

Halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, a little south of Hearst Castle, lies Morro Bay, a quaint fishing village with an ugly power plant (not pictured) and a very photogenic harbor. Morro Rock, an ancient volcanic plug, is the town's landmark and a protected State Reserve.

Dr. Innovation

 

Among Silicon Valley pioneers, Dr. Thomas Fogarty is in a class of his own: Rather than pushing the boundaries of bits and bytes, the Stanford professor helped many patients avoid open-heart surgery by first inventing the balloon catheter and later the “stent graft”, a tiny implant that strengthens weak arteries to keep them open. Today’s New York Times article about stents potentially being as effective in preventing strokes as surgery reminded my of my own interview with Dr. Fogarty for Earlybird Magazine (page 16 here). And if you prefer a glass of wine over worrying about health issues, the good doctor can help out, too – as he happens to be not just a renowned surgeon but also the owner of Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards. Here’s to good health!

Palace Under Palm Trees

 

Back in the 1920's, when newspapers still made money, a publisher who owned a few of them decided to put some spare change into building “a little something” where he used to camp out in the open, under the California sky: voilà, Hearst Castle! The man behind it, William Randolph Hearst, never called his sprawling estate near San Simeon a castle, actually, because he owned a real castle in Scotland. But that one probably didn’t come complete with Roman bath and a few other extras. Well worth a visit if you ever happen to be in the area.

The Sound of Money

A trio that keeps brewing up hits: Apple boss Steve Jobs, turning 55 today, brought in British singer K.T. Tunstall and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz to present the newest generation of iPods at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, back in September 2007. (More here.) Since then, Apple has added some $12 billion in revenue and made the iPhone almost as ubiquitous as the green Starbucks mermaid. (Who got a chastity makeover long before Apple decided to do the same with the App Store.)

Uf Widerluege!

The Gates

Five years ago, the art installation “The Gates” added a little color to New York’s  Central Park, usually wintry-grey in February.

Wing on Wing

Just a couple of pelicans flying across the horizon, perfectly in sync. Nothing special, and yet it’s one of my personal favorites – the colors, the silhouettes, a couple of clouds adding texture to the background. Works even as a t-shirt...