2021: 347 posts.

• 02-Jan-2021
  “You ain’t a local if you don’t snorkel”
• 02-Jan-2021
  San Diego Botanic Gardens (called Quail Botanic Garden from 1970 to 2009) was awesome
• 04-Jan-2021
  NO DIVING
• 05-Jan-2021
  Dawn Patrol/Spring Valley
• 06-Jan-2021
  Of course there’s still good in the world. But you have to put in work if you expect to see more of it.
• 07-Jan-2021
  Temperature differential
• 07-Jan-2021
  Morning light is underrated. Pre-shave.
• 07-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! From the 2010 Adult Swim Flash game “Robot Unicorn Attack.” No matter what, the Robot Unicorn (with a rainbow mane and tail!) charges forward as long as they can! Learn from the Robot Unicorn and forward gallop into the future and stomp on evil. Giddy-up!
• 08-Jan-2021
  with fog
• 10-Jan-2021
  Sic transit gloria mundi
• 11-Jan-2021
  New year, new sweater.
• 11-Jan-2021
  angles
• 13-Jan-2021
  3FT 6IN NO DIVING
• 13-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! MOGUERA (1994) stands for Mobile Operation Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-type—it was built by the United Nations out of leftover pieces of Mechagodzilla and was designed to fight SpaceGodzilla. It can transform: Land Moguera & Star Falcon. I took a hiatus for new bots over the holiday: now they’re back!
• 14-Jan-2021
  morning lighting
• 15-Jan-2021
  Poolside
• 16-Jan-2021
  Stuff on the wall.
• 16-Jan-2021
  Beat the heat
• 17-Jan-2021
  Sunday slot because I missed Tuesday or they’re closed Monday. 73 hours to new President.
• 17-Jan-2021
  Malcolm killed in ‘65. Bobby and MLK killed in ‘68. This movie: ‘80. 40 years later and cops are bastards and computers are against you and Nazis suck and you gotta hustle to beat the system. We’re on a mission from god.
• 20-Jan-2021
  Inaugural Swim
• 21-Jan-2021
  Not quite “bright” and early. But it is early!
• 21-Jan-2021
  I don’t hate or love this photo but it is fun to see what I seem to be at 0615.
• 22-Jan-2021
  Get out the Brilliantine and dime cigars
• 25-Jan-2021
  Jennifer Simpson, Rest In Peace

  (originally posted to Facebook on December 14, 2020): Reckoning with and making sense of loss was Jennifer Simpson’s topic of choice. I read remembrances of her this morning on Facebook, not quite yet believing that it could be true that she has left the material world. In 2018 I started making short autobiographical comics and…

• 25-Jan-2021
  Windy as heck
• 26-Jan-2021
  G’mornin’
• 27-Jan-2021
  Waiting for the lifeguard
• 27-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! Robo-Chi orange bear robot was a McDonald’s giveaway in 2002 and brightens up any morning out.
• 28-Jan-2021
  Sunrise in 40 minutes
• 29-Jan-2021
  Rain has passed for now
• 29-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! Daiapolon from 1976 animated tv show UFO戦士ダイアポロン (UFO Robo Dai-Apolon) — sort of football themed because the “pilot” Takeshi kind of plays football but it’s made of 3 ships from an alien world and I love robots because they’re weird!
• 29-Jan-2021
  Robot Selfie Time #AstroBoy
• 01-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Cylon Raiders are robotic spacecraft debuting in 2007 in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. This biomechanical robot is nicknamed “Scar” by Colonial pilots, known for fearsome combat. These Cylons are not as intelligent as the humanoid types, but they are still expertly deadly.
• 01-Feb-2021
  OUTDOOR
• 02-Feb-2021
  No swim today: hit the auto service joint, felt the sting of the service estimate for the car, left the auto, caught a bus, walked the final half mile.
• 03-Feb-2021
  “Oh what a beautiful mornin’!”
• 03-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Zambot 3! From 1977’s Super Machine Zambot 3 (無敵超人ザンボット3) piloted by aliens living on earth after escaping their destroyed planet. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino’s nickname was “Kill ‘Em All Tomino” because during the story several protagonists are killed. I dig Zambot’s design. 76-79 were great years for colorful bots!
• 04-Feb-2021
  pool-selfie
• 05-Feb-2021
  “Speak, friend, and enter.”
• 06-Feb-2021
  Jesus Arthur Silva—“Art”—was born on this day 100 years ago, February 6, 1921. I remember visiting him at grocery stores in San Diego like Big Bear or Food Basket, where he got assigned to whip their produce departments into shape. I wish I could ask him about working in a town that went from 80 thousand people to over 2 million in his lifetime. I want to ask him if it’s true he sold tamales on the streets of downtown. I want to ask him what kept him going when times were hard, working multiple jobs. How did he and Nanie raise 7 great kids? I was 17 when he died. I don’t have a photograph of him working. I’ve drawn him how I imagine he would have looked. Sharp, kind, diligent. After he passed, my mother missed him terribly. A great man. 100 years ago today.
• 07-Feb-2021
  Rose.
• 08-Feb-2021
  I like being in the pool when the lights come on.
• 09-Feb-2021
  New day
• 09-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Old B.O.B. appeared in Disney’s The Black Hole (1979). BOB stands for BiO-sanitation Battalion. He’s old and cantankerous but tells the truth and is key to the story. Slim Pickens’ distinct voice perfectly establishes the character, as does the shabby design. I have great memories of this too-dark, unsettling, hard-to-recommend movie, but I love the bots!
• 10-Feb-2021
  Up and at them!
• 12-Feb-2021
  4x
• 13-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! V.I.N.CENT is from The Black Hole (1979) and I’ve been seeking this fella to replace the toy I got at a Woolworth’s on Canal Street in New Orleans in 1981. I loved VINCENT for his earnestness and expressive design. Also I wanted to be able to retract my eyes into my shell to protect myself. “Vital Information Necessary CENTralized” is his terrible acronym but my nostalgia is activated when I look at him.
• 14-Feb-2021
  Happy Valentine’s Day to the very very very special Kelly! [photo taken a few months ago as we wandered around San Diego] & Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!
• 15-Feb-2021
  Meanwhile, in Mission Valley
• 16-Feb-2021
  Rained a bit since I was here 12 hours back
• 16-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Fugitoid was introduced in a 1985 black and white comic Mirage Studios. Fugitoid was a worker bot called Sal who is fused with scientist Dr. Honeycutt. I remember Fugitoid on the stands at Comic Gallery. I didn’t buy it. The comic lasted one issue, but the character was added to the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe.
• 16-Feb-2021
  Happy Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday precedes Ash Wednesday, we party before Lent, a time of solemnity. Part of being a kid who was moved around a lot is taking part in local traditions wherever I was—This was a King Cake I bought several weeks ago. And I got the baby with the first piece! Had that cake shipped all the way from Louisiana. Quite an indulgence. Worth it!
• 17-Feb-2021
  Chilly morn/steamy water
• 18-Feb-2021
  Cold, but not ice-storm cold
• 18-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Welcome Pocket Bot by Tomy from 1978! I think I got one as a stocking stuffer at Christmas. I acquired this one-and-three-quarter inches tall wind-up recently. It has a sharp design despite being a mass-market, cheap toy. A perfect small toy for a kid to bring along when they’re dragged along on parental errands. “Yes, you can bring a toy.”
• 19-Feb-2021
  I’m in with the in crowd
• 20-Feb-2021
  “YOUR CRIME ROBOT GOES TO THE JUNK PILE!”— from a 1978 Superman paperback book. I think 1961 originally.
• 21-Feb-2021
  Air temperature 77F. Water temperature 58F.
• 22-Feb-2021
  Sunset here
• 23-Feb-2021
  They cleaned overnight
• 23-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Cometroid E-05 transforms from egg to robot. Created for Japanese toy line Tamagoras (タマゴラス); the waning He-Man franchise ingested him and other egg-bots in 1984 and called them Meteorbs.
• 24-Feb-2021
  Fry’s Closing; Memories of Fry’s

  Archiving text from their website for posterity. After nearly 36 years in business as the one-stop-shop and online resource for high-tech professionals across nine states and 31 stores, Fry’s Electronics, Inc. (“Fry’s” or “Company”), has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in…

• 24-Feb-2021
  Rare daylight swim time!
• 25-Feb-2021
  Dawnish
• 25-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Rusty the Boy Robot is from the 1995 Dark Horse comic in which Rusty idolizes The Big Guy. Rusty is clearly inspired by Astro Boy in the best ways. Alongside Rusty is non-robot hero Lady Maxx, a vinyl creation by Mark Nagata and Max Toy Company. Be earnest & heroic today!
• 26-Feb-2021
  Happy Friday
• 27-Feb-2021
  We drove north 💙
• 28-Feb-2021
  Barts Books is the “world’s largest outdoor bookstore” in Ojai. When I worked on a programming temp job in Ojai 15 years ago I used to be able to wander through it on my lunch hour. I’ve had a remarkably large set of work experiences. Yesterday was great.
• 01-Mar-2021
  NEVER x3 GIVE UP! (Seen off the 405 Saturday)
• 01-Mar-2021
  Shine up the Battle Apple
• 02-Mar-2021
  “‘neath the marquee moon—hesitating”
• 02-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Robbie the Dog Robot is from DC COMICS! He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #29 in 1944. Robotman built him to be a companion. He can signal Morse code with his eyes and has high intelligence. I’m happy to have him join the other canine-bots in my bot collection.
• 03-Mar-2021
  Six
• 04-Mar-2021
  Post-rain
• 04-Mar-2021
  Once again it is March, and it’s time for #MarchMODOKMadness. (MarchMODOKMad on Twitter) MODOK is for Masking or Distancing or Killing! MODOK WILL KILL YOU IN DUE TIME, WHELP! #MODOK
• 05-Mar-2021
  I’m told the heater is out. I guess I’ll see how that feels.
• 07-Mar-2021
  Overcast Sunset on Sunset Cliffs
• 08-Mar-2021
  Monday’s not bad
• 09-Mar-2021
  a luta continua
• 10-Mar-2021
  a break in the rain?
• 10-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Robo Shark is from a Super Friends 2012 Aquaman playset for ages 3-8. I don’t think Aquaman needs a robotic shark to travel with though the marketing materials says that’s what happening. Had I gotten this as a kid I’d have made them fight which I suspect kids today do too. I do like Aquaman though, particularly the Brave and the Bold egotistical version, and I dig the Jason Momoa version too despite the DC movies not being rewatchable for me. I love to swim and had I had these toys in the decade I was 3 to 8 I’d be playing with them in the bath, at pools, and in the ocean. Welcome Robo Shark!
• 11-Mar-2021
  The sky is crying’ / Can’t you see the tears roll down the street?
• 12-Mar-2021
  Noon!
• 13-Mar-2021
  Back in 2004 I posted photos and MP3 of this record to my blog on artlung.com. My mom left a comment “Joe, you were only 2 years old when you started reading and playing the phonograph!!!! we lived in student housing in Riverside 😉 Love, Mom” I have always loved and listened to recorded music. I cared deeply about assembling thoughtful sequences of music and sounds onto cassette tapes for myself and for my friends. Particularly @missewon and @chrisgreazel. 1989 was the year my vinyl collection stalled, I had great stuff but I bought David Byrne’s “Rei Momo” on compact disc. I still bought extended remixes on vinyl, and the one I miss most is green vinyl 12″ of A Tribe Called Quest’s “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo.” Most of that collection has since been sold, lost, broken, or (mostly) stolen from a storage locker in Moorpark, California. But Joseph, Joseph I’ve kept. The #SMARCHVINYLCHALLENGE prompt today is “I forgot I had this” (thanks @brandudesrecordvault) so here’s MY NAME RECORD featuring the track “Joseph Joseph” which is really catchy. I loved playing this song. I really listened and internalized the song and every aspect. “Vic Marantz” is the singer and I would recognize that voice anywhere. I think I realized as a kid that when they first say the name “Joseph” that’s an edit, the basic track is shared for other records, when I look at ebay or discogs I see Bob, Christine, Annie, Heather, Chad, all probably produced in the same scheme. And there’s a little coda by Captain Kangaroo at the end. The last time I saw live music was at the MTL Concert Venue and Lounge in Riverside where @brandudeworms was playing the drums with @thecineramas with aplomb and panache. Here’s hoping we can all get to some live music before the year is out. #MARCHVINYLCHALLENGE
• 15-Mar-2021
  Fine line between dedicated and foolish ( rainy as heck)
• 16-Mar-2021
  “Looked at my watch it was six ‘n tha mornin’”
• 16-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Welcome Vulgar The Destroyer! Vulgar is a bad guy, fully armed and mean as heck! Beware the drill in his head and the mace blaster he carries! He’s from 1984, where the ROBO Force toy line was a failure, beaten by those Robots in Disguise. ROBO Force robots have suction cup feet which was not the fun selling point some guy thought it could be. Vulgar follows Hun-Dred, leader of the Cult of Dred robot army. Welcome Vulg!
• 16-Mar-2021
  Cybertronic Spree

  THANK YOU FOR WATCHING LIVE FROM INSIDE FEATURING THE CYBERTRONIC SPREE ON DECEMBER 11, 2020 This was so fun! Loved seeing the robot-based band The Cybertronic Spree back in December. Check out this version of Barracuda:

• 17-Mar-2021
  Lucky but not green
• 17-Mar-2021
  Watching Jerry Beck speaking truth about the importance of animation history and preservation on Stu’s Show. Missing his SDCC “Worst Cartoons Ever” presentation two years in a row sucks.
• 18-Mar-2021
  No sunscreen required
• 19-Mar-2021
  “The sky turned light blue / while we were inside”
• 19-Mar-2021
  Jennifer Simpson’s Pozole Recipe

  Jan 27, 2010: better late than never! I have a vegan version of the soup– but the recipe is not perfected. Here goes anyway. Maybe you can experiment with it. Ingredients for the soup: a block of firm tofu, onion (chopped), a couple of carrots (chopped), garlic (1 or two cloves chopped) 2 cans of…

• 20-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! iBoy was given to me today, my birthday! A terrific find from Kelly and made by @classicbot_toy! I have nearly 200 bots and it’s hard to surprise me but she did! Flanked by greeting cards! I am so lucky ❤️
• 20-Mar-2021
  b. 1970
• 21-Mar-2021
  Blooper is a terrific band and since it’s my only /other/ vinyl record it is my second submission for @brandudesrecordvault #SMARCHVINYLCHALLENGE — Adriano sings and plays guitar in Blooper. I met @theboycalledcrow in web design and creativity circles many years ago. Blooper has a terrific sound. Dick Dale or the Ventures in a more contemplative vein, maybe? You gotta listen. I enjoy a Southern California surf guitar vibe very much. @theboycalledcrow is now back in Italy I believe, matching the #worldtraveler prompt for today. I haven’t seen new music from Blooper in a bit—Adriano now makes beautiful pedals under the @veritonepedals which match the craft and care of his photography and music! This lovely limited edition vinyl 45 is very special. Thanks for letting me share @brandudeworms! #marchvinylchallenge
• 22-Mar-2021
  “It’s a Monday/it’s a Monday/what exciting things will happen today?”
• 23-Mar-2021
  Luncharooni
• 24-Mar-2021
  “Carry on my wayward son”
• 25-Mar-2021
  “A change of speed, a change of style”
• 25-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Claw is a part of a 1970 toy robot series called Ding-A-Lings. Claw could ride on the Super Loop Skyway a kind of battery powered monorail that could do loops. An interesting cross of robot toy and toy train set. I love finding about robots I had no inkling existed!
• 25-Mar-2021
  1 down 1 to go.
• 26-Mar-2021
  Springtime.
• 27-Mar-2021
  North and South from the San Clemente Pier
• 28-Mar-2021
  Dawn, facing west. San Clemente.
• 28-Mar-2021
  View
• 28-Mar-2021
  Sunset, above the train tracks
• 29-Mar-2021
  Cetacean Ops
• 29-Mar-2021
  California Sea Lions. #captaindave
• 30-Mar-2021
  Noon, after.
• 31-Mar-2021
  “Love like that / can’t be measured anyway”
• 01-Apr-2021
  “They’ll need a crane / They’ll need a crane”
• 02-Apr-2021
  Overcasty
• 02-Apr-2021
  New Bot Day! Space Robot (No. 902) is a toy from the late 1960s. He’s a windup toy who walks and has a radar dish on his head that spins. I don’t know much about his manufacturer or origin but love the chrome plastic look. He’s a kitschy addition to my collection!
• 05-Apr-2021
  Boats!
• 05-Apr-2021
  Even the subdued sunsets are groovy
• 06-Apr-2021
  “Where the water’s running free / it’s waiting there for me and you” (shoutout to my late former father-in-law)
• 07-Apr-2021
  Morn!
• 08-Apr-2021
  Further back
• 08-Apr-2021
  After my 6am swim in City Heights I hankered for a concha. Panchita’s Bakery @panchitasbakery in Golden Hill (I lived a few blocks away after my first divorce) had the goods. Left and saw that Influx @Influx1 on Broadway was open. Still great. Oh, and New Bot Day! I think of this guy as “Carl” – the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 (T-800) from Terminator: Dark Fate who grows a conscience. My prior 101 has a broken leg. Feeling a lot of positive vibes lately. Grow a conscience. Be funny. No fate but what we make. But always be ready for SkyNet to come after you.
• 09-Apr-2021
  Handlers
• 09-Apr-2021
  Wave. Chalcedony St.
• 11-Apr-2021
  Squirrel!
• 12-Apr-2021
  63water-61air-mostlyCloudy. First non-holiday weekday without a pool visit. Ocean swimming is BACK.
• 13-Apr-2021
  “Express yourself / You gotta be you and only you, babe”
• 14-Apr-2021
  Lunchtime.
• 15-Apr-2021
  A rescue 30 yards away means I was in a good spot.
• 16-Apr-2021
  Didn’t take any photos at Tourmaline. Oops.
• 17-Apr-2021
  Email of the week: “Upcoming changes to FeedBurner”

  Hi Joe, FeedBurner has been a part of Google for almost 14 years, and we’re making several upcoming changes to support the product’s next chapter. Here’s what you can expect to change and what you can do now to ensure you’re prepared. Starting in July, we are transitioning FeedBurner onto a more stable, modern infrastructure….

• 19-Apr-2021
  More lasting than glimmerance.
• 20-Apr-2021
  SINGLE LANE
• 20-Apr-2021
  #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter Poster by @burn_all_books
• 21-Apr-2021
  I saw this plush heart bot yesterday at the La Mesa Antique Mall but did not make the purchase. But it has energy I like.
• 21-Apr-2021
  Last call on a drizzly day
• 22-Apr-2021
  Now overcast days never turned me off
• 23-Apr-2021
  New sticker for the back of my notebook.
• 23-Apr-2021
  If it can be swum I’ll swim
• 24-Apr-2021
  As I was coming in at the Cove yesterday there were three little breakers which I sorta rode. I always dig when the Cove breaks even though it messes up Garibaldi-viewing.
• 25-Apr-2021
  I bought a black light flashlight because my youngest nephew sent me a message with secret invisible ink. It’s otherwise useless but is kinda neat. What else can I do with a black light?
• 26-Apr-2021
  Adding the infix “izzle” to “drizzle” makes it “drizzizzle.” Happy Monday!
• 27-Apr-2021
  Marine Room Awkward
• 28-Apr-2021
  One of the best ways to watch the sunset #southmissionbeach
• 03-May-2021
  New Bot Day! PJ Robot aka Mini-Bot helps the PJ Masks kids-who-are-heroes do their thing. He is cute and friendly and was introduced on the tv series in 2016. Happy Monday!
• 03-May-2021
  waves were relentless | sometimes it’s enough to do the thing even if it seems to be beating you down | life is a lesson
• 04-May-2021
  I see a little silhouette of a man
• 05-May-2021
  “Whose house? RUN’S HOUSE”
• 06-May-2021
  The extravagance of keeping some swimsuits for chlorinated water and some for ocean water means I’m very very privileged.
• 07-May-2021
  New (used: eBay) toy. #handplane #bodysurfing
• 08-May-2021
  I put up an ofrenda for my Mom in 2018 and it’s a permanent fixture now. Happy Birthday Phyllis.
• 09-May-2021
  a fella asked me about my #handplane — it’s a @gofloats and I like it
• 10-May-2021
  Kicks
• 11-May-2021
  Under Construction
• 12-May-2021
  Indoor tonight
• 13-May-2021
  New Bot Day! I got a much bigger SP//dr to add to the Spider-Bot-Family! Created in the comics in 2014 it’s piloted by Peni Parker on Earth-14512!
• 13-May-2021
  Kick like hell
• 14-May-2021
  It’s fun to look at the sunset from the water. Recommended.
• 14-May-2021
  I saw a robot at Liberty Station. Nature is healing.
• 14-May-2021
  And then your wanderings lead you to a fella doing a fire poi dance.
• 15-May-2021
  Took a #WOMPER out for a lil’ whomp
• 16-May-2021
  Workface
• 17-May-2021
  Set it off
• 18-May-2021
  New Bot Day! Blinks is from the Bucky O’Hare comics universe in 1984. He’s an AFC (Android First Class) and helps Bucky fight the Toad Empire. “Calamity & Woe!”
• 19-May-2021
  Overcast days/Jetty
• 20-May-2021
  4 great rides, 1 sand dollar, 1 sea lion in the breakers, zero action photos snapped.
• 21-May-2021
  Angler
• 21-May-2021
  Lifeguard Tower
• 22-May-2021
  Made mom’s salsa, which is good. First time.
• 22-May-2021
  I like that sometimes when I’m out in the water my phone will take impressionist photos
• 23-May-2021
  [ at dog beach today ]
• 24-May-2021
  New Bot Day! Pneuman is from the Tom Strong Universe. He was created by Tom’s father Sinclair Strong and was originally steam-powered. I like his natty tuxedo-style paint job. He a servant and personal robot to Tom and was created by Alan Moore in 1999 for the comics!
• 25-May-2021
  IN LOVING MEMORY Viola Marie Arnett (May 25, 1928 – March 6, 2021)
• 26-May-2021
  I put on a tie yesterday.
• 26-May-2021
  Therapeutic
• 27-May-2021
  Firing @ 4pm
• 28-May-2021
  Lunchtime SPF 20
• 28-May-2021
  Attended a comics workshop on zoom given by @believermag & @tilliewalden who is clearly an extraordinary teacher. #FridayNightComics
• 29-May-2021
  Spot with purple near sundown
• 29-May-2021
  San Diego’s mediocre sunsets still get high ratings.
• 30-May-2021
  A photo of a boat ramp #missionbay #sandiego
• 30-May-2021
  CAUTION Low Flying Model Aircraft
• 31-May-2021
  I’ve kept these Letterman magazines (1986-2001) for a while. #DavidLetterman
• 01-Jun-2021
  New Bot Day! Daimos is from 1978 anime 闘将ダイモス (“Fighting General Daimos”); 3rd of Toei “Robot Romance Trilogy.” Voltes V & Combattler V came first. It transforms into a giant road vehicle in “Tranzer” mode! Daimos knows karate and defends Earth from alien invaders!
• 01-Jun-2021
  The blurry figure at the crest of that wave is a California sea lion, also bodysurfing at Jetty. #californiasealion #sealion #stoke
• 02-Jun-2021
  Yesterday.
• 02-Jun-2021
  Fully exhausted in an hour. A++ will Oceanside again.
• 03-Jun-2021
  “the ocean sang / the conversation’s dimmed”
• 04-Jun-2021
  It’s a weird photo but captures the session beautifully.
• 05-Jun-2021
  Catch surf
• 06-Jun-2021
  The Cove used to be my favorite spot, and for a while it was by a palm tree trying to grow out of a pavement crack on the shoulder of the 405, but I think it’s the Jetty now.
• 07-Jun-2021
  New Bot Day! Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots was developed by Marvin Glass and Associates in the 1960s. Originally the toy was meant to represent human boxers, but the death in the ring of of Davey Moore in 1963 the project was scrapped. But the toy was fun. The company “de-humanized” the figures. They were robots that fall apart, not a person that falls over. They have science fictional backstories: “Red Rocker” from Soltarus II fights “Blue Bomber, pride of Umgluck.” I wonder when we started using robots to stand in to let us enjoy entertaining violence? Endless streams of battle droids are shot, dismembered, and crushed in Star Wars movies and animation, to comical effect. Contrast that with the moving death of K-2SO in Rogue One. We are selective about which robots we choose to think of as worthy of dignity. Empathy turns out to be a creative choice not just for the creator but for the viewer. It’s worth interrogating our hearts when we cheer and laugh about violence being done to others. Sometimes, it’s just a toy. Sometimes, not.
• 07-Jun-2021
  Feel like this is a show just for me
• 07-Jun-2021
  Tonight’s plans #hungryformore
• 08-Jun-2021
  Lunchtime stoke snippet
• 08-Jun-2021
  Attended the @creativemorning “Field Trip” “Creative Collage Journaling” put on by @abbeysy and had a pile of fun! #creativemornings #collageart
• 09-Jun-2021
  Windy and choppy
• 10-Jun-2021
  Collected so much seaweed in my swimsuit I could start a terrarium.
• 11-Jun-2021
  Wave
• 12-Jun-2021
  North South East West #southmissionbeach #sandiego
• 12-Jun-2021
  I pickled onions.
• 13-Jun-2021
  SWIMMING | SURFING #pacificbeachsandiego
• 14-Jun-2021
  New Bot Day! Marvin (the paranoid android) first appeared on radio in 1978 in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and in books, tv, and film. This iteration is from 2005. It’s a solid design, but my favorite is the 1981 television version. Marvin is super-intelligent, with “a brain the size of the planet” but is nevertheless depressed. #h2g2 #marvintheparanoidandroid
• 15-Jun-2021
  This is 3/4ths of the current toy bot collection.
• 15-Jun-2021
  This is the other quarter of the toy bot collection.
• 15-Jun-2021
  Meh conditions, but packed anyway. Summer is here with a vengeance.
• 16-Jun-2021
  Much seaweed, checkered flags up, but still amazing looking.
• 17-Jun-2021
  I’m getting tan.
• 18-Jun-2021
  How to end the week properly.
• 19-Jun-2021
  Underwater/Overwater
• 20-Jun-2021
  Went to the movies last night. The Sparks Brothers. Pondering longevity, artistic and otherwise, and how part of longevity is accepting failures and moving forward regardless. Excellent documentary.
• 20-Jun-2021
  Under the tracks, to the beach
• 22-Jun-2021
  GRAPEFRUIT SPOON! I am part of the cult of the grapefruit spoon. It has a slight serrated edge that is useful in ways beyond just grapefruit. It’s my favorite underappreciated kitchen tool.
• 22-Jun-2021
  Crazy good light
• 23-Jun-2021
  Crystal Pier is behind me. It’s along this few hundred yards of beach where I believe I first rode a wave. I was 3 or 4 years old on an inflatable rubber mat guided by my father. Worrying my mother. Encouraged by my aunties and uncles. It’s a vivid memory. Surfers call the intense good feeling riding waves “stoke.” The current was strong and the waves not great for bodysurfing today but I got the feeling. Lean into whatever gives you #stoke. It’s important.
• 24-Jun-2021
  I limit my photos swimming to posting one per session but this one’s not bad.
• 24-Jun-2021
  Water Temperature 68 degrees F. Surf 2 feet with a period of 14 seconds.
• 25-Jun-2021
  zinc oxide 25%, coral reef safe
• 26-Jun-2021
  I saladded.
• 28-Jun-2021
  Found this drawing out and about.
• 28-Jun-2021
  Video & Resources: Adapting Comics for Blind & Low Vision Readers

  In May I attended a fascinating presentation on adapting comics for blind and low vision readers. At one time I was quite attentive to a11y issues and since I’ve made a handful of comics it was of interest. I am nowhere near to attacking this need. But the resources they emailed I felt would be…

• 29-Jun-2021
  New Bot Day! SpotBot™ comes from around 1988 and was made by Tomy, Japanese maker of many cool toys. He has a battery, and when turned on spins around and “barks” cutely. A robot to brighten your desk!
• 29-Jun-2021
  The Art of Wave Riding sounds terrific

  Via The Inertia: One has only to watch a swarm of bathers at any crowded beach in order to see that thousands of people are interested in the sport. Whenever a good wave for riding comes in, about half the people make an attempt to ride it, and only about one-tenth of one percent of…

• 29-Jun-2021
  Bodysurfing is good for you.

  …and good for me, I know. In recent years, there has been a push from scientists around the world to understand the positive affect exposure to nature plays on the human psyche. In his best-selling book Blue Mind, marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols makes the case that being in and around water has therapeutic benefits…

• 30-Jun-2021
  Best parking ever. Back to ride some waves and see a pal.
• 01-Jul-2021
  It’s so summer. Saw a California sea lion in the surf and once again have no photo proof.
• 04-Jul-2021
  Under the boardwalk
• 04-Jul-2021
  SAN DIEGO TRANSIT SYSTEM / good for one token fare
• 05-Jul-2021
  Stones, yesterday.
• 05-Jul-2021
  I lost my phone in the water this afternoon at PB. These birds are unrelated—from Sunday morning. I’ll replace the phone soon. I wonder if it will wash up onto the shore? Time will tell.
• 06-Jul-2021
  Lost: 1 iphone, while bodysurfing. We had a darn good run.
• 06-Jul-2021
  My high school physics teacher would say if he was absent, he was dead. Mark me “present.”
• 07-Jul-2021
  Emerita analoga x 2 @ sunset. FIRING this evening at Jetty. Every wave a lesson.
• 08-Jul-2021
  [reboot operating system regularly]
• 08-Jul-2021
  On the afternoon of July 5th I lost my phone while bodysurfing. Today, 68 hours later and 0.35 miles north it was found tangled in seaweed in the water. It was so tangled it had to be cut out of the case. In the meantime I used my older phone and got a new case and waterproof envelope. It defied the odds and I’m a lucky son of a gun and my phone is back and faith in people and in the sea is renewed. #stoke
• 09-Jul-2021
  The cartoon seal mold is a new acquisition. My sister calls me a “scavenger” because I pick up random abandoned or trashed stuff. Guilty.
• 09-Jul-2021
  Red Eye Time.
• 10-Jul-2021
  Good morning Eastern Daylight Time.
• 10-Jul-2021
  Nephew wink practice
• 10-Jul-2021
  T. Rex is in fact my nephew’s favorite dinosaur.
• 10-Jul-2021
  I found a pool and a nephew to hang with
• 11-Jul-2021
  Morning cat
• 11-Jul-2021
  Pooling
• 11-Jul-2021
  Boys who spent many hours in water.
• 12-Jul-2021
  Aquatic Nephew
• 13-Jul-2021
  Duo in the water!
• 13-Jul-2021
  Sisterfrolick
• 14-Jul-2021
  An east coast sunrise. Sunset in San Diego will be in 16 hours.
• 14-Jul-2021
  Trying for some Atlantic stoke/Delaware.
• 14-Jul-2021
  Indian River Inlet Bridge/southbound
• 15-Jul-2021
  Sumi is happy to have people home, even me, a visitor.
• 16-Jul-2021
  The adult traveler can judge how many days are left on their vacation by how many of their pills are left to take.
• 16-Jul-2021
  Return trip. Thank you, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware. And to whatever higher power that bestowed a loving family on me.
• 17-Jul-2021
  6 years on nephew’s chronometer. More on mine.
• 17-Jul-2021
  Back to the Mighty Pacific
• 19-Jul-2021
  Morning bodysurfing session at South Mission Jetty interrupted by the need for my brand new Stingray Emergency Response Kit. Inadequate foot shuffling. Calling my doctor, I think I need to go in. Got some of the lil’ ray’s barb out but I’m no surgeon. HURTS! My first time. And how’s your Monday going?
• 19-Jul-2021
  “Welcome to Urgent Care!” Stingray adventure update: no fever, no elevated blood pressure. Still hurts a lot.
• 20-Jul-2021
  “No boats, no kayaks“/La Jolla
• 21-Jul-2021
  Sea creatures.
• 21-Jul-2021
  My return to the Jetty today was punctuated by the appearance of two dolphins cruising by. Once again I have no photographic proof. Getting my sea legs back after Monday’s stingray barb.
• 22-Jul-2021
  “While the internet might tell you that the refractive index of water is 1.33, it is actually a function of the wavelength of the light, as well as the salinity, temperature, and pressure of the water.” Also I look psychedelic underwater.
• 22-Jul-2021
  A reminder about upcoming FeedBurner changes

  From the shutdown mailbag: Hi Joe, As we announced earlier this year, we’re making several upcoming changes to support FeedBurner’s next chapter. Here’s what you can expect to change and what you can do now to ensure you’re prepared. Now starting in mid August, we are transitioning FeedBurner onto a more stable, modern infrastructure. This…

• 23-Jul-2021
  New Bot Day! Happy Mini Tin Robot by Schylling was presented to me last week by my nephews and he fits in great with my bot collection. Here he’s hanging out with toy animal molds I scavenged from the sand at the beach!
• 23-Jul-2021
  The message on Chalcedony: “you are so loved!”
• 23-Jul-2021
  Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy!

  It’s very impressive that I can run Print Shop in a browser (with a server component, I think) in a browser: theprintshop.club

• 24-Jul-2021
  HTwoOh
• 24-Jul-2021
  Finished my antibiotic prescriptions for my stingray encounter Monday. Maybe overkill, but better safe than sorry. It’s striking how absolutely nonsensical that not everyone has free and easy health care in the USA.
• 26-Jul-2021
  New Bot Day! Chromedome was built by Shredder to defeat the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From 1987 tv, he’s a powerful robot ninja and a boss to human ninjas. He was pulverized by the Turtles but his remains were not recovered. Will he return? I don’t know, but I’m gonna enjoy this cafe au lait in the meantime.
• 27-Jul-2021
  Fine sunset despite the overcast day
• 28-Jul-2021
  Can I take a meaningful photo of myself while bodysurfing a wave? All signs point to no.
• 28-Jul-2021
  end the day at a different spot sometimes it’s fun
• 29-Jul-2021
  Old timer
• 30-Jul-2021
  Bonus of Wednesday’s sunset at Scripps
• 30-Jul-2021
  try try again
• 30-Jul-2021
  I got to see @paulgiret present his documentary on circuit bending at @verbatim.books tonight and it was inspiring—science/art/engineering/electronic music wondrousness! Thanks Paul for sharing your work!
• 01-Aug-2021
  This frogger with a swim hat some swimmer put on top of the Cove quarter mile buoy is still in my thoughts.
• 02-Aug-2021
  New Bot Day! Are droids free? D-O’s story in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker forces us to ponder. D-O escapes service with a murderous Sith and joins the Rebel Alliance and is happy! It’s a better lot in life, but is the little robot free? What is freedom? Interrogating the ethics of a story is worthwhile.
• 02-Aug-2021
  Two rules of the exquisite expressive art of bodysurfing: Kick like hell; come out of the water smiling. #bodysurfing #stoke
• 03-Aug-2021
  OB lifeguard told me temp hovering at 59 / 60F.
• 03-Aug-2021
  SOUTH MISSION JETTY 19 JULY 2021 0740 OW! #journal #stingray
• 04-Aug-2021
  Morning constitutional for a waterman. Was advised by my counselor to watch “My Octopus Friend”—I think I shall.
• 04-Aug-2021
  Squinty lunch beach visit
• 04-Aug-2021
  At Whistle Stop for Open Oscillator and seeing my pal Charles who I haven’t seen in 20 years. #openoscillator
• 04-Aug-2021
  Dinner and electronic music with my pal from the days of my listserv WebSanDiego 20 years ago. Still paying me dividends years after it was obsoleted by our glorious modern age. I am so lucky! (Not pictured: his pop)!
• 06-Aug-2021
  Silver Strand Aunts & Uncles Gathering Summer 2021
• 06-Aug-2021
  Post sunscreen reapplication, earlier
• 09-Aug-2021
  Good afternoon.
• 10-Aug-2021
  “Eyes on the Prize” is on HBO MAX. I got confused about why John Lewis in the mid 1980s was credited as “Seminary Student”—but it’s meant to describe him when he was working toward integrating lunch counters in 1960. His political career was in motion at the time of the making of the excellent documentary series.
• 10-Aug-2021
  New Bot Day! ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a real robot built by Honda in 2000. Honda continued building ASIMO bots (the name inspired by Isaac Asimov) until 2018. My robot collection is fanciful, but robotics is real. Factual and fictional robots inspire me to ponder our past and our possible futures.
• 10-Aug-2021
  Playing with filters in the hot tub while taking it easy
• 11-Aug-2021
  I can feel summer starting to end and it’s not my favorite thing. Summer is the best.
• 12-Aug-2021
  Beach Law!

  I attended a Beach Law zoom webinar put on by the San Diego Law Library this afternoon. I learned things. Lifeguard jurisdiction goes out way farther than I realized. 3 miles! Alcohol got banned at the beach in 2008. But apparently in the years after that there were “Floatopia” get togethers – people drinking out…

• 12-Aug-2021
  Little wind; few, but great waves.
• 13-Aug-2021
  a fine morning to ham it up
• 13-Aug-2021
  Supervision is here.
• 14-Aug-2021
  I spy with my little eye: no leopard sharks today.
• 15-Aug-2021
  Gwen @gwenthegoblin is highly expressive.
• 16-Aug-2021
  New Bot Day! Hello Bertie is a customized “World War Robot” bot designed by illustrator/creator Ashley Wood. It’s beautifully customized by Jason Chalker @manlyart ! This was a lovely surprise gift from @hellokellykuhl!
• 16-Aug-2021
  Picture perfection
• 17-Aug-2021
  California: vote “NO” on the recall.
• 17-Aug-2021
  A lot of squawking overhead while I was in the water today, dozen or so birds chasing an avian colleague with what I think was a grilled cheese clutched in its beak. Pandemonium!
• 18-Aug-2021
  Small shoutout; Perl and 1994 Yahoo!

  Earlier this year I did a bit of research that contributed to this article about how the very first versions of Yahoo! were built: 1994: How Perl Became the Foundation of Yahoo on the excellent webdevelopmenthistory.com

• 18-Aug-2021
  Evening session at two spots. Exhausting currents at high tide. Part of ocean swimming is pushing your limits and recognizing your limits. I’ll sleep well tonight.
• 19-Aug-2021
  Lost Keys Mission Beach: Found 19 August 2021

  Did you lose these keys in Mission Beach between lifeguard towers 11 and 12? Found with the clicker sticking out of the sand along the shoreline. #lostkeys #sandiego originally on Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CSwpn6IHLbi/ via IFTTT

• 19-Aug-2021
  Morning haul; minus the vape pens, cigarette butts, food packaging, congealed tar and miscellaneous plastic. Oh and the car keys. A great morning but we have to do more to protect the ocean: support @surfrider @surfridersandiego!
• 19-Aug-2021
  Beach visit 2 of 2. OB.
• 20-Aug-2021
  New Bot Day! Perserverence is a semiautonomous robotic rover! Launched by NASA July 2020; landed February 2021. “Percy” is a scientific explorer, testing the environment of Mars, seeking evidence of former microbial life, collecting rock and soil samples, and testing oxygen production to prep for potential future crewed missions. Go Percy Go!
• 20-Aug-2021
  My favorite of the Italian surrealist comedies.
• 21-Aug-2021
  Del Mar today
• 22-Aug-2021
  Flat tar cakes like this can form from oil that’s spilled and congeals over time on the ocean. Here some small mollusks made it their home. I’m going to keep voting against people who think more drilling is a good idea.
• 22-Aug-2021
  I make Mom’s salsa. The pickled onions are mine.
• 22-Aug-2021
  Looking toward PB Point
• 23-Aug-2021
  bird foot overcast
• 23-Aug-2021
  Weekend session with @hellokellykuhl
• 24-Aug-2021
  Sun sets earlier every day now.
• 25-Aug-2021
  Walking back to shore tonight I saw a stingray in the shallow water scurrying away from me. My shuffling habits are more diligent. Safety first.
• 26-Aug-2021
  My shoulder hurts so no bodysurfing today. Make due with this sunrise from this morning looking east from the Jetty parking lot before my walk. Gonna get myself some naproxen now.
• 27-Aug-2021
  Sunset sand castle spied while walking.
• 28-Aug-2021
  Saturday
• 29-Aug-2021
  Lee Scratch Perry, Rest in Peace

  I was turned onto Dub music by the writing of William Gibson, whose spacefaring rastas lived in orbit and listened to the homemade reggae beats augmented with electronic loops and heavy slow vibes incessantly. And like so many other cultural artifacts, Lee Perry getting mentioned in a Beastie Boys song—“Sure Shot”—pushed me to seek it…

• 29-Aug-2021
  I met this critter in my parking garage! Golden lizard! Salamander? Gecko? Dinosaur? No idea but beautiful.
• 30-Aug-2021
  Home beach. Water getting colder each day, feels like.
• 31-Aug-2021
  Even the birds are chilly tonight.
• 01-Sep-2021
  New Bot Day! Vegan Bot is a beautiful product of @chompton_ stoodios and I’m pleased as punch to have this artful robotic vinyl creation join my collection!
• 01-Sep-2021
  lunchwaves
• 01-Sep-2021
  Guards
• 02-Sep-2021
  Playing at @ink_and_drink_lb tonight. Feels good but I’m out of practice.
• 03-Sep-2021
  They’re not shooting the pier this morning but it’s prettier than any music lyric anyway. Huntington Beach.
• 04-Sep-2021
  The two shells I brought from Orange County yesterday.
• 04-Sep-2021
  I did not buy Marvelous Mike but I wanted to. Mike is another reason my robot rules exist. This is the budget rule. Oceanside, yesterday.
• 06-Sep-2021
  The swell has brought both shorebirds and surfers to the water.
• 07-Sep-2021
  New Bot Day! Elektro is my first bot from the 1930s. “Elektro the Moto-Man” was 7 feet tall and could walk and talk, differentiate colors, and “smoke” cigarettes. He appeared at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. This is a giveaway pin from the fair, to my knowledge no actual toys were made of this bot. Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company was by then a 50 year old industrial concern. They were there showing off several technologies, among them the new tech of television. Surprisingly, Elektro was not their first promotional robot: that was 1928’s “Herbert Televox.” “Robot as sales and public relations tool” is yet another use of the idea of “robot.” It seems to me we put a face and body on technologies to make them more palatable, more understandable, less threatening.
• 07-Sep-2021
  This butterfly was face down in the water on the glassy tide. I scooped it up. Let it dry on my finger. It batted its wings and and was back in the drink. Scooped it again and held it in my cupped hands. I blew on it. We hung out. It made a break for the shore. It flew toward shore beyond my aging vision. I like to think critter made it safely somewhere good.
• 08-Sep-2021
  7:04. Shut it down for the night.
• 10-Sep-2021
  My cousin @jonnysnow16 gets his #stoke with a snowboard on his feet, I get mine with fins. Same difference! He got me this keychain and I love it. Thanks Cuz!
• 10-Sep-2021
  The water this morning was clear and perfect. It was my first time to bodysurf at the Jetty in the early morning since the Stingray Incident on the early morning of July 19. I’ve been cautious and have tended to go to the beach in the late afternoon and evening sessions. And shuffling my feet more diligently. Getting stabbed in the foot definitely affected my responses—how I carry myself in the water. I have felt myself relearning the ocean. For many weeks nearly everything in the water set off a fight-or-flight response which I had to manage and learn to process anew. “That’s not a stingray, that’s a bunch of kelp. That’s not a stingray that’s a rock. That’s not a stingray, that’s some trash. And even, that’s not a stingray I’m looking at, that’s my own shadow.” The fear didn’t keep me from swimming, but it reminds me that as a kid I saw Jaws at age 6 and I remember imagining sharks in the water then. I had moments in the water where I worked up a fear based on imagined threats. It’s been an incredible opportunity to experience that again, and learn to manage those feelings and emotions in a way that’s proportionate to the threat. There are definitely critters and currents that demand respect and attention in the water, but like learning to walk in a city or drive in traffic, it can be learned. I consider this all in the category of “know thyself.”
• 11-Sep-2021
  1993. The attacks on WTC and Pentagon were terrible and traumatic. Decades of occupation and killing innocents was an incredible unjust waste. The US must change how it interacts with the world. And the word “terrorism” is crap. Through that lens any action can be justified. Be skeptical of that word.
• 11-Sep-2021
  Floating
• 12-Sep-2021
  Concert tonight! Outdoor! @rodrigoygabriela
• 13-Sep-2021
  New Bot Day! Sparks is from 2010’s Toy Story 3 and voiced by Jan Rabson, who also appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson! Sparks was initially a goon for Lotso’ Huggin’ Bear but reformed in the end. He’s here with my last and current notebook. Have a great week!
• 13-Sep-2021
  “the waiting is the hardest part”
• 14-Sep-2021
  Morning session on this latest swell damn good.
• 15-Sep-2021
  Big swell 8am saw dolphins took some on the head. Excellent morning. #stoke
• 16-Sep-2021
  It was a real good morning.
• 17-Sep-2021
  Exquisite, bouncy bodysurfing session. And it’s Friday.
• 18-Sep-2021
  “Garbage Beach” there is the name of the beach below.
• 19-Sep-2021
  I spy with my little eye: an ultralight! Add it to the list of surprising things seen while bodysurfing at Jetty.
• 20-Sep-2021
  New Bot Day! ASP-704 was a 1997 digital insertion into”Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” He’s one of many additions many regard as unnecessary. Star Wars was rich with texture and realistically dirty already in 1977. I’m happy to have lived into an era where vivid Star Wars stories are being told again. Welcome ASP-704! You are superfluous but all Star Wars droids are dear to my heart.