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Eugene Friend Carousel
Located at the San Francisco Zoo, the Eugene Friend Carousel is an enclosed merry-go-round near the entrance of the zoo. For $2.00, you can get a ride aboard a fine carousel horse. If you want a wilder ride, you can hop aboard the tiger. However, animals on the outer track only circle around and do…
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San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, CA
I spent a chilly New Year’s Eve at the San Francisco Zoo We were greeted by polar bears and snowmen at the entrance. I saw a lot of free range peacock leisurely roaming around the park. This one was strutting around the reindeer pen. The reindeer must still be exhausted from their Christmas Eve deliveries…
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Simply Ming Cookbook
The Simply Ming cookbook features recipes from Season 1 of the Simply Ming television series. Since Chef Ming Tsai has all the recipes (and video!) from Season 1 on his website, you can test out the recipes online first to see if the ingredients or dishes are to your liking. The basic premise is that…
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Google Books Ngram Viewer: Peking v. Beijing
Google Books Ngram Viewer is an interesting application for looking up the frequency of phrases in books over time. For example, I recently ran a search from 1800-2000 for the different spellings of 北京: Peking, Beijing, Peiping and Beiping. As expected, Peking is the dominant English name for 北京. Peiping appeared at some point in…
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Great Dickens Christmas Fair, San Francisco, CA
Last Sunday, I attended the Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party at the Cow Palace in Daly City. Having never been to the Cow Palace or a Dickens Fair, I was not sure what exactly to expect. The Dickens Fair was a magical experience. At the entrance, we were transported to Fezziwig’s Warehouse…
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Lunar Eclipse 2010 Photos
Earlier in the day, I had read that we should be able to view a lunar eclipse tonight. So, just over an hour ago, I decided to head outside to take a peek. Full moon. Thankfully, the great repository of knowledge told me to come back in a few minutes. Sure enough, the moon did…
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Children’s Discovery Museum, San Jose, CA
I recently visited the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. I had expected a dedicated, attached parking structure to easily shuttle the kids in and out. However, after a quick trip around the block, I ended up at a fixed fee $5.00 parking lot on Auzerais Avenue tucked under Guadalupe Parkway/87. From the parking lot,…
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Nikon D7000 Autofocus Problem
Two months ago, I had ordered the Nikon D7000 shortly after it was announced. After a long wait, it finally arrived today, but only for a short visit. I was upgrading from a Nikon D50, so I was already familiar with Nikon DSLRs. The D7000 felt comfortable in my hands, much like the soon-to-be-retired Nikon…
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Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Center
The Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Center offers an enchanting garden for young children to explore. Located in Palo Alto, the 2.5 acre garden showcases a delightful collection of brilliant flowers, soaring trees and a tantalizing fruit and vegetable garden. The grounds feature water fountains to discover and rows up rows of color-packed flowers in the…
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Tao House – Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
Located in Danville, the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site features the Tao House, the former home of Nobel Prize winning playwright Eugene O’Neill. The Tao House is located at the end of a private street, which is inaccessible to the general public. To visit the Tao House, you must first call in for reservations. You…