Showing posts with label Caltrans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caltrans. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

See Spot. See Spot Glow. Glow Spot Glow.



"Assumptions are the termites of relationships"

~Henry Winkler

I seem to be dwelling on all of my favorite Bay Area bridges lately. LOL. Which is probably better than dwelling under my favorite bridges. Right? Anyway, I took this photo last week, on our way back from a day in San Francisco, to show the effect of the BART strike on Bay Area traffic. But it seemed as though the traffic, at least on the San Mateo Bridge, was fairly normal. The word about the strike had reached everyone in the appropriate amount of time for everyone to make other arrangements. Both sides are continuing negotiations, so there could be another walkout situation I suppose, but at least folks seem to be acting with understanding and restraint in light of a frustrating situation.

Now, with the absence of nightmarish traffic, I had plenty of other sights catching my eye as we crossed the bridge from west to east. The cormorants that like to roost on the high power towers, the flow of the bay, the gorgeous view of Mt. Diablo, the way the marine layer drifts across the bay. There is a lot to see, but what grabbed and held my interest the most was that tiny dot on the state owned message board. There it was, just a dot, or a period, or 1/3 of a proper ellipsis, just sitting there, brightly illuminated, trying to tell me something methinks, but what? What? It was a mystery. Alan told me he has seen it for several months, in the day, at night, at twilight, at dawn... just the dot... all alone.

 Just a ( . ).

Period.

End of discussion.

Of course I shouldn't assume anything. It might hold a very special meaning for someone, somewhere. It might mean "I love You" or maybe a message like when Carol Burnett would tug on her ear at the end of her variety show each week. Hmmm. I wonder if I called 511 they would know the answer? Nah... probably not. Hmmm. (Insert Tiled Head Here).

Any thoughts?

Mood: Silly

!me :)

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Let There Be Light

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."

-Aaron Rose

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a picture of a really interesting lamp or light fixture. It doesn't have to be in your home, although it's nice if it is. Note that for this Photo Shoot I am explicitly excluding holiday lights and decorations; we already did that. These lights should be ones that you'd see on a non-holiday. Note also that, of course, shooting a picture of a light fixture can wash out the details of said fixture if you're not careful. It's a little bit of a photo challenge.

-John Scazli (By The Way)

I thought this light might be a good example for this week's photo shoot. What you see here, is an up close view of that little red navigational warning light that you see positioned on top of bridges. This type of light was once in service on the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, before being retired to the Caltrans museum in Oakland. This type of light was replaced in 1980, with a newer design of 360 degree rotating beacon. I thought it was kinda fun to be able to see it in person, although it was a bit smaller than I had imagined. :)


Here is how the navigational lights look now...



The Light At The Top Of The Tower


Light can be gentle, dangerous, dreamlike, bare, living, dead, misty, clear, hot, dark, violet, springlike, falling, straight, sensual, limited, poisonous, calm, and soft.

-Steven Nykvist

-OndineMonet
Navigational Light
Caltrans Museum
Oakland, California
Spring, 2005
Afternoon