Beauty in the mundane

At the Korean War memorial, Silas found the broken electrical box much more interesting. He knew the two were supposed to be connected, but couldn't figure out how to get them together.

Similarly, he found the sprinkler head and the surrounding wood chip mulch fascinating, completely ignoring the flowering tree sculpture in a courtyard in the Cultural District. The trees are well made and sort of interesting to look at in the dead of winter. However in the summer, it's a little sad to see man-made trees when real plants have been flowering like mad for the past few months. Maybe if I worked downtown, the perpetual blooms would brighten my mood on the overcast and rainy days, and I'd be more appreciative. The ivy is real, I think.

Pittsburgh robot

We visited the robot down by the Allegheny River. He's got parts made of bridges and is Pittsburgh yellow. Beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what the inspiration is. We do have a robotics lab and Carnegie Mellon University. Perhaps that's it.

I love in the picture above that there is a bird perched on the robot's bridge head.

I have heard that the yellow used to paint the bridges over the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh is a specific yellow and that perhaps it's been trademarked. I can't find anything about it on wikipedia nor from a quick internet search. So, I'm just spreading unsubstantiated rumors here...

More from yesterday's art stroll with Silas

After we strolled around the North Side riverfront for a while and then over to the Warhol Museum to find it was closed, we wandered over the Warhol Bridge into downtown. There is a courtyard in the Cultural District with a water feature and these crazy eye benches. There are also chessboards. The guy in the hat was playing air drums for a long time and then asked the monk if he wanted to play chess. I don't think they played much chess. From the bits of conversation I overheard, it was a pretty metaphysically heavy discussion...


The walk back to the car provided a nice parting view of the city on a fine evening.

Downtown

From Green building, bikes, art, and happiness

Random neat shot while riding down an alley downtown.

Banff Mountain Film Festival

Friday, I went with some friends to the first night of the 2-day traveling Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. It was a nice collection of films this year, but much less of the adrenaline pumping craziness of years past. I love that type of thing, as I usually find it very inspiring, even if it's over the top nuts.

This year (at least for the first day), there were two long films that took up most of the night. One was an interesting story about world champion paraglider Louise Crandal and her boyfriend falconer training an eagle to fly with Louise. Eagles are the kings of the updrafts.

The other long film, Red Gold, was a touching movie about the people who subsist, intentionally in two river areas that flow into Bristol Bay, Alaska. It's a story about the salmon and the people who inhabit the region that is the most prolific sockeye salmon spawning grounds in the world. At the headwaters to these two rivers, a huge deposit of copper and gold has been found. Evidently, it's the second-largest copper deposit ever found. The film shows all that is to be risked, if the mining project goes ahead. It's interesting to see people who have chosen or been born into a lifestyle that provides satisfaction and wholesomeness, regardless of the monetary income. The mining company is right in one way, these folks could likely make more money with other jobs, but they're completely shortsighted in that money's not the point of the fishing and living from the land of the people who choose to live there. Subsistance isn't just about surving. It's a philosophical and cultural ideal that is satisfying when all is in balance.

Sunny spring, back to riding to the Point

Despite knowing that it would delay getting dinner cooked and served, I rode down to the Point to see how it's been. I haven't gotten much of a chance to get down there between the medical hiatus from the bike and the less than ideal cycling weather during the winter. People were enjoying the early evening outside everywhere I rode. It was nice to see so many so happy to be outdoors. There is/was a physics conference of some sort going on at the convention center. Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see, but there were lovely physics geeks all over Point State Park. It was nice. Sorry, no pictures to document the experience. Just some of the city.

More trail repair. The work shown below is on the north shore of the Allegheny River in front of PNC Park. As I've mentioned before, I love the trails along the rivers in Pittsburgh. They've done a good job on them.

Ride up into the Hill District

I didn't have much time to ride this weekend. I was able to sneak an hour ride in before breakfast today, though. I rode up into the Hill District to explore and then down into Oakland before picking up bagels for breakfast.

I realize it's a generalization, but I really don't think many people in my neighborhood have ever been up in the Hill District. There are some amazing houses and a lot of them are well taken care of and obviously appreciated. Sometimes, it seems like locals feel that it's all a war zone and falling down. It's not really like that. Sure, there are bombed out parts, as there are in any city, but there is much more. Lots of people living normal, relatively happy lives in completely different circles than those of other neighborhoods.

I found a wonderful park in the Upper Hill District where the water tower is. Google Maps is telling me that it is Herron Hill Park. However, there was another name, a person's name, on a sign at the entrance. I wonder which is the one that people who live nearby use. In any case, the views from the walking trail around the reservoir are amazing. You can bet I'll check back in and see how things change with the seasons. Enjoy some of the views.

Bloomfield Bridge and the new Children's Hospital.

Looking West toward downtown Pittsburgh and beyond.

Looking northeast over Bloomfield and West Penn Hospital. Our house is in that mess somewhere.

Final shot of Pittsburgh's downtown.

Misty Morning, Lunching, and Glider Chair

This was the view as I pulled my bike in to the office parking lot. A few minutes before, the light was much better, as the sun was beaming onto the lower levels of the buildings, painting them in a golden light. I'm not disappointed that I spent my time enjoying that instead of looking through my bag for my camera, though.

Long lunches are almost obligatory some Fridays. Today was one of them. Bethany, Becky, Tim, Maya, Ryder, and I met up at the Church Brew Works for a leisurely lunch. After that, Bethany, Tim, and I picked up the new glider chair for Bethany from Babyland. It's the nicest I have ever seen, and one of the very few that don't completely defy our sense of aesthetic. It's made by Monte.

Remainder of the ride was nice...

Nice 18.5 mile ride around the city today (including the commute to work). Beyond the exciting events in Squirrel Hill, it was a good day to be out on the bike.

I have no clue why, but the fence was on fire on the South Side. It drew a nice crowd. Everyone likes a fire. Just like everyone likes a bike crash...


Some shots from around the rivers. The first is the Heinz Lofts, across from the Strip District, where my office is. The second is the Strip looking at it from across the Allegheny River.



Is this "clean coal"? I hope nobody believe that shit... It's worth the research, as there will be no single solution to the mess we're in. Clean coal is certainly not going to do it, but it will have its place in the cocktail of energy sources we will have to rely on.

North Hills and Allegheny River Ride

View from Morningside of the Allegheny River

Here are some pictures from a 29 mile route I rode today. I threw myself up some hills in the North Hills and then tooled around by the stadiums for a while. I put a 20-mile version of this route into Bikely, as it's a nice training route. Check out the route here. The 20-mile map is below as well.

Looking out over Etna up the Allegheny

Pittsburgh from a walking bridge over I-279

The fountain at the Point

Clemente bridge blocked to traffic on Pirates' game days

Yay to the grandmother that took her grandchildren to Mr. Small's Skatepark for some fun!

21 July 2008 - Dentistry and Lunching

Step fifty (it seems) is finally over for my root canal! The "permanent" crown is now in, and my tongue is getting used to a new friend. I think this was my sixth appointment for this process. Who knew that the fear people have regarding the mythical root canal was the time suck that it is, not the pain. It was, overall, a very painless experience, albeit uncomfortable and time-consuming.

The nice thing about my dentist being downtown is that my good friend, Becky, works downtown, and sometimes it works out that we can catch lunch downtown before I go back to work. I appreciate the options in the Strip District, where my office is, but it's fun to get to a different part of town to eat lunch, especially with a friend.

20 July 2008 - the Pittsburgh Triathlon

The Pittsburgh Triathlon was held today. It was a good time, but somewhat disappointing, as I had been training to do the adventure race for the last couple of months, but couldn't because of a knee injury I got at the company picnic last weekend. Alas. Nonetheless, it was very inspiring to see how many people stuck it out. A lot of the triathletes were just normal people, some with a few extra pounds, some riding mountain bikes instead of $5,000 carbon triathlon bikes... It was nice to see how many were just out there to push themselves and to have some fun. Great day to be on the river downtown.