Pics from Mountain View

[compilerbitch]

Here is the first batch of photos from Mountain View, all shot with my diddy new Panasonic Lumix LZ5.



Castro Street


The B&W conversion here is a bit weird -- I used channel mixer in Photoshop CS with blue set heavily negative to darken the sky. It doesn't look good in the thumbnail, but the bigger version is OK.

Mountain View Alleyway


More B&W messing about.

My new apartment


This architectural shot is actually inside my new apartment. It's right on Castro Street, there's a Starbucks actually in the building effectively, and my favourite bookshops are about a 4 minute walk.

Castro again


This was shot looking down the road, standing outside the Scientology shop/church/warren/nest/hive/whatever/thingy.

Chicken Katsu


Hawaiian fast food, anyone? It is basically, well, schnitzel. With dip that tastes extremely close to mango chutney.

Fountain


This is more or less below my apartment (slighty along a bit).

I see mountains!


This is a (fairly narrow) view from my bedroom window.

Crappy pano of the big windows in the living room


My apartment has a hugely high ceiling in the living room. This is a craply rapidly thrown together pano (the Lumix isn't nearly wide enough).

Lounge windows


Another arty architectural shot.

Outside the apartment


Another bad pano, but it gives you the idea. The top left balcony that you can see is mine.

Self-portrait




... because doseybat would shoot me if I didn't.

Comments

[pinguhateseng.livejournal.com]

*impressed*

Flat looks very cool...hope you're settling in well...

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite really in it yet -- it's completely empty, so I'm currently still at the other place down the road that I have booked for the first couple of weeks. It is gorgeous, though, I can't wait to move in. :-)

Ooh

[vanessapyjamas.livejournal.com]

Your apartment looks lovely. Joe would be well jealous of your living room, he'd love a house with a double storey room to juggle in. Do you juggle? It would be a shame to waste a room like that.

Re: Ooh

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I don't juggle, no, but I suppose there's a first time for everything. You could of course bring Joe and visit me and demonstrate. :-)

Re: Ooh

[vanessapyjamas.livejournal.com]

We would love to visit at some point, we fell for SF when we were there last year. If it weren't for the absolute impossibility of an expert on English mental health law finding work in the US we'd probably want to move there. But Joe is planning to 'do a Sarah' and slope off to another continent (he's spending six months in New Zealand with any luck) so it might be a while.

Joe's mate Matt and his wife are planning to move to SF in the autumn I believe. We should check when and where and put you in touch.

Re: Ooh

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

Um i don't mean to be rude and hijack this thread and I hope this is ok...
but you could be very much the person I need to speak to right now even if its only a few pointers at where to go and look for myself. I might even be able to pay you for your time (i assume legal aid doesnt exist anymore)
btw this is not for myself but for someone I am helping (I already know my way around the HB/benefits system and some case law)
as I said I hope this is Ok
kate

Re: Ooh

[vanessapyjamas.livejournal.com]

I'd be happy to give you pointers - I'm not a proper qualified lawyer and I wouldn't dream of charging for legal advice. Legal Aid does however still exist (called legal help and accessing it has changed a bit but its there) and I'll point you that way if need be. Have friended you so either post a comment on vanessapyjamas or mail me at nell _ munro @ hotmail.com

Re: Ooh

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

thanks !!!!!

and i'll friend you back but...
um, one thing be aware if you read my journal, and this is something that sarah and others hopefully know, that my journal is full of my internal feelings and stuff that I am working on. Its tends to be very very dark and angst ridden, but if you meet me in life, hopefully you'll find much more bouncy. To put this way my kitten hasn't actually died its just stuck out in a snowstorm wondering all this cool stuff feels so bad!

Re: Ooh

[vanessapyjamas.livejournal.com]

Well thanks for letting me know. I hope the snow melts or the kitten gets a coat sometime soon.

P

[arrhythmia.livejournal.com]

doesn't the lumix shoot in 16:9? i suppose it could still be insufficiently wide.

btw, did everything get sorted out re: your corrections? i hope it's all still on track. (do let me know if i can somehow help by moving physical objects around cambridge -- between rooms in the lab, between the lab and JS Wilson, etc -- as i am more than happy to do so.)

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Different Lumix models seem to support 16:9 differently. This one gives full resolution at 4:3, and crops horizontally. Some of the others give full res at 16:9 and crop 4:3 vertically. I actually prefer it this way round, because I'm most likely to shoot 4:3. The lens isn't terribly wide, maybe about 35mm equivalent at its widest setting, but it does have a 6 to 1 zoom though. It's interesting to watch -- the barrel is in two concentric pieces, and obviously each set of lens elements is attached to each part of the barrel, so you can see them move relatively to each other as you zoom or focus. It's not an amazingly sophisticated camera from the user control point of view, though it is packed with tech (obviously). The image stabilisation is very good.

Re corrections, I am still waiting for David to give me a final answer. I think I'm on my 3rd resubmission now. The deadline is next Tuesday, so I'm a bit nervous about it, because I haven't heard from him since last Tuesday.

[midendian.livejournal.com]

That apartment looks awesome! That's a great location too.

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's just 3 minutes from Books Inc. and the second-hand place next door. This could be expensive. :)

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

oh god I'm jealous
thats all I can say
:)
hugs
kate

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

apparently your living in the very representative street of mountain view accoding to wikipedia (and google images) and apparently your street was named after Don Mariano Castro.
I don't believe it you move to the states and there is an indian just down the road...
for pete's sake sarah :)
big hugs
kate

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

oh and here's the menu list
http://www.shivasrestaurant.com/menu.htm

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

There are actually four nearby, two a bit further down Castro than Shiva's, and IMO the best is on El Camino real about a mile north (Passage to India has a lovely buffet). I admit that calling a restaurant Shiva makes me wary...

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

I sit corrected and having never been west of the north east coast I'm doing this all from teh comfort of google. I still hugely impressed!!!!

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I should try some of them -- being a typical Brit, I am addicted to Indian food. I do remember going to the lunchtime buffet in the one that was at the Caltrain end of Castro (on the left hand side as you walk away from the train). I thought it was pretty terrible, but I'm probably spoiled. I'll give the others a fair chance, though -- I'll make it a quest! :-)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

The one closest to the tracks (Sue's?) is indifferent-at-best, the next one closer is IMO better.

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

the more I read the more it feels like you have fallen on your feet as regards places to live. Castro street sounds amazing you dont exactly lack for places to eat, you mention book buying - you could join the public libary :)

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Living right on Castro is expensive, maybe about 50% more than I'd pay for a similar apartment further out, but it was a deliberate decision. I tend to be quite significantly affected by where I live -- I got quite depressed in college, for example, because it felt oppressive all the time I was there. I need to feel secure, and also not isolated, so living here is an ideal solution. The building is pretty secure physically, but there's also the aspect of knowing that if I want food or something at a random time of day that it won't be a problem. Also, there is the issue that I'll have visitors who don't drive, so being far out might well have been survivable for me, but would be a major pain for them. Here, they are right on Castro, so everything is just there, and the Caltrain station is about a 10 minute walk and will get you anywhere that it or the BART goes. At a pinch, I could go in to work on the NASA shuttle bus that picks people up at the Caltrain station if my car was being serviced (or some such). It's actually a very practical solution, but mostly I've been prepared to pay the money because, particularly living on my own, I wanted to maximise my chances of being happy rather than ending up isolated and going splat.

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

I think you made an excelent choice and one I hope I would have made in your place. It looks like your going to have an amazing time. If you decide to play some more rpg's I suspect people might want to do it at your flat as its so easy to get to.
as I said i'm feeling jealous :)
hugs
kate

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

I'd wondered what "Hawaiian BBQ" meant, but hadn't yet tried the stuff. And there's another coffeeshop just three doors down from your Starbucks which has organic and fair-trade coffees and a larger tea selection, albeit they close earlier.

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

They also do something that looks like an overgrown maki roll made with rice and... Spam! I didn't have the guts to try it, but it might be essential...