Inline Skates from Black Diamond Sports in Palo Alto

A decade of hard use is a good life span for a pair of inline skates. 

 Richard & Tony skate dancing

After looking hard and doing a bit of research, I discovered that the old “Skates on Haight” retail shop no longer sells inline skates. Not only that, they own skates.com now, a large warehouse, and a worldwide operation. This skater attempted to schedule an appointment to visit the facility, by opening a “service ticket” as the website instructs. They never responded, and I left the ticket open.  I told them I would go elsewhere, and make sure skaters know there is no place to buy skates in San Francisco.

I was surprised by and disappointed in this new “online only” sales situation in San Francisco. I needed to speak to a knowledgeable person, and luckily ran across a mention of Black Diamond Sports in Palo Alto.

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As it happens I was traveling there to help a friend with his project by standing in as proxy in a “brainstorming” meeting.

Time was short and logistics complicated, so I called Black Diamond from Caltrain to warn them I was coming and hoped to buy skates. They are ideally located a few blocks from the station, and right away I was trying on a pair, getting expert help from someone who knew his stuff. 

Less than thirty minutes later I rolled away with a pair of skates that I couldn’t be happier with. I made it to the meeting with time to spare! As I skated to the station after, it was getting dark, and I was on unfamiliar roads. That was not a problem; my feet now have wheels again, like they did years ago.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand (Starz, Netflix)

DISCLAIMER: Adult content, explicit sex, explicit language, nudity, exaggerated violence (not gratuitous)

Starz Cable site for Spartacus:

Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend. 

Starring Australian actor, Andy Whitfield (McLeod’s Daughters) as Spartacus, Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) as Lucretia, John Hannah (The Mummy, Four Weddings and A Funeral) as Batiatus and Peter Mensah (300, The Incredible Hulk) as Doctore, this unique mix of live action, graphic novel effects and brutal battle sequences is set to make this an epic television event. 

A unique aspect of this series is the content arrangement between Starz and Netflix, seen here at “Starz Play” — making the episodes available immediately on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Netflix Watch Instantly: Spartacus Blood and Sand

Tragically, the star of the show, Andy Whitfield, was recently diagnosed with early-stage Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is hoped that he can make a full recovery and continue with the already-renewed second season. 

Wikipedia: Spartacus Blood and Sand

On December 22, 2009, it was announced that the show was renewed for a second season before even premiering.^[2] However, on March 9, 2010, IGN.com reported that the production of Season 2 has been delayed due to star Andy Whitfield being diagnosed with early-stage Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.^[3] According to the weekly New York magazine, due to the delay, Starz is developing a six-episode prequel to Spartacus: Blood and Sand.^[4]

• Friday April 16, 2010, the first series concludes with episode 13 titled “Kill Them All”
• IMDB.com: Andy Whitfield
• IESB.net: Interview: Andy Whitfield Talks
• EW.com: This Just In: ‘Spartacus’ delayed as star Andy Whitfield undergoes cancer treatment
• Prnewswire.com: ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’ Takes Battle Worldwide in Time for MIP-TV

“Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” a ratings over-achiever on Starz in the U.S., the Movie Network and Movie Central in Canada and RTL5 in the Netherlands since it premiered earlier this year, the 13-episode program has just launched or is launching soon on:

• Bravo TV in the UK, premiering May 25;
• LAPTV’s MovieCity Pack in Latin America;
• OCN in South Korea, where it premiered April 9;
• HBO Central Europe in 14 territories across the region;
• And on Star Channel in Japan.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand - Official Trailer

Yamaha Vocaloid robot singer (with robot piano)

The embedded video shows a robot powered by the Vocaloid “voice synthesis” software. The movements and expressions were pre-programmed, but the generation of the singing voice from lyrics and score can be done in real-time apparently.

The piano is a Yamaha Disklavier of course, being controlled by the same program that is controlling the Vocaloid robot. This is a good example of state-of-the-art synthesis technology, and sounds natural and human to my ears. 

The inputs for Vocaloid are: 

• phonemes (lyrics)
• vocal line (music) 
• expression (stresses, vibrato, etc.)

The inputs for Disklavier are:

• precise key presses
• precise pedal controls

Other inputs for the robot shown in the video are for mouth, face and head movements.

Wikipedia: Vocaloid (Crypton Future Media)

The Character Vocal Series is a computer music program that synthesizes singing in Japanese. Developed by Crypton Future Media, it utilizes Yamaha’s Vocaloid 2 technology with specially recorded vocals of voice actors. To create a song, the user must input the melody and lyrics. A piano roll type interface is used to input the melody and the lyrics can be entered on each note. The software can change the stress of the pronunciations, add effects such as vibrato, or change the dynamics and tone of the voice.

The series is intended for professional musicians as well as light computer music users. The programmed vocals are designed to sound like an idol singer from the future. According to Crypton, because professional singers refused to provide singing data, in fear that the software might create their singing voice’s clones, Crypton changed their focus from imitating certain singers to creating characteristic vocals. This change of focus led to sampling vocals of voice actors.^[11]

Each Japanese Vocaloid is given an anime-type character with specifications on age, height, weight, and musical strengths (genre, pitch range and ideal tempos). The characters of the first three installments of the series are created by illustrator Kei.

Any rights or obligations arising from the vocals created by the software belong to the software user. Just like any music synthesizer, the software is treated as a musical instrument and the vocals as sound. Under the term of license, the Character Vocal Series software can be used to create vocals for commercial or non-commercial use as long as the vocals do not offend public policy. In other words, the user is bound under the term of license with Crypton not to synthesize derogatory or disturbing lyrics. On the other hand, copyrights to the mascot image and name belong to Crypton. Under the term of license, a user cannot commercially distribute a vocal as a song sung by the character, nor use the mascot image on commercial products, without Crypton’s consent.

It is encouraging to read that “professional singers refused to provide singing data” because, as you were warned in The Performing Pianist (a pocket primer, 2002), page 27 (Digital vs. Analog):

Pianists are for the most part analog creatures. They may be transformed into digital entities by such things as the glorified player piano, the Yamaha Disklavier. This hybrid machine digitally and precisely captures the manipulations of the keys and pedals, also known as performance capture, which can then be reproduced exactly, ad infinitum, on the analog piano. A lazy individual could purchase and not play this instrument, thus avoiding the need to hire (or bribe) musicians, take lessons, or even go to concerts. This is not in the best interests of the art form. You should consider carefully the degree to which you agree to be digitized…  

RELATED: Fauxharmonic Orchestra - The Robot Philharmonic

Wire in the Blood (Hulu, Netflix)

Brilliant, passionate and eccentric, clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill (Robson Green) has an extraordinary understanding of the criminal mind. It enables him to empathize with both victim and murderer- and even visualize the crimes. Working alongside the Bradfield Police Department and its Detective Inspector (Hermoine Norris, Simone Lahbi), Dr. Hill helps the police profile and track down vicious killers in northern England.

Extreme Fishing with Robson Green

I’ve been a fan of Robson Green’s since his lead role in the series “Touching Evil.”

“Wire in in the Blood” is generally more graphic, violent and disturbing than I will usually watch, but the series is so well-made an exception had to be made.

• The series just arrived on Hulu.
• It is also available on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Apologies to my readers outside the U.S. — I hate geo-limited content, and I’m unaware of a way to intelligently (conditionally) embed content based on the reader’s location.

Mature audiences only. Here is the first episode of season one, until it expires anyway.

Anthony Bourdain likes S.F. in spite of Alice Waters

Bourdain seems to thoroughly enjoy his 2009 visit to San Francisco, in spite of his disdain for political correctness, vegans, locavor-ianism, fruitarian-ism, organic, crunchiness, and Alice Waters. I’m certain some are offended by his opinions, but not I. I’ve heard that Waters is a food extremist, as evidenced by her suggestions for school lunch reform. She did not offer up a budget, was unprepared to prioritize her demands and ended up looking like an impractical food snob. Which of these would she sacrifice first, I wonder? Organic, locally grown, free range, prepared on-site, fresh, and so on. Meanwhile, many kids are actually getting worse than prison food, at pennies a serving, prepared off-site. There’s a universe of options between reality and Waters’ ideal world.

PART 1

Pirate Cat Radio - Bourdain drops by to give an interview and drink a unique coffee drink — with bacon?

Tadich Grill - I’ll have to try the Hangtown Fry. Website coming soon, although I’m not sure they need one.

PART 2 

Aub Zam Zam Room - Yelp review

It’s kind of unfair for me to rate this place, since I haven’t lived in SF since the mid-80s, so I’ve never had a drink there that wasn’t poured by Bruno. I was, however delighted to see Tony pimp for this place.

Yes, I witnessed the abuse, and mentally recorded some of the greatest put-downs every uttered… “those people, they must be from FREMONT, I’ll bet they drink BUD, from CANS” etc” (after tossing some people out who tried to sit in “that awful little room”).

“Jack Daniels? That’s a Madison Avenue drink… you want this…”

If it’s half the bar it was, it’s not to be missed.

Oh, and Bruno told me the bar was built by his dad, and the mural was painted by a friend of his dad’s. Dunno if that’s true, but that differs from another story on here.

House of Prime Rib - beware the website is “classic flash” all the way.

Ferry Building Market - Even Slow Fooder Carla Petrini found much to dislike here. Bourdain enjoys himself in spite of the reputation.  

Tip for Bourdain: Dude. Go to the Alemany Market some Saturday morning.

Oakland Taco Trucks - Chowhound Map - Bourdain’s antidote to the Ferry Building.

Sebo - Michael Black and Daniel Dunham’s sushi place at Hayes near Octavia

PART 3

That’s It - Mission street liquor store and torta shop. Bourdain tackles the Cubana - it’s bigger than his head.

Not enough Lipitor in the world…

R & G Lounge - 631 Kearny in Chinatown - Yelp review - classic flash auto-play website - salt & pepper crab, leechee martini.

Incanto Italian restaurant & wine bar - Bourdain & other chefs have the special 5 course all-gut menu.

A station of the cross for offal. A high priest of guts.

PART 4

Red’s Java house - Pier 30 - Yelp review - double cheeseburger and a beer, chile cheese fries. Not organic.

The antidote to Alice Waters. Tastes like it died screaming.

PART 5

As the locals endure my merciless poking fun at them, with regularity.

CODA

We love you long time, Bourdain. Y’all come back now, hear?

I’m sure Bourdain would approve of Hubert Keller’s burger.