Robot Claw

Yesterday B and I drove up to San Francisco for some sightseeing and shopping. We started with a visit to Fort Point, which is an old fort that has stood for over a hundred years at what is not the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see it in the lower left of the photo above.

When we got there, the sole access rode to the fort was being blocked by some police since CSI:NY was filming on a pier on the road. The place was full of ‘hollywood types’ and gawking onlookers. It’s very likely we drove right past some ‘famous’ actors. But we wouldn’t have known since neither Bernard or I have ever seen the show.

It was cold at the fort. As in really, really cold. As in frigid winds of Tartarus cold. The entire structure was open, and the icy winds from the ocean raged through it endlessly and mercilessly. The above shot was taken on the roof, and Bernard and I were mere seconds away from hypothermia at the time. Insignificant shelter was afforded by the rooms inside the walls, most of which held exhibits of fort life back when it was occupied or art installations to celebrate 75 years of the bridge. It is perhaps evidence of how interesting much of this material was that we didn’t run screaming back to the car within seconds.

The above is Bernard posing before a tapestry said to be evocative of the emotions of the bridge.

Two more shots of the bridge, one from inside the fort and one from the roof. The shot from inside is taken through a camera obscura used as part of one of the (very good, actually) artworks. The fog persisted during out entire stay, and made the bridge very mysterious and looming. We were also treated to the periodic wail of the foghorn, which must be virtually unnecessary in these days of GPS.

After the bridge we headed to Fisherman’s Wharf, a tourist location on the bay. I’d never been here before, and it was much better than I expected.

As you can see the weather was quite nice away from the freezing hall that was the bay entrance. Lunch was expensive but delicious (‘Alaskan cod’) fish and chips:

It was very tasty. Bernard said it was the best fish and chips he’d had in the USA.

While wandering and shopping at Pier 39 we found an ‘infinite mirror maze’. Tourist trap it may be, I couldn’t resist and bought us each a ticket.

It was extremely well engineered. The mirrors were at 60 degrees to each other, and very clean. They actually have guests wear plastic gloves to avoid fingerprints! Darkness and flashing lights make it quite tricky to navigate, and after we’d done it in both directions (taking about 10 minutes each way) the attendant showed us the map and it was amusing how short it actually was. Thumbs up for this if you’re in the area 🙂

The rest of the day included shopping at Japantown, at which Bernard purchased some origami paper to add to his massive collection. He’s very good at origami, and there are lots of it scattered around the house. Over dinner I asked what the most difficult piece he’d ever made was, and afterward he took me to his work cubicle and showed me this elephant:

It’s made from a single piece of paper, and stands only about an inch tall. Impressive, isn’t it?

The most famous origami fold is probably the crane. I asked Bernard how fast he could make one, and he said “Two minutes”. My question had no motive, but he was so confident I just had to put him to the test. Do you think he was able to finish it in two minutes? Let’s see…