Stefan Didak – Travel

Mitch Haile and Stefan Didak in one frame

May 29, 2010 by Stefan Didak 1 Comment

Let’s put an end to the strange tabloid style rumors on the internet that have implied that Mitch Haile and yours truly are mortal enemies engaged in a complete and all-out home office war. I don’t know who first came up with that nonsense but before it gets out of hand it’s good to pull the plug on that fake gossip story. We met up for drinks the other day at BJ’s across from the Apple HQ in Cupertino. And no, nobody needs to worry about that. Non-Apple users are welcome in Cupertino and there aren’t hordes of fans that scope out unsuspecting PC users. You can blame Sallie Goetsch, practicing with her new Nikon, for the picture.

Filed Under: Home Office, Personal, Restaurants, Travel Tagged With: Cupertino, Drinks, Nikon, Photographs, Pictures, Restaurant, Rumors, Travel, USA

Pearl Aday and Scott Ian at the Red Devil Lounge in San Franscico

May 12, 2010 by Stefan Didak 2 Comments

Last night we had a great time at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco where we were to see Pearl & Scott Ian and members of the Rollins Band perform some great kick-ass rock. It was an amazing performance and it was great to meet with Pearl and husband Scott Ian. Or, as Sallie put it, “she’s such a sweet girl”, and I happen to agree. One that rocks the wood panels off any stage, that is. This is not the first time Pearl gets two thumbs up from me, though. It’s been great to see her go from the “Broken Thorny Crown” album to the improved debut album, “Little Immaculate White Fox”.

Filed Under: Personal, Travel Tagged With: Drinks, Entertainment, Fun, Loud, Music, Pearl Aday, Rock, San Francisco, USA, Video

Photography gear, travel, transport, heavy and hell

May 25, 2009 by Stefan Didak 2 Comments

Those of you that know of my past week’s hunt for a suitable transport solution will wonder what I settled on. It’s the Lowe Pro Rolling Computrekker AW Plus. Gee, isn’t that a mouthfull for a product name, eh! The previous Slingshot 200 was just too small and my other Computrekker AW backpack managed to barely fit everything and as a result it was just too much to carry around on my back (especially with airports and scanners and also traveling with a laptop bag with the HP8710w and assorted other bits in there). The Rolling version, which is also larger and has a bit more space is definitely the better solution. Still heavy but I don’t have to lug it around on my back.

Filed Under: Personal, Photography, Travel Tagged With: Gear, Lenses, Lowe Pro, Nikon, Photography, Sigma, Think Tank, Transport, Travel

Back from Vacation, Too Much to Catch up on

September 5, 2008 by Stefan Didak 4 Comments

Alas, Sallie and I were on vacation and spending about as little time with computers as possible and instead spent most of the time going to both a lot of favorite and new restaurants (I’ll save you the review of the spectacularly weird Bacon-Infused Caramel Sauce at Town Hall in San Francisco), taking pictures, etc. You can see most of the picks on my Flickr page where there are several new sets including a lot of pictures from our trip to Chicago, IL and Occidental, CA and some more from Tiburon, CA, and a few new ones from San Francisco, CA, and Santa Cruz where we hung out with friends and their cats as well as a set from Alcatraz.

Filed Under: Personal, Photography, Travel Tagged With: Alcatraz, California, Fun, Images, Photographs, Photography, Travel, USA

California: Spraying HUMANS with experimental pesticies

June 17, 2008 by Stefan Didak Leave a Comment

And now, for something completely different. A public service announcement. “An Untested Biochemical is Being Sprayed on California Residents Who Are Now Unwilling Participants in an Illegal Human Pesticide Experiment”. And this just as I am planning to be in the area during the proposed time of experimentation?! Starting August 17th, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will begin spraying the San Francisco Bay Area by airplanes with toxic chemicals in an ineffective attempt to eradicate an insect called the light brown apple moth (LBAM), which has caused no damage. That is, unless we stop them.

Filed Under: Personal, Travel Tagged With: California, Experiment, Exposed, Exposure, Travel, USA

Central Perk in El Cerrito

September 23, 2007 by Stefan Didak Leave a Comment

OK, this is not really a restaurant review but it’s a place worth visiting if you’re ever in El Cerrito, California. What do you do for coffee in California? Go to Peets, of course. Unless you don’t care about coffee and how it should taste, in which case, people like that go to Starbucks. However, a rather interesting coffee place in El Cerrito, called Central Perk, is definitely worth a visit. The entire shop is filled with all sorts of toys, fun stuff, decorations, everything including a kitchen sink, basically. And everything you see in the store is for sale. Care to get one of those huge Sully characters from Monsters, Inc., well, at Central Perk you can. The place has closed since we’ve been there. Maybe we’re cursed?!

Filed Under: Personal, Restaurants, Travel Tagged With: California, Coffee, Drinks, El Cerrito, Fun, Restaurant, Review