. It's cold in the old country

. Golden Gate Park

New paths, new things to pick up off the ground & put in Anthony's pockets.

. Bubbling Brew

lazy carbon dioxide micro-kneading tastes good...

. Favourite Beer of the Week

Coffee in the morning and wine in the evening and everything else is boring boring.

That's what indie pop diva Lisa Germano sings on 'Bruises', the third track of her 1996 album 'Excerpts from a Love Circus' (the one before her record label dumped her and she joined the Smashing Pumpkins and got fired immediately and worked in a Hollywood bookstore and got signed again and released three more albums).

And she makes a good point.

Until you consider Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. Is it a coffee? Is it a delicious alcoholic beverage? Is it both?

What would Lisa Germano think?

I think it's rather nice. It's not as coffee-ish as Hitachino Espresso Stout. But then cappuccino is not as coffee-ish as espresso. So that makes sense.

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout was recommended to me by our good friend Erik Marr, who knows all about beer, and has a spinning cat.


Lisa Germano loves cats. Her latest album, Magic Neighbor, is all about them.

Coffee in the morning and wine in the evening and everything else is boring boring, except maybe a cocktail-hour cappuccino stout.

And cats.

. The Future

Remember "Scramble" in the 80's? 

We used to play a version on your ZX Spectrum called "Penetrator." Sounds a bit rude now, but it didn't then.

Well, there's a new game called "Pixeljunk Shooter" that you can download straight into your PS3. It's old-school style two-player side-scrolling fun for all the family. Might be something diverting to do in the dying hours of the Christmas hols to keep your mind off the fast approaching awfulness of Monday morning.

And it costs less than Penetrator did in 1982.

And you can play with a friend at the same time! But not online. So not with me.

So much for the future.

. Muir Beach coastal trail

Come with us now on a pleasant winter walk along the Muir Beach coastal trail.

Out of the parking lot. Past the portable toilets. Hang a right at the sticky monkeyflower.

Who's this?

Skirt the horse corral. Cyclists and equestrians welcome. It's good to be outdoors, isn't it?

Turn right onto Green Gulch Trail. Don't forget to close the gate.

Or the shadowy deer demon will poop on you.

This land belongs to Green Gulch farms.

They make vegetables for San Francisco restaurants like "Greens".

Here's a spiky farm thing they use for farming.

Some parts of the trail are a bit muddy. We'll have to clean our shoes before we get back in the car.

Stop messing about now. We're coming to the Zen Center. What do you think they do with all these pipes?

That's a strange place to have a bath.

We can see the cars on the other side of the valley. I wonder if they can see us.

It's getting a bit steeper now. Don't get left behind.

Try taking longer strides. Open your hips. Lengthen your psoaz. Redwood trees, Douglas fir, coyote brush and cow parsnip. Watch out for the poison oak. Do you know what it looks like?

Neither do I.

Maybe it's growing in here.

We'll stop for lunch soon. Yes, I know I said that 20 minutes ago.

Let's pause a while and enjoy the view. Look how far we've come already.

We've found a little house. There's a bench out back. Maybe we can sit on it while we eat our lunch.

The sign on the gate says private property. But no one seems to be home. We won't be long.

Let's exchange potato chips.

These kettle chips are the color of shoe laces.

Looks like it's time to hit the trail again.

Not much further to the top. 900 feet vertical elevation. You can see our house from here.

What's that moving on the path up ahead?  It's a bobcat.

Pick up the children, wave your arms around, don't turn your back, and throw things. On second thoughts, let's just walk past.

Someone else has been this way.

Cloven hooves. The devil, perhaps.

Never mind that, look at the view.

It's all downhill from here.

Take your time on the way down. There's no need to hurry. The ground is uneven and it's easy to sprain an ankle.

Hey, who's this?

He looks familiar.

See you next time.

It's almost over now. Do you feel a bit sad? You can see the parking lot through the trees. And the portable toilets.

Back on the road. Wait a minute, I've heard about this place. Stop the car!

Cheers!

. Justification

Earlier this year Plymouth University researchers carried out a series of memory tests.

Doodlers performed 29% better than non-doodlers, the team found.