A Day In The Life of Tony Rocha

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Here are a couple of clips I took while at the closing of the Warfield in San Francisco, CA, May 18th, 2008. Phil Lesh & Friends are playing Sugar Magnolia. The first clip is the beginning of the song as the balloons were falling. The second clip is the remaining 10 + minutes of the song, zoomed in for your viewing pleasure.







It was an awesome show, a long show, and the last show at the Warfield.

Labels: Warfield Phil Lesh and Friend

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I'm a computer guy by trade but practice my trade in the field of cancer registry. That being said, I see more cancer patient data then I'd like to. Most the time it's not a problem but other times you noticed the data and think, wow, that guy is my age. It's a bit scary when it's someone your age and provokes thoughts of you own mortality.

Well, the reason I bring any of this up at all is because of one blogger's experience with cancer in his family which he has been posting about on his blog, Fat Cyclist. You see, Fatty's wife, Susan has cancer. From what I gather, it's been an up and down road for them, as many patients experience.

Anyway, I won't tell their story here, you can read it over at Fatty's site. I'm posting this today because the last few posts have been both inspirational and very saddening; today's post particularly.

So, head over and check it out and you'll understand why my heart hurts today.




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Yup, I said Chico Wheelmen! It's our own little touring group based in Chico, CA. It's little, only about 19 or so members so far. I don't think we've even met in person as a group, only via email and a message board. Regardless of it's lack of formality, we're doing a ride this weekend. I think there are four riders who are confirmed with one or two maybes.

The plan is to ride to Woodson Bridge, hang out, fish, drink beers, eat unhealthy foods purchased at a nearby questionable store, and camp. We'll then ride back to Chico the next morning, hopefully in time to get to the city plaza for, Chico Pedal Fest, the first of many bike to work events being held in Chico over the next week.

I'll twitter about the trip, take some photos with the iPhone to post along the way, and take pictures with my digicam for posting later.



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AT&T, dude, what's up? One day you're advertising that iPhone users get free Wi-Fi access at more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks and Barnes and Noble, the next, all the info from your website on the matter is gone. One day, we're using free Wi-Fi by providing our AT&T phone's number as authentication, the next, you want a user name and password.

So, what's it going to be AT&T? What do I really get for giving you $70 a month after spending $427 on an iPhone. Please exactly clarify what you are offering so us customers and potential customers better understand.


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What a week!

Started things off with three days of bike riding from Chico to San Francisco; 190 miles.

Day one was 83 miles from Chico to Dunnigan. It was hot, dusty, and not all the roads we took were paved. We were out there from 9 AM until 6 PM but made many stops to take pictures, look at wildlife, and rest. We thought about camping out the first night, but after all those miles and no camp ground in the area, we decided it best to get a room.

Day two was Dunnigan to Lake Berryessa, covering about 60 miles. It was an up and down day on many levels. We met a couple of people from Chico on the back roads out of Dunnigan when they stopped us on the road for a chat. Hey Joyce and Mike from Durham! There was lots of wildlife along the trip since we were in farm land. Unfortunately, there were also hunters shooting quail, which isn't a problem for me, but Mat is not a fan of hunting or hunters. Me, well, as long as they eat what they shoot, then I'm cool with it.

It wasn't long before I had a similar problem as Mat when we happened upon kittens on the side of the road who were laid to rest most likely because the owner didn't want them anymore. As a cat lover, it was a very painful experience for me.

The ride into Berryessa wasn't bad but it was uphill. We arrived in time to get settled before a friend from Willits, Evan, arrived with food and beer. Evan, thanks a million, you made the day!

Day three took us from Berryessa, through Napa to Vallejo where we caught the Baylink Ferry to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We had hoped to make the 2 PM boat, but ended up arriving at 3:10, leaving us 10 minutes to catch the 3:20 boat. A couple of beers later, we pulled into SF. We and our newly founded buzz then rode around SF to the Sunset District where we were staying with a friend, Christian. Christian, thanks for the hospitality!

Day three was Monday and also the first night of the shows. I was dead on my feet after the ride and we barely had time to order a pizza and shower before heading off to the show. To get to the show, we took the N-Judah train over to Civic to save some $$ and the environment, of course. Oh, we were there for three nights of Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead cover band who play recreated Dead shows, song for song.

The show that night was awesome, if you closed your eyes, it was the Grateful Dead. They recreated a show from 03-16-73 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y. (Fri). The set list is as follows:

Set 1:
China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Jack Straw, Wave That Flag, Looks Like Rain, Ramble On Rose, Box Of Rain, Beat It On Down The Line, They Love Each Other, El Paso, Row Jimmy, Mexicali Blues, Bird Song, Playing In The Band

Set 2:
Promised Land > Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Loser, Big River, Don't Ease Me In, Me & My Uncle, Dark Star > Truckin' > Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia

After each of the shows, we made a point to stop by Tommy's Joynt for sandwiches and more drinks before hitting the train back to the Sunset. Yummy!

Tuesday I was up early as I hadn't broken my work-week sleeping habit. I spent the morning wandering around the Sunset, going to coffee shops and the beach.
After arriving late the first night, we decided it was best to head to the show early and stand in line. We arrived early enough to check that there was no line at the venue and then headed over to the Edinburgh Castle Pub around the corner for beers and fish and chips. Afterward, we returned to the venue and were first in line, which helped us secure balcony seats directly above the stage. In line we met a taper and Mat was able to barter with the guy so that he could trade for the three shows we attended. Needless to say, I'm eagerly awaiting the CDs for which I'll use to lay over some of the video we took.

Being the first night we stood in line, we were able to people watch. As compared to the mostly acid tripping crowd on Monday, Tuesday was a bit more mellow. Granted, all the same dealers were cruising the street selling their wares, but it didn't seem as crazy as Monday. Tuesday's show was also a little different as DSO didn't recreate a specific show, but instead created their own set. Another great show, set list as follows:

Set 1:
Help On the Way > Slipknot > Franklins Tower > Music Never Stopped > Roses > King Solomon's Marbles > Masterpiece > Foolish Heart > Lazy Lightning > Supplication > After Midnight

Set 2:
Stranger > Visions > Easy Wind > Crazy Fingers > UJB > DS > Blues for Allah > Let it Grow > Cosmic Chuck > Alligator

E) Dedicated to Dr Albert Hoffman--Lucy in the Sky

Wednesday, show three. I was getting into the hang of things at this point and our day was much like Tuesday. In the line early, chatting with people about shows, songs, and rousing the band was they would walk between the venue and the bus. Mat was able to get most of the autographs of the band members on his two previous ticket stubs; too cool.

After getting inside, it was time to hit up the merch table to get a t-shirt and a poster. I got number 123 of 300 in the signed poster set of the DSO tour and someday, I'll get it framed with my 3 ticket stubs. After taking our seats in the balcony, we met and talked with the people around us which is always a treat. This last show of the stint brought the house down. The show was originally from 11-17-78 Uptown Theatre, Chicago, Il. (Fri).

Set 1:
Shakedown > Mama Tried > Mexicali > Peggy-O > Cassidy > Tennessee Jed > Passenger > FOTD > Miracle

Set 2:
Bertha > Good Lovin > Ship Of Fools > Estimated > Eyes of the World > Drumz > Terrapin > Around

E: Casey Jones
last "Casey Jones": 12-31-77 [63]

Filler: Midnight Hour > Brokedown

NOTE: The only song which was played more than once during this three night set, was Bertha!

So, great run of shows at the GAMH for DSO, so much so we talked about trekking to Portland tonight to see them again for two days and then to Eugene for another. Better judgment will undoubtedly keep us from making the drive.

Thanks to Mat's wife, Chichi for being in the City and for driving us back to Chico. Also, thanks go out to Mat for being a great travel partner.

Next Bay Area DSO shows will probably be in October and then possibly some New Year's shows. I've got my fingers crossed.

Labels: Dark Star Orchestra

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Trippin' on my bicycle down to San Francisco this weekend.

People around work have been asking if I've been getting excited and the answer all week has been NO. Today, though, I'm feeling it. I've been slowly working towards this day all week; working on my bike, gathering gear, and replenishing supplies. All the while, not really excited about the trip, just kind of going through the motions. Well, today I realize that tomorrow, I leave and there will be no time to work out any further details.

I'm feeling prepared. I've changed the tires and tubes, replaced a water bottle cage, packed up the panniers and thought that was it. Well, yesterday I went out to check on the bike and sure enough, flat rear tire. I mean really, come on, how can it be flat when I just installed a new tire and new tube? Faulty bond between the metal presta valve and the rubber tube. So, after making an extra trip to the Sports LTD yesterday to swap out a schrader tube that was in a presta box, I'll be stopping by there again today to try and return the presta tube for another that isn't faulty. It'll be a little piece of mind knowing I have two spare tubes rather than just one.

So, once again, look for my Twitter updates via Twinkle. I'm going to try and post often and accompany my posts with a picture. The picture, for you end users, will be in the form of a link which you can click on to see the picture in the resulting web page.

After I get back from my trip, it'll be Bike Week and there will be all sorts of bike activities going on around Chico. I'll be sure to report on that once it occurs.

Everyone have a great weekend!






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