The weirdest part about San Francisco's foggy summers is the isolation. I feel physically isolated because I can't see very far. Within a block or two, most buildings and vistas disappear in a swath of fog. I'm all alone, wrapped up in some gray damp blanket. I also feel isolated from America and the American summer. While everyone else enjoys BBQs and cookouts, warm humid nights with fireflies, halter tops and flip-flops, heat waves and Slurpees, I wear wool sweaters and drink hot coffee and actually wrap a scarf around my poor exposed cold neck. I feel like I'm living in an alternate universe, upside-down land, bizarro world, Chile. It's just so wrong.
Of course all this complaining is silly because I'm leaving today for a respite from the cold and fog. I'm off to someplace sunny and warm — well, hopefully sunny, but warm for sure. Sadly there won't be any swimming with sea turtles on this trip. But there will be swimming and sleeping and reading and beaching and that's really what summer vacation is all about, isn't it?
Matt Haughey offers up some do's and don'ts for building an online community over at Digital Web Magazine.
Derek Powazek's first book, Design for Community hits the shelves today so if you're interested what makes community more than a buzzword used by the sales and marketing teams, buy a copy and find out.
When I get back from vacation, I'm going to do something productive too. You just wait and see.