temperature drop/surf waves

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"aren't you cold?"

a bunch of different surfers kept asking me as i was swimming with my
camera at 4 30 / 5 pm today jan 2nd.

the waves were nice -
the outside temperature was probably below 55 - the strong wind was a
bit chilly
25 degrees F less than yesterday.
in the water i felt fine - it was certainly warmer than outside -
and swimming against the current - fighting the waves constantly keeps
you warmer than standing on a table.
i wish i got in the water earlier as the sun was getting too low on the
horizon -
and those 3 towers they built in recent years block large portions of
the sun in the last hour of daylight

the spots in the shade felt cold and i wished that south pointe tower
would just be demolished as an insult to the skyline - an insult to
tasteful architecture - an insult to the right of people to enjoy the
beach at sunset.

--
my underwater 240 dollar camera
i wish i got the pentax optio W30 instead of the olympus stylus 790 SW.

some reviewer from a scuba website wrote me that the camera I got looks
sexier -
but i'd rather have an uglier camera that does not have movie limits in
movie lenght and that is waterproof for 2 hours instead of 1.
what you do with it, substance, features feel more sexy to me than just
looks-
and i feel strange when people refer to some gadget as "sexy" -
or to a friend as a "buddy".
--
the colors are not bad - but i need to watch for droplets on the lens -
actually the pentax has a special coating that prevents water drops to
stick on it-

usually i to research what i buy -
i read an articke about smart shoppers that was really interesting

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/business/yourmoney/22money.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

well I just got reminded that impulse buy is not smart.

with a little research i should have found out earlier that the pentax
optio x30 is the fave camera among whitewater kayakers and paddlers that
post on related websites.

anyway my DSLR is way better shoots faster and has so much more tonal depth - a richer histogram.

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NYrs Evei was tired - rode 120 miles the 4 days before -
with my camera on my neck -
it is not so much of a distance -
but also had been swimming a lot
and i had heartburn for days from the energy drinks i drank to drive
down here - the indian food - and some stress in my mind -

now back on smoothies - oats and grains - some cuban sandwiches -
i love publix - half a gallon of organic vanilla soymilk is just 2.79
and they sell frozen ruhbarb that i love blended with bananas peaches
apples OJ ginger and soy milk.

i don't iunderstand how florida orange juice is more expensive in
florida than in new york city.
doesnt long distance shipping cost a lot?
isn't real estate more expensive in manhattan?

anyway i love publix and wild oats is good too- although not as good as
food bazaar in brooklyn and wholefoods on houston street -

i wonder if there is some cuban market that sells great exotic fruit
like the chinatown market on rutgers and henry streets

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so i just rested -
i went to swim at dusk on new years day -
the water was calm as a lake -
there was a dark rainy cloud..

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a surfer was asking about my camera -
he told me miami is no good for surfing - you gotta go to south america -
he was italian as well i could not hear it in his accent and he could
not hear it in mine -
he works at this place la locanda

which means "the inn"
in italian

little haiti markets -> jimbos

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map/route
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1521471


swam in the waves and in the early afternoon
rode my bike over the venetian way to downtown miami.

feels great having my own 2 wheels -
i see things in a different way and get to places faster.


and such a more accurate ride than a beach cruiser - the road bike goes
where i want to
and handlebar brakes feel a lot safer than pedal brakes.

--

downtown fancy hotels and fancy high rise condos -
with passed out homeless and crackheads just one block away.

so many here just drive to these gated dwellings.
just drop off their cars to the valet parking guys for a 15 dollar.
hard to see the poverty just around the corner.
--
On North Miami Ave there is a yard sale -
an older hatian guy and a younger Bahamian.
I ask him if I should go there with my free jetblue bonus ticket, but
mexico seems a more convenient option.
--
$erge, the artist, is painting a martin Luther King Mural on Martin
Luther King Boulevard which is 62nd st NW by the I95.


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In the houses nearby some people just chill out drink beers and smoke
blunts on their porches

--

There is a market a few blocks down
some women sell vegetables out of their pickup trucks or tables.
pumpkins, turnips, macaroni is what they sell.
no fruit at all.

I switch to french when I kid asks me if i speak the language.
he lets me take his picture -
when i show some prints of the vodou ladies I took a few nights before
his mother and her friends let me photograph them.
it is always good to carry with me some 20 cent walgreens prints.

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I love the architecture of downtown miami -
old buildings and new high rises blend and match
upscale and desolate -
empty lots
and sleek towers -

adjacent worlds apart.

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on the causeway to key biscayne
it is already dark -
on Virginia key on my way to the dive bar Jimbo's
there are no street light but
the moon is bright and I can see the road ahead of me.

people are playing bocce on the most uneven field [?]

a south beach girl is getting drunk with her apparently german fling.

some latino photographer is shooting a semi naked latina girl wearing a
furcoat in the backseat of a convertible car.

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my odometer says 28 miles - i get some 2 dollar bud lite can and 2
dollar smoked fish.
8pm ride back to south beach
36 miles total
my feet and my butt are sore -
my legs are ok.
need better cycling shoes and maybe padded shorts rather than swim trunks