Signs of beauty

From across the street
San Francisco, CA, July 2008

Please note: This photo continues this week's Thematic Photographic theme, signs. Feel free to contribute as often as you wish: a photo a day gives us all that much more to enjoy. Click here to get started.

I captured this from a table in a bustling restaurant surrounded by a group of Canadian analysts and journalists. We had come here to cover Intel's launch of its new Centrino 2 platform, and after the event had concluded, our hosts were kind enough to take us to a restaurant I can only describe as divine.

As we waited for the food to arrive, I chatted with my newfound mates and found myself looking around at our ornate surroundings, trying to commit them to memory. These trips are always full of exploration on so many levels. You often meet folks you've seen on earlier trips. Some folks are always new to you. And others are folks who you've been working with over the phone or online, but have never actually met. It's a neat crucible of connectivity, and I always relish vendor trips for precisely this reason. It's often the connections made here that help drive future opportunity.

I pointed the lens out the window at the hilly streetscape. The light was fading fast, and I didn't have my tripod. Belay that: I had a tripod. But it would have been reeeeeally gauche to pull it out and set up shop. Taking the very occasional quick picture was as far as I was willing to go.

The light called out to me. I love neon, especially when it paints the surrounding surface with its unique, softly colored light. The focused light on the salon sign below clinched it. It speaks of peace, and of being in a comfortable place with good people even though you're far from home.

Your turn: What does this image say to you?

One more thing: Thank you all for your kind wishes on our son's birthday. He's tickled that people he's never met would be so generous in their spirit. The world is very much a happy place, as far as he's concerned. I'm absolutely inclined to agree, thanks to you.