Here are photos and a video from the Chronicle of the Queen Mary 2 sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to San Francisco. Captain Tom Miller, a San Francisco bar pilot, guided the ship into port. It cleared the Golden Gate at mid-span with 30 feet of room and anchored off Treasure Island to await more favorable conditions to dock at Pier 27. Monday evening it leaves for Hawaii after taking on 2000 more passengers. (flickr QM2 tag)

According to the “Tidbits” section in Seattle Times’ Retail Report, Jones Soda (234 Ninth Ave. North in South Lake Union) hands out free drinks on Fridays from 3-5pm (limit one). At other times you can buy ’em for 50 cents (limit two). (plus, Jones’ CEO reacts to HFC controversy over switch to cane sugar)

Being a person with a Chinese name, I get phone calls in Mandarin from people selling long distance service and junk mail for satellite TV service with special deals on programming from China and Taiwan. Yesterday I got a fancy letter from a local plastic surgeon touting eyelid surgery. Blepharoplasty, the technical term for it, is very popular among Asians who want a Western looking eyelid with a crease in it. In fact, it’s the number one plastic surgery procedure in Asia and its popularity is increasing among Asians in the U.S. I hope this wasn’t a targeted mailing. Keep your monolids Asian women (and men)!

Coca-Cola has bought Fuze, “one of the last remaining core New Age beverage companies.” Coca-Cola needs to play catch-up with PepsiCo in the non-carbonated category. They intend to keep Fuze operating as an independent entity.

One Christmas season when I was in grade school our music teacher introduced us to the opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” A new production was about to be broadcast (on NBC even, not PBS!) and she wanted us to watch it. As she was describing the plot and playing us some of the music I assumed it was by just another one of those long dead composers. But actually the opera was composed by Gian Carlo Menotti and first performed in 1951. And Menotti was very much alive at the time. He died Thursday at the age of 95. (NY Times obit)

Do you have something floating in your eye, bothering you to distraction? Although many doctors believe the procedure is unnecessary, there are a few ophthalmologists who will zap your floaters with a laser. Dr. John Karickhoff of Falls Church, Virginia has been using this technique for 15 years with a better than 90% success rate. He’s careful about who he treats, saying most people don’t need their floaters removed, but there are people with extreme cases. I noticed more stringy bits in my eye during pregnancy and they’ve remained there, but I successfully ignore them most of the time.

After years of campaigning on my part (OK, all I actually did was put the suggestion into their website a few times), Jelly Belly has finally introduced a pomegranate jelly bean. This probably had a lot to do with the recent increased availability and publicity of pomegranates and their health benefits. I’m not taking any credit.

What train route would advise you to pack a large white cloth, 24 hours worth of food, and to be familiar with how to behave in bear country? Alaska Railroad’s Hurricane Turn train is a flag stop train, designed to serve folks living or venturing out in the wilderness. Traveling 55 miles north from Talkeetna, in the shadow of Mount McKinley, to Hurricane Gulch, the two-car diesel train operates from from mid-May to mid-September. Flag the train down with your white cloth (or a t-shirt or your arms) and enjoy the scenery. There’s no food or beverage service, but you can bring your own. The conductor carries handcuffs in case anyone gets too rowdy.

The Queen Mary 2 will arrive in San Francisco on Sunday, an event that is expected to draw a number of gawkers. Fireboats will spray their fountain-like greetings and tour boats will be full of passengers eager to see “the most magnificent ocean liner ever built.” The ship is on an around-the world-in-81-days voyage (cheapest ticket $21,185). The Queen Elizabeth 2 arrived in San Francisco a couple weeks ago with press fanfare focused on its recent bout with norovirus. The Queen Mary 2 is scheduled to pass under the Golden Gate bridge at around 3pm but tides will not allow it to dock at Pier 27 until 8pm.

Comet McNaught is making a brilliant showing in New Zealand. The “mcnaught” flickr tag turns up some amazing shots like this one from Australia.