Views from afar

June Casagrande

Spectacular views of Balboa Bay are enjoyed from Switzerland, England

and about 60 more countries worldwide, thanks to Jim Fournier.

The longtime local is Web master ofo7 TalesOfBalboa.comf7 , a site

with its own live Web cam of the bay. The camera, a joint venture with

the Harbour House Coffee shop, is strategically positioned over the

outdoor patio area where visitors drink coffee, stroll or marvel at the

gorgeous view. But in the process, they become part of the view for the

whole world to see -- a fact announced by a sign in the coffee house

window that says, “Smile. You’re on the Internet.”

“More and more, it’s being used as a way for people to give a live

image to their friends around the world,” said Fournier, who has as much

fun watching the live Web broadcast as anyone. “For example, a couple

visiting here from Switzerland got on their cell phone and called their

friends and waved to them.”

This is why more than 400 people a day visit the Web site and why

Tales of Balboa has had Internet traffic from more than 60 countries.

“Even for locals, though, it’s becoming quite a focal point,” he said,

noting that some Peninsula residents load up the Web page to check out

the action before deciding whether to head out to the site.

The images refresh every 30 seconds and, once a minute, they’re

archived into a database of 1,440 images that are accessible from the

site for 24 hours.

The Harbour House view is one of seven visible from the Web site.

Fournier also owns a Webcam on the Pacific Bell building on Balboa

Boulevard where it will broadcast images of a mural in progress until

it’s finished in July. Then the camera will be moved to the Balboa

Pavilion, where it will become the permanent Main Street Cam. The other

five cameras linked to Tales of Balboa are owned by others and Fournier

just hooks them up to his site with the other owners’ permission.

Fournier, founder of the Balboa Blab newsletter that has since become

the Balboa Beach, has been running o7 TalesOfBalboa.comf7 since April

1999 -- paying for everything out of pocket and earning no money from the

site. Harbour House gets an ad on the site because they pay for the cable

connection for Fournier’s camera.

“If I make one dollar, that will bring it up to an even one,” he said.

“I just do this because it’s fun.”