Tue, 01 Jul 2008
Raccoons in my trash bins!
This is for Jim C- The SF Gate has an article about crews of recycling bandits in SF. As the article says -
Though the men didn't knock over the bins or leave other trash in their wake, some San Francisco residents say they know when the recycling bandits are on the march when they see tipped-over cans and litter strewn on the ground and hear clanks of bottles and cans at 3 a.m. One waste company says it has received 20,000 complaints of curbside recycling theft in San Francisco.In my hood, it used to be that one older woman would go around and get the bottles and cans out of the recycling on Thursday evenings (not 3am). But the past few months, I have noticed the "crews" running through. Maybe there will be a gang war of recyclers. They can organize the gangs based on which kind of glass they recycle- brown glass, clear, or green. But so help me god, if they start singing at 3am and wake me up again I may have to get a pellet gun. . . 01 Jul 13:15 | /humor | 4 comment(s)
Mon, 30 Jun 2008
By Request
So I've gotten a few requests for blog posts. I've narrowed down the best request themes and will start posting those categories this week.
The first category is an easy one, and I already do this. Basically it'll be the equivalent of "stories about SF that make Jim C glad he lives in Livermore".
The second category- and I've had many more requests for this- is to start putting up stories about the bus- or bus adventure posts. I'll be introducing those too.
The hard part for that 2nd category is getting pics to illustrate. I can get pics, I just don't want to get a restraining order if I take something too personal. I'll have to black-bar the eyes like on that show Angie watches about what not to wear. . . .
So later this week I'll introduce the terms, nicnames, stereotypes, and nomenclature used in my bus stories. The pic on the right doesn't need any explaining though- it speaks for itself.
30 Jun 16:55 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Bad bad parents (Shaq Sucks)
via Dean H: 30 Jun 13:58 | /humor | 0 comment(s)
Sun, 29 Jun 2008
Euro '08
The finals will be on in a bit. I'm actually looking forward to the game. Spain/Germany should be a good matchup. Germany's favored, but Spain has a lot of momentum coming in. I'm just glad I don't bet money on soccer. This tourney through out all the old rules on betting. I would have lost on Holland losing to Russia and I almost always bet on Spain losing-- even though I like them. Betting against Spain is like betting with "the house" in Vegas. The math and stats are usually against them. Hopefully they buck that trend for good. 29 Jun 12:24 | /futbol | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 24 Jun 2008
Anne, you there?
Anne, I know it's still a bit too soon to call me since you broke up with your soon-to-be-convicted ex, Rafaello, . . . but next week is open, you have my contact information.. . . 24 Jun 13:57 | /humor | 1 comment(s)
Mon, 23 Jun 2008
Sandvine in the News
Via arstechnica: Sandvine: close to half of all bandwidth sucked up by P2P - http://tinyurl.com/54ynjo but note--
... we should note that Sandvine has an interest in showing that P2P traffic is clogging the tubes. The company sells gear to ISPs that, among other things, helps to throttle Internet traffic based on the needs of its customers.
"Half" is a lot, I'm still not sure about that, and yes the article mentiones a German company saying it's actually more. . . .
btw- isn't Skype technically a p2p app? 23 Jun 20:41 | /tech | 2 comment(s)
Fri, 20 Jun 2008
Boccalone Open
I went to get a sandwich for lunch at the Ferry Building. I wanted to try the new Boccalone place since I saw something about it opening recently (although I can't find where I read that originally now).
Out of 5, I'll give them a 3 for now on my "meat-ho"™ scale. I'll try them again when they have the kinks worked out. Don't get me wrong though- the meat's good stuff.
One other thought on the herding people along thing- I had to wait for my sandwich, so they gave me a receipt and a number, so I stood there and waited- but they don't call out numbers. They just put the sandwiches in these basket things for the counter staff. One of the guys there had seen me waiting and asked what my order was and took care of me. But it took a while. They should either not use the numbers, or stick to it. . . .
20 Jun 15:17 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Tue, 17 Jun 2008
Going Back to SF on Weds
I'm leaving TX tomorrow to go back to SF. I won't be posting again until at least the weekend. Hopefully traveling through SAT won't be filled with what my replacement calls "amateur hour" like the last time I flew out. Anyhoo, I'll see y'all when I see y'all.
17 Jun 12:51 | /travel/tx | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 16 Jun 2008
Some Quick White Wine Recs
I went to a nice wine tasting (and olive oil tasting) on Saturday night in Austin.
I just wanted to post what I thought some of the standouts were. These are pretty affordable too. All 4 of the ones below16 Jun 16:12 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 11 Jun 2008
SF vs SA - Howdy Edition
The differences between a typical jog in San Francisco versus a typical one in San Antonio. in SF:
I usually initiate the 'nod' or a wave or venture a 'hello' On the last jog/walk I went on (mostly in the park): -only 1 'nod' back
-2 nai ho's back (from the two cantonese women who recognized me from the bus and who chuckle at my attempts to learn cantonese) -and 3 suspicious scowls from various russian men and 1 russian couple oh, the honkys who wear their north face fleece vests or the women who have their pony tails pulled through their hats are too serious to say hi back (they must be from the East Coast)
... there's more to read here ...
11 Jun 16:30 | /travel/tx | 3 comment(s)
Tue, 10 Jun 2008
Monday Night La Tuna Group
I joined my parents and their friends for their weekly Monday gathering at La Tuna for Burgers and beer. Quite nice.
10 Jun 10:42 | /travel/tx | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 09 Jun 2008
Twitter Fail and the WWDC Nerds
There are tons of articles and posts about how Twitter has lots and lots of problems. KC sums it up well here (and also here in a more serious way). They've been down *a lot* recently. I don't care that much, but I do think it's interesting to follow as I'm a casual user of their service. This week is Apple's WWDC and Twitter has a blog post up about how they're anticipating the load and are making some changes to handle it. Because lord knows, all the geeks are out in force . . . And something interesting happened this morning. I have twitter set up to 'post' anything I share in my google reader feed as a link. Basically, when I'm reading various blogs, if I find something interesting, I mark it as shared and people who follow me on twitter see the link (or they can look at the shared links I have on various pages on my site in those sidebar widgets). So this morning, I'm cruising through my feeds and I read a snarky post on a financial blog I read called Infectious Greed. Here's the post. Anyway, I thought it was witty and I clicked share, which 20 mins later sent it through the tubes™ and it went out as a 'tweet'. So just a few moments later, some goober called eggmanjohn posted a tweet basically telling me to stop harvesting traffic. He's obviously trying to follow WWDC and iPhone news and is tracking it on twitter. So he must think I'm a problematic user trying to get more eyeballs or worse, someone whose spam can either a) mess up those trying to follow iphone and wwdc or b) mess up twitter itself (zomg!) Twitter needs some serious work, and people need to stop treating it so seriously. It's just a fun site for now- nothing more (until they get their kinks worked out at least, then the power of it could shine through). 09 Jun 12:01 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
La Tuna Tonight
Those of you in SA-
My parents and their friends always go down to La Tuna on Mondays for burgers & beer. I'll be there from 6:30 - ? tonight if you're interested in dropping by. google map 09 Jun 10:38 | /travel/tx | 0 comment(s)
Sun, 08 Jun 2008
Savage Espresso
I think I've changed my mind on the Nespresso Machines- and pod machines in general.
08 Jun 18:43 | /food_and_drink | 1 comment(s)
Tue, 03 Jun 2008
Transportation Strike
I wonder if any tech companies based in Hyderabad will have a lot of problems starting tomorrow due to a planned transportation strike which includes cab drivers. As part of employment, a lot of tech jobs (and job offers when recruiting) include transportation to and from work in India. The way a lot of companies do it is to hire out groups of private cabs to come at scheduled times to pick up or drop off small groups of employees who live in the same neighborhood and/or have similar shift times. It's key for US companies too as their offices in India typical have overnight shifts to match our business needs- especially in Customer Service and QA teams. Free rides at 3am is necessary, especially for the female workers. That article I linked to above mentions protesting a 12.5% increase in the VAT. That's a pretty big increase. 03 Jun 12:56 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
SF Quote
I liked this quote from the Mayor of SF who was talking about his budget cuts, but I liked it in a wider sense:
"The reality outside our 47 1/2 square miles is very different from the reality within it," Newsom said.from this column. 03 Jun 11:15 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Going to TX
I'm going to San Antonio this week. I'll be there visiting family and working remotely for about two weeks. Unrelated, Christine of the WhitePants sent me an email today:
Well, my favorite site ever (thanks, Kenneth for guiding me to it all those years ago) has posted my very own submission. Holler!!! Check it out here. First a "review of the day" on yelp, now a p-a note. Well played. 03 Jun 00:18 | /travel/tx | 1 comment(s)
Sat, 31 May 2008
Soup!
I just got this package in the mail from my sister-in-law:
Cock flavored soup . . . oooh, spicy! 31 May 14:20 | /humor | 4 comment(s)
Thu, 29 May 2008
Panty Droppers?
If I had known that some women had certain types of reactions to musicians I would've practiced guitar more. I'd better get some new strings and some sheet music this weekend. 29 May 16:15 | /links | 2 comment(s)
Tue, 27 May 2008
Improving the Risotto
As a follow up to my previous post How to *not* cook risotto I'd like to present you with some corrections/steps to make it better.
Use the fresh shrooms like I said in the previous post- but use the dried earthy porcinis as well. When you reconstitute them, keep the liquid and add it back to your stock when you're ready to start putting it all together. It really makes the stock (and later dish) much better and with more complex flavors.
4) serve dinner, serve the wine, chill out and have some fun . . . As I've said before, it's good craic
5) bonus: get really lucky because the 27 May 22:15 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 26 May 2008
BBQ Comment
Embracing my inner snob I'd just like to say:
Lighter fluid is the smell of ignorance.I'll give you points for trying to use charcoal but . . . Serioulsy people, get a cheap chimney starter.
26 May 21:04 | /food_and_drink | 5 comment(s)
Fri, 23 May 2008
Zomg Weezer
Twitter is abuzz w/ the new Weezer video and the sheer volume of internet memes in it. . . .
23 May 13:23 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Friday Notes
Random stuff for Friday Memorial Day Weekend is here. Break out the white pants! But not like this. (Thanks Bryan!) But then again, take some time to remember what Memorial Day is really for, and go punch a Nazi in the nuts. Bittman has a piece up about broiling ribs in case it rains and you want to bbq. Looks like a decent recipe/method. The Spurs are going to give me an ulcer. Game 2 Tonight v Lakers! Lots of stuff online about the Santa Cruz Mountain Fires:
sfgate.com and a ton of links on Dave's site. It's not just bad for the wine obviously, but the people who live there. My peeps in Mountain View said they can smell smoke at their office. Random tip of the day: keep your Google Reader in List view- helps you cruise through the posts much more quickly and drop the feeds you don't really read. 23 May 12:24 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 21 May 2008
How To Not Cook Risotto
Here's how to not make risotto.
... there's more to read here ...
21 May 21:40 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 19 May 2008
Slippery When Wet
Today I was walking from the bus stop to work and realized that the line outside the Peet's wasn't too long yet. It usually goes out the door and around the building. I was getting there just as it was going out the door so I thought I'd get a cup there as I didn't get a chance to pull a shot of espresso at home. So as I'm standing there behind a tall banker, I kind of tripped on the wet sidewalk tiles as we were scooting up. I didn't fall, but my shoes made a noise. He looked up at the noise. He kind of looked around conspiritorially and said- "Yeah, you've got to be careful- they wet all the sidewalks down when they sweep in the morning," he leaned in more and added, "because they piss and poop on the sidewalks." He nodded towards some homeless people over by the bank. "At my building over there, they have to sweep out near the wall in particular way back by that bush because it's hidden so well and they poop over there because no one can see them." I said, "yeah, I've seen it more out in the open- right over there between the newspaper stands and that Bart elevator. The newspaper machines hide them from street view, but just barely. I've walked by and had to step over human feces" He scrunched up his face at that like that was just a touch too savage. As we scooted up in the line and got in to the Peet's he said, "At first I thought you tripped because you were looking at those two girls. That blonde looks like a young Heather Locklear." "Nope, I guess it was just the sidewalk. It's Monday and I'm not awake yet." I didn't want to admit I was staring at her friend. But then again, you all knew that anyway. 19 May 20:57 | /humor | 1 comment(s)
Sun, 18 May 2008
Chilaquiles in MV
You know how to start off your lazy Sunday right?
That's right, some Chilaquiles in Mountain View (or wherever you are)
Cory and I went to Tapatio Grill again so I could try the Tapatio Grill chilaquiles. Quite nice.
He got the red ones, and I wanted my verdes. The cashier told me that the red may be better. I'll have to get those next time.
I wanted to try their Birria too but they said they didn't have any left today. So that will require another visit soon.
Just as an aside, you know what kills the nice buzz of a 80F+ afternoon? Coming North on Caltrain in shorts to SF, getting off the train and wishing you had your jacket as you head to your foggy neighborhood. I'm not hatin' I'm just sayin . . .
18 May 21:19 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Sat, 17 May 2008
Kevin in the News
SFSU's Xpress Magazine has a feature about Kevin and some other nutty swimmers:
Even with a wetsuit, it feels like suicide. With each stroke away from the secluded beach, the swimmer becomes more aware that if he stops moving his limbs, the cold of the fifty-degree water will consume them. Within about ten minutes, feet aren't feet anymore, they become solid blocks attached to legs.click here to read the full article. 17 May 13:08 | /news | 2 comment(s)
Thu, 15 May 2008
john mccain kept your wiffle ball
the boys at ldopa.net have another great site up. check out this post. I made one contribution to the db. . . 15 May 22:46 | /links | 1 comment(s)
Mon, 12 May 2008
The Top 9 Double Bass Drum Players and Songs
I was recently reading an inspired blog post about dying with a cactus and got to thinking about blogs and music. And then after settling another unrelated argument about music I thought about making a blog post about it. But- you know what? I realized I didn't have my post in list form. People these days only read your blogs if you have a list, preferably in the form of a top 5 or top 10. So, without further ado, here's my
Top 9 Double Bass Drum Songs and/or Drummers.
Why top 9? Because that's 3 triplets mofugga!Now go practice your paradiddles #9 Lars - Metallica - One
although I'm tempted to not link anything related to Metallica
Arrrrr mp3 baddddddd
There may be better examples (Leper Messiah, etc.. .), but One always stands out (stands out for it's crappy production too) #8 Niko McBain - Iron Maiden
The dude's so badass he only needs one pedal to outplay most of the double-pedal users. (this probably isn't the best example either)
... there's more to read here ...
12 May 22:01 | /rants_and_raves | 9 comment(s)
Pretty Cool CCTV Story
via Reason.com via boingboing
The Get Out Clause, an unsigned Manchester band who could not afford a camera crew for their video, 'performed' in front of a load of CCTV cameras, requested the footage from the camera operators under the Data Protection Act and then stitched the results together for their music video.link here
youtube link 12 May 14:26 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Fri, 09 May 2008
Jon Lord
Sometimes I wish I either had a drum kit at work . . .or barring that a big ass Hammond organ at my desk and a huuuge amp. Sure, I'd get fired, but it'd be fun to just crank out the tunes (like this one). 09 May 19:17 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 08 May 2008
Indy BS Marketing
Okay, I love escapism and good stories, but let's nip this crap in the bud now.
If you don't already subscribe to the Skeptoid Podcast, you should. That said, read (if you don't want to download an audiofile) this episode about Crystal Skulls. That way when you start seeing more marketing kits/text from the Indy movie machine, you'll recognize it's just buzz for the movie . . .08 May 11:41 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 07 May 2008
Link Lovin'
Jen has a new blog up. Go check it out, or add it to your RSS reader. It's called The Lucky Paw and she seems to update it a lot. Here's the 3rd best pic of Jen I could find:
07 May 20:23 | /links | 3 comment(s)
Ladbrokes & Hils
Why doesn't ladbrokes.com (or sites from vegas) have the odds or the line on when Hilary Clinton will give up? I'd like to put some cash down . . . (or at least see the odds). Surely someone has something . . . meanwhile, (via KC) comes this Also- and I'm being semi-serious in this "<p>" - there was a story back in '04 I think, in the NYT about how Hils and other Dems would snub Kerry in "huddles" on the Senate floor after his loss. Do you think the same thing's going to happen to her? (and yes, I'm still looking for the article) 07 May 17:19 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 06 May 2008
No Chains
Uggh, more anti-biz news in the Chronicle. I understand not wanting a Home Depot or Walgreen's or Starbucks on every corner, but the paint store in the article was already in business on Market and just wanted to move locations.
A paint company and a landlord in San Francisco's Mission District thought they had a good deal when they signed the lease for a paint store to move into a former video rental shop earlier this year.There's a funny line in there about a store on Fillmore too. I didn't know a Ralph Lauren store had been forced to do community service (of a sort) to take over the closed Smith & Hawken location or they wouldn't get their permit. 06 May 13:10 | /rants_and_raves | 0 comment(s)
But the plan had a problem: The paint company, which owns the Glidden brand, is considered a chain store and therefore was not a popular choice. The Planning Commission stopped the move, even though the company wanted to occupy a vacant spot abandoned by bankrupt Hollywood Video, another chain.
Sun, 04 May 2008
Fulham Safe?
I have this little text file where I save short drafts and/or ideas about blog posts. I had planned on this longer one about how I've been bummed out about following the EPL and I'm finally getting around to it as the season's winding down.
Before "cable" it was difficult for me to follow foreign games (that weren't in Mexico), especially the EPL. My brother has always liked Arsenal, and for a while, I kind of did too- but I wanted another team to follow. I knew it'd either be Liverpool or Chelsea and wound up following Chelsea games and news when I could- especially when Zola (more | more*) was there.
But over the past few years, Mourinho, Abramovich, and the playing style made me start looking for another team. For non-soccer folks, it'd be like being a Cowboys fan from afar pre-Jerry Jones.
Anyway, due to some American players getting contracts, Fulham started showing up on TV more- so I decided to pay some attention to them as I was already trying to follow American players abroad - Keller, McBride, Dempsey, Friedel, and Jay Demerit . . . (following players abroad is also why I'm not a fan of Landon Donovan).
Fulham had been doing okay, they were never that great the past few years, but they did alright. But this year, they fired their coach early on and started to slide down the table. They're in danger of being relegated (being kicked down to the lower league) and I was about to write them off and start looking for another team (they also have an owner I'm not a fan of . . .).
It's not that I'm abandoning the players, it's just that if they get relegated, the teams usually have a fire sale and the players flee anyway (unless they're Buffon in Italy).
The other thing is that I hope Fulham doesn't get criticized for having too many American players- that's not why they started to slide.
But anyway, Fulham won 2-0 yesterday and with one more game left, they can stay in the Premier League for another season. It's going to be a nailbiter. I hope they make it, and I hope they stop firing their coaches. . .
In other news, why would Messi go to Chelsea? (Other than for money). If he goes there, I predict a broken ankle in 4 games inflicted by some goofball defender from another team. Either that, or he shines and becomes the next Zola, but . . . that's a long shot.
04 May 13:11 | /futbol | 2 comment(s)
Thu, 01 May 2008
Protest Something
I just had lunch near Justin Herman plaza (near the Ferry Building). There's some May Day rally going on, but judging from the signs displayed, you wouldn't be able to figure out wtf people are protesting. There were signs for Longshoremen, Socialists, Defeat Bush, No Blood for Oil, US out of Iraq, "Stop the Immigration Raids", Reformed Medicine, something about China. . . . etc. The only thing we didn't see was a sign for "no spraying for bugs in SF", but that's probably because we weren't looking too hard. I wanted to steal the mic from one of the rally screamers and yell, "ok, lunch break's been over for a while people, get back to your desks!" sfgate.com article 01 May 15:24 | /rants_and_raves | 0 comment(s)
Last IMIA Post
20040830 Wed - FINISHED! Aww yeah!! It took me almost 2 hours of riding around after work to get the mileage I needed (I underestimated my planned route home), but I did it. Thanks again to Kevin for organizing this, and thanks to Pak for swimming for me.
01 May 12:59 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 29 Apr 2008
See? I wasn't that far off
Even though I was kind of joking with this post, it wasn't that far off from some plans. (and yes, I know I didn't edit my table with a non-coference bias):
Ever been anxious to see the San Antonio Spurs against CSKA Moscow, when they are really playing hard?more here and here. 29 Apr 23:05 | /futbol | 0 comment(s)
Allegedly, that could be on the way.
Nice Long Run Tonight
Another cross-post from the IMIA page, but so what . . . I'll get back to blogging about movies, wine, and tech crap soon enough . . 20080428 Mon - Originally I was going to ride to work today, but I overslept (again, although just slightly) and realized I had a flat tire. So, I took the bus to work knowing I'd have to go on a jog when I got home. Using Gmap Pedometer I plotted out some of my easier (flat) runs that were about 3 miles long. I thought about extending it a bit thinking, well, if I could get as close to 6 miles as possible it'd be great. But, I also knew that running close to 10k would blow my knees out. I wound up deciding on a route to and through part of Golden Gate Park and back home. But during that jog, when I reached the point where I should have turned back I thought- "hrm . . . I should run all the way to the beach (or try at least) and then back up Fulton until my knees blow out, then I can take the bus home to 8th and walk from Fulton to Cali." And for some reason, I actually did it. I was just glad I had my jacket on, because it was cold, windy and wet-foggy for at least half the run, but clearer towards the water. Sure enough, my knees were killing me by the time I got there and as I started to come up Fulton, I knew I could only go a few more blocks (to the next bus stop). So, I hopped on the bus, got off at 8th, and then ran the additional .89 miles back to the apartment. Here's the route I took. It's 4.89 miles, giving me a total of 5.78 miles for the day. That means I'm at 25.7 total. Uggh, I'm short half a mile. I wish I had known that, I would've tried to go another half mile. I'll do it tomorrow or Wednesday depending on how my knees are. btw- if you use gmap-pedometer in firefox, turn off adblock plus for that domain (if you use that plugin). 29 Apr 00:02 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Sun, 27 Apr 2008
Great Sunday Out There in SF!
I'm cross-posting this from my IMIA page, but so what. . . 20080427 Sun - Wow, what great weather we're finally having in SF! Went on a great ride today, 22.5 miles through Golden Gate Park, down to the beach and down to the Lake. I did some extra rolling around once I got back up to the Panhandle, and then back down towards the De Young to check out some dancers:
You know what though? My ride was aweseome (in the Eddie Izzard sense of the word)- only slight wind, I went early enough to avoid any "heat" (heh, SF heat) and I'm in better riding shape so I was able to haul ass a bit more than I'm used to.
But here's the thing- when I was checking my bike pre-ride (tires, chain, etc), I realized the plastic guard thing that sits between the freewheel and the spokes was broken and was kind of stuck between them. I broke the rest of the plastic out of there and realized that suddenly my wheel spun much more easily.
Now I'm wondering when the hell it broke and got stuck down there. Could earlier rides have been easier, or was today just a great all-around ride due to me getting in slightly better shape and having no wind?
btw- I'm not saying I'm in shape, I originally wanted to go 35 miles, but my legs were getting tired. At least I didn't have to "granny-gear" it as much as I do when I go in the Presidio. Wheeeee.
I'm at 80% for my riding. . . . I have 22.4 miles left for IMIA (of biking).
27 Apr 15:31 | /general | 4 comment(s)
Tue, 22 Apr 2008
No Matzoh For Jew!
The SFGate has an article about a matzoh shortage in the Bay Area.
Safeway, Whole Foods, Lunardi's, Lucky and Mollie Stone stores were among those that reported selling out of their supply of the unleavened bread. A reporter's calls found matzo-less stores in San Francisco, San Rafael, Oakland, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Berkeley and Palo Alto. Even stores that specialize in Jewish products, such as Afikomen Judaica in Berkeley, said they'd run dry. Most grocers said the shelves emptied Friday or Saturday.
Many Jews said it was an unprecedented shortage.
What's a Jew to do? Maybe you can get a rabbi to bless some Saltines or Ritz? It's too bad we can't use corn tortillas . . .
update! wtf, they have stacks of matzoh at the Soup place in One Market:
I should've stolen that stack to sell on craigslist!
22 Apr 12:47 | /general | 1 comment(s)
Mon, 21 Apr 2008
Wheeeee
I hate it when I'm riding up a hill and my leg's cramping and I'm riding into the wind and I'm wondering "why the hell am I on a bike?" But then I get to the top and I'm not wheezing as much as I remember wheezing last week and I see the view and I think, "oh yeah, now I remember. . . "
21 Apr 23:21 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Sun, 20 Apr 2008
Gorgeous Outside
I live in a nice area- I have to remind myself that sometimes.
20 Apr 17:54 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Fri, 18 Apr 2008
If the NBA were like Soccer
If the NBA were like Soccer, Boston would have locked up the NBA Cup weeks ago on points alone. Here's this year's RESULTS TABLE. And yes, the Spurs would be above NO. 18 Apr 15:32 | /futbol | 0 comment(s)
Infectious Weirdness
Things have been odd lately- mostly at work. There seems to be very little morale, or maybe people are just in a bad mood. A colleague was telling me that during an interview a candidate she was speaking with had asked how the corporate culture was. She asked - "do people go out for happy hours?". She wanted to say, "yeah, there are a lot, we have them whenever someone leaves."
... there's more to read here ...
18 Apr 00:07 | /rants_and_raves | 6 comment(s)
Tue, 15 Apr 2008
Blah blah, Driving
- Angie shouldn't drive to Petaluma.
- Shane should be careful racing in Union City.
- San Franciscans are having problems.
- Wtf, SF has Driver's Ed in their schools? They can't even teach a history class without a protest, how are they teaching driving? Where I'm from you go and take a class somewhere else, or have your parents teach you. . .
- I'm glad to see Texans still have drive-thru beer joints
- bye bye 35
Mon, 14 Apr 2008
Inevitable Mac Update
Well, I'm starting to get used to the iMac. Whenever I would get confused I'd remember that Cory and Angie had reminded me that it's basically the linux box I'm used to, but just with a shiny UI (and a much faster nicer one too). I'm still taking my time to move things over, like my old mail archives and some other files. I'm not letting iPhoto or whatever it's called index my picture archives (yet) either. Speaking of, I uncovered my backup archives that have the pictures of some of you "cage dancing" in Tahoe. I'll upload them to my site sometime next week. ;) As far as necessary apps, I haven't really gone crazy installing things. I'm glad to have TrueCrypt back on a working machine, and other than that I'm playing with Quicksilver> more and just like on my Windoze box, I have Twhirl, a Twitter app, installed. Twhirl's kinda cool, it's based on the Adobe Air platform, and I've yet to have a problem with it on any platform I use-- although maybe Pridkett will figure out something cool or horrible with it soon. Don't get me started on Twitter, I both loathe it and like it at the same time. That said, let me know if you use it so I can follow you. But so far so good- there are still some minor things I need to figure out like setting up a preferred Terminal and figuring out why the stupid end key doesn't do crap on the keyboard. . . . oh, and get a squid proxy on this. . . etc etc 14 Apr 20:40 | /tech | 1 comment(s)
Fri, 11 Apr 2008
Wine Blog Recommendations
Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley Wines. Dave Tong, who I met through Paul, writes this blog. Add it to your RSS Reader. He updates it pretty regularly and has really insightful posts on some of the places you South Bay Kids love. Case in point: A post about tasting at Cinnabar
Good Wine Under $20 has been another one I've been keeping up with in ye olde Google Reader. I haven't made any purchases recommended by Dr. Debs yet, but I've been ready. Maybe once my cold goes away and if we get a quarterly bonus at work . . . .11 Apr 23:55 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Mmm Queso
Damn this girl has a good blog-- Chuck pointed out that The Homesick Texan has a post up about queso. Mmmm Queso. I should try her recipe and do a side-by-side taste test against my standard "ro*tel n velveeta" method.
11 Apr 14:37 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Thu, 10 Apr 2008
Damn iPhone
This is more of a question than a rant- Have any of you iPhone users had to reboot your iPhone because you realized you weren't getting any calls, or that the calls you were trying to make weren't connecting? I had this weird problem this morning where I was trying to dial in to a conference call and the phone just pretended it dialed and just sat there. I thought the problem was with the conference line at work, maybe the meeting hadn't started yet or something. But then I tried to dial my desk, and then the local time and nothing was working. So I shut the phone down (which took forever) and turned it back on. Suddenly I had 3 voice mails and some text messages from earlier in the morning. Great. Apparently people had been trying to reach me and couldn't. Has this happened to any of y'all? 10 Apr 13:40 | /tech | 7 comment(s)
Wed, 09 Apr 2008
Takei
09 Apr 15:04 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Protests n Stuff
Man did I pick the right?wrong day to get a cold and need to sleep in before coming in to work. Downtown SF is a madhouse with protesters. The pro-china counter-protesters are just sad too. Their big response to a lot of chants about Free Tibet! is "Liar!" Yeah, you show 'em . . . If you're really bored you can follow torch and protest updates on sfist and twitter.
sftorch
laughingsquid
and sfist Wheee. I just want them to stop making noise and I want to go back home and go to sleep. 09 Apr 14:41 | /general | 2 comment(s)
Sat, 05 Apr 2008
Gross?
One of those "ritual hipsters" won a SCAA Barista award (sfist.com) but check out this "signature drink":
a three-tiered liquid cherry-lime cheesecake concoction. The bottom layer of the drink included a strained and chilled cherry-lime reduction with a mixture of cream cheese, milk and a dusting of powdered sugar comprising the middle layer.I dunno, that drink sounds kind of nasty, but perhaps I should try it before casting stones. I went to Ritual recently (on Easter Sunday) with some out of town guests. It was okay, it's not great. I can pull great shots from my machine just as easily. And I don't require that my guests who visit for an espresso have to bring in a mac laptop and ride a fixie. Oooh, snarky! full press release (despite my snarkiness, the scaa is pretty important in my eyes)
The beverage's top portion featured a cheesecake mix blended with a rich Fazenda Sao Joao coffee.
05 Apr 20:05 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Fri, 04 Apr 2008
I have a secret
I have a dirty little secret. I wasn't hiding it but it was bound to come out sooner or later. Yeah yeah, I "switched teams". I bought a Mac. I don't have too much to note about the new machine yet other than it was inanely easy to set up. I had planned on just building a new linux box, lord knows that would have been cheaper, but I dunno, it just kinda happened. I still have my other main machine- "tequila", which Fitz helped me build back in the stic.net days. Yes, 97-98ish. That's right, I've been running a i386 for 10 years (700mHz upgrade in '01 or '02!!) and it is time to upgrade. Although, tequila is still running Fedora Core and is my main proxy w/o problems . . . I guess I have to slow down on my mocking of hipsters now that I have one of their fetish objects. Who knows. I still have more in common with the guy on the right:
04 Apr 17:07 | /tech | 3 comment(s)
Tue, 01 Apr 2008
IMIA Starts Today
As I wrote here, Kevin's IronMan™ In April starts today. I actually woke up on time and rode to work. I'll keep the IMIA updates on this page. If you're interested, it's not too late- email Kevin. 01 Apr 13:19 | /general | 1 comment(s)
Mon, 31 Mar 2008
Kathie Lee Gifford to join NBC's `Today'
Yes, I know about this- you don't need to email me the news. My mom emailed me this link this morning (and my dad emailed it to me later in the day).
Gifford, 54, who left Regis Philbin and "Live" in 2000, joked that the timing of her TV return "couldn't be worse" in certain ways: "I'm eight years older, 10 pounds heavier, a half-inch shorter, and just in time for HD television."Pretty funny quote actually. Welcome back KLG, I'll have to start "working from home" more. 31 Mar 17:52 | /humor | 1 comment(s)
She Wasn't Fibbing
She's a good shot too: 31 Mar 13:38 | /news | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 27 Mar 2008
HOLY F***ING CRAP! Tortas Ahogadas!!
Holy Crap, a TEN+ year search has finally ended!
I just ate at El Tapatio Grill on Rengstorf in MV with Jen. We went to have a late lunch and I wanted to see how the place was. It's changed owners and names like 10 times this past year- it's in the shopping center near the Valero off Middlefield/Rengstorf. Actually, it's a block or two past Middlefield if you're going West on Reng. So we pull up in the parking lot, and what did I see in the window? A sign for TA!
Anyway, I got the sandwich, and let me tell you . . . it was perfect. The *only* difference between GDL and MV was that the bolillo could've been more um, "stale". Those of you who've had these before will know what I'm talking about. But it was great.
Carnitas? great, check
bread? great, check,although could've been more stale
did they bother with the two sauces? YES! (this is a test, some places cheat and just use one)
Was the secondary sauce spicy good? YES! mmm
beans in the bread? check
Did they bother pulling out the innards of the bolillo?
fresh onion slices? check
Was it good? YES Ah, I'm so happy and excited. I've been asking for these sandwiches everywhere I go where I hear the accento Jaliscence guey! Oh, they also have chilaquiles for breakfast, so you know I'll be going back there.
27 Mar 18:26 | /food_and_drink | 7 comment(s)
Comcast is still full of it
(via GigaOm) SPIN CITY: Comcast, BitTorrent Non-Deal
BitTorrent Inc. and Comcast announced a new deal today, thanks to a helping hand provided by Comcast CTO and BitTorrent adviser, Tony Werner. It.s actually a bit of a non-deal and a way for Comcast to save face after its P2P traffic management gaffe. Chris Albrecht over on NewTeeVee sees this as a .let.s be friends. move. To me it seems more like the marriage of Michael Jackson to Elvis Presley.s daughter.And I realized that this plugin for Azureus doesn't work on my ancient Linux box. more 27 Mar 12:26 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
The press release basically says nothing and gives me a headache.
Mon, 24 Mar 2008
Monday Stuff
Some friends meet me for dinner or drinks, some friends research Wifi and then meet me for dinner or drinks. I can't even get a signal in my own apartment sometimes and Patrick's getting 300+ on the train? Damn hackers . . . . Speaking of friends, thanks to one of them darn social network sites, I got back in touch with someone I went to Jr High and High School with. We used to be way into comic books. Turns out that he wound up getting in to publishing them. Due to an incredibly generous UPS shipment, I'm making my way through quite a few of the titles from Boom! Studios. The three of you closeted comic fans who read this blog should check out some of their titles. It's almost April. You should be getting your bikes ready. Why is it that whenever I have a week when I think, "hrm, I need to curtail my spending habits" it turns out that it's the same week I get wine allocation letters? MMmmmm yummy wine. . . Some co-workers and I wandered down to the best/most dangerous store in SF- Fog City News on Friday. There were enough of us that the owner came out from behind the counter and gave us a little chat and tasting demo. I think every one of us wound up buying chocolate that day. Mmmm yummy chocolate. I'm glad I have one of their frequent buyer cards which list what I've bought before because it keeps me trying new ones. I'm now a HUGE fan of Byrne & Carlson's Sea Salt & Chipotle bar. Someone asked me the other day why I haven't posted a dvd roundup in a while. It's because my super-versatile, yet cheap, DVD player died. I have a cheap one on the way so I'll be back and posting another roundup soon. I leave you with this post from Laughing Squid-- I so wish I could get frequent flier miles on this. How awesome would that be? 24 Mar 23:55 | /general | 3 comment(s)
Fri, 21 Mar 2008
Only 30 :(
30 Thanks Bryan 21 Mar 15:30 | /humor | 4 comment(s)
Wed, 19 Mar 2008
Rejected Cards
I love these cards, especially the one with the diagram and this one:
19 Mar 16:46 | /humor | 0 comment(s)
Oh Joy, Protesters
How sad is it that protesters have deflated into just sad annoying mother effers? "Breaking News: Hipsters And Code Pink Takeover Market And Montgomery" headline on sfist.com which is normally sympathetic to those two demographics. . . People keep saying the protesters should go somewhere where they'll find people who disagree with them instead of protesting in SF. It's not like any of them live here anyway- BART makes it easier for them . . . sfgate.com (love the comments). And just for fun- check out the ever-so-offensive craigslist rants and raves. Yeah, I'm against the war but your efforts make me want to get an ice-chest full of water balloons and roof access somewhere. 19 Mar 16:08 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 18 Mar 2008
Oh Noes!!11
Uggh, my headphones just died. My glorious "Plane Quiet NC-6" headphones. . . I don't know if I'll be able to come into the office tomorrow unless I go get new headphones somewhere tonight. Unrelated- what's up with all the freaks running around SF? Is the slight turn towards good weather bringing them out? On Sunday Angie, Mike and I saw more crazy mother effers in 30 mins at the bad burrito place than I had seen in a month. And today on the bus this hippy jackhole wouldn't let a woman sit down on the remaining seat because "there was someone sitting there". There wasn't, he had his unmuzzled, non-service dog hidden by his feet. I turned around and asked him to let the woman sit there- and he repeated "there's someone sitting there, don't you see him?" and about 3 of us said "no, we don't". But no dice. The goober didn't even realize it was an express bus either. 18 Mar 16:50 | /tech | 3 comment(s)
Wed, 12 Mar 2008
How I Came to Love Kathie Lee Gifford
No, I'm not blogging while drunk . . . let's back the story up a bit. Ever since I was a child I've had
... there's more to read here ...
12 Mar 11:43 | /humor | 10 comment(s)
Tue, 11 Mar 2008
If Celebs Moved to Oklahoma
I just saw this link on Todd's tumblr page and it is brilliant. If Celebs Moved to Oklahoma 11 Mar 12:34 | /humor | 0 comment(s)
Sun, 09 Mar 2008
Barrel Tasting in Sonoma
Yesterday I went up to Sonoma County with Cory and Mindi to meet up with Andre and Christina to run around and do some barrel tasting at some Russian River wineries. We were fortunate enough to have some great weather and it turned out to be a great and sunny day to hang out with friends and taste some nice wine.
... there's more to read here ...
09 Mar 22:06 | /food_and_drink | 3 comment(s)
Wed, 05 Mar 2008
IronMan in April
Kevin's challenging everyone to do an Ironman in April. No, not all at once, but over the course of a month. Check out his post here if you're interested.
This is a challenging, yet attainable goal for most folks and a great way to break out of winter. What does it take?That may look like a lot at first, but he's encouraging 2-person teams to try. I'm going to have Pak be my swimming partner that way I'll be done with the swimming section really quickly as he swims some crazy amount every morning.
The total miles for a typical week might look like this. . .
.5 mile in a pool
28 miles on a bike
6.5 miles running or walking
If you work out 6 days a week, your week might look like this. . .Marc, if you read this, that bikeable distance you could cover in your sleep on your dutch commuter. 05 Mar 11:23 | /general | 2 comment(s)
Monday . walk 30 minutes (1.5 miles)
Tuesday . swim 20 minutes (.5 miles)
Wednesday . bike 1 hour (13 miles)
Thursday . REST
Friday . walk/run 30 minutes (2.5 miles)
Saturday . bike 1 hour (13 miles)
Sunday . walk/run 30 minutes (2.5 miles)
Live Well Acupuncture Clinic Open House
A while back I posted that my friend Eunice had opened up her own clinic. She's having an open house next Wednesday (the 12th) and I thought I'd pass along the news. An esthetician and two massage therapists are participating in the group open house. If you're interested in going let me know so I can pass along the contact information or you can check out the website. (I corrected the url) 05 Mar 11:17 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 28 Feb 2008
iTunes Smart Playlists
Although this is geared to iPhone users, this article on crankingwidgets.com has some pretty good iTunes playlist ideas. It's helping me keep my stuff a bit more organized. 28 Feb 18:29 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 26 Feb 2008
Pan Pacific Soccer Thoughts
I tried watching some of the Pan-Pacific soccer tourney that was played in Hawai'i last weekend. I wound up getting really annoyed that the whole thing was on astrotruf and I wound up changing the channel because it was driving me bonkers watching the ball skip around from errant passes. Shocking, I know- I usually will watch almost any game, and I even had a cold. It turns out I wasn't the only one that was annoyed- check it:(from cnnsi.com in turn quoting the LaTimes)
The artificial surface at Aloha Stadium was another contentious issue. "We are very disappointed with the field surface," Garber said. "Our players said it was perhaps the worst surface they had played on."The weird thing was that as I was watching the game I thought- of all places, why would Hawaii have turf? They have ideal growing conditions? Am I wrong about that? Or maybe it's a budget thing. 26 Feb 14:30 | /futbol | 2 comment(s)
Thu, 21 Feb 2008
Empanadas and My Friends Kick Ass
Everyone knows I like hanging out with 'ma [sic] peeps'. And everyone knows I like cookin' and cookin' with my peeps. But what happens when I get to do that in a commercial kitchen? I get a big ol' smile on my face.
... there's more to read here ...
21 Feb 22:14 | /food_and_drink | 1 comment(s)
Tue, 19 Feb 2008
Coming Home on Prez Day
Well, apparently it was a 12 hour day as I just got home. -I had to launch another phone project tonight- I took the ever-interesting 38 Geary bus to get home. Here's what I learned tonight from one man: Paul McCartney is hands-down the richest cat in rock and roll. He lives in either London or England. -James Brown died two Christmases ago -Aids was man-made as there are no homo monkeys. It's from a lab (the virus, not the homo-monkey, which doesn't exist). -Africa, of all the countries, has the most resources (and no homo-monkey). Note: I didn't know it was now a country. -HWBush was in the CIA, and that's how he helped the Bin Laden family. Of course this is leading to Obama's demise, just like the other martyrs they assasinated and why McCain will win. -People used to live to be 900 years old. It said so in the bible, but Michaelangelo was just a contractor and was told to make the baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary look European, but before that all that water and air was pure. And that's why people lived to be 800, 900 years old. After that last line came out, I said, "like Methusela!". And the man said, "Exactly, I'm one of his descendants. You must have recognized that. Most people like you on the bus ignore me, but you're kind and different, even if you don't believe that 'they' caused 9/11 and will get Obama. I don't know why you didn't turn around earlier and just ignore me. Peace be with you brother." And he got off the bus. I just like to say the name Methusela whenever I get the chance. But it got me the peace for the ride home. So I got that going for me. So here's a haiku for you readers- 800 years old
That's how old man lived to be
the bible said so Of course if I were in a bad mood I could've written: you smell it on me
whiskey hidden in my coat
don't talk to strangers 19 Feb 00:12 | /rants_and_raves | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 18 Feb 2008
Working on Prez Day
Well, it took me longer than normal to get to work today as there were no express buses running because it's a holiday. I had to take the normal riff-raff bus which took forever. Once I got downtown I thought I'd get some coffee as I'm already running a bit late, 5 more mins wouldn't make a difference. But three places I like were closed because it's a holiday. When I got to our building I saw some "engineers" waiting outside because they couldn't get in the door. They must not have read the email saying to open the doors you'd need your badge because the building would be locked because it's a holiday. As a side note- should I be worried about someone's code for work if they can't figure out the door badge and elevator badge thing? I think our two floors are the only ones with people on them today because it's a holiday. And I'm not sure the AC/heat (HVAC, as the kids say) is on either because it's a holiday. I'm not that bitter- I'm glad to have a job. I think I'm just frustrated that I didn't get to see all the usual bus hotties. It's a ghost town outside. I wonder if I could've driven and gotten decent parking. . . . 18 Feb 12:05 | /rants_and_raves | 1 comment(s)
Tue, 12 Feb 2008
Love the hate? Hate the love?
I both love and hate newspaper sites that allow people to post comments with the stories posted. To me, it's both funny and sad. (Tragicomic?). I mean, it's one thing to browse the Rants n Rave section of Craigslist- over there, you expect the racist hate and just well, ranting. But it's a bit different when you read something on The Chronicle's site and see comments like that. Well, maybe it's just me, but I expect Chronicle readers to be "chronicle-y". So when I see comments to the story about Newsom going to Sunnydale (the projects) like "Bulldoze it and start over" or "it's the residents' fault that the place is so run down (or that they burned some Dave Matthews Center down . . . I kind of chuckle and say, oh my, how rude- who knew these people read the Chron? But then again, maybe I'm just laughing that someone burned down something connected to Dave Matthews. . . .
Newsom took the group to the play structure at Sunnydale built by the city with money contributed by the Dave Matthews Band after the group played a show in San Francisco.Some comments:
The structure has repeatedly been burned and vandalized by residents, and Newsom was irate to see the damage on a visit last summer. At the time, he angrily called Gregg Fortner, director of the San Francisco Housing Authority, which proved the beginning of the end of Fortner's tenure as public housing chief in San Francisco.
- veggiegrrrl wrote: bulldoze. start over.
I thought veggies were nice?
- ArturoE wrote: How about this solution: evict each person, end the public housing, and send each head-of-household away for a check for $50,000. No more money spent after these buyouts on public housing. Hopefully, they spend their money getting a decent apartment where they can afford it (like Oklahoma). If they spend it on Newports or Air Jordans (or worse) instead, that's their choice.
Hey, if Oklahoma didn't suck, Texas would fall into the Gulf of Mexico . . 12 Feb 12:31 | /rants_and_raves | 1 comment(s)
Thu, 07 Feb 2008
Thai Chocolate
The trailer for Chocolate is up on twitchfilm.net. It's a new Thai movie, and it looks pretty cool. It has the same director from Ong Bak
Cinematical has a post about it too. Check it out.07 Feb 17:07 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 06 Feb 2008
La Mariposa Guey!
Thanks to Fitz for pointing out this story and video report about the "dancing" waitresses at La Mariposa in San Antonio.
La Mariposa, located at the intersection of Guadalupe and Trinity streets, is fast becoming known as a well-liked place to eat - namely for its provocatively dancing waitresses.Sounds like the Cafe con Piernas in Chile a little bit. But that story quickly gets in to "OMG" mode due to the complaints people have about the place. One person in particular, Grace Hernandez, hates it that all the city workers EAT LUNCH THERE. Grace Hernandez sounds a little uptight. Actually, more than uptight, she should stfu. ANYWAY . . . They also add the requisite quotes about minors eating there. OMG WHO WILL THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?!? Lol . . . I'm just waiting for the comments from Marc asking if they have puffy tacos . . .
06 Feb 12:18 | /food_and_drink | 4 comment(s)
Tue, 05 Feb 2008
Horsehead Man and the Mushrooms
This video I saw off the Tokyo Mango site This is the weirdest thing I've seen in a long time. And coming from me, that says a lot. It may not be worksafe (nsfw, nws as the kiddies say) for you: 05 Feb 12:18 | /links | 1 comment(s)
Mon, 04 Feb 2008
Sales Genie Sucks
I like all the post-superbowl ad reviews, even if I disagree with the effictiveness of some of them, or the scores they're given. But I do agree with this comment:
31) Salesgenie Panda. Now they've got an animated panda named Ling Ling, doing a Charlie Chan voice, pimping for the sales-lead site. In most workplaces, including mine, that wouldn't be allowed.The quote is from info week. I'm sure the Amp fat guy jump starting the car w/ his nip clips was big here in SF. . . . 04 Feb 15:56 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Uggh, Roswell?
I've been renting and watching The Shield from Netflix. As it's been raining out for what seems like six weeks straight, it's been easy to get semi-caught up.
I'm on Season 4, and was breezing through the discs, but I realized that the final episode of the season was on a separate dvd from the ones I had- I was at my limit for how many I could have out at once. Anyway, I finally got the final episode on Friday, opened up the red envelope and pulled out the DVD. But lo and behold . . . there was a mixup. An episode of Roswell(?!) was in the wrong disc wrapper. Roswell?! Netflix is sending me a replacement disc, (I love their site, they rule) but . . Roswell!? Who watches Roswell!? And also- why did they have to break out that final episode of The Shield onto it's own disc? I guess I'll find out tonight.04 Feb 15:23 | /movies | 2 comment(s)
Tue, 29 Jan 2008
Homesick Texan Hits the Nail on the Head (again)
Good lord, she hit the nail on the head again with a writeup about nachos. She even brings up the Piedras Negras history:
Nachos are reputed to have been invented in 1943 by a maitre d. named Ignacio Anaya who was working at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which is just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. As the story goes, some ladies from Eagle Pass came into the restaurant one evening, ordered some drinks and wanted some snacks. The kitchen was already closed, so Anaya melted some Longhorn cheddar on some tortilla chips and garnished each chip with a jalapeno slice. He presented them to the ladies calling his improvised appetizer "Nacho's Especiales" as Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio. And the name, without the "especiales," stuck.I've lived in CA
29 Jan 19:07 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Coffee Roaster Fined
Uggh. Another annoying story about a good business being fined/bothered after serving the community well:
ROCKLAND, Maine- A small downtown coffee roasting business finds itself in jeopardy for having offended the olfactory senses of some of its neighbors.The people who filed the complaint moved away shortly afterward too. 29 Jan 15:09 | /rants_and_raves | 1 comment(s)
Patrick Reilley and his wife, Susanne Ward, co-owners of Rock City Coffee Roasters, the business credited by some with starting the revival of the city.s downtown economy 16 years ago, are facing heavy daily fines and possible closing if the couple cannot find a way to remedy a zoning violation by Feb. 15.
Mon, 28 Jan 2008
Still Craic'in
I went to The Last Supper Club on Friday night with Marc and Jen, the Birthday Girl™. I forgot how good that place can be. I hadn't been there in quite a while.
I think we also lucked out because we ate early and were lucky enough to get good parking in the Mission. But then again, it was pouring buckets, so maybe we were just rewarded for our moistness. Here is their menu, but let me just say that Crispy Dumplings of Taglionlini Pasta stuffed with Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Green Peas over Arrabbiata Sauce may not be for everyone, but rewards those who try it. Marc and Jen, the Birthday Girl™'s dishes eached looked fab-o as well. That's good craic.28 Jan 17:47 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Sun, 27 Jan 2008
Eastern Promises - ***
I forgot to include Eastern Promises in my last DVD Roundup becasue it wasn't in my Netflix rental history- Cory loaned me the HD-DVD combo version.
I really liked the movie and recommend it highly, but I'm a bit confused as how to describe it now. You can look it up yourself if you'd like. Why am I confused now? Well, let's get the basic stuff out of the way first.... there's more to read here ...
27 Jan 13:18 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 24 Jan 2008
North Beach Nimbys
Yet another annoying San Francisco anti-biz story in the Chronicle here. I can understand the thinking behind their rules, but pulling the permits after approving them and after all the paperwork has been signed is evil.
Martha Garland, the executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce who blew the whistle on Kwon's enterprise, says regardless of the timing, the law is the law.Sounds like Martha Garland has too much power, and it sounds like SF continues to be a place that isn't friendly towards business. Just think of all the times this must be happening and we don't hear about it because the business owners *weren't* on Survivor. 24 Jan 15:46 | /rants_and_raves | 1 comment(s)
As is so often the case in San Francisco, this comes down to politics. There are enough hazy rulings to make everyone think he is right. For his part, Kwon says his group was granted a building permit on Nov. 13. He says he can prove that there were only four Red Mango restaurants when he applied for the permit and that there were fewer than 11 when his group got its building permit. He also says the process was delayed by the city until the other Red Mango outlets opened.
"I don't really believe that," said Garland.
And, she was asked, if it is true?
"I'd still fight it," she said.
But if Kwon's version holds up, the logic of the banning his store does seem a little shaky. What if a permit is granted with just four outlets in the country and then someone in Durham, N.C., suddenly decided to open eight stores? Would that mean your permit would be pulled?
"I think that's a valid argument," said Tony Gantner of the North Beach Merchants Association.
Mon, 21 Jan 2008
New '08 Bonus Plans
HR makes quantum physics, vegas odds calculations, and fractals look easy. New bonus plan!
if company makes x% of target, or better where x is less than y% and/or there are no sunspots, and lindsay lohan stays dry then there's the potential to make 7-18% depending on group goals, but only if the potential of goals is greater than but not equal to x+y over the % of your goal sheets column of "goals met" being greater than M (met) but not C (canceled)* and that percentage is lower than the individual share of the group funds (provided they haven't been spent by the Finance Dept.)Uhhh, ok. 21 Jan 16:53 | /tech | 2 comment(s)
*unless C was caused by course change by managerial-level or higher, but not e-staff
Sun, 20 Jan 2008
DVD Roundup 1/21
Wow, it's been a while since I posted a DVD Roundup. I think that's mostly due to a combination of my backlog of things to watch, holiday travel, and getting cable.
Most of the things I've seen though haven't been worth mentioning. I keep looking at my rental history in Netflix and remember that I haven't really liked anything recently. Or enough to warrant mentioning. edit: oddly enough, I started my last DVD Roundup the same way and I just now noticed that. Maybe I should get rid of cable. But enough of the whining, here are some notes-... there's more to read here ...
20 Jan 18:01 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Fri, 18 Jan 2008
Your Weekend Video
A vid for your weekend enjoyment - hopefully I'll have some movie reviews up next week. I wanted to post this vid, but it didn't work. 18 Jan 19:26 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 17 Jan 2008
Sonic MythBusters
I've been slow to join the MythBusters bandwagon, but have finally been enjoying some episodes on the DVR. Mostly because I can check out that Kari chick that everyone on teh intarweb [sic] talks about. But what I don't understand is why they run ads for Sonic during the show. Yes, I usually skip over the commercials but right now they're running an ad for their sweet sweet slushies. When I looked at the Sonic locator, the closest on is in Tracy, CA! That's too far! I'm just glad I'm not a pregnant woman, or I'd be doing late-night 2 hour drives for the sweet sweet slushies. Anyone up for a roadtrip? We could get tater tots too. Side note- Kari looks like she has new tats, so she's off any good list I would have. 17 Jan 13:16 | /general | 15 comment(s)
Wed, 16 Jan 2008
(Cheaper) Wine Recommendations
I had some recommendations for you kids today. And some weird wine news as well.
For those of you who like the under $10/15 range, K&L just got in some Santa Ema "Reserve" from Chile. They have both a merlot, and a chardonnay both at $9.99.
The "Texas Spread"™ is in effect for these, they're about $2+ a bottle on the sites in TX that I've checked so far.
Santa Ema is the unofficial wine of Brad and Jen Haugh and they recommend it with Nachas and Conger eel. Tranquilo!
Now for some news- check out this story (via Reason). Basically, Texan wine distributors are being asses again.
16 Jan 16:52 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 15 Jan 2008
Macworld
Well, I wandered down to Macworld, mostly just to avoid meetings. After being jostled around by the crowds of fake hipsters I was wishing a fight would break out (especially in this room) and decided to leave. Meh.
15 Jan 17:37 | /tech | 1 comment(s)
iPhone Update
As most of you know, today's the big Mac World conference. I'm not going to get into specifics as there are tons of other blogs with those details. But there is an updated firmware for the iPhone out now. It hopefully will take care of some of the things I whined about before. New features include:
- New Maps application
- Find location
- Improved UI
- Send SMS text messages to multiple recipients
- Customize Home Screen
- Rearrange icons
- Add Safari bookmarks to the Home Screen
- Create up to 9 Home Screen pages
- IMAP support for Gmail
- Support for iTunes Store movie rentals
- Enhanced Video Player