-=kenneth's rants and other things=-

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)

Mon, 31 Mar 2008

She Wasn't Fibbing

She's a good shot too:

31 Mar 13:38 | /news | 0 comment(s)

Wed, 21 Nov 2007

SF Haters

Hrm, something seems a bit off here. I was checking posts on SFist.com and then saw this:

on Monday the FBI just awarded SF as the city with the largest reported number of hate crimes in 2006. According to Bay City News (via SF Crime):

With a population of approximately 746,000, had a total of 94 reported hate crime incidents in 2006, including 25 that were race-based, 20 religion-based, 38 based on sexual orientation and 11 based on ethnicity, according to the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics 2006 report.

The largest city in the Bay Area, San Jose, (much to our surprise) had a scant 29 reported hate crimes in 2006. And Oakland. Had two.

And the SF Chronicle reports that hate crimes dropped in '06:

In San Francisco, sexual orientation bias was a factor in more 38 of the 94 cases, the FBI said. Twenty-five victims were targeted because of their race, the FBI said, 20 because of religion and 11 because of their ethnicity.

Most Bay Area jurisdictions reported only one or two hate crimes in all of 2006, according to the FBI, though San Jose reported 29 incidents, up from 22 the year before. Oakland reported just two, compared with three in 2005.

That makes me wonder if SF is quick to categorize a crime as a hate crime. Is it a semantic argument, or something more substantial?

21 Nov 13:34 | /news | 3 comment(s)

Tue, 30 Oct 2007

Uggh, I get all queasy when there's a quake like the one that just happened. Maybe being on the top floor of a building makes it worse. The USGS map is still pending an update- the square is still the "?" one (we don't know yet). Uhh, no, it just updated, big red square:

yikes!

USGS site

Sheesh- all the cell phone carriers got busy at once. That's reassuring. I can only send SMS.

30 Oct 22:14 | /news | 1 comment(s)

Fri, 12 Oct 2007

The Week - Minor Rant

Tagged as: the week

I have a love/hate relationship with the magazine, The Week. It's a magazine I get every Friday and it kind of recaps the week's news from other magazines and newspapers.

The reason I got a subscription to it was because it reminded me of this news service fax that Simon and Gary used to get from The Guardian when we lived in Mexico (I guess it let them stay in touch with Blighty).

But The Week isn't nearly as good as that old fax service was. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there are three main things that bug me:

... there's more to read here ...

12 Oct 22:53 | /news | 0 comment(s)

Mon, 08 Oct 2007

Che

Today's the 40th anniversary of Argentinian t-shit mogul Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna's capture and death. His estate sells more tshirt than the Elvis estate to this day.

Let's just take a moment to remember what a totalitarian ass he was. I wonder if the Congolese miss him.

08 Oct 11:20 | /news | 1 comment(s)

Tue, 28 Aug 2007

Trogdor Sighting

Some "arsonist" (or possibly some neon lights) burned the Burning Man a bit early. I know I shouldn't offend all the neo-hippies nshit, but I couldn't stop laughing when I read that in the news. more and even more.

I know some people who are way into BM. But when I see Marina chicks on the bus reading phamplets about "Attending Your First Burning Man" and are taking notes, it's hard to think the $100+ event is "cool". You know you jumped the shark long ago.

28 Aug 13:39 | /news | 4 comment(s)

Wed, 08 Aug 2007

B.O.

Quick blurb from the CSM via my buddy Simon.

Reporters on the Job
from the August 8, 2007 edition

-Paint it Green: Driving to a meeting with BOCOG, the abbreviated shorthand for Beijing's 2008 Olympic organizing committee, correspondent Simon Montlake says the air pollution was so bad that visibility could be measured in terms of city blocks. Yet, when he interviewed Olympic officials for today's story (see story) they assured him there would be blue skies by the opening one year from today.

"It was unreal to be in this meeting and be told that everything is going to be clean and green," says Simon.

Still, he says that ultimately China will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Whether it means seeding clouds to create rain or shutting down industrial plants ahead of the games, China will pull out all the stops. "If it comes to [making the city] green, they'll paint it green, literally," says Simon.

08 Aug 12:22 | /news | 0 comment(s)

Thu, 19 Jul 2007

Thought of the Day

How is it that no one has ever just beat the crap out of Chris Daly? He seems like he's cruisin' for a bruisin'. more . . . not that I condone violence, I'm just wondering out loud

19 Jul 13:11 | /news | 1 comment(s)