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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Zac's LiveJournal:
| Friday, September 5th, 2008 | |
| 9:32 pm | Earthquake! Yep, a nice little wave swept through Hayes about 0.5 hours ago. No biggie, I wasn't even sure there was one, since I reacted like I would aboard a rapidly shifting MUNI bus. USGS reports a 4.0 with an epicentre near Alamo...near Concord. Hayward fault ... yup, overdue, that one. |
| Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 | |
| 6:54 am | The error rate of paramilitary policing http://www.cato.org/raidmap/ |
| Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 | |
| 5:08 pm | Replicated entry For the likes of ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif){kind=small} twic, who I expect may have something to say about this. 4. National 4.1 All the US news channels have been consumed by Hurricane Gustav and the pedantic pugilists of the political circuit on views of an empty RNC hall. It's that sort of sickening focus (often with crappy video - thanks CNN for the dramatic photos, but could you pull back and to the left so I can get some context as to what 'overtopped levees' really mean from a visual inspection of the engineering?) that leaves me asking - "Well, what the hell else is going on in the world?" Sure enough, there's plenty afoot in Georgia* that is somehow less exciting than the secessionist-sympathetic to-be-nominated Republican VP's pregnant daughter^, or the terrible floods in India, or the recent resignation of Japan's PM. Also, what happened with the South Korean protests of imported US beef? These are equally, if not more, important to the nation's future. *At least there are campy and rusty stories coming out here and there. Still, it's an essential truth of war technology: it doesn't need to be sexy, it just needs to work. Somehow I suspect that Swiss aren't feeling all that threatened by this Russian museum-piece menace. Indeed, it's probably the same groups of Russian elites that are important investors in Swiss banks & private schools. ;-) ^Haha, Brooks makes a valiant attempt to explain Palin to the world. |
| 5:05 pm | Frakking language Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Shoot, darn it straight to heck! Sad that Internet filters, obsolete television codes, and neo-prudishness have made "frak" and "what the F" both common and inanely neo-50s to my ear. It's actually kind of amusing to see young would-be rebels claiming their linguistic niche with such hollow-referenced language. Is this the best they can manage? Is it some deeper post-modern irony I'm too old to get now? Or is this all that's left after hiphop consumed the mainstream with capping big-butt hos with my homies?* As to the specifics of 'frak' as managing a neutral value that its 'coarser cousin' cannot - I suggest this may have something to do with the fact that 'frak' doesn't immediately conjure an image of one, two, three, or more people engaging in 'frakking.' When it does, well, we'll see that added to THE LIST. *Haha, the LJ spell checker is convinced "homies" isn't a real word. I let you derive from that whatever meaning you care to find. ;-) |
| Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 | |
| 5:13 pm | Spare the Air Day Thursday This AirAlert is provided by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Tomorrow, Thursday August 28, is a Spare the Air Day in the San Francisco Bay Area. Concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution are forecast to be unhealthy tomorrow. Hot temperatures and light winds will combine to produce poor air quality for the Bay Area. To help prevent smog tomorrow, please: - Drive less - Telecommute -- work from home instead of driving to work - Take public transit, walk or bike - visit 511.org for transit info - Carpool or vanpool with friends or co-workers - Refuel on the way home in the evening and don't top off Public transit is NOT free tomorrow. To plan your commute online, visit 511.org. To monitor current air quality conditions, visit www.sparetheair.org Thank you for doing your part to Spare the Air! |
| Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 | |
| 10:30 pm | My city deserves racks as these Sorry, I meant public artworks. :-) |
| 10:26 pm | Happy 30 Lego miniman http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/08/t |
| 5:19 pm | Spare the Air Day tomorrow! Spare the Air, alas no free public transit. Avoid using gas-fueled lawncare equipment, limit or eliminate driving, take the bus or train, even give your bicycle a whirl (wear a helmet!). |
| Sunday, August 24th, 2008 | |
| 7:06 pm | How sweet it is ... Sunny California, radiating onto yellowed San Francisco hills overlooking dramatic coastal and Bay features...zipping around in my red-and-silver Smart ForTwo. :-) Items resolved: -Insurance! -Garage key! [and space to park it at the Hayes flat] -Digital dashboard clock programmed!* -Radio station selection programmed! (no AM channels sounded remotely interesting) -6 CDs selected for built-in CD changer (Propellerheads, Burach, GITS: Stand Alone Complex OST2, Fema Kuti, Ibiza: Sounds of the Renaissance-Disc1, 0815/6). *Unnecessarily plodding interface, with plus or minus minute-by-minute changes. Items left to resolve: - Garage door opener (this will have been the third exchange to try and find a unit that works for the existing garage. If they don't have a mobile unit with a learn button, I'll just recoup the cash and keep with the manual solution. [third attempt this Monday or Tuesday] - Storage net and cover for rear area [message left with Smart Centre] Cool discovery: - My plastic milk-crate once used for my bike-shopping fits perfectly in the rear storage area of the Smart, and the red matches nicely to boot. I'm tempted to buy/recycle a second one of the same dimensions to fit into the slot oh-so-nicely. - Audio system is much improved on previous version of Smart ForTwo. - The Smart ForTwo has a helluvalot of pep rushing up Hayes from Laguna to Alamo Square. Lucky break with all the green lights, but it also felt like the engine computer was optimized for this kind of climb. :-) --- Otherwise, I'm very much looking forward to returning to my bicycle commute now that minor injury is well on the road to recovery. |
| Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | |
| 12:30 am | Two news features 1. Obama names Joe Biden for Veep. He's actually a good & practical selection. Unfortunately, it also perforates arguments regarding McCain's age. Then again, we're overdue to move on from that line. The substance of risk conveyed by an elderly President at the start of their term has already been conveyed to the electorate. EDIT: This decision also presents a further interesting crux for the Senate, assuming an Obama-Biden victory. How effectively will legislation proceed with those filled vacancies (whatever the Party)? 2. East Bay crime wave continues - with an armed robbery of a Castro Valley restaurant. |
| Friday, August 22nd, 2008 | |
| 11:41 pm | Radiohead were absolutely great! Radiohead, Beck, Steel Pulse, Manu Chao, The Dynamites feature Charles Walker, Lyrics Born, Black Mountain, The Black Keys, Howling Rain, Beneveneto/Russo Duo, Cold War Kids, Carney, and The Felice Brothers opened up the first ever Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. Naturally, Radiohead were the headline - bizarrely, Beck was sent off to a corner stage. Food: excellent, much organic & free range. Prices ranged from $7 beer to $6 hot dog to $3 water (200mL). Drink: good, but only "factory-sealed" water allowed in from outside, even when I offered my water-filled bike bottles for inspection. Bah. Waste Management: "OK" - meaning they had a 75% diversion rate target, several (though not an optimal amount) of composting and recycling bins ... plenty of littered beer cups afterward- at least they're all compostable bioplastic. Transport: "OK" - up to three hours preceding the first act, westbound buses were running so full, they were skipping stops. It was much the same in the opposite direction on Stanyan. Even with an increased supply of buses on relevant lines, it could not provide the equivalence of the MUNI train service to a Giants game at the ballpark. By night, it seemed most people were walking, several of them had parked on MLK Dr. As for bicyclists - apparently the SF Bike Coalition's valet parking was a success - because I saw several cells of bicyclists just 30 minutes from the end of the show, with fatter cells an hour after. Considering the volume of people in the venue, it wasn't the Valet Service that was a critical delay. Access: poor - they used two rings of fences (supplementing other features and barriers) to help segregate the entire music venue, resulting in difficult traffic patterns and many dangerous bottlenecks. Imagine Narita Airport, only more outdoors, and less hub-and-spoke. I'm really really glad there were no moments of panic - people would have been crushed. This issue became all the more apparent when people filed out, and started cutting access through the fences to improve egress. Wisdom of crowds I guess. The volume of people in the Polo Field to see Radiohead really brought it to crush hazard, quickly overwhelmed all the facilities (food, info, waste, etc.) placed within the Field, and probably shouldn't be repeated so long as access is so limited. My management plan improvement would be to deliberately start taking down the rings of fences during the start of the headline act, even though that presents a danger of unpaid visitors - the risks are too great otherwise. Notable: I booked it once I made it through the south Tunnel...45 minutes along MLK Drive to get to Haight & Stanyan. Climate: Typical overcast, cold, and high-UV Golden Gate Park. Tomorrow & Sunday promise to be a lot nicer, but I'm not going to the rest of the festival. Communication: Poor - telephony was frequently unavailable or overwhelmed, and Internet connectivity became patchy as user volume increased. SMS services were also oversubscribed, leading to delayed message deliveries. I spent most of the concert trying to hold a spot for a friend who never made it to my location - just 100 feet from the stage. The Music: I listened to Steel Pulse, Manu Chao, and Radiohead only...mostly to preserve my spot. - I liked a couple of songs by Steel Pulse, including their closing "Global Warming" - but it was an odd choice for opener ... Jamaican reggae is not generally tightly converged with the angsty/cathartic Radiohead fan; and it was hard to get in a reggae mood (even with generous secondhand doses of the mighty herb) with all the fog. To Steel Pulse's credit, they really gave it a go. - Manu Chao: I had never head of them/him before, and they were an absolute pleasure to listen to in a live setting. They really rocked, employing multiple languages and a very attractive and accessible series of tunes, styles, and chords. Alas, their lyrics (for those who comprehend them) veer towards the saccharine-simplistic (think early Beatles) - e.g. an ending number was "La Vaca con mal leche" (the cow with bad milk) - and their tune & style switches were often repeated identically across several different songs...giving a telegraphed experience. Also, the political messages were roughly dropped into songs, so we're not talking the most sophisticated song-writing either. Still, they are strong live entertainers, and are great fun to watch - but not exactly record-buying material. - Radiohead: they opened with a couple of songs from In Rainbows, then worked through some favourite old numbers before pulling in a few more latest ones. Songs I recall hearing were: 15 Step, Videotape, Weird Fishes, Idioteque, Fake Plastic Trees, I Might Be Wrong(?), 2+2=5, Go to Sleep(?), The Gloaming (modified), the re-mixed Nude, There There, Bodysnatchers, Reckoner, House of Cards, Jigsaw Falling into Place, Paranoid Android, Karma Police, Airbag(?), No Surprises(?). There were three technical failures - two sound cut-outs to the audience (but the band was still get ear-feed, so were unaware of the problem), and one humourous foul-up by Thom Yorke as he was whisper-singing a solo into a camera at artsy angles. Observation: I really liked those light-poles, I wonder how they did it? Long plastic tubes with multiple programmed LED strings? Red, Yellow, Blue, White, other mixed results? Also, interesting to see how Radiohead used pre-programmed audio to schedule breaks and a stage departure. All in all, the entire production was very well-scripted. --- EDIT: Since the concert is the natural environment of the smoker, I have come to accept the 12-pack-a-day load it gives to my lungs in much the same way I accept the risk going into an English pub of olden days. I'll be happy to have my voice back by Monday though, I hope. Current Mood: smokey Current Music: Jigsaw (in my head) |
| 2:21 pm | Film Review: Tropic Thunder I needed something silly and stupid after the stressful workweek it's been ... and Tropic Thunder delivered, at least initially. The funniest bits were truly funny, and unfortunately almost exclusively in the beginning of the film. For whatever reason, the film forgot it was supposed to be a comedy, and fell entirely into an action homage (without a humorous wink), before remembering it was supposed to be a comedy film at the denouement and end. Not as good as Zoolander, and less consistent than any Mel Brooks production. Sorry Ben Stiller, you're still no Mel Brooks. |
| Thursday, August 21st, 2008 | |
| 11:04 pm | |
| Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 | |
| 10:03 pm | 200 meters in 19.30 seconds?!! Usain Bolt - holy crap! |
| Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 | |
| 9:44 pm | I love what SFBC is doing for my town 1. 17th Street bike plan 2. Cesar Chavez Redesign: May workshop plans, the city website, and the local hood org. ** Tuesday, August 26th ** Cesar Chavez Street Design Workshop * 6:00pm-7:30pm, Leonard Flynn Elementary School, 3125 Cesar Chavez St (at Harrison) Join your neighbors in imagining a better, healthier, more bike-friendly Cesar Chavez Street at this design workshop. The Planning Department will be presenting two preliminary design proposals that reflect public comment at an earlier workshop in May. This workshop will offer an opportunity for you to comment and help shape these proposals for the reconfiguration of Cesar Chavez Street. For more information about the community effort to make Cesar Chavez a more livable street for all, visit CC Puede's website; for more on the Planning Department's work, see the Cesar Chavez project page. 3. ** Tuesday, August 26th ** Better Valencia Street - update meeting * 10-11am, Mission Police Station, 630 Valencia St (at 17th St) San Francisco's premiere bicycling street is getting even better, with wider sidewalks, wider bike lanes, better pedestrian crossings, better street lighting, and more. Find out what's coming to Valencia St and how soon it'll be happening at this community update meeting, with staff from the Department of Public Works on hand to answer your questions. If you can't make this session, another will be held on August 28th at 6:30pm. Contact Kris Opbroek at SFDPW for more info: 415/558-4045. 4. ** Wednesday, August 20th ** SFBC Streetside Outreach: Bike Photo Registration 5-7pm | Mission Playground, Valencia St between 19th and 20th The SFBC Streetside Outreach Team is hosting a bike photo booth with bike registration in mind! Swing on by with you two-wheeler and get a portrait to keep for your records in case of theft. Are you a trained SFBC Outreach volunteer and want to help? Contact kate@sfbike.org. 5. Share your vision for a better Mission District The Planning Department received a grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to create a comprehensive plan for street design in the Mission District. This Mission Streetscape Plan will develop a comprehensive strategy for streets in the Mission District, based on community needs and priorities and will create designs for a system of neighborhood streets stressing well-designed pedestrian ways, bike connectivity, public space and more. Come and speak up at a second workshop put on by the Planning Department. Find our more by visiting the project's website or contact Lisa Bender at the Planning Department. When: Wednesday August 20, from 6:00-8:30 pm Where: Women's Building (3543 18th St.) 6. Review the draft SF Bike Plan Everyone's talking about the SF Bicycle Plan, but do you know what's in it? This month's SF Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting will review the latest draft of the Bike Plan, containing policies and priorities for better bicycling in San Francisco, as well as near-term and long-term improvements to the Citywide Bike Network. This 11-member committee meets once a month and advises the Board of Supervisors on all matters bicycle, especially the city's Bicycle Plan. Contact BAC chair Bert Hill at SFBAC7Bert@aol.com or visit the BAC website. What: SF Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting When: Thursday, August 28, 6:30pm Where: City Hall, Room 408 7. Help improve cycling in Southwest San Francisco The newly formed Southwest Cycling Committee is rolling, rolling, rolling. We've taken a bicycle tour of several of the major routes in the Southwest section of town -- including Ocean, Phelan, and Holloway -- and are gearing up for next advocacy steps and outreach. We need your help to make the Southwest safe, dignified, and delightful for pedaling (it's got a LONG way to go). It's time to connect the Southwest with the rest! What: Southwest Cycling Committee Meeting When: Monday, August 25th, 6:30pm Where: A friendly neighbor's home! Email Lauren for the address. 8. Rail-Volution ad: Rail~Volution coming to San Francisco Rail~Volution is coming to San Francisco (Oct. 26-30), bringing together over 1,400 attendees and speakers from across the country to share experiences and lessons learned in building livable communities with transit. The conference will feature over 80 sessions, workshops, mobile tours and networking receptions. The Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC) is working with conference organizers to make sure there will be broad representation by Bay Area community and advocacy groups with experience in these issues. Register now at Rail~Volution website. Note: If you are a Bay Area community activist who needs financial assistance, you can apply to the Local Scholarship program (hurry, scholarship deadline is Friday, August 22, 2008). |
| Saturday, August 16th, 2008 | |
| 6:20 pm | |
| Friday, August 15th, 2008 | |
| 8:24 pm | |
| Thursday, August 14th, 2008 | |
| 6:47 am | Various 1. Caucasians to cease being majority of Americans by 2042 - well that's long overdue. For a start, I want marketers and programmers to get out of their ghetto mentality and start selling to the multiethnic me, to start seeing the sort of American I've always known in that ego-stroking mirror called TV. Then again, in much the way that "White" is some bizarre construct that papered over older deeper anti-Irish/-German/-Lithuanian/-Russian/ Hehe, today's reviled Latinos best kept away by border fence are tomorrow's "poor whites" in the history books. You know it's true. NYTimes on the story. 2. Politics of the current budget battle threaten to derail (haha) the high-speed rail bond for California. :-/ 3. America desires streetcars. Well, duh. 4. Cycling through Beijing - even with some near-misses, it sounded like fun, actually. 5. Another airline alliance across the Atlantic. 6. No police for roadcrews in MA - why don't they use the robot units deployed in Japan? 7. This reminds me of the old classmate from NYC who looked utterly baffled by the word 'compost.' Clearly milk comes from the factory for her. 8. European genetic map. Hmm. I'm not sure I really understand it, or where they're placing their boundaries in time - since wouldn't there be more Danish overlap in Danelaw in the UK? What is 'UK' genetically if not a reflection of the waves of immigrants from everywhere, slowly mingling with the natives? |
| 6:45 am | RIP Geoff Ballard Wow, I'm actually surprised he died. Isaac Hayes, Bernie Mac - they're all passing on. |
| Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 | |
| 6:49 pm | Endlich! Ich werde meine neu Smart morgen abend erhalten! :-) Leider, ohne Fahrrad-System angekommen. :-( --- Manana en la tarde voy a obtener mi nuevo Smart! Disafortunamente, viene sin la Bicicleta-Sistema. --- I'm getting my new Smart tomorrow evening! Unfortunately, it's coming without the Bicycle-System (Base Rack + two Bike Rails*) *Not yet sold in the US of A. Grrr. I'm not particularly happy with the customer-service and customer-information side of Smart. Let's hope the rest is satisfactory. Current Mood:  excited |