Dance, dinner, song

This weekend was fun. On Friday I went out to Friday Night Swing with the intention of having fun and ended up being a party pooper as I sat and chatted more than I danced. I don’t know what hit me but my lack of practice lead to a detrimental disinterest in dancing. Several people helped me begrudgingly dance a bit, reminding me that anyone can dance even if it’s just the basics.

Chipmonkey returned from Vegas, otherwise known as the land of burning casinos.
We ended up going to dinner with friends at Nola’s, a Cajun restaurant in Palo Alto. I’m not usually interested in that style of cooking but the food was great and I really enjoyed myself. I don’t think I’ll ever order a fillet again because the strip steak there was just so well seasoned.

These friends mentioned a funny online comedy piece they saw called Mr. Deity. It’s a rather funny series of sketches about God (Mr. Deity), his assistant, Jesus, and Lucy (Lucifer). The comedy is a little tongue-in-cheek and will be lost on anyone without an understanding of Christian parables, but I really enjoyed it.

From there we drove back to SF just in time to meet our other half for some karaoke at Do Re Mi in Japantown. I’ve been there a few times now and just can’t get into the feeling. I think that a little alcohol would smooth over my lack of singing skills – both for me and the others who must listen.

 

Would you want a mayor who wore a video camera?

I received my absentee ballot for San Francisco local elections. The mayoral elections, of course, includes incumbent and sometimes playboy Gavin Newsom. Also on the list is Josh Wolf, known in San Francisco and journalistic/video blog circles for serving “226 days in prison … longer than any other journalist in U.S. history has served for protecting source materials”.

I’m sure he is running out of protest, and is rightly upset about the current system. The primary thing, among many, that make me think he will not get elected is his platform that “he will wear a video camera everywhere he does his mayoral business“.

Now, I’m all for open and free exchange of information but 100% disclosure does not lead well to progress. Think of the last time you got mad at someone. You went through many stages of anger, frustration, confusion, reconciliation, and finally acceptance. Maybe there were other stages of confrontation, discussion, and negotiation thrown in there, but you didn’t reveal each of these to the person you were mad at. You work through the problem in your head or with others and then you come up with a solution that you can discuss with the person you were mad at. Privacy, not secrecy, is part of life and negotiations.

Sadly, this process can be used for good or evil. Maybe there are other ways to reduce corruption.

 

Tech and Socalism in SF

There are many reasons why I love SF. The love affair begin long ago when I was a bike messenger downtown and continues today. When I was at the coffee shop I read the headline from the local newspaper listing Digg.com as having some controversial event. Immediately the barista commented on a Digg party they encountered at a hot club along the coast. Later on today as I headed to the airport via the BART I was petitioned by the Socialist Worker newspaper.

These are things I never had in the Midwest. Am I willing to pay the high price of living here just for these small nuances of social life? Well, yes, these and the wonderful landscape that surrounds the Bay.

 

MC Frontalot

He will be in San Francisco, April 22.  Don’t forget the show and check out his new album.

 

Bring Your Own Big Wheel

Here’s a video from the BYOBW event this Easter afternoon.  You will notice this is Lombard St, otherwise known as the “the crookedest [most winding] street in the United States.”

 

Guest tour of SF

Today we are taking our guests on a short trip to the Cliff House and then on to view the Golden Gate Bridge. Later today at 4pm will be the infamous Easter BYOBW ride down Lombard street.

I love this city!

 

Home sweet home

It might be that in 30 days we will own a home in San Francisco, even though it almost got away from us. My brother reminds me that it is the most expensive place to buy a home, but we are happy and feel it just fits right. Features include:

• Close to the BART (20 minute ride to Embarcadero)
  
• Across the street from a park
• It’s an actual “tree house”
• It has Eggettes nearby
• Has a smaller/separate room for the cat litter (yeah!)
• We will have our own washer/dryer (no more laundromat)
• Viking stove that works as both an conventional and convection oven
• It has a “Captian’s bed” so you can feel like a mariner when you visit
• The house number is the smallest prime which can be represented as the sum of a prime and its reverse in three different ways.

(that last detail is a good numeric omen)

Update: Photos are on flickr.

 

SF Barbie

The SFist has a great post on the different East Bay barbies.

“Walnut Creek Barbie”
This princess Barbie is sold only at the Broadway Plaza Mall. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade handbags, a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a cookie-cutter house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

“Berkeley Barbie”
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup, and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Berkeley Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

 

Wong in the City

On NYE Dca$h came down from Seattle and we went out to a comedy club (and other fun.) We loved two of the comedians Ali Wong (website|myspace) and Brent Weinbach (website|myspace). Well, seems like Ali is taking is really gaining popularity from the Onion and others.

Check out Upcoming.org for hot events like this in SF (or your city.)

 

Link update

Tonight I:

• learned how to SIM unlock my phone for free.
• found where all the people in SF find upcoming events (and created one of my own)
  
• though about creating a Firefox party (but then decided things we busy enough already)
• and found a great site for deals!