March 2006
All entries and daily links from March 2006.
Sudoku
Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 10:03am 8 comments
For probably a year now, I've been hearing about sudoku "wordless crossword puzzles" on the the sunday morning puzzle segment of Weekend Edition. I'd pretty much tuned out that plug for the sudoku books until about a month ago when I actually saw one being worked out by a woman standing beside me on Muni Metro one morning.
Over the weekend I googled sudoku and found a sudoku mac game. I'm hooked now.
Building Boom in the Castro
Friday, March 24, 2006 at 3:03pm 6 comments
Since moving to San Francisco, I've noticed lately that all the empty storefronts around the Castro seem to be have been filled or have something under construction. I'm not just imagining things, there's a lot of development going on, there's a BAR story which paints it in dramatic colors, calling a handful of new developments a "building boom".
What I'm glad to see is most this will come in the way housing over retail with hidden away parking, much more in keeping with the character of the neighborhood with a mix of nice housing frontages and small retail frontages mixed in.
While there's lots of talk about developing a plan for the neighborhood, but I get a little worried by some of what gets said in the story.
"Most businesspeople looking to rent space do not want anything outside of the two blocks of Castro between Market and 19th streets, he said. He noted the difficulty the owners of where the Gap store used to be on Market at Dolores are having in renting the space."
The former Gap location is well outside the neighborhood, not close by a long shot, but I don't think it's the same problem as retailers only wanting to go into those two blocks of the "Castro propper" which ends abruptly where Castro Street meets Market Street and faces a hundred feet or so of windows displays in a Pottery Barn. There's a lot of dislike in the neighborhood for the Pottery Barn, but my problem is the dead (but well decorated!) space it creates as people walk by it.
This is prime boy-watching space! and would be much better served with a coffee shop or cafe with outdoor seating (pretty much what happens one block over at Noe and Market with Cafe Flore, at the corner of my block) This block of Market between Castro and Noe has a lot of small retailers, but there is a break created by the Pottery Barn that sets a tone and creates a disconnect.
What I'd like to see in any new plan would be a concerted effort to grow the Castro shopping district down along Market Street by requiring floor level retail along Market with some possible restrictions on how wide a retail frontage can be to keep the street feeling active and interesting. That's the way it's going, I'd just like to see those parts of the area not covered under the Market & Octavia plan fall under it as well so a healthy retail corridor can develop the entire way between 19th and Castro down Market to Church Street.
Is the Bargain Worth It?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at 8:03pm 1 comments
I know a lot of people find them very uncomfortable, but I love those white ear bud headphones that come with iPods. I tend to go through them about once every six months though, and this weekend I caught them on a door and my left ear bud is making a crackling sound.
I took a look at deals in the Apple Store before I spend $29 on a new set of headphones and noticed I could get a refurb 512MB shuffle for only $49 more.
I don't need a shuffle, but for only $20 I figure I can give someone a small gift.
Hypocrisy
Saturday, March 18, 2006 at 10:03pm 2 comments
To mark the third anniversary of the Iraq fiasco invasion, San Francisco held what else but a protest.
As attendees were driving toward Civic Center up Eleventh Street, I was walking the other way to do some furniture shopping and get some curtains for the new place.
Along the way there was one war protester that caught my attention. I'm guessing she was on the way to the protest because she was dressed a little on the hippy side and didn't seem comfortable driving in the city. She was leaning her head out of her giant Escalade to see if the next lane was clear.
Full disclose: I used to own an SUV, but I never drove it to protest a war for oil and I now take public transit.
Shag
Thursday, March 16, 2006 at 7:03am 2 comments
My new flat is the first place I've lived without carpet. For my room I found this green shag rug with the pile made of different lengths, shades and textures. It makes me think of a lawn if had been made for the muppets.
"The Ride" Premieres Tonight!
Monday, March 13, 2006 at 1:03pm 0 comments
I've been looking forward to this for about 8 months now...
Tonight, the AIDS/LifeCycle documentary television series "The Ride: Seven Days to End AIDS" begins, but rather than just watching it on TV, Logo is doing it up in style with an invitation only screening at the historic Castro Theater. My friend Shelly is making a night out of it with a dinner beforehand to celebrate the ride and the televison debut of Jon, who is one of the stars of the show.
I've left the camera at home to recharge so I'll have pictures of tonight's event as well as tomorrow night when I've invited some friends over to watch the show (want to come over as well?) since tonight seems to be mainly for registered participants in this year's ride.
And I'm one of participants, training and fundraising for another seven days to end AIDS. Last year I raised nearly $6,000 and this year I'm going for twice that.
I can only get there with your help. Please help fight AIDS and sponsor me on this years ride.
Lego my Mecha
Thursday, March 9, 2006 at 8:03pm 2 comments
As a kid I always built robot mecha out of Lego. Most of the robots styled after either the Transformers or Robotech. Now Lego has their own series of anime inspired Lego mecha. When my brother showed them to me, I got a set pair of the small sets the next week.
They sit on my desk at work.
The Live Pursuit
Tuesday, March 7, 2006 at 1:03pm 7 comments
It was probably the same day we moved in that my new roommate Walter started to introduce me the scottish band Belle & Sebastian, one of his favorites.
Now I'm noticing them everywhere, including a lot of play on NPR (which I plays better music than what you get from commercial music stations these days). Last night they played a concert as part of NPR's ongoing concert series. (my favorite so far has been Sigur Rós)
I still don't know a lot Belle & Sebastian's music, but listening to the show this morning I discovered one set here in San Francisco, "Piazza, New York Catcher"
We hung about the tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest book you ever read
Now if NPR would next get Arcade Fire to do a show...
All Glory to the Hypnotoad
Sunday, March 5, 2006 at 10:03am -1 comments
Good news everyone! Futurama, one of my favorite television shows ever, looks like its coming back.
According to that great repository of knowledge, Wikipedia, the deal is done and Futurama will be coming back as four direct DVD movies.
After I stopped by the Iconfactory (I was looking for a generic commenter icon for the site. You may have noticed the redesign in progress, pardon the dust during the renovation) and saw the release of a new set of Futurama icons (the set from which this picture of the Hypnotoad comes) and I decided I'd do a search to see if anything had happened with bringing it back.
I miss the antics of that lovable robot Bender.
Fun New Processor Architectures
Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 10:03pm 0 comments
Apple announcement of several new iPod accessories and an Intel based Mac Mini, billed as the introduction of fun new product, seem to have been met with a lot disappointment. Rumors of things like a touch screen iPod or Tivo-style DVR and Apple's own recent track record with the iPod Nano and iPod with Video last fall help set some pretty high expectations.
I found it a little light, but not disappointing. Jason at 37 Signals offers a great historical perspective on the very high expectations Apple fans put on the company.
In his Defense of Apple's announcments, the Unofficial Apple Weblog's Scott McNulty takes on those who feel let down, but in one area he goes a little far in that defense.
"I am quite puzzled by people who say, 'Well the new Mac mini isn't that much different.' It has an Intel chip in it, for goodness sake."
Keep in mind the multimedia features of Front Row first turned up on a PowerPC mac and this announcement was billed as the introduction of "fun new products" and a new processor architecture isn't so much "fun" as it's a, well, a processor architecture. Scott himself seems to change his mind and make exactly that point in the next paragraph.
"... the manufacturer of the chip shouldn't matter to the everyday user. A Mac is a Mac whether it is running on a G5, a Core Duo, or a Dorito."
On the matter of Apple creating a Tivo-like DVR application, my friend Roger had a good point about that: why would apple make it easier for you to record the broadcast for free instead of buy the show from iTunes. And leaving Tivo aside, cable and satellite companies are all offering their own DVRs these days and would not like to see those added subscription fees stolen away by Apple.
The fact those DVRs come at just a couple extra dollars a month (only $5.95/mo. from mine) when bundled with service is hurting Tivo, and that fact is certainly not lost on Apple. Apple senior VP Phil Schiller says that's not the plan.
"We're not trying to replace the TiVo," he says. "This is about taking the media from your computer and accessing it via the TV."
Still, if it's about brining everything together through Front Row, it would be nice include my DVR through their as well (seriously, the interface on the Comcast DVR sucks compared to a Tivo) and I also happened to notice my DVR has a pair of Firewire ports on the back.
Perhaps Apple will work with cable providers to let Front Row serve as a front end for their DVRs, the cable company can still charge their fee, Apple still sells a mac and I would never have to use the Comcast DVR's interface again (I so miss my Tivo).
