Dan Bornstein

I went out today wearing only jeans and a tank top.

Wait, you may not realize the significance of this, so let me explain: I am one of those people who always gets cold. Sweaters, knee socks, and hoodies are part of my regular wardrobe. I've slept with an electric blanket more often than not. And I'm quite happy travelling to tropical countries and staying in places without air conditioning.

Keep in mind I live in a city where summer temperatures often stay in the 50sF, and fog means I can go days or weeks without seeing the sun. As if that isn't enough, temperatures can change from warm and sunny to chilly and foggy within the span of an hour or two, and the way to tell San Francisco residents from tourists is that the residents are the ones who leave the house carrying a sweater on what appears to be a sunny day.

Today it was so warm I left the house in a tank top, without the requisite back-up sweater, and I didn't regret it at all! Last night we went for a walk and I was warm in a sleeveless top and sandals, which is crazy because we pretty much *never* have warm nights here. However, we also usually never have more than three nice days in a row, so expect the fog to come rolling in tomorrow.

Today has been the most perfect weather in the history of perfect weather! YES. MORE LIKE THIS. If the weather here was like this all the time, I would be one happy camper. My life would be perfect and I would shit rainbows 24/7, I'm sure. It's 2AM and it's still, like, 70 degrees. GOD BLESS GLOBAL WARMING. Sure, it probably means we're going to be extinct in a couple of decades, but at maybe the weather in San Francisco will cease to suck for a few years in the meantime. You know. Before the food riots, and plagues from the mountains of corpses and whatnot.

Now, yes, I'm endorsing Barack Obama. I wouldn't say I've got the "mania" that I keep hearing about. A good deal of my commitment to him as a candidate has been the direct result of the racism used as a tool by the Clinton campaign--hell, that's the reason she lost the black vote all over the country.

However, I've seen plenty of bullshit flying out of the mouths of Clinton supporters, and in particular white women who (over)identify with their candidate of choice.

Well, today, it hit a fever pitch.

The vileness of the comments on NARAL's website after its endorsement of Obama is real spesh. Seriously.

You know something? They can have feminism. I'm not going to fight them for it anymore. When they're done clawing each others' eyes out over who gets to be equal to white men so that they can all, together, oppress the rest of us, give me a call.

Until then, I'm not interested in the F-word.

As you probably know, Prop. 98, disguised as eminent domain reform, would end rent control statewide and undermine tenant, environmental, and community protections throughout California. This measure is receiving 85% of its funding from large landlords and the associations that represent them and was written by the same folks who brought you Prop. 13 in 1978, the deceptively worded measure that bankrupted California schools and infrastructure by cutting property taxes. This time they're coming after renters. Would you be able to afford your apartment if your rent went up 25, 50, 100%?

Yeah, I know.

I've said it before. But seriously, folks, I know a lot of you are renters in California. We all--and that includes homeowners, even--need to keep Prop. 98 from passing. If we don't, our communities, environment, and economy--yes, I said it--will suffer.

So.

Here's what you can do to help beat the living stew out of Prop. 98 on June 3rd:

1) Vote:

Monday, May 19th is the LAST day to register to vote in the June 3rd election. This measure ended up on the June ballot because the folks behind 98 are expecting low voter turnout (30%), and most of the folks who normally turn out at June elections are well-off, conservative, and likely to vote you out of your apartment.

Prove them wrong.

2) Participate:

All the cool kids are doing it. More than 100 volunteers have signed up with Just Cause Oakland's electoral program so far, including animikwaan, angryusername, and superstar msjen, who is doing two phone banking shifts a week up until the election. And ksea is part of our intensive paid precinct-walking program. Come on out!

To sign up for voter outreach, call 510-763-5877 or email lauren at justcauseoakland dot org. (Here's the calendar.) It's fun, and we'll feed you!

And for those who want to get involved in San Francisco, POWER is also running a voter outreach program. Get in touch with them--they need people, too!

3) Spread this far and wide:

Talk to people. Send out PSAs to your email lists. Sign up for email updates on our progress at the Just Cause website. You can also find us on Facebook--join the Just Cause Oakland group and cause, AND the No on Prop 98 cause. And be sure to encourage your friends to join--the only way we can defeat 98 is if everyone knows about it, gets involved, and votes on June 3rd.

*steps down from soapbox*

http://www.asofterworld.com

This reminds me of the "censorship" pixelization code in The Sims that prevents you from ever seeing their little 1×2-pixel SimRogenous zones. (Don Hopkins once told me a long story about how hard that was to implement...)

There are also now Wikipedia links in the maps (checkbox on the "More" tab). There aren't very many of them, though. Anyone know what triggers their presence?

DNA Lounge update, wherein we network with a socialness.

• 15:10 @jwz That's what your mom said. #
• 19:59 @emchy Sober in Oakland. You win. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

http://xkcd.com/423/

Am I being singled out, or is there a new plague of AIM bots going around? I used to get prodded by these stupid things every couple of weeks, but I've blocked a dozen of them in the last week. This time it's usually a bot with "salmon" in its name.

This map of 1940s-era San Francisco postal district boundaries is for sale on eBay:



Most of the zones have stayed pretty stable since then, except where new zip codes have been carved out on the southern edge of the city and in the central hills to serve areas that weren't so densely built up before. The boundary between 94110 and 94107 has moved a pretty decent distance, though, probably because it became too hard to get back and forth between the Mission and the Potrero when the freeway was built. I'm kind of surprised that the waterfront and not North Beach/Telegraph Hill got to keep 94111 when 94133 was split off from it.

Damn The Torpedoes! It's Time For...

Hubba Hubba Revue: ANCHORS AWEIGH!

SHIPBOARD BURLESQUE!
MARITIME MAYHEM!
COMEDY ON THE HIGH SEAS!
Friday, May 16th @ The DNA Lounge

Join Cap'n Kingfish, Ensign Eddie and their crew of Salty Seamen and Sexy Sailor-Girls for a tassel-twirlin', shimmy-shakin', laff-filled voyage aboard the good ship USS HUBBA HUBBA!

Up periscope, Mr. Gorilla!

Featuring:

SF Boylesque!
Madam Chartreuse!
Miss Balla Fire!
Peekaboo Burlesque!
The Scenic Sisters!
Miss de Mina!
Charlie Darling!
Delilah!
Rubenesque Burlesque!
Your Little Chernobyl!
Mr. Ection & Fictional!
Crackerjack Salteen!
Riff Ditties!
Admiral Jerk!
Citty Rich!
Sparkly Devil!
Calamity Lulu!
Gorilla X
and The Kingfish & Eddie Dancers!

With your favorite drunks/MC’s, Cap'n Kingfish and Ensign Eddie!

Live! Masked Musical Mystery with THE PHANTOM SURFERS!

LANDLUBBER DISCOUT! From 9PM to 10PM, only at the box office night-of-show, tickets are just $10!

FREE (FAKE) TATTOOS at the door! (while supplies last!)

Hubba Hubba Revue: ANCHORS AWEIGH!
Friday, May 16th, 9PM
DNA Lounge, 375 Eleventh St. SF
$15, 21 & Up w/valid I.D.
$12 advance tickets at dnalounge.com


See more at www.hubbahubbarevue.com!

smason wrote:

I wrote a Missile Command clone for the multi-touch wall at Obscura Digital. Just like the original, except you can fire by touching the wall with your fingers. Save the Golden Gate Bridge from ICBMs. Fun for the whole family!

Thanks again for the suit, Jim.

I tried to be careful about which ones I posted because there's been a notable increase in ICE raids since May 1st, but more photos from the Oakland May Day march are here.

http://www.asofterworld.com

I posted most of this as a comment in someone else's LJ who was thinking of buying a bike, but perhaps it is of more general interest.

I've been using a bike as my exclusive transportation in SF for about ten years. I've always ridden, but that's when I stopped driving a car except under extreme duress.

Here's how to begin your adventure as a commuter-bicyclist in San Francisco:

1. Never take bike advice from anyone who owns bike shorts, clip shoes, a messenger bag, or a fixie. That's like taking car advice from someone who enjoys rebuilding carburetors.

   (Update: If you are this person, you need not reply with your indignant "corrections". You are not the person to whom this advice is addressed.)

2. "City bikes" and "road bikes" are designed for some Jetsons-slick hypothetical future city that I've never seen. Or maybe for the bike paths in Los Altos or something. Here in real cities, roads are shit, and if you want your wheels and tires to survive curbs and potholes, you need a hybrid. They're a little heavier and a little slower. Are you racing? No? Then you don't care.

3. So, get the cheapest hybrid you can stand. Shocks are a waste of money. You should be able to get a pretty nice brand new hybrid for $370 or so. You can probably get a used one for a hundred bucks.

4. If you feel like you want a lighter bike so that it's easier to carry up stairs: don't bother. That's optimizing the wrong thing. You'll get used to it (by which I mean: become stronger).

5. Get a bike that's the right size for you, and has properly adjusted handlebars and seat. The shop will adjust it for you. If they won't, or if they tell you it doesn't matter, go to a different shop.

6. Get a u-lock. Lock through the frame and the back wheel. Your bike will be stolen, so don't get too attached to it. This also means, don't waste your money on junk like baskets and lights. Just get a backpack.

   It doesn't matter how crappy your bike looks: any bike is worth stealing for $2 worth of crack. Your bike is temporary. Accept this and move on.

7. I always replace my front wheel and seat quick-releases with $2 worth of hardware store bolts, and then bend the ends over. This might have some negligible effect on theft. I refuse to be one of those people who lugs around 3 chains and disassembles their bike every time they park, so that's the trade-off I make.

8. The bike-nerd at the bike shop will try to give you smooth, high-pressure (110psi+) tires, because they are more efficient. But if you don't air them up weekly or more often, you'll get pinch-flats every time you hit a pothole, which is always. Also, the gas station air pumps often only go up to 60psi anyway. Get knobby low-pressure (60-80psi) tires and they'll last a lot longer. (If you do end up with stupid tires, you might want to get one of these.)

9. Likewise, make sure the tubes you get have the kind of connectors that the gas station air pumps take. Bike shop nerds like to fuck you with goofy connectors sometimes, out of sheer mean-spiritedness.

10. Bike maintenance: don't do it, ever. It's not worth your time. Just take it to the shop. Getting them to replace a flat for you costs $20 and takes 10 minutes, including the tube, and you don't get dirty.

    It's a good idea to know how to change a flat, but why do it yourself when you can pay someone else almost-nothing to get greasy on your behalf?

11. Safety: I follow the Zodiac approach: always assume the cars can see you perfectly, and are trying to kill you. If an intersection seems iffy, use the sidewalk and crosswalks. If big streets like Market and Van Ness freak you out, there are always less traficky ways to go, or just stay on the sidewalks.

    Do whatever you need to do to feel safe. You have nobody to impress.

12. Grocery shopping: yes, you really can do it with a single backpack. The trick is, shop small once a week instead of big once a month.

13. If you try to dangle bags on your handlebars, you will die.

14. Cross train and trolley tracks at a 45° angle or more, or you will die.

15. You really do need to tuck in or roll up your right leg. (You probably won't die, but you'll shred your pants.)

16. You don't need to ride up Haight. Take Fell or Fulton and then go through the Panhandle.

17. The City is only 7 miles across. Nothing is as far away as you think it is.

Update 2: Oh great, here comes the peanut gallery. Thanks, Cory Rob, srsly. I'd recommend against reading the comments here unless you're the type who reads comments on Youtube. Or maybe you just want to hear a bunch of fixie-hipsters with sand in their vaginas tell me how wrong I am and how you should spend a fortune and do all your repairs yourself.

Update 3: After getting 200ish comments on day one, I went through and deleted most of the redundant ones, and most of the ones from butt-hurt bike-nerds and mechanics. I've also turned on comment screening, and won't be approving new comments here unless you really have something new to say.

I'm a little (just a little!) surprised at the level of vitriol this one provoked. It's like I farted in bike-church. You'd think I was making fun of Linux or something.

Muni maps through at least 2005 labeled the area just east of US 101 and northwest of I-280 as "Apparel City," but the name seems to have disappeared from the latest version. The reason that I was looking is that the Bayview-Hunters Point Redevelopment Plan calls the area right next to this one "Oakinba," for Oakdale-Industrial-Bayshore, a name I had not seen before.