Speaking up

I’ve been keeping quiet on a lot of things lately; when I have a very small thought I just twitter it, and when I have a lot to say I find it harder and harder to find the right words.

Kathy Sierra has recently posted a call for suggestions on how to move forward without drawing personal attacks, and I’ve broken my online silence to add my two cents. I wish I could tell you something profound about online interaction or gender relations, but all I can say is that I want to continue hearing her viewpoint and I think she could easily make a business of it. And also I really hate it when the bad guys win.

I win!

Tickets for Snakes On A Plane are now available on Fandango!

Hey, this blogging thing is kinda fun

While I’m at it, take a look at this clever prank. I’m not above jumping on a neighbor’s connection when necessary, but you get what you pay for. Or sometimes maybe a little more.

A couple Flickr links

Portrait by Buzz. This may be my most favorite photo of me ever. He’s got some other good pics of SXSW, check out his stream.

See also most randomest meetup ever, taken a day after Andrew and I met and about 30 seconds after we realized we’ve known each on MetaFilter for years. Bizarrely, the next photo is of a friend of his who happens to be from my hometown (only the second time I’ve met someone from there since I left).

DEV2.0

A small part of me has just died.

This is what happens when you let Mothersbaugh score too many Hollywood movies I guess.

Yes, but where’s my bluetooth photobooth?

For those of you not reading the Flickr blog, or who missed the CNET article, or have deleted a certain popular group blog from their RSS reader due to an annoying overabundance of self-promotional posting…there is now a Flickr photobooth at Shine in SOMA. And yes, of course you can subscribe to the feed. The address: 1337 Mission. 5VV337!

Not quite as cool as the Photoboof from Laughing Squid’s 10th Anniversary, but then that’s hard to top.

(Parking) Space, the final frontier

TMN linked this morning to a project I’m surprised I hadn’t seen yet, given that I was maybe a half mile away at the time. The organizers of the PARK(ing) project took advantage of one of the last bright sunny days of fall to let a lucky few dig their bare toes in the grass one last time before winter set in. They have an agenda of course, but what kind of San Francisco artist’s collective would they be without an agenda? Preferably one that denounces others and gives them a chance to point some fingers. Ooooh, yeah.

Their ingenious use of space immediately reminded me of the Space Hijacker Office. We all know what a chunk of cash rent can be, especially those desirable addresses close to influential decision makers. This may be the best solution yet for young startups on a budget. They also win points for having the good sense to throw a party at the end (and another party, and then finish the whole thing off with a pub crawl for good measure). So Bubble Web 2.0 of them.

Dosa

Recommended.

Friday night I had dinner at the just-opened Dosa on Valencia and 21st. It was packed, obviously people have been hungry for some South Indian food in the Mission. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the menu is primarily vegetarian and that it’s right next door to the resolutely mediocre Herbivore either.

We started out with the complimentary and excellent pappadum, served cut into wide ribbons, and then continued on to onion pakora. Both are served without any sauces or chutney (I asked). The pakora come with plenty of curry leaf in the batter, they were a little soft but very tasty. For main courses we had both dosa and uttapam. The dosa was fantastic, the uttapam good but not as exciting. I’m told that in India uttapam is considered breakfast food and I can see why, it’s like savory pancakes (the griddlecake kind) as opposed to dosa which are more like chewy/crispy crepes. Both came with two chutneys, a coconut/cilantro/chile one and a spicier red chile/other-ingredients-I-forget one, as well as a very good sambal. The chutneys were okay but not great. The uttapam also came with a highly spiced and delicious chaat masala that I couldn’t stop eating even though I was already full. The dosa, sambal and chaat were all definite winners, only the chutneys were disappointing. Next trip I plan to try the paper dosa (a giant thin crispy dosa served rolled like a poster with the filling on the side) and the coriander beer that they were out of on Friday.

Prices are definitely reasonable, dosas are around $7-9 and they have a good selection of beer and wine. It’s nice and cozy inside, in the typical warm-tones modern style. In short, for a few bucks more than some cafeteria-like burrito joint you can have a really nice meal.

This explains a lot

“Coffee and tea may reduce the risk of serious liver damage in people who drink alcohol too much, are overweight, or have too much iron in the blood, researchers reported on Sunday.”

Hey! I resemble that remark!

Attempting balance

I’m back in SF and have been since Monday, but somehow I’ve forgotten how to incorporate work into my schedule and still, you know…have a life. I’m so used to having vast quantities of down time, I have to relearn how to schedule myself. I’d been getting up at 11, spending an hour drinking my coffee, and then leisurely cooking myself a brunch before attempting to actually accomplish anything. Now I have to get up by 6:30 and struggle along with everyone else to make it in to work on time. I know, I know, I should be happy I was able to live the dream so long. It’s like coming out of retirement.