Loganotron

I think Christian first showed this to me, then Orange shared it, then… well, everyone’s been sharing this awesome post today. I read about this some time ago when I learned that the Duboce overpass had once extended down Embarcadero and had been planned to spread its fingers throughout the city.

As I understand it, the first part to be built was the Embarcadero double-decker and Duboce overpass. The public was so outraged by the visual menace on the Embarcadero that the progress on the other splinters was stopped. Then the 1989 Earthquake came and destroyed parts of the Embarcadero freeway, and it was removed. Can’t say that I’m too sad about never having seen the monster obstruction down on the waterfront.

At first I interpreted this to mean that Geary and Van Ness were getting light-rail Muni lines. Alas, that is not the case. That being said, BRT seems like a pretty good stop-gap measure. Read more about BRT here.

The upside is that bus transit down these two major streets would be much more efficient and quick. The downside is that both streets would lose a traffic lane going in each direction. That’s a dramatic loss for these two major thoroughfares.

But, until we can figure out how to raise money for light-rail Muni down Geary and Van Ness, this is a pretty good alternative.

This is all over the blogosphere. Check out this SF street scene made completely out of LEGOs. It’s located at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, CA. My friend Amy asks, “Who wants to go to Carlsbad.” I’d be up for a trip!

Photo via Flickr

More here.

A renegade artist in San Francisco changed the name of Bush Street to Obama Street. Check out the DIY Flickr image here.

I love the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s majestic, sure. But I’m more amazed at the sheer engineering brilliance of this structure. The architecture represented in this image, shared by my friend Lady Leblanc, just wows me.

What a load of BS this is. Be afraid. Be very very afraid. San Francisco is the evil underbelly of the nation and it’s all because of liberal politics. Damn I hate O’Reilly sometimes. Dude, leave my city alone!

There are 34 San Francisco city propositions and California State propositions on the ballot this November. Oy Vey! That’s a lot to figure out for us voters.

Today I sat down and read through my voter guide. And I read through various endorsements and voter guides I’ve received and tracked down online. Here’s my attempt at simplifying the challenge. On the attached PDF, I’ve included my opinion as well as the opinions of various other groups. I’ve also made it one-pager in case you want to have a handy, printable guide to take with you into the voting booth. Hope it helps!

Download it here!

Watch this clip.

At about the :40 mark, a Code Pink protestor tries to put Karl Rove under citizens arrest for treason. (Awesome)

Then, at about the 1:25 mark, Rove gets all worked up over some negative statements John Kerry made about McCain. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell has a classic response. (Amazing!)

Hey fellow San Franciscans,

I know you’ve been bombarded with local and state political information and requests. Not to mention the important task of electing Obama and fighting a marriage ban in California. But, I felt compelled to share with you a little glimpse into SF politics that I’ve recently experienced.

You probably know that our city’s government is bitterly divided between Newsom and Daly. This year Daly and Newsom are each supporting a candidate for District 11 Supervisor. Each of these powerful politicians has purely political reasons for supporting their respective candidates. Newsom wants Asha Safai to win so that he can override a veto by the Board of Supervisors. Whereas Daly supports John Avalos so that he can all but ensure a veto of Newsom’s policies. You may have a personal preference of which way you’d like to see the power dynamic swing. But what’s sad is that outside this battle, the residents of District 11 are losing out.

Because these two candidates have deep-pocketed political machines behind them, you may not even know that there are other candidates in the race. One of the more interesting candidates, imho, is Randy Knox. Randy is a long-time resident of District 11 (over 20 years) and has raised his kids there. I went to his kick-off volunteer rally last Saturday. As Randy spoke I was inspired by seeing someone running for office who actually wants to make real change happen in his community. What was even more impressive was when all 70 volunteers went around the circle, introduced themselves, and identified how they knew Randy. Everyone (except me and one other friend-of-a-friend) knew Randy personally and was compelled to come out and help get him elected. That’s the true face of community-based politics.

After a few short speeches, it was time to hit the streets. We all took fliers and well-organized volunteer packets and started knocking on doors. It was my first time canvassing for a candidate, and at first I was nervous. But then, the folks who lived in one of the first houses I talked to actually knew Randy. We had a great conversation about what Randy wanted to do, why he was different than the other candidates, and why they should support him. With that great conversation under my belt, it was even easier to walk up to the next house, and the next.

So my friends and fellow San Franciscans, I urge you to consider supporting Randy Knox. I have donated to his campaign twice now, because I’m tired of partisan politics slowing down progress at City Hall. (You don’t have to live in District 11 to donate to Randy, btw.)

I know you’ve got a lot of other worthy causes to support — I’m financially supporting them too. But Randy has opted for public financing (which is the way all politics should operate, in my opinion). So if you can contribute to Randy, he’ll get a matching amount from the city. As I always say: Every little bit counts.

If you can’t contribute and you don’t live in District 11, then I encourage you to investigate the political motivations of the candidates running in your district. Vote for the candidate who isn’t one of the Daly or Newsom pawns. We need supervisors who get things done. Like, for example, Bevan Dufty who is the Supervisor in my district and is particularly awesome at responding to the requests of his constituents. It took only one message to Bevan about my streetlight being out for several weeks, and 2 days later it was fixed. It may seem inconsequential to you, but it proved to me that there are supervisors who still care about their neighborhoods and not just city politics. We need more supervisors like that. Supervisors like Randy Knox.

Sure, it may cost millions, but how freakin cool does this look?!

Newsom says:

“San Francisco’s Civic Center sits at the core of one of the most visited cities in the world. What better way to educate the world on sustainability than by transforming that core to showcase how we can use water more efficiently, promote food security, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. San Francisco has always been a leader – willing to think differently and act boldly. And now, our Civic Center will stand as a global model for how we achieve a more sustainable future.”

This is fun. Thanks to StripedHero for bringing the invasion to my attention.

Oh no! They’ll be ruined by our San Francisco values!!! via The SF Chronicle.

From Nancy Pelosi:

“San Francisco values to me means that every child in our city has health insurance until they are 25 years old. San Francisco values say we don’t have a minimum wage, we have a living wage. In San Francisco we respect the dignity and worth of every person and respect is the order of the day there. Issues like protecting the environment aren’t issues for us — they are values and ethics.

“I think they highlight them because they are the forces that are fighting health insurance for our children… they are the forces that are fighting increases in the minimum wage. So when they sort of use their winks and nods about San Francisco values, they are talking about the fact that we respect our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. But what they are really afraid of is economic justice.”

From DailyKos (two years ago):

But let’s talk about “San Francisco values”, you know — tolerance, entrepreneurship, and creativity.

Since O’Reilly boycotts everything he hates, I look forward to his boycott of all Bay Area-origin products. Same with every conservative who bashes San Francisco and the Bay Area. So no iPods or anything Apple. No HP computers. No Google. No Yahoo. No eBay. Those conservative bloggers using Blogspot, MovableType, or TypePad? Sorry. Those products are Bay Area-based.

Also no Adobe or Macromedia products. No computers, either, since most run on AMD or Intel. No tax preparation using Intuit products. Cancel your Netflix subscription. Cancel your TiVo subscription. Remove your Network Associates or Symantec virus protection software from your computer. Unplug your Netgear wifi router.

Don’t wear Levis (or any kind of jeans), Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, or buy your kids Gymboree. Avoid LeapFrog learning toys. Boycott Pixar movies. Boycott any movie using George Lucas’ ILM special effects shop. Stay away from Treos and other Palm devices. Don’t let Charles Schwab manage your portfolio. Don’t bank at Wells Fargo.

Yeah, those “San Francisco values” sure are dragging the region down. Making it weak as it falls behind the rest of the country — the parts that don’t share “San Francisco values” — economically and socially.

Or, maybe — just maybe — it’s made the region a magnet for the world’s smartest, most innovative, most entrepreneurial individuals and an incubator of the world’s most dramatic technological advances.

Gay marriage proponents are trying to get the California Supreme Court to strike the amendment from the ballot in November. They claim that the amendment is so severe that it should require Legislative approval before going before voters. And, that it should then require 2/3 voter approval. That’s the way Massachusetts does it, and why such an amendment has never made it to the voters. The MA Legislature has voted such a measure down repeatedly.

The SF Chronicle ran a fascinating piece on Sunday regarding the vanishing of the middle class in San Francisco. Currently, the only income class experiencing an increase in the city are people making over $200,000 per year. One critic said that if things continue this way, SF will end up a “Disneyland for yuppies.”

The Long Now Foundation has a list of Underground Wonders. I’ve always been fascinated by caves and such. Check out their list and follow the links. Awesome!

The real McCain. Leave it to a UK journalist to finally cast a spotlight on who John McCain really is.