Happy Thanksgiving!

Yehuda Moon is a daily comic strip centered around a small, fictional bike shop.

Provisional ballot - nice to know for next Election Day

I'm registered to vote as a permanent absentee. It's great to avoid waiting in line to vote in person and I get to look up information on-the-spot, if I haven't gotten to research ahead of time.

Never knew what I was supposed to do with the little tabs that I tear off of the ballot before it goes in the mail. I just got an email from the SF Department of Elections with a link to the provisional ballot status tool. If I hadn't used that tab as a grocery list, I could have checked to make sure that my ballot was counted! (Provisional ballots are counted last, so that the counters can make sure that you didn't try to vote in person and through the mail.)

Four lines of snark, served up funky fresh, just for you, AB

So I forgot to actually disable my OKCupid account, as planned. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I would have missed these gems from various guys who emailed me recently. 
AB - I think this is the snark you were seeking...


Actually posted under a photo of a guy water skiing -
This is a few years ago, but its my body I'm working hard to get back to.
Awww. I understand. Most of us have that pic from a while ago, but really? Points for honesty, but don't do that. Especially when the pic looks like it was scanned in - meaning, pre-digital camera age. 


Wanna beta test my apps?
Srsly?!?!? Actually, thinking back to his profile, he may have actually been talking about applications. But in this context, and just as a random last line to an intro email, this comment seemed to imply something else. Ew. 


I guess this is where I say something clever or witty.....
Um... yep. You could do that. Or, not, you know. Your choice. Oh, guess you decided to go with the not. Well, thanks for letting me in on the play-by-play of your thoughts, random dude.


...and that you are a triathlon athlete. You go girl!
Really? You go girl? I'm going to go throw up in my mouth a little. And I'm pretty sure I used the phrase "triathlete" in my profile. For a reason. Because that's what you call a person that does triathlons. 


Anyway, I'm done with that - well, except the two guys that I'm emailing. But nothing exciting to report there.
.........................

In non-mansafari news, Flo Rida's "Right Round*" is excellent for running hill repeats. 


Yes, I listen to fun, trashy hip-hop and pop when I run. And need some more recommendations. Higher beats per minute = better. 


*Which, as AF and I learned, at work, is about strippers. Not about other going downs that may make one head's spin. So sad (I mean, that this is the kind of stuff that I learn at work. The song's fab either way.).

Another reason for ninja training...

I've been feeling a little pissy about guys. They make no sense to me. I think there's potential... and then nothing. Anyway...

I need to grow a thicker skin. It's winter and I should be wearing it anyway, to keep me warm in this frigid effing apartment*.

Anyway, the above comic is swiped from First Person Singular, who stole it from The New Yorker. I also like FPS's option of going with an OXO Can Opener. I've got one of those grippy things made out of old tires. Before I was gifted that one, I would actually use an old bike inner tube to help with the grip.

*I'm so buying a space heater with a remote control. How genius is that? Wake up a few minutes early, click heater on. Tiny apartment is warmed suffiiciently to get out of bed without suffering from shock due to leaving a 100 degree nest to a 40 degree apartment. Love it. 

Feedback

I called Southern Comfort last night to end things with him. Not that there were "things" to end, but just more let him know that I wasn't interested. It ended up being a much longer conversation than I had expected - he was kind of surprised and felt like there was the potential for this to turn into something.

So, he decided to give me feedback. Which, is actually pretty cool. And kind of funny. Here's what I remember...

1. He was not initially attracted to me physically (this is really what you want to say to a girl that you're trying to get to change her mind and go out with you one more time), but I won him over with my brain and wit (damn straight, foolio). And then he found me attractive.
2. I seem obsessed with exercise

No surprise here. I'd skip a workout or move it around for someone I'm really into, but otherwise, it's business as usual.

3. My apartment is a turn-off. It's very small and seems temporary. There's no couch or place to sit down, other than the kitchen or the bed. And it doesn't really seem like a home.

Yep. This is true. I have never put much effort into my apartments. Not a priority. However, I'm open to improvements. Anyone want to come over and decorate for me? I'm serious. I'll give you money, you go buy stuff, throw things away and make my place look better. I still only have a 10x15 space to work with, two bicycles and a bed. So good luck.

4. I look better with my hair down and curly, instead of pulled back or straight.
5. I always seem busy

Wine in a...

plastic bottle. Classy, huh? Wine in a Plastic Bottle > or < Wine in a Box.

Tough call, right? At least we're used to seeing wine in a box - and there are some boxed wines out there that are Not Franzia and better than Two Buck Chuck.

Treehugger profiled this wine maker in New Zealand, Yealand, who's trying to go for the most sustainable wine possible. He has tried using goats (they eventually ate the grapes) and guinea pigs (too unmanageable over the entire estate) and now mini goats to help remove weeds between the rows of vines. He's got solar and wind and uses pine needle oil as an herbicide. Still, shipping glass bottles all over the world = big carbon footprint. Enter the plastic bottle. 72 cases/pallet for plastic vs 56 cases/pallet for glass. And...

New Zealand's Yealand Estates says its Full Circle sauvignon blanc bottles are 89% lighter than 750ml glass bottles, which means they generate 54% less greenhouse gas emissions and use nearly 20% less energy to produce than glass.

Interesting, huh?

However, according to a 2008 report that was recently released by the Association of Post Consumer Plastic Recyclers just 27% of all PET is actually recycled. I was surprised to find that, in the US, the rate for glass recycling isn't much higher, at 28%. (Note that the glass rate in some parts of the EU are much higher - 50 to 90%.) So, if this product is going to be landfilled anyway, why not use the least energy intensive packaging? You know, aside from those nasty phthalates that can leach into the wine, or the fact that plastic is made of petroleum, which is a limited resource.

The PET wine bottle? Not a perfect solution. I applaud Yealand for trying something new.

Green Apple Books & Sarah Palin

Green Apple Booksis a San Francisco institution. A friend of mine came to visit and - over the course of his five days - managed to visit TWICE! They've got a wonderful selection of new and used books and tons of wit and love for the tongue in cheek...

As evidenced by their blog.

Green Apple Going Rogue

With all due to respect to the Republicans who were as overjoyed as I was (for different reasons, of course) by Sarah Palin's nomination to the McCain ticket last year, Green Apple is donating 100% of the profits from sales of Sarah Palin's Going Rogue: An American Life to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance.


For a respectful and professional review of the book, instead of our touchy-feely knee-jerk urban liberalism, see Michiko Kakutani's review in the New York Times.

Kind of reminds me of the folks who, during the 2008 election, donated to Planned Parenthood under Sarah or Bristol Palin's name.  

2:1

Successfully avoided:
Mountain of candy in the breakroom
Birthday cake for a coworker


Unsuccessfully avoided:
Checking email and Facebook every 30 seconds in hopes of getting something from a potential interest

Supercook.com

Supercook is a recipe aggregator that allows you to enter what ingredients you have on hand AND exclude other major foods (like dairy, meat, seafood).


Check it.
 

(Alli-gator, not an aggre-gator.)

Math. Such a good way to solve problems.

http://xkcd.com/539/

Now if only I could employ similar logic to a real life situations.

I'm not doing a great job with the online dating thing. I'm being completely passive and not even responding with any sort of regularity, which is probably making me come across as a total asshole. Which, sometimes I am... but in this case, I'm just not feeling terribly motivated to email with the randoms - and I'm having a tough time finding a free evening to even go out with anyone. (Which, we all know is actually code for "I'm not that interested," since I would move things around for the right person.) The beauty of the free site - no commitment. I'm going to finish up current conversations, give them my regular contact info if it seems right and be done within the next week.
I'll try to share funny stories with you anyway, since you seem to enjoy them.

Like this one:
Kissing Southern Comfort (this was a few weeks ago and I forgot to tell you)... and I smelled, something unusual... I blurted out, "Do you use self-tanner?"
"Uh, well, yeah, I did today, cuz, you know, I was taking Vicodin earlier this week since I hurt my back, and I looked really pale."
"Ok."
Needless to say, I was not so into kissing him anymore. Yuck!

Six.

1. I want someone to deliver Straus organic non fat plain yogurt, cottage cheese, bananas, chicken, celery, veggie burgers and Lara Bars to my door. Also, maybe something for dinner. (Yes, there's take out, but I don't actually want to call anyone, or wait for it. I'm looking for magic elves, or my non-existent mind reading boyfriend. Damn it, Edward Cullen, where are you?)

2. Bike ride today, because I  had the day off.

• I am blaming the shittasticness that is my riding speed and endurance on my 200 pound 3x deadlift yesterday and not on the fact that it's been about a month since I've gone on a ride.Yeah, I'm out of biking shape. But, damn, am I proud of that deadlift.
• On the second half of my ride, I encountered a kid who had a nasty wreck on the Sausalito bike path. Was going to call 911, since his head was bleeding, but enough of us assessed that he was okay - knew his name, was talking, pupils looked normal and he remembered his phone number. So I called his mom to pick him up. It looked like one of his pedal arms seemed to have fallen off his bike. OUCH!!! Poor kid. He was fine - bunch of road rash and bruises, but he also had a cut on his head and his helmet was there... but obviously didn't do the job. I see BMX kids riding around with their helmets unclipped all the fucking time. It's stupid. The helmet's not going to do anything if it's not properly secured to your head. I felt like an asshole, myself, because I stuck around for a little while, but then had to leave him with two other bikers because I didn't have lights on my bike and it was getting dark. And I don't want to tempt the irony gods quite that much.

3. In addition to elves, I'd also like a cleaning person. I am very seriously considering this one. Just 2x a month. I can't imagine it'd be that expensive, since my place is so small. It seems sooo bourgeois... but I really always come up with something better to do than wash my floors.

4. Did you know you have to floss the very back of your last tooth? Even though there's no other tooth next to it to trap anything in there, you're still supposed to run floss along it to help reduce plaque (or tartar?). I went to the dentist on Monday and came away with that fun fact. I'm pretty sure I'd gag myself if I actually had my wisdom teeth and had to floss all the way back there.

5. Oh, and hi blog stalkers! I didn't know I had so many silent readers. Hope I make you laugh sometimes.

6. I hope to see this band on Friday. Pomplamoose. Hilarious cover of Beyonce's Single Ladies. FF to around 1:55 for a little artistic license action.

Or, perhaps you're more into Michael Jackson, complete with xylophone? Oh yes.

Happy birthday, Sesame Street!

delicious hetch hetchy water and a shower scene

From a friend of a friend... (I watched the six finalists and was impressed. They're ~ 1 min each, so you've got time for it. Really.)

 

-------------------------------
Recently, some friends and I entered a 60 second water conservation video contest with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and we are among the top 6 finalists! The winner will be determined by votes and will be announced at City Hall on December 8th. The winning video will also get some air time on a local TV station.

We need your help! Please take a second to vote. I won't say which one to vote for but ours is called "Shower Your Garden." Also if you could pass this on to your network of friends, that would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the link:
http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MC_ID/18/MSC_ID/429/MTO_ID/733/C_ID/4787

Healthiness of food vs. cost of food

Stolen from my ninja training gym's Facebook page, who stole it from GraphJam.

Save $500 a month on transportation costs

By living in San Francisco vs the burbs.
I buy this if you live & work in the city. I'd like to take a look at the data - like, what if you live and work in Pacifica (monthly transportation estimated at $1246). Wouldn't that bring you closer to the Bay Area Burden's San Francisco figure of $792? I don't know. Check it out later on today when that site goes live with a calculator!


Since getting rid of my car, what are my transportation costs? I'm going to shoot for the high side of my potential cost...
Take the bus six times. $12
BART to Berkeley & back, twice. $16
Get two flats, need new tubes. $8
Plus my own time to fix the flats. Estimate 15 min per flat. Say I'm a $60/ hour kinda gal. $30
General bike maintenance, let's call it 30 min. $30
Cab fare. Estimate $10 a trip, three trips. $30
Get a ride from a friend, pay the bridge toll/help with gas. $15
= $141
Sweet.
It'll go up when/if I do ZipCar. A $50/year fee and then whatever trips I take in the ZipCar. And then longer trips where I spend more on gas money, or even renting a car. Let's say $200/month, on average. Still, pretty great. Of course, that does NOT include the $400 I just dropped on a plane ticket to go to Illinois this weekend. Or what I'll spend on my Christmas airfare. Or what I'd have to spend to get a new bike, or the $150-250 I expect to drop on getting my ride set up with some new panniers and rack. Regardless, I'm really friggin lucky to be able to be car free.

The text or call debate, nicely laid out in this article

We've got a woman who says that first dates should be arranged via phone and a guy who thinks that texting can be appropriate. All in a very cute iPhone text-ish format, for your reading pleasure.

Nerve article

I agree that I like a phone call. It does, as the woman argues, seem to show a bit of courage on the guy's part. They did leave out the making plans via email method, which seems to work well for me. I'm not too much of a phone person, but I am online pretty often.

I definitely blew off a guy that I met this spring who only sent texts. Last minute, hey are you around now?, sort of texts. That definitely didn't work for me and I would always respond that I was busy (which, I probably was, but I'm sure could have made myself free if I really wanted) and finally suggested that he call me, or make plans in advance. And he texted back, asking if it was ok to call me, or when he could call - something like that. Yeah, I never responded to that one.