The San Francisco Citizen

Here’s the latest from the exotic deer wars up in the Pt. Reyes area of Marin County.

A little background about the “hired killers” is here. Of course, California State Senator Carole Migden has been on this issue for a while now. But the Feds have a different point of view about “exotic ungulates”.

The plan is to have all these deer gone withing a decade or two. And that rubs some people the wrong way.

Please don’t shoot me just because I don’t come from here! Some exotic deer inside of the Point Reyes National Seashore:

It seems the way the Federales have handled the culling will give animal lovers lots to argue about over the coming years and decades.

Let’s hope we can get to some kind of solution soon.

Some fixed gear bike riders have it tough because they don’t have brakes on their bikes. So when they have to stop on the bottom of an incline they need to skid their rear tires. This leaves a loooong skid mark on the pavement, as you can see. 

Take a look at this awesome video here to get the idea. Some rydahs run into trouble though - like Tony here, who was “surprised” to encounter a bus, at a bus stop, on a bus route, in Manhattan.

Let’s be careful out there:

“The EMT said if it wasn’t for my dreads, I would have had a massive concussion“

We’ll close with Morrissey’s thoughts on the matter:

“No brakes, I don’t mind.”

Full-service public relations and public affairs consultancy Hill and Knowltonannounced today that former vice president Al Gore, upon his death, will be encased in carbonite and then buried. This type of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) was only made possible this year through the use of nanotechnology.

Until recently this was our understanding of carbonite, made famous in Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back:

“By the rules of chemical nomenclature, the formula for a “carbonite anion” would be CO22-, which is thought to be an impossible formation (methanoate being preferentially formed instead).”

Impossible no longer.

Artist’s conception of the former vice president encased in the densest form of carbon known to man:

Just one treatment of this double carbon material will take the equivalent of 1200 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The only downside will be the expense of a slightly oversized coffin. The upside is that Al Gore, Jr. will be the most severely carbon negative person in recorded history.

A relieved Hill & Knowlton spokesperson confided to one reporter that this announcement will lay to rest the controversy over the greenhouse emissions of Al Gore’s house, for some reason an issue of almost daily concern to the D.C.-based House of Flack.

If only Han Solo were alive to see this day…

Apparently, the freeways of California are open to scooters, if they’re the right kind. Like this Suzuki Burgman for instance, seen on the 101 heading north in Marin County.

Read all about these fast scooters here (and discover the set up for the Chronicle’s off-colour moped joke here). Maybe this is your new set of wheels?

You already know about the Good of B2B 2008. A good time was had by all.

But what about the Bad? Muni didn’t appear to be working very well north of Golden Gate Park in the afternoon following the big race. It wasn’t like all the buses were packed with people, it was like there didn’t seem to be any buses around at all throughout the Richmond. Must be tough to get drivers working on a Sunday.

And finally, the Ugly. Garbage everywhere, and more so than usual. Check the Flickr to see Drunken Douchebags Trash the Panhandle. Reopening Fell Street was such a chore that the DPW’s Mohammad Nuru called the cops to get some help.

Heading back uphill to the acme of the race course in Golden Gate Park (which is no where near Hayes Street Hill, the purported highest point on the race route): 

The cold dawn of day reveals a lot of trash still out there on the Streets of San Francisco. Maybe the people from Dutch financial institution and B2B sponsor ING could come down from their aerodynamic house and lend a hand with the cleanup? Just asking.

Hopefully, things will go more smoothly next year. Speaking of which… 

See you next year!

[The Panhandle is much cleaner now around 11:00 AM Monday morning. Yay.]

So sayeth this car’s license plate holder. The owner of this vehicle also recommends you to spay and neuter feral cats.

Click to expand:

O.K. then.

John Kipsang Korir won the in Men’s Elite category, as well as overall, in today’s Bay to Breakers footrace. 

Lineth Chepkurui won in the Women’s Elite category.

It can be tough for foreign nationals to compete in marathons and other running competitions in these United States, due to visa hassles and unfair prize schemes designed to favor Americans. But San Francisco’s oldest run is still wide open to all. Good.

The Autodesk team manged to win second place in the centipede category, despite a few distractions:  

See more wacky photos.

Complete results.

See you next year!

Forget about that other District 3 poll, the one that had to be pulled due to cheating by Internet-savvy individuals. Here’s the latest from the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Their survey currently shows Carole Migden leading with 54%, Mark Leno at 43% and Joe Nation trailing with 3%.

Click to enlarge: 

Get in on the fun right now and cast your vote. You can’t win if you don’t play!

Why’s that?

You’d think a “drug free” area would be bereft of scoring opportunities, but that doesn’t appear to be the case around Hippy Hill in the Haight Ashbury section of San Francisco.

Just saying…

Here’s what they want you to believe: the route of the Bay to Breakers footrace is all downhill after topping the Hayes Street Hill. From the website:

ING Bay to Breakers is a 12K (7.46 miles) course. From sea level at the Embarcadero the course rises steeply along Hayes Street Hill. Around the 2.5-mile mark runners climb an 11.15% grade between Fillmore and Steiner, bringing them to the highest point in the race, approximately 215 feet above sea level. The remainder of the course gradually flows downhill alongside the Panhandle and through Golden Gate Park.

But that’s simply not true. Take a look at this elevation profile. See? After dipping down a bit the course continues to rise and reaches its highest point in Golden Gate Park. So there’s a reason why it feels you’re going uphill after conquering the Hayes Street Hill - you are going uphill.

Thousands of runners are in Golden Gate Park today preparing for tomorrow’s race. Going to the west uphill in the Panhandle:

Why does the mainstream media repeat a falsehood year after year? Laziness, mostly.

But check for yourself, if you want. Mike did last year and came to this conclusion:

According to the Garmin GPS I was using, the highest point is indeed in GG Park, not the top of Hayes Street Hill.

So plan your racing strategy accordingly.

Have fun tomorrow!