Although I was quick to slam SA for the Nimbys in King William (who don’t really live in KW), I was thinking about how SF Nimbys keep their pimp hand pretty strong.
We also love petitions here in SF. We love them almost more than we hate McDonald’s and Strip Club ads. Once I was asked to sign a petition to “help protect neighborhood children from speeding cars”. So I looked at the fine print- it was a group of people who wanted to put up 4-way stops at every intersection from Arguello to the beach.
I think it was Herbert Hoover who promised a toy in every happy meal and a stop sign on every corner, wasn’t it?
I hadn’t heard of the 30 Days of Biking thing and on the 1st of April I saw this link/post about it via road.cc. Although it was late notice, I thought I’d give it a go. I was commuting most days already and was pretty close to 7 days a week on the bike in March, so why not right?
My Runkeeper.com 'proof'
Well, despite a few days where I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to ride, I still got on for a quick spin. I saved those days for running errands instead of something “long”. (Other than my Bay/Crissy/Presidio commute home I haven’t done many rides that are longer than 12 miles).
I was also worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it when I traveled to SA this last week because of a missed flight and a few missed standby flights. But I made it in time and got on either my brother’s cruiser or one of my dad’s bikes. I got to ride around King William with my brother and got in a spin to some of the Missions. I even got to do a SA version of a SFBikeParty-styled ride with Bart and Jeff.
Oh! I did convince a few co-workers to try riding in to work- that felt better than finishing the ‘event’ (although I’m glad I finished it).
I don’t have any words of wisdom about the event, but it was interesting to try to remember to get on the bike when I either didn’t want to or was about to run an errand that I’d normally do in my car (aka, picking up wine from K&L in the car and not by using a big ‘ol backpack and my bike).
What the hell? I leave SA after a great trip home to visit my family and have some fun during Fiesta and I get back to SF and see a lot of BS about The Friendly Spot online.
SF: Bar that riles neighbors- won’t turn down music, won’t talk to neighbors, has fights constantly out front, cops come frequently, shitty service, untrained and non-uniformed “security”, no security cameras, doesn’t turn on “last call” lights or stays open later… (the key- won’t talk to neighbors to address concerns)
SF result- bar gets warned by the city, put on probation, gets closed while staff retrains, bar will be monintored heavily when it re-opens.
SA: Family-friendly bar/restaurant riles 8(?!) people who complain to TABC and petition JOP to review their TABC license. Owners are active in neighborhood, go out of their way to address concerns, close earlier than they have to, turn off music (or Spurs game audio) early, draws great business to the surrounding area….
SA result: TBD
I’m not saying that they’re aren’t uber-sensitive Nimbys in SF (there are tons) – but it sounds like some people in SA would just like to go to sleep (I mean that in the Shakespearean metaphor way). Add your thoughts in the comments. And stay off my lawn!
I went to the SF Vintner’s Market at Fort Mason last week with some lovely ladies to celebrate Jodi’s birthday. We tried a bunch of wines and I took some notes.
Of course the notes aren’t nearly as useful or as detailed as other friends of mine write – like Dave T, Paul and Wes, but hey…. it’s enough to remind me what I liked and would buy again later, and that serves me well.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the SF Vintners Market is intended to be a tasting event where you can buy wines there at the event and take them home with you (or ship it). Of course a lot of people treat it as a big “hey, let’s go drink” event, but I guess that’s fine too.
I’m the kind of guy that prefers smaller events where I can talk to the winemakers and ask them pointless questions. The Vintners Market is a big event, but we went on the second day and all of the tables and wines were accessible, so no big whoop. And I didn’t see much, if any, of the dreaded “thrusts the glass at the pourer” person that you normally see at larger events or passport weekends.
So what’d I taste? A bunch of random stuff. If I saw a sign for wines I like, or something I don’t normally see, then I’d try to head over. Translation: Syrahs mostly, some roses, a GSM, Viognier, and a Barbera.
Here were my standouts (in no order whatsoever):
07 Santa Barbara Grenache from Comartin Cellars (now that I think about it, it may have been newer, an 08). It was very pinot-y but with some interesting structure.
08 Comartin Cellars Porterhouse – this was a nice and pretty unique blend- 2/3rds Syrah and the rest Grenache (blends of their various grenaches). The name comes not from it being a “meaty” wine, but that the family that founded the winery were (or are) butchers.
09 Portalupi Barbera – nice & dry, great fruit and acid [I never said my notes made sense]
09(?) Olson Ogden Unti Syrah
08(?) Olson Ogden Stagecoach Syrah
09 Olson Ogden Alder Syrah – totally different from what I expected (I have some other Syrahs from Alder) – really liked this
I thought a GSM fromHahn Family Wines was nice and a good deal for the price.
And I really liked the two wines I tried from Cazadero Winery. I wound up buying some of their Chardonnay (Bei Ranch). It’s unfined and unfiltered and is really nice. I liked their Cabernet as well and need to pick some up. (they’re still working on their site)
Okay, now that I’ve listed the vinos, I should also mention that I asked the winemakers if they killed their own gophers at every opportunity. I think that the folks at Cazadero gave me the only true answer – and didn’t flinch when I asked. Some of the people said- “sure, I did”. But I could tell by the look in their eyes they may not have.
But at Cazadero he said Yeah… and quickly added that he really didn’t have to worry about gophers too much because of the soil where they were- too rocky at the levels that gophers like to dig. And while that’s true… he had that… look.
