Basketball Bronze

Let me win. But if I can not win, let me be brave in the attempt. That is the Special Olympics motto and a fitting motto for the San Francisco Mercy Vipers, the basketball team I coached at the NorCal Championships. Their normal coach could not make it so I stepped in. Lucky for me they did not need much coaching and took home the bronze medal.

Raccoon

One does not expect to see a raccoon in San Francisco. I was sitting at my dining room table looking at my laptop when a moving image caught my eye climbing down the stairs of the building next to mine. I got up to take a closer look and it was indeed a raccoon. It probably traveled over from the Presidio or Golden Gate Park. By the time I scurried over to the window to get a better look it had scurried away itself.

Hybrid Hype

I have heard a lot of commercials lately for the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Radio commercials touting its highway MPG as 34! 34?! That is it! I find this to be a ridiculously low number. I did a test in my 1998 Honda Prelude during the last two full fill-ups and I get 28 mpg. My car is 10 years old and this so-called eco-friendly, gas-saving hybrid only gets 6 more miles to the gallon than mine. What a joke. The hype over hybrid car is nice but lets be honest about certain truths. These cars still use a lot of gas. If those who drive hybrids were really conscious about saving the environment they should not buy a car in the first place. Not only do these cars still produce exhaust, use gas, but we rarely take into account the material used to make these cars. And I wonder what these new car owners did with their old cars. Are they filling up some junk yard somewhere?

I find it absurd that the auto industry has not developed a car that gets more mpg than what we currently have on the road. The cars of the 50's get the same as today.

Drivers of these hybrids make the social statement they are interested in but if they really wanted to save the environment and nowdays save money with rising gas costs, don't drive at all. Ride a bike. Get an electric car. Don't buy the hybrid hype.

The Mayor

I have had the opportunity to work with Mayor Gavin Newsome on several occassions. Nothing of grand nature or public policy but small, lone projects. Today, was a public service announcement for Bay to Breakers. A quick shoot at City Hall. Today, like the rest, I came away impressed. A lot of politicans come across fake and plastic. While Gavin may have plastic hair, his personality and love of The City is anything but fake.

Just Cherry!

Walking to and from work, which I do maybe once or twice a week, I pass through Japantown. This weekend and next will be the Cherry Blossom Festival, pretty much just a street fair expect with a little Japanese flair.

The past few weeks have been a joy to walk around San Francisco thanks to the cherry blossoms being in full bloom. Now, many of the trees have already shed their blooms and gone on to greener things.

With tempertures rising this evening's walk was especially pleasant and I was happy to see some trees are still blooming, perfect for this weekend.

Streeeeetcccchhh

I started taking a yoga class this week. My first. I have always been a bit scared and intimidated by yoga knowing I am not too flexible. That is one of the reasons I wanted to do it as well. I decided to bite the bullet thanks to KAJ's inspiration (photo). After two classes I don't feel all that bad. While I am not nearly as flexible as others in the class, the instructor said I was quite strong and balanced for only attending two classes. That made me feel good.

A Flame In San Francisco

You would think San Francisco would be used to seeing a flame on the street and not go crazy. I had my brief brush with the Olympic torch today, unexpected. Thanks to the last minute route change instead of going along the Embarcadero it was diverted to right in front of my office. The torchbearers started carrying the torch about two blocks away. It was a mad scene along Van Ness Avenue as people scurried outside and before long there was a massive crowd. It was all quite exciting.

Quick Wednesday Run

The route for this run was nothing out of the ordinary but the sunset was. I left around 7pm heading west and the sunset was brilliant. While running I started thinking about the upcoming Bay to Breakers on May 18. If you want to run for free let me know.

Snow Day

By now you should know that Michelle and I are getting married. To escape from all of the madness we headed up to Tahoe for three days of skiing. The snow at Heavenly is great but the the best thing about the place is the view.