I'm a lasagna boy!

In which we get no dessert (as we ate not our vegetables)

Although I doubt that David "Ketchup is a vegetable" Stockman would agree with the accuracy of this cartoon, the sentiment is true.

In which punk rock is whatever we made it to be

After reading the ugly presentation on Why I hate apache, I felt compelled to clean up my various httpd.conf files, in the process fixing punkrock.virji.net, which rips off the famous d boon sticker and plays The Minutemen's sentimental "History Lesson Part II" from "Double Nickels on the Dime". As much as the song brings tears to my eyes, the album title (and the awesome diy cover photograph) makes me chuckle. The same image figures into The Shins' video for "New Slang", which sweetly pays tribute to this album (and others).
Yes, the punkrock url has been broken for about three years. I finally fixed it. And I really cannot stand apache config syntax, but give me an httpd.conf over a sendmail.cf any day.

In which it is hard to stick to principles

After yesterday's debacle, during which I consumed approx. one-half bottle, Advil, between the hours of 7 ack emma and 7 pip emma, only to belatedly realise that I had not had *any* coffee, I grimly broke my one-cuppa rule and had back-to-back double espressos at the counter of Blue Bottle Coffee in Hayes Valley. For the second cup Mr Travis Crawford joined me, and told the amusing story of how he had once ordered a cup of coffee, wandered over to the nearby expressway Hayes Green, and then realised, "Wait! I didn't pay for this" because he is so accustomed to procuring fine espresso drinks at our office, where they flow plentifully and without denting the wallet.
The Blue Bottle Coffee Blog is quite amusing, and well-illustrated with yummuy photos of coffee, crema, and all things foodish. Today the barista, raffish as ever, was grinding beans from five days ago, well outside their proudly-stated goal of only using 48-hour old beans at oldest, but, hell. Yesterday evening I used beans that have been sitting in our 'fridge for nigh upon a fortnight.

In which we only have this excerpt

I am listening to "Kill the Poor (Live)" by the Dead Kennedys, from a record I have not heard in years, because, "Based on what you've told us so far, we're playing this track because it features punk roots, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, major key tonality and electric guitar riffs." Thanks to Pandora, which programs internet broadcasts selected especially for me (or for you), and has some amount of collaborative filtering and personalization. Yuck! Now they are playing Stiff Little Fingers.
This all started out with my trying to stump the personalization engine. I seeded it with legitimate but obscure musicians: Bonzo Dog Band, Cornelius Cardew. But these did not lead anywhere, and it was'n't until I stuffed in "No Xmas For John Quays" that it leapt into life, and started playing an old song by The Fall (you know how some broadcast radio stations devolve to a gimmick of playing all Elvis, or all John Denver, for a week? I could play All Fall All The Time. For months. In fact, I could have a long weekend dedicated to versions of Cruisers Creek.) Every time I give the 'thumbs-down' to a song, the radio falls back to playing The Fall, which is fine by me. It has stuck in several new (to me, at least) artists, and has handy "buy this from iTunes" and "buy this from Amazon" widgets built into the nifty little Flash-based player.

In which we are on a downward cycle

San Francisco Supes are all atwitter about fiscal improprieties in the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix (nee San Francisco Grand Prix)
When this race, billed as "America's toughest bicycle race", moves to Topeka, it will be in time to clear our sights for the Tour of California. And in the even shorter term, we can push our pedals over to Golden Gate Park this weekend to check out Grand Prix Clark Natwick cyclocross event. Somehow it's not quite as thrilling when sponsors, merch, and ca$h enter into it, but hell! it's cyclocross. Gotta find a cowbell before this weekend .... Thanks to jimg for pointing it out.

Supes blast bike race sponsors
By Jo Stanley
Staff Writer

Despite special fee waivers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, stunned supervisors were told at a hearing Monday that sponsors of a major San Francisco bicycle race stiffed The City on their 2004 bill of close to $90,000 for police services.

“You played me, you took advantage of me,” Supervisor Aaron Peskin said to Dan Osipow, one of the San Francisco organizers at Tailwind Sports, which helped get the San Francisco Grand Prix rolling four years ago. The name of the race was changed this year to the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix.

Peskin, who agreed to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s fee-waiver proposal last spring after a contentious debate, said the nonpayment should have resulted in the permit for the 2005 race, held Sept. 4, being withheld altogether. The 8.8-mile-long race was the finale of the Pro Cycling Tour.

Osipow told supervisors he had “absolutely no idea” that the money was in arrears. “I look like a fool right now sticking up for them,” he said, explaining that his company is now merely a consultant to the race’s Philadelphia-based owner.

Police services for the September 2004 race added up to almost $336,000, but under a deal to keep the race in San Francisco through 2007, The City agreed to waive $1 in police fees for every $2 worth of extra taxes generated.

The hearing took place before the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, where Supervisor Chris Daly had called for a comparison of The City’s costs and benefits from the race and any negative impacts to local merchants.

A city-commissioned report from Economics Research Associates found that The City came out ahead by some $367,000.

But Board of Supervisors Budget Analyst Harvey Rose noted that researchers used a survey from the previous year about visitor spending and simply bumped up the amount by 7.5 percent for the passage of time. Another issue cited by Rose: Although the cycling company agreed to hand over 40 percent of its profits to San Francisco, according to Rose, it has yet to produce audited statements for 2004.

“I’d like to find out how in the heck we managed to issue a permit to these folks, how they’re so powerful,” Peskin said. He threatened to introduce legislation at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting that could bar the race’s promoters, San Francisco Cycling LLC, from receiving permits in the future.

Supervisor Chris Daly, who led the fight to block the deal, said he’s ready to see the show move away. “Change your name to the Topeka Cycling LLC and have fun,” he said.

E-mail: jstanley@examiner.com

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

I am very happily reading select Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in the edition illustrated by Sidney Paget. (To me, he will always be the illustrator, much as Tenniel is to Alice's Adventures Underground, or John O'Neill to The Wizard of Oz.) Complete text is available online.