Over a year. Really?

It's been over a year. That's sad. As someone who writes for a living, you'd think I'd do a little more writing for fun. Or just out of sheer momentum. This time I'm writing because I am wrapping up a lovely week off. According to my to do list, I've done a bit of golfing, movie watching, meditating, working out, fashioning of a necklace, lunching with friends, breakfasting with other friends, bike riding, calendar making, doctor visiting, windshield replacing, haircutting, shopping, and napping. And I still managed to get in some good old fashioned laziness.

I've also done a good bit of reflecting. It's amazing how much alone time you get when everyone else you know has a job or is off traveling in a foreign country. And I've confirmed what I already knew, it's been an incredible year. My most significant relationship of the past five years is transitioned from a girlfriend to a friend. And is still a work in progress but seems to be coming along. I started a full time job at one of the most scrutinized companies in the world. My team has won several awards for work that I've been a part of. I've met a new person who seems like she could be a significant friend and possibly more. And I'm working to be a better friend to those that know me. (If I haven't been in touch as much as you'd like, here's the invitation to call me out on it.) I'm also working on being a better friend to myself. More encouraging. More getting in the gym. More getting out on the golf course. More understanding. Continuing to be patient, even-keeled.

The one thing I really have no right to do is complain. My life is far too good. And it seems so are most of the other lives I interact with. Most realize it. Some are beginning to. Some are still in the grip of the media who seem to control their perspective with fear rather than the realization of all they have going for them. This world is a blessing. And every day you get to participate in it, you're blessed. Whether you like it or not. The day may go well. It may not. But it's still a blessing. It's still a gift. It's an opportunity. In my case, it's often an opportunity to write. And one I should take more frequently.

A study in hypocrisy

I'm not much for war. I've got even less quarter for a dictator using his military to kill people so he can cling to his palace. So, Libya is tough for me to reconcile. It's obvious that Ghaddafi was, and is, laying siege to cities within his own country. And when homes go up against tanks, tanks win.

So in the end, I hesitantly support an effort to slow those tanks down. To stop them in their tracks before the people in them are commanded to attack neighborhoods they might have grown up in. And I'm glad that the President consulted with congressional leadership first. I'm also glad that there was a rather emphatic UN resolution and that the Arab League is supporting and participating in the military action. I'm also glad that the President has declared again and again that we will not be committing ground troops to the effort. If we must fire a bullet, this seems like the way to do it. Decisively, quickly, and with global support.

Back home, you'd think that those who benefit most from the military industrial complex would support such a move. But instead, there's talk that the intervention is unconstitutional. That we should defund the war and take the supplies away from our troops so they can no longer participate. I find this despicable.

Where were these voices of leadership when we were lied to about Iraq? Where were these brave politicians when we were told there were weapons of mass destruction? When we were led to believe that somehow Al Qaeda was being harbored within Iraq's borders when the real intelligence said Saddam Hussein did not trust the group and wanted nothing to do with them? That he feared they would destabilize his country? I'm not saying that Hussein was any less the dictator than Ghaddafi, I actually believe he was worse. But the stories I've heard were not among the reasons given. The truth about his genocide against his own people was not the evidence and justification provided. And many of the politicians in office now who are crying foul are the same ones who beat the drum of lies that led us into Iraq.

I give Dennis Kucinich a pass. He has always been against armed conflict in other countries. The rest of the House of Representatives appears to be more like a house of cards. And most of them are jokers. They are scoring political points on the graves of dead men, women, and children killed by a dictator. They are toying with the bravest of our society who voluntarily agreed to be in our military. Yes, goals need to be defined. Yes, we need to understand the scope of the conflict and understand what constitutes victory. We also needed to know those things in Iraq. Instead we got a President declaring from an aircraft carrier that the fighting was over months before it ever really got started. And by the way, the last time Congress voted on a declaration of war, was World War II. No such declaration for Korea, Vietnam, Iraq I, Somalia, Afghanistan, or Iraq II. Not saying they shouldn't have, but they didn't.

The intervention in Libya is giving the voting public an opportunity. A chance to look at their politicians and see what they are worth. To see how they react to a terrible situation. To take a measurement of their values. I sincerely hope the voting public takes it.

Should a house have more than one very excellent TV?

I was just reading a snippet of The Cosby Codex, a series of writings about The Cosby Show on the McSweeney's website, when I was stopped dead in my tracks by an observation. The Codex mentioned that the Cosby house was home to only one TV.

10 years ago I wouldn't have found this particularly interesting. But today, we hear stories of TVs in bedrooms, on computers, in cars, and even in bathrooms. Yikes. There are lots of declarations that a television in the bedroom is bad for a couple. There are even more that too much TV is bad for children.

I personally try to avoid the latest and greatest show that everyone is watching because I like my free time. And I find I already have too little of it to dedicate hours each week to a show. Particularly when that show is filled with pitiful excuses for story lines manufactured around sheer stupidity. I'm looking squarely at you Jersey Shore. In fairness, my downtime is often spent in shows that are self-contained. Thirty minutes of The Family Guy doesn't force you to come back next week to see what happens next. And it must be said that my aversion to such inane shows was founded in a precursor to the Jersey Shore: the original Survivor. Yes MTV's Real World was first, but that was blatantly manufactured. At least Survivor had a thin veneer of reality. Or at least real dirt. And I found myself addicted. I was there every week with many friends watching that train wreck wash up on shore. Afterward, I smelled like shame. I can only imagine that the more screens, the more opportunity for addiction and shame.

Now back to The Cosby Show. This is one of those singular shows that should be watched. Because, unlike the pseudo-reality shows, it does show us the truth and presents it with heart. Th real reality is we don't need a TV. We need food. We need water. We want TV. Preferably in size XXL. But let's keep it to just one so that the family can all be there together. Let's watch movies and basketball games. And let's watch more of The Cosby Show. It will give us something worth talking about.

Dearest pig, how do I miss thee? Let me count the ways.

One way really. Slow roasted and served in a barbecue sandwich that doesn't have slaw on it. I understand some places need the slaw to make the meat more moist but I just think that's cheating. Troutman's gave me my fix this trip. The pig was rich and smoky. The t-shirt we bought for Stephanie was even more epic.

If I did anything this Thanksgiving, I ate well. Mom and Stephanie made ridiculous cinnamon rolls. I made Chili that was pretty good. Dinner at Grandma's was as good as it's ever been minus the missing family members. Everyone had somewhere to be, though I'm sure we'll catch up soon. I can't wait to hear stories of Popsicle businesses, senior years and living with girlfriends. Those are all sure to be big adventures with stories worth telling.

I also was unable to catch up with so many friends that I would have liked to. There simply is not enough time in this world for all the goodness I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by. That's not bragging so much as a wish for a 30 hour day.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as stellar as mine. I think I might have even gained a pound or two.

Fox News officially becomes an entertainment channel.

Once again, Jon Stewart skewers Fox News for blatant hypocrisy, complete disregard for facts and being plain stupid. And he managed to do it by using their ultimate hero, Ronald Reagan.

If you're not going to use any semblance of the rules of journalism, you're entertainment. It's outright sad to me that Comedy Central has a show that has more respect for truth than the highest rated news channel in the country.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Big Bang Treaty
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Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

The exceptionally interesting case study of OK Go!

By now, you've most likely seen this music video. It's quite a cool interpretation of a Rube Goldberg machine.

A couple weeks back, I first saw this at about 8:30a.m. in my work email from a friend on the east coast. Bastards have a 3 hour head start. Then it showed up in my Twitter feed reader posted by a friend. I then saw it there again. And again. And again. And yet again. Then it was sent around to the youth of the office (No idea how I was included) so back in my work email. Again. Then I saw it on the Huffington Post and Fast Company websites. Then it got buzzed up in my Google Buzz which was reading the same Twitter feed I'd already seen earlier.

OK, so what's the point? Most likely, my parents still hadn't seen this video. Unless it makes it onto The Rachel Maddow show or The Daily Show, they probably wouldn't.

So what's the other point? With the rise of internet driven communication, there is a huge splintering of media. Twitter, Facebook, Email, Google Buzz, Google Wave, My Space, and on and on and on. These are just the biggies. The fractionalization of media is causing audiences to get smaller. We can't all pay attention to all the channels (and I don't just mean TV and radio) that we used to. As a result, there are fewer of those epic, big common experiences that bind us together. There are fewer and fewer things that are so epically big, or at least epically experienced, we all can mark it in the timelines we're living. Landing on the moon for example. Sadly, it seems those markers have become tragedies in order to be big enough for all of us to pay attention. 9-11. Earthquakes being the latest example. It used to be that everyone knew Johnny Carson's skits by heart. Everyone knew his sidekick's laugh. And his name (Ed McMahon, just in case).

This splinter effect is making it easier for those who wish to divide and conquer to do just that. As we focus more and more on the media we like, it often tends to be the media we agree with. As a result, our greatest hopes and greatest fears are reinforced and thus become turbo-charged. It seems like our greatest fears are being repeated everywhere. The balance gets lost. Also, as the common experiences get fewer and far between, there's less and less common ground on which to build cohesion, understanding and community.

So, how does all this relate to the music video by OK Go? It relates because this video is an exceptional case study in the strengths and weaknesses of Internet driven communication. And thus, Internet driven living. The video got to me quickly. And repeatedly. But it did not get to me from a source that was either unexpected or shared with the masses. By that I mean the mass masses, not just the Twitterverse. Also, there was a bit of generation gap. One that will close as the Internet generation grows up, but my guess is the trouble my parents have with computers, cell phones and iPods today will be the troubles I have with the Internet of the future.

All that said, as my parents are pretty much the only ones who read this blog, they've now seen the video. Eventually anyway.

P.S. By the way, seven days after the first viewing of the video, it's brought up by a client during a presentation. Eight days later, it's being shown in the office to the creative director and a few folks who hadn't seen it. Odd.

P.P.S. The irony of posting this on a blog is not lost on me.

Prediction: Good enough is going to stop being good enough.

There's an interesting phenomenon that recent leaps in technology have created. In the mad rush to create the next big thing, good enough has become good enough. Netflix digital movies are fine even if they aren't as high-res as my TV or as high in sound quality as my stereo can push. Also on the sound front, MP3s are somehow fine even though they're missing a big chunk of the spectrum that a violin or symphony can create. Digital book readers can be black and white to save battery, no worries.

This has created an odd dynamic. I'm watching low-res on the highest-res screen I've ever owned. People are fine with big epic music that sounds tinny and movies played on a screen 1/100th the size of the original format.

This isn't going to stand for much longer. And the tide has already started to turn so this isn't some big revelation. The iPad, whether you want one or not, has drawn a line in the sand saying color for digital books and magazines is a must. Hulu and YouTube are pushing higher res through the pipes as fast as they can.

So what's the prediction? Three things: 1. We're not going to take good enough for much longer and the companies that recognize that and work to make our media / digital experiences as high quality as possible will thrive. 2. Our network has to be upgraded. Third world countries have networks faster than ours simply because the first pipe they put in the ground is fiber optic instead of the copper we originally put in. So we've got to invest. Thus, the companies capable of modernizing our network will also thrive. 3. Digital storage is going to boom. As digital files get better, they get bigger. So something's got to hold all that info. Hence, bigger drives, more storage, more demand for storage media.

While I still don't have a jet-pack (see earlier prediction) the past ten years have been pretty cool digitally speaking. Time for all that innovation to become quality.

Hypocrisy

Rachel Maddow does a very nice job of calling out the Democrats by pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republicans.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sarah Palin is a F--king Retard.

Retard is a word that shouldn't exist but does. It's degrading. It's vile honestly. It's also unconscionable that Sarah Palin would draw a line in the usage of such a word so as not to offend a political base. This is political hackery of the lowest kind. This also demonstrates to me that her politics are based on politics, not principles.

Thankfully, Colbert brings it all home. With actual satire, not fantasy satire.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sarah Palin Uses a Hand-O-Prompter
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The lessons of history.

Yesterday was December 16th. The date of the original Boston Tea Party was December 16th, 1773. On that day the colonists decided they could no longer put up with taxation without representation. A day which became the symbolic shot across the nose of the British government and the East India Co. The shot eventually led to the American Revolution.

Why is this important today? It's important because this moment in history is being invoked by those who would dupe citizens who care deeply about their country. Abusers and corporations are using this bit of history as the platform to convince patriots that healthcare reform automatically means all care becomes government run. They are even duping people into believing that Medicare, which many of them love, is somehow not a government run healthcare plan.

Now, I applaud the Tea Party cause of lowering taxes and watching how and why dollars are spent. I believe there should be more accountability for where my hard earned money goes. However, it seems that this one unifying factor is being manipulated and branched into other areas for the purpose of creating noise. For making the original will of the majority seem unthinkable.

When this whole process began, almost 60% of citizens and 70% of doctors supported healthcare reform. Among the citizens, that number has dropped dramatically. But consider that the healthcare industry now represents a full sixth of the United States' GDP. That's simply unsustainable. From personal experience, there is no doubt in my mind that we must have reform. For example, a physical that used to cost me $40 with blood work, now costs over $300. Out of pocket. This is personally unsustainable. Costs have spiraled out of control and I have never spoken to anyone that is happy about it. Including healthcare professionals. Doing nothing only perpetuates the ridiculous climb in prices.

So, what can be done? Sadly pure capitalism isn't working the way it's supposed to. Rather than lowering costs and increasing quality, things are going the exact opposite way. Why? Because there is no real competition in the market. The current condition of healthcare has become too much like four gas stations on a corner. One raises its price a penny. The others do the same. Another one raises its price a penny. They all do the same except one. Now he has the advantage, but it's only a penny. This process continues until gas is a full 15-20 cents more expensive on that corner and all the brands are within a penny or so of each other. This is basically price-fixing. Nothing is said, no coordination is involved but it's price-fixing. Which is illegal.

While unprovable, the same thing seems to be happening with healthcare. Costs continue to climb at an astronomical rate compared to history. Every provider has figured out they can charge more because others are charging more. And must charge more. Providers' focus has shifted from providing a service to their customers to providing a dividend to their investors.

The needs of the patient have become less important than the demands of investors. Which means Wall Street is effectively standing between you and your doctor rationing care. If you are profitable, please, by all means see a doctor. If you are not, please by all means die.

What's interesting about the gas station mini-monopoly is the parallel to the East India Company who had a monopoly on providing tea to the colonies. As the price climbed, because of both the monopoly and outlandish taxes, the people revolted. And the Tea Party was thus born. What's interesting though, is that the modern-day Tea Party is effectively trying to stop the actual tossing of the tea into the harbor. The only organization with enough power to stop the absurd price increases is the government. Short of going to actual war (American Revolution) against companies, the law, and thus real competition, is the only way to fix this mess. And yet the Tea Partiers are the ones attempting to stop the revolution.

How ironic.

Jon Stewart is news.

JS does it again. The best use of professional wrestling since the invention of professional wrestling.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Gaywatch - Peter Vadala & William Phillips
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Common sense: A cool refreshing drink.

Elizabeth Warren sure does sound like she knows what she's talking about. I often wonder why things are more complicated than this.

Jon Stewart Calls Dems to the mat. And pins them.

Sometimes things just need sayin'. I hope Dems have their ears on and hear him.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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SF Profile #9: Tom and his partner in crime

I'm lucky in that my major form of public transportation is a rolling historic landmark. To get home from the gym, I take two different Cable Cars that are the descendants of the originals created in 1873.

Well, while waiting for my ride yesterday, I got a glimpse of two men who've probably seen the city evolve around those lines.

As I stood at the start of the California line staring at the news on my iPhone, I heard a shout: "Tom, Tom, where are we going?" I looked up to see two men who have seen quite a lot of things and probably done even more, one ten feet behind the other. They were slowly shuffling along as fast as they could, "Tom" leading the way. Both were dressed sharply. They also wore scowls appropriate to their wrinkles of experience. The man who was following looked as confused as the man in front looked resolute.

And so they made their way past me and toward the underground mass transit station. Tom decided, to my surprise, to take the stairs. His friend nearly did too until he realized at the last possible second that an obvious escalator was right next to the stairs. He shouted to Tom repeatedly to come back but finally gave up and backtracked a bit so he could take the effortless moving stair case.

Nearly all of the 20 people around me were transfixed by these gents and their possible adventure. My Cable Car pulled up and as I rode living history, I pondered the two old men now riding modern mass transit. What were they up to? In some less guarded part of my brain, I hope they were off to spend their last dollars on much younger women. Good luck Tom and friend. You've truly crystallized in my imagination that age is a state of mind.

Prediction: The future is making a comeback.

(Every now and again, I'll make a prediction. There's really no way to measure the success of these, but I think it's fun to put some thoughts down with a date next to them and see what happens.)

Now that we've been through the downward muck of this economy, I think optimism is going to make a bit of a comeback. Even if the economy stagnates a bit over the next few years. (Please note, I'm in no way predicting that the economy is done sucking, I just think the population in general has some downward spiral fatigue.)

With the return of optimism, I think we will also see a return of the future. If you used to read Popular Science or other such magazines during the 80's and 90's, you probably remember the artists' renditions of moon bases and flying cars. Cartoons had sky cities, people were trying to build hovercrafts in their backyards.

Now while the early 2000's have seen some incredible innovations, especially in the areas of technology and medicine, we haven't seen as many innovations in the physical world we all interact with. Yes there are new robots, but those robots went from waving to you in the 90's to climbing stairs or playing a trumpet today. Meh. Yes it's cool that I could watch Carolina play football on my computer this weekend. It would have been cooler if afterward I strapped on my jetpack and picked up some lunch across town.

So, my prediction is that the future will make a comeback. We might not see actual jetpacks, but we will start to see more visualization of innovation and futurism. Particularly in pop culture.

Strikingly Brilliant.

I so admire Rachel Maddow's ability to find and deliver unvarnished truth about the healthcare debate. It seems in the joy of Barack Obama getting elected, I've taken too much of a honeymoon. Time to engage again in the national debate.

DRAT! Video was removed from YouTube.

Allow me to then recommend Rachel as a purveyor of perspective and truth. She's good at what she does.

Seperate and nowhere near equal.

During segregation, there was an excuse for the treatment given to African Americans. That excuse was that all things were equal. Buses were buses no matter where you sat, water fountains were water fountains and an education was an education.

This is obviously wrong. Equal is only equal when everything is equal.

It's time to stop treating any United States citizen differently simply because they are gay. If they wish the right to marry, they should marry. Why should we keep them from a 50% divorce rate?

The perfection of a bike

Bikes are perfect. If you need proof, notice that the essential design hasn't changed much since the addition of the chain. Two wheels, a triangle in the middle, another in the back, a chain and some gears to make it go.

Of course the materials have changed drastically. Steel is still available and has become quite fashionable with city bikes. Aluminum is a lightweight option and carbon has created the stiffest and most efficient frame. But outside of lighter, faster, stronger, the frame and design are timeless.

I think the design being so simple and so perfect, it creates a connection with the rider. Riding a road bike has become almost addictive. The speed that your legs can push you. The feeling of conquering a hill, beyond the obvious quad wrenching burn, and watching the miles add up.

Or of course it's just the endorphin rush and I need my fix.

Hitting the restart button.

If I'm going to be at all serious about posting to this blog then there's no time like the present. I've been lackluster at best and I realized that while a blog is not even a poor substitute for a good phone call or quick-witted email chain with a friend, it is important. Why? Because if nothing else, my parents still read this.

So, let's get going.

My man Nathan visited this past weekend. One of my favorite things about our friendship is that every time we see each other, it's as if no time has passed. We fall right back into our rhythm of conversation and enjoying each others company. It's good to have a friend such as this. I highly recommend picking one up if you have the means. So choice. (Bonus points to all who got the Ferris Bueller reference.)

We spent a great deal of time on bikes. For his first serious bike ride ever, Nate did spectacularly. I did everything I could to remember my first serious ride and be sure he had fun. We rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, down through Sausalito and back. The back part of course including the giant hill we had enjoyed racing down earlier. The grand total mileage: just under 27. I bitched and moaned the first time I did 18. Nate didn't say a word until we had dropped his back back at the shop. I was quite impressed. As I always am with him.

We also spent a great deal of time making a rather spectacular steak dinner. Nate put together a rather awesome grapefruit and apple sushi that I made a balsamic reduction for. My roommate Keith also covered sautéed broccoli in a decadent amount of cheese sauce, Steph put together a most excellent cheese plate and salad and Jess was quick with the wine glasses and the bacon crumbles for baked potatoes. Eating all this was not hard.

So, I also post this as an open invitation to any friend who might still be reading this blog. Please come visit. If you want to earn your dinner, we certainly can with a stunning ride. If you'd rather earn your dinner by eating other dinners, that's good as well.

What has fear done to us?

The recently released torture memos have made one thing very clear: Fear is the terrorists' greatest weapon. A bomb can't change our values. A plane flying into a building didn't change what we hold most dear. Instead, the threat of it happening again changed our values. Even the mere thought of it happening again makes our threat levels yo-yo between frightening and terrifying. All as a plan to keep the populous in fear. To keep us wanting to be saved. To keep us looking to our government for solutions.

See compromise happened. Our nation compromised those truths that we hold self-evident. We compromised our belief that all men are created equal. That all have the right to fair trail and the law. We compromised our belief that we don't torture. We compromised our right to privacy and habeus corpus.

Thus terror won. Thus, the terrorists forced us to look to those who are ignoring our constitution for our salvation. Thus they forced us to reckon with the idea that our constitution isn't all we'd believed. That was then. In the here and now, it's time to reclaim our morals. Our dignity. Our belief in the human spirit.

The reason? Because we proved ourselves to be right. We created the greatest nation on the planet. And we created it by doing the right thing, not by compromising our beliefs. We created a democracy that is possibly one of the best social experiments the world has known.

We must return to that. We must believe again. If we don't believe, if we don't be who we are, that's when terror wins. When we stop being us. When we stop being Reagan's shining light on the hill. When we stop being American.

And if you still believe torture is worth it. If you still believe that in special cases, in those moments where we must find the dirty bomb, torture is worth it, then read the following article. Those who know how to get information, and actually got the information we needed, don't believe torture works.

Torture does tear things down. It tears us down. It tears down our democracy.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/195089/page/1

Presented without preface or comment:

The Most Important Network in News? Comedy Central.

Last night, John Stewart and the Daily show finally made sense of the utterly confounding economic situation and stripped bare for all to see how complicit the media and Wall Street have been in the entire meltdown.

If you haven't seen this interview with Jim Cramer, please watch. Stewart just got my nomination for a Pulitzer.

http://blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/03/13/jon-stewart-and-jim-cramer-the-extended-daily-show-interview/

Snowboarding - Attempt #2.

Much, much, much, much better. Steph and I went back to Tahoe with some friends and went boarding again. I have to say, once you can start to turn, snowboarding is one incredible time.

I may never be quite as death-defying as my younger cousin Eric who seems bound and determined to master any sport where his feet are on a stick of wood, but I am having a good time. And in the end, what else matters?

There is also something about turning on a snowboard and getting it just right that is more satisfying than skiing. There's a rhythm to it that just isn't as much a part of skiing. The shift in weight, the kick and hold of the turn.

You're also more connected to the mountain. This is good and this is bad. If you get to a flat part, you're screwed. Take off your board and walk. This is also the beautiful part, you are entirely dependent on the mountain for speed. For providing the inertia that makes going where you want possible. It's a dependence that automatically makes you pay more attention and engage the mountain in a different way. This connection is what surfers must feel with waves. With skis, if you don't like where you end up, skate until you do. Now the reverse is also true. Ski boots limit you to walking to the toilet. Snowboard boots limit you to walking where ever you damn well please.

I'm sticking with the board.

George Bush and I finally agree on something

Believe it or not, it's true. George Bush actually gave a lot of money to fight AIDS in Africa. It's one of the only things I give him credit for.

I'm also doing something to fight this terrible disease. Getting my skinny self on an even skinnier seat and biking 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles. There's only one slight problem. I've got to raise $3,000 for the opportunity to punish myself like this.

This is rather daunting.

If you've got a spare fiver or thousand, click over to my fund raising page and do what you can. I truly appreciate it.

http://www.tofighthiv.org/goto/eamon

SF Profile #8: Queen of the Ten Dollar Bill

So today, while waiting for a friend to come by and pick me and Steph up on our way to brunch, I was treated to quite the spectacle.

While standing on the corner of Jones and O'Farrell, I see two cops go into a little shop. Soon after they come out with a woman in tow. She's screaming to high heaven about getting justice and how she wants to see the cops computer to look up her ten dollar bill.

An older black gent comes out of the shop and begins to regale us with the story. Turns out, she was trying to spend a fake $10 bill. I caught a glimpse of it when the cop held it up and I have to say, I was fooled.

Apparently she was too. By reality. She insisted that the cops show her their computer where they could track the bill and see who had given it to her. She knows, without any doubt apparently, that they are tracking her and know where she got the bill from so she can go and get justice. After the cops asked her a few more questions, it turns out most likely she got the bill from the local Jack in the Box. Seriously.

The gent then proceeds to inform us of how some of his "friends" can make a damn fine fake bill. How you starch the paper, how you press the fake paper between starched bills and then iron them so they all look new. And on, and on, and on.

I was quite thankful that 1. the cops didn't overhear our conversation and that 2. our friend Jay pulled up shortly thereafter to whisk away to brunch. I had some very authentic corned beef hash.