Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Carlin's Cafe
We saw this cafe on the way back from lunch at Chow today and it reminded me of the Carleton College professor that got me really excited about doing Chemistry - Chuck Carlin!
Bill Trager ISSX Memorial
Seeing the Memorial in ISSX issue this month reminded me that Bill passed away just a short time ago. He will be missed!!
Lunch at Chow
After my doctor's appoinment today, I had lunch with MH at Chow in the Castro and it was delicious! Vanessa our server was awesome and didn't go wrong with her suggestion of the lamb burger and side salad with tarragon dressing. The burger was great and the dressing even better. MH didn't talk at all because he was too busy force feeding himself with some mahi mahi tacos. The kid's menu was fun to look at too with things like Monkey Time and Warm Blanket listed.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Seminar by New FDA Commissioner
I went to a talk by the new FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, this evening and came away feeling pretty good about the potential of the her administration. The focus of the talk was on "Import Safety" and she covered a number of issues in her 25 min talk. The host club, the Commonwealth Club was formed in 1903 and has been around longer than the FDA which was formed in 1906 (same year as the SF quake).
The number of shipments entering the US has more than doubled in the past decade, 75% of seafood, 40% of all drugs, and 75% of aspirin comes from outside the US.
She stated that a makeover of the FDA is needed and there are 3 main ways she hopes to accomplish this feat: (1) have better control at the point of production, (2) hold importing companies responsible for their supply chain, and (3) deploy the agencies resources strategically. She repeatedly mentioned the importance of passing the Food Safety Bill that is making its way through Congress right now and that her focus will be on changing the priority of the FDA from reaction to prevention. To help accomplish these goals, the agency needs to be able to recruit talented scientists and is hoping to see Universities encourage their students to pursue careers in regulatory sciences.
Funny comments from her: she dislikes Ethiopian food but likes most other foods and she believes in moderation and that you should "rotate your poisons" - the last 2 ideas she got from her mom!
Strand Theater on Market Street
Walking back from City Hall on Wednesday night, I passed by this old theater and it reminded me of a good friend from high school. It sure has seen better days!!
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/5741/
Saints vs. Packers??
The SF Chronicle did its best to help me forget that the Vikings lost to the Saints this past weekend!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Brunch at Nob Hill Grille
We had a great brunch catching up with LG and EP at Nob Hill Grille today. Great banana walnut pancakes and italian sausage sliders. And, thanks for LG for bringing this photo of me playing my banjo while walking behind Rihanna!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Nonanal and Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes love me! I get swarmed by mosquitoes and according to this story, it might be because of high levels of nonanal...
Full story here...
Prince Releases Vikings Fight Song
Prince, one of my favorite artists, released a Purple Pride song just in time for the Vikings-Saints game!
Full story here...
Funny Favre to Vikings Video
I'm sure some of my Packers friends reacted the same way as this guy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDhD7ekiQPY
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Kamiko
The new episode of 30 Rock with James Franco was hilarious! I thought the best part was this club scene with Tina Fey and the body pillow. Hilarious!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
1906 Earthquake
This documentary on the 1906 SF Earthquake was very cool and one of the interesting things it pointed out was that the area around 16th and Valencia was a lake.
The Ratz
After a night out at Canton with some folks from West Lafayette the ratz were tired! Delicious lunch at Mission Bay today and then dinner from South Beach topped off by Dark City.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sherlock Holmes 2010
We went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie last Friday night and we both thought it was pretty good. KL thought there was a little too much violence, but I thought it was all just great! Good action and dialogue!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
President of Kosovo
I love living in this city!! I went to the World Affairs Council meeting on Tuesday night to hear the President of Kosovo speak. The title of his presentation was "The Republic of Kosovo: Achievements and Challenges After Two Years of Independence." He entered the room to a standing ovation from about 200 people in attendance and looked to be about 5'9" tall in a sharp suit. He gave a 20 min speech highlighting Kosovo's fight for independence which 64 countries now recognize and their excellent relations with their neighbors in the region (except for Russia and Serbia). The big potential source of revenue lies with their mining activities and their extremely young workforce that largely has been educated by Europe and the US. There is approximately 40% unemployment rate, 90% of public enterprises are now private, a lot of opportunity for foreign investments, but a lack of electricity. Most of the criminal enterprise is centered in the northern part of Kosovo. Russia still thinks that their Declaration of Independence is illegal. Very interesting guy!!
Homemade Chicken Chili, Traitor, and Neverwas
KL made a very nice batch of homemade chicken and white bean chili for dinner on Monday night. Afterwards we checked out a 3/5 star movie called Neverwas starring Brittany Murphy and Harvey Dent. We also watched Traitor with Don Cheadle about a week ago and liked that one too!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Henry Poole and Surveillance
Two decent movies that we watched recently. Although, I like Surveillance more...
Sunday, January 10, 2010
45 min bus ride home (AKA Gotta love MUNI!)
There's nothing like doing our best to be good citizens of the city by taking the bus home from North Beach only to be rewarded with 20 minutes of no forward movement with no explanation from the driver. At least we had lots of opportunities to people watch and check out the dead birds hanging in the stores on Stockton street.
Panta Rei and Soccer
We went here for lunch and to watch the Juventus-Milan soccer match with TZL. Even though he was there, we had a great time and really enjoyed the food. The pasta was outta sight and the pizza crusts were thin and crispy. Of course, Eddie had to bring the little dog with him, but he couldn't bring it into the restaurant. So, the little guy had to be tied to a street sign and it looked like he was shivering outside. The owners of the place were super nice and set out a water dish for the him (the dog not Whitey). In the end, Milan won 3-0 and the Juventus fans starting lighting their stadium on fire in protest!!!
Nopalito and Madrone
We went over to Whitey O'Shea's place in Nopa for some pre-dinner cocktails with D and L, but he had no bean dip ready. I got to teach him how to make a proper side car and tell the story of how we met. We then trudged over about 2 blocks for a great dinner at Nopalito. Afterwards, we went over to Madrone to check out the scene and get a picture of the deer head with machine gun antlers hanging on the wall.
Dinner at Bix
We had a great time at a dinner at Bix with some of the Celsis folks on Tuesday evening. As always, the food and service were fantastic - I had the steak bavette which was terrific. Afterwards, we headed over to Fuse after getting the major cold shoulder at Mr. Bing's. What is wrong with the guy working there?!?! I guess he doesn't like to make $$!
Ripley's Game
I had never even hear of this movie, but because it starred Malky, I was willing to give it a chance and we were not disappointed. The ending was pretty cheesy, but the rest of it was pretty good.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Barkley SNL Preview
We haven't seen an SNL episode in 10 years, but after seeing the potential trainwreckiness of Sir Charles as Alicia Keys tonight, I'm going to have to Tivo it!
Wilka Warep!!
This sign is on the sidewalk outside the Pet Store across the street from where we live. It's an English word with the Rammaytush translation next to it.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
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