Thieves!

Had my car broken into a few days ago. I must have left in unlocked after getting back from Oakland recently. It may have happened the day before yesterday, or the previous day- we don't drive very often.
Clearly whoever broke into the car didn't spend long doing it. They only took things from the front. On the back seat were two LL Bean sleeping bags and in the storage space behind the seats we keep cooking gear, a tent, fireworks, tools, roller blades- all sorts of fun stuff.
Instead, the thief opted to take four dollars, two flashlights, a Sudoku book, a few CDs, a phone charger and Joseph.
Joseph is the only thing that pisses me off. He was a tiny brown figurine, a gollum, that my sister had given me years ago and that I never drive without. It was some Jewish creature from folklore that rose out of the mud and protected townsfolk. It was on the corner of the dashboard, tucked away and honestly hard to see unless you're sitting in the driver's seat. I know there will always be crooks in the world, but what would possess someone to take something like that?
I guess that's just part of living in the city though.

Fort Mason Book Sale

San Francisco just held the biggest book sale on the West coast down in one of the warehouses in Fort Mason. It was a four day event, beginning on Thursday at 10am and ending some time Sunday night. Breanne and I had been looking forward to it for a couple weeks so we walked down early Thursday morning and got there a little before 10, and were surprised to see a line of maybe 100 or 150 people already waiting at the door. People had backpacks slung over both shoulders, giant boxes, and some even had their own shopping carts. Breanne and I, novices, had brought along two tiny canvas bags we usually reserved for groceries.
The warehouse would be more accurately described as an enormous hanger, the kind you see stuffed with old war planes. Sectioned off along long tables were the most books I'd ever seen in my life. Sci-Fi, westerns, DYI, music, politics, fiction, science, sports, religion, cooking, psychology, children's- basically anything you can think of that comes in book form.
We were there for about 4 hours on Thursday, with a lunch break in between, and bought about 100 books, sheet music included, for 140 dollars. We found some great stuff, but I'll get to that later.
On Sunday, anything that was still there was a dollar or less. Previously, books had been priced anywhere from a dollar to 5. Being cheap, I hadn't selected anything that was more than 2 dollars and rarely bagged a book that was more than 1. We weren't in the mood for the crowds on Sunday so we only picked up about 20 books (for 20 dollars of course).
All told, we purchased about 120 books for 166 dollars. Good deal if you ask me. Here are some of the highlights:

1. The Unabridged Jack London ($1). Everything London ever published in one fat paperback. I know that one can only hear so much about wolves but they're good stories for all ages.
2. The Spire, The Pyramid, Pincher Martin and Free Fall ($4). Four books for four dollars by one of my favorite authors, William Golding. Three of the books have unbroken spines.
3. Don't Know Much about... ($3). The Bible and the Universe, two more fun books by Kenneth C. Davis. The first one I read, History, I purchased from a Smithsonian gift shop many years ago. I recently read Geography.*
4. The Greatest of All Irish Songs ($1). Sheet music of traditional Irish songs. I've tried a few of them and the parts that I can play sound good. They sound exactly as I imagined they would.
5. Roger Angell ($2). Two hardcover books by Roger Angell, Game Time and Late Innings, a dollar a piece. Perhaps the greatest baseball writer ever, these books would have cost me 30 bucks, at least, in a book store.
6. Playboy Stories ($1). The best of forty years of short fiction published in Playboy. Bradbury, Updike, Cheever, Baldwin, Kerouac, Philip Roth, Malamud, Dahl, Garcia Marquez, Nabokov, Irving, Mailer, Coover, to name a few.
7. Lord of the Rings box set ($3). One of those box sets that include The Hobbit and have pictures from the movies on the book jackets. Couldn't pass that deal up.

*Noticed today that Don't Know Much about the Universe is signed by the author. It's also inscribed with the words, "To Rick, Best Wishes." Why would Rick give up a book autographed, with a personal (or impersonal) message from the author? We'll never know.

New Shoes

Got myself a new pair of running shoes at the Shoe Pavilion downtown. I actually stepped outside of the Adidas store in the Westfield mall to throw away my smoothie cup and lo and behold there was a shoe store across the street having a going-out-of-business sale. I couldn't believe my luck.

The prices were incredible. Breanne tried looking at womens shoes on the first level but it was so crowded and competitive she gave up and helped me look.

There were lots of brands-New Balance, Reebok, Nike, etc., but after trying on a few pairs I went with a gray pair from Adidas that had a neon green trim. They breathed well but more importantly were exceptionally light. And even more importantly, they were marked down from 79.95 to 40 bucks.

I wore them a few times to try and break them in- to the Safeway, for a few walks, down to the Marina- and jogged in them a bit in preparation for my next long run.

Today I decided I would finally run across the Golden Gate Bridge. I attempted it a few nights ago, around 9 pm, foolishly trying to navigate the steep path and dark low ceiling tunnels that lead to the bridge. At one point there was a bright light shining directly in my eyes and I couldn't see 2 feet in front of me, and after tripping a few times, I turned around. This time, I left at the other 9, and made my way along the Marina, up the winding stairs and through the tiny tunnels up to the bridge in daylight.

I may have picked the worst day of the year to run across the bridge, from an aesthetic view point. From the Marina, the entire bridge, cables and pillars and all, was completely encompassed in a fog bank. There wasn't a sliver of Golden Gate red anywhere to be seen. Even once I was on the bridge, I could only see the walk way and a few feet up the cable lines.

Of course, this made for light pedestrian traffic as there couldn't have been more than 50 people along it's 9000 ft walking lane. Tourists still dotted the scenic points, snapping off shots of clouds, photos that could have been taken anywhere. It was terribly windy near the bridge ends. At one point my hat blew off of my head but it was stopped by the rail. I held it in my hand till I was back on land.

I ran to the end of the bridge, into Sausalito, and turned around and headed back. The moisture in the fog made it cool, running, and crossing the bridge was probably the easiest part of the run.

I was exhausted when I got back, and with only two blocks to go I noticed that my right foot was bleeding. It didn't hurt- it was probably just chaffing but it did permanently stain my new right shoe. I guess I didn't break them in all that well.

I ran about 12 miles according to Yahoo! maps, which explains why when I got home I ate pudding (4 servings), a clementine, a power bar, a handful of dried cranberries, a handful of pumpkin seeds, a piece of toast with honey, a packet of yellow raspberries, a salad, a bowl of chips and salsa, two pieces of pickled garlic, and I drank two large glasses of Orange flavored drink, which in turn explains why I continue to grow fatter.

Hanky Needs A Hanky

Hank's at it again. This time he's complaining about the divisional setup. It's funny, I don't remember the Rays complaining that Jeter and Giambi make more money than their entire roster. Hank will not be satisfied till the AL eliminates the wild card and instead creates a fourth division in the American League, consisting of the Yankees and the Royals, to decide the last spot in the playoffs. Seriously though, does he really think the Yankees are the first team to suffer from a competitive division? In 1961 the Tigers won 101 games and didn't make the playoffs. The Yankees will be lucky if they win 90 games this year. Since when does 90 games guarantee you a playoff spot? In 2000, the Tribe won 90 and didn't make it. In 2002, the Sox won 93 and missed the postseason by 5 games. In 2003, 93 didn't cut it for an unlucky ball club. In 2004, 91 wasn't enough. '05, 93. See the pattern? That's baseball, fat head, get used to it.
Here's the article.

Brute Force

Recently borrowed the movie Brute Force from the library. Made in 1947, it stars Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn and Charles Bickford. Directed by Jules Dassin, it's a melodrama about a desperate prisoner who will go to all lengths to escape and a masochistic guard who intends to make Warden and transform the prison into the cruelest of infirmaries. The film was well acted and very violent and subversive for something from the 1940s. In fact, in the booklet that came with the movie that described the making of the film and what not, was a letter from Motion Picture Academy Production Code Head Officer Jospeh Breen to producer Mark Hellinger. Breen and the Production Code had to accept the script before filming began. Here are some of the details brought to attention by Breen:

Page 33: At the outset, we direct your attention to the need for the greatest possible care in the selection and photographing of the costumes and dresses for your women. The MPAPC mas it mandatory that the intimate parts of the body- specifically, the breasts of women- be fully covered at all times. Any compromise with this regulation will compel us to withhold approval of your picture.

Page 43: Please omit the exclamation "For God's sake."

Page 65: We understand that you will omit this action of the guards clubbing the prisoner after he has surrendered.

Page 94: We understand that you will omit he line "High octane gas."

Page 120: We understand that the detailed showing of men lighting he fuses with their cigarettes will be omitted entirely, or at least kept down to once scene.

Page 126: Here and throughout the picture, please bear in mind the clause in the Code which forbids the showing of policemen, guards, etc., dying at the hands of criminals.

There were several others that sounded ludicrous when you look at today's cinema. Perhaps the most interesting fact is most of these "details" were ignored. I recommend this film to anyone. I actually did a fist pump during the climax.

Ghost Town

Just saw Ghost Town, a new film starring Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear. It was very strange to see Ricky Gervais in such a sappy and predictable movie, but he did a fine job in it. There were several humorous scenes and pretty much every good joke in the movie fell out of his mouth. The story was basically Ghost without the pottery wheel, but swapping Whoopie for Gervais was a more than fair trade. Anyway, I'm not sure I like seeing Gervais perform roles that he didn't write. I'm not saying that this wasn't a good character for him, it's just that a lot of the jokes and gags that his character, Dr. Pincus, made were below him. I think Hollywood could suit him fine, I just hope he doesn't do too many cameos or too many more movies with Tia Leoni and Greg Kinnear, nothing against Greg. The Other Side of the Truth, which Gervais wrote and stars in, is do out next year. And Karl Pilkington has a bit part in it. I was telling Breanne as were leaving the theatre that I want to see a movie starring Gervais, Pilkington, and Merchant- the three hosts of the podcast. I suggested that Karl's wife is kidnapped and the three of them have to get her back, and a side story pertaining to Monkey news. But anything with the three of them talking to each other would do just fine.

Mt. Tamalpais State Park

Went on a hike today in the Tamalpais state park. We were originally planning on Muir woods but the parking lot was packed and we weren't in the mood for tourists so we aimed for something more ambitious and left Muir for another day.
After driving up the coast a bit further we found the Pantoll ranger station which marks the starting point of several coastal trails. It was already noon so we set off on the moderate trail that covered Coastal, Cataract and Old Mine loop. The woods were quiet and we only saw maybe 5 people all day. About 2 miles in to the hike we happened upon two deer, one with enormous antlers. The other was a baby and they were only about 20 feet, or a little less, from the hiking trail. We actually spotted them before they saw us so we were able to watch them for a long time from close proximity.
The trail offered a nice view of the ocean and the golden gate of the Pacific, or the mouth between Sausalito and San Fran that opens into the bay. We climbed a few bluffs and took some photos, though are camera isn't much for landscapes.
I gave Breanne a 3 second head start in racing up one of the hills but the moment I took off I was bitten by a wasp. It took a little chunk of flesh off my ankle, somehow getting inside my sock. After a short cry, I continued onward.
We came to a meadow and followed a trickle of a creek for a few miles. After a minute or so of trying, I snatched up a quick lizard and Breanne stroked it's head. It didn't try to bite me though it may have been playing dead in my hands. It ran off the second I put it on the ground.
We walked roughly 7 miles by the time we made it back to the car but it didn't feel like it. We're going to try something longer, perhaps more strenuous, next time out.

Trivia Night 9/18/08

After a few weeks away, maybe a month, I don't know, Breanne and I made our hardly triumphant return to the Rogue Ale House trivia. It was just the two of us and we neglected to check the brainstormer site for the heads up on two of the rounds but we did respectable. We finished 5th out of maybe 20 teams. We beat one team that was a table over from us that had 12 members. I felt good about that.

Per usual, we did shit in the general knowledge round but kicked ass with the hand out. The subject was golf and you had to match up golfers with their home country. I filled in the obvious Asian ones and then Breanne filled in the rest. I have to give her all the credit though because I hadn't heard heard of most of them. We ended going 10 for 10 in the match up and after two rounds we were tied for second. I failed to identify Jesper Parnevik for a bonus point.

The picture round really knocked us back. Even though Breanne is in charge of all Southern Hemisphere countries, we missed Ecudaor and Paraguay on the map section. Ecuador was my fault- I changed our answer before turning it in.

Another round was movie quotes. Rick, the DJ that runs the trivia, would name a movie quote and we had to write down the movie. I know a lot of movies so we made up some ground there. Blues Brothers, Pulp Fiction, Casablanca, and some more obvious ones with Dirty Harry and Forrest Gump. I can't remember the others but we almost got all 10.

The music round was intolerable. Though there supposed to be songs from all genres, the only one that didn't sound like a dance/techno song was something by Yes, which we got. I think Gloria Estefan was the answer to two questions.

We lost some ground in the final round but all together had a respectable place.

Five Major Trivial failures of the night

1. Failed to identify Jesper Parnevik. All I could think of was the Jarvik heart so I put Payne down. Bad guess. Would have nailed that one 10 years ago when I watched golf a lot at my grandmothers.

2. Didn't get the South American countries. By next August and the Olympics, in which World Geography is an event, I'll have 'em down pat.

3. Couldn't name a female actress nominated for an Oscar in 2002. Still can't.

4. Neglected to name the 1996 film starring Alec Baldwin and James Woods. It was Ghosts of Mississippi. I'd never heard of it but I looked it up and it sounds alright. Even so, I should do Alec better.

5. Named the last Spice Girl to have a baby. It was Sporty, the only one I could remember.

September Olympic Training

I am still training for the 2009 Maine Games. Over the last 3 weeks I've ran every other day, except for one two-day break when I went camping and to the Aquarium in Monterey with Breanne.
The running is getting easier. Plagued by knee problems since high school, I realized that it has been over 10 years since I've been able to go for so many runs in so short a stretch of time. Usually, when I decide to try and get back in to running, I go for a short run and then I can't walk for a week. My brother has the same problem- maybe it's genetic. Either way, I started running two months ago when I got to San Francisco and I've slowly been increasing the run-load. Eventually I'd like to be able to go whenever I feel the itch, four days in a row if I so desire, but I'm not quite ready for that. This morning, upon waking up, I instantly felt like running but I stopped myself because I went for a particularly long one last night, inadvertently getting lost in the Presidio barracks area.

I'm not sure what it was that made the difference this time with my knees. There are several things I'm doing differently than I had in the past. For starters, I'm eating better. I eat a load of proteins and my diet is better balanced, giving me more energy. More importantly probably, I took a few years off from running and rebuilt my leg strength during that time. After every run, I do squats and lunges and calf exercises. Also, I'm not pushing myself too hard yet. My natural inclination when running is much like a dog's: I see something or someone ahead of me and I must pass it. In a city like San Francisco, with it's active population, this would be a serious folly. So instead of running myself in to the ground, I purposely put rhythmically slow music on my Ipod and try to ignore other runners.

Of course, just going for runs isn't going to allow me to medal in the 2009 Maine Summer Olympics. One of the four preselected events is the mile run, and the 100m dash is on the ballot. So I'm concentrating more on speed than endurance, though the latter still needs work. To account for this, I've been going on runs of varying distance with interspersed sprinting. There are plenty of enormous hills around my place and two of the steepest ones have stone steps running along the sidewalks. Every run I end by sprinting (or something close to it) the two sets of steps on Fillmore and Webster. My plan is that, when nearing the end of the Olympic mile when I need to turn it up a notch, I'll have trained specifically for it.

As for other events, I've been doing Sudokus in case that is selected. We bought another World map shower curtain so we can have one at our next place but I've yet to start studying countries. I don't have a ping pong table to practice on and other than weight training I can't really train for the tug-of-war. All other events will be decided in late October after all the ballots have been returned. The Olympics are still 11 months away but I intend to be in the best shape of my life next August.

Worst Fantasy

Mighty Like a Rose, my "exceptional" fantasy baseball team that was ranked 1st pretty much from day 1 in the Barnstorming Union, has officially lost. It wasn't pretty either.
The offense had it's most anemic week of the season. Ken Griffey Jr., Michael Cuddyer, J.D. Drew, Howie Kendrick, Bobby Abreu, Alex Gordon, Josh Hamilton, and Jhonny Peralta, for various reasons- injuries, assholeness, jerkishness, and gluttony- combined to hit 1 HR and drive in 5 runs in 7 days. Thanks a lot guys.
The pitching was even worse. Felix Hernandez, Francisco Liriano, Joe Saunders and Brandon Morrow, combined to collect 0 wins this week. That's right, zero. And my closer, Jonathan Papelbon, blew a save and allowed 4 runs in 3 innings, and managed only one strike out.
It was an embarrassing end to the fantasy season and there's going to be a lot of off-season moves. I'm not settling for anything short of 1st next year.