I am utterly devastated. I couldn't believe it four years ago, and I can't believe it now.

Once again the popular vote is split down the middle with the gap between each side wider than ever. How can one-half of the country swallow another four years of "leadership" from GW Bush when we're so polarized on issues? Especially now that he has no motivation for even feigning bi-partisanship (if he ever did).

I can take some comfort in living on the (politically) left-coast. But four more years of a Republican president, Senate and House - not to mention the likelihood of Supreme Court nominations during that time - scares the b'jezus out of me.

So what do I do? Leave the country? Seems crazy that it could come to that, with all the checks and balances the founding fathers put into the system. Yet I have to say it's tempting. (Damn Toronto's cold weather!)

At the same time, I know 55M people feel more or less like I do. Doesn't that count for something?

I hate politics and god knows I have no answers for how to change things at that level. It kills me to see how money, negative campaigning, powerful lobbies and the media have more impact on the final outcome than anything substantial like issues or core values. It doesn't pay to play fairly.

For now, all I can do is not give up on what I believe in. I can't just roll over for four years and hope things will get better then. I keep thinking about how Newsom brilliantly orchestrated the same-sex marriage watershed moment in SF . Even though the lawsuit was later overruled, the impact of seeing 4,000 gay couples publicly wed was undeniable. Although for a brief moment after hearing 11 states passed same-sex marriage bans I thought maybe we had pushed too hard to soon. But no, no, no. You can't wait for the time to be right before doing what's right. Not these days. Civil disobedience may be the only way to go.

Anyway, stick together (e:peeps) .

Maybe I'll become a philosopher. Think there's any money in that? hahaha.

(If things don't go well tomorrow.) Not really up my fjord, but might be of interest to some peeps.

Hash smokers' heaven gets grounded / Denmark out to corral commune
But after 33 years as a hash smokers' sanctuary -- with its own radio station, newspaper, clinic, bakery, post office and open-air hashish market -- this extended commune of nearly a thousand people, more commonly known as Christiania, finds the normally tolerant Danish government breathing down its neck.

Hmmm...my grandparents skipped this part of the tour when we visited relatives in Denmark.

Ok, back to the propositions. If things don't go well tomorrow maybe CA will secede.

My neighbor's kid was dressed like a wind-up monkey. This was his first stop and already he has a stunned expression on his face.



Most alarming costume: ~11-year-old girl dressed like a pregnant teenager with two infants already strapped to her. At least I think it was a costume. The infants were definitely fake.

That reminded me of a weird sight last spring. I was biking over the pedestrian bridge the same time the school kids were crossing the bridge going home. About three pre-teen boys were carrying fake infants strapped in those sling things. Was it for sex education? Home Ec? Anybody seen/know about this? We didn't have fake babies when I was in school.

Well, enough about Halloween. Time to let it go. I'm supposed to be researching my assigned propositions for our election cheat sheet now. Tomorrow's the real fright fest.

In its quest to identify the programming elite, Google recently inserted an unusual aptitude test in such magazines as MIT's Technology Review, the Linux Journal, Mensa, Dr. Dobbs and Physics Today.

The 21-question test includes such geek brain twisters like, "How many different ways can you color an icosahedron with one of three colors on each face?" and "On an infinite, two-dimensional rectangular lattice of 1-ohm resistors, what is the resistance between two nodes that are a knight's move away?"

The test also includes more subjective, tongue-in-cheek requests like "Write a haiku describing possible methods for predicting search traffic seasonality" and "What is the most beautiful math equation ever derived?

Google Working to Recruit Brainy Elite


Google also has this employee benefit going for it:

Here's the real insider's view: "Google employees must have the sweetest bottoms in the high-tech world. The women's toilets at Google were over-the-top, Toto bidet/toilets. They sprayed, fluffed and warm-air-dried.'' Never mind the IPO and pending piles o' cash; no wonder everyone there's in such a good mood.

SF Chronicle Gossip Column

Waiting for Market Street lines re-routed underground.


Looking down Castro Street toward Market


Main stage on Market @Castro


BART service extended 'til 1AM. Big whoop. ;)

[hide]Short video clip (2 minutes) - dark, choppy, Blair Witch style camera work. Dramamine strongly suggested. [/hide]

Chronicle story and pix.

Note to (e:j3sse) - I was going to cut the video to "Sex Dwarf" [inlink]j3sse,12[/inlink] but that would have been more appropriate for the 'X rated' content which I sadly did not capture on film. Save that for Folsom.

Never did run into Haikuster. Maybe next time!