urbanesque.org

So much action... I've spent the last week or so moving into a new place - out of the Richmond and back into the Mission with @alpha_beta and @jrowland1976. I've a great sunny room that's just big enough to fit me and just small enough to avoid clutter. I'm also with two awesome little K9 beasts, Loki and Talula.

While there are already a few things that I miss about my old neighborhood, namely Nibs, it's nice to wake up to a 65 degree mid-morning rather than what felt like a blustery morning at sea. I'm also so much closer to so much more although I have to say that I will miss (and likely my body will, too) the long-ass rides to and from the 94121.

On top of the move, I also just returned form a quick jaunt over to Austin, TX. My friend grew up in the town and we decided in a somewhat compromised state to get tickets for my inaugural visit to the Lonestar State. That said, I very quickly realized that Austin is clearly not your typical Texas town. I unfortunately misplaced my camera before my trip so I've no photos but I had a great time meeting Jason's friends, attending the 2nd National Banked-Track Roller Derby Championship. I also managed to score a Media badge. So this is me blogging about it.

Other things that are awesome about Austin: Queso, the bike culture (although equally pretentious to SF's, just more spread out), Jason's friends, the fact that people have normal bodies (gay clubs are filled with normal looking guys who are not on steroids and are actually fun to talk to).

I'm definitely looking forward to a return visit - and to some of the folks we met coming out here.

Next stop: Juplaya!!

At the line to get a Fast Pass. One person on duty during the lunch hour. Oh, city bureaucracy.

I was trying to come up with a way to represent/convey a time lapse of something visually in a more concise or creative way. 

For example: I was sitting at Tartine on December 30 and from 6:45 to 7:05, I tried to note down each of the cars I saw pass by on 18th Street. I then sorted out a way to assign a numeric value to the cars based on a certain attribute (in this case, I used size). I then needed an additional variable - which unlinke the number would not necesarily need to apply to each of the items (in this case I used the car color, but could have, for example, used car make or model).

Here's an example of the first few lines of what I noted:

5 red, 3 tan, 4 yellow, 2 silver, 1 blu/slvr, 3 blu, 4 tan, 4 blk, 5 wht, 3 periwhinkle, 3 red, 4 blue, 1 silver, 4 blk, 4 tan, 3 silver, 3 wht, 3 blu, 3 wht, 3 cream (puplish), 4 silver, 3 silver, 4 navy.....

In this case, the number represents varrying sizes of cars (1=coupé, 6=a bus or truck).

This goes on for about a page in my sketch pad. So, now, what I wanted to do is figure out a way to translate this into a visual - whether it be a simple html table with the number equalling the width of a cell and the color being the background. This would be really basic and easily hand-coded.

So, again, the basic idea is that there is a set interger, and then some other piece of information which when put together with some sort of color library (whether it be simple CMYK formula, or a library of imported .gif's [from. say, car manufacturer's websites]. Then, take the # and have it translate into some sort of measurement and then the color be the color.

What would be cool - i think - is if i can (or find someone who can) put together a simple form that would allow people to go to a site (sort of like the kuler.adobe.com site) and input (or import) their numbers and colors and the PHP application will generate a simple html or css table, or auto-generate a pdf with the linear output.

So, I feel like this application is super simple.  The next part of this is then being able to apply this to broader pieces - things that may not be as easy as color of cars. I've been trying to think of some sort of project to do for World AIDS Day and the only thing I've been able to come up with is that I want to do something that visually conveys information (E.g. The Quilt, the ActUp Tombstone demonstration in NY from the early 90's) The thing that just popped into my head was looking at spending on HIV per demographic. This would typically be based in like a pie-chart (I'm sure I have some report somewhere in my files at work with that exact chart) but It'd be interesting to find another way of conveying the info that would create something more abstract but also more impactful. Perhaps if breaking it down by month? By service provider? What would be neat, i think, is if the formula could create something 3-dimensional.

Anyone have any coding ideas? Interest in helping this happen?

I don't mean to add to the noise surrounding Tuesday's expected ruling on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 by the California Supreme Court; however, I did want to quickly share my elevator response to the rah-rah "we shall overcome" let's take to the streets messages I've been receiving on the various queer-based email lists. While I believe in the importance and, as a gay man, personal impact of allowing gays the right to marry in this Country, I also believe that marriage should not be the only issue that we as a queer community should take on as it seems we have in recent years. So, here is what I have to say:

I'll be finishing my shift at magnet and going home to either celebrate the victory or defeat over our community's desperate struggle and march towards mediocrity and endless-pusuit of a single-issue political brand!

It's bitter and cynical, but I have to say that I'm just about at wit's end with the over-simplicity and genericism (is that a word?) of our newest "struggle".

This is the view from my current location. I've enjoyed a fantastic day at the beach. Met wonderful new friends (check out www.velocet.us). Had a hard but rewarding bike ride. And now enjoying good sake on a nice, shady bench watching the folks on the sidewalk and the busses bads by while waiting for my sushi order. There's a faint smell of pot and a great faint mellow house beat coming from someone's apartment.

I live in a small SF neighborhood that is often considered a suburb of the "real" City, yet I can't think of any more urban experience than this.

Seen on the UCSF campus. Is this the stairway to heaven?