SF Days

Bonding with the Auto-Tuner

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:19:00 -0700

We just had some excellent father/daughter bonding this afternoon with the I Am T-Pain app on the iPhone. Sophia improvised a tune into the app and this is what came out. Check it out by clicking here.

This is what the iTunes Genius came up with for my library for...

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:26:00 -0700

This is what the iTunes Genius came up with for my library for my collection of Genius Mixes.

Downtempo Mix Based on: Goldfrapp, Thievery Corporation Calvin Harris, & others.
Alternative Mix Based on: Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Pixies, & others.
Rock Mix Based on: Led Zeppelin, Santana, Pink Floyd, & others.
Electronic Mix Based on: Hot Chip, The Postal Service, Stereolab, & others.
Electronic Mix 2 Based on: Daft Punk, The Prodigy, Orbital, & others.
Hip Hop/Rap MIx Based on: A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, The Beastie Boys, & others.
Alternative Mix 2 Based on: Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, U2, & others.
Blues Mix Based on: T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, & others.
Alternative Mix 3 Based on: The Smiths, Fischerspooner, Morrissey, & others.
Rock Mix 2 Based on: Van Halen, Wolfmother, Monster Magnet, & others.
Rock Mix 3 Based on: Darkside, Eric Clapton, & others.
Rock Mix 4 Based on: Smashing Pumpkins, The Sundays, Looney Tunes, & others.

My bet is that I’m going to listen to a lot of the Downtempo Mix, Alternative Mix & Rock Mix 2, which ought to be named Metal Heaven. At least those are the 3 I’m syncing to iPhone Call Center.

San Francisco Demographics

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:42:00 -0700

The July/August 2009 issue of 7x7 magazine was the so-called neighborhood issue. In it is a decent catalog the major San Francisco neighborhoods: from the Haight to the Marina to the Castro. The articles are complete with the requisite, stereotypical neighborhood photos. But interestingly, they include some demographic data. I’m sure most folks who flipped through the issue glanced at the data briefly but moved on without thinking twice about them. I, however, was very intrigued by them. When Isaw them, I was convinced that if combined in a graphic manner they would reveal some elusive, inner secret that I’ve missed all these years.

Alas, after creating a spreadsheet of the data, I’m not sure if I’ve learned anything new about San Francisco. Maybe I’ve just lived here too long to have been surprised by this exercise.

Here is the product of this labor.

Figure 1: First is the most obvious result, which is that people with expensive houses tend to make more money than people with cheaper houses.

Figure 2: If you squint your eyes a bit it does look like folks in older neighborhoods make more money than folks in younger ones. The Marina looks to be an outlier in this one. Lots of young grads live there I suppose. The Tenderloin seems to be an outlier as well.

Figure 3: Assuming that the Tenderloin is an outlier in this next chart, is it surprising to find that the more money people make, the more likely they are to rent? Is this because SF is so expensive that folks who aren’t making a enormous of money but a good amount rent in nicer neighborhoods instead of buying in lesser ones?

Figure 4: As far as I see, there is no relationship between age and percentage of renters in various neighborhoods. Even if you toss out some outliers, it’s still a tough case to make. The R-squared value for this chart is .08, which means that there is almost no correlation between these variables.

Figure 5: At first, I was a little bit surprised by this last result as it looks like the more expensive neighborhoods have a higher rate of renters. But with an R-squared value of .01 that’s was a tough case to make. But if the Tenderloin is an outlier, there actually is some correlation between the two. Given the correlation between income and house prices, this chart is in some ways just a repeat of the one correlating renters to income.

Having said all that, one thing I did learn doing this is that I didn’t like any of the tools I tried to use to generate my charts: Numbers, Keynote and OmniGraphSketcher. From the start I knew I wasn’t going to use the charts from Excel, even though I bet that Excel would’ve technically been able to do everything I wanted. The problem with Excel is that its charts are just so visually mediocre. Numbers doesn’t do scatter plots as well as OmniGraphSketcher but it does allow the display of trendlines and the R-squared value. Also, the charts Numbers creates are visually more pleasing than the ones from OmniGraphSketcher. But OmniGraphSketcher has a much more natural user interface for playing with charts and that counts for a lot in my book. In the end, I decided that I didn’t need the R-squared values on my charts nor trendlines either but I did want titles next to the points on my scatter plots. So as a result, the charts below were generated using OmniGraphSketcher.

7x7 Magazine’s 2009 San Francisco Demographics

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:49:00 -0700

7x7 Magazine’s 2009 San Francisco Demographics

Montage of photos and video coming out of Iran.

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:24:00 -0700

Montage of photos and video coming out of Iran.

My sister Lila graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law...

Sun, 17 May 2009 22:04:09 -0700

My sister Lila graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law today. The ceremonies were held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. This clip is of the processional at the end of graduation.

Releasing of the ladybugs at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena...

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:30:00 -0700

Releasing of the ladybugs at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens.

The staff at the Learning Garden released 70,000 ladybugs with the aid of around 50 kids. They learned a little lesson about organic pest control. The poor aphids didn’t see it coming.

Christian just moved to the sixth floor of the Gramercy Towers....

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:21:12 -0700

Christian just moved to the sixth floor of the Gramercy Towers. This short clip is of the view from his living room.

You’ve got to wonder why Nestlé is only releasing the...

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:20:00 -0700

You’ve got to wonder why Nestlé is only releasing the Butterfinger Buzz for a limited time. I’m positive the Vodka+Red Bull will be all over this “candy bar”.

For me, I got a headache after one bite.

Every now and then everyone needs recognition.

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:59:00 -0700

Every now and then everyone needs recognition.

Gochi lunch special Crab omelette topped with soy gravy Deep...

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:19:00 -0700

Gochi lunch special

Crab omelette topped with soy gravy
Deep fried soy-marinated boneless chicken
Ceasar salad
Steemed [sic] rice
Miso soup
Pickled vegetables

This was the tastiest, most delicious lunch I’ve had in years. In a word: oishii!

Short video of us snowboarding at Heavenly Resort. This one has...

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:55:00 -0800

Short video of us snowboarding at Heavenly Resort.

This one has the modified, mellow soundtrack to appease the talent.

Short video of us snowboarding at Heavenly Resort. This one has...

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:54:00 -0800

Short video of us snowboarding at Heavenly Resort.

This one has the original soundtrack.

leyink: : Sent from aNewEra PIcture from my whiteboard.

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:33:03 -0800

leyink:

: Sent from aNewEra

PIcture from my whiteboard.

Hofbräu Express @Cupertino Town Center

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:32:37 -0800

Hofbräu Express @Cupertino Town Center

Big Lou’s Beerfest at Schroeder’s

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:21:18 -0800

Big Lou’s Beerfest at Schroeder’s

Polka Night!

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:12:00 -0800

Last Friday night I decided to take the family to Polka night at Schroeder’s German Restaurant in San Francisco. To date, I’d only ever gone to Schroeder’s for two types of events: Cal Football or St. Patrick’s Day revelry. Whether it was a Big Game pre-party or St. Patrick’s Day, the reason to go to Schroeder’s is always to have access to a good selection of beer along with a packed crowd of like minded folks. So it was with some trepidation that I decided to take the girls along. Luckily, we were not disappointed. Big Lou’s Polka Casserole Band was exactly the kind of music that can get little kids excited. They loved it. Both my daughter’s spent a few hours jumping around to the sounds of Oom-pah-pah music and then spent the weekend talking about what a wonderful time we had. Christian and Heather showed up as well. With Heather donning a dirndl to boot!

Polka dancing: who would’ve thought it would be so much fun?

superamit: brianoberkirch: Caterina.net: Singletasking A while...

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:01:43 -0800

superamit:

brianoberkirch:

Caterina.net: Singletasking

A while back I started using Inbox Zero and it has made a huge difference in my email life. I’m back in control of one set of distractions. This whiteboard photo puts some forth ideas that are definitely in the direction that I’m heading.

Hipster Pod

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:17:05 -0800

Hipster Pod

30 out of 100

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:58:00 -0800

Not a bad showing, if I do say so myself.

The Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die

1. Roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni

3. Carnitas taco at La Taqueria

6. Burger with fries at Slow Club

7. Shaking beef at the Slanted Door

8. Morning bun at Tartine Bakery

10. Baja-style fish tacos at Nick’s Crispy Tacos

25. Loaf of bread straight out of the oven at Tartine (bonus: sliced while still warm and slathered with Brillat- Savarin cheese from Bi-Rite, down the block)

26. A classic gin martini at Bourbon & Branch

28. A Gibraltar at Blue Bottle Café

29. Spaetzle at Suppenküche

30. Laughing Buddha cocktail at Cantina

35. Salted-caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery

40. Cheeseburger at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher

43. Mint julep at Alembic

44. Cannelé at Boulangerie Bay Bread

49. Ginger snaps at Miette

52. Fried brussels sprouts at SPQR

53. Garlic soup at Piperade

67. Sand dabs at Tadich Grill

70. Omakase menu at Sebo

77. Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie

84. A margarita at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant

86. A cheese slice at Arinell Pizza

87. Fresh spring rolls at Out the Door

88. Buckwheat crepe and a French cider at Ti Couz

89. Lamb schawerma at Truly Mediterranean

92. Bacon-wrapped hot dog from a cart in the Mission (preferably when you’re drunk)

97. Sesame balls at Yank Sing

98. Basil gimlet at Rye

99. Clam chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co.