Gavin Nuisance

I'm not one to rant about politics (see my friend Tom for good political rants), but over the past two weeks, I have now received two emails from Gavin Newsom, the presiding mayor of SF. The first, and much more clever, was an email masquerading as a "SF economic stimulus" information letter. But, if you read the fine print (as I did when I was so stunned to have received such an email), the email was paid for by Newsom's California Exploratory Committee. It's no secret that Newsom is running for California Governor, but seriously, does it seem a little fishy to anyone else that he is tricking people into supporting his run for governor by getting in the door with what seems like routine SF business?

The second email arrived just moments ago, this one much more blunt.

I am mystified as to how they got my email address and what gives them any indication that I am remotely interested in supporting Newsom. I am one of the roughly 7 registered Republicans in SF and Newsom is basically the last person I want as governor of a state that already spends with reckless abandon and will continue to raise taxes and issue bonds to finance it all.

End of political rant. Oh, and don't vote for Newsom, he's fishy.

Arrested Development: The Movie

In by far the best news I have heard today, it appears that Michael Cera has finally caved and agreed to do the Arrested Development movie. This is truly something to look forward to, as this was one of the most brilliant shows ever on television. If you've never seen it, get your act together and start watching!

Colorado Ski Trip 2009

Over President's Day weekend, I traveled to Colorado with my sister, brother-in-law, brother, and future sister-in-law for our annual skip trip. My aunt, uncle, and three cousins live in Denver and have a house up in Winter Park. This is always one of my favorite weekends of the year and this year was another great trip filled with good times, good skiing, and time to catch up with family. The pictures below are some of the highlights.

All of us posing at Winter Park after a great day of skiing.

I was tired after a long day of following my uncle around the moguls on Mary Jane.

Ben and Sarah

Matt and Becca

Snowmobiling with Jack and Carrie. I got the snowmobile stuck in at least 2 feet of snow. Pulling a snowmobile out of a pile of deep snow is not fun.

Carrie and I called a cease fire on our snowball fight to pose for a picture with Becca.

All the cousins (Jack, Ben, Bailey, Sarah, Carrie, Matt, Becca, and Matt)

25 random things...

So, if you're not on Facebook, maybe you don't know the current trend. But, people have been creating lists of 25 random facts about themselves and posting for all to read. You're supposed to tag people in the note and then they have to make the 25 random facts list. It's the modern day chain letter.

Anyway, I finally created my list and thought this would also make a great blog post, so here goes:

1. I never anticipated that I would ever live in San Francisco. But, I'm proud of the way I have embraced my new city. In less than 10 months, I've become a member of a great church, joined a community group there, explored many parts of the city, settled into a new job, set up an apartment, volunteered my time at several local organizations, and made a bunch of new friends.

2. After growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, I have lived in three of the biggest cities in the country - Washington DC, Boston, and San Francisco. A big part of me wants to live in New York someday, just because it feels like the epicenter of everything, but I'm not sure I ever will. I also would love to live in London or Paris for a year or so.

3. I desperately want to be in an earthquake. I don't want anybody to get hurt or there to be major damage, but the geologist in me can't wait to feel the earth shake under my feet. I'm told that I live in a city that promises to make this wish come true.

4. My greatest athletic achievement will always be the time I pulled a 5 iron out of my golf bag and hit a golf ball 175 yards for a hole-in-one. I hope my golf game didn't peak that day, because it was ten years ago.

5. I have a oval shaped birthmark directly in the center of my stomach. With my two nipples as eyes, and belly button as mouth, the birthmark serves as the nose on my "stomach face." Don't even bother to ask me to show it to you, because I'll say no.

6. My birthday is December 27, and I've never been quite so open about this, but it sucks to have my birthday so close to Christmas. Few people ever remember it, I'm always away from friends, and I've had very few parties thrown for me. There are some positives though - I always get to spend my birthday with my family and I have never had to work or go to school on my birthday.

7. Despite my friends saying I missed the "best semester ever" at William and Mary, I will never regret spending the spring semester of my junior year in New Zealand. I saw some of the most amazingly beautiful settings in God's creation. I walked on a glacier, rafted down an underground cave, hiked miles of beautiful trails, bungee jumped, tasted amazing wine, looked at a lot of rocks, watched the sun set behind Mt. Cook, spent a night on a boat in Milford Sound, relaxed on beautiful beaches, soaked in natural hot springs, scuba dived (dove?) on the Great Barrier Reef, and toured the Sydney Opera House.

8. When I was in New Zealand, I purchased a car at auction for about $350 US dollars. It was a 1983 puke yellow Toyota Corona that I called "El Coche Corona." Despite a finicky stereo and a tendency to burn through oil, the car was a dream to drive all over the country (on the left side of the road!). I once got pulled over by a NZ policeman. When I handed him my Pennsylvania license, he made a face like he was reading something in another language. He asked if I was enjoying the country and I said "Yes, very much." His response - "well, slow down." When I left NZ, I sold "El Coche Corona" for $50 US dollars.

9. I have spent nearly 2 months of my life at sea on scientific research vessels in various locations around the world. I was on one expedition off the coast of Papua New Guinea, another that sailed from Astoria, Oregon to Panama City, Panama, and a third that sailed from Victoria, British Columbia to Acapulco, Mexico. On the third expedition, we had 18 foot swells - enough to cause my chair to move back and forth across the floor as I was sitting in it. I'm proud to say I never got seasick.

10. I firmly believe that all students must be able to communicate digitally to be successful in the 21st century workforce and I believe that with the right curriculum, technology can help create very special learning experiences that can engage students who are otherwise turned off to learning. I'm fortunate I get paid to help educators reach this goal.

11. I also believe that all people need to be scientifically literate in order to be able to make informed and wise decisions. One of my goals is to work to bring earth science to all people in a way that is applicable and interesting to the average person. I was fortunate to get to work toward this goal in my past job in DC.

12. Combining my passions in #10 and #11 into a single job would be my ideal situation. Someday, I'll figure out how to do that.

13. One of my best years was my senior year of college at William and Mary. I lived off campus with 7 other guys and we traveled to see W&M play football in Maine (via New York and Boston), rented an RV for fall break and drove to Mexico by way of New Orleans, spent Spring Break on a missions trip to an orphanage in Nicaragua, went fishing, went to the beach, drank beer on our deck, went to the Green Leafe and Pauls, watched selected scenes, laughed a lot, and generally had a great time. I studied a little bit too.

14. Because of the trip to Maine mentioned in #13, my roommates and I were named the William and Mary 2002 Fans of the Year. There was a ceremony where our names were announced and we each ran out onto the field during half time of a home football game.

15. I'm OCD about random things being straight or lined up. For example, in restaurants, the silverware always has to be lined up with each other and the napkin. Some of my friends have noticed this and purposely, but unbeknownst to me, put things askew just to watch me straighten them again.

16. In the dictionary, next to the word introverted, there's a picture of me.

17. It takes me a long time to get to know other people really well and I'm not very good at opening myself up and showing who I truly am until long after I meet people. I'm working on this...

18. I have freakishly long arms. One of my roommates in college has freakishly short arms. He is 6'3", I am 5'9" and we both can reach to the same height. Unfortunately, this means that I have never been able to find shirts that fit me right.

19. When I was very young, our regular babysitter couldn't babysit one night, so she asked her college roommate if she wouldn't mind babysitting us. She said yes. Her name: Rosie O'Donnell.

20. One of my lifelong goals is a write a book. I'd like to say it would be a novel, but I don't think I'm creative enough, so it will probably be non-fiction.

21. One of my favorite things to do is to spend part of my Sunday afternoon or evening reading the Sunday New York Times. Lately, I've become a little obsessed with trying to complete the Magazine crossword puzzle each week.

22. I published my senior thesis from college, "Millenial-scale variability in western tropical Atlantic surface ocean hydrography during the early Pliocene," in the journal Marine Micropaleontology. I am 95% sure that I am the only person that has every read this entire paper. If you're suffering from insomnia, I can send you the paper.

23. It usually takes me over an hour to fall asleep at night, cause I can't stop thinking about what happened to me that day or what's going to happen to me the next day.

24. I whistle a lot, but only when I'm alone. This is the result of me annoying my family with my whistling for so long, that I made it a habit to keep it to myself. I'm a really good whistler though - at times I've thought about entering some sort of whistling competition (there must be one out there, right?).

25. I love food and cooking. People think I am a good cook, but really I just follow directions and make reasonably simple things, which I think anyone can do.

New Pepsi logo based on magnetism of the earth

Pepsi recently spent several million dollars on a new logo. Leaked internal memos from the design agency show a 27 page document with figures that relate the new logo to the magnetic field of the Earth and the Earth's geodynamo. This is yet another way that geology is cool and sexy. It's nice to see someone else get inspired by the Earth. But, unfortunately, I'm still gonna be a Coke drinker.

Super Bowl XLIII pick

The big game is this weekend and since so many people look to me for betting advice, I thought I'd share my pick for the game.

There is really a pretty simple and logical way to determining the outcome of this game.

In Week 8, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the New York Football Giants at Pittsburgh and the Giants came out on top by a score of 21-14.

In Week 12, the Arizona Cardinals played the New York Football Giants at Arizona and the Giants came out on top by a score of 37-29.

Pittsburgh has a slightly better defense than the Giants and Arizona has a slightly better offense than the Giants. (It should be noted that the Giants had an overall (offense and defense) better year statistically then either Arizona or Pittsburgh.)

I see Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald lighting it up and putting up about 21 points on the Steelers defense. And despite Pittsburgh's less regarded offense, I see their defense putting some points on the board via turnovers. So, since the Giants can't win the game (by a mere technicality), I think it will be close, but I'm staying true to my Pennsylvania roots and picking the Steelers, 24-21.

Call your bookies now!

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

I ran across this list today and immediately decided to make it my culinary mission for my time in San Francisco, however long or short it ends up being. The list is below. I've already accomplished #17, 21, 35, 62, and 68, but I have a long way to go. First on my list is the BBQ places - I'm a bit surprised to see BBQ on here, but if I must try, I guess I'll have to give BBQ in SF another chance.

1. Roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni

2. Coffee-rubbed pork shoulder at Range

3. Carnitas taco at La Taqueria

4. Spicy crab and grits at the Front Porch

5. Chasu ramen at Katana-Ya

6. Burger with fries at Slow Club

7. Shaking beef at the Slanted Door

8. Morning bun at Tartine Bakery

9. Tofu soup with kimchi at My Tofu House

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

11. Pork sugo with pappardelle at Delfina

12. Salt-and-pepper squid at Yuet Lee

13. Soup dumplings at Shanghai House

14. Beef brisket at Memphis Minnie’s

15. Oysters on the half shell at Swan Oyster Depot

16. Katsu curry from Muracci’s Japanese Curry & Grill

17. Tea-leaf salad at Burma Superstar

18. Salumi misti plate at Perbacco

19. Tuna tartare at Michael Mina

20. Chicken pot pie at Liberty Café

21. Pizza margherita at Pizzeria Delfina

22. Vietnamese roasted pork sandwich at Saigon Sandwich

23. Beer sausage with sauerkraut and grilled onions at Rosamunde Sausage Grill

24. Blue Bell Bitter from the cask at Magnolia Pub

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

27. Papaya salad with salty crab at Sai Jai Thai

28. A Gibraltar at Blue Bottle Café

29. Spaetzle at Suppenküche

30. Laughing Buddha cocktail at Cantina

31. Pan con chocolate with sea salt and olive oil at Laïola

32. Pupusas at Balompie Café #3

33. Prime rib at House of Prime Rib

34. Yellowtail collar at Oyaji

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

36. Dry-fried chicken wings at San Tung

37. Rotisserie chicken at Limón Rotisserie

38. French fries at Hayes Street Grill

39. Pierna Enchilada torta at La Torta Gorda

40. Cheeseburger at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher

41. Pho ga at Turtle Tower

42. Fried-shrimp po’boy at Brenda’s French Soul Food

43. Mint julep at Alembic

44. Cannelé at Boulangerie Bay Bread

45. Galapagos cocktail at Absinthe

46. Chips and salsa at Papalote

47. Ceviche at La Mar Cebichería Peruana

48. Angels on horseback at Anchor & Hope

49. Ginger snaps at Miette

50. Giant pretzel with mustard at The Monk’s Kettle

51. Maccaronara with ricotta salata at A16

52. Fried brussels sprouts at SPQR

53. Garlic soup at Piperade

54. Spiced-chocolate doughnut at Dynamo Donut with a coffeeFour Barrel

55. Milk-roasted pork at L’Osteria del Forno

56. Caponatina with burrata at Beretta

57. Goat stew at Kokkari Estiatorio

58. Absinthe daiquiri at Jardinière

59. Huarache with cactus salad at El Huarache Loco

60. The Brass Monkey at Little Star Pizza

61. Crab soufflé at Café Jacqueline

62. Shrimp-and-chive dumplings at Ton Kiang

63. Meatballs with grapes at Aziza

64. Paper masala dosa at Dosa

65. Crispy eggplant at Jai Yun

66. Pig parts at Incanto

67. Sand dabs at Tadich Grill

68. Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe

69. Licorice parfait at South

70. Omakase menu at Sebo

71. A Fernet at R Bar

72. Arancini at Ducca

73. Popovers with strawberry butterat the Rotunda

74. Corned-beef sandwich with Gruyère at the Sentinel

75. Fried green beans at Coco500

76. Chicken hash at Ella’s

77. Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie

78. Chilaquiles with a fried egg at Pastores

79. Onion strings at Alfred’s Steakhouse

80. Apple fritter at Bob’s Donuts

81. Chicken curry at Punjab Kabab House

82. Fried chickpeas at Piqueo’s

83. Sweet-potato fries with banana catsup at Poleng Lounge

84. A margarita at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant

85. Pulled-pork sandwich at Roadside BBQ

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

90. Slow-cooked egg at Coi

91. Albondigas soup at Mijita

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

93. Seven courses of beef at Pagolac

94. Mango with chile, lemon and salt at Doña Tere’s cart

95. 3 a.m. bowl of caldo verde soup at Grubstake

96. Baby-coconut ice cream from Mitchell’s

97. Sesame balls at Yank Sing

98. Basil gimlet at Rye

99. Clam chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co.

100. Cheese course at Gary Danko