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As I'm taking a class in Berkeley these days, I am now having to take the Bart quite often again. Ah Bart, how I missed and missed and missed and missed and missed and missed you.       Thankfully this is a rather short commute of just 25 minutes or so and that's not so bad. That Bart does run on time for the most part and is one of the more reliable systems we've got here. I have noticed though that since they've somewhat halted their renovation program for the train cars (or at least it seems like they have), the cars have gotten a sort of "distressed" smell to them. I equate to feeling like you're in an airplane bathroom. It's cold, a little breezy, and there is a septic stink of indeterminate origin all around you.

Well, maybe not so brilliant as I can remember the words on this billboard alongside the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, but I can't remember the company that put it up. Whatever the case, it was genius in a pure form.       Basically, all it said was, "Somewhere, someone is playing bongo drums." or something to that effect as I can't remember the exact wording. But what's awesome is that to me, this means that yes, someone is playing bongo drums (see yesterday's post) and I hate them. I want to get as far away from them as possible and thus want to travel. To those who do like bongos and the degenerates that can't bang out a rhythm to save their bearded, soap-avoiding skins, this is a welcome call to travel where these folks are.       Superb. You read it as you feel it should be, but have the same reaction--travel and thus the travel website makes money by walking the middle line. It's like what politicians do, but smarter.

Hey, wait, what's the sound? There's no god damned bongos around!       I realized that when out with some folks in the Haight last Friday that it was wonderfully calm and asswad free. It was only once the thought of, "Hey maybe the Haight isn't so bad anymore." had started to set in that someone pointed out Burning Man was happening and all of our caucasian dreadlocked breathren were there, not here. Thank god. Thank effin' god.       I've never been to Burning Man, so how can I malign it so much? Simple. I've met tons of folks who go (since SF is the birthplace of it and something of a nexus) and rarely if every do I get along with them. The more hardcore they are, the punchable they seem to me. Spending a week in the desert of Nevada with these folks is appealing to me about as much as falling off my roof.       Sure, it started out good and from what pics I've seen of the art from years past, it looked pretty cool. I like people trying things and experimenting. I should do more of it myself than I do. But, given what I've seen lately and the crowds that are going, it makes me happy that there is a spot where all these choads can gather and "burn" together.       So, here is to a quiet, less beardly San Francisco for a little while. And with the Bay Bridge being partially closed this three weekend, this place is gonna be awesome! Ugh, but just wait for the patchouli stank to get back in town. I better live it up in the meantime!

Ah, nothing like Linux. It appears that my peeps in Croatia have decided to adopt Linux and other Open Source technologies to drive their government systems.       After my last trip in April, you start to see that their options in Europe in general revolve around Windows or Linux. Really, no one uses a Mac. Sure, you'll see one here and there, but it's not like a cafe in SF where half the machines are Macs and the other half some kind of Windows (or Linux) setup.       I should add that there is a third choice that a lot of folks exercise, which is to just steal the software. Seems to be very popular and it makes sense, as a copy of Windows for we average schmoes is $300 or whatever and for a computer vendor is $100. What's up with that? It costs nothing to produce the disc once the system has been created.       My best wishes to Croatia. I am actually getting the nerve up to toss Linux on my new Thinkpad, but only in a virtual machine setup, since I loves my DreamWeaver so much. I suppose I could go the other way though as well. Huh, a thought to think about.

You wouldn't know it living in San Francisco, but apparently there is a Summer happening out there and it is nearly at a close. Really kinda flew by for me. A film shoot and the randomness of life will do that I suppose.       I'm not really sure how this Summer rates in the big scheme of a lifetime of seasons, but overall, it's been pretty good. I like the fact that as it closes out (officially with the Labor Day weekend next week) I will have all my craziness paid off, such as the movie, new laptop, and [finally] my trip to Europe in April. Probably time to start planning the next trip, because really, that's what you do once you get this kind of thing paid off.       I probably really need to give a shout out to my kitchen because it is, in a word, "tight". The addition of my Slovenian table a few months ago really pulled the thing together. I look forward to my time with my kitchen this Fall and the parties it will fuel in foodly ways.

Last week, a group of janitors, unhappy at the building I'm in sometimes decided to stage a protest. I guess they weren't getting paid enough or treated fairly as is usually the case. Honestly, I didn't know what the real problem was because all I heard over the megaphone was:       "What do we want?"       "Justin!"       "When do we want him?"       "Now!"       Naturally, I spent the rest of the day running around the office trying to find Justin for them. Such a strange day.

On Yelp you submit reviews and you speak your mind. You 'yelp' essentially, thus the name. Clever, no? Yes, it is and what is great is that there are a few of us that hit a threshold of reviews most don't get to and that is the 100 mark.       I am very proud to announce that I have reached this mark. I wasn't aware of it, but when you hit this mark, you get use of the Yelp Timeshare in Sherman Oaks. Yeah, I know, I didn't believe it either. Sherman Oaks. I never thought I'd make it. At 500 reviews, you get a hug from an actual Yelp staff member of your chosing and a friendly lick from Darwin, the Yelp mascot. If you're ever to hit 1,000 reviews, you become one with Yelp and join their board of directors. It's all just so incredible, it's hard to believe!       Of course, this is all crap and you just earn the respect of your peers. You can read my pile o' reviews at jebus.yelp.com and you can read all about my favorite Yelp item, the Yelp T-Shirt.

Ah, the wedding. Tis the season I suppose. Seems like everyone is doing it, so why not? And I guess that was the hardest part about being at a wedding by yourself and single. You see all these glowing people around you who are married or engaged or expecting their first child. Anyways, I suppose that when you're approaching 30, these things start to sink in more.       But as for the ceremony, it was great. Dinko (the groom) is Bosnian and his wife Ana, is Macedonian. So, the wedding was blend of those Balkan cultures and some American bits thrown in. It was fun to see pretty much all of former Yugoslavia represented and those that were there were smart enough to leave the war conversations out of everything. A very, very good call, since I think 96% of all fights in Balkans start from such talk.

To everybody who is reading, I must announce that I am retiring for work because I... was the proud winner of the Californian Lottery. Yes, that's right, that random chance of wealth has hit yours truly.       I think that I need to plan carefully though and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with my winnings, but perhaps some kind of charity work. Maybe I'll just start out by getting a good lunch. I gotta say that it's very difficult to plan your future on a fortune of $10.       Yeah, it was really just the $10 prize. I've never won one that big so it was kinda fun. And obviously I'm not retiring, but I will probably still keep playing this thing because you just never know. I call it my twice a week certificate of stupidity. What are the odds anyways, 48,000,000 to 1 that I'll win? Yeah. Go, go Miho (my Croatian nickname.)

Let me first state that Walgreen's is a private company that really can do whatever it wants within the general bounds of the law. Sometimes (as I've seen around SF) there is a gray line of what they are doing to protect business and what they're saying about how they feel about their clientèle.       Take for instance the Walgreen's over on Polk and California. It's at the edge of the Tenderloin part of Polk where things start to get a lot nicer in Upper Polk. Some might say that this Walgreen's is the 38th Parallel of Polk, but that is just too grand for my tastes. In any case, have you ever tried to buy razors at this place? No, I'm not talking about the kind of thing that super sharp and dangerous, but those simple bits you pop in to your Gillette shave with. You have to go up to the counter and beg for them. Another thing you have to beg for is any kind of skincare product that costs more than $20. They keep all of those locked behind a case. You can look, but you cannot simply buy.       This locked case situation is also at the Walgreen's on Sutter and Powell. The razor situation exists there as well. Another interesting fact is that they have nicer things there. More name brands grace the shelves and there are things that I might actually need to buy from time to time. I should add of course, that this spot is located right in the middle of Tourist Zone #2 (#1 being Fisherman's Wharf.)       Now, let's shift down to the location on Montgomery and Pine. Yes, there are even more name brands. Low and behold, the razors aren't under lock and key. Also, only the priciest of skincare items are closed off. In addition to the razors being easy to buy, they're often in stock and they have the kind of gels we guys need for shaving (namely the nice smellin' L'Oreal stuff.)       What's my point in all of this? Simple, Walgreens is playing a geographic discrimination game. I'd bet that if you head into Oakland, the situation is even worse. They're certainly free to stock what they want where they want and to be honest, I actually like Walgreen's. But it seems that with putting things locked away, they're inferring that I'm a criminal before I've even set foot in the store. I'm not in to that. I'm also not in to electronics stores like Fry's and CompUSA (the idiot savant of retail) making me check my receipt when I leave. I just walk out. Everyone needs to keep in mind that they can't require this of you. It's false imprisonment unless they're charging you with a crime. It's also ridiculous because every retail store knows that the vast majority of their theft comes from their employees and stupidity. So, don't go along with this and just walk out. If they threaten to call the cops, let them. Unless you've actually stolen something, there's no crime committed other than their wasting of police time.       That's all fine, but it doesn't relate to Walgreen's, does it? No, it doesn't. All I have to say about them is to buy stuff from places that don't lock it up and don't go where they think you're out to get 'em.