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Passive-aggressive notes from roommates, neighbors, coworkers and strangers. The best way to start your day.

RFID tags in Bay to Breakers 2007

The thing in the picture is an RFID tag that was used to track runners in Bay To Breakers 2007. There are many privacy concerns with RFID but this was the first time I have actually benefited from this technology. In this case I got an attractive plastic thing that looks a bit like a medal. It’s a bit bigger than a quarter (coin) and you are supposed to attach it to your shoes. Then as you run over special pads at the start and finish of the race, a computer can track your times. This helped me as I had a delayed start for similar reasons to 2005, but RFID meant that my time was only reckoned from when I actually crossed the start line. My time this year was 1:03:38, faster than last year (probably because of the more accurate timing) but still annoyingly over the hour. I finished in 1634th place which was down from last year.

The RFID system used was made by ChampionChip from Nijmegen in The Netherlands, using technology manufactured by TI. You can read about the mats and controllers, and the RFID chips themselves.

43 Muni bus accident in San Francisco

I was on this 43 Muni bus when it screeched to a halt. I was not hurt. The SUV got a bit squashed. When there is an accident the bus is taken out of service so I had to walk. Both lanes were blocked and cars started getting past by using the other side of the road. This is right by City College and I saw a Community College Police Officer cycling towards the scene. I think this was the third time I have been on a bus that was involved in an accident.

MMORPG in The Simpsons

Poor Freddy Adu part 2

Poor Freddy Adu. In the same way that he thinks he is the same as Maradona, but is really a Championship level player, he thinks that attention to David Beckham may "die off pretty quickly" if Beckham doesn't play well. Ha Ha! Beckham is as much better at grabbing attention than Freddy as Maradona was better at football.

Patrick Wolf @ Café Du Nord, 22 May 2007

Patrick Wolf dresses like an oversized schoolboy. On the cover of his new CD, The Magic Position he cavorts in primary colours on a plastic merry go round. His concerns are innocence and experience. His music reminds me of Kate Bush in that it seems to exist in its own world. When I saw he was playing at this small venue I bought a ticket straight away.

The Café Du Nord is near the Castro so I was thinking the audience would be trying to match Patrick Wolf for flamboyance (if this were possible) but it seemed quite a youngish rock crowd. One of the support acts was a DJ, this is usually a bad thing but I enjoyed hearing the disco pop he played. I was happy hearing unfamiliar music until he slipped in some New Order remix and ruined the novelty.

I was feeling tired when the three piece band (drums, double bass, Macintosh plus keyboards) appeared. Patrick Wolf was wearing a ridiculous checked shirt and shorts combination. He started off with red hair, which turned out to be a wig he snatched off dramatically. He played ukulele, piano, violin and theremin.

After a while he got more chatty, possibly as a result of consuming several White Russian drinks. We heard about how he bought his first piano after taking his school to the European Court of Justice for discrimination; how his second piano got left behind when he split form his previous partner.

His red hair and physique inevitably recalls David Bowie. There is an element of acting to what he does, when he pulled his shirt up over his head it was dramatic and effective. Eventually the shirt came off and he was throwing himself around. I liked the poppier newer songs better. Some of the older songs were heartfelt and scary.

After a short break for a costume change (including a new pair of shorts) he was back. This time he had an American flag that he used as a prop. There was a story about being in Texas and a little bit of bashing of our dear President, and comparisons with present company. San Francisco audiences really like it when they get a bit of flattery and when Patrick gave some love the audience got more into it too.

An encore required finding a particular song file on the Mac. The audience gasped in horror when it heard that the Mac was running OS9, a rather old version of the Mac’s operating system. Fortunately the song was found so we got to hear the 80’s disco pop classic Feels Like I'm in Love (as made famous by Kelly Marie).

This was a great gig. Partly this was because of seeing a great talent in such a small venue. I liked the music, the show was a great spectacle, and Patrick Wolf is a sweetie.

Bay to Breakers 2007 pictures

Some cute pictures that have been sitting in blogger for nearly a year. The race is on Sunday so I'm publishing this.

SNL homeland security sketch

Worst remakes of British films

With the news that The Long Good Friday is to get a Hollywood remake, I present the top 5 worst ever remakes of British films. Of course I have not actually seen any of these as they are useless. I don't have to go the North pole to know it's cold.

1. The Wicker Man
2. Get Carter
3. Alfie
4. The Ladykillers
5. The Italian Job