Conspiracy Theories

International Driving Permit

I may or may not be getting an international driving permit before I head out. It all depends on whether I have time to get down to an AAA office (I don't believe you need to be an AAA member. Do you?). If you're an American who wants to get one for an upcoming trip, check out this web site. It even has a printable application form for you to fill out ahead of time.

Isn't it kind of weird that AAA, a private company, would be issuing something like this? I thought that the state DMV offices would handle it. The DMV site is actually where I began my search for information on this and I got pointed to the AAA link above.

Thanks for Nothing, Hank

I'm sitting at home and the phone rings. When I answer it, I'm greeted by Hank Plante of Channel 5 Eyewitness News on KPIX-San Francisco. Well, it's just a recording of Hank, anyway, and I'm thinking about hanging up now, but then he says they're conducting a survey, so I thought, "Okay, I wonder what he's going to ask?"

I stay on the line, and then he tells me that, "Madonna and Britney Spears shared an open-mouth kiss on stage at the MTV Music Awards. Is this something that they should show on TV?" What?! Why are they wasting time conducting a survey about such a non-issue? If I hadn't answered the phone, I never would've heard about, I could care less who kisses whom on stage at the MTV BS Awards, and I hardly ever watch MTV (which is so lame that they had to create MTV2 just to have a station that actually plays music videos), and I had to visualize that Hank, visualize it! You call this news reporting?! No wonder Channel 2 gets the awards for best news broadcast in the Bay Area.

If you read Plante's biography on the KPIX web site, you'll see at the top, under his name, it says "Political Reporter". Last time I checked, Britney and Madonna didn't file to run for the California governorship.

Travel Insurance

So I decided to get a travel insurance policy for my upcoming trip to Japan. I thought it would be really expensive, but it ended up being $104. Not bad considering the amount of coverage I'll get. Also, it gets slightly more expensive the older you are, so I am still lucky enough to be in the cheapest bracket.

The company I went with is called Travel Insurance Services. Not exactly a memorable name, but hey, as long as they come through if I need help, their lack of a colorful name and catchy jingle like "Expedia. Dot coooom!" can be forgiven.

Millbrae Art & Wine Festival

The 33rd annual Millbrae Art & Wine Festival is taking place this Labor Day weekend along Broadway in downtown Millbrae, California. Arts and crafts, food and drink, music and dancing abound. There's also a children's play area. The official web site mentions that 100,000 people attend every year. It sure doesn't feel like 100,000 people to me. One thing I never understood about the festival, though, is why the hours are only until 5pm. The sun sets after 8pm so why not keep the festival going until at least 6 or even better 7 or 8 o'clock?

Last year, I met a really cool photographer who had her own booth, exhibiting mostly wildlife photos. When her booth wasn't busy, I decided to ask how she got into photography and what would she recommend to a beginner. She said she decided to quit being a lawyer and became a photographer. How cool is that?! Needless to say, it's an inspiration. Who knows, maybe one day I'll have a booth there, too!

Getting There
With the opening of the Millbrae BART station this has got to be the best way to get to the festival, as the street parking is limited and you'll be either circling for a while, or reduced to parking several blocks away.

From the Millbrae BART station, exit out the west side of the station and walk half a block to El Camino Real. From here you have two choices: 1) Cross El Camino at Millbrae Avenue and walk up one block to Broadway. The festival is two blocks down. You can't miss it.
2) Cross El Camino at Millbrae Avenue and walk down El Camino two or three blocks, until you hear all the noise. Walk one block up to Broadway.

SamTrans routes 390 and 391 are also an easy way to get there. Get off near Safeway, Meadow Glen Avenue, or Hillcrest Blvd. Broadway is one block west of El Camino Real.

Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival

Ghirardelli Square will be hosting their eighth annual Chocolate Festival on the weekend of September 6-7.

It's a great event, and benefits a worthy cause (Project Open Hand). I went on both days last year. Definitely try to get there earlier in the day, as some of the goodies tend to run out near the end.

Lake Tahoe Discounts

SnowBomb is a great web site for discounts on Lake Tahoe activities in winter and also summer. I'm heading up this weekend to cash in on some kayaking discounts. The winter discount cards are cheaper if you order now as well. It's really easy to make the card more than pay for itself, especially in summer.

I highly recommend the card for beginner skiers and snowboarders who are just starting out and don't have their own gear yet. There are plenty of free and discounted rentals, so you can get started without spending a lot. It's never to early to start thinking about winter.

Check it out!

No Food and Drink Does Not Equal No Trash

Here's how I would rate the public transportation systems I regularly ride based on cleanliness, from cleanest to dirtiest:

1) CalTrain: stations and trains are always free of major cleanliness issues; almost invariably, a nice, clean ride
2) SamTrans: buses and bus stops/stations are usually clean
3) MUNI: buses, Metro cars, subway stations are usually clean; almost as good as SamTrans
4) BART: definitely the dirtiest trains; stay away from the cars with brown upholstery, especially; stations are clean though

Overall, I'd say these transit agencies are doing a decent job. CalTrain, SamTrans, and MUNI are doing at least an adequate job, and there is not much separating the three in terms of level of cleanliness. However, BART has a lot of room for improvement in cleaning the trains.

Cleanliness, or lack thereof, hasn't deterred me from relying on public transportation. Yet, if we want transit ridership to increase, traveling on public transit has to be a sparkling clean ride every time. People want to have a comfortable ride, and if the bus or train is dirty, it ain't comfortable. It just gives the car owner another reason to stay behind the wheel. Dirtiness is also probably one of the stereotypes that the general public has about public transit. While riders know that is a myth, the experience could be better.

Some might say that it's the careless people who litter and make a mess who are the problem, not the transit agency itself. If that is so, then why is CalTrain the cleanest transit system, despite being the only transit system that allows both food and drink? Actually, because they allow food and drink, they are allowing riders to be responsible instead of treating them like children and disallowing food and drink. No food and drink policies are in place only so transit agencies can get away with not taking the responsibility to keep things clean. Of course, it is up to the individual to dispose of personal trash, but the transit systems should be dedicated to cleanliness, not just opting for a cheap, easy way out. It shouldn't be a crime to drink a bottle of water or eat a cookie on the bus or train.

Exposed: The conspiracy behind "No Food and Drink" policies on transit.

Google: Alfred Hitchcock

Google is honoring Alfred Hitchcock with his very own Google graphic today (and a very cool one, I might add). Is it his birthday or something?

As with most Google graphics, I suspect this one is for today only, but we'll see.

Transitioning

This site is the new home of what used to be Now See Here. After over a month of blogging with TypePad, I've discovered I need a separate site for my photography, hence the creation of what you see before you.

It's basically the same as the old site, minus the photo albums, which will allow this site to focus more on various news and how it implicates or doesn't implicate a conspiracy theory.

The commentary here will not be all speculative, negative, and accusatory, however. It will not solely focus on conspiracy theories, either. All aspects of life on this planet which I find interesting will be covered here with the exception of anything that I enjoy enough to warrant creating an entire site dedicated to that topic.

So far, there are two other sites in the Now See Here pantheon of web space:
The original Now See Here, now focused on photography.
California Roll, bringing you insights about Japan, especially about the process of learning the Japanese language.

I hope you enjoy the sites and I welcome your feedback. Don't be afraid to comment!

The Name of the Game: Resiliency

This year's Giants roster has been in constant flux. Starting position players Rich Aurilia, JT Snow, Ray Durham, and Benito Santiago have all missed significant time due to injury. The starting rotation has been a revolving door, with guys getting hurt (Jensen, Ainsworth, Reuter, Schmidt) or performing poorly (Foppert, Moss). Yet despite this seeming instability, there is stability in the Giants clubhouse—enough stability in fact, to open up a double digit lead in the National League West pennant race.

The team has had a remarkable knack for filling in the gaps when one person goes down, thus keeping the ship going full steam ahead through rough waters. I can't ever recall a Giants team where so many different faces were called upon in one season, and it's not even over yet. It's been exciting to see these guys succeed, and the Giants wouldn't have had the successful season they've had up to this point without the performances of players like Jim Brower, Jerome Williams, Joe Nathan, Neifi Perez, Andres Galarraga, Pedro Feliz, and more. It seems like it's a different guy every day (see Jeffrey Hammonds) who will help spur the team to victory. It's something that not only boosts the morale and confidence of the team and fans, but it makes the Giants a dangerous team. No longer is it just Bonds, Kent, and Aurilia. Anyone and everyone has been coming through in the clutch for this team.

Hopefully, this resiliency will carry the team to its first San Francisco World Series title. If not, it's still been a great ride so far. I look forward to September and October.