San Francisco « Towse: views from the hill

November 2, 2007

Fan mail from Harold Hoogasian. Gmail thinks it’s SPAM!

Filed under: politics,San Francisco — Towse @ 6:48 pm

Look what dropped into my Gmail in-box this morning! Fan mail from Harold Hoogasian. Where he got the e-addr he used to send this is a question. The Gmail account mainly funnels everything @towse.com (except sal, sally, self, &c.) to a common address. So how did he get the master topsecrethushhushhush Gmail address?

Did I put it on my voter registration? If so, OH NO!

Herewith the nice note. I found it in my spam folder because Gmail automagically decided it fit the MO. [Update:Finagled a copy to insert with all the bells and whistles.] Here it is in all its glory!

=======================================
From: Harold <campaign@unplugthemachine.org>
Date: Nov 2, 2007 1:30 AM

Subject: HAROLD HOOGASIAN for MAYOR! I
To: harold@hoogasian.com

Would you want Gavin Newsom to date your daughter or friend?

Would you socialize with someone who sleeps with a friend's wife?

Would you employ someone who can't plan a Halloween party in 364 days?

Would you vote for a candidate who refuses to debate his opponents?

I certainly wouldn't!

NO!

When Newsom admitted his substance problem, he disclosed that he would get "counseling" from Mimi Silbert (President of Delancey Street Foundation). The problem is that Delancey Street does not offer drop-in or outpatient counseling.

When John Burton was strung out on drugs and alcohol, he quit congress.

Gavin Newsom should have taken a hint from John Burton and resigned as Mayor.

Newsom's fling with his friend's wife was also a fling with an employee of the City.

How much is that going to cost the Taxpayers?

We know the Mayor is alleged to have paid the wronged husband,

But how much was paid to the Consort?

Is this the kind of judgment we want in a Chief Executive?

Cancelled Halloween cost
Lost wages, tips and income in the Castro!

Wages and overtime for 1000 police officers.

Another term as mayor is too much to pay.

The Halloween in the Castro is a tradition for over 30 years.

Calling it off for a questionable leader's re-election was an abuse of power.

If you think that we need a change,

Don't vote for an Adulterous, Drunken Golden Boy!

Don't chose corruption and waste!

A vote for Harold Hoogasian will clean up City Hall!

A vote for Harold Hoogasian will clean up our streets!

A vote for Harold Hoogasian will fix our Muni!

A vote for Harold Hoogasian will eliminate our Budget Mess!

A vote for Harold Hoogasian will bring back Halloween!

Mark Your Ranked Choice Ballot:

1st Choice: HAROLD HOOGASIAN

2nd Choice: HAROLD HOOGASIAN

3rd Choice: HAROLD HOOGASIAN

I need your VOTE to TAKE BACK our City!

Harold M. Hoogasian

Candidate for Mayor

About Harold Hoogasian

Harold Hoogasian is running for Mayor of San Francisco on a NO NONSENSE campaign. He is a life long resident of San Francisco with a 33 year track record of public service and activism with in The City. As the owner of several successful businesses including the floral business, Hoogasian Flowers, Harold has exhibited leadership and insight. In addition to these endeavors he is a former president of Rotary Club of San Francisco and has led several charitable works within The City. His campaign website is
www.unplugthemachine.org

About Hoogasian for Mayor
Hoogasian for Mayor is a committee formed to elect Harold Hoogasian
to the Office of Mayor in The City and County of San Francisco.
615 Seventh Street (Headquarters)
San Francisco, California 94103-5691
415-229-2710 (phone) and 415-229-2700 (fax)

ID#1299909

If you don't want messages about this contested mayoral election,
reply to campaign@unplugthemachine with
subject "unsubscribe"

=======================================

Lovely, eh? Multiple colors to pick out names and phrases like “Adulterous, Drunken Golden Boy!” (in red, natch!), CAPS, bold lettering and different sized fonts.

Looks kookie and crankpot-ish.

If I were a suspicious sort, I’d think that someone who doesn’t want Hoogasian for Mayor sent out this spam in an attempt to make him look like a foolish idiot. I hadn’t realized he could act like such a juvenile.

Love those politics!

And if his database were any good, he’d know I voted ten days ago.

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Potrero Point power UPDATE

Filed under: environmentalism,politics,San Francisco — Towse @ 6:44 pm

An update on the Potrero Point power proposal that I wrote about on Tuesday.

Tu Oct 30. Supervisors vote 8-3 in favor of new peakers. Symbolic vote only as the final vote to approve the contract with the folks who will build the new facility is the deal maker.

W Oct 31. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission votes unanimously in favor of the new peakers. SFPUC staff must finalize agreement with J-Power, the Japanese company that will build the facility.

Once the agreement is finalized and approved by the Board of Supervisors, work can begin. Inching our way slowly to a cleaner Central Waterfront. …

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Views from the Hill – so that’s what they mean by patchy fog

Filed under: photographs,San Francisco,SFOBayBridge — Towse @ 6:30 pm

Sunny day outside, if you’re not paddling on the Bay.

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November 1, 2007

for those interested in Cupcakes, Cats, Shooz, Miscellaneous Obsessions, and Assorted Multislackery, esp. the cupcakes …

Filed under: food,photographs,San Francisco — Towse @ 8:38 pm

For Miz UV who writes about Cupcakes, Cats, Shooz, Miscellaneous Obsessions, and Assorted Multislackery here be a link to the San Francisco Cupcake Tour with pictures!

[via EaterSF]

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October 31, 2007

I felt the earth move …

Filed under: food,life,quakes,San Francisco — Towse @ 6:11 am

We walked the 1.7mi or so down to Postrio for a 7p dinner so we could use a gift certificate we placed the winning bid on at a non-profit event last June. The certificate was good for a chef’s tasting menu for two. We splurged on the wine pairing with the meal and were well into dinner when I felt my chair give a shake.

“Earthquake,” I said to his nibs. He nodded.

My chair shook again. “A good earthquake,” I said. He nodded again.

My chair shook a third time and we looked up to see the inside of the light fixture above us begin to sway. The light fixture itself was locked in solid.

The shaking stopped and as we always do, we began to guess what the magnitude had been. I guessed a 3.2 somewhere in the near East Bay.

No one in the restaurant seemed fazed by it all. The women sitting next to us mentioned it to the waiter. “You probably just had too much to drink,” he replied.

re the magnitude Turns out I was nowhere near: the quake was a a magnitude 5.6. 5 miles NNE of Alum Rock, CA (in East San Jose, up in the hills where I grew up). 9.2 km (5.7 miles) deep. Lasted quite a while too. We didn’t feel the quake as strongly as we would’ve if the quake had been shallower.

We haven’t had anything as strong as a magnitude 5.6 in quite a while.

Hadn’t seen this at the USGS site before. His nibs says he’d seen it: it’s a relatively recent addition to their set of earthquake goodies:

Real-time Forecast of Earthquake Hazard: Maps showing the probability of strong shaking at any location in California within the next 24-hours.

The Web is a wonder.

Update: According to the Chron, the quake was the strongest since the Loma Prieta in October 1989. I thought so last night, but couldn’t find any verification for the gut feel. The Chron also quotes folks saying that this quake, which happened right where the Calaveras splits from the Hayward, might have consequences for spots further north on the fault lines. Batten down those hatches!

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October 30, 2007

Potrero Point power up for vote

Filed under: environmentalism,politics,San Francisco — Towse @ 7:57 pm

The yackyackyack (or some of it) these days on San Francisco blogs, at the Port Commission and in San Francisco newspapers (SFExaminer and SFChronicle) is all about the Potrero Point power station and moves afoot to supplement/replace it.

Even Aaron’s gotten into the spirit of things, making a half-hearted attempt to eliminate the San Francisco Department of the Environment — firing all its employees, keeping only the department director — because Jared Blumenfeld, the director, is against the proposed new natural-gas-burning power plant at Potrero Point.

Ah, the smell of politics in the morning.

What is this proposed power plant and why is it taking so long to make a yay or nay decision?

Well, part of the time delay is due to political maneuvering, part of it is due to neighbors who don’t want any power plant at all in their backyard (although how to shut down the existing Potrero Point power plant without creating the energy resources required by the California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) is a question) and part of it is due to folks, including Jared Blumenfeld mentioned above, who want San Francisco not to build a fueled plant but instead to tap into wind/sun/wave generation to provide the energy required by CAISO and the FEC.