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A Decade In Review, Part II: LSG in the Aughts

December 31, 2009 – 7:55 pm

Against this chaotic backdrop of great and difficult change, I lived and I thrived. Looking back, I feel that I managed to experience and accomplish a tremendous amount of which I am very proud, and for which I am even more grateful. Before I launch into that list, I want to take a moment to remind myself just how fortunate I am — by virtue of my class, my sex and gender, my skin color, my health — to have the freedom and the means to be able to craft my life as I see fit. I try not to take this for granted, and this awareness keeps me honest and engaged.

So, finally, what the heck have I been doing for the past 10 years? On the most broad and basic level, I have been striving for health and happiness. I consider these two criteria my guideposts and have used them to make all of the big decisions in my life, and in the past decade. For me, my living situation plays a huge role in both my health and happiness, so perhaps that is a good place to start. I basically split the decade between two states, Vermont and California, living in 8 different domiciles with 9 different housemates. Notably, at the tender age of 31, I moved into my own apartment for the first time. I don’t necessarily view myself as much of an “adult,” but moving into my own cottage in Oakland felt pretty damn grown up, and I still have the good fortune to live alone in my own glorious space.

Despite my domestic tendencies, the Aughts were a decade of global travel for me. I visited 9 other countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, England, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan, in that order. Often my motivation for travel was to visit the sites of ancient cultures, something I find quite stimulating, and I managed to see quite a few: Macchu Pichu and Sacsayhuaman in Peru, Angkor in Cambodia, Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Palenque, Chilula and Tenochtitlan in Mexico, Stonehenge & Avebury Henge in England (not to mention Westminster Abbey, which feels like an ancient culture to me) and many sites in Japan including the ancient Japanese capital of Nara and the Ryokan-ji zen garden in Kyoto. It wasn’t all fun and games, though. I did manage to get all of my stuff stolen in Oaxaca, Mexico. Aiy.

While I was home, I certainly kept myself busy. Primary among my hobbies was music. I played dozens of gigs and 4 different instruments (voice, percussion, synthesizer/electronics and guitar) in 5 different bands (The Helicopter Consortium, Ekis, Deep Soda, Leon Tubbs and The Real Numbers), not to mention all the one-offs and sit-ins with other bands. Most gratifying was that I began writing music in earnest late in the decade, as well as studying guitar and music theory, both of which had been a long time in the making. I also came to realize, after a nearly 5 year hiatus from performing, that I dearly missed creating music with others and sharing that music on the stage. I’ve come to accept that creating music on some level will always be a part of my life, irregardless of circumstances or outcomes. Music is the best.

Other hobbies? Sure, I had ‘em. I made sauerkraut, which fulfilled a long-time dream of mine. At the very start of the decade, I built myself a computer from a hand-selected set of components. I converted a diesel mercedes to run on vegetable oil and proceeded to drive it across 5000 miles across the country, 3500 of which were on scavenged oil. Of course, shortly after I moved to San Francisco I sold my dear Philly and have been living without a car for the 4 years since. To compensate, I built a fixed gear bicycle from an abandoned frame I found on the street one night in Oakland. Eventually, though, I bought a bike with some gears and began my initial forays into bike touring. And there was a bunch of other stuff, too: I started this here humble blog, I read dozens of books and discovered a deep love for graphic novels, etc., etc.

The Aughts weren’t all fun and games, though. I did have to earn a living along the way. Thankfully I was able to do so through employment that was, on the whole, fulfilling, enjoyable and meaningful. I’ve even stumbled onto a career of sorts. No small feat for someone never inclined towards the career track. I started the decade farming during the day and tending bar at a music venue at night. Along the way, I taught myself web development, graphic design, and basic database design, and ran my own freelance design business for 3 years. After packing it all up and moving out west, somehow I stumbled into the public sector. At StopWaste.Org I discovered the fascinating field of waste management which proved a practical application of my ecology degree and provided the opportunity to teach composting and gardening classes, among many other things. And now, I’m finishing the decade doing web marketing for San Francisco Department of the Environment. To be honest, I couldn’t be happier with where I am at professionally. If I gotta work, this is a great gig doing great work with good people.

Ah, people. None of this has happened in a social vacuum. Family and friends have been with me through the ups and downs of a decade. I welcomed a nephew and a niece and another niece into the world. With great sadness, I said goodbye to my last grandparent, Alice Dufford. I’ve watched my sister grow into a wonderful mother with her incredible husband, and went to AA meetings with my brother as he finally achieved sobriety, 5 years and counting, with the help of his own amazing partner. All in all, there were some seriously rocky times for my nuclear family, but somehow or another, we’ve muddled through it all with some deep breaths and gritty love. Mom and Dad, I haven’t said it enough. Thank you and I love you.

Beyond family, I’m truly blessed to have a very strong circle of friends whom I’ve known, in some cases, since the second grade and through high school, college and into adulthood. Leaving Vermont, I left that inner circle, although those people are still a part of my life. I’ve continued to meet many amazing people whom I’ve come to love and cherish, although I can’t help but feel that my social circle is shrinking. Perhaps it is me getting older, or perhaps it is a sign of the times, I can’t quite tell. However, this list would not be complete without also mentioning the fact that I have spent nearly this entire decade without a partner. It’s not for not trying — I have dated dozens of women, and experienced heartache many times over. I’ve kept myself open to possibility, though, and await with open arms what companionship a new decade will bring.

Finally, as this exercise winds down, I circle back to how I began, with health and happiness. The Aughts have been for me a time of experimentation, with diet, with exercise, with altered states. I attended my first 10 day silent meditation retreat at a Vipasanna center in Massachusetts. With a few lapses, I’ve been doing yoga on a nearly weekly basis for the past 10 years, and half of that time I’ve also been lifting weights with some regularity. I also began an almost yearly tradition of the Master Cleanse which I’ve done 4 or 5 times now. Of course, I’ve also had my fair share of sugar and caffeine and greasy, meaty binges, as well as stretches of malaise when I haven’t done much exercise at all, and periods when I was so pent up that meditation felt like a foreign country. You know what? I’m okay with that. I’m trying to trend towards good health and a calm mind, and that works for me.

And that might actually be the right note with which to wrap this whole exercise. There have been times in my life when I have gotten pretty down for not living up to my potential. In the end, I think I am a pretty energized person with many hopes and dreams and plans for my life, and for Life at large. However, it is always a constant struggle to recognize that I am just one person, and I have but one life, a century at the most, in which to live it. While I will continue to push myself to create, express, share, change and bring change, I will also strive for that necessary counterbalance, the ability to simply be, to observe, to feel, and to breath.

I don’t know what the next decade will bring, either for myself or for humanity. I have a dark intuition that it will be another challenging decade, perhaps even more so than the last, one that may force us all to confront a harsh reality and ask what we value most in our lives and in our society. However, with great change comes great opportunity. For my part, by being reflective and aware, I hope I am that more prepared for what lies ahead. In the end, that is really all I can do. And I’m okay with that.

So thanks, Aughts. And here’s to a new, more just and more peaceful decade. May all beings everywhere be happy and free.

By LSG | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

A Decade In Review, Part I: The Aughts

December 31, 2009 – 7:23 pm

A few weeks ago I decided it would be an interesting exercise to recount some of the most memorable experiences I’ve had this decade. As the conventional wisdom goes, the best way to look ahead is to take a look back. So, I started a list, which was easy — following through, however, has been more challenging. My intention was to blog about this list, but aside from myself, who really cares about reading a list of my accomplishments? What should even be considered in the list? Good, bad and/or ugly? And how to prevent such an exercise from being so solipsistic as to become meaningless? After all, without considering the backdrop against which a life is lived, how can one gauge anything at all?

Given all of that, and considering that, from time to time, I do actually think about a picture bigger than my portrait, I’ve come to realize that this blog shall be in two parts: a brief review of the past decade, and a partial recount of my personal decade. In reviewing the decade at large, I hope to observe some major trends that have and will likely continue to shape the fabric of society, including the thread that is my life. In doing so, I wish to lay the ground work for a clearer perspective on myself and my times so that I might be best prepared for the next decade to come.

Part I: The Aughts

In thinking about the decade known to some as the “Aughts,” I have wondered why I didn’t write something similar about the decade known as the ’90s. Looking back at my journal from that time doesn’t reveal much. I do remember being caught up in the Y2K craze, wondering if this might not be the end of civilization as we knew it, but then again, I’m kind of susceptible to those “sky is falling” scenarios. As it turns out, though, I’m facing the close of this decade with a fair amount more introspection than the last time around. I suppose that 10 years in a life, especially 10 years in the first half of a life, can significantly alter how one processes the passage of time. And, quite frankly, I think the period of my life between 25 and 35 was a bit more exciting than that between 15 and 25. However, one thing that I am certain of is that I did not have the same platform upon which to process and broadcast in 1999 as we all do today, which brings me to my first observation…

One of the great societal shifts to occur over the last 10 years has been the rapid externalizations of our lives. Technology, and, specifically, the Internet, has transformed how we interact with each other, and even how we see ourselves. It has enabled us, with simple access to a web-connected computer, to broadcast our heartfelt convictions, creative expressions or trifling whims and fancies to an audience of potential millions. In the year 2000, there were no online social networks to speak of — today, through the evolution from Friendster to MySpace to Facebook, one could argue that we have too many. Likewise, since their inception early in the decade, blogging has become everything from hapless fun to a legitimate form of journalism. Video technology now empowers anyone with a few bucks to craft their own story in moving images. And, for better or worse, our virtual inbox has expanded from simple email to include text messages, social network messages, Twitter, all on top of the relics of snail mail and voice mail.

I see this unprecedented access to communications platforms as one of the last great hopes for freedom and democracy, but, ironically, also a great threat to free thought and collective action. Given the corporate control of traditional media outlets such as television, film and radio, outsider or “fringe” culture has never been able to communicate their messages to the degree that is now possible. Further, our newfound digital connections have enabled members of far flung subcultures to find each other and share, create, organize. Consequently, we’ve seen new levels of accountability for our leaders, if not downright revolutions waged with these tools. The downside to this ability to broadcast, beyond creating such menial, if not at times hilarious memes like LOLcats, is that we are witnessing the continued splintering of social groups. Perhaps more disturbing, however, is the self-fulfilling reinforcement of peronsl beliefs due to our new ability to conciously segregate ourselves by filtering information we receive according to our worldviews. With the ability to select our own version of “news” tailored to fit our pre-conceived notions and minimize cognitive dissonance, i.e. displeasure, I fear that we a breeding mental inflexibility that could result in a frightening era of fundamentalism.

The evolution of technology in the Aughts was not restricted to the Internet. This decade might well be considering the decade of mobile. Ephemeralization, the process of doing more with less as observed and coined by Buckminster Fuller, has been hard at work and well in hand over the past 10 years. What began the decade as a pleasant convenience that served a simple function — making and recieving phone calls without being tied to a landline — has metamorphosed into the handheld communicator envisioned by Gene Roddenberry in Star Trek three decades prior. Now, the ability to capture a moment, in sound, image or video, lies at the tips of our fingers, and the concomitant privacy issues have changed human relations forever. From the mainstreaming of pornography to the accountability of the political class, I still don’t think we’ve come to understand how differently our lives will be in mobile age, to speak nothing about how geo-location will play out in the coming decade.

These are some of the bigger trends that I’ve seen impacting humanity as we know it. Of course, so much more transpired in the Aughts. At the start of the decade, and now at the end, terror came home to America and America went back to war, as if we ever really left it behind. The next great environmental threat of climate change was handed to the next unsuspecting generation to confront, which kick-started a new movement for sustainability, along with new levels of apathy and ecological detachment. Our political system continued its long, slow merger with the private sector, much to the chagrin of independent political observers, and much to the detriment of everyone but the nation’s wealthiest. That same private sector presided over the further destabilization of the global economy thanks to trading in utterly abstract and absolutely worthless financial products. In the same decade, America elected to the office of President the first black man as well as what may have been the most average man ever to hold the office. Many icons passed on — Michael Jackson, George Harrison, Ted Kennedy, Terence McKenna, to name a few. And unfortunately, reality TV made it that much easier for no-talents to replace these luminaries in the pantheon of public consciousness.

And so on. I could continue, but I need to stop somewhere, as does this decade. Up next, Part II: LSG in the Aughts

By LSG | Posted in At Home, Technology, The Future | Leave a Comment

My Fave Albums of the Aughts

December 29, 2009 – 2:28 pm

Well, better late than never. But I’m not late just yet…two more days left in the decade known as the “Aughts”. Or something. Actually, who really knows what to call this decade, or what the hell happened during the last 10 years. Let’s face it, it was a weird one. I’m working on compiling my thoughts (and deeds!), but for now, at the prompting of my pal Casey at The Contrarian, here are my favorite and/or most listened to albums of the Aughts. I may have missed the deadline at The Contrarian, and my list might be a bit different than all the critical “top 10″ lists floating around out there, but, hey, this is my list and my blog. So enjoy!

PS – looking over these selections, you would think I stopped listening to new music circa 2005. I assure you, this is not the case. These albums just had a headstart…

PPS – I really wish I could have embedded the LaLa.com player for each album on this post instead of the rather unsatisfying link. However, after a half-decade, I’ve come to realize that WordPress sucks. Imma movin’ to Blogger come 2010, you betta!

Tool – Lateralus [2000] listen >>
I remember loving Tool’s big ’90s hit, “Sober,” but it wasn’t until Lateralus that I finally grokked the fact that Tool are a straight-up prog band wrapped in the more fashionable cloak of heavy rock. This album is cohesive, instrospective and badass. Long live Maynard, Danny and the boys. I might also mention that seeing tool at the Oakland Arena in 2005 may have been my arena rock moment of the decade.

Ween – White Pepper [2000] listen >>
There was a point in time when this album was the defacto soundtrack for the apartment I shared with DJ Ranztron in Burlington, Vermont. Sure, there was some serious competition with Curtis Live! and The Redheaded Stranger, but somehow or another, the wide girth of White Pepper was the perfect mix of weirdo pop for that moment in time, and many others to come.

RJD2 – Dead Ringer [2002] listen >>
Nas may famously (and accurately) commented that “Hip Hop is Dead,” but it sure wasn’t down or out. Hip hop beats that crept into otherwise poppy 90’s tracks were on display full force in the Aughts. But only DJs like RJD2 and Shadow who continued to innovate with the form kept my attention. Dead Ringer is a head noddin’ treat from start to finish.

The Roots – Phrenology [2002] listen >>
I think this is the album when the Roots finally embraced the fact that they are a rock ‘n’ roll band who plays hip hop. Evidence? The first guitar player to join the lineup, a straight up thrash track, and a blisteringly soulful collaboration with Cody ChestnuTT, “The Seed (2.0).” The rhymes didn’t disappear, but on Phrenology the Roots opened the floodgates and upped their game for real.

Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [2002] listen >>
I remember seeing Wilco back in 1998 at my old stomping grounds of Higher Ground in Vermont. My reaction? A shrug of the shoulders and a disinterested “meh,” despite my love of classic Country & Western. Now, if Wilco had been playing the kind of edgy, emotional alt-country that comprises Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, my reaction would have been very different. Jeff Tweedy’s change of course on this album changed my mind about Wilco.

The Jayhawks – Rainy Day Music [2003] listen >>
In case you don’t know, I love melody. Big melody. Vocal hooks galore. Never one to disappoint, Gary Louris packed what was to be The Jayhawk’s last album, Rainy Day Music, with so much heartbreakingly beautiful harmony that the album nearly makes my computer weep with joy. “All the Right Reasons” may be the best alt-country love song of the decade.

The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow [2003] listen >>
With so much indie being, in large part for me, predictable and derivative, Chutes Too Narrow snuck into my music library and knocked my socks off. I missed their debut, but this album endeared me to The Shins  — smart lyrics, simple yet solid musicianship, beautiful arrangements, and unforgettably, undeniably something new.

Green Day – American Idiot [2004] listen >>
So there are a lot of kids from the Gilman St. days who are gritting their teeth right at this entry, but clearly I’m not one of them. American Idiot packs such a potent punch of so much that I love — tight arrangements, searing melody, political dissidence — that it finally earned Green Day my respect.

The Polyphonic Spree - Together, We’re Heavy [2004] listen >>
For the life of me, I can’t remember where I discovered The Polyphonic Spree. It was almost as if they found me through the intertubes for the sole purpose of embedding their joyous cacophony directly into my neocortex for the span of 6 continuous months. During that time, I could listen to nothing else; I could sing nothing else walking down the street; my housemate Evan and I would stage Spree singalongs at his piano. Suffice to say, Together, We’re Heavy took the title track of Sgt. Pepper’s and adapted it for the Aughts and for that, I thank you, Spree.

Spoon – Gimme Fiction [2005] listen >>
Like other artists in this lists, I came late to the Spoon bandwagon, too. Actually, it wasn’t until I saw an absurd video of an adorable yellow robot dancing to “I Turn My Camera On” that I was moved to seek out what is now one of my favorite rock acts. Gimme Fiction gives us Spoon at a turning point in their career and creativity. Marking the move from memorable indie edge to an unforgettable something bigger and even more bold, this album put Spoon on my map and in constant rotation.

Benji Hughes – A Love Extreme [2008] listen >>
Eletctro-freak-funk-hick-pop at it’s best. Yes, he sounds like Beck. No, he doesn’t look like you would expect him to. Get over it and get into it. He had the guts to put out a debut double album that nails it…pretty much. I can’t say that this album is 25-tracks solid, but I can tell you that the 93% that works is a beautiful thing. After all, it’s all about the Love.

Special Re-Issue Mention: The Beatles – Let It Be…Naked [2003] read >>
I’m including this album because, well, I love it. Cheers to Paul for having the courage to go back into the studio — with George’s permission before he died, although I’m not sure if he even asked Ringo — to expunge the heinous crimes of Phil Spector, and put out an unbelievable re-issue which was just a taste of what was to come.

Honorable Mentions:

Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbers Days
Animal Collective - Feels
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
The Feeling – Twelve Stops & Home
Hot Chip - The Warning
Danger Mouse – The Grey Album
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

By LSG | Posted in Music | Comments (1)

“Freezer Cash” Congressman Gets 13 Years

November 14, 2009 – 3:56 pm

jefferson_sentenced, originally uploaded by noveltimes.

Another one bites the dust, or the pie crust, as the case may be. This time, though, it’s a Democrat. From the BBC:

A former US congressman famously caught with $90,000 (£54,000) in cash in his freezer, has been sentenced to 13 years for bribery and money laundering.

William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat who served for nearly 20 years, was convicted in August of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.

The best part of the story? Dude hid the money in his freezer:

In August that year [2005], FBI agents found the money in his freezer, wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of pie crust.

And so, this story clearly illustrates that both corruption AND stupidity extend both ways across the aisle. Stupid Republicrats.

By LSG | Posted in Politics, U.S. of A. | Leave a Comment

Online Outreach: Getting Started on the Cheap & Easy

November 11, 2009 – 1:43 pm

Last week I made the trek to Sacramento to present at the CIWMB/DTSC Household Hazardous Waste/Used Oil conference. After giving a presentation with two of my co-workers a few months ago at a regional HHW information exchange about the outreach work we do at SF Environment, the bigwigs at CIWMB asked us to do it again at the statewide conference. It was a great opportunity, and our panel (“Making HazWaste Hip”) was very well received. Here’s my presentation…

By LSG | Posted in At Work | Leave a Comment

Crushin’ Concrete

October 25, 2009 – 10:50 pm

This weekend I had the perverse pleasure of wielding a badass gas-powered saw to tear up the concrete that blankets the backyard of my friend Jon’s new home. Even with the diamond tipped blade it was still slow-going, hard work. We didn’t finish, but we did make some major cuts and create some sweet urbanite bricks for Jon’s front yard. Here are some pictures of the process, including a guest cameo by none other than Justin Lehrer late in the day.

By LSG | Posted in The Urban Environment | Leave a Comment

A Tap Water Pilgrimage to Hetch Hetchy

October 23, 2009 – 6:07 pm

(This post originally appeared in the SF Environment blog on SFgate.com/green just last week and is based on a true story.)

We’ve got great tap water here in San Francisco, but do you know where it comes from? What’s more, have you ever been there? After five years in the Bay Area, I finally had the chance to visit my tap water at its source in the Hetch Hetchy valley of the Sierra Nevada. My name is Lawrence Grodeska, and I’m the Internet Communications Coordinator at SF Environment, and this is the story of one man and his quest for connection with his water supply.

Early one Friday morning about a month ago, I left San Francisco with two friends for a weekend of backpacking. We drove due east for 4 hours and finally hit the trailhead at O’Shaughnessy Dam, the gateway to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. At 312 feet, the dam itself does not have the impact of the Hoover Dam (726 feet!), but O’Shaughnessy’s story is the stuff of legend.

In 1913, from a proposal by then San Francisco Mayor James Phelan, and aided by lobbying efforts of national proponents of the development of natural resources, Congress passed the Raker Act. The Act granted SF “certain rights of way in, over and through certain public lands, the Yosemite National Park, and Stanislaus National Forest…and the public lands in the State of California, and for other purposes.”

Those “other purposes” boiled down to the rights to flood the Hetch Hetchy valley to create a water-and-power system for the City & County of San Francisco. Situated in a pristine canyon in the northwest of Yosemite, the steep canyon walls were ideal conditions for a reservoir. The Army Corps of Engineers built the O’Shaughnessy Dam over the span of 7 years, battling rugged terrain and harsh elements, as well as the strong protests of fabled conservationist John Muir, to complete the dam in 1923.

I had long been curious to see Hetch Hetchy, the source of the water that comes out of our San Francisco faucets so consistently and deliciously. Perhaps it was the curiously alluring name – apparently the Central Miwok word for a common edible grass in the valley. Or maybe the contentious issue of who should profit from the water system, or even the engineering feats necessary to deliver such a municipal gift across 190 miles. More than anything, however, being an urban dweller removed from the source of his sustenance, I considered a visit to my water supply a pilgrimage of sorts.

Finally stepping onto the O’Shaughnessy Dam that day, backpack and all, I could feel the collective effort that was harnessed to create this enduring tribute to humanity’s ingenuity and brash survival instincts. My three short days of exploring the upper reaches of my watershed paled in comparison to that herculean effort, but I felt proud to be getting in touch with my water, and very eager to trace that water upstream.

After our initial admiration subsided, we trekked through the dry, hot heat of late summer in the Sierra. Thanks to the Raker Act, we had to trek an extra mile! The Act established some strict criteria for the protection of San Francisco’s water supply which are followed to this day. “No person shall bathe, wash clothes or cooking utensils [in, or] any way pollute, the water within the limits of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir…or in the streams leading thereto, within one mile of said reservoir.” Despite the impassioned pleas of park Rangers upon entering Yosemite, we met a few folks on the trail who were still incredulous about the strict nature of these provisions. Maybe they’ve never drank unfiltered San Francisco tap water, because I think that is all the justification necessary.

Camping at Las Rancheria Falls that night was quite a treat. The small meadow situated at 5000 feet elevation was a perfect spot for taking in the late summer stars so resplendent during the new moon. It may sound like a tall tale, but that weekend I saw the most spectacular shooting star I have ever seen. I even learned a few new constellations with my trusty star chart, including the king, Cepheus.

The biggest delight of all, however, was bearing witness to the hydrological cycle that brings San Franciscans their water every day. There is a foot bridge which crosses Rancheria Falls, above which swimming is finally permitted in a spectacular swimming hole, chiseled by eons of sediment flow. I lingered long at this spot, but being the intrepid explorer, I needed to push further. Bushwhacking over a ridge and dropping back into the river bed, I found a long string of smaller, serene pools and plenty of smooth, wide rocks for sun bathing.

I spent most of my Saturday lounging about the upper reaches of this tributary to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, a welcome opportunity to divest myself from the cares and concerns of life in the city. Relaxing on the rocks, dipping in and out of the stream, letting the ripples of sound wash over me, I was gently reminded of why water has been called the “molecule of life”. The very biochemistry of life on planet Earth depends upon the unique features of the water molecule.

I’ve always felt drawn to bodies of water, from swimming holes and streams to lakes and oceans. Whatever the reasons for water’s magnetism – basic chemistry or simple soothing pull – I did have a different perspective of Hetch Hetchy as I descended back into the valley on Sunday. Taking in the whole of the reservoir, in all its splendor and conundrum, I was grateful to know a bit more about the water I depend on everyday. For all the controversy over whether the dam and reservoir should be there and who profits from it, San Franciscans could do a lot worse.

By LSG | Posted in Real Writing, San Francisco, Sustainability | Comments (3)

Hikin’ the Hetch

September 27, 2009 – 11:18 pm

Hetch Hetchy Valley, originally uploaded by noveltimes.

Last weekend I went backpacking up in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Needless to day, it was a great trip – amazing weather, stunning stars, excellent company. I’m actually working on another blog post for work about visiting the source of our water supply here in San Francisco, so I’m going to keep this post short. For now, enjoy the photos I’ve uploaded from the trip.

By LSG | Posted in Nature | Leave a Comment

The Secret Life of Forks

September 24, 2009 – 11:29 pm

It’s an eternal mystery: why are there never any forks in the kitchen at work? And where do they go? Kind of like socks at home, forks at work seem to disappear into thin air. Just today, in a moment of proactive inspiration, I decided to do something about this pressing issue and sent the following email to my co-workers.

Hello All,

As you may know, SF Environment has been experiencing a devastating resource shortage right here in our Grove Street office. Yes, I am talking about the strange and sad disappearance of any and all forks that wander into the abyss of our office kitchens.

To fight this creeping threat to lunches everywhere, I’ve created the SFE “Fork Fund” which can be found atop the microwave in the 3rd floor kitchen. Recently, the School Ed program took bold and drastic action to stem the tide of fork depletion by importing forks raised in captivity by Goodwill Industries. However, this will only stem the tide for so long. Help reimburse School Ed, and start building capacity for our next utensil crisis, by contributing to the Fork Fund today.

Next time you’re on the third floor, drop some coins to save the forks. Your lunch — and your stomach — will thank you.

This message brought to you by SFE Staffers for Fork Preservation. Any funds collected will be used directly for the purchase of more forks, and maybe a few spoons.

Only time will tell if this ploy will work. Wish us luck, dear reader.

By LSG | Posted in At Work, Et Cetera | Leave a Comment

The Real Numbers: Ugly Face

September 22, 2009 – 11:33 pm

Hello. I’ve been trying to post a bit more frequently, and I’m working on a few things. However, for the time being, here’s something I’ve been wanting to share for a while. This tune has been up on our MySpace page for a few months now, but you probably didn’t know that. So here it is, the newest finished track from The Real Numbers, entitled “Ugly Face” (music by Dave Ambrose and words by Andy Freeman):

Expect more soon!

By LSG | Posted in Music | Comments (2)