For those of you who care, I’ve finally posted pictures and text from that LA trip in February…

Oh good God. Fortunately, none of the restaurants I frequent have the audacity to ask me “what kind” of water I want with my meal. I’ve also been very good about not patronizing coffee shops which prefer to argue that they don’t have a “large” size rather than just sell me a fucking cup of coffee…

In my annual review at work this week, my boss commented that I seem much less bitter and cynical than I used to lately. Just thought I’d throw that in…

So funny I may burst into tears: AT&T, which is probably responsible for more annoying, unsolicited telemarketing calls than any other company in the US, has been selected to manage the FTC’s new nationwide “do not call” list, designed to REDUCE the number of telemarketing calls. Government in action, I guess…

By the way, I forgot to point you toward Mark’s essay on domestic terrorism in San Francisco. It’s a good read; of course, I got to hear it in person, with musical accompaniment…

This morning, I received an emailed form letter from some idiot taking me to task for supporting the protests in San Francisco and “giving comfort to the enemy” or some such claptrap. It was pretty much the last thing I expected since I made a pretty loud statement AGAINST the protesters earlier this week. It’s proof, I guess, that there are lunkheads on all sides of this issue…

I ain’t leaving the house today, what with Hypocritical Mess being joined by Bikes Not Bombs (I’ve decided to join forces with the guy next door who fixes timepieces and start a group called “Clocks Not Clichés”), the Giants season-opener, and a whole lot of ill-timed construction starting all at once…

Anyone interested in starting a “help David and Mark escape San Francisco” fund?

I’ve been filled with a rather seething rage for the past week or so and haven’t really had the time nor the attention span to write about it. I’m not thrilled about this war thing, which should be rather obvious. No sane person gets all gushy and excited about the prospect of war; it’s a dirty — if sometimes necessary — business. But my opinion on the war is irrelevant; my beef is with the protesters who are hell-bent on taking San Francisco hostage by deciding that their “right” to “free speech” supercedes the rights of thousands of others to live their lives and support their families…

And I’m outraged that very few local commentators seem to recognize the precedent we’re setting by allowing this to happen. Sure, there are plenty of tepid condemnations (“While I understand their frustration, I don’t wholeheartedly endorse their actions, even though I sympathize with them.”) and occasional outbursts by overgrown frat boys who have no more understanding of law and order than the protesters they condemn, but disturbingly few powerful voices in San Francisco have had the courage to point out that the terrorist acts committed here last week are unaccpetable, period. I don’t give a good goddamn about whatever “good intentions” the protesters (and their wimpy defenders) may think they have. It bothers me greatly that Willie Brown seems to be the most sensible politician in town this week…

The day before the protests last week, I wrote this rant, and I’m just getting around to posting it today. I still think it holds up pretty well. If you don’t want the long version, a synopsis would include the following:

• Current protest theory seems to center around inconveniencing as many people as possible. This strategy is doomed to backfire.
• Anti-war protesters (specifically “civil disobedients”) in San Francisco seem to believe that their right to break the law supercedes the rights of others not to.
• Facets of the peace movement are pushing an entire “bill of goods”, most of which has nothing to do with the current situation in Iraq.
• Those who use tactics involving force, violence, or destruction of property are terrorists and should be treated as such. Period.

On the lighter side, the DVD releases of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and the first season of “Futurama” (released yesterday) are quite wonderful and are highly recommended. A sense of humor is a good thing…