Skip to content

Category Archives: Rants

Symbolic Speech and the First Amendment

There has been a lot of moral and political uproar in my network over the Live Oak High School incident on Wednesday. While I chose to engage a few comment threads on the subject, I made an effort to argue only on the constitutionality of the school official’s decision to censor a few student’s symbolic […]

What Would You Do with 5000 Barrels a Day?

I just worked out some fun figures to lend perspective to the amount of crude oil hemorrhaging into the Gulf of Mexico every day: It’s the volume of 35 average bedrooms (100 sq ft) filled up to the ceiling. If people could eat crude oil, the daily spillage could sustain Chicago. The gasoline that could […]

Summer Crowds

I love summer. I love summer fruit at the peak of flavor, which I purchase to be eaten by next breakfast. I love sailing on my bicycle through the heady aromas and seductive botanical pageantry along mountain roads. I do not, absolutely do not love summer crowds. The malls and markets of summer are flush […]

What’s your Greatest Weakness?, Pt. 2

Additionally, interviewers: I don’t see the advantage of putting the spotlight on your candidate’s major flaws: What if an 18th century Marshall of France looked at a Corsican cadet’s diminutive stature and said, “Je suis desolé, Napoleon, but you just don’t command the presence of an officer.” Benjamin Franklin was reported to be a robust […]

Intersection Drama

I was idling in my pedals at the intersection of Fremont and Mary, when my wandering thoughts were interrupted by a loud blaring noise. Someone is sounding their horn in the car directly behind me. My eyes shot up to the traffic signal, which was still red. There was the horn again — not a […]

If God Exists, So What?

I’m agnostic, meaning I fail to deny that God exists. Sorry, I just don’t have the same conviction as many of my friends and indeed most of my family. Just so you know that I’m not a completely useless fence-sitter, I admit I think religion is a cancerous blight on human potential. After repeatedly banging […]

Stolen!

I locked up my road bike in Union Square for the dinner hour. I came back sometime later, and my baby was quite thoroughly vanished. Needless to say I’m distraught, but I’m even more annoyed. I’ve never been totally comfortable in San Francisco, but now my entire vacation will be colored by insecurity as well […]

Don’t Mess with Musicians!

This post is about musicians and the ex lovers they write about. Dating an artist is such an interesting experience, I think everyone should try it once. Artists are often unusual in appearance and outlook, and therefore offer a break from what may otherwise be a drab and unremarkable existence. I chose my wording carefully […]

Riding Like Asshole Will Eventually Get You Killed

About two years ago, of all possible things, I was nearly killled by an ambulance truck. It was certainly stupid of me to ride my bicycle on the wrong side of the road, and it’s a mistake I thereafter forever kicked. Anyway, I’m cruising south on” M” Street from school, against traffic, and I see […]