Onward

We've moved to a city with fewer hills. More soon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from San Francisco

More:

At Least It's Green

Into His Own Parade

Ornia Republ

Leaving One Hand Free for Beer

Above: Two men wave flags at the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011. This was the 160th presentation of the annual event.

At Least It's Green

You know when a great time to pick your nose is? When you are not on a float in a parade.

Into His Own Parade

A man carries a sign along the parade route just before the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011. This was the 160th presentation of the annual event.

Ornia Republ

Parade participants carry a large "California Republic" flag during the St. Patrick's Day event in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011.

Leaving One Hand Free for Beer

A parade participant supports a giant flag during the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011. This was the 160th presentation of the annual event.

Word on the Street, Geary Edition

Like Michelangelo, but not upside down.

It's All Fun, Until Someone Throws a Guitar Out the Window

Our neighbors came home at 2 a.m., put on "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" at a high volume, and started a party that would continue all night.

Then, by midday today, joy turned to tears as the blood-curdling screams and cussing began. (This is not the first time they've done this.)

A few minutes ago, she threw his guitar out of their 10th-floor window.

Food in San Francisco: Places We Won't Revisit

San Francisco has some of the best food in the world. I say that after having lived in Manhattan. There are many, many places that provide truly excellent eats.

But there's also more tolerance for restaurants with low standards. Places that get away with a level of quality that is just not up to the prices they charge. There are many restaurants that would get chased out of town in New York by the more competitive place down the street, but thrive here.

(The worst: places that get by on location. For example: The Four Seas restaurant in Chinatown. Our experience there was terrible. Do not go, under any conditions.)

We've also experienced other restaurants here that are consistently voted "best" but ... maybe coast a bit. Mamacita's on Chestnut? We arrived two minutes before 5 p.m., and -- along with the other folks who'd shown up a few minutes early -- were treated as if we were imposing on the somewhat unfriendly greeters. Quite rude of us to show up, hungry with cash in hand.

I love San Francisco's laid back attitude, but ... waiters, if you see a hungry-looking guy push away his plate with more than half left uneaten, and he makes a face when you ask if you should box it, you might want to ask if it was okay. Because it wasn't.

Bar Crudo on Divisadero? I like the look. The food was fine, though not fantastic. But we stopped at appetizers instead of staying for dinner because your waitress showed up with her personal issues on display. I do not care if your boyfriend is a jerk, give me the damn horseradish without rudeness ... and I won't write out a note to your boss on the credit card receipt about your rudeness. When you're the type of restaurant that gets by on vibe ... create a positive vibe.

Above: a place I will be going back to, David's Delicatessen on Geary.

Sequence

The photo above shows the five-frame sequence for this photo.

And Everything in its Place

Some visuals don't leave me confident that everything is under control.

Shoulda Put a Ring On It

Oh, I guess you did.

My Alcatraz Photo #3

This is the third in the "My Alcatraz Photo" series in which people and animals block my view of the island.

How to Calibrate the Sekonic L-308DC

Sekonic created a great new light meter. It basically updates the Sekonic L-308s with new features aimed at filmmakers using DSLR and hybrid cameras. Sekonic calls this DigiCine or Digital Cinema. In other words, they've added a cool new HD Cine Mode.

Great.

But the instruction manual ... is not so great. And it shipped with a typo, even.

So, here's how you calibrate the Sekonic DigiCineMate L-308DC (DigiCine) meter.

1. Turn the meter off.

2. Hold down the ISO button and the Power button (these are marked with red lines on the left side of the photo above).

3. Now the meter will start, and you'll see it say "CAL" and "0.0" in the display.

4. Adjust the amount you want to calibrate the meter using the buttons on the right side of the unit (these are marked with red lines on the right side of the photo above).

5. Now, turn the meter off by pressing the Power button.

6. Wait 6 seconds, just because. Now, when you turn the meter on again it will be calibrated as you've set it.

Word on the Street, Below the Line Edition

This was in Pacific Heights.

Flagging

Lately, we've had what they call kite-flying weather.