F*ck You. Pay Me. By Mike Monteiro

If you’re a freelancer or small business owner you should check this out. It’s a great talk by Mike Monteiro, Design Director and co-founder of Mule Design Studio, on the benefits of having a contract. It was filmed on March 25th, 2011, as part of the Creative Mornings (San Francisco) sessions. There’s a followup blog post, here.

This talk is specific to the design industry, but it’s good advice for everyone.

Vimeo Link | via Swiss Miss

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Meeting Regarding GGNRA Ban of Off-Leash Dog Walking

As a followup to my post the other day concerning the potential loss of off-leash dog walking in parks and beaches maintained by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), I wanted to mention that there’s a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow night (3/10/2011). Item #2 on their agenda deals with the proposed GGNRA plan. I encourage all Bay Area dog-lovers to attend and show your support.

March 10th, 2011
Board of Supervisors Meeting (5:30pm)
San Francisco City Hall, Room #408
GGNRA item is second on the agenda (probably starting around 6:30pm)

You can find additional information on the Facebook calendar event.

Save Off-Leash Dog Walking in the San Francisco Bay Area

Maggie Moo at Fort Funston

I moved to San Francisco in 2003, and I’ve always taken our dogs to Fort Funston – a wonderful off-leash beach about 20 minutes away from our house. The picture (above) is our dog, Maggie Moo, enjoying some time on the beach.

Although San Francisco is generally fairly dog friendly, there actually aren’t that many off-leash areas, especially close to the city, so we really treasure Fort Funston.

On January 14th, 2011, the National Park Service released a massive 2,400 page draft Dog Management Plan for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) for public review. Basically, this proposed plan aims to severely restrict dog walking and eliminate off-leash areas within the GGNRA, including Fort Funston, Ocean Beach, Crissy Field, the Marin Headlands, Muir Beach, Sweeney Ridge, Baker Beach, Mori Point, Lands End, and other locations that have welcomed dogs for decades.

As a dog lover, who only has a limited number of off-leash areas available, the prospect of this plan passing is extremely disturbing. Currently, dogs are only allowed in about 1% of the GGNRA, so it’s absolutely astounding to me that they’re looking to take most (or all) of these areas away from us.

The draft-plan was originally released for a 90 day public review and comment period, which has now been extended to May 29, 2011. I strongly encourage all dog owners to get involved and voice your concern over this proposition. Basically, speak now or forever hold your leash.

I’ve included links below for the draft plan, maps, and other helpful information. I also encourage everyone to show your support by attending one of the public rallys / meetings.

March 7th, 2011 (4:00pm – 8:00pm)
GGNRA Open House Meeting
Public Rally outside at 5:30pm
Lower Level, Fort Mason Center, Building D, San Francisco

March 9th, 2011 (4:00pm – 8:00pm)
GGNRA Open House Meeting
Cabrillo High School, Pacifica

March 10th, 2011 (5:30pm)
SF Animal Control and Welfare Commission Meeting
San Francisco City Hall, Room #408
GGNRA item is second on the agenda (probably starting around 6:30pm)
Facebook Event

April 11th, 2011 (1:00pm)
Board of Supervisors Land Use Hearing re GGNRA Dog Plan
San Francisco City Hall, Committee Room 263
Facebook Event

May 29th, 2011
Deadline for public comments regarding the GGNRA Dog Plan

GGNRA LINKS:

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

San Francisco Typographic Map

San Francisco Typographic Map Overview

San Francisco Typographic Map Detail

Axis Maps is custom cartography company located in Hewitt, Texas. Among a variety of other services, they’ve also made some super-cool maps made entirely of type. They’ve had typographic maps for Boston and Chicago, and they just recently released one for San Francisco. It looks very cool!

The map is available through Zazzle.com. There’s four sizes to choose from, ranging from 16″ x 11″ ($14.95) to a colossal 78″ x 52″ ($195.25).

via Laughing Squid

Wow, the price of gas sure dropped quick!

Gas is 1.83 in San Francisco

The gas station on the corner by our house is selling gas for $1.83 per gallon. It seems like just a few months ago that it was pushing $5 per gallon here in San Francisco. It boggles my mind that the price could drop so quickly. Of course, it also boggled my mind listening to the oil companies say they had to raise prices due to supply, at the same time they were posting all-time record profits (scum suckers).

As much as it annoyed me that it took almost $50 to fill up our little Toyota Echo, I actually thought high gas prices were a good thing. I felt bad for those people who legitimately had to drive large vehicles long distances, but I think it made most people re-evaluate their driving habits. People began to realize they could actually drive less, take public transportation, carpool, and possibly even walk occasionally (heaven forbid). They also started to reconsider what kind of car they may buy next time around.

I’m a little worried that people tend to have very short memories. Falling gas prices may mean that many people go back to their same old bad habits. I hope not.

Emeryville Ikea will recycle your electronics for free on Jan. 19th and 20th

I meant to write about this earlier but it totally snuck up on me.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and you have some electronics you’ve been meaning to get rid of, here’s your chance to do it responsibly. This weekend (January 19th and 20th, 2008) the Ikea store in Emeryville will be taking in electronic waste and recycling it for free…

“Bring your Electronic Waste to IKEA Emeryville on January 19th & 20th from 9am – 3pm and Recycle it for FREE!

Don’t let these items clutter up your home or end up in the land fill…

Televisions Monitors, Computer systems, Copy machines, Fax Machines, Printers, MP3 Players, Scanners, Video Game Consoles, Video Games, Cellular Phones (batteries can be included), Household phones, Stereo Equipment, Miscellaneous wiring, CD’s (players and discs), DVD’s (players and discs), Computer components ( i.e. keyboards, mice, internet devices etc.)”

If you live near an Ikea you should check to see if your store is doing the same thing.