Chiff and Fipple Forums

Sorry, couldn't tell you about the relative safety of the MUNI lines. The 22 gets mixed reviews on Yelp!, but so does nearly every MUNI route. Sounds like it could at least be . . . interesting. When I lived in SF, I took MUNI all over the place without regard to checking on the route's safety and n...

I've found the Google Transit site to be pretty useful in finding transit options around the Bay Area (something I had to do a lot of over the past week, when the Bay bridge was closed). I took a guess that the motel you were referring to is the Ocean Park Motel (I used to live on Taraval, out towar...

Could just be wax and dirt, as jsluder says. Ear mites, as you note, also cause this - is the cat scratching his ears when you're not doing it for him? That could be a sign of mites, and if the infestation isn't too bad yet you may not see much outward sign. If you see the classic black or brown bui...

. . . according to The Coloradoan , is: the sky! Their headline about tonight's (and tomorrow night's) promising Perseid meteor display: "With Perseids this week, the sky is best place to find a meteor." Well, I guess it's accurate enough. One wonders where the good folks in Colorado had b...

I'd managed to get my facebook page set up quite nicely and was successfully ignoring all the nonsense games and apps that people sent me invites for. Then facebook changed the layout of the front page a few months ago and now they're all appearing again! Very infuriating. Indeed! I quite like the ...

I prefer to think that my cat has perceived something special about me and considers me worthy of her company, rather than that she's tolerating my attention in return for food and rent. I'd feel so used. And still I love her . . . Mine needs - so it would appear - to be around me most of the time....

In response, Microsoft created an OS called WinCE (now called Windows Mobile) ... How long did it take them to notice that " wince " didn't have quite the right cachet? Corporations can have pretty big blind spots in areas like that. Whoever created and now runs the "Super 8" mo...

An interesting idea posited, and reported here in the NY Times . Essentially, these folks propose the idea that cats domesticated themselves; that to benefit from the advantages humanity could offer (lots of vermin to eat, warm safe places to stay), they developed a sort of "disdainful toleranc...

Dale wrote:city officials ignore calls to save 1,500-year-old Indian-built mound

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/07/oxf ... ore_c.html

Destroy an Indian-built mound for a shopping facility? What could possibly go wrong?

These people have never been to the movies, clearly.

My former brother-in-law, who actually works for Apple in their video division, says he recommends HandBrake.

(I haven't used it yet, nor VLC, so have no personal experience to share. Just got an Apple TV, though, so am about to take the plunge.)

I think this short article at NPR does a good job of putting the man and his death in context. He was clearly an exhilarating performer and a pop icon, and tremendously talented. Also an increasingly miserable man, and one who probably couldn't or didn't control his worst impulses. Jackson's perform...

Great news, and congratulations Hammy!

I've already zipped over to PayPal and put in my order, for a book and your DVD, and look forward to spending a few evenings enjoying both. Thanks for sharing your research and experience with the rest of us.

Echoing Nano on the "sharp noise" ploy. If used consistently when kitty's being naughty, one or two exclamations can become associated with "knock it off, cat". I use "Psssst!" -- a sharp release of air through the teeth -- and "Oi!", and both get kitty to sto...

Steve Martin! King Tut!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP7AJiQM2RI

I think that most Californians would agree with you on that. That's one reason the recent ballot measures failed. Folks are tired of throwing more and more money at Sacramento, only to keep hearing "we have to cut this" or "we can't do this unless we raise property/automobile/income/...