Metapost: Back!

I’m back from San Francisco, the City by the Bay. Some things of interest:

• If you’re headed down from the north, Highway 101 is definitely worth it. Check out all the lighthouses on the Oregon Coast. Our favorite place was Newport. Just south of the bridge, there’s an place called the Lighthouse Deli that does excellent crabcake burgers.
• Highway 1 in California is also nifty. The road is very windy though, with plenty of switchbacks and unrailed roadways that are very close to the ocean. If you do take the road, though, David’s in Fort Bragg does the best burgers I’ve ever tasted. It closes at 2 pm, though.
• A friend told me that the homeless people in San Fran were agressive, and boy, he wasn’t kidding. There are some genuinely funny panhandlers though, such as the Bushman on Fisherman’s Wharf who surprises passerbys by dressing up as a bush, and a funny fellow near market street who claimed that the was pregnant. Stay out of the Tenderlion though (area just east of the Civic Center). I understand it’s full of crackheads and drug dealers. I didn’t encounter them, but I can attest that the homeless folk there were suffering some serious mental problems.
• The best way to ride the cable car is hanging on from the outside. And the best cable car operator was a jovial fellow who leered at the prettier tourists and mocked the clueless tourists. He’s more fun than I make it sound.
• The Alcatraz audio tour is totally worth it. It’s narrated by officers and prisoners who lived on Alcatraz, which adds to the atmosphere. The tour also pointed out that Native Americans inhabited the island for 18 months in the 60’s to make a point about Native American rights. The brochure had a quote from a representative that the land was inhospitable and a bad hunting ground, thus it was meant for Native Americans. Man… was everyone in the 60’s a total jerk or what? Anyway, quite a few buildings on the island burnt out during their occupation, and they were forced off the island after public opinion soured (and this was the city were Haight Ashbury was the launching point of the hippie movement).
• Spend any time in the Stockton portion of Chinatown or the Mission District, and you can swear that you’ve actually visited another country.

Now, about the blog: I’m looking at the stats, and I noticed a huge spike in readership that happened around last week. It even got me of the WordPress “Fastest Growing Blogs” list. I have Irregular Webcomic to thank. Apparently my review caught the attention of David Morgan-Mar, and it warranted a link on his site. Thanks to all the “Irregular Webcomic” regulars for dropping by!