Today was the first day I’ve been able to go out and enjoy the weather in a while. The Petri Dish Effect™ that is quite unique to compact city living delivered my 6th cold since January 1st a week ago. Anyone else notice this cold season has been exceedingly brutal?

More photos from my walk today

NRA Press release on yesterdays victory

My original post about Proposition H.

A massive crowd along the Embarcadero awaits the Olympic Torchbearers that will never arrive. All of my photos from todays fiasco.

Scott Beale has some great photos and video over at Laughing Squid.

Starting salary for the Los Angeles Police Department for high school graduates is $54,475. If you blew all your parents money on college and have at least 60 units under you belt with a GPA of at least 2.0 (!) then you get a bump to $56,668. If you have a BA or BS (the BS comes in handy on the mean streets of LA I hear) your starting salary is $58,881. I was always told a college degree would make you the big bucks and this is tangible proof that it works! If you can avoid getting shot for at least 10 years you might be able to pay of those student loans. (LAPD Salary and Benefits) LA does have one awesome upside though. They get cool recruitment films!

If you are looking to move to Oakland to start your career in law enforcement you can expect to make significantly more than your brothers in blue in the City of Angels. Starting salaries range from $69,162 to $87,172 with a base salary of $62,245 while attending the police academy. No specific information is given on their website about what qualifications rate a higher starting salary but they do mention bumps for college kids. (Oakland PD Salary and Benefits)

If you want to stay at home and protect our fair city then the San Francisco PD is where you want to be. The current annual entry-level salary in SF is $72,956 to $97,656. They also don’t disclose what the difference is on the website but a little digging uncovered that the higher end of the spectrum comes after 5 years on the force. Their recruiting site loses points for not disclosing that. With the large number of SFPD up for retirement in the coming years and their trouble with recruiting new officers now might be the perfect time to get in at the ground floor and work your way up the ladder much quicker. (SFPD Salary and Benefits)

For more information on what the crime rates in each of the cities is and how much fire you’re likely to take check out the FBI’s preliminary report on 2007 Offenses Reported to Law Enforcement for January-June 2007.

Recruiting sites for each city:
San Francisco – http://www.sfpdcareers.com/
Oakland – http://www.opdjobs.com/
Los Angeles – http://www.joinlapd.com/

Happy hunting and please leave the skateboarders the hell alone.

The view from the top of Grandview Park yesterday afternoon. Man it was windy up there!

8TH ANNUAL ‘BYOBW’
EASTER SUNDAY
MARCH 23, 2008 – 5 PM
VERMONT STREET @ 20th, SF
BIG WHEEL RACE
FREE OUTDOOR EVENT
the race is no longer down lombard street!!
BIG PEOPLE ON KIDS’ TOYS
NO RUBBER WHEELS
NO REGISTRATION
HAND-MADE PRIZES
FUN

Out of all the crazy San Francisco events I attended last year none is closer to my heart than the Bring Your Own Big Wheel race. Unfortunately the crowds were so huge last year that Lombard Street is now sadly off limits. This year has been moved to an even windier street! Vermont St is the new location and this Sunday at 5pm is the start. The official website has details of past events. You can also check out my photos from the last event. Hope to see you there!

While most people were enjoying a pint at the parade or getting dressed for the Brides of March, hundreds of members of the group Anonymous descended upon the Church of Scientology headquarters in San Francisco to protest what they feel is a cult that has been given religious and tax exempt status. They also believe the CoS has committed many crimes including extortion and murder just to name a few. The protest loosely coincides with the birthday of church founder and science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard which was on March 13th. The protest was very orderly and while multiple attempts were made to give brochures and pamphlets to the Scientologists entering and exiting by the side door, none took the material as long as I was there. It was by far the best protest I’ve been to in a very long time for the entertainment factor alone. I mean how often do you get to see Cthulu in a party hat?

Since some people couldn’t make it out I’m including a list of further reading materials I received from some of the protestors.

www.enturbulation.org
www.xenu.net
www.xenu-directory.net
www.whyaretheydead.net
www.youfoundthecard.com
Operation Freakout
Operation Snow White
Fair Game Policy
Lisa McPherson
Scientology and Me

I swear to whatever deity I need to though if I never hear Rick Astley again it will be too soon…

All of my photos of the protest can be found here

If green really isn’t your color you can head north to the Napa Valley Mustard Festival and try the mustards of the world. I personally haven’t been to this even but a few of my neighbors go every year and give the event two big thumbs up. This one’s a bit pricey though with tickets costing $35 at the door but if you want to avoid the green beer and partygoers this one might be for you. [upcoming]

Always a Bridesmaid and never a Bride? Saturday is also the 10th annual Brides of March which is run by the San Francisco Cacophony Society. All you really need is a wedding dress to participate.

As the sun sets hordes of avid photographers will be heading to 111 Minna for the Flickr Turns 4 party which starts at 6pm and goes till 9pm. [upcoming]

And my personal favorite is the Church of Scientology protest starting at 11am. Grab your Guy Fawkes and Optimus Prime masks and head to the corner of Montgomery and Washington for hours of Rickrolling fun and mayhem and if the cops come you can just run into the St. Patricks Day crowd. More info on the protest.

If you need a primer on why the CoS is being protested Laughing Squid has a very nice comprehensive listing of videos that you should check out when you have an hour or so to kill.