Indeed, even if I hadn’t seen today’s Chronicle story on the Warriors’ hair or their blog about the playoff run, I’d have heard the people walking down McAllister Street (where I live) today chanting “LET’S GO WARRIORS!” and the loud but unintelligible PA system broadcasting what I can only assume is a play-by-play.

And so, like another (former) denizen of the Civic Center area, I will jump on the bandwagon to support our local underdogs in a sport of which I know little. Let’s go, Warriors!

The 76 also stops at a place called Site SF-88, which was part of a network of 280 Nike missile sites intended to guard U. S. cities from Soviet bomber attacks during the Cold War. (Here’s a map of Nike sites in the Bay Area, and an article about them from the Straight Dope.) The military shut down SF-88 in 1974 (the ICBM having made the Nike pretty much obsolete), but now you can visit the site as I did and see a slice of Cold War history. Pictures after the jump.

I talked with some nice people from Vancouver while I was waiting for the bus to come by on Sutter. We spoke of that city’s Lower East Side, and how it might well be worse than our Tenderloin. They took another bus, but switched to the 76 later, and I caught up with them when I came.

The trip to Marin is, of course, quite beautiful.

There are open houses at SF-88 on the first Sunday of every month from 12:30 to 3:30, with guided tours from docents, including many Nike veterans. The site is also open on Wednesdays through Fridays during the same hours.

If you arrive by Muni, it looks like this:

What is this thing?

Turns out it’s a computer, although the output is much simpler than most of the ones we use, seeing as it’s based on clockwork and all:

As part of the tour, you can see (real, but inert) missiles raised from the magazine:

You may also ride the elevator down into the magazine. This is the only time I’ve been instructed to “hold on to the missile, please.”

I took a video as we ascended from the magazine:

After my visit, I walked from the Nike site to Fort Cronkhite while waiting for the bus. The California poppies were in bloom:

When I got to Fort Cronkhite, I met a family from North Carolina who had come to visit. They were waiting for the bus as well. But at least the scenery was pretty:

It took a long time, but it showed up eventually. I recognized more than a few people from my trip earlier that day.

And, of course, the trip back is just as lovely:

If you go, the following information may be useful:

Muni, 76-Marin Headlands
SF-88 Wikipedia article
GGNRA Nike Site SF-88
Fort Cronkhite
My photo sets of Marin by Muni and SF-88

That is all.

(Also, even though it has nothing to do with what I saw today, a few days ago I heard somebody yell “HEY, PAUL! I’LL TRADE YOU THREE PLAYBOYS FOR A LIGHTER!” over on Hyde, near the library. Gotta love the Tenderloin.)

While I was in Chinatown, I saw that it was laundry day for some people:

I went back through Nob Hill, and saw a bus-shelter ad for the Economist. Apparently somebody decided to change the copy a little:

After I got back to my place, I decided to go to Safeway and get the rest of the stuff I needed to make stir-fried beef with peanuts. While walking through UN Plaza, I saw this, which made me think of this article from the Onion:

Tomorrow I’ll be going on another adventure, which I’ll post here as soon as I can. Hooray for adventures!

Sometimes, ya gotta laugh. PWN3D!

Adam: Do you want this?
Can collector: Sure.
A: Here you go.
C: Thanks. You want any weed?
A: Uh, no, I’m good. Thanks.

So I guess she’s diversified–if the bottom drops out of the weed market, she has the dependable returns of cans to fall back on. And vice versa.

Finally, two bits of fashion advice:

To the teenager who was walking down Golden Gate with what he thought was a swagger: You’re trying waaaaay too hard, and even if you weren’t, the SpongeBob SquarePants backpack would completely kill it.

To the guy who was selling drugs in plain view at 7th and Market: It may not be in your judicial interest to wear a T-shirt that has a giant marijuana leaf on it and says “Hecho en México – 100% Verde.”

After we left the stop before theirs, I pulled the cord and told them their stop was next. The man thanked me, stood up, and called “Next stop is ours!”

When the car stopped, nearly everyone got up and walked out the front door. About halfway through I asked them whether they had reservations; they assured me they did. Counting us, about eight people were left on the car after they left.

I mean, look at this! I find bigger things than this in my toilet!

–Dude showing off the microSD card in his phone to a friend of his on the train near school