I am a fan of obscure historical sites. This fire hydrant fits the bill!…read more Yelp wouldn't let me post a two sentence review. The computer told me to keep writing. There's not much you can say about a fire hydrant that hasn't been said already. There was a huge fire, most of the fire hydrants were inoperable. This one wasn't! It saved lives and property. As far as fire hydrants go this is probably one of the most historic fire hydrants in the United States. If you're in the neighborhood stop by and give her a pat on the head.

For a few months, I kept seeing another Yelper (Steven B. of Castro fame) checking in at the Little…read moreGiant Golden Hydrant, down in The Mission. Didn't pay much attention - thought it might be the name of a bar. This is actually a really cool piece of history relating to the 1906 Earthquake, and the devastating fire in the aftermath. The Little Giant is a fire hydrant that saved most of The Mission below 20th Street because it pumped water that day. As it turns out, there were two other notable hydrants that put on a good fight that day - They are known as the Silver Twins. This hydrant is on Hayes and Buchanan - the other is supposedly at Van Ness and Ellis, although it is not the original hydrant like the one at Hayes. If you notice all of the old, pre-1906 buildings out in the Western Addition, you can thank this little guy. On the morning that the Earthquake struck, there was a kitchen fire that broke out by Hayes and Gough. Sure enough, because there was water from this hydrant, the neighborhood was saved. Imagine no pre-1906 buildings in Hayes Valley, Alamo Square, The Haight... Hard to believe that we owe as much of our history and our aesthetic to a few fire hydrants that functioned when almost all of the others didn't. I think it's well work a few moments if you're walking by to reflect on the past - it's always amazing to think of how much has happened in The City. Practical note: Hayes Valley Market is right here, and it's a solid place to grab a drink, snack, or a tasty sandwich.

Friends are always asking me "Tracey, how did you find out about (insert event here)?" to which I…read morefrequently reply with a simultaneous shoulder shrug, "I read." It sounds smug, I know, but if you have an interest in going out and seeing and doing certain things you find a way to learn about those things and where they're happening. I barely understand how people don't hear about them. Because of this I was genuinely surprised to first learn of Lost Landscapes of San Francisco in this, their 9th year of putting on shows. Admittedly, those shows are usually only once annually but I'm still surprised that this show didn't cross my path sooner. Lost Landscapes of San Francisco is a show curated by Rick Prelinger, an archivist who collects and assembles film and video footage of San Francisco. By the title, you might surmise that he's not assembling footage circa 2014 and you'd be correct. Though some footage appeared to be as recent as the 1970s, most of it is treasure from longer ago than that. All of it, circa whenever, is a view into the City's dreamy past. The premise here is that Mr. Prelinger mans the microphone and can tell you a bit about what you're seeing on screen but aside from that, the audience is the soundtrack (there is no narrative voice-over). Shouting out of comments, questions, and humorous remarks is encouraged though much of what is said may not be heard by all. The Castro Theatre is big (seats 1,400) and sells out for this show. Tickets are kept to a reasonable $15 (+ a small service charge, available through Brown Paper Tickets). You already missed the big show this year but there's another show, a fundraiser, on December 19th for which $15 tickets are still available (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/941006). Lost Landscapes is somehow associated with the Long Now Foundation, an organization whose mission I've completely failed at decoding. It doesn't really matter. The only thing you need to know is that this show exists, is updated and changed regularly, screens annually, and generally sells out within 24 hours. If a view into San Francisco's unique and beautiful past sounds like something that interests you get tickets and go this year or get on their mailing list for future years. And when your friends ask how you found out about it just shrug your shoulders and tell them "I read". And: * An article which explains this event better than I can is here: http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2014/12/02/forgotten-footage-illuminates-san-franciscos-lost-landscapes/ * More information about this year's show is here: http://longnow.org/seminars/02014/dec/04/lost-landscapes-san-francisco-9/ * And because I've been unable to discern a web-site (short of becoming a Long Now member) you can presumably learn of future shows by becoming a fan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/591669327628193/

I did the Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon in july and it was well organized but there was one…read moreissue, they should have kept non-competitors out of the transition area. I have a crappy bike, but I'm sure other people may have been worried about random people hanging around their things. This past weekend I did the California Sprint Triathlon in Pleasanton. The swim was too short unless I miraculously transformed into Michael Phelps and the run was wayyy too long. It was around 5 miles rather than a 5k(due to a paucity of course officials toward the end.) It's not a pleasant surprise after swimming and biking. It was good training i suppose, but its a lot of money to spend on a race that you can't even compare to your past races because the distances are inaccurate. I enjoy doing the events, but I would like to get what i sign up for. I hope they learn from their mistakes.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me…read more A little about me: I'm no pro triathlete. I run with my age group and usually finish somewhere at the bottom of my age group, but I'm just there to have fun and finish. I've participated with a few other racing companies around California and Nevada, and USA Productions really stands out with their incompetence. The first time I've dealt with USA Productions was when my friend wanted to try a triathlon a little further away, so we met in San Jose and did the Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon in 2012 at the UVAS Reservoir. At the last second, they moved the triathlon from Lake Almaden to the UVAS Reservoir because of health issues with the water. To be brief here, the experience wasn't 100% pleasant with a lot of the problems repeated in 2014. Now fast forward to 2014 I've moved to Sunnyvale, and I see they have a Super Sprint at Half Moon Bay. Ironically, they moved it from the UVAS reservoir to HMB because of the drought. The distances were super short, and I didn't put much training time in, and I wanted to see HMB, so I decided that they probably patched their issues in 2 years and signed up. My biggest issue in 2012 was waiting forever to get my T1 bags back, but T1 and T2 were only 6 miles apart, so what's the worst that could happen? Since this was a short race, I finished around 9:30am. I left the expo to get my bag since it was supposed to be coming "soon" (I didn't get my bag until 11:45am). It's not like I missed anything at the expo, since there was no food setup and barely any vendors there. After the first batch of bags came in at 10:30am, the lawn area outside T2 became a miserable camp site of people waiting another hour to get their bags. Next time, just make a post race bike race from T2 to T1 to get our own bags... it would've been much faster. Other problems I had *T1 had the same entrance and exit, so those in the back had a really long transition *Long run barefoot from swim end back to T1 (some of it was covered by carpet, some if it wasn't) *Not enough room on the racks in T2 *Crossing the highway three times *The Sprint race was delayed by 30 minutes (not totally their fault, but still annoying to deal with after you wake up extra early to get there on time) *Nobody was checking numbers at the run turn around. I know triathletes are generally more awesome than the average person, but someone could easily cheat and turn around early. So after reading other reviews and going through my experience with USA Productions, they haven't gotten their act together, so I'm not going to waste any more of my training and weekends with them anymore.

"People's Free Food Program" reads a banner at lower left of mural posted on the side of a…read morenonprofit. Images of a corn field, Statues of Africans in native attire, picture of an aztec building also present as well as a fist raised enveloped in an heart. Creators: DESIVERO, @WITHOUTMYEGO, @CRPBAYAREA

this mural is at the left side of Whole Foods Market. it shows the intersectionality of people…read morehelping each other/socializing, sourcing organic fruits/vegetables, captivating wild seafood and animals. s.f.'s office shioulette along with the golden gate bridge is also visible. creator: Precita Eyes Muralists.

I was surprised I haven't seen NCKA in here already. If you like to go fishing or kayaking…read morefishing this website is for you. This is not a membership club and anyone can become a member. These folks fish all over Northern California, salt and fresh water. If you want to go some where search the hookup area and find out who is going out, or post something and try to link up with some one. They also have forums on kayak set ups, recipes, making things for fishing, techniques. All in all it is great place to learn about the Fishing in Northern California

Named mural is on the Williams side of a wholesale membership store serving Yemeni grocers et al…read more Mural purports to show pics of employees from manufacturing facilities in the 'dro. From the saws, welders, tall buildings & mechanical devices depicted, it's implies construction firms. No doubt firms aren't named nor depicted for various valid reasons. Manufacturers: Torani syrups, Loard's ice cream, Spar's Sausage (Caspar's), Will's Fresh Food (salads..) .... Creators: Troy Lovegates, Cannon Dill Unknown why video takes many tries & 1 hour to upload/post..

This mural is an emerging genre amongst local Black American artists. Their drawings reflect an…read moreintersection indigenous Tribal symbolism, African, futurist, and traditional themes. Works based "on ancient Egyptian alchemy & hieroglyphs. Works are a personal journey driven by my genetic lineage and ancestral memories" -Doran Dada Creators: Doran Dada, Panorama Interests, Councilwomen Kate Harrison, Downtown Berkeley. Assn.