Beau L.'s Profile

I went along on an overnight trip to Big Sur this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Chris was our guide, and Ingrid was our chef (yes, I said chef, on a camping trip!). Apparently Ingrid doesn't always come along, but she arranges food which Chris then prepares as part of the deal. Everything she prepared or brought along was delicious, and made for a really nice touch to the trip.

I got a ride to the trailhead with Chris, and we chatted pretty much all the way there. He obviously knows his stuff; grew up in the Bay Area and has clearly spent years camping, hiking, offroading etc in the area. He's been through a ton of equipment and knows what works and what doesn't, who makes the best stuff, where to get it, etc. The best part is that he's more than happy to pass all this info on to you.

The equipment we were provided with was top-notch, military grade gear. If you needed it, you could have pretty much turned up empty handed and come along. The "team gear" was split up and carried amongst us, and I tried out 2 different (Kifaru) backpacks; both of which were super comfortable once adjusted correctly. Don't worry, you'll be shown how to adjust things correctly when you get to the trailhead; as Chris said "these backpacks are great, but even a $500 backpack will feel like a $50 one if it's not adjusted correctly.". The hike in/out was nice and easy - around 2 miles in each direction with not too much elevation.

I'm definitely signing up to do a couple more trips with BAE -- I heard about a Wilderness First Aid one and a trip out into the Desert which both sound awesome. This is the perfect way to get out into nature if you 1. haven't before and don't know where to start, 2. don't have your own equipment, 3. don't know where to go or 4. don't have anyone to go with (or any/all of the above!). I think it works out as fantastic value given what you get for your money: food, transport (first come, first served), equipment and expertise provided.

The SF NERT program is a painfully under-appreciated training program which is put on by the SFFD as part of the national CERT system. The local chapter is particularly relevant given that San Francisco is Earthquake country and has had 2 major quakes in the last century, and is well overdue for another. We're also a very dense urban population which is likely to be very hard hit by other natural and man-made disasters. Let's be ready huh?

This completely FREE training program is available one night a week for 6 weeks or on 2 consecutive (full) Saturdays. It'll teach you the basics of fighting fires, triaging victims, handling utilities (water/gas/electric), interfacing with other first-responders and a range of other useful disaster skills. This stuff could save not only your life, but those of your family, friends and neighbors.

I have no idea why this sort of training isn't better promoted and perhaps even compulsory for the vast majority of a city like San Francisco. Get out there and get certified!

http://www.sf-fire.org...

Just over 4 years ago, I moved to San Francisco "sight unseen". I moved into an apartment near the corner of California and Larkin. On the second day that I was there I went in search of a nearby place to find breakfast and stumbled, a mere block away, on the delightful Red Door Cafe.

Ahmed was inviting and friendly, the food was tasty and served quickly, and best of all, the coffee was delicious. I was working from home, so I decided that I'd go back. And I did. A lot. Like every day for about 2 months.

I eventually had to go work in an office for a while, so I wasn't able to go every day, but weekends saw me lining up with the rest of the city to get into the tiny location and enjoy what they had to offer. Needless to say I was devastated when the Red Door closed, and never reopened. No offense to Olea (the restaurant currently in Red Door's previous location), but Red Door has a place in my heart that nothing else can fill.

And so, with great enthusiasm, I sit here in Santiago, Chile, now even more excited for my return to the City on the Bay and my brunch-love that is Red Door Cafe. See you soon old friend.

I've been attending Krav Maga at this gym for about 8 months now, and go usually 2 - 4 times a week. I've done a few other styles of more "traditional" martial arts before, but was looking for something a little more direct, more street-oriented and more immediately effective.

That's exactly what I found at Krav, and that's exactly why I go so often. There are some reviews on here from people complaining about the facility being small/cramped/dirty/dangerous etc. Sometimes this is true, but that's part of the whole point in my opinion. I've trained in nice clean facilities where there are only 6 people in the class and it's a completely different environment -- it's a completely artificial environment.

The whole benefit of Krav is preparation for realistic situations. There will be people around you. You will bump into people. You won't have an entire room to line up and execute a reversed spinning back kick, you'll have 2 feet of direct space to land a single knee and then get the hell out of there. If you're lucky.

That being said, there are pretty major renovations that are almost complete, and they change the floorplan and space available significantly. Some of the Level 1 classes are cramped because it's getting so popular. Once you move up the levels things thin out a bit (I regularly attend classes with around 10 people which is perfect).

I guess the point here is that the entire gym is oriented to honing your skills for realistic street fighting and MMA-style fighting. Neither of these things are clean, particularly safe or "pretty". If you don't like that style of fighting, then Krav's probably not for you, but that's OK, there are plenty of other options.

There are actually heaps of other classes also offered throughout the week, so you don't even necessarily need to go to the Krav classes themselves, but that probably defeats the purpose a bit. Strike and Fight, Crossfit, TRX, KM Conditioning, KO Bag, Yoga, Jiu Jitsu and Chinese Boxing are all offered. When you consider all of these things, I think it's very fairly priced indeed.

For someone claiming to be San Francisco's favorite pizza, this place is a miserable excuse for lousy.

I went here once when it was on the corner of Larkin and California, and now once in it's new location. I made the mistake of taking my brother there, who's from out of town, so I didn't want to take him somewhere bad to give him a bad impression of the city. After a bit of a warning that it was pretty bad last time, we went in there to grab a "quick slice of pizza".

Well... big mistake.

Upon arrival, we looked around a bit and spotted someone asleep down the back on one of the benches. We assumed it was someone partying a bit hard, so we said hi to the server, then sat down near the bar at a table. About 5 minutes later (the place was completely empty mind you), she finally came over and asked what we wanted. "We didn't have menus yet" I explained, so she went and got us some, then asks if we want a drink. They were out of almost all beers, and what was left was being served through some dodgy, home-rigged contraption going through a cooler to a tap. We got a pitcher and then picked some pizzas and placed our order.

Time passes.

More time passes.

We watch an entire episode of Jackass on their TV and then half a show of Cribs. Seriously.

I don't remember how long it really was, but it felt like it must have been something in the order of 45 minutes before we saw that pizza and when it finally did come, who should bring it? Lo and behold, our slumbering friend from the back corner, who apparently works there. She called me "darling" about 6 times (which I hate from strangers), and kept hanging around all creepy-like and asking questions.

We scoffed the pizza down (which was mediocre at best), paid and left.

I'll never waste my time at this hole again with so many decent alternatives nearby.