Secret SF Garden in the Making - February 22, 2010

Hayes Valley Farm is an urban farming project based in San Francisco, which is situated on a former freeway entrance. The property has been neglected for years, and it is highly encouraging that the city is willing to allow this organization to temporarily convert the space into something that will help unify neighbors and improve the space.

Their goal is to create a place where people come regularly to meet and connect with each other, and encourage the connection and understanding of the vital life systems that support human kind.

They will be holding a series of workshops and activities that will help truly bring this farm to life. So, in case you were ever curious about how to mulch properly or create your own greenhouse, Hayes Valley Farm is there to help guide you.

I’m very interested to see how this develops, and what sort of impact it has on the local neighborhood, especially since it has a much more visible presence than the Fort Mason Community Garden, another SF based agriculture project.

Mission Street Foods - February 9, 2010

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Mission Street Foods, which is a temporary restaurant in the Mission District that sets up shop inside a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant. MSF is only open two days a week, and as you can imagine it's a long wait to get some tasty grub. They feature guest chefs from around the world, making every night very different. It's been going on for a couple of years now, and is now raising funds to secure their own location. The cool part about MSF is that they donate all their proceeds to charity. If you're interested in donating money to their cause, click here.

Here's a documentary that covers founder, Andy Myint, and his reason for building this non-profit.

Mission Gourmet from The Quotidian on Vimeo.

Political Boundary Maps Too Dull? - February 8, 2010

If political boundary maps feel a bit monotonous, try WorldMapper on for size. It looks at how the size of countries would shift (proportionally of course, and based on the amount of land on earth to date) according to a specific condition. For example, you can look at anything from how land size would shift according to Peptic Ulcer related deaths, type of transport, amount of emigrants, etc.

Highly recommended, and very insightful.

Socially Awkward - February 4, 2010

Real world experiences are starting to become a thing of the past as the digital age continually encompasses us in its dark shadow. Catching up with an old friend over coffee has been replaced with a quick five minute conversation over gchat or Facebook. The value of sharing a story in person, is losing its worth almost as quickly as the American dollar.

Fortunately, a few people have managed to take the "always on" mentality and flush it down the web 2.0 toilet. While I still prefer to maintain a fun, stalker-esque awareness of my friends and their whereabouts, others have chosen to scale back and focus on the relationships that matter. Enter the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine.

Here's its self-description:

"This machine lets you delete all your energy sucking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alterego. The machine is just a metaphor for the website which moddr_ is hosting; the belly of the beast where the web2.0 suicide scripts are maintained. Our service currently runs with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn! Commit NOW!"

I love the concept, but I'm not ready to sever my digital connection. As long as I remember that there is no substitute for the real deal, I'm certain I'll never have to commit web 2.0 suicide. How about you?