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Beautiful cities inspire creativity

I'm home now, back from another trip to lovely San Francisco. I was there mostly on business, but somehow managed to have very little network access. Since I wasn't able to post more frequently, this summary will have to suffice.

For the first few days of my trip I stayed outside the city and needed a rental car. I'm not all that familiar with the roads there, so I got a car with the Everlost GPS navigation system on-board. I know it's not really called Everlost, but they should think about changing the name. The system does a decent job telling you stay on the freeway when you know you need to; And it does alright at getting you pointed in the general direction when downtown. But was consistently confused by bridges and over-passes, sometimes to the point of suggesting directions that were not even possible. It doesn't learn from it's mistakes either. There was one intersection near my hotel that it simply could not figure out; yet I still managed to arrive at my final destination. The whole system is obviously built on existing map and way-finding databases, but it's unfortunate that it's a one-way tool. They have a whole fleet of vehicles armed with GPS devices -- why not re-code the maps based on actual vehicle paths and movement? It sounds complicated, but would probably be more cost efficient then constant surveying. And it would definitely help provide better directions.

Navigation system aside, the vehicle they gave me was a Mitsubishi Outlander. If you're thinking of getting one of these, please make sure you drive it before getting your heart set. I know I'm a bit of an automotive enthusiast (alright, that might be putting it lightly) but this thing instilled an utter disconnection with the road -- and that's not a good thing! Sure, it coasted along comfortably, generally went in the direction you pointed it, and the AWD system kept the cheap tires from squealing. But at freeway speeds it was obvious that this vehicle could easily get out of control in an emergency situation. All driver inputs (gas, brakes, and steering) felt like suggestions rather then commands. I don't know if this vehicle is all drive-by-wire, but it certainly felt like it, and I don't like it when a car treats me like an idiot. When I say "speed up" or "turn now", the car should give it everything it's got to obey. (Oh, and the hand-brake isn't strong enough to lock up the rear tires in a turn ;-)

Back to the city, I was more of a tourist this trip then any previous visits. I went to Fisherman's Warf, drove down the "curviest street", went to Coit Tower, and had tea in the Tea Gardens at Golden Gate Park (which was $3.50/person to get in, and $3/person for tea.)

For the weekend, I ditched the car but still needed to get downtown. I've taken a taxi from SFO Airport to downtown before and it cost a whopping $40. This time I thought I'd save some money, so I took the BART to Civic Center ($5) and a taxi to my hotel ($7). To get back to the airport when leaving, the hotel offered a shuttle service for $11.

Lodging: Metro Hotel, 319 Divisadero (one block from Haight). Nice staff, great location, and a decent room, all for $90/night. I knew I was in the right place when greeted at the check-in counter by a guy with piercings and full sleeves; and I was pleasantly surprised with the clean building and rooms. Sure the beds could be more comfortable and the room isn't much bigger then the full-size bed, but you weren't planning on spending your whole day in a hotel room, were you? If you've ever stayed in a hostel or a $200 hotel in Manhattan, this should be a step up.

Food: Buon Gusto Restorante, 224 Grand Ave, South San Francisco. This Italian restaurant near the airport was a little pricey ($20/person for lunch) but fantastic. The general mood was of a mafia tax shelter, but at least it felt authentic.

Indian Oven, 233 Fillmore St. $20 each for way more food then we should have ordered. It wasn't London quality, but far better then any Indian food back home.

Thai House, 151 Noe St. $15 each for dinner plus Thai iced coffee. I should have ordered my curry more spicy, but the food was generally good. This particular location (they have one more) is also nice, as it's off the path a bit, and tucked into what looks like a former residential building.

Warakubune Restaurant, 307 Church St, wasn't the best sushi, but they have a floating sushi bar and cheap prices. As a bonus, the parking meters around the block only charge until 6:00pm.

Magnolia Pub & Brewery, 1398 Haight St. $10 for challah french toast and water. This was the first place we came to when walking up Haight from the hotel, and we were starving. If you're not dying of hunger, walk a little further up Haight, as there are plenty more places to dine.

The Crab House on Pier 39 reminded me of a recent WIRED article on over-fishing the seas, but I still had seafood in the form of crab enchiladas. Being raised on Tex-Mex, I find Cali-Mex a bit odd, and these enchiladas definitely take the cake as the most bizarre mexican-inspired dish I've ever had. Pier 39 itself is a tourist haven, but the end of the pier makes a great place to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the waiter at Crab House didn't actually stamp my parking ticket like he said he did, so parking cost me $12.

Shopping: Make sure to check out KidRobot and Giant Robot in the upper Haight area.