The Layover - San Francisco

Apparently Anthony Bourdain has a new show called The Layover, which premiers tonight. In a few episodes he visits San Francisco, and I was surprised to hear this born and raised New York chef say–to the New York Times, no less–that San Francisco is his favorite city in America for food:

Q. Favorite city for eating in the United States?

A. Anyone who doesn’t have a great time in San Francisco is pretty much dead to me. You go there as a snarky New Yorker thinking it’s politically correct, it’s crunchy granola, it’s vegetarian, and it surprises you every time. It’s a two-fisted drinking town, a carnivorous meat-eating town, it’s dirty and nasty and wonderful…

Take that, Nate Appleman! Go make a burrito.

33 Years 358 Days

That's how long it has been estimated Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray in Groundhog Day) is stuck repeating the same day. To see how that estimate was arrived at, click here. It's a very in depth look at clues gathered throughout the movie to lead to a pretty spot on guess at just how long he spends reliving the same day.

This really is one of my favorite movies. I especially love that Buddhists recognize it as a cinematic version of the teachings of Buddhism. To read a great article on that titled "Groundhog Almighty" click here. If you're too lazy to read a whole entire article, here is the gist of what the article is saying:

"'Groundhog Day' perfectly illustrates the Buddhist notion of samsara, the continuing cycle of rebirth that Buddhists regard as suffering that humans must try to escape. 'Groundhog Day' is a cinematic version of the teachings in Mahayana Buddhism, known as 'the greater vehicle'. In Mahayana, nobody ever imagines they are going to escape samsara until everybody else does. That is why you have bodhisattvas, who reach the brink of nirvana, and stop and come back and save the rest of us. Bill Murray is the bodhisattva. He is not going to abandon the world. On the contrary, he is released back into the world to save it."

Acupuncture In The NFL

Here's a great article from the New York Times that's right up my alley, about a woman who treats 40 NFL players for pain with acupuncture. This is basically my dream job, minus all the travel. I was surprised to learn acupuncture isn't more common in the NFL and other sports. The article points out that not all football teams even have massage therapists or nutritionists on staff. Seems like there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm thinking that bodes well for my foray into sports medicine.

[Thanks to Hello Yummy]

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do – Part 2

The second half of the brilliant list of restaurant dos and don'ts. Click here for the first 50, and here for the second 50. Here are some of my favorites from the second entry:

57. Bring the pepper mill with the appetizer. Do not make people wait or beg for a condiment.

58. Do not bring judgment with the ketchup. Or mustard. Or hot sauce. Or whatever condiment is requested.

60. Bring all the appetizers at the same time, or do not bring the appetizers. Same with entrees and desserts.

73. Do not bring soup without a spoon. Few things are more frustrating than a bowl of hot soup with no spoon.

74. Let the guests know the restaurant is out of something before the guests read the menu and order the missing dish.

80. Never insist that a guest settle up at the bar before sitting down; transfer the tab.

88. Do not ask if a guest needs change. Just bring the change.

90. If someone is getting agitated or effusive on a cellphone, politely suggest he keep it down or move away from other guests.

97. If a guest goes gaga over a particular dish, get the recipe for him or her.

99. Do not show frustration. Your only mission is to serve. Be patient. It is not easy.

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do

I heard an interview with the author of this article on Talk Of The Nation today, and–aside from the fact that he was intentionally playing dumb to the callers and their questions–it was deeply refreshing to hear someone discussing the dos and don'ts of the service industry.

A friend recently set their Facebook status to "Is customer service dead?" and in my mind I screamed a disheartened "YES!". It made me think of a talk I attended on the future of marketing, and the title of one segment was "Customer Service Is The New Marketing", and I could not have agreed more.

Nothing makes me more loyal to a brand than a positive, friendly experience with whomever I must deal with in the process of acquiring their product. Even if I'm not satisfied with my purchase, a helpful, gracious service representative can go a long way towards keeping me coming back to that brand.

Why companies don't invest more in assuring a positive customer experience is beyond me. It's as simple as the sales clerk thanking me for my business, but even that has somehow been turned on its head. I am the one, sadly, who says "Thank you" these days, as if allowing me to hand over my money is somehow a favor they've done for me. I could honestly go on and on about this topic, but this is already running a bit long. Maybe I need to start a new blog covering the dos and don'ts of customer service. Hmm...

In the meantime, read the list. Here are few that I liked:

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.
5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.
6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral.
23. If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc.
33. Do not bang into chairs or tables when passing by.
50. Do not turn on the charm when it’s tip time. Be consistent throughout.

Microsoft Faces New Browser Foe in Google

On Tuesday, Google will release a free Web browser called Chrome that the company said would challenge Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, as well as the Firefox browser.

Doubts Grow Over Flu Vaccine in Elderly

The influenza vaccine, which has been strongly recommended for people over 65 for more than four decades, is losing its reputation as an effective way to ward off the virus in the elderly. A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists say the vaccine probably does not work very well for people over 70, the group that accounts for three-fourths of all flu deaths.

AT&T’s Rivals Are Happy to Attack Over iPhone’s Network Woes

Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3G cellphones its first weekend — with some stores running out — and two million more since then, analysts say. But its July debut has been nothing less than a public relations headache for AT&T, with eager buyers complaining about dropped calls and poor network connections.

Some fingers point to Apple, which has tried to deflect the complaints. But many others point to AT&T’s cellular network. Whatever the source of the problems, AT&T’s rivals, long irritated by all the attention the iPhone has received, are on the attack and happy to exploit the discontent.

California Moves on Bill to Curb Sprawl and Emissions

The measure, which the State Assembly passed on Monday and awaits final approval by the Senate, would be the nation’s most comprehensive effort to reduce sprawl. It would loosely tie tens of billions of dollars in state and federal transportation subsidies to cities’ and counties’ compliance with efforts to slow the inexorable increase in driving. The goal is to encourage housing near current development and to reduce commutes to work.

Israel, After 43 Years, Is Ready for Beatlemania

In 1965, when Israel had no television, and public entertainment consisted largely of kibbutz songfests celebrating the wheat harvest, the Beatles, already international celebrities, were booked for a concert here. To young Israeli fans, it seemed an impossible dream. And so it was. Until now.

Researchers Report Advances in Cell Conversion Technique

Biologists at Harvard have converted cells from a mouse’s pancreas into the insulin-producing cells that are destroyed in diabetes, suggesting that the natural barriers between the body’s cell types may not be as immutable as supposed.

This and other recent experiments raise the possibility that a patient’s healthy cells might be transformed into the type lost to a disease far more simply and cheaply than in the cumbersome proposals involving stem cells.

A Superjumbo Jigsaw Puzzle

Sometimes designers set out to create something gorgeous; other times, it’s a technological breakthrough. Often, though, their goals are more mundane, like finding a way to shave an inch off the width of the back of the cheapest seat in an aircraft.

Slimming down the cheap seats was one of innumerable design challenges faced in work on the Qantas A380, which is being prepared for its first flight next month, from a factory in Toulouse, France, to Sydney. It will begin regular commercial flights in October.

Israel to Display the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Internet

In a crowded laboratory painted in gray and cooled like a cave, half a dozen specialists embarked this week on a historic undertaking: digitally photographing every one of the thousands of fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the aim of making the entire file — among the most sought-after and examined documents on earth — available to all on the Internet.

A Los Angeles Theater Is Renovated

On Saturday the Taper will reopen after a yearlong, $30 million renovation.

Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits

Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands. The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.

The Anti-Restaurants

The passionate enthusiasts who have opened dozens of unlicensed restaurants in apartments and other private spaces in recent years do not generally aspire to become traditional restaurateurs, with overhead and investors and the health department — a k a The Man — telling them what to do. They are not in it for the money or for Buddha Bar-size crowds; instead, they say, they are in it for the community and the creative freedom. It’s hard to imagine even the most adventurous legitimate restaurant encouraging customers to hack the hindquarters off a boar’s carcass. And underground restaurants have found their niche. Stringing together the farm-to-table movement and a bloggy kind of interactivity, they have gained a following among food lovers, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who have an opinion on local versus organic, prefer intimate and casual to grand and ceremonial, and are open to meeting people and building connections in new ways.

Exploring the Abyss

The United States used to have several submersibles — tiny submarines that dive extraordinarily deep. With only one left, and after more than four decades of probing the sea’s depths, it is to be retired. Its replacement, costing some $50 million, is to go deeper, move faster, stay down longer, cut the dark better, carry more scientific gear and maybe — just maybe — open a new era of exploration.

Starchitecture Maps of Los Angeles

A new guide to some of the city’s most interesting architecture has just been published by ForYourArt, an organization started by Bettina Korek to promote civic engagement with the arts in Los Angeles. Download the map here.

Screen Test - Penelope Cruz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lp4i4IzaIc

Hot Property

Enthusiasts of the small luxury buildings in Manhattan have quite the selection this season.