The Culprit

After a furious debate, the marketing division at Redux Beverages chose Cocaine as the name of their new energy drink, beating out other name candidates including heroine and crystal meth.

Caffeine: Why not make it Cocaine

The energy drink market has been booming in recent years. One of the juggernauts of the industry, Red Bull, has experienced incredible growth since it was first "invented" in 1984 and subsequently launched in Austria in 1987. Entrance in the US market as also proved incredibly profitable for the company which relies on a single product: the 8.3 ounce silver, blue and red can with a picture of a bull on it (in regular and sugar free of course). Since Red Bull, we have seen many copycat energy drinks including from the big names in soft drinks; Coke and Pepsi.



Coke's ridiculous "let your man out" slogan forms a central role in the marketing campaign of its Full Throttle energy drink, and helps to shed a not so subtle light on exactly who the company targets with its extreme beverage: teenage men. Visit their website http://www.fullthrottleenergy.com/ (I wouldn't) and you are confronted with hard rock music that doesn't stop. The sites theme could be described as aggressive, with links to "badass downloads" such as screen shots of street fighting video games, and desktop backgrounds of the Full Throttle cans, some engulfed in or shooting fire. The website also has information about the several variations of their product including sugar free and "fury" versions and links to contests and promotions. Interestingly no where on the site does Coke make any claims about how much caffeine is in the product.



That's part of the problem. The health concerns of high caffeine energy drinks have increased recently as the drinks get more extreme ie. more caffeinated, and more people start drinking them. France went so far as to ban Red Bull in 2004 after an 18 year old student died when he consumed four servings of the drink and started playing basketball. Through a secondary source, Medical News Today(http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/), I was able to find the caffeine levels in Red Bull; 80 mg per can, which is about the same as in a cup of coffee. I also tracked down the caffeine content of Full Throttle which is 72mg per 8 ounce serving, or 144mg per 16 ounce can.



And then there is the heavy hitter of the energy drink world: Cocaine, no not the drug, well not the drug your thinking of any way. The Cocaine energy drink, launched by Redux Beverages in September of 2006, contains 280mg of caffeine per can, packing a punch 350% harder than that of a standard Red Bull. The company states that "we knew kids would find it cool, but we also wanted to stress the idea that it's an energy drink, you don't need drugs." That's sweet, but since when is caffeine not a drug? Their website (http://www.drinkcocaine.com/) claims that the only side effect is "extreme amounts of energy" and that the drink should only be consumed by "responsible adults", however advises people "failure to adhere to this warning may result in excess excitement, stamina, fun and possible feeling of euphoria." Wait, so your legal team is saying that if people other than "responsible adults" consume this drink they will have fun and feel euphoric? So kids should drink it, because it would be fun? I would love to sit in on a lawsuit where a family sues Redux Beverages because their child died from heart failure due to an extreme dose of caffeine, and their lawyer explains how the company marketed and advocated the consumption of a drink with 280mg, to KIDS! Maybe the Redux lawyer will say "Objection, this wasn't tragic, their son died feeling Euphoric!"





This past weekend, USF promoted Full Throttle energy drink at the Men's Basketball game against Gonzaga, when it allowed a USF student from the crowd to shoot baskets to win cases of the drink. I have no problem with this promotion. I personally rarely drink energy drinks and think the Full Throttle marketing campaign is really lame. I do not want to ban energy drinks or limit their use among consumers. But I would also like to ask the questions, when is enough, enough? And should these drinks be marketed to children? As a regular coffee drinker, I think we should find ways to make caffeine consumption responsible, and distance its relationship to hard drugs like cocaine which is the opposite of what Redux Beverages is doing with its product.

I worked at a summer camp two summers ago and many of the kids were hyperactive, and many took daily mood altering medications, some were even treated for depression, and they were 13 years old (this was a regular swim in the lake, play in the woods summer camp). I think we should look to decreasing the about of unnatural substance that these kids consume. What is the benefit if a child takes medication to treat ADD or ADHD (two very common "disorders" among children at this camp) and then goes out and chugs a Cocaine drink with their friends?

The Toy Boat Ice Cream Shop

The colorful Toy Boat Ice Cream Shop would stand out almost anywhere in San Francisco, but its especially eye catching nestled in between the ethnic vibes of Chinese groceries and Thai restaurants that occupy Clement Street. Toy Boat is a light house in the night, guiding would be passers by to its booty of delicious gelato and confections galore with a pink neon sign and well lit interior chuck full of child age decor.

Its 9:00 pm and this family friendly establishment is brimming with children out on the town to embrace a late night sweet tooth or two. The quarter hungry pony in the middle of the store is hard at work giving one young passenger a thrilling ride, and all in all it looks like a nice time. I snapped some pictures (don't worry parents I'm not a pedophile, its for my BLOG) sampled a tasty gelato and was on my way headed out into the foggy night for whatever college aged activities might ensue.

Biking in the Park

A biker takes a ride through Golden Gate park along JFK Drive past the Conservatory of Flowers this past Saturday afternoon. The Healthy Saturdays initiative purposes to make some eastern sections of the park including JFK Drive closed to cars on both Saturday and Sunday (currently these sections are closed to cars on Sunday only). The initiative was vetoed by Mayor Newsom who demanded an impact study be conducted to see what effect a car ban would have on the number of visitors to the park and it's museums. The study was finished early last year, and the results suggested that a car ban would have a positive impact on the number of park visits, as well as its underlying focus on a cleaner, quieter experience and emphasis on physical activity such as walking, jogging, or biking along what would be car-free streets. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors meets on Tuesday, February 27th, and plans to discuss the issues again and possibly come to a vote on it. The next step will be to see of the Mayor is willing to forgo a second veto and allow "Healthy Saturdays" to become a reality in the park.

I would love to see a more car free park where San Franciscans can go and recreate without the dangers, noise and pollution that cars bring.

San Francisco in Bloom

Ahh Spring time. Actually I don't really like spring, its rainy and everything is all wet. I don't buy into the whole re-birth, fresh beginnings bla bla anyway. This view of a quiet street near my house was nice though I must admit.

The Bicycle City

I have been following the issue of the Bicycle City, an initiative to create more bike lanes, bike parking spots, and bike capacity on MUNI, supported by some members of the Newsome Administration, and also by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC). The SFBC and other community members have been fighting to make these improvements to the city's transportation infrastructure for a long time, but as of late must wait while an impact study is done for the proposed changes to the city streets of San Francisco. Some community members argue that since bikers account for only roughly 10% of citywide commuters, this initiative ignores the needs of the vast majority of San Franciscans, and is thus unfair.

I personally would love to see more bikers and more bike related infrastructure like additional bike lanes and bike routes. Pro-bike city planners have a grand dream of making San Francisco more European, and more of a bike town, where peddling to work and around the city to a large extent replaces cars. The moment I heard this, I loved it. I would love to see freed up streets with little or no exhaust fumes, where bikers can coast up to their favorite outside cafe and share a drink with friends, then later pedal off into the sunset. Where the sounds ding-ding-ding replace HONK HONK HONK!

PostSecret Project

I first discovered PostSecret while doing research for my very first blog, and now it has become one of my greatest distractions. PostSecret is one of the most popular blogs in cyberspace, and claims its self as the largest blog without any advertising on its site. It is owned and operated by Frank Warren whom I credit with the brilliantly successful idea behind the secret sharing phenomenon. Today PostSecret has grown to be a huge presence on the Internet and also Warren has also published two books full of post secrets.

After doing a little research, I found that Warren does college tours and is willing to come and give presentations that include sharing postsecrets that were censored from the books. Everyone who I have talked to who as heard of PostSecret loves it, see your yourself at PostSecret.blogspot.com. I am now trying to get Warren to come to the University of San Francisco. He charges a fee of $6500 + travel expenses, so I am going to purpose that either the Media Studies or Communication departments invite him, or possibly submit an application to Superfund for the money on behalf of the Ignatian Literary Magazine at USF or perhaps in collaboration with The San Francisco Foghorn and USF-TV. I think that through these connections we have a very good shot at bringing Warren and the world of PostSecret to USF for what I'm sure would be a fascinating lecture on blogging, Internet start-ups and the secrets behind PostSecret.

Bringing Home the Bacon at the Pork Store Cafe

After a jaunt on Haight, we stopped in at The Pork Store cafe for a mid afternoon breakfast. The Pork Store is a tiny restaurant serving breakfast and lunch only. I have gone there many times and have always been satisfied with my meal, but be prepared, the wait staff is not going to hold your hand or bow to your requests, they are rude and too busy to offer attentive, courteous service, which is a testament to the food, as is the line that forms down the street every weekend. As the name suggests, they offer several pork dishes including pork chops, which I would never even consider for breakfast, but other people apparently do. On this visit I had the two eggs in a nest plate which is eggs over melted cheddar cheese, onions, green pepper, tomatoes and browned potatoes. The dish is served with biscuits which are famous at the Pork Store, where you can add a side of biscuits and gravy to any meal. My girlfriend had the french toast with fresh fruit which was very good and came heaping with banana slices, strawberries and blueberries.

The food here is on the expensive side for a cramped, rushed cafe and you can't get a substancial breakfast plate for less than $7, my eggs in a nest was $9.50 and the french toast was around $8. The Pork Store is also no place to sit down and contemplate your afternoon over a cup of coffee, if you don't order something substantial the waiter will glare at you, and don't even think about relaxing at your table with some coffee refills after your done eating, its get in, eat, and get out, at this bustling haunt.

A Journey to Haight

Sunday was nice and sunny, so my girlfriend and I went to Haight street for a little late morning shopping and breakfast. I heard a few weeks ago that the Gap on Haight had closed after a number of years in business on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, and I took a few pictures of the now nameless building with all of the windows covered in brown paper. Now, I always felt that the Gap was out of place on Haight, yes the company started in the 1960's in San Francisco and even used a "Peace Love and Gap" commercial during the holidays this year, but it seems to me that the Gap stands more for main stream commercialism and stock value than for anything in the vain of grassroots humanism that Haight-Ashbury stands for, or at least use to stand for. It certainly has a different vibe than Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Aardvarks thrift store, and a souvenir shop with tie-dye shirts and 60's memorabilia that it shared the Haight-Ashbury intersection with. I admit that the Haight district of today has changed a lot from what I know of it in the 60's when Janis Joplin and Jimmie Hendrix lived there. For example, today Haight has several corporate businesses including Wells Fargo, and many upscale boutiques with expensive wares and $180 jeans. However homeless teens and free spirited vagrants still flock to the area in hopes of reconnecting with the nostalgia of the 60's. And marijuana culture, another 60's staple is thriving on Haight where you can buy a pipe or bong or Bob Marley tee shirt on practically every block of the Haight Ashbury district. So, in my mind Gap is out of place, and I think many people feel that way as there are always many shoppers on Haight, yet never any in the Gap. Walking past it's big display windows on busy Saturday afternoons in the past I have looked in to see the store empty, or perhaps occupied by a few people, all as awkwardly out of place as the store its self.

I'm curious to see what business will jump up to rent this great and unique piece of commercial property, and I'll post it right here at my blog as soon as I find out.

New Lenses

The Foghorn got a new photography lens this week and today was my first time using it. It's incredible. I have watched our photo department grow over the past years. It was only a few years before I arrived on the scene that they made the leap to digital photography. We had a brand new Sony model when I started working there as a staff photographer, it wasn't an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) one with interchangeable lenses, but a point and shoot model as the terminology goes. Then we got a new Canon Rebel two years ago and this baby is sweet! It focused so fast and was an SLR. We only had the stock lens, which is a really basic one which is only good for short range well lit shots. Then the Chronicle loaned us a 300mm 2.8f lens which is incredible, heavy and costs a few thousand dollars new. The pictures it takes are amazing. Our latest purchase is a 1.8f 85mm lens which is also sweet. I shot a women's basketball game tonight and it was a challenge to get use to the new lens; it has the shallowest depth of field of any lens I have ever used (which means you need to focus right on your subject perfectly or they will be blurry, no simple task when the players are running around at top speed). Check out a sample picture from the game, and also my photo of the lens its self.

What will be buy next? Well budget proposals for the fall are due soon and I have a couple things in mind...

Update on "Vulture Funds"

I didn't know that the author of the Vulture company report on Democracy Now that struck such a cord with me was so famous. He is Greg Palast who was an incredible impressive biography and history of investigative reporting including much recognition from his peers and the news industry. Check out his website here.

Coorporate Greed

I’m a student of economics, so naturally I believe in things like a free market, big business and less government regulation, but I also have a heart and today I was very disheartened by what I heard in the news. I listened to two podcasts while I toiled away at my desk this afternoon, the first was by Amy Goodman at Democracy Now and the second by APM’s Marketplace.

Amy Goodman whom I greatly trust and respect as a reporter and long time host of Democracy Now, (a liberal radio news, tv and more recently podcast program if) was going through her daily spiel and I was listening in with one year and piddling in Photoshop with the other when a headline grabbed my attention. Goodman read a news brief about how Ethiopia was trying to go through the legal hoops to trademark certain kinds of coffee that they grow and export to countries including the US. Starbucks, a huge purchaser of Ethiopian coffee beans has been trying to stop them from doing such a thing. And I thought to myself, man way to kick the little guy when he’s down. A PR guy for Starbucks was quoted in the report as saying that the company didn’t think Ethiopia’s plan was the best for helping the country, but offered no other comments on the matter. Was I surprised by this whole ordeal? No, this is just the news like any other day, filled in with a slew of familiar topics; someone died in Iraq, road side bomb, and someone else died too, shooting or bombing or kidnapping or something, you can choose. There were a few the Republicans did this, the Democrats did that stories, a, the world is warming story, something about the housing market, exc., so you see news par usual.

So why am I commenting on such things? Because it’s this next story that really did it for me today: “Vulture Funds,” are companies like Nautical who bought the debt from other companies who loaned money to poor African companies. In Nautical’s case its Zambia where they bought millions of dollars in loans Zambia owed to financial services but were close to default because the country is nearly broke. The original financers like the country of Romania in once case, were willing to make Zambia pay back only a fraction of the loan as an act of international aid, but before the deal was finalized Nautical swept in and bought out the loan, then turned around and sewed Zambia for the entire loan amount plus interest. And what’s worse, and what the reporter for Democracy Now (not Goodman, she’s the host) kept pointing out is that these are legal issues that get decided in court. US court to be more precise, and apparently the President can simply block the suit and ensure that these poor countries get the aid intended for them. But he hasn’t. Funny given his recent (like in this very week recent) “commitment” to fight international poverty and give debt relief to the poor countries of the world. Here is the clincher: Paul Singer is George Bush’s biggest single campaign contributor, he is in charge of a Vulture Fund and works very hard to take this money from African countries.

Disgusted I was. Want to head the whole story? Download the Democracy Now podcast from itunes.

As a side note, I try to get my news from a variety of sources and yes I certainly believe that the media is slanted in all directions. I watch The O’Rilley factor on Fox News a few times a week, I also listen to the Democracy Now pod cast a few times per week. The main stays of my news information come from The New York Times (free website), MSNBC.com and also The Financial Times newspaper. I can see some bias in some of these sources and I try to bounce sources off of each other. I admit Democracy Now is left wing, and I don’t especially like that, I don’t like any agenda, but they do have damn fine reporting.

While we wait...

So as of 11:32 pm I still have no offers to trade my longboard for a bike. One person did offer to buy the longboard for $100 but that's too low seeing as I bought it for over $200 this past year. I'm not ready to part with it for that price.

In the meantime, I've been living in my office, because there is so much work to do. I work for the newspaper at the University of San Francisco and have been pouring myself into the project. On Sunday night I came back from the office at 3am and worked on a spanish project for school until 4:30. Que deficil! I manipulated the photograph of my office in photoshop so that the contrast is bumped way up and blended the original layer and the contrasty layer together.

As far as the mission of my blog, I did venture out into the tempest that was San Francisco this past weekend to dine at a great little North Beach restaurant, L'Ostera del forno, check out my restaurant review on the Foghorn's web site. I got soaking wet but the food was nice.

The Prologue

The prologue of a book is customarily written after the book is finished, but this is not a book, it’s a blog and just as blogging has defied the conventions of media so will this blog defy the conventions of practical literary tradition.

The Prologue

This blog is a special project, for me writing is a hobby and exploring the physical world requires motivation so thus we have a marriage of the two: A blog about exploring. And the Bicycle Diary? Yes, an exploration on bicycle! A bike that I have yet to acquire, but there is an advertisement posted on Craigs list requesting a trade of my longboard for your bike so as soon as someone gives me an offer we’ll be up and running (I mean pedaling).

My plan is to get said bicycle and ride around this incredible city of San Francisco with my camera and let the adventures present themselves to me. Some things will undoubtedly happen by chance, and others times I will have a specific destination say a coffee shop that the people on yelp.com wont stop talking about. Either way, several times a week I will update my blog with what I have done and found going on in this crazy, wonderful, beautiful, rebellious city