The French do not take vegetarians seriously. To the French, vegetarians are liars, like monogamists, pretending one thing in public while keeping a pig or chicken on the side—figuratively. Even the word for ham, Jambon, sounds forcefully erotic. When asking a waiter, “Hold the ham,” he’s as likely to tell you to hold it yourself, much as a spouse might do. If the other diners can send what they don’t eat back to the kitchen, like the plates and silverware, let the vegans do the same with the beef.

More bothersome essays about nothing.

When I got home on my bicycle last Friday, I found this unusual sight in the middle of Castro Street directly in front of my house.

Since Castro is a busy street with a major bus line, this did not help the frayed nerves of SF commuters, irritated with the BART strike. I understand that the truck ran a light while making a turn onto Castro while the van came speeding into the intersection and rear-ended the truck. The passengers probably did not get much joy out of watching the turn fall over because their airbags would have obstructed the view. Pity.

I see that in the second half, I failed to let the camera auto-adjust to make the focus clear. I tip over another truck as soon as I get the chance to get a better shot.