From Polk and Beach to Hyde and Beach Street

In a bustling city like San Francisco it is difficult to stop and let’s say...smell the roses.  When I do stop and pay attention I see, hear and smell so many different things that make this city unique and loved by its local inhabitants. I want to take you on a short journey along just one of those streets today.  I'll start at the corner of Beach and Polk Street.  I am currently standing across the street from the Aquatic Park and its’ Maritime museum and on my left is the William Sonoma office and on my right is the Anna Mandara Vietnamese restaurant.  I know the General Manager there, Lam, he a really dedicated to serving his customers and is very reliable when hosting group functions and parties of any kind. I can't quite see it from where I am standing but I can smell the salt air coming off the Bay.  By now the tides are fighting over which direction, in or out, they want to go.  As they fight it out the slack line where the two opposing tides meet foams up and I can almost smell which tide is winning.  The flood tide always wins in my opinion because it has the whole Pacific Ocean behind it pushing all that water inland.   Whichever is winning it is creating a consternation of water that stirs up the smelly bottom silt.  Bicycling passed me is a couple out for a morning ride along the bay shore.  They are tourist I'm guessing because they are riding those rent-a-bikes from Adventure rides.  They look as though they are having fun from the smiles on their faces.  Looking down Beach Street again toward the Hyde Street trolley line I can see on the left what looks like an old worn out Safeway grocery cart heaping full of dirty blankets and flattened cardboard boxes.  Strapped on top are full boxes and a bucket full of other stuff of who knows what else.  Tied onto all four corners are 32 quart trash bags.  The two in the front appear to be for the crushed aluminum can inventory.  On the rear corners are the smashed plastics inventory.  As I get closer I can see a pair of worn out shoes with their tongue’s hanging out sitting under the park bench looking as tired as the cart.  Now that I am only fifteen feet away from the bench I notice movement coming from underneath another set of blankets spread over the entire length of the bench.  From beneath the coverings a pair of tired eyes pier out following my passing. It’s hard not to stare back but I know I have to be strong and not make eye contact.  From the tired look on his face he is the likely caretaker of the grocery cart including the recyclables.     I begin to step lively now to hurry passed so as not to encourage a conversation over change.  Looking even further down Beach Street now the number “19” MUNI bus sits at rest like it seems to always be when I pass this way. I rarely see it move.  I wonder sometimes if it is parked there to give the impression of mass transit like those abandon police cars you see in the suburbs causing you to tap your brakes just for moment just in case.  Budget cuts have warranted such clever tactics.  As I pass by the bus on the right-hand side of the walkway street vendors are setting up for today's business. Jewelry, photographs of points of interest, and amateur artists are waiting to duplicate in charcoal on 20lb copier paper a would-be tourist that mistakenly stops only to admire the talent.  The trolley line is already forming with tourist who for five dollars will ride up Hyde Street all the way to Jackson and maybe over to the Mason-Powell Street line and then finally ending up downtown on Market Street. I haven't ridden on the trolley myself yet and I’m not sure I ever will. I usually have a place to go when I am riding public transportation so I seldom ride for the sake of riding a piece of equipment.  The famous Buena Vista restaurant (BVR) is just across the street off my right shoulder now.  Dead ahead and sitting on the corner of Hyde and Beach Street is a Starbucks.  Decision time now, Venti Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte or a smooth Irish coffee made famous in San Francisco by the BVR.  I am a traditionalist at heart so I am going for the Irish coffee and I need a break and it is almost lunch time anyway.  When I come back let me tell you about the latte on the Coit Tower stairs that didn't make it to the top. 

No S#%&T Sherlock...Read the linked story

Al-Murisi slammed his shoulder into the cockpit door of American Airlines Flight 1561 from Chicago and yelled, "Allahu Akbar." Translated into "God Is Great".   A psychological examination of Al-Murisi was completed Monday, but court officials and his lawyer said privacy laws prohibit revealing its conclusion. However, Christopher Morales, the attorney hired Tuesday by Al-Murisi's family, said he is convinced the in-flight outburst was caused by a mental disturbance, and that Al-Murisi had no terrorist intent. 

 (I apologize in advance for the french but, "No shit Sherlock" he had a mental disturbance.")

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/24/BAIS1JK8LD.DTL#ixzz1NPKhSTKP

Health and Patriotism Align?

I recently read a Diet and Health book that was first published in 1918, that stated that it was unpatriotic to be fat.  Based on this statement President Obama looks to be more patriotic than many of the overweight Washington, DC politicians.

The City's homeless people are lucky

I don't mean lucky to be homeless, come on think more positive.  Recently I’ve been seeing several homeless people walk down the sidewalks of San Francisco's Financial District on Market Street and south of 6th, then suddenly they jump off the curb directly into speeding traffic.  I don’t know how the person makes it across without being hit by a bus, trolley, car or taxi, lucky I guess.  Of course this is after car and bus horns blare loudly, tires screech to an abrupt halt and much profanity is directed at the pedestrian violator.  I would imagine that if I were a passenger in the car or bus I would hear under the drivers breath,"Watch where you're walking you dumb bast.....".  After getting across safely the violator normally turns back and flips everyone the bird like they did something wrong.  One time I witnessed a homeless person beat on the hood of car. They are lucky again that the driver didn’t shoot them out of fear for his life.  The homeless have this innate sense of being owed something from society but I haven't quite figured it out what we owe.  I wonder if any of the 52% of pedestrian traffic fatalities reported for San Francisco are the homeless individuals that on a daily bases dare San Francisco drivers?   

Sons and Daughters of Bush and Powell Street

If you haven’t been to this restaurant and you like the sort of French style multiple courses tasting dinner this is number one in my book.   The ambience is relaxing for the most part however, you occasionally get someone talking as though their hearing aid was turned off.  We had someone like that behind us but the food and the service overwhelmed any negative I could bring up.  The food, OMG, the food was delightfully spectacular.  Every course was absolutely delicious and unique.  The presentation was colorful, with purpose and meaningful structure that needed sufficient adoration and interpretation before extracting the first bite.  Taking your time to let every taste bud in your month get a sampling is an understatement to say the least.  It’s not our once a week or once a month restaurant but it is acceptably priced. The service was excellent, exceptionally attentive.  Every course received a new and complete set of utensils and the chef sent out three special dishes to fill in the time between courses which was completely unexpected and unnecessary in my opinion however it did incentivize me to generously tip.   Five of five stars from me.  Visit this colorful and brief web site.

Sons and Daughters

How much is being an American worth?

Is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness worth paying someone $7000, being humiliated lower than domestic livestock or even dying for?   If you are already an American citizen and you're not sure what it's worth you should start by asking the 531 souls that were caught being smuggled in container trucks with conditions so deplorable that the humane society and Peta people would have run any business out of town on a rail tarred and feathered for treating animals so badly.  The smugglers need to be stowed in a shipping container and transported to the middle of the Sahara desert and released.  Leave them the container for shelter we're not inhumane.

Oh boy, another planet to ravage

Recently astronomers located ten potential planets that could sustain our current way of life, God forbid.  In a pinch we could relocate to one of them if needed.  Evacuation plans are being dusted off and updated as I write.  This discovery is of particular interest to San Franciscans who are looking for additional parking spaces that are not metered.  Right now the spaces assumed to be self-park and at your own risk so curb your wheels toward a rock to prevent runaways. Only one challenge to overcome though you’ll need allot of patience because the nearest planet is 300,000 years away and did I mention that getting back to work is a real problem too because of BART's current budget woes.  Please keep the horn blowing to a minimum.  You can’t call a cab either because San Franciscans are still rejecting extra cell towers along the way that could alleviate dead spots and improve data speeds from 3g to 4g.  The taxi hailing Apps Cabulous and TaxiMagic are not updated as well.

Sorry no pictures or brochures yet.

Elevator pitches are out...Thumbs are in...Silence is golden...Really?

Will it be the next generation that inherits a debilitating disease caused by smart devices spreading across the globe?  I am going to call the new disease Smart Device Head-hang (SDH).  If you don’t believe me look around.  Oh?  You can’t!   That is my point your head is hanging over your smart devices (iPhones, PDA’s, Kindles, iPads, Droids and Androids, etc.).  The top of our spines will curve downward from the shoulder after eons of hanging our heads down looking at our smart devices.  I am guilty too for having the same posture when I should be paying attention to the real world.  I am guilty of missing the world around me while I text, email, tweet, and like on all the different social networking media and most of us have every social App including LinkedIn which we have to have right?  Come on people how important can those BTW, OMG, LOL and :-) text messages be and what about updating our status or checking in are they really helpful?  Has anyone ever come up to you and said, “Hey, I just read that you checked-in at the same place I am and I wanted to introduce myself and have dinner with you.”, yeah right?  Will the world end if you miss one call, text, tweet or email?  If the world ended would you have noticed?  What would your Facebook status include or check-in location be?  Would you have anything to “Tweet” home about?  We are all going to look up someday and realize that we have wasted so much time communicating back and forth with a computer instead of real people on the other end of the Internet and those right next to us.  Something else to think about is that in 1000 years human beings could evolve into mouth-less creatures with eight more fingers and two more thumbs to handle multiple devices and keyboards.  We hardly talk to each other using our vocal cords anymore, we let our thumbs do the talking for us and our thumbs are dumb. You should read what they type.  We are the greatest thinkers and innovators of the modern era yet we created the smallest keyboards for the shortest, thickest and biggest finger on our hand, though it’s really not called a finger.  It is far too easy and comfortable being mean to one another knowing we’re separated by clouds, space and reality.  What happened to the real art of “social engineering”?

Big Brother Update

I just received an email confirmation from Delores at the Big Brother Big Sister San Francisco headquarters.  All the paperwork has been received and a case worker has been assigned  to me.   I can expect a call to arrange a personal interview between one week, a month or a few months.   I guess Big Brothers volunteers are plentiful.   Okay I am in standby mode.

Beautiful..Near Aquatic Park and Fort Mason

A little science Trivia nonsense for some folks

I had a really serious thought on Monday while watching the shuttle Endeavour dock with the space station and it is a question I’ve pondered off and on so I finally looked it up.  Space is a vacuum, right?  No air, right?  Okay.

Question: Where does all the air go that escapes from the shuttle when they open the shuttle bay doors into open space?

It seems I wasn’t the only one on Google that thought this was an important issue to resolve.

Answer: The air molecules dissipate into ever smaller molecules barely measureable by human instruments.  The air molecules that are not close to earth become part of the solar winds and travel through space undetected and the air molecules that are close enough to the earth get drawn back and become part of the earth’s atmosphere again.  Interesting isn’t it? 

I make all disclaimers for the accuracy or inaccuracy of any I comment made.

New SF Jazz Center Ground Breaking....Finally a Home of our own

Congratulations to the SF Jazz staff  and contributors for successfully raising $46 million in donations to build a home for SF Jazz in SAn Francisco of course.   No more wondering the City looking for venues that would host you.

Great Job!

At the Corner of Fell and Franklin Street near Van Ness Blvd. Due to open in late 2012.  Home of San Francisco Jazz

Debt forgiveness........How generous we are

Mr. President, I just read where you forgave $1 billion in debt from Egypt.  Great job Mr. President and generous too.   Now lets focus on me for just a moment.  The following letter will explain further.

Dear Mr. President, 

I respectfully submit this request that you forgive taxes owed by me to any state or federal government for the next ten (10) no twenty (20) years.

Thank you Mr. President for your prompt attention to this important request.

Sincerely,

Voting Citizen

Hey Parents...Are you serious about your childrens education?

Parents, 

if you are serious about education and I assume that you are because you brought children into this world then seriously review the web site below.  It’s a free collection and consolidation of teaching videos for the beginning student to the more advanced.  This new idea for teaching that you are about to review is great for filling the gaps and strengthening areas that your child is missing at school.  I dare you to take responsibility for bringing that child into the world and ensure that they have the tools to succeed in the world today and tomorrow.   It’s FREE.  BTW if you are student you need to review this web site too.

A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.

Khan Academy

Ever Been a Big Brother to a Little Brother?

I have often thought about being a Big Brother, but I never did anything with the thought.  I have the opportunity to go sailing with 4 or 5 local Big Brother administrators this coming Sunday so I plan on asking a few questions to determine if it is something I want to do, have time to do and if I want to be associated with this organization.   I am looking forward to the sailing trip on the San Francisco Bay too.  I will update everyone after the trip on what I learned and my decision.  

Cheers to your good health and wealth!

Make Room on the Planet!

Something Nice!

I have heard the phrase that many Americans are “morbidly obese” and even though healthcare costs continue to rise, people are not changing their eating habits. Thousands of people are falling ill to diabetes, high blood pressure, and any number of related heart problems that are deceases attributed directly to being overweight. Fast food businesses continue to show huge profits, why is that? Having time on my hands to ponder worldly problems like this, I believe I have a solution for making more room on the planet. My idea is to require every person that falls into the “morbidly obese” category to lose enough weight (not original I know) and to bring their body fat index down to a medical industry recognizable and healthy level. This in turn will reduce the diameter of most humans affecting the space occupied by every person. In turn we all get a little more elbow room you might say.   There are many benefits for being a healthier, smaller, or more narrow (physically I mean) person whichever description is politically correct. Consider other problems like the short list below that can be solved too:

• Eating less means less trash and garbage in landfills (Environmentalist happier)
• Less water is used when the body is smaller/thinner (Water conservationist happier)
• Comfortable seating/standing for all on public transportation (Traveling public happier)
• Airlines can compress seating space (like they haven’t already) (Airline industry happier)
• Lower fuel costs due to lower transported weight (Shipping costs lower, car owners happier too)
• Fewer sheep have to be sheared for the garment industry (the sheep will be warmer)
• Most people will be able to fit in smart cars (Global warming alarmist happier)
• Fewer swayback horses (Animal rights advocates and PETA people happier)
• Fewer  back injuries (Everyone happier, pharmaceutical firms unhappy)
• More cops that can catch the criminals (Taxpayers happier)
• Fewer broken office chairs (Facility’s asset management happier)
• More food for the rest of us. (starving people fed)
• Etc.

The result is harmony in the World!

Bay Area Hayward Leadership High School Senior’s Food Fight

No leaders coming out of this graduating class of seniors.  The food fight only uncovered followers and bystanders. They did nothing beforehand or during, to change the action of a small group. It seems that one true leader could have influenced the others to come to terms and see that this wasn’t a good idea?   Come on people the world already has enough bystanders and followers.   Some parents are whining now saying the punishment is too harsh. To the parents, did you teach your children about: respect, leadership, responsibility and consequences? You can’t expect kids to learn “it all” in “leadership” school. Parents are still responsible and should be good role models. Otherwise, your money would have been better spent on diapers and wipes. A lesson on the consequences of life is better learned now, rather than later, when they leave home. Oh yes, let’s hope that they do leave home! I suggest that the students negotiate the appropriate punishment with the Principal and you parents stay out of it. Perhaps the food fight would not have happened if parents had been more influential over the past seventeen or eighteen years, a teambuilding event such as bowling, mountain climbing, sharing a movie, having a great lunch together or going to a game park to ride the bumper cars would have been the choice instead of throwing food at one another….…..

http://www.ktvu.com/news/27878818/detail.html

I wanted to go Green but.......

I really wanted to go green this week during Bike to Work day, honestly. I have ridden Harley Davidson motorcycles a lot in the past. No, I don’t have a bicycle of my own, at least not one without a motor. A friend of mine has a the nicest bicycle in storage with two flat tires.  I decided to help out and inflate the tires for her. Trouble started almost immediately when I saw the valve stems. I had never seen a presto valve stem before and couldn’t figure out how to use either of the two hand pumps she had, also in storage. I headed back upstairs to get on the internet and read up on presto valve operation and inflation. What did we do before the internet? You can become or do anything using the information on the web it’s fantastic. I reviewed the information for about ten minutes and now I was an expert on bicycle tire inflation using a hand pump with presto valve stems. It took all of about five minutes to inflate the tires to the “feel right” pressure. I didn’t have a gauge and I had no idea what the correct pressure was for the tires I was inflating. They felt good though. I couldn’t just fill the tires up and put the bike back in storage without a test run.   I was inside a parking garage so I didn’t have to venture onto the dangerous streets of San Francisco. The first thing I noticed when I straddled the seat was that the bike was way to small for me, the handle bars were narrower than my shoulders and the pedals made my legs bend excessively. They flared out like airplane wings. I started pedaling and the bike started wobbling. I was skimming cars in the garage and skirting what felt like every cement support I came near, maybe it would have been safer on the street. The bike kept slowing down on turns (you have to keep pedaling I guess).  At any rate, I nearly fell over when I stopped because I was not used to the brakes. It’s probably been forty years since I rode a bicycle.  This dang thing needs a motor!

Oh Yeah!

 OMG!  Philadelphia Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Lemon Creme Pie, and Lemon Bars.  Where do I start?  Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!  The best dessert baker lives in Fresno, California for certain.  Who would have guessed that a lemon and pound cake expert would reside in raisin country.  I can’t tell you how delicious all the desserts are, I mean were, they are all eaten now.  Unfortunately none of you reading this note will ever know the sweetness of the lemon creme pie the delightfully light crust supporting the creme or the same crust around the lemon bars protecting the never ending delicious lemon filling with affectionate love, or the cloud-like texture of the pound cake especially when the cake is warmed in the microwave it is heavenly..OMG you missed it.   All three desserts are made by loving hands from heaven that only a mother has in Fresno.  We selfishly gathered all three desserts up and brought them back to San Francisco and we didn’t feel bad about it until they were all gone.   Next time we’ll be more thoughtful of others and only bring back the dessert we like the most.   Which do we like the best, Lemon Creme Pie?  Yes.  Philadelphia Creme Cheese Cake?  Yes.   Lemon Bars?  Yes.   I am not going to mention any names but I know a Pepsico executive that is going to have to try harder now that there is more competition over the lemon bars.  Good Luck!

From All the Sons and Daughters - Happy Mother's Day Mom!

By Ilene Madrigal


It happened. I looked out my back door this morning and fall has officially arrived. The leaves, you know those green leaves that I have enjoyed so much all summer, have suddenly burst into a collage of yellows, reds, browns, and oranges against a gorgeous background of pine tree green. It is beautiful. It was so sudden. I don't know why I say that. The leaves have been whispering about it for weeks now.

It's not like it's any big surprise, but then humans are just never really prepared for the end of things. For some reason in the midst of savoring all the beauty around me, my mother popped into my head. It made me think about her growing older and how surprised I was when suddenly one day - it just happened.

My mother lived to be 97½ years old and all of us know that is a long life span, but somewhere along the line, it happened. I woke up one day and her eyes didn't look the same. I noticed they had that blurred look that comes with age. Now this is not a bad thing, but it seemed like it happened over night. I went to sleep and when I awoke, my mother was older. And like the leaves whose purpose has changed - no longer there to protect the branches - exhibiting one last expression of glory before they silently return to the earth - just as suddenly my mother had assumed a new role in my life. For awhile, I was almost angry with her. She was supposed to be strong - able to care for me - be my protector. It didn't matter that I was a full-grown adult; I was still her little girl.

The change will be rapid now with the leaves. Once they flame into color, it seems that in just moments one by one they flutter silently to the ground. In the blink of an eye their purpose will change from protecting the branches, sheltering the birds, and posing as a postcard picture of beauty, and they will lie uncomplaining on the ground gradually returning to the earth. The bare branches will tower over them watching them as they return to dust. Their mission for this lifetime accomplished.

And so it was with my mother. Suddenly our roles were reversed. No longer was she the strong one, my protector. I stood by her and watched as her purpose in life changed. And like the branches that will soon be bare and exposed to the elements, for a while I felt abandoned and unprotected - uncertain who this woman was reaching out toward me for my strength and protection.

I think about it all now - how unsure I felt in this new role of protector - how exposed to the elements without my mother to strengthen me. It was as if I had been thrust into this new place with no experience to fill it. I wonder if that is how she felt the first time she held me in her arms as a new parent realizing the great responsibility of caring for another life. Now it was my turn.

The change had been sudden - not really - but it felt that way - almost more than I could wrap my mind around. But gradually the roles reversed and when the time came, it was I who held her in my arms as she silently and gloriously completed her mission for this lifetime and made her transition to a new life. It was I, who was her strength and her protector as I held her in those final moments of her life - this woman who had given me life and had held me and protected me in the first moments of my life. Fall had officially arrived. And it was beautiful.

©2005 Ilene Madrigal

I am not second guessing or questioning a good thing, are you?

We the people of the United States do solemnly swear to defend and protect ourselves, neighbors, and the principles and values this nation was built upon at all times at home and abroad. Osama you attacked us, you threatened our safety, you caused 3000 lives to perish and have forever changed our lives and those of the world so that we have to take defensive measures everyday from others like you that you created.  You are gone and our Navy Seals said goodbye and Godspeed to your promised virgins in whatever heaven that will receive you.  I am not second guessing a good thing. Thank you President Obama for making what was surely one of your toughest decisions.   United Nations Chief of Human Rights you know where you can take your request for full disclosure.  Where has the voice of the U.N. been for the last ten years and where is your voice and action for all the innocent lives being snuffed out in Africa?  Aren’t you from South Africa Chief Navanethem (Navi) Pilla?   The United Nations needs to remember that the organization wouldn’t exist if not for the support of the United Stated and which by the way remains more neutral than other member in my opinion.  Keep your yes and ears on China  Ms. U.N. Chief of Human Rights.

Cloud Computing --- Rough Weather Ahead it Seems

Can the Cloud be trusted to always be secure with fair weather for corporate computing?  Sony is finding out that lighting is in the Cloud and it's striking twice.   Amazon experienced bad weather with an outage a few weeks ago.  Are corporations jumping to quickly toward dependence on the Cloud Computing model?  I forecast more rough weather ahead for companies pushing critical processing up into the Clouds in their effort to lower the cost of information technology infrastructure and drive IT efficiency for their business partners.

Are you telling me you got hacked again Sony?

For my inconvenience you are going to give me thirty (30) days of free access to your gaming website? It is mighty nice of you Mr. Sony to let me keep my private information exposed for another 30 days longer and for free,  thank you.   Where are the screaming privacy advocates?  Come on San Francisco, I don’t hear a peep from anyone yet.  Diane. Barbara. Nancy. What do you say?

U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer

Former Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi

Happy 80th Birthday Willie Mays San Francisco Loves You

Courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931) was born in Westfield, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. His father, who was named for president William Howard Taft, was a talented baseball player with the Negro team for the local iron plant.[11] His mother Annie Satterwhite was a gifted basketball and track star in high school.[12] His parents never married each other.[12] As a baby he was cared for by his mother's two younger sisters Sarah and Ernestine. Sarah became the primary female role model in Mays life.[13] His father exposed Mays to baseball at an early age, and by the age of five he was playing catch with his father.[14] At the age of 10, Mays was allowed to sit in the bench of his father's Industrial League games.[15]

Mays was gifted in multiple sports, averaging 17 points a game (quite high for the time) for the Fairfield Industrial H.S. basketball team, and more than 40 yards a punt in football. He also starred at quarterback. He graduated from Fairfield in 1950.

Mays a former American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. Many consider him to be the greatest all-around player of all time.

Only One Word for Osama bin Laden's Death

|--- Yes! --- |

Come on Diane, you aren’t helping me.

 Why did the Senator feel it necessary last Sunday to preempt the President's announcement of Bin Laden's death?  Was this a Freudian slip showing that her real agenda, like many Republicans and a few Democrats is to subtly undermine the President?  Does Diane Feinstein secretly want-to-be Ms. President so she's stealing the President's thunder?  Senator, you were trusted with this information and for whatever reason you couldn't keep your end of the bargain.  Shame on you Senator!

 

 

 Cheers to your good health and wealth!

Sent from my iPhone so please excuse its' grammatical errors. 

Full grown pigeons ONLY in San Francisco

Baby pigeons don't exist!  At least, they don't exist in San Francisco.....Well, have you ever seen a baby or teenage pigeon? I have two theories about this perplexing mystery: 1) the pigeons have evolved further than the average bird that starts out with an egg, gets fed worms by mommy pigeon, finally jumps out of the nest, start flying, and grows up over a year's time. City pigeons just appear! Or 2) since New York was the first city to have pigeons, they probably gave them all airline tickets and shipped them to San Francisco. You know like New York did their homeless. BTW this is probably how the term "Homeless Tourist" got started in San Francisco.  I believe the mystery of the baby pigeons is one for the all-knowing Malcolm Gladwell to solve for us.   Malcolm says in his bio, that he is undaunted by difficult problems to solve so please take a shot at this Malcolm.  As for me it doesn't really matter.  It is just as well that we don't see the little flying rats.   Hey wait a minute I have another theory.  Please bear with me for another sentence or two.  Is it possible that mice are the baby pigeons before they go into a cocoon state and transform into a full grown flying rat?  What about this theory Malcolm?  I am patiently waiting for your answer.