Things observed on my twenty block walk down Irving today:

- Approx. number of American flags observed: 174. Approx. number of those flags used by merchants for business purposes: 133. Estimated number of American flags observed on hypothetical walk down the same street 3 1/2 months ago: 8. America seems to be suffering a kind of patriotism inflation.

- San Francisco drivers are jerks. Anything more than a 1/2 second's hesitation at a stop sign or for a crossing pedestrian resulted in the most unmannered horn honking I've ever witnessed. One guy honked his horn for 20 seconds straight at a woman simply waiting to pull into a parking space. Deep breaths, people, deep breaths.

- Elementary school students are now using rolling suitcases to haul their schoolbooks around. Are elementary schools becoming training grounds for flight attendants and frequent fliers?

- Starbucks makes a surprisingly good chai tea latte. It's hard to hate big, crappy companies when they produce good products.