A weighty metaphor from The New York Times :

Under an Iron Hand, Rebirth of a Republic
Russia’s Proxy Is a Fearsome Midwife In the Revival of the Chechen Capital

Setting: a crowded sidewalk in the Financial District, San Francisco. A (presumably) homeless man lies a few steps from the entrance of a tall office building. He is mumbling incoherently, gesturing wildly, and clutching a brown-bagged bottle of something strong. A building maintenance worker walks over to him and says:

“Hey man, do me a favor and toss that bottle in the bin over there when you’re done.”

Half full: I live in a city that doesn’t expect the homeless to be invisible.

Half-empty: I live in a city where this is so commonplace that alcoholism and psychosis are lower priorities than recycling.

Pacific Gas & Electric screwed up, and now they owe a bunch of people money. The fact that they’re being held accountable, that consumers’ rights are being protected, blah blah blah is inspiring and wonderful, of course. However, my favorite part of the SFGate’s article on this is where they cover PG&E’s response to the question of what people should do if they think they deserve a refund.

PG&E’s position:

PG&E says it will identify people who deserve a refund and give them a credit on their bill … The utility has not yet set up a mechanism for handling [disputes] and told The Chronicle it doesn’t want customers flooding its phone lines with requests. “Customers don’t need to take any action right now,” a spokesperson said.

SFGate’s response:

Just in case you feel like contacting them anyway, here’s PG&E’s customer service line: (800)743-5000.

From the the AP, via the SFGate:

Federal authorities say an Indiana man robbed a Chicago bank just hours after he was released from jail for a bank robbery conviction … He was still wearing clothes issued to him from Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.

I must admit that my knee-jerk reaction was the same as SFGate commenter bakunin’s:

I sorta admire a guy who finds his calling in life and sticks to it, no matter the opposition which attempts to stand in his way.

To continue the theme of “How Weird is Facebook?,” allow me to announce that I have a new friend:

Her name is Janna McGregor, and she was born on May 14, 1978.

Those who know me particularly well are aware of the following facts:

My name is Janna McGregor, and I was born on May 14, 1978.

I’m not sure what to think about this. There aren’t many Jannas out there, and, according to Google, there are exactly two Janna McGregors present online. How is it that we ended up with the exact same birthday?

Interoffice email:

Please note that our Tokyo office will be closed on:

Monday, 17th September-Respect for the Aged Day
Monday, 24th September-Autumn Equinox Day

Bark-inspired suit at Prada:

Most of the time I am disgusted by the price tags that come along with high end fashion. I’m sure a lot of thought goes into each piece, and I assume the craftsmanship is several notches above what you’d find at the Gap, but hundreds of dollars for a t-shirt? How is that justifiable?

The suit pictured above, though, won my respect and left me a bit awe-inspired. Granted, I doubt it’s worth whatever they’re charging for it, but when I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I actually thought they had placed a tree in the window display. This seemed unusual, so I took a second look and did a double take (or is that a triple take?). My amateur-at-best photography skills don’t do justice to the incredible design, so you’ll have to take my word for it that the texture and color of the fabric are palpably realistic.

Say hello to clothing as art.