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  Rejoice, for I have updated the scored phrase and word lists at https://lahosken.san-francisco.ca.us/frivolity/prog/phraser/, a.k.a. the Phraser project. I fed in recent data from Wikipedia, IMDB, the puzzles wiki, the Spread the Word crossword list, etc so it now knows of recent phenomena, e.g. that `the odyssey` is a thing. Oh, I guess it already knew about that one? But you get the idea; it has newer, fresher data. It also has some old data that I couldn't get my hands on for a long...

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  A couple of things seen on my morning walk in #SanFrancisco: Apollo's Dog Library, 6th Avenue between Fulton and Cabrillo. Sidewalk chalk art near Hippie Hill: lemniscankh. uh, infinite life symbol or something

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  MRW Hallowe'en decorations are already up at the supermarket

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  @lzg i heard "yuck" was in the name, so i keep my distance

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  huh. I got kinda-relevant advertising ‽on Tumblr‽ of all places. A "puzzle cafe" with those try-to-disassemble-this sliding iron shape thingies. Trying to remember the last time I saw a relevant ad.

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  Some new-to-me sidewalk chalk art by Kal Zakzouk at 20th and Irving. If it got you thinking "What's up with that triple yin-yang in amongst the eight trigrams?" Wikipedia had some related ideas: Tricolored Taeguk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taegeuk#Tricolored_taegeuk , Tibetan Gankyil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gankyil . (or could be artist noodling around with designs, who knows (Making fun of wanna-be billionaires in search of "three commas"?)...

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  @lzg prepped for it by having my internet go out for a few hours this morning, blocking my usual view of the earth

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  The Outside Lands concert in #SanFrancisco was a while ago, but the city has yet to paint over the signage-mural things, so I got to enjoy these https://www.indeliblefunk.com/ signage-murals.

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  #SanFrancisco vandals are out of control. #SFHellscape

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  Some things I saw on my exercise walk in #SanFrancisco this morning: Another Outside Lands leftover mural by Indelible Funk, this one advocating Music for the People. When your home looks boring so you try to spice it up with a couple of Dr Seuss-esque helical topiary tree thingies, but fail to consult his works for a more lively color scheme. Someone tore down flyers and painted over the remaining tape on a utility pole, but a San Francisco Crosstown Trails enthusiast already put a fresh pai...

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  Donated blood this morning. They asked me some new questions, interested in my recent contact with anyone with Ebola. 😬 Let's be careful out there, everybody.

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  RE: https://mastodon.social/@verge/117043967142105282 "In another big change, veteran Googler Jeff Dean — the chief scientist of Google DeepMind and Google’s 30th employee — is leaving with Google Fellow Sanjay Ghemawat to form an AI-focused public benefit corporation called Discovery Loop."

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  About a month ago, I pointed out an "equine vine" wire-frame garden ornament thingy in Golden Gate Park. I dunno if it's worth seeking out, but if you do want to seek it out, then my location description "Kezar Stadium" wasn't so helpful—Kezar is a stadium-sized stadium, and is 99.9+% not this wire-frame garden ornament thingy. So I took some photos of Kezar Stadium and then scribbled annotations on them to help folks find this thing. https:/...

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  I continue to check my little dashboard of #SanFrancisco COVID numbers each morning to decide whether to go inside the local good-but-not-amazing sandwich shop. If you've been following me for a while, you might remember that I track three stats. I blog about it when some stat crosses from a pretty-safe value to a not-so-safe value or vice-versa; but first I wait a week after the stat crosses the pretty-safe-line to see if it stays on that side of the line. These stats are pretty noisy,...

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  sharp jolt-y quake #SanFrancisco

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  Space filling curve, 8th+Irving St San Francisco

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  @lzg Messier-Ashpool

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  A fan of the #SanFrancisco Crosstown Trail posted his tribute "Straight Up," a walking route straight up the middle from the south side of SF up to the Golden Gate. Monday, I walked it… https://lahosken.san-francisco.ca.us/new/2026/07/28/straight-up-route/

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  New-to-me sidewalk art in #SanFrancisco 's Upper Haight, Page Street near Lyon. A piece by Eclair Bandersnatch. In my pic, it looks like her hair eroded, but that's just my camera failing to depict glitter. Her hair had a lot of glitter. An assemblage of toys.

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  This "Gold Rush" #SFPursuit reminds me of https://www.munzee.com/ , a.k.a. "What if geocaching, but we can use QR codes?"

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  Spotted some art on tree stumps around #SanFrancisco walking between SFPursuit sites this weekend. The little blue house on the tall tree stump near the 19th Ave entrance to Golden Gate Park has a "For Sale" sign out plus American Gothic squirrels. A Hello Kitty pussyhat on a not-so-tall tree stump near Arguello and Euclid.

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  Today's https://www.minutecryptic.com/ by Ben Stuart, pretty darned amazing: "FIFA World Cup semifinals? Good excuse to miss work! (3)" #puzzle

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  Some mighty nice sidewalk chalk art at Presidio Wall Park today, celebrating Phillip's birthday. I dunno know who did it; it's unsigned. Maybe, like, Phillip's grandma or something? #SanFrancisco

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  #USPol "The AI czars have been Sacks, Burns, and Fall? are they doing a bit?" –Prestemon https://blacksky.community/profile/did:plc:zsiieea4nujz6h7kh3vx5pqf/post/3mr7537u4wk2f

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  #SFPursuit

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  @lcamtuf goodreads says "First published September 1, 1996"

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  How to finish an #SFPursuit challenge in minutes^W years: Attend elementary school a half block away. Get to know the neighborhood. Write (the first draft of) The 2-Tone Game https://lahosken.san-francisco.ca.us/frivolity/2tone/ , one of whose puzzles covered the relevant territory. If you're failing to discern something through glare-y glass: give up, stand back, and consider what nearby establishments the Hours & Access notes might describe. Enter the first one you thought o...

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  Outside Lands is still two weeks away, but the temporary cell towers are already up and their diesel generators are in full roar. Meanwhile, at 20th and Irving, there's a new-to-me Kal Zakzouk sidewalk chalk piece:

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  oh cool, the emergency room near me is in the news oh hoo boy wait hang on https://missionlocal.org/2026/05/ucsf-er-crisis-death-staffing-parnassus/

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  new from Sam Lavigne: "A form which calculates an individual’s 'income tax body count', or the total number of conflict-related deaths they have caused through their income tax contributions to the U.S. government." https://income-tax-body-count.lav.io/