Tag: Quora

Deano’s answer to: “How much impact have food trucks had on the lunch business of normal restaurants?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

How much affect has the internet had on the music/movie business?

In many senses, “none“. They are two entirely different channels. Their respective rises and falls are not correlated, for many good reasons.

In other ways, however, “huge“. It’s now possible to know in advance whether a movie/album is any good… And in some cases to even download the content itself “for free” in order to try it out, or even avoid paying for it. Still, there are solid arguments to be made that the net effect is that bad content suffers, and good content becomes more popular, faster.

Similarly, between sites like Yelp providing reputable and voluminous reviews of restaurants, and the food truck phenomenon disrupting the distribution and competition for restaurants, it’s a lot harder to “skate by” with a crappy restaurant in a convenient location… Or to open to raves in your first six months, and then allow food and service quality to backslide a bit as a profit-taking measure.

What food trucks do, primarily, is put pressure on restaurants and cafés to perform to a higher standard for their lunch crowd – and to highlight or even force out of business those businesses that fail to compete effectively. In the latter case, definitely, those restaurants lose lunch business to the food trucks, even if they have no overlap between menus.

For an example of a restaurant that “couldn’t handle the pressure”, and instead legally challenged the food truck parked outside, read on:
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie…

In that case, the result was a backsliding of Yelp rating for the restaurant, as well as awkward search result placement: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_…

This answer originally appeared on Quora: How much impact have food trucks had on the lunch business of normal restaurants?

Deano’s answer to: “Why do some people find it hard to maintain focus while reading books?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

Format may have a lot to do with it:

  • Some people thrive on reading printed paper or hardbound books in a linear fashion.
  • Others excel at retaining information gathered by hopping around quickly through a digital text, as well as the additional options to easily read for a short time (in line at the bank, for example) while also marking one’s place as provided by most e-readers.
  • Still others find “reading” audiobooks is the best method to ingest and retain knowledge long term for both fiction and non-fiction works.
  • Graphic novels blur the line a bit – in some cases retaining key description and dialogue, and replacing a bulk of the text with pictures, which can convey meaning equally, or in some cases, with much greater understanding.
  • While there are precious few titles available, even “micro-chunking” a book, by having it sent over time as a series of emails is now an option for some books – see http://www.dailylit.com/ for one example – which again provides an ease of access/lack of routine change element that can bring regular reading to those who otherwise can’t push through a 200 page paperback.

Overall, I think we’re finding that as scientists discover more details about how different personality/behavioral types learn, the options to accomodate these different types is expanding into areas that aren’t thought of as traditional “reading”. And as this fragmentation is then perceived (perhaps wrongly) by some as an inability to “focus on reading” in a specific medium.

Thus, it may be the case that people are not losing focus while reading in a given format, simply that their ability to focus while reading is tied to an alternate reading method.

This answer originally appeared on Quora: Why do some people find it hard to maintain focus while reading books?

Deano’s answer to: “Where is the safest place to have sex on a beach in or near San Francisco?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

Ultimately, getting caught is the problem – and it depends on whether you’re concerned about simply being noticed/watched, or if you’re trying to avoid the cops.

(Also helps if you’re not human. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/dav…)

Here in sunny Alameda, CA, for example, it’s no great trick to have a nice quiet beach-quickie at sunset with no one around to see (great views of SF skyline when clear). Just make sure you book your classy dinner date afterwards to occur sometime between December and March. 😉

(Okay, maybe some kiteboarders will see. Photo courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/jga…)

In San Francisco, easily the safest beach for sex is… North Beach! Specifically, in a VIP booth in one of the strip clubs (pricey, and some dancers will be offended if you go at it in front of her – you’re supposed to be paying attention, after all). Alternately, the live and video booths at The Lusty Lady, or one of the other video-only arcades in the area, allow for a decent level of privacy at around a quarter per minute. Watch out for those sticky floors, though.

In terms of actual sex, and actual beaches… I have two recommendations:

  • Read up thoroughly on nude beaches in SF in general, and see which ones are being targeted by parks police at the present moment, and which are relatively free from gawkers, etc… There’s an ancient tome on the subject – How to Have Sex in Public Without Being Noticed – sadly way out of print, but Amazon has a few used copies: http://amzn.to/muS1pX
  • Have sex in Golden Gate Park. You can try multiple different love spots on the famous “Fifty Places” list (http://www.fiftyplaces.com/intro…) to see which works for you, and then relax afterward by walking down to the beach (in time for sunset?) and perhaps a pint and burger at the Beach Chalet to regain your strength before driving home to relive the experience in bed. Sadly, this book is ALSO out of print (http://amzn.to/m7RT0y – click that “suggest for Kindle button NOW folks!), but if you print out the directions/spots of interest on the website mentioned above, you probably won’t get too lost… And if you do, hey, maybe that’s a good spot to try!

As with any public sex, make sure to bring proper protections, lubes, blankets, and a bag to dispose of any “sex litter” afterwards. Be cautious of poison ivy, sand fleas, and other threatening flora and fauna… Oh yes, and do try to make an effort not to be obnoxious, offensive, or just unpleasant to those who are there to relax, catch a little sun, or play with their kids.

This answer originally appeared on Quora: Where is the safest place to have sex on a beach in or near San Francisco?

Deano’s answer to: “What are the best action scenes in film history?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

For fight scenes, the battle between Jackie Chan and Benny Urquidez in Wheels on Meals(*):

There are a lot of great aspects to this scene, but the no-cutaway spin kick Urquidez does that actually blows out a full candelabra is incredible (@1:24 in the video above)… Lots of great real old school choreographed fighting with medium-to-full power hits (most of the blood is real). Chan at his best.

(* Yes, it should’ve been called Meals on Wheels, but there were worries about Chinese curses involved: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whe… )

This answer originally appeared on Quora: What are the best action scenes in film history?

Deano’s answer to: “Why do people find it pleasurable to read in bathrooms?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

The bathroom is one of the few places in a building in which interrupting someone while they are using the room is a fairly global taboo.

This, in turn, confers some ability to use the bathroom as a retreat, of sorts, to block out whatever is going on outside, and focus as long as needed – though stays in excess of 40 minutes are typically frowned upon at work and home. Unless it’s taco night.

This answer originally appeared on Quora: Why do people find it pleasurable to read in bathrooms?