My 'main billboard' (the one you see at the first stoplight you encounter, exiting 280N onto San Jose Avenue) is usually something tedious and boring - O'Douls new bottle colour, vote for me, and other sundry things i really don't care about. A few weeks ago, the billboard was taken over by an ad i think is just brilliant - especially for San Francisco. The billboard is black, with big white sans-serif letters, and a solitary yellow box of a border. It says: "The SUV backlash officially starts now. miniusa.com" It makes me grin every damned time i pass by it.

i'm not sure i would have understood - except Andy has been obsessed with the new minis. He's not the car guy in his relationship - it's David who gets Car and Driver, and goes to the car shows to ogle the new models. But Andy loves the new mini, so i'd heard about them. They're terribly cute - and optimal for San Francisco. Somehow, though, they push the same button that the new bugs do - a tiny economy car has been revamped and remodeled, and suddenly costs what my Acura did? Seems a little odd. Then again, if it makes you happy, what's the problem? And all that said? I still can't wait to see them cruising the city.