The coolest thing about writing for SFist is that often we introduce a topic, then all of y'all weigh in with insightful opinion, crazy knowledge, or even some amusing smarminess. The groupmind of active SFist participants really makes for some excellent reading, whether it's about bumblebees, celebrity gossip, Muni issues, or politics. We thought it was high time to highlight your efforts, folks....

The SFist test kitchen staff has a tiny list of essential food books. At the top you'll find Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking. Our copy's tattered cover and stained pages broadcast our love for this accessible bible of kitchen science. When we use the bright red tome to answer our culinary questions, we say we're "Reading From the Book of Harold." Alton Brown uses this book as a reference. Why should you click......

The SFist offices are jazzed about the season finale of Project Runway tonight. Some of that is because this season was pretty lame compared to last, so we're just happy it's coming to a close and we can move on and forget. What we think would liven it all up would be better challenges, like this one: Take a box of donated thrift store clothes and make something beautiful out of them. Oh snap!......

In case you missed the GameSpot Annual Marketing Event at Moscone Center last week (also known as the "Games and Music Experience"), Lore Sjöberg has a write-up at Wired to tell you what you didn't experience. (The SFist Tech Labs staff didn't go, as we were afraid that 50 Cent would be there, and let's just say there's some bad blood between us.) Speaking of bad blood, Yahoo announced it would undercut eBay-owned Skype......

The SFist Tech Labs staff is back from last week's big holiday — the launch of the Xbox 360. Oh yeah, and Thanksgiving, too. Our plan to stand in line at Best Buy for 30 hours to follow some poor woman home and steal an Xbox at gunpoint failed, unfortunately, but there's still hope! Kaleidoscope We may not have the Xbox 360's awesome home media center capabilities, but we may not even need them,......

The SFist test kitchen has come up with a great idea. Sometime in the next week, arrange to see your friends or family at a big meal. Imagine how pleasant it will be to rediscover the quirks and foibles of your kin. You could even take this opportunity to clear up any issues you've let simmer over the last year. You'll thank us for giving you the chance to air out the metaphorical closets.......

What's long and green and covered with a bumpy skin? What? A snake? Oh. Uh, and it's a vegetable (well, sort of). That's right, cucumbers! We found cucumbers by the armful at this weekend's Jack London Square farmer's market. Pickling cucumbers, Japanese cucumbers, standard American cucumbers. The abundance flaunted itself, and challenged us to take some into the SFist test kitchen, where we could gently wash and admire this relative of the melon and squash......

While you're worrying about how you're going to get to work next week if there's a strike on the BART, we're worrying about our friends who toil for Hearst over at 5th and Mission. That's right, there's not one but two big contracts expiring today -- many Chronicle unions, including the Pressman's Union and the Media Workers Guild, among others, are in the 11th hour of negotiations. And if Frank "Darth" Vega's behavior is......

Of course, SFist is all over Frameline 29: The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. We're so pleased and honored to administer The SFist Interview to Sasha Aickin, director of one of the most hotly anticipated Frameline films, Blood, Sweat, and Glitter, which details the fight to become Miss Trannyshack, 2004. Saturday's sold-out world premiere of Sasha's feature debut is playing Saturday night at the Roxie, with opening party thereafter at Cama Bar, right......

The SFist Brain Trust brought to our attention that we could use something to balance our weekly Rants. So, we bring you SFist Raves, where we highlight some of the things that make the Bay Area one of the greatest places in the world. We complain about MUNI all the time, and we're not about to take it back. But like all great passionate affairs, our hate, anger, frustration, and disappointment is tempered by......

Tuesday is here again, and so is the Essefficist, but only to tease and titillate you, dear reader. Every once in a while it takes a little longer than we'd like to gather the information necessary to provide the sort of quality answer you demand for your quality questions and today is a perfect example. We're working on a submission, if you'll let us call it that, from our SFist colleague Rita, who begs us,......

It makes you feel kind of dirty just to say it, but it's starting to look like this really isn't the Giants' year. The SFist went to all three of the Giants' games against the Reds this week and left today's blowout with the sinking feeling that the best thing the team has going for it right now is that it's going to have a lot of money to spend on free0 agents in the offseason. If you can't beat the Reds at home without four homeruns and a miracle performance from a minor leaguer, then you've got some real issues. Oh well....

"I'm proud to have been a Yankee. But I have found more happiness and contentment since I came back home to San Francisco than any man has a right to deserve. This is the friendliest city in the world." - "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio Welcome to SFist. We're here to sing the praises of one of the fairest ladies in the world, beautiful San Francisco. Ours is a city of sun and fog, food and drink, poverty and riches, urbanity and parochialism - the blessed terminus of a hilly penninsula which protects the Bay to the east from the Pacific to the west. We are truly the Golden Gate....