The N-Judah Chronicles

Fun Friday: Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-03T16:59:49Z

I'm taking a break from all things Internet this weekend so I can catch up on some other things this weekend. So unless there's a major epic MUNI fail or some other ZOMG type news, I'm going to keep things quiet for a few days. As always, The Twitter will be on my phone for any random bits of retweeting.

But before I go to the movies, a few links and details...

-This weekend you can buy our t-shirts and mugs in the store and get 17.76% off. Simply type in the code ZAZZLEUSAUSA and you'll get the discount!

-If you haven't yet seen this amazing picture of an outbound N, do so now. Whoever this photographer is, they are seriously talented.

-The Facebook Fan Page has a new URL - find it at http://www.facebook.com/njudahchronicles. Unlike certain politicians online, you will not get a bazillion pleas to "get more fans" from it if you "fan" it on Facebook. Seriously. That's just stupid.

-The SF Appeal has been writing about the decline and fall of the CitiAparments empire, and how in their decline they're now illegally keeping people's deposits when they move out. (Word is that they don't have the money to pay them even though you're not supposed to go spend the deposits). It has been suggested that their continued malfeasance warrants having all their ads on Craigslist flagged for violating the TOU. Interesting!

Finally someone shot a video recently of a classical music quartet playing in the Powell St. Station. It is a nice change from the usual blend of Dylan sung badly or the Angry Crazy Guy and Ticket Scammer duet that populates the station often. Enjoy.

Guest Blogger Wednesday: MUNI Memories Through The Years

2009-07-01T18:09:57Z

As many have regaled us with their infinitely different stories and homage to Muni, I have been at a loss for words when I was reminded that my date to write was around the corner. (So imminent, in fact, that this post was actually completed the day of.) The individuality of inspired tales were more impressive to me than writing something myself; it shows the dedication, despite many complaints, to a transit system that serves a seven-to-eight square mile metropolis.

So what, then, is my homage to this wheeled wonder? I’ve sat here thinking about that with the cursor blinking monotonously at me, trying desperately to compare my interest in Muni to all the others that photograph, write and tweet about, speak of, and regale many a horror story about. Is it the history, the people, the endless amount of epic fail? I haven’t in the slightest.

The earliest memory I have of Muni is in the 1980s, when I was very small. I am not a native of San Francisco, but my mother was born and raised here, my father moved here, and up until earlier this year, my grandparents were still lifelong residents of this city. Somehow, every member of my small family ends up in San Francisco—it’s practically a tradition. When my grandmother was in her spryer years she was never opposed to taking public transit; it got her where she needed to go, and when I was in town, I would most certainly almost always join her. I’d always had a love of trains (but that’s another story for another post), and the orange and white Boeing-Vertol streetcars were no exception. We’d take them to the zoo (back then, tigers didn’t jump out of their cages); we’d go downtown… it was an adventure any child could find exponential amounts of glee in.

Some days, my grandfather would save us some trouble of riding the L all the way from the Outer Sunset and drive us to West Portal Station. (It amazes me that it—to this day—looks exactly the same.) This was around the time of the infamous “Muni Meltdown”, and I can say that if you think service is bad now, be glad you weren’t riding in the ‘90s. But as a child, we’d pull into the roundabout at West Portal and I’d be mesmerized by the overhead wires; the twisted, tangled web of woven cable and current that broke the sky into puzzle pieces. They were so expansive to my imaginative child eyes that even today I am always a little disappointed that they do not look as cluttered as I remember. We’d pile out of the car as quickly as possible, because there was always that bus that crept up behind while my grandfather was idling. These are my first memories of Muni, on the L-Taraval from 33rd Avenue in. As quickly as those metro cars entered the tunnel, though, I forgot how the system worked.

My teenage years were relegated to trips downtown (sometimes coming in on BART) and the occasional cable car ride, something I still treasure as one of my most favored methods of transportation. (Secretly, I want to drive one.) I reverted to being a transit greenhorn, a noob, a complete and utter novice. What I remembered as a child was a hazy mess that would most likely get me lost rather than get me there. I nixed the idea of paying the 35-cent (yes, I remember when it was cheaper, too) youth toll for the safety and comfort of a foam-padded seat in the car. Shame on me.

And then fast forward to college. I ended up at San Francisco State University, begging and pleading with my parents to let me bring my precious Honda Civic to the city, because however would I get around without it? I was instantly quashed and told that San Francisco’s transit system would suit me just fine. Being bitter and resentful at 17 because I didn't get what I want didn’t help Muni’s case anymore. I was terrified of taking the buses upon my arrival. You would never catch me dead on the 17, 18, 28, or 29; if the M didn’t get me there, I didn’t go. It was a serious detriment to my knowledge of the city, and my social life. Shame on me twice.

I did eventually give in and start put-putting my way around, partially in congruence with buying my first Muni pass. As terrified as I was to begin with, scrounging up the $1.25, and then soon after, $1.50 in change for a poor college student with even poorer spending habits was nearly impossible. I’m pretty lucky I never got a ticket, because I’ll shamefully admit there were plenty of days I didn’t pay. With that growth I was still a little uncomfortable, but somehow, I figured out, I was getting where I needed to go, and I was hooked.

As appealing as it has always sounded to still bring a car into this city for large loads, groceries, and to get out of the city on the days when you just have to see sun, I’ve really never been able to convince myself strongly enough. Granted, if you handed me the keys to a BMW or a Mini I’d probably die a million happy deaths, but that vehicle would sit idle, taking a backseat (no pun intended) to the substantial transit network Muni provides. Why waste the gas?

So now, after I’ve moved 5 times in this city and dealt with new lines each time, I am still questioning what has made me so passionate about my big, lumbering municipal limos. I’m a believer in public transit, yes, but it’s one step further that inspires you to read the local blogs, to share your stories, and to end up writing a page and a half (so far) guest post spewing your unwavering love. Is it the people, the epic fail, the simplification of transit? Is it that it saves me money and provides me with endless amounts of entertainment? Is it the ambiance?

I could go on questioning the exact probable thing that makes me swoon at the sight of a Breda car, or get excited when service runs on time, but all I can sum it up to is that it’s everything about the system itself. Still trying to be the first to pull the cord for my stop brings back memories every time, but it shows that each person who shares the ride has character. Each traffic jam in the tunnel, each driver, each graffiti scarred window and broken cantilever gives this system a little more humanity. When your butt starts to fall asleep in those plastic chairs, the air conditioner drips on your head, and they turn your N-Judah around at 19th instead of taking you all the way home, it’s frustrating, but I know that the next morning we’ll be sharing a ride with our oldest and best (and most of the time trustworthy) friend Muni in those orangey-red seats, and in some way, loving the whole ride.

Guest Blogger positions are open for July and August! Sign up by emailing Greg at this email address.

Yes, that was an EPIC MUNI FAIL, In Case You Were Wondering...

2009-06-30T03:26:51Z

By now you've probably heard of the pretty big FAIL that happened around 7pm this evening (perfect timing)...those of you following on Twitter would have received some updates as I learned of them while I was out and about.

Readers also wrote in with firsthand accounts, such as this one from Warren about an hour or so ago:

7:15 pm Here I stand on the N in the subway stuck between Van Ness station and Church for the 15th minute. The train operator says there's a problem up ahead and crews are on the way to fix the problem. The train starts to crawl but goes about 10 feet then stops again.
7:22 pm The train operator announces that the problem is serious, but that we would start moving again.

7:25 pm We make it outside. It looks like L,K, and M riders will be stuck for a while.

-Warren

Several others also wrote or Twittered in with reports as well. The irony that all of this is happening on the eve of fare hikes and service cuts? Priceless.

UPDATE: Tommy the bartender at the Blackthorn was commuting on the way to the BT, and was held up, and reports this interesting piece of news as he's still delayed on his way in tonight.

Photo of Day: Commute, Work, Commute, Sleep...

2009-06-30T00:31:48Z

commute work commute sleep

Seemed rather appropriate on a Monday. Seen on Judah at 25th while waiting for an N.

Links of Interest: FoundSF.org!

2009-06-29T17:12:58Z

Recently, someone sent me a link at FoundSF.org, detailing plans for a 7th Avenue Freeway in the Inner Sunset, which would have been a dramatic change to the neighborhood, to put it mildly. But after checking out the map (complete with lots so you can see if your house would have been demolished or next to a busy freeway), I started reading some of the other articles, and it was quite interesting.

What makes FoundSF unique is the fact that much of its historical accounts are first person stories, or from primary sources, rather than something you might find on (sigh) Wikipedia. Although this means you have to do some checking on who's writing and consider their point of view, it also makes for a more lively read than an encyclopedia. Overall, an interesting place to spend an evening when one should be watching whatever's on Bravo.

Note: I was able to secure a Facebook Page name last night - you can now find us at http://www.facebook.com/njudahchronicles!

Friday, Friday, Friday Roundup - Pride Week Detours, Critical Mass, Videos, iPhone App News, a 4th Anniversary, and More!

2009-06-26T19:38:52Z

There's quite a bit going on this sunny Friday, so I'm rolling several posts into one so I can get outside for some exercise and get back to work!

First off, this weekend marks the 4th anniversary of this site. We had a small event last night at the Blackthorn, which went well. However, I only found out at the last minute that a good portion of my E-vites were marked as spam, and many people never saw the invite, which was infinitely frustrating. I couldn't afford to open it up as a big wide event for tons of people as I don't make a fortune off of the site's T shirt and ad revenues just yet.

So if you missed this event, trust me when I say a) we weren't trying to be lame, and b) we'll be doing more events this summer and fall, formal and informal, that will be wide open to the public so you can hang out and meet your fellow MUNI riders and so on.

This weekend we have a lot going on. Today, of course is Critical Mass Day, which will have added fun as the preparations for the SF Pride Parade are already up around Civic Center. Obviously, this weekend will see a large influx of folks from around the world and on Parade Day itself, you can expect delays getting around town. So, plan accordingly for or around both.

Next up, a shout out to the SF Appeal, for their actual reporting of news regarding the bizarro case of Routesy, caught in a bureaucratic snare. SF Weekly also did some digging and deserve a shout out as well. This is the kind of thing I wanted to research myself, but didn't have the time to do, so I handed it off to the Appeal to do it right. It's nice to see more than one journalistic entity take on a difficult issue with larger concerns for the public and print up something worth reading, esp. since there was no way I could take a few days off work to do it myself!

Finally, some fun. I've already posted those wonderfully campy Paul Lynde videos "Transit, Who Needs It?" and now here's a double shot of transit fun. First, we have this video called "Citizen Tram" made about 40 years ago in Melbourne, Australia. Take a look:

And to follow up, here's a great film about Melbourne today, from Streetsfilms, which is part of the Streetsblog empire of awesome. (they don't have custom sized embeds, so it doesn't fit particularly well here, go to the original site if you like).

Finally, the weather is spectucular (I think) and you should get outside and do whatever it is you like doing on a sunny June weekend. And why not stop by Park Chow for this Verbena Royale they're now serving up after a day at the park? (thanks to twitteratti @aperte and @sfoodie for the tip!)

Reminder: Gerry Adams Comes to the Inner Sunset on Saturday!

2009-06-25T23:28:35Z

Just a quick reminder that Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, will be the host of a forum entitled "A United Ireland - How Do We Get There?" at St. Anne's Hall over at Funston and Judah (right on the N line). It runs from 2pm-5pm, and Mr. Adams and a panel of Irish and Irish Americans will be there to answer any questions the public may have about the situation in Ireland.

The panel will include artist Robert Ballagh and actress Fionnula Flanagan (whom some may recognize as "Eloise Hawking" from the hit ABC show LOST and "Rose Caffee" from the Showtime program "Brotherhood", as well as several guest appearances on "Star Trek: The Next Generation")

It's not often we get international leaders right here in our neighborhood, so if you're interested, check it out. Figure it this way - you're far more likely to get a question about Ireland's future answered by Mr. Adams and the panel than you are from local officials about the future of the N Judah!

1 Adam 12, 1 Adam 12, We Have a MUNI Fail Whale In Progress!

2009-06-25T21:34:32Z

Ironically, as we approach the fourth anniversary of the N Judah Chronicles, today seems to be a day of massive MUNI failwhales, starting this morning.

Loyal Readers, armed with smartphones and Twitter accounts, have been alerting myself and other Twitteratti about a string of mini-disasters. First, @thestandingroom (who is an NJC Hero for all his reporting) reported a broken outbound N at East Portal, around 1030 this morning. Later, folks were re-routed to Carl and Hillway. Eventually trains were blocked by some dude in a car or something. Not too much later, @SallyTV reported that all 3 ticket machines at King were dead, and no trains were in sight. @rowenoftc also reported similar failwhale, all the way out on the other end of the line at the same time.

Sigh.

Now, I figured that was that, and all was well, but again, Hero Twitteratti @thestandingroom just gave us a heads up of a failwhale regatta on 9th and Judah (literally in my front yard!), as did @remid0d0s0, which we took a screenshot of.

The irony of this all happening right around the time I started this little blog is almost as funny as seeing competing BART management and Union Google Ads on my article about the inherent lameness of the impending BART strike FAIL.

Some days this thing literally writes itself.

Become one of the Twitteratti! Follow me on The Twitter and @ me any MUNI failwhales you see in the wild!

Guest Blogger Wednesday: Why I Love MUNI So Much!

2009-06-24T23:07:12Z

Before I moved to San Francisco four years ago, I had a car and I drove it everyday. I drove it to work. I drove it to go visit friends. I drove it to the store. Sometimes, I would drive it just to drive the dang thing. The year before I moved to the city, I started bartending in a nightclub in the middle of the Tenderloin three nights a week. It was essential that I had my car at that time because I was commuting all the way from San Jose and I wouldn’t get out of work until 3 or 4 in the morning. Every night that I worked in the city, I had to pay $10-$15 to park my car. I didn’t want to risk parking it on the street and get nabbed by DPT for street cleaning or take a chance getting my car broken into. There were some nights that I would end up only to make enough to pay for parking my car.

I had a ton of friends who already lived in the city and tried to keep their car. I heard all kinds of horrible stories about numerous tickets from the DPT, which would lead to the infamous boot on their car. Getting your car broken into seemed to be a common theme in every neighborhood of San Francisco, even if you didn’t leave anything out in plain sight. Sometimes, people would have the urge to just bust your window and then what could you do? And then there were the stories of people having a hard time finding parking every day and night. I thought about all the wasted money, heartache and countless hours I might spend looking for a parking space and decided that when I made the move to the city, I would make it minus my car.

On July 1st, 2005, I handed over the keys to my car to my little sister and drove my U-Haul to San Francisco. That’s right. I gave my car to my little sister. I figured since she lived all the way out in Tracy and was turning 16, she would have a lot more use for the car than I would.

I quickly discovered my love and fascination for all things MUNI upon my arrival here in the city as a full-time resident. I have always been a public transportation fan. I love taking the bus. It’s nice to leave the driving in traffic up to someone else while you watch the city go by and people watch.

My monthly $45 Fast Pass got me everywhere in the city I needed to go. I could ride any MUNI bus or train. I could even ride BART within the city limits. On certain lines (Holla 38!!), I never waited longer than 10 minutes for a bus. It was a whole lot cheaper than paying cab fare and a lot less heartache than having to deal with parking, traffic and fighting the DPT.

There are so many interesting characters that ride MUNI. There is the guy who rides the 9 while he brushes his teeth. Also on the 9, there was this one guy who projectile vomited all over the seat in front of him. I had never seen a bus clear out so quick before. There are the little Asian ladies who push you out of the way with their bags while boarding the bus. There are the obnoxious high school kids who take over the 49 as soon as they get out of school. On the 19, there is the male crackhead who sits in the stairwell and refuses to get up when people are trying to exit the back of the bus.

I can’t forget the stinky, overweight homeless lady who fell asleep on me while riding the 22 on my way to work. She made me smell like a homeless person long after I had gotten to work that morning. I will never forget the lady who snuck her un-muzzled dog onto the 49 and then proceeded to dump a can of dog food on the floor of the bus so her dog could eat it. Nothing like the smell of dog food on a packed bus with the windows closed. If I drove a car here in the city, I would miss all of these characters. My life might even become a bit dull and uninteresting.

Now, exactly four years later, on July 1st of this year, my monthly Fast Pass is going to increase to $55. ~~There also won’t be anymore complimentary BART rides within the city’s limits unless I want to pay extra.~~ There is even word that there will be cuts in some of the MUNI routes and frequency of some of the lines. I can’t say that I would miss the 74X Culture bus.

So I have to pay an extra ten dollars a month. I still don’t have a monthly car payment or have to pay insurance. I don’t waste my money on gas or car maintenance. The DPT doesn’t own my soul. To me, it’s still worth it to pay $55 each month to watch the city pass me by and observe all of the interesting characters onboard. This is why I love MUNI so much.

Kathleen Neves writes the Cielo Gold: San Francisco Bartender Blog, the National Bartender Examiner, and can be found on Twitter at @cielogold.

Photo Credit: Tangobaby via I Live Here blog.

Please, God, No: Potential BART Strike Coming July 1 - Same Day as MUNI Cuts, Fare Increases!

2009-06-24T18:39:50Z

Sorry for the delay in posts, but work calls. Guest Blogger Wednesday will be posted later today!

Just when you thought nothing could ruin this great weather, or a Fourth of July on an actual Saturday (yay!), there's word that BART may go on strike July 1st, due to acrimonious labor negotiations brought on by a crappy economy (and the fallout from less sales taxes and the Green Governor's elimination of transit funding.) I've only been reading about this for a few months, but there are signs that we very well may have a strike next week. Worse, this will happen at the same time MUNI will be jacking up fares and making service cuts. This is an epic transit FAIL in the making.

There's really no way to plan ahead for the strike if you rely on BART (although you can try), since without knowing if it's going to actually happen or not, you really don't know what your options are, beyond driving. If you rely on BART within San Francisco (which is not what most people do) you can bypass it and hop on a crowded MUNI bus.

But if you're like many people who commute to the Peninsula or the East Bay (as I often do), your options are a lot more limited, and will pretty much ensure you're either going to spend a lot more time waiting and commuting, be it on SamTrans or AC Transit, or in a car. Add to this the fact that more cars will be on the road means any "time savings" are negated by being stuck in traffic, idling away and burning all that $3/gallon gas.

Add to all of this the fact that this will hurt tourism, especially when we've got Fourth of July coming up, as well as Giants games, A's games, and so on, and the shockwaves of a strike begin to take shape.

For myself, this is going to be a royal pain in the ass, as I've recently taken on a client in South SF, which while accessible by CalTrain, isn't nearly as good as taking BART as the Caltrain doesn't always stop at South SF, and the station location is not nearly as easy to get to and from the office. More troubling though is that if I have anything to do in the East Bay, there's no great option.

It would be nice if in these difficult times everyone (labor, management, elected officials, us) could try working together to make it through a crap-tacular economy, instead of this zero-sum "everyone for themselves and screw everyone else" mentality that has taken hold, locally and elsewhere. Militant talk makes people "feel" better, but realistically, workers can't be expected to work for free, and public entities are not Santa Claus and can't hand out every goodie out there for free, either.

No one is going to win in a strike, the loss of fares will make BART's budget worse, and the lack of faith that the public will have in all sides will be the biggest loss of all.

BART, unions, electeds, owner/riders? Get your sh*t together. We have enough crap to deal with already, and we don't need our holiday week ruined by your childish bullsh*t.

PS: Fun fact: If BART wasn't forced into the business of buying overpriced health "insurance," and we had say, a single payer system, over half of its projected deficit would vanish. Why employers are even in the business of providing benefits is something for another blog post (on another blog) but it really shows how parasitical health "insurance" really is as a business

Fun Friday: Summer "Solstice Party" at the House Formerly Known as Yes We Can + More

2009-06-20T00:24:04Z

The "Yes We Can" House is Awesome

Today I was busy with many errands (including getting a new desk! hooray!) and work, so Fun Friday will be short. Tomorrow night there's a community party at the House Formerly Known as Yes We Can (aka Barbara and Paul's house) from 8:30-11:30.

Everyone is welcome and all attending are encouraged to bring a dessert dish to share. SF folk rock band "Milestone" will be there as well. If you've not yet been to an event here, you should try and stop by. It should be fun!

You can also keep up with events like this at the Inner Sunset Facebook Group. It's a great FB group with many events and active members. Unlike most Facebook groups, where everyone joins and forgets about it, this one actually does things in the real world. Check it out!

UPDATE: Whoops! I forgot to mention that the re-opening of the Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Center in Duboce Park takes place tomorrow at 10:30am. The last piece of the Duboce Park puzzle is in place, and we now have a renovated arts center and park for you to enjoy!

PS: If you are not reading the joy that is the story of Swoops the Bird, you're missing out on some much needed laughs. Can we get Swoops to dive bomb certain targets around the City? Pleease?

Alert! N Judah FAIL at Church and Duboce. Again.

2009-06-18T21:44:25Z

By now you may have heard there's an N Judah FAIL in progress, due to some snapped power lines over at Church and Duboce. I didn't have time to post until just now due to work, but have been re-tweeting live reports as they come in on Twitter

Tom, the bartender at the Blackthorn, sent us the accompanying image for this post. If all of this sounds familiar, well the very same thing happened 5 weeks ago at the very same spot.

Sigh.

Guest Blogger Wednesday: Going Car-Free In San Francisco

2009-06-17T18:02:32Z

When I originally came to the Bay Area from the land of parking garages and four-lane residential streets known as Southern California, I brought with me my green, 1998 Honda Accord and my understanding of cities built-upon comprehensible grids. Living here would challenge both of these and change my entire concept of transportation.

Growing up in the Los Angeles area taught me to rely on my car. It was both my golden calf promising future prosperity and my fleshy calf providing sustenance in the meantime. The city I learned to drive in had a handful of bus lines, each covering only a few blocks of the main streets with their peculiar urine smells and two hour intervals. In an environment like that, driving a car was encouraged and expected, and the cities were planned accordingly with parking lots and SUVs in mind.

I used to assume this was the norm throughout California until my poorly researched and quickly implimented move to San Francisco. What once had been my tool for prosperity and sustenance now felt like concrete shoes. Compared to Los Angeles, parking in The City was rare or prohibitively expensive. Once one wandered off the main streets, the roads seem to disappear and reappear without good cause and at least a few trips were made assuming that 19th Ave and 19th St were the same thing. At some point, the choice was made to remain in my apartment for periods of several days or escape to cities that were friendlier to cars down south.

In August, a few weeks before my year anniversary of living in the Bay Area, fate decided it was time I gave up my calf. My car was stolen, ironically from the Daly City BART parking lot. As I chased after it like Dafoe did that helicopter, I realized my life had fundamentally changed. Carbon footprint diminished and BART police report filed, I boarded the 28 Inbound and held tight the railing of my new wheels.

Months after the incident I've become an unofficial cheerleader for public transit and MUNI. No longer hindered by cement shoes, I've explored San Francisco in every direction. I've developed a strong enough knowledge of the city to help tourists find their way around the town and I send concerned letters to my Supervisor.

Beyond the democratic impact that I feel decent public transit brings, there's something inherently San Francisco about MUNI that you can't experience until you actually rely on the system. When I visit Southern California for holidays, I find myself pontificating to my friends and family about the glories of no longer owning a car and how wonderful MUNI is. And when the 28 skips my stop or I spend 40 minutes at West Portal Station waiting for the M, I try to remind myself of how miserable I was just a over a year ago with my car that didn't take me to any of these places.

Michael Harper is a twenty something writer/activist/geek based out of San Francisco. He likes reading books, writing about obscene, practical & practically obscene things, and listening to the rudest of musics. He dislikes fascism and dairy products. He aspires to one day live in a gutter with a bottle of whiskey or his best friends.

Monday Morning Blues: Stop Consolidation and A Chance to Talk All Things BRT on Van Ness

2009-06-15T16:45:00Z

There was a lot of talk last week about potential stop consolidation along MUNI routes to speed things up and perhaps save some money.

Until I read more of the actual proposal, I'm not going to discuss this too much because it's easy for the discussion to veer off into the hyper-theoretical, which has nothing to do with what the SFMTA board may consider. Hopefully later this week I can do a post and solicit your comments on where you see a chance to consolidate stops (or why they shouldn't) along the N or any of your favorite routes.

Everyone's favorite subject, "Bus Rapid Transit," is back, this time with an appeal from the SFCTA for a citizen member to join the Citizen's Advisory Committee for this project. If this is of interest, you can apply now. Details are below:

Join the Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Citizens Advisory Committee!
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority is currently preparing an environmental impact analysis of BRT on Van Ness Avenue. The Van Ness BRT Citizens Advisory Committee (VN CAC) has been meeting quarterly since September, 2007, to advise Authority staff throughout the environmental study process.

One vacancy only – apply now! For an application, go to http://www.sfcta.org/vanness, or call 415.522.4800 , or email rachel.hiatt@sfcta.org. Applications are due July 15, 2009.

BRT on Van Ness Avenue would close a key gap in San Francisco’s rapid transit network through bus-only lanes, transit signal priority, high quality bus stops, and pedestrian improvements, all designed to reduce transit travel times and increase comfort and convenience for transit riders.

PS: Can anyone name the entity or publication I paid homage to in today's title? Anyone? It's rather obscure, but I'm sure someone out there can pick it out...

Fun Friday: Who Wants Some Free Giants Tickets?

2009-06-12T22:32:24Z

Greetings, Loyal Readers! There's quite a bit going on, esp. with regard to stop consolidation and whatnot, but we'll save that talk for another day. Today is Fun Friday, and today we have a really fun one - a giveaway for two tickets to TONIGHT'S GIANTS GAME AT 7:15pm!

I've never done one of these before, so bear with me if there's a few bugs. That said, I expect to be doing more of these in the future, so let's have some quickfire challenge fun with it. The only rules are these:

1. You have to be able to get the tickets from me in person sometime before the game. I'm in the Inner Sunset, so plan accordingly.

2. Today's challenge: If you were in charge of MUNI and had to come up with a hilarious new marketing slogan for MUNI, what would it be (in 50 words or less)? The one that makes me and my neighbors laugh so hard diet soda comes out my nose wins. Submit them via the comments section.

3. Deadline is 6pm, so we have time to meet up on my way out the door to a previous engagement. I can meet you in the Inner Sunset, or by Safeway.

This is a new thing for me to try, so bear with me, again, with any bugs. I plan on doing a few more over the summer with some other donated items, so if you don't win this time, play again soon!

And, because I think this is hilarious, once again, Conan O'Brien's "Twitter Tracker!"