The N-Judah Chronicles

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.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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.

Continue reading "Guest Blogger Wednesday: MUNI Memories Through The Years" »

Posted by rowenoftc at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

commute work commute sleep

Posted by Greg Dewar at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

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!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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!

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

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)