The N-Judah Chronicles

Hope everyone out there had a nice holiday season. There were a few things I wanted to write about, but I really wanted to take a break from posting and focused on other things. However, I got this email from Reader Gary, who wanted to alert anyone who uses TransLink for their monthly pass. Read what he discovered as he made plans to renew for January:

Hello,

Not sure if this is of interest to your readers... if you think it is:

We all know the new Muni Fast Pass will go up to $60, or $70 with BART next month.

I contacted Translink to see which pass would "autoload" onto my Translink card next month: will it cost me $60 or $70? I was on pins and needles. Turns out it will be $70. Since I don't want this feature, I had to cancel my Muni Fast Pass autoload and then set up a new one with Muni only.

FYI.
Gary

Translink email snippet:

Thank you for you interest in our translink card program:

As of January your card will continue to be loaded with the same pass you currently have at this time which will be the Muni Fast Pass with Bart there will be a change in the price you are charged for that same pass as of January 2010, $70.00 for that pass. If you are wanting the Muni Only pass, You will need to go into your my translink account and modify your autoload changing your pass to the Muni Only for $ 60.00..

This is rather significant. Many people aren't even aware of the cost changes (thanks to the incompetence of many at City Hall), but this was the first I'd heard about the Translink Fastpass option, and this is rather significant. The MTC is too busy spending a million dollars on "rebranding" to actually, you know, tell people about what's up with their monthly passes. Of course, none of this would have been necessary if so many people at City Hall were so opposed to Muni in the first place and supported de-funding the system.

BTW, you'll be glad to know that every single Muni operator, regardless of competence, just got a nice $3000 bonus today. Wouldn't it have been awesome if the really good drivers, the ones who make your day a little better, got a bonus, and the ones that lollygag around acting like jerks didn't? Or even better, if the overpaid executives didn't get more raises and bonuses, and instead decided to act like public servants, not entitled people who think they government owes them a big paycheck?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many people wait until the last minute to go shopping for Christmas. I know I do - usually because I find the best bargains and get people more gift for the money than I would had I done it all months in advance. Plus these days there are shopping bargains galore. Plus, there's no shame in giving someone a super awesome card with the message their present is on the way - hey if they complain, then they get a lump of coal next year (and no carbon offsets, either).

Because I'm still sending out Christmas cards and so on, I'm going to cheat, ever so slightly and post this link to my guide from last year as a starter. 99% of this is still all true, anyway, and they're all easy to get to, be it on the N or the 71 or whatever.

Also, of course you can always buy some NJC-related presents here, be it a mug, a Failwhale mousepad, or whatever. Already I've noticed quite a few "N is Near" related products out the door, and they make for a nice unique gift. Don't forget the Market Street Railway, which offers some truly unique gifts as well. "Mason Powell" also just got some kick-ass vintage SF street signs at the Cable Car Museum too.

I also wanted to link to some cool Etsy.com shops. Three of them, Foxy Monster (Goth and Kawaii related jewelry and more) Wonderland Dreams (Alice in Wonderland themed jewlery just in time for the new movie), and Superfly Delicious are all run by my friend Z, who was one of the people who encouraged me to start this blog in the first place, years ago.

Another is a site run by Reader Geoff, who not only reads the N Judah Chronicles, he lives just about a block or so away from me. He's got this great Etsy store and he'll be donating proceeds to efforts to repeal Prop. 8, too.

Finally, I'll leave you all with this link I found. Now, I'm not suggesting "buy local" for some sort of "let's all be holier than thou" nonsense. Instead, I suggest it simply as a practical matter to turn things around a little. Sure, we all shop at chains from time to time for a good discount, or for something not easily found locally and that's fine. But if you have the choice, take a look at this graph, which demonstrates what happens to your money when you buy local first.

I think it's worth paying a few extra dollars if that means we keep people in our city employed or in business, and see that money stick around here longer, than if we give every single spending dollar of ours to Wal Mart. Chains do offer some wonderful things (think prescriptions filled 24 hours, etc.) and again, that's fine. However, you can also spend a little more locally, and know your money will not just pay for your items, but also help out in other ways too! Who wants to hate on that?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Next Saturday, the good people who own the House at Sixth And Irving (Formerly known as the "Yes We Can" house) will be having one of their awesome neighborhood parties, from 6-9pm. As always the cost is absolutely free, and there'll be all sorts of good things: live music, food, drinks and of course, your friends and neighbors.

For more information, contact Barbara at 246 4748 or Paul at 810 3776. Should be fun!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Google News Alerts, I just saw this in my Inbox, and of all the things I've seen that are non-related to the "missed connections" category, this one is rather hilarious.

You Left Your Lunch On The N Judah

From the sounds of it, the lunch seemed more like a bag of ingredients. I mean, who "eats" a lemon?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Whenever I'm looking for something to write about, inevitably I find something good via Telstar Logistics, Todd Lappin's blog/photoblog/dose of cool. In the past I've highlighted some of his posts and great photography. This week, he wrote to me to alert folks about a really fun event, in conjunction with the non-profit Market Street Railway on December 19th.

From 1-4pm, special holiday themed cars will be departing from the Market Street Railway Museum on Steuart Street and take a non-stop ride to Pier 39 and back. Cars will feature holiday music and kid-friendly activities. Best of all, every kid gets an activity book and a piece of authentic 19th century cable car cable free!

The cost is a mere $5, and you can make a nice day of it, looking at the museum's exhibits, and maybe heading to the Ferry Building or something afterwards. This is truly an "only in San Francisco" way to celebrate the holidays (and I mean that in a good way).

PS: This is totally unrelated to this post, but I had to post something about this - the first augmented reality app for the iPhone 3G and Muni. As I don't have an iPhone 3GS I have no way of testing it, so if you do, and you try it out, please let me know how you like it.

Photo Credit: Telstar Logistics/Todd Lappin. Check out the whole photo set here!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So yesterday I took off for Sacramento, and like in those disaster movies where you see everyone living their lives normally, unaware that Some Bad Stuff Is Coming Soon, took a non-drama N Judah train to the Ferry Building to buy an Amtrak ticket. Everything was fine, why I even got their earlier, got double mile points with Amtrak, and all was well.

Then, while I was out and about at what apparently is like, the epicenter of "cougar-dom" in downtown Sacramento, I started seeing all of these tweets on Twitter about a pretty big disaster at rush hour. Needless to say, it was rather mind blowing to read, and I almost pulled a Mad Men and stayed up north, but decided to take the last train home. I lucked out with a 6 Parnassus home, but from all the emails and twitter messages I got, it sounded like life was rather rough.

Now, allegedly everything's back online this morning, so I'm posting this now, and would be interested to hear what people's experiences are today in the comments. Hopefully things will be better, esp. since it's so cold out there right now!

However, after that massive PR push by Muni, the MTA boss, and the Mayor about how so frakking great things were now, calling massive cuts in service doubleplusgood improvements, sure seems to be falling flat. Esp. with all the communication fails at the much celebrated AlertSF, 511 etc.

Way to go, Muni, keep on reaching for the stars!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ever alert Eve of SF Appeal passed on this link that appeared at SFGate today, a brief interview with the David Harrington, founder of the world famous Kronos Quartet, extolling the virtues of the Inner Sunset, which is home to the group. (Hey! That's cool!).

While I still consider Amoeba to be in the Haight, overall there's some nice picks in here. You may not be aware of this, but the Kronos Quartet actually wrote a song about our Mighty N, entitled Judah to the Ocean.

I think it's great to live in a neighborhood home to so many different kinds of people and businesses. Craigslist, Kronos Quartet, the Blackthorn, and so many more. Why live anywhere else?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So I guess the thing all the "cool" hipster blogs are doing to discuss the impending Muni Permanent Embedded FAIL that starts tomorrow is to write these f*cking "eulogies" for various bus lines. Oh, how cute.

Me, I'm not having any of it. I think our friend Akit has the right idea, pointing out that we're on the eve of a major meltdown on Monday, and it isn't going to be pretty. This isn't the time for mushy nostalgia pieces best saved for the school paper - this is time to get organized.

We have a Mayor and an MTA boss who celebrate these deep cuts as "efficiencies" with doublespeak that would make Airstrip One's MiniTru blush. We have a compliant press who has mis-represented what's happening tomorrow by repeating said truisms. We have a Board of Supervisors who celebrate big big increases in Fast Pass costs for most of us as "keeping fares low" (thanks for nothing, Sup. Avalos and your so-called "progressive" pals!) that boggle the mind.

And we have a laughable attempt by the head of the Muni driver's union to show solidarity with us owners, only to find he's just as full of shit as he's always been. (Hey buddy, check out how your rampant random absenteeism screwed riders of the 71, mmkay?)

I don't have an exact plan or answer about what to do, but I do know this - rampant bitching on blogs here and elsewhere will only get us so far. It boggles the mind that the bike people pretty much get whatever they want, including city funding for the monthly Critical Mass ride, but those of us who own Muni and rely on it to get around town and do what we want to do are ignored. Mayor Football Bat sucks up and subsidizes car travel and talks big about bikes, but hasn't missed a chance to screw Muni riders since he took office. So-called "progressives" talk mushy mouthed happy talk about green this or that, but have proven rather useless as they always always capitulate to power in a tough fight. (Lookin' at you, Mr. Chiu.)

At some point, I think we're all going to have to take a little responsibility and find a way to retake the power away from the bumbling idiots at City Hall and find a better way to run Muni. I have no idea what form that would take, but then again, I'm just a FastPass payin' owner, not someone being paid 300,000 a year plus lifetime benefits, either. All I know is that this half-assed way the MTA is run is NOT WORKING, and anyone defending it needs their head examined.

In the meantime I'm setting up a post for Monday that will be where you can report any and all massive FAILs for the morning commute...

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Well if you haven't heard on The Twitter or elsewhere, word via SF Appeal is that the stabbing suspect from yesterday was captured on the N Judah today. The Examiner has also confirmed the story and SFist has more links to coverage also.

Let's be glad no one was stabbed on the N Judah, and that yesterday's victim also makes a full recovery, as well as anyone who's been injured due to Muni crime. We've got a long way to go before this problem goes away, so let's keep the employees accountable.

And those who make jokes about Muni safety (aka "Football Bat" Daly) need to STFU.

UPDATE: Speaking of "Football Bats," Mayor Newsom just issued a press release. Whee.

Hey, Gavin, maybe if you'd cared about this, no one woulda been stabbed in the first place!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)