The N-Judah Chronicles

This week I'm highlighting links to a number of community websites you may or may not be aware of, all of which provide neighborhood information you might not find elsewhere.

First off, I saw a flyer for the Duboce Triangle Association Transportation Committee while on my way to Comix Experience last Saturday. They will be having a meeting on May 12th to discuss ideas for improving the stops at Duboce Park and Church/Duboce. Click on the link and check out the details.

Also worth checking out is the Sunset District Events Calendar, maintained by one of our Loyal Readers. I've mentioned it before, but wanted to make to include it here once again, as it has many useful links for Sunset residents, as well as the events list, which is integrated with Google Calendar.

Finally, I got word from Reader Mark that the Cole Valley Improvement Association's new website launched just a few days ago, where you can find out all sorts of great news and information about what's going on in Cole Valley. Artist Niana Liu (whose art we've featured before) also has a Cole Valley site at ColeValley.org. Cole Valley may be a small neighborhood, but it's got two blogs. In your face, hipster neighborhoods!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a day it was in blogville (and its suburb, Twitter-ville) today, eh? We had some amazing blog goodness, particularly from Eye on Blogs, CurbedSF, SFist and Fog City Journal, among others.

For today's Links of Interest, however, we'll take a step away from the rush-rush of the day's events and focus on some blogs that take a look at urban life through a MUNI-esque lens. I've found all of them to be quite entertaining in that observational kind of way.

I caught TangoBaby's blog via Google News alerts, and her photo essay on the commute, via the Mighty N, was a nice find. She also did an entertaining post on the reading habits of those of us commuting on the N.

Likewise, if you've not read the dispatches by Rachel over at Fog City Notes, you're missing out on the kind of "as it happens" commentary I used to do more of when I started this blog a while back. And it's thanks to her I also discovered No Line Left Behind, which is an entertaining ride on all the MUNI lines. Her notes as she makes various stops are quite illuminating. I remember years ago reading about a group of people who decided to ride every line on MUNI over a Labor Day Weekend, but have yet to find the article....

Two other observational blogs I've caught on Google Alerts are I Ride MUNI and the awesomely named Stepdown, Stepdown. Both offer yet more eyes on the daily grind that is MUNI, and both are fun to read.

Remember, you can always find our ongoing Links of Interest by clicking on the subject heading in the right column. It's better than trying to cram all the awesome links into a giant column, and you also get a little background on each site as well!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Starting this week, I'm going to have a new feature where I link to all sorts of MUNI/urban life/etc. bloggy goodness. Thanks to the kind folks at Google News Alerts, I've discovered a number of interesting blogs that I'd not seen before, as well as some fun posts from familiar comrades-in-blogs.

First, SFMike at Civic Center highlights an unsung hero at MUNI. MUNI gives us plenty to annoy us, but when we discover someone at MUNI who actually works to make our day better, they deserve a high five.

Two MUNI blogs I've been catching up on, the "MUNI Sucks Log and MUNI Grouch which provide more tales of MUNI woe that almost seems to define us as San Franciscans sometimes.

If you're not already checking out KPIX's Eye on Blogs, well stop reading and get thee over there at once. Brittney Gilbert has done an amazing job, in a very short time, covering blogs across the Bay Area and finding the best in them (oh so many of them) every day. Rather ironic that so-called "local alt-weeklies" got bested by a tv news station.

And finally, a fun link from Eve Batey, deputy Managing Editor for all things online and good at SFGate.com, proudly representing the N Judah on Easter Sunday. We'll be selling these shirts (and more) on our new Zazzle store shortly!

That's all. And remember, for more link goodness, simply click on the Links of Interest link on the right, and find yourself transported to an array of interesting sites to fill your workday. Hey it beats working, right?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

If you haven't already checked out the wasting-time-at-work fun that is MapJack, well put down that TPS report and get thee to the site immediately.

Yes, its like the streetview that is the glory of Google Maps, but the street view is bigger and more detailed than Google Maps. Currently only SF and a city in Thailand are represented, but that's fine, because you can actually follow and beat an N Judah train inbound.

Just click on this link and turn "Jack" around to go inbound on Judah Street. Click on the dots and you'll notice you're following the same N train, until it stops near 7-11, and then off you go, passing the Mighty N by.

Hey, it beats working, right?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Quickly!

If you haven't already gone over to SFist to check out another one of MattyMatt's videos from MUNI, do so at once.

It's one of those "you gotta see it" ones. Talking about it would just cheapen it. So go!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night I had a chance to catch an interesting lecture/discussion on blogging and the Internet taught by Sreenath Sreenivasan from the Columbia School of Journalism. Not only was it fun, but I got a chance to meet some interesting people and get a nice tour of the hallways of the San Francisco Chronicle's headquarters as well.

While there was a lot of great information presented during the Professor's discussion, one site in particular caught my attention - HopStop.com. As many loyal readers and users of MUNI know, 511.org's directions for MUNI can sometimes be a bit off, and now there's an alternative being offered via HopStop.

The site originated in New York City, born out of the frustration of its creator and his navigation of New York City's complex subway system. HopStop, however, does more than just give directions based on address. It can help you find directions if you want to use just the bus, a combination of bus and walking, or just walking, between any two points. Even better, the system can pick out directions based on pointing to somewhere on a map, or naming a specific restaurant or other location by name, and you have your choice of nine languages.

I took some time to try out the site and it is pretty good. There are other features I have yet to try, such as the mobile access via SMS and cell phone, but the fact that someone's at least trying to build a better mousetrap (or in this case mass transit info system) than the one we have now is really nice.

Best of all, if you're using the site and find something that should be fixed, they'll send you a free T-shirt for your troubles.

It will be interesting to see how this service, as well as the advance of Google Transit (now in beta in several cities) will evolve, and what that will mean for the behemoth at 511.org, and for MUNI. For now, try out the site and let them know what you think.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a couple of weeks of less-than-stellar weather, it was a nice belated birthday present to see the sun come out here in the Inner Sunset. As Comcast Internet is down at home, it gave me yet another reason to get out of the house and post away at the Canvas Gallery, one of the many free WiFi spots here in the neighborhood.

Don't let those tales of MUNI woe or those mean folks on wheels get you down - get outside and get to the park and enjoy our remaining days of summer!

Also, loyal reader Steve Rhodes alerted me to the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, which will be showing the short film N-Judah by Sam Green, on September 2nd. Apparently the short is available as a features on this DVD as well!

Thanks for the heads up, Steve!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hopefully the MUNI Mini-Meltdown of Yesterday hasn't ruined your life too much and you're having a better day today than yesterday. Although I work out of my home, I rely on MUNI when I have multiple meetings and errands to run and when I realized what had happened, I just stayed at home and pushed everything over a few days.

I found this unusual "MUNI Survival Guilde" online while doing a Google search. If anyone has any idea who did this, I'd like to know so I can A) give them credit for their work and B) high-five them on the coining of the term "Edgehog." Enjoy.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Even though it's not complete, NextBus is still rather useful, particularly on our Mighty N-Judah line. It's especially useful where I live now, given that I'm just steps from an actual stop. Knowing when the train is coming early in the morning is a big help.

Firing up a web browser all the time though, is a hassle, and while I don't normally like the Dashboard function in OSX because it's such a memory hog sometimes, it has proven useful for calling up NextBus quickly, via two Widgets - NextBus Widget and NextMuni. I tried finding a similar widget for Yahoo Widgets (compatible with MS Windows and OS X) but I couldn't find one - if you know of one let me know!

Both are pretty good, but I'm giving extra bonus points to NextMuni, simply because the other one has a tendency to mysteriously crap out after a set period of time, and it's not shareware. I've reloaded it several times, done all the usual OSX geek maneuvers, and it still doesn't work. Plus the NextMuni one just looks cooler. So there.

Someone also makes a BART Widget, but I haven't really used it much.

Anyway, enjoy the great weather, and the World Cup finals!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sometimes someone else does such a kick ass job on a story, you just have to give it some publicity. This little expose by SFist.com on the NextBus/Muni follies is really worth checking out. Just go there and read, and you'll see. It's pretty startling.

Right on, SFist! You beat out the Guardian, the Weekly, the Chron, the Examiner, and more with this one!

UPDATE: I had a chance to listen to a little bit of Muni Director Nate Ford on KGO AM radio this morning. Someone asked him about this very issue, and he was pretty forthright in his response, saying that while implementing NextBus was a priority, but he was also worried about rolling it out without it being ready to go (a contrast to the comments of Ms. Maggie Muni). He did say more than once he supported NextBus in principle and that it would be helpful to Muni in assessing how the system's doing, as well as be useful for passengers.

I think it's notable to hear the boss speak, and contrast it with the snark of Muni's spokesbot, and the confusion of Muni employees. Maybe it's time Muni make some changes so that employees are as knoweldgeable and polite and direct as their boss.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Notable neighbor Craig of Craigslist made a mention of one of the more popular N-Judah Muni drivers on his blog last week, the unnamed driver who reminds us all that "Muni Loves You". Other blogs have noticed our happy driver as well.

I was on the N yesterday on the way home from a medical supplies run to Safeway on Market Street. I'd been sidelined by one of the worst allergy attacks I've had since I was a kid, and graced fellow riders with my red-eyed, runny self on the way and back. I'm sure they loved that.

Anyway, on the way back from said supply run, I had another driver (or maybe it was the same one) who was lightening up the mood by not turning off his microphone right away after announcing each stop. What was really funny was his reaction to a myriad of incompetent double parkers and bad drivers who were driving around like maniacs in front of an oncoming train.

"MOVE OVER RED ROVER!" he boomed at one point, and followed it up with "Please move aside, thank you sir!" and so on. It was one of those "had to be there moments" but it was pretty funny.

This reminded me of a conversation I overhead between two women commuting home one day, also noting the different kinds of drivers on the Muni, and one suggested someone come up with trading cards of popular Muni folks.

Interesting idea, eh? What kinds of trading cards could you come up with for Muni?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After a month hiatus, I'm back. Those folks at Muni and the cast of characters on the N-Judah thought they were getting a free pass. No such luck, folks!

But first, before I do anything else I want to tell folks about a new Muni-oriented blog, Municide - which I just read about at the always-righteous SFist website. You gotta love the name - Municide - which I remember someone once using when there were a rash of Muni bus crashes some time ago. No matter - it is great to see someone usin' it and for good purpose.

In particular, I liked this line:

And let's make something perfectly clear: this blog isn't for constructive criticism that the good old folks over at Muni can use to make Muni better. We all know it's too late for that. All we're going to do is bitch.

Right on.

For those of you who took the Muni today, you had the distinct displeasure of contending with delays, lame co-riders, and whatnot, on a day that also featured lots of wind, rain, and overall crap-tacular weather. Now, a week ago, when temps were in the 70s, you can almost put up with a delay because the weather's nice. Not so when it's rainy, crappy, and all those smelly weirdos you couldn't stand before, become wet, grosser smelly weirdos.

The most fun, of course, is having to do something like go grocery shopping on the N-Judah, and have to lug even a few bags onto a newly packed Muni. All those people who walked are now on board, and guess what? They're all wet, and they're all seething at the fact it seems like they were waiting FOREVER for the stupid Muni to show up.

Guess what folks? You were waiting forever. All those abstracts about "balanced" approaches to Muni service matter not a whit, if in the end Muni doesn't realize its mission is to provide mass transit service for people in San Francisco, NOT "balance budgets" and rely on shaky tax structures to pay the bills.

Ah well. I'm sure they're paying top dollar at Muni for the finest execubots money can buy. Too bad corporate types have no clue how to do anything of value anymore. Otherwise we might see an improvement...

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you live in many cities, the transit systems are using a system called NextBus to tell you almost exactly when the next bus will arrive at a particular stop and help you avoid the fate of waiting for the train when it's pouring rain out for hours on end.

Using a combination of wireless transmitters and GPS, they are accurate, because they can account for traffic delays that a schedule can't predict. In the case of the N-Judah it's usually some guy double parking his car on the narrow streets in Cole Valley.

Now, NextBus is providing complete, accurate route maps and real time indicators of where all buses or streetcars are online, on a Google Map. Take a look and see for yourself at this link, which shows the N-Judah line, in real time.

Although not all SF Muni buses have NextBus installed at bus stops, this is a good start. It beats relying on the folks at Transit.511.org, better known as 511 Is A Joke, who are notorious for giving out info that's just plain wrong. You're better off calling SF Muni directly and asking directions if you're lost - 511 is a Joke almost always screws up.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)