Posts Tagged ‘4.4’
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
[UPDATE: Joe Eskenazi has just spoken with the Medical Examiner's Office. The cyclist has been ID'ed: Derek Allen, 22. The driver was Tommie Barnett, who started with MUNI in 2008.]
Andrea Koskey has the details of the fatal collision between a cyclist on a white road-style bike and northbound 44 O’Shaughnessy #8456 just before 4:59 PM on October 7, 2010.
From the Inner Richmond Smart and Final parking lot:

Click to expand
A tow truck had to be called to lift up the front of the hybrid bus so the coroner could remove the cyclist’s body. This process can take hours. Investigators appeared to be focusing upon the front right corner of the bus:

A road bike with a white frame and white handlebar tape. The rear wheel was taco’ed, suggesting it came into contact with the bus first:

The SFPD held up white plastic sheets on both sides of the bus so that the gathered crowd couldn’t see the body as easily:

Investigators seemed interested in an area south of where 8456 was parked. It’s possible the cyclist was dragged something like 50 feet. This is just south of 326 6th Avenue:

Looking northward from Geary at #8456 and the Other Bus (#8420?), another #44 on the right. Not sure how it might have been involved:

(People working on a ghost bike might want to coordinate with the managers of the nearby Smart and Final store to see if space could be made on their land - DPW removes ghost bikes placed on public property fairly quickly these days it seems….)
Tags: 2010, 22, 4.4, 8456, bay area, bicycle, bike, biodiesel, bus, california, collision, cyclist, dead, death, Derek Alan, Derek Allen, driver, electric, fatal, ghost bike, hybrid, inner, mta, Muni, october 7, old, O’Shaughnessy, richmond, road, San Francisco, SFMTA, SFPD, smart and final, Tommie Barnett, tow, truck, white, year's
Posted in bikes, transit | 7 Comments »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
San Francisco-based Virgin America Airlines has its own “docu-series” starting up on March 24th at 9:30 PM on the CW – it’s called Fly Girls (and it’s not to be confused with the In Living Color/Jennifer Lopez kind of Fly Girls from the 90′s).
Take a look. Meet Mandalay, a local “girl” who’s a Virgin America flight attendant based out of SFO in real life. Listen to her go on about the “romance of aviation” and the benefits of choosing Virgin America, the only California-based airline left by the way.
Barbie, Skipper, and the ”ethnic girlfriends of Barbie“ (or, more politely, a ”mini- United Nations of races and ethnicities“) are coming soon to KBCW-TV channel 44 / 45 and all the CW stations across America. Oh yes, their “real” names (or “reel” names) are Tasha, Louise, Mandy (or Mandi), Nikole and Farrah:

Doesn’t this promo shot from the CW Network of former beauty queen Nikole look just like a Virgin America ad?

This show is going to be something like eight half-hour Virgin America infomercials complete with 30-second commercials for shampoo and cosmetics. Nevertheless, it’s going to be better than NBC’s high-budget San Francisco-based Trauma serial, that’s a given from the get-go. (Wonder if cheeky Virgin Airlines founder Sir Richard Branson will make an appearance or two…)
Just discovered that my aging Trinitron (that could be older than you) actually receives channel 44 so I’ll be sure to tune in to check out the debut.
Excelsior, Ever Upward.
Now, meet the Fly Girls and get more deets after the jump.
Farrah Williams
Hometown Airport: LAX
Must Have Travel Accessories: Lip balm and a camera
Travel Tips: “Be nice to fellow travelers and flight attendants. It makes for a more pleasant experience all the way around.”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Don’t make eye contact. Strip down quick so you’re not holding up the line.”
Years with Virgin America: 2 ½
Louise Nguyen
Hometown Airport: LAX (currently SFO)
Must Have Travel Accessories: Moisturizer and lip balm
Travel Tips: “While on the plane, always wear your shoes in the restroom!”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Get in line behind someone who has already taken their shoes off, and who is not juggling a ton of things in their hands, and then do the same.”
Years with Virgin America: 2
Mandy Roberts
Hometown Airport: PHX (currently SFO)
Must Have Travel Accessory: A big, soft pashmina that can be used as a pillow or blanket.
Travel Tips: “Drink an endless amount of water.”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Wear slip-on shoes with socks, if possible. It’s yucky to wait in line with bare feet on the dirty floor.”
Years with Virgin America: 2
Nikole Rubyn
Hometown Airport: SMF (Sacramento)
Must Have Travel Accessory: Visine
Travel Tips: “Always wear or bring socks with you to walk through security!”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Don’t wear all of your jewelry to the airport, keep it in small bags and put it on after you get through security.”
Years with Virgin America: 2
Tasha Dunnigan
Hometown Airport: SMF (Sacramento)
Must Have Travel Accessory: Cell phone
Travel Tips: “Don’t forget your common sense at home.”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Have all of your things in order and pay attention.”
Years with Virgin America: 2
“Fly Girls” is from Collins Avenue Productions, with executive producers Jeff Collins (“Bridezilla 3, 4 & 5,” “The Exterminators”) and Colin Nash (“The Hills,” “The City”) and co-executive producers Larry Bond and Porter Gale.
(more…)
Tags: "ethnic girlfriends of Barbie, 12, 2010, 24, 4.4, 45, 6005, ad, advertising, airlines, airport, Alternative Programming, Ambhar Tequila, America, Banana Republic, Barbie, based, bay area, Belvedere Vodka, c. w., cable, channel, Colin Nash, Collins Avenue, Collins Avenue Productions, doc, docu, docu-series, docudrama, documentary, doll, drama, Elevate, Farrah, Farrah Williams, film, filming, flight, flight attendants, florida, fly girls, hometown, hub, info, infomercial, Jeff Collins, Kristen Vadas, la, Lagasse's Stadium, Larry Bond, las vegas, launch party, lax, los angeles, Louise, Louise Nguyen, mandalay, Mandi, Mandy, Mandy Roberts, march, mercial, miami, network, nevada, new york, nichole, Nikole, Nikole Rubyn, Palazzo, phx, Porter, Primetime Fare Sale, Productions, reality, red, red carpet, richard branson, sacramento, San Francisco, Senior Vice President, series, SFO, show, sir, Skipper, smf, stew, stewardess, stewardesses, Tasha, Tasha Dunnigan, teammates, television, The CW, The Hills, TV, TY KU, VeeV, VeeV Acai Spirit, VeeVa La Fly Girls, virgin, virgin america, VX, wednesdays, wifi
Posted in advertising, airlines, TV | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Like these guys.
It would take forever to make it up the stairs to the top of controversial landmark Sutro Tower, so a swaying elevator car is the preferred method.
Click to expand to get a closer look at a sunnier, more colorful San Francisco:

Take the tour.
Tags: 11, 12, 14, 2, 2009, 29, 30, 34, 4.4, 41, 42, 45, 5, 65, 66, 7, 9, ABC, analog, analogue, antenna, antennae, antennas, association, auxilliary, AZT, bay area, broadcast, c. w., cable, cbs, digital, dt, DTV, elevator, Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, forrest, Forrest Knolls, Forrest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, fox, gump, High, hill, home, Improvement, inc. sutro tower inc, incorporated, ion, KBCW, KDTV, KFSt TEL, kgo, KKPX, KNTV, KPIX, kqed, KRON, KTNc, ktvu, low, Midtown Terrace, Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association, mount, nbc, neighborhood, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, Owners, pbs, power, radio, re-scanning, red, rescanning, San Francisco, scan, scanning, stairs, sutro, sutro tower, television, tons, twin peaks, Twin Peaks Improvement Association, UNI, white, workers
Posted in architecture, TV | 3 Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Not that you’d really be able to tell, though. Sutro Tower Inc. has just finished a project that had some of the digital TV broadcast antennas (not “antennae” – that plural term is only used for bugs in our silly English language) gaining a higher altitude.
Not much howver, maybe a seven-percent increase, max. Does that make a big difference? No, not for most people, but at least STI is trying.
Here’s the antenna of KPIX-TV (OMG, that’s the home of Eye on Blogs – big ups, Brittney Gilbert!) a way up top, like 1700 feet above sea level. Now Channel 5 is as high as possible:

Click to expand
The Future is Now, and what’s labeled “CURRENT” is history:

From this:

To this:

Well, they were still wrapping the KPIX, KRON, KTVU antenna assembly, but you get the idea.
So it looks like we’re all set with the Great Digital TV Conversion of 2009. As long as Sutro Tower doesn’t get hit by a shooting star….

…we’ll be all right.
Tags: 11, 12, 14, 2, 2009, 29, 30, 34, 4.4, 41, 42, 45, 5, 65, 66, 7, 9, ABC, analog, analogue, antenna, antennae, antennas, association, auxilliary, AZT, bay area, broadcast, c. w., cable, cbs, channel 2, channel 4, channel 5, channel 7, chronicle, Chronicle Publishing, clarendon, conversion, Cox Broadcasting, digital, dt, DTV, emf, Examiner, Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, forrest, Forrest Knolls, Forrest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, fox, gump, High, hill, home, Improvement, inc. sutro tower inc, incorporated, ion, KBCW, KDTV, KFSt TEL, kgo, KGO-TV, KKPX, KNTV, KPIX, kqed, KRON, KTNc, ktvu, law school, low, Midtown Terrace, Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association, mount, nbc, neighborhood, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, Owners, pbs, Peace and Love and Noticing the Details, pelosi, power, radio, re-scanning, red, rescanning, ronald, San Francisco, scan, scanning, Stephen R. Barnett, STI, sutro, sutro tower, Sutro Tower Inc, television, tons, tower, TV, twin peaks, Twin Peaks Improvement Association, UNI, USF, Westinghouse Broadcasting, white
Posted in TV | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
San Francisco’s famous Sutro Tower (owned by Sutro Tower, Inc., the buyer-offer and $hutter-upperof San Francisco’s mid-town NIMBYs) has a new look for Fall.
Here’s Before (a way back in August 2009)…

…und jetzt After, the way it looks these days (when being buzzed by a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 NG heading to El Lay, camera right, see it?)

Click to expand
Très chic! Non?
Now, she’s all set for the next meteor shower:

Courage.
Tags: 11, 12, 14, 2, 2009, 29, 30, 34, 4.4, 41, 42, 45, 5, 65, 66, 7, 9, ABC, analog, analogue, antenna, antennae, antennas, association, auxilliary, AZT, bay area, broadcast, c. w., cable, cbs, change, digital, dt, DTV, east, Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, forrest, Forrest Knolls, Forrest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, fox, gump, High, hill, home, Improvement, inc. sutro tower inc, incorporated, ion, KBCW, KDTV, KFSt TEL, kgo, KKPX, KNTV, KPIX, kqed, KRON, KTNc, ktvu, low, Midtown Terrace, Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association, mount, nbc, neighborhood, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, north, Owners, pbs, power, radio, re-scanning, red, rescanning, San Francisco, scan, scanning, south, stack, sutro, sutro tower, television, tons, twin peaks, Twin Peaks Improvement Association, UNI, west, white
Posted in TV | Comments Off
Monday, August 10th, 2009
Well here’s this scene this morning up on Mount Sutro (former home to the SF-89C Mount Sutro Nike Missile Control Station, don’t you know.) Can you see what’s missing?
Sutro Tower is losing antennas (that’s right, not antennae or antennea or anything else) and getting other updates all in the name of Our Digital Future. Get some deets here at the Burrito Justice.

The West Stack appears all nubbed out these days, no? Click to expand.
Make your necessary adjustments and your Wheel will come in just fine every evening, as per usual.

Touch me.
How can it be.
Believe me
The Sun always shines on TV
Tags: 11, 12, 14, 2, 2009, 29, 30, 34, 4.4, 41, 42, 45, 5, 65, 66, 7, 9, ABC, analog, analogue, antenna, antennae, antennas, association, auxilliary, AZT, bay area, broadcast, c. w., cable, cbs, change, digital, dt, DTV, east, Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, forrest, Forrest Knolls, Forrest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, fox, gump, High, hill, home, Improvement, inc. sutro tower inc, incorporated, ion, KBCW, KDTV, KFSt TEL, kgo, KKPX, KNTV, KPIX, kqed, KRON, KTNc, ktvu, low, Midtown Terrace, Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association, mount, nbc, neighborhood, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, north, Owners, pbs, power, radio, re-scanning, red, rescanning, San Francisco, scan, scanning, south, stack, sutro, sutro tower, television, tons, twin peaks, Twin Peaks Improvement Association, UNI, west, white
Posted in TV | Comments Off
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
All right, you already know about Sutro Tower, right? Well, here’s an update. Digital TV is here, not that you care, cause you get cable from the Comcast monopoly.
But, just in case you’re struggling with a free digital to analog converter box you just got from the govmint, there might be some good news coming in a few months when they lift the digital antennas up higher on the tower.
So, do you see this vertical array in the middle of this photo? Them’s the digital antennas:

Click to expand.
Kind of an afterthought, they were, so there was a big fuss about getting them up there. They weigh a ton (or rather 10 tons, actually). I’m a little hazy on all the deets of high-def and digital and whatnot, but whatever, this 125-foot long array is not long for this world. Check it:

See? All the “DT” antennas are going up all the way to the top (and losing the DT suffix). Match up the chart with real life here:

So what this all adds up to is that there’s a chance your reception will improve in a few months. No promises, however. Most of the people who are bummed with DTV are still going to be bummed with DTV, but it’s a Worthy Effort. Listen to a KQED Forum podcast from Scott Shafer and Glenn Phillips, field agent for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
And, as always, re-scan if you run into trouble. What’s that? You still can’t see Wheel and all your stories? Sorry.
Oh, and what about the Not In My Back Yard millionaires who never cottoned to Sutro Tower in the first place? Well, they’ve been bought off for peanuts.
Check it:
13. STI agrees to contribute:
a. $ 3,000.00 per year to the Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association. The initial contribution payable prior to December 31, 2008. Subsequent contributions to be made on or before July 1 of each year.
b. $ 4,500.00 one time contribution to the Twin Peaks Improvement Association for an open space improvement project.
c. $ 6,000.00 one time contribution to the Forrest [sic] Knolls Neighborhood Organization to replace the Forrest Knolls [sic again - Run Forrest Run!] entrance sign.
d. $ 10,000.00 one time contribution for the benefit of the surrounding area to purchase two drinking fountains one each at the walking paths around two area reservoirs. The contribution will be payable only when the fountains are approved by the appropriate agencies and actually purchased.
How’s them apples?
Anyway, hang your antenna high and hope for the best.
Tags: 11, 12, 14, 2, 2009, 29, 30, 34, 4.4, 41, 42, 45, 5, 65, 66, 7, 9, ABC, analog, analogue, antenna, antennae, antennas, association, auxilliary, AZT, bay area, broadcast, C.W., cable, cbs, digital, dt, DTV, Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, forrest, Forrest Knolls, Forrest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, fox, gump, High, hill, home, Improvement, inc. sutro tower inc, incorporated, ion, KBCW, KDTV, KFSt TEL, kgo, KKPX, KNTV, KPIX, kqed, KRON, KTNc, ktvu, low, Midtown Terrace, Midtown Terrace Home Owners Association, mount, nbc, neighborhood, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, Owners, pbs, power, radio, re-scanning, red, rescanning, San Francisco, scan, scanning, sutro, sutro tower, television, tons, twin peaks, Twin Peaks Improvement Association, UNI, white
Posted in TV | Comments Off
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
The pain of increased postal rates starting May 11, 2009 will be eased somewhat with news of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee‘s decision to allow the troubled United States Postal Service to use characters from The Simpsons cartoon show. So you should beat a path to your local P.O. and pick some up.
Stampspotters are getting excited about this – they’re planning on mailing out letters today from certain areas in order to get a souvenir cancellation printed. How about Simsponsville, South Carolina? Or better yet, Springfield, WI (Which Springfield though? The Badger State has like five(!) towns of Springfield.)
Here’s what’s going on in Springfield, Virginia (I was afraid to play the video, but it looks intriguing) and here’s a promotion from the 94117, Haight-Ashbury, California. Click to expand:

And here’s what your cancellation will look like from the 05156 in Vermont today:

Woo hoo!
So many Springfields, so little time:
Springfield, California
Springfield, Colorado
Springfield, Florida
Springfield, Jacksonville, Florida, a neighborhood of Jacksonville
Springfield, Georgia
Springfield, Illinois, the state capital of Illinois
Springfield, Indiana, an unincorporated place
Springfield, Kentucky
Springfield, Louisiana
Springfield, Maine
Springfield, Massachusetts, the first Springfield in the United States, established 1636
Springfield, Michigan, a city in Calhoun County
Springfield, Minnesota, in Brown County
Springfield, Missouri, as of 2007, the largest city in the United States named Springfield
Springfield, Nebraska
Springfield, New Hampshire
Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, site of the Battle of Springfield (1780)
Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey
Springfield/Belmont neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey
Springfield, New York
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield, Pennsylvania
Springfield, South Carolina
Springfield, South Dakota
Springfield, Tennessee
Springfield, Texas
Springfield, Vermont
Springfield, Virginia
Springfield, West Virginia
Springfield, Dane County, Wisconsin
Springfield, Jackson County, Wisconsin
Springfield, Marquette County, Wisconsin
Springfield, St. Croix County, Wisconsin
Springfield, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Tags: (BART), 11, 2009, 4.4, 42, 44 cent, 7, 94117, animation, ashbury, ca, california, cancellation, Cartoon, cents, clayton, fox, fox-tv, graining, graning, greoning, groening, haight, homer, increase, lisa, maggie, marge, matt, may, price, San Francisco, simpsons, simpsonville, springfield, stamps, street, television, the simpsons, TV, usps
Posted in art | Comments Off
Monday, March 30th, 2009
That didn’t feel so bad in the 415. A little scary at first, for a second or two. After that you could tell it wasn’t going to be a big deal…
| Magnitude |
4.3 |
| Date-Time |
- Monday, March 30, 2009 at 17:40:29 UTC
- Monday, March 30, 2009 at 10:40:29 AM at epicenter
|
| Location |
37.285°N, 121.620°W |
| Depth |
6.2 km (3.9 miles) |
| Region |
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| Distances |
- 18 km (11 miles) N (7°) from Morgan Hill, CA
- 19 km (12 miles) E (91°) from Seven Trees, CA
- 20 km (13 miles) ESE (117°) from Alum Rock, CA
- 25 km (16 miles) ESE (104°) from San Jose City Hall, CA
|
| Location Uncertainty |
horizontal +/- 0.1 km (0.1 miles); depth +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles) |
| Parameters |
NST=250, Nph=250, Dmin=7 km, Rmss=0.08 sec, Gp= 58°,
M-type=duration magnitude (Md), Version=1 |
| Source |
|
| Event ID |
nc40234037 |
Tags: 4.4, 43, aftershock, ashbury, bay area, california, Caliveras, earthquake, fault, haight, hayward, morgan hill, richter, san andreas, San Francisco, san jose, scale, south bay, tembler, upper
Posted in disaster drill | 4 Comments »