I don’t know, I think they do it better in Paris:
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Posts Tagged ‘crowded’
“We Balling” – Gracious Sidewalk Dining on Tony Pacific Street, Amidst Dumpsters, Garbage Cans, Parked Cars and Graffiti
Thursday, March 8th, 2012Does This Meeting of the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) Look Like a Fire Code Violation?
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011Usually, meetings of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) are fine, but sometimes they’re out of control.
Like this one. (Doesn’t it look like an episode of Geraldo?)
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Actually, everybody, including people who hate each other, was very civil in light of the fact that this venue in the corrupt Twitterloin was way, way too small for the number of people inside.
Now, this was the endorsement meeting what ensured Malia Cohen would become District 10 Supervisor, so, you know, it wasn’t the typical monthly joint. But with people routinely packt like sardines in a crushd tin box at certain times, it’d be nice if the DCCC could find a new place for the bigger meetings, you know, ones that wouldn’t end up becoming a massive fire code violation.
Triangle Shirtwaist and whatnot.
Just saying.
OMG, “Off The Grid: Upper Haight” has Grown Into Quite the Affair – Food Truck Dinner Party Every Thursday
Friday, August 26th, 2011Off The Grid has come into its own at the Upper Haight Location at the end of Waller near Stanyan (just one block north of our landmark Haight Street McDonalds).
I had no idea that it’s become so popular, like it was yesterday, in the pouring fog.
And, of course, you can’t ignore the almost-perfect Yelp rating
Check it:
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Doublecheck the sked if you want to, but this is it, currently:
“Off the Grid: Upper Haight
Thursdays from 4:30PM-8:30PM”
I’ll tell you, I was there at the beginning, at the very first OTGUH like a year ago. Back then, it wasn’t slammed with people, but these days it is.
Get on out there next Thursday, why not?
I don’t know about other OTGs but this one is off the hook.
Enjoy the consensus, plus the Minority Report, which focuses on the fact that too many people are there (is that a bug or a feature?) and the air-conditioned summer weather (is that a bug or a feature?):
“Went last night, and wow. Bites of the night included the pork belly with pickled daikon from Chairman Bao (the bun was super soft and delicious with a generous serving of pork belly) a pandan waffle, and unagi onigiri from Onigilly (which also has miso soup, an awesome treat in the freezing Haight AND they give you free refills). Highly recommend going with a group of 5 or 6 and sharing bites of things.”
“If you’ve tried the Off the Grid at Fort Mason, then this is pretty much the exact replica of it except on a smaller scale. I recognized some of the exact same food trucks too. And just like Fort Mason, it is crazy packed. I had a burrito that I think might have been from El Huarache Loco, which was decent and had a nice spicy kick to it. Other than the novelty of experiencing the food truck craze, I think the food is only okay and a bit on the pricey side based on portion size. The crowds also get a bit overwhelming especially when you’re waiting in a humongous line in the freezing SF cold. Fun to try on occasion if you just want to dabble in different types of food.”
“Off the Grid is the new age of food trucks. They promote alot of fusion foods and foods not normally served in restaurants. Since I’m a Pilipino who loves food well, I go often. They have a cupcake truck, Senior Sisig, and that Korean truck. I need to try out the bacon truck the next time I go there. It’s great place w/ your friends to meet up and snack on great foods. They have live music as well. I need to try out the other OTG.”
FIFO vs LIFO in SoMA: How Many Cars Can One San Francisco Parking Lot Handle?
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010The only way this SoMA parking lot can work is under the First In, First Out method, right?
(Now, if I parked here, I’d want a video app to let me keep an eye on my ride all day long from work, the way they have at those doggie daycare places.)
Can you imagine how many cars (don’t click, earworm earworm earworm!) they’d need to move just to get yours out?
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Here’s the unaltered view, taken from a visit to Don Fisher’s office in the loaded-to-the-gills-with-art Gap Building, before he passed on:
(Does the average car have a sunroof or no? Looks like about 70% of them have sun / moon rooves, IMO)
Is there a denser parking lot in town? I doubt it, unless you start counting the ones with car elevators…
Penguins and Pajamas – Stay Overnight With Your Kid at the California Academy of Sciences!
Thursday, April 15th, 2010Oh it’s on! Grab a slot on one of these upcoming Friday nights, June 18, July 16, or August 13, 2010, and then head over to our fantastic California Academy of Sciences with your kid for an overnighter.
It’s a Night at the Museum, baby! Check it:
“Participants can take in the evening songs of the rainforest birds, sing “twinkle twinkle” to a sea star at the Discovery Tidepool, and watch the fish cruise under the moonlight in the Philippine Coral Reef tank. Then, guests can catch a special penguin talk, and become stargazing gurus during an after-hours planetarium show.
“Before bedtime, sleepover guests can grab a snack of cookies and milk and settle in for story time, featuring “Pierre the Penguin,” the true story of the Academy’s famous wetsuit-wearing penguin. When the lights go out, participants can unroll their sleeping bags in African Hall, next to the swaying kelp of the California Coast tank, or even at the Swamp window, face-to-face with Claude, the albino alligator. In the morning, it’s time to rise and shine, then head over to the Academy Café for breakfast before the sleepover event ends at 8:30 am.”
If you’re an Academy Member, then all this is just $99 per kid aged six and up.
Be sure to take along your pigiami del pinguino, you know, something like this:
This is going to be mega. All the deets:
“PENGUINS AND PAJAMAS” SLEEPOVER PROGRAM AT THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES LAUNCHES IN JUNE
Tickets for new summer sleepover events go on sale at www.calacademy.org May 1st
SAN FRANCISCO (April 15, 2010) — Why count sheep when you could count geckos, butterflies, sharks, and penguins? Starting this summer, kids can camp out for a night at the California Academy of Sciences—and see the museum in a whole new light. The “Penguins and Pajamas” sleepover program, for children ages 6 and over and their adult chaperones, will launch with three summer events on Friday, June 18, July 16, and August 13. Tickets will be available at www.calacademy.org beginning on May 1.
Doors will open at 6:30 pm, when sleepover guests are invited to come in and explore the Academy after it’s closed to the public. Participants can take in the evening songs of the rainforest birds, sing “twinkle twinkle” to a sea star at the Discovery Tidepool, and watch the fish cruise under the moonlight in the Philippine Coral Reef tank. Then, guests can catch a special penguin talk, and become stargazing gurus during an after-hours planetarium show.
Before bedtime, sleepover guests can grab a snack of cookies and milk and settle in for story time, featuring “Pierre the Penguin,” the true story of the Academy’s famous wetsuit-wearing penguin. When the lights go out, participants can unroll their sleeping bags in African Hall, next to the swaying kelp of the California Coast tank, or even at the Swamp window, face-to-face with Claude, the albino alligator. In the morning, it’s time to rise and shine, then head over to the Academy Café for breakfast before the sleepover event ends at 8:30 am.
The “Penguins and Pajamas” Academy sleepover package includes overnight parking in the Music Concourse parking garage as well as next-day museum admission, breakfast, snacks, and a special commemorative gift. Dinner is available for purchase at the Academy Café or the Moss Room.
What: “Penguins and Pajamas” sleepover program
Who: Open to children ages 6 and over; an adult chaperone must accompany every group of up to five children.
Where: California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, 94118
When: 6:30pm – 8:30am on Friday, June 18, July 16, and August 13
Tickets: $119 ($99 for Academy members), tickets available starting May 1, 2010 at www.calacademy.org.
Extreme Mammals, a Major Exhibit, Opens April 3rd at the California Academy of Sciences
Thursday, April 1st, 2010The Cal Academy, our California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, has a new exhibit opening Saturday, April 3 - it’s called Extreme Mammals: the Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time and it’ll run all the way through September 12, 2010.
Don Sanchez has all the deets – take the tour. See? There’s lots of stuff to look at.
And here’s a live one on display - this little treeshrew loves to screech and jump around, that’s all it did when I was there. Is it a dead ringer for Scrat from the Ice Age series? Through the glass with the tail on the right side:
A lot of the critters portrayed are no longer with us. Like this Ambulocetus, a sacrilegious, walking half-whale:
And of course, a huge diorama:
That’s the show, but I also got a chance to check out the climate-controlled catacombs of the Cal Academy today - here’s Research Associate Dr. Galen Rathbun showing off his collection of elephant shrews. He’ll soon be trekking to Africa for more research:
Your kids will love Extreme Mammals.
And for you non-kids out there aged 21 and up, I’ll remind you that popular NightLife picks up steam this month. They’re going to get extreme ‘n stuff, starting tonight. And don’t miss out on the real live cheetah they’ll have on Arpil 15. Check it:
“NightLife gets “Extreme” during April (Ages 21+) Thursdays from 6:00 to 10:00 pm
In April, NightLife gets “extreme” in celebration of the opening of Extreme Mammals. Highlights include a Yuri’s Night party with extreme robots (4/8); a celebration of our extreme home, Earth – the only planet known to support life (Earth Day, 4/22); and tales about white sharks, of one of the ocean’s most extreme predators (4/29). Every Thursday night, the Academy opens its doors from 6-10 pm for NightLife, a chance for adults ages 21+ to explore the museum in a whole new light, with DJs, bars, and provocative science programming. A valid ID is required for entry. Admission is $12 per person ($10 Academy members). California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. (415) 379-8000. www.calacademy.org/nightlife.
4-1 – “Extremely Jurassic” with Paleontologist Scott Sampson and Miles the DJ
4-8 – “Extremely Cosmic” – Yuri’s Night, Extreme Robots, and the SpaceCowboys
4-15 – “Extremely Warm-Blooded” – All about mammals including a big cat show, with music by Aaron Pope
4-22 – “Extremely Green” – An Earth Day celebration with green games, interactive displays and DJ Michael Anthony
All the deets of the new mammals exhibit after the jump.
See you there!
Our California Academy of Sciences Says Recession, What Recession
Friday, February 19th, 2010Not literally or anything, but it appeared to be packed this past weekend. And I asked them, I says, “Is this a free day or something?” And they’re all like, no, it’s just a regular old three-day weekend, just business as usual.
Now, I’ve heard all the complaints. Let’s deal with them, below.
Become a member or get your tickets online ahead of time, and then you avoid this line around the building.
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“The CalAcademy is too small.”
All right, I’ll tell you I was never in there at the old building – I understand it had cool stuff that you miss. But some people, especially the NIMBY neighbors in the nearby Inner Sunset area, think the new building is too big, too popular. The Academy couldn’t continue with the old building due to earthquake concerns – what was considered a safe enough building before in the last century is no longer considered safe enough now. Sorry. (Damn you, San Andreas Fault, damn you.)
“The CalAcademy is too crowded.”
So they must be doing something right, right? What you’re saying, in a way, is that the CalAcademy is too cheap.
“The CalAcademy is too crowded with kids.”
Yep, especially when those school buses roll up. Oh well. The Academy has a mission of public education, does it not? That’s for the benefit of California’s kids. Does that directly benefit you today right now? Maybe not. Sorry.
“The CalAcademy is too expensive.”
Well, this ties in with the first complaint. How can it too expensive if it’s packed all the time? You know how much the Monterey Bay Aquarium is these days? $30. If you live in San Francisco, you’re entitled to something like 20 days of free admission per year plus a free NightLife entry on your birfday (assuming the stars align and they’re having a NightLife around the time of your birthday.)
“Them free days, they’re even more crowded.”
Well, yeah. Get there early, why don’t you? (Or get there late in the day, when there’s less of a line (tho your chances of getting into the Planetarium and/or rainforest dome will be lower). The Bernard Osher Foundation Third Wednesday of the Month Free program is open to all, so of course it gets crowded those days. But the zip-code based free days are less crowded, so San Franciscans, including you born-and-raised-San Franciscans, you old goats, get six of those not-so-crowded days a year.
“The food’s too expensive.”
Check out the nearby Inner Sunset area for food if you want. It’s walkable. Get yourselves a perfectly cromulent fat burrito at Gordo’s at 1239 9th Avenue near Lincoln. Get it to-go and have an outdoor picnic.
“The rainforest was closed when I was there.”
Yep, sometimes. Life’s like that. They don’t keep this kind of info a big secret, however.
“There’s no place to park.”
Maybe - that’s by design, in a way. Actually, you’re lucky to have that underground parking garage whether you use it or not, so count your blessings. Whatever you do, don’t drive into Golden Gate Park, big mistake on busier days. Think Fulton, think Lincoln, think about spending ten minutes walking through the park to get the CalAcademy. That’s not a bug, that’s a feature. And on Sundays, all parking is free in the surrounding Inner Sunset and Inner Richmond areas – it’s totally wide open. Might not be as easy to park as you’re used to, but you can deal. And there’s plenty of bike parking since they added in a bunch of new spaces.
Here’s the thing – you gotta work the system, baby. Plan ahead, try to figure out when the place has fewer patrons, check the schedule, make a beeline to the Planetarium to get your free show passes as soon as you get in, monitor the rainforest line to see when it’s shorter.
So, if you’re unhappy customer, you gotta think:
1. Maybe your expectations were too high because you didn’t plan ahead (which isn’t the CalAcademy’s fault), or;
2. Maybe the CalAcademy isn’t for you (which isn’t the CalAcademy’s fault)
And all you NIMBY neighbors, please realize that the CalAcademy was here even before you.
Let’s thank Gaia we’re not saddled with some big hulking wreck that nobody wants to go to.
See you there!
Rush Hour in San Francisco Seems to Have More Bikes Than Cars
Friday, June 12th, 2009At times, anyway.
San Francisco has significantly more bike riders than just a few years ago.
How about that?
Looking for Parking in Golden Gate Park Can Become a Family Affair
Saturday, May 9th, 2009Those circling Golden Gate Park looking for a free parking space will eventually be rewarded, but finding an empty spot can be a trying ordeal taking upwards of an hour. Best if you enlist the aid of beasts and children.
Why not give it a try? They’ll bark or squeal to alert you when the see a legal space.
Bless the beasts and the children.
The Bicycle Parking Problem at the California Academy of Sciences
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009Look at poor dude just trying to park his ride in front of the popular California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It’s the dead of cruel Winter, the least busy season as you might expect, and yet there’s no room.
It’s hard to believe the CAS could have been built without being mindful of the expected number of riders. Perhaps choices regarding the ADA or aesthetics were involved, it’s hard to know.
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But now, they’re building a whole new pad with mad spaces. See?
Hurray
