Posts Tagged ‘delay’
Friday, February 26th, 2010
What makes San Francisco’s monthly Critical Mass an illegal bicycle parade is the fact that nobody gets permits. ‘Cause getting a permit is hard - it would entail doing stuff that costs a lot of money and it would make you a magnet for lawsuits, so who needs that, right?
The thing is that corking intersections and running red lights as a group (hallmarks of Critical Mass going back to the mid-1990’s), those things are obviously illegal, so the SFPD could start issuing citations whenever it wants, of course. And that’s true no matter how they roll in the Empire State. (Actually, I question how the New York decision affects us here in San Francisco at all, but oh well.)
I’ll tell you, the biggest shock that drivers have when they get stuck at an intersection is that they get no sympathy from the cops. Drivers without criminal records tend to stay by their cars and watch the parade of bikes.
OTOH, drivers with criminal records, well, Critical Mass is a test of their ability to maintain. Some fail.
Do I think San Francisco has the will to kill Critical Mass? No. But do I think Police Chief George Gascon is planning on shaking things up, in the coming months, you know, when rain no longer threatens* and the number of cyclists is bigger? Yes.
“Hey, man, we don’t have any “leaders,” man. The City can’t do nothing to us, nobody’s in charge of CM, man.” Yes, roger that. I don’t think anybody’s going to stick you with a bill for $35,000 or anything, but changes are a coming…
Collateral damage from Critical Mass - MUNI vehicles stretching to the horizon in both directions. (Is that on the DO list or the DON’T list?) This kind of thing is one of the reasons you don’t see CM listed at the SFBC website calendar anymore.
Where’s Waldo, Cagney and Lacey on a recent Critical Mass ride:
The wonder of encountering an unexpected Critical Mass for the first time. Out-of-towners Rachel and Monica were delighted:
To Be Continued…
*Actually, tonight looks to be clear as a bell, Mel. But the forecast was for rain so tonight’s should be a smaller ride.
Tags: 2009, 2010, biclcye, bike, bus, chief, commute clot, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, George Gascón, intersection, Judge, last, market, mass, month, monthly, Muni, new york, parade, police, Police Chief, rain, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes, crime | 2 Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
San Mateo County’s famous all-electric Telsa Motors seems to have yet another problem these days. Tesla 20% Founder and CEO Elon Musk is now saying he expects to launch the Model S sedan “within two and a half years.”
So what’s that, the third quarter of 2012?
O.K., but this is what the Tesla website shows currently - it goes, “Deliveries start 2011.” See?
Would you consider that a delay? Others do.
But weren’t these cars supposed to be running around already? Yes:
“Tesla is building an assembly plant in Albuquerque, N.M., which is slotted for completion by the end of 2008. The company says it plans to build 10,000 WhiteStar sedans annually starting in 2009.”
That’s what you can expect from Tesla, aka Government Motors West.
Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, battery, bay area, belmont, california, CEO, delay, electric, elon musk, factory, founder, model s, new mexico, powered, roadster, San Francisco, tesla, Tesla Motors
Posted in cars | No Comments »
Monday, January 11th, 2010
How much would you expect from Amtrak if you paid $145 to board the California Zephyr in Emeryville, CA on January 3rd, 2010 with the expectation of getting to Chicago in a day-and-a-half? Well, what if your fellow passengers called this ride the “Train From Hell” or something?
How did it get that name? Well, the train arrived in Illinois almost a day late a few days back due to it hitting a truck abandoned on the tracks(!) and encountering snowdrifts higher than an elephant’s eye in Nebraska and other typical travel issues.
The number of deaths and injuries continues to be reported as zero. So how does that earn this particular Zephyr the sobriquet “Train From Hell” or whatever?
Amtrak’s CZ on a happier day:
via Patrick Rasenberg
Perhaps Amtrak’s riders took a lesson from the whiny passengers of Flight 1549, famously piloted by CoCo County’s Captain “Sully” Sullenberger? Those particular airline passengers are getting at least $15k-$20k, plus free traumatic stress counseling sessions, plus a refund of their ticket cost, plus upgrades to first class on other flights for the past year, etc., and yet some of them are still whining.
Sometimes when you travel, Things Happen.* Please make a note of this.
Lower your expectations and you’ll never be disappointed…
*People used to die on jetliners – not Beechcrafts nor Cessnas oh no, we’re talking about your Boeings, Airbuses, Lockheeds, McDonnell Douglasseses – people would board and then die, it happened all the time. But how many passengers have died due to jetliner crashes in America since 2001 (which was a bad year, of course)? That’s a Big Fat Zero.
So count your blessings the next time a flock of birds or a pickup or a snowstorm or an Act of God or an Act of Gaia wettens your iPod and/or delays your Journey Through Life.
Tags: 1549, a.i.g., aig, airways, American International Group, amtrak, attorneys, ca, california, chicago, cold, counseling, Damien, delay, drifts, emeryville, flight, food, hell, hotel, iowa, Kreindler, Kreindler & Kreindler, lawsuit, lawyers, LLP, nebraska, passengers, pickup, settlement, snow, son, state, Tess Sosa, therapy, TRACKS, train from hell, truck, U.S., zephyr
Posted in airlines, transit | No Comments »
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
San Francisco’s monthly semi-unauthorized bicycle parade was well-attended and exceptionally ugly last night. Did your bike suffer any property damage (“let’s fucking beat up his car!”)? For whatever reason, Halloween Critical Mass 2009 had lots of gaps so that led to confrontations at every intersection – confused car drivers were tempted to just push through to end their lengthy waits. And the SFPD seemed less pro-bike than I’m used to seeing. Oh well.
Now, grab your parasol, pack your marshmallows, count the choppers, put on your PJs, and raise your fixie. Let’s take a gander.
Just look at the stalled MUNI buses and trolleys (trollies?) stretching from Mid-Market all the way back to the Ferry Building last night:
Click to expand
The riders could only just sit and stare:
Stare at this, a car-free Market Street:
via geekstinkbreath
Now let’s take it to the streets. Ichiro was there. He started going on about how there’s “sexiness in the infield.” OK fine:
About an hour or so after the six-ish P.M. starting time, the stalled buses started to pile up:
A happy corker vs. an unhappy corkee at the intersection of 8th and Market Streets.
After a while, car drivers start getting into this rolling Rorschach test. Some sit on their cars…
…while others, like this SUV driver, get out to fruitlessly confront the madding crowd:
IMO, parolees display the least tolerance for CM. Oh well. They just can’t handle it.
A stalled driver gets freaked out by Pumpkinhead:
Thank Gaia the cops were there:
Oops, here there are, pushing along the stragglers on Market:
And then an error – the main body of riders hung a right and headed up Van Ness. That’s not the way to cork MUNI, which got back to normal on Market Street round about 7:30 PM. Oh well. Van Ness from Hayes looking north up to California – the whole thing was entirely filled with bikes:
So there’s your Halloween Critical Mass 2009. See you next year.
Tags: 2009, 30, 30th, biclcye, bike, bus, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, costumed, costumes, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, halloween, intersection, last, market, mass, month, monthly, parade, police, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes | 4 Comments »
Sunday, September 6th, 2009
All right, first thing up is the crack issue. So, CalTrans couldn’t have seen this crack before? Maybe they should shut down the bridge annually for a day or so if that would help them to do inspections more better? I mean, an eight year old digital camera that you can buy on the craigslist for $75 could be used to inspect for damage as obvious as this – all you’d have to do is walk around on the deck.
Actually, CalTrans wouldn’t even need to shut down the bridge, just a few lanes. It might not have been practical to snap a couple thousand photos in the pre-digital era, but it sure as heck is now. Try harder, CalTrans!
Le crack du jour, as seen with a digicam from the roadway:
Click to expand.
And I promised you some offensive graffiti, so here it is. This photo from yesterday shows some tagging on the bridge near Yerba Buena. See? It says, “MIKE SUCKS BIG TITTIES…”
Coming soon to a “hostile work environment” harassment lawsuit near you:
Perhaps Mike Whiteside’s pals could spend their time looking for more cracks instead of engaging in these kinds of monkeyshines?
We Can Only Hope.
More news as it happens…
“Cracked bar has not posed a threat to drivers, other beams supported bridge section 2 hours ago reply”
“Steel for fix coming from new section fabricator Stinger Welding in AZ 2 hours ago reply”
Tags: as big as your thumb, bay bridge, big titties, bridge, clousre, crack, day, delay, graffiti, labor, mike, Oakland, San Francisco, sucks, whiteside, ybi
Posted in transit | Comments Off
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Here’s the scene this afternoon on Market Street between 7th and 8th – a handful of Iraq War veterans stopping for one second of silence for each U.S. service member lost. That’s 4259 seconds, or about 70 minutes, and they just about spent that much time on Market before getting hauled away by the SFPD.
Click to expand:
Shortly before getting arrested:
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Tags: 7th, 8th, bus, buses, california, death, delay, iraq, Iraq Veterans Against the War, market, Muni, police department, San Francisco, SFPD, silence, street, transit, war
Posted in events | Comments Off
