Posts Tagged ‘magazine’

Hospital Rooms at the Forthcoming “UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay” are Oprah-Approved, More or Less

Friday, November 18th, 2011

The Future is coming to Mission Bay and this is what it will look like. Get all the deets below.

Hurray!

  • Private room. Nearly all patient rooms will be private, with the exception of intensive care nurseries designed for multiple births.
  • Spacious bathroom with double doors. Every UCSF patient room will have its own large bathroom with a wide entry door.
  • Adaptable head wall. Patient rooms will include an optimized boom mount on the ceiling that will increase room flexibility and open up more floor space.
  • Hand-sanitizer pump. Hand-washing sinks will be located upon the entrance to each room.
  • Sound-absorbing ceiling tiles. The accessible ceiling tiles in each room are designed to absorb sound and can be cleaned easily.
  • Soothing music. Patients will be able to personalize their music selections; music will not be piped in.
  • A view of nature. Rooms will offer a range of views, from gardens to the San Francisco Bay to the ballpark.
  • Light-filled window. Every room will include a huge window.
  • Carpeting. Rubber floors will promote infection control, reduce noise and offer increased comfort for patients and staff.

(Source: Mary Phillips, project manager for interior design for Mission Bay Hospitals Project)

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“Patient rooms in the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, including this acute care patient room at the future women’s specialty hospital, are designed to maximize comfort, efficiency and safety.

The new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay is planned as a shining example of evidence-based hospital design, an increasingly prevalent trend built on research suggesting that design can improve health outcomes by increasing safety and reducing stress among patients, their families and hospital staff.

Evidence-based design concepts recently reached a huge new audience when O, The Oprah Magazine ran an article in its September issue highlighting the “Fable Hospital 2.0,” a conceptual patient room designed by a team of researchers, architects and health care experts as an ideal facility.

Features of UCSF’s 289-bed Mission Bay hospital complex — including private rooms and bathrooms for nearly all patients; individualized lighting, temperature and music controls; and large windows offering views of serene outdoor spaces — match up almost exactly with those of the Fable Hospital. The most notable exception is UCSF’s decision not to use carpeting in patient rooms, a feature of the Fable room that was deemed an infection risk. Instead, UCSF’s floors will be made of rubber, which absorbs noise and can be cleaned using fewer chemicals than vinyl flooring.

Such decisions about the new women’s, children’s and cancer hospitals slated to open in early 2015 are the result of an extensive, highly collaborative process that engaged leading architects teams of university staff and caregivers, and patients and their families.

“Overall, the facilities will be spectacular, contemporary, appealing and sophisticated,” said Cindy Lima, executive director of the Mission Bay Hospitals Project. “Patients, families and staff alike will benefit from a beautiful and soothing environment that I hope will feel more like a sun-drenched retreat than a hospital.”

Lima was quick to point out that “while stunning, the design is simple and the buildings are highly efficient.”

“We didn’t want people to end up feeling we’d been lavish and irresponsible with resources,” echoed Dr. Elena Gates, chief of the UCSF Division of General Gynecology, who has been involved in the planning process since the beginning. “It’s amazing what one can do while also being quite reasonable.”

More deets after the jump

(more…)

CODA Automotive, That POS Electric Car Co. With a Bay Area “Assembly Plant,” Surrenders – Lowers Chinese Sedan Price $5k

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Well the big news yesterday from CODA Automotive was that they lowered the price for their old-fashioned Chinese electric car, you know, the one that they’re going to “assemble” in Benicia, and, you know, the one that was originally going to be delivered to California buyers by, pick one, the end of:

2008 - whoops missed that one!

2009 - whoops missed that one!

2010 - whoops missed that one!

the second quarter of 2011whoops missed that one!

2011 - whoops missed that one! [Apparently. It looks like they'll blow this latest promise as well. It's not clear at this point.]

You want some history, brother? Well click here and keep scrolling, it goes on and on.

Ah memories, ah promises broken:

What I’m saying is that even by the low standards of the electric car industry, the CODA Sedan concept, that idea of taking a gas-engined vehicle (the quite unpopular Mistubishi/NedCar Carisma/Lancer) that was engineered by Mitsubishi and Volvo in the pre-Internet era and making it as an electric car in China, is exceptional for the number of liars who have been connected with it.

Anyway, this POS electric car, which is inferior to the Nissan Leaf, is now “only” $41K. Hurray, I guess, but the Nissan is still substantially cheaper.

The CODA’s are coming, the CODA’s are finally coming! Here’s the production line for the drivetrain-free, battery-free “gliders:”

(You know what’s sad? The average college student in China has no idea what this photo of the T54 tanks is all about.)

But let’s get the latest from a CODA Electric booster in the media, let’s read along here. I’ll tell you, I’m intrigued by this opener:

“It’s frumpy, expensive (starting at $39,900 before rebates compared to the $35,200 Nissan Leaf), and doesn’t have a big name attached to it. [Yes, yes!]

And yet, it might just be a hit when it’s released early next year. [Say what now?!]“

All right, I’ll now read the article. (Please wait for me to finish.)

[Oh the Nissan LEAF sucks, apparently, well they've been saying that for a looooooong time now, so this isn't new at all, "We have a 50% larger battery pack than anyone else in the EV space," well that's horseshit since the Tesla Roadster has a higher capacity battery, "the Coda sedan may get a 110 mile range certification" well good luck on that one, you'd think they'd have an actual rating by now since this car was merely weeks from delivery more than a year ago, "he believes that Coda can sell 10,000 EVs" well that's news to me since the recent predictions from CODA have been in the 20K per year territory, uh sorry, the charger is not a "Godsend," "buyers may flock to the CODA" uh no, that's not going to happen, no sir, "Photos of Coda Automotive plant" uh, no, there are no Chinese people in those shots - the CODA plant is in China, that's where they make the fucking car, don't you know that, writer? And where they make the battery pack as well, of course, Gentle Reader, the final assembly plant in California is window-dressing, for the most part, oh let's see here, Control F, searching for China or Chinese and that comes up goose-eggs. Does the writer know where this car and its battery are made? Perhaps not, can't tell, maybe he knows but just doesn't want to share that with you, cause, well, you know...]

Well that was a waste of time, but it seems like, at long last, CODA Automotive is getting real, or at least more real, actually acknowledging reality, at times.

(“Our pig has a higher quality lipstick than our competitor’s (just say it, Nissan’s, cause that’s who you’re talking about, right, CODA?) pig.”  ”Our pig has has larger ears than our competitor’s, for our customers who prefer larger ears.” Yadayadayada…)

Leave there be no doubt, the CODA Sedan is the biggest POS electric car concept to come down the pike since, I don’t know, a century ago during the first electric car boom. That’s true at a $46k price level and it’s true at a $41k price level.

Sorry.

What they should have done is to price it lower than the Nissan Leaf, which, of course, is a better car, primarily owing to the fact that it didn’t start off life as a POS Mitsubishi with a big-ass trunk and a small-ass back seat waaaaay back in 1994, and you know, also to the fact that Nissan, a real car company, spent a lot moooooooore money during development.

So, keep it up CODA, keep on bad-mouthing the Nissan, even though your stated Mission Statement is to increase sales of all electric cars.

And check it, you’re getting worse coverage now in the MSM, even though you just upped the battery capacity and lowered the price:

Bill Visnic, senior editor of Edmunds.com, said in an e-mail that the price cut “may or not improve the prospects for this earnest second-tier player* in the nascent electric car market.”

And Sam Jaffe, an analyst with IDC Energy Insights, said in a telephone interview that Coda’s long-term prospects** were also an issue.

“In the end, people will weigh the value of a 10-year Coda warranty against Nissan’s warranty,” he said. “Coda doesn’t have a long history of backing up warranties, so it’s a harder sell.**

“There is space in the emerging plug-in vehicle market for both company’s products, but Coda has a steeper hill to climb than Nissan** does,” Mr. Jaffe added.

So, yes, CODA, that other girl sucks and you’re all that. Whatever you say [you big POS car company.]

Presenting the Nissan LEAF. Adorable, huh? 

Don’t listen to those playa haters at CODA, Leaf. 

*Oh, snap!

**Again!

Word From The Street: “I’m Clint Fucking Eastwood and This is What I Have to Say About Gay Marriage”

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Well this is news to me - via The Tens comes a graphic from Richard Roeper.

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And that’s direct from Mr. Kowalski.

“These people who are making a big deal out of gay marriage? I don’t give a fuck about who wants to get married to anybody else. We’re making a big deal out of things we shouldn’t be making a deal out of … They go on and on with all this bullshit about ‘sanctity’ — don’t give me that sanctity crap! Just give everybody the chance to have the life they want.” — Clint Eastwood. [GQ]

Wow: Vogue Magazine on What Former First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom was Doing Four Years Ago, Back in 2007

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Here’s the latest from Vogue (which of course has nothing, nothing at all to do with anything even possibly connected with “overt sexualization,” oh no).

Leave us remember 2007:

“Four years ago, when Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a onetime businesswoman and actress, decided she wanted to have a baby with her husband, Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco,* she looked at the world into which she would be bringing a daughter and saw a bleak picture. Around her, a tabloid culture in which women were prized for cattiness and overt sexualization was thriving, and in the political realm, things didn’t look much better.”

All right, but ’round about the same time, I seem to recall somebody going on about how “the woman is the culprit” and that same somebody calling writer and fellow “girl” Heather Maddan a liar.

Photo: Girls Club Entertainment

OK fine.

Thanks for your insights, Vogue!

* And current Lt. Governor, don’t forget.

As Seen on the #38 Geary: Bootylicious Magazine – But If He Doesn’t Try to Steal Your iPhone, He’s a Good Passenger, Right?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Wow.

Via Joey, Fauxjob, The Whateverandnowi-mscared, and The Tens comes this, as seen on your articulated #38 Geary bus:

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Now, the reason why this man is generally interested in booty is because, well, he’s a man, baby. That’s why – nothing wrong with that, is there?

Of course, he should do a better job of hiding his April 2011 copy of Bootylicious (don’t click, I beseech you) in what appears to be a garbage bag, but he’s not stealing iPhones, is he?

Ponder that.

Amanda Knox Case DOESN’T Show Need for Informed Traveling – Writer Nina Burleigh Cashes in on Murder Case

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Don’t you love it when the news of the day is riveted on the crime case you just wrote a book about? Well, former People Magazine staff writer Nina Burleigh must be loving it right about now.

See?

Amanda Knox case shows need for informed traveling

Let’s take a look:

“In the course of investigating the story for my book, I lived in Perugia for nine months, corresponded with the defendants, pored over investigative records and came to the conclusion that the crime was actually quite simple – a robbery gone wrong…”

Uh, no, actually, the crime is called calunnia, what we would call obstruction of justice, something like that. In fact, Amanda Knox just did a three-year stretch in Italy for that.

See?

Amanda Knox found guilty of slander for implication of bar owner Patrick Lumumba in the murder of Meredith Kercher; upholds prior slander conviction. Receives 3-year sentence (time served) and 22,000 Euro fine.”

So, when traveling, just like when you’re at home, try to figure out just one story and then stick with it. And try not to implicate others.

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Now you can consider youself an “informed traveler.”

Enjoy.

(What If Solyndra Built Cars…) Is CODA Automotive Really an “All-American, All-Electric Car Company?”

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Well, here’s the latest on that horrible electric car company what says it will soon be importing electric cars from one part of China and batteries from another part of China and slapping them together in Benicia, way out in the North Bay.

From former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass:

“Just toured @CODAautomotive with @k4Beanum, 1 of LA’s fastest growing firms–Building green cars and jobs! http://pic.twitter.com/SQYtvByz

See?

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I don’t think she has any idea about what a horrible product it is that CODA is “producing.” I don’t think  she knows where CODA is producing it.

And, now let’s hear from CODA itself – I just don’t know where the All-American part comes from.

Oh well…

Sorry Fast Company: The “New,” All-Electric, CODA Automotive Sedan, Direct From China, is NOT a “Luxury Car”

Friday, September 9th, 2011

[UPDATE: Wired (Magazine, website?) weighs in here with words like "econobox" and "Honda Civic" and "practical EV."]

Ariel Schwartz of Fast Company (Magazine, website, something or other) offers this today:

“Luxury electric car maker @CODAautomotive showcases its EV in a shiny mall store: http://bit.ly/ot8Elq ”

But the problem with that is that what CODA makes ain’t luxury cars.

Leaving aside the issue of which companies actually make the parts what make up the electric vehicles that CODA says they will soon be selling (and people have been saying that this car would go on sale at the end of 2008, 2009, 2010, and now apparently, 2011), the CODA Sedan is in no way, shape, or form a luxury car.

Basically, the CODA Sedan is a gussied-up Mitsubishi Carisma from 15 years ago. The concept at the time was to have a big trunk at the expense of having less room in the back seat. It didn’t work out. Tooling was sent to China and a second-tier “regional” carmaker offered it for something like $9000 with a gasoline engine.

Now, for some reason, taking out the most expensive part, the engine (along with the fuel tank and whatnot) and putting in a battery and a tiny electric motor jacks up the price to $45K.

For some reason.

Of course, you could start with your sister’s Honda Civic from the 1990′s and, you know, Pimp My Ride or something, but the result wouldn’t be what you could call a luxury car, I don’t think. In some ways, the CODA would be better, but in some ways the Honda would be better, IMO.

Oh, let’s travel down memory lane. (Do all these links still work?)

“The NYT’s Jim Motavalli has some news about California’s very own electric car company today:

Coda Automotive is a start-up company that will deliver its first $44,900 electric cars to customers in its home state of California “in three to four months,” said its president and chief executive, Kevin Czinger.”

What that means is that, once again, an electric car company is letting you down, ’cause deliveries were just recently promised for the “fourth quarter of 2010.” (Seems as if promises from any kind of car company aren’t really worth that much these days.)

Now, back in the day, in 2007, the electric car we were going to get from China was called the Javlon XS500. It was suppose to come in 2008. It didn’t. Check it:

Miles Automotive on the $30,000 Javlon XS500 all-electric sedan

Then, in 2008, we were promised the Miles XS500. That was going to come in 2009. It didn’t. Check it:

Miles XS500 will be a lot more expensive than planned, maybe

Then, in 2009, we were promised the Coda Automotive Sedan. That was going to come in 2010. It didn’t. Check it:

Coda Automotive Unveils New Mainstream All-Electric Sedan

So, based upon the statement written on the NYT website, I guess it’ll be 2011 before the “final assembly” plant in Benicia, CA starts rolling out product. [Oh, this didn't end up happening, IRL]

(Perhaps it’s easier to badmouth Nissan than fulfill promises? Sure looks that way…)

In other news, Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing and Distribution, Michael A. Jackson has left the building. Mmmmm….

And hey, remember Webvan, that slow-motion car crash of a dotcom company, you know, the one that made a big splash and then soon after went belly up, the one that was brought to you by, among others, Kevin Czinger and Goldman Sachs?

Well, KC and GS are back again with Coda Automotive.” 

And hey, just for fun, compare this last from last year to Solyndra‘s investors and board of directors / advisors. Mmmmm…

Keep chasing those rainbows, CODA!

CODA’s investors include:

  • Aeris CAPITAL – a private Swiss investment office
  • Harbinger Capital Partners – private hedge fund based in New York City, New York.
  • Riverstone Holdings – a private equity firm based in New York City, New York.
  • Piper Jaffray – a U.S. middle-market investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Angeleno Group – a Los Angeles based private equity firm
  • EDB Investments (EDBI) – an investment firm headquartered in Singapore
  • Countyline LLC – an investment entity owned by Tony Pritzker and J.B. Pritzker
  • Miles L. Rubin – Founder and Chairman Emeritus of CODA Automotive; former CEO of Detroit Iron & Steel Industries, Reliance Manufacturing, Puritan Fashions Corp. and Polo Ralph Lauren Jeanswear
  • Steven “Mac” Heller – Executive Chairman of CODA Automotive; former Goldman Sachs Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Worldwide and Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division
  • Tom Steyer – Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco private equity firm; Founder, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Farallon Capital; member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University
  • Les Wexner – Chairman and CEO of Limited Brands
  • Henry “Hank” Paulson – former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs and special representative of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue
  • Mack McLarty – (Thomas “Mack” McLarty) Former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton, President of McLarty Associates and McLarty Companies, a transportation business based in Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Kevin Czinger – Senior Strategic Advisor, CODA Automotive; Former President and CEO at CODA Automotive, executive at Global Signal, Webvan Group, Bertelsmann AG, and Goldman Sachs

Board of Directors

  • Miles L. Rubin – Founder and Chairman Emeritus, CODA Automotive; former CEO of Detroit Iron & Steel Industries, Reliance Manufacturing, Puritan Fashions Corp. and Polo Ralph Lauren Jeanswear
  • Steven “Mac” Heller – Executive Chairman, CODA Automotive; former Goldman Sachs Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Worldwide and Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division
  • Alan Chesick – Acting Legal Advisor of CODA Automotive, former general counsel of Fortress Investment Group
  • Daniel Weiss – Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Angeleno Group LLC, a leading Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on high growth investments in the energy sector
  • John Bryson – Former Chairman, CEO and President of Edison International from 1990 through 2008, a director at The Boeing Company, The Walt Disney Company, and the California Institute of Technology
  • Niall Davis – One of ten founding partners of Swiss aeris CAPITAL AG, a large global private equity firm
  • Philip Murtaugh – CEO, CODA Automotive; former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GM China, EVP International Operations of SAIC
  • James P. McGinnis – Managing Director, Harbinger Capital Partners
  • Lord John Browne – Managing Director and Managing Partner of Riverstone Holdings LLC, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chair of the Tate, Member of the House of Lords}}

Board of Advisors

  • Mack McLarty – (Thomas “Mack” McLarty) Former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton, President of McLarty Associates and McLarty Companies, a transportation business based in Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Dr. Thomas Cardello – Partner of Sunrise Capital, an institutional fund manager, Advisory Director and former MD of Global Electronic Derivative Market making for Morgan Stanley
  • Dr. Michael Wang – Manager of the Systems Assessment Section of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne Labs, serves as a senior advisor to the Chinese government on new vehicle technology and alternative energy production
  • Henry “Hank” Paulson – former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs and special representative of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue
  • Thomas F. Steyer – Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco private equity firm; Founder, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Farallon Capital; member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University
  • Woo C. Lee – Head of Asia for the advisory firm JL Thornton & Company, formerly a U.S. diplomat at American embassies in China, Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia
  • Thomas R. McDaniel – Director of SunPower Corp., SemGroup, LP, Cypress Envirosystems, and the Senior Care Action Network and Formerly executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Edison International
  • Kevin Czinger – Senior Strategic Advisor, CODA Automotive; Former President and CEO at CODA Automotive, executive at Global Signal, Webvan Group, Bertelsmann AG, and Goldman Sachs”

The Best Accessory for Your iPhone or Android Device is This Delightful Bunny Ear Case

Monday, August 8th, 2011

As seen in the West Bay, on Noriega:

Even the foggy Outer Sunset can look good when you shoot a 300mm lens totally wide open:

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Isn’t this cell phone case delightful?

Let’s hope the Playboy Magazine people don’t want to sue…