This poor critter didn’t know what to do out on the sidewalks of high-rent McAllister Street the other day:
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Eventually, this little feller/gal made it back into the big apartment building at McAllister and Steiner. You know, where s/he belongs.
This one:
Hurray!
Fin.
When you’re on Haight Street these days, sure, you expect a parolee to come along to give your noggin a floggin and rip the iPhone from your grasp, you know, something routine like that.
What you don’t expect is an encounter like this, involving a gaze of brazen raccoons.
Lower Haight Raccoons by Monte Francis:
Here’s how some people cross six lanes of Masonic at Ewing Terrace:
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Now, is this kind of thing legal? Well sure, if you’re walking – this could be one of those unmarked crosswalk deals.
But it’s not legal to cross here if you’re running. Sorry pedestrian.
(Our FUBARed beyond all reason SFMTA has a plan to put a traffic light in here whenever it can get its grand mal Masonic Street Design off the ground.)
Now a little further up the hill, we lost a ped who was similarly jaywalking earlier this year. I guess we could blame accidents like that the 30 MPH speed limit in front of Trader Joe’s, but that’s not how I’d look at it.
I’d look at it by trying to get inside the peds’ heads to try to think of a way to get them to not kill themselves.
Oh well.
“Masonic Avenue Street Design Study
Engineering hearing on proposed changes, May 13, 2011
Masonic Street Redesign Study final report (PDF)
The survey results from the third community meeting, held on September 30, 2010, at San Francisco Day School (PDF), are available.
About the Project
The primary goal of the Masonic Avenue Street Design Study is to identify how Masonic Avenue between Geary Boulevard and Fell Street can safely and efficiently accommodate the needs of all roadway users, including but not limited to pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and Muni. The project is funded by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority through the Prop K half-cent local transportation sales tax program.
Objectives:
1. Engage representatives of all constituencies within the community who would be impacted by changes to Masonic Avenue including, but not limited to, residents on Masonic Avenue, residents on side-streets, merchants, school representatives, bicyclists, Muni customers and pedestrians.
2. Improve transit operation.
3. Improve pedestrian and non-motorized access to transit.
4. Increase the safety of pedestrian crossings.
5. Increase motorist compliance with traffic rules and regulations.
6. Reduce the number of vehicular collisions, especially those involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
7. Support neighborhood vitality by creating a more inviting and accommodating public realm.
Community meeting presentations
The following presentations from the various community meetings are available from the San Francisco Planning Department website:
First community meeting presentation, June 15, 2010, Day School, PDF, 7MB
Second community meeting presentation, Aug. 10, 2010, Day School, PDF, 7MB
Third community meeting presentation, Sept. 30, 2010, Day School, PDF, 6MB
James Shahamiri
415.701.4732
james.shahamiri@sfmta.com
Look at ‘em go!
This thing was just a blur shooting by in the dark – I wasn’t sure what it was.
I prefer my critters less squirrelly, like the nice raccoons you’ll find in this outstanding capture from Plomomedia’s Flickr Photostream.
Anyway, I’ve never before seen a raccoon running through the Panhandle…
As they say:
“NightLife events in July 2012 at the California Academy of Sciences – every Thursday night is different.”
Which one will you attend next?
Deets below.
Put a little swaggr into your Thorsdagr why not? Thusly:
Click to boogie
California Academy of Sciences
Remember, I love the Nightlife…
See you there!
June 21
Pride NightLife
Kick off your celebration of SF Pride weekend at NightLife. In the Piazza, Heklina of Trannyshack will host a fabulous drag performance and “tranimal” costume contest. Carol Queen & Robert Lawrence, co-founders of the Center for Sex and Culture, will give a talk titled “Seven Billion Sexual Orientations” about supporting sexual individuality and diversity. In the planetarium, don’t miss “Stargayzing” at 6:30—a look at the mythology behind some of your favorite constellations—followed by two showings of Earthquake. Plus, hear tales of sex-changing fish and other fascinating animals from an aquarium biologist, and enjoy activities and information from organizations like Hard French SF, Rainbow World Fund, Gay & Lesbian Sierrans, and AIDS Memorial Grove. Entertainment in the east pavilion by San Francisco icon Juanita More and the Stay Gold DJs. Additional music by Hard French DJs Carnita & Brown Amy in the coral reef.
June 28
Gallery Crawl NightLife
For one night only, the Academy will transform into a pop-up art museum, featuring guest curators who will each take over a portion of the space with hand-picked collections that reflect their take on the intersection of art and science. See the selections of Tenderloin art pushers Ever Gold Gallery; Michael Cuffe, founder of online arts publication Warholian; Spoke Art, San Francisco’s newest art gallery and publishing house; writer/curator/street art aficionado Adam Reed Rozan; and Electric Works Gallery, which tends to focus on contemporary art work balancing strong graphic and conceptual elements; and other guest curators others to be announced. Live music performance by Tim Cohen’s band Magic Trick, whose music evokes the early era of rock ‘n’ roll with hints of psychedelic pop. Additional music by Britt Govea, DJ and founder of (((folkYEAH!))), whose sets feature contemporary and cutting edge artists who bridge a large gap of musical sounds and styles. Music presented by (((folkYEAH!))).
July 5
Soundwave NightLife
Celebrate opening night of San Francisco’s innovative three-month art and music festival, Soundwave, presented by MEDIATE and The Bold Italic. The night features a blend of art, science and sound around this year’s festival theme: challenging audiences to question their perspectives on the present and our hopes and fears about the future. Futuristic space rock band Lumerians performs in the piazza, musician Matt Baldwin will play amongst the fish in the coral reef, and guitarist Danny Paul Grody will play the skies of the Aurora Borealis in a mini-planetarium, with DJ Tristes Tropiques spinning the night away with disco house/post-punk tunes. Select Soundwave artists will present interactive demonstrations that explore future experiences of sound and technology, including Les Stuck’s video dance sensors, The Cellar Ensemble’s sound/light oracle instrument, Jay Kreimer’s empathic facial responder and instruments, Drew Detweiler’s Lumisketch, and Stephen Hurrel’s live sounds of the moving Earth. Plus, Apocalypse Cakes author Shannon O’Malley will serve samples and read from her guide to doomsday desserts.
July 12
Disposable Film Fest NightLife
This week, NightLife and the Disposable Film Festival want you to do it yourself. What’s a disposable film, you ask? A short film made on a non-professional device, so DIY is the phrase of the night. At Disposable Filmmaking 101, pick up tips and tricks for creating a masterpiece with whatever camera you have on you (even your cell phone). Discover the latest and greatest gadgets, apps and hacks you should have in your toolkit from the experts at PhotoJoJo, Boom Grip and Veetle, and then practice your storytelling at the flipbook animation booth and interviewing workshop. Attend a food filmmaking workshop and learn how to make food prep look glamorous on-camera. Stop by the Public Bikes station and contribute your story to their bike advocacy video. Disposable Film Festival’s 2012 competitive shorts will be shown throughout the night in the Forum Theater. Music by Slayers Club.
July 19
Mixology, Mixtapes and Remixes at NightLife
NightLife stirs things up with Noise Pop this week. Watch the mixologists at Cocktail Lab work their magic during demonstrations using seasonal ingredients. The San Francisco Mixtape Society will host a mixtape swap, so come prepared with a mix tape, mix CD or mix USB stick inspired by the theme of Night Creatures. You’ll walk away with someone else’s mix and a smile on your face. Watch masterful DJs remix a track before your eyes and ears in the Remix Lounge, featuring Friendzone at 6:00, Yalls at 7:00, and Giraffage at 8:00. Music in the Piazza, presented by Noise Pop, is by Heathered Pearls [Ghostly International, ISO50], followed by Dan the Automator. Renowned in underground circles for spearheading critically acclaimed underground projects Handsome Boy Modeling School with Prince Paul, and Deltron 3030 with Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Dan the Automator is perhaps best known as a co-founder of the widely successful anime influenced trip-hop project Gorillaz.
July 26
Runner’s NightLife
In honor of the 35th annual San Francisco Marathon, NightLife celebrates athletes who hit the pavement to push their limits mile after mile. Learn how to take care of your soles with a talk on foot and grounding massage by the SF School of Massage; stop by African Hall for a deep tissue massage and Jamba Juice sample; and make your own headbands and wristbands with SCRAP. Learn why ostriches are the fastest animals on two feet, clocking in at up to 43 mph. In the planetarium, catch the “Messier Marathon” at 6:30, a look at some of the 110 deep sky objects documented by astronomer Charles Messier, followed by two screenings of Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet. Enter the “Runners Have Soul” fashion contest with your best 60s-70s soul–inspired look. Plus, Academy microbiologist Shannon Bennett will be on-hand to discuss her work with mosquitoes, and to conduct a eyebrow mite survey of NightLife guests. Hint: chances are you have them, and no, you can’t outrun them. But the good news is, they’re harmless! Music by the soul/boogie DJs Gordo Cabeza & Timoteo Gigante (MOMSF).
NightLife Basics:
What: NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences (for adults ages 21+) featuring music, cutting-edge science, and food and cocktails available for purchase
When: Every Thursday, 6-10 pm
Where: California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Cost: $12 per person ($10 for Academy members); Tickets available at the door or online at https://www.calacademy.org/tickets/nl.phpWeekly Details: Available at www.calacademy.org/nightlife
2010:
“On the new green bike lanes and separators sprouting up all over the city:
2012:
Market Street, USA, between 6th and 5th, inbound, morning drive, last week, and the week before, and the week before…
Click to expand
Dude, is that a BMW R1200RT-P? That’s the first I’ve seen in SFPD service.
Instead of taking Oak to the Wiggle bike route when you hit the eastern part of the Panhandle, why not take the “Northern Wiggle” route to Mcallister the next time you need to get downtown?
So, from around Masonic and Fell, take the flattest route you can find to get to Fulton and Divisadero, then go one block uphill to McAllister, then ride all the way down to Market Street with a minimum of red lights and cops.
Thusly:
That’s how you do it…
Oh, and you know, those jaywalking pedestrians are a pain, right? Somebody ought to “outreach” them, “educate” them on how to walk, huh?
For some reason, Market Street has crosswalks in the middle of blocks, complete with traffic lights. So cyclists tend to look around for peds and then blow on through, multiple times a day, you know, for decades no problem.
But these days the SFPD is trying to change things by actually enforcing California Vehicle Code CVC 21453 on bike riders just as if they were car drivers!
But, I wouldn’t call this a sting* or nothing, I mean, it’s just the cops slowing you down to yell at you at bit.
This boring video of three minutes of yesterday’s inbound commute here shows what it’s like – the motorcycle cop had just yelled at the cyclist you can see on the right at the red light:
(The yelling occurred at :40 or so.)
One supposes the next step in this operation will be to have the SFPD actually start handing out citations.
(Actually, cops don’t really like citing cyclists, for various reasons. One supposes that this is an enforcement action specifically directed at bike riders. This kind of thing occurs from time to time of course.)
On It Goes…
*”A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect’s actions to gather evidence of the suspect’s wrongdoing.”
Run Wild for a Child 2011 went off without a hitch today in Golden Gate Park.
It’s sort of like the Bay to Breakers annual civic event, except Run Wild isn’t owned by some hung-up, Burnsian, “Christian Billionaire” what lives in Colorado and uses your B2B entry fee to fight the concept of evolution. (How refreshing.)
Anyway, today’s 5K race was 3053 vs. 1729 leading most of the way through. One of these guys won, you’d think.
Is this Fell? I can’t really tell:
Here’s Oak, anyway:
As you can see, this race swings both ways, with 5K and 10K runners facing each other at times:
Monkey butts?
All right, see you next year!
10K • 5K featuring Run Wild For A Child Costume Contest
Sunday, November 27, 2011 • 8:30 AM START
27th Annual Thanksgiving Weekend Run
Golden Gate Park • San Francisco
KICK OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Support San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program
Bring a new toy or two to donate to Bay Area Children in need
Run dressed as a toy in the “Run Wild Like A Child Costume Contest”
PRE-POST RACE EXPO
The entire event is staged from the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park, which is the outdoor plaza in the center of:
California Academy of Sciences
De Young Museum
Japanese Tea Garden
Start Check-In is at Music Concourse — see below for Start details.
‘RUN WILD LIKE A CHILD 5K’ COSTUME CONTEST
Run or Walk the 5K dressed as a favorite childhood toy to be eligible for the costume contest judging. Prizes will be awarded to the Top Ten Costumes selected by the Judges. Click to see some past year’s costumes!
CUSTOM MEDAL WITH EVENT LOGO TO 1ST – 10TH PLACE COSTUME WINNERS
1st Place: Luxury Weekend for Two at Hotel Carlton (good through Nov. 2012) and $150 Gift Certificate to Sports Basement
2nd Place: $200.00 Sports Basement Gift Certificate & FRS healthy Energy Gift Pack
3rd Place: $100.00 Sports Basement Gift Certificate & FRS healthy Energy Gift Pack
4th Place: $50.00 Sports Basement Gift Certificate & FRS healthy Energy Gift Pack
5th –10 Place: A Sports Basement Gift Certificate good for a pair of Brooks shoes.
COSTUME JUDGING
All 5K Costume Contestants should report to the front of the starting line for initial judging from 8:00 AM – 8:20 AM.
Initial judging at the starting line from 8:15 – 8:30 AM
Semi-final judging – at the 5K finish line.
Final judging – at Bandshell Stage at 10:00 AM
POST RACE EXPO
After the race join us in the Music Concourse where you can ‘get down’ with live music provided by Pure Ecstasy while enjoying refreshments and the final costume judging on the main stage. Entrants can pick up their T-shirt and goodie bag, as well as visit sponsor booths for free samples and fitness information. The awards ceremony and Costume Parade & Judging will begin at approximately 10:00 AM at the Bandshell.
T-SHIRT PICK-UP
Pre-registered entrants may pick up their T-shirt with the full color logo in the Post-Race Expo area from 7:00 AM to 8:15 AM race morning or immediately following the race. Race Day entrants can pick up their shirt immediately following the race. The T-shirt Booth will be closed from 8:16 AM – 8:45 AM. T-shirt sizes cannot be guaranteed.
SUPPORTING
The San Francisco Firefighter’s Toy Program is the city’s largest and the nation’s oldest program of its kind. Distributing over 200,000 toys to more than 40,000 disadvantaged children. Besides helping individual families in need, the Toy Program serves many community organizations, including shelters for abused women and children, inner-city schools, neighborhood groups, children’s cancer wards, and pediatric AIDS units. SFFF Toy Program also responds on a year round basis to displaced children who become victims of fires, floods and other such disasters. The SFFF Toy Program is dependent solely on donations.
BRING A TOY and/or MAKE A DONATION
The San Francisco Firefighter’s Toy Program will be onsite race day accepting donations of new unwrapped toys. Entrants are encouraged to bring a toy or two on race day to donate and/or to make a cash donation when you register. Any donation above your entry fee will be given to the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program and is a 100% tax deductible.
[UPDATE - Here's the official spiel:
"Icebreaker makes Outdoor, Running, Cycling, Travel, Kids, Underwear and Lifestyle apparel from handpicked merino wool born in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. It's non-itch, easy to wash, lightweight, versatile, easily packable and no-stink (because merino is naturally anti-mircrobrial, you can wear it for days ow weeks without a wash).
Sustainability has been part of Icebreaker's ethos since the start. It has strict animal welfare and farm standards, and has a traceability program (called "Baacode") that enables people to use a unique code sewn inside their garment to trace the fiber back to the sheep stations that grew it all the way through its supply chain."
And OMG, it's "Ramotaur" and "Nature Girl" on the streets of SF:
Click to expand
And one last thing:
"Ramotar will be appearing next weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 12/2-12/4, 12pm-3pm, fliers in key SF locales, Union Square, Embarcadero, Ferry Building, etc. Also Friday and Saturday, 12/9-12/10, 12pm-3pm in the same locales."
O.K. then.]
So Icebreaker is that fashionable merino wool store from New Zealand where actor Orlando Bloom goes shopping for woolens…
… sometimes along with his gf, model Miranda Kerr:
Well guess what, this was the week that Icebreaker opened its first “TouchLab” store in Northern California. It’s down at 170 Post in Union Square.
See?
OMG, is that a wool chandelier?
All right, find out about the landlord, Grosvenor Americas, after the jump.
See you there!
