My List of City Slogans of the San Francisco Bay Area

The Chronicle did a funny article about odd slogans that is used around the SF Bay Area. For example, San Francisco: "The city that knows how."

So here's my list of local Bay Area cities. If you don't understand what it means, you don't read the news or live in the Bay Area:

• San Francisco: ""Home" of disgraced ex-supervisor Ed Jew."
• San Francisco: "Muni sucks."
• San Francisco: "Blaming problems on the Mayor on a daily basis."
• San Francisco: "We've got bums."
• San Francisco: "Locals hate tourists. Get off the Cable Car and don't visit Pier 39."
  
• Berkeley: "Smokin' weed and the know it all Cal students sleeping in trees."
  
• Burlingame: "That's our international airport! Why did San Francisco claim it?"
  
• Oakland: "Who the hell is Mayor Ron Dellums?"
• Oakland: "Birthplace of Kaiser Permanente, damn that's creepy."
  
• San Jose: "Kickin' San Francisco's butt on a daily basis."
• San Jose: "Home of silicone valleys... we do boob jobs instead of making computer chips these days."
  
• Daly City: "We still use plastic bags and styrofoam boxes."
• Daly City: "Lower sales tax rate and we've got TARGET!"
  
• Sausalito: "Small town, expensive toll bridge nearby."
• Milpitas: "Outlet shopping galore."
• Emeryville: "Sold out to IKEA."

What's Wrong with Translink? (San Francisco, Bay Area)

For all you people who don't know, Translink is the program for the San Francisco Bay Area transit systems to provide one card for all transit systems. Think of it like your Visa card, it is accepted nearly everywhere and recognized by practically everyone. Translink does the same thing in the form of electronic cash, but improves it with the purchase of passes, automatic bus transfers, and other special features. Actually, if it worked perfectly, you can have multiple passes on your card. Plus, you never have to swipe the card, you simply wave the card near the sensor, or can be stuffed in a wallet or purse and you have to just get the card near it.

Just to note, the photo on the left is a little strange... The MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) has this photo available for public use, and the lady tagging/scanning the card has the red light lit and it says that the ride is denied. How embarrassing to the lady, smiling while your ride got denied. Click on the photo to zoom in.

Smart technology, right? Of course...

But then we realize just how much of a hassle it is to get this program running. It is a welcoming sight that people who ride AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit & Ferry services can use this amazing card to get around to where they need to go. Plus a nice incentive is that AC transit users received a small discount per ride or a $10 discount for a 31 day pass.

Golden Gate Transit & Ferry services give patrons an automatic discount, treating any person like they purchased a discounted ticket book. Take a look at this grid from the Golden Gate Ferry website:

ONE-WAY FERRY CASH FARES Effective July 1, 2007
Zone 2 – Sausalito	Adult	$7.10
	Senior/Disabled/Medicare/Youth (6-18)	$3.55
	Frequent Rider Ticket Book or TransLink	$3.80
Zone 3 – Larkspur	Adult	$7.10
	Senior/Disabled/Medicare/Youth (6-18)	$3.55
	Frequent Rider Ticket Book or TransLink	$4.45

OK, two agencies are working well. Haven't heard that many complaints in the news from these two agencies within the past year.

But how about the other agencies?

San Francisco Muni: Insiders are claiming that Muni should be ready to run with Translink (except Cable Cars) by July 15, 2008 after a few delays that got the attention of the Chronicle newspaper. Unfortunately, the people at Translink and the SFMTA (the authority controlling Muni) does not mention an official release date for the program. I've already e-mailed SFMTA and Translink last week and I still have not received a reply back from them. The SFMTA website mentions that Translink is still under "testing," and does not officially condone passengers to use the new program. They claim that it is not out for the public to use yet, but warns you that if you attempt to use it, to simply be prepared to have cash ready in case it does not work.

How about, if the reader works and accepts my electronic money, I should be offered a bus transfer if the reader is not working on the next vehicle I have to transfer to? There is no official message that a transfer will or will not be issued. It kinda leaves it out of the open, aye?

I'm also fortunate that I am a Commuter Check participant, and I now have the option to have my commuter checks be automatically uploaded into the Translink program. But without official notice from Muni about using the card, I don't even want to risk it. I'll stick to my token ticket book thank you very much.

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit): They claim that they don't like the idea of Translink. Maybe it is because the company that installed those new ticket gates don't like the Motorola ERG technology? In fact... Cubic, the gate manufacturers, have their own card technology and is in strong use in the Washington DC area. Even more odd is that instead of letting Translink do a test run on the new equipment, they decided to go the opposite way by creating their own RFID card program using Cubic's technology.

In the future, we may have to carry two cards; although BART officials claim that they want to get on board the Translink wagon as well.

As for the other agencies, no word on what progress is happening.

Here is some interesting things with Translink:

• I noticed on my recent bus ride that the RTC discount cards that are issued to people who have a disability receive their photo ID card with the Translink chip embedded in their card. Whoever thought of doing this is a very smart person because since disabled people need to have this card while using the transit systems of the Bay Area make perfect test subjects to try this on the systems.
• My university that I work for and take grad school, San Francisco State University has noted in their "Master Plan" to improve the campus is to offer a "class pass" program that encourages students, staff, and faculty to ride public transit instead of driving to the University (parking is really tough, especially the free spaces in the Park Merced area). They are proposing that they want to not just offer free rides on Muni and free BART service within San Francisco, but to EXTEND BART service to also include the Daly City BART station. When BART passengers cross the San Francisco/San Mateo county line, they get heavily penalized, then it sucks for the students because they have to back trek to the San Francisco county side on the Muni bus to get to campus. The interesting part is that while the campus plans to make a deal with the two transit agencies and offer a really cheap price for the pass (like less than $70 for at least one semester), they want to also integrate this into the Translink card program (heck, it also makes them good lab rats to test out the system too!). I say, good luck SFSU and campus President Robert Corrigan, you've got a good challenge.

My credentials:

• I was a pilot tester for the second round from about 2002 to 2004. I used the older (bottom) card and it is quite beat up. The program worked great, until some driver threatened me and wanted to throw the card out of the window. Lets just say that he and his bosses got a major lashing from me and the Translink program manager for mistreating me.
• The new card they issued works, but I haven't used it in a very long time. If Muni can get their act going and officially get this thing moving, I'd be proud to use the card.
• I gave a lot of feedback to Translink, to the point where the customer service people knew me by first name basis only.

My goals for Translink:

1. Get Muni, BART and Caltrain up and going no later than the end of August. If they can meet the July 15th deadline, even better.
   
2. These three agencies needs to start to recruit testers now. I know that Muni has their equipment installed and operational on nearly all their vehicles except Cable Cars.
3. Get the other agencies up and running not by the year 2010, but at at least sometime in 2009.
4. SFSU (San Francisco State University) should push for the Translink with "class pass" program now. Students cannot take advantage of the Commuter Check Program, but as a staff member, I have that privilege to save money because it is automatically deducted from my paycheck, and it is pre-taxed funds.

Comments are welcome!
Post at: http://www.akit.org/2008/06/whats-wrong-with-translink-san.html

COSTCO BARGAIN ALERT: $49.99 Dirty Harry Ultimate Collectors Edition

Being a proud San Franciscan, I had to get the new Dirty Harry DVD collection with all the Dirty Harry flicks, and it comes with some cool extra items like a map, a fake badge, and other goodies.

I remember seeing this in the Best Buy ad for $59.99, their sale price. The actual retail price for the item is $74.99, but its release today had a great bargain at Costco.

Costco's deal price: $49.99, ten bucks less than the sale price at Best Buy.

What a deal!

AT&T Park (SF Giants) - America's Ripoff Joint

I love AT&T Park (aka: Pacific Bell Park, Pac Bell Park, SBC Park, and Telephone Park) because it is a beautiful stadium to watch games. Even sitting at the upper deck gets you great views of the park, the views of the water and East Bay, and doesn't require you to use binoculars to view the game.

But have you noticed that we are getting really ripped off? Like real badly...

Here's a list of things I think is terrible about the ballpark:

• Outrageous prices on tickets. They offer three levels of prices:
• Cheapest tickets are for games on Monday-Thursday.
• "Weekend" tickets are for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games.
• "Premium" games are always against the Dodgers, New York teams, and some A's games.
• Then, the tickets for certain sections go for outrageous prices. Want the crappiest seats in the park? Go for the centerfield bleachers. Worst upper deck seats are the last five sections in left field. They sell for cheap, but who the hell can watch a game in those seats?
• The best seats, therefore the most expensive seats are in the "Lexus" dugout seats, equipped with padded seats, and you are so close to the home plate.
• Just how much for face value? It cost me about $125. This does not include any additional fees.
• The best seats for A's tickets is no more than $90. The cheapest seats for the A's is just $9! Come on AT&T Park.
  
• And how about those ticket fees? They try to nickel and dime you for every time you buy a ticket. If you purchase at a Giants Dougout location (except the ballpark location) or any tickets.com outlet, you get charged a 17% FEE. What the hell is this?
• The best time to buy tickets is when you visit the Dugout store at the ballpark or the advance ticket window. They have a much lower service fee.
• Here's an interesting fact, San Francisco Muni wanted to get a little more money to provide service to the ballpark. They wanted to propose an additional tax on game ticket fees. Hell no.
• To add insult to injury, Muni DOES NOT ACCEPT BART-TO-MUNI transfers when purchasing your ticket to return from the ballpark to BART. What little bitches! I get a 25 cent discount, and I WANT IT!
• And how about the food?
• These guys rip you off so badly. I can easily spend $25 at a ballpark for a half-assed meal. For that money, I can go across the street at Amici's and get myself a large New England Clam Pizza with a soda and possibly some pesto pasta!
• Why half-assed food? Here's something. I ordered a clam chowder in a bread bowl, and while the soup was OK, the damn bread was STALE! So dry, that the bread bowl soaked in soup was dry enough to make me cough for five minutes.
• And to add insult to injury...
• The Giants have now BANNED ALL OPEN BEVERAGES from entering the park, including bottles that have their seal broken.
• Their reply is that this is to prevent underage drinking.
• My answer: It is just another way to rip us off by making us fans purchase beverages that cost nearly three times its regular price at grocery stores and other places.
• Plus, I can't bring in my iced coffee drink from McDonald's

If the Giants wants to stop ripping us off with these outrageous prices, it's time for some changes.

1. Barry Bonds is gone, he was the star attraction, and now you are selling games with about 9,000 seats still available (this happened at last Friday's game). Also, the team is doing terrible. Reduce prices on admission tickets. Eliminate the SRO (standing room only) and use those prices to offer the hardest seats to sell (upper deck left field).
   
2. Lower food prices. It should not cost $4.00 for a Churro (Costco is only $1), and no little hot dog costs $4.50.
3. Cut back on some of these bogus "park safety" rules. Open bottles are OK, as long as it is not beer or liquor. Why not have the staff sniff the liquid? Alcohol has an obvious smell.
4. If you love watching them on TV, write to KNTV (aka NBC 11, the second worst local TV station in San Francisco) and tell them to give it back to KTVU, the ULTIMATE KING OF BASEBALL AND NEWS.
5. It is time to follow other major league parks and offer ALL YOU CAN EAT plans. Our neighbors, the Oakland A's have nosebleed top deck seats with all you can eat food and drink, like hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, sodas, and ice cream. All for the starting price of $35 a ticket. AT&T Park management should use the upper deck left field seats (crappiest in park), and use them for all you can eat plans for a fair price. You'll get a great attendance boost, and with a good choice of food, will be extremely popular.

Well, there's my thoughts. Thanks for reading. If you have any comments on this, please post them on my blog site at: http://www.akit.org/2008/05/at-park-sf-giants-americas-ripoff-joint.html

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV - xbox 360 multiplayer UNRELIABLE and SUCKS

Did you go and buy Grand Theft Auto 4 recently? I did for my xbox 360, and while the single player program is great, the MULTIPLAYER SUCKS!

Why does it suck?

First of all, it is not like the multiplayer setup operated by games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. In very rare cases, you might have some mulitplayer issues.

But in GTA IV... their multiplayer setup is absolutely unreliable. Sometimes you hear voices in your headset, and then you get kicked-off for no apparent reason and sent back to single player. The GTA program should have its own separate multiplayer area instead of being forced to go through single player and log-into the system every time you want to play online. With the loading time so long, it's just frustrating.

Odds of getting a multiplayer game on GTA IV: 1 in 10 (10 percent (or even lower) chance)
Odds of getting a multiplayer game on Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4: 1 in 1 (100% chance)

Second, when you are lucky to even get into the multiplayer system, there are SO FEW players playing at all. The system does not pack rooms to the maximum capacity of 16 people. Instead, you are more than likely playing with no more than six people at a time, which makes the game much less fun and less challenging. In many of my cases, I get sent to the game lobby where I am the ONLY PERSON waiting for more players and setting-up the game.

HERE'S A TIP FOR THOSE FOLKS AT ROCKSTAR GAMES: FIX THE DAMN SYSTEM! Why not just rewrite the entire multiplayer system to mimic what Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 does? You'll find that by having a separate multiplayer menu that does not force you back into single player mode when the game is over or when you get kicked by accident, you'll have much more happy fans.

Right now, I'm not happy.

Do you agree? Post a comment on my blog at http://www.akit.org/2008/05/grand-theft-auto-gta-iv-xbox-360.html

Getting the Most Rewards out of Buying Stuff

I enjoy shopping for some cool things, especially video games and some expensive stuff. As always, gasoline prices are not going to go down to $1.50 a gallon anytime soon, so maybe its time to get a little payback for what you buy.

Many of you may have a rewards credit card that usually gives you about 1% of your purchases, back; but how about if I can get you a better return rate on your purchases?

Here's my list of tips on what to do to get back even more money, sometimes up to 5% back.

• Talking about gasoline prices, there are a few gas stations that have "cash only" options for slightly less than credit only. But in about 85% of cases, the gas station you visit does not really care which way you pay, as long as they get their money and you got gas in your tank. Here's how you can get back more.
• First of all, always use your credit card with a rewards program. If you pay in cash all the time, you get ZERO PERCENT BACK. Remember that by using a credit card, you do not pay interest if you pay the entire amount back when your next bill comes along.
• Most rewards cards are 1%, but here's one that can get you 3% or even 5% if you have a business. I use the Costco American Express card and it provides me 3% back at all gas stations, including Costco gas, where it is relatively cheap. 5% is for any business member that gets a business American Express card. Do your research, you might find a better return if you get the right card.
• I spend about $1,000 a year on gas, so 3% back is $30 of fun money I can spend on something else... say more gas. As for my folks, I don't know why they use a gas station credit card, they can only use it at one brand of gasoline, and the REFUSE to fill-up at another gas station that's cheaper. Sheesh, did you know that San Francisco's gasoline only comes from two refineries?

• How about shopping online? Here's how you can kill three birds with one stone, and it only takes a little bit of extra effort to do. Here's the steps:
• First of all, get a free membership with Mileage Plus on United Airlines and once you get your registration done, go to the "earn miles" section and you find the Mileage Plus Online mall. There, you can go shop at many of your favorite online stores, including places like Best Buy and Barnes and Noble.
• Second, make sure to charge your purchase to a rewards credit card.
• Third, make sure you are registered for that store's loyalty program.
• Now, it's time to use all three. I'll give a perfect example, let's use Best Buy!
• The United Airlines Mileage Plus online shopping mall offers Best Buy, where you get one mile for every two dollars you spend. You click on the link to enter Best Buy, go shopping and pick what you want, choose for your item to be shipped or express pick-up, charge it to your rewards card, and register your "Best Buy Reward Zone" loyalty membership to your purchase (Every $250 gets you $5).
• Lets do the return rate math:
• United miles earned: 0.50% return rate
• Rewards credit card: 1% (or possibly more)
• Best Buy loyalty membership: 2%
• TOTAL: 3.5% return rate.

So... think creatively! You can get back more than you think you can.

Most Annoying Pet Peeve - Car Taillights

I think that one of the most annoying things I can think of is when I drive and the person in front of me has one of their taillights burned out.

OK... more annoying is when two of them are burned out and there's only this little one that's about half the length of your hand. Sometimes, it's so hard to see that light, you have to give yourself extra room or just move to the next lane.

I operate an old 1991 car, but when the lights burn out, at least I get a little signal on my dashboard that alerts me to a burned out light. I wonder why not all cars have this little nifty feature? When it tells you to do it, just run down to your local car parts dealer and replace it yourself.

Or simply pay five times the amount and let the folks at Jiffy Lube do it.