San Francisco and what to do in it

If you want a change of pace (and don’t need to be in SF itself for work), consider staying in Berkeley or in Marin (either central Mill Valley or San Anselmo rather than Sausalito).

(gasface)

i like poly’s suggestion imo
never stayed at the kabuki but i love japantown & that area

Thanks for the suggestions. My wife needs to be in SF for work. We're going to be in Big Sur before this so will have some nature time. Will check out Japantown - haven't been there.

I find SF geography so confusing. Things that look close together on the map I've thought of as far away and vice versa.

nothing in SF is _that_ far away in terms of distance, compared to other US cities -- the traffic and/or the hills are what make it feel that way. I remember visiting NYC ten years ago and realized that even though things were farther apart than in SF, it was faster and easier to walk places because everything was flat.

Idk what your transportation situation is, or where in SF your wife would need to be, so this could be a horrible suggestion, but I would suggest the Tenderloin (if you won't have a car) or Fisherman's Wharf (if you will have a car, because parking) ... there are some vintage-y motels a little west of there. Fisherman's Wharf is right next to North Beach tbh.

Yeah, the hills are some of the issue. Also the blocks seem very long?

We will ditch the car when we get to SF and probably just use BART/Uber.

I’d steer clear of Tenderloin and Fisherman’s Wharf. There are nice hotels close to Market Street on 2nd and 3rd that should have decent rates that time of year. The area is meant to support convention crowds, so they are convenient (close to BART), clean, modern, etc.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/dozens-of-bowls-found-on-top-of-sf-buildings/amp/

cool

anybody want some Roxy Music tickets for tomorrow night? I can't use em, just want to make sure they don't go to waste

This is a golden age of sidewalk record sales.

I've no doubt!

do share! i miss the bay area, esp the great record hunting

So...wet enough for you? (More seriously, hope everyone's snug; we had some kitchen leaks, not great, but mostly caught now.)

San Francisco today is likely the 2nd wettest day EVER recorded in 170+ years (records began in 1849). Since midnight we have seen 4.78" of rain. In the last 24 hours we have seen 5.19". Will wait for @NWSBayArea to confirm. Wettest 24 hour period ever is 5.54" on 11/05/1994. pic.twitter.com/GUiygHZBfZ

— Drew Tuma (@DrewTumaABC7) December 31, 2022

Wet down here on Central Coast, too. We'll take every drop!

i wonder how it will effect the annual tradition of "let's celebrate the new year by shooting guns all weekend" that doesn't get highlighted by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce or any of the Business Improvement Districts

Phew.

did it stop?

was in the San Jose airport this morning and saw some crazy footage

it's coming again tonight

hang in there. sacramento has been hammered, midtown looked like a warzone with all the downed trees, our neighborhood has had like five down in a 10 block radius

Yikes!

We’re just getting only the good stuff in emeryville - no trees down, no flooding, no power outages, just lots of delightful rain and wind. Also lol at the two thunderstorms we had which each consisted of a single lightning strike.

Phew and then some.

insane bursts of storms all day in Berkeley/emeryville area, 20 minutes of torrential hail and downpour, then the sun would come out for 30 minutes, then more crap.

An unusual amount of thunder today in Oakland... we rarely get any around here

Hard times, man

https://missionlocal.org/2023/01/san-francisco-storm-missions-homeless-weather-rain-hail/

xp - as opposed to thunderous gunfire and fireworks? ... seriously, earlier there was a loud boom and I said out loud, "That's actually thunder ... wow."

did someone say thunderous

Or just plain cold

Returning to start-of-the-year vibes today.

this rain is awesome but I can't help thinking about all the dead undergrowth in the east bay hills when the hot dry winds come back

one dramatic weather event at at time please

Holy shit at the twist in this case: https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/beating-of-ex-fire-commissioner-defense-attorney-accuses-don-carmignani-of-bear-spray-attacks-on-homeless-people/

That's fucking nuts! Maybe he got what was coming to him after all

Not uncommon knowledge by those following the case, the real surprise that the SF Standard (right-leaning, at least by SF's standards) did a 180 on this, they framed this guy as a real decorated Fire Chief in their previous coverage. He was only on his job for 4 months before he was dismissed for domestic violence charges. They backtracked and now refer to him as a "cannabis entrepeneur"* in their edits.

*I've had 2 friends do hard time for being "cannabis entrepeneurs", and unlike Carmignani they didn't bearspray any homeless folks.

yes, Don Carmignani was found guilty of a domestic violence incident in 2013 and was fired from the Fire Commission. Catherine Stefani, District 2 Supervisor, surely had to know that, as did the SF Standard - but maybe not, maybe they didn't investigate and just reacted. I like Stefani, she is one of the sane members of the SF Board of Supervisors, but that was a big misstep

Maybe related to his attack, but SF is featured in this AI generated, totally bonkers new RNC attack ad... seems we're populated by cigarette-smoking Avatar freaks, so they'll have to shutter the city:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLMMxgtxQ1Y

Imagine if the RNC discovered Oakland!

D'oh.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/anchor-steam-18192913.php

If paywalled: https://www.grubstreet.com/2023/07/anchor-steam-beer-closes.html

Yeah, discussing in the 'beer in the new era' thread.. super bummer

On a totally separate note, THIS is interesting (per a mailout just now)

We are excited to announce that UCSF Health is in preliminary discussions with Dignity Health to acquire their clinical presence in San Francisco, including St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMMC), Saint Francis Memorial Hospital (SFMH) and associated outpatient and urgent care clinics.

Interesting because, looking back a few years:

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals-health-systems/ucsf-drops-affiliation-dignity-health-following-protests

(I've used Dignity's urgent care a couple of times for convenience, and I was glad for it. I would be even more glad for this.)

kinda lol mostly annoying

https://sfist.com/2023/08/14/fridays-north-beach-self-driving-car-clusterfudge-has-sf-officials-begging-the-state-to-reconsider-approval/

The SF Fire Department has logged 55 separate incidents of robotaxis parking in front of stations, driving right up to fires and blocking engines, etc. That's not so lol

yeah it’s pretty much fucked top to bottom

I saw at least five waymo driverless cars on the way to stern grove on Sunday; then they were announced as a sponsor of the event. You’ve never heard so many boos.

Well, they picked a 19th Century city for a 21st century experiment

I only ever see them empty, never with passengers.