San Francisco and what to do in it

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.

I rarely see ones with drivers too.

The thing that sends a shiver up my spine: Imagine an earthquake that knocks out the cell phone network. Will fire vehicles be obstructed by a sea of dead robotaxies?

Err....riders not drivers

Oh in other SF news:

https://abc7news.com/emergency-response-systems-hawaii-wildfires-sirens-san-francisco-sf-funding/13652389/

Lol.. here's another:

A Cruise vehicle got stuck in wet concrete driving around San Francisco’s Western Addition Tuesday afternoon.

...a San Francisco resident who lives in the area, told SFGATE in an interview that he saw the car stuck at a construction site on Golden Gate Avenue between Fillmore and Steiner Streets. The car had no passengers inside.

“It thinks it’s a road and it ain’t because it ain’t got a brain and it can’t tell that it’s freshly poured concrete.”

lol

This is so stupid. It is only slightly gratifying to feel like Oakland doesn’t have the market cornered on stupid. … relatedly, I wonder how easy it is to steal one of these

it just seems weird that there's such a push to get these approved for 24/7 use when they're clearly not ready for prime time

Okay, it now seems like they should call a moratorium on this Deathrace 2023.. a new incident every couple days

SAN FRANCISCO - A passenger in a driverless Cruise vehicle suffered injuries on Thursday after the vehicle was struck by a San Francisco fire truck that was responding to an emergency call.

JFC, enough already!

On Aug. 14, two stalled Cruise vehicles delayed an ambulance from leaving the scene of a crash in which a driver had hit a pedestrian with their car, according to reports from the San Francisco Fire Department. The pedestrian later died of their injuries, which first responders linked to the delay in getting them to the hospital...

Seventh and Harrison in SF is a very wide intersection with multiple lanes in both directions though, so this article is a little hard to believe tbh

my friend in philly said "jesus christ, can you imagine if they did this here, people would be setting them on fire" and I really wonder how long it will be before that starts happening in SF as well. There should be flash mobs mobilizing on these things with baseball bats.

that is hyperbole. and SF Gate is a trashy website. if you want actual SF news subscribe to the Chronicle, which would be supporting a local institution, and it is a much more legitimate news source

Dan S OTM

It's true that Chronicle is a local institution and Gate is a trashy website... but they do operate out of the same exact building and are both Hearst companies.

but they were separated 4 years ago and there is no comparison at this point

I think people should subscribe to their local newspapers, otherwise they won't survive. I also think people should be active with opera, symphony, ballet, art museums, etc in their communities

i also agree sfgate is trash now, but I also think these things are trash and if SFFD hates them then all the better

it's such an absurdly different set of standards re safety/planning compared to housing ... which is something SF needs.

coming to SF to do a reading at booksmith and staying just one night at the Metro Hotel, in/near the Haight... If I can only eat/drink one thing in the neighbourhood, any tips for specific dishes or locations?

I think I'll have just one afternoon and morning to myself; was thinking of wandering around in (pick one) Japantown/Valencia St/City Lights zone... I've been to SF only once before, explored the Castro/Dolores Park and had a burrito in the Mission

if you've already been in the mission no big reason to hit valencia st again though there is good food there. as someone who considers myself 'old school' re: SF I'm always going to say hit City Lights and Vesuvio/Specs (bars), though the interesting things in north beach have diminished over the years. 101 Records is still up there though (just the 'store' part, not the insane basement with 100000s of records piled in a heap for $1).

also congrats on that reading. I have to drive my kid to a job interview in the evening so I don't think I can make it, otherwise I definitely would.

coming to SF to do a reading at booksmith and staying just one night at the Metro Hotel, in/near the Haight... If I can only eat/drink one thing in the neighbourhood, any tips for specific dishes or locations?

Friends just opened a new spot a few blocks from where you're staying, it's fantastic:

https://sfist.com/2023/09/01/new-cocktail-bar-with-food-from-nopalito-vets-stoa-debuts-in-lower-haight/

If that doesn't look tempting there's a solid low-key/no-name sushi spot across the street (pretty hard to get into but lmk and I can get you in), great pizza just next door to your hotel (Ragazza), great Italian a few blocks north (Che Fico).

xpost Oh just saw this is tomorrow night! Sorry I won't be able to make it either, already double booked that evening, but the Booksmith is a great place for an event and hey, Amoeba's just a block or two over.

Japantown is underwhelming, if the weather is nice I'd aim for North Beach for City Lights and general tourism otherwise Valencia corridor is a great option in terms of energy and vibrance.

There are some lowkey gems near Booksmith as well, e.g. The Alembic next door.

I just looked up your event and I've got a commitment. Sorry sean.

if my kid finishes that interview quickly, i'll head over

Dang I'm very close to this location! But out of the country atm.

NOPA is my food rec for the area, get the pork chop!

Hope Stoa works out, but feel like that spot down there is cursed lol. Enjoy your stay!

It would (have) be(en) great to meet you, but thank you for all these tips!

Anyone planning on Hardly Strictly this weekend? Going Saturday afternoon for the Third Mind (Dave Alvin's instrumental semi-freakout project) and the Church, though I may swing by earlier for Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

i’ll prob watch online if available again this year

Can't make it, unfortunately.

Yep gonna see Aaron Dilloway/Victoria Shen, Kevin Drumm, Olivia Blocke & Daniel Menche at the sheer hellish miasma stage.

Ha yes, was reviewing that -- delighted to see Recombinant back.

if you go i highly recommend Leyla McCalla - we saw her open for Neko Case last year & she was excellent, and her band is tremendous

Today is the last day you can use a paper BART ticket :-(

I remember finding one on the ground that still had $60 on it!

https://cvhsolympian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bartticket2-e1433773892822.jpg

Nice find!

wow the stacks of these with like ten cents on them that I used to have to take to Powell St. to get combined together into one brand new BART ticket worth $3....

There are quite a few stuck in my old books, I used to use them for bookmarks all the time

We arrived in SF yesterday on the last leg of our trip up the coast. Lunch was in Pescadero at Duarte’s Tavern and dinner was at Tadich Grill. Classic restaurants, both. Slept like a baby after 1.75 martinis from Tadich. Cioppino was delicious.

Damn I remember occasional work parties Tadich being the high point of the shitty job I had downtown in the 90s!

i've gone to Tadich each time i've visited the city this year (3). which is more than i went when i lived there. Had sazeracs the last couple times, which were as good as the martinis are.

glad to hear it hasn't closed like everything else downtown

What did you get at Duarte's? Half & half soup and olallieberry pie?

I should have mentioned there's a bakery across the street from Duarte's that bakes my favorite loaf on the planet (roasted garlic/artichoke heart/herb rustic loaf)...

I had fried smelts and a garden salad; my wife had artichoke soup and a grilled cheese, but we shared everything. That artichoke soup was so good.

We’ve had just the best trip and there feels like there are a million more beaches to stop and see, especially north of Monterey.