Venn Diagrams for everything

Everyone is doing Venn diagrams for everything these days, so I decided I should do one on something I am intimately familiar with: San Francisco Public Transportation

Venn getting around in San Francisco...

How facebook and twitter have ruined my life… and it’s all friendster’s fault.

Back in 2001 I discovered social networking via the now defunct friendster. At the time this frontier was a new and exciting way to meet new people, stay in contact and of course get some booty. I was enthralled and even met a future wife via friendster.

Come 2004 and myspace is on the rise, with css scripting, modifiable profiles and embeddable content it was Tila Tequila ready, and when she migrated millions followed giving myspace some legitimacy and power in online media. Soon after big media started invading, the mass garbage profiles proliferated and genuine spammers moved in I started losing interest.

Then in 2007 I met a girl 10 years younger than me and fell madly in love, this kick in the pants of a girl got me to actually start using the facebook profile i had built half assed back in 2006. When the love affair crumbled facebook tortured me as I witnessed her posts and childishly vented via my own status updates. In the years since I have grown to have a deep adoration and almost codependent relationship with facebook; during which time I have had to re-learn certain aspects of how and what to share, whom to friend and whom to not, and sometimes those lessons were painfully fraught with deep emotional ties and social conflict. I have now recovered and keep facebook at a healthy yet still slightly frustrating distance.

Sometime in late 2008 the “one that got away” again suggested that, with my frequency of status updates on facebook, I should join this new site, twitter. So seeing as this whipsmart wunderkind had been right before when she told me I would love facebook, I took her advice and whoa nellie, a new timesuck for Trevor was born.

Twitter has become my most used creative outlet and favorite way to catch up on current events. I’m far from prolific and don’t clutter the ether with nonsensical babbling and useless retweeting but I do try to keep my content witty, entertaining, heartwarming and informative. At 1483 tweets (approximately 1.6 tweets a day) in just under two and a half years I have amassed 182 followers and probably lose about 2 hours a day to reading twitter and linked articles. Like I said, timesuck.

Now combine the emotional roller coaster and codependency of facebook with the temporal black hole of twitter and wha-bam!! Nothing truly productive gets done in my time off…. life in shambles.

Who am I kidding, facebook and twitter haven’t really ruined my life but they definitely have complicated it in ways I never expected and I’m positive my iphone isn’t helping either.

What about you? How has social networking complicated your life?

Dj Mix

Some afternoon tech-house for your grooving pleasure.

Found that missed connection? Thank the customer service.

Originally written Jan 4, 2008.

Ok, so the night before NYE I was crusing down Market towards the ferry building looking for flags at about 930p-1000p.

I spotted a man in a dark coat, hat and scarf, braced against the biting cold, flagging me from about a block down, roughly in front of One Market. He had a beautiful 30 something woman with him and I flashed my hi beams to signal that I saw him and would pick them up.

After dropping off his companion a few blocks away he instructed me to take him to the Cole Valley, roughly Cole and Parnassus. As we made our way up Market street we were chatting bout how i got into driving a cab, how long i have been doing it (the usual banter). I then asked him what it was that he did for a living as he seemed knowledgeble about the state of the real estate market nation wide.

He replied dryly, “I do customer service”

“Cool” I said, thinking of my time with a headset and tiny cubicles, “what company do you work for?”

“A website I founded” he said offing nothing more..

“Which one?” I queried, thinking i was going to hear about some stupid startup that would be dead within the year…

“Craigslist….” he said very simply and matter of fact.

I turned in disbelief and looked and this very polite man in my back seat, and realized, “Craig!!”

“What a pleasure,” I said with excitement “I have used your site more times than I can even remotely count, it is an honor to meet you”

The rest of the ride went on as expected with us chatting about the history of Craigslist and how it got started and what each of us had planned for NYE.

When i dropped him off he was still as polite as could be and tipped handsomely. I felt honored to have given him a ride and touched his life, even for such a brief moment, as he has touched mine.

Thank you Craig, keep up the good work!

Tilt Shift Foto Fun

Here are a bunch of simulated tilt shift pics I have been working on.

Enjoy….

Pictures around the yard

Thanks mom and dad

Today I was thinking about creativity and how when it is stimulated at a young age, and if stimulated well, your child will grow up with a wide, varied, and skilled set of knowledge.

Last night a very good friend of mine, fairly new friend, said that I am constantly amazing him with even more that I know and can do. That felt amazingly good especially considering I love having my ego stroked. But aside from the ego stroking all I could think of is how I have my parents to thank for that.

They encouraged my curiosity and creativity from a very young age (and even now some of the things I imagined as a child have come to be part of daily life that we take for granted) and sometimes we forget that the human desire for understanding and knowledge is always started with the parents.

If it wasn’t for them feeding me whatever knowledge and experience I they could give me, I wouldn’t be able to fix computers and electronics, spin a dj set and compose electronic music, be able to tell you about advanced theories of astrophysics and cosmology, educate you on the inner workings of the brain and why you really shouldn’t (or should) take that drug and how it works in the brain, teach the guy with no game how to have confidence in talking to beautiful women, and much more.

Even today my curiosity is driven by that same creative spark and I constantly quest for better understanding of the world around me.

Thank you so much Mom and Papi

Open Letter to ATT/Apple

As a business customer with ATT and the proud owner of 2 iPhones, it would make my life so much easier if I could manage my Google Voice account with an app, and would actually increase my usage of ATT telephone services.

So get with the program Apple.

You’re going WHERE???!!??!!

If you live somewhere in San Francisco where cab drivers dont want to go there are a few things you can do to get a ride home easily every time….

1.  ALWAYS BE UP FRONT with the cab driver about where you are going BEFORE you get in

2.  BE POLITE: if you ask “will you take me…” or “do you have time to take me…”.   When you ask like that we know that you are going to actually be grateful for the ride out to John Muir Drive and tip like a human being.

3.  DONT BE SNEAKY. One stop 10 blocks away and the next (surprise!!) in Daly City at 155am on Saturday night, this will usually end up in you walking….  Sneak Attack = dirty feet, torn nylons and broken high heels

4.  DO NOT  try to BARGAIN with the cab driver over the fare at any point.   It won’t work and makes you look like a cheap SOB, the meter and a tip is sufficient (excepting the 150% meter rides).

5.  The number of passengers is determined by the number of seatbelts, THIS IS THE LAW. I dont give a shit if you and your 6 smelly girlfriends are going to Berkeley.  (BTW: that does not qualify as a “good ride”.)

6.  SOBER UP A LITTLE, KILL TIME.  If you or anyone who looks like they are with you is vomiting/has the spins/seeing double/can’t keep pants on/peeing themselves/can’t stand  up and you want to go to 45th and Wawona after the night out at the club…  Just hit any all night diner and get some greasy crap food in the wasted ones  (give them some time to vomit it back up) and hang till 3am then you will be able to flag any cab down to take you home.   NOTE: a bag of Jack in the Box to be eaten in the cab does not count.

7.  STOP LOOKING DESPERATE. The polite hand in the air and a nod in our direction is plenty to indicate that you need a ride.  Jumping in front of my cab waving your arms is going to get you killed and really fuck everyones night up, and it means you are going exactly where I dont want to go, SO STAY ON THE CURB.

8.  PAY ATTENTION to the available light on the top of the cab it’s there for a reason.   ON = FOR HIRE/ON CALL ;   OFF = HIRED.

8a. When you yell obcenities at me and flip me off as I am pulling past you to drop someone off, when my light goes on again its not for you douchebag.

9.  DON’T PASS OUT. If you are going to 37th and Noriega from Ruby Skye at 2am and pass out, not only will you get a rude awakening by the police, your wallet will likely be emptied and you definitely wont be sleeping with Fluffy and/or Spot in your warm comfy bed.

10.  TIP GENEROUSLY. Two dollars on a ride to Park Merced is not a tip, it’s an insult.  Consider the fact that a ride to the deep Sunset, Excelsior, Ingleside, Forest Hill, or Park Merced is going to be a money loser for the cab driver almost no matter what so tip AT LEAST 25%-30% if its between 11pm and 3am.  (We can tell when you are going to tip well so dont waste your time trying to fool us.)

Getting a cab is all just common sense and good behavior. The cab is our office and if we invite you in please respect that space and our time.  The cab driver does not want to refuse a fare or throw you out,  we actually want to help you get to where you are going because that means money in our pocket,  so don’t touch stuff,  do anything you wouldn’t want your kids to do in the backseat of your car, follow the guidelines above and you will find that suddenly you always have a cab to take you home to BFE when you need it.  Good luck out there and remember to always take a genuine SAN FRANCISCO TAXICAB.

(NOTE: For those of you who live in Sunnydale, don’t even bother going home till the sun comes up, then get on craigslist and find a place anywhere else.  That is unless you are a broke ganbanger living in the hood, in that case take a towncar and leave the driver behind wondering where his car went.)

Mr. Mayor, can you steal my ideas please…

Sometime last year I wrote a letter to OUR KICKASS MAYOR about what I thought should be done to fix the illegal limo and bandit cab problem and possible solutions to alleviate the taxi shortage we have all experienced on an abnormally busy night.

When I wrote the last piece it was more of an angry rant than a coherent plan.  Now I still don’t have final plan per-se but the plan I have come up with has some solid ideas that the Mayor’s Office, Board of Supervisors, MTA,SFPD Taxi Detail and Heather Fong all need to hear.

Bandit Cabs

Bandit cab spotted at 16th and valencia crusing for fares

1. These guys are dangerous, they have chased me, threatened to shoot me, etc.   All for telling them they should leave town because I am reporting them to the police.
2. Some of these guys are just brazen fools like “Tux Pizza” in his 80s era black Mercedes with a pizza light on top, spotted picking up at Geary and Jones (wake up cops)
3. I propose the following:

i.      Have the police department / taxi detail work in tandem with carefully selected cab drivers to covertly identify the problem drivers and vehicles.

ii.      Special Taxi Detail Task force riding in plain clothes observing problem areas and vehicles guided by an actual cab

driver.

iii.      “HOW TO SPOT A BANDIT CAB” taught by a cabdriver and the taxi detail to specially selected officers from the stations in the problem areas.  (This class would teach the officers how to tell if a bandit cab is operating illegally by looking at key behaviors of  non San Francisco cabs.)

iv.      Have the police traffic stop ALL non San Francisco taxicabs SPOTTED WHILE ON PATROL for a passenger/meter/waybill/medallion, etc.  Check.

v.      Mandatory 30 day impound, with the standard accruing daily fees, $10k Mandatory  fine (not for protest), and third time offenses the vehicle is confiscated and  recycled/salvaged,  for ALL bandit cabs caught operating in San Francisco.

vi.      ALL FINES/FEES EARNED EARMARKED FOR MTA AND POLICE OPERATIONS

Illegal Limos and Towncars

1. These are the guys who failed a being legitimate cab drivers, a lot of them have been cab drivers at one time.  SO THEY KNOW THE RULES.
2. Some of these guys were never cab drivers because they have felony records for things like sexual assault, robbery and more, and probably wouldn’t be able to get an A-Card so they resort to paying a shady limo company a gate fee and hustling on the streets like a cab.
3. The limo/towncar drivers have side deals set up with doormen at the following hotels: Hyatt Regency, The W, The New Inter Continental, the Clift and more.  Not only is this illegal it reduces demand for taxis to the airport giving taxis less motivation to serve the hotels in question.
4. I am constantly hearing stories about just how bad these guys are and then I witness it yet again the other night when I was in front of Harlot.  I told a group of six that I could only take 4 (how many seatbelts I had) and the limo drivers pounced on the poor girls en-masse like vultures, all trying to haggle, the girls were smart and refused but when I confronted the limo drivers they threatened me and said they had every right to be there.  This needs to stop.
5. The Solution:

i.      Have the police department / taxi detail work in tandem with carefully selected cab drivers to covertly identify the problem drivers and vehicles.

ii.      Special Taxi Detail Task force riding in plain clothes observing problem areas and vehicles guided by an actual cab driver.

iii.      “HOW TO SPOT AN ILLEGAL LIMO” taught by a cabdriver and the taxi detail to              specially selected officers from the stations in the problem areas.  (This class would teach the officers how to tell if a towncar is operating illegally by looking at key behaviors of the drivers and how that indicates intention.)

iv.      Require ALL PUC Issued TCP licenses to provide plate numbers and CDL#s of the         drivers, of all vehicles operating within the city limits (311 can handle this).  NO EXCEPTIONS. If the driver is pulled over and checked if either the vehicle or driver is  not listed for the date in question… (see section vii. below)

v.      Require any TCP operator with non-stretch vehicles to paint large (3in high) TCP  numbers on both bumpers in contrasting color, large phone number for reservations on rear window, and CAR SERVICE RESERVATION ONLY in 2in high  lettering on the exterior of rear doors of vehicle below the window.

vi.      Require ALL TCP operators with non-stretch vehicles to pay a 6 month licensing fee  based on number of vehicles and all non-stretch vehicles must have a dated seal/sticker in the  front widow showing that said license is paid and valid.

vii.      Mandatory 30 day impound, with the standard accruing daily fees, $10k Mandatory   fine (not for protest), and third time offenses the vehicle is confiscated and sold,  for  all limos caught operating illegally in San Francisco.

viii.      Misdemeanor/infraction ticket with a fine of $150 for any passenger caught illegally  hiring a limo/towncar on the street (protest of this violation allowed, and if protested dismissed, the purpose here is to deter people from even thinking about illegally hiring a towncar).

ix.      ALL FINES/FEES EARNED EARMARKED FOR MTA AND POLICE OPERATIONS

Taxi Shortage

1. Now I am going to stay out of the medallion issue here for now because I think we are on a good track to figuring out a workable long term solution.
2. AIRPORT LOT…  Just the center lot please… and NO LOT during “peak times” in the city
3. PEAK TIME CABS:   If the bandit cab and limo problem is brought under control as rapidly as I think it can using the plan outlined above, this will definitely contribute to the peak time shortage and an immediate solution is to notify cab companies when an “excessive peak time” event is foreseen and allow cab companies to put out spare cabs (already a legit, inspected, insured cab) for the specified time frame to allow for the “excessive peak” needs of the city.  (e.g.: Halloween, New Years, St Patrick’s Day, Oracle Convention)

i.       I am sure you will find cab drivers and cab companies very amenable to this (more                                                                            money for everyone)

In conclusion: there is no end all solution to the taxi issues in SF, the city just is not geographically laid out in such a way that there can ever be a perfect solution to always getting a cab the minute you want one.  Even in NY you sometimes have to flag for 20 min.  Hopefully the ideas I have outlined here can be appropriated as their own by someone in the city to make the changes we need to help make San Francisco safer and easier to get around.

Trevor Johnson
SF Taxi Driver 63308