Digital underground: ‘Tron-like’ art installation coming in 2017

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It’s also pew pew and Minority Report, don’t you think?

Illuminate is an upcoming transit-oriented art installation by George Zisiadis and Stefano Corazza. It looks and sounds pretty cool: Starting in 2017, LED lights blinking overhead on Market Street will correspond to the movement of BART and Muni Metro trains underground, according to a Business Insider report.

To ask the obvious “joke not-really-a-joke, for real though…” questions: Is it just a stack of different, stationary colors at 6 p.m. rush hour? Does it go backward when the trains are late? ’cause that would not be the future I ordered.

All half-jokes aside, our transit makes a lovely muse for public art — intentional or not. Verdict: Neato, provided it’s not powered by a frighteningly sentient MCP.

BART sign hacker reserves priority seating for new types of riders

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Someone with crafty tiny scissors and some stickers amended this BART priority seating sign for a new batch of under-served groups. Eagle-eye BART rider Deirdre O. spotted this gem and points out, “the guy with the cane has a top hat, and the pregnant person has an alien bursting from her belly. You can’t see it well in the photo, but the alien has dozens of tiny sharp teeth.”

We approve of this leap of imagination!

Other signs in our hacker hall of fame:

Muni roof “emerge” sign
Move to the back, or to this best neighborhood in town
Station agent’s new posture
Fun is not allowed on BART!

Powell Station Windows computer needs restarting

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Redditer @neptuneful saw this throwback cry for help at Powell Station the other day. “Windows has computer.” Hmm. But can the computer has Windows?

Another Redditer swears to have heard the Windows boot-up sound play over the speakers at Montgomery BART once upon a time.

Other commuters found a bone to pick: the kind of ’80s font on the new signage. At least that’s easier to read (and decipher) than “Windows has computer”?

BART wants cyclists to strap it on

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Anyone who has taken a bike on BART knows it means hovering over your bike while trying not to crash into anyone else while the train is moving. BART has a new idea for you: straps that hold your bike in place. SFGate reports that a new test program has installed two types of fabric straps (either velcro or a buckle) in 60 BART cars.

Cyclists: Have you tried these new straps and how are they working out for you?

Photo courtesy of BART

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