Next Wednesday, Revel in Muni Nerdery at Nerd Nite!

old fast passes sfpl oct

Hey nerds! And I mean that in the best, most complimentary, you’re-my-people way: next Wednesday’s Nerd Nite features none other than transit reporter (and upcoming Muni Diaries Live storyteller) Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, who will take you on an express ride through the colorful history of the Fast Pass. Did you know that Harvey Milk was a champion of the Fast Pass?

If you haven’t been to Nerd Nite, it’s an “informal gathering at which nerds get together for nerdery of all sorts (well, mostly presentations and drinking). Nerds and non-nerds alike gather to meet, drink and learn something new.” It’s pretty much the best nerd gathering I can think of.

This month’s show also features “Love Unhinged: King Pedro & the Corpse Bride of Portugal” by Annetta Black, and “Through the New Looking Glass: Reality Capture from the Camera Obscura to 3D Scanning, VR and AR” by Scott Page.

Come meet us at the Rickshaw next Wednesday so we can be proper nerds together.

Nerd Nite
Wednesday, 10/19/16
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St @ Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets

Do you chat with strangers on Muni?

tube_chat

This strikes me as one of those “some do, most don’t” type of things.

The title of this post is a question based on this story of a young bloke who tried to get people talking to one another on the London Underground. The probably noble effort, however, didn’t go as planned:

Jonathan Dunne, who is originally from the US, says it was “difficult” to even get commuters to take one of the free pins.
“I think I could have been handing out £5 notes and the same amount of people would have taken them,” he tells Newsbeat.

The BBC’s Newsbeat has the story.

Free pin or not: Is random, spontaneous chatting on Muni or BART something you would do?

Pic courtesy BBC

Footloose, fancy-free, fab: SF Trolley Dances are back

epiphany

The Muni muse just keeps on giving.

Epiphany Productions’ 13th Annual San Francisco Trolley Dances are back on this weekend, Sat., Oct. 15 and Sun., Oct. 16. The admission-free festival has been dubbed “a gift to the City” by past attendees; we are always down for reminders of our thriving creative scene.

The two-day dance festival features amazingly talented performers, including members of James Graham Dance Theater and drag queen Fauxnique, sharing their art with the world in, on, and around transit in the Castro and SoMA ‘hoods.

Admission is free with Muni fare.

For more information, visit www.epiphanydance.org.

A map for all Bay Area transit

san-francisco-bay-area-metro-subway-map

Maps are the best, especially when us regular folks take map-making into our own hands.

Latest example: Jug Cerovic sent us the map you see above. Jug writes:

All rail options are shown + ferries and cross bay buses. Muni

is there of course. The map is schematic but close enough to geography so that you can get a feeling of scale and distances.

Check out Jug’s site for more info on how the map was made.

This map is so thorough, right? I’m sure some of you will find discrepancies or have suggested edits. If so, have at it.

Otherwise, join me in admiring Jug’s handiwork. Bravo!

Previously on Muni Diaries

Interactive map shows where SF’s streetcars used to go

Check out this visionary Muni Metro map

New map plots hotels to BART stations for transit-minded visitors

Mario BART Map Is Hella Tight

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

bart_lightshow

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.

This is either the best or worst thing you’ve ever smelled on Muni

durian-on-muni

Depending on your preference, this is either the best or worst thing you’ve ever smelled on Muni. Those of you who have been or live in the tropics: am I right? Spotted by @chuinonthis on Instagram, these two durian fruits are just chillin’ free on the seat. They’re not even wrapped in layers of newspaper and garbage bags like how my aunt used to smuggle them on the plane.

If you’ve been to southeast Asia, you know that durian is famous for its potent smell. Anthony Bourdain famously said that the scent is “indescribable, something you will either love or despise…Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother.” It’s so bad that Malaysian public transit banned it from its trains.

But here on good ol’ Muni, you can let your freak flag fly, durians included! I’m told that the actual fruit tastes like a lovely sweet custard.

Hear our best Muni stories live on stage! Muni Diaries Live is back on Nov. 5 at the Elbo Room. Tickets on sale now!

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