Senator Boxer-

Thank you so much for taking the time to contact me regarding mass transit and the many benefits it provides.

I would say mass transit in the San Francisco Bay Area is fairly decent, but there are so many poorly served areas beyond SF MUNI that really need to be brought up to par. An example that is close to my heart is Marin County, which is where I commute 4-5 days a week for work.

For reference, the 27 mile trip by car takes about 40 minutes, there is a one-way toll at the Golden Gate bridge for $5 with FasTrak, and the cost of gas, which in my case is about $6 (2 gallons at $3/gal). So total cost of the trip by car per day would be $11 and about 1 hour 20 minutes of my time.

Right now, the cheapest way for me to get to work in Novato (according to 511.org), from San Francisco, is an itinerary that includes a 28 minute walk (which sounds great actually) and three different buses. It would cost $7.85 one-way, and 2 hours and 20 minutes of my time (again, one way).

So the grand total, for me to get to and from work in Novato by public transportation, is $15.70 a day and 4 hours and 40 minutes of my time. This is absolutely absurd and is only a single example. I am sure there are many others out there who have to commute much farther at a much higher monetary and time cost.

I would like nothing more than to be able to work in the same city in which I live, but not all of us have that luxury. If you are really interested in mass transit, I urge you to focus on closing the gap with the costs of driving, for the whole Bay Area, not just San Francisco. Otherwise you'll have a system that no one can afford the time or the money to use.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Chris  Rosa

It's liberating your power strips!

To kick this topic off, I'm starting with the one and only Power Strip Liberator. We all have power strips that are chock full of plugged in devices, right? How often do you have those ungainly power bricks plugged in, blocking other crucial outlets? All the time, right? This is where the Power Strip Liberator steps in.

There are a few different iterations of this cable, but the basic version is about a foot long with a single three prong male and female plug. The most useful version however is the Power Strip Liberator Plus (pictured). It not only allows you to plug in a power brick without blocking other outlets, it also gives you an extra female outlet piggybacked right on top of the male plug. Brilliant!

Of course you need to be careful to not overextend the amp rating of your power strip or circuit, but the plus version can definitely come in handy when you need to add "just one more" device.

That it for this installment of AntiScorn. Let me know what you think in the comments.

First, Microsoft. Hotmail? Really? Have you really looked at Hotmail lately? It's horrible. In fact, last I heard, it could be a detriment to getting a job. Sure lots of people probably still use Hotmail (not that I know personally of course), but your problem is, no one is excited about using Hotmail.

Second, Yahoo. Buzz.yahoo.com? Really? I don't know if you noticed or not, but Buzz.yahoo.com is a straight rip on Digg. Try to innovate next time. Or better yet, take those resources and pour them into Flickr. It's about the only viable business you have left.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/solar-eclipse-images-show-dazzling-corona-detail/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Everything after that question mark (in red) isn't necessary to the user, and is only needed for the feed owner to track clicks from their feed. This isn't a big deal by any means, but it is kinda annoying to me. I parse my river of RSS feeds and occasionally pass along interesting links to my twitter feed, and I prefer to send the cleanest URL possible. Sure it's shortened automatically with bit.ly, but it still bugs me, so I've been looking for a solution to clean up the URL.

I'm not a big JS coder, but I figured there had to be a Greasemonkey script that would do the trick, and after doing a bit of searching, I found the solution over at userscripts.org. Enter FeedBurnerTrackingQueryStripper. This little Greasemonkey script does the trick perfectly. It's strips the tracking information from the URL after the page loads. So the feed owner is happy, and the user is left with a simpler URL.

Since the Model Identifier can be viewed in the System Profiler app, it seemed there had to be an easy way to grab this from the terminal. After a quick Google search, I found the lead I needed at Wikipedia. As it turns out, there's a command line version of System Profiler called "system_profiler" (of course). After looking over the man page, I constructed the following command, which can easily be issued via ARD to a batch of systems.

system_profiler -detailLevel mini | grep "Model Identifier:"

This will return just the single line from the System Profile...

Model Identifier: MacPro3,1

Using that same command, you can use ARD's "Send a UNIX Command..." to pass that command to a bunch of systems at once, and you'll end up with a result screen showing the Model Identifier for all queried systems. Easy peasy! The system_profile command seems to work as far back as 10.4.11 (8S2167), but failed on 10.4.11 (8S165), so your actual mileage may vary.

Big props go out to Google for knowing everything and getting me on the right path.

Today I had a whole lunch break that was about the same. I went to CostCo to get some new tires (since it's raining out and such) and sure enough they just happen to not have the ones I need. They're typically stocked, so perhaps it's just bad luck. So then I think, 'ok...no tires. I guess I'll get some new wiper blades since I'm out.' I head over to Kragen, look up the car in the little book, and go to find the the blades, and sure enough... they don't have the one needed for the driver side.

After failing at lunch errands, I gave up and decided to go get a burrito. It's on the early side... 11:15 or so, and the burrito shop looks empty. The door is unlocked though, so I walk in and it turns out they're not serving for another 20 minutes. Ack!

In the end it turns out the CostCo in SF has the tires I need, so hopefully that'll work out. And I found the wiper blades I want on Amazon. So glad I went ahead and jumped on the Prime bandwagon. Seems like more and more lately that I can find what I'm looking for on Amazon, without all the hassle of trying to shop locally and not finding what I need.

I've been meaning to get all of my domains off of 1 and 1 forever. A few weeks ago, I was motivated and started the migration. Thankfully none of my domains are very busy, so it was an easy transition. Domain registration changes are much easier nowadays too, thank god. The old NetSol challenge-response system always seemed to be a pain in the ass. Dreamhost servers seem to be much faster too, and it's really nice to finally have all of my domains under one roof for both registration and hosting.

So, in frustration, I shot off an email this past Saturday to the contact address I found on the Golden Gate Bridge website, and just received the following response. Kudos to them for getting back to me so quickly, even though it wasn't really with the response I was hoping for.

Since 2002, in response to increased southbound traffic and decreased northbound traffic during the evening hours, the Golden Gate Bridge roadway has been routinely configured with three (3) lanes north out of the City and three (3) lanes south.

Beginning Monday, November 2, 2009, in response to changing traffic patterns, a new lane configuration was implemented for the weekday evening commute periods: the Golden Gate Bridge roadway proper will now be routinely configured with four (4) northbound lanes out of the City and two (2) southbound lanes into the City starting about 5 pm to 5:30 pm each weekday evening.

Golden Gate Bridge lane configurations are based on real-time traffic demand and to accommodate extenuating circumstances such as accidents or special events, with the underlying goal of providing reasonable mobility for everyone without causing undue hardship to anyone.

Over the past several months, northbound congestion during the evening commute period has increased dramatically to the point that the inconvenience to our northbound customers has become unreasonable. Therefore, a decision was made by Bridge Management to reinstitute four (4) northbound and two (2) southbound lanes during the weekday evening commute period. While this configuration may introduce some delays for southbound traffic, it will provide significant relief to our northbound motorists.

So there you have it. I guess we're stuck with the setup unless a significant number of Southbound commuters start to complain. It's the reverse commute, so it's doubtful it will change anytime soon.

Below is a "suggestion" I just sent in to Facebook. I doubt anyone will read it, but I figured it was worth a try anyway.

Don't allow event organizers to contact invitees w/o RSVP

This is a big sore spot for me with Facebook that results in a high volume of social noise, and is one of the main reasons I avoid Facebook for long periods of time. Here are a few things you can do to help your users improve the signal to noise ratio, at least where events are involved:

1) Allow us to opt-out of event invites sent from specific users and fan pages. Some users and fan page operators are promotion dynamos, and the deluge of invites can be daunting. We want to still be friends and fans, but the constant chore of removing events is a pain. We'd still have the option to RSVP to events via their profile or the main time line of course.

2) Event organizers should not be able to contact invitees until we've specified an RSVP status. Going through and removing each event can be a lot of work, and giving the organizers direct email (meaning Facebook email) access to us until we do so is unfair. At the very least give us the option to turn this functionality on and off.

Just the latter of these two changes would make a huge difference, so I hope someone up there is actually reading this. The last thing I want Facebook to be (I think you'd agree) is work.

AH4 iPhone App

So Apple apparently didn't approve the Ninjawords dictionary application due to "inappropriate" words. I wonder why American Heritage got a free pass?

Come on Apple... Stop being so evil. I've supported your stupid brand from back in the days when you were the underdog and I would be pelted with rocks and garbage for admitting to be a fan. Time do the right thing and change direction before you slide right into the role as the villain in your pivotal 1984 commercial.

More on the issue over at Mashable.

UPDATE: Apple's Phil Schiller responds!

Gas near the Rent-a-car center.

Here's a story about a bad experience with a business and how it was turned around by good customer service in the end.

Almost a month ago, Donna and I took a trip to Vegas to visit family. We had dinner plans off-strip, so we booked a minivan through Budget for the day because it would make it so much easier and probably cheaper than taking a couple cabs.

Other than it taking forever for the service agent to get us a vehicle, the pickup went without a hitch. I opted out of the "Fuel Purchase" option, because I knew there'd be plenty of gas stations en route when returning the vehicle. We got the van with a full tank and went merrily on our way.

Jump forward to the end of our trip. We're packed and headed back to the airport. There was a gas station right off Las Vegas Blvd. that was only about a mile and half away from the newish "rent-a-car center". We only had the car for a day, so topping it off was quick. I didn't print the receipt, which I soon found out would be a mistake.

We pull in to the facility and hand the keys over to the Budget employee. He checks the van over for damage and verifies the fuel level, then hands us a slip of paper where the fuel level was marked as full, and that indicated there was no damage. He told us to stop by the small booth nearby to close our contract. I don't rent cars all the time, but the last few times I'd rented a car, they typically wrap everything up on the spot and hand you a receipt printed from their little wireless handheld computer. This is when I started to get an uneasy feeling.

Donna and I were in a bit of a rush to make our flight at this point, so with a little bit of frustration, we stop at the booth and hand over the slip of paper and our contract. The guy asked if we had refueled and if we had a receipt, to which I answered that I didn't have a receipt for the gas. He proceeded to tell me that he'd have to charge me for topping off the van since I didn't opt into the fuel option, it would cost $15.95 (@ $7.99/gal). At this point I was livid. It was only $16, but I just really felt like we were being had, which is never a good feeling. I probably said something like "...this is BS!" and that I never get receipts when getting gas (save a tree yo!) and we got it just a couple miles away. The budget dude then said that without a receipt, there's no way he could tell that we'd actually gotten gas, and that even though the gauge was on full, the van could have been driven up to 74 miles without the gauge indicating any use. Seriously? Seriously! He printed my receipt and we stormed off frustrated, and I noticed later that he had indeed charged us the extra fee for gas.

First off, using a gas receipt as proof of a full tank is crazy. Who's to say someone didn't just watch the gauge while fueling until it hit full, print a receipt and have proof of a full tank? I topped it of as everyone does - until the fuel nozzle indicated the tank was full by triggering the safety. Budget handed the vehicle over to us with no further proof a full tank other than the gauge on the dash, so it's absurd for them to expect anything further from their customers.

The whole situation left such a bad taste my mouth, that I filed a complaint via the Budget website as soon as I got home. That was around midnight on the 11th of May. I got a reply from Budget customer service on the 29th saying that the Vegas location is privately owned and that they couldn't view the billing information directly, but that they'd look into the matter further. I haven't heard anything since, but I was surprised to see a refund show up on my account from Budget for $17.80 on June 4th, which I assume is the $15.95 fee + tax.

So kudos and thanks to Budget customer service for doing the right thing. And renters beware. If you opt out of their fuel option, be sure to ask the agent if a fuel receipt is required at the time of turn in.

I've had my eye on the well rated BlueAnt Supertooth3, but haven't gotten around to ordering one yet. Instead, on impulse, I picked up the super cheap Roadmaster VR3 at Costco this weekend. Somehow I got it in my head that it was a Motorola product, which made me feel better for some reason. As it turns out, cheap applies to more than just price with this product.

Pairing was simple enough, and making and receiving calls was a no brainer, but here are the deal-breaking issues for me:

• There's a bright blue light that flashes repeatedly. I suppose it's indicating that your phone has an active connection (in addition to the indicator on the LCD display), but with this thing mounted on your visor, it's horribly distracting. Particularly at night time. I thought for sure there would be a way to disable this light, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
• Even with the thing probably 8 inches from my face, I couldn't be heard by the caller.
• The flip down, backlit LCD display is almost useless. Caller ID numbers that pop up are somewhat hard to decipher because they're so closely kerned together, and there's no logical spacing for the area code and prefix.
• General build quality is weak. From the creaky construction to the sickly sounding audio feedback when pushing buttons; it's embarassing to have hanging in your car.

So there ya go. I'll be returning this POS to Costco ASAP. Honestly the built-in speakerphone on my iPhone has been better than all other speakerphone devices I've tried in the car. So ultimately, I'll probably stick with the iPhone and occasionally using the earbud headset for longer calls. I really can't be bothered with one more device to charge anyway.

Since Leopard was released, I would occasionally google to try to find a solution to this problem, but have never been able to find a fix. Until today, when I had an epiphany. OS X has a command line screen capture tool. "Perhaps I'll find a clue there," I thought. Sure enough - pay dirt. Look what I found in the man page...

-o In window capture mode, do not capture the shadow of the window.

That right there tells me that it's an option, and that there's at least a workaround. So I coupled this with two other options, interactive mode, and clipboard (rather than save) and voila! It works!

screencapture -ioc

Using the command above, I was immediately presented with Leopard's screen cap crosshairs, so I then hit the spacebar to switch to element selection mode, moused over the window I wanted to grab, then clicked. This then put the image in my clipboard, so I switched to Preview.app, and opened a new document, which automatically inserts the contents of the clipboard. Without the useless drop shadow.

This is definitely a workaround for now. I'm hoping there's a preference file somewhere that can be modified to omit the drop shadow from screen caps by default. Until then, I just wrapped the command above in some AppleScript for ease of use:

do shell script "screencapture -ioc"

Saved as an AppleScript app works great because you can invoke it by name via Spotlight.

Have fun, and let me know if you figure out where this default preference resides.

Previously you'd only see real spam once every month or so, with an occasional spammy (or was it just annoying?) event now and then. Today alone, there have been approximately 80 or so spam entries and the number is still climbing; and not just short items - but long ones that fill my Google Reader screen, and then some.

It's obvious someone has figured out an automated system to post spam events to Upcoming. Or should I say, a spammer just turned his attention toward Upcoming, and realized it was an easy mark?

Or so I thought at first. I've been flagging events as spam whenever I could, since this started, but it finally got annoying enough that I sent the powers that be a terse message about getting a handle of this and maybe "using captcha or something." And what do you know...they do! You see, you don't need to bother w/ captcha when entering a new event, but you do need to when creating a new account. Here's a sample below:

It seems some crafty spammer has figured out how to automagically read this type of captcha? It was just a couple weeks ago that I saw an article asking "Has CAPTCHA Been Broken?" It went on to talk about a Chinese hacker that had a complete pricelist of captchas that could be countered, but that Yahoo's was currently unbreakable. Well...it appears things have changed.

Or perhaps they're getting paid enough by their advertisers nowadays to hire an army full of people that know one English character from another. Either way, it's obvious that the current state of human verification just isn't good enough. Perhaps RSS spam filter services are just around the corner? Hrumpf.

Street View Sub-Contractor?, originally uploaded by chrisr.

Spotted this vehicle today on the way to Molly Stones. I'm guessing it's for creating the pano photos for Google's Street View, but perhaps someone else is deploying something similar. Earthmine.com has nothing beyond login and email links. The domain is registered to some dude in San Francisco at a company called SurfaceWise.

Some decent signage, finally., originally uploaded by chrisr.

It looks like with the addition of the new (and now infamous) T Line, SFMTA has actually hired a graphic designer! /boggle