-
Archives
- July 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- June 2012
- August 2011
- November 2010
- October 2010
- April 2010
- February 2010
- October 2009
- May 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
Author Archives: kfarr
What would a San Francisco subway system look like? Maybe a little something like this…
I’m a big fan of Eric’s Transbay Blog. This Eric fellow never fails to impress. A recent post posed this question: if we had all the money in the world to spend on transit (and sometimes it seems like we … Continue reading
Posted in transit
Tagged bus, heavy rail, light rail, lrt, muni, public, public transportation, rail, san francisco, sf, subway, train, transit, transport, transportation, tube, underground
Leave a comment
More proof that Microsoft hates Apple: Office on Mac OS X sucks.
Microsoft Office for Mac OS X sucks. Everyone knows it. Let’s count the ways: It’s a system resource hog. Loading Microsoft Word takes forever. Look MS, this is a friggin’ rich text editor. You don’t need to load the entire … Continue reading
Transit fun fact: Fillmore Street developed as a commercial zone because of the 1906 quake.
(Photo Credit) Here’s another cool factoid from the amazing (out-of-print) book on the history of the San Francisco Municipal Railway. We know Upper Fillmore Street today as a bustling commercial district with high-end shops and restaurants married closely with its … Continue reading
Posted in econ, transit
Tagged 1906, build, cable, cable car, car, development, earthquake, econ, economics, fillmore, japantown, line, lrt, muni, pacific heights, public, public transit, rail, rebuild, san francisco, sf, train, transit, transport, western addition
Leave a comment
UCSF makes its own power. Why?
This past weekend I took a guy home early in the morning at the end of his night shift at the University of California, San Francisco‘s power plant. At first I thought he meant he works to maintain the big … Continue reading
Posted in econ
Tagged cng, coal, education, electric, electricity, gas, generation, higher, higher education, lng, natural, natural gas, pacific gas and electric, pg&e, plant, power, power plant, san francisco, sf, uc, ucsf, universities, university
Leave a comment
Driving cab on Christmas day
After a disappointing shift on Monday (Christmas Eve Eve?) from midnight ’till 11, I figured Christmas Day from midnight ’till 11 would be even worse. It turns out the Christmas Eve revelers were out in full swing. Summary after the … Continue reading
Reason #4395 to love Starbucks: They’re open on Christmas day.
Starbucks haters, feast on this: Starbucks slaves its poor employees on the day we celebrate our good Lord’s birth. How can they be such careless, soulless, evil human beings as to force poor hourly employees to brew coffee instead of … Continue reading
Crazy Idea: What if City cabs had variable pricing?
What if each City cab were to have a bright green light which, when lit, indicates fares are half of the normal price? During off-peak times I can cruise for nearly as long as an hour without a fare. When … Continue reading
Posted in econ, taxi
Tagged cab, demand, econ, economics, market, microeconomics, muni, pricing, supply, taxi, taxicab, thought experiment, variable, variable pricing, variable supply
2 Comments
What’s with all those dashboard warning lights in taxicabs?
Some drivers try to hide dashboard console warning lights with Post-It Notes. Sometimes, I’ll fold a receipt and stick it between the dashboard plastic cover and the dashboard bevel. Most drivers don’t give a crap and let their amber lights … Continue reading
Is Fair Trade coffee really ‘fair’?
Is Fair Trade coffee really ‘fair’? The short answer: no. EconTalk’s Russ Roberts chats with Duke Econ Prof Michael Munger about the concept of Fair Trade Coffee. It’s a very difficult challenge to ensure that a consumer price increase correlates … Continue reading
Posted in econ, marketing
Tagged aid, artificial, beans, ceiling, certified, coffee, developing, development, econ, economics, fair, fair trade, floor, free, free trade, international, labor, price control, pricing, trade
6 Comments
kfarr 