Reader Julie created this cool image of Bernal Hill encased in a bubble.
Could it possibly somehow perhaps be a metaphor for our neighborhood’s close-knit familiarity and penchant for self-referential narrative? Maybe?
Naaaah.
PHOTO: scathac1961
Bernal Hill
Golden Boy Enjoys a Golden Evening on Bernal Hill
Check out this beautiful photo by Neighbor Adel, who published it on her Project 365 blog:
My golden boy on Bernal hill at sunset.
Alert readers might also recognize this handsome young man as a San Francisco Giants fan with his own artistic flair.
PHOTO: Neighbor Adel
Our Seismologist Explains Why Bernal’s Chert Is Better Than Soft Rock During an Earthquake
In pretty much every earthquake post that has appeared on this blog, I have extolled the virtues of Bernal’s beloved red chert because it doesn’t shake all that hard even during really big seismic events — especially compared to the marsh sand under the Mission or the artificial landfill in the Marina. Today is the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, so I figure this is a good to explain why chert keeps Bernal’s ground steadier.
Seismic waves travel at different speeds through different kinds of rock. The harder the rock, the faster the waves can travel. This alone is an advantage for shaking: waves spend less time traversing an area of hard rock than a comparably-sized area of sand or landfill.
Chert: 1 Landfill: 0
The issue is compounded, however, by the fact that every seismic wave has a specific amount of energy associated with it. If much of that energy goes into traveling quickly forward through the rock, less goes into shaking. But if the rock slows the forward propagation of the wave, the energy goes into shaking instead. The end result? Less shaking for less time in hard rock sites, more shaking for longer duration in soft soil sites.
Chert: 2 Landfill: 0
Liquefaction is another big problem with sand, soil, and landfill sites. Liquefaction is the process during which seismic shaking mixes loose soil and rock particles with groundwater, effectively turning the ground into quicksand. This was a huge problem in Japan and New Zealand this year, and it was also one of the main reasons the Marina was hit so hard in Loma Prieta. The more solid your rock, the fewer small particles there are to combine with groundwater, and the less the groundwater can permeate the rock in the first place. Bernal’s chert is good and solid, and it’s not going to turn to quicksand under us.
Chert: 3 Landfill: 0
So there you have it: Bernal’s chert means less shaking, for less time, without quicksand. In the event of another earthquake like Loma Prieta or 1906, Bernal Heights would certainly feel it, but our cherty geology will do a lot to help minimize the damage, whereas softer rock just strikes out.
PHOTO: Champi the Japanese Akita points out chert formations on Bernal Hill. Photo by Jay Axe
Fat Albert Loves Bernal Hill
Okay, let’s tell it straight: Bernal Hill isn’t a great place to watch the Blue Angels during Fleet Week. Sure, it’s comfy if you want a wiiiiiiide perspective, but most of the action happens near Fisherman’s Wharf, so the Navy’s F-18s look like little bugs zipping across the skyline. Plus, Bernal is so far south, we don’t even get many good flyovers during the airshow. (PRO TIP: F-18 flyover aficionados should try taking in the spectacle from the green on Treasure Island. Whooooosh!)
Yet for fans of “Fat Albert,” the lumbering C-130 transport plane the Blue Angels deploy to haul their gear, Bernal Hill is a prime viewing spot. Fat Albert uses Bernal Hill like a giant pylon as it loops around the City, and that means lots and lots of dramatic flyovers. In that respect, despite the fog that cut the airshow short on Sunday afternoon, Fleet Week 2011 did not disappoint. Hi neighbor!
Here’s Fat Albert with that mysterious giant shrub thingy on the northeast part of Bernal Summit — together at last:
Oh, just in case you’re wondering what it’s like in the cockpit of Fat Albert as it zooms around like it does, this video should satisfy your curiosity. Just buckle in and follow the bouncing hula girl on the dashboard:
Hey Hey Hey! See you next year…
PHOTOS: Top two images, Ben Buja. All others, Telstar Logistics
Skywriting Over Bernalwood
It’s a little challenging to read, but Rihannon Charisse captured some Fleet Week-related skywriting over Bernal today:
Sky writing over Bernal! “GREETINGS SALUTES THE CENTENNIAL OF NAVAL AVIATION”
That “Centennial of Naval Aviation” thing is a fascinating historic tale with a fun local twist, and earlier this year my alter ego, Telstar Logistics, wrote all about what happened during that big day on San Francisco Bay in January 1911.
Here’s a little preview:
Happy Fleet Week!
PHOTOS: Rihannon Charisse, history.navy.mil
Trippy Clouds and Empathy for the Vassals of La Lengua
I took this photo with my iPhone last weekend while waiting for the traffic light on Valencia Street at Cesar Chavez. In the flash of an instant, I had two distinct thoughts:
1) Wow, doesn’t Bernal Hill look lovely against that freaky-streaky sky?!
2) No wonder those uppity La Lenguans resent us, the Overlords of Bernal Heights. It must feel so frustrating for them, to live down in the flats, having always to look up at our glamorous hill that towers majestically over their homes and drinking establishments. Poor poor La Lenguans.
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
Flying a Kite on Bernal Hill
Once again, Neighbor Isaac (aka “Henri Cartier-iPhone“) captured a great photo with his mobile… presumably, last weekend, before the rains came. Loovley!
Runaway Lion Terrorizes Bernal Heights
Looks like it already took down one of the local zebra. @isabela captured the scene. Someone should definitely call Animal Control. Tranq dart! Tranq dart!
UPDATE:
Another photo, by Caroline Dijckmeester, shows the fearsome beast lunging at a human!!!
Sunday Drizzle Offers Preview of Winter Attractions
It was strange to wake up on Sunday morning to wetness outside, wasn’t it? But I kind of liked it — better the real rains of winter than the foggy chill of late “summer.” It’s almost time for Bernal Hill to again change color again from brown to green. But until then, here’s a snap I took looking south while crossing a damp South Van Ness at 24th Street.
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
Small Camera Captures Big Scene from Bernal Hill
Check out this very simple, very lovely photo @isaach took yesterday from atop Bernal Hill… with his iPhone.
Really, it never ceases to amaze me that our phones have become powerful creative tools. Think about it: If you had walked up to Henri Cartier-Bresson sixty years ago and said “Yo! Henri! In 2011 you’ll be doing some of your most interesting photography with a telephone!” he would have looked at you like you were insane. But now that’s simply routine — although it certainly helps to start out with such a naturally spectacular setting.
PHOTO: @isaach
Nomenclature Update: Introducing “Sutrito Tower”
There was another fashion shoot on Bernal Hill last week, only this time, the subject wasn’t a glamorous supermodel. Instead, photographer Rusty turned his camera toward the familiar microwave tower that sits atop the hill, to deftly capture its jaunty good looks.
This also provides a perfect opportunity to revisit a discussion that began back in June, regarding what to call the distinctive structure:
It occurred to me recently that Bernal’s iconic microwave tower really needs a name. Calling it “Microwave Tower” is pretty lame.
I don’t have any specific ideas per se, but I would generally propose that — like its bigger cousin Sutro Tower — the name should be simple and vaguely honorific.
Thus challenged, the Bernalwood Ad Hoc Nomenclature Committee met in open session a few weeks later, and the group quickly reached consensus around one naming candidate put forward by Reader Joe Thomas.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great solemnity that the Nomenclature Committee has dubbed that thing atop Bernal Hill “Sutrito Tower.” (Pro Tip: It’s pronounced Su-TREE-to; rhymes with “burrito.”) A diminutive name, Sutrito provides loving recognition of our tower’s ambitious desire to be something more someday, and this photo should make the logic of the choice rather obvious:
So now it’s official. Please update your maps and guide books to reflect the new name, and let it be known as Sutrito Tower from this day forward.
PHOTOS: Top, Sutrito Tower, by rustymerin. Below, Sutro Tower with Sutrito Tower, by Telstar Logistics
All Clear on Bernal Hill Last Night
There are many clear nights on Bernal Hill, but nights that are both clear and warm are a rare treat. We hit the meteorological jackpot last night, so after eating dinner with a friend on my patio (another rare treat), I headed up to Bernal Hill to take a few snapshots.
No clouds. No wind. No chill. No noise. Just a sparkling city below, Sutro Tower blinking lazily from Twin Peaks, and an orange half-moon rising over Oakland.
Here’s another one from the same vantage point, with a passing car tracing the route along Bernal Heights Boulevard:
Let’s enjoy this while it lasts, people.
PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics
Bernal Hill, As Seen from McLaren Park, As Seen from San Bruno Mountain
Reader Esther Reyes shared this terrific photo of Bernal Hill rakishly showing off against a backdrop of the downtown Financial District. She took the photograph from McLaren Park, to the south.
Now let’s pull back a little farther. Here’s a photo I took a few weeks ago of The Financial District, and Bernal Hill, and McLaren Park, as seen from high atop Mount San Bruno, even farther to the south:
Now let’s zoom in and enhance it for a closer look:
Stay tuned: Next time I’ll bring a lens with even more zoom.
PHOTOS: Top, Esther Reyes. Below, Telstar Logistics
Bernalwood 