Star Sighting: Shuttle Endeavour Soars Over Bernal Heights

September 21, 2012September 22, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 21 Comments

Well, that was rather epic, wasn’t it?

When we told you yesterday that the pilot of the Boeing 747 carrying the Space Shuttle Endeavour would be thinking of Bernal Heights as he flew over San Francisco, we weren’t kidding. But we didn’t realize that meant he would actually fly the thing right over our neighborhood!

Yet that’s what happened (because Bernalwood is glamorous like that). A little after 10 am today, Shuttle Endeavour made a big sweeping pass over Sutrito Tower and the Dominion of Bernalwood, amid much rejoicing and clicking of camera shutters.

From atop the hill, Neighbor Charlie took this terrific shot of the shuttle floating past Sutro Tower:

Neightbors Jeanne and Taina enjoyed a Tomorrowland view from their Bernal Heights living room:

Anthony Brown, Bernal’s finest penguinologist, was on the Hill, and he captured this video of the fly-by, which may be the next best thing to having been there:

And since it was a day for star-sightings, it’s only natural that Endeavour’s arrival coincided with a cameo by another elusive celebrity: The Bikini Jogger!

But let’s back up for a moment. Your Bernalwood editor got to spend some serious quality time with Endeavour yesterday while it was at Edwards Air Force Base, courtesy of the very generous folks at NASA. So if you enjoyed the view of the Shuttle over Bernal Heights today, here’s a glimpse of what it looked like up close:

Wow. Quite a day to remember. Someday, you can tell your grandkids that you not only saw the Space Shuttle fly over Bernal Heights, but you also saw the Space Shuttle fly on the last day that any Shuttle took to the skies, ever. It was just another glamorous day of history-in-the-making here in Bernalwood… and you were there.

PHOTOS: Bernal photos, from top: Erin Veneziano, DenSF, Stephen Woods, Milk Dragon, Matthew Gilreath, Xtel, Wirednerd, Joe Thomas. Bikini Jogger by sfcitymom. Shuttle closeups by Telstar Logistics

BASA Visits NASA to Say Farewell to Space Shuttle Endeavor

September 19, 2012September 19, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Today, as you read this now, a representative from BASA, Bernal’s very own space agency, is visiting a facility operated by NASA, that *other* space agency you may have heard about.

Specifically, your Bernalwood editor is spending a few days at NASA’s Dryden Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. BASA is here at NASA’s invitation to watch Space Shuttle Endeavor arrive on the back of it’s specially modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, which is scheduled to happen tomorrow. If the past is any guide, it should look something like this:

But the thing is, this is not only the last time a space shuttle will fly on the back of a 747; It’s the very last time a shuttle will fly at all. Ever. Endeavor is headed to its permanent home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, and it’s the last of the retired shuttle fleet to require transportation via 747.

But before that happens, there will be adventure. Early Friday morning, NASA’s special 747 will take off from Edwards. From there it will fly north, to the Bay Area, for a scenic low-and-slow flight over Silicon Valley and the City of San Francisco. (PRO TIPS: NASA tells us the shuttle flight should arrive over San Francisco between 9 and 10 am on Friday morning. Bayfront vantage points between the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown will probably be best, but the view may be pretty good from Bernal Hill with binoculars. Please take photos!)

And then that’s it. Forever. Maybe you will live long enough to see another Transit of Venus from Bernal Hill. But you will never, ever see another space shuttle flying over Our Faire City — or anywhere else. Sad but true.

Keep an eye on the @bernalwood Twitter account for updates and announcements on the Shuttle overflight. Viva BASA! Thank you, NASA!

What Neighborhood Is This? Bernal Resident Creates iPhone App to Find Out

June 5, 2012June 6, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

We are a forward-looking community, here in Bernal Heights. We may prefer our meat butchered mid-20th century style, but when it comes to the latest Intertube technologies, Bernal Heights is very much on the cutting edge. So when Neighbor Isaac, a Bernal resident, got fed up with wondering “What neighborhood am I in?” as he wandered around our City, he solved the problem by creating a simple iPhone applet to answer the question with satellite-guided precision.

To use the app, you don’t even have to visit the App Store. Just steer the browser on your iPhone to isaa.ch/sf, and follow the simple instructions on your screen. Neighbor Isaac explains:

It doesn’t show you a map, or tell you the history of the neighborhood, or link to Wikipedia, or provide droll stereotypes or give you vital stats like population or elevation or weather. It just tells you what neighborhood you’re currently in—and how far you are from the closest adjacent neighborhood. That’s it.

I say “iPhone app” and I mean that in the same sense that Steve Jobs did in 2007 when he announced that the iPhone would support third-party apps. It’s a web page.

Add it as a bookmark to the home screen, though, and it’s pretty app-like. It works like this

determine current lat/long using the HTML5 Geolocation API;

compare with Dave Schweisguth’s SF neighborhood boundaries (thanks Dave!); and

determine where you are, and where’s closest.

It’s barely even a beta; more of a steel thread. But hey, have at it: visit isaa.ch/sf on your iPhone, and add a bookmark to your home screen.

Some limitations, even within the admittedly narrow feature scope:

you pretty much have to be in San Francisco for it to be of any use;

if you’re not in San Francisco then not only will it be no use but the distance calculation (which depends on a pretty rough and ready approximation from spherical to planar geometry) will become less accurate the further you are away; and

error cases aren’t handled terribly gracefully.

I took the app for a test drive in my back yard, and as you see above, it worked flawlessly. But I was also curious about how it would handle the delicate geo-politics of the La Lengua Autonomous Zone.

So I went for a walk into the heart of La Lengua. Once there, I stood on a sidewalk deep in La Lengua territory, between Mission and San Jose Streets, quite literally in front of the La Lengua Rebel Command Compound (LaLeRebCoCo). Then I fired up Neighbor Isaac’s app to see how it would describe my location.

This was the politically explosive result:

The La Lenguans will not be happy about this. But that’s the way it goes: Those who make the tools also get to make the rules.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Bernal Heights Looks Magical from International Space Station

April 25, 2012April 25, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Fellow Bernalnauts, here is VERY unusual view of our glamorous neighborhood. This photo was taken two days ago by European astronaut André Kuipers, who is currently living aboard the International Space Station, roughly 224 miles above the summit of Bernal Hill.

The photo was discovered yesterday by an analyst from the Bernal Aeronautics and Space Agency. The full image is stunning, but unfortunately the resolution is… not so much. So when we zoom, crop, and enhance to take a closer look at ourselves, the quality is lacking. Here’s what we see:

PHOTO: André Kuipers via European Space Agency

Google Maps Renders Bernal Heights in 8-Bit Nintendo-Vision

April 2, 2012April 2, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

It’s unclear if it was an April Fool’s stunt or just a wild flight of geek fancy, but last weekend Google Maps released a version of its online mapping system that optimizes the service for display on the 8-bit Nintendo NES videogame console from the 1980s.

As you can see above, the macro-level views make Bernal Heights look like the combat zone of a dragon-slaying game cartridge. Which is neat. But Google Maps went all the way with the whole 8-bit thing, so that even the Street Views are presented in NintendoVision.

For example, here’s a view down Cortland Street (click any image to embiggen):

And here’s a closeup of the Bernal Branch library. Not to stir up controversy, I think but this looks rather awesome. Why don’t we create an 8-bit faux-digitized version of the current mural, and then paint *that* on the side of the library:

Up on the Hill, Sutrito Tower lurks in the pixels:

Farther east, Bernal Hill looks like a rustic tomorrowland with Bernal Heights Boulevard wrapped around it:

Yet the view downtown lacks a certain… clarity:

Precita Park looks absolutely stunning in 8-bit (click it! click it!). Notice that our old friend Stephen retains his ghostly presence:

While my own house looks really… red:

All in all, it’s an impressive retrofutuistic re-imagining of our glamorous neighborhood, right down to the smallest detail:

Hurry and explore Bernal Heights in Google Maps 8-bit Nintendo-Vision, before Larry Page comes to his senses and makes someone tell someone to get someone to scream at someone to pull the whole thing down.

IMAGES: via Google Maps 8-bit

“Eye of Sautrito” Proposed to Halt Illegal Dumping on Bernal Hill

February 21, 2012February 21, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

While Bernalwood readers debate the wisdom of installing security cameras along Bernal Heights Boulevard to deter illegal dumping, Neighbor Joe Thomas has developed a high-tech alternative: The Eye of Sautrito!

Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien and developed by Raytheon in collaboration with DARPA, the Eye of Sautrito will combine high-resolution, full-motion video capability with infrared optics and a frequency hopping, continuous-wave signal calibrated to thwart electronic countermeasures. If illegal dumping is detected in the target area, the Eye of Sautrito uses a directed-energy pulse emitter to permanently disable the ignition systems of perpetrators’ vehicles while also rendering the perpetrators themselves sexually impotent. When fully operational, the system will provide continuous, on-station protection at all times of day and in all weather.

As shown in the rendering above, the Eye of Sautrito would provide 360-degree coverage of Bernal Hill in a secure and tamper-resistant facility perched high above our beloved hilltop.

Citizens of Bernalwood, let’s build this thing.

IMAGE: Illustration by Joe Thomas, via Craig Sakowitz

Bernal Software Developer Creates “Top 10 iPad App of 2011”

January 12, 2012January 12, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

Locavore technology alert! Neighbor Moshen calls our attention to the fact that the iPad/iPhone app he developed was named a Top 10 iPad App for 2011 in The New York Times.

I’ve lived here for almost ten years and am an independent iOS developer. Last week my app was featured in the New York Times top 10 iPad apps for 2011. It was developed by myself, working from home and sometimes at Charlie’s Cafe. The app is called Living Earth HD.

Woo hoo! Here’s what the NYT’s Bob Tedeschi had to say about it:

LIVING EARTH HD WORLD CLOCK AND WEATHER ($1). In a sea of more complicated and ambitious apps, Living Earth is beautifully simple. It offers a live satellite view of the globe so you can glimpse cloud cover in your area, while a graphic tells you the current temperature along with the day’s predicted high and low. You can add favorite locations, and for striking weather events you can take a snapshot of the globe and share it. It makes for a stellar desktop companion during the day, with its slowly spinning globe, and a comforting stalwart on the bedside table at night, with a reliable alarm tuned to your favorite music.

You can download Living Earth HD in the iTunes App Store for just $0.99. (Note: 4.5 stars with 9000+ ratings. WOW!) Congrats, Moshen!

Futuristic Airship Scouts Locations for Bernal Air Terminal

December 23, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Neighbor Catherine spotted the Airship Ventures Zeppelin NT yesterday as it made an early-evening cruise over Bernalwood. She says:

“Blimp, Bernal, Sunset…. Ooooh!”

Ooooh! Definitely. But “blimp?” Well, not quite. For those keeping score at home, the Zeppelin is a rigid-framed, steerable dirigible, not a balloon-like blimp. (For a closer look at this Zeppelin, here are some photos I took during a flight aboard it in 2008.)

But what was the Zeppelin doing over Bernal Heights? There can be only one answer: Scouting potential landing zones to convert Sutrito Tower into our futuristic Air Terminal of Tomorrow!

PHOTOS: Neighbor Catherine

Who Is Flying Over Bernal Heights (And Where They Are Going)?

December 13, 2011December 19, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

After I got home late last Friday night, I wandered into my back yard for a moment to savor the silvery light of the full moon. But I also got a bonus treat: I watched a jet pass by high overhead, creating a fluffy contrail that divided the night sky into two neat halves — as you can see in the photo above.

I’ve written before about the map which shows the major air routes that pass over Bernal Heights:

Yet as handy as that map is for making general sense of the activity that takes place in the skies above us, it’s also fun to know the specifics. Like, exactly what kind of jet is that passing overhead? And where did it come from? And where is it going?

That’s what I wondered as a meditated on the spectacle of the aircraft streaking silently through the clear Bernal night. Yet because we live in an age of high-tech wonders, I didn’t have to wonder for long. In fact, there’s an app for that.

I reached for my phone, and opened Plane Finder, a $4.99 app for the iPhone or iPad that monitors the ADS-B tracking data transmitted by commercial aircraft to generate a near-realtime air traffic radar map. So when I wanted to find out about the plane I spotted over Bernal Heights, here’s what I saw:

That showed me the flightpath. Then I touched the plane icon, to learn more:

Voila! The plane I saw passing over Bernal a little after 1 am on Friday night was a China Southern Airlines Boeing 777-200, traveling almost 32,000 feet overhead, en route from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, China.

Personally, I find there’s something oddly satisfying about having access to this information; It makes the planes I see overhead feel more neighborly, because I can picture where they came from, where they’re going, and the kind of people who are likely sitting inside.

And as those passengers stare down at us, many would probably feel a similar sense of connection, if only they could dial up an app that presented a view that looks something like this:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Will Zynga, Yelp, and Facebook IPOs Influence Bernal Heights Real Estate?

December 1, 2011December 1, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

I’ll let you decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Or it may just be a force of nature. But if our friends at Curbed SF are right, some parts of The City may soon experience a new tech-fueled real estate boom:

It’s a bit of deja-vu for those of us who remember the Dot.com boom of yester-decade: Reuters reports that IPO-driven real estate prices are becoming more common with companies like Zynga and Yelp poised to enter IPO status. And when these companies offer employees the chance to cash out before the company goes public, even the rumor of impending IPO is enough to spur optimistic homebuyers, and with them, home prices in sought after neighborhoods. Competitive bidding in these ‘hoods has driven prices up 15 percent from last year. The increase correlates with local start-up activity as more successful tech companies are finally setting up shop in the city, rather than Silicon Valley.

Some employees already working for comanies recently made public feel compelled to buy now, before the fresh crop of Zynga/Yelp millionaires enter the competition. Seems these young folks basically all want the same house, in the same place.

Potrero Hill and Noe Valley are cited some of those places, but the original Reuters article describes the new tech-wealth dream home as…

… a modern, open-plan home in the southern part of town that’s convenient to the city’s tech hub south of Market Street and also close to the freeways, trains and employee shuttle-bus stops that whisk commuters to Silicon Valley.

That sounds like a pretty good description of North Bernal, and particularly the Greater Precitaville Administrative Zone, along the Cesar Chavez corridor. And it may help explain why a 3BR house on Precita Park recently sold for almost $1.3 million.

Likewise, I’ve heard from realtor sources that this corridor is already attracting interest from these kinds of buyers, precisely because it too offers convenient access to freeways, public transit, and the arterial routes for those Wi-Fi-equipped, private commuter busses operated by the likes of Apple, Google, Yahoo, etc.

Take all that for whatever you will…

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

The Right Stuff: Bernal Kids Test Frontiers of Outer Space

November 22, 2011November 20, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

Last weekend, a few paternal units from the Bernal Dads Racing Team assembled at a secret local spaceport to do some amateur rocketry with the kids.

Overall the effort was a success. Many rockets were launched, and the kids demonstrated an exceptional talent for doing mission control-style countdowns (in unison).

“Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two.. One.. LIFTOFF!”

Great altitudes were achieved. The barriers of space were tested.

But recovery of the rockets proved more challenging. Several of the Bernal spacecraft encountered significant arboreal interference shortly before touchdown:

Flight commanders wrote off the stricken craft as a loss.

But in the spirit of science and exploration, the days experiments were deemed a complete success. Gateways to the New Frontier were opened. “One small step for our children, one giant leap for Bernalkind,” and all that.

Indeed, with the space shuttle now in retirement and Uncle Sam’s space transportation strategy in disarray, it’s time for Bernal Heights to take matters into our own hands. We can do this. We have The Right Stuff. We need a new group to add to the roster of neighborhood civic organizations.

So, fellow citizens, please join me in welcoming the inauguration of the Bernalwood Aeronautics and Space Administration:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Bernal Man May Sue Apple Over Search for Missing iPhone 5

October 4, 2011October 5, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Later this morning, Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone 5. At the instant when the new gadget is unveiled, the incident involving the purported loss of an iPhone 5 prototype that resulted in the search of a Bernal Heights resident’s home will become little more than an odd historical footnote. But the Bernal Heights man, Sergio Calderon, may keep the story alive a little bit longer by pursuing a lawsuit against Apple:

Apple internal security told police that the device was priceless and the company was desperate to secure its safe return, then led police to a house in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

One of the six people who visited Calderon’s home said they would obtain a search warrant if he did not agree to let them in, according to two sources with knowledge of the event. Calderon then voluntarily submitted to what he claims he believed was a search by police officers, but in reality included Apple employees.

The San Francisco Police Department confirmed that their officers escorted Apple employees to Calderon’s house but said that the only people to search his house, car, and computer were the two Apple employees. Lt. Troy Dangerfield, an SFPD spokesman, said that officers waited outside during the search. Monroe confirmed this evening that his client, Calderon, had been at Cava 22 around the date the Apple phone disappeared.

“There’s a question about what night,” Monroe said. “I don’t know what night they said something was taken from the bar, whether it was Friday or Saturday. He had been there that week but…I don’t have anybody on the record as to which night it went missing.”

Regardless of whether or not the lawsuit proceeds, the affair has shined a rather unflattering light on Apple’s security tactics and the too-cozy relationship that apparently exists between some ex-cops employed by the company and the San Francisco Police Department. That’s a data point to keep in mind as you wait in line to get your iPhone 5 during the weeks ahead.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Telstar Logistics

Small Camera Captures Big Scene from Bernal Hill

September 23, 2011September 23, 2011 / Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

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