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

/ 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!

The “Impossible” Bernal Hill 360 Panorama

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

There's about 270° more where this came from.

Joe Thomas created an impossible photograph: A 360-degree panorama of the view from atop Bernal Hill:

I’m a fan of our little Sutrito Tower, but the fact that it’s fenced off makes it impossible to take in the full 360° panorama of gorgeous views we have at the top of Bernal Hill. So I thought I’d try to create a synthetic panorama from pictures taken just outside of the fence, and stitch them together with software. My first effort, using the Autostitch app for iPhone, didn’t turn out too well — lots of double-vision blurriness at the seams. Still, that was better than Photosynth, which refused to even try stitching when it thought I’d moved too far between shots.

Via Twitter, I learned that Burrito Justice had the same idea a few years back, and had good results with Panorama. I tried it. Frustrating UI. I ended up just taking a bunch of pictures in the Camera app, working my way around the hill. Also via Twitter, I’d gotten a suggestion to try Microsoft’s Image Composite Editor — a panorama-making desktop app for Windows. I have to say, it did a pretty nice job stitching together the 30 pictures I took around the hill.

It’s an amazing photo. A laptop or PC is recommended, and a large monitor is even better. To see the whole thing, click right here:

(CAUTION: large file.)

PHOTOS: Joe Thomas

Ski Bernalwood: Snow Report and New Upgrades

/ Todd_Lappin / 47 Comments

Hello Skiers and Snowboarders!

Thanks to all of you who bought a 2012 Ski Bernalwood season pass. As you know, your 2012 Ski Bernalwood season pass allows you to take unlimited advantage of Ski Bernalwood’s extensive lift and trail network anytime during normal operating hours. Thanks for helping to make Ski Bernalwood San Francisco’s premier wintersports resort destination.

We’ve made several exciting improvements for the 2012 season:

NEW TRAILS:

On the north face, we’ve opened up more advanced terrain for more adrenaline-powered ski and snowboarding excitement. The new run is called Stoney Grotto, and it’s accessible from either of Ski Bernalwood’s high-speed chairlifts via the eastern side of the Sutrito Summit Lodge complex.

NEW TERRAIN PARK:

On the southeastern slope, we’ve created Haunted House, a new terrain park equipped with epic tabletop jumps, steep jibs, and a full half-pipe.  Stow your tray table, fasten your seatbelt, and bring your seat to the full upright position, because there will be some Very. Big. Air. happening at the new Haunted House park.

NEW DINING OPTIONS:

We’re proud to welcome several new food vendors to the Sutrito Summit Lodge, to satisfy your hunger during an exciting day on the slopes. Inside, look for the new Pasta Bar operated by Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack, as well as hearty, seasonal fare offered at the Bernal Supper Club Cafe. In a hurry? Grab some tasty pastries from the Sandbox Bakery cart, located on the South Patio. Apres ski, have a cocktail with bartenders from the Royal Cuckoo as they mix it up for you and your pals.

NEW DOGGIE DAY CARE AND FITNESS CLASSES:


You asked for it, and we got it! Last year, dozens of Ski Bernalwood passholders asked us to provide a safe place to drop-off their doggies before heading out to the slopes. This year, FitBernalFit will offer doggie day care during our regular lift-operation hours, with Iditerod Fitness Classes offered for your dog daily at 11 am and 2 pm. The FitBernalFit drop-off area is located at the base of the Vista Pointe Lift.

SNOW REPORT
So many exciting new things. But let’s not forget the most exciting news of all: As you may have heard, Winter 2012 is getting off to a historically dry start in Lake Tahoe. As our friends at Squaw Valley put it last week:

Tahoe is really not looking good, humans. It literally hasn’t snowed yet this winter. I know that we all need to hold onto the hopeful idea that one big storm could change everything, but that one big storm is not on the horizon. There is nothing in the two week forecast, again. We are looking at nothing until at least mid-January…or later. I want to be optimistic, but we have to look at the numbers.

Fortunately, we have no such problems here in Bernal Heights. After the epic snowfall last week, followed by the bluebird skies last weekend, conditions at Ski Bernalwood have never been better. We’ve got at 48″ base with powder or packed powder on 100 percent of our trails, and the forecast calls for continued sun and fun throughout the week.

Come on out to ride with us at Ski Bernalwood, enjoy steep verticals, and don’t forget your sunscreen!

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

A View of Bernalwood From Outer Space (on Christmas Eve)

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

When he is not fomenting regional separatism and geopolitical intrigue, La Lengua rebel propagandist Burrito Justice is also a bit of a stargazer. Recently, he tracked down an infrared photo of the Bay Area that was taken from the International Space Station on Christmas Eve, 2011.

The image above shows the greater Bay Area, but Burrito Justice did that zoom-rotate-and-enhance-it thing to generate a tight shot of San Francisco. He says:

In SF, 280 and 101 barely register, but surface streets like Mission, Ocean, 19th, Geary and 3rd are clear, as are the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge.  McLaren Park and Twin Peaks are easy to see — I think I can make out Bernal too.

Indeed you can! Here’s a little pointer, for reference:

PHOTOS: Burrito Justice

Scenes From Last Weekend’s Alemany Farmer’s Market

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Bernalwood Farmers Market 003

Adrian Mendoza, Bernalwood’s paparazzi on the prowl, went for one of his occasional walkabouts around the neighborhood last weekend. He ended up at the Alemany Farmer’s Market, and were are proud to present a selection of the photos he took.

Above, we see a very weird drooping plant that seems poised to become yet another onramp to the 280/101 Spaghetti Bowl. (Love that photo.)

At the Farmer’s Market, Adrian apparently met… THE POMELO WHISPERER!

Here’s a sporting lad preparing to play a game of Lemongrass Baseball:

Bernalwood Farmers Market 005

This gentleman sells olive oil:

Bernalwood Farmers Market 007

And this young man demonstrated how the referees signal touchdowns during football games at Napa Valley high schools:

Bernalwood Farmers Market 012

Seriously though… thanks, as always, Adrian, for sharing your photos and for making Bernal Heights look so glam.

PHOTOS: Adrian Mendoza

Bernal Supper Club Expands Schedule at Cafe Cozzolino

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

The Boys of the Bernal Supper Club

While running an errand on Sunday afternoon, I ran into the manly men from the Bernal Supper Club as they were locking up the doors of their new part-time home at Cafe Cozzolino. They were in jovial spirits, and for good reason: The first two “pilot” dinners at Cozzolino were sell-out successes, and the future of their pop-up restaurant looks bright.

The Bernal Supper Club has clearly tapped into a deep vein of pent-up demand for a delicious place to dine on the North Slope, so now the experiment is set to continue.

For the rest of January, the Bernal Supper Club will pop-up at Cafe Cozzolino on Monday and Tuesday nights. And if things continue to go well, the fellas say, it may become even more regular in February and beyond.

In the meantime, check out the menu for this Monday and Tuesday January 9-10, stop in to sample to fare, and set your taste buds to “Yum.”

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Neighbors Rally After Graffiti Goons Make Mess on Eugenia Steps

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

Neighbor Marty shared this unfortunate tale of paint-powered mayhem on Bernal’s west side:

Hoodlum revelers whooped it up along the Eugenia steps between Prospect and Winfield during the holidays. The steps were hit on December 26 & 27 December with graffiti. Monday night the 26th was just the top area of the stairs, which was cleaned up Tuesday by volunteers. On the night of the 27th, the graffiti bandits returned with gold paint to hit more than just the stairs. The list reads like the twelve days of Christmas: 1 fire hydrant, 2 fences, 3 trees, 4 houses, 5 utility poles, the stairs, the sidewalk, the curb, and even the street were all vandalized with gold paint. If there had been a partridge in a pear tree, they probably would have graffitied that too.

Neighbors bonded together to help clean up and cover the mess all day Wednesday. Please keep your eyes peeled for any late night loiterers on the stairs, and definitely report any graffiti to the police, because the gang task force may examine the photos for known tags.

Neighbors can also join the Graffiti Watch program, managed by the city. After a two-hour training, all supplies — paints, brushes, trash bags, etc — are provided by the city. In exchange, you adopt a four-block area of your neighborhood to keep the graffiti covered.

PHOTOS: Neighbor Marty

“Wild Old Women” Occupy Bank of America on Mission

/ Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

KCBS carries the story about yesterday’s geriatric #occupy protest at the Bank of America branch on Mission Street near Valencia:

It was a slow-moving Occupy Wall Street protest, but it was an effective one. A dozen senior citizens calling themselves “the wild old women” succeeded in closing a Bank of America branch in Bernal Heights Thursday.

The women, aged 69 to 82, who live at the senior home up Mission street from the Bernal Heights Bank of America branch, decided to hold their own protest by doing what they called a “run on the bank.”

Tita Caldwell, 80, who led the charge of women with walkers and wheelchairs, said that they’re demanding the bank lower fees, pay higher taxes, and stop foreclosing on, and evicting, homeowners.

The full story is right here.

PHOTO: KCBS

Bernal Heights Globetrotter Shows Photos from Worldly Travels

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments


Bernal resident Ellen Divers left the familiar comfort of our neighborhood behind to travel the world and capture the photos that are now on display at Cafe Seventy8. She writes:

I’m showing my photos now at Cafe Seventy8, at 29th and Tiffany (near the post office). I’ve lived in Bernal Heights for 14 years; I’m a local 🙂 The pictures are from my travels in the US and Europe. The cafe is open 7a-7p daily. Great food and coffee too.

PHOTOS: From top: Ventimilgia, Italy; leaves in New Orleans; Moonzie Castle, Scotland. All photos by Ellen Divers