Have a Safe Halloween Friday , Everyone!

Today is a rather unique convergence of circumstances, most of which will affect your day today, in some way. Let’s see what we have here:
-Today is Friday (hooray!) and only a few days before the Big Election
-Today is also Critical Mass (sigh.)
-Today is going to get a lot of rain, meaning traffic is going to be extra dangerous
-Today is Halloween, on an actual Friday, which means lots of people out looking to have all sorts of fun (but should be aware the Castro is “closed” there are other things to do tonight.)
Well, you get the idea. MUNI and BART will be running ordinary service tonight, so plan accordingly. Given the convergence of events today, if you really do not have to drive, don’t, since it’s going to be one giant traffic jam, soaked in rain so the crazy drivers and bicyclists will be extra dangerous since they don’t realize cars don’t come to a sudden halt in wet weather. MUNI buses, too, need to remember the laws of physics apply to them as well, and not run over anyone by mistake.
The only x-factor in taking MUNI past 9-10pm is that depending on where you are, you can sometimes get stranded waiting for a bus that might take forever to show up. The best thing I can recommend is get access to NextMUNI on your mobile device (either iphone, blackberry, or any WAP-enabled phone) and keep an eye on it.
Last night, for example, against doctor’s orders, I went out to an event (a very nice one hosted by Six Apart, who make the blogging software that runs all my sites) but even though NextMUNI was telling me an N at Caltrain was like, in front of me, in fact it was a training car, as were several of them, so I ended up waiting around for a while. Best bet – if you’re going somewhere in SF’s outlying areas, make arrangements to carpool home or something.
Most importantly, have fun! I don’t really go out on Halloween anymore, so I didn’t plan a costume, but if I do go out, it’ll be at the Blackthorn Tavern, which will feature a costume party and a DJ tonight. Perhaps I could go as the scariest costume ever – the stupid bill from the ER visit I made. Scary indeed!
UPDATE: The Taraval police station will be giving out candy and stickers to kids at the station, located at 2345 – 24th Avenue, from dusk until 9pm. But that’s not the only reason I posted an update…if you’re not already subscribed to the crime reports for the Taraval station, you’re missing out on some interesting information, sometimes with a bit of creative writing. For example, read the following, and note the part I hightlighted:
10/30/08 3:00 pm 2200 block of 14th Avenue
In response to numerous neighbor complaints of trash, narcotics paraphernalia on the sidewalk, noise, miscreants and drug dealing, Captain Paul Chignell assembled a posse composed of Sgt. Steve Quon, Officer Scott Biggs and Officer Chris Oshita. Occupants of the residence were questioned and one was found to be in possession of suspected heroin as well as being in violation of a restraining order. He was arrested. Case #081163409
Awesome!