Friday Friday Friday: Some Links, Some Changes, and Oh Yeah, Some Fun!

I was out of town yesterday and didn’t return on Amtrak until this morning, so it seems I missed some rather interesting pieces at both SF Streetsblog and the SF Appeal, among many others, opening up a dialogue on the storied pronouncements of Those Professionals over at the Chronicle.
I think it’s great that nowadays, we no longer have just one point of view available for the public to consider, and instead have many points of view free to engage the public, and challenge the conventional wisdom (which often has neither) in a thoughtful manner. At a time when newspapers here have cut way back on local news coverage and wiped out investigative reporting, it may be up to others to pick up the slack and encourage multi-faceted discussions on things that affect daily life.
Now for some changes: I’m finally getting some technical help to make some much needed upgrades to the software that runs this site, and that will mean I’ll be able to update the layout and add some new features to make the site more fun. One will be to make a better display of images in a Flickr pool people can add to, among other things, and it’ll be easier to read the Twitter feed, etc. I’m also going to revive reporting on local businesses (esp. since I’m alarmed at the number of local businesses that have disappeared lately) and some more feature type posts.
I’m also making some changes in my schedule to better reflect what I like to do (i.e. writing and meeting fun people around town) and as I’m finally getting some decent ads here, I can do so, which is kinda nice.
Don’t forget we always like Guest Bloggers for Wednesday – email me if you’re interested in signing up.
I think we all know now that MUNI’s budget was completely frakked, that MUNI’s fails are going to be more commonplace as a result, and that the MTA and the Mayor don’t care, so I don’t know that point needs to be belabored unless something really bad happens (and God I hope not).
Now for some fun: Lisa Katayama over at TokyoMango has pics of this funny Japanese juice bottles, shaped like trains. And, for iPhone folks, there’s a new wave of augmented reality apps on the way, with this one, which helps you find bus stops in San Francisco, being one of the first. Android users have had some augmented reality apps out too, so I imagine it’s a matter of time before one comes out for those phones too.
This weekend features many fun activities, all accessible by transit (we hope), and the weather looks like it’ll be nice too. If you see something particularly fun or interesting, post it online and put a link in the comments below!