Old Bay Bridge = new design opportunity

The Bay Bridge, which connects East Bay (think Berkeley & Oakland) to San Francisco, is in the middle of a reconstruction project. The old half-span is still sitting out there, unconnected to anything, just jutting out from East Bay, ending before Treasure Island. 

Here's a picture of the new section, before it was connected - you can see that it's just off to the side of the existing bridge.

Image from Small Business Exchange, Inc.

Kinda trippy, eh?

So, what should be done with the existing structure? I posted one concept back in September - where a bridge allows for cars (and hopefully bikes, pedestrians and maybe even light rail) on top and container-like houses on the bottom. In this situation, the entire space is available - and this bridge has TWO levels! Grad students at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design have come up with some additional ideas - green space, hotels, living space.

 

Check out the entire article at SFGate.com/.

I like the idea of reusing this existing structure. It's part of the Bay Area's history, it's already built, doesn't add an environmental impact (assuming smart design) and effectively adds space to a desirable location. However,the new Bay Bridge is being constructed because the old one didn't meet earthquake safety rules - are those rules different for a vehicular load compared to a static, structural load (with movement only by people or relatively few cars)?

For more information about the Bay Bridge, check out this site - Bay Bridge Info.

MotionTraxx.com

In my (potentially absurd, most definitely going to be painful and humbling) attempt to ready myself for the (unyet registered for, because I'm a pansy) Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon, I ran 10 miles on Saturday.

It was, overall, an okay experience. Not because of the liter of fine German beer consumed the night before, but because of motiontraxx.com. I downloaded their half-marathon training mix, threw it on my beloved iPod nano and enjoyed a very steady 168 beats per minute for just over an hour. I'll definitely be checking out some of their other mixes, which range in duration and in bpm. Some look like they'd be good for intervals or speed work. Oh, FREE downloads - they're like podcasts in the iTunes store.

Today's breakfast: oats w/banana and peanut butter in a super awesome jar.

For Cara, fellow lover of oatmeal and pumpkin butter, new food blogger - For the Love of Chard... and potential new participant in Vegan Mondays*!

*Ok, she may do Wednesdays. And Vegan Monday isn't always on a Monday for me, either, but I like to call it that.

Where's that darn finish line?

Good advice to anyone who does endurance events, and especially to Audrey, who's racing the Goofy Challenge this weekend (half marathon on Saturday, full marathon on Sunday)... good luck, have fun, say hi to Mickey and remember this advice from a distance runner profiled by SFGate.com/

Be patient and remember: They don't move the finish line. Just keep moving and you'll make it.

Read the whole article here.

i need to shake things up. go on an adventure. do something that's a little scary.

any ideas? anyone care to join me?

Resolution #1 and slow cooker stuff

New year's resolutions like "be more organized," "productive" or "eat better" are admirable, but all murky and not easily measured. And easily failed. I like the idea of a fresh start and self-improvement. I know I could write a long list of things to work on, but why not resolve to do something that I'll actually be able to successfully accomplish?


Here's one to start:
Donate blood. Tried last year and couldn't do it because my iron level was too low. Imma gonna hop myself up on spinach in the days prior to blood donation and DO IT! The Blood Center comes through my work every so often. Stay tuned for an update here. And bug me if you don't hear anything about it by March. :)

Do you have any resolutions?
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Found a link to some slow cooker stews that don't all involve Campbell's cream of mushroom or tomato (which, by the way, lists high fructose corn syrup among the many ick ingredients) soup. Check it. Planned dinner...perhaps a way to "eat better" and "be more organized." ;)

SingleGirl's Best Question

I've recently added a few dating blogs to my Google Reader, including Sex, Lies and Dating in the City. Simone Grant, aka SingleGirl, writes about some of her dating exploits, history, and advice. 


I like this piece of advice, from her post, The Best Question:

Anyway, we didn't spend the whole night talking about my silly business issues.  Eventually we talked about more frivolous topics - men and dating.  We talked about the types of guys we tend to date (over and over) and online dating and recent exes and at some point she shared a piece of advice that a good friend once gave her. If you're wondering whether you should be with a guy, ask yourself this question, "Do you want your sons growing up to be like him?"

WOW!

I'd never heard that before but I gotta say, that's definitely one of the smartest things I've ever heard in regards to relationships. Even as a woman who's not going to have kids, I feel like it just drives to the very heart of why I might not want a man in my life. Because, seriously, if I wouldn't want my (theoretical) sons to grow up and be like someone, then he probably isn't good enough for me.

Now, I just have to remember to live that advice.

Wow is right, Simone. I actually would like to maybe kinda sorta really actually am totally freaked out by the idea waiting for the right partner but actually would like to have a kid. And yeah, my partner better well be a good role model. Moms and dads out there, did you think about this? 

Do you have questions like this to help you navigate through your dates? A friend of mine who is having a tough time deciding about whether to keep going with a relationship or not to think about what she would do if she was the guy. I think it was something like, "Would all of this even be in doubt if you were the guy? Would you keep dating, or would you just end it?" She said that if she was the guy, it'd be over. (physical/chemistry issues - surrounded by a mostly otherwise good companionship) And you know what? I think they're still dating. So these big questions - they're good to get you to look at things from a different perspective, but you still actually have to act to make changes. 

Fast forwarding....

I'm not into the holidays. Seriously, I think it's a great time to spend with family and friends, but it seems like it's also a magnet for bad stuff to happen. If we're talking holidays, let's fast forward to Martin Luther King, Jr day, what do you say?

So... fast forwarding brings us into the first couple of weeks of all of those New Year's resolutions. Yeah. Those. If you're looking for some fitness inspiration, check out these badass Crossfit chicks. Seems a little far off to me too, but also way better than looking to The Skinny Website for inspiration!

Oh, and here's the dude version of the women's Crossfit competition pictures. Sometimes a shirtless guy is also good motivation.

(No, I did not name those PDFs. And I don't want to hear about it, either.)

thursday notes

some notes:

as seen during yesterday's mid-afternoon run:
1. saxophone-only band playing christmas music near the ferry building
2. tons of tourists out and about in their newly-purchased "SF" jackets, due to the abnormally cold temps (low altitude snow, hail, 32 degrees when i woke up on wednesday)
3. old lady, swimsuit only, going into the bay at aquatic park for a swim. wow. it was maybe 45 deg during the day - and the bay's not much warmer. and some people think i'm hardcore. ha. 

other:

• i like to donate to the salvation army bell ringers in illinois. while the ones in california did have a rough few days with our winter weather, it's seriously nothing compared to the biting wind and nasal-passage-freezing temps of my home state.
  
• while that is true (that the sf winter is nothing), i am not prepared for cold temps here. i just finally got a space heater and still do not own a real winter jacket. so 32 is really freaking cold. also, older buildings do not seem to have any insulation.
  
• my work has real christmas trees in the elevator lobbies. that have been sprayed with a flame retardant. 
1. it is really refreshing to get a whiff of pine tree when you're getting off the elevator on a monday morning
2. it's strange to see a naked tree in the elevator lobby
3. don't get too close to that pine fresh scent, cuz you'll also get a whiff of flame retardant flavored carcinogens. 
• gretchen said that reading my list of 2010 activities made her tired. well, being a mom. being a working mom. being a working mom with a husband who travels. yeah. that makes me want to crawl under the covers for a while.
  
• i'm still somewhat in denial that it's december
• neither of these verbalizations of 2010 are really working for me: twenty-ten.. two thousand ten... how are you going to say next year's year?

three forwards

Three things. All forwarded to me. And I'm "forwarding" them to you here. Bwahahaha. Passive forwarding.

FORWARD NUMBER ONE 
Last night a UPS man came to the house to deliver a package...normal
He was wearing a Saftey Jacket, not the normal Brown...Different
He also had on a Bike helmet...Way different

I asked him what was up and he said that we here in Palo Alto are the third community (Portland, Seattle, Palo Alto...He mentioned that San Jose might be up soon and it seems like Oregon is about to boom) in the US where UPS is trying out bike delivery.  Every morning they drop of a tractor trailer full of packages in the neighborhood and then 6 guys with bikes and bike trailers ride around and deliver the packages. 

He said that it is really working well, he is way tired at the end of the day, but that it is much easier to get around town.

This is a trial, just for the holiday season, but he hopes that it will take off and become a full time gig.  Lets hope it does!!

---------------------------

I just found this about the Portland program:

"Shipping giant United Parcel Service (UPS) will add a new weapon to its arsenal in the holiday shipping battle this year — bicycles.

Jeff Grant, the company’s workforce planning manager for the Oregon district (that includes Vancouver, WA), says UPS plans to hire 28 bike delivery employees this season. In the Portland metro area, Grant says eight riders will be hired. I spoke with Grant via phone yesterday. He said the main impetus for the bike delivery program was to save money.

“For every three bikes we use for deliveries, we save an average of 17 gallons of fuel per day (compared to one truck). That’s about $50 in savings.” Across the entire district, Grant says for every three bikes used during the holiday season, UPS will save $38,000 in vehicle operation and upkeep costs.

UPS has purchased a fleet of mountain bikes outfitted with a 200 pound capacity trailer (with a cover for rain of course) and a set of lights. All bike delivery staff will be uniformed and helmets are required.


Before hitting the road, Grant says each rider will undergo a paid orientation and training session. The custom-tailored training will focus on operating the bicycle and trailer safely. “We realize the riders will be experienced already,” says Grant, “but have they ever pulled 200 pounds? Do they know the safe following distance in wet weather?”


According to Grant, he’ll ask delivery staff to deliver about 25-50 packages per day, compared to 150 stops a day for a normal “package car”. Grant added an interesting historical note to this story: UPS started delivering by bike in Seattle (where they were founded) over 100 years ago. Today, the company once again uses bikes for deliveries up in Seattle and Grant said it went so well they’ve decided to expand the program. 


UPS is looking to hire bike delivery people in Vancouver (WA), Portland, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene, and Medford. If you’re interested, call Maria Mason at (503) 978-7409 or email mariamason(at)ups(dot)com."

Image borrowed from FROG blog cuz I wanted to show a picture of the trailer.

FORWARD NUMBER TWO

Tired of feeling tired?

Get the WakeMate, the cell phone accessory wristband that lets you sleep less and feel better! 

http://www.wakemate.com/ 

FORWARD NUMBER THREE

Fantastic.  Greg sends along this DIY FYI:

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations.. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever.Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

Edit: I don't know what's up with all of the excessive spacing. I don't see it that way in my Compose screen in blogger. :( Sorry it's kind of unpleasant to read.