How Billy sees San Francisco

I think this image (which I just whipped up at work) explains my new vantage point of this city: it is a big messy pile of steep hills, with some (not so) secret passages connecting the lowlands.

Now that I'm biking everywhere, I find myself constantly wondering what route has the least amount of elevation climb. This is pretty fascinating since I spend all day at work trying to guess how people make travel decisions anyway; now, there seem to be some new variables entering the equations. If you're driving you don't much care about hills unless you're driving stick and you can't get up the Divisadero Street climb from Lombard without crushing the little green Honda behind you. But on a bike, suddenly about half the city seems pretty impassable.

I love how the "wiggle" to Golden Gate Park shows up on this map, the finger of green and yellow just north of the central red blob. Now that I've biked it, I finally "get" why those bike routes are so important.

Awesomest employee evar!

LOL! I got a framed plaque at work today for creating our new timesheet system — I don't think I've ever gotten an employee appreciation award anywhere before. How cute!

I am now in the running for most awesomest employee evar. I need a new project!

Van Ness BRT

StreetsBlog has posted a story about the Van Ness bus project we've been working on. The article is moderately interesting, or you can just skip to the fun part and watch our simulation/info video below! I added the music all by myself. :-)

The Billy Stimulus Plan!

YAY -- I just sent out two job offer letters for new staff at work. It's great to be able to hire two people now, in the middle of so many layoffs amongst my friends and peers. I now know at least six people personally who have been laid off this winter, and I fear more are coming. So, while I can't give everybody out there a job, it's still great to know that my agency is able to fill some empty positions right now. One of my hires is also a person who might have a lot of trouble getting hired in less open environments, so it's a particularly good feeling.

Now let's hope they both get lots of work done and make my life easier this spring!

Sunshine Policy

Wow. I just got out of the strangest all-staff meeting regarding my agency's "Sunshine Policy". We are not part of city government (being a state-created entity has its benefits!), which means we don't adhere the the San Francisco sunshine ordinance. But we *do* have our very own sunshine policy, which says:

• If I delete an email, it's equivalent to having thrown a paper in a wastebin, and it is no longer "recorded information"
• If a document is preliminary or "draft", it does not need to be provided
• If a "draft" document is attached to an email (which wasn't deleted), we can provide the email but don't need to provide the document
• Asking questions isn't the same as asking for documents or recorded information. I don't actually have to answer questions!
  

So I'm going to stamp everything draft, delete all my old email, and never again worry about anything people ask me. (And if this is sunshine, I fart glitter....)