Akit's Complaint Department

AT&T Park Muni Vendors MUST accept Muni Tokens too

2008-07-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

Quick update before I get to my posting:

SF Muni is starting to make a little progress. I don't know if it is because of my blog or that I informed Phil Bronstein about the problem, but there's some changes:

One thing is they finally got their website FULLY (not partially) up to date. What I mean by "partially" is that one part of the page was correct with the new policy, while scrolling down at the bottom was incorrect.

Now the page clearly says:
"BART discount coupons are accepted" in the "Major Points" section.
"Muni to BART" discount coupons may be used" in the "Leaving the Ballpark" section.

Now, back to the topic!

Here's the next task for Muni and its vendors at AT&T Park, how about accepting tokens and the token tickets too? They are the same fare media as paying in cash.

Their website says:
"Muni tokens or token coupons cannot be used at this time to purchase proof of payment at the Giants sales window" in the "Leaving the Ballpark" section.

I use Muni token tickets because it is easier to carry than a handful of quarters and dollar bills. Plus, I can purchase these with my Commuter Checks, a program that issues me a check for public transit media (passes, tickets, etc.) and is automatically deducted pre-tax from my payroll.

So why not Muni?

If your policy says: "Please be prepared to show your Proof of Payment to Muni staff working the entrance lines to Muni Metro. If you do not have proof of payment, you will be sent back to the Giants sales window to purchase a ticket."

And a MUNI TOKEN OR TOKEN TICKET is a legal Muni fare, why can't AT&T park take it too so passengers can get their "Proof of Payment?" If the inspector is going to kick your ass for not letting you through and the vendor won't give you a transfer because all you have is a token at hand, that's just crazy.

Maybe I should just put the point across again, SF Muni promised its citizens that the token and token ticket is a LEGAL FARE for all Muni rides (except for Cable Cars and Candlestick Park express buses), so why not honor it for the return ride home from AT&T Park? Muni is simply dishonoring their agreement again to its citizens.

Do I once again need to walk to a 30 Stockton bus stop, give my token ticket to the driver, get a transfer, and walk back to the AT&T park metro platform for the ride home? Hell no.

UPDATE: Muni to BART Still Not Accepted

2008-07-19T08:48:00.001-07:00

In a previous posting on my blog, I said that the "Muni to BART" ticket was not being accepted for the return ride home from AT&T Park.

Thanks to Phil Bronstein and Eve Batey, they were out helping the little guys like me with this issue. They picked-up the phone and called San Francisco Muni's representative to get an answer why. The Muni representative promised to make the appropriate changes and the vendors who sell the tickets/transfers at AT&T Park are instructed to accept the discount ticket starting July 18, 2008 (first game of the homestand).

I also informed Bronstein about 12 hours away from the event that the Muni website did not reflect the policy change. Phil got on the case and Muni didn't exactly do all the changes. They did fix "Major Points" section, but did not correct the "Leaving the Ballpark" section on their AT&T Park service section.

The "Major Points" section says:
"BART discount coupons are accepted."

While the "Leaving the Ballpark" section says:
"Muni tokens or token coupons and "Muni to BART" discount coupons cannot be used at this time to purchase proof of payment at the Giants sales window."

And this is all ON THE SAME PAGE. How can our public servants just skip over and not read the entire webpage before publishing it?

Well... it turned out that it did not happen as planned. I didn't get my 25 cent discount, and it looks like Muni once again violated the trust of the people they serve.

Here's a video I've recorded and edited as proof:

MyGallons Refunds Membership Fees

2008-07-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

If you have been watching the news, MyGallons.com is the new product that lets you prepay for gallons of gas and lets you take advantage of big savings if gas prices goes up at the pump.

Well... MyGallons has been facing some bumpy roads. Within the first couple of days of public rollout, their main charge card processor backed out, and has been in limbo for nearly a couple of weeks.

Well... this fresh new e-mail just showed-up in my e-mail box:

Dear MyGallons Member,

We developed the MyGallons program because, like you, we wanted to help
solve the problems caused by the rising price of gasoline. We are proud
of what we created and look forward to providing you with this innovative
service in the very near future.

Due to difficulties with a key supplier, we are unable to deliver the
service we promised to you at this time. We apologize for the delay.
You will be receiving a refund on your credit card for 100% of the
membership fees that you have previously paid.

To express our sincere thanks for your loyalty and support, once we
secure a new payment network, you will enjoy the benefits of the MyGallons
program free of membership charges for your first year.

Rest assured, we are working diligently to secure a relationship with a
new national card processing company. We will keep you updated every step
of the way as we overcome the challenges we face together.

Sincerely,

Steven Verona
Founder and CEO
MyGallons LLC

It's a little nice that they are giving back my membership cost and a free year of service when things get restored. I hope for the best for the company.

I Hate Fake San Francisco Giants Jackets

2008-07-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

If you've been to a Giants game, you know that the donut shop across the street sells these jackets for dirt cheap (see left). I found this one at the "Only in San Francisco" store at Pier 39, and their selling price is 19.99.

It looks almost exactly like the official Giants jacket that is sold through official retailers such as the Giants Dugout. The "San Francisco" logo looks similar, and the orange stripe at the shoulders is exactly like the official Giants jackets of the previous generation (the new ones don't).

And you wonder... just what kind of quality is this stuff?

I can tell you a few things about this jacket. Obviously, this is not SF Giants or MLB approved merchandise.

There is no official SF Giants logo on the left sleeve.
The logo looks extremely similar to this year's official Giants jacket, however instead of full orange, it uses a mixture of colors and the main giveaway is the word "California."

If you wear this jacket to a Giants game, you are a disgrace to to not just the team, but the fans who purchase the real stuff.

Below is the REAL Giants jacket made by Majestic. The newest jacket is a modified material that is actually lighter, but warmer. While the Giants Dugout sells them for nearly $130.00, you can go to Amazon and purchase it direct from the manufacturer for only $109.99 and you get free shipping too. To view item, click here.

Lastly, thanks to Phil Bronstein and his staff (including Eve) at the San Francisco Chronicle for contacting San Francisco Muni to find an answer on my previous blog posting about Muni not accepting transfer coupons for the return trip from AT&T park. Lets see if Muni and Giants management will accept it at the Giants' next homestand starting July 18, 2008 with Crazy Crab day (rehab the crab!).

See story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?&entry_id=28045

It is unbelieveable that a little blog by one person can change official policy on a public agency.

Why don't they take the MUNI to BART discount?

2008-07-09T01:56:00.000-07:00

I'm a little frustrated at San Francisco Muni for refusing to accept the "Muni to BART" ticket coupon when pre-purchasing Muni fare for the return trip home at AT&T Park.

The discount coupon is issued at all San Francisco BART stations and gives a 25 cent discount when riding Muni away from the station and a 25 cent discount when returning on a Muni vehicle going to a BART station within 24 hours of the coupon being issued.

I'm a fair weather fan at AT&T Park and I go to at least six to ten games during the summer, typically Friday night games and I try to get the best games, like against the Dodgers.

Since I don't trust taking Muni from one end of the city to the other at night (the 38 SUCKS at night), I park my car at BART Daly City and ride BART to Montgomery, recieve a transfer coupon for Muni Metro, pay $1.25 (includes the 25 cent discount), and get an open seat on the next metro train to AT&T Park.

When I try to return, I am instructed to purchase a transfer before boarding. It turns out that the vendors who sell the pre-paid transfers refuse to accept the transfer coupon for the quarter discount. When I questioned the employee, he didn't know why or why not, but encouarged me to ask Muni for some information and pass it along to him the next time I see him.

What the hell is Muni's problem with refusing to accept the coupon for the return trip to the BART station? They offer the 25 cent discount each way when you exit BART at Embarcadero, but experience tells me that if you try boarding Muni metro at Embarcadero on game day, you will be standing on a PACKED train. That's why I get off BART and transfer at Montgomery because I can get a seat.

WTF do I have to do to get my discount? Go the 30 Stockton bus stop, pay the discounted fare, get a transfer, and immeidately leave the bus so I can ride the metro with a 25 cent savings?

Hey Muni officials: It is time to change your policy and accept the discount coupon for the return trip home. Stop trying to RIP US OFF. I know that Muni is piss broke, but that doesn't mean that you dishonor your agreement with the citizens who use the system.

Ballpark Security is Slow and Dumb - AT&T Park SF Giants

2008-07-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo I took today of the line to get through security at AT&T Park.

They now have a new policy that if you want to bring in liquid beverages into the stadium, it must have the original manufacturers' seal on the bottle. What this means is that you cannot bring in any open bottles (say you are drinking some water while waiting in the long stupid line), and you can't bring in any more of those nice inexpensive ice cold coffee drinks from McDonald's and Starbucks.

Just how lame is security?
Let's see... in this photo, there are only FOUR people screening the main entrance gate at AT&T Park. And there's a huge line forming.

Just how STUPID is security?
In line, I noticed a lady had a half consumed open bottle of water in the bag. The security person would not let her through, and this guy behind me said "it's just water." I said to the guy "yeah, it's just water, you wonder why this policy is bullshit." Then I find later that a kid sneaked in a McDonald's drink, and was sitting about ten feet away from my row.

An anonymous poster in an article by the SF Examiner on the crackdown of teenage drinking at the ballpark states that:

"I am a security guard for the San Francisco Giants... We definitely could use more staff. Most fans arrive 35 [minutes] before game time. We literally have about 20,000 fans entering per gate with roughly 6 under paid guards checking bags. I could never understand the politics behind this. The San Francisco Giants are ranked the second best customer service and internal shop scores in the MLB league. We are also one of the lowest paid security departments in the MLB. The Giants organizations are very irresponsible..."

The Giants claim in an e-mailed response that I questioned them about their unsealed drink policy:

"The San Fancisco (YEAH... GREAT TYPO GIANTS REP. I work in a city called "Fancisco") Giants in cooperation with the City of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Police Department are attempting to mitigate underage consumption of alcoholic beverages in AT&T Park on Friday and Saturday nights. Most of the alcohol being smuggled into the ballpark from outside is vodka or grain alcohol in water bottles and rum in plastic Coca Cola bottles. Judging from last night's game and the huge amounts of alcohol we confiscated at the gates, and the large number of underage drinking citations given by undercover alcohol enforcement agents and SFPD inside and outside the ballpark, I believe our efforts were quite successful."

Just out of curiosity to the Giants/AT&T Park management, did you really confiscate "huge amounts of alcohol?" Or was it just simply a lot of unsealed bottles of soda, water, and juice?

Here's what I think:

Park management is trying to rake in more money from concessions. Now, you can't buy that meal that comes with a drink at McDonald's, you can't have your nice Starbucks coffee on that cold night at the park, and why don't you just sniff the bottle and determine IT AINT ALCOHOL!
The Giants management claims in an e-mail reply: "AT&T Park remains one of a minority of Major League ballparks that allow guests to bring in their own food and non-alcoholic beverages." Sorry, I don't believe you. All local Bay Area stadiums permit food and non-alcoholic drinks.
WTF is this? An airport with TSA agents? The park security used to just look in your bag, and if you don't have a gun, soda can, or a glass bottle, you just go through. They would usually just feel the bag for any glass or cans. And even then, they should just look in the bag for a few seconds and let you pass through. Now it takes like ten seconds. Multiply that by 20,000+ fans, and you'll be ticked.
It's just a great way to PISS OFF THE FANS. Just how much longer do we have to give up our basic rights to these ballpark assholes? So I have an open bottle, it's no problem, and let me in. What do I have to do, show my Alcoholics Anonymous completion certificate to prove I don't drink?
I don't have a glass bottle that I can use as a weapon, I don't have a can that can be used as a weapon (really?). Shit, then they'll claim that a plastic bottle can be used as a weapon. Let me melt it with a lighter and make a sharp edge. Somehow folks in prison can sharpen a plastic toothbrush handle into a shiv.

It's Never On Time - San Francisco Muni

2008-07-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this happened today. I was less than an hour away from leaving work and I noticed on NextBus (a GPS enabled program that monitors all bus lines to give real-time predictions for every stop) said that the next bus was to arrive in 60 minutes.

Sixty minutes? Really? The bus line runs on 20 minute intervals.

So I called San Francisco 311 for some information and the lady told me that THREE of the buses on the line were put out of service. The ride home was crowded.

Yeah... great job Muni.

My 100th Posting & Was Featured on SFist

2008-07-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this is my 100th posting on my blog since I started just a couple of years ago. I bailed on the website concept and started blogging because it was easier to update and manage.

Just to make things a little sweeter, I was also featured today on San Francisco's most popular news blog site, SFist (the blog sister of Jen Chung's original creation known as Gothamist). They featured my previous posting about my creative slogans I've made about local San Francisco Bay Area cities and people on SFist posted their ideas of other slogans.

It's odd they would title it: "We Know You Can Kick Akit's Ass" but I give them credit for saying that I'm a "local fave." I don't even really know who reads this blog site! Please comment so I know who is frequently (or even infrequently) reading my "complaint" material.

My favorite quote I found from SFist about my fun list:

Daly City: "It's only foggy due to the large per capita ownership of rice cookers per person." Thanks SFist member Dick Powell.

I love SFist! The articles/postings is always interesting to read, and commenting on the stories is always fun. I especially loved the articles targeting ex-supervisor Ed Jew ("Oh No, Ed Jew!").

Thank you SFist! Because of you guys, I received 333 hits in just one day. This is the biggest record in one day's worth of visits to my site. Ever since February 2007, I've recieved 13,037 visits.

My List of City Slogans of the San Francisco Bay Area

2008-07-01T03:46:00.000-07:00

The Chronicle did a funny article about odd slogans that is used around the SF Bay Area. For example, San Francisco: "The city that knows how."

So here's my list of local Bay Area cities. If you don't understand what it means, you don't read the news or live in the Bay Area:

San Francisco: ""Home" of disgraced ex-supervisor Ed Jew."
San Francisco: "Muni sucks."
San Francisco: "Blaming problems on the Mayor on a daily basis."
San Francisco: "We've got bums."
San Francisco: "Locals hate tourists. Get off the Cable Car and don't visit Pier 39."
Berkeley: "Smokin' weed and the know it all Cal students sleeping in trees."
Burlingame: "That's our international airport! Why did San Francisco claim it?"
Oakland: "Who the hell is Mayor Ron Dellums?"
Oakland: "Birthplace of Kaiser Permanente, damn that's creepy."
San Jose: "Kickin' San Francisco's butt on a daily basis."
San Jose: "Home of silicone valleys... we do boob jobs instead of making computer chips these days."
Daly City: "We still use plastic bags and styrofoam boxes."
Daly City: "Lower sales tax rate and we've got TARGET!"
Sausalito: "Small town, expensive toll bridge nearby."
Milpitas: "Outlet shopping galore."
Emeryville: "Sold out to IKEA."

What's Wrong with Translink? (San Francisco, Bay Area)

2008-06-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

For all you people who don't know, Translink is the program for the San Francisco Bay Area transit systems to provide one card for all transit systems. Think of it like your Visa card, it is accepted nearly everywhere and recognized by practically everyone. Translink does the same thing in the form of electronic cash, but improves it with the purchase of passes, automatic bus transfers, and other special features. Actually, if it worked perfectly, you can have multiple passes on your card. Plus, you never have to swipe the card, you simply wave the card near the sensor, or can be stuffed in a wallet or purse and you have to just get the card near it.

Just to note, the photo on the left is a little strange... The MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) has this photo available for public use, and the lady tagging/scanning the card has the red light lit and it says that the ride is denied. How embarrassing to the lady, smiling while your ride got denied. Click on the photo to zoom in.

Smart technology, right? Of course...

But then we realize just how much of a hassle it is to get this program running. It is a welcoming sight that people who ride AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit & Ferry services can use this amazing card to get around to where they need to go. Plus a nice incentive is that AC transit users received a small discount per ride or a $10 discount for a 31 day pass.

Golden Gate Transit & Ferry services give patrons an automatic discount, treating any person like they purchased a discounted ticket book. Take a look at this grid from the Golden Gate Ferry website:

ONE-WAY FERRY CASH FARES Effective July 1, 2007
Zone 2 – Sausalito	Adult	$7.10
	Senior/Disabled/Medicare/Youth (6-18)	$3.55
	Frequent Rider Ticket Book or TransLink	$3.80
Zone 3 – Larkspur	Adult	$7.10
	Senior/Disabled/Medicare/Youth (6-18)	$3.55
	Frequent Rider Ticket Book or TransLink	$4.45

OK, two agencies are working well. Haven't heard that many complaints in the news from these two agencies within the past year.

But how about the other agencies?

San Francisco Muni: Insiders are claiming that Muni should be ready to run with Translink (except Cable Cars) by July 15, 2008 after a few delays that got the attention of the Chronicle newspaper. Unfortunately, the people at Translink and the SFMTA (the authority controlling Muni) does not mention an official release date for the program. I've already e-mailed SFMTA and Translink last week and I still have not received a reply back from them. The SFMTA website mentions that Translink is still under "testing," and does not officially condone passengers to use the new program. They claim that it is not out for the public to use yet, but warns you that if you attempt to use it, to simply be prepared to have cash ready in case it does not work.

How about, if the reader works and accepts my electronic money, I should be offered a bus transfer if the reader is not working on the next vehicle I have to transfer to? There is no official message that a transfer will or will not be issued. It kinda leaves it out of the open, aye?

I'm also fortunate that I am a Commuter Check participant, and I now have the option to have my commuter checks be automatically uploaded into the Translink program. But without official notice from Muni about using the card, I don't even want to risk it. I'll stick to my token ticket book thank you very much.

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit): They claim that they don't like the idea of Translink. Maybe it is because the company that installed those new ticket gates don't like the Motorola ERG technology? In fact... Cubic, the gate manufacturers, have their own card technology and is in strong use in the Washington DC area. Even more odd is that instead of letting Translink do a test run on the new equipment, they decided to go the opposite way by creating their own RFID card program using Cubic's technology.

In the future, we may have to carry two cards; although BART officials claim that they want to get on board the Translink wagon as well.

As for the other agencies, no word on what progress is happening.

Here is some interesting things with Translink:

I noticed on my recent bus ride that the RTC discount cards that are issued to people who have a disability receive their photo ID card with the Translink chip embedded in their card. Whoever thought of doing this is a very smart person because since disabled people need to have this card while using the transit systems of the Bay Area make perfect test subjects to try this on the systems.
My university that I work for and take grad school, San Francisco State University has noted in their "Master Plan" to improve the campus is to offer a "class pass" program that encourages students, staff, and faculty to ride public transit instead of driving to the University (parking is really tough, especially the free spaces in the Park Merced area). They are proposing that they want to not just offer free rides on Muni and free BART service within San Francisco, but to EXTEND BART service to also include the Daly City BART station. When BART passengers cross the San Francisco/San Mateo county line, they get heavily penalized, then it sucks for the students because they have to back trek to the San Francisco county side on the Muni bus to get to campus. The interesting part is that while the campus plans to make a deal with the two transit agencies and offer a really cheap price for the pass (like less than $70 for at least one semester), they want to also integrate this into the Translink card program (heck, it also makes them good lab rats to test out the system too!). I say, good luck SFSU and campus President Robert Corrigan, you've got a good challenge.

My credentials:

I was a pilot tester for the second round from about 2002 to 2004. I used the older (bottom) card and it is quite beat up. The program worked great, until some driver threatened me and wanted to throw the card out of the window. Lets just say that he and his bosses got a major lashing from me and the Translink program manager for mistreating me.
The new card they issued works, but I haven't used it in a very long time. If Muni can get their act going and officially get this thing moving, I'd be proud to use the card.
I gave a lot of feedback to Translink, to the point where the customer service people knew me by first name basis only.

My goals for Translink:

Get Muni, BART and Caltrain up and going no later than the end of August. If they can meet the July 15th deadline, even better.
These three agencies needs to start to recruit testers now. I know that Muni has their equipment installed and operational on nearly all their vehicles except Cable Cars.
Get the other agencies up and running not by the year 2010, but at at least sometime in 2009.
SFSU (San Francisco State University) should push for the Translink with "class pass" program now. Students cannot take advantage of the Commuter Check Program, but as a staff member, I have that privilege to save money because it is automatically deducted from my paycheck, and it is pre-taxed funds.

Comments are welcome!
Post at: http://www.akit.org/2008/06/whats-wrong-with-translink-san.html

COSTCO BARGAIN ALERT: $49.99 Dirty Harry Ultimate Collectors Edition

2008-06-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Being a proud San Franciscan, I had to get the new Dirty Harry DVD collection with all the Dirty Harry flicks, and it comes with some cool extra items like a map, a fake badge, and other goodies.

I remember seeing this in the Best Buy ad for $59.99, their sale price. The actual retail price for the item is $74.99, but its release today had a great bargain at Costco.

Costco's deal price: $49.99, ten bucks less than the sale price at Best Buy.

What a deal!

AT&T Park (SF Giants) - America's Ripoff Joint

2008-05-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

I love AT&T Park (aka: Pacific Bell Park, Pac Bell Park, SBC Park, and Telephone Park) because it is a beautiful stadium to watch games. Even sitting at the upper deck gets you great views of the park, the views of the water and East Bay, and doesn't require you to use binoculars to view the game.

But have you noticed that we are getting really ripped off? Like real badly...

Here's a list of things I think is terrible about the ballpark:

Outrageous prices on tickets. They offer three levels of prices:

Cheapest tickets are for games on Monday-Thursday.
"Weekend" tickets are for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games.
"Premium" games are always against the Dodgers, New York teams, and some A's games.

Then, the tickets for certain sections go for outrageous prices. Want the crappiest seats in the park? Go for the centerfield bleachers. Worst upper deck seats are the last five sections in left field. They sell for cheap, but who the hell can watch a game in those seats?

The best seats, therefore the most expensive seats are in the "Lexus" dugout seats, equipped with padded seats, and you are so close to the home plate.

Just how much for face value? It cost me about $125. This does not include any additional fees.
The best seats for A's tickets is no more than $90. The cheapest seats for the A's is just $9! Come on AT&T Park.

And how about those ticket fees? They try to nickel and dime you for every time you buy a ticket. If you purchase at a Giants Dougout location (except the ballpark location) or any tickets.com outlet, you get charged a 17% FEE. What the hell is this?

The best time to buy tickets is when you visit the Dugout store at the ballpark or the advance ticket window. They have a much lower service fee.

Here's an interesting fact, San Francisco Muni wanted to get a little more money to provide service to the ballpark. They wanted to propose an additional tax on game ticket fees. Hell no.

To add insult to injury, Muni DOES NOT ACCEPT BART-TO-MUNI transfers when purchasing your ticket to return from the ballpark to BART. What little bitches! I get a 25 cent discount, and I WANT IT!

And how about the food?

These guys rip you off so badly. I can easily spend $25 at a ballpark for a half-assed meal. For that money, I can go across the street at Amici's and get myself a large New England Clam Pizza with a soda and possibly some pesto pasta!

Why half-assed food? Here's something. I ordered a clam chowder in a bread bowl, and while the soup was OK, the damn bread was STALE! So dry, that the bread bowl soaked in soup was dry enough to make me cough for five minutes.

And to add insult to injury...

The Giants have now BANNED ALL OPEN BEVERAGES from entering the park, including bottles that have their seal broken.

Their reply is that this is to prevent underage drinking.

My answer: It is just another way to rip us off by making us fans purchase beverages that cost nearly three times its regular price at grocery stores and other places.
Plus, I can't bring in my iced coffee drink from McDonald's

If the Giants wants to stop ripping us off with these outrageous prices, it's time for some changes.

Barry Bonds is gone, he was the star attraction, and now you are selling games with about 9,000 seats still available (this happened at last Friday's game). Also, the team is doing terrible. Reduce prices on admission tickets. Eliminate the SRO (standing room only) and use those prices to offer the hardest seats to sell (upper deck left field).
Lower food prices. It should not cost $4.00 for a Churro (Costco is only $1), and no little hot dog costs $4.50.
Cut back on some of these bogus "park safety" rules. Open bottles are OK, as long as it is not beer or liquor. Why not have the staff sniff the liquid? Alcohol has an obvious smell.
If you love watching them on TV, write to KNTV (aka NBC 11, the second worst local TV station in San Francisco) and tell them to give it back to KTVU, the ULTIMATE KING OF BASEBALL AND NEWS.
It is time to follow other major league parks and offer ALL YOU CAN EAT plans. Our neighbors, the Oakland A's have nosebleed top deck seats with all you can eat food and drink, like hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, sodas, and ice cream. All for the starting price of $35 a ticket. AT&T Park management should use the upper deck left field seats (crappiest in park), and use them for all you can eat plans for a fair price. You'll get a great attendance boost, and with a good choice of food, will be extremely popular.

Well, there's my thoughts. Thanks for reading. If you have any comments on this, please post them on my blog site at: http://www.akit.org/2008/05/at-park-sf-giants-americas-ripoff-joint.html

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV - xbox 360 multiplayer UNRELIABLE and SUCKS

2008-05-03T03:02:00.001-07:00

Did you go and buy Grand Theft Auto 4 recently? I did for my xbox 360, and while the single player program is great, the MULTIPLAYER SUCKS!

Why does it suck?

First of all, it is not like the multiplayer setup operated by games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. In very rare cases, you might have some mulitplayer issues.

But in GTA IV... their multiplayer setup is absolutely unreliable. Sometimes you hear voices in your headset, and then you get kicked-off for no apparent reason and sent back to single player. The GTA program should have its own separate multiplayer area instead of being forced to go through single player and log-into the system every time you want to play online. With the loading time so long, it's just frustrating.

Odds of getting a multiplayer game on GTA IV: 1 in 10 (10 percent (or even lower) chance)
Odds of getting a multiplayer game on Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4: 1 in 1 (100% chance)

Second, when you are lucky to even get into the multiplayer system, there are SO FEW players playing at all. The system does not pack rooms to the maximum capacity of 16 people. Instead, you are more than likely playing with no more than six people at a time, which makes the game much less fun and less challenging. In many of my cases, I get sent to the game lobby where I am the ONLY PERSON waiting for more players and setting-up the game.

HERE'S A TIP FOR THOSE FOLKS AT ROCKSTAR GAMES: FIX THE DAMN SYSTEM! Why not just rewrite the entire multiplayer system to mimic what Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 does? You'll find that by having a separate multiplayer menu that does not force you back into single player mode when the game is over or when you get kicked by accident, you'll have much more happy fans.

Right now, I'm not happy.

Do you agree? Post a comment on my blog at http://www.akit.org/2008/05/grand-theft-auto-gta-iv-xbox-360.html

Getting the Most Rewards out of Buying Stuff

2008-04-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

I enjoy shopping for some cool things, especially video games and some expensive stuff. As always, gasoline prices are not going to go down to $1.50 a gallon anytime soon, so maybe its time to get a little payback for what you buy.

Many of you may have a rewards credit card that usually gives you about 1% of your purchases, back; but how about if I can get you a better return rate on your purchases?

Here's my list of tips on what to do to get back even more money, sometimes up to 5% back.

Talking about gasoline prices, there are a few gas stations that have "cash only" options for slightly less than credit only. But in about 85% of cases, the gas station you visit does not really care which way you pay, as long as they get their money and you got gas in your tank. Here's how you can get back more.

First of all, always use your credit card with a rewards program. If you pay in cash all the time, you get ZERO PERCENT BACK. Remember that by using a credit card, you do not pay interest if you pay the entire amount back when your next bill comes along.

Most rewards cards are 1%, but here's one that can get you 3% or even 5% if you have a business. I use the Costco American Express card and it provides me 3% back at all gas stations, including Costco gas, where it is relatively cheap. 5% is for any business member that gets a business American Express card. Do your research, you might find a better return if you get the right card.
I spend about $1,000 a year on gas, so 3% back is $30 of fun money I can spend on something else... say more gas. As for my folks, I don't know why they use a gas station credit card, they can only use it at one brand of gasoline, and the REFUSE to fill-up at another gas station that's cheaper. Sheesh, did you know that San Francisco's gasoline only comes from two refineries?

How about shopping online? Here's how you can kill three birds with one stone, and it only takes a little bit of extra effort to do. Here's the steps:

First of all, get a free membership with Mileage Plus on United Airlines and once you get your registration done, go to the "earn miles" section and you find the Mileage Plus Online mall. There, you can go shop at many of your favorite online stores, including places like Best Buy and Barnes and Noble.
Second, make sure to charge your purchase to a rewards credit card.
Third, make sure you are registered for that store's loyalty program.

Now, it's time to use all three. I'll give a perfect example, let's use Best Buy!

The United Airlines Mileage Plus online shopping mall offers Best Buy, where you get one mile for every two dollars you spend. You click on the link to enter Best Buy, go shopping and pick what you want, choose for your item to be shipped or express pick-up, charge it to your rewards card, and register your "Best Buy Reward Zone" loyalty membership to your purchase (Every $250 gets you $5).

Lets do the return rate math:

United miles earned: 0.50% return rate
Rewards credit card: 1% (or possibly more)
Best Buy loyalty membership: 2%
TOTAL: 3.5% return rate.

So... think creatively! You can get back more than you think you can.

Most Annoying Pet Peeve - Car Taillights

2008-04-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

I think that one of the most annoying things I can think of is when I drive and the person in front of me has one of their taillights burned out.

OK... more annoying is when two of them are burned out and there's only this little one that's about half the length of your hand. Sometimes, it's so hard to see that light, you have to give yourself extra room or just move to the next lane.

I operate an old 1991 car, but when the lights burn out, at least I get a little signal on my dashboard that alerts me to a burned out light. I wonder why not all cars have this little nifty feature? When it tells you to do it, just run down to your local car parts dealer and replace it yourself.

Or simply pay five times the amount and let the folks at Jiffy Lube do it.

Disappointed United P.S. Premium Service Flight - JFK to SFO 3/29/08 Flight 893

2008-03-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

I was especially disappointed with United Airlines' "Premium Service" return flight from JFK New York to San Francisco (flight 893 on 3/29/08). My flight to New York was great (flight 6 on 3/22/08) because it had all the bells and whistles that I expected, but my return flight was a total nightmare.

I paid 45,000 frequent flier miles to do this vacation in business class, and here's what you get on a flight on United Airlines on their "Premium Service" flights to/from New York JFK and SFO/LAX:

Leather reclining seats with foot rest
Premium quality food with champagne, includes at least three entree items and a snack.
Personal entertainment player that works like an iPod with on demand games, movies, tv shows, and more.
Adapter-free electrical plug to power-up your computer, iPod, etc.
Basically, it's like riding international business, but you get the extra perks.

Here's some photos I took of my flight from SFO to JFK on the Premium Service plane:

How do you like the fact that the special United P.S. plane (Boeing 757) was changed to a Boeing 767 international configuration?

We get this announcement about ten minutes prior to boarding flight 893 on 3/29/08. Then the lady on the PA system says that you don't get all the perks. Damn.

Here's a list of what I lost due to this plane change:

I got a reclining seat with footrest, but it was not leather.
I requested for a seat in the front row of business, which gives extra leg room. I lost it and had to sit in the second row.
The electrical outlet required an "EM Power" plug. I nearly drained my iPod dead because of this. I could not watch videos on my iPod since it eats my battery quickly,
No personal multimedia player. I got that stupid pop-out video player that showed videos on a loop. In two hours, you see the same TV episode. Also looked like it was VHS quality with the static lines.

I'd have to say, First Class passengers would be really pissed off. The Premium Service planes comes with those flat sleeper seats, but all they got was a reclining seat instead. What kind of bullshit is that?

Oh yeah, even worse: The plane took-off 30 minutes late. Two lightbulbs were burned out and the tap water system in the rear of the plane was not working. Whoopie.

Here's some interesting news, while my experience was bad, reading the summary of flights from JFK to SFO on 3/29/08, flight 17 was supposed to leave at 5:35PM but left at 7:04PM due to "ramp service."

Come on United. I expected better. 45,000 air miles is a lot to pay for a nice seat and top notch premium service. How about some compensation for this expensive flight?

Costco ALERT: GPS Magellan 4250 only $249.99

2008-03-17T16:58:00.001-07:00

If you love Costco and need a GPS, this week is the time to go shopping at your local location or go on their website: Costco.com.

They are selling two Magellan brand GPS products on sale. Their smaller one is only $149.99 and their original price is usually $199.99.

But the mega bargain this week is their Magellan 4250 (see picture below), which is getting some great marks from professional product reviewers like CNET.

I was checking on Google Product Search and the average price for the 4250 is about $300 to $500, but Costco right now is offering it for ONLY $249.99.

I got one today at my local Costco, and let me tell you, they were selling these things like hot cakes. I had to get into the wherehouse right at 11AM and purchase it quickly. Don't forget to bring your $100 off coupon. Some locations even have the coupons at the register for people who forget.

This is one hell of a treasure! I guess the Costco G.M. is right, you'll always find a treasure.

Get it NOW! Click here for the direct link to purchase it online.

Lastly, notice the photo on the top of this blog post? I was chomping down on a chicken bake and noticed that they removed the gold star membership price from their wall. Maybe they are trying to get people to just join as an Executive Member, but it might backfire if people unfamiliar with Costco get a membership and realize that $100 is way too expensive. But they still offer gold star for only $50.

Tons of Free Stuff on your Birthday - A Guide

2008-03-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

I find when my birthday comes around, a lot of places do some great things to attract you to their business to give you free things.

Here's a list of places I know about that gives you free things.

Hard Rock Cafe - You need to get membership through the "All Access" program for about $25. When you first buy your membership, you get $20 in food/gift credit on your card, you also get free gifts, and you get "front of the line" seating when the restaurant is busy (in some popular places, it means saving almost 30 minutes). The membership card pays for itself during the week of your birthday when they deposit $10 on your account and the funds last up to three weeks past your birthday. Since the membership fee is a one time fee of $25, using the card for one year pays dividends. To get membership, just go to your local Hard Rock and purchase it at the store. BIG TIP: THEY DON'T E-MAIL YOU ABOUT THIS BIRTHDAY OFFER ANYMORE. BUT NOW THAT I TOLD YOU, WHY NOT GET MEMBERSHIP?

Eat there on your birthday and also get a free dessert!

Go to the one in SAN FRANCISCO. Show your AAA card at the California Welcome Center at Pier 39 and get two hours of free parking too! The Cafe also offers 1 hour before 6PM and 2 hours free after 6.

http://www.hardrock.com
Learn about membership here: http://www.hardrock.com/all-access/default2.asp

Red Robin restaurants - By joining Red Robin's e-club, you get monthly e-mails about their new burgers and other stuff. However, a week before your birthday, they give you a printable coupon to visit their restaurant and get yourself ANY gourmet burger of your choice for FREE. They don't really care what burger you get, so go for the most expensive one. I asked them to add bacon on it and told them I would pay the extra charge, but instead, they comped me.

Also, if you visit them on your birthday, they give you a free dessert.

http://www.redrobin.com
Register for the club here: http://apps.fishbowl.com/a/redrobin/join/agegate.asp

Baskin Robbins ice cream - Their birthday club used to be for kids, but is now expanded to any person. You can register on their website and you get a coupon the week of your birthday for a free scoop of ice cream of your choice. The coupon is good from the week of your birthday until one week after your birthday.

Chevy's and Olive Garden - Both of these restaurants give you a free dessert and a happy birthday chant from the staff when you eat their on your birthday.

Todai Japanese Seafood Buffet - (NOTE: Not a nationwide chain restaurant. Mostly found on west coast, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and in some Asian countries) I really enjoy Todai's variety of Japanese food, including all the sushi you can chomp on. If it's your birthday, bring a couple of paying guests with you and your meal is FREE. Lunch or dinner, they don't care, but rumor has it that they give out lobster tails for dinner to all guests.

http://www.todai.com

Moonstar Upscale Seafood Buffet - (NOTE: There are only two locations - San Francisco and Daly City) this buffet is king in the San Francisco Bay Area with tons of Asian food goodies to go around. Their requirements for a free meal is kinda stiff, but if you can bring along with you six or more paying customers, your meal is free. You also receive a birthday cake and a photo of you (maybe eating crab?).

Read more about their special offers at: http://www.moonstarbuffet.com/special.html

Well folks, that's the list of things you can surely fill your stomach with. If you have any tips, feel free to drop a line in the comments section!

Restaurants and San Francisco Universal Healthcare

2008-02-22T02:10:00.000-08:00

I really think the City and County of San Francisco needs to keep the "universal healthcare" plan, as paying for medical insurance can at least be about $150 to $250 a month for most healthy adults through an HMO program.

Most employees who work in grocery stores, or just gain a simple wage without any benefits really need something to maintain their health. How would you like the fact that if someone was sick and contagious, and could not go to the doctor or SF General Hospital, would you eat the food at the restaurant?

And we look at the Golden Gate Restaurant Association protesting this universal healthcare idea! They claim it will ruin businesses and many will fold due to this. With the money that the OWNERS (not employees) make, the owners can sure pay for their own health insurance, but does not want to give the hourly employees who is the backbone of the establishment basic healthcare needs. Like I just mentioned earlier, would you like some TB or Influenza in your dinner tonight?

So here's how some restaurants are trying to protest it: They put right on their menu that they will add an additional 15% surcharge to the bill. Sure, the association is pissed off and wants to protest this way, but how about the customers that go in there? I feel if they look at this notice, they would get right out of their chair at the establishment and walk across the street to the fast food joint serving the same fried chicken you were going to pay 15% more (and possibly an extra 5 bucks for the "special" "free range" shit).

Instead of moaning and groaning, and putting it to a lawsuit with expensive lawyers (which I assume the association members share the cost, thus each restaurant spends even more expenses), just do it the easy way!

Here's my solution: Just raise the price of the meals to cover the healthcare coverage the City of San Francisco requires. 15% added to a $7 meal is only $8.05.

OR WHY NOT JUST MAKE THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION DO A GROUP MEDICAL INSURANCE PLAN? Hell, many large corporations and government agencies do this! You might get a cheaper rate than the 15%.

The other alternative to not being ripped off is: Go eat and shop in Daly City! They don't require the insurance rule, and their sales tax rate is 0.25% less than San Francisco's 8.5%. PLUS, YOU CAN GET PLASTIC BAGS AND STYROFOAM TAKE OUT BOXES! (Thanks Supervisor Ross for a odd balled law, where I can still get styrofoam and plastic bags at my local San Francisco "Smart & Final."

San Francisco Government Broke? Take a pay cut city officials!

2008-02-08T00:43:00.000-08:00

As many San Franciscans know, our city government is not doing so great after learning there is a budget shortfall, and it looks like a lot of our city paid services is going to get a nasty cut in funding that will always attack something important, the lower paid employees of those services.

But when you think about this, if for example, the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) takes a 10% cut in city funding to operate, who would you think they would let go? It won't be the administrative or high ranking manager positions, it seems easy for the people in power to cut out the easy people, the hard working wage donkeys that makes about $10 to $15 an hour (not including benefits).

Instead of letting go of the people that make lower salaries, why not chip off the high paid officials, such as elected officials of the Board of Supervisors or the high paid administrative level folks like Police Chief Heather Fong? Why does our tax money fund such HUGE salaries in this city? $100,000 a year salary is plenty to support at least a couple of families who are middle class.

Here's another thing that will piss you off. Why does the Board of Supervisors have the ability to vote for a raise in salary? Most of us have to meet with our supervisor to ask for a raise, all you have to do is just get a damn majority of your own peers. And in the name of greed, I don't think anyone would say "nay." I think it's best to do it the other way: Let the VOTERS vote to elect if the Board of Supervisors deserve a pay raise. If the Supervisor's performance sucks, then NO RAISE.

My solution: Every San Francisco government employee and elected official that makes more than $80,000 a year must take a MINIMUM 10% PAY CUT.

Maybe all the money they collect from kicking that out of their salaries can be infused in a helpful program like FIXING MUNI. Take a pay cut, go scrap your $50,000 luxury cars and use that pay cut money to fix Muni and take the fucking bus like us wage donkeys do on a daily basis.

Or do it the other way, become like ex-supervisor Ed Jew and extort tapioca drink shops.

Learn to PARK YOUR CAR! Space Hog!

2008-01-27T16:02:00.001-08:00

On my block, parking on the street is not too challenging, but I hate it when my neighbors pull this crap (see photo above).

You S.O.B. parking space hog! If this car parked correctly by moving his/her vehicle up to the end of the curb about six to ten feet ahead of it, then someone else can fit their car behind there. Or... back-up your car about four feet in front of the white Mini Cooper so that someone can park their car in front of you. The Cooper has plenty of room to get out because of the driveway of the blue house.

JUST BECAUSE OF THIS, I HAD TO PARK MY CAR FAR AWAY. BASTARD.

Another Bad Parked Vehicle: CA 5FIE030

2008-01-20T01:03:00.001-08:00

Here's another example of a parking space hog. San Francisco Japantown parking lot at about 1:00PM on January 19, 2008.

California license plate number: 5FIE030

If you know who this is, please send my regards by "keying" the car. Sure can use a paintjob.

Misleading Costco Coupon - 20th Century Fox DVDs

2008-01-18T19:52:00.001-08:00

Looking at this coupon on the left, what does this tell you?

This Costco coupon looks to me like I can purchase ANY 20th Century Fox DVD, as long as the program on the DVD has been on television.

WRONG!
Scroll down to read why...

Keep going...

The Costco coupon is actually misleading. There are three item code numbers, but there are four DVDs displayed, meaning that these codes can't really apply to the four displayed DVDs, and also supports that it is legit to any 20th Century Fox DVD.

Actually, it only qualifies to the DVDs that matches the three item code numbers on the Costco price sticker. But since the coupon has three DVD titles, are they they eligible? I don't know.

Nevertheless, I wasn't happy when the guy at the register rejected this, and I also spoke to the manager that this coupon is misleading. I drove over ten miles to that location to purchase something that the coupon is rejected? I wanted to buy the Family Guy "Blue Harvest" Star Wars spoof, but I went home with nothing.

COSTCO SHOULD HAVE:

Listed all ELIGIBLE DVDs ON THE COUPON.
Clearly mark that the items are only legit to the codes on the coupon and item.
Should have put their advertising price sign on the eligible items. Not all items at the El Camino Costco had their price with the coupon discount displayed. I noticed this when an eligible coupon for this week didn't show-up on the product's display.

I wonder how many other unhappy customers walked in and realized that their favorite 20th Century Fox DVDs like the Simpson's and Family Guy was going to be turned away at the register with a coupon that didn't tell the whole truth about their advertising?

I was almost ready to demand my membership fees back from Costco that day.

Anyone got an opinion about the interpretation of the coupon? Just post a comment!

Bad Driver - CA License Plate 4LLM210

2008-01-18T19:47:00.001-08:00

If you are the owner of the license plate 4LLM210, where the f--- did you learn to drive?

Caught driver swerving between two lanes to get in front of vehicles and didn't use turn signals.

Location: San Francisco, CA; Great Highway (southbound) on the stretch between Lincoln and Sloat.

Someone doesn't need to slap you, but needs to spank you with a paddle.

KRON 4 is DEAD!

2008-01-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

KRON channel 4 in San Francisco is being put up to sale! I knew it! The station has always sucked since they lost their NBC affiliation.

I always knew that these factors caused their death:

VJ style news (don't use spell check and can't even get Snoop Dogg's face in the camera).
Jan Whal's hats suck
What the hell is "My Network TV?" It's just a network still running on meth.
Henry's garden? What kind of shit is this?
Rob Black? Financial loser.
Dr. Phil, a bullshit doctor.

So, when is the funeral? Call the morgue!

Read articles here: SFist and SFgate (Chronicle)