themselves. they really took to it. the museum reached out to me to see if i would be interested in my own space inside the museum. i tell them that would be a dream come true. it is the classical, beautiful indian mythology through the lens of modern design and illustration and storytelling. they're all of these great sketch as i did for the maharajah exhibition. i get a lot of feedback on my artwork and books. they complement. they say how original the work is. i am the first person to say that this is so derived from all of this great artwork and storytelling of the past. the research i put into all of my books and work is a product of how we do things that a-- at pixar.

sometimes you will see him depicted monkey-like or as superman. i wanted to honor his monkey coloring. i decided to paint him white with a darker face. it is nice to breathe new life into it in a way that is reverent and honors the past but also lets them breathe and have fun. it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia. they decorate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did

in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> you probably think you know all about the exploratorium. but have you ever been after dark? did you know there was a monthly party called after dark? science mixes with culture and adults mix with other adults.

no kids allowed. every week there is a different theme. to tell us about the themes is melissa alexander. tell us about some of the previous themes we have had. >> we have had sex ploration, sugar, red, blue. many things. >> what is the theme tonight? >> rock, paper, scissors. we are having a tournament tonight, but we have also used as a jumping off point to explore lots of different ideas. you can find out about rock, paper, scissors as a game as a reproductive strategy. you can interact with a piece of art created by lucky dragon. you can get your hair cut from a cool place called the public barber's salon. they use scissors only.

you can find out about local geology, too. >> that sounds like fun. let's check it out. >> this is the most common rock on the surface of the earth. interesting thing is, most of this rock is covered over by the ocean. >> error congested a cool presentation on plate tectonics. tell us about what we just saw. >> we wrapped up a section of a lesson on a plate tectonics, here at the exploratory and -- exploritorium. >> are you excited to see people here having fun and learning about science? >> the people that come here are some selected to begin with, they actually enjoy science. i teach teachers to have fun with their kids.

the general public is a great audience, too. they're interested in science. >> we have a blast every time. they have different names. >> they have a bar and a cafe. everything i need. we are excited for the speaker. >> it is nice to be in the exploratorium when there are not a lot of kids around. >> before tonight, i never knew there were major league rules to rock, paper, scissors. i am getting ready to enter into a competition. sarah's here to give me some tips. what do i need to do to win it? >> this is a game of chance, to a degree. one of the best ways to bring it home is a degree of intimidation, maybe some eye contact, maybe some muscle. it is a no contact sport. sheer i contact is a good way to maybe intimidate to see if you can set them off, see if

they throw something they did not mean to. >> i am going to see what happens. >> i got kicked out in the first round. [applause] >> given up for sunni. the rock, paper, scissors champion. >> what are you going to do now? >> i have been having so much fun. i got my tattoo. before we go, i want to thank melissa alexander for having us here tonight. how did you know san francisco needed a night like tonight? >> thank you for coming. everybody loves the exploratorium. we are reluctant to push the kids out of the way in the day, so i knew we needed to create one evening a month just for the rest of us to have a good time, the adults.

>> absolutely. where can we find out what is coming up after dark? >> that is easy, exploratorium .edu/afterdark. >> thank you. thanks for watching

[roll call] >> you have a quorum. please be devised that the use of telephones, pagers, or similar sound-producing devices are verboten in this meeting. approval of the minutes of the january 17, 2012 regular meeting.

the motion is adopted. any comments? all those in favor? item five, communications. there will be no closed session today. introduction of new or unfinished business by board members. >> when are we scheduled for another safety update? do we have one coming soon? can we get that on the calendar to get an update on what as a going on? >> i don't know the answer to that, i have a brief highlight to give you. but we will come back at some point soon, i think there is an outcome from the pedestrian safety task force.

within a month or so, it might be a good time to report out front. >> item 7, the safety directors report. >> the afternoon acting chair person, as members of the public and staff. we are happy to be starting out as we always do the first meeting of the month with employees special recognition awards. this time we are going to start out with the transit division, recognizing some folks that participated in an event that you will no doubt heard about or impacted by, really acted heroically. back on january 18 about 6:00

a.m., the gentleman from out of town to a couple of unfortunate wrong turns and found themselves heading into the portal. made it very far down the tunnel, about halfway to the station if you can imagine, the police are continuing their investigation of what he was up to and what will be his fate. he got far enough down the portal that he crossed over the main line so it shut down service in the entire subway system. fortunately, for us, we had one of the inspectors there at that time, known as tj. i can start asking folks to make their way to the microphone so they can be recognized.

he reacted quickly, called the control center to get all of the system's got, recognizing the hazard and quite likely prevented what could have been a much more significant and catastrophic incident that could have not only damaged the system, but impacted people's lives. his quick thinking started the ball rolling and in 15 minutes, mike and his team formed an emergency response units and were on the scene to address the problem. they needed to put lrv into use to help move the vehicles, had a determined pulling in all the way out of the tunnel would take too much time. they were basically able to move it into a pocket in the tunnel

and got service restored within 2.5 hours of the incident. if you can appreciate the magnitude of the work they had to do, the damage that was done by this gentleman to get service back in that kind of environment is phenomenal. i want to a knowledge the work of the crew here. we also have robert alonzo, manuel enriques, [reading names] i think we should all give them a big hand. [applause] >> mr. haley. >> words would not do justice,

both to this incident and to the daily occurrences. this is tyrone julian, the inspector that acted quickly and decisively. he prevented a varery serious situation, his actions allow us to freeze the railroad at a time that trains were within 30 seconds of where this criminal drove his car down through this. tj, this is john randy katenich, who will speak for the group. their extraordinary creativity in solving all kinds of situations you would not want to get into a storytelling contest with any of these guys. they have toppers.

randy, who will be giving the acknowledgments for the group, the last time i saw him was last thursday afternoon somewhere in the tunnel between church and castro where he was swinawing to get some wire down. randy? >> i don't do the, um, that is for sure. with training and knowledge, i have learned a lot over the years. we have learned from each other, and thank you for acknowledging us, i really appreciate it. >> you have to speak longer. [laughter] >> i would like to say something to the board here. i could not be mo hope of you as well. >> on behalf of the board of

directors, the entire agency, and every citizen of this city, we appreciate the fast response and the hard work. you deserve a round of applause and your supervisors speak so highly of you. [applause] >> thank you. next is from our capital programs division. i will ask them to step up. he is an assistant engineer who has been working with the capital position since 2006. he is currently serving as the resident engineer. the r.e. is the man or woman on the agency's behalf managing the construction, making sure that

community issues, traffic issues, and back issues are being addressed. i know that from my time at dpw, being an r.e. in the public right-of-way can be extremely challenging. he and his operations folks tried to keep their buses going through. he was pivotal in coordinating with transit operations on this project and a number of others, including the overhead retrofit project. on the cable car project, he completed production of the safety certification documents which is not sexy stuff, but it is important and essential for us to turn our systems and back into revenue services. for that work and for the general enthusiasm and

attitude, we're happy to a knowledge him from the construction division. >> good afternoon, members of the board. once again, i am pleased to introduce another one of our young engineers. he has only been with us about five years now, but during this relatively short time, he has demonstrated his capabilities and his attitude. not only has he acted as a resident engineer on many of the important projects, he is one of the guys that coordinates the construction work to make sure that the operations are not affected and things go smoothly. throughout all of this effort, he has shown commitment to the agency. >> to the border of directors,

and my fellow colleagues, as a native of san francisco, it makes me proud the represent the city. i will continue to work diligently for this organization and our community. i would like to thank my wife and family for their constant love and support. of like to express appreciation for the continual encouragement of the staff to resolve daily issues. in particular, i would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to my colleagues. it enables us to produce a successful construction projects. >> on behalf of the board of directors and the entire agency, we appreciate your work very much. [applause]

>> in terms of employee recognition, i would like ask martha to come up to the podium. i learned a few things about martha, she has been with the agency since 1978. she doesn't look old enough to be here. she started as a very young parking control officer. she started way back and worked her way up to be the director of enforcement. she took over the residential parking permit office in 1994, and then the 1999 management of the school crossing guard program. she has increased the number of

crossing guard positions to 150. she is providing twice yearly safety trading as well as -- training as well as increasing visibility and safety. it is sometimes a very difficult job, one that is important for our children to get to school safely. the other thing i learned about martha is that she recently announced plans to retire after 34 years. there will be some big shoes to fill. in the evening that i am leaving the office, it seems that she is in there at her desk, working away. we will certainly miss her when she chooses to actually retire. we are happy to be a knowledge in her for her grade service today. does mr. yee want to say a few

words? >> good afternoon . movements like this are always vigorously. her colleagues from the program, we are very pleased to be recognizing her for a long career and her years of service, but i think we are all very sad that we will be losing the close association we have had for the last 30 years or so. it is a tough job, and i have been to a lot of community meetings. people have varying opinions, but the crossing guards are universally loved. a lot of it has to do with the attitude that the crossing guards take with them to the field. it has a lot to do with martha's inspiration and leadership.

we want to thank her and recognize her for that. she and i actually went to high school together. she was two years ahead of me, so life isn't fair. she gets to retire before i do. >> would you like to say a few words? >> i would like to thank everyone for taking the time out of their schedule to recognize me for my service to the city. it has been a pleasure and honor to work for the city. every job i have done for the city, i have done that with integrity and i am proud represent the city and county of san francisco. it is a fitting into my career because parking and traffic have come together and i see that we are really providing a service to the citizens of san francisco.

my parents lived in san francisco for 40 years prior to my coming into the world. i feel that it is my,. i am very thankful to have worked with such a wonderful group of people, not just in my crossing guard program, but throughout my career. as a senior parking control officer, i worked with jerry. i will miss everyone, i might come back as a hearing officer. thank you. >> on behalf of the agency, thank you for your service. we were lucky to have you for so long and good luck in your retirement. [applause] >> the times that we have worked

together in enforcement, it was a real pleasure working with you. she was very diligent, cared about her work, and she cared about the people that worked for her. she is one of those people that even though you go different directions, you run into each other and you have to say hi. it was an absolute pleasure working with y[applause] >> moving along, just a number of relatively small updates. director lee asked about pedestrian safety and we will come back with a full report. we activated a new traffic signal at sunset which previously had a two-way stop. this has been an area where we had a lot of