I'm not sure why this is the case, but this week's readings have been very Oakland-centric, so apologies in advance to my Facebook friends who came over expecting some awesome insights about the greater cultural universe. I don't have illusions that Oakland is at the center of that universe, but it is an awfully nice place to live.
How nice? It is now only the 9th most dangerous place to live in the U.S.! That's down from 3rd most dangerous last year, so a tip-o-the-hat to the OPD. Sad face for Saginaw, Flint and East St. Louis. I know nice people from those places, and they don't seem like criminals at all.
I also read an interesting article about how developing more housing in Oakland would be great for relieving SF rent prices (stabilize/drive them down). The article, which was an opinion piece by a real estate lawyer, also had a few suggestions for things that Oakland could do to encourage housing development, including mixed income housing, wondered why none of the mayoral candidates have a housing platform*, and pointed out that a regional housing strategy for the Bay Area would make a lot more sense than letting every municipality do their own thing. I can't link to the article because it's now behind the SF Chronicle's new paywall (I think), but those are good thoughts, aren't they?
*This is a great question, particularly given the cost of housing in Oakland, the rise in homelessness we've seen, and the economic boomlet we are experiencing that brings lower-wage workers to our town without giving them an opportunity to live near where they work.
Finally, now that Lew Wolf has been proven wrong, and the As have shown that they CAN win in Oakland, the City Council is starting to pay attention to how the Town benefits from the Team, and has signaled that it does not agree to the new lease that was negotiated. Here's an article about their "second thoughts" on the lease arrangement. The dispiriting part of the article is Wolf's continuing refusal to consider alternate Oakland locations. Hopefully he will get more friendly when/if San Jose loses against MLB.
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
House update: Raising the roof
You are seeing 2 things here. They've started on the roof, and should be done framing it by Wed. They've also built the awning between the 1st and 2nd floors. Rough plumbing and electricity start this week too but I doubt that will yield many good pictures.
Oakland Mayoral Candidates: Patrick McCullough
Let me just cut to the chase on Patrick McCullough, whose interview-serving-as-campaign-video I am too lazy* to watch. Mr. McCullough is the guy who shot a drug dealer (or kid, or both) who he claimed was making trouble on his corner. As I recall, Mr. McCullough was frustrated with police response times to his calls and the OPD failure to adequately dealing that was occurring on his street, near Bushrod Park. After a confrontation with the dealer and others, Mr. McCullough shot him. He was never charged with anything. Here's the NPR story about it.
It's too bad that this happened, because overall, Mr. McCullough is not the craziest person in this race by a long shot. And he has a platform that probably mirrors the Oakland general population's pretty closely. Less city bureaucrats, more cops. Better technology for public safety, not more. Keep DAC limited to the port. Deal with the remnants of Occupy Oakland that undermine public safety and city development. Better use of city resources coordinated with Oakland schools, including volunteers and better input from school community.
I am summarizing all this from an article I read about Mr. McCullough. Just as when he ran for city council (he lost to Jane Brunner), I think he is more thoughtful than his vigilantism suggests. Unfortunately, I think the grayness of his confrontation with Milton McHenry make his candidacy difficult to support.
*Maybe lazy is the wrong word. Maybe "I value my time too much to spend it watching a grainy phone-video for 37 minutes" is a better word.
It's too bad that this happened, because overall, Mr. McCullough is not the craziest person in this race by a long shot. And he has a platform that probably mirrors the Oakland general population's pretty closely. Less city bureaucrats, more cops. Better technology for public safety, not more. Keep DAC limited to the port. Deal with the remnants of Occupy Oakland that undermine public safety and city development. Better use of city resources coordinated with Oakland schools, including volunteers and better input from school community.
I am summarizing all this from an article I read about Mr. McCullough. Just as when he ran for city council (he lost to Jane Brunner), I think he is more thoughtful than his vigilantism suggests. Unfortunately, I think the grayness of his confrontation with Milton McHenry make his candidacy difficult to support.
*Maybe lazy is the wrong word. Maybe "I value my time too much to spend it watching a grainy phone-video for 37 minutes" is a better word.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Grand Lake Restaurant Rankings, part 2
Just a reminder, I am ranking the restaurants in my temporary neighborhood. Here's the first post. I've updated the rankings with two new additions.
1. Penrose (last time: 1). We went back Friday night, and I still think it's the best.
2. Boot and Shoe Service (last time: 2). Went there for coffee. It was too strong.
3. Neecha Thai - (last time: 3)
4. Lin Jia Asian Kitchen - This is a new contender. It's an Asian fusion place, and I thought it was very good, and I am always totally crazy about this kind of thing. The food was fresh and the flavors were really nice. I am a little conflicted about putting it above Mijori, because I love sushi so much, but this was more interesting than just regular sushi. Would definitely go back.
5. Barlago - This restaurant is not only new to us, but it is new to everyone. The same guy who owns Filippo's, where we eat religiously (in that we go every week and stay regardless of the food quality or service), just opened this place and it is MUCH better. The food is good, the waitstaff was friendly, knowledgeable and prompt and it has cocktails (a must for Mr. Scobie). The meatballs were great. The carbonara was a little salty, but that's fine with me. It also has cool barseats that face the lake. I couldn't take advantage of that but it's a great use of the space.
6. Mijori - (last time: 4)
7. Arizmendi - (last time: 5)
8. Lanesplitter - (last time: 6)
9. Gelato Firenze - (last time: 7)
10. The Star - Another new one, to me. This is a pizza place with a liquor license. The menu is too limited (it's just a couple of appetizers, a couple of paninis, and some pizzas), but the biggest problem is that the pizza crust seems pre-made and possibly factory made. It's perfectly round and flat. No real flavor. You cannot serve only pizza and not have an outstanding crust in this town.
11. Lakeshore Cafe - (last time: 8)
12. Connie's Cantina - (last time: 9) It's important that this stay in last place.
A lot of upsets on this list. Let's see what this looks like next month.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Digest 5.5
I'm not sure why this digest doesn't warrant it's own full number. Anyway.
Read two interesting articles today. The first one is called "Cool at 13, Adrift at 23," which resonates with me because I have a kid who seems very cool, and for whom begin cool and popular seems like something that motivates him. Thankfully, other things motivate him as well, and he is a funny and empathetic kid who currently loves his family. But he's only 7, so I worry about what this will look like at 13. Quick summary: Kids who strive to be popular in middle school don't really mature past that stage, and often have problems with relationships, school and drug and alcohol choices when they are young adults (when the study ends, so probably beyond). The fix for this is to keep your kids close, don't let them mature too quickly and make sure they are nerdy as hell. I am going to work hard on this.
Second article: The Food Stamps Cookbook. The gist of the article is that a woman has written a free cookbook that offers recipes that wouldn't be out of place in a Mark Bittman cookbook but uses ingredients available to SNAP (food stamp) recipients. At least in theory. The author admits that it doesn't account for the availability of ingredients (which varies by region) and cooking equipment, and "time poverty", which means that most SNAP recipients are working parents who may not have the time to prepare these meals. Summary: Being on food stamps SUX even if you have some delicious and nutritious recipes that fit within your budget.
Read two interesting articles today. The first one is called "Cool at 13, Adrift at 23," which resonates with me because I have a kid who seems very cool, and for whom begin cool and popular seems like something that motivates him. Thankfully, other things motivate him as well, and he is a funny and empathetic kid who currently loves his family. But he's only 7, so I worry about what this will look like at 13. Quick summary: Kids who strive to be popular in middle school don't really mature past that stage, and often have problems with relationships, school and drug and alcohol choices when they are young adults (when the study ends, so probably beyond). The fix for this is to keep your kids close, don't let them mature too quickly and make sure they are nerdy as hell. I am going to work hard on this.
Second article: The Food Stamps Cookbook. The gist of the article is that a woman has written a free cookbook that offers recipes that wouldn't be out of place in a Mark Bittman cookbook but uses ingredients available to SNAP (food stamp) recipients. At least in theory. The author admits that it doesn't account for the availability of ingredients (which varies by region) and cooking equipment, and "time poverty", which means that most SNAP recipients are working parents who may not have the time to prepare these meals. Summary: Being on food stamps SUX even if you have some delicious and nutritious recipes that fit within your budget.
Oakland Mayoral Candidate: Peter Y. Liu
It looks like our next candidate up to bat is Peter Y. Liu. Mr. Liu is a graduate of Oakland public schools as well as the University of California at Santa Cruz. Mr. Liu also served in the Army, where he met Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think they were just visiting, not serving with him. Mr. Liu has become wealthy in real estate, and is motivated by two things to serve Oakland as mayor: God and his child.
Here's what he has to say about why his son motivates him to run for mayor:
I am sure his spouse is just thrilled to have been called out in this way. But his son is hella cute, and would almost inspire me too. Here's what he has to say about God:
God asked me to lead people to a world of peace and prosperity in 2003. I was a low ranking soldier on the battlefield in the Middle-East with bloods on hand, a sinner. Peace.pdf At the time I didn’t comprehend the task and God has put me through trials and now the understanding is complete. World peace and prosperity can be achieved with “Community Empowered Safety Plan”.
CESP is his platform. It involves concealed carry permits (and fees, to underwrite the rest of program), heavy surveillance, community policing, and a business center to develop and support new businesses.
The first element is no-go for me, and without researching CA gun law and public opinion polls, probably no-go for a lot of other people. It would be easy to mock his heavy surveillance program if our whole city council hadn't spent the past 2 years supporting and then frantically unsupporting one of the most comprehensive surveillance programs in the country. This is also no-go for me. Community policing, I give it a thumb's up generally, but I am not sure it should be as heavily militarized as his program sounds, being mobilized "when" an emergency is declared, especially since a lot of those folks might have concealed carry weapons and tons of personal information collected by the city. And that business center? We have a Business Assistance Center, and I found them to be very helpful when I started my business.
Here's what he has to say about why his son motivates him to run for mayor:
If I am mayor, I have 4 years to make the Oakland public schools safer and raise the education standards. Spouse always nagging me to buy a house in Alameda, Castro Valley, etc., but I don’t want to. I want my child to be able to go to the same public schools I went to and be proud of it. I am not going to escape from the problem.
I am sure his spouse is just thrilled to have been called out in this way. But his son is hella cute, and would almost inspire me too. Here's what he has to say about God:
God asked me to lead people to a world of peace and prosperity in 2003. I was a low ranking soldier on the battlefield in the Middle-East with bloods on hand, a sinner. Peace.pdf At the time I didn’t comprehend the task and God has put me through trials and now the understanding is complete. World peace and prosperity can be achieved with “Community Empowered Safety Plan”.
CESP is his platform. It involves concealed carry permits (and fees, to underwrite the rest of program), heavy surveillance, community policing, and a business center to develop and support new businesses.
The first element is no-go for me, and without researching CA gun law and public opinion polls, probably no-go for a lot of other people. It would be easy to mock his heavy surveillance program if our whole city council hadn't spent the past 2 years supporting and then frantically unsupporting one of the most comprehensive surveillance programs in the country. This is also no-go for me. Community policing, I give it a thumb's up generally, but I am not sure it should be as heavily militarized as his program sounds, being mobilized "when" an emergency is declared, especially since a lot of those folks might have concealed carry weapons and tons of personal information collected by the city. And that business center? We have a Business Assistance Center, and I found them to be very helpful when I started my business.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Digest 5
Hi Digesters. Did I tell you that I finished reading The Flamethrowers? It was very good, but I can't figure out what I liked about it. I need someone else to read it so we can discuss it. Let me know if you want to borrow my copy. Soon, otherwise, I am going to sell it at Walden Books. I am trying to stop amassing books the way we used to. I am going to stick to a rule of keeping a book if I truly love it, intend to read it again, have not read it and WILL, or am waiting to lend it to someone else.
Last night, I read a good article about the Argosy Bookshop in New York. It was one of those articles where you would not ever plan to read it but then it captures your attention and carries you along, and you just like it. Reading the article is a little bit like wandering around a bookshop, listening to the staff chatter.
As promised, I have started blogging about the mayoral candidates. The first three are Jason "Shake" Anderson, Rebecca Kaplan, and Saied Karamooz. With 18 candidates in all, I am hoping a few people drop out before I have to 15 more profiles. I will post a few more this week. If you don't want to have to religiously check this blog, I think you can sign up for email updates over there in the right column.
Last night, I read a good article about the Argosy Bookshop in New York. It was one of those articles where you would not ever plan to read it but then it captures your attention and carries you along, and you just like it. Reading the article is a little bit like wandering around a bookshop, listening to the staff chatter.
As promised, I have started blogging about the mayoral candidates. The first three are Jason "Shake" Anderson, Rebecca Kaplan, and Saied Karamooz. With 18 candidates in all, I am hoping a few people drop out before I have to 15 more profiles. I will post a few more this week. If you don't want to have to religiously check this blog, I think you can sign up for email updates over there in the right column.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Oakland Mayoral Candidate: Saied Karamooz
Saied Karamooz is a very interesting candidate. He is a nonpartisan candidate who is treating his candidacy less as a campaign and more of a movement.
His website is http://oaklandmayormovement.org, and he has published a manifesto, rather than position statements. At least that's what he calls it; it seems more like a list of really creative ideas than a manifesto. His ideas are focused on services for the homeless, reducing blight, increasing voluntarism, public mourning for all crime-related losses of life and more fruits and vegetables in food desert areas. Also, and I endorse this completely, he thinks we should be doing more to keep our teams in Oakland.
I am serious when I say that there are some good ideas which are low-cost and mainstream in his list. In a sense, however, they seem too simplistic. Oakland is a real city with complex problems that are not solved by more fruit and veggie stands or lowering the flag to half-mast when a kid gets shot.
Mr. Karamooz saves his real idealism for his campaign principles. His donation page refuses to accept donations from anyone. He won't do any canvassing, house parties, or analyze voter demographics. The problem for Mr. Karamooz is, those are not dirty politics; they are the cornerstone of movement politics and organizing. A come-from-behind candidate with fresh ideas and not a lot of money needs to be knocking on doors, talking to people in intimate settings like their friends' homes, and really selling those ideas to everyone he meets.
It's an interesting thought experiment: what if all candidates swore off campaigning, and agreed to limit their exposure to voters to a single webpage or printed brochure. Voters would be expected to review all the positions and candidates but would be basing it on ideas alone. In theory, this would result in a better informed electorate and a cleaner election. But candidates would never be forced to answer questions on issues they didn't know about or didn't like. Voters would never know how candidates might clear up a particular issue of interest to them. Candidates would never be tested by their opponents or forced to answer to their previous actions.
Sorry, Mr. Karamooz. I hope that another candidate gleans some good ideas from your manifesto. Otherwise, I don't think this candidacy is going anywhere.
His website is http://oaklandmayormovement.org, and he has published a manifesto, rather than position statements. At least that's what he calls it; it seems more like a list of really creative ideas than a manifesto. His ideas are focused on services for the homeless, reducing blight, increasing voluntarism, public mourning for all crime-related losses of life and more fruits and vegetables in food desert areas. Also, and I endorse this completely, he thinks we should be doing more to keep our teams in Oakland.
I am serious when I say that there are some good ideas which are low-cost and mainstream in his list. In a sense, however, they seem too simplistic. Oakland is a real city with complex problems that are not solved by more fruit and veggie stands or lowering the flag to half-mast when a kid gets shot.
Mr. Karamooz saves his real idealism for his campaign principles. His donation page refuses to accept donations from anyone. He won't do any canvassing, house parties, or analyze voter demographics. The problem for Mr. Karamooz is, those are not dirty politics; they are the cornerstone of movement politics and organizing. A come-from-behind candidate with fresh ideas and not a lot of money needs to be knocking on doors, talking to people in intimate settings like their friends' homes, and really selling those ideas to everyone he meets.
It's an interesting thought experiment: what if all candidates swore off campaigning, and agreed to limit their exposure to voters to a single webpage or printed brochure. Voters would be expected to review all the positions and candidates but would be basing it on ideas alone. In theory, this would result in a better informed electorate and a cleaner election. But candidates would never be forced to answer questions on issues they didn't know about or didn't like. Voters would never know how candidates might clear up a particular issue of interest to them. Candidates would never be tested by their opponents or forced to answer to their previous actions.
Sorry, Mr. Karamooz. I hope that another candidate gleans some good ideas from your manifesto. Otherwise, I don't think this candidacy is going anywhere.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Oakland Mayoral Candidate: Rebecca Kaplan
Until Ken Houston formally announces his candidacy, Rebecca Kaplan is the next in line, alphabetically. Ms. Kaplan is currently the At-Large City Councilmember in Oakland. She first ran for that seat in 2000 as the Green Party candidate, narrowly losing to Henry Chang. She switched parties and won the seat in 2008. I supported her in 2008, donating to her campaign. In 2012, she was reelected, beating Ignacio de la Fuente, who has run for mayor himself a few times.
Ms. Kaplan's platform, summarized on her website, is "Safe neighborhoods, local jobs, and a fresh start for our city." It's a nice mantra, but when you click on the icons to see what they mean, they don't go anywhere. I understand that she just announced her candidacy, but she's been a candidate often enough, and governing long enough, that she should have some substance to her platform. Another issue I see is that Oakland doesn't really need a "fresh start" at this point. We're in the midst of a fresh start! There are hundreds of new businesses that have opened, new festivals that are immensely popular (First Friday/Art Murmur, Off the Grid) and the sense that Oakland is "the new Brooklyn", long enough for that to seem trite.
Ms. Kaplan's experience in the city council, and as the at-large member who represents the whole city, has given her many opportunities to demonstrate leadership, particularly in contrast to Mayor Jean Quan. The fact that she can't muster a fresh campaign slogan that suggests how Oakland's newfound success could be stread, or even any platform ideas to support "public safety" and "local jobs" makes me worry that she got into this race because she heard poll numbers put her ahead of Quan and Libby Schaaf, which is pretty flattering. I will need to see more from Rebecca Kaplan to support her this time around. I recommend Chip Johnson's June 9 column for more on her thin record.
Ms. Kaplan's platform, summarized on her website, is "Safe neighborhoods, local jobs, and a fresh start for our city." It's a nice mantra, but when you click on the icons to see what they mean, they don't go anywhere. I understand that she just announced her candidacy, but she's been a candidate often enough, and governing long enough, that she should have some substance to her platform. Another issue I see is that Oakland doesn't really need a "fresh start" at this point. We're in the midst of a fresh start! There are hundreds of new businesses that have opened, new festivals that are immensely popular (First Friday/Art Murmur, Off the Grid) and the sense that Oakland is "the new Brooklyn", long enough for that to seem trite.
Ms. Kaplan's experience in the city council, and as the at-large member who represents the whole city, has given her many opportunities to demonstrate leadership, particularly in contrast to Mayor Jean Quan. The fact that she can't muster a fresh campaign slogan that suggests how Oakland's newfound success could be stread, or even any platform ideas to support "public safety" and "local jobs" makes me worry that she got into this race because she heard poll numbers put her ahead of Quan and Libby Schaaf, which is pretty flattering. I will need to see more from Rebecca Kaplan to support her this time around. I recommend Chip Johnson's June 9 column for more on her thin record.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Oakland Mayoral Candidate: Jason "Shake" Anderson
Most of this information is gleaned from the Oakland Wiki page about Mr. Anderson, the Green Party candidate for Oakland Mayor. I actually saw him staffing the Green Party table at the Grand Lake farmers' market last weekend. I didn't notice if he had any campaign literature, but I did overhear a Courtney Ruby volunteer a few feet away tell a passerby that he didn't actually live in Oakland, so that might have distracted me. Mr. Anderson's responsibilities in the Navy including printing promotional materials, so I am going to assume the oversight is mine, and not his.
In addition to his service (and thank you, Mr. Anderson, for your service, should you find yourself reading this), Mr. Anderson has been a state employee for the Department of Motor Vehicles (one of the better run departments I have encountered) and an avid participant in Occupy Oakland and First Friday. He also has some role in Bitcoin. This is my favorite Bitcoin Venn Diagram.
In addition to supporting the Green Party platform, Mr. Anderson promises "20 hours a week garbage pick up. This may be carried out by the mayor or volunteers acting on his behalf. Clean up will occur throughout Oakland in areas blighted with neglect."
I get what he's doing there. He's demonstrating that he intends to be hands' on in a visible way. But I think there's a problem with making this your first promise. Even if you think that the mayor is a figurehead, a figurehead is not going to have 20 free hours to do garbage collection, by hand. Second, having your volunteers do it is just going to anger the unions that represent the parks and streets and sanitation employees. Plus, your volunteers are not recognizable to your constituents as "the mayor", so your visibility is not aided by their actions. Maybe having mayor's volunteer groups that are sponsored to beautify our neighborhoods would be a good idea, but he needs to tighten this up a bit.
Mr. Anderson intends to draw his salary in Bitcoin, and wants to move Oakland to a Bitcoin economy. I don't know what this means, or why we would want to do this.
I will let you find some of his other gems yourself, but I do want to say that there are some good ideas in the platform. Addressing PTSD in the Police Department probably isn't a bad idea, if it isn't happening yet. Expanding First Friday and creatively using city assets to address city issues are both good ideas. So is addressing homelessness in Oakland.
I'm not a Green Party member. Mr. Anderson has not been endorsed by the Green Party. His ideas are not in line with the majority of Oakland residents, or with me. Interesting addition to the campaign though.
(Sorry about the line spacing issue in this post; I can't seem to get it fixed)
In addition to his service (and thank you, Mr. Anderson, for your service, should you find yourself reading this), Mr. Anderson has been a state employee for the Department of Motor Vehicles (one of the better run departments I have encountered) and an avid participant in Occupy Oakland and First Friday. He also has some role in Bitcoin. This is my favorite Bitcoin Venn Diagram.
In addition to supporting the Green Party platform, Mr. Anderson promises "20 hours a week garbage pick up. This may be carried out by the mayor or volunteers acting on his behalf. Clean up will occur throughout Oakland in areas blighted with neglect."
I get what he's doing there. He's demonstrating that he intends to be hands' on in a visible way. But I think there's a problem with making this your first promise. Even if you think that the mayor is a figurehead, a figurehead is not going to have 20 free hours to do garbage collection, by hand. Second, having your volunteers do it is just going to anger the unions that represent the parks and streets and sanitation employees. Plus, your volunteers are not recognizable to your constituents as "the mayor", so your visibility is not aided by their actions. Maybe having mayor's volunteer groups that are sponsored to beautify our neighborhoods would be a good idea, but he needs to tighten this up a bit.
Mr. Anderson intends to draw his salary in Bitcoin, and wants to move Oakland to a Bitcoin economy. I don't know what this means, or why we would want to do this.
I will let you find some of his other gems yourself, but I do want to say that there are some good ideas in the platform. Addressing PTSD in the Police Department probably isn't a bad idea, if it isn't happening yet. Expanding First Friday and creatively using city assets to address city issues are both good ideas. So is addressing homelessness in Oakland.
I'm not a Green Party member. Mr. Anderson has not been endorsed by the Green Party. His ideas are not in line with the majority of Oakland residents, or with me. Interesting addition to the campaign though.
(Sorry about the line spacing issue in this post; I can't seem to get it fixed)
Digest 4
I know I owe you an update on what I've been reading but this week, it might be easier to tell you what I haven't read. For one thing, I didn't read The New Yorker's last issue. It was the Fiction issue, and I cannot stand short stories. I don't know why, but I find short stories to be very irritating, even the good ones. Even the David Sedaris ones. Okay, technically, those are essays, and I do read them, but I don't like them anymore. In my mind, short stories are bon mots, toss off stories meant to demonstrate literary prowess and evoke strong emotions. Mind you, I haven't read a short story in years, so I could be completely wrong, but I just do not like the form.
For new readers of this blog, you should know that I don't like soup either. Or sandwiches. First one: Not a meal. Second one: too much bread.
Okay, back to reading. Other than the novel I am working my way through, I haven't been reading anything too heavy. The Beyonce article in the NYT T magazine. (She's so awesome) The zombie spaceship story. I read the first part of the maternal depression story but it was so, well, depressing, I didn't read the second part.
It was a pretty New York Times-centric reading week, I guess. For example, I also read this Buzzfeed article about how many times Maureen Dowd has written negatively about Hillary Clinton. Short answer: a lot, like 73% of the time. Which annoys me only because Maureen Dowd annoys me. I actually don't read her column. In fact, the number of NYT columnists who annoy me is probably higher than the number of columnists that I like. Let me check. I like Collins, Krugman, Kristol, Blow and Ta-Nehisi Coates, when he guest-writes. I don't like Friedman, Dowd, Douthat, Brooks. Okay, so it's a tie. I will throw Joe Nocera and Mark Bittman in the "like" column and Frank Bruni in the "don't like" column. Actually, Bruni is a "sometimes but don't usually like."
What's my point? I don't have one.
Now, on to the Oakland Mayoral race. I am not much further along than I was last time on figuring out who the candidates are. Here's a helpful wiki page, though. There are 18 candidates at this point. That does not include a fake candidacy by a dog named Einstein. I will do a separate post on the candidates, but you'll have to read up on the dog yourself. "Shake" Anderson is up first.
For new readers of this blog, you should know that I don't like soup either. Or sandwiches. First one: Not a meal. Second one: too much bread.
Okay, back to reading. Other than the novel I am working my way through, I haven't been reading anything too heavy. The Beyonce article in the NYT T magazine. (She's so awesome) The zombie spaceship story. I read the first part of the maternal depression story but it was so, well, depressing, I didn't read the second part.
It was a pretty New York Times-centric reading week, I guess. For example, I also read this Buzzfeed article about how many times Maureen Dowd has written negatively about Hillary Clinton. Short answer: a lot, like 73% of the time. Which annoys me only because Maureen Dowd annoys me. I actually don't read her column. In fact, the number of NYT columnists who annoy me is probably higher than the number of columnists that I like. Let me check. I like Collins, Krugman, Kristol, Blow and Ta-Nehisi Coates, when he guest-writes. I don't like Friedman, Dowd, Douthat, Brooks. Okay, so it's a tie. I will throw Joe Nocera and Mark Bittman in the "like" column and Frank Bruni in the "don't like" column. Actually, Bruni is a "sometimes but don't usually like."
What's my point? I don't have one.
Now, on to the Oakland Mayoral race. I am not much further along than I was last time on figuring out who the candidates are. Here's a helpful wiki page, though. There are 18 candidates at this point. That does not include a fake candidacy by a dog named Einstein. I will do a separate post on the candidates, but you'll have to read up on the dog yourself. "Shake" Anderson is up first.
Progress on the House
The house is really moving along at an amazing pace. It changes from hour to hour. Here's what it looked like last night, but I can guarantee it looks different today.
Here's house from the back:
Here are the kids on the stairs:
This is the hallway on the second floor at the top of the stairs (looking into the boys' bathroom):
The kids are in what will be Quinn's bedroom.
Here's the view from our bedroom:
Here's house from the back:
Here are the kids on the stairs:
This is the hallway on the second floor at the top of the stairs (looking into the boys' bathroom):
The kids are in what will be Quinn's bedroom.
Monday, June 16, 2014
The second story grows
Friday, June 13, 2014
Holy Moley.
Here's the beginning of the stairs.
Foreman standing at the entrance to our bedroom. Laundry room, then my office to the left of him. Below, our view.
Digest 3
My apologies for the choppy nature of this blog theme. I haven't posted in 9 days! But it has been a busy 9 days, so I am sure you understand.
Last week was the kids' last week of school. It was also the end of the Little League season for my older son. Between playoff games, end-of-the-year events and a Scotch tasting, who has time to read?
To wind down, I took the kids camping this week. We went north to Humboldt County. I will get back to that in a second. From a reading perspective, I forced myself to restart The Flamethrowers, which you may recall, I stopped reading due to some stressful foreshadowing. I am glad I did it because the book is still good. How did I force myself? It was the only book I brought with me. On the drive back, we listened to the audiobook of Chomp by Carl Hiassen. It was read by James van der Beek, of Dawson's Creek fame, and he was better than I might have expected, if I had paused to think about it at all. Liam really like Chomp. I thought it was entertaining, and definitely right in the wheelhouse of a 10 year old boy. The final scenes in the Everglades drag a bit. Overall, 3 stars and I am sure I will be able to get Liam to read more Hiassen now.
Okay, back to camping. We drove up on Tuesday, and our first stop (after picking up our traveling companions in Berkeley) was Real Goods in Hopland. Real Goods showcases Solar and Green living and was very cool. Beautiful and parklike with lots of ponds and gardens. There are trees growing through old cars (not as weird as it sounds) and stationary bikes to generate power. The kids liked it a lot. Then back in the car.
It turns out, it is hard to find lunch on 101 north of Hopland. Yelp has reviews of restaurants that are no longer open. Bars that serve food won't serve kids (not generally a bad policy except when you and your kids are starving). We eventually found the Woodrose Cafe in Garberville. My burger was overcooked but overall it was fine. Also, my Honda Pilot is too large for the Drive Thru Trees. Oh well. Next stop, Avenue of the Giants. Redwood trees are wicked large. Duh. We camped at Baxter Environmental Camp. It was a nice big site with a well-maintained chemical toilet.
Why am I telling you this? So that if you are considering a camping trip north, and you don't know where to stay, you will remember to email me so I can talk to you more at length about this.
Second day, Trinidad Beach, The Trinidad Eatery, the Humboldt State Marine Lab, Patrick's Point SP (where we camped again) and the tide pools at Palmers Point. The kids loved it (and so did I). Third day, Agate Beach and the drive home to Chomp.
A word about Agate Beach. We witnessed firsthand a massive sea star die-off that we had heard about at the Marine Lab. It was bloodless but gruesome to see hundreds of dead sea stars lying on the beach. Apparently a "wasting disease" of uncertain origin in clobbering sea star populations all along the Pacific Coast. You can read about it HERE. The seagulls don't seem to eat them, so they were just everywhere.
Another things I am thinking about: The Oakland mayor's race. Two things happened this week. Mayor Quan had a minor accident, and some witnesses claim she was looking at her cell phone. She denies it, but this seems reasonably easy to figure out. I read today that her office is still considering whether to release her phone records. She had an earlier fender bender this year, and she's been caught on tape/photo using her cell while driving in the past. While this is not completely related to her governance, it demonstrates poor judgment. The other news is that Rebecca Kaplan has entered the mayoral race. I have supported Rebecca in the past but I am not enthusiastic about this. I will try to do more research on the mayoral candidates so you don't have to.
Last week was the kids' last week of school. It was also the end of the Little League season for my older son. Between playoff games, end-of-the-year events and a Scotch tasting, who has time to read?
To wind down, I took the kids camping this week. We went north to Humboldt County. I will get back to that in a second. From a reading perspective, I forced myself to restart The Flamethrowers, which you may recall, I stopped reading due to some stressful foreshadowing. I am glad I did it because the book is still good. How did I force myself? It was the only book I brought with me. On the drive back, we listened to the audiobook of Chomp by Carl Hiassen. It was read by James van der Beek, of Dawson's Creek fame, and he was better than I might have expected, if I had paused to think about it at all. Liam really like Chomp. I thought it was entertaining, and definitely right in the wheelhouse of a 10 year old boy. The final scenes in the Everglades drag a bit. Overall, 3 stars and I am sure I will be able to get Liam to read more Hiassen now.
Okay, back to camping. We drove up on Tuesday, and our first stop (after picking up our traveling companions in Berkeley) was Real Goods in Hopland. Real Goods showcases Solar and Green living and was very cool. Beautiful and parklike with lots of ponds and gardens. There are trees growing through old cars (not as weird as it sounds) and stationary bikes to generate power. The kids liked it a lot. Then back in the car.
It turns out, it is hard to find lunch on 101 north of Hopland. Yelp has reviews of restaurants that are no longer open. Bars that serve food won't serve kids (not generally a bad policy except when you and your kids are starving). We eventually found the Woodrose Cafe in Garberville. My burger was overcooked but overall it was fine. Also, my Honda Pilot is too large for the Drive Thru Trees. Oh well. Next stop, Avenue of the Giants. Redwood trees are wicked large. Duh. We camped at Baxter Environmental Camp. It was a nice big site with a well-maintained chemical toilet.
Why am I telling you this? So that if you are considering a camping trip north, and you don't know where to stay, you will remember to email me so I can talk to you more at length about this.
Second day, Trinidad Beach, The Trinidad Eatery, the Humboldt State Marine Lab, Patrick's Point SP (where we camped again) and the tide pools at Palmers Point. The kids loved it (and so did I). Third day, Agate Beach and the drive home to Chomp.
A word about Agate Beach. We witnessed firsthand a massive sea star die-off that we had heard about at the Marine Lab. It was bloodless but gruesome to see hundreds of dead sea stars lying on the beach. Apparently a "wasting disease" of uncertain origin in clobbering sea star populations all along the Pacific Coast. You can read about it HERE. The seagulls don't seem to eat them, so they were just everywhere.
Another things I am thinking about: The Oakland mayor's race. Two things happened this week. Mayor Quan had a minor accident, and some witnesses claim she was looking at her cell phone. She denies it, but this seems reasonably easy to figure out. I read today that her office is still considering whether to release her phone records. She had an earlier fender bender this year, and she's been caught on tape/photo using her cell while driving in the past. While this is not completely related to her governance, it demonstrates poor judgment. The other news is that Rebecca Kaplan has entered the mayoral race. I have supported Rebecca in the past but I am not enthusiastic about this. I will try to do more research on the mayoral candidates so you don't have to.
We've Turned a Corner
After demolishing about 75% of our home, the contractor started actually building this week. Here's a shot of the new kitchen exterior walls. That big opening will have a trifold door in it eventually. This was taken Tuesday or Wednesday (not by me) so I will go over today to see how far they've gotten since then. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
The Digest 2
I haven't read that much in the past few days, but I did go out and have an actual cultural experience, so I thought I would share that with you. But first, you are familiar with Night Heron-gate, I hope? This is the situation: over at the main Post Office, birds were pooping on mail trucks, so the PO hired a tree trimmer to cut back on the trees overhanging their parking lots. To everyone's inexplicable surprise, baby birds fell out of the trees. Baby Night Herons, to be specific. Which are protected by federal law. The poor tree trimmer is paying for their care and to PO is promising not to do it again.
The strange part about the NYT article on the topic is the number of homeless advocates they quote. While I agree that it's annoying that more people get outraged over injustice against baby birds than homeless adults, the birds in Oakland are a stand-alone story. There's a night heron scandal brewing on nearly every shore of Lake Merritt.
For example, at any given time, there are between 2 and 10 night herons eating KFC trash at the end of our street. I wrote about it earlier HERE. All the baby bird fetishists seem uninterested in the fact that there's nothing for the night herons around the lake to eat other than KFC and Kwik Way trash. Even the homeless aren't over here looking to eat that crap.
In other bird news, I spotted five white pelicans balletically eating in the lake this morning.
After my bird-filled walk and volunteering to do pizza day (it's like a penance of some sort to do this), I ran over to the Oakland Museum of California to see the Vinyl exhibit and the SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot exhibit. The SuperAwesome exhibit was, in fact, super-awesome. It was curated by the founder of Giant Robot zine, Eric Nakamura, and the art is just great. It's Asian-American artists and I found it to be some of the coolest stuff I've seen in a long time. I was a big zine and comic person once, but wasn't familiar with all of this stuff. It came with a wierd "trigger warning":
I would be fine with my kids seeing this stuff. The only part of the exhibit that I might have a hard time explaining is the Adrian Tomine comics, but the text is so small that I doubt they would bother to read it.
The Vinyl exhibit did not really grab me. It was an attempt to recreate the experience of shopping for and playing vinyl records. There are bins of records and turntables you can use, and there's an opportunity to choose a favorite record and tell a story about it. I think this is a worthwhile experience if this is not something you have done before. I felt a little like a secret part of my past was being put on display and I didn't like this. Records bring out the snobbiness in people, and it made me feel snobby. I've done this before, like 100 times. I guess I should be glad that other people are getting that experience now too.
The strange part about the NYT article on the topic is the number of homeless advocates they quote. While I agree that it's annoying that more people get outraged over injustice against baby birds than homeless adults, the birds in Oakland are a stand-alone story. There's a night heron scandal brewing on nearly every shore of Lake Merritt.
For example, at any given time, there are between 2 and 10 night herons eating KFC trash at the end of our street. I wrote about it earlier HERE. All the baby bird fetishists seem uninterested in the fact that there's nothing for the night herons around the lake to eat other than KFC and Kwik Way trash. Even the homeless aren't over here looking to eat that crap.
In other bird news, I spotted five white pelicans balletically eating in the lake this morning.
After my bird-filled walk and volunteering to do pizza day (it's like a penance of some sort to do this), I ran over to the Oakland Museum of California to see the Vinyl exhibit and the SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot exhibit. The SuperAwesome exhibit was, in fact, super-awesome. It was curated by the founder of Giant Robot zine, Eric Nakamura, and the art is just great. It's Asian-American artists and I found it to be some of the coolest stuff I've seen in a long time. I was a big zine and comic person once, but wasn't familiar with all of this stuff. It came with a wierd "trigger warning":
I would be fine with my kids seeing this stuff. The only part of the exhibit that I might have a hard time explaining is the Adrian Tomine comics, but the text is so small that I doubt they would bother to read it.
The Vinyl exhibit did not really grab me. It was an attempt to recreate the experience of shopping for and playing vinyl records. There are bins of records and turntables you can use, and there's an opportunity to choose a favorite record and tell a story about it. I think this is a worthwhile experience if this is not something you have done before. I felt a little like a secret part of my past was being put on display and I didn't like this. Records bring out the snobbiness in people, and it made me feel snobby. I've done this before, like 100 times. I guess I should be glad that other people are getting that experience now too.
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
We are rockin'
Monday, June 02, 2014
The Digest Service
Due to my work circumstances at the moment, I've decided to offer a service to my friends and family who do not have as much free time as I have to read newspapers and magazines and think about things like politics, homelessness, climate change, gender issues and so on. My service will be to read and think about stuff and then report to you, the reader, what I've read and thought about it (or not - I can't promise I will think about everything). Then you can develop opinions and feel well-read without having to, you know, read.
I feel like this was the original purpose of blogs, so maybe it's just retro and throwback to do this. In any case, if you want it emailed to you so you don't even have to check this blog, let me know. Here's my first digest:
Articles:
The whole discussion started because I wanted to tell everyone about the The Push to End Chronic Homelessness is Working. Very interesting article about a new model for social services/housing services delivery. I think that it should be applied to education, as well. And the Occupy protesters who have colonized Oakland's intersections.
CA whooping cough cases so far this year have surpassed total number in 2013. Sonoma County is the worst with 410 cases. Alameda County has 87 cases. San Benito County has 1. My opinion: This is bad. Vaccinate, people.
These new EPA rules sound good. They allow for a lot of flexibility in how states choose to implement them. Here's the NYT article I read about it. And here's an article about CA's cap and trade program. There is a lot of leeway on how the carbon offsets can be used. This is a good thing because it means that CA is essentially influencing how clean energy technology is being deployed throughout the rest of the country. One thing that I wonder: can private individuals buy carbon permits to get them out of the market?
Books:
Tell The Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt. I read this actual book about a month ago, and I wasn't that thrilled with it. I've heard it is a Young Adult novel but I'm not sure. In any case, the protagonist is a slightly goth/Ren Faire type loner, whose only friend is her recently deceased gay uncle. He died of AIDS; the story takes place in 1986. For some unknown reason, she's allowed to be close to her uncle but is not allowed to meet his lover. After his death, she is befriended by his lover, and keeps their friendship a secret. Meanwhile, her older sister who seems to be more typically well-adjusted sort of falls apart, as does their relationship. Here are my problems with this book: it really underplays the amount of hatred and ostracism that gay men felt from their families and others in the early 80s. There are also several anachronisms in the book, which jarred me out of my willing suspension of disbelief. And there's no explanation for why the older sister would have been so left out of her sister's friendship with their uncle. Anyway, unsatisfactory book.
The Flamethrowers, by Rachel Kushner. Halfway through this, very well written. I've taken a break from it because there is foreshadowing of a bad event. I basically hate foreshadowing because I hate bad stuff. I never want anything bad to happen to people, even fictional people. This is the same reason that I stopped reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I will try to finish Flamethrowers for a future digest, though. I really do want you guys to feel well-read!
I feel like this was the original purpose of blogs, so maybe it's just retro and throwback to do this. In any case, if you want it emailed to you so you don't even have to check this blog, let me know. Here's my first digest:
Articles:
The whole discussion started because I wanted to tell everyone about the The Push to End Chronic Homelessness is Working. Very interesting article about a new model for social services/housing services delivery. I think that it should be applied to education, as well. And the Occupy protesters who have colonized Oakland's intersections.
CA whooping cough cases so far this year have surpassed total number in 2013. Sonoma County is the worst with 410 cases. Alameda County has 87 cases. San Benito County has 1. My opinion: This is bad. Vaccinate, people.
These new EPA rules sound good. They allow for a lot of flexibility in how states choose to implement them. Here's the NYT article I read about it. And here's an article about CA's cap and trade program. There is a lot of leeway on how the carbon offsets can be used. This is a good thing because it means that CA is essentially influencing how clean energy technology is being deployed throughout the rest of the country. One thing that I wonder: can private individuals buy carbon permits to get them out of the market?
Books:
Tell The Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt. I read this actual book about a month ago, and I wasn't that thrilled with it. I've heard it is a Young Adult novel but I'm not sure. In any case, the protagonist is a slightly goth/Ren Faire type loner, whose only friend is her recently deceased gay uncle. He died of AIDS; the story takes place in 1986. For some unknown reason, she's allowed to be close to her uncle but is not allowed to meet his lover. After his death, she is befriended by his lover, and keeps their friendship a secret. Meanwhile, her older sister who seems to be more typically well-adjusted sort of falls apart, as does their relationship. Here are my problems with this book: it really underplays the amount of hatred and ostracism that gay men felt from their families and others in the early 80s. There are also several anachronisms in the book, which jarred me out of my willing suspension of disbelief. And there's no explanation for why the older sister would have been so left out of her sister's friendship with their uncle. Anyway, unsatisfactory book.
The Flamethrowers, by Rachel Kushner. Halfway through this, very well written. I've taken a break from it because there is foreshadowing of a bad event. I basically hate foreshadowing because I hate bad stuff. I never want anything bad to happen to people, even fictional people. This is the same reason that I stopped reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I will try to finish Flamethrowers for a future digest, though. I really do want you guys to feel well-read!
Sunday, June 01, 2014
The Restaurant Challenge
Our new neighborhood, which is called Grand Lake (due to its anchor streets, Grand and Lakeshore) has a slightly more urban feel to it than our usual neighborhood, Rockridge. Grand Lake is higher density, with more restaurants and shops. Mr. Scobie has proposed that we try to eat at every restaurant, and then rank them like tennis players. That way new restaurants can challenge ones we like and the ranking can change constantly. Here's the current ranking, based on my opinion only. I will update as we try new ones, and Mr. Scobie disagrees with my assessment.
1. Penrose - this restaurant is owned by the same folks who own Boot and Shoe across the street, and Pizzaioli in Temescal. This is the best of the three, because the food is so good, so interesting and the portions are perfect.
2. Boot and Shoe Service - Really great food but the menu is more limited and I have a problem with the portions. Give me a little more food, please.
3. Neecha Thai - Really yummy fresh Thai with a huge vegetarian menu
4. Mijori - Standard issue sushi spot but good prices and fresh fish
5. Arizmendi - This is a pizza/bakery collective that makes delicious but precious pizzas. The bread is good too, but I haven't even bothered getting the pizza for the kids there.
6. Lanesplitter - This is the closest thing we have to East Coast pizza, and it's definitely what we get delivered for the kids. Nice to have a place we can walk to to grab a pie.
7. Gelato Firenze - This wierd little gelato place has to be my kids' favorite place so far. Good gelato selection (salted caramel is all I've tried and I can't move on to another flavor because I love it so much. We let the kids walk there alone once.
8. Lakeshore Cafe - We just had brunch there this morning. It tasted great because I was ravenously hungry, but I am not sure it was really that amazing. I will go back when I am not having a low blood sugar freak out.
9. Connie's Cantina - This is the worst so far because I went in (it was empty) and the woman behind the counter ignored me for 5 minutes and then when I finally made eye contact and asked for a burrito, she said, "I can't help you for at least 15 minutes." The place was empty at lunch. Assume it is a front.
Any recommendations for restaurants on Lakeshore or Grand between MacArthur and Mandana will be happily used and incorporated into the rankings.
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