Two hundred people can commute…but how would Lenin do it?
Lee July 10th, 2008
The options shown in the poster are: By car, by bus, by light rail, and by bike. Very descriptive.
Archive for the 'General' Category
pi tie
Lee May 19th, 2008
I made a pi tie at Zazzle.com. They are like CafePress.com: you can add text and images to many different types of products. Mr. Schroeder and I will be sporting them next March 14 (that’s pi day, 3/14).
You can order them online, and I got mine in only two days. Helps to work 30 miles from where they are produced. (If you buy one, I get 10% of your $30.)
Wahoo, I’m moving back to Berkeley !!!
Lee May 12th, 2008
Yes, it’s true. After a “year abroad” in Pleasant Hill, I’m moving back to Berkeley. I’ve been accepted into the Walnut House Cooperative. The Coop is a non-profit owned 22-unit apartment house just north of downtown Berkeley on Walnut Street.
I’m impressed by the selection process (realistic number of people interviewing, timeline) and the fact that they have been “in business” since the early 1980s. The model is a “limited equity coop,” in which you purchase a share and receive a reasonable interest rate, but don’t keep up with the housing prices. Bottom line: the down payment and monthly “assessment” are very affordable, but you don’t get a landfall if you move out after housing prices skyrocket.
Everyone works eight hours a month, and I’ll likely be on the maintenance committee. The building seems well kept up (it has had significant earthquake work, and remodels happen as needed), and my bathroom is getting some work done before I move in.
I’ll be moving in on the weekend of June 14-15, so if you want to help with the move, let me know 
Lee
Accessibility makes it to the Super Bowl ad frenzy
Lee February 18th, 2008
Here’s a great ad. Click it to start.
PS. You don’t need to adjust the audio on your computer.
Lost and found in SF
Lee February 9th, 2008
Thursday night I was wandering around SF with a friend who was in town for a training (she was born and raised in SF, but has been in NC for almost 20 years). After going up Coit Tower (neither of us had before!), we wandered up the curvy part of Lombard Street on our way to a restaurant (Alive on the “freeway” portion of Lombard), we noticed a purse at the top. A few folks were nearby and we asked if it was theirs. They said is was not.
Karen said, “We’re good Samaritans, the next person may not be.” So I picked it up and looked inside. We found a wallet with ID, credit cards, and money. We decided we would go to the restaurant, then call the police and/or look for a hotel key or some other identification (the ID said the owner, Jennifer, was from the UK, so we were hoping we’d find a more local contact).
Once we got to the restaurant, we found a cell phone inside. One of the first numbers in its phone book was “Home” so I tried it. Well, I got her mom out of bed in the wee hours of the morning in England. Turns out Jennifer was a flight attendant for an airline, and was on a couple day layover in SF. Mom didn’t know any of the people she was staying with.
Meanwhile, Karen had been searching the purse and found a hotel card-key. We called the hotel, informed them of the situation, and asked if they could keep an eye out for her. I left my cell number.
Within about 20 minutes, I got a call on my cell and a tearfully happy Jennifer said she’d be right over to pick it up. She showed up with a couple other folks from her flight crew, and thanks us profusely (”she’s a good hugger” Karen said after they left). They offered to buy us a drink, but we were about ready to go (Karen’s on east coast time, and ready to get back to her hotel room). They bought us dessert, and left quite relieved.
Lots of fun. It always feels good when you do the right thing.
One lesson we took from this: If you’re traveling, leave an obvious note in your purse/wallet/etc. with phone numbers of the people you are traveling with. In this case, it might have helped us to connect a bit faster.
PS. It turns out the police aren’t much help with this these days. They told Jennifer that she would have to call the local station, and since she didn’t know where she lost her purse, this would have been several stations. You’d think with computers and all these days they could centralize data of lost and found items, particularly items that include photo IDs with them.
Drive 55! Save gas and fight global climate change
Lee January 20th, 2008
Here’s a nice site that is trying to spread the word that driving 55 is a good way to save gas. You can do it today, you don’t need any special equipment.
Drive 55 Conservation Project
Reduce fuel consumption 20%-50% right now with no new technology. Get Drive 55 bumper stickers available to spread the message.
A great article on Peace by an old friend
Lee January 19th, 2008
I’m helping to organize my Berkeley High 30th year reunion this fall, and in the process am catching up with some old friends as well as making some new ones (BHS was–and still is–a big school, you didn’t know everyone). Joey Yovino-Young wrote a great piece in the Berkeley Daily Planet that I’d recommend:
Don’t forget, you can add a comment…
Lee July 14th, 2007
If you click the “Leave a comment” link below a post, you can add a comment if you’d like; everyone can see them, so nothing too personal If you have a question about something I’ve written, I’ll answer it with another comment.
Happy 4th of July
Lee July 4th, 2007
I’m off to the neighborhood party. Just got this install finished.
