November 2005

A copy of this beautiful book is now up for auction on ebay at ronpenndorf3yvu

 

 

11/3/05

Form-Based Coding by Geoffrey Ferrell and Mary Madden

"The base principle of form-based coding is that design is more important than use. . . .By keying the form-based code to the street frontage, it provides a different kind of 'zoning'--one relative to the logic of the street." Read all of their paper at Ferrell Madden Associates--urban, town planning and form-based coding.

 

From my log

10/29/05--7:01AM, serious irritant in front room, cough, headache, burning eyes. 10/30/05--9:00AM severe irritant in front room, lasts all day. 10/31/05--same as 10/30/05. 11/1/05--8:47 AM, irritant in front room, leave; 9:46 AM, irritant in front room; 2:30PM, SEVERE irritant in front room, use mask; 2:51 PM SERIOUS irritant in front room, use mask; 5:45 PM SEVERE irritant in front room, use mask. 11/2/05--7:30 AM SERIOUS irritant in entire warehouse, lasts all day. 11/3/05 All day SEVERE irritant in entire warehouse, burning throat, mouth, eyes, over-rides filters, use mask.

"Investigation Looks into Dumping at Richmond Site" writes Richard Brenneman of the West County Times.
"Were drums of radioactive waste from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory buried in South Richmond? A multi-jurisidictional investigation to determine just that is now being launched after a survey detected buried metal where a retired UC Berkeley worker said he helped bury the drums along the South Richmond shoreline."

Our Mayor's Fall Report includeds

"Berkeley Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 14% Great environmental milestone! The City of Berkeley has reduced carbon emissions from municipal operations by 14% since 2002 - more than double the reductions called for in the Kyoto Protocol. By comparison, the Kyoto Protocol calls for a 7% reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2010.

 

Traffic and Parking Survey Results
In the September edition of the Bates Update, I asked people to tell me their opinions on a range of new traffic and parking efforts underway in the City. The results showed a real range of opinions on everything from traffic circles to new parking meters. Take a look at the results on my website http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/mayor/."

 

Our Jerry Landis asks Chronicle movie critic Mick LaSalle a question and gets an answer here.

 

"Residents sound off on project" reports Alan Lopez of the West County Times." While residents were split over the wisdom of a striping project on Marin Avenue in Albany and Berkeley, there have been relatively few complaints since the bulk of the work was completed earlier this month."

 

11/4/05

"Human Stress Provoked by Digitalized Recordings" writes Dr. John Diamond. Read his article here.

Want to reduce stress? Then Make, . . . and enjoy

My Granny's Arkansas Cornbread

Implements: one well-seasoned 9" cast iron skillet*
Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons bacon drippings [vegetarians, please use ghee or peanut
oil or any oil that withstands high heat]
2 cups white corn meal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk

[Always use the freshest ingredients. Be sure your baking soda and baking
powder are not old.]

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the skillet in the oven and allow the
drippings to heat while you mix together the ingredients for the batter
in a big bowl.

In a big bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the egg and buttermilk and
stir until just blended.

The oil or drippings should be good and hot by now but not smoking. Get
a rubber spatula ready and bring the batter close to the oven. CAREFULLY
remove the skillet from the oven and give it a swirl so that the oil
coats the inside of the skillet. Pour the excess oil into the batter. It
should crackle and pop. If it doesn't, just remember
to let the oil get hotter next time.

Fold oil into the batter quickly, then pour batter into thye skillet and
pop that sucker right back into the oven. Bake it for 20 to 25 minutes
or until the cornbread is golden and browning at the edges, set in the
middle.

Serve hot with butter. This goes really well with black-eyed peas and a
mess of greens.

*If you do not own a well-seasoned cast iron skillet,
get one. Ask your granny for hers if she doesn't use it
anymore. She will be flattered that anyone knows how
precious it is with its decades of having oil rubbed into it and baked
into the iron's surface. And if your granny is kind enough to
give you hers, please, please do not wash it with soap and water. Just
wipe it clean with a bit of oil on a clean cloth or paper towel and
store it in the oven so it can benefit from your next baking session and
become even more seasoned through the years.

Many thanks to my Canadian reader.

 

"Teen girls anxious about abortion-notification measure--Kids and parents don't always see eye to eye, says one student -- 'I wish I could vote so bad'" reports MEREDITH MAY of the San Francisco Chronicle. Workin' in Berkeley again, she is.

And, Annie Kassof is in Berkeley as she writes "For the children's sake, foster parents must fight becoming victims." Read her at sfgate.com

Annie has a website now. It's here.

"Bring Back Armistice Day in Berkeley" by Becky O'Malley is here.

 

 

11/7/05

 

 

 

It's very bleak 
without a park 
in Potter Creek

 

 

 

A reader emails "I used to hang out with some Iranian Marxists when I was a sophomore and junior at UALR. But we all lost touch over the years. Recently when I moved into my own apt--I needed some time to reflect--I signed up for Persian class and ended up very involved with the Iranian community. One family who lived in my apt. building got to know me because their daughter volunteered to help in my Persian class. They invited me to dinner one night and it was such a lovely time. These people are, as almost all Iranians I know are, so very warm. They make you feel like a member of the family right away. But I was looking at some photo albums and they would point and say, 'well, he's dead now.' Then to another one, 'well, she died in prison.' My eyes welled with tears. They also had both been in prison when their children were small. The dad, Hassan, he is so funny. He's just so ingenuous. His English is just brutally bad, but he is so eager to try to practice what little he knows. He knows that when he makes us all laugh, we are laughing at him, not with him, but that we find him so adorable at the same time. So he really just glows in the attention. He's the kind who makes people laugh without meaning to, but then he's so happy that he could be entertaining, so he joins in the chuckle. Anyway, we were eating and talking about our similar circles of friends and it dawned on me at the same time it dawned on them that we had both been in Marxist circles. Hassan stood up, mouth still partly full of rice, locked his gaze on me, reached out his hand to shake mine and said, 'COMRADE!' That was a priceless moment."

 

Further proof that "she's a woman--of course she can't make up her mind" ain't necessarily so can be found in Fred Dodsworth's "Veterans Day program in flux." Get the East Bay Daily and read his story. The read his "Pollutants may go unmonitored" and "Evangelicals join fight for clean air" from the New York Times.

"Nature worshiping tree-huggers" and the "Holy-Rollers" unite. Damn, I love America.

 

 

 

11/8/05

 






It's very bleak 
 in Potter Creek
without a park in which to meet

 

 

 

 

"Claims of radioactive dumping in Richmond" reports John Geluardi of the West County Times. "The state Department of Toxic Substance Control is taking seriously claims by a former groundskeeper that barrels containing radioactive material were dumped at a waterfront landfill in Richmond 40 years ago. ... when he was employed as a groundskeeper at UC Berkeley's Richmond Field Station."

My memory is that Brenneman of the Planet broke this story.

 

"Bay Area papers hit by harsh realities" writes George Avalos. "The Contra Costa Times and its sister editions managed a small gain in the most recent circulation report, but the San Francisco Chronicle and a number of other big-city newspapers slumped." Read the full story at cctimes.com

 

The Chronicle's Matier and Ross report "New details in July shooting of Berkeley student."

 

Pete's Potter Creek rain-gauge showed .95 inches from last night.

 

Check out the poster-sign on the north-east corner of 9th and Ashby--it's a good rendering of AHA's project-to-be on that corner.

 

The Nexus property is FOR SALE--a rectangle of about 20,000 square feet on the corner of 8th and Carleton--my understanding is that Nexus has the right of first refusal.

 

"Land-Use Panels to Hear Berkeley Bowl Comments" reports Richard Brenneman of our Daily Planet.
"Berkeley's Planning Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) will each hold hearings this week on the draft environmental impact report (EIR) on the proposed new Berkeley Bowl."

 

 

Damn, it's the wrong Prince.

 

"A Princely Visit for King Middle School" writes Jakob Schiller. "Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, made it a priority to tour Berkeley's student-run Edible Garden at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School Monday as part of a week-long tour of the United States, in part devoted to exploring environmental issues, such as organic farming."

 

Zelda B informs us--and without getting arrested--"Why Bother With Environmental Impact Reports?"

Our Annie K emails "I'll be on KPFA-FM talking about adoption and foster care tomorrow, Wednesday, November 9th on the Morning Show sometime betweeen 8:30 and 9am. I was contacted after my Op-Ed appeared in the Chronicle. That'd be 94.1 on your FM dial, or you can listen online, KPFA.org. It will be LIVE, so I'm a bit hesitant to tell everyone, but oh hell here goes..."

 

 

11/9/05

 

 

Don't be meek
make a park
in Potter Creek

 

 

 

With a report of another voltage drop on this power block, and subsequent monitoring, PG&E has determined the problem to be on their service and will repair it in the next few days. I reported the problem to PG&E about two months ago. Since then, PG&E's Gary England has worked on it--a lineman was sent out immediately, a trouble-shooter was sent out, and voltage was monitored twice for a about a week each.

 

Our Acme bread is NUMBER ONE!

"Love those loaves of sourdough" writes Chrissa Ventrelle of the West County Times.
"A friend once suggested that the Earth would be a more enlightened place if everyone would just bake bread. It's a soothing, yet mindful activity that lends itself to reflection. For those without the time or will to bake, maybe just enjoying the Bay Area's rich sourdough bread culture is a shortcut to finding a bit of peace during the busy holiday bustle. ... a blind tasting, our humble tastebuds confirmed Acme, . . . "

 

The Boss is going to "stop global warming caused by greenhouse gases." For just how he's going to do this pick up the East Bay Daily and read Fred Dodsworth's "Mayors ally to reduce emissions."

 

After a long life as a Libra I'm thinking of converting, possibly to Aquarius. I don't know exactly what's involved but as I'm already circumcised that shouldn't be a problem.

 

 

 

11/11/05

There is a Veterans Day Celebration downtown today.

 

 

 



It'd be neat to meet 
in a park in The Creek

 

 

 

 

The City of Berkeley Weekly Crime Statistics Update is here

And our Planning Department Update is here.

 

 

Have some Greens with your Cornbread

Though my granddaddy used collard, mustard or turnip greens, I prefer
chard because not only do I find it less coarse and less bitter, but the
stems don't go to waste. In fact, in many part of Europe the stems are
considered to be the best part.

Ingredients:
2-3 bunches of Swiss or Red Chard, depending on how many people you are
feeding
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, peeled and quartered
a piece of bacon fat (Vegetarians omit or substitute a Tablespoon of butter)
lemon juice or vinegar to taste

Cut the roots off the chard and wash leaves very well in a sinkful of
water. If greens are very gritty or straight from a garden, you may have
to repeat the process several times, changing water between washings.
Even the tiniest bit of grit left on the leaves could ruin your dinner,
so be thorough.

Tear the leaves into more manageable pieces and cut the stems into 2"
pieces.

In a large, heavy pot, bring about 1/2" water to a boil. Put in some
salt and pepper (use your judgment), the fat or butter, the onion and
just a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to cut the bitterness of the
greens. Put as many of the greens as can fit into the pot and poke them
down with a wooden spoon. Greens will cook down to a fraction of their
original size, so don't worry about how you're going to fit them all in.
Just keep adding and pushing them down. Give a bit of a stir, keeping an
eye on the water level so you don't scorch them and add more leaves as
the first batch begins to cook down.

Some like to cook greens a long time on low heat. If you are in a hurry,
you can raise the fire a bit and just keep a good eye on the water
level. Taste them now and then so you'll catch them just as they get to
the degree of tenderness that you like. For me, this takes about 40
minutes to an hour, depending on how young the greens are.

Serve with corn bread and don't throw out the golden
elixir at the bottom of the pot. It's called pot likker and you can sop
it up with your corn bread. The vitamins are in there!

 

 

John King reviews some of Kava's work in his "Don't let architectural snobbery interfere with your enjoyment of these five ugly duckling Bay Area buildings." Read it at sfgate.com

 

"Habitot museum looks for larger space" writes Martin Snapp of the West County Times. "Habitot, Berkeley's award-winning, hands-on children's museum, might not be in Berkeley much longer. Executive Director Gina Moreland said Habitot is looking at sites in Emeryville and Pleasant Hill, both of which have more than three times the space as the current 7,000-square-foot site in downtown Berkeley. "

 

"Home equity doesn't ensure future" reports George Avalos of the West County Times. "America is a 'spendthrift nation' where consumers save less, spend more and hope the surge in home prices will fuel their retirement, a Bay Area-based economist said Wednesday. "

 

"Speakers Raise Concerns Over Berkeley Bowl Plans" reports Richard Brenneman of the Daily Planet.
"Given their penultimate chance to raise issues for the environmental impact report on the new Berkeley Bowl store planned for the corner of Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue, most speakers focused on one issue: traffic."

 

 

 

11/15/05

 

 

 

Don't hafta be a Freak 
to want a park in Potter Creek
cauz

Green's good for the bean

 

 

 

 

BERKELEY--Police officers unhurt by surprise gunfire" reports Steve Rubenstein of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Two Berkeley police officers dived out of the way of flying bullets Monday night after they responded to a reported fight in a North Berkeley residence, police said."

 

"Prostitution sting nets eight arrests" writes Melanie Carroll of the Daily. "Members of the special enforcement unit went undercover posing as sex workers on or near the 2800 block of San Pablo after the department received numerous complaints . . ." Well ok then!

 

"Citizens striving for cleaner air" reports Dorothy Vriend of the West County Times."Janice Schroeder, a longtime West Berkeley resident, was happy to hear last month of plans by Pacific Steel Casting to reduce the odor of burnt rubber that residents say emanates into nearby neighborhoods. But after nearly a quarter century of battling the company over pollution, she is still worried that it is not doing enough to ensure the neighborhood is safe from toxic chemicals used by the foundry located at Second and Gilman streets."

From my Log

11/1/05--8:47 AM, irritant in front room, leave; 9:46 AM, irritant in front room; 2:30 PM, SEVERE irritant in front room, use mask; 2:51 PM SERIOUS irritant in front room, use mask; 5:45 PM SEVERE irritant in front room, use mask. 11/2/05--7:30 AM SERIOUS irritant in entire warehouse, lasts all day. 11/3/05 All day SEVERE irritant in entire warehouse, burning throat, mouth, eyes, over-rides filters, use mask. 11/4/05--7:20 AM, irritant in front room; 8:36 AM, SERIOUS irritant in front room, use mask, irritant in entire warehouse; 12:07 PM irritant in front room, use mask; 1:55 PM irritant in front room, use mask; 2:47 PM irritant in front room, use mask. 11/5/05--5:09 PM irritant in front room. 11/6/05--9:30 AM irritant in front room. 11/10/05--12:15 PM, irritant in front room. 11/11/05--8:25 AM SERIOUS irritant in front room, use mask, 8:50 AM worsens. 11/12/05--1:20 PM, irritant in front room; 2:37 PM, irritant in front room; 7:10 PM, irritant in front room; 7:20 PM SERIOUS irritant in front room, use mask. 11/13/05--3:27 PM, irritant in front room; 5:00 PM irritant in warehouse, eyes burn, use mask; 5:47 PM same; 6:12 PM same. 11/14/05--11:00 AM, irritant in front room; 8:20 PM, VERY SERIOUS irritant in front room , burning throat and eyes, hacking cough, headache, use mask. 11/15/05--7:10 AM, SERIOUS irritant in front room, hacking cough, use mask; 9:30 AM, irritant in front room, headachem disoriented, cough, lips and eyes sting, leave.

(Interestingly, 11/13/05 was Sunday and except for two bakers at Acme the only manufacturing presence in the surrounding block was at Adams and Chittenden Scientific Glass with George Chittenden present.)

 

 

"Berkeley salutes military personnel--Berkeley's Veterans Day ceremony went off without a hitch on Friday, with the Cal Straw Hat Band, Berkeley High School Pep Band, and Boy Scouts Troop 19 participating." Read the full story at cctimes.com

 

Yesterday afternoon I picked up my friend Ferzaan at the North Berkeley BART station. He is here from Bangalore on business, having just spoken at a pharmaceuticals conference in Milbrae. He came to Berkeley for a visit and lunch. On coming out of the North Berkeley BART station he was given an all-too-typical Berkeley welcome--the stink from Pacific Steel hit him square in the face. Mind you, we were miles downwind from the facility. (On driving to Sea Salt for lunch Ferzaan mentioned that he had an unexpected introduction at the conference. Rather than the usual Dr Engineer has a Phd from . . . , etc, he was greeted with quotes from a Scrambled Eggs paragraph that I'd written on his last visit. He was pleased. A conference organizer, searching the web for Ferzaan's stats found my paragraph and used parts in his introduction.) At Sea Salt we both had Fish and Chips, the cod coated with deliciously seasoned batter, the fries real and perfect. Sadly, the batter was so thin that the fish crumbled to pieces so small they were best eaten with a spoon. Through the afternoon and early evening we made several trips to Trieste and were treated with perfectly prepared, beautifully presented coffees, but were served two "used cannoli."

If you want just normal Fish and Chips, check out The Crispy Fry--Fine Chinese Food & Fish & Chip in the Emery Bay Public Market, 5959 Shellmound Emeryville--their phone number is (510) 655-9955. You get four large pieces of white-fish and usually-real-potato fries for $6.40. It's fresh, tasty and there's a lot. Also check out Mo's Schrimp!

 

 

11/16/05

 



Don't be meek
stand up for a park

in Potter Creek

 

 

 

Not so much a report as an appreciation is

"Air district turns 50" by Denis Cuff of the West County Times.
"On many days, smog turned the sky whisky brown. Fires in trash dumps and back yard incinerators spewed smoke. With no pollution controls, nearly 1.7 million cars belched exhaust. ... in the nation."

Some of the improvement is offset by increased population density. For instance in another area, today we have more and better roads yet greater and more serious traffic congestion.

And our urban environment has worn us down over the years. We're weaker--more allergies, an asthma epidemic among our children ,etc, etc, etc.

From the Berkeley hills I've seen whisky brown smog over the Bay Area in recent years.

 

Some people on Pardee received no mail on Monday--"A mix up" offered a postal official over the phone.

Irritant in computer room--time to go.

 

 

 

11/18/05

People from these countries and the US Military visited this site between November 1st and November 15th.

(Germany) (Brazil) (Japan) (Canada) (Italy) (Netherlands) (France) (United Kingdom) (Norway) (Sweden) (Australia) (China) (United States) (Mexico) (Poland) (Austria) (Switzerland) (USA Military) (Belgium) (Russian Federation) (Finland) (Hungary) (South Korea) (Czech Republic) (Thailand) (Spain) (Malaysia) (Argentina) (Yugoslavia) (Singapore) (Taiwan) (New Zealand) (Hong Kong) (Croatia) (Slovak Republic) (Portugal) (Saudi Arabia) (Israel) (Denmark) (Greece) (Colombia) (Turkey) (United Arab Emirates) (Estonia) (Iceland) (Philippines) (Indonesia) (Peru) (El Salvador) (Romania) (Ireland) (Guatemala) (Morocco) (Seychelles)

 

East Bay Nursery has its Holiday lights up.

Watch out for notices of west-Berkeley open studios during the Holiday Season. Then come down here and BUY their STUFF for presents.

 

Someone in the know emails about the most effective way communicate with our Postal Service "Telephone complaints are NO GOOD, as COA (Cover Your Ass) are the normal answers given. USPS has an email address: www.USPS.com or a letter to Postmaster Ralph Cherry, 2000 Allston Way, Berkeley CA 94704 are the best methods of complaints. Written letters that request a written response and or email are documented."

 

"Bay Area home sales down in October" reports James Temple of the West County Times. "In a further sign of the cooling residential real estate market, the number of Bay Area homes sold in October declined for the seventh straight month and, as in September, median prices dipped month-over-month."

 

The Boss now believes homelessness is Berkeley's biggest problem. For details, get yesterday's Daily and read Fred Dodsworth's "Mayor sings progressive tune."

Having just returned from reading the Berkeley Daily Planet and The East Bay Daily News at Café Trieste, I'm struck by two things--first, the excellence of the Trieste espresso, and the other, the difference between the publications--one, the Daily News, pretty much reports the news, the other, the Planet, by-and-large advances an agenda. So, . . ." take ya pick"--you don't even have to "pay ya money." They're both free.

 

 

11/20/05

 

Now the biggest problem in Berkeley? How to get elected in 2006?

 

 

 



You don't hav'ta be Freak
or even a Geek

to want a park in Potter Creek

 

 

11/21/05

What to have with baked ham? Some thoughts from The K. Hmmmm... fruit is very good with ham. A fruit chutney, perhaps? Scalloped potatoes? Something with figs? Mac and cheese? (Up here in Ontario macaroni and cheese is a national dish. It's called Kraft Dinner--KD for short.) . . . In the south if we were having ham, we might have sweet potatoes or regular potatoes, might have rice. Carrots! Oh, carrots would be very easy and yummy. Here is a good carrot dish that's very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
carrots
butter
granulated brown sugar
water
Peel, wash and cut carrots, fresh or bagged, to desired size. Small pieces work best. Boil until fork tender.

In a skillet, melt 3-4 tbsp. butter. Drain carrots and add to skillet.

Add granulated brown sugar as desired. Stir together until fully coated.

Saute in skillet about 5 minutes. Butter and sugar will caramelize and coat the carrots.

Serve steaming hot.

 

Hope to get Byron's sweet-potato pie recipe soon.

 

Ok, ok, . . . so all newspapers have agendas. The New York Times, for instance, is certainly capitalisms most sophisticated infomercial.

 

PG&E has upgraded it's service on this power-block--I now have steady, fresh power. My thanks to PG&E's Mr Gary and the linemen!

 

 

11/22/05

The Bark's Claudia emails "Cameron and I are going to appear on NPRs Talk of the Nation on Wed at 11:45 am-- I think. They were taken by our Katrina coverage in our latest issue and want us to talk about that. Very exciting for us. So tune in. Also it is a call-in show."

 

 

So, . . the Boss is against smoking and homelessness. But hell, is he for Motherhood and puppies? And the election is twelve months away.

Then, Zelda B comments "Mayor Bates Spins UC-City Deal at Chamber Lunch."

Z's smart as a whip, informed, and connected. But Z, this ain't a Poly Sci paper, it's a newspaper commentary. Say the same thing with 1/3 the words--you'll have THREE TIMES THE IMPACT. And remember

You don't hav'ta be Freak
or even a Geek

to want a park in Potter Creek

As for my 2006 political aspirations, I paraphrase my other favorite Virgo "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve."

Oh yah, . . that pigeon shit's STILL caked on Urban Ore's side-walk. And that green slime is STILL oozing up out of Ashby Ave.

FUCK IT!

Time to listen to THE BEACH BOYS' GREATEST HITS.

 

 

11/23/05

Becky O'Malley, whose Daily comes out twice a week, emails "Someone referred me to your blog. Please drop the use of 'most importantly' unless you mean 'self-aggrandizingly', which of course you might. If you are characterizing the following sentence or thought, please use 'most important'. If you can learn to do this I will look at your blog again."

If your paper came out more often I'd read it more. "Bottoms up" O'Malley and most important

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

"Cops bring holiday bounty" reports Fred Dodsworth of the East Bay Daily. "With the help of dozens of volunteers, The Berkeley Police Department and the Berkeley Boosters Police Activity League, put together and delivered 283 Thanksgiving dinner food boxes. Each box included a large frozen turkey, bags of fresh yams, potatoes, onions, and oranges, packages of stuffing, a carton of ginger snaps and cans of green beans, cranberries and fruit cocktail."

Dodsworth also observes "University snubs planning meeting--the first meeting of Berkeley's 21-member Downtown Area Planning Committee suffered from a distinct lack of representation from the University of California, according to several committee members in attendance. No one from the University of California came to represent the interests of the largest player in future downtown development." Get today's East Bay Daily and read Dodsworth's whole story.

 

 

 

11/25/05

Zelda B writes of the Downtown Area Planning Committee meeting that, in fact "UC staff was represented at the Nov. 21 meeting by Jennifer Lawrence (title: Principal Planner). She was not only introduced; she spoke for herself. And on the panel itself are at least two current UC employees--one was Linda Schact, who teaches at the journalism school--as well as former high-up UC planner-bureaucrat Dorothy Walker, who noted her former affiliation with the university at the meeting."

Want to laugh so hard that at the Intermission you have to take an intermission? Then rent "The Original KINGS of COMEDY" featuring Steve Harvey, D L Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac.

 

 

 

11/27/05

Last Tuesday night my flagpole was torn down and my American flag ripped from the staff and taken. I mention this because of the Curse of the Flag. Within a year your schwantz will wither and fall off.

Pete reports that the last rainfall in Potter Creek totaled .35 of an inch.

 

 

 

11/30/05

"Council Calls Session to Study Homeless Programs" reports Richard Brenneman of the Planet. "The City Council has called a special work session starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the city's existing homeless and anti-poverty programs."

Of course, you're studying the homeless establishment. Want to really find out about the homeless? Come to west-Berkeley, meet some people and treat them as human beings, not as a problems. That's a start.

 

A reader emails from a sister city "There is a fellow who pushes a grocery cart around town with signs all over it and hanging around his neck that say, 'I NEED TWO DOLLARS.' So this one day I was feeling so good about life when I saw him I rushed up to him and handed him a ten. He gave me a hug and asked me my name. I told him and asked his. 'Anatole,' he said. And so I went on to the grocers with him calling after me, 'Hey thanks, Kelly! Bye, Kelly! I'll pay you back when I get rich!' He's such a card. So now every time I see Anatole, I say, 'Hi, Anatole!' and he says, 'KELLY!! Hey, thanks for the money the other day. I'll pay you back.'

We talk. He told me his life's story one day as we stood in the sunshine.

Anatole isn't homeless. He was at first, but an outreach worker got him signed up for social assistance and now he has a room in a flop house. Sometimes he finds food in dumpsters and he always offers me some of his bounty. He's a real sweetie and so funny. I think one reason I am so receptive to his panhandling is that he doesn't make up any stupid, obviously false sob story like the other panhandlers. It's just, 'I need two dollars.' Period. No excuses given. It's straightforward and not manipulative.

One day I was opening a can of tuna that was left in my house from my mom's visit. I'm a vegatarian but not wanting to throw it out, it occurred to me to make a tuna salad sandwich and give it to someone. Then who the someone should be became obvious: Anatole! So I made up this lovely mix of relish and mayo and tuna, salt, pepper and so on and wrapped the sandwich up. I walked up to the UpTown area somehow knowing he would still be sitting on the same bench where I'd seen him earlier. Sure enough. 'Hi, Anatole!' I called out as I looked both ways before crossing the street toward his bench. "I made you a sandwich,' I said. 'JUST FOR ME???' 'Yep, just now in my kitchen. It's tuna.' 'TUNA? THAT'S MY FAVOURITE!' I handed over the sandwich and went back home, smiling ear to ear."

 

Pete reports that the last rainfall in Potter Creek totaled .85 of an inch.

 

Brandy McDougall from CEID emails "All of us at the Center for the Education of the Infant Deaf hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, as we gave thanks for our many supporters. It's because of you that we have been able to accomplish so much over the past year-- from the Bike-a-thon held by our Hearing Buddies at Prospect Sierra Elementary School, to our new Sunshine Preschool, an inclusive and bilingual preschool and childcare program, to the long-awaited launch of our community based Pediatric Audiology Suite. The following link will direct you to our Autumn 2005 newsletter: http://www.ceid.org/" The newsletter is at the bottom left.


 

return

ronpenndorf@earthlink.net

The original owner of all scanned material retains copyright. The material is used only to illustrate.