153 take it outside
We're having a heatwave, so being outside is extra excellent, but damn... Walking through Valencia Street's new outdoor dining scene was delightful.
Yes, because they're only closing the full street four nights a week, diners were sitting on the sidewalk or in parklets, and walking through the unmasked diners did feel like running the virus gauntlet, but wow...
It's like we're someplace nice, and fun, and outdoorsy. Like Europe, or Key West, or Boulder.
These parklets were a thing before the pandemic, but now pretty much every restaurant that's still open has one. The different designs are creative.
Simple reused packing pallets worked just fine, too. Love the turquoise!
Of course, not everything is firing on all cylinders. This restaurant's choice of gold lettering and black velvet ropes to close off an area in front of a public park did not go over well with my co-stroller, the king. He took a seat, just because he's lived in the neighborhood his whole life and it's his damn park, not this restaurant's VIP area.
(Personally, I'd recommend switching up their design language, and maybe going for a little more "thank you" and a little less "reserved.")
There was some new street art, too.
If you like dogs, or you suspect that maybe something is messed up with our incarceration system, this is nine minutes well spent.
And if you don't like dogs and think prisoners deserve harsh treatment, watch twice.
While we're on design, I learned that Oakland's excellent city seal was stolen off a piece of handmade jewelry in the 1970s.
The ten minute spit test is getting closer.
This driver gets it.
Yes, before she was married, Kamala Harris did date. For a time, she was linked with Willie Brown, at the time speaker of the California house.
He hooked her up with a job. This is maybe not the best behavior for an elected official, but it's pretty damn common, and you can't really blame a young woman on the make for playing her cards.
And in the process, she probably learned a bit about running for office, which she did seven years later.
FYI, our former mayor wrote an op-ed encouraging her not to take the VP nom, but then backtracked when she did, and said it's a great idea. And no, she didn't call him for advice. That smile is in the rearview mirror, big time.
Been thinking about The Singularity and the mail-in-ballot shenanigans.
It sure does seem like we'll be voting online soon. In general, I like the post office. I'm nostalgic for the days I used to use it regularly. And I'm fully down with voting. And I'm just as nervous as anyone about my vote disappearing into a black box.
But maybe the future is calling?
It's pretty tropical in the city.
There's a warm wind blowing in straight from Hawaii. It makes for lovely, long warm evenings.
And maybe a long, hot climate chang--er, uh...week.
Make that 50 plane crashes a week for five months. (That's the number of Covid-19 deaths in the USA.)
Watched Knock Down The House. Wow. AOC is the lady!
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