Bluoz (Entries tagged as Bay Area)

Oakland Sunday Streets

nospam@example.com () — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:22:06 -0700

The first ever Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) or Oaklavia Sunday Streets was a smashing success with lots of stunned happy people wandering around

SF gate article

Continue reading "Oakland Sunday Streets"

Montara Mountain Spring 2010

nospam@example.com () — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:03:01 -0700

Sunday, May 1st, 2010, Montara Mountain

full photo set on Flickr (145 photos)

looking north to Pacifica, San Francisco and Marin with Mt Tamalpais

California poppies on the California coast

the gate at the top of Montara Mountain through which no mortal may pass. It is the forbidden land, also known as Crystal Springs watershed, the drinking water for San Francisco

looking east across San Bruno, the penninsula and the east bay with Mt Diablo

Lake Pilarcitos, the exclusive campground of the San Francisco elite. San Mateo highlands in the background

San Francisco with Mt St Helena in the background

some of the most insane, infamous mountain biking trails exist on Montara Mountain, like this one called "The Crack"

MTBR mountain biking forum

somebody elses helmet cam video down this same trail

this stuff is hardcore mountain biking! I've seen people decked out in full hockey gear

Mt Tamalpais, spring 2010

nospam@example.com () — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:34:29 -0700

biked MT Tamalpais this weekend

full photo set on Flickr (148 photos)

help restore San Francisco Bay wetlands

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:43:36 -0700

A worthwhile cause which likely affects portions of the San Francisco Bay Trail, one of my favorites

from Save SF Bay

Community-based Restoration Program Details

* Programs are hosted at beautiful Bayside parks in Hayward, Mill Valley, Oakland, Palo Alto and Redwood City
* Hands-on volunteer habitat restoration projects include: planting native seedlings, removing non-native weeds, transplanting seedlings in our native plant nurseries, and shoreline cleanup
* Learn from our experienced restoration educators about the fascinating wetland ecosystem, Bay history, the future of salt pond restoration, and how you can keep the Bay clean

Save The Bay Program Benefits

* Showcases your group's support of the environment and greater community
* Hands-on volunteer projects at beautiful shoreline parks
* A fun team-building and bonding experience
* You will improve critical wetland habitat that serves as refuge to many species, naturally filters pollution, and combats global warming
* We make it easy for you to organize! We will provide outreach flyers and participant information, and suggest educational themes to meet your group's needs.

Sign up your group today!

Save The Bay's land-based programs are 3-4 hours in length and are available to groups with 10-50 people. If your group has funding, we suggest a tax-deductable donation of $500 for land-based programs.

To learn more about easy and fun ways to make a lasting impact on the Bay and your organization, contact Natalie LaVan at 510.452.9261 x109, or natalie@saveSFbay.org

Join these local organizations and businesses in celebrating and restoring the Bay:

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES � AOL � AT&T � BAY AREA SEA KAYAKERS � BOY SCOUTS � CISCO � CRISSY FIELD CENTER � eBAY � ENTREPRENEURS FOUNDATION � FARELLA, BRAUN, AND MARTEL LAW FIRM � GAP, INC. � THE GIRL SCOUTS � HANDS ON BAY AREA � HEADLANDS INSTITUTE � HILLSBOROUGH GARDEN CLUB � KAISER PERMANENTE � LEVI STRAUSS � MARRIOTT � THE MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE � MAXYGEN � OMNEON � ONE BRICK � ORACLE � PACKARD FOUNDATION � PALO ALTO GARDEN CLUB � PG&E � REI � SUN MICROSYSTEMS �

California wild morel season 2010

nospam@example.com () — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:52:04 -0700

Morel mushroom spring 2010 season is starting. They traditionally grow in in forests and burn areas and snow melt peaking in May. These came from Visalia in grape orchards. That's John Garrone of Far West Fungi at the San Francisco civic center farmers market

Bay Area chanterelles in season

nospam@example.com () — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:35:02 -0700

Chanterelles are in season right now around the San Francisco Bay Area for the next few weeks. You can find them under oak and mixed forest conifers in the east bay hills, south through Big Sur and beyond. These chanterelles in the photo were at the Civic Center farmers market today at the Far West Fungi stand, but they were picked along the central coast near Big Sur

You can't grow these. they must be hunted and picked, therefore the price

these photos are from earlier today around the San Francisco Bay Area, found under tan oak, by a fellow member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco

family in Lodi poisoned by mushrooms

nospam@example.com () — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:29:20 -0700

this happens once a year in the Bay Area and is sad to see and so easily prevented with accurate information

Chronicle story, Mercury News, Stockton Record

(11-12) 17:23 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Three members of a Lodi family who ate so-called death cap mushrooms are hospitalized in intensive care in San Francisco, officials said Thursday.

The mushrooms, formally known as Amanita phalloides, are among the world's most lethal. They are starting to sprout in the Bay Area because of the recent rains, presenting a particular risk to immigrants who mistake them for harmless varieties found in their native countries. Even experienced mushroom gatherers have been fooled into believing death caps to be edible.

NBC4 news also did a story, however, they royally messed up by posting a photo not of the deadly Amanita phalloides, but of the most famous magic mushroom in the world, the sub tropical Psilocybe cubensis, which doesn't grow in the Bay Area unless it's indoors in a terrarium. Somebody at Channel 4 NBC is trippin hard on shrooms, man. Intentional or not, it's extremely irresponsible to post the wrong photo, replacing a deadly one with a non deadly one, and could result in future poisonings (the chronicle posted the correct photo, also an AP photo) (NBC Bay Area has since changed the photo. The story itself is just a repost from January 6th, made to look like a current story. The current story is in the Chronicle)

This is the real mushroom the Lodi family ate, available from the Mycological Society of San Francisco website, Amanita phalloides, the death cap

The Chronicle also had some errors, although the photo was correct. See the comment section

a poster made by the North American Mycological Society can be ordered for free for educational purposes. This poster includes warnings in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, and Thai. Incidents of mushroom poisoning have been notable in people speaking these languages, newly arrived in North America.

and finally, here's your NBC Bay Area K-Mart school of journalism key to toxic fungi, duuuude

Sausalito art car

nospam@example.com () — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:26:42 -0700

now pretty much a permanent fixture, surrounded by potted plants, in the parking lot of Dunphy Park, Sausalito, California

you know you're in Grateful Dead territory when....

nospam@example.com () — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:45:52 -0700

The main supermarket is organic and has this mural on the wall and the main clothing store on the main drag sells granny dresses

I swear, every time I run a red light on my bicycle through this town, I'm handed a miracle ticket

Does this look like a dancing bear to you?

the new student mural 2009, Fairfax, California

Jerry Garcias home town

Santa Cruz fire from space

nospam@example.com () — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:37:35 -0700

Lockheed fire, near Bonny Doon, California, from space.

9pm, August 13, 2009

click for full res

Purisima Creek Redwoods

nospam@example.com () — Sun, 10 May 2009 08:13:40 -0700

You live in San Francisco and don't have a car and want to get away for a day on the weekends. Here's one option. Take BART to Daly City, then catch the Samtrans 110, which usually turns into the 242 and takes you all the way to Half Moon Bay. It drops you off literally at the foot of Higgins Canyon Road and you can hike or bike into Purisima Creek Redwoods. Ir's easier to bike down hwy 1 to Verde Road and then into the park. You can take your bike on samtrans like I do and a few others, and bike all the way over the hill into Woodside and Redwood City and catch the Caltrain back. Purisima Creek and El Corte Madera Creek just to the south are about the only two large parks in San Mateo County you can mountain bike in. I biked some of the side trails, considered the hardest and even on a Saturday (Borden hatch Mill trail and Bald Knob) I only saw 4 people the whole day. Much less crowded than Mt Tamalpais in Marin, and more redwoods too

the entire cost, round trip....less than 10 bucks

Bald Knob trail (2100 feet)

looking north to SF, Mt Tam in the background

the rest of the photos

Another fallen hero

nospam@example.com () — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:39:01 -0700

This English as a second language teacher at Tamalpais adult school, Jack Liberman, was recently fired for teaching some English swear words to adults. Since it was adult school and after hours, it was kept away from Marin county's precious little snowflakes being groomed for a life of morbid boredom and insulation against the unwashed masses, who are likely guaranteed to swear more than anyone thought possible, just not in front of their parents

Marin IJ article

Chronicle article

Just how are immigrants supposed to understand reader comments on breaking news stories like MUNI raises fares to 2 dollars?

how do you say 'bullshit' in Swedish?

better yet, want to bet that the very same Chronicle that made news of the teacher who got fired for explaining expletives to immigrants will themselves delete the very same expletives in their own comments by morning?

update - the Chron already deleted it (there was more than one like that)

Break More Glass and We'll Spank Your Ass

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:37:59 -0700

signs on 19th Street in Oakland today

along with KTVU taping a debate with the guy in the Huey P Newton shirt and the business owner who got her glass smashed a few days ago

Rosie the Riveter

nospam@example.com () — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:35:19 -0700

photos from the Rosie the Riveter National Memorial Park in the Richmond marina

Free online classes at Stanford University

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:08:29 -0700

from Moue Magazine

Stanford University has launched 10 online courses in the areas of computer science and electrical engineering. Free to download, each course includes lectures (video and transcripts), handouts, assignments and exams. You don�t have to register. You won�t be able to interact with the professor of the course but you can with the other virtual students doing the coursework.

The 10 current courses are divided into three categories: Introduction to Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Linear Systems and Optimization.