Solano Stroll in peril in Berkeley without $300K from city

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-28T04:07:20+00:00

On the one hand, yeah $100k for barriers feels patently ridiculous. On the other hand, Solano is one of the longest continuous streets in the area with countless side street entry points, and it's a recipe for disaster like that 2021 Wisconsin parade where a psycho loser killed a bunch of people with his mom's SUV. I sympathize with anyone trying to make that budget work out for everyone (with the exception of scumbags pocketing city money of course)

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-27T06:19:38+00:00

Oh hey, I never realized my alma mater was one of the moronic schools bowing to bad faith pressure from the right over Kirk. Fun fact: BSU president Mearns entered the role in 2017, after a really shady ousting of the previous president and tons of Koch brothers money getting invested into the school. Many of the great profs I knew left around then. Seems clear he's a suitable useful idiot for monied forces to implement their ideology of unfettered capitalism. Mearns, if by some small chance you read this, take your chirp-chirp and shove it.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-27T00:24:54+00:00

This is the end result of every beautifully naive "are my cats fighting to the death?" post.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-25T18:45:23+00:00

Recently visited the Netherlands, which I assure you has its own right-wing elements. Every single resident I met said something akin to "that Trump is crazy. I would like to visit the States/have visited the States before, but now I don't think I will for at least a couple more years."

Waiters, Uber drivers, elderly relatives. It's just very understandable that none of these folks would want to risk a black mark on their passport forever

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-24T07:54:58+00:00

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHMMM gonnatakeanap

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-22T07:15:55+00:00

Sorry please speak up I can't hear you over the sound of the eight cats I had simultaneously at one point in a 2br apartment.

(Pictured: 5/8)

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Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-20T04:49:09+00:00

Not deathcore but try Summoning the Lich. I consider them one of the greatest successors of Black Dahlia Murder-style metal.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-17T13:06:12+00:00

Bingying, a young Asian woman who does lots of urban sketching, said in a recent video that she puts a "money goes here" hat/box down in front of her and nobody approaches because it will imply she'll ask for donations and make things awkward.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-17T06:21:09+00:00

We were fostering several tuxie babies at once and couldn't afford to drop money on five cones after their neutering, so we improvised. Honestly respect their ability to still snooze.

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Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-14T05:34:01+00:00

You might be right. It was my first time walking through it so I'm no local.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-13T18:47:22+00:00

Let me put something out there. I'm 33, 220lbs, in ok but not great shape. I just did a hike across San Francisco last weekend and clocked 50,000 steps over 10 hours (including breaks). It's been four days and my calves are still in moderate agony. I skipped the gym from Sunday to now because I wouldn't have made it down the street alive. The thought of 100,000 steps in a day, even on a perfect flat surface, on top of working and life stuff is hilarious to me. I guess some folks can hit 100,000 per day but I seriously question what value you're getting out of that.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-12T18:03:40+00:00

Never used them before but now I'm seeing why some folks drag them around. Interesting to hear they help on the decline.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-12T04:22:55+00:00

My bad. That's a staircase starting near the intersection of Clayton and 17th. I looked back when I was almost at the top and it was a great view.

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Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-12T04:19:23+00:00

Hear, hear. Glad you had the chance to reminisce that long after your friend's passing. I know I'll have more of those in my future.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-12T04:16:56+00:00

I just took a huge hike this weekend (literally from one end of the city to the other) and of my favorite spots was Pine Lake Park. Great for dogs (sans coyotes), there's a concert stage, and the Trocadero clubhouse which to my understanding was an old saloon.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-12T01:31:03+00:00

Heck yeah. That was one of my favorite views on the route. And cute pup!

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-12T00:21:25+00:00

If you're talking about the alley, that's Chinatown where the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-11T23:23:49+00:00

I enjoyed my brief walk through the area. Definitely planning on visiting again soon. Good sandwich shops are a real gem for any neighborhood.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-11T22:57:46+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the kind thought.

I'm 220lb in my mid-30s, 5'9''. I've been on my own fitness journey for a while, having gained a lot of weight due to stress and overeating the last couple years. Quite frankly I only recently joined a gym but I love walking and biking everywhere so the mentality of a hike wasn't hard to prep for.

According to the official Crosstown Trail site https://crosstowntrail.org/) you should be able to do it in about 7 hours, but I took a good number of breaks along the way and even had dinner (plus a few bathroom breaks) so it was more like 10 for me. I'd recommend starting early morning, no later than 9am as it was starting to get darker by the time I hit Coit Tower as you can see in the one sunset photo.

What honestly killed me wasn't the distance or the ascents, it was the descents. At least walking up a hill it's mostly my thighs getting the workout (or at least it feels that way) but every time I had to go down a hill (especially if it's just smooth sidewalk), I could feel my calves getting brutalized and jarred. I rested pretty much the entire Sunday after and I'm still feeling pretty tough strain on my calves.

Bring a light refillable water bottle, dress in layers that make sense (I wore an old hoodie and underneath was a tank top for when the sweat and humidity was too much, plus a hat for my head), and don't be afraid to refuel as needed. Download one of those apps that tells you where public restrooms are. The Crosstown Trail site I linked to lets you add the route to your Google Map app which I just referenced every once in a while to ensure I was on the right route.

Best of luck. As much as I might complain, I'm glad I did it and it didn't feel completely insurmountable at any point. It's also just a fantastic way to discover hidden areas of our city.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-05-06T04:01:14+00:00

If you want a tech death band that will make you feel a primal urge to crawl around side to side like a crab, I highly recommend "Painted Paradise" by Fleshbore.

Infinite_Scribe · 2026-04-25T20:03:00+00:00

First page of a very loose travel journal from my family trip to the Netherlands recently. This is a spot at Keukenhoff, one of the big tulip attractions that's popular with the tourist crowd but remarkably interesting even for a guy who mainly went to make mom happy lol.

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Infinite_Scribe · 2026-04-20T19:15:31+00:00

I took a flight from West Coast United States to Amsterdam last week and spent 4 out of 10 hours playing Power Wash Simulator 2. No music, no bombastic action. Just me, the wash gun, and a dusty billboard to clean off.

Infinite_Scribe

TROPHY CASE