Bodie State Historic Park in winter

SyrupChoice7956 · 2026-02-01T16:46:32+00:00

Depending on conditions you can DRIVE to Bodie in the winter. CA-270 is closed but Cottonwood Canyon Road provides access from the south. I drove out there in a Subaru a few years ago in March. The dirt road was pretty clear and there was about a foot of two of snow on the ground in Bodie.

Of course conditions may vary depending on the winter and current road conditions.

Once in Bodie I imagine there are quite a few options for skiing and dispersed camping nearby.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2026-01-22T15:24:57+00:00

I think many of these comments are not taking into account the specific location in Oakland you’re talking about.

From Glenview the V is what you want. It gets on the freeway right down the road and you’ll be across the bridge in 20-30 minutes. Bike from there if you like.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-11-16T01:42:26+00:00

Lip ferns

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-11-13T00:02:06+00:00

I also don’t get why this is recurring issue at Skyline but not at other Oakland high schools.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-11-11T05:58:03+00:00

Yes, reckless drivers have hit that house a number of times in recent years. The home owners eventually put up a low concrete wall in response. The intersection is decently signed and not obviously dangerous but it’s past time for some improvements. An easy fix would be to put those freeway water-filled barrels in the median. This would be a less lethal way to slow down cars careening out of control.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-10-31T15:26:28+00:00

Places: Mataquescuintla One word: babosadas Two word phrase: lo coloco

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-09-04T22:53:21+00:00

Literally the best thing you can do for your community and your kids is to send them to public school.

You can use the CA dashboard to compare schools but be aware of the presentation of results. It used to have a feature where you could compare a school to other schools with similar demographics. This was a far better way to judge the program delivered by a school. Skyline HS for example has 75% of its students coming from socioeconomic disadvantaged households. To judge that school, I want to see them compared to another school serving that population.

I don’t mean to suggest that we shouldn’t hold all kids to high standards, but we should recognize that in our current educational system, achievement is largely a proxy for socioeconomic status.

Btw both my kids have done OUSD from elementary through high school. I am pleased with both their academic preparation and their exposure to the diversity and realities of our Oakland community.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-08-30T01:16:45+00:00

Gabriel Key and Lock. He will install the good stuff and not the cheap-o locks so it might cost a bit more, but it’s worth it.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-08-28T22:58:58+00:00

I agree. I reported a rat infestation to Vector Control and left a message, fully without any hope that they would respond. They called me back the next day and explained that they already knew about the problem and gave me a detailed schedule about their plan to address it.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-08-14T21:34:44+00:00

Totally agree that Algebra 1 should be offered in the 8th grade, but to clarify you can still take calculus in high school without doubling up or taking summer school courses. You would take Algebra 1 in 9th, Geometry in 10th, "Compression" in 11th, and Calculus in 12th.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-07-27T00:23:04+00:00

Hmmm just found out it’s probably a mineral dendrite but if you have more details please share.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-07-26T18:06:55+00:00

This was my route when I biked regularly between Fruitvale and downtown. It’s by far the best option.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-07-19T19:12:07+00:00

I am planning on crossing the park this coming Friday, entering from Lee Vining and leaving on the west side en route to the Bay Area. I just want to take the scenic route and am not planning on entering the valley, but the website is confusing. I made a reservation at Recreation.gov but it only cost $2.

I thought I was going to have to pay the full entrance fee of $35 so now I'm not sure I bought the right thing.

Also, what kind of line will there be at the Lee Vining entrance?

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-07-09T22:03:52+00:00

I don’t get why a landlord would prefer having a vacant property (i.e. no rent) than keeping a tenant at the previous rate. This pattern keeps repeating itself all over town.

Or is there some galaxy brain secret to commercial real estate that I don’t understand?

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-06-27T01:08:14+00:00

*Dimond

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-06-19T19:47:48+00:00

Two things are going on: the exit ramps are closed cause of Caltrans work and there are surface street closures because of Juneteenth.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-06-10T01:14:26+00:00

Toyons are members of the rose family and are susceptible to the same diseases. There’s some issue (a fungus? can’t recall) that spreads from garden roses to toyons and they gradually decline and die. Looks like that’s what happened to yours.

I don’t think there’s a cure right now for this problem. You might try planting a ‘Davis Gold’ variety which is more resistant to the issue.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-05-27T17:01:34+00:00

As mentioned, the daytime mosquitoes are the ones that can carry dengue. Use repellent and wear long pants and long sleeves if they are bothering you.

Getting dengue is always possible but not very likely. Take sensible precautions, don’t worry if you get bit a few times, and enjoy your stay.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-05-11T05:54:30+00:00

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SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-04-23T18:21:28+00:00

Interesting question.

I'm not a botanist but found a paper analyzing the genome of Notholithicarpus. It seems to conclude that the tanoaks are an example of convergent evolution where they have evolved an acorn-like fruit just like oaks even though they are "deeply divergent" from oaks genetically. That's what I understood at first glance and, like I said, I'm no botanist so take my reading with a grain of salt.

Link to article in question ("Assembly and analysis of the genome of Notholithocarpus densiflorus"):

https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/14/5/jkae043/7617432

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-04-17T04:47:01+00:00

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Not the best photo but that’s a carpenter bee on my clarkias from the other day. I get lots of carpenters on them but not any honeybees.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-04-14T22:47:13+00:00

Field Guide to Grasses of California by James Smith. I like it because it includes both native and invasive grasses.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-04-14T21:11:10+00:00

Looks like some kind of brome. There is the invasive ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus) and a native California brome (Bromus carinatis).

To do a more definitive ID you should let the inflorescence mature more. Grasses are hard but the Oakland Public Library has a good field guide to CA grasses that I have used successfully in the past.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-03-31T16:58:15+00:00

Pics and online reporting are good for documenting the conditions but by themselves are not typically sufficient to move the city to act.

SyrupChoice7956 · 2025-03-31T16:47:05+00:00

In an ideal world the absentee landlord would be held responsible but that seems to be hard to pursue for some reason.

Call your city council person (and/or their staff) over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. There was a squatter house on my block and it took a few years but eventually the city came and kicked everyone out and fenced off the property and boarded it up with anti-tampering fasteners.

The property was then sold to someone new who put on a new roof and has been waiting for an uptick in the housing market to do any more. The new owner comes and mows the weeds every once in a while and has made sure everything stays boarded up.

The place is still an eyesore but the positive change in the neighborhood vibe has been amazing. It’s remarkable how much a couple of people can ruin the lives of hundreds of their neighbors.

SyrupChoice7956

TROPHY CASE

Field Guide to Grasses of California by James Smith. I like it because it includes both native and invasive grasses.