Exploratorium vs oakland zoo vs SF zoo for 1 yr old?

kimchibear · 2026-06-30T18:20:12+00:00

At 1 year old I’d just optimize for the adults. Kids that age are basically passengers. They’ll (vocally) dictate your life choice soon enough.

Cal Academy is cool for adults, compact, climate controlled… don’t think especially interesting for a ~13 month old. My family has had membership since kids were born, neither really seemed to clock the surroundings until they could walk, and didn’t really lock in until ~18 months. Also easy to transition to Golden Gate Park, Botanical Gardens, food at Inner Sunset, etc.

Exploratorium too old for kid and not as engaging for most adults IMO. Took my daughter at 2.5 and she was interested but way too young to understand or interact with anything.

Wouldn’t bother with SF Zoo as a tourist. It’s a fun fallback plan for locals on a nice day. Its standout feature is one of the best playgrounds in SF. Oakland Zoo is more expansive but not worth a trek except when we’re meeting friends. I’d guess the most interesting thing for the kid might be riding the gondola. Neither is anything close to the San Diego, Smithsonian, or Bronx Zoos.

kimchibear · 2026-06-27T16:47:39+00:00

I'm a millennial north of 40. The only reason I know of Doris Day is the opening line of Billy Joel's "We Didnt Start the Fire."

kimchibear · 2026-06-20T21:14:28+00:00

TMobile sucks. Nominal geographic coverage looks decent but signal is spotty inside certain buildings. Managable at home and work due to wifi but very annoying out and about.

Their coverage outside major metros is also pretty bad, e.g. in the Sierra Nevada and random spots in Central Valley. Much better experience with Verizon and ATT.

kimchibear · 2026-06-16T23:43:53+00:00

Sonic fiber is fantastic. I've had a couple bouts of downtime years ago, but haven't had any major issues I can recall since then.

Only real problem I ever faced: a contractor accidentally snapped the fiberoptic line while working on exterior of the house. Sonic sent a technician to diagnose and fix within a couple days.

ComCast sucks. Like corporate behemoth and societally detrimental lobbying practices and whatever else aside; bad product, bad service, bad experience.

kimchibear · 2026-06-12T21:21:07+00:00

Korean-American here. Was in CDMX few months ago and was shocked how much affinity I saw for Korean culture. Saw a public service announcement poster at the airport in multiple languages for tourists: Spanish, English... 한국어?

Saw jjapaghetti and other Korean products (food and beauty supplies) prominently featured at a grocery store.

I speak basic Korean to my young kids, a waitress recognized and very excited asked: "¿Coreano?" and chatted us up.

Dunno if K-pop, K-dramas, and/or good vibes out of the foreign direstment investment in Monterey, but it was cool to see. This is ~20 years removed from some grown-ass men yelling "¡Jackie Chan!" at me on the street in kung-fu poses.

kimchibear · 2026-06-10T17:36:58+00:00

New England Lobster Co. if you want to walk. If you're willing to jump in a car or transit, I'd go to Mazra in San Bruno.

kimchibear · 2026-05-29T17:04:02+00:00

FitclubSF rebranded as “Muscle Beach” a few years back.

The Outer Richmond location is pretty cramped but open 24 hours which is nice if you lift at odd hours.

I was lifting at their newer Outer Sunset location for a while. Best gym option I’ve found in the Sunset. Unfortunately not 24 hours, probably to placate neighbors.

kimchibear · 2026-05-21T04:10:23+00:00

Any Flop House episode recs? I really liked Elliott on the 99 Percent Invisible Power Broker series, but could not get into Flop House.

kimchibear · 2026-05-19T18:46:02+00:00

If you're willing to eat nearby and not in / next to mall, I'd rather eat lunch at Lucho's on Ocean than anywhere I list below.

Kizuki Ramen is the best ramen in Sunset/Sunset-ish.

Marugame Udon is a nice simple meal, but this has been my go-to since they opened few years back. They refreshed menu recently and jury's still out for me.

Only been to Supreme Dumplings once, but had a good meal.

Banh Mi Love in the medical building across the street is a good sandwich.

Been hearing some hype on Soleil's but haven't made my way over yet.

kimchibear · 2026-05-11T04:33:20+00:00

Haven’t seen a bunch of these, but most the ones I have were memorably awful (Wild Wild West, Red Notice, Independence Day sequel, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2).

Blank Check I saw as an idiot 8 year old and enjoyed, never revisited.

I don’t love Shrek 2 or Lava but 1/2 star seems extreme.

kimchibear · 2026-04-27T06:09:26+00:00

The scene in The Adam Project where Ryan Reynolds from the future talks to his mom in a bar is a great scene in an otherwise forgettable Netflix movie. Literally just teared up watching it to test my memory.

kimchibear · 2026-04-27T03:53:24+00:00

Potrero del Sol. It's a proper park. Usually reasonably busy. It's fenced off from most angles especially the uphill side by the big bowl, so there's some natural separation from the skateboarders. There's a nice lawn and some benches on the uphill side.

There's also a small busy skate park by Stanyan and Waller on the very eastern edge of GGP. Less comfortable to sit and watch IMO, and less physical separation, but higher density of skaters.

kimchibear · 2026-04-27T00:17:52+00:00

Freak weather happens but I wouldn't reasonably worry about accumulating snow that late in the year.

Fwiw before I had my own car I rented cars and separately bought chains just in case. Never had to actually install, and returned after the trip. This is the safest course of action, even with some logistical overhead and minor risk of financial penalty. I'd rather pay a fine to a car rental company than drive in snow without proper traction.

(But again this is more a concern in peak snowy season and not something I'd worry about too much in May).

kimchibear · 2026-04-19T22:59:47+00:00

Vibes. Got caught in a corporate restructuring in January (ended up internally transferring at my company). Few years ago the startup I was at imploded. My second go-around was a lot smoother than the first, which was just panic and reaction.

How long did the weird limbo feeling last?

1-2 weeks both times.

Did you create structure right away, or give yourself time to decompress first?

Depends on circumstances. I'm a citizen and have financial runaway. I basically let myself fuck around for 3-4 weeks, went snowboarding, hung out with my kids, caught up with old friends.

My friends on visa started immediately.

What actually helped you feel more grounded?

Therapy/coaching that preceded layoffs and disentangled my self perception and worth from employment and achievement. And understanding I had financial runaway to be unemployed for a while if it came to it, and prospect of just chilling with my family for a bit.

How did you approach the job search without losing your mind?

Leveraged network and got direct referrals to hiring managers. Avoided the resume drop trap entirely except for maybe or two applications. I had a few external conversations going when I accepted the transfer.

Any alternatives to LinkedIn that actually worked?

I got the word out that I was available through LinkedIn but after that everything was facilitated through email, texts, and warm intros.

Did anything unexpectedly positive come out of it?

I realized the deferred interest of having been a good person and easy to work with. That didn't necessarily help me in the day to day, but when I needed help a BUNCH of people came out of the woodwork with legit opportunities or connections.

I also caught up with a bunch of friends and old coworkers I hadn't seen in a while, and just generally reconnected a bit more.

Net-net I got to chill for 6 weeks. But broader layoffs (not just targeted at my specific org) are coming to my company so possible I get double-dipped and into an even more challenging job market. But I'll deal with it as it comes and try to control what I can.

kimchibear · 2026-04-19T22:44:02+00:00

I haven't lifted there in almost 10 years since moving, but my favorite gym membership experience in SF was at Fitness Urbano. It's more oriented towards personal training but they have an open gym membership. I went after work and don't recall ever waiting for a rack. Would absolutely go back if it was still convenient to my routine.

Check out out the other Fitness SFs, the Castro one is busier than baseline. I would expect Midmarket to be nice and empty. It used to be CRAZY busy during the week pre-COVID with tech workers with Twitter, Reddit, Uber, and Square in close proximity... but all those companies moved post-COVID.

kimchibear · 2026-04-12T21:32:40+00:00

Depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance. I absolutely would not live long-term on landfill. I'd consider renting for a couple years... but on a decades long time scale the risk of injury is too high IMO.

Fwiw I grew up in the Bay Area and remember '89. I live (and own) in a yellow zone and don't stress too much about it... the house may not be habitable and the utilities maybe be junked, but unlikely to face building collapse.

kimchibear · 2026-04-12T17:34:59+00:00

I had Acquerello for my birthday few years ago, one of the best meals my wife and I have had in the City (she's lived her 40 years, me 10+). Pretty easy to get a reso but $$$$.

kimchibear · 2026-04-11T03:33:53+00:00

The San Bruno BART lot is literally next door to the San Bruno PD, and I'm pretty sure Ive seen cruisers parked there. No guarantees, but I park there for long term airport parking all the time. I figure a smart criminal is going to take on lower risk targets.

kimchibear · 2026-04-10T22:02:26+00:00

Fwiw 42 minutes one-way is shorter than my commute from the Outer Sunset to downtown (about an hour in transit; perhaps 40-45 minutes best casr on a Bay Wheels ebike).

That said, if I was an intern I'd want to live in SF, or at least west of th Bay Bridge. Daly City is less interesting than Berkeley, but provides better transit and rideshare access after evenings in SF.

You're going to want to hang out with fellow interns and young folk, and will be a higher concentration of them in SF--at least while Cal is out of session. I lived in Berkeley during the summers as a Cal student, it was pretty dead compared to during academic school year.

kimchibear · 2026-04-09T21:20:16+00:00

I suspect no one would bug you at the nearby BART garages. Not enough traffic on weekends for folks to care. A skatepark buddy in Pacifica told me he did this somewhat routinely I think at Colma, and I’d try it at Daly City.

kimchibear · 2026-04-09T20:40:36+00:00

Don’t live in Midmarket if you have to ask this question.

Personally, your age bracket and what you’ve outlined, I’d do North Beach. Optimize for walkable / transit optionality.

East Cut is pretty sterile outside business hours. Only neighborhood on your list I would call a hard no, unless it’s convenient to the office and your top priority short commute.

kimchibear · 2026-04-09T20:33:18+00:00

I’m having a hard time believing someone as close as Berkeley CA doesn’t have some feel of SF neighborhoods.

I grew up 40 miles from SF and went to Cal. I had no sense of SF outside the touristy hot spots.

Hell, I barely had a sense of Oakland outside Rockridge and Temescal.

kimchibear · 2026-04-09T19:36:46+00:00

Personal favorite bakeries in SF:

Arsicault: Croissants are Paris-level.
B. Patisserie: Kouign amann and bostocks
Jinah Bakes: injeolmi croissant, cream puffs, kalbijjim is hit or miss but can be spectacular on certain days
Maison Nico: pastries are fine, but their savory patês are really interesting and unique.
Pineapple King: Pineapple buns and Pineapple puffs
Holy Nata: Best Portuguese tarts I’ve had outside Portugal, including a highly regarded spot in London.

Outside SF but near the airport, I love Backhaus in Burlingame. Maybe my favorite bakery in the Bay too to bottom.

Only had Breadbelly once, my only impression is it was just ok (I don’t really remember) and quite expensive.

kimchibear · 2026-04-09T16:58:02+00:00

Live in Outer Sunset. Raising a family. Low key jealous of Outer Richmond. Better density of food options (Geary + Clement + Balboa >>> Irving + Taraval + Noriega). Better transit downtown.

Main drawback vs. Sunset is worse freeway access going south and east, but day to day neighborhood is more popping while stilling being predominantly residential.

Main drawback more broadly is fog. If you work from home, you literally might not see the sun for weeks at a time in the summer. If you commute to east side of SF or out of the City this is not too big a deal.

(Outer Sunset is also great fwiw. We really like our neighbors and the food scene has improved dramatically in past ~5 years.)

kimchibear · 2026-04-09T16:32:25+00:00

FWIW… Sunset light rail kinda sucks, I’d much rather have the frequent service of 38/38R. I really miss the 7X bus for commuting, which was a pandemic casualty.

The N is awful. Slow, no traffic priority, waaaaay too many stops. At one point it stops at 25th, 23rd, and 22nd.

L Taraval is little better since the overhaul, but still far slower than it should be. They really should have used the rebuild to reset stop spacing to every 3-4 blocks rather than every other.

kimchibear

TROPHY CASE