Daily Archives: September 27, 2014

Measure ‘R’, The Anti-Green Green Initiative.

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I never write partisan political articles for my tenant newsletter, but I feel so strongly about this issue, that I am breaking my own rule. In November, Berkeley citizens will vote on Measure R ‘The Downtown Green Initiative.’ While the name of this initiative sounds very appealing, it is misleading. This measure will do precisely the opposite of what the name implies.

Subways or Freeways. The city of Berkeley should be encouraging real estate developers to build new apartments near subway stations and the U.C. Berkeley campus, not next to freeway entrances. This law will do precisely the opposite. Only one freeway goes through Berkeley, Highway 880, and it is choked with traffic every day. Berkeley has 3 subways stations. This city has never allowed high-rise residential buildings to be built near 2 of its 3 subway stations, Ashby and North Berkeley. That leaves the downtown Berkeley BART station, where a lot of new apartment houses have been built over the past decade. However, if Measure R passes, new apartment construction near the downtown Berkeley subway station will be severely reduced, probably down to near zero, while allowing unfettered construction of new apartments near freeway entrances. This is terrible environmental policy.

Real estate developers already have powerful incentives to build apartments near the freeway instead of downtown. Land in Berkeley near freeway entrances is much cheaper than downtown. It is also easier to get demolition and building permits near the freeway. Although apartments are cheaper to build near the freeway, rents are the same as downtown. This explains why hundreds of new apartments are now under construction near Berkeley’s freeway entrances. Consider Avalon Apartments, which just opened last month. It is 2 blocks from the University Avenue freeway entrance. 1 bedroom apartments start at $2,750 a month, and 2 bedrooms start at $3,400.

Measure R is opposed by many environmental organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters and the Greenbelt Alliance. Please remember on election day that ballot initiatives often have misleading names. Don’t vote for this measure simply because the word ‘green’ is in it’s name. Think about what this measure will actually do.

If we build housing at places where people have to get and drive cars in order to get to work or school, then that is what they will do. That is a no-brainer.

The Best College Swimming Pool.

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lazyriverThe swimming pool at the RSF (Recreational Sports Facility) on the U.C. Berkeley campus is certainly much better than the average college swimming pool, but it is far from top of the heap. The best college swimming pool in the United States is probably the one at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Below is a photo of the pool’s indoor lazy river, which is lined with palm trees and passes under a waterfall. Students can also join an on-campus, resort-quality beach club called ‘Truman’s Pond,’ named after President Harry Truman, who lived nearby.

Don’t Invite Burglars Into Your Home.

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walletinspectorWhat should you do if a stranger unexpectedly shows up at your front door and says that he’s a building inspector, health inspector, fire marshal, or wallet inspector and asks you to let him in? Just say “No!” Give him my phone number and tell him politely, but firmly, “Speak to my landlord.” Do not let him inside. Do not answer questions or engage him in conversation.

Criminals get into people’s homes all the time by posing as government officials, and they can be very convincing. Smart crooks come well groomed, wear business suits, carry fake I.D., and are polite. After all, a professional house thief knows that if he looks and sounds like a burglar, nobody is going to let him in! If polite talk doesn’t work, a criminal trying to get into your home may then try intimidation. He may threaten to have you arrested for refusing to let him in, but that is just proof that the guy is a phony.

You cannot be arrested or fined for refusing to allow a government official into your home unless he has a Search Warrant signed by a judge stating specifically what it is that he is looking for, and he is accompanied by a policeman. That’s in the Constitution. Keep in mind that I will never send an inspector or repairman to your home without contacting you first to let you know that he is coming.

The 3 Little Pigs

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3pigsHave you ever seen the Walt Disney movie ‘The 3 Little Pigs’? Nearly everyone has. I just recently noticed something interesting in this movie that I had overlooked before.  Below is a cell from the movie showing the 3 pigs singing ‘Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?’

Did you ever notice the picture on the wall? It’s a picture of the father of the 3 little pigs. I have shown this cell to people who have seen this movie many, many times, but none of them recalled noticing the picture on the wall. It seems like a rather odd and creepy picture for the 3 pigs to have on their wall.

Sorcery In Saudi Arabia

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I am the vice president of the Oakland Magic Circle, the largest independent magic club west of the Mississippi. I recently sent the following e-mail to the other officers of my magic club.
In August 2014; 26 people were executed in Saudi Arabia. One of those 26 people was Mohammed bin Bakr al-Alawi, who was beheaded for ‘black magic sorcery.’ Evidence of his sorcery included ‘causing birds to appear.’ Causing birds to appear? So, how much would you charge to do a bird act in Saudi Arabia? (See photo below of Lance Burton doing his dove production act.) I don’t do tricks with birds, but I do a good ball vanish; however, it would probably be unwise for me to do it in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Gazette newspaper reported that in 2012, the government’s witch-hunting unit arrested 215 ‘magicians.”
doveExecutions are depressingly common in Saudi Arabia, so common that cab drivers in Riyadh, the nation’s capital, refer to Deera Sqaure, where public beheadings take place, as ‘Chop Chop Square.’ Both men and women including citizens of foreign countries have been executed for sorcery and witchcraft. An Egyptian visiting Saudi Arabia was arrested, tried, and executed for casting a spell on a couple in an effort to break up their marriage. A man from Sudan was executed for making people sick using a talisman with Satanic powers. It seems hard to believe that things like this are still going on in the 21st Century, and in a large, rich, powerful country like Saudi Arabia.
Every American president in my lifetime has said that Saudi Arabia is an ‘ally’ of the United States and that the people who run their government are ‘our friends.’ When presidents say things like that, it reminds me of something that Harry Truman said. Truman said: “Always be sincere, even when you don’t mean it.”

Useless Kitchen Gadgets

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forkElectric Fork. I find useless kitchen gadgets fascinating. Quite often, tenants of mine buy me absurd kitchen gadgets as gifts. One of my tenants recently gave me an electric fork. This fork has batteries in the handle. When you press a button on the side of the handle, the tines of the fork rotate. The box that the fork comes in says: “Why risk injury twirling spaghetti the old fashioned way?” Hmmm. I am suspicious about that claim. I have never heard of anybody suffering an injury by twirling spaghetti on a fork. If you know someone who was injured twirling spaghetti, let me know. I really doubt that anyone ever wound up in a hospital from twirling spaghetti.

BobbyLeachThe Strange Story of “The Indestructible’ Bobby Leach.’ You can never tell what will send someone to the hospital. Here is a story you may find hard to believe – –

Bobby Leach was the first man to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive. Several other men had tried before him, but all had been killed in the effort. Bobby Leach suffered terrible injuries going over the falls, including 2 broken knee caps, a fractured jaw, and serious damage to a number of internal organs, but after spending 6 months in a hospital, he recovered completely. Newspapers called him ‘The Indestructible Bobby Leach.’ That was in 1911. 15 years later, in 1926, Bobby Leach slipped on a banana peel on a sidewalk and died as a result. His leg became infected and gangrene set in. (No, I didn’t make up this improbable story. This actually happened, although according to some accounts, Leach slipped on an orange peel instead of a banana peel.)

Freebies Of The Month

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broilerpanBroiler Pan. If your stove doesn’t have a broiler pan, or if your broiler pan is damaged or has baked-on crud that won’t come off, you can get a free new broiler pan from me. I always have them in stock. See photo below.

Maple Almond Walnut Granola. I am making granola again. My granola is a mixture of old fashioned oats, nuts, dark maple syrup, canola oil, molasses, and salt. A number of people have suggested that I should sell my granola, but that isn’t going to happen. I could never sell it commercially. It costs too much to make. The price of almonds and walnuts has gone through the roof due to the California drought, and my granola is 1/3 nuts. (80% of all the almonds in the world are grown in California.) Plus maple syrup is 10 times more expensive than white sugar, which is what most supermarket granola is sweetened with. You can pick up containers of my granola in the chocolate room.