patrick.net

Hey driving too fast is just plain dumb. And my understanding is, if you get a traffic bully, slow down and it really confuses them and they find someone else to race with.

I agree. I try to go with the flow of the traffic and stay on the right side unless I am passing.

Okay, okay, I will slow down. Gosh, you are making us speeders feel guilty.

One thing I observed in Japan while living there was, people barely eat anything!

Really? I always gain weight going to Japan.

Japan’s air is quite polluted compared to US standard, their water is not the highest grade in the world, and the vegetables they take pride in is kinda of a laughing quality compared to California-grown stuff.

Huh? Their vegetables are so nice compared to ours. They are quite expensive though. Their meats and seafoods are superior, although I would not say that they necessarily have better sushi. California has pretty good raw fish here.

Americans eat way too much super-sized stuff, even the portions served at restaurants are way too big. The dessert is also way too sweet, the sugar level is something that I can still not get used to even after living here for almost 16 years.

Very true. I find appertizers bigger than what entrees should be.

IMO, desserts should not be much sweeter than a ripe apple.

Peter P,

well, I stayed with host families while studying there, so what I observed could be more down-to-earth type of Japanese lifestyle. The nice vegetables are all touched up (somebody spent tons of time scrubbing and polishing them). I am not kidding, I visited an eggplant farm, and you can't imgaine how much labor went into making the eggplants look good, it is part of their packaging culture, they package everything up. If the California farmers spend just as much time scrubbing, washing and polishing, ours will look far better.

Only the kobe beef though, the best average beef should be from Australia I heard. Japanese seafood especially those from Hokkaido is outstanding, and cheap too. We had a dinner last year in West Shinjuku pigging out on seafood flown in from Hokkaido in the morning, the total cost was only USD$65 for 4. I don't think we can get this kind of deal here in BA.

A watermelon literally would cost $80 (at that time). Melons were so expensive and hard to come by that they would gift wrap them and sell them at a very high price at the department stores.

I saw $200 melons (silly) but there were also regular-priced ones. Their grapes are huge.

Only the kobe beef though, the best average beef should be from Australia I heard.

I still think that US has better beef than Australia.

Japanese seafood especially those from Hokkaido is outstanding, and cheap too. We had a dinner last year in West Shinjuku pigging out on seafood flown in from Hokkaido in the morning, the total cost was only USD$65 for 4. I don’t think we can get this kind of deal here in BA.

I agree. It will cost you more than $65 a person here. I believe you can buy huge Hokkaido scallops online.

SQT,

grow your own food. We grow our own tomatoes and eggplants in the backyard, they don't take up much space at all. When the tomatoes are in season, the yield is so high that we can hardly finish them all. So we have to come up with all sorts of recipes for tomatoes.

The space required is probably around 2x2 feet for enough tomatoes to go around a family of 4. Now is the season to plant it.

Sugar is the bane of my existance. I wish I could kill the taste buds that find sugar soooooo appealing. I can live without coffee and alcohol, but sugar is so hard to give up!

No problem, you can have my sugar too. :)

astrid Says:

"I hope you’re being sarcastic. Lots of reports about SUV safety have already come out. They’re generally no safer for their occupants compared to large sedans and wagons, and much more dangerous for everyone else."

If you look at the raw death numbers SUVs have about the same number of deaths per mile driven as cars, but when you pull out all the deaths from people that drive way too fast and roll over and the many off roading accidents where going off a cliff will kill 7 kids SUVs are actually a lot safer than cars. If anyone has a basic understanding of physics they will know that the bigger and heavier the vehicle the safer it is (a big rig is even safer than a SUV). If a Honda crosses the line and hits a SUV head on the people in the Honda will die just like when the SUV crossed the line and drives head on in to the Honda. I don't ride a motorcycle any more but still drive my little convertible every day it is not raining knowing that if a big SUV (or Muni bus) rams me I'll probably die...

If anyone has a basic understanding of physics they will know that the bigger and heavier the vehicle the safer it is (a big rig is even safer than a SUV).

Very true.

Excellent points! I always wonder why there are rich idiots who buy big SUV/trucks for their little princesses. That’s just a recipe for disaster.

If they are rich enough they should hire drivers for their little princesses. It is much too dangerous for teenagers to drive.

Just remember that well over 80% of people categorize themselves as "above average drivers".

Just remember that well over 80% of people categorize themselves as “above average drivers”.

I am definitely a below-average driver because driving is so stressful to me.

I don’t ride a motorcycle any more but still drive my little convertible every day it is not raining knowing that if a big SUV (or Muni bus) rams me I’ll probably die…

My wife drivers her little TT Roadster to work most days. I'd like to say I don't worry, despite the myriad airbags and such. I guess I studied way too much physics and statistics in school.

we are like Peter P and sushi about plants, obsessed

Find a way to grow sushi and we can all do it together. :)

My wife drivers her little TT Roadster to work most days. I’d like to say I don’t worry, despite the myriad airbags and such. I guess I studied way too much physics and statistics in school.

She needs an A8L, buy her that!

And I have an Aprilia Scarabeo I used to love to ride to work when we lived on the Peninsula (I don't take it on the highway even though it's hw legal). But I can't bring myself to brave the Marin County Morons that inhabit this end of the bay. People up here don't seem to mind so much who they kill. People up here just generally aren't very nice, in fact.

Randy, I am sure you know enough to avoid anything without a steel cage and six airbags. :)

Randy, I am sure you know enough to avoid anything without a steel cage and six airbags. :)

If I had my druthers, my wife would drive an M1 Abrams to work. Then she wouldn't need any airbags.

In the back woods of PA, there are alot of DUI deaths on the two lane roads. People are more aggressive drivers today.

I avoid two lane roads like plague. Divided highways are dangerous enough.

driver in front of you is crazy—get away from the car.

Then you'll have to avoid driving on any roadway here in Southern Marin.

Don’t even get me started on the loss of manners in our society……….

In Japan, people drive like me. :)

Always extend courtesy and the world will be better tomorrow.

When I was growing up, we had 3 gardens. Being that we had 15 acres, these were quite large. We grew Green beans, okra, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, watermelon, greens, potatoes... and so on. Basically, almost all of our vegetables were grown in the garden. My dad was in and out of work throghout my childhood, so these were grown as actual substance, not as a hobbie. It really helped us out financially.

Anybody like Persian food????
Shamshiri in Glendale is pretty fab.
We tend to take out from there. Try their Fesonjon. It's like a mole' sause but it's made from pomegranite and puree walnuts. MMMMMMM GOOD
We order it on the side and get chicken kebob with basmati rice.
Must have Mostokhiar....a combo of yougurt, dill,and cucumber.
Tadik is a crunchy rice that they will only give you if you ask for it...They will smile and say "You know tadik? How you know tadik?" B/K only real Persians know tadik...and I am obviously not Persian! :)

Owneroc,

If you are OK with Indian Veg food, then I can give you a few suggestions that serve far better food than the buffets do.

Try Chaat Paradise on Xsection of Grant and El Camino. It's hidden in a corner befind Burger King. They server Noth Indian and West Indian food mostly. Madras Cafe on El Camino and Sarvana Bhavan on Mary in Sunnyvale, server good South Indian food.

For Indian Sweets, nothing comes close to Rangoli, befind Fish Market, next to Chicago Pizza on El Camino, near Lawrence.

If you are OK with Indian Veg food, then I can give you a few suggestions that serve far better food than the buffets do.

I love Indian vegetarian dishes, especially anything with cauliflower and pea! I like Indian Sweets too. :)

astrid and SQT,

I am a retard when it comes to growing plants, but I manage tomatoes alright, easiest to grow. I tried growing a grapevine, took me 7 years and nothing came of it yet.

I got my seeds from OSH, and picked the cherry and grape tomatoes. The smaller types are easier to grow than the larger ones, and taste better too. We actually have very good soil in California, and the weather is perfect for tomatoes, which accounts for the unusually high yield. You put the seeds in the pot, let them grow to about 5-6 inches, then tranplant them to the yard, make sure you space them out a bit. Then you do your daily watering, give a bit of a fertilizer booster, then you will have about 5 months of harvest time all the way from June to Nov.

I don't even bother to keep them up with wooden sticks, just gently let them lie down on the ground. Some get eaten by bugs, but the yield is so high that you don't even need to worry about loss of crop. Enjoy.

Best Indian Food in BA

It's a little known secret. The best - and authentic as well - food from North India is not found in Indian restaurants in Bay Area. You have to go to Pakistani restaurants for that.

Shalimar has opened a new branch in Sunnyvale on El Camino. Awesome "tandoori" dishes like Chiken Tikka etc. Shaan on Stevens Creek and Lawrence is good too - I have never eaten a better Beef Jalfrezie anywhere else. Not much point for veggie folks to visit these.

In my travels the zone of the absolute worst food in all the country exists from roughly 50 miles Southeast of Chicago, extending south to the Ohio River, and East to the border of West Virginia. It's controlled by the evil food Axis: Indianapolis-Columbus.

Peter P,

I am not an expert in Italian food. But my Italian friend highly recommended "Pasta ?", and I like it a lot too.

Randy-

I would say that the Western border of the area you are describing extends as far as Denver, maybe even Las Vegas if Denver is deemed a "gourmet enclave" in a region of bad food.

My wife used to think that the food in Midwestern small towns was delicious home cooking. I tried to warn her, telling her that a restaurant rises to the level of its competiors, and if the only competition within 30 miles is A&W, one should not expect much, but she refused to believe me.

A trip to a diner in Iowa dispelled her of that notion. On the upside, it was a cheap lesson to learn, her Wonder bread-and-Velveeta grilled cheese sandwhich was only $2.00.

Shemend Rick-

Yes, on Figueroa about a block or two north of the Staples Cener/Convention center.

Astrid,
The trick to house sharing with others is to find people that aren't exactly the kinds of people you'd be buddy-buddy with. I've found that people I get along with really well make bad housemates because eventually, you don't get along because you get sick of each other. On the other hand, the guys I live with now are people who are nice, but we don't have anything in common. So we rarely actually see each other. Maybe once a week we'll pass each other in the hall or something. The best part is that the 2 other guys have serious GF's , so they are never home. We practically feel like we're the only ones there. I've never paid more than $500 a month in the 7 years I've lived here. I attribute this to the reason I'm able to save so much.

For gophers, we have an outdoor cat and I can tell you that little guy is so darn productive. I have a log of his victims, pretty much averaging one gopher every month in spring and summer, I am sure my neighbors are very happy with my cat too.

Somehow the wildlife of Norcal is quite amazing. I didn't expect so many deers and cayotes wandering around in a suburban area. Growing up among stacked concrete boxes, the experience of living here is like visiting the zoo every day.

Going back to food... There's something to be said about Memphis Minnie's in SF. Just about all the BBQ joints in California I've been to are the same: dry, tough, charred meat with only one kind of sauce. Memphis Minnie's does it up right. It's almost as good as the stuff back home.

Where do you guys shop groceries apart from farmer's market and Trader Joe's? I like certain items in Wholefoods, but most stuff it carries are really not that much better than Trader Joe's in terms of quality, and certainly not so for price.

tannenbaum :

Are you saing the Alameda and Contra Costa inventory is ober 8K ?? No typo there ? Based on
http://www.benengebreth.org/housingtracker/location/California/SanJose

Santa Clara County has just over 4K.

If you are in Sacramento, I recommend a restaurant named “Tapa the World” featuring you guessed it, spanish tapas. I also recommend the gigantic pitcher of sangria to go with dinner >; )

Yes, it is a pretty good one. Try the rock shrimp tapa!

I would say that the Western border of the area you are describing extends as far as Denver, maybe even Las Vegas if Denver is deemed a “gourmet enclave” in a region of bad food.

Agreed. We'll extend our zone of bad cuisine westward to Las Vegas, excepting Denver and Chicago as gourmet enclaves. I was on a business trip to Columbus with a colleague who thought the same as your wife, fancying Midwestern cooking as something from a storybook. After a breakfast in a Bob Evans (the relative 4-star for the area) one morning, complete with Wonder Bread, gristly sausage, bad coffee, and about 40 tons of second-hand smoke, her eyes were opened. She exclaimed that she had never before seen so many overweight people in one place simultaneously eating and smoking (yes people often smoke *while* they eat there).