Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with berkeley

Should I trust Canada Post?

mellifluous — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:10:40 -0800

I need to get a letter from Toronto, Ontario to Berkeley, California by January 6. I sent it by regular air-mail yesterday afternoon. Is it going to get there on time or should I pay approximately $40 for guaranteed next business day delivery? Canada Post's website estimates the letter will get there in 4-6 business days, which is enough, but I'm a) unsure how reliable Canada Post generally is and b) the clerk at the post office warned me that things can be slower this time of year. She refused to give me any details about this, like whether "slower" means "give it another day or two" or "give it a week or two." The former is ok, but the latter is not.

I'm not going to starve or miss rent if I pay the $40, but that is a sizable chunk of money for me, and I don't want to spend it if I don't have to.

What say you, Metafilter?

Who owns the area between the sidewalk and street?

team lowkey — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:31:49 -0800

What rights do the public have to the planting strip (between the sidewalk and street) in a Berkeley residential area? Does the city own the property and the adjacent homeowner is required to maintain it, or does the homeowner own it, and the city has an easement for their own use?

But more specifically, what rights do the public have to that area? Are people allowed to walk their dogs on it? Does it basically count as part of the sidewalk in the eyes of the law?

Looking for a Plumber in Berkeley

lore — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:02:32 -0800

Looking for a plumber in the East Bay (California). We need some semi-major, open-up-the-walls plumbing done in Berkeley, CA, and we're looking for a licensed plumber to do the job. Does anyone know one they can recommend?

Parvovirus: odds of a puppy getting it?

zippy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:34:45 -0800

I understand the danger parvovirus poses to puppies, but what are the odds of a puppy contracting the disease in the US (specifically Alameda County, California)? I have been reading about parvovirus in dogs (including this discussion), and understand how serious the illness is.

What I can't seem to find is any indication of risk or prevalance. What are the odds a dog will get parvo, and how many cases of it are there a year in my area?

The more mathematical and bounded the answer, the better. I know I can't be assured to the fifth decimal place about anything, but I want to know: Parvo, this terrible disease, are the odds 1%, 10%, or 100%?

More details below, in the hope that they may allow more exact bounding of the answer.

My dog is five weeks old. He was one of the larger dogs in the litter (with two or three brothers and a sister), which I understand tends to confer longer maternal immunity. I intend to start him on a full vaccine series for parvo.

He's 3/4 Australian Cattle Dog, 1/4 Fox Terrier. He was born in a remote rural area of Humboldt County, California, and as of a few days ago now lives in a semi-urban area in Alameda County.

I keep him mostly indoors, with trips to the back and front yard for exercise. I understand that completely preventing exposure to parvo is impossible (as the virus hardy and survives for long periods in the soil), but also that minimizing exposure to parvo greatly reduces the chances for infection.

I would like to know:

How common is parvo in Humbolt County and in Alameda County? Or, if these specific numbers aren't available, then whatever numbers are available for California or the US. A link to numbers of cases per year would be ideal.

What are the odds of a puppy getting parvo between the ages of 5 and 16 weeks if he's allowed to socialize with a: known dogs (with shots), or b: occasionally visit parks and meet other non-wild dogs.

Links to scholarly papers are fine, and links to the dog equivalent to the CDC would also appreciated.

If this is too specific, or if there isn't enough information, please let me know. Also, I do know how bad the illness itself is.

Radical lefty sightseeing in The Bay Area?

willie11 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:51:03 -0800

Fun things for a lefty to do whilenon San Francisco for a few days? I'm in the bay area for the next few days and would like to check out some fun radical spots. Either in SF, Berkeley, Oakland or the surrounding area. I have a car. If it matters, I'm here until Thursday.

Bonus points for anything having to do with labor activism.

Best Oakland/Berkeley community college?

foulowl — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:03:54 -0800

At which Oakland/Berkeley community college should I enroll? I'm deciding between three: Laney College, Berkeley City College, and College of Alameda. Laney College is the closest, easily within walking distance, while BCC is a convenient BART ride away and CoA is a bus ride away. Despite its convenience, Laney seems to be the most run-down of the three; BCC has very new facilities but I don't know much about the merits of its teachers or commitment level of the student body; CoA seems like the best balance but is the hardest to get to. Do you have recommendations or opinions on any of these schools? Personal experiences? Specific teachers or classes I should take/avoid?

Where to get custom made suit in Bay Area?

Nickel — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:47:43 -0800

Recommend a tailor in the Bay Area to create a custom made suit. I am a 25 year old female about to finish grad school and enter The Real World. I would like to have one good quality power suit for interviews but department store shopping is frustrating and fruitless. I can't find anything that flatters my body type, is a complementary color, and is good quality. I've decided to scrimp and save and use my tax refund to buy a custom made suit that I can use for years. So...where do I go?

Can you recommend any tailors in the Bay Area (Oakland/Berkeley preferred, but I'm willing to travel for quality) with experience in female business suits?

Bollywood-themed Party!

mahoganyslide — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:12:57 -0800

How can we make a Bollywood-themed party the best party ever?! The student co-op I am a part of is hosting a Bollywood-themed party and we're at a loss for ideas regarding specific theme components other than inviting a Bollywood dance group and playing Bollywood songs.

Do you have any suggestions on how we can make this party shine and dazzle?

We're located in Berkeley, CA (Bay Area).

(The last time we asked for theme suggestions, we received wonderful answers. Please hivemind, come to our rescue yet again!)

Thank you in advance!

Where to find cheap photocopies in San Francisco?

roxie110 — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:53:54 -0800

Where can I get cheap photocopies in San Francisco? Is there anywhere in the city cheaper than Kinkos or OfficeMax? I need to make about 1,000 copies for a class I'm teaching--a 40-page workbook plus a bunch of handouts, black/white, single-sided.

In Berkeley there's a 3- or 4-cent copy place, but I haven't found any in San Francisco. Help! And thanks!

How to spend the other 8 hours of my trip to San Francisco?

pluckemin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:43:29 -0800

I'll be attending a conference in San Francisco (and staying in Berkeley) from Wednesday to Sunday. What are some short (1-2 hours) "field trips" I can take when I get sick of listening to papers? The hotel where the conference is being held is a couple of blocks southwest of Union Square. I'm staying with a friend in South Berkeley, so I'll be returning there in the evenings. I've been to SF once before, but I was a kid and so I don't remember anything about the city.

So what are some enjoyable but short "field trips" I can take either during the day for lunch or in the evenings when the conference lets out? (By "short" I mean under two hours, including transit time, so that excludes museums and similar things.) I tend to like quirky college-town-y type areas (which I suspect means I should check out the Berkeley area) but I'm also looking for essential SF activities. (Ones that are more active than passive, though -- I'm not interested in going to gawk at the Golden Gate Bridge or Lombard Street, especially since I won't have a camera.) I like walking around. I also like eating, so food recs are welcome, but I have very little money (let's say less than $10 per meal, and preferably less than $8 for lunch) and I don't want to travel a huge distance JUST to eat. I love farmer's markets. I hate bars. I like cafés with menus written on blackboards with colorful chalk. One last caveat is that I'm small and female and will be by myself, so I'd like to avoid sketchy areas.

I've seen the other questions about stuff to do in SF, so I apologize for the redundancy, but I couldn't find any that mentioned time constraints. Tu Lan is right by the conference hotel, so I'll try to check that out. The Ferry Building Marketplace looks AMAZING and I'll definitely find a few hours to wander around there, ideally on Saturday morning when the farmer's market is going on.

Thanks in advance for your help! I'm so busy working on my presentation and paper that I don't have a lot of time to peruse Yelp and look up tourist guides...

Berkeley Taco Trucks

stewiethegreat — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:53:21 -0800

Where are the taco trucks in Berkeley? I just moved from Oakland, CA to Berkeley, and I've only found one taco truck (the one next to campus at Bancroft and Telegraph). I've heard great things about it, but it's not open (or, apparently, even there) at night, which is when I generally want tacos.

I *love* taco truck food. I adore it. And I don't want to drive back to Oakland twice a week to feed my nighttime taco cravings. Are there any in Berkeley?

I live on Dwight between Shattuck and Telegraph.

How to get a student ID without being a student.

meowN — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:45:04 -0800

[UCBerkeley Airbears filter] I'm currently a student at Berkeley City College, but I have two classes each week on the UCB campus. I want wifi access... how?. I went to the student services area, and they tried to be helpful and were ready to give me a CalNet/AirBears account, but without me being able to provide any sort of UC Berkeley student ID number, there was nothing they could do for me.

There are temporary access passes, but they require being setup by the head of a dept., but because the class I'm taking is a community college class that just happens to be on the Cal campus, I wouldn't even being to know how to figure that out.

So is there any person I could talk to, or any way to get a student ID number for Cal while I'm not a student there?

We got to pray just to make it today

gnutron — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:09:31 -0800

Where can I attend free High Holiday services in the SF East Bay? I have attended free services in San Francisco the past few years, but I'm living in the East Bay now. Looking for Reform, Reconstructionist, or similarly liberal services on the morning or day of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, not in the evening. And it's gotta be free.

UCLA or UC Berkeley music program?

*lostatsea* — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:45:46 -0800

UCLA or UC Berkeley music program? I am looking to go to either of these schools as a performance major. Which one in your experience is better?

Know a Berkeley/Oakland mechanic who can give a car "pre-purchase inspection" tomorrow (Saturday)?

unclezeb — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:08:29 -0800

Bay Area Mefites, do you know of a Berkeley (or nearby) car mechanic who could inspect a used car for me tomorrow (Saturday)? I found a great deal on a 1997 Honda Accord, but before I buy it I want to have it inspected by a mechanic who can check the timing and give it a once over for problems that my untrained eye cannot catch.

I'm looking for a mobile mechanic on Craigslist now, but these seem to be fly-by-night operations and I cannot get any reviews on them. I love my mechanic (Grandma's Garage, owned by Nancy near 4th and Gilman) but she's not open weekends and I need to move on this quickly as it is something of a screaming deal (super low miles, good carfax report, all classical and talk pre-set radio stations = old lady-ish, etc).

Thanks a million for helping me out - anyone gives a helpful answer can probably get a beer out of me at Hotsy Totsy later tonight, I'll be the fat white guy with black hair by the shuffle board table.

I left my bicycle in Berkeley.

acidic — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:17:09 -0800

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I left a bicycle locked up in Berkeley before I left California. What now? I had a deal to sell it on Craigslist, but the person didn't show up and there wasn't enough time before I left to find another buyer. It was a used bike intended for short-term use and I was planning on selling it anyway. So, I have the key and know the location (near campus). Selling it would be hard because I can't guarantee that it hasn't been stolen (although it had been parked at that location for several weeks with no problems) and if I mail the key first I assume people will rip me off. And I don't know anyone who still lives in Berkeley who I could trust to take it or sell it.

But I'd rather not let the bike linger and, eventually, get stolen. Assuming that I have no chance of recouping my losses (damn!), I'd like to derive some benefit (aka happiness) from giving away my key. This could include requesting that the bike be donated to charity, or even starting a traveling gnome, Pay it Forward style chain in which the bike travels around the world, from stranger to stranger, sending pictures back to Mom...

You get the picture. So. Solutions that are creative, charitable, or otherwise good?

Free food in the east bay for a birthday girl?

meowN — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:34:46 -0800

It's my friends birthday tomorrow, and she's extremely low on cash and trying to figure out if there are any decent places (hopefully better then Denny's) around Oakland/Berkeley that give out free or greatly discounted food on birthdays. Any suggestions?

Should I move out since there is no water?

PinkButterfly — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:03:51 -0800

Should I move out since there is no water? Sigh. I'll make this quick.

Subletting a room in a large house in Berkeley for the summer. Top floor has 5 bedrooms, bottom has two apartment units. The landlord lives in one of the rooms on the top floor, as do I and two other people. The two apartments have families in them, including a woman with a disabled daughter.

I just moved in last Wed. (May 28) from SoCal after corresponding with the landlord via email and phone for a few weeks. A Cal student needed someone to sublet the room before she moved in in the fall for school. Spoke with her too, but I couldn't come up and visit before moving in.

On Tuesday, the water was shut off by the city because they said there was an outstanding $1300 water bill. They have not turned it back on yet because...

The day before (Monday) the landlord left for vacation in Europe for two weeks, said he would be unreachable by phone but would check his email frequently. Well...it's 5 days later and he has yet to respond to a single email from anyone who lives here! We called his cell phone only to hear it ringing from his bedroom.

He left the name of a property manager, but when we called her she said she was only standing in as a favor to him and really couldn't do anything. She tried to reach the landlord's business partner, but hasn't been able to. The landlord said he won't be back until June 14.

Can I/should I move out? I tried to get him to sign a lease before I moved in, but he said he wanted to handle it once I got here. My housemates on the top floor moved in early-to mid-May and said he hadn't signed a lease with them either. When I got here on last Wednesday, he was away on business (he said). I didn't meet him until Sunday morning and then he left on Monday.

I sent him a full month's deposit and paid for half of May, even though I was only here from the 28th. I don't want to lose my deposit and don't want him to sue me for the remaining 2.5 months we agreed I was subletting (via email, not official lease).

It's Saturday so it'll be hard to find official help today.

What do you think I should do? Can I move out ? Where can I look for more information?

(I looked up similar questions but they were in other states.)

20 years later, a park instead of a bar

luriete — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:59:09 -0800

Need help finding a good park for a high school reunion family BBQ in the Berkeley/Albany CA area. I need a place that can hold up to 150 people and will have at least one large BBQ area and be near restrooms. Right now I'm thinking Tilden Park, although I'm not sure which picnic area is best and am not able to drive down there to look, or the Marina.

Alternatively, a Berkeley city park - like Cedar Rose, Live Oak, Cordonices or something like that (if it has a BBQ area and restrooms) would be fine too. Any suggestions?

Fun in Berkeley on Cinco de Mayo

faunafrailty — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:42:54 -0800

Cinco de Mayo in Berkeley ... where to go? My friends and I will be in Berkeley on Cinco de Mayo. I was wondering if there's anything fun to do after 10-ish that day by way of bars or clubs. Walking distance from the Berkeley City Club preferable.

Bands and dancing are fine; would prefer an older (late 20s/30s/40s) crowd, as opposed to a college meat market. Cider and lots of microbrews on tap is a plus. Light- to medium-sized crowds (as opposed to a crushing throng of Cinco de Mayo revelers) also a plus.

Thanks!

Living in Berkeley as a Grad Student

barnacles — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:59:38 -0800

Tell me what it's like to live in Berkeley, from the point of view of a grad student. I've been there just once for a few days, and mostly saw the campus, so I don't really feel like I have a good grasp of the city (though from what little I saw of it, it seemed pretty cool). What's good? What's bad? Where to live? Where not to live? Where is the good coffee, the best bars, and out-of-the-way places that I'd definitely want to check out? Is there anything you wish you had known prior to living there?

Additionally, are there any websites I should check out to get a handle on the community and what's going on there?

chinese food stall at Berkeley BART?

luriete — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:50:39 -0800

Can anyone confirm or deny the current existence of that Chinese food stall that used to be parked outside the Downtown Berkeley BART station - it was green and red/pink at one point, earlier than that pink and red - which serves these amazing, incredible dumplings (pork, shrimp or chicken)? Is it still there?

Parking and Photography at Berkeley's Greek Theatre

hobbes — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:34:39 -0800

Going to Daft Punk tonight at Berkeley's Greek Theatre, and was wondering about parking and photography. Parking in Berkeley is generally a pain, and with Daft Punk playing tonight, I assume it'll be worse. Are there any good spots for parking (don't mind paying $5 or so)? My original plan was to just drive to Ashby BART, then take the train up to downtown Berkeley. However, three of us are going, and that adds up to $4.80 in BART fare, so I was thinking of just parking in the area and skip waiting for the BART and walking.

Secondly, the Another Planet site says no photography, but I've heard from "some website" that restrictions at the are ~~not stupid~~ pretty lax. Can I bring a DSLR in, or should I stick with the P&S?

Little scary.

OrangeDrink — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 04:54:59 -0800

Where can I find out about a recent (read 4:45 Pacific Time) Berkeley, CA earthquake? Any live surveying website available? (It was huge and I'm nervous for no rational reason)

Couch surfing wipe out

Slarty Bartfast — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:20:48 -0800

Hotel/Hostel/Motel needed THIS WEEKEND, money sort of an issue, Berkeley or San Francisco. Ok, I have tickets to Daydream Nation on Thursday so a friend and I are flying down to the alma mater (UC Berkeley) and are making a long weekend of it. However, couch surfing plans have fallen through at the last minute!

Requirements: close to BART, safe, clean, Berkeley/North Oakland/San Fran, and hopefully less than $100 a night. Is this impossible?

I fear this will be my first AskMe question to come up dry. C'mon, MeFi, bail me out one last time...