Oakland

Wow! I can’t believe it! The February 2010 Tour de Taco won the East Bay Express’ Best of the Bay 2010 award for: Best Bike Tour. (That said, I’m not sure how many bike tours there are in the East Bay, but heck, I’ll take it!) As the EBE writes: Sometimes when you hop on a bike, you just want to ride — around the block, through the neighborhood, until you get tired and find yourself lost and in search…

Meine FreundInnin, I’m pleased to share with you my latest piece on the new WiFi-free Weekend policy at Actual Café in Oakland. This was one of the last pieces that I did before leaving the Bay Area. It has just aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation — the first time I’ve been on the radio down under! Or, you can just listen here: [audio:http://cyrusfarivar.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fte_20100415_0840.mp3]

So after my last Taco Truck Tour, the good peoples at Oaklandish and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition connected with me and wanted to put together a sort of “best-of” taco truck ride for those who didn’t make it the other times, along with some new ones. And they even made this sweet art for it, too! I apologize in advance for not organizing one in December (holidays), nor January (work). But I hope I can make up for it,…

After the success of October’s taco truck tour, it’s time for another! Taco Truck Tour Numéro Dos: When: Sunday, November 22, 2009 Meet: 12:30 pm, Lake Merritt BART station (9th and Oak St., Oakland). Start: ~ 12:45 pm End: ~ 3:30 pm ish, Fruitvale BART station Twitter: @catacotrucks / #tacotrucktour Itinerary (follow along at Oakland Taco Truck Map 2007) 1) Tacos Alonzo at Foothill Blvd./27th Ave. 2) Tacos El Mazatlan at Foothill Blvd./Fruitvale Ave. 3) Tamales Mi Lupita at Foothill…

Before it gets too rainy, I thought I’d take whoever would like to join me for a taco truck bike tour of my four favorite trucks in Fruitvale this Sunday: When: Sunday, October 25, 2009 Meet: 12:30 pm, Lake Merritt BART station (9th and Oak St., Oakland). Start: ~ 12:45 pm End: ~ 3 pm ish, Fruitvale BART station Itinerary: 1) Tacos Sinaloa at 22nd Ave./International Blvd. (via 10th St., International Boulevard) 2) Tacos El Grullo at 26th Ave./International Blvd.…

Hot damn! I reported on WiFi Rail back in July 2008 for NPR. Well done! From WiFi Rail‘s press release: Service on BART is scheduled to begin on selected segments during 2009. Four downtown San Francisco stations and some segments of the tunnels are already fully functional, and have been providing premium service free to subscribers for the past year. “We are thrilled to showcase our technology in the network designed for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system,…

Hellz yeah. Oaktown is getting free WiFi! Waiting for my next Southwest flight will now be WAY better. Says the company presser: The launch marks FreeFi’s second deployment at a major U.S. airport in 2008. In January, FreeFi partnered with Denver International Airport to replace daily-fee Internet service with free Wi-Fi access. The Port of Oakland, owner and operator of Oakland International, awarded FreeFi a multi-year contract with the airport which commenced Oct. 1. [via Wi-Fi Net News and A…

I had a couple hours to chill between interview in downtown Oakland today and so I discovered Awaken Café, on 14th at Broadway. It’s a four-month-old, pleasant spot with free WiFi (you gotta ask for the password), great lattes ($2.50 for a small!), sweet bumper stickers, and friendly staff. Only recently, with the opening of The Trappist, have I started to explore downtown Oakland a bit, and this is definitely a welcome addition to The Town. Become a fan on…

These banners are hung in two windows of the same house, less than a block north of my own. I think it pretty much sums up the entire election.

I’m interviewing voters as they come out of the voting booths in Oakland, Piedmont and Lafayette today for the NYT’s online feature “Voices from the Polls”. Check it out here. Update: I had to go all the way out to Danville to find Republicans. Seriously.