Oakland

I was out doing errands this afternoon and saw Obama supporters staked out at the intersections of Ashby Ave./Claremont Ave., Keith/College Ave. (Rockridge BART), and Broadway and 51st St. They were waving signs and banners at passing cars. Over the last few months, I’ve seen a few Clinton stickers around and two Edwards banners, but for the most part, this neighborhood seems to be Obama country, through and through.

As much as I love Oakland Airport, I do think that this airport security fast-track is bad for one basic reason: it’s easily defeated. All you have to do is be a terrorist who has a clean record and then register for this service. Then you get to bypass the line, and boom — you’ve just infiltrated the the system. Still, I think that it’s a bad idea to have tiered-service at a public place like an airport. Everyone should…

There was a robbery, gunfire and a chase in my neighborhood Thursday. There was an insane number of police cars, when I drove right by that music school maybe 20-30 minutes after it happened, and as I tried to drive down 51st towards Telegraph Ave., that intersection was barricaded for a block in each direction. Sheesh. My thoughts are with the boy and his family. Oakland Tribune: A 10-year-old boy shot Thursday by a stray bullet fired during a robbery…

Turned out my flight was delayed almost three hours. That, plus bags, plus BARTing home — it was a 15 hour travel day. It’s good to be home.

This weekend y’allz should check out my buddies Chuck (pictured) and Aaron (and Nicole!) down at The Trappist. I told you about ’em back in September. Me and some friends went last Friday to the opening, which was a resounding success. Also, they got a great little write-up in today’s Chronicle. Also you can check my photos here. Cheers!

This past weekend, got a rare opportunity to sit down with Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former Iranian vice president and probably the highest-ranking (former) government blogger.

I have a small but (hopefully) growing collection of Bay Bridge iconography, including a poster from Bay Bridge Coffee. On eBay I found some neat stuff, including a stamp that I just bought:

Hoo boy, maybe it’s time to get our earthquake kit in order. SJ Mercury News: Studying layers of soil in a trench they dug near the Fremont BART station, geologists recently made a startling discovery: The Hayward Fault has had a big earthquake roughly every 140 years, on average, since 1315. And this Sunday marks year 139. Calling the fault a “tectonic time bomb,” scientists Wednesday urged Bay Area residents to put together an earthquake plan, stockpile supplies and consider…