10 Things I Wish I Knew About Berkeley & Boalt
- Whether the ominous looking paint marks in the courtyard will turn into jackhammers, heavy equipment, and scurrying dudes in hardhats and suspenders before, during, or after my final exams
- What is being built at Oxford and Allston, and how tall it will be when it is done
- Whether I will, or will not, be caught if I blow through fastrak on my motorcycle, and whether the experiment is worth four bucks and a brief journey to the paying side of the legal system
- What the reading room in the library would feel like if the north wall were anything other than coldly blank and barren
- B0b Berr*ng's range of visual perception, in feet, and whether he navigates by sonar
- The location of a green dry cleaner in Berkeley
- The name of the monkey and the location of the hat that determines grades, and whether said monkey wears a fez and carries a watch
- What Robert J. Birgeneau does when he's not being pleased to announce that he is sending me another email on behalf of someone else
- How many paper cups Zeb customers consume each day
- The distinction, if any, between "pleaded" and "pled"
Labels: 0L/1L Advice, Library
posted by Patrick Bageant at 7:08 AM
28 Comments:
He navigates with his "pocket-watch" -- it's actually a tiny radar device that interfaces with a ring on his finger and sends impulses directly to the two brains at either end of his spine. (That's why he only holds it in his left hand.) You can fool him with a piece of tin foil and a TV remote, but doing so is not considered very nice.
There have been several newspaper articles on the fact that the state loses millions from people blowing through fastrak. Though they have said they are going to start pulling people over for it.
If you cover up your plate, you are fine. Otherwise they mail you a ticket. Some guy got away with like $110,000 in free rides before getting sued.
"University One Hour Martinizing Cleaners" claims to be a green dry cleaner, at 1319 University Avenue. They've done a fine job of cleaning my stuff, but I don't know anything about dry cleaning technology or how "green" they actually are.
This is really eerie. I woke up this morning, thinking I should write a post titled "10 Things I Wish I Knew about Boalt." But mine was more for admitted students.
Pleaded is right and pled is wrong. Think of it as the difference between "I couldn't care less" and "I could care less."
Regarding fastrak, even if you get caught (they get a picture of your license plate) the penalty is pretty minimal. They send you a ticket that gives you the option to buy a fastrak in lieu of paying the penalty fine, and have a $4 fee (from blowing through) deducted from your new balance, as if you had the fastrak at the time you went over the bridge.
Robert J. Birgeneau - If you've ever met the man, you know the answer to your question: he stands there awkwardly, licking his lips.
Note: Any motorcycle, bus, inherently-low-emission vehicle (ILEV) with DMV-issued decals, or 2-axle vehicle, without trailer(s), designed by the manufacturer to be occupied by no more than two persons, carrying two persons, may also cross toll-free in designated lane(s) consistent with the above referenced hours of operation.
http://www.bayareafastrak.org/static/facilities/sfob.shtml
I think you're free to pass through, though I don't know what the "designated lane" is.
I've set up my Outlook to automatically flag and delete all incoming messages that contain the word 'diversity,' which actually does an amazingly good job of filtering out UC administration spam.
I think ELQ has a list of green businesses in Berkeley. There's almost always someone in their office if you want to ask.
My fastrak question is why it says "Valid Etc" when I go through. What's the etc?? It drives me crazy.
hahahaha, lol at 11:08!
etc = electronic toll collection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_toll_collection
oh. that's kind of sad. i had always imagined the "etc" was a fill-in-the-blank kind of thing depending on your mood:
valid, and try to avoid the vodka shots tonite
valid, and no, you're not really a bisexual if you're only sleeping with men
valid, and the pig says your wife is a slut
it can't be filled in like that though, can it? et cetera means and other things like the rest, so it would have to relate to other things the toll booth felt were valid in your life.
Electronic Toll Collection is definitely less exciting, but at least it makes sense. I was always thinking "valid, et cetera WHAT????" Like, valid, and also EXTRA valid b/c we love you? Valid, and your car is looking mighty clean today?
Thanks for clearing that up.
Guessing how many paper cups Zeb goes through in a day is probably like guessing the number of jelly beans in the jar. There could even be a prize.
Or maybe we can just ask Uncle Zeb?
Voila! The list from the last published issue of ELS's Treehugger. If only someone would take over treeblogger this info could be spread, as it should be every OCIP season and beyond. So here it is:
University One Hour Cleaners (cyclic silioxane)
1313 University Ave., Berkeley; (510)548-1053
Norge Dry Cleaners
(wet cleaning)
398 San Pablo Ave., Albany; (510)526-3850
Clean Living Cleaners
(non-PERC)
1538 Solano Ave., Berkeley; (510)526-8861
Hi-Hat Dry Cleaning (non-PERC)
2996 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland; (510)482-3094
I don't understand these stories about "new" cameras. I have used Fastrak for years, and on numerous occasions the tag has not registered when I went through. Eventually the charge would show up on my bill because they matched my license plate to my account. Perhaps only certain locations have cameras and they want to expand?
Wow. What a wealth of knowledge. I guess that narrows it down to the courtyard, the construction on Oxford, the reading room, and the monkey.
I have to second "University One Hour Martinizing Cleaners"as a great green cleaner in Berkeley. They did a beautiful job dry cleaning my suit for $12 and in less than 2 hours! 'Twas perfect for Spring OCIP and oh so environment friendly.
one more not on the list, but close to campus:
Arlene's Cleaners
(PERC-free)
2986 College, Berkeley
(next to House of Curries)
the lady who works there is the nicest person in the world, according to my sources.
Really??? I didn't know Erin Clarke did dry cleaning on the side! ;)
I second the recommendation for Arlene's Cleaners. She *is* very nice & friendly.
They do a pretty good job on minor alterations as well.
ATL has more on pleaded versus pled, too. The current vote is about 2 to 1 for pled.
I asked Professor Sw*ft last semester, and she said: "Nobody knows."
Oxford & Allston: www.browercenter.org
BB: navigates by smell
Actually, that doesn't look too bad. I guess it's supposed to look good in that picture, though.
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A third vote for Arlene's, on College.
et cetera literally means "and the rest"
say "pleaded" if you're an anglophile; but say "pled" just to bother the grammar police, who will either correct you (incorrectly) or bite their tongues and stew for 10 minutes.
and the rumor about construction is: for this spring, there will be no construction during periods when finals are being given or at night or weekends during that time.
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