Sunny but chilly, but no wind. Temperatures will rise from the lite frost stage to the low 40s. Really pretty nice for mid winter. Unfortunately, the rain returns tomorrow. We really need to dry out in the NW.
Cold and windy in DC. I had just over seven inches of snow the beginning of the week and most of it is still here. It’s been hovering around thirty degrees plus or minus during the day and winds are steady around 15 mph with gust to 30-40.
Uncomfortably dry in Berkeley. Temperatures will be above normal again today driving home the reality that global warming has very much arrived (as if we needed further reminders).
t’s time for another edition of Oski Disciple’s Question of the Day. People talk about something being as easy as taking candy from a baby. Isn’t it bad for a baby to have candy? Who’s giving candy to babies?
Have bought a lot of groceries from Safeway. There have and still are several regional chains that no one outside the area would recognize. None of the other chains mentioned in most discussions ever came into the area, except Albertsons.
Not a grocery store, but I remember Gemco, Consumer/Distributors, and the original BEST. The Gemco in WC became Target. There was a C/D on Pleasant Hill Rd, I think. And the BEST in Concord by the mall across the parking lot from the old Mervyn's seems to still be unoccupied.
In my part of Berkeley, there was at one time, *three* supermarkets within walking distance of the house - Lucky's, Safeway, and the Co-op at Shattuck Ave & Cedar St.
The Lucky's location is now a CVS Pharmacy (Shattuck Ave. and Rose St.).
The Safeway is still a Safeway (Shattuck Place & Rose St.).
The Co-op location is now an Andronico's Community Market, operated by Safeway.
The "original" Andronico's location closest to our house was on Solano Ave. at Fresno St., which is still an Andronico's. Only, in the day, it was known as the Park & Shop.
Our family was primarily Co-op shoppers until we moved to New Jersey in 1975. I still remember my mother's number - 23660 (I can still recall my mom saying, "Twenty three sixty six zero"). My paternal grandparents also had a four-digit number that began with 8 (I think). It's possible that I might still have a copy of that membership card from long ago, somewhere in the house.
Growing up in Berkeley we shopped at and were members of the CO-OP on Shattuck Avenue. There were two others then, one on Telegraph and the original on University which was established in the 1930s. As a junior and senior in high school I worked in the Shattuck and Telegraph bookstores -- embedded within the CO-OP buildings -- during Christmas season.
The Shattuck Co-op was a Co-op location until the stores shut down in the 1980s. The Co-op was a victim of internal political squabbles within the membership base. What a waste.
i am not sure why, my family seemed to have this impression that Lucky's was cheaper than Safeway. i thought that back in the 80s they were nearly indistinguishable.
Oh is that a Lucky's? That must be new. I thought that used to be like a CVS or Rite-aid or something like that. That's the one by the old Merritt Bakery. Though we did move out of the area in 2004 so it's probably been a couple of things since then.
I gotta agree with your family. Lucky's was a gnat's hair cheaper than Safeway, but it was also a touch more warehouse-y. Then again, I lived toward the dangerous end of Moraga Road and we went hard in Lafayette.
BERKELEY (AP) – Andrej Stojakovic scored 23 points and was one of four Golden Bears with double-figure points in the California men's basketball team's 75-61 victory – its first win in the ACC – over Virginia on Wednesday night in Haas Pavilion.
I'll say 10%. UNC isn't as good this year as previous years because they don't have a very good front court. In the past, they've always had a very good/dominant big guy. Not this year. Bacot graduated last year and Jalen Washington and the transfers aren't feared scorers. Consequently, they can't play like they have in the past and have to rely on guards and wings. Usually they play inside out. Without a feared big man, teams don't have to double and there is less space in the wings. Like usual, Hubert Davis has tightened the rotation and they play probably 8. Like most UNC teams, they like to run and score before the defense gets set. If Cal misses shots and don't get back on D, I see lots of fast break scores. They struggle to score against the zone so I hope MM goes to it a lot.
RJ Davis their 5th year senior and ACC POY last year is struggling to score this year. His 3 pt shooting has slumped along with his mid-range shooting. Eliot Cadeau their PG has been turning the ball over. Seth Trimble is their most improved player, but coming back from an upper-body injury so not sure he'll start. His scoring has vastly improved and is their best on-ball defender.
Their two best freshman, Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, have been very good the last 5-6 games. Maybe their best scorers over that time. Ian Jackson can shoot the 3 and slash and score. Drake Powell has been shooting the 3 better and can also score.
Hoping for a good game and that Cal can stay in it after halftime. Either way, my team will win on Wed. Excited to see my first game in the Dean Dome.
Two goalkeepers - one past and one present - from the California women's soccer team have been called up to the U.S. Women's National Team and Youth National Team training camps, respectively, as announced by U.S. Soccer on Wednesday. Cal graduate and current member of Angel City FC Angelina Anderson was invited to join the senior team while the Golden Bears' current starter Teagan Wy was invited to the Futures Camp.
After a strong performance in Hawaii to start the New Year, the California women's tennis team makes its 2025 home debut when it hosts the Cal Winter Invitational from Friday through Sunday. The Cal Poly Mustangs and Saint Mary's Gaels will join the Golden Bears for singles and doubles competitions at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts.
BERKELEY – The No. 24 California women's basketball team (14-2, 2-1 ACC) will host the first top 25 matchup at Haas Pavilion since the 2017-18 season when it faces No. 21 NC State on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT. This marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
A win would give Cals two top 25 wins at home in a season since 2018-19 (No. 8 Stanford and No. 17 Arizona State) and their first 10-0 start at home since the 2008-09 season.
Two California track & field standouts were honored with World No. 1 rankings by Track & Field News on Tuesday as redshirt junior Mykolas Alekna and alumna Camryn Rogers were named the top global performers in the men's discus and women's hammer, respectively, in 2024. Alumna Georgia Bell, who astonished the track & field world with an outstanding comeback season, came in at No. 5 in the women's 1500m world rankings, while 2023 graduate Hakim McMorris was ranked eighth on the men's decathlon U.S. list.
Stoked for this matchup. For Cal, which hasn’t been to the tournament this decade, it would be quite a statement to defeat the Wolfpack, which has been to the Big Dance many consecutive years and went to the Final Four last year.
WEATHER
Sunny but chilly, but no wind. Temperatures will rise from the lite frost stage to the low 40s. Really pretty nice for mid winter. Unfortunately, the rain returns tomorrow. We really need to dry out in the NW.
Send the rain to LA. Please.
If only it were that simple to schedule when and where the weather does what like you do an oil change!
Cold and windy in DC. I had just over seven inches of snow the beginning of the week and most of it is still here. It’s been hovering around thirty degrees plus or minus during the day and winds are steady around 15 mph with gust to 30-40.
seasonally cold in NYC .. high 32 deg F, low 22, feels like 6.
no complaining, it rarely gets cold anymore.
Uncomfortably dry in Berkeley. Temperatures will be above normal again today driving home the reality that global warming has very much arrived (as if we needed further reminders).
What if it snowed and you went snowboarding, but only turned left?
https://www.threads.net/@indianapolismotorspeedway/post/DElFz_GyFIt
Well, that's one way to get some skiing in.
t’s time for another edition of Oski Disciple’s Question of the Day. People talk about something being as easy as taking candy from a baby. Isn’t it bad for a baby to have candy? Who’s giving candy to babies?
Who really wants to deal with a baby that's crying because some buffoon stole the little one's candy cane?
OLD SCHOOL GROCERY
Have bought a lot of groceries from Safeway. There have and still are several regional chains that no one outside the area would recognize. None of the other chains mentioned in most discussions ever came into the area, except Albertsons.
Not a grocery store, but I remember Gemco, Consumer/Distributors, and the original BEST. The Gemco in WC became Target. There was a C/D on Pleasant Hill Rd, I think. And the BEST in Concord by the mall across the parking lot from the old Mervyn's seems to still be unoccupied.
In my part of Berkeley, there was at one time, *three* supermarkets within walking distance of the house - Lucky's, Safeway, and the Co-op at Shattuck Ave & Cedar St.
The Lucky's location is now a CVS Pharmacy (Shattuck Ave. and Rose St.).
The Safeway is still a Safeway (Shattuck Place & Rose St.).
The Co-op location is now an Andronico's Community Market, operated by Safeway.
The "original" Andronico's location closest to our house was on Solano Ave. at Fresno St., which is still an Andronico's. Only, in the day, it was known as the Park & Shop.
Our family was primarily Co-op shoppers until we moved to New Jersey in 1975. I still remember my mother's number - 23660 (I can still recall my mom saying, "Twenty three sixty six zero"). My paternal grandparents also had a four-digit number that began with 8 (I think). It's possible that I might still have a copy of that membership card from long ago, somewhere in the house.
Our number was 7374. Our mothers' carts probably bumped in an aisle once.
Could be. Wouldn't be surprising if it had happened, at all.
Growing up in Berkeley we shopped at and were members of the CO-OP on Shattuck Avenue. There were two others then, one on Telegraph and the original on University which was established in the 1930s. As a junior and senior in high school I worked in the Shattuck and Telegraph bookstores -- embedded within the CO-OP buildings -- during Christmas season.
I remember seeing the CO-OPs when we went into Berkeley. Probably the one on Ashby and Telegraph. Never went inside though.
There's a Whole Foods there now. An Andonico's on the site of the Shattuck store and a Target where the University store was.
Oh I didn't know Andronico's on Shattuck was a CO-OP. Went there many times during college.
The Shattuck Co-op was a Co-op location until the stores shut down in the 1980s. The Co-op was a victim of internal political squabbles within the membership base. What a waste.
i am not sure why, my family seemed to have this impression that Lucky's was cheaper than Safeway. i thought that back in the 80s they were nearly indistinguishable.
Lucky's is still around in some locations! Not like it used to be, but it still exists.
The closest Lucky's to North Berkeley is in El Cerrito Plaza. Mrs Slug vastly prefers Trader Joe's, which is also in El Cerrito Plaza.
I think the closest to me is in Montclair and I think outer WC has one as well.
There's one in Oakland, near Lake Merritt (Cleveland Heights).
Oh is that a Lucky's? That must be new. I thought that used to be like a CVS or Rite-aid or something like that. That's the one by the old Merritt Bakery. Though we did move out of the area in 2004 so it's probably been a couple of things since then.
I gotta agree with your family. Lucky's was a gnat's hair cheaper than Safeway, but it was also a touch more warehouse-y. Then again, I lived toward the dangerous end of Moraga Road and we went hard in Lafayette.
It seemed common knowledge that Lucky's was cheaper.
I remember Lucky's having the yellow colored generics back in the day.
PRO
NHL game postponed due to LA fires. Perversely, it was the Flames.
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2025/01/08/flames-kings-wildfire-game-postponed/
Vikings @ Rams game now has a contingency plan to play in Phoenix
https://www.azfamily.com/2025/01/09/vikings-rams-playoff-game-may-be-moved-arizona-due-la-wildfires/
CAL
[MBB] Bears Notch First ACC Win
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/8/mens-basketball-bears-notch-first-acc-win.aspx
BERKELEY (AP) – Andrej Stojakovic scored 23 points and was one of four Golden Bears with double-figure points in the California men's basketball team's 75-61 victory – its first win in the ACC – over Virginia on Wednesday night in Haas Pavilion.
what are the chances we win @UNC?
I'll say 10%. UNC isn't as good this year as previous years because they don't have a very good front court. In the past, they've always had a very good/dominant big guy. Not this year. Bacot graduated last year and Jalen Washington and the transfers aren't feared scorers. Consequently, they can't play like they have in the past and have to rely on guards and wings. Usually they play inside out. Without a feared big man, teams don't have to double and there is less space in the wings. Like usual, Hubert Davis has tightened the rotation and they play probably 8. Like most UNC teams, they like to run and score before the defense gets set. If Cal misses shots and don't get back on D, I see lots of fast break scores. They struggle to score against the zone so I hope MM goes to it a lot.
RJ Davis their 5th year senior and ACC POY last year is struggling to score this year. His 3 pt shooting has slumped along with his mid-range shooting. Eliot Cadeau their PG has been turning the ball over. Seth Trimble is their most improved player, but coming back from an upper-body injury so not sure he'll start. His scoring has vastly improved and is their best on-ball defender.
Their two best freshman, Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, have been very good the last 5-6 games. Maybe their best scorers over that time. Ian Jackson can shoot the 3 and slash and score. Drake Powell has been shooting the 3 better and can also score.
Hoping for a good game and that Cal can stay in it after halftime. Either way, my team will win on Wed. Excited to see my first game in the Dean Dome.
[WSOC] Anderson, Wy Earn U.S. Women’s National Team Call-Ups
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/8/womens-soccer-anderson-wy-earn-us-womens-national-team-call-ups.aspx
Two goalkeepers - one past and one present - from the California women's soccer team have been called up to the U.S. Women's National Team and Youth National Team training camps, respectively, as announced by U.S. Soccer on Wednesday. Cal graduate and current member of Angel City FC Angelina Anderson was invited to join the senior team while the Golden Bears' current starter Teagan Wy was invited to the Futures Camp.
[WTEN] Bears Host Cal Winter Invitational
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/8/womens-tennis-bears-host-cal-winter-invitational.aspx
After a strong performance in Hawaii to start the New Year, the California women's tennis team makes its 2025 home debut when it hosts the Cal Winter Invitational from Friday through Sunday. The Cal Poly Mustangs and Saint Mary's Gaels will join the Golden Bears for singles and doubles competitions at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts.
[WBB] No. 24 Cal Battles No. 21 NC State
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/8/womens-basketball-no-24-cal-battles-no-21-nc-state.aspx
BERKELEY – The No. 24 California women's basketball team (14-2, 2-1 ACC) will host the first top 25 matchup at Haas Pavilion since the 2017-18 season when it faces No. 21 NC State on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT. This marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
A win would give Cals two top 25 wins at home in a season since 2018-19 (No. 8 Stanford and No. 17 Arizona State) and their first 10-0 start at home since the 2008-09 season.
[T&F] Alekna, Rogers Named World No. 1 By Track & Field News
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/8/alekna-rogers-named-world-no-1-by-track-field-news.aspx
Two California track & field standouts were honored with World No. 1 rankings by Track & Field News on Tuesday as redshirt junior Mykolas Alekna and alumna Camryn Rogers were named the top global performers in the men's discus and women's hammer, respectively, in 2024. Alumna Georgia Bell, who astonished the track & field world with an outstanding comeback season, came in at No. 5 in the women's 1500m world rankings, while 2023 graduate Hakim McMorris was ranked eighth on the men's decathlon U.S. list.
Women's basketball hosts NC State tonight at Haas in a battle of top 25 teams. https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/8/womens-basketball-no-24-cal-battles-no-21-nc-state.aspx
Stoked for this matchup. For Cal, which hasn’t been to the tournament this decade, it would be quite a statement to defeat the Wolfpack, which has been to the Big Dance many consecutive years and went to the Final Four last year.
Go Bears!
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
DBD AV CLUB
POLITICS