went to Wilensky's Light Lunch in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal for first time. it had been on my list for a while but always seemed to be closed when i walked by before
had a bologna sandwich and a chocolate egg cream. that is pretty much 1/2 the menu.
The only french place I've eaten at in the East Bay was this little french place in Clayton. My parents had the Entertainment book (old people, remember that?) and this place was there so we tried it. Was very good. It looked like it was family run and maybe was in a converted house? I have only had French a handful of times outside of France.
i LOVED all those games. however i realize that it gives a distorted sense of geography.
a Russian guy i work with just recently informed me that Siberia is not a thin little sliver of Russia, but approx half the country. and places like Yakuskt are not regions, but just cities.
ran into all sorts of Americans and Canadians this week. probably the most interesting was someone from IN visiting Montreal for bike races.
comments like .. "data centers, cant live w/o them, so we might as well invest in them"
same person .. "didnt want to take an Uber from airport because of price gouging"
it is interesting to me that something expensive (like an Uber at peak hours) is seen as price gouging. there are plenty of structural issues w/ Uber, but this does not seem like one of them.
my take was that these words like "data center" and "price gouging" just take on a meaning of their own in different people's political circles and just become repeated over and over until they forget what the actual complaint is.
Some teams’s players, including the Liberty, seem to have been tuned up by their FIBA experience. Another example is Carla Leite of the Portland Fire. Too late for them to make the playoffs, but her skill level seemed to have shot up.
The Golden State Valkyries' highest scoring game in franchise history propelled them to their first playoff win, defeating the Dallas Wings 104-80 at Chase Center on Sunday night. Eight different players connected from beyond the arc to tie the Valkyries all-time high of 18 3-pointers made in a game.
Cecilia Zandalasini, Tiffany Hayes and Gabby Williams all scored over 20 points with a total of five players reaching double figures. As a team, the Valkyries recorded their fewest turnovers this season with four.
We got extra baseball on the final day of the season — which afforded the Giants relief pitching enough space to revert to their well-established baseline. The story for 9 innings was that Game 162 was the least 2026 Giants game of the 2026 season, mostly because of how well pitched it was. Tied in the 9th, the romantics allowed themselves to daydream, envisioning a big fly, a slow rising final shot for Mike Krukow to narrate, his third home run call in 36 years as a color-analyst.
no one figured Brandon McNulty was a favorite despite being a solid rider. he attacked w/ about 35k to go and no one initially followed and no one was able to close the gap.
for this one we were on the streets and the massive crowds going up the main hill.
50/50 support for US rider. i think normally Canadians would root for a US rider, but w/ the current politics half were disinclined.
womens race came down to a 2 person sprint between winner Demi Vollering who has won a zillion other races this year vs Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. those 2 were the strongest all day.
we had seats about 100m from the finish and luckily saw it unfold right in front of us.
Yesterday, I was sent by my wife to Albany NY's food co-op to buy something special. As I often do, I had on a Golden Bears sweatshirt, and a random lady in the store gave me an enthusiastic "Go Bears!"
I don't very often get a Go Bears in these parts, so it's hilariously on-brand that I got one in the hippie food co-op.
The California men's tennis team completed play at the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well as the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, California over the weekend.
The No. 17 California field hockey team fell to North Carolina (5-4, 2-1 ACC), 4-0, Sunday afternoon to close out its ACC home-opening weekend. The Golden Bears are now 0-2 in ACC play and 5-3 overall.
There may not have been a more difficult slate to open ACC play than the one the California Golden Bears had. After falling to No. 2 Pitt on the road Friday, the Bears took a flight to Dallas to face the No. 5 SMU Mustangs.
CARSON – California rugby's two squads turned in good performances at West Coast 7s Los Angeles on Saturday, with the top side winning the championship and the second side claiming the Challenger Division title. Max Threlkeld was named Man of the Tournament with his four-try performance.
Go Bears from Iceland. Set the alarm for Saturday 05:00 GMT hoping to catch the second half (02:30 kickoff). My Oski brain woke me around 03:30 and I couldn’t get back to sleep so I flipped the game on. First poor decision of that day.
Thx it’s been a good trip. Not doing the traditional Ring Road itinerary. Started in Selfoss with several day trips around the south coast including the Golden Circle (local farms, craftspeople, Icelandic horse farm, waterfalls, geyser, volcano glacier hiking). Drove north to Akureyri, visited a search and rescue operation along the way. Geysir bread 😋 baked in geothermal grounds, pseudo craters (NASA was here), and lava formations. To Dalvik to seek whales and other marine life, returning to Reykjavik for a few days before heading for home.
watched the first half from east coast (1030p start). went to bed at halftime figuring it was not looking so good for the offense that could barely move the ball
low brow eats ..
My kind of place. Mexican places that have day laborers. Cheap Chinese places (2.5 stars!).
most Michelin star restaurants probably have day laborers too!
just check w/ SGBear about how much he expects to get paid ..
i suppose you were talking more about the clientele
yup.
went to Wilensky's Light Lunch in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal for first time. it had been on my list for a while but always seemed to be closed when i walked by before
had a bologna sandwich and a chocolate egg cream. that is pretty much 1/2 the menu.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2HCios3fmEtdxMfGA
My kind of place. They do what they do, and if you don't like it, they're just as happy for you to eat somewhere else.
I'm putting that on the list for the next time I'm in Montreal (it's one of my favorite cities).
Just found pictures. Looks good. The outside of the bun looks like an english muffin, but it's almost like a flat bread. Super thin.
best French food near you ..
The only french place I've eaten at in the East Bay was this little french place in Clayton. My parents had the Entertainment book (old people, remember that?) and this place was there so we tried it. Was very good. It looked like it was family run and maybe was in a converted house? I have only had French a handful of times outside of France.
SGBear will just have to fall out of bed and walk to his boulangerie (in a few months?)
a short 2 hour drive to Montreal from Burlington.
dinner at the hotel was pretty solid the first night. dinner at Chez Victoire on Mont-Royal Ave was even better.
https://chezvictoire.com/
What was the place that No 1's GF recommended to you and I think we went to when I visited?
no. that was Lemeac, which is solidly good too.
Political observations
Currently touring Iceland. Locals roll their eyes and joke about becoming the 52nd state, behind Canada or Greenland.
if we invade Iceland and Canada first, then we can attack the formidable Greenland army from 2 sides!
also, we will have cut off the assistance the that Greenland might receive from Denmark or other Scandi countries.
Sounds like you'd be pretty formidable at playing Risk.
i LOVED all those games. however i realize that it gives a distorted sense of geography.
a Russian guy i work with just recently informed me that Siberia is not a thin little sliver of Russia, but approx half the country. and places like Yakuskt are not regions, but just cities.
ran into all sorts of Americans and Canadians this week. probably the most interesting was someone from IN visiting Montreal for bike races.
comments like .. "data centers, cant live w/o them, so we might as well invest in them"
same person .. "didnt want to take an Uber from airport because of price gouging"
it is interesting to me that something expensive (like an Uber at peak hours) is seen as price gouging. there are plenty of structural issues w/ Uber, but this does not seem like one of them.
The lack of self-awareness is sometimes breathtaking. You'd think after 10 years of this crap I'd become used to it.
my take was that these words like "data center" and "price gouging" just take on a meaning of their own in different people's political circles and just become repeated over and over until they forget what the actual complaint is.
who knows ..
AI musings
Data centers increasingly in the news.
Every Household in This Rural Town Receives $10,000 if a Data Center Gets Built
Many Pennsylvania residents in Hazle Township are pushing back against the data center, despite the lure of the cash payout
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/every-household-in-this-rural-town-receives-10-000-if-a-data-center-gets-built-86554cb7?st=nHpf4i&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
that plus the $5k Trump is giving you for the midterm elections would be perfect!
PRO
WNBA playoffs underway.
NY Liberty win game one over heavily favored Lynx. in a 3 game series, Lynx are already facing elimination!
Some teams’s players, including the Liberty, seem to have been tuned up by their FIBA experience. Another example is Carla Leite of the Portland Fire. Too late for them to make the playoffs, but her skill level seemed to have shot up.
Valkyries' Explosive Offense Earns First Ever Playoff Win Over Wings (104-80)
https://valkyries.wnba.com/news/gameday-recap-20260927
The Golden State Valkyries' highest scoring game in franchise history propelled them to their first playoff win, defeating the Dallas Wings 104-80 at Chase Center on Sunday night. Eight different players connected from beyond the arc to tie the Valkyries all-time high of 18 3-pointers made in a game.
Cecilia Zandalasini, Tiffany Hayes and Gabby Williams all scored over 20 points with a total of five players reaching double figures. As a team, the Valkyries recorded their fewest turnovers this season with four.
65-97 (Giants lose to the Dodgers, 502)
A close game that went belly-up late like so many others…a fitting end to the 2026 season.
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/san-francisco-giants-scores-standings/112026/65-97
We got extra baseball on the final day of the season — which afforded the Giants relief pitching enough space to revert to their well-established baseline. The story for 9 innings was that Game 162 was the least 2026 Giants game of the 2026 season, mostly because of how well pitched it was. Tied in the 9th, the romantics allowed themselves to daydream, envisioning a big fly, a slow rising final shot for Mike Krukow to narrate, his third home run call in 36 years as a color-analyst.
Mercifully, the Giants season is over. Cal football? Unmercifully, it trudges on.
Dodgers find their breakthrough in extras to beat the Giants (5-2)
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/125618/late-game-runs-alex-call-andy-pages-giants-win
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/125618/late-game-runs-alex-call-andy-pages-giants-win
Cycling world championships in Montreal this weekend. we went to both womens and mens road races and had some excellent food along the way
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9J5DfEc2DMzoefRz6
mens race won by US!!
no one figured Brandon McNulty was a favorite despite being a solid rider. he attacked w/ about 35k to go and no one initially followed and no one was able to close the gap.
for this one we were on the streets and the massive crowds going up the main hill.
50/50 support for US rider. i think normally Canadians would root for a US rider, but w/ the current politics half were disinclined.
Great win by Brandon McNulty! To be World Champ from being a domestique is amazing. By all accounts, couldn’t have happened to a better guy
also amazing team performance by the US. 3 of the top 8 places overall and the 2 that didnt win were in the lead group helping in all sorts of ways.
this is, of course, is not normal for US, but great to see.
womens race came down to a 2 person sprint between winner Demi Vollering who has won a zillion other races this year vs Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. those 2 were the strongest all day.
we had seats about 100m from the finish and luckily saw it unfold right in front of us.
6 undefeated NFL teams remain including Raiders.
the others are the Niners, Vikings, Eagles, Chiefs, and Bills
Niners keep getting injured and keep winning. Helps that Brock Purdy has been otherworldly good.
Digital Diversions
Fun for a few minutes.
Wordle in 1
Bonus September 23, 2026
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 4:30
Wordle in 1
Bonus September 23, 2026
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 3:27
Globle
#Worldle #1711 (28.09.2026) 4/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 1 days
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜⬅️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜↙️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜⬅️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
Worldle
#Worldle #1711 (28.09.2026) 4/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 1 days
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜⬅️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜↙️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜⬅️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
Lucky guess
3 for me. i should have known better. the shapes of things are always so strange out-of-context
Octordle
🙂 Daily Quordle 1708
5️⃣6️⃣
3️⃣9️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
🙂 Daily Quordle 1708
6️⃣5️⃣
3️⃣9️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Very similar
Octordle
Daily Octordle #1708
6️⃣4️⃣
5️⃣8️⃣
🔟🕛
🕐🕚
Score: 69
Did the top 4 words thinking I was doing Quordle...
Wordle 1,927 4/6
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⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 97/99
Luck 42/99
solid start to the Wordle week .. a bit lucky
Wordle 1,927 3/6*
🟩⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 89/99
Luck 66/99
Wordle 1,927 5/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 90/99
Luck 38/99
Wordle 1,927 3/6*
⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Other College
Cal
Yesterday, I was sent by my wife to Albany NY's food co-op to buy something special. As I often do, I had on a Golden Bears sweatshirt, and a random lady in the store gave me an enthusiastic "Go Bears!"
I don't very often get a Go Bears in these parts, so it's hilariously on-brand that I got one in the hippie food co-op.
i got a few Go Bears amongst all the cycling fans in Montreal. i somehow left all my cycling themed clothing behind.
Probably also listens to NPR!
Spread is UNLV -2.5.
Not great when we're underdogs against a Mountain West team. I know UNLV is actually pretty good blah blah blah, but still...
At this point I'd just be happy with our Offense scoring more than UNLV.
[MTEN] Bears Complete Play at All-Americans and Sherwood Cup
https://calbears.com/news/2026/9/27/mens-tennis-bears-complete-play-at-all-americans-and-sherwood-cup
The California men's tennis team completed play at the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well as the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, California over the weekend.
[FH] No. 17 Cal Downed By North Carolina
https://calbears.com/news/2026/9/27/field-hockey-no-17-cal-downed-by-north-carolina
The No. 17 California field hockey team fell to North Carolina (5-4, 2-1 ACC), 4-0, Sunday afternoon to close out its ACC home-opening weekend. The Golden Bears are now 0-2 in ACC play and 5-3 overall.
[WSOC} Bears Close Nonconference Play With Home Win
https://calbears.com/news/2026/9/27/womens-soccer-bears-close-nonconference-play-with-home-win
BERKELEY, Calif. – The California Golden Bears defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 2-0 in a Sunday afternoon matchup.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half.
[VB] Cal Unable To Pull Off Upset Against No. 5 SMU
https://calbears.com/news/2026/9/27/volleyball-cal-unable-to-pull-off-upset-against-no-5-smu
There may not have been a more difficult slate to open ACC play than the one the California Golden Bears had. After falling to No. 2 Pitt on the road Friday, the Bears took a flight to Dallas to face the No. 5 SMU Mustangs.
[RUGBY] Bears Open Sevens Season With Championship
https://calbears.com/news/2026/9/26/rugby-bears-open-sevens-season-with-championship
CARSON – California rugby's two squads turned in good performances at West Coast 7s Los Angeles on Saturday, with the top side winning the championship and the second side claiming the Challenger Division title. Max Threlkeld was named Man of the Tournament with his four-try performance.
[FB] Postgame Notes: Clemson 24, California 10
https://calbears.com/news/2026/9/26/football-postgame-notes-clemson-24-california-10
Go Bears from Iceland. Set the alarm for Saturday 05:00 GMT hoping to catch the second half (02:30 kickoff). My Oski brain woke me around 03:30 and I couldn’t get back to sleep so I flipped the game on. First poor decision of that day.
hope the rest of the Iceland trip is going well. are you dong the full circular loop?
Thx it’s been a good trip. Not doing the traditional Ring Road itinerary. Started in Selfoss with several day trips around the south coast including the Golden Circle (local farms, craftspeople, Icelandic horse farm, waterfalls, geyser, volcano glacier hiking). Drove north to Akureyri, visited a search and rescue operation along the way. Geysir bread 😋 baked in geothermal grounds, pseudo craters (NASA was here), and lava formations. To Dalvik to seek whales and other marine life, returning to Reykjavik for a few days before heading for home.
watched the first half from east coast (1030p start). went to bed at halftime figuring it was not looking so good for the offense that could barely move the ball