Sandbox - Trash Talk, Tall Tales & Flotsam... It's a mess in here!

Sep 09, 2013 at 07:27 PM

@WDC - fwiw don't know too much about it specifically but friends who worked in SV actually lived in SF. They took commuter rails or I think some companies provided private charter buses for their employees. Common enough that it probably wouldn't be considered reverse commuting.

eragot

Sep 09, 2013 at 07:34 PM

Old la Honda is nice. My brother in law lives in Sunnyvale. What would you like to know?

WilliamDC

Sep 09, 2013 at 07:54 PM

I want to know what it's like to live in the Silicon Valley, especially after living in NYC for a long time.

Prices, sprawl, where the urban centers are, where the good riding is, etc. I'm talking to some companies out there.

eragot

Sep 09, 2013 at 08:16 PM

The riding part is easy. There is nothing but sprawal. Avoid east Palo alto. I guess mountain view has a downtown. Palo alto itself is nice but no matter what, you need a car.

dstokes

Sep 09, 2013 at 08:21 PM

It's sprawl.

Now we're even.

eragot

Sep 09, 2013 at 09:23 PM

Yes. I misspelled.

David Yang

Sep 09, 2013 at 09:27 PM

I guess I was trying point out that it is common to live in the city and work in the outskirts (depending on where it is). Best of both worlds except for the longish commuting part.

Jeffrey White

Sep 09, 2013 at 09:50 PM

Riding is great from the city (everyone there calls San Francisco "the city"), riding is great from the peninsula, riding is great from the valley (the farther west, the better).

You need a car to live there, unless you live in the city.

The lifestyle is good and healthy. It is a Mexican food paradise. Bars close at 2 a.m., with last call sometimes being as early as 1 a.m. You can get away to redwood forests, (chilly) beaches, Tahoe, Point Reyes, and any number of national parks, in under 4 hours in a car. New York cannot compare -- even a little bit -- to the Bay Area when it comes to the diversity, beauty, and accessibility of nature and the outdoors in general.

Living in San Francisco proper is the only way to minimize the NYC delta. As Yang said, many companies run shuttles up and down the peninsula between the city and their offices. Many folks also take CalTrain, which you can bring your bike on.

Myles

Sep 09, 2013 at 09:57 PM

STRONG ISLAND!!!!!

#igotchaspraaawhiteear
On Sep 9, 2013 5:50 PM, "Jeffrey White" <

Marc Bertucco

Sep 09, 2013 at 10:15 PM

FWIW, everyone I know that could never afford to live in San Fran, but wanted to live "there," lives in Oakland.

WilliamDC

Sep 09, 2013 at 10:17 PM

thanks, all

i really like oakland, but the office i'm considering is way down in the "crotch" of the south bay, just west of San Jose.

i'm trying to figure out if there's anywhere worth living around there.

eragot

Sep 09, 2013 at 10:29 PM

Los Gatos or Cupertino. Saratoga has a nice cute downtown. All three towns offer great riding minutes away.

Jeffrey White

Sep 09, 2013 at 10:33 PM

If you want to be close to work, you'll be living in the 'burbs. There are some nice town centers you can be near, though.

If you're willing to live a bit further out, you can live in the "country," in the winding roads west of the Valley. It's a very different lifestyle, more akin to your parents' place up in Dutchess County. For example, my boss lives in the Santa Cruz mountains (somewhere around here). However, he only actually comes into work about twice a week, so there's that.

Craig Zolan

Sep 09, 2013 at 10:34 PM

eragot said:

Los Gatos or Supertino. Saratoga has a nice cute downtown. All three towns offer great riding minutes away.

Supertino - the new and improved Cupertino.

Jeff Owens

Sep 10, 2013 at 10:51 PM

Ok who wants to help me fabricate and awesome pic?

http://www.citibikenyc.com/blog/2013/09/09/rapha-comes-to-nyc

I'll give you half my shopping spree

jim_nelson

Sep 10, 2013 at 11:26 PM

How will you share a jersey?

Jeff Owens

Sep 10, 2013 at 11:37 PM

I get the front. You the back.

IT'S A SHOPPING SPREE!!! I keep all the $400 items and give you the overpriced chamois creme, DUH.

mugwump

Sep 11, 2013 at 03:59 AM

anyone know how to actually write someone at google? I'm having trouble with Google Voice and their "help" isn't helpful.

JohnMalcolmson

Sep 11, 2013 at 11:27 AM

@WDC Los Gatos is brilliant because you have Santa Cruz Mountains right there and can escape the smoggy days, but housing costs are sky-high. You could live in the giant redwood laden mountains in a shack, but commute possibly prohibitive as it's a single highway deal at rush hour.

dstokes

Sep 11, 2013 at 11:31 AM

Ah yes, the smog. Unfortunately, it accumulates at the south end of the bay.

Jules

Sep 11, 2013 at 11:42 AM

@Wump you may be stuffed. GOOG is notorious for thin customer service...

dstokes

Sep 11, 2013 at 12:06 PM

Google voice crashes on my tablet (which ironically is sold by Google). Doesn't work at all. The only thing to do in my opinion is wait for the next OS upgrade (which is coming soon). #whiteboysproblem

Jules

Sep 11, 2013 at 12:47 PM

Ever feel this way when you get your bike back from the LBS?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8qKFtGfUe0#t=95

mugwump

Sep 11, 2013 at 01:32 PM

dstokes said:

Google voice crashes on my tablet (which ironically is sold by Google). Doesn't work at all. The only thing to do in my opinion is wait for the next OS upgrade (which is coming soon). #whiteboysproblem

It's easy to have lousy customer service when your stock price is $900 a share. It's easier not to think of your company is evil if you can't hear complaints. #welcometothegloriousfuture

So, anyone have any tips for making a smartphone a wifi phone?

dstokes

Sep 11, 2013 at 03:29 PM

Skype?!

Jules

Sep 12, 2013 at 05:56 PM

Holy GOD this is funny

http://k2radio.com/hilarious-voicemail-from-a-witness-to-traffic-accident-audio/?trackback=fbshare_mobile

Myles

Sep 12, 2013 at 06:03 PM

Skype is in fact free as part of my unlimited data plan and it gives you the option of a video or voice call to another Skype user

Jules

Sep 13, 2013 at 02:18 AM

Gears in nature!

http://phys.org/news/2013-09-functioning-mechanical-gears-nature.html

Bruce van-Schalkwyk

Sep 13, 2013 at 03:09 PM

That's pretty cool stuff, though I have to admit I'm always a little nonplussed when painstaking research reveals things I didn't know hadn't been found yet. My ignorance keeps me from being surprised, sometimes.

This is the best part, which probably belongs in the Family Man thread:

"Interestingly, the mechanistic gears are only found in the insect's juvenile – or 'nymph' – stages, and are lost in the final transition to adulthood. These transitions, called 'molts', are when animals cast off rigid skin at key points in their development in order to grow.

It's not yet known why the Issus loses its hind-leg gears on reaching adulthood. The scientists point out that a problem with any gear system is that if one tooth on the gear breaks, the effectiveness of the whole mechanism is damaged. While gear-teeth breakage in nymphs could be repaired in the next molt, any damage in adulthood remains permanent."

Yeah, I've got knees like that, too. . .

JoshuaC

Sep 14, 2013 at 09:16 PM

David Yang - You could be a Simpsons character.

http://fiverr.com/eliana93fer/draw-you-as-a-simpson-cartoon?&utm_source=dt_my&utm_term=m23000328&utm_medium=_simpsoncartoon&utm_content=simpsoncartoon_gc_na&utm_campaign=gc_na