Max Pictures’ Blather

…Berkeley, California.
Jupiter is a beerhouse in Downtown Berkeley that bears little resemblance to its planetary namesake. The one astronomical nod to our planetary system’s fifth member is in (the beerhouse) Jupiter’s logo: a red spot to match (the planet) Jupiter’s Great Red Spot storm. There’s also (the beerhouse) Jupiter’s Red Spot ale which I’ve tried [...]

…in Berkeley.
One of my coworkers, chocolateCat, recently celebrated a birthday. Our art director, la bel artiste, used this to turn last Tuesday afternoon into a special, gelato-based occasion.
An email invitation was sent out: “Let’s go down to the gelato place at 3:45,” it read. “Also, I think someone recently had a birthday. Anyway, gelato. Gelato [...]

…at Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB).
Now that Cal has started up again for Fall, finding a vacant spot to sit and muse can be challenging during campus high traffic hours (10 a.m.–2 p.m.). I tried out the courtyard at VLSB last week—it was pleasant enough, but table seating is extremely limited. I think there are [...]

…last Monday a.m.
I like being on campus in the morning. It’s typically cooler, so I can trudge up the (slight) rise in elevation to the University’s grounds without breaking (much of) a sweat.

Also, the students don’t start appearing until well after 9, so you can move about without having to navigate throngs of kids blocking [...]

…future home—seen yesterday. (The University Press Building, Berkeley.)
Just a wall at the former UC Printing plant in Berkeley. Nothing food-related about this photo.
There are several restaurants across the street from this wall, I guess.
Okay, now I’m hungry.

…Rock. Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse, Berkeley.
Went to lunch with my coworkers last week at Triple Rock. It was a hot day (for Berkeley) and, though I was worried about the heat, we opted to sit upstairs at the “Top of the Rock.”
There’s an awning, which cuts down on the glare, that covers the seating [...]

…Café. At UC Berkeley. Yesterday.
School has started up again for Fall 2008, I think. But, it must not have been in full gear yesterday because the campus wasn’t clogged with billions of wandering, dazed, doe-eyed freshmen.
Ah, instruction starts today.

Ah, instruction starts tomorrow.
Farewell availability of café seating—I’ll see you next summer.

…is awesome.
If you like greasy food like I do, then you’ll like Oscar’s. I’d walked past the shop and its enticing smells a couple of times over the years but had never stopped in until DPete suggested it for lunch. On that fateful day the boundaries of how far I’d walk from the office for [...]

…over Berkeley.
When I left the Central Valley this morning, the sun was rising in a clear, blue sky. As per usual, when I arrived in the Bay Area there was no sun to be found.
Just another cool, overcast day.

…is what I usually get at the Jazz Caffe.
I like the Jazz Caffe. It’s situated, appropriately enough, in The Jazzschool. The food is good, but I rarely eat there (the menu is just on the edge of pricey and I’m just on the edge of cheap—scratch that, I’m well in the region of cheap). Instead, [...]