Davis Forever!

Davis Forever is back from vacation!

My deepest apologies for my extended absence from this site. This has been due to a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances that have caused me to have my own extended absence (from Davis that is). I won't bore you all with the gory details but let's just say that a recent trip to Mexico turned into a bit of a nightmare when I was mistakenly apprehended on suspicion on being a drug mule. I know, it's crazy! Anyway, the surgery showed that I was completely clean and after the usual hassle with paperwork, I was released, and now I'm back here in sunny Davis.

It might take me a little while to get caught up with what's being happening in Davis, but rest assured...if it's quirky or murky then you will be able to read about it here. Actually, that's not the only place where you'll be able to read about it because as of today you can also follow me on twitter at @davisforever!

See you soon!

CJ

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Former Davis student plans to launch 'anti facebook' site

facebook - the social networking site that seems to taking over the world - is not for everyone it seems. Former Davis graduate Josh Wittgenstein has had enough of it and it preparing to launch an 'anti facebook' site. Josh - who majored in computer studies - revealed on his blog that he is fed up of 'getting too many friend invites from people I don't want to be friends with'.

Now living in the bay area, Josh is seeking financial support from venture capitalists in order to set up his own Web site later this year. The site will be called 'getoutofmyfacebook' (to be hosted on http://getoufofmyfacebook.com) and in his own words will be 'facebook without the friends'. The plan is that you can log in, list your interests, add lots of 3rd party applications (as long as they don't require interaction from anyone else), but not add (or chat to) friends.

Umm, good luck Josh, somehow I don't think this is going to make you a dot.com millionaire.

Davis Boffin Offers Beer for Butterflies

A scientist at UC Davis wants to know if you have seen a butterfly. If you have, he will give you beer. I know that this sounds a bit crazy (hey this is Davis after all), but I imagine that this is probably a good way of getting thousands of thirsty students to help out with his research.

Rumors that other UC Davis scientists will start offering beer for completing other activities (beer for good exam grades?) remain wishful thinking. 

Davis Festival of Cheese

I recently heard the news that Davis has been selected to host the 2009 California Cheese Festival. This will be a day where all types of cheeses from around California will be brought to Davis to be sniffed, tasted, and most of all, to be enjoyed.

If you have a favorite type of Californian cheese, then you should be excited by the news that this festival is coming to Davis. They are promising to offer 'more cheese than you can shake a stick at'. The site for the festival has yet to be chosen, but you will be expected to pay $59 entry, which is waived if you bring a home-made cheese of your own (as long as it was matured within the state of California).

Out with the old and in with the new

If you head out north from town and cross over 5th street, then you might see signs like this one:

You might not have realized it, but that little stretch of Davis which is roughly between 5th and 8th Streets is known as 'Old North' Davis. I think 'Old' in this sense must pertain to things built before 1950, because it is hardly like we are living in an ancient city.

Well, this might be all fine and dandy if you are an Old Northerner, but clearly there is a large chunk of Davis that lies to the north of Old North Davis, and which has been established in - shall we say - more recent times. Residents of this area have begun discussions about getting their own area of Davis recognized as - and I kid you not - 'New North Davis'. This area would be between 8th Street and Covell, and between Oak and J St.

All of this raises the issue about the future of the Cannery Park project. This proposed development would occur north of Covell, so if this gets the go ahead, then we would clearly need a new district of 'New New North Davis'. As a 'Middle Modern Era South Davis' resident, I see that we could be starting a disturbing trend here.

Animal swap shop in Davis

An ad appeared on craigslist this week (which has been subsequently retracted) which read:

Baby Llama for sale

A six-month old baby male llama (answers to the name of Jesus) is available to a good home. Very friendly and would make a great pet if you have the space. Will sell for $200 or would be interested in exchanging for a sheep, short-finned eel, or Nigerian dwarf goat.

Call 530 - xxx - xxxx

Does this sound a little crazy to you? I, for one, have yet to see a llama in Davis (cats, dogs, and the occasional chickens...yes. But llamas, no). The fact that this advert was retracted made me think this might all be a coded message for some drugs deal. I initially thought that the Nigerian dwarf goat must have been a made up creature, but as the link will reveal, it is real (they even have their own association).

The final part of this ad that puzzles me (well, lets just pass over the fact that someone named a llama 'Jesus') is the fact that two of the three creatures in the proposed swap deal seem suitable replacements, but the third seems very odd. I admit ignorance of taxonomic classifications, but goats, sheep, and llamas all seem to have a certain 'wooly' quality to me. Eels, however, seem to be the odd man out here (odd eel out?). Swap a llama for an eel?!? An eel??? Again I profess ignorance whether 'short-finned' eels are substantially different to any other type of eel ('long-finned'???) but I do wonder whether eels make suitable pets. I guess this could be a household that loves sushi and is in search of some extra ingredients? Maybe they have one of those spoilt kids who has moved on from "Daddy, daddy...I want a pony and I want one NOW" to "Ponies are sooooo last year daddy. Now I must have a llama....or maybe an eel".

Only in Davis!

Toilets overwhelmed as thousands of UC Davis students return to campus

Last weekend saw the arrival of nearly 5,000 new students on campus. Of course, this causes all sorts of logistical problems for the staff at UC Davis who have to oversee this operation. In addition to the more fundamental problems (thousands of SUVs all trying to unload stuff at the same time, traffic problems etc.) there are also the many, many questions from concerned parents who wonder if the 'one square inch of peeling paint' in the dorm hallway is going to prove a health issue for their darling John/Jane. 

However, on top of all of these problems there are the things that you never predict. The events that can't be predicted. One of those problems is...what would happen if too many of those many thousands of students all try flushing their dorm toilets at approximately the same time? Apparently this situation is known as the 'big flush' and is usually more of a hypothetical concern of architects and plumbing engineers than a real-world scenario. But UC Davis likes to be a trend setter, and so it came to pass that on Sunday morning, the campus suffered a bout of rather unpleasant congestion as the 'nightmare scenario' of the big flush came true. I'll spare readers too many details of the after-effects. Suffice to say that things are now flowing smoothly again and the smell has almost dissipated.

Men's brains are more redundant says UC Davis scientist

Scientists have been looking at differences in the brains of men and women. Science News magazine contains a summary of some research that looked at the numbers of connectors in the brain (they're technically called 'synapses' but I'm not sure if that will help you much). Men have more of these connectors than women it seems (though it seems a little odd that this research only comes from the brains of epilepsy patients).

Anyway, the point of all of this is that a UC Davis scientist - Edward Jones - who works at the Center for Neuroscience on campus was asked for his opinion on the research. He noted that the difference in men and women's brains might not be because men have better spatial perception but might just be because "men's brains are just more redundant".

Ah, I love it when scientists discover something that we already knew to be true!!!

Getting high in Davis

Davis is not exactly noted for a cityscape of high-rise buildings and tower blocks. In fact, it is pretty hard to find any building where you might have to contemplate using an elevator. The record for height currently belongs to Sproul Hall on the UC Davis campus (pictured below). This nine-storey building is as high as you can get in Davis (and for that matter Yolo county), but not for much longer.

Plans have now been submitted to the City Council for a new sculpture that would become the largest structure in Davis that you can ascend. The permanent artwork is titled 'Above the clouds' and will - if planning permission is granted - take the shape of a giant tree which will be more than double the height of Sproul Hall.

The central trunk would contain an elevator allowing visitors to ascend to a viewing level from which they would be granted a 200-mile view across the causeway to Sacramento and beyond. The designer of the sculpture (Gary Gunderson) says "Above the clouds will be a wistful, dreamy experience for the people of Davis. You will be able to literally ascend into the heavens and view the beauty of Davis and beyond from up high". The choice of the tree design is meant to reflect the prominent role of Davis on many green issues, and will also "symbolize the ever branching diversity of both Californian culture and cuisine".

The plans propose to site this sculpture in Central Park so that it will be a focal point for Davis and easily accessible by visitors. Should the team behind this sculpture get the go-ahead, work will start next summer and will take approximate 2 years to complete at a cost of over $3 million. The structure will be based on a mixed steel and concrete core, but the outside will be coated in rubber that is reclaimed from recycled car tires. 

Town & Frown

Davis is set to mark 100 years of 'Town & Gown', acknowledging the close association between UC Davis and the city of Davis. Celebrations were officially launched at the California State Fair, but the next major stage in the festivities will be a five day event in October. For one day during this event, several blocks of downtown Davis will become an outdoor street festival and will be closed to traffic. It is meant to be symbolic that this event will take place in the area that connects the campus with downtown (on 3rd St). The organizers of the event will be keen to point out the warm and friendly relationship between 'town' and 'gown'. 

However, not everyone appears to share this rosy view of residents and students living side-by-side in peaceful harmony. A small faction of Davis residents will be staging a protest against the university. The group who calls themselves 'What has UC Davis ever done for us?' appear to be in the minority of Davis residents who suffer from 'problem student neighbors'. One group member, who wishes to remain anonymous, said "It's not just about the loud parties. It's not just about shopping carts being left on the driveway, or the frequent acts of public urination. It's more about how these students create a large blotchy stain on the otherwise good-looking, and clean-shaven face of Davis". The group are planning to stage their 'Town & Frown' protest during the October event. They won't say what the nature of this protest will be, but rumors have it that they will be building a large effigy (made out of wicker), dressing it in typical student attire (a UC Davis hoodie top?), and then dowsing it in kerosene before burning it to the ground. Whoa. Can't we all just get along?