Technology
Tech Liminal in downtown Oakland bills itself as a tech “hotspot and salon.” It’s a shared office space for professionals who work at home and a DIY workshop for office workers. Tech Liminal is one of two “coworking” spaces in Oakland registered in the Coworking Wiki, a world directory of these alternative offices.
One of America’s largest power utilities, San Francisco based Pacific Gas and Electric, which serves half of California’s public schools, announced Tuesday that it will oppose Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley)’s AB 1186, or the “Saving Schools Saving Energy” bill.
Tuesday’s transit of Venus—a celestial passage of the planet across the Sun—attracted thousands of people from across the Bay Area to Chabot Space and Science Center, all eager to see an orbit that will go back into hiding until December, 2117. The line of people stretched so far outside of the observatory that workers inside were calling out the headcount by the hour on walkie talkies, saying that the day could set the attendance record for America’s largest public telescope facility.
Claremont Middle School, a small public school near the northern border of Oakland, spends $53,000 on energy bills each year, nearly $130 per child for its 405 students.
At first glance Christopher and Gerald Dixon seem like any other pair of twins. They look alike, dress similarly and play together. But Gerald is autistic and Christopher isn’t. The boys were one of 1100 twin pairs who participated in the largest ever study of Autism in twins, the California Autism Twins Study (CATS). The study found that the environment plays a much bigger role in causing autism than previously thought.
On Saturday, 44-year-old Irma Lira will walk onto a stage at Children’s Hospital Oakland, sit in a barber’s chair, and have her head shaved. Cheers will ring out as her thick black tresses, and her full, curled set of bangs, fall to the floor. A hat for donations will pass through the lively crowd, and people will eagerly fill it with money. And Lira won’t be alone—about 200 people will be shorn clean to benefit childhood cancer research through an organization called St. Baldrick’s.
A group of Bay Area folks come together every year on March 14 to celebrate pi — the mathematical constant and the dessert. Laura Hautala spent a recent Saturday afternoon joining in on the peculiar celebration.
As the Girl Scouts of America kick-off their annual cookie sale, many cookie lovers will be in for a treat. Now, Girl Scouts are accepting credit and debit cards. Byrhonda Lyons spoke to some scouts who are selling cookies in the Bay Area.
All night, fighters will come and go, the post-apocalyptic backdrop will change, and, in the end, one person will be crowned the victor of the first “Fight Night” video game tournament at Oakland’s new Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment.