Waking at the ungodly hour of 2:52am, we staggered outside hoping to catch a glimpse of the moon in total eclipse, fairly certain that it would be blocked by buildings and trees. Lo and behold, there it was, perfectly poised above our complex, easily viewed from our deck. We caught it just as the last bits of white vanished from view - taken over by a Mars-like blush. After doing my best to steady my sleepy hand and catch a few shots, we stumbled back to bed.

(The above photo was taken at my camera’s zoomiest. Click continue to see the tiny red dot instead of the zoomified one.)
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Night-owls and very-early birds will get a treat around 2:50am tonight (uh, Tuesday morning): a total lunar eclipse.

Bonus points for watching it while waking up your neighbors with your rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

…beer spilled on the road? (I’m singing that Harry Chapin song about bananas in my head–only it was 30,000 lbs, and it was bananas, not beer.) The KCRA news story tells us that “a drunk driver” may have been behind the big rig accident that caused 40, 000 pounds of beer to spill over on the 160.

If it was a drunk driver who caused the beer-truck driver to lose control, there are questions that must be asked.

Was the alleged drunk driver just trying to get more beer? Was there actually a beer-jack going on? Was the drunk driver actually the big rig driver, who accidentally “inhaled” the beer fumes? I know it sounds far-fetched. We’ll probably never know the real story. Those of you who had your drinking straws ready to go help with clean-up–too late. All that beer is already gone…

No! BigFun.org is the website for . . .

TA DA!

. . . The California State Fair, which opened at 10am this morning. Guess that means it’s also time for our Big Summer Heat Wave that’s been MIA so far this year. And it’s right here, right in our own backyard (quick, name that film!).

So, I’m going to go ahead and state that the State Fair is worth visiting for the fair food, if for no other reason, and, more specifically for funnel cake because there is no fair food more perfect. You can save your trendy deep fried asparagus and giant turkey legs. I’ll take my simple, fried dough merriment, thank you very much.

Anyone going to go to the concerts? Anyone catch opening day?

And, if I can, I’m going to check out Beef Showmanship next week. I don’t know what it is - but it MUST be awesome.

Good Morning. Care to donate some blood?

Okay you know it’s a slow day at the blood bank when a Blood Donation vampire blood gatherer phlebotomist asks you as you’re passing by on the street on a walk break to donate blood.

And it was for a Sacbee blood drive. Come on Bee-workers?! I find it ironic that a group often accused of being bloodsuckers (not by me) is strangely stingy in giving it up.

For the rest of us: when was the last time you donated?

To follow up on Ursula’s post about local bakeries -

We’ve just now gone Freeport after an initial scare when they told me they were too booked up for our wedding date. We showed up to look at their standard “anniverary” or non-personalized options, but the gal brought out all the wedding books instead. I asked her several times if she was SURE they could do a wedding cake.

The staff was lovely - providing us with a sunny table, complementary cold beverages, and a platter of cake bites and various fillings and frostings to sample. Too bad we couldn’t have a 10-tiered cake, because we could’ve easily come up with that many tasty combinations. It was like the best math problem ever - with 4 kinds of cake, 3 frostings, and about 12 fillings, how many layers until you get every possible combination? Mmmmm, tasty.

So Freeport it is. And all was right with the world.

With a whopping 45 entries, Sacramento comes in at a strong number 5 on Burritophile’s list of California cities for the number of burrito joints reviewed. While that may go to quantity, not quality, I’ll here add CD’s First Rule Of Sacramento Dining: we may have fewer choices, but that’s just because we’ve eliminated the bottom tier of crap.

The four above us are, predictably, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Diego.

(side note: San Diego is going to beat San Francisco on the ratio of good burrito places to burrito places generally. I said it. I think Mission District burritos are overrated. Ha! I said that too! Oh wait, this isn’t Metroblogging San Francisco. Still a true statement though.)

Here’s their list of Sacto burrito-ries ranked by score. I’m a big fan of La Fiesta Taqueria - which comes in 7th on the list. It isn’t the most scientific of rating systems, but it works. And again, if you’ve ever spent and evening and some bottles of booze with people from SF and SD, you know you can spend HOURS discussing burrito virtues, so any comparative data is helpful. And creator Dave gets Jimboy’s just about right.

The site’s creator also seems to have spent ample time in Sacramento, which is awesome. (edit: one of their editorial review writers, I should say. I think I’m confusing the Burritophile cast of characters. Either way, can’t argue with good hometown coverage.)

Hmm, I know what I’m having for lunch today . . . .

Flat bumps in the road: what’s with the new ‘flat’ bumps (aka ’speed tables’) on 24th Street? They’re not nearly as fun as the old speed bumps. Not only that, but it seems like they’re not slowing any of the SUVs down–just the smaller car drivers, who were probably not speeding on that street, anyway.

Burger Watch: They’ve finally started the construction work over at the future home of Suzie Burger. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to salivate already.

Traffic girth control: Both 19th and 21st Street are going to be downsized into two-laners with room for bikes. Find another route home, if you dare. Or maybe dust off that Trek and use your own fuel.

Shopping cart man: were BOTH those bikes on your cart yours? How can you ride two bikes, one pink, one yellow, when you’re pushing a full shopping cart? Is anyone out there missing a putrid yellow bike or a shocking fuchsia one? I may have seen them floating down Q Street on the back of a rust-dusted shopping cart.

Oto’s on Freeport:
New incarnation of the Japanese-food-focused grocery store is now open, in a highly visible spot. If you want tiny one-human desserts or to make your own sushi, this is the place to go.

I read the Bee’s article on the 6-months-new The Real Pie Co. with great interest. I am a fan of baked goods–and “artisan” real butter, real crust pies appeal. I went to the bakery’s website for more information: how much, how often, and which kinds. How disturbing to find that the Pie Co. is closed all this week for vacation, just when the clamor for pie might be extremely loud. It is a real pie tragedy.

It seems like the Bee got one over on us, this time. Dangling pie in our faces…and now we’re forced to purchase a substandard pie from a place that shall not be named!

If you haven’t gotten enough of the news coverage on the bridge collapse in Minneapolis (I haven’t yet), check out the Metroblogging Minneapolis site. They’ve got video and updates over there.

I spent some of my college years in that friendly city, so this accident hits close to home for me. There’s a pedestrian bridge just down the river from the collapsed bridge that leads to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. (Go Gophers!) The river is pretty wide and powerful up there–think more power and width than Sacramento River at the Tower Bridge.

By the way, from a Sacramento perspective, we have a lot of U of M alums living here in town, as well as former Minnesotans. From our hearts to yours, we’re thinking of you, Minneapolis, and wishing you well.