Kepler’s Books suddenly closes

After celebrating its 50th anniversary just a few months ago, Kepler’s Books suddenly closed its doors yesterday. What a shock, and what a shame — it was one of the most prominent independent bookstores in the U.S., akin to City Lights in San Francisco, Vroman’s in Pasadena, or Powell’s in Portland. Situated in Menlo Park …

No bookstores in Cupertino???

When I moved to Cupertino in 1989, it had several general bookstores: A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books in the Oaks, a B. Dalton in Cupertino Crossroads, a Waldenbooks in Vallco Mall, and a Crown Books in the Marketplace (across from Vallco). Stacey’s later opened a branch near Vallco. For the geeks, there was Computer …

Salvadorean food and Willow Glen ice cream

Two nights ago, my buddy Jonathan and I met up for dinner. We were in an adventurous mood, so we went to Vicky’s Restaurant [map | Mercury News review], which specializes in cuisine from El Salvador, in the Burbank neighborhood of San Jose. Jon couldn’t resist the 2 Tacos for $2 deal, but we also …

Why I think there is a housing bubble in Silicon Valley

Consider this: between 2000 and 2005, housing prices have gone up 46%, or 7.9% per year. But at the same time… The population has gone up only 4%. Rental prices have gone down 16%, or 3.5% per year. Nonfarm payroll employment has dropped 14%, from almost 900,000 to less than 780,000. The ratio of buying …

Silicon Valley food

The Mercury News reviews corporate cafeterias across Silicon Valley. By the way, I’ll say from personal experience that IBM Almaden Research Center’s cafeteria is also quite good. (By the way, all opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, IBM.) Shortly after this article appeared, Charlie Ayers, Google’s head chef …

9-year old African-American boy sings Chinese opera

Tyler Thompson doesn’t speak the language, but he sings it very well. Oakland: Boy, 9, a rising star in Chinese opera • San Francisco Chronicle Boy who sings in Chinese draws oohs, ahs • Oakland Tribune (link good until Feb. 20, 2005) (Chronicle link added on Febrary 16, 2006)