Zack and I hung out today. I had only been to Bacheeso's, a nice breakfast place at Dwight and San Pablo, once before, and I'd never visited Fourth Street (you think your downtown is gentrified?) before. Note to Adam: when Zack saw musicians playing in front of Peet's, he said, "they're busking." At the time, I was toting a bag from Sur La Table, where I considered purchasing a grapefruit spoon.

Zack told me an interesting tale at breakfast. I noticed that the Bacheeso's wall mural is nice, not too Commie-looking (contrast many other Berkeley murals). In response, Zack told me about a WPA-style project that happened during the Great Depression. The government wanted to provide employment for good writers, and wanted to use their writing skills. But many of them were leftists, and the government was afraid that they would produce Communist literature. The answer? Travel guides! The government employed many writers to produce excellent travel guides to various parts of the United States, guides some of which are still useful almost a century later.