Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news
California drought: Here's the secret weapon to curb water hogs -- the flow restrictor// Mercury News
"It's a question that keeps coming up as California's drought drags on: What should cities and water agencies do about the most egregious water wasters?
"You know them. The neighbor always hosing down the sidewalk. The rich guy who waters his lawn every day and laughs at the fines. The callous guzzler, thumbing his nose at the rest of us dutifully putting buckets in our showers.
"Well, water providers have a secret weapon. It's called a flow restrictor."
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San Francisco to offer subsidies for health insurance//SF Gate
"San Francisco will begin offering subsidies to thousands of city residents who are struggling to purchase health insurance, Mayor Ed Lee announced Friday.
"The new program, which will be rolled out next year, will immediately benefit roughly 3,000 low-to-moderate income residents, city officials estimate. Eligible participants are legal residents who make $58,000 a year or less working for a company that takes part in the City Option program."
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Overwhelmed by a tech-obsessed world? Try unplugging// Bay Area News Group
"DUBLIN -- Like most people in these tech-obsessed times, Ravi Marwaha wouldn't be caught dead without his smartphone. From the moment he awakens around 5 a.m. to the evening hours, he's checking emails, making calls to team members in three different countries, and texting co-workers.
"I'm very addicted," admits Marwaha, who commutes from his San Ramon home to SAP's Palo Alto campus daily.
"For millions of Americans, smartphones and other Internet-enabled devices have become extra appendages, an always-on, nearly omniscient part of ourselves we feel naked without. Facebook and Twitter "likes" and "faves" are satisfying basic urges for instant gratification and interconnectedness, but how much is too much? Noted travel writer and globalist Pico Iyer has a suggestion about how to strike a mindful balance between technology and humanity that seemingly anyone can do: By taking as little as three percent of the day -- about 30 minutes -- to detach from all digital devices and self-reflect, he says, people can boost their creativity and productivity and improve their personal relationships."
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Why you shouldn’t provoke Siri//Bay Area News Group
"While your child is on her iPhone after dinner, have her ask it, "What's zero divided by zero?"
"The measured voice of Siri will provide this cheeky, chatty response: "Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn't make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends."
"Geez, lighten up! Apparently, provoking Siri is a thing to do. There are tons of suggested questions online, said to get under Siri's microprocessors and elicit a cranky comeback."
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Word from the Wild: El niño is coming// SF Chronicle
"The parade of exotic southern-based critters — spiked by three full breaches by great white sharks off Seacliff State Beach — continued last week along the Pacific Coast.
"Based on wildlife, not the forecast, there’s strength in the premise that an El Niño is gaining muscle this summer.
"In recent years, early El Niños were waylaid in midsummer by changes in Pacific sea currents. Tracking the migration of exotic southern species to northern waters along the Pacific Coast could be a better way to forecast long-term weather patterns. Who could know better than the animals?"
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