Two Cafes in Sacramento / Self Driving Cars Gone Amok

CoffeeBeer >> Double Shot Buzz >> 2 Sacramento Cafes

Back Buzz - 20 August 2023

When I was visiting California back in May and June, my friend Mistah Rick and I spent a day and a night in Sacramento, where my famous Unkletom lives. Before this visit I only knew Sacramento as the Capital of the State of California, and I seem to recall, on a family holiday years ago, that we took a very brief drive past the Capitol Building as we passed through on our way to the mountains.

Sacramento is coincidentally located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, and it’s currently the 9th most populous capital city in the US. The area was originally populated by the native Nisenan and Maidu people, but in 1808 explorer Gabriel Moraga named it Sacramento, which means “sacrament” in Spanish. In 1839, Sutter's Fort was established in the area, and in 1850, after California became part of the USA, the large waterfront area was officially incorporated as the City of Sacramento. Two years later Sacramento offered its county courthouse to the state of California to house the state legislature, and in 1854 it became the permanent state capital, with the current Classical Revival-style capitol building completed twenty years later.

Not only is it known as the City of Trees, because it boasts more trees per capita than anywhere else in the world, but Sacramento is also known for being the sunniest place on the planet, particularly from the months of May through August -- which is, of course, when we visited.

Rick and I spent a full day with Unkletom (also known as Da Unk), having meals, visiting brewpubs, and walking around seeing the sights. At one point we decided an afternoon pick-me-up coffee would be in order, so we stopped at Temple Coffee. Our young barista was very nice and hospitable, and since it was a very pleasant day we decided to take our drinks outside in the garden. We managed to find three empty chairs against an attractive concrete wall that we could all appreciate, as all three of us are members of the Concrete Appreciation Society. And our coffees were all very pleasant. I chose the most robust of the coffee choices for my macchiato, but I have to admit I did find it a lot smoother than what I usually hope for. Rick was very happy with his Gibraltar, and Da Unk enjoyed his decaf Americano. As we sat in the pleasant sunshine and continued our nonstop chat of the day--which consisted mostly of me and Rick listening to Tommy’s stories--we suddenly realised we were definitely the oldest customers in the place. Oh well, that’s how it goes these days for active older people like ourselves.

The first Temple Coffee was opened by Sean Kohmescher in 2005 after he was inspired by the temples he visited in Indonesia and dreamed of opening a community gathering place with the same sort of atmosphere. Temple's Farm to Cup coffee sourcing model allows them to pay well above Fair Trade prices to their suppliers as well as promoting water conservation, forest preservation, and shade management. As of 2023 there are now six Temple Coffee locations in Sacramento, as well as another in Davis and one more in Folsom.

At the end of the day we dropped Da Unk off, and then Rick and I checked into our hotel near Capitol Park. The next morning, before our drive down to Berkeley, we walked around the neighbourhood searching for a place to have coffee and breakfast. After checking out four cafes in search of somewhere that could offer at least one non-sugary breakfast pastry option for me, we finally stumbled upon Naked Coffee. Not only did they have savoury biscuits, but the name attracted us as well.

Rick and I both ordered cappuccinos from the friendly baristas, along with cheese, chive, and garlic biscuits. The biscuits were very yummy and loaded with truckloads of garlic. We took our drinks and biscuits out onto the shaded side patio, where we had a very pleasant view of Capitol Park all to ourselves. I suppose we were a bit disappointed that nobody, not even the staff, was naked, but hey, you can’t have everything. Our cappuccinos were smooth but quite tasty, and of course I was very excited to have an American biscuit, as there is really nothing similar in England. And oh, the garlic! Rick’s car would probably be reeking of garlic all day, all the way down to Berkeley.

As we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast, we had fun posing our little plastic companions, Terrified Man and Woman and Doug the Cat. What a great, inspiring way to start a new day of adventure.

This location of Naked Coffee is called Naked Downtown, and there is another one over on Q Street called Naked Midtown. So you’re never far away from a naked cafe. Not only does Naked Coffee stage various caffeine events, but they also deliver their coffee by bike to local homes and businesses. This, truly, is the way forward.

Speaking of the world moving forward reminds me of a recent email conversation with the same Bay Area friend about Waymo cars:

Have you read that this morning five driverless Waymo cars staged a blockade in a residential intersection in San Francisco? Just what are their demands?

Here’s the article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Rachel Swan:

“Five self-driving vehicles stopped early Tuesday morning in the middle of a residential street in San Francisco’s Balboa Terrace neighborhood, clogging a right lane of San Aleso Avenue down to the crosswalk, with one car straddling the center lane.

"The jam, which occurred shortly before 6 a.m., was the latest traffic disruption by robotaxis that are now ubiquitous in city streets, baffling motorists who flashed headlights and gingerly squeezed around the boxy white fleet, which according to one resident bore the teal logo of Waymo, a Mountain View company that began as Google’s self-driving car project.

“'They were just idling,' Balboa Terrace resident Gene Valla said, describing how he encountered the high-tech motorcade while attempting to make a right-hand turn from Monterey Boulevard onto San Aleso Avenue. Impeded by the vehicle in the intersection, Valla blinked his headlights, then got out of his car to investigate. When he peered into the window, he saw no one in the driver’s seat.

"By that point another driver was heading the other way down San Aleso, shining headlight beams as he manoeuvred past the cluster of autonomous cars. Valla gave up, backed out of the intersection and drove around the block to park in front of his house. He estimated the self-driving cars were halted for at least six minutes before he saw the first one glide away.

"Representatives from Waymo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said the city is compiling reports of road disturbances by autonomous vehicles, though officials have no “systemic data.” Although the SFMTA frequently fields complaints about autonomous vehicles, the California Public Utilities Commission regulates them.

“'No regulatory agency currently requires reporting of data about incidents where driverless AVs have obstructed traffic or created safety hazards,' SFMTA spokesperson Stephen Chun said. 'We have asked state and federal regulators to collect data so that we can measure the positive and negative effects of AV driving on our streets before they are given permission to expand their operations into peak travel hours when people most need to travel, and when our economy and society depend on people’s ability to travel.'

"Criticism of driverless cars has mounted over the last several months as state officials pave the way for their expansion -- a boon for the tech companies vying to become mainstream taxi services, and a pounding headache for motorists, pedestrians and transit riders who have to deal with the robocars obstructing roads or bus lanes, or even slamming into vehicles.

"In some cases, vehicles operated by Waymo and its rival, General Motors-backed Cruise, have presented a vexing public safety risk. One unsettling incident took place last Sept. 30, when a Cruise vehicle eased to a stop after nearly crashing into a Muni N-Judah train near Carl and Cole streets. The Cruise car blocked light-rail tracks in both directions for roughly seven minutes.

"Then in January, a Cruise car rolled into an active firefighting scene at Hayes and Divisadero streets, stopping only when a firefighter smashed the car's front window.

"Last week Cruise recalled the software on 300 vehicles after one rear-ended a Muni bus." This is hilarious! And scary as well! As I doubt we’ll ever have driverless taxis in Sheffield due to there being so many ridiculously skinny roads, I haven’t taken the time to learn much about these cars. Can a person jump into the driver’s seat and manually overtake? Or are we indeed forced to listen to their demands? And as you asked, just what are their demands? For humans to stop trying to make them electric or hybrid and give them more high-octane gasoline? To stop planning rapid transit systems so that people who don’t have their own cars will be forced to take robotaxis? At the very worst, perhaps they will demand that all cyclists and pedestrians be banned from moving throughout the streets on their own.

At least there were only five during this demonstration. But how many of these militant robotaxi cells are there in the world? And is the company name “Waymo” a shortened form of their manifesto “Way More Robotaxis”? As I was replying to your robotaxi email on my laptop under Windows 10, I suddenly have the same problem I have on my Samsung phone with three pop-up options for whatever I’m typing. What the hell is happening? Is this part of the Waymo robotaxis’ plan? Or should I choose the central option in each case?

Let me repeat that their way: Ork see if you choosing their centred operation and ear cancer?