Who, What, When, Where, Why, How

Ought not there be a place for Davisites to ask questions? This is the place to ATTEMPT to find answers to those Davis-related things you REALLY want to know.

If you have other questions, ask the wiki!

Ask away!

Note: You must be logged in to add comments

(see also Where Can I ...)

What is the deal with the birds around Anderson & La-Rue ? Are these crows ? Why are they there ? You only need to drive a 100 yards in each direction and you don't see them anymore.
What on earth is that very annoying buzzing sound that I've been hearing around town lately? I only hear it in some places, and it's never been present before. I hear it on Anderson Road and also behind Wright Hall as I cross the arboretum bridge to Wyatt. The noise sounds like an electrical charge, but I see no source, so I can't be sure that it's not some kind of critter making the sound. All I know is that it is infuriating and I want it to stop. Can anyone answer my question?

You might be talking about Cicadas, they're bugs that make a pretty loud buzzing sound.. and they usually come out about this time of year. I know I've just noticed hearing them a lot around town recently. —JevanGray

—I thought of cicadas, but I have never heard any this loud before. I didn't know their buzzing was so sustained, either. Also, because I've never heard them like this in Davis before, I can't say for certain if it is the cicadas or not. I appreciate your help in this investigation, though, so thanks! You're probably right...I just can't imagine how they can be so loud! —EliseKane

Does anyone know where the Butera House is? And what is its significance in Davis?
Is there any kind of city ordinance that illegalizes or tries to prevent buskers (street musicians)?

It is a stretch, but Davis Municipal Code/26.01.010 could be applied in some cases. Still looking for a stronger citation. You can't do it close to an ATM machine: 26.01.140. — JasonAller

Ok then, assuming that I'm not hassling people, so far I'm ok?
Loitering laws maybe?

Who is that gentleman who is often at Campus Roma reading a book but always looking up from his reading from behind his glasses and staring at people? He has a white moustache and wears jeans and t-shirts...I am just curious as to his identity.
In the tall parking structure on fourth street downtown there is (were? it's been a while since I was in there) a chainlink cage that houses two bicycles (quadcycles actually) built for four. Does anyone know who these belong to? Are they available for rent? Anyone? How about you?

I think I once saw a picture of Ken Wagstaff riding one of these, so I assume they are part of the city motor pool, instead of limousines. —NickSchmalenberger

A front bicycle light is required by california law. I've been told a rear light is required by the city of davis, but was unable to find anything in the muni code. is this bullshit? —ArlenAbraham

Only a rear reflector is required, not a light. -Peter Anselmo

What coffee shop in Davis has baristas who know and care about straight espresso? Do they use a Semi-automatic machine? (as opposed to a super automatic like Charbucks) Do they clean the group head frequently? Is anyone using a naked portafilter? If the answer is yes to two or more my questions I'll assume that the fresh bean is ground immediatly before dosing/tamping.

gotta know, are there bats under the bridge off covell by the high school?

Yes.

Does anyone know where I can buy a cheap, full-length mirror?

If you mean a "back of the door" style one, box stores and some pharmacies carry them during the fall for dorm rooms. —jw

Ikea and Target, of course. Probably Ace Hardware (or Housewares) store. :)

2009-06-29 19:34:23 Where can I pick my own fruits? Not looking to pick wild fruits at the arboretum and such. I'm looking towards farms and local places that allows customers to pick their own fruit and weigh them for a price. Any fruits, especially berries (cherries, strawberries, blueberries, etc) would be great. I have tried looking on yelp and daviswiki but only found one place thus far. Any locals know of a good place?

Please name address and/or directions. *Note: I have a car so I'm definitely willing to drive withing 30 mile radius of Davis (ie Dixon, Winters, Sac, etc) —KimN.

There are several places like Impossible Acres, but I think there's no index or list of them. If you browse through the farm pages and places on the outskirts, you can find some. I know there are more than just Impossible Acres. —jw
Yes, Impossible Acres was the one that I found. But I keep hearing that there are more around this area but no straight answers yet. I was hoping the locals would know the good ones. What I'm really looking for are blueberries. Man, if I found a farm that lets me pick these for a reasonable price... =). Strawberries and cherries make me happy too.

2009-08-26 19:05:55 Question about a house that was demolished about three years ago. I used to live in an old ranch style house on West Covell. It was across Covell from what is now the Retirement Center. And it was across from Sutter Davis Hospital as well, west of the hospital. I've been directed to ask the city for records and such, but this seems like an interesting shot in the meantime. Does anyone know anything about the history of this house? It was 39664 West Covell, and it's now just a field. Some guy was growing sugar cane out there in the back forty a couple of years ago. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, AirporterDriverPete —AirporterDriverPete

2009-09-13 00:39:08 Can I dye fabric (100% cotton, or a polyester blend) from a dark color to a lighter one and vise-versa? Also, could a dark color, such as black, be dyed into another dark color, such as dark green? Or a light color into an other color that is dark, like olive into dark green? —Rogue2

2009-09-24 15:05:40 Since there appears to be no Bicycle Registration page...

Is it MANDATORY to register my bike (e.g. pay the $10? fee)? Thoughts/ideas? Thanks in advance! —H4rry

Bicycle License. I think the answer is yes on the UCD campus.

technically, it is not 'mandatory' and TAPS is not really going to do anything unless you park it in a really bad place. however, if your bike is stolen, it could help

2010-03-07 07:12:31 How do you deal with a user who keeps making the same alterations and deletions of others' comments? —TomGarberson

2010-03-07 10:38:24 I think at some point; let him. Sometimes things are being kept for the sake of being stubborn. Modify it to work as a compromise. If the information is important, it can often be integrated into the page. If it's something silly like being called a ferret in jest in another page, it's not that important to keep. On the guns on campus page, I was able to delete 5 or 6 of his comments that had no response or followup - there's no reason another editor couldnt have taken 10 seconds to check and do that. A little bit of compromise is always the answer, imo . —EdWins

As a (late-added) disclaimer, this comment isn't directed at Tom specifically but more as a general wiki-philosophy. I wrote it thinking of multiple editors responses this last week or two, even a gnome. -ES

(Assuming he ever finds this page via what's linked to him, watch as he goes editing TomGarberson's comment, too :P) At any rate, it's best not to get too frustrated about it. He's trolling. Your reaction is what he wants. — AlexanderHo
Letting it go works. Bring up a ban is another option (I just got a message regarding that). But I'm guessing that there's opposition to that, given that he's not doing anything that actually damages the wiki, and "incredibly annoying and perverse just to tick people off" generally doesn't get community consensus, let alone strong consensus. —Evan 'JabberWokky' Edwards

2010-03-07 10:51:13 It's very easy to find the links. That's why I tried those "test edits" - I undid the wikilink but replaced it with an external link, and I also seem to have accidentally typo'd his name to prevent a search for it. With only 7 or so links left to him, I didntt expect him to be fooled, but I thought it was worth a try. —EdWins

2010-07-07 14:40:39 Where did Shal's Halal food go? I know they must have moved to another part of campus since I see holding brown bags with a water bottle, but the corner where Shal's Halal use to be is isolated for construction thanks. —WengFF

2010-07-20 00:28:43 Where can I do some welding in Davis? I have a car chassis that I want to seam weld. (I am a student so if I can pull any strings with the metal shop in Bainer or something like that let me know) —David.Tran

See Dirty Cheap Welding

2010-08-06 14:18:24 First,What are the small burrowing mammals that live in the research agricultural fields along Russell Blvd? They don't look like gophers but perhaps like a cross between a squirrel and a gopher. Are they chipmunks?

Are they just ground squirrels? Spend a lot of time on their hind-legs, lack of bushy tails.

Second, I think your questions and answer page should be promoted! Make it a link on the DavisWiki front page. I think it should be like the Yahoo Answers page, but for Davis of course. Invite local experts to weigh in to answer questions, if necessary. Allow build in a tool to allow questions to be categorized. —AnnieSirrah

2010-12-16 10:06:16 Anyone know where I can learn how to DJ as a beginner to just try out and whatnot? —ClarenceL

The Experimental College on campus offers a course, and you can also contact KDVS for tons of opportunities (both live DJing and radio DJing). -EliseKane

2010-12-27 18:19:14 Can I get my macbook fixed at the tech hub or do I have to go to arden to get it fixed. It's still under apple warranty. —David.Tran

Yes, Tech Hub can do Mac repairs, including repairs under warranty. See this page for information. —CovertProfessor

2011-02-07 01:20:42 Where can I get carne asada fries other than baldo's. I hate driving 15 mins for my fix. —David.Tran

Taqueria Davis —ClarenceL

2011-02-14 13:38:06 Where is an appropriate place to post a message in hopes that the asshole who committed a hit-and-run around 10:55 a.m. today outside the ARC will see it? I'm so angry I would love to post something nasty in huge letters at the top of the front page, but I don't want to wear out my welcome here... —MeggoWaffle

I'm not sure the wiki is the appropriate forum for that...I don't know how likely it is that the person would see it, even if they used the wiki. Maybe try going back at that same time next week, or the week after? at that time of day, you can probably assume they are a student or someone who doesn't have a regular work schedule, so they probably go at a specific time every week. I assume you talked to the police? —JoePomidor

It was my friend, he was only banged up a bit, and didn't catch the license plate or even make/model so he figured it wasn't worth it to call the police since he didn't have any useful info. I'm not expecting to catch them, but I would at least like them to feel bad about what they did speeding off like that. For all they knew he could have been seriously injured. I thought almost everybody in town uses the wiki at least once a week, but I was kidding about posting it on the front page. Maybe I'll just go edit the cars page to make it clear that it's a crime to leave the scene of an accident. —MeggoWaffle

2011-02-15 11:12:21 Graduated from UCD years ago; is there a way to look up my old student ID card #? —EdWins