-i live in berkeley.
-i ride about 7 miles round trip to work, but i used to ride a whole lot more when i lived in boston.
-yes.
-so far, specialized armadillos, and panaracer pasela tourguard. i got a couple flats on the dillos, none so far on the panaracer. had the armadillos on for about 1.5 years, about the same for the panaracer. the sidewall finally blew out on the armadillos.
-Kenda Kaliente road tires have felt the absolute best. but i'd never put them on a fixie. too expensive and not durable enough to skid. conti gatorskins ride pretty nice, but they're dog**** for flat protection. 3 flats in one day, over the span of about an hour, or rural roads, 2 phantom flats in a week, with no discernable cause (can't find the glass or whatever the hell it is in the tire, and my rims and rimtape are both fine). the paselas ride pretty nice after you break them in a bit. the tread is a little rough, so they feel a little "fuzzy" at first. armadillos rode like bricks...will not use them again.
you didn't ask, but i'm probably going to get some of the panaracer T-serv tires (AKA soma messenger tires) to replace the gatorskins...failing those (QBP says they're discontinued), i'll get some paselas.
once i kill my new 700x28s, i'm never buying another gatorskin ever again.