Lawyer Chad Wilson | Featured Attorney Litigation

Bicycle! Bicyle! I want to ride my bicycle! I want to ride my bike!

I have decided to start riding my bike, rather than running - in hopes of saving my knees for future use. Although there is a great bike/walking trail along much of the bay, the rest of time comes the great question: street or sidewalk. I know how annoyed many people get when bicyclists are taking up any part of the street. But I also know how much it sucks to try and ride on sidewalks. I think the simple resolution is for bicyclists to use the street, but to be cautious and considerate of cars. This means don't block or slow traffic. 

Has anyone else noticed that one of the street lights on the way to the airport is pointless? There is no crosswalk or cross-traffic for the light to actually be of use. Thinking about it, there could only possibly be reasons for the light: either the coast guard facility might need access or if the harbor authority needed to block access from the airport. If someone knows the actual reason, please let me know. 

I have also noticed on my bike ride that certain bums remain in the same location. Whether its the middle of the day or the early evening, a few transients do not move. This got me to thinking about how boring it must be to be a bum. If you're not trying to panhandle or collect cans, you pretty much are just sitting around. Sure, San Diego is a great place with both the beach and the water to stare at, but it surely must get bored. I actually would enjoy it because I wold finally have time to read all the books that I wanted. I'll need to calculate exactly how much it would cost to be a transient for a year. Maybe $2/day?

Summer Sausage

I have always been a big fan of having the windows down. Even when I am driving a great distance on the freeway, I prefer to have the windows down. Apparently it's not fuel efficient to have the windows down if you are traveling over 50 mph, but I enjoy it nonetheless. It just feels good to be on the open road with the wind in my face. 

On Friday night we took a cab down the bar and it was critically necessary to have the windows down. It was Gil's big night (getting out of the Navy) and his friends had reserved a table at Side Bar. So the girls that were with us were all made up and I was actually worried they might protest having the windows down. Sometimes girls through such fits when they think their hair is going to get messed up. Fortunately, they all agreed that the windows should be down. The cab honestly smelled like the sweaty towel bin of a men's locker room. It reminded me of when Borat and his hairy, fat friend were naked on top of each other. Nasty. 

The Andrews Street entrance from Washington and India is a one way street. There are plenty of signs saying do not enter and one way, but this still seems to perplex people. My guess is that they don't realize that they simply have to go around the block to another street to exit the neighborhood. Knowing that they are not supposed to turn left on the street, many people take the risk and hurriedly rush down the hill. I've never seen an accident or anything, but I do wish that people were logical enough to realize that a simple trip around the block would accomplish the exact same thing. 

Trolley Affairs

I remember in one of my undergrad classes reading an article about how impersonal the public has become due to portable music devices. This specific article was about Walkmans, so it was old school. The premise was that when we have headphones on, we are less inclined to communicate with individuals and to really observe the world. There was the counter-argument that you can observe the world better if you are tuned out from the distractions and conversations surrounding you - while listening to music. 

I actually find having headphones on very liberating. Not only do I not have to respond to bums asking for money, but I also don't have to listen to the crazy ones on the trolley. Sure, I might miss some interesting comments or conversation, but the benefits outweigh the risks. 

Does anyone else ever wonder if they keep track of the miles on the trolleys? I wonder if they have an odometer on those beasts. If you think about it, the ones in San Diego go all the way from near El Cajon all the way down to San Ysidro - all day long. I wonder what the lifetime for a trolley is. Cars are normally good for 200-300,000. 

Another thing that I find very interesting is how the mail system works. If you think about it, the postal service reads the mail backwards: first the state and zip code, then street and street number, then any kind of apartment or unit. We fill out the address forwards and then they read it backwards - which is the logical way of doing it. Is this why addresses in other countries seem backwards to us? 

NBA Inside Stuff

First of all, I'm disappointed in Lebron James. What poor sportsmanship - not shaking the Magic's hands after the game. Furthermore, he said, "It's not being a poor sport or anything like that...If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them...It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake someone's hand." What a terrible statement to release. I like that he doesn't have big time agents like Scott Boras and that he is giving his friends a chance to succeed in his empire. I have much respect for Lebron for giving his long-time friends jobs as his agent and PR people, but that was perhaps evidence that they need to be more careful.  

They have been showing a T-Mobile commercial with Charles Barkley and Dr. J where the two are making a video game entitled, Old Timers. Supposedly it is a spoof because the game would feature playing as the old-timers when they are old. Ironically, there is a clip (that I could not find) of Sir Charles trying to show a basketball move under the hoop. When he goes up to make the shot, he maybe gets two inches off the ground. Hilarious. 

My most recent Youtube obsession is the keyboard cat. Where something awkward or bad happens, the cat comes along and 'plays him off.' Notably. one of these videos feature Sir Charles trying to hit a drive on a golf course. Again, hilarious.

SE7EN

So Tuesday morning was the big hoorah swearing-in. Although I had already been sworn in, I wanted to get a free breakfast from USD and get my federal court admission. USD held its breakfast at Currant, which is located at the Sophia Hotel (see pic below). It was a great breakfast as far as food and attendees. However, I noticed the realtively small number of actual bar-passers. In fact, of the 30 or 40 people that attended, only eight or nine actually were bar-passers (accompanied by a guest). This made me consider how excessive the breakfast was - at least for the large number of admin that attended. The speakers and basic admin would have been sufficient, yet everyone wanted to tag along for a free breakfast. Would you expect anything else from a school with too much money?


Speaking of excess, I have begun to have a problem with government employees. As I have rapidly drifted to the left side of the political spectrum, I am all for social reform. However, this doesn't mean we have to continue to employ incompetent or excessive individuals. The problem with the government scheme is that people get promoted merely by being employed for a certain length of time. There really is no merit-based promotion. In addition, I believe there are too many government employees. If you have one efficient and competent employee, that easily could replace two incompetent or ineffecient employees. Think of any time you see road construction - isn't someone always standing around doing nothing? Obviously this is a hard time to be cutting jobs, yet to really balance our budget these cuts should be made.


Why the hell is Honey, I Shrunk the Audience still the 3-D show at Disneyland? I mean, Captain EO was there for 11 years - and now HISTH has been there over 11 years. Does that make any rational sense? I will admit that HISTH is a fun ride, but once you've gone at it a single time - you know what to expect. On the other hand, although Michael Jackson is kind of a freak, Captain EO was absolutely awesome. Speaking of ride changes - shouldn't Star Tours get an update?

A Long Sojourn

So I ran out of salad dressing and had to use one of the roomies' ranch dressing. Meanwhile I was drinking some of the wine that Brian so graciously gave me last weekend. When I went to take a drink from the wine glass though, memories of the eighth grade were resurrected. Not that I was drinking wine or had run out of salad dressing in the eighth grade, but that having greasy ranch lips makes your glass look nasty. Before our winter ball a group of my friends, along with our dates, went to a local winery for dinner. There we were served sparking apple cider in wine glasses. This is where I remember seeing my greasy ranch lip prints on the glass and thinking that I had done something wrong. I wasn't sure if my parents had failed to teach me some basic etiquette (particularly considering the only alcohol I saw my parents drinking was Miller Genuine Draft or Kahlua). 

Speaking of sparking apple cider. I specifically remember one new years (the one time of the year my parents generally go out socially), my sister and I made Rice-a-Roni and had a few bottles of sparking apple cider to drink. In fact, I drank two just by myself. That stuff is some tasty juice! Yet by the time my parents got home I was puking just short of the sink in my bedroom (my sister and I shared a bathroom but had our own sinks). I'm sure my mom thought I had been drinking alcohol for the first time in my life that night. 

And yes, I did save Pepsi Points one summer to buy a pair of Tevas, now known as mandals. They were actually pretty sweet, with a Pepsi logo on the back. If you're from the Pacific Northwest you understand the utility of such sandals, particularly in rivers. I also ordered a Pepsi beach chair (see above) and a CD case. I guess my family was REALLY into Pepsi that summer. 

Beer, Beans and Bums

I have really had some poor service in restaurants lately - and it's not my group that gets poor service - its just myself. At The Field on Wednesday the waitress forgot my drink not once, but twice. At Shakespeare's the waitress forgot my water not once, but twice - and the second time I saw her give it away to another table because she couldn't remember what table it went to. 

Tim O'Leary and I arrived at the pub at 6am - to get seats for the FA Cup final, which started at 7am. They couldn't even serve alcohol until 8am, so all the 'football' fans had to wait. Meanwhile the kitchen opened at 7am so we ordered breakfast. Keeping in line with my trying to order new things, I got the 'baked beans on toast,' which was just precisely that. They dumped an entire can of baked beans on two slices of toast - and it wasn't bad at all. Kind of like this man, who was sitting in a bathtub full of baked beans. 

On a similar note, I know that I keep track of all of the particularly notable 'downtown crazies.' However, I have begun to wonder and theorize why transients are so prevalent in the downtown sectors of cities. Is it because its mainly an industrial or business center and people aren't around at night? As in, people would mind if a bum was loitering around their suburban neighborhood. Personally I would want to be at the beach, where at least I could sleep in the sand and wake up on the beach. 

Another thing I want to add to my mission to the homeless population: headphones. I often notice some of them have some kind of boombox or speaker system. Not that I don't think it is awesome that they bump their music, but I think they would get more respect if they had some headphones. So far this means I need to start collecting and distributing headphones and sunscreen. 

The Northwest Passage

Well although I passed the bar exam (one of the biggest events in my life), I remained relatively sober and non-reckless - with my graduation looming the next morning. This was important because I think the last time I really embarrassed my family (whole drunk-diaper thing). If anyone was wondering what I did upon receipt of the degree, I did another jump kick. Nonetheless, I had a great weekend and was very happy that my family was in town. 

The Padres game lasted 16 innings on Saturday night, making that yet another extra-inning game that I have attended. I must be good luck for people wanting to get their money's worth and not wanting to be able to drink for most of the game. On Sunday night we patronized Pizza Bella in Old Town (the above image was in the image results - not sure what E.T. has to do with the pizza place). Anyways I enjoyed the restaurant and the food was good. We ordered the 'Sigma Chi' pizza. No, Eric, I did not ask why it was named that. It was a hybrid of a good and bad pizza - meat lovers w/ marinara base vs. primavera veggies w/ pesto base. I will go ahead and recommend trying it. 

Before my family left on Monday, I took them for a walk down the Embarcadero. I have been running along the 'baywalk' for a few months but have never really had the time to enjoy the scenery. I did notice the presence of a lot of rubbish/trash washed up on the shore and hope to arrange a embarcadero clean-up. Most notable of our walk was the gigantic statue of a sailor and, presumably, his wife dipping/kissing (see above). And FYI you could not see up her dress - it was all molded together. Most creepy was the Bob Hope tribute, where lifelike statues stood in the middle of a park square. 

From Russia With Love

Have you ever noticed those 'baby on board' signs? I have never understood exactly what their purpose was. Am I not supposed to not hit you as hard? Drive as crazy around you? Flip you off and yell vulgarities at you? Is your baby sleeping and I should turn down my music and not honk? I don't think any driver, reasonable or not, would change their driving habits when they suddenly see such a sign.


My new idea that I would like to get spread around is for everyone to 'retire' rather than 'quit.' I actually came up with this idea before Brett Favre has made a living off of it. No matter what age you are, you can retire. Who says retiring means having enough money to live for the rest of your life? Don't most retired people still make investments and still have income? All I'm saying is instead of quitting your next job, tell them you are retiring. You can always come out of retirement, just like this youngster.


Finally, I saw Star Trek last night - which was awesome. There were sad moments and funny moments and lots of action. The actors were great too. Although it is enjoyable for any denomination of trekkie, I suggest at least having an basic understanding of the main characters (Kirk, Spock, Bones, Ohura, Sulu, Checkov, and Scotty). As I left the theatre, I saw the trolley pulling up two blocks away. Not wanting to wait another 30 minutes, I did a full out spring to successfully catch it.

When I got off the Trolley at my stop, I saw an old man standing at the edge of the platform (mind you this was near midnight on a Monday night). He asked me, with a thick Russian accent (like Checkov's) where the Denny's was. Fortunately I knew that the weird Denny's 'China Camp' was just down the street (probably 1.5 miles away actually). Nonetheless I told him where it was, to which he further inquired, "is it near a strip club?" I answered in the affirmative, as I knew that Pure Platinum was on the way.