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?