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Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Another kook
Kitty Kat was up at the Safeway in G'bay the other day when she snapped this photo with her Iphone. After Kitty Kat put down the divider, to segregate her purchases from this kook in front of her the kooky lady put her arm down on top of the divider... AND LEFT HER F'ING ARM THERE THE WHOLE TIME. Several minutes. Kitty Kat told the lady, "I put the divider there..." but the lady just sort of ignored her and kept her arm there. Are you kidding me!? What kind of kook is that!? Is she worried our boxes of cereal may contaminate whatever she is buying? Does she really not think the divider that has been used for years at grocery stores is good enough? I don't know about you but I have shopped thousands of times at stores with the dividers and never once seem a person throw their arm down like that. I really am not sure what I would do but props to Kitty Kat for snapping off the photo.
By the way, nice sunglasses lady! Those are kooky lady glasses. Even before you threw your own "divider" down I would have been able to tell you were a nut job. Those glasses are only for wearing home from the eye doctor. Then you throw them away!
By the way, changing subjects, Kitty Kat and myself got the Iphones a couple weeks ago and we love them! I don't know how we lived without them before. Seriously the thing is amazing. Good quality photos as you can see above. The darn games you can download are addicting though so you might try holding off on them.
Peace out.
Friday, June 26, 2009
RIP Crazy Mike
I don't know about you but right up there with the Farrah poster, in terms of EPIC-ness, was the Off the Wall album. We played that thing over and over and over back in the late 70's. So many #1's on that record I can't count them all. Mike had a few screws loose but he could sing and dance that is for sure. RIP
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Posters
For guys around age 40, is there a more famous poster? Did any guy not own this thing? RIP Farrah.
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Tap
This story started a couple months back and I didn't know where to go with it. However, during a morning bike ride today it came together. It may be long so bear with me.... Oh ya, as for that bike ride it was 33 miles to my office this morning and I am tired. However, I am really dreading the 33 miles back when it's 90-something degrees. I may have to take the more direct route which will cut it to 22 or so... naw, that's for wimps!
Anyway back to my story... my kids are 5 and 6. I like to think they don't "see" skin color. That is, Kitty Kat and myself try not to describe someone by the color of their skin but instead look for other attributes to describe them. Obviously we would not make derogatory comments or sterotypical jokes. The kids thus have no reason to think anything different of a person regardless of their skin color. A couple months back Kitty Kat and the kids were at swim practice. After practice the kids sit in the jacuzzi and mess around. The little dude had a problem with another kid, as there is a lot of rough housing in the oversized jacuzzi, and came over to Kitty Kat to explain his problem.
He said to her, "that brown kid is pushing me...." The "brown kid" was African American. How nice is that to see that my kids don't think to call someone "black" or even "African American." It's just another kid who happens to have brown skin. I liked the story but didn't know where to go with it. Let me see if I can connect this around for you....
Back in eighty six the SacTownGuy graduated high school down in LA. The school was racially diverse. I don't remember the numbers but I would guess it was 65% "minorities" and 35% whiteboys but that's just a guess. The question then is who is the "minority," right? It was a public school located in central LA which drew from all parts of the city. Anyway, I left there with a strong interest in gang life and rap music among other things. No the SacTownGuy was not in a gang. I just found it interesting.
So the SacTownGuy went off to college and the college pairs you with another "similar" person right? So what's the first criteria they looked at back then? Yes, sex first and then what was second? Race, of course. We had 4 guys in my suite and my roommate, that first semester, was another white guy. He was from Mendocino county. Ok, for those that don't know that's about as far away from LA, in geography, culture and everything as is possible in the great state of Cali. Yes our skin color was the same but our similarties ended there. He was a pot smoking, heavy metal music, muscle car driving, long hair, very white guy. I was rap music listening, VW driving, short hair, and as far as I knew at the time, hip dude! Our two suite mates were paired by ethnicity; a Hispanic and an African American. Did the people that selected that pair never read about jail life in California prisons and who fights the most between each other?
Well anyway, I became much better friends with the African American guy, "DJ." He was a middle class kid from Seattle. Our interests were much more alligned than my interest with the heavy metal dude from Mendo. DJ and I became good friends and he became my roommate the second semester. The pot smoker left and was busted a month later for selling drugs out of his dorm room. Imagine if he had been busted when I was roommates with him... would I have been implicated? Could have changed the course of my life. Anyway, DJ was the coolest guy. DJ was a football player, a smooth dresser, always had the sunglasses on but low on his nose, walked slow and very cool, never in a rush, and was really the epitome of a cool cat! He was so cool he ironed his underwear!
DJ was pledging a major fraternity at the time. We won't say the name but let's just say it's the "O" fraternity. We were roommates during his pledge period which was eye opening to me. We thought we hazed in my fraternity and then DJ told me some stories. I thought it was so cool I instituted some of their hazing ideas into our pledge program. The last week of my fraternity's pledge program, until they got kicked off campus in the 90's, included carrying a brick, wearing the same cloths all week, not showering, and a whole host of other things that the O fraternity did. I was so into their fraternity and their ownership I had my fraternity nickname changed to "My Frat." To this day I bet if I see my man Matt C down in LA he will say to me, "good morning big brother My Frat Sir, how is your day going...." All learned from O frat.
Well, anyway the O frat likes to get "tapped" after they cross into the brotherhood after the pledge period. They got big O's branded onto their arms. One Sunday night we were sitting around chopping it up... cuz you know I didn't study a lot! DJ was there, Terry, Vinski and I think my man D-latz also. I believe it was Terry who came up with the idea and started bending a coat hanger into the shape of a triangle to represent the first letter of my frat, Delta Sigma Phi. It actually was a two piece brand with two sides of the triangle on one piece and then a second piece which made the bottom of the triangle. He did think to scrape the paint off also... because branding toxic paint into one's skin probably wouldn't be good!
We went over the Vinski's apartment on campus because he had a stove to heat up the brand. I should say I was stone cold sober that night. DJ, Terry, Vinski and I believe also D-latz and my man Jimmy, aka: The Top Mack Nigga was there. Doing the brand first involves numbing the arm. This was done by repeatedly slapping my arm (which did start to hurt a little bit) until it was really red and then icing it down. Once it was determined to be numb Vinski lit the stove, heated up the two sides of the triangle, gave the first piece of the brand to Terry, and Terry applied it to my arm. Guess what? Well, my arm was wet from the ice and thus the brand slipped creating a bigger triangle than planned but it turned out fine. I felt ok so they did the second part of the brand and applied it to my arm. Sizzzzzzle. My brand was done. It honestly did not hurt. However, I started to smell my burning skin and fell to the ground. Not sure if I actually passed out but might have. I like to think that was my only weak point of the night but it was funny so has to be mentioned.
As mentioned in a previous post I should thank god that my white skin is not prone to keyloting and the brand totally faded within 6 or 7 years. It can not be seen today, 22 years later. I remember seeing my momz a week or two after I got the tap and she was appaled by it. More appalled than that dumb ear ring I got the first month after arriving at college. I had that thing for 8 months and still have the F'ing hole in my ear... mom was right about that one for sure!
How the heck does this all get back to my little dude talking about the brown kid? Well, I am not a professional writer so you can put that together. It worked for me so I went with it.
peace out.
Anyway back to my story... my kids are 5 and 6. I like to think they don't "see" skin color. That is, Kitty Kat and myself try not to describe someone by the color of their skin but instead look for other attributes to describe them. Obviously we would not make derogatory comments or sterotypical jokes. The kids thus have no reason to think anything different of a person regardless of their skin color. A couple months back Kitty Kat and the kids were at swim practice. After practice the kids sit in the jacuzzi and mess around. The little dude had a problem with another kid, as there is a lot of rough housing in the oversized jacuzzi, and came over to Kitty Kat to explain his problem.
He said to her, "that brown kid is pushing me...." The "brown kid" was African American. How nice is that to see that my kids don't think to call someone "black" or even "African American." It's just another kid who happens to have brown skin. I liked the story but didn't know where to go with it. Let me see if I can connect this around for you....
Back in eighty six the SacTownGuy graduated high school down in LA. The school was racially diverse. I don't remember the numbers but I would guess it was 65% "minorities" and 35% whiteboys but that's just a guess. The question then is who is the "minority," right? It was a public school located in central LA which drew from all parts of the city. Anyway, I left there with a strong interest in gang life and rap music among other things. No the SacTownGuy was not in a gang. I just found it interesting.
So the SacTownGuy went off to college and the college pairs you with another "similar" person right? So what's the first criteria they looked at back then? Yes, sex first and then what was second? Race, of course. We had 4 guys in my suite and my roommate, that first semester, was another white guy. He was from Mendocino county. Ok, for those that don't know that's about as far away from LA, in geography, culture and everything as is possible in the great state of Cali. Yes our skin color was the same but our similarties ended there. He was a pot smoking, heavy metal music, muscle car driving, long hair, very white guy. I was rap music listening, VW driving, short hair, and as far as I knew at the time, hip dude! Our two suite mates were paired by ethnicity; a Hispanic and an African American. Did the people that selected that pair never read about jail life in California prisons and who fights the most between each other?
Well anyway, I became much better friends with the African American guy, "DJ." He was a middle class kid from Seattle. Our interests were much more alligned than my interest with the heavy metal dude from Mendo. DJ and I became good friends and he became my roommate the second semester. The pot smoker left and was busted a month later for selling drugs out of his dorm room. Imagine if he had been busted when I was roommates with him... would I have been implicated? Could have changed the course of my life. Anyway, DJ was the coolest guy. DJ was a football player, a smooth dresser, always had the sunglasses on but low on his nose, walked slow and very cool, never in a rush, and was really the epitome of a cool cat! He was so cool he ironed his underwear!
DJ was pledging a major fraternity at the time. We won't say the name but let's just say it's the "O" fraternity. We were roommates during his pledge period which was eye opening to me. We thought we hazed in my fraternity and then DJ told me some stories. I thought it was so cool I instituted some of their hazing ideas into our pledge program. The last week of my fraternity's pledge program, until they got kicked off campus in the 90's, included carrying a brick, wearing the same cloths all week, not showering, and a whole host of other things that the O fraternity did. I was so into their fraternity and their ownership I had my fraternity nickname changed to "My Frat." To this day I bet if I see my man Matt C down in LA he will say to me, "good morning big brother My Frat Sir, how is your day going...." All learned from O frat.
Well, anyway the O frat likes to get "tapped" after they cross into the brotherhood after the pledge period. They got big O's branded onto their arms. One Sunday night we were sitting around chopping it up... cuz you know I didn't study a lot! DJ was there, Terry, Vinski and I think my man D-latz also. I believe it was Terry who came up with the idea and started bending a coat hanger into the shape of a triangle to represent the first letter of my frat, Delta Sigma Phi. It actually was a two piece brand with two sides of the triangle on one piece and then a second piece which made the bottom of the triangle. He did think to scrape the paint off also... because branding toxic paint into one's skin probably wouldn't be good!
We went over the Vinski's apartment on campus because he had a stove to heat up the brand. I should say I was stone cold sober that night. DJ, Terry, Vinski and I believe also D-latz and my man Jimmy, aka: The Top Mack Nigga was there. Doing the brand first involves numbing the arm. This was done by repeatedly slapping my arm (which did start to hurt a little bit) until it was really red and then icing it down. Once it was determined to be numb Vinski lit the stove, heated up the two sides of the triangle, gave the first piece of the brand to Terry, and Terry applied it to my arm. Guess what? Well, my arm was wet from the ice and thus the brand slipped creating a bigger triangle than planned but it turned out fine. I felt ok so they did the second part of the brand and applied it to my arm. Sizzzzzzle. My brand was done. It honestly did not hurt. However, I started to smell my burning skin and fell to the ground. Not sure if I actually passed out but might have. I like to think that was my only weak point of the night but it was funny so has to be mentioned.
As mentioned in a previous post I should thank god that my white skin is not prone to keyloting and the brand totally faded within 6 or 7 years. It can not be seen today, 22 years later. I remember seeing my momz a week or two after I got the tap and she was appaled by it. More appalled than that dumb ear ring I got the first month after arriving at college. I had that thing for 8 months and still have the F'ing hole in my ear... mom was right about that one for sure!
How the heck does this all get back to my little dude talking about the brown kid? Well, I am not a professional writer so you can put that together. It worked for me so I went with it.
peace out.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tats
Ok, I am a snob. I admit it. I am also a little old fashion when it comes to a few things... However, what the f' is up with all the tattoos these days? I should point out that the SacTownGuy is super hip and liberal when it comes to things like gay marriage. Whatever! I don't care who marries who. Just want people to be happy. However, I can not get over the tattoo thing. Is it just me? I think they look ridicilous. Plus, so many of them SCREAM, "damn I was drunk that night...."
Let me, at this point, say that old dudes with tats from their days in the military are totally excluded from this blog. Same with guys with tats they got in jail. I am sure not going to bad mouth their tats. I am, rather, talking about the glamour tats. Dudes with big muscles with branch like tats all over their arms and chicks with big tats on the stripper spot.
Kitty Kat and I went down to Vegas this past weekend for some fun in the sun of sin city. Let me say that Vegas is truly SIN CITY! My gosh! Makes me blush just thinking about all the strip clubs they have there. I am mean really. How many people must go to a strip club while there!? It's amazing. No, we did not go to a strip club. I would think it's been 10 years since I saw the inside of a strip club. That's really a post for a different day....
Well, anyway we were kicking it by the pool at our hotel. We did the timeshare thing because I love a deal so we were at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on the strip. It's down in the lower rent district by Circus Circus. We got three nights for $179 with $100 cash refund for doing the 90 minute timeshare tour. We thus got 3 nights for $79 and did NOT buy a timeshare!
So we were kicking it down at the HGVC which was very nice. Rooms were large, with separate living room and kitchen, jacuzzi tub, big TV's, etc.... The pool was smaller than the big hotels but nice. However, that is where we noticed it... damn they were a lot of people with tattoos.
With apologies to all my peeps with tats but we concluded there is pretty much a direct coorelation between number and/or square inch coverage of tattoos and a persons social class. Ok, I am snobby and old school on this but really. Other than the guys I saw walking down the strip at 7:30 AM with cans of Old Swill-waukee nothing yells WHITE TRASH like a bunch of nasty tattoos. Oh ya, the guys drinking cans of Old Swill at 7:30 in the AM is true. I went for an hour run down the strip and passed them around New York New York. They were just cruising the strip, drinking their beer, and they looked to me like they were looking for a Klan meeting possibly!?
Well anyway, back to the tats. I am not sure if they are worse than a cigarette but tats are pretty nasty to me. You are basically permanently imprinting something on your body which you WILL regret before too long. YES, I got the tap back in college. That is, I had my fraternity symbol branded onto my upper arm. Thank god my white skin is not prone to keyloting and the thing faded over the years and can now not be seen. That was a dumb mistake of an 18 year old college freshman. These people with tats are 35 and 45 years old. I just don't get it.
I don't have much more for you... except to say if you are ever in Gatlinburg, TN make sure to visit my buddy Flash at Gatlinburg Ink. Tell him the SacTownGuy sent you and I bet he will give you a deal on whatever body destruction... errrr I mean body art... you would like.
peace out.
Let me, at this point, say that old dudes with tats from their days in the military are totally excluded from this blog. Same with guys with tats they got in jail. I am sure not going to bad mouth their tats. I am, rather, talking about the glamour tats. Dudes with big muscles with branch like tats all over their arms and chicks with big tats on the stripper spot.
Kitty Kat and I went down to Vegas this past weekend for some fun in the sun of sin city. Let me say that Vegas is truly SIN CITY! My gosh! Makes me blush just thinking about all the strip clubs they have there. I am mean really. How many people must go to a strip club while there!? It's amazing. No, we did not go to a strip club. I would think it's been 10 years since I saw the inside of a strip club. That's really a post for a different day....
Well, anyway we were kicking it by the pool at our hotel. We did the timeshare thing because I love a deal so we were at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on the strip. It's down in the lower rent district by Circus Circus. We got three nights for $179 with $100 cash refund for doing the 90 minute timeshare tour. We thus got 3 nights for $79 and did NOT buy a timeshare!
So we were kicking it down at the HGVC which was very nice. Rooms were large, with separate living room and kitchen, jacuzzi tub, big TV's, etc.... The pool was smaller than the big hotels but nice. However, that is where we noticed it... damn they were a lot of people with tattoos.
With apologies to all my peeps with tats but we concluded there is pretty much a direct coorelation between number and/or square inch coverage of tattoos and a persons social class. Ok, I am snobby and old school on this but really. Other than the guys I saw walking down the strip at 7:30 AM with cans of Old Swill-waukee nothing yells WHITE TRASH like a bunch of nasty tattoos. Oh ya, the guys drinking cans of Old Swill at 7:30 in the AM is true. I went for an hour run down the strip and passed them around New York New York. They were just cruising the strip, drinking their beer, and they looked to me like they were looking for a Klan meeting possibly!?
Well anyway, back to the tats. I am not sure if they are worse than a cigarette but tats are pretty nasty to me. You are basically permanently imprinting something on your body which you WILL regret before too long. YES, I got the tap back in college. That is, I had my fraternity symbol branded onto my upper arm. Thank god my white skin is not prone to keyloting and the thing faded over the years and can now not be seen. That was a dumb mistake of an 18 year old college freshman. These people with tats are 35 and 45 years old. I just don't get it.
I don't have much more for you... except to say if you are ever in Gatlinburg, TN make sure to visit my buddy Flash at Gatlinburg Ink. Tell him the SacTownGuy sent you and I bet he will give you a deal on whatever body destruction... errrr I mean body art... you would like.
peace out.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Coupon Lady
I went to Safeway up in G'Bay yesterday. It's a nice modern store in a high income area. I am not hating on people that use coupons. I used them back in the day but am just too lazy now. However, this lady was one of those people with the coupon organizers and EVERY single item had to be checked for a coupon as the cashier dragged it over the scanner. Are you f'ing kidding me? EVERY single item. As each item was scanned the cashier would look at the crazy customer who would then move to the correct letter of the alphabet. I only stood there for about 20 seconds before I realized I had to move but she had a coupon for just about everything. Reminds me of my old friend, Schmed, with the Flock of Segulls haircut in college. That dude rocked the coupons so hard he would get stuff for free quite often! You know, coupons, use them on triple coupon day, and buy stuff heavily on sale. Not sure if he needed the stuff or not but when it's free or near free why not, right!? Anyway, I dropped into the next line and ended up behind "heading to the lake guy." You know, 50ish, bathing suit, flip flops, shirt that was about 10 years old and 2 sizes too small to cover his beer belly, and he was buying beer! I know he was not from G'Bay... just rolling down Douglas to Folsom Lake... passing through and spending money up in my hood. Oh well, at least he just paid and got going. Damn coupon lady is probably still up there going through her little coupon organizer.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Elements
No I have not given up on the blog and no I have not been too busy... I just have not known what to talk about. Don't worry K-Bark in Utah a Utah blog will be coming up soon... I got some thoughts to share about the Bee Hive state!
I emailed this to my homie Frisbee Boy earlier today and decided it was bloggable material so here you go.... After having lunch with Frisbee Boy yesterday I was reminded that I need to be riding as much as possible… if I am going to drag my butt across Iowa in late July (www.RAGBRAI.org). Working at my Roseville office today I went out for an early morning ride from the crib. It was a good training ride for Iowa.
I slept in until 4:40, did 45 minutes of stretching, and started to put on my gear. You know it's cold this time of year in NorCal so need layers and need the tights! Plus, got to strap on the pink I-Pod, the bike shoes, the gloves, the sun glasses, the helmet, the watch, etc.... I hit the pavement at 5:45, touch of fog in the air, and headed toward the bike path. I rode through the hard streets of G'bay. Gated communities and fancy cars known as Granite Bay. I do like the Bay. Nice neighborhoods, nice cars, nice, nice, nice.... The ride was going fine as the sun started to lighten a little as I drove by the gates of GBCC.
The fog continued, and got worse, which caused my glasses to start to fog up. I made it the bike path in just under 30 minutes. I felt safer on the path as it was foggy and people would be rushing off to work. I thus was happy to be on the path for a nice easy ride! Everything was going fine though until I went under a little underpass on the bike path… which was full of water. I saw it at the last second, maybe could have slowed down, but decided to just blast through. My left leg was soaked.
I kept riding and the fog was building. By the time I got to Hazel, which is where I turned around, it was pretty foggy and water was starting to drip off my helmet. This was an hour into the ride. I had a sweat inside and mist outside.
About that time I passed a number of ducks. One mommy duck, with her babies, must have felt threatened as she lashed out at my leg to try and peck me. I instinctively lifted my foot off the pedal and avoided the peck. I passed another pack of ducks and was more careful to go all the way to the side of the bike path!
Near downtown Folsom I went through a corner with some loose dirt and felt my tires slide but I didn’t go down. Luckily I was riding my normal slow pace. Any faster I may have gone down!? I thought to myself how dangerous biking is. I was there on a bike path and there were hazards to bikes there. Makes no sense!
I continued on my way with fogged up glasses, water dripping, sweat building inside, and still a wet left foot! I got back to the flooded underpass and smartly slowed down… but not enough. Got drenched again… and this time my right foot was down. What a MORON!
I kept on rolling, off the bike path, back through the Bay, through the line of cars waiting to turn to the Bay's high school. It was like a who's who of nice cars: Escolade, Escolade, BMW, Lexus, etc... and those were probably the kid's cars! I weaved my way through the traffic on down to my crib on the wrong side of the tracks! Certainly not the Bay!
By the time I got home the fog was so thick it was like a drizzle. Glasses were completely wet, helmet dripping, sweating inside my thick shirt, and light layer of water all over me. Reminded me of that day at Ragbrai, in 2000, when it rained much of the day! I rode for just under 2 hours today and only got 28 miles in but I think that is my pace these days. I only stopped for two minutes at Hazel and one or two stop lights. Otherwise just steady riding for two hours.
All things considered it was a great way to start a day... and I still got my hoops game tonight!
peace out.
I emailed this to my homie Frisbee Boy earlier today and decided it was bloggable material so here you go.... After having lunch with Frisbee Boy yesterday I was reminded that I need to be riding as much as possible… if I am going to drag my butt across Iowa in late July (www.RAGBRAI.org). Working at my Roseville office today I went out for an early morning ride from the crib. It was a good training ride for Iowa.
I slept in until 4:40, did 45 minutes of stretching, and started to put on my gear. You know it's cold this time of year in NorCal so need layers and need the tights! Plus, got to strap on the pink I-Pod, the bike shoes, the gloves, the sun glasses, the helmet, the watch, etc.... I hit the pavement at 5:45, touch of fog in the air, and headed toward the bike path. I rode through the hard streets of G'bay. Gated communities and fancy cars known as Granite Bay. I do like the Bay. Nice neighborhoods, nice cars, nice, nice, nice.... The ride was going fine as the sun started to lighten a little as I drove by the gates of GBCC.
The fog continued, and got worse, which caused my glasses to start to fog up. I made it the bike path in just under 30 minutes. I felt safer on the path as it was foggy and people would be rushing off to work. I thus was happy to be on the path for a nice easy ride! Everything was going fine though until I went under a little underpass on the bike path… which was full of water. I saw it at the last second, maybe could have slowed down, but decided to just blast through. My left leg was soaked.
I kept riding and the fog was building. By the time I got to Hazel, which is where I turned around, it was pretty foggy and water was starting to drip off my helmet. This was an hour into the ride. I had a sweat inside and mist outside.
About that time I passed a number of ducks. One mommy duck, with her babies, must have felt threatened as she lashed out at my leg to try and peck me. I instinctively lifted my foot off the pedal and avoided the peck. I passed another pack of ducks and was more careful to go all the way to the side of the bike path!
Near downtown Folsom I went through a corner with some loose dirt and felt my tires slide but I didn’t go down. Luckily I was riding my normal slow pace. Any faster I may have gone down!? I thought to myself how dangerous biking is. I was there on a bike path and there were hazards to bikes there. Makes no sense!
I continued on my way with fogged up glasses, water dripping, sweat building inside, and still a wet left foot! I got back to the flooded underpass and smartly slowed down… but not enough. Got drenched again… and this time my right foot was down. What a MORON!
I kept on rolling, off the bike path, back through the Bay, through the line of cars waiting to turn to the Bay's high school. It was like a who's who of nice cars: Escolade, Escolade, BMW, Lexus, etc... and those were probably the kid's cars! I weaved my way through the traffic on down to my crib on the wrong side of the tracks! Certainly not the Bay!
By the time I got home the fog was so thick it was like a drizzle. Glasses were completely wet, helmet dripping, sweating inside my thick shirt, and light layer of water all over me. Reminded me of that day at Ragbrai, in 2000, when it rained much of the day! I rode for just under 2 hours today and only got 28 miles in but I think that is my pace these days. I only stopped for two minutes at Hazel and one or two stop lights. Otherwise just steady riding for two hours.
All things considered it was a great way to start a day... and I still got my hoops game tonight!
peace out.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Disneyland
Just got home from a week in So Cal. Spent the first few days in RAINEY LA (yes, really) and then spent 4 days in Anaheim at the "happiest place on earth." Let me start by saying I really really really prefer my SacTown lifestyle to that of LA. It is WAY too fast paced for this country bumpkin. Anyway, after a few days of $12 pancakes and $2.00 per twenty minute parking (Farmer's Market parking lot so we could go to the American Girl doll store) it was on to Disneyland. I should start by saying I am not a huge Disney guy. I had my fun there as a kid. I have very fond memories of weekends staying at the Disneyland hotel, pulling out "C" tickets for Autopia (after all the E tickets were used up), and riding that Monorail back and forth back and forth all day long without the parents. Of course I was about 11 or 12 years old at the time. Ahhhh, those for the days. Now I go because my wife and kids enjoy it but I am Disney neutral let's say.
Let me start by saying I realize a lot of adults (mostly women) love Disneyland even if they don't have kids. I am just not one of those guys. I sort of lump those guys in with the comic book reading, Star Trek watching, Dungeons and Dragons playing, crowd... which I was NEVER a part of. Speaking of mega-dorks, there was a Disney pin collectors convention going on this weekend. Oy vey!
Well, a couple days ago I jumped onto the Winnie the Pooh ride over by Flash Mountain... errrr, I mean Splash Mountain (google "disney and flash mountain") with the little girl. Ok, yes I was on the Winnie the Pooh ride becuase my 4 year old wanted to go. I basically took a nap... though I didn't actually fall asleep as I did on Pirate's of the Caribiean earlier that day. Anyway, sitting in front of us were two pretty normal looking dudes. Not mega-dorks... at least I didn't hear them talking about their Dungeon and Dragon's dice or anything like that. They had normal to cool looking hair cuts, cool looking glasses, etc.... They were in their early 20's and I didn't see any kids or girlfriends in sight. So WHY on earth were they riding Winnie the Pooh AND pointing stuff out? Did they work there? I honestly don't know. It was hard to get a good picture of them without being too obvious so here you go.
All in all we had a really nice trip. The kids loved Big Thunder Railroad, I took my dude to the arcade at Space Mountain (where I wasted away many a days back in the late 70's and early 80's), and we roamed all over Tom Sawyer's island (did you know the fort is now a storage place and not open to tour?). Plus had a couple of nice meals with the characters... though the dude would not sit through the dinner with the princesses because "princesses are horrible."
Long drive home today. Darn, that I-5 is long and boring!
Peace out.
Let me start by saying I realize a lot of adults (mostly women) love Disneyland even if they don't have kids. I am just not one of those guys. I sort of lump those guys in with the comic book reading, Star Trek watching, Dungeons and Dragons playing, crowd... which I was NEVER a part of. Speaking of mega-dorks, there was a Disney pin collectors convention going on this weekend. Oy vey!
Well, a couple days ago I jumped onto the Winnie the Pooh ride over by Flash Mountain... errrr, I mean Splash Mountain (google "disney and flash mountain") with the little girl. Ok, yes I was on the Winnie the Pooh ride becuase my 4 year old wanted to go. I basically took a nap... though I didn't actually fall asleep as I did on Pirate's of the Caribiean earlier that day. Anyway, sitting in front of us were two pretty normal looking dudes. Not mega-dorks... at least I didn't hear them talking about their Dungeon and Dragon's dice or anything like that. They had normal to cool looking hair cuts, cool looking glasses, etc.... They were in their early 20's and I didn't see any kids or girlfriends in sight. So WHY on earth were they riding Winnie the Pooh AND pointing stuff out? Did they work there? I honestly don't know. It was hard to get a good picture of them without being too obvious so here you go.
All in all we had a really nice trip. The kids loved Big Thunder Railroad, I took my dude to the arcade at Space Mountain (where I wasted away many a days back in the late 70's and early 80's), and we roamed all over Tom Sawyer's island (did you know the fort is now a storage place and not open to tour?). Plus had a couple of nice meals with the characters... though the dude would not sit through the dinner with the princesses because "princesses are horrible."
Long drive home today. Darn, that I-5 is long and boring!
Peace out.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The "S Word"
Having dinner with the family tonight and the little dude announces that he knows what the "S word" is. I was thinking to myself, "oh shit...." My dude is in kindergarten and my little girl is a year behind that... how the heck do they know what the "S word" is already!? Doesn't that seem young to you? I asked who told him and he told me that several friends told him; naming Lex, Max and a few of his other buddies. He then said, "daddy, do you want me to tell you what the S word is?" I said, "sure, why not...?" "Stupid" he said. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that S word. I then got real serious and told him how wrong it was to use, etc....
Friday, January 30, 2009
"Sports" Car
I was minding my own business driving down Sierra College Blvd last night. It was about 5:45 and I was taking my little girl home from her gymnastics class. I do not often get out there so was nice to see her doing her thing. I tend to be a slow driver... yes, mom I know I had 3 speeding tickets when I was 16... and I generally do not run yellow lights. Why bother.
Well, anyway I saw the light turning yellow so slowed to a stop. I could have easily made it through but why bother... I had precious cargo in the back seat. As I was slowing I checked my rear view mirror and saw a car gaining on me as if he thought we were BOTH going through that light. You know, he was going to piggyback right on my tail as we went through... but I wasn't going through. In a split second I could tell that this guy was driving his "sports" car to the fullest. He really wanted to let it all out... wind that baby up.... I could tell he was paying attenion so I stopped.
As I pulled to the stop the "sports" car pulled around me into the next lane. He had a disgruntled look on his face as he gave me the stare. You know the stare for my having the nerve to stop at a yellow light and thus stop him from "racing" his sports machine down the street. At the very moment I smiled and laughed OUT LOUD. This guy really thought he was in a cool sports car. Though I didn't take a picture I just found this one on-line and I swear to go it could be the same car: after market wheels, hard top, racing style head rests, etc.... [Just search for whack Miata and insert here... LOL...] Look, I like Miatas just fine. I drove one for a few months back in '99 when my aunt and uncle needed to clear out their garage for a while. It's a fun car but it is NOT a sports car. It's a car to take your lady wine tasting. It's a car to jump in, top down, and run over to the store. It's a car for your 16 year old daughter to drive. It's a lot of things but it is not a sports car. The fact that a man would drive that car like he was in some racing machine is really beyond me... and, frankly, is just embarrasing to human kind.
peace out.
Well, anyway I saw the light turning yellow so slowed to a stop. I could have easily made it through but why bother... I had precious cargo in the back seat. As I was slowing I checked my rear view mirror and saw a car gaining on me as if he thought we were BOTH going through that light. You know, he was going to piggyback right on my tail as we went through... but I wasn't going through. In a split second I could tell that this guy was driving his "sports" car to the fullest. He really wanted to let it all out... wind that baby up.... I could tell he was paying attenion so I stopped.
As I pulled to the stop the "sports" car pulled around me into the next lane. He had a disgruntled look on his face as he gave me the stare. You know the stare for my having the nerve to stop at a yellow light and thus stop him from "racing" his sports machine down the street. At the very moment I smiled and laughed OUT LOUD. This guy really thought he was in a cool sports car. Though I didn't take a picture I just found this one on-line and I swear to go it could be the same car: after market wheels, hard top, racing style head rests, etc.... [Just search for whack Miata and insert here... LOL...] Look, I like Miatas just fine. I drove one for a few months back in '99 when my aunt and uncle needed to clear out their garage for a while. It's a fun car but it is NOT a sports car. It's a car to take your lady wine tasting. It's a car to jump in, top down, and run over to the store. It's a car for your 16 year old daughter to drive. It's a lot of things but it is not a sports car. The fact that a man would drive that car like he was in some racing machine is really beyond me... and, frankly, is just embarrasing to human kind.
peace out.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
dumb blonde
I was rolling down the street yesterday after paying my semi-annual visit to the dentist for a cleaning. Everything went as planned at the dentist with no problems! Anyway, back to my ride back to the office. I noticed a gal behind me holding her cell phone below her mouth... maybe 6 or 8 inches below. She was clearly speaking on her cell phone using the speaker phone feature. As most of my readers know you are not allowed to talk on your cell phone in Cali but instead have to use an ear piece, Blue Tooth, etc.... As we kept driving down the street I looked back and noticed blondie holding the phone closer to her ear, like you would normally hold a phone, but still about 4 or 5 inches away from her head. Really? Do you really think that doesn't count as talking on the cell phone lady? I am not a cop but I will take a chance at saying that you are probably still breaking the law... and if anything you are more obvious holding the phone out away from your head then if you just head it up by your ear intangeled with your blonde hair. You might think about buying an ear piece next time you go to the store for a bottle of hair coloring... oh ya, I could also tell, all the way from my car, that was not your natural color!
peace out.
peace out.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Da King's - Mid Year Report
I just read the Bee's mid-season report card for da SacTown King's and thought I better give my opinion. Honestly, guy must have written the report card during a recent King's win because he clearly was overly optimistic. In parenthesis will be the Bee's grade and then my grade and report!
COACHING (C+) So the coach is fired and replaced by a guy who looks totally confused on the sideline and you give them a C+? Where I went to school a C was a passing grade. It doesn't seem that the King's coaches are passing so I would say they get a D... and that's being generous. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
MANAGEMENT (D) It's a flat F. If there were a lower grade available I would give the Magoofs a lower grade because they are pathetic. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - F
BENO UDRIH (D-) I can't argue with the D-. Beno's game reminds me of this I-guy I used to play with on occasion at Encino Park. Dude would drive hard to the basket, jump from the free throw line and then decide what to do. Of course that guy was just some guy in a park and not getting paid $5m per but same game as Beno. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D-
KEVIN MARTIN (C+) Really? A C+ after you say that his assist to turnover ratio is the worst of any player in the entire NBA... and his defense would be ranked similar if they ranked such things. I will never change my opinion that Kevin Martin would make a great 6th man on a good team. He could come in like Michael Cooper or Vinny Johnson, score 10 quick points, and then sit down. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
JOHN SALMONS (C+) He's a tough one. On occasion he looks ok on offense and he looks like a defense stopper... at least compared to the rest of the King's. Like Martin he should be first or second guy off the bench for a good team and not an NBA starter. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C
JASON THOMPSON (B-) I like his energy, I like his hustle and I like that he is young. Sadly he will probably be contaminated by all the saps the King's have. Keep up the good work Jason. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - B-
BRAD MILLER (D+) He gets an A for whinning to the refs, jogging up court and not playing defense. Seriously though Miller is the King's only true "pro" so I can't give him an F. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
SPENCER HAWES (B-) Similar to Jason Thompson I see glimmers of hope with this guy. Loved his two big shots to send that game to OT a week ago. He plays no defense so Petrie will probably give him a max contract soon! SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C+
MIKKI MOORE (C) I like this guy's story and I like this guy's hustle but he should be 12th man. He should be working hard at practice and filling in at the end of blowouts. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C-
FRANCISCO GARCIA (C-) This guy is so over-hyped by King's fans. He is pretty athletic so you think he will play some defense, slash and finish, etc... but in reality he's weak. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
BOBBY BROWN (C) I like his name and it's my pergoative to say I haven't seen the guy play enough to grade him... but like any good teacher I will grade him anyway. Keep hustling Bobby and maybe we can get you some PT soon. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C
BOBBY JACKSON (C+) I like Bobby. He created an NBA career which is good since he could just as well be the guy in the parking lot telling you where to park... cuz he did NOT have NBA quality game when he arrived years ago. He is doing great for a 95 year old. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C
QUINCY DOUBY (D+) He has a great name. I keep waiting to hear Grant say that Douby is somkin' hot... but it doesn't happen to often. He's not an NBA player so he should be ready to head to Italy when the season ends. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
DONTE GREENE (INCOMPLETE) I haven't seen the kid play much but I like young athletic players so let's keep him around. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
KENNY THOMAS (INCOMPLETE) I actually feel bad for this guy. Too bad he doesn't get more playing time but you have to remember that if he doesn't start he probably will pout so it's a catch-22. Time to go Kenny. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
SHELDAN WILLIAMS (Incomplete) Not too many people can say their wife is a better basketball player... but that's the case here. No problem. Sheldan has his Duke education so time to do something with it Sheldan! SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
All in all the King's are horridly bad and there is not much hope for the future. They will get a top 5 pick in the draft but the draft is weak so that doesn't help much. Oh well, they'll be in Vegas, or Orange County, or somewhere....
peace out.
COACHING (C+) So the coach is fired and replaced by a guy who looks totally confused on the sideline and you give them a C+? Where I went to school a C was a passing grade. It doesn't seem that the King's coaches are passing so I would say they get a D... and that's being generous. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
MANAGEMENT (D) It's a flat F. If there were a lower grade available I would give the Magoofs a lower grade because they are pathetic. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - F
BENO UDRIH (D-) I can't argue with the D-. Beno's game reminds me of this I-guy I used to play with on occasion at Encino Park. Dude would drive hard to the basket, jump from the free throw line and then decide what to do. Of course that guy was just some guy in a park and not getting paid $5m per but same game as Beno. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D-
KEVIN MARTIN (C+) Really? A C+ after you say that his assist to turnover ratio is the worst of any player in the entire NBA... and his defense would be ranked similar if they ranked such things. I will never change my opinion that Kevin Martin would make a great 6th man on a good team. He could come in like Michael Cooper or Vinny Johnson, score 10 quick points, and then sit down. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
JOHN SALMONS (C+) He's a tough one. On occasion he looks ok on offense and he looks like a defense stopper... at least compared to the rest of the King's. Like Martin he should be first or second guy off the bench for a good team and not an NBA starter. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C
JASON THOMPSON (B-) I like his energy, I like his hustle and I like that he is young. Sadly he will probably be contaminated by all the saps the King's have. Keep up the good work Jason. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - B-
BRAD MILLER (D+) He gets an A for whinning to the refs, jogging up court and not playing defense. Seriously though Miller is the King's only true "pro" so I can't give him an F. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
SPENCER HAWES (B-) Similar to Jason Thompson I see glimmers of hope with this guy. Loved his two big shots to send that game to OT a week ago. He plays no defense so Petrie will probably give him a max contract soon! SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C+
MIKKI MOORE (C) I like this guy's story and I like this guy's hustle but he should be 12th man. He should be working hard at practice and filling in at the end of blowouts. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C-
FRANCISCO GARCIA (C-) This guy is so over-hyped by King's fans. He is pretty athletic so you think he will play some defense, slash and finish, etc... but in reality he's weak. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
BOBBY BROWN (C) I like his name and it's my pergoative to say I haven't seen the guy play enough to grade him... but like any good teacher I will grade him anyway. Keep hustling Bobby and maybe we can get you some PT soon. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C
BOBBY JACKSON (C+) I like Bobby. He created an NBA career which is good since he could just as well be the guy in the parking lot telling you where to park... cuz he did NOT have NBA quality game when he arrived years ago. He is doing great for a 95 year old. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - C
QUINCY DOUBY (D+) He has a great name. I keep waiting to hear Grant say that Douby is somkin' hot... but it doesn't happen to often. He's not an NBA player so he should be ready to head to Italy when the season ends. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
DONTE GREENE (INCOMPLETE) I haven't seen the kid play much but I like young athletic players so let's keep him around. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
KENNY THOMAS (INCOMPLETE) I actually feel bad for this guy. Too bad he doesn't get more playing time but you have to remember that if he doesn't start he probably will pout so it's a catch-22. Time to go Kenny. SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
SHELDAN WILLIAMS (Incomplete) Not too many people can say their wife is a better basketball player... but that's the case here. No problem. Sheldan has his Duke education so time to do something with it Sheldan! SACTOWNGUY'S GRADE - D
All in all the King's are horridly bad and there is not much hope for the future. They will get a top 5 pick in the draft but the draft is weak so that doesn't help much. Oh well, they'll be in Vegas, or Orange County, or somewhere....
peace out.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Economy
Saturday morning we woke up and went to the Original Pimp House for our weekly treat... and ahhhh ohhhh. It was Saturday morning a little after 8:30, the parking lot was EMPTY, the shades were down, it looked dark, and could it be... could they be the victim of this economy? I mean the parking lot was EMPTY. Often by that time there is, or should I say was, a line for a table. Not today. Kitty Kat had me get out of the car to see if the door was opened and sure enough it was. There were 4 employees standing around the cash register/check-in area so I asked if there was a problem. One of the employees replied, "no, just a little slow today...."
Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a person with an MBA from Harvard for that matter, to figure out that an expensive breakfast restaurant needs to do their biz-nass on Saturday and Sunday. It's like a toy store in December right!? You figure a breakfast restaurant, like the pimp house, does about 50% of their biz on Saturday and Sunday I would guess.
Well, they told us we could sit where we liked since only about 10% of the tables were taken. It was really sad. They can only stay open for so long with that kind of business. Later I saw one of the owners come out of the kitchen with an apron on so I know he is doing what he can to keep labor costs down. Very sad.
The breakfast was as tasty as ever but just left me feeling bad. The owners are nice people. The staff are nice. I can't imagine it's too long, depending on how deep the owner's pockets are, before they close up shop. On the other hand it's good for my pocket book as it is about 75% more expensive than most other places and about twice as expensive as the similarly named (but not nearly as tasty) International House of Pancakes. Plus, frankly we are spoiled by their good food and I am not sure I could deal with IHOP, Mimi's, etc.... It just wouldn't be a treat to go to those places.
I guess only time will tell but I sure hope President Obama and his peeps can turn this country around.
Peace out.
Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a person with an MBA from Harvard for that matter, to figure out that an expensive breakfast restaurant needs to do their biz-nass on Saturday and Sunday. It's like a toy store in December right!? You figure a breakfast restaurant, like the pimp house, does about 50% of their biz on Saturday and Sunday I would guess.
Well, they told us we could sit where we liked since only about 10% of the tables were taken. It was really sad. They can only stay open for so long with that kind of business. Later I saw one of the owners come out of the kitchen with an apron on so I know he is doing what he can to keep labor costs down. Very sad.
The breakfast was as tasty as ever but just left me feeling bad. The owners are nice people. The staff are nice. I can't imagine it's too long, depending on how deep the owner's pockets are, before they close up shop. On the other hand it's good for my pocket book as it is about 75% more expensive than most other places and about twice as expensive as the similarly named (but not nearly as tasty) International House of Pancakes. Plus, frankly we are spoiled by their good food and I am not sure I could deal with IHOP, Mimi's, etc.... It just wouldn't be a treat to go to those places.
I guess only time will tell but I sure hope President Obama and his peeps can turn this country around.
Peace out.
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