Month: August 2005

But this goes to eleven!

When meterology meets Spinal Tap…

Have you noticed the ongoing arms race among local news broadcasts, trying to outdo each other with new generations of doppler radar? One station started out with plain old Doppler Radar. But that wasn’t enough. The station across town decided to make it sound better by calling it Super Doppler, or Mega Doppler. Then the numbers started coming in: Doppler 2000, Doppler 3000, (and Power Doppler 3000, Super Doppler 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 even DOPPLER 10,000… but it doesn’t stop there… it goes all the way up to DOPPLER 13,000!!!

That is, until now. WCBS in New York may have just hit on the final solution to the Doppler Wars, inventing an utterly unbeatable, unstoppable, and unmatchable Doppler Radar technology:

DOPPLER TWO MILLION!

U-turns = Communism

no_u_turnI just started a new job in Rancho Santa Margarita – deep in the bowels of exurban Orange County and already I have a rant. Why can’t anyone make a u-turn in this burg? Not only do most intersections prohibit u-turns, but many streets have center dividers, so if you don’t know exactly where you’re going, you’ll end up driving miles out of your way.

Since most of the restaurants and shops here are buried in ambiguous-looking strip malls that face away from the street be prepared to drive a lot.

 

Long Beach Airport cafe

I’ve blogged about the Long Beach Airport (LGB) before – vintage terminal, free wireless, and happy times on JetBlue. I’ve never been to the cafe before though, so it was time for another round of coffee, pancakes, and bacon.

Long Beach Airport terminal

Pancakes @ LGB cafe

The food was your basic above-average diner quality and the wait staff kept the coffee flowing. The real winner though is the view out of the window where you’ve got a panoramic view of almost all airport operations. I could easily sit here, drink coffee, and stare out the window all day. Did I mention the free Wi-Fi?

Just down the street from the LGB terminal is the old McDonnell-Douglas aircraft plant. Boeing took it over when they they bought out McDonnell-Douglas and renamed the MD-80 descendants the Boeing 717. Boeing shortly phased out the 717 soon enough anyway. Still, the real tragedy is that the giant “Fly DC Jets” neon sign on the roof is no longer lit.

Old McDonnell-Douglas aircraft plant

Older photos of LGB

Things I Like August 2005 (ennui vs. manic depression edition)

1. This collection of posters for the movies presented by Mystery Science Theater 3000.

mst3k-starfighters

2. The “musical furry lobster”

furrylobster

3. Though not furry, the the sponge crab carries around a sponge on it’s back for camouflage.

spongecrab

4. Italian guitars of the 1960s. (full disclosure: I own a Crucinelli-built Vox Cheetah)

hagstrom_guitar goya_guitar

5. François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters’ comic series Les Cités Obscures. Mysterious steampunk adventure stories where the story/plots center around architecture city planning constructs. I’ve got three of the books and love them dearly, but I had no idea that there were nine more. Each one feels like a history parable that fell out of some parallel universe. (more reading)

schuiten