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Fast Food Wrappers vs Gangsta Rappers
Read the lyrics here: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/n-w-a/f4ck-tha-police.… (Note: replace "f4ck" in link with you know what...) A short expurgated excerpt from the wise and venerable Dr. Dre... Comin straight from the underground Young nigga got it bad cuz I'm brown And not the other color so police think They have the authority to kill a minority F4ck that sh1t, cuz I ain't tha one For a punk muthaf4cka with a badge and a gun To be beatin on, and throwin in jail We could go toe to toe in the middle of a cell F4ckin with me cuz I'm a teenager With a little bit of gold and a pager Searchin my car, lookin for the product Thinkin every nigga is sellin narcotics You'd rather see me in the pen Then me and Lorenzo rollin in the Benzo Beat tha police outta shape And when I'm finished, bring the yellow tape To tape off the scene of the slaughter Still can't swallow bread and water I don't know if they f4gs or what Search a nigga down and grabbin his nuts And on the other hand, without a gun they can't get none But don't let it be a black and a white one Cuz they slam ya down to the street top Black police showin out for the white cop— March 9, 2009 7:36 a.m.
Escorts & Engagements
Let's get a little science into this discussion. Here's anthropologist Helen Fisher giving a talk on the subject of love and attraction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYfoGTIG7pY More about Fisher and her research here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Fisher_(anthro…— March 9, 2009 7:18 a.m.
Scoundrels sell Kendall Street home out from under owner
Consider the following: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/g… Homeless tent cities are growing, and beginning to house those not traditionally indigent. How big do they need to get before they simply find a neighborhood with a cluster of foreclosed homes and move in? Organized properly, with women and children leading the way, the group would be able to colonize these properties and begin the process of adverse possession. A few clever lawyers could help. If they would file the paperwork challenging the "owners" to prove their claims, there's a chance that the tangled web of contracts and counter-contracts between the banks would be so opaque that a judge might eventually side with squatters and award them ownership. When we look at the central valley in particular, I could see this happening by summer. The question is what the authorities do. Do they send in the SWAT team with flash grenades to smoke out the squatters? Do they just turn off water and electricity? Or do officials turn a blind eye, recognizing that regardless of the paperwork these families need someplace to live, and an otherwise vacant house is better than a tent in a field... Interesting times we live in, and the official reaction to such acts of civil disobedience will be telling.— March 7, 2009 10:29 a.m.
Dog Smarts, Leap Year
Animals say that they get very angry when we anthropomorphize them...— March 6, 2009 8:11 a.m.
Big Ben
Howard has already taken out papers to run in democratic race for the 79th assembly.— March 4, 2009 5:36 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
GoFurry, the answer to your question is this: 1. The city leaders wanted to give away money to political supporters, including the Chargers and the Padres. 2. The union said, "Hey, the city can't afford that, and if it could it should raise salaries." 3. The city staff came up with a compromise. "Keep quiet about the money, and we'll give you a big fat raise in your benefits." The unions, particularly firefighter boss Ron Saathoff who sat on the pension board, approved this crooked deal. Now they express surprise that there's no money left. Too late. The leaders of the union collaborated behind closed doors on this shady deal, and the unions even campaigned in favor of building the Padres' ballpark...for which we are paying more than $11 million every year until 2037. So, unfortunately the money is gone. John Moores is skipping out of town with it stuffed in his pockets, and he does so with the support and blessing of the unions who have never objected to this theft of public moneys. None of the union leaders have proposed getting this money back. Instead, they claim they're entitled to their diamond studded pensions and benefits, regardless of the financial health of the city. Honestly, should ANYONE at the city make more than $100k annually? I propose that we cap all city salaries until we've paid off our debts. $100k seems a reasonable level. In addition, so it's not only the employees of the city who contribute to a solution, let's stop paying for the ballpark. It should close before we close any more libraries, recreation centers, or homeless shelters because of lack of funding. Of course, there really should be new taxes. Apartment dwellers have paid for trash pickup all along...homeowners can pay their way too. We all have to work to address this problem in San Diego, but for the public sector unions to claim they are innocents in all this is simply not credible given the history of the pension deficit and the unions' collaboration in creating the problem.— March 4, 2009 4:53 p.m.
MAD Money
MADs are supposed to supplement basic city services. In San Diego, MAD is used to replace city services. Instead, the city spends its money subsidizing the Chargers and Padres, or wastes it on computer systems that will never be delivered, and ignores neighborhood needs like walkable sidewalks and reliable sewers. Golden Hill residents have woken up to the fact that the MAD money is used to benefit city staffers' egos...not the residents or businesses who pay twice for services they never receive.— March 4, 2009 4:40 p.m.
Go anywhere on San Diego Transit for $64 a month
What amazes me about MTS, with it's massive budgets, is that they don't get the basics right. Go to an average stop to catch a bus and you'll obviously ask four basic questions: 1. Where does the bus go? 2. When does it come to this stop? 3. How much does it cost? 4. How long does it take? Good luck finding this information. Instead, at the vast majority of the stops all you'll see is the number of the bus. -- No indication of where it goes. -- No clue about how long you should wait for it to arrive. -- No price. -- No idea about how long it will take to get somewhere else, or how it connects to other buses or the trolley. After a bus arrives (you still don't know where it's going) you can get a schedule ON THE BUS after you pay your fare (exact fare only, no change). In other words, the MTS gets a lot of things right. The drivers are courteous and professional, the buses are mostly clean and safe, and some of the routes make good sense. But it gets the most basic things wrong. Why would anyone board any vehicle when there's no way to know where it's going or how long it will take? If you don't have someone to show you the system when you first start out, you'll struggle. There's no chance of people giving the bus a try when it's got this kind of entry barrier. While the online system is welcome, it's not much use if you're waiting for a bus at a typical stop with no other information than a bus number. Another reform the MTS could easily make is allowing the purchase of tickets through mobile phones. These simple and popular systems have been working in Europe and Asia for years now. Compared to the STILL NOT WORKING Compass system they've wasted tens of millions on, buying tickets through a text message actually works, and doesn't require everyone to sign up for another ID card. For all the money we spend, we're sure not getting the transit system we deserve. If they'd at least fix the simple things, like giving passengers basic route information at every stop, and providing modern payment options, they'd do a great deal to improve the situation.— March 4, 2009 4:35 p.m.
EDC PR Machine Takes Credit for NY Times Fluff Piece
Wow! That NYT piece is a real piece of work. I've never heard of this mystical San Diego they describe... EDC's PR flacks sure did pull a fast one on DAN LUZADDER of the Times. His editor ought to have a frank talk with him about his future in the news reporting business. Did they fire all the fact checkers, or does the real estate section always present press releases as news?— March 4, 2009 4:17 p.m.
Coffee From Heaven
Josh, the last story in your piece about people paying for the car behind them...you've been had. Think about it for a minute. How is it possible? Yep. You'd have to have 160 telepaths who could predict, in advance, what the people in the car following behind would order. See, it doesn't make sense. Otherwise, (except the part about it being impossible), it's a nice story. Best, Fred— March 4, 2009 4:09 p.m.