February 2001 Archives

Courtesy of Roger's excellent photography, I submit for your approval:


The Gorn with Dhani, Marie, and Sara of the A*Teens

Amit didn't squeeze in, but gets his own photo



They did a good job despite some glitches in the playback system. All four of them were really nice. Also kudos to the lady in front of us in line for shooing away about 20 people who tried to cut in front of us. She yelled for security after almost getting into fisticuffs with some guy. My mom would be proud.


The guy with the blond hair in the stage shot next to Amit is the same guy who helped Dhani off the stage when he sprained his ankle at Disneyland last May. He must be their manager or assistant or something. I now have three celebrity Gorn shots: Charo, Ricardo Montalban, and now the A*Teens. I think I am now going to create a celebrity Gorn page and see if I can get some more celebs since I live in LA.

Today the A*Teens released their second album in the US titled "Teen Spirit". This is the first that contains non-ABBA songs and more importantly, actually features the guys singing. Tonight at 6pm, they will be signing copies of their album at the Glendale Galleria. My hope is to grab the Gorn and get a shot of him with the A*Teens.


You can all thank Joe for introducing me to them when I was in Sweden back in 1999. They were all over TV and radio. Come to think of it, at the same time I was there, the Swedish version of "Survivor" was on as well. I remember thinking how weird it was that everyone gathered around the TV to watch that silly show. Guess now I know why.

Yesterday at Disneyland was fun. There is no better thrill than riding the Matterhorn in a driving rainstorm. It adds an extra dimension to the ride to see the rain falling in the floodlights. There is also the thrill of "Is this bobsled going to fly off of the mountain or not?" I was a bit disappointed that they ended up closing the park an hour earlier. It was probably due to the small crowds. In the three hours we were there, we rode most of the E ticket rides by just walking on them - no lines at all. Of course, if we had the upgraded passports (hint, hint) we could have boosted attendance numbers at the new park.


The rest of the weekend was spent unmotivated and inside. The streets of LA were once again transformed into mini-rivers and there was just no motivation to go anywhere. I did manage to make it to Sit and Sleep to buy my first bed (if you don't count the futon). It was actually painless compared to the aborted attempt a few years back at Monkey Wards. I just hope the darned thing shows up on time. The bed is a Eastern King Malibu Plush. You know how difficult it is to buy Eastern King sheets in California? Very.


On Saturday, we tried to find a movie to go see with Cory, but it turns out there was nothing good showing at all. I can't wait until next month when some of the cool movies start to come out (I hope).

Last night I found out I was royally screwed by Enterprise Rent-a-car. Apparently I was charged for the optional insurance. I looked at the contract and sure enough, I initialized the spot where it says I accept it. I seemed to remember the not-quite-honest person at the counter asking me if I wanted to have the optional or regular coverage. I think I said just the regular coverage, and therefore that is what I got. Oh well. Moral of the story: always read what you sign no matter how big of a hurry you might be in at the time.


Around 2am, I was awakened by a horrendous thump against the wall of my apartment. It repeated over and over again against various walls of the complex for about 30 minutes. In my sleep induced state various scenarios played out in my mind: Someone is shooting at the building, someone is throwing rocks against the walls, and someone is trying to break into the apartment. It is one of those creepy things in the middle of the night that probably will stick with me for a few days.


Damn Disney needs to start selling annual passports again!

For the first time in weeks, we have enough juice to keep the power on in California. Not that anyone really noticed. Despite all the talks and the news reports of conservation and cutting back, life didn't really get affected much by our state's latest snafu. Maybe it is because I live in LA and we are pretty much insulated from the real world.


Of far more interest than the latest hullabaloo is the discovery of a second asteroid that killed a bunch of cockroaches and other misc creatures about 250 million years ago. I am pretty sure we are going to get a smackdown! by another one soon, I just hope I am not around to see it.

The office downstairs is having an auction today to dissolve all of its assets. Yesterday, I walked through and realized why this company went bankrupt. Every workstation had its own laser printer (most were HP LaserJet 4MP). At first I suspected that there was no central network, but upon further snooping, it appears they did have a network. Among other excesses: Expensive artwork, one suite with a full bed and bathroom, and custom built kitchen with refrigerators covered in the same material as the cabinets.


The person in charge of traffic flow on city streets needs to be shot. They made an adjustment in the lights on Ventura Blvd. that has resulted in an extra 5 minutes to get to work. It really isn't that much time, but the fact I have to wait for more lights than I used to bugs me to no end.


One of the mayoral candidates for LA has promised to put light rail down the 405 and to stop construction during rush hours. He gets my vote, but it means it will take 10 years to add any significant new construction projects to the area.

10th Annual AV Day pics are here


Three-day weekends are so nice - even if you have to drive 1000 miles roundtrip. Of course, thanks to Susie, I didn't have to drive the whole way. I reserved a minivan from Enterprise, but it was in the shop. They did offer me a free upgrade, which answered the life-long question: What do they give you when you get upgraded from a minivan? A Ford Econoline E350 XLT


Anti-Valentine's Day was another successful party. The party has definitely taken a more intimate turn in recent years. Once we used to get over 20 people and now it hovers between 10 and 15. There is some discussion about the future of the party, but we'll worry about that next year. I will have the photos up later today or tomorrow. I am working on an orange re-do of the Party Pics Section of the Charo photos.


Some of the highlights of the trip: The car careening down the hill into the Baker's Square parking lot, the shocking fact that they sell pi�atas of cartoon characters that look like little children (and the fact we bought one), the arms of death coming down in the 5th and Mission garage telling me that the van was too big and that we had to park in the "special" area, the lady peeling out across the grass at the gas station (I think she was upset the pump was charging 1.74 for regular unleaded instead of the 1.69 that was posted on the
sign), the pungent smell of Gonzales, CA, the Explorer that hit a tree near our house, and the bottom of the shower curtain.

Off to SF for AV Day! See you all back here Tuesday with pictures.

Some more A-V bliss. Apparently the Anti-Valentine's Day tradition continues in Davis.
Checkout the latest column from California Aggie columnist Kenley Matsuda.


SFGate presents an article about the current direction and evolution of the modern theme park, and the bizarre turns it has taken in recent years.


Did anyone else think that the Oscar nominations were a bit weird this year? Maybe it was just the selection of movies. I dunno.

For your amusement, I present links courtesy of SFGate.com and Chaos:


Shopkeepers in India's largest state closed their shutters after a right-wing Hindu organization threatened to attack shops selling Valentine's Day cards and gifts. A true A-V Day story


Valentine's Day Slams - a collection of put downs that rhyme


Now go out and get somebody you love something nice. Our lovely property owners gave everyone at the office chocolate hearts as if to say "Thanks for throwing wads of cash at us - here is some wholesale bulk chocolate" or something.


Last night I learned that electronics make a nice "pop" when lightning is about to strike. Usually the popping is followed by loud booms and rattling of buildings and windows. It was a pleasant night of stream, err street crossing and hail as LA got rainy and all around pounded by a nice winter storm. See we do have weather here.

People often ask why I drive a SUV since I live in Los Angeles. The reason: when it rains more than a few minutes at the same time, the streets turn into mini-rivers. Most streets in the San Fernando Valley have poor drainage and some are concrete streets left over from the 1950's when they were first built. Add a couple of inches of rain and viola: versions of the LA River right in your own backyard. Many Angelinos in small cars get swept away while the SUV drivers drive right through. Of course there are some SUV drivers who just plow through the water and drown people when they pass through flooded intersections, but that�s another story.


So the crowds at California Adventure have been small. Here's hopin' that they stay small and Disney gets panicked and lets the Annual Passholders upgrade their passes again.


Tomorrow is the sappiest day of the year. Just a reminder that my friends and me will be celebrating the anti-sappiest day of the year: Anti-Valentine's Day this weekend. For pics of the fun of year's past check out Charo's Party Pics.

This past weekend was spent in bed. I never left the house with the exception of getting gas on Sunday night. I managed to make it to work today - somehow. I think the highlight of the weekend would have to be the M5.1 quake that hit Big Bear around 1:05pm on Saturday. There I was in bed, slightly feverish and congested and then the bed started to move. I never knew earthquakes were so good at opening up your sinuses. I think the whole incident was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sylmar Earthquake of 1971 (which was Friday).


I've mentioned it before, but nothing makes you feel better than taking NyQuil before bed.

In the wake of the Epinions fiasco yesterday, I have turned my attention towards the possibility of resurrecting citymusings.com. Currently, it points to my Epinions site (meaning now it points nowhere - I'll change that soon) but I think I will look at it again and see if I can do something. I sent out solicitations to my friends to write for the site, but alas no one had the time. Now is your chance, if you want to write some opinions (but not get paid) let me know and maybe citymusings.com will rise again.


Speaking of redesigns, Entertainment Weekly has redesigned their ew.com site with mixed results. the usability and navigation is improved, but they plunked a big flash unit in the middle of the page that I think does not add anything at all to the page. I think I give them a B-.


Yesterday's grand opening of DCA proved to be a whimper. Everyone was scared away by the threat of big crowds, and the park was practically empty. I am sure this weekend that will all change. Maybe the execs will get worried that no one will show up and reopen Annual Passport upgrades.


It seems that I have finally caught Roger's cold. I intend to take it easy this weekend and rest for Anti-Valentine's Day next weekend.

Late update: I removed my review from Epinions. After reviewing their site, I have concluded that it completely blows and serves no value. Their staff decided to relaunch their site in mid-January without consideration of anything. Half the categories are gone and there are no more partner sites (similar to what I had set up). I am definitely removing the link and will post my California Adventure review on the California Adventure
Trip Diary page.


Epinions has redesigned their site, and it seems to be mostly broke. The links to the Co branded sites don't work (including the one on this site which I will remove). Also, I wrote up my Epinion for DCA, but alas, it took forever and several tries to post to the site. I love redesigns. I really do. Especially ones that completely ruin the user experience. Hopefully it is just some minor bugs and they will be up and running soon.

The USGS now offers the opportunity to receive an e-mail whenever there is an earthquake. You can select to be notified by either 3+ or 4+ magnitude range. Subscribe now!


Mark Morford of SFGate has a view of the parallel universe version of California Adventure that is worth reading.

Quick Highlight:

"The 'Ignore a Homeless Person', 'Spank an Orange County Republican' and 'Smash A Circuit City Store Window During Earthquake-Induced Rioting' rides were packed, but the 'Be A Corrupt Border Patrol Guard' was surprisingly boring and useless..."

I separated out the Gorn pictures from DCA so that they have their own section under the Gorn pages. I really need a better system for pictures so that I can avoid duplicate files on the server. But alas, I am too lazy - and I have ample server space so I can let it slide for a bit.


Last night, I totally crashed and it felt good after the long weekend at the park. After a few days it is still hard to believe I was there, but at the same time, I fell like the new park is like a new friend. We just got to know each other, and we'll be creating nothing but memories together. (hmm man that was sappy.)


The 10th Annual Anti-Valentine's Day is approaching fast. If you didn't receive an invite send me an e-mail and I'll get one out to you. This year's event is at Mark's apartment in San Bruno so make travel arrangements now. Be warned: If you receive an invite and you don't show up, your name gets put on the dartboard. Couples: its OK. You just need to stage a mock breakup and refrain from osculating and all that touchy-feely stuff until midnight. Hope to see you there!

California Adventure Pics are here!!


Here is my quick reaction: I liked the park. It works perfectly as an add-on to Disneyland, but I don't think it is worth $43 on its own. My advice: If you haven't been to Disneyland in over 3 years, go to Disneyland. If you have been in the last 3 years, then go to California Adventure. I was bummed to find out that they are no longer upgrading Annual Passports for the time being. That means I can only renew my Disneyland Passport and not upgrade to the 2-park version. Oh well. I guess I am not going to the new park again anytime soon. Eventually, I will write an epinion on the park.


I have had some more time to mull the park over and have nothing but fond memories. One of the boldest is the sheer terror I felt on the Sun Wheel. Those swinging gondolas just are not for me. I felt at any moment I was going for a swim in the lagoon. Another fond memory is riding California Screamin' four times in a row at the end of Saturday.


Today, I got my first item stuck in a tire. Fortunately, it turned out to be just a shard of glass and no damage to said tire. If you ever need tire work I recommend Stokes Tires on Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica.

It's Groundhog Day! What a bizarre little tradition that is. Grab a small animal parade it around town and then predict weather. Did this happen to Willard Scott when he first got started?


Last night's episode of Survivor 2: Electric Boogaloo was muy engrossing and just plain gross. The immunity challenge involved spinning a wheel and eating either a bug or some other gross-out snack. If you are lucky you might get the apple or candy bar. The more I watch the show I realize that there is no way I would last even the first day there. My favorite character so far is "Mad Dog". The moment she removed her dentures was priceless.


Tonight I am off to Anaheim to spend the night in an-ti-ci-pa-ti-on of Saturday and Sunday's jaunt to The Disneyland Resort. Al-most there. Can't-hardly-contain-self. No I am not excited or looking forward to it. Not in the slightest. Riiiiiight.


Hopefully, I will be able to provide a new homepage picture as well as oodles of new Gorn shots. See y'all Monday!!

Last night, I added a search box to the site. Now you can search through photo galleries as well as the Daily Update archive. I found it at Atomz software, and best of all, it was free. When I first indexed the site, it said I had 670 pages. Upon further examination, I saw that it was counting all the photo gallery detail pages (the ones with just photos on them). I modified the robots file to exclude all those pages as well as the PDA site and reduced the site to a more manegable 110.


In other Daily Update news, I added nametags to all my update entries for easier linking. So for instance if you want to see what a goober I was on my first day of entries you can now do so.


Another California Adventure dream. This time I was let into the park a few days early because I happened to ask, and was an annual passholder. This fantasy was shattered when I found out one of my co-workers is at the new park today. Sighgrumblegrumblesigh. Repeat after me: "The weekend is almost here". Ok I almost feel better.