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Rain=Ugly Traffic, Apple Stores
TUE, 28 NOV 2006
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I had business to attend to near L.A.X. (the airport) yesterday morning. I know traffic is heavy on Monday mornings headed that way, so I set out on my drive extra early. But still not early enough.
I was surprised to awake Monday morning to the first rain of the winter for L.A. It wasn't pouring but it was enough to make the ground wet and put everyone into a panic. In case you don't already know, most people in L.A. can't drive in the rain. One (like me) could argue most people aren't fit to drive even when it's sunny and dry. So, when the conditions are less than perfect, many of my fellow Angelinos go out of control and hit something or each other. They did plenty of both yesterday.
What is normally a 35-40 minute drive took an hour and 40 minutes. On my way down the 91, I was delayed by a sig-alert and a crawl of traffic that never let up. As I sat in my car, moving ever-so-slowly and eventually late for my meeting, I came to a realization about some people's driving.
I used to think there were people who didn't have a motivation about their driving. They never seem like they care or are in a hurry to get where they're going. They seemed so unlike me - when I drive, I'm trying to get somewhere and want to get there as fast as possible. Otherwise, I'd take a bus or walk. But it was yesterday I realized some of these people were probably once like me, but after so many hours and days in traffic, their spirits are broken and they just drive hoping to get wherever they're going in one piece.
 In other news, I made the most of my drive to the west by visiting four Apple Stores yesterday! By mid-day the sun was out and the skies were clear and it was even warm, so it made driving around somewhat easier. Still, I battled holiday shopping traffic and crowds to complete my four-store quest, bringing my visited total to 18. See all the geeky details here »
-adm
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Cycling - The Sport of Kings
FRI, 24 NOV 2006
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 During the Tour of California, I remember reading about how a San Jose Sharks player signed a one-day "contract" to ride for the Health Net p/b Maxxis team on the San Jose time trial course ( original PR article here »). The NHL player was a regular rider who used cycling for conditioning. I thought it was a cool promotion idea to get exposure for the Tour and for the local hockey team and cross-expose the two sports. And then I forgot about it until I was at a Kings game a couple weeks ago.
Staring at me from the cover of the Monday, November 13, 2006 game day program was Scott Thornton in a Health Net jersey. Thornton was acquired from the Sharks as a free agent during the off-season. The Kings chose this game against the Sharks to feature their former player and his enjoyment of cycling.
The article says some great and accurate things like, "Cycling is not the best upper body workout, but it is great for conditioning your aerobic capacity, and that's why it translates so well to hockey." Another snippet reads, "in addition to providing a great physical workout, a bike could also offer the ultimate psychological challenge. It could also take Thornton to places much more scenic than the inside of a training facility."
As you probably already know, I'm a cycling and a hockey fan so this article was a pleasure to read. It was also nice to know that an NHLer like Thorton uses cycling to cross-train because I enjoy using skating (ice or in-line) for my off-season cross-training. It works both ways.
Below are scans of the article. Click them to get a readable image size.
  
More tidbits from the article:
- Thornton's first road bike was a Trek, "the same bike Lance Armstrong rides."
- Thornton has finished "The Death Ride", the Tour of the California Alps, 129 miles and 16,00 feet of climbing, in nine hours.
- Thornton started cycling in 2000 when he joined the Sharks, thanks to "the weather and the quality of the roads out here [in California]."
- Thorton is respected for his gritty and consistent play in a sport where taking a puck to the chin means missing a shift and getting stitches in the locker room to hurry back out onto the ice. Still, he says of cycling, "a lot of it is absolute suffering" and "it's definitely a tough sport."
-adm
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L.A. Kings Arena Chants
THU, 16 NOV 2006
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Despite the number of times they've broken our hearts, we still throw our support behind the Los Angeles Kings.
 Watching the game at home on TV is good because when the game gets bad, we can always change the station, usually to South Park. But for a real thrill, even when the team is in the tank, we enjoy going to the games and sitting in the upper bowl.
1. Upper bowl rules! No fan of the game would turn down a chance to see it up close in the lower bowl, but when faced with paying for such a privilege, most balk. Instead, you'll find the most ferociously supportive, albeit frugal, fans of the Kings in the upper bowl. Funny how the frugal fans sitting up in the corner somehow find a way to afford $8 beers. I guess we're all just drowning our sorrows.
2. We've sat in 314 at Staples Center steadily for two years. We've been in or near 314 several times before then as single-game purchasers, too. This corner of the arena is one of the loudest and one of the best. The fans there are knowledgeable about the game and unafraid to share their excitement or anger with the rest of the crowd.
Last year, a guy who sits at the top of section 313 and is now know as "The Drunk Russian" began some interesting chants in support of the team. Now, I don't know if The Drunk Russian is really Russian but he does have an Eastern European accent, and as for being drunk, well, I've never seen him stumble down the stairs but I can almost always count on him coming up them with a beer in hand between periods.
One of his chants, "We Need Goal!", was an instant success, mostly because we always seem to need a goal (or several, just to catch up), and also because it has an amusing broken-English / Borat-style quality to it.
Another chant, "Los Angeles!" took a bit longer. "We Need Goal!" used the same beat as "Go Kings Go!", so fans were quick to adapt. But "Los Angeles" had a unique timing and beat, much unlike any other chant we've heard before. It took some time but it's caught on in our area and is starting to spread further out across the arena.
The Drunk Russian's other chant is a real mouth-full. The whole thing is, "This is our city, this is our team, no one's gonna beat us, and we're gonna win!" Few fans, and I mean maybe a handful, have yet to grasp the intricacies of this chant. It is the most daring and will probably never get out of sections 313/314.
In order to support the cause, I committed all of the Los Angeles Kings Arena Chants to music notation. Enjoy!
See all the chants here »
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Thougts of the Day
WED, 08 NOV 2006
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My drive to the dentist and time in the chair as he worked away inspired these thoughts:
 1a. A pedestrian has the right-of-way but will not win a heatbutt contest with the grill of any vehicle.
1b. A crosswalk is not a magical gateway that protects a pedestrian from oncoming cars.
1c. The later you are to an appointment, the more likely it is you'll come upon a pedestrian who does not understand 1a or 1b and walks incredibly slow.
It amazes me how people defy logic and walk right in front of traffic when it's obviously unsafe to do so. Some don't gauge the risk correctly, others may have a death wish, some don't have a clue or don't care, and many probably think they have the right-of-way and proceed expecting oncoming vehicles to come to a halt for them, regardless of speed or distance. I am especially amazed at the pedestrians who are even more emboldened by the presence of a painted crosswalk under them, as if its presence will shield them from a car that fails to yield.
My wish is for crossing pedestrians to take a communal approach. Cross when and where it's safest. Wait for a break in traffic to cross. And please, please, use some hustle to get across the road. By doing these things, you'll be increasing your chances of survival while decreasing the impact your crossing has on traffic - vehicles that will have to slow or stop and wait for you.
 2. COMPACT parking is for compact vehicles.
Just because your F-150 SuperCrew isn't a long-bed or a dually doesn't mean it's a compact. If your vehicle easily stradles the white lines on both sides of the parking spot, it's not a compact. I'm not a fan of compact parking but it totally isn't cool when you take up one spot and make it impossible for anyone to park in the spot(s) next to you, too.
-adm
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Your Competition Is Voting
TUE, 07 NOV 2006
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 Today is election day and you should vote. I haven't yet but will before the polls close. If you have to choose between finding time to ride and finding time to vote, try doing both by riding to the polling place!
Remember, your competition is voting, too.
Now get off the computer and go vote!
-adm
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