PlayStation 2 Drops Price to $100 Today

It's no PlayStation 3, but this is a pretty good price if you don't mind a bit older technology, or even to have an extra system. I'm thinking of purchasing it for my long SUV trips, instead of lugging out my old PS2 every time. It plays CDs, DVDs and the system has almost 2,000 titles available! You can also purchase VERY low priced used/new game titles at any Gamestop location and many other places. If you've never had a PS2, this is the time to get it.

On the other hand, if you want better and newer technology, get an XBOX 360 Arcade for $100 more.

I wonder why Sony decided to lower the price on April 1 (April Fools Day)? I would believe it was a joke if they lowered the price of the ultra expensive PS3 today. Hmmm...

A Taste Of Claremont - April 18th

Wine tasting and food? Plus helping a good cause and local business? Sounds good to me, I'm always up for helping out cities I loiter, uh, spend money in.



Enjoy. Engage. Enrich.

Join Rotary Club of Claremont and the Claremont community as we gather for the 10th annual A Taste of Claremont – Rotary’s pinnacle fundraising event.

Enjoy Claremont’s finest cuisine, wine, and spirits as local establishments dish up their very best.

Engage in delectable conversation with friends and neighbors from Claremont’s welcoming community.

Enrich the lives of others as proceeds for this year’s A Taste of Claremont will go to Uncommon Good and other Local organizations, Rotary International’s PolioPlus, and
Uganda Water Project.

April 18, 2009
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Taylor Hall
1775 Indian Hill Boulevard
Claremont, CA 91711

Tickets are $50 by March 31
Tickets are $60 after March 31
Tickets are $60 at the door on April 18
(Must be 21 or older)

For tickets and more information, visit:
A Taste of Claremont's Website.

Back And I'll Be Back

I'm finally back from the trip up to Tulare, CA. A lot of fun was had and I'm still exhausted. Looks like alot of activity around the southland this weekend and I hope to catch up this week. What a nail biter the Cal Poly Pomona game was! I got to see the 2nd half.

Anyways, I have a job interview tomorrow so I need to hit the sack early. See you later.

Have A Great Saturday Claremona

Today is Metro Night in Pomona, which is basically the last Saturday of the Artwalk (for those who missed anything from the 2nd Saturday due to the crowds). Not only that, but the 'Antiques Row' will be open for everyone to enjoy as well, something I've never seen. And did I mention the under $20 special wine tasting at the DBA256 with hor'deveures, or however the heck you spell that. But really, we all know that it's the Pomona Queen on tap why I even get out around here.

No, not for me... I have to leave for Tulare, CA at 7am with friends for a 'get-together'. Not that it's a bad thing, but when it was planned, I paid no mind to the date.

Oh well... you know I will be out there for the 2nd Saturday ArtWalk in April FOR SURE! This time I will try to arrive early, not near 10pm like last time.

Anyways, in honor of our great Lady of Pomona, the wife and I headed up the block to The Press Restaurant in Claremont and had a late dinner. We started with their potato taquitos appetizer, along with 2 delicious "Pomona Queen" drafts. Yummy... so smooth and tasty.

Oh yeah, then the food came. She ordered an enchilada plate and I got the chicken burger with grilled vegetables. As we finished our food and had our 2nd Queen, or 3rd, can't remember right now, the band came on. The band's name is "Lazy Brad Lewis". I must say, these guys play some pretty cool blues music. On our way out, we took a quick snapshot (bad grainy image) of the band:


Anyways, excuse the typos, which I tried to correct while feeling a bit fuzzy. Hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend. And don't forget to cheer for Cal Poly Pomona today in the morning at 10am on channel 2 (KCBS)!

Cal Poly Pomona In The NCAA II Finals!

History is about to be made by Cal Poly Pomona. Here's an excerpt from CBS:

"SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -No matter who wins the NCAA Division II championship, history is going to be made when Cal Poly Pomona plays Findlay on Saturday.

Pomona (25-7) is bidding to become the first unranked team to win the Division II title in 30 years. Top-ranked Findlay (35-0) can become the fourth unbeaten team since the Division II tournament started in 1957.

Whoever wins at the MassMutual Center will also earn the school's first NCAA title in men's basketball.

"In November, did I expect us to be here? No, no way," Pomona coach Greg Kamansky said. "We had major injuries, we were struggling to beat Division III teams. We had an exhibition game against Cal-Irvine, and lost by 40.

"It was embarrassing. You ask yourself, will we win a game?"

The young Broncos matured quickly and have won 16 of their last 17, including their last five. North Alabama was the last unranked team to win the Division II title, in 1979."

The rest of the story is HERE.

The game will be on CBS 2 at 1pm Saturday March 28, 2009.

Dont forget to watch this historic event!

Around The Garden

Ah what a beautiful morning it is today. My coffee was great, the streets are empty and I can hear the birds outside along with my planter sprinklers. Went out to my garden and snapped a couple of pics.

I simply loved the bloom of this Cistus Rockrose leaning against a Queen Palm. It looks almost like it's made of color paper:


Here's a closer look at another Rockrose bloom:


Thanks to the sprinklers, here's a soaking wet Erysimum 'Fragrant Delight':

Spring Tips EVERYONE Can Use

Over at Woman's Day they've got really cool tips that we can all use everyday. Yes, us 'Guys' too! When I heard about this I thought it was perhaps a make-up thing or one of those 'women only' things. I'll admit that I've already tried one of these great tips today!

"Look like a genius using these secrets for navigating everyday life"

Here's a few of the tips:



See the rest of their tips by Clicking Here.

Baldwin Park Palms

I was cruising around Baldwin Park the other day on business and took this photo of 3 big palms in front of a house. Thought they look cool and out of place. Located near the intersection of the 10 and 605 Freeway, as residents here call it the 'Eastside' of Baldwin Park. They call the other side the 'Northside'.

What is weird is that the East is more of a 'West' and the North is more of an 'East'. Strange...

Did Your $40 DTV Converter Coupons Expire?

When I first heard about these free $40 coupons in late 2008, I quickly went online and ordered a pair for my house. My main viewing TV's are high def, but I still have a few older 'Tube' TVs around that are still decent, like my cool 13 inch Garage TV. Plus my son has my old and still kickin' 31" ProScan Tube.

Anyways, the $40 coupons came with an expiration date, mine were March 13th 2009. I realized that they were about to expire on the 11th and went to Target in Montclair immediately. They were out of digital converter boxes, so I went to their back neighbors, Bestbuy. They had them, TONS of them. The only problem is they ONLY carried their brand. I wanted 2 different brands, because, I'm an anti 'eggs-in-one-basket' guy.

I bought one and told myself, I'll check out Radio Shack and CVS tomorrow. Yup, you got it, forgot about it until a day after expiration. I quickly went online to the official website and sure enough, if it expired, oh well, nothing you can do now.

And to put a smile on my face, I stumbled upon this article today at the Chicago Tribune:

"People who got digital TV converter box coupons but let them expire can now apply for new ones.

The recent stimulus package put more money into the coupon program, letting the National Telecommunications and Information Administration give households with expired coupons a second chance."

For the official Government website, go HERE.

And yes, I've checked and it is official:

"The DTV Delay Act passed by Congress now allows the Coupon Program, upon request, to offer replacement coupons for those which have expired without being redeemed.

The Coupon Program has completed processing approved coupon applications that were placed on a waiting list beginning in January 2009.

The Coupon Program is now accepting applications from consumers whose coupons expired without being redeemed. The Coupon Program limits each U.S. household to a total of two redeemed coupons. Therefore, if you have redeemed one coupon toward the purchase of a TV converter box and the other has expired, you may request and be approved for one replacement coupon; if you have redeemed two coupons you will not be approved for additional coupons. Replacement coupons will only be issued to eligible households upon request. Consumers who wish to apply for a replacement coupon can do so at www.DTV2009.gov, by calling 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009), mailing an application to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208 or faxing it to 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632). Deaf or hard of hearing callers may use 1-877-530-2634 (TTY)."

Free Sustainability Seminar In Pomona This April 4th

From the Regenerative Cooperative of Pomona:

"Join us for a fantastic day of free workshops about everything sustainable from green building and green cities, to sustainable social relations, to home farming and cooking!"


Anyone and Everyone from Everywhere is welcomed to attend. In fact, here's a schedule if there's a particular topic that interests you:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)


Remember, this is a FREE event open to the public!

Visit their official website by CLICKING HERE.

See you there!

The Real World Called, It Wants Its Job Back

After 6 months of being laid off from an 8 year job, I am ready to join to the workforce once again. Now is probably one of the worst times for this, but i shall work hard to find something (and I don't have a choice). I am grateful for the freelance work which has kept me afloat this whole time. The wife got notice of a 'furlough', so that immediately told me to jump on it. My cashed stock money is running low and I also plan on buying some dirt cheap stocks out there right now with most of it.

Anyways, the reason I am mentioning this is it might affect my blog a bit (not that anyone cares). But then again, to unwind on it isn't necessarily a bad thing. This job hunt shouldn't affect my blog much anyways. I hope I won't be one of those bloggers who blogs the first week or two then disappears into infinity... at least not yet.

I will begin my search with the famous internet companies, Monster, Hotjobs, Careerbuilder etc. Yeah, the 'send your resume into a black hole' ones. If that doesn't work then perhaps referrals through friends (the old fashioned way).

Have a great day everyone (all 2 of you) and I'll see you tomorrow!

Greetings From Pomona, CA

I was out snapping pictures in my garden again, but this time testing the wife's complicated camera. My simple little $150 Nikon is what I usually use, with the help pf photoshop as well. I've decided every once in a while to create free postcards for everyone! As Spring has now officially arrived, I will probably take more pictures in other nearby towns and create postcards from there. I am the sole author and designer, so feel free to post, link or take a copy if you'd like. If perhaps you've taken a great picture and would like to do the same for your town but lack the text graphic skills, by all means let me know and I'll help ya out! Heck, that would save me the time from driving around.

But for now, here's one more from Pomona:


(Click for bigger picture)

Claremont And Old Baldy

An old postcard picture of a very old town. I wonder where this view is from? Perhaps the North Pomona orange groves?:

(Click picture to enlarge)

Obama's Limo In Pomona

The cool peeps over at Pomona Neighborhood Watch got a few pictures of the President cruising around town today. You can see him here waving:


(Click picture to enlarge)

Story and more pictures, and even a video of the motorcade HERE.

Where Is Your Favorite Sitcom Located?

Dan Meth has put together a cool map of many of our past and present sitcom locations. So if you've ever wondered where any show has taken place, this is the map to see.

Click map for larger image:


Click this link for a more detailed map of:
The New York City area
Source: DanMeth.com

Who Deserves A Bonus?

An $80 Camera And A Latex Balloon

That is all it took for this group of teens from Spain to take stunning pictures of space from 20-miles above Earth.


"Created by the four students under the guidance of teacher Jordi Fanals Oriol, the budding scientists, all aged 18-19, followed the progress of their balloon using high tech sensors communicating with Google Earth.

Team leader Gerard Marull, 18, said: "We were overwhelmed at our results, especially the photographs, to send our handmade craft to the edge of space is incredible."

When the balloon hit 100,000 feet losing it's inflation, it returned back to earth with the camera still transmitting. Amazingly, they found it a few miles from it's launch location!

Read more at Telegraph.co.uk.

View picture sets at Flickr.com

A Floppy Disk Car

In this strange world of the internet, I found this picture of a floppy disk themed car. As a Commodore 64 user in the 80s and early 90s, I thought this was totally cool in a geeky way. The license plate also reads "DISKDRV".


credit: Photophonic

President Obama In Pomona On Thursday

President Obama will be visiting Southern California including Pomona this Wednesday and Thursday. He'll be arriving in Long Beach and going to Costa Mesa before touring the Edison International Vehicle Electric Plant in Pomona. The town hall meeting in Costa Mesa will be open to the public, but the Pomona visit will be closed to the public.

He will also be stopping by Burbank as a guest on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. This will be the first time a sitting U.S. president has been on the late night talk show.

Around The Garden

New leaves coming out on the sour orange tree:



A bloom on the Heliotrope (white form):



The salvia 'Dancing Flame' never stopped dancing much:



A new bloom on the 'Chiapas' salvia, a native of the Mexican rain forests:



The 'nasturtium' ready to go into a full growth spurt.

Review Of Last Night's ArtWalk

I'm still recovering from last night's ArtWalk in Pomona. We had a great time and once again it was a wonderful night!

Metro Pomona wrote a quick review of last night, calling it 'Vibrant', which it was:

"There's no other way to describe last night's Arts Walk....Vibrant! Downtown Pomona was bustling with activity. The sidewalks, galleries, restaurants, and clubs were overflowing with visitors. People of all ages came, saw, enjoyed, and were impressed. The art galleries continued to out-do themselves as they always do with exciting images and talent. Last night was the "soft" opening for Aladdin Jr., featuring a Mediterranean menu, belly dancers and hookahs, the place was packed and overflowing to the sidewalks."

Read more at Metro Pomona.

Don't Forget The Pomona Art Walk Tonight!

CLICK HERE FOR METRO POMONA'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO!

This message is for those of you who've never been to the art walk.

I had heard about it for a year or two, but thought it was an idea that never flourished, plus it was over 3 miles from my side of Pomona. Of course some of the stereotype floated in my head about the 'bad' Pomona thing, but told myself, it's an artsy thing and the city/police support it. I just can't see how it would be bad.

Then one day after some reading about it on the net, I decided to do it. Coincidentally it happened to be on Valentine's this year. Mentioned it to the wife and she was game. I'm the 'let's try somethng different' type, perhaps that's why she likes me? anyways, that's something else.

I printed the online map and off we went around 8:00pm. Figured, heck, it's free! Worst case we go check out some galleries and head out somewhere for the night. Headed down Holt (yikes) to Garey by the YMCA and made a left. We got to second and saw Joey's BBQ, so we turned right and parked in the back behind Joey's BBQ. I've only been to Joey's in Upland and Chino, so it's good to know there's another one.

We walked thru the little plaza area where a reggae band was playing and checked it out. Also checked out the small farmers market in the plaza. We saw police on segways, and the crowd looked relaxed and happy. I'll cut this short, we basically saw most of the galleries on 2nd st, Main st, 3rd and up Thomas. Through those galleries, some owners came out directly to me and my wife and offered wine, martinis or food. Some galleries like the Bunny Gunner were impossible to get into due to the large crowd in & outside of it! I was amazed at how cool the scene was. There was a concert at the Glass House as well. We had a quick drink at the Glass House bar (very cool little bar) and ended our night at Joey's. That's where I discovered 'Pomona Queen' beer. I ended up having about 4 or 5, yacking with the bartender and a couple from Riverside at the bar all night. We spent about 3+ hours at the artwalk that night, met a few new people and went home relaxed. We talked about how cool and kickback the experience was not knowing anyone, being armed with nothing but a little map.

My point is, I did it, so can you! It is very easy to get to it. Get to the 10 freeway in either direction, exit Garey Ave and go South until you go under a train bridge and wallah! You're at the ArtWalk (2nd St.) to the right.

There is also an 'Antique Row' to the left. i don't know much about it yet, but it might be my next adventure. Perhaps I'll try it out tonight!

Oh and another thing, do not miss the DA center for the Arts on Main! You can meet the Red Cup girls in the underground stairway, usually before 8pm. I met them the 2nd time I went and had a more intimate tour of the galleries, and tons we had previously missed!

So, for the map: CLICK HERE
TIME: Officially begins at 6pm, but I'm an 8pm til ??? person.
cost: FREE (unless you buy Art, Clothing, Food or Drinks)

Update: For even more detailed information, visit:

--=POMONA ARTS COLONY WEBSITE=--

Would You Swim In The Devil's Pool?

From the 'Strange Places' file... Would you do this?

Here's the story from Streakr.com:

"In Zimbabwe, Africa, you will find the magnificent Victoria Falls, at a height of 128m.

The location is known as the "Devil's Swimming Pool". During the months of September and December, people can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls without falling over.

These falls are becoming well known amongst the "radical tourist" industry, when more and more people search for the ultimate experience.

Would you dare?"

(Click the picture below to see more!)

The 'Made-Off' Dollar

CLICK TO ENLARGE
credit: Mark J.

It's Finally Friday Rant

My wife will return today from her 2 day work trip to Tennessee... Finally! I'm dead tired from getting up very early to take the kids to school. And it's not just the getting up part, it's the yelling at them to hurry, make sure they have their lunch money, etc. They also attend school about 18 miles away, like alot of my kids' friends around here. And yes, I have to go pick them up. In between I had to get groceries, shop and pay some bills around town too. Is Soccer Dad the word?

I'm also nearing a deadline on some graphic design work for a school's sports DVD. Been working on that for the last 2 days. Completed it a few hours ago. Phew!

The good thing is the Pomona ArtWalk is this Saturday. Yes, that means I get to drink my favorite local brew, POMONA QUEEN! Hopefully many of you guys can come check out the ArtWalk. I'll be writing up more about it late Friday/Early Saturday for those who haven't been there.

To other people on Blogger.com, is it just me or does Blogger.com sometimes do weird things? I notice on people's update of my site it doesnt have the latest post. It sticks to the previous one, which it never has. I did try that post-dating thing and perhaps that threw it out of wack. I've noticed other weird things, but oh well, can't complain, it's free.

The Credit Crisis Visual

If this whole housing/credit mess is confusing to you, this little animated movie will make it easier to understand. It is about 11 minutes long but I swear it goes by quick! Definitely worth a look.


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Thanks to HTGCP Blog for finding this little gem of information!

A Cloudy Pomona Postcard

I took this picture a few days ago during our cloudy no-rain days. The wife is on a plane as I type on business to Tennessee, so I found myself with a little extra time during the Laker Game. Enjoy this postcard from yours truly.

Click the picture to enlarge

Special Thanks To A Few Blogs Out There

I'll be quick on this but it's something I've been meaning to get off my chest.

I've been blogging for about a month now and I couldn't have done it without the help of a few blogs I've been reading as an anonymous reader for over a year.

A special thanks to Buzz and everyone from the Claremont Insider, who were nice enough to write up a very cool mention about me. I have nothing but good things to say about Claremont since that's where I've been eating, shopping and playing for the past 6 years. The Kinya Sushi, The Press Restaurant, Casa De Salsa, Pizza N Such, Rhino Records, Armstrong's Garden Center, Higginbotham Park, Blaisdell Park, okay I think you get it. The Claremont Insider is exactly that, the best information from the inside of Claremont on the web.

Another blog, of course, without a doubt, is the great Goddess of Pomona, which I consider the mother of all Pomona blogs. She was helpful with some advice for blogging, and she also mentioned me along with 3 other blogs recently. Our list of Pomona Bloggers is now over 20! Thanks to all the Pomona blogs who have also linked me and been of great assistance. Our goal is to do our best for our cities and neighbors.

A special mention to the Garden Wise Guy, from Santa Barbara, aka Billy. This is the guy who taught me all the proper things to do as a blogger, in a single comment. I followed his blog because I was amazed at the detail and precise info of the gardening world that I hadn't seen before.

A shout out to the the cities along or near the 210 north (Pasadena, South Pasadena, Duarte and Monrovia) to which I have numerous colleagues and acquaintances from. With a wink wink to Gem City Images for the link.

And the surrounding communites of Los Angeles, my hometown. Each of you is unique historically and in your own way.

Sorry if forgot to mention some of you, but basically, If you're on my links to the right, YOU ROCK!

Now if we could only get some of you readers from cities without blogs to BLOG!

Pomona Snapshot

A cool snapshot of the Arts Colony/Metro Station in Pomona.


Photo by Ren from Images of Pomona.

Small Quake Shakes Pomona & Chino Hills

The U.S. Geological Survey report claims we were hit by a magnitude 3.1 at 6:41am. I was out cold this morning til about 7:30am. Did anyone feel this? It's supposed to have been felt around the nearby counties as well.

Mapping L.A. Update

The L.A. Times has recently decided to try mapping the many communities that make up Los Angeles, as many of you may know. It's a pretty cool little interactive map if you haven't seen it. But for some reason, I still feel that they're still missing some neighborhoods. Two that I can think of are Rancho Park which is near the Cheviot Hills area and City Terrace which is above Boyle Heights / East L.A. area.

The Times does mention that:

"Many of these include well-known smaller neighborhoods--such as Larchmont or Little Tokyo--which are listed under larger communities, at least for now."

Maybe that's the case. The good thing is now when you see the news and they mention something about 'Lake View Terrace' or 'Winnetka' you'll know where it is.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE INTERACTIVE MAP


You can also read more about the latest work and comments here.

Can you think of any other areas not mentioned?

No Special Features For Renters - Fox

I still buy DVDs all the time. No I haven't upgraded to Blu-Ray yet. I simply bought 2 upconvert HDMI players for both my Hi-Def TVs and they work great. Even better than my old progressive players.

As a fan and collector of DVDs, I purchase them often. I'm just a little bit smarter on how I buy them. The rule is, if it's more than $20 I won't buy it, period. If it's a must have new movie, I wait til Blockbuster or Hollywood Video has them for sale. I'll pick up their 4 for $20, or buy 4 for $8 each etc. Sure, the box might be a little banged up at times, but generally the DVDs have always worked pretty good. They also have a great return policy if they skip or dont work. (Damn you old Hollywood Video in Claremont that disappeared from Indian Hill & American! I miss you!)

If it's a new release and the whole family simply must see it, I go to Best Buy on a Tuesday and pick it up for their usual $16 new release price. If you do the math, this is much cheaper than taking the whole gang to the movie theater instead. And I can have some wine while I watch in full surround sound!


Now, let me get to the news just released by 20th Century Fox studios. It will all begin with their upcoming releases of DVDs such as The Wrestler, Marley & Me, Bride Wars, Notorious, The Day The Earth Stood Still and Slumdog Millionaire. They will begin selling DVDs to rental companies like Blockbuster in editions that contain only the movie with some trailers, but no commentaries, deleted scenes or other special features. Lately there seems to be a trend among major studios to release recent box office hits in single-disc and double-disc editions. The double-disc edition will contain nearly all the extra stuff.

Is it because most of us don't care for the extras? Or is it to make us buy the fully loaded DVD at the retail stores?

Maybe because the rental companies are making so much money renting and selling the movies, that people like me rarely buy a new movie?

Yeah, I think that's it personally. But I frankly never watch the commentaries or extras... but some movie buffs love all that extra stuff.

And with regard to some rental stores simply going around this and buying from retailers:

“There’s no question that some rentailers will go and buy from Wal-Mart and rent out the copies, and you can’t stop that,” added Engen. “But it’s not going to be that big of an issue as people think. The main thing is that studios have to add value to get customers to buy, and they aren’t buying. Numbers have been falling through the floor.”

Read more about it at: VideoBusiness.com

Average Cell Phone Call = $3.02 Per Minute

I've had what I thought is a pretty good deal for many years, paying about $68 average for 2 cell phones a month with all charges totaled ($59.99 is the name of it). I even block texting since 98% of my texts were from night club promoters and events. Saved myself about $25 a month. I have the 500 minute limit as well, and have never exceeded it. Plus the wife has a business phone to use most of the time.

I still found this to be somewhat shocking, and thought about those people with cell phones glued to their ears. I know people who pay hundreds of dollars a month, yet can barely scratch by. I think we need to re-think alot of things financially these days (cell phones is a good place to start).


I read this over at Yahoo Tech:

"According to a study from San Diego's Utility Consumers' Action Network, the average cost of a wireless call is, in reality, a shocking $3.02 per minute.

Why so high? The average customer uses only 32 percent of his minute allotment, and some customers pay up to $100 a month (not including all those unadvertised fees and taxes, which push the costs even higher) for unlimited service, making for an even worse deal in the end. (Take out the worst outliers who pay a lot and use no minutes and the average is still around 75 cents a minute for cell service.)

The numbers are better, but still bad, for land-line long distance, where consumers pay an average of 55 cents per minute for long distance, when all fees are truly accounted for. It probably doesn't help that, according to the study, 90 percent of AT&T and Verizon phone bills are improperly taxed."

Around The Garden

My My... Everything is greening up!


The 'Angel Trumpets' never really went dormant this winter. They're re-blooming again.


The 'Tulip Magnolias' are just about done blooming.


'Bird of Paradise' heads are all coming out now.

Coffee Biofuel

Corn is the standard when we talk about making biofuel. Coffee works just as good and can also make your car smell like a coffeehouse. Apparently, any plant with an oily product will work too. According to experts, it takes about 5-7 kg of coffee grounds to get one liter of biofuel, which with a medium-sized production would yield a cost of about $1 per gallon.

Making fuel from the coffee grounds consists of the same procedure as other biodiesels, 'transesterification' which is sort of complicated to explain but really inexpensive. In the US we consume over 7 tons of coffee per year, which would make around 340 million gallons of biodiesel.

"Time, perhaps, to pour another cup before refilling the car."

Source: Economist.com

Montebello Stolen Cruiser Found, 2 Weapons Gone

Montebello police called. They found the car but would like their AR-15 assault rifle and 870 Remington shotgun back. Thank you.



Article from L.A. Times:

"Montebello police spent more than an hour today trying to find one of their cruisers after someone apparently took it for a joy ride and then stole two weapons inside before ditching the vehicle.

Lt. Brad Keller said the cruiser was stolen shortly after 3 a.m. when officers were dispatched to a party in the 600 block of Forbes Avenue. Keller said that he was unsure how the cruiser was stolen but that the incident was "going to be under investigation."

West Covina police found the vehicle at 4:10 a.m. on North Ballista Avenue in La Puente. Keller said two weapons inside the vehicle -- an AR-15 assault rifle and an 870 Remington shotgun -- were stolen."

Real Estate Logo Fighters

You be the judge. Seriously, this is ridiculous.

Re/Max claims that Rehava's logo is too similar to theirs. Rehava filed its trademark application last spring. Officials at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office checked their records to make sure the Rehava name wasn't too similar to existing trademark names, which they later determined it wasn't. Last fall the federal agency posted its findings, giving outsiders the opportunity to object before the trademark was finalized. That's when Re/Max filed its formal complaint.

Re/Max's logo:



Rehava's logo:



Too add even more humor, check out what Re/Max's legal counsel claimed:

"First of all, both names start with "r" and have logos with accent lines near the letter "e". And it goes beyond that, if you chop the top off of the 'h,' you (almost) have the 'm' in Re/Max. The next letter is an 'a,' and if you take the 'v' then you have half of an 'x.'"

Rehava's broker-in-charge, said he doesn't buy it. He said the trademark challenge is harassment and a form of corporate bullying that will cost his firm thousands of dollars.

The whole article is over at the Charleston P & C

Irish Fair Today And Tomorrow

The 2009 Los Angeles County Irish Fair at the O'Pomona Fairplex is here! Celebrating its 7th year, The Irish Fair & Music Festival has become the largest festival of its kind in Southern California. With 9 stages featuring true Irish music from the likes of Gaelic Storm, Skelpin', The Mulligans, Diane the Bard, and many more.

Back again this year, they are featuring the Cripple Creek Cloggers and the McCartan School of Dance. Also this year, Sheepherding Demonstrations, an Irish Dog Show, the largest Irish Import Street in the west, Leprechaun Village, Pipers and the Celtic Arts Center with fine Irish dinning.

Come join the best Fair ever!

Saturday, March 7th and Sunday, March 8th, 2009
10:00am to 6:00pm

Fairplex at the Pomona Fairgrounds
1101 West Mc Kinley Avenue, Pomona, CA 91766

Click here for the OFFICIAL WEBSITE

(Thanks to 'Pride' from M-M-M-My Pomona for the heads up)

We Shall Mourn Your Death

Yes, believe it or not, the Viewmaster of our childhood memories since 1939 is no more. What did it come down to? Two things. One is:

"That's not what the kids are looking for in the back seat of the car, they're looking for a DVD that plays on the back of Daddy's seat."

The other reason (money):

"Because of its limited shelf space in stores and it brings in less than $10 million a year, compared with overall revenue of $5.92 billion for Mattel in 2008. The company stopped making them in December."

$10 Million a year?! That would be a decent non-corporate owned small business. Too bad they can't give it back to the original owners. But for a price, anything's possible.

It is very sad to hear from collectors like Mary Ann Sell of Maineville, Ohio:

"The whole summer I was 5 years old, before I went to school, I traveled the world via View-Master - it was great, and now kids won't have the opportunity to do that,"

I remember looking through and imagining myself in the images as a kid.

Read the whole article at Int'l Herald Tribune (NY Times).

Jon Stewart Gives It To CNBC!

It's been almost 1/2 a year since I left the investment/financial world of stocks, and never really looked back. I never made millions, or even hundreds of thousands, but sold every stock I had in January 2008 and can now buy me a little more time between jobs. Sure, I get an urge to peek at the stock market once in a while, and this time decided to see a bit more. I ran across this video from Jon Stewart's Daily Show, and man, he sure gave it to CNBC like no other! It is a must see if you even have a remote pulse of understanding about the financial crisis we're in. Especially if you're upset about bailing out homeowners, like Rick Santelli in the video. In the lamest internet lingo, I LOL'ed!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

1958 Macarthur Park - Los Angeles

I remember as a little kid in the 70s going to a local barber across the street from the park with my father. A green oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle and smoggy cars. Of course, I'm sure it was nicer in the 1950s. MacArthur Park is named after the World War II army general Douglas MacArthur. A hit song by Richard Harris was written in 1968 titled "MacArthur Park", while staying at the Sheraton Townhouse Hotel across the street. Harris took a small walk through the park on a rainy day and watched old men playing games of chess and checkers by the lake. The famous Elizabeth Taylor wed actor Richard Burton at this same Sheraton hotel. You can get to MacArthur Park via the metro rail subway from a station across the street.

Here is an old picture of Macarthur Park in 1958
Click to Enlarge
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down...
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again

A Visual Primer...

on why the economy is so @$!#^% up.

(Click image to enlarge)

Pomona's Historic Baseball Tourney

Over at the Pasadena Star News, Jim McConnell has a great column regarding this historic baseball tournament of many years in Pomona. I knew nothing about it until I read this column. Here's an excerpt:

"It all began in the spring of 1933, when Pomona High baseball coach Stan Acres was able to sell members of the Pomona 20-30 Club on the idea. The event started with an eight-team field, but quickly grew. At its height, the tourney boasted a 48-team field, attracting most of the top high school baseball teams in Southern California.

By the time the Pomona Elks Lodge took over sponsorship, in 1962, the tourney was a staple of the Southland sports scene.

How big was it? Well, by 1935 it was big enough to attract Will Rogers as the keynote speaker at its pre-tourney banquet, and California Governor Frank Merriam to throw out the first ball."

Truly a great thing for the history of the Pomona Valley. Sad that it is now gone.

"Among current major leaguers, Jason Giambi (South Hills) and Mark Kotsay (Santa Fe) are proud "graduates" of the Pomona Tournament. Unfortunately, they are the last of the breed. "

Read the whole column by Clicking Here.

Where The Heck Is Northeast Pomona?

The answer is here for those who aren't sure. While I blog about many things and locations, and having family 'homes' in Los Angeles, Montebello and Baldwin Park, this is the true headquarters. This area for some reason is never talked about. While it has its issues, it is not as bad as the south. At parties and social gatherings, I mention Pomona and people talk about downtown, Cal Poly or the 60 freeway. That is why I call this area the neglected area. Here is a map and feel free to link it for anything you might need, in fact go ahead and take a copy.

Click to enlarge

The Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon

I am not really a TV person, but I decided to stay up Monday night to watch the new Late Night show to see what's in store. I don't know how long Conan O'Brian had the Late Night show, but I was in my teens when I started watching. So naturally I resisted change, like most of us do initially to many things we hold dear. But, I am all for moving ahead with new things and change as well. So I gave it a chance.

I think Jimmy did well, despite sweating like crazy while he chatted with Robert Deniro. You could tell he was nervous but he managed. He did have a strange 'lick for $10' contest, that I found just weird and pointless. 3 audience members lick 3 random items and get $10. Okay?

Justin Timberlake made it fun to watch with his singing imitations of John Mayer and Michael McDonald. He also has The Roots for his late night band, which I am a fan of. The show is similar to the old one with its strange antics and weirdness. The comparison between Conan and Jimmy is similar, and with time I'm sure Jimmy (his writing staff) will come up with unique funny things like Conan did, such as the YEAR 2000 skit, the string/scissor dance, etc.

It certainly isn't a bomb like the Magic Hour was (I Love Magic Johnson, but not for talk show host), has anyone seen his San Manuel Casino commercials lately? (Geez they're embarrassingly horrible). This time slot is notorious for being more loose and silly than the early slots of Jay Leno & David Letterman. I think we'll see by the end of this week. Tina Fey is to re-unite with him for tonight's show (Tuesday). The duo was known for their funny news hour as anchors for Saturday Night Live.

I apologize for any misspelling or plain bad writing. I don't claim to be a writer, plus I am up much later than I should be tonight. Did anyone watch this show or DVR it?