Winter Parasail Video

Winter is officially here and what a way to kick it off if you haven't hit the snow yet than by watching this awesome helmetcam of a parasail-ski glide over Mt. Superior in Utah. I caught myself twisting my head constantly and really feeling like I was floating. I kept saying, this is the part where I hit.

Enjoy...

Superior, Speed Fly from Marshall Miller on Vimeo.

A Sign Of Rescue In Pomona

I call it my sort of, 'Christmas Gift to the City of Pomona'.

It was a rainy Monday this week while I ran around town running errands with my daughter. I stopped in Downtown Claremont for my usual banking/post office routine. Then drove off to Downtown Pomona for some city business, finished by a drive to Montclair for more personal business. As we drove back to Pomona down Holt Ave, we turned right onto Indian Hill. As we approached Lincoln Ave, I noticed the usual street name was missing. All I saw was this:


As I drove past it, I noticed the sign on the sidewalk just laying there. I quickly drove around the block and stopped by the sign. My daughter looked at me with a 'you're gonna take it?' look. I got off, opened the back door and loaded the wobbly sign in. I could not believe the size of this thing. Up there it looks so much smaller, it was about 6 feet long! I picked up whatever debris was left and loaded it in.

My daughter had a sort of shocked/amazed look. I told her, I'm going to return this back so they can fix it. If I were to leave it there, some vandals would probably take it and destroy or tag all over it. She looked relieved once I said that.

I thought, what a good daddy I am, on top of that, what a good citizen.

We get home and one of my sons was there and said, 'holy crap, where did you get that, its cool'. Gave him the story and he went back to his business. I took the sign to the back room and laid it on the ground:


Now, being from Southern California, I thought this would look cool in my garage (at least for a second). I also was aware that this was a crime and knew better. Now if I was moving and wanted some 'memorabilia' well, uh... j/k

I picked up the phone and tried to call Daryl Grigsby of Pomona Public Works. I've met Daryl a few times at various events in Pomona in the past, a very nice guy. He wasn't in on Monday, so I spoke to someone there who was amazed and grateful I did this. I told her I know how expensive these signs are. She then told me I can return it back to the city engineering department or yard at my earliest convenience. I took it over to city hall directly the next day. People were looking at me and my daughter like we were crazy walking through the civic center in the rain with this sign.

All in all, a little sort of 'Christmas Tale' for the City of Pomona from myself.

A Cool Bookmas Tree

This time of year there are many types of trees around the world. I have to say this tree is definitely one of my favorites. Especially if you're a book lover or perhaps Ms. Lois, you'd go crazy to see this in person.

Made by "Thatcher" of Juniper Books, a custom book making company.


"Our estimate is that there are close to 800 books that make up the Christmas Tree! You can’t really see it from the photos, but we lit the tree from the inside, so it was glowing nicely through the spaces in the books."

You can visit their website here for more information and details on this bookworm creation.

Read A Book (Warning)

There's a positive message here... but I'd give this a 'not for kids' tag. Funny as heck and catchy song. If profanity and foul language offend you, do not view. It was also aired on the BET Network. If you like Hip Hop, you'll trip on this.

Now READ A BOOK! READ A BOOK! READ A MOTHA F***IN' BOOK!

On Tap @ Joey's BBQ Pomona

I've been frequenting on occasion lately the tasty Joey's BBQ Pomona. The bar area is where you'd find me anyways. I just wanted to let everyone know that they've upgraded heavily their brewskis, not to mention an awesome makeover with beautiful original concrete floors, and I am very proud of them. There are going to be some very exciting 'plans' for 2011 at Joey's, so keep an eye 'round here for the latest info.

I was there for a recent 'beer tasting' and of course, here are some horrible shots of the tap I took (I used an old ass little camera which barely works):

Yes, you see it correctly, two STONE's on tap!!
Oh yeah! RACER 5 IPA Baby!!!
(Plus the mandatory POMONA QUEEN or else I won't go)

Here's the beer menu (since my tap pics are so blurry):

Tax Cuts

Congress passes extension of Bush-era tax cuts

Mirror Pond Pale Ale

I had a little extra money the other day and said to myself, "it's time for some decent brew drinking at home once again". The economy has taken a toll on the common purchase of great microbrews, and therefore found myself mostly buying lame domestic swill to fill the fridge. You can only make so many 'micheladas' until you're completely sick of them.

I decided to roll the dice on where to purchase, something nearby North Pomona, since my daughter has cheer practice up there for the Claremont Wolfpack. I stopped at the Albertsons on Foothill and Garey. I crossed my fingers and hoped there would be something decent in six packs. I must say, this Albertsons still has it! They had several varieties of Stone and also Dogfish Head, and many more! This time I wanted to try the Mirror Pond Pale Ale made by Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon.

Pale Ale as I have mentioned in the past, is my favorite style of beer. I couldn't resist the purchase. I also picked up a six pack of Sam Adams Latitude 48 degree IPA, I love to chase a Pale Ale with an IPA and once again return to the Pale Ale.

Here I am, watching the rise of the 3rd Reich on History Channel. I pour into a tall cold glass the brew of Mirror Pond. It starts off a little stronger than I had anticipated (the beer). It is much hoppier and seems a little more on the bitter side. It also has a slight malty taste to it. Hmmm, with so much hop I expected it to stay, but it goes a little flat towards the end. Nevertheless, a pretty tasty, slightly floral smelling pale ale. Decent and I would recommend this to anyone. I give it a 3.85 out of 5, not quite a 4 because of the extra hoppiness which is generally good, but the bitterness takes a bit of that out.

How About A Bamboo Keyboard/Mouse?

This looks kinda cool, but if I were a daily heavy computer user, I don't think this is what I would want. One of it's specialties is the ability to absorb sweat. Yuck...

"a unique product that evokes in the users a deep feeling of peace, calm and tranquility."

Chinavasion All Natural Full Bamboo Keyboard And Mouse Combo

Stages Of Decay

Abandoned stages large and small.

Grand old movie palaces, ballrooms, school auditoriums, theaters in hotels, mental hospitals, churches and jails. No matter how glamorous or shabby, they have one thing in common. Before being darkened forever, they were the sites of entertainment, pleasure and contemplation - sometimes for audiences who had no other means of escaping from their world.

These stages were visited over the course of several years and are now assembled here for a small showing, hand in hand.

Click here for a slide show: Stages of Decay by Julia Solis

Financial Terms Cleared Up

CEO -- Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO -- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.

Back From Parade, ARTWALK Tonight!

Boy, was it warm or what? It hit 80 degrees today in what was a gorgeous day (minus the forehead tan). It was fun parading with fellow bloggers, I had a great time. Also great to see many other friends from everywhere waving at us. Now I'm off to a Christmas dinner in Simi Valley at 2pm, and then heading back tonight for the Pomona Artwalk for a great time. See you guys later and keep on blogging!

Tomorrow's Christmas Parade!

Don't forget to get out to Downtown Pomona for tomorrow's 'Christmas With A Kick' parade... This year will feature for the first time the members of the newly formed BLOG FOR A BETTER POMONA crew of bloggers parading through the streets! Anyone can join us if you have a blog, the only requirement is that you are within the city limits of Pomona. You don't have to blog about Pomona, just be based here. The parade begins at 10am. Here's a list of the blog participants as well as the parade route:
(click to enlarge)


If you need more information, click the Christmas banner located on the top right of the page!

Bye Bye Blogs

Every so often, some blogs will tend to 'die'. Stuff happens in life and therefore, the blogging seems to never continue. It is with deep regret that I must remove the following blogs from my links (sounds like an obituary I know):

Raw Pomona: I've removed them a while back, but it's still been 10 months since the last post.

Student in Pomona: Going on 9 months without a post, perhaps there is a child to be born now? I hear Anduhrew is poised to make a come back, and if so, will re-link.

Recentering El Pueblo: One of my favorite urbanist/real estate blogs in Los Angeles. 7 months of no activity but I still find myself going back to the archives.

Oh Pomona!: At one time, seemed to have died in December of 2009, but in May of 2010, made a rare comeback. And that's where it stood, 1/2 a year later no posting either.

Those Darn Pants

Nothing To See Here, Move Along

"One minute, the Air Force laughs off speculation regarding the X-37 as “innovation.” The next, it mentions a secret payload and gives reporters the whole “move along, move along” routine. If the X-37 really is an innocent space lab, why does the Air Force’s communications strategy seem designed to imply otherwise?"

Source: Wired.com

At A Bookstore Near You

Appropriately placed.

A Tucson Kinda Weekend

What a horrible blogger I am, there's no question. I'm always going to many amazing places and I either forget or just get too comfy and lazy to take pictures for 'many' of you to see. This past weekend we spent part of the week and weekend in Tucson for the holiday. I had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with Tucson family in a beautiful sagauro cactus-filled desert landscape wonder. I also attended a great wedding in old town Tucson. The church was gorgeous and the little town was great.

But before arriving in old Tucson, we temporarily stopped in Oro Valley to meet more family. We then left down the road to Tucson. As we approached, we could not help but laugh and make fun of the billboard sign we saw on the street corner (and one of the kids took the picture):


Yup, this was the saying of the whole weekend whenever we drove around town. RED MEANS STOP! GREEN MEANS GO!

I made plans to attend a local brewery named Barrio Brewery (they make 12 different beers), but unfortunately, my tight schedule did not allow this. I did manage to snap a picture of the old famous 'Z' Mansion. We attended a wedding at this location as well. It reminds me of the old Phillips Mansion of Pomona (but completely renovated to the max. Here's a shot from the street):


While I won't sit here and tell you all my adventures (Probably because I didn't take pictures and there's too many) I will tell you this. The little downtown area of Tucson we lingered around most of the time, reminds me SO much of Downtown Pomona and Downtown Claremont. I wanted to take pictures of the many Craftsman homes and homes with river rock foundations every time. The bad news, I didn't take pictures of the places I wanted to at all. The good news, as we left Tucson for good, I managed to take very ugly but quick pictures as the wife drove away. These are not the greatest images, nor the correct places I speak of. But strangely enough, I think you get my drift when I mention the similarity (And yes, too much 'fun' the previous few nights led to me being unable to drive this afternoon).

I realized that this is part of a historic district called 'El Presidio':


And here are the few, ugly, rare drive by snaps:






And as a bonus, we managed to have one last meal with some family before we left at El CHARRO restaurant, across the lot from the Z Mansion. Food was pretty decent, a little pricier than I expected. A total of 8 adults and 6 kids, no dessert... $361 including gratuity:


And in the middle of the outside eating area, there stood this cool Mexican Charro hat fountain:

Silver Lake In Pomona

Instead of getting inland kids to make the miserable drive out to LA for a show, local bands from Silver Lake decided to bring the Silver Lake scene to the Glass House in Pomona for a night of great music.


Bands performing include White Arrows, Superhumanoids, Gliss, Modern Time Machines, Twilight Sleep, Vanaprasta, Future Ghost, Light FM, Holloys, The Franks, Hands and Stone Darling. Tickets are currently available for the December 10th show.

The show takes place on Friday, December 10th. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here.