A Bad Setup Made Worse

December 31, 2004 by Eric Richardson

One of the biggest headaches any time you're going to be going to the Rose Bowl is just getting there and finding somewhere to park. The area surrounding the stadium itself has nowhere near the necessary spaces, so people resort to things like parking in nearby neighborhoods and walking in or taking the Parsons shuttle. And then this little storm came along and dropped a heck of a lot of rain on LA, and in particular on the Rose Bowl's adjoining golf course. On normal game days that course holds 14,000 cars. For the Rose Bowl it'll hold a number that's pretty close to zero... — Continue Reading...

Three New Essays in Verbal

December 30, 2004 by Eric Richardson

One last bit for the night, then I'm off to bed: I've just posted three new essays up in verbal intercourse. I think I have a few more sitting on my computer in LA, but it's off right now so I can't get to those. What's new:

All three are from film classes, as you can probably see.

Downtown: Urban Life vs. the Automobile

December 30, 2004 by Eric Richardson

My normal routine each day is to read the California, Business, and Sports sections of the LA Times. Leaving some sections out means I sometimes miss stories like the one that ran Monday titled "Give Up the Suburb? Yes. Give Up the Car? No Way".

People are moving downtown, all right. But this is L.A. So they're bringing their cars with them.

And now local officials, who just a few years ago stopped requiring developers to build parking spaces in most loft buildings, are scrambling to accommodate automobiles — and their owners — downtown.

The article's interesting, though not necessarily all that informative for those who are already downtown and deal with these sorts of problems everyday... — Continue Reading...

One Big Backyard

December 30, 2004 by Eric Richardson

Today's (well, yesterday's... I'm slow) absolute understatement of the day comes to us by way of a Daily News piece talking about how the Sepulveda Basin dam handled this week's rain. The article helpfully tells us that:

The Valley's largest recreational park doubles as its flood-control system - one that can hold thousands of gallons of water, then slowly release the flow into the Los Angeles River after the storm has passed.

So, here's the thing: I'm sure the basin really holds somewhere up around a million gallons. "Thousands of gallons" is tiny. This pool site tells me that a 4' deep pool with a 24' diameter holds a touch under 12,000 gallons. I'd really like to think that the Sepulveda Basin holds more than a small swimming pool or two.

The Hand Deceives

December 30, 2004 by Eric Richardson

I drove over to Grand Rapids, MI, this evening to meet up with Shmuel and Brian Tol. It was a good time, hanging out talking about computer stuff at one of GR's numerous coffee shops with free wifi (It's a Grind/Urban Mill). Afterward, driving across town to go to World Market, I noticed something: Grand Rapids has some horrid lights. — Continue Reading...