This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on February 3, 2006 11:08 AM.
The previous post in this blog was The dirty money people.
The next post in this blog is Today's tram lie.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
As is my habit this time of year, I'm blogging from an undisclosed location, where I am away on business. See if you can identify the city. Here are your hints:
1. It's sunny and fairly warm.
2. There are 1,050 tax lawyers in this hotel right now.
3. A red light-rail train goes by every so often -- completely empty most of the day.
4. The downtown is full of cold luxury condo towers.
5. The condition of the local roads was recently graded a D-plus.
6. Our cab driver on the way in told us the municipal government was bankrupt.
SAN DIEGO!!!!!!!!!! Nice ball park, don't you think? If you're staying at the OMNI during baseball season, you can even walk across a private skyway into the park.
A city over twice the size of Portland, but it's City Council-members get paid less than Randy, Erik, Dan, and Sam.
Don't bother taking the red light rail to the border, unless you're prepared to take a taxi on into TJ. All they have at the border now are drug stores and liposuction parlors.
SanDiego, yep yep. Get out on the Bay with a few hundred of your fellow digitheads, and enjoy a Margarita. I bet you knew already that it would be tax deductable.
San Diego, land of my youth. I was born there and lived there for 18 years, 22 if you count semi-annual migrations home during college. Not a days goes by I don't thank my lucky stars that I'm here in PDX, not there. The city, for all the sun, is cold. Perhaps 3 or 4 "walkable" neighborhoods in the city--everywhere else is a get-in-the-car-and-drive kind of place. And I say this having lived in one of the top 3 neighborhoods in the center city. It looks great on a postcard, but living there? Ugh, no thanks.
No way, Princess, I win. I got there first. One of the few cities in America where City Hall is more phuct than Portland, but at least they don't get paid as much as Mssrs Sten & Co.
Yeah, Pt. Loma seafood is good. Hotel Del Coronado is good. Mr. A's up on Fifth. Surf is best at Encinitas, but there's some good spots in PB and LJ. EB breaks well, but you're close to the raw sewage outflow from TJ. Foggy's Notion near the Arena. Dick's in the Gas Lamp. The Penant at Mission Beach.... Ocean Beach if you're willing to take a walk on the wild side. Old Town for the best taco salads. Best fish tacos are in MB... How do I know all this? I haven't even got started on La Mesa, Alpine, El Cajon, etc.
Too Bad Weishapt, you're disqualified. Several of the places you mention in S.D. are either gone or misrepresented. Foggy's Notion? Long gone. Mr. A's sold out to another owner.
EB? It's IB as in Imperial Beach. Encinitas and north county are now part of one overcrowded suburb.
And, the City Council gets paid way too much for causing the current financial crisis. Reminds me of the tram project.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (22)
LaLa Land in SoCal
Posted by jfree | February 3, 2006 11:16 AM
Miami
Posted by Honest John | February 3, 2006 11:16 AM
Dallas, TX?
Posted by no one in particular | February 3, 2006 11:19 AM
Would also guess Los Angeles
Posted by lex | February 3, 2006 11:21 AM
SAN DIEGO!!!!!!!!!! Nice ball park, don't you think? If you're staying at the OMNI during baseball season, you can even walk across a private skyway into the park.
A city over twice the size of Portland, but it's City Council-members get paid less than Randy, Erik, Dan, and Sam.
Do I get a prize?
Posted by Weishapt | February 3, 2006 11:26 AM
sounds like Portland minus the sun and fairly warm part.
Posted by bobby | February 3, 2006 11:29 AM
"There are 1,050 tax lawyers in this hotel right now."
Tax lawyers ... real party animals, no doubt.
Posted by Cousin Jim | February 3, 2006 11:42 AM
San Diego (thanks Google): if you can make it to Point Loma Seafood Company, try the "Fish Market" crab sandwich. Cheap at twice the price.
Posted by Alice | February 3, 2006 12:12 PM
Don't bother taking the red light rail to the border, unless you're prepared to take a taxi on into TJ. All they have at the border now are drug stores and liposuction parlors.
Posted by Barnie Jones | February 3, 2006 12:23 PM
If there's time, stop by El Indio on India Street [freshly made corn and flour tortillas]. And yes, by all means, visit the Pt. Loma Seafood Company.
Posted by JC | February 3, 2006 12:50 PM
San Diego.
Tell your tax team good luck.
Posted by Jud | February 3, 2006 12:51 PM
SanDiego, yep yep. Get out on the Bay with a few hundred of your fellow digitheads, and enjoy a Margarita. I bet you knew already that it would be tax deductable.
Posted by Harry | February 3, 2006 12:55 PM
San Diego, land of my youth. I was born there and lived there for 18 years, 22 if you count semi-annual migrations home during college. Not a days goes by I don't thank my lucky stars that I'm here in PDX, not there. The city, for all the sun, is cold. Perhaps 3 or 4 "walkable" neighborhoods in the city--everywhere else is a get-in-the-car-and-drive kind of place. And I say this having lived in one of the top 3 neighborhoods in the center city. It looks great on a postcard, but living there? Ugh, no thanks.
Posted by Dave J. | February 3, 2006 1:07 PM
An interesting scene we took in from close-up range during a break: an aircraft carrier heading out to sea. On its way to the war, no doubt.
Posted by Jack Bog | February 3, 2006 3:26 PM
I win: San Diego.
Posted by Princess of Portland | February 3, 2006 4:30 PM
No way, Princess, I win. I got there first. One of the few cities in America where City Hall is more phuct than Portland, but at least they don't get paid as much as Mssrs Sten & Co.
Yeah, Pt. Loma seafood is good. Hotel Del Coronado is good. Mr. A's up on Fifth. Surf is best at Encinitas, but there's some good spots in PB and LJ. EB breaks well, but you're close to the raw sewage outflow from TJ. Foggy's Notion near the Arena. Dick's in the Gas Lamp. The Penant at Mission Beach.... Ocean Beach if you're willing to take a walk on the wild side. Old Town for the best taco salads. Best fish tacos are in MB... How do I know all this? I haven't even got started on La Mesa, Alpine, El Cajon, etc.
You lose, Princess. Surrender unto me.
Posted by Weishapt | February 3, 2006 4:51 PM
Jack --
Good to see you this afternoon. Hope your team did well. I'm ignoring all the nasty comments about tax lawyers from these yahoos in PDX! :-)
Posted by Greg | February 3, 2006 6:18 PM
I lived in SD for about a year and guessed wrong. Shame on me.
Posted by Couch Blogger. | February 4, 2006 3:58 AM
I lived in SD for about a year and guessed wrong. Shame on me.
Posted by Couch Blogger. | February 4, 2006 3:58 AM
Tax Lawyers. Conference. San Diego. I've seen this movie, it's called Old School.
Jack, if you take an early flight home, only to find your wife engaged in some twisted orgy, let me know. It'll be time to start up a fraternity.
"It tastes so good when it touches your lips."
Posted by Justin | February 4, 2006 1:22 PM
Hackensack?
Posted by Jim Golden | February 5, 2006 9:13 PM
Too Bad Weishapt, you're disqualified. Several of the places you mention in S.D. are either gone or misrepresented. Foggy's Notion? Long gone. Mr. A's sold out to another owner.
EB? It's IB as in Imperial Beach. Encinitas and north county are now part of one overcrowded suburb.
And, the City Council gets paid way too much for causing the current financial crisis. Reminds me of the tram project.
Posted by Dave W | February 5, 2006 11:04 PM