Well, it’s been a while since I had anything constructive to say, school work and a record streak of posting in August and September nearly killed me (and you I suspect). Well your reprieve is over and I’m back baby! Buckle your seat-belts because it’s going to be a bumpy ride flight.

Paid be to Allah because Continental Airlines will start non-stop service from Orange County to Honolulu beginning March 7! Hooray! Here’s one less reason to go to LAX. After Aloha Air went belly-up a while back i figured I was going to have to trudge up north to catch a flight to paradise but now Continental is here to save the day.

Will you be traveling on Continental’s new schedule? It’s almost enough to make me switch my frequent flyer program.

See what happens when I leave town for a week? Tawny Kitaen was arrested in Newport Beach on Saturday for suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Kitaen was arrested at about 3 PM (it’s 5 o’clock somewhere) and should be booking her next stay in Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew any moment now.

If you’re anything like me, then even the mention of the Ford Taurus leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I understand what the Taurus did for Ford and how many people absolutely loved it, but for me, I wasn’t sad to see it leave the fleet several years ago. Now however, it’s back. And I have to admit, it’s better than I could have ever imagined.

Can it really make up for it's past??

Did you know that every Tuesday the Fuddrucker’s in Lake Forest (the one on El Toro) has a car show?

I didn’t.  I just happened to be driving by when I saw these gorgeous specimens in the parking lot.

Oh how I love Classic Cars.  They make me daydream, they make me fantasize, they make me coo softly to them. 

I whisper sweet nothings into their grills. 

See more of what made me melt after the jump…

(more…)

Last Saturday, I was to meet my wife in Burbank in the afternoon, so we could go out in L.A. The problem was she already had a car, so if I drove, we’d have to take 2 cars home. I could have driven her up there at 7am, but who wants to do that? Luckily, Metrolink had a few trains running, several of which would get me up to L.A. right at about 4 o’ clock, which is when she would be done! I saw this as a nice opportunity to document what worked and what didn’t for those of you who may be a little weary of the trains. I made a video for your viewing pleasure. Here are a few things to note about the trains and the video before you watch:
-I’m sorry the walking bits are so shaky. It’s not easy to hold the camera steady when you’re rushing to catch the trains.
-Once you figure out how to read the train schedule, it’s fairly simple to figure out connections and the like, but there is definitely a bigger learning curve to Metrolink than say, New York MTA.
-The trains are NOT marked! The first time I attempted Metrolink travel I ended up on my way to the I.E. instead of Los Angeles! If there are trains departing just minutes from each other, ask the other riders around you to make sure the one at the station is the right one.
-Union Station need to label the trains better. According to the schedule online, my train to Burbank ended in Burbank, yet it was labeled the Lancaster train! I just made my train by literally less than a minute. I’m sure trains have been missed because of the same problem.
-Remember, if you plan to leave for home after around 7pm, don’t plan on the train. They don’t run at night.

And now, the video:

Their cars, that is.

This article discusses the horrific lack of parking that has always plauged CSUF, even back in the age of the dinosaurs when I attended.   CSUF has always been, and most likely always will be, primarily a commuter school.

It was always advisable to get there at least a half hour before class started, but now it seems that a two hour window is required, which seems just completely outrageous to me.

Is there a solution, other than the aggressive ticketing policies they are enforcing to get more revenue to fund more parking garages?

Should they limit student enrollment?  Should they only accept people from within a certain geographical area? Actually, I don’t know if they can legally do that, but it seems kind of wrong that someone from Rancho Cucamonga (a person quoted in the article) is traveling all the way to CSUF.

What they probably need is another Cal State campus, but in these financial times, it ain’t gonna happen.

As traffic and attendance at the Disneyland Resort grows, parking continues to shrink. With the recently closed “2,226-space Timon parking lot, new parking spaces are needed during the $1-billion expansion of Disney’s California Adventure.” People have to park somewhere and that ‘somewhere is at the Buzz Lightyear lot located at 1946 S. Harbor Blvd on the other side of the current Cast Member lot past Katella Ave.

The Anaheim Planning Commission approved a plan to expand the current 12 acre lot to a much larger (temporary) 35 acre lot. The additional 2,500 spaces being created will hopefully alleviate the parking snarls around the Resort until the rumored parking garage is constructed just north of the GardenWalk some time in the next decade.

If you are traveling to the Resort, pay special attention to the Anaheim Police and Cast Members on hand to direct you – and follow their instructions about where to park. At this point the only location you want to avoid is the lot behind the Paradise Pier Hotel as that location still does not offer tram or bus service to the Main Entrance.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: one of 500 field-trial Mini E 100% electric vehicles! This one was spotted charging in a parking garage in Anaheim. I have no idea who drives it but their attractiveness factor just multiplied by twenty. So sexy!

 Loading …

Huzah!

And so it begins! For many years, the residents of Orange have been trying to find ways to get the trains the shut the hell up so we can sleep through the night. A couple years ago, it was decided that the city would install arms at all the railroad crossings that dropped down on both sides of the road on both sides of the tracks. This make it so the trains don’t have to blow their horns as much (or at all?? PLEASE???). Well it’s FINALLY starting! According to this flyer I got in the mail, it will all kick off Thursday August 27 at 4pm! Of course it’s a school night for me! But hopefully you all can go and tell us about it.

Although with the prospect of winning an iPod, Flip camera, train tix or gift cards, I may just show up a little late to class…….

Well, sir, there’s nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car monorail! What’d I say? Monorail!!

OK, folks do we want buses or do we want a monorail? Well the city is gunning for an “elevated system“ to take us to their new transit hub, so our choices are “light-rail buses that would run under a guidewire, automated people-mover cars or a monorail similar to the one at Disneyland”.

I swear it’s Springfield’s only choice! Throw up your hands and raise your voice! Monorail!

Actually, truth be told, I support a people mover system. They are inexpensive to build, easy to maintain, efficient, safe and never break down. Still I’ll take a monorail too – anything to alleviate the nightmarish traffic that currently clogs the arteries of the resort district.