So I was taking a bike ride along Aliso Creek trail when I stumbled across Soka University. Well, not really. I knew it was there, but never actually visited. Anyways, I decided to have a self-guided tour and realized that: Soka University is the nicest university that no one will ever attend.

I mean, their campus is really beautiful. But at $20,000 a year for tuition, who will want to attend a liberal art

Well, it’s official: Big Lots is coming to Anaheim Hills. According to the OC Register, the lease has been signed and they might move in as early as this summer.

Yipee.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I’m not a fan of this at all. “Close-out prices” and clearance items are neither needed nor wanted in Anaheim Hills. I’ve been in a Big Lots (near my work) and they are junky, messily filled with unappealing merchandise and disinterested employees. I also find it ‘heartening’ how the owner of the property ignored the community demographics and desires to put in a store that in my opinion, no local will shop at. Thanks, man-whose-name-I-don’t-know. Appreciate it.

On a funny note: The spokewoman from Big Lots says she hoped that “the firm’s close-out moments would win residents over” and she thinks “they will be calling each other to say what bargains they have found.” Right.

Writers may want to look into the National Writers Workshop hosted by CSU Fullerton. Though promoted to have “something for everybody,” it is heavily geared toward journalists. A quick glance at the speakers and all of them are journalists, former journalists, or giving presentations targeting journalists. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but if you’re an aspiring writer of children’s books, science fiction or historical biographies, I’d recommend looking beyond their “something for everybody” marketing claim. Sure, it might be worth checking out — I’m just not sure if it’s worth checking out to the tune of $50 for all of the “other writers” out there.
Details: Saturday, April 30. $50 / $25 for members of AAJA, IRE and the Orange County Press Club, students and journalism professors.

Offering anything for free in a county which suffers from NIMBYism (i.e. the death of Centerline and the proposed El Toro Airport) just clashes with the style of the county supervisors. Of course if something is offered for free from the city level of government there is probably a good reason for it.

In Fullerton, home of a major junior college and Cal State Fullerton, the purpose of the free WiFi is to get the students away from the campus and into the local businesses of the downtown area. If you look at a map of Fullerton, Fullerton Junior College, Cal State Fullerton, and the Downtown area serve as three different islands across a semi-vast area of land.
(more…)

So, I was driving home along the 55 freeway today… I’ve noticed that when you do that you have plenty of time to read. Every couple of minutes or so, you move your car up an inch. I keep hoping it’s the drive-through for Dairy Queen… but it’s not.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t read in my car – I don’t read anything inside my car, that is – I read the bumper stickers of the cars around me. I grimace at the “W-04” bumper stickers and hope they’re very happy, thank you. I like to find the funny ones so I can laugh, but when was the last time you saw one of those?

Then, I saw this old Dodge plastered with bumper stickers against illegal aliens getting drivers licenses. Now, I don’t know about you but I couldn’t care less about it. They’re here – let’s get some of their money as they steal our jobs… busing tables and washing cars. (They used to pick strawberries but I think we lost our last strawberry patch last summer.)

Now, I don’t know anyone who’s been hit by an illegal. I do know a few people who were hit by people without insurance, though, and wonder when that stopped being an issue. I’ve been hit a few times by very nice white people who made the “stupid face” as they walked out of their cars… one time, it was me.

Several minutes passed as I crept past this guy. And then, I noticed that his entire front end was mangled beyond recognition. As far as I can guess, this guy