Kids and cars

Well, my 21 month old nephew loves cars... but he hasn't learned how to be 'delicate' with them yet.

The Ferrari F40 was a gift from a cousin in France 16 years ago. The Lambo Diablo I got on the same trip in a small town in Italy. Oh well.

Cops have nothing better to do?! Part II

So I took my car to the airport Tuesday morning and my roommate was going to drive it back home. I pull up to the passenger drop-off and as I get out of the car, a motorcycle cop pulls up behind me with the lights flashing. This is 6:15am by the way and the airport is pretty packed.

"Do you know that you do not have a front plate?". "Yes Officer, I bought the car used and it did not come with the front bracket" I replied. Driver's License, yada yada yada. While he's writing down my info, I start pulling out my lugguge from the trunk and put my backpack on.

I go back to talk to the cop and he asked how long I had the car, (2 years, sir), if I had the front plate (yes sir, got it when I registered the car), what year the car was (2005), if I had a flight to catch, which I did. So... he let me off with a warning with the statements that I should be able to get a bracket from the dealer as the car wasn't that old, and mounting it now would save me 3 hours of sitting in the courtroom for when I did get the ticket. If I had been the one not flying, he would've given me a ticket for sure!

Apparently, the cops were pulling over everyone as my roommate said three other cars were pulled over on his way out. It's the Thanksgiving holidays, 6 in the morning, and they're pulling people over for not having a front license plate?! Hmm.. how about a bunch of terrorists just killed over 100 people in Mumbai? Maybe they should pay more attention to preventing similar issues that could occur at LAX.

Uh... I think something is on fire

My roomie got this pic while he was on a hike over LA a couple weeks ago.

Cops/meter maids have nothing better to do?!

So.... I got my second fix-it ticket today. The first was for my car. I was downtown LA parked at a meter spot, 10-11pm. Meters shut off at 6pm so no biggy. When I get back out to my car, I have a ticket! What the heck?! It was a ticket for not have a front license plate! Seriously, do they have nothing better to do at 11pm (I guess there's nothing going on in South Central or Compton) then give me a ticket while parked? FYI, if you park long term at LAX with no front plate, you'll get a ticket there too!

So today, I went for a motorcycle ride on Angeles Crest Highway north of LA. Riding with one of my buddies who's new to motorcycles so we're just taking it easy. Plus, we'd been getting the 'cop warning signal' from the other bikers so we knew they were close by. Passed the first motorcycle cop, guy named Stout (I think). Anyways, everyone knows him and hates him. A couple miles later, we see the other motorcycle cop. I look down and I'm doing 47-49 in a 45, but motorcycle speedos are notorious for reading high. So my actual was probably 45-47. No biggy... so I thought. Next thing I know, I'm getting pulled over?!!?! What the heck?

And his reason for pulling me over? I don't have a red reflector on the back of my motorcycle. Sportbikes come with this huge plastic things/fenders on the rear which hold the license plate and have a red reflector on them. I bought my motorcycle used (from a dealer no less) and the previous owner had removed the big tail section/license plate thing. He just zip tied the license plate onto the rear of the bike. I actually bought and installed what is known as a fender eliminator kit. Anyways, stock fender is gone and the relector along with it.

If I get it fixed, and get it signed off that I have fixed it by a CHP officer, it's $10. I'm hoping its only $25 if I don't bother getting it signed off. It's really not worth the $15 to get it fixed, then spend the time to go to a CHP station to wait and get it signed off.

The fact that he pulled me over for not have a rear reflector is just retarded! His name is Morrin by the way and he probably already has one foot in hell. I mean, he has nothing better to do? It's not like 3 guys didn't just go blowing by us while I was standing on the side of the road, with no reflectors either. And it's not like LA isn't on fire all over the freakin place. When I got to the restaurant at the top, I told my story to some guys and another guy had Morrin pull him over for the same thing previously.

Oh well... on the way back down, one motorcycle cop was heading up and the other had someone pulled over. The convoy of ten bikes I was with went blowing by them, fockers!

Sweet shot

Shot of the observatory on top of Mt. Wilson. I always like to check it out:
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/images/towercam.jpg

It's the first time I've seen it with the observatory open and lit up. You can see LA in the background which is pretty cool.

Milk and Xmas

No.... not quite milk and cookies for Santa. I made a trip to Sams after work to buy some things and they already had xmas stuff up and music going! It's not even thanksgiving yet!

I bought a gallon of milk for $2.60. It's about double that at the grocery store.

One of my worst fears

A prediction from The Dash at espn.com:

Every neighborhood is different

Like I tell anyone visiting LA, every neighborhood is different. A couple weeks ago, I went to the UT alumni spot to watch the game here in the South Bay area; that encompasses Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach. There were a couple other asians in the house, a couple black guys, but mostly white. When you're out at the beach around here, mostly white folks with a few asians.

This past weekend, I headed up to Santa Monica to watch the game. I'd say it was about an even split between whites and Indians for the UT fans! Quite a few other asians in the bar too. And when you go to the 3rd street promenade area in Santa Monica, it's all sorts of races, mixes, and languages.

Only separated by about 15 miles, but totally different. Of course, Compton is right next to the South Bay area and that's completey different too.