Comparing Gay Marriage and Racial Segregation

Here is an interesting NY Times / Freakanomics article on the topic of Gay Marriage. It compares it with racial segregation and how it's morally wrong.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/my-wedding-ring/

A Surprising Vancouver Pride Story [Updated]

Updated 8.10.08

Vancouver is probably one of the most liberal cities I've been to outside of San Francisco.

It was surprising to hear there was a fairly shocking incident at a local club/bar not too far from my hostel during Pride.

At this place called Majestic Nightclub and Lounge, in addition to Characters, a local greek restaurant, a man hit a hammer of 9 people's heads. Yes, a hammer...

Link to Story on CBC News

We saw police tape at the place after we finished dinner at Moxie's Classic Grill down the street. There was also police tape across the street at the restaurant called Characters. My friend Matt heard that it was a hammer that was involved when his other friend told him. I didn't believe it.

However, I did a Google Search this morning to see if it was true, and it indeed was.

However, it doesn't compete with the crazy Head Decapitation incident on a Greyhound Bus that has made recent Canadian news. :/

Staying in the car...

I arrived at work yesterday a little after 9am. I took a longer route, just because I wanted to finish listening to some interesting stories on NPR. They had some discussion on banning Trans Fats in California. They talked to those lobbying for the ban and also some bakers who were opposed to the ban, mainly for the reason 'we're afraid of change.'

The funny part was I arrived to my parking lot and parked right next to Nai's car. I peeked over and noticed he was still in his car, not quite doing anything.

We both eventually get out of our cars. It's because he was listening to the same NPR stuff I was. Haha.

NPR totally sucked me in!

The I.E. Identity

Here is an interesting read on the identity of those in the Inland Empire written by Jonathan Turner at U.C. Riverside: Reject 'Empire' Identity

Silicon Valley Real Estate: Le Sigh

This is pretty much the reason why I'll never be able to afford real estate in the Bay Area. When strolling around the valley this weekend, I see the vast amounts of wealth in the forms of pricey clothes, expensive cars, and the latest high tech gadgets. I'm pretty sure some people must be into crazy amounts of debt to afford any sort of lifestyle here. *Le Sigh*

As Seen in the San Jose Mercury News:

It's time once again to check in on Silicon Valley's real estate market - which, actually, has turned into two markets. In super-pricey communities such as Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View, housing sales are doing just fine, thank you very much. (After all, those Googlers have to live somewhere. And when you're busy changing the world, the closer you are to the Googleplex, the better.) In more, shall we say, working-class communities, sales are plummeting. As prices throughout the valley climbed over the past few years, those of us without tech stock options pretty much needed, shall we say, creative financing to qualify for a mortgage. The trouble is, with the growing subprime-mortgage mess, those creative loans are suddenly impossible to find. With fewer buyers able to enter the market, inventories are building. In fact, at the current sales pace, it would take more than a year to sell all the homes listed in parts of San Jose.

Link

Close to Home: Minnnesota Bridge Collapse

I woke up this morning shocked to hear about the bridge collapse near Downtown Minneapolis, MN.

Turns out that one of the trainees' I'm working with, sister, was on the bridge when it collapsed. She's actually in the picture on the front page of the New York Times on the bridge. Thankfully she survived and is okay.

Apparently, an Oprah episode helped save her life. There was an Oprah episode (that I've also watched) about worst case scenarios. One of the scenarios was how to get out of a car submerged under water. So even though her car plunged into the water below, she was able to survive because of knowing how to get out of a submerged car.

Oprah saves another life. :)

RIP: The 3rd Classmate to Pass Away

I was tipped off that one of my fellow Bishop Alemany alum passed away earlier this week in a motorcycle accident. Quite tragic according to this Los Angeles Daily News Article.

RIP John Samuel
1983-2007

Córdova Goes To Purdue

UCR Chancellor, France Córdova, has been selected as Purdue's first female president. I've been super impressed with what she's done in her time at UCR. Even though UCR's 7th Chancellor had a relatively short tenure, her accomplishments in branding, ranking, the Palm Desert Campus and the medical school were fantastic. I'm sorry to see her go!

The Full Story Here

Top Cities To Find A Mate: The Bay Dominates

2 out of the top 5 cities to find a mate are right here in the Bay Area. San Francisco, CA and San Jose, CA, along with Minneapolis, MN, Arlington, TX & Raleigh, NC are the top places to find your significant other.

WHY SF?

San Francisco, Calif.:

• There are tons of straight (and gay), single, attractive men.
• The people are some of the most educated in the country.
• People are open-minded.

Between the Golden Gate Bridge — easily the country's most romantic span--and the fog-shrouded summer mornings, San Fran sets the mood for finding a mate. And find one you will, what with the city's top-ranking ratio of highly educated (and in shape) singles crowding the cable cars and walking the Wharf.

STATS: 99th out of 101 in percentage of people who completed a bachelor's degree, 97th in fitness level, and 95th in chemistry, i.e. opportunity for adrenaline-pumping activities.

WHY SAN JOSE?

San Jose, Calif.:

• San Jose is the heart of Silicon Valley, and technology is notoriously male-dominated. The guys are smart.
  
• There are plenty of people to choose from in this diverse city, where residents speak more than 52 languages.
• Because it's sunny 300 days a year, Men stay in shape. There are plenty of public places to have fun adventures.

Not only did it have the best ratio of single men to women, but as the hub of Silicon Valley, San Jose is a magnet for men looking to flex their mental muscle. What's more, with over 300 sunny days a year, the city gives guys a built-in incentive to stay in shape and balance work with play (it was tops in fitness level and chemistry-building activities).

STATS: 101st out of 101 in singles ratio, fitness level, and chemistry (but 23rd out of 101 in philanthropy, bringing down its overall score)

The Article on MSN/The Interactive Map & Article on Men's Health

*Make sure to check out the Complete List of 101 cities and how they're graded (from A to F)

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From personal experience, I've found it MUCH easier to meet people in the Bay Area than in LA. Although, LA isn't far behind with a Grade of 'B.' Washington, D.C. also made a top score averaging out to an 'A' grade. Looks like my favorite cities are great places to find a mate! On top of everything, the Bay has also inspired me to be healthier, which LA never really did. Even Riverside made the list... coming in at 33. Out of all 101 cities, it has the lowest divorce rate!

Although this article is mainly where Women can meet men, I think it goes the same for the reverse. Although the Gay Scene might be slightly different, I still think the Bay is tops in my experience.

SF Freeway Collapse

Wow. My jaws dropped when I heard the news. How does a tanker truck just collapse a freeway like that? Are freeways vulnerable to fire like that?

The MacArthur Maze is super heavily traveled. So the solution is free public transit for a while. Won't that just shift the problem? It's not like there is another option at this point, since Arnold declared the collapse a state of emergency.

This is what happens when I leave the Yay Area. This kinda reminds me of the Northridge Earthquake... just a tad.

Only In Hong Kong

Well, this is the first I've heard of such a thing.

In Hong Kong, a restaurant fines diners for leaving leftovers on their plates. I can see how this makes sense at 'All-You-Can-Eat' establishments, but not so much at other places. Can you imagine this happening in Vegas? Haha.

The Story Here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0418/p01s02-woap.html

Quite A Day: The Tragedy At VA Tech

So everyone knows what went down in VA today. That massacre was really tragic. I suppose it hasn't quite hit me yet. I didn't know much about what happened until I was talking with a co-worker and he was listening to a live news feed. I suppose running around and not being at my computer much was the cause. Ironic, considering how I work at an Internet company.

I can't believe 30+ people were murdered in cold blood by one or more individuals. We cried at Columbine, and now we shed tears for what happened at VA Tech. We let it happen at CNN and the Jewish Community Center in the San Fernando Valley. What happened at VA Tech could happen again at any university, school, or workplace. Now we need to look back, learn something, and make sure it doesn't happen again.