June 2007 Archives

I haven't really said anything about the iPhone. By now most of you know that I am a fan of Apple gear. I own an iMac, a PowerBook, an iPod, a shuffle, an Airport and a couple of non-functioning iBooks that I might get around to fixing and donating at some point. I will be buying an iPhone as well. I don't really care about the iPod features, but it does have everything I need in a phone. I love my Blackberry, but I am jonesing for a bigger screen and the visual voicemail sold me. Throw in full Safari and it is a winner. As for watching videos and listening to music, it will make the visit to the dentist office much more tolerable (as long as I am not getting my wisdom teeth removed again).

Obviously the iPhone has a lot of hype. Haters and fanboys can't stop talking about it. One thing that intrigued me was the person who started waiting in line 100 hours early. This person obviously has a lot of time on his hands, but it turns out he is a professional line-sitter. I thought about that and it amazed me that we have come to such a point in pop culture/entertainment/capitalism that people are not only willing to wait in line for the must-have gadget, but are willing to pay other people to wait in line for them. How much is that time worth? In Los Angeles, one person thinks it's worth $500.

I know this happened before with the X-Box and Playstation 3, but it seems like this is not a mere phenomenon anymore, and it seems like they hype on the iPhone is eclipsing them as well. I started wondering what people would pay others to stand in line for them. A movie? A big sale? Concert tickets? American Idol audition slot?

All I need now is a few million in venture capital.

PS Waiting in line was the theme of my latest post at Gridskipper.

I have a cold. My nose is stuffy. I have some congestion. I can't sleep and when I wake up in the morning, the post-nasal drip I suffer from makes every cough I suffer from an adventure. I suffered through it, and realized that I am just going to bite the bullet and take some drugs. I just need a solid decongestant and something for my allergies. Easier said than done of course.

The best decongestant out there for me was always Tavist-D, but after the D part of it was linked to increased chance of stroke in certain populations, it was pulled. I guess I can't be too pissed, but I wish people had read labels so I didn't have to go without it.

However, what really pisses me off is that I can't get, say, Claritin-D over the counter anymore. No, you have to take some fake card behind the front desk to get it. Simple enough, right? Well, that is not the end of it. You also have to hand over your driver's license and sign a book. I have a stuffy nose, so the feds want my signature? WTF?

It's because the "D" means pseudo-ephedrine, which is one of the starter drugs for methamphetimine. Politicians say that these drugs have resulted in a reduction in meth-related crime. If you read the actual stories, you will find that the reduction comes almost entirely from fewer drug labs, meaning less people to get busted for making meth. But just because there are fewer labs doesn't mean there is less meth. Most law enforcement says that the meth is now made in Mexico and smuggled into the United States. Gee, I never saw THAT one coming.

Oh, meanwhile, the latest statistics say that teen meth use has not dropped off, although to be fair, the latest statistics haven't caught up with the latest regulations. Every time somebody tries to ban the ingredients, the stats go down, until...the stats go back up. And the "good news" in the stats assumes that the people no longer running meth labs suddenly decided to become productive members of society and bake cookies for the homeless without any thought whatsoever into taking up another criminal enterprise.

Thanks for listening, and I promise I will only do my Libertarian rant thing once a month or so.

Apparently, nobody was really interested in my Gridskipper post on LA Brunches. Hopefully, a few more people will be excited in my latest post, titled The Steamy Side of Los Angeles. As always, I am very proud of my work, especially when I get to, uh, insert the word boner when the time is right. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it I wanted to keep the option of doing "Best Strip Clubs" and "Best Sex Shops". I'll probably wait on those articles though, so I don't become "that pervy guy on Gridskipper". Next week? Puppies!

Another post over at Gridskipper. I do plan on increasing the frequency at some point. I may even come up with a more creative name for when I post.

Champagne Brunch in Los Angeles.

I used to be one of those people that would laugh at the people doing yoga. I didn't need any of that hippie bullshit. Fuck flexibility! I wanted to eat meat, not sweat on some silly mat while somebody tells me how awesome my chakra would be if I just turned inside and opened my heart.

Then I actually started going to yoga classes. I have not yet completely bought into the whole meditation philosophy of everything yet, but I do realize all of those lunges, bends, and contortions has a noticeable effect on the way I feel. As much as I have been working out, yoga is the perfect compliment. Sometimes (and by sometimes, I mean all the time), my body hates me for it. But I think I am more relaxed, and of course the imagination runs wild with what I can do with the added flexibility.

Anyway, I wanted to give a little shout out the yoga teacher whose classes I have been attending the most. Her name is Hillary Rubin and if you are interested in trying some of the yoga yourself, Hillary has a blog and if there is ever a time you can't make it to the yoga studio but still like a helpful voice in your head you should subscribe to her podcast.

Yay! It's fun to be blogging for dollars again. My first article over at Gridskipper deals with something I know a little bit too much about: Happy Hours in West Hollywood. Actually, I think a lot of my Gridskipper posts will be dealing with booze of some sort. If you have any ideas about things you would like to hear about Los Angeles (you know, best tapas, best breakfast, best opium), let me know and I'll throw it into my queue.

I guess all that separates Anne Heche's almost-ex-husband from a typical college student is a Playstation and a bong.

Gawker media, which encompasses such sites as Gawker, Defamer, and Gizmodo has just completed an extensive overhaul of their travel blog, Gridskipper. It also means that I will be back to blogging as one of their Los Angeles correspondents. If you read my recaps at TVgasm, you know that I loved to sprinkle my knowledge of Los Angeles in my writing. I always thought it was interesting, and so now I get to spread the gospel in a more official form. I'm not sure if I am going to revive the Jacktracker or the Hills-stalker, but I should be good for at least a couple of posts there a week. It's also just a great blog in general if you like travel and Frommers sounds like something you need to take antibiotics for.