Recent Posts:

It takes 3 weeks to get a service appointment at City Bikes. Now I know why I own 5 bikes. I could take my business elsewhere but there is something so satisfying about supporting an employee owned cooperative.
Ride your bike. If you don’t own one, buy one. From a local shop. We are fortunate to live in a town that still values the service and expertise that only the (and in some cases, not so little) guy can offer.
Handy links to local shops (courtesy of bikeportland.org)

and Joe Horn is not my neighbor.
Shooting someone in the back is hunting. All over a couple of thousand dollars of stolen property. Had the old codger waited 30 seconds longer and the burglars were apprehended by the authorities would they be executed for STEALING PROPERTY?

Now I realize that this is not a “local” story. However it is relevant in that we all have neighbors and I would like to think that most would not cross the line and take the law into their hands.

I know my neighbors fairly well, borrow tools and the ubiquitous cup of sugar and feel comfortable saying “good morning” to strangers as they pass by our house. Our kids go back and forth between our house and the neighbors and often 3-4 families hold impromptu meet-ups on the front lawn.

I love Portland and would be quite surprised to hear of someone in our fair city taking such drastic and permanent actions over such a petty crime.

You know who you are. You wear obnoxiously large white sunglasses (indoors for that matter) with logo’s from such brand pimps as Chanel, D&G and Isaac. Stop it. Girl (and guys!?), they look silly. There IS a place for that sort of thing. It’s called a billboard. No disrespect.
Apparently I’m not alone. Related, ha ha funny action here

Coffeeshops, ah yes my best friend and my worst enemy. Without you I would be adrift in a sea of confusion and excruciating withdrawal headaches. Please oh please tell me why in an establishment made of stimulants, employees “Baristas” move like they just stumbled out of bed? No more than 2 minutes is all it should take to make my Americano. 2 minutes. No steaming, no milk. Just put the shots in a cup and add some hot water. Leave some room for cream and hand me the cup. Boom, done! Another tip for my local “pusher”, it’s called a waiting line. The clusterf**k, make that 2 clusterf**ks that are the piles of people waiting to order and the mess of people waiting for their orders are not helping your business. Perhaps a sign or velvet rope is in order. Again, no disrespect.

OK, I feel much better now.
Go Wesley, Go!

Wow the news week is off to a great start.
- Author Seymour Hersh charges in the new issue of the New Yorker magazine that the Bush Administration has begun a “major escalation of covert operations against Iran… to destabilize the country’s religious leadership.”NPR’s Fresh Air
- McCain’s “Truth Squad” This one should have a sweet graphic eh?
- Gas crosses the $5 per gallon mark in NYC and CA
- My clueless landlord leaves us a voice mail last night stating that our office was flooding. I rushed down to the office to find absolutely no water ANYWHERE. Chicken Little anyone?
- The MLK blvd. Burgerville is closed for kitchen renovations. How about a Sonic Drive-in or better yet an In-and-Out Burger in place of one of the 4 Starbucks between the Burnside and Broadway bridges. Speaking of burgers does anyone out have a hidden gem that can contend with the greatness of Slow Bar, Le Pigeon, Stanich’s or Castagna?

While watching the quite entertaining Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America last night the inevitable “What if?” came to mind. What if Gordon Ramsay, loudmouth ex- futboler, honoree of 12 Michelin stars and host of Fox’s aspiring chef bitchslap Hell’s Kitchen (I’m pulling for Petrozza), worked his magic on one of PDX’s dining establishments?

Which local eatery would you pick for a one week makeover by the UK’s turnaround master? Sorry, Mark Lindsay’s Rock & Roll Cafe and Venue don’t count.