Mexican Hot Dog?!?!?!?!?!?!

Email I just sent to my cousins:

Allright guys, I couldn't find a Mexican Hot Dog stand in Los Angeles. I am VERY familiar with the more traditional 'Heart Attack Dog' which is similar and sold, among other places, outside the Rose Bowl after UCLA football games - it's wrapped in bacon but has more 'American' condiments (mustard, mayo, ketchup, grilled onions and peppers). Basically we have 1 year to either A) find a Mexican Hot Dog stand B) start a Mexican Hot Dog stand.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/dining/26unit.html

Maps Show Data Good

As you may or may not know, I think maps area perhaps the great information communication medium the world has ever seen. Not that I'm given to hyperbole or anything. From Matthew Yglesias comes this series of color coded maps that explains on a state-by-state basis how different age groups and income levels feel about the public option in the current raging health care debate. (Quick aside - a public option is a good thing but I won't write anything more because I don't want to have to tag this post as a rant).

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

As the year comes to an end I've been taking inventory of the old blog and noticed that during the Summer my posting fell from my typical inconsistency of ~1 every 7-10 days to 1 in July and none in August. Well it turns out that I was taking 2 classes (1 each at UCLA and USC) and working and not posting. The USC class was my last class in the GIST Certificate program (I'm certified!). A week in Catalina that include lots of hiking, playing with GPS units, and a night snorkel (yeah, it was a-freaking-mazing). The UCLA class was equally awesome - Geography of Los Angeles. We explored a ton of themes and did a bunch of field trips (a trip to the LA River led by nature writer Jenny Price, Westwood walkabout including this apartment building designed by Lautner, and taking a Metro bus up and down Sunset Blvd.).

My partner and I did a final project on the LA River. We had to create a tour, make a google map (below), and then do a short presentation in the Pecha Kucha style (Wikipedia). Pecha Kucha limits your presentation to 20 slides and 20 seconds for each slide. So you have to choose images with maximum impact, choose your words carefully, and practice. It's great, I wish that my work presentations had similar constraints.


View LA River Map in a larger map

US Interstate System as London Tube Map

Awhile back Matthew Yglesias linked to this picture (from the Good Blog) of the US Interstate system made to look like the London Tube map (Wikipedia).



For those who have never been to London, go. I was only there for a bit but had a great time. Getting around on the Tube is intuitive, in no small part because of the ground breaking Tube map. Additionally you can sit back and see all sorts of slices of life because EVERYONE takes it. Whatever ethnicity or occupation that can be imagined will be on the Tube. Including jet lagged pasty American tourists.

Thank you Spammers!

So I'm getting a bunch of spammers on Nacho Lovers. I don't really know why since this is not really a place with a lot of users debating nacho policy (subject for a future post). Anyway, the comments have been rejiggered so that I now moderate comments on posts that are > 5 days old and you have to do the jumbled word thingy. So yeah.