Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Phoenix falls flat on list of fun cities (Phoenix Business Journal)
A new survey done by Bizjournals ranks the Phoenix metro area 42nd among the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S.
The Dec. 21 issue of the Phoenix Business Journal reviews the results in an article titled, "Phoenix falls flat on list of fun cities".
Highlights:
The study ranked the cities in fourteen fields from the following seven categories:
1. New York City
2. Boston
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Seattle
6. San Francisco/Oakland
7. Minneapolis/St. Paul
8. Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia
10. Providence (PHX got crushed by Providence???)
11. Miami
12. New Orleans
13. Las Vegas
Here's how Phoenix fared in each of the categories: (including the top and bottom ranked cities)
Shopping: 46 (1 - Boston; 50 - Riverside/San Bernardino)
Food and drink: 36 (1 - NYC; 50 - Memphis)
Culture: 45 (1 - NYC; 50 - Detroit)
Popular entertainment: 30 (1 - LA; 50 - Jacksonville)
Gambling: 20 (1 - Las Vegas; 46 (tie) - Orlando, Salt Lake City, Columbus, Birmingham, Memphis)
High-impact sports: 40 (1 - Boston; 50 - Memphis)
Low-impact sports: 17 (1 - NYC; 50 - Salt Lake City)
Overall pitiful results for the 5th largest metro area in the U.S.
I love this section from the article:
---------------------
"Phillips said he is stunned that metro Phoenix would be ranked so low in the survey. He pointed to the numerous cultural attractions, including art galleries, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, luxury shopping and the Parada Del Sol."
---------------------
(Mike) Phillips is a spokesman for the City of Scottsdale. Noted, most of the people interviewed for the article are biased (i.e. Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman)...but stunned??? This guy is in serious denial! That, or he needs to do a bit of traveling to other cities.
We need to get out of here soon...
12/28 update:
I found the full rankings:
America's Fun Cities: Rankings for 50 markets (bizjournals.com)
The Dec. 21 issue of the Phoenix Business Journal reviews the results in an article titled, "Phoenix falls flat on list of fun cities".
Highlights:
The study ranked the cities in fourteen fields from the following seven categories:
- Shopping -- Retail trade establishments
- Food and drink -- Full-service restaurants; drinking places
- Culture -- Museums and historical sites; performing arts
- Popular entertainment -- Motion picture and video exhibition establishments; spectator sports establishments; amusement parks and arcades
- Gambling -- Gambling industries
- High-impact sports -- Fitness and recreational sports centers; skiing facilities
- Low-impact sports -- Golf courses and country clubs; marinas; bowling centers
- suburban sprawl
- lack of a dynamic central core
- limited public transportation
1. New York City
2. Boston
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Seattle
6. San Francisco/Oakland
7. Minneapolis/St. Paul
8. Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia
10. Providence (PHX got crushed by Providence???)
11. Miami
12. New Orleans
13. Las Vegas
Here's how Phoenix fared in each of the categories: (including the top and bottom ranked cities)
Shopping: 46 (1 - Boston; 50 - Riverside/San Bernardino)
Food and drink: 36 (1 - NYC; 50 - Memphis)
Culture: 45 (1 - NYC; 50 - Detroit)
Popular entertainment: 30 (1 - LA; 50 - Jacksonville)
Gambling: 20 (1 - Las Vegas; 46 (tie) - Orlando, Salt Lake City, Columbus, Birmingham, Memphis)
High-impact sports: 40 (1 - Boston; 50 - Memphis)
Low-impact sports: 17 (1 - NYC; 50 - Salt Lake City)
Overall pitiful results for the 5th largest metro area in the U.S.
I love this section from the article:
---------------------
"Phillips said he is stunned that metro Phoenix would be ranked so low in the survey. He pointed to the numerous cultural attractions, including art galleries, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, luxury shopping and the Parada Del Sol."
---------------------
(Mike) Phillips is a spokesman for the City of Scottsdale. Noted, most of the people interviewed for the article are biased (i.e. Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman)...but stunned??? This guy is in serious denial! That, or he needs to do a bit of traveling to other cities.
We need to get out of here soon...
12/28 update:
I found the full rankings:
America's Fun Cities: Rankings for 50 markets (bizjournals.com)
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Mexican (Mariscos Playa Hermosa), Vietnamese (Pho Avina), and Italian (Andrea Bocelli)
Back to some food!
Two Friday ago, I had a bit of a cultural world tour.
For lunch, I met up w/ Jay at Mariscos Playa Hermosa. I ordered a breaded fish platter and Jay got camarones culichi (shrimp in a green tomatillo sauce).
Before our dishes arrived, our server brought us each a complimentary appetizer (in addition to a basket of tortilla chips). The appetizer was a salmon ceviche on top of a large tortilla chip. It was very tasty - here's a pic:
My fish platter was awesome. (I think I've ordered this on my two previous visits to MPH.) It consisted of a large breaded fillet of fish, rice, beans, and warm tortillas. Here's a somewhat dark picture:
I also tried a bit of Jay dish. It was also very good...
For dinner, Patty and I went to one of our favorites, Pho Avina. We had bun rieu (crabmeat stew) and rice vermicelli w/ salad (w/ grilled pork and eggroll). As usual, everything was excellent. Here are the pics:
After dinner, we went to the Andrea Bocelli concert at the Jobing.com arena. Even though I had ordered tickets the first day they went sale, our seats were in the second row...from the top! (in the cheapest price level available - $75) BTW, I hate Ticketmaster! Here's a breakdown of the ticket fees:
Face value of tickets: $75 x 2 = $150.00
Facility charge: 10.30
Convenience charge: 22.00
Order processing: 4.05
-----------------------------------------
Total: $186.35
24% of the ticket prices in additional fees!!!
The seating in the arena is terrible. Both Patty and I are pretty small (I'm 5'7" and she's 5'5"), but we both had no forward legroom. Without stretching our legs at all, our toes touched the seats in the forward row. I'm guessing when they designed the place, they tried to maximize profits by squeezing in as many seats as possible. Looking around the arena, I noticed that the spacing is consistent throughout the arena. It was very uncomfortable!!!
On to the concert...roughly a third of the selections were operatic (the remaining quarter consisted of Bocelli's more "poppy/crossover" stuff that I prefer). It was still a great concert though. It would have been even better if our program hadn't "mysteriously" disappeared. During the intermission, I left our program in between our seats. When we returned, it was gone! I noticed that our neighbors now had two programs...hm...what a coincidence?!? I waited and waited to see if they would return our program...but no luck. I was very tempted to ask them if I could "borrow" one of their programs. Whoever you were sitting in Section 218, Row G, Seats 6 and 7...
Places mentioned:
Mariscos Playa Hermosa
1605 E. Garfield St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Pho Avina
4920 W. Thunderbird Rd, Suite 110
Glendale, AZ 85306
Two Friday ago, I had a bit of a cultural world tour.
For lunch, I met up w/ Jay at Mariscos Playa Hermosa. I ordered a breaded fish platter and Jay got camarones culichi (shrimp in a green tomatillo sauce).
Before our dishes arrived, our server brought us each a complimentary appetizer (in addition to a basket of tortilla chips). The appetizer was a salmon ceviche on top of a large tortilla chip. It was very tasty - here's a pic:
My fish platter was awesome. (I think I've ordered this on my two previous visits to MPH.) It consisted of a large breaded fillet of fish, rice, beans, and warm tortillas. Here's a somewhat dark picture:
I also tried a bit of Jay dish. It was also very good...
For dinner, Patty and I went to one of our favorites, Pho Avina. We had bun rieu (crabmeat stew) and rice vermicelli w/ salad (w/ grilled pork and eggroll). As usual, everything was excellent. Here are the pics:
After dinner, we went to the Andrea Bocelli concert at the Jobing.com arena. Even though I had ordered tickets the first day they went sale, our seats were in the second row...from the top! (in the cheapest price level available - $75) BTW, I hate Ticketmaster! Here's a breakdown of the ticket fees:
Face value of tickets: $75 x 2 = $150.00
Facility charge: 10.30
Convenience charge: 22.00
Order processing: 4.05
-----------------------------------------
Total: $186.35
24% of the ticket prices in additional fees!!!
The seating in the arena is terrible. Both Patty and I are pretty small (I'm 5'7" and she's 5'5"), but we both had no forward legroom. Without stretching our legs at all, our toes touched the seats in the forward row. I'm guessing when they designed the place, they tried to maximize profits by squeezing in as many seats as possible. Looking around the arena, I noticed that the spacing is consistent throughout the arena. It was very uncomfortable!!!
On to the concert...roughly a third of the selections were operatic (the remaining quarter consisted of Bocelli's more "poppy/crossover" stuff that I prefer). It was still a great concert though. It would have been even better if our program hadn't "mysteriously" disappeared. During the intermission, I left our program in between our seats. When we returned, it was gone! I noticed that our neighbors now had two programs...hm...what a coincidence?!? I waited and waited to see if they would return our program...but no luck. I was very tempted to ask them if I could "borrow" one of their programs. Whoever you were sitting in Section 218, Row G, Seats 6 and 7...
Places mentioned:
Mariscos Playa Hermosa
1605 E. Garfield St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Pho Avina
4920 W. Thunderbird Rd, Suite 110
Glendale, AZ 85306
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
San Diego median housing prices
Found this graphic on another blog (Maoxian.com):
San Diego County monthly median housing prices
(from the San Diego Union-Tribune)
The accompanying article is here.
San Diego County monthly median housing prices(from the San Diego Union-Tribune)
The accompanying article is here.
Debt Management
I found this funny SNL skit about debt management on another blog (Crossingwallstreet.com):
It's so easy, yet so difficult for many people to understand - DON'T BUY STUFF YOU CANNOT AFFORD! The big problem is that many people don't have a clue about their own finances. Greed and denial are probably factors as well...
FYI - if you do need help, my former college roommate is on a "crusade" to help people with their debt. His website is full of great information, including many tools you can use to help yourself. Check out his website: josephsangl.com
It's so easy, yet so difficult for many people to understand - DON'T BUY STUFF YOU CANNOT AFFORD! The big problem is that many people don't have a clue about their own finances. Greed and denial are probably factors as well...
FYI - if you do need help, my former college roommate is on a "crusade" to help people with their debt. His website is full of great information, including many tools you can use to help yourself. Check out his website: josephsangl.com
Monday, December 17, 2007
The price we are all paying for China's focus on economic growth.
The New York Times has published an eight part series titled, "Choking on Growth", about China's pollution crisis.
I just finished the last episode titled "In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters". The article and video are pretty alarming.
Here are some highlights:
"China produces about 70 percent of the farmed fish in the world, harvested at thousands of giant factory-style farms that extend along the entire eastern seaboard of the country."
"More than half of the rivers in China are too polluted to serve as a source of drinking water."
"The nearby Dongzhang Reservoir, a water source for agriculture and more than 700,000 people, was recently rated level 5, near the bottom of the government scale, unfit for fish farming, swimming or even contact with the human body."
"This is one of the solutions to the water crisis in China: to seek out virgin territory and essentially start the cycle all over again. And that worries scientists, who say aquaculture in China is not just a victim of water pollution but a culprit with a severe environmental legacy."
Still want to eat that shrimp, catfish, unagi (eel), or tilapia?!?
I just finished the last episode titled "In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters". The article and video are pretty alarming.
Here are some highlights:
"China produces about 70 percent of the farmed fish in the world, harvested at thousands of giant factory-style farms that extend along the entire eastern seaboard of the country."
"More than half of the rivers in China are too polluted to serve as a source of drinking water."
"The nearby Dongzhang Reservoir, a water source for agriculture and more than 700,000 people, was recently rated level 5, near the bottom of the government scale, unfit for fish farming, swimming or even contact with the human body."
"This is one of the solutions to the water crisis in China: to seek out virgin territory and essentially start the cycle all over again. And that worries scientists, who say aquaculture in China is not just a victim of water pollution but a culprit with a severe environmental legacy."
Still want to eat that shrimp, catfish, unagi (eel), or tilapia?!?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Santa, holiday lights, and Little Saigon
Forgot to post this picture earlier...
We were driving behind Santa and his sleigh (or carriage) last weekend!
Yesterday night we went to Little Saigon for dinner. On our way there, we made a few stops to check out some holiday light displays.
Here are a few pics from an impressive display (@ 5309 W. Barbara Ave., Glendale, AZ):
It's quite a setup. There are lights galore (some even timed to the music) and a bunch of animated objects.
BTW, AZCentral.com has a great guide (w/ handy printable maps) to holiday lights around the Valley. Find it here.
On to Little Saigon...
This was our third visit there. We ordered a Banh Xeo and Pho Tai.
Like the last time we had it, the Banh Xeo was very good. It consisted of two large crepes filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts, served with fish sauce and a plate of fresh herbs and veggies.
This was the first time that we've had pho tai at Little Saigon. The broth was a bit too oily and tasted kind of flat - I couldn't taste any of the typical spices. It tasted pretty much like beef broth. Overall, it still wasn't bad. The beef was tender, the noodles had the right consistency, and the herbs were fresh.
We were driving behind Santa and his sleigh (or carriage) last weekend!
Yesterday night we went to Little Saigon for dinner. On our way there, we made a few stops to check out some holiday light displays.
Here are a few pics from an impressive display (@ 5309 W. Barbara Ave., Glendale, AZ):
It's quite a setup. There are lights galore (some even timed to the music) and a bunch of animated objects.
BTW, AZCentral.com has a great guide (w/ handy printable maps) to holiday lights around the Valley. Find it here.
On to Little Saigon...
This was our third visit there. We ordered a Banh Xeo and Pho Tai.
Like the last time we had it, the Banh Xeo was very good. It consisted of two large crepes filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts, served with fish sauce and a plate of fresh herbs and veggies.
This was the first time that we've had pho tai at Little Saigon. The broth was a bit too oily and tasted kind of flat - I couldn't taste any of the typical spices. It tasted pretty much like beef broth. Overall, it still wasn't bad. The beef was tender, the noodles had the right consistency, and the herbs were fresh.
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