You’re in the Pearl District meeting some folks, it’s going to be hours. But you need to park, and it’s the Pearl so you have to pay to park. Two hours max. So you figure out the green monster and get your two-hour slip, and stick it to your window where it will eventually be sucked inside the passenger door. You pull out your cell phone and make a call: “Remind me to pay parking in two hours,” and go off to your meeting.

There have been a number of tragedies involving bikes and motor vehicles around Portland recently. Very sad for all involved, I truly feel for the families of the victims, and for the drivers of the vehicles as well. But setting up bicycle stings at innocuous intersections is just not the right way to go about fixing the problem. Why are the victims being punished? Cyclists, watch out at Flint and Broadway, the man is waiting to swoop in and wreck your beautiful day.

In response to NaNoWriMo, an event in which you write a novel in a month, Defective Yeti came up with NaNoReMo (same but read a novel in a month). The event starts today, and the book is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I just picked mine up at Powell’s and have read a whopping 2 pages (~15/day is the target). So I’ll be reading along and writing my ficlets.

Blonde and a bit cloudy, with a resilient head, Delirium tremens is a very tasty Belgian. It drinks smooth and crisp. Well, it’s smooth, trails slightly yeasty but not in an offensive way, and I like it. Other than that I’ve been totally distracted during this so that’s all I’ve got. I’ll update with a photo when I get a chance to upload it. rick

I love Google. I use a number of google applications. Google’s search is and has always been fantastic. I have a gmail account and a picasaweb account. Blah, blah, google’s does a lot of great things and makes my life better. Thank you google! However, I’m feeling more and more that google just isn’t getting it like they used to. The internet has changed, it grows more dynamic, more personal. But while new sites keep popping up that enable users to do more, google looks the other way.

We had an unexpected guest this weekend. Driving down Sand Blvd. after picking up some food for dinner Saturday, a small dog darted across the street in front of me. I turned off to follow and see if there was a sign of his owner around, but he was on his own. He did have a small leash dangling behind him and a collar, but no tags. A passerby and I got him into my car and I took the small dog home.

The Alameda Brewhouse has released their ales in bottles to ease general consumption. Which is really nice because that way I don’t have to actually go to their brewhouse to enjoy their tasty beers. The brewhouse is a family-friendly joint on NE Fremont in Portland. Sometimes a bit too family-friendly for my taste, a fact that may change someday, but its foundation remains solid so far. The East Village Amber pours a thick but temporary head out of the bottle.

Woohoo! Great game tonite, beautiful day. The Timbers faced MLS’s Toronto in a post-season friendly, and what fun it was. The Moist crew showed up in force, and the Army was bitchin tonite…they were loud. The beginning of the game was distressing, as Toronto looked to be outclassing the Timbers pretty well. But the defense was solid, and Timbers snapped a sweet goal chipping the Toronto keeper to open it up.

Something’s wrong with NE Broadway. There are a lot of cool little businesses along there. I love the Rose and Thistle. But for the most part, they are underperforming. Almost every stop along NE Broadway is a bit too…bland. I gave this some thought awhile ago, and my conclusion then was that Broadway and its surrounding area is the westside invasion. A few weeks later the Broadway Brewery and Grill opened up.