TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read + several podcasts Disclaimer: I've touched on this subject before, but it was two years ago, and there's plenty of new information that's come out since. Plus, this subject is important. Because did you know there was a time - and it was just 60 years ago - that fully 80 percent of American citizens tru...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read Hello, and Happy Wednesday. So many (fact check: none) have said, "Portico, your recent posts have been brilliant, as usual. But they've been a bit on the heavy side, and too political. And gee, I'm just dying to know if you are still wearing the same loungewear that you documented so wonderfully a while...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read + 3 Hours of Podcasts I know I've been heavy on the politics recently, and I apologize. Sadly, our week begins with a continuation, and worse, today I cover Israel, Islam, Hamas, Gaza, and more. But it's not what you think. What follows aren't my opinions or thoughts; instead, I am sharing 4 podcasts wi...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read I think it was the daytime and Textbook Daiquiris he made for us that did it. Because Wednesday afternoon found Arthur and I pondering the potential of a third World War. We even went further: Maybe we're in one already? But a new kind? That's crazy - it had to be the rum, right? You tell me. But you may...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Don't thank me, thank Republicans. Or at least those in Iowa. Because to the surprise of no one, Trump won the Republican caucus in Iowa on Monday and barring a mass awakening, is destined to appear - again - in a presidential election as the Republican candidate. It's almost February of 2024, and this ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Before beginning the normal nonsense, a reminder that today is a national holiday, honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I say this every year around this time, but what would America look like today if JFK, MLK, Malcolm X, and RFK had lived out their full lives? On to that normal ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read It's Friday, so how about a post on obesity in America? No, wait a moment. Better to let my quasi-hero Scott Galloway do it for me. The relatively brilliant Professor Galloway annually makes predictions regarding the upcoming year in technology and business. This year, and on several of his media platfo...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read Yesterday, I finished reading Geddy Lee's amazing and Diamond Certified autobiography, My Effin' Life. If you have even a modicum of interest in the band Rush - or are seeking a personal account of the toll of the Holocaust on one family - this is a must-read. It is powerful enough that I found myself in...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Happy Monday and I wish I could say I came up with the idea presented in today's post. While I joined many a long time ago and urged Joe Biden to announce he would not run in 2024, he's chosen the opposite path. What, he didn't read my writing on the subject? Accordingly, he's now put the Democrats in a...

OVERVIEW A year ago, my first extended stay in Hoboken resulted in this big Travel Guide. This Addendum - a first in the annals of my Travel Guides - is an update to the original and is based on a three week stay during December 2023 and into 2024. As a refresher, Hoboken, New Jersey is located directly west across the Hudson River fro...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read I hope you're settling into a nice, post-holiday routine, but I'm not ready quite yet. Instead, I'd like to recount some of the bad and worse behaviors I witnessed during our recent trip to the East Coast. Of course I would. In reality, what follows plagues civil people everywhere, and not just while tr...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <4 Minute Read Later today, we leave glorious Hoboken after an amazing 3 weeks and return to equally glorious SF. There's a reason I bang on and on about how fortunate I am. I'll demonstrate that when I publish my first-ever Addendum, providing new and/or updated information to last year's Metro NYC Travel Guide. It's...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Happy New Year and welcome to the year of the Say Hey Kid. And what better topic on the first day of a new year than closure, and its importance? And specifically, the Zeigarnik Effect. Huh? Today's inspiration came from a spin-off podcast I heard last week from Freakonomics, called No Stupid Questions....

Without further ado and in response to the clamoring from many (fact check: nobody), here's who will be taking home a prized Portico this year. The award ceremony is very hush-hush and on a need-to-know basis, but I can confirm an event is in the planning phase. More to follow, but for now, here are this year's winners! Trip of The Yea...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read (Plus Gawking Time at Porsche Website) I write about Porsche often, because, well, a guy can fantasize, can't he? And - in 2024 - it might not even be a dream. But if Ol' Purple Label and I ever do that, we'll have to decide which 911 to drive. And that won't be easy because do you realize that for 2024...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS A lot of photos today! Try this link if your email seems to be missing photos. 1 Minute Read What? You think it's all just Christmas good cheer? Or worse, only eating and drinking? No - these three weeks have included their share of cultural diversions, including this, which I can only say was one bitch of a place. Ye...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read Merry Christmas! I wrote this last year, and plan on using it each year, with an occasional update. As I've mentioned once or twice, I am a proud atheist. But - and let me be clear - I don't care what you believe or don't believe. Are you fair? Honest? Grateful? Curious? Fun? Productive? GOOD ENOUGH! Ple...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read (inc. FROM THE UNWASHED MASSES) Today's post is a bit of a role reversal. And it's long, so there's that, but at least you have all weekend to enjoy it. It's necessary because my writing Wednesday on respectfully handling a bad meal at a restaurant resonated with at least two readers, one in a blog-lengt...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Are you honest when a waitperson or host at a restaurant asks how everything is and the answer should be "really not very good?" Do you go as far as to send food back if it is not as you wish? That was the situation Monday night at Hoboken's Barbès, a French-Moroccan brasserie in the north part of town....

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Happy Monday, and don't worry: I rectified my shopping deficiency from a year ago by hitting a grand slam at Belstaff on Saturday, in between pops in the Meat Packing District. Micro Deadhead Silly thought about riding her Hog, but she was pretty buzzed already, so she walked with us to the KillerLavaux...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read No Travel Guide (because there already is one), but of course I still want to wow from Hoboken and Manhattan. So I present to you what I've seen already in terms of power. But there's a twist at the end. Power The Security Council chambers at The United Nations was one of the few places I've visited that...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 3 Minute Read Greetings from heavenly Hoboken. The seemingly forever flight here from SF gave me plenty of time to dig deeper into the college sports and money thing. It's worse than I thought. If you'll recall, I recently bemoaned the wrongful elevation of sports within the greater world of large public universities....

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read + Data Review Happy Monday, but I'm sorry: there's just so much here that I find ridiculous and disturbing. And that's even after rolling out my annual Portico Darwin Award nominees on Friday - something ridiculous and disturbing in its own right. To be clear, I have mostly nothing but respect for both T...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS (Today's post is loaded with photos, as is usual for this edition. You might try this link if you have trouble.) <2 Minute Read Delusions of grandeur! A distorted sense of self! Fake awards for real things! Yes, it's time for the nominees for the 2023 Portico Darwin Awards! And even more so than usual, and in the word...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Let's continue this veritable orgy of Darwin, and why not, I ask? Wrapping up 6 decades, which I do Friday, certainly justifies droning on and on about my favorite subject. Right? RIGHT? What follows is my wildly egotistical version of Ray Dalio's Principles, a book I finished recently. As you may know,...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read Yes, it's true. I have been left speechless by a 60th birthday celebration weekend that began with a completely kick-ass party on Friday, and culminated in my Niners destroying Byron Browne IV's Eagles Sunday afternoon. In other words, this weekend was completely and totally Diamond Certified. And thank...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read Happy Friday. This one is a bit strange - yes, even for me. It's about a radio show, and it also won't mean much to many, especially those reading this outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Because there was a major shake-up at the SF radio stalwart KNBR late Wednesday, and I am bummed. KNBR is the fla...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Happy Wednesday. Many consider me arrogant, with an ego the size of Texas. Guilty as charged. But those who know me know that I try to temper these endearing traits by sincerely admitting when I am wrong about something. So let's turn to some recent brilliant prognostications . . . that weren't. CRUISE ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Happy Monday, and whew, please stop the holidays, I want to get off. But of course, even though Thanksgiving is over, we're only getting started. I turn 60 soon (yes, there's a party, and yes, you're invited - ping me), and then there's the matter of a 3-week trip to Hoboken and Manhattan beginning on 1...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read Here's a fun one for a holiday weekend. Well, fun if you're a transportation geek like me, because today I continue my whining about the dearth of passenger trains in the United States. But to keep the boredom down, I'm expressing my frustration visually. What follows are maps, at the same scale, for ci...