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...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Sure, I published this in late September of last year, but the subject is timeless, especially at Thanksgiving. - - - We were at my favorite hotel, in my favorite place, for 7 nights. During the stay, I came to realize just how absolutely, positively lucky and fortunate I am. But it wasn't the quality o...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read Happy Monday and let's get right to it by me saying I have nothing against the professors, instructors, nor students, past and present, at Texas A&M University. Today's title is instead about how a PUBLIC UNIVERSITY can fire the head coach of an athletic team and pay him over $75 MILLION to go away. The...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read One would have to be pretty out of it to be missing the wall-to-wall PR around Geddy Lee's new book, My Effin' Life. He's everywhere, but just in case, here's the cover, which features a nice picture of the handsome devil himself. Mr. Lee was of course the bassist for my favorite band, Rush, and both th...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 2 Minute Read + External Article I was really stumped today for a subject. Yes, even Mr. Chatty Cathy runs out of "interesting" topics. But not to worry, at the last minute, golf saved the day. Or at least this post. That's because of this very interesting article I read in The Athletic, The New York Times's sports pl...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 2 Minute Read Happy Monday, and today, I'd like to focus on a single column from my primary news source, The Economist. It caught my attention because I was initially discouraged by more news of our ever-heating planet. But then I wasn't, and I thought you might enjoy hearing why. Here is the column, a news summary; i...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read + External Links Holy f'ing shit, this Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference being held in San Francisco 11/11 - 11/17 is one big honking deal. Today's post is mostly for my SF readers, although others may find the dignitary insanity and resulting stormtrooper-esque lockdowns to be of inter...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 2 Minute Read It's Wednesday, and what better time than to peer into my inner wannabe? Today, I express my love for Porsche automobiles, but also showcase their miscues. It's a great reminder that not even the best get it right every time. Plus, it was fun grabbing these photos. It's also fun being an elitist snob, so...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read Happy Monday and let me be the first this week to decry the out-sized power of big tech in the US. Think of Apple ($2.76 trillion). Amazon ($1.43 trillion). Alphabet ($1.58 trillion). Microsoft ($2.62 trillion). Meta (only $808 billion). They have too much money (yes, those are their market capitalizatio...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read + 20 Minute Video For the weekend, how about less Portico Darwin and more CityNerd? Huh? For those out of touch, Ray Delahanty, A.K.A. CityNerd, is an urban planning expert and runs a wonderfully informative YouTube channel that chronicles the best and worst of our built environment. He covers a lot of ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 2 Minute Read So many have asked (actually, no one has asked), "Portico, won't you share with us the gear you used poolside in Cabo Pulmo? And maybe even share the music with which you wowed your fellow travelers vacationers?" My pleasure. THE SOUND SYSTEM If you know me - at all - you know I don't travel very far wit...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <3 Minute Read Happy Monday. Well, yippee, we have a new Speaker of the House of Representatives! Rep. Mike Johnson, from Louisiana! I think he's an asshole! But please judge for yourself - here are some facts regarding Mike Johnson. And when you're finished, perhaps you can tell me again who wants to "destroy our gre...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <1 Minute Read I took both of these just yesterday. The first, of The Golden Gate Bridge, was snapped a bit after sunrise, during my daily 5 mile walk in The Presidio. The origin of the second photo, of The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is a bit more nefarious: I snapped it with Miguel Shannon after a boozy lunch ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read It is taking a lot of restraint for me not to write or at least ask questions about the fiasco in Israel and Gaza. I find the current "no discussion allowed" environment to be unpleasant and not productive. And while I don't want to piss anyone off, I do wonder if it's healthy to equate any questioning o...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 3 Minute Read On the ride home from SFO last Tuesday after a vacation of contrasts, it was more of the same here. It was hard to avert my eyes from the homeless tents on the recently rebuilt and beautified Van Ness Avenue, one of SF's main promenades. It was something I had never seen before, at least not on Van Ness ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 1 Minute Read + 10 minute external podcast First, no more Ukrainian flag. Why? Because what am I going to do? Have 3 flags, one each for Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine? What a mess - everywhere. Maybe China will invade Taiwan soon! Until then (!), I would like to share the single most intelligent and balanced thing I'...

OVERVIEW (Editor's Note: This is full of photos. If it's slow to load, try opening it in a browser using this link.) Cabo Pulmo National Park is a marine sanctuary on the southeastern tip of the Baja Peninsula, on the Sea of Cortez, in Mexico. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and about a 55 mile (m-f'ing fairly gruesome) drive from ...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 2 Minute Read It probably seems like just yesterday that I did what I do here, but it's been a week. I am back. Tan, rested, ready, and bearded. Of course a Cabo Pulmo Mexico Travel Guide is forthcoming, but it may take a while - it's going to be unusual. That's because it was Bogus and Diamond Certified, all at the s...

A car is coming soon to take us to SFO. But I published my "last" post before vacation without acknowledging the horrific situation in Israel and Gaza. Also, my recent Oily post now seems naïve, but who cares? There were and will be so many killed. Hamas revealed itself again to be the savage terrorist organization it is. No matter wha...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS 4 Minute Read Today, I will conclude my Soft on People, Tough on Crime proposal for treating ourselves better in America. I believe we have advocates on one side that want to almost always be soft on people, but also soft on crime. And, of course, on the other, those who don't really care about people in the first pla...

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS <2 Minute Read On Monday, I'll be wrapping up my ginormous Soft on People, Tough on Crime program proposal. It's a big post, so today's is short(er), and mostly a summary of SOPTOC. First, the belief that underpins the entire thing: People are most definitely not born with a gene that makes them want to steal and/or s...