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After breakfast, I took a small hike/walk through the Kit Carson Park Nature Trail with Hanie. The trail runs between a creek bed and some nice homes with big backyards. After the recent rains, the trail is very overgrown and green, while the creek is more that its usual trickle. We saw a few dogs along the way. The trail itself alternates in stretches of shade and sun. It’s a very flat trail and is more of a leisurely walk than any sort of hike. There’s also a half buried Ford Rustang along the trail. It’s been there for as long as I can remember.

The issue of net neutrality has occasionally popped in and out of my radar. However, lately I’ve taken a deeper interest in the issue and what’s at stake is serious and rather disturbing. Basically, the issue of net neutrality concerns whether the big telecoms (AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner) can control the content of the internet. This could mean…

• discrimination against rival content
• suppression of content
• tiered levels of bandwidth and content at different price points for the consumer
• prioritized bandwidth for content providers who can afford it

The telecom giants feel they have a right to control content because they provide the medium on which it is distributed. Net neutrality is the idea of keeping the internet in its current state, a medium free of control.

Recently, Harvard held a public FCC hearing on net neutrality. Comcast had narcoleptic employees squat in the seats to prevent legitimate people wanting to voice their opinion on the issue from participating in the forum. Another dastardly tactic from a corrupt, profit hungry company that is more concerned in appeasing the shareholder than the customer.

With the failure of net neutrality, the telecom industry is poised to reap huge profits by effectively creating a bidding war on content, then charging the consumer different prices for various content. Net neutrality strives to preserve content equality across the internet.

An electricity company does not dictate what appliances you can use. They don’t grant certain appliances electricity over other appliances just because a manufacturer has paid a premium to do so. Furthermore, they don’t demand more money from you for supplying electricity to a TV just because they know you use it often and they can earn more profits.

You pay a price for the internet, therefore you should be able to view and publish whatever content you want with the assurance that the content has not been tampered with or given less bandwidth/made less accessible because its provider or consumer couldn’t pay the telecom companies enough money.

Here are some sites that help better explain this important issue:

• Google Help Center
  
• Save The Internet

Here are some Youtube videos which do a good job presenting the issue and what’s at stake:

Went to the Wild Animal Park a few weeks ago with Hanie, Johann, Reina and Doug. We scored some premiere parking up front because we were driving a hybrid. Prius - 1 : Everyone else - 0. The highlight of the trip was the new Journey Into Africa tour, which replaces the aging, squeaking Wgasa Boosh Line monorail. Instead of following the outer perimeter of the open and expansive animal exhibit, you now board a biodiesel/bioethanol tram. I don’t remember which fuel it uses, just that it was green. The new tour snakes its way through the exhibit, bringing you much closer to the animals. The only downside is that it costs an additional $10. Luckily for us, Reina and Doug had coupons and existing membership passes, so it wasn’t pricey at all. It was an awesome trip overall. Here are a few pics from the trip. Follow the link afterwards for the rest.

Wild Animal Park Gallery

At the mere mention of ramen, you can’t help but think of hyper-salty Top Ramen with bits of orange and green dehydrated styrofoam bits posing as carrots and peas. It’s just another staple piece of Americana that you can pick up anywhere, even at gas stations. I’ve been guilty of eating and enjoying it.

Real ramen is a rare bird consisting of wheat noodles swimming in a seasoned meat-based broth. I recently went down to Mitsuwa Japanese market and ate ramen at their resident restaurant Kayaba. They had a ramen promotion which showcased the many different Japanese ramen styles. I had sadly missed the first 2 flavors, but I was able to taste the third: asameshimaeda shoyu ramen.

Shoyu ramen is a soy-based broth made from chicken & vegetable stock. The ramen came with half a hard-boiled egg, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and thinly sliced pork. A little light on looks, it was definitely big on flavor. The mushrooms were fresh and light, while the pork was tender. The healthy portion of noodles were perfect. However, the broth really is the centerpiece of everything. It’s rich, salty, and decadent. I had to get some green tea ice cream afterwards because my taste buds were exploding. I highly recommend hunting down a place that serves ramen and trying the real stuff. It’s a welcomed addiction.

The closest ramen place to me is in Poway, at Yume Cafe. They serve tonkotsu ramen, which is made of a pork-based broth. The broth is made from pork bones that have been boiling and stewing for hours. Yume Cafe’s website claims they stew theirs for 12 hours. I can’t wait to try it out.

So I finally broke down and got a credit card. Being my first card, I have a ridiculously low credit line compared to everyone else my age. Regardless though, I wanted in on the cash back rewards. I ended up getting a Chase Freedom Visa, which gives me 3% back on my top 3 spending categories (out of an available 15 categories) and 1% back on everything else. Once I hit $200 in rewards annually, I get an extra $50. With the ball-busting price of gas, various bills, and my monthly spending habits, I’m pretty close to that mark.

Now I’m sure you’ve all seen the commercials a million times (especially if you watch football) and the damn Stones song is ingrained into your subconscious, but I actually used the wireless, contactless payment option on the card known as Blink, and was totally blown away by it. I bought some floss at CVS last night. After the employee rang up the item, I just held my card up to the usual touchscreen swiper for about a second, then I was done. The employee and I were both equally shocked. She at first had no idea how I paid for my floss, then told me that she had never seen anyone use it or even knew what it was for. I have to admit, aside from the annoying tv spots, it is a rad piece of technology and makes buying shit really easy and convenient. Also, judging by the employee’s reaction, Hanie believes it can also serve as an ice breaker/chick magnet.

It’s been 2 months since returning from spending Thanksgiving in Prague, and I can say without a doubt that it’s fueled both my desires to travel more and to ultimately return back. I have fond memories of cobblestone streets, confusing alleyways, intricate architecture, friendly locals, rich foods, unbelievable beer, and Absinthe. Although virtually unscathed by WWII, the city bears the scars of years of Communist rule with soot-laden, graffiti-ridden buildings. However, to say that Prague is a dirty or ugly city would be a mistake. The city is in fact incredibly beautiful, with a healthy mix of modernness peppering the landscape of various old world architecture. Even though the city has an excellent rail system, its history and beauty beckons you to walk and explore it.

The cuisine in Prague is heavily centered around fresh, wild game meats: duck, rabbit, venison, etc. The generously portioned dishes are very rich tasting, but never overwhelming. Even though I have never lived in Prague, the dishes have a strong sense of hearthy nostalgia, which is very befitting of the cold, snowy weather and beautiful locale. Although simple in construction and straight-forward in taste, the ubiquitous dish of Czech goulash with dumplings is tasty, satisfying, and never monotonous. I certainly miss it.

Cheaper than soda, the beer is plentiful, palatable and smooth. Nearly every local beer, from dark to light, was excellent, including craft beers like coffee beer. It is a travesty that these beers are non-existent stateside aside from Pilsner Urquell. Aside from bottled water from the local market and an occasional cup of coffee, all I drank was beer. It compliments well with the food, prepares you for the cold autumn air, and never leaves you with a hangover.

Anyways, I could writes pages about Prague, but I’ll just cut to the chase with some photos and a link to the full album. Enjoy.

Photos of Prague