Topanga State Park

Soju House James M. Wood and Vermont 2nd Floor

Get ready to eat some Korean Bar snacks and homebrew soju.

Nature Photos

Downtown Los Angeles and some Iron

Judge Arnold is a Crypto Nazi

This place is also known as the Torn-Ass courthouse. Let me explain. If you are picked up for a crime in Inglewood, Hawthorne, or Lennox, statistically, you are either Latino, Black or maybe even Blacktino. Your preliminary hearing may be in Inglewood, but your jury trial is going to take place here. Most criminal defendants going to trial here are going to be faced with a little problem. The jury pool at the Torrance Courthouse is composed primarily of Caucasian registered voters from Rancho Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and selected other affluent areas in the South Bay where almost no Latinos and Blacks make their home. A jury of their peers? More like a jury of douchenozzles. You know you don't want people from Manhattan Beach and Palos Verdes on your jury unless you want to hear the words ready, aim and fire.

Additionally, many of the judges that have been assigned to the criminal panel are former law enforcement, like Mark Arnold. These porcine judges are quite sympathetic and helpful to the young, invertebrate, unethical DDA's that carry out their orders at this courthouse. So helpful that it may even constitute judicial misconduct. Some of them are clearly crypto-Nazis. While I have never seen any of the DDA's that work here with sheets on their heads, it may just be due to the fact that I don't hang out with shitty people.

Ice House Canyon and the Chapman Trail

Beginning at Ice House Canyon, I took the Chapman Trail this time which was entirely new to me. You have to walk for approximately a mile, and then you will see it on the left hand side marked by a sign. I found it to be almost empty, in contrast to the dozens, if not hundreds of people on the Ice House Canyon Trail to the South. The Chapman Trail offers some beautiful scenery as you traverse moderate switchbacks through chaparral, oak, cedar groves, unspoiled meadows, towering yucca with giant white flowers across a background of blue sky. Eventually winding up at Ice House Saddle, I can hardly wait to go back here. In fact, I think I will tell them I am sick later this afternoon so I can get out of the office and back on that trail. Healthy rodent population, trees look green and healthy for the most part, plenty of birds but I didn't see any raptors at all. You are going to arrive at the wilderness boundary at the 3 mile mark, after which you will need a permit(Baldy Ranger Station). Get an adventure pass to park(Big5). This is a really sacred place, and whatever little words I put on the internet don't do it much justice.

The Trump International - The Best $100 bucks you are going to spend in Vegas if you hate gambling

After taking a survey in statistics as an undergraduate, I realized the futility of casino gambling. During previous stays in Vegas, I would normally go to the Ritz in Lake Las Vegas about 20 minutes from the strip which did not have a casino either. When it closed, my wife booked rooms at the Signature, and some other hotel which were pretty smelly and you had to walk through their casinos to get to the room elevators. Fortunately, she booked rooms at the Trump this time.

Upon walking in the front door, there was no noticeable odor of cigarette or cigar smoke wafting into my nostrils to form a malignancy somewhere in my body. In addition, there were no drunkards shooting craps, fiddling with cards, or losing their money on other games of chance. The room was about 500sf, located on the 58th floor with a bird's eye view of the strip, and was pretty clean. I turned the sofa around so I could fully enjoy the view. The pool was heated to approximately 80 degrees, and I was the only person using it both days we were there. Top it all off with friendly and helpful hotel employees and I can honestly recommend this hotel.