Author: georgefattell

A cold grey day in Ocean Beach

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The view of Ocean Beach from the OB Pier 16 DEC 2011
I took a trip out to San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood this afternoon (16 Dec 2011). Sometimes I just like to hangout in parts of San Diego other than the neighborhood that I live in, which is Cortez Hill. My neighborhood is one of several that comprise downtown San Diego, which includes everything in the 92101 zip code. I like downtown SD because it is the most urban part of San Diego and it is very walkable. As a former New Yorker I appreciate that characteristic of downtown. However, I also find several other sections of San Diego intriguing because of their own unique character. Sometimes I go to the neighborhoods around Balboa Park, such as North Park or nearby Banker’s Hill. Other days I might go to one of the beachside parts of the city, such as La Jolla Village or Pacific Beach. I also enjoy going across San Diego bay to visit Coronado and Imperial Beach.

Ocean Beach is located on the western side of Point Loma and is, of course, situated next to the beach. The locals refer to Ocean Beach as OB and it is definitely the most bohemian of all of San Diego’s neighborhoods. OB is a very laid back place that has a variety of good little restaurants, bars and coffeehouses, which is always a draw for me. Today I went to a coffeehouse called the Newbreak Coffee & Cafe, which is right across the street from the beach and a few blocks from the Ocean Beach Pier. The pier was built in 1966 and is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast, at 1,971 feet in length.

I went to the Newbreak to do a little work on my iPad (free wifi) over a few cups of tea and a bagel. Afterwards, I took a walk on the beach and along the pier. The weather today was far from ideal, it was cold, grey and windy. Yet, the vistas up and down the coast were beautiful and striking. The sky was filled with clouds of varying hues, with streaks of sunlight punching through the clouds. See below.

Sunset at Ocean Beach 16 December 2011

The view south toward Sunset Cliffs

The year in Film: 2011

Posted on by georgefattell

I’ve seen a fair amount of new films this year and as we approach year end I am putting together my top 5 films of the year list. I would characterize the overall quality of films in 2011 as good, but not great. Although, it looks like the year will finish strong, with several potentially excellent films being released between now and December 31st.

I’ve seen three films so far that I’m pretty sure will make my top 5 list and those would be the following:

The Descendants Directed by Alexander Payne

The Tree of Life Directed by Terrence Malick

Midnight in Paris Directed by Woody Allen

I think all three of these films will be in the hunt for Best Picture come Oscar Time.

UFC 140: Jon Jones Pre-Fight Interview

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UFC 140: Jon Jones Pre-Fight Interview.

Light Heavy Weight Champ Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Lyoto Machida

I’m really looking forward to this fight. It has the potential to be a classic. Lyoto Machida should be a formidable opponent for Jon Jones. It will be an interesting clash of styles. Each fighter is multi-dimensional, but Machida’s base is karate, while Jones’s base is wrestling. I predict that Jones will win because I think his 6’4″ frame, overall athletic ability and quickness gives him a distinct advantage over every other LHW in the UFC. I also think Jones is always extremely well prepared by Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn for all fights. I don’t think this fight will be an exception.

Jones by TKO in the 3rd Rd.

My new blog: gmf Market Perspective.

Posted on by georgefattell

I have a new blog, called gmf Market Perpective. This blog reflects my current thoughts on the financial markets. I constructed this blog over one year ago, but I put it on the back burner for a while. It is still a work in progress, but I am now posting items on that blog on a regular basis. I hope to put up at least three or four posts a week on that blog. Many of the posts will be relatively short and easy to read quickly.

Here is the link for my new blog:

gmf Market Perspective

Please take look at it and bookmark it if you have an interest in the financial markets.

Santa Fe Depot at night

Posted on by georgefattell

Here are a couple of pictures I took at Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego last night. The Depot is the main train station for San Diego and services the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, the Coaster train (San Diego commuter train) and the San Diego Trolly. The Spanish Colonial Revival building was opened in 1915 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A few pictures from Christo’s last project, The Gates in Central Park

Posted on by georgefattell

Back in 2005 I was living in San Diego, but I made a trip back to New York in February of that year to see Christo’s last project, which was located in Central Park. The project, called The Gates, was comprised of 7,503 gates, which were installed over the entire length of the park. The gates were 16 ft tall and varied in width, from 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet. Each gate had a saffron-colored panel of nylon fabric hanging from it. The Gates Project had a life span of two weeks (12 Feb to 25 Feb) and that was it, it was gone after that, never to return. Seeing the Gates was a once in a life time opportunity.

Here are a few of the pictures I took of The Gates….

Asia Times Online :: The economics of polarization

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Asia Times Online :: The economics of polarization.

Great article by Spengler. Hat tip to Michael Savage for bringing this to my attention today. I’ve read Spengler before in the AT, but it has been a while.

Has America become irrational? Not since the 1930s have politics been so polarized, from the Tea Party movement on one side of the spectrum to the Occupy Wall Street protesters on the other. Why does the right object so vehemently to government spending? And why does the left attack private capital with parallel passion? The answer lies not in the American psyche, but in the statistics.

The Tea Party is a middle-class movement, older, better educated and wealthier than average, but it is not a party of the very wealthy, who are conspicuously absent among its activists. They know from personal or family experience that taxation is destroying the American middle class. They are approaching retirement, and most of their wealth is in the family home, as it is for the great majority of Americans:

The safest train in the USA

Posted on by georgefattell

I was in Oceanside, CA a couple of days ago and happened to see a new Metrolink Hyundai Rotem CEM cab car for the first time. I’m a bit of a train buff so I had to snap a picture. CEM stands for Crash Energy Management. Metrolink is the commuter train line that serves the greater Los Angeles area. Oceanside is the last stop at the southern end of the Metrolink Orange County line. These train cars went into service in 2010 and are claimed to be the safest train cars in the USA by the manufacturer. A total of 117 cars were ordered in the aftermath of two deadly Metrolink train crashes that took place in 2005 and 2008, killing a total of 38 people. The CEM cars have crumple zones that are designed to absorb much of the energy of a crash. The CEM cars also have other new safety features that are designed to make the cars safer for passengers if a crash does occur, including stronger couplers, high backed seats and tables that collapse upon impact. The trains are also equipped with a GPS system designed track the trains and prevent collisions.

UFC 137 Las Vegas

Posted on by georgefattell

Unfortunately, the quality of the card diminished somewhat when the main event, Georges St. Pierre vs Carlos Condit, had to be cancelled due to a knee injury sustained by St. Pierre a few weeks ago. Too bad, that fight had the potential to be a very good one. I would have picked GSP to win, as would most other UFC fans, because he is just so well rounded as a fighter. Like most of the really top notch fighters in the UFC GSP is multi-dimensional. He can fight well standing up, with strikes and kicks or he can take the fight to the ground and use his superior wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

However, I think Condit would have had a decent outside shot to pull an upset because he has serious KO power in his fists and he would have posed a real threat to GSP in my opinion.

I think the UFC plans to reschedule this bout in few months. Some think the the winner of Penn vs Diaz deserves the next crack at GSP, but think that would unfair to Condit, who is on a 4 fight streak, with an overall record of 27-5. Condit has earned his shot at GSP.

The remaining fights on the card for 137 are still in place and there are some good ones, but none as interesting as GSP vs Condit. The top three fights on the main card are as follows:

Welterweight BJ Penn vs Nick Diaz

I
Heavyweight Cheick Kongo vs Matt Mitrione

Heavyweight Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic vs Roy Nelson

I think Penn, Mitrione and Nelson all win, but I won’t be shocked if all three fights go the other way because these fights are all toss ups in my opinion. I wouldn’t want to bet real money on any of them, especially the HW bouts.

The Penn vs Diaz is the most interesting fight, by far, because Penn is an All-Time UFC great and Diaz, a former UFC fighter, left the UFC back in 06 and won a championship in the rival Strikeforce organization, which the UFC acquired earlier this year. Both these guys hit hard and they really seem to dislike each other so that should make for a good bout.

POST 137


I went 1-2 in my picks, but I think I should gone 1-1-1, if not 2-1. Why? because the Kongo- Mitrione fight should have been a draw, if not a win for Mitrione. It was a really sloppy fight. I think Mitrione won the first two rounds and Kongo won the third.

BJ Penn and CroCop also announced that they will retire after losing their respective bouts. I agree with both of them. I think it is time for both of these MMA warriors to end their days inside the cage.