Views of San Diego’s New Central Library

Posted on by georgefattell

San Diego’s magnificent new Central Library opened a few weeks ago and I’ve spent quite a few hours at the new building since it opened. I’ve been closely following the progress of this building since construction started back in August of 2010 and I was genuinely excited to finally see it open. Now that I have throughly explored the building from top to bottom I can honestly say that it has exceeded my high expectations. I think the design of the building is striking, but it is also highly functional. Every floor has plenty of work space and seating, as well as numerous power outlets for laptops, tablets, phones, etc. It is a library built for the 21st century.

The San Diego Central Library
The San Diego Central Library

Library facts:
9 floors
497,652 square feet
350 seat Auditorum
The 6th and 7th floors are occupied by the e3 Civic High Charter school
2,000 square foot main reading room at the top of the building
250 space underground parking garage
The Library cost $185,000,000.00 (35% Private donations)
Architects: Rob Wellington Quigley, FAIA and Tucker Sadler & Associates

The Main Lobby
The Main Lobby of the San Diego Central Library

Why did San Diego build a new library? Well, here is picture of the former Central Library, which was built in 1954, back when San Diego had a population of less than 400,000.

San Diego's Central Library 1954-2013
San Diego’s Central Library 1954-2013

The old library was a perfectly fine building, but it was simply too small to serve as a library for the major city that San Diego has become and it was hopelessly out of date technologically. I visited the old library many times and it seemed like a building that had hardly changed from the 1950’s era. It did have a few computers and free wifi, but still seemed to be very antiquated. The furniture, for the most part, looked like original equipment, straight from 1954. It even had a 1950’s/1960’s era phone booth off the main lobby.

I think the new library is a building that the people of San Diego can be very proud of. It is arguably the most important new building to be built in downtown San Diego since neighboring Petco Park was completed in 2004 because it is an iconic structure that has immediately become one of the most distinctive buildings in the entire city and it will play an invaluable role as a major academic and cultural asset for the city. Both of the structures have helped transform the East Village section of downtown San Diego, from an ugly unattractive part of the city which was dominated by warehouses, parking lots and run down buildings to a very modern and attractive residential area. The East Village is still a work in progress, large parts of that section of town still need to be improved, but the Library was a major step forward for the neighborhood. It has added character to the East Village in a way no other building could.

330 PARK BLVD

The East Village in Downtown San Diego
The East Village in Downtown San Diego

If you would like to see more pictures of the Central Library, both inside and out, please click the link below. That will take you to a slideshow that I recently put together which is comprised of pictures I took during my visits to the library over the course of the past few weeks.

http://george718.zenfolio.com/p994372937/slideshow

Podcast Listening… Part II

Posted on by georgefattell

This is my second post about Podcasts. As I mentioned in my first post about Podcasts, I’ve become a big fan of Podcasts within the last few years and from time to time I will highlight certain Podcasts that I think are interesting, informative or just plain entertaining. When I think it is appropriate I will attach a Film style rating (PG, R, etc.) to the descriptions of the podcasts in order to indicate adult content when appropriate..

The Mark Levin Show Audio Rewind

Mark Levin is a conservative radio talk show host, with a nationally syndicated show. He broadcasts his show from his home in northern Virgina. Mr. Levin is a lawyer by training and served in the Reagan administration in a number of positions, including as the Chief of Staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese.

It doesn’t take long to figure out if you like Levin or not. Not too many people have neutral feelings about Levin. Levin’s opinions are very unambiguous and his criticisms of Democrats, as well as establishment Republicans (RINO’s), can be quite pointed. Some consider his style abrasive and he does engage in a fair amount of yelling, screaming and name calling, but he makes no apologies about that, that’s just his style.

Levin has an exceptional understanding of law and the constitution and I think his insights on legal topics and the activities of Congress, the Executive branch and the Judicial branch of the government are what often make the show worth listening to.

An added bonus in my view is that Levin is a big MMA fan and sometimes discusses the sport on his show, which is rare among the major political talk show hosts. He has interviewed UFC President Dana White and UFC star Chael Sonnen on the show, who happens to be a conservative Republican.

Real Time with Bill Maher Rated R for profanity

And on the other end of political spectrum….we have Bill Maher. I agree Maher a whole lot less than I agree with Levin on most political issues, but I still enjoy the podcast of Maher’s HBO show quite a bit. I would say I only agree with Maher about 10 percent of the time, but I often find the lively debates that he presides over on Real Time interesting, even if the the conservatives that are invited to the show are often outnumbered. However, I appreciate the fact that Maher is willing to allow discussions that cover just about every political topic, no matter how controversial. Although there is a comedic element to Maher’s show I often find the debates on his show more authentic then the debates that take place on the traditional Sunday morning network political shows, such as Meet the Press or Face the Nation.

This is not a video podcast, just the audio from the television show, but that works fine in this case. In some ways I think I enjoy just listening to this particular show more than I do watching it because I can pay attention to the dialogue better.

Disclaimer: My recommendation of a podcast does not necessarily mean that I agree with the views and opinions of the podcast’s host(s) or guests.

Was Breaking Bad the best TV series ever?

Posted on by georgefattell

I just finished watching the final 8 episodes of Vince Gilligan’s great Breaking Bad. I downloaded the series from iTunes and I put it aside until I could watch all 8 episodes within a couple of days. 

In the immediate aftermath of the finale a lot of critics and fans alike are asking where BB stands in relation to other great television shows. Some have declared BB the best show ever made. At this point I don’t think I could rank BB #1, but it would certainly be in my top 10, if not my top 5. I hesitate to rank BB #1 or one of the top 3 shows ever because I am trying not to be too influenced by what I will call near term bias. I think many people, myself included at times, tend to overrate impressive performances they have recently seen, and that applies to any number things; Films, TV Shows, sporting events, political speeches, etc. Let’s look back in a few years and see how well BB holds up. I think BB will hold up well because was so well written and it finished so strongly.

One of the things about this show that I truly admire is that it ended at it’s creative peak. The show won a well deserved Emmy this year for Best Drama. Walter White and company went out on top. I think it was the right decision to bring the series to an end after five seasons, even though I’m sure the brilliant writers of this could have kept things interesting for a few more seasons if they had really wanted to. But could they have surpassed what they achieved in season 5? I can’t rule that out, but I think it would have been very difficult. I think the show probably would have peaked in season 5 and started a slow decline. I can’t think of many shows that actually got better after season 5. However, many shows, including many of those ranked among the top 10 or 20 hang on past their prime and ultimately leave us in a state of obvious decline. I’m glad BB did not go out that way.

Perception and Reality in the Social Media Age

Posted on by georgefattell

Maybe I should have titled this post Misperception and Reality, but I will just keep the post title as it is for now.

I am old enough to remember what the world was like before the internet, before the world wide web, before e-mail, before blogs and social networks, etc. Overall, I think this information technology has been a great advance for mankind and I could not not envision going back to a world without it. However, I am sometimes dismayed by the variety of ways the internet can be used by individuals with less than good intentions to damage or attempt to damage the reputations of other people by spreading false or misleading information.

I don’t share many details of my personal life on this blog or the other forms of social media I use, such as Twitter and Google+. Why? Well, I don’t think that information would be very interesting to the general public, moreover I really don’t think they need to know about that facet of my life. I can assure you my private life is fairly unexciting, although I quite enjoy it that way. I quit Facebook (never used it much) and I also quit MySpace (remember that!?) years ago. I only have so much time to spend on this type of activity. My WordPress blog, Twitter and Google+ provide all I really need or want from social media. Since I don’t share a lot of information about my personal life on the internet I have given a few people the opportunity to try to paint a picture of me that is somewhat less than accurate.

Sometimes I am amazed that there are so many adults out there that can spend much of their time disparaging other people on the internet and often in a very juvenile fashion. I certainly don’t engage in the personal attacks and petty insults. You can go through all the posts on this blog, my Twitter account and my Google+ page and you won’t any examples of me posting ad hominem attacks against anyone I know personally. I consider myself a good natured person. Perhaps I’m not the most outgoing person at times, but in general I’m a pretty friendly person. There are very few people I truly dislike in this world. I could probably count them on my fingers. But even those people I just ignore for the most part. I don’t have the time or desire to stoop to the level of childish name calling.

Some members of Twitter post a small disclaimer on their Twitter page that states ReTweet does not = endorsement. I agree with that. I haven’t posted that type of disclaimer on my Twitter, but I may in the future. And I might expand that disclaimer and state that just because I have visited a particular web site doesn’t mean I agree or disagree/ approve or disapprove of the content on that website. Those of you who think you can discern what I think or what my specific interests and values are based largely or solely on the websites that I have visited are quite mistaken. I know through my own experience that certain individuals who think they know what websites I have visited have come to conclusions about my behavior and character that are waaaay off base.

Can you tell a book by it’s cover? No, you cannot in many cases. Well, I would also suggest that can’t come to definite conclusions about the character of a many people based solely on their social media content and web sites they may have visiited. Yes, you can learn certain things, but unless someone is explicitly stating what they like or don’t like, what they approve of or do not approve of, what they agree with or do not agree with you can’t come to definite conclusions about the character, values and interests of an individual. So, please bear that in mind next you think you know “all about” a person just because you have done “search” on the internet. Trust me, you don’t.

I’ll give you an example, a few months ago I sent a link to a story a about Ted Nugent giving consideration to running for President to a friend. I sent just the link alone, without additional commentary because the person that I sent the link to knows me well enough to know that I would think that the story is funny and that I would not seriously support Ted Nugent running for President. However, if I just posted that link on Twitter or my blog, without any comment, some people might conclude, mistakenly of course, that I think the idea of Ted Nugent running for President is a good idea and that I support him for that office.

I could cite numerous similar examples, pertaining to all sorts of other subjects and activities. Just because I have visited some web site that doesn’t mean I support the views/opinions presented on that site or that I want to actually participate in the activities that some sites feature.

I watch tons of MMA videos. That doesn’t mean I want to jump in an Octagon. I read articles about base jumping and I watch base jumping videos too. That doesn’t mean I want to jump off a skyscraper. Get it?

Most people that I am close to, including family and good friends, already know what I am going to explain below, but I want to spell out a few things out for who people don’t know me well and others who have never met me in person. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression of me based on the things a few trolls and nut cases have stated about me anywhere on or off the internet.

*I don’t do drugs.

*I don’t drink and drive.

*I don’t get drunk (I enjoy beer and wine, but I know my limits for each)

*I am single, but I’m not gay. Sorry, I’m just another straight guy. I have nothing against gay or bi people, but I don’t fall into that category. That said, I really don’t care too much about what consenting adults do with each other.

*I don’t hire sex workers (hookers). I wouldn’t do that for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I value my health.

*I don’t go to strip clubs. I have no problem with guys (or gals for that matter) who do go to strip clubs, but I don’t care for them.

*I don’t engage in “sexting” of any kind.

*
Let’s see, what else is there? Oh yeah, here are few more…..

I am not a member of the extreme leftist or a member of the communist party.
I am not an extreme “right-winger” or a fascist of any stripe.
I don’t engage in illegal gambling. (Ok, I might bet on football, basketball or the UFC when I’m in Vegas, where it is legal)
I don’t jaywalk.
I don’t litter.
I don’t harm small animals.
I don’t swear much, and never in front of children.

Am I getting a little bit absurd here? Yes, purposely, because the idea that I am anything other than a decent, thoughtful, hardworking person is laughable in my humble opinion. Although, I will admit to having an offbeat sense of humor.

Heck, I’ve been a model citizen in many respects. I haven’t even received a traffic ticket in over 20 years, let alone something more serious than that. If anyone out there has actually WITNESSED me engaging in conduct that was indecent, unethical or otherwise improper in any way within the last 10 or 20 years I’d be interested in hearing from you. Please contact me, because I have no recollection of such behavior and I’d like to find out more about my alleged misconduct. Maybe my memory is faulty, but I doubt it…

UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafasson

Posted on by georgefattell

The UFC visits Toronto and the main event of UFC 165 tonight features a very interesting battle for the Light Heavy Weight crown between Champion Jon Jones and Swedish challenger Alexander Gustafasson. The rest of the 165 card is decent, but Jones vs Gustafasson stands out as the most intriguing fight of the evening in my opinion. In the wake of the recent by Anderson “Spider” Silva to Chris Weidman Jon Jones is now widely acknowledged as the best pound for pound MMA fighter in the world and whenever he fights it is a must see event for serious MMA fans. A strong case for Jones being the PFP best could have been made prior to Silva’s defeat, but now that case is very difficult to dispute.

Jon “Bones” Jones, 19-1, (-850) vs. Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafasson, 15-1, (+550)

Vegas has installed Jones the heavy favorite for this fight and I understand that and agree that he should be. I think very highly of Jones and always have. Just read some my previous blog posts about him. He does everything well and can win via a KO or a submission. He is always in good shape and is always well prepared by his trainer, Greg Jackson. It is hard to envision a scenario in which he would lose to any top ten fighter in the LHW division if he is at his best.

However, I still think Gustafasson has a legitimate outside shot of scoring an upset and being crowned the new UFC LHW Champ. I usually don’t feel that way when the odds are this lopsided, but Gustafasson is a very good striker (9 KO’s) and is a very well rounded MMA fighter in other respects. Gustafasson was a relatively weak wrestler and his only loss occurred a few years ago to Phil Davis, a former D-1 wrestling champ. What did he do in response to that? He started training with Davis at the Team Alliance gym in San Diego (Chula Vista) and now he has developed good wrestling skills, which he will need against Jones, who is an excellent wrestler.

At 6’5″, The Mauler also presents Jones with a challenge he hasn’t faced before, an opponent who is actually taller than he is, by one inch, although Jones still maintains a reach advantage (84.5 inches vs 76.5 inches). Both fighters are 26 years old.

So here I am making the case for Gustafasson, but would I bet on him if I was in Vegas right now? Maybe a small bet because the payoff, but I really think Jones is going to win. However, Jones is such a heavy favorite I think betting on him is relatively poor value proposition. I don’t think betting on any MMA fighters at -700 or higher is advisable if they are facing a capable opponent and I think Gustafasson falls into that category.

Jones wins by TKO in the 3rd round.

NFL Predictions for 2013

Posted on by georgefattell

Wow, the NFL preseason went by quickly and all of sudden here we are, the real thing. Well, I guess you could say the real thing started last Thursday night, when Denver clobbered Baltimore, but to me the NFL season has not truly commenced until the first full Sunday

Here are my picks for each Division:

AFC East: New England. Here is what I wrote about the Patriots last year: Easy pick here. I don’t see any other team in AFC East challenging the Pat’s, with their high octane offense and a defense that should be improved.

I feel pretty much the same way about the Pat’s this year. Miami looks like a decent team they and could post a winning record, but I don’t think that the Dolphins are capable of overtaking New England this season.

AFC North: Cincinnati.Tough call between Cincy and Pittsburg. The Bengals are the up and coming team in this division and

AFC South: Houston. No change from last year. The Texans will be strong on both sides of the ball and I don’t see any of their division rivals challenging them.

AFC West: Denver. Well, Peyton Manning eliminated all doubts about his ability to play at high level again last season. The Broncos are by far the best team in this division. I think the Chargers have a chance of winning a wild-card slot, but they won’t challenge Denver this season.

NFC East: Washington. This division is a very tough call because all four teams could conceivably win it. I’m tempted to pick the Giants because they are one of my favorite teams and the team I rooted for growing up (I lived about 10 miles away from the Meadowlands). However, I think the Redskins have the potential to be the best team the division, if, and it is a big “if”, Robert Griffin III is fully recovered and remains healthy for the entire season. Philly and Dallas also seem to have the potential to be good, but will any team this division be great? I don’t think so. I think a record of 10-6 or 9-7 will win this division.

NFC North: Green Bay. I picked the Packers last year and I’m picking them again this year and I feel more confident about that because they seem to have bolstered their running game and that will make Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense even more dangerous.

NFC South: Atlanta.The Falcons looked like an elite team last year and I don’t see any reason that they will not be very good again this season. Now that New Orleans has their head coach back they should very good too and they may threaten Atlanta, but I’ll stick with the Falcons.

NFC West: San Francisco. Last year I predicted that Seattle would be good, but not good enough to seriously challenge the 49ers. Of course, San Francisco did win the division, but Seattle, led by superstar rookie QB Russell Wilson, definitely posed a threat to them. The Seahawks will be a strong rival again this season, there isn’t much separating these two teams and I expect both to go to the playoffs and contend for the Superbowl. I think both of these teams are among a half dozen that could win it all.

AFC Conference Champion: Denver

NFC Conference Champion: San Francisco

Superbowl Champion: Denver

I’m giving the edge to Denver in the SB because it will be played in New Jersey, in cold weather for the first time (and hopefully the last). In warm weather or indoors I would probably favor the 49ers, but the game may very well end up being played in the snow and the winter conditions will favor Denver against most likely opponents, with the possible exception of Green Bay.

We will see how things stand at the end of the regular season. I may want to change my Conference and SB picks at that time, but right now I feel my choices are pretty solid.