Monday, June 20, 2016

Why is my Los Angeles Councilman David E. Ryu blocking me on Twitter?

Many months ago my councilman David Ryu blocked me on Twitter? I've called his office many times and no one will speak to me about it. Has this happened to you? Why are you blocking me Councilman Ryu? I reached out to people in your office and they ignored me:
Here's all the tweets I've sent to you mentioning that I could find. I don't see anything that warrants a your action to block one of your constituents, though since you do not disclose why you banned me I cannot learn what I did wrong.





















posted by Alex at 9:27 AM 0 comments

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Blood Moon Eclipse Saturday April 4, 2015 458am

Just happened to be awake and realized there was a Blood Moon outside.

Blood Moon Eclipse Saturday April 4, 2015 458am

posted by Alex at 5:22 AM 0 comments
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Monday, September 22, 2014

How do I send money to a friend using Paypal without them paying fees?


Paypal is an awesome service. With it, you can instantly and securely send money to people and businesses anywhere on Earth. But Paypal has to make money as well. So if you're paying for goods or services, they charge a fee. But you can send money to someone for free if it is money being sent to a friend AND the funds are coming from a bank account, not a credit card.

As long as your paypal account is linked to a bank account, checking or savings account, that contains enough funds to cover the payment you wish to send, you can send money to someone without fees.

1. Log into your Paypal account.

2. Click on the "Send money to a friend" button

3. Enter the mobile number or email address of your friend and the amount you wish to send to them.

4. Press the Send button.

That's it!

***NOTE This only works for payments sent from someone in the USA to someone in the USA. International payments may not be free. :/
The day may come when we'll be able to send money instantly to anyone on Earth with little or no fees for the transfer. This is the promise that Bitcoin hopes to deliver on. Right now, it's not clear if it's sustainable:

Under Bitcoin protocol and payment scheme, anyone can send any amount of bitcoins that he owns to anywhere in the world via internet, near instantly for near zero fees. While the popular crypto-currency enjoys low transaction fees, a feature that is highly promoted and is working fine for the current state of the Bitcoin ecosystem, we argue that in an unforeseeable future, zero or infinitesimal transaction fees will not be sustainable. We apply a financial reasoning via depicting the interrelation of fees with mining, securing the network against 51% attacks, scarcity of supplies and the price of bitcoin, which in addition are the essential parameters involved in the problem of setting the right transaction fee in the future that we briefly discuss. -Kerem Kaskaloglu


so for now, Paypal is a pretty good deal
posted by Alex at 7:58 AM 0 comments
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Friday, September 5, 2014

Ride for Milt, Then Write For Milt. DA Jackie Lacey Needs To Hear From You!



On Wednesday I participated in a protest ride to demand justice for Milt Olin, a cyclist who was struck and killed by an LA County Deputy. District Attorney Jackie Lacey was presented with a case recommending prosecution of Deputy Wood, yet she declined to prosecute. Milt was killed while riding in a bike lane on a clear day with perfect visibility. Deputy Wood was texting at the time of the accident, acting in violation of department policy. 









Deputy Wood killed Milt on Mulholland Highway, a place I ride regularly for leisure and exercise, along with hundreds of other cyclists. As some of you may know, I was the victim of a hit and run driver, so this issue is very close to my heart. I was overwhelmed with emotions as I arrived at the memorial yesterday, mostly anger and sadness. Simply put, the DA's decision not to prosecute Deputy Wood is a total miscarriage of justice that must be corrected.







I want to urge you all to write a brief letter to DA Jackie Lacey requesting that she reconsider filing charges against Deputy Wood. 

You can contact DA Lacey via email: webmail@da.lacounty.gov

Snail Mail:

District Attorney's Office

County of Los Angeles

210 West Temple Street, Suite 18000

Los Angeles, CA 90012-3210

Or Telephone: (213) 974-3512

And even Twitter!: @LADAOffice







My mom wrote a moving letter to DA Lacey, which I believe sums up the issue perfectly.

District Attorney's Office
County of Los Angeles
210 West Temple Street, Suite 18000
Los Angeles, CA 90012-3210
Telephone: (213) 974-3512 
September 4, 2014 
RE: Your decision to not prosecute Deputy Wood NEEDS TO BE RECONSIDERED 
Honorable Jackie Lacey 
I am writing as a physician, a biker, member of a family of five devoted bikers. and the mother of my youngest’s son who was almost killed by a hit & run while riding a bike on a clear day just like the day Mr Milt Olin was killed by Deputy Wood. I am urging you to reconsider your decision NOT to prosecute the Deputy. All of us have to be held responsible for our failures in judgement and for violating laws. 
It is an outrage to NOT file charges against Deputy Wood on a legal technicality based on an ill conceived exemption. Modern technologies are posing hazards that require special skills and no professional person should be exempted from the consequences of their poor judgement. 
While filing charges will not bring back Mr Olin still this was a senseless killing that could & should have been avoided. It is particularly offensive that the killing happened by a professional dedicated to SERVE & PROTECT. 
I hope you reconsider
Respectfully Yours, 
Maria T. Lymberis, MD
Distinguished Life Fellow American Psychiatric Association
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Honorary
UCLA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

You can also head over to LACBC's site to see another sample letter:

http://la-bike.org/milt-olin

The ride was organized by the LA County Bike Coalition, Yield to Life and the Ghost Bike Foundation.




The family of Milt started a foundation dedicated to eliminating cycling related deaths and injuries:



Here's some of the press the event generated:










posted by Alex at 7:51 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Ride for Justice for Milt Olin Wednesday September 3, 2014


Tomorrow I'm riding in support of Milt Olin, who was killed by a Los Angeles Deputy who was too busy texting legally to avoid driving into Milt as he rode in the bike lane on Mullholland. Then the District Attorney decided there was no crime worth prosecuting. So long as our society sanctions the legal slaughter of cyclists, you'll find me riding for justice. Join me.


Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - 4:00pm - 9:00pm
Milt Olin, on the right, with his two sons.Yesterday we learned that the L.A. County District Attorney's Office would not be pressing charges against the sheriff's deputy who struck and killed Milt Olin in Calabasas last December. The sheriff's deputy was typing on his mobile computer in his patrol car when he struck Olin at 48 miles per hour. Olin, a prominent entertainment attorney and former executive for Napster, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Yield to Life, and Ghost Bike Foundation will host a ride and vigil for Milt Olin to call on the D.A. to revisit the investigation and consider pressing charges.

When: Wednesday, September 3

Schedule of events:

4:00 p.m. Meet at crash site (around 22532 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA 91302)
4:15 p.m. Moment of silence
4:30 p.m. Start ride
6:30 p.m. Leave from the L.A. Zoo parking lot (5333 Zoo Dr, Griffith Park, CA 90027). Other riders can meet up here.
7:30-8:00 p.m. Arrive at District Attorney's office (210 W Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012)
8:00 p.m. Candlelight vigil
The public is invited to join us at the beginning, ride with us, join us for the vigil, or meet us at any point along the way (exact route to be determined).
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Yield to Life, and Ghost Bike Foundation will host a ride and vigil for Milt Olin to call on the D.A. to revisit the investigation and consider pressing charges.
When: Wednesday, September 3
Schedule of events:
4:00 p.m. Meet at crash site (around 22532 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA 91302)4:15 p.m. Moment of silence4:30 p.m. Start ride6:30 p.m. Leave from the L.A. Zoo parking lot (5333 Zoo Dr, Griffith Park, CA 90027). Other riders can meet up here.7:30-8:00 p.m. Arrive at District Attorney's office (210 W Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012)8:00 p.m. Candlelight vigilThe public is invited to join us at the beginning, ride with us, join us for the vigil, or meet us at any point along the way (exact route to be determined).


For more info visit LACBC website: http://la-bike.org/milt-olin




posted by Alex at 3:49 PM 0 comments
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Monday, August 25, 2014

My Brand New Old 1984 Volkswagen Westfalia


I'm the proud owner of a 1984 Volkswagen Westfalia. It has the original 1.9l wasserboxer engine, with a little over 200,000 miles. It's all original, except for a recent repaint. It needs a lot of work including major repairs to the air conditioner which is currently being performed at Tony's in Eagle Rock.

So far, the car has passed the all important smile test:


So now the discussion is moving into what modifications I'd like to make. There's lots of directions I could go. It seems now that I own one, I'm seeing Westys everywhere!


The list of modifications is growing rapidly, and includes:

  • Engine Swap. VW TDI or Subaru?
  • Extra Battery with Solar Panel Charger on Roof
  • 15 inch wheels
  • Upgraded brakes
  • South African Headlights
  • Tow Hitch with bike rack
  • Tinted windows
  • New pop up tent
  • New skylight
  • New interior
What am I missing? What mods have you done to your Westfalia?

And speaking of new interior, here's a fabric swatch Heather showed me for inspiration. What do you think about this fabric? I kind of dig it! Can I find this pattern or one similar that's suitable for automotive use? Where would I look?




posted by Alex at 9:31 AM 0 comments
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Dangerous Sidewalks of Los Angeles | Fountain and Fairfax | Is this sidewalk safe?


For years I've walked along this sidewalk and marveled at how unsafe and unwelcoming it is for pedestrians to navigate, especially with speeding motorists driving in excess of 45mph inches from you.


I decided to call my local councilmember, Tom Labonge to see what can be done about this. After leaving a message and waiting a few days, I never heard back, so I called again and was put in touch with Rick Alatorre, Tom's Chief of Staff. Rick said he would send someone out to look at the sidewalk and would report back to me. Rick called me back a few days later and said there's not much of a problem at the location, which seemed shocking. So he said I could take some photos and send them to him and he would be happy to take another look.


As you can see in the photos, at some points you have less than 20 inches of space to move along the sidewalk. I decided to look up what a normal sidewalk width ought to be.


According to Accessible Sidewalks and Street Crossings - an informational guide, published by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

The pedestrian zone is the area of the sidewalk corridor that is specifically reserved for pedestrian travel. This area should be free of all obstacles, protruding objects, and any vertical obstructions hazardous to pedestrians, particularly for individuals with vision impairments. The pedestrian zone should be at least 1.8 m-3.0 m (6-10 ft) wide or greater to meet the desired level of service in areas with higher pedestrian volumes. This allows pedestrians to walk side by side or for pedestrians going in the opposite direction to pass each other. The pedestrian zone should never be less than 1.2 m (4 ft), which is the minimum width required for people using a guide dog, crutches, and walkers. Wheelchair users need about 1.5 m (5 ft) to turn around and 1.8 m (6 ft) to pass other wheelchairs.



It would appear that the north sidewalk on Fountain Ave shown in these photos falls well short of the minimum standards, this sidewalk doesn't even provide half the minimum recommended width for a safe and accessible sidewalk.

I hope Rick and his staff will take another look and hatch a plan to remedy this pronto.


posted by Alex at 10:28 AM 6 comments
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