Look what I found chained up in downtown — it’s the Tripod, a three-wheeled velomobile made by Columbia Cycle Works, LLC. And it’s a mighty pretty thing, in my humble opinion.

If you want to go truly green with your commute, you should walk or ride a bike. Unfortunately, for a lot of the year that means cold, dark, and wet. With an enclosed velomobile, you stay snug and dry, and the addition of twin headlights certainly helps with visibility (as does that paint job – wow).

The typical downside to riding a velomobile is its additional weight, which is usually enough to make going up hills a nightmare. The Tripod however has a 500 Watt electric motor to provide an assist. Sweet!

Oh yes — I want one.

Related Posts

• February 22, 2010 -- “I Thought Of That While Riding My Bike”* (2)
• October 13, 2009 -- Portland Pedal Power (2)
• June 19, 2009 -- Survivorman Speaks (1)
• June 19, 2009 -- Father’s Day on a bike – Sunday Parkways (0)
• February 27, 2009 -- Oh yeah. People use bikes here too, don’t they? (2)

Here’s what we’ve found as we’ve traveled the local PDX web (complete with our comments) for March 7th (yes, it’s the “you want WHAT, Tom Hurley?” “You want to GIVE it to him, Randy?” righteous indignation edition):

• Dan Saltzman pushes for City Council vote to challenge $100,000 disability award to former firefighter Tom Hurley | – OregonLive.com

  From Maxine Bernstein's article: "Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman is seeking a City Council vote on Wednesday challenging the award of more than $100,000 in disability payments to Portland firefighter-turned chef Tom Hurley who had refused to return to a light-duty job

  Saltzman's resolution also asks council members to give the city attorney's office authority to challenge other union grievances and civil suits that threaten to unravel the 2006 reforms voters approved to curtail abuses in Portland's unique public safety disability and pension fund. "

• Hall Monitor | Hall Monitor | Portland Mercury

  Matt Davis wishes he can talk about a hearing he was at – but he can't. Thankfully…"Randy Leonard, was all too willing to spill a few beans (on the record) afterward. Leonard told me he thinks FPD&R should go ahead and pay $104,000 to former firefighter Tom Hurley, and not appeal it in court. Hurley has been claiming disability checks from the city since 1993, after he hurt his back."

• Nancy Rommelmann: Rogue of the Month: Tom Hurley

  Nancy’s got some righteous indignation going herself: "Where has all this led? To a fracas within the city council, with member Randy Leonard, former firefighter and current PDX fire commissioner, backing Hurley, and council member Dan Saltzman challenging.
  …
  What drives me batty is, we are paying these people's salaries! What a profound waste of time and money. Also, I will be very grateful if someone here can explain to me how Hurley can live with himself."

  Nancy wonders for me…

Related Posts

• January 11, 2010 -- OurPDX Shared Links for 1/11/09 (0)
• December 28, 2009 -- It’s All Greek To Me (8)
• November 29, 2009 -- What’s in Our Water, Pt Two (Or, Where’s the Water Bureau, Anyway?) (2)
• August 20, 2009 -- Act fast! Portland’s political landscape at stake! (2)
• July 28, 2009 -- Proposed Bull Run filtration plant could cost YOU $$$ (5)

Last Thursday, I was part of the pdx.fm gang that caught a sneak preview of “Hot Tub Time Machine” at the Lloyd Center Cinemas. I hadn’t been to that theater since my radio/media days and it brought back all kinds of memories — most of which weren’t actually very fond. (It had nothing to do with the theater, it had more to do with my radio/media days at that time.)

However, this movie was flat-out hysterical with one caveat: it helps enormously if you are in the 35-45 year old range.

The laughs were constant but it would make more sense to someone like me (I’m 40). I got every single 80s-tinged joke. I loved John Cusack in it — and I wish he would do more movies like this (2012? Oy.). Rob Corddry was a revelation, Craig Robinson was gold (the actor, not the OSU hoop coach though I like him very much) and Crispin Glover was delightful in all of his undeniable strangeness.

So what does this borderline-effusive-definitely-not-from-Shawn-Levy-esque review have to do with Portland? At all?

Well, it’s a movie about going back to the 80s. Therefore, it stands to reason that “I Can’t Wait” by Portland legends Nu Shooz would make an appearance.

And the song does. Briefly, in small riff form, at the front of the movie.

Though I’m proud of this mainstay making the rounds in this uproariously nutty film, I must say that I am more proud of Valerie Day, who was the lead singer of Nu Shooz.

See, she’s a wonderfully talented artist who is headlining at Shadow Jazz 2, a benefit for The Shadow Project, this Saturday, March 6th at the Old Church. The Shadow Project is an amazing organization that helps kids with learning disabilities get excited about learning. I had a chance to interview Christy Scattarella, the founder of the organization, on one of my shows and the stories of success are incredible.

I admit that I got a good chuckle hearing that song in the movie because it fit so well.

But I can’t help but smile even more when I think of all of the good this Saturday’s performance of the song (and many others) will do to help children in our area.

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• No Related Post

Sounds like a children’s book, doesn’t it?

Well, it’s not.

OK raise your hands if you’ve seen/ are a fan of Facebook’s “Portland was built on an ancient unicorn burial ground” ?

Mmm-hmm. That’s what I thought.

The claim is:  “It is common knowledge, that Portland Oregon was built on an ancient unicorn burial ground, and is clearly why Portland is as artistic and magical as it is.” I have evidence that it is getting out of hand!

Apparently EVERYONE in Portland is inspired by Unicorns.

Perhaps this masterpiece was put there to show that no aspect of Portland has been untouched by the magic of the ancient unicorns.

Whatever it is… do you really want a Thug Unicorn in your neighborhood?

…

Well… I do kind of like it there.  It makes me giggle.

Still, let’s get one thing straight — this doesn’t mean I’m becoming a member of  “Portland was built on an ancient unicorn burial ground”.

Related Posts

• February 21, 2010 -- 30 Years of Loving Portland (3)
• December 9, 2009 -- Wanted: All Crazy Neighbors (0)
• May 9, 2009 -- Why I support Ted Wheeler and his ‘crazy flying machines’ cause (9)
• March 22, 2009 -- Food Cart Social Networking (13)
• December 2, 2008 -- Will social media kill the local pub? (6)

The past week’s glorious weather has permitted me to actually look up and around as I’ve pedaled my bike throughout town. The veil of drizzle was lifted and the sun illuminated some things I hadn’t been paying attention to. Such as:

Yard signs. This may be too much to ask in a town where one still sees Kerry bumper stickers on the backs of Subarus, but the most recent election was held a month ago. It’s OK to take down your Yes on Measures 66 & 67 yard sign. (By the way, we won.)

Perhaps people don’t know how to dispose of them–the campaign has disappeared and won’t take them back. The plastic sign probably isn’t sanctioned for curbside recycling, so it will have to go into the landfill or stuffed in with all the plastic grocery store bags you’ve been meaning to take to a recycling center for the past several months. Or years.

The wire standard upon which the sign was fitted and then stuck into the ground may be able to be repurposed, however. Collect a dozen of these things and use them as wickets in a game of bowling ball croquet.

Gardening. Evidently some people are too busy in their gardens to take down their campaign signs. Yes daffodils are blooming and cherry trees are blossoming, but come folks, it’s February. In another week or so, it will get colder and most certainly, rainier. If you plant veggies now, except for the root kind, they’re going to catch cold and die or at least be stunted. Really, you can wait until the end of May to do most of your planting.

Nevertheless, I am in the market for strawberry starts.

Bicycling. The latest city survey showed a slight drop in the number of people riding bicycles in the past year, but I don’t buy that. Most of the counts are done on the bridges over the Willamette River. The bicycle mavens at City Hall think it’s due to the crappy economy—fewer jobs downtown, so fewer people commuting in all transportation modes. Add to that the fact that most of last year, downtown was a complete mess with the work on the transit mall and other road projects. Driving was impossible, but even biking wasn’t fun in some areas.

Possibly even a bigger factor was the emergence of food cart pods outside of downtown, such as on Southeast 11th Ave. and Hawthorne and on upper Mississippi St. No longer did fresh-air fanatic bikers have to scuttle downtown for a quick lunch.

My own observations indicate an increase in bicycling. This winter has been mild, but even during the rainy days, I’ve seen a lot more people on bikes. What’s really startling is the amount of gray hair poking out from under the bike helmets. Geezer Boomers have inflated the ranks and it’s unnerving to see some of them zip by me as I grunt my way up a hill.

Cars. Any random survey of the inner city will reveal that while Subaru’s are ubiquitous, the official car of the People’s Republic of Portland is the Volvo 240, arguably the best card, dollar for dollar, ever made (full disclosure, I own an ’86 240 wagon, butter yellow). Volvo made the 240 series for 18 years and since they are virtually indestructible, hundreds, if not thousands, are still going strong, even though the last one built was in 1993.

Following is the number of Volvo 240 cars advertised for sale on craigslist during the past week for selected major cities:

Atlanta 8
Chicago 1
Detroit 4
Houston 4
Los Angeles 12
Miami 4
New York 4
Portland 25
San Francisco 25*
Seattle 15

*The entire San Francisco Bay area, which has a population of seven million.

Notice that Volvos are more prevalent in liberal cities, which prompts me to ponder a political conundrum. Liberals advocate for government regulation, gas mileage standards and consumer protection programs to protect people from making bad decisions, and then turn around and buy sensible cars like Toyotas, Hondas and old Volvos on their own. Conservatives decry the “nanny state,” and then buy stupid vehicles such as Hummers and Escalades.

Daylight. I get off work usually around 7 p.m. and these days, it is dark when I ride my bike home. If we were now on daylight davings time, however, my ride would be about at dusk, and thus much more pleasant. I’m not complaining, since we’ll be switching the clocks over soon enough, but while we remain on Pacific standard time, I have to ask: why is it called “standard time?” We now have daylight savings time for more than seven months a year and standard time for less than five months. So shouldn’t the time when more daylight occurs at the end of the day be called standard time? And then when we set the clocks back in the fall, shouldn’t that be titled “daylight deficit time?” Just sayin’.

*The headline is a quote by Albert Einstein on how he came up with his Theory of Relativity.

Related Posts

• October 13, 2009 -- Portland Pedal Power (2)
• June 19, 2009 -- Father’s Day on a bike – Sunday Parkways (0)
• August 4, 2008 -- Cyclists: The Next Generation (2)
• March 9, 2010 -- Spotted in PDX (2)
• May 11, 2009 -- Low-Car Lifestyle Clinic @ Portland Farmers Market (0)

2010 marks an auspicious moment in my life–I have officially been a Portlander for 30 years.  Learning about Portland is somewhat of an obsession for me, and has hit a new height recently, when I was hired as a Travel Advisor for Travel Oregon.  I work at the Oregon Welcome Center at Portland International Airport, and spend my time there helping people with any and every question they ask me.  For someone who loves Portland as much as I do, there is nothing better than to have someone ask you, “Tell me what is unique about Portland.”

As a Travel Advisor, it is part of my job to direct people to places that are not only uniquely Portland, but easily accessible via mass transit, and simple to locate.  I spend a lot of time talking about Powell’s, Mills End Park, the International Rose Test Garden and Japanese Gardens, and VooDoo Doughnuts.  Sometimes people ask about museums or art galleries, and occasionally I’ll get a unique request, such as the best place to fish near downtown Portland (I directed him to Sauvie Island).

But only rarely do I get a traveler who has the time and interest to listen to the things I love about Portland, and when they do, it is the best part of my day.  I have so many diverse interests, that my favorite places span many neighborhoods and cross all types of people.  I love eating at Clyde Common and Kenny & Zuke’s Delicatessen, or getting Bhan Mi at the Food Cart pod on 10th & Alder.  I also love the Food Cart pod at 12th & Hawthorne, which is great when you have late night munchies; poutine at Potato Champion and fried pie at Whiffies.  Tin Shed Garden Cafe on Alberta & 14th is an old favorite, and definitely the funky kind of place that makes Portland so unique.

When I need to sit and work on the computer or read, I go to the library at McMenamins Edgefield, or Sacred Grounds Coffee Shop on 97th & Sandy Blvd, or New Deal Cafe on NE Halsey & 52nd.  Portland is a haven for coffee lovers, and there are too many places I love to name them all, but I’m drawn to places with the friendliest people, like Palio Dessert House in Ladd’s Addition.

No one enjoys a sunny day like a Portlander.  When we get weather like we have had recently, everyone begins scurrying to get outside and enjoy it.  I went to Home Depot to get some supplies for the raised garden I’m building, and it was a hive of activity.  I love the off-leash area at Normandale Park; there is plenty of room for my small bichon frise Puka to run around and tire herself out, and plenty of dog-loving Portlanders with whom to talk.  A short drive up to the top of Rocky Butte is always a favorite; I never get tired of that beautiful panoramic view.  And I’m always willing to stroll through the park blocks, where the scenery always changes, and I’m especially excited for the Portland Farmer’s Market to begin again on March 20.  When I’ve had a rough day, I love to get a cup of coffee and drive along Marine Drive, pulling over to watch the planes take off and land, and keeping an eye out for herons.

Although my friends call me “Queen of Portland”, I am the first to admit that there will always be things I need to learn about my city.  My goal for 2010 is to individually research each neighborhood in Portland, including its history, unique shops and restaurants, parks and community spaces, and any other identifying characteristics.  I started with Montavilla, and have nearly completed Sellwood, both of which I will recap soon.  One of my favorite things is to explore places I’ve never been; I recently visited Cacao for some spicy drinking chocolate.

My request to all of you is this:  What would you do to celebrate 30 years in Portland?

Related Posts

• July 21, 2009 -- Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? (1)
• March 1, 2010 -- Portland and Unicorns (5)
• February 4, 2010 -- Winter Olympics in the NW (3)
• January 13, 2010 -- The Writing Was on the Wall (2)
• January 12, 2010 -- Another Bet Lost: Nuts (2)

Here’s what we’ve found as we’ve traveled the local PDX web (complete with our comments) for February 20th

Scratch that. I went looking for this stuff, because I want to give some people some props already, plus announce my new PDX.FM show with a spin. Stay tuned for a little self-promotion and/or award-show style acceptance speech pontification, won’t you?

• In Portland, the city with quirks, pdx.fm fits in perfectly | Oregon Entertainment – OregonLive.com

  Peter Ames Carlin weighs in on PDX.FM. Here’s a sampling…

  "Until you fire up your computer and dial up pdx.fm, two channels of streaming, podcast-able radio shows. They're all-Portland, all the time, and all completely, sometimes unbelievably, unfiltered.

  There is a "Meat Show," which started out being about edible animal products. Now it's different, but the cheer, the enthusiasm and casual profanity remain. "Knit Happens," for the wool-and-needle set, is a bit more focused, while "Online Recovery Report" is as serious as the quest for sobriety.

  This is Portland, in all its diverse glory. "iPhone Slutz," by, for and about those people who can't stop fiddling with their smart phones. "Breakfast in Bridgetown" is way-serious food talk. "Dads Unplugged" takes on the joys, challenges and riddles of modern fathering. And more: shows for pet lovers, Trail Blazer maniacs, media critics (editor’s note: that’s ME!) and dusty-boot hikers. " (I'm referenced in there as well way near the bottom; look past the, uh, *new* first name…)

• Redoing Media – Episode 1 — Redoing Media

  Yes, I'm referencing *my own new show* here again. At least I'm much more blatant about it now, no?

  "Welcome to the very first episode of Redoing Media, where I explain my vision for the show, share at least one ‘my kid(s) DG’ *old* media (print newspapers, terrestrial radio), own up to my OLive history & briefly discuss Olympics coverage." I’ll be streaming live every Thursday at 1 pm on Channel One, look for updates on the Redoing Media web site.

• PDX.FM – Portland Streaming Internet Radio and Podcast Channel

  I haven't yet given Robert Wagner (@pdxsucks himself) of PDX.FM enough love yet? I haven't praised PDX.FM's Sabrina Miller enough? Here's hoping this link helps pay that oversight back in some small way. (Yes, this is the part where I slip into ‘I want to thank the Academy’ mode…)

  Let me say this: you may get a carefree "what the hell" vibe from the programming, or their own ‘day in the life’ blogpost. But Robert, Sabrina and the rest of the pdx.fm team are consummate kick-ass professionals as well – people who Get Shit Done. I'm thrilled to be one small part of this team now…!

Related Posts

• February 2, 2010 -- LOST? Found… (1)
• January 8, 2010 -- The Button Man (1)
• December 8, 2009 -- OurPDX shared links for 12/8 (0)
• October 12, 2009 -- SLL: Talking the Talk with Pdxsucks (0)
• January 6, 2010 -- Did You Know… (0)

Don was (and is) my favorite letter carrier of all time.

OK, it’s not like he’s gone or anything, but I really miss him. See, his route was changed and he no longer shows up at our letter box with his trademark great smile and kind words.

He always asked how I was doing. But, it always felt like more than that. He sincerely wanted to know how we were — how our son was doing. He delivered scads of magazines (most of which have been cancelled) and junk mail. He piled packages up on our front stoop. He picked up boxes in good and crummy weather. Yes, it is part of his job, but he did it with a super attitude.

What I always enjoyed was the friendliness. If Nonna (my son’s grandmother, my mom) sent a package from New Jersey, he’d comment on how there “was something fun for Ollie.” And, on the days that my son was at home, I’d bring him out to see Don. It was great fun to see both of them smile at each other. Ollie knew that Don was (and is) a good guy and it made my day to see how much they enjoyed each other’s brief company.

But, the thing that makes Don so nice was one day a few weeks ago. I was finishing packing up a box to be sent to the east coast. I wasn’t 100% done and I scrambled downstairs and outside to ask him if he could wait a minute to take the package. After a big grin, he said, “of course. Take your time.” I ran back upstairs, taped up the box and printed out the label — all of which took much more than “a minute.” As I walked outside I apologized for being longer than anticipated. Once again, the big smile, the calm demeanor with this response:

“No problem, Doug. You’ve always been one of the favorite stops on the route. I’ll wait for you as long as you need.”

THAT is just flat-out cool.

I’m certain that my new letter carrier will be just fine. And, the good news is that Don is still around the neighborhood a little bit, so I’ll be able to see him every so often.

But I will miss our daily chats and his wonderful disposition and kindness.

Related Posts

• November 24, 2008 -- One Man’s Junk are another Man’s Jewels (1)

Anamorphic Pinhole Series~5 by donpyle~pdxpixs

Everyone is invited to share Portland photography with the OurPDX community by participating in the OurPDX Flickr group.

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• January 8, 2010 -- PDX in Your Pictures: The Ride is Called The Screamer (0)
• January 6, 2010 -- PDX In Your Pictures: Smoke (0)
• October 9, 2009 -- PDX in Your Pictures: They Left Out Snow… (0)
• October 8, 2009 -- PDX in Your Pictures: Silver Dude on the Bus (1)
• October 7, 2009 -- PDX in Your Pictures: Portland Sky (2)

Sunny and 60 degrees.

That’s the forecast for today. And while that hardly constitutes the arrival of spring, the raw unfiltered sunlight is shining down across Portland, and being celebrated in many diverse ways.

In Jamison Square, a gaggle of hipsters ceremoniously exchanged their square-rimmed retro eyeglasses for square-rimmed retro sunglasses.

At Reed College, a small but devoted coven of wiccans danced naked around a fire and celebrated the return of the sun. Although they had hoped to employ a few drops of the blood of a virgin in their rites, they were unfortunately unable to locate one.

In Lake Oswego countless homeowners squinted up at the sunlight flooding into their homes and jotted notes to their cleaning services to wash and squeegee the windows.

In Felony Flats, the tweakers running meth labs were completely unaffected, because they had long since covered all of their windows in aluminum foil and duct tape.

And finally all across Portland the sudden blast of sunlight through acres of pale and translucent skin resulted in a spike in Vitamin D production. Doctors suggest the effect is transitory, but citizens of the Rose City should be aware of the consequences of hypervitaminosis D, including elevated calcium levels and hypertension.

Related Posts

• October 9, 2009 -- PDX in Your Pictures: They Left Out Snow… (0)
• July 31, 2009 -- If This is Church’s, Call Me Atheist (4)
• July 13, 2009 -- ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW DESIGN CONTEST FOR PDX CREATIVES (12)
• March 25, 2009 -- PDX in Your Pictures: The vibrant greens of … Winter (1)
• February 27, 2009 -- Oh yeah. People use bikes here too, don’t they? (2)