So, I'm back in Orange after planning on heading down to San Diego for work and then the Beer Festival. So why am I back in Orange? Simple - the freeway to San Diego was closed. Yup - all lanes closed. One giant parking lot. I timed my travel and from the moment I hit traffic to the time I got off and was able to get on the freeway going the other way, it took me one hour, fifteen minutes to go 1.8 miles - that's 1.44 miles per hour folks. Less than 1.5 MPH!! So I turned around and headed home and will be heading back to San Diego tomorrow morning, bright and early. And even if I had managed to avoid this accident, there was another one further south in the middle of Camp Pendleton where two big rigs got in an accident at 6am, yet by noon, they still had only one lane open, and last I heard, one lane was still closed - 9 hours and the mess isn't cleaned up yet. Suffice to say - do not use the 5 South if you plan on heading into San Diego. Use the 15.

And yes, it's "The 5" - not "I-5 south" or just "5 south" - "THE 5". Apparently, from what I've heard, not everyone uses a "the" before the freeway number, but you should. Why? Because I said so.

URL (registration required - click on comments for copy of article): Southbound I-5 Freeway closed south of the 'Y'

I do believe it's that time of year again. No - not school starting up. No - not the return of good television. Yes - the return of the San Diego Festival of Beer! Tonight, over 3,000 local beer lovers will pack the streets of downtown San Diego to sample from some of the best beer makers in the world (at very least, the best beer makers in the U.S.). A $20 donation to the non-profit organization, San Diego Professionals Against Cancer, gets you in and 10 tickets - each worth 4 ounces of whatever beer you want. With over 30 different breweries from around the state - including two of the best in the nation - both from San Diego - Alesmith & Stone, this is not to be missed. Let the good times roll!

URL: San Diego Festival of Beer 2003

Quiz Time.

Q: What do you not wear to the DMV?

A: Click "Comments" for answer.

URL: California Department of Motor Vehicles Homepage

I admit it - I'm a reality TV whore. I love reality TV and watch almost all the shows I can. But of all the reality shows, Survivor still reigns supreme. It was the first true reality show on primetime TV and was great...now we're up to Survivor 7 and each and every Survivor after the first has found a way to stay fresh and engaging. It's always great to see what new twist they can come up with and, of course, it's fun to see how they can edit the episodes so you hate one person and love the others and the one you end up hating somehow wins the million dollars.

So, as a public service announcement, here's a quick reminder: Survivor / Pearl Islands starts tonight. If you're on the East coast, it started 20 minutes ago (but don't worry - it's 90 minutes long). Go. Watch. Enjoy.

URL: CBS: Survivor

Wouldn't it figure that not only do I have to return to the DMV today, but I also have to return to the dentist for a filling. Luckily it's just one and we can get it done before I return to school for three months, but still...like I said in my previous post, I don't really like the way this dentist does fillings as I've had a couple come loose and need to be refilled and now I've got extreme cold sensitivity which makes it hard to eat ice cream or drink cold drinks (though I have found a work-around for that - there's no missing out on my dew). So I'm leaving now, and hopefully all goes well.

URL: BB ~ Blake's Blog

Gotta go to the dentist in a couple hours. Just the standard cleaning they tell you you need every so often (which is a crock), but I'm going in since I'm still insured (through December) and should make use of it while I can. I'm sure I'll hear all the standard crap - floss more, drink less Mountain Dew, etc. But I still will drink my Mountain Dew (yes, I admit, I am addicted) and I still won't floss as much as I should. I'm just hoping I don't have any cavities as this dentist I use is absolutely horrible at filling them. I really think I need to find another one.

Side note: I do not use 1-800-Dentist, just needed a URL to use, although, since I need to find a new one, maybe I'll use the service.

URL: 1-800 DENTIST

A few days ago, John Ritter, star of 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter on ABC passed away after being diagnosed with an unrecognized and undetected flaw in his heart. John was 54 years old, born September 17, 1948 - his birthday would have been Wednesday. His death came as a shock to all who had followed his career, from Three's Company to his more recent projects.

But where John's Ritter death really hit me was on the homefront. He's a full 4 years older than my father and heart disease runs in the family. My grandfather had triple bypass surgery and obviously, my father is aware of his risk. But as far as I know, he hasn't had a check-up in a few years and, with a disease like heart disease, it can strike at any time. When you hear of someone passing away from heart disease, it just makes you realize how fragile life is and how quickly someone could be gone. Ritter was fine earlier that day, no one saw this coming. My dad is fine tonight...but you just never know what will happen next when it comes to heart disease.

URL: CNN.com - Actor John Ritter dead at 54 - Sep. 12, 2003

This has to be one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard. That it comes from the EU isn't really all that surprising. Basically, they want every "locale-based food term" to only apply to foods from that specific region. So Parmesan cheese could only come from Parma, Italy; Bordeaux, Chablis, Champagne, Chainti, Cognac, etc. could only be produced in those cities. You wouldn't be allowed to call a Cognac-like beverage brewed anywhere other than Cognac by their name.

This idea is absolutely outrageous. There are countless food items named after the paces where they originated, so now, under the EU's proposal, those names couldn't be used. Maybe we can just change Cheddar Cheese to Freedom Cheese and Basmati Rice to Freedom Rice. Just Freedom-everything.

The best quote of the article was here though:

After 138 years in business, the Marin French Cheese Co. in Petaluma has just as valid a claim to Camembert as does the French hamlet in Normandy, said Jim Boyce, the owner, whose card identifies him as "purveyor of curds."

"At the microbiological level, the cultures we use (originally) come from France," he said. "We're embedded in name, in practice, in microbiology. We would be deeply upset, hurt and grievously damaged if the United States should acquiesce to removing these names."

URL: The label police / Europeans are getting snippy about foreigners using their place names for food

Anyone have $400,000 I could borrow?

URL: AutoWeek - Cover Story

Yeah, today's my birthday. Not that you'd know that though since I don't have any vital stats posted anywhere. I'm a whopping 24 years old and for the first time, I really wasn't counting down the days, I really didn't care it was my birthday. I had to get up early to go to work (worked the STL/SF game) and then drove home. Just did some random catching up (e-mail, web browsing - being away from the computer for more than a day sucks) and then went out to dinner at King's Fish House. Everything was good except the Yellowtail I ordered. I mean, I guess it was served well and all, but I just didn't like the texture of it - I like flaky fish or good ol' seared ahi. Because I didn't really eat the fish, the nice waiter got me a free dessert (plus, it was for my b-day, but come on, free Crème Brûlée can not be passed up). After dinner, came home, opened presents and had cheesecake (which I couldn't really eat after the Crème Brûlée). I got exactly what I wanted (a new computer case and a watch band), so all was well. And to think...in one year, I'll be a quarter of a century old...

URL: SD-1.com: Alias Discussion -> Happy Birthday BLAKE!