Author: RonTopofIt

RonTopofIt is a complex personality, as are most of the small breed of modern day renaissance millionaires. He wishes more people were like him and yet believes that it takes all kinds. You've met RonTopofIt many times, you just don't remember him.

Aftershock to rock Discovery Park

Beavis and Butthead Headbanging
Do you remember when Bon Jovi was cool? Uhhhh, no.
Just like last year around this time, I’ve been enjoying the set up process at Discovery Park over the last few days for this weekend’s Aftershock concert as I ride my bike to work. It’s quite a production. A lot of moving parts.

Looking at the lineup makes me a little nervous.

The biggest names are Korn (where is the backwards K on my keyboard?), Papa Roach, and Megadeth, but I’m really old so that could just be the only three names I recognize. I don’t see any bands from last year’s event, however, but the same list of what is allowed and not allowed.

I did find this funny in the FAQ section.

Will there be ATMs available?
Yes. There will be atms available inside venue and near the box office.

Those ATMs were one of the first things to be delivered. They are everywhere.

IMG-20130913-00417

So, is anyone going? Tickets are still available, but some packages are sold out, so I guess so.

Urban Sacramento 1959: West End

This is so awesome, a must watch for fans of the 916. Redevelopment is clearly not a new issue facing our city. Stan Atkinson in the house!

This film spotlights a controversial piece of Sacramento history– a specific period of redevelopment, during the Fall of 1959, as city officials, community leaders and state agencies were deciding how to redevelop a large portion of Sacramento’s central city known as the West End– considered to be among the largest slum areas in California. Most of the film footage and interviews comes from a documentary on urban renewal that aired on KCRA 54 years ago. The original program was produced and reported by Stan Atkinson. This segment written/narrated by Chris Lango. Edited by SteveDavisProduction.com

Sacramento named best city to be single

Real estate blog, movato.com/blog, recently named Sacramento as the best city to be single.

From the post…

So in coming up with the criteria for the best single cities in California, we had to narrow it down to what we thought were “typical” requirements for today’s single. This included:

  • A lower percent of the population that is married
  • Number of bars in the city
  • Number of romantic restaurants in the city
  • A lower cost of living
  • A lower percent of people who drive to work
  • A lower median age

So to sum up: Fewer married people + places to mingle + young people to mingle with + a price you can actually afford = the singles’ mecca – which was apparently Sacramento.

The folks at Movato did a good job explaining their methodology, give it a read.

Do you single folks out there agree?

Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle 1, Homeless 0

And must not be disturbed.
And must not be disturbed.

I’ve been passing this sign recently along a newly protected area on the American River Parkway and finally stopped to see what was going on. It is adjacent to the Capital City Freeway near Cal Expo.

As someone who has incessantly chronicled the displacement of the homeless along the bike trail, I must say that I find it odd that the valley elderberry longhorn beetle gets a better deal than the homeless.

“Radio Matthew” accused of conspiring to hack

Chicks dig guys with skills.
Chicks dig guys with skills.
One time friend of this here web log, Matthew Keys (“Radio Matthew”), was indicted on Thursday in Sacramento for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group “Anonymous” to hack into and alter a Tribune Co. website.

Oddly enough, Matthew wasn’t the first to report this story as he found out about the charges via Twitter.

If convicted, Keys could face up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each of the two substantive counts, according to federal authorities. The conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the Sacramento and Los Angeles field offices of the FBI. It is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Yowza. Judging by his Twitter account, Matthew has a lot of support from his followers and appears to be doing just fine. Details are obviously sketchy, so who knows what the hell actually happened. I just think it is cool that an old school follower of the Sac Rag has gone big time.

Spring cleaning on the Garden Highway

Garden Highway Clean Up

In what has become my beat as of late, I’m here to report that my favorite makeshift homeless shelter has been evacuated once again.

Since I ride past this spot almost every day, I keep track of when it is empty, picking up a few stragglers, and when there is no room at the inn. This time the stragglers hadn’t even put out their first week’s trash before getting the boot.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

A state department is caught wasting time and money

A game of solitaire
Remember when this was the preferred method of wasting time by state employees?

Shocking headline, huh? Can’t believe it, huh? Want to learn more now, don’t you?

As if California’s Department of Parks and Recreation scandal wasn’t enough to irritate the snot out of us (the Sacramento County district attorney will not pursue criminal charges against California state parks officials because of a “failure to identify any crime”), we learn from CBS13 that more fun and frivolity occurred recently at Capitol Bowl in Sacramento.

It was the middle of a work week — but that didn’t stop the State Department of Parks and Recreation from having a little fun. On state time, driving state vehicles and transporting state workers flown in from Southern California for “training,” the employees dined, bowled and laughed, a CBS13 On The Money investigation has learned.

Say what you will about this incident, I found the real issue to be with the ease folks have in lying these days. Continue reading “A state department is caught wasting time and money”

Togo’s Pastrami Challenge: A cost-benefit analysis

great-outdoors-old-96er-john-candy
Man, I miss John Candy.

For you Togo’s fans, I would like to present a brief cost-benefit analysis of the new Pastrami Challenge.

Togo’s sure knows how to celebrate pastrami. In fact, the west coast-based eatery recently celebrated National Hot Pastrami Day this past Saturday by kicking off a promotion that’s every pastrami-lover’s dream and every Vegan’s worst nightmare. It’s called The Pounder, and rightfully so, considering that this two-foot long behemoth of a sandwich is stacked to the brim with over a pound of hot pastrami.

Cost

  • The sandwich will run you roughly $23.

Nutrition

  • The Family size version comes in at 3,020 calories, 143 grams of fat, 9,020 grams of sodium, and 164 grams of protein. The challenge version must be at least three times this size. I couldn’t find the specs online.

Logistics

  • Buy the sandwich at the regular price and then tell the crew member you are taking the challenge and fill out the paperwork!
  • Devour the Pastrami Pounder in 30 minutes to successfully complete the challenge (one person per sandwich)
  • When you’re done, alert the crew to claim your prize certificate for a free t-shirt (a hat at the Natomas location!)

Continue reading “Togo’s Pastrami Challenge: A cost-benefit analysis”

Sacramento makes Seattle’s dreams come true

Photo of the Seattle SuperSonics logo
I had the brew, she had the chronic.

It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This is a time to reflect; a time to think about dreams. It is also a time to prepare to say goodbye (reportedly, er, sources say, by the time you read this) to the Sacramento Kings. We may want to ease our sorrows by putting ourselves in Seattle’s shoes. That is, let’s hop over to their side of the internet and check out what they have to say.

You can believe it now: NBA is coming back. This time the deal is done. The Sonics are coming back in the form of the Sacramento Kings. No this isn’t a dream. And it isn’t another one of those here-come-the-Kings teases. This time the deal is done. The Sonics are coming back in the form of the Sacramento Kings…And remember, the Maloofs, who have tried their best to run this team into the ground, no longer are running this show…I just have the feeling, judging by the smart and understated way Hansen and his colleagues have gone about the arena proposal and the acquisition of this team, they will be equally good at finding the right people to make the right personnel decisions. These guys are winners…We may never open our arms to commissioner David Stern, but he wanted this deal to work. He told me four years ago he wanted Ballmer in the league. The league is better with Hansen and Ballmer in it.

Fascinating. Now, back to the 916… Continue reading “Sacramento makes Seattle’s dreams come true”