I enjoy football like
millions of people around the world but to pay a 150K to stay at a
hotel and get some perks is not something I would do. These perks you
get in my opinion don’t justify paying a price of $50,000 a night
with a three-night minimumFriday, Saturday and
Sunday in the four-bedroom Presidential Luxury Suite. All you get is
8 tickets to the February 7th game, with seats in Section 300/Corner
Loge these seats are not even close to the field. Oh Wow! You also
get two chauffeured Cadillac Escalades for the full stay. One good
thing you won’t have to drive in this Silicon Valley traffic or the
crazy traffic conditions around Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium on game
day. You’re going to need your complimentary private bar and your
case of Dom Perignon. If you always wanted a butler you get private
butler service, in-room catered breakfast and an "Apple dream
gift package" worth $5,000 and you get to pick the products you
want. Wow! On Saturday a day before Super Bowl 50 you get a wine
country excursion to Sonoma Valley, where the Fairmont Sonoma Mission
Inn is located. You can play golf at the Sonoma Golf Club or indulge
in spa treatments at the inn. You'll be treated like a VIP at local
wineries, and eight magnums of wine will be shipped home for you. For
a stay at San Jose’s Fairmont Hotel for a mere 150K you get all
this. Not to mention standing in the long lines at the game and
fighting the crowds. No Thanks! I would rather stay home kick back in
my living room and enjoy the best seat in the house. Someone going to
pay this kind of money just for 3 days, I think if you have money
like that to burn why not give it to Feed America Don’t be so
selfish. Oh well"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever
Will Be, Will Be)".
The hot day of summer is
going by so fast. August is just around the corner. There is still
time to get outside and enjoy the sun before winter gets here. If
you’re trying to decide what to do, below are some suggestions that
covers a variety of tastes. So go and have some fun.
Aloha Festival - Bay Area!
AUGUST 1 & 2, 2015 Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm
San Mateo County Event
Center 1346 Saratoga Drive San Mateo, California
Italian Family Festa. Art,
crafts, entertainment, food, children's activities. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Aug. 23, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 24. Julian and Santa Clara Street, San
Jose
Palo Alto Festival of the
Arts. Art, music, food and beverages. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 23-24.
University Avenue, between High and Webster streets. Free admission
More and more California motorists seem willing to take a big risk by continuing to drive a car or motor cycle on a revoked or suspended drivers license! Aside from breaking the law, it's dumb, extremely expensive, and often more costly to the driver's family and friends!
California Vehicle Code 14601 prohibits driving when you know your drivers license has been suspended or revoked. While only a misdemeanor, this crime could land first-time offenders in jail for not less than 5 days, be fined not less than $300.
Obviously the penaltlies multiply for further convictions, and are even steeper for DUI offenders...however, there's another major consequence. Upon each arrest, the vehicle is immediatly impounded, towed, and stored for a minumum of 30 days, and what's worse...quite often the offender is driving someone elses car!
I'll share a true life example of this, and how an innocent car owner suddenly became a victim too! A friend of mine loaned the family's second car(a Suburu Legacy hatchback) to his 21-year old step-daughter to go pick up a friend. She'd done this before when her own car was out of commission for one reason or another.
What he and his wife did not know was that his step-daughter had two outstanding warrents for un-paid traffic tickets, and had her drivers license suspended! That afternoon she was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer for running a stop sign near the intersection of Bascom Avenue and San Carlos Street in San Jose, California.
She was taken to jail, and the Suburu was towed to a yard in Santa Clara, California, not far from the CHP headquarters on Zanker Road.
My friend was suddenly caught in a financial mess. Even if he chose not to bail-out his step-daughter, how was he going to afford losing his car for 30 days....and paying tow and storage charges of close to $2000?
Also, this second car was used to transport he and his wife's handicapped granddaughter(and wheelchair) to doctors appointments, as well as other family needs! It was more than just the money! It was the inconvenience!
However, as hard as my friend pleaded with the CHP, state law requires 30 days impound, unless, in certain instances...you can manage to get the offending drivers license re-instated, and show proof with DMV documentation.
Fortunatly, my friend took an extra step and decided to visit the CHP office with his step-daughter, to discuss any possible options with the CHP sergent in charge. This particular officer was very understanding, and agreed to release the car from impound....if his step daughter promised to take care of her tickets and get her license re-instated.
My friend was lucky! He got his Suburu back that afternoon, however, he still had to pay the tow company $335, but that's a lot cheaper than $2000!
I have a feeling there are many more car owners and family members suffering a much worse fate than my friend and his step-daughter. Should you find yourself in a similiar mess you may try what my friend did, and get lucky.
However, the best advice is to be VERY CAREFUL who you loan your car to....if anyone at all! As for you violators, GET REAL! SMARTIN UP! It's dumb enough to ignore paying your tickets. Why be an even bigger idiot by letting them go to warrent...and having your drivers license suspended in the first place.
Check out the entrance to Santa Clara's Traffic Court on Homestead Street every weekday morning or afternoon. It is always lined with city police cars, motorcycle units, and CHP vehicles who's officers are inside testifying against the many drivers they issue tickets to.
Still, motorists continue to speed, even though Santa Clara's city streets are unusually filled with radar traps....especially just west of the San Jose Airport on both DeLaCruz Blvd and Lafayette Streets.
I travel those corridors every day for work, and it seems I'm either changing lanes to let speeders pass, or watching them get tickets on the side of the road! It's not that I'm some "goody goody" slow-poke who never breaks the speed limit, but it's not that hard to see cops pointing radar guns at you!
They are always there, where Coleman Ave becomes DeLaCruz Blvd....stretching past the Hwy 101 interchange. Yet, folks continue to plow through at well over the 40mph speed limit, which should be fast enough for them!
Heading to work the morning of April 6th, I saw three cars pulled over by motorcycle cops. Then, I saw two more getting tickets(on DeLaCruz Blvd) on my way home! It occures to me those getting cited, and those getting away with it--are creating a very DANGEROUS situation on a heavily populated street.
For whatever reason, they are not paying attention. They are driving as if with "tunnel vision". They are headed for either danger or an expensive citation. They need to SLOW DOWN!
I even saw a driver get pulled over ahead of me as three cops just stood in the middle of the street.(Aviation Rd.) They stopped the whole group of us.(7or8 cars) Then, they physically led the lead car to the side for a ticket, by way of this unusual speed trap.
The Santa Clara Police Department seems to be making a statement....Slow Down! We should heed this advice, in Santa Clara, and in every city in the Bay Area.
Who among us can honestly say his or her driving hasn't, at one time or other, elicited "the finger" from a fellow motorist? We've ALL been "flipped off" from time to time.
My first incident happened when I was 21-years old, lean and dressed to the 9's in a tuxedo, heading to my parents house to pick them up for a wedding(not mine). I was about to turn right on to Curtner Ave. from Meridian Ave. in San Jose, California, when this gorgeous girl changed lanes from behind me, pulled along side and swiftly flipped me "the bird"!
I was stunned. (I must have accidentally cut her off.) All I could do was shrug my shoulders, as she flashed a quick smile and sped off. I guess that wasn't so bad, however, what happened two days ago...was even better!
Heading southbound on De La Cruz Blvd. in Santa Clara, California, I eased down to the speed limit as is a daily habit between Martin and Reed Avenue, because Santa Clara traffic cops constantly patrol that corridor with radar. In fact, I had just noticed a motorcycle unit about 100-yards up, pointing his lidar-gun in my direction....when at the same moment, this pick-up truck sped-up behind me from out of nowhere.
The driver laid on his horn, changed lanes and raced by while vigorously flipping me off, as he flew past. Unfortunately, whatever satisfaction he may have enjoyed was short-lived! From my rear-view mirror, I saw the motorcycle cop pull out and blow by me to flag down the fast-fingered driver.
Upon catching up, I noticed the stopped driver's right hand cupped over his forehead , displaying a much more civil gesture! Unfortunately, flipping someone off or getting flipped off seldom ends with a ticket or a peaceful chuckle. Thousands of road rage incidents stem from this foul hand gesture, leading to violence, injury and death...among other things.
Take what happened last year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. An Australian businessman living and working there got mad and flipped off a local driver, who then followed him home, beat him up, and called the police. The local driver happened to be an Arab-Emirates Government official. The Australian was immediately thrown in jail for a month, and then deported along with his working wife.
This past June, a 62-year old New Jersey man was killed after crazily chasing down a young woman who had flipped him off. His front bumper clipped her from behind, sending his car flipping out of control, and ejecting him.
"The bird" can get you into trouble elsewhere, too. At the Canadian Legislature in the province of New Brunswick recently, a Liberal Party official flipped-off a Progressive Conservative adversary during a debate, and was suspended for three days without pay!
Back on the road, the simplest rule is to never, never, flip anyone off! Ignore it, and AVOID danger. But, what about receiving the insulting gesture? A woman in Foster City, California suffered extreme anxiety following her first episode, when a man tailgated and flipped her off repeatedly, before finally turning the corner in another direction. She couldn't stop wondering what she'd done wrong. "Couldn't the man see I was helpless and alone, with a baby in the back seat?", she wondered.
After a week of poor sleep, the woman finally called a handful of girlfriends to see how they handled getting flipped off, and some of thier answers made sense. One would slap the side of her head and whisper the words 'I'm sorry'...which got an "ok, no problem" reaction.
Another woman met the bird by blowing back a kiss, while another, into Yoga yelled back "Go to Yoga" to any naughty hand signals. A final remedy was to pick up the cell phone and act as if you're calling the police! This usually did the trick, and these ideas finally gave the anxious woman some piece-of-mind.
As mentioned in a previous blog, the best way to deal with unkind, aggressive driving behavior is to steer clear of it, by driving safely, ignoring horns, verbal insults or the infamous bird flip which can often inflame road rage incidents..
Should danger persist despite avoidance or apology, use your cell phone to call for help, and drive to either a police station or other populated area...but, NEVER drive strait home....at least not until totally clear of of danger. This is all COMMON SENSE. Use it!
Thanks, drive carefully, and stay out of harms way,
Have you ever made an illegal u-turn without realizing it? Perhaps you didn't notice the posted sign, but your passenger sure did, and loudly called it to your attention!
Have you ever scoped out the area for cops before intentionally making that u-turn anyway? Be honest! I'll bet at least 90-percent of you have!
I have....once or twice over the years. Like most of You I got away with it....but, I wouldn't recommend making a habit of it. These days there are lots of camera's out there filling in for police, and the tickets you get in the mail are just as expensive. It's also dangerous!
This brings to mind two personal experiences on the road. The first happened last year in Fremont, California. I was cited for what I considered a bogus grid-lock violation at the Southland Mall on Mowry Avenue.
I took the ticket to court and won when the cop never showed, but before that I watched several other cases fail miserably. Most were photo traffic citations caught on video cameras! The judge actually called each driver up to his bench, and had them watch their violation play-out....right there on his computer monitor!
They had little or no room to argue, against something much tougher that any citing police officer. I also noted a good many illegal u-turn cases. I'll bet each driver THOUGHT they'd gotten away with it...but didn't!
The other personal event happened today in Santa Clara. I was westbound on Lafayette Street waiting for a green light where it intersects at El Camino Real. To my right was a motorcycle cop also waiting to cross sorthbound.
Directly across from me was a lady who made a poor decision. When our signal turned green she decided to cross the double-yellow line in front of the light, and make a forced u-turn. Sure enough she stranded herself illegally against the curb blocking me and two lanes of traffic.
I cautiously eased forward while glancing toward to cop to my right, and we both shook our heads. He quickly cracked a smile, cut in front of me and flashed his red lights to pull her over.
My point is, either way you may want to try it....don't do it again unless it's legal, especially in front of motorcycle police, and more specifically in Fremont, Newark and Campbell, California where most photo ticketing occurs.
Even if you're in a hurry, take the time to make it legal, safe and, less expensive!
Road rage is an act of agression by a vehicle driver toward another. If taken to the extreme, it often leads to physical assault, injury, and even death. It has risen to epidemic proportions throughout the country, whereby more drivers fear being victimized by road rage than by drunk drivers.
Between 1000 and 1500 people are killed each year due to road rage incidents, most involving firearms and other weapons...including the assailant's car. In every day, common cases, plain old aggression and aggressive driving also cause over 50-percent of all car crashes in this country.
How do we slow this disease down, especially here in the Bay Area? To start with, we all need to lighten up when driving. I'm going to share an incident that happened to me a few weeks ago that may offer some help::
I take DeLaCruz Blvd every day when working for StreetWise Special Delivery. I was driving South the other morning between Hwy.101 and the San Jose Airport, when I nearly ran a small truck off the road. It happened at a wishbone fork that leads right to Santa Clara or left where it turns into Coleman Ave. I turned left onto Coleman at the same time this small truck turned onto Coleman from the Santa Clara, ElCamino Real side. I was either not paying attention or he drifted into my huge, sunrise blind-spot....because I never saw him!. I changed lanes and cut him right off, not realizing a thing until we stopped a half -mile ahead at the airport entrance stoplight.
This is the perfect road rage scenerio! The driver could either lay on the horn, flip me off, get out of his truck screaming for a fight, or pull out a weapon and physically assault me. It happens all to often, but thankfully...not to me, at least not this day. What did happen was just the opposite, and an example to learn from:
...I heard a tap on the horn from behind me and turned around. The man signaled me to roll down my window. (I thought something may be wrong with my car) He then leaned out of his window, and, in a calm voice intoned..."Did you know you just cut right in front of me?" You almost ran me off the road back there at the bridge." I apologized and said.... "I didn't even see you...is everything OK?" "Yea, I'll live. Just be more careful next time, and have a nice day", he said. I told him thanks and apologized again. We both drove off on our seperate ways, safely and free of road rage!! This truck driver teaches a great lesson! Lighten UP!
...It comes down to the basics.... Don't drive in a bad mood, avoid being in a hurry, and drive defensivly as opposed to aggressively! Always signal when changing lanes.(57% don't) Do not tailgate, do not drive slowly in fast(left) lanes, and above all...AVOID possible confrontations on the road. This means no return screams, obscene gestures, horn honking or high beams. If threatened or taunted by another driver, avoid and evade them.
If pursued, use your cell to call police and/or drive to a station if possible. Do NOT drive home, and do NOT leave your car unless safely away from danger. These rules should help reduce road rage incidents, but it may also come down to common sense.
If you make a mistake behind the wheel and have the chance...apologize appropriatly. Be cheerful and polite to other drivers especially in heavy traffic where most road rage originates. Smile, and let the other driver in, or slow down...and let them pass peacefully.
If we all follow these basic steps, perhaps we can pave more PEACEFUL roads to drive on.
Continue to drive safely out there, and avoid THE RAGE.
SANTA CLARA CA. IS A CITY THAT LIKES TO PLAY The City Of Santa Clara has a wide variety of activities for all ages.Santa Clara caters to seniors. Santa Clara has a senior center for 50 years and older, with a variety of classes and activities. Santa Clara has an adult softball league for the softball enthusiast that runs in two seasons spring/summer and fall. For the basketball novice to the skilled player, there is a league for you. It also runs in two seasons fall/winter and spring. Santa Clara has a Teen Center that is open to 8th through 12th graders who live in Santa Clara or has family in Santa Clara. Santa Clara also has a great skate park. Santa Clara also offers a Junior Theater, for all you actors out there. For all the youth out there Santa Clara has something for you to. Santa Clara has a youth center, with after school programs, recreation classes, sport camps and special events. Santa Clara has beautiful Central Park, Community Recreation Center and a lot of other centers and activities.
After a restful night at the Vancouver Washington Homewood Suites I drove along the river front and took a walk over the Land Bridge to Fort Vancouver. The land bridge had all kinds of plants and descriptions on how they aided the Native Americans and the settlers. It was quite interesting. The area around the fort is being excavated for historical artifacts. The Fort buildings are a reconstruction on the site of the original Fort. It is a National Park that I recommend to anybody traveling in the area.
It took 12 hours of serious driving to get a part from Santa Clara to Vancouver Washington. The company needed this part or it was not going to make its production deadline. I started out at 8:00pm. Loaded up the van in Santa Clara and started driving over to I5. Music blasting from my I pod connected to my sound system I traveled non stop to Redding Ca.It was dark and little traffic on I5. It was raining when I got into Oregon around 3am. And arrived tired but excited in the fog in Portland. I crossed the last bridge into Vancouver Washington around 8:30am. Made it to the delivery at 9am. The guys at receiving were elated at my fast delivery. They recommended that I sleep at the Homewood Suites a few blocks away.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sK6rPm-0pYJJ2w0-kpO6CxRF8kjrBcLcx8el4MEo2bfmEMu_zJXxQnvILe8O4ALsl22AfiG3Vs1gQ7jalKBynilZv4gEcYgydTKKjcdwcryJtgleJaUTVlzzC3X45irO4I8k4wwXQ9UvdU6z2OYssA=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tT1WvBll6dOm28wduma-YRxP8xsOZyJ1Pb7fAhxIwn1HoSnpvBqDPHYLKu7jofLMNVY6mpM7H3s96nGAGDcSE88hWLSBY38Qvs5YdJxdAF90g5j91h7Pzh_ZE5S0QPaXvKj8TdqSXsxRVqW-XqcRdv=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s0wNjDsz46x5IkNnVzcZpCgV9D_LW47iA_OttxZ98ZpAscb_krEIBQcI3IndnTBTUSnzgulDQkalLVm3zyigdC3U3-r8ktHXZ616fzFt5uMO5_U4RytT3aWOFL5H7IGPHiAE6UWXs126Qhic2mraYw=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uuNcMdMQmngyyKrOmGVuFZ2j7Ux5NxeUI89iue_PrQE9qlcAZ5oWuD_c_unjy1kL_kKaAdIT1wC3hr4PUDUHldw4Zf_RQvRm7wJTyoz1MigMIAi27WEx4UlZ8iDMLbmVQAaOuxkIjlpEdbQIL0qY4=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uQejLlsrlRKWdUBumr4lEe7aFZ96X5HAdQ1H1JSTKv_B-uTujggJA-LdGnKaywzeRqpGEINaDk6hNphhYVwP1bT5fCme1mW0MIAUTMMwe2cDRTJYB586ZmPvRRgGaFSFqyx37s-HwszypG22rlGzLq=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tgQVWUIvlUOyb5NZkDh81jZdJyf-a64MBQ-R7QvrrXCAyy78wKukLijwguZQcpcAhZy5oz0Y5BPQFCy6dq2_t6-s1LdnHYV1adBo8i31yhoOM0jaarYwsx63jQ3bKLPDDmt4WidVzFUD2yJeB3T0ny=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_stdI6_fEcl8uPEFi3LXl2MMaHzsO5EAXmyrel_gfBeOQdCGZ9_u6O0EmpQp_dQjsbILznz2mgRw-LPBczSz0EZ4Xd2GQ4Hk6dqfrjI2upiCieC8JQKn8m7nL2K0QaORn0LBS4OXIbBYIfkDx_o4_Rp=s0-d)
