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Candyce, Norah, and I spent Sunday in Downtown Phoenix and Central Phoenix. We started the morning at Palatte for breakfast. If you live in the Valley and you haven’t been there–then you are missing out. Great atmosphere, live music, and tasty food. And for what it’s worth, it’s the best place to people watch on a lazy weekend morning.

When I first moved to Phoenix in 2001, I was disappointed that Central Avenue was so boring and undeveloped. What good is a city if it doesn’t have a lively central corridor? Apparently city planners knew this was a problem too, and they cooked up the idea to build a Light Rail to connect Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix. After four years of construction, the Rail is ready for passengers.

In the big picture, the Light Rail will do more for Phoenix than any of the three cities because it imports a young population of college students to an area of town desperate for residents. This solves the big problem every city faces when trying to revitalize it’s forgotten inner core–convincing people to move there when there’s nothing to do. Nobody wants to live in a place if there are no places to go out to eat or go shopping. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs won’t open up those cool spots if there are not enough residents.  How do you solve the stand-off? Pipe in the pretty, young, and smart from ASU’s Tempe campus. Brilliant!

You don’t have to look far to know that the Light Rail has is making a big difference, even a month before it’s first run. There are countless restaurants, bars, and boutiques that have cropped up along its path, especially along Central Avenue. We had to drive slow just to take it all in.

I never knew Central Phoenix had so many beautiful neighborhoods. You find a lot of the same charm and style of Arcadia. That is, the Arcadia of five years ago. Investors should take note. Not convinced? Postino is opening a second wine bar in the area.

The Roof is On Fire

I love it when a building I hate burns to the ground. Take for instance, 105. E. Roosevelt St. at the corner of 2nd Street in Downtown Phoenix. Before I explain my distaste for the building, take a look at an image from Google street view before the blaze…

A moronic structure that deserved to burn

Why do I despise this building? For one, it’s sitting on a prime corner lot on Roosevelt Row, a fun part of town where you can enjoy concerts, art galleries, and coffee with friends. The building has absolutely no connection to people who stroll through the neighborhood. There is no welcoming landscape, no door, no shade from the desert sun. It’s anti-human.

On the practical side, it is really stupid to have a roof/wall facing south. Those dark brown asphalt shingle tiles absorb every minute of the sun’s heat. My guess is that they have to run the Air Conditioning 10 months out of the year.

The good news is that the building has a habit of catching on fire this year.  Either a vigilante is determined to burn it down, or a disgruntled owner has been dropping matches on his way out of the office with hopes of cashing in on insurance. That’s up to the police to decide. I’m just happy it’s gone.

I’d be even more happy if Macayo’s restaurant on Central burned as well. I know the designer wanted to make it look like a Mayan temple or something, but what we got was a bizarre stairnstep concrete structure that looks like bleachers for a football field. Believe it or not, this image from Google maps actually makes it look better than it does in real life.

Even with dorky buildings from past generations here and there along Central Avenue, Phoenix is still looking good. It’s more livable and lively than its ever been.

Candyce, Norah, and I went to a big car show in Scottsdale on Sunday. Here are some photos from the event. Don’t miss my commentary at the lower left of each photo. Also, be sure to look at galleries 1 and 2.

Ian Plimer, Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide, argues that most atheists are in no position to attack religion if they support environmentalism, which he claims is becoming an almost cult-like religion of its own. It’s hard to argue with Mr. Plimer’s clear thinking. (Hint: If the video below does not load, watch it from fora.tv)

One week after Obama won the US Presidential Election, and the world anticipates great things. But is greatness possible?

First things first. This is a non-partisan blog entry. None of what you’ll read below is recycled fodder from political blogs. Nor is it an emotional response to the election results. This more of a personal reflection of an American citizen offering insight as our country as Obama prepares to back up his U-haul to the back door of the White House. If you need proof of how detached I was from this election, read on. If you take my word for it and want to read what I came here to write about, skip down to Reality Bites.

….

Friends will tell you that I am a man of conviction. So they’ve been surprised that I’ve been intellectually curious yet emotionally disconnected in the months leading up to the election. This is how I explain the contradiction:

1. Life Got Busy. When candidates made their first stops on the campaign trail two years ago, I was preparing to be married. Soon after I tied the knot, I began a massive 12-month house remodel that I completed one week before the birth of Norah. As Senators McCain and Obama were lapping the country over the past month and a half, Candyce I were making trips to the pediatrician with our newborn. Through the ordeals of life I tried to stayed educated on the presidential race, but there wasn’t enough energy at the end of the day to become emotionally engaged.
2. I’m tired of meaningless brawls about political issues. One of best things to hit TV this decade is Discover Channel’s epic documentary series Planet Earth. One thing I’ve found from watching the series is that male mammals have an instinctual desire for battling other males. This is not a death match, but a routine show of aggression that wins the attention of females. It’s an exercise that also prepares the male to eventually defend his offspring.

   When young men debate politics, all I hear the bucking of heads, the hollow clank of locking of horns. More often than not, young political debaters have no end goal other than to be admired as an academic athlete in a public debate. I was once one of these young bucks, but I don’t have time to lock horns with someone who isn’t interested in a serious and open-minded discussion about public policy.

The election is over and so are the debates. Now we are given a couple months where every citizen can take a deep breathe and figure out what our nation will look like under the leadership of a new man. Some are hopeful, others are skeptical. Let me explain why I am somewhere in between.

Reality Bites

When a newly elected politician arrives in office, voters should expect a symbolic action to mark that “change has arrived.”

Take for instance two years ago when Democrats grabbed the Senate and promised 100 bills in 100 days. Or was it 40 bills in 40 days? Does anyone remember? Seriously, when was the last time you heard someone talking about those glory days?

What I do know is that it’s been almost two years since that remarkable Democratic takeover in Washington, and the blue Senate has lower approval ratings than Republican President George W. Bush. How is this possible? Did the Democrats forget what their heroic debut on Washington and abandon their promises to voters?

Perhaps, but more likely they’re time is occupied with new and difficult problems they must solve on behalf of their constituency. The real work of a politician rarely wins applause from the public.

Barack Obama will arrive in office as in icon/celebrity/hero, and will quickly be needed to manage the epic banking crisis that’s rocked the planet over the past two months.This financial meltdown and subsequent government bailout happened so fast that none of us have had time to step back and see what this colossus actually looks like.

Emotions will run high as voters see its split personality: friendly giant and reckless monster. It doesn’t matter if the source of the problem is complex and many are to blame, it will always be the current leaders who are held accountable. As our chief executive, Obama will have a lot of explaining to do.

Let’s not forget that the War on Terror must continue. In the months after 9/11, a political commenter on NPR explained that President Bush would probably be an unpopular president because of the fickle nature of the American people. If the United States were attacked a second time by terrorists, then Bush would go down as a coward who was unable to muster the aggression and certitude needed to defeat the enemy.

However, if President Bush were successful and prevented acts of terror on our soil during his administration, the voters would become comfortable and indifferent towards terror in the same way we were back in the 1990s. Any act of the president in the name of the War on Terror would seem overzealous and uncalled for.

How’s that for prophecy?

President Obama will assume his role as the commander-in-chief. Like it or not, he will inherit complex foreign policy problems that can not be easily remedied. If you withdraw from Iraq too early, then you will leave the nation in chaos and vulnerable to the aggression of terrorists or neighboring Iran. Although keeping troops in Iraq may be unpopular with voters who bleed blue, it may be President Obama’s only option.

Tag, You’re It

During the Clinton administration during the 1990s, Republican voters blamed problems on Democratic Party. For the last eight years under the Bush administration, Democrats blamed our nation’s problems on the Republican party. Now that the Democrats have control of Washington, it’s the Republican voters’ turn to blame problems on Democrats.

Do you see how this game works? For the young Democrats who’ve graduated college during the Bush administration, you better get tough real fast because blame is coming your way.

The hope and exhilaration that precedes Obama’s administration will soon be deflated by the messy game of politics.

On a side note, the blame game can make some men into powerful icons of reason. When your party is out of office, complaining and playing know-it-all through the media can be a very good for your career.

This is why conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh thrived in during the Clinton administration, and characters like Michael Moore and Jon Stewart thrived during the Bush administration.

Good for times for ideological foes:
President Bill Clinton and right-wing pundit Rush Limbaugh

Good for times for ideological foes:
President George W. Bush and left-wing film maker Michael Moore

Good for times for ideological foes:
President George W. Bush and comedian critic Jon Stewart

If I were a betting man, I’d bet that Jon Stewart’s Daily Show will lose viewers steadily until Republicans gain control of the House or the Senate.

Summary: Wait and See

Some people will argue that this game of tag is over because Obama is a revolutionary figure that can re-invent Washington.

Unfortunately, precedent won’t give much reason for optimism. In my lifetime, every new president has arrived in office under the banner of “it’s time for a change”, and soon they’re just another president slowed by the inefficiencies of our trademark checks and balances system. More often than not, the once-heroic candidate becomes synonymous with bureaucratic Washington.

Time will tell.

President Obama will have my prayers and support.

On my ride home from work on Friday evening, I heard NPR’s Alex Bloomberg  story explaining the much-buzzed concept called the credit default swap. If you are like me and want to stay educated on the on-going finance drama, it’s worth your time to give it a listen: Unregulated Credit Default Swaps Led to Weakness