More E3 Photos May 20, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , add a commentBiao also posted My Photos. Enjoy! 
Crashing E3 May 6, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , add a commentBiao is hooking me up with a E3 pass again this year… which is awesome! I had a great time last year. Thanks Biao!
To celebrate, here’s another nonsensical Vegas picture:
Bike Race, Part 2 March 8, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , add a comment
Well the bike race was fun. The hotel was fine… I don’t know what people on the website were talking about. We leave our hotel at 5:00 AM to go to the start of the race at USC. Of course, we get dreadfully lost on the way there so we end up wandering the streets of unsafe neighborhoods at. But luck had it that we stumbled across a car that had bikes on the back so we followed them to USC and parked on the streets nearby. The ride turned out to be a piece of cake. I hardly sweated at all. Biking the marathon is a great way to go–all the fun and none of the work! It took us about 1:45 to bike the 22.6 miles, which is about the same as everyone else. We saw 3 collisions, but we were fortunate enough to avoid any ourselves.
After the race we leave to go back to the hotel to shower and leave LA, but the marathon course forms a circle ending where it started. Well, guess who parked inside the circle? It took us over an hour of driving down dead ends and through bad neighborhoods to drive 3 miles back to the hotel. However, it was fun and I had a great time. It’s definitely something I would like to do again next year.
Guess where we are staying? March 5, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , add a commentLos Angeles: Best Western Mayfair: “Horrible Experience… Worst Hotel Ever…”
Date: May 22, 2003
Reviewer: A TripAdvisor User, Lafayette, LA
From start to Finish, this was the worst travel experience in my life. The rooms were horrible, the customer service was horrible, and the area that the hotel is located in was life threatening… I have never wasted money on a hotel like I did on this one. … But, the sleeping arrangements were GHETTO at best… Sleeping at the Metro Station would have been more sanitary than staying in the room that I had at this hotel. Book your reservations for the BATES MOTEL, or just pitch a tent, but, do not waste your time or resources on this TOURIST TRAP of a hotel…
And it costs almost the same as what we paid to stay in the Grand America in Salt Lake City:
Salt Lake City: Grand America Hotel: “Can’t go wrong with this hotel”
Date: September 4, 2003
Reviewer: A TripAdvisor User, Cordova, TN
I felt like a princess staying there. … They treated us like royalty and the room service was divine.The rooms are breathe taking and the pool is gorgeous!! I felt as if I was staying in Paris, it was that beautiful!! I definately recommend staying there to anyone!!
Bike Race March 3, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , add a commentThe LA Marathon Bike RaceRide is coming up this weekend. I’m in the processes of getting ready. I just dropped $80 on a new water bottle and a tuneup. My bike rides almost as good as new. And they even detailed it, so people won’t laugh (too much) at my rust spots.
But I don’t know if I’m physically ready. I went to the gym yesterday and had trouble riding for just 45 minutes and 8 miles. So I’m not quite convinced that I’ll be able to do the ride without running into problems. I only need to average 9 mph to stay in the ride, which isn’t too bad. So, I guess we’ll see. Worst case, I’ll pretend I’m sick and dodge out. Either way, I’m looking forward to it. It should fun seeing LA at a leisurely pace and then watching the marathon. I like to think of the race as an authorized riot: 15,000 bikers and 25,000 runners all rapidly converging on the same spot.
LA Bike Ride February 10, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , 2commentsOk, I signed up for the bike ride. But look at what I had to agree to:
- Me or my heirs will not sue a) LA Marathon Inc, b) LA itself, c) USA Track and Field, d) any sponsors of the LA Marathon, even if I’m only there to watch as a spectator. (A little overenthusiastic, dontcha think?)
- I acknowledge and assume the risk that I may die riding my bike. (Gosh)
- I agree not to race in the bike ride. (It’s a non-competitive ride)
- Hazards exist on city streets. (Gee wiz.)
- I understand bike helmets can prevent serious injury. (How could I not agree to this?)
- Oh, and I must wear one too. (Good idea)
- “I grant full permission to any and all of the foregoing [companies] to use my name, my voice, and/or my picture in any broadcast, telecast, advertising, promotion, or other account of this event for any purposes whatsoever.” (Hi Mom! I’m on TV!)
- LA Marathon Inc reserves can change the details of the above event without prior notice. (Well if they don’t tell me, I’ll be mad.)
- “THIS IS AN IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT. READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SIGNING.” (Thanks for the helpful advice.)
I don’t know why, I just found the scope of this agreement funny. Reminds me of when I wrote my own TOS for B4u and Iconator. It’s hard to do–I just through in everything I could find on the Internet. I don’t know if mine is legally secure, but it was fun to write.
And to be complete, read on to see the whole terms.
(more…)
Should I bike the LA Marathon? February 9, 2004
Posted by Owen in : Fun , add a commentAs you may or may not know, one of my roommates and a good friend are running the LA Marathon in March. Well it turns out they also have a bike race 
the same day on the same course. One of my other roommates wants to give it a ride and he asked if I wanted to go. It doesn’t sound too hard–9 MPH is a reasonable rate, but I’m not sure if I’m up for it. I’d need to tune up my bike and practice a lot–just what I need: more work!
To help convince me, he sent me the above picture of people on a mountain bike from the official website. Anyway, I think it sounds like fun, so I’m leaning toward yes. Now I can say I’ve done the LA Marathon, even if I have to do it at 6 am to get out of the way of the real runners.