Why would you want to move here?

My work is hiring and I got selected to be on the search committee, therefore I get the pleasure of sorting through all the incoming resumes. It’s always surprising when I get an applicant that isn’t from the Bay Area, because the immediate question becomes:

Why do you want to move here?

Here, to San Francisco, which by many measures is the richest city in the world and has the most expensive housing cost in these United States. A metropolitan area where countless hours of productivity gets utterly forsaken due to endless traffic. The minimum wage just went up in July to $15 so that gourmet non-GMO grass-fed burger is going to cost a pretty penny. 

And you want to move here? 

I hope these applicants have read the job description thoroughly and understands that as an employee of the State of California you are not going to be paid anywhere near sufficient to live in San Francisco. I most certainly don’t. I am however native to the area so that allows me to offset the absurd rental prices by not paying them at all and instead live with my parents.

Needless to say I am fortunate to be of a culture that don’t tend to kick offsprings out of the house once they’ve matured into adulthood. 

Because housing cost is the crux of the affordability issue. If rents were at sane levels I would’ve move out long ago, and I wouldn’t be questioning why someone would want to move here whose job prospect isn’t with a tech company with salary deep into six figures. 

If I didn’t live here already and were choosing a city to move to, San Francisco Bay Area wouldn’t even be on the list. 

Two methods of emergency escape. 

Thoughts on Motor Trend going subscription model

One of my favorite car-related Youtube channels was Motor Trend. I say was because about a month ago Motor Trend took its amazing content and put it entirely behind a pay-wall on a dedicated website. I can still watch videos for free, but not without numerous ads littered throughout. Suffice it to say I did not follow Motor Trend’s exodus from Youtube. The videos are wonderful and entertaining (who doesn’t love Roadkill?), but the friction of having to go to another site is difficult to overcome. 

And I can’t be the only person. 

Indeed Youtube’s monetization model can’t possibly be sustainable for Motor Trend’s surely armada of personnel producing its videos. Supposedly the payout per one play of a video on Youtube is lower than the already absurd 0.007% of one cent per-stream earning to the artist on Spotify. Difficult for Motor Trend to feed its crew when 1 million views returns a scant $4,000 dollars. Only the Doug DeMuros of the world - one man operation with super low production value and cost - can make a decent living within than framework. 

So I understand completely why Motor Trend moved to a proprietary subscription platform. As an artist myself I appreciate the fundamental of creators getting paid for their output. 

However, Youtube is such a juggernaut in providing potential eyeballs. I bet Motor Trend’s pure viewership count have dropped significantly once it went off the platform, due partly to people’s unwillingness to pay for a monthly subscription, and due partly to viewers like me who can’t be bothered to leave Youtube. I don't wish ill towards the team: I hope Motor Trend has got enough subscribers to sustain them for a long long time. 

Few years ago another car Youtube channel I also favored called 'Drive' did the same as Motor Trend and put its content behind a subscription. The number of paying customers was more than enough to keep the lights on, but the raw view count on the videos decreased so dramatically that car manufacturers became reluctant to lend them cars to test - the kiss-of-death for an automotive channel focused on new cars. Needless to say Drive did not survive its prosperity. 

A historic and renowned publication like Motor Trend wouldn't have that problem, right? 

The one man mowing band. 

New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Special in San Francisco

This past Saturday I went for the first time in two decades to the Cow Palace for the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Special show. Twenty years ago it was the Ringling Brothers Circus, which I guess is defunct now? Can’t go on abusing elephants forever without PETA ending your business totally. 

Going to shows at the Cow Palace is the easiest thing ever because I live but a couple blocks away. It was with excellent schadenfreude to see the lines of cars queuing for blocks to enter the parking lot while I taking my time walking and enjoying the sunshine.

I wonder what it was like in the era when the Warriors played in Cow Palace and the 49ers and Giants hosted games at Candlestick. Living in my neighborhood must have been super convenient as a local sports fan, able to simply walk to the stadiums and not have to contend with traffic or parking. 

Granted, back then Visitacion Valley wasn’t exactly the safest of districts. 

The Giants have moved downtown to AT&T Park since the turn of millennia, and the Warriors will join them in 2019 at the swanky new Chase Center. A half-hour metro ride takes me to both venues, which isn’t too bad in the grand scheme. The 49ers however skipped town entirely and now play football 40 miles south at Santa Clara, an inconvenience that completely prevents me from attending live games.

Perhaps it’s the gap in years between attendance but I did not realize just how small the Cow Palace is compared to the modern mega arenas: it utterly lacks an upper third section. The design and how it have aged over the decades gives off an old Texas cattle ranch vibe; smells like it, too. It may be hallowed grounds for some but to the millennial me it’s a decrepit building awaiting the implosion orders. The plot is prime real estate for desperately needed dense housing. 

The New Japan show was actually my first live wrestling event, and it was a great time. The smallness of Cow Palace meant that even with our lowest priced tickets, our view of the action was terrific. I obviously don’t watch NJPW shows so I had no idea who many of the wrestlers are, but I watch wrestling purely for the technique anyways, and New Japan has it in spades.

It was amazing to see wrestlers perform pile-driving maneuvers that WWE have banned for quite some time, the increased danger of concussion notwithstanding. 

The Cow Palace is decidedly old school. 

Porsche 919 EVO demolishes the Nordschleife record

Last week I wrote about not giving a damn about Volkswagen beating the Pikes Peak hillclimb overall record with their bespoke electric race-car. This week I am extremely excited to write about Porsche demolishing the Nurburgring Nordschleife overall record with their 919 EVO race-car. 

I am no fan of electric cars, but electric power in concert with combustion engine - hybrids, I can (somewhat) get behind. 

Porsche is celebrating their successful FIA WEC campaign - since retired - by throwing a tribute tour showcasing the 919 Hybrid LMP1 car all over the world. During the tour Porsche wanted to break a couple of track records. Utilizing a derestricted specification of the 919 (EVO) with more aero, less weight, increased hybrid boost, and grippier than race-spec Michelin tires, Porsche aimed squarely at two tracks steeped in motorsport tradition: Spa-Franchorchamps, and the Nordschleife. 

The Spa record fell back in April, and down went the Nurburgring record this past week with an incomprehensible lap of 5 minutes, 19.55 seconds. 

I drive virtually on the Nurburgring almost daily with my GT Sport simulation rig so I can confidently say a lap in the 5 minutes is truly bonkers. A mighty effort of not only the car, but most certainly the driver. The ceaseless attack of heavy g-forces and the reflexes required to navigate a lap that quick is indeed a supreme display of athleticism by Timo Bernard.

Spa is a wonderful track, but the Nordschleife holds all the mystique: the uneven undulating surface, the utter lack of runoff areas, and the immense variation of corners to familiarize. Sir Jackie Stewart nicknamed it “The Green Hell”; Formula One cars have long deemed too fast to race on the track. Only GT3 class cars and below currently do racing on the old Nurburgring. 

It makes what Porsche did all the more incredible. 

For the longest time fans have wanted manufacturers to take their F1 or LMP1 machinery to do one lap time-attacks on the Nordschleife - just as they do with road cars. There’s been a few demonstration runs over the years (Nick Heidfeld in a BMW F1 car), but nothing concretely timed have ever been done. 

Kudos to Porsche for having the balls to do it. 

The not white tree of not Gondor. 

I came home to a dumpster fire

Yesterday was Fourth of July holiday so of course there was hordes of illegal fireworks happening long into the night. It’s been my annual ritual and goal to avoid all the madness, shutting out the chaos with noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs while praying to the gods none of the shrapnel sets fire to my car. 

I don’t own a car anymore so one less thing to worry about. 

This year circumstances found me heading out with some friends to watch San Francisco’s official fireworks display by the piers. We avoided heading to Fisherman's Wharf directly because of the enormous crowds, and instead placed ourselves on the nice lawn at Fort Mason. Perhaps not as awe-inspiring compared to being upfront and close, but we valued space and actual spots to sit above that. 

Having a view of the Golden Gate Bridge backdropped in a glittering sunset wasn’t so bad either. 

Departing from the festivities I was able to see the many illegal fireworks setting off throughout the city, a symphony of exploding lights accompanying me on the drive home. The sheer volume and scale of some of the fireworks was truly impressive; dangerously close to rivaling the smaller shells in the City's show. One stray from those incendiaries land on a roof it is over. 

Unfortunately one stray did land in my housing complex’s communal dumpster, courtesy of my neighbor, so I came home to a literal dumpster fire. A company of firefighters was at the tail-end of extinguishing it, which blocked me from entering the parking lot. It was a mess.

I am decidedly live and let live when it comes to unsanctioned fireworks, but people have got to be smart about not igniting next to highly flammable things (all of our houses made entirely of wood not withstanding). Count it a successful July 4th holiday if everybody can have their fill with fireworks and in the process no houses - or dumpsters - got burned down. 

The evening sky over Golden Gate Bridge, our lovely view from Fort Mason. 

Car modding isn't my thing

Perhaps it's simply me getting older, but modifying cars holds zero appeal to me. When I watch Youtube videos of car shows and see people drop many tens of thousands of dollars on top of an already expensive vehicle to personalize it (a set of quality wheels are nearly 5 grand these days), I feel glad to have never fell into that money trap as an adult.

My own car-related money trap is swapping perfectly good cars every three years - variety is indeed the spice of life. In hindsight I should have leased instead of paying full tax which is never recovered when I sell the cars. Taxation is theft, by the way. 

I used to love the thought of tuning cars. The early Gran Turismo games have me dreaming of mega horsepower turbo-kits and racing suspension systems. I absolutely tore into the my first car which the parents kindly purchased, and as my modest college part-time worker's budget allowed I incrementally swapped out the wheels, replaced suspension parts, redid the most of the braking system, put in LED tail-lamps, and various other bits. 

With the modifications the car became a distinct representation of my style, which other than chasing performance numbers is the primary reason why people are so wont to dump money into their vehicles It's why the showy, "Stance Nation" sector of the car culture is magnitudes more popular than true track-rats. A stock vehicle is the blank canvas and the tinkered result is personalized art.

So I completely get the appeal of car modding, because I've been there; but I stopped. Starting with the first car purchased with my own money the decision was made to not modify anything, partly because of the hefty car note and I'd be stretch super thin to afford parts, and secondly I rather put all money and energy towards driving. 

This is mirrored in how I play modern Gran Turismo games: I hardly ever venture to the tuning sections and simply drive the cars as they come from the factory. 

I said in a previous blog post awhile back that I was going to start modding again. Well, the Miata have been sold; mind has changed. I've decided that if I want to better a car, I'll just buy a better car.  

Billy Shakespeare wrote a bunch of sonnets. 

Warriors signing Cousins is a psychological coup

Just when the basketball world is abuzz about LeBron James signing with the Lakers and all its implications, the Warriors sneaks in the following day (yesterday) and drops a bomb by announcing they’ve signed DeMarcus Cousins to a one-year deal at the taxpayer’s exception. 

The same DeMarcus Cousins who before a torn achilles back in January was an All-Star top-10 level player that perennially averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds. He’ll be joining a team that just wrapped up a third championship in four years. The one position found lacking on the Warriors is the center spot and now they’ve finally acquired their long-coveted dynamic scoring big-man.

A team with four All-Stars in the starting lineup just added a fifth (when healthy). LeBron’s move to the Los Angeles is but a blip in a radar. 

I highly appreciate the Cousins move from a psychological perspective. When a team have won consecutive championships, complacency can easily set in. Human nature craves newness and fresh challenges, and the Cousins signing provides just that for the defending champs. The goal of winning it all remains the same but the novelty of fitting and succeeding with Cousins should invigorate the team and prevent the coasting mentality that occurred often this past season.    

The rest of the league - the competition - is psychologically deflated. The Golden State dynasty was already supremely formidable with Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green, and Iguodala on the squad but now they’ve added Cousins? That just might be the mental coup de grace. Players on other teams are tweeting out despair and “why bother”; analysts are facetiously calling for the season to be cancelled. Once again, advantage to the Warriors.

Signing Cousins is a shrewd move that I and many NBA fans did not see coming; the particular circumstances came together perfectly and unexpectedly. indeed there’s an argument against it on the basis of competitive balance, but I think the onus is on the other teams to catch up (Lakers have got to get Kawhi Leonard after this, right?) - even with the recent success the Warriors aren’t going to stand still. 

As well they shouldn’t. 

Photo mode in GT Sport is highly triggering to my wanderlust tendencies.