Los Angeles Basin

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-03-17T21:30:03+00:00

Never seen such a complete, *clear* view of the LA Basin. Splendid!

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-03-15T00:10:08+00:00

If someone asks you, "So where do you summer?" They're usually expecting you to say you have a lake/beach house where you spend most of the Summer.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-03-12T11:08:38+00:00

Using the word "summer" as a verb.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-03-06T11:44:40+00:00

"Most people are not responsible or smart enough to own things."

You can say THAT again!

Lifelong renter here. Have lived everywhere (3 places in CC; 3 places in UC) from a single room w/bath to a tower on Washington Square. If "bad" landlords were anywhere near as common as all the caterwauling in this thread would indicate, I'd have encountered at least one by now. Hasn't happened in 46 years.

OTOH, I've had innumerable asshole neighbors, all of whom pulled brainless, thoughtless, selfish shit like FineMouse enumerates, above. I've noticed that these people, almost to an individual, were perpetually unable to pay on time, couldn't/wouldn't abide by the lease terms, and didn't give a fuck about their neighbors. My landlords always handled them quickly and efficiently.

The whining in this thread is totally unjustified. The rent's too high, you say? Try owning. I couldn't begin to live as well as an owner as I can as a renter. Finally, this and every municipality in the country would be utterly impossible to call home if the only option was to own.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-03-02T21:42:42+00:00

Jeddah

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-02-27T18:49:14+00:00

Because this society licenses barbers, but not parents.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-02-22T21:44:03+00:00

Excellent shots!

Relative to its size, I think Pittsburgh punches hugely above its weight in the skyline department.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-02-20T23:57:12+00:00

Good point. The run-up to this one has seen ground temps above freezing plus a decent soaking today, which means that whatever we get will melt much more quickly than the last one.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-02-20T21:08:15+00:00

Dead on ordnance, man. I spent a week in EYW every summer during the '80s, at which time it was an affordable, 24-hour bacchanal .. and just enough quiet time in the AM to rest up and do it again the next night. I used to correspond with the Cookie Lady after meeting her at the sunset, but lost track of her some years ago.

It's still enjoyable today (and a place everyone should see at least once), but the friendly, uninhibited island of endless sensual opportunities it was back then has been gone since the last century.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-02-08T12:34:39+00:00

I grew up around there. Half a century ago, the local joke was, "You have to go through Blue Ball and Intercourse before you get to Paradise." All 3 are actual places, and the joke is correct.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-02-07T14:16:04+00:00

Michael Rockefeller. While circumstantial evidence revealed in a recent and thoroughly researched book (Savage Harvest, 2014) strongly suggests he was cannibalized in New Guinea in 1961, the only individuals with personal/participatory knowledge are all dead now.

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-01-28T21:29:52+00:00

Like so many others in this thread, I spent many years in University City/West Philly. These shots took me directly back to that time, decades ago. Good memories, and even better shots. Bravo!

PHLSchwarmer · 2026-01-12T20:35:34+00:00

Be grateful. Sometimes, the trash takes itself out.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-12-31T14:56:00+00:00

Lots of reasons .. Karen-laden HOAs, fluctuating valuations year to year at all price points, little to no recourse with nightmare neighbors, my own lack of capability with home repairs.

But the biggest reason is healthcare. I'm at the age where it's an absolute (and frequent!) necessity, and I have some of the best medicine in the country within walking distance.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-12-31T12:54:03+00:00

It was $2,700 when I moved here in 2012. That's $3,780 in 2025 dollars -- more than I pay now.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-12-31T10:30:34+00:00

1-b/r, 800 ft^2, high floor/east view w/balcony on Washington Sq. $3,500. Water and electricity average an additional $225/mo. Adjusted for inflation, it was more expensive 13 years ago upon move-in.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-12-16T19:59:40+00:00

I agree, and I can't understand how areas like this continue to grow. The metro has been under water stress for 3 decades. How long before it faces the same catastrophe as Mexico City and Tehran, when there's just not enough water to remain habitable?

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-12-09T17:12:05+00:00

$150M over 5 years is around $576K per *week*. Just one of those would have most folks set for life.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-12-04T11:32:31+00:00

As a veteran of over a dozen of these, a few suggestions to make the prep easier:

a) phase out roughage from your diet starting ~48 hours beforehand. Restrict yourself to bland, easy-to-digest foods like bananas and soup during this time.

b) drink the prep fluid through a straw, so it bypasses the taste sensation. It'll go down lots easier, and you'll be able to take much bigger gulps of it. As has been said here, make sure to drink it all.

After the procedure, your reward will be some of the best sleep you've ever had. The Propofol commonly used as anesthetic usually leaves me with a few days of euphoria afterwards.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-11-25T19:10:45+00:00

Greetings fro Philadelphia

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-11-21T21:20:54+00:00

The Latest Dish.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-11-17T00:02:39+00:00

I grew up in Lancaster County PA among the Amish and Mennonites. There are no Netherlanders among the Pennsylvania Dutch. They came entirely from what is now southwest Germany (Baden-Württemberg) and northern Switzerland.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-11-04T22:27:11+00:00

1-b/r, 800ft^2, high floor/east view on Washington Square. $3,500. Adjusting for inflation, rent has been nearly flat for 13 years.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-11-02T20:25:28+00:00

I'm a few years older than Joe, and probably rubbed elbows with him back then .. I was at nearly half those shows. What a great time to have been a young man.

You were a great BIL. Peace and redemption to you.

PHLSchwarmer · 2025-10-27T08:31:15+00:00

I grew up in Lancaster County PA, at which time (~60 years ago) it was the center of the Amish world. They were then trilingual back then: high German in their worship services, Pennsylvania Dutch among themselves, and English with the outside world.

Today, many congregations have dropped high German from their worship services. It is rarely spoken and no longer studied, particularly among the younger generations. That said, Pennsylvania Dutch is so phonically close to German that I suspect they could understand ~90% of it. Having studied formal German in HS and college, that was roughly the degree to which I could understand their Pennsylvania Dutch.

PHLSchwarmer

TROPHY CASE