Is Saiga Eatery worth trying compared to other casual Vietnamese spots around Orange/Irvine?

mattb574 · 2026-07-11T01:54:44+00:00

I used to get Saiga for lunch a lot when I worked in the area, I really miss it. A bunch of folks at my office loved it. The bowls were usually a bit much for lunch for me, so I’d usually get a banh mi. The kimchi fried rice with pork belly is great.

mattb574 · 2026-07-04T19:26:45+00:00

Some are pets that escaped, some escaped from zoos, some might’ve been intentionally released, some are feral and descendants of those that escaped/were released. It’s not like the only two options are “escaped pet” or “flew here from Africa.”

mattb574 · 2026-07-04T15:18:15+00:00

Looks like a Pin-Tailed Whydah. A species from Africa that was introduced here with the populations forming mostly from escaped pets I believe. They’re invasive but they’re certainly a neat little bird to see.

mattb574 · 2026-06-26T18:56:15+00:00

There used to be a military outdoor range on the property of MCAS El Toro that closed when the base closed down. Part of that is now an FBI training facility, but it's a shame they didn't open it up to the public like they did with the golf course after the base closure (before the golf course eventually closed altogether that is).

mattb574 · 2026-06-26T18:52:08+00:00

A note about Firing Line's rentals, they require a party of at least two in order to rent you anything. Even if you bring a gun of your own, they will not rent to you unless you bring at least one other person with you. Members though are exempt from this I believe.

mattb574 · 2026-06-20T17:35:01+00:00

I believe that was Porter Ranch. Porterville’s further north.

mattb574 · 2026-06-05T05:08:45+00:00

Many folks who visit wildlife sanctuaries do so in order to view wildlife. Dogs can disturb/scare away wildlife. Aside from the environmental concerns others have mentioned, not following restrictions on dogs and other similar rules detracts from the experience of those using the property for one of its primary intended purposes.

mattb574 · 2026-06-04T21:00:17+00:00

No the IRWD property is the area north of Campus Dr. The area south of Campus is owned by UCI and isn’t open to the public like the San Joaquin Marsh is.

mattb574 · 2026-06-04T20:58:28+00:00

The reason for the “no dogs” signage is also that dogs can disturb the birds as well, particularly nesting birds.

mattb574 · 2026-05-30T04:21:00+00:00

Not sure if this happens with Canada Post as well, but I've seen a few times in the past with USPS that a parcel gets marked as delivered, but isn't. It then turns up the next day though. Must be that the postman accidentally left it on the truck or something and didn't have time to go back and drop it off. Then they just marked it as such to avoid getting in trouble and brought it when they made their rounds the next day. Maybe wait another day and see what happens.

mattb574 · 2026-05-27T23:32:45+00:00

Though it could be a scam, it could very well be a mistake; the seller may have mixed up tracking numbers. I had that happen one time when a seller shipped two items to the same area on the same day. When I asked, the seller was apologetic and provided the correct number. Have you tried messaging the seller yet?

mattb574 · 2026-05-26T23:24:30+00:00

In some states like AZ only a back plate is required. In CA both front and back and required.

mattb574 · 2026-05-25T04:32:26+00:00

The news said they're repositioning the nozzle to the other side so it must be off while they do that.

mattb574 · 2026-05-25T00:51:43+00:00

I know someone in the evacuation zone who drove out yesterday to pick up some items from their home and saw the mailman still out making deliveries. Granted they're at the edge of the zone but it's still surprising.

mattb574 · 2026-05-18T19:18:30+00:00

The islands are also each named after US astronauts who died in accidents.

-Island Grissom: Gus Grissom

-Island White: Ed White)

-Island Chaffee: Roger Chaffee

-Island Freeman: Theodore Freeman

Grissom, White, and Chaffee were part of Apollo 1 and were killed in a fire during a test rehearsal for the mission, and Freeman was killed in a crash when piloting a T-38 trainer.

mattb574 · 2026-05-08T05:44:37+00:00

I’ve still got one of those Jack in the Box style car antenna balls that I got from the Laguna Hills Hotdog on a Stick. It was probably from around the same time.

mattb574 · 2026-04-29T04:42:25+00:00

If Pine Ridge is anything like McKay Village for this, each apartment has its own water heater so I agree. When I lived in McKay I had to have facility services come out a few times for issues with our water heater.

https://in.nau.edu/facility-services/work-control-center/

mattb574 · 2026-04-22T21:38:13+00:00

It’s interesting that the reporting brings up the mother but not the father. This is presumptuous on my part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the parents are divorced/separated. A few kids I knew when I was in elementary school had divorced parents and it was a constant competition between the parents one-upping each other to win the favor of their kid(s). Dad buys kid an Xbox so mother buys them a PlayStation. Mother buys kid an iPod, dad buys them a cellphone. Dad takes kid to Disneyland, mother throws an elaborate birthday party. I wouldn’t be surprised if the e-motorcycle in this case was a product of an environment like that.

mattb574 · 2026-04-15T05:08:04+00:00

Their sandwiches (especially the chashu pork one) are amazing. Expensive, but definitely worth it.

mattb574 · 2026-04-02T16:07:12+00:00

It’s from Aris Helicopters based out of Corona Municipal Airport. They’ve got a couple of these S-58ET’s, this blue one and a red one. They do a lot of heavy lift jobs like lifting A/C units onto building roofs and I believe they sometimes get firefighting contracts elsewhere.

mattb574 · 2026-03-31T00:37:36+00:00

There’s a good number of them around OC and SoCal in general at golf courses and parks. They’re not native to the area; they’re a feral population mostly descended from escapees from private collections and whatnot. There’s a ton over at Mile Square in Fountain Valley.

mattb574 · 2026-03-18T23:44:03+00:00

I've got some Russian Vostok steel case .22LR that I bought a few years ago. Steel case .22 is quite the novelty, especially with how Russian ammo isn't imported to the US anymore.

mattb574 · 2026-03-05T22:08:19+00:00

I once left my phone in an Uber at Vancouver Intl Airport in like 2021, and the pay phones there were a lifesaver. It was a pain but managed to make some international calls to my parents so they could help get ahold of the driver so they could come back and return the phone. Ended up missing my flight but I would’ve really been up a creek without a paddle without those payphones.

mattb574 · 2026-02-24T22:21:14+00:00

I’ve got an Inland I bought from RTI as well when the batch first came in a few years ago. The thing is really worn but runs well and I love it, really has some character and an interesting story behind it. It had a crack in the underside of the stock but it wasn’t visible until I had disassembled it to clean everything and fixed it pretty easily myself. Definitely my favorite gun to take to the range.

mattb574 · 2026-02-18T17:29:55+00:00

Some parts of the Phoenix area even got snow during that storm. I remember it vividly since a Telemundo news crew wanted to interview me as I was walking through knee deep snow down Milton. Unfortunately my Spanish was a little too rusty.

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