I sat here for awhile trying to figure out the best title for this post. Alas, there it is. I have decided to leave Portland Metblogs and try something new. I want to thank Metroblogging for the opportunity to write here over the years. I especially want to thank all the readers and commenters who have come and gone leaving behind amazing discussions. YOU are why I wrote. Now off to another adventure. Take care. Be well. Live long and prosper. So say we all. Best of luck. Godspeed. Keep on Keepin’ on. Just deal.

Your Portland blogger,

Dieselboi (aka Brett)

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

All, there will not be a meetup this evening due to the conflict with Ignite Portland.  Normally we do have our meetups on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.  We’re pushing it out until next week and also changing the venue.  Next week we’ll give Plan B a chance to win our hearts and minds.

Metblogs Meetup – June 25, Plan B

As you know, I love to tell a good story.  I also love to hear a good story.  If you read this blog, you probably also like stories.  One of our former authors and a great story teller in her own right – Melissa Lion – has started a new project- BackFencePDX–  to showcase some of Portland’s best stories. They have six people telling unrehearsed stories based on the theme, Summer Love: Lying Out and Burning Up. They’ll also have a vintage-inspired swimsuit fashion show with swimsuits provided by Popina Swimwear. Storytellers include Alison Hallett, Arts Editor of the Merc, and film director, Brian Belefant.

So, come on out to Tour De Crepes on Alberta St. for some amazing story telling.  June 19, 7:30pm.  Yay Portland!

I’ve been out to Edgefield a number of times – for weddings, for work functions, for their annual Halloween party, just to go have some food and drinks with friends – but I’d never been to one of their concerts until this past weekend. My girlfriend and I went out for 94.7’s Pet Aid – benefiting the Oregon Humane Society and Dove Lewis. And other than the fact that Ticketmaster continues to rape us with service fees – it was a great show!

The show started early at 6 – although we weren’t terribly interested in the first band – so we bolted out right after work knowing we’d have to fight our way out I-84. Once we arrived, we bought tickets from a ‘friend’ (paying $14 over face-value of tickets, but still saving ourselves $12 in ‘convenience fees.’), then headed down to the winery for some tasting. We tried several McMennamins wines that I’d never had before – Julia was a great – then headed back out to the venue.

For concerts, the entire northeast part of the lawn is fenced off with the stage set up at the far north end of the lawn. Up on the top by the Little Red Shed are the food and drink vendors (and porta-potties!) then everyone sits down the hill. Because they started so early, all three bands were finished before it got dark, and while I’d say it was mostly adults – there were some little ones running around too. And the adults – ever so Portland polite. People had their blankets to sit on – but up toward the front people were standing and dancing around – and not stepping on anyone’s blankets. It made me giggle when I realized it. All these groups of people standing around watching, and singing along and dancing – with pockets where no one stood – because there was a blanket spread out on the lawn. Gotta love Portlanders!

All in all though – it was a great night. And despite the ridiculous pricing – I’m a big fan of Edgefield concerts for a nice summer night out. Billy Idol will be there two weeks from tonight – and so will I!

As you well know by now, there was a couple of serious incidents on Yellow line MAX in the past week.  Both incidences involved groups of teens attacking or intimidating passengers.  I have usually been a defender of MAX as I think it is one of the best Portland decisions of the past 25 years.  But wow, you would think that after all the negative publicity last winter that TriMet would have maybe figured it out.  They need security on the train!  Plain and simple.

Yet, in this past week’s incident at Prescott Station (where I embark and disembark daily) leaves me realing.  I’m angry with TriMet, but I’m also angry with my fellow commuters.  Yes you, the person sitting there hiding while some young punk starts beating up a woman.  In this most recent incident, a Vancouver woman came to the defence of another rider and was attacked.  I praise her as a hero for standing up against these jackasses.  Yet, as a result, she was injured.  I know for a fact these two women were not the only riders on that train.  6:30pm?  Give me a break.  How many other riders on that train just sat there and watched or moved away from the frackas because they didn’t want to get involved?  People, there are more of us than them and my experience has taught me that if more people confront an issue like this, it will get defused.  Portlanders should have come to the defence of this woman and helped her out.  We’re all in this together.

Let me leave you with this thought regarding the next time something like this begins to transpire.  When you see the aftermath of a disaster or where a group of strangers have been affected by forces out of their control, do you ignore it?  Do you put your head in the sand?  Or do you react and do something to try to help them – donate food, blood, money, blankets etc?  If you are one of those who do rise up to help out these strangers, why aren’t you helping out the person next to you.  They need is just as much.

Walked home yesterday evening through SE, NE and North Portland. A pleasant walk. At beers prior, a bike commuter friend proffered that he believed there are indeed less cars on the road. Do you think that? It was pretty quiet on the streets last evening around 7:30pm. Quieter than normal.

So, anyone want to venture a guess where this is? May get you a beer at our meetup next week.

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

This story is everywhere today. I am often the one criticizing cyclists holier-than-thou attitudes and disrespect to others – so I am definitely not on the ‘cyclists are uber-cool’ bandwagon – but even I’m appalled at this. I cannot imagine any sort of situation where not having a light requires being tasered.

Yikes.

Read all the details on BikePortland.org

We all have been hearing more than we want to about the mortgage crisis.  I don’t think it has hit Portland like it has hit California or Ohio or South Florida, but I do know our skyrocketing housing prices have slowed down a bit.  Also, it is harder to sell a house these days than it was a couple of years ago.  Couple that with $4 gas and you have yourself a little conundrum.  I still don’t feel the majority is being affected by $4 gas.  Every day on my walks home, I cross the Skidmore bridge over I5 north and 2 lanes are bumper to bumper while the HOV lane is empty.  That tell me the commuters are still willing to shell out the cash for their daily commute.  Many don’t have a choice.  They have jobs that don’t have flexible schedules or are in places not easily served by public transportation.  Others though do have choices and are just not making them in my opinion.  Buying my house in North close in was the best financial decision I have made in the past 12 years.  Wow, who’da thunk it.

This week, PDC announced that their South Waterfront project (all condos) isn’t living up to what they had hoped.  The high priced condos are not selling period.  One building has been turned into apartments.  Those must be swanky apartment.  Yet, the news states that construction down on the waterfront will continue.  Thinking about $4 gas and 1 hr commutes and topics like that, I begin to wonder if people will begin to move closer into the city in order to cut their commuting costs.  Living closer in costs more usually.  An average house in my neighborhood is around $300,000.  Condos downtown start around $500,000 unless your willing to live in a shoebox.  I guess I’m wondering if PDC or the City or a developer or whomever could devise an affordable option within the condo market to that family that is currently commuting from Gresham or Clark County.  A 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a park location for around $300,000.  The upside would be less commuters and more expendable cash for that family.  Urban Growth areas don’t always have to cater to the wealthy.  I know, this is pretty ethereal, but I see it as a way to shift the mindset that people have currently regarding their requirement to commute.  Just my two cents.

Yikes! The Steel Bridge closes tomorrow and won’t open again until the end of August. They’re replacing or upgrading the MAX line that crosses the bridge – so that’s a good thing – but long closures are such a pain for traffic.

Of course they do have their good points as well – when the Burnside Bridge was closed – the traffic on Sandy Blvd. wasn’t nearly as heavy – and it doesn’t seem like it’s regained as much traffic as it had prior to Burnside being closed for so long.

But you know the first few weeks in that area near the Rose Garden are going to be a mess as people figure out their best new routes. If that’s your normal commute – good luck!

(Oh – and this is only for cars – the lower deck for bikes and peds will still be open.)

Happy Wednesday, kids. This week is already too much for me – dealing with the day job and the boyfriend being sick has left me no patience for dealing with the nutters on the MAX. Sure enough, there are copious amounts of visitors unfamiliar with our city to whom I am glad to be of service, but the screaming children running up and down a moving train, their parents gleefully ignoring them, is a bit nerve-wracking (especially directly after work). I’ll be taking some photos of the new ships on the Willamette in between a dentist appointment and the Timbers match against Minnesota tomorrow afternoon, so here’s to hoping the clowns won’t be getting in my way this time.

For those of you sick of or too good for the Rose Fest (specifically the Rose Floral Parade on Saturday), Dave from Dave Knows: Portland has some great tips on how to avoid the festivities (there’s also an amazing time-lapse video of the fireworks from last Friday, if you missed it). As this is my first (collective gasp) Rose Fest, I might get up early enough to become part of the throng downtown or at the very least, try to talk the crew at the Horse Brass into tuning in the broadcast while we’re enjoying morning brews and breakfast.