From the 5 freeway exit on El Toro highway and head north and head 7.5 miles until you find the famous biker’s bar Cook’s Corner. Hang a right here and drive another 4.4 miles though twisting roads, through dense forest, and then just as you past O’Niell Regional Park you will find a small area with a restaurant followed quickly by a drainage canal. Pull into the dirt parking area immediately past the canal on the left hand side of the street.

At this point you have 4.5 miles of dirt road to cover to get to the main parking lot. While you can usually drive this is a typical sedan, it is not recommended to try it in smaller compact cars as they simply don’t have the ground clearance, especially when the roads are in pretty poor shape as they were on this particular trip.

Even though the roads aren’t usually in great shape to begin with, on this particular trip they were in the worst condition I have ever seen, on top of that we had a big rain just 48 hours before I headed over. In my car I made it by driving nice and slow and keeping as far to the side of the big puddles as I possibly could. Even though its less than 5 miles in, it took almost 45 minutes to wind my way to the upper parking lot.

On this particular day people had pulled over at different points to try to walk the rest of the way in if they didn’t have enough clearance (or guts) to drive the rest of the way in.

Even the drive in can be a little daunting when you are driving over roads that are flooded and are more part of the river than part of the road. The secret is to take your time and schedule accordingly. Just for safe measure you should budget yourself at least four - five hours from leaving the main road to drive in, hike the trail, and then drive back out. If you have a good high clearance vehicle and the roads are dry then the drive in and out will go much faster. If you are really unadventurous you can ride a mountain bike or motorcycle in. As much as I get thrown around in a vehicle, I know I don’t have the nerves to ride on with less than four tires.

Once you get to the main parking lot by the fire station, take the stairs up to the trail and stay on it even though you walk past several houses. You will eventually see the sign up above and when you have gone one mile from the parking lot you hit the main trail head and the hike is on.

The overall hike is four miles from the parking lot to the large waterfall (and then four miles back of course). The hike follows the course of the river up into the hills. While its a fairly uphill climb, it isn’t too steep in any one area and there are plenty of places to rest. Be sure to take plenty of water, especially during the summer.

If you are in decent shape you can make it up to the big falls in about 45 minutes to an hour and getting down can take 30 - 45 minutes. Along the way you will see numerous man made structures in the water that used to get damned up to provide different fishing holes.

Once you reach the main falls you have reached the end of the road so kick back on the rocks and suck in the falls-induced ozone while you catch your breath. The 30′ falls isn’t the biggest waterfall you may ever see but considering you are just minutes from not just some form of civilization, but from the heart of southern California with millions of people living in the area. This little slice of heaven is certainly worth the trip and makes for an extremely enjoyable getaway. Don’t forget to take a camera!

The initial scene begins in a giant military warehouse where some Russians have figured out that something has been stored there that they ar looking for to create some ultimate weapon. Of course we are thinking they want the Ark of the Covenant since we last say it being put into a large warehouse like this. But nooooooo…..They are looking for something for better and need Grandpa Jones to find it. This HIGHLY MAGNETIC box is found by throwing gunpowder into the air and it floats over to the location of the box. Does anyone actually buy into that? Come on folks, an ounce of realism wouldn’t kill you. They finally find the case they are looking for and is the mystical Ark? Oh no, its an alien from the Roswell crash that somehow is in some kind of cryogenic chamber that isn’t connected to any power or cooling system. Freaking amazing technology for 1957! But wait, the evil Russian hotty pulls out a an alien looking hand and the alien in the case is loaded into the truck.

The very predictable chase begins to get out of the building and one the vehicles dings up a box exposing the Ark…yeah, its the box sitting out in the middle of aisle..ok, let’s let that one go for now.

Indy finally escape on a rocket car and finds himself in an odd town of mannequins and then realizes he is in the middle of an atom bomb test. To save himself he climbs into an old refrigerator which becomes the single piece of the entire city to survive by being blown a 1/4 mile through the air and crashing to the ground and tumbling over and over. Amazingly, Superman Indy has survived without so much as a broken bone or being cooked like a thanksgiving turkey.

We are then introduced to the new character, Mud, who has some letter from his mom with some ludicrous tail of how she escaped from the bad people down in the jungle and managed to find a phone to call him. A big chase ensues that has it’s share of typical jokes and punchlines, again, our superhero escapes without a scratch and the Russians who seemingly know every move Indiana is going to make have no clue to look for him in his own house. What a bunch of Russian motards not staking out Indy’s house, those goofy Russian spys!

The dynamic duo figure out the puzzle of the message they have and head down into the depths of some Peruvian jungle. After a big fight in which Indiana and the teenage handily defeat the horde of natives, they of course easily figure out where to find the crystal skull that looks like a massively elongated skull made from crystal and stuffed with crumpled tin foil….uhhh…ok. Exiting the hidden city the Russians are waiting for them and they hand over the weird skull thing.

Over to the Russian camp we find out that the boy’s mom is the girl from Raider’s and the boy is Indiana Jones Jr. (Henry Jones III). Who woulda thunk?!?. The adventure continues with one of the worst chase scenes I have ever seen. To call this movie slapstick is an insult to good slapstick comedies. I won’t even bore you with the stretch this movie goes to in order to bend the laws of physics. Onto the three waterfalls that the group goes over that would easily crush a school bus, they make it to the end without a scratch.

Ok, now things are going good, we the group finds the hidden city and we finally think we are going to get into the story of where the crystal skull comes from and without so much as an explanation, we are told that they are interdimensional beings…ohhhh….that explains it! Eventually they find themselves in a room full of crystal skeletons with one of them missing a skull. When the skull is placed on the skeleton is comes to life and the resulting all hell breaking loose part of the story begins. People flying into the sky, the building falling apart, things spinning around for no reason, etc. The group magically escape to a safe distance when a gigantic UFO comes out of the ground and then disappears while the requisite flood covers all traces of the hidden city.

Apart from the overly predictable chases, complete stretch of physics, superhuman characteristics of the aging Harrison Ford, complete boneheaded story, and setup for future sequels based on the younger character, I wish I could say there was some redeeming value of this movie. Other than the really good popcorn I had and seeing some good friends, this movie was a complete waste of money.

What is the Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is California’s largest inland body of water and was formed by accident when a dike ruptured in 1905. For 18 months virtually the entire Colorado River flowed into what had been an ancient dry lake bed creating a 385 square mile fresh water lake. After the dike was finally repaired the lake, unknown to anyone at the time, was setup for failure. Without a large infusion of fresh water, made even more difficult by the water demands of the Los Angeles area, the lake began picking up the vast amounts of salt from the area eventually turning the fresh water lake into a salt water lake with four times the salinity of the Pacific Ocean. During the 1940s - 1960s the area of the Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley became a large and important agricultural area. In 1960, developers began putting in hotels and resorts in turned the area into the hottest vacation destination in California, attracting more tourists than Yellowstone National Park. With a huge recreational lake and what even what had became one of the top salt water fisheries in the world, the Salton Sea was an absolute resource goldmine. It wasn’t until the 70’s that concern started to grow over the future of the area. In 1972 a research study estimated the sea would be dead sometime between 1980 - 1990 unless something was done to save it. At this point, irrigation runoff from the nearby farmland was bringing in tons of pollutants and the only significant source of water was the massively polluted New River that flows up from Mexico. With 18% evaporation occurring every year and nothing but polluted water going into the sea to maintain the water level, it was only just a matter of time before the ecosystem was simply going to fail.

Beginning in the 1940’s, salt water fish were transplanted into the sea and eventually created a very successful fishery industry. In 1960, the resort area began to flourish with the opening of the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club. In 1961, The California Department of Fish and Game predicts the Salton Sea will eventually die because of increasing salinity levels by 1980 or 1990. In 1968 Tracey Henderson, in her book “Imperial Valley” writes that the Salton Sea’s “salinity threat is constant and is growing more serious each year.” She notes that by 1972, it may be too late to save the sea.

The Salton Sea golden age began to crumple when the sea flooded in 1977 and destroyed quite a bit of the surrounding area. In 1984 the North Beach Yacht Club finally closed down.

The beginning of the end came in 1986 when the state issued advisories suggesting adults limit their intake of fish from the Salton Sea due to high selenium levels.

In 1992 the nation’s eyes were finally turned toward the Salton Sea when 150,000 eared grebes die. Two years later 20,000 birds die of a result of another eared grebe die-off. Another two years later in 1996 Type C avian botulism causes the deaths of white and brown pelicans. An estimated 15-20% if the western population of white pelicans and more than 1,000 endangered brown pelicans die as a result, causing the largest die-off of an endangered species on record.

In August of 1999 and estimated 7.6 million tilapia and croakers die from oxygen being depleted due to algae in Salton Sea. Even so, scientific studies show the Salton Sea may have the most productive fishery in the world.

In August of 2006 more than 3 million tilapia died, blocking off Varner Harbor at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area. It was the largest die off since 1999.

Debates continue at different levels of local, state, and federal governments about exactly what to do from letting it dry out to building a canal to the Gulf of California. There are some projects happening here and there but no commitment to any large scale restoration plan. Most people can’t even agree wether or not the sea should even be saved at all.

A call to the Salton Sea ranger’s office gives the clear impression that the Salton Sea simply suffers from bad PR right now. Fishing is up, in the warmer months boats and jet skis ply the waters. The stigma is due to the occasional algea bloom that sucks a lot of oxygen from the water causing a large die-off of fish. A few days later things begin to return to normal. There are fantastic campgrounds and bird habitats.

Ok, that said, I am sure some of you want to hear all the details about the procedure and what it was like. If you continue reading I will be going into every little detail of the procedure. It’s really not that bad, and I do recommend reading it so you know what to expect should you ever have to go through it.

Getting Ready
The day started by getting up at 5:30am and leaving at 6:00am to go to the hospital. I checked in at 6:30 and was assigned to a bed. I stripped down completely and put on the very attractive and stylish backless smock. The lack of anything other than a neck strap I felt added that extra touch that would otherwise have been missing. An IV was inserted into the top of my left hand so skillfully that I seriously didn’t even fell it go in. To this they attached your basic saline solution for maximum hydration.

At 8:30am I was given the ‘cocktail’ containing a Benadryl and a Valium. This combo is designed to keep you calm and sedate during the procedure and then help you sleep it off afterwards. You are not asleep during the procedure and can talk to the doctor throughout the procedure.

The Procedure
A few minutes after the drugs I was wheeled into room where the procedure was going to take place. I slide from the bed over onto the procedure table. Basically this is a real-time X-Ray system with a camera over your chest that swings and rotates around to provide the best views for the doctor. Since they insert the catheter into into an artery in your groin area, there can’t be any hair for the tape to stick to….

Do I get to be shaved by some hot, fake breasted nurse bimbo? Of course not, James, a very large black man, had the distincy honor of shaving my nether regions. As I noted to him, I was expecting the return of the hair to be the worst part of this adventure. Next on the agenda was a nice, ice cold bath of Betadine. I began to wonder if they were slopping the orangeness on with a large mop.

Next up, it was time to numb up the entry point. A few shots of Lidocain were on the menu. I have to admit, that kind of hurt actually, but only for a moment. From that point you don’t feel anything at all. Once in a while you can see the screen that the doctor is seeing which I found rather interesting. As the doctor got into the different areas around the heart he would tell me that everything was looking good. There were three distinct areas that this took place in. The final step was to check for heart function, this required an injection through the catheter of a contrast dye, when this was done I felt a short heat wave for a few seconds, but nothing major at all.

The closure was about the worst part of the whole thing. They put a lot of pressure on the spot and then it feels like they attach about 4 binder clips to the spot. This was pretty unconfortable and lasted about 4 - 5 minutes. After this it was just a pile of guaze taped into place and I was done.

The Recovery
After being wheeled to the recovery room, I had to rest for three hours before being allowed to go home. There really wasn’t any real pain to speak of but it felt pretty tender when trying to walk to the bathroom. Karen drove home and shortly after getting home I passed out for a couple of hours. I should be pretty sore tomorrow and pretty much 100% by Friday or Saturday.

• My heart is only pumping out 48% volume which normal is 50%
• There is reduced blood flow to an area on the left side of the heart
• EKG shows a left bundle branch block
• I have not been told to worry about it, so I am trying not to myself
• The goal is to confirm that nothing is wrong, NOT to try and find out what IS wrong

Tomorrow morning I go into the hospital for a cardio-cathetertest. During this test they will determine what, if anything, is actually wrong. It is entirely possible that this is just a normal condition and is nothing to really worry about. In many cases, a small blockage will be found that can be corrected by inserting a stent into the vein to hold it open. Only in very rare cases these days is anything more drastic than that needed. Of course I am a bit freaked out today but I am in very good hands with my cardiologist and the risks are exceptionally low. He is giving me about a 5% chance that they will insert a sting and about a 0.0001% chance of having to do anything more drastic than that. I will update this site the moment I can.

Website http://callbsonthat.com

Overview
I know we pay too much for TV service, if you have satellite or digital cable, you pay too much as well, but what can you do but suck it up and pay for it. We started with Cox digital cable, switch to DirecTV because of the dual-tuner Tivo ability that wasn’t offered on any other service at the time. Now, in a quest to save money I began researching my options.

Cox Satellite Myths
Cox cable’s website has a list of the top 10 satellite TV myths and claims they are all false. Let’s examine each “myth” one by one and see what a great value Cox digital cable service is.

Myth #1: “You get more channels with satellite TV than with digital cable.” 
Cox offers up to 260 channels, Dish Network offers up to 280 - Confirmed

Myth #2: “Satellite TV offers a better HD channel lineup.”
Dish Network offers significantly more HD channels than Cox with more coming - Confirmed

Myth #3: “Satellite TV offers more for the sports fan.” 
DirecTV blows away Cox in terms of sports channels - Confirmed

Myth #4: “Satellite TV is less expensive than cable.” 
After MUCH research, to get comparable packages, DirecTV and Cox are within a few bucks of each other and Dish Network is about $30 cheaper - Confirmed

Myth #5: “I can get video-on-demand service with satellite TV.” 
Ok, well, this one is a technicality. You cannot get TRUE on-demand with satellite TV although their PPV shows start so often it’s pretty darned close. Is it true on-demand, no. Cox is technically correct on this point.

Myth #6: “Cable companies raise prices more than satellite TV companies.”
In the past four years my cable bill has gone up and so has my DirecTV bill. Did it go up more often? No, did it go up less often? No. They raise prices about the same. Moot point.

Myth #7: “Satellite beats cable on reliability and picture quality.”
In four years of having regular cable and DirecTV, I have never had a problem with DirecTV and picture quality is perfect. In the same amount of time I have had basic cable go out twice. So in MY experience, yes, satellite had better reliability. - Confirmed.

Myth #8: “You can get local weather on the 24-hour weather channel with satellite TV.”
Huh? The Weather Channel is national and I get local channels. I routinely check on satellite for local weather and Cox is saying you can’t find out about local weather. I can’t figure out what the hell they are talking about. - Confirmed

Myth #9: “It’s easy to install a satellite dish and all of the related equipment.”
Both DirecTV and Dish Network send out knowledgeable installers that hook everything up for you. From that point it is not more difficult to hook up than a cable system. So yes, it is easy to install a dish and related equipment. - Confirmed

Myth #10: “Satellite TV is a one-stop shop for entertainment and communications services.”
There simply isn’t the technology available for satellite to offer all of the services of cable. With Cox cable you can get high speed internet access and digital telephone service. You simply cannot get these services from satellite. - Busted

So out of 10 myths that Cox is trying to dispel, they blow it on 7 out of 10. Their attempt to steer people away from satellite is totally unfounded based on their arguments.

Cox Tried to “Save Me Money”
I explained to the helpful salesperson EXACTLY what I wanted, what channels we watch, how many TV’s, what premium channels, etc, etc. He put together a package that would save me about $25 a month over my DirecTV bill. This made me happy. I ran to the local Cox store, grabbed my new DVR’s and ran home to hook it up.

After going through and setting up season passes for all of our favorite shows (and I have to point out that their DVR interface leaves a LOT to be desired here) and not being able to find HBO or Showtime, I called into tech support. To my surprise, I got ahold of someone at 10pm who said she just needed to refresh the receivers. After a few minutes the systems came back to life and HBO and Showtime were now available in all of their digital glory. But wait….crap…it totally reset the systems and whipped out all of our settings. We start re-programming the system and now all the other “normal” channels from our “everything” package are now missing. No Discovery, No BIO, No FOOD, No Science, No Lifetime, etc etc etc…so I now call Cox cable back and explain this to them. I am now informed that it is going to cost me another $30 a month to get all those channels back I just had moments before because I “wasn’t supposed to get them”. So now, to get what I was getting on DirecTV is now going to cost me MORE than it DirecTV was charging.

Dish Network to the rescue
A friend and I actually went through this whole process together this weekend and both decided that Dish Network was actually the better deal. At close to $40 less than my DirecTV bill with more features than I had before, this is certainly a good decision. Their prices are the best, their packages are complete, there are very few options so you get what you expect to get, they can install within 1 - 2 business days (in our area), and their DVR is one of the best available.

Summary
Cox is full of crap. Plain and simple. They are losing ground to the satellite providers and are spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and lies about how their service is better for you. Because of this I will even be switching my phone lines away from Cox as well for their bad business practices and how they handled this whole issue. Unfortunately I can’t beat their high-speed internet service so I am stuck with them for that for the foreseeable future but for TV service, they simply are not on the same level as either Dish Network or DirecTV.

The Experience
Go Roma is a strange combination of counter service and table service, you order your meal at the front counter, fill up your own sodas, and pick out your own table. On your table you will find paper napkins and metal silverware laid out for you. Place your number in the holder and wait for someone to bring your food out. The food is presented on real plates giving you the more sit-down restaurant experience.

The Food
My wife ordered a half pizza/half salad meal and I ordered a Country-Style Rigatoni. The pizza/salad combo was presented on a rectangular plate with pizza on one side and the salad on the other. The pizza was thin crusty crispy flatbread with “just the right amount of cheese and just the right amount of sauce”. She felt it was exactly the right amount of food. She says it tasted terrific and in rare form, she ate everything on her plate, leaving no picking from me.

I had the country-style rigatoni that featured an Italian sausage, peppers, and garlic in a cream sauce. At first I thought the portion was just a smidgen small but it was quite adequate. The food was presented in a nice bowl along with a piece of bridge. Let me point out that this dish cost $7.85 (I spent $8.50 at Wendy’s for lunch) and tasted better than the same dish I have had at places charging three times the amount!

Summary
If you want top notch tasting food in a relaxed restaurant environment that is extremely easy on the wallet, you would be hard pressed to find better food than Go Roma. We spend more on food when the two of us go to Fatburger than we did tonight. We are instant fans of Go Roma and I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other items on the menu. We will certainly be going back many times and recommending it to all of our friends.

Website: http://www.goroma.net