Tag: Phoenix

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Lessons from the Grand Jury

95% of the crime is committed by 0.5% of the population.

There is a chip in your car that lets the police track the car if they have your license plate number.

If you are in an accident and the airbag goes off. It has a record what happened in the five seconds before the crash.

The K in Circle K stands for Crime

Assume whatever you are doing is being video recorded because it probably is.

If you have been convicted of a felony in Arizona it is against the law to have a gun.

Only criminals have aliases

If you need a policeman go to a Walmart.

They can get a fingerprint off a photograph of your hand.

Pedestrians always have the right of way in Arizona, but if they are hit by a car obeying the traffic laws the cars driver is not liable.

The lug nut rule: In any traffic incident the one with the most lug nuts wins.

Justice may be blind but it is not cheap. Thanks to Fred R for this one.

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Mount Simon

In the photo there is a small peak just to the right of Piestewa. I want it to be named Mount Simon. Suddenly this is a revenue idea for the Phoenix Park and Recreation Department. Sell virtual naming rights to all of the minor peaks, knolls, valleys, canyons and other land features in the city. The naming rights would expire in twenty years and the names would only show up on the computerized and cleverly named maps accessible on your smart phone or printed on your very handsome certificate.

Who would pay for the right to name a hill. It is the perfect gift for an old hiker like me so my children would almost certainly buy me one or two. I propose that a gulch be $100, a knoll be $300 and a real hill be $800. Projected annual revenue two to three million dollars.

Overcoming your obvious objections to this new idea:

  • It is not new. They have been doing it with stars for a long time.
  • It is not permanent. they can be renewed, resold or cancelled in twenty years.
  • It is not demeaning to sell temporary naming right to things. The buses are full of ads for ambulance chasing lawyers, the freeways are cleaned by the local Travel Lodge and Major League Baseball has an official tire (Hankook). Think Stadiums.

Photo is Piestewa Peak (recently renamed) from the lake at Granada Park.

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Art is Everywhere

One of the benefits of living in a relatively prosperous society is public art. In the USA, federal law requires that a small percentage of the money spent on any construction project that is financed by federal money be invested in public art.
This bridge on the 51 Freeway in Phoenix is an example. The jagged chain link top of the fence simulates the mountains to the south. I had seen the bridge many times but didn’t appreciate its significance until I got the postcard above at City Hall on Friday.
This might be the beginning of an ASG about public art in Phoenix.

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City Humor

“May the asphalt be with you!

New pavement is coming to a galaxy near you!”

A sign from the City of Phoenix seen on Indian School Rd near 40th St. It’s good to see that the city has a sense of humor.

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Hallucination or Ancient House

Walking down the circumference trail at Piestewa on Sunday September 29 I saw this odd pile of stones. I have walked by this spot at least 100 times in the past two years. The original photo before I zoomed and color corrected looked like this:

It is about 200 yards off the trail so it will require some bushwhacking. I’m hoping to find some time this week to investigate further. It could be of recent origin, it could be Hohokam or…..