Lone Locust Productions

Blog

  • Costco – the Plan

    Hike to Taipei Costco 3 (Shih Chih)

    Last time I went to Taiwan, I was still unable to reach the 3rd Costco in Taipei (designated the Shih Chih Costco) due to a variety of technical problems.

    None of the Costcos are conveniently accessible via subway, not that I would imagine being able to haul back a Costco-sized load of groceries on the subway anyway. Because of that, I’m unusually dependent on the kindness (and driving) of others to get to them.

    We’ve been to one several times, and my father-in-law knows (more or less) where it is and takes us there to stock up.

    The Second Costco I was able to locate on my Taipei city map, and with the assistance of a GPS and a subway map, I was able to track it down and walk to it from the Jin An station, about 1 mile.

    But the third Costco has even more strikes against it, not only is it even further out, but my father-in-law is unfamiliar with the area. To complicate matters, it’s so far out that my Taipei city maps don’t reach it.

    It was only by complete coincidence that, as we returned by freeway from Keelung at night, we spotted the illuminated Costco sign just off the freeway. Within moments it had passed behind the hills/trees, but I happened to have the GPS on and snapped a waypoint.

    Google Earth recently upgraded the eastern Taipei satellite imagery making it possible to try to locate the Costco.

    With a combination of Mapquest, Costco online, Google Earth and my GPS reading, I think I’ve determined where the last Costco is. It appears to be a 2.59 mile walk from Kunyang station.

    I previously made a 1 mile hike to the Carrefour (also marked on the map) and I think this should be a fairly easy position to locate –assuming I’ve got the location right!

    Anybody out there got a physical GPS fix on the Shih Chih Costco?

    The estimate that I’ve made is:

    25º 3′ 21.02″ N
    121º 38′ 0.27″ E

    Unfortunately, the Costco map doesn’t quite match the mapquest map, nor the satellite pictures – which is absolutely typical of Taiwan.

    Look at the full-sized image to get a better picture of my estimates

    Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

  • Raffaele Pizza

    04-06-06_2001

    It’s said that one of the main secrets of a business’ success is “location, location, location.” If that’s true, I don’t see how Raffaele Pizza has stayed in business for so long. This place has been in the same hidden location, buried behind an IHOP and a 7-11 near the corner of Glendale and 19th Ave since at least back to the 80’s.

    If the location doesn’t seem so good, they must be doing something right to stay in business and what they do right is the pizza.

    I’d like to extoll the unique virtues of this pizza, but, in this case, I can’t.

    There was nothing particularly exceptional about this pizza, but it was nonetheless a good, solid entry of the New York variety, and I wouldn’t hesitate to eat there again – except that I’ve always just driven past it before I see the place.

    Cost: 14″Pepperoni = $12.15, Cost per square inch = $0.08 (.079)

    Recommended

    Raffaele Pizza
    7019 North 19th Ave
    Phoenix, AZ

    Technorati Tags: , , ,

  • New Species Found in Himalayas, But No Yeti, Yet

    IMG_0701.JPG

    This article from livescience.com talks about recent discoveries of new species in the Himalayas.

    I particularly like the 2″ wasps deadly enough to kill a yak. Next time I go to Taiwan, I’m not going to quite as worried about the nasty 1.5″ wasps they have there.

    They’ve also discovered new species of mice, monkeys, frogs and several insects. It really reminds us just how unexplored some parts of the world still are.

    I remember when I was in 5th grade (30+ years ago) I asked my teacher (who was a science buff) why it wasn’t possible that there was some remote corner of the Earth where dinosaurs still existed, and he told me that the Earth had been so well explored everywhere there just wasn’t any place left to find anything new.

    OK, a wasp is not as big as a dinosaur, but still…

    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • Ono Hawaiian BBQ

    04-01-06_1720

    My favorite “Japanese” food is Curry Katsu. It stands head and shoulders above all other forms of Japanese food. The problem is, most of the places around these parts think Japanese food = Sushi.

    So the funny part is the only place it seems you can get to get curry are at Hawaiian places, so I’m not displeased with this new Hawaiian fast food fad that seems to be making the rounds.

    Ono Hawaiian BBQ is down the street from my office and I’ve been there several times. Among other things, they have good kalua pork, grilled teriyaki chicken, beef, spare ribs and katsu.

    At first, Ono’s prices seem a bit like they came right from Hawaii – outrageously expensive. (We once paid $12 for an ordinary frozen pizza and $5 for a gallon of mile from a major grocery chain on the big island.) Then, when the food arrives, things aren’t so bad, because the portion sizes are so big the mass literally begins warping the fabric of space/time exactly as Einstein predicted in his General Theory of Relativity. Any single entrée is big enough to feed two.

    And so it was with my Curry Katsu, pictured above.

    Right off the bat, it was pretty good, but I have a few reservations.

    • Despite being depicted as a spicy item on the menu, it’s quite mild.
    • The presentation is wrong, with the curry served on the side

    Why do I care about the presentation? It just seems a bit lax. I was, essentially, given a chicken katsu plate, with a side of curry. This made it much easier to share chicken with my daughter (who won’t touch curry), but it made it feel like the dish was just an afterthought.

    The rest of the food we’ve had an Ono has also been quite and and plentiful, and I don’t hesitate to recommend it.

    Ono Hawaiian BBQ
    3923 E.Thomas Rd., Suite B-4
    Phoenix, AZ 85018

    (Other locations around Phoenix)

    Technorati Tags: , , ,

  • More Reviews

    Starting today I’m branching out more on my reviews. In addition to the typical food and pizza reviews, I’m going to start reviewing DVD releases, books and miscellaneous other items.

    There’s likely to be a few other changes in the next few days. Stay tuned for the surprises.

    Actually, when I say, “today”, I mean, “tomorrow”. I’ve got two restaurant reviews to complete before I move on.

  • But what about the Pyramid of Mars?

    New Pyramid Found in Mexico City

    I giant 1,500 year-old pyramid has been found beneath a hill in Mexico City. The Pyramid is 60 ft high and as large at the base as the famous Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacàn.

    The pyramid is in a working class district of Mexico City and has been partially destroyed by building homes and Christians crucifying people. (Some things never change.)

    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • First Steps – Life on Earth

    Scientists find a missing link between fish and land animals

    Gosh, another good day in paleontology.

    375-380 million years ago, this fellow took the first steps on land…

    Named Tiktaalik Roseae after an Inuit word for “large freshwater fish” he won’t have too many children named after him, but he sure did a favor for all of us land-dwellers.

    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Dinosaur Kiwis

    Bones from huge dinosaur found on Chathams

    This article from the New Zealand Herald talks about new land-based dinosaur discoveries on Chathams, an island off New Zealand.

    Generally, New Zealand was not thought to have land-dwelling dinosaurs until these discoveries.

    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Rainbow’s End, Mesa and Scottsdale


    I happened to be a Kiwanis Park in Tempe last Tuesday when a small rainstorm was blowing by.

    The conditions and the sunlight were just right to form this absolutely perfect rainbow, which ran complete from ground to ground.

    Sadly, all I had was my cameraphone, which couldn’t even get a shot of the full arc.

    It was still pretty, anyway.

    Technorati Tags:

  • Looking Forward


    Today was a red letter day for James.

    He’s just too tall to sit in a rear-facing car seat anymore. Today we turned him around and let him have first ride round town looking at what’s coming rather than what’s going.

    He seemed rather nonplussed.


    Technorati Tags: ,