This is my site where I can rant and espouse all kinds of wisdom (read crap) that no-one will read.... No, really, occasionally I have something interesting to say, but enough self-deprecating humor (hey, if I can't make fun of myself, how do you expect me to make fun of you...?). My name is Jim Goodman (my business cards said James B. Goodman) and I've been lucky enough to have some really cool experiences. My father was involved in a venue when I was a child, my mother is cool and loved music (don't forget that Ph.D. in strategy and economics), so I got to go to a lot of great concerts at a really early age (and be a fly on the wall at cool business things). After college, I worked at Ticketmaster for a number of years and I founded Ticketmaster.com (Ticketmaster was a dream job). Had a short stint at The Disney Company (that was a nightmare, same year as Ovitz, but man did I learn a lot), later spending some time on tour, blah, blah, blah... Then a very early employee at what is now Ticketmaster's largest competitor, Tickets.com (more great stories from that, an internet start-up that came out of Bill Gross's Idealab! during the bubble). Of course there is more detail on the "about" page, but you get the idea, I not only have things to write about, but I obviously have an opinion.... So read about what I type about, covering some of my interests from travel and wine to ticketing.

So it finally arrived... my new Mini Cooper S! I got up yesterday morning and checked the website, as I do every morning (yeah, I know, I'm sick) and it announced my car as, "at retail".

I patiently waited for 9:16am, I didn't want to seem too eager and call at 9 on the dot, and asked for my salesperson. I'm told that he won't be in until 1pm... I'm crushed! So I email him hoping that he answers his email when he's not at the office, which I find out he does :-)!

We email back and forth and he gets the ball rolling on his end.... the paperwork is done (so all I have to do is initial and sign), the car is prepped, etc. I return my rental car and figure out how to get downtown to the dealer. That was a whole other adventure which was cool, and I'll write that up later today, I took LA's mass transit rail/subway.

But I did manage to get my car mid-afternoon and am driving it happily, but not as I type this. Here's a bad picture of it taken at dusk with my iPhone camera (and emailed, so it decimates the quality)....

So you have read me rant about parking in Santa Monica for a while. This morning as I walked home from breakfast with the boys, I saw this...

Notice the pylons, ratty old things with no markings. There is some paint on the street, but no damage that would prevent use to the actual street or parking space (it's just a small crack from a root... while yes, I agree it needs fixing or it will just get worse, it's not like it's a gaping hole... :-)).

There are no signs posted as to what the pylons are there for. There are no "No Parking" signs on the pylons, or anywhere else for that matter.... Nothing.

And folks wonder why I get so frustrated with the City of Santa Monica. City personnel tend to "cut corners" and do things the easy way and fail to follow through. They don't double check their work and it shows! Of course I speak in generalities, and it's always one bad apple that spoils the bunch.... But if you don't like being called out for poor service in a general manner, then do something about it. When you see/hear/learn of your co-workers doing a poor job, tell them. Point it out, be proactive! If you don't, I will, and it makes you look bad :-(....

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