Surprise! Panorama City is in good shape.

(Sept. 21, 2007)

Panorama City seems to be coalescing into a livable place. There is a lot of mutual aid, although it tends to flow to language groups. Spanish-speakers help other Spanish-speakers, Tagalog-speakers help other Tagalog-speakers, although the Pinoy community is mostly bilingual and not adverse to helping Anglophones. There is a Thai community that is centered around the Buddhist Temple.

There are even WiFi nodes popping up here...some identify as being City of Los Angeles nodes, with names beginning with ci.la.ca.us and a dotted quad, like this: ci.la.ca.us_xxx_xxx_xxx_xxx. I'm on one now.

I'm formatting old computers and installing Linux. I can't update the Linux because the bandwidth off the LA grid is too damn slow, but it's faster than dialup or GPRS.

Mobile phone service has even improved. There are new cell towers, oddly enough, and they report as "T-Mobile." The mobile phone network that T-Mobile was using was shared with Cingular, but T-Mobile has taken the initiative to widen their own network.

The Alameda Corridor has been rebuilt, and the whole stretch, from Union Station to the ports, is now being electrified.

I am not knocked off the air, thankfully. I have to find a place to sit and charge my laptop, of course, but that's available to me.

We will be coming back to Duarte in a few weeks. Until then, this is not bad.