Musical Roads of Lancaster and Palmdale, California

Palmdale and Lancaster, California, are hardly destinations I can recommend. But if you find yourself in the area, for work or otherwise, one of the silly, free attractions are the musical roads. Yes, roads. There are two now, one in Lancaster and one in Palmdale, the latter of which had been on my regular commute to my regular amusement.

What's a musical road? It's basically a set of rumple strips or bumps in the road set at locations and intervals such that they "play" a song when you drive over them. To get it just right, a proper and steady speed is best, although by all means, you can play with alternating the speed to your heart's content!

While both Musical Roads are probably doing once if you're already in the area and looking for something amusing to do with a local vibe, there are major differences between the two.

The one in Lancaster is wider and therefore much easier to stay "on". However, it is technically out of tune, even at the recommended speed of 55 mph. The story is that there was a miscommunication/ misinterpretation about whether the distance between the ridges was to be measured peak to peak or trough to trough, which obviously makes a difference. To make it even funnier, this was the second Musical Road that had been constructed - they had originally built it closer to a residential area but neighbors complained about the noise, so they demolished it and replicated it elsewhere - repeating the same error the second time! The Lancaster road is also a bit further out of the way of most things, unless you happen to be headed to or from the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve - a great attraction during wild flower blooming season! 

On the other hand, the Musical Road in Palmdale is right in town. However, it recommends the painfully slow speed of 45 mph. It plays the Marines' Hymn. Driving faster will still play it recognizably, just higher pitch. The challenging thing with the Palmdale Musical Road is that the width of the ridges is quite narrow and near to the edge of the road, so my car's lane keep feature keeps pushing me out of the music. First world problems, am I right?

Upsides and pitfalls and all, I still say it's worth doing once, if you're already in the area. And if you don't have plans to be there anytime soon or you want to know what to expect, I've recorded a number of videos here for you to hear for yourself!

These AI-Generated Bucket Lists Inspired Me

A question was recently posed on Twitter: "What was the most impactful technology of 2022?" and I mentally answered almost instinctively: Artificial Intelligence. While AI has been in development for years and theorized about for decades and even centuries, and is far from the Promised Land of AI even today, I think it made some huge strides in 2022 and also made its way into the public's hands like never before this year. 

From AI-generated artwork based on user inputs, AI morphing selfies into cartoon characters and other stylized self-portraits, to virtual AI "friends" and chatbots to help with anxiety and other wellness concerns, articles surfacing of AI bots having self-realization and sharing human-like beliefs, it just seems to have dominated the technology conversation this year. Most recently, however, my employee turned me onto ChatGPT which writes lengthy bits based on prompts, including writing code or blog posts. Don't worry, I have no intention of using it to write my blog posts here, except as excerpts to demonstrate the technology's prowess and shortcomings. While ChatGPT has known and stated limitations (especially that the data is only current up to 2021), I wanted to share some of the most interesting bits I got out of it (so far). 

Below are the prompts and responses I got from ChatGPT regarding bucket lists. Before presenting the lists, I want to share a few insights that really struck me. 

First of all, I've lived in LA County for over a year and a half, and love space, and I had no awareness or consideration of the Griffith Observatory until this list. This opened up a whole rabbit hole for me of podcasts and planning a trip to the observatory and consideration of becoming a member. All because the AI generated a list which I hadn't yet seen. 

Much of the California Bucket List resonated with me, having either done them intentionally as part of my Life List or as part of my California Bucket List to take advantage of our time here. 

This sort of resource could be a jumping off point for when we move to a new location, generating local and regional bucket lists as well as interest-based bucket lists within a geographic region. The results are both impressively accurate and incredibly compelling and actionable. 

I hope these lists inspire you as well, and if you want to try creating your own, check out ChatGPT while it is available to the public!

California Bucket List(s)

So Cal Bucket List

Between San Diego and the LA area, there are a million things to do! These are the things I either recommend, or have yet to do and want to before I move away from the great state of California!

■San Diego Zoo - This is perhaps the world's best, and certainly one of the largest, zoos. Plan on spending at least a day here, it could easily stretch two days without much repeat.
The giraffes are my absolute favorite, and on certain days you can feed them! Also don't miss the koalas, polar bears, penguins, walk-in aviaries, elephants and big cats! If you have extra days and love animals, head north to the Safari Park and make sure to go on the kangaroo walkabout!
■Universal Studios Theme Park - The Jurassic Park / Jurassic World water ride is the best!
■Ballast Point Brewery - Whether you go to the location in Miramar, or my favorite in downtown Little Italy, the food is unbelievable, and pairs great with the well-known craft beer.
■Six Flags Magic Mountain - Home of Goliath, X2 and Full Throttle, not to mention my all-time favorite coaster, Twisted Colossus, Six Flags packs a day full of some of the best roller coasters in the west!
■Comicon Museum at Balboa Park - This museum never opened while we lived in San Diego, but we made a trip in early 2022 to visit!

■Legoland - Especially if you're a fan of Lego like we are, this is a must-see. Unfortunately, the roller coasters are made for very little kids so it's not great for adults in that respect, but the Lego creations are just so much fun to peruse, it's definitely worth a visit as an adult.
■Stone Brewing Co in Escondido - This one you have to go to the source; beer garden and brewery tour, plus fantastic food and merch awaits you in Escondido. Worth the drive!
■Idyllwild - I read about this place somewhere and decided I should go visit; it was a cute little old-timey town.
■Disneyland / DCA - Obviously, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area.
■Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park, San Diego
■Pizza Port - Take your pick on locations, they all feature good food and fantastic craft beer. The one in Carlsbad is the best.
■La Brea Tar Pits - Free to walk around outside, but worthwhile museum with paid admission (or get a free pass from the library)!
■Sea World San Diego - Whether you're there for the animals or there for the roller coasters, you'll find something you'll like here. Make sure to dip your hands in the touch pools at the front for a personalized fish manicure.

■California Science Center - Honorable mention to the SR-71 Blackbird outside the museum, this is a fantastic, engaging science center that gets kids and adults involved in experiments and learning experiences you can rarely find elsewhere.
■Coronado Island - A fun little community with cute shops, beach views and the best pasta at Island Pasta!
■Getty Center - An art museum with fantastic architecture, a tram that takes you from the parking lot and a neat garden labyrinth with views over the city!
■Giant Dipper, Belmont Park in San Diego                                                                                    □Catalina Island
■Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park, San Diego
□Shell Beach
□Gibbon Conservation Center
□Grater Grilled Cheese
□Broken Yolk Café
■Pantages Theater
■Vasquez Rocks  
■Donuts! Not at any specific place, just make sure to get some donuts in LA / San Diego!

Ultra-local (to us) Palmdale-area Bucket List

■Broken Bit Steakhouse
■Blackbird Air Park
□Rose City Pizza
□Fatboy's Tacos
■Raven's Nest
■Flying Nun House (Apple Valley)
■Bravery Brewery - One of the dozens of great breweries, but we haven't been yet!

Nor Cal Bucket List

■Walt Disney Family Museum - While I'm not really a "big" museum fan, this is one I recommend to anyone remotely interested in Disney, whether or not they like museums. It was interesting, interactive, and moving, to say the least.
■Six Sigma Winery - For nerds like me, you understand what it means to apply Six Sigma principles to growing grapes for wine. One of my most memorable wine tasting experiences occurred here, and it had a killer drive from San Fran!
■Russian River Brewing Company
■Boudin Sour Dough Factory
■Lagunitas Brewing Company
■Trolley ride in San Fran (to/from Fisherman's Wharf)
■Yosemite National Park
■Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
■Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, Santa Cruz
■Exploratorium Science Center