Top products from r/sandiego

Wasn't there, but as a dashcam owner, I must suggest what you do for the future. I recently had a super easy time with an accident, in part because I think the at-fault driver noticed my front and rear dashcams. Or he was just honest and cool.

Anyway, I have two of these, Aukey DR02 dashcams. And besides the image clarity and ease of use, I also suggest these because they are using capacitors instead of lithium ion. The perk to using lithium ion is that the camera will stay on for a minute or two after the engine is cut. The downside is that in hot california weather, lithium ion batteries will expand and even explode. I lost three lithium ion based dashcams to heat before I discovered that ones with capacitors would solve this issue.

I purchased even longer cables than they provide, and routed them in all sorts of nooks and crannies, under the rubber on the trim, under parts of the trim, so that you can't see or trip on the cables anywhere.

They are powered via the cigarette lighter plug. There are options out there with multiple usb ports, including crazy ones like this one

Since it has flat sides, you can adhere it somewhere out of the way with double sided adhesive tape. If you have a compartment in your center console, for example.

I would also suggest you use something like these sandisk microSD cards but the important part is that they be high endurance, as the dashcams are constantly writing data to them. This is a lot more than most MicroSD cards are expected to endure in a camera or on a phone, and it doesn't cost that much more. I think the peace of mind is entirely worth it.

Pretty awesome guide for hiking spots, extremely in depth.

North Park (Tiger! Tiger! or Crazee Burger), South Park (Alexander's or Lefty's), and Hillcrest (Snooze Crest Cafe) have the best food IMO. Snooze in particular blows my mind, call ahead to put your name on the list as there is always a long wait.

Balboa Park is always a good bet for things to do. Besides the beautiful hikes and scenery, there is also music, arts, and other entertainment pretty much every weekend. It's a hub of entertainment.

There's weekly threads here for things to do on the weekends, and also many great groups on Meetup.com

If you live here in SD do yourself a big favor and buy Jerry Schad's Afoot and Afield in San Diego https://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-County-Comprehensive-Hiking/dp/0899974287/ref=la_B001ITWV9A_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495149676&sr=1-2

You can get a used copy of the 2007 version for about ten bucks and a 1998 (which I still use) for less than five. If you go on two hikes you will be way ahead of the game. Jerry Schad was a unique person with a great soul as well as being a champion hiker and a polymath naturalist. The writing is terrific. Best money you'll ever spend!

Awesome, /u/Runaway_5.

I recently picked up a bunch of Ticonderoga #2 pencils to donate to my local school. The teachers really like the pencils because they have quality lead that doesn't constantly break, and they sharpen nicely. The erasers also work better than the smudgy ones cheap pencils have. (I'm not calling the ones in the photo cheap). If anyone is interested in buying them to donate to Vic or anyone else, they're on sale right now at Walmart:

96CT for $6.92, so around 7 cents a pencil for good quality pencils

EDIT: Amazon also has them on sale

Anza Borrego is under a 2 hour drive away and you can camp for free anywhere within the park, which is quite large. Right now is the time to get out there as it's not 100+ degrees.

There are some good hikes along the Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains if you want hikes that aren't crowded with people like Cowles is. Sunset Trail is a good one. You'll need an Adventure Pass to park at some of the trails.

If you want a good book with a lot of trails in San Diego that won't be crowded with people I'd suggest Afoot and afield.

I recommend looking up a Gottman Institute trained therapist.

https://www.gottman.com/couples/private-therapy/

If you can't afford a therapist, the next best recommendation I've got is reading the book "Getting the Love You Want" with your partner, and working on the companion workbook together.

https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Love-You-Want-Anniversary/dp/0805087001/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486190971&sr=8-1&keywords=getting+the+love+you+want

https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Love-You-Want-Workbook/dp/0743483677/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0743483677&pd_rd_r=GX0H9DX9YAZV3JX13G4R&pd_rd_w=YKmdS&pd_rd_wg=sUjob&psc=1&refRID=GX0H9DX9YAZV3JX13G4R

I just got a front dash cam, this one has worked great, quality is amazing. Pretty stealthy too.

https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Wide-Angle-Dashboard-Recorder-Recording/dp/B072FGL63X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1518221235&sr=8-4&keywords=aukey+dash+cam

This is the best book on hiking in San Diego County: http://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-County-Comprehensive-Hiking/dp/0899974287

Comprehensive, easy to read, good directions, accurate advice.

i've got one of these lockboxes. it works pretty well, but read the reviews. the metal on the dials corrodes pretty easily from salt water, so i keep a can of wd40 in my car and a rag and spray it down periodically. it is big enough to hold an electronic key fob, so long as it isn't giant.

For language fluency it helps to get practice in, and FSI or Pimsleurs provide good material for that. I'm not sure how good the Pimsleurs Korean is, but I'm currently using it to learn Korean:

http://www.amazon.com/Korean-Comprehensive-Understand-Pimsleur-Language/dp/0743536134/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407513831&sr=1-2&keywords=pimsleur+korean

You can get this via your public library. If it's not available at your local library, you can send a hold and they'll ship it to your local branch. It's an all audio course. You'll need supplemental text at some point to understand about grammar, like:

http://www.amazon.com/Korean-Grammar-Use-Beginning-Intermediate/dp/8959951986

The downside to these programs is that you learn vocabularies that aren't targeted specifically to you, so there'll be some that you won't use. But it does help with the fluency.

They should be thankful I wasn't there. I carry a fire extinguisher sized bottle of pepper spray in my car spray for road ragers. It would've cleared those UCSD morons off the freeway pretty fast with some to spare. Fox Labs is some pretty wicked sh*t!

I like the book Afoot and Afield San Diego County as it will cover access, etc and even where to park. Often trail heads are pretty well defined with parking lots.

https://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-Spectacular-Foothills-Mountains/dp/0899978010

As for etiquette. I'm only ever annoyed by people playing music without headphones. I tend to say hello to people as we pass them. Just normal human etiquette will work.

>That is $55 + $5.50 shipping is for used headphones vs. $44.99 for a new pair, not really a good deal.
>
>However it does look like you can get refurbished ones for around $30-$35 including shipping - that's a better deal. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01BY7ZMXC/ref=olp_f_refurbished?ie=UTF8&f_refurbished=true

Yeah, it's $10-15 more to buy new instead of refurbished.

https://www.amazon.com/Rexing-Dashboard-Recorder-G-Sensor-Recording/dp/B00X528FNE

I bought this one. It has a wide angle lens, G-sensor (saves recording in a crash) and it’s easily mounted on the windshield, also, the shape of the dash cam makes it possible to be discrete.

Edit: It’s expensive but there are other models that are cheaper but may lack some fancy features. The key is to have a dash cam, be it a $300 gizmo or a $20 Walmart special, anything will help in an incident.

That is $55 + $5.50 shipping is for used headphones vs. $44.99 for a new pair, not really a good deal.

However it does look like you can get refurbished ones for around $30-$35 including shipping - that's a better deal. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01BY7ZMXC/ref=olp_f_refurbished?ie=UTF8&f_refurbished=true

http://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-County-Comprehensive-Hiking/dp/0899974287/

you can find this in your local library - excellent resource

Under the Perfect Sun

That's factual history.

But for a more fictional approach, check out the books of Don Winslow, specifically

The Winter of Frankie Machine

The Dawn Patrol

Gentlemen's Hour

Although fiction, they reference directly and indirectly a lot of San Diego History that never gets written down.

You might enjoy this book too: https://www.amazon.com/San-Diego-Then-Nancy-Hendrickson/dp/1592231268

Shows old and new photos side-by side.

Just want to take this opportunity to say anyone who lives here and is at all interested in hiking should own this book

I'm in a 1500 sq ft house with 4 people and we used to average about $350-$400 a month (we got solar at the beginning of the year and now it's around $20). In addition to the regular house appliances, there are 8 or so computers, 6 monitors, two 52" LCD TVs, one 65" rear projection TV, one video projector, 2 mini fridges, a keezer, and a partridge in a pear tree. Also, we have 3 dogs, so the AC thermostat is set to 78 all summer, so you should be able to get yours to about $150-$200 a month.

My advise is to get a kill-a-watt to find out what is racking up your kWhrs and check your bill to find out how many kWhrs you are using above your baseline allowance. Anything over 30% of your baseline is essentially twice as much per kWhr, so getting as close to that as possible really helps. I found that turning off the surge protectors to the AV equipment (or other vampire electronics) and turning down (up?) the thermostats in the mini-fridges/keezer helped the most.

you can do that with something like this

If you are into hiking, I recommend buying these guides to San Diego hiking:

Afoot and Afield: San Diego County

Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors

The San Diego Reader usually has a section highlighting a particular hike. http://www.sandiegoreader.com

You can buy an Electricity Usage Monitor from Amazon to find out exacdtly how much your appliances/fridge are using

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009MDBU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just go ahead and buy Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide

San Diego Then and Now is great for San Diego itself, but I'm not sure of anything similar for the county.

This book is worth picking up. http://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-County-Comprehensive-Hiking/dp/0899974287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405290658&sr=1-1&keywords=afoot+and+afield+in+san+diego

I use this and lock it to my roof rack, tow hitch, wheel, or anywhere solid on the outside of the car.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-5400D-Set-Your-Own-Combination/dp/B0002YP1VC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508131816&sr=8-1&keywords=real+estate+lock+boxes

Under The Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See

Funny book on corruption and shenanigans in San Diego. Read this book if you ever wondered about the lack of trolley to the beach, the weird layout of getting into La Jolla, about the owners of those big houses in La Jolla.

https://www.amazon.com/Under-Perfect-Sun-Diego-Tourists/dp/1565849809

How to Cook Everything

I sleep with this, and this, and this, and one more thing if for some reason I ever need it in my closet.

Afoot and Afield: San Diego County

It's a book and you can find it in most bookstores around here or on Amazon.

Essential for anything hiking in San Diego.

I would actually recomend the one that I use over hers:
https://www.amazon.com/Rexing-Dashboard-Recorder-G-Sensor-Recording/dp/B00X528FNE

San Diego spends less than half of any other large CA city on social services. This isn't just things like welfare, etc., but includes Police, Firemen, Schools, Roads...etc...

The political structure is set up to make raising taxes basically impossible (not just a partisan problem, but a structural/institutional one) and all money that IS raised is diverted into downtown development at the expense of the neighborhoods and other social services.

We demand huge government goods, and are used to getting them for free from the federal Government, but refuse to pay anything for them.

http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Plundered-Fiscal-Governance-Failures/dp/0804756031/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319229724&sr=8-1

These Sony Extra Bass Bluetooth headphones for 44.99. Not impressed.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRXB650BT-Extra-Bluetooth-Headphones/dp/B01BY7ZMXC

When I google Sony Extra Bass Bluetooth headphones, I get these, which, in black, are going for $10 more than the "deal" above.edit: used headphones

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRXB950BT-Extra-Bluetooth-Headphones/dp/B00MCHE38O

I am working my way through this book. Highly recommend it.

A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America

I just bought This and my god damned key won't fit in it. I guess next is to try what you put up.

my key is also the fob for a dodge ram. so irritating it wont fit.

Yes, I know about the law. I usually carry a Fox Labs 1.5 ounce on my person. After witnessing a very violent road rage incident at Friars & Fenton in Mission Valley I now carry the 1lb can in the car. A gun, tazer or a super soaking of Fox Labs is the only thing that might have stopped this crazed lunatic. I'd rather be alive with a misdemeanor and $1000 fine than seriously messed up or dead...

Same thing applies to firearms. Lived in National City during the 1992 LA riots, $hit got real there and I carried my Glock 24/7 for about a week...

I've recently been metal detecting on La Jolla Shores late at night. Only once I felt uneasy. A shady looking guy who was recycling started circling around me from a distance looking like he was waiting for the opportunity to pounce. I figured he might want my detector. I readied my big can of pepper spray and moved towards a crowded fire ring and he disappeared.

I'd HIGHLY recommend getting a professional strength/sized can of pepper spray, not the key-chain types you'd find at Fry's.
Fox Labs is the best and is less than $20 on Amazon
Sabre Red is also very good
Get the stream versions. It's always windy here and the fogger/cone versions can come back and incapacitate you.

thepipesarecall recommended a knife. BAD IDEA! Unless you're properly trained, your own knife might be used against you in a fight. If you do get lucky and stab an assailant you might get charged with murder/attempted, F that! I do carry a knife mainly for utility/work and would only use it as a weapon of last resort.

I'm not OP, but get good pencils. Every teacher on earth needs those. Less broken lead means less pencil sharpening and more learning.

Actually a person who is mentally ill can more easily shoot you than a sane person. The military has poured tons of money into figuring out how to get average young men to kill each other.

If your interested in the topic a book called "On Killing" is a must read.
https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Psychological-Cost-Learning-Society/dp/0316330116