Orlando Bound

Addicted to Blogging

2007-12-06T14:56:00.001-05:00

Couldn't get this to work on my vox blog.

Update

2007-07-25T10:44:00.000-04:00

What's going on in John's life? More of the same. I'm still part of a loving and caring family and have a wonderful boy who thrills me everyday with his learning and attitude. I'm still enjoying work. I'm still enjoying writing The Disney Blog and updating my other blogs when I can. I still have lots of plans, many of which never come to fruition, but I enjoy the planning of them just the same.

Not everybody can be Harry Potter or Al Gore. Most of us work to survive, and if we're lucky, we work to play. One day I hope to find a more favorable balance to that equation.

101 reasons to vote democrat this year

2006-10-24T21:04:00.000-04:00

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

101 reasons to vote Democrat this year.

politics, vote, november, 2006, election, voter+revolt

Been Busy

2006-08-14T08:48:00.000-04:00

Oy. The more I write for the Disney Blog and it's new partner blogs the less I find time to write over here. I have been posting a bit at johnfrost.vox.com and The Home Blog. I will eventually re-organize my blogging habits to be more efficient. But in the meantime, this is probably the last I'll be posting over here at OrlandoBound for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for reading along and I hope to see you on my other blogs.

Producing Ourselves to Death

2006-06-27T21:43:00.000-04:00

Neil Postman once famously wrote that America is "Amusing Itself To Death" by the very media we use for news, education, and entertainment. His slaughter of Sesame Street as the gateway drug for America's children is classic, if not just a little over the top.

But sometimes you have to "Dream in Technicolor" to make your point. Dave Pollard, who should be as famous and widely read as Postman (but alas is not), believes we are "Producing Ourselves To Death" by requiring productivity growth (aka profit) every year to maintain our economic engine. It's quite an extreme article, no doubt about that. But it makes its point.

Do you agree or disagree with Pollard's position? The comments are open.

Vox

2006-06-06T21:45:00.000-04:00

Update: Somebody has already Vox'd Me! Yeah! Thanks Anil.

Somebody Vox Me! (Link)

[Tags: vox, typepad, sixapart, six+apart ]

Jackson Pollock, it's harder than it looks

2006-06-02T16:27:00.000-04:00

This amazing site jacksonpollock.org lets you try your hand at Jackson Pollock style art. Try it it's fun!

No Hobbits, just Diseased Humans

2006-05-19T08:50:00.000-04:00

Remember that flurry of posts about the Hobbit like race of humans that had been discovered in Indonesia, well turns out they were really just suffering from a disease that results in a small human head.

The "hobbit" humans that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores some 18,000 years ago were actually a population of modern humans stricken with a genetic disease that causes small brains, a new study says.

Could this be the origin of the head-shrinker tribes too?

Scheduled Posting to Resume Shortly

2006-04-10T15:18:00.000-04:00

As you may or may not know, I have been moving houses over the last few months. So posting has been infrequent on some of my blogs, including this one. I'm hoping to get things back on schedule this week and look forward to making a big announcement later this week as well.

Thanks for dropping in.

Serenity TV DVDs at a great price

2006-03-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

Save Democracy in America Now

2006-02-24T21:28:00.000-05:00

Stop what you're doing right now and read this essay by America's Voice of Democracy Bill Moyers. It may appear a little long, but Moyer builts his case in a clear and unambiguious manner so no one reading can miss his meaning.

Go read it now and return. I'll wait.

Now take a few moments to do a google search for your local congress-critter then send them an email, leave a voice mail, or even better, drop an old fashion hand-written note in the mail to them. Write something on your own, or use the following as a template:

Dear Honorable _____,

I am writing to you in regards to a matter that gets to the very heart of what makes America a shining example of Democracy to the world. As President Lincoln stated so well in his Gettysburg Address, we are a government of the people, by the people, for the people. When that equation is compromised by corrupt politicians and big money our democracy is threatened.

A movement is growing across the United States to put the power back in the people's hands. This movement is for goverment funded political campaigns. As your constituent, I would like you to know that this is the time for you to get infront of this issue and sign your name to a bill that would put ____*your state* firmly in the camp of Democracy and out of the hands of lobbyists.

Please read this amazing essay by America's Voice of Democracy Bill Moyer's ( http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0224-20.htm ). You'll see the proof of how far we've fallen from the golden standard of voter elected government. The time is not too late to take action. So join your constituents and work toward public funding campaigns on all levels elected officials.

Thank you,

John Frost
Address.

It will take a miracle, the people in power right now see no incentive to change. But we must change in order to take back the power from the elite. So please, act today.

Old Spaghetti Factory closing Hollywood location

2006-02-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

Mark Evanier reports on the closing of the Hollywood location of 'The Old Spaghetti Factory'. Sad. I only ate there twice when I lived in the area, but found it matching in style, decor, and flavor of the other locations. No, you don't go there if you want excellent italian food. But for a simple dinner the whole family can enjoy, it was great. I only hope this isn't the beginning of the end for the whole chain.

Wiki Topia

2006-02-14T20:34:00.000-05:00

The future is Wiki's. Wiki's for everyone, for everything, for everywhere. Wiki's are essentially webpages you can edit and format right at the webpage itself. This makes it Wiki's very useful to store information in all formats. Got a spreadsheet you need to keep on line? Wiki it. Got a short story you're writing. Wiki it. Have a recipe collection you want to share with family and friends and have them contribute to it as well. Wiki it.

My wiki of choice for this sort of thing is PBWIKI.com. The PB stands for Peanut Butter and their motto is "PBwiki makes creating a wiki as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich”, which is just about true. It's also free, which makes it a very good value.

Wiki's can get very complicated, see Wikipedia, but PBWiki.com is at the opposite end of the spectrum. So it's great for beginners too. Go ahead, try it out.

Me as a South Park Character

2006-02-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

I was never able to get this to work before. But today, magic.

Make your own South Park Avatar.

I need a Typepad Template designer

2006-01-26T08:51:00.000-05:00

I've been doing the 'blog' thing since 1999 using various platforms and hosts. But I've never quite mastered the vagrancies of CSS and MovableTyple MarkUp Language and now I don't have the time to. I have a moderately successful blog over at The Disney Blog, in such that I have a lot of regular readers and am considered something of an expert in my subject, but I fear its design is holding it back. In fact, I've been getting lots of reports that it doesn't work well in Safari or Mozilla. I need someone who can take the design to the next level while still being usable across many platforms. I'm willing to pay for this service, but my budget is small. So I'd like to see examples of design work before making up my mind.

Does anyone have a designer with experience working with advanced typepad templates who they would like to recommend?

Please Don't Speed Near School Zones

2006-01-25T15:56:00.000-05:00

Effective Advertising. (via)

Is a Fair Wage standard possible?

2006-01-24T08:29:00.000-05:00

Call it a Fair Wage or Living Wage it doesn't matter. What is obvious is that the national minimum wage has remained $5.15 since 1997. What used to be a way out of poverty has now become the way into poverty.

I just read this great blog entry about why the wage should be raised. Florida's wage recently increased and we're still seeing 'now hiring' signs everywhere. The question is, how large an increase could the economy withstand and why must we stick with a one-tier minimum wage? Shouldn't there be some reward for those with a high school diploma? How about someone trying to support a family? Also shouldn't minimum wages be based on the living conditions of the area. If it costs $1000 to rent a one bedroom in one town and $500 in another, shouldn't the minimum be different?

Bush's education nightmare

2006-01-11T10:13:00.000-05:00

The education nightmare that is the 'no child left behind' act continues.

Under No Child Left, if enough kids flunk the tests, their school is marked a failure and its students win the right, under the law, to transfer to any successful school in their district. You can't provide more opportunity than that. But they don't provide it, the law promises it, without a single penny to make it happen. In New York in 2004, a third of a million students earned the right to transfer to better schools -- in which there were only 8,000 places open. New York is typical. Nationwide, only one out of two-hundred students eligible to transfer manage to do it.

I certainly hope they get this straightened out before Indigo is school eligible. You got four years people, figure it out!

What's your Million Dollar Idea

2006-01-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

Just a quick follow up on the auction for the last 1000 pixels on the Million Dollar Homepage. Less than 24 hours left and it's at over 150,000 US dollars.

What's you're million dollar idea and why haven't you started working on it yet?

Harlem Boys Choir faces eviction

2006-01-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

In grade school and middle school I was involved in the Portland Area Boys Choir. It was a wonderful program that allowed me to grow as a child and be exposed to lots of new ideas while learning the pressues of public performances. I owe the various choir directors in my life a debt of gratitude.

Still, I had a fairly well-off middle class upbringing, so I can only imagine how helpful belonging to the Boys Choir of Harlem has been to its members. Unfortunately the organization had accounting and financial problems that is has never quite recovered from and now faces eviction from its host public school.

I wish them luck.

Million Dollar Homepage - only 1000 pixels left

2006-01-01T20:49:00.000-05:00

This is one of those ideas that when you hear about it you think, gee wish I could have thought of that first. Some guy decided to sell 1 million pixels of advertising on his homepage at $1 a pixel to finance his college and ended up with a million dollars and an internet first - the Million Dollar Homepage.

Now only the last 1000 pixels are available and he's holding a special auction for the right to the space right in the center of his page. Act now to own a place in Internet History.

New Food Blog

2005-12-26T22:54:00.000-05:00

I've started up a new food blog called Easy Crock Pot Recipes. I hope you enjoy reading it and send me all those old family recipes you've been meaning to pass along. I'm looking for a co-author for this recipe blog. Someone who is willing to post two or three times a week and review the small kitchen appliances off their counter. Let me know if you're interested.

Typepad Down All Day

2005-12-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

Typepad's server crashed during routine maintenance last night and since then the blogs have been down. Only a restored backup of The Disney Blog is available right now, which is why you see a post from Dec 10th instead of the 16th.

Let's hope they fix this soon. In the meantime, thanks for your patience.

Togo's becoming Dunkin' Deli

2005-11-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

When I moved to Orlando, one of the little pleasures I found was that Togo's had restaurants out here. I missed their sub sandwiches while I lived in Las Vegas finding only Capriotti's to be on the same level of quality. (There is one Capriotti's out here, but I haven't been to it yet.)

But now Togo's is closing seven of its stores, including the one closest to me, and changing the name of the rest to Dunkin' Deli. Apparently they think the brand wasn't strong enough outside of California. It don't think that was it.

Instead of letting Togo's stand on its own they often combined it with a Baskin Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, or both. To do this they had to reduce the menu. Many of the items removed were my favorite ones. Additionally, the split store led to a more hectic atmosphere behind the counter, and I feel, it lost of some of the personal care you felt you got when your sandwich was made for you as you waited. It other words it wasn't the brand that failed, it was the failure to fully implement the brand that doomed Togo's in the Orlando area.

Part of what makes Subway, McDonalds, and now Panda Express so successful is that every location you enter is nearly identical. If you like the Beef and Brocolli at one Panda Express you'll be able to find it at the other 300 and it will taste exactly the same. Young franchises or franchises looking to expand often think they can mess with this forumula and still expect success. As it turns out, that's not often the case. And it's too bad for Togo's because I was really hoping they'd figure it out and I could have my Hot Pastrami Sandwich I'd so been looking forward to.

[ Tags: togos, panda+express, orlando, restaurant, food, fast+food, franchise, business, subs, sub+sandwich ]

Paper Forest

2005-11-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

A Blog for tracking papercraft projects. Have X-acto knife will travel.

France Riots: The first shot fired in the flat-economy war

2005-11-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

Okay. So some kids were upset at their future economic potential and decided to burn some cars. That's the message I was getting from the major media outlets regarding the current rioting in France. But this post at Global Guerrillas shows how the riots are really the first battle in a war between the western economic structure and those who benefit from it and the havenots (basically everyone else). What makes this different is that street gangs have partnered with and learned lessons from professional agitators in the muslim extremist movement. France being the perfect petri-dish for this sort of culture growth.

What does this mean? If the tens of thousands of people who have been protesting at the WTO and World Bank meetings learn the lessons they will return home and work out strategies based on the France Riots. Until the state learns how to control the market enough to provide economic opportunity for all, they will remain powerless to control this new force.

I'm hopeful that somewhere out there in this group is the next Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin duo. Someone who will articulate and push for the new Declaration of Individual Rights. This would include the right to health care, a living wage, quality education, lifelong employement, protection of pensions, etc.

The Dilbert Blog

2005-11-02T08:38:00.000-05:00

Scott Adams starts writing a blog and proves that the humor behind the excellent comic strip Dilbert is not really generated by a room full of monkeys with typewriters. Instead it's generated by a man whose mind is warped beyond any help... and I mean that in the best possible way.

Serenity

2005-10-10T10:37:00.000-04:00

I only caught a few episodes of Firefly when it first aired on television. The random airing of the episodes made it a low priority for the already small number of hours I could devote to what little good television I could find while working 60 hour work weeks, getting married, etc. That said, I do remember thinking, this is great, I’m sure it would get better play if sci-fi channel or WB picks it up next season. Alas, that never happened and the characters I had just begun to know faded away.

But with Joss Whedon, nothing ever really fades completely away. Buffy dies and comes back, toys come to life after humans leave the room, real people have real lives on TV (Whedon wrote for Rosanne) and after the episode is over life goes on. So it did not surprise me when Whedon took advantage of strong DVD sales numbers for the series (the DVD’s included two unaired episodes, which I’m sure helped to drive the sales) to leverage the success into a feature length movie to continue the story arc he had created for his characters.

This would be the spot in the review where I examine the plot, the characters, the films motivations, the fun allusions to other movies and characters (real and fictional), etc. But there are plenty of other places to get that info. Instead I want to spend the rest of the review telling you how the film made me feel as I walked out of the theatre.

I felt elated. Although the story involved the deaths of a few of the ensemble cast -- characters that I cared about, although at 45 million dollars you just can’t afford many of the seamless special effects movie viewing audiences are used to these days (which brings me to my chief complaint; that Whedon’s directorial bag of tricks is still rooted in television (but you can forgive him that once the story takes off)), and although the plot had a few holes you could fly whole armadas of ships through, I was changed by the film and the filmmaking.

Whedon’s script is as close to Elizabethan prose as we get these days. All his characters are embodied with real human motivations and they express them wonderfully through dialogue and personal interaction. The dialogue is never hokey and never flowery, in fact it is rough and at times I thought I was listening to Daniel Day Lewis’ character in Last of the Mohicans, but the richness of it makes you think about what they’re saying and as you decipher the words the meaning gets deeper. For example, choosing to use the word ‘keen’ instead of ‘knowing’ brings with it the feelings of ‘sharp edge, cutting wit, intellectual quickness, quickening’, not just knowing, but really feeling it in your bones.

I left the theatre feeling chatty. I felt I’d just left a salon discussion with 8 of my closest friends where we drank of each others thoughts, fears, hopes, and loves. Never really talking directly about what we felt, but rather in layers and innuendos. When they had to go, I was left wanting more. I usually try to be careful with the words I choose to use. Serenity makes me want to be even more selective, to ensure greater meaning and understanding in what I say.

I left the theatre wanting more. Some have been comparing Serenity to Star Wars and Star Trek, obvious comparisons based on the setting and similarity between a few of the characters. In fact, I’ve read people who dismissed Serenity stating we don’t need another Star Wars series. Serenity assumes a certain knowledge of the sci-fi lingo among the viewers. References like there being no sound in space, no space battles in orb-clouds, or holographic security records are assumed to have entered the common vernacular and no explanation is offered for them in the film. Instead Whedon builds on these, plays with them, greets them like old friends, then makes subtle twists that change their meaning.

Star Wars and Star Trek became too predictable in their use of the sci-fi universe. The Star Wars prequel trilogy went back in time so there was literally nothing new there. Star Trek’s last TV series, Enterprise, continually rehashed the same themes over and over resulting in ‘do good’ fatigue among even its most ardent fans. For the most part Serenity avoids these traps by accepting them and then bringing them back to what’s real. The crew of Serenity aren’t heroes in the classic sense, they’re much too flawed and broken for that. And yet, they overcome their flaws to do heroic things for the right reasons.

Apparently the DVD with Director’s Commentary comes out in December. There’s also a host of comic books that extend the TV series leading up to the moment the movie starts. I might have to go round those up (they are reported to have sold out many publishing runs). In the meantime, I’m left reading and discussing the success or failure of the movie in the blogosphere. I did my part, I went to go see the movie in the theatre. Hopefully Serenity will earn enough to warrant a sequel or at least a return to TV (not that all the actors will want to go back to the grind of television – it was a miracle this talented cast was assembled in the first place).

So please, if you haven’t yet seen Serenity, get yourself out to the movie theatre this week and do so. You’ll be entertained by a great storyteller, talented actors, and you’ll leave feeling like those were two hours well spent. Your help is needed to make sure the world of Firefly and Serenity does not fade away and that good sci-fi is rewarded. Because, sure as I know anything, I know this: I aim to see more misbehaving.

[Technorati Tags: serenity, firefly, joss+whedon, josswhedon, whedonesque, browncoat, review, movie, sci-fi, blog, star+wars, nathan+fillon]

Cindy Sheehan

2005-10-09T22:15:00.000-04:00

I met a new friend today named Jewel whose son was a medic on the front lines in Iraq and has tried to commit suicide three times since he returned from the desert of pain. The distraught Mother who is beside herself with worry said if something isn't done about it and if her boy doesn't get help, he is dying. His superiors will not allow him to be diagnosed for PTSD so he can't get the treatment he so desperately needs. Jewel is Buddhist and I told her: "You realize your son died in Iraq." She replied to me: "We have all died because of this war." She is right. On April 04, 2004, Cindy Sheehan died, but Cindy Sheehan was born. The dead Cindy Sheehan lived for her home and family. She kept a neat and tidy house, often cooked meals, did everyone's laundry, entertained friends, laughed more than she cried, worked at various jobs, and her family meant the entire world to her. She lived an insulated life filled with Thanksgivings and Christmases and Birthdays and other celebrations. The Cindy who was born on 04/04/04 still adores her family above all things but now knows that the human family is worth struggling for too. (more)

Read all her posts at the DailyKos.

Author M. Scott Peck has died

2005-09-27T10:37:00.000-04:00

M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Travelled and The Different Drum, has died at the age of 69. His books lay the groundwork for a type of peace that starts in the heart and mind and eventually spreads around the world. The seminars and community building sessions I took inspired by his writings (particularly The Different Drum) helped steer me on the course from being a boy to being a Man. It's my considered opinion that every leader from the local community level upto the United Nations should read from and participate in these sessions.

Thank you Mr. Peck for making the world a better place and for providing the tools for others to do so as well.

[Technorati Tags: death, obituary, tribute, mscottpeck, peace, scottpeck, scott+peck]

I suppose he should just be happy

2005-09-26T20:50:00.000-04:00

Ronnie Del Carmen, an animator at Pixar, writes about his journey into the dark underworld that is the stolen car recovery business.

Hopeless

2005-09-16T09:25:00.000-04:00

Last night Bush spoke in platitudes only. He spoke of 'hard work' although he's never done a day of hard work in his life. His whole operation is self-preservation and cronyism. This is further evidenced by his appointment of Karl Rove, the head crony, to lead the reconstruction effort. This upsets me to no end. But this is little that can be done about it because, as they say, to the victor go the spoils.

The people and corporations that put Bush and his cronies in power have been reaping the riches generated by his 300 billion dollar 4 year war (with no end or limit to spending in sight) against Iraq, a country that never attacked or seriously threatened the U.S.. Now they're looking at a 200 billion dollar reconstruction effort that will line their pockets even further. This will only egg them, the people behind the curtain, on to go farther at the next election in their efforts to steal America from its people. Through fraud and manipulation they were successful in 2004, we must stop them in 2006.

Another victory in this string of victories for the people that put Bush in power is the nomination of John Roberts for Supreme Court Chief Justice. Roberts is the king of corporatism, the poster boy for the religious right, and is lying (through omission and white lies) his way on to the highest bench in our nation. It's a lifetime appointment, so there will be no second chances to gain control of the SCOTUS for 40-50 years once he is appointed.

In a recent editorial, Gov. Dean makes a strong argument on why Robert's nomination should be denied. But it will never happen. Too many Democrats are Republicans in sheeps clothing. They know the game. To the victor goes the spoils and if you want in the room for a chance to fight over the table scraps, then you'd better play along.

[Technorati Tags: hurricane, katrina, relief, recovery, reconstruction, bush, scotus, dean, john+roberts, editorial]

Worst. President. Ever.

2005-09-09T08:56:00.000-04:00

While Bush was making the claim that he and FDR are cut from the same cloth, New Orleanians were drowning in the failures of his administration. Read Jim MacDonald's stinging rebuttal of Bush.

In my opinion this was worse than incompetence, it was criminal negligence. Unfortunately, the only body that can really make that charge, congress, is in Bush's back pocket. It will be up to us, the American Public, to change that in 2006.

[Technorati Tags: bush, hurricane, katrina, impeach, failure, death, makinglight]

Hurricane Katrina: Some feelings on this whole mess

2005-09-02T08:49:00.000-04:00

I went to bed last night angry and woke up this morning inspired. It's time to affect change so that we as a nation, and as a citizen of the world, are never unprepared again. If this had been a terrorist attack or natural disaster with little or no warning, no one would have evacuated and we would be talking about a human tragedy 10-times the scale we're seeing right now. (By which I mean hundreds of thousands of body bags instead of hundreds of thousands of refugees.) The nation has had four years since 9-11 to get something in place for a large scale disaster but as we can see, nothing effective has been done. In fact, money that could have lessened the impact of this particular disaster (one that was predicted many times for many years) had been cut. The folks in charge up in Washington now have a choice either fix the problem immediately or find themselves voted out at the next elections.

The answer I'm leaning to right now is a civil defense corp. Whether or not you agree with our nation's armed forces, reserves, and nat’l guard being stationed in Iraq right now, it's a situation we have to deal with. While plans were being drawn up to invade, federal level plans to replace the resources those lost reservists and guard members provided should also have been drawn up. In the past in the U.S. and in other nations that role was played by the Civil Defense Corps. Large groups of citizens, with some from every neighborhood, who are trained to deal with disasters, operate and distribute propositioned equipment and supplies, and are looked to in their community as leaders in time of emergencies, can step into the role of managing people in their communities during emergencies. This releases the National Guard members that are left as well as police and emergency personal to perform rescue missions and keep the peace as needed.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but it is already clear that this is a failure of monumental proportions by members of the government from the top on down. What must be done immediately is to get resources to the stricken areas ASAP. That effort looks like it is slowly materializing. Over the next few weeks congress must enact legislation that brings into existence the 'Civil Defense Corps' with a large enough budget for training and procuring the equipment and supplies necessary to deal with an emergency a magnitude larger in scale than the one occurring right now. Only then will we begin to be ready for the next catastrophe whether it is man or nature made.

In the meantime, if you haven't donated, please do so today. If you want to help some other way, please consider giving blood or signing up at the local Red Cross or Salvation Army for a volunteer shift at the phones.

[ Technorati Tags: civil+defense, hurricane, katrina, flood+aid, refugee, disaster, relief, emergency, donate, recovery ]

Gone, just gone.

2005-09-01T22:08:00.000-04:00

When Stacey, Indigo, and I drove cross-country during our move in February we passed right through all those towns. We spent two nights in New Orleans and enjoyed the sights, but thought the French Quarter had seen better days. Now it certainly has. As we drove we commented on all the beautiful homes in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi... we wished we had the money to buy a home there, now as we watch survivors mourn over their losses, we are glad we hadn't. We stopped at the sharkhead souvenir shop and took photos, we ate at Pirates Cove (best Po'Boys and HushPuppies of the trip), marveled at the casinos.... Now all that is gone. Just gone.

Plus we have a human tragedy beyond imagining. The poor of New Orleans, Biloxi, and the rest of the gulf area have been abandoned by our government. Even the big media types are wondering how the situation could have gotten so bad. I hope the people in Washington who are supposed to know better pay with their jobs and at the midterm elections and we elect a house that has the balls to impeach the incompetent idiots that are mismanaging our country and our resources into ruin. Bush and company has had four years to get a plan into place. What if this had been a terrorist attack and instead of 200,000 people in New Orleans needing help, we had 1.2 million? In Japan they would all be resigning in shame and moving aside for people who could get results.

[ttags: hurricane, katrina, flood+aid, refugee, disaster, bush, impeach ]

Levees breached and city sinks

2005-08-30T21:22:00.000-04:00

Kathryn Cramer has a great post on her blog showing exactly where the levees were breached and puts pictures together in ways that really show what sort of devastation is facing the once fine city of New Orleans.

Also see the Flickr set marked Hurricane Katrina.

Meanwhile the Haydens on Making Light show the blatent racism in the photos of Katrina looting on Yahoo.

Hurricane Katrina... wow!

2005-08-28T15:53:00.000-04:00

I'm glad that Hurricane Katrina isn't forecast to bother Central Florida. A Catagory 5 hurricane is intense, like a F3 Tornado but 200 miles wide. The damage is going to be incredible, I can't believe there aren't mandatory evacuations for the tourists, I don't care if they have to fly them out on military jets. But forcing someone to stay in the path of this monster is insane... don't believe me, read this warning posted by the National Weather Service this morning at 10AM (link, scroll down to read)

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED
STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE
OUTSIDE!

Jeremy Burnitz loses his bat.

2005-08-26T20:56:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Burnitz loses his bat.,
originally uploaded by KevinSkomsvold.

This is an incredible moment captured in time. If that's not enough the author has marked up the photo with some wise-ass comments.

Help me Unify my Blogs

2005-08-12T07:18:00.000-04:00

I want to unify my current (and any future) blogs under one banner with a similar look and feel. To do so I'll need a brand identity, a good webhost, and a web programmer who can help me put my thoughts for design onto the web. If anybody knows where I might find such a person. Someone who might be willing to work for peanuts now and some equity later (equity that will probably never come unless Blogs suddenly go IPO crazy, which I doubt) , please let me know. Perhaps a student or recent graduate who wants to bulk up their resume.

I'd like to standardize on Movable Type or Wordpress. Wordpress is free, which is an advantage. MT seems to be easier to understand for intermediate level HTMLer's, like myself. I'd like to model this on Weblogs, Inc or Gawker Media. The recognized leaders in the field. I have no aspirations of every reaching those kinds of numbers, but I think the model works scales down well even for authors with just 5-10 blogs in their stable (and could scale up if needed).

Anyone? Bueller?

Peter Jennings, Signing Off

2005-08-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

I've written a longer post on The Disney Blog about the passing of ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings. But I wanted to say that I'm finding myself a little suprised at how much this has affected me. He was never just a talking head to me. He was a voice I turned to when I needed to learn. If there was a major event, I always turned to ABC News first. His 24+ hours of broadcasting at the Millenium was legendary. His coverage fo 9.11 and subsequent events helped redefine journalism. I have a father that I love and respect very much, but Jennings was a father figure to us all.

It will be a long time before we see his like again (Charlie Gibson and Aaron Brown would both make good,replacements, but neither comes close to Jennings, in my book), perhaps never as the role of broadcast journalism is undergoing a shift in paradigm right now.

I'm sad that Peter Jennings didn't get to utter one last "signing off" from the anchor's desk. I'm sad I never got to meet him personally and thank him for the effort he made to keep America informed. I'm glad his and his family's personal struggle with his disease wasn't played out in the media or the blogosphere. I hope that everyone will take this chance to stop smoking, get a check up, donate to Cancer research, or do something to make your chance at a longer life a little better. Jennings gave up smoking 20 years ago, but only had 4 months to fight after his diagnosis of Lung Cancer.

More later, perhaps, when I've had more time to reflect.

[Technorati Tags: jennings, peter+jennings, peterjennings, disney, abc, abcnews, obituary, death, television, cancer]

Ack... Rent due to theatres later... (wait, is that a good thing?)

2005-08-05T20:57:00.000-04:00

Well, no it's not. Rent, the movie, had been scheduled for release on November 11th and now it's been pushed back until Nov 23rd unless you live in or near or can travel to Los Angeles, Toronto, or New York City.

Who here will be camping out in the line, raise your hand.

The 10 Blogs I Would Want On A Desert Island

2005-08-04T09:25:00.000-04:00

There’s a new meme going around the blogosphere. Everyone is posting a list consisting of ‘What ten blogs you would want on a desert island’. That’s a loaded question, of course. Because you’d probably want survival blogs instead of gadget blogs, fictional blogs instead of news blogs, and boat or raft building blogs instead of The Disney Blog. But obviously that’s not the point of this exercise.

Instead, via the magic of tags, technorati, and blogging, a consensus will be built on the real top 10 blogs that people check out every day and, via exclusion, which of the current top blogs they’d be willing to forgo. That’s the theory anyway.

So without further ado, here is my top 10 weblogs list as of right now, at this moment in time, subject to change upon even my slightest whim, and in no particular order.

BoingBoing.net – This was a must. It’s number one on all the lists for a reason.
Bookslut – So much more than just books.
Cinematical – A touch choice here. But one of the top movie and film blogs out there.
The Disney Blog (mwhu-ha-ha) – Hopefully in my absence someone would keep this going with news from the Disney World.
Kottke.org – He might be a day late with some of those links, but they’re almost all interesting to me.
Neil Gaiman – While I’m on a desert island, I presume I’d have time to work on my writing chops. In another close race, I’d prefer Gibson’s Blog, but he doesn’t post very much.
Drawn.ca – It’s fairly new, but already the best place on the internet to track new stars in the world of art, illustration, comics, and animation.
Cartoon Brew – This site has great contacts in the animation world and they put them to good use.
The Daily Kos - although that is less of a blog than a community, it’s by far the best clearing house for progressive thought from the democratic side of the aisle (and sometimes a bit further left than that).
Metafilter - again is this a blog or a community? Like BoingBoing and Kottke, this site is a wonderful way to keep up with the latest goings on, the news, the news of the absurd, and the funky facts you’ll find yourself whipping at cocktail parties with glee.

Voila! Use the Technorati Tag '10blogs' to add yours to the conversation.

[Technorati Tags: 10blogs, blog, blogging, disney, boingboing, kottke, topten, mefi ]

Terrorism, a natural phenomenom

2005-07-22T17:26:00.000-04:00

Dave Pollards blog, How to Save The World, is almost always a refreshing voice of reason in a world that is often mad with hate, anger, fear, or some other self-preservation mechanism. This week he has a post about how the Londoners got it right in their response to terrorism, and how America is still doing the Ostrich thing.

The only way to prevent terrorists from attacking us is by doing much more to show the billion people who hate us that we care about them, by investing in their schools, their hospitals, their infrastructure, their know-how, and the institutions that, if they could be made to work effectively, would make life for this billion people immeasurably better. That also means we need to respect their culture, as long as it does not harm others, and not impose our culture and values on them.

The is, of course, the only solution. But it will never work in our free-market economy because it is viewed as economic suicide (I don't think it is, but that's how it will be seen). If we raise these people up out of the poverty that hangs over their lives, then those countries and their people will challenge us as economic powers (people will point to India and China here). Or we could chose to see these billion people as an untapped market waiting to get in the game, the game that US Culture currently controls.

Which exposes the one wrench in the monkey works here. Sometimes the mere act of reaching out to offer support is interpreted as an imposition of our culture and values. Especially when we offer support with strings attached (like birth-control restrictions as we currently do).

As Dave says in his article, if the western nations push enough times, we will eventually be pushed back. Whether it is inadvertent or not, we are creating these terrorists as a natural response to our policies.

Little Indigo's College Entry Exam

2005-07-21T16:53:00.000-04:00

Indigo's almost ready to turn 2-years old. I figure he's ready for his first PSATs. That's a joke. I hope that when the time comes for Indigo to chose post high school path he's in as good a place as the student in this object lesson. I hope Stacey and I in a good place too, for that mater.

London Tube Diary

2005-07-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

The BBC has been posting a number of diaries from survivors of the London bomb attacks of last week. They're all quite moving, but this one in particular really grabbed me. You have to read it from the bottom up, which involves some scrolling, but its worth it.

Back to Back Bastille Days

2005-07-14T15:59:00.000-04:00

At the risk of inviting disaster let me point out that today is Bastille Day. It's been a year since this post and now three years since the last major incident to occur on this date for me. Is it wise to tempt fate like this?

Well, there is no fate but what we make, right?

Batman Begins: One Word Review

2005-07-11T19:52:00.000-04:00

More!

Ordering Harry Potter

2005-07-01T19:46:00.000-04:00

The NY Times has a story on pre-ordering Harry Potter versus standing in queue to be one of the first to get your copy at midnight. Believe it or not the author's story resembled ours fairly closely. Only substitute Stacey for his two daughters.

Commencement....

2005-06-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

Commencement. That is the typical term for the ceremony that occurs when you graduate school. It's also the term for the process of beginning; something we do every day upon waking, even upon finishing one project and beginning another. Each commencement is a chance to reflect on accomplishments and prepare for the future.

So next chance you get for commencement in your life, pause and read the following speech given to the graduates at Kenyon University by David Foster Wallace. Here's a small excerpt:

Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. Think of the old cliché about quote the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master.
This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth. It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in: the head. They shoot the terrible master. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger.

The speech at my college commencement was grand and quite memorable, for the next few weeks, any way. If someone gave a speech like this to me, I would likely print it up and carry it with me to refer to... which may not be such a bad idea.

I'm thirteen years past college and am still learning many of the lessons Wallace mentions. Reading this today, I think I have learned a few more still.

The L Curve

2005-06-21T10:17:00.000-04:00

The L Curve is a graphic look at income distribution in the US and why everyone not in the top 1% should be outraged. You won't believe it until you see it for yourself.

Rent, the movie

2005-06-05T09:49:00.000-04:00

In the event anyone is still reading this blog here's a trailer for the upcoming cinematic release of RENT. This is a movie I never thought would get made. It was being talked about almost immediately after the success of the Broadway show became apparent. But so many things made this project seem unlikely. First the creator of the musical, Jonathon Larson, died before it even premeired. Second, the themes of the show were so outside the main stream of the time that it would surely be subjected to lots of pressure from any sudio that chose to produce it. Third, the issue of Poverty and AIDS seemed to have been passed by.

But the reality is poverty and AIDS are just as terrible diseases today as they were in the late 80s. Now, the biggest problem the film faces is the age of the actors. In a bold courageous move, the films producers went back to many of the original performers from the Broadway show and cast them in the movie. It helps that most of the originally undiscovered talent has since gone on to have successful acting careers on TV, Film, and Broadway. So they've developed as actors. It also helps that they're coming back to roles that they are intimately familiar with.

So now, the film I never thought would get made is almost here. You may or may not know that I saw the show 16 times in total. Once in NYC with the Original Cast. 15 times at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. A few times I paid full or near full price for the tickets, but most of the viewings were through 'the line'. The line was for die-hard fans who would often sleep overnight outside the theatre to get front-row center seats for $10-$20. The sound was awful, and you always left with a crick in the neck, but being so close to the stage made you feel almost a part of the show. In fact, the producers could have stopped this practice at anytime, but somehow figured out that the die-hards in the front row helped spread the energy of the show to the rest of the audience and helped make it the success that it was.

The message of RENT, that there is no day but today, and that love can carry us through, is as powerful as ever. I hope that the world falls in love with the movie just as so many of us RENT-heads did with the musical.

360 invite

2005-04-13T15:03:00.000-04:00

Trying to get an invite to Yahoo's 360 product. Looks like http://bleakgeek.com might have some. Can't hurt to ask, right?

Do you have a living will and power of attorney for medical desicions?

2005-03-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

The Terri Schiavo mess is a sad sad chapter in the life of the Schiavo's and their family members. It is sad enough that this happened to Terri in the first place, let alone what has happened with her husband and the other members of the family for the last 8 years. Now to have Capitol Hill and President Bush get involved is hypocrisy of the highest sort.

To paraphrase this nation's founders, a government that wants to control how you live and die but won't allocate money for prevention or care is no government at all. They claim that Terri's civil rights are being violated and they are... by them sticking their dirty political noses into a private affair. Every senator and representative who voted for this law should be impeached for violating their oath of office (ie, to uphold the constitution) and for violating the Schiavo's civil rights (the right being the right of a married couple or domestic partnership to make medical decisions for each other).

It almost goes without saying that this could have been prevented if the Schaivo's had a Living Will in good standing. Terri was only 21 when her brain was damaged beyond hope of recovery, so it is never too soon to write on.

I know Stacey and I will be looking at just such a document as soon as we can.

UPDATE: If you're interested in further reading you could do worse than checking out these two posts (post 1 part 1 and part 2 and post 2) and the posts they link to.

Leaving the fear and loathing...

2005-02-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

It strikes me as a an odd coincidence that while we're making final preparations to leave Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson, the Gonzo journalist and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, has killed himself. In many ways Gonzo Journalism was a predecessor to weblogs. Its 'involve yourself in the story' ethic rings true with blogging. The world of journalism has lost one of its strongest voices.

Meanwhile, our exodus from Las Vegas draws near. While the time here was no where near as convoluted and wacky as Thompson's was, it was not normal or easy either. The dot-com bubble bursting, 9/11's effect on the economy, and our being hit by a drunk driver, were the three strikes that have turned us against Las Vegas. So on February 24th all our stuff will be loaded on a truck and sent on its way to Florida.

It's very weird putting all one's stuff on a truck. You put a lot of faith in the driver and his ability to avoid all the bad weather and bad driving of others on the road. I feel like there is something else we should be doing, but hundreds of thousands of people do this every year with only a few stories of total disaster. I try not to worry.

We're looking forward to starting over again in the Orlando area. But first we're going on what will surely become known as The Frost's Great American Road Trip. We'll be travelling slowly across the southern US spending 6 or 7 nights on the road. This slow pace should allow us to stop and see what remains of the many of the roadside attractions that have filled our highways and byways in the past.

Some of the major highlights we expect to see are:

Sedona, AZ - beautiful art galleries situated in some of the southwests most beautiful countryside.
Talesin West - Frank Lloyd Wright's western residence
The Alamo - San Antonio's Riverwalk too.
Houston, TX - our friend Tex
Louisiana Bayou - Plenty of good eats
New Orleans - We aim to spend a whole day here checking out all the architecture and eating fun
After that there are a ton of spots along the Florida coast as we make our way to Walt Disney World.

We also aim to dine only at locally or privately owned restaurants and eateries along the way. The proliferation of corporate chain restaurants is threatening to put the mom and pop establishments out of business. In an example of consumer democracy, we plan to do our part to support the small guy (and gal) by directing our tourist dollars their way. Plus with the help of the internet finding these joints is relatively easy compared to just a few years ago (Roadfood.com, chowhound.com, etc). Netizens contribute reviews and news on the latest openings, closings, and menu items. All we have to do is mark them down on the map.

This brings me to Foodrelish. Foodrelish is a new blog I've started to track my love of food, cooking, and dining. Yes, it does seem strange to announce a new blog just as I'm about to take a 10 day vacation from blogging, but there it is. I'm sure to gather plenty of material over this roadtrip and look forward to blogging it all.

Other noted deaths this weekend included actor-singer John Raitt and actress Sandra Dee. I've enjoyed Raitt's songs and Sandra Dee will forever be Gidget to a generation. Sad passings indeed.

Bill Moyers and Deconsumption

2005-02-15T16:06:00.000-05:00

Here’s an interesting color-commentary on the economy: a ‘house for sale’ weblog for a home in Henderson, NV. Great idea, and interesting way to market your home. But more specifically, it also paints a picture of the market around Las Vegas—a bubble if ever there was one. This weblog started in June 2004, when the house was listed at $800K. But in October, due to falling housing market, it was dropped just shy of $700K. And you can snap it up today for $600K. (In fairness, the Dr. Seuss motif children’s room is a charmer!).

The weblog Deconsumption linked to my Home4Sale blog as evidence of the Las Vegas real estate bubble popping. They missed some details on the actual bubble burst (it was more of a slight deflating), but it was nice to be linked to.

Deconsumption also had an earlier article where he quotes Bill Moyer's excellent (and frightening) essay "There is No Tomorrow". Either the data points used for this essay are completely wrong (because even taking into account a large margin of error, these numbers are positively scary) or we're on the path to distaster (of course, I said that in 1991 and we've made it another 15 years).

Finally, I want to urge you to check out the latest blog in my growing pantheon -- The Home Blog. It's my ongoing look at homes, the housing market, and related subjects. I'm looking for additional authors, so if you're interested in writing drop me a line.

That's all for today, more updates as the departure date for Orlando draws closer.

History of the Weblog

2005-01-13T11:17:00.000-05:00

My own personal history of the weblog starts back in 1995 or 96 when I started handcoding a site I called IndigoURL. I didn't call it a weblog, instead I called it an iURL (short for individual URL) with the tagline "You Are Your URL." A philosophy of the net developed on the FutureCulture elist that meant to all the net citizens you are what you post online. Something which is even truer today as the art of Googling someone to reveal information continues to grow (Google just added a 20 year timeline of USENET history to their searches). I thought that the more you put on your own site about your past, your interests, your future, the more you could control your presence on the web. My original site was two columns, diary on the left and a long list of links on the right with the intent to openly display my 'self' for all to see.

So, I was not suprised when the community of others who kept iURLs began to grow. The term 'weblog' came along, which seemed better than online diary or online journal, the most frequently used terms of the day. Rebecca Blood, who was one of the early movers, has written an important article that tracks the history of the weblog and the software changes that have made it possible. Ironically, she still codes her site by hand.

Worst Natural Disaster Ever?

2004-12-27T12:18:00.000-05:00

If the Quake and Tsunami that hit South Eastern Asia isn't the worst natural distaster ever it certainly is the worst in my lifetime. It is incredibly sad to think that the technology is out there to provide Tsunami warnings (it is used in the pacific ocean) and that tens of thousands of lives could have been saved. Unfortunately developing nations can't always afford that sort of technology on their own, they need help.

You can help the millions of victims and make an immediate difference today by donating to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent. The blogosphere is mobilizing to lend whatever aid it can. Visit WorldChanging.org for more details on what help is needed.

I think it's important the world comes together to send aid to the people and countries that were hit by this enormous disaster. If you visit a themepark regularly consider packing a sandwhich on your next visit and donate the coast of a meal at the parks. If you like movies, consider renting a movie instead of going out and donating the cost of the movie tickets and popcorn. Every little bit will help.

For those of you who live in earthquake or coastal areas let this be a lesson on preparedness for you as well. Always stock 3-5 days food and water and have an emergency contact network established.

New Home Flyer

2004-12-19T12:15:00.000-05:00

Made a new flyer for the upcoming open houses this weekend and next. You can view it here. If you're in town I hope you'll stop by and see the property.

Turducken, what's that?

2004-12-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

For those of you who follow the NFL and specifically the announcer and former coach of the Oakland Raiders, you already know what Turducken is. The rest of you are missing out on a culinary achievement equal to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. A Turducken is a three fowl roast beast. You essentially stuff a small chicken inside a duck and then stuff both of those inside a turkey (cutting open of the duck and turkey is allowed if you chose to layer stuffing between the meat). I've yet to try this masterpiece myself, but my mouth waters at the thought of it.

If the Turducken is the Brooklyn Bridge of holiday fowl food, then the Turduckeneasquail must be the Great Wall of China. Holiday meals will never be the same again.

Opening Up More Doors

2004-12-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

A quick post with two goals. One to announce that I've started a second blog -- The Disney Blog: Kid's World. It's an extension of The Disney Blog but is aimed at a slightly younger audience. The goal is to provide fun information, crafts, and games all related to the Disney universe in some manner. I've only got a week worth of posts on it, but it's coming together nicely I think.

Second is to announce that I'll be expanding the number of blogs by a few more over the coming months. My goal is to do something similar to Weblogsinc. I'm already formulating my next weblog and something similar to their 'woot!' store. More as this develops.

I'll close by saying there is still no news on the house front. More as that develops too.

Cubical Fun

2004-11-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

Been busy over on The Disney Blog and have been sadly neglecting this one. Well, I've also been busy applying to jobs, having a few interviews, and meeting some wonderful people at great companies. Alas, none have yet been the perfect fit. So I'm still looking.

In light of that, I'll be going back to Las Vegas for a month or two while my wife does some holiday season work. It's a good thing cause I've really missed my wife and kid.

To leave on a lighter note, check out this funny series of office pranks in pictures.

Must Own This Album

2004-10-17T17:38:00.000-04:00

Pink Martini, whose first album was purchased for me by my mom, has released their second album. It's been a long wait, 4 years, but I'm quite sure it will be worth it. I went to high school with Thomas Lauderdale (piano) and have always been impressed with his incredible art.

Thomas and Sean Six (Alien Nation TV Series) are likely the biggest names from when I went to school there. Go Grant High School.

Realtor Open House: Wednesday 22nd 11AM-2PM

2004-09-16T17:35:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to note that progress continues on the sale of our house. We've scheduled a Realtor Open House for the 22nd. But it looks like we may not even need that. We adjusted our listing price to reflect the changed hosuing market and we've had a few interested buyers by already. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sept 11th Families

2004-09-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

I found this website from the families of the victims of September 11th. My sentiments exactly.

Three Years

2004-09-11T12:18:00.000-04:00

Three Years Ago today a terrible atrocity was committed against the people of the earth. People from around the world (mostly from the United States, yes, but people from more than 30 other countries were killed (including the most ever in a terror attack from Great Britian and India (if I recall correctly)) who had assembled in the city known as the crossroads of the world and working in the world trade center were killed for the sole purpose of instilling terror. Instilling terror in the hearts of freedom loving people so that those who maintain power and wealth through controlling others would have it just a little bit easier.

I watched 5 minutes of news coverage on one of the major news cable channels this morning. It doesn't matter which one, they were all running similar footage. And in that five minutes I had relived the terror of September 11th all over again. It's sad, because for those five minutes and the time it has taken me to recover emotionally the terrorists scored another victory.

Yes, we should never forget. But neither should be remember in a way that empowers terrorism. Instead, September 11th should be a day to shine the light of Freedom and Liberty and Love (all those things that strike terror into the hearts of terrorists) around the globe. Is there oppression and mass murder in Sudan? That should be today's main story. Are the warlords in Afganistan still in power across most of the country? That should be today's main story.

On the otherhand, where is good happening? Is China making real steps to re-enter the world economy and spread freedom to its citizens? Slow progress for sure, but progress. Bully for them, it's been a long time for China to recover from 1820 when they were the world's number one economic power. But here they are poised to resume that throne. What about Kosovo? Have we taken our eye off the ball there? or is good still happening?

Despite what Washington DC and the Military Complex tells you, the only way to fight terrorism is not by striking back with terror of our own, but by fixing our own house, then helping our friends and neighbors fix theirs, then moving on to their neighbors and so forth until only the deepest darkest crannies are left for terrorists to hide in and preach their message of hate and control through fear.

Three years ago today I woke up and got dressed to start a new job selling advertising in the real estate market in Las Vegas, NV. It was a booming field. I had never sold advertising before, never made a sales call on a client, never closed a deal. I was always on the backend. Preparing the materials for sales people to use, helping provide the product sold, etc. But I was sure I would be successful at this job because Las Vegas' housing market was so strong. Heck the whole economy of Las Vegas was amazing. Yes the Dot-Com crash had hurt a bit, but the future still looked great.

Then the terrorists struck and they got what they wanted. A huge economic fall in the U.S. economy. In Las Vegas everyone pulled in tight, there were mass layoffs at the hotels when guests stopped coming, home builders stopped or slowed construction, families purse strings were drawn closed against luxury items and even some necessities. I spent 6 months working 60 hours a week selling advertising to owners and managers who told me I had the worse timing in the world and that to check back with them when they economy was better.

I learned some amazing lessons professionally and personally during that time. One was never give up. Eventually I found a product niche that people were buying -- websites. This was an area I did well in. But still not well enough to provide for my family, so after putting in a good six months trying to make this job as an advertising salesman work I found another job where I could have an entry into the hospitality industry (Las Vegas' biggest industry by far).

It took two years for Las Vegas to return to pre 9/11 numbers. The effects are still being felt with a few major closures a result of the poor economy (Castaway Casino, Binions). Las Vegas needs to attract some other industries if they wish to substain the growth of the last decade. Right now the industries of Furniture and Medical are being explored by local governments. Construction is as booming as ever and is about to grow in a new direction - up. Condo towers, time shares, etc are going to start popping up across the valley as room to build new communities dwindles. At one end of the valley we're pushing up against Sloan and at the other end Mount Charleston. There is lots of infill left, but hopefully those will be targeted for multi-use development.

It has been three years since September 11th 2001 and so much has changed. On this day I hope everyone can take a moment and see the good things in their lives and ways they can help share freedom and love with others. Do so and you strike back in a way that really defeats terror.

Getting Things Done

2004-09-09T10:27:00.000-04:00

As I approach my eventual move date (Which looks like early October; but that depends on a few outside factors) it's time to turn on my super organizing skills. Like all things in my life I try to live by the rule "All things in moderation, including moderation." To me that means when I have to turn on the jets, I do. I prefer to organize and delegate ahead of time so you never get to crunch time, but that's not always practical.

Two this end, The Shift program has been very helpful to me. Both in terms of knowing what the true goal of any project is and of focusing on how to get their on the path that does the most good. (ie, you may be able to get their faster, but faster is not always better.)

This book "Getting Things Done" looks promising and I plan to get my hands on it. Merlin already has and goes into some detail on his blog (with lots of links and goodies).

All About Blogs

2004-08-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

I've been an advocate of online journaling since about 1998. I had a website I crafted that I called 'iURL' (or 'You are your URL'). It was an attempt to create a virtual record of myself, a record of links to websites I liked or found useful, and a way to keep up to date with friends and family. I did it manually at first updating the raw HTML, then when Blogger came along I switched to that system. I never had many readers and only updated occaisionally. But it was a good experience.

Elise, at Elise.com (boy am I jealous of her domain name), has just posted an excellent roundup of weblogging tools. It includes a look at the various kinds of blogs, the reason they're used, and approximately how many of each there are. It's a good introduction to the various choices out there. If you or your company is thinking about blogging this is an important article to read.

I did notice one short coming - Elise fails to mention that many people have more than one blog. Often on more than one platform. I myself have four active blogs (two typepad, one livejournal, and one blogspot), two inactive blogs (both blogger.com but hosted on my website), and at least one dead blog (on Diaryland). Each blog serves a specific purpose for me. I'd like to combine them all into one, probably using MT or TextPattern, but both are still outside my range of ability right now. But I'm hoping that if I wait just a little longer either they software will get easier to install and manage, or I will find more time to learn them to the point I need to.

I could also hire someone to do it for me, I suppose. I imagine there is a growing field of blogging professionals who will do this sort of thing for a fee. If not, there definately should be.

Hypocritical SUV drivers

2004-08-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

And I'm one of them, well I was. It seems that trucks weighing over 3 tons (6000 pounds) are prohibited on many residential streets across the nation. MSNBC's slate magazine has the details.

Now, when we were hit by the drunk driver, we were driving a Cadillac Escalade. We were hit with such force by a Dodge Pickup that we had over 29,000 dollars in damage and lifetime injuries for both of us. So, I suspect that had we been riding in a smaller vehicle (a coupe or sedan, for instance) one or both of us would be dead or severely disabled for life.

This is why the solution in the MSNBC article doesn't go far enough. Safety on smaller cars must be brought up to snuff (side impact air bags mandatory, for one), trucks (even small trucks) and SUVs must be reduced in numbers drastically (to reduce the chance of accidents occuring where a large vehicle impacts a smaller one), and bumper levels must all be in a uniform range (so as to do the least damage to any vehicle they strike).

I would go even a step farther (although not as far as California went in 90s clean air legislation) and mandate a percentage of cars (say 25% to start) sold to be high MPG (at least 50 MPG in cities) or completely alternate fuel sourced. In order to sell that many efficient cars, dealers will have to make the prices more in line with traditional combustible fuel cars. Right now you pay through the nose (at least $3,000) for the right to drive a fuel efficient car.

It should be the other way around. Cars that recklessly use the planet's resources, are a danger to other vehicles in accidents, and/or weigh so much they cause damage to our public roads, should have a surcharge to pay for all that damage. Instead they get tax breaks. Are we living in Bizzarro world and no body told me?

How to be Creative

2004-08-02T15:59:00.000-04:00

I struggle a lot with my creativity. My biggest problem is that I've always got 1000 ideas floating around in my head. Their struggle to make themselves heard often times makes it difficult for me to focus on one project. So I work best when I have 3 or 4 creative projects going. That way my disparate voices can each focus on something.

GapingVoid (whose art on a business card idea you've probably heard of or seen) posts a useful article on 'how to be creative'. I'm linking it here because I intend to refer to it often and thought you might want to too.

How to pick a TV

2004-07-31T13:19:00.000-04:00

Via Kottke.org, How to pick a TV. Useful information indeed. Of course, this is all subject to change as the next technological shift happens.

easy three dollar tripod for camera

2004-07-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

Note to self: Make this easy three dollar tripod for camera found here. Don't buy the $15 (plus shipping) commercial version.

Bastille Day

2004-07-14T11:28:00.000-04:00

Today France celebrates the revolution of 1789 and the storming of the royal prison or bastille. It's the indpendence day for the world's second democracy and a country that has been a friend to the US for centuries. I've a quick post on my Disney Blog for those who are interested.

Bastille Day has been a troubled day for the members of the Frost family. In one instance my mom, who taught French to High Schoolers in the US, was touring France by herself. While in Southern France she had an encounter with a what she took to be a common criminal who tried to steal her handbag. In getting away from him she ran over his toes and that act landed her in Jail on Bastille Day. When it became clear that she wasn't going to offer to bribe her way out of jail they released her and told her never to come back to that town again. An unmarked police car followed her to the border of Spain as she sped away with Bastille Day fireworks exploding in the background.

Today also marks the two year anniversary of the night my wife and I were hit by a Drunk Driver. The driver has now served his time, gotten out of jail early, earned back his driver's license (which he wasn't supposed to get back for 5 years) and is on parole. My wife and I, on the otherhand, are still waiting for his insurance company to settle with us for our injuries. We have both been injured permanently by this drunk driver, and possibly would have been killed if we hadn't been driving such a large SUV. It looks more and more like we'll be forced to go to court to recover damages. That means 3-5 more years before we see anything.

These are just the two largest incidents. There are more. I hope that whatever fate ties the Frost family to Bastille Day decides it is time to smile on us going forward. We sure need a break.

If these walls could talk

2004-07-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

Apparently they can. It looks like my house has set up a blog of its own. I hope it looks kindly upon its current owners.

Grandmothers

2004-07-01T10:26:00.000-04:00

I know this isn't technically in the spirit of this blog. But I wanted to get this down somewhere where I wouldn't lose it. A Friend of a Friend, whose blog I read, recently posted about his Grandmother's passing. As is usually the case, his writing helped me put what's been happening in my life in perspective. This is what I left in his comments:

Kevin, I wanted to thank you for writing that down and sharing it with us. You wrote: "In my own mind and soul I had been paying what I would be satisfied as my final respects every day that I saw her, in case things should turn before I saw her again. In this I found an inner solace." I just lost both my grandmothers in the space of a month and those two sentences have helped me place exactly how I feel. I still think about both of them wishing I could call and tell them something, or get that family recipe, or just see them again. But I do take solace knowing that they are now in a peaceful place away from the pain and the approaching shroud of death that had been omnipresent in their final days. I hope that your inner solace grows for you and that your memories of your grandmother bring you and your family joy for the life that she lived. Thank you again.

My grandmothers, Nana Clerin and Grandma Frost, died in separate ways. Grandma Frost had Alhzeimers and although she lived on physically was gone on in nearly every other way for a number of years. Still in the last few weeks of her life, I'm told she had moments of clarity. I'm glad her children and some of her children's children and some of her great grand children were able to be there in person to say goodbye. I was not able to make it and will not be able to make the family reunion this summer either. But I don't feel as if I'm drifting away from my father's side of the family. They're my aunts and cousins and I still love each and every one of them tremendously and would want nothing bad to befall any of them.

Nana, Doris Clerin, died because life was no longer fun for her. She had spirit and the famous Irish zest for life. But when her heart finally let her down (I've lost count at how many heart surgeries she had) and prevented her from living her life and having fun doing it, she knew it was time to go. It's ironic that her heart was the organ to go as it was the the central aspect of her life. She was born on February 14th, 1914 and was a Valentine Girl in every way. Her heart was large enough to enfold everyone, even those who had strayed from the path, and welcome them into her life. She loved to do things; Golf, go to the beach, see a play, play cards, play with and care for her grandchildren. And she got to see her first great grandchild this February for her 90th birthday. She said that Indigo brought so much happiness to her life I'm very happy they got to meet.

Both of my grandmothers are now in the peaceful place they planned on finding upon their deaths. There they are catching up with old friends and loved ones who had gone before them. I also feel they are looking down on us now with all the same love and care they showed in their lives wishing the best for us all. It is all I can do to try and live up to their wishes.

Things are temporarily on hold...

2004-06-29T13:48:00.000-04:00

while we deal with the Realtor/Broker who listed out house. I hope I can get this show on the road again in a few short days.

Meanwhile, please visit my other blog, 'The Disney Blog' for news and views about the Walt Disney Company and all its many facets.

On the market

2004-06-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

Our house is officially on the market tonight. It's quite an interesting feeling to be selling your biggest asset. All sorts of fears creep in, doubts about the listing price (is it too high for the market and no one will even make a bid; or is it too low and we won't get the full value for the property?), and there are the hopes as well.

We live in Las Vegas. The housing market here is definitely a seller's market. New homes can only be built as fast as the lumber (and labor) can get here. Prospective owners camp out at the sales office with just the rumor of a new development opening. It is estimated that there are 5,000 home buyers in the market (investors and families) and only 2,000 homes available at any time. So this has led to a rapid inflation of housing values in the Vegas valley. Even the slow climb of the mortgage rate hasn't put a dent in the market's ascent.

We were fortunate enough to buy our home in an area of the valley where demand is currently high. The schools around here are the best, the traffic is decent, and the potential for future increase in value is great. Plus we own the largest land lot in our subdivision. If you want property this large today you have to buy a custom home lot and potentially shell out 500-800K just for the priviledge of hiring a builder and paying them another 800-2000K to build something for you. Those and other factors (Comps, etc) have made us pretty happy about the chances of a quick and profitable sell for us. But we're keeping our fingers crossed just the same. Wish us luck.

Why we're moving to Orlando

2004-05-28T10:42:00.000-04:00

I thought I should write a little bit about why my wife and I are picking up and moving to the Orlando area. It has a lot to do with how dissatisfied we are with living in Las Vegas, a lot to do with the economy in Orlando, and there's the duel factor that we're both big Disney fans and so are most of our close friends. In fact, two of our best friends recently made the move to Orlando to escape the pace of life in Los Angeles (which can best be summed up by the traffic situation - everybody is rushing to get somewhere, but can't because so many people are on the road with them at the same time (a lovely metaphor because it's accurate in both the real and metaphorical sense)) where we lived for many years (my wife was born in LA) before moving to Las Vegas.

Why are we unhappy in Las Vegas. First off, there is nothing to do here for a couple of adults who aren't into the club or party scene. We don't golf, even if we did we couldn't afford the expensive green fees, and we don't smoke, which rules out bars and social clubs. We did bowl for a while but a car accident with a drunk driver ended that for both of us. This leaves nature, of which there is a lot of beautiful areas around Las Vegas, but hiking isn't really our thing on a day to day basis (once or twice a month is nice). Which brings me to my second point.

We're both big Disney fans. My grandfather was an imagineer and my mom and aunt both worked at Disneyland. So for me it's in the blood. I currently write for an online Disney fan website and follow the company closely. The perfect night of entertainment for my wife and I was a visit to The Park, that's what we called Disneyland, sitting at a table at Coke Corner with our friends, sipping lemonade, and listening to the ragtime piano player. Cap the evening with some fireworks and maybe a ride or two and we were as happy as can be. With our annual passes, Disneyland became like the neighborhood bar for us (only friendlier and more crowded). Just like in the TV show Cheers there was always someone there we knew and enjoyed the company of (and if not, you're still at Disneyland!). We have not found anywhere in Las Vegas that comes anywhere close to this experience. We like the fact that living close to Walt Disney World will allow us the opportunity to do this again with our friends and family.

As for the real reason anyone relocates, it's the money. To put it frankly, the economy in Las Vegas has never really diversified from being a resort town and 9/11 has left everyone here jittery whether they admit it or not. When we moved here the Dot-Com bust had yet to happen and everyone was excited about how the technology industry was going to widen the economic base in Las Vegas. Well, that never happened. Instead the economy is tied even closer to the big 5 casino companies then ever before. Most of the tech companies with bases in Las Vegas have closed or moved (even some of the gambling technology companies have moved). We're not happy just eeking out a life of our own and look at this move to Orlando as a chance to kick start both our careers.

If you're reading this and are interested in discussing career opportunities with me please drop me an email at indigo_la at yahoo.com.

Mission Statement

2004-05-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

To find a position in the Orlando Florida area where I can make an impact on the bottom line, continue my career growth, and work with great people.

This blog will serve as a personal journal of this experience. I intend to write about myself, my career, my goals, and other related topics. Track where and with whom I've applied and why. What jobs I see in my search that are really amazing, even if I'm not 100% qualified for the position.

The overall effect should be to provide myself great insight into my career, and provide any potential employers an example of how I can make a difference and be an asset to their company even if I'm not 100% perfect for the job.