I found a fascinating little thing today from BizJournals about sports markets. The company did a study that matches a metro area's total combined income against the cost of running a major sports team--costs not including building a new stadium or offering incentives every few years so the team doesn't threaten to move. To no surprise the study concluded that LA has a huge amount of extra income to support any new sports franchise in any league, and probably two.
Several interesting findings. One, a MLB franchise costs over twice as much to maintain as a team in any other league. Over twice as much! How can that be? NFL tickets are as expensive or moreso than MLB tickets. Granted, you have to sell tickets to about 80 games a year in baseball, as opposed to 7-10 games in football. I guess that's part of it. And baseball teams seem to cost more to run, so they'd have to take in more in ticket revenue. Still, it's a shock to me.
Though, as a result, none of the 179 metro areas in the study (including Aberdeen, SD, but not San Juan, PR, which surprises me) except LA and New York can afford to support a new MLB team. Just as well, frankly. MLB is big enough and has too many other problems (*cough* revenue sharing, anyone?) to consider expanding.
The big surprise, here, is that there is apparently so much available space left in America for sports expansion. According to the study, there are 75 metro markets in America that could support a new MLS team; 23 that could support a new NHL franchise; 19 with room for an NBA team; and the biggest surprise, 30 cities that could do with an NFL team.
Think about that. If we can believe BizJournals, there's room in America for a whole new NFL. And that doesn't include cities that already have an NFL team but could support another one. Among the metros with income to spare for the NFL are Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina (!); Des Moines, Iowa; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Jackson, Mississippi (wtf?); Birmingham, Alabama; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Little Rock, Arkansas. There are plenty of other surprises on the list.
BizJournals kindly gives us a list of their top ten cities that could support a new franchise, among them (of course) LA, which they think needs an NFL team (I could agree, though I could also care less) plus a baseball team in Riverside, Oklahoma City (basketball), Norfolk-Virginia Beach (basketball), Las Vegas (also basketball), Philadelphia (soccer), and northern New Jersey (baseball).
They also point out that all is not sunshine and roses; 16 markets are overextended on sports teams already. At the top of that list is none other than sunny Tampa Bay. With baseball, football, and hockey in town, and a local total gross income of only $75 billion, we're overextended by more than the cost of a baseball team (so we shouldn't really be surprised our baseball team can't put fans in the seats--although I maintain that if they put together a team that wouldn't lose to a local high school squad people would go watch). Phoenix, Denver, and Pittsburgh are the other worst offenders, although I'll note that Pittsburgh teams seem to do okay despite the small market, and I just can't imagine the Penguins or Pirates leaving town (though if they were to do so, Harrisburg just across the state has plenty of income space for a new team). Not to say that any teams in overextended markets are about to flee for greener pastures, though perhaps it wouldn't come as a great surprise.
All of the foregoing aside, the only league I'm aware of that actually has expansion plans (recall MLB was planning to contract only a few years ago) is MLS, which has a desire to expand into more "multi-ethnic" markets. The league has 12 teams at the present, and should give this study a serious look before finalizing their decisions. They expanded into Salt Lake City last year, which had just $2 million over the needed local cash to support a team, and which in no way qualifies as "multi-ethnic." In 2007 the league expects to expand into Toronto (I say let the Canucks field their own dadgum soccer league as long as we have 75 metro areas that could support a team), and one of six other cities.
The thing MLS should be looking at is that five of the six candidate cities (St. Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Seattle) are already overextended. Only Tulsa remains. But Tulsa's not what you'd call multi-ethnic, as major metro areas go. Just look at this list of cities that would make great soccer markets: McAllen-Brownsville, Texas (more Spanish radio stations than English, and really fast growing); San Antonio, Texas (they'd rather have a football team, though); El Paso, Texas (bigger and more dense than McAllen-Brownsville, and less humid); Albuquerque; Indianapolis; Toledo, Ohio; Fresno, California; and the list goes on. BizJournals recommends Philadelphia. I'd recommend El Paso or Albuquerque.
It's worth pointing out that when MLS opened its doors several years ago there were teams in Tampa and Miami, both of which are overextended even now after those teams shut their doors, and the league still has teams in Kansas City and Denver, both also overextended. MLS, in other words, maybe isn't paying very much attention to a market's capacity to support a new sports team--and they have an uphill battle anyway since Americans just don't watch much soccer when their kids aren't on the team.
The league is said to be impressed with the Cleveland bid, which includes a shopping and entertainment district around a new soccer-only stadium. But Cleveland is not a growing city and is already overextended by more than the cost of an MLS team; they can put together the greatest package in the world, but if they can't put butts in the seats that's a bigger problem for MLS than a lower-grade stadium would ever be. Case in point: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The market was nearly overextended when it bid for the team--in fact, each of the three times it bid for a team--and now that we have it we can't get fans to pay to see the games, because they'd rather spend money on a Bucs or Lightning game. Why would MLS not consider that a Cleveland soccer team would be in the same boat? Ah, but a Tulsa (or El Paso!) team--that would be a smart move.
27 February 2006
25 February 2006
Three Books
I've finished three books recently without reviewing them, and I should rectify that oversight.
First was Undestanding Arabs, which I picked up back when I thought I'd be in Iraq right now instead of whiling away the hours at work desperately waiting for something interesting to happen. It was the first of the pre-Iraq books I decided to read, and as such is also the only one I've finished so far. I can say safely even without having finished/read the other books, this is the one of the four that I would have brought with me overseas.
Obviously this isn't the sort of book you're just going to pick up and read for fun. But if you find yourself heading toward that part of the world, this book (now available in a new edition from September 2005) is basically the standard (not to say only) text on Arab culture written for Westerners. It's a great primer on dealing with Arabs on a personal level. Would that I had reason to use it.
Next up was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick. This is the novel upon which the movie Blade Runner was (loosely) based. It's a nice slim book and I took it with me during the fantastic trip to Valdosta a couple weeks ago. I read the whole book in one afternoon and another evening. I need to rent Blade Runner now and watch it again, but the differences in the two are significant.
This was a great book. I won't insult you with a synopsis since if you're reading this blog you are almost certainly well-read and well-screened enough to know how the story goes, from one source or another. If you only know the movie, and you liked the movie, you ought to pick this up. It's so much deeper, but typical of Dick it showcases a very ambiguous morality. I can't recommend this book too strongly to fans of sci-fi or dystopian fiction, though I'll admit non-fans would find many of the book's conceits a little to bizarre. Still, this is probably the best novel I've read in the past year.
And just today I finished Bill Bryson's Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America. I picked this one up to take home last weekend because I wanted something ligther than the history of the middle east to read. Today I read the last two-thirds of it. Bryson is terrifically readable, funny and light and, for such a recent discovery of mine, one of my current favorites among writers. After Mother Tongue, I was really looking forward to this.
And it was light and engaging and humorous and a little sad, but it wasn't as great a read as I'd hoped--mostly because I couldn't get past Bryson's condescension toward so many of the people he met. Certainly not everyone you meet is as wise or warm or witty as yourself, but neither is everyone necessarily less so because they come from a different region or speak with a different accent. For an American, even one who when this was written had been living in England for over 12 years, Bryson comes across almost a little bit too Euro-trash, and that was disappointing.
Nonetheless, he makes some brilliant comments, especially considering that they're now over 15 years old. In particular he seems disappointed that every town in America is becoming the same--they're all Anytown U.S.A. He is disturbed by the tendency of the towns immediately abutting National Parks to become seedy tourist traps and is fairly negative toward tourist traps in general. He has some very insightful comments about the NPS' administration of the National Parks, which he sees as quite poor.
The book has been compared to Travels with Charley and Blue Highways. Not having read Blue Highways I don't know how to compare it, and Charley is almost 45 years old, so some of the insights show their age (plus I don't like poodles. Or Steinbeck). But before I started this blog, I read a book by Stephen Coonts called The Cannibal Queen. Coonts is no Steinbeck (or Least-Moon or even Bryson, frankly), but his book is perhaps the most recent version of the schlepping-through-America genre that started with de Tocqueville (who's book is still the best of the type), and to be honest with you, I like Queen better than Lost Continent. A 1941 Stearman is way cooler than any Chevette ever made, and Coonts manages to be less critical of the places he visits, possibly because as a former military man he has an easier time than Bryson looking past America's faults. While I chide this tendency in my colleagues, in print it's a much more attractive tendency than Bryson's condescension.
First was Undestanding Arabs, which I picked up back when I thought I'd be in Iraq right now instead of whiling away the hours at work desperately waiting for something interesting to happen. It was the first of the pre-Iraq books I decided to read, and as such is also the only one I've finished so far. I can say safely even without having finished/read the other books, this is the one of the four that I would have brought with me overseas. Obviously this isn't the sort of book you're just going to pick up and read for fun. But if you find yourself heading toward that part of the world, this book (now available in a new edition from September 2005) is basically the standard (not to say only) text on Arab culture written for Westerners. It's a great primer on dealing with Arabs on a personal level. Would that I had reason to use it.
Next up was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick. This is the novel upon which the movie Blade Runner was (loosely) based. It's a nice slim book and I took it with me during the fantastic trip to Valdosta a couple weeks ago. I read the whole book in one afternoon and another evening. I need to rent Blade Runner now and watch it again, but the differences in the two are significant.This was a great book. I won't insult you with a synopsis since if you're reading this blog you are almost certainly well-read and well-screened enough to know how the story goes, from one source or another. If you only know the movie, and you liked the movie, you ought to pick this up. It's so much deeper, but typical of Dick it showcases a very ambiguous morality. I can't recommend this book too strongly to fans of sci-fi or dystopian fiction, though I'll admit non-fans would find many of the book's conceits a little to bizarre. Still, this is probably the best novel I've read in the past year.
And just today I finished Bill Bryson's Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America. I picked this one up to take home last weekend because I wanted something ligther than the history of the middle east to read. Today I read the last two-thirds of it. Bryson is terrifically readable, funny and light and, for such a recent discovery of mine, one of my current favorites among writers. After Mother Tongue, I was really looking forward to this.And it was light and engaging and humorous and a little sad, but it wasn't as great a read as I'd hoped--mostly because I couldn't get past Bryson's condescension toward so many of the people he met. Certainly not everyone you meet is as wise or warm or witty as yourself, but neither is everyone necessarily less so because they come from a different region or speak with a different accent. For an American, even one who when this was written had been living in England for over 12 years, Bryson comes across almost a little bit too Euro-trash, and that was disappointing.
Nonetheless, he makes some brilliant comments, especially considering that they're now over 15 years old. In particular he seems disappointed that every town in America is becoming the same--they're all Anytown U.S.A. He is disturbed by the tendency of the towns immediately abutting National Parks to become seedy tourist traps and is fairly negative toward tourist traps in general. He has some very insightful comments about the NPS' administration of the National Parks, which he sees as quite poor.
The book has been compared to Travels with Charley and Blue Highways. Not having read Blue Highways I don't know how to compare it, and Charley is almost 45 years old, so some of the insights show their age (plus I don't like poodles. Or Steinbeck). But before I started this blog, I read a book by Stephen Coonts called The Cannibal Queen. Coonts is no Steinbeck (or Least-Moon or even Bryson, frankly), but his book is perhaps the most recent version of the schlepping-through-America genre that started with de Tocqueville (who's book is still the best of the type), and to be honest with you, I like Queen better than Lost Continent. A 1941 Stearman is way cooler than any Chevette ever made, and Coonts manages to be less critical of the places he visits, possibly because as a former military man he has an easier time than Bryson looking past America's faults. While I chide this tendency in my colleagues, in print it's a much more attractive tendency than Bryson's condescension.
Three Books
I've finished three books recently without reviewing them, and I should rectify that oversight.
First was Undestanding Arabs, which I picked up back when I thought I'd be in Iraq right now instead of whiling away the hours at work desperately waiting for something interesting to happen. It was the first of the pre-Iraq books I decided to read, and as such is also the only one I've finished so far. I can say safely even without having finished/read the other books, this is the one of the four that I would have brought with me overseas.
Obviously this isn't the sort of book you're just going to pick up and read for fun. But if you find yourself heading toward that part of the world, this book (now available in a new edition from September 2005) is basically the standard (not to say only) text on Arab culture written for Westerners. It's a great primer on dealing with Arabs on a personal level. Would that I had reason to use it.
Next up was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick. This is the novel upon which the movie Blade Runner was (loosely) based. It's a nice slim book and I took it with me during the fantastic trip to Valdosta a couple weeks ago. I read the whole book in one afternoon and another evening. I need to rent Blade Runner now and watch it again, but the differences in the two are significant.
This was a great book. I won't insult you with a synopsis since if you're reading this blog you are almost certainly well-read and well-screened enough to know how the story goes, from one source or another. If you only know the movie, and you liked the movie, you ought to pick this up. It's so much deeper, but typical of Dick it showcases a very ambiguous morality. I can't recommend this book too strongly to fans of sci-fi or dystopian fiction, though I'll admit non-fans would find many of the book's conceits a little to bizarre. Still, this is probably the best novel I've read in the past year.
And just today I finished Bill Bryson's Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America. I picked this one up to take home last weekend because I wanted something ligther than the history of the middle east to read. Today I read the last two-thirds of it. Bryson is terrifically readable, funny and light and, for such a recent discovery of mine, one of my current favorites among writers. After Mother Tongue, I was really looking forward to this.
And it was light and engaging and humorous and a little sad, but it wasn't as great a read as I'd hoped--mostly because I couldn't get past Bryson's condescension toward so many of the people he met. Certainly not everyone you meet is as wise or warm or witty as yourself, but neither is everyone necessarily less so because they come from a different region or speak with a different accent. For an American, even one who when this was written had been living in England for over 12 years, Bryson comes across almost a little bit too Euro-trash, and that was disappointing.
Nonetheless, he makes some brilliant comments, especially considering that they're now over 15 years old. In particular he seems disappointed that every town in America is becoming the same--they're all Anytown U.S.A. He is disturbed by the tendency of the towns immediately abutting National Parks to become seedy tourist traps and is fairly negative toward tourist traps in general. He has some very insightful comments about the NPS' administration of the National Parks, which he sees as quite poor.
The book has been compared to Travels with Charley and Blue Highways. Not having read Blue Highways I don't know how to compare it, and Charley is almost 45 years old, so some of the insights show their age (plus I don't like poodles. Or Steinbeck). But before I started this blog, I read a book by Stephen Coonts called The Cannibal Queen. Coonts is no Steinbeck (or Least-Moon or even Bryson, frankly), but his book is perhaps the most recent version of the schlepping-through-America genre that started with de Tocqueville (who's book is still the best of the type), and to be honest with you, I like Queen better than Lost Continent. A 1941 Stearman is way cooler than any Chevette ever made, and Coonts manages to be less critical of the places he visits, possibly because as a former military man he has an easier time than Bryson looking past America's faults. While I chide this tendency in my colleagues, in print it's a much more attractive tendency than Bryson's condescension.
First was Undestanding Arabs, which I picked up back when I thought I'd be in Iraq right now instead of whiling away the hours at work desperately waiting for something interesting to happen. It was the first of the pre-Iraq books I decided to read, and as such is also the only one I've finished so far. I can say safely even without having finished/read the other books, this is the one of the four that I would have brought with me overseas. Obviously this isn't the sort of book you're just going to pick up and read for fun. But if you find yourself heading toward that part of the world, this book (now available in a new edition from September 2005) is basically the standard (not to say only) text on Arab culture written for Westerners. It's a great primer on dealing with Arabs on a personal level. Would that I had reason to use it.
Next up was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick. This is the novel upon which the movie Blade Runner was (loosely) based. It's a nice slim book and I took it with me during the fantastic trip to Valdosta a couple weeks ago. I read the whole book in one afternoon and another evening. I need to rent Blade Runner now and watch it again, but the differences in the two are significant.This was a great book. I won't insult you with a synopsis since if you're reading this blog you are almost certainly well-read and well-screened enough to know how the story goes, from one source or another. If you only know the movie, and you liked the movie, you ought to pick this up. It's so much deeper, but typical of Dick it showcases a very ambiguous morality. I can't recommend this book too strongly to fans of sci-fi or dystopian fiction, though I'll admit non-fans would find many of the book's conceits a little to bizarre. Still, this is probably the best novel I've read in the past year.
And just today I finished Bill Bryson's Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America. I picked this one up to take home last weekend because I wanted something ligther than the history of the middle east to read. Today I read the last two-thirds of it. Bryson is terrifically readable, funny and light and, for such a recent discovery of mine, one of my current favorites among writers. After Mother Tongue, I was really looking forward to this.And it was light and engaging and humorous and a little sad, but it wasn't as great a read as I'd hoped--mostly because I couldn't get past Bryson's condescension toward so many of the people he met. Certainly not everyone you meet is as wise or warm or witty as yourself, but neither is everyone necessarily less so because they come from a different region or speak with a different accent. For an American, even one who when this was written had been living in England for over 12 years, Bryson comes across almost a little bit too Euro-trash, and that was disappointing.
Nonetheless, he makes some brilliant comments, especially considering that they're now over 15 years old. In particular he seems disappointed that every town in America is becoming the same--they're all Anytown U.S.A. He is disturbed by the tendency of the towns immediately abutting National Parks to become seedy tourist traps and is fairly negative toward tourist traps in general. He has some very insightful comments about the NPS' administration of the National Parks, which he sees as quite poor.
The book has been compared to Travels with Charley and Blue Highways. Not having read Blue Highways I don't know how to compare it, and Charley is almost 45 years old, so some of the insights show their age (plus I don't like poodles. Or Steinbeck). But before I started this blog, I read a book by Stephen Coonts called The Cannibal Queen. Coonts is no Steinbeck (or Least-Moon or even Bryson, frankly), but his book is perhaps the most recent version of the schlepping-through-America genre that started with de Tocqueville (who's book is still the best of the type), and to be honest with you, I like Queen better than Lost Continent. A 1941 Stearman is way cooler than any Chevette ever made, and Coonts manages to be less critical of the places he visits, possibly because as a former military man he has an easier time than Bryson looking past America's faults. While I chide this tendency in my colleagues, in print it's a much more attractive tendency than Bryson's condescension.
24 February 2006
Great Picture
The Future Is Here!
You must go see this picture. It looks like a younger brother of the machine in Contact, except it's real.
You must go see this picture. It looks like a younger brother of the machine in Contact, except it's real.
Shout Out to the Journalists
A lot of people in my line of work have a universally negative view of all media outlets other than Fox News. As a small cry of protest I want to piggyback on a post over at Sticks of Fire that tells a little story about what journalism is really for. Here's the link. All the pertinent articles in the newspaper, the Saint Petersburg Times.
Some days ago, it surfaced that the Pinellas County Commission was seeking bids to build a restaurant and several other tourist-related developments at Fort DeSoto Park, a popular barrier-island park and annually one of the top ranked beaches in the United States. A columnist for the Times, Howard Troxler, uncovered the plans and wrote a rather tetchy article about them, beseeching his readers to respond and tell him what they thought.
Five days later, he tipped his hat about the results and urged readers to write and tell the commission what they thought. Two days later he reported that his request had brought from his readers 55 letters, calls, or emails in support of the "upgrades" at the park, and over 788 negative responses. The people were better than 14-1 against the proposal--a proposal that the commission claimed "the people" were for. Which people? Not Troxler's readers, certainly--and with three columns on the subject in just over a week, those people who supported the idea should have been calling and writing, too, to prove him wrong. They didn't.
They also didn't call or write to the county commission. "The people" who the commission initially claimed supported the new development apparently failed to materialize, and the commission ordered the staff to revise the plans for the park; Troxler wrote a very insightful column on the entire ordeal.
Now, this was the work of a columnist, who has a little latitude to support a particular position, as Troxler did. But his position turned out to be solidly in the majority, and he gave that majority a much-needed voice. But the Times printed an article just yesterday about plans by two local officeholders for some underhanded dealing on a new development. A state legislator was working to pass legislation in the upcoming session (March-April) that would have allowed local developer Grady Pridgen (who is not, I must point out, a bad guy, especially as developers go) to skirt local and state traffic studies on his way to a new development in central Pinellas County.
Pridgen has a pretty good development record, and is actually working on a second project in downtown St. Pete that. He's developing a piece of property that is of no particular ecological significance and is going to be developed sooner or later. What's more, the plan he has is a good plan, something that deserves a chance. But every other development in the county has to undergo a state sponsored traffic study and meet other local traffic mitigation requirements. These can cost a pretty penny, and Pridgen no doubt hoped to save that money.
I can't blame him for that. But figuring that he'd get no support from local government, Pridgen went to the state legislature, where he found supporters. Local government was outraged, as you can well imagine, and Rep. Farkas is going to have a tough time finding much love from local leaders for the next few months. One might wonder how the voters feel about this. I can tell you what I suspect--given the density and size of the development and the near-universal appeal of NIMBYism, I imagine readers of the paper yesterday morning were just about as outraged. This sounds like corruption.
The Times dutifully reported the facts. And a day later--one day, only one day--Rep. Farkas withdrew his sponsorship of the bill. Farkas made other excuses, but we can reasonably assume that had the article not been written, the bill would have continued to move forward.
Of course this is a tough thing to support, for me at least. The development, La Entrada, looked to have been a good development. Density and infill are infinitely better than sprawl, although in Pinellas County the debate is moot since there's little land left on which to sprawl--in fact, the development in question was on one of the few undeveloped bits of land left in the county, which is largely built out. Still, the project deserves a good hearing and, I think, solid support. It's a shame it will be thought of in relation to this little escapade.
But just because the development is a good one doesn't mean it should get to circumvent the rules. Development rules, especially in Florida, are necessary things. If the traffic studies are too onerous for large developments then the state needs to look at changing the way the studies are conducted for all developments, rather than exempting one at a time piecemeal. That's inappropriate, and bravo to the Times for reporting on it.
This is why, when I hear some of my colleagues complain about the media's lack of integrity, I tell them they are stupid. We all lack integrity; it's the human condition. The role of journalists is to call people on it.
Some days ago, it surfaced that the Pinellas County Commission was seeking bids to build a restaurant and several other tourist-related developments at Fort DeSoto Park, a popular barrier-island park and annually one of the top ranked beaches in the United States. A columnist for the Times, Howard Troxler, uncovered the plans and wrote a rather tetchy article about them, beseeching his readers to respond and tell him what they thought.
Five days later, he tipped his hat about the results and urged readers to write and tell the commission what they thought. Two days later he reported that his request had brought from his readers 55 letters, calls, or emails in support of the "upgrades" at the park, and over 788 negative responses. The people were better than 14-1 against the proposal--a proposal that the commission claimed "the people" were for. Which people? Not Troxler's readers, certainly--and with three columns on the subject in just over a week, those people who supported the idea should have been calling and writing, too, to prove him wrong. They didn't.
They also didn't call or write to the county commission. "The people" who the commission initially claimed supported the new development apparently failed to materialize, and the commission ordered the staff to revise the plans for the park; Troxler wrote a very insightful column on the entire ordeal.
Now, this was the work of a columnist, who has a little latitude to support a particular position, as Troxler did. But his position turned out to be solidly in the majority, and he gave that majority a much-needed voice. But the Times printed an article just yesterday about plans by two local officeholders for some underhanded dealing on a new development. A state legislator was working to pass legislation in the upcoming session (March-April) that would have allowed local developer Grady Pridgen (who is not, I must point out, a bad guy, especially as developers go) to skirt local and state traffic studies on his way to a new development in central Pinellas County.
Pridgen has a pretty good development record, and is actually working on a second project in downtown St. Pete that. He's developing a piece of property that is of no particular ecological significance and is going to be developed sooner or later. What's more, the plan he has is a good plan, something that deserves a chance. But every other development in the county has to undergo a state sponsored traffic study and meet other local traffic mitigation requirements. These can cost a pretty penny, and Pridgen no doubt hoped to save that money.
I can't blame him for that. But figuring that he'd get no support from local government, Pridgen went to the state legislature, where he found supporters. Local government was outraged, as you can well imagine, and Rep. Farkas is going to have a tough time finding much love from local leaders for the next few months. One might wonder how the voters feel about this. I can tell you what I suspect--given the density and size of the development and the near-universal appeal of NIMBYism, I imagine readers of the paper yesterday morning were just about as outraged. This sounds like corruption.
The Times dutifully reported the facts. And a day later--one day, only one day--Rep. Farkas withdrew his sponsorship of the bill. Farkas made other excuses, but we can reasonably assume that had the article not been written, the bill would have continued to move forward.
Of course this is a tough thing to support, for me at least. The development, La Entrada, looked to have been a good development. Density and infill are infinitely better than sprawl, although in Pinellas County the debate is moot since there's little land left on which to sprawl--in fact, the development in question was on one of the few undeveloped bits of land left in the county, which is largely built out. Still, the project deserves a good hearing and, I think, solid support. It's a shame it will be thought of in relation to this little escapade.
But just because the development is a good one doesn't mean it should get to circumvent the rules. Development rules, especially in Florida, are necessary things. If the traffic studies are too onerous for large developments then the state needs to look at changing the way the studies are conducted for all developments, rather than exempting one at a time piecemeal. That's inappropriate, and bravo to the Times for reporting on it.
This is why, when I hear some of my colleagues complain about the media's lack of integrity, I tell them they are stupid. We all lack integrity; it's the human condition. The role of journalists is to call people on it.
22 February 2006
Taylor Hicks
All right. He's definitely not the typical Idol contestant. His voice is entirely unique in this group. Simon ain't gonna like it. But I'm sorry, this guy just looks like he's having such a great time, like he just loves what he's doing. I love the song, I love this guy.
Randy's right, he could do other songs better. But Randy's also right, there's never been anybody on this show in five years like him.
Let's see what Simon says...
Simon admits he was wrong! Taylor belongs in the finals, he says! All right! There's hope for this show yet!
Okay, time to vote. I've got two hours. How many votes can I register?
Randy's right, he could do other songs better. But Randy's also right, there's never been anybody on this show in five years like him.
Let's see what Simon says...
Simon admits he was wrong! Taylor belongs in the finals, he says! All right! There's hope for this show yet!
Okay, time to vote. I've got two hours. How many votes can I register?
A Rambling, Incoherent Post about TV and Work
It's probably a good thing the Olympics don't last any longer than they do because I've been completely useless the last two weeks after 8 o'clock. But so what? I think we can all agree I'm not especially likely to ever compete in the Olympics, so I might as well watch them.
Did anybody see this girl from the U.S. who skiied the slalom tonight with tiger ears on her skiing helmet? Okay, this seems like it would really be bad for your aerodynamics. But still, tiger ears! How cool! She's probably not from Clemson, but I still think that's pretty cool.
And over on the other channel... well, four guys in, I haven't been that impressed. The first two guys, Patrick and David, I sort of felt like they deserve a second chance. The next two, Bucky and Will? Nah. I guess this just makes it easier for Taylor Hicks.
I should point out that the horrible exercise at work passed with nary a peep from the inspectors today. They did not come in to inspect our office at all--nor did they inspect anyone in the Ops Group. We've already been inspected enough, it seems. Thank God. It means I don't get to show off my airman, but I sent a few notes forward in an effort to get him recognized at the wing picnic next week. We'll see how it goes. Wish him luck (Rick Insley, by the way, that's his name).
I've been thinking a lot lately, of course, about the next job down the line for me, since I assume it will come to pass sooner or later. You know, I really don't want to work for anyone ever again. I guess none of us do. And I guess I don't really have that option. I doubt I'll ever have as good a boss as I do right now, and I'll certainly miss that. But I think I'll miss much more being a boss.
Don't get me wrong--I'm not exactly a great boss. I basically give my people jobs and leave them alone. This works great with someone like Rick, who works well on his own initiative and will do better work left to his own devices than he will with constant supervision. This is not so good with other people who need a little more oversight, and I'm uncomfortable being in that role.
So that settles it. I'm not going to work. I'm going to find something that doesn't feel like work. I wonder what it will be...
Three more performers have taken the stage. One of them was actually good. These dudes just aren't really getting it done tonight. The geeky looking kid, Kevin, (who by the way I really like; I think he's the most real of the contestants apart from Taylor) is clearly not the best singer here, but after seven performances he's easily in second place on my ranking. These last five guys have some work to do.
I'm watching freestyle aerials. This sport is absolutely incredible, and not just because the contestants will all need knee replacements by the age of 30. How high in the air are they going? And twisting and flipping around the whole time? And getting oriented and landing feet-first? How do you learn this?
This is one of the things that amazes me about some of these sports: moreso than with the Summer Olympics, so many of these sports look like they would be impossible to learn--how do you learn ski jumping, aerials, luge, or giant slalom without so badly injuring yourself the first time you try them that you can never try them again? Maybe that's how these athletes are chosen: they were the ones who survived the initial training.
Did anybody see this girl from the U.S. who skiied the slalom tonight with tiger ears on her skiing helmet? Okay, this seems like it would really be bad for your aerodynamics. But still, tiger ears! How cool! She's probably not from Clemson, but I still think that's pretty cool.
And over on the other channel... well, four guys in, I haven't been that impressed. The first two guys, Patrick and David, I sort of felt like they deserve a second chance. The next two, Bucky and Will? Nah. I guess this just makes it easier for Taylor Hicks.
I should point out that the horrible exercise at work passed with nary a peep from the inspectors today. They did not come in to inspect our office at all--nor did they inspect anyone in the Ops Group. We've already been inspected enough, it seems. Thank God. It means I don't get to show off my airman, but I sent a few notes forward in an effort to get him recognized at the wing picnic next week. We'll see how it goes. Wish him luck (Rick Insley, by the way, that's his name).
I've been thinking a lot lately, of course, about the next job down the line for me, since I assume it will come to pass sooner or later. You know, I really don't want to work for anyone ever again. I guess none of us do. And I guess I don't really have that option. I doubt I'll ever have as good a boss as I do right now, and I'll certainly miss that. But I think I'll miss much more being a boss.
Don't get me wrong--I'm not exactly a great boss. I basically give my people jobs and leave them alone. This works great with someone like Rick, who works well on his own initiative and will do better work left to his own devices than he will with constant supervision. This is not so good with other people who need a little more oversight, and I'm uncomfortable being in that role.
So that settles it. I'm not going to work. I'm going to find something that doesn't feel like work. I wonder what it will be...
Three more performers have taken the stage. One of them was actually good. These dudes just aren't really getting it done tonight. The geeky looking kid, Kevin, (who by the way I really like; I think he's the most real of the contestants apart from Taylor) is clearly not the best singer here, but after seven performances he's easily in second place on my ranking. These last five guys have some work to do.
I'm watching freestyle aerials. This sport is absolutely incredible, and not just because the contestants will all need knee replacements by the age of 30. How high in the air are they going? And twisting and flipping around the whole time? And getting oriented and landing feet-first? How do you learn this?
This is one of the things that amazes me about some of these sports: moreso than with the Summer Olympics, so many of these sports look like they would be impossible to learn--how do you learn ski jumping, aerials, luge, or giant slalom without so badly injuring yourself the first time you try them that you can never try them again? Maybe that's how these athletes are chosen: they were the ones who survived the initial training.
Hooray Wine!!!!
If you live in Florida, read this article here and drink a toast. We can now order wine over the internet. It is a good day indeed; I'm going to be ordering some more of this fine Val Verde Sangiovese from sunny Del Rio sometime soon.
21 February 2006
Snoring
If anybody gets the title to this post I want to know about it. It is so esoteric I'm not even sure if I get it.
Anyway. A few last tidbits. Sadly, once American Idol was done, the Olympics were back to figure skating. Blah. I'm going to go read shortly. But I did vote: I voted for Mandisa (a little young to be going only by one name, but whatever), and for Melissa McGhee, because she's from Tampa. I've been trying to vote for the clear star of the night, Paris Bennett, but the lines are jammed. Which means, ultimately, that Paris is getting loads of votes and doesn't need one from me. Good for her.
I hope that tomorrow night I'll have the same problem trying to vote for Taylor Hicks. But if not I'll just keep voting repeatedly until the system locks me out. Thanks to my good friend Scanime I discovered that Mr. Hicks already has an album available--and I'm thinking the American Idol voters may like him more than I initially feared because apparently the CDs are selling like hotcakes (actually, I've never noticed that hotcakes sell all that well; the CDs are selling like cheap beer before the Superbowl) and you have to wait two weeks before you can get one. You can download three of the tracks off the CD, and they're great. And, the Laser's Edge CD company that makes the CD is in no way affiliated with the RIAA; it seems Taylor Hicks doesn't have a record contract, just a record. You can buy a copy with a clear conscience. I already did; it's still too expensive for a CD, but what the hell.
And on a totally unrelated topic, I got a phone call from UVA tonight. They were just paying a friendly call, to see if I had any questions and make sure I knew about the upcoming student weekends. I asked about the schedule for Friday the 7th, since I intend to go to UVA for the weekend but will have to fly out of Charlottesville and into Clemson on the 7th (which, ahem, happens to be my birthday. I'll be 28 again.) and wanted to know what I'd miss (not anything too important, was the verdict).
I asked about deferment. I explained that my status with the Air Force was uncertain and I may not know anything solid until too late to make a firm commitment. The admissions counselor (the guy who called me with the news that I'd been accepted) said if I paid my initial deposit ($500), then in June I could pay my second deposit (probably a lot more than $500) and at that point I have only to tell them whether I intend to enroll this fall or in 2007. So getting the deferment is easy. What more it means I don't know, but at least I know that. This does mean I can't realistically ask for a deferment from more than one school, or at least that's my suspicion. But I still have a whole month to think about this, and then some.
Anyway. A few last tidbits. Sadly, once American Idol was done, the Olympics were back to figure skating. Blah. I'm going to go read shortly. But I did vote: I voted for Mandisa (a little young to be going only by one name, but whatever), and for Melissa McGhee, because she's from Tampa. I've been trying to vote for the clear star of the night, Paris Bennett, but the lines are jammed. Which means, ultimately, that Paris is getting loads of votes and doesn't need one from me. Good for her.
I hope that tomorrow night I'll have the same problem trying to vote for Taylor Hicks. But if not I'll just keep voting repeatedly until the system locks me out. Thanks to my good friend Scanime I discovered that Mr. Hicks already has an album available--and I'm thinking the American Idol voters may like him more than I initially feared because apparently the CDs are selling like hotcakes (actually, I've never noticed that hotcakes sell all that well; the CDs are selling like cheap beer before the Superbowl) and you have to wait two weeks before you can get one. You can download three of the tracks off the CD, and they're great. And, the Laser's Edge CD company that makes the CD is in no way affiliated with the RIAA; it seems Taylor Hicks doesn't have a record contract, just a record. You can buy a copy with a clear conscience. I already did; it's still too expensive for a CD, but what the hell.
And on a totally unrelated topic, I got a phone call from UVA tonight. They were just paying a friendly call, to see if I had any questions and make sure I knew about the upcoming student weekends. I asked about the schedule for Friday the 7th, since I intend to go to UVA for the weekend but will have to fly out of Charlottesville and into Clemson on the 7th (which, ahem, happens to be my birthday. I'll be 28 again.) and wanted to know what I'd miss (not anything too important, was the verdict).
I asked about deferment. I explained that my status with the Air Force was uncertain and I may not know anything solid until too late to make a firm commitment. The admissions counselor (the guy who called me with the news that I'd been accepted) said if I paid my initial deposit ($500), then in June I could pay my second deposit (probably a lot more than $500) and at that point I have only to tell them whether I intend to enroll this fall or in 2007. So getting the deferment is easy. What more it means I don't know, but at least I know that. This does mean I can't realistically ask for a deferment from more than one school, or at least that's my suspicion. But I still have a whole month to think about this, and then some.
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