JTML pointed out in a comment that the Red Cross FAQ actually says the "state Homeland Security department", so I just called them too. (This time I took better notes.) I called the Communications Center for the Louisianna Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness at 225-925-7500. After an operator ("that's above my pay grade") and some other "officer" (at the Operations desk, I think), I ended up at the Media relations desk talking to a really cool and helpful guy, Lt. Kevin Cowan (Public Information Officer) who said I could quote him ("that's my job"). Although I didn't get everything typed word for word (the parts in quotation marks are though), I read him my notes when we were finished, so this is now 'confirmed'. Here goes...
"As part of the disaster plan there's an agreement between the state and the Red Cross for them not to enter." He didn't know the exact details of the agreement, but he said it had to do with "safety issues" since this is "still a disaster area and still unsafe" with things like "high water, etc."
When I asked specifically about the statement on the Red Cross webpage that said it was because their "presence would keep people from evacuating", he said this wasn't the reason.
Me: "Who on your end made this agreement with the red cross?" He checked with the Operations desk and came back and told me it was probably a decision between the director of their agency, General Landreneau, the Governor, and Mike Brown at FEMA. He said he didn't know the exact groups in these agencies that worked out the agreement, but "ultimately, they're the ones in charge who sign off on it".
He said "it's all a coordinated effort and guidelines are established."
The point is they "don't want to put anyone at undue risk". (I was thinking "anyone, who? surely not the people of New Orleans!", but I didn't say anything because he was being so cool.) Here's the kicker. He then told me that this agreement was for any and all disasters, not just the one in Louisiana!
I asked him how long this policy had been in effect, and he told me, "It's a work in progress; it's always changing."
Wow.
Also, he asked me who I was and if I was with the media. I told him I was going to post the info on a blog (and asked if I could use his name). His reply was that blogs are media. "Hey, that's information out there, isn't it? It's basically the same thing." He also asked me what blog, and he wrote it down. Anyway, as I said, he was pretty cool..
Update [2005-9-3 4:55:23 by shock: In a comment below, Orj Ozeppi reports that the Salvation Army is telling people the same thing as the ARC: "if we help, people won't leave." So we have a discrepancy between these relief agencies and LA Homeland Security as to the reason. The relief agencies are consistent. It may be that this policy is just because it's a disaster zone, as the LA Homeland Security guy
said, but this question needs to be answered. Was the decision to keep the relief agencies out made to force people to evacuate (and punish those who didn't... perhaps making a lesson of them?) by making conditions intolerable???If not, why do these relief agencies say so?
September 03, 2005
If they have what they need, they'll never go
...because, you know, poor people are stupid and don't mind living in toxic soup 9 feet deep. At least, that's what the Louisiana State Homeland Security Office and the Governor and FEMA must think. Read Kos to see schizophrenic policy in action: If we had sent in help, they wouldn't have left.
blogvertorial.
Who says that ads are for sidebars or banners. Which is less disruptive and more meaningful for readers--a banner full of google ads, or perhaps a single post every 10 days or so with some engaging copy and legit links that are at least a little bit interesting? Identifiable as paid content, there is no reason those of us who publish for a living shouldn't run a paid blogvertorial once in a while. In fact, I'll throw in the copywriting too.
I'm experimenting with the idea on ebay.
Could be meat, could be cake. We'll see.
I'm experimenting with the idea on ebay.
Could be meat, could be cake. We'll see.
Best Post Title of the Day
Not to mention the content--Read Sheila Lennon for the most up to date and inspiring GOOD IDEAS as well as news.
Roundup Right
Joe Duemer has a right powerful roundup in his outrage scrapbook, demonstrating once again that privilege is a motherfucker in these United States.
...in my town, if the Highway Superintendent were to announce that he hadn’t anticipated that much snow falling & what were we doing living out in the country anyway, he would not be in office very long. President Bush said the other day that “no one anticipated the levies failing & the Director of Homeland Security announced, sounding for all the world like a fat & greasy Roman senator from the late empire:
“The critical thing was to get people out of there before the disaster,” he said on NBC’s Today program. “Some people chose not to obey that order. That was a mistake on their part.”
September 02, 2005
Tony Pierce and the Loot vs Find Continuum
Tony's post is mandatory reading.
What if someones phone number accidentally gets in the caption? what if someone's address gets in the information? what if the complete wrong name is thrown up there and its a murder suspect or a kiddie porn suspect? Yahoo bears no responsibility for what they send to their readers? i think not.and isn't it an alleged looter? arent you innocent of a crime until you are proved guilty? did all their sense get hurricaned away while they were writing these captions?what if that Black kid was sent by his father to collect everything that he could from their market before the cop-looters showed up? what, a Black man cant own a market?
Read this Stuff, Okay, It's Good.
Chris Nolan has a post deconstructing a lot of what I'm hearing from my melanin-light friends.
It's freakin me out. I'm glad Chris is handling it.
It's freakin me out. I'm glad Chris is handling it.
If you need a ride...
The President's Chopper is curently in Jefferson Parish (Kenner). He's probably got some room for folks heading to D.C.
I count 12 people in the frame with the President right now on Fox news, and one of them isn't even white. Look, it's the mayor!
Well, that should be one interesting meeting.
Thank goodness.
I count 12 people in the frame with the President right now on Fox news, and one of them isn't even white. Look, it's the mayor!
Well, that should be one interesting meeting.
Thank goodness.
I've Been Looking for this Transcript All Day.
You're not blameless mayor, but when it gets down to it, you go 'head with your badass self. Blast em.
--------------
NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect. (Listen to the mayor express his frustration in this video -- 12:09)
You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. ... You pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freaking necks.
And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed.
WWL: Did you say to the president of the United States, "I need the military in here"?
NAGIN: I said, "I need everything."
Now, I will tell you this -- and I give the president some credit on this -- he sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is [Lt.] Gen. [Russel] Honore.
And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done.
They ought to give that guy -- if they don't want to give it to me, give him full authority to get the job done, and we can save some people.
WWL: What do you need right now to get control of this situation?
NAGIN: I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. We ain't talking about -- you know, one of the briefings we had, they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here.
I'm like, "You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."
That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man. This is crazy.
I've got 15,000 to 20,000 people over at the convention center. It's bursting at the seams. The poor people in Plaquemines Parish. ... We don't have anything, and we're sharing with our brothers in Plaquemines Parish.
It's awful down here, man.
WWL: Do you believe that the president is seeing this, holding a news conference on it but can't do anything until [Louisiana Gov.] Kathleen Blanco requested him to do it? And do you know whether or not she has made that request?
NAGIN: I have no idea what they're doing. But I will tell you this: You know, God is looking down on all this, and if they are not doing everything in their power to save people, they are going to pay the price. Because every day that we delay, people are dying and they're dying by the hundreds, I'm willing to bet you.
We're getting reports and calls that are breaking my heart, from people saying, "I've been in my attic. I can't take it anymore. The water is up to my neck. I don't think I can hold out." And that's happening as we speak.
You know what really upsets me, Garland? We told everybody the importance of the 17th Street Canal issue. We said, "Please, please take care of this. We don't care what you do. Figure it out."
WWL: Who'd you say that to?
NAGIN: Everybody: the governor, Homeland Security, FEMA. You name it, we said it.
And they allowed that pumping station next to Pumping Station 6 to go under water. Our sewage and water board people ... stayed there and endangered their lives.
And what happened when that pumping station went down, the water started flowing again in the city, and it starting getting to levels that probably killed more people.
In addition to that, we had water flowing through the pipes in the city. That's a power station over there.
So there's no water flowing anywhere on the east bank of Orleans Parish. So our critical water supply was destroyed because of lack of action.
WWL: Why couldn't they drop the 3,000-pound sandbags or the containers that they were talking about earlier? Was it an engineering feat that just couldn't be done?
NAGIN: They said it was some pulleys that they had to manufacture. But, you know, in a state of emergency, man, you are creative, you figure out ways to get stuff done.
Then they told me that they went overnight, and they built 17 concrete structures and they had the pulleys on them and they were going to drop them.
I flew over that thing yesterday, and it's in the same shape that it was after the storm hit. There is nothing happening. And they're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning, and people are dying down here.
WWL: If some of the public called and they're right, that there's a law that the president, that the federal government can't do anything without local or state requests, would you request martial law?
NAGIN: I've already called for martial law in the city of New Orleans. We did that a few days ago.
WWL: Did the governor do that, too?
NAGIN: I don't know. I don't think so.
But we called for martial law when we realized that the looting was getting out of control. And we redirected all of our police officers back to patrolling the streets. They were dead-tired from saving people, but they worked all night because we thought this thing was going to blow wide open last night. And so we redirected all of our resources, and we hold it under check.
I'm not sure if we can do that another night with the current resources.
And I am telling you right now: They're showing all these reports of people looting and doing all that weird stuff, and they are doing that, but people are desperate and they're trying to find food and water, the majority of them.
Now you got some knuckleheads out there, and they are taking advantage of this lawless -- this situation where, you know, we can't really control it, and they're doing some awful, awful things. But that's a small majority of the people. Most people are looking to try and survive.
And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.
You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.
And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun.
WWL: Well, you and I must be in the minority. Because apparently there's a section of our citizenry out there that thinks because of a law that says the federal government can't come in unless requested by the proper people, that everything that's going on to this point has been done as good as it can possibly be.
NAGIN: Really?
WWL: I know you don't feel that way.
NAGIN: Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request?
You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important?
And I'll tell you, man, I'm probably going get in a whole bunch of trouble. I'm probably going to get in so much trouble it ain't even funny. You probably won't even want to deal with me after this interview is over.
WWL: You and I will be in the funny place together.
NAGIN: But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.
Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man.
You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly.
And I don't know whose problem it is. I don't know whether it's the governor's problem. I don't know whether it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get their ass on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now.
WWL: What can we do here?
NAGIN: Keep talking about it.
WWL: We'll do that. What else can we do?
NAGIN: Organize people to write letters and make calls to their congressmen, to the president, to the governor. Flood their doggone offices with requests to do something. This is ridiculous.
I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. And then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.
Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.
WWL: I'll say it right now, you're the only politician that's called and called for arms like this. And if -- whatever it takes, the governor, president -- whatever law precedent it takes, whatever it takes, I bet that the people listening to you are on your side.
NAGIN: Well, I hope so, Garland. I am just -- I'm at the point now where it don't matter. People are dying. They don't have homes. They don't have jobs. The city of New Orleans will never be the same in this time.
WWL: We're both pretty speechless here.
NAGIN: Yeah, I don't know what to say. I got to go.
WWL: OK. Keep in touch. Keep in touch.
--------------
NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect. (Listen to the mayor express his frustration in this video -- 12:09)
You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. ... You pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freaking necks.
And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed.
WWL: Did you say to the president of the United States, "I need the military in here"?
NAGIN: I said, "I need everything."
Now, I will tell you this -- and I give the president some credit on this -- he sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is [Lt.] Gen. [Russel] Honore.
And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done.
They ought to give that guy -- if they don't want to give it to me, give him full authority to get the job done, and we can save some people.
WWL: What do you need right now to get control of this situation?
NAGIN: I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. We ain't talking about -- you know, one of the briefings we had, they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here.
I'm like, "You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."
That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man. This is crazy.
I've got 15,000 to 20,000 people over at the convention center. It's bursting at the seams. The poor people in Plaquemines Parish. ... We don't have anything, and we're sharing with our brothers in Plaquemines Parish.
It's awful down here, man.
WWL: Do you believe that the president is seeing this, holding a news conference on it but can't do anything until [Louisiana Gov.] Kathleen Blanco requested him to do it? And do you know whether or not she has made that request?
NAGIN: I have no idea what they're doing. But I will tell you this: You know, God is looking down on all this, and if they are not doing everything in their power to save people, they are going to pay the price. Because every day that we delay, people are dying and they're dying by the hundreds, I'm willing to bet you.
We're getting reports and calls that are breaking my heart, from people saying, "I've been in my attic. I can't take it anymore. The water is up to my neck. I don't think I can hold out." And that's happening as we speak.
You know what really upsets me, Garland? We told everybody the importance of the 17th Street Canal issue. We said, "Please, please take care of this. We don't care what you do. Figure it out."
WWL: Who'd you say that to?
NAGIN: Everybody: the governor, Homeland Security, FEMA. You name it, we said it.
And they allowed that pumping station next to Pumping Station 6 to go under water. Our sewage and water board people ... stayed there and endangered their lives.
And what happened when that pumping station went down, the water started flowing again in the city, and it starting getting to levels that probably killed more people.
In addition to that, we had water flowing through the pipes in the city. That's a power station over there.
So there's no water flowing anywhere on the east bank of Orleans Parish. So our critical water supply was destroyed because of lack of action.
WWL: Why couldn't they drop the 3,000-pound sandbags or the containers that they were talking about earlier? Was it an engineering feat that just couldn't be done?
NAGIN: They said it was some pulleys that they had to manufacture. But, you know, in a state of emergency, man, you are creative, you figure out ways to get stuff done.
Then they told me that they went overnight, and they built 17 concrete structures and they had the pulleys on them and they were going to drop them.
I flew over that thing yesterday, and it's in the same shape that it was after the storm hit. There is nothing happening. And they're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning, and people are dying down here.
WWL: If some of the public called and they're right, that there's a law that the president, that the federal government can't do anything without local or state requests, would you request martial law?
NAGIN: I've already called for martial law in the city of New Orleans. We did that a few days ago.
WWL: Did the governor do that, too?
NAGIN: I don't know. I don't think so.
But we called for martial law when we realized that the looting was getting out of control. And we redirected all of our police officers back to patrolling the streets. They were dead-tired from saving people, but they worked all night because we thought this thing was going to blow wide open last night. And so we redirected all of our resources, and we hold it under check.
I'm not sure if we can do that another night with the current resources.
And I am telling you right now: They're showing all these reports of people looting and doing all that weird stuff, and they are doing that, but people are desperate and they're trying to find food and water, the majority of them.
Now you got some knuckleheads out there, and they are taking advantage of this lawless -- this situation where, you know, we can't really control it, and they're doing some awful, awful things. But that's a small majority of the people. Most people are looking to try and survive.
And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.
You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.
And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun.
WWL: Well, you and I must be in the minority. Because apparently there's a section of our citizenry out there that thinks because of a law that says the federal government can't come in unless requested by the proper people, that everything that's going on to this point has been done as good as it can possibly be.
NAGIN: Really?
WWL: I know you don't feel that way.
NAGIN: Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request?
You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important?
And I'll tell you, man, I'm probably going get in a whole bunch of trouble. I'm probably going to get in so much trouble it ain't even funny. You probably won't even want to deal with me after this interview is over.
WWL: You and I will be in the funny place together.
NAGIN: But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.
Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man.
You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly.
And I don't know whose problem it is. I don't know whether it's the governor's problem. I don't know whether it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get their ass on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now.
WWL: What can we do here?
NAGIN: Keep talking about it.
WWL: We'll do that. What else can we do?
NAGIN: Organize people to write letters and make calls to their congressmen, to the president, to the governor. Flood their doggone offices with requests to do something. This is ridiculous.
I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. And then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.
Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.
WWL: I'll say it right now, you're the only politician that's called and called for arms like this. And if -- whatever it takes, the governor, president -- whatever law precedent it takes, whatever it takes, I bet that the people listening to you are on your side.
NAGIN: Well, I hope so, Garland. I am just -- I'm at the point now where it don't matter. People are dying. They don't have homes. They don't have jobs. The city of New Orleans will never be the same in this time.
WWL: We're both pretty speechless here.
NAGIN: Yeah, I don't know what to say. I got to go.
WWL: OK. Keep in touch. Keep in touch.
Unreal
Ron Jeffries has a plan to demonstrate a need for urgency. Ron, you forgot one: Pump the water with so many unstable chemicals, or mix in a couple of American-bred or international terrorists, and ignite a chemical plant fire that spews poisonous fumes throughout the air inside the imaginary control center you've established.
'Cause guess what. Ka-boom.
'Cause guess what. Ka-boom.
President Bush Declares "War on Weather"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC - Sept. 2, 2005 - President Bush today declared war on Weather, which will be waged alongside other attention-diverting war efforts, including the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, to protect Americans from an enemy with unlimited resources that have recently been targeted against the south and southeastern United States.
"Make no mistake about it," President Bush said Friday, "This will be a long war, a difficult war, but it is a war we will win. Not today. Not tomorrow. But we will come out ahead by making America a safer place for our children and grandchildren."
Without another country to blame for the chaos in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush dedicated the full capacity of the U.S. military to defeating dangerous atmospheric pressure changes.
"Look, you're either with us or against us," President Bush said. "The weather has the potential to affect every American, and it is only through a direct, targeted effort that we can contain this enemy and overwhelm it. And we will do so."
When pointing out that another war effort could divert much-needed resources from the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Southern United states now homeless and stateless -- and from recovering the tens of thousands of bodies that pose severe health risk to the entire region -- President Bush promised an organized, centralized effort.
"Make no mistake about it, I can wage 4-6 wars at one time without a problem," he said "In fact, there are other wars that need to be waged in order for me to continue my Presidency in way that lets me blame others for my ineptness. But I can get on planes. You see? I can get on choppers and I can see things from those choppers. I can see out the windows. You understand that? I'm flying in those choppers today to see the destruction first hand, well maybe not first-hand but from high above, well maybe down on the ground in Mississippi or Alabama where there aren't angry colored folks waiting for me, well not as many anyway, you see? That's why we have to wage this war."
Congress today approved an additional $55i33x5lf Billion for the War on Weather, which will be spent on more effective weapons, deployment of troops, and an assessment of the infrastructure of vulnerable American cities, regardless of the fact that such assessments were completed in 2001.
Public School Bus Drivers on their way to help move refugees from the Weather's most recent assault (because Grayhound was busy) to an undetermined location in an undetermined state or states hoped that the President's declaration means bullet-proof vests will arrive in time for them to join the front lines.
This is the President's second term in office. He declared a War on Terror during his first term, during which he held office illegally.
Washington, DC - Sept. 2, 2005 - President Bush today declared war on Weather, which will be waged alongside other attention-diverting war efforts, including the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, to protect Americans from an enemy with unlimited resources that have recently been targeted against the south and southeastern United States.
"Make no mistake about it," President Bush said Friday, "This will be a long war, a difficult war, but it is a war we will win. Not today. Not tomorrow. But we will come out ahead by making America a safer place for our children and grandchildren."
Without another country to blame for the chaos in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush dedicated the full capacity of the U.S. military to defeating dangerous atmospheric pressure changes.
"Look, you're either with us or against us," President Bush said. "The weather has the potential to affect every American, and it is only through a direct, targeted effort that we can contain this enemy and overwhelm it. And we will do so."
When pointing out that another war effort could divert much-needed resources from the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Southern United states now homeless and stateless -- and from recovering the tens of thousands of bodies that pose severe health risk to the entire region -- President Bush promised an organized, centralized effort.
"Make no mistake about it, I can wage 4-6 wars at one time without a problem," he said "In fact, there are other wars that need to be waged in order for me to continue my Presidency in way that lets me blame others for my ineptness. But I can get on planes. You see? I can get on choppers and I can see things from those choppers. I can see out the windows. You understand that? I'm flying in those choppers today to see the destruction first hand, well maybe not first-hand but from high above, well maybe down on the ground in Mississippi or Alabama where there aren't angry colored folks waiting for me, well not as many anyway, you see? That's why we have to wage this war."
Congress today approved an additional $55i33x5lf Billion for the War on Weather, which will be spent on more effective weapons, deployment of troops, and an assessment of the infrastructure of vulnerable American cities, regardless of the fact that such assessments were completed in 2001.
Public School Bus Drivers on their way to help move refugees from the Weather's most recent assault (because Grayhound was busy) to an undetermined location in an undetermined state or states hoped that the President's declaration means bullet-proof vests will arrive in time for them to join the front lines.
This is the President's second term in office. He declared a War on Terror during his first term, during which he held office illegally.
September 01, 2005
No Room at the Dome.
According to CNN's on-air report at midnight, the Houston Astrodome, where the vast majority of refugees from the Superdome were to arrive at tomorrow, has already begun turning buses away. According to an officer interviewed on the air, the fire marshal has closed the facility indicating that it is at capacity, with only an estimated 8,000 people inside.
What happened to the 23,000 it was supposed to hold?
And where do the buses go next?
And how would you feel if you got to an oasis but the doors were locked?
And how would you like to be those bus drivers?
And where is a FEMA official with news of where the remaining homeless are headed before news gets back to the superdome that there's no room at the inn?
And where's the Houston mayor who was backpatting himself on the air last night for offering his facility?
And where's this President we apparently have?
What happened to the 23,000 it was supposed to hold?
And where do the buses go next?
And how would you feel if you got to an oasis but the doors were locked?
And how would you like to be those bus drivers?
And where is a FEMA official with news of where the remaining homeless are headed before news gets back to the superdome that there's no room at the inn?
And where's the Houston mayor who was backpatting himself on the air last night for offering his facility?
And where's this President we apparently have?
Disgrace
"This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans." -- Terry Ebbert, Head of New Orleans' Emergency Operations
When the heads of two hospitals so desperately crippled that they can't sustain life have to call the ASSOCIATED PRESS to beg for help, disgrace has reached a new level.
(AP) — Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals in New Orleans called The Associated Press Thursday morning pleading for rescue, saying they were nearly out of food and power and had been forced to move patients to higher floors to escape looters.
"We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call the governor's office ... we have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us," said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital, the largest of two public hospitals.
Charity is across the street from Tulane University Medical Center, a private facility that has almost completed evacuating more than 1,000 patients and family members, he said.
No such public resources are available for Charity, which has about 250 patients, or University Hospital several blocks away, which has about 110 patients.
"We need coordinated help from the government," McSwain said.
He described horrific conditions.
"There is no food in Charity Hospital. They're eating fruit bowl punch and that's all they've got to eat. There's minimal water," McSwain said.
"Most of their power is out. Much of the hospital is dark. The ICU (intensive care unit) is on the 12th floor, so the physicians and nurses are having to walk up floors to see the patients."
Dr. Lee Hamm, chairman of medicine at Tulane University, said he took a canoe from there to the two public hospitals, where he also works, to check conditions.
"The physicians and nurses are doing an incredible job, but there are patients laying on stretchers on the floor, the halls were dark, the stairwells are dark. Of course, there's no elevators. There's no communication with the outside world," he said.
"We're afraid that somehow these two hospitals have been left off ... that somehow somebody has either forgotten it or ignored it or something, because there is no evidence anything is being done."
Where is the Louisiana National Guard?! Oh yes, I remember.
When the heads of two hospitals so desperately crippled that they can't sustain life have to call the ASSOCIATED PRESS to beg for help, disgrace has reached a new level.
(AP) — Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals in New Orleans called The Associated Press Thursday morning pleading for rescue, saying they were nearly out of food and power and had been forced to move patients to higher floors to escape looters.
"We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call the governor's office ... we have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us," said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital, the largest of two public hospitals.
Charity is across the street from Tulane University Medical Center, a private facility that has almost completed evacuating more than 1,000 patients and family members, he said.
No such public resources are available for Charity, which has about 250 patients, or University Hospital several blocks away, which has about 110 patients.
"We need coordinated help from the government," McSwain said.
He described horrific conditions.
"There is no food in Charity Hospital. They're eating fruit bowl punch and that's all they've got to eat. There's minimal water," McSwain said.
"Most of their power is out. Much of the hospital is dark. The ICU (intensive care unit) is on the 12th floor, so the physicians and nurses are having to walk up floors to see the patients."
Dr. Lee Hamm, chairman of medicine at Tulane University, said he took a canoe from there to the two public hospitals, where he also works, to check conditions.
"The physicians and nurses are doing an incredible job, but there are patients laying on stretchers on the floor, the halls were dark, the stairwells are dark. Of course, there's no elevators. There's no communication with the outside world," he said.
"We're afraid that somehow these two hospitals have been left off ... that somehow somebody has either forgotten it or ignored it or something, because there is no evidence anything is being done."
Where is the Louisiana National Guard?! Oh yes, I remember.
I agree with Dave Winer (Again).
I have heard several New Yorkers (one who worked in the world trade center before 9/11) talk about what's happening in New Orleans with a detachment I can only presume (hopefully) is due to their own latent trauma issues.
But it's pissing me off.
And Dave's right when he talks about the US Open and the head-turning that's going on in states across the U.S.
HELLO PEOPLE. A tragedy is real no matter how many it affects, but let's look at scope here. The horror of this tragedy is not only that tens of thousands (yes, it'll be that many, if not more) have lost their literal lives, but also that hundreds of thousands have lost everything that made up their lives, PLUS their livelihoods.
At least the USTA has been shamed into donating some money. That took a while.
Now go watch some fucking tennis match with that on your mind.
But it's pissing me off.
And Dave's right when he talks about the US Open and the head-turning that's going on in states across the U.S.
HELLO PEOPLE. A tragedy is real no matter how many it affects, but let's look at scope here. The horror of this tragedy is not only that tens of thousands (yes, it'll be that many, if not more) have lost their literal lives, but also that hundreds of thousands have lost everything that made up their lives, PLUS their livelihoods.
At least the USTA has been shamed into donating some money. That took a while.
Now go watch some fucking tennis match with that on your mind.
Did the Nevilles Make it Back and Out?
Checking in on the Neville Brothers site, I see that it's down. They played Sunday night in Syracuse, NY, at the NY State Fair. They knew Katrina was coming and played a funk tribute to their city. I wonder if they hightailed it back into the midst of the disaster-in-the-making to be with their family members, or if they got stalled outside the city before all hell broke loose. If anyone knows whether the Nevilles & family are okay, we'd like to know.
Glad they found Fats Domino.
Glad they found Fats Domino.
Oh Say Yes I See.
The Louisiana National Guard is Otherwise Occupied.
And the U.S. President obviously didn't think much of the 2001 FEMA report that declared the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country.
Oooooo--watch out for the Middle Eastern boogie man instead.
Yes, it's his fault.
And the U.S. President obviously didn't think much of the 2001 FEMA report that declared the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country.
Oooooo--watch out for the Middle Eastern boogie man instead.
Yes, it's his fault.
WHERE ARE OUR TROOPS.
Stop Talking Future Tense.
We have troops risking their lives in Iraq to secure freedom and save lives. And they CHICKEN OUT in THIS country? They cut and run in New Orleans? So WHAT you get shot at. You Keep Coming for the innocents you say you care so much about in other countries.
Troops? National Guard? All I see from command and control is cowardice and ineptness.
FEMA's quote FIVE DAYS later:
"We didn't understand the magnitude.... Help is on the way."
ON THE WAY?
It's Past too late.
The city is "out of resources at the convention center and doesn't anticipate enough buses," the mayor said in his statement.
CNN's Chris Lawrence described "many, many" bodies, inside and outside the facility on New Orleans' Riverwalk.
"There are multiple people dying at the convention center," Lawrence said. "There was an old woman, dead in a wheelchair with a blanket draped over her, pushed up against a wall. Horrible, horrible conditions.
"We saw a man who went into a seizure, literally dying right in front of us."
Nagin said that "the convention center is unsanitary and unsafe and we are running out of supplies for [15,000 to 20,000] people."
He said the city would allow people to march up the Crescent City Connection to the Westbank Expressway in an effort to find help.
People were "being forced to live like animals," Lawrence said, surrounded by piles of trash and feces.
He said thousands of people were just lying on the ground outside the building -- many old, or sick, or caring for infants and small children.
More people were arriving at the center, walking south along Canal Street. The route north to the Superdome is blocked by chest-deep water.
The convention center was used as a secondary shelter when the Louisiana Superdome was overwhelmed.
Food drops began Thursday afternoon at the convention center, as rain also began falling.
A National Guard helicopter delivered MREs -- meals ready to eat -- and bottles of water. The amounts in the first few drops, however, were far short of enough for everyone.
State officials believe Katrina and its aftermath killed "thousands" of people in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, but no official count had been compiled, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said Thursday.
THOUSANDS? Spin again. Try tens of thousands.
Try 100s of Thousands.
And more by the hour.
What else will come out of the water there?
What new disease?
What new cancers and poisons?
Wait? You wait.
We have troops risking their lives in Iraq to secure freedom and save lives. And they CHICKEN OUT in THIS country? They cut and run in New Orleans? So WHAT you get shot at. You Keep Coming for the innocents you say you care so much about in other countries.
Troops? National Guard? All I see from command and control is cowardice and ineptness.
FEMA's quote FIVE DAYS later:
"We didn't understand the magnitude.... Help is on the way."
ON THE WAY?
It's Past too late.
The city is "out of resources at the convention center and doesn't anticipate enough buses," the mayor said in his statement.
CNN's Chris Lawrence described "many, many" bodies, inside and outside the facility on New Orleans' Riverwalk.
"There are multiple people dying at the convention center," Lawrence said. "There was an old woman, dead in a wheelchair with a blanket draped over her, pushed up against a wall. Horrible, horrible conditions.
"We saw a man who went into a seizure, literally dying right in front of us."
Nagin said that "the convention center is unsanitary and unsafe and we are running out of supplies for [15,000 to 20,000] people."
He said the city would allow people to march up the Crescent City Connection to the Westbank Expressway in an effort to find help.
People were "being forced to live like animals," Lawrence said, surrounded by piles of trash and feces.
He said thousands of people were just lying on the ground outside the building -- many old, or sick, or caring for infants and small children.
More people were arriving at the center, walking south along Canal Street. The route north to the Superdome is blocked by chest-deep water.
The convention center was used as a secondary shelter when the Louisiana Superdome was overwhelmed.
Food drops began Thursday afternoon at the convention center, as rain also began falling.
A National Guard helicopter delivered MREs -- meals ready to eat -- and bottles of water. The amounts in the first few drops, however, were far short of enough for everyone.
State officials believe Katrina and its aftermath killed "thousands" of people in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, but no official count had been compiled, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said Thursday.
THOUSANDS? Spin again. Try tens of thousands.
Try 100s of Thousands.
And more by the hour.
What else will come out of the water there?
What new disease?
What new cancers and poisons?
Wait? You wait.
Sept 1 Blog Relief
Glenn's list is growing and is the best way I can see for blogger's to contribute to a centralized source that acts as a mainstream-blog-site-of-the-moment, and that's good in a crisis.
Give however you can. (Technorati tags are against my religion, so here's a link to Instapundit. He's got a comprehensive list). I'm with Government Cheese -- go to specific red cross sites, like the Atlanta Area Red Cross, to give specifically for Katrina relief. The link takes you directly to the donation page for Katrina relief.
Give however you can. (Technorati tags are against my religion, so here's a link to Instapundit. He's got a comprehensive list). I'm with Government Cheese -- go to specific red cross sites, like the Atlanta Area Red Cross, to give specifically for Katrina relief. The link takes you directly to the donation page for Katrina relief.
Stupid Fox News Heads
Just saw the gentleman who's running Gulfcoastnews.com on FOX News. He's put together a database of folks looking for missing friends and relatives in N.O. which others who know their status can update. Ken could barely get out the fact -- without being interrupted with stupid questions by the talking heads -- that he needs more servers. He has two servers running flat out. He's looking for a corporation to donate server space/power/etc.
Contact him at ken@gulfcoastnews.com if you or your organization can help.
Contact him at ken@gulfcoastnews.com if you or your organization can help.
August 31, 2005
They just buggin'
These were my thoughts when I set out for an appointment this afternoon, only to witness a panic the likes of which I haven't seen since the last blizard.
Gas, it's gas paranoia.
For those of you who don't know, this fine city was dubbed 'the city too busy to hate' before the Olympics, and precisely what kind of moniker is that to strive to uphold? Well, it's getting nasty at the pump. Apparently a rumor fuled by our Esteemed Governor Sonny Purdue's alleged press conference flew across cell phones today. I heard two different variations on the rumors:
A.) Atlanta only has enough gas for the next 7-10 days.
B.) Atlanta is out of gas until 10 days from now. Pumps are closing at 4 p.m.
Pick your version, but the Johnson Ferry Road Kroger check-out lady summed it up best: They just buggin' out.
I'll say. I tried four different gas stations with lines out into the street--something I would have avoided except that I was on my usual "E" (low-gas-light lit) gas reading. So I had to wait. In the process:
I met a woman who forgot how to pump gas because panic had apparently triggered a state of dissociation or your garden-variety amnesia. I helped her. The pump didn't work until we moved to the Premium hose. She was grateful to have her allotment at $3.19 a gallon.
I got away with 2.99 for the middle hose at my pump (regular unleaded was sold out), which, for down south is about a dollar and a quarter higher than normal.
I was honked at by the impatient (not too busy to hate) drivers who didn't want me to help amnesia woman.
I hadn't witnessed a spectacuar site: an attendant helping people pump gas, making me nostalgic for 1977. Yes, they were out there today keeping the peace and hoping to keep gas looting at a minimum I guess.
I paid my $51. I gave thanks for my car, my gas, my home, my safety, my family, my water, my food, my air conditioning, and all of the other things I take for granted every singe day.
And I liked my fellow Atlantans just a little less than the day before.
She's right. They just buggin' out.
September 1, Blog Relief
It can't hurt, can it? Give. (Technorati tags are against my religion, so here's a link to Instapundit. He's got a comprehensive list).
I'm with Government Cheese -- go to specific red cross sites, like the Atlanta Area Red Cross, to give specifically for Katrina relief. The link takes you directly to the donation page for Katrina relief.
I'm with Government Cheese -- go to specific red cross sites, like the Atlanta Area Red Cross, to give specifically for Katrina relief. The link takes you directly to the donation page for Katrina relief.
Tom Got It
A disaster survivor of last year's Florida hurricane destruction, Tom tells it like it is--and gives some good advice on insurance adjusters and insurance companies. Mostly, he tells a tale of leadership posturing and paints a picture of the absurdity of cocks strutting in front of cameras, like kings of a deserted barnyard.
Which brings us back to the sanguinity of our Mr. and Master Bushes: You will send in the troops, and make large gestures, as you did here on Florida's Gulf Coast last year. And then you will fail to do anything about the white collar thugs whose good hands will dick around with homeowners who have lost everything in Gulfport, Miss. and environs. New Orleans is good at funerals anyway.
You never think in terms of what you actually can do to help the community of people you pretend to lead. That would involve statesmanship. Instead, like the agencies you are charged with managing, you go on about your business (strutting) while the unobtrusive matter of learning from the past, and anticipating the future, continues to make no news.
Dave Gets It
If I hear one more ill-informed anchor or blogger say: "when the water recedes" my head might explode. Dave says it best:The correct answer...is that the water isn't going to recede. The only way to get the water out of the city is to pump it out, after the levees are fixed. In the meantime, the water isn't receding, it's going the other way, it's rising.
August 30, 2005
Getting Out
3:07 P.M. - Governor Blanco: We are looking for ways to get people out of the Superdome and out of New Orleans said Governor Blanco as she tried to keep from crying.
You can't go home again
I haven't been writing because what's going on with my southeastern neighbors has me dumbfounded. Silence seems like the only response shy of conjuring some miraculous mechanism to turn back time.
I don't think the world understands yet that entire U.S. cities are now gone. Worse than gone--they are cripled, sick, deadly, and dying. Many of these cities aren't coming back. Some will come back in months, some years, some decades and some -- as officials who've toured parts of southeast Louisiana say -- have been reclaimed by nature.
We have real live refugees in the U.S. and they aren't illegal immigrants, but it probably won't be long before they're treated as such. Lack of the right insurance, combined with FEMA's ineptness, will render tens of thousands poor -- or poorer -- over night.
Our troops are trooping in Iraq. Our Tsunami dollars have tsunamied elsewhere. And in parts of two U.S. states, martial law and a roof-deep, stew of debris and dead bodies and oil and gasoline -- is all that's left. This is a tsumani, only worse: There are more survivors to deal with.
It's not a matter of "covering" this story. I don't cover stories. I'm not a journalist. Bloggers aren't journalists just like corporations aren't people. We are simply human beings who can be silenced in an instant inside the enormous power of nature and the helplessness of poverty.
Meanwhile, Ernie the Attorney is trying to get out. If you know how to escape New Orleans under martial law, without gasoline and quick, let Ernie's proxyblogger know.
Somewhere, in a room of just a few, you have to wonder if they're discussing getting as many poeple as possible out, and then just opening the levies and letting it go.
And Mississipi. My God. Again, it seems pointless to talk about technogy or marketing or PR or conferences today. I don't have the words.
I really don't have the words.
I don't think the world understands yet that entire U.S. cities are now gone. Worse than gone--they are cripled, sick, deadly, and dying. Many of these cities aren't coming back. Some will come back in months, some years, some decades and some -- as officials who've toured parts of southeast Louisiana say -- have been reclaimed by nature.
We have real live refugees in the U.S. and they aren't illegal immigrants, but it probably won't be long before they're treated as such. Lack of the right insurance, combined with FEMA's ineptness, will render tens of thousands poor -- or poorer -- over night.
Our troops are trooping in Iraq. Our Tsunami dollars have tsunamied elsewhere. And in parts of two U.S. states, martial law and a roof-deep, stew of debris and dead bodies and oil and gasoline -- is all that's left. This is a tsumani, only worse: There are more survivors to deal with.
It's not a matter of "covering" this story. I don't cover stories. I'm not a journalist. Bloggers aren't journalists just like corporations aren't people. We are simply human beings who can be silenced in an instant inside the enormous power of nature and the helplessness of poverty.
Meanwhile, Ernie the Attorney is trying to get out. If you know how to escape New Orleans under martial law, without gasoline and quick, let Ernie's proxyblogger know.
Somewhere, in a room of just a few, you have to wonder if they're discussing getting as many poeple as possible out, and then just opening the levies and letting it go.
And Mississipi. My God. Again, it seems pointless to talk about technogy or marketing or PR or conferences today. I don't have the words.
I really don't have the words.
August 28, 2005
August 27, 2005
Business Models Based on No Change
Should businesses that rely on predictable markets, cookie-cutter customers and time-proven marketing techniques blog? My business partner says probably not. I'd like to say he's not right. I tell him he's not right about 34 times a day, which is about three times short of how many times he tells me I'm not right. But who's counting.
He tells a recent story about our business:
The conversation among self-publishers can go on pretty much as is without any voice from larger corporations. Markets are perfectly willing to chat amongst themselves. But I wonder if the same is true for large enterprises. Now, Big Tech almost has to blog at this point. Sun is doing it. IBM's doing it Scoble's doing it. If you're a big tech company, blogging's a mandate. You have to walk your talk.
But when it comes to large non-technology companies I wonder if it will take months, years, or if they'll be able to avoid participation altogether.
My aforementioned highly-ROI-focused and historically-successful business partner, Paul, sees opportunities for smaller, nimbler companies to take advantage of through blogging, especially as the old school enterprises are busy keeping their clothes clean of the blog mud:
Probably so--but you have to wonder if some might sustain serious damage because of it. And if some won't be able to weather this storm of change.
He tells a recent story about our business:
Recently, we were working with a very large company on a potential blog. After much discussion, the executives decided that a blog was not appropriate for the company. And it was probably the right decision. The company is primarily a one-way communicator, and because of its business, cannot risk (or tolerate) much dissent or negative feedback--particularly in an open forum like a blog.The thing is, most businesses believe that they can't weather negative feedback and would prefer to, given all options, opt-out of the conversation, which contains both negative and positive feedback--along with a lot of good jokes and some pretty tasty grafiks--that they could benefit from.
The conversation among self-publishers can go on pretty much as is without any voice from larger corporations. Markets are perfectly willing to chat amongst themselves. But I wonder if the same is true for large enterprises. Now, Big Tech almost has to blog at this point. Sun is doing it. IBM's doing it Scoble's doing it. If you're a big tech company, blogging's a mandate. You have to walk your talk.
But when it comes to large non-technology companies I wonder if it will take months, years, or if they'll be able to avoid participation altogether.
My aforementioned highly-ROI-focused and historically-successful business partner, Paul, sees opportunities for smaller, nimbler companies to take advantage of through blogging, especially as the old school enterprises are busy keeping their clothes clean of the blog mud:
It occurred to me that this is probably true of a great many larger/legacy enterprises. For them, there is little to be gained and much to be risked. So as far as communications goes, this company and others will generally have to rely on one-way communications like press releases, or "non public" feedback mechanisms like market research and customer satisfaction surveys.But for smaller companies (and those less risk averse) , the opportunities and advantages to blogging are great. While their larger competitors rely on one-way communications, they can acheive speed in their feedback loops through the immediacy of blogs.That's a conversation he and I had the other day. Are there specific business models that should simply be reinforced against the blog hurricane? That are better served by barricading, hunkering down and waiting it out rather than evacuating business as usual?
Probably so--but you have to wonder if some might sustain serious damage because of it. And if some won't be able to weather this storm of change.
Google Talk Elegantly Simple
What's so damn cute about google talk is the typical google starkness of it. Google's stuff is never cluttered up with crap, just elegant simplicity, which is why google is worth $3403045530 billion, U.S.
For instance, in GoogleTalk, there are no fancy colors to muck up the chat, no foo-foo templates of snowmen and the backstreet boys. No extra spaces or fancy "who's talking now" boxes. No real way to distinguish much of anything. It's just pure gabbing.
I especially noticed this when chatting with Mr. Paynter this evening. You can examine a fun game based on UI Simplicity that we played during some of our interchanges, which follow:
Jeneane: just type zappa
I want to see how it looks after your name
Frank: zappa
Jeneane: cool.
Frank: Zappa
Jeneane: thanks.
better
I think you should do that whenever you're on IM
Try Sinatra
Frank: you can call me muthah
Frank: Sinatra
Jeneane: NICE!
Frank: Sinatra
Jeneane: LOL (really i am)
Frank: 'nStein
Jeneane: s n beans
Frank: s 'n beans
Frank: Great minds.
Jeneane: i'm blogging it.
Jeneane: ly
Jeneane: ly, scarlett, I don't give a damn.
Frank: laughing here too
Jeneane: gigglgggiggle.
Frank: okay... I'm not allowed to have this much fun.
Jeneane: guess this was the pinacle of google talk.
next app.?...
Jeneane: furter
you do it
Frank: furter
Jeneane: thank you
For instance, in GoogleTalk, there are no fancy colors to muck up the chat, no foo-foo templates of snowmen and the backstreet boys. No extra spaces or fancy "who's talking now" boxes. No real way to distinguish much of anything. It's just pure gabbing.
I especially noticed this when chatting with Mr. Paynter this evening. You can examine a fun game based on UI Simplicity that we played during some of our interchanges, which follow:
Jeneane: just type zappa
I want to see how it looks after your name
Frank: zappa
Jeneane: cool.
Frank: Zappa
Jeneane: thanks.
better
I think you should do that whenever you're on IM
Try Sinatra
Frank: you can call me muthah
Frank: Sinatra
Jeneane: NICE!
Frank: Sinatra
Jeneane: LOL (really i am)
Frank: 'nStein
Jeneane: s n beans
Frank: s 'n beans
Frank: Great minds.
Jeneane: i'm blogging it.
Jeneane: ly
Jeneane: ly, scarlett, I don't give a damn.
Frank: laughing here too
Jeneane: gigglgggiggle.
Frank: okay... I'm not allowed to have this much fun.
Jeneane: guess this was the pinacle of google talk.
next app.?...
Jeneane: furter
you do it
Frank: furter
Jeneane: thank you
CoCo recaptured
She's back--George scored the capture this time, last night, in the livingroom, with a lead pipe... oops, sorry, that's Clue. But anyway, he got her! She's in her cage with a BUNDLE of twisties now serving as the barrier between her furry behind and freedom.
The things we do for rodents.
I'm all like: George, she's 3 ounces. Why don't we just let her run free. She wont eat much. In the year of life she's got left [[editor's note: I'm assuming she's about 8 months old now, and they usually don't live longer than 2 years]], how many turds could she leave around--a hundred? They'll shrivel up into nothing. Really, we've got more M&Ms under the couch from Jenna than that.
He's all like: We will not have a rodent loose in this house.
I'm all like: You're so uptight.
George: Everyone else is in bondage in this house. And besides she's a canibal!
Me: She's not a canibal. She was being a good mother when she ate those babies--they didn't have a chance.
George: She had a chance not to eat 13 babies. She's a canibal. She is a c-a-n-i-b-a-l.
Me: She was being merciful and she's a good mother.
George: Canibal.
Me: Good mother.
George: I know mother's like that.
Me: Okay fine. You win. Just keep her caged like a rat.
George: Like a canbal.
The things we do for rodents.
I'm all like: George, she's 3 ounces. Why don't we just let her run free. She wont eat much. In the year of life she's got left [[editor's note: I'm assuming she's about 8 months old now, and they usually don't live longer than 2 years]], how many turds could she leave around--a hundred? They'll shrivel up into nothing. Really, we've got more M&Ms under the couch from Jenna than that.
He's all like: We will not have a rodent loose in this house.
I'm all like: You're so uptight.
George: Everyone else is in bondage in this house. And besides she's a canibal!
Me: She's not a canibal. She was being a good mother when she ate those babies--they didn't have a chance.
George: She had a chance not to eat 13 babies. She's a canibal. She is a c-a-n-i-b-a-l.
Me: She was being merciful and she's a good mother.
George: Canibal.
Me: Good mother.
George: I know mother's like that.
Me: Okay fine. You win. Just keep her caged like a rat.
George: Like a canbal.
August 26, 2005
If every company sued everybody who talked about them on the web...
lawyers wouldn't have time to go after me for unpaid medical bills!
Check out Dave Taylor's post about a lawsuit by a company that claims a pack of "john does" released trade secrets in the comments of the now-defendant's blog.
Aaron Walls, the now-defendant, has a good run-down here, of what did/didn't go on, though he may have to remove the post based on legal advice, so Dave says read it now.
These things always raise those issues we all like to talk about when they're raised. Like how responsible are we for what others say on our sites. What does it mean for comments if it ends up costing Aaron $10K for what was left on his. What if we don't make any money doing this stuff and, well, were say on vacation when the Does descended. What's it mean for content and who "owns" what when multiple people are conversing on one site. Where does my fence line end and my neighbor's begin. And how the hell would I know they're trade secrets. Are we sure they are?
Seems to me that Traffic-Power.com (guess they were a little late on the domain name acquisition front) should be trying to find out who John Does 1-10 are and not sicking the dogs on Aaron.
On the business side, the case offers some fodder for thought, as Dave Taylor says:
A mighty question indeed.
Check out Dave Taylor's post about a lawsuit by a company that claims a pack of "john does" released trade secrets in the comments of the now-defendant's blog.
Aaron Walls, the now-defendant, has a good run-down here, of what did/didn't go on, though he may have to remove the post based on legal advice, so Dave says read it now.
These things always raise those issues we all like to talk about when they're raised. Like how responsible are we for what others say on our sites. What does it mean for comments if it ends up costing Aaron $10K for what was left on his. What if we don't make any money doing this stuff and, well, were say on vacation when the Does descended. What's it mean for content and who "owns" what when multiple people are conversing on one site. Where does my fence line end and my neighbor's begin. And how the hell would I know they're trade secrets. Are we sure they are?
Seems to me that Traffic-Power.com (guess they were a little late on the domain name acquisition front) should be trying to find out who John Does 1-10 are and not sicking the dogs on Aaron.
On the business side, the case offers some fodder for thought, as Dave Taylor says:
What I find most telling about this lawsuit is that it's aimed directly at a blog and a blogger, not related to what the blogger is writing about, but about what others are adding in his comments. By leaving those comments intact while deleting comment spam, obscenities, pre-teen p0rn drivel, etc., Aaron has indeed walked into a surprise firestorm of legal troubles. However this case may turn out, I see it as a wakeup call to business bloggers who haven't yet thought through their own comment and comment moderation strategies. In a nutshell: what liability are you exposing yourself to by not strictly moderating the content of your entire blog, not just your own articles?
A mighty question indeed.
tombstone
someone asked me that age old question about what I want on my tombstone. They said not to think about it, but the first thing that comes into your mind that you would want, say it.
I said: "She was a good mom."
I haven't thought of anything better.
I said: "She was a good mom."
I haven't thought of anything better.
Oh Say Can You See.
Our sweet baby. She's in second grade. They sing the national anthem. They don't know the words so well. Jenna starts hers off this way:
"Oh the way that you see..
and the love that you bring..."
I'll salute that.
"Oh the way that you see..
and the love that you bring..."
I'll salute that.
August 25, 2005
AI AI O.
Received a copy of Ray Kurzweil's new book, The Signularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. (fyi, Lots of articles on the singularity on his site).
Not for the casual scan, the book looks like a combination of interesting, bewildering, hopeful, and terrifying. Just as I like 'em!
As an inventor, Ray has been someone George has been intrigued by for a long time. He may dig into this book before I get the chance.
Now, for tonight's lullabye--remember to sing the first line really fast:
Old McDonald had a farm where everyone lived forever,
AI-AI-O.
Not for the casual scan, the book looks like a combination of interesting, bewildering, hopeful, and terrifying. Just as I like 'em!
As an inventor, Ray has been someone George has been intrigued by for a long time. He may dig into this book before I get the chance.
Now, for tonight's lullabye--remember to sing the first line really fast:
Old McDonald had a farm where everyone lived forever,
AI-AI-O.
I'll be your friend
Gil Friend, CEO of Natural Logic, rocks my world. There, Gil. It has been said. Out loud. Here's the thing--I interviewed Gil for an article I'm writing for -- you guessed it, I'm plugging it again -- Global PR Blog Week, happenin' in September.
All of the CEOs I talked to for the articles are brilliant. Gil nearly made my head explode. You know when you're talking to someone who gets the possibilities of what's possible and some of what's not--or at least you didn't think so until you are done talking to them and then you're ready to sign on the dotted line, any dotted line? That's what talking to Gil's like.
It's only after I talked to Gil that I started to snoop around to find out more about his business and Internet chops--I had seen Dave talk about him, but I'm still like, who is this guy? I mean, besides what I'd already gleaned from reading his blog occasionally.
That's when I figured out, OH, he's this Gil!
And this Gil!
And this one
And this one, too.
And maybe even this one?
Well, you can read what he says on CEOs and blogging once the article's up.
You can bet I'll let you know.
All of the CEOs I talked to for the articles are brilliant. Gil nearly made my head explode. You know when you're talking to someone who gets the possibilities of what's possible and some of what's not--or at least you didn't think so until you are done talking to them and then you're ready to sign on the dotted line, any dotted line? That's what talking to Gil's like.
It's only after I talked to Gil that I started to snoop around to find out more about his business and Internet chops--I had seen Dave talk about him, but I'm still like, who is this guy? I mean, besides what I'd already gleaned from reading his blog occasionally.
That's when I figured out, OH, he's this Gil!
And this Gil!
And this one
And this one, too.
And maybe even this one?
Well, you can read what he says on CEOs and blogging once the article's up.
You can bet I'll let you know.
I didn't know writers could sue for working more than 12 hours a day!
Well here's the proof. Dang. Blogger, I'm suing your ass.
August 24, 2005
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
I've been reading some things this week that, independent of the debate at hand, which I'm not passionate enough about on either side to wade in on, raise other important issues around protocol and expectations among bloggers.
In my interviews with CEOs this week, I was speaking to an executive blogger who started blogging relatively recently. We were discussing people spouting off in posts and in comments and what the perception is when this happens.
I'm afriad that any dissent is quickly--just as it has become in American Politics during wartime--dismissed as having been uttered by a wacko, a troll, or someone who has no class.
As blogging becomes professionalized, expectations around conversational ettiquette have changed. It's no longer okay to 'talk off the top of your head,' you are supposed to fact-check. It's not okay to call someone an idiot, especially if you only half mean it, because if you utter such claims Google will decide that you are the everknowing, everloving authority on idiocy, something you never intended when you wrote: Dude, stop being such an idiot. But nonetheless, you become Google's Dr. Phil of Idiocy.
Early in blogging, we did nothing but talk off the top of our heads. That was the point--the whole medium was specifically tailored for talking off the top of our heads. Then, most of what we did was riff, and a good dose of name calling turned handshake was all the proof we needed that we cared about the other folks here.
And so blogging grows up. And it's not okay to call out something as wrong. You have to say, I think it's wrong, the facts show that it's wrong, or 38 percent of whomever have indicated that they think it's wrong.
What about me just saying, in my own online home, without qualification, that it's WRONG, and the next person saying, NO here's why it's RIGHT, and the next person saying, it's kind of right and kind of wrong but you're not taking into account THIS, and so it goes.
No. Can't do that anymore. We are expected to qualify our statements, to be fair and balanced, to temper our tempers.
I don't want to be fair or balanced.
I want to be me.
In my interviews with CEOs this week, I was speaking to an executive blogger who started blogging relatively recently. We were discussing people spouting off in posts and in comments and what the perception is when this happens.
I'm afriad that any dissent is quickly--just as it has become in American Politics during wartime--dismissed as having been uttered by a wacko, a troll, or someone who has no class.
As blogging becomes professionalized, expectations around conversational ettiquette have changed. It's no longer okay to 'talk off the top of your head,' you are supposed to fact-check. It's not okay to call someone an idiot, especially if you only half mean it, because if you utter such claims Google will decide that you are the everknowing, everloving authority on idiocy, something you never intended when you wrote: Dude, stop being such an idiot. But nonetheless, you become Google's Dr. Phil of Idiocy.
Early in blogging, we did nothing but talk off the top of our heads. That was the point--the whole medium was specifically tailored for talking off the top of our heads. Then, most of what we did was riff, and a good dose of name calling turned handshake was all the proof we needed that we cared about the other folks here.
And so blogging grows up. And it's not okay to call out something as wrong. You have to say, I think it's wrong, the facts show that it's wrong, or 38 percent of whomever have indicated that they think it's wrong.
What about me just saying, in my own online home, without qualification, that it's WRONG, and the next person saying, NO here's why it's RIGHT, and the next person saying, it's kind of right and kind of wrong but you're not taking into account THIS, and so it goes.
No. Can't do that anymore. We are expected to qualify our statements, to be fair and balanced, to temper our tempers.
I don't want to be fair or balanced.
I want to be me.
August 23, 2005
worlds colliding colliding
In a great post on the smudging of barriers and boundaries between what we do and who we are and who they are and where we are, PR smart guy Chuck Tanowitz talks about how it's all joined together by a common theme: The Story
...and then I see her.
There's Coco, the hamster that won't stay caged, on the steps to the basement as I round the corner to come in from the garage, swinging my keys and thinking big bright CEO thoughts.
I knew she'd gotten loose again. Two days ago. She punched out of the front of her cage. And so I'm staring at her on the stairs, quite literally, and she's staring back, but she's got this weird look. It's not her usual look. I'm wondering if she's dead. But she's upright.
"Coco?"
Still she's staring past me. I'm moving my face in front of her--please don't let me be the one to find her dead--and she stares past me still or she is in a microsleep or suffering from dehydration dreams. Finally I put my hand in front of her, and she startles, seeing me for the first time.
And I can tell by her eyes, I'm no longer the large animal who tried to save her babies, who feeds her, who brings her carrots.
I am a predator.
EEEEKS!
She takes off like a hamster on speed and I half pick her up half drop her all the way to the living room, where she hides for another 10 minutes before I find her, bribe her with a carrot, grab her, and let her do cartwheels in my hands until I shove her back into her cage, which is now locked with a twistie from a box of garbage bags, with a phone book on top for good measure.
In those days where her perspective changed from being inside the cage to being free--the 16 days she was loose the first time--something in her brain changed. I'd be willing to bet a physical change took place in her brain. What was once inside is now out. What was once safe is now dangerous. It's all dangerous. Her lines of in and outside of the cage--of what it means to be "trapped"--have all changed.
And I wonder if the same thing isn't happening to me. To us. Here.
Don Hewitt, when asked to explain the success of his show 60 Minutes, would lean in like a child and say "tell me a story." His point: it's that basic. Tell a good story and people will listen.And interestingly, I interviewed Chuck as part of an article I'm writing for Global PR Blog Week, and we collided in a good way, and because I was interviewing a host of smart CEOs today, my brain turned to mush, because there is NOTHING like talking to smart CEOs to wear you out intellectually, and so I'm picking up Jenna from carpool and I'm thinking about CEOs and the disintegration of constructs and barriers that might make for a good case of dissociative identity disorder if not for the fact that we are in an age where technology enables the blurring of those boundaries and the smudging of lines--I work I play I write I mom I blog I clean I shit I type I weep I bully I love I hate--and I'm thinking of the "absence of" in a Cixous sort of way, and how brilliant white space can be and how treasures hide in the little tiny corners where nothing particularly is, and then I find myself wondering what a picture with no edges, no boundaries actually "looks" like... where both the absence and presence of disappear.
...and then I see her.
There's Coco, the hamster that won't stay caged, on the steps to the basement as I round the corner to come in from the garage, swinging my keys and thinking big bright CEO thoughts.
I knew she'd gotten loose again. Two days ago. She punched out of the front of her cage. And so I'm staring at her on the stairs, quite literally, and she's staring back, but she's got this weird look. It's not her usual look. I'm wondering if she's dead. But she's upright.
"Coco?"
Still she's staring past me. I'm moving my face in front of her--please don't let me be the one to find her dead--and she stares past me still or she is in a microsleep or suffering from dehydration dreams. Finally I put my hand in front of her, and she startles, seeing me for the first time.
And I can tell by her eyes, I'm no longer the large animal who tried to save her babies, who feeds her, who brings her carrots.
I am a predator.
EEEEKS!
She takes off like a hamster on speed and I half pick her up half drop her all the way to the living room, where she hides for another 10 minutes before I find her, bribe her with a carrot, grab her, and let her do cartwheels in my hands until I shove her back into her cage, which is now locked with a twistie from a box of garbage bags, with a phone book on top for good measure.
In those days where her perspective changed from being inside the cage to being free--the 16 days she was loose the first time--something in her brain changed. I'd be willing to bet a physical change took place in her brain. What was once inside is now out. What was once safe is now dangerous. It's all dangerous. Her lines of in and outside of the cage--of what it means to be "trapped"--have all changed.
And I wonder if the same thing isn't happening to me. To us. Here.
August 22, 2005
Busy Busy....
busy busy busy -- breathe breathe breathe -- busy busy busy... breathe breathe.
sorry.
no can write so busy...
lame, I know.
Go read some of the Blog Sisters:
Alexandra WolfeAmy BrazillerAndrea R. JamesAndrea SeeAnglela at SlolaneAnita BoraAnita RoddickAnn CraigAnne ZAnnie MasonAnnie RosarioAnvita SinghAnvita SinghAvi RappoportBadKittyBarbara FletcherBetsy DevineBlack LooksBrandy ReedBrooke Shelby BiggsBunny OtterCamille JacksCara MiniosaCatherine BerlinCeleste Dawn MitchellChris (of uffish)Christine ElieseChristine ThurowClancy RatliffCrystal Carneycurly mcdimpleCyndy RoyCynthia KingCynthia RockwellDawn FriedmanDeborah BranscumDeborah GussmanDenise HowellDervala HanleydrubloodElaine BennettElaine of KalililyElayne RiggsEliana KellenElise MillerElizabeth Lane LawleyElizabeth PerryElke ZimmermannEmmaEmma EEsta JarrettEve PearlmanFeithFidahGentry LaneGina GiulianoGlovefoxGreen ConsciousnessGretchen PirilloHalley SuittHapHapHeather ChampHeather HamiltonHeather SnowHelen JaneHelen RazerHetty WithamIda van LooseIndigo Oceanjacinda ughettiJane YangJanelleJean ChuJeneane SessumJenettJennJenni LJennifer BalderamaJennifer MedlockJenny BrownJenXJessa JunejfcatesJill CorralJill WalkerJo SpanglemonkeyJocelyn B.Judith BurtonJudith MeskillJudy WattJune/Uppity FemaleJyotsna KamatKaranKate CohenKate SKatherine DerbyshireKathie HeijtinkKatie - DaVinciFreedomKatie SaltKatie StahlKCKenokiKhelenaKim ThammKim WellsKirsten OsolindKristineKymberlie R. McGuireLa ReinaLady HLauren FriedmanLaurie JohnsonLaurie SLeah BrooksLeanne ShearleenawordsLinda ChandlerLindsay Vaughanlindsey rockLisa EnglishLisa EzraLisa Whitemanlisaz slamLiz KleinfeldLori McleeseLorie's Catch-AllLuchiLynne Bakerm. brooke robertshawMac DivaMad KaneMaggie SMamatha MekaMargaret ManningMarguerite EspanolMarie FosterMarigolds2Marita PaigeMary BrothertonMary WehmeierMaryaMaryam WebsterMB WilliamsMedleyMeg HourihanMeghan Rose AllenMelanieMena TrottMeredith BadgerMeris ShuwargerMeryl K. EvansMeryl YourishMichela LedwidgeMichelle MauriereMireleMiriam Jonesmisbehaving.netMissieMonica DrangerMorgaine SwannMorphelia BlantinMtnGrlNatalie DavisNicole E. FoxPamela Of The SilencesPascale SoleilPaulaPennyPoiesiaQueen EstherQuiet InfinityRambling WebgirlRebekah BennetchRobin DorstyRobyn PollmanRohinee KarmarkarRondaRosemary GraceRox Populis.w. lernerSamantha BlackmonSarah (Crazy Woman)Schizophelia JonesSerena MatthewsShannon CampbellShannon HoffmanSharon O'NeillShe-4Sheila LennonShelly PowersSusanSusan KitchensSuzanne MeyerSweet CitySyaTeresa KanagoTerri FallinTild DallelieTishTish GToby TellierTracy KennedyTranceJenTrish WilsonUltrapopValVicki RosenzweigVikkicarVirginia PostrelWendy CooperWicked MoxieWilla ClineXS Clothing WomanXtinezebahtronic
sorry.
no can write so busy...
lame, I know.
Go read some of the Blog Sisters:
Alexandra WolfeAmy BrazillerAndrea R. JamesAndrea SeeAnglela at SlolaneAnita BoraAnita RoddickAnn CraigAnne ZAnnie MasonAnnie RosarioAnvita SinghAnvita SinghAvi RappoportBadKittyBarbara FletcherBetsy DevineBlack LooksBrandy ReedBrooke Shelby BiggsBunny OtterCamille JacksCara MiniosaCatherine BerlinCeleste Dawn MitchellChris (of uffish)Christine ElieseChristine ThurowClancy RatliffCrystal Carneycurly mcdimpleCyndy RoyCynthia KingCynthia RockwellDawn FriedmanDeborah BranscumDeborah GussmanDenise HowellDervala HanleydrubloodElaine BennettElaine of KalililyElayne RiggsEliana KellenElise MillerElizabeth Lane LawleyElizabeth PerryElke ZimmermannEmmaEmma EEsta JarrettEve PearlmanFeithFidahGentry LaneGina GiulianoGlovefoxGreen ConsciousnessGretchen PirilloHalley SuittHapHapHeather ChampHeather HamiltonHeather SnowHelen JaneHelen RazerHetty WithamIda van LooseIndigo Oceanjacinda ughettiJane YangJanelleJean ChuJeneane SessumJenettJennJenni LJennifer BalderamaJennifer MedlockJenny BrownJenXJessa JunejfcatesJill CorralJill WalkerJo SpanglemonkeyJocelyn B.Judith BurtonJudith MeskillJudy WattJune/Uppity FemaleJyotsna KamatKaranKate CohenKate SKatherine DerbyshireKathie HeijtinkKatie - DaVinciFreedomKatie SaltKatie StahlKCKenokiKhelenaKim ThammKim WellsKirsten OsolindKristineKymberlie R. McGuireLa ReinaLady HLauren FriedmanLaurie JohnsonLaurie SLeah BrooksLeanne ShearleenawordsLinda ChandlerLindsay Vaughanlindsey rockLisa EnglishLisa EzraLisa Whitemanlisaz slamLiz KleinfeldLori McleeseLorie's Catch-AllLuchiLynne Bakerm. brooke robertshawMac DivaMad KaneMaggie SMamatha MekaMargaret ManningMarguerite EspanolMarie FosterMarigolds2Marita PaigeMary BrothertonMary WehmeierMaryaMaryam WebsterMB WilliamsMedleyMeg HourihanMeghan Rose AllenMelanieMena TrottMeredith BadgerMeris ShuwargerMeryl K. EvansMeryl YourishMichela LedwidgeMichelle MauriereMireleMiriam Jonesmisbehaving.netMissieMonica DrangerMorgaine SwannMorphelia BlantinMtnGrlNatalie DavisNicole E. FoxPamela Of The SilencesPascale SoleilPaulaPennyPoiesiaQueen EstherQuiet InfinityRambling WebgirlRebekah BennetchRobin DorstyRobyn PollmanRohinee KarmarkarRondaRosemary GraceRox Populis.w. lernerSamantha BlackmonSarah (Crazy Woman)Schizophelia JonesSerena MatthewsShannon CampbellShannon HoffmanSharon O'NeillShe-4Sheila LennonShelly PowersSusanSusan KitchensSuzanne MeyerSweet CitySyaTeresa KanagoTerri FallinTild DallelieTishTish GToby TellierTracy KennedyTranceJenTrish WilsonUltrapopValVicki RosenzweigVikkicarVirginia PostrelWendy CooperWicked MoxieWilla ClineXS Clothing WomanXtinezebahtronic
August 20, 2005
Read Tom on HSAs
George has been saying, why aren't we just putting the money that we spend on premiums every month in an account--we'd probably come out ahead. Read what Tom says on Health Savings Accounts. I need to learn more and I will by reading some of Tom's links. Tom gives a good summary here:
The thing is, as someone who has had four surgeries of varying seriousness over the last seven years, one alone that would have cost narly $20K without insurance, I'm afraid to NOT have health insurance. BUT I think what Tom is saying--and what might be a good combo--is to have a catastrophic policy that you pay for (they're much cheaper), which would cover "emergencies" like hospitalization and surgery, and you use your HSA for every day drugs and doctors appts.
That makes sense. But what if you get cancer? Or your kid develops some rare illness that requires lots of ongoing care ($) but doesn't land anyone in the hospital? Hospitals are known for keeping folks out, not in, these days. Which is generally good for us, the patients, since secondary problems can kill you quicker.
Is that a third kind of policy?
And, now what?
One thing I'm looking at is Health Savings Accounts - HSAs. The US Government thinks it's ok for us to deduct money we spend on healthcare from our incomes, similar to deductible IRA contributions. But you have to have a healthcare policy that offers the HSA option -- high deductible policies. (I don't see why we can't just have the accounts without the policies, but Blue Cross probably thinks that's a commie idea.) The good part is, the premiums are lower.
The thing is, as someone who has had four surgeries of varying seriousness over the last seven years, one alone that would have cost narly $20K without insurance, I'm afraid to NOT have health insurance. BUT I think what Tom is saying--and what might be a good combo--is to have a catastrophic policy that you pay for (they're much cheaper), which would cover "emergencies" like hospitalization and surgery, and you use your HSA for every day drugs and doctors appts.
That makes sense. But what if you get cancer? Or your kid develops some rare illness that requires lots of ongoing care ($) but doesn't land anyone in the hospital? Hospitals are known for keeping folks out, not in, these days. Which is generally good for us, the patients, since secondary problems can kill you quicker.
Is that a third kind of policy?
And, now what?
Customer Service Reps--It's Your Ass on the Line Too
People who make their living in customer service ought to believe what they say to customers. Otherwise, they probably shouldn't say it. What's interesting to me is that, through the net, a trail of what you say using Internet communications will follow you. So, say, if you work for Walmart and you're among the (what must be an unwieldly number) of customer service reps handling the online channel, and you're communicating with customers putting your own name on the line, or "online" as the case may be, you should be sure you're getting paid enough to make that sit well with you. Or get another job. Or adopt yourself a more common name than your own if you have a common name.
Ted Dumont, for example, might become Ted Dunn. I don't know, I'm just talking off the top of my head here, because I will bet you that the same Ted Dumont that likes Counting Crows is the same Ted Dumont that is responding in a way that pisses me off on behalf of his employer, ICH. Or maybe IHC's Ted is someone else who adopted Ted Dumont's name as his Service name. Or, maybe Ted's a bot.
So I'm just suggesting that in the era of blogging, I hope customer service reps are well compensated for putting their identities on the line.
Freaky.
Ted Dumont, for example, might become Ted Dunn. I don't know, I'm just talking off the top of my head here, because I will bet you that the same Ted Dumont that likes Counting Crows is the same Ted Dumont that is responding in a way that pisses me off on behalf of his employer, ICH. Or maybe IHC's Ted is someone else who adopted Ted Dumont's name as his Service name. Or, maybe Ted's a bot.
So I'm just suggesting that in the era of blogging, I hope customer service reps are well compensated for putting their identities on the line.
Freaky.
August 19, 2005
Not So Dear Holiday Inn
-----Original Message-----
From: +AMER HI-Guest Relations (IHG) [mailto:HI-GuestRelations@ichotelsgroup.com]
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 4:36 PM
To: 'ewriter@bellsouth.net'
Subject: RE: 1727492 Holiday Inn Buffalo - International Airport
Dear Mrs. Sessum,
Thank you for your additional message. I again want to apologize for the problems you and your family experienced during your stay in Buffalo. We have re-reviewed the situation and your additional email and, unfortunately, are unable to offer anything further from our office.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Ted Dumont
Guest Relations
InterContinental Hotels Group
Phone: 800.621.0555
Fax: 801.975.1846
Email: hi-guestrelations@ichotelsgroup.com
www.ichotelsgroup.com
Reference No. 1727492
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeneane Sessum [mailto:ewriter@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 11:12 PM
To: '+AMER HI-Guest Relations (IHG)'
Subject: RE: 1727492 Holiday Inn Buffalo - International Airport
Hello Again Tom:
In light of your decision [[above]], I would like to recommend that you remove your 100% satisfaction guarantee from your Holiday Inn lobbies and guest rooms. Truthfully, it is false advertising to have your "If you are not 100% satisfied, we will make it right" messaging when that is not what you intend to do for your customers. What I read guaranteed 100% satisfaction. What we received was quite the opposite, as you know if you have read my posts.
I offered to donate the $50 gift certificate you are sending me to Children's Hospital so that a traveling family would have some hotel money when visiting a sick child. I asked you to do one small thing--throw in another $50 so that it would cover a night's stay in one of your facilities in the Atlanta area.
How astounding that your organization chooses not to oblige. What a statement that makes.
Jeneane Sessum
From: +AMER HI-Guest Relations (IHG) [mailto:HI-GuestRelations@ichotelsgroup.com]
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 4:36 PM
To: 'ewriter@bellsouth.net'
Subject: RE: 1727492 Holiday Inn Buffalo - International Airport
Dear Mrs. Sessum,
Thank you for your additional message. I again want to apologize for the problems you and your family experienced during your stay in Buffalo. We have re-reviewed the situation and your additional email and, unfortunately, are unable to offer anything further from our office.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Ted Dumont
Guest Relations
InterContinental Hotels Group
Phone: 800.621.0555
Fax: 801.975.1846
Email: hi-guestrelations@ichotelsgroup.com
www.ichotelsgroup.com
Reference No. 1727492
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeneane Sessum [mailto:ewriter@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 11:12 PM
To: '+AMER HI-Guest Relations (IHG)'
Subject: RE: 1727492 Holiday Inn Buffalo - International Airport
Hello Again Tom:
In light of your decision [[above]], I would like to recommend that you remove your 100% satisfaction guarantee from your Holiday Inn lobbies and guest rooms. Truthfully, it is false advertising to have your "If you are not 100% satisfied, we will make it right" messaging when that is not what you intend to do for your customers. What I read guaranteed 100% satisfaction. What we received was quite the opposite, as you know if you have read my posts.
I offered to donate the $50 gift certificate you are sending me to Children's Hospital so that a traveling family would have some hotel money when visiting a sick child. I asked you to do one small thing--throw in another $50 so that it would cover a night's stay in one of your facilities in the Atlanta area.
How astounding that your organization chooses not to oblige. What a statement that makes.
Jeneane Sessum
August 18, 2005
I Dug the River Denial
Okay folks. It's our annual Health Insurance Discussion forum! I haven't wanted to say it out loud, either to myself or to George who might find out by reading this post if I forget to tell him sooner, that our Health Insurance premium with Blue Cross/Blue Shield is going up to nearly $1K a month on October. That's WITH a $500 deductible that has to be satisfied first, and that's with $20 or $40 copay for RXs and $20 copay for doctor's visits.
It was $796 this year. And the year before that it was $620 and that was with an additional rider on it for therapy, etc.
Isn't there some kind of cap on this madness?
Remember when Hilary Clinton made healthcare her initiative?
Remember when it wasn't like this?
If one thing puts me out of small-businesshood, it'll be the cost of healthcare and the pressure of having to carry it ourselves.
Anyone have any better family premiums or companies I can look into?
Man oh man.
Guess now that I blogged it, I really do have to think about it.
It was $796 this year. And the year before that it was $620 and that was with an additional rider on it for therapy, etc.
Isn't there some kind of cap on this madness?
Remember when Hilary Clinton made healthcare her initiative?
Remember when it wasn't like this?
If one thing puts me out of small-businesshood, it'll be the cost of healthcare and the pressure of having to carry it ourselves.
Anyone have any better family premiums or companies I can look into?
Man oh man.
Guess now that I blogged it, I really do have to think about it.
Lawyers do it, doctor's do it, knitter's do it, mom's do it...
Why not cops?
Top of the Cop is fairly hilarious. Billed as Detective Steve Rose's North Fulton Neighbrohood Watch Report, Steve's blog gives us a look at some of the dumb things people do:
An office supply company’s alarm system activated when the offender apparently used his data card to enter at 6:24 a.m. He left the building at 6:28 a.m. His name was displayed on the card. Missing is a 15” LCD monitor, HP computer bundle and two Kodak digital cameras with one docking station.It's a regular Cops on Blogs.
It remains to be seen if the card was stolen or not. It could have been stolen and someone used it or the employee set up a “stolen card” scenario while in cahoots with someone else — or he could just be really dumb and forget what a data card does.
We had an ATM money stocker do that once. He set up a fake robbery at the ATM in the North River shopping center. While he was putting the money in the ATM, a man came up and robbed him, taking $37,000. During the interview with the victim at our precinct, he became nervous and developed about a dozen nervous twitches at which time the detectives changed the “sympathy” approach to a confrontation. He didn’t last five minutes before he gave up his friend as the other party to the crime.
Traveling CPAPs
Paul Craig has a great post that folks who have to travel with a CPAP machine for sleep apnea (like George) should read. God bless Paul for educating the hospitality industry by calling ahead and asking/explaining/requesting for what he might need in the event of a power outage. I never thought to do this.
The thing that perhaps the very young, healthy, nimble hotel 20-something Holiday Inn hotel management staff might not understand, is that these devices can be a matter of life or death. When george went for his sleep study, his Oxygen level dipped into the 70s while he slept. He stopped breathing more than once each MINUTE. During a waking state, this would probably send him to intensive care. They told him he was one of the more serious cases they'd seen. They didn't even let him finish the night there--they sent him home after two hours.
Paul explains the miraculous changes a CPAP machine can bring for someone with sleep apnea. For one--you reduce the risk of a certain heart attack or stroke. Second, you have a brain during the day.
Thanks to what Paul wrote, I know to ask questions when making hotel reservations that I would have assumed I wouldn't have to ask.
I guess the moral of the story is: If you depend on a breathing machine, don't assume anyone has you covered, even if you're paying them.
...I call several hotels in the area in which I am staying and start asking questions about generators and battery usage. After all, I’m not attempting to lug a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery through airports. I’m fairly certain this might arouse the suspicions of those very nice and accomodating security screeners. When I explain the situation to the hotel management, I get a quick indication of how accomodating the staff really is. Recently, on a trip to Chicago, the staff purchased a fully charged deep cycle marine battery just in case. On another trip, I was assured and then shown the backup generators with enough power for the entire facility for up to five days.I guess I assumed, since Jenna and I have long used a nebulizer for asthma, that any real hotel chain would be prepared to provide backup power for their patrons medical devices. In the case of a nebulizer, you always know that you can go to a fire department and plug in. But with sleep, it's a different story. While you're on a nebulizer for the 20 minutes it takes for a breathing treatment every 4 hours, you're on a CPAP for 8 or so hours each night continuously.
The thing that perhaps the very young, healthy, nimble hotel 20-something Holiday Inn hotel management staff might not understand, is that these devices can be a matter of life or death. When george went for his sleep study, his Oxygen level dipped into the 70s while he slept. He stopped breathing more than once each MINUTE. During a waking state, this would probably send him to intensive care. They told him he was one of the more serious cases they'd seen. They didn't even let him finish the night there--they sent him home after two hours.
Paul explains the miraculous changes a CPAP machine can bring for someone with sleep apnea. For one--you reduce the risk of a certain heart attack or stroke. Second, you have a brain during the day.
After three days of using the CPAP, something rather strange and wonderful began to occur. It was a sensation unlike any other I have ever experienced. I can only describe it as feeling alive again.The difference between the way Paul and George handle their sleep apnea and sleep machines is interesting. Paul is an advocate for himself. He doesn't want to spend a night without the CPAP on. George on the other hand has a real love-hate thing with his CPAP. He hates it. He loves what it does. After a night without it, he doesn't care either way about the machine because he disappears into the funk of semi-conscious "what's the use"ness.
Thanks to what Paul wrote, I know to ask questions when making hotel reservations that I would have assumed I wouldn't have to ask.
I guess the moral of the story is: If you depend on a breathing machine, don't assume anyone has you covered, even if you're paying them.
August 17, 2005
What I like About School--More Questions than Answers
Mom, who was your mother's mother's great grandmother? Because that's the one who saw it.
Saw what?
Saw Mars--this month is when it's closer to earth than since 500 years ago!
Wow.
Yep, and we can see it at 10:00 each night if it's not cloudy.
Cool. That's right up your alley and Daddy's.
I know. So your mother's mother's great grandmother would have seen it, but we won't be alive to see it next time. Because it's 500 years from now.
I guess that's right. But your children's children's children's children, or their kids, probably will.
I KNOW! Can you believe that! So, do I have aunt sisters?
Do you have any what?
Aunt sisters--the people from olden days--Do I have them? Any aunt sisters?
Do you mean ancestors?
YES. Do I have them?
Well sure, everyone has ancestors. It just means the family that came before us.
So who are mine?
Okay let me just start your dinner and I'll think about that.
Saw what?
Saw Mars--this month is when it's closer to earth than since 500 years ago!
Wow.
Yep, and we can see it at 10:00 each night if it's not cloudy.
Cool. That's right up your alley and Daddy's.
I know. So your mother's mother's great grandmother would have seen it, but we won't be alive to see it next time. Because it's 500 years from now.
I guess that's right. But your children's children's children's children, or their kids, probably will.
I KNOW! Can you believe that! So, do I have aunt sisters?
Do you have any what?
Aunt sisters--the people from olden days--Do I have them? Any aunt sisters?
Do you mean ancestors?
YES. Do I have them?
Well sure, everyone has ancestors. It just means the family that came before us.
So who are mine?
Okay let me just start your dinner and I'll think about that.
August 16, 2005
I smoke books now.
You know by now that when I quit smoking, the only thing to quell my urge to do multiple things in a single moment was to walk around with a book. Including in the pool. Which has given me quite a rep among the pool moms. They know if I'm walking laps while reading, holding the book up just above my head in the 5-foot area, then it MUST be a good read.Well, I'm involved with hard-copy paper again. I've fallen in so far and so hard that I'm licking the bindery glue.
If I could smoke this book, I would. It's Above the Thunder by Renee Manfredi. Just super writing and characters of so many dimensions I'm not sure if one of them is typing this, or if I am. They're all over my room. They're with me when I drive. Manfredi is DAMN good.
Maybe not this week, maybe not this month, maybe not this year. But you will read this book.
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