Ramblings of an Expectant Father

As I was putting together the latest big update to our blog, I decided that some of my comments were best placed here instead. So, here they are.

Another birthday has come and gone. Birthdays weren’t so much a big deal in my family of origin – don’t get me wrong, we got nice gifts – but in Kori’s family of origin they have traditionally been a big deal. So, it is a great time to pack on extra pounds with celebratory meals. I was treated to a meal out at work, and then there’s the monthly birthday cake. Kendra and Steve took us out to Amazon Brazilian BBQ. That’s one of those places where you have to show up very hungry. I love the alligator. Kori and I had previously gotten together with my mother, Chris, Kim, Mike, Blaine, and Macon to celebrate Mother’s Day, Chris’ birthday, and my birthday together. Kori’s parents also had us over to celebrate my birthday, along with Troy and Toby. Finally, Kori and I went to have some green corn tamales with my dad and Kathleen. It’s nice to be treated so well!

My birthday used to depress me, but ever since I proposed to Kori on my birthday, it can no longer depress me. Good move on my part.

Let’s see… Life is in transition mode as we prepare for Keelie. Typically, four days a week, it seems like all I can do once I get home from work is eat dinner and get ready for bed, and maybe watch a little television. You’d think three days a week off would be enough to catch up on everything, but it hasn’t worked out that way. I purposely moved my 30-minutes-a-day of exercising to the morning, and that has made my days better, even though it has meant getting up half an hour earlier on workdays.

One to two of my days off is/are typically taken up with honey-dos, errands/shopping, appointments, phone calls, and weekly reading. Half of another is taken up with church stuff. No complaints, though – this is a good life.

No complaints are far as having a lot to do, that is. I have plenty of complaints about getting the new desktop computer the way we want it. We’ve had plenty of problems with this thing, which came with Vista, including the machine not being able to get out of sleep mode, and Outlook (or Windows Mail, for that matter) not being able to send messages through AT and T. Even if Mail would work, I can’t transfer all of our contacts to it for some reason. After researching some of the problems myself and not being able to fix them, I spent a lot of time one weekend dealing with the store that sold us the system with Vista loaded (since they have a service for this kind of thing), and then the manufacturer, and then AT and T. In the end, we were referred to Microsoft. Haven’t contacted them yet.

Then there is the migration from our old machines to the new one. I did manage to backup the stuff on the 95 machine on zip disks. Can someone please tell me why Microsoft wants us to keep changing e-mail programs? Internet Mail, Outlook, Windows Mail… pick a program and stick with it, Microsoft!

And why can't I use the ampersand symbol on blogger? Grrr! That meanst I have to write it as "AT and T"

Okay, on to television.

First, a technical complaint. We have Time Warner Cable, which took over for Adelphia in a deal with Comcast after Adelphia went kaput. Some of the channels on our main television get choppy or just one come in at all. We’ve had someone to repair it at least twice, but the problem is still here. I got a call the other day while I was exercising from someone from Time Warner Cable looking to sell me something. Before he could, though, I told him we were unhappy with our service and told him why. There’s no glitch with them charging us every month, though. Imagine that. I have no idea why the guy was calling, because he didn’t bother to tell me after I calmly suggested we might want to switch to AT and T’s new television service. He did ask if the neighbors are having the same sorts of problems. I answered honestly – I don’t know, because I don’t speak Spanish.

Okay, now on to content.

Unlike a lot of the other people, we did watch The Apprentice this past season. If they come back for another season, that show needs an actor to be a mole on each team. Think about it – Trump and his kids could know who the moles are, and thus avoid firing them until late in the game, but nobody else would know (except the audience) that there are even moles on the show. They can use the justification that in the business world, you sometimes have to work with jerks. The actors can be offered a bonus if nobody ever figures it out or accuses them of being a mole. We also still watch each season of Survivor. I think it is time they amped that show up… maybe pit a tribe of law enforcement people up against ex-cons, or some other groups with known rivalries/animosities. Palestinians against Israelis? Democrats vs. Republicans? East Coast vs. West Coast? Americans-since-birth vs. naturalized Americans? North Americans vs. Europeans?

We also still watch American Idol, but it got boring this past season after that VoteFortheWorst candidate got the boot.

The Soup is a guilty pleasure that always makes me laugh.

Law and Order SVU is addicting, even when it plays to religious or political stereotypes. The writers must get tired, as evidenced when a bunch of the characters are sitting around in a room discussing a crime and they sound like they are delivering a monologue, only the lines have been distributed amongst them. Hey, I’m not throwing stones - it isn’t like I have anything on TV. But once… just once… I’d like Stabler to answer his cell phone while Benson talks to someone and NOT have the call conveniently have something to do with the case they are working on that moves them on to the next location.

For example:

Benson: “What was that call about? Is the DNA a match?”

Stable: “What? Oh, uh no. I’m supposed to meet up with one of
the kids to sign some paperwork.”

Oh well… television airtime is valuable.

Speaking of Special Victims, I catch some of those Dateline NBC episodes that are all about predators who use the Internet to set up meetings with decoys they think are 13-year-olds. That’s fascinating stuff, I don’t care how edited it is. Some people cite ethical problems with the production of the show, other people are upset that predators are being lured to their neighborhoods. Controversial stuff, to be sure.

Kori and I also watch Identity, 1 vs. 100, Jeopardy, and reruns of The Simpsons. Kori watches more TV than I do, programs such as Heroes, The Amazing Race, American’s Next Top Model, Dancing with the Stars, The People’s Court, and Dr. Phil.

Kori also seems to watch a lot of those true-crime show that take a whole hour detailing how one spouse killed the other, went on trial, and was convicted. What do you think - should I be worried?

It will be interesting to see how our viewing habits change after Keelie is born. Everything is supposed to change, right? Parents tell expectant parents that their how life will change, that everything gets more complicated, that everything is much more a hassle, that time, energy, money, and sleep will be short, and all sorts of other downsides... yet they also tell us "It's the best thing in the world!" Let me get this straight... we'll be frustrated, depressed zombies with no money and no lives, but it's a good thing anyway. Hmmm. That can only mean one thing... kids really are gifts with amazing powers.

In all seriousness, we expect life to be completely different. We made the decision to become parents consciously, and while no set of books or seeing siblings and friends with their own kids could really prepare us, we know we volunteered for this life change.

That’s all for now. Keep me updated on what you are up to.

So Few Places to Land My Private 747

This story almost reads like a parody.

A visit to Thailand by Bill Gates has inspired the construction of a man-made island off the resort of Phuket, so the world's richest man and other billionaires can moor their huge yachts. Hoping to build an Asian playground for the rich and famous to rival the French Riviera and the Caribbean, cordless telephone tycoon Gulu Lalvani plans to build a doughnut-shaped island of 30 to 40 luxury villas and a hotel around a marina.

"Bill Gates was there last month with his wife on a 54 metre (177 foot) yacht and he loved it so much," Lalvani, founder of phone maker Binatone told Reuters in an interview.

"We sat on the beach together and he said it was one of the best holidays he'd had, and he would come back every year if only he had somewhere for his mega yacht."

My Latest Column Is Up at LaughingPlace.com

The moment you've been waiting for is finally here!

The latest edition of Kenversations(TM) was posted today at http://www.LaughingPlace.com.
In this column, I advocate closing and tearing down the Disneyland Resort! Well, kinda sorta. I also offer an alternative plan for making the Disneyland Resort, and thus the Anaheim Resort and Anaheim in general an even better worldwide draw, while appeasing some Anaheim residents and politicians.

Check it out NOW!

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

I was quoted in the San Jose Mercury News. While I'm not appearing the media as often as I used to, I'm appearing in a wider coverage area overall. This one, by Julie Sevrens Lyons, is weather related again. She did a lot of legwork on this one, coming down to Los Angeles County and meeting up with a lot of the different people on location.

While the Bay Area is experiencing an abnormally dry year, with many agencies calling for water conservation and restrictions, Los Angeles and many parts of Southern California are suffering through their driest year since record-keeping began in 1872. And beyond the dramatic proof of the danger of fire, more subtle signs of drought are everywhere.

It was nice to see Adam Walden from DPW quoted (and in a picture). I worked with Adam and I've met his mother when she came over for dinner at my father & his wife's place through some relation to Kathleen. Turns out it is a small world after all.

The rainy season isn't over yet, but "unless we get some kind of storms on the caliber of biblical in nature, this will be the driest year on record," said Adam Walden, a senior civil engineer in the water resources division of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. For the first time, Los Angeles has received what is normal rainfall for Death Valley.

And here comes my little contribution.

Drive beyond the city center, and you'll see sheep grazing on barren pastures. Deer looking for water in nearly empty reservoirs. And, in some places, bees. Lots of bees.

Two years ago, when there were record high rains, bees established colonies in outlying areas that had been less hospitable before. Now that they're dry again, the bees are looking for water in Los Angeles' suburbs.

Bees are a problem

The bees, including the aggressive Africanized honeybee, are going "where people have swimming pools, where they're watering their lawns," said Ken Pellman, a
spokesman for the Los Angeles County agricultural commissioner.

I Was Quoted About Bees

I was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in a piece by staff writer Rong-Gong Lin II about the dry weather's effects on plants and animals.

The relentlessly dry weather has made this a spring like no other across the region, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.

Downtown Los Angeles has recorded less than 4 inches of rain since July 1 — less than a quarter of normal. The region was hit Monday with another round of high heat, low humidity and dry winds, prompting officials to issue a red flag warning for brush fires.

And, of course, we have had the fires underway already. We had a lot of rainfall just two years ago, when the storms destroyed roads in the canyons and hills.

In urban areas, bees are becoming more of a nuisance as they try to find additional sources of water. Los Angeles County agricultural officials have detected a spike in complaints about beehives in buildings. There was even a report of a swarm forming inside a sidewalk water main in Highland Park.

"Once natural sources of water in the hills or mountains are dried up, there's so many backyard swimming pools and people watering their lawns, forming puddles — it's attractive," said Ken Pellman, spokesman for the agricultural commissioner.

In Defense of EHarmony.com

I’ve noticed that a lot of people have gripes about the highly successful matchmaking service eHarmony.com, and that a lot of other matchmaking, dating, personals, and hook-up services like to compare or contrast themselves to eHarmony.com, which is inevitable given eHarmony.com’s success. Likewise, some people hate the success of others in general, and so bash the service.

I want to respond. Full disclosure: I’m happily married to a woman I met via eHarmony.com.

EHarmony.com isn’t for everyone. First of all, the guy who started it has made no secret that he’s trying to lower the divorce rate. Just read the book he wrote around the time he launched the service. How do lower the divorce rate with your customers? 1. Only take on individuals who stand a good chance of staying married. 2) Only match people to someone to whom they’d have a chance of staying married (do not match incompatible people, even if they are sexually attracted to each other). 3) Offer tools to help them stay married. 4) Encourage people who are not currently marriage material but want to be to get some help.

It is not really meant as a place for find a casual lay or a hook-up. It’s there for matchmaking for marriage.

The Huffington Post, promoting a sister business, offers criticism of eHarmony.com below.

Did you know that behind those eHarmony commercials that are hosted by their avuncular, relentlessly upbeat founder -- and that promise a lifetime of soul mate bliss -- is a company run by someone with an unabashed religious and social
mission?

Oh no! Someone who takes their religion seriously? Dr. Neil Clark Warren has made no secret of wanting to reduce the rate of divorce and increase marital happiness. What a horrible man, right?

A company that by its own admission has rejected over a million people for reasons that range from not being "happy enough" (on a happy-meter they handily provide) to being divorced too many times, to being gay.

Who wants to marry a depressed person? Being divorced multiple times before makes you a bad candidate for continuing to be married. I don’t know if eHarmony.com actually bans someone for being gay, but if you are looking to be matched with someone of the same sex, then no, eHarmony.com is not for you. Warren has offered advice to people seeking to set up same-sex matchmaking services, but his own professional practice involved marital counseling involving husbands and wives. In case you haven’t noticed, men and women are different. (If they weren’t, I guess there would be no such thing as “straight” and “gay”, now would there?) The dynamics between a husband and wife are different than the dynamics of any other relationship.

Dr. Neil Clark Warren, the evangelical-Christian-turned-entrepreneur who started eHarmony by leveraging the distribution power of Reverent Dobson's media network and his "Focus on the Family" organization, has been very clear about what he wants to accomplish, despite the recent and expedient secularization of his brand.

Whatever you think of Dobson or Focus on the Family, one of their main goals has been strengthening marriages and making them more enjoyable, so I guess that’s a natural fit for Warren, no? Evangelical Christians officially promote marriage over unmarried cohabitation and sexually-active bachelorhood/bachelorettehood, while much of society today encourages cohabitation and sex before marriage. So again, it was natural for Warren to start with that subset of society and expand to the larger society from there. It is a smart business model.

Actually, eHarmony isn't just a brand; it's an ideological vessel, a brandologue. As the first line of its Wikipedia entry states, "eHarmony is a Christian-founded, marriage-oriented matchmaking website." There's nothing wrong with that, it's absolutely legitimate for eHarmony to seek to accomplish its goals of encouraging faith and marriage via marketing. And I would defend their right to say it in a Voltaire-lite fashion, meaning I'm not so sure about the "to the death" part.

That’s very kind and tolerant of you.

But it's also equally legitimate for a competitor to call eHarmony out on its agenda, to shine a light onto who they are and what they believe so consumers can make informed choices, and to trigger a healthy debate over what
constitutes a productive and healthy relationship, straight or gay.

Sure, why not?

And that's just what's happening. This week, our agency launched an advertising campaign for our client Chemistry.com that takes on eHarmony boldly and
directly.

I’m sure this has nothing to do with how successful eHarmony.com has been.

There are TV commercials and print ads that challenge eHarmony's agenda and restrictiveness, and that invite women and men who are seeking a relationship on their own terms to join Chemistry.com.

Sometimes, restrictiveness is good. Sometimes, restrictions are part of what makes something work. For instance, what if a Jewish Community Center was run primarily by gentile Christians? How effective would it be as a JCC?

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people have joined eHarmony, and paid them dutifully each month, without knowing where eHarmony stands and what it believes. That's simply wrong.

It’s up to people to inform themselves and then make decisions based on that. How many people get jobs that require them to be members of unions that spend their dues money on causes they don’t support? Most people buy services and products from companies that support things they don’t, or whose shareholders do, or whose executives do. If eHarmony.com works for you, do you really care what Warren thinks? I have no idea or the politics or social views or even the lifestyle of my doctor. I know he has kids. That’s about it. He’s a good doctor. Now, he if he told me the best way for me to lose weight would be for me to eat Double-Doubles every meal, I’d look for another doctor. But I wouldn’t if I found out he supports a political candidate I oppose.

Not surprisingly, eHarmony has been clever enough to recognize that increasingly, consumers are putting their choices under a microscope. So as the company grew into a mass consumer brand, they began keep their agenda quiet and cut any ties that could restrict their growth. In fact, Warren ditched his close association with Reverend Dobson and "Focus on Family." In his own words, Warren admitted that the link would be a "killer." I'd actually have more respect for them if they didn't go through this convoluted distancing process, and had the courage to stand behind Dobson. But it seems to me that Warren, seduced by Mammon in the archetypal faith vs. greed struggle, decided to grow his business at the expense of his values. (I'm sure the venture capitalists that plowed more than $100 million into his business -- the fourth largest investment of 2004 according to Wikipedia -- had something to say about it, too.)

Huh? There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a strong, honest, legitimate business model. Making money isn’t a bad thing, and the Bible certainly doesn’t teach that making money is bad. Staying with Focus on the Family would mean reaching a segment of Christendom. Expanding beyond that means reaching out to Jews, Buddhists, atheists, and anyone else looking to get married. It’s a legitimate thing for a Christian to provide a helpful service – for profit or otherwise – to everyone, not just someone of the same exact religion. Isn't that a sign of inclusiveness? Warren need not repudiate Dobson, either, even though it sounds like something you'd like to see.

It's also clear that eHarmony's agenda pervades every aspect of its product.

You mean their agenda to match people for the long term? How evil.

Their emphasis on "compatibility" and their "compatibility" profile that leads to people getting matched on what's called homogamy (or sameness) are all part of their philosophical approach: people who share the same values --
preferably conservative -- belong together.

Preferably conservative? Only if you mean that getting married and staying married are “conservative”, but it would be absurd to say that conservatives have a monopoly, or even a handle, on that. It’s a good thing to match up compatible people. For example, if you’re going to be married, then unless you have a very extensive prenuptial agreement, you’re going to be sharing finances. If one spouse wants to donate to the NRA and the other wants to donate the same money to PETA, how exactly is that going to work?

I believe that what Chemistry.com has pioneered is the beginning of the next wave of marketing, as companies and brands define themselves in the competitive marketplace by not just how they perform, but their values and belief systems.

Wait, didn’t you just poke eHarmony.com or doing that? Your marketing is nothing new. This has been going on ever since Burger King bashed market leader McDonald’s by name in a commercial back in the 1980s with little Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Okay, well, here are some of the other general complaints I’ve come across:

I was sent too many matches! While this doesn’t sound like a bad thing, some people do feel overwhelmed. I tended to have a lot of matches. Some of them “closed” on me immediately or early on, or were just checking out the service temporarily and so never responded to me. But the trick when you have a lot of matches is to be ruthless in closing them. The site has told you a lot about yourself and what you should look for. I came to the site with a narrow profile of what I was looking for already. The moment I realized I would be less than thrilled with someone, I closed that match. You only need to find ONE person you can spend the rest of your life with. Unless you’re a polygamist. There’s probably a different service for that. I ended up dating three matches, one of them twice. One declined further dates with me, another I declined to date again, and the third match I dated was the charm.

I was sent too few matches! The service can’t match you up with people who don’t use it. This is why the service has expanded its outreach. The more people using it, the better for the customers. If eHarmony.com had only stuck with the Focus on the Family crowd, then only people in that crowd would be finding matches.

The sign-up process is too long. It’s a long process, but it is worth it if it pays off. Think of how many hours you spend doing taxes, or filling out loan applications, or employment applications. Shouldn’t you be willing to put some time into finding a person you plan to spend the rest of your life with?

I want to look for people on my own, not be restricted to the people I’m matched up with. You're not compatible with the people you're not matched up with. You are probably not compatible with all of your matches, but at least there's not an immediate glaring incompatibility. Anyway, if you were so good at finding "matches" on your own, wouldn’t you have already found someone to spend the rest of your life with? I used eHarmony.com because I was working a full-time job, a part-time job, and freelancing, so for me it was a matter of time. Actually, I was trying to prove that the right woman for me to marry didn’t exist, and it backfired. But I digress. My point is that you don’t have to be totally bad at picking people… online services are also good for finding people who don’t live in your neighborhood or who keep odd hours. The problem is, some people are horrible at picking people out of a crowd who are compatible with them and good for them. How many women do you know who keep picking abusive jerks? Or guys that keep picking women who drive them to insanity? EHarmony.com matches people based on things that make them compatible for a lifetime together – and those sorts of things are very hard to tell from a picture and what someone says about themselves. So, eHarmony.com matches you based on who you are and the limits you have set, and doesn’t allow you to search on your own. There are plenty of other services for doing that. The bottom line is, this complaint is like going to McDonald’s and complaining about how they prepare their burgers. There are dozens of other places to get a burger.

Some of my matches were liars. That’s one reason the application process is so long. They are trying to catch and exclude liars. However, a service of this size can’t investigate each user in person and make sure they are being honest. There are very expensive services that attempt to do just that. This complaint is really about the match – the individual, a complaint that has existed since the beginning of time, long before the Internet. It’s not eHarmony.com’s fault. In fact, you can report dishonest matches to the service.

Some of my matches were losers. You’re not obligated to keep dating these people. If every single person you’re matched up with a “loser”, then perhaps it is time for some therapy to figure out why you are compatible with losers. As a guy, though, I can tell you this... If you are a middle-aged overweight woman with three kids living with you and a mountain of debt, you’re probably not going to land a wealthy, gorgeous, romantic lawyer (unless he's a pedophile).

I was rejected for still being married. EHarmony.com doesn’t match married people. There are other services for that.

The site reveals height, but not weight. Okay, this is one complaint (mostly by men) that I can see as legit. Warren has said before that women have been angry being matched up to shorter men. Most women marry a man taller than themselves. So, eHarmony.com lists your height. Men are often chided as being “shallow” for wanting to know a woman’s weight, but the truth is, men are visual creatures, and if a man isn’t stimulated by what he sees, it is going to be awfully unlikely that he is going to pursue a woman and marry her - at least for the right reasons. What I suggest to a guy who is concerned about this is to make sure his matches send him some current full-body shots. Such shots should be easy for a woman to get, so there should be no excuse. Simply do not bother to spend time on a match if she hesitates. If she refuses, close the match. She's not confident about herself.

EHarmony.com’s matchmaking business isn’t for everyone. It doesn’t do everything for you. I liken it to being a better place to meet someone than in a bar or on a street corner, where you know very little about them and by the time you find out you couldn’t possibly end up with them, you’ve already spent time, money, and energy on them. Using the service well help you to find a needle in a haystack by not matching you up with someone you are fundamentally incompatible with, no matter how cute.

It is up to you, once you get to open communication with that match, to figure out if the person is truly right for you. Keep talking, keep doing things together, and if there are any red flags or any other signs that this person wouldn’t be the right person for you, move on. It’s really not that complicated.

The service worked well for me, and has worked well for many others. It helps to already have a good idea of what you want out of a relationship, and what you need, and what you could not live with. The service does help with some of that, too.

Thankfully, if eHarmony.com isn’t right for you, there are many other options.

I Was Quoted on Brush Clearance

In October, I moved via promotion from the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works (DPW) to the Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures (ACWM). ACWM is a lower-profile Department, and so typically, I will not be showing up on the news media as often as I used to.

Once of the things ACWM does is "Weed Abatement" - brush clearance. Owners of developed properties are contacted by the Fire Department and told what they have to do as far as brush clearance, and we contact the owners of "unimproved" parcels (vacant lots). This is done every year to help prevent fires from spreading and destroying structures and killing people.

Jason Wells of the Glendale News-Press (an affiliate of the Los Angeles Times) wrote about the efforts currently underway in the Glendale area.

Fire officials are calling on property owners to clear out brush from around buildings that could later become fuel for what is shaping up to be one
of the area's driest fire seasons on record. Glendale firefighters will be
patrolling neighborhoods through July that are at a high risk for brush fires to
make sure residents are complying with guidelines for creating 100-foot barriers
of cleared brush around buildings and other landscape maintenance, said Doug
Nickels, fire prevention coordinator for the fire department.

County officials will also be combing through the areas this month
to make sure owners of vacant lots have complied with notices ordering them to
clear out dry vegetation, said Ken Pellman, spokesman for the Los Angeles County
Weed Hazard and Pest Management Bureau. There is unusual urgency behind the
weed abatement programs this year because of record rain shortfalls for Glendale
and La Crescenta that resulted in a landscape of dry vegetation that would offer
little resistance to flames, officials said.

A report by the National Interagency Fire Center also warned that the potential for fires this season would be above normal in Southern California due to a dry winter and spring. "This year we are being more stringent because of the dry
conditions," Pellman said.
[snip]
The lack of rain this year may have cut down on that growth, but it has also made the vegetation highly flammable and able to quickly transfer flames from one lot to the next, Pellman said.

"That's where the problem comes in," he said. "If there's enough to be flammable, it's too much."

Owners of vacant property who have failed to heed county notices to clear vegetation will have to pay the tab for county workers who do it for them
starting on May 16, he said.

I Heard From EW Again

Like a clingy ex-girlfriend who can't move on, Entertainment Weekly has mailed me yet again, because I'm a former subscriber.

I remember the numerous, increasingly desperate reminders to renew my subscription, and now there have have been several attempts, via phone, e-mail, and mail to get me to resubscribe.

While it is nice to be missed, it is getting ridiculous. Now they are offering 40 issues for a total $10. That's if I have them bill me later. If I pay now, I can get 57 issues for $10, a whopping 94% off the cover price.

I'm holding out for them to offer to pay me to resubscribe. That can't be far off. Guess those ciruclations numbers are really, really important for ad revenue.

I do like keeping up on entertainment news. There are, however, several reasons I let my subsciption lapse.

1. I got married, which meant less time to actually read the magazine and a tighter budget. I found that I wasn't getting very far through one week's issue when the next issue would arrive.
2. I am notorious for not being able to discard "information" such as magazines, and we need less clutter in our home, not more. I still have a bunch of old EWs that I need to throw out. There are some I will save, depending on the issue.
3. When I got married, I moved in to my wife's condo. She was a cable subscriber. There is cable programming that provides me with content akin to what I used to read in EW.
4. Likewise, there are many websites and online tools that provide me with the content I want, for free.
5. I thought that EW could have covered more kinds of entertainment - especially radio and theme parks.
6. EW often had a political tone that I found unnecessary. I didn't read it to get a writer's thoughts on a politician, political issue, or social - whether I agreed or not. I was reading to get information about what is going on in entertainment - period. (See, I put the period at the end of the sentance.)

Now that Keelie is on the way, I'm going to have even less time and money.

So, like I said... if they were willing to pay me to subscribe... I just might. Otherwise, it ain't going to happen. Sorry, EW.

-Ken

Windows Vista Sucks

Pardon my language.

Can someone, maybe from Microsoft, explain why the @#%! we can't install the drivers for our HP Photosmart 2610xi on Vista? Why does Vista screw everything up?!? This is just the latest in the line of gripes we have about Windows Vista. Please MS... tell us what's up. The operating system came installed with the new system we purchased. Vista doesn't work with AT&T e-mail servers, either. Thanks Microsoft.

American Idol is NOT a Signing Competition

Yes, I watch American Idol. My wife got me hooked. Really.

We hear over and over again from the judges that Americal Idol "is a singing competition."

It isn't. If it was, it would be on the radio. Instead, it is on television, a visual medium. Once it gets to the stage where the viewers are voting, it is a contest to see who can inspire, by whatever means, enough people to vote repeatedly for them. In addition to singing, the voters clearly take into account appearance, personality, background, stage presence, genre preference, and possibly some other factors.

What if someone was a really, really good singer, but just stood there at the mic, not moving and not even looking into the camera, had a huge, crooked nose and bad teeth, and came across as arrogant in the interviews? Would that person win? I rest my case.

Ken's Latest Column Posted (In Full)

Ken's latest Kenversations(TM) column is now posted in full on LaughingPlace.com. The third and final part, about recent changes and trends in the theme park industry, went up today.

Part one is here - It is about major changes within the Disney Company in the last few years, and in the feature film industry, and animation.

Part two is here - It is about major changes over the last few years in cinemas, home viewing of feature films, DVDs, cable television, telecom, broadcast television networks, radio, and record companies.

Notable Car Accident in Our Neck of the Woods

This happened on a ramp Kori and I take about once a week. There is supposed to be video here, but it never started on my screen.

A mother died but her 10-month-old boy strapped into the rear seat of the car survived Thursday when the vehicle flew off the Riverside (91) Freeway before it plunged nearly 100 feet, officers said.

Natalie Cantón, 21, of Chino died at the scene. Her baby, Aiden Koch, secured in a rear-facing car seat, survived virtually unharmed, California Highway Patrol officers reported.

It's sad, but at least the child wasn't physically harmed.

At 2:06 p.m., CHP dispatchers got a call about a single-car crash.

Officers said Cantón drove a black Acura Integra about 80 mph on the fly-over carpool lane on the eastbound 91 Freeway to the northbound Orange (57) Freeway. For unclear reasons, she stepped on the brake and lost control of the car before it went airborne to the right side of the road, officers said.

You do get very high off the ground on this transition.

Hink said the car seat most likely saved the child's life.

"Car safety seats are made for high-impact crashes," Hink said. "When the seat is secured correctly, the car seat becomes a part of the car. The child cannot move."

The Second Part of the Latest Kenversations(TM) Now Online

The second of three parts to my latest Kenversation(TM) column is up at LaughingPlace.com. The first part is here.

In this part of the column, I talk about the big recent changes and trends in cinema, home viewing of feature films, DVDs, cable television, telecom, broadcast television networks, radio, and record companies.

Ken's Latest Column Now Online

The first part of the latest edition of Kenversations(TM) was posted today at http://www.LaughingPlace.com.

In this three-part column, Ken examines the big changes both inside Disney and around Disney over the last few years - in media, entertainment, communications, and theme parks.

Check out the column and tell Ken what you think by using the feedback form at the end of the column. Talk about the column with others by following the link at the end of the column to the discussion boards. Then, spread the word. Don't forget to check back for the second and third parts!

(Cross-posted just about everywhere.)

I Hope San Gabriel Keeps the Dinosaurs

Patricia Jiayi Ho of the Pasadena Star-News (and a bunch of sister papers) reports on plans to renovate a park that I remember vividly from my childhood.

The endangered concrete species in Vincent Lugo Park's sandy lagoon will likely soon have protected status.

City officials said they plan to conserve La Laguna de San Gabriel, known colloquially as Dinosaur Park for its statues of imaginary sea creatures, after a local group made the case the play area is a cultural and historic landmark.

I lived close to two parks, one just two blocks away, but this place, which was further away, always stuck out in my mind.

The Laguna was built in the mid-1960s by Latino folk artist Benjamin Dominguez. His handmade creations dot playgrounds in Garden Grove and Whittier Narrows, as well as in Texas and Nevada.

Laguna supporters have said that while playground items made of steel and concrete are not conventional art forms, they represent the unique vision and endeavors an immigrant man made in tribute to his adopted homeland.

I Was Quoted About Freeze Damage

Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer with the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, quotes me in this article, "Local Growers Suffer Through Harsh Winter":

"At farmers markets, people should expect prices to go up if they are going there for oranges, avocados or strawberries," said Ken Pellman, spokesman with the county's agricultural department.

It's my first quote since I transfered.

More on Stars Wars Stuff in Rose Parade

Kenneth Todd Ruiz of the Pasadena Star-News covers some preparations of the Star Wars Stormtroopers for the Rose Parade:

The 200-strong detachment of stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, a global network of "Star Wars" fans, practiced the fundamentals of soldiering at Maranatha High School under the scrutiny of a real-life multinational force of military trainers.

"For a group without much marching experience, these guys are marching much better than any 18- or 19-year-old recruit," said Cpl. Anthony Toledo of the U.S. Army Reserve, who barked sharp orders, mostly consisting of the time-tested "lefts" and "rights."

There are pictures and video, too.

Star Wars Stormtroopers in Rose Parade

Janette Williams of the Pasadena Star-News tell us the details:

Louisiana's Grambling State University Band in "Star Wars" costume, two floats and the stormtroopers - 200 enthusiasts from 35 states and 22 countries who are actually good guys raising money for children's charities when they're not being stormtroopers - will make up the parade's "Star Wars" spectacular, Holman said.

Television For the ADHD Folks

Have you noticed how much reality TV is filler? If a show is an hour long, they might start with 10 minutes recapping previous episodes. Then, before each break, they tell you what's coming up after the break. Then, after the break, they tell you what happened before the break... like you have NO MEMORY. Then, the final ten minutes is "Coming up next week..." If they were honest, that would continue... "we'll spend ten minutes repeating this episode you just watched!"

Somebody behind "Texas Cheer Moms" on TLC has made an art form out of this. Bless them... they took about an hours worth of content and streched it out over a whole season.

Now, I know what you're saying... "Ken, what are you doing watching that show instead of watching a Strawberry Shortcake DVD?" Well, my wife watches the show. And if I want to spend any time with her, that means I see the show too.

Anyway, at my prompting, my wife timed how much original content there is in a 30-minute "Texas Cheer Moms" episode. Seventeen minutes. SEVENTEEN MINUTES. Now, it is typical to have eight minutes of advertisements, so that means in 30 minutes, there are FIVE WHOLE MINUTES of recapping/previewing what happened last week, what will happen next week, what will happen after the break, what happened before the break. That means you see the same whine from a high school cheerleader 27 times throughout the season!

And you know what? This is cable, which means we pay for this. And there are still advertisements.

As for the show itself... I keep expecting Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy to appear. I swear this looks like Guests' work, only he wouldn't repeat the same content to death... unless he was making a point about reality shows!

Los Angeles Times Checks in on South Pasadena

A New Era in South Pasadena - Los Angeles Times
Change has found its way into a city long known for guarding its small-town, historic charm. Not everyone is on board with revitalization efforts.
By David Pierson

Quotes:
>>South Pasadena is the kind of town that takes its history seriously — a place that's proud of slogans like "South Pasadena — where the past is the present" and "South Pasadena: 1888 with all the modern amenities."
[snip]
Long averse to any change, South Pasadena has embraced an aggressive redevelopment strategy that has brought loft condos, high-end restaurants and trendy shops to a city that has prided itself on a Main Street USA feel even though it's less than seven miles from downtown Los Angeles.

City Hall is pouring millions of dollars into upgrading crowded intersections and repairing an antiquated water system.

The biggest project, however, is a proposed redevelopment of the city's downtown along Mission Street that could bring in dozens of new residential units, new storefronts, underground parking and perhaps a bowling alley.

There is even talk of acquiring the dilapidated Rialto Theatre — a jewel in the eyes of historic preservationists — from private owners in hopes of making it the centerpiece of a spruced-up city core.

The revitalization effort marks a turning point of sorts for South Pasadena, which for decades has focused much of its attention on blocking the extension of the 710.
[snip]
So far, officials have promised to build slowly and to approve only those designs that blend with the city's architecture. And most important to many, officials have said that no large chain stores or restaurants will be welcomed into the new South Pasadena.
[snip]
Fear of overcrowding is one of the reasons there was an outcry over a new housing development in the southwest corner of the city named the Ostrich Farm. The so-called live/work building with its concrete-colored interior and showrooms filled with midcentury modern furniture is being offered to tenants who are supposed to work out of their loft apartments.

Some council members and residents feared that the 53-unit building would bring in too many new residents and possibly burden the school district and overload city streets, which have been kept in a notorious state of disrepair over the years. The mayor also questioned whether residents were actually working in their homes.
[snip]
Some have called for the city to enact an ordinance that prevents chains from opening downtown. Others have expressed concern that the new town center will also add more pressure on the police and fire departments, which are understaffed, forcing the city in recent times to explore contracting with the county for services.<<

I suppose everyone tends to think their hometown is something special, but when major metropolitan newspapers do stories like this, it backs up that notion.

More Evidence?

KB Home CEO Leaves After Options Review - Houston Chronicle
ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

Quotes:
>>The resignation of KB Home Chairman and Chief Executive Bruce Karatz in the wake of a stock options scandal leaves the company without the man who built it into one of the nation's top homebuilders during the past two decades.
[snip]
Karatz, 61, was the latest corner-office victim of so-called backdating of employee stock options without properly accounting for the maneuver.
[snip]
The situation also prompted the company to fire the head of its human resources department, Gary A. Ray. Richard B. Hirst, executive vice president and chief legal officer, resigned.

The inquiry revealed that Karatz and Ray had selected the grant dates for the stock options, and no other senior executives had a role in establishing incorrect grant dates.
[snip]
KB Home refused to comment further on Monday.
[snip]
Still, the loss of Karatz came as KB Home and other homebuilders are struggling through a housing market slowdown.<<

I know someone who interviewed to work with them.

Using A Touch-Screen At The Local Fast Food Joint

Jerry Hirsch of the Los Angeles Times tells us about fast food eateries using computerized touch-screen kiosks to take orders.

Devices such as touch-screen ordering kiosks — whether in the drive-through lane or inside the restaurant — promise many advances for quick-serve eateries, analysts say.

"It cuts down on labor, ensures accuracy and is often faster and easier for people to use," said Darren Tristano, a restaurant industry analyst with Technomic Inc. in Chicago.

Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC is testing indoor self-serve kiosks at three locations in Florida. Elsewhere in the state, McDonald's Corp. franchisee Gary Moulton has spent more than $100,000 to install two or three touch-screen systems inside each of his six restaurants.

The investment is paying off. Moulton said customers using the kiosks spent an average of 20% more per order than those who ordered at the front counter.

"The kiosk will always suggest an item like a drink or a dessert if it is not ordered," he said. "Front counter servers don't always do the same."

Paul Knight, who sells such machines for NCR Corp. of Dayton, Ohio, notes another potential advantage for restaurants.

"Anonymity encourages people to make larger orders," he said. "They are not embarrassed to super-size something because they aren't doing it face to face."

I remember ten years ago or more that the Taco Bell by Cal State Fullerton had touch-screen ordering.

Chains including Yum Brands-owned Taco Bell have experimented with touch-screen ordering, but the companies haven't expanded the programs, citing problems with the software or insufficient customer interest.

Yup, see. I was right. This technology can also help get people around language barriers. I would think raising the minimum wage and the increasing costs of employing people would also contribute to the use of these machines. Instead of several employees taking orders, one employee can service the machines at various locations to work out bugs.

Plans Revealed for Mixed-Use in South Pasadena

Cortney Fielding of the Pasadena Star-News tells us about plans for South Pasadena:

Visions of stucco high-rises and chain restaurants were laid to rest at the Community Redevelopment Commission meeting when Torrance-based Decoma unveiled its vision for a 145,000-square-foot Midwestern-style development comprised of small boutiques, high-end dining and second floor office space and condos surrounding a public town square.

Heavy on brick and plaster, the project spanning three city blocks from Hope and Oxley streets to Fair Oaks and Mound avenues will house 18 existing downtown businesses and add an estimated 15 new shops and restaurants to a city desperately searching for new sales tax revenues.

I think this town will always hold a special place in my heart, whether or not I ever live there again.

Wendy's Sells Baja Fresh

Stories about food chain sales, openings, and closures interest me. Gee, I wonder why.

Nancy Luna reports in the Orange County Register that Baja Fresh has been sold for $31 million.

Quotes:
>>David Kim is the key investor in the deal, which includes other private stakeholders. He runs RD Restaurant Group in Anaheim, which operates and franchises hundreds of Sweet Factory, KaBloom, Cinnabon and Denny's locations.

Wendy's bought Baja Fresh for $245 million in 2002, making Kim's deal sweet, say analysts.<<

Wendy's bought for $245 million and sold for $31 million? Sounds like a dot.com deal.

>>Baja Fresh operates 300 restaurants, including 23 in Orange County.
[snip]
The sale comes as Wendy's looks to shed its secondary brands to focus its energies on reviving sales at its flagship hamburger chain, interim Chief Executive Kerrii Anderson said.
[snip]
When Wendy's bought the Thousand Oaks-based Baja Fresh in 2002, it was one of the hottest concepts in the growing fast-casual segment. The chain caught the attention of health-conscious consumers with its "fresh Mex" fare and self-serve salsa bar.<<

I love the salsa bar. If they get rid of that, I'll never forgive them.

>>Wendy's bought Baja hoping to put some muscle in its own earnings. But, soon after the acquisition, rival chains with similar strategies and faster service began winning the attention of diners, including Chipotle and Jack in the Box's Qdoba Mexican Grill.<<

I Was Quoted

Jennifer McLain of the Pasadena Star-News (and sister papers) quotes me in a story about "garbage collection":

Quotes:
>>"We're going to be doing this all over the county," said Ken Pellman, spokesman for the county's Department of Public Works. "Rowland Heights and Hacienda Heights will be among the first to get this."
[snip]
The board is expected to vote by the end of the year, Pellman said.<<

I won't have the chance to speak for Public Works for very much longer. I'm on the move.

Pasadena Shakers Closing

Pasadena Star-News - Shakers Movin' On, Landmark Eatery to Close

Staff writer Kenneth Todd Ruiz talks about the closing eatery, where I ate with a couple of my buddies on the night of my bachelor party... eh, get-together.

Quotes:
>>Sunday is Shakers' last day at the corner of Arroyo Parkway and Cordova Avenue.
[snip]
Most patrons say Shakers' convenience, comfort and the people on both sides of the counter account for its appeal. Many enjoy the food, but it's not the first thing that springs to mind.

Manager Lupe Garcia Woodward - who said he met his wife more than 20 years ago while employed at the Shakers in Glendale - hopes all the customers and employees make the move around the corner to the Central Park Grill on Raymond Avenue when it opens under the same ownership.
[snip]
Shakers will live on in name at other locations - owners Henry Yost and his son, David, own one in South Pasadena, two in Glendale, and Wild Thyme in South Pasadena. They are also part-owners of Beckham Grill in Pasadena.<<

Pasadena has seen condo building rising everywhere, and other new development that crowds the long-established streets.

"Weird Al" Yankovic Shakes My Hand

Or, maybe he's just trying to get me to wake up, or we're going to thumb wrestle. A kind soul took this picture at the recent signing and e-mailed to me. Holy cow I'm white & nerdy.

Yeah, that's really "Weird Al" Yankovic under that cap and hair.

Another Negative Story I Could Have Been Faced With

A Pasadena firm that interviewed me and didn't hire me has negative news to deal with.

It's just uncanny how these places get hit with bad news after I get turned down in favor of someone else.

Of course, the way the mind works, I wouldn't have noticed if the same kind of bad news was happening before, or happening to places that didn't interview me at all.

Went to the "Weird Al" Yankovic Al-bum Signing

In case I haven't told you a billion times before... I'm a huge fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic. His latest Al-bum, a dual disc work, was released today. Al announced a couple of weeks back that he'd be doing a signing at the Virgin Megastore in Hollywood.

Great... I figured my buddy Craig and his wife and I would all go there like we did last time, only this time my wife would be there, too.

Since it is a busy time at the office, I wasn't going to take any time off. My plan was for my wife to drive up to the office to meet me, and then we'd go from there.

Craig and his wife couldn't make it, so Craig asked me to pick up a copy of the Al-bum for him. Kori wasn't feeling cheery enough either, so she declined to meet me at the office and told me to go it alone.

So, I slogged through traffic to go to the Virgin Megastore on Sunset in Hollywood. I hadn't been there since Al signed his previous al-bum there.

The problem was, the signing was actually at the company's Hollywood & Highland store. This, I didn't discover until after I had picked up the al-bums and the DVD set of Al's Saturday morning TV show.

Horrified, I slogged through more traffic and parking adventures and made my way to the end of the very long line in H&H Virgin Megastore. Then someone told me I was going to need a wristband. Yeah, like last time, when I went to pay for the al-bum days in advance and got a wristband that meant NOTHING as I waited in line behind many people who didn't have wristbands? Like that?

Well, apparently this time they really meant it. You needed a wristband. To get a wristband, you had to buy the al-bum in the store. Fortunately, I showed them my receipt from the other store and explained my situation, and they gave me a wristband.

I was in line behind two animation students from CalArts, so we started to talk Disney after they saw me pick up a paperback copy of Disney War.

The line snaked through the store as monitors overhead showed either a live shot of Al at a table getting carpal tunnel syndrome, or video from the dual disc. The music from the al-bum played on a loop.

At one point, the line snaked right past the fully-accessible "Adult" section. Yeah, considering half of Al's fans are kids, that was really well thought-out.

Many times, staff went down the line, telling everyone they needed wristbands and that they can only have ONE thing signed. Many times they did this. Many, many times. If that was going to be the case, Craig would have to go without.

Heck, as we approached the heavily-guarded signing area, the staff wanted to see exactly what it was that was going to be signed, and the wristbands were taken away - presumably to keep us from getting back in line to get a second item signed.

I opened the little lyric/credit booklet to page I thought best, and I slipped Craig's copy directly underneath it so it looked like just one booklet. I slipped in my business card with Craig's surname on the reverse side.... just in case.

Sure enough, when I finally reached Al, he signed the first booklet to "The Pellmans" and signed the second one, which he did not hesitate to sign (Al is very, very nice and patient with his fans), to Craig's family. I was so concerned about violating the "rules" that I didn't enjoy the moment as much as I should have.

Al shook my hand, I thanked him in general, and I thanked him for turning me on to Ben Folds.

Having had two items signed, I turned around to see the security staff glare at me like I had just released 27 rabid wolverines in their store. But hey, they had slipped someone to the table between me and the guys from CalArts, who graciously agreed to take my picture when I was with Al, so if they can do something like that, why can't I get two items signed?!?

Upon exiting the store, I bumped into Kevin, who remembered me as the Disney guy... Like me, he's gotten married since we last met. It was nice to see someone I recognized besides Al.

I made my way back to my car and drove the long drive home. The signing had started at 7pm, I had gotten in line before 7:30, and it was about 10pm when I got out of there.

Al is my favorite performance artist, and I'm glad he manages to be so cheery, patient, and friendly as he spends time with fan after fan after fan after fan.

Okay, time for my "nap" before I have to return to the office in the morning.

KB Home Facing Slowdown

Scott Reckard and Annette Haddad of the Los Angeles Times tell us that waning home sales are taking a toll, and that KB's revenue growth has slowed.

Westwood-based KB said it was releasing only limited financial results for its fiscal third quarter because of an internal probe of its stock option practices. Other companies caught up in the growing option controversy have had to restate earnings after similar investigations.

KB said revenue rose 6% to $2.67 billion in the period ended Aug. 31. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected revenue to come in at $2.61 billion. A year earlier, revenue soared 44% from the same period in 2004.

KB Home also said home orders in its U.S. and French markets plunged 43% from last year's third quarter. On the West Coast, orders plummeted 58%.

This kind of news seems to be happening to companies a certain someone interviewed with and was subsequently not hired. It's getting eerie, like this person was being protected from being a new hire facing a layoff.

My Latest DVD Reviews Now Online

Go to LaughingPlace.com to read my reviews.

This time, I review two DVDs featuring Disneyland Park. Each one is presented as an OAKFAN Production, meaning they aren't official Disney DVDs. They are from the "Bringing Disneyland Home" series - "A Sights & Sounds Home Video Tour of the Happiest Place on Earth" and "The Golden Horseshow Shows Edition".

Some of these enthusiast-made DVDs are excellent, some less so. You'll have to go to LaughingPlace.com to find out about these DVDs...unless you've seen them already.

-Ken

I Was Quoted

New Signs Aim to Reflect Identity in Unincorporated Areas
By Jennifer McLain - Whittier Daily News Staff Writer

Quote:
>>Rowland Heights and Hacienda Heights are the next in line to get upgraded street signs, Los Angeles County officials said.

Although a timeline and cost have not been finalized, Ken Pellman, the county's Department of Public Works spokesman, expects the signs to be installed within the next year.

"These signs are part of a larger effort to recognize and distinguish communities that are in the unincorporated areas of the county," he said.<<

There's a lot more. Good article.

Hometown Company Does Good

Walter Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times updates us on how Trader Joe's is doing in Manhattan. Until recently, they were headquartered in South Pasadena.

Quotes:
>>Since opening near Union Square in March, Trader Joe's has caught the fancy of finicky New Yorkers.
[snip]
Though its stores have sprinkled the East Coast for a decade, Union Square marks the Monrovia-based company's first toehold in New York City.
[snip]
Privately held Trader Joe's won't divulge financial information, and company officials declined to be interviewed about their Greenwich Village outpost. But analysts estimate that the store is probably one of the highest grossing in the 256-store chain.
[snip]
Because of a quirk of New York law, Trader Joe's must run the wine store separately from the main market, and grocery employees are limited in what they can say about it.<<

I wish there was one closer to where we are living now.

Hometown Girl Brings Down Powerful Molestor

Victim's Resolve Brings Down a Star of Science
By Peter Y. Hong - Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

The girl set the showdown for the oak-shaded lawn in front of the South Pasadena public library, a lovely spot for an ugly encounter.

She was a high school student with a painful secret that surfaced on her wrists, scarred where she had cut herself.

He was William French Anderson, world-renowned scientist, the father of gene therapy and a martial arts expert with law enforcement connections from the FBI to the chief of his hometown police department in San Marino.

Pillar of the community.

Without children of their own, the Andersons had long taken on what they called "surrogate children," guiding nine through college and in some cases medical school.

In Los Angeles, the girl became Anderson's next protege. Like him, she had early speech problems, talking only to her more outgoing twin sister in their own language.

The girl learned English in school but continued to let her twin speak for her. She had few friends and had been acting up at school.

I've cut out some of the sick details.

The girl lived with her family in a simple hillside house in South Pasadena, a short drive from Anderson's much grander residence, a spacious Cape Cod on a row of mansions across from the Huntington library and gardens. The twins built a treehouse in Anderson's backyard and had their friends over for get-togethers. Anderson bought the girl her prom dress.

It's quite an article. Check it out if you have a moment.

I Was Quoted A Bunch of Times

Well, actually, in some cases, just cited.

Tour Buses Anger Residents
By Jennifer McLain Staff Writer - Whittier Daily News

Quote:
>>Ken Pellman, spokesman for the department of public works, said the new resolution - which also applies to six other unincorporated areas - simply addresses commercial vehicles that don't belong in that neighborhood on an ongoing basis.

"The thing about tour buses is if they are there momentarily, it's not the same type of problem as trucks parking there overnight," Pellman said. "If there are too many cars from people who aren't residents, that is a separate issue."<<

Depending on the conditions in the area, they can aske for "no parking any time" restrictions.


County Panel to Study Energy
By Reina V. Slutske - The Signal Staff Writer

Quote:
>>Certain departments have already taken steps to aid energy efficiency. Ken Pellman, spokesman for the Department of Public Works, said projects such as implementing light-emitting diodes for traffic lights and solar panels for bus stations are on a smaller scale to help.<<

Public Works is also involved because we use a lot of vehicles (some hybrids) and because we are involved in street lights, promoting recycling, and we can use energy-efficient designs for constructing County government buildings.


County Acts on Impromptu Car Lot

Quote:
>>COVINA - Help is on the way for unincorporated Covina residents itching to rid their streets of used cars for sale, officials said Wednesday.

The county Board of Supervisors has approved restricting parking on Shadydale Avenue near Badillo Street and Sunset Avenue, said Ken Pellman, county Department of Public Works spokesman.

Residents said the impromptu used car lot hits especially hard during the weekends.<<


Official: No 'Blanket Solution' for Parking
By Serena Maria Daniels - The Signal Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>An effort by the county Board of Supervisors last fall to decrease traffic congestion along a section of Lost Canyon Road has led to what some are calling a vandalism zone.

While the number of reported vandalisms is not considered a trend by local law enforcement, county Department of Public Works officials say that if residents are concerned about existing parking conditions they need to bring them up so that the department can investigate their needs.

"There can't just be a blanket solution that we feel is right," said Ken Pellman, a spokesman for Public Works.<<

Meaning... we need the input of residents with the understanding that if a change is possible and is made, it is likely to change other things as well, like speed limits and traffic conditions.

>>Pellman said that any issue involving parking on private property cannot be dealt with by the county, rather it must be taken up with the homeowners' association.

Kulikowski and Nunnery both said they were not successful in reaching representatives from their homeowners' association and want answers as to what they can do about the situation.

"I deal with the same thing," said Pellman of his own neighborhood. "If there's not enough parking in a complex, it becomes tough as to where someone is going to park."

Pellman suggested that residents who have an issue with parking conditions in their neighborhood can bring it up with Public Works, which conducts studies to determine the best solution for those types of problems.

"We measure things like traffic volume, traffic speed," said Pellman, adding that the stretch of Lost Canyon Road is a relatively new area, with a speed limit of 35 mph. "If there's something that people aren't happy with, that's something we'll look into."<<

I think now would be a great time to remind anyone reading this that this is MY personal blog, written on my own time, using my own resources, and so I'm certainly not speaking for anyone other than myself.

Checking in on My Hometown

South Pasadena Busy With Upgrades to Facilities
By Cortney Fielding Pasadena Star-News Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>After decades of stagnation, major public construction projects have begun sprouting up throughout South Pasadena. Designed to both revitalize the city's appearance and accommodate increasing demands on its infrastructure, everything from streetscapes to sewers are in line for revamps.
[snip]
When the Grand Reservoir was built in 1882, South Pasadena was home to almost as many ostriches as people.

Last spring, workers began the $6 million teardown of the decaying reservoir, followed by the installation of two steel tanks estimated to hold 1.25million gallons each.

In September, a completely new Grand Reservoir in the city's northwest corner will come on-line, complete with up-to-date technology and electrical systems.
[snip]
Other projects in the works are designed to alleviate traffic congestion, particularly in the areas affected by gaps in the 710 freeway. But the city will be spared the bulk of the $16 million price tag - almost 90 percent of funding will come from federal money secured by former Rep. James Rogan.<<


It's a very nice place and there seems to constantly be production of feature films, television shows, and television ads there.

Bygone Aquarium

Aquarium on the Pacific
Hermosa Beach's ultramodern aquatic zoo gained wide attention during its 10-year run.
By Andrea Sudano - Daily Breeze

Quotes:
>>These days, sharks and piranhas stalk Pier Avenue only at bars on Saturday nights, but they had a permanent home in Hermosa Beach in the 1950s.

Octopi, sea horses, giant turtles and the like once filled the giant glass-fronted tanks of the Ocean Aquarium just south of the pier and west of The Strand, drawing nearly 2 million visitors in its nearly 10-year run in town.
[snip]
The underwater zoo clocked about 1.8 million visitors, including more than 25,000 group tours from the Boy Scouts and other youth and school organizations.

Kids and adults alike were fascinated by the daily animal feedings, suitable for viewing and participation.
[snip]
In its time, the giant fish bowl was considered one of the largest and most modern aquariums in the country. Other tanks tried to replicate its "modern appointments," the Breeze wrote.
[snip]
While Marineland of the Pacific -- a descendent of Hermosa's aquarium, according to a book detailing Hermosa Beach's history in pictures -- entertained tourists on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for more than 30 years, the Ocean Aquarium wasn't nearly as lucky.
[snip]
An apparent squabble between McBride and the city over a 40-year lease calling for the development of a new pier caused both parties to hire lawyers in January 1956.

According to a Breeze article, the city was offered the aquarium's land and several nearby parcels for $85,000 in June 1958, and bought the land several years later.<<


I love reading about the history of lost attractions, especially about ones in southern California.

I Got Quoted Due to Terrorism

Tight Focus on Security Changes Rules For Travel
Article Launched: 8/11/2006 12:00 AM
By Fred Ortega, Pasadena Star-News Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>The disruption Thursday of a plan to blow up airliners en route to the United States from the United Kingdom has suddenly and radically changed the way people travel - in some cases, perhaps, permanently.

Within hours of the arrest of 24 suspects in London - believed to be about to smuggle liquid explosives hidden in household containers aboard up to 10 transatlantic flights - authorities had gathered at Los Angeles International Airport to announce the stringent new travel restrictions. They include prohibitions against bringing any liquid in carry-on baggage onto any commercial flight originating out of the United States.
[snip]
At local general aviation airports such as El Monte and Brackett, things remain the same as they have been after the Sept. 11 attacks, said Ken Pellman, a spokesman for the county's Public Works Aviation Division.

"We are telling pilots to be on the lookout for anything unusual, making sure our fencing is in good repair," said Pellman. "General aviation is a different animal than commercial airports. These are small planes that people look after much as they would their own cars, so we are just asking that they take the same precautions as always, making sure they are locked up."<<

The paper has extensive coverage, including graphics of what can be carried on to commercial flights and what can't.

I've Joined The Disney Blog

Yes, I didn't have enough to do, so now I'm also contributing to The Disney Blog - http://www.TheDisneyBlog.com. If you bookmark The Disney Blog and LaughingPlace.com and visit them both frequently, you'll be up to speed on everything that's happening at The Mouse, why it is happening, and what it will mean for the future.

Dubai Digs

Man-made Island Nears Completion
By JIM KRANE, AP Business Writer

Quotes:
>>With 14,000 laborers toiling day and night, the first of Dubai's three palm-shaped islands is finally about to get its first residents.

The Palm Jumeirah, a 12-square-mile island group, is part of what's billed as the largest land-reclamation project in the world, the product of five years of brute hauling of millions of tons of Persian Gulf sand and quarried rock.
[snip]
When fully complete by 2010, the Palm Jumeirah will be an offshore city, with some 60,000 residents and at least 50,000 workers in 32 hotels and dozens of shops and attractions, Nakheel said.
[snip]
The $14 billion project is a key part of this booming city's ambitions to rival Singapore and Hong Kong as a business hub, and surpass Las Vegas as a leisure capital.
[snip]
Nakheel's two copycat Palms, the Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, have also been delayed by design changes and other factors, Kazim said. A nearly finished fourth Nakheel archipelago, shaped like a map of the world, has attracted few buyers and remains mostly unsold.
[snip]
Meanwhile, laborers living in a cruise ship moored offshore are scrambling to finish enormous concrete houses that are crammed together on the palm island's 17 "fronds." The fronds are narrow peninsulas as long as a mile, attached to the island's main trunk. Nakheel will hand keys to owners of 1,350 homes by Nov. 30, Kazim said.
[snip]
The 1,500 room Atlantis Hotel is already under construction by South Africa and Dubai-owned Kerzner International, and is expected to be finished in 2009. The hotel will be similar to its Atlantis hotel in The Bahamas.

A redesigned Trump Hotel and Tower on the island is also expected to open sometime in 2009, Kazim said.<<

Can Disney be far behind?

The 'Nigerian' Scammers Keep Going

Nigerian 419 Scam is Back, With a Twist
A 'buyer' sees your house advertised online and makes a nice offer. But first, you're asked to send some cash.
By Gayle Pollard-Terry - Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>When real estate agent Jennifer Caveness decided to sell her Huntington Beach town house recently, she listed the two-bedroom, two-bathroom property in the Multiple Listing Service, the traditional method of attracting sellers. She also advertised it on two popular websites, CraigsList.com and MySpace.com.

She quickly became the target of a new twist on an old scheme — the Nigerian advance-fee scam called 419 after the number of the West African nation's criminal code that prohibits this type of fraud.

For years, con artists have sent e-mails offering to share millions of dollars if the recipients would pay to cover the transfers costs, administrative fees, customs or bribes they say are needed to get the money out of the country. Or the e-mails promised big international lottery winnings after the payment of upfront fees.

Of course, the payoffs never materialize.

In the fraud's latest incarnation, home sellers are being targeted.
[snip]
Caveness canceled the deal and reported the incident to the FBI's Internet-crime complaint center. The agency, which is working with the Nigerian government, will look at names and similarities to determine whether a pattern exists and if these individuals are part of a larger scheme. The FBI, which receives 20,000 Internet-crime complaints a month, advised The Times against revealing the names of the men who contacted Caveness in case there was an investigation already underway involving them; also, Nigerian criminals have been known to threaten their online victims.

Peter Brust, former chief of the cyber-crime division at FBI headquarters, said that the new versions of the 419 scams are increasingly more believable. "It's not like they offer you millions of dollars," he said. "They read the newspapers and they know what's possible on the Internet, like the social-networking sites." The scam artists not only work out of Nigeria, he said. Other top spots include the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and South America.
[snip]
Where to turn for information on cyber scams:

• Internet users who suspect they are victims of cyber crime should go to http://www.ic3.gov - The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, collects complaints, develops information and, when necessary, refers the allegations to the proper federal, state, local or international authorities for investigation.

• The FBI also recommends a consumer-advocacy website, Looks Too Good to Be True (www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com), for prevention tips, victims' stories, a test to determine how vulnerable you are to Internet scams or to order free fraud-prevention DVDs produced by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, one of the sponsors of the site.

• Complaints can also be filed at http://www.ftc.gov - the online site of the Federal Trade Commission.

• Information from the federal government and technology companies on how to protect yourself online is available at onguardonline.com/crossborder.html.<<

Stay vigilant. For research and hilarious entertainment, I recommend you check out http://www.419eater.com/

In-N-Out Burger Matriarch Passes Away

Ailing leader of In-N-Out Burger Dies
Esther Snyder, 86, and her husband founded popular Irvine chain.
By NANCY LUNA - The Orange County Register

Quotes:
>>Esther Snyder, the ailing matriarch of In-N-Out Burger – one of Southern California's most popular fast-food chains – died Friday. She was 86.
[snip]
Snyder met her husband, Harry, while she was working as a manager at a Seattle restaurant in 1947. Harry, known as a stickler for neat attire, sold baked goods to the restaurant. The two moved to Baldwin Park, married and founded In-N-Out in 1948.

From the beginning, the Snyders' strategy was simple: Serve fresh burgers in a clean, customer-friendly environment. She kept the books, while her husband ran the day-to-day operations of his unique "two-way speaker" drive-through concept.
[snip]
Up until the end, she was passionate about that tradition. In a rare video message made for employees late last year, Snyder – dressed in a blue smock – said she still made spot checks on eateries to ensure workers were preparing meals correctly, and with a smile.<<

Sad news. I hope the place doesn't change. Without them, I might actually be a healthy weight.

Preventing Pollution

Click HERE to see a "vidcast" about preventing runoff pollution. I have a short appearance in the short video, which was made by the City of Bellflower.

-Ken

I Was Quoted on Parking

Truck Parking To Be Limited
County ban aimed at commercial rigs
By Jennifer McLain - San Gabriel Valley Tribune Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>Semi-trailer trucks that have plagued some area residents soon will be prohibited from parking on certain streets in unincorporated areas, county officials said Tuesday.

"This is just about commercial vehicles that don't belong in some neighborhoods on an ongoing basis," said Ken Pellman, county Department of Public Works spokesman.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a resolution that prohibits parking of commercial vehicles in the unincorporated areas of South Whittier, Rowland Heights and Altadena. Pellman expects it to be enforced as early as September.
[snip]
In several weeks, Pellman said he expects signs to be posted in the affected areas, including Nogales Street in Rowland Heights, Marengo Avenue in Altadena, and Meyer Road in South Whittier.

Signs also will be posted that prohibit parking in certain areas from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.<<

Be careful where you park.

I Was Quoted

Builders Allowed to Start Water, Work Flowing Again
By ALISHA SEMCHUCK - Antelope Valley Press Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>Suspension of construction water resulted from a severe decline in District 40's storage tanks. Ken Pellman, a spokesman for Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, said the district has 40 water storage tanks throughout its service area, which can hold a total water capacity of 45 million gallons.
[snip]
Though the storage tanks weren't overflowing at full capacity, Pellman said District 40 deemed it safe to furnish water to developers at this time.

"We were waiting for (the tanks) to get to 60% or 70%," Pellman said, meaning at least 27 million gallons of water was replaced. "We were satisfied with that. So we restored construction water."
[snip]
"We still ask people to conserve," Pellman said. "Sensible conservation really won't take much effort.

"We're trying to keep service levels functioning properly. We don't want (water) pressure to be lost. If need be, (construction gets) turned off. Our priority is to serve existing residents and businesses."

L.A. Water Works urged Antelope Valley residents to conserve water in a news release issued July 12, around the same time developers were asked to find an alternate water source.

"It's not an ideal situation," Pellman said. "We don't want to interrupt construction. At the same time, we want to ensure that people have water to drink, and for their other needs."<<

Another Send-Off

My friend Marina has left the office for another corner of the County. We had her Happy Hour after work today. She's going to be missed!

-Ken

Guess What? I Was Quoted Yet Again

County Overhaul of Trash Service Could Boost Costs
By Jennifer McLain - San Gabriel Valley Tribune Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>For the county, this allows it to deliver more uniformed services to its residents, plus reduce the amount of haulers that currently drive through the streets, said Ken Pellman, public information officer for the department of public works.
[snip]
"The county is currently reviewing the proposals. The proposals are evaluated on the basis on seven criteria including price. The waste hauler who scores the highest will be awarded the contract subject to the Board of Supervisors approval," Pellman said.
[snip]
"Cost of trash services may or may not go up," Pellman said. "The franchise agreement has provisions that controls rate increases."

A request for proposal is also being developed for other communities such as Hacienda Heights.

"We will be doing this for the different coverage areas we serve in the county," Pellman said.<<

I Was Quoted Again

It's Crunch Time For AV Water Users
By ALISHA SEMCHUCK - Antelope Valley Press Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>"We had people working on (interconnections) around the clock," said Ken Pellman, a spokesman for the Department of Public Works.

"It's now operational," he said Thursday, though developers were still left dry.
[snip]
"These days, with that hot weather, we've had demand as high as 90 million gallons per day," Pellman said. "That's our absolute peak. Summer usage is three times as high as winter. In winter, we might use 25 million gallons per day."
[snip]
Pellman said between AVEK and District 40's wells, they should have about 75 million gallons of water per day. Yet, AVEK is grappling with its own issues right now.
[snip]
Meanwhile, Pellman said, although they would like the storage tanks to reach 100% capacity - a combined total of 45 million gallons - right now they would settle for somewhere between 60% and 70%, a minimum of 27 million gallons, in order to "reinstate construction use."<<

She did a lot of research on this article.

I Was Quoted

In three recent newspaper articles:

'This is not a used car lot'
For-sale vehicles provoke resident backlash
Ruby Gonzales Staff Writer - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Quotes:
>>COVINA - Shadydale Avenue residents are fuming because a nearby street corner has become a mini car lot for people who sell used vehicles.
[snip]
Two residents have collected signatures from 78 percent of homeowners who want parking restricted, said Ken Pellman, county Department of Public Works spokesman.

He said the proposed parking ban will come before the county Board of Supervisors on Aug. 1.

He said the county received complaints from two residents in April or May.<<


Major Road in Val Verde Set for an Upgrade
By Kristopher Daams - Signal Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>County public works officials originally intended to reconstruct a section of deteriorated pavement in June on San Martinez between Neuraschel Street and Parker Avenue near Val Verde Park.

"We've held off for the sake of a more permanent solution," said Ken Pellman, spokesman for the county's Public Works Department. "The potholes along this roadway are largely due to spring water flows from Val Verde Road, so we're now looking at extending the storm drain in San Martinez."

"It's something our crews could easily see for themselves," Pellman said about the large collections of water that would accumulate during rainy seasons.
[snip]
The project should be completed by early fall 2007.

"In the meantime, we have been doing repairs to specific spots on the road since we wouldn't be reconstructing the entire stretch until after the storm drain work," Pellman said.<<



Local Activist Wants County to See the Light
By Kristopher Daams - Signal Staff Writer

Quote:
>>Another traffic study of the same intersection is set for September and the results will be looked at by the same officials the following month, said the department's spokesman Ken Pellman.<<

My Latest DVD Reviews Now Online

Go to LaughingPlace.com to read my reviews of "Jeff Lange Remembers Disneyland's 40th Anniversary" and "Jeff Lange Remembers Disneyland's 40th Birthday", two fan-created DVDs.

-Ken

KB Home Wants of Slower Sales

KB Home Warns of Slower Sales as Inventory Grows
From the Associated Press - Los Angeles Times

It's still not too late to reverse the bad news trends by hiring a certain job candidate.

Jackpot-Winning Ticket Sold in South Pasadena

Pasadena Star-News - $110 Million Jackpot
Lotto lowdown: $550,000 to merchant, but where's the winner?
By Cortney Fielding Staff Writer

Quotes:
>>It was California's largest jackpot in four years and the sixth highest in state history.

The numbers drawn were 2, 9, 12, 20, 34 and Mega number 16.

Until Wednesday night, no one had won the top prize in the twice-weekly game in 23 rounds, setting a new state record.

Standing behind the counter of Foremost Liquor Market as reporters peppered him with questions, Sidhu was all smiles.
[snip]
Sidhu has owned the store for three years; it's been in the neighborhood for three decades.<<

I really hope the winner is a resident of my hometown.

>>If the ticket holder chooses annual payments, they will begin at $2.75 million and graduate to more than $5.6 million by the 26th year, before taxes.

If the cash option is chosen, the winner will receive a lump sum of roughly half the jackpot amount, or about $57 million, according to Lottery officials.<<

Yeah, but what will it be after taxes? $30 million? Peanuts!

Happy Ending After a Vicious Murder

A Love Lost 'A Lifetime Ago'
Kristin Burt's husband was gunned down 10 years ago this month in Fullerton. Since his death, she's given birth to his son, raised him alone, and worked hard to find a new best friend.
By NANCY LUNA - The Orange County Register

Quotes:
>>A few years ago, an allergy attack left Kristin Burt gasping for breath, her face swollen.

She called for an ambulance. Then, during the ride to the hospital, it happened.

The paramedic stared at her. "Kristin Burt. Kristin Burt," he chanted, trying to make the connection.

Burt calls it the JFK syndrome - the moment when her name or face (even her face bloated by an allergy attack) becomes unmistakably familiar to strangers. The medic finally remembered she was married to Don Burt, a rookie CHP officer gunned down 10 years ago this month in Fullerton. Kristin Burt was seven months pregnant at the time of the killing, which made headlines for weeks.<<

I was living literally across the screet from the murder scene. I remember that evening... I was on the phone, talking to a friend, and I heard a series of pops. I joked about it being gunshots and the neighborhood going down the tubes, but I figured it was fireworks.

And then I heard sirens.

And more sirens.

And more sirens.

I finally went outside to see more black & whites in one place than I'd ever seen before, and I watched as an ambulance passed by, carrying Officer Burt.

>>He was shot in the head and neck by gang leader Hung Thanh Mai after a traffic stop. Mai was sentenced to death four years later.<<

Too bad he'll probably live a long life in prison and die of natural causes.

>>Then, when she wasn't looking, she met Aussie-born Russell Cooper. The two were attending a gathering of mutual friends at TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea in early 2001.
[snip]
After hours of talking, the strangers didn't seem so strange. Both were adopted. Both were born in 1967. Both were single with one child. His daughter was Emma, the name she had wanted for Cameron if he had been a girl. And both were tired of "going nowhere" relationships.
[snip]
Recently, Burt gave Cameron a quilt of his dad's clothes - square patches pieced together of Don Burt's favorite plaid shorts, shirts and wool CHP uniform. Burt also gave her son his father's old hairbrush and watch. He clings to each memento - treasures of a father he's now getting to know.

On Feb. 1, 2003, Kristin Burt and Russell Cooper married at TAPS in front of 40 friends.<<

It's a great story. Check it out. I'm so glad things are turning out well for her and her child. Officer Burt gave his life protecting a stretch of freeway I still use all of the time, and I'm glad his murder hasn't murdered the souls of the family he left behind. Russell Cooper sounds like a good guy.

Being the Guy = Exterminator

I don't know if it is the hot weather, or what, but we're getting a lot of insects and bugs and the like. There was an ant trail outside by the front door. I slew a couple of large spiders in the bathroom. There have been little flying bugs, I think originally attracted by bananas. Yesterday, I came home, my lovely wife greeted me at the door, and then she exlcaimed that a wasp or some similar stinging flying thing was in the corner of the doorway, building what must be a nest. Looks like something that Shelby could have squeezed out in the backyard. This nest, or whatever it was, was between our screen door and our regular door. Clearly, the screen door is more for security purposes than to keep the critters out.

Being the guy, it is apparently my job to slay these foul crawlies, or otherwise get rid of them.

Ahhh, the joys of being male.

Goodnight!
-Ken

My Latest Column Now Online

The first part of the latest edition of Kenversations(TM) was posted today at http://www.LaughingPlace.com

In this multi-part column, we go back to 1990 Disneyland, when the park was celebrating "35 Years of Magic".

KB Home Reports Plunge in Orders, Slashes Forecast - Los Angeles Times

KB Home Reports Plunge in Orders, Slashes Forecast - Los Angeles Times

I interviewed to work with them once. They didn't hire me. This seems to happen to companies who don't hire me.

I Was Quoted

Park Coming After 12-Year Wait
BY EUGENE TONG, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News

Quotes:
>>The board is expected on Tuesday to vote on the Pacific Crest Park project, which would install $843,000 worth of lawn, trees, parking and other improvements to the lot next to Mountainview Elementary School in the 22200 block of West Cypress Place, where officials promised a park a decade ago.
[snip]
"It's a good sign when you see us requesting bids from contractors," said Ken Pellman, spokesman for the county Department of Public Works, which is heading the construction.
[snip]
Officials said it took time to raise the required funds from park fees paid for by developers. According to county Public Works, the county only completed acquisition of the park site in March 2000 from Pacific Bay Homes, which built the surrounding subdivision.
[snip]
The proposed park's features are less than those of parks operated by the city of Santa Clarita, which include swing sets and even wireless Internet access. But Pellman said the county could improve the park later.

"There's always a possibility we will go back and do more to it," he said. "Improving parks is what we do. But we're working for county (Department of Parks and Recreation). It will be up to them."<<

Keeping Busy

I've been keeping busy, and so blogging has suffered. Lots to say. For now, though, I wanted to say that while the wife was working last night, I took off for a work-related event at the Ritz Gardens Banquet Center in the Whittier area. If was for the 6th Annual Community Awards Banquet, presented by the Whittier County Community Coordinating Council.

I was a guest of Supervisor Gloria Molina, and was there because of my involvement in getting the South Whittier Shuttle launched...more precisely... getting publicity for the launch.