Capitalism: A Love Story

Interesting movie by Michael Moore... a little gloom and doom and some interesting links including the Citibank memo that described how the 1% that holds 95% of the money in this country should be concerned about the pending revolt. http://www.scribd.com/doc/6674229/Citigroup-Mar-5-2006-Plutonomy-Report-Part-2

I especially liked the Condo Vultures bit and was shocked by the mortgage fraud warning from the FBI which dated back to 2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/17/mortgage.fraud/

September 15, 2008 was the big start of the economic failure that resulted in the huge selloff. DeFazio's quote was pretty critical and spot on related to the bailout.

Happy Mothers Day, Pretty Dress Ride

After a big night of poker for the Foundation, Susan took Abby on the Pretty Dress Ride on the most beautiful Sunday. Anyone who is inside on a day like today is crazy. Uh, right, that's enough typing now.

Birmingham, Birmingham... the Greatest City in Alabam

To get to Atlanta for the wedding, we flew to Birmingham. The costs to get to fly into the Pittsburgh of the South was about $500 cheaper for the family, and the rental car was another $150 less as well!
Birmingham is "only" 140 miles from Atlanta and since I have never been to Alabama, I thought it was worth the cost savings.
The Alabama Theater is in downtown and makes a strong statement for where you are. The size of the sign is like the street widths in downtown, pretty big. The size of the City population is about 250,000 and the entire metro area is only 1.2 Million. The population inside Birmingham's city limits has fallen over the past few decades, due in large part to "white flight" from the city of Birmingham proper to surrounding suburbs. From 340,887 in 1960, the population was down to 242,820 in 2000, a loss of about 29 percent.

Outside the Alabama Theater, is the Alabama Walk of Fame, which has some of the famous Alabamans (not sure this is what they're called, but hey we were only there for a couple of hours!). The City was founded after the Civil War, which I wouldn't have guessed before reading up on the City.

Birmingham is home to several notable historic moments including early incarceration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1963, he attended a conference to help end segregation. Together with local leaders, he helped launch "Project C" (for "Confrontation"), a massive assault on the Jim Crow system. During April and May daily sit-ins and mass marches organized were met with police repression and arrests. These protests were ultimately successful, leading not only to desegregation of public accommodations in Birmingham but also the Civil Rights Act of 1964

More photos from the MLK National Historic Site

The neighborhood Dr. King grew up in is preserved by the NPS. They have the house he grew up in saved for future generations, which is great. We didn't have the time to get out and visit as it was the wedding day and we had to drive out.
I would have enjoyed spending more time here as opposed to the Georgia Aquarium, but try convincing a six- and a four year old that history is cooler than huge animals. I did enjoy the GA Aquarium, but this was very meaningful to me.
I really enjoyed the mural outside of the main display area. I was impressed how they had combined a community center as a part of the overall facility. They had some really nice amenties that nearby residents could use. It seemed like a great way to acknowledge the impact of such an important leader everyday but using the facilities in his neighborhood.

Martin Luther King Jr. Final Resting Place

As a part of our visit to Atlanta, we got a chance to go see Dr. King's final resting place. The area is designated as a national park and the tribute to his life is nice. I thought there would be a little more to the facilities then what we saw, although we didn't have as much time as we would have liked to really take in the area. I am glad the kids got exposure to the area he grew up and the lessons of yesterday's society.

David & Ann's Wedding

We were fortunate to be invited to our friends' wedding in Atlanta, and tickled to learn that the flower girls would be Amelia and Abby. The girls are pretty cute and I think that we could start a little business renting them out for weddings, but that's just a natural entreprenuer kidding and I am just a little biased.
We were a little late getting to the photo opportunity before the wedding, so the girls didn't get to explore the facilities in advance of the ceremony. After the ceremony, which was nice and brief, they went to play out near the lake while Susan and I enjoyed the company of friends (old and new). Susan was watching the kids and then came in for a little refreshment and I remember her saying, okay your turn to watch the girls. Of course, I thought.... oh they'll be fine. Well, sure enough Amelia ends up falling in the lake with her white flower girl's dress on and the worst part of course is the shock from hitting the slimy lake and having swallowed a bit of Georgia swampwater!
Luckily, she's a trooper and we got back in her other sparkly dress and she finished the night off without tights because those were a mess from the lake that smelled like a swamp.

Abby was brave enough to ask Alek to dance and he obliged, which made for some fun jokes at Alek and state of Georgia's expense.

Filmed by Bike 2010

Neighbor Mike was on the Filmed By Bike Jury, so we had another reason to go to the show.
It's a great excuse to get out with our friend, biking over to the Clinton Street Theater.
This year was a little more difficult then last year, as Susan was still recouping from the broken elbow. I was fighting a sinus infection... Friday was a good day in my rollercoaster of sinus headaches, so I ended up biking Susan there with her sitting on the back of the Xtracycle. Sadly, this is probably as close as she would get me to her motorcyclin' roots.
So, FBB had a slightly expanded street party this year, complete with a number of bike dance troupes and what not. The evening was beautiful and the crowds were packed in there pretty good enjoying the offerings of Fat Tire Amber Ale. Surprised that there isn't someone locally that's as committed, but I guess that's business.
The Clinton is a good venue and the closure of the street makes the night complete. The films were enjoyable, I wouldn't say they were as good as last year, because last year was really funny and I really left impressed, but perhaps the memories haven't sank in like good comedy tends to. There were a couple of really good spots on the FBB site including the viral hit Performance, but also some thought provoking ones from StreetFilms on Copenhagen and this little one by Carl from the BTA. New Belgium's offering of I'm on a Bike
was good and there was a parody of Hitler that made fun of the local bike culture. A little celebration of Portland's wierdness was included in Everyman's Bagpipe Unicycle Trip.

When we came out of the event after the films, the DJ was playing Bollywood music pretty hard. I ended up catching up with a few friends while the tunes were blaring, so it was nice to connect all the people and the scene.

Just found Neighbor Mike's video from last year of FBB here. It was definitely a much rowdier scene this year, complete with lots more dancing, drinking, and debauchery.

Garden Starts 2010

I visited Naomi's Organic Supply and picked up some seeds for garden starts. By starting in March, I tried to get a jump on the garden. Of course, I did this when there was 70 degrees outside and the motivation was high. Now, the rains have settled in and the weather has dropped back into the 40 degree range, which is always a favorite of mine. Oregon DOT even extended the use of studded tires for 10 days, they normally end the season April 1st.

With the threat of damage for the new family members, I turned to the kitchen to house our various assortments of new and old seeds that will contribute to our summer harvest. I planted beans, peas, pumpkin, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, and maybe something else. Hopefully, the weather turns warm soon.

Stub Stewart State Park

Transitioning into the City of Portland job, I haven't fully learned to take advantage of the kids time off from school. We need to do a better job of planning our time off, we repsond well to activities that take us out of our element, but not events like Spring Break. With a little foresight awhile back, I organized a cabin for us to salvage the last weekend of Spring Break and get out of the house.
I was inspired by friends that have cabins (we don't!) and in going to a cabin, having the ability to go somewhere new and quickly to leave behind some of the creature comforts we're accustomed to. A yurt isn't exactly roughing it, but in March it is a nice alternative. It also put as closer to nature for the weekend and gave us access to trails and the highlight of the day.... a Salamander pond.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

One of our favorite children's stories was made into a play by the Northwest Children's Theater. We bought the tickets for the play at the Portland to Clackamas MAX light rail line grand opening when the piegon was performing on a bus that they rolled into Pioneer Square for the celebration. The tickets were special deals, so it was a nice benefit of going to the celebration.

Abigail had gone to Go Dog Go at NWCT before with Grandma and Grandpa, but this was our first time. The venue is the Northwest Community Center on NW 18th & Everett. I was impressed how they were able to expand a 24-page childrens book with very little text to a 60-minute musical. We liked how they took each page and made it into a song, took liberties with the story to expand it to create new lines and stretch it to fit the format. They also had a really neat interactive portion that included drawing the piegon, which the kids really enjoyed.

The Pigeon was really well done and he was great interacting with the crowd at one point sitting in the audience and asking people if he could drive the bus, pleading with them to let him.
After the play, the cast and crew came out to sign the programs and meet the audience. Our kids really liked this and wanted to get signatures of the cast. Abby got caught by someone making a film on behalf of the NWCT, perhaps a youtube sensation in the making.
Abby was really interested in the elaborate costumes the supporting actresses wore. They had plastic easter eggs on their head dresses which were pretty cool.

Wife breaks arm, Husband breaks wallet

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said: Republican Health Plan: Don't Get Sick! As Obama tries to get health care reform through the rigors of the political structure, we have our own first hand experience with the health care system. Susan broke her elbow and had to have surgery. if you think health care costs are too high, I have proof. We just got the bill from the hospital (this doesn't include the Dr. bill)... For a surgery that required six hours of time in the facility, we ended up with $17,348 in costs. She got four pins in her arm and will be recovering for the next 8 weeks. That doesn't include the Dr. invoice, which I am sure will be over $2,000. This also doesn't include the follow ups and the pre-surgery stuff.

So, imagine if you didn't have healthcare. I guess the Oregon Health Plan would help, but think about others...

Why does it cost so much?

In listening to the Geography of Bliss, one of the things the authors says makes Icelanders so happy is that they don't have a fear of failure because the social network is so strong. I wish we had a bit of that here in the U.S. This sort of bill makes me want to lock of my children and never let them have the remote chance of breaking a bone. Luckily we have good health care, but we're still going to pay a good chunk of change in our deductible.

Current Reading: Geography of Bliss

In this case, it is listening (as opposed to reading) becuase I got the audio book from the library, but I am enjoying the Geography of Bliss which is a book I started in November. I hadn't got through it when I had it back then, but on this second try I am listening to it. The author reviews countries/places as diverse as the Netherlands (happy because f , Switzerland, Qatar, Moldova, Bhutan, and others.

The chapter on Moldova is interesting. The country of Moldova is a post-Soviet era republic that suffers from a lack of trust. He highlights the issues of corruption and freedom (and how if you don't have any community, what would you do with freedom). He ends with a statement worth repeating: "Hope is the sheet anchor of every man. When Hope is destroyed, great grief follows, which is equal to death."

Chapter 7 is Thailand: Happiness is not thinking.

One of the problems with audio books is the inability to make notes, perhaps the blog is a way to do this.

Morning Commute for the Kids with Susan's Broken Elbow

Susan's broken elbow has presented challenges to our initiative to be car free in our daily lives. Abigail has often been riding with neighbor Mike because she drives to pick her up after school. The xtracycle is a great tool for getting the kids there quickly and they seem to be proliferating throughout Portland as the bakfiets alternative.
I have been taking up the slack some days to get Amelia to school, riding the cruiser with the trail-a-bike. She sings to me as I take her to school and since it is only three days a week, I try to take her when I don't have morning meetings at the signal shop. It's been nice to get more time with the morning routine and nice that I am not travelling.

De Ronde Van Oeste

The website is http://www.rondepdx.com/ and apparently the ride isn't going to happen this year. With 8,000 feet of climbing in 48 miles it sounds like a grueling ride that would be a lot of fun.

De Ronde Van Oeste

One of those Spring February Days

Presidents' Day isn't something I have typically celebrated, but this year I get to take it off. I looked back in the blog for a former post because I remember a similar experience last year.

This year, Seth & Marcy were here and I took Seth on the Skyline-West Hills Ride.

Great article on Portland Travel via Bike

Portland Travel by Bike is a great article sharing the Portland Cycling scene with folks that might overlook a destination such as this place we call home.

Multnomah Falls... My Valentine's Day

 
A happy family... a little wet, but no spirits dampened in this group!

Rainy Day Hike up Multnomah Falls with Marcy, Seth, & kids

Marcy, Seth, Matthew, & Grace were in town visiting so they got us out of the house to go up Multnomah Falls on a rainy Valentine's Day. It wasn't too bad of a hike up as it was mostly misty and drizzly. The hard rain didn't come down until we got back to the parking lot. The kids did great on the hike, although Amelia wanted me to carry her about half the way up and down. It wasn't too terribly busy and we had a good time. 
We had to get back to Portland for a play with the kids.
 

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Making of Filmed By Bike

 
Neighbor Mike was hard at work on a short film for this year's Filmed By Bike. His movie Claire Rides a Bike was a hit and this year's epic saga of kids being slingshotted down a neighborhood sidewalk promises to be fun if it's half as much fun as watching it get made.

Portland Hotel Recommendations

I got a request for recommendations, so I thought I would blog my response which I thought was well reasoned and hip :)

The Ace Hotel is very cool and right in the middle of everything downtown. Very eclectic and fun. The Jupiter Hotel is across the river and the hippest hotel in town.

McMenamins operates several hotels that are reclaimed from previous uses (poor farm, school building, etc) and all have breweries included in the same building. They feature options for European style lodging and would be less expensive (shared bathrooms are an option).

Another Great Transportation Blog

Urbanophile.com/ has a great posting on how citizens can fight a DOT over issues they are passionate about.

We Provide Water for Inmates, but not our Kindergarten Classes

I attended a Portland Public School Board’s Finance, Audit & Operations Committee meeting today. They went through a long discussion about future population at schools and the concepts of how the district might address these issues. Llewellyn is set to recieve a portable for two classrooms to ease overcrowding associated with the booming population of kids in the neighborhood.

I asked whether costs associated with the buildings could be revisited to address what I believed was a need for water in these "temporary" structures. They have water in jail cells, but I guess we can't get one spicket for the kids in their classrooms.

I have not been involved in these matters and don't appreciate the challenges of the PPS budget, but I offered the following ideas for reducing estimated costs. First, I think the costs estimated are high for the current state of the economy. Contractors in the housing sector have been hurt and there are a lot of folks that would work for less than two years ago. Second, the costs for Systems Development Charges from the City may be reduced with a clever argument that schools like Llewellyn have a higher mode split due to the Safe Routes to Schools programs and further encouragement of students riding their bikes. My daughter and our neighbors do just that and this could be another way to communicate the importance of riding bicycles to the school. That might offer $5,000 savings in SDCs, perhaps higher. Finally, by considering the use of architects that are currently out of work (we have several in our neighborhood), the District might find some ways to deliver a better project by having someone vested in the project involved.

The costs associated with running a water line to the portable is low considering that you have to trench to run fiber optic cable to the building from the existing and piping for water could use the same trench. City fees/charges associated with the new water line would be minimal because it is a water line from the existing service.

Perhaps this sort of creative cost savings could address the issue of providing water for the children in the building or be used in other parts of the district to improve accessibility.

MLK Jr. Day of Service - Canvassing to Support Schools

I don't often go all political on things, but I couldn't resist on this one. There's a ballot measure in Oregon that's attempting to raise funds for schools and other services in this difficult time for our country. The measure seems to be asking some to sacrifice.

Phil Knight is against this measure because of the costs to small business. He states in the Oregonian : "Forty-six years ago, when Mark Hatfield was governor, I started a small business in Oregon. In our first year, sales totaled $8,000. I am proud that it eventually became a major employer in the state. It has been my hope that other entrepreneurs would similarly pursue their dreams in Oregon. --- They won't. Measures 66 and 67 should be labeled Oregon's Assisted Suicide Law II.

Really Phil? You wouldn't have started your company because the state was asking you to pay $150 instead of $10? You wouldn't have followed your dreams for an extra 50 cents a day. Even back in 1973 when you started your business, it seems to me that it wouldn't have killed your drive to succeed. Perhaps it might have saved us from you.

Thanks for giving me the inspiration to stop buying Nike stuff. I needed one more reason to buy local and to consume less. I appreciate your encouragement for me to meet my goals.

So I hit the streets of Northeast Portland today in support of Yes on 66 & 67 with a little more bounce in my step, a little more dedication, and a little more purpose. I just did it. I could of passed on that last house, but I talked to a guy that seemed to be on the fence on the issue and hopefully I turned him to a Yes. Thanks Phil!