That's how it feels sometimes. It was one of those days today in the Bay Area where a memorial service was held for the four Oakland police officers that were killed last weekend. Traffic came to a stop on area freeways as ramps were blocked off to aid traffic to and from Oracle Arena. It was an amazing sight to see one-half of Interstate 880 jammed full of cars and the other direction of the freeway entirely empty as if an evacuation ahead of a hurricane was in progress.
I was able to watch a little of the local news coverage leading up to the memorial service and part of the memorial service too because I had the day off from work today (yesterday now as I write this). My two sons saw parts of the coverage too. They were curious about the service and why it was on television.
Ryan: That's a lot of police.
Me: Yeah, there's something 20,000 people at the memorial service (and later I read that there were another 10,000 people watching the service on the giant screen in the Coliseum where the A's play).
Ryan: What happened to them? Where are they now?
Me: Those are the police officers that were shot last week.
Ryan: Are they okay now?
Me: They were shot by a man who didn't want to go back to jail. They died and this is their funeral.
Ryan: Were these police the strongest ones?
Me: They were very brave, but that's what police do. They are here to protect regular people like us.
Ryan: But were they the strongest ones?
Me: What do you mean?
Ryan: They must've been the strongest ones because of what they did.
Me: Yes, police have to be strong, but maybe you mean brave. You know, being able to do something even though you know that it might be hard.
Ryan: Yeah, I think they were brave.
Later, when pictures of all of the slain officers appeared, I explained that one of the officers shared something in common with them: a Japanese last name, Sakai.
During the memorial service, the tribute song that they played for Dan Sakai was one from The Fray. I hadn't heard the song in quite some time, but I remembered that it was used as the sound track for a slide show tribute to 9-11. That was eight years ago. Below is a video clip of The Fray performing the song.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Deeohgee
Naomi: Ms. Colon told me about someone who named their dog, Deeohgee.
Me: That's a good one.
Naomi: You get it? D-O-G!
Me: That's a good one.
Naomi: You get it? D-O-G!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Greed and Fear
Jon Stewart veered from use usual "fake" journalism this week when he interviewed Jim Cramer who has own financial advise show on CNBC. Stewart exposed Cramer to be more Kramer-esque from Seinfeld fame. Cramer kept referring to the Wall Street "shenanigans" during the interview, and Stewart kept providing evidence of these shenanigans by playing videos of Cramer up to no good.
To quote one of the comments on the Comedy Central web site: it's ridiculous it takes you (Jon Stewart) to hold these people accountable.
Now let's contrast this with a speech by Larry Summers, Obama's top economic advisor. Summers talks a lot about breaking the cycle of greed and excess of fear. The following are some of the themes that Summers discusses without a lot of detail:
"Our single most important priority it bringing about economic recovery" - But so far one of the most visible methods for doing this is through the economic stimulus bill which has a lot to be desired and is fraught with a "me-first" mentality as policy makers flock to Washington to make their pitch for a piece of the pie.
"Not driven by financial excess" - But we have the Madoffs of the world having profited on behalf of their families at the expense of the masses. Yes, he's going to jail for a long time, but there is still that feeling that we have been hoodwinked.
"Raise incomes for middle class families" - But how is this going to help a middle class that at this point feels that they will have to keep working until the very end? I think that most of us would gladly trade the ability to earn more moving forward for the ability to see more of those who have gained financially through dubious means to pay for their actions.
"Our problems were not made in a day, a month or a year" - But what has been done to make sure that this will not happen again? Will there be penalties for the Jim Cramers of the world for not reforming?
At this point, Jon Stewart has done a better job articulating the feelings of most Americans than anyone else in the public sphere to date. This is really a sorry state of affairs.
To quote one of the comments on the Comedy Central web site: it's ridiculous it takes you (Jon Stewart) to hold these people accountable.
Now let's contrast this with a speech by Larry Summers, Obama's top economic advisor. Summers talks a lot about breaking the cycle of greed and excess of fear. The following are some of the themes that Summers discusses without a lot of detail:
"Our single most important priority it bringing about economic recovery" - But so far one of the most visible methods for doing this is through the economic stimulus bill which has a lot to be desired and is fraught with a "me-first" mentality as policy makers flock to Washington to make their pitch for a piece of the pie.
"Not driven by financial excess" - But we have the Madoffs of the world having profited on behalf of their families at the expense of the masses. Yes, he's going to jail for a long time, but there is still that feeling that we have been hoodwinked.
"Raise incomes for middle class families" - But how is this going to help a middle class that at this point feels that they will have to keep working until the very end? I think that most of us would gladly trade the ability to earn more moving forward for the ability to see more of those who have gained financially through dubious means to pay for their actions.
"Our problems were not made in a day, a month or a year" - But what has been done to make sure that this will not happen again? Will there be penalties for the Jim Cramers of the world for not reforming?
At this point, Jon Stewart has done a better job articulating the feelings of most Americans than anyone else in the public sphere to date. This is really a sorry state of affairs.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Trying to do the Right Thing
I came across an interesting article today about Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BI) in Boston. They are going through difficult times just like almost everyone else. Having hired over a quarter of their current staff in the last 6 years, the chances of some of these people losing their jobs is a real possibility. Another thought that crossed my mind was if it was wise to hire that many people in such a short period of time, but without knowing the details it's difficult to say much more about this.
At BI, they've come up with an alternative to layoffs. The hospital has come together as a community in an attempt to make it so no one has to leave. Paul Levy, the President and CEO of BI, threw out an idea. What he said was, "I'd like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners...if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice. It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits."
This idea has been embraced by the hospital staff and has grown to the hospital staff coming up with their own ideas. Some staff have agreed to forego a planned salary increase. Another suggested working less. The State of California has implemented the working less strategy, but with less grace.
I wonder if what is being done at BI could be applied in a more widespread manner?
At BI, they've come up with an alternative to layoffs. The hospital has come together as a community in an attempt to make it so no one has to leave. Paul Levy, the President and CEO of BI, threw out an idea. What he said was, "I'd like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners...if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice. It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits."
This idea has been embraced by the hospital staff and has grown to the hospital staff coming up with their own ideas. Some staff have agreed to forego a planned salary increase. Another suggested working less. The State of California has implemented the working less strategy, but with less grace.
I wonder if what is being done at BI could be applied in a more widespread manner?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
David and Christina Star on Evening News!
It's not too often that one gets to see a local news story featuring co-workers and friends. Last night was an exception.
The video clip below features David and Christina from out office explaining one of our projects. The footage of these two was taken at a public meeting held at Mountain View City Hall where the public was invited to provide input on the project.
I arrived when Lloyd LaCuesta and the cameraman were packing up to leave. I was told that they asked for suggestions for their on-site footage. The In-N-Out Burger near the Charleston Road on-ramp was the near unanimous suggestion based on proximity to the freeway and the existing safe refuge in the parking lot ... and oh, yes, In-N-Out Burger serves up decent burgers.
http://www.ktvu.com/video/18893851/
The video clip below features David and Christina from out office explaining one of our projects. The footage of these two was taken at a public meeting held at Mountain View City Hall where the public was invited to provide input on the project.
I arrived when Lloyd LaCuesta and the cameraman were packing up to leave. I was told that they asked for suggestions for their on-site footage. The In-N-Out Burger near the Charleston Road on-ramp was the near unanimous suggestion based on proximity to the freeway and the existing safe refuge in the parking lot ... and oh, yes, In-N-Out Burger serves up decent burgers.
http://www.ktvu.com/video/18893851/
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