Katie Hurley, Chief Clerk to Alaska's Constitutional Convention. Katherine Torkelsen Alexander Hurley was born in Juneau to Norwegian immigrants on Seward's Day. She has been a public servant in the territory and state since December 1940 and is the proud mother of three children and four grandchildren. Despite her 86 years, she remains a vigorous activist.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Alaska Democratic Conference Post 3 - Katie Hurley
From Hold This Thought, here's a brief bio of Katie Hurley:
Alaska Democratic Conference Post 2
Figuring out how to do this is going to take a bit. I'm going to save the videos at a low quality so it all goes faster. Right now people are dividing up into precincts. Here's the video of Ethan Berkowitz, US House Candidate. Unfortunately I got here too late to capture Diane Benson's speech. Maybe I can get her to say something directly to the blog later. [Both speeches are now posted here thanks to David Shurtleff at APRN.}
[viddler seems not to be working so I'm reposting from youtube.]
[viddler seems not to be working so I'm reposting from youtube.]
Alaska Democratic Conference Post 1
I'm at the Alaska Democratic Convention now as a delegate. This is the closest to 'live blogging' I've been. At the court I had to go out and down to cafeteria for the wifi, but here in Raven Hall at the Alaska State Fairgrounds
It was raining and we needed gas to get to Palmer.
You can figure out the rest. This is what I was all trying to deal with as we drove out and found Raven Hall and got registered as a press rep for the conference.
As I'm posting, Obama is talking to the conference via I'm not sure what, but I hear his voice. He was introduced by Heather Kendall Miller, an incredible Alaska Native attorney who went to law school with Barack Obama.
Before that, a Congresswoman from California (so I was told) whose name I couldn't catch, explained why Hillary should be the nominee to a skeptical, but friendly audience.
Diane Benson was giving a stirring speech as we were registering and before I got my bearings. Then Ethan Berkowitz and by then I was together enough to get a little video which I'll post soon.
It was raining and we needed gas to get to Palmer.
You can figure out the rest. This is what I was all trying to deal with as we drove out and found Raven Hall and got registered as a press rep for the conference. 
As I'm posting, Obama is talking to the conference via I'm not sure what, but I hear his voice. He was introduced by Heather Kendall Miller, an incredible Alaska Native attorney who went to law school with Barack Obama.
Before that, a Congresswoman from California (so I was told) whose name I couldn't catch, explained why Hillary should be the nominee to a skeptical, but friendly audience.
Diane Benson was giving a stirring speech as we were registering and before I got my bearings. Then Ethan Berkowitz and by then I was together enough to get a little video which I'll post soon.
Friday, May 23, 2008
20 More Ways for Airlines to Charge
American, Cutting Back, Plans $15 Bag Fee:
These executives need some training in logical thinking. What they meant to say was:
"Jet fuel has gone up more than 80% from last year, therefore we have to do something to lower other costs or raise other revenue."
This wasn't the only option. They had choices. Imposing "such fees" was the one they chose. One choice is to come clean with the costs. Publish all the expenses - including executive salaries and perks (including how much you pay the people who say they had no choice) and show us how much it really costs to fly from one place to another listing every cost, per passenger. And how much an extra piece of baggage costs. Then we can all look at possible ways to cut costs. If there aren't any, then we have to face reality and fork over more money if we want to fly.
From one perspective, the new charge makes sense. If extra luggage means more fuel is used, then perhaps you could justify an additional fee to those who bring extra suitcases. Those who don't use the service shouldn't pay. But by that logic, we should weigh every passenger and charge by the kilo.
But we are also human beings, and there is a reason that the phrase "nickel and dimed" has come into our language. And for me, and it sounds like many others too, it applies here.
The market is supposed to work to keep prices in line. When something gets too expensive, people are supposed to change their buying habits. I'd like to see if anyone has studied the distortion effects that unlimited credit card debt and a growing sense of universal entitlement have had on the demand side.
We are like the airline execs who say, "We had no choice." Sure we have a choice and
in the case of driving and flying, cutting back could also help the environment. We need to just say no. Find things to do close to home. Talk to our loved ones via Skype instead of flying to see them. Or not leaving them in the first place. No one flew in a plane to get anywhere before 1908. Very few people had actually flown anywhere even in 1960. I recall being shocked by learning that something like only 20% of the US population had flown in an airplane in 1960. Finding that sort of information now is not easy, but I did find this:
Life without jets is possible. If flying becomes inconvenient enough and expensive enough, we may find that returning to trains (though more hi-tech than those that lost out to planes) and traveling overseas by ship may once again become more comfortable and make more sense. Only those with urgent speed needs would fly.
But, in case we can't say no, here's my list of:
20 More Ways for Airlines to Charge
American Airlines said Wednesday that it would soon start charging passengers $15 to check their first bag each way, or $30 round-trip, if they are flying on a discounted fare. The airline’s new policy — to take effect June 15 — comes only two weeks after many major carriers, including American, began charging $25 each way for checking a second bag.The new fee is just the latest example of airlines adding charges on top of rising airfares, even at the risk of angering travelers further, to make up for the billions of dollars they are losing as fuel prices soar. . .
American Airlines executives said they had little choice but to impose such fees, given that the price of jet fuel is up more than 80 percent from a year ago.
These executives need some training in logical thinking. What they meant to say was:
"Jet fuel has gone up more than 80% from last year, therefore we have to do something to lower other costs or raise other revenue."
This wasn't the only option. They had choices. Imposing "such fees" was the one they chose. One choice is to come clean with the costs. Publish all the expenses - including executive salaries and perks (including how much you pay the people who say they had no choice) and show us how much it really costs to fly from one place to another listing every cost, per passenger. And how much an extra piece of baggage costs. Then we can all look at possible ways to cut costs. If there aren't any, then we have to face reality and fork over more money if we want to fly.
From one perspective, the new charge makes sense. If extra luggage means more fuel is used, then perhaps you could justify an additional fee to those who bring extra suitcases. Those who don't use the service shouldn't pay. But by that logic, we should weigh every passenger and charge by the kilo.
But we are also human beings, and there is a reason that the phrase "nickel and dimed" has come into our language. And for me, and it sounds like many others too, it applies here.
The market is supposed to work to keep prices in line. When something gets too expensive, people are supposed to change their buying habits. I'd like to see if anyone has studied the distortion effects that unlimited credit card debt and a growing sense of universal entitlement have had on the demand side.
We are like the airline execs who say, "We had no choice." Sure we have a choice and
in the case of driving and flying, cutting back could also help the environment. We need to just say no. Find things to do close to home. Talk to our loved ones via Skype instead of flying to see them. Or not leaving them in the first place. No one flew in a plane to get anywhere before 1908. Very few people had actually flown anywhere even in 1960. I recall being shocked by learning that something like only 20% of the US population had flown in an airplane in 1960. Finding that sort of information now is not easy, but I did find this:
and this:
Whereas only 10 percent of the adult US population had ever traveled in an airliner during the late 1940s, 63 percent had done so by 1977...
The growing pervasiveness of air travel can be seen by the increasing numbers of people who have flown on a commercial jet: less than 50 percent in 1975 compared with more than 80 percent today. [ Last modified: April 29, 2008 15:55]Still today then, 20% of the population has survived without ever flying in a commercial jet.
Life without jets is possible. If flying becomes inconvenient enough and expensive enough, we may find that returning to trains (though more hi-tech than those that lost out to planes) and traveling overseas by ship may once again become more comfortable and make more sense. Only those with urgent speed needs would fly.
But, in case we can't say no, here's my list of:
20 More Ways for Airlines to Charge
- Seat reservations (hmmmm, Air Asia already does this)
- Bathroom tokens $3 each - auctions for those who want to go to the head of the line
- Surcharge to use a bathroom that gets cleaned between flights
- $5 to view flight arrival and departure information board
- Extra for seats - others stand like in a subway, or for a lower charge get to sit on wooden benches, maybe discount fairs will mean flying in the baggage compartment
- $5 exit fee to get off the plane
- Entrance fee to the baggage pick up area
- Service charge for using the light, head phones, call button which is calculated by an onboard computer plus an administrative fee for that
- $1/minute fee (rounded up to the nearest minute) for all flight attendant service - smiles extra
- Overhead luggage space will be converted to pay lockers
- Surcharge to cover cleaning the plane between flights
- On time arrival surcharge
- Charge passengers by the kilo
- Trash pick up service charge, fee for empty barf bags, much bigger fee if you fill one
- Life vest surcharge and fees for the flight emergency instructions card
- Extra $3 if you want to open the window shade
- $10 extra if you want a seat with an overhead oxygen mask
- $3 for a clean head rest cover
- $10 for wheel chairs
- $5 a minute for screaming kids
Brief Guide to Ten (10) Common Birds of Chiang Mai
We got to know a number of birds pretty well after our two and a half month stay in Chiang Mai. I'm only a casual birder so we were dependent on bird books and the internet to identify most of these.
The pictures are from my pocket Canon Powershot so most are just good enough to help you identify the birds. Since I have the pictures, I thought it might be nice for visitors to Chiang Mai to have a brief guide to some common birds they might see or hear. We were in Chiang Mai from early February to late April, so I can't guarantee these birds are all around or sound the same at different times. Regular visitors to this site have seen most of the pictures and videos as they came into being. But here they are all gathered in one post.
#1. Red Whiskered Bulbul
This is one of the easiest to spot because of its distinctive black crest and because it is so common. It's a red-whiskered bulbul. You can see it better in the video below. From the Honolulu Zoo:
#2. Racket Tailed Drongo
The racket tailed drongo has a number of different calls. One call is on the video below. The long trailing feathers give it away.
From Wikipedia we learn:
#3. Black Drongo
A black drongo's tail is more forked and doesn't have the long trailing feathers. For more see www.oiseaux.net.
#4. Greater Coucal
+Coucal+2.jpg)
You are more likely to hear than see this bird. It makes a deep toop-toop sound. It's faintly in the background of one of the videos below. It also has a long tail. You can see clearer pictures at nagpurbirds.org.
#5. Magpie Robin
The magpie robin is also pretty distinctive with the white streak on the black wing and white underbelly.
#6. Common Myna
Common Myna.
You can hear the spotted dove coo-coo-cooing on one of the videos below.
Pigeon landing.
#9. Scarlet backed flowerpecker.
These are tiny and move around a lot. But the red head and back are good tips this might be what you are seeing flitting in the leaves. For much better pictures go to pbase.com
#10 Koel
In this video you can hear the dove and bird #10 the koel (this is a great collection of Thai birds, the koel is in the first row), and one of many calls of the racket-tailed drongo. I did manage to see a few koel, but never managed to get a picture. They're not easy to spot unless they fly, but their voices are very distinctive and very common, at least during the time we were there. You can also see a greater coucal's fuzzy silhouette with its long tail. These are pretty big birds, maybe two feet long,
In this video you can see a red whiskered bulbul, a greater coucal, and a black drongo. You can hear the coucal very, very faintly in the background when the bulbul is on. There is a comment when it starts - put your cursor on the light grey dot on the blue playbar (I know, what's a playbar? I'm trying to figure out a simple way to describe the line that shows where you are on the video. There are two such comments on the first video too.)
The pictures are from my pocket Canon Powershot so most are just good enough to help you identify the birds. Since I have the pictures, I thought it might be nice for visitors to Chiang Mai to have a brief guide to some common birds they might see or hear. We were in Chiang Mai from early February to late April, so I can't guarantee these birds are all around or sound the same at different times. Regular visitors to this site have seen most of the pictures and videos as they came into being. But here they are all gathered in one post.
#1. Red Whiskered Bulbul
This is one of the easiest to spot because of its distinctive black crest and because it is so common. It's a red-whiskered bulbul. You can see it better in the video below. From the Honolulu Zoo:
The Red-whiskered Bulbul has a distinct red ear patch, and red tail coverts. Both features are very distinctive from other birds. This bulbul averages seven inches in length and can weigh from 23 to 42 grams. The birds are brownish above and white below their stomach region from birth until an age six months. The head is black with a pointed crest and there is a red patch, the "whiskers", behind the eye. The beak is slender and notched. Their nostrils are ovalshaped, and have bristles. The legs and toes have little strength and are usually short. The wings are short and rounded and the tail shape varies from rounded to squared. Immature bulbuls resemble adults except that they lack the red marking on the head.And for better pictures, check here, and here.
#2. Racket Tailed Drongo
The racket tailed drongo has a number of different calls. One call is on the video below. The long trailing feathers give it away.
From Wikipedia we learn:The species is well-known as a very accurate vocal mimic, and according to Goodale and Kotagama (2006) appears to learn its alarm calls through interactions in mixed-species flocks. This is quite unusual, as avian vocal mimicry has hitherto been believed to be ignorant of the original context of the imitated vocalization (parrots are known to use imitated human speech in correct context, but do not show this behavior in nature). This drongo's context-sensitive use of other species' alarm calls is thus analogous to a human learning useful short phrases and exclamations in a number of foreign languages.
#3. Black Drongo
A black drongo's tail is more forked and doesn't have the long trailing feathers. For more see www.oiseaux.net.#4. Greater Coucal
+Coucal+2.jpg)
You are more likely to hear than see this bird. It makes a deep toop-toop sound. It's faintly in the background of one of the videos below. It also has a long tail. You can see clearer pictures at nagpurbirds.org.#5. Magpie Robin
The magpie robin is also pretty distinctive with the white streak on the black wing and white underbelly.#6. Common Myna
Common Myna.#7. Spotted Dove
You can hear the spotted dove coo-coo-cooing on one of the videos below.#8. Pigeon
Pigeon landing.#9. Scarlet backed flowerpecker.
These are tiny and move around a lot. But the red head and back are good tips this might be what you are seeing flitting in the leaves. For much better pictures go to pbase.com#10 Koel
In this video you can hear the dove and bird #10 the koel (this is a great collection of Thai birds, the koel is in the first row), and one of many calls of the racket-tailed drongo. I did manage to see a few koel, but never managed to get a picture. They're not easy to spot unless they fly, but their voices are very distinctive and very common, at least during the time we were there. You can also see a greater coucal's fuzzy silhouette with its long tail. These are pretty big birds, maybe two feet long,
In this video you can see a red whiskered bulbul, a greater coucal, and a black drongo. You can hear the coucal very, very faintly in the background when the bulbul is on. There is a comment when it starts - put your cursor on the light grey dot on the blue playbar (I know, what's a playbar? I'm trying to figure out a simple way to describe the line that shows where you are on the video. There are two such comments on the first video too.)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Fixing Flats #3: Fate or Coincidence?
My last post on flat tires was April 8. (Though not necessarily my last flat post.) Getting it fixed led to finding things, people, and places we might not otherwise have seen.There seemed to be some larger purpose for today's flat too. It didn't happen until I was within blocks of where I was supposed to meet Brendan for lunch, so it was easy to push the bike and still be on time. After lunch we walked together a ways and then I headed toward the transit center on 6th and G.
There was a bus, sitting out the green light right there at the corner, giving me time to get a green and cross in front of it and see that it indeed was a #2 bus that would drop me within 200 yards of my house. I'd never had cause to use the bike rack on the front of the bus and the driver came out to show me the release lever and how to lock the wheel in. I got on the bus and off it went. Mind you, at that time of day, these buses go once an hour.
As I got on the bus I saw James, someone I had on my to call list, who I hadn't seen since probably last October. We sat together and caught up - nothing major except he's getting married next week! I couldn't help but think about how the flat had gotten me onto this bus so I could see James. I know that statisticians could show me that it was all within the probability of coincidence, but it is eerie.
I got home fine, found my patch kit, found the hole. Well, it turned out there were two holes, and got the tire fixed for my evening meeting.
But I do think having little tire repair shops scattered all over the place where someone else will fix it in a few minutes for 20 baht (60¢) would be nice too.
Lunch With Brendan
Brendan Joel Kelley, Assistant Editor/Staff writer at the Anchorage Press evited me to lunch a last week and today we connected at Ginger. This week's Press is out and he can relax a tiny bit before the Democratic Convention this weekend. I felt a little uncertain about my role at lunch - 
clearly I was invited because of my blog, but should I be there as a blogger? Brendan did let me take a bunch of photos. By the time I got back home and had done some cleanup, I decided this was worthy of a post. Brendan is a symbol of how open things are in Alaska. Although he grew up here, he split after high school and has been working as a journalist in Mesa, Arizona for the last 12 or 13 years. He's only been back here since December, yet he's been a real presence in the Anchorage media scene, even though his family all followed him Outside.
It was also interesting hearing his take on the future of the press - it was bought by an Outside company that has one other mid-sized city weekly newspaper like the Press and a lot of small town newspapers. The new owner has been putting money into the Press - Brendan got a new iMac with a big screen and the offices have been spruced up.
This is in sharp contrast to what I hear from people at the Anchorage Daily News, where the newspaper is getting smaller and thinner. The two newspapers have different roles - the ADN being the traditional newspaper, supermarket for all the news and the Press has been more like the small local quickstop market. As things switch to more internet, it looks like the small alternative paper, that's picked up free all over town, is in a better position to adapt easily to the changes, whereas the large mainstream home delivered paper is far less flexible with its large staff and headquarters.
The conversation covered a lot of ground, including the strong cooperation among the reporting staff of various media in Anchorage. Brendan is clearly enjoying himself at the Press and we're lucky that he decided to come home to Anchorage. But the Press tends to have a high staff turnover. How long will be here? Who will be next?
clearly I was invited because of my blog, but should I be there as a blogger? Brendan did let me take a bunch of photos. By the time I got back home and had done some cleanup, I decided this was worthy of a post. Brendan is a symbol of how open things are in Alaska. Although he grew up here, he split after high school and has been working as a journalist in Mesa, Arizona for the last 12 or 13 years. He's only been back here since December, yet he's been a real presence in the Anchorage media scene, even though his family all followed him Outside. It was also interesting hearing his take on the future of the press - it was bought by an Outside company that has one other mid-sized city weekly newspaper like the Press and a lot of small town newspapers. The new owner has been putting money into the Press - Brendan got a new iMac with a big screen and the offices have been spruced up.
This is in sharp contrast to what I hear from people at the Anchorage Daily News, where the newspaper is getting smaller and thinner. The two newspapers have different roles - the ADN being the traditional newspaper, supermarket for all the news and the Press has been more like the small local quickstop market. As things switch to more internet, it looks like the small alternative paper, that's picked up free all over town, is in a better position to adapt easily to the changes, whereas the large mainstream home delivered paper is far less flexible with its large staff and headquarters.
The conversation covered a lot of ground, including the strong cooperation among the reporting staff of various media in Anchorage. Brendan is clearly enjoying himself at the Press and we're lucky that he decided to come home to Anchorage. But the Press tends to have a high staff turnover. How long will be here? Who will be next?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Who's the President of Rwanda?
We get a lot of depressing international news (in addition to US news). My son emailed me a copy of his invitation to a presentation tomorrow (Singapore time, so in a few hours) night to hear the President of Rwanda talk. This is part of his Masters Degree program there. Here's what the invite says about the topic and the speaker. (OK, this is obviously pushing the good stuff, but the good stuff looks pretty good.)
THE AFRICA AND RWANDA:
FROM CRISIS TO SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTYou are cordially invited to attend the following lecture
hosted by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy:
His Excellency Paul Kagame President of the Republic of Rwanda
Topic: Africa and Rwanda: From Crisis to Socioeconomic Development
Speaker: His Excellency Paul Kagame
President of the Republic of Rwanda
Moderator: Prof Kishore Mahbubani, Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Date: Thursday, 22 May 2008
Time: 5.30 pm - 7.00 pm
Synopsis
Perceptions and stereotype of Africa and Rwanda as perpetual 'basket cases' and 'donor havens' only sustained by aid, charity and pity no longer correspond to contemporary development of the past decade. Rwanda, under the leadership of one of Africa’s most able leaders, President Paul Kagame has undertaken considerable reforms leading to serious domestic and foreign investment.
President Kagame has single-handedly redefined the way African leaders should engage the best of the Western and Eastern world. He has appointed some the world's greatest minds in business and strategic investment to his council of economic advisers. President Kagame also put Rwanda on the global map by hosting UN secretary-general Ban-Ki Moon and US President George W. Bush.
Some of the recent indicators that prove President Kagame's esteem with world leaders include his appointment by Bill Clinton to the board of the Clinton Global Initiative. Tony Blair also recently became the Rwandan Government?s advisor for no fees; Bill Gates has personally been working closely with President Kagame in supporting the health sector in Rwanda. Paul Farmer, a Harvard professor and world's leading authority on public health-care in poor countries is advising President Kagame to develop one of the most innovative national health insurance systems in the world.
The strategic alliances between Rwanda/Kagame and some of the leading minds in business and politics around the globe are yielding good results. Improvements in health care, increased education opportunities, an investor-friendly environment and the transformation of the city of Kigali are some of the accomplishments that have started to take root in the country.
Rwanda is also aggressively seeking business opportunities with Asia. Dubai World has just signed a US$ 230m investment deal in Rwanda. The government of Singapore has been hired to advise Rwanda on how to build a modern city that serve as the region's service centre.
About the speaker
His Excellency Paul Kagame was sworn in as President of the Republic of Rwanda for a seven year term on September 12, 2003. Paul Kagame was born October 23, 1957 in Ruhango, Southern Province. In 1960 he fled with his family at the age of three and moved to Uganda were he grew up as a refugee. He returned to Rwanda as a leader of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) in 1990. The RPF was the force that ended the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Under President Kagame?s leadership, Rwanda has been in the forefront of the prevention of genocide in Africa and elsewhere. Rwanda Defence Forces have become one of the major contributors to African peace keeping operations in Dafur as well as the newly created hybrid AU-UN force.
His administration has also proven its enduring commitment to peace and development at home as well as on the continent, greatly helping to sustain the emerging image of Africa as a continent leaving behind ugly images of violence and underdevelopment for the redemption of its peoples and institutions. As he has stated, "In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development."
We look forward to seeing you at the lecture.
I'm sure J will post his observations on his blog afterward. We can see if he lives up to his billing. At least as a speaker.
Anchorage Assembly On Line - Almost
Maybe everyone else found out about this while I was gone, but the Anchorage Assembly is now online live and you can get archived copies of older meetings - going back to the end of January.
Except, when I tried to view the streaming video last night it told me I didn't have the right plug-in. I downloaded it, but it still didn't work. Their streaming video support got me to this:
So, it sounds like I should be able to get it, but not well. Maybe someone has a tip for this MacBook user. And why couldn't the Municipality find a medium that Mac users could use as well as PC users? I thought the Municipality was into diversity.
Except, when I tried to view the streaming video last night it told me I didn't have the right plug-in. I downloaded it, but it still didn't work. Their streaming video support got me to this:
Microsoft has not released a Windows Media browser plug-in for Intel Mac computers. As an alternative, Microsoft is promoting the Flip4Mac program. Tested in May '07, Flip4Mac's WMV Player plays videos, though with some issues. Flip4Mac currently does not support some advanced features, in addition to other minor playback problems.
So, it sounds like I should be able to get it, but not well. Maybe someone has a tip for this MacBook user. And why couldn't the Municipality find a medium that Mac users could use as well as PC users? I thought the Municipality was into diversity.
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