Meditation Timer CD Still Available!

Yep, Kay still has copies of this one-of-a-kind product for sale, $20 includes postage, for those needing some timed meditation silence. Perfect for Yoga exercise sessions too.
Contact Kay at kbingner@pacbell.net to order.

"Dotcom(e) Again" - A Story in the Works.

I've decided that the world needs to know the reasons why so many internet companies (Twitter, Second Life, 12Seconds.tv, et al) are headquartered in San Francisco and the Bay Area. What is it about this area that germinates so many successful media entities that become part of the national mediascape? Inquiring minds want to know, so I am beginning a series of interviews with CEO's of many of these companies to get their takes on it. Stay tuned!!
And if you know of a dotcom startup that is doing well, pass it along to me so I can include it in my story (whose publisher must remain anonymous at this time).

New 12 Second TV post

I just posted a new video, 12 seconds long, at this address:


http://12seconds.tv/channel/Biscuitboy/108734

let me know what you think!!

Watch This Space - New Video Coming!!

Soon as I upload from my Sony Mini-DV tape deck, I have a fun video clip of Tom Smothers demonstrating a yo-yo trick on stage at a Sonoma Valley Wine Auction several years ago. He gave me permission to post it when our paths crossed in Santa Rosa a few weeks ago. I had to do a conversion from DVCAM to mini-dv so that I could use it in my player.
Let me know what you think, once it is up.... probably tonight or tomorrow for sure.

Mainstream Media Getting It All Wrong - Again!
Here's a website I monitor a lot to get progressive news coverage. Today's entry that caught my eye:

Memo to the media

by kos

Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 09:50:04 AM PST

Dear media,

95 percent of Americans are getting a tax cut with Obama's budget. So framing this as a tax hike makes you look pretty stupid. And dishonest. And wrong. So stop it.

Hugs and kisses,

kos

RIP Delaney Bramlett

I just learned today that Delaney Bramlett passed away in December. Us flower children remember him and Bonnie making great music in the 60's and 70's. "Never Ending Song of Love" was always a favorite of mine. Eric Clapton owes a lot to Delaney, and acknowledged it on many occasions. I have a link to an old video performance featuring George Harrison and Eric Clapton as well as Jim Gordon on sax. Well worth the viewing.
Very sorry to hear about him leaving us. I gotto go dig out some Derek and the Dominos music, since he played on those albums too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EOxy3TF3OY

Iphone has arrived!

Learning how to answer without hanging up on people and downloading fun apps.. like the spirit level one... which is very useful when setting a tripod up, if it doesn't have a spirit level of its own.

Wanted: Sony DSR-300A Video Camera!

This is what it looks like. I have missed two on eBay now... need it to replace the Sony PD-100A that I used to tape Camille's Tango video. DVCAM format, which is a pro, broadcast quality format, digital and easy to integrate with my Apple Final Cut Pro editing system.

ATT Now Says iPhone Has Shipped!!

What an amazing turn of events... one day after getting the backordered notice, here comes an email saying that the iPhone has shipped, complete with FedEx tracking number... so now I'm just keeping an eye out for the truck to show up... then the learning curve begins!!

Now, if Apple would only come up with a way to use Skype on the iPhone.

ATT's Service Sucks....

At least the "The AT&T Premier Team" does... now it turns out that the iPhone which they were selling to employees, 3G. 8gb, are now on backorder... despite the fact that the order form said in stock at the time Kay paid for it.
I felt all along that ATT could not keep up with the demand.. these are Factory Refurbished models, which is why they are $50 cheaper than all the other deals. Comes with Apple one year warranty so I have no qualms about buying it. But, they can't meet the damand and of course there are only so many refurbished ones anyway.
So I got all excited for nothing. Who knows how long it will be.

Sebastopol's Paris Connection- Who Knew?

Picture below is of a major Paris thoroughfare....Sebastopol Blvd. Took this shot back in 05 when Kay and I were in Paris together for the first time. It's near the Pompedieu center (I'll check that spelling and get back to you), not too far from the Louvre.
Consider this your geography lesson for the day.

Bluetooth The New Passenger in Our QX4!

The little gadget over there is a Motorola T305 Bluetooth speakerphone which is making life behind the wheel much easier
these days for Kay as she commutes to Petaluma.
Fits on the visor and linked to her cell phone, she can now make calls to me while on the road without breaking the "no hand held devices" law here in CA. I can attest that it works well; very little background noise and I can hear her very clearly.
Tip: don't buy one at the ATT store, which Kay did, cause they are going for less than $30 on eBay, where I am actively bidding these days for one of my own, to go with my iPhone, if it ever arrives (see below).

HDMI cont'd.

Remember this photo:
Shows my set up using component video connections from my Dish Receiver to our Panasonic Viera Plasma monitor. Also in the pic is the HDMI cable, the dark on the right, altho I am not using it at the moment. The big difference between the two cables, and one I failed to mention, is that you would use the HDMI to connect if you were using the TV monitor's speakers. HDMI sends uncompreseed video and audio thru the same cable. I don't use it cause I have a separate audio feed going to my AV receiver/amp. The component (RGB) signal is equal in quality to HDMI (or better). However, when I get a blu-ray dvd player I will use the HDMI cable to connect it to the TV.

Twang Ditty is a new favorite band!

Check them out here.

I'll be there this Sunday when they play the Ace in the Hole Pub in Sebastopol.

I may even come back with some video.

Still Waiting for iPhone!

Yes, I bought a 3g 8gb from ATT's employee program but have yet to receive it!! They promised 2-5 days, has now been over 10 days... my friend Thomas Savellit at Focus Audio Visual, has one and has been showing me some of the apps!! The GPS-Google Earth combination works great!
I'll get a pic up of me using it if I ever receive it.

Just in - Video production stills!

Thanks to Richard, who edited the video, I have some video production stills to show...

Used my Sony PD100A DVCAM camera which shoots beautiful images on Mini-DV tapes, also will operate in the 16x9 format, tho we didn't use that in this video. Arri light kit for lights and Camille did the rest.

Camille's Video Now Showing on her Website.

Richard and I finished Camille's video promoting her new book, "Tango: An Argentine Love Story" just before she headed back down to Argentina. You can watch it yourself at CamilleCusumano.com.

And feel free to let us know what you think of it... and if you want a video of your own, let us know. Our new startup, ClickWebSpots.com is here to get you onto all those webvideo sites!!

How To Flush Rush and Other Republican Bullies

I enjoyed reading this! I'm passing it along!
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Bailed-Out Wells Fargo Plans Vegas Casino Junkets

"Chase recently received $25 billion in federal funding. What effect will that have on the business side and will it change our strategic lending policy?"



Chase is now raising interest rate on its credit cards.... out of the blue, I have a perfect credit history, but now I am expected to pay an additional 7% interest or APR. This after getting all that taxpayer money.

AAA members who have Chase cards (it's the official AAA Visa partner) will suddenly find that the advantage of using your Chase card to save money has disappeared.



Needless to say, I'm doing a balance transfer to my Citi card which so far has remained stable.

Chase apparently thinks we are all sheep.
About Bailout Bandits
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Inauguration in HD Amazing to Watch!











As of Jan 1, we had the new Dish Network Turbo HD upgrade working and have been thrilled watching the Panasonic monitor. And the football playoffs in HD makes the cost worth while, far as I am concerned.
Learned something important that I want to pass along. After going thru the hassle of getting a HDMI cord, on eBay at a good price, I discovered that using the component cables, the red-green-blue connections on the back of most monitors these days, provides a superior pic than using the HDMI, on our system anyway. Clearly a sharper image.
So you might save yourself some money, HDMI cables tend to be more expensive than the component RGB ones.

TVA Disaster Spreads Far and Wide

I know I sound like a broken record but I have been harping on this for couple weeks now. We are not getting the full story and the people (including my relatives) downstream are going to be affected by this.



MSM would rather cover the Inauguration (truly historic, no argument there) and fluffy stories which are cheaper and require fewer paid reporters.....



Keep this topic on people's radar, please.
About Environment
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Smart Men Have Better Sperm: Study

I am quietly proud.
About Sex
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

SECOND TVA SPILL: Dam Breaks At Alabama Coal Plant

Another TVA near-disaster, and of course we only have their word for what has happened so far. Once again, will the MSM ignore this story as well, even tho it's the second ash release in a month???



Don't hold your breath. I recommend reading some of the comments to this story on HuffPo, especially the one about the guy whose bill went up from $90 to $240 in a month. TVA could not be a more Republican type company and you just know who gets their campaign contributions.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Canoeing Into Tennessee Coal Sludge (Video)

Too bad this story is not getting the exposure it deserves.



I said last week, on the record, that TVA spokespeople were lying about the damage, and as more and more evidence comes out affirming my beliefs, I get angrier at the lazy corporate media in this country.
About Video On HuffPost
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Tennessee Coal Ash Spill Before And After -- And What's Next

As I have mentioned earlier on this blog, TVA's reaction was typical, espcially for a conservative-owned company. Lie as much as possible at first to minimize damage, then change the frame of the story and be the first to denounce any facts from the scientific or environmental communities.

As the damage grows, so do the lies.



Read more here:
About Environment
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I Love Being the One Who Told You So!!

As I said earlier, much more to this story than what the MSM are covering. This story will get bigger because there are other folks like me, with relatives in the area that are going to be affected, who will not let the PR whores get away with minimizing this tragedy:

From FireDogLake website:

This week TVA deliberately dumped massive amounts of toxic corporate waste matter into a shared public resource: America's broadcast media. Why did the PR flacks who ooze around TVA's headquarters give America such generous piles of steaming corporate lies for Christmas? Aside from the fact that's what PR flacks do for a living, the well-paid professional liars on TVA's payroll had an extra-special motive to stuff our Holiday stockings with deceit: TVA failed to construct dikes that actually worked. TVA's professional liars had a bonus motive, as well: two months after the October 2008 annual inspection showed the dike had a "wet spot" indicating a leak, TVA's crack inspectors hadn't finished their formal inspection report. So last Sunday when the dike at TVA's Kingston Plant leaked for the third time in six years, and TVA's toxic wastes clogged the Emory River on their way to the Tennessee River (the Ohio River's largest tributary), TVA was neck deep in apparent liability. For their emergency response, TVA trundled out the usual PR zombies to clog US media with bald-faced lies. So...what will TVA run out of first: toxic corporate PR, or toxic power plant coal waste?

Without knowing how much PR waste (and how many PR zombies) TVA has stockpiled along with their toxic coal wastes, we may never know the answer. If the size of TVA's two Big Lies this week is any indication, the Carbon Lords from the Volunteer State have amassed vast stockpiles of first class Grade A PR sludge. TVA's first Big Lie? TVA simply lied about the volume of the toxic waste spill. TVA's second Big Lie? TVA lied when they claimed the public waterways contaminated with their toxic waste were "safe". Who knows what their PR zombies are concocting for the next Big Lie. At the rate they are going -- and failing -- I wouldn't be surprise if for Big Lie # 3 they tell us what spilled into the river was actually reindeer muck from Santa's stables.

Also, check out the local news media's coverag:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/24/ash-spill-two-prior-breaches-retention-site/

Republican Scum At Work:

RNC candidate Chip Saltsman’s Christmas greeting to committee members includes a music CD with lyrics from a song called “Barack the Magic Negro,” first played on Rush Limbaugh’s popular radio show.

Saltsman, a personal friend of conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, sent a 41-track CD along with a note to national committee members.

“I look forward to working together in the New Year,” Saltsman wrote. “Please enjoy the enclosed CD by my friend Paul Shanklin of the Rush Limbaugh Show.”

The CD, called “We Hate the USA,” lampoons liberals with such songs as “John Edwards’ Poverty Tour,” “Wright place, wrong pastor,” “Love Client #9,” “Ivory and Ebony” and “The Star Spanglish banner.”

Several of the track titles, including “Barack the Magic Negro,” are written in bold font.

The song, which debuted on Limbaugh’s show in late March 2007, latches onto an opinion column in the Los Angeles Times of the same title. That column, penned by cultural critic David Ehrenstein, argued that Obama could serve as a balm to whites who felt guilty about past treatment of African Americans.

Limbaugh first highlighted the column the day it ran, according to a contemporary report by Media Matters, the liberal watchdog agency. Media Matters reported Limbaugh repeated the phrase more than two dozen times the day the column ran.

The following month, Shanklin debuted his version of the song, sung to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon” and performed in Shanklin’s impression of Al Sharpton.

“See, real black men, like Snoop Dogg, or me, or Farrakhan, have talked the talk, and walked the walk, not come in late and won,” one verse in the song says.

Saltsman said he meant nothing untoward by forwarding what amounts to a joke more at Ehrenstein’s expense than at Obama’s.

“Paul Shanklin is a long-time friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies,” Saltsman said.

Republicans searching for ways to attack Obama have been hesitant to embrace any reference to his race. Limbaugh presciently predicted his allusion to the column nearly two years ago would win attention from left-leaning organizations that would suggest he was using Obama’s race against him.

More On Coal Ash Devastation:

I said yesterday that the TVA spokespeople were in crisis mode, so truth is the first victim.
Today comes more information from the Power Plant people and, guess what, things are worse than they first reported:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A burst dike at a coal-fired power plant in eastern Tennessee spilled millions more cubic yards of ash than originally estimated, officials said Friday, and residents fear the muck coating their neighborhood is endangering the area's drinking water.

The state, however, said Friday that tests show water entering the local treatment plant is safe.

About 5.4 million cubic yards of coal fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal, broke out of a retention pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant, Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman John Moulton said.

The TVA, which as the nation's largest utility company supplies electricity to 8.8 million people, first estimated that Monday's breach had spilled less than half that amount.

Moulton could not explain the discrepancy but said TVA's first tests showed no threat to the area's drinking water. The spill damaged 12 homes and covered 300 acres with sludge in Harriman, about 35 miles west of Knoxville.

"We are cleaning it up," he said. "That's where our efforts are focused and we are making some headway. Both on land and in the water, we are containing it and skimming it off the water."

Christopher Copeland, a resident whose land is covered in ash and debris, said he is not drinking the local water and is keeping his children inside until he can send them to a relative's house, "because I don't feel comfortable with them around here."

Whatever Happened to Dan Quayle?

Joined the criminal class:
(From Emptywheel website:)

Optimistic emptywheel:

One of the critical problems in the auto industry is the absence of credit (I've heard folks under 750 can't get a car loan, for example). By making GMAC a bank, you relieve one of the biggest problems in the sickest parts of the auto industry, and thereby stimulate one of the key segments of the economy, and you begin to get to get money the economy moving again.

Pessimistic emptywheel:

Dan Quayle and John Snow have an (increasingly limited) ability to suck at the federal teat to make their private profit.

The small print:

GM must now reduce its stake in the auto lender below 10 percent, from 49 percent. GM has three years to sell the rest of its shares, which in the interim will be placed in a trust that the company does not control. The automaker and GMAC also agreed to unwind a number of exclusive agreements, freeing GMAC to offer financing on equal terms to customers of other car companies.

Cerberus and its chief, Steve Feinberg, must reduce their stake below 15 percent, from 51 percent. The private equity fund plans to distribute its GMAC shares proportionally among its investors.

In case you didn't know, Quayle is part of Cerberus. A Google search will show the extent of his involvement.
Them Republicans, they never give up when corruption is an option.

New Favorite Christmas Song:

Cause I guess you just can't be too stupid.

As sure as Christmas comes once a year, so do the morons claiming that there is a war on Christmas. Led this year by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and Gretchen Carlson, the true war is between these blowhards and reality. So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone at GoLeft TV, and we hope you enjoy this special Christmas Media Moron poem.

T’was the night before Christmas,

And shakin in their shoes,

Spewing hatred and lies,

Were the folks at Fox News.

“There’s a war on Christmas!”,

Shouted Bill O’Reilly,

Being the skeptic I am,

I doubted this highly.

They’ll remove all our trees!,

Said the shrill Fox & Friends,

I guess atheists and Christians,

Will never make amends.

Sitting up in his chair,

Looking dazed and confused,

O’Reilly continued,

Our holiday we will lose!

“There’s no war on Christmas!”

I shout at my screen,

This cat named O’Reilly,

Gets marked down as mean.

And Gretchen, though pretty,

She’s still quite insane,

As for Doocy and Kilmeade,

They still need a brain.

You now get the point,

There’s no need to go on,

That’s why all of Fox News,

Is my media moron.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

From Goleft.Tv

This 2008 year!

Ash Christmas: Yesterday's TVA Coal Disaster is Toxic Wake Up Call to Nation

This story needs to get wide spread attention. The video footage is almost unbelievable.

So much for the Clean Coal propaganda campaign...

See the video footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGmVCABMRRQ

About Environment
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Washington Post Regrets Hiring Right Wing Hack

Fun story that clearly shows how the MSM continues to cater to right wingers whenever they are criticized as being "librul."

Long story short: Blogger was hired for WaPo.com who turned out to be a Repub operative and hack who was found to have plagiarized many of his articles. The real story is how dumb can Jim Brady be, for not doing minimal due-diligence on the guy's resumes and a Google search. Newspaper people just don't seem to get the new media paradigm.

Story here:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washpostblog/2006/03/ben_domenech_resigns.html

Conservative Thinking At Its Best!

Allowing for the possible oxymoron in the headline, here's an excellent list of conservative brain power at work:

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/19/the_top_dozen_insights_of_cons/

Blatent Lies the Norm on Faux News.

Here's an example of a blatent lie told by gas bag Gingrich on the Right Wing's favorite propaganda channel:

On Hannity & Colmes, Gingrich falsely claimed that Dennis Hastert "did not get a private plane"

Summary: On Hannity & Colmes, Newt Gingrich falsely asserted that following 9-11, Dennis Hastert "did not get a private plane," adding that "[t]here's no reason for anyone but the president and vice president of the United States to have that level of security." In fact, at the time, the House sergeant-at-arms, the Defense Department, and the White House agreed that military planes should be made available to the speaker of the House for national security reasons, and Hastert was the first speaker to use one.

Full story at Media Matters.

"He Was Frightened" -- Details in Rove's IT Guru Connell's Death Emerge

This is very interesting and worth looking into... I mean I enjoy a conspriracy as much as the next guy, and if this were true and led to Rove going to jail, what a New Year's gift!!

Check it out!!
About Karl Rove
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Jennifer Aniston's Awkward "Early Show" Interview

Smith once called Arianna a "social gadfly" during an on-air interview when she was running for CA governor. She shut him down immediately and I use that exchange as an example of ignoring idiots in the MSM in my media training seminars.



Why he is still on the air is a total puzzle to me... a tool of the highest order.



Time to retire, Smith, before senility totally takes its toll.
About Jennifer Aniston
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

More Republican Nonsense!

I keep asking, "why do Repubs hate America so?" and then I run across articles like this one below and the answer seems to be, "because they are incredibly stupid."
See for yourself:

Back when scandals didn't cost trillions or kill people

by kos

Thu Dec 18, 2008 at 10:30:03 AM PST

Yesterday, BarbinMD noted the GOP's use of the Holder nomination to try and rehash a greatest hits of Clinton Administration-era scandals:

Senate Republicans have requested information about Attorney General nominee Eric Holder’s role in the Elian Gonzalez controversy as part of a broad probe into his tenure with the Clinton administration and potential ties to presidential scandals during that era.

...the move to focus attention on the highly controversial Gonzalez case indicates the confirmation of President-elect Obama’s top law enforcement official will be anything but smooth.

Seeking information about Gonzalez suggests Republicans are seeking issues that will resonate outside the Beltway, unlike the Rich pardon. [...]

In a separate letter to current Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the senators ask for information tying Holder to 17 separate issues including the Rich pardon and the Gonzales case, but also Vice President Al Gore’s 1996 fundraising scandal and Clinton’s history of special prosecutors in the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals from 1993 to 2001.

What's most interesting to me about this, aside from Senate Democrats giving Republicans all the time in the world to prepare for their smear attack, is the nature of these so-called "scandals":

Let's see. 1) A father was reunited with his son, 2) a rich undeserving guy was pardoned, 3) the vice-president may have raised an illegal $65,000 at a Buddhist Temple, 4) a failed small-time Clinton real estate investment, and 5) Monica!

Quaint, huh? What with two failed wars, a deep recession, the collapse of Wall Street, the collapse of the banks, the collapse of AIG, the SEC's blind eye to Bernard Madoff $50 billion scam, Blackwater, Katrina, and on and on and on.

So after eight years that have cost us trillions, and will cost us trillions more to emerge from this economic armageddon, and eight years that have cost millions more their jobs, and hundreds of thousands their lives in Iraq and elsewhere ... this is how Republicans respond?

Monica! Whitewater! Elian! Rich!

If the worst we get out of the Obama Administration are trite and barely consequential "scandals" like those we "suffered" during the Clinton years, we'll all be able to rest much easier.

Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2008

Very enjoyable reading. Keep up the good work! Holding the media accountable is a noble cause these days!
About Fox News
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Favorite Phrase of 2008

This one certainly is garnering the most votes:

"This is the goodbye kiss, you dog!"
Muntazer al-Zaidi. Baghdad, 2008

Last Ditch Efforts by Bush to Further Screw up the Nation

Watch this video from Brave New Film, it's seasonal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B4y5sZKdI4

MSM Aiding Bush Propaganda Machine: No Surprises Here.

Interesting little article I found:

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has issued a statement strongly criticizing the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) for its continued use of retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey as an on-air military analyst, while failing to disclose McCaffrey's multiple conflicts of interest that were recently detailed in the New York Times. "When the retired general offers his insight on the air for NBC, CNBC and MSNBC, viewers are left with the impression he is an 'objective' observer, a former military man speaking from the depths of his experience," it states. "What the networks have failed to tell viewers is that McCaffrey has a financial interest in the war." According to Andy Schotz, the chairman of SPJ's Ethics Committee, "these networks -- which are owned by General Electric, a leading defense contractor -- are giving the public powerful reasons to be skeptical about their neutrality and credibility. ... These are raging conflicts of interest embedded into reporting on crucial news." Writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, Charles Kaiser asks if there is "any limit to the shamelessness of NBC News," which "has never once disclosed any of McCaffrey's multiple conflicts of interest on the air. ... McCaffrey is the living embodiment of all the worst aspects of entrenched Washington corruption -- a man who shares with scores of other retired officers a huge financial interest in having America conduct its wars for as long as possible."

Nicolas Sarkozy Assassination Attempt: French President Unharmed

Typical American media sensationalism. The original article is British, but carried here with all the added sensationalism that AP and others could muster.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Christmas in San Francisco, A Landmark!

Here's a very familiar sight for San Francisco visitors, so we decided to include it in our holiday travels... before or after hitting Magnolia brewpub, I can't remember. The houses are known as the "Sisters" and are facing Alamo Square.

Took this pic with the Nikon Coolpix 8700 on a tri-pod, with a wide angle to get maximum depth of field and a slow shutterspeed to keep the f-stop small. Also, set the flash to go off, not on automatic.

Why Rove Attacks Eric Holder: To Provide Cover for Bush's Pardons

I find myself wondering again and again how the MSM manages to avoid asking Rove about any of his criminal actions. Refusing to submit to subpeonas is a crime as I understand it. This article by Mr Abrams explains a lot, I think,
About Karl Rove
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Musical Past Re-enters My Life!!

I spent most of my Jr and Sr high school days at Paris American High School, just outside Paris in a little town called Garches. We were all military kids, surrounded by French culture which made for some interesting times. However, missing was the rock and roll scene taking place back in the States, so some of us got involved in playing music. Early on I remember seeing couple guys playing guitar at an assembly and later at a school dance. Never really learned their names, but it really pushed me to get my own guitar and learn some songs. Ultimately, got good enough to start a band, named the Jazztones for some reason, and we played at the Teen center on Friday and Saturday nights. Also got to play at the the Officer's club in West Berlin once ('nother story).






Well, speed forward until this week. Thanks to another PAHS alum, Joan Imus and her web page for us ex-Pirates (school mascot), I reconnected with one of those early guitar players. Turns out his name is Jerry Corbitt and if that name sounds familiar, it's because he was one of the original "Youngbloods" of "Get Together" and others, fame. He now lives in Texas after leaving Marin county about 8 years ago. He has a new CD out, really good, and it has an updated version of his song "Grizzly Bear" which you might remember as one of the Youngbloods' big hits.
Small world these days, thanks to all these Tubes and Internets.

Check out his music:

http://www.myspace.com/jerrycorbitt

I think I have a photo of him playing at PAHS; I'll look for it and post it. I'm sure he will appreciate folks seeing him in his teenage days! LOL!

Stay tuned

Sight on Cooper Road.

We don't 'low no speedsters on our back road!!

Best Part of Thanksgiving? Leftovers!!

As I head for a turkey sated slumber this evening, I am pleased to know that today's fabulous meal with be with me for several days yet. Lots of turkey (thanks to Whole Foods and Diestel) and dressing left for lunches, snacks and late night raids on the fridge. Some pics to document to occasion:














Authentic Southern cornbread dressing, complete with toasted pecans, starts with freshly made corn bread, naturally.

This year we has a Toulouse 2004 Anderson Valley pinot noir with our dinner, and it was a fabulous wine. We bought it last year at the winery near Philo, and managed to save it for this year's dinner.

Hope you had as much fun as we did and your leftovers will remind you of a wonderful time spent with family and friends.

You know, I think I'll just go have another piece of pumpkin pie!! With some tasty Tailor Maid decaf expresso coffee.

Interestingly enough, I spent the past two days at the San Francisco Auto Show working on a demo of upgrading a Toyota Prius to a plug-in version, which is not yet on the market. AAA put the event on since they have moved most of their company cars to hybrids, including the Pruis that was converted as part of this demonstration. HyMotion provided the battery assembly for the conversion and Pats Garage of San Francisco, which is part of the Green Gears network did the actual installation. Check them out at this address: http://www.greengears.net/



Very informative and exciting to be part of. If you are in the SF area next week, Friday and Saturday, stop by and watch as they re-do the conversion for a new audience. I'm the guy with the camera shooting close ups!!
About Economy
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Walking the Stairs on the Eiffel Tower

Back in 05, Kay, me, her brother Eric and wife, Laura, spent several days in Paris. A visit to the Eiffel tower was de riguer since Eric and Laura had never been to Paris before. So, before heading off to see Paris on the Fat Tire Bike Tours adventure, we walked up the stairs on the tower, avoiding the elevators and working off some croissants calories. We only had time to visit the premier etage (1st level) and on the way back down, it occurred to me to document the event since it is one not often seen. Using my Nikon Coolpix 5700 ( a true work horse) I recorded a one minute video.
I now, belately, offer it for your enjoyment and edification.
I just saved you a trip to Paris!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqDgA2QXtzk

In Honor of Veteran's Day, a film to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcvmoGjGNc

Happy Veterans Day to My Fellow Vets!

Kay and I send out best wishes to Vets everywhere on this day of recognition. Kay was a Capt. in the USArmy, stationed in Germany and San Francisco's Presideo and I was an Airman First Class (E-4) in the Air Force, stationed in Taiwan, Japan and Da Nang, Viet Nam working as an airborne Chinese translator for the NSA.
Picture me taken in fall of 65 in Da Nang.





Could not find a photo of Kay in her uniform, partially because the living room is a total
shambles due to new wood flooring due to be installed as soon as we get the termite damage repaired. Note to myself: never buy an old house again.

Day After Celebration Calls for Biscuits!

So I had some great ones at Parkside Cafe in Santa Rosa.

Election Night Photos
In an evening that surely will produce many great images, here is my favorite so far, from a slide show on Huffington Post with no photo credit, at least for now. From Kentucky, if you can't read the small sign:

Tesla Makes News After Appearing on My Blog!

Remember last week when I posted a photo about a Tesla car being shown at the Marin Civic Center? Well, seems like another story was going on in the background.
Here's a release posted today on Silicon Alley Insider's website:

Tesla Motors Getting Some Cash

Vasanth Sridharan | October 31, 2008 12:52 PM

Valley darling Tesla Motors, which makes the Roadster, a $109,000 electric sports car, needs a little more cash. The CEO Elon Musk confirmed with Reuters that the company has $9 million cash on hand and that they’re going to get $20 million in the coming weeks from their existing investors. Reuters:

When Tesla failed to secure a $100-million investment round earlier this month, Musk cut 24 percent of the company's work force and delayed development work on a battery-powered electric sedan, known internally as the "Model S."

He also took the CEO post from Tesla's former chief executive, Ze'ev Drori.

"We didn't raise the $100 million but we still need to raise some money to get to cash flow positive," Musk said. "We actually probably only need on the order of $20 million to do that. We're going to raise more than that, but we only need about $20 million."

Nov. 4 Finally Here!!

The morning came with blue skies and ground fog after a day of rain yesterday. Perfect day for voting and celebrating. We'll be drinking Korbel Natural tonight!
Photo shows the organic farm next door, Laguna Farms, with harvested vineyard in foreground and Great Egret Rookery eucalyptus trees back in the fog.
Taken with my Nikon Coolpix 5700 again, can't seem to get the D70 out anymore. Thinking that a D90 may be the camera I really need.

The Simple Distillation Of McCain's Message Problem

A great illustration of message development. I use this tool a lot with my clients in Media Training classes.

I will use this post in future classes as an excellent example of how to analyze successful campaigns. I have a feeling that the Obama campaign will provide fodder for many "how to" and "how it was done" books in the coming years.

Kudos to Mr. Nikolas for pointing this out.
About John McCain
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Slow Day at the Office (that is, if I had an office).

Construction around the ol homestead fireplace today, new tile going in, front door open, freezing inside as I take refuge in my office.
Thought turn to other things, like biscuits, and herons, and warm climates. Herewith a montage of images appropot of nothing and everything.

How about a head of lettuce.
Worked for David Frost once.

The show needs no host. The guests show up with the week's talking points and run thru them regardless of the question (a media training goal, I might add) so just let them line up, approach the mic and let rip. Next in line follows... asst producer keeps them to tigth time limits.
Voila! Another 30 minutes of puntificating history.

No need to thank me.

---

Sorry, " tight" schedule, it should read.
About Meet the Press
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sarah Palin Spotted in Sonoma!

As you might expect there were a lot of Palin costumes at Halloween parties last night, including this very clever and detailed one in Sonoma. Photo by Gale Mead, Sonoma, CA.
Caption to photo reads: "Me as Sarah Palin, complete with dead wolf, M16, baby, and bandolier, fistbumping with a guy in a Barack Obama mask."

I'm sure some of our famous Sonoma county wines had a little something to do with this patriotic display. (h/t Huffington Post)

Court Docs: GOP Donor Secretly Funneled $75K To Coleman Family

Media Training 101:



If you get hit by a lawsuit from Texas about GOP contributors funneling money to your campaign thru your wife's company (documented elsewhere on Friday) try to counter the impact by filing a lawsuit yourself against your opponent, say, for slander or something and hope that confusion will reign in the voting public's mind, helped of course by a lazy media.

Seems to be a textbook case of it going on here. Thanks Coleman, for giving me more material to use in my classes.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost