Since this is the 36th anniversary of the shootings at Kent State, I thought I would link to this article about an incident that occurred several days after the shootings, in which a drunken motorist ran his car into a group of peace protesters marching from MSU to the capital in Lansing.

"A motorist injured 10 young people when he swerved his red Falcon into a crowd of marchers near the intersection of Michigan and LaSalle Boulevard. Lansing police chief Derold Husby said late Thursday afternoon that the motorist has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

... Admitted to Olin Health Center for observation and treatment of an ankle injury was Mary K. Goulet, Greenville sophomore."

Mary is my sister.  Here is a link to the full article:

Link

Looking for an energy efficient vehicle?  In terms of total energy efficiency including production, actual usage, and disposal, Scion xB leads the list, significantly better than even the best hybrids.

 

That’s the conclusion of long-term study of “dust to dust” energy costs for cars and trucks. The research tracked and calculated the energy cost of each model sold in the U.S. in 2005 from initial concept to the projected time it is scrapped.

 

http://www.cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/

Al Gore is coming out with a movie in which he "...weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore’s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. The film is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry."

Here is the movie trailer.

And here is an interesting Washington Post editorial on Gore and the movie.

Update:  I completely missed this link to the main Website for the movie the first time around.

New Urbanism has become enormously influential, according to this NPR report about an Atlanta community called Glenwood Park.  An alternative to the "auto centered suburb" is what they are after, and the success of these communities is off the charts.

Alex Marshal, a critic of New Urbanism at times, makes a good point when he says:

The Achilles' heel of New Urbanist developments has been their "downtowns," the classic "main streets" meant to be at the heart of the developments. If they were built, and successful, it would be a significant improvement on suburban life. But the reasons these mini downtowns fail point to the structural flaws in the whole theory of TNDs.

Retail needs an enormous accessible customer base to succeed. Street-level retail in cities get this from enormous density and the therefore enormous quantity of people that walk by their front doors. Suburban retail get this by locating on a main highway where a high volume of traffic goes by their parking lots.

New Urban developments have generally tried to locate their mini-downtowns in the center of their low-density subdivisions. The result is that they have neither enough pedestrian, nor enough auto, traffic to make retail succeed. The "main streets" of virtually all New Urban developments have failed.

An exception is the Disney-produced Celebration in Florida. But it may be the exception that proves the rules. Disney had the enormous financial muscle to build the downtown first, before any homes were built or sold. It also had the marketing muscle to pull in tourists to its shops, even though the downtown lacks immediate access to a main highway. Tourists are making these shops succeed, not residents.

He is correct in my estimation.  Which is why it will be interesting to witness first hand my home town of East Grand Rapids as it adds density in an effort to rescue it's dwindling downtown retail customer base. Even though it wasn't concieved as a new urbanist community when it was founded a hundred years ago, East Grand Rapids is almost a perfect example of new urbanism, with mixed use residential, office, retail, schools and a lake all within walking distance of a village that even includes a large grocery store.  I've been looking long and hard for new urbanist settings that might rival it's combination of walkable village atmosphere and family friendly recreational lifestyle.  I've not found it, although I've not been to Seaside. 

EGR isn't known to be affordable, but compared to Seaside it is a total bargain.  Gaslight Village is about to take on a bit more density when the new Jade Pig developments are finished.  My guess is that the trend toward new urbanism will continue, and that EGR will one day be highly regarded as one of the true original new urbanist communities that evolved from natural forces and community needs.

For some of you who have not been able to envision the inner workings of the Internet, you might find this Website useful and revealing:

http://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/

In an erie twist, like the television show "Lost", I have been forced to push a button every half hour to prevent myself from freezing to death.  Our forced air heater fan stops blowing after about 1/2 hour of normal behavior.  I originally thought that the problem was due to the thermostat, which has also been acting erratically.  So I bought a new one, and the same thing happened.  After 1/2 hour the fan stops blowing I can hear a droning sound coming from the unit.

Because it's Sunday and I don't want to pay the extra fee associated with an emergency call, I have not called a repair person.  So I rise from my couch every half hour to turn the unit off, and then switch the fan on.  After the fan runs for awhile I am able to start the unit up again, and it blows hot air for about 1/2 hour.

I have come to accept my new role...

Update:  On Monday the repair person diagnosed the problem as a clogged Drip leg which he cleaned out.  Our heater is working normally and I am attempting to adapt to my freedom.

 

Our family went to Frederick Meijer Gardens for Valentines day.  We had a delicious dinner and then got an early peek at the butterflies that are just emerging from their chrysalis.  On the window sat a translucent butterfly that had just finished its metamorphasis.  It was dusk outside and the natural lack of light in the tropical conservatory made for a dark and mysterious adventure.  I took this picture with a flash and the reflection on the window was a pleasant surprise.

This is some great music with an even greater purpose:

iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=121054236

From the In the Sun Foundation website:

In the sun foundation.org is the home of a very special project launched by R.E.M.'s lead singer, Michael Stipe, in response to the ongoing hardship experienced by thousands of residents of the Gulf Coast. More than five months later, many are still displaced by the devastating effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with no relief imminent, and yet, the news cycle has moved on, taking our focus, as a nation, away from something which still should be at the center of our attention. In this spirit, Stipe felt moved to join others who have remained dedicated to the cause, reminding the public in his own way, through music, that there is still an incredible amount of work to be done: "Things are not fine. The storm is still impacting people's lives in very real ways and many have been left desperate.   I want to remind each of us that as humans, and certainly as Americans, it is our responsibility to help those in need... I had to do something as a public figure. The one thing I can do is sing, and it's probably the best way to get people to pay attention.

All proceeds from this project go to MercyCorps.

My town of East Grand Rapids has made the national news lately.  First, Reeds Lake neighbors convinced East Grand Rapids city leaders to keep a newly constructed home off the Parade of Homes:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10897265/

Might this be the first time that a Parade home has been turned away from a neighborhood?  One of the neighbors was quoted as saying that the parade would draw a "criminal element" to her neighborhood.

And this week a few dozen of our high school students were reprimanded after some parents discovered photos of underage drinking on their blogs:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/08/tech/main1296738.shtml

It's not easy being portrayed by the media as snobby and drunk.  Most of us who live here are neither, and the community is more diverse than other affluent suburbs in West Michigan.  The culture in EGR is totally focused around schools and family, which helps explain my take on the common thread between the two news makers listed above:  Parental concern about childrens safety.

Speaking from experience, the overwhelming urge that parents feel to keep their children safe is incredible.  It makes you crazy, and then causes you to adopt parental behaviors that you always despised as a teenager.  It is true, EGR is not perfect, but we are doing the best we can to raise our children in a safe and healthy environment.

I say we boycott the major college bowl games until they bring them back to New Years day.  Spread the word -- take back the tradition of New Years day and college football!

It was Christmas Eve, and I was tracking Santa Clause with my six year old son on Google Earth. Santa's sleigh bounced between small European towns as midnight approached.

"Santa is coming", his tired and grouchy dad said. "You should think about getting to bed".
The boy was not tired, the boy would not budge.
"But he's still in the Ukraine", he said with a grudge.
Instead of threatening and yelling and such, Santa thought of a jollier touch.
He made that boy feel like a giant, by contacting him through a messaging client:
"Merry Christmas, it's Santa", the box on the screen did say.
"I'm talking to you on the computer today".
The boy at his desktop was excited that night.
Santa's message had caused him delight.
"Go to bed right now", Santa said in good cheer.
"Your parents are tired and Christmas is here."
Off to bed the boy went, not stopping to wander,
as Santa sat clicking the mouse over yonder.

Bill Gates has given more to charity than any human being in history.  Bono leveraged his celebrity status to entice the leaders of our richest nations to forgive $50 Billion in debt to poor countries.  I wonder how many lives they have saved through their actions?

"For being shrewd about doing good, for rewiring politics and re-engineering justice, for making mercy smarter and hope strategic and then daring the rest of us to follow..."

"These are not the people you expect to come to the rescue. Rock stars are designed to be shiny, shallow creatures, furloughed from reality for all time. Billionaires are even more removed, nestled atop fantastic wealth where they never again have to place their own calls or defrost dinner or fly commercial"

Link

The Point Paulo resort was located in East Grand Rapids, along the shores of Reeds Lake. The Marx Brothers, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, George Burns, Will Rogers, Morton Downey, and Walter Winchell stayed there, along with Buster Keaton, Fanny Brice, and many others. Several of the stars of the Vaudeville tour called Reeds Lake and the Ramona Theatre their favorite stop on the Orpheum Theatre circuit, primarily because of the beautiful resort on Reeds lake known as Point Paulo.

For the past few years I've managed a small Website that outlines the resort.  My wife came up with a great idea:  Why not make the PointPaulo.com into a Wiki?

Voila

If I was living a life of leisure, without the responsibilities of work and family, I would certainly be a video game addict.  So I wasn't surprised when my son took an early liking to video games (played on our home PC).  How much is too much?

Steven Johnson makes a compelling arguement for the possibility that video games are making us more intelligent.  While I await the arrival of his book, which is on order from the library, I have been observing more closely the interaction of my 6 year old son and his computer.  It does seem that he is engaging in some very difficult cognitive tasks as he battles with Darth Sidious and Professor Dumbledore.

Ten-year-old Arfa Karim Randhawa of Pakistan is believed to be the youngest person in the world to have earned Microsoft Certified Professional status.  She actually has her MCAD, which involves passing more than one of the very difficult exams required for certification.

Link