You don't have to be a dog lover to appreciate the moving, powerful short film by Atsushi Sanada - "Say, Marimo."

Beautifully shot.

iew from my hotel window:



Carmel-by-the-Sea - a city formerly mayored by Clint Eastwood.

Wish you were here ...

See you on the other side.

am upgrading straight to OSX Cougar.

n a down economy like we are experiencing right now, recent college grads with zero work history have it worst of all - and Charlie Hohen was no exception. In his words:

I'd been turned away or completely ignored by every single company I'd applied to over the course of 12 weeks (I was even rejected by a company I'd done a three-month internship with).

WHY WON'T ANYONE HIRE ME?!

His experiences, and his subsequent success in finding interesting opportunities as a grad with nearly zero work history inspired him to write one of the most popular e-books zipping around my friends' Delicious links and email forwards.
 
So I'd like to pass along his e-book: Charlie Hohen's guide to being a Recession-Proof Graduate
[total read time: 8~10 minutes]

owntown Las Vegas, from the top of the Palms tower. Wish you were here ...

eave it up to the FedGov to cook up a cockamamie scheme where a billion dollars is siphoned from taxpayers to destroy perfectly working vehicles and screw poor people who can't afford a brand-new car and would actually appreciate and use said 'clunkers' which are summarily crushed and taken out of circulation.

Cash for Clunkers Breaking Down
It's unbelievable that the government has set aside $1 billion of taxpayer money to remove roughly 250,000 drivable vehicles from the road. And the situation is getting messy as thousands of people who didn't need a tax break went out to get one to accompany their new vehicles.

Hoping to boost new car sales, the government sold "cash for clunkers" playing on environmental sensibilities. But the waste this program brings is irresponsible and the fuel-standard improvements required are a joke. These working-condition vehicles could have gone on used car lots, available to people who can't afford new cars. Or they might have found their way to charitable organizations or relatives in need.

But this is better, right? President Barack Obama and Congress created an artificial rush for new cars while destroying working vehicles, giving people who can afford new cars a big tax break and leaving auto recyclers and lower-income car buyers in the dust. What a wreck.

And now, they want to find *another* billion dollars to keep this horrible program going?

The people I know who took advantage of the program turned in little-used but perfectly usable minivans and SUVs (so that means they weren't on the road polluting the air anyway) to be destroyed. Marginal environmental benefits, very real physical destruction of the wealth of the nation, all aided and abetted by the fools on Capital Hill.

Ok, rant done.

hose of us who've ever been pulled over and received traffic tickets may have wondered if there was anything we could have done to have gotten off with a warning. By all appearances, the most effective 'get out of ticket free' pass is a badge.

Different professions, different worlds.

As part of a project I am working on with Wasabi Ventures, I've expanded my reading to a few law-enforcement blogs/newsletters. I recently stumbled across a particularly eye-opening article in PoliceOne.com on the topic of "Professional Courtesy," AKA the police practice of turning a blind eye to traffic violations of fellow officers and other 'protected' vocational classes (LE spouses, firefighters, EMTs, etc.). As can be seen from the poll conducted by PoliceOne.com, a major fraction of officers will openly admit to applying wholesale a different set of standards to fellow officers.

Being a civilian, I found the comment section was rather disheartening - there was nearly no debate whether "Professional Courtesy" was right or just (98%+ of the respondents appear to be in favor of it); friction was largely between the tiny minority who feel Law Enforcement professionals "ought to know better" and set an example, versus the overwhelming majority who stridently defend Professional Courtesy as a perk of the job. Many of the LEOs cite variants of "one day, I may need backup and I'd never want to upset that officer/EMT/firefighter/etc by giving him/her a ticket" as justification for "Professional Courtesy," with the thinly-veiled threat that officers who apply traffic laws equally across professions shouldn't expect backup if they find themselves in need.

Consider these to be the words cops say when they think nobody is listening:

Everyone makes mistakes, so why hammer your fellow officer, or his or her family, and give the insurance companies fodder to raise his or her rates over a petty traffic offense? Over the last 15 years I have stopped many officers and have been stopped a handful of times, and have always, always, always extended professional courtesy to my fellow officers and have fortunately been the recipient of professional courtesy. [ed note: "everyone makes mistakes," but only civilians deserve to pay for them? Nice.]

I guess I'm old school. I do not write cops for traffic violations...period.

In over 30 years as a cop, I have NEVER written an officer a ticket. I have been badged dozens of times, and always allowed them to go w/o a ticket.

[ed note: FINALLY, a refreshing change of tone from one of the commenters] The term "professional courtesy" as I've tried to apply it has been, "if you act professionally, you will get the courtesy of a warning." That applies to every profession out there. Your job is exactly that...a job. You may have the same job I do, but the rule still applies. I've dealt with some officers from larger agencies than where I work now and they have shown no professionalism in my dealings with them, but when I break out the ticket book they start screaming about "professional courtesy". Why would I give you any courtesy, when you afforded me none in doing my job? Thinking your badge means the law doesn't apply to you? I've worked for bigger agencies too, so this isn't a power trip. And to those who would say I might need their help someday...I don't want a crooked cop backing me up any day....ever. If you think a violator of the law is exempt because the violator is a cop, you're a crooked cop. Period.

As law enforcement professionals shouldn't we set the example? Some of us are habitual and blatant violators of traffic laws. If off duty cops are going to make a habit out of running stop signs, speeding or whatever, PLEASE take the FOP button off of your vehicle and your spouses vehicle. It makes all of us look bad.

Poll time!
Poll #1431067 Professional Courtesy
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 48

I am a civilian and I

Reading the article/comments from officers, I am

ikes.

Being a rising actor and celebrity means that every person is going to form a different opinion of you, and whether they think you’re amazing, or not, you just have to realize how special you are, and that you do things that only a few people in the world can ever dream of doing. When I meet girls now, they are so intimidated by who I am, and the power that I hold with my stature and new celebrity, that I think that it pushes “normal” people away, and gives them the wrong idea of who Arthur Kade is. I am becoming a worldwide brand that stands for quality and excellence, and people will follow me as “The Journey” goes to the next level, but with this power comes the fact that “Haters”, and non-believers will be jealous, and become intimidated, and try to sabotage greatness.

The beauty of Arthur Kade, is how dynamic and complex that I am, and the depth to which I can address any topic, including sexuality.

PHEAR!

aturday brings me to my once-every-two-months ritual of donating blood at the local Red Cross, where I am attached to tubes and get about 50 hit points drained into a 500mL bag. Free cookies and snacks abound in the donation place, as well as free WIFI.

It is a strange and somewhat surreal experience, watching your life literally drain out of your body even in such a controlled environment - the steady filling of the blood bladder, the antiseptic smell of iodine on the arm.

The questionnaires - always adjusting to current realities, now focus on Swine Flu and ask a blizzard of questions related to exposure risks that donors' lifestyles might put them in contact. Oddly enough, being gay male automatically excludes you from blood donation - a strangely archaic restriction in this day and age.


Still - all for a good cause, and for those who care, a free blood test (since the Red Cross runs a full-spectrum test on donations each time they come in).
If you're healthy, over 110lbs and not a gay male (hey, I don't make the rules. :( ) go forth and give life!

Eased off on Crossfit last week while I'm down a pint, but I'm feeling ready to rock starting this Monday.