other recent stories II

New CTA cars prioritize capacity, not service, experts say

April 16, 2010

Two Chicago transportation experts expressed doubts about the seating configurations in the new Chicago Transit Authority rail cars unveiled Thursday during a press conference.

The center-facing seats are seen as less comfortable for passengers, and may make the CTA less competitive as a mode of transportation.

“When you’re looking at the viewpoint of competing for riders, then that’s not going to achieve it. Purely from a service standpoint, having the new cars with the technology is good, that’s all positive. The main negative is from the overall user experience,” said Professor Hani Mahmassani, director of the Northwestern University Transportation Center.

The new train car model retires the current seat configuration in favor of space-saving aisle-facing seats. The new design reduces the number of seats by about 17 percent.

“The density in our system isn’t so great that we should write off getting a seat. I’m not talking about the Red Line at rush hour, I’m talking about the other 90 percent of the system,” said Joseph Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.

The prototypes, which will start test runs on the Red Line next week, have four fold-up and 34 aisle-facing seats, creating a wider center aisle and more space for bicycles, strollers and luggage at the expense of up to eight fewer seats per car. Overall, the new model increases maximum passenger capacity to 123 passengers.

“I think as other modes of transportation become more comfortable, it’s a shame that the CTA is taking a step backwards with fewer seats. It reinforces the notion that transit is inherently uncomfortable,” Schwieterman said.

In the Chicago area, the average commute by train is approximately 45 minutes, including walk time, while in a car it’s about 25 minutes, according to experts.

The seating configuration was at the request of the CTA, according to the manufacturer, Montreal-based Bombardier Transportation Mass Transit Corp.

“The end result is a wider aisle, more room to maneuver. It’s easier to get on and off,” said Maryanne Roberts, spokeswoman for Bombardier.

The new fleet, comprising 406 rail cars and a $603.6 million investment, is sorely needed. The new models will replace cars that have been in service for up to 41 years and have outdated, inefficient propulsion and braking systems. The recommended lifespan for a rail car is 25 years.

The new design adds six inches to the narrowest point of center aisles, and will have passenger support poles and hard straps plus two spaces for wheelchairs. The prototypes include several new passenger safety features, a more efficient braking system, an improved communication system and modernized climate regulation.

New safety features include seven networked security cameras per car, an intercom enabling the rail operator to see and communicate with passengers, and an emergency communication system. Lighted station indicator maps and destination signs will also be on the interior and exterior of the new 5000 series model.

Navistar optimistic for 2010 earnings

April 08, 2010

Commercial truck and engine manufacturer Navistar International Corp. Thursday increased earnings guidance for 2010, raising its net income forecast to between $198 million to $234 million, or $2.75 to $3.25 per diluted share.

The improved outlook was attributed to a stronger economic climate, an increase in military sales and improved margins in the truck and parts business. Previous earnings guidance for the fiscal year ending Oct. 30 was $1.75 to $2.25.

Navistar, based in Warrenville, anticipates its defense segment revenues to land in the range of $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, with confirmed orders worth $2 billion. Military sales last year totaled $2.8 billion.

Analysts responded positively, if cautiously, to the news. Chicago-based Barrington Research Associates Inc. analyst Walter Liptak highlighted the company’s potential for an early rebound as an advantage over competitors, and identified Navistar as a solid company for longer-term investment.

“The military sales is a positive for this year, but the thing that will really help NAV is the new 2010 trucks which should help the company gain market share,” Liptak wrote in an email.

Navistar Chairman and CEO Daniel Ustian told analysts that the revenues from the military orders would fall primarily into the third quarter, and that the profitability outlook for the second quarter was “right on the line.” Non-operational items, not margin on existing orders, will swing the second quarter results, Ustian said.

Liptak decreased his second-quarter earnings estimates to a penny from 20 cents, but increased third-quarter estimates to $1.52 from $1.33.

Commercial truck industry sales dropped sharply during the economic slowdown, bringing Navistar’s retail truck sales in 2009 to its lowest point in 47 years.

Navistar’s stock increased 94 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $48.00 Thursday.

other recent stories

UAL reports higher sales, narrowed losses

April 27, 2010

UAL Corp. reported improved first-quarter results with a narrower loss driven by an uptick in revenue. Earnings beat the Wall Street consensus estimate by a considerable margin but the stock dropped 8.3 percent.

UAL lost $82 million, or 49 cents per share, an improvement from the prior-year loss of $382 million, or $2.64 per share, even as volatile fuel expenses increased nearly 20 percent.

Analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance were expecting a loss of 77 cents in the quarter ended March 31. Chicago-based UAL, the holding company for United Airlines Inc., reported a revenue increase of nearly 15 percent to $4.24 billion from $3.69 billion the prior year.

UAL executives said the airline is still has a long way to go. “There is much more work to do and much more potential to be realized,” said United's Executive Vice President John Tague.

The company announced Friday a change in its frequent flier mileage revenue calculation. Analysts were supportive of the change in accounting practice, which lifted revenue per available seat mile – an industry metric measuring demand—by an estimated 1.5 percent to 2 percent

Hudson Holding Corp. analyst Daniel McKenzie raised his full-year earnings estimate to $3.20 per share from $2.30 based on the accounting change.

Analysts’ reactions ranged from tentative to positive about the quarter.

“We believe fundamentals are very solid,” wrote Gary Chase, an analyst with Barclays Bank PLC, in a research note. He raised his earnings estimate for the year to $2.55 from $1.40 and the target stock price to $30 from $25.

UBS Securities LLC analyst Kevin Crissey maintained his 2010 target price of $30 and full-year earnings per share forecast of $2.30. He wrote in a note that “compared to our model, revenue and costs were in-line to slightly worse.”

United executives expressed cautious optimism about the quarter during a conference call with analysts, referencing signs of recovering customer demand.

CEO Glenn Tilton said the company was “encouraged to see early recovery” in business passenger revenues. He also repeatedly mentioned United’s position among its competitors, adding the company posted the “best net margin of the five major U.S. carriers.”

Despite repeated attempts by analysts to address United’s merger talks with Continental Airlines, executives declined to comment during the conference call.

United stock closed Tuesday at $20.51, down $1.85 or 8.3 percent.

Cautious optimism for Boeing in 2010

April 21, 2010

Boeing Co., a leading aerospace manufacturer, reported decreased earnings Wednesday based on continuing soft sales in its commercial aircraft segment, but beat analysts’ expectations by 6 cents. Its stock rose 3.9 percent.

First-quarter earnings for the Chicago-based company fell 14.9 percent to $519 million, or 70 cents per diluted share, down from $610 million, or 87 cents per diluted share, last year. Analysts surveyed by Yahoo! Finance were expecting earnings of 64 cents.

Earnings reflected a 20-cent per share charge related to the recent healthcare legislation.

Boeing’s revenue for the quarter ended March 31, decreased 8 percent to $15.2 billion from $16.5 billion in 2009.

Boeing decreased its earnings guidance for the rest of the year to between $3.50 and $3.80 from its previous forecast of $3.70 to $4.00 based on healthcare costs. The $64 billion to $66 billion revenue forecast for 2010 was attributed to lowered aircraft production rates and reduced military spending.

“We are pleased with our first-quarter performance but recognize there is a lot of work to be done this year across both of our businesses,” said Boeing President James Bell during a call with analysts.

The company’s commercial airplanes segment saw an upswing in profit margin but decreased revenues, which dropped 13 percent to $7.47 billion from the same quarter last year. Boeing attributed lower revenues to fewer 747 airplane deliveries and issues with its seat supplier. Even so, margins for the commercial unit increased to 9.1 percent of sales from 4.9 percent during the first quarter of 2009. The company cited “strong operating performance” as the reason for the increase.

Boeing’s other business sector – defense, space and security – also saw a modest decrease in revenues over the previous year, shrinking 1 percent to $7.61 billion. The decline was driven primarily by lower volume in its network and space systems division. Margins decreased to 8.7 percent of revenue from 9.2 percent last year.

Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney indicated that the U.S. Department of Defense and other military agencies continue to face significant budget pressures.

Boeing’s business volume is split between its commercial and defense segments. Despite some shrinkage in its military revenue forecasts and slower sales on the commercial side, Boeing will continue to invest in program development for the rest of the year. R&D spending is forecast to rise to between $3.9 billion and $4.1 billion. Operating cash flow is expected to be zero for the year, reflecting a pension contribution of less than $100 million and a buildup of inventory.

Analysts are supportive of Boeing’s significant capital expenditures but are cautious about program development costs. A new assembly line for 787s in South Carolina, was an expected investment with the bulk of the costs landing in 2010.

“Boeing has significant execution risk related to its development programs, both in its commercial and military businesses,” wrote UBS Securities LLC analyst David Strauss in a research note. Strauss maintained his “neutral” rating with earnings estimates of $3.80 for the year, on the high end of the company’s guidance.

“We believe it is a positive sign that R&D guidance remains unchanged for the year,” wrote Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. analyst Troy Lahr in a research note.

The company expects R&D spending to drop in fiscal 2011.

Boeing stock closed at $74.16 on Wednesday, up $2.75 per share, or 3.9 percent.

by popular demand

or really, just one person...

the url for medill's new service is: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/

this story is on the front page now, but front pages get changed just about daily. the best way to find business writing (which is frequently too boring to be included on the front page) is to click on the "business" link at the bottom of the page.

to find my stuff, i type my name into the search box.

believe me, we know how ghetto and user-unfriendly our website is. everyone is embarrassed by it, especially the knight scholars, who could easily re-build the front end in a day if someone would let them. our CMS is also off the hook and involves pounding flax into paper and making ink out of crushed beetles.

keep in mind that we write to a local audience, so everything is localized unless it's a story involving news in chicago or illinois. i've become the queen of graphs and the consultant extraordinaire in the newsroom for quick excel graphs that look terrible (but are accurate). we get extra points (literally) for graphs that we make, so i - being of reasonable intelligence - always include a graph or image with my stories. it basically doubles the points for my stories, enabling me to halve the number of stories i actually need to write for the course.

here's my story from thursday:

Unemployment claims drop, economy still weak

April 29, 2010

Advance initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to 448,000 in the week ended April 24, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. That was down 11,000 from a revised figure of 459,000 the previous week.

Economists were expecting 445,000 claims, according to Yahoo Finance.

“Any time it goes down is good news,” said Michael Miller, associate professor of economics at DePaul University in Chicago.

Despite the decrease and other early indications of a stabilizing American economy, local experts say that the country is still in recession. The four-week moving average of initial claims rose by 1,500 to 462,500, an increase from the prior week’s average. The moving average has climbed for the past several weeks.

In Illinois, the four-week average decreased by 228 claims compared with the prior week. The four-week number paints a more accurate picture, and shows that last week’s claims are “in essence relatively flat, and down significantly from a year ago,” said Richard Kaye, an economist with the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Compared with the same period a year ago, new claims are down 41 percent, or 9,320 claims.

Illinois had fewer layoffs in the construction and service industries, according to the report.

“Job loss is slowing down, but you still have a pretty terrible labor market. That’s certainly true for Illinois,” said Bob Bruno, a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Labor and Employment Relations. “The average duration on unemployment is still terribly high. Illinois is in that group of states that has to keep extending unemployment benefits.”

During a robust economic phase, initial unemployment claims can number from 325,000 to 400,000, according to Miller.

“While moving in the right direction, we’re still at the level of claims in the middle of recession numbers. We still have a long way to go,” Miller said. “We were worse for so long in the 600-range.”

In March, more than 44 percent of the nation’s unemployed had been jobless for 27 or more weeks, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The March unemployment rate in Illinois was 11.7 percent, compared with the national average of 10.2 percent.

The four-week average may have been negatively skewed due to the timing of the Easter holiday, according to local experts.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 122 points Thursday.

warming up

the view out of the back of the el train, purple line to evanston.

end of my second week of my second quarter. this week was decent. i filed two stories this week, the first of which made it to the "front page" of our web site. to be fair, one third of the newsroom - the "urban" reporters - weren't in that day and so didn't compete for front page status. business stories, unless linked with some hot topic or glamorous topic like sports or celebrities, aren't necessarily front-page fodder.

part of the reason i'm thinking the week wasn't so bad was because i only had to get up at 5:45 a.m. twice this week. wednesday was the "career fair" in evanston so i slept in til 8 that day. woo fucking hoo. career fairs are all the same. predictably lame. i walked around, talked to CNN, bloomberg and travelzoo, got some free pens. i also went to a meeting in preparation for this workshop next week, for which i am a student volunteer.

been skyping with trev at night. it's nice for me because i get to wind down from the day hearing his voice and what he did the day before. once he starts work next week it won't work out so nicely - shanghai is 13 hours ahead so his mornings, which he's been spending leisurely talking with me, will be a tad busier. and my mornings tuesday through thursday are brutal - i'm out the door when the sun is coming up. we'll see how this works out, time-wise, this quarter. international relationships, as good as we are at them, are tough.

i need a pick-me-up

friday nights = too tired to do anything + too anxious to not do anything

is this why a disproportionate percentage of journalists are alcoholics?

i started my second quarter, including the voyage towards specializing in digital media. it's pretty remedial so far... i'll reserve my comments for a later time, when i've taken more than just one class, but i hope it goes faster than this first class. we're blogging on wordpress.

everyone says how j-school is one of the best years of their lives. i'm not experiencing that. i'm learning a lot, but it's stressful and grueling and not that fun. so, let me dispel that myth.

for the first time since i left california in early december, i'm actually feeling sort of homesick. it's weird, because i plugged along in the freezing weather, and now that it's warm out i want to go home.

reading the paper

now, more and more, when i read the paper i find myself marveling, "damn! those are some good quotes. i wonder how she was able to get those."

case in point: nicholas confessore's story on gov. david paterson this morning in the times, excerpt below.

“This is a devastating blow to a campaign that had problems to begin with,” said State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat who is one of Mr. Paterson’s closest friends in Albany. “I don’t think there’s any way around that, and I think he knows that. I think everyone knows that.”

i mean, damn! how do people get such awesomeness.

i'll never know, from washington anyway since i'm not a reporting person, just striving to be an interactive nerd. but still, i find it admirable.

yes, i'm geeking out.

the inevitable

after way too many convos with my main prof where he tells me i'm the bees knees, the "class valedictorian, if we had one" and many other waaaaaaaaay over-the-top exaggerations that have basically backfired and made me even more self-conscious... i've finally fucked up royally on a story and have to re-do the motherfucker.

it was bound to happen.

i keep telling myself that, but i guess i still feel bad. i should have known better than to blunder like i did. the bitch about my re-do is that video is fucking PAIN in the ASS and takes about 100x longer than writing a story. this is extra-double verifying that i never want to go into broadcast. ever.

i also have to bring lunch for the class on wednesday, which is - i have to be honest - probably stressing me out just as much as that 75. i am a freak.

ugh, ok. i just recalled that i have to friggin do some extra website shit for work study. whoever circulated the memo that grad school is easier than undergrad... is full of shit! i may have made it up in my head, but i really thought it wouldn't be such a struggle.

fug.

epic procrastination

dirtay bingo at cans bar

the closer the deadlines loom, the more i must comb facebook like i'm searching for nits on a scalp, desperately putting off another three hours wasted editing tracks in garageband. deep down, i'm thrilled that i was actually forced to blunder my way through the audio process (because a useless 40-minute training on that piece of garbage audacity program the school wants us to use for audio didn't do shit) but now that i semi-understand what i'm doing, i'm ready to do something else.

once i figure out how to drop an audio player into this little window, i'll post my 90-second audio package for NPR on dirty bingo. just kidding. about the NPR part, that is. you know i wrote and produced a story about dirty (filthy, actually) bingo instead of doing something with any weight. i got a 94 on it, too. don't judge! my friend amy did hers on the taco bell diet. the future of journalism, right here.

for my audio slideshow i covered a yoga-for-haiti fundraiser at the school. yes, i know. i can hear you judging. i'm just not going to be a hard news person, ok? that was never in the cards.

so now i have to write a fictional obit on some poor soul from my hometown (tom hanks, here i come) and instead i'm watching new A.F.I. videos and making tea and mucking around with my camcorder. oh yes, and blog-blathering. i am really asking for it.

one note - if you want to be taken seriously as a journalist, don't arrange beforehand with the organizer of a fundraiser to take photos, then show up with a rinky-dink point 'n shoot. i don't even think he noticed, but i felt like a total ass. i need a big fancy SLR to look legit. shouldn't the school have loaners so their masters students aren't laughed at? um, and bring a tripod so half your pictures from your weak little camera don't come out blurry.

damn, so

photo credits, by the way, are documented by way of photo links

grad school went and got all hard this week. wtf?! i thought i was just going to be partying the whole way through. oh wait, that's b-school. my bad.

i have something like 7 deadlines by next tuesday. didn't i used to get paid to have a to-do list like that? all of us in my main class, newswriting, kind of freaked out this morning and pressured our teacher into pushing our audio story deadline out a few days. having to crunch numbers is one thing, but when you have to interview folks you can't actually work late at night. inconvenient.

i am still working on a project where we go and hit the members of 4 suburbs with interviews. it's not fun. my classmate amy and i are devising a rather clever plan to go to local dives and conduct our interviews. it must be easier to talk to fools after a drink or two. and amy reasons that people don't wander far for their local watering hole, so we're definitely going to be getting actual residents of that town, unlike at malls, where everyone from the 3 closest states come to shop. people travel for commerce.

was feeling mighty discouraged (friggin sources won't cooperate when you want them to, i'm discovering) and then heard from my professor to call him. damn it. it turned out well, i'm getting some decent grades up front, and he said some nice things. this is still the beginning, mind you. i'm anticipating an epic fail somewhere along these lines. helped brighten my outlook a bit.

write a lede summarizing your first week at medill

don't forget who what where why when...




A purveying sense of camaraderie and expectation defined the first week of the Winter 2010 Medill MSJ program, said Carolyn at its close.

The professors, she found, were generally of impressive pedigree and proved to be as enthusiastic about their guidance as their storytelling of past days.

******************************

Driving wind and water-heavy snow did little to diminish the mixture of thrill, fear, and expectation of Carolyn’s first week at Medill.

The longest week of her life began Jan. 4, 2010, as the 31-year-old masters student found herself, after nearly a decade of analyzing profitability and streamlining processes for Fortune 500 companies, constantly re-calibrating in her social negotiations with fellow students still damp with undergraduate exertions while she strived to maintain focus on academics.

*****************************

Efficiency, observed a newly minted journalism masters student Carolyn, was not a priority for the seasoned journalist.

The decade she spent counting minutes, streamlining processes, and driving profitability was abruptly turned on its head with her first week at the Medill School of Journalism, which commenced Jan. 4, 2010. In its place was a shocking disregard for organization and the concept of informed preparation. She knew immediately that she had made the right decision.

*****************************

It was possible, graduate student Carolyn concluded on Friday, to experience simultaneous and competing currents of excitement, fear, extreme discomfort, awe, and joy for five consecutive days and emerge relatively unscathed.

A newly minted student at the Medill School for Journalism, Carolyn said she realized that she had finally found her tribe after decades of uncertainty during a lecture by a highly-regarded professor which effectively melded sage wisdom and copious expletive usage.

week two

[insert photo of some snow-covered street as i am beginning to understand i will be completely obsessed with the weather until summer]

so starting week two of classes. it has been a whirlwind, i suspect mainly because of how many people have told me that this year will be the craziest of my life (versus it actually being that crazy quite yet). last monday was our orientation, all eight hours of it. by the time the reception rolled around at 5 pm, i went immediately to the bar, procured booze, then bee-lined to a chair and sat in it for a few minutes without speaking or making eye contact. i was completely drained.

day two was our editing class, four hours of grammar and punctuation. it will be a useful and painful weekly occurrence.

the rest of the week was/is spent in newswriting. this class is all-day and intensive. i can't manage to put together strings of words to describe it other than my assigned projects will force me to learn how to present news in formats including written features, audio, video, written investigative reporting, written hard news reporting, and such. so far it has proved interesting, if a bit unwieldy, time-wise.

i am learning that journalists like very much to talk (about themselves, about their experiences, about people they know, about you, about people you know, about your experiences, about dude next to you, his experiences, his opinion on the kindle and how digital readers will impact the industry) and don't seem to give much of a fig about efficiency. it doesn't seem to bother most of the class, but it does bother me some. i think that at nearly 32 years old (about 10 years older than everyone else, sort of joking but not entirely) and having had a career where business processes are constantly being evaluated for efficiency... it's difficult to sit in a classroom for six hours when we could have covered the material, the assignment, and a fair amount of bullshit in three. but... that's not a big complaint. i rate the faculty as excellent so far. i've met a few people and they seem cool and interesting and funny. i like the administration. the cafeteria options are pretty shitty, but that's to be expected. i like my apartment. i ordered a new backpack because i didn't own one with a laptop sleeve (that's how long i've been out of school) and i like my new backpack. i am close to school and i like that.

so we shall proceed and see what comes next.

indoors daisy

early observation: it's strange that most activities (and admittedly, i have few these days) are spent in avoidance of being outside. i've never avoided going outside unless it's pouring rain. today, you couldn't get me to leave the building without a crow bar, and it's "warmed up" to 15 degrees. fahrenheit.

sunday bloody sunday

well, it's really only saturday but to say the building above is the only thing i'm thinking about wouldn't be entirely inaccurate. what i'll be doing in that building come monday, to be more precise. not sure what exactly i'm nervous about but i suppose it's just the pre-masters program jitters. what to expect? not sure. haven't been in school in a decade, which is a bit strange to consider. historically i've been a good student but i'll postulate that the rules have changed in the past 10 years.

it is a whopping 10 degrees outside and it's the kind of cold that you can't not think about. forget to pull on your left glove before leaving the building and your hand immediately screams a reminder. i'm kind of dully going through the motions of living without actually having to execute on anything of consequence. the apartment is pretty tiny but trevor and i are delighted to be inside. clear, cold, and sunny.

a new year's lobster for every pot

simmering lobster shells with some savories for stock. we are having lobster risotto for our new year eve dinner. the idea struck when i got my ass down to dominick's and the rack of lamb i was looking for cost more than a couple of frozen lobster tails - and was basically the same size. frozen lobster... i've never had it before but how bad could it be in some creamy rice?

i made lobster stock the last time we had everyone over for lobster at my mom's. was it a birthday? can't recall. it came out beautifully - the key is to brown the shells nicely for the flavor before simmering. my parents froze the stock and parceled it out over a couple of different gumbo batches. my, the depth of flavor. and to think we would always trash our shells without a second thought.

so here we are, lobster shells a'simmerin, lobster meat cooked and cut up, bubbly in the fridge. trevor is furiously studying for the bar (and furious at last check in) so i'm keeping to myself, chopping and humming and cooking and probably stanking up my entire floor.

happy new year!

evanston - first days

first evening alone in about 11 days. not that i'm counting, but one doesn't blog much when there are only two of you and no TV. i'm remedying that soon. the TV part, i mean. trevor thinks it's weird that a journalism student doesn't have a TV. i think it's weird to have free cable TV and no TV. either way, we end up agreeing on most things, and having a TV is one of them.

this year was my first christmas away from my family. not that big of a deal, surprisingly. i love christmas so i thought i might be feeling bummy about it, but i emotionally detach pretty well when i need to. trevor's family is actually great, so we had plenty of nights by the fire with his family and the doggies. xmas day was anti-climatic as it always is - spent at his uncle and aunt's place with a few uncles and cousins and more dogs. football was on so i was left to my own devices with the younger cousins and sisters. i think i like the wind-up to the holidays - the shopping and prep and food and hot drinks. the actual day is just icing.

it has snowed - or, more accurately, precipitated - for the past 7 solid days. i haven't let it keep me inside. upper 20s and 30s farenheit is nothing when you are anticipating -10, -20, -30 which should be arriving shortly. i guess i'll start feeling the shock of the move at a later point, but truthfully evanston and the surrounding suburbs of chicago are incredibly diverse, so i don't feel that out of place. nothing like the monstrous anglo wasteland called denver. there are asian markets and asian restaurants, women in burkas picking produce next to korean grandpas. it all feels quite natural. next week, when the weather clears a bit we're hoping to explore chicago's chinatown and little italy for some eats.

i'm having a harder time adjusting to being a student again. 10 years past graduation is a long time to be out of school. i finally got my shit together this week and ordered the software, electronic toys, and books. i read through my syllabi this morning and started to realize that i'm actually going to be in school again. kind of a mind bender.

ode to the first responders

i want to extend my gratitude to the police officers, EMTs, and firemen that respond to the average civil emergency. i want to express my relief upon seeing those flashing lights shortly after calling the non-emergency line at 11:30 pm for the one very drunk man beating his one very drunk friend on the sidewalk. we watched as his small red car rocked back and forth from the force of his punches and kicks. we watched him slam his friend into our iron fence and kick him repeatedly until his friend lay in the street. i want to share my palpable emotion when the cop whose bald head shone in the street lights climbed out of his car and examined the drunk friend and called an ambulance, whose EMTs then examined the hands of the drunk man, which were bruised and lacerated from the force with which he beat his friend.

it was with no small amount of horror that we watched three police cars, two fire engines, and an ambulance arrive on a scene caused by a careless amount of beers and likely some tequila shots. the thousands of dollars in trained guardians of the public spent on two men who got dressed in button-down shirts and jeans with sneakers to drive downtown, watch the NFL ticket, and drink themselves delusional. we watched the quiet friend take every blow, incredulous that he kept refusing to hand over the car keys and refusing even to walk away from a friend who kicked him, punched him in the stomach and the head, and threw him onto the pavement.

i am grateful for the hours spent interviewing, arresting, and booking these two men. i am humbled and disgusted realizing that entire careers are spent rescuing people from themselves. there is plenty said about the police, but i say thank you for existing.

overheard.... coming out of my mouth

photo courtesy of nola cuisine because my camera sucks




"my sister's heading to new orleans for 5 days."

"bitch! damn, that's nice."

"yeah. and she's bringing me back a muffaletta!"

"what'd you just call me?"


go to central grocery, 923 decatur street, for the real deal holyfield.

still truckin'

so, i'm on day 2 of Project Eat All the Old Shit in My Fridge. i had an egg last night that expired in july, which i figured was just fine because i accidentally ate an egg at sherry's apartment that was three months old, plus it was in china and somehow chinese eggs seem more ominous. it was ok, if a little rubbery. the egg i ate last night was just fine, too. just going to show you that the expiration date on food is really angled towards mass consumption and doesn't mean you have to throw everything away.

today for lunch (at 4 pm, i got distracted) i had some old beets with old garbanzo beans and somewhat flaccid persian cucumbers on top of (new) baby spinach. i am concluding that beans have the life span of about 100 years. i also threw in an underripe avocado, but that barely warrants mentioning.

why the experiment, you ask? well, i think most of us do this sort of thing when we've been busy/out of town and there ain't shit in the fridge but old food. i'm not just trying to be weird or cheap, although i know i can be both (cut to my friends and family cheering). i do hate wasting food and dumping nearly whole packages of english muffins from june into the trash (even i have standards... they were nasty to begin with or you know i'd be eating one right now, toasted) and two bunches of gross stank chard from about eight months ago. i never thought to question sell-by or expiration dates until several years ago when i happened upon a miracle half-gallon of milk that just never went bad. it was fine way beyond the sell-by date; i think i hit two months. yes, i know. only i would keep drinking milk two months past its date and proclaim it to still be good. but it was! and actually, i'm sure my dad would do the same.

that apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it.

well, my grand experiment is over. two whole days (meals, actually) and my lazy cheap ass has already gone to the store to re-stock. my sister-slash-roommate is getting back into town on friday and in anticipation of her eye-cutting, loud sighs, and straight-up lectures, i decided to toss all this nasty shit and buy some new stuff. (not like it ain't her chard that went all disgusting, but you know how people get.) can't wait to see how long salt pork lasts! i'm betting over a year. i'm making a big batch of meatballs tonight to eat and freeze (i made a mess for trevor over the weekend and got jealous they weren't in my freezer) and at some point this month or next i'm going to make ants climbing a hill with my newly purchased bean thread noodles, and some sort of creamy pasta with that salt pork. yum.

last night

"so then steve jobs is back."

"yeah, he's back."

"what about that other one, the fat one?"

"steve wozniak?"

"yeah, him."

"he's not around. but he was on dancing with the stars!"

[laughter]

"no way."

"totally. and my sister saw him rolling down the embarcadero on a segway!"

[extremely raucous laughter]

"shut the fuck up! only in san francisco, i swear."

bounty-ful

I have a hatred for wasting paper towels. Paper anything, really. My sister and I believe there is a deep-seated cause for this, namely our father’s insane quirks which included his Only Four Squares! Rule for toilet paper and You Always Use it At Least Twice Rule for Kleenex. Yes, I know. Believe me, I know. You could argue he is from the hippie generation and an original conservationist. You could also argue he is one of the most frugal humans on the planet. Either one fits.

So here at the office, where we use normal household Bounty paper towels and not the brown-or-white industrial kind, I have started this bizarre habit of paper towel-hoarding in my cube.

I don’t find drying your hands to be a sufficient usage for paper towels, so if I used one just to dry my hands, I bring it back to my cube and either stuff it into my bag (so no one sees how bizarre I am), or try to disguise it in plain sight for later use, like folding it into coaster size and placing it under my coffee cup. I pretend to care about my desktop surface while actually disguising my ridiculous OCD. Generally, I allow a maximum of two bunched-up, plain-view paper products on my desk top (including Kleenex used for wiping my eyes after eye drops, a result of Lasik), so there is usually a used Kleenex or something hanging around (eye-wiping only, even I have standards). Right now my desk features one paper towel “coaster,” one bunched up napkin, and a folded Kleenex stuffed under my key board. Yes, this is getting to be alarming. Maybe I should start tucking a hand towel into my waistband so I can wipe my hands /blot my eyes dry without further wasting trees. Think that would fly below the dress code radar?

One a side note, in reading Apartment Therapy and its related spinoffs, please note the little re-use tricks such as these that are gaining popularity for hipsters and yupsters from Silver Lake to Williamsburg. Washed-out yogurt cups to house different sized nails and screws? Been going on for decades in my parents’ garage. Stacking little slivers of soap together and “making” a new bar? Definitely. Re-using paper towels is the next big thing! There’s going to be some nifty little owl-embroidered paper towel reuser up on Etsy in a minute, I bet you.