Katrina - 5 Years Later... 0 comments

This week, I drove to New Orleans as part of a Mission Trip to help rebuild homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After five years, there are still literally thousands of people who are still homeless or living in trailers that FEMA provided in 2005. Most of these people are people who have little or no income, have lost family, often the main income earner, are elderly, widowed or disabled. There is no funding that these people can get to rebuild. They have nowhere to go, and in the richest nation in the world, the shame we saw when the poor were left behind when Katrina hit is still here, albeit not on National TV, since it is not a current story anymore.

The good news is that not everyone has forgotten these people. The Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Response Organization has been building homes for people who most need it - every single day since Katrina - over 1600 days! They rely ENTIRELY on volunteers like myself, and countless others who travel to New Orleans and other affected areas every week to work. This week, we are helping to build one home for an elderly lady who survived Katrina with her husband, only to lose her husband to a stove explosion in the FEMA trailer they had been living in for years. The area we are working in has had over 20,000 homes repaired or rebuilt by volunteers since 2005. Over 3000 homes have been completely built from scratch. Katrina's storm surge sent over 20 feet of water up to 30 miles inland, destroying homes, cars and lives.

I toured St.Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward on Sunday. They were the most devastated areas, and the Lower Ninth Ward is still less than 15% renewed. It is hard for people who are not here to understand or even think that this situation exists so long after Katrina, especially when we see aid to Haiti and Chile and other places.

The volunteers here come from all over the the world - U.S. , Canada and elsewhere. The organization that coordinates the volunteer work is to be commended for their dedication and perseverance, and just for managing to keep on doing the same thing every single day tirelessly for over 1600 days.

I am only here for a week - around 40 hours of work. It does not seem like much, and it would be easy to say that it does not make much of a difference. Tell that to the over 20,000 people who are back in homes today thanks only to the Volunteer Organizations.

A shovel can be used to kill someone...or dig a hole. 1 comments

A shovel can be used to whack someone over the head, or it can be used to dig a hole. It is a tool, and how a tool is used is up to the user. I use the shovel analogy, because it gets attention and is kind of humorous in a dark way, but the truth is that we use tools everyday, and not always in the best way. I suppose if you want to put a starting date on the introduction of tools, it would have to be the industrial revolution. Sure, we had tools before that, but really that was when all hell started to break loose, and we have not really looked back. I'm not sure we could even turn our heads to look back, due to the breakneck (pun intended) speed at which we are hurtling forward technologically. When I graduated from college 29 years ago (wow - was it really that long ago?) personal computers were brand new and the internet was just a newborn. There were no browsers, ipods, iphones, DVD's, PVR's, MSN, Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. If you had a 'cell phone' it weighed about 20 pounds and was bolted to your car floor and it cost you around $2000.

TV was the first technological 'tool' of the masses that started to change our way of life. From there, the internet, mobile devices like Blackberries, iPhones etc are the tools that are changing our lives today, and not always for the better.

Of course, all of these things are just tools, like the shovel. We decide how to use them. The problem today is that most times we don't really think about making choices about how or when to use these tools. We just get caught up in the hype and plunge forward, like lemmings off a cliff.

iPhone apps like Poop the World or Baby Shaker or iFart are examples of using a tool for purposes with little redeeming social value. Sure they are funny (well except Baby Shaker which is just plain stupid.), but how can we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (probably millions) to hear farts or see where people are pooping, when that money could be spent on the environment, health care, poverty, food production, etc.?

I have a Blackberry, which I use for email, telephone, text messaging and GPS navigation. I don't have any games on it, and I sure don't have any silly apps that are purely entertainment.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with entertainment and games, but they should be a diversion for a small percentage of our life, not 80% of what we do every day.

Come on people - wake up and see where we are heading. Think hard about the tools you use and how you use them. Think about a way you can use them for good productive benefit, rather than as a goofy toy. Are we that affluent and self-centered or have we just given up on the thought of contributing something really useful to this world?

Think of what you could have been doing for six hours instead of playing Call of Duty, or MSN or Facebook. As a matter of fact, I think I better cut this blog short and get off my own butt and do something!

Next time your Blackberry or iPhone buzzes and you reach to pick it up, think of the shovel.

United Breaks Guitars 0 comments

From CTV.ca - A Halifax-based songwriter has used a country-rock protest song to air his grievances with United Airlines -- the company he accuses of breaking his custom-made guitar -- and to draw continent-wide attention to its customer service practices.

Dave Carroll's song, "United Breaks Guitars" tells the story of how his $3,500 Taylor guitar was allegedly broken by baggage handlers who threw it off a plane last year.

In the song, Carroll tells the story of his fight with the airline following the incident at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and he sings about the limited circumstances that would see him fly with United again.

The video is awesome!

A sad week in Hollywood 0 comments

Not unexpectedly, but sad was the death of Farrah Fawcett yesterday. Farrah fought a three year battle with cancer. Farrah was the epitome of beauty and glamor in the 1970's and she worked hard to overturn the public's impression of her innocence and ditziness by succeeding in serious dramatic roles. She will always be remembered as one of Charlie's beautiful Angels and she died with dignity, her long-time love Ryan O'Neal at her side.

Later yesterday, we were all shocked by the sudden death of Michael Jackson. Love him or hate him (and I'm sure like me, there were many people who did both), Michael was one of the most talented composer/singer/dancers we have seen in a long time.

I am saddened that after Michael was burned filming a Pepsi commercial, he seemed to start on a downward spiral that he could not get out of. (I have always hated Pepsi.) Back in the 1970's, I was fascinated by Michael and Donny Osmond, who were the same age as me. How could kids my age do what they did? Michael went on to do great things with Billie Jean, the Moonwalk and Thriller. I feel sad for how he became in latter years - he seemed so alone and crying for help.

When people we grew up watching on film and TV die, we suddenly feel our own mortality rushing ever closer, as well as the realization that life is very short and we are only here for a short time. At least these three lived a good life, albeit cut short, and their work and impact made a difference to people. That is what we all need to strive for - making a difference and influencing others in a positive way. Our theme here at Globespotter is: 'Together we can make our world a better place.' These three did that.

An open letter to Fritz Henderson 1 comments

To Fritz Henderson, President, General Motors:

OK, Mr Henderson, listen up, because this plan is short, sweet and may be the only way to save what's left of GM.

You are on the right track recognizing that one of GM's big mistakes was keeping multiple divisions that make similar cars. You just need to take more drastic action to save what is left.

First - Dump Cadillac, Buick and GMC as well as Pontiac, Saturn, Saab & Hummer. Yes - Do it. Cadillac is past it's prime and represents gas guzzling excess. Attempts to change that in the eyes of Americans will fail. Sell the Cadillac division or close it down now.

Buick - Shut it down. Old people who can't buy Buicks will buy a decent alternative. Those sales can be transferred - trust me and read on...

GMC & the GM name/brand. Kill it. More than anything, the GM brand contains negative marketing to consumers due the the recent problems. GM started as a merging of many good auto companies - the best of which is the one that needs to be saved: Chevrolet.

Here is the plan. Kill GM. Dump Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Turn GM back into Chevrolet. Chevy has the best positive appeal to consumers. Use that to your advantage for Marketing. Go back to the old "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet" appeal to Americans who will be patriotic to the Chevy brand.

Chevy has the best potential:

Green / Environmental: Chevy Volt
Sports: Corvette / Camaro
Economy: Cobalt
Mid Size: Malibu
Full Size: Impala
Trucks: Chevy Trucks can replace GM trucks. Most were the same anyway.

Fix the problems with existing models like the Cobalt IMMEDIATELY. That means upgrade components like brakes and front-end components. Don't cheap out. Hey - if the kids can put cross-drilled rotors and upgrade and race Cobalts, what the heck is wrong with you spending a few more bucks to make a great little car?

Make a new model for the old geezers to buy since Buick is gone. Hell, call it a Chevrolet Buick Roadmaster Classic and put portholes on the side if you have to.

Announce the death of GM and the re-birth of Chevrolet. Do it right and in a few years you will reap great rewards.

Pretend it was your idea. I don't need the credit or the fame. I'd just like to see a great American car company survive, and know it's going to take balls to do it.

GM & Chrysler - What now? 0 comments

In 2008 GM & Chrysler combined account for less than 31% of U.S. vehicle sales, down from approx 39% in 2006.
- Source: Autodata 2008

Total Auto jobs are split - approx 1 Million in Automaking & Parts and 1 million at new car dealerships, but this is for ALL U.S. car makers - not just the big three.

Ref: http://tinyurl.com/6zaqgj

The majority of the jobs are in Parts and New Car Dealerships - over 775,000 in parts and 1,105,000 at New Car Dealerships.

Pro bailout propaganda always paints a picture of the total loss of the Big Three, including Ford and it most often includes auto industry jobs that they say will be lost that include parts and dealership jobs as well as jobs like glass and metal manufacturing and car washing.

Basic economic theory of supply and demand says that there will be a certain demand for a product. So for cars, there will be a demand from the population to buy a certain number. Although that number fluctuates due to economic good and hard times, overall it will be a certain demand. It does not say 100% GM, or even 50% domestically manufactured.

Artificially propping up an auto company to manufacture products ignores this supply / demand concept. If the demand for autos drops off, then the industry needs to account for it.

If an Auto Manufacturer goes out of business, it does not change the demand - either the demand is not there, or some other manufacturer will move in to fill the demand. The trickle down that the pro-bailout supporters say will decimate jobs in parts and dealerships is the same. Is demand there? If so, then the closure of 10 GM dealerships will mean expansion at Ford or Toyota dealerships in the U.S. which means more jobs. More sales of Toyota or Ford means more parts needed. It may not be a one-for-one relationship, but it is not fair to use statistics of total jobs lost, when in reality, the number includes more than GM & Chrysler and also quotes total existing 'trickle down' jobs that will not all disappear.

I think the biggest problem is not the employment numbers, manufacturing numbers or 'trickle down' jobs, but the huge number of pensioners and spouses that GM & Chrysler committed to support using existing sales.

The big question is - what kind of short-sighted management who only needs basic calculator skills would allow for a pension set up that is doomed to failure like some crazy pyramid scheme?

Why not use employee deductions and company matching to invest as employees work and make sure those funds are paid into the plan and vested to the employee? Promising pension income to retirees without paying into a plan that way makes no sense at all and I don't think the government and taxpayer should have to shoulder the cost. Who is paying for the millions of retired Americans who have little or no income in retirement and because they do not all work for the same company, they are not even considered? Did they not work as hard or harder than auto workers?

What do you think? Post your comment here or join the debate at: http://tinyurl.com/lrpsjq

Thoughts... 0 comments

It has been two months since my last post! I have always been called a 'Jack of all trades and master of none' ever since I was young, and it is so true. The scary part is that now I have a 20 year old daughter who is just like me! We both get excited about a new idea or project and jump into it at 150%, only to either tire of it or find something else more exciting around the next corner. I am proud to say that there are at least two things I have stuck to for 25 years - my marriage and my job! That's quite a feat for anyone that knows how I jump to the next 'hoodlum scheme' as my brother so aptly described my 'projects'. Right now, I feel like a juggler who has 100 balls in the air, and the funny part is that I'm not even sure I have seen some of those balls in a while. Let me explain to the uninitiated. Firstly, I'm not even sure who I am! My family knows me as Douglas Brown, but there is a whole group of online friends that know me as Vincent Madison. I started the Vincent Madison pseudonym when I started my LOST 'project'. Back in 2005, I came up with the idea (well to be truthful, the idea kind of grew out of control like some mold) to create an online world of entertainment that was based on the hit ABC TV show LOST. I needed a name, so used the character name of the dog on the show - Vincent, along with the dog's real name - Madison. The rest is history. So real has Vincent become, that he (um me really) is writing a novel this summer that will allow online users to be part of the process. (See how crazy I am?)

I think a lot of it has to do with using the TV as a babysitter back in 1963 when I was only five and living in Edinburgh, Scotland. I grew up (and I think my brain developed) watching Doctor Who. I truly believe that watching Doctor Who, in combination with some crazy creative genetics, paved the way for my love of science fiction, fantasy and that just 'thinking out of the box' was not enough - I knew that there WAS NO BOX!

Our family moved from Scotland to Toronto, Canada in February 1967 when I was eight years old. That was exciting for me, and every time we moved somewhere, I thought that the change and new adventure was the best thing ever. I could never understand those kids that were upset and sad at the thought of moving, but then I was never Mr. Sociable, so for me that was not a big issue.

I remember arriving in Toronto on a BOAC (Now British Airways) Boeing 707. Back in 1967 there were no such things as jetways, so we had to walk down the steps of the plane onto the runway in -20 degree weather - me of course wearing my British School Uniform with shorts!

The other thing I remember on that day - Feb 4th 1967, was traveling by car across Toronto on the 401 and how futuristic it looked as we went under the interchange at Yorkdale Mall.

Since that day, we moved from one house in Toronto to another, then to Montreal in 1971, then back to the Toronto area, then I moved out to Edmonton, Alberta after college, then back to the Toronto area where I am today.

For someone who keeps saying he wants to live alone in a cabin in the woods (Jacob?) I embraced the internet at its birth. I was an early Compuserve user in the late 1970's and had my first PC in 1979.

I now have more websites than I even know, along with multiple YouTube, MySpace and Blogger pages. My LOST online world expanded from a single website in November 2005 to an integrated online world that I sometimes think is real.

It's no wonder I don't feel like I have time to relax, with a Film Production Company, TV Broadcast Studio, Passenger Airline, Historical Society, Photographer Site, Environmental Site, Web Design, and novel writing on my plate. There is more, but I would need to actually research what else I have forgotten, and I'm to lazy to do that.

It makes my otherwise boring life exciting and fun, and I know that my online friends appreciate it, but mostly I do it because I crave new ideas and love coming up with them. Implementation is usually fun too, but ongoing detail and support is when things get boring for me. I need to team up with someone like my younger daughter who thank goodness although she got the family creative genes from my side of the family, seems to have got the organization, and attention to detail and follow through from my wife's side!

I'm not even sure why I'm writing this post. I initially thought it might help me to regroup and consolidate things to keep all my crazy ideas under control, but it seems more like I just needed to get my swirling thoughts on paper with the hope that some of them might get out of my head.

I think I do need to try this summer to both downsize, reorganize and focus on a few projects and do them well, as well as finding time to relax with friends and family.