Friday, October 24, 2008
Golfer Seve Ballesteros' brain tumor
The Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros has undergone surgery for his brain tumor. It turns out he has the same type of tumor as Jane had: an oligoastrocytoma. (We tended to call Jane's tumor an oligodendroglioma-astrocytoma, perhaps because we worked hard to learn to pronounce it.)
I'm happy to see reporting that gets specific about the type of tumor; too often, all brain tumors are lumped together and called "brain cancer," which I think is misleading and oversimplifying.
It sounds from news reports like Ballesteros' surgery went well. We also learn that Ballesteros got a get well message from Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, which is pretty cool. Anything to raise awareness, I say.
The full Associated Press report by Ciaran Giles can be found here.
I'm happy to see reporting that gets specific about the type of tumor; too often, all brain tumors are lumped together and called "brain cancer," which I think is misleading and oversimplifying.
It sounds from news reports like Ballesteros' surgery went well. We also learn that Ballesteros got a get well message from Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, which is pretty cool. Anything to raise awareness, I say.
The full Associated Press report by Ciaran Giles can be found here.
Labels: brain tumor, Jane, medicine, people, Spain
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Was Lincoln a procrastinator?
I came across this quote from Abraham Lincoln today, and laughed with recognition:
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
Labels: fun, history, politics, psychology, quotes, words
Mervyn's Demise
I drove past the Mervyn's headquarters on Foothill Boulevard in Hayward yesterday morning around 8:00 a.m. The parking lot was empty, except for a TV truck with its transmitter mast extended. I knew immediately that the local retailer was calling it quits.
I have a bit of a history with Mervyn's (apart from just buying lots of clothes there over the years). As a kid I delivered their advertising circulars for a year or so. Published every week, the ads were distinctive in that they used illustrations rather than photographs of the merchandise. I'd get a bundle of these flyers on Monday after school; I'd roll and rubber-band them, and toss them onto maybe 150 porches in my neighborhood. It was less work than a daily paper route and didn't involve collecting, so it was a great job for me. I don't remember how much I made, but I remember that it was my own money.
When I was at CSUH I did an internship in the PR office at Mervyn's headquarters, working for Lizette Weiss and Joanne Johnston, both of whom subsequently held many distinguished media relations jobs in the Bay Area. This was when Mervyn's had its headquarters in the industrial area of Hayward. It was a fun internship, and it came at a time (1983) when the company was on the move.
Another connection was made when Mervyn's moved its headquarters into the old Capwells' building in downtown Hayward. I had worked in Capwell's for a few years in college, and was glad to hear that the building would get a new life. Though I never went into the building after it became offices, I remember hearing from friends at Sunset Custom Publishing that the escalators were still in place between the two floors. Mervyn's took very good care of a signature piece of property in town, and it will be hard to find another business to take that spot.
Now the building will be vacant again, and an important local business has disappeared. The job losses are sad, of course, but sadder still to me is the idea that a retailer with deep roots here in the East Bay -- and deep personal connections -- is gone.
I have a bit of a history with Mervyn's (apart from just buying lots of clothes there over the years). As a kid I delivered their advertising circulars for a year or so. Published every week, the ads were distinctive in that they used illustrations rather than photographs of the merchandise. I'd get a bundle of these flyers on Monday after school; I'd roll and rubber-band them, and toss them onto maybe 150 porches in my neighborhood. It was less work than a daily paper route and didn't involve collecting, so it was a great job for me. I don't remember how much I made, but I remember that it was my own money.
When I was at CSUH I did an internship in the PR office at Mervyn's headquarters, working for Lizette Weiss and Joanne Johnston, both of whom subsequently held many distinguished media relations jobs in the Bay Area. This was when Mervyn's had its headquarters in the industrial area of Hayward. It was a fun internship, and it came at a time (1983) when the company was on the move.
Another connection was made when Mervyn's moved its headquarters into the old Capwells' building in downtown Hayward. I had worked in Capwell's for a few years in college, and was glad to hear that the building would get a new life. Though I never went into the building after it became offices, I remember hearing from friends at Sunset Custom Publishing that the escalators were still in place between the two floors. Mervyn's took very good care of a signature piece of property in town, and it will be hard to find another business to take that spot.
Now the building will be vacant again, and an important local business has disappeared. The job losses are sad, of course, but sadder still to me is the idea that a retailer with deep roots here in the East Bay -- and deep personal connections -- is gone.
Labels: CSUH, Hayward, jobs, people, personal history, retail, sales, work
Thursday, October 09, 2008
My Hillbilly VCR
I don't have cable TV anymore and haven't yet hooked up a rooftop antenna. I haven't missed television, but tonight I needed to record a news segment for work. What to do?
I got my little LCD TV out of my emergency kit, and put my Flip Ultra on a tiny tripod. It's not beautiful, but it did the job.
I got my little LCD TV out of my emergency kit, and put my Flip Ultra on a tiny tripod. It's not beautiful, but it did the job.
Labels: gadgets, media, technology, TV, video, work
Voter Registration
Voter registration, voter fraud, purges of voter rolls, and related issues have been much in the news over the last few days.
My sister Linda appeared in a CBS-5 video registering new voters at the League of Women Voters booth at the recent Sausage & Suds festival in San Leandro. (They signed up over 100 voters!)
Fresh Air did an entire hour on voter suppression efforts yesterday.
Miller-McCune published a comprehensive article by David Rosenfeld on Monday.
And to add irony to it all, on Tuesday Jane's sample ballot arrived in the mail. (No, I'm not going to vote for her.)
My sister Linda appeared in a CBS-5 video registering new voters at the League of Women Voters booth at the recent Sausage & Suds festival in San Leandro. (They signed up over 100 voters!)
Fresh Air did an entire hour on voter suppression efforts yesterday.
Miller-McCune published a comprehensive article by David Rosenfeld on Monday.
And to add irony to it all, on Tuesday Jane's sample ballot arrived in the mail. (No, I'm not going to vote for her.)
Labels: Jane, media, news, politics, voting
Videos from Oracle OpenWorld
I got a fun assignment at the recent Oracle OpenWorld: to conduct some informal video interviews of people attending the conference. Two of them are posted on YouTube.
I hadn't done something like this before, and I found it a bit intimidating to approach strangers at first. (Especially with a two-page release form for them to sign.) But the interviewees were gracious and funny, and the assignment was a kick.
The videos were shot with a Flip Video Ultra. I was so impressed with the camera that I got my own. Expect more videos soon!
I hadn't done something like this before, and I found it a bit intimidating to approach strangers at first. (Especially with a two-page release form for them to sign.) But the interviewees were gracious and funny, and the assignment was a kick.
The videos were shot with a Flip Video Ultra. I was so impressed with the camera that I got my own. Expect more videos soon!
Labels: clips, gadgets, Oracle, technology, video, work
