11Alive.com | Dude, What? Blog

I saw it ONCE!

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:07:00 -0700

Names of people and places have been changed, but nothing else.

As I've said in previous blog entries (I think), I happen to be of the Jewish persuasion. When I go to temple, I go to the same one as my father-in-law, who is more observant than I. Once, at Temple Z, there was a "Torah Bowl" sort of thing where two teams from rival shuls competed against each other to see who knew more, or some such. We went to support my father-in-law and the Z team. The competition was held in the temple's social hall. This was 2005.

Fast-forward three years. I noticed that my friend Robert, who is also Jewish, posted a photo of himself and his daughter on Facebook. I haven't talked to Robert in a while, so I posted a comment asking where they went to shul -- Robert was wearing a yarmulke and both he and his daughter were dressed nicely, so I'm guessing it was some sort of Judaic event.

Almost immediately after I posted that, Robert's wife Marni sent me an e-mail -- it happens that, when I was recently in Massachusetts with my brother-in-law, I was in the same town where Marni grew up. We discussed that for a moment (so to speak), and then I said that it looked like the photo in question was taken at Temple Z. Marni said "you've got a good eye; it was at Z."

I haven't been to Temple Z since my daughter's naming, back in 2006. I haven't been in that particular room in Temple Z since 2005. I've only been in the room one time. And somehow I recognized, from the small portion of wall that I could see behind Robert and his daughter, where the photo was taken.

It worries me a little that my brain holds onto things like that, but can't remember to take out the garbage or call our contractor. Does anyone else notice that happening?

no kittens during breaking news

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:55:00 -0700

You may have noticed that the news these days has been a little depressing. Humongous financial bailouts, no gas in the area, political candidates taking potshots at each other... it can all be a little overwhelming.

You may also have noticed that we installed a smartboard in our Information Center. It's like a touchable computer screen. In terms of location, it's in a place where everyone in the room can see it.

It had CNBC.com on it earlier, and I have to be honest... I'd had enough. I was ready for something cute.

That's pretty cute, right? (Courtesy Cute Overload)

But the moment I changed it, one of the chief engineers said "that's got to come down." I was confused; we weren't on the air, so why couldn't we all enjoy a cute kitten for a few minutes amid all this bad news?

"If there's breaking news, it'll be on the air," he told me.

Aw. Poop.

Let's be honest, though... would it be so bad if, during breaking news, you looked around the anchor's shoulder and saw a cute kitten? Might take a little sting out of the bailout bill, or the gas crisis, or the political season.

Everything's better with kittens, right?

Thanksgiving travel: finding the right way to fly

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 05:51:00 -0700

With all the furor over gas prices, and the Ike Effect, I'm really glad I bought my Thanksgiving plane tickets last night, while the getting was good.

Thanksgiving is one of two major trips my family makes to Florida each year to see everyone -- parents, grandparents, aunts, cousins, more cousins, still more cousins (I have a ton of cousins), and also my friends who still live in the area where we grew up. The other used to be July 4, but now that my daughter is old enough to need her own seat, we go in June instead.

Thanksgiving, though, has always been our big family gala.

My daughter will be 27 months old in November, and even though she's small enough to pass for 18-21 months, she's as active as a girl who's almost three, and (at least in my opinion) at least as smart. I don't want to take any chances that she's going to blurt out her age and get me in trouble. Besides, like I said, she's very active, and having her own seat -- especially on airplanes with rapidly-declining leg room -- is going to be exceedingly helpful. Plus, my in-laws have a spare booster seat approved for use on all Delta flights.

We've tried several different ways to go to Florida for Thanksgiving -- we've made the 11-hour drive and been stuck in traffic because everyone else had the same idea. Last year we briefly considered driving to Savannah to take the Amtrak train. We've flown Monday to Friday. We've flown Wednesday to Sunday. We've even done Tuesday to Saturday. But the way prices are going these days, the most cost-effective option to fly to Florida is Thursday through Tuesday.

And even then it's not cheap.

Once you decide to take the plunge, you have to think about what amenities you need. As someone with a child, my family really needs to sit in the same row. Therefore, pre-selecting our seats is important. Can't do that on Airtran without paying substantially more per ticket (I think last night it was an upcharge of $20 apiece), and Spirit also charges you. Fortunately, I didn't have to make a hard choice; Delta and AirTran cost the same, and though I've had a couple of bad experiences with Delta in the past, the benefit outweighed the cost. $214 per ticket with pre-selected seats, or $214 per ticket and select seats the day before. I know which one I'll choose every time.

But each airline has its own set of bonuses. Delta planes used for short trips like Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale tend to be their older jets, not equipped with changing tables. Every time we fly Delta, we use our seats when my daughter needs a fresh diaper. Spirit has all new airplanes, complete with changing tables; though the bathrooms are extremely tiny, it's much easier to change a diaper when you've got a flat surface. Many AirTran planes also have changing tables.

And on-time-ness? Well, I've had several delay experiences with Spirit and only a couple with Delta -- they did an excellent job with the flights for my honeymoon, back in 2003 -- but AirTran has always been relatively on-time, or at least their delays were mostly related to weather or traffic instead of poor flight planning. But Spirit makes up for that if you get one of their planes where there's no row four on the right side -- check seatguru.com to see what I mean. If you can grab 5D-E-F, it's even bigger than a bulkhead or exit row.

In the end, I'm not displeased with the deal I got from Delta, and of my three options -- no other carrier had a ticket price lower than $220 -- it was probably the best of them. The only place I'm really going to lose out is on the under-seat storage; in both directions, we lose one storage area to what I believe are unused entertainment boxes. But it's a win because, since we purchased three seats, we get six carry-on bags, and that'll be plenty of space for six days worth of clothes.

So what's my point in writing all of this? You know, at the moment, I kind of forget. But I guess I would say that shopping around for airline tickets and comparing costs to benefits is easier than ever, and spending an extra half-hour comparing and contrasting is well worth the money you'll save in ticket prices and fees.

Happy Thanksgiving!

a very, very long story title

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:28:00 -0700

I read so much during any given day -- as many as 1200 items pass through my RSS reader on a daily basis -- that I fear I've become inured to the strange and unusual. But yesterday I heard something that I simply had to share.

There's a man in the Stone Mountain area named Steve Eley who runs some of the most popular fiction podcasts in existence. I'm not 100% sure on the facts, but I think that one of them -- Escape Pod -- is one of the top-five most-read sci-fi publications in the country (if not the world) and another -- Pseudopod -- is the same, but for horror. He also produces a third, Podcastle, which is pretty new -- about four months online, I think. Fellow 11Alive Web Producer Michael King (dude, he's got a Wikipedia entry; that's kind of awesome) turned me on to Escape Pod more than a year ago, and I've been listening ever since.

Now, just like any other fiction publication, not every story is great, and there are a few that everyone considers stinkers but some people like. But last week's episode of Escape Pod made me laugh so hard that I just had to take time out of my day to tell you about it.

Imagine a police procedural drama. Now imagine one of the two cops is a K-9. Now imagine that we're a few years in the future, we're in Detroit, and the dog has a computer that makes him an effective officer of the law.

Yes. That's episode #169. The author is a neuroscientist and ER doctor in Detroit. The narrator is Mr. Eley himself, who outdoes himself in portraying the main character of the story, Officer Bull the K-9.

The only thing that might turn some people off to the story is that there's a fair bit of cursing, enough that if it was a film, it would be rated R. So if cursing bothers you, please don't listen to the story. But if you want a good laugh, and you have an open mind, and you love dogs (or, at least, don't hate them), I think you'll like the story.

Being read to is one of the pleasures of childhood that, as adults, I think we forget we loved so much. Some of the most touching scenes in the otherwise-adult world of author Laurell K. Hamilton, for example, are when three of the main characters read books like Treasure Island to each other. So give Escape Pod a try. Even if you don't like sci-fi, it might open up new avenues for you to consume fiction -- through your ears, that is, instead of your eyes.

(NB: this was written totally unsolicited; I am not an employee of Mr. Eley's, just a fan of his publications.)

The Hybrid Conversion, Part Three: How Green Am I?

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:47:00 -0700

This is the final entry in a series of three about the transition from gas-powered SUV to hybrid.

I'm not one for environmental friendliness, on the whole. At least, not if it's difficult or expensive. I switched from a gas-powered vehicle to a hybrid because, in the end, I believe it will save me money. If I have to fill up the tank once every ten days instead of once every four, that's quite a pretty penny saved on fuel. By driving the Prius, I'm going a little greener and saving money at the same time.

Enlightened self-interest, you might say.

I recycle plastic, cans, and glass at my house because it's free. My trash company doesn't charge me extra for the bin or the pickup service, and my daughter (who's almost two) gets a kick out of helping me by carrying the cleaned-out plastic containers to the bin and tossing them in. My wife recycles newspapers at a collection station near her office. We do the easy things.

But I don't buy carbon credits. I don't use my BP Visa rebates to help the environment. I haven't had my windows or my air conditioner or my furnace or my house treated to make sure the seals are good. I don't have a new, freon-free air conditioner. I don't open the windows (I would, but our screens need to be replaced and I have no desire to climb an extension ladder and do that). I don't compost. I don't make any special effort to save water or collect tub drippings to water plants. I don't volunteer for highway cleanups or environmental protests. And even though it aired on 11Alive, I didn't participate in Earth Hour.

I think I'm the same as a lot of people. All the hemming and hawing over the future? The future is then. This is now. I'm all for saving the environment, as long as it's convenient and easy for me, and I see an immediate effect. By owning and driving a Prius, I see an immediate effect on my gas budget. Putting out the recycling bin every Thursday evening is easy. Becoming an environmental activist? Boycotting foods not packaged in recycled plastic? Not so much.

It's not really the right road to take. I know that. But I'm sure I'm not the only one driving a hybrid because it saves money. Go ahead and call me names, but when the chips are down, it's really hard to go out of your way for anyone but yourself and your family. I'll keep going green in my own little ways, but am I really going green? Probably not.

Want to discuss how you're helping to make the world a better place? Why not start a conversation in our Science & Technology forum?

The Hybrid Conversion, Part Two: Coasting Along

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:30:00 -0700

This is the second entry in a series of three about the transition from gas-powered SUV to hybrid.

I named my Prius "Jeff", after the "Jeff Fire" sketch Eddie Izzard did about a decade ago on one of his comedy albums. Just thought you might like to know, in case I mention "Jeff" and you wonder what I'm talking about.

Among the many features offered in my particular Prius model is the fuel efficiency and consumption monitor. One screen shows me which engine is running -- gas or electric (or both or neither) as well as current miles per gallon, and the other shows me my average MPG for the current tank of gas as well as how much power I've reclaimed while driving and my consumption over the past half-hour. I tend to keep the screen set to the efficiency ("energy") screen because it's helping me relearn how to drive.

My co-worker Travis is also a hybrid owner, and when he got his, he told me he had to relearn how to drive, mostly in terms of coasting. In a gas-only vehicle, there's not much of a change overall between when you're driving down versus when you're driving up. In a hybrid? Well, at least in mine, if my foot's not on the gas pedal, not only am I getting basically infinity miles per gallon, but I'm actually recharging the battery for the electric motor.

Needless to say, I'm all about coasting.

But it's hard.

This part of Georgia is pretty hilly. I-75 goes up and down. Sandy Plains Road -- the main road nearest my house -- rolls gently up and down. To get to my house, I have to drive over a fairly-steep mini-hill in the middle of the street. If I lived in Florida, I imagine it would be easier to coast over a longer distance without having to hit the gas, but it's becoming a little game I play while I'm in the car: how often can I use the car's momentum instead of the gas engine?

Turns out it's harder than it seems.

Now, I've only had the Prius for about a week (got it on July 18), so maybe this'll become more natural, but for now it's a lot of gentle pressure on the accelerator, trying to use as little gas as possible.

So far, I'm managing all right. The consumption screen says I'm getting 39.6 MPG on this tank of gas, and with 200 miles behind me, I've still got 60 percent of a tank. Were I still in my Explorer, I'd have needed to fuel up before I drove to work today, or at the very latest do it tomorrow.

Switching to a hybrid isn't just a "get new car, save lots of money" proposition. There's some work involved.

I enjoy a challenge.

Tomorrow: Am I really going green?

The Hybrid Conversion, Part One: One of THOSE People

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0700

This is the first entry in a series of three about the transition from gas-powered SUV to hybrid.

I'm one of those people now.

You see us on the highway every day, limping through traffic next to you, or ahead of you, or behind you. You wonder just how much money we're actually managing to save, and mentally calculating when you'll own your car (or at least not be upside-down in it) so you can join us.

That's right. I'm a hybrid owner.

For the past three weeks, I've been researching hybrid prices and availability and I came to the alarming conclusion that new hybrid vehicles are retailing way over sticker price. I spoke to the folks at a couple of Toyota dealerships, and they told me a new Camry Hybrid with standard features would be about $4,000 over sticker (which is between $27,000 and $32,000, depending upon what's in it).

That's a lot. In fact, even the new Prius models were $3,000 to $6,000 over sticker, and the Ford Escapes? A fully-kitted-out Escape Hybrid was quoted to me by one dealer at $36,000.

But I persevered. I searched high and low. And last Friday, I lucked into a Ford dealership that had a used 2007 Prius with 22,000 miles on it.

Needless to say, I went over and test-drove it. I'd never driven one before, and I wanted to make sure I'd be comfortable.

I didn't tip my hand, but once the salesman went to start doing paperwork, I turned to my dad and said, "I love this car."

Together, my dad and I played good-cop-bad-cop with the very patient, very helpful salesman at the dealership (I probably shouldn't use names, but it's on Roswell Road and has "Sandy Springs" in its name) until we got the payments down to something I could afford. About 3.5 hours after I drove onto the lot with my 2003 Explorer (20 mpg), I drove out in a hybrid (45-48 mpg). My journey to a greener, more fuel-efficient life had begun.

Tomorrow: Relearning how to drive.

are they gone yet?

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:19:00 -0700

I will now combine "cute" and "weird" with this post, showcasing captioned photos of my daughter in the grand old style of the lolcat. I call them "lolyssas". Please click each to see it in the full glory of its cuteness, and also vote for it if you want.

That's my dad in the last photo.

I do plan to write a real blog entry soon. I promise. And I'll also upload some of my photos to my 11Alive photo gallery. Just give me time; there are only so many hours in a day.

not in my backyard

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:52:00 -0700

It's been a while, I know. I've been busy, what with holidays and vacations (other people's) and such. But then I look at this, and I think... the world's still here.

Anyway, if you're interested in building a wiffle-ball field to have a little safe, family-friendly fun in your neighborhood, it would behoove you to make sure you won't have the lawyers on your case. From the New York Times:

Vincent Provenzano, 16 years old, experienced his Kevin Costner moment one Sunday afternoon in May after a thrilling day of Wiffle ball in a friend’s backyard. He came home, gazed at a field of weeds, brush and poison ivy in an empty lot off Riverside Lane, turned to his friend Justin Currytto, 17, and proclaimed: “If we build it, they will come.”

After three weeks of clearing brush and poison ivy, scrounging up plywood and green paint, digging holes and pouring concrete, Vincent, Justin and about a dozen friends did manage to build it — a tree-shaded Wiffle ball version of Fenway Park complete with a 12-foot-tall green monster in center field, American flag by the left-field foul pole and colorful signs for Taco Bell Frutista Freezes.

But, alas, they had no idea just who would come — youthful Wiffle ball players, yes, but also angry neighbors and their lawyer, the police, the town nuisance officer and tree warden and other officials in all shapes and sizes. It turns out that one kid’s field of dreams is an adult’s dangerous nuisance, liability nightmare, inappropriate usurpation of green space, unpermitted special use or drag on property values, and their Wiffle-ball Fenway has become the talk of Greenwich and a suburban Rorschach test about youthful summers past and present.

The town has a "nuisance officer"? Now there's some tax dollars that could be better spent.

Heh. I'm sure s/he is doing it for free.

“Back before we lost our collective minds and began shrieking with horror at the thought of kids having fun on their own (as in not part of an official league or otherwise organized activity), they used to do things like find a vacant field, turn it into a makeshift diamond and spend glorious hours in the summer sun,” the local newspaper, Greenwich Time, wrote in an editorial in support of the youths on Wednesday.

The regular players, mostly high school boys but including Tara Currivan, 15 (who swings a mean bat and brings lemonade to the field), and Scott Atkinson, 13, seem a little befuddled by the whole thing. “They think we’re a cult,” said Jeff Currivan, 17. “People think we should be home playing ‘Grand Theft Auto.’ ”

Seriously.

I used to play football in the street, and we'd move out of the way when a car came. Would the sheriff's office arrest me if it had been 2008 instead of 1988?

Here's the iconic playing-sports-in-the-street scene from Wayne's World, because it's at least somewhat relevant; skip to about 30 seconds in for the actual game.

bypassing family strife via the internet

Josh Roseman | 11Alive.com Web Producer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:24:00 -0700

My family might get a little tetchy about me posting this, but I think it's an interesting commentary on our times and the way families talk to each other.

My grandfather -- my father's father -- is one of seven children. As long as I've been alive, I've known most of his siblings' names, but I don't remember them all. What I do remember is that we (that is, my branch of the family) has only ever maintained contact with one of my grandfather's brothers. My Uncle Saul was a funny guy who always got a kick out of telling me dirty jokes when I was far too young to really understand them.

Ruth? Sam? The other three? No idea. I have a vague recollection of some dispute over my great-grandparents' will.

Throughout my formative years, we spent bit of time with Uncle Saul's descendants, and most of them came to my Bar Mitzvah. I also got to know some of my cousins inadvertently via the magic of BBSes. But then I went off to college, and with the exception of the odd family gathering, I heard and saw very little of anyone related to my grandfather who wasn't also directly related to me through him.

A couple of weekends ago, I went to visit my parents and, on Saturday, we had the usual "let's get everyone in south Florida over to Josh's parents house to see the baby" gathering. For some reason, my Bar Mitzvah album came out and, as my grandfather looked over it with some of my cousins (grandmother's side), he said "that one's not talking to me… that one's not talking to me… that one's not talking to me…"

But they're talking to me.

Sort of.

Behold the magic of Facebook, by which I learned that:

One of Uncle Saul's grandsons is an anaesthesiologist in New York City.

One of his granddaughters just graduated from college.

One of his other grandsons just spent a couple of years working in China, and came back last weekend.

All three of them are now my Facebook friends, and we've exchanged e-mails in the past few weeks. In fact, I may be interviewing the anaesthesiologist for a side project at some point in the near future.

Adam, Chelsea, and Gabe probably don't realize that a rift has formed between our respective grandfathers, and like me, they probably don't care. I'm sure that, to them, Uncle Saul is in the right, just like, to me, my grandfather is in the right. But the point I'm making is that, to those of us who live immersed in technology, the things that bother our parents and grandparents don't bother us so much. If I ever go up to New York City, I have no doubt that Adam and Chelsea will want to meet my daughter, and if Gabe or either of his brothers happen past Atlanta, I'd be glad to have them over for dinner. The same for their parents.

In a culture where communities have fallen apart, where people no longer live near their families and have trouble forming networks of friends, if I can get closer to my family via the Internet and avoid the strife going on way above my head, I'm going to grab that chance.

I encourage you to do the same.

P.S.: I have a pretty good idea of the cause of the rift, and no, I won't tell you what it is, but I completely understand my grandparents' position.