A Geography of the Unemployed

"more than 31 Million"

Exaggerations can exist in percentages. Nonetheless, this animated map presents some interesting an alarming results of the change in unemployment history since January 2007.

Interesting Areas of Higher Unemployment:
Southwest South Dakota - Pine Ridge & Rosebud Reservations
North-central South Dakota - Standing Rock Reservation
Michigan- Auto.

Interesting Areas of Lower Unemployment:
Travis County, Texas - Austin
Washington D.C. Metroplex
New Orleans - Rebuilding? Low Populations?
Most of New Hampshire?
Northern Alaska - Oil.

How Americans Spend Their Day...

Which Americans? While the NY Times presents a nifty little interactive table showing how Americans spend their day, they don't specify where polling took place. While likely a random poll, the vast socio-economic differences across the US make me skeptical... although the results seem fairly typical.

At 9 p.m., nearly two-fifths of people are in front of the television. But at almost any hour of the day, a larger share of unemployed people are watching television or movies.

Only one in six unemployed people looks for work on an average day. Those who do spend about three hours on activities like filling out applications or researching jobs.

For every hour Americans over age 15 spend in class for a degree, they spend about 35 minutes on homework.

George Herbert Walker Bush

Former President Bush (the older one) came to lecture at the University of Arkansas campus last Monday evening. At first, I wasn't going to go. I was never a fan of Bush Sr. policies. So much so, I used to drive around with shoe polish on my back window that said in big bold letters, "NO WAR!". That seems so long ago, but interestingly, we are still at war... but that is for a different post.

At the last minute I decided to go hear Bush speak simply because it is not often that one has an opportunity to see a former president speak, regardless of his policies and political affiliations. I had high hopes for a message of motivation, you know, how most distinguished guest speakers lecture. Instead, I watched a very old man ask people to do their part with community service (in a not so motivating way) mixed in with painfully boring quirky anecdotes about him and Barbara. Overall, it was narcissistic and boring. The whole lecture felt like he didn't even want to be there. There was no motivational epiphany. Almost half way through (in about 5-7 min. - he only spoke for 20 min.) I was thinking, damn, why did I sit in the middle of this row? I knew I should have sat on the end of the row. Now, I'm trapped here.

Red River of the North

Well.. this is a little late. I had hoped on posting this two weeks ago when the Red River was cresting but just didn't get around to it. Interestingly, any news of the outcome of homes and businesses that were damaged by the river flooding is no longer headline news. Basically, as with most disaster related news, the event happens and gets full coverage but after its' climax news coverage just "dwindles away". It's like it didn't even happen to the world outside of the area of devastation. I wonder what happened in Fargo/Moorhead after the waters receded. How much damage?

Anyway, I'll post these now because I need to get them off my desktop.

Before is the left image. During is the right image.

Inauguration Day Crowds in Washington, D.C.

A friend sent this link to me several weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting here. I've seen this image on various websites but the Earth Observatory site has the full resolution image.

"Despite the blustery weather, more than a million people gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2009, to witness and celebrate the inauguration of the forty-fourth president of the United States. The commercial satellite GeoEye-1 captured this high-resolution view of the crowds that morning."

Click here for a link to the NASA Earth Observatory site with the full resolution image. Humans as ants... even with millions gathered... how small we really are.

The Toadies - In Fayetteville

So, The Toadies are technically from Ft. Worth but I've seen them so many times in Austin, I consider them part of the Austin music scene (what is left of it). Toadies shows in Austin always attract a huge crowd and, as a result, a level of intimacy with the band is difficult to obtain (such as getting up real close to the band without having to deal with idiots). Actually, ones ability to immerse themselves with a band during a performance, on a somewhat personal level, was lost all together with the destruction of Liberty Lunch - but that is an entirely different topic.

A nice thing about Fayetteville is that it is small. Clubs are small, crowds are small and the ability to get up close to the band is easily facilitated with little or no hassle. When "Austin" bands come into Fayetteville (which there are many) I try to make time to see them. It is like going back in time seeing these bands at the small clubs back in Austin, when they existed and when these bands were unknown enough to be able to play them. The Toadies in Fayetteville (George's Majestic to be specific) was one of those occasions and I offer some photos:

From the back of the club at the bar. Pretty small and intimate, huh?
Stage right. Up close with no effort - I didn't even spill my PBR.











Left: Sharon enjoying the front row; Right: Toad Lewis working the guitar
After the show. A blurry, PBR induced photograph of Sharon showing off the guitar pick that was handed to her by Todd Lewis - only achievable in a small venue.

Bikes, Blues, BBQ

Every year Fayetteville hosts the Bikes Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally. During the rally 350,000 bikers overtake the city of Fayetteville (pop. 65,000) and turn the city into one large rumble of bikes and people. Most students that I know here hate it and some even make plans to leave town. I'm just the opposite. I enjoy it. Sure, it is loud but it really is a great example of an American sub-culture in action. Another reason why I enjoy it, is because I used to (if owning a bike is a criteria) be a member. Although it is always a blast to do some serious people watching down on Dickson street, I am reminded of the Heritage softail that we had to sell in order for me to come to graduate school. Graduate school is full of sacrifices and selling the bike was one of them.
Riding around the Austin Hill Country was always a blast and the miles put on that bike will always be remembered. It would have been nice to keep to ride around the Ozark Mountains but such is life. I'm sure another bike purchase is not far away and maybe even when living in Fayetteville. Until then, Bikes, Blues and BBQ will have to be enjoyed from the sidewalk.

Hope, Arkansas

Airport hangers? Construction storage? Rail yard? Nope. Discarded FEMA trailers.

The Google image is missing several more in a field SE of the airport deposited after the above image was taken but can be seen in the oblique image below.

While driving to visit Historic Washington State Park just outside of Hope, Arkansas our group passed the Hope Airport and were witness to a field of FEMA trailers. These trailers are surplus from Hurricane Katrina and number in the ten thousands. Much debate exists regarding re-deployment, economic stimulus to Hope (rent), and their potential dangers with possible formaldehyde contamination.

I lived in one for two weeks while working in Bismarck, ND... they weren't so bad... well... for two weeks.

FEMA Trailers Sit Empty in Hope
FEMA Trailers 'Toxic Tin Cans'?

Currently, they are available for auction but I have a feeling the majority are not going anywhere anytime soon.

FEMA Auctions Trailers at Hope Airport
FEMA auctioning off trailers at fire-sale prices

A smaller storage in Selma, Alabama:
Madison, IN:

Signs, Signs, Signs

I had a recent urge to post some pictures taken in various places. I think it was the marque at the Quality Inn in San Marcos that got me to go back and look at some pictures I took of signs. It was tough to narrow my selection down to these few. Anomalous, mostly interesting and often informative signs are everywhere and I, oddly, take pictures of them.
Our luxury hotel in Manchester, TN while conducting a geophysical survey at Old Stone Fort State Park. I ate the breakfast, it certainly was not blessed.

Heading northeast toward the Bitterroot Mountains and into Missoula. Leaving Nez Perce Indian Reservation - Kooskia, ID

Five days of hot, windy, muggy and sweaty of geophysical survey work at Ft. Pierre-Chouteau Historical Site - Pierre, SD

The Big Drive Summer '07 - Milage accumulated at that point while parked at the Larson site in North Dakota. Left to go -> 4,000

Spiffy Biffs. He was a life saver. It was very clean and, of course, spiffy. - Bismarck, ND

Not what you think, unfortunately. - Regina, SK

This place rocked! - Saskatoon, SK

"We dig Arkansas". I also dig Arkansas, but in smaller amounts. - Wilson, AR

Toad Suck Park in Conway, AR. I'm tempted.

The intersection in downtown Natchitoches, LA

Los Adaes State Historical Site - Robeline, LA

Perfect, I thought, because I speak English most of the time. San Marcos, TX

Now this one doesn't make sense to me. I get the issue but not the proposed solution. Fayetteville, AR

Sightseeing with Google Maps

OK, now this is pretty cool.

Clicking around looking for some satellite images for my thesis, I happened across this website that has tons and tons of links to interesting Google Earth satellite images from around the world. They advertise having over 12,000 "destinations" and one can easily waste an hour or two (or more) clicking around and seeing the world from above.


Enjoy!
Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps

Square America

This is what I hope to be doing tomorrow after a full meal of vegetables and tofurkey.. ok, NO tufurkey. Then it's back to work - reading, writing, organizing, planning and learning.

The image of a very comfortable looking man crashed out on the couch, so tired (or perhaps drunk) that both the shoes and tie stayed on, is courtsey of an excellent website Square America with hunderds, if not thousands, of snapshots from the 1950's and 1960's. An occasional 1970's photo is sometimes included in the mix. All are organized to a particular theme or grouping... a nice "find" while clicking around on the old mac machine on a lovely (but becoming increasingly colder) Thankgiving Eve.