tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40831162008-05-20T16:51:14.594-05:00Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comBlogger484125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-79960703131043076062008-05-05T14:30:00.000-05:002008-05-05T14:34:04.868-05:00

On March 4th, I ordered two coupons from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for $40 each towards the purchase of two digital converter boxes to pick-up broadcast signals. In case you've been living under a rock (or just don't have a TV, in which case, you wouldn't care anyway), on February 17, 2009, all the full-power broadcast channels will have to switch to

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-33500329420935281562008-04-22T15:30:00.001-05:002008-04-23T09:16:13.826-05:00

Today I stopped by SLU Pius library to quickly return a few books, as I had only put 15 cents in the parking meter on Olive in a shady spot behind what I still call the Midtown State Office Building (now the SLU School for Professional Studies). Not that many years ago (1999 I guess), part of my job as a new intern with the City was working with DFS people in that building on a public-access

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-81809879964578034242008-04-21T16:58:00.002-05:002008-04-23T09:16:42.439-05:00

OK, so I think I can now call myself a "PhD candidate" as on Friday I completed the defense of my secondary field paper, which nobody will ever read again (I hope), entitled "Politicizing Ethnicity: How Ethnic Identity Aligns with Patronage and Partisanship." Perhaps it helped that the 10:15 am aftershock from Friday's 4:30 am earthquake occurred during the middle of my defense. Now that that

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-53915531563596483712008-04-15T18:21:00.002-05:002008-04-23T09:17:01.899-05:00

I spent most of last week in Lexington, Kentucky at a professional conference held at the Radisson hotel in the downtown. (My entire profession has only about 300 members nationwide, so we're not talking about a huge event.) Unlike many cities, no interstate highways penetrate the downtown area of Lexington. However, I-64 and I-75 are just a few miles north. Lexington-Fayette County is a

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-62904660933963028952008-04-02T16:15:00.000-05:002008-04-02T16:14:51.200-05:00

We Own the Post Office! OK, I must confess, this story on NPR's Marketplace last night had me totally snowed until the very end. Hilarious. The two best quotes: From Beverly Jaworsky, "Debt-To-Purchase Ratio Assessor" for the IRS: Well, we own the Post Office and they'll do as we say. From Clinton administration Secretary of Labor Dr. Robert Reich: [I]f the government ships a toaster oven

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-12990858863658939682008-03-31T22:10:00.001-05:002008-03-31T22:10:22.452-05:00

Potemkin City Note: For some reason I thought "Potemkin village" was a slur against native Americans; turns out, it dates to 18th Century Russia. Lately, I've spent a lot of my weekend time visiting model train shows and searching out places to watch real trains pass. Something that strikes me is that our railroad corridors, historically central to the development of industry, are not just

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-50890003151200915482008-03-06T10:25:00.001-06:002008-03-06T10:25:59.907-06:00

Megabus to Columbia MO! Starting March 13, 2008, the Megabus express intercity bus service route between St. Louis and Kansas City adds a stop at the newly renovated historic Wabash depot (now the hub of Columbia Transit service) in downtown Columbia, MO. This location is considerably more convenient to the Columbia College, Stephens College and University of Missouri-Columbia campuses than

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-22297418894245570822008-02-29T15:58:00.001-06:002008-02-29T15:58:39.721-06:00

Social Butterflies OK, so I admit I am no social butterfly. In point of fact, social situations often give me butterflies in my tummy. However, I have started to take a liking to some of the "social" networking websites. I now have a profile on Facebook, and one on LinkedIn. It's kinda neat to be able to connect with current and past colleagues, classmates, etc. and just see what it is they

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-5641781516359276432008-01-24T17:47:00.000-06:002008-01-24T17:51:56.641-06:00

"4Give Yo-self" "4Give Yo-self" That was the message scrawled across two separate buildings at Tucker and Chouteau this morning. Somebody else (more important than me, perhaps) must have noticed it, because about 8 am today there was a NestlePurina PetCare security truck parked alongside Tucker with its lights flashing. The security officer was standing on the sidewalk photographing the

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-18398964386330341582008-01-03T16:50:00.001-06:002008-01-03T16:52:40.906-06:00

Iowa On Monday, January 24, 2000, I was in Burlington, Iowa for the caucuses. At that time, I was a lowly student intern working for free for Joyce Aboussie and her crew at the Gephardt-in-Congress committee office in Kenrick Plaza (a shopping center that has certainly taken a downward slide in eight short years). I started that day early, probably about 5 AM, holding an "Al Gore" sign while

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-10007606678098187022008-01-03T16:12:00.001-06:002008-01-03T16:12:53.313-06:00

Lookin' at '07 OK, so I have been AWOL for the past month or so. What can I say... the holidays are a busy time. And for that matter, 2007 was a busy year. On February 1st, I started a new job. In March, my alderman Craig Schmid was re-elected... but my even longer-time associate, Jim Shrewsbury, was defeated during the Democratic primary on 3/6. Later that month, my mother-in-law was

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-4752551973091905912007-12-03T12:22:00.001-06:002007-12-03T12:22:15.260-06:00

3652 S Jefferson Ave The University of Missouri Digital Library now hosts a number of very cool high-resolution scanned image databases, including Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps from prior to 1922. Sanborn, of course, is still in business so their more recent detailed building-level maps, heavily relied upon by the insurance industry as well as by city planners, are still quite costly to purchase.

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-19191296023535663522007-11-27T14:20:00.001-06:002007-11-27T14:20:17.602-06:00

This Illegal Immigration Thing Back in September and October 2000, I went on "spring break" while an exchange student at the University of the Western Cape near Cape Town, South Africa. All of the group had student visas glued inside our passports. I recall having quite a long wait that July for my passport to come back to me after I mailed it off to the South African Consulate in Chicago (

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-83761562341714465662007-11-21T11:38:00.001-06:002007-11-21T11:38:47.391-06:00

Gobble Gobble! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! While the forecast of snow might be OK, the sleet I could do without. You may ask "Where have you been?" Good question. It's been incredibly busy lately, both at work and with other stuff. Sure, I need to make time to blog... but I also need to make time to do a million other things that I'm not doing. Some of my experiences over the last month

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-34655096492719449552007-10-17T17:10:00.000-05:002007-10-17T17:12:55.364-05:00

Fortunate Rankings How much does it matter how many Fortune 500 companies, or other similar rankings, are located in your city? Does it matter if the number goes up or down? I have to say, the Google Maps applications on the CNNMoney website where Fortune magazine is hosted, are pretty cool. I'm not sure how to link directly to the map, but you can zoom in yourself and see just where these

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-8277373441405691182007-10-16T18:03:00.001-05:002007-10-16T18:03:20.225-05:00

Mississippi Ave Prediction With the closure of the Jefferson Avenue viaduct causing congestion on surrounding streets at peak-hour, and drivers to take crazy, zig-zaggy detours, I suspect that within a month of the reopening of the Mississippi Ave overpass above I-44, Lafayette Square-ians will lobby for "temporary" barricades to be placed on Mississippi immediately south of Chouteau. Currently

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-76306875882253845442007-10-15T09:17:00.000-05:002007-10-15T09:18:00.735-05:00

Stormy Water Today is Blog Action Day, when bloggers around the world will discuss one topic -- the environment. On Friday I covered the biggest recent environmental news -- the Nobel Peace Price announcement for Al Gore and the IPCC. So today I want to cover a local issue, which ties into some recent stuff by Steve Patterson. Today's Post-Dispatch indicates that the Metropolitan St. Louis

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-45616788599849722732007-10-12T09:45:00.001-05:002007-10-12T09:45:45.251-05:00

Congrats to the IPCC and Al Gore Everybody knows Al Gore, but fewer people realize that while he's the public voice of the battle against global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) does the real heavy-lifting. When I was teaching and/or TA'ing environmental politics at WashU, and especially this past spring, I/we recommended students read the IPCC's work. Some of it

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-75471899411796186732007-10-09T17:52:00.001-05:002007-10-09T17:52:32.454-05:00

Why Now? I wonder... Who decided to close the Jefferson Avenue viaduct at the same time as the Mississippi Avenue bridge over I-44? Then again, one might just ask... Why did I choose this week to start driving to work, my ridiculously short 3.5 mile commute up Gravois/S. Tucker? Anyway, tonight because of congestion on S. Tucker, Truman Parkway, S. Jefferson, I zig-zagged home via S.

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-2154629850360594432007-10-09T16:01:00.000-05:002007-10-09T16:02:34.306-05:00

Westward Expansion As we await the supposedly impending doom of the New I-64 reconstruction/closure, let's consider just how many major institutions of the St. Louis community that once were located close to the Mississippi River, have relocated at least once in their history. Most have moved west, although some south and some north. Washington University was originally founded as Eliot

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-18217101500876066982007-10-08T11:10:00.000-05:002007-10-08T11:09:58.192-05:00

The Holiday That Isn't Today is Columbus Day, one of the most controversial and inconsistently-observed holidays in the United States. The Federal Government does observe Columbus Day. Missouri State Government offices do observe Columbus Day, as does the State of Illinois. Most banks are closed as well. However, the University of Missouri does not. Nor does St. Louis City (PDF) government,

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-16226349091054749942007-10-05T16:40:00.001-05:002007-10-05T16:40:32.891-05:00

SchmoozeWeek This was a big week for me in terms of networking events. Some are more interesting than others, but you just never know what kind of leads you're going to get. Monday began the week on a sombre note, with the visitation for a colleague's husband who died in a motorcycle accident in East Saint Louis. Things picked up on Tuesday with the St. Louis Business Expo at the St. Charles

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-18894808877229360862007-09-25T15:45:00.000-05:002007-09-25T15:48:21.445-05:00

Tying Together Chouteau's Pond Yesterday morning I drove to work, and tried to figure out some route to enter downtown from the south instead of South Tucker. I admit it wasn't really that congested at 7:30 AM, but I just wanted to try it. Of course, I ended up going all the way east to South 7th Street, because no other streets between 7th and Tucker (AKA 12th St.) connect through. Instead,

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-16077237467232258512007-09-19T09:58:00.000-05:002007-09-19T09:58:39.343-05:00

No Left Turn on Red This morning I just about got creamed twice walking along Chestnut downtown by motorists (including a FedEx truck) making left turns from one one-way street to another while the traffic signal facing them was red. But in Missouri it is illegal to turn left on red from one one-way street to another. I know I'm still an inexperienced driver, but nowhere in the Missouri

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083116.post-57756275469721610552007-09-17T09:51:00.001-05:002007-09-17T09:51:39.950-05:00

It Wasn't Me! From the Post-Dispatch: "A one-car accident on Interstate 55 claimed the lives of a man and woman Saturday, St. Louis police said. Another man was injured. Killed were the driver, Joseph Frank, 24, of the 7500 block of Michigan Avenue, and a 37-year-old female passenger. Both were thrown from their 2000 Ford Explorer, police said. Police have not made public the name of the woman

Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14185823164539776639noreply@blogger.com