Oct
28
No one under the age of 30 should be allowed to vote
Filed Under Florida Government, Jacksonville, Movies | Leave a Comment
From the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, where Recount, a movie about the 2000 election, is being filmed:
OVERHEARD
Don’t know much about recent history
Two 20-somethings chatting in a San Marco bakery earlier this week.
First guy: They’re filming some stuff for that HBO movie Recount today.
Second guy: Yeah, I saw the crew working on signs. Why are they setting up so much stuff to make it look like everything is happening in Palm Beach?
Sep
8
Sam Borden gets it wrong
Filed Under Football, Jacksonville | 2 Comments
Normally, I like Sam Borden’s columns at the Florida Times-Union/Jacksonville.com.
He usually cuts through the BS from players, coaches, and sports executives. But, yesterday’s column turned on the fans.
Sam is upset because the Jaguars were having trouble selling out the home opener against the Tennessee Titans, a division rival. The Jaguars have no problem selling tickets when they’re winning. Tickets were hard to come by back when the team was going to the AFC championship game every few years. Winning playoff games.
Would you go to the worst restaurant in town just because it was their one-year anniversary?
Winning solves sports marketing problems.
My wife had season tickets when we first married. I lived in Tampa, and she moved there to join me. We kept the tickets and auctioned the games we couldn’t get back for on eBay and Yahoo Auctions. Selling 3-4 games each season paid for the entire season-ticket package, that’s how high the demand was.
Then, the Jags cracked down on auction sales and we stopped. They weren’t even permitting sales at face-value - if you put them up, they figured out who you were by the seats and pulled your contract. We weren’t going to subsidize the Jags so we could see half the games of a losing, mediocre team, so we gave them up.
Now we live in Jax, and we can’t afford a single-game ticket, much less a season ticket package. Not one. Sam ridicules fans that won’t spend $50 or $60 on a ticket to opening day against a rival.
You can’t buy a ticket when you don’t have the money, fan or not.
Back when I was working as a strategic marketing manager for a major electronics manufacturer, we were blessed and dropping $120 for two tickets, $20 for parking, $40 for food, etc. etc. etc…. was not a big deal. Now that I make $XX/hr (the amount isn’t important, the fact that I measure it BY THE HOUR is), it wouldn’t matter if my nephew was on the field, I couldn’t afford to see it.
And there’s a lot more people like me in Jax than people like I used to be.
Sam, normally, I like you, but you’re dead wrong on this one. The people that can’t afford to go to a game, can’t afford it whether the Jags are winners or losers. The people that can afford it, want to see a winner. When they get a team that misses the playoffs by losing the final three games of the previous season, can you blame them if they take a wait-and-see position before spending their money?
Aug
15
Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton rapidly losing all credibility
Filed Under Florida Government, Jacksonville | Leave a Comment
The local rag in Jax, The Florida Times-Union, with it’s website, Jacksonville.com, are occasionally taken to task by smaller organizations for being too close and soft on business and political leaders in Duval County.
But, credit where credit is due, someone over there has their teeth into Mayor John Peyton’s rear-end and is shaking loose a host of sweetheart contracts awarded to friends and associates, including a $48,000 no-bid contract to an efficiency consultant.
Now, I have no idea if this person earned their money; I do know that a $48,000 no-bid contract in every business I’ve been associated with (Revenues ranging from $4M to $9Billion) would never fly. As someone that has been involved in selling products and services to the federal government for most of his career, I can say sole-source contracts exist when the government knows there is no viable alternative in the market.
This all comes on the heels of revelations of similar shady deals for a provider of IT consulting services, owned by a former Peyton staffer.
It is my opinion that IT consulting services and organizing-consulting services do not meet this threshold. Neither is unique, neither possesses technology nor skills that couldn’t be found elsewhere, and frankly, neither business has high barriers to entry.
Mayor Peyton has been a vocal opponent of property tax reform in Florida, warning that city services would have to be cut. When the reform package was passed and signed into law, Peyton submitted a budget that included heavy cuts in city services and new/increased fees for basic services.
A single instance, ok, you can forgive as a lapse in judgment or “slip”. But, it’s beginning to look like there is a pattern of corruption at Jax City Hall, and the mayor wants the taxpayers to foot the bill.
Aug
14
Why would you want to have her in the first place?
Filed Under Florida Crime, Humor, Jacksonville, News | Leave a Comment
From Jacksonville.com:
$180.000 stolen car revealed by wife
By Dana Treen,
The Times-UnionHell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Because of that, Michael Haytaian hath no car.
When Clay County deputies were called by his wife, who said she had been assaulted by him during an argument over her job at Hooters, they already had enough to put him in jail overnight.
But Heather Haytaian wanted to make sure they had a little more, apparently, and told them she thought the sports car in the garage was stolen.
A $180,000 Aston Martin…
Oh man, if she isn’t gonna help you cover up grand theft auto, she isn’t worth putting in a choke hold, dude.
…Michael Haytaian was released from jail Monday on $2,500 bail on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.Heather Haytaian, meanwhile, said she was planning to pack her belongings.
And she’s keeping the Hummer, she said.
Only married men can truly understand the irony in that last sentence.
Jun
29
To paraphrase late-night talk-show host Craig Ferguson, it’s a great day in Florida.
For those that want to get their gamble on, a new law goes into effect on Sunday raising the betting limits for poker played within parimutuel facilities from $2 to $5 per bet for limit games, and allows no-limit games to be played with a maximum buy-in of $100.
I’m an avid low-limit poker player with a modestly successful poker blog, so obviously I’m in favor of this new law. Opponents of expanding gambling say it increases the potential for compulsive gambling, but the fact is that the data does not support their argument. Harvard just published a study of 40,000 gamblers and found that gamblers moderated their behavior based on losses, amount of time played, and several other factors. In other words, the more people lose, the less they play.
Unlike booze, where the more you drink, the more you drink.
Personal experience: I’m a winning poker player over my lifetime. For a period last year I moved up in stakes and continued to win with an ROI that was as solid as at lower limits. After less than two months, I cashed out a winner.
Why?
Psychologically, I was uncomfortable with the swings. Most people assume that people on win streaks will keep gambling because they can’t help themselves, and people who lose will chase losses to bankruptcy. This is simply not true.
Perhaps they are projecting their own weaknesses and addictive personalities?
I don’t know. What I do know is that no one has ever put a gun to my head and said “Gamble”. Compulsive gambling, like other addictions, has been shown to have medical roots and should be treated as such.
Dopamine agonist therapy was associated with potentially reversible pathological gambling, and pramipexole was the medication predominantly implicated. This may relate to disproportionate stimulation of dopamine D(3) receptors, which are primarily localized to the limbic system.
The argument should be about personal freedoms.
And with personal freedom comes personal responsibility:
Florida Times-Union:
Barlow, who started playing as a way to stay in touch with friends, offered a more blunt suggestion over a round of poker.”Anyone who plays with rent money shouldn’t be playing with cards.
It’s nice to see the government begin treating it citizens like adults, for once. It’s nice to see the “Nanny” mentality amongst our lawmakers dissipate a little.
Make smart choices. Hope to see you at the tables some day. Fun stakes only, of course.
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Jun
27
More on dumb politicians: Jacksonville City Council violates Sunshine Law
Filed Under Florida Government, Jacksonville | Leave a Comment
A couple of weeks’ ago, I blogged about local Jacksonville media reporting extensive Sunshine Law violations by the Jacksonville City Council.
Well, guess what? It’s going to the Grand Jury.
Not only that, State Attorney Harry Shorstein is making hay out of this episode, taking the opportunity to confront the Council on their own turf: Shorstein scolds council on meetings
If you want to see something REALLY funny, click through that link and check out the deer-caught-in-headlights looks of Lad Daniels and Michael Corrigan. Brilliant photo by the Times-Union photog, John Pemberton.
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Jun
13
Only in FLA: Dumb Politicians Introduce Stupid Ordinance
Filed Under Florida Crime, Florida Government, Jacksonville, Only in FLA | 1 Comment
The Florida Times-Union
June 13, 2007
Council admits meeting ‘mistakes’
By BETH KORMANIK,
The Times-UnionJacksonville City Council President Michael Corrigan introduced a sweeping measure Tuesday to ensure compliance with Florida’s Sunshine Law. The ordinance is in response to Times-Union inquiries into widespread flouting of the law by members of the council - especially its leaders…
Really? You need a city ordinance to say you’ll comply with State Law? Am I the only one that finds this an absurd and ludicrous waste of time, money, and hot air?
Made aware of the Times-Union’s findings, State Attorney Harry Shorstein said Tuesday that he will bring the matter before a grand jury. The panel, whose next meeting is Thursday, will then decide whether to investigate.Florida’s Sunshine Law requires that every meeting about public business involving two or more council members be announced and open to the public. Afterward, someone must file a written account of what happened. Punishments for breaking the law range from fines to removal from office. Public officials also can face civil lawsuits.
“If there have been criminal violations, the passage of any new ordinance would not prohibit the prosecution of existing or past violations,” Shorstein said.
Good! Every politician in the state knows about this law, it’s been of the books since Jesus Christ played linebacker for the Gators. They knew what they were doing. No excuses!
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May
30
The Florida Times-Union is reporting that Skybus will start daily flights from St. Augustine in July.
Gotta say, commercial aviation in this part of the First Coast is desperately needed. Going from St. Johns County up through Jax to JIA can take 75-120 minutes, depending on time of day. A couple of small puddle-jumper regional airlines would be a great addition to a growing area.
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May
30
Dead men don’t surf
Filed Under Humor, St. Augustine | Leave a Comment
I got a kick out of this - the director of the archaeological group didn’t let a find get in the way of his surfing.
I’m having an Apocalypse Now flashback… “Charlie don’t surf”…
Bits of nautical history rise in sands of Vilano
By MATT COLEMAN,
The Times-UnionWith Capt. Jack Sparrow and the latest Pirates of the Caribbean riding high on top of the box office, the remnants of a 19th-century ship uncovered over the weekend at Vilano Beach are harkening back to North Florida’s nautical history.
One of the discoveries, a 100-pound, 6-foot-long piece of iron covered in seashells and mineralized sediment, would be barely distinguishable at first glance to a novice as part of a sailing vessel. The first indication of the item’s seafaring antiquity is the deadeye, a protrusion of ironwood jutting from the rust-colored surface of the metal. Despite its dilapidated appearance, the piece was actually attached to the hull of a ship that possibly sailed the St. Augustine-area coastline.
John W. Morris III, director of South Eastern Archaeological Services, found the pieces on the shore of Vilano Beach when he was preparing to surf Saturday. He said he immediately identified the items as the chain plate assembly of a ship, which helped in securing the standard rigging.
“Once I figured out what they were, I went surfing,” Morris said. “It’s not like they were going anywhere at the time.”
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Jun
21
Onward
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
At 6/21/2006 6:54 AM, joey marchy said…Wow, thanks for this great analysis of the article in yesterday’s Times-Union. Sure some things were off and I feel bad that this article pissed a lot of the long-term Jacksonville bloggers off.
I plan to link to this evaluation in a post today.
At 6/21/2006 1:03 PM, joey marchy said…
I have started an official list of Jacksonville bloggers. Can you help spread the word? This will be a great way to organize us all for a blogging meet up!
http://www.urbanjacksonville.info/2006/06/21/tu-blog-article-dust-up/
You just did. Sounds like a good idea.
————
Should have a trip report in a day or two covering our visit to the Jax Zoo.
