Posted inWeb/Tech

Localscope is my favorite “where is…?” iPhone app

I'm always looking for new and better GPS'ized apps for my iPhone 4. To me never (well, hardly ever) getting lost and nearly always being able to find restaurants, coffee houses (!!!), shopping centers and such is one of the top advantages of having a smart phone. A few weeks ago an email blurb from the Localscope P.R. manager popped up on my iPhone. Glancing at it overly quickly, and failing to scroll all the way down the message, I learned about this recently released "where is...?" app, but failed to notice that I could get a promocode for a…
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Posted inHome life

I sell my mother’s silver in a hotel room

So what do you do with a cardboard box full of silver stuff -- teapot, candle holders, serving dishes, trophies -- that's been sitting in the garage for over twenty years, tarnished beyond belief, when you have no idea what it's worth or who might want to buy it? That was my problem when my wife, who's been doing most of our pre-spring garage cleaning, told me "You've got to do something with your mother's silver. It's been taking up space for too long." Dutiful husband that I am, I picked up the box from the floor of the garage,…
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Posted inEntertainment Salem

“Salemia” could be a lot funnier than “Portlandia”

Yesterday I survived -- no, thrived -- my audition for a part in "Salemia," Salem's answer to "Portlandia" -- an Independent Film Channel series that casts a quirky eye on lifestyles in the city that is an hour drive to the north and lightyears distant on a Hipness Distance Scale. After the casting call went out, I got excited about appearing in a video series that will poke both gentle and finger-in-the-eye fun at our excessively boring city. (There's some controversy over how to pronounce "Salemia." To me, it has to be Sa-lame-ia.") But then I remembered all the times…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Photos of pro-union rally at Oregon capitol

Wow, I'm energized! Today's Rally to Save the American Dream in Salem, a.k.a. "We are WI," got me fired up to defend truth, justice, & the American way against any and all enemies -- notably Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his Republican cronies, the Koch brothers. Here's some photos of the event, which was mirrored in every state capitol across the United States. There was a lot of love expressed toward Wisconsin from Oregonians. Looks like your best chance of getting interviewed by a media type is to wear an attention-getting outfit. Many stout-hearted, hard-working union guys and gals were…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Government spends my money better than I can

Today I gave our 2010 tax info to our CPA. In a few weeks we'll learn how much we owe the federal and Oregon governments. My wife and I won't be thrilled with writing out the checks, but deep down we're pleased to do our part to "promote the general welfare" -- one of the six goals our founding fathers set out in the preamble to the United States Constitution. See, Tea Party types, your interpretation of what it means to be a proud American is historically twisted. Cutting taxes isn't mentioned in the preamble. But promoting the general welfare…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Republicans’ overreach will result in voter backlash

Recent actions by Republicans are giving me a serious case of outrage. When the House voted to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, that was just plain idiotic. As Ruth Marcus says: House Republicans voted to increase the number of abortions, raise federal health-care costs and swell the welfare rolls.That wasn't their intent, of course, and certainly not their stated policy. But it is the predictable and inevitable impact of their twin moves to eliminate funding for the federal family planning program and strip Planned Parenthood of all federal money.If anything, this assessment is understated. The sharper, and still accurate…
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Posted inHealth

How to (almost) enjoy your colonoscopy

I don't know if it's possible for anyone to say "my colonoscopy was fun," unless they're a masochist. I've had three now, two regular's and a virtual, the most recent a few days ago. None of them was enjoyable, except in this sense: I know that I'll feel much better getting colonoscopies rather than colon cancer. So like I said in a previous post, don't think twice about having the procedure if you're over 50 or otherwise in a high risk group. Once you're scheduled for one, I've got some tips for making your colonoscopy more pleasant. Some of what…
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Posted inScootering

2009 Suzuki Burgman 650 Exec for sale in Salem, Oregon

[Sorry, no longer for sale.] Spring is almost here -- in western Oregon, at least. Our bulbs are blooming, and it's going to hurt when I can't ride my much beloved 2009 Suzuki Burgman 650 Exec scooter during warm weather this year. But I've got to sell this beauty. (click on photos for larger images) So says my wife. If it was up to me, I'd keep the Burgman after my recently-ordered 2011 Mini Cooper S makes its way from England to our carport. However, my wife has put a limit on the number of "boy toys" I can keep…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

Testifying at the Oregon Legislature can be oh-so-frustrating

Last Tuesday it happened again. Four years after I blogged, "Why have a public hearing if you don't want to hear the public?," the Oregon Legislature's House Judiciary Committee held an excruciatingly inept, slanted, and frustrating public hearing on three bills that would drastically limit citizen involvement in land use decisions. Yesterday, fellow hearing sufferer Kris Bledsoe wrote a terrific piece for Blue Oregon, laying out details of how committee co-chair Rep. Wayne Krieger (R-Gold Beach), who hates land use planning, threatened her when she asked why she never got a chance to testify. In "A Formal Complaint for Deaf…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Democratic state legislators leave Wisconsin to stop union-busting

Oh, way cool! This is so Egypt'y. Thousands of protesters camping out at the seat of power to thwart an evil leader's nefarious rule. And now... Democrats in the Wisconsin State Senate have reportedly left the state to prevent a quorum, and hence a vote, on the Republican Governor's horrendous union-busting legislation. Meaning, the state police can't come after them. If any of the senators need a hideout, give me a call. (Oops, guess I should have kept this a secret.)
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Posted inHumor Salem

“Salemia” casting call gets my Inner Actor excited

Oh, man, I want it so bad -- a role in the "Salemia" series that local filmmaker Michael Perron and his posse are planning to make as our city's answer to the Independent Film Channel's "Portlandia." The Salemia notion started off as a Twitter craze, but is morphing into something more. What that turns out to be is limited only by Perron's wonderful creativity and sense of humor, which is on full display at his You Tube home. As alluded to below, my top strategy for getting a part in Salemia isn't my acting ability, but my fawning ability. Along…
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Posted inHumor Salem

Meet the talented (and funny) guys behind #Salemia

I hope the fawning title of this blog post gets me a role in a "Salemia" production being planned by Twitter-meme founders Mike Perron and David Jenkins -- even if it just appears on You Tube. (The competing "Portlandia" is on the IFC cable channel, which isn't exactly highly watched either.) Gino Corridori, a local cameraman for Portland's KATU, put up a well-done, entertaining interview with Mike and David on, where else, You Tube. Check out hIs "#Salemia: What's it all about?" blog post on the Salem KATU site. I was thrilled to see one of my OregonBrian #Salemia tweets…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Republicans go bat-shit crazy on global warming

I'm not sure what the origin of the term is, but calling Congressional Republicans bat-shit crazy sounds so right to me. They're acting insane on many issues, but global warming is where their disconnect from reality reaches its zenith. I've never seen a political party in this country go so far astray from facts. We're not talking here about a difference of opinion, a philosophical dispute, or a questioning of which data are more accurate. No, the freshly empowered Republicans who have taken control of the House of Representatives are purely and simply lying. So I'll amend my description of…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Regence BlueCross of Oregon: incompetent beyond belief

Yesterday my wife had another frustrating encounter with the Regence BlueCross of Oregon bureaucracy. (Previous ones have been blogged about here, here, here, here, here, and here.) This further convinced us that people who claim government-run health care would be more inefficient and mistake-prone than the current mostly private system never have had much to do with an insurance company. There is no way, absolutely no way, that any public organization could be more difficult, irritating, and time-consuming to deal with than Regence Blue Cross of Oregon is. And here's the scary thing: Regence likely is better than truly malevolent…
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Posted inHumor Salem

“#Salemia” sets off capital city Twitter frenzy

Wow, something exciting finally is happening in Salem! Twitter aficionados are tweeting about how un-exciting Oregon's capital is, using the "#Salemia" tag. I first caught sight of #Salemia on my Twitter feed without knowing what it meant. When I read the tweets, I wasn't sure whether they were for real, or a joke -- which, of course, speaks volumes about Salem's well deserved reputation for being a blandburger sandwiched between spicy Portland and Eugene. Later in the day I came across Salem blogger Emily Grosvenor's post, "The rise of the #Salemia meme." Thanks to her, I learned what this is…
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Posted inTai Chi

David Leung shows the subtle side of Tai Chi

Along with Eric and Connie, two Tai Chi classmates (we study with Warren Allen at Pacific Martial Arts here in Salem), I thoroughly enjoyed Master David Leung's workshop today at Cafe Noir -- which was sponsored by Oregon CHI. I'm a firm believer that chi/qi is stimulated productively, and easily if you have about $2, with a good cup of coffee. Cafe Noir didn't disappoint. Their locally roasted Tico's Coffee was terrific. But this wasn't the only way my mood was elevated during Leung's presentation. He was energetic, entertaining, and exuberant in a charming Chinese manner. Leung's English also is…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Oregon taxes are low compared to other states

Ah, vindication. Confirmation. An Oregonian story: "Oregon tax burden remains in bottom third of states, new report says." No matter how you slice or dice the numbers, Oregonians bear a smaller tax burden than people in most other states, according to a new state report. When all charges are considered, including federal taxes and fees, Oregon's share was $7,663 per person in 2008, the latest numbers available. That ranks 33 out of 50 states. ...Warner's staff has looked at the impact of the tax increases imposed by last year's measures 66 and 67. "It didn't change the relative rankings," Warner…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

DeFazio offers Tea Party’ish solution to health insurance mandate

Brilliant! Genius! Marvelous! Those were my thoughts as I read an editorial in today's Salem (Oregon) Statesman Journal, "DeFazio offers a common-sense solution" -- to the possibly unconstitutional mandate in the Affordable Care Act that everyone have health insurance. Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio has a sensible proposal to fix the most controversial part of the federal health reform, the requirement that everyone buy insurance. His idea: Make people put their money where there mouth is. People who object to the health-care insurance mandate could sign a waiver, guaranteeing that no one else would be stuck paying their medical bills. Not…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Federal judge shows why health insurance mandate has to stay

Conservatives are crowing over a federal judge's recent ruling that the requirement to purchase health insurance in the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) is unconstitutional. But Judge Roger Vinson's ruling actually showed that what Republicans have been claiming is false: it isn't possible to repeal the health insurance mandate and leave other more popular parts of the law intact. Vinson came to the legally questionable conclusion that the mandate is unconstitutional. He then went further, saying that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down even though only this one part of it fails to pass constitutional muster. (In…
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Posted inSalem

Feds are looking into Salem’s Courthouse Square scandal

A front page headline in today's Salem Statesman Journal blared in big letters: Courthouse SquareMillion$ in Federal Money:Pay It Back? Appropriately, federal officials are wondering what happened to the $9.8 million in grants that Salem-Keizer Transit used to pay for its portion of the now completely unusable Courthouse Square project. The feds are asking the local transit district this question: What will become of federal investments in the Salem bus mall? The 10-year-old Courthouse Square bus mall and office building are so poorly designed that engineers say they're dangerous. And a sizable chunk of the $34 million used to build…
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