HOW TO SELL PAPERS

On Wednesday the Anchorage Daily News led off with “ALASKANS MAY GET UP TO $1000 EACH” while the Kodiak Daily Mirror led off with a color photograph take at the recycling center and “OFFICIALS RELEASE 3-YEAR SUMMER FERRY SCHEDULE”.

Which story would you be likely to read first?

The Kodiak Daily Mirror had the $1000 story buried at the bottom of page 7. Since it is only a teaser, and no actual action has occurred, this is probably where it belonged for its quality as a news story, but if you want to sell papers . . .

AN IDEA WHOSE TIME WAS ALWAYS HERE

While much of the coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas focused on whose television was the biggest. One television was 150 inch, even if your house has a wall large enough, where do you position the easy chair? At the neighbor’s house across the street? There was one gadget which may have a larger impact on society.

Are you a closet performer? Does the shower screen turn you into the latest pop idol? Do you sing along with the radio while driving? You do? And you admit it? After many studies of distracted driver and cell phones, some genius has come up with . . . car-aoke. Now the car pool lane can be your ticket to stardom as you and your crew belt out the tunes on the beltway.

You thought that cell phones were distracting to drivers, now try to program which songs to sing at 70 MPH, and just where are the lyrics displayed?

“Life in the fast lane, surely makes you lose your mind”

A SOBERING REMINDER

Many of us no longer think twice when boarding an aircraft. Air travel is just part of life in the 49th state. A way to get from here to there, or a way to get back home.

Going home for the Orthodox holidays, the spirit aboard the flight must have been one of good thoughts of good food and family gathering. The families will still gather, but this Orthodox Christmas will be sad for many in Kodiak as we have lost friends and family in the plane crash that took place on Saturday.

Events like this remind us of the fragility of life and the short time that we have here upon the earth. It makes the Kodiak Perspective think of all of the stupid little things that annoy him, and wonder why they do, there are so many other things to lift the spirits. Think about those things and enjoy the time we have.

50th ANNIVERSARY LICENSE PLATE

The State of Alaska celebrates it’s 50th year of statehood in 2009 and you can be part of the celebration by sporting a special license plate on your car or truck. The design features the 50 year logo on the left and “Celebrating Statehood 1959-2009" across the bottom.

The Kodiak Perspective would have had a 49th year celebration since we are the 49th state, but the powers that be did not consult with The Kodiak Perspective.

CITY BUDGETING

Aha, so now we know why the New Year’s Fireworks were sacrificed . . . so the city could get some new cop cars. These cruisers are more fuel efficient than the current SUVs currently in use, this is a huge factor in a city of roughly 3 square miles. If the city wants fuel efficiency, what happened to those Segways that were rolled out a few years ago? (There is a picture to submit for the 50th anniversary of Crab Festival), or bicycle patrols. One can get anywhere in the city limits in just a few minutes on a bicycle, so response time isn’t an issue. Like a bicycle or a Segway, these new cruisers aren’t equipped for transporting law breakers, but with radios on any of these vehicles, an officer could call for the paddy wagon if necessary.

In a city where crime is not a big issue, it is more important to the city to spend more than $60,000 on “more administrative” (From the Mirror) vehicles than spend a tenth of that on relieving the darkness doldrums.

OK, The Kodiak Perspective is being a bit tongue in cheek, and knows that neither Segways nor bicycles are a good alternative on our icy roadways, and neither has a good heating system required for our winters in Alaska. We want our Policemen to have good usable equipment.

So, instead of the City sponsored fireworks, which would have been cancelled anyway, due to weather, The Kodiak Perspective played “Pictionary” with some friends.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Lancelot Link Secret Chimp

While visiting this holiday season, a friend had received a “20 questions” electronic game dedicated to television. It was able to identify “My Mother the Car” but was stumped in each succeeding game. It was able to guess “Lancelot Link Secret Chimp, but only after 25 questions. Others at the party had never heard of this 70's TV show. Here is a clip, enjoy:



A double DVD set is available for purchase or hire. Happy Holidays from The Kodiak Perspective.

NEW YEAR’S FIREWORKS CANCELLED

For many years the City of Kodiak has planned semi-annual fireworks, one on New Year’s Eve, and another on Independence Day. Seldom in the 7+ years that The Kodiak Perspective has resided in Kodiak, have both displays gone off without a hitch. Often the shows are cancelled due to weather, rescheduled, cancelled again, rescheduled for a later holiday, cancelled yet again, until the public forgets that there was supposed to be a show.

In a preemptive strike, the folks at the City of Kodiak have pre-cancelled the firework show to ring in the New Year 2008. Mayor Caroline Floyd confirmed that there will not be a show next week, weather permitting or not.

“Boo Hoo” to the City for denying us this pleasure during the long nights that we endure during the winter months. It is a bright spot that we look forward to, get disappointed, look forward to again, and get disappointed again, and spoils the betting pools on when the show will finally happen. The book makers of Kodiak are in for a lean year.

THE RETURN OF LAKE KALOZ

After an extended construction season which saw new water mains and storm sewers along Lower Mill Bay Rd, Rezanof, and Center Ave, commonly known as the “Y” today’s balmy temperatures showed us what we got for our tax dollars: The Return of Lake Kaloz at the confluence of the Rezanof Straits and the Straits of Mill Bay.

Temperatures soared today to 37.9 degrees Fahrenheit, and some raindrops caused much of the sludge in and lining the roadways to recede. The inland waterways follow the canals dug in the pavement and bypass the storm sewer system, causing a lake at the “Y” on Center Ave.

Doesn’t this make you feel good about the sifting traffic patterns this summer and the jolting that vehicles took along the washboard roadbeds of summer construction?

The “walk ways” along the side of the roads are still impassable so pedestrian traffic has to share the rivers with vehicular traffic often resulting in splashed leggings and soaked socks.

Way to go, city and state planners, who conceived this farce of infrastructure repairing/replacing. We still appear to have the same problems as before this work was undertaken.

It should be noted that some may say that the project has yet to be completed, and conditions may improve when the final “permanent” paving is in place, but The Kodiak Perspective is sceptical. Please prove him wrong.

AREA 51, REPORTS OF A FLYING OBJECT

Area 51 outside Roswell, New Mexico is thought by many to be the sight of a UFO crash, and a secret military base doing research on UFO technology.

Last night there were many sightings of an object flying in this restricted air space, sometimes seeming to hover, and changing directions with amazing speed. A single red light was spotted from the nose of this aircraft which appeared long and dark.

Satellite technology from NORAD captured an image of this nighttime intruder. . .




Amateur radio enthusiasts trained parabolic microphones on the object and recorded a signal from the craft, as it flew from sight: “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

Recently the Kodiak Daily Mirror had a letter from a grass-roots campaign suggesting that political campaigns be financed by the government. There have been many calls for reform over the years because the amount of money to run for office has become so large that only well funded candidates have any chance of getting their messages heard. It is also believed that the big money leads to political corruption.

The Kodiak Perspective is leery of turning over political money management completely to the government, there is already a check box on the IRS form 1040. This power has the potential for the government to hand select who will be able to mount a campaign. A dangerous thought! Should the government decide who can run?

Political fund-raising is one way to measure the ground swell of support, look at the fund raising efforts of Doctor Ron Paul, someone written off as having no chance, but his message seems to be very popular, even more so than some of the first tier candidates.

With the media largely ignoring these campaigns, funding of a candidate is the best way for people to show support and get the message out.

The problem may not be campaign finances, but rather coverage by the press, who largely dictate who’s name is before the public. With so many media outlets, it is a shame that only front runners get the coverage.

The recent popularity of Mike Huckabee is a good example, largely written off, he has only recently gotten air time after a surge in the polls.

While campaign finance may be part of the political problems in this country, it is not the only problem. Turning to purse strings over to the government, and creating another layer of bureaucracy, doesn’t sound like a good solution. Nice try, but let’s give it some more thought.