Funniest Obit ever. Apparently, this Matt Taibbi is a pretty damned good writer. I'll try to keep up on his stuff.
Great article in Wired about fighting corruption using the internet. We need to duplicate Chicago Crime and Maplight for Louisiana (ASAP!!!). It's our only chance at saving the city.
UPDATE- I wonder if C-Ray's obit will look something like that first article. Something to the effect of "he was an idiot, but at least he was our idiot."
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou
Article in City Journal
Tip of the Hat to NOLA Against Crime.
UPDATE- You know what, the whole New Orleans/Iraq analogy thing has gotten a little cliche as of late. Why not compare New Orleans to the Wild Wild West or, even more creatively, Mos Eisley.
Tip of the Hat to NOLA Against Crime.
UPDATE- You know what, the whole New Orleans/Iraq analogy thing has gotten a little cliche as of late. Why not compare New Orleans to the Wild Wild West or, even more creatively, Mos Eisley.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Keep Talkin'
Recently in New Orleans, a lot of suspects have been arrested thanks to tips by the community. KEEP IT UP!!! Silence is violence!
This is absolutely appalling. It's the opposite of what's been happening recently in New Orleans. It's all about the "Stop Snitchin'" campaign. Watch the video, it gets even worse.
Tip of the hat to NO Slate.
UPDATE- Article in Baltimore Sun about their city (aka- Noladishu Jr.)
This is absolutely appalling. It's the opposite of what's been happening recently in New Orleans. It's all about the "Stop Snitchin'" campaign. Watch the video, it gets even worse.
Tip of the hat to NO Slate.
UPDATE- Article in Baltimore Sun about their city (aka- Noladishu Jr.)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Feds get Thugs off the street
1 still sought
Here's a look at what I've mapped out on that corner:
1900 Second Street
UPDATE- Since I Eddie Jordan has a nickname (Special Ed), I think we need to come up with a nickname for Jim Letten.
My suggestion: Jim "No Letup!" Letten
Here's a look at what I've mapped out on that corner:
1900 Second Street
UPDATE- Since I Eddie Jordan has a nickname (Special Ed), I think we need to come up with a nickname for Jim Letten.
My suggestion: Jim "No Letup!" Letten
Migrant Workers
Excellent (albeit long) piece in the NY Times about Migrant Workers
This might seem like an odd story to focus on, but I want to go into some detail about this article. I'm going to write some of this post tonight and some later. Some of it will be about offshore life. Some of it will be random thoughts.
How much would you sacrifice for your children? Would you go halfway across the globe for years at a time to make sure your kids had food, clothing, and a good education? Millions of Filipinos would.
I've actually worked around them a lot. They are all over South Louisiana. Over the past 5 years, they've come in to the country in increasing numbers. Lots of companies just can't get enough welders, pipe fitters, etc. locally. Crappy local schools and a huge outmigration of the best and brightest from South Louisiana has taken its toll on the workforce. Companies have had to bring in foreign workers to fill the gap. These guys are paid American wages (from what I understand, they're even on par with union wages). I've worked and even lived beside them, but never really thought too much about their lives until reading that article.
On one of my recent offshore trips, I had to stay in the "temporary" quarters that were added to increase the number of workers that could live on this particular platform at any given time. The quarters have actually earned the moniker, "the Ghetto" from the crew.
"The Ghetto"
They actually aren't that bad. They're better than some of Tulane's dorms! In each of the sub-units, there are two bedrooms with a common bathroom (that's a little grungy, but isn't as bad as it could be). 8 people total per sub-unit. Most of the name comes from their crappyness in contrast to the main quarters (some of which are like the Hilton).
One big advantage of the Ghetto is that it's HVAC system is on a different thermostat from the main quarter. The Ghetto's HVAC system can't keep the quarters cooler than 68 degrees. That's a good thing, because the thermostat-nazi's on the platform always keep the air on max. In the main quarters, it's kept around 60 degrees with a constant gale blasting out of the ducts! Ever try to sleep in 60 degrees with only a thin blanket? It sucks!
Anyway, I was assigned to the Ghetto and slept with crew of Filipino workers. It's was a little odd, but nothing too weird. You had a language barrier. They were pretty respectful of others, so it didn't really bother me. I know that all sounds a little vague, but I don't want to put down something that could get me into trouble (you never know with some of that stuff).
Anyway, I'll write more later. Didn't know about all these guys have to go through, though.
This might seem like an odd story to focus on, but I want to go into some detail about this article. I'm going to write some of this post tonight and some later. Some of it will be about offshore life. Some of it will be random thoughts.
How much would you sacrifice for your children? Would you go halfway across the globe for years at a time to make sure your kids had food, clothing, and a good education? Millions of Filipinos would.
I've actually worked around them a lot. They are all over South Louisiana. Over the past 5 years, they've come in to the country in increasing numbers. Lots of companies just can't get enough welders, pipe fitters, etc. locally. Crappy local schools and a huge outmigration of the best and brightest from South Louisiana has taken its toll on the workforce. Companies have had to bring in foreign workers to fill the gap. These guys are paid American wages (from what I understand, they're even on par with union wages). I've worked and even lived beside them, but never really thought too much about their lives until reading that article.
On one of my recent offshore trips, I had to stay in the "temporary" quarters that were added to increase the number of workers that could live on this particular platform at any given time. The quarters have actually earned the moniker, "the Ghetto" from the crew.
"The Ghetto"
They actually aren't that bad. They're better than some of Tulane's dorms! In each of the sub-units, there are two bedrooms with a common bathroom (that's a little grungy, but isn't as bad as it could be). 8 people total per sub-unit. Most of the name comes from their crappyness in contrast to the main quarters (some of which are like the Hilton).
One big advantage of the Ghetto is that it's HVAC system is on a different thermostat from the main quarter. The Ghetto's HVAC system can't keep the quarters cooler than 68 degrees. That's a good thing, because the thermostat-nazi's on the platform always keep the air on max. In the main quarters, it's kept around 60 degrees with a constant gale blasting out of the ducts! Ever try to sleep in 60 degrees with only a thin blanket? It sucks!
Anyway, I was assigned to the Ghetto and slept with crew of Filipino workers. It's was a little odd, but nothing too weird. You had a language barrier. They were pretty respectful of others, so it didn't really bother me. I know that all sounds a little vague, but I don't want to put down something that could get me into trouble (you never know with some of that stuff).
Anyway, I'll write more later. Didn't know about all these guys have to go through, though.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Crime Mappin Update - 22 April 2007
Latest KMZ file hosted on Google Earth.
Times-Pic: Block is Crime Magnet Here's all the incidents near that block that I've mapped out over the past few months:
2100 Josephine
Lots of murders and shootings.
So, I'm almost finished reading Tipping point. There's a lot of discussion of Broken Window Theory. I'll bet that if you look at my crime mapping, and recent city attempts to map blight, there will be a strong correlation.
Instead of signs saying "ENOUGH," and "THOU SHALT NOT KILL," maybe we should be protesting against blight? Maybe a "Blight Kills" would be more appropriate? I'm not naive enough to think that will solve the problem (there's WAY too much screwed up for anything to fix anything), but it could be a place to start.
Here are 3 suggestions on where to focus blight-fighting:
1800 Bayou Road
Area around Monroe and Hickory (Hollygrove)
2300 Tureaud, near the Duck Off
Friday, April 20, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Murder update
71 MURDERS TO DATE
Seventy one murders to date! And that doesn't include 3 (assumed) justifiable homicides.
I checked it twice to make sure I got it right.
Collection of crime mapping files. All of my mapping efforts to date in KMZ and KML format, plus just the 2007 file alone.
A couple of things to point out:
> Since I first started the mapping, the murder hotspots have shifted away from Central City to Treme/Mid City.
> Recently, the shooters in Treme have been extremely accurate (or there are even more shootings in that area that even I believe).
> I've also noticed that as of the past 2 weeks or so, an impressive number of murderers have been arrested as a result of witnesses coming forward. Very encouraging. We'll see what happens when "Special Ed" gets a hold of them...
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