Sunday, March 30, 2008

Column : Pick Up a Reading Hobbit

Oregon Daily Emerald - 04/05/01

With the conclusion of finals two weeks ago and 10 homework and class-free days stretching ahead, I decided to indulge myself during spring break. I wasn't flying off to get obnoxiously inebriated in Cancœn, or to backpack through parts of Europe, or even hitting the slopes in Tahoe (which the rest of my family happened to be doing without me). A new job had me anchored to Eugene during the prized week of freedom college students look forward to, but I was eagerly looking forward to catching up with an old friend ... a good book.

When I was a child, books kept me company on the bus ride to school, intrigued me during boring lectures in school (hidden safely in a text book), were my dining companions as I ate breakfast, and suffocated under the covers with me as I read with a flashlight, one ear listening for the approaching footsteps of the parent patrol.

Determined to catch up on old times with my old friend, I enthusiastically set out for Knight Library, armed with a wish list of the books that would claim my free time during the break. A Dean Koontz novel, something by Toni Morrison, and yes, even Nora Roberts. But most of all, I was looking forward to re-reading J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings."

After seeing a trailer for the cinematic release of the trilogy (which I desperately hope beats the disappointment of the return of the "Star Wars" movies), I decided I had to re-read the novels. It's been a decade since I pored over the pages of Tolkien's masterpieces, which hold a special place for me, as my dad read them as a young man and named his first boat after Gandalf, the wise wizard from The Hobbit. My family's first dog was named Brandy after the Brandywine River, one of the landmarks in Bilbo's adventures.

Back at Knight Library, I located the Tolkien area and browsed the shelves, scanning them for the desired titles. And failed miserably. The two copies of "The Hobbit" were checked out and the two shelves containing Tolkien's works included his biography and dozens upon dozens of collections of his notes or scholarly opinions about his writing.

But I didn't want to read why he chose to name the hobbit "Bilbo" instead of "Bozo" or what an Oxford professor thought of Gollum. I wanted to form my own opinions about the story and the characters. And I didn't want to spend beaucoup bucks at Borders for the set, so I took my first trip to the Eugene Public Library.

After I failed miserably at finding my way around the library (sadly enough, I'm practically a college graduate), I enlisted the guidance of the children's section librarian (at the counter marked "HELP!"). She pointed me in the right direction, toward dozens of Tolkien books -- actual works of fiction, not notes -- distributed in both the young adult and children's section.

I was so excited to actually find the books after the fruitless search on campus, I wasn't even fazed by the fact I was hauling an armful of "children's books" -- I think Tolkien can be enjoyed by all ages. As I exited the library, I clutched my new library card almost as fervently as I had my ID on my 21st birthday. After all, both were opening new possibilities for me, though the library card was probably a bit more productive.

As I headed off to the nearest coffee shop to indulge in my new books, I reflected over the irony of the situation. The University wasn't able to provide me with the tools needed to fulfill my literary desire, and our library, which boasts thousands upon thousands of volumes of books, wasn't able to offer some classics to its patrons.

Memorizing the timeline of the French-Indian War or the scholarly opinion on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," while beneficial to our overall general knowledge and education, probably fails to ignite our creative spirit or our imagination. So don't expect to get all of your literary needs fulfilled by the assigned reading from your classes, or even from a list of the greatest American novels.

Instead, head down to the local library and thumb through the dog-eared, well-loved pages of some of your old favorites, or select a random book to dive into. Not only is the check-out time a month, but you won't have to sell your textbooks to be able to pay hefty late fees that (ahem) some academic libraries charge. Nourish your literary needs with some reading you choose.

Column: A New Baby BOOM!

Oregon Daily Emerald - 04/24/01

By six o'clock Easter Sunday, I was in dire need of a nap. My muscles ached, my eyelids felt heavy and my bed seemed like an oasis. What had caused this state of exhaustion? A late night finishing up homework? No. Working a 13-hour shift waiting tables at the restaurant where I'm employed? No. The source of my physical and mental exhaustion was the afternoon spent with my family and, specifically, a small mass of children with a seemingly endless supply of energy.

My 8-year-old brother and four little cousins (ages 6, 7, 8 and 9) bounded from one activity to the other while my older cousins and I supervised and tried to catch up on the progression of our lives since the last family get-together. Overseeing the placement of candy and nickels and dimes into the plastic Easter eggs was a short-lived activity, as the kids' attention spans waned quickly and the giant trampoline beckoned to them.

Outside, I held my breath as the young'uns bounced crazily, and I hoped none of the flying little bodies would collide or fly right off the trampoline. Their jumping soon turned into a game of dog pile, and it seemed time for me to interrupt before someone got hurt. Of course, my presence on the trampoline failed miserably in terminating the game; instead, I turned into the subject of the dog pile. Pinned underneath five little kids, all laughing and pinching me, I seriously wondered how I was going to make it through the Easter-egg hunt with both eyes open.

Somehow I survived, and after my nap, I reflected on the day, wondering how parents find the energy to raise young children. I find that my own life takes all my energy, and I still never seem to have the time I would like to do everything I need. Put a few toddlers into the equation, and it spells mass insanity to me. Not to say that I don't love kids and plan on having a few (in about a decade), but how do young people cope with having children?

When I graduated from high school, roughly 20 girls out of my graduating class of 200 had kids -- yes, at 17 or 18 years of age, I think they are still girls. Our school had its own day care center just for the children of students. Needless to say, the term "kids having kids" seemed to fit. These young adults, few even old enough to vote, were responsible for the life of another human being when most of them still relied upon their own parents. Most couldn't legally buy a cigar to smoke in celebration of their child's birth.

When discussing the subject with several friends, the tales I heard were even more disturbing. One friend knew a 31-year-old woman with a two-year-old granddaughter! Apparently, the "grandmother" had a daughter at age 14 or 15, and in turn, her daughter had a child at the same age. I don't buy the excuse that kids are more mature these days -- if they were, they would know better than to have unprotected sex before they are old enough to drive with a learner's permit.

Another friend of mine has a niece, a 20-year-old girl, pregnant with her fifth child! Yes, at 20, she already has four kids, ages 4, 3, 2 and 1. To my understanding, she isn't trying to break the world record for childbearing (currently held by a woman with 65 children), but practices a religion which forbids the use of birth control. I guess that the idea that premarital sex is also forbidden was forgotten.

Don't misinterpret my puzzling to be a message for abortion or adoption, because it's not. I'm asking a question. Why are these children (now parents) forfeiting their childhood and young adulthood?

Where have we, as a society, gone wrong when a young mother is raising a Brady Bunch-sized family before she can legally buy the ingredients to make beer-battered fish and French fries? Shouldn't these teenagers learn to balance a checkbook and practice time management between school, a part-time job and a social life before they juggle day care and feeding schedules?

According to statistics from Planned Parenthood, 10 percent of girls age 15-19 in the United States are having kids, the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world. Why? Maybe we're concentrating a little too much on telling teenagers not to have sex, not to have sex, not to have sex. It's pretty repetitious and obviously ineffective. Instead, we need to concentrate on promoting responsible sex.

After all, organizations such as the Student Health Center and Planned Parenthood don't distribute condoms just for freshman boys to blow up and pin to the walls of their residence halls.
Editor's note: As trampoline Professor Lani Loken-Dahle would attest, for no reason should there ever be more than one person on a trampoline, as this may result in severe injury or death.

Column : Rage Against The Sports Machine

Oregon Daily Emerald : 01/10/02

Like it or not, football seems to be a big part of college life. Eugene residents and University students can't escape hearing the latest about the Autzen Stadium expansion or donations from Nike CEO Phil Knight. And it's no different at many other schools, especially those vying for a national sports ranking.

Fiesta Bowl news ran throughout the break. But behind the glory of the Heisman Trophy competition, the controversy of the Bowl Championship Series rankings and tales of extraordinary road trips to the big game, a darker tale goes almost unnoticed, and so far, unpunished.

On Dec. 7, more than three weeks before the big game, a Colorado University student alleged she was gang raped while attending a party thrown for football recruits, according to Associated Press reports. The party reportedly consisted of approximately 15 high school recruits and a half-dozen Colorado University football players, all of whom were drinking heavily.

You'd expect to hear that the police are investigating and that there have been repercussions against the aggressors, but the police weren't called. Instead, campus police are handling the investigation, despite the fact the crime happened off campus. And surprise, surprise, no players were suspended from the Fiesta Bowl for the incident, and no arrests have been made even now, as investigations are "ongoing."

Few newspapers ran the article, and those who did used the same AP story. No one has questioned the fact that the underage recruits were allegedly drinking with their CU football hosts. The athletic department spent more than $5,000 in food, rental cars and entertainment ­­ not counting hotel or airfare ­­ to host the 15 recruits for three days, according to a Boulder, Col., newspaper.

The athletic department and the football team hosts used this wining and dining to show the recruits what could "be theirs" if they became college athletes. Did this display reach beyond food and liquor and constant attention to encompass women -- willing or unwilling?

Gang rape is not a new phenomenon, but today, it's exclusive groups that are committing these violent crimes. The highest number of gang rapes is committed by fraternity groups, followed closely in number by athletic teams, according to a study by psychologist Chris O'Sullivan, Ph.D., of Buckness University. Of athletes, it's football, basketball and hockey teams who are most prone to rape, according to a study by Bernice Sandler of the Association of American Colleges.

As these groups complain that they are the victims of unfair stereotyping involving rape, the statistics continue to support the facts. The origin of this violence is men who have developed a subculture based upon privilege and aggression, often leading to the scapegoating of women.

It's horrifying that the combination of elitism and power among men somehow produces a mentality that allows these crimes to happen in the first place. It's even scarier that most of the athletes accused escape with little more than a slap on the wrist, despite the growing awareness of the phenomenon. I'm angry that athletics really isn't the problem here, but a culture that elevates athletes to a demigod status, where any behavior is permissible.

Aureole : Not Just a Body Part

Oct. 2004

Patrons of five-star restaurant Aureole Las Vegas have the rare opportunity to order from a wine list of over 4,000 choices, but first had the daunting task of wading through a 125-page wine list.

It was wine connoisseur and technology-aficionado Andrew Bradbury who made that task a bit less overwhelming, offering patrons the use of a cutting edge tablet PC to select their wine.

Bradbury began his restaurateur career in his teens and developed an interest in wine before he was old enough to legally partake. Residing in Seattle, Bradbury cultivated that interest alongside his passion for technology.

The Tower

Bradbury got his start as wine director for Aureole Las Vegas when it opened six years ago at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

As one of renowned chef Charlie Palmer’s ventures, Aureole had to offer more than just delectable cuisine and stunning ambiance in order to capture a corner of the growing Las Vegas dining scene.

That competitive edge came in the form of four-story wine tower, a functional altar for the now world-renowned temple of wine.

The $2 million dollar wine tower serves as the centerpiece for the restaurant, storing 10,000 bottles of wine in the steel and glass creation. Flying wine “angels” in black cat suits and modified rock climbing belts ascend on cables to pluck the selections of customers.

The tower’s stock consists primarily of common red wines, stored at 55 degrees and 70 percent humidity within a numbering system categorized by tower side, level and bin. In addition to the tower, four wine cellars hold the remaining 40,000 bottles typically totaling an estimated value of $12 million.

In addition to Charlie Palmer, celebrity host Robin Leech has also scaled the tower, which has been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network.

“It was very scary the first few times I went up,” said Heather Niau, 26, who began working at the restaurant two years ago and has dropped a mere four bottles during her thousands of vertical quests for wine.

The Sin City native is a full-time angel and ascends the tower as many as 50 times a night. The trip up the 42-foot tower takes about 12 seconds and angels can clip multiple bottles to their belts with Batman-like accessories, Bradbury said.

The eWineBook

One challenge Bradbury faced in his quest to create an exceptional dining experience was managing a wine list that covered the thousands of selections. A paper wine list for a restaurant like Aureole would at least 125 pages long and would intimidate most patrons, Bradbury said.

“You’d have to update it weekly and it would take 8 hours to print,” said Bradbury. “By the time it’s done, it’s obsolete.”

Bradbury had entertained ways of combining technology with tradition in order to make things run smoothly. His solution? An interactive wine list using a Hewlett-Packard tablet PC which Bradbury unveiled in 2002.

“I wanted to do it years ago, but I had to wait for technology to catch up,” said Bradbury, whose eWineBook is now the focus of a multi-million dollar ad campaign by Hewlett-Packard.

When a customer is seated at Aureole, the waiter brings a eWineBook to the table and gives a one minute tour to make sure they are on the “same page”, Bradbury said.

The interactive experience begins with a welcome page with basic information about the tablet. Next, a patron can begin their selections by viewing wine by type, and then by country. Wines can be sorted by price, ranging from the high teens to $40 thousand.

In addition to basic information, patrons can peruse profiles on featured wines and wineries. For those with less wine knowledge or adventurous tastes, one can sample the food and wine pairing page, which gives descriptions of menu items and recommends wines by the glass or bottle.

“In restaurants, most people don’t want to make up their own minds,” Bradbury said.

Wines can be bookmarked and added to the tablet’s shopping cart. After an order is placed through the tablet, it’s wirelessly sent to the printer and a wine angel is sent to retrieve the bottle. When a wine is out of stock, it is updated electronically and removed from the wine list.

“The whole restaurant runs wireless and on real time inventory,” Bradbury said. “Technology creates fewer errors.”

While waiting for their entrees, customers can use the tablet to read the restaurant’s bio, see real-time footage of angels ascending the tower and learn about other restaurants in the Charlie Palmer group.

After enjoying their meal, they can also leave email notes to Bradbury or the chef with comments or questions. And writing wine preferences on cocktail napkins is a thing of the past, as the eWineBooks software includes an option to email info about the wine and winery to yourself, Bradbury said.

“This entices people to stay around and order more wine,” Bradbury said.

In Aureole’s first year utilizing the tablets, wine sales increased by $750 thousand.

“It worked better than I ever imagined,” Bradbury said.

55 degrees.

While the eWineBook is Bradbury’s technological masterpiece, 55 Degrees Wine + Design is his new baby.

In his pursuit of improving an industry that hadn’t changed in years, Bradbury broke retail rules when designing the Mandalay Bay-owned wine shop.

“Every wine shop looks the same,” said Bradbury, who hand-selected unique materials, including a zebra wood ceiling, to set 55 Degrees apart from the norm. “I wanted the look to be very modern.”

The shop’s glass doors and display windows are printed with a neat border of 00’s and 1’s, the binary code for 55 degrees, the perfect temperature for storing wine. Behind that glass is showcased not wine, but rare glassware from all over the world.

“Normal wine stores have about one percent of their sales come from glassware,” Bradbury said. “55 Degrees has 35 percent, with a better profit margin than wine.”

Deejays spin on the weekends, luring in concert goers and gamblers to sample one of Bradbury’s boutique offerings at the shop’s wine bar. Featured bottles range from $8 to $25, designed to fit people’s budgets.

“I didn’t want to do wines you trip over in a retail store,” said Bradbury, who hunts out boutique wines customers would typically only see on wine lists.

In addition to managing 55 Degrees and serving as wine director for Aureole, Bradbury is also the beverage and wine consultant for Mandalay Bay Resort Group, which owns more than a dozen casino resorts.

“You have to believe in what you’re doing,” Bradbury said. “Having perseverance is everything in business.”

For more information on Aureole or eWineBooks, visit www.aureolelv.com or www.ewinetower.com .

The World is Flat....like my Domino's Pizza

Oct. 2007

Earlier this year I made the goal to dedicate my daily commute to educational purposes instead of just rocking out to the Killers and Pat Benatar (or most recently, wearing out my Colbie Caillat CD).

I brushed up on my Spanish for a month (mi espanol necisito mucho practicarlo), became one with energy and the universal law of attraction (i.e. The Secret), and traded CNN (Constant Negative News) on television for the soothing sounds and more neutral news stories of NPR.

Most recently, I popped in the first CD of "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century". The book, written by New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman, takes up 20+ CD's. Basically, it's about the equivalent of college level history and economics wrapped into one tidy little package.

The first few hours detail Y2k through 2004, breaking down the convergence of technology and political events that effected crucial development. I found the topic of the international outsourcing of the service sector (telemarketing, technical support, telephone customer service, etc.) most interesting.

Bangalore, India was highlighted as a city that is fast embracing the opportunities that companies like Microsoft and Sprint are offering by sending their business overseas. A city of 6.5 million people, residents provide educated, hardworking, motivated and much cheaper labor then that which can be found in the U.S.

For dimes on the dollar, American companies offer these "call center" jobs, and for Indians in Bangalore, the good work conditions, plethora of hours and competitive pay attract the college educated in droves. Call center employees even participate in "accent training" classes to develop an accent more palatable to their American customers....choices ranging from Midwestern, Texan and Southern to British.

In addition to tech support and telemarketing, many fast food chains have been outsourcing their call-in ordering elsewhere. For chains like KFC, it is possible that you may pull up to the drive through and put in your order for a diet coke and crispy chicken bucket, and your voice is actually routed over fiber optic cables thousands of miles away. That's right; the person that will be handing you your food is on a different continent then the person taking your order.

What is the benefit? Higher accuracy on ordering (thanks to the education levels and work ethic of those in the jobs), no distraction from co-workers, customers and malfunctioning kitchen equipment, and most importantly, the incentive of up selling to you as you sit in your car..... "Would you like fries or an apple pie with that?" Not to mention that the person taking your order in India or Asia may speak better English then the person who will hand you your food.

A few nights ago, I was craving a pizza. I placed the call to my local Dominos, which is located less then two miles from my home. The call began automated, walking me through my ordering options by quantity, topping and crust preferences. Finally, a live voice came on to review my order with me and note any special instructions.

As she was repeating the order back to me, I noticed a slight accent. I said "May I ask you a question", and I noticed a brief hesitation before she replied "Yes". I asked her if she was at a call center out of the U.S., and she said she was. I guessed Bangalore, India, but was wrong. "Philippines", she remarked. "Salamat", I replied ("Thank you" in Tagalog - one of only two phrases I know in that language, thanks to numerous Filipino clients who have bought homes from me).

My pizza arrived less then 25 minutes later, the fastest delivery time I had experienced from Dominos. They even got my "thin crust, veggie pizza with no cheese" correct (which rarely happens). And in ordering since then, I listen for the slight accent and thanked my order taker in the language of their country. A very small token of appreciation for a job well done.

Without delving into the economic debate of whether companies should outsource so-called "American" jobs to other countries, I must say it made me realize how small, or "flat" the world is when.....

I can pick up my Blackberry phone (on which I receive calls, emails, pictures, texts and can surf the net) with free long distance in the U.S., call a local number to a Dominos in walking distance, have my call routed through fiber optic cables under the ocean floor to a call center thousands of miles away in a country that has a 9 hour time difference and know that my picky vegetarian pizza will be delivered hot to my door before I can finish writing this blog.

Election Flashback: Presidential Race 2004

I pulled this from the archives in lieu of the current election.....interesting to see how things have elvolved (or fallen) since the last presidential election.

LAS VEGAS – October 2004

Democrats rallied Tuesday evening at the Rio Hotel and Casino hoping to celebrate Senator Kerry’s win in the presidential election but the evening ended tensely as President Bush pulled ahead.

In a mirror image of the close electoral votes, Nevada precincts also reported shifting results as Kerry supporters at the election party alternatively cheered and lamented as projections flip-flopped.

“I’ve been pounding the pavement for a week straight,” said Kari Rosage, 29, of Las Vegas. “I want to revel in our victory and be around people who will rejoice or mourn with me.”

Rosage said she stands on the opposite side of every issue from George Bush and is against corporate control of the government and the war in Iraq.

Her brother Jesse Swafford, 19, volunteered for the U.S. Army after the war started and is currently stationed in Iraq. Though the experience has made him more responsible, Rosage said, her brother hates the war.

“My family is so proud of him in one respect, but we’re worried about his safety,” Rosage said. “The war is an unwinnable war, another Vietnam.”

Deidre Radford, 33, said that another Bush victory will mean a draft and going to war with other nations in the Middle East and possibly around the world.

“I don’t like to drop bombs on innocent women and children for oil,” said Radford, an office manager in Las Vegas. “I think Kerry will bring other countries and the United Nations into the conflict and it will be a peace-keeping force.”

Foreign policy is the key issue for Canadian citizen Chris Guertin, a civil engineer who has lived in Las Vegas for the past five years.

He couldn’t vote, but Guertin worked on the Democratic campaign driving volunteers from California, canvassing, poll-tracking and working as a precinct leader.

“I care about how this country relates to the rest of the world,” said Guertin, 48. “I think Kerry would be a great president like Roosevelt, a great world leader like Churchill.”

Partway through the festivities, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid spoke to thank supporters for their votes in the election and to pledge his attention to education and health care for Nevada.

“Nevada leads the nation in those that are uninsured and that’s got to change,” said Reid, 64. “Healthcare should be a right in America, not a privilege.”

Reid, who served as the Senate Democratic lieutenant since 1998, is a strong candidate to become the new senate minority leader. Sen. Tom Daschle, the current Democratic Senate leader from South Dakota, was defeated in Tuesday’s election.

For Kari Rosage, Reid’s focus on healthcare verbalized her own concerns if Bush is re-elected. Kerry will revolutionize health care by looking at Canada and Germany, who have socialized health care, Rosage said.

“We are the richest country in the world,” Rosage said. “Why are there millions of Americans without health care?”

Ben Castillo, a Latino union representative from Los Angeles, spent the past week in Las Vegas talking to union members about the importance of involving their entire households in the voting process.

“Kerry is for working families and brings a message of hope to working families that have been oppressed by the current administration,” Castillo said.

For several Democratic supporters attending the party, the reality of Bush in office for a second term was almost unthinkable.

Canadian Chris Guertin, who is eligible for American citizenship next month, said he refuses to support Bush if he becomes president.

“I will not become a United States citizen if Bush wins and I will seriously reconsider returning to Canada,” Guertin said.

“I haven’t even allowed myself to think that Bush could win until recently, because it’s too painful,” said Jan Sobel, a 32-year-old construction worker from Big Bear, California.

Sobel, a registered Green Party member who voted for Nader in 2000, worked in Reno and Las Vegas canvassing with Americans Coming Together (ACT), a political fund-raising group.

“I didn’t think he could cause this much trouble, let alone win a second time,” Sobel said.

California lawyer Mike Cousins attended the Las Vegas Democratic election party after canvassing for MoveOn.org, a network of more than two million online activists encouraging voter participation. Cousins echoed Sobel’s sentiments.

“I was very surprised that Bush governed catering to the far right once he was elected,” said Cousins, 58. “I’d be more surprised if he gets re-elected after doing so.”