journal.melendez.org

New Orleans fog.

2011-12-19T07:23:00.001-06:00

New Orleans fog., a photo by Edward Melendez on Flickr.

New Orleans fog.

2011-05-27T06:19:00.001-05:00

2011-01-21T12:04:00.009-06:00

Things That Have Kept Me From Going Crazy at Work

Meditation
I try to do it 20 minutes a day. I probably only get it done about 75% of the time and I know I should do it longer, but that's about the most time I'm able to get in the morning before everything starts popping. I became a big fan after reading the Happiness Hypothesis and it is the best thing I have ever done for my brain.

Exercise
I work out at least five days a week, often more. It's great to get out of the office for an hour, hit the gym and if I have time, the steam room. I do concentrated interval training three times a week and have started doing weights one day. I'm trying to figure out when to do some sort of stretching or core class like yoga or Pilates, but it's still hard to come up with a regular schedule. I'd also like to try doing cross fit or something like that, but again, it's a challenge to come up with a predicatable time.

Improv
Whew, what can I say about improv? Saving my life might be a wee bit of an exaggeration, but it certainly saved my sanity. If you have known me for longer than five years, then you should be aware of a very big change in my personality. I'm a much kinder person in all aspects of my life, I think on my feet better than ever, I listen better and I'm more observant. Plus, it's a continual challenge to be a better improviser, so I have a craft that never seems to bore me. Biggest challenge: deciding when to take a break. I think I should, to recharge my batteries but I can't yet see a time that's a good point for a hiatus.

Gardening
In addition to giving me something to do whenever I get panicked about the general state of the world that always feels like it's teetering on the edge of collapse, gardening has been awesome for me in other ways too. It's good hard work, helps save money, calms me and gives me a time and activity to share with Santiago. It's also helping me on my quest to learn fundamental skills I have missed out on in my life. It is a joy to get up in the morning and water the garden and connect with earth, growth and life.

Stress Eraser
I have not yet been able to completely escape my gadget fetish. This thing is a biofeedback device that helps you regulate your breathing in as little as 6 minutes. A short break with it helps me calm my nerves and energizes me like a little nap. Another short session helps me sleep better and I keep it by my bed for those 2:00 AM freak outs where I remember something super important and can't fall asleep afterward. Another quick session and I usually fall right back to sleep. Best $175 I ever spent.

2010-12-29T22:43:00.001-06:00

Dr. Doctor from July.

We're playing another show on January 26, 2011.

2010-11-20T14:55:00.001-06:00

Corporate Synergy

formspring.me

2010-03-30T13:00:00.001-05:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/emelendez

This blog has moved

2010-03-27T00:34:00.001-05:00

This blog is now located at http://edwardmmelendez.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
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2010-03-27T00:33:00.000-05:00

Oh, Science! gets some publicity shots!

We acquiesce to the visit with Santa

2009-12-24T08:12:00.001-06:00

We acquiesce to the visit with Santa
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Hugaday!

2009-12-23T09:27:00.001-06:00

Hugaday!
Originally uploaded by jonbolden

A fun, ad hoc troupe that just had its run at Salvage.

2009-12-02T21:40:00.000-06:00

2009-07-31T09:37:00.001-05:00

This is a test

2009-06-20T22:36:00.003-05:00

Curious George Visits a Horse Farm by Santiago M. Melendez

Curious George runs behind a horse. Curious George gets hit by a horse. Curious George sees a Mom horse. "It is actually a Dad horse," his friend says. Curious George sees a Dad horse. "It is actually a Mom horse," his friend says. Curious George sees a tin of Altoids. "It is actually a horse shoe," his friend says. "A horse must have dropped it."

Curious George leaves the horse farm and goes to a cow farm. Curious George climbs over a fence. Curious George runs behind the cow who chases him. It is actually his friend who is eating a peach.

Curious George goes to the Johnson Space Center. Curious George sees everything for one day and then goes to the Kennedy Space Center. Also, Curious George goes to an owl farm. Curious George sees an owl. He tries to wake one up but it is still fast asleep. His friend does that too. They go back to their apartment and go to bed.

And that's all!

Santiago Visits Me at the Office

2009-06-10T11:30:00.000-05:00

And does his best NASA Mission Control imitation.

2009-05-24T22:32:00.005-05:00

I Wonder

From May 2009

This weekend has been one of many experiences. The first is house hunting. Again, we're looking seriously at buying a house, emboldened by the lower interest rates and some hard to define sense that the economy is bottoming out for the year. Of course, the unemployment rate is reaching levels we haven't seen since the recession of 1983.

But despite the risks, I do think that unless something really interesting happens, the Austin real estate market is pretty much bottomed out, unless you want to buy a condo. Those things are in free fall right now. We are looking for something affordable in the 78704 zip code, which is about as far South as I am comfortable with. We found a pretty cool little house in the Galindo neighborhood, which has a East Austin vibe to it (read: gentrifying, albeit at a slower pace than its counterpart).

View Larger Map
Big questions: the proximity to some very well kept but very large tracts of public housing, general sense that it's a bit crime-y. However, there are few inner city neighborhoods in our price range that aren't subject to the normal challenges of urban living. Seeing my parents' suburban neighborhood decline over the past 30 years has really put me on notice for the fast slide that can occur in less than resilient communities.

The second item that has my attention is a new book, The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence. More soon, but definitely worth checking out.

2009-03-26T22:18:00.002-05:00

2009-03-12T17:56:00.003-05:00

My Twelve Favorite Cities in the World

Buenos Aires
New Orleans
Havana
Paris
New York, NY
Las Vegas, NM (NOT Nevada)
Santa Fe, NM
Corrales, NM
Madrid, NM
Washington, DC
Chicago, IL
San Francisco, CA

Holy Ghosts and Talk Show Hosts

2009-03-07T09:50:00.001-06:00

The question with this guy is what's the best choice for an education that equips him effectively for a complex world? Went to Austin Waldorf. Maybe it's the one?

2009-03-01T22:31:00.000-06:00

Santiago and I Collaborate on Haiku

Plenty of french fries
We need some catchup as well
They are delicious

A monkey tub toy
It is stuck in the plumbing
My toilet over flows

2009-03-01T13:31:00.004-06:00

Work E-mail

This is a a report from Xobni that shows the average amount of e-mail I send and receive every day since August of last year at work only. I filtered out auto generated, mailing list and of course, spam email and show only that which is sent to me by a human. That's on average 100 pieces of mail a day during the work week. I find that to be a pretty significant volume, and I'd say at least half involves me taking some sort of action. How does that compare to other people's volume? I'd love to hear your comments.

Valentine's Day at Homeslice

2009-02-14T17:57:00.001-06:00

Picture by Santiago. Not the most glamorous, but I'm happy to be with these two folks.

Austin Discovery School: Central Texas Gardener

2009-02-09T09:52:00.001-06:00

I'm really proud to be associated with this school. They have great stuff going on here.

2009-02-08T21:17:00.000-06:00

Nice Weekend

So, pretty fun weekend. I got to spend a lot of time with the wife and The Boy, which is always a delight. Everything after that is just gravy. I did get to see, and more importantly, play in, some sweet improv. On Thursday night, I was able to see the new Pgraph show, Grimm, which is improvised fairy tales. This show was intriguing to me for a number of reasons. I'm always a sucker for Pgraph. They're easily one of my favorite troupes because of their mix of funny, smart and highly theatrical improv. Besides being technically superior performers who clearly delight in each other's company, they always seem to come up with great concepts, and the whole improvised fairy tale is a pretty good shtick. In fact, one of my classmates had suggested that as a genre for my class' performance work, but since it was already in play, we decided to go to a different direction. Class was another one of my pleasures, even though it was hard hard work. This week was our first class of Improv 601, long form narrative improv.

The genre we decided to work on during this class was "mistaken identity" themes in stories. We've definitely got some work ahead of us. I certainly felt myself struggling for strong choices in my scenes. I feel like I'm getting stuck on another plateau in my learning. While I'm a little worried about how long this plateau will last, I was encouraged to take the "Get Out of Your Head" workshop at Coldtowne on Sunday. A big part of the work was about getting rid of that inner judge ("did that opening just suck? do my scene partners think I'm a moron? why wasn't that funny?") in your mind that makes it really hard to get better at this stuff. The class was pretty fun and inspired me to take some classes at Coldtowne soon. Besides, they're New Orleans folks.

I also got to see Improv for Evil's Cochise retrospective and a Girls Girls Girls show. As always, those folks at Improv for Evil are super talented and delightful to watch. I do get the sense that they're pretty much ready to retire Cochise and move onto something new. GGG was solid too. I'm always in awe of the double whammy of narrative improv plus improvised singing. Those ladies are badasses.

2009-01-02T23:05:00.000-06:00

FIVE PEOPLE WHO I THINK WOULD BE GOOD AT IMPROV

1. My boss.
2. The owner of the cool coffee shop. I don't know her name (pictured).
3. Dana.
4. Dave.
5. Brook.

Back in Austin

2008-12-30T00:35:00.001-06:00

12/29/2008
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

We're back in town. The Boy is on the mend, but like his folks is definitely tired from the NM trip.

Train Ride to Lamy

2008-12-27T14:58:00.000-06:00

I do recommend the train ride from Santa Fe to Lamy, NM. The food is an ad hoc affair, but very good New Mexican fare like green chile stew can be had from a vendor set up outside the Lamy depot. Beautiful countryside in the winter and the hippest train engineer ever.

Snowy Morning

2008-12-26T17:35:00.000-06:00

It looks like the antibiotics kicked in. Santiago is in a much better mood. Even up for some shenanigans in the snow at the grandparent's house. We've still spent most of the day recuperating, but we're planning dinner out and hopefully a trip downtown to see the luminarias.

2008-12-25T20:51:00.000-06:00

So, yes indeed, Santiago has an ear infection, but the MD suspects pneumonia, so we got to experience chest x-rays and life's rich pagaent at the only 24hr Walgreen's in the area. Ever wonder who hangs out at a drugstore on Christmas Day? Seriously odd folks, like the guy in the picture with the holiday themed wheelchair. Another patron overheard at the pick up counter: "who denied her valium? The doctor? The insurance company?" Ah, the humanity!

Xmas Day in Corrales

2008-12-25T11:25:00.000-06:00

Happy holidays to anyone reading this. We're probably taking the boy to see a doctor today. He's pulling on his ear and he's still a little cranky.

The Trip to ABQ

2008-12-24T08:18:00.001-06:00

I think everybody is ready for a trip. I have just begun to decompress from work and might finally be in the mood for some relaxation. The Xmas eve crowds at the airport aren't bad at all. Feels like less than a typical weekday morning. Maybe this is one of those examples of the economic slowdown, but it sure is nice when you're traveling with a kiddo.

This is a Test

2008-12-23T19:04:00.001-06:00

Did I set up the blog by mail feature correctly? Did I?

2008-11-23T16:09:00.000-06:00

Research for a Scenario Project

Why I Like Whole Foods

2008-11-16T16:49:00.001-06:00

11/16/2008
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

They pay a living wage to their employees who, as a result, have the time to work on their artistic and political passions.

A Picture of My Bookmarks

2008-10-13T20:49:00.001-05:00

My Bookmarks
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

This is a pretty cool representation of my interests.

Hollywood Declares Themselves

2008-10-08T13:05:00.001-05:00

Love it.

2008-09-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

Coolio, The Graduation Show from 301, In Its Full Glory

Improv 301 Graduation

2008-09-09T19:38:00.001-05:00

The Graduating Class
Originally uploaded by Austin Improv Collective

There we are, a bunch of kooky improvisers. I'm the guy not wearing glasses on the right.

09012008077

2008-09-01T18:24:00.001-05:00

s @ amy's

2008-08-15T23:04:00.001-05:00

The Boy and I spent the evening together while mom was a good citizen and neighbor. Santiago is starting at a new school next week (Primavera Montessori) and we're all coming back after I traveled a whole bunch.

The Gluey Brothers: Rio Vista DVD Trailer

2008-08-15T20:36:00.001-05:00

My favorite New Mexico band still (sort of) in existence.

The Littlest Birds

2008-07-22T17:33:00.001-05:00

Homesick today.

Bragging on The Boy...

2008-07-13T22:02:00.001-05:00

boy @ zocalo
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

We had a great weekend together. No, I didn't do enough "work," but we got in some swimming, some great together time and some good times singing and dancing with friends. We're very fortunate to have such a charming, engaging and imaginative son. There really are some weekends you wish could go on forever, or just a couple more days...

Oh My God (Official Video)

2008-07-02T22:24:00.001-05:00

This is pretty cool. Thanks, SFJ. What would I do without your guidance to the hipster currency?

R.E.M. - Supernatural Superserious

2008-06-27T22:49:00.001-05:00

I used to have an unhealthy obsession with REM until the late 90's. After that I sort of fell off. I'm liking this though.

2008-06-24T21:49:00.000-05:00

Restaurant Inspection Scores

Source: City of Austin

2008-05-04T19:29:00.000-05:00

Cool Logo Stuff From New Orleans Public Library

I have a deep fondness for libraries and you gotta dig library themed clothing.

gizmo

2008-04-26T13:13:00.001-05:00

download Nimbuzz Mobile

2008-04-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

Thinking Outside the Big Box

The recent uptick in big-box projects and proposals in the Crescent City, fueled by tax subsidies and other costly giveaways, has left owners of smaller home-grown businesses in related industries gritting their teeth and bracing for hard times.

They might not have a champion in City Hall, but an Emmy Award-winning journalist is working to shine a light on their situation with his documentary film-in-progress, "Independent America: Rising from the Ruins." The final feature-length documentary is scheduled to be ready for national broadcast by early fall.

Dig It

Video: Forever New Orleans

2008-04-10T14:57:00.001-05:00

Nice work, Trumpet.

2008-04-06T18:30:00.000-05:00

Film Preview: Rising from Ruins

"Independent America filmmaker takes to the road again in search for the story behind the recovery of New Orleans in “Independent America: Rising From Ruins” Independent film director and Emmy Award-winning journalist, Hanson Hosein, leaves behind his pregnant wife and travel partner in Seattle as he takes to the regional roads for a 3,000 mile journey to investigate how Mom and Pop businesses are doing in post-Katrina New Orleans."

Powerful stuff from people I'm proud to know.

dig it

2008-04-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

Moose in the Marigny

One of my old conspirators from Critical Mass days, Moose, is having an art party at Mimi's in the Marigny on April 9. You should go.

White Ghost Shivers

2008-03-24T16:51:00.001-05:00

A very nice Austin band.

2008-03-22T12:52:00.000-05:00

A Blast from the Past

A found a stack of these while cleaning out some clutter the other day.

I am so proud that the organization is alive and well and in great hands.

2008-03-19T12:29:00.000-05:00

Full List of Stuff White People Like

It's so true!

building scenarios v1

2008-03-15T16:23:00.001-05:00

building scenarios v1
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

From Art of the Long View

2008-03-14T08:22:00.000-05:00

momovelo, you are missed

As I was admiring a fine commuter bike I saw on the street yesterday, I was reminded of the late, great momovelo. momovelo was a bike shop in Berkeley run by a guy named Kai and it was one of the most clever niche retailers I have ever seen. Kai put together bicycles to suit the flaneur crowd. momovelo used well made and unique components but had a classic quality; these weren't the showy, gadgety bikes you see the masses riding around in. These were objects of utility and beauty simultaneously. Kai's website featured pictures of them in urban settings – one bike, a spartan looking city bike in robin's egg blue was pictured with some type of squash attached by bungie cords to its rack, as though its owner was returning with an impromptu purchase from a farmer's market or roadside stand. Great stuff for those of us who see bikes as some cross between work tools and slightly mystical objects.

His retail shop was a stylishly decorated boutique, with a small stock of affordable bicycles and accessories displayed like art and usually some sort of obscure psychedelic chanson music playing as you sipped an espresso. His website featured a vast selection of cleverly sourced items – Swedish military surplus straps that could be repurposed as reflective pant leg protectors for riding your bike in street clothes or clever bags for carrying your Moleskine and camera. One got the feeling that bike racers, the lycra and spandex bicycling crowd, were a different market and were possibly aliens to artful, leisurely and practical cycling. momovelo was also an early importer of some of the more interesting European and Japanese bikes, all fine examples of utilitarian beauty.

The heartbreak of momovelo is that I believe Kai was too good at his marketing. Disclaimer: all of my impressions are subjective and completely unsupported by facts.

I have no first hand information about momovelo's disappearance, but my guess is that the web site was very appealing to a small but fervent group of people. I have heard complaints online of late orders and general dissatisfaction with the service provided, but I sensed unplanned demand, not malfeasance. I myself was an eager customer who was frustrated in my attempt to buy one of momovelo's beautiful bikes. I imagine that this boutique maker of bikes was too successful in tapping this underserved market and ended up being quickly overwhelmed by the response. I ended up having my own built from scratch and I definitely got close to the ideal of a momovelo bike, but only after a very long and arduous search for every piece. That bike, unfortunately, was lost in the floods of Katrina and I still miss it.

But the lesson I take from all of this is that of understanding where you want to scale to. We can end up being much more successful than we want to be, or should be. From my one trip to the momovelo, I got the feeling that the owner wanted nothing more than to do a little work, share some stories and connect with a small number of people he could talk to face to face who shared his passion. The web may have been the wrong way to ply his craft. While I appreciate that while a web site may seem like a business necessity, sometimes commerce on steroids can be too much when all you want to do is trade in a few items of enduring beauty.

2008-02-07T22:09:00.000-06:00

Lessing on Obama vs. Clinton

2008-01-06T22:12:00.000-06:00

The Subtle Beauty of Lunch Hour Walks

An Excuse to go to Gingerman and Stay Too Long

2008-01-06T22:08:00.001-06:00

alex at gingerman
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Alex came to visit his brother, who's working here in Austin. Sure, it's no NYC, but Gingerman sure has a lot of beer.

Public Health Media

2007-12-04T22:11:00.001-06:00

Here's a shocker from Canada's workplace safety authority. Definitely not for sensitive viewers.

2007-11-25T21:52:00.000-06:00

I'm Not Crazy, I'm a Relentless Innovator

It just occurred to me how to describe myself. Of course, it took someone smarter than me to help me put the words together. I just finished reading Don Berwick's funny, intriguing and enlightening piece "Sauerkraut, Sobriety and the Spread of Change" from his collection of speeches entitled Escape Fire, which, by the way, may possibly be the most accessible and brilliant book EVER about how to improve healthcare quality in the US. But that's another review.

In my LinkedIn profile I used to identify myself as a "Social Entrepreneur and Technologist." I think the first half of that is right, or at least the right spirit. But the second half, "Technologist," isn't. While I do have a love of technology and a personal fetish for electronic gadgetry and assorted gizmos, I don't love technology for its own sake in organizations. In fact, from my business development experience in the internet industry, during the heyday of the dotcom boom (and thankfully, only a little of its bust) for a number of years, I'm actually suspicious of technology for its own sake in the business environment. What I realized I really love is innovation in business, using technology or other resourcefulness to do things better than they've been done before. Taking the tools given and either refining them or turning them upside down to improve them.

What I realized from reading Dr. Berwick's speech, is that in every organization I have ever been in, I have been a tireless agitator for innovation, to varying degrees of success. It was his description (with a great deal of reference to Everett Rogers' work, Diffusion of Innovations, which I'm ordering from Bookpeople tonight) of how innovators succeed or fail within organizations that is beginning to help me truly define my calling. I have always thought I had an innovator streak in me; various personality tests often point out innovation specifically and creativity generally, but it was understanding when I have failed at innovation was what really brought this home to me. A few characteristics of innovators that really hit me over the head:

"Innovators tend to be wealthier than average or to have special circumstances that give them enough slack to accept the risks inherent in innovating."
OK, that first part is definitely NOT me these days, especially with a 3 year old to take care of, but I suppose that I have had special circumstances, both financial and otherwise, that have given me the opportunity to do some innovation: starting a non-profit in New Orleans or jumping into public health and informatics when I had no formal training in either field.
"Locally, they tend to be a little socially disconnected."
I usually try to describe (spin?) this as "I don't do office politics."
"They are not opinion leaders; in fact, they may be thought of as weird or incautious."
Story of my life. I tend to scare the conservatives in every organization because of my enthusiasm for a great idea. I used to make some of my bosses feel insecure until I became aware of this trait and worked to assure them that rarely did I ever want their jobs. And if I did, I told them so and committed myself to getting them promoted.

This all hit me over the head about 20 minutes ago and I'm going to embrace it, blog it and change the words I use to describe myself. I might rethink the excitement of all of this and remove the post from my blog, but for now, I feel like I just figured out something important that needs to be said. I am a social entrepreneur and relentless innovator. I feel like I just came out of the closet or something.

(I like) NO AGE

2007-11-21T21:12:00.001-06:00

It gets harder and harder to deny that LA has some pretty interesting elements under that shimmery lizard skin.

Naked As We Came - Iron and Wine

2007-11-01T22:56:00.001-05:00

Absolutely amazing and beautiful.

Acton School of Business: The Acton Experience

2007-10-30T07:19:00.001-05:00

Laura Veirs - Galaxies

2007-10-27T16:40:00.001-05:00

I would love to do a steampunk version of this video.

My New Favorite Coffee Shop in Austin

2007-10-09T21:10:00.001-05:00

knit n bitch, east austin
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Rio Rita, the East 6th Street coffee shop with the retro 70's Seven-Up sign, is a cool coffeehouse meets hipster lounge. There's space for a rousing Knit n Bitch meeting (pictured) as well as more urbane lounging in the swirling, billowing South Beach style booths. Coffee by day, cocktails by night.

2007-08-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

Coin Operated Boy

Kudos for this clever video for an eminently hummable tune.

quite possibly the perfect lunch

2007-08-24T17:59:00.001-05:00

perfect
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Pizza and organic root beer

2007-08-21T21:56:00.001-05:00

Odd Picture from LPHI. The Year was 2004
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Out take from a photo shoot for the Louisiana Public Health Institute annual report and web site. That's Tiffany, Bridget, me and a piece of rubber fruit.

2007-08-13T12:43:00.000-05:00

No Credibility Quite Like Front Page of the Paper Credibility...

Fledgling MBA program to break ground on campus

2007-08-11T23:12:00.000-05:00

Finally, Some Good News Out of New Orleans

It looks like one of the most shady of New Orleans' pols is finally out of business. I am delighted to announce that New Orleans City Council member Oliver Thomas has pled guilty to federal corruption charges and should be resigning from his post effective immediately. Oliver Thomas and I share a special history, as he was the enforcer for Wal-Mart during the famous battle in New Orleans (for a quick overview, see "Wal-Mart: The Hits Just Keep on Coming"), the issue that gave birth to both the Urban Conservancy and the latent revolutionary inside of me.

The sad thing is that his crookedness was well known, although it was never said out loud. Part of the problem is that elected officials in New Orleans take on demigod status with the populace. City Council members get a vehicle, typically a luxury SUV or large Town Car and a driver who is an armed deputy. They have multiple staff people, all charged with keeping the unwashed masses out of their offices. The other problem is that there is all sorts of hand wringing now about the "loss" of this "popular" leader. The same sort of sadness that some have about Edwin Edwards going to prison. Go figure.

Update: Public statement from former Councilman Thomas

posters by town lake

2007-08-06T09:17:00.001-05:00

posters by town lake
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Little stirrings of the soul of Austin bubbling up by Town Lake.

2007-08-04T15:56:00.000-05:00

Life of Meaning

2007-07-22T13:37:00.000-05:00

A Stop at Spider House on a Search for the soul of Austin

Every day we are looking. Trying to find out what makes this place different from all the other Sun Belt boom towns of America. I often tell people that I feel like I am living in Los Angeles in the 1950's: a place of incredible opportunity, hyper growth and money. Lots and lots of money.

In the midst of all this, we are looking for the funky soul, the underbelly that isn't part of the approved ad campaigns.

We are still looking.

But we haunt some of those places that don't have a concept, like the Spider House.

2007-07-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

For New Orleans Folks
(note: I didn't write this)

From the "Louisiana Events" E-mail List:

"FROM TOURO BOULIGNY MEETING: Capt. of 2nd Dist. demonstrated tonight this new on-line source of crime incidents occurring within 1 mile radius of a given address.  There is a lag time of about 5 days for the info presented.

1st -  access the NOPD at WWW.NOPD.COM

2nd - click on NOPD Crime Map (left column)

3rd - click on sentence that begins "click this link to view interactive crime, etc.

4th - enter address and click submit  (this will resolve to a map with yellow location of address.)

5th -  Click on City Services at top on page and that will present a drop down
menu; select NOPD.  This will resolve to a page that will show all crime incidents within 1 mile radius of the address in last 30 days. Put the cursor on any symbol to see brief details.  Detail results are shown at bottom of this page with Police report number, Street, Description, and incident date.

Check it out.   This is a huge step in getting crime information to the citizens."

2007-07-17T08:47:00.000-05:00

Business Leaders Explore Affordable Health Insurance Options for Small Businesses in Central Texas Region

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/7/prweb539989.htm

2007-07-12T17:30:00.001-05:00

Cassie says "see, we don't look old."

neighborhood parade

2007-07-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

a venture into the other part of Austin

2007-07-01T10:15:00.001-05:00

Near UT campus.

Hipster Haircut

2007-06-27T22:19:00.001-05:00

Hipster Haircut 2
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

A haircut at Bird's, followed by...

dinner at the hipster coffee shop

2007-06-27T22:18:00.001-05:00

hipster coffee shop
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Guitar Serenade of the Zilker Zephyr

2007-06-24T12:46:00.001-05:00

Guitar Serenade of the Zilker Zephyr
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Self made South Austin celebrity Wood Woode (or is it Woode Wood?) entertains the folks on the Zilker Zephyr, the World's Slowest Train.

Santiago at Dad's Office

2007-06-23T20:43:00.001-05:00

Santiago at Dad's Office
Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Santiago made his first visit to the ICC today, so Cassie and I could brainstorm ways to make the office space a little happier.

2007-06-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

More Heartbreak From New Orleans (It just keeps on coming)

It's pretty incredible to write this on the heels of a happy little post about my last visit to NO.

Two people. Two stories. One story has a few years distance. One is now. This picture of horseplay at the hair salon is of two good friends of mine. On the left is Bobby Merrill, who died in 2003 of a heart attack at age 34. The guy on the right is Robin Malta. Robin was murdered in his Marigny home earlier this week. I had just visited Robin at his shop when I was in New Orleans a few weeks ago. Bobby was our "family" hairsylist, confidante and conspirator. Cassie and I would schedule both our haircuts on the same night with Bobby and make an evening of it. Bobby, Cassie and I would have drinks during the haircutting process (Bobby always had an amazingly steady hand, even after a few cocktails) followed by dinner out, often at Adolfo's in the Marigny. Robin worked at the same salon as Bobby and was Bobby's comic foil and friend. Robin was the one who broke the news of Bobby's death to Cassie. Robin was the hardest working man in hairstyling and opened up his shop on Decatur a few years back. Business was booming, he said when I last visited him. During the year that I was commuting to New Orleans for work, Robin cut my hair, often without an appointment and about 10 minutes notice from me. He always wanted to know when Cassie and Santiago were going to visit, and he carefully (politely?) studied the pictures of Santiago that I shared with him.

Both of these people are gone from my life forever. I miss these two people. The city is hard. I'm tired of being sad or scared for all the people I love in New Orleans.

2007-05-16T12:16:00.000-05:00

This Week, New Orleans

So I am back in New Orleans this week, visiting a few friends and business associates. My semi-frequent appearances in the city seem to mystify most people. They feel absolutely natural to me. New Orleans is the culture I understand best and function in most effectively. I know the city backwards and forwards, although I am having trouble keeping up with the torrent of gelato shops and t-shirt boutiques with pro-New Orleans imagery that seem to be some of the primary drivers of the economy at the moment. I have favorite places and people and I also enjoy being an anonymous guy at a neighborhood bar, like I was yesterday at Molly's, where a patron bought the entire bar a round in celebration of the passing of Jerry Falwell. New Orleans is a good second home for me for now.

2007-05-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

This Makes Me Happy

2007-05-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

NYC and Austin

May 2007

2007-04-29T20:32:00.001-05:00

New Pics

April 2007

2007-04-25T14:56:00.001-05:00

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

2007-04-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

Oh Yeah, I Made a Movie

Here's part one of the Unbroken Line of History:

Here's part two:

2007-03-16T22:07:00.000-05:00

PISTOLERA

If I can get some strength back (and get some cases prepped), I really want to check out Pistolera tomorrow. They're playing once during the day at the Mexicarte Museum and later at the Copa.

2007-03-16T10:55:00.000-05:00

Advice to Young Men from an Old Man

Some of these are pretty good.

2007-03-08T15:10:00.000-06:00

Great photo from New Orleans. This is taken in front of my favorite bar in all of New Orleans, Ms. Mae's. By the way, the bar is open for business.

2007-01-16T12:36:00.001-06:00

Finally, a Ton of Pictures

Albuquerque, Austin and New Braunfels

2007-01-09T22:28:00.001-06:00

Go Local

Great resources from Yes! Magazine.

2007-01-02T12:11:00.000-06:00

Santiago, reading the New Yorker and wearing his Che t-shirt, just like some sort of East Coast liberal.

2006-10-28T06:23:00.000-05:00

Exercise for School

This morning, I took a taxi to Bookpeople to do some long overdue browsing. I really haven't done anything personally indulgent since starting school a couple of months ago. Indulgent really is the word. I took the taxi because I was a bit constrained for time due to a meeting scheduled with my mentor later in the day and wouldn't be able to make it on my bike and get back in time, but it felt really luxurious to let someone drive me around. Just call me Ms. Daisy. When I got to the bookstore, it took me a long time to settle into a normal pace of bookstore browsing. I think I am so used to being pressed for time and approaching every task with a clear-cut goal, so I just walked the aisles, looking around at what the rest of the world looks like on a Autumn day at 9:30 in the morning. I know that I do my best thinking before noon, so I rarely do anything but work in the mornings. It felt strange to have my thinking brain primed but only using it to observe the world.

As I wandered through the store to get into the groove of book browsing (and usually, buying), I realized that I feel very disconnected from the world right now. Cassie says it's lack of sleep. I think it might partially be that, combined with very little news (I haven't read an entire newspaper since school started), but mostly I think it is because I don't feel like I'm in touch with the circle of friends I realize I have come to rely on so much. I've realized that if I had a question or problem, there was always someone who could help me. I realize that I have set up my world so that I wouldn't have to deal with my weaknesses. Now, in school, where I am personally responsible for everything, I have become acutely aware of my weaknesses, and frankly, it's messing with my brain. I have been seriously knocked down a couple of pegs in terms of my self-confidence. I can't tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Of course, we all benefit from being challenged, but I wonder if I am too set in my ways to be able to tolerate a great deal of upheaval in my life. Lack of sleep and a daily roller coaster ride of emotion has left me feeling continually drained and dumber than when I showed up at Acton.

At the same time, I have been amazed at how effectively I have begun to use my time. I have found that I operate pretty well on 5 hours of sleep, which is stunning. I hope that I can keep that habit when I leave school so I can squeeze more out of every day. When you are close to turning 40, squeezing more out of your day is a big deal. But I'm still a work in progress at this point. I still find myself distracted by e-mail, instant messages, web sites, audio files, phone calls and general tomfoolery. I still haven't completely shaken my Gen X Slacker heritage, although I could only feel whispers of it as I climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Out of general habit, I always tend to find myself first in the Business section of any bookstore. Cassie tells me I have a love/hate relationship with school, which is true. I also have a love/hate relationship with business. I want to be successful in business and yet consider most successful business people to be shallow and somewhat suspicious. I soothe my anxiety about performing well in school by reminding myself that Jeffrey Skilling, the Enron guy everyone loves to hate, finished at the top of his class at Harvard Business School. I scanned the titles. I saw books that I had on my list, books that had been recommended to me by friends, classmates and teachers. I didn't pull a single one off of the shelf. I moved to my next usual stop in bookstores, the self/help and creativity section.

Here, I actually looked at a few books. I grabbed a book about journaling with watercolors and prose. The illustrations were beautiful. I admired the paintings of coffee cups and the negative space around messy tables in the author's home. I looked at that Eckhardt Tolle book I haven't ever gotten to finishing. I looked at that book about Neurolinguistic Programming I have always meant to get around to reading, Twyla Tharp's book on creativity that people have recommended to me for years and I flipped through that Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book - again. All those little projects I never seem to have time for. At that moment, I began to feel overwhelmed by all the books around me, all the ideas I want to explore, all the experiences I still want to have, all the ideas I want to consume. There's just too much. I sometimes wish someone would prescribe me Ritalin so I could focus just a little more, or maybe I could be like one of those folk artists who work over and over again in some limited medium, like Mr. Miller, the man who made whirligigs in rural Georgia. Sometimes the possibility is just too much and I feel frozen in contemplation of all there is.

Then, I heard an employee say, "Here they come." And I heard the little voices getting louder as they came up the stairs. An army of school kids, here to listen to some rock star children's author. Ah, the things you miss when you're always working at 10 in the morning. I enjoyed watching the kids as they listened to a rather uninspired author as she read from her book. They were so engaged and mostly deeply engaged in every word this person said. It was encouraging somehow. For a minute, I forgot the troubled world these kids were due to inherit from us, or maybe I just thought they could save it.

I continued my cruise through Cultural Studies, Graphic Design (I flipped through a fascinating and seriously creepy book on Russian Prison Tattoos), Comics, Architecture, Fine Arts, all those futurist books and the bargain tables. I ended up where I always do if given enough time: poetry. I read a couple of comfort pieces: e.e. cummings and Allen Ginsberg. Sometimes it feels good to be slow again.

I left without spending a dime in the store. Cab fare: $12 round trip, tips included.

2006-10-23T23:37:00.000-05:00

Something I Need to Keep In Mind...

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

– Steve Jobs, in a graduation address at Stanford in 2005.

2006-10-15T00:30:00.000-05:00

Blasts From The Past
Our good friend Jason just sent us some photos from about a year and a half ago. What a difference the days make.

In this first picture, there are a couple of notable points. First, a friend once commented that in every picture Cassie, Santiago and I are in, we always seem to be gazing upon Santiago. This picture is no exception. But what a little butterball he was! Also, I still own that baseball cap (one of the few things I took with me when we fled the city). That's our way cool apartment on St. Mary Street. That place will go down in history as one of my favorite apartments of all time.

Here is Jason with Santiago

We were going to go swimming at the Pocket Pool but rain cut our trip short. We ended up at Cafe Luna, catching up on things before Jason took off to get his Masters in Urban Planning in California. Who would have known how things were going to get turned upside down a couple months later?

Here's me and The Boy

He seemed so much bigger then!

I think there is something pithy to be said about these pictures that recently appeared in our lives, but I am speechless more than ever these days.

2006-10-13T07:11:00.000-05:00

Acton in Business Week:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_43/b4006013.htm