I went to Pallotta's own website to see if he had posted a press release about his shutdown. Nope. It still looks like a going concern. I guess when you lay off your whole staff, you don't retain your webmaster. While I was there I did find this press release about the termination of the Heartland AIDS Ride (PDF) that I missed back in July. Without that, I think the Northeast AIDS Ride was the only thing on Pallotta's plate for next year anyway.

Here's last week's Bay Windows article about the Pallotta Teamworks shutdown.

Bill Simon decides to pander to religious-right bigots and, in the process, reveal that he is a yellow-bellied liar and has a sloppy political organization. In other words, he's a Republican.

For readers in the northern hemisphere with a clear sky tonight:

From: Marshal Braman
To: aurora-announce@angwin.csl.uiuc.edu
Subject: [aurora-announce] excellent northern lights
Date: Wednesday, 04 September 2002 01:18:54 -0500

We are having amazing display tonight here in the Minneapolis, Minnesota USA area with aurora visible as much as from the north horizon to 15 degrees south of directly overhead and from east to west horizons. Very bright. Probably ranks in the top 10 in the last 20 years of my observations. With clear skies and no moon.

Canadian Senate committee recommends legalization of marijuana.

Wozniak harks back to the very beginning.

Ballistic magnetoresistance has the potential to greatly increase the storage capacity of hard disks.

Subliterate school principal reprimands teacher for correct use of the word "niggardly." In Romenesko's Obscure Store readers suggest other words that could be banned using the same principle:

• "Chink" as in "a chink in his armor"
• "Spic n Span"
• "Uranus"
• "Volvo"
• "Heroine"
• "Niggling"
• "Prick"
• "Cock"
• "Bitch"
• "Pollack"
• "Whopper"

An alternative link to "The most significant technological advance of the 21st century." (cyberlaundry) (No registration required)

Cleopatra's Mysterious World of Pumpkins in Ludwigsburg:

After two years of finding absolutely no evidence, the French have finally dropped the doping investigation of Lance Armstrong and the USPS team.

Bar code fetish

GNOD: an experiment in the field of artificial intelligence. Or maybe just another way to boost sales at Amazon. Use your own intelligence to find out.

Gizmodo, techno blog.

Michael A. Ledeen correctly identifies (in the WSJ) the current system in China as not capitalism, not communism, not a "blend" of the two; but as fascism.

cnet rates 5 "ultracompact" digital cameras, including the Minolta Dimage X which gets an 8 out of 10. But the list didn't include the Casio EXILIM EX-S2 which is smaller than the Dimage X and has 4x zoom compared to the Dimage X's 3x zoom.

Study shows that watermelon contains as much lycopene as tomatoes and it's bioavailable.

::John in Provincetown, June 2002
::America, ya gotta love it. No, I mean it. Ya GOTTA!
::View under the Zakim Bridge, May 2002
::MacMillan Wharf in Provincetown
::Boston Harbor viewed from Long Wharf (564 kb)
::The doors of the Christian Science Publishing Society at night
::Muddy River Fens (734 kb)

The most significant technological advance of the 21st century.

Make a bid on the George W. boyhood home on eBay!

In order to assist those who continue to search for "melanotan buy": you can't. It's still undergoing R & D and hasn't been approved for sale yet. Until that glorious day, it's sun beds and Viagra, okay? (See here)

1. In an Orange County AMC theater two men were ejected for speaking Pashto,
2. Since then, no airliners have been hijacked in Orange County

Just a coincidence? You be the judge.

In San Francisco RC friars bless cabs and cabbies, without regard for their religious beliefs. But would they bless men who love each other? Oh no, only Satan would do such a thing.

When Google came on with its PageRank I felt as though the clouds had parted, the sunshine streamed in, the foot-deep bullshit was washed away, and those lying sacks of dung at Alta-Vista and other so-called search engines could be shoved into the ditch and forgotten. Apparently, millions felt similarly. But some guy Daniel Brandt wants to return to a world of dark irrelevancy. He's got his own web-site even. I suspect he's just jealous that he hasn't gotten his free Grateful-Dead-chef luncheon yet. Sorry, Daniel, we can't all be fabulous, you know.

Actually he seems to understand things quite well as he says "It's democratic in the same way that capitalism is democratic."

A .45 ACP Glock model 36 Slimline fitted with a suppresser and accessory rail-mounted tactical laser (with a pressure switch on the grip) with magazines full of Glasser Safety Slugs, Mag-safes or similar fragmenting bullets. The recommendations of an NRA-certified personal protection instructor on how to arm pilots.

There's a little memorial service for Betamax going on here. And here is a little history of the Beta vs. VHS battles where the author, Helge Moulding, asserts that "Sony did not 'refuse to license Betamax'" and "Betamax was not too expensive." However, he also asserts that there was NO qualitative difference between the two formats that could be seen on a home-quality TV.

Reading suggestion: Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks. Not just a war story, not just a story of secrecy and cryptography. No! It's also the story of bumbling bureaucracy and how we won the war anyway.

An underage fan of Ron's Log

Search engine terms used to locate Ron's Log in the last day or so (it's been like this since Saturday):
Pantyhose versus bare legs
Pallotta Teamworks Bankruptcy
pallotta and teamworks and cancelling
pallotta teamworks bankruptcy
"pallotta teamworks" bankruptcy
bondage of women by suffocation by plastic cover
Pallotta Teamworks bankruptcy
deaths plastic "suffocation"
Pallotta TeamWorks bankruptcy
TeamWorks layoffs
Yangfan "thanks to" translation
"Pallotta Teamworks" and "Bankruptcy"
Pallotta Teamworks Bankruptcy
pallotta teamworks bankruptcy
Pallotta TeamWorks Bankruptcy
pallotta teamworks credit report
SF CHRONICLE PALLOTTA layoffs
pallotta teamworks closed shut
pantyhose strangulation
Pallotta Teamworks and bankruptcy

I don't think there's a connection between "panythose" and "Pallotta."

Betamax Finally Killed. It's as if that gorgeous guy who you had a brief affair with back in the '80s, who you hadn't heard from since, who you'd given up for dead, suddenly appeared at your door to announce he was calling quits! Yes indeed, girls and boys, the Sony Betamax is still being manufactured! But not for long. For you young'ns, I'm sure most of you remember VCRs. Your dad probably has one. The format is "VHS." Before VHS there was Betamax, and it was better. Before we had PC vs. Mac, we had VHS vs. Betamax. The fallout of all that is why your DVD player can play a lot of different formats, and why we don't worry about the fact that there are two competing blue-laser DVD technologies being developed now. Nobody (but Apple) chooses to ghettoize themselves in the technology market now.

Possible connections between the name "al-Qaida" and Asimov's "Foundation."

I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you! "One in four employees has a serious Web habit, spending more than one entire workday each week surfing non-work-related Web sites while at their desks."

A diversion.

Pallotta DC AIDS Ride returns 14¢ on the dollar.

Expenses Eat Profits Of District AIDSRide

By Carol Morello
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 27, 2002; Page A01

Expenses ate up at least 86 percent of the $3.6 million raised in June for the annual D.C. AIDSRide organized by Pallotta TeamWorks, a rate that is expected to increase when the tally is complete, the benefiting charities said yesterday.

If the riders had not raised more money than required, the event might have lost money. Per-rider expenses averaged $400 more than the $2,400 each rider needed to raise to participate. But the event turned a $500,000 profit only because riders raised an average of more than $3,200, according to preliminary estimates made by the two charities that co-sponsored the ride.

"Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe how we feel," said Cornelius Baker, head of Whitman-Walker Clinic, one of two charities benefiting from the ride.

When the audit is completed in the fall, the return may be less than 14 cents on the dollar.

"It won't be higher," said Craig Shniderman, executive director of Food & Friends, the other charity involved in the AIDS ride. "It's in the ballpark, but it has the potential to be somewhat lower."

The beneficiaries blamed the faltering economy and the continuing controversy over events produced by Pallotta TeamWorks, a for-profit company that last week laid off 250 employees and suspended operations. The firm's future is unclear, and calls to its Los Angeles headquarters were not returned yesterday.

Critics of Pallotta events said the return on the D.C. ride was indicative of problems that have beset the company this summer.

"The returns are abysmal," said Wayne Turner, an AIDS activist with the D.C. chapter of Act Up. "People are beginning to wake up to the fact these AIDS rides are not about raising money at all. They're about building Dan Pallotta's empire, which is now crumbling."

This year, Pallotta TeamWorks was to have run 23 charitable events across the United States and in Africa and Europe. Pallotta's fee for each AIDS ride runs from $225,000 -- the amount for the District ride -- to $450,000. Locally, it also has organized the Avon Breast Cancer walk, held in May, and a night walk this month from Fairfax County to the District to raise awareness of suicide prevention.

Pallotta had been one of the country's most successful promoters of charitable events. But criticism grew as the company expanded and began aggressively promoting itself. Its events are characterized by emotional opening and closing ceremonies, slick marketing and creature comforts for participants, including cucumber eye masks and massages. Expenses run into the millions, though net proceeds are often high, too. But recently, many riders and walkers have complained that the events' purity has been clouded by excessive promotion. At walks and rides attended by survivors and relatives of people with breast cancer and AIDS, vans were set up marketing the company's other events and selling books by founder Dan Pallotta.

As expenses soared, the criticism cut into the number of participants, who collect donations from relatives, friends and co-workers.

Two years ago, 1,600 participants in the D.C. AIDSRide raised $4.6 million, and expenses ran $2.2 million. Last year, 2,000 riders raised $6.6 million, and expenses were $3.5 million.

This year, only 1,100 cyclists participated. "The bottom line is, we needed another 1,000 riders to make it a success," Baker said. "A lot of expenses are fixed."

Several riders said they had difficulty raising money this year. Potential donors specifically cited low returns on Pallotta events.

"A lot of people sat it out," said Meyer Persow, who rode in all seven D.C. AIDSRides. "A lot of people who usually support me sent their donations straight to Food & Friends. They knew it would be used 100 percent by the charity."

Pallotta TeamWorks also produced "Out of the Darkness," a night-long walk against suicide held two weeks ago. Robert Gebbia, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, expects to learn this week how much the event raised.

"The event did very well in terms of attendance," he said, noting that 2,300 walkers each raised $1,000. "We're optimistic that our event, which was very successful, will be continued."

Pallotta, though, has lost numerous clients this year.

This spring, Avon Products announced that it would no longer use the company to produce its three-day breast cancer walks and would launch its own walkathons. After seven years of collaboration, Food & Friends decided to hold its own bike event next year. The huge Heartland AIDSRide across the Midwest also is being dropped.

Staff writer Amy Argetsinger contributed to this report.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

::Pennsylvania lake (365 kb)

The pedestrian tour of the Big Dig that I missed. Pictures anyone?

Lame load o' guff. Gateway's come out with a nicely designed PC and decided to market it head-to-head with the iMac. Who knows why. It's not a Mac, and the iMac's not a PC. Here's a link to the .PDF file report about independent testing of the "Profile 4." It seems the Gateway machine wins hands-down (after going head-to-head) in these four critical system areas:

1. It plays Quake faster than an iMac (legitimate comparison for Quake players)
2. The Gateway is faster browsing JavaScript web pages (okay, but I haven't been aware of that as a big issue)
3. The Gateway boots faster (nice, but hardly a deciding factor)
4. The Gateway loads a test .PDF file faster (see numbers 2 or 3 above)

That's it. The whole list. I don't think they've opted for brevity out of concern for our time. I think it's a reasonable assumption that on all other points the iMac is better or the same as the Gateway. I'm sure it's better at being a Mac, while the Gateway is better at being a PC. Why don't they market this to the people who might buy it: those looking for a notebook PC or small desktop PC for home use because they don't want the standard big beige box ruining their decor? Could anyone possibly imagine someone who was considering a Mac choosing this Gateway based on these 4 lame factoids? It's like taking an orange, making the rind smooth and reddish, and then asserting it makes a better apple pie.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

AIDS Ride firm closes its doors
Raised millions in Bay Area

Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, August 25, 2002
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/08/25/MN210975.DTL

The for-profit fund-raising company that has collected tens of millions of dollars with Bay Area cyclists and walkers for AIDS and breast cancer programs abruptly shut its doors and laid off 250 employees, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

The Los Angeles-based Pallotta TeamWorks, best known for the California AIDS Ride and Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walks, called the move a cost-cutting step and vowed to press ahead with breast cancer fund-raisers later this year in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.

But its sudden closure casts doubts on the future of what has been one of the nation's most successful and controversial fund-raising firms. Pallotta representatives could not be reached for comment Saturday, but spokeswoman Janna Sidley, who was one of those laid off Friday, told the Associated Press the company hoped to rehire some of the staff. "We were furloughed," she said. "Their intention is to continue the season and bring us back."

In recent years, critics have accused Pallotta of spending too much money on overhead at the expense of the charities its events are designed to support. The company charges a flat fee to produce the AIDS rides and Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walks, rather than taking a percentage of the donations raised. It defended its business practices, saying some recent events have drawn a smaller number of participants but have fixed costs to produce.

Last year's San Jose-to-San Francisco breast cancer walk netted $6.2 million for charity, or 62 percent of the money raised, organizers said, adding that yields for other cities ranged from 54 to 66 percent.

Greg Rodehau, 41, of San Francisco, said he participated in two Pallotta- produced AIDS rides, raising close to $12,000, but has since become disillusioned with the company.

"I saw how much money they were wasting," he said. "There were huge trucks, fancy marketing brochures that were very expensive to produce, mobile trailers for the staff to live in, elaborate signage. I'm in marketing so I understand the cost of these things. It became more about Pallotta promoting Pallotta than about the San Francisco AIDS Foundation."

The company started in 1994 with the California AIDS Ride, organizing a few hundred determined cyclists who rode about 500 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation joined the event the following year.

But last year those two groups broke with Pallotta, citing budget overruns and excessive self-promotion by Pallotta. This June the AIDS Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Center launched their own competing ride, AIDS LifeCycle, which attracted 700 riders and grossed $4.4 million. AIDS Foundation spokesman Gustavo Suarez said it was too early to say how much of that would go to cover the cost of the event.

Of the demise of Pallotta TeamWorks, he said: "It's a self-inflicted wound, but it's nonetheless regrettable this has come to pass.

"We broke away believing we had to protect the people we're here to serve, people living with HIV and AIDS, to protect our ability to provide the services they need," he added. "We believe we made the right decision." In April, a Berkeley participant in Pallotta's Alaska AIDS Vaccine ride sued the company, charging it delivered less than a third of the $28 million it raised from four Vaccine Rides in 2000 and 2001 to charities that conduct AIDS vaccine research.

But many event participants praise Pallotta, saying they have been motivated by the company's fund-raising walks and bike rides, which they believe raise public awareness of AIDS and breast cancer. Tracey Bahlo, 40, a Los Altos homemaker, said she has raised $15,000 for breast cancer research and treatment through three Avon walks, money she would not have raised otherwise.

"I am shocked and disappointed," she said of the company's closure. "They do a flawless job putting on an event. They feed you, provide water, haul your gear and provide hot showers. They help if you need medical care. I have not felt it was extravagant."

Since its founding,the company has netted $222 million to benefit those afflicted with AIDS, HIV and breast cancer.

The Associated Press and Chronicle staff writers Chuck Squatriglia and Ryan Kim contributed to this report.
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.
 
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The Minolta Dimage X available for $299, which is $100 less than what I paid.

Forget my Amazon Wish List, check out my B & H Photo Wish List, and be eager to make up for missing my birthday! (Ya know, yesterday I saw a blog where the author had the balls to include a link to her Target Wish List. Yikes! Even my white trash roots don't run that deep.)

Eatonweb Portal for weblogs

Blogsnob directory of weblogs

Heck, wouldja just look at this: a walking tour in the Big Dig tunnels on August 25th. I'm going to have to miss this one too! So it's another assignment for you readers of Ron's Log. Go take this tour, take pictures, and then let me know all about it.

Part 2 of the USA Today series about the clearing of the skies on 9/11/2001.

Find more weblogs here.

Blog of a young gay black man.

Some hot stuff here! A sample:

September 11th came and everybody went out and bought bumper stickers, flags, tshirts, coffee mugs, doo rags, etc. On my way to work last September, I counted 12 houses in a ROW that had big ass American flags out front, bright as day. How many are there now, almost a year later? One. I was Downtown last night for the Fireworks and the red, white and blue fireworks were real pretty and shit, but then I go to the parking lot. An asshole in a red honda is purposely trying to cut off a woman that was IN FRONT OF HIM in the line to leave and cursing at her while doing it. Wait, is that a "United We Stand! These Colors Don't Run!" bumper sticker I see on the back of your car? Hmmm...

Gay teenager opines: "I think I need to lay off the crack/heroine/lsd binges, because last night I had one crazy hell of a dream." Good idea.

I think what we have here is a directory of Brazilian weblogs.

::Very large (714 kb) panorama of San Francisco Bay viewed from the east; specifically, from the Grizzly Peak lookout point.

Someone has created a webring for   black and white   photography but calls it   "Kodachrome". What? Something wrong with, say,   "Tri-X" ? Here's the ring. Asked if there were ironic intent in the name, its founder replied ":-) A little bit - mostly though, it was for the song by Simon & Garfunkle called 'Kodachrome'. In the album version, one line in the song is everything looks worse in black and white' but in the live version recorded during their Central Park concert some 10+ years later, they sing everything looks better in black and white'....... I always think of that line (the 'better' one) when looking at black and white photos.so it seemed only fitting to call the ring that :-)"

Rust-Oleum Field. ShopRite of Brooklawn Gymnasium.

"I'm appalled at the disrespect and obnoxiousness," said Hill, a 32-year police veteran. "It was unacceptable." A real crime wave in conservative Leawood.

There's a ballot question in Nevada for a constitutional amendment to legalize the possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana for any damn use that pleases you! Support seems to be strong. But Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker in Clark County says "It would be like enacting a constitutional amendment that legalizes slavery." Wow! I never thought of it that way. Howzabout a campaign slogan like this: For every joint you smoke, another man is sold into bondage!

First maglev train the U.S. nearing completion.

"Squiggles" at the Mirror Project.

Globe article about Question 1, the repeal of the state income tax. Senator Mark C. Montigny, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee says "It's a cheap political thrill, unless you are willing to live in the Idaho of the East Coast." Wooo! What do the citizens of the potato state think of that slam?

And here's a similar article in the Eagle Tribune.

USA Today begins a series detailing FAA's process of clearing the skies on September 11, 2001.

These seem really tacky, but are they really any worse than the FDNY calendar?

Acela service suspended today due to mechanical problems.

The light at the end of the tunnel — or maybe more accurately, the dark on top of the tunnel: Atlantic Avenue has re-opened to surface traffic alongside South Station for the first time since some forgotten year in the late 20th century. It almost makes you think that some day this Big Dig will end.
::Panorama at South Station showing traffic on Atlantic Avenue today.

Banned Books Week is coming up: September 21-28.

Here's a NY Times article all about how you can buy (for only $699) a CD packed with photos of the Tony Soprano homestead. But what's really interesting is this is the first time I've noticed that the Times included a real, live link to www.sopranohomedesign.com, the site that's selling the CD.

Globe article about Avon, Pallotta and the breast cancer walks.

Gay Johnny

Somehow I messed up the link to this photo of the Mini back on July 23. I'm not sure what it means that none of you complained. My apologies.

If you do a Google search for "fdny calendar" Ron's Log lands in the 5th spot! Interest in the calendar seems to be high, so today I picked up one at Barnes & Noble (you can order via the web). It does include photos of three deceased firefighters: Tom Foley, Angel Juarbe and Rob Cordice. A sampling:
The official FDNY page for the calendar is here.

From the August 19, 2002, edition of VeloNews:

NOT EVERYONE LOVES LANCE

While many Americans were celebrating another Tour de France win for Lance Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service Team, there is a growing faction of postal employees and Washington politicians who feel the Postal Service's $24 million sponsorship of Armstrong's team is way out of line, according to a recent story in The Wall Street Journal.

"It's just absurd that Lance gets $24 million from the same organization that I have trouble getting a hundred bucks for drugs," said Patrick O'Donnell, a 36-year-old mail sorter from Pennsylvania who contracted the skin form of anthrax in late 2001 and still hasn't returned to his job.

According to the Journal story, during the last 12 months the Postal Service has lost $1.67 billion, closed down hundreds of facilities, raised the price of a first-class stamp, and had four employees die after being exposed to anthrax.

"Nothing against Lance, but it's lunacy that the Postal Service is out there marketing themselves as if they were a legitimate business when they don't even have to pay parking tickets," said Kentucky Republican Ann Northrop[*], who is on the house subcommittee overseeing the agency's appropriations.

Postal Service spokeswoman Monica Hand defended the sponsorship of Armstrong's team. "There is an analogy between how a bike team achieves victory and how the Postal Service is able to meet its challenges," said Hand. "One person's success builds on another person's success."

* Probably not this Ann Northrop. But more likely this one.

Here's a USPS press release from last year when they extended their sponsorship of the team for 3 years.

A longer story here which says the USPS refuses "to reveal how much money was spent or how it was spent to sponsor the Tour de France, according to The Indianapolis Star." I won't be picky and point out that the USPS doesn't sponsor the TdF at all, but if the USPS won't reveal this info, where is that $24 million figure coming from?

The holidays will be here before you know it. Here is George W. Bush's Amazon wishlist because even the President needs presents.

Good pictures here.

Extraordinarily tasteless! If you have some, send me a photo. (Also here.)

One reader asked me to clarify the meaning of "bitch slap." I ran across this at ABCNews: "a 'bitch-slap' is 'to slap a person as a pimp would slap a prostitute.'"

And this fuller explanation which is from the New York Times and quoted here.

"Asked over lunch to describe a word whose definition had been giving him trouble, Mr. Sheidlower recounted the difficulty he was having defining the phrase 'bitch-slap.' Connotationally, it means to slap a person; specifically, it is to slap a person as a pimp would slap a prostitute. But, he said, one cannot use a simile in a definition. Can you bitch-slap a person anywhere or only in the face? he had wondered. With an open hand or the back of the hand? Can you bitch-slap a man or only a woman? Is it to hurt a person? No, it is to show social dominance."

New (to you) photos:
::Plymouth Cambridge in Provincetown
::The new veterans monument in Provincetown
::The old World War I veterans monument in Provincetown
::The Lobster Pot in Provincetown in 1991 (413 kb)
::The need for spell checking is everywhere
::179 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
::Destination sign on the outbound platform at North Station on the Green Line
::Atlantic Avenue alongside South Station during the Big Dig, May 2002
::The buildings at Boylston and Tremont
::Loew's Theater opposite the Boston Common
::Cactus flower in my bedroom. I've had this cactus for years and it's done nothing but grow nicely and stay healthy. Two months ago it popped out a flower, much to my amazement. The flower only lasted a day. This week it popped a second flower! This one lasted only a day as well. Now I see three buds on the cactus that look like they will open into flowers as well. All my cactuses are doing very well this summer. I give credit to the unusual amount of sun and heat we're having.