Entry #2 | Celebrate Life

There was a benefit concert this past Friday and it has had me struggling with a few things. First off, I don't tend to discuss too many personal things. My mind usually races faster than my fingers can type and then there is the issue of providing enough words to explain accurately so that I do not feel misunderstood when a person, or people, reply back to me. Another issue I have is trying to reconcile how a person can discuss something that means so much personally in a concise professional manner, such as for this blog. I don't know that I have those answers today, but I am going to try because there are not that many things that move me in such a way.


The benefit concert on Friday...yes, that is what I wanted to start with so that I might be able to elaborate on some of the positive social good that has, and will continue to, come out of it. For those that are not aware, Linkin Park lost their lead singer in July to what has been declared a suicide. That is heavy, no doubt about it. Maybe a bit abrupt for some too but that is how it is today. I don't know that I have to words to convey how much Chester and the band made things tolerable in my life, and many other peoples lives, over the years...his scream of seemingly infinite varieties that resonated within the spirit and soul...which conveyed that sense of someone else out there going through something similar and being able to focus that frustration, hopelessness and countless other emotions into something so pure and positive. Chester, Mike and the rest of the group gave, and continue to give, voice to so much that is just not discussed in society.


Focus they have though, in more than just their music. Linkin Park (LP) founded the non-profit music for relief in 2005 in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami for the people affected by this natural disaster. This was only the start as their non-profit has consistently provided aid to people all over the world in the wake of natural disasters. This has been an effort not solely restricted to finances, the members of the group have repeatedly invested their own time in some of these disasters as well as matching fund donations on some occasions. LP came up with new ways to acquire donations via music for relief, from donating unreleased songs to people who donated money to benefit concerts that brought in multiple bands, groups and people to support their cause.


So once again, in the wake of this tragedy, LP and friends stepped it up again with a new Celebrate Life concert that occurred this past Friday. A new fund has been created, the One More Light Fund in Memory of Chester Bennington, within music for relief . "This fund will support Chester's favorite Music for Relief program: Solar Suitcases - solar electricity kits - for remote health clinics without electricity. The fund will also shine a light on mental health, helping individuals and families coping with mental and emotional struggles."


The concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl in California. LP, in coordination with many other business entities, I am sure, had the concert live streamed on YouTube and the recording can be located on YouTube also. It is also linked on the LP website at the time of this post. A fair warning though if you have not watched it yet, you may need some tissues and some privacy...the "missing-man" musical set was too much for me. In my opinion it was a great show and I for one appreciate all the thought and effort put into what they organized for the fans around the world.


Thanks for reading today...and it seems like a good time to say that some days it is good to turn up the volume, close your eyes and feel what they are saying...because they say it so well.

Entry #1 | The Big Blog World

I was digitally wandering today in search of general randomness and found myself reading blogs posted by other people and organizations. There are a lot of interesting blogs out there to peruse, and at least one that got me curious since it rates in the top 50 but is by invite only. Hmmm...it sounds enticing just to figure out what they have going on. I may as well share some of what I found, good and bad, right? OK, here are three sites to consider

Since I would prefer to end on a positive note, let's start with a 'bad' which also utilizes a tactic that ranks high among my pet peeves. Blogs, and even websites, such as Business Insider will not allow you access to their site if you utilize an ad blocker on your web browser. These types of sites are ones I will usually ignore, if I don't black list them outright. According to the About page for Business Insider, this is a site now owned by the German media company Axel Springer SE. Given this information, I find it amazing that such a site solely relies upon the ads to generate a revenue. I know of plenty of sites that will ask you to white list the site in the ad blocker application but they will still allow you access, even if you decide not to white list it. On a side note too, I was surprised to find that this site is actually classified as a blog. I have visited this site before and thought it was more of a news-feed website since it doesn't appear to be too high quality in comparison to some other news sites.



There is a Ikea store in the valley so even with it being about a 30 minute drive, I have found it to be a good source for furniture pieces that are consistent in design and coloring without the crazy pricing some of the local furniture stores want to charge. With that I stated, one of the blogs I found that I enjoyed was a blog called Ikea Hackers. This blog is maintained by Jules and it appears that her blog is comprised of her own posts as well as contributor 'hacks' that they submit to her. There are a lot of creative ideas contained within this blog. I like the cascading room divider and, of course, the table hack with a city map of your choice. Maybe I should submit my desk/work bench I made with some Ikea file cabinets and a reclaimed laminate desktop from a local Seattle business, where I used to live.


Lastly for today, I was intrigued by Greg Mankiw's Blog. As student subjected to neoclassical economic theory (and yes, I mean subjected), it was very interesting to find this Harvard University Economics professor discusses different economic theories. Now, it has been many years since I have taken economics courses so my math is not nearly up to par for some of his posts but the blog post that caught my attention was the one that points to an article he wrote for the NY Times. In it he discusses a seminar he offers during an academic term for which he purposefully selects a 50/50 ratio of men and women as well as left/right in terms of economic disposition. Professor Mankiw provides a reading list that covers a wide range of economic theories which the students will read, discuss and debate. He states that his purpose is subversive and the goal is to encourage students to understand and appreciate different perspectives no matter how much they may disagree. I would certainly like to see more of that take place in our world. How about you?

Intro Practice Entry

Welcome to my very first blog post that I have ever posted. My name is Wayne and I am currently a student taking classes at Glendale Community College in Arizona. I graduated from the University of Washington with majors in Geography and Economics many years ago. My primary focus within the Geography department was Geographic Information Systems, also known as GIS. Simply stated, I found this to be a fascinating discipline to study due to the rich and diverse interactions of data and time with geographical influences and constraints. The projects we were able to work on were challenging and fun usually. My favorite was a geographical analysis some of my classmates and I completed to identify the best location to build a spaceport in Seattle.

So why go back to school? I am so glad you asked that question. I had spent a significant amount of time attempting to find a way to learn more about technology in a more formal setting. The internet is full of information but there is usually a "paywall" involved in the higher ranking searches and when I am attempting to learn something new, that usually does not make me the most adept at searching for the information expeditiously. Glendale Community College offers many excellent classes in different technologies as well as more formal academic programs and degrees. In fact, after taking so many classes I decided I would complete a few Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees and a few Certificates of Completion (CCL).


Why Geospatial Oddities, you ask? Wow! Another great question. It's almost like we are on the same wavelength. My interests, hobbies and experiences are varied and quite numerous. Aside from computers, switches and routers, I have worked on trail crews which required living in the wilderness, learned about auto mechanics, traveled to a few locations in southeast Asia and fought a few forest fires during one fire season in Washington. I often try to look at the "big picture." That doesn't mean that I can always do something about it but the adage "Think Globally, Act Locally" has definitely come to influence my thinking on many levels. So hopefully this blog will allow me to share a bit of my travels through space and time, with a little bit of thought provocation sprinkled in here and there.