On the Homefront

Continuing the trend of disaster over past four years in the "Bakerman" of the United States, floods and tornados are ravaging Iowa and Missouri. Though the worst of the flooding has passed according to news and weather forecasters, major damage continues to occur along the river towns. An already taxed FEMA must again shuffle supplies and shelter across the country to people who have been left with nothing.

My mom's family has called Iowa "home" for more than 150 years - many of my relatives live on parcels of the family's original tracts. We are farmers (though much of the land is now leased to larger productions.) My great aunts and uncles are still up there, still on their farms, and still rockin' in the free world while pushing their own century mark. It never ceases to amaze me. Nevertheless, despite the genetic hardiness and ability to withstand nature time and again, my great aunt Irene and her husband Paul had to call on Uncle Sam to help them evacuate. My 95 year old aunt and many others were carted off in a convoy of soft top National Guard hummers as the flood waters from the Cedar River encroached upon their homes. It is a funny mental image to think of them in such a domestic battalion.

My family is fortunate to have missed considerable damage, and everyone is back home. But I am sure that neighbors were not so lucky. We grow crops - corn, soybeans, etc. Heavy rains and floods are not necessarily bad things for plant nutrition. Those with livestock have a little tougher time. I heard a sad story about a drove of pigs that managed to escape their enclosures, swim the floods, and survive the storm found refuge on a makeshift levy. Their weighted movements made the dam all the more fragile; and, they were sacrificed to save the town.

Homes and lives of all creatures are in the midst of tragedy. Images of neighborhoods floating down the floods rivers and lodging en masse against railroad tressels are all too common.

After seeing Ivan, Charlie, Katrina, and Rita as well as their aftermath, my thoughts are focused on power of water and flood; and, I will be seeing it with own eyes. Lara and I are heading to the Hawkeye State with my folks this weekend. We've planned this trip since before the wedding, but it appears that we've managed to have a date with disaster on top of our mini-reunion. So, I've dusted off my PDA shirts and work gloves. My hope is that no assistance is needed due to a return to normal life. However, we've seen what can happen, and we know what we can do when nature comes knocking.

HP Techno-savior

Recently I quipped about the potential loss of Arkansas' telecom giant, Alltel. Jobs, future state investments, and - to an extent - state economic stability are all on shaky ground. Verizon could very easily pull up Alltel's roots and trek off to whereever they want it to go.

In steps HP - yes, the computer people. Just hours ago, the Governor announced that HP has chosen Conway as a site for a new multimillion dollar manufacturing facility. In an instant, uncertainty - due to the Verizon deal - has been snatched from the abyss. HP's investment brings with it the potential for more white-collar investment from the information and technology industry. 1200 jobs were created with a flip of the wrist and couple "John Hancocks" here and there. Thank you HP.

Perhaps, I need to re-examine the potential IT foreign investment options such as the Samsung and others...

Folks at the Commission were pretty ecstatic this afternoon. AEDC was a happy office, and I could faintly hear the big-wigs giggling with glee.* Verizon could still play party pooper and take away Alltel's presence, but at least we have a nice replacement waiting in the wings.

Chad, come back!!!

As I began preparing my South Korea business report for AEDC, I had a realization that the future economic development of Arkansas - at least in the short term - might lie precariously in the middle of this Alltel-Verizon merger. Though the details of the buy-out are not yet fully known nor will they be for some months to come, this was a hostile takeover and an Arkansas business was the target. The reality of the merger dawned on me as I was investigating potential foreign investment into the e-business, logisitics, and telecommunication industry: Arkansas might experience some unpleasantness as a result of it all.

Alltel was a Little Rock company, and it quietly owned most of the telecommunications infrastructure (towers, cables, networks, etc) in the country. That is the way Alltel made all of it's money; all of the other telecommunications companies - ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc - had to use Alltel's hardware to develop their networks. In a very real sense, Alltel held the lynchpin to the success of the entire industry. Thus, Arkansas - as Alltel's home - was privy to this success. In addition, Arkansas also saw a major logistics and e-business player rise in the form of the Axciom which does major business within the international economic and corporate world. With these two corporations, Arkansas had the ability to cultivate the industry and attract related businesses and manufacturers.

My current project is Korea. The ROK is home to some heavy hitters in the telecom industry; Samsung comes to mind. If Verizon decides to pull its Alltel operations out of Arkansas, it could greatly impact that state's presence in this industry. Nevermind that thousands of people work there. Nevermind the void that it could leave in Little Rock. The ability to attract major economic investment to the state is, in the long term, perhaps more important. If Verizon maintains a major operation here in LR, who knows what investments might call Arkansas home?!

Now, this is not some Doomsday announcement, nor is anyone really worried about it all...except for Alltel's employees and their spouses. Arkansas is doing just fine and will continue to do so. It did make me realize, though, that some big shifts are taking place right here at home. When a big piece of the puzzle leaves town, someone else has to fill the void. I guess that filling the void is part of my job at AEDC. I'm wrapping up Korea, and I have found some interesting crossroads between our two worlds that merit further investigation. I wish I could offer more recommendations than I will. However, one can not recommend industry expansion when the industry itself is hanging by a thread.

A Right of Passage

When Lara came back from Alabama with some additional wedding gifts that had to be left behind after the wedding, I knew that the time had come when I could use the term "man" to accurately describe myself. For in one of the gifts the power of manhood resides: a Lowe's gift card. Instantly I knew what must be done; I must buy a grill.

I mistakenly took the little lady to help choose which grill will bring the most joy for many years to come. I say "mistakenly" because she gave the grills one look and left me to go look at garden hoses. I called her back for her opinion on the matter only to find that she picked a small transportable 4 burger grill and deemed it sufficiently adequate. I laughed, "no." That's when I had an epiphany: choosing a grill is my solemn duty, one that I shall not take lightly. Serious questions needed answering.

Sure charcoal is the only way to go for taste; but in times that call for quick preparation, does charcoal produce the best use of my time? What if I wanted to invite the whole class over for burgers? Or, ribs? How many square inches is the "perfect" cooking area? Is a grill supposed to be shiny? Are all these "bells and whistles" necessary for success, or do they compensate for something else?

At first these questions were overwhelming, but I shook myself clear of this convolusive trap. I chose a beauty that can handle 30 burgers or 4 racks of ribs or, well, you can figure out where I'm going with this... And, following the advice of grilling master from Arlen, Texas, I chose clean burning sweet lady propane and propane accessories to evenly cook my meats (and veggies.)

I am yet to bring it home and install it near my back porch, but I already feel wiser and more confident.

Gone from the Wind

The foulness is gone. Thank you Little Rock for turning on your fans and blowing that away - far away. I've been told that it was Pine Bluff. No offense to the PB, but that was bad. I mean, B-A-D bad. I did not appreciate that bouquet of stink at all. Not at all.

It is odd, however, that none of my colleagues - not at AEDC and not at the school - noticed a thing. I asked myself, "did I imagine that smell?" I contend that, no, I certainly did not imagine anything. Somehow people grow immune to that. Or, maybe I got up earlier than they did, and the winds changed before they roused themselves this morning.

Anyway, it is time to rejoice. Glory glory glory be the smell of nature and sweet summertime in Arkansas.

Lunch Time

I stepped outside this morning to catch a breath of fresh Arkansas goodness only to find that the sweet aromas of honeysuckle, magnolia, and freshly mowed grass were not present. They had been replaced by "stink" - an overpowering malodorous gut-wrenching rot, decay, and souring. LR smells horrible today...really bad. I mean, something dropped a big one in central Arkansas. I thought it was just my neighborhood (such a thing has been known to happen); but, as I have no A/C in my car and must ride with windows down, I found that the "stink" had formed an ominous cloud of putridity over the city.

Therefore, I have decided to take my lunch in the office today rather than brave the foulness. I have confined myself to my office and my fifth cup of coffee which is doubling as a hazelnut potpourri. Arkansas' summertime smells have been invaded by something sinister...and the City better get it figured out by quitting time today.

Thoughts While Archiving Video After a Long Day At AEDC

I find myself currently staring at the NARA building and the new stairs on the terraces behind the School. I'm archiving tonight, and the download is taking a while...

I love reading the stories from all of my fellow classmates who are stationed around the world. I probably check their blogs at least 5 times a day, full of hope that each one of them has relayed some tale of their lives in the distant lands across the vast oceans full of pirates and seamonsters. One would think that after reading the most recent posts, I'd give up. But, no. Several hours later I get the itch, and I check again. Maybe Julie, Jay, and Marquita can't sleep and have some profound experience that needs to be immediately documented. Maybe Boots the Cat has waged bloody war on rodents in the house to the horror of Sanford, Ryan, and Sarah. Maybe Carly and Molly met a sherpa and took a midnight hike up Everest. Or maybe Sara and Amanda found a city of bones... Maybe Lukman caught a would-be mugger. Maybe Hunter has met everyone in Cameroon and colonized it in the Name of North Little Rock. Maybe James and Chances are ministers in this new "North Little Rockeroon." Maybe Emily has become a meat-arian. Or, maybe Jose met Obama, and in a backroom deal, convinced him to cede victory to Hillary. Maybe Idonia kidnapped Jose. Maybe J.D. won't get sunburned in Hawaii this week. Maybe Lindsey really is a doctor. Maybe all of those without blogs are freeing pandas from the earthquake or backpacking with indigenous peoples of South America, etc. Who knows... Anyway, more often than not, my hopes are dashed. But, my imagination is active.

Well, President Cardoso's public program is now immortalized in the Video Archives, and I'm closing in on finishing the Spring 2007 archive...so, I must go home to the little lady before I get in trouble.