Sharing Thoughts #6

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
-Maya Angelou

Atlanta in August

Bert, the kids and I visited with Bert's family in Atlanta. We enjoyed a great trip to the very famous Georgia Aquarium. Here is a wonderful video on how it works:

Sharing Thoughts #5

The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.
— Peter F. Drucker

Sharing Thoughts #4

If you want happiness for an hour - take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day - go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year - inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime - help someone else.
Chinese Proverb

Inside WHRO

Bert has some special words for members (current and potential), viewers, and other supporters of WHRO.

Sharing Thoughts #3

"The customer doesn't expect everything will go right all the time; the big test is what you do when things go wrong."

-Sir Colin Marshall, CEO of British Airways

Sharing Thoughts #2

Minds are like parachutes -- they won't work unless they're open.
-Anonymous

Sharing Thoughts #1

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."

-Pericles

MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk VA

Farewell to Friendship

Here is the playlist of videos I created at Friendship Industries (enjoy!):




I bid farewell to everyone at Friendship Industries the end of June '07. I'm looking forward to following up on all the job potential here in Hampton Roads at the end of the summer, after Bert and I are settled in our downtown condo.

Celtic Woman, a sweet and wonderful musical experience

Thanks to WHRO, we recently enjoyed our first concert at the NTELOS Pavilion in Olde Towne Portsmouth VA.

Celtic Woman features four Irish female vocalists and a very exciting fiddle player. The four women vocalists are Chloe, Lisa, Méav and Orla and the fiddle player is Mairead. Each of the girls is an accomplished soloist as well as a fantastic member of the ensemble.

Celtic Woman have made a powerful impact on U.S. audiences since their March 2005 debut. Among their most noteworthy achievements: their first PBS special aired over 3400 times on 316 PBS stations nationwide since its March 2005 debut.

Enjoy a clip from our favorite number “Orinoco Flow”
(and you can get it on iTunes):

http://www.celticwoman.com/clips/orinoco.mp3

P.S. Local knowledge is a great thing! Next time (to avoid the I 264 Downtown Tunnel), we'll take the ferry from Norfolk's Waterside to Olde Towne Portsmouth and take the short walk to the Pavilion, a great venue!

The Thomas Jefferson Hour

(L to R) Clay Jenkinson as Thomas Jefferson, Clay Jenkinson as himself

Bert and I attended an appearance by Clay Jenkinson, noted humanities scholar, in his Thomas Jefferson persona. Clay is the voice behind The Thomas Jefferson Hour which can be heard on 89.5 WHRV Norfolk, VA Tuesdays at 1:00 PM or via podcast, my favorite way!

Clay appeared at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts on Saturday, June 2nd at a benefit for the Center for Hope and New Beginnings & Western Tidewater Free Clinic.

I was so moved by the performance and "Jefferson's" view of the decline of American ideals, i.e. celebrity worship, that I am canceling my subscription to US magazine (no link on purpose, so as not to promote the cheesy rag) and plan to encourage others to do the same. Bravo!!

Think

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It's almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of this world we find;
Success begins with a person's will.
It's all in the state of mind.


If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster person,
But sooner or later the person who wins
Is the person who believes they can.


Excerpted from Lay Your Cards on the Table: 52 Ways to Stack Your Personal Deck by Rosanne D'Ausilio, PhD, Purdue University Press, with permission, available at http://www.human-technologies.com/.

Norfolk Construction and Projects...building is everywhere!

A: Rowhouses are currently being planned as an extension of the project detailed below. They would be connected to the main project by a pedestrian bridge.
B: Brambleton Tower
C: Granby Tower
D: Federal Courthouse Expansion
E: 388 Boush Street
F: Harbor Heights
G: Wright condominium development. Go to Wright condominiums
for details.
H: St Pauls Place
I: Courts Building - 14- or 15-stories; approved (update:$85 million has been appropriated from the city
budget towards construction of this facility 3-5 years in the future.
J: Office Tower - 35- to 40-stories; proposed
K: Trader Tower
L: Hilton Hotel
M: Norfolk Conference Center - 60,000-square-feet; to be built in conjunction with the Hilton Hotel
N: Cruise Ship Terminal

Other Norfolk projects not shown on aerial photo:

• Ghent South Towers
  
• 201 Twenty-One
  
• Harbors Edge
  
• Ocean View Projects
  
• Cosmo 418
  
• Virginia Arts Festival
  
• TCC Student Center
  
• ODU Innovation Research Park
  
• Hoffler Tower
  
• LRT
  
• The Row at Ghent/Bristol at Ghent
  
• Tanners Landing
  
• NSU Rise Center
  
• HRT Headquarters
  
• 401 Granby
  
• Rivers Edge at Berkley
  
• Wachovia Center
  
• The Residences at Taylors Landing
  
• East Beach Villas at Pretty Lake
  
• River House Apartments

Hampton Roads = Arts...in one word = wow!

Bert and I were honored to be invited this week by the Executive Director of the Virginia Arts Festival for the pre-show reception and performance at the performing arts center of the Scope, Chrysler Hall, of Itzhak Perlman, one of the most famous violinists in the world, in collaboration with Rohan DeSilva on piano. While not typically my genre of music, the masterful performance was amazing. I can certainly appreciate the artistry.

Hampton Roads-Cities Ranked and Rated

Gainesville's 1st; we're 137th

New edition of "Cities Ranked and Rated" says region's livability has dropped.

By MIKE HOLTZCLAW
757-928-6479, The Daily Press

May 9, 2007, 11:55 AM EDT

We're not the area we used to be.

In 2004, the first edition of the book "Cities Ranked & Rated" placed the Hampton Roads region 17th in a ranking of the top cities in the United States. In the second edition, which hit bookstores this week, the region drops precipitously to No. 137.

The rankings -- done by authors Bert Sperling and Peter Sander, demographic researchers known for the Sperling's Best Places online site -- are based on 10 primary criteria that would affect residents' quality of life.

The authors note that the Hampton Roads area's drop in the rankings is largely attributable to two factors -- the drop in job growth projection since 2004 and the increase in housing prices in that time frame.

Gainesville, Fla., tops the current ranking, followed by Bellingham, Wash.; the area including Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Ann Arbor, Mich.

Here is a quick look at how Hampton Roads compares to national averages according to some of the book's data:

POPULATION: The area has a population of about 1.65 million people, with a density of 626 people per square mile (compared to the national average of 358). The area's population is up 16.7% since 2002 (national increase of 21%).

ECONOMY AND JOBS: The area's average household income is $49,335 (compared to a national average of $46,414). Hampton Roads' recent job growth is 2.2% (compared to a national average of 1.3%), but its projected future job growth is 11.4%, just below the national average of 11.5%.

INDEXES AND TAXES: The region's cost-of-living and buy-power indexes are slightly above the national average. The income tax rate is above average (5.75% compared to national 4.7), but the sales tax is below average (5.03% compared to national 6.58%). But since 2002, the area's home appreciation rate has been 91.3%, compared to a national average of 10.1%.

CLIMATE: The region's temperatures are mild, with an average of 84 days below freezing or above 90 degrees (national average, 127 days).

EDUCATION: Public schools in the area spend an average of $5,122 per pupil, below the national average of $5,686. But the region's students score slightly higher on standardized tests than the national average.

HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE: The area scores well in air and water quality, but has a higher than average pollen/allergy score. The average doctor and dental visits in Hampton Roads ($67 and $61, respectively) are about $10 cheaper than the national average.

TRANSPORTATION: The area's average annual auto insurance premium is $1,805, almost $400 higher than the national average.

LEISURE: The area scores high for is 69 miles of coastline and gets high marks on the "amusement park rating" and the "botanical garden rating." Hampton Roads was below average in outlet malls but has twice as many Starbucks coffeehouses as the average U.S. city.

ARTS AND CULTURE: Hampton Roads has 50 public libraries (compared to 27 in the average region) and scores well for classical music, ballet/dance and professional theater. The area is well above average in all museum ratings - art, science, children's museums and overall.