A Special Way For Us To "Ring Out The Old Year"...

IT'S NEW YEAR'S EVE...
When most of you read this it will be New Year's Eve, Wednesday, December 31, 2014, and you'll be in the midst of planning your big celebrations - many of which will stretch on into the next day.  Thursday you'll likely be trying to recuperate from your celebrating by watching college football games non-stop from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.  By the end of the Sugar Bowl game Thursday night we will know which two teams will play for the national championship in two weeks.  I love this time of the year!  Go Ducks!

...AND A SPECIAL DAY FOR US
My sweet and very patient wife and I will be celebrating New Year's Eve as we always do - by hunkering down, snuggling by the fire and enjoying the anniversary of our very first date - New Year's Eve, 1966!  Yep, 48 years ago we had our very first date.  We celebrated with friends and danced all night.  She swept me off my feet - well, one of us did the sweeping - and we dated for the next 8 months, then got married, moved 3,000 miles away and began this wonderful journey together.  I'm a VERY lucky guy!

THANKS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
So, we both want to wish all of you, or both of you, depending on how many are reading this entry, a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.  Thanks for taking the time to read what appears here and for responding when you feel moved.  Fasten your seat belts, folks.

Happy New Year - Time For Changes

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
First, a Very Happy New Year to you all.  2012 has been a tumultuous year, so I hope 2013 will be marked by a new spirit of cooperation, as promised by our new mayor.  We'll see...

HOUSEKEEPING UPDATE
Well, dear readers, it's time for some more housekeeping news.

GONE FROM FACEBOOK...

You recall that I've indicated I'm going to bail out of Facebook.  Well, that has now been accomplished.  I sliced that umbilical cord.  My comments on Daily Pilot articles are gone and I won't be able to enter any in the future.  I'll miss some of the details of friends lives, but circumstances forced this decision on me.  Now we'll see what I'm going to do with all that extra time.

NEXT... CHANGES HERE
As part of that general housekeeping I'm also making some changes on the blog.  Some of you will approve, others will not.  I've thought a lot about this and think it's the way to go...

NO MORE NASTINESS
So, beginning immediately I will no longer accept comments with flat out gratuitous nastiness.  If you make an otherwise important comment, but include an unnecessary nasty remark about someone the entire comment will be summarily rejected.  I don't have the capability of "editing" any comment - it's a go or no-go situation.  Unfortunately, I've permitted too many mean and nasty comments - from both sides of an issue - to appear on the blog.  That stops now.

DON'T GO TOO FAR

Most of you, whether submitting comments via anonymous pen names or using your own name, have important ideas to contribute, but you sometimes let your passion on issues take you too far.  For example, if you say so-and-so is an unemployed loser, while it might be true, that's unnecessary to the discussion.  If you say a guy is stupid, that might pass muster.  If you say he's stupid and fat, it won't.  If you attempt to involve his family the comment won't make the cut.  You get the idea...

MY RULES - I'LL TRY TO ENFORCE THEM FAIRLY

The line in the sand is mine alone.  It's going to be enforced with uniformity - or that's my plan.  We'll see.  I try to give you my best shot on issues I post about and hope you'll reciprocate when you comment.  I will always post a comment that disagrees with me - unless it crosses that new line.  Same with comments that agree with me.. the line is the same for both.  And, before some of you jump down my throat for enforcing rules that sound very much like the ones I found so onerous with Facebook - you may be correct.  I accept that and know that most of you have it within yourselves to produce some excellent observations without the pettiness... I'm looking forward to them.

OFF WE GO...
So, new year, new rules, new civility, new enlightenment, better discussions... we'll see.  I DO appreciate every comment that is submitted - even if it gets rejected out of hand.  They all help me take the pulse of discussions on both sides of the issue.  I MUCH prefer you to actually contribute a viewpoint instead of just flaming someone.  Quite honestly, I'm just getting tired of reading all that stuff.


HAPPY NEW YEAR - HAVE A GREAT 2013
I leave you this morning with one of my favorite clips - and perfectly appropriate, too.

Saying Goodbye To Facebook

REMEMBER THIS ONE?

In the grand scheme of things this little bit of information is not "newsworthy", but it's important to me and, after all, this IS my blog.  More than a year ago, HERE, I wrote about why I was considering leaving Facebook.  As you scroll down through all those "maybes" I included you'll understand my mindset then and, for the most part, now.  Go ahead and read it, then come back and finish this one...  I'll wait...

CHANGES

Back?  OK, since I wrote that piece a few things have changed.  One, I have many more "Facebook friends" than I did at that time and, most of those additions are folks I wouldn't know if I tripped over them.  That doesn't mean they are not lovely people and I suspect the reason most of them asked to be friends is because they liked something I wrote, so I'm grateful for that interest.  Some of them are folks to whom I sent a "friend request" because I was interested in them.  My decision is NOT about them...

MEDIA CONVERSION TO FACEBOOK COMMENTS

Something else has happened.  Both of our local print and online media outlets - The Daily Pilot and The Orange County Register - finally got tired of dealing with the avalanche of comments on their articles and the time it took to edit them so they took an easier way out - they washed their hands of it - requiring all commenters to be on Facebook.  They apparently assumed there would be a good deal of self-editing if people actually had to attach their names to their comments.  From that standpoint it has seemed to work out.

ABDICATING CONTROL OF CONTENT

However, in doing so both of those fine newspapers have abdicated a significant chunk of their "content" to an outside entity that has no skin in the game.  The "comments" are no longer governed by the standards established by the respective newspapers - they belong to Facebook and Facebook defines the rules of the game,  controls who gets to play in their sandbox, and for how long.  An algorithm in the Facebook server farms decides whether a complaint about "abuse" is valid or not and, apparently arbitrarily, punishes those who violate that algorithm.  These fine publications have allowed thin-skinned whiners and an algorithm in a server farm decide what is appropriate for publication on their digital space.  There are 1st Amendment issues at play here that I can't begin to resolve.

RELEVANCE AFFECTED

The result of that control is that the comments in both of those publications have diminished in their relevance, which is a shame.  Yes, there are still some interesting comment threads, but I recall the "good old days" when a 100 comment thread on a Daily Pilot article was not unusual and, for the most part, those that made it through the editing screen used to maintain civility on the site produced some pretty darn relevant discussions on the issue at hand.  Not so much anymore.  I do admit, though, that in the case of the Register comments, some became so vile, nasty and mean-spirited that they were virtually unreadable.  Hence, the change to Facebook.

A MARKETING TOOL

As I mentioned in my earlier entry, I joined Facebook originally to have an additional marketing tool for my blog.  That worked out just fine.  I have many more readers than I did four or five years ago and the page views will probably hit 1 million in January.  Of course, much of that is due to the contentiousness of local issues over the past few years and part of that growth is certainly due to my new "friends" on Facebook.  Thanks for that.

DESPITE THE LOSSES, I'LL SAY ADIOS TO FACEBOOK

But, after much contemplation and consideration about what I will be giving up - watching sweet Caroline grow up before my eyes; the opportunity to tease my friends Anita and Rusty about their persistent photos of each other with wine glasses half full (or empty, depending on your viewpoint); the ability to be in contact with my great-nephew, Nathan, when he's deployed in dangerous places around the world; those spontaneous musings by my friend, Byron, about his kids and the evolution of their lives, photos of his artistic meals and his brilliant analysis of issues when he chooses to engage himself in them, plus all the other snippets of the lives of others I see every day - I've decided to cease my participation on Facebook.

NO LONGER IN THE MOSH PIT

I realize that once I pull that plug I will no longer be able to post comments on articles that provoke me in our local media.  I will no longer be able to spar with those who don't share my viewpoint.  On the positive side, I'll no longer be jumping from status page to status page, trying to see what everybody is talking about.  It's just plain exhausting.  I'll still be able to submit letters and commentaries - unless corporate policy turns that over to an algorithm, too - but won't be able to keep that ball rolling once I give it the initial kick.  That will be up to others.  I can live with that...

TENDING MY CROP

There are many reasons why I've made this decision.  One of them is because, at my age, I'm losing real "friends" at an increasing pace and that bothers me - a lot.   There are just so many minutes in each day, but I find myself casually immersing myself in the lives of strangers instead of tending to the real friendships I've spent decades nurturing.  The recent ninth anniversary of the passing of my best friend since we were five years old probably helped me tighten my focus on what is really important.

FACEBOOK'S INTRUSIVENESS

Another reason is the growing intrusiveness of Facebook in my life.  I don't like the seemingly constant changing of the rules of the game.  The whole "Instagram" thing recently got me thinking about this a lot.  Life today has plenty of complications and the pace - especially for an old fella - can be overwhelming.  I read "1984" back when it was just a clever bit of fiction.  Today, well... you make the call on that.  I'm disappointed that Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Facebook continue to manage their company like they were still back in their college dorm room.  I'm not comfortable having a guy who still acts like a pre-pubescent, pimply-faced teenager being able to exercise so much control over my life.

CUTTING THE CORD
So, sometime soon - probably the first of the year - I'm going to cut my tie to Facebook.  The link to this post will be there and I will continue to market my blog there until the day I officially snip the Facebook umbilical cord.  I will probably never forgive Zuckerberg and his minions for devaluing the word "friend" in our society, but I do appreciate the acquaintanceship of those of you who have communicated with me on Facebook - my "after Facebook" friends.  If you care to engage in a discussion on issues of the day that I address on my blog, you are welcome to do so.  If you don't want to wrestle in that particular mud pit, here's an email address where you can reach me - thepotstirer@earthlink.net.  I'll be happy to hear from you on any issue that you feel is important or just to chat, but it won't be on Facebook.

AND YOU, TOO...

Those of you who are "before Facebook" friends already know how to reach me at other email addresses and, of course, I always look forward to your thoughts and wise counsel.

WHO CARES?!
"Who gives a rat's rear about West deciding to bail out of Facebook?", you ask.  "What an arrogant, self-absorbed SOB that West guy is to think anyone cares!", you say.  Well, you're probably right on both counts, but I thought there might be one or two people - "Facebookians", as my nephew refers to them - who might wonder about my disappearance from the Land Of Zuckerberg, hence this explanation.

STILL IN THE GAME AFTER SOME NECESSARY TIDYING-UP

As I said above, I'm not going to stop expressing my opinion on issues I feel are important, but my life was becoming much too cluttered and this is one step in the housekeeping I need to do.  Soon, with mixed emotions, I'll bid Facebook a not-so-fond adieu and just keep on moving forward. 

 Happy New Year to you all....

Whew! Is This Year Finally Over?

TREADING LIGHTLY, WE PROCEED
Well, we made it, my friends. 2010 is just about over and 2011 is staring us squarely in the face, daring us to proceed.

A VERY SPECIAL YEAR
I think most will agree that, in the case of Costa Mesa, this year had been one to remember - or forget, depending on which side of the issues you've been on.

BUDGET PROBLEMS CONTINUE
We've had the ongoing budget mess, which continues to this day. We'll find out just how deep the doo doo is on January 11th at the City Council study session. Until then I guess we just tap our toes waiting.

IS THE FAIRGROUNDS FIASCO OVER?
It looks like there's a good chance the whole Orange County Fair and Event Center sale thing may be in it's death throes. Jerry Brown takes over as governor on the 3rd and nobody's talking about his position on the sale of State real estate assets to balance the budget. Opponents of the sale, including members of the Fair staff, are holding their collective breaths until some word comes from Sacramento following Brown's coronation. The next legal step scheduled is a hearing by the appellate court early in February... until then, more toe tapping.

LEADERSHIP TURMOIL
From a leadership standpoint, Costa Mesa has some strange things going on. Two years ago Finance Director Marc Puckett left under a cloud - one that persists today. He finally landed on his feet in a similar job in Petaluma in November. Then word comes that he's bailing out of that one as of next week. Yikes.

SHAWKEY, SMITH AND MORGAN
Then, very recently, the City announced that both Chief Christopher Shawkey and his top command officer, Captain Ron Smith, were both placed on Administrative Leave. No word why, but the announcement were on the same press release, so some folks presume the reasons are related. Captain Les Gogerty was asked to step up on an interim basis to fill the command vacuum. And, Fire Chief Mike Morgan retired in November, only to surface as the interim chief in Newport Beach a couple weeks later. Geez!

ROEDER ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT!
And then the topper - City Manager Allan Roeder, who has held that job for a quarter century and been with the city for three dozen years, announced that he's retiring the end of March! That was a shocker to most observers. Certainly, Roeder has earned the right to retire, but he's such a positive fixture - a face of stability - that it's just a little disconcerting to think of him out of office.

HATCH NAMED TO REPLACE HIM!
But, the City Council solved that immediate angst by selecting Assistant City Manager Tom Hatch to replace Roeder. This news was met with universal acclaim in City Hall and was an excellent early Christmas present to the staff and residents alike. Hatch is a perfect fit for this city at this time. He's got great credentials and has become fully immersed in city issues during his four years as Assistant City Manager. This is really good news. To give you a little taste of Hatch, you can watch the City Talk segment he taped last August HERE. Trust me, it's a half hour well spent and you'll understand after watching it just why those who have been working with him feel his selection to replace Roeder is a good one.

FOLEY TO BE REPLACED TUESDAY
On Tuesday the City Council, led by new old mayor Gary Monahan, will select a replacement on the dais for the departed Katrina Foley, who finally officially tendered her resignation today following her election to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board last month. There are many solid candidates from which the council can select a replacement for Foley, but the smart money is betting on Planning Commissioner Steve Mensinger. I've written much about Mensinger in the past and will likely write some more before the council meeting. For now, suffice it to say that he wouldn't be my first choice from the candidate pool available.

RIGHEIMER'S OPPORTUNITY
2011 is going to be another year full of challenges. The budget dilemma may provide the crack in the door for Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer to jam his foot through it and try to become the tip of the lance of state-wide municipal employee pension reform. Ever the eager opportunist, he will likely try to use that issue to springboard him to higher office in the not-to-distant future. Dana Rohrabacher's congressional seat will be contested again in two years...

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE
So, dear readers, friends and neighbors, we here at A Bubbling Cauldron wish you and yours a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. I'll leave you with a little video clip that expresses my feelings right about now. Be safe, be happy and celebrate the new year surrounded by those you love.

Happy New Year, Everyone...

Well, here we go, into another year with our fingers firmly crossed that things will get better.

I hope our trainee president comes to his senses and stops destroying the greatest Republic the world has ever known.

I hope wiser heads will prevail and our current economic crisis is resolved quickly.

I hope our local elected leaders find the right words to convince the governor that selling the Orange County Fairgrounds is a truly terrible idea.

I hope our young volunteer warriors in far off places are returned home safely to their families.

I hope you all have a Very Happy New Year...