Montana Jones

Montana Jones and the six way scrambles

D_:

Hey Jones, c'mere, we need you.

Me:

Whats up?

D_:

We have the six way scrambles going on today. We need you to sign up.

Me:

Am I the sixth man?

D_:

Sort of. You will help us finish the roster.

Me:

Tell me more.

T1:

Well, we have three rounds of six way skydives. Random teams. All experience levels. It's three bucks to get in and the winning team will split the money.

Me:

Sounds cool, I'm in.

...

T1:

Okay, can everyone hear me? We have your teams posted on the wall over here and the first round formations. We have the red team, white team and blue team. Find your team captains to start your dirt dives.

D_:

Here are the rules. We will try to make sure all teams get the same altitude and the same working time. About 12 to 13 thousand feet for about 50 seconds of working time. You may only launch a three way piece so half your team has to exit without grips. There must be complete separation between points. No switch grips, no pieces. Everyone must drop all grips between points. If you scare the judges with a low opening you will be disqualified.

...

R_:

So who is Jones? Are you Jones?

Me:

Yeah, I'm Jones.

R_:

Hi, I'm R_ your team captain. You are the novice on our group. Tell me about your skydiving experience.

Me:

Well, I have 350 jumps, just not much RW experience is all. I'm confident I can stay with you.

R_:

Alright great. We are going to build these jumps around you so you are going to have to launch clean exits and hold a fast fall rate.

Me:

No problem, I can do it.

R_:

The most important thing is to relax, stay comfortable and have fun. If you have any problems be sure to talk to me.

...

R_:

Just remember to relax and push that fall rate. Relax.

Me:

Hey, I'm relaxed. No worries. And I have never had a fall rate problem. I wont float on you.

...

R_:

Don't forget to relax!

Me:

Do I look nervous?

...

D_:

Go through the jump a few times in your mind while we are riding up in the plane. That's what we are all focusing on.

Me:

Yup. Already done it twice.

...

T_:

Alright, woohoo. Hot skydive!

R_:

Good job Jones. Gimmie five.

Me:

Thanks.

T2:

Jones, buddy, you fall fast!

Me:

I told you I fall fast.

D_:

Great skydive. Now forget everything you just did, we have a new one to learn.

T2:

I think to make it fair that next team needs to climb to 12,000, spend a bunch of time doing banked turns getting everyone airsick and then drop down to 10,000 for the jump.

O_:

Yeah, what was up with that. I was getting woozy.

T1:

It was that big cloud there that cut you off.

...

D_:

How did you guys do?

O_:

We only got three points.

D_:

We got three points too. It's a tie.

O_:

Lets see how the blue team does. Here they come now.

D_:

That's one, and two. Only two points.

T_:

When they get into to landing area be sure to give them a chant of "we suck less."

...

T_:

You want a tip?

Me:

Yeah, hit me with it.

T_:

You have to push your legs out more. Always drive forward and stay focused on the center.

Me:

Yeah, I felt like I was always pushing forward on that jump. But I guess I need more. There was one point where I forgot my legs all together.

T_:

Yeah, on the snowflake. You backslid on that one. We couldn't get the pieces together. Just remember legs out and always focus on the center of the formation.

Me:

No problem, thanks for the tip.

...

R_:

Great first skydive guys, great exit, good teamwork. This next jump will be a little more challenging, so here is what we need to do. We will do the same exit, so Jones you get right here again. With these clouds we may only get 8,000 on this next jump so we need to get this first point fast.

...

T_:

Right on buddy! Gimmie five!

D_:

Great skydive guys. We hit all the formations.

Th:

Sorry to cut you off in the door there, I lost track, I though everyone had already climbed out.

Me:

No worries, your weren't in the way. I thought you were just eager to get in position is all.

R_:

Good job on that skydive.

...

D_:

So that's four points for us and red team only got two. Puts us in the lead.

T_:

Now don't screw this next one up. I have eight bucks riding on this.

...

R_:

Lets see, from this point we are not going to be able to get back to that first formation.

Me:

Do we have to be in the same slots?

R_:

No, we could build it with these slots but that would end our jump on five points. Do you guys think we could win with five?

T_:

That depends on the blue team.

T2:

Yeah, here they come now. Let's watch.

R_:

Are they out? Oh, I see them. Is that a point?

Me:

Yeah, I thought I saw a point.

R_:

They are building slow, we have a chance.

T_:

There is another point. That's two.

R_:

And the break, they only got two. We can win with five. Lets build it like this.

...

O_:

Get the door.

P_:

We are still turning, what the hell is the pilot doing?

O_:

Left! More left!

O_:

Go around!

P_:

How hard is it to fly over top the airstrip?

...

R_:

Woohoo, another great skydive! Good job.

Me:

Thanks.

R_:

I had no idea where we were when we opened up. Why is it so hard for that pilot to get us over the top?

Me:

I was thinking about landing on the other side of the fence, on the road.

R_:

Me too, but with my luck I would have twisted my ankle on that one.

Me:

My thought exactly. Now I am stuck behind barbed wire.

R_:

Here, we can get you over.

Me:

I'll just walk. It's not worth snagging and tearing my gear.

R_:

Here is a spot we can get you through. Just gather up your parachute nice and tight. That's it. Grab on the bottom there, that's it. Now ease on through.

...

T_:

Interesting landing. Had to choose between landing by the horses or landing in the ditch.

Me:

Did anyone see where D_ landed?

T_:

I don't know anything about horses but I have never heard of them attacking people so I chose to land there. As soon as I was down they all charged right over. I think I have a date with one of them later.

...

T_:

Alright! All five points! Good job!

T2:

Great skydive.

R_:

That last point was manly. I'm thrilled you all held in for it.

T_:

Yeah, I thought we were breaking and then you waved us in.

R_:

I looked away from Jones for just a second and when I looked back he had dropped out and away. I had to go catch him.

...

T1:

I think I am going to disqualify your last two points for being too low.

R_:

No way, we were all open above two.

T1:

It looked pretty low to me.

R_:

That's because we were in the next damn county. You couldn't see anything from here without a hubble telescope. The spots have been horrible today.

Me:

I have one of those electronic gizmos that show opening altitude if you want to see it.

T1:

Those gizmos lie.

Me:

Yeah, well, it's more accurate than guessing.

...

T1:

And the winner of the scrambles with 12 points is the white team!

...

R_:

C'mere Jones, I have a question for you.

Me:

Go ahead.

R_:

We were thinking about donating the winnings to L_'s Parkinson charity. What do you think of that?

Me:

I think that's a great idea.

R_:

The whole team agrees then.

...

R_:

Good job on your skydives today.

Me:

Thanks, I had a good time and I learned a lot too. Thanks for the jumps.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:41 AM 1 comments

Ask Montana Jones

I am having an awful time at the moment with the xhtml break tag in IE.

I am trying to include a single line break, as opposed to the dreaded para break - but i find that in IE the break tag is actually producing a double line break - of course in sensible mozilla browsers this problem does not arise.

Have you ever come across this - or a fix for single line breaks?

Ahh, the mighty battle of coding for browser compatibility. I have many scars from this battle.

The first problem here is the lack of code or context. Line breaks do not live in a vacuum. I could try to recreate the problem with simple code like this:

And guess what. It tests out just fine. IE does not show double line breaks (paragraph breaks) from the <br /> tags. The problem lies somewhere in the complexity of your markup or the style sheet or both.

No, please do not send me your code to check over. You cannot afford my services. I charge ungodly amounts of money to fix other peoples code. Pretty much the only people I will inspect code for are the rich, the famous and my father. I owe dad a favor everyone else must pay cash. Reading and dealing with other peoples code can be a horrible pain. I charge big time for it.

What you are going to have to do is troubleshoot for yourself. This I can offer advice on.

In my experience the things that can cause a browser incompatibility bugs include:

• Overly complex markup
• Complex style sheets
• Lack of browser support for a particular CSS element.
• The IE box model bug
• Code being rewritten or restyled by the publishing system or server.

Fixing display issues, especially cross browser issues, is a pain. Web developers live in a strange murky world unlike traditional programming with debuggers that step through code and point out where your error is. It is also unlike the graphic arts world where the designer can count on an unchanging canvas. Some programming techniques of systematic elimination will help but you may also need some guesswork to get started.

Here are some common things that cause me problems.

So where is your code going to live? I know that some publishing systems (like Blogger for example) like to change code a little. Things like inserting a break tag at carriage returns so that people can write their posts without bothering with markup. If you are using a publishing system use 'view source' a lot to make sure what comes out is the same as what goes in.

IE bugs the crap out of me with how it renders white space in the code. It will take a gap or a carriage return between tags and put a space on the screen. For example a list of images that should sit right next to each other will have gaps between them if your code has white space.

This shows gaps between images because of the carriage return in the code:
<img src="image1.gif" />
<img src="image2.gif" />
<img src="image3.gif" />

This does not:
<img src="image1.gif" /><img src="image2.gif" /><img src="image3.gif" />

You should try rearranging tags to take out white space and see if that helps.

You should take a close look at your style sheets. Does your <br /> tag have any extra styling? What about the tags right around your line break? Look for style rules that play with padding and margins. If I need space around a page element I start my style sheets with padding and margin of 0 and carefully add to the dimensions while testing cross browser with each change. Because of IE's box model bugs I will rarely use both padding and margin at the same time. I like to keep one of them explicitly set to 0.

Have style rules that you are not familiar with? Look them up. Make sure they are doing what you think they should be doing. Check their browser support too while you are at it.

Try taking stuff out of context. Put a block of problem code in a test page and see how it renders without other page elements around it. Try it without the style sheet or even a different style sheet. Sometimes the styling of the div or column or table is causing a weird bug to munge your display.

Try systematically removing styles from the page.

Try taking a nap. Seriously. Walking away from a problem or sleeping on it has helped me find lots of bugs in my day. Similarly, try explaining your code to a colleague watching over your shoulder. I have found the "bug won't appear when someone else is watching" syndrome to be pretty common.

In my most hair pulling and frustrating moments of debugging one rule of thumb has always served me. "Try something else." It can get pretty easy to fixate on a style rule that you think is the problem child and you edit and test and tweak and test a fiddle and test and just pound on the refresh button with no results. Time to try something else. Look at the body style. Look at the div style. Check all your code for syntax errors. Try a validator. It can be hard when you think you have looked at the code from every possible angle and the bug is still laughing at you.

Keep plugging. If the bug is still there then there is always something else to try. Be creative and good luck

Montana Jones is not really a know it all but he plays one on the internet. Questions about web development, mathematics and vacation destinations are welcome at montanaj@gmail.com

Posted by: Montana Jones / 8:02 AM 0 comments

The seasons of Montana

Season: Spring
On the calendar: March 20 - June 20
Celebrated by: Everyone
Description: The season found between the Vernal Equinox and Summer Solstice.

Season: Summer
On the calendar: June 21 - September 22
Celebrated by: Everyone
Description: The season found between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox.

Season: Autumn (Fall)
On the calendar: September 23 - December 21
Celebrated by: Everyone
Description: The season found between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice.

Season: Winter
On the calendar: December 22 - March 19
Celebrated by: Everyone
Description: The season found between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.

Season: Spring (Alternate I, also known as "best kept secret")
On the calendar: Late April through early June.
Celebrated by: Native Montanans
Description: The weather is fine and fair with a chance of rain. The landscape turns many wonderful shades of green. Daytime temperatures rise into the 50's and 60's prompting many locals to wear lighter cooler clothing and roll the windows down while driving. Gardening is a popular pastime.

Season: Spring (Alternate II, also known as "Not yet Summer".)
On the calendar: May and June
Celebrated by: Vacationers, tourists, first time visitors to Montana.
Description: While most southern states and many other regions of the country are enjoying warm summer like conditions, visitors to Montana are shocked to discover that Montana is not yet ready for them. Temperatures are still cool, mountain passes are still choked with snow, and tourist attractions and gift shops have not yet opened for business. Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park are poor vacation choices because roads are still closed and most attractions and campgrounds are under snow.

Season: Summer (Alternate I)
On the calendar: June through August
Celebrated by: Native Montanans
Description: The period when things get uncomfortably hot and dry in Montana.

Season: Summer (Alternate II, also known as "July and August".)
On the calendar: July and August
Celebrated by: Seasonal Montanans and vacationers.
Description: The only time of year when Montana is warm enough to tolerate.

Season: Winter (Alternate I, also know as "The real best kept secret".)
On the calendar: November through March
Celebrated by: Native Montanans
Description: The vacationers and seasonal residents have all fled to warmer climates leaving us with some peace and quiet to enjoy the frosty white beauty of the wonderful big sky country.

Season: Winter (Alternate II)
On the calendar: October through May
Celebrated by: Seasonal Montanans, curmudgeons, and those unfortunately trapped here.
Description: It is cold, dark, wet and miserable. The thermometer stays close to zero. You hardly ever see the sun. Shoveling snow is a wretched pain in the ass. And even on the best of days when the roads are plowed it is still treacherous and you take your life into your own hands trying to go anywhere. This state is unfit for human habitation.

Season: Hunting season
On the calendar: Varies. Typically September through November.
Celebrated by: Hunters.
Description: Rich hunters do it for sport, poor hunters do it for food. A good time to clean up your guns, buy some ammo, put on that orange vest and go tromping though the woods. Nothing satisfies like the kick of that rifle.

Season: Fishing season
On the calendar: Varies.
Celebrated by: Fishermen.
Description: Potentially a year-round season here in Montana. Fly fishing in the spring and summer, ice fishing in the winter. Anytime can be a good time to drop a line in the water. Many fishers tend to have personal seasons to match their own style such as ice fishing in the winter or only dropping a line on the hot lazy days of summer.

Season: Ski season
On the calendar: December through March
Celebrated by: Skiers
Description: Looked forward to by cross country, downhill and snowboarders alike. The snow is finally here.

Season: Rafting season
On the calendar: April through July
Celebrated by: Boaters and water lovers
Description: The rivers are high from spring runoff. The nice weather is finally here. Kayaks, canoes and rafts can be found drifting lazy rivers or charging through white water.

Season: Road Construction
On the calendar: Varies. Typically April through November
Celebrated by: Drivers
Description: Traveling from city to city is a necessity for many. Beware, the road crews are out in force. Be prepared for slowdowns, stopping and waiting, flaggers and lead vehicles, potholes, tar, dust and chipped windshields. To avoid futility many Montanans will put off washing their cars or repairing the cracked windshield until after Road Construction season is over.

Season: Tourist season
On the calendar: July and August
Celebrated by: Vacationers, hotel owners, shopkeepers.
Description: Time for sharing the unrivaled beauty of Montana with those not fortunate enough to live here. RV's will congest our roadways, cries of "Are we there yet? I gotta pee!" will rise from back seats everywhere. Tourists season comes to an abrupt end when schools resume session and families stop traveling.

Season: Mosquito season
On the calendar: Varies. Typically spring and early summer.
Celebrated by: Backpackers, hikers, campers, fishemen and outdoorsmen.
Description: Many northern states try to claim the mosquito as the state bird. Alaska and Minnesota appear to have particularly brutal flocks of them. Montana is also a contender on the 'worst mosquitoes anywhere' roster. Mosquito season is celebrated with stinging, itching, welts, deet, citronella and lots of slapping and clapping.

Season: Forest Fire season
On the calendar: July through September
Celebrated by: Campers, backpackers, firefighters and anyone living close to trees.
Description: Hot and dry weather combined with lightning strikes or idiots with matches can create havoc. Homes endangered, air thick with smoke, travel plans changed, vacationers and their money fleeing the state.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:31 AM 1 comments

Talking politics

Dad:

Burns is doing a good job of getting himself unelected.

Me:

Yeah, no one wants to vote for a crook.

MM:

Hold on now, be careful in how you say things. Is he really a crook? If you don't have evidence you are opening yourself up to liable and slander issues.

Dad:

His connections to Abramoff are pretty well documented. He is probably a crook.

MM:

But has he been indicted? The key word there is "probably". In these discussions it is important to stick to the facts.

Me:

Well, he has associations with known crooks. That's a fact.

Dad:

And he is currently under investigation for his involvement with Abramoff. That's a fact.

Me:

So if it smells like a rat and feels like a rat I am comfortable calling it a rat.

Dad:

And his voting record favors insurance companies and big business more than my needs. He is not representing his constituent Montanans like he is supposed to.

MM:

Yes, that's a fact too, but that's not my point. In the political structure we live under it is often important to work with people you do not like and do not agree with to reach your own goals. It does not help to alienate the people that can help you. When you go around making blanket generalizations without the backing of facts you lose the moral high ground. When you go around calling someone a crook and they do not have an indictment you are positioning yourself as prejudiced and biased and you will find it harder to find support you may need later. You end up arguing emotionally and about the would haves or should haves instead of dealing with the reality of right now.

Dad:

So am I not supposed to be mad at Burns because he used his office in ways that hurt me and other Montanans? That he has done things that likely make him a crook?

Me:

Can't we assume he is a crook from the circumstantial evidence?

MM:

It's okay to think what you will. And certainly vote accordingly. Just be careful in how you express it is all I am saying. Always stick to the facts and you will not give anyone reason to be prejudiced against you.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:31 AM 10 comments

Scobel is in Montana

Robert Scobel is in Montana. He is a Microsoft employee and evangelist, popular A-list tech blogger. Spokesperson for a great many things internet, blog and Microsoft related. He is also here under unfortunate circumstances. His mother has been hospitalized due to a stroke and his visit has not necessarily been pleasant. Check his blog for the details, he is being quite candid.

Scobel has made some interesting observations on Montana life during his time here. He is learning that Montanans define community a little differently than is done in Redmond Washington. He has correctly identified the rural link for the power behind Microsoft and Google and the whole wide internet. He is finding a new take on his tech focus from "outside the Silicon Valley or Puget Sound bubbles."

Mr. Scobel, I am sorry for the circumstances of your visit. The very idea of spending mothers day with your mom in the hospital is heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing your story so well.

It pleases me that you have found some positive things in your visit to Montana. You have mentioned the community and scenery and a new viewpoint from small town America.

So, I've been thinking about what it'll take to get these folks to try something new. Hey, the iPod still hasn't gotten here, so don't even ask about podcasting, RSS, or tagging. Interestingly enough, blogging has been heard about here. One older lady who visited my mom saw that I was blogging and she said "oh, blogs are the things that's keeping the media honest."

We do have iPod's here. We also have internet, blogging, RSS and tagging. If you look closely you will find plenty of URL's and the internet is very much a part of our lives and businesses. We know about the highly wired and connected lifestyle and we have chosen to live differently. Every Montanan I know has spent time in big cities and elsewhere in the world and they bring back with them technical skills, wisdom and tools for a variety of tasks. I myself am a former web developer, programmer and all around geek.

Try thinking a little farther outside the bubble. We do not live like you are accustomed to in Silicon Valley and it's not because we have not tried anything new. Small town middle America has simply prioritized differently. We do use the tools you make in Redmond, but life for most of us does not revolve around these tools like you are accustomed to with your peers. It is not a matter of making us try something new. It will not improve our lives to make podcasting a higher priority. Although I for one would enjoy that Wifi network you suggest. Keep in mind that we have unique problems here and new ways of doing things can sometimes make life more difficult for us.

I'm glad you came to visit Robert. I am glad you were able to spend time with your family and to see some good things here. I hope you will be able to take a little piece of Montana style back to Microsoft with you. If you ever need to get out of your bubble again I can suggest some very pleasant places in Montana where you will not be troubled with computers, E-Mail, blogs, podcasts, cell phones or even electricity.

My sincere and heartfelt best wishes for you and your family.

Montana Jones

Addendum:

Hey Montana bloggers, who wants to go to dinner with Mr. Scobel? Unfortunately I am in the wrong part of the state or I would take up his invitation in a heartbeat. Anyone near Bozeman or Livingston feel up to organizing a MT blogger bash?

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:47 AM 1 comments

Talking shop to family

Mom:

So do you have all your employees?

Me:

Yeah, hiring is done. All the staff is in place.

Mom:

And how about the office? Any news there?

Me:

I just heard from L_ today. That property is in the works and it looks like it will be ready by June.

Mom:

Cool.

Me:

Yeah, all the big things are in place now, all that is left are the million little details. Touch base with the suppliers, get the employee paperwork ready and choke on another $800 for fire extinguishers.

MM:

Heh, listen to you.

Me:

Huh?

MM:

You sound like a business person. It's funny.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 9:26 AM 0 comments

What do most people do?

Caller:

Do most people spend one night or two?

Another caller:

Which airport do most people arrive at?

Yet another caller:

Where do most people go?

Still another caller:

Do most people stay at the same hotel and then backtrack a lot? What do most people do?

I hate that question.

I sit on a tourism related 800 number all day. The John Does of the world somehow find my number and call it. What I do usually has no relation to what they want, but hey, it's a free call. I am not qualified to be their vacation planner but I do my best. I try to be friendly. Being a good ambassador of Montana can only help my own business in the long run. But I hate that question. It comes up a lot.

Listen up dear tourist, most Montana vacationers have different travel plans than you do. They come from different places, they visit for different reasons and they stay for different lengths of time. What do most people do? They do things a little bit differently than you should do it. They have more time or money or ambition. They probably do things that would not fit your idea of what a good time is. I think you should make a plan that fits your interests, itinerary and budget. Don't try to follow the herd. You are an individual, start acting like it.

Okay Jones, don't be mean.

I know what they are really asking. They are unfamiliar with the local lay of the land and they need a recommendation. Should they fly into Missoula or Great Falls? Can they see everything they want to see from a central location or should they reserve multiple hotels? What are some nice attractions to check out? What is the best way to get from A to B? These are all fair questions for people unfamiliar but wanting to vacation here. I do my best to help them. But sheesh, why do they have to ask about "most people"?

The very phrasing of the question speaks a lot about them. Look at the difference between:

• "What is a good way to get from A to B?"

• "How do most people get from A to B?"

The first shows decisiveness. It says, "I want to be at B. I need some direction for getting there." The second says, "I don't like thinking for myself. Doing what everyone else is doing is safe. Please herd me along like a sheep."

I guess in the end it does not matter if I am serving men or sheep. Pays the same either way. I just don't like knowing how many sheep people there are in the world.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 4:30 PM 0 comments

Mothers Day

P_:

And don't forget about Mothers Day?

Me:

Uh, Oh. When is that? Is that this month?

L_:

It's the 14th. That's, uh, that's this Sunday.

Me:

Oooh. Glad you reminded me. It's safe to forget Fathers Day, but Mothers Day, not so much.

L_:

Yeah. Fathers Day you can get away with "Hey dad, Happy Fathers Day, here's a beer." On Mothers Day you need to do something a little more special.

Me:

Well I was planning on visiting this weekend anyway. Major M is in the state.

L_:

Good deal. You are all set then.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:44 AM 0 comments

Pet Peeve

My current supermarket pet peeve. That little section of the store they put aside for natural and organic products. If I had my way they would put all that stuff out on the shelves right next to the processed and homogenized crap. I hate making my walkabout through the store picking products and comparing labels and ending up at the front checkout only to realize that, hey, I could have gotten the good yogurt if I had just been in a different part of the store. And no, I am not about to take another circuit of the store just to replace a few things.

I'm not one of those hippie freaks that will only buy organic. My diet includes a goodly share of processed food stuffs. Don't get me started on my rant about the Good Food Store in Missoula. But if the organic and natural stuff were on the shelf right next to the equivalent processed products I would buy more of them. They taste good. And I wouldn't have to go out of my way to the organic section of the store to comparison shop labels.

The real reason those products are segregated; Garden of Eatin' Pico de Gallo corn chips. Oh yeah. If those bad daddies were on the shelf right next to the Doritos the poor Frito Lay company would have trouble selling product. I think the whole organic segregation thing is just a big conspiracy to keep people from learning about Pico de Gallo chips. Sorry Doritos, I will never have to wipe nacho cheesy finger grime on my pants again. I know where the good stuff is.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:29 AM 0 comments

Visiting Helena

Me:

What building is that?

Girl:

That's the civic center. They put on plays and concerts and stuff there.

Me:

And they have a giant phallus on the roof.

Girl:

[Laughs] Yeah, Helena has a lot of phallic symbols.

Me:

Is that because of the capitol and all the state politics going on here?

Girl:

Could be. The one that bugs me the most is this one for Carroll College up here on the corner.

Me:

I see what you mean. It looks like the civic center wins for length but Carroll College has better girth.

Girl:

A phallus for every taste.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 7:42 AM 5 comments

Sedition

Governor Brian Schweitzer posthumously pardons Montanans found guilty of sedition.

This story has made the news rounds already, I'm sure most Montanans have already seen it. All the same I think it is important to point out anyway.

Great Falls Tribune
Billings Gazette
CNN

And while you are clicking links you should take a moment to glance over some of the work that made this possible. http://www.seditionproject.net/ I recommend the photo gallery if you need a quick synopsis.

I am going to make the assumption here that the pardons and the research that led to them can speak for themselves. I hope I don't need to expound on the historical lesson and how it relates to topics such as wartime politics, terrorism, the patriot act, secret wiretapping, free speech, and blogging.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 9:46 AM 0 comments

Help Wanted

As seen on a drive through the Flathead Valley.

It's the large number of signs that caught my attention. They're everywhere. I perceive this as an anecdotal surge in hiring. Most of these signs are service industry jobs and I suspect it is because it is springtime and the Flathead is getting ready for tourist season. However there is a nagging part of me that wants to say this relates to the 11.7% increase in Flathead Valley population.

Perhaps we can measure this another way.

The Daily Interlake is listing 134 help wanted ads.

The Whitefish Pilot is listing 192.

I found 236 at the Helena IR.

And the Bozeman Daily Chronicle is listing 856

According to the State of Montana website Montana currently has a 4.3% unemployment rate and Flathead county has a 5.0% unemployment rate.

No, I still don't know what it means.

Perhaps I'm trying to read too much into some roadside advertising but this looks to me like a piece to a larger puzzle that I do not yet understand.

Posted by: Montana Jones / 9:42 PM 5 comments