From the monthly archives:

August 2006

Why I Love Downtown Idaho Falls

by JeremyPlo August 31, 2006

There is a particular something, though it’s unclear what that something is, about downtown Idaho Falls that seems very appealing to me. Whether it’s wasting time playing guitar or bickering about music history (who did the most to damage music, Nirvana or Limp Bizkit!?) at Ziel Company, enjoying a slice of warm bread from [...]

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What do you want to read about Idaho Falls?

by Joe Vandal August 31, 2006

Some of the best topics written here have been ones suggested by commenters and chatbox-ers.
Encouraging locals to write about local issues involves three things: providing anonymity (check), teaching the technology (1st of 3 installments published yesterday), and thinking up ideas to write about (this is the place).
I have had numerous local topics suggested to [...]

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How to Write Articles: Beginner Information

by Joe Vandal August 30, 2006

This online community is designed to be a reflection of our Idaho Falls community. We get lots of discussion activity via the chatbox and comment responses to articles. This series will help more people make the transition from reacting to published stories to writing stories themselves.
The more people who write about local topics, the [...]

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A Night for the Invisible Children

by JeremyPlo August 29, 2006

What began as a trip through war-torn regions of Africa has become a national movement, and now that movement is coming to Idaho Falls.
Invisible Children chronicles the travels and experiences of three college-age men as they discover the unbelievable, heartbreaking truth about the children of Uganda. Stolen from their beds, forced into armies, forced [...]

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Is global warming a real threat or not?

by Joe Vandal August 29, 2006

I have been a global warming believer since I first heard the concept so many years ago. My talents are not scientifically-oriented, so I’ve always relied on what I heard about the trends and the causes and never questioned it.
That changed about six months ago when I read Michael Crichton’s State of Fear [...]

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Top 10 Best Photo Opportunities for Idaho Falls Visitors

by Joe Vandal August 28, 2006

Tourists have to cram the most enjoyment into never-enough vacation time. How about we suggest the best places they can get great pictures in Idaho Falls and surrounding areas? When taking these pictures I always like to take a couple with family and a couple of the scene itself.

My top ten photo opportunities would include:

Taylor [...]

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Taylor Crossing Unveils Largest Bronze Eagles

by Joe Vandal August 27, 2006

I enjoyed the (hopefully first annual?) Taylor Crossing Summer Days yesterday.
It was nice that they not only did an public art enveiling, they also had a full day’s free festivities for the public. My kid really enjoyed the blow-up castles and activity centers.
The girl that sang the star-spangled banner was one of the [...]

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Jawbreaker tells why we missed Osama Bin Laden

by Joe Vandal August 26, 2006

I read the title, “Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA’s Key Field Commander” and I hoped I would find out what really happened at Tora Bora. I heard we almost had Osama Bin Laden and somehow it got botched.
This book was written by the guy who [...]

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School funding irony?

by Joe Vandal August 25, 2006

Idaho Falls Republican Jack Barraclough, Chairman of the House Education Committee, was quoted in today’s Post Register as complaining,

“What does the Legislature need to do to prove to education that we’re going to provide funding? It’s frustrating to be told that week after week, year after year, that they don’t trust us.”
Mary Haley asks [...]

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You can edit your comments now

by Joe Vandal August 24, 2006

You kvetched and I heard. Comments are now editable by users for five minutes after you submit them.
After you submit your comment, you’ll notice a red bar and a countdown timer by your comment, indicating the number of seconds remaining in your ‘edit window’. This gives you time to quickly review your grammar, spelling, [...]

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1% Public Art Mandate

by Joe Vandal August 24, 2006

I propose Idaho Falls acknowledge’s Rexburg’s wisdom and enact a requirement that all new commercial and residential subdivisions either dedicate 1% of their cost to public art on their property or contribute the same 1% to a fund which would then commission larger public art works in parks and greenbelt areas.

The reason I suggest [...]

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The Evolution of Video Advertising

by Joe Vandal August 23, 2006

I’m surprised to see some businesses still using traditional 30-second television advertisements. My surprise is due to ever-decreasing television viewership pitted against the inexplicably ever-increasing television advertising costs.

Even when television is watched anymore, DVR/Tivo technologies allow viewers to easily skip past the commercials. My household has two televisions and a DVR on each set; [...]

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Restaurants can mitigate waits with cellphones

by Joe Vandal August 22, 2006

One reason I like Texas Roadhouse is the call-ahead feature. On a busy night you can call them 20 minutes ahead of arriving, and when you arrive you only have to wait a couple minutes. It’s nice to waltz into a restaurant and be seated seemingly ahead of those suckers waiting in the lobby for [...]

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Qwest is slowest broadband provider

by Joe Vandal August 21, 2006

PC Magazine recently released rankings on broadband ISP speeds. I generally disregard these rankings because they usually rely on user opinions of their speeds. My ears perked up when I heard on the Cranky Geeks podcast how this ranking was based on actual calculated data.
PC Mag offered a small utility called SurfSpeed that calculated [...]

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The Risch Wash?

by Joe Vandal August 21, 2006

Interim Governor Jim Risch is convening an unusual special session of our Idaho legislature this Friday, August 25th. The sole purpose is to pass the tax plan that he could not muster the votes for during regular session. Apparently he has worked over enough legislators to change their votes and ensure passage.
Apparently the plan is [...]

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Bruce Willis for Idaho Governor?

by Joe Vandal August 20, 2006

Minnesota was the first to elect a celebrity governor with Jesse Ventura. California was second with Arnold Swarzenegger. I propose Idaho become third to elect a celebrity governor, and Bruce Willis is our man.

I still don’t know if I’ll vote for Butch Otter or Jerry Brady. I was dissappointed by Otter’s seemingly uninformed support of [...]

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Net Crimes and Misdemeanors

by Joe Vandal August 19, 2006

Net Crimes and Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering web spammers, stalkers, and con artists, by J.A. Hitchcock. At our Idaho Falls library you can find this book under 364.168 HIT in the adult non-fiction section (It’s on the new releases shelves right now).
The first chapter described how the author got involved with the subject. She started getting [...]

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Colonoscopy Comments

by Joe Vandal August 18, 2006

A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his (predominately male) patients while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1. “Take it easy, Doc. You’re boldly going where no man has gone before!”
2. “Find Amelia Earhart yet?”
3. “Can you hear me NOW?”
4. “Are we there yet?! Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
5. [...]

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The mosquitos are out for blood…

by Skitterkat August 17, 2006

Okay, so it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything but random thoughts in the chatbox, but this issue has me pretty fired up, so here goes. (While I realize not all mosquitos carry West Nile, I currently don’t know of any way to differentiate between “the good” and “the bad”. So to “the good” [...]

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Free Yellow Bikes

by Joe Vandal August 16, 2006

I recall in 1997 a group in Idaho Falls introduced a free bicycle program.
The idea was if you saw one, you were free to ride around Idaho Falls on it, and you just left it unlocked for someone else to pick up and use also. I recall local bike shops were willing to do [...]

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Yes you can almost always get satellite installed

by Joe Vandal August 16, 2006

Feel stuck with cable because your homeowner’s covenants prevent you from getting a satellite dish? Mad at your landlord who won’t allow you to get a satellite dish?
It turns out that homeowner’s covenants that forbid you from installing satellite dishes are almost always illegal. Read the FCC rules and tell that homeowner’s association control freak [...]

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Fire Congress: Digg.com model for true democracy

by Joe Vandal August 15, 2006

I sighed at a recent Republican political convention as I watched them take 30 minutes to vote among only 500 people. Each county and district leader first polled the people in their sections, then each county and district leader stood in alpha-numeric order to tell the convention speaker the votes they counted. It was very [...]

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OutFOXed Debate: Is FOX News a Republican Fraud?

by Joe Vandal August 14, 2006

Let me reaffirm my personal political neutrality once again. I believe power corrupts everyone no matter what party affiliation.
This article and subsequent discussion is about OutFOXed, a documentary that alleges FOX News is basically a front for the Republican party, and their claim of ‘fair and balanced’ coverage is a sham.
I would love to review [...]

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Mobile Movies in Idaho Falls

by Joe Vandal August 14, 2006

Hey kids, here’s a great project for your last week of summer: outfit your rig to broadcast mobile movies.
The trend is called MobMovs (Mobile Movies, get it?) It’s essentially an automobile with a DVD player, projector, and short-range FM transmitter.
First, read this guy’s advice (he originated the idea) on tips and tricks and do’s and [...]

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Sunday Mourning

by Joe Vandal August 13, 2006

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense.
Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to [...]

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