danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

First of all, Happy New Year.

I have lived in Gainesville for more than a decade, and in that time I have grown accustomed to temperatures I did not ever experience when living in St. Petersburg.  Granted, Gainesville is less than two hundred miles north of St. Pete, but, still, that makes a substantial difference.  Winter nights in Gainesville regularly dip into the thirties, and once a year, perhaps, we have a day that doesn’t reach fifty degrees.  But, no matter what, after a day or two the temperatures always creep back up, and afternoon highs once again hover around seventy degrees.

In my entire life in Florida I have never experienced a cold spell like this.  It isn’t merely the extreme cold, although it is definitely that: we have had days recently that barely climbed above forty degrees.  Rather, what is so distressing to everyone is the seemingly endless nature of this cold.  For about two weeks now it has been freezing cold.  At home, our heater is running nearly non-stop to keep the house at a comfortable temperature.  I dread turning on the faucet because the water is so frigid it almost feels worse than scalding.  Meanwhile, going outside for anything–even just to run to the car–is a miserable and dreaded chore.  I haven’t dared to ride my bike in almost a week.  School started last Tuesday, and everyone you see on campus is wearing a hooded sweatshirt with his hands tucked into his pockets.

Fortunately, Miriam bought me a windbreaker for Christmas, which has absolutely paid for itself and more over the last two weeks.  Coupled with a pair of gloves my mother sent me, I have managed to protect my skin from frostbite (possibly an exaggeration).

The forecast for tonight is eighteen degrees, and there is no word yet when the cold will end.  Some say Friday, but I feel it may never be warm again.

Filed under: Gainesville, Meteorology on January 10th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

The Fourth of July is probably the best holiday of the year.  It isn’t religious, but most people still get the day off (yesterday for me, since the holiday falls on a Saturday this year).  The holiday commemorates something truly special–the ratification of the Declaration of Independence–and every American can enjoy it.  (I love Thanksgiving almost as much, but that holiday can be especially hard on the poor and friendless.)

Plus, Independence Day is celebrated with fireworks.

Fireworks are awesome, and all year I look forward to seeing them.  In Gainesville, a large fireworks display has generally been held on July 3 at Flavet Field on the University of Florida campus.  I don’t know what the rationale was for scheduling the event the day before the actual national holiday.  My theory has always been that it would allow Gainesvillians to enjoy two days of fireworks if they chose to drive to Jacksonville, St. Augustine or Ocala.  WUFT, where I work, has been the host and sponsor of the Fanfares and Fireworks display for decades.  Last year, however, budget cuts nearly caused the event to be canceled.  An anonymous donor ponied up $30,000, though, and everyone rejoiced.  We went with a bunch of friends and set up a blanket, listened to the Gainesville Community Band, and had a great time.  This year, however, no savior stepped forward, and so, for the first time since I’ve lived here, there were no fireworks in Gainesville on July 3.  (That’s not completely true: there were no firesworks in 1998, but that was because there was a county-wide burn ban, due to extensive wildfires.)  Everyone was disappointed.

Last year, on Independence Day, we all spent the evening eating dinner, lighting firecrackers in the street, and playing Grand Theft Auto.  Today, we went to a pool party at Demonomia‘s apartment, and later we’ll drive up to “downtown beautiful Alachua”, where there will be a fireworks display.  Dick Cavett has a fine nostalgic tribute to fireworks in the New York Times today.  Read it, and have a happy Independence Day.

God bless America.

Filed under: Gainesville, Special Occasions on July 4th, 2009 | No Comments »

I follow a number of photographers’ streams on Flickr, the website where I keep tens of thousands of my own photographs.  I have met none of these photographers in person, though one, whose Flickr name is Gato Ranch, lives in north central Florida.  She has many pictures of nature and bands.

On her stream today, Gato Ranch, whose real name is Jana, posted something that I found disturbing.  The Gainesville Sun has taken one of her photographs, and, without her permission, posted it on their webpage in conjunction with a story.  Worse still, in spite of the fact that the stolen picture had her real name and a copyright symbol, the Sun gave her no credit, and posted a link for readers to buy the image.  From them!  It is the most blatant copyright violation I’ve ever seen.

Jana tells me that she notified the Gainesville Sun of their violation, but this isn’t the first time they have done this to her, so one must assume that this is par for the course with them.  She doesn’t believe that they copied the picture from Flickr, but from MySpace, which explains the low resolution.

I’ve never thought much of the Gainesville Sun.  In fact, I have a hate-hate relationship with that paper.  They publish unsolicited Craigslist-style rants in their letters section, which I feel violates all standards of journalism; they have been adversarial in their coverage of WUFT-FM, where I work; they have misquoted me in articles, and acted offended when I alerted them to that fact.  They are simply a bad newspaper.  Now I see they are also criminals.

Shame on you, Gainesville Sun.

So, I have a polite request for anyone who reads the Sun online:  if you ever see any photographs you recognize as mine, please let me know.  If it can happen to Jana, it can happen to me.

Filed under: Gainesville, Photography, Rantings on June 17th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Earlier this year, I purchased a Fender ’65 Reissue Twin Reverb guitar amplifier from my local independent music store, Lipham’s.  I not only got a great deal, but I was glad to support local business, particularly one that’s been around for so long.  I’m not saying that Lipham Music is the best store in history–their selection is fairly modest, and they seem to be stocking many more Chinese-made instruments these days–but they do sell Fender and Martin guitars, and, what’s more, they’ve outlast most of the other shops in town.

Last night, after dinner, Miriam and I went somewhere I haven’t been in a long, long time: Best Buy.  I used to go there a lot in days of yore, especially back when HDTV was just being introduced, and I was eager to see what it looked like.  Their service was always lousy (not as lousy as Circuit City, of course), and just about everything I ever bought there broke within two years, but they’ve always had a lot of stock.  Last night, I discovered a new department in an area where CRT televisions were once displayed.  Best Buy now sells musical instruments.  They have drums, keyboards, DJ equipment, and guitars, including Fender and Gibson.

A number of things bother me about this.  First, I don’t think their staff cares about these instruments, since I found every guitar grossly out of tune.  Second, their prices were absurd.  The same Twin Reverb I bought for $899 at Lipham’s was marked $1,699 at Best Buy.  Maybe that’s what they’re going for elsewhere, but it just seemed extreme to me.  Finally, I think musical instruments are just Best Buy’s latest passing fancy.  That’s what troubles me most.  In a worst-case scenario, here’s what I imagine occurring:

1. Lipham Music loses sales to Best Buy.  There are only so many new electric guitars and amplifiers–particularly higher-end models–that will sell each week in Gainesville.  If Lipham loses those sales, it could hurt them significantly.  Lipham’s closes.
2. Musical instruments make up so little of Best Buy’s bottom line that they give up on the endeavor.
3. Gainesville has no music store.  Since Best Buy’s decision is made at the national level, they don’t care that Gainesville is left with nothing.

I don’t know how likely this scenario is.  I may just be paranoid.  But I know that I’d never get a deal on an amp at Best Buy like I did at Lipham’s, and Best Buy doesn’t have the tradition of heritage that Lipham’s does.  After all, a little more than ten years ago, the Best Buy was a Montgomery Ward.  Lipham’s has been in business for fifty years.  But these are hard times.

I hope they can weather the storm.

Filed under: Gainesville, Rantings, Technology on May 30th, 2009 | No Comments »

This week, the New York Times published a front-page article about a town in Germany that was designed to be car-free.  Today, the Times‘s website asks a panel of experts what it would take to make Americans less dependent on the automobile.

I regularly drive an automobile, and I wouldn’t want to not have access to one, since it is a big drag to go grocery shopping without a car.  I ride my bicycle all over, but, due to weight considerations, I can only buy a few things from the store at a time, and ice cream can not be one of them.  Plus, without a car, I couldn’t go anywhere more than about ten miles distant and expect to make it home.

But, the cost of owning a car is high.  I estimate that we spend around $500 each month on car-related expenses, from the loan itself to gas, insurance, and parking fees.  In just a few months the car will be paid off, and that will be a relief.  But I do sometimes dream of living in a place where I can easily catch a bus–or, better yet, a trolley–and get to work quickly.  On the plus side, Gainesville is generally bicycle friendly, if you live in the right place.  But far too many people have moved out to developments west of the Interstate, where the buses don’t go, and the traffic and distance preclude cycling.  I have, by and large, designed a lifestyle that doesn’t require I go anywhere near those places, and I would never live out that way again.  It isn’t worth spending an hour in the car twice a day.

I only live three and a half miles from campus, but I dream of living even closer.  If we can one day buy a house in the Duckpond, I can foresee doing away with the car for many of the things we now use it.  I would still bike to work, but we could walk to the restaurants we love, and the park, and the library and so on.

Don’t get me wrong; the car is great when you want to go on a trip, or it’s raining or cold, or you need to get to work without being drenched in sweat.  But I’d love to see more communities planned around public transportation and with bicyclists in mind.  It would be better for everyone.

Filed under: Gainesville, Transportation on May 13th, 2009 | No Comments »