Kajeet: Rick Bolander Funds Cell Phone Service For Kids To Battle Sexting

If you're a parent who's wondered how to virtually corral the chance that your kids will use their cell phone for something called "sexting," you've probably pounded your head in frustration. Well, there's an answer: Kajeet, a cell phone service "for kids" located in Maryland, but funded by Silicon Valley investor Rick Bolander, who serves as managing partner.

Bolander brought his experience in "working with digital content providers and service providers" to bear in his role in helping to form Kajeet.

Why do I mention Rick Bolander first and before its CEO? Because under his direction, Kajeet has raised $82 million. Bolander is not just managing director at Kajeet, he's also "Rick Bolander co - founder of Gabriel Venture Partners."

Bolander, together with Kajeet CEO Daniel Neal, are creating a new company that's right for the times. A period where it seems that digital communications have advanced so rapidly, the common and at times hair-raising practices of teens seem to have gone unchecked.

Kajeet's focus has been on combating Sexting. In a February blog post, Kajeet's Carol Politi wrote this five-step plan for "preventing sexting," the title of the blog post:

1. Establish a contract with your child before they use their phone. Work with your child to mutually establish guidelines for appropriate and safe use.

2. Decide proactively which services are allowed. It is possible, for example, to initially restrict or shut off picture messaging and let your child learn the power of instant communications first through text messaging. It might be helpful to review some of the news on Sexting to discuss why this might have happened and what could have been done differently.

3. Get agreement on the when the phone should be used. Decide whether it should be physically shut off during school and at night or whether a TimeManager block should be set up during these hours to prevent distractions. Should the phone be on or off during homework hours?

4. Decide what kind of periodic usage reviews should be held. Should you review and discuss usage once per week? Once per month? Will you and your child review the actual messages and pictures on the phone from time to time?

5. Finally, review how much the service costs, mutually agree on a budget for the phone, and decide who pays for what.

Visit the Kajeet site here: http://www.kajeet.com/4u/index.html.

Stay tuned.

Platinum : All Women Dance Group At Oakland Pride, This Sunday

Platinum is an Oakland dance group like no other. It's the all-women dance group product of Oakland's New Style Motherlode, and includes a friend of my from my Skyline High School days, Amy Larsen.

If that name rings a bell, it's because she was in this space earlier just one year ago, talking about the then-upcoming New Year's Eve performance called "Heat."

Since that time, Platinum has performed at a number of venues around Oakland and the East Bay. As Amy explains "The group grew out of a performance workshop program initiated by NSM (New Style Motherlode) about 5 years ago. We dance to stay in shape and because we love it. However we PERFORM to INSPIRE our audiences to do what they love to do, no matter the age, no matter the experience level, just get out there and dance!

And dance is what this group of hotties does. Platinum's next stop: Oakland Pride, this Sunday, September 4th. The women will perform at the Uptown Stage at 1:20 PM.

Here's video from Platinum's recent performance at The Temescal Street Festival::

Platinum - Prince Mix - Temescal 2011 from Terry Smith on Vimeo.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Pride Seeks Volunteers For Sunday September 4th

UPDATE: My name is Jonathan Arnold and I am the Volunteer Coordinator for Oakland Pride. We are looking for volunteers in all areas of the festival, and our greatest need now is for volunteers for our entry gates, our volunteer check-in area, and recycling technicians. Anyone who wants to volunteer for Oakland Pride should contact us directly at volunteer@oaklandpride.org for information on attending a volunteer orientation and to sign up for a volunteer shift.

Oakland Pride is this Sunday, September 4th at 19th and Franklin in downtown Oakland's Uptown District, and this email from Sean Sullivan presents it well, puts out a call for volunteers, and has email contacts for your use:

Friends,

After an amazing and impressive 1st year that drew over 50,000 to downtown Oakland, Oakland LGBT Pride is back this September 4th.

I might have told you about the fundraiser Richard Fuentes and I hosted with the Mayor and Councilmember Kaplan a few weeks ago. It was a tremendous success that raised over $16,000 for Oakland Pride with folks like Iris Outdoor, PG&E, the Milo Group & many others stepping in to help.

However, it isn't money alone that is needed.
Once again, Pride needs your volunteer help.
In the spirit of the Get Diggy With It Campaign, All Hands on Deck!
If you have some time, they have a task for you.

Please contact my friend Matthew Riutta who is coordinating the stage at this year's Pride.mriutta@yahoo.com

Here are some details:

Oakland Pride, Sunday September 4...volunteers needed anywhere from 9am to 6:30pm.
Doors open at 11am (and stage starts!). <

> Jennifer Holliday (the original Dreamgirl!), LaToya London (American Idol and Broadway/R/B singer), Thelma Houston (disco diva), local r/b artist Martin Luther, LA's Sy Smith, DJ David Harness, DJ Olga T, the People's Party DJs, and DJ Pornstar are performing/spinning.

We need folks to greet performers, stagehands, check VIP folks at the gate and ensure folks don't come backstage, hospitality/directing folks toward green rooms/food/stage, and more.

The headliners go on from 2pm to 6pm. But again, stage starts at 11am..

We'd so appreciate your assistance - Tshirts, stage passes, food, and of course free admission are included for your generous time.

AND if the pride stage doesn't float your boat, we need help in other volunteer areas and stages (uptown/women's, but of course, I would love for you to be at the main stage!). Bring a friend (s) with you - all the more fun!

Please reach out to do what you can to make Oakland a more inclusive and fun place to live, work and play.

In Community,

Sean

Stay tuned.

San Francisco News: BART Protest, Sherriff's Race, Transbay Terminal

A lot of catching up to do on San Francisco News, so lets get started. 

There's yet another protest planned to disrupt the evening commute, this one set for 5 PM outside of Civic Center BART Station in San Francisco.  The group Anonymous has reportedly said it would have a protest each week, and to point not just to the shut down of cell phone service that got Anonymous so riled up (this blogger too), but the recent police action that took the life of Charles Blair Hill in July. 

On the matter of BART protests, I had a long talk with a good friend of mine who's become a fixture in Bay Area Law Enforcement (and I will not name).  His take was predictably, well, him, but representative of how some of his collegues think.  "BART has handled this poorly," he said. "What they should do, it turn us (police) lose and arrest people who protest down there.  If they get out of line, and don't follow orders, that's it.  Billy club them." 

He and I totally disagree about the cell phone issue, where I still hold that BART's action was illegal - in violation of the Communications Act of 1934.  After a time, my friend caved in and agreed that there was a problem with what BART did.  His point is that BART police are there to protect the people who ride the trains.  The protestors have no right to interrupt their ability to get home.

My friend's correct. 

While I don't advocate violent police action, the bottom line is that if a police officer asks you to do something, you do it.  In this case, if that means leave the station, get out.  The police officer should only give such an order where appropriate - in the BART Station.  The protestors are doing what I got after BART for doing when it shut off cell phone service: harming the lives of innocent people. 

My Friend On Charles Blair Hill

I also mentioned that  Charles Blair Hill, the man who was gunned down on the Civic Center BART platform on July 2nd, and the action of which caused this blogger to make this video:



should have been tasered.  My friend offered a view that I'm used to, but may shock some of you.  He said "That guy had a knife.  If you raise a knife that's a threat.  If we (police) ask you to drop the knife, and you don't, you will get shot."  Mr. Hill not only did not drop the knife, he threw it at the officer. 

My point to my friend was that Hill missed the officer by a country mile.  But that's not important at all.  Two things are: Hill <i>threw the knife</i> at the BART Police Officer, and before that, failed to follow a direct order.  

Also, my friend informs that Charles Blair Hill was a jail veteran who "Would get into jail, be released after a time, then return on some other offense."  In short a revolving door, one that stopped for Hill in July. 

I don't care if Hill was down on his luck, no person deserves to be shot.  That's my take. But, the lesson here is to just make life simple: follow the orders of a cop.  Period. 

Ross Mirkarimi For SF Sheriff, But...

Oh, and while we're talking about law enforcement, let's take a brief look at the race for San Francisco Sheriff.  My friend says that many San Francisco police types favor Capt. Paul Miyamoto over my favorite San Francisco District Five Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.  And Chris Cunnie, the former San Francisco Police Officers Association President entered the race about two months ago, and this month, got the endorsement of former San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong. 

My friend says that, for some of his SF law enforcement folks, Ross can be "polarizing," but he failed to explain the nature of this split.  But, from the macro view, and just being honest, considering the negative view that many in the San Francisco Bay Area have of the police, Ross may be in the best position to secure the role of San Francisco Sheriff.   Why?  Because Ross is more politician than cop, by far - and thus in the best position to be a buffer between the police and the community.

Heck, Ross has so many endorsements that matter, including from the current man Michael Hennessey, it may be none of the talk about the race has any real value at all.   Still, you've got to play to win the game - that means voters have to vote. 

The bottom line is that Ross is the perfect person to be Sheriff at this time.  And while that doesn't mean I'm not going to interview the other candidates - that's not the way I work - that's the way I call it. 

The Transbay Construction

If you're driving along, around the construction for the Transbay Terminal take note that Beale Street between Mission and Howard will is at one lane "until further notice" I'm told. It seems there was a damaged a 16 inch high pressure gas pipe on Beale Street caused by contractors working for the Transbay Transit Center Program on August 24th.  Crews are working hard to bring conditions back to normal. 

Stay tuned. 

On The Oakland Tribune, Mayor Quan, and BART's Linton Johnson

My celebration of the suddenly free "Oakland Tribune" from the hands of the Bay Area New Group, or BANG, both ruffled feathers and gained supporters. One email I received went something like this:

I just read your blog about the Tribune. I was all set to dis-agree with Yipee. However, if the OAKLAND TRIBUNE can be resurrected on line I am enthused. Newspapers are what in my lifetime, helped give a city identity. In my opinion, the fact local media is SF centric has exaggerated the negatives of Oakland, but there has not been a positive voice out there. I have long promoted the idea of the A's the Warriors, the Raider's and possibly Cal going partners on a sports and news station that is Oakland centric....Let me know how I might be a help in this.

The others I will not bother with, except to say that no one, least of all me, celebrates anyone losing a job. But my issue in all this is that we're in a time of digital media, yet what I see are media people consistently hoping for a return to the old way, where an employer just provided a check and everything was cool.

But, and I've said this again and again, that day has given away to one where you are the producer of and revenue generator from the media you produce. The math associated with doing that do not support hyper-local media approaches. A mix of news is required.

The best news of all, is that a new media business can be built and established almost for free.

BANG is laying off 48 people in its newsrooms. That's 48 of the San Francisco Bay Area's best media people. And 48 people that, if they're willing to follow the physical economics of churning out 5 blog posts per day, thus producing 240 new posts daily, and look at a potential daily unique visitor count average of 5,000 unique visitors per blog post each day, then they could realize a potential online ad revenue throw off of $360,000 daily, or about $7,500 per person.

While that's not a lot, let's consider. Suppose that was supported by local ad and "special coverage" sales? Where 100 businesses pay something like $2,500 per month each, or about $250,000 each month? That's another $5,208 per person, not a lot, but these figures are massively low given what some make today.

(And don't forget, BANG has to pay unemployment insurance, too.)

And it's just not smart to do all corporate stuff that without an investor, so let's say the new media company raised $2 million. So now, we have $41,666 per person. (And remember The Bay Citizen started with $5 million.)

The new firm doesn't really need an office, and is better off picking a local cafe to meet at daily.

All of this is a quick presentation, but certainly doable. The revenue numbers aren't huge, but to be frank, considering the large number of ways to make a new media buck online, they're extremely conservative.

My point is, a lot of time has been spent crying and lamenting what BANG did to the Oakland Tribune. But a lot of time should be spent talking about how to make the new Oakland Tribune - an arc of sorts, saving 48 people and allowing them to continue to do what they love.

Like covering the press conference of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan today.

On that, the press conference that started at 11 AM today was either cancelled, or between the City of Oakland and the media assembled, there's not one Twitter Tweet about it, to this point in time (12:56 PM PST). So for bloggers outside of Oakland, who may be interested in what's happening and what Mayor Quan's got to say, we've got to wait in an old media way.

And the Mayor complains about the media.

What Mayor Quan and her good folks have to understand is how to use social media to "push" out their news. The staff's caught up in a way of looking at media that's 15 years in the past. I should be able to see a live stream of the press conference, and it can be done for free and with no fuss using existing equipment right there at Oakland's KTOP. In fact, if I were there, I'd set one up in just five minutes.

Why can't Oakland do that? Moreover, why doesn't the media there ask for it? I sent an email to one of the Oakland PIO's I know and the person said they would look into it.

Okie.

Maybe they're too busy thinking about BART's Linton Johnson.

It seems that someone posted naked pictures of the BART Spokesperson online - I've not seen them and don't want to see them. I know there are many who are red-faced, blue-faced, and just plain angry with Linton for the way he handles a number of BART problems during what has to have been the most controversial two week period in its history.

But putting out naked photos of him online is just plain awful, and classless and hurtful. Linton may have his faults in the PR area, but overall he's very good at what he does, and he's not done a single thing to deserve such treatment. Linton's taking orders from management - he's not in charge of BART. And even if he were, it would not call for such treatment.

But the question is how the heck did such photos make it online? Who did Linton... Well, never mind....

Linton, hang in there, man.

Stay tuned.

The Oakland Tribune is Gone? Yipee!!!

When I got the news that the Oakland Tribune was no more, I could not understand why the reaction expressed above just came out, as "Yipee," but it did. Spontaneously.

Then I had to admit that it was because, from my perspective, the real Oakland Tribune died a long time ago. It passed on the moment we lost people like Chauncey Bailey, my friend who was always on top of what was going on in the Oakland flatlands, and who was wrongly, awfully, gunned down.

The Oakland Tribune passed when my good friends Monte Poole and Dave Newhouse's work started showing up in the Mercury News. It was no more when legendary Columnist Peggy Stinnett, who really took time to sit down over lunch with me and just talk about Oakland, passed away. Really miss her, I do.

The Oakland Tribune was gone when it left the Tribune Tower at 13th and Broadway in Downtown Oakland.

The Oakland Tribune I knew had a "pro-Oakland" sprit. It was the paper that was brought back to life by the late Bob Maynard, who worked to make it The Soul Of Oakland.

For me, the Oakland Tribune was people like Chris Lavin, who probably thinks no one remembers that she was a kick-ass editor. In fact, my "Yipee!!" came right from the headline she used to celebrate the return of the Raiders to Oakland in 1995. That was classic Chris. I know you're still around, and you may not believe it, but your work still matters.

The Oakland Tribune that I read was torn away, slowly. Page, after page. Dean Singleton and his Bay Area News Group that is "BANG" in name only, sucked the life out of the Oakland Tribune, and now, fittingly, took it's name away.

What I'm happy about is that the soul of the Oakland Tribune is finally, totally, free to be resurrected in some way. And in a digital media World, that "way" can take on a lot of forms.

Like, say, the OaklandTribuneblog.com

Or Oakland Tribune Blog on Twitter.

It's easy to do - so much so in fact, that I just did it and own both the domain and Twitter account shown above - but sadly shows just how BANG doesn't care enough about Oakland to preserve The Oakland Tribune.

The Oakland Tribune is gone and out of the clutches of BANG? In the words of Chris Lavin, YIPEE!!!!

Stay tuned.

An Oakland Crime, Video On 3-Year Old Carlos Nava's Murder Must Be Seen

The Oakland murder of 3-year-old Oaklander Carlos Nava sparked an outpouring of emotion appropriate to the tragedy (Take guns off Oakand's streets!). But only to a certain point. There are graphic videos of the scene just after he was hit by a stray bullet allegedly produced by 26-year old Lawrence Curtis Denard (who did not enter a plea in court). Oakland videos that have not seen the light of media coverage, even by blogs - until now. For that, you can credit Oaklander Max Allstadt for doing what he does best: righteously bugging the crap out of people he thinks can make a difference if they take action. This blogger's going to skip what would be an off-the-track explanation of how that happened, and just say "Max. You are correct." At first, I objected to his plea because I felt it was sensationalizing a tragedy. But then, I realized I was going against my own belief that digital media is a mirror of our times, and to not show something is to deny others a view of what our society actually looks like. In 2009, and in a search for videos on what was happening in Oakland, I ran across a video by East Oakland 106 on YouTube, about two young brothers who stopped, then assaulted a white man in a wheel chair. A man they claimed was running drugs in their neighborhood. I posted a blog featuring the video because I felt it was important to show people what was actually happening in Oakland. (The video has been removed from YouTube.)My blog posts appear in several places, from Zennie62.com to Oakland Focus and SFGate.com. For the SFGate.com post, I took the rare action of calling the editor to advocate for the blog's posting above the website "fold," where I knew the comment exchange would be more meaningful than the insults and general bottom-feeding crap that City Brights bloggers deal with below the fold. The editor agreed, and what resulted was a massive comment debate on what was seen. This time, I don't expect such placement at SFGate.com, and I don't advocate for it - I just blog. My target is placement on search in Oakand-related matters and in Google News, and my views on how SFGate.com should be ran are massively different that what is done as of this writing. (Let's just say that if I were in charge, the site's revenue generation would be much better by a factor of 10, but they're too afraid of what I would do.)But I digress. This is the video aftermath of the murder of Carlos Nava, or one of them:This is the vigil for Carlos:Apparently the video was made just after the shooting, and before anyone realized that little Carlos was struck. The point is, if we don't want to see videos of this, then we have to act to change the Oakland society around us. Personally, I don't think that having more police is the only answer. We also have to address the lack of jobs and poor economic development in the area. Stay tuned.

City Of Oakland Should Fire Schools Police Chief

UPDATE: Chief Pete Sarna quit before he could be fired.

According to Matier and Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland, California School Police Chief Pete Sarna went out on a charity golf tournament, and, well this is how Matier and Ross explain it:

The district is looking into accusations that the chief, who is white, let loose July 18 with a half-hour tirade loaded with racist epithets against his two sergeants and a police driver - who apparently was called to the event at the Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland so no one would be driving drunk.

Sarna allegedly told the African American sergeant, who lives in Orinda, that "the only good n- is a dead n- and they should hang you in the town square to prevent any other n- from coming in the area."

That's racist. Pure and simple. Racist. (As a note, we're talking about the Oakland Public School's Police Chief, not the Oakland Police. But to someone like Oakland Tribune Photographer Jane Tyska, that didn't matter when she was assaulted by then Oakland Schools Police Art Michel, who also retired.)

Now, the claim is that Pete Sarna's wife is black, which might cause a reader to think "Well, it's OK he made those statements." It's not. In fact, it's worse. Let me explain why.

For some reason, some men think that because their wife is of another color, they can make racist comments about the "group" the wife represents. The classic example of this was the former KPIX Channel Five Sports Anchor who used to hold court at the old King's X Bar on 51st and Pleasant Valley, and launch into a drunken tirade about Vietnamese using a term I will not print.

Then the anchor, who passed away some time ago, would say "It's OK. My wife's Vietnamese." He'd do this until someone asked him to stop. But the tirade made us wonder if he beat his wife. Just saying.

I'm not accusing Chief Sarna of such an act, but I am saying a person in that situation leaves themselves open to massive questions and inquiry about their character. Especially an Oakland Police Officer who is allowed to carry a gun in a city with a significant black population.

If that is how Oakland School's Police Chief Sarna thinks about African Americans, take his gun and his badge away from him, now! Oakland does not need any police officer who might be the next Johannes Mehserle.

I've often advocated for a two-years-on, two-years-off policy, where a police officer works for two years, then take a two-year sabbatical. The idea is to get the officer away from that negative social bubble, and out into the World, to see how people really are.

My contention is that being a police officer can screw up the mind of one who may already be unstable. Being assigned to low-income areas or around people most likely to commit crimes can only form a negative stereotype about the people who look a certain way, if they happen to be different from the police officer.

Better to give the officer a break, unless they turn out like Chief Sarna.

The way Chief Sarna talks, how do you know he's not holding a fantasy of shooting black men in Oakland? Arguably, given that he has a gun, he would be the one most likely to go off and do that, even if he stops himself in the process of shooting.

Dangerous. Just dangerous.

I know my take is a hard line, but better we let go of Pete Sarna than have him involved in some kind of accidental shooting or questionable conduct against an Oaklander - especially against one who's black.

Stay tuned.

MTC Should Stay In Oakland

As the San Francisco Bay Area talks about the economy, jobs, and spending, or more to the point wasteful spending, here we have the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the MTC, in the Oakland office that's just a brisk 70-foot walk from Lake Merritt BART, moving out of that cool building on 8th and Oak Street, and spending, according to Oakland Local , $150 Million to build a new place - in San Francisco. Oh, and a place that's so far from BART, compared to its current home, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission might as well change its name to the Boonies Transportation Commission. What does the MTC have against Oakland? Drive-by shootings and robberies happen in San Francisco, too. You just don't read about them because the local media's brainwashed against reporting them. There is much to like about Oakland, not to mention the fact its more racially diverse than San Francisco, and finally has a decent set of restaurants and bars to frequent. All of this, and more, including three sports teams, where San Francisco, technically, has one, and the MTC wants to leave Oakland. Please, save the $150 Million for a more worthy objective than something so self-centered as this one. Stay tuned.

BART Cell Phone Interruption: FCC Past Shows Act Was Not Legal

Yesterday's action where the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area Rapid System took the step of interrupting or blocking cell phone service has increased from the first blog post on this, the one in this space, charging that BART's act was not legal, to a much Twitter-tweeted matter where BART's action was consistently said not to be legal. While BART charges that the action was legal, but has not given concrete evidence to support the claim as of this writing (and this blogger has called BART), a look at recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) actions shows that BART's response to the feared protest was not illegal.According to sources, BART's complaint about what this blogger installed rests on the idea that it did not use a cell phone jamming device, but simply turned off the cell phone antenna system serving certain San Francisco BART stations. That was not my point. My point is that, according to a number of online sources, BART's attempt to interrupt cell phone service is not legal, not that the method that was used was illegal. The FCC is not concerned with method, so much as intent and result of an action like the one BART took.For example, Ibtimes reports that on February 26, 2011 in Silver Springs, Maryland:

The FCC is investigating the possibility that a Verizon service blackout prevented subscribers from connecting 911 calls and reaching the local fire department. The inability to complete the calls may have resulted in the destruction of Maryland woman's house...Many residents of Maryland's Montgomery and Price George's counties experienced similar disruptions of service, and the FCC is attempting to figure out the cause.

Verizon did not respond to inquiries by the police in the area. But what this proves is the Federal Communications Commission does not give a pass to an organization responsible for a cell phone outage because it's a carrier, or because the organization didn't use a cell phone jamming system to interrupt service. The BART action also interrupted any 911 calls that may have been made from cell phones in that part of the BART System that was the focus of the cell phone antenna shut off. That act alone, given FCC history this year in the Maryland case, should trigger an inquiry into BART actions. The FCC and Network Outage"Network Outage" is one of the FCC's greatest concerns, and the agency "regulations require that the provider - usually the company to whom the customer pays - tell customers their service is going to go dark," according to the GTowntimes.com on December 16, 2010. In the matter investigated by GTowntimes.com last year, thousands of people in Georgetown County suffered what was called a blackout for both phone and Internet service. BART told SFAppeal that they had help from the carriers to execute the cell phone service interruption, but that public relations 'buck passing' may come back to haunt the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, because FCC rules read "You must notify your customers in writing as far in advance as possible if you are going to discontinue, reduce or impair domestic service for any reason," even for bankruptcy, which isn't the issue in the BART case. The bottom line is the rules placed in the Communications Act of 1934 are clear, and the FCC gives little "wiggle room" in the enforcement of the act. If you were a victim of the BART action and wish to file a complaint with the FCC, here's how you do it:

To file a complaint alerting the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, please visit www.fcc.gov/complaints or call 1-888-CALL-FCC.

Not Picking SidesAs I stated on the Rick Smith radio show based out of Pennsylvania this evening, I'm not a writer - activist, but a blogger - a video blogger. I'm not employed by the SF Chronicle or Hearst, and I don't pretend that the editors tell me what to cover. I have my own company - Zennie62Media. Moreover, I don't specifically side with the actions of the protesters just because I point to BART's mistakes and actions that seem to flout the law. Both BART and the protesters are wrong, and because their warring actions against each other have escalated to impact the lives of innocent people in the San Francisco Bay Area. This must stop. The protesters should file a lawsuit against BART, and raise money to start a political action committee, rather than stop train service and harm parents trying to get to their kids' babysitters. BART should not seek to block cell phone use for all because of the feared actions of the protesters and of an event that never happened. Both BART and the protest group are not winning allies one bit. What will happen, if this war goes on, is that nothing will really change, except now the FCC will eventually look at the BART action and render a decision. That's not a feather in the cap of the protesters. Indeed, it's really terrible this happened at all.What consistently goes through my mind is that BART never explained why its computer network went down on Tuesday, and that could have happened at the same moment on Thursday when BART threw the "kill switch" on cell phone service. Imagine being in the BART Tube when that happened, and an earthquake of 4 or larger hit, at that point in time. That's not a scenario BART wants to be unprepared for, yet unprepared for that possibility was what BART was on Thursday night. Stay tuned.

Bouncing In Boots For Your Booty

HI Your Fit Day Friends!



Hey! Do you still want to get that sexy summer bod?



Or, maybe you're on the rebound from a joint injury...



Or, maybe you're just looking for that cool piece of equipment that is super fun and will get you fit and lean in a short amount of time...



Or, you just like toys!



OK! So, remember I told you that I would find ways to work out to keep me in super duper shape before my pending hip surgery?



Well, I had this super idea that I could design running shoes with springs on the bottom that would take the impact off my joints and it would be less painful to walk and super fun to use, as well as keep my booty in shape. But then I said, "Hmm! Why invent the wheel when somebody else has done the work for me? Why not ask the Kangoo Jump people to help me?"



So that's what I did.



And I think these Boots were made for YOU!







Boots Not Just Made For Walking!



My first try with the Kangoo jumps was back in June. It had been raining the last couple weeks in May so I had to put trying the boots out on hold. But finally the clouds separated, and the sun shined through and I got off my ball ( I use a stability ball as my desk chair) and decided to hop down to the Lake. No, I hadn't put the boots on just yet. That was actually a pun. And since it takes too long to hobble on my hip, I got in my car and headed 4 blocks to Lake Merritt.

"Another Lake Merrit July Drama Sunset"



But something compelled me to take a detour and instead I drove over to the Piedmont High School track where there wouldn't be any stray ducks, dogs or pelicans underfoot; I could count on level ground; and there was no chance of bouncing into the lake...with the pelicans.

"Pelicans at Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA"



I'll tell you this: in retrospect, walking down the steps to the track in my Chaco sandals and getting onto the track was actually the hardest part. Because once I put on the Kangoo Jumps it was shear joy to 'walk' and 'run' and just be able to amble pain free.



Check These Out



All Kangoos are a cool, ninja, space age ski/roller blade-like boot design with cambered curved springs on the bottom. And they're reasonably light, and lighter than roller blades-well, at least my roller blades-with just enough weight to give you the right amount of stability and a good workout. I mean, you're still lifting boots with every hop!

"My feet in Kangoo Jumps"



Getting into them was pretty quick and easy. Adjusting the cleats no problem. Figuring out the pressure to secure them was hit or miss and I probably will need a few more romps before they feel comfortable around the shin.



The track wasn't crowed but just carrying the boots in my hand drew attention to me. I wasn't going to complain about that. I'm a fitness diva, remember!



In fact, I'm hoping that I can get more people involved in using these boots and coming to my bootcamps. (HA! HA! Boot Camps! Kangoo Style!)



Once I had them securely on my feet I was like the Jolly Green Giant. I was amazed at how stable they were. Everyone kept asking me if I felt like I would topple over or twist my ankle. Absolutely NOT. Have you ever felt like you would fall over in ski boots? (assuming the ski is not attached to the boot and you're not ripping down a mountain). There is absolutely no inclination to fall over. And that is a good thing! seeing that I'm only planning on having ONE surgery.



Giving It a Go On My Kangoo Jumps



Because this was my first adventure out in my Kangoos I didn't want to over do it. They say to hop around, up and down, break them in. So I tried that, but was pretty tentative, babying my hip. But I soon realized that the boots actually roll you forward and the impact isn't directly on your hip. So I became more bold, and set off down the track... at a slow run. And behold, I was bouncing with no burn in my joint.



The track is 1/4 mile around. After three times around-running, walking, hopping, and repeating that-I was already working up a sweat and I could feel my running muscles in my legs-the ones I hadn't worked in that running way since December '10- start to come alive. I felt alive! And free........



I spent 15 minutes Kangooing and by the time I stopped I felt like I had instead sprinted up a mountain. It was that good of a workout and my legs and glutes felt pumped. All without any pain in my hip joint. In fact, my hip feels better in these boots running and walking than I do ambling, or more like hobbling right now, on my own two feet, whether in my shoes or Vibram 5 Fingers.



Here's a video of me in San Francisco bouncing in my boots:







Putting The Spring Back Into Your Life



The Kangoo Jumps are designed to take up to 80% of the impact off your joints. So for those of you who have osteoarthritis in your hips or knees (I'm not sure about back pain but you can check out their website) and have had to give up your favorite sport or activity you may have a second chance. So I highly recommend these Kangoo Jumps for anyone who has had to give up their favorite impact activity, things like hiking, trekking, and even martial arts, due to joint pain in their knees and hips and possibly back. Because you can do all of these sports in Kangoo Boots. Obviously do your research and consult with your doctor first. I certainly did before I started using them.



In fact, I contacted one of the leading hip surgeons in the world, Dr. Koen De Smet, to get his opinion and approval. And after he reviewed the website he said that they were suitable for what I wanted to do, and as long as it I didn't hurt I was fine.



Boots for your Booty



I have to admit I was getting a bit soft in the inner thigh and butt since I wasn't able to run in the hills or do any of the sprint training that I love to do for the past several months. But in the past month I have seen a noticeable difference in the tone of my inner thighs, quads and butt and the Kangoo jumps have miraculously toned up my legs in just this short amount of time.



And here's a bonus for those of you who have some extra weight to lose: They say that you burn twice as many calories using the Kangoo Boots and that 30 minutes in your Kangoos is like an hour in your normal training shoes. That's not hard to believe. After bouncing around San Francisco and Lake Merritt for just 30 minutes a pop these past few weeks it felt like I had done a six mile trail run in the Berkeley hills.



So, not only are these a great workout, burn calories, tone up your booty, and are a hoot to use, they are a time saver as well. What's not to like about them!



What's Next ?





So, my game plan is to Kangoo Jump for the next two months which will take me up to the week that I leave for overseas for my hip surgery. There will be no more Kangoo jumping for at least 10 months after surgery. But I'll have other exercises that I will be doing to keep our butts in shape, literally!



So be sure to follow my blog, and watch the videos, for more cool stuff that will keep your legs toned, your booty nice and round, and your body fit and lean.



Stay tuned for more Kangoo Jump videos so you can get the 'JUMP on fitness!'



Your Trainer, and Nutrition and Wellness Coach,



DebbyK!



Make it Your Fit Day...

Oakland 3-Year Boy Old Killed - Take Guns From Oakland Youth

Time to take guns away from Oakland's youth.



3-year-old Carlos Fernando Nava died as the result of a stray bullet fired from the gun of one Oakland Gang Member to another. The flood of news about this tragedy just plain ruined my Wednesday. Oakland murders are not something this blogger likes to mention, but this was the exception. We really have to take guns out of the Oakland equation.



What I could not stop thinking about was that 10-year-old boy of about four years ago (from memory), who was also hit by a "stray" bullet near 51st and Pleasant Valley, miles and Worlds away from East Oakland, but still in Oakland.



How many Oaklanders young and old, must this happen to before we actually do something to stop this? Who's next? Me? You? Who's next?



Oakland must take action. And I hope those who were against Oakland's Gang Injunction Program re-think their position after this incident.



We have to take Guns off Oakland's streets and out of the hand's of Oakland's youth.



Stay tuned.

Safeway Rockridge Oakland - Why We Must Support The New Proposal

The controversial proposal to build a new, expanded Safeway Rockridge Oakland complex has gone on for something like five years and three major design changes. The last time I weighed in on this design, it was because the product was awful. This time that's changed, as has the economic climate.

I talked to Ken Lowney, of Lowney and Associates Architects about what I think is an exciting new design that adds up to be a net plus for Rockridge. It also has the added advantage of having been created by a person in Mr. Lowney who actually lives in Rockridge. Because of that, "it's a very personal project for me," he says.

As the video shows, the new Safeway Rockridge Oakland is a far cry from the original plan. It actually fits and conforms to its surroundings, and provides a gift in the form of a triangular over-look cafe on the corner of Claremont and College Avenue.

But that's design; my background is in city planning, and my specialization is in urban economic development. The fact is that, in a Bay Area with double-digit unemployment in many counties, and hovering between 15 percent and 17 percent in Oakland, we need to build this complex.

It's not 2008 any more. We're in the middle of a massive Worldwide credit crunch that not only shows no signs of loosening up, it's buttressed by a terrible virus of anti-spending rhetoric, the timing of which is so bad it may plunge this economy into recession.

It's time to change our views and make sure that we in Oakland have as much new business in the economic pipeline as possible.

Please support this project.