CMJ 2007

Times Square, originally uploaded by catdirtrecords.

Well the fire sure pre-empted my planned "CMJ week." I guess it is time to return to normalcy. This last week certainly changed my perspective on my trip to new york, in a truly obvious way.

New York was a blast, though I was more concerned with having a good vacation then making it a networking success. People were like "why go to cmj" and i'm like "because its very easy to network in the music industry" but I managed to not really even contact the two people with whom I could have met up with. Ha-ha I'm sooooo bad. But I guess I wanted it to be more of a vacation, and man was it!

I was pooped even before the fire hit home on sunday evening. So I'm going to move forward with the CMJ material. I'll monitor the fire zombie/witch & "free stuff for fire victims". I don't want to TOUCH the whole Ramona situation. Journalists- you may contact me for quotations on the matter.

Shelter in Place Map

Shelter in Place Map, originally uploaded by catdirtrecords.

Hey how cool is the shelter in place concept? For real. Look at the map.

Go Back to Ramona!

Thanks Diane Jacob! You are a hero!

Rancho Bernardo Local Assistance Center: Index of Services

Our in laws checked out the Rancho Bernardo Local Assistance Center. They recommend it highly! They said they were able to get alot of stuff taken care of- sdg&e, fema, the county, lots of cheerful help and the following vendors:

councilmember brian mainschein
sd city development services/building permits
SD Environemental Services
Time Warner Cable
SD Fire & Rescue
Cox Cable
SD Water & Sewer
County District Attorney
Copier
SDDPC- San Diego Data Processing Corporation
SDPD Crisis Intervention
Cedar Fire Survivors
County Mental Health Services
CA State Contracor License Board
AT&T
CA State Employment Development Dept.
State Board of Equalifzation/CA Franchis Tax Board
CA Dept of Insurance
State of CA Supplemental Grant Program
CA OES Office Environmental Services
Fleet and Family Support Center
SDG&E
SBA- Small Business Association
County of Poway
City Escondido
FEMA
US Postal Service
Social Security
Internal Revenue Service
American Red Cross
County Dept. of Planning & Land Use
County Health & Humas Services
Aging & Independence Services
County Nursing
County Dept. of Housing & Community Dev.
County Dept. of Animal Services
County Treasurer & Tax Collector
County Dept. of Agriculture Weights & Measures
County of San Diego Dept. of Environmental Health
County of SD Building Dept.
SBA- Small Business Association

Cat Dirt Sez Cited by Le Monde: Twice!?!

Check out this cool article in a little periodical I like to call Le Monde. Here is the link. I'm quoted twice- whoop.

Quotation One:

Le 24 octobre, Paul Kedrosky indique que cinq cent treize mille habitants de San Diego ont reçu l'ordre d'évacuer. "Une des plus importantes évacuations dans l'histoire récente des Etats-Unis", estime-t-il. Sur Cat Dirt Sez, l'auteur ironise sur les propos du présentateur de la chaîne NBC qui a annoncé à l'antenne qu'il s'agissait du plus grand déplacement de population depuis la guerre civile. "Tant pis pour toi, Katrina ! Nous sommes les premiers !" s'exclame-t-il.

Translation: October 24, Paul Kedrosky indicates that five hundred and thirteen thousand inhabitants of San Diego received the order to evacuate. "One of the most important evacuations in the recent history of the United States", estimates it. About Cat Dirt Sez, the author is ironical about the remarks of the presenter of the NBC chain which announced with the antenna that it acted of the greatest displacement of population since the civil war. "So much worse for you, Katrina! We are the first!" exclaim it.

Quotation two:

Cat Dirt parodie, lui, les propos tenus lors d'une conférence de presse par des responsables officiels. "Nous devons nous féliciter de faire un travail aussi fantastique. Et qu'en est-il du gouvernement fédéral ? Nous les remercions pour... avoir dit... qu'ils sont là pour nous."


Translation two:

Cat Dirt parodies, him, the remarks made at the time of a press conference by official persons in charge. "We must be pleased to do such a fantastic work. And what happenhappen does federal government? We thank them for... for having said... that they are there for us."


Can I get a better translation on that? Holla CDW.

Insurance Companies... Ready?

So let's say you've suffered significant fire damage. A couple of years ago, we had a fire- my fault, thank you! We had a substantial claim. Just a bathroom really, but this was during the housing building boom. You have noticed your insurance company of your loss. Now you will be handled by an "adjuster"- someone different from your agent. Your adjuster's job is to "process your claim" and that is basically to cut the check, but- and this is the key- they are tasked with minimizing your payment. Too true!

This is not good/bad just capitalist fact. Your claim is a liability to the earnings of the company and the loss needs to be minimized! Your adjuster is probably a guy, and he does this for a living, and he's pretty good at what he's paid to do (minmize claim amounts while keeping the insuree from suing or getting too much money) but he's like a lower level professional. Dude doesn't have an MBA. He isn''t an attorney, he's stretched a little thin because he has to cover a large territory. This is probably a high profile assignment for him.

So how do you handle this situation-- first of all, this is a 250K+ business deal involving a regulated contract and it has a high emotional content (hello?). Ask yourself- if you are a professional who just lost a home- are you ready to negogiate a 250K business deal with someone who is paid to minimize your payment amount? I imagine the settlment amount must be millions for some people in rancho santa fe, poway, rancho bernardo(?).

And then there is the federal paperwork- probably something you can do when you "get around to it." What are the feds even going to do? Give you a cot?: Your better off saving receipts for the insurance check.

Now, the personal property check PRECEDES the construction check, so you want to be efficient in your cataloguing of your stuff- they push to get an inventory right away. Contrary to popular believe you do not "need receipts" but be prepared to document claims using legal documents like "affidavit's" and "declarations." As far as the personal property goes, they are looking to liquidate the claim. They don't give a fuck, but they are on alert for signs of fraud, so you can't be an idiot. Don't back down though! Look for on line prices for things you want to replace- espech if you don''t have a receipt.

Talk to an attorney- don't hire an attorney- you probably don't need one- but talk to an attorney- a friend hopefully. Your home insurance claim for your TORCHED home is a BIG DEAL financially speaking, but the good news is that you can manipulate the process to your benefit if you are intelligent.

San Diego Fire Photos

Marcel breuer Wasily chair at the in-laws, originally uploaded by catdirtrecords.

Is it a death or is it a rebirth? I suppose fire desctruction works both ways as a metaphor. We put up the photos, I suppose the blog is more "personal" at this moment, but that's why there are limited photos on this page. That, after all, is what flickr excels at. Unfortunately for me, I have to go visit a client in jail now... Good times! Hopefully the United States Attorney's Office is open? But I don't think so.

San Diego Fire Live Blog: Press Conference - 1,000 homes lost, 300,000 people evacuated, Conserve Energy!

Catdirt was required to hit the road today to drive to El Centro for work, so we'll try our best to hold down the blogging fort while hoping for his safe return. it's not clear if he'll go since the 8 east appears to cut through a new evacuation area

7:30 am Press conference this morning Ron Roberts et al. request that we conserve electricity because a major transmission line in the southeast is down.

Ron Roberts - 1,000 homes burned, 300,000 people have been evacuated.

Tracy Jarman: East of 805 south of alta road and north of border is voluntary evacuations but be ready to leave at a moments notice. Area west of I-5 is of concern, as well as the threat that fire will move south and then back east which is why people are not being let back into the area.

Ron Roberts - The Fallbrook Rice fire did not have major losses compared to what were anticipatring. The Harris fire however, is on the move, there are approx. 2,000 houses threatened by the Harris fire. Aircraft/aerial assault to begin today after morning winds die down. "Today is a pivotal day."

Shelter in place incident in Deerhorn - 20-30 residents stayed behind then changed their mind, injuries. 20 residents who stayed behind total suffered burns.

10 major fires in So. Cal. right now, all with "urban interface" in San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties, resources allocated between these fires.

2 type 1 helicopters on the harris fire.
4 type 1 helicopters ordered from the military on sunday, status of arrival unknown.
2 navy type 1 helicopters used yesterday

Finally, A San Diego Fire Map Worth Something

Bloggers can do what local network news can't do- check out the link for the first decent map I've seen so far... Be warned- the map generated basically focuses on escondido- Lomas Serenas folks take note.

Rich Knitter MODIS/GOOGLE EARTH San Diego Fire Map

Carlsbad Residents Issued "voluntary" Evacuation Notice; Del Mar Not at All?

Just got an email from Alex Swim Party that residents of Carlsbad are being issued a "voluntary" evacuation notice. A commenter also said that they were in Del Mar and no order had been given. People are being sent north on the five freeway up to san clemente via the marine base.

"The mass movement of people is pressing all our resources."

Fire Chief Jarman is calling this "the worst fire in California history." She also describes it as a "challenge". Why not call it an "opportunity" while we are euphimising (sp?)?

Correction: I 15 is STILL CLOSED!!

The TV just corrected the press conference- I 15 is STILL CLOSED, not open as reported. TC also says large apartment and condos are BURNING TO THE GROUND in Rancho Bernardo