Mike Grillo

A new site is born

2010-10-24T21:04:00.002-04:00

Check it out at www.michaelgrillo.com. I doubt I'll post on this blog anymore, but I will regularly maintain my new web home.

Bet You Already Knew This

2009-05-02T09:30:00.004-04:00

With that out of the way, a brief update:

I finished my graduate project. 7,500 words on sustainable energy and the economic recovery. I'll post it with the new site that will replace this blog.
I'm scheduled to move all of my possessions to downtown Hartford at the end of the month. Now that I'm no longer a student after May 10, I'll spend a lot more time doing things like traveling, pimping, you know, the basics.
I'm getting the music bug again (not to be confused with Swine Flu). I'm still rusty as sin at the trumpet, but I got it cleaned and fixed at Joe Riffs in Middletown (nice work for a great price, btw). Now that I'm free, I'm down for just about any musical endeavor that may come my way.

Happy Early Birthday Mom and Aunt Michele (May 4-they're twins). And away I go.

It's Been Such A Long Time...

2009-04-05T10:09:00.003-04:00

...I think I should be posting.

More often, that is. Actually, my plan is to find any free hosting that I can and redirect my URLs to that. I'm going to brand myself with a one-stop Michael Grillo hub, complete with credentials, clips and the works. Don't hold your breath: the next few months will be busy for sure.

This month, I'm wrapping up my formal education with my Master's project for Quinnipiac. I'm offering a glimpse at the sustainable energy industry's successes and pitfalls in the midst of the global recession. I've toured the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center at UConn and witnessed the installation of a geothermal well system in Fairfield, and there's a bunch of other journalistic juicy bits on the way as well.

Next month, I will graduate, then I will pack up my meager belongings in my hot car and move 30 minutes north to Hartford. Don't know where in Hartford yet, but I'm trying to snag a one-bedroom on the 7th floor overlooking Main Street.

And the shameless plug for my professional work...

Are you depressed over the UConn Men's loss to MSU last night in the Final Four? Too bad! Drown your sorrows at courant.com/huskies with last night's recap, game photos, box score and the world's most comprehensive UConn sports coverage. courant.com/huskies: it's a Web site. Online.

The Best UConn Coverage In The World

2009-03-06T10:52:00.005-05:00

A lot of people, including yours truly, worked extra-hard to create this wonderful hub for UConn sports news and information. Reward our efforts and proliferate this masterpiece throughout the Internet, if you don't mind.

That's www.courant.com/huskies.

There's No "I" In PONT AC

2009-02-20T17:07:00.003-05:00

Some bad news in the automobile world...I'm missing a vowel on my awesome fuel-efficient, affordable, peppy American-assembled vehicle. If anyone has seen my missing "I" or knows where I can find a similar one, please reply to this post.

Headline Mirth (Oh, The Double Entendre)

2009-01-18T19:11:00.003-05:00

As an online producer, I often have to write headlines for stories or rewrite them to fit within a certain space. For better or worse, I write headlines pretty fast, often gleaning the key details from the first line of the story and posting in a matter of seconds.

Since most headlines I write are for breaking news stories, I try to stay to the point. I don't try to get cute and create a masterpiece. But I do screen my work for the oft-hilarious double entendre. ESPN.com posted a story about an NFL player asking his team to release him from his contract, and the headline came out like this (click to enlarge the image if you can't read it):

Since EPSN is the Worldwide Leader and one of my biggest time-consumers, I don't mean to make them look bad. I'm just the kind of person who laughs at these kinds of innuendo.

For more suggestive headlines, follow this hyperlink to Deadspin's post on suggestive sports headlines.

CL&P Follies

2009-01-14T18:39:00.003-05:00

I received my electric bill from Connecticut Light & Power, and they notified me of their rate increase. That's fine, but they waste a lot of paper doing so:

Imagine if they sent multiple fliers to all of their customers across the state. It's the little things the company can do that will save money for its customers.

Welcome Back America

2008-11-04T23:13:00.000-05:00

http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-sns-ap-election-rdp-sl,0,5708989.storylink

Lions, Huskies And Debates

2008-09-26T14:34:00.005-04:00

The freedom of Wikipedia and the persistence of cached material in Google's search results are two things that can bring a smile to my beautiful face. When someone with a sense of humor revises a Wikipedia entry--in this case, for the Detroit Lions football team--they can be removed immediately from their site. But Google's bots (or whatever the technical term is) pull a cached snapshot of those changes and displays them as a search result. Here is a screen grab of the gem:

Note the first entry, which refers to the Lions as "a cheerleading squad aspiring to become an American football team." Somewhere, James Lipton is giving his long-winded approval.

__________

UConn @ Louisville 2nite On ESPN2: The Huskies look to get their fifth win during their Big East opener.

Get your UConn football fix here please. I work hard to make these things look nice.

Look for a decent game from this Donald Brown character. He's supposedly the nation's leading rusher, but since he plays in the Big East, the ESPN guys couldn't care less.

__________

I'll keep the remote handy in order to maintain vigilance on the game and the DEBATE between the old guy and the idealistic guy.

I'm sure nobody will pick on John McC for attending the debate while the bailout boondoggle continues, despite suspending his campaign two days earlier.

And you will want to check this site, naturally, for anything debate-related: the print jockeys picked a bunch of smart people to give their two cents on the verbal fisticuffs (including the Hon. Richard Hanley from Quinnipiac, whose proudest accomplishments include being my adviser and grading my papers).

And On The Seventh Day ...

2008-09-14T19:14:00.002-04:00

God said to Belichick ...

"Hey, I'm taking the afternoon off. Can you hold down the fort for me?"

Patriots 19, Jets 10

Cassel: Radiant, 0 INT
Favre: Redneck-ish, 1 INT

And as the classless Jets fans -- who had cheered Tom Brady's season-ending injury days before -- shouted their displeasure from the rafters, Belichick gave Mangini a quick handshake and said ...

"It is good."

______________________

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Keyshawn Johnson was the smartest analyst on television today. Only in America.

The Finger

2008-09-06T18:34:00.006-04:00

I spent last night at Grillo South (Beacon Falls) to watch and clean up after the two cats while my parents vacationed at Grillo North (Plymouth, N.H.). It was a nice break from a hectic week of 5 a.m. shifts and schoolwork. But the extra effort is worth it: I'm only 15 weeks and a thesis away from adding "M.S." at the end of my name in my email signatures (e.g. Michael L. Grillo, M.S.).

On my way back to Grillo East (my apartment in Middletown), a silver Scion sped by me as the rain fell and pulled in front of me. At the next light, I moved into the passing lane and pulled in front of the Scion after passing it at a reasonable speed.

The Scion then sped around me, and a minute later, a child wearing some sort of bandana around his head leaned out the passenger-side window, shouted at me and extended his middle finger in my direction. The child, no older than 16, had a menacing look on his face, and I flashed the highbeams to acknowledge his presence.

I normally have no hope for most teenage males because this is the way they generally act. Though I wasn't the most polite 16-year-old myself, I had enough manners to not act like such a clown in front of strangers.

This led me to think: why does anybody use their middle finger as an initial reaction to strangers? There's so much unjustified hate in the world, and it isn't right. What we need is...

Justified hate. If I hate someone because they hate me enough to flip me the bird for no reason, then that is perfectly alright. At least Jesus would say that, if he's as human as I believe him to be. So, with this logic, it will only be ok to attack Iran if they do something stupid to us first.

Just wait President Obama/McCain/Barr/Nader/Grillo: like Joe Biden, Iran can't keep its mouth shut forever.

Checking In

2008-09-01T20:34:00.003-04:00

I assume somebody must read this blog without my coercion, since I'm linked up and have a super-easy URL to remember.

It's September, and that means one more semester in the classroom, then a master's thesis?!? project?!?!?!? and I'm done with school forever, until someone pays me to go, but why start now cheapskates? My two closest friends and I had a sendoff to end all sendoffs a few weeks ago, as the images below will illustrate. One will be a yuppie elitist doctor of some sort, and the other is a brother (no rhyme intended) in Brooklyn with some Catholic dudes who seem very nice.

I've been at the Courant for almost six months now, and my cohorts are still impressed that I love my job. I do. It doesn't feel like work because I enjoy it so much, even the 5am shifts. Being surrounded by news makes me feel smarter, and the convention season has been nothing short of thrilling.

One of the most interesting parts of my job is monitoring the online discussions on our articles. I pray, and assume, that these people who post on our site are only a slim fraction of the general public because many of them are filled with so much blind hatred and inflated confidence from their anonymity. Witnessing their political discussions is like trying to push together two magnets that have conflicting poles.

Go ahead and grab a few magnets. Give it a shot and tell me I don't make sense.

I'm also on some sort of a health kick. This means I count calories religiously and make sure I consume a consistent amount in 4 or 5 smaller daily meals instead of 2 or 3 large ones. The best part about this plan is that if I fall short of the minimum caloric intake for the day, I can easily compensate by cracking open a Newcastle or two. I think I've lost about 7 pounds over the last eight days, so hopefully I'll be decent in a few more months.

You know, for the ladies. They deserve me.

Good night,

MLG

Seafood Dinner

2008-08-04T18:47:00.003-04:00

I'm short on words, so here's the story: I finished summer semester, Max moved back from Rhode Island, Jack was recently outed as a covert CIA operative, and the seafood came from Rhode Island as well.

I'll add pictures later because Blogger is not letting me add them now for some reason.

Yes Mom, I'm Still Alive

2008-06-06T10:51:00.016-04:00

Now that I have real food in the apartment, I tried my hand at a chicken/noodle stir fry Wednesday night. The results were as beautiful as they were delicious (very).

I began to fill out the cabinets and the fridge with the essentials, like shredded Parmesan cheese, green apple soda and banana pepper slices from Quiznos.

Also, I forgot to mention I have a balcony with a partial view of a baseball diamond and a full view of the public works facility.

Thomas Street, Middletown, CT

2008-06-06T10:33:00.008-04:00

It's been a week in my new place, and I almost have everything assembled and put away. It's a bit spacious, so I'll gradually fill in the empty areas with anything I can find on the street or Craigslist. Here's the grand tour, including "before and after" shots:

Living Room:

Kitchen:

Bathroom:

Bedroom:

Join Bode....By Not Joining Bode

2008-03-21T21:58:00.004-04:00

I'm sticking up for Bode: there, I said it.

By being talented, innovative, independent and--most of all--stubborn, Bode Miller shows us what it's truly like to be American.

For those who aren't aware, Miller won the skiing World Cup overall title last week, as he did in 2005, and has arguably been the most prominent athlete in his sport for the last several years. But for all his accolades, he has been criticized for his seemingly lackadaisical attitude during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Last year, Miller broke away from the U.S. ski team to form his own, a one-man endeavor called "Team America." According to reports, there were tensions on both sides: Miller's actions off the slopes and his desire to have his own road accommodations clashed with the team mentality, while Miller felt he wasn't getting the proper diet and regimen for a professional skier. (http://www.denverpost.com/outdoors/ci_7566271)

Miller did what he thought was best for himself as an athlete, and once again he reigns over his sport. Love it or leave it, he is someone that all Americans can look up to for inspiration and guidance.

Let me explain.

Sure, he may have publicly downplayed the importance of the games and failed to win a medal. And people read about his antics and assume he is a reckless party animal. But here are some reasons why Miller can be seen as a role model for the American citizen:

1.) Bode is talented, and he backs his skills with a solid commitment to his sport. Like any productive American, he has identified his skill set and honed it to the best of his ability.

2.) Bode is innovative, to an extent. Realizing he needed a better way to condition himself and perform to the best of his abilities, he creates his own team and surrounds himself with the people and possessions that will achieve these means. He did not seem afraid to take a chance by cutting ties with the national team, and so far it looks as if he made the right decision.

3.) Bode is an independent spirit, but not completely independent. He understands that in order to perform his best, he needs to take his own steps instead of waiting for others to do the work for him. That said, he is smart enough to surround himself with a coaching staff that is committed to his success.

And, lastly...

4.) Bode is stubborn, possibly to a fault. But again, he is this year's World Cup champion: so far, so good. There are a few ways to be stubborn: instead of simply shrugging off his former team and driving himself from slope to slope, he assessed his situation and made calculated decisions that have worked out well to this point.

The next time you wish to improve your situation, don't wait for others to pick up the slack for you. Be assertive, like our Founding Fathers, our creative minds, our civil rights activists and Bode. Be independent. March to your own beat. Who cares if others are jealous of your success? As long as you are happy, for all you care, America is happy.

Check out this NY Times piece by Christopher Clarey: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/sports/othersports/16miller.html?ref=sports. He writes much better than I do, and he apparently has more time to do actual interviews.

The link above is from a Denver Post article by John Meyer.

I control my name

2008-03-01T11:59:00.003-05:00

As of yesterday, I am the owner of michaelgrillo.com, michaelgrillo.net, michaelgrillo.org and michaelgrillo.info. It's a small investment--about $30 a year--but reliable sources at seanhenri.com tell me that this will go a long way in protecting my online identity.

There are many Michael Grillos in this crazy world of ours: some are professors, others are directors and producers, and there are at least 30 of us on Facebook actively or passively flouting the fact that we are Italian. But only one Michael Grillo--THIS Michael Grillo--is Web-savvy enough to take control of his name--nay, his IDENTITY--and prevent other Michael Grillos from having their name as a URL.

God, I love myself.

As you may have seen, the URL merely redirects to this blog. I did not yet wish to take the plunge and pay $4 per month for hosting privileges on 1and1.com, the domain name site I used. Expect big things in the future, though: don't forget, there's only ONE Michael Grillo, and you're looking at him.

Honeymoon this, Waterbury Republican-American

2008-02-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, I love pointing out the mistakes of news organizations that passed on my services. Here's an excerpt from the Waterbury Republican-American, which won a Pulitzer Prize sometime before the dawn of color television. For the record, the man shown below is Naugatuck Mayor Mike Bronko.

The "r" would have caused the headline to spill into two lines, so it's understandable why they would leave it off.

And I'm not a bitter person: I just play one on the Internet.

Senator Dodd...oh is it?

2008-01-26T19:52:00.000-05:00

Inevitably, many web sites contain out-of-date information, but I think this image of U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), shown on the web site for the borough of Naugatuck, Conn., predates the Internet.

Since context is king of the media world, here is Dodd in the common era. Note the effects of Father Time...

I think he and Ted Kennedy could have combined to make a superpresident. Photoshop renderings of this New England conglomerate are encouraged and should be sent to my attention immediately.

Where I've Been, and Where I'm Going

2008-01-25T21:19:00.000-05:00

The simple answers here are "work," and "bed."

Well, it feels like weeks since I've posted, but I want to get into the habit for the sake of a possible writing career. Here's a recap of the last few months, in bullet-point form:

Finished semester 1 at Quinnipiac (4.0 of course, due to my inner nerd)
Became single again (which explains the extra blogging time I now have)
Started semester 2 at Quinnipiac

Oh, and I am now transmitting from my new HP desktop, powered by Vista, so that's cool I guess. Vista is like the shiftless opportunist that dresses very similar to Macintosh's Leopard and steals his ideas. I use a series of desktop widgets on the right side of my screen, but they constantly tell me that it is cold and my Naugatuck Valley S&L stock is underachieving.

Speaking of underachieving, this blog will receive some more attention, but I don't have the energy to generate any considerable traffic here.

But wait there's more: I finally posted an article, made with my own two hands. The previous post is an assignment for one of my graduate classes: it falls under the "microcosm profile" category, meaning it explains a larger trend through the experiences of an individual. The individual here is Max, and he makes beer. Good beer, too.

Craft brewing growing in quantity and quality

2008-01-25T21:14:00.000-05:00

By Michael L. Grillo

Beer making is a science, according to home brewer Max Monti-Bovi.

Even the most sober academics would agree with his view because home brewing requires precision. For each batch they use specific amounts of yeast, hops and grains while maintaining a sterile environment: the slightest mistake will ruin any batch of beer.

In less than two months, Monti-Bovi crafted his first home brew: 5-and-a-half gallons of an India pale ale that is bitter yet flavorful, with a subtle citrus taste. Though only a few people have tasted his creation, he is one of several thousand Americans who have collectively altered the country’s beer industry through home brewing, or craft brewing.

As craft brewers—from those like Monti-Bovi who brew for their own enjoyment to regional breweries that produce up to 2 million barrels annually—offer countless varieties of beer to the American palette, they have become a significant force in the overall beer market. Though different groups vary widely on the actual number of home brewers, the most conservative estimates begin around 250,000, as stated by the Boulder, Colorado-based American Homebrewers Association. Other analysts state that there are over 2.5 million home brewers.

Whatever the exact number may be, home brewers across the country are passionate about their work and brew for many reasons besides making a profit. Monti-Bovi, who said he will never sell his own creations, said he enjoys making beer because there is always the possibility to invent new styles that go beyond the simple dimensions of the commercial brewing giants such as Anheuser-Busch and Coors.

“There’s something special about drinking something you made by hand,” he said.

Home brewing has grown over the years from a necessity for beer enthusiasts who could only shop for a limited selection of styles to both a hobby and a rebirth in American beer creation. At the end of the 1970’s, there were only 44 makers of beer in the country: as the 1980’s approached, home brewing gained popularity because there was no other way for Americans to experience diverse flavors of domestic beer, according to the American Brewers Association.

The American Brewers Association added that the “increased homebrewing activity inspired beer enthusiasts to start their own small brewing companies,” and this helped give American beer a history and tradition that some critics believe it lacked for so long.

As of last year, there are now over 1,400 American breweries in existence, the overwhelming majority being craft breweries, according to the American Brewers Association’s Web site.

The American Brewers Association also stated that the craft beer industry, valued at nearly $5 billion last year, produced over 6.7 million barrels or four percent of the total output by the American beer industry. It reported that craft beer sales have risen by over 30 percent over the last three years.

Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, said the most popular styles among home brewers are American Ales, followed by Stouts—dark beers made with roasted malts or barley—and India pale ales, such as the one Monti-Bovi created.

He also said there are more people creating brews that are not as heavy or strong-flavored as the pale ales or stouts. “It would seem that homebrewers are now brewing more delicate styles than they have in the past,” he said.

Glass also noted that more brewers are acquiring wood casks to age their beer, which provides yet another dimension of flavor.

Home brewers, unlike the high-output brewers, have the ability to focus on and perfect their 5-and-a-half gallons of beer in order to achieve a unique and desired flavor, Monti-Bovi said. As he explained the process he took while creating his pale ale, he emphasized that potential beer makers should “read about it first” and “find what kind of beer you want to make.”

Monti-Bovi, a senior at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn., began his first brew by boiling water together with orange pieces and a malted barley extract resembling brown molasses. After stirring the boiled mixture in a large bucket using a sterile paddle, he let it ferment—the process in which yeast eats the sugar in the mixture and puts out alcohol and carbon dioxide—for ten days.

At this point, he said, he was past the hardest part of the entire process. “When you follow it step-by-step, [brewing] is a waiting process”

Then he siphoned the liquid sitting atop the big rim of remaining yeast into another container, where it settled for another two weeks. After that, he delicately mixed in corn syrup to create carbonation and bottled up his creation, 8.5 percent of which was alcohol.

Monti-Bovi again stressed the importance of patience in aging a beer to a desired flavor. “Leave the beer in the bottles for as long as you can,” he said explicitly.

In the entire process, the most common mistake brewers make is being unsanitary when handling the ingredients, Monti-Bovi said. He said that the slightest hint of bacteria in a batch will spread quickly and ruin any brewers’ best intentions.

Monti-Bovi shares several characteristics of craft brewers throughout America. According to the American Brewers Association, craft brewers produce limited quantities of beer, are innovative in their search for new flavors and tend to be “very involved” in their communities.

Monti-Bovi said he often samples different varieties of beer and interacts with other brewers at the Willimantic Brewing Company in Willimantic, Conn. He has also attended beer tastings, which he said offer great opportunities to learn about and taste new beer styles.

Brewers and other beer enthusiasts gather in several other communities aside from the brew house or tasting events. Beer Advocate, an online resource for brewers and enthusiasts run by two brothers from Boston, states it is supported by a community of over 100,000 people “dedicated to supporting and promoting beer.” Zymurgy, a magazine published by the American Homebrewers Association, has been in circulation for almost 30 years.

Jason and Todd Alström, co-founders of Beer Advocate, did not respond to a request for an interview.

When asked about his impressions of craft brewers and their significance on the American beer market, Monti-Bovi said that small brewers like Sierra Nevada have grown into leading competitors and have shown that craft beers can have a mass appeal.

The Sierra Nevada brewing company, founded in 1981, produced around 650,000 barrels—or 19.8 gallons—of its beer in 2006, according to the American Brewers Association. In comparison, the Boston Beer Company, which offers Samuel Adams beer, produced just below 50 million gallons in the same year.

As for Monti-Bovi, he is already working on a new creation, something he calls “winter nut ale.” He said he mashed pecans and macadamias and boiled them in his initial mix to create another interesting flavor, differing from the citrus-hinted offering he had recently bottled.

“The nuts add a dimension to the beer,” he said, “but they won’t dominate the flavor.”

He also said he will begin to submit his brews into contests when he creates one entirely from scratch, instead of using a pre-mixed barley extract. With his creations and the diverse flavors developed by thousands of other craft brewers, the American beer landscape will continue to expand into the future.

Keeping the skills fresh/CT State Police

2007-10-27T16:56:00.000-04:00

It's almost November, near the end of the semester, and life seems to be moving pretty quick. In the next month, I have to complete an in-depth article on something related to Cheshire, obtain some detailed election information from the town and try to find some paying media gigs (other than the lighting business). All this while trying to elude the local 5-0.

Cheshire has been a pain this week: for starters, my potential article on a Cheshire cafe fell through because the business owner I tried to interview flaked out at the last minute. Then, my efforts to obtain detailed voting records (see: PUBLIC INFORMATION) were derailed by an angry town official. Her words: "I'm not going to accommodate any personal requests."

This is a bold statement, considering she is a servant of the public and is obliged to give me that information. I know she probably has a right to be ornery because Election Day is coming up soon, but this woman was everything a public servant shouldn't be.

Shucks. Call me old-fashioned.

ATTENTION ALL DRIVERS ON CT ROUTE 8 NEAR TORRINGTON. There are cops on the prowl for excessive speeding, and they apparently have something to prove.

I was approaching the city at a pace slightly over 80 miles per hour when I saw a car on the shoulder with its lights off. As I expected, it was a Connecticut State Police Officer, and he closed in on me pretty fast.

He clearly wasn't happy to see me when he approached my car. He must have been in his mid-twenties, around my age, and he must have thought he pulled over Pablo Escobar because of the questions he had for me.

After spending a few minutes drilling me with questions such as, "Do you have any alcohol in the car," and "do you have any guns," and "do you have any marijuana," and "do you have any knives?" He asked twice if I had knives, and I couldn't tell you why he did.

(For anyone who knows me, I am a timid, law-abiding white guy. I am a cat person and I enjoy a cup of green tea when I relax. I couldn't pose a threat to schoolchildren, even if I HAD weapons in my possession)

So he wrote me up for going 80, though he said he clocked me at 82: he said he wanted to save me a few dollars. Gee, thank you officer. A $254 ticket is so much better than anything else you could have thrown at me.

So in the end, I got verbally assaulted by some punk cop who handed me an excessive financial penalty for driving fast on an empty stretch of highway, a minor infraction at best and hardly failing of any moral code.

Let me show my gratitude to the Connecticut State Police: thank you for keeping reckless criminals like me in check, and ask me for suggestions as to where you should shove any future infractions.

My latest investment

2007-09-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

I'll let the pictures do the talking today:

Hey

2007-09-13T22:28:00.000-04:00

Hey.

This blog will likely contain original reporting and observations on journalism, real life and my own life. However, don't think that this particular corner of the web is dedicated solely to the common good or the goal of enlightening the public with informative, ethical journalism. Those certainly are my goals, but here's the most important thing to remember (and I'm being completely honest):

I made this blog for myself.

I'll be more than happy if anyone reads this, but this is mainly a vehicle for my fledgling career. As long as I'm temporarily out of print (or as long as local weeklies decline to answer my offers to give them free articles), I'll serve as my own editor and publisher. It's free, and it strokes my ego in the most sensual way.

One of my main focuses here will be the realm of online media. Not so much the hey-let's-put-our-print-articles-online-for-free online media, but other things that are much more innovative. If anyone in or outside of journalism has any thoughts whatsoever on the matter, please post a comment: perhaps I'll look into it and develop a few posts from any related ideas.

I strongly believe in three things: one, that someone (hopefully me) will pioneer a new way to distribute news in the near-future involving the internet; that traditional journalists have nearly ruined any feasible chance of charging for their intellectual property by offering articles online for free; and that the next wave of online journalism needs to rely on a solid business model that will make the industry more profitable so it can avoid burning out its talent through current newsroom cuts.

Well, that's my two cents so far. I hope, for the sake of my journalistic aspirations and any readership I may gather here, that many, many quality posts will follow tonight's initial address.

And I'll post some pictures of my new auto when I get the chance.