Who is this guy?
The above is a fair question if you are new to this space.
Who is this guy and why should I read what he shares here?
Getting right down to it, I am one of many folks who inhabit the blogosphere with postings on various subjects from time to time. My online presence goes back to the earliest days of computers and communications. The first exposure to the wide world came at the UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science, with some lunar lander simulations and other amusements on a teletype terminal. Later on, junior college exposed me to timeshare computing and the world of BASIC language programming. Unlike my peers, I never graduated to FORTRAN and punched cards; whose bedeviling ways I did not partake of.
My first exposure to the world of personal computing came shortly after that with the Radio Shack TRS-80. I entered the Apple universe through an odd gateway. A friend had ventured into the Apple ][ sphere and piqued my interest. Through a co-worker, the purchase of an Apple ][c got me addicted, and dialing into a local bulletin board service; a.k.a. a BBS at the blazing speed of 300 baud. Heady days indeed…
During a visit to Southern California, there was a party where the host was doing double duty. As well as entertaining us in person, she was moderating/hosting an online chatroom in the earliest days of America Online. Called The Best Little Chathouse, it was a fascinating look into sharing an evening of merriment from the confines of one’s location with others who had access to the word via dial-up networking.
Not long after, I too joined AOL. In those days it was an all Apple universe. Using an Apple ][ or the earliest of the Macintosh line, you could find all kinds of folks who shared your interest. Everything from a favorite television show to theme parks and more were waiting to be discussed, dissected, and shared with fellow enthusiasts. Eventually, the PC invaded, along with millions of kids. It was like the Wild West all over again. This time, AOL was mining usage by the hour, and with parental credit cards charged, it was a big bonanza as the little joys spent untold days and nights online. Running wild along with adults looking for everything from bootleg recordings of favorite bands to online romantic (and kinky) rendezvous.
But it did not stop there by any means. Once the Internet opened the floodgates, there was access to USENET groups and more. Keeping informed on the latest and greatest was a breeze with plenty of new friends. AOL had plenty of competition with GEnie, Compuserve, even Apple’s own brief foray with iWorld, and more.
I stepped up my own game by joining AOL’s Remote Staff as a Community Manager for the Entertainment group. It was the Television Viewers Community and it ran the full gamut from sitcoms to one-hour dramas to animated shows to soap operas. Dedicated fans expressed their opinions on everything from favorite characters and episodes to the off-screen lives/antics of their favorite actors. My own interest in shows started me as a casual chat host for fans of NBC’s “Quantum Leap” during the series’ first-run. Eventually, the community expanded with shows such as the various Star Trek incarnations and the X-Files (or X-philes, as fans began to call themselves).
The writing was on the wall, however, as Internet browsers allowed fans to create their own web pages and share them with anyone from the privacy of behind the veil of anonymity. AOL and others gave up their online communities and became little more than placeholders. (Oddly, AOL survives still to this day as the nation’s largest internet service provider of dial-up communication for areas still lacking broadband access.)
So, that’s part one of the bigger tale. Tune in next time to find out what led me into the bigger picture, with my own domain name and the world of free shrimp!
Hello, Redux?
Here we go again… sailing around the bend.
After an absence of some time filling this space with shared items and occasional news bits, I decided to take up residence at the keyboard once more.
I will not promise to tell all about the latest and greatest, especially in the world of the Disney company. You can find it reported by others of the faithful elsewhere online in some form or on YouTube; as it seems that everyone and their family have more time to spread the gospel according to the Mouse.
That and the fact that I am located some distance away from those venues; along with the annoying fact that I had not set foot on Disney property since before Disneyland reopened its gates. It is not a lack of interest, but a lack of opportunities to do so. However, that does not mean that I will not have something to share or comment on. It just will be something less of a focus than it once was.
When I first started online back in the Stone Age, one of my goals was to share something beyond what others were doing. And that is something I hope to do in time to come here.
With this brief bit of page filler, I hope that I can tease or taunt you, loyal readers, into coming back for more. Until then, remember: “It’s always five o’clock somewhere.”
“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
by Roger Colton
Well, by now you likely have heard the news that Bob Iger has returned to the role of CEO of the Walt Disney Company. It’s no secret that things haven’t been going anywhere near well for the company in recent months. Everything from revenue not meeting expectations, to theme park operations issues, to legal challenges with the Reedy Creek District in Florida, to subscriber churn with Disney+ and ESPN… yes, a lot of things topped off with a major drop in stock price and hence, shareholder value.
To anyone who has watched things unfold from the outside, the action of the Disney Board of Directors in replacing Bob Chapek may seem surprising. In light of the extension of his contract in June of this year for an additional three years, one could believe that they saw him as doing the job effectively. Having been CEO through what may have been the most difficult period in the company’s history including the Covid-19 pandemic, there were challenges that seemed to have been met as stock prices soared.
However, with the price of Disney stock down by 41 percent and at a 52-week low at the close of business on last Friday, change was indeed in the wind. What many may not have foreseen was the return of Bob Iger. Given his accomplishments as the successor to Michael Eisner in 2005 in the CEO role, and his resignation in 2020 in favor of Bob Chapek, it certainly seemed that his time with the company had come to an end and on his own terms.
The action of Disney’s Board in returning Iger to the CEO role certainly draws a parallel to that of Apple’s Board of Directors when it brought Steve Jobs back. Steve was able to turn the company around and set it on the path that sees millions of its products in the hands of consumers with a customer base that is still growing today. One can indeed hope that lightning may strike twice as the Disney Company seeks to return to previous profits and position as one of the most well-respected brands on the planet.
A difference this time around? This isn’t personal; it’s strictly business. When Roy Disney and Stanley Gold used Save Disney to oust Michael Eisner, there were many moments of personal animosity between the players. This time? Policies under Bob Chapek have had their effect on stock prices, and it isn’t just individuals affected. It is the institutional shareholders that face major losses in their portfolios as the price drops with little rebound on the horizon. That base can’t be ignored and the Company must do everything it can to return that value.
And for those Disney fans who have vilified Bob Chapek, much as they did Michael Eisner, instant gratification isn’t likely to come their way. A look around the theme parks lately offers crowds still buying admissions, despite higher prices. Hopefully, increased budgets will offer managers some opportunities to “plus” things as needed; increased hiring and spending on projects, among them.
It is early in the process as things come together with Bob Iger back in the CEO role. Undoubtedly, changes will be ahead as various players get realigned to see new/old plans set in place. Again, not the first and certainly not the last time this happens at Disney.
Going back to the profits and stock prices the way they used to be under Bob Iger’s watch is not something that will happen overnight. While the stock market will respond to his return, it is only the first step on what is sure to be a bumpy road ahead.
Hence, the quote above, as uttered by Bette Davis, memorably in 1950’s “All About Eve” – “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night”.
It’s a new day!
It’s been a hectic month!
New hosting of the web pages along with other changes.
All in all, it means new content being shared here shortly. A bit of this and that, with some Disney stories, Western history, and even some Tiki! Stay tuned…
A Good Friend Passes
It has taken me a while to sit down and write this. A good friend and cohort of many misadventures passed away last month after a short illness. In many ways, it just does not seem like he is gone. But Ed Mackinson left his mark in oh so many ways.
I met Ed in the spring of 1976 at the then California Railway Museum at Rio Vista Junction, which is located between Fairfield and Rio Vista, in California’s Solano County. It was a brief introduction through another good friend, as Ed was introduced as one of the Diesel Children. This particular group of individuals was somewhat the odd ones out at the Museum. They had adopted as their project a diesel electric locomotive and brought it back into operation for a second life, now as a preserved workhorse for the railroad there.
Looking back across the years, who could have foretold what those brief introductions would being? Ed had managed to get through his college years in Sacramento and was gainfully employed with the Western Pacific Railroad. That brought plenty of tales to share and the occasional slides of something seen before, during, or after working hours. At the time I met Ed, I was considering a possible career in railroading, with a family connection to the Southern Pacific. Yet, the advice was to get some college and then go railroading. It turned out the national economy would end those dreams for me and put Ed’s career on hold, as the recession of the 1980’s was not kind. We both found ourselves in office jobs. Mine with AAA and Ed’s with the Social Security administration. We commiserated on the vanities of office politics on more than one occasion.
While my career at AAA spanned 26 years, Ed managed to get on with Amtrak when it made the decision to hire its own train crews for operations. His training as a passenger train conductor took him to Los Angeles, with an oddly located hotel. Directly across the street from Disneyland, complete with a complimentary cocktail hour every afternoon. And yes, I did manage to drag him across the street for a memorable day with another museum comrade, young David Wallace. The highlight of which was the purchase of a multitude of pirate merchandise including plastic hook for the hand and patches for the eye. Ed was also glad to have found a long playing record album for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, that he recalled from childhood. It was a very silly day and the start of many memorable theme park visitations together.
One of Ed’s long term assignments at Amtrak was aboard the San Joaquin trains between Oakland and Bakersfield. He would have a day in the Oakland coach yard on Tuesdays, starting at 5 am; and then two round trips, ending up in Oakland on Saturday mornings. At the time, it somewhat dovetailed with my own schedule; working overnight at AAA, starting at 11 pm Monday nights and ending with my weekends free at 7 am on Saturdays. If I didn’t sleep Saturday mornings, I would end up with three days off. Likewise with Ed. Which led to misadventures of all kinds, either at the Junction or out and about.
These misadventures often included a tight group of friends. Young and single at the time, we managed to enjoy ourselves. A weekend at the Junction usually included an interesting project followed by a good meals and cocktails, with the required viewing on VHS of either 1941, Animal House, the Blues Brothers, and more than a few train videos in the Museum’s bunkhouse for volunteers. Ed, myself, David Wallace, Jeff Ferris, Chris Allan, Dana Greely, John Plytnick, and a cast of others were often involved. Good times, indeed!
When it was time to head out beyond the Museum, we did indeed. It wasn’t always far, but there were more than a few multi-day trips. Nevada was one destination that we did explore a number of times. Whether along Interstate 80 or Highway 50, we did make memories. Be it an excess of Basque food, playing slot machines next to an indoor swimming pool while enjoying surplus wedding sparkling wine, or more; that and plenty of photography along the way. Ed would often repeat that “you can run out of food, you can run out of fuel, but you never run out of film.”
There were also a multitude of day trips. Some just a few miles from home, some taking hours there, and hours back. And it wasn’t always trains or more to photograph every minute. I learned patience from Ed along the way. I can’t count the number of hours spent just hoping that something would appear.
During this last December, Ed wasn’t feeling up to standard and went to see his doctor only to end up with a hospital admission for his efforts. A few days later, tests confirmed that he had stage 4 cancer of the gall bladder; rather rare and usually not discovered until it was too late to do anything about it. Such was the case for Ed. The prognosis gave him a month. During that time, we spoke by phone and in person. He was at peace with it. He had lived a full life and shared it with good friends, and if he had any regret, it was that he wouldn’t spend more time with his wide and daughter.
Anyone who didn’t think of Ed as a spiritual person was mistaken. He rejoiced in a number of things, but in particular in his family. He remarked how they were the best part of his life. And anyone who ever spent time with him knew how he enjoyed a sense of accomplishment. Be it a task completed, the acquisition of a rare railroad timetable, a well captured image with all of the elements telling the story of the moment, the publication of another book, a snarling four dollar burrito, tater tots or simply an ice cold Coca Cola, all shared with good friends, Ed expressed satisfaction in it all.
It was not uncommon for a quick phone call with Ed to discuss a simple point of information to turn into an hour or better elaboration on a variety of subjects. Perhaps that is what I will miss most of all. Hearing his usual greeting of, “Well… what do you have to say for yourself?”
Plenty, Ed. Plenty…