Mike Burton is the new John Smith

When I was very little I remember arguing with my mom about the possibility of there being somebody else in the world who shared my name.  We happened to be in line at a video store and to prove her point she asked the clerk to show my how many other Michael Burtons had accounts there.  In a town of about 20,000 people, at that single video store there was no less than nine other Michael Burtons!  (Granted, this would have been about 1983, so this would have been the only video store into town, but consider how many Michael Burtons probably didn’t even own VCR’s yet).  I was devastated to have my individuality striped away so unceremoniously, to have my unique snowflake of an existence crushed under the cruel boot heel of… wait, did you say snowflake?  Ho... ho…hold up.  How the hell is Santa going to find me among the multitudes of Michael Burtons spread across this globe?  He just writes all that stuff on a piece of parchment with a quill.  This is why I didn’t get that bike last year, isn’t it?  I didn’t throw I tantrum, externally anyway.  Inside, I had the first existential crisis of my young life and I might not have been able to verbalize it then, but on some level I knew that God was dead.

Perhaps it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but the digital age has brought a new problem to those with a mundane moniker.  Establishing a web presence can make or break a career these days.  When one Googles Mike Burton, the first hit is for a comedian with the name who starts by saying he should not be confused with the other Mike Burton who is also a comedian.  And then are a number of the sites by or about other MB’s who are more famous than me for one reason or another.

If you need further proof of possible confusion, about a year ago I was asked to join a group called Mike Burton Forever, composed of about 60 men who share my name.  I joined, of course, and found them to be a pretty decent and predominantly wacky bunch of dudes (the grand plan of the group was to have our own convention in Las Vegas and all check into the same hotel on the same day, just to watch the staff melt down in frustration).  I’ve “friended” couple other MB’s, which has made awkward posts if one of us “likes” the other’s status or photos.

The solution is as obvious as it is painful to contemplate: I need to start going by my full name, Michael Bryant Burton.  Facebook, blogs, school work, websites, podcasts, any potential material I put my name to probably should attached to Michael Bryant Burton.  When Googling that name there are two exact hits.  My own Flickr account (that I don’t remember putting my full name on) and a Facebook page for some guy in North Carolina, who frankly looks like a complete tool.  And, of course he is, Michael Bryant Burton sounds like a tool.  Like a guy who wears a sweaters tied over his shoulders, enjoys completive rowing and recreational nerd punching.  That, or he’s an aging hipster who describes himself a screen-print artist, wears a corduroy jacket and a soul patch, hits on younger girls by offering them clove cigarettes.

Ugh. But it’s the only name I have, or only three names.  Unless I come up with a great pseudonym to work under (perhaps Wes Mantooth, Funkminster Buller or Doris Kearns Goodwin), but how many historians use pennames?

I’d really like your feedback on this.  It is potentially a huge change and actually has me a little stressed.  Thanks.

Alaska Packers’ Association in Alameda

I'm phoning this blog in and simply submitting my research report to the Alameda Museum to give them information to go with some paintings they have of the Alaska Packer fleet in Alameda.

The Alaska Packers’ Association was founded in San Francisco in 1891.  They fished and canned salmon in Alaska in the Spring, Summer and early Fall and distributed their products throughout California.  In 1904, the APA built the Fortman Maria on the Alameda side of the Oakland/Alameda estuary.  They used the estuary to anchor their “Star Fleet” of ships during winter months, giving the strip water the name, Alaska Basin. 

In 1916, the APA merged with the Oakland based California Packing Corporation (CalPack), who sold their products (mostly fruits and vegetables) under the name Del Monte.   As time went on the Alaska Packer name was mostly phased out as they were considered a subsidiary of CalPack.  The company moved it’s base of operations to Seattle in the early 1930’s and, in 1967, the company would officially change its name to the Del Monte Corporation.   Salmon production saw a dramatic decline from the 1950’s to 1980’s as Alaska waters were over fished, brining up the price and turning most consumers to buying cheaper tuna.  In 1982, Del Monte sold what was left of the Alaska Packers to ConArga, of Omaha, Nebraska.

Over the years, the APA wielded considerable influence in Bay Area politics and development.  In 1923, during the debate over the construction of a tunnel that would run below the estuary, connecting Alameda and Oakland, the APA announced they would construct a two million dollar ship and rail terminal in Alameda, but only if the proposed tunnel was built.  The swing bridge that was in used at the time on the West End often disrupted boat traffic in and out of the Alaska Basin.  The Posey Tube was approved in 1923, began construction in 1925 and was completed in 1928.

In 1925, the large, new shipping facility was opened along the Alaska Basin.  The Encinal Terminals eventually would have its own birthing basin, three dockside transit sheds and a huge warehouse along a set of rail tracks that ran to Oakland and all points beyond.  The vast Del Monte Warehouse, considered the crown jewel of the facility, was completed in 1927 and still stands today on Buena Vista Avenue.  Littlejohn Park was built in the former Del Monte parking lot in the 1970s.

Podcast Test and so much more

First of all, this took way longer than it looks like.  My plan was just to record a test podcast with GarageBand.  Many hours later, I realized there was no way of uploading the end product to this blog, but with YouTube.  So I went back into iMovie.  Well, you literally can't make a movie there without some visual components.  That was a whole new rabbit hole.  I could not resist all the bells and whistles, like the neat transitions and the "Ken Burns effect".   And once committed to that, well, then I really had to time the pictures to what I was saying in the podcast.  There must be a easier way to do this than... ugh... well, let's just say I don't know that easier way yet.
Here's what I learned:
- how to use GarageBand somewhat.
- how to use iMovie better.
- the speech disorder I forgot to mention, but defiantly suffer from, is mumbling.
- I need to buy a microphone.
- scripts are absolutely necessary.
- everything that I learned today will surely be erased by the beer I drank while doing it.

Please give me notes on places I can improve (I know the voice volume is a little low):

my first video & comparison shopping for site builders

The music here is by some friends of mine in a band called The Donkeys from San Diego.  They're the ones writing the "theme" song to my podcast to play at the top of and end of each episode (I told you I get ahead of myself).  Yes, I could write and record a song myself for this purpose, but it would surely suffer from the fact that I'm the one who wrote and recorded it.  The Donkeys are not only good friends and one of my favorite bands, but to me they sound like an audible distillation of California.

GoDaddy vs. WordPress vs. SquareSpace

Aside from spending hours figuring out how to work the iMovie feature on my new computer to make this movie, I've been combing the internet for the best place to buy a domain name and build a website.  I asked everybody I know who runs a site and was mostly recommended to Squarespace, Wordpress, and GoDaddy.

- I went to GoDaddy first (name recognition, I suppose).  I went through the process of putting everything I thought I'd need into a cart and the price came to about $140 for a year.  Though most of the items were not explained very well and everything was presented as being essential.  Then a friend accurately described GoDaddy as, "the Turkish Market of web registration - they have everything you need if you know what you're doing, but you're pretty likely to walk out feeling ripped off and resentful. They'll try to upsell you at every turn and if you ever decide you want to leave them, they'll hold you down. I know people that have been trying to get out of GoDaddy for YEARS with no success. They also supported SOPA and PIPA and their owner hunts Elephants for game... so y'know, there's that."  Obviously, the idea of getting tied into a service that rips you off and doesn't let you leave is not appealing.  I imaged going into a McDonald's only find your locked inside forever, only eating McDonald's until you decide it's a kinder fate to starve to death.  The fact they supported restricting internet freedoms and have a douchebag for owner leaves a bad taste in my mouth (as McDonald's will do), but is not necessarily enough to deter me.  The king of Spain apparently hunts elephants too, and I love Spain.
An example of GoDaddy website is the Donkey's site.  They're quite happy with it, but their record label pays for it.

- Wordpress (this link is for their "theme directory") allows you to download their templates for free and then you can use that on any domain name you buy.  Hover and NameCheap are places that sell cheap domain names, but don't have any site building tools.  The WordPress tools seem very easy to use; just as simple as the WordPress and Blogger blogs we've been using (though we have had problems there inserting code).  My only complaint about Wordpress is their templates look very much like... well, templates.  They all have a "bloggy" sort of look, which isn't bad per se, but I feel like if you want your site to stand out WordPress might not be the best option.  That said, this will probably be that path I take.
An example of the WordPress website is my friend, Brent's English teaching site.

- The path I'd like to take is SquareSpace.  Sleek, simple, with only two pricing packages and helpful tutorial videos.  The site building tools are just as simple as as WordPress, but comes with a lot more options and capabilities.  It appears that you could design a unique and great looking site without learning a bit of code (though inserting code is very easy).  The only problem is those two pricing plans are $96 and $192 for a year.  And, wouldn't you know it, I think I would need to premium plan.  This really appeals to me because the unlimited storage and broadband, which is perfect for a podcast.
An example of a SquareSpace site is 9thFloorRadio.  I don't think they take full advantage of the style SquareSpace is capable of, but you can see the ridiculous amount of multimedia they manage on this site.  9thFloorRadio is Laney College's television and radio station available only online (I used to host a music show there when I went to Laney and am still friends with the manager).  Not only can you stream the audio shows live all day long, but you can download any show as a podcast.  Though because they have so many shows they use a separate podcast host, Liberated Syndication Pro.  The school pays the bill for SquareSpace and the podcast host.