As it goes, while looking for something else, I came across a diary from 2005 – published in a proto-blog software (w/o RSS) made by Ben Livingston and hosted by Jay Stewart – or something like that… anyway… for whatever reason I can’t find the original text but oddly, there is a screenshot of “entry #5”.
Notable because of the monumental tasks checked down the list like no big deal.
Was days of running Zhonka Broadband ISP, making documents of all sorts
Alluding to starting “Postcards from Gravelly Beach” and “Choogle on with Uncle Weed” pods (check and check)
Moving to Bernice’s double wide on Gravelly Beach road
Doing renovations on the Puget Street house and sore back after a bit of shock seeing the police shakedown unsuspecting neighbour kids coming out of their house and laying them down in the middle of the road with guns drawn for no fcking reason(!)
Writing letters of judicial political support (lotta lobbying in those days)
Adding links to a website (hello here we are)
Thinking about starting on oil paintings (done) and a novel length project (not done)
Yep, all that like its no big deal.
Oh of course, what i was reading at the time (Salinger bio, Keroauc, Dostoevsky, Hemingway) – note namecheck for Last Word Books – and digging clams
Around the same time I also wrote the LSAT (law school admission test) studying for which is notably not on the list.
Somewhere along the way, someone came to visit me when I lived in Olympia in a dark and dingy duplex on Quince St (near the OlyWa.net, later Zhonka) office. Maybe it was brother Bob? Maybe it was buddy Mike? Or Brad? Anyway, someone who had done something pleasant to Christmas previous. And somehow they were coming to visit and I got this map to them / I’m not sure how any of this worked out, especially with the cryptic map.
I’m not a cartographer it seems, regardless this map survived the decades and here it is now. Mysterious and no longer relevant (like Terry Z’s noted internet café).
#daveo50 Personal Archeology Project / June 26 ~ Aug. 16 (business cards, Vancouver years)
Gist: #daveo50 Personal Archeology Exhibit
With 50th birthday impending and a son on the way (update, born June 23rd!) and the assemblage and reclamation from storage lockers of many life artifacts (plus coupled with parent’s recent passing which resulted in more items) AND the grace of a 150+ year old “kura” grain barn now studio/atelier, whilst in the bath i figured i would do a special exhibit of sorts.
Noting most years i do something creative around my birthday (ex: flying high board game collage, F Varley essay series, Uncle Weed book, Forgotten Vancouver stories video…) and since b-day is in the middle of dog days of splendid summer, usually slips by largely unnoticed.
As such, the project is for my own amusement, for posterity, for curiosity seekers, for my kid(s) to get to know me, and to compile a “life of making” into a “made thing” of its own / as well as giving a modicum of respect to “past self” to spark “future self” to carry on making art every day.
Inspiration gleaned from many places of exhibits by Douglas Coupland and of Hergé artifacts are significant sparks (evidence of both in this archive).
Original plan: 1 year / 1 photo (id) / 1970-2020 = 51 photos
Actual result: 1 year, *several* photos PLUS various artifacts, collections, evidence, ephemera, media articles, publications, report cards, oddities, miscellany
Constraints: Rules are lousy for creativity however constraints can be most excellent.
“don’t think outside the box, think inside the circle” ^dvo
As such, to aim for “connected feeling” and not just a mish-mash of *everything* (especially in more recent years where candidates abound, i set forth the following:
just dave (with some exceptions)
accurate year (figured by cross-referencing glasses and haircuts)
prefer at least 1200 ~ 1800px (avoid low res/size)
resist urge to tell backstory (just too much!), just location and photographer if known
avoid snaps which have natural home in another post/project (i.e. various spiels/jobs/event…)
using various forms forms of photos i.e. instant, photo booths, meta, etc encouraged)
Priorities
Note: avoided group/party/2-fer/crowd unless no other options or special significance #anotherproject
studio/school portraits (early years)
passport/ID photos (ideal for assessing year)
photo booth (always fun!)
birthday/christmas (don’t over do it)
close square self snap’d (modern days)
other * which haven’t been used (or plan to use) in another obvious collection
Logistics: Starting June 26th 2020 (PST, UTC -8) posts are pre-scheduled (usually 2-4 per day, sometimes back-filled if not quite ready) at various times at https://daveostory.com (you are here) until Aug. 16th and auto-magically cross-posted to Twitter @uncleweed and FB Uncle Weed Story Maker page (not profile) with #daveo50 (may end up other places if convenience permits).
Monitoring and interaction minimal as i will be cuddling baby and starting his photo exhibit.
Thanks: to brother Andrew for curation assistance (pulling me out of the weeds / keeping on track)
#daveo50 Personal Archeology Project / June 26 ~ Aug. 16 (business cards, Olympia years)
Renegade lobbyists! Are you surprised he let me this close to two different governors of Washington State? For the record: Locke and Gregoire. Where is the security detail anyway? Plus, I stole a pen each time.
Note: same jacket and tie i kept on stand-by at office for this purpose.
With Jay Stewart x 2 (representing Zhonka), Kevin one time (tag along), Gary something one time (representing Washington Association of Internet Service Providers i think), and Asst AG Hunter Goodman another time, others i can’t recall.
As part of on-going documentation of various collections of payphones, this gallery features various examples of phones in various states of use, captured “in the wild” in various locations globally, specifically featuring hotel house phones and a few other phone handsets of different circumstances and origins for your edification, lightly annotated.
Lobby Phone at Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Hello to the people in the future,
What follows are public telephones created in a time when phones did not roam freely and in pockets.
Perhaps you have already imagined the unsanitary nature of sharing a phone handset (placed next/close to ear and mouth of course) with strangers – though perhaps this increased “herd immunity” despite being rather unpleasant. Note that oftentimes the coin return slots were checked for forgotten change but the miner was surprised to find discarded chewing gum, or even-less-savoury items, instead.
another lobby option at Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
room phone at Victoria, BC, Canada, Hotel Zed
To make a call, one would either enter a specially-created booth (or box), or simply stand close by as the receivers were tethered to the phone unit by a short cord, then insert a variety of coins depending on the location called (local, domestic or international) or in some cases, use a purpose-made phone card, or even a credit card (though doing so often exposed one to fraudulent actors).
See Zhonka Broadband media page for more Internet business-related press.
Zhonka co-founders on 40 under 40 List(new window) – feature article by Paul Schrag from Business Examiner details achievements by 40 area business leaders under 40 years of age including Zhonka’s Jacob Stewart and Dave Olson 6/23/03
Article from The Olympian (new window) – newspaper article about Zhonka Broadband by Alex Goff w/ pic of Dave, Jay and Kenny Trobman at the Clubside Cafe 3/21/03 – Photo by Steve Bloom /The Olympian
Article from The Olympian (new window) – newspaper article featuring DaveO discussing ATG bankruptcy and Zhonka plans 05/02 – Another Olympian article about ATG’s alleged purchase 06/02 – Photo by Steve Bloom /The Olympian
Not sure if you saw this but … a few month’s back, my colleague and co-conspirator at Zhonka! was at it again with a wise and insightful bit of commentary on the unnecessary hassle imposed on ISPs who some think should pay the role of snoop and fink. Jay’s commentary is below form his blog post Yet More Business Press from Tuesday, November 21, 2006.
This is in response to the Attorneys General of many states, including Rob McKenna of Washington State, putting out a hot-air puffery press release (read the actual letter here) on how ISPs could help catch paedophiles, which is true, if we snooped on traffic and violated the privacy of our customers. Surely, there is a better way to protect children than turning our country into a “Big Brother” police state, where ISPs and telephone companies keep records of activity and data forever, so that the “authorities” can sift through it long after it would have protected any children. Law enforcement needs to start doing it’s job, and stop hassling poor (and brown) people. Anyway, I think these are some of my best quotes ever published in the print media, and am proud to been able to speak out against this kind of fishing expedition.
Fresh Cup – the Voice of the Speciality Beverage Industry, February 2006
“Why Wi-fi?
Pros and cons of a wireless cafe”
By Kristine Hansen
<excerpted>
Some people in the industry , however, see no problem with offering free wireless Internet access, believing that if a customer can pay for a mocha and owns a laptop, they can probably order a second drink, too.
Dave Olson, minister of marketing at Zhonka, in Olympia, Wash, sell DSL Internet connections to a variety of companies (mostly cafes) in Olympia and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Cafe managers then turn around and offer wireless Internet to their coffee and tea sipping customers at no cost. “For us, it’s a good marketing ploy,” he says. “It promotes us in the community and puts out a lot of marketing goodwill. A year or so ago, it was mostly pay-per-use. Now people are drifting more toward doing the free thing.”
With an Internet line and a piece of hardware that processes the signal, cafes can be up and running in no time. The initial set-up cost is between $30 and $50, according to Olson.
He believes pay-per-use Internet access turns customers off because they have to spend time entering their credit card information onto a home page and might have to make immediate decisions about the number of minutes or months they want to subscribe. Also, the fee to jump on the Internet might seem silly to some people when they have plunked down money for a mocha and pastry, and perhaps plugged a parking meter for the time they are in the cafe. “You’re already in there paying for premium beverage and a place to sit, ” says Olson.
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