What does the 'Sig' stand for in Southern California's 'SigAlert' traffic warning system?

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SigAlert: The Story Of L.A.'s Famous Traffic Alert System


What does the 'Sig' stand for in Southern California's 'SigAlert' traffic warning system?


Jun 05, 2004, 01:00 pm PDT - California

Contributed by Abhijeet Chavan

"Loyd C. Sigmon, whose 'SigAlert' freeway traffic jam warning system made him perhaps the most famously unknown figure in Southern California, has died...he SigAlert tops everybody's list as one of the most distinctive aspects of L.A.'s car culture...Today, a SigAlert is issued only when one or more lanes of traffic will be blocked for at least half an hour. The term has become so familiar...that it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary a few years ago.

Trace Evidence - ONAIR - Courttv.com

Trace Evidence - ONAIR - Courttv.com

Hello Everyone!

I'm pleased to announce that "Trace Evidence: The Case Files of Dr, Henry Lee" is a success! It has been leading the night for it's network, Court TV, and the numbers get higher each week.

The episode I edited, "Trumbull - The Carla Almeida Story" is set to air:

Wednesday, July 7th at 10pm P/E.
For DirecTV satellite: 7pm and 11pm PDT, repeating Saturday July 10th at 7pm PDT.

So please check your listings, spread the word, set your TiVo's to stun, and enjoy a good forensic yarn!!!!

Thanks!

"I caught my first wave, dude"

"Whoah"!

I made it to the beach last sunday and surfed for the first time in my life.

"Maibu, 7am!"

Ok, paddled a lot, and caught a 3 inch wave by the beach. But hey, I wore a wetsuit for the first time in my life!


"Some boards are longer than others"

I like surfing. It's like, whoah dude. it's also incredibly tiring. 90% is paddling. but that 10% is worth it. Interesting how I've lived near Malibu for 6 years and it takes an outsider to drag me onto a board.

I like California again. Of course if I keep it up, I might turn into Itai....


"Whoo-hah!"

Like, Whoah, dude

Ugh, hmmm, hurmm

Surfrider's State of the Beach 2003: Report

With Counselor's daily set reports, I feel the urge to rechristen his site Isn'titCoolnews.com. And as I can't compete, I shall refrain.

Life is good. Though today is annoying from the outset. Why? I'm here at work, while Itai and my Wife are surfing Malibu. SURFING MALIBU, while I'm surfing the web.

Sigh. The 'joys and glamour' of working in the film industry. I shoulda guessed it when you realize all products of said industry are created and consumed in darkened rooms.

Udder than that, work is actually good, thank you. The story is shaping up to be an interesting one. It's about a murder of passion, a boyfriend plots to elope with his girlfriend, but she decides not to go with him (boyfriend being not exactly the stable type). Boyfriend loses his temper and takes it out on the girlfriend. Boyfriend tries to cover it up, but keeps getting caught in his own web as the forensic team quickly deduce what happened from all the evidence. We cover DNA testing, gun powder residue testing, show print matching, atomic absorbtion (gun residue imbedded in your skin). This episode is more practice than mystery, but as always, fascinating.

Bean has been born.

TheStar.com - Rare gene may treat muscle deterioration

"Somewhere in Berlin, Germany, is a baby Superman, born with bulging arm and leg muscles.

Not yet 5, he can hold 3-kilogram weights with arms extended, something many adults cannot do. He has muscles twice the size of other kids his age and half their body fat.

DNA testing showed why: the boy has a very rare genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth."

this is so for jim

Records by Mail!

Why Newspapers are Dead

http://mikesejournal.com/archives/002815.php

Mike speaks on the Blog revolution to newspaper editors and meets a wall of paper,

"The classic response came from the one editor in the group (the only one who was wearing a shirt and tie), who dismissed blogs as a "hobby." He wanted to know why they should even be on his radar if he can't make money with them.
My answer was that his newspaper's survival depends on getting new readers and not losing the current ones.
But because he dismisses blogs as a hobby, I'm sure he dismissed my argument.
"

Click and read on.

Why Newspapers are Dead

http://mikesejournal.com/archives/002815.php

Mike speaks on the Blog revolution to newspaper editors and meets a wall of paper,

"The classic response came from the one editor in the group (the only one who was wearing a shirt and tie), who dismissed blogs as a "hobby." He wanted to know why they should even be on his radar if he can't make money with them.
My answer was that his newspaper's survival depends on getting new readers and not losing the current ones.
But because he dismisses blogs as a hobby, I'm sure he dismissed my argument.
"

click and read on.

Happiness is a Pie

Day three at 'work'. In quotes because although I'm physically at the place of my next employer, I don't officially get on the payroll until next monday. My feelings toward working at home are vindicated as I've been more productive the last two days than I can remember. Walls and no internet helps (damn you WWW!)

Awaiting the arrival of my producer. He drove in from Portland, and as expected, the drive was hellish as he arrived yesterday at 6pm. So TODAY is our first day together as opposed to wednesday which was originally planned.

I'll admit I'm concerned on the direction. We keep getting more material and it's great material, but I haven't seen any of it yet, and it feels like an end is not in sight. Hopefully today's meeting will clarify this for me. As "Trace Evidence" is now requiring 6 day weeks out of me, add this ATB to it and it makes for 7 day weeks, 12-14 hours a day. I comedically dub it 'Film Camp', as all I need is a sleeping bag and some s'mores (though craft service does have chocoloate graham crackers...evil....)

Good news on the "Trace" front is that the show is performing well, and pulling good numbers. If it continues throughout the season, it will put the show in a better position to negotiate. And as I'm editing two shows this time around (for a total of three episodes edited and 6 'touched') that would mean steady work with people I like and overtime pay.

And that makes Daniel a happy camper indeed.

Swinging Back

Today or tomorrow I bring my editing system back to the Valley to commence work on Trace Evidence. I'll also be working evenings and weekends on "America the Beautiful". It's been a while since I've worked a double shift, and I'm not particularily looking forward to the hours. But i want to be involved with both projects, so onward ho.

My producer is hitting the road today from Portland to LA, hopefully by tomorrow we'll be working together. And frankly, I need it. I'm hitting a wall with the piece. I have about an hour I'm happy with, but there's at least another hour to go with many materials to get down. I need some of that directorial mojo, so hopefully when portland arrives I'll get some of it.

I think I'm fighting off a cold, as I've been foggy the last few days. Apologies if this entry feels down, the coffee hasn't kicked in yet. Always darkest before the dawn.

Bim Bam Boom 2

A word about Surdos

Down to SambaLa tonight to bang drum.
Found an AMAZING site that collates everything you'd want to know about Surdos, IN ENGLISH!!!

Yea!

Exiting the office

I have to face it. I don't work well at home. I've been cutting this documentary for the last 3 weeks now and everyday has been a challenge for concentration. Let's count the differences:

PRO:
Can edit in your pajamas.
Can prepare and eat your own food.
The commute is a breeze.
It's your house, you can do what you want.
You can work whenever you want.

CON:
No separation between the 'work place' and the 'not work place'.
Distractions abound.
You can work whenever you want, into the night even. It's always there, beckoning.
No human interaction. It's just you baby. Therefore you never leave the house.

I like the discipline inherent in the walls of work. This is a place of work, you do work here. Elsewhere, you do other things. I also like the ability to leave the work behind once I change locations. Working at home I've often felt prisoner.

Right now I'm in the 'home stretch', which is really the last week at home before I move the system back to Trace Evidence. As it looks, I'll be editing a dual shift, trying to finish the doc in the evenings. Not fun, but hopefully at work, I can get more accomplished than I have at home.

Trace Evidence - Premieres!!!

Trace Evidence - ONAIR - Courttv.com

Yes, ladies and gentlement, the TV show I recently worked on is ON THE AIR! and in classic Daniel Loyd fashion, I MISSED THE PREMIERE!!

As Cartman would say "GoddaI@#$! it!".

Well, we've only missed two episodes, but they were good ones. "Hawaii/Matheson" and "St. Thomas". The producers/editors involved did a fine job and I did some work on the Hawaii/Matheson case. So catch them if you can.

My episode, "The Carla Almeida Case" is set to air soon (unfortunately, I don't have a schedule yet). Please catch it/tivo it and let me know what you think. It's my first TV show and I'm proud of it. The experience was great for everyone involved and I was able to stay on as a finalizing editor for a few more episodes, sharing the duties with my pal Catherine, who edited the superb "Salisbury" episode airing next week.

After I finish my current documentary, I'm coming back to Trace Evidence for two more episodes, reuniting with Angie,my producer on the Carla case. Happiness pie there!

What I'm Listening to....

LoydPod Contents
iTunes Contents

Laying bare part of my soul, check out what's on my iPod lately. The rest of my library is pretty voluminous (only for dedicated fressers), but I'd love some comments and criticisms on my taste. :)

Closer....yet not quite there..

We're moving closer on the documentary.  I've laid out about 90 minutes of material, around 45 of which I'm farily happy with.  We have an abundance of clips and stories and it's been interesting whittling down the material to the leanest state.  I personally don't like to pad (add time) if I can, and I prefer the most direct telling a story can take.   We're awaiting BRoll and additional stills to arrive, and music composition has begun (I believe). Shadowing all of our efforts is the looming deadline of next Monday, when I start another (paid) job.  As it stands, it looks like we'll get close, but I'll be spending some nights and weekends working on this as well. 

 

Yee haw!

You'll All Pay

"Are you a terrorist? No, of course not. So vote Democratic.

Because Republicans hate America and kill baby seals and don�?t celebrate Christmas and are inhuman soul-eating scum!!

[This article inspired by Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Michael Savage. This article is "tongue-in-cheek"...

...or is it]

You'll All Pay was written by staunch Democrat and Upstanding Citizen Joe Conat. You can explain why Republicans aren'?t Satanists and baby-killers here. Any attempt to point out egregious factual errors or outrageous hyperbole will be met with "Yeah, tell it to Rush, Ann and Mike. What are you, a terrorist?"

Expectant father Joe chimes in with a particular bit of vitriol so vitriolic that I was shocked until I realized that he was only copping it from Rush Limbaugh's style. I may not agree with everything he writes, but it is true that for my beliefs, i've been branded a terrorist by Mr. Limbaugh's standards.

So, without any desire for ratings, sponsorship, or pain-killers (well, maybe yes on that last one), here's the link to Joe's latest "You'll All Pay". Take yer flamethrowers and flamesuits over there, and have fun.

The Austin Chronicle: Screens: The Hot Spot

The Austin Chronicle: Screens: The Hot Spot

Here's another reason why Austin is calling. And proof that somebody is doing it right. Free Wi-Fi EVERYWHERE!!!!!

Support something that's as cool as air conditioning and should be as free as it as well.

SoundtrackNet - the art of film and television music

SoundtrackNet - the art of film and television music

Met the Editor-in-Chief of this wonderful site last night. His site is a wonderful place to learn and explore film music, scores and such.

My good friend and co-conspirator Rafael has written many a review for them. Check it out!

IOL : Film fan flounders with Mary Poppins leap

IOL : Film fan flounders with Mary Poppins leap

I fear my microwave all the time

Yahoo! News - Man's Body Lies Undisturbed for 20 Years

Yahoo! News - Man's Body Lies Undisturbed for 20 Years

Spoooky. Molly, does this happen all the time in Nippon?

The Undead Zone - Why realistic graphics make humans look creepy. By Clive Thompson

The Undead Zone - Why realistic graphics make humans look creepy. By Clive Thompson

Please read this. I find this not only cool, but fascinating as our current model of AI and graphics are quickly aiming for the perfect photo-realistic 'human'. Take a look at the trailer for Polar Express and tell me, does the resemblances of Tom Hanks in each character makes you go "ooh!" or "Aaaah!" ?

DUEL

>: Old World Filmworks :<

Went to this screening last night, as my good friend K served as VFX Supervisor for it. We were both amazed at the response and level the producers brought to the event. Catered, packed with people, starlets, and yes, I was given a crostini by Camryn Mannheim.

That's it. My career has peaked. It's all downhill from here.

Honestly though, the film was great, the night swell and fun for people watching (plenty of young actresses; you can tell by the 'healthy glow'). Being the humble post people that we were, we grabbed his friend T (who did the Digital Mattes) and we absconded to Buca de Beppo, where by walking through the doors I felt my entire Italian-American life flash before me and I was judged wanting. Seriously, where do they get the decorations for this place? Is there an "Italian-American Wall Art" factory hidden deep in the jungles of Malaysia (where all kitsch komes from)? We ate 'family style' (too much), were served 'family style' (too little)' and talked shop about the new Polar Express film, and how certain bi7g nameT2s are contemplating the 'total motion capture animated film concept' being used by Polar. Apparently according to his holyZemeckis, it's 'total control! amazing!', but a lot of headache as EVERYTHING needs to be done by hand-keyframe after keyframe.

Much bitching was to be had.


But in all, a great night. And today, I go to the starbucks to get coffee and I run into 1. Old co-worker 2. Producer who-wants-to-hire-me. At the same time. I need to have coffee there more often.

Obligitory Harry Potter Comment

The Official Harry Potter Website

See this movie. It's, hands-down, the best Potter film of the series, the first one to actually feel like a movie, not a staged reading with sets, and a film that stands on its own as a classic. (Well, almost, as it does ask that you be familiar with the world somewhat).

The movie is deliciously dark, with my first recollection of actual magic being performed in the film. And it gives weight to the world by recognizing that what the kids are learning to do is play with power. Lots of it. Everything in this world has a dark side and can work for pleasure or pain. The framing is great, the shots swell. the script great (not slavishly devoted to the book, as it shouldn't be) and the editing as well. I hope Alfonso Cuaron comes back for #5, as he did a superb job here.

Is this for real?

ALLOFMP3. The Best MP3 Downloads. Full Albums. Music, Soundtracks, Singles, Games. AAC,M4A,WMA,MPC,LOSSLESS,FLAC,MP4,OGG.

1 Cent per megabyte......

Little Film Studio on Campus Fosters Dreams as Big as Texas

The New York Times > Movies > Little Film Studio on Campus Fosters Dreams as Big as Texas

The NY Times covered it, and there was a reception in the Champagne room of the Biltmore Hotel in Beverly Hills which I attended. And it look great. I'm glad UT is finally putting it's foot down in a bid to be great rather than crawl its way up behind NYU and USC. I look forward to seeing what the university may do.

It was a star-studded evening, most of whom I did not recognize. I shared air with such people as President Larry Faulkner, Tom Schlamme, Zalman King, and the amazing Tobe Hooper, who reminded me more of somebody's cool Austin Dad than a Hollywooder, and I think that's why I liked him so much.

It was a good night from a personal and professional viewpoint, and I met some good people. Which is the 'ideal' for me concerning these events. Good people. The question is, who would you rather spend 18 hours in a small room with? After a point, everyone out here is talented to some degree, so meeting people with soul is more important to me.

Back to work...

Mr. T's Weather School II

Mr. T's Chasing School II

How my Cat contributes to my work.

Yep...

Austin Vs. LA

This started as a comment and my response was too long, hence the post. So, starting from Molly, responding to my Nostalgia post..

true, it is harder to meet people in austin after graduation. but there are still a lot of cool people and haouse parties and dinner parties and stuff. it just takes more effort. there's a great scene first thursday on south congress.

do you think the difference between austin and la is that everything in austin is filtered through a haze of alcohol? i mean, there is a pretty serious drinking culture in texas...
molly | Homepage | 06.02.04 - 8:02 pm | #

And my response...

Hahaha! The haze would explain why I don't remember much from my college years, especially the first two..

I would also say my post applied more to meeting people outside of Austin (LA being my personal experience). If one stayed in Austin, I'd presume you'd have a much larger group to pull from, as many former students stayed, as well as the familiarity of at least 4 prior years in the town. You'd have the same places for the same reasons, and you could build new ones on to that.

Visiting from time to time one of the biggest differences I experienced was that now I could afford to have something else besides house coffee refills!

But I'd say the differences between the two towns are much larger than alcohol. Drinking is pretty heavy out here, as well as other intoxicants. In fact, I'd say outside of work, drinking is the MAIN way to meet people outside of your established group. The biggest difference is that Austin is more real. People give and take face value and fakeness is often discovered then a warning hastily spread throughout. There are too many sycophants out here, so you develop an instinctive initial reflex of "Why is this person really talking to me. Are they really interested in who I am, or just what I can do for them?" The good news is that UT was a great training ground for LA. In UT, a school 48,000 strong, you'd think you'd get lost and never meet anyone real. But in reality, you have your friends, you meet new ones, and you can still meet on campus to hangout - but when you see them across the quad, there's just many more people to cross between you and them. LA is similar. There's great and wonderful people out here - you just have to sift through the chaff to get to them.

Nostalgia Austin

The Writings on the Stall - Writing 71

Seems to be a trend, now well documented by Counselor. Here's my take:

Nostalgia of College? It was a great time for most of us. Before the start of hardcore responsibility, a place where our daily activities were populated by friends, they were within 10 miles and we had free time to see them. That grey, golden area made more so by the knowledge that one day soon, it would end.

One thing I have noticed in LA, is how stacked in our favor college was for meeting people. Think about it. In your college are multitude of people your age with many of the same interests, all wanting to meet new people. Outside of your discipline, the university has people roughly the same age with the same desires. I've been with my wife for 7 years now, and I've known her since I was nineteen. Out here in Los Angeles, I often hear from single friends the difficulty in finding compatible people for friendship and dating. What's missing is the strong community that college provided. Some may find it in their jobs, but we must admit that it is a smaller community, with different rules and politics and not as free-form as college may have been.

Sounds like American Idol to me.....

From Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise: Vaguely familiar

In the twenties in Berlin there was an institution called the "Cabaret of the Nameless,� which took pride in presenting the most incompetent and talentless performers it could find. Here is a description by Erich K�stner, from the Weimar Republic Sourcebook:

The nameless are for the most part such
pig-headed beings that they are completely impervious to the ridicule and laughter of the audience....They recite the saddest stories one could possibly conceive and take no offense at the howling laughter from the audience because they quite simply do not hear it! They achieve a state of rapture that would cause every serious performer to envy them. With utterly vacant smiles playing on their lips they let the terrible merriment of the others completely pass them by, speak their nonsense or hop their dance steadfastly to the end, are not even disturbed when Elow [the proprietor] leaps onto the stage, bids them to pause, and lets the audience vote whether the �performer� should keep dancing or talking, or whether they have had enough. The ancient Romans turned their thumbs down when the vanquished was to be dealt the death blow. Here they scream: �Keep him up there, Elow! He�s sooo good! Let him start over from the beginning!� � People grow fangs by using them to bite, then return pacified to human society. This is a padded cell for the metropolis. One can rage, claw and pound without hurting either oneself or others. The metropolis in its natural form is an inhumane place, and inhumane means are required for it to be endured.

Highway Robbery

Los Angeles Gas Prices - Helping commuters in the area find the lowest price for gasoline

While driving back to LA from SF this weekend, I saw Premium Gas for 2.75 at Coalinga off the 5. Insane. Also insane was the cattle farm across the highway, which gave off a horrible smell even 10 miles away. Coalinga, I will not stop there again.

Of course I get back to LA and my Local Mobil is charging 2.65...sigh. For those who wonder, I drive a Volvo and the manual says Premium...