Day: June 11, 2002

More Nonflamable Posting: The N.Z. Bear Name FAQ

To my surprise, I received far fewer questions about my nom de plume than I had expected when I started TTLB. However, they are starting to pile up. And so, while I’ve answered some queries privately, it is time, I think, to publicly address some of the common questions. So here goes.

Is N.Z. Bear your real name?

No. It is indeed an alias.

Why the alias, coward? Are you chicken ?

Well, yes and no. I don’t particularly care if I potentially endanger myself by pissing off wackos. (And if I am not pissing off any wackos, I’m not accomplishing my goals for the site). However, I do have family, and they have the same name as I do. And so I’m uncomfortable with the possibility that, remote as it may be, some wacko might decide to show up on my doorstep and harass anyone I hold dear. And so, an alias.

Will you ever consider dropping the alias?

Yes, almost certainly. I think about it pretty frequently. (When I got the Salon piece published was certainly a big moment of decision… there was a heavy temptation to have it be my “true name” up in lights there). My conclusion, however, is that I can always “come out” later… but once “out”, there ain’t no going back. And so, for now, I remain a coward.

Does the N.Z. stand for New Zealand?

Probably the most common question. No, it does not. I’ve don’t live there, and in fact have never been there, although I hear it is lovely. (I live in California, which those of you who have been paying close attention already knew).

So what does it stand for?

It’s a private joke. And no, I’m not telling.

About the “Bear” part. Are you a large, hairy gay man?

Er, no. But thanks for asking. (I actually did receive this question — asked very politely, I might add — from a reader). Although I have now learned (also from said reader) that “bear” is a term some homosexual men of generally large build use to describe themselves, that would not be me.

If you have a N.Z. Bear name question that wasn’t answered here, by all means, it my way! I’ll try to answer it — or at least evade it in an entertaining fashion.

A Post About Something That Isn’t On Fire — With Special Bonus Nomenclature !

VodkaGuy, clearly befuddled by the unending dilemma of whether he wants to be or Paul Wolfowitz when he grows up, misses the lead in his takedown this morning of accused “dirty-bomber” Jose Padilla.

VP cites Padilla’s impressive rap sheet (Chicago gang member, assault, etc.) as evidence that al Qaeda will take anybody — as opposed to our fine U.S. Marine Corps, who are of course looking simply for a few good men.

What VP forgets, however, is that to the Islamofascists, a disregard for human life, violent behavior, and a general lack of morality are assets. Viewed through that lens, Perdillo is imminently qualified.

By the way: let’s drop the tag “dirty-bomber”. There’s a much better moniker to stick on Padilla and his ilk : wannabomber.

I think it summarizes both the facts of his (alleged) intentions, and also nicely captures the pathetic, cowardly loserdom inherent in a man — or at least, a male human, not a man — who would seek to kill innocents in such a manner.

It’s a nice generic term, too, and can be applied with equal validity to the Palestinian murderers-to-be who are caught before they can carry out their attacks, and (with even greater enjoyment) to those who accidentally blow themselves up before they can harm any women and children…

Update: I goofed and got the wannabomber’s name wrong. The error has now been corrected; thanks to Kevin at Flyover for pointing it out.

If you are truly desperate for the latest rumours about the Hayman fire, you can monitor the IRC channel that Pinecam.com has set up. Keep in mind that anybody and everybody is chatting in there, so information you read may be inaccurate, completely wrong, or malicious lies. Or all three. This is not an official government source — see the list of phone numbers at the top-left of the page for the appropriate local resources near you.

You can access the channel via your browser or via your own IRC client at chat.planetz.net, port 6667, channel #pinechat .

Update 2/21/03: The folks at Pinecam are continuing their efforts to provide useful and accurate information; see this thread on their discussion board for additional info:
We are working with local fire authorities now to make sure information given out on Pinecam this season is more responsible and sensitive to the needs of firefighters and possible fire victims. You may find less direct scanner posts on Pinecam this year, but rest assured the important information will still be here. We’re just not going to be posting — willy-nilly — everything that we hear on the scanner.

Folks –

I’ve taken down my handmade fire maps. I know this may disappoint some, but I am concerned that folks may start to rely on my information as “definitive” — which it is not. In addition, I am fearful that even the official info coming out (which I based my maps on) is significantly behind the real fire, and I am worried about posting a map that is actually half-a-day out of date.

So: No more pretty pictures, sorry. But I will continue to post official info as I find it, as well as links to resources. Hope y’all understand.

I just updated the map to more accurately reflect the most current information on expected / “encouraged” evacuation areas. In addition, there is now a high-quality version of the map available; click on the map for the larger version.

The Douglas County Sheriff has a news release out this morning regarding evacuations. In a nutshell, it sounds like the areas to the northeast of the fire will be under mandatory evacuation orders sometime today, and the sheriff is encouraging residents of those areas to leave now. (Phone number for Douglas County sherriff’s office can be found in the left navigation bar).

Release Date: 06/11/02 Release Time 8:00 a.m.

DOUGLAS CONTY, CO — Although the Hayman fire did not advance much overnight, conditions today are right for the fire to once again advance rapidly and unpredictably.

The Sheriff’s Office is contacting Neighborhood Watch block captains to augment its emergency notification capability. Evacuation notices for affected neighborhoods have been loaded into the EPN emergency telephone notification system to allow for immediate notification of citizens in the event of an evacuation order.

While NO NEW EVACUATION ORDERS HAVE BEEN ISSUED, the sheriff’s office is highly encouraging residents of all urban-wildland interface areas between Perry Park (on the south) and Roxborough Village (on the north) – to include Sedalia, Indian Creek Ranch, Oak Valley and surrounding areas — to give serious consideration to the idea of leaving now. If the fire advances quickly toward a residential area, an emergency evacuation order may not allow enough time for people to leave in an orderly manner, especially given inevitable traffic congestion.

Residents are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to pack up medications in their original containers, insurance and other important papers, a change of clothing, and any other items they need at this time.

The sheriff’s office is establishing and will maintain checkpoints in the area to discourage non-residents from trying to get into the area. Consequently, residents should make sure they have identification with their current address with them at all times.

Residents should also be aware that if an evacuation is ordered, residents WILL NOT be allowed back into the affected areas until it is safe to do so. Please DO NOT WAIT for an evacuation order to be issued to make these critical preparations.

If you’re looking for even more Hayman fire information, check out In addititon to a blog, they’ve also got folks who are monitoring scanner frequencies and posting updates to a message board on what they hear.

In particular, you’ll find information in the blog about resources that fire fighters are in need of — snack foods, water, minor first aid supplies, things like that. Check it out, and if you are in the area and can spare anything, help them out!

PS – And no, my father’s not on the Hayman fire today (I think), so I’m not plugging this to get my Dad some chips!

Okay, as I’ve been focusing my efforts almost exclusively on the Hayman fire, I’ve implemented a temporary site redesign. I’ll be updating the map above with additional information as it comes in, as well as the statistics to the right.

As always: I’m doing what I can, but please, please, contact your local authorities for official information.

With the redesign, I may even be able to cover some non-fire stuff today without reducing the prominence of the Hayman info, so we’ll see how that goes.