3 minute read
Pyramids, RVs, and Freedom
By Jonathan Micocci
Much is said about what makes Gulfport special. We refer to the art, the music; diversity and tolerance for human variation. Perhaps a spontaneous spirit. “Quirky” and “weird” in shorthand.
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However defined, many of us agree that this special character exists and seek to preserve it. Let me put forth a theory: that this vibe thrives in a free-spirited social, political, and regulatory climate and is choked off in a conformist environment.
Using a very broad brush here, it’s fair to say that every community, balances “freedom” with “conformity”; the rights of the individual to do as they please vs. the rights of the community to have order. Both are essential. Conformity....that instinct to walk in step with our sisters and brothers, might be humanity’s defining trick. With it, we teamed up to survive our formative millennia in a dangerous world. We created civilizations and kept the trains running on time. We would be, literally, nowhere if we couldn’t surrender our individuality and form into tribes.
But conformity is not friendly to imagination and creativity. Whoever conceived of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the world’s tallest structure for 4000 years, was not walking in easy lockstep with their neighbor but envisioning a world others could not see, one with a structure reaching seemingly to the heavens. This was independent thinking, unconstrained by the status quo.
Similarly, all artists are “independents” rather than “conformists” because they envision what is not there and bring it into being for the rest of us to respond to. However it came about, Gulfport is and should remain a safe place for these independents and their fellow-travelers.
For that to happen, conformity must be kept on a leash. The teeter totter of our civic and regulatory life needs a small but deliberate tilt in favor of freedom, understanding that freedom is messier than conformity and always comes with a price.
Which brings up the elephant in the room: “tolerance.” Mostly we think we have it but it’s all fun and games until we’re asked to tolerate something we don’t actually like, or that (get ready for it) might affect our property value. Another story now, right?
But we can often overcome our intolerant urges with simple selftalk, starting with an ego check (could it be that I’m actually not the center of the universe?). How seriously am I actually affected by this?
Or we can take pleasure in another’s exercise of freedom. It’s our freedom, too!
And civil discussion can work wonders. Before calling in a code enforcement airstrike on our neighbor, we can talk with them, listen to them. See with their eyes. We can seek compromise.
Lastly, Florida is just full of high-conformity communities. Some are right here in Gulfport. Lovely places. Before you make it your life’s work to bend this rare and precious haven for independents to your ways, consider “voting with your feet” and giving your home over to someone who will gladly pay the price for the freedoms found here.
Jonathan Micocci is a Gulfport resident, Realtor and occasional contributor to The Gabber.
Smile! You’re on Casino Camera
New Weather Camera Up and Running at Casino
By Monroe Roark
Thanks to a new, state-of-the-art camera, people around the globe can see pictures from the Gulfport Casino.
A proposal went before city council a few months ago and has come to fruition on the southeast side of the casino.
another site maintained by WeatherBug, which shows similar camera pictures. Shea added that people can Google “Gulfport Florida cam- era” and find the appropriate page.
It currently does only time-lapse photography, according to Mather.
“We are working with Earth Networks right now to get the actual [live video] stream, which will be really nice,” he said. “But that timelapse photography is pretty nice, too.”
The system allows 10 Tampa Bay to show viewers live shots of Gulfport during thrice-daily weather reports.
As far as the pan-tilt-zoom functions, the television station has control over those.
“We were offered [the ability to control it], but wanted the experts to have full access to that,” said Shea. “We just wanted the ability to get into the camera and access the stream.”
Supervisor Justin Shea and IT Director Dave Mather told council at its Feb. 7 meeting the camera was live. It began with a request from 10 Tampa Bay chief meteorologist Bobby Deskins at last May’s annual hurricane seminar in Gulfport.
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Shea said a site survey and planning meeting last July at the casino led to a counci resolution (passed later that month) for placing of a weather camera on the Casino.
The camera has pan-tilt-zoom capabilities. The City did not pay for the camera.
“If the city purchased this camera out of pocket, we’d pay $3,000 plus the mounting gear and the installation,” said Shea. “These services were provided to the city at no cost via the Earth Networks agreement.”
Shea showed a few high-definition images taken by the camera, and said the Earth Networks would make future images available for viewing. The city’s website links to