NY Times: New Hope for Turnaround at Troubled Service Academy

Maritime Academy USMMA
41

[QUOTE=john;80997]Close…
18,962 is the number of people who have registered on the site.
1,400 is the number of people who have logged-in to the forum in the past 30 hours
788 are the number of people with more than 10 posts and remain in good standing.
and… 258,876 is the number of unique people who read at least gCaptain post in the last 30 days (2,102 of which logged on from the campus of KP).[/QUOTE]

I’m going to add 259,054 absolute unique visitors in the past 30 days to the site as a whole with 1.2 million pageviews. Avg visitor spends 6 minutes on the site. 9 minute average for U.S. visitors. Don’t want any confusion here.

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[QUOTE=c.captain;80999]Not a single statement you have made here is new to the discussion and each has already been shot down in flames. Check the record to refresh your memory because I am not going to do you the favor.

Please bring new arguments to the debate if you can present any or just don’t bother.

Now I see why you chose UNIBLAB as a username…you have nothing more than single narrow minded blather to offer us. Rather “UNIversal BLABbering” I’d say.[/QUOTE]

Not much of a response from you, just another personal attack. I didn’t expect much more, as Liberia doesn’t really have any strategic power projection concerns so the concept of being prepared for such contingencies on a national scale must be foreign to you. Unfortunately, the United States does have these concerns and commitments so we try to take steps to be somewhat ready. Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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[QUOTE=Uniblab;81421]Not much of a response from you, just another personal attack. I didn’t expect much more, as Liberia doesn’t really have any strategic power projection concerns so the concept of being prepared for such contingencies on a national scale must be foreign to you. Unfortunately, the United States does have these concerns and commitments so we try to take steps to be somewhat ready. Si vis pacem, para bellum.[/QUOTE]

Did KP train you to be such a tiny person with such a narrow little mind? Why must you endlessly try to make some ridiculous statement that by serving on a Liberia flagged vessel that I am less of an American mariner that you? I sailed on RRF ships in Gulf War I and so served as a national strategic sealift asset. I remain one to this day and will be until I can no longer qualify to renew my license.

So far, I have successfully countered all your arguments with all the old rationales you have tried to make for KP to remain funded. I’ve asked you before and I’ll ask you again…bring something NEW to the table here to debate or don’t bother. All the pablum you have continued to dish out to us with a little disposable plastic spoon is not making a meal for a real working man,

Remember, I will not change you nor will you change me but it is the audience that is to be won. Can you win them? I very seriously doubt it but go ahead and try,

44

[QUOTE=john;81007]I agree with this statement 100% and with a merchant marine medal for service in the gulf war prominently displayed on my office wall, it’s an important issue that I, literally, never loose sight of (even if the medal belongs, not to me but to my wife :wink: … and this mission is one of the arguments I gave to the NYTimes reporter when I told her that I, personally, am a supporter of KP. So why do my comments appear to be negative? Because you need to put the article in context…

My interview with the Times took hours and consisted of 22 follow-up emails. Thousands of words were spoken but only 39 made it to print:

“It’s an educational institution for an age that the U.S. doesn’t participate in any more,”

And:

"is not focused on the new age of technologically advanced offshore rigs, sub-sea engineering and development of new ideas for port structures and systems.”

I stand by both statements but, neither make KP irrelevant… they simply mean that KP needs to evolve to meet the future of US Shipping, a future which includes new technologically advanced ships and vessel operation (shoreside) systems, staggering growth offshore, evolving naval threats, a new world economy and plenty of current port/infrastructure problems that need to be addressed. All problems which previous administrations and programs within KP (e.g. GMATS) have adressed in the past but are no longer supporting.

The view “contrary” to mine was made by Sean Connaughton, a person I know, deeply respect and who knows more about the subject than I… all reasons why I suggested that the reporter talk contact him.

Personally, I think KP is of great value to the country and our biggest problem as a nation is that we don’t fund enough maritime programs at a national level… and, if it where up to me, I’d double the school’s budget to fund the, much needed, programs mentioned on this forum (e.g. Industry training like GMATS had provided and student training in DP systems) as well as high level research and development programs to solve the industry problems we all know exist.

Unfortunately I don’t get to dictate the national budget nor do I get to pick which 39 of my words the NYTimes will publish.

…but… as Rob mentioned, these are just my personal opinions and they don’t constitute gCaptain’s official policy… which is to be open to both sides of the debate. If there is a “gCaptain bias” it is only because those “against KP” (many of which are alumni) are more vocal on this forum than the rest of us. Vocal enough that the NYTimes took notice and a primary reason why we were called in the first place.[/QUOTE]
John, thanks for the response and insight into the process that occurred to produce the NYT article. Also, I appreciate the support that you articulate for KP. I agree 100% with you thoughts on the budget, the need for advanced training programs and the investment into R & D programs.

Like it or not, gCaptain is known for having an anti-KP bias. The NYT sought you out because of it. This comes from the fact that you have an un-moderated public forum that has taken on a life of its own. For better or worse, this is beginning to define your brand.

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[QUOTE=Uniblab;81428]Like it or not, gCaptain is known for having an anti-KP bias. The NYT sought you out because of it. This comes from the fact that you have an un-moderated public forum that has taken on a life of its own. For better or worse, this is beginning to define your brand.[/QUOTE]

46

[QUOTE=c.captain;81423]Did KP train you to be such a tiny person with such a narrow little mind? Why must you endlessly try to make some ridiculous statement that by serving on a Liberia flagged vessel that I am less of an American mariner that you? I sailed on RRF ships in Gulf War I and so served as a national strategic sealift asset. I remain one to this day and will be until I can no longer qualify to renew my license.

I’ve asked you before and I’ll ask you again…bring something NEW to the table here to debate or don’t bother. All the pablum you have continued to dish out to us with a little disposable plastic spoon is not making a meal for a real working man,

I have successfully countered all your arguments with all the old rationales you have tried to make for KP to remain funded. Remember, I will not change you nor will you change me but it is the audience that is to be won. Can you win them? I very seriously doubt it but go ahead and try,[/QUOTE]

I keep bringing it up because I think it is extremely ironic that the most vocal critic of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on this forum sails for a flag of convenience company. Do you even pay US taxes?

Why bring something new when all the arguments have stood the test of time. I am not trying to win an audience because they are already won. They are voting with their feet and they are running to the entrance of KP, trying to get an appointment to the next class. Thousands of applicants compete each year to get into KP for the three hundred available billets. KP continues to meet its mission. Did I tell you that KP only consumes 2/10000 of the federal budget? Just checking :slight_smile:

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[QUOTE=Uniblab;81435]I keep bringing it up because I think it is extremely ironic that the most vocal critic of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on this forum sails for a flag of convenience company. Do you even pay US taxes?

Why bring something new when all the arguments have stood the test of time. I am not trying to win an audience because they are already won. They are voting with their feet and they are running to the entrance of KP, trying to get an appointment to the next class. Thousands of applicants compete each year to get into KP for the three hundred available billets. KP continues to meet its mission. Did I tell you that KP only consumes 2/10000 of the federal budget? Just checking :)[/QUOTE]

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! My God, sir, you are a character – that you are! There’s never any telling what you’ll say or do next…

Now I have grown tired of your presence and you have come to bore me, so be off with you at once!

48

An un-moderated forum? Since nobody says anything nice about you or your school they need to be censored or “moderated” as you call it? WTF? I would expect nothing less from an indoctrinated government educated person. The reason people are applying is because the education is free. Well it’s tax payer funded so I guess that’s as good as free right? Please don’t try to convince playing weekend warrior a few times a year is repayment for the education. I know one KP grad who acts like he is on SEAL missions when he goes for his duty. By the way I like the gCaptain brand. For most of us it means a no bullshit forum to discuss all manner of things with out worrying about hurting someone’s feelings. You wanna know whats going on in this industry you come here.

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[QUOTE=Fraqrat;81440]An un-moderated forum? Since nobody says anything nice about you or your school they need to be censored or “moderated” as you call it? WTF? I would expect nothing less from an indoctrinated government educated person. The reason people are applying is because the education is free. Well it’s tax payer funded so I guess that’s as good as free right? Please don’t try to convince playing weekend warrior a few times a year is repayment for the education. I know one KP grad who acts like he is on SEAL missions when he goes for his duty. By the way I like the gCaptain brand. For most of us it means a no bullshit forum to discuss all manner of things with out worrying about hurting someone’s feelings. You wanna know whats going on in this industry you come here.[/QUOTE]

Please please Fragrat, the good Captain and I are fellow alumni, only difference being Captain Uniblab changes his shoes every 10 years or so to make the mission fit whereas I am stuck with the ones I put on a half century ago. Doesn’t make us bad, oh, there’s something about brown water I rather not get into.
Acta Non Verba Indeeda ~~~ :smiley:

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[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;81441]
Acta Non Verba Indeeda ~~~ :D[/QUOTE]

Now’a well have’a Myron an’a Bobby an’a Cissi do’a little number for us…

//youtu.be/53vhx6cPVfY

an’a one’a an’a two’a an’a three’a

you know KP today is just about as anachronistic and useless as the Lawrence Welk show in 2012

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[QUOTE=Uniblab;81428]Like it or not, gCaptain is known for having an anti-KP bias. The NYT sought you out because of it. This comes from the fact that you have an un-moderated public forum that has taken on a life of its own. For better or worse, this is beginning to define your brand.[/QUOTE]

Well the forum is not unmoderated, it’s self moderated, meaning if information is false or out of line you can report it and 90% of the time we remove the offending remark.

That said I could also do without the lawrence welk and baby photos (though I do enjoy the Maltese Falcon) and welcome you to stick to the homepage news which is strictly edited and free of these shenanigans.

Am I concerned about our brand image? Yes and many people (well paying advertisers included!) have warned me of this before. But the forum, in it’s current state, IS part of the gcaptain brand.

There are two basic lines of thinking in our industry. The traditional maritime position of saying “no comment” to the press and thinking “no news is good news”. This is the theory most of our competitors run on. Read any US maritime magazine (with a select few exceptions) and you will find word-for-word copies of company press statements published as news articles on half the pages and advertisements on the other half.

The other line of thinking is that the industry (KP included) is suffering from lack of exposure and the ill effects of years of suppressing information (wages, working condition problems, political nonsense). That decades of listening to filtered messages from government, unions, corporate PR hacks, etc - while ignoring the average mariner - has been harmfull to our industry and the future of mariners and the country alike.

Yes the problem is most don’t care to listen to the mariner - the very person who is the heart of this industry. Why? Because we are sometime crude, inappropriate and unflitered. Most of us (myself included) joined this profession because we didn’t want to wear a tie, filter our language, worry about puncuation or be politically correct. We became mariners because we love the sea and a life lived without censorship. We also love to call B.S. when we see it and curse when the ship gets too far off course.

The bottom line is we believe that sharing the truth - good and bad, moderated or not - between those who care about this industry is a worthwhile endeavor. One that will help the industry identify problems and find solutions. This position is rarely popular (I’ll share some of my hate mail - from both sides - someday) but necessary because no good is ever going to come to an industry that ignores it’s most important stakeholders and lets PR people - people trained, not in marine transportation but in protecting the corporate image at all cost - speek for the rest of us.

So gCaptain’s “brand” is the voices of this industry from seaman to CEO and that includes those wearing ties and those wearing grease… it also includes c.captain.

The bottom line is the discussions on this forum accurately reflect the conversations occurring in the break rooms and galleys of every American ship. If that’s a conversation you want to ignore then feel free but realize you are also ignoring the truth. We think it’s a conversation this industry can no longer afford to ignore just “cause it ain’t always pretty”.

And if you read the introduction of my book or asked those I’ve worked with offshore why I was fired from Transocean… it won’t take long to figure out that sitting back and waiting for problems to manifest themselves in tragedy - problems everyone knows about but doesn’t mention in earshot of their boss - is not a line of action I’ll ever subscribe to. I care more about reporting the truth and finding solutions to the real problems - the problems mariners only discuss amongst themselves in the break room - than I care about gCaptain’s brand image, readership numbers, advertising revenue or, quite frankly, the future of my own career.

Lucky for my career and the future of this site… I’m not alone.

52

[QUOTE=Uniblab;81428]

Like it or not, gCaptain is known for having an anti-KP bias. [/QUOTE]

It’s ironic that you take advantage of what you call a “un-moderated public forum that has taken on a life of its own” to post your unsubstantiated opinion about about the site. I can likewise say it’s an unsubstantiated opinion…

Again, can you verify that?

In fact reporters use the gcaptain to find out what is going on behind the scenes, things you wouldn’t read in the press releases

An example is . The Atlantic: No Easy Villains May Mean no Easy Oil… The author Lisa Margonelli, wrote this:

Over the past week I’ve been lurking in the forums of gcaptain.com, a virtual hangout for offshore drilling boat types. Gcaptain may have had the first news of the Deepwater Horizon fire when a nearby boat captain reported it ten minutes after it happened, kicking off a long thread of discussion about possible causes and meanings.

There are other examples as well - here is a recent paper about piracy that lists gcaptain as a source. Anarchy on the High Seas

When I take over the ship, sure, I read the turnover notes, but I also have a walk around and talk to the crew…that’s when I get what Paul Harvey used to call “the rest of the story”

Like it or not mariners and reporters alike come to gcaptain to learn what is going on behind the press releases.

One good thing about gcaptain is any member is allowed to call bull shit when they think they see it.

I call bullshit on your post.

K.C.

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[QUOTE=c.captain;81442]Now’a well have’a Myron an’a Bobby an’a Cissi do’a little number for us…

an’a one’a an’a two’a an’a three’a

you know KP today is just about as anachronistic and useless as the Lawrence Welk show in 2012[/QUOTE]

You posted THAT because of the pointy stick, didn’t cha

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[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;81473]You posted THAT because of the pointy stick, didn’t cha[/QUOTE]

who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man?

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[QUOTE=c.captain;81477]who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man?[/QUOTE]

There is something about a pointed stick.

56

[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;81480]There is something about a pointed stick.[/QUOTE]

Where do you think that the “original” pointy stick came from? I watched Monty Python from its first release in the US in the early 70’s and know the dialog from half the skits by memory (yes, I am getting therapy for that)

//youtu.be/B3KBuQHHKx0

“now then…I’d like to buy some cheese please my good man”

.

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[QUOTE=john;81449]That said I could also do without the lawrence welk and baby photos (though I do enjoy the Maltese Falcon) and welcome you to stick to the homepage news which is strictly edited and free of these shenanigans. [/QUOTE]

aw John…I’m devastated. I thought you loved me!

58

so Captain UniBlab, now that you’ve shot yourself in both feet…what do you say now? Got anything new to add to this discussion? If you don’t, t then leave us alone here in our anti-KP bias. We will never be a cheerleader section for your dear old alma mater. If you want to be all rah, rah go to serviceacademyforums.com where you’ll you’ll find a happily harmonized sycophantic chorus there for mammy and daddy to cheer on their DS little Timmy.

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uniblab, ignore lil’ccappy and stay on here and keep posting: its amusing to watch lil’ccappy get excited. AND its good for John’s numbers.

60

[QUOTE=john;81449]There are two basic lines of thinking in our industry. The traditional maritime position of saying “no comment” to the press and thinking “no news is good news”. This is the theory most of our competitors run on. Read any US maritime magazine (with a select few exceptions) and you will find word-for-word copies of company press statements published as news articles on half the pages and advertisements on the other half.

The other line of thinking is that the industry (KP included) is suffering from lack of exposure and the ill effects of years of suppressing information (wages, working condition problems, political nonsense). That decades of listening to filtered messages from government, unions, corporate PR hacks, etc - while ignoring the average mariner - has been harmfull to our industry and the future of mariners and the country alike.

Yes the problem is most don’t care to listen to the mariner - the very person who is the heart of this industry. Why? Because we are sometime crude, inappropriate and unflitered. Most of us (myself included) joined this profession because we didn’t want to wear a tie, filter our language, worry about puncuation or be politically correct. We became mariners because we love the sea and a life lived without censorship. We also love to call B.S. when we see it and curse when the ship gets too far off course.[/QUOTE]

EXCELLENT - Thank you