The Miami Beach Police Department has extended its deadline for job applications to September 29.

The department is looking for candidates for sworn and nonsworn department positions. To apply, candidates must be a U.S. citizen, have a Florida driver’s license, and be at least 19 years old, among other requirements.

Full employment details including requirements and benefits, as well as an application, can be found right here.

If you are interested in applying for a job with the Miami Beach Police, you can also call the department at (305) 673-7000, Ext. 6393.

It’s exciting to see travel podcasting catching on. Supposedly, it started in January of 2005 with Adam Curry and his South Beach Podcast.

This new podcast by Budget Travel takes us to Miami Beach. The hosts visit the beach and talk with a sun worshiping butler, and a real estate preservationist.

Budget Travel has put a lot of production effort into this podcast, with original music and natural sound FX, but they do feel a bit staged.

Via: Gadling

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The Inaugural Escape to Miami Triathlon has unveiled the course that promises to be both exciting and challenging to over 800 athletes. The race will provide the Eastern U.S. with an Escape from Alcatraz style race amid the beautiful backdrop of Downtown Miami and Miami Beach.

With one of the most unique race starts in the triathlon world, swimmers will be ferried out to “Escape Island” in the middle of Biscayne Bay off Downtown Miami. Swimmers will complete a .9 mile swim, reaching Miami at Margaret Pace Park, where the race continues.

A 2-loop bike course will bring bikers across Biscayne Bay. The fast straightaway on the causeway leads bikers to and from the quiet streets of residential Miami Beach. Bikers will head back to Pace Park for the final challenge—the run.

The Escape concludes with an exciting run that will provide a competitive finish. Set on the water along the MacArthur Causeway, runners will head through the Performing Arts District and over to Watson Island, passing cruise ships, American Airlines Arena and catching a final glimpse of where it all started- “Escape Island.”

The picturesque finish line will be set with the ocean and the island in the background, providing triathletes with the perfect view and a lasting memory of their first ever Escape to Miami.

Registration for the Escape to Miami Triathlon remains open but there are only a few spots remaining.

The Inaugural Escape to Miami Triathlon will take place at 7:30am on Sunday, September 18, 2006. Participants are urged to pick up packets on Saturday, September 17 at Margaret Pace Park on N. Bayshore Drive and 20th Street from 11am to 6pm. Athletes must arrive 2 hours prior to the event in order to load ferries and unload athletes on “Escape Island.”

Race organizers have unveiled the Olympic distance Escape course online at EscapeMiamiTriathlon.com

Miami Beach’s #1 neighboor, Shaquille O’Neal, has been credited with helping police arrest a suspect who assaulted a gay couple on Sunday night.

The Miami Heat center, who is in the process of becoming a Miami Beach reserve officer, was driving in Miami Beach about 3am Sunday. That’s when he saw a man, riding as a passenger in a silver Honda, yelling gay slurs at the couple, said Bobby Hernandez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.

He then got out of the car and with a 1.75 liter bottle of Brandy, broke it on the pedestrian’s back, who was left shaken, but not seriously hurt.

The suspect got back in the car and sped off, but O’Neal followed.

“He flagged down the Miami Beach officer on duty there, and the officer was able to apprehend the subject,” Hernandez said.

Michael Gonzalez, 18, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon, but the Honda’s driver was not charged. Why not? Isn’t it illegal to be driving with open bottles of brandy in the car?

Shaq has previously stated that he hopes to be police chief or county sheriff one day. He’s got my vote. 

Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing points us to a photoshop contest; Great Worth1000’s: If Goths Ruled.

Michelle and I just got back from our friend’s wedding in Argentina. We had a great vacation, and learned a travel tip, or two.

We can’t say enough good things about Buenos Aires. The food, the exchange rate, even the Engligh TV is cool. While we were there, we watched an unedited version of “Cat People” on public TV.

What’s your favorite Goth movie, or band?

For Goth movie, I choose “The Hunger”, staring David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Deneuve.

I can’t choose a band.

My vampire friend, FaberX, recommended a great Goth song to me, but I can’t remember the title. Perhaps when he wakes from his slumber, we can ask him to post a link.

I think the band’s name had the word “Romulus” in it.

Meg James of the LA Times points out “As Hispanic Population Grows, So Does Its Presence On TV”.

Meg has some interesting points related to media trends:

“To lend authenticity to UPN’s upcoming prime-time soap, “South Beach,” some scenes are being shot entirely in Spanish. Subtitles will be sprinkled throughout the midseason offering, which Jennifer Lopez’s production company is filming in Miami.

In ABC’s new sitcom, “Freddie,” one of the main characters—Freddie Prinze Jr.‘s Puerto Rican grandmother—speaks only Spanish. The show, which debuts in October, will use subtitles to translate her words.

In “Go, Diego, Go!” a Nickelodeon cartoon that premiered last week, the hero is a brown-skinned bilingual boy who lives in a rain forest and teaches viewers to say “cuidado” (be careful) and “al rescate” (to the rescue).

The Hispanic market is growing in affluence, and it’s growing in influence,” said Felipe Herrera, director of diversity sales and marketing for General Motors, one of the nation’s largest buyers of TV advertising. “We recognize that this is an incredible opportunity.”

Executives at the major networks are experimenting with a mix of English and Spanish to win over what some say is becoming one of the most attractive groups of all: young bilingual Hispanics.”

As Hispanics become the largest minority group in the United States, representing an estimated $700 billion a year in buying power, media companies and advertisers are scrambling to figure how to appeal to them.

We are reaching out t to our Spanish speaking visitors by translating Miami Beach 411 en Español.

Via: Media Spotlight

As more and more people travel with wireless notebooks and logon to the Internet at public Wi-Fi hotspots, hackers lie in wait, anxious to exploit the security vulnerabilities inherent in Wi-Fi.

The following four tips will help you fortify your defenses while enjoying the benefits of surfing the Web via public Wi-Fi:

Tip #1 - Beware the “Evil Twin”. An “Evil Twin” is a hacker operated hotspot designed to trick users into believing it is a legitimate public hotspot by mimicking the legitimate public hotspot’s network name and login page (if applicable). Once the user has connected to the “rogue” hotspot, the hacker may even go as far as mimicking login pages for popular email and banking sites thereby stealing the user’s most valued login credentials.

A standard protection against this type of attack is to only use public hotspots that provide an SSL-encrypted login connection which has been certified as legitimate by a trusted third party such as Thawte or Verisign. If the login page’s URL begins with “https” versus “http” and you see a “lock” icon in the lower right hand corner of your web browser, it is SSL-encrypted. You can view the SSL certificate from your web browser by clicking File > Properties > Certificates

Tip #2 - Virtually all public hotspots disable WEP and WPA to provide a hassle free login for users. What this means is that your data is not encrypted as it travels through the air and can be read by a hacker using standard command line utilities found in certain operating systems. Unless your company provides you with a VPN (Virtual Private Network), your best bet is to act as if there is always someone looking over your shoulder because someone might be. If you intend to perform financial transactions, ensure that you are doing so over an SSL-encrypted connection.

Tip #3 - Turn your firewall on and configure your wireless network settings as follows: Start > Settings > Network Connections > Wireless Network Connection > Change Advanced Settings > Advanced Tab > Windows Firewall Settings > Select “On” > OK

Turn ad-hoc mode off: Start > Settings > Network Connections > Wireless Network Connection > Change Advanced Settings > Wireless Networks Tab > Select Network > Properties > Uncheck “This is a computer-to-computer (ad-hoc) network” > OK

Disable file sharing: Start > Settings > Network Connections > Wireless Network Connection > Change Advanced Settings > Uncheck “File and Printer Sharing” > OK

Tip #4- Keep both your operating system and anti-virus software current with the latest updates.

By employing these four security tips, your data will stay out of the wrong hands while you surf the Web via public Wi-Fi.

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The National Insurance Crime Bureau ranks Florida cities by car-theft rate. Not surprisingly, Miami ranks #1. (It’s 13th in nation, down from 6th in 2002.)

You don’t think it was a coincidence that the video game “Grand Theft Auto Vice City” was set in Miami do you?

Source: FlaBlog

My friends, Michael and Lisa, just got married in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was storybook wedding, but 6-hours before they were scheduled to board a flight for their honeymoon in New Zealand, they received and email from the airline announcing that their flight had been canceled rescheduled , and the next flight available was the following day.

They called the airlines and got the standard “sorry, but there is nothing we can do” reply.

But Michael was undaunted. He hopped into a cab, and went to the airline ticket office to speak with someone in person. The airlines was much more accommodating face-to-face. The representative apologized for the inconvenience, and made amends by upgrading their tickets to First Class.

If you are traveling and get bumped to a rescheduled flight, here is a list of Airlines in Miami where you can voice a complaint. Michael used the list, and it got him and Lisa First Class tickets on an 18-hour flight.

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Three Carnival Cruise ships have been pressed into service by FEMA to provide shelter for as many as 7,000 hurricane victims.

The Ecstasy, the Sensation and the Holiday are being pulled from regular use starting Monday at the Government’s request. The cost of the charters was not disclosed.

Carnival Cruises spokesman Vance Gulliksen said Saturday from Miami, where the company is based, that pleasure cruises were canceled to make the ships available for the next six months.

“I can’t put a number on it, but we are displacing people to accommodate the FEMA charter,” he said. “You’re looking at tens of thousands.”

Ecstasy, normally ported at Galveston for four-and five-day cruises, and Sensation, normally in New Orleans for similar trips, will both be pulled Monday and are scheduled to dock and house Katrina refugees in Galveston, Texas.

The Holiday, which normally sails four and five-day Mexico cruises out of Mobile, Ala., will be pulled Thursday and likely docked in Mobile.

About 920 crew members will staff the Ecstasy and Sensation, with about 660 running the Holiday. The Ecstasy and Sensation can each take 2,606 total passengers, while the Holiday can hold 1,800.

“We sincerely apologize to those guests whose vacations have been impacted by these voyage cancellations,” Carnival’s chief executive, Bob Dickinson, said in a statement. “This inconvenience… will provide desperately needed housing for thousands of individuals affected by this tragedy.”

All Carnival customers with canceled bookings will get full refunds and the opportunity to re-book on any Carnival ship with a $100-per-person shipboard credit.

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