April Fool's Day Pranks

Since April Fool's Day is on a Sunday this year, there are not as many opportunities to prank your co-workers but here are a few fun ones to try anyway. You need access to their PC for these.


Go into Word and set up the AutoReplace with something funny and irritating. You can be obvious and have the system replace a common word like "the" with an insult. Or delay the agony by making more discrete changes such as a misspelling of your company name.

Everyone has access to a wireless USB remote control for PowerPoint presentations, right? Sneak the wireless receiver into the victim's USB port and then when you are ready, and in range, start messing with his mouse movements and clicks.

See more geeky pranks for April Fool's Day

Cleveland Indians and Social Media

The Cleveland Indians have been involved in social media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc) for years and are expanding their efforts to engage with fans on different platforms such as Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr and a new behind-the scenes blog called Tribe Vibe.

Anne Keegan, Assistant Director of Communications for the Cleveland Indians, tells the Great Lakes Geek about these new efforts.



More on the Tribe and Social Media including how you can apply for the Social Suite and a list of all Cleveland Indians Twitter accounts.

Healthy Granola Recipe

Fast, Fabulous, Fresh Foods Class 9


Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day, yet so often we skip it or just grab any old thing as we run out the door. Fast food offerings and pastries are laden with fat and calories and can actually make us feel hungrier as our blood sugar spikes and drops.

Granola sounds like a good choice, but so many granolas are high in fat and sugar - and expensive. Our recipe is for a basic granola that is low in sugar and fat - it has only ½ cup of oil and ¾ cup of total sugar added to almost 10 cups of mix.

Healthy Granola Recipe

Cherry Blossoms in Cleveland

The 130 cherry trees that line Cleveland's Brookside Reservation were a gift from JANO (Japanese Association of Northern Ohio)

Pictures of the Cherry Trees in full bloom

Dennis Kucinich at Parade

Congressman Dennis Kucinich and his wife Elizabeth Kucinich marched in the 2012 Cleveland St. Patrick's Day Parade but they didn't march with the Public Officials group in the beginning.

Kucinich marched with the West Side Irish American Club instead.

Dogs at the St. Patrick's Day Parade

There were 500,000 humans at the 2012 Cleveland St. Patrick's Day Parade.

But there were a lot of dogs too.

See pictures and videos of the dogs at the Parade.

Irish Setters, Irish Wolfhounds, Siberian Huskies, Pugs, Newfies and lots more.

It was a great day for dogs - and their people.

Tweet Smart with Twitter

The Great Lakes Geek just finished reading #tweetsmart: 25 Twitter Projects to Help You Build Your Community

It's fitting that a book that focuses on the short (140 characters or less) messages of Twitter would itself be fewer than 100 pages.

But don't let the brevity of the 85 page paperback dissuade you from checking it out.

Great Lakes Geek Book Review of #tweetsmart

Latest Recipe

Fast, Fabulous, Fresh Foods - Class 8

Quick Tomato Concasse Sauce for Pasta Recipe.

Tomatoes offer massive health benefits. Besides healthy doses of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, tomatoes have been show to aid in the fight against heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. They are an essential element in the "Mediterranean Diet" which is being touted for its myriad of health benefits - and they taste good!

The fresh basil and parsley flavor the oil and vinegar and then the fragrance blooms when the warm pasta hit it. Don't forget, though, that herbs add so much besides flavor to a dish. Most of them are densely packed with vitamins and nutrients.

Parsley has the highest concentration of anti-oxidants of any plant, as well as vitamins A, C, K, B complex, fiber, and potassium. Basil also offer Vitamins A, C, E, K, niacin, and riboflavin. These are just some of the benefits of basil and parsley.

Pope Shenouda III

"Egypt is a nation that lives within us and not a nation we live in."
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III



Our condolences to the Egyptian community and the Coptic Orthodox Church on the passing of the beloved Pope Shenouda

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Sure the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a great source of civic pride. The entire world knows that "Cleveland Rocks." But does the economic impact of the Rock Hall measure up?

Terry Stewart, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Joel Peresman, President of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation spoke at the Corporate Club at Landerhaven. Listen to the podcast on how much the economic predictions have been blown away by the success of the Rock Hall.

And if you are a member of the KISS Army (or a fan of Rush, Yes, etc.) listen to the criteria for selection into the Hall of Fame.

And don't miss the exciting news about a Rock and Roll Walk of Fame where plaques of inductees will be strewn throughout downtown.

More from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event.

Saint Patrick’s Day message from Irish President Michael D. Higgins.

Irish President Michael D. Higgins sent out a message to the Irish around the world for St. Patrick's Day 2012.

Saint Margaret Mary Church

Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church was one of the many churches that was closed by the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

It is also one of the churches that may have received a reprieve from the Vatican.

A group of former parishioners put together a quick prayer vigil at the Church on Wednesday March 14 and almost 90 people attended.

Here are some photos of Saint Margaret Mary before it closed in 2010.

Here is a short video and photos from the prayer vigil.

You can also choose to be notified of any updates about Saint Margaret Mary, including future events, on that page.

Lithuanian Independence

The Cleveland Lithuanian community gathered to celebrate February 16, 1918 and the declaration of Lithuania's independence.

Pictures and videos from Lithuanian Independence Day celebration in Cleveland

Manufacturing in Cleveland, Ohio and the US

Astronaut Gregory Johnson and
Manufacturing Mart President Mary Kaye Denning

Manufacturing has a higher multiplier effect on the economy than any other sector. For every $1 in manufacturing value added, $1.4 in additional value is created in other sectors. (US Dept. of Commerce - EE Times).

The Manufacturing Mart officially opened its doors within The Galleria in Downtown Cleveland on November 8, 2010. Did you know that Cleveland is located within 600 miles of 60% of all U.S. & Canadian manufacturing locations?

Mary Kaye Denning founded The Mart with the intention of reinvigorating the manufacturing industry in the Rust Belt. Her goal was to unite manufacturers of components, equipment, and consumer products with OEMs. Traditionally, these cutting-edge manufacturers lacked a definitive and effective way of illustrating their capabilities to a hungry OEM market.

Their first Expo last month featured over 150 exhibitors, 3000 North American manufacturers, engineers, inventors and purchasers covering all industries.

Pictures and More from the Manufacturing Mart in Cleveland

Man's Best Friend

Dogs don't care if you are homeless or having problems. They are unconditionally loyal.

DMA Cleveland

Another group you may be interested in, especially if you work in the Marketing department, is the Cleveland Chapter of the Direct Marketing Association.


Their tagline is "Marketing with Focus" and they cover a wide array of marketing topics from the traditional (direct mail) to the latest Internet strategies.

Mike Jones, president of DMA Cleveland, explains the organization and tells who would/should be interested.

Web Association

Do you work in a field that deals with SEO, SEM, paid search and other web site and social media projects?

The Web Association may be the group for you.

The Web Association "is an exciting nonprofit professional organization built upon the prior success of the Cleveland Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals (AIP). The Web Association has roots as one of Northeast Ohio's oldest and most respected professional associations.

Our mission is to serve as a professional technology organization for the Northeast Ohio Internet and Business communities, offering an open forum, education, mutual support and networking opportunities to stimulate business growth."

Chris Serger, president of the Web Association, explains the organization and who would/should be interested.



See more Cleveland and Northeast Ohio groups you may be interested in.

Search Engine Strategies: Techniques and Tools

Whether it's a blog, website or Twitter account if people aren't aware of and able to find your masterpieces, they may not be worth the time you invest in producing them.

Search Engine Optimization or SEO has been the most cost-effective way to let people find you in Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines.

But Google and other top search engines are constantly changing their search ranking formula so what worked last year may not be as effective now. Plus there are always new tools and techniques to manage your SEO and SEM Search Engine Marketing) efforts.

The Web Association and DMA Cleveland combined to present Search Engine Strategies: Techniques and Tools. Over 100 professionals attended the meeting and heard from moderator Ryan Morgan, Online Marketing Coordinator at ERC, and panelists Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer at Aztek, and Eric Pryor, SEO Strategist at Rosetta.

View some of the SEO techniques and tools

2012 Irish Walks of Life Awards

Sister Kathleen Kilbane

Every year since 1997, members of the Irish American community are honored for their contributions. Their achievements bring pride to the Irish American community. Past honorees are a veritable Who's Who of Irish success stories. This year's class is certainly no exception.

The Irish American Archives Society produces the annual Walks of Life Awards dinner.

In 2012, Michael Cleary, Edward Crawford, Sister Kathleen Kilbane, CSJ and Janice Murphy were honored.

Pics and videos from the 2012 Irish Walks of Life Awards

(Don't miss Janice Murphy's Top Ten reasons she loves being Irish)

Pinterest

Pinterest seems to be the hot social media property right now. So what do the experts say about it?

Check out the short video where Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer at Aztek, and Eric Pryor, SEO Strategist at Rosetta, give their take on Pinterest at a meeting of the Web Association in Cleveland.

Skorepa says "don't abuse it" and Pryor reminds users to add value.