Win free International Film Fest Tickets

ClevelandPeople.Com is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2010 Cleveland International Film Festival.

We have a bunch of tickets to give away to the film of your choice.

Enter the contest and in the Age field, type in Blog and we will give you an extra few chances to win.

Top Tech Titans in Town

So how do you come up with a list of the Top Tech Titans in Town? That's what I did for my March column in Inside Business magazine. The January issue listed the most powerful Business people in town and I thought Tech needed its own list.

Read and hear the rationale behind some of the selections and the categories. By popular request I also publish the Top Ten in the the popular vote.

And I include the Up and Comers category which got cut from the magazine version.

Alice in Wonderland

I have always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland - but maybe for different reasons than most. In college I was exposed to the mathematics of Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass are loaded with logical puzzles. So are the the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky."

Dodgson was a pretty good mathematician, and not just in logic. He also did good work in geometry and matrix algebra.

A professor at King's College in Pennsylvania has just published a chapter asking if Alice is a good role model for young women.

I don't have an answer for that but the upcoming movie looks interesting and Dodgson/Carroll's mathematics was robust.

And how can you not like Jabberwocky? Especially when it has been so brillig lately.

There's always one in every photo

For whatever reason, I get a big kick out of this (doctored) photo.

Irish Famine isn't funny

Brunswick, Ohio. As the Ohio State Board President of the largest Irish American organization in the United States, I am writing to demand that Denny's immediately cease airing their advertisement concerning the promotion for foods referencing the "Irish Famine".

The "Potato Famine", as it is sometimes called, was actually a forced hunger which took place in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. It killed over one and a half million of its people and forced millions of others to immigrate. This starvation, or as it is called in Ireland, "An Gorta Mor", which means the "Great Hunger", was man made by English absentee landlords who, with very few exceptions, did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the people.

It is well-documented history that while the Irish people starved for lack of their staple crop, mutton, beef, vegetables, corn and other foods were raised or harvested and exported to England under guard where they were sold for profit. Interestingly, Ireland was not the only country where fungus destroyed the potato crop. It began in N. America and spread to Europe yet no other country had a famine.

Denny's has the audacity to make fun of the those who died of starvation and disease that was much worse than any genocide ever recorded in history so they can sell their product on the back of our dead ancestors. We are appalled at their ad, as are all Irish and Irish Americans. We are not the only Irish American organization in the United States who have ready to let Denny's know how we feel about our
ancestors' defamation so they can sell a product and make a profit.

We ask that they immediately cease and desist from airing this vile and disrespectful advertisement.


Joseph Casey
President, Ohio State Board

Pepi le Pew

Every year it's a struggle to keep my dog away from the local skunks. For the last 16 years I've had black labs and they fearlessly go after the smelly creatures.

I thought I had some time before worrying about them this year until I read what the Humane Society posted.

"Humans aren’t the only ones with romance on their minds for Valentine’s Day. Amorous male skunks are busy playing the dating game as well. February through March is mating season for skunks, and people shouldn’t be surprised to suddenly smell that distinctly unpleasant foul odor. According to The Humane Society of the United States, this is a female skunk’s way of warding off unwanted suitors. Fortunately, skunk romance only lasts a short time. "

Yeah, but a sprayed dog stays smelly a long time.

More details on skunks.

Microsoft Money

No, not the product that attempted to dethrone Quicken.

It's no secret that Microsoft makes most of its money on Windows and Office.

This chart from BusinessInsider.Com shows it clearly.

Still think it's a coincidence that Google is targeting Windows and Office?

Click the 'Test me' Button

Visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation webpage and check out their Panopticlick.

Panopticlick tests your browser to see how unique it is based on the information it will share with sites it visits.

Click the Test me button and you will be given a uniqueness score, letting you see how easily identifiable you might be as you surf the web.

They only collect anonymous data. See the results from my sample PC.

Vancouver Winter Olympics

I have to admit, I prefer the Summer Olympics. I love the track and field, the volleyball and the basketball in particular.

But I am eager to get into the Vancouver Winter Olympics which start Friday. I wonder how they will pull off the Opening Ceremonies inside the BC? It's the first time the ceremony will be held indoors.

I don't follow skating but we were fortunate to get a preview of who to watch from two skating legends at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards last week.

Carol Heiss Jenkins won the Silver Medal in 1956 and between 1957 and 1960, Carol Heiss dominated women's figure skating like nobody since Sonja Henie. She was U.S. and World Champion every year, and at the 1960 Winter Olympics Heiss captured the gold medal, being ranked first by all nine judges.

Her student and 1996 United States silver medalist and a three-time World team member Tonia Kwiatkowski also told us what to watch for.

Check out the 2 short video clips and enjoy the Games!

I could coach this basketball team

Even I could win a gold medal as coach of this team.

USA Basketball revealed today 27 players who have been named to the 2010-2012 USA Men's National Team program.

Returning to the USA National Team for 2010-12 are 2008 Olympic gold medalists Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets); Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz); Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors); Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic); LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers); Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz). Rounding out the list of Olympians on the national squad roster are 2004 Olympic bronze medalists Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers) and Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns).

Completing the list of National Team players are LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves); David Lee (New York Knicks); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies); Kendrick Perkins (Boston Celtics); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

Actually with that group, I could play on the team and we would win gold.

Early deduction for Haiti relief donations

A law signed by President Obama on January 22 lets you take an early tax deduction for contributions you make for earthquake relief to Haiti. And if you use your cell phone to donate via a text message, the new law gives you an easier method for substantiating your contribution.

If you itemize deductions on your tax return, you may elect to take a charitable deduction on your 2009 return for Haiti contributions made after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010. Claiming a 2010 contribution on your 2009 return will give you an earlier tax benefit, though you may also wait until you file your 2010 return to take the deduction.

Here are other important details.


The contributions must be made specifically for relief related to the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.


The contributions must be made to qualified charities, rather than to specific individuals.


Only cash contributions qualify for the earlier 2009 deduction option; contributions of property or goods do not qualify.
Contributions made to foreign charities generally don't qualify.


You'll need records to substantiate any deductible donations you make. But a special easing of the rules will allow you to use your telephone bill as substantiation for donations made by text message. The phone bill must show the name of the organization receiving your donation, the date of the contribution, and the amount you gave. For other donation methods, you'll need a bank record or written communication from the charity.


If you claim a Haiti relief deduction on your 2009 return, you may not also claim the same donation on your 2010 return (which you'll be filing in 2011). To decide whether to take the deduction on your 2009 or 2010 return, run the numbers to see which year will give you the bigger tax savings. For 2009, higher-income taxpayers have a limit on their total itemized deductions. This limit is eliminated for 2010, so the deduction could actually provide a bigger tax break if taken on your 2010 tax return.

Cleveland Sports

No, this isn't going to be a depressing post about the Drive or Fumble or Shot or our lack of Super Bowl appearances.

The Cleveland Sports Awards was held last Wednesday (February 3, 2010) at the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom and it reinforced how many tremendous athletes we have in the area and that sports goes beyond the NBA, NFL and MLB.

Sure, the professional sports were on the agenda with LeBron James winning best Pro Athlete over his teammate Mo Williams and Browns Pro Bowler Joe Thomas.

But a lot of fun was interacting with the amateur and school athletes. Olympians such as Carol Heiss, Hayes Jenkins, Dominique Moceanu, Diana Munz, Tonia Kwiatkowski and Bill Kerslake attended as did school and amateur athletes such as CSU's J'Nathan Bullock, Elyria HS' Tess Sito and Euclid's (now Texas A&M's) Jessica Beard.

There are some great photos and videos from the event (like Bob Feller with the Captains mascot!) at GreatLakesGeek.Com

Win free tickets to Great Big Home & Garden Expo

There are 2, count 'em 2, home and garden shows this year. The original moved to Euclid and was held last week. A new one, Great Big Home & Garden Expo, is going to be at the I-X Center next week.

Ty Pennigton and Cheryl Tiegs (whatever happened to that poster on my wall?) are the biggest named celebs at the show.

You can enter to win free tickets at ClevelandSeniors.Com or ClevelandWomen.Com

What's the word? Thunderbird

One of my all time favorite bands is the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

E-mal cient Thunderbird 3 is now out but I can't rate it as fabulous. I have used Eudora as my main e-mail client for many years. It's no longer being supported and many recommend a move to Thunderbird.

Thunderbird 3 is now out and the Mozilla folks have some cool features. One is for the situation where you promise to attach a file to a message and then forget to attach. Thunderbird 3 will scan your message for words like 'attachment' and then prompt you if you don't actually attach anything.

The tabbed model, a la their web browser Firefox is also cool. But they still don't have a separate line for CC or BCC when you create an e-mail. Any addresses go to the To field by default and then you have to move to CC or BCC. That's too kludgy.

I wonder about the future of e-mail clients when so many seem to be going to the cloud (gmail, etc) for their mail.

More Jerry Stiller

We just added some terrific sound bites from the Jerry Stiller interview.

Listen to him talk about the Browns moving from Cleveland, his family excursions (with wife Anne Meara, son Ben Stiller and daughter Amy), Cain Park, Alpine Village, Kenley Players and more Cleveland stuff.

He even calls Cleveland the Catskills of the Midwest! Take a listen.

Jerry Stiller and Cleveland

Watching Seinfeld or King of Queens you would think that Jerry Stiller, who played George Costanza's father and Dough Heffernan's father-in-law, would be a loud, obnoxious boor.

Actually he is a soft-spoken fascinating man with a font of stories from the glory days of comedy up through the present.

My sister Debbie interviewed him last week about his current role in Hallmark's Ice Dreams and they started talking about his memories of Cleveland and the good old days.

Read about Jerry Stiller and Cleveland and much more.

Happy belated Festivus, Jerry!

99 cent software - one day only

WinPatrol Plus has always been a pretty good security program. Now, as an experiment, they are offering a lifetime license for the grand sum of 99 cents.

This is a one-day only experiment starting at midnight EST on Jan 29th and will last 24 hours. It will be available at WinPatrol.com.

It normally sells for $29.95 and the 99 cent license will be good for life.

Get more details at GreatLakesGeek.com

Jerry Stiller - Love him or hate him?

I don't know of anyone who is indifferent about Jerry Stiller. In recent years he is of course best known for his roles as George Costanza's father on Seinfeld and as Arthur Spooner on King of Queens.

My sister did an interview with him this week (will be posted soon) about his new Hallmark movie called Ice Dreams



But mention his name and some people will recoil with "I can't stand him!" while others gush "He's hilarious!"

However you feel, it's a fascinating story of a relatively minor comic (teaming up with his wife Anne Meara) who hit the big time on TV.

He does a great job on the Hallmark Ice Dreams special too.

He has some Cleveland connections which will be exposed in the upcoming interview.

So, what do you think of the actor?

Empty Sky?

What happens when you point the Hubble Space Telescope at a seemingly blank patch of sky?

It's not so empty. Watch the results of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D project.




Our puniness (is that a word?) is further exemplified in these planet and solar system models.

Elder Abuse

I heard on the news today about some punks who are targeting the elderly. One pretends to shovel their snow and the other goes through their house and grabs anything of value. What punks!

Targeting the helpless - seniors, kids, disabled, etc - is particularly vile and disgusting. Unfortunately we hear these news stories too often. But there is much that we never hear.

It's not just criminals. Sometimes elder abuse comes at the hands of caretakers and even family members.

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland published a great article on Elder Abuse in their newsletter and let us reprint it on ClevelandSeniors.Com.

One of the sad things was when I was searching for books on the subject, I found 361 on Amazon alone. It's really a shame how prevalent this problem is.

Health Care system with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano

In these days of Web 2.0, Google and Twitter it is easy to forget that the largest computer company in the world is Big Blue, IBM.

Sam Palmisano was keynote speaker at the annual Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit on October 6, 2009. He used the occasion to introduce IBM's new Personal DNA Sequencer Project.



He also spoke about the health care system and the 4 essential qualities of any reliable system.

And IBM knows systems!

Palmisano's best line? The health care system isn't broken... because it's not really a system!

See more and watch video snippets of Sam Palmisano's keynote

Gumby creator dies

Gumby animator Art Clokey died yesterday in California at age 89.

Clokey first molded Gumby for a surreal student project at the University of Southern California called "Gumbasia." That led to his making shorts for the "Howdy Doody Show" and several series through the years.

Clokey had said he modeled Gumby's funky sweeping head on his father's hairdo.

Gumby's reaction to the passing? He was... wait for it... bent out of shape.

Google Tax in France

Andreas Pouros, COO of Greenlight wrote today that France’s “Google tax” – Sounds like protectionism - and I agree.

Porous says "A report has been made public proposing that France begins taxing the likes of Google to subsidise its own creative industry. The authors of the report suggest that this new taxation could raise up to the equivalent of $28 million, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t much money at all.

The suggestion that the tax will help France subsidize music artists and book publishers doesn’t therefore sound like the sole objective here, given that this amount of money won’t make much of a difference if it’s spread so thinly across France’s creative community.

On this basis it feels like protectionism of the worst sort – instead of collaborating with successful, innovative companies, or creating an environment that promotes innovation domestically, France appears to want to give its own industries an unfair commercial advantage by taking money from non-French firms.

More on France's Google Tax and Pouros' comments.

Toughest American

I was fortunate. Too young for Vietnam and tool old for Iraq. But I really respect the brave men and women who defended and still protect us.

My Dad, like many of his era, lied about his age so he could enlist in the Army at age 17. He was a tough dude.

I just came across the story of Colonel Robert Howard who died last year from cancer and he was probably the toughest of them all.

As you can watch in this short video news report from NBC's Brian Williams, Howard was nominated for the Medal of Honor an astounding 3 times! You can only win this ultimate award once in a lifetime but maybe he deserved more than one.

He earned 8 Purple Hearts and numerous other decorations - watch the video for the details.

Cancer finally claimed Bob Howard but what a great American and tough dude. We need to hear more about heroes like him.

Door chalk on the Epiphany

Have you ever noticed that soem Catholics homes have a few numbers and letters written in chalk above one of their doorways?

That's a reminder to ask God to bless the house.

Each year at the Epiphany, it's a good time to update and re-inscribe for the new year.

Details of what to write, do and why in the Catholic section of ClevelandPeople.Com

CAP Volunteer - Plain Dealer Hero

Dan Davenport is featured on the front page of this morning's Plain Dealer as a Local Hero. Dan is a super volunteer and is well deserving of the honor.

You can read the article online here.

You can learn more about Dan Davenport the man in his profile on ClevelandSeniors.Com

Lime Ribbon Launch Party

The Great Lakes Geek was on hand at the LimeRibbon.Com launch at the Cool Cleveland party at Crop Bistro.

LimeRibbon.Com is the result of a group of local entrepreneurs who challenged themselves to exploit the growth of social media by tying it to a shopping platform.

Details and photos from the LimeRibbon Launch


Tech Czar Michael DeAloia and Franchise King Joel Libava

Newspaper wars - Cleveland Press vs Plain Dealer

If you are too young to remember June 17, 1982 then you probably won't understand what all the fuss is about.

Likewise if you grew up getting your news from the Internet or Cable TV or even the Daily Show on Comedy Central, you can never fully understand what the golden era of newspapers was like.

In the 50's through 70's (the time frame of Gimme Rewrite, Sweetheart: Tales from the Last Glory Days of Cleveland Newspapers Told by the Men and Women Who Reported the News ) there was real competition between the morning Plain Dealer and the afternoon Cleveland Press.

And believe it or not, Cleveland was big enough for 2 daily newspapers.

This book is a collection of stories from 54 Cleveland reporters, editors and photographers that John Tidyman interviewed.



You will recognize a lot of the names and the stories will bring you back to a time that seems ancient (manual typewriters, smoky newsrooms, boozing reporters, etc) but is really not that far off.

Read my review of Gimme Rewrite, Sweetheart

Steal this Book!

According to the New York Times, this is the most shoplifted book in the modern era:

The Virgin Suicides: A Novel




Lots of teens sure get into death and goth and the macabre. Cheer up! Wait till you become an adult. Then you can complain (grin)

Here's a blurb from Publishers Weekly

Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction.

Santa has a big night coming up

Shhhh!

Let them sleep. Santa has a busy night coming up

More Christmas pictures

Cavs Dance Team, Tsingtao Dancers and beer!

Sometimes I love my job.

Last Monday I got to witness history as Tsingtao Brewery Co. signed a multi-year agreement with the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers to become the exclusive Chinese beer of Quicken Loans Arena.

The partnership is the first between Tsingtao (pronounced CHING dow), China’s most popular beer company, and an NBA team and arena in the United States.

Of course, as I explain in my postings at greatlakesgeek.com this is much more than a contract to sell beer. It opens Cleveland up to China and China up to NE Ohio.

There are a lot of photos and videos, including Cavs players and the Cavs Dance team and award-winning Tsingtao Dancers so be sure and check it out.

To top it off, free Tsingtao beer was available to everyone!

Cleveland Cavaliers Christmas

Sometimes you are lucky and sometimes not so much.

I was frustrated last year when I had an equipment failure during my interview with former HP CEO Carly Fiorina. Of all times for a breakdown!

But I got lucky with a photo of Cleveland Cavs center Anderson Varejao. I was at the Cavs and Monsters Christmas event at the Q last Monday.

I shot a lot of pics and video and posted the best on ClevelandWomen.Com.

Andy Varejao was a popular player to pose with so I shot a lot of pics of him with kids. This one picture of him with a tiny baby is a classic IMHO.

Classic Christmas Song

To me, the classic Christmas song is Silent Night. Sure, I love Run Run Rudolph by Chuck Berry (and the Keith Richards version) but Silent Night is the best.

It was great to hear the song sung, in German, at a party held by the German American Business Association on Monday.

In German, Silent Night is Stille Nacht.

Check out the short video and photos/videos of other German Christmas traditions such as cutting the stollen with a sword at ClevelandPeople.Com

Win Jim Brickman CDs

Jim Brickman was born in Cleveland and began playing piano at the age of five. He lived here until he was 28 and he says "he loved it."

He attended Shaker Heights High School after which he simultaneously took music classes at Cleveland Institute of Music and business classes at Case Western Reserve.

ClevelandWomen.Com has a contest for free Jim Brickman CDs including and autographed copy of Beautiful World.

Enter to win Jim Brickman CDs

Santa must be Polish

A classic Bobby Vinton song for the holidays

Listen here

Get invited to the Party

What began as the secret Tin Fu group has evolved into an annual lunch event hosted by the Great Lakes Geek. It's strict invite only and an eclectic group of business people, techies, sports figures, media types and others make up the annual mix.

If you want to be invited, we are raffling off 2 invitations to people who purchase the Cleveland Cooks cookbook at the special $10 holiday price (normally $15).

Proceeds from the cookbook go to Computers Assisting People (CAP).

Check out and order the cookbook in the next few days for a chance to be invited to next Thursday's bash.

Thanksgiving Miracle

I'm not sure if the miracle is getting the dog and cat in those clothes or to have them pose like that.

Either way, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours

Enjoy these Thanksgiving recipes, facts, history and advice.

MSNBC used our content sans permission

I am used to small websites taking content from one of ours and posting without authorization or credit. What can you do? But it always irritates me when one of the big players does.

MSNBC took direct quotes from our profile of Paige Palmer and posted it on their site without any credit to us.

That’s just wrong.

Do your own work! Or at least ask for permission (we would have given) or give credit.

When the NY Times quoted our Dante Lavelli story, they gave proper credit.
But MSNBC is far from the NY Times.

Paige Palmer

Television Pioneer, First Lady of Fitness and Fashionista Paige Palmer passed away in her sleep early Saturday (11/21) morning.

She was a true pioneer and legend and a very classy lady. I only met her a few times but she was always very gracious. My sister Debbie met her many more times and wrote her story and they had a close relationship.

Paige was one of a kind and will be missed

Paige Palmer profile

Cat Scratch Fever

IBM scientists, using an ultra-powerful supercomputer, have just replicated the cerebral cortex of the average house cat. The simulated cat brain uses 147,000 CPUs.

Insert your own cat joke here.

More details on the IBM cat

Raffle for Macy's gift bags

Friday at 6PM is your last chance to enter the raffle for one of three gift bags from Macy's. The bags are loaded with fragrances and other products from Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and more.

As a reader of this blog, enter the following code ATFF6 in the Secret Code field to increase your chances.

Good luck.

Sandy Alomar's back

The Cleveland Indians and Manager Manny Acta today announced the hiring of Sandy Alomar Jr. as First Base Coach.

Alomar, 43, spent eleven (11) seasons catching with the Cleveland Indians from 1990-2000 where he was a six-time All-Star selection and last summer was the 33rd player to be inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame.

During his tenure with the Indians, Alomar hit .277 (944-3409) with 194 doubles, 92 home runs and 453 RBI in 985 games and was the Tribe's field leader behind the plate on club's that won five (5) American League Central Division titles and two (2) American League Pennants.

Welcome back Sandy

No recession at Fab Food Show

Recession? What recession? People were spending like sailors on leave at the Fabulous Food Show this weekend.

And the celebrity chefs (Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Sandra Lee (in photo above), Tyler Florence, Guy Fieri, etc.) were treated like rock stars!

Photos and more from the Fabulous Food Show

Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!

I just love that quote from Ronald Reagan's 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany.

With the 20 year anniversary of the Wall's demise last week (11/9) I grabbed a series of podcasts to refresh my memory and learn some new stuff about the 2 Germanys, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall and Reunification.

Of course the collapse of the Wall affected much more than Germany as the entire Iron Curtain enslaving Eastern Europe began to unravel.

I posted some info and videos of parts of Reagan's speech and the celebration as the Wall came down in the German section of ClevelandPeople.Com

Greatest Ohio State Buckey player ever

No surprise in this poll.

When we asked ClevelandSeniors.Com visitors:

Who was the greatest Ohio State Buckeye football player of all time?

It wasn't even close.

Archie Griffin - 78%

Hopalong Cassady - 8%

Randy Gradishar - 3%

Chris Spielman - 2%

Also receiving votes were Bill Willis, Vic Janowicz, Paul Warfield, Jim Houston, John Brockington, Rek Kern, Jack Tatum and Tom Matte.

Comments and more results

Windows 7 - what you need, what to buy

Hopefully the last 3 Great Lakes Geek podcasts about the features and benefits of Windows 7 have convinced you to give it a try.

But there are still so many questions.

What version of Windows 7 should you buy?
What hardware do you need?
Should you get 32-bit or 64-bit?
Do you need a new PC?
Is it easy to upgrade?
What about my Windows XP legacy apps?

The latest podcast covers those important questions. And remember, you can always Ask the Geek if you have more questions.

Win a pair of FREE TICKETS to the Fabulous Food Show

Win a pair of FREE TICKETS to the Fabulous Food Show. November 13-15 at the IX Center. See Bobby Flay, Sandra Lee, Tyler Florence, Gus Fieri and Iron Chef Michael Symon and lots of great food stuff!

More details and enter here

RIP Incandescent Bulb

Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor of ECNmag.com has a terrific article about the forced obsolescence of older technologies such as the incandescent light bulb.

As Lomberg says, "Just as government shouldn’t prop up legacy technologies, nor should they take the opposite approach—ban them. The European Union and the US government have taken the latter approach. The first phase of the EU’s ban, covering 100 W bulbs, went into effect September 1st. 75 W will get the ax in 2010, followed by 60 W in 2011, and closing out with 40/25 W in 2012. "

The bans are just leading to lots of purchases and hoarding.

"The ban has proved to be massively unpopular. In one poll, 64% of Austrians found the legislation “nonsensical.” Holger Krahmer, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany's FDP party, declared the ban “light bulb socialism.” Czech President Vaclav Klaus is apparently urging consumers to buy up incadenscent bulbs in droves.

And the public is responding—with their wallets. Der Spiegel reports a huge increase in incandescent sales across Germany. For 100 W bulbs, sales rose by 80-150%. Clearly, the market has decided against CFL’s."

In the US, the "100 W bulb will be the first to go, meeting its untimely demise in 2012. By 2014, incandescents will be completely eliminated. What happened to consumer choice? Fair competition?"

Read more of Lomberg's column

Not the college type?

It's been a looooong time since I had to decide on college but I do remember that many of my friends did not attend. They were "not the college type" or so they thought.

Some eventually headed to higher ed, some went into business or military and some have just been hanging out (you know who you are!)

A reader wrote to Ask Cathy (Cathy Horton's advice column) that she is not the college type but wants a secure, lasting career (not just a series of jobs)

Ask Cathy gave some pretty good advice as to a hot area that should be immune to economic woes. IT in health care. Hard to argue. You can read it at the above link or listen to the podcast version.

Corn maze for blondes

On Rt 6 between Sandusky & Fremont, OH.

Come on Apple - it's getting old

I prefaced my latest podcast on Windows 7 (this one features some of the new cool and fun stuff in Windows 7) with a short rant about Apple as follows:

Before I get into some of the cool and fun new features of Windows 7 I have to complain about Apple's latest attack ads. Instead of trying to demonstrate why they believe their products are better, Apple is again attacking Microsoft, trying to make the PC and PC users seem uncool.

Frankly it is starting to reek of desperation. It displays Apple's insecurities about their paltry 3% of the PC market.

It's getting old Apple - give it up. Use you marketing to convince us why we might want to choose your products, not to just attack.

Windows 7 Whopper

Burger King in Japan has released a 7 pattie Whopper to celebrate the launch of Microsoft Windows 7. Urp!

Swine Flu (H1N1) and pregnant women

Health officials have revealed that the H1N1 virus has hit pregnant women especially hard. There have been over 700 cases of H1N1 in 2009 in pregnant women since late April or early May, 100 pregnant women admitted to intensive care units and 28 pregnant women have died from H1N1 this year.

With the H1N1 vaccine just recently made available, one of the first “high-risk” groups to have the vaccine available to them will be pregnant women. As only 15 percent of pregnant women get vaccinated against the seasonal flu each year, even more are nervous about getting the H1N1 vaccine.

If you know someone who is expecting, please have them read this article so they do the right thing for them,selves and their baby.

10% off all Microsoft stuff till Tuesday at midnight

10% off everything and anything (XBOX 360, Zune, Windows 7, Office, Games, Hardware, etc) until Tuesday at midnight.

Click on box below and use the code OFFMSSTORE

Windows 7

Windows 7 launches on Thursday October 22.

So is this going to be another version like the troubled Windows ME or Vista or more like the robust and popular Windows 98 and Windows XP?

The Great Lakes Geek has been testing Windows 7 for several months and will give you the scoop in a series of podcasts on the new OS.

This first podcast deals with the 3 main problem areas of Windows Vista and sees what Windows 7 does to correct them.

We're # 2!

HP is still the number one PC maker with about 20% of the market. Dell is still #2, right? Not so fast.

Strong netbook sales have pushed Acer at 14% past Dell at 11% into the # 2 spot.

Lenovo and Toshiba come in 4th and 5th.

Sorry Apple fanatics. The Mac is still less than 4% worldwide despite their great marketing.

Batman

Sometimes it's good to be the GreatLakesGeek. Like when you get to preview a new Warner Bros Batman Animation.

A new Batman: The Brave & The Bold episode, "Mayhem of the Music Meister!," airs next Friday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. on the Cartoon Network.

Supported by a 28-member orchestra assembled on the famous Eastwood scoring stage at Warner Bros., special guest-star Neil Patrick Harris voices the Music Meister - Batman's newest villain who is able to exert powerful mind-control through song.

Let's face it. For many of us, our first exposure to opera came from the Bugs Bunny classics. This episode has great color and animation but the sound is really impressive. In fact, the soundtrack will be available after airdate on Amazon, iTunes, etc.

The Music Meister controls both heroes and villains when his voice hits a certain pitch. He makes them sing and dance and do his bidding.

It's not your typical Batman episode. It even has a romatic component (with canary). Kind of like Batman on Broadway.

Free Firewall - Today only

ZoneAlarm will giveaway its popular security software "ZoneAlarm Pro
Firewall" for Free. The promotion will be good for 24-hours, starting
today, October 13 (Tuesday).

http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/sum/index.html

I must be hungry

Another food post!

I thought the Cleveland Indians did a tremendous job in one area at least this summer. Their new food options were terrific.

They teamed up with some Wellness chefs at the Cleveland Clinic for some tasty and healthy ballpark fare such as baked sweet potato "fries," guacamole with whole grain chips, vegetable chili, Waldorf salad, salmon sliders, grilled chicken breasts, chocolate bars and frozen banana chips dipped in dark chocolate.

Watch a short video with Executive Chef Jim Perko from Cleveland Clinic

But the Cavs may have trumped them - and hopefully their season will be much better too.

Quicken Loans Arena has a deal with Cleveland's own Iron Chef Michael Symon for food for Cavs games and other events. Bar Symon at The Q and The B Spot will both offer Chef Symon's award-winning fare.

How about some Pork Pastrami – a sandwich with coleslaw, stadium mustard and Swiss cheese on rye bread while watching Lebron James dunk?

Or Michael Symon's Mac & Cheese – made with rosemary, goat cheese and roasted tomatoes during a Shaq Attack?

Can't wait for tip off!

See more of the Michael Symon- Cleveland Cavaliers deal

Don't miss Iron Chef Michael Symon's first ever cookbook!
Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen

Mmmmm Apples - Top Ten Varieties

The last several peaches I ate were brown inside. I guess their time is over for the season. But that means it's apple time!

When apples are in season you just can't beat them. I usually eat the entire apple - even the core. I started that as a kid even though the seeds contain a little of the poison cyanide.

I usually eat Delicious apples. I've tried a few other varieties - the green Granny Smiths. Golden Delicious and others but a good old Delicious is still my favorite.

But after reading this list of Top Ten Apple varieties I am eager to try a few others.

And I am always open to accepting apple pies and other dishes. Here's a couple books of apple recipes (Hint, hint)

Apple Pie Perfect: 100 Delicious and Decidedly Different Recipes for America's Favorite Pie


A Is for Apple: More Than 200 Recipes for Eating, Munching and Cooking with America's Favorite Fruit


The Big Fat Red Juicy Apple Cookbook

Olympics in Rio

I think this selection makes sense.

Sure it would be nice to have in the US again but it is such a drain on the local economy. Montreal is still in debt from 1968!

Plus I was in Chicago years ago when princess Diana came through. The city basically shut down. You could not travel (drive) a few blocks in less than an hour - really. A Chicago Olympics would be gridlock.

Tokyo didn't need it. Spain has had Barcelona recently but there has never been an Olympics on the continent of South America. That's crazy!

Rio is supposedly very corrupt (like Chicago is not?) but Beijing pulled it off and I am sure they will too.

Geek Test

Infoworld came out with their annual geek test. It's 20 questions ranging from net admin stuff to pop culture to computer history.

It's not an easy test.

I had to guess on a few and still did poorly.

See how bad I did and try it yourself.

3 apps enter, 2 apps leave

No this isn't Thunderdome.

But what if you had to give up one of your trusted office applications (or their equivalents)

Would you give up Word, Excel or Access?

The Great Lakes Geek wants to know

Vote here

Hail to the Chief

OK, it was the Chief of Serbia but it was still exciting.

Before his trip to speak at the United Nations last week, Serbian president Boris Tadic made a side trip to Cleveland.

A reception and private dinner were held in his honor Sunday evening at the Marriott at Key Tower. Sen Voinovich, Congressman Kucinich, ambassadors and other dignitaries attended.

Thanks to Alex Strmac for getting me in to the exclusive private dinner afterwards.

On Monday, president Tadic visited the Serbian Cultural Garden. Check out the pictures and video from his visit.

Talk like a Pirate Day

Has it been a year already? Saturday September 19th is the annual Talk like a Pirate Day.

Which means that Walk like a Pirate Day will be on Sunday

More info and some word and action suggestions

Mickey Mantle or Dr. Phil?

Let's face it. Men, in general, are less apt to talk about our health and feelings than women. And we often pay the price for ignoring health and lifestyle issues.

Maybe if a sports star discussed it with us, we would do better.

That's the gist of the book - What Would Mickey Mantle Say:
Coaching Men to Health and Happiness By Michael Samuelson.



Six men from a company softball team are described in detail and we follow them through the season via post-game get togethers. The men are of various ages and situations so they cover most of the issues that men face today.

Each chapter focuses on a particular issue, such as stress, rage, depression and suicide and after the guys "discuss" a problem we get feedback from a "virtual" Professor Edwards and Mickey Mantle.

There is some voyeuristic fun in reading about the guys problems and having #7 weigh in adds to it.

Check out my review and read more about the book (and Mickey)

Big Ben?

It hasn't been easy being a Cleveland Brown's fan for the last 15 years or so. Especially when our arch-rivals in Pittsburgh and Baltimore have had such success.

But at least we don't dress like this!



Thanks (I think) to Gary Baney for sending it

Strange Buildings

I saw the Basket Building in one of Neil Zurcher's One Tank Trip books and I'm pretty sure I saw the Ripley Museum when I was in Niagra Falls years ago.

But the rest of these strange buildings were new to me.

I love the House Attack from Austria and the Kansas City library.

Here's "The Crooked House" from Poland

Never Forget

We get so busy sometimes with our daily lives that we don't have time to reflect on things. None of us will ever forget the events of September 11, 2001 but it takes a jolt from the calendar to remind us.

Greatest Ohio State Buckeye Football Player

The latest vote at ClevelandSeniors.Com is to identify the greatest football player ever to wear the Scarlet and Gray.

Listed are Archie Griffin, Hopalong Cassady, Rex Kern and Randy Gradishar but we expect votes for Jim Houston, Jack Tatum, Paul Warfield, Chris Spielman, Tom Matte, John Brockington and others.

Note we say football player so coach Woody Hayes doesn't qualify.

You don't have to be a senior to vote. It's easy and anonympous. Vote early and often.

Otto Graham and Jim Brown

When ClevelandSeniors.com (for the 50 and over crowd) asked its visitors who should be immortalized with a statue outside the Brown’s Stadium (a la Bob Feller at the Pro) Hall of Famer Jim Brown led in the voting from the beginning.

In the last few days of voting a surge was made for Otto Graham and in the final tally, the QB beat the RB.

With almost 1000 votes, Otto Graham got 50% of the vote while Jim Brown came in 2nd with 42%. Paul Brown received 5% and Lou Groza got 3%.

Also receiving votes were Bernie Kosar, Dante Lavelli, Clay Matthews, Leroy Kelly and Gene Hickerson.

Umberto Fedeli at Corporate Club

Today's Corporate Club at Landerhaven topic was 'A conversation with Umberto Fedeli.'

It was moderated by Inside Business and Cleveland Magazine Editor Steve Gleydura.

Fedeli is the President and CEO of The Fedeli Group, one of the largest privately held insurance brokerage firms in Ohio. Of course if Fedeli was just an insurance firm officer, the room would not have been packed with a dozen or so local mayors, State Senator Tom Patten and former US Senator Mike DeWine.

Gleydura, and later the audience, asked questions on a variety of topic but when the topic of healthcare came up, the room came to life. Fedeli has strong opinions about healthcare and other issues and the business audience was supportive.

Read more about the event.

Squires's Castle

When is the last time you visited Squire's Castle?

It's one of those things where if we were visiting another city we'd make sure we went to see it but since it's close to home, we forget about it.

It's a great place to picnic and hang out. The Federation of India Community Associations(FICA) recently had their annual picnic there and it was a blast.

Squire's Castle has a lot of history and of course legends have spring up around it. Especially about the ghost of Rebecca Squire haunting the Castle.

There is more info and some pictures here on ClevelandSeniors.Com.

But if you are local, take the short drive and visit it in person. It's worth it.

New Slovenian Consul

It may not seem like big news but it is a big deal.

Did you know that Cleveland has the largest population of Slovenians outside of Slovenia?

Because of that, we get a Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia hosted here in Cleveland, with consular jurisdiction over the states of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

On August 22, 2009, The Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs relieved Consul General Dr. Zvone Žigon from his official duties in Cleveland, OH. Dr. Žigon completed his four-year diplomatic term. Dr. Žigon was a great guy and will be missed.

Taking over is Mr. Jure Žmauc. Get more details in the Slovenian section of ClevelandPeople.Com

What heritage are you?

I am always surprised when I do the monthly web statistics for ClevelandPeople.Com

From the population of Cleveland, I would expect the most visited groups would be German, Irish, African-American, Italian, Jewish, Hungarian, Polish, etc.

But it often is completely different.

In August the most visited groups were

#1 Filipino
#2 Irish
#3 Korean
#4 Indian (Asian)
#5 Bavarian

I guess I can understand why. We have some great videos of dancers at the Filipino Festival, pics and video from the Indian Picnic at Squire's Castle and it's almost Oktoberfest for the Bavarians.

Not eating properly?

I may not always eat the right things but I have no problem eating a lot of things. (grin)

But many older people do. If you have older relatives or are a caretaker for someone, you may be interested in the 10 Signs That Older Adults are Not Eating Properly

As the study says, "When it comes to healthy aging, good nutrition is the first line of defense in keeping seniors strong and independent, according to the results of a recent study about the effect of nutrition on older adults."

Oktoberfest

It sure feels like October out there!

Next weekend is Labor Day already and we have some free tickets to give away to the Oktoberfest at the County Fairgrounds in Berea.

Fill out the simple form at your choice of websites below.

Good Luck



ClevelandSeniors.Com

ClevelandWomen.Com

ClevelandPeople.Com

Cleveland People

It's official!

After over a year of "soft" releases, ClevelandPeople.Com has officially launched.

We had a terrific launch party at Margaret Wong's offices and a diverse and representative group of people attended.

Some great photos

Here's one I like of Councilman Mike Polensek and Mansfield Frazier.



Nice spread (from Pearl of the Orient) too!

Jessica Biel is dangerous

McAfee Inc. reported that searches for the 27-year-old actress are more likely to lead to online threats such as spyware and viruses than searches for any other celebrity.

McAfee said fans searching for the actress have a one-in-five chance of ending up at a Web site designed to damage one's computer. Its the third annual report on the subject from McAfee, which last year found that Brad Pitt was the "most dangerous" celeb online.

"Cybercriminals are star watchers, too," said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee's product development. "They latch onto popular celebrities to encourage the download of malicious software in disguise."

Following Biel in the report, in order, were Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Brady and Jessica Simpson.

McAfee noted President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are curiously safe searches, ranking no. 34 and no. 39, respectively

Steak 101

OK, I can tell a T-bone. It's got a T-bone (duh). But I must admit I don't really know a Delmonico from a Porterhouse.

But Ed Jesse from Old World Meats in Euclid does. He and his wife Sharon explained the different steaks (including why some are more expensive) in a short video for us.

Check it out.

Anyone else getting hungry?

Valdis Krebs - a different view

Valdis Krebs is a smart guy. Not only that, he brings some different opinions and strategies to the whole Social Media discussion.

While many are busy collecting followers (as if there was an award for it!) Valdis is very selective and even purges followers occasionally.

As a scientist working on network maps, Valdis' ideas can give a productivity boost to your Twitter and other Social Media strategies.

Watch some highlights and learn more in a short video from the CoolTwitter Conference.

CAP Milestone - Volunteer Video

Computers Assisting People (CAP) has refurbished and donated over 15,000 PCs to over 380 Cleveland schools and non-profits.

To celebrate, we created a short 3 minute video featuring some of our volunteers.

Pretty in Pink

I just got my driver's license renewed and - gulp - it's pink!

Of course people are never happy about their driver's license photo but this is the first time I've had a complaint about the background.

This Bud's for You

Some e-mails have been going around saying that now that Budweiser has been sold, the beloved Clydesdales will be phased out.

My friend (and horse lover/aficionado) Judy Lococo wrote to Budweiser and here's part of the reply.

Hello Judy,

Steve here with Budweiser. From one fan of the Budweiser Clydesdales to another, I am honored to hear that you rank the gentle giants up there with the symbol of our country.

I’m also glad that you wrote to us to get to the bottom of any rumors you may have heard. I can tell you first that in November we did merge with a global company. Here in the U.S. we’re still Anheuser-Busch, and the core elements of our business will remain the same. Some examples:

Anheuser-Busch beers will continue to be brewed by American workers at our 12 local breweries.

Budweiser will continue to be brewed according to the recipe laid down by our founder in 1876.

The World Famous Budweiser Clydesdales will continue to represent the Budweiser brand, and will be a key element in helping grow the Great American Lager in new markets all over the globe.

The ancestral home of our company’s founding Busch family, Grant’s Farm, will remain open, and continue to provide enjoyment for St. Louisans and visitors to our city as it has for the past 50 years.

Not only will we continue to support the Clydesdales, but we ran three new spots featuring the horses in the 2009 Super Bowl (you can see them on Budweiser.com), and we also just built them a new home and breeding facility.

Glad to hear it!

Business Networking event draws 1000

People are hungry. Why else would almost 1000 people venture out on a Tuesday night in July and pay $5 to mix with other people in their situation.

Drew Grdina used LinkedIn to organize the event at the Shaker Hts Country Club. It seemed that most of the crowd was looking for work and a large percentage had IT skills and/or background.

I don't know what the results of the meet-up will be. Lots of business cards were exchanged and people were aggressive in their introductions. This was not a shy, wallflower, hang-with-your-friends event.

See a video and/or listen to a podcast of event organizer Drew Grdina at the event.

If you were there, please comment with your impressions.

Is LeBron James a rat?

Well, if he doesn't re-sign with the Cavs he will be. But I mean an actual rat.




Near the new Ox sculpture at the Ohio Technical College on East 51st street was a rat sculpture that I had missed before. Yes, it was the Chosen One - LeBron James.

See more pictures of NBA MVP LeBron James rat

Not happy with laptop direction

I have a problem with the trend toward sealed batteries in laptops and other devices. Instead of the removable and replaceable batteries that we have seen, some are moving to sealed in batteries that you can't replace or carry a spare.

Dell has a new high-end laptop with sealed in batteries and of course the iPhone, iPod, etc. are sealed in. Apple seems to be converting its entire line to sealed in batteries. The new 13" and 15" MacBook Pro laptops have sealed in batteries.

They have a longer life and Apple claims they can be recharged up to 1000 times. That would last about 5 years for the average user which they say is all you need.

If the battery dies you are in trouble. You'd have to go to the Apple store for repair.

And forget about carrying a spare battery for a long trip or 'just in case.' That may be a moot point though as Walt Mossberg said less than 5% of consumer laptop owners have bought a spare battery. I have spares though and think that number is low.

My biggest problem with the sealed in battery is the planned obsolescence of the laptop. What do you do in 5 years when the battery is dead, dispose of it? Buy a new one? Many will want to buy a new device and can afford to. But many cannot.

At Computers Assisting People we get old laptops donated that are perfectly useful for the schools and non-profits that we help out. Usually the battery is dead or dying and we scour eBay and other websites for replacements to make them useful again. This could not happen with sealed in battery devices.

The people on the wrong side of the Digital Divide will again suffer.

Please let us know (vote at GreatLakesGeek.com) if you have ever bought a spare battery for a laptop or other device. Also, please leave comments about the prospect of sealed-in batteries either there or on this blog.

Cleveland's sister city in France

Did you know that Cleveland has a bunch of Sister Cities around the world? The idea is to boost trade and tourism but I'm not sure how active the relationships have been.

Mayor Frank Jackson visited one of the sister cities, Rouen France, last year and a delegation from Rouen visited Cleveland the week of the 4th of July.

The delegation met with peers at Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Lubrizol, CWRU and more.

See more including a video of Mayor Fourneyron's spech

Statue at Browns Stadium

The Bob Feller statue at the Cleveland Indians ballpark is a popular meeting place and photo op. It's hard to argue with the choice of Rapid Robert as having this honor. His skills and character made him an easy choice.

It's not so easy with the Cleveland Browns. Jim Brown is probably the greatest running back in the history of the game. But some people are concerned with his brushes with the law.

Otto Graham was a revolutionary quarterback and deserving of his place in the NFL Hall of Fame. But he played so long ago (as did other worthy candidates such as Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, etc) that generations of fans don't know him.

Paul Brown revolutionized the game but it may be hard to honor someone who started a rival franchise in Cincinnati.

Lou 'the Toe' Groza merits consideration but a kicker/lineman isn't as vital to a team usually as a QB or running back.

Younger people may vote for Bernie Kosar, Brian Sipe, Leroy Kelly, Paul Warfield and others from the Kardiac Kids days through the present.

I'm not 100% sure yet but I think my vote would go to Jim Brown. And my choice to never be honored? Art Modell of course.

Who do you think should be honored. Vote here

#1 Milestone Document in US History

OK. This one is predictable. Its the Declaration of Independence, followed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as #3.

The People's Vote, co-sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration, National History Day, and U.S. News & World Report, invited Americans of all ages and educational backgrounds to vote for 10 of 100 milestone documents drawn mainly from the holdings of the National Archives.

The rest of the Top 100 are interesting.

Hot enough to melt gold?

To keep the little kids happy and safe, parents often hand them a sparkler on the 4th of July. It seems like a safe way to give them the thrill of firecrackers.

I just learned from Prevent Blindness Ohio that sparklers actually burn at 1800 degrees which is hot enough to melt gold!

Sparklers also cause one half of fireworks injuries in children five years old and younger.

So let's be careful out there this weekend.

Some more interesting fireworks facts and advice

Social media - legal concerns

Many of us have been so wrapped up in social media - Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and the like - that we haven't really considered how they change things from an employer's perspective.

Can you screen job prospects by what's on their Facebook page? Can you ask an employee for their social media password?

Though we sometimes tend to think that social media is so dramatically different that it requires new rules, that is not always the case.

In this new podcast at GreatLakesGeek.com , two expert attorneys from Brouse McDowell answer some of the legal questions of social media

Year of the Ox Public Art in Cleveland

Have you seen the Ox yet?

They are spread around Asia Town (St Clair/Superior/Payne/etc) in Cleveland

Great public art to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Ox.

Look at the pitures and vote for your favorite.

Cleveland Cooks

Debbie Hanson discusses and signs Cleveland Cooks Volumes 1 and 2

Tuesday, June 30

7:00PM at Joseph Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village

Cleveland Cooks is a great compilation of fantastic recipes submitted by local celebrities and residents that give the best of Cleveland, as well as, old-world ethnic dishes grandma used to make. Food samples will be given to those in attendance!

More Information

Save our libraries

I have never been one to vote a straight party ticket. That seems ridiculous to me. But there are 2 issues that I think I have always voted for: Funding for Mental Retardation/Special Needs and the Libraries.

Our library system is the most democratic institution we have. Anyone can get a library card. Anyone can learn all that they want. It's only in recent history that books have been available to the masses and we take that for granted.

Yet we still can't purchase all the books and other information we want. Libraries are the great equalizer.

My old pal Joe was born in a poor neighborhood and he practically lived in his local branch. One summer he began reading every book in the library, one after the other.

He has the best vocabulary of anyone I ever met and is today a government lawyer in DC.

We all have our library stories.

Read Amy Kenneley's story and then get out there and let the Governor know not to cut library funding.

Don't follow that link

Lots of people have been getting the Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express Critical Update e-mail. It is a fake. DO NOT click on the link even though it appears to be going to Microsoft site.

Spread the word

Juneteenth Celebration at African American Gardens

The 4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration was held in Cleveland Friday evening June 19, 2009 at the Cozad-Bates House and Saturday June 20, 2009 at the African American Cultural Gardens.


An explanation of Juneteenth along with some great pictures and videos are at ClevelandPeople.Com

Do NOT miss the last video of the youngsters from Peace in the Hood. I still have the "Don't fight it out..." chant in my head

Thrilla in Manila at TECHnic

Boundless Flight morphed their annual summer picnic into a joint Gathering of the Geeks on Saturday June 20, 2009. CEO Gary Baney invited other companies, user groups and various tech people to join the Boundless Flight team at the picnic grounds at St. Sava's in Parma.

Food, drink, music, raffles, networking and camaraderie were plentiful. One of the highlights was the 'Thrilla in Manila' 100 yard dash challenge between Baney and Boundless Flight Engagement Executive Heidi Hooper.

Watch the grudge match dash at TECHnic - the video does not lie!

Burning the US Flag

No, this isn't a call to anarchy. I'm talking about the respectful retirement of faded and threadworn old American flags.

For almost 20 years, Boy Scouts have been gathering at Lake View Cemetery on Flag Day with a huge pile of flags they have collected. Then they go through a process of cutting, burning and finally burying the ashes. It's fascinating to watch

Check out pictures and a video of the 2009 Flag Day retirement.

Cleveland's Madame Curie

While scientists respect Madame Marie Sklodowska Curie for her pioneering work in radioactivity, discovering the elements radium and polonium and other accomplishments, women scientists especially revere her.

Even after her first Nobel Prize, she was denied entrance to the French Academy of Science because she was a woman.

Curie was one of only two people to win 2 Nobel Prizes in 2 different fields. Linus Pauling won in Chemistry and then a Peace prize. Madame Curie won in Chemistry and Physics. Wow!

A statue of Madame Curie was dedicated Sunday in the Polish Cultural Garden in Cleveland. Several hundred people came to the event. Photos and videos from the event.

Adding to the event was the keynote given by Dr. Marie Siemionow from the Cleveland Clinic. In 2008, Dr. Siemionow led a team of six surgeons in a 22-hour surgery, performing the first face transplant in the United States.

There are many parallels between Dr. Siemionow and Madame Curie.

Watch video and see more from Dr. Siemionow's presentation.