Cleveland Marathon through Cultural Gardens

Congratulations to the African-American Cultural Garden who showed the most support of all the Gardens as the runners from the Cleveland Marathon passed through on Sunday. They won a $500 gift card from Petitti Garden Centers. Congratulations!

 ClevelandPeople.Com's Debbie Hanson presenting a $500 Petitti gift card to
Carl Ewing of the African-American Garden

The Irish Cultural Garden came in second and won a $150 gift card from Petitti.

What a beautiful venue for a race!

Being Different - Johnny Wu keynote

Cuyahoga Community College West and the Parma City School District presented the annual Culture Shock on April 18, 2013.

Award Winning Filmmaker Johnny Wu was the keynote speaker.

Wu is the President of OCA Cleveland Chapter and Co–Founder/Executive Committee Chair for the Cleveland Asian Festival among many other titles. Wu's presentation was titled "Being Different.”

See more from the Johnny Wu keynote including video highlights

Culture Shock at Tri-C

Cuyahoga Community College West and the Parma City School District presented the annual Culture Shock on April 18, 2013.

Susan W. Lohwater, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, English as a Second Language and ESL Coordinator, Advisor to International Club & Conversation Connection worked with the Parma City Schools to make it happen.

The event included tables representing various nationalities and cultures as well as multi-cultural performances.

See more from Culture Shock at Tri-C

Miss Puerto Rican Image 2012 Aidelis Rivera

Miss Puerto Rican Image 2012 Aidelis Rivera performed at the 2013 Culture Shock event which was put on by Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) West and the Parma City School District.

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See more from Miss Puerto Rican Image 2012 Aidelis Rivera

Ukrainian Dance

The Cleveland Ukrainian community was represented at the 2013 Culture Shock event which was put on by Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) West and the Parma City School District.
Besides a table display, there was a dance performance.

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See more from the Ukrainian performance

Cleveland Rotary Club honor

Rotary Club of Cleveland is pleased to present its 2013 International Service Award to ClevelandPeople.com and its founders, Pat Hanson, Dan Hanson, and Deborah Hanson not only for their commitment to a better world and the furtherance of world understanding and peace, but for their global vision in support of the international community of Greater Cleveland and the State of Ohio.

The Presentation will be made at its annual International Fellowship Day on April 11 at 12:00 noon, Windows on the River.

Please R.S.V.P. to the Rotary Office no later than 12:00 Noon, Monday, April 8, 2013 by email:clevrotary@aol.com or by calling 216-556-8637.

The cost is $20.00 per person. Checks should be made payable to the Rotary Club of Cleveland – MasterCard and VISA are also accepted.

Parking is complimentary – please advise the guard at the Security gate at the entrance to the parking lot that you are attending the Rotary luncheon meeting.

If Jupiter was the same distance as the moon

I love this image created by jb2386 on Reddit depicting a landscape if Jupiter was the same distance from Earth as the Moon is. Very cool.

Cleveland Indians spending

We all know about the major expenditures the Cleveland Indians have made for the 2013 season.

But did you know that high school baseball for boys and softball for girls in the Cleveland metropolitan school district is 100% funded by Cleveland Indian Charities and would not exist without them?

Kudos to the Tribe.

The last Eggshelland

Ron and Betty Manolio have been commemorating Easter and entertaining the community with Eggshelland since 1957.

Ron Manolio passed away last year so Betty and the kids and grandkids decided there should be one last Eggshelland as a tribute to Ron and to thank the community.  Thank you Ron and Betty.

Photos and videos of the last Eggshelland

KISS Easter Eggs

These eggs Rock and Roll all night and party everyday.

See more fun Easter eggs, bunnies, etc.

Baseball Puzzle

Here's a puzzle to get you in the mood for the upcoming baseball season.

Let's say that for the first half of the baseball season, Nick Swisher hits for a higher batting average than Asdrubal Cabrera. During the second half of the season, Swisher again hits for a higher average than Cabrera.

Is it possible for Cabrera to have a higher average for the season as a whole?

It sure is.

The Great Lakes Geek will post a solution in a few days but think about it first. If you know how it could happen, leave a comment.

19 days

Bob Feller's old #19 jersey came in handy for Tribe PR boss Bob DiBiasio as he announced there are 19 days until the Cleveland Indians Home Opener!

Ed Fitzgerald and Marcy Kaptur are both running!

Breaking news!  Not only is Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald running, so is Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. 

Photo and 9 second video proof.

Happy Pi Day

We all know that Pi is the mathematical constant that is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter.  Pi is irrational and its decimal representation goes on forever and never settles into a repeating pattern.

Of course, Pi begins with 3.14159... so March 14 or 3-14 is celebrated as Pi Day.

Lotus - the end of an era

The Great Lakes Geek is sad that the Lotus name has been removed from the Notes/Domino name and the Lotusphere conference.  It’s hard to believe that it was way back in 1995 that IBM bought Lotus, essentially for the Lotus Notes product line. 

I don’t think you can overestimate the importance of Lotus 1-2-3 to the PC industry.  Jonathan Sachs had written a couple electronic spreadsheets and he and Mitch Kapor created Lotus in 1982 and released Lotus 1-2-3 for the IBM PC in 1983.

Lotus 1-2-3 is the main reason that businesses bought PCs.  It made the IBM PC the world standard.  In fact, the common test for a clone PC to be IBM PC compatible was that it be able to run Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Flight Simulator (to test the graphics).  There was even a rumor that Microsoft would intentionally change DOS just enough to mess up 1-2-3.  The motto was 'DOS ain't done till Lotus won't run.’'

If you are old enough, you may recall the first time you set up a spreadsheet and then changed a field (maybe a tax rate from 10 to 12%) and recalculated and watched the values update.  What power! The Geek actually first witnessed this with VisiCalc on a TRS-80.   1-2-3 soon eclipsed VisiCalc and Microsoft’s Multiplan never did offer much competition. 

The product was called 1-2-3 because it had 3 functions: Spreadsheet, Charting/Graphing and Database.  Of course the database and graphing functions seem prehistoric when viewed against Access or Excel but it was a big deal back then.  And many people used 1-2-3 as their only app, including as a word processor.  They loaded 1-2-3 in the morning and stayed in it all day.  The familiar A1 row/column screen was burnt into many CRT monitors.

Lotus 1-2-3 did not have the burden of accommodating modern GUIs.  The first versions were written in x86 Assembler Language (V 3.0 switched to C) and they wrote directly to video memory rather than slower OS or BIOS output.  It was fast!

As companies relied on 1-2-3 more and more, they soon reached the 640K limits of the PC and the industry developed expanded memory to break the 640k barrier.  I spent a lot of time on Quarterdeck’s QEMM eking out some precious extra kb of memory.

Lotus 1-2-3 was the first killer app and dominated for a decade.  The beginning of the end came when Lotus lost the famous “look and feel” lawsuit against Borland and their Quattro Pro spreadsheet.  The port from Assembler to C took more time than expected and in the meantime Microsoft launched Excel for the Mac.  As Windows grew market share, Excel for Windows grew with it.

Lotus Symphony was the successor to 1-2-3 offering an integrated suite including a word processor.  Symphony and the Lotus SmartSuite never gained the dominance and market share of 1-2-3 despite being excellent products.  I still find the dragging of a completed task in Lotus Organizer to a trash can and seeing it burst into flames as the most satisfying of any PIM/calendar. (remember PIMs?)

The Lotus name was revived with their revolutionary groupware program Notes which incorporated network communication and sharing.  It’s a terrific product but more for the enterprise whereas 1-2-3 was on every desktop, consumer or business.

Many software companies of that era could be identified with the CEO or other key player: Philippe Khan at Borland, Bill Gates at Microsoft, Gordon Eubanks at Symantec and so on.  These, and many others, were supporters of user groups and spoke at the Association of PC User Groups (APCUG) annual meetings at Comdex in Las Vegas. 

While Lotus had a presence, and some terrific user group reps (I remember Elena Fernandez – who else?), I don’t recall visits from Mitch Kapor, Ray Ozzie, Jim Manzi or other Lotus bigwigs.  Maybe my APCUG pals will correct me on this.

Just as we will never have someone like Walter Cronkite being viewed by most Americans, we will never again see a program dominate like Lotus 1-2-3.   For a trip down memory lane, you can download (legally) and play with early spreadsheets such as VisiCalc from Dan Bricklin’s page. 

Looking forward to other “mature” Geeks comments.

95th Lithuanian Independence Day

The Cleveland Lithuanian community gathered to celebrate the 95th anniversary of February 16, 1918 and the declaration of Lithuania's independence.

A slew of dignitaries and speeches was followed by a keynote address from Proctor and Gamble scientist Darius Sabaliunas who was born and raised in Klaipeda, Lithuania.

Then, kids from the Lithuanian Saturday School recited a poem in Lithuanian.  Other musical performers followed.

Photos and Videos from the Cleveland Lithuanian Independence Day celebration.

Pope Benedict XVI

Brian Burch of CatholicVote.org posted the following sentiment this morning (and the picture)

“Catholic Americans join their brothers and sisters in the Faith around the world in humble acceptance of the decision today by Pope Benedict XVI to leave the Chair of Peter later this month. This historic decision comes fittingly as the Church prepares to enter the season of Lent, where marked with ashes, we are reminded of our human limits and utter dependence on the grace and providence of the Lord of history. We are mindful that the universality of the Church is particularly visible during these historic events where the prayer, tradition, and grandeur of Catholicism are on display for the world to see. We give thanks for the rich pontificate of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, and await with joyful hope and prayer the workings of the Holy Spirit in our Church in the weeks ahead.”

Cleveland Aikikai Dojo featuring Aikido Martial Arts

On the 2nd floor of Asian Town Plaza on East 38th Street in Cleveland's AsiaTown you can find restaurants, art and the Cleveland Aikikai Dojo.

The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.

Sensei Jim Klar of Cleveland Aikikai says that Aikido techniques teach one to prevent confrontation but how to deal with them if rational attempts do not succeed.

More about Cleveland Aikikai and Aikido

Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Dancers

The Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Dancers performance at the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at Asia Plaza was very popular with the audience.

Chinese New Year in Cleveland Year of the Snake

The Year of the Snake was celebrated throughout Asia Town in Cleveland with day-long celebrations. Music, dance, Martial Arts, food, vendors, groups and, of course, a Lion Dance, were part of the festivities.

Photos and videos of Cleveland celebrations

Happy Chinese New Year

Johnny Wu, President of the Organization of Chinese Americans - Cleveland Chapter and co-founder of the Cleveland Asian Festival, explains the Year of the Snake and how to say Happy New Year in Mandarin in this short video clip from the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at Asia Plaza in Cleveland’s AsiaTown.

Superbowl Snacks

SuperBowl Appetizers

Try some new snacks - and some classics - for the big game.

Pepper and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Savory Beer Bread

Crunchy Pig Toes

Slow Cooked Chicken Tacos

Black Bean Salsa

Bacon and Spinach Stuffed Olives

Popcorn Snacking Mix

Miniature Corn Dogs with Dipping Sauce

Kicked Up Stuffed Celery

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

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What does a Lion look like?

One of the coolest parts of the new Gallery One at the Cleveland Museum of Art is the abundance of interactive displays.

It gets you engaged and thinking more than a static piece of art might.

For example, one area of Gallery One has several pieces of art about lions and asks you to consider "What does a lion look like?"

You follow the prompts and start narrowing down key components to what the essence of a lion is. You can then see, in real time, how many other visitors agree with your selections.

More from Gallery One at Cleveland Museum of Art

World Class Tech at Cleveland Museum of Art

Gallery One at the Cleveland Museum of Art is a unique, interactive gallery that blends art, technology and interpretation to inspire visitors to explore the museum's renowned collections.

This revolutionary space features the largest multi-touch screen in the United States, which displays images of over 3,500 objects from the museum's world-renowned permanent collection. This 40-foot Collection Wall allows visitors to shape their own tours of the museum and to discover the full breadth of the collections on view throughout the museum's galleries.

The interactive displays, the fun exhibits and the incredible Collection Wall make this world-class Gallery a must see.

Photos and video tours of the new space.

Bazinga

He has two Ph.D's and an IQ of 187, he plays 'Words with Friends' with Stephen Hawking, and he owns Leonard Nimoy's napkin.

The global march to spread the genius of The Big Bang Theory's Dr. Sheldon Cooper just crossed scientific fields, from theoretical physics to evolutionary zoo biology, as a new species of the Brazilian orchid bee — Euglossa bazinga — has been named after Dr. Coopper's zippy catchphrase - Bazinga.

Actual photos of this previously undiscovered species.

Brazilian biologist Andre Nemesio from the Universidade Federal de Uberlandia discovered the new species of beautiful, but misunderstood orchid bee that bears a striking resemblance to the Euglossa ignita, (or more common Western Brazilian orchid bee). Because the bees share so many similar characteristics, their existence as a separate species eluded scientists for years. Hence, the bees' grand 'bazinga' on the world of science!

Steven Molaro, one of The Big Bang Theory's executive producers, acknowledged the unprecedented honor on behalf of the show and Dr. Cooper.

 "We are always extremely flattered when the science community embraces our show. Sheldon would be honored to know that Euglossa bazinga was inspired by him. In fact, after "Mothra" and griffins, bees are his third-favorite flying creatures."

Ethanol issues

Modern fuel today contains up to 10-percent ethanol (E10). Most modern power equipment is designed to handle E10, but problems arise when fuel is left to stand for prolonged periods of time and especially with older equipment not designed to handle any ethanol. The high amount of oxygen present in ethanol naturally decays gasoline, which is organic.

Imagine if you left a jug of milk in the fridge and then left another jug of milk outside in the middle of the summer -- open. Obviously, the milk outside will decay much faster.

So if you let gas sit in your lawn mower or snow blower or other device, make sure you read these warnings.

Holiday Celebration of Cleveland's Diversity

The 3rd annual Holiday Celebration of Cleveland's Diversity was held in the City Hall Rotunda on December 12, 2012. The event was put on by the Worldwide Intercultural Network (WIN) Northeast Ohio in conjunction with the office of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

At the 3rd annual party, a diverse crowd sampled ethnic food and drinks, watched multicultural performances, listened and danced to world music and mixed and mingled with the attendees who represented dozens of different cultural backgrounds.

ClevelandPeople.Com was proud to again be a sponsor of the event.

3 pages of photos and videos from the event

CyberWall of Non-Violence at Philanthropia

At the 2012 Philanthropia, Paramjit Singh and I set up a display to let people know about the Cyber Wall of Non-Violence.

Over 100 people signed the pledge including Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden, news anchor Leon Bibb and Singing Angels artistic director Charles Eversole.

See more from the CyberWall at Philanthropia.

Philanthropia 2012

Philanthropia, phil·an·thro·pi·a, is Executive Caterers’ Annual Fundraising Luncheon at Landerhaven designed to benefit non-profits throughout Northeast Ohio.

After the tragedy of 9/11, New York City absorbed such a large portion of all charitable donations that many local non-profits struggled to reach their own goals. In response, Harlan Diamond and Executive Caterers rededicated their December Corporate Club luncheon to the support of local charities, especially smaller organizations without substantial resources of their own.

Over $143,000 was raised this year for local non-profits.

See MC Leon Bibb, the Singing Angels and more of Philanthropia 2012

Bohemian National Hall Home of the Czech Cultural Center

The historic Bohemian National Hall, Home of the Czech Cultural Center, is located at 4939 Broadway Ave. in Cleveland.

It has been renovated by volunteers and hosts the Sokol Greater Cleveland Czech Cultural Museum.

See more from the Bohemian Hall

American Nationalities Movement Annual Christmas Program

The American Nationalities Movement held their Annual Christmas Party and Program on December 15th at the beautifully renovated Bohemian National Hall Ballroom at 4939 Broadway in Cleveland.

Freedom Awards were presented to Rev. John M. Loejos and Richard A. Ganim.

Cleveland Council's Joe Cimperman, Dona Brady and Mike Polensek

 with Rev. Loejos and Judge Rocky Perk

See more from the American Nationalities Movement event

ClevelandPeople.Com in Congressional Record

We are pretty excited about this.

Thank you to Congressman Dennis Kucinich for recognizing ClevelandPeople.Com into the US Congressional Record. Michael Patterson from Congressman Kucinich's office presented the proclamation at our annual holiday event.

Thank You for the Gifts

It's the civilized thing to do to send than you notes for gifts or when people do nice things for you.  But we (myself included) neglect to do it most of the time.

Tiny Prints is making it easy for you this year - but you have to take advantage of it today, December 20.

50% of today only!

Here's the scoop:

It's almost time to say "thank you."

Your boss, your spouse, your co-workers...anyone who got you a Christmas gift (or for whom you are thankful this year). In a week, it will be time to thank them for their wonderful (and even not so wonderful) gifts.

Tiny Prints has the perfect way to say "thank you" at an incredible price. For one day only, from 10:00am PT today through 9:00am PT , they are selling their amazing thank you cards at 50% Off!

These are not your run-of-the-mill thank you cards either. They are awesome. From the paper quality to the ability to personalize them with pictures and your own text, these cards are sure to leave a lasting impression...and maybe even result in a better gift next year.

Who do you need to thank this year? Check out Tiny Prints right away and say "thank you" in style this year. And remember to use promo code DOD1220 to save 50%! P.S.

You don't need a gift from someone to let them know you're thankful for them!

Cleveland Police Administrative Review

From Director Martin L. Flask, Cleveland Department of Public Safety.

The Cleveland Division of Police, under the direction of Chief Michael McGrath, continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of the November 29, 2012 pursuit that ended in East Cleveland with the use of deadly force by Cleveland Police Officers. Although the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, East Cleveland Police and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office are actively investigating the use of deadly force incident, the Chief of Police and his staff are conducting a thorough Administrative Review to determine if the officers involved were in compliance with well-established policies and training.

Read it all here: www.clesafety.com

This Administrative Review includes all available surveillance video; audio communications between officers, supervisors and the Communications Control Section; duty reports completed by officers and supervisory personnel; Automated Vehicle Locator (AVL) information; and any other information that becomes available during the investigation.

The volume of information being reviewed by the Chief and his staff is substantial. However, the Chief of Police has assured Mayor Jackson and me that the Administrative Review will be timely and thorough, and results of the Administrative Review will be made public immediately upon conclusion.

Contest Winners

Cleveland Christmas Memories

Congratulations to the winners of a copy of Cleveland Christmas Memories: Looking Back at Holidays Past by Gail Ghetia Bellamy. The books were mailed this morning.

• Evelyn G from Hinckley
• Margaret F from Akron
• Lauren L from South Euclid
• Dan D from Cleveland
• Jim S from Mayfield
• Carol R from Lakewood

If you didn't win a copy, you can still order the book online from Amazon and receive it by Christmas.

Worst Passwords of 2012

In an effort to encourage adoption of stronger passwords, SplashData, a leading provider of password software for more than 10 years, released its "25 Worst Passwords of the Year" list for 2012.

Here are the Top Ten.

Rank	Password	Change from 2011 List
1	password	Unchanged
2	123456	Unchanged
3	12345678	Unchanged
4	abc123	Up 1
5	qwerty	Down 1
6	monkey	Unchanged
7	letmein	Up 1
8	dragon	Up 2
9	111111	Up 3
10	baseball	Up 1

Morgan Slain, SplashData CEO. "We're hoping that with more publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different websites."

See the rest of the Top 25 Worst Passwords of 2012.

So who are all theses people are that use 'monkey' for a password!

The 2012 Diversity Center Humanitarian Award

The Diversity Center is a human relations organization dedicated to eliminating bias, bigotry, and racism. The vision of The Diversity Center is building communities where all people are connected, respected, and valued.

Founded in 1927 as the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), The Diversity Center is currently a member of the National Federation for Just Communities, a network of 20 like-minded organizations across the country.

Since 1949, The Diversity Center has honored men and women of outstanding dedication and community service in our region at the annual Humanitarian Award Dinner. Nominees exhibit an extensive record of involvement in civic, charitable, volunteer, and professional organizations. Each nominee has contributed to the improvement of human relations among diverse groups in Northeast Ohio.

The 58th Annual Humanitarian Award Dinner was held Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. The sold-out crowd honored Sr. Judith Ann Karam, CSA, President & CEO, Sisters of Charity Health System and Charles D. Fowler, CEO, Fairmount Minerals and William Conway, Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Fairmount Minerals. 

More from the Diversity Center Humanitarian Awards

I Shot the Sheriff

Nice version of I Shot the Sheriff by a steel drum band called Island Flava at our Labor Day International Festival.

Encyclopedia of Electronic Components - Book Review

As the author states in the Preface, Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 1: Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, Switches, Encoders, Relays, Transistors is not the kind of book you will read from page one till the end. It's not sequential in that way. But a complete reading would certainly greatly improve your knowledge of these electronic components.

Author Charles Platt is a Contributing Editor and regular columnist for O'Reilly Media's Make: Magazine, where he writes about electronics. If you are looking for more of a tutorial, consider Platt's introductory hands-on book, Make: Electronics.

In this era of immediate access to information from search engines, why do you need a physical book on electronic components? As Platt suggests, the information available online is often inconsistent in quality. Volume 1 (this book - Vol. 2 and 3 are in the works) is thorough and consistently high-quality.

The book is broken down into sections for Power (such as battery), Connection (fuse, switch, relay), Moderation (resistor, capacitor, inductor), Conversion (transformer, inverter) Regulation (Voltage regulator) Electromagnetism (solenoid), Rotational (motors) and Discrete Semiconductor (diodes, FETs).

Each section has a standard group of information presented. Each starts with other common names and related components. Then there is a What it Does section with photos or drawings and then a How it Works section. The Variants sections may include, for example, the different formats for capacitors. Sticking with the capacitors example, there is then a section on Principal Types of capacitors, Dielectrics, Values associated with the component (farads for capacitors) and a lot more details and variants as the component may have.

Each section has a useful What Can Go Wrong section that lists the common problems that may affect a component (wrong polarity, heat, vibration, etc.) and what to do about it.At the end of the 278 page book are a few pages of Schematic Symbols.

It's a complete and detailed reference and the information is presented logically and in an appealing way. Either the Index or Table of Contents (or a quick flip through and browse of the headers at the top of each page) gets you to the desired information fast.

I think it's a terrific resource and am eager to see the next volumes.

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Great Lakes Geek Rating: 4.5 out of 5 pocket protectors.

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Reviewed by Entreprenerd Dan Hanson, the Great Lakes Geek (11/12)

 

Lebanon Day in Cleveland

The American Lebanese Community Council hosted an event to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the independence of Lebanon in the Rotunda of Cleveland City Hall. The special guest was Consul General of Lebanon Bilal Kabalan.

Pictures and video from Lebanon Day in Cleveland

The Lebanese folk dance group Ajyal performed.  Photos and video of Ajyal. 

Photos of attendees at Lebanon Day 

Deepavali - Diwali - in Cleveland

The Federation of India Community Associations (FICA) hosted Deepavali, The Festival of Lights, in the Rotunda of Cleveland City Hall on November 16, 2012.

The formal program featured  Ratanjit Sondhe who explained Sikhs and Sikhism to the diverse crowd.

The entertainment included a Manipuri Dance by Sanjib Bhattacharya (above) who is visiting from India and a modern Punjabi dance by a group of CWRU students called Spartan Bhangra. (below)

  See more from 2012 Diwali in Cleveland

Hospice of the Western Reserve

At some point in your life, if you haven't already, you will be involved with hospice.  Personally I don't know how the staff and volunteers handle their work and I give them all the credit in the world.

The Hospice of the Western Reserve has volunteer opportunities for all ages, interests and talents with an extraordinary love and a common bond of concern for others.
"I get so much more out of it than I give."
"This is the most important thing I have done in my life."

Direct Patient Care Opportunities:

• Provide Socialization, Comfort and Companionship,
• Legacy Work,
• Bereavement Calls,
• Music Access,
• Errands,
• Respite,
• Attorney,
• Notary,
• Veterans Serving Veterans,
• Licensed Hairdresser, Massotherapist,
• Pet Therapy,
• Transportation,
• Light Housekeeping,
• Teens,
• Spiritual Care

Support Opportunities:

• Clerical/Data Entry,
• Reception,
• Teens,
• Community Outreach,
• Speaker’s Bureau,
• Resale Shop,
• Flower Arranging,
• Group Helper,
• Volunteer Education,
• Fundraising,
• Special Events,
• Volunteer Marketing

Group Opportunities:
We are always appreciative of community volunteers who offer anything from a few hours to an entire day of service at our in patient facilities or our headquarters. There is a wide range of tasks including clerical, painting, cleaning, landscaping, entertainment and special meals at David Simpson Hospice House in Cleveland, Ames Family Hospice House in Westlake, as well as clerical and maintenance at our headquarters office in Cleveland.

Learn more about how you can volunteer for Hospice

Nacy Panzica Profile

Nacy Panzica was born in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town, in 1927. He had five sisters but was the only son of Anthony and Mary Panzica.

His birth name is Ignatius but he has been called Nacy all his life. "Now remember, it's not Nancy with an "N" - it's Nacy." The way he laughs when he says this you know he has clarified this many times through the years...

Official ClevelandSeniors.Com profile of Nacy Panzica.

Family is the cornerstone to this builder's success.

Medical Yatras helping the poor

The Association of Indian Physicians of Northern Ohio (AIPNO) was founded in 1983 as a non-profit organization of physicians of Indian origin in Northern Ohio. One of their projects is the Medical Yatra (trip) where teams of physicians and others go to remote areas where most people have never even seen a doctor.


To date AIPNO has helped more than 100,000 people in India and around the world in their health needs and provided FREE medicines, some surgeries and free numbered eye glasses, and lot of Cataract surgeries.

They have also assisted in disaster relief outside of India such as the Haiti earthquake (2010) and Hurricanes Katrina(2005) & Isadora (Mexico - 2002)

Learn more about the AIPNO Medical Yatras

Mother Teresa Statue

During her lifetime, Mother Teresa was named 18 times in the yearly Gallup's most admired man and woman poll as one of the ten women around the world that Americans admired most. In 1999, a poll of Americans ranked her first in Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.

Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor".

She said, "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."

On September 22, 2012 a 7' tall bronze statue of the Nobel Peace Prize winner was unveiled at a ceremony attended by Albanian President Bujar Nishani. 

See more of the Mother Teresa Statue in Cleveland

St Emeric reopens

With its church bells tolling its reopening at noon on Sunday, November 4th, nearly 600 people gathered to celebrate Mass at St. Emeric  Roman Catholic Church for the first time since its closing more than two years ago.

The Rev. Sandor Siklodi returned to the Hungarian  parish as its pastor after serving for 25 years as its spiritual leader.

More from the reopening of St Emeric Church

Is Flash still the best choice?

For many years, the best tool for elements such as interactive video, animation and 3D online was Flash.

Is that still the case?

The Great Lakes Geek sat down with two of the pros from Aztek to get the latest on Flash.

Dave Skorepa is Chief Creative Office and Matt Mesenger is Director of Web Marketing at Aztek Web Design in Cleveland and they live and breathe this stuff.

 As you will see, Dave in particular is not shy about his opinion. The 2 pros argue that HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery allow them to do almost all of Flash's functionality without the problems of Flash.

 

Leap of Reason by Mario Morino

The Great Lakes Geek just finished reading Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes In an Era of Scarcity

I have been a fan of Mario Morino and the way he thinks - and acts - for many years.

But this isn't really a science, tech or business book. It's written for non-profit organizations. So what's it doing on the Great Lakes Geek's shelves?

While geared toward non-profits, Leap of Reason has a lot of good ideas for any business - especially "in an era of scarcity."

And when you get a chance to learn from a success such as Mario Morino, you should take the time and check it out.

Leap of Reason book review

Prime Minister of Ireland in Cleveland

The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Mr. Enda Kenny was in Cleveland on October 12 and 13, 2012. It was the first ever visit of a sitting Irish Prime Minister to Cleveland.

ClevelandPeople.Com covered the historic visit with photos and videos from many of the weekend's event starting here. 

1) Taoiseach Enda Kenny at a special presentation of the City Club of Cleveland (Intercontinental Hotel on Cleveland Clinic Campus) on Friday, October 12, 2012.

 2) Taoiseach Enda Kenny at a private meeting at Cleveland City Hall with Mayor Jackson and other city officials.

 3) Irish Cultural Garden visit. Besides the main page, there are 6 more pages of photos of the hundreds of attendees in the Garden. Who do you recognize?

 4) The last public appearance of the Taoiseach was at the annual Mayo Ball where James C. Boland was named 2012 Mayo Person of the Year.

A child during the Vietnam War

Beyond the Rice Paddies - Book Review
by Linda West
(born Tran Thi Bach Yen Oanh )

The 111 pages of Beyond the Rice Paddies are organized into a series of 3 or 4 page stories. You will keep saying to yourself 'Just one more' until you realize you have read the entire book.

It is a fascinating look into the world of a young girl in Vietnam in the mid-1960's. Tran Thi Bach Yen Oanh (the author, now known as Linda West) lived with her paternal grandmother, the beloved Ba Noi, in the village of Bien Hoa near Saigon.

The vignettes describe the joys (some American chewing gum, a doll with yellow hair, etc.) and hardships (a toilet comprised of two rickety slats over a maggot and fly infested area) of life in that historic place and time.

The war affects the villagers but not always directly. For example, Young Oanh wakes up one day with 'bubbles' over her one side that they determine were caused by a powder that came from a plane. Bodies are left in the market square to be claimed. Her hut has a dugout area so she and her Ba Noi can hide from the bullets when firefights erupt.

The author tells of the joy of the parade as the "giant-sized" American GIs marched into town to go "Beyond the Rice Paddies' and fight the Viet Cong. She then describes the fear and confusion when only a handful of them limp back a few days later, sans the fanfare.

Her mother worked as a 'bargirl' in Saigon and eventually marries an American who takes Oanh and her brother to the US in 1970. The author is now a real estate broker, a mother of three children and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

It's a fascinating yet humbling book that will make you count your blessings and perhaps look at war and the world in a different way.

60 years after the Korean War

For the 3rd year in a row the Korean American Association visited the 2100 Lakeside Men's Shelter in Cleveland and brought with them 350 meals and 350 heavy winter jackets. Two years ago, the Korean American Association donated 500 blankets. Last year they also donated winter coats. Song Pil-Gak, chairman of the Korean province of Gyeongsangbuk-Do spoke (with translator) at the Cleveland men's shelter at 2100 Lakeside as part of the annual Korean American Association outreach. He has participated all 3 years.

In the words of Jeong (John) Szongchan of the Korean Association "It is only right that we do something like this. 60 years ago America helped us. We are happy that we can help now."

Superhero, Star Wars and Zombie Family

Have you seen those stickers on the back of cars?  They show an image of a family - maybe a Dad and Mom and kids and pets.

Now you can get cooler and geekier decals for the car or window or wherever.

Marvel Superhero Family Car Decals are the product of a partnership between ThinkGeek and Marvel. One package contains 50 decals, plenty to decorate multiple cars and your wee geeks' bedroom windows.

Four characters are included: Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. Each character comes in six versions: Dad, Mom, Daughter, Son, Dog, and Cat. Assemble your team of heroes and proudly display them wherever your Fantasti-Car may take you.

Product Specifications Family car decals for fans of Marvel superheroes 50 decals in all, 2 sheets of each set Ironman (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child) Captain America (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child) Wolverine (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child) Spider-Man (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child) Pets (Cat & Dog versions of Ironman, Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man) Marvel logo Stick easily to any clean, flat surface Officially licensed Marvel collectible.




Besides the Marvel Superheros you can also get Star Wars family and Zombie family. Just click on any of the images for more info.

Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design (RWD) is the latest approach to web design. It employs CSS3 media queries to provide an optimal viewing experience across the numerous different devices people view content on.

The Great Lakes Geek sat down with two of the pros from Aztek to get the latest on RWD. Dave Skorepa is Chief Creative Office and Matt Mesenger is Director of Web Marketing at Aztek Web Design in Cleveland and they live and breathe this stuff.

Besides the primer on Responsive Web Design, they answer the Geek's questions about scrolling, resizing, Pinterest, SEO and other related issues.

Look for more on Web Design, SEO, Social Media and more from the pros at Aztek coming soon at GreatLakesGeek.Com

Leif Ericson Day

The Scandinavian community of Cleveland, including those from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland gathered at the bust of Leif Ericson in front of Shooters in Cleveland's Flats. Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland), nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Each year on Leif Ericson Day they toast the explorer and his maritime accomplishments with a drink of Aquavit, a 40 proof Scandinavian liqueur. Aquavit is said to get its special flavor from its trip to the Equator.

Photos and videos from Leif Ericson Day in Cleveland

Fitness for Geeks

I  just finished reading Fitness for Geeks: Real Science, Great Nutrition, and Good Health

Let's face it. Many of us who qualify for the moniker Geek (or Geekette) tend to spend a lot of time seated in front of a computer. We also tend to eat and drink items that are convenient and tasty which usually is a synonym for 'unhealthy.'

People like us are always looking for a clever or unique way to solve a problem. So if fitness is the problem, we approach it as a hackable goal. When a book proposes to lead us to fitness in such a manner, especially with the credibility of being part of the O'Reilly family, we have to check it out.

Great Lakes Geek Book Review of Fitness for Geeks

Peruvian Procession

In Lima, Peru there is a highly venerated mural of the Lord of the Miracles (Señor de los Milagros de Nazarenas). Just as Italians (and others) celebrate The Feast of the Assumption with parades and festivals, the people of Peru celebrate The Lord of the Miracles. It is the main Catholic celebration in Peru and boasts one of the largest processions in the world.


Here in Cleveland this tradition is carried out at Iglesia La Sagrada Familia Catholic Church on Detroit Ave. About 1000 took part in the 18th annual event on Sunday October 7.

Pictures and video from the Lord of the Miracles Procession

Alzheimer's Disease - Stage 6

It seems like everyone I know has been affected by Alzheimer's Disease in some way.  For us, it's been with my Aunt Pam who is now in stage 6 of 7 of the disease.

It's frustrating and scary and sad.  This is one disease that may be harder on the family and caregivers than the patient.

My cousin (Pam's daughter) Laura wrote a powerful essay on dealing with her Mom now that she is in Stage 6.  It's really something.