Oh say can you seeeeeeeee

Nobody sings the National Anthem like Rocco Scotti. It seems Rocco was always doing the anthem when I went to Tribe games back at Municipal Stadium. I haven't seen much of him since the Indians moved over to Jacobs Field, now Progressive Field.

So it was great to catch up with him in this profile on ClevelandSeniors.Com

Even better was the short audio message posted that includes Rocco belting out the first couple lines of the Anthem. He's 89 now but he still has the pipes!

March Math Madness

How many games in the NCAA tourney? Assuming we don’t count the play-in game for the 64th spot you can count up 32+ 16+ 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 and get 63.

It’s easy to determine the number of games played to determine a champion in a single elimination tournament. Say there are 64 teams in the tournament. When a team loses they are out so 63 teams must lose to determine the champ. That means 63 games are needed.

In general, if there are N teams in a single elimination tournament, you need to play N-1 games to get a champ.

If you want to make sure you have a perfect bracket you’d need to do every possible combination. With the play-in game, there are 64 games played. There are two possible outcomes for each game so the possible outcomes are 2 to the 64th power or about 18 quintillion.
GreatLakesGeek.com

You say Pirohi, I say Pierogi

So what do you call them?

The good people at St. Stephen's Byzantine Church call them pirohi and they've been making them each Lent for over 20 years. We always called them Pierogi but it's all good.

See some of the people making these treats and where you can get some.

Hats Off!

I'm not much of a hat person. Even when it's cold.

I know some guys who always have a baseball cap on. Why have something on your head when you don't need to?

Women have always been more into hats. I was reminded of this at the Virginia Marti Millinery Show this week. They must be fashionable because they sure aren't practical!

Check out some more hat pics from the event.

Rock on Cleveland!

I have a long history with live music in this town. Nothing says Cleveland or rock and roll to me as much as a live band in a neighborhood bar that has character, not cookie-cutter predictability.

I'm a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and am thrilled that the 2009 induction ceremonies are back in Cleveland. I'm also thrilled that there will be an entire week of festivities that we can all partake in.

I got excited about the week listening to Rock Hall bigwigs Terry Stewart and Joel Peresman at Landerhaven last week.

Check out the audio and pictures at GreatLakesGeek.com
But the most fun has been the reminiscing. As I was writing, I started recalling bands and clubs I used to hang out at - and some I still do. A great trip down the proverbial memory lane.

But I know my list (curse you brain cells!) is limited and I'd really like my memory to be jogged so please look at the clubs and bands I mentioned here and then tell me the bands and clubs that were your favorites (either on this blog or at the Geek article)

Rock On!

PS I just know that Joe Perry and Steven Tyler will be there to induct and jam with Run DMC!

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

First the February thaw. Then the Swimsuit issue. Forget about that groundhog in PA - spring is not too far.

It's no surprise that the issue David Letterman reveals tonight on Late Night at the stroke of midnight will be nearly 33% advertising pages "thinner" because of the economy. Still, Swimsuit 2009 fared better than at its 20th anniversary in 1984 and its 30th in 1994.

It was a powerful franchise then (thank you, Christie Brinkley and Elle Macpherson) and a mega-franchise now. Over the 45 years since Swimsuit's "modest" debut in 1964, it has put an estimated $1 billion into Time Inc.'s coffers.

See the SI swimsuit covers

Hitler and the Browns

Not for the faint of heart



In case the embedding doesn't work for you

2009 Economic Forecast

I am always a little skeptical of economic forecasts. It seems that most economists, by their own admission, are what they call two-handed economists.

This means that they make a prediction and then say “on the other hand…” and make a different prediction.

Not a lot of help.

But when an economist with the reputation of Richard DeKaser, Senior VP & Chief Economist, National City Bank, speaks you should listen.

What was perhaps the best part for Cleveland and our region were the few short comments made by Paul Clark, Regional President of National City Bank now part of PNC. (Yes, that mouthful is what they call the bank now)

So many in Cleveland are/were worried about the loss of NCB’s charitable dollars to the community. Clark tried to assuage that fear.

Give Clark a listen and see what DeKaser predicts for 2009.

One interesting note stood out. DeKaser said we need to give a stimulus check to those who don’t pay taxes because they will spend it! The tax payers who got checks were more likely to save it or apply to bills but the non-taxpaying would spend it.

Remind me of this next time I complain

This has been around for a while I guess, but it was new to me. A short video of a guy with no arms or legs speaking to a bunch of students.

It's well worth the 2 and 1/2 minutes it takes to view the video.

Check it out

A Grammar Book for You and I (...Oops, Me!)

The good sisters at St. Margaret Mary gave me a very good start in grammar but with relaxed societal expectations, built-in spelling and grammar checkers and eagle-eyed editors at Inside Business Magazine I felt that I had lost some of my grammar chops.

In this day of short message services, texting to BFFs and a preference for speed rather than grammar in e-mail, proper grammar can make you stand out.

So I decided to be less lazy with my writing and speaking and used this book as a refresher for some of my difficult areas.

Some of the rules I learned way back when still apply - as in Effect is (usually) a noun and Affect (usually) a verb.

I was bummed that my old trick of Principal being a Pal and hence a person didn't apply but most of the other stuff either was still in the old noggin or came back pretty fast.

I posted the book review on GreatLakesGeek so check it out if your grammar ain't (grin) quite what it used to be.

Don't Chalk up Brown's season to Lebron James

What a terrible game, season and team.

As a season ticket holder since I got my driver's license, I go to most of the games. This year was especially painful. But don't have the sick feeling that I usually have after a Brown's loss. Sometimes after a loss I would feel physically sick for a few days (no, not just hungover!)

But yesterday was so pathetic that it was almost laughable.

We had fun at the game though one girl's coke froze solid and our beers turned to slush. Really. The action on the field was a joke. How did Dorsey ever get on an NFL roster?

I am already enduring calls and e-mails from Steelers fans who say the bumblebees will be sending their CYO team to beat us, they don't need their pro team.

Maybe the Browns need to throw some chalk in the air before each game. Hey it works for Lebron. The Cavs are a pleasure to watch.

Lebron has a new video clip of the chalk-throwing ritual and fans will be given chalk at the Christmas game vs the Wizards so that they can join the King in the chalk throwing.

Buh-bye Romeo and Phil.

CAP needs PCs

The good news is that the volunteers of Computers Assisting People (CAP) are on schedule to refurbish and donate about 600 PCs to needy schools, community centers and other non-profits in Cleveland in 2008.

The not-so-good news is that we are running out of PCs to work on. Our stack of requests remains high but our supply is dwindling. We expected a surge as people upgraded to Windows Vista but that never took place.

So we need your (and your company’s) PCs. We can use Pentium 3 and up systems. CAP is a 501c3 and will provide a receipt for your donation. You and your accountant can figure out a value.

Remember, we not only wipe the hard drive but rewrite over the entire surface with a random series of 0’s and 1’s (DoD specification) so that your data can never be recovered.

CAP volunteers then test, configure and build up components in the system and put a legal operating system on each. (CAP was one of the first Microsoft Authorized Refurbishers in the world!)

Then we give them to local non-profits so they can fulfill their missions. Often, we set the PCs up in networks so they can be shared by a community, class or group.

See a list of the 350+ local organizations CAP has helped.

As you make upgrade plans, please consider CAP. CAP volunteers have donated over 10,000 PCs to local non-profits in our attempt to bridge the Digital Divide and make Cleveland a more productive and livable city.

Thank you,

Dan

Kenny G Holiday Show

I am listening to Mumbo Jumbo by the Tail Gators as I write this. A great, rocking, swampy tune and album.

I must admit I have never listened to an entire Kenny G CD so I can't really judge him. I can say that I respect his mastery of the saxophone and his incredible talent. But for now, it's more Gators.

But if Kenny G is more to your liking, you can win free tickets to his Holiday Show at the Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square.



He will be performing Sunday December 14th and ClevelandWomen.Com has 10 free tickets to give away.

Visit the site and enter the contest - and tell me if you like Kenny G.

Female Sexual Dysfunction

I thought that title might get your attention.

I attended the annual 2008 Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit this past week. It's always a fascinating event - especially to a layperson - and draws almost 1,000 international visitors and some huge name speakers.


I'll be posting pics/video and text on GreatLakesGeek soon but in the meantime, this cracked me up.

The topic of last year's summit was the Heart. 2009 will focus on cancer. But in 2008 the topic was Urology and Gynecology. So many of the attendees were experts in the field. At lunch and other social events, experts in particular field naturally congregated together.

I was just glad I wasn't seated at this table for lunch.

Laughter is the best medicine

This is from The Comedy Barn in Tennessee. One of the guy's laugh is so funny and infectious that you will have to laugh along.

You know it's tough out there...

When a guy like Steve Bass gets the pink slip. Steve has been writing for PC World Magazine for well over 10 years. But recently, he and Steve Manes and others got the boot.

Steve will be OK - he just started up a new venture called TechBite - but it makes you wonder about the future of print journalism.

Read more and listen to a podcast with Steve Bass at GreatLakesGeek.Com

High School Girls

We held our 2nd annual ClevelandWomen.Com Future Leaders event for high school girls earlier this month.

About 150 girls from 13 schools - urban/suburban and public/private - attended.

The speakers were just incredible - Former Mayor Jane Campbell, Entrepreneur Cathy Horton, Dr. Celestin from the Cleveland Clinic, Maurielle Lue of Channel 5. Marlene Kobzowicz from Virginia Marti, Juliana Kascsak from US Bank and Dean Linda Eisenmann of JCU.

We captured photos and some video snippets of all the speakers - and some of the other activities. Check out the event here

Be sure to watch the short videos from Maurielle Lue. At only 24 years of age, this young reporter really spoke the girl's language.

Bone It!

It's painful watching the Browns - especially when we had such high expectations this year.

But take some good advice on dealing with disappointment in sports and in life from none other than the Bonelady.

The Bonelady is a regular columnist on our sister site, ClevelandWomen.com and she offers surprisingly good advice for someone wearing dog bones.

Here's her intro column and here's one after the loss to the dreaded Steelers.

Can't wait to see what she writes about the latest debacle.

It's a Bird, it's a Plane...

There's a terrific new exhibition at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. It's called Zap! Pow! Bam! The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950

By now you should know that Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster lived in Cleveland when they created and drew the Man of Steel.

The exhibit shows that many of the comic book creators were Jewish and that many of the super hero characters they created became beloved symbols of human potential and the triumph of good over evil.

Bring the kids - there are some fun activities for them too - rides in the Batmobile, a chance to draw the Joker and others, costumes to wear and a phone call from Superman himself.

Here are some photos and more info from the show.

Fannie Lewis

“You da Man!”

Those are the words Fannie Lewis yelled to me as my sister and I left her Hough home. We had been there early one Saturday morning to do a profile of the powerful Cleveland City Council member for both ClevelandSeniors.com and ClevelandWomen.com.

It was very early in the morning and Fannie was still dressed in her nightgown but she was busy working the phones as people from her neighborhood called for help. Watching her work the phones was impressive. She was decisive, firm and no-nonsense but she was also compassionate.

You could tell that her life as councilwoman in Hough was a 24x7 job. And that she loved it and the people of her Ward and the city of Cleveland.

After the interview, she asked about us and our business. She congratulated me for looking after my sister and as I walked off her porch she cried, “You da Man!” I looked back, grinned and waved and as I got into the car across the street she yelled it again.

She had no higher political ambitions – she was focused on the people in her city and especially in her beloved Hough area.

In these times of political corruption and “what’s in it for me” a dedicated, caring public servant like Fannie Lewis was will be harder and harder to find.

She will be missed.

Read our profile of Counciwoman Fannie Lewis