Tim Ferris

my current Sales Practices Manual tells me I am not to be engaged in blogging activity

2009-05-27T13:27:00.001-04:00

I have never used this or any other blog for professional purposes.

That being said, I am aware, as of today, that, for considerations relating to my registrations with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), I am not to be engaged in blogging activity. Therefore, this is my last blog post; here’s the proximate rule, the one that most closely affects me:

Prohibited Activities

The below list is not intended to be inclusive of all of the instances in which the Firm will prohibit a communication with the public; rather it is intended to demonstrate some of the most common types of communications that are not approved. . . .

. . . Blogs: Interactive electronic forums such as blogs subject a member firm to various supervision and record keeping requirements. As such, no employee or affiliated person with the Firm may participate in blogs or other similar interactive electronic communications such as chat rooms.

WSP Online: Current Manual

And another, less proximate:

Electronic Chat Rooms, Blogs and Bulletin Boards

The fact that an individual is registered subjects him/her to a higher standard than members of the general public. Given the fast-paced environment of chat rooms, blogs and bulletin boards, casual or off-handed statements have the potential of crossing the line between being a reasonable opinion and an exaggerated or unwarranted claim. Because of the difficulties of supervision and the potential liabilities from participating in these forums, many firms limit or prohibit participation altogether.

Chat room participation by RRs is considered a public appearance. Therefore, RRs must follow the same requirements for participating in a chat room that they would if they were speaking in person before a group of investors. There are no filing requirements, but RRs are accountable under FINRA Conduct Rules and the federal securities laws for what they say regarding securities or services. Also, member firms are responsible for supervising the business-related activities of RRs including chat room participation. Remember, these rules apply regardless of whether an RR is in the office at home or a public computer.

In general, blogs and bulletin boards are considered advertisements and as such, all the content standards apply. Depending on the subject matter, firms may need to file these postings with FINRA.

RRs who are considering hosting a bulletin board, blog or chat room should contact their compliance department to determine whether such activities are permitted and what procedures may apply. Member firms must supervise the operation of any securities-related blog, bulletin board or chat room hosted by an RR or by the firm itself to ensure compliance with FINRA Conduct Rules and the federal securities laws. For example, a member firm may limit when commenters can post new messages to times when such messages can be monitored. A member firm may also require commenters to register and agree to abide by the terms of the Web site, including limitations on content.

Tomorrow at 11:00 AM: Denison Cemetery Memorial Day Service

2009-05-24T20:53:00.001-04:00

We’re planning on being there tomorrow for the Memorial Day service’ this is a place of memories and history. One of the best speeches I ever heard was delivered here impromptu by Ruth Ketteringham at the Memorial Day service in 2006, a few months before her death at age 99 at the end of July. She was in a very special place at the time and spoke in metaphors that transcended our particular service, yet applied beautifully. I remember she spoke of God, water, gifts, stewardship, conservation, and creation.

Gloria put this notice on a couple of our other blogs earlier this evening:

Who: A group of friends and neighbors are called together by another neighbor Rick Nicholson each year to remember those who served our country—living and dead. We give thanks for those who protected the freedoms of our country so that we can live without fear.

When: Monday May 25, 2009

11:00 am

Where: Denison Cemetery, 2300 Ellen Alley, Cleveland, Ohio 44109

Turn left Off Pearl Road onto Garden Avenue (north of Denison Avenue)

Posted by Gloria Ferris at 5/24/2009 07:16:00 PM

More background on the former Brooklyn Centre Burying Ground is at pp. 119-120 in Reflections from Brooklyn Centre: Presentations and Oral Histories from The Brooklyn Centre Historical Society. Links to information on the cemetery appear at--

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohclecem/denisoncemetery.html

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~monajo/denison/dencem.htm

http://www.hellocleveland.com/Landmarks/Cemetery/1039669/Denison_Cemetery.cfm

Denison Avenue: Denison Cemetery Memorial Day Service

great ideas from mid-state: The Lazarus Building creates a distinction for Columbus

2009-05-21T10:27:00.001-04:00

Here are a few great ideas about sustainability and preservation coming out of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. The ideas are both specific to the Lazarus project and also applicable to “green buildings” in general. I’ve provided the entire text here in case the site page goes away after a while.

The Lazarus Building

Once a thriving department store and Columbus landmark, Lazarus has been renovated into a premier "green" office space. Located in the heart of downtown, the Lazarus Building is once again a prominent destination due to its innovative method of redevelopment. The method included recycling more than 75 percent of the materials removed from the facility and the inclusion of a rooftop living garden which keeps the building cool. The Lazarus Building is the most significant "green" building in the country and is certified Gold through the LEED Program. The Lazarus Building provides space for 2,600 jobs in Downtown Columbus.

History/Value of Renovating the Lazarus Building:

Important not to demolish the building – it's a community and historic landmark.

The Lazarus Building is actually seven buildings, the first building – the East Building – opened in 1909. The other additions were added over the following 60 years. Reconstruction involved dealing with diverse structural systems, differing elevations, unseen and unknown conditions. Significant aspects of this project resembled an exercise in urban archaeology as much as executing 21st century construction.

The renovation was a tipping point and a showcase for Mayor Michael Coleman's "Get Green" program.

The renovation of Lazarus could be viewed as an "anchor" for the redevelopment of downtown.

Lazarus could be a "sample box" – an example for all of Columbus and Ohio to better understand what it means to develop a landmark building with environmental sustainability as its central focus.

A larger objective was to enable residents of Columbus and surrounding areas to utilize the Lazarus Building as a "teaching tool" and learning experience for students, real estate professionals such as contractors, architects and developers, and residents working or living downtown. Through displays, exhibits and tours, they can understand the lessons of Lazarus and utilize these lessons in their daily, personal and professional lives.

Six major hallmarks of "Green Buildings"

Sustainable Development

The recycling of existing buildings, such as Lazarus, rather than building new buildings both conserves resources and helps revitalize urban centers.

Energy Conservation

Buildings use 65 percent of all electricity within the United States.

Efficient building systems and “daylight harvesting” for Lazarus’ oversized windows and center atrium enable the building's energy systems to operate 30 percent more efficiently and at a reduced cost.

Clean Air and Global Warming

Buildings consume more than 40 percent of the energy produced in the country, adding to the emission of CO2 and other Greenhouse Gases.

Efficient mechanical systems, conservation and support for renewable energy sources such as wind power improve air quality and minimize the adverse impact of CO2 and other emissions.

Water Conservation

Water usage in U.S. buildings accounts for 42 billion gallons per day, which equals 88 percent of our nation’s potable water supply.

Lazarus' "grey water system" and highly efficient plumbing fixtures reduce water consumption by up to 80 percent.

Indoor Air Quality

Non-toxic adhesives, sealants and paints were used throughout the building, and adhering during construction to stringent air quality plan created a superior interior environment - conducive to increased worker productivity.

Resource Conservation

Buildings use 50 percent of all woods and materials nationally, while construction waste is estimated to account for 150 million tons each year.

Lazarus' recycling programs, during demolition, reconstruction and occupancy were all geared to conserve resources and reduce energy consumption.

Green Characteristics of Lazarus:

"Art Deco" lobby consisting of architecture similar to the 1920's, while utilizing 21st century materials.

7-Story light well, efficient building systems and "daylight harvesting" for Lazarus' oversized windows and center atrium enables the building's energy systems to operate 30 percent more efficiently and at a reduced cost.

The lobby and all other finished spaces in Lazarus were constructed using recycled products or are considered sustainable.

The floor in the lobby is terrazzo from recycled glass.

The elevator and trim is recycled metal.

The wall trim is made from wheat board instead of customary drywall.

Bamboo was used as a flooring material because it’s a sustainable material. Bamboo is not a tree—it's a grass, and it grows like one. Many species of bamboo can grow two feet or more a day. When it's harvested, it need not be replanted, because it will grow a new shoot from its extensive root system. So bamboo renews itself readily, unlike hardwood trees, which, once cut, are gone forever. Bamboo is an endlessly renewable resource.

Green planted roof – 1/3 of an acre in size – with living plants reduces summer heat buildup.

Rainwater is harvested for cooling.

75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was recycled.

Low-flow plumbing.

Energy efficient windows that reduce utility cost by 25 percent.

Recycled materials were used wherever possible.

The Lazarus Building recycled more than 50 percent of the materials removed from the project.

For more information on green buildings, visit www.usgbc.org

Lazarus Building

Jamie Janos appears in Artists and the Recession - The New York Times > Arts > Slide Show > Slide 4 of 10

2009-05-20T19:43:00.001-04:00

Our friend photographer James O. Janos, raised on Mapledale in our Archwood-Denison neighborhood, was in the New York TIMES yesterday, along with a great, great backdrop of Cleveland.

Artists and the Recession - The New York Times > Arts > Slide Show > Slide 4 of 10

Cleveland, Ohio, medical mart may have to fend off another competitor based in Nashville, Tennessee: Central Planning tries to outrun the Capitalists

2009-05-19T07:53:00.004-04:00

This whole medmart drill is getting to be delicious. I added the “Ohio” to the headline to make sure we didn’t get confused with Cleveland, Tennessee, or any of the other US cities called “Cleveland” which, as we shrink and they grow, we rapidly approach in size and mission-criticality. The drill thus far: First, our local lightweights introduce their friends as the major players and beneficiaries, and tell us we should be grateful that they’d even deign to look in our direction; then, they confiscate public dollars for their friends and for the local medical community by imposing a tax increase without putting it to a vote; then, they bog down as everybody sees the dollars in motion and tries to pile onto the FREE STUFF wagon.

That 1991 Oldenburg FREE Stamp down by the city hall takes on new levels of meaning for me every day. It is indeed a work of art, and I am beginning to become aware.

Entrepreneurs with capitalist leanings in New York and Nashville eventually notice the feeding frenzy around the central planning pork barrel and decide to fund what’s basically a good idea quickly and privately, thus doing an end-around on a particularly vulgar fray and display of greed. The Nashville people decide to use CNL for financing; Kennedy’s partner Vornado still has not stepped up and offered financing, being content to extort the local tax base until the game ends, one way or the other. Why hasn’t Kennedy offered to execute in a capitalistic way? Perhaps because he knows he’s frolicking on the North Coast of the Welfare-Queen State, with the lightweights?

I’d say it’s time to give the unvoted tax increase to the RTA for free public transit to match our free public education, add the kicker of beginning the MedicalMarijuanaMerchandiseMart (4M?) right now, on a street corner, out of a suitcase, and get private financing for the mart to hold the rest of the medical merchandising displays, just like the big boys.

If you want to be the first on your block, you gotta hustle.

And let’s get over these self-esteem issues. We are intrinsically wealthy in Cleveland, Ohio. We have a built heritage that is beyond compare, despite efforts of the Jackson administration and the banksters to demolish it. Our basic infrastructure is pretty darned good, too. We have a natural heritage that includes fresh water, a temperate climate, varied terrain, lots of wind, and the vestiges of forests of trees. Let’s not buy into the idea that we’re pathetic or needy, because we’re not; we’ve got everything we need right here, right now.

This city is not so ugly it has to tie a porkchop around its neck to get the dogs to play with it. Welcome to Cleveland, Chris. Now either put up some capital, or go home.

Cleveland medical mart may have to fend off another competitor based in Nashville, Tennessee - Metro - cleveland.com

a privately owned convention center, of all things

2009-05-18T14:51:00.002-04:00

I’ve just returned from a 4-day stay in Dayton, Ohio, at the Hamvention. As a side note and disclaimer, I am not a ham, but found the trip an interesting excursion in the field of American Studies.

Besides the crowd itself, another very interesting thing was that the huge convention center complex used by the Hamvention is privately held, owned by a family. They are making a go of it without the help of the imposition of an earmarked county sales tax or the self-proclaimed expertise of the Kennedy family. It makes me wonder why nobody in these parts has proposed that the medical community here take care of their own business and their own MedicalMart, with their own money.

Hara Arena Information
Home to the Dayton Hamvention since 1964, The Hara Complex is as unique as its history. In 1956, Wampler Ballarena (a dance hall) was built as the cornerstone of what is now a 6-building exhibition center. Originally, the location was a thriving, family-owned fruit orchard. Today it is a thriving, family-owned entertainment, conference and exhibition facility. Very few such complexes are privately owned, even fewer are family owned. Hara has survived and prospered by combining the professionalism of one of the areas largest exhibition centers with the care and personal concern of a family business. It is a unique combination that serves our clients and patrons well.

A MedicalMarijuanaMart concept ought to have them tripping all over themselves to be the first Pfizer of natural and organic products, Mother Nature’s little helpers, swashbuckling capitalist ganja buccaneers.

Hamvention.org / Media

central planning fails again, as advertising kiosks fail to deliver

2009-05-12T07:48:00.003-04:00

Finally, Henry Gomez got the figures we’ve been asking to see for years now, and the verdict is in: We the people of Cleveland did in fact finance these “street furniture” atrocities, allowing the recovery of startup costs by Omni Media before there was any money at all paid to the city. Once again, our elected help, following the direction of the hired help at central planning, show themselves to be the chumps of private enterprise. The central planner, Bob Brown, here seems to be siding with Omni; it seems he’s quite often not aligned with the public interest.

It took Omni two years to build and install the first kiosks. The company's first full year of sales was not until 2002, said Sandra Gallucci, Omni's sales manager and head of development.
For the next three years, Gallucci said, Cleveland's cut of the proceeds was canceled out for three reasons: Uncollected debt; money deducted to design and produce maps; and revenues lost because of kiosks being displaced by construction.
In addition, Omni and the city amended the contract to allow for fewer kiosks.
Brown said the up-front costs of maps and signs alone accounted for about $175,000 -- more than the city was entitled to under terms of the royalty agreement.
Omni determines royalties based on the previous year's numbers. The city caught up in 2006, when the storefront program received $37,136. The amount jumped to $72,841 in 2007.
But the six-figure paydays once considered a starting point have yet to be achieved.

When we were collecting signatures for the Put It On the Ballot initiative, people coming up East Ninth Street kept asking us for directions to a good restaurant, even though they’d passed two or three of these behemoth kiosks before talking to us. These aluminum hulks are not only superfluous, but they’re also in disrepair and out of plumb. They add to the visual clutter and mar the streetscape.

These obstructions need to be removed and scrapped so they do no further harm. The Omni Media parasites have already recovered their costs. They’re not performing according to projections; they misrepresented in a major way. So, amend the contract again. Clean the streetscape. Take back the sidewalks. Recover from Omni when you backcharge them for sign removal and new concrete slabs.

Omni, you came in here under false pretenses, so now take your boxes, fold your little Cleveland office, and go home. You were carpetbaggers anyway. Who brought you all in here in the first place?

It’s time for major change, yet this little freshening would be salutary and good for morale.

Advertising kiosks fail to deliver projected revenue for city's coffers - Metro - cleveland.com

Ferris’ New Website – for Apartments!

2009-05-10T19:12:00.004-04:00

My cousin Rick sent this to me in a batch this afternoon, and I wanted to post it here for posterity, for when he's richer and more famous.

Indeed, it IS a jungle out there, and now you can rent through a local NEO broker.

Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 3:50 PM
Subject: Ferris' New Website – for Apartments!

Dear Friend,

I need your help! I have been working on a new internet startup with my business partner, Jon Pastor. The site is an apartment search engine (like Google) that scours the internet for every apartment listing in the U.S. (unlike Google, we specialize in apartment search only). We organize the results in a simple, powerful map/results page. We have ~1 million listings, which is 5x our closest competitor, and we just launched this week.

Please check it out at RentJungle.com. I would really appreciate your feedback and comments. In fact, if you're on Facebook, please become a fan of our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rent-Jungle-Search-Millions-of-Apartments-and-Homes-For-Rent/80142981156 and post a comment.

The map interface is particularly useful, try: http://www.rentjungle.com/mapapartments/oh/cleveland/.

So if you, your kids, parents, friends or relatives are in the market for an apartment, please give it a try: RentJungle.com.

Thanks, I appreciate it, and please share your thoughts with me,

Rick Ferris

Harlan Ellison -- Pay the Writer -- putting moochers on notice

2009-05-09T15:26:00.001-04:00

As followup to Harlan's being Marcelled earlier in the matter of The Cleveland Arts Prize, here's Harlan's take on moochers, doing things for nothing, and getting things for nothing. I tend to agree--these secular nonprofit directors "wouldn't go for 5 seconds without being paid."

multiplying talents: Cleveland Heights pastor at Forest Hill Church takes cue from parable, gives congregants $50 each

2009-05-09T09:36:00.002-04:00

Great story from our friend Mike O’Malley. Instructive, too.

It occurs to me now that we Roman Catholics are uniquely positioned to do the same, but on a larger scale. Instead of demolishing churches or shutting them down and having them reappear on the tax rolls, what if the diocese gave away a church to the congregation, to see what would come back? That strikes me as being the proper role of a conservator of the parishes’ aggregated assets, a trustee of the efforts of prior generations.

In the final analysis, it’s not about the money at all. The tail has been wagging the dog. It’s about people, and what our forbears put together for the support of a strong community then and now. The money was spent and the energy expended long ago to provide what we have now, and we must honor that, and conserve.

Again, we’re back to the old “Waste not, want not,” but it holds true.

Cleveland Heights pastor at Forest Hill Church takes cue from parable, gives congregants $50 each - Metro - cleveland.com

rude, crude, and nasty: secular nonprofit executive director struts her stuff

2009-05-09T09:03:00.003-04:00

There’s a certain tacky, money-grubbing desperation pervasive in the secular nonprofit arena in Ohio, and Marcie Bergman’s conduct representing us as executive director of The Cleveland Arts Prize (CAP) points that up. The Prize has too distinguished a history and is too good a concept to have to endure this sort of hired representation; it’s time for a more gracious face for the organization.

It appears from a cursory examination of the CAP’s forms 990 over at Guidestar (register and sign in for yourself, membership is free) that they certainly could have afforded to provide native son and enfant terrible Harlan Ellison a plane ticket and lodging. It also appears that Marcelle Bergman’s compensation was equal to 1/10th of the endowment amount in 2007; hereafter to be known as Madame Shekelgruber, she had a part-time job of 20 hours a week and received $44,997 for that in 2007. In 2006 and 2005, the compensation for executive-director leadership was significantly less, but that actually misses the point: Paying anything at all for this type of representation is just too, too expensive.

Let’s see if Harlan showcases a new character based on his recent experience with Madame Shekelgruber. Go, Harlan; if anybody can do it, it’s you. And as I’ve been fond of saying lately, “Welcome to Cleveland; now go home.”

Harlan Ellison turns down Cleveland Arts Prize - Cleveland.com

sage accounting advice from Janis Joplin - GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

2009-05-07T10:46:00.001-04:00

Based on advice from accounting professionals, and backed up by our old friend Janis, I applied today for Social Security retirement benefits. My 62nd birthday is three months from today, and that's the earliest they allow application for the benefit.

I am not retiring, though. I plan on continuing to work in my chosen profession for another 25 years. As the Tofflers have suggested in REVOLUTIONARY WEALTH, we are entering a new age in which all things monetary get re-valued.

book review: MEAN Little deaf Queer, A memoir by Terry Galloway

2009-05-07T07:58:00.001-04:00

I saw this title just now over on LibraryThing as one of the review items available for May and was fascinated by the words as juxtaposed.

“You don´t have to be mean, little, deaf, or queer to take heart from this miraculously unsentimental, deliriously funny, refreshingly spite-free, joyously weirdo-embracing memoir. All you have to be is human. Like Augusten Burroughs, Frank McCourt, and Mary Karr, Terry Galloway has written a memoir that transcends its hilarious particularities to achieve the universality of true art.”

—Sarah Bird, author of How Perfect is That and The Mommy Club

More praise

Running with Scissors meets The Liar's Club in this edgy and wickedly hilarious memoir about one irrepressible, mean, little, deaf queer

When Terry Galloway was born on Halloween, no one knew that an experimental antibiotic given to her mother had wreaked havoc on her fetal nervous system. After her family moved from Berlin Germany, to Austin, Texas, hers became a deafening, hallucinatory childhood where everything, including her own body, changed for the worse. But those unwelcome changes awoke in this particular child a dark, defiant humor that fueled her lifelong obsessions with language, duplicity, and performance.

As a ten-year-old self-proclaimed “child freak,” she acted out her fury at her boxy hearing aids and Coke-bottle glasses by faking her own drowning at a camp for crippled children. Ever since that first real-life performance, Galloway has used theater and performance, whether onstage or off, to defy and transcend her reality. With disarming candor, Terry writes about her mental breakdown, her queer identity, and living in a silent, quirky world populated by unforgettable characters. What could have been a bitter litany of complaint is instead an unexpectedly hilarious and affecting take on life.

Contents

Prologue: Nine

Part I: Drowning

Them and Me

Visions

Presto Change-o

Meaner

The Performance of Drowning
(Listen to it; MP3, 67 MB)

Lost Boy

Part II: Passing

Little-d Deaf

On Being Told No

Passing Strange

Drag Acts

Shhhhhh!

Jobs for the Deaf

The Shallow End

Part III: Emerging

Scare

Who Died and What Killed Them

Why I Should Matter

Epilogue: A Happy Life . . .

Acknowledgments

MEAN Little deaf Queer: A memoir by Terry Galloway

Shift Happens Narrated

2009-05-05T17:13:00.001-04:00

My friend and classmate John Francis Moriarty III, an expatriate and educator in Thailand since college, still seems to care about basic disparities and the new, laggard culture of his birth country. The film clip mentions sending laptops to children in disadvantaged countries overseas, and I think, What about our own third-world country, our emerging nation/city-state, our sleepy little banana republic here in the center of Cuyahoga County?

FW: Budget Update from our friend Joe Calabrese over at RTA

2009-05-05T16:22:00.002-04:00

We just got this email from Joe Calabrese. I didn’t know he knew where to reach me; will wonders never cease?

Anyway, Joe informs us there is a shortfall in sales tax receipts, just at the same time we’re looking to finance a MedMart on the back of the sales tax. I wonder if this will give any of the MedMart cheerleaders pause?

Here’s an idea: Since the Medical MarijuanaMart will be self-sustaining and a low-cost startup—heck, you can deal out of a suitcase just about anywhere—we can reallocate the sales-tax increase originally earmarked for the old, tired idea of the MedMart to public transit. Given this sudden influx of funds, RTA can be free for all, just like public education, and the economy will flourish, except for the autoworkers and the banks that lend money to buy overpriced gas hogs.

From: e-news [mailto:e-news@gcrta.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 3:22 PM
To: taferris@gmail.com
Subject: Budget Update

A message from Joe Calabrese, RTA CEO & General Manager

I want to update you on the current status of RTA's budget due to the current recession.

In light of a projected $12-15 million shortfall in sales tax receipts, we are aggressively taking steps to help balance our budget to preserve needed transportation services.

The Ohio House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 1, which includes a badly needed increase for public transit.

We urge you to contact your State Senators and the Governor's Office, and urge them to retain this increase and provide whatever other assistance possible in order to minimize any service reductions.

We will keep you informed as the process continues. Thank you for your assistance.

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Arlo Guthrie - Coming Into Los Angeles - Woodstock 1969

2009-05-04T10:17:00.001-04:00

I was thinking of the uses of BKL (Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport) in the conduct of the new commerce at the new Cleveland MedicalMarijuanaMart, and it brought to mind the way trafficking used to be, when Arlo was a kid, flying into LAX.

unions tied to the unthinkable, and I do not lithp: N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe

2009-05-04T07:40:00.001-04:00

Unthinkable, it is, and the unions are caught right in the middle. What’s valuable here? What’s the price to maintain the value?

The notion that Boston, home to some of the country's top universities, could lose its major daily would have been unthinkable before the recent nationwide plunge in advertising revenue. That dive has triggered a wave of newspaper bankruptcies and the closing of the Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

A Globe shutdown would leave the city with only one daily newspaper, the tabloid Boston Herald, which has just 10 news reporters and is battling its own financial difficulties.

"From the moment the Times Co. purchased The Globe in 1993, it has treated New England's largest newspaper like a cheap whore," former Globe columnist Eileen McNamara wrote last month in the Herald. "It pimped her out for profit during the booming 1990s and then pillaged her when times got tough. It closed her foreign bureaus and cheapened her coverage of everything from the fine arts to the hard sciences."

McNamara, who now teaches journalism at Brandeis University, ridiculed Sulzberger as "the boy genius whose crack management skills have helped drive the parent company of two of journalism's most respected newspapers to the brink of bankruptcy."

The Globe says the parent company is seeking $10 million in savings from the Newspaper Guild -- the paper's largest union -- as well as $5 million from the mailers, $2.5 million from the drivers and $2.2 million from the pressmen.

N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe - washingtonpost.com

$7 billion annual revenue enhancement: MedicalMarijuanaMart

2009-05-03T12:47:00.001-04:00

I was telling my friend Jim before church today about the idea of the MedicalMarijuanaMart, and he told me that Vancouver, British Columbia, had realized $7.8 billion from those sorts of sales last year. Checking quickly on line, I found this:

Until recently, I believed tales of drug busts and the legalization debate were news stories, and didn't belong in a business magazine. Then a few experts attached numbers to the illegal business. Forestry added $10 billion to B.C.'s GDP in 2005, the construction industry another $7.9 billion and according to police sources, the marijuana trade claims third spot, boasting annual sales of $7.5 billion. Big business indeed

BC Bud Marijuana from western Canada

And this:

Medical marijuana could ease economic pains

Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun columnist
Published: Friday, November 14, 2008
DUNCAN - Eric Nash can barely contain his excitement waiting to hear from Health Canada whether he can start growing marijuana for 250 patients.

That would be just the start. There are tens of thousands more who are ailing across the country clamouring for his organic B.C. bud.

"There is a great opportunity here for the government to collect significant tax revenue currently being lost to the street market," Nash, one of the best-known legal cannabis producers, enthused.

"With the current global financial crisis, this court ruling is certainly a bright light in dark economic times. We're just waiting for clarification. I figure our production would increase significantly from several pounds to 150 pounds or more immediately."

Now that the Federal Court of Appeal has struck down the government's monopoly on supplying medical marijuana, Nash believes commercial agricultural production of pot is around the corner and the sky's the limit.

His local company, Island Harvest, has cleared the industrial security regulatory hurdles so the company meets the standards set by Ottawa to grow the much-demonized plant.

"Our vision is to have a sustainable commercial agriculture operation," he said. "There's no reason we can't achieve that. Look at the number of compassion clubs, look at the number of people using marijuana to relieve a headache or pre-menstrual cramps!"

More and more research is supporting previous anecdotal evidence that cannabis may have a wide range of therapeutic uses from the treatment of Alzheimer's, depression, glaucoma, epilepsy and cancer to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and ADD/ADHD. Its most ardent promoters say cannabis may be an addition to the modern pharmacopeia that rivals Aspirin in the breadth of its applications.

It doesn't take a genius to realize the potential profits are staggering….

…Regardless, Nash said, based on the four-per-cent model, that puts sales at more than $400 million annually.

More optimistic projections say the medical market, including ancillary products such as vaporizers and paraphernalia, could be as high as $20 billion.

Add it up: The government sells maybe $1 million a year worth of the pot produced in a Manitoba mine, and compassion clubs across the country sell about $10 million worth of cannabis products.

I guess somebody already has thought up the idea of the MedicalMarijuanaMart, but Clevelanders should not give up so soon—they’re always looking for those copycat things, and this is way less tired an idea than casinos.

Since Cleveland has that thing called “home rule,” it would seem a logical next step to set up as a sovereign city-state and begin to deal. They could also work it so they wouldn’t have to share with those greedy devils Lee and Ted at the state, erstwhile brokers of all money flowing back from the Federal level. With home rule, we’d probably be something like an emerging third-world country or a banana republic, but, what the heck, we’ve been practicing being that way for years.

I guess the WeedWalk/PotParade on PublicSquare may have been one of those inflection points.

weed, weed, weed on Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio

2009-05-02T17:05:00.004-04:00

Today, around mid-day, I made a quick bus run to public square and happened to see this sad little parade following three police bikes. The people had three banners with all sorts of green colors on them and seemed to be chanting “Weed!”

I went in to the Terminal Tower to get some coffee at the Caribou and when I emerged, the parade had vaporized, almost as though they were swallowed up by the Cleveland Convention & Visitors Bureau at 100 Public Square.

Was there any coverage of this event anywhere? I’ve googled “Weed Walk” and “Pot Parade” and “On the Move with Marijuana” along with “Cleveland OH” and come up empty. Maybe they were here promoting the commissioners’ latest regional revitalization scheme, a MedicalMarijuanaMart. Far out. Outta state. Right arm.

Beats casinos. Probably easier to legalize and tax than prostitution. Go for it. Try something new for a change. Innovate.

the worm has turned: “The Democrats have no more excuses” | Salon

2009-05-02T12:23:00.001-04:00

I enjoyed this take on the current state of affairs by David Sirota. Now, do you think they’ll have the moral courage to begin talking about restitution to individuals and restoration of communities before they talk about bailouts of huge entities, and being “too big to fail”?

May 1, 2009 | As counsel for the Warren Commission investigating the Kennedy assassination, Arlen Specter described a "magic bullet" that changed America. Four decades later as a U.S. senator, Specter is providing another history-altering magic bullet -- one Democrats will either fire off in a starting gun, or use in their suicide.

By leaving the Republican Party this week, the five-term Pennsylvania lawmaker eliminated the last Democratic rationale for inaction: the Senate filibuster. With Minnesota Democrat Al Franken expected to be seated soon, and now with Specter, Democrats will have the 60 Senate votes needed to overcome all parliamentary obstructions.

This legislative magic bullet will force Democrats to fulfill their policy promises and potentially commence an era of dominance, or they will fail and be annihilated at the polls.

No longer can they blame Republicans for stopping bills to reform healthcare, tax, defense and trade policy. In command of the White House, the autocratic House of Representatives, and soon a filibuster-proof Senate majority, Democrats will have total authority to do whatever they want, and no scapegoat to fault. That means, as ABC News' Rick Klein said, "This is Democrats' turn to govern, no excuses" -- and it means we're about to find out whether their pledges were genuine.

Ever since the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, Democrats have guaranteed "real change" if we give them back control of government. They've made this pledge despite helping Republicans to deregulate the financial system and to plunge the country into the Iraq war. And at every turn, they've blamed the GOP, rather than themselves, for gridlock.

The Democrats have no more excuses | Salon

In another Salon piece, Glenn Greenwald recounts Dick Durbin’s candor a few days ago, about the bankers owning the US Congress. We haven’t heard about it or seen it anywhere else. Wonder why. Great piece, read it all.

Sen. Dick Durbin, on a local Chicago radio station this week, blurted out an obvious truth about Congress that, despite being blindingly obvious, is rarely spoken: "And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place." The blunt acknowledgment that the same banks that caused the financial crisis "own" the U.S. Congress -- according to one of that institution's most powerful members -- demonstrates just how extreme this institutional corruption is.

The ownership of the federal government by banks and other large corporations is effectuated in literally countless ways, none more effective than the endless and increasingly sleazy overlap between government and corporate officials. Here is just one random item this week announcing a couple of standard personnel moves:

Former Barney Frank staffer now top Goldman Sachs lobbyist

food for thought: Bob Reid takes over from Frank Bova Wednesday

2009-05-02T12:15:00.001-04:00

Do you think we’ll some day soon read a related story in which Bob Reid arrests Jimmy DiMora? What does the sheriff do, anyway?

Bob Reid is elected Cuyahoga County Sheriff - Metro - cleveland.com

good news: Bishop reverses St. Colman closing

2009-05-02T09:31:00.003-04:00

Well, here’s some truly good news: Bishop Lennon has granted Saint Colman parish a 4-year reprieve. That means parishioners and other well-wishers have 4 years in which to learn and then to prove that tithing works wonders.

The problem with coming up Catholic in these parts is that we were all instructed, in the ‘50s and ‘60s, to give 1 hour’s wage, and that would be quite enough. These days, apparently that is no longer the case. For a normal workweek, a tithe would be 4 hours’ pay, before deductions.

In times when there were lots of practicing Catholics, households chock full of boomers thanks to the rhythm method, and a real need for Catholic schools, 1 hour’s wage worked wonders and the church networks grew huge. Smaller families, new spiritualities, competition from the government and secular nonprofits for the charitable dollar, spiking utility costs, church scandals, and fewer vocations have now worked to alter the scale of supporting the previous network of Roman Catholic churches and schools. More is now needed from fewer. It’s time to pick up and review the Bible; it’s time to emulate our Presbyterian relatives and begin to tithe.

WKYC.com Cleveland, OH Bishop reverses St. Colman closing

H. L. Mencken forecast our land of heart’s desire

2009-05-01T12:09:00.001-04:00

The quote below from H. L. Mencken, from Nelson Nash’s newsletter just out today, may help explain the phenomenon of legislative bowdlerization of American English that Connie Schultz brought to the fore yesterday, with the start of the “retardation” dialogues.

If the legislative take-aways and prohibitions continue, then, when the emperor truly has no clothes, or is helplessly impaired, we won’t be able to describe the situation accurately without running the risk of being politically incorrect. I wonder if “moron” has been legislated away already?

As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of
the people. On some great and glorious day the plain
folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last
and the White House will be adorned by a downright
moron.” -H.L. Mencken (July 26, 1920)

Connie Schultz may have a point: Purge Ohio law of a needlessly hurtful word

2009-04-30T03:28:00.002-04:00

Connie may be right. I probably shouldn’t have referred to Frank Jackson, Jane Campbell, and Mike White as ‘tards a few posts ago. It was a thoughtless slur denigrating an entire class of retarded people, people who happen to be a certain way and have no control over that circumstance, and I apologize for it. Jackson et al. play country-bumpkin dumb and act stupid, but we suspect they can also act alternatively. We hope.

As Connie points out, our language is losing a lot of its color, strength, and power to the well-intentioned bowdlerizations of public servants who would aspire to be custodians of political correctness, and emasculators of public discourse:

"There was a time when the word 'retarded' was considered acceptable," Stewart [Republican State Sen. Jimmy Stewart, of Athens] said. "I think we all recognize that language changes over time. Words that didn't used to be seen as offensive now are. It was only recently that 'imbecile,' 'drunkard' and 'lunatic' were taken out of language in the Ohio code. . . . It's time to eliminate 'retardation,' too. It won't change everybody's mind, and it won't stop everyone from using the word in a derogatory way, but it's a start."
It's a good start, and way overdue. And what took us so long? I'd be quicker to lunge at the legislature if I weren't so embarrassed that it took me longer than it should have to recognize the injustice. As my 21-year-old daughter pointed out to me this week, calling someone a "reeee-tard" is still common among her peers, and always intended to deride.

In addition to the problem of the neutering of the language by proscription, we have coming at it from the other side the problem of word-hijacking—“gay” for instance as a reference to things homosexual, and “urban” as a near-synonym for the racial “black” (which used to be the polite and respectful “Negro”), adding nuances where they didn’t exist before, eclipsing original meanings. They’ve even hijacked the rainbow and made it so a man can’t wear a pink shirt without drawing some sort of commentary.

You just have to wonder what’s going to be left to language, colors, and symbols after a while, with all the expurgation and confiscation. Perhaps we can go an underground loaded-word-retention movement, or begin to speak in code, or in Latin: Semper ubi sub ubi. Ah, there’s a start!

What words would you like to keep? What words would you like to take back? What associations would you like to put to sleep?

Is there a basic imbalance in a culture where strong, loaded words get put away, yet common words are assigned loads, codes, and nuances they never had before?

Purge Ohio law of a needlessly hurtful word -- Connie Schultz - Connie Schultz, Plain Dealer Columnist - cleveland.com

ideas whose time has come: “Secession Is in Our Future” - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Institute

2009-04-29T17:25:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I was talking about separating Brooklyn Centre from the City of Cleveland, and having Ohio City and a few other viable entities do the same. Now, here’s a guy entertaining a similar idea, but relative to the states and the federal government.

Can states secede? There are three levels on which this question can be answered:
the inalienable right of secession,
the international law of secession, and
the US law of secession.
All three say yes.
Things are heating up, at least in the world of ideas.

Secession Is in Our Future - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Institute

Dan Gilbert of the Cavs and other Ohio casino backers hire troubled California firm Arno Political Consultants

2009-04-28T07:56:00.002-04:00

We’ve said “no!” to these clowns on numerous occasions, yet here they come again, using the same dishonest signature-collection firm as before. Anybody who has listened to the signature-gatherers misrepresentations with regard to gambling issues knows that there should be a law requiring them to tell the truth, but in this political climate, there are few standards.

It’s time to view Dan Gilbert in a different light, entirely. This is not a good-neighbor gesture, to attempt to inflict this fraudulent campaign on the community once again. We really don’t need bread and circuses, we really don’t need the underground economies that casinos bring with them, and we really don’t need any more low-paying no-skills-required part-time jobs. We also don’t need any more loans. Think about it.

The Ohio casino plan is being backed by Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert and Penn National Gaming, a casino operating company based in Pennsylvania.
The plan would require a rewrite of Ohio's constitution to allow casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo, if approved by voters. But to get on the ballot, the casino committee first must collect 402,275 signatures of valid Ohio voters by the end of June.

Ohio casino backers hire troubled California firm Arno Political Consultants - Metro - cleveland.com

Conde Bust: Why Portfolio folded. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

2009-04-27T20:26:00.001-04:00

Bummer. Read all about it at the link below. Portfolio was probably my favorite monthly magazine, followed closely by WORTH, which also seems to have fallen strangely silent lately.

I wonder how they plan to fulfill the remainder of the subscription?

Why Portfolio folded. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

my first craigslist posting: Art Deco Baroque Rococo 3-piece Bedroom Set - $300 (Cleveland, Ohio, in Brooklyn Centre)

2009-04-26T17:06:00.003-04:00

What more can I say than, tadaaaaa! I had trouble with the size of the photo files until I got hold of a freeware utility from Fookes Software called EZ Thumbnails, and then everything just seemed to fall into place.

Date: 2009-04-26, 4:46PM EDT
This is sort of the FlubADub of bedroom furniture; there's some design element here for everybody, so long as you're into exuberance. We think it's from the 1920s or 1930s. It's definitely old; it was originally designed for those metal springs. It's very well built. It is massive. It is huge. It is heavy. It casts its own unique spell. It holds a lot. Our daughter the artist was entranced by it a few years ago on a trip to a furniture shop in Wooster. She has since moved to Savannah, but had not sent for the furniture to accompany her, and now tells us it won't. It's not our style. We're in downsize mode; we'd like rush mats, perhaps on a tasteful, minimalist platform.

Cash, please. Take it away. All three pieces must move out of here together. We're near the zoo, and all the major freeways, I-71, I-90, I-480, and so forth. Live long and prosper. Sleep well, surrounded by quality construction. Wake up in another era.

If these thumbnail photos don't do the three pieces justice, I can send you larger files with better resolution by email.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, in Brooklyn Centre
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1141281045; posting can be seen at http://cleveland.craigslist.org/fuo/1141281045.html.

craigslist

here’s an idea whose time has come

2009-04-25T12:24:00.001-04:00

This is the 12th ethics complaint filed against Sarah Palin, and I think it should have wide application, cutting across all party lines and governmental entities. These political types are servants to the public and must be held to basic standards relative to our employment of them; if we feel discomfort or unease, they should feel more, sooner. They are not leaders, they are not celebrities, they are not players, they are not developers; they are help, and should be paid and treated accordingly. We need them less and less. They are becoming impediments to progress and wasters of our common, pooled assets.

The complaint will be filed this afternoon asserting that Palin's involvement with SarahPAC constitutes "outside employment" and "misuse of official position."

Anchorage resident Sondra Tompkins, child disability advocate and mother of a special needs child, is filing the complaint after observing Governor Palin repeatedly display "a pattern of unethical behavior." Sondra believes that the tipping point for her was Sarah Palin's most recent abdication of her role as Governor and apparent conflict-of-interest when she spoke at two outside events in Indiana rather than work with the Alaska Legislature during the most critical time, the end of the session.
The complaint alleges:

a) Governor Palin has entered into a contract outside of her official duties with the donors, employees, partners and any or all other participants involved in SarahPAC.

b) The recent partisan trip to Indiana by the Governor was purely to benefit personal interests, had no benefit for the State of Alaska and was in direct conflict with her official duties.

c) The Governor left the State to participate in these events during the most critical end-of-session Legislative activities, at a time where the legislators themselves are not permitted to leave

AKMuckraker: Palin's Dirty Dozen -- New Ethics Complaint Filed

Marc Canter: How to build the Open Mesh | Book Preview of a treatise on what it's gonna take for us all to make a living off the crumbs left behind by the behemoths

2009-04-25T09:09:00.001-04:00

Gloria and I spent some time with Marc Canter last night over at Paul’s place on Edgecliff, and he has many, many ideas that augment and add tons of value to the dialogues we’ve been having around here these past 5 years. You can buy this book here in softcover or in hardcover with dust jacket or imagewrap, or, as George Nemeth has pointed out, you can download components.

Explore. Expand. Exhale. It’s all gonna be all right. Marc works in right fine with all the rest of what’s happening around here, in a context of infinite abundance.

How to build the Open Mesh | Book Preview

swashbuckling venture capitalists—veritable corsairs--or welfare queens?

2009-04-24T10:32:00.001-04:00

You be the judge.

JumpStart receives 52 percent of its funding from federal and state government, including a significant portion from Third Frontier, a statewide program aimed at creating industries and jobs in high-tech areas.

See related article, Average pay in Cleveland area in 2007 was 3.3 percent below U.S. average, and its telling *.pdf,.

From the *.pdf, note that 16.4% above in 1969 and 3.3% below in 2007 is a spread, a fall, of 19.7%; do you think things have improved, relatively, since 2007? And look at the state overall…

JumpStart Inc. invested 29 percent more in early-stage companies last year - Cleveland.com

new Cleveland blog: Helen Miller's Weight Loss Diary, or, “Here's How I Lost 47 lbs of Body Fat in Just 2 Months With These 2 FREE* Diet Products I Saw on T.V.”

2009-04-21T18:49:00.001-04:00

I really can’t tell you how I stumbled across this new offering from Cleveland, but here it is, for your delectation, a new blog on the NEO scene as of April 8th:

Dear fellow weight-struggler,

Hi, I am Helen, and I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. I know there are many diet ads around that tell you their product really works. I just thought I would share my story with you in the hopes of inspiring you with a real example, and not just the lies that companies use. This is the true story of how I went from depressed and overweight to having an amazing body with the help of a few free weight loss products*.

Judge Peter Corrigan tackles the task of riding herd on the ‘tards

2009-04-14T22:42:00.001-04:00

It seems Judge Corrigan finds the current administration as big an embarrassment as the rest of us do, and he can do something about it before election time rolls around. The $900,750 fine should be borne by those who incurred it, our elected and hired help, and not the general fund. We have to start recovering money from them on a personal basis, and not funding their failed attempts at gangsterism out of dollars that should be benefiting all of us.

Penalties and fines need to be specifically and particularly attached to the miscreants, the mayors and their staffs. We must strip away the protections that hitherto have enabled their violating the law with impunity. There must be a personally assessed price for the practices of “cronyism and corruption.”

Judge, City Hall clash over civil service ruling - Metro - cleveland.com

breaking chains: Kill Your Cable TV Bill Dead -- InformationWeek

2009-04-13T10:17:00.002-04:00

Years ago, cable television was a godsend. In the mid-70s in Atlanta, I think I paid around $6 a month for no-commercial television and movies with great reception and no rabbit ears.

Today, cable has become what it replaced, commercial-ridden television, and it costs a hefty subscription rate, to boot.

In the INFORMATION WEEK article here are some workarounds you can start using now. Personally, we have a Netflix subscription, cable internet from Time Warner, and over-the-air HDTV. We haven’t had cable for nearly 20 years, since we discovered our then-4-year-old had become exceedingly fond of MTV and also had already memorized a good number of Beavis and Butthead riffs.

Kill Your Cable TV Bill Dead -- Video -- InformationWeek

Steven D. Knope, M.D.: concierge medicine, retainer medicine, direct medicine and boutique medicine

2009-04-05T13:22:00.001-04:00

Here’s an interesting fee-based advisory business model that makes a lot of sense to me. It allows the doctor to function as a true professional and to act as an advocate for his clients in a market that has become hopelessly compromised and complicated. Also, Dr. Knope uses blogs and podcasts to get the message out.

I was referred here by a NYTimes article about how doctors are opting out of Medicare.

Concierge medicine, retainer medicine, direct medicine and boutique medicine are all terms used to describe a new form of medical service in which patients contract directly with their doctor for medical services. By removing the third-party payer, your physician acts as your advocate, with no interference or conflict of interest from outside parties.

Internist Steven D. Knope, M.D., a pioneer in creating patient-centered care for optimal health and wellness, is the first physician to offer this comprehensive, personal approach in Tucson.

For one annual fee, Dr. Knope provides:

Exercise and fitness consultation, including a lactate stress test, nutritional analysis and an exercise prescription tailored to your specific health and fitness goals.

24/7 telephone access via cell phone or beeper wherever you are.

Same-day service for any medical problem that requires evaluation by Dr. Knope.

Office visits that are anything but routine. You are scheduled for 20- to 30-minute sessions for routine visits, depending on your needs.

Dr. Knope personally oversees hospital admissions and care. There will be no “hospitalist” or unfamiliar physician directing your care in a crisis.

Dr. Knope supervises and monitors all ER visits.

All blood work is done in our office. You won't be referred to busy labs for blood work.

Prompt telephone feedback with lab and radiology test results.

Prompt referrals to a select group of Tucson's best specialists. When time is important, Dr. Knope will intervene on your behalf so you can see a specialist as soon as possible.

An annual physical exam, including a stress test and a disease prevention assessment, along with a comprehensive cancer screening.

Supervision by a personal trainer at your gym or in your home. Two sessions with a certified exercise physiologist to ensure you are following Dr. Knope’s exercise prescription properly.

Steven D. Knope, M.D.

good article on Jill Miller Zimon also mentions MeetTheBloggers

2009-04-02T11:46:00.002-04:00

From Women’s eNews, here’s an article featuring our friend Jill Miller Zimon in “Journalist of the Month” and announcing her entry into local Pepper Pike politics. Gloria just told me Jill is filing her petitions at the Board of Elections right now, which is just before lunch time. In the article, Jill gleans many good comments, among them the following:

On Feb. 23, the day before Limbaugh's women's summit, a Public Polling Study showed Limbaugh--known in some circles for saying "feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream"--has a major gender gap on his hands. In the poll 56 percent of men surveyed expressed a favorable opinion of Limbaugh, while 37 percent of women.
On the day of the summit, Miller Zimon ran excerpts of the Limbaugh program along with her comments, which were sent around the Internet by e-mail and picked up by several other blogs, including ThinkProgress.org, The Moderate Voice, and The Huffington Post.
Miller Zimon's citizen journalism earns the respect of Jay Rosen, a New York University journalism professor, and author of the influential media blog PressThink. "She has her feminist group base, and a local political base, and some new media people and Cleveland bloggers," says Rosen. "I like the way she knits together the local and the national, the political and the personal, without getting sentimental."
In writing for this diverse community, Miller Zimon is succeeding at blogging in the deepest sense, says Rosen. "The greatest characteristic of blogging is that personal expression can have the publishing might of big companies. That's the big promise of it and that's why she's successful."

There’s also mention of the influence of the MeetTheBloggers experience:

Since 2005, Miller Zimon's concern about transparency of local politics, and the power of blogging, led her to attend and blog about almost 40 local "Meet the Blogger" forums in which notable Ohio politicians and other civic leaders faced bloggers and their questions in person.
That helped spur her decision to run for public office.
"Meet the Bloggers helped expose me to just how normal people pursue politics, and why," says Miller Zimon. "Complaining and writing about it can only get you so far . . . "

Citizen Blogging Boosts Zimon into Local Politics

more contact info on Gloria

2009-03-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

Dear Blogger Pals,

As of 3 PM yesterday, Friday, Gloria is a resident on the same floor as she was in November and December, the third floor in the MetroHealth Towers, room 334-1, telephone 216-957-7188.

If there are any changes to location or phone number, I'll post it to her blog, www.gloriaferris.net.

We expect her stay will continue 4 or 5 days past the March 19th operation.

Thanks again for your prayers, companionship, and support, all those things that are assisting her miraculous return to good health.

Tim Ferris
taferris@gmail.com
216-255-6640
216-351-0254
216-905-1049 cell

Gloria’s location and telephone at MetroHealth

2009-03-13T23:26:00.001-04:00

For our family and friends, here's the update I put up at Gloria's blog just now.

This is Tim, posting to Gloria’s blog. Her location at Metro is the same as it was last November, the 3rd floor in the Towers, to the left as you get off the elevator. The room number is 334-1, and the telephone is 216-957-7188. Visiting hours go from early until 8:30 PM, officially, and the phone lines are open from 8 AM through 9 PM, I believe.

Gloria Ferris » Blog Archive » Gloria’s location and telephone at MetroHealth

Friday events for Gloria

2009-03-12T22:27:00.001-04:00

Here's a note I've been emailing around this evening, trying to keep everyone in the loop:

Dear Friends--

Tomorrow, Friday, Gloria is being readmitted to MetroHealth Medical Center to adjust her medication intake for an operation she will have early next Thursday, March 19th.

After the operation on the 19th, we have no idea how long she will be kept in the hospital, but anticipate it will be another 4-5 days.

I'll get the room phone number out to you tomorrow or Saturday. I'll also post it to her blog, http://www.gloriaferris.net, so there is a point to which we can all refer back for details and at which we can converse.

And, for our blogger friends, no, I don't at this point plan to live-blog the operation. My laptop's replacement fan and heat sink have not arrived yet from China.

Tim Ferris
taferris@gmail.com
216-255-6640
216-351-0254
216-905-1049 cell

City of Cleveland, Ohio: CHARTER AMENDMENTS ADOPTED 11-4-08

2009-03-10T13:13:00.003-04:00

Way down the page, in section 25, you will find these parameters:

If the City’s population is: The City shall be divided into the following number of wards:
More than 575,000 ………………………………………………. 25
575,000 or less but more than 525,000………………….. 23
525,000 or less but more than 475,000………………….. 21
475,000 or less but more than 425,000………………….. 19
425,000 or less but more than 375,000………………….. 17
375,000 or less but more than 325,000………………….. 15
325,000 or less but more than 275,000………………….. 13
275,000 or less ……………………………………….…………… 11
The wards so formed shall be as nearly equal in population as may be fair and equitable, composed of contiguous and compact territory, and bounded by natural boundaries or street lines. When any territory is annexed to the City the Council shall by ordinances declare it a part of the adjacent ward or wards.

It's interesting to note here that they provide for annexation, but fail to talk about secession, or de- or dis-annexation.

It is my belief that we should now be talking about getting to a level of 17 wards immediately, if we're so hot to trot on getting busy and getting done before the census.

How many times are we going to re-tool all the systems and paperwork at the city and at the county level, to compensate for serial changes over a period of 2 or 3 years. The Honorable (this always cracks me up, how they've decked each other out with titles) Kevin Kelley, at the public review session last Wednesday at the Jones Home (little did we know we were all orphaned at that time, pending new adoption) whipped some Latin phraseology on us, saying the cost each time and every time would be de minimis.

We need to quantify de minimis and, if it's so negligible an expense, let the councilpeople pick up the tab out of their expense accounts, or personal pocket change.

CHARTER_AMENDMENTS_ADOPTED_11-4-08

GloriaFerris.net--"Taking One for the Team: Could Attrition Be the Answer To Cleveland City Council Reduction?"

2009-03-10T10:13:00.001-04:00

My good friend and helpmate Madame Gloria has had an innovative and noble idea about letting attrition work to prune the ward structure here, or anywhere for that matter, anywhere that needs to become more efficient in its governmental structures to accommodate declining population and efficiencies and economies available due to technology and regional networking arrangements. "Taking one for the team" is something we should expect regularly from those in public service.

Here are a few things to consider, for the future, assuming increasing density as suburban living becomes untenable and my generation, The Boomers, gets sensible and downsizes into a very affordable pied a terre close to town and to the airports, Hopkins and Burke:

22,500 people X 19 wards = 427,500

25,000 people X 17 wards = 425,000

27,500 people X 15 wards = 412,500

The present situation, in which the population figures are inflated to 427,500 and completely unverified and unfounded, shows we should be at 17 wards right now, according to the dictates of the legislation, if the true number of people actually residing in Cleveland is in the 360,000 to 380,000 range today, as political insiders believe is the case.

22,500 people X 19 wards = 427,500

22,500 people X 17 wards = 382,500

22,500 people X 15 wards = 337,500

Here are the councilpeople by seniority, taking 21 wards down to 15 by attrition of senior members of council:

Jay Westbrook, 1980
Ken Johnson, 1980
Mike Polensek, 1982
Roosevelt Coates, 1987
Martin Sweeney, 1992?
Joe Cimperman, 1997

I'd say Madame give us something to think about, as we verify the population figures. If we're going to do it at all, let's get a big cut out of the way now, using the real numbers. Otherwise, wait to take any action at all until after the census is official. We can't afford to be imprecise any longer. Council must be accountable now, in what they say and what they use to calculate our present and future service.

Gloria Ferris » Blog Archive » Taking One for the Team: Could Attrition Be the Answer To Cleveland City Council Reduction?

Kathy Miracle: attachment from Akers email, posted below, detailing April 2nd event

2009-03-10T08:46:00.001-04:00

JUMP START YOUR JOB SEARCH

ENHANCE YOUR NETWORKING RESULTS

AND ACCELERATE YOUR PATH TO YOUR NEXT CAREER!

On April 2^nd from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m., four local networking and “connecting” experts will share their job search secrets at a workshop with strategies, tools and tactics to help any job searcher find their next position. Thanks to our sponsor, MSA Companies, Serving the Medical, Manufacturing and IT Industries (www.medicalsolutionagents.com).

Today’s reality is that most jobs are found through networking and connecting (70% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) . . . not online. The other reality is that job seekers are facing growing competition . . . northeast Ohio employers have too many resumes and have the luxury of looking for the “perfect fit” to help their business grow. This workshop will provide you with practical and easy to implement ideas to improve your job search efforts and your results. To register for this unique job search workshop, visit www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com.

Attendees will:

Learn how to build relationships that will drive introductions and job opportunities
Discover tactics to improve the quantity and quality of your referrals and job opportunities
Get access to strategies to help you sell yourself as a “high value ROI” for local employers
Learn job networking tactics that will increase your referrals by 400-500% or more
Be better prepared for the job opportunities you pursue

Your Experts – David Akers, Kristopher McCrone, Katherine Miracle and Jeff Nischwitz:

Local entrepreneurs
Professional and experienced networkers
Job search and interviewing expert
Marketing and personal branding expert
Proven northeast Ohio connectors that regularly invest their time connecting people and job opportunities

Ø David Akers – President of The Collaborent Group, “master facilitator” and recognized connector

Ø Kristopher McCrone – Owner of Alternative Energy Consultants, "relationship builder" and a leader in the talent management industry

Ø Katherine Miracle – Owner and Founder of Miracle Resources and marketing and personal branding expert

Ø Jeff Nischwitz – Founder and Chief Question Officer of Think Again Coaching, “master connector” and the “human Linkedin” (www.thinkagaincoaching.com)

If you’re ready to jump start your job search . . . and accelerate your results, visit www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com to register!

Event Details

Date and Time – Thursday, April 2, 2009, from 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. (registration at 7:30 a.m.)
Location – Lockkeepers Restaurant, 800 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio (216-524-9404) (complimentary valet parking and continental breakfast included)
Workshop Investment - $64.95 ($49.95 if you register on or before March 25^th)

Northeast Ohio employers are hiring, but they’re looking for the right people and being the “right” person means being the best at networking, connecting, differentiating, and interviewing. This workshop will provide attendees with the tools they need to be the best . . . and ultimately the right . . . person for northeast Ohio employers!

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to

jump start your job search and accelerate your career path!

www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com

For more information, contact:

Katherine Miracle

Miracle Resources

km@miracleresources.com

(330) 777-2003 (Ext. 100)

The workshop is sponsored by

Serving the Medical, Manufacturing and IT Industries

www.medicalsolutionagents.com

What they’re saying about the experts:

"David’s ideas were refreshing, and very creative. I especially enjoyed his wittiness, jokes, knowledge, and charisma. David is really knowledgeable and has a unique approach to helping others think outside the box." Kenya Salters-Gordon, Entrepreneur

“Kris is a go getter. He has a knack for creating activity and generating ‘business’ from the start. He is very driven to be the best at whatever he attempts to tackle. I would definitely want his tenacious work ethic directed toward filling my openings.” Senior Executive Recruiter, Rosetta (formerly Brulant)

"When Katherine spoke at our company she gave us the tools and inspiration to increase our revenue.” Lynne Giacobbe, Executive Director, Kendal at Home

“Jeff Nischwitz is the human ‘LinkedIn.’ Not only does he know everyone but knows how to connect them perfectly. Jeff, with his legal, entrepreneurial, and corporate experience, cuts a wide wake and produces results, independently, through others, and for others. His new business is already making a mark and adding to his track record of helping individuals, groups, and corporations connect and profit. Keep up on what Jeff is doing and who he is helping and it might be you!” Andy Birol, Birol Growth Consulting, Author, growth coach and speaker

Workshop targeted to individuals in career transition - www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com

2009-03-10T08:20:00.004-04:00

Here's an email I got yesterday from our Table VII/Founders' Café friend David Akers, who now happens to be collaborating with one of our friends from the Women's Enterprise Network, Kathy Miracle. I'll post the attachment, the Seminar Flyer, separately.

Greetings and salutations,

Over the past 12 months or so, I have received resumes forwarded by many of you of friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances that are networking as part of a job search. It is my practice, as Dave Janus well remembers, to meet someone new each week and “Pay it Forward” to the extent that I can help that person in their respective endeavors. So the forwarded resumes, the volume of which at times is overwhelming, are welcomed nonetheless as a way for me to meet one of my civic and professional commitments.

Along the way, in dozens of meetings, I began noticing that I was doing far less connecting of people and much more coaching. The people with whom I met needed a lot of help in being more effective in networking, in making it easy for others to help them, and in learning how to follow up in a meaningful way. I started having the meetings in my office, with access to a whiteboard, rather than at the nearest coffee shop. And I began drawing the same four drawings, over and over again.

The response from job-seekers was overwhelming – thank you for showing me such simple tools to accelerate my networking and my job search; I never thought about doing those things; it’s so easy to make it easy for people to help me; I wish I’d known these tools years ago, etc., etc.

Then Kristopher McCrone (who has coached literally thousands of people through interviewing effectively) approached Katherine Miracle (who works with individuals to help them package a prospective hire’s Return on Investment for an employer), Jeff Nischwitz (who is one of the most effective networkers around), and me about putting together a short seminar to help people seeking jobs in today’s tough economic environment. Each of us brings specific tools and practices to the table, and each of us has a commitment to helping job seekers be more effective and succeed.

We are holding our first workshop on April 2, 2009, at Lockkeepers in Independence. Registration begins at 7:30 AM and the event runs from 8 AM to 11:30 AM. I’ve attached a flyer that provides an overview of the event itself and registration details. You can also go to www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com for more information.

My guess is that each of you, like me, is besieged with resumes right now from friends and colleagues and others, all seeking your assistance. Please send them a copy of this email and encourage them to leverage what they will learn in this workshop to take control of their career search. They can’t know what they don’t know about seeking a job until they attend this session.

Thank you for your consideration.
DJA

David J. Akers
President, Celeritas Limited
5422 East 96th Street, Suite 150
Cleveland, OH 44125
p 216.839.1500 c 216.280.5801
f 216.503.4247 e dja@celeritasltd.com

Henry Gomez: Ward 15 residents angry about City Council redistricting have many questions, few answers - Inside Cleveland City Hall

2009-03-09T17:47:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, I wonder if all this furor, this hubbub about redrawing the ward lines, is worth the attention it gets. Regardless of where we draw the lines, we get the same insipid governance from the mayor and a challenged, albeit smaller, city council; the subset of problems remains the same; the scenery really doesn't change that much at all; the service doesn't get much worse, because it can't, in this Midwestern equivalent of a third-world country, our beloved banana republic with a side of pierogis. Henry here recounts how more of the chickens are coming home to roost as Brian Cummins, last year's avid supporter of Council reduction, gets himself reduced into oblivion, and Callahan reminds us all of the way things were, from his unique inside perspective.

. . . And we still don't know what will happen on the East Side, where another council member is expected to lose most of his political base and be pitted against a colleague.
Despite all of this instant drama, local blogger Bill Callahan reminds everyone that this had to have been expected - most of all, perhaps, by Cummins. Cummins, as I should have noted in this weekend's stories, advocated an even deeper council downsizing. He felt the cuts favored by Sweeney and suburban businessmen were not enough at a time when Cleveland was bleeding population.
Callahan had a front-row seat to Cummins' proposal. He was a member of the Charter Review Commission that studied various downsizing plans and ultimately backed the one pushed by Sweeney - but not until 2013, when hard Census numbers would be available.
The ballot initiative ultimately passed by council called for the redistricting to take effect this year. And city voters approved the plan last November by a wide margin.
Nowhere in the charter amendment did it say that existing neighborhood boundaries had to be protected. It didn't even say the council would try to make such accommodations.
Now, people are angry because they see the effects of this amendment coming to life. To those in Brooklyn Centre, take a look at Ohio City. Since the last redistricting earlier this decade, Ohio City has been shared by three council members. . .

Ward 15 residents angry about City Council redistricting have many questions, few answers - Inside Cleveland City Hall - cleveland.com

revisiting our regional strengths: cut throat on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

2009-03-09T10:03:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, you just have to do an inventory and remember what you're good at. In the case of Cleveland, it's punk.

Searching for attitudinal compatibilities, using the phrase "Welcome to Cleveland. Now go home," I ran across these fine upstanding young men, and I find what they're delivering refreshing. It reminds me of the time in the late 1960s and early 1970s when WMMS made this place really exciting on the music front--it's raw, irreverent, and basically healthy, a jubilant nihilism born out of great love.

I wonder if Cleveland City Council will finance the next punk dinner, as they did to the tune of $1,000,000 for the Rock Hall banquet, run by those who know the words, but not the tune. I wonder if these punks got any of the money for the arts from that cigarette tax that Eric Fingerhut and Tom Schorgl touted a few years back? Where is all that money going, by the way--how much is it, and who has benefited?

I wonder if they want to help us get some of that money back?

cut throat on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

forming a theory of urban secession, a two-way street

2009-03-07T20:30:00.001-05:00

It is my thinking that Brooklyn Centre, Ohio City, and Old Brooklyn at this point have sufficient grounds to begin to ask to secede from the City of Cleveland and each become its own governing entity. In the coming trend towards regionalization, each of these areas needs to have parity and equal standing with each of the existing suburbs in Cuyahoga County.

If at one time it was advantageous to annex, at this point, I have a feeling that it's advantageous to detach each previously annexed area from the dysfunctionality of the City of Cleveland and its conflicted public servants, who now think they're rock stars and not accountable to their fans for their actions. The governance is not as attractive as it was when the annexations occurred; back then, the politicians had a more humanistic bent and a holistic view of the universe and mankind. Individual rights were paramount, and the welfare of the group was assured so long as the rights of the individual were held inviolate and common-sense, sustainable, economical, efficient practices prevailed. There were efficiencies and economies of scale to be achieved.

Today, the world is changing quickly, going from a hierarchical structure to a networked structure, vertical to lateral, and Cleveland government is not. I don't think those boys and girls read or think a whole lot. I see little evidence that they are lifelong learners.

Here's a snippet from Wikipedia with reference to the thinking of Jane Jacobs on the topic of secession, on which few agree, it seems. What I do know is that I want out, and I don't want to have to move and give up a nice neighborhood to escape stupidity and abuse, waste and compromised representation, withholding of services and pitting of neighbors against neighbors. I want to live in a small town again, and we have that already in Brooklyn Centre, except for our form of government. Lately, I like being close to Cleveland's downtown, but not part of Cleveland. It's a values thing.

Modern theorists of local civic economies, including Robert J. Oakerson and Jane Jacobs, argue that cities reflect a clash of values, especially of tolerances versus preferences, with views of the city varying from a pure community to that of a pure marketplace. Suburbanites have a strong tendency to view the city as a marketplace since they do not participate in its street life voluntarily, nor do they consider the city to be a safe and comfortable place to live in. By contrast, those who choose downtown living tend to see it as more of a community, but must pay careful attention to their tolerances (for smog, noise pollution, crime, taxation, etc.). Ethics and thus politics of these interest groups vastly differ.

Secession (the setup of entirely new legislative and executive entities) is advocated by certain urban theorists, notably Jane Jacobs, as the only way to deal politically with these vast differences in culture between modern cities and even their nearest suburbs and essential watersheds. She stated that "cities that wish to thrive in the next century must separate politically from their surrounding regions." She rejected the lesser "Charter" and less formal solutions, arguing the full structure of real regional government were necessary, and applied to the urban area alone. In particular she rejected the idea that suburban regions should have any say over the rules in the city: "they have left it, and aren't part of it." Jacobs herself lived in an urban neighborhood (The Annex, Toronto) which would have been paved over in the 1970s by a highway project to serve the suburbs, the Spadina Expressway, had the proponents of urban secession not stopped it. Jacobs likewise took part in blocking the development of the Cross-Manhattan Expressway in the 1960s, opposing Robert Moses. These freeways are examples of the clash of urban community versus suburban market interests.

Advocates of highway development and suburban participation in urban government theorize that cities which protect themselves from the suburbs, forcing them to become self-sufficient small towns, cutting off the freeways, forcing commuters into subways, etc., are committing suicide by forcing business out into the suburbs. Advocates respond that cities depend more on their quality of life to attract migrants and professionals, and that telecommuting makes it possible for workers in the city to live anywhere, coming into town less frequently, without the rush.

Urban secession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the antidote for ward division: secession

2009-03-07T08:44:00.003-05:00

There's been a furor yesterday and today in Ward 15 of the City of Cleveland about a tripartite division of what is one of the Cleveland area's most intrinsically valuable suburbs, the park neighborhood from which the beautiful Cleveland Zoo sprang. Part would go to Joe Santiago to the north, part would go to Joe Cimperman to the east, and another part would join Tony Brancatelli, connecting by jumping over Newburg Heights.

I'm quite tired of arguing over basic common-sense issues with the city government here in Cleveland. It takes a lot of time and energy that could be way better spent.

I am proposing quite simply that we in Ward 15 secede, become the Village of Brooklyn Centre once more, lower our overhead, and take back our governance. This should take the population of the City of Cleveland down to less than 400,000 as of the next census, and perhaps that will qualify them for some sort of emergency-aid intervention as they waddle up to the DC trough.

We in Brooklyn Centre already have the fire station, the police station, two libraries, the hospital, two cemeteries, a lovely park adjacent to the Zoo, a number of churches, good basic housing stock, and great freeway access and transit routes. What we need now is to be freed from stupidity and the abusive actions of deeply conflicted politicians, like Marty Sweeney and Kevin Kelley. We can't afford them.

If you're wondering what it's like to live in Cleveland and be subject to the inept ministrations of these two disgraces to my Irish heritage, try to imagine what it would be like to be walked by your dog.

a heads up from George Nemeth: Podcasting Goes Mainstream - eMarketer

2009-03-05T11:50:00.002-05:00

George found an article that gives some excellent background material on the practice of podcasting, on which MeetTheBloggers capitalized beginning with its first session in August of 2005 (with our current Cleveland law director, Bob Triozzi, then a mayoral candidate). George has always been an early adapter. Podcasts accompanied by text renditions of the podcasts seemed an efficient way to span generations of users. Attempts to integrate video were of mixed result.

Last night at a public meeting at the Jones Home about ward division here in Cleveland, Anthony Fossaceca of the Ohio Daily Blog was recording the session, the flip charts, and the wall-chart presentations with a FLIP video camera, which he said was the smallest one FLIP offered and held one hour of video content, which could then be uploaded to the internet immediately. This seemed to be an excellent medium choice to marry to podcasts and text.

I'd like to have a presentation format that offered all three media. Add something like Betsey Merkel's Mogulus for live streaming video, and you have the perfect dialogue-type presentation, coming at you live and with interaction, able to be uploaded to YouTube quickly, available later in podcast format, and text-searchable. Two or three people could produce this easily.

Last night, though, it was comforting to have Henry Gomez Joe Frolik of the PD there, to pick up on the patter that only full-time journalists can share, and TV crews from 5 and 23 or 25. And, it was really fun to see people from all the wards coming together to, essentially, give the whole ward-healing process a big "WTF"? It's good to know we all agree on the basics, which is that this is more about the City Council itself than it is about any of us, or economies, or efficiencies, or improving the quality of life for each of us, or protecting individual rights. Gloria points out that we as a community may have voted for the ward revisions, but we certainly didn't want it all used for political infighting.

Podcasting Goes Mainstream - eMarketer

agendas and minutes of the Village of Bentleyville Council

2009-03-04T13:43:00.001-05:00

I was looking for an old friend and stumble across this Village website that can serve as an example for all cities and nonprofits that have an obligation to have public meetings and a duty to communicate the agendas of these meetings as well as the minutes to interested parties, in a readily accessible, open, transparent format.

Here, with Bentleyville, it's simple: The agendas are in one column, and the minutes are in the next.

       Minutes & Agendas

2009 Council Agendas                            2009 Council Minutes

   (meeting date)                                          (meeting date)

2008 Council Agendas                             2008 Council Minutes

   (meeting date)                                          (meeting date)

What's so difficult about this? Why can't everybody do it this way?

I also like the way they present themselves, down to the tagline:

Village of Bentleyville

Founded 1831

Serve, Preserve, Conserve

Simplicity. Basics. There's a premium for it, and Bentleyville's a prime example.

Village of Bentleyville Council

Amazon.com: Survival Tactics: The Top 11 Behaviors of Successful Entrepreneurs: Ted Sun

2009-03-03T09:20:00.001-05:00

While we were out dabbling in community dialogues and MeetingTheBloggers, one of our friends published a book, in mid-2007, and we missed it. Gloria and I completed Ted Sun's Leadership Academy over a 6-month period in 2004 in Columbus, along with a few other members of our professional think tank, The Money Foundation. We found it very worthwhile, and it has informed a lot of what we do since then. We recommend him, his courses, and the book. He tells me he has another due out in a few months.

One of his websites is at http://www.executive-balance.com/DrTedSun.html, and it links to the others. Here's the review from Amazon.com:

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Sun provides an amalgam of his dissertation survey results, workshop notes, business parables, and secondary literature from business, leadership, and motivational psychology in this research-based guide to entrepreneurial success. The crux of the book is the 11 chapters devoted to the traits that most highly correlated to entrepreneurial success in Sun's survey of entrepreneurs. Each of these behaviors is elaborated with material from the literature and exercises for personal reflection and development. Sun's book is engagingly written, is based in solid survey research and entrepreneurial experiences, has clear citations, and draws on a wide variety of popular thought.... Recommended. General readers, practitioners, and aspiring entrepreneurs.”–Choice
“Sun outlines 11 core behaviors of successful entrepreneurs and how readers can develop these qualities. Using research with entrepreneurs and his own experiences as a basis, he explains the behaviors--constant learning, technical proficiency, self-confidence, co-dependence, risk taking, being reactive, employee training and development, team-based decisions, being surprised, measurements and responsiveness, and action without full information--and how these can transform leadership style. Exercises are presented to help readers understand their beliefs and values and challenge and change them.”–Reference and Research Book News

Product Description
According to a recent Gallup poll, seven out of ten high school students report that they want to start and run their own business. Every year, five million Americans launch their own ventures, according to the Small Business Administration. By any measure, the movement toward entrepreneurship is increasing each year. While many resources provide practical information to guide the entrepreneur or small business owner through the challenges of establishing, managing, and growing their business, few tackle the more personal side of entrepreneurship in a rigorous fashion.

As Ted Sun argues, "countless people are entering entrepreneurship in one form or another. Most have no clue how to be one." Drawing from extensive primary research conducted with entrepreneurs in a variety of fields, Sun dispels common myths and misconceptions about entrepreneurship and identifies eleven core beliefs, behaviors, and qualities of successful individuals, including technical proficiency, team-building skills, and the ability to make decisions without complete information. Moreover, through numerous illustrative examples, diagnostics, and other interactive elements, he shows the reader how to learn and develop these qualities. The result is a practical guide to the art of entrepreneurship--a primer for reducing stress, building confidence, balancing work and life priorities, becoming more productive, and increasing your chances of success.

About the Author
TED SUN is President and CEO of Executive Balance, an executive development and consulting firm for small and large organizations and Director of Eastern United States for the Institute for Transformative Thought and Learning, providing educational strategy, research, think tank, and change leadership services. He is also a part-time Lecturer in the School of Education, The Ohio State University, Adjunct Professor at Southern New Hampshire University, and Lead Faculty at the University of Phoenix Graduate Business School. His work on entrepreneurship has been featured in a wide variety of publications and broadcast media, and he has presented his research at the Global Conference on Business and Economics, among many other conferences.

Amazon.com: Survival Tactics: The Top 11 Behaviors of Successful Entrepreneurs: Ted Sun: Books

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz . . . Cleveland.com

2009-03-02T15:58:00.002-05:00

Here is a note, an obituary, a brief journalistic epitaph, about a quiet man I worked with at New York Life years ago, in the '80s. He loved computers; he and another guy, whose name I can't dredge up right now, were the resident experts. As a matter of fact, I got my first computer, an IBM A/T, through a New York Life buy-in program. For a bit more than $10,000 in 1985, I think it was, we got the A/T, a Hayes modem, Ashton-Tate MultiMate, and a monitor with green letters on a black background.

I never knew that Lip, as some called him, had such an interesting background.

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz, Windsor James Smith, Charles B. Womer, Rev. Hubert W. Riedel
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Lipman Z. Rabinowitz went from rabbi to early computer educator to underwriter.
Rabinowitz, 80, died Feb. 9 in Israel, where he had moved from Beachwood four years ago.
He was born in Chicago, served as an Army chaplain in Japan during the Korean War, held pulpits in several states and marched for civil rights in New Orleans. He lost his first wife after three months, when a drunken driver killed her and hospitalized him for six months.
Starting in 1967, Rabinowitz opened data-processing schools in downtown Cleveland and elsewhere. But colleges soon crowded him out of the field. He went on to become a top agent for New York Life.
Rabinowitz led several Jewish groups here, including Fuchs Mizrachi School and the Cleveland Kosher Committee.
His survivors include his second wife, Renee, who married him 52 years ago, and three children. His funeral was in Israel.

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz, Windsor James Smith, Charles B. Womer, Rev. Hubert W. Riedel - Cleveland.com

How To: Assemble A Board of Advisers - business guidance - recruiting advisers

2009-03-02T14:42:00.001-05:00

Today is the third anniversary of the opening of this eponymous blog on March 2, 2006, as an augmentation to GloriaFerris.net and to save a long-standing marital relationship. Perhaps now it--the blog, that is--needs a board of advisors. See what Inc. has to say about all that:

An advisory board is a rare species in the small-business ecology, yet assembling such a board may be one of the most important steps a CEO can take to assure an enterprise's success. Besides offering credibility and contacts, advisers working together provide guidance sharpened by boardroom debate, something individual mentors can't match . . .. For family businesses, boards are invaluable, particularly when it comes to the delicate matter of succession. "A board has the willingness to bring the subject up, in a supportive and patient way," says John L. Ward, a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and author of Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises. "Then once it's on the table, it creates a forum of safety for the conversation."

Unlike a board of directors, which has formal legal authority over a company and a fiduciary duty to its shareholders, an advisory board won't make decisions for you and has no obligation to the owners or liability for the company's actions.

See more at the link below. There's some good value there:

How To: Assemble A Board of Advisers - business guidance - recruiting advisers

CHANGE OF CONTACT INFORMATION FOR WENDELL ROBINSON

2009-02-28T00:23:00.003-05:00

Our friend Wendell Robinson has a new business identity and contact info, as noted below. Wendell first met us through an interview for Meet.The.Bloggers when he ran against Jimmy Duh for county commissioner. Wendell was right in a lot of ways, and he ran a good blog.

Beyond the global nature of the medium, the blogging connection has also been local for me. Without the encouragement and support of my friends in the Meet the Bloggers network, I would never have conquered the code and process that makes blogging a great people-powered platform (by the way if you haven’t done it, you really should scroll down the list of podcasts over at the MTB site - it’s a monument for what a REAL oral history is all about). I would be remiss when writing about local bloggers if I didn’t single out the blogopimp of Northeast Ohio, George Nemeth, and his place over at Brewed Fresh Daily. George has been brewing up a fine pot over the last few years and without his incessant percolation, this page would have been significantly less.

From: Wendell Robinson [mailto:Wendell_Robinson_rgsvwzz@cmpgnr.com]
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 1:34 PM
To: TAFerris@gmail.com
Subject: CHANGE OF CONTACT INFORMATION FOR WENDELL ROBINSON

WENDELL HAS A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND... A NEW VENTURE
Dear Tim - I hope this email finds you well as I prepare to take a new and substantial step in my professional life. You may know I have devoted the majority of my work time the last two years to a partnership with Bobby George and Chris Cole in helping them develop the sports marketing and management firm - ColeGeorge Sports. As last year came to a close, it became apparent that our team was heading in separate directions (Bobby actively building his restaurant group, Chris doing more direct work with college programs and me focusing on political projects, event management and marketing activities). While our organization made some strides (working with athletes like Brady Quinn, Braylon Edwards and Troy Smith has been an unbelievable experience), I felt the time had come for me to leave the company's Managing Partner role and pursue opportunities more in congruence with my goals and interests. And while I will not be working with Bobby or Chris directly in the immediate future, I will continue in a project management capacity with one of the George family's other entities on a political project. The result of this transition is the formation of my new firm - The Victory Box, LLC. Even though The Victory Box is a new venture, in many ways it will be an extension of the work I've been doing for the last few years - focusing on the needs of our clients to help them maximize their success. Please do not hesitate to contact me (as you will see I've got a new phone number and email address) should you have any questions, comments or simply want to re-connect. I look forward to speaking with you in the near future. Cheers, Wendell	Wendell W. Robinson, Jr. The Victory Box, LLC Email: W@TheVictoryBox.com Direct Dial: (216) 333-3322
The Victory Box *"exceptional solutions for extraordinary people and exclusive projects"*

2 years later, & now comes the full disclosure: "Med mart bonds cost millions more with private company"

2009-02-21T13:26:00.002-05:00

We didn't talk about this during the Put It On The Ballot campaign nearly two years ago, and the sales tax increases sailed through in time to help the county balance the books at the end of 2007. We have the Greater Cleveland Partnership with Nancy Lesic and her airplane, Fred Nance and his firm SSD, and pre-FBI-investigation county commissioners for that one.

Now, after having tried to collect his firm's fees from the county instead of from the GCP, Vornado, or the Kennedy family's company, here's Fred again, innumerate as ever, claiming that the $75,000,000 premium we will be paying is "well worth it."

We are paying for some really bad help here. Is it time to pull the plug on this before it gets worse?

Med mart bonds cost millions more with private company - Metro - cleveland.com

"Old Brooklyn Blogs"

2009-02-19T18:36:00.002-05:00

Our neighbors across the Brooklyn-Brighton Bridge now have a blog, begun in February of 2009. I follow, through Blogger.

Old Brooklyn Blogs

FW: About Cleveland: How to Get Tickets for the Rock Hall Ceremony

2009-02-18T17:39:00.002-05:00

Sandy Mitchell sent us this email about how to personally benefit from the $1,000,000.00 our elected help at Cleveland City Council gave the Rock Hall to have the dinner in Cleveland this year. How much is that a plate?

If you have any ideas about how we can get our money back, so that the city and the schools and the library can pay their bills to people who have already done work for them, post them here.

I understand that our local government entities are stiffing more businesspeople than usual, and for more protracted periods. If my information is inaccurate, then all the entities have to do is show us their payables, and I'll stand corrected.

From: Sandy Mitchell - About.com Cleveland Guide [mailto:cleveland.guide@about.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 3:30 PM
To: taferris-AT-GMAIL.COM
Subject: About Cleveland: How to Get Tickets for the Rock Hall Ceremony

	Cleveland
Error! Filename not specified.

In the Spotlight More Topics Skating at the "Q"

	from Sandy Mitchell For the first time in the 24 year history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (it predates the museum), a limited number of tickets will be offered to the general public. What's more: the ceremony will be held for the first time in Cleveland, not New York City. If you're eager to see the event first-hand, we have the details on how to get tickets. See below.
Error! Filename not specified.
In the Spotlight

How to Get Tickets for the Rock Hall Induction Ceremony
A limited number of tickets are being made available to the public for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Hall on April 4. Call-in sales for museum members are January 22 and 23, with walk-up sales for non-members are January 24.

		More Topics
		Moondog Coronation Ball Why Cleveland is the Home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Jeff Beck Metallica Little Anthony and the Imperials

About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Cleveland's most popular attraction--the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--sits at the edge of North Coast Harbor in downtown Cleveland. I've visited more than a dozen times and always find something new and exciting. Be sure to take in the special exhibits on the top floors. They are easy to miss, but always worthwhile.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2009 Inductees
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2009 inductees. The 600-member Rock Hall selection committee has chosen: Jeff Beck, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Metallica,...read more

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Columbus, OH		U.S. / Canadian Parks

Classic Rock	Pittsburgh, PA

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Drunken man crawls into wrong bed in Sheffield Lake - Metro - Cleveland.com

2009-02-17T16:49:00.001-05:00

From the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. The article's hilarious, the picture's complementary, and the comments trump all. Enjoy.

Posted by Michael Sangiacomo/Plain Dealer Reporter February 17, 2009 13:41PM

Categories: Crime

Sheffield Lake Police--Buck Walls

SHEFFIELD LAKE -- Who's that sleeping in my bed?
Michael Johnson was surprised when he woke up on Saturday and found a drunken man sleeping in his waterbed beside him.
Johnson said that the man was not there when he went to bed and that he had never seen him before.
Police were called, and Buck Walls, 29, who lives in the same city but in a different house, was arrested on a charge of burglary. Police said Walls had been so drunk that he walked into the wrong house and climbed into the wrong bed.
Capt. Tony Campo said when Walls awakened, he refused to leave the house, saying he knew the owner.
According to the police report, Walls was still drunk when police arrived.
"He had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath," the report said. "He was swaying back and forth and had great difficulty maintaining his balance."
A short time after police placed him in a holding cell, Walls' mother called the station to report her son missing after a night of drinking.
Campo said he had never seen anything like it.
Walls lived on the south side of the city, while he was found in a house by the lake.

COMMENTS (15)

Posted by EYEamPOED on 02/17/09 at 2:23PM

THIS is news???

Will Regina and Connie write a "column" on this now???

Posted by PhatBass on 02/17/09 at 2:33PM

Now if he got the wrong trailer I'd believe it .

Posted by august1942 on 02/17/09 at 2:40PM

This reminds me of a story that happened to my neighbor. She forgot to lock her front window for the night and went to bed. She awoke to find a man sleeping on her couch, freaked out, ran out of the house and called police from a neighbor. The police arrived, woke up the man (drunk as a skunk), took him to jail and so forth. Come to find out he was a brother of a neighbor and was visiting from out of town. In his drunken state, he thought he was at his brother's house, could not get in the door with his key and found the open window, crawled in and fell asleep on the couch.

I don't know what if anything happened to the drunk, but would bet my bottom dollar all her windows stay locked now.

Posted by jimbo12 on 02/17/09 at 2:44PM

Been there, Done that, Got some strange too!

Posted by vwojo on 02/17/09 at 2:49PM

WOW could you imagine?? no one got hurt, now its funny!

Posted by nonsense on 02/17/09 at 3:01PM

Burglary? Doesn't sound like he was able to do anything but sleep. Glad no one was hurt. He probably doesn't even remember how he got there.

Posted by jdcw on 02/17/09 at 3:03PM

Burglary??? I thought it was funny. Now I am sure it wasn't for the homeowner, but can you imagine?????

Posted by rpuck on 02/17/09 at 3:03PM

free buck walls, free buck walls....

no justice no peace............

support rally at 7pm Herb's Tavern

Posted by ruxpeerenced on 02/17/09 at 3:06PM

If I ever do porn I know what my screen name will be
Buck Walls is a great name

Posted by geeceee24 on 02/17/09 at 3:14PM

LOL...they were spooning.

I think this Michael Johnson probably slipped him a roofie....took him home to the waterbed....took advantage of him and then called the cops.... Buck Walls is probably very sore today.

Posted by drydude1 on 02/17/09 at 3:29PM

This one is almost too funny

Posted by linky80 on 02/17/09 at 3:37PM

change your name to Buck Wild ASAP.

Posted by grnbstrd on 02/17/09 at 3:57PM

Remember what Sgt. Hartman said about unlocked footlockers in "Full Metal Jacket". Sure, charge Walls with burglary, but charge Johnson with stupid while you're at it. Lock your freakin' door, numbie.

Posted by mchamr on 02/17/09 at 4:08PM

Maybe he was out ice fishing and got disoriented.

Posted by BledOrngBrwn on 02/17/09 at 4:29PM

The man still lives with his mother, I think he gets a pass on the intoxication

Drunken man crawls into wrong bed in Sheffield Lake - Metro - cleveland.com

Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist: Everybody's Church, tonight at 9 on channel 25

2009-02-16T17:10:00.001-05:00

My family, the Ferrises and the Michaels, worked on the renovation of this city's Roman Catholic cathedral back when they were Presbyterians, after the war, the Second World War. My dad was an apprentice carpenter there. My Uncle Hugh fell through the roof and lived. Gloria and I now attend there because we're comfortable, wrapped in tradition and good architecture, trying to figure out where Uncle Hugh came through. Under the direction of Bishop Lennon and Father Estok, there are new and interesting things happening there these past few years.

Monday, February 16 at 9:00 PM

This documentary examines the history and role the Cathedral has played for nearly 160 years in Cleveland. The program highlights the beautiful cathedral building in which Clevelanders celebrate the Eucharist and worship – the Cathedral parish, everybody’s church. In beautiful detail, this program captures and recounts these historic events and the life of the Cathedral today, providing a magnificent archive for the generations to come. The Cathedral today is a vibrant and enthusiastic institution, community, and ministry at the heart of Northeast Ohio’s religious, civic, financial, and social crossroads.

More information

WVIZ/PBS ideastream® | Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist: Everybody's Church

National Fairness Campaign Blog: The National Fairness Campaign Symposium in Cleveland, with dial-in instructions

2009-02-13T09:08:00.001-05:00

This is just a reminder that this, the second such symposium of its kind, is kicking off right now in Cleveland. The dial-in number is 1-712-580-0100 code 290952#, and the dialogue will be on-going from 0915 to noon and then from 1 until 4. I'll be listening in all day and tending to business appointments in between. The last symposium, a few Saturdays ago, had some incredible content, the kind of stuff you won't hear from mainstream media or politicized nonprofits.

“Enforcement and Regulation”

A Retrospective & Best Practices Identification Symposium
To be held at the Unified Technologies Center at Cuyahoga Community College main campus on Friday 13th 2009, Cleveland, Ohio 9:00 AM - 4:00PM

The National Fairness Campaign will review past political agreements and governing compacts and their relationship to the social, economic development environment under an Obama Presidency. The National Fairness Campaign will also identify and address historic moral gaps.
Ohio is a focal point of the National Fairness Campaign because it is middle America, and has demonstrated past and current innovations to address fairness and capacity building, including state government minority business development programs, initiatives to increase the budget for the African American males commission, and the creation of the proposed 2009 American Reinvestment & Recovery Program and federal solutions.

National Fairness Campaign Steering Committee

General Chairman Joseph Debro - Co-Founder, National Association of Minority Contractors [NAMC]

Co-Chairwoman Pandora Ramsay - Founding President, Ohio Fairness Campaign

Co-Chairman Irvin Henderson - member of Board of trustee's of the CRA Fund, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Co-Chairman Fred Hargrove Sr. PE,MBA – President of Hargrove Engineering and Chief Engineer for MDi's BioSafe Level IV Facility AEC/GC ops.

Convener of the National Fairness Campaign Steering Committee

Dr. Robert Day - President, Center for Urban & Rural Redevelopment
Steering Committee Adviser and Panel Moderator
Lawrence Auls – and Executive Director LISW, LTD who is a published author

Current Cleveland Panelists

William F. Pickard, PhD – a successful 25 year business owner of manufacturing facilities, Chairman and CEO of Vitec USA, an owner of McDonalds franchisees and a volunteer instructor at Alabama State University

Mark Batson – President, PolicyBridge, Inc

George D. Edwards - Founder and President, Black Trades Council of Ohio

John Lawyer - Interim Vice President, Campus Planning and Operations, Case Western Reserve University

Clifford King - Vice President and CRA Officer, Dollar Bank of Cleveland

Jeff Johnson - Former Ohio State Senator and former city of Cleveland Director of Community Relations.

William Patmon - Former City of Cleveland of Councilman, former Chair of Affirmative Action and Employment Committee.
Carl White – President, The NET Video

Kathryn M. Hall CDP,MA - Resource Specialist Director Major Gifts, Health Programs, Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Zakiyyah Saleem - Founder of Buckeye's for Change

National Fairness Campaign Blog: The National Fairness Campaign Symposium in Cleveland

I am now a member of The Social Media Club - Cleveland

2009-02-12T03:07:00.001-05:00

Well, here's another interesting proposition, following up on my progression through Linked In, Facebook, and Plaxo. I am still curious as to how to value these media, and this seems to be trying to be something along the lines of the Uber-Network.

I'm still for some reason grateful that I never got more involved in MySpace. It continues to disturb me.

My Page - Social Media Club - Cleveland

FW: The National Fairness Campaign Symposium in Cleveland, Friday the 13th

2009-02-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a note from our friend Hershel down in Cincinnati, operating out of Cleveland this coming Friday. Click the links below for details on the symposium being held here on the 13th; meanwhile, I'm searching for my hockey mask. How about a Friday the 13th "flash mob" that day, everyone sporting hockey masks? Where should we be? (see Clay Shirky's new book Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations, p. 164 ff)

Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:50 AM
To: Tim Ferris
Subject: The National Fairness Campaign Symposium in Cleveland

MESSAGES

Hershel Daniels Junior wrote:

I found an interesting blog article and would like to share it with you.

The National Fairness Campaign will review past political agreements and governing compacts and their relationship to the social, economic development environment under an Obama Presidency. The National Fairness Campaign will also identify and address historic moral gaps.

Ohio is a focal point of the National Fairness Campaign because it is middle America, and has demonstrated past and current innovations to address fairness and capacity building, including state government minority business development programs, initiatives to increase the budget for the African American males commission, and the creation of the proposed 2009 American Reinvestment & Recovery Program and federal solutions.

We plan to use this and other funding mechanisms to capitalize our plan to upgrade homes in NEO that would create a secure means tested dynamic broadband wireless network that has built in universal access with established cellar carriers and WiFi/WiMAX networks whose HQ is located in the Cleveland Empowerment Zone.

For more information please goto blog at http://nationalfairnesscampaign.blogspot.com/2009/02/national-fairness-campaign-symposium-in.html.

The National Fairness Campaign Symposium in Cleveland

The National Fairness Campaign | February 10, 2009 | 10:22 PM PST

The National Fairness Campaign will review past political agreements and governing compacts and their relationship to the social, economic development environment under an Obama Presidency. The National Fairness Campaign will also identify and address h...

View Article | View Discussion | Reply to Hershel Daniels Junior | Reply To All

Don't want to receive e-mail notifications? Adjust your message settings.

Senator says HUD contributes to Cleveland blight - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

2009-02-10T02:49:00.001-05:00

George Voinovich once again is half right: HUD has contributed to the residential-housing mess in Cleveland. However, demolition is not a cost-effective solution; it merely compounds the wasting of assets. Here's the short article, from downstate:

Associated Press

Posted Feb 06, 2009 @ 07:46 AM

CLEVELAND —

U.S. Sen. George Voinovich is demanding that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development do more to address blighted properties in Cleveland.

Voinovich wants the federal agency to begin demolishing rundown houses instead of selling them to speculators who do little to improve their condition.

Voinovich says in a letter to newly confirmed HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan that HUD should be a partner in the city's recovery, not a contributor to the city's blight problem.

Elected officials and housing activists have long complained that HUD ignores offers by Cleveland community groups to buy homes for rehabilitation.

A HUD spokesman says the agency will analyze all HUD-foreclosed properties in the area and get back to Voinovich quickly.

Senator says HUD contributes to Cleveland blight - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

thanks, Jeff

2009-02-08T10:07:00.001-05:00

Jeff Schuler must have tweaked RealNEO's Drupal platform somehow, because this is the first time I have been able to post to my blog on RealNEO using Windows Live Writer (shall we call this "WLW"?). WLW is available at no charge and makes cross-posting to various blogs with varied readership possible. This post, for instance, because it's instructive, will be posted over at Tim Ferris, at ACT III, at Save Our Land, and at Brooklyn Centre National Wildlife Community.

So once again, thanks, Jeff Schuler.

empirical evidence viewed as breakthrough on 'broken windows' theory

2009-02-08T08:45:00.001-05:00

I began thinking about and dealing with the urban situation in Worcester and then in Boston in the late 1960s. Here's research done by people at Harvard and at Suffolk that "is seen as strong scientific evidence that the long-debated "broken windows" theory really works - that disorderly conditions breed bad behavior, and that fixing them can help prevent crime."

"In traditional policing, you went from call to call, and that was it - you're chasing your tail," said Lowell patrol officer Karen Witts on a recent drive past a boarded up house that was once a bullet-pocked trouble spot. Now, she says, there appears to be a solid basis for a policing strategy that preemptively addresses the conditions that promote crime.

Many police departments across the country already use elements of the broken windows theory, or focus on crime hot spots. The Lowell experiment offers guidance on what seems to work best. Cleaning up the physical environment was very effective; misdemeanor arrests less so, and boosting social services had no apparent impact.

Such evidence-based policing is essential, argues David Weisburd, a professor of administration of justice at George Mason University. "We demand it in fields like medicine," Weisburd said. "It seems to me with all the money we spend on policing, we better be able to see whether the programs have the effects we intend them to have."

And this particular study, he said, is "elegant" in how clearly it demonstrated crime prevention benefits.

The broken windows theory was first put forth in a 1982 Atlantic article by James Q. Wilson, a political scientist then at Harvard, and George L. Kelling, a criminologist. The theory suggests that a disorderly environment sends a message that no one is in charge, thus increasing fear, weakening community controls, and inviting criminal behavior. It further maintains that stopping minor offenses and restoring greater order can prevent serious crime.

That theory has been hotly debated even as it has been widely deployed.

It's good to note that all of this was accomplished without massive demolition or offering the obscenity of selective tax abatement. We must remember that safety is the keystone of urban replanning and redevelopment--we live on top of a goldmine, a wealth of built heritage, and all we have to do is stabilize it and restore it. It does not take banks, developers, and community development corporations; it takes uncompromised safety forces, a sense of values among the residents, and hard work. It's actually fairly simple.

Breakthrough on 'broken windows' - The Boston Globe

MidTown Brews/Mogulus TV: Featured Interview On Online Learning | The Redgate Read On Online Learning

2009-02-07T17:22:00.001-05:00

And here's Shaun Redgate's link to the MidTown Brews Thursday recording. Click the line below, then click "Watch Shaun Now." We found out, by the way, that Shaun had his start in radio in the Boston area.

Featured Interview On Online Learning | The Redgate Read On Online Learning

YouTube - Brainpower for Regional Economic Prosperity

2009-02-07T17:14:00.002-05:00

Here's something that the I-Open crowd--Betsey Merkel in particular, I think--put up to introduce last Thursday's MidTown Brews guest, Shaun Redgate, who blogs at www.shaunredgate.com. Thursday made history, in that it was the first brewless MidTown Brews; wicked bacchanalian revelry returns next month as the venue shifts back to Insivia and the eminently corruptible Andy, raised by Jesuits.

The Thursday turnout was most excellent; lack of spirits did not dampen spirits.

erasaing the digital divide, playing in Cleveland February 13th

2009-02-05T12:35:00.002-05:00

Our friend Hershel Daniels down in Cincinnati left this tidbit for us on Facebook, and I thought I share here to give it some advance notice:

"At the Cleveland National Capacity Building Symposium we will talk about broadband and our ability to implement a best practices methodology that creates a means to erase the digital divide in the America's, Africa and Asia - from a Ohio based headquarters.

Technology Theme: Enforcement and Regulation of Broadband: A history and a future

"We will propose a National Building Program for broadband that can be implemented over the next 18 months, if we act wisely, in unity, within a regulatory environment that follows the letter, as well as the spirit, of the law where we [through the digital universe as Americans] will oversee the peoples government [at all levels] investment in its people, fairly based on successes and failures as we erase the digital divide."

This symposium is to be held at the Louis Stokes Telecommunications Center at the Cuyahoga Community College main campus on 13 Feb. 2009. Drop by and or send us your policy and or technical paper on broadband in America."

The New City Beautiful!

2009-02-03T15:08:00.000-05:00

Feed: Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog
Posted on: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 2:07 PM
Author: Kevin Leeson
Subject: The New City Beautiful

Ned Hill and Fran Stewart of Cleveland State University call for a "New City Beautiful - a model of development that emphasizes urban design and the importance of public spaces as a way of creating and holding value in private places."

View article...

Conference on the Community Reinvestment Act, February 6th, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

2009-02-03T11:36:00.002-05:00

Gloria and I are registered for this and plan to attend. Will any of you be joining us? As of Wednesday, the 4th, we understand that the registration process is closed.

We received this from our friends in Cincinnati last week:

February 6, 2009 Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Community Reinvestment Act has come under increasing scrutiny as a result of the nation's subprime lending and foreclosure crises. What role, if any, did the landmark legislation play in the demise of the nation's financial services industry? How should policymakers modify the CRA to ensure it meets the credit needs of low- and moderate-income individuals going forward?

This one-day conference includes presentations and discussions on the CRA that are aimed at facilitating an exchange of research-informed perspectives on the role of the Community Reinvestment Act in delivering financial services to individuals in low- and moderate-income communities. The conference is part of the Cleveland Fed's ongoing efforts to facilitate and help inform high-level discussions on proposed regulatory reform—in this instance, the regulation of financial services available to low- and moderate-income individuals.

Agenda

February 6, 2009
8:00 am		Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00–9:10 am		Opening Remarks Ruth Clevenger, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
		Session I. Financial Services Available to Low- and Moderate-Income Communities
9:10–9:50 am		Financial Services, Saving, and Borrowing Among Low- and Moderate-Income Households Michael Barr, University of Michigan Law School
9:50–10:30 am		Discrimination in the Mortgage Market Stephen Ross, University of Connecticut Economics Department
10:30–10:40 am		Break
		Session II. Mortgage Lending in Low- and Moderate-Income Communities
10:40–11:20 am		CRA and Mortgage Lending in LMI Neighborhoods Neil Bhutta, Board of Governors
11:20 am–12:00 pm		CRA Lending in the Fourth District Lisa Nelson, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
12:00–1:20 pm		Lunch Speaker: Mark Willis, Ford Foundation
		Session III. CRA and Financial Institutions
1:20–2:00 pm		Impact of CRA on Household and Financial Institution Incentives Robert Avery, Board of Governors
2:00–2:40 pm		Impact of CRA Agreements on Community Banks Breck Robinson, University of Delaware
2:40–2:50 pm		Break
		Session IV. Perspectives on the Community Reinvestment Act
2:50–3:30 pm		The Role of the CRA in the Subprime Crisis Glenn Canner, Board of Governors
3:30–4:10 pm		Viability of CRA and Potential Alternatives Peter Wallison, American Enterprise Institute
		Session V. Open Discussion
4:10–5:00 pm		All speakers Mark Sniderman, moderator

National Fairness Campaign Blog: good work, looking forward to more

2009-02-01T08:14:00.001-05:00

There was an event that happened down in Cincinnati yesterday afternoon that I think is seminal. Follow the link below to my comment on The National Fairness Campaign Blog.

Now this is an even better reason to convene a dialogue, and to put it on a tour bus for a few days with blogger support. This group wants to take it to Washington to begin the third attempt at Reconstruction, and this time, it's not all about race.

National Fairness Campaign Blog: good work, looking forward to more

Callahan’s Cleveland Diary AT&T starts “U-Verse” deployment in the city

2009-01-31T03:35:00.003-05:00

Bill Callahan points out a sighting earlier this month of a big treelawn box near our Carnegie library, at Pearl and Mapledale. It's frustrating to spend years promoting good, sensible design and city planning, only to have a public utility owned by stockholders trump the rights of property owners in an urban community. This lowers all property values, as does the proliferation of utility poles nearly 100 years after we adopted sensible community guidelines for handling our common feeds. Read Bill's whole post. Here's my comment:

Bandwidth is good. Design from AT&T is obsolete and the cheapest possible installation. Security is lousy. These things should be placed below grade; visually, they're nasty; they're also vulnerable to sabotage, vandalism, bad weather, and plain old acts of God.
I believe Newton D. Baker's administration wrote the definitive code on how to place utilities, yet we continue to ignore what would be in the best interests of the community in the long term.
Above-ground utilities on thoroughfares have no place in a well designed city, and good design starts now, with the current projects under way.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, is reeling under the insult to its streetscape; we need to fix ours now.

Callahan’s Cleveland Diary » Blog Archive » AT&T starts “U-Verse” deployment in the city

ACT III: picking up where we left off, in the wings

2009-01-29T19:32:00.001-05:00

We have stirrings over at ACT III...

ACT III: picking up where we left off, in the wings

Hillary Clinton favors diplomatic response to extraterrestrial life « Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff)

2009-01-27T09:39:00.001-05:00

Somehow, I just knew it would turn out this way: galactic diplomacy.

Hillary Clinton favors diplomatic response to extraterrestrial life « Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff)

From RICK FERRIS- Sequoia Realty Market Update e-Newsletter

2009-01-24T06:08:00.001-05:00

I got this today from my cousin Rick and thought I'd share it. It's about choice. Somehow, too, it reminded me of the Irish patriot Michael Collins and his espousal of the more aggressive " right to refuse":

Choose Your Attitude for a Positive 2009

For this issue of our newsletter, I wanted to share an important reminder on attitude. I received this from Michael McAllister, President of The CE Shop, a provider of continuing education. He touches on several critical points that shape our personal futures:

· We each choose our thoughts and attitude
· Remember to focus on where we want to go
· Talk about the good news in the market
· Which will we choose: feeling happy or down?

These apply to all of our businesses—and everyday interactions—not just real estate sales. I hope that you benefit as much from Michael’s article as I have. Here it is.

“…One of the many gifts we have to give ourselves at any time is the gift of choice. The ability to choose our thoughts and attitudes is a gift worth more than anything tangible. As we change our thoughts to those focused on where we want to go, supported by positive news, we can change our businesses and our lives for the better. This sounds kind of corny but stay with me, as this isn’t just a “feel good” idea but rather a potential revenue generating concept.

As I am traveling the country, I listen closely to a variety of industry participants from agents, brokers, lenders and REALTOR Association staff and executives. I find it no coincidence that the positive comments are coming from those that have been in the industry for many years; this is NOT the first challenging marketing they have witnessed. They exude a strong sense of what is good and talk about the good things going on in the market. Follow their lead and stay positive, focusing on the good news you hear, and let that momentum carry you and your business forward.

If someone gave you permission to feel good or bad, which would you choose? Notice that I say “choose”. Much of life is a choice; the results we get in our lives are a choice. This concept is easy and meets with little resistance during good times when deals are flowing. If deals aren’t flowing for you right now, choose different thoughts. Don’t be fooled, thinking positive is not enough, follow those thoughts through with thoughtful, consistent, client value/focused action.

Positive, inspired thought followed by thoughtful, consistent, client value/focused action is powerful beyond measure. People like to be around those who are positive, so if you find yourself feeling less than positive, consciously make the shift and watch how things change.”

My best wishes to you and yours in this holiday season and let’s make 2009 an excellent year together!

Sincerely,

Rick

Richard Ferris, CCIM, MBA

President

Sequoia Realty Corp.

7464 Mentor Ave.

Mentor, OH 44060 USA

voice: 440.946.8600 x103

fax: 440.953.4500

mailto:Rick@SequoiaRealty.com

web: http://www.sequoiarealty.com/ and http://www.realtyneo.com/

"Northeast Ohio's Entrepreneurial Broker"

Call us now to auction your property!

New Congress 9 percent raised by Jesuits

2009-01-20T22:10:00.002-05:00

The Holy Cross alumni association referred me to this Boston-College-centric article. I glean from the comments here that the Catholic faith is still divided against itself and cannot eschew being judgmental. In internet parlance, it's called being snarky; another word for it would be bitchy, another, fractious, or maybe just sophomoric.

The proportionate religious representation is also interesting here:

In another analysis of the makeup of Congress, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life looked at the religious makeup of the House and Senate. A few highlights from the report:
• "Members of Congress are much more likely than the public overall to say they are affiliated with a particular religion."
• The Congress is mostly Protestant (54.7%), mirroring the nation, but the Protestants are from multiple denominations; Baptists are underrepresented, while Episcopalians, Methodists and Presbyterians are overrepresented when compared to their presence in the national population.
• "Catholics are the single largest religious group in the 111th Congress. Catholics, who account for nearly one-quarter of the U.S. adult population, make up about 30% of Congress."
• "Jews, who account for just 1.7% of the U.S. adult population, make up 8.4% of Congress, including just over 13% of the Senate."
• There are two Muslims and two Buddhists in Congress; both groups are slightly underrepresented, as are Hindus (there are no Hindu members of Congress).

New Congress 9 percent Jesuit-educated - Articles of Faith - Boston.com

This Will Be on the Test

2009-01-17T21:29:00.001-05:00

I missed this piece about Political Science 216 from Erick Trickey when it first came out. Today, I'm sort of missing The Professor.

Yawn?

This Will Be on the Test | Article Archives | Arts & Entertainment | Cleveland Magazine - Your guide to the best of Cleveland

contemplating the essence of "busness"

2009-01-17T20:43:00.003-05:00

from our friend Ralph Solonitz

http://www.ralphstuff.com/

Bus.The.Bloggers road trip

2009-01-17T14:05:00.002-05:00

SENT VIA EMAIL

Dear Blogger Pals--

Would you believe that nobody has stepped forth to write a check for $50,000 to send a busload of bloggers and community-dialoguers from Cleveland to Akron to Columbus to Cincinnati to DC and back again?

Can you even begin to imagine that nobody as yet wants to sponsor an exercise to bind Ohio together, in wholly public discourse, from the road and from the capital and then from the road again, over 4 wired and connected days from January 18-21? To have the content posted forever on the internet as blogs and tweets and podcasts and videos? To usher in the new intergenerational Woodstock on wheels?

I offered the Greater Cleveland Partnership the opportunity to write a half-check for $25,000 to send us on a one-way trip and not come back--something I thought they might snap up-- but nobody got back to me.

My rolodex was out of date when it came to calling Mike White down there with the alpacas or the llamas, so I called around and found everybody else had trouble reaching him, too. I was hoping he would be able to make the call to Sam Miller so that Sam could get behind the "participatory democracy" he holds so dear.

I tried to get a news operation to partner with us by sending along embedded journalists; the blog-based Huffington Post didn't seem to understand, and one of their blogger/journalists, Paul Krassner, is still too bunged up from a 70s police beating to put in 4 days on the road (Paul knew Magic Bus people like Ken Kesey and Wavy Gravy and is a piece of walking/limping history himself). I was going to try to embed Dick Feagler, recently available, I hear, because of his prior successes at interfacing with the blogosphere, but I didn't want to ask him outright until I had the trip paid for.

I've established a couple of things, or a few:

--Nobody who wants to ride the bus has enough money to carry the whole thing off, and doesn't know anybody who could help at the last minute

--There are no civic-minded sugar daddies out there who specialize in making seminal events happen, at least not among our contacts

--There may be more than one way to skin a cat.

Therefore, it's now time for all of you who think that the Blogger Bus needs to roll out of here tomorrow to begin to ASK SOMEBODY TO GIVE US A BUS FOR 4 DAYS. Dan Gilbert over at the Cavs might have one, or the Dolans may have one that's not being used next week, or the Browns organization may have one that needs to be exorcised by having joyous riders for a change.

After somebody gives you the bus, then ask them where's the food going to come from? Then, ask to borrow their air card. It's simple. Like back in the days when everybody went to San Francisco.

Hey, I've blogged this a bit at--

http://timferris.blogspot.com/2009/01/january-18-21-blogging-from-bus.html

--and I've Facebooked it at--

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/192544?m=49f3b4f1

I've asked some of our politicians, but some were immobilized by fear of conflicts and others thought that, if this were a proper thing to do, their brilliant Washington staff would have already told them about it.

Gloria this morning told me to leave this whole thing alone, that people would start thinking I was crazy, and I thought, "Yeah. So what else is new?"

It's been fun. Call me or email me or tweet me when you get a bus, or a check for food for 40 people for 4 days, or blog it or make a video and stick it up on U-Tube, or even call WKYC or the PD first--I don't care. What I do know is that we can fill the bus in a heartbeat, create a heck of a lot of good will, create great content and post it for time immemorial to the internet, and bring three generations together on a very favorable basis, conducive to telling stories that need to be told and tales that need to be kept in the public consciousness.

I'm going to the market now, before it closes. I have no Plan B yet. I still have faith in Plan A's being executed by a group of bloggers and other people of good will on a bus, somehow, so open-source it and see what happens.

Tim Ferris
taferris@gmail.com
216-255-6640
http://timferris.blogspot.com

Paul Krassner--from the Huffington Post, by way of The Realist

2009-01-15T16:21:00.001-05:00

Paul Krassner has just become my Plaxo buddy, and I was thinking of inviting him to be the embedded journalist on the Bus.The.Bloggers expedition this coming January 18-21. I was originally thinking of inviting Dick Feagler as the embedded one, since he's just recently retired and available and has a history of prior blogger goodtimes, but I'm sure Dick will understand if I invite Paul first. Of course, I can't be sure of Feagler's reaction, because, as many have told me cryptically in the past, I don't know Dick.

Paul's one of the few cultural icons still alive from that other era of riding the bus, 40-50 years ago. Here's his bio from The Huffington Post, and I guess he has some Cleveland connections still, as well:

Paul Krassner's next book is Who's to Say What's Obscene: Politics, Culture and Comedy in America Today, with an introduction by Arianna Huffington and a foreword by Wavy Gravy, to be published by City Lights in July 2009.

His latest book is One Hand Jerking: Reports From an Investigative Satirist, with a foreword by Harry Shearer and an introduction by Lewis Black, available at paulkrassner.com, as is the Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster.

Krassner's FBI files indicate that after Life magazine published a favorable profile of him, the FBI sent a poison-pen letter to the editor, complaining: "To classify Krassner as a social rebel is far too cute. He's a nut, a raving, unconfined nut."

"The FBI was right," said George Carlin. "This man is dangerous--and funny; and necessary."

When People magazine called Krassner "Father of the underground press," he immediately demanded a paternity test. He had published The Realist magazine from 1958 to 1974. He reincarnated it as a newsletter in 1985. "The taboos may have changed," he wrote, "but irreverence is still our only sacred cow." The final issue was published in Spring 2001.

Krassner's style of personal journalism constantly blurred the line between observer and participant. He interviewed a doctor who performed abortions when it was illegal, then ran an underground referral service. He covered the antiwar movement, then co-founded the Yippies with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. He published material on the psychedelic revolution, then took LSD with Tim Leary, Ram Dass and Ken Kesey.

He edited Lenny Bruce's autobiography, How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, and with Lenny's encouragement, became a stand-up performer himself, opening at the Village Gate in New York in 1961. Ten years later--five years after Lenny's death--Groucho Marx said, "I predict that in time Paul Krassner will wind up as the only live Lenny Bruce."

Paul Krassner

Twittering Tips for Beginners - NYTimes.com

2009-01-15T15:05:00.001-05:00

Ah, if the New York TIMES if for it, then who can be against it? David Pogue writes what is for me the first lengthy, populist exposition on the Twitter phenomenon. Personally, I wasn't able to function very well in Twitter until I picked up on a gizmo called twhirl: the social software client, and I'm still not that hot at any of it, or over it.

When you get up and running, tweet me. Some day, this might all make sense.

From the Desk of David Pogue - Twittering Tips for Beginners - NYTimes.com

Preservation Sans Politics: CLEVELAND'S DEMOLITION MONSTER MAKES ANOTHER KILL

2009-01-14T19:03:00.001-05:00

Craig's photographic research here shows the solidity of the structure just demolished over in Tremont, against the wishes of the owner, in defiance of all of the most integral preservation tenets, disregarding basic human decency. Drive by. Offer to help right this insult to our city. Here's the owner's name and address:

Frank Giglio
2288 West 14th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113-3611

I wonder where they're forwarding the mail? I wonder how we all go about recapturing our lost values from the vile perpetrators?

Preservation Sans Politics: CLEVELAND'S DEMOLITION MONSTER MAKES ANOTHER KILL

January 18-21: blogging from the bus

2009-01-13T20:45:00.004-05:00

A few days ago, on the 7th, a friend in Cincinnati proposed sending out a blogger call for a road trip in conjunction with the inauguration. The response was pretty positive. Today, we have the resources lined up and the plan partially fleshed out. Tomorrow, we start pounding the phones for money.

To this point, we have a bus reserved for 4 days. It carries 55 and has two drivers. It will start in Cleveland late on the 18th, stop in Akron, and hit Columbus at midnight. From there, it will proceed to Cincinnati, where there is an event at 3 PM, after which it will go on to DC, where it will arrive sometime early in the morning of the 20th and disgorge its load at the end of a T1 line, where the load will proceed to live blog and tweet and stuff for the entire day. We have made arrangements for clearance papers--I guess it involves the metropolitan police and the Secret Service. Then, on the 21st, it's back home. Coming and going, there will be photo ops and other media events.

We have lodging arranged for the only night when a bed will be possible, between the 20th and the 21st. A few other people and I are getting the money together for the bus, for food and lodging, and for a modest amount of walking-around money for each participant. Gloria and I can't go due to her recent retrofit, but we can certainly get vicarious. The bus will populate itself, we think, with three generations--it's a great opportunity for recording oral histories and the varied perspectives of the past 50 years.

Tomorrow, in addition to sponsorship, we'll be trying to get in-kind participation, as in air cards and wireless services. If we could blog and tweet all the way from Cleveland to Akron to Columbus to Cincinnati to DC and back, wouldn't that be a marvelous advertisement for a new wired America? The bus trip is a story in itself, and there are lots of other stories within that story.

a poem by Langston Hughes, from Anthony Houston over on Facebook

2009-01-08T15:49:00.001-05:00

There is a dream in the land
With its back against the wall
By muddled names and strange
Sometimes the dream is called.

There are those who claim
This dream for theirs alone--
A sin for which we know
They must atone.

Unless shared in common
Like sunlight and like air,
The dream will die for lack
Of substance anywhere.

The dream knows no frontier or tongue,
The dream, no class or race.
The dream cannot be kept secure
In any one locked place.

This dream today embattled,
With its back against the wall--
To save the dream for one
It must be saved for all.

MappingTheMess: Tommy Sinito, another heart attack case

2008-12-26T21:57:00.004-05:00

Lately, I've been sensitized to the occurrence of sudden and unexpected heart attacks in relation to Cleveland communities and mythologies, and now here comes another one, my southeast-suburb homeboy Tommy Sinito's in 1997. Read the whole excerpt in MapTheMess; for me, it's a new perspective, perhaps a rewrite of actual events, but with oral histories, it's all up for grabs anyway. Enjoy, and make sure to go for your heart screening every year. There might be something in the water around here.

Tommy "The Chinaman" Sinito, a made man in the Cleveland Mafia Family, remains an enigma. The Full extent of his criminal career and influence is shrouded in mystery. He played a large part in the Cleveland Mafia. Tommy Sinito rose from being an errand boy to the rank of made man under Mafia Boss Big Ange Lonardo.
Tommy Sinito caught Big Ange Lonardo’s attention when he tended bar in the early 1970s at the Highlander Restaurant and Lounge on Northfield Road..
Sinito remained a major influence in the Cleveland Mafia until his death from a heart attack in the exercise yard at the Belmont Correctional Institute in 1997. His rapid raise in Mafia ranks from errand boy to made man has created a plethora of stories about him. Most of these are nothing more than fantastic tales.

Click on the Blogger label "heartbreak" below to view my growing collection of those who may have cared too much or felt too strongly.

Archive: AmricanMafia.com: Carmen Zagaria and Tommy Sinito [Map the Mess]

The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla: grammer and the sintax

2008-12-26T12:54:00.001-05:00

I missed this last month and thought it needed widespread sharing. Sarah's constructs were remarkable, and Dick is in fine form here:

What will ambitious politicos learn from this? That frayed syntax, bungled grammar and run-on sentences that ramble on long after thought has given out completely are a candidate’s valuable traits?

And how much more of all that lies in our future if God points her to those open-a-crack doors she refers to? The ones she resolves to splinter and bulldoze her way through upon glimpsing the opportunities, revealed from on high.

What on earth are our underpaid teachers, laboring in the vineyards of education, supposed to tell students about the following sentence, committed by the serial syntax-killer from Wasilla High and gleaned by my colleague Maureen Dowd for preservation for those who ask, “How was it she talked?”

My concern has been the atrocities there in Darfur and the relevance to me with that issue as we spoke about Africa and some of the countries there that were kind of the people succumbing to the dictators and the corruption of some collapsed governments on the continent, the relevance was Alaska’s investment in Darfur with some of our permanent fund dollars.

And, she concluded, “never, ever did I talk about, well, gee, is it a country or a continent, I just don’t know about this issue.”

It’s admittedly a rare gift to produce a paragraph in which whole clumps of words could be removed without noticeably affecting the sense, if any.

(A cynic might wonder if Wasilla High School’s English and geography departments are draped in black.)

Read the whole thing.

The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla - Dick Cavett Blog - NYTimes.com

Manners: Be a Gentleman

2008-12-26T08:51:00.001-05:00

This post from the sartorial expert Will, and the comments following, are a needed antidote to the behavioral slippage many of us allowed to happen, or even gleefully pursued, in the societal change of the '60s and '70s. On a personal note, my crusade to eliminate expletives and crudities from my everyday parlance has been about 90% successful this past year; there are indeed other words that work as well or better, my vocabulary is improving, and I am thinking a little more before I make strong or negative statements. Tourette's is a motherfucker. There! My 10% allowance!

In the first half of the twentieth century, the influential American etiquette author Emily Post considered the term "gentleman" to mean a man with a superior standard of behavior. The word "gentle", originally meaning that a man came from a good family if not outright nobility, came to be associated with the standard of manners expected from that elevated origin. Later, the term was extended to include any man of good, courteous conduct.

Unfortunately, in recent years the term gentleman has been diluted further, so that it now is used to refer to males who are members of certain drinking clubs that offer lap dances by minimally clothed females but altogether lack manners. And a man's poor manners can be a serious impediment in his life, for, like appropriate dress, good manners serve as a social lubricant

A Suitable Wardrobe: Manners: Be a Gentleman

Coroner blames blocked artery for Rosemary Vinci's death

2008-12-24T10:32:00.003-05:00

This is the same sort of thing Gloria had on November 17th. See my December 4th post, below.

Since that post, Roldo Bartimole has informed me that Norm Krumholz' heart went down for the count at about the same time Gloria had her incident. (Norm, by the way, has had surgery and is recovered.) Here's the lead-in from the PD yesterday:

Cuyahoga County employee Rosemary Vinci died of a blocked coronary artery, according to a preliminary autopsy report released this afternoon by the county coroner's office.
There was no foul play or trauma involved, the report stated.

Coroner blames blocked artery for Rosemary Vinci's death - Metro - cleveland.com

premature capitulation: the aftermath of "Dan Moore blows a whistle on a bad deal"

2008-12-23T08:04:00.001-05:00

Already, going back to this BFD post from November 14th, we find the link to the PD story coming up as "story not found" and the website http://www.savencb.com/ taken down. The vote does not occur until Friday, the day after Christmas. The newly coined term "premature capitulation" comes to mind as a descriptor of the way a lot of things seem to go around here. Cookies spilled, everybody's already gone home.

Thanks to Carla Rautenberg for the link to the WaPo article. I'd missed it, and I'd imagine I'm not alone.

Carla Rautenberg adds this background from the Washington Post.

Dan Moore blows a whistle on a bad deal | Brewed Fresh Daily

Ohio Supreme Court rules could make it harder for you to search court records

2008-12-23T04:20:00.001-05:00

This bears watching, perhaps scrutiny:

Rules adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday could restrict the public's access to court records, a leading open-government advocate says.

Cleveland lawyer David Marburger, of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government, said the rules shift the burden to the public to prove why it needs access to court records if someone involved in a case wants sealed.

Before Monday, people involved in court cases had to prove they would be harmed if records remained open in individual cases.

"This is a dangerous precedent," said Marburger, who has represented several newspapers, including The Plain Dealer. "This is a dramatic change. The future of these rules can only be negative."

The court adopted the amendments from the Commission on the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio. Six of the high court's justices voted for the changes, and Justice Paul Pfeifer dissented.

Ohio Supreme Court rules could make it harder for you to search court records - Metro - cleveland.com

The Put It On The Ballot Campaign continues to smirk smugly

2008-12-12T10:47:00.000-05:00

Cuyahoga commissioners shuffle funds to pay medical mart legal bill - Metro - cleveland.com--All of us who worked in the Put It On The Ballot Campaign last year did so efficiently and economically; I do believe that all of our outstanding bills have been paid. We recall quite well how much time and money was expended against us, and against the basic premise that government should not try to sneak through tax increases.

Now, here come the defenders of the MedicalMartConventionCenter with their hands out, expecting the county, the people, to cough up still more. Fred, how about throwing this one in pro bono, as the rest of us did who worked against you, now that Positively Cleveland is backing away from its unethical entanglements?

Commissioners, please hold onto our money. All Fred did during the MedicalMart snafu was to show that he's basically innumerate, and you shouldn't be paying for that sort of foolishness.

civic activism in Cleveland may be harmful to your health; it breaks your heart

2008-12-04T06:39:00.002-05:00

My Google calendar tells me that today is Rocco Oliverio's birthday. Rocco, a fantastic grassroots organizer, teacher, and community stabilizer, died suddenly and unexpectedly last December around the age of 75. Gloria and I had met him in the 1980s and worked with him closely during Bill Denihan's campaign for mayor, and thereafter. If I recall correctly, the cause of his early death was that his heart failed. For all we knew, he was healthy and vigorous up until the time of his death.

Our friend Ed Hauser, age 47, passed suddenly and unexpectedly this past November 14th. Again, the cause was that his heart gave out. We got to know Ed very well during the Whiskey Island land-grab attempts and later in recording and witnessing many of the ODOT sham hearings. He was tenacious, brave, principled, and able.

Gloria, age 58, on the evening of Ed's funeral-home visitation on November 17th, had a massive heart attack, suddenly and totally unexpectedly, nearly died a few times, and is now just beginning to recover at Metro in the cardiac ICU.

Lonnie L. Burten, scrappy Cleveland councilman, died at the age of 40 on November 29th of 1984. The CLENIX headline reads "Coroner rules that chronic heart ill killed Cnclmn Burten."

At about the same time as Burten's death, State Rep. John (Jay) Carroll of Garfield Heights, age 29, died in his sleep of "hard-to-detect disease of heart." An article later that year points out that Carroll and Colleen Shaughnessy (murdered in August of 1983 in the State Office Building), both destined for successful political careers in Cleveland, both breaths of fresh air, departed this earthly orb too, too early, with "unfinished business."

What's the point of all this, you say? Well, it appears that November and December are rough times of year for hearts, and that a good number of the bright lights in our community, those who love their neighbors, have hearts that break, particularly around the end of the year.

And again, today is Rocco's birthday, and it was always good knowing that Rocco had your back. You could depend on him to do the right thing.

the Fairness Doctrine

2008-11-15T11:22:00.001-05:00

The Center For Individual Freedom -- There are rumblings about the Fairness Doctrine, and you can read NewsMax' rendition of the issues at the link. NewsMax is usually shrill, but I wonder if there's anything to this?

The www.cfif.org URL is dead, and the blast email carries a price tag. This alone reduces credibility, for me. Where is there an intelligent discussion of this Fairness Doctrine?

blogging as an economic cornerstone

2008-11-14T06:16:00.001-05:00

Six Apart - Blog - Changes at Six Apart: The people from whom we purchase TypePad for some of our other blogs are making some changes in staffing levels. One thing that stood out for me was the following quote, leading into a larger discussion of SixApart's providing an economic cornerstone for enterprise:

"We've been reminded lately that blogging was born out of the last recession in 2001 - 2002, and that during tough economic times creative voices look to powerful, cost-effective ways to connect and communicate with the world around them."

help save me from the Nellies

2008-11-13T08:49:00.004-05:00

One of my business relationships uses Yahoo groups for a collaboration/connectivity space, and here is one of the unwelcome and unintended consequences, random notes from the Nellies of the world. Help me help Nellie, whatever way you see fit. Thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Yahoo! [mailto:profiles@yahoo-inc.com]
Sent:
Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:03 AM
To: TIMOTHY ALLAN FERRIS
Subject:
NellieD sent you a message

This is NellieD's message:

hot damn Tim u look fine! i luved ur profile, i will visit Cleveland, Ohio this weekend, wanna go out? i got some pics at: http://eqmzc.tk/, i even got videos, hit me up and get my number from http://eqmzc.tk/ , for real hit me up on http://eqmzc.tk/ on screen name tightp! p.s. im online for couple more hours! :) xwsjzygf

To view NellieD's profile, click here: http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/S4XBHPMJZS3J3H35PTFIAORTN4

To reply to NellieD's message, click here: http://profiles.yahoo.com/msg.php?guid=S4XBHPMJZS3J3H35PTFIAORTN4

Thanks,

The Yahoo! Team

__

To block NellieD, click here:
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/S4XBHPMJZS3J3H35PTFIAORTN4?foot-block-btn=1&crum
b=lkqOilmTYsG

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

2008-11-12T18:45:00.000-05:00

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable -- The book The Black Swan has come up in many discussions lately. Here's a review by Mike Ryan.

to profess the law

2008-11-12T18:39:00.004-05:00

I was having a discussion with my older daughter about friends in the legal profession, and it reminded me that I had just run across this old DOONESBURY clipping on the hard drive--I think I used it for a talk years ago.

This is one of my favorites, and I wanted to share it. Somehow, it just tickled me years ago, and still does. I bombed the LSAT in 1968 after a full sleepless night of revelry. I couldn't get serious about it then, and can't now.

It's interesting to me how the learned professions have come under fire these past few generations. Whether they ceded their status or had it taken from them would make for an interesting discussion. Could it merely be a function of supply exceeding demand, of too many people thinking they should be something they're really not suited to be, or don't actually want to be?

How many are attracted to the bar for the same reasons they are motivated to take karate classes, like self-defense and the concomitant powers to intimidate and inflict?

CoveritLive has a record day on November 4, launches Twitter integration...and turns one year old

2008-11-12T12:25:00.000-05:00

[Tim Ferris] We just got this from our friends at http://www.coveritlive.com/#

Hello,

Keith McSpurren here. President of CoveritLive. Three short pieces of information for you about our software.

Record Day for CoveritLive
When we had the idea for CoveritLive back in early 2007, I circled November 4, 2008 on my calendar. By election day in the United States, I figured if we had built something of use to people, we would know it by then. We also knew that it would be the biggest test of our ability to provide a scalable, reliable solution for our users. Thanks to thousands of our users CoveritLive was used in 30 countries around the world that day to serve up close to 3,000,000 pageviews between November 4-5 (the 'Replay' readership the day after the election made it the second biggest day in our history). Special thanks to our many users at Gannett, Tribune, Huffington Post, The Times in London and Le Soir in Belgium.

Twitter Integration
Our friends at Mashable wrote about this idea a few months ago and I've felt guilty about not delivering on it until now. A number of you are avid Twitter users so I know you'll be excited when I tell you it is now possible to integrate up to 12 Twitter feeds into your CoveritLive event. Just type in the Twitter accounts you want to autopublish and every minute, CoveritLive will go get any new Tweets and publish them directly into your Viewer Window with a little 't' logo so your readers know it was a Tweet. As for more integration? We think this was the most important one, so we'll wait a little to see how it works out.

CoveritLive Turns One
It's always awkward when you have to tell people it's your birthday. But ours is November 15. We're growing, but we've got a long way to go. Given how far we've come in the first twelve months, I'm looking forward to seeing what CoveritLive looks like at the end of 2009.

As always, we welcome feedback and suggestions. Please email us at info@coveritlive.com.

Keith McSpurren
President, CoveritLive

If you would no longer like to receive this email, please reply to this email with the word "remove" along with your CoveritLive username.

a surprising collection of Maxfield Parrish illustrations

2008-11-09T08:43:00.003-05:00

Golden Age Comic Book Stories -- Somehow, this "Golden Age" illustrator, Maxfield Parrish, turned up in my Google Alerts this morning. He's always been one of my favorites; we have Parrish calendars, Parrish books, and a nicely preserved, larger "Daybreak" (1922) on the wall in the front room, situated away from the light. The latter comes from the dining room of my Uncle Jack and Aunt Francie's (Tante's) place over in Cleveland Heights, where it hung until the early '80s.

At the link is a collection that is largely new to me, of Parrish and a few of his contemporaries. Enjoy.

Malay Blogger Fights a System He Perfected - NYTimes.com

2008-11-07T07:24:00.001-05:00

Malay Blogger Fights a System He Perfected - NYTimes.com -- Our incredibly credentialed friend Jill has sent us a really fine story of blogging advocacy, and I share it here:

What I do when I don't have time to blog this stuff

I send it to you :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/world/asia/06blogger.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/world/asia/06blogger.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Jill Miller Zimon
Newsweek's The Ruckus
BlogHer Contributing Editor
The Moderate Voice
Writes Like She Talks
See or listen to
Jill on CNN, BBC, WCPN, Third Rail Radio
jillzimon@mac.com

Join us today for Midtown Brews with Meet The Bloggers...

2008-11-06T12:28:00.001-05:00

Branding Stories: Art, Advocacy and Global Networks
Date: Thurs Nov 6, 2008
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Live Video Broadcast and Chat Conversation 6:00PM - 7:00PM (EST)
Location: Insivia, 1900 Superior Avenue, Suite 105, Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Ph: 216.373.1080 Map
Register: Upcoming.org
Join our online web space Midtown Brews
Donation: $5.00 (or whatever you think is proper, or whatever is possible) and your favorite beverage
The visual arts are a powerful tool of communication.
Join us to learn more about art and advocacy with Pat Fallon, Painter and Printmaker, Professor and Chair, Art Department, and students from Ursuline College. Learn best practices to tell your story.
Participate in a round table discussion. Understand how branding sociopolitical stories strengthen transparency, engage humanity and accelerate prosperity in communities and nations.
Moderator: Gloria Ferris, Meet The Bloggers, www.meetthebloggers.net
And You...Everyone is welcome. Share your experience.
Listen to this conversation with Pat and Ursuline students to learn more.
Learn from civic leaders defining economic development priorities for Northeast Ohio:
Carolyn Jack, Co-Director of Geniocity, talks about the value of creativity and innovation to civilization. Read the story. Watch the interview on You Tube.
Questions? Contact: Betsey Merkel, The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), 4415 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Ph: 216-246-2447

Tim Ferris

my current Sales Practices Manual tells me I am not to be engaged in blogging activity

I have never used this or any other blog for professional purposes.

Prohibited Activities

The below list is not intended to be inclusive of all of the instances in which the Firm will prohibit a communication with the public; rather it is intended to demonstrate some of the most common types of communications that are not approved. . . .

. . . Blogs: Interactive electronic forums such as blogs subject a member firm to various supervision and record keeping requirements. As such, no employee or affiliated person with the Firm may participate in blogs or other similar interactive electronic communications such as chat rooms.

WSP Online: Current Manual

And another, less proximate:

Electronic Chat Rooms, Blogs and Bulletin Boards

In general, blogs and bulletin boards are considered advertisements and as such, all the content standards apply. Depending on the subject matter, firms may need to file these postings with FINRA.

Tomorrow at 11:00 AM: Denison Cemetery Memorial Day Service

great ideas from mid-state: The Lazarus Building creates a distinction for Columbus

The Lazarus Building

History/Value of Renovating the Lazarus Building:

Six major hallmarks of "Green Buildings"

Green Characteristics of Lazarus:

Jamie Janos appears in Artists and the Recession - The New York Times > Arts > Slide Show > Slide 4 of 10

Cleveland, Ohio, medical mart may have to fend off another competitor based in Nashville, Tennessee: Central Planning tries to outrun the Capitalists

a privately owned convention center, of all things

central planning fails again, as advertising kiosks fail to deliver

Ferris’ New Website – for Apartments!

Harlan Ellison -- Pay the Writer -- putting moochers on notice

multiplying talents: Cleveland Heights pastor at Forest Hill Church takes cue from parable, gives congregants $50 each

rude, crude, and nasty: secular nonprofit executive director struts her stuff

sage accounting advice from Janis Joplin - GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

book review: MEAN Little deaf Queer, A memoir by Terry Galloway

Contents

Shift Happens Narrated

FW: Budget Update from our friend Joe Calabrese over at RTA

Arlo Guthrie - Coming Into Los Angeles - Woodstock 1969

unions tied to the unthinkable, and I do not lithp: N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe

$7 billion annual revenue enhancement: MedicalMarijuanaMart

Medical marijuana could ease economic pains

Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun columnist

weed, weed, weed on Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio

the worm has turned: “The Democrats have no more excuses” | Salon

food for thought: Bob Reid takes over from Frank Bova Wednesday

good news: Bishop reverses St. Colman closing

H. L. Mencken forecast our land of heart’s desire

Connie Schultz may have a point: Purge Ohio law of a needlessly hurtful word

ideas whose time has come: “Secession Is in Our Future” - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Institute

Dan Gilbert of the Cavs and other Ohio casino backers hire troubled California firm Arno Political Consultants

Conde Bust: Why Portfolio folded. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

my first craigslist posting: Art Deco Baroque Rococo 3-piece Bedroom Set - $300 (Cleveland, Ohio, in Brooklyn Centre)

here’s an idea whose time has come

Marc Canter: How to build the Open Mesh | Book Preview of a treatise on what it's gonna take for us all to make a living off the crumbs left behind by the behemoths

swashbuckling venture capitalists—veritable corsairs--or welfare queens?

new Cleveland blog: Helen Miller's Weight Loss Diary, or, “Here's How I Lost 47 lbs of Body Fat in Just 2 Months With These 2 FREE* Diet Products I Saw on T.V.”

Judge Peter Corrigan tackles the task of riding herd on the ‘tards

breaking chains: Kill Your Cable TV Bill Dead -- InformationWeek

Steven D. Knope, M.D.: concierge medicine, retainer medicine, direct medicine and boutique medicine

good article on Jill Miller Zimon also mentions MeetTheBloggers

more contact info on Gloria

Gloria’s location and telephone at MetroHealth

Friday events for Gloria

City of Cleveland, Ohio: CHARTER AMENDMENTS ADOPTED 11-4-08

GloriaFerris.net--"Taking One for the Team: Could Attrition Be the Answer To Cleveland City Council Reduction?"

Kathy Miracle: attachment from Akers email, posted below, detailing April 2nd event

Workshop targeted to individuals in career transition - www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com

Henry Gomez: Ward 15 residents angry about City Council redistricting have many questions, few answers - Inside Cleveland City Hall

revisiting our regional strengths: cut throat on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

forming a theory of urban secession, a two-way street

the antidote for ward division: secession

a heads up from George Nemeth: Podcasting Goes Mainstream - eMarketer

agendas and minutes of the Village of Bentleyville Council

Minutes & Agendas

Village of Bentleyville

Founded 1831

Serve, Preserve, Conserve

Amazon.com: Survival Tactics: The Top 11 Behaviors of Successful Entrepreneurs: Ted Sun

Editorial Reviews

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz . . . Cleveland.com

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz, Windsor James Smith, Charles B. Womer, Rev. Hubert W. Riedel

How To: Assemble A Board of Advisers - business guidance - recruiting advisers

CHANGE OF CONTACT INFORMATION FOR WENDELL ROBINSON

2 years later, & now comes the full disclosure: "Med mart bonds cost millions more with private company"

"Old Brooklyn Blogs"

FW: About Cleveland: How to Get Tickets for the Rock Hall Ceremony

Drunken man crawls into wrong bed in Sheffield Lake - Metro - Cleveland.com

Posted by Michael Sangiacomo/Plain Dealer Reporter February 17, 2009 13:41PM