Yeah! Cleveland gets mentioned in the Civic Strategies eLetter:

Cleveland is getting ready to do some major work on its main street, Euclid Avenue. It’s planning to build bus lanes, expand the sidewalks and put in trees and other improvements. But first it has to fill in the vaults. How’s that? Just beneath downtown Cleveland’s sidewalks, there’s a honeycomb of vaults that were once used for storing coal and heating oil or as freight entrances for businesses. (These were called “pop-ups.” A bell would ring loudly, metal sidewalk grates would open, and a elevator would slowly rise to the sidewalk.) “Most people are surprised to find out that underneath, the sidewalk is hollow,” said a local architect. The vaults have been abandoned for years but city officials worry that they might not withstand heavier uses overhead. So the city wants to reinforce or simply fill them in with concrete. Cost of the work: $9 million. So, in their inspection tours, have city workers found anything interesting tucked away in Cleveland’s vaults � say, a nice wine collection or perhaps a missing Rembrandt or two? Nah. “These are underground concrete pits,” says the city’s public works director. “There’s no romance in the vaults.”

Cool.

Don’t forget, Friday afternoons a bunch of us gather at Cafe AhRoma in Trinity Commons for coffee and talk. I’ll be there around 2ish and will probably stay a few hours. Hope to see you there!

Anita Campbell comments:

The problem with statistics like this is what they don’t show.

They don’t do a good job of picking up the self-employed, the consultants, the freelancers, the startups and other small businesses. They give a somewhat understated view of the employment/business picture.

For instance, I have no doubt that I would be an unemployed statistic according to this kind of chart. Yet I am a business owner. I have no desire for a “job.” A job doesn’t jive with my view of myself as a free agent. And I suspect that is much the same way that many readers of BFD feel about themselves — many of you are yourselves free agents.

And I am not talking about election year politics and attempts to sway jobs figures to suit one political party or another. That’s just political noise.

The real story is the “smalling” of American business. It is a fundamental change in the U.S. economy that has been gradually building for years. Traditional jobs statistics aren’t exact enough to pick up all the nuances about how people earn their livelihoods in the 21st century USA.

Bill Callahan responds:

Anita’s point is the heart of the (currently quite politicized) argument between economists who prefer the BLS “establishment survey” statistics — gathered by surveying a very large sample of employers — and those who like the Census Bureau’s monthly “household survey”, which asks a much smaller sample of individuals about their employment status. The “household survey” is currently showing better job growth than the establishment survey, which might be because it catches more startups and self-employed people (or maybe not). Economists who prefer to rely on the establishment survey seem to be in the majority, and include not just Dems but also Alan Greenspan… but there are obviously arguments on both sides, and I agree with Anita that the “smalling” of firms and churning of positions raises important questions about the survey approach.

Just for the record, here’s one defense of the establishment survey as a prime source of national job numbers.

As a non-economist I’d just add two things:
1) The government doesn’t break the household survey numbers down to the local level because the sample’s too small, so it’s useless as a marker of Cleveland area employment; and
2) While the BLS establishment survey includes as “employed” only people who are reported as receiving income, I know a lot of folks who might well tell the Census they’re “self-employed” or “business owners”, but who aren’t making a nickel.

Rockin’ good news:

Techworld reports that the London Ambulance Service is using an application that switches among different networks according to priority. If they are within range of a Wi-Fi network, they use it to download maps to get to a patient, but if no Wi-Fi network is available, they switch over to GPRS (for example, to transmit patient data back to a hospital). According to the London Ambulance Service, the new system has saved them a lot of time: “It used to take approximately one minute to pass the call details to an ambulance crew by voice and then the crews may have needed to look where the destination was in their map books. Now it takes typically two seconds for all the call details to be sent to the ambulance, and the PC in the vehicle tells the navigation equipment where the destination is.”

From unmediated:

Last three Mondays I was having a workshop “DOCUMENTING PERFORMANCE ART” on streaming with Coco Fusco’s class at Columbia University. For the last session students were to come up with a short (three minute) performance that we have streamed live. Streams and torrents for the clips are here.

Via World Changing:

�Designs on Democracy was a three day conference on design, advertising, public relations and marketing for social change…. The conference was organized by a crew of eight activists. Forty volunteers did the work that made it happen for the 350 who attended. Designs on Democracy, said Favianna Rodriguez, one of the organizers: �is not just for designers, it�s for people who are in the business of doing marketing and selling the image of the Left, to take it to a broader audience and make it more appealing.��

They�ve already posted two pages of notes and several audio files of the conference sessions in Ogg Vorbis format. More audio, video, and documentation is on the way.

Great info. Click thru for the links.

Call me weird, but this is cool and innovative:

Nature reports that on the 21st of April, Austrian scientists used quantum cryptography to transfer a US$3,500 donation to their laboratory.The article explains.”Quantum cryptography uses the odd properties of quantum particles to create secure keys for encoding and decoding messages.The very act of observing these particles changes their nature, making it easy to detect any eavesdroppers.

A beautiful post by a young, talented woman who’s doing cool things here:

I’ve traveled and lived other places and may live other places again, but I have this feeling that whenever someone asks me where �home� is for me, I’ll always say �Cleveland�.

Please click through the title and read it in it’s entirety.

Remember when Americans used to sit outside on the front porch, instead of on the back deck, behind the fence? That’s what I like about this post that Dina Metha points to:

Blogging to the outside is about building relationships. You don’t have to turn every reader in to a dyed in the wool customer, but you turn them in to some one who is willing to consider your company when they go to spend their hard earned money. You build loyalty, and you show that you do care about the feedback you get. Blogging is like sitting on your front porch and waving to your neighbors as they walk by. You don’t have to have a great dialog with each of them, but they will remember who you are and think of you when they need something, or be there to help out when they can.

Blogging to the inside is about building relationships, but it is also about perpetuating dialog. A blog lets you put your idea out for everyone to see. It is like the ultimate suggestion box. And because blogging happens on neutral ground no one has to take offense to contradictary ideas. You can say this is what I feel we need to be doing, and if some one else says, this is what we should be doing instead, the discussion can be about the ideas not the people. You don’t get that level playing field in a conference room where you worry about rank, or department, or even if you like the other person. Blogs are like coming home after work, sitting down on the front porch and having a beer with your co-workers.

Come on over and sit a spell.

Click through the title and read how intelligent Iraqis are being methodically assassinated, causing others to flee the country.

It’s about time we stopped the woe-is-Cleveland nonsense and started thinking about other people’s problems for a change! Where’s the outreach? We’ve got so many smart, motivated people around here. Isn’t it about time we started solving problems elsewhere in the world and quit worrying about ours?

The Guv paid me a huge compliment yesterday at A/T/D/7. I tossed out a bunch of words to describe BFD. He agreed with:

eclec�tic adjective 1 : selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles
2 : composed of elements drawn from various sources;

Which is what I aspire to.

Steve Hall blogs:

Executives at the Milken Global Conference yesterday brushed off the notion that television is a dying medium.

“What time has shown is the unbelievable power of network TV,” said Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corp., which owns the Fox Group. “The fact that people are still watching that much network television is a testament to its remarkable strength.” Perhaps he hasn’t seen the massive declines in Nielsen numbers.

Sumner Redstone also chimed in saying, “The only way you reach all American people is through network television.” Sumner, there’s this big thing called the Internet. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Lots of people are using it. Really. I’m serious. You should check it out.

Yeah. And why do they prefer it to TV? I’d hazard a guess that it has something to do with being able to interact with others.

One of the things that I didn’t include in the Cool Cleveland Interview I did with Tony Houston was an expression that Tony uses often. When he says it, he’s referring to the work our parents have done to get us where we are today. I remember him describing his mom and dad’s knuckles swollen from work. Another thing I didn’t put in the article was his father surviving a near-fatal robbery of the grocery store they own - he was shot seven times. When someone asks Tony if he’s qualified to sit on this or that board of directors, he responds “My father and mother paid the ticket”.

If you bump into Tony, ask him about it. He’ll tell you true stories that will move you. I just scratched the surface…

Notice something about the Making Change logo on the REI page? It isn’t the same one that’s on the ideastream page. Who do you think’ll be on the panel discussion? Brad Whitehead? Thomas Mulready? As for the Economic Development Innovation Teams, I can imagine who’ll represent for sustainability, and maybe healthcare systems, but what’s up with early childhood and “places by design”? Could it be that there will actually be someone speaking other then the usual suspects? I guess the only way to know is to be at the Ritz Monday, May 17th @ 9AM [Geez, that’s early]. Maybe I’ll sneak in at the break…

Amen to Jack Ricchiuto’s post. I guess that’s what a christian would say. The buddhist in me bows in gassho…

Dave Bayless writes:

“If, as aspiring entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial support organizations, we pay attention to the foundational roles of learning and complementarity, we improve our chances for success.”

You really need to click through the title and read the entire post.

AKA “It’s the education, stupid”:

: “Economies change rapidly but educational systems don’t. Think of the U.S. like a company. Should a company respond to changes in the market by whining, attempting to manipulate the law and attempting to change the market? Of course not. A company should train employees, making sure they have the skills to compete in the new market. I wish one of the presidential candidates would embrace the idea of making education a source of American comparative advantage. “

Alright, I’m about to go off. I can’t tell you how long I’ve spent this morning trying to listen to one segment of the Tavis Smiley show. First of all, NPR archives their show in two formats only - Windows Media and Real Audio. Talk about institutional. On Linux, I couldn’t get the rmxmms plugin working [a check of their site shows lots of complaints about that] and the Linux download from Real plays their stupid startup wav file, then locks out my soundcard. So after fighting the good fight for a while, I had to boot over to the windows side of the street to do some other work. Figuring I’d have better luck here, I went over to the site, click the link, and… NOTHING! Not only do they use Real, but they use .smil, which is based on xml. Now using xml is kind of cool, except when you dish up errors like this “XML: Bad end tag near line 7: “.

Why the heck can’t they use mp3s and m3u like the rest of us?

Figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statisitcs show that the recovery is still jobless around these parts. Click through to Bill Callahan’s site for the graphs.

Alright, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t exactly adhear to any journalistic standards, and this is just too absurd for me to past up.

I heard someone relate the story of overhearing someone at the PD being concerned about the brand equity they’ve established with The Quiet Crisis. WTF? How are we ever going to get over the woe-is-me crap if every couple of months the only frickin’ paper in town rubs our collective noses in it because they want to try to pay for the capital equipment they invested in, even though their industry in just about tapped out?

One last thing, what’s up with the banner ad for the blog section? Is it really getting anyone to click through?

Cool Cleveland’s Bill Nagode gave me the heads up on this one. It may have something to do with this:

From USA Today Iraqis enjoy new freedom of expression: “‘We suffered for years under Saddam Hussein, not being able to speak out,’ says Omar Fadhil, 24, a dentist. ‘Now, you can make your voice heard around the world.’” You said it Omar.

You’d think Echelon would have that covered. [Note: That’s probably the first and last time I’ll link to the ACLU].

Aaron Gach, a noted performance, installation, and new media artist will be sharing his works and collaborating with students and the public for one evening only. Aaron’s inspirations come from studying with a private investigator, a magician and a ninja. Most recently he fused together the art of magic and surveillance to create Smokey Hill River Outpost exploring the relationship between security information and the mystification of technology. He has accepted residencies and won several awards for his works including a $50,000 grant for the Grand Arts project commission. Mr. Gach has also produced and installed numerous exhibitions, public projects and events. Aaron is a proficient lecturer at several universities and art galleries across the United States. The event is being held Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 7:30pm in the B.K. Smith Gallery located on the east side of Lake Erie College on Gillett Street near Phillips Osborne School. This event is sponsored by The Harriet B. Storrs Fund of the Cleveland Foundation and The Lake Erie College Fine Arts Department.

I’ve commented on John Polk’s column over on CrainTech. Suffice it to say I’ve got more questions then answers.

Last night’s Irish Music Session at the Brewing Company was a series of accidental conversations. David Akers was there with Lou Tisler, Paul Alsenas introduced us to David Orr, and on the way out, we met three of the members of the Earth Day Coalition’s board. Maybe next week you’ll meet us there.

It’s always interesting to check your referrer logs to see who’s linking to you. Today I found NodeWorks - Computers: Internet: On the Web: Weblogs. If you’re looking for new blogs to read, check it out.

Kudos to David Teten for pointing out how to scrub bogus tags from Word.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

“Since 9/11 there has been a great fear amongst new immigrants at all levels, but particularly about issues that are important to them,” says Gouri Sadhwani, executive director of the New York Civic Participation Project. “In a very practical way, allowing them to vote will connect them with the long history of new immigrants in this country and give them the opportunity to participate in the most fundamental way in our democracy.”

But to opponents - which includes this city’s mayor - enfranchising immigrants will only dilute the nation’s democracy. They think of it as the equivalent of two people living together without making the formal commitment of marriage with all of the responsibilities it entails.

“There have been an awful lot of people over the years that have fought and died for the right to vote,” the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said at a press conference earlier this month. “If you want to have full rights, and voting is a very big part of full rights, become a citizen.”

Ok. Since when is a formal commitment of marriage any guarantee that someone is going to act repsponsibly? There’s plenty of people who make the formal commitment of marriage, then act in an irresponsible way, just like there’s many people who become citizens, then don’t participate in democracy (n. a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections). Perhaps a better question is, What is a citizen (n. an inhabitant of a city or town; especially : one entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman)?

And you thought I post a lot. The fellas over at the CCPC blog put up 18 stories yesterday…

Woke up this morning to a number of great comments, particularly this on by Abrasivist:

“A good casino could keep people from finding time to drown in the flats.”

I also grok with Chas Rich and his suggestion of Youngstown being a better location. I wonder if “historic logic” is a diplomatic way of saying they’ve got a long tradition of organized crime?

Whoa. Did I say that? What am I thinking? Gambling and organized crime have absolutely nothing to do with each other. I better go have a cup of coffee before I shoot my mouth off anymore. Here I thought we were trying to promote Cleveland as a quality place to live for a family.

WTF? 78% of Crain’s Cleveland website repondents want a casino in Cleveland? Chris Thompson emails:

The talk about bringing casinos to Cleveland will undoubtedly revive discussions about the need for a convention center here.

Casinos and conventions go hand in hand. However, it is unlikely casino companies would be willing to foot the bill. Paying for convention centers remains difficult � but cities keep building them. In Washington, 13 cities have begun work on convention center construction projects in the last year.

From World Changing via Danah Boyd:

One of the blunt realities of American politics is that most states don’t matter in the presidential election, as their outcome is already certain. Only 10-14 are “swing states.” What to do if you don’t live in one? Try going online to plan a road trip to register voters in the swings.

I don’t think they’ll be too much trouble up here in the north. Good luck with the rest of the state.

I’ve said it before, Eric Meyer tells a great story. His latest is of using the Cleveland Public Library’s free WiFi to download illustrations for his Notacon presentation.

From the EDPro Blog:

Durham, NC is considering an ambitious plan to revitalize a downtown street, Parish Street, by combining exhibits and kiosks that illustrate the history of Durham’s tobacco industry, African-American entrepreneurship and traditional arts and crafts.

Parrish Street was the birthplace of the city’s first tobacco operations. In the early 1900’s the street represented the center of the city’s African-American commercial district. Read more about the plan to revitalize Parish Street. You can download the report here.

You know, tobacco isn’t exactly the politically correct thing to celebrate, but I’ve got to hand it to them. They aren’t throwing the baby out with the bath water.