Adam Hanft posts on Inc Magazine’s blog:

[It] astounds me is that no major American corporation has embraced [the lack of health care] as a cause.

They’ve line up behind breast cancer and prostate cancer and AIDS and childhood obesity. But I don’t know of one company that is making this part of their good corporate citizen mission.

The possibilities are endless. Major corporations could be a voice for communicating the seriousness of the problem and the need for innovative
solutions. They could help fund health insurance for families who need it as part of their corporate giving… Where is the company with the courage to come forward?

Is there someone or some organization here in Cleveland that could champion this? How would better healthcare coverage here address the poverty issue?

Dave Bayless relates comments by Fast Company’s Heath Row:

Skip the business books when you head for the beach, and try novels that teach leadership, purpose, and ambition.

When you click thru to the article, there’s a list of books. I’ve read a couple, have you? What books would you add?

Bruce Sterling gives me another good reason to use FireFox instead of IE:

In a harbinger of security threats to come, hackers have exploited a newly announced flaw in Microsoft Corp. programs and begun circulating malicious code hidden in images that use the popular JPEG format.

Software tools to create the malicious images began appearing last
month, and this week security experts saw images employing them
posted on adult-oriented Usenet newsgroups.

To get the malicious code, a visitor must download the image and view it using Microsoft’s Windows Explorer software, said Oliver
Friedrichs, senior manager with Symantec Security Response.

*Oh look, here’s a jpeg. Bang, you’re a spambox.

*It took an entire WEEK for the globalized digital underground to turn this vulnerability into a for-profit crowbar for organized crime.

Of course, you have to wonder if the jpg Bruce posted contains the exploit.

Steve Goldberg told me about what happened at the NEOBio breakfast last week when we were having lunch. I’m glad he got around to blogging it.

Jay Yoo posts to his blog that Bill Callahan wonders why JumpStart selected him as someone “who exemplify the leadership, courage, energy, and drive necessary to grow a business in Northeast Ohio.” Please click through to both posts and read the comments there.

My $.02 is that the focus should be on the qualities of the entrepreneur, not where their business is located. Yes, I’m all about a strong economy in Cleveland. But KOYONO is a good example of how business will be in the future. A piece from here, a process from there, and all because we live in a global economy.

Jerry @ Red Wheelbarrow points out that it’s a real minus for a supposedly high tech group not to have a website.

I got an email today from a BFD reader with a link to a petition against Blackwell voiding registrations submitted on a lighter weight paper. A quick google of the news reveals he’s obviously reconsidered such a blantantly partisan move.

I’m not sure that this is a message from God, but it is interesting. Props to whoever took the time to make the map. Do you think it’s accurate?

Hello from Riga!

The architecture is gorgeous, and so are the women… pictures of the former will be available soon.

The weather is great… a little cooler than in Cleveland, but the same general feel.

It is amazing how this city is sprinting away from its Soviet past… yet, Econ Devel still needs more attention here.

WiFi is a pain here… only free WiFi is one room at the University and at the office of the conference sponsors. Lot of internet cafes, but they get you with their hourly rates. Here is a link to the conference I will be attending and presenting at: Art & Communication.

Oh yeah, they also have a brain drain… especially since they joined the European Union. Lot of smart kids leave with their University of Latvia degrees for higher paying jobs in Western Europe.

More conference news as it happens…

Valdis

Jeff Stacklin blasted this out today:

Initially, Clifton wrote in the blog nearly everyday, opining on issues related to the newspaper’s coverage. Early writings ranged from a reminder to readers that reporters do not write headlines to how the paper selects local students to honor in its “Standout Seniors” project.

“My goal was to write at least several times a week,” Clifton said. “Take what would be an editor�s column and explain things to the bloggers, and it worked reasonably well.”

He eventually got into more controversial topics, such as the way reporters follow rumors, coverage of Ronald Reagan’s career published following his death, and how Clifton’s own Vietnam service affected his view of the current Kerry and Bush Vietnam controversies.

Actually, no one read it because it was wicked boring…

While I think its a great idea to try to attract tech companies downtown, I question integrity of the company leading the charge. A close friend of mine had some bad business dealings with BlueBridge Networks. But personal issues aside, are “low rent, the number of attorneys and accountants nearby to help run a company, and the frequency of Internet data centers that provide bountiful high-speed Internet access” good enough reasons for a company to move downtown? They haven’t really changed anything yet, have they? They’re just branding it differently. If someone wanted to move or start they business and knew those reasons, wouldn’t people be flocking downtown? I guess I just want to know what they’re going to differently…

Zoot @ Bald Rhetoric reminds us to read a banned book or let your children read one.

From Jack Ricchiuto’s blog gassho:

“Your entire worldview is based on how much respect you have for yourself.” - Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention

Motorcycle buffs across the country are buzzing about the man ticketed by the State Patrol in Minnesota for allegedly speeding at 205 miles-an-hour. Many say the bike couldn’t have been going that fast… Among those on his side is the editor-in-chief of Cycle World magazine in California. He says Tilley’s bike would have needed an add-on turbo charger to go faster than 165 miles-an-hour… Police aren’t backing down, however, and Tilley is due in court next month.

Who do you think is right?

Two BFD favs go heads up over on the Brain Drain Forum. Who else wants to join the fray?

Jack Ricchiuto let me know that in today’s PD Cleveland ranks 7^th in the nation for number of coffee shops per capita. Check out other interesting things we’re “good” at…

James Miller posts to What’s Up Northeast Ohio that MM is coming to town…

Jeasung Jay Yoo links to the article CoolCleveland did of him for Jumpstart. I love how he thanks them for editing out the f-bombs.

Gonna have to get Wired next month:

Next month, songs by the Beastie Boys, David Byrne and 14 others will appear on a compilation CD whose contents are meant to be copied freely online, remixed or sampled by other artists for use in their own new recordings. “The Wired CD: Rip. Sample. Mash. Share.” was compiled by the editors of Wired magazine, of San Francisco, as an experimental implementation of a new kind of intellectual-property license called Creative Commons. About 750,000 copies of the disc are to be distributed free with the magazine’s November issue.

Here’s info @ Creative Commons.

Click through the title for the rest of this great post:

Communication:

Passing a message, striving for mutual understanding, listening and crafting (targeting) for your audience, selecting the right medium, seeking to be understood, turn taking and ‘floors’.

Networking:

Exchange of values, maintaining contact, balance and reciprocity, seeking to extend your reach and range, looking to include as many weak ties as possible, focus on relationships, positioning and connectivity.

Neil @ CoolTownStudio’s posts:

Every town needs third places away from home and the workplace. These are usually coffeehouses, pubs or a bookstore cafe. While the best third places in the world are outdoor rooms, like Italy’s piazzas, the best in the U.S. often comes in paseos (streets closed down to cars) and waterfronts. Madison has both.

Madison’s State Street ‘paseo’ was covered in Tuesday’s blog. Madison’s University of Wisconsin has a waterfront terrace that has probably hosted some of the most inspired conversations in the town. Why? It has a spectacular view of the lake, is fronted by two dining venues, has room for hundreds of people, transmits free wireless internet, and sells beer by the pitcher (keep in mind this is Wisconsin). It all makes for a dangerous, highly creative spontaneous combustion chamber.

Have I asked this before? Where are Cleveland’s third places (not home, not work, where you hang out)? I’ve got a bunch of them…

“The first question I ask myself when something doesn’t seem to be beautiful is why do I think it’s not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.” - John Cage

My results from the Are You A Blogaholic? quiz: “64 points is in the 51 through 80 precent
You are a dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You’re the You’re the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!”

In a dinner program titled: “Challenging convention and preserving your entrepreneurial culture”.

My favorite part: “Through a recent gift to the university, Nextel and Tim Donahue created one of the region�s first all-wireless campuses at JCU.”

“You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning… a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be.” - Joseph Campbell