Brewed Fresh Daily

[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?

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

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

Some community leaders are challenging Mayor Jane Campbell's plan to fight poverty. They say it excludes the voices of the poor and needs to include more representatives from the suburbs and business community. At least one critic plans a poverty-fighting effort of his own. City Councilman Zack Reed said he plans to invite impoverished residents of Cleveland to his own "grassroots summit" at Cuyahoga Community College on Nov. 13. "We're going to ask them what are the three most important things to get them out of poverty," Reed said. "We're looking for a bottom-up solution. What I saw from the last summit [held by the mayor on Sept. 3], it's top - down."

Campbell said poverty is "a big enough issue" for everyone to address but questions Reed's approach. "We're focusing on solving the problem," she said. "Apparently, he's focusing on identifying it." As Cleveland tries to shed its unwelcome ranking of being the No. 1 impoverished big city in the nation, there are disagreements about how to do it and who should be involved.

Campbell said many of the resources and manpower to fight poverty already exist and what's needed is a focused, collaborative effort, not a new twist. "The goal isn't to have a commission on poverty and a poverty czar," she said. "All too often in this town, people identify a problem and create a new organization. I think there is an important step missed in that: Find out who already is doing it."

That's why after she read the headline about Cleveland's poverty woes, she called about 40 people she has worked with who she said "have a passion for this" and asked them to join her effort. Many of them are now members of six leadership teams Campbell created to address the areas she and her advisers saw as critical in the chain of poverty: early childhood/preschool; school-age; adult; job creation and retention; housing; and technical/advocacy.

Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones said he favors harnessing existing resources rather than trying to create new ones, but he would like to see the focus narrowed even further, to four areas: education (preschool through college); work force development; economic development and employment; and family structure, which he said should address teen pregnancy and integrating fathers into families. "There's your four horsemen of the poverty apocalypse right now," Jones said.

Representatives from the county will be a part of the mayor's leadership teams, but Campbell said this is the city's problem and it will take the lead. "This is about the city . . ." she said, "about the people in the city and so if the county is in a supportive role, that's great. If there are regional people who want to be welcomed, that's great." Jones said that attitude surprises him. "I applaud the desire by the elected officials of the city of Cleveland to quote, handle their own business, unquote, but when it comes to poverty, their business is our business and all of our concern," he said.

Greater Cleveland Partnership President Joe Roman, a member of the mayor's job creation and retention team, said local business leaders have been meeting for months to discuss how to bring more jobs to Cleveland, even though many did not attend the mayor's poverty summit. "The energy level is truly there," he said. To pull everything together, Campbell has asked Greg Brown, the new executive director of the Center for Community Solutions, to present a strategy to make existing poverty organizations and resources more efficient. "The goal is to mobilize the entire community to bring Cleveland out of poverty," Campbell said. "We haven't set the milestones yet. We'll be doing that along the way."

1) Pursue your passion and think HUGE! No matter what industry you are in, if you are not passionate, you're not living. "Success is going from one failure to another with the same enthusiasm." Abraham Lincoln. 2) Don't look for valuable opportunities, create value where there is none. Offering people something they don't know that they don't know they need is the real magic. (i.e. Apple iPod). Don't be marginally better, go out there and really kick some ass (be great). And remember, focus groups are the best way to mediocrity. 3) Completely avoid bozos that think your idea sucks. Nay saying is easy. Doing the impossible requires ultimate responsibility and tremendous energy. Save it! 4) Don't worry about all that theory, book stuff. Go visit your customers and vendors, observe, adapt, bootstrap, and move fast. Too much thinking = much less doing. "More results occur from the violent execution of an imperfect plan, than from the perfection of a plan to violently execute." Herbert Humphrey. 5) Read The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki and listen to your own heart. I have never received so much wisdom about doing a start-up and being an entrepreneur. Remember to share it.

"[T]here's not another electric utility, public or private, in the state of Ohio now charging home consumers as much as Cleveland's municipal electric system. The political silence about this fact is astounding. And here's another astounding fact: according to CPP's last few financial statements, the system has been accumulating extra cash at a rate of $5 million a year or more, and had over $90 million in its pocket -- in "unrestricted net assets" -- at the end of 2003. (Here's CPP's 2003 audited financial report; see page 3.) This is a bomb waiting to blow up in some City Hall faces. Eventually, some wannabe Council candidates are going to figure out how easy it is to cross-reference a likely voter list with the houses connected to Public Power poles, and how vulnerable an incumbent Councilman could be if the voters in those houses realize that they're getting royally hosed, with the incumbent Councilman's silent complicity. Will "eventually" come in 2005? Or will the Mayor and Council, who are literally CPP's CEO and board of directors, decide to get on top of the issue now? Stay tuned. Meanwhile... if the City is really concerned about so many of its residents living in poverty, overcharging all those poor residents for City electric service is a strange, strange way to show it.

It's going to be a close one this November. And Ohio's swing state status means that every vote counts. Since January of this year, approximately 200K new voters have registered, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Which is critical, considering the margin of victory in the 2000 election was 165K votes. In order to be processed in time for the election, your registration must be received by the Board of Elections by October 1. To make the point, on Fri 9/24, three Phoenix Coffee locations are offering a free beverage when you register to vote. 15109 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, 2157 Superior Avenue Downtown, and 2287 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. Get yourself registered and caffeinated at the same time.

Join the Team in Training cast from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society� on Sept. 24 at the Buzz Gallery in Cleveland for an exclusive wine tasting and live auction. This chic charity event starts at 6:30pm on September 24 and will include wine tasting, delicious appetizers, a 50/50 raffle, and a live auction featuring local artists and other items for sale with proceeds from the benefit going to Team and Training & Lymphoma Society�. Cost for admission to the event is $30 for individual tickets and $50 for two, and includes a fine sampling of wines provided and lectured about by wine expert Todd Thompson of TTwine.com.

Our country has moved far from the ideas and philosophies of our founding fathers, in some directions toward social enlightenment, and in some directions away from individual liberties. The government stands between you and the free-market, and has pushed the price equilibrium much higher than it would be if it had stayed out of the way. Think about a nation without federal income tax. This would allow you to donate to the organizations you believe in, send your child to the schools you find to be the best, and ensure your own financial future much better than the government has been able to do for you. In closing, a quote from Michael Badnarik: "Let me follow this logic. Our government has started a war on poverty, and poverty is higher now than it was 50 years ago. They've started a war on drugs, and there are now more drugs than there were 50 years ago, and now, they want to start a war on terrorism?"

Most of the images and stories we receive of Africa in the US can be divided into two categories: the exotic and the dismal. Between the depictions of tribal ceremonies and distended bellies, it�s nearly impossible to get a good idea of what African life is really like from the US media. I could write hundreds of pages on what I�ve already seen and learned, but I�ll try to give you a taste that fills the void between the hopelessness and the sensationalism that characterize the media coverage... This weekend, back in Cleveland, many of you will be at the AIDS walk in Edgewater Park. Keep the Mozambicans in mind. I�ll be having my first weekend off since I arrived, probably sitting on a beach watching fishermen paddle their dugout sailboats (called dhows) out to sea in the morning and sail back in the late afternoon. Maybe I�ll even convince one of them to give me a dhow sailing lesson.

Next time you run into Tremont, or have dinner at Lola, make sure you walk across the street and visit The Banyan Tree store. This Cleveland based store has quietly grown into THE place to shop for unique items for gifts and more. For now though, you can visit their brand new ecommerce store where you can shop from your living room, including the ability to add your wedding registry. ShopBanyanTree.com and support Cleveland businesses!

lately, i've noticed that the machine has been getting messy & people are leaving coffee in it. keep in mind, i brought this in, but i share it w/the other 5 programmers in my group. the problem is, the coffee & mess in question are being made at night when none of us work. we have a thief. not only are they using my maker, but my coffee as well. i keep the filters at my desk, but they are using misfitting filters, hence the overflow mess. i can simply resolve this by taking the cone out so they can't put coffee in there at all, but i'm too spiteful for that simple solution. what i want is a way to teach these mystery coffee elves a lesson? what can i do to either the maker, the grounds or something else to teach them a lesson. i had thought about putting in bogus grounds w/some kind of metamucil in it, but i don't want to be the guy who does that only to find out the thief is allergic to metamucil. any ideas?

The environment for bicycling in the Cleveland area has improved a great deal in recent years, thanks to the construction of new bike paths, with more on the way. While the overall climate for pedal-powered transportation is still less than fully supportive, don't rule biking out! It is absolutely possible, and often convenient, to meet many of your daily needs by bicycle in Greater Cleveland...

"What's more important for a contingent of people who share an ideology, passion, or vision: to spend time gaining converts or engaging whoever shows up to take some kind of action?"

Unfortunately for Cleveland, people are so caught up on content that they continue to miss out on great opportunities and drive people away (i.e. Charles Geschke, co-founder of Adobe). Cleveland tends to care more about Social Capital and where someone went to high school (i.e.University School, Hawken, Hathaway Brown), or whether they can be comfortable with an idea (i.e. Manufacturing vs. Technology), than the fundamentals of doing a start-up. If Cleveland wants to have a strong culture of entrepreneurship, then it will have to be more open to different ideas and people, and far more focused on successful methodology that is not invented in Cleveland! There are signs in the civic arena that people are open to this... but the formation of an entire culture that is this way is going to take a long, long time.

so little time... and so many things to write. Life is a drop indeed and human intellect has splashed it across infinite terrains. The loss of words will be compensated by spasmodic interactions taking place simultaneously whilst, vibrating dreams will bear fruit of another world, an ocean away and many, many memories will become waves...

Elevation Art Ltd.was established in late 2003 with the purpose of connecting forward-thinking artists from the fine and applied arts. This connection serves as a bridge for the integration of the arts into our daily existence. Elevation Art understands the synergistic relationship that exists between objects and space.

Many of us have fond childhood memories of riding our bicycle to school, over to a friend's house or even just for fun around the neighborhood. We probably never stopped to ponder the numerous benefits of bicycling, but Ryan McKenzie has. McKenzie is the Transportation Program Manager at EcoCity Cleveland, a local nonprofit environmental planning organization that helps people live in greater balance with nature in Northeast Ohio. McKenzie has been using his bicycle as a primary form of transportation since he was eight years old. �Bikes are good for your health, good for your wallet, good for the environment and they can be especially good for a child's development,� he says...

"My brother just moved back from Denver, CO with his partner. They were shocked to learn that Ohio does not recognize common marriage. What really stinks is that, on top of Ohio's conservative ways, the City of Cleveland was downright rude to them when they tried to find out how to get their common law marriage rights transferred. The person at City Hall who answered the phone when my Brother called with his inquiry hung up when my Brother was mid question. If Cleveland/Ohio doesn't get more progressive with "the basics" in order to compete with other Brain Grain regions, we might as well forget trying anything else. The least anyone can do to show they are interested is simply to be courteous. Poor Cleveland, we have such a long way to go."

I actually totally agree with Jack- Clevelanders have this inferiority complex about places like Seattle which are supposed to be THE place to be, but people there complain too! Cleveland has an amazing number of things to offer including folks working on sustainable business centers, green design, and the arts. And we have things that even BEAT Seattle like a free art museum, beautiful treed green spaces, and affordable housing. We've got good local seminars like Tuesdays@REI and the forums at Levin. And even good burritos (although I agree that burritos in the mission are the best, becuase hey - its the mission). I will agree that both Seattle and Cleveland are missing the boat on new urbanism and transit. But knowing people like Jack and George, I do know that we have the most important thing that is not explicity on that list - people who are thinking, looking, and acting on ideas to make this a better place to be. So lets buck up and stop comparing ourselves to places like Seattle - they have problems, we have problems. Now lets do something to fix them!!!

"But to tear down a factory or to revolt against a government or to avoid repair of a motorcycle because it is a system is to attact effects rather than causes; and as long as the attack is upon effects only, no change is possible. The true system, the real system, is our present construction of systematic thought itself, rationality itself, and if a factory is torn down but the rationality which produced it is left standing, then that rationality will simply produce another factory. If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves in the succeeding government. There's so much talk about the system. And so little understanding." - Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

"Solicited for help by an elderly woman in a local grocery, my friend G yesterday was entrusted with a stranger's life and story. What a metaphor for what the universe offers us daily."

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual." - John Steinbeck

"Hey, Ms. Matt! Know what? I talked to my dad�He�s getting out of prison this year. He said I could live with him." "Really? How long has he been in prison?" "My whole life." "Have you ever been there to visit?" "A few times.. He said he�s gonna buy me a car, and we are going to live in a big house. The place I live now is too crowded. We have two beds and five couches in two rooms. It�s my mom and her boyfreind and five kids and me. It�s never quiet. Sometimes I just like to be someplace quiet�ya know?" "I know" "He said we will live in the country. I can't wait." "I'm sure your mom will miss you." "She don't care. There's too many little kids."

Ed Morrison connects the dots on a global map about what is happening in the nation and on the planet when it comes to new ways of thinking about economic development. We'll talk about blogging highlights and innovative reports from the civic space through the eyes of a renowned practitioner. Time & Place: Tuesday, September 7, 4 P.M. to 5:45 P.M., Peter B. Lewis Building, Room 201

* What' s possible when people at the edges of communities intersect in common spaces? * How much of regional growth depends on the creation of new kinds of communities of purpose within the dense and dynamic of communities of place and purpose that already make up the region? * What is the role of the media in making headlines of regional deficiencies? * Should women play a unique role in economic development? * If poverty is a lack of connections, what kind of institution has the capability to help people make new connections? * When we want to know what kind of economic development a community wants, who should we ask, and what should be our questions? * When is competition between businesses, schools, churches, non-profits and regions an inability to see and create opportunities for collaboration? * Where in the life of a start-up business is who you know as or more important than what you have? Where are relationships key in the development of an organization whose mission it is to help business start-ups? * Is there an economic development vision large enough to equally serve employers, employees, and the markets and communties they serve?

When people are scared they want to be with each other and TALK. Action is scary, but talk, meetings, events are not. They give the illusion of 'action' but are only 'activity'. Cleveland has lots of activity, but very little action. We are good at "Managing Meetings" but suck at "Managing Change". Why? Because meetings are activity, but real change takes real action. Want to know about Action... and results... in Ohio? Ask Adele, Jack, George, Steve, or Valdis about ACEnet.

Actually, I recommmend not even worrying about fear but just getting some small, likely to succeed projects going with a small group of people and then publicize the heck out of their successes. Set up mentoring for a few entreprenurs, help a couple of businesses do a trade show together, raise money for a small loan fund for sustainable businesses, etc.

In my not-so-humble opinion, true creativity is found when two completely separate, unrelated thoughts come together to create something unexpected. A good example of that kind of creativity is found in Political Grounds, a coffee company that serves up political satire with every pound of ground beans. And they seem to be an equal opportunity satirist. Flavors include Flubba-Dubya's Campfire Coffee [and] Kerry's Camelot Cafe & Grounds For Divorce

In a recent interview with Wired Magazine, Microsoft Security Program Manager Stephen Toulouse admitted that even HE runs Firefox instead of IE... if a high-ranking member of Microsoft's security team won't run IE, shouldn't you consider switching?

When I read what the 8th Habit is, it was music to my eyes... Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs That is so incredibly in line with what my Passion Catalyst work is all about. Finding your voice. Being in alignment with who you really are. The trouble, of course, is that truly finding our own voice is not something that has traditionally been encouraged in this culture, so we have a workforce filled with people trying to use someone else's voice to harmonize with others who are also trying to sing with voices that aren't theirs.

I just got back from doing my favorite thing: going on a two-hour urban adventure on my bike in Cleveland, and I'm reminded again of why I LOVE Cleveland. I love that people are friendly and smile at you and don't look shocked when you say hi to them. I love that riding in the city is like going on an obstacle course and a treasure hunt all at once. I love that you can be going along Prospect and see the cute townhouses tucked away, and the new construction going on around Jacob's Field and CSU. I love riding along the waterfront and seeing the people fishing off the East 55th Street pier. I love stopping in the parking lot at City Hall to look out over the lake and see all the activity going on. I love the hot dog vendors and smelling the corned beef sandwiches behind the doors of restaurants that look like they've been there forever. I love that Cleveland is gritty, and all jumbled up and mixed together, and that people smile. I thought I'd stopped bike riding in Seattle because of all the hills. While I'm sure that would have slowed me down, I'm reminded today that the reason I love bike riding in Cleveland is because I love Cleveland and being on a bike brings me that much closer to the city and the people in it.

All New! Space Politics 2004! Republican and Democrat versions are now available at the studioangelis on-line laboratory. Play Bushoids if you are Democrat! Play Keroids if you are Republican! Politics, FlashART, games... Life! Njoy your Happy Indecision 2004!

Enabling Innovation is an engrossing look at some of the disaster-and success-stories surrounding technological development and diffusion in industrialized and developing countries. The book tells the story of widely divergent technologies-agricultural appliances, wind turbines, Green Revolution high yielding seeds, the Linux computer operating system, and Local Economic Trading Systems. Boru Douthwaite has constructed a "how to do it" guide to innovation management that runs counter to so many current "top-down", "big is good", and "private sector is best" assumptions.

If you're thinking about running up a lot of parking fines and not paying them, better stay out of Cleveland. Police there are trying out a new system for catching scofflaws. Armed with a camera, a computer and some special software, cops are cruising the streets in a van photographing license plates. If a plate matches one in a scofflaw database, the computer registers it immediately (it gives a "bong" sound and the word "hit" appears on the screen). The cops call for a tow truck, and when the owner shows up, he pays a $100 towing charge in addition to the overdue tickets. If the system works, Cleveland plans to invest $100,000 in these scofflaw van patrols. Why? Because the city has a monumental problem with scofflaws; a third of those who get citations don't pay them, and there are now 10,000 people with $250 or more in unpaid tickets. "We want our money," says one city official. "Other cities are tougher than Cleveland has been about collecting." And this is big money indeed. Last year Cleveland collected $6.6 million in parking fines, and that's with a collection rate of only two-thirds. The pilot program (so far the city has only one scofflaw van) has already shown officials how to improve things. For one thing, they need a faster way of summoning tow trucks; cops are wasting too much time waiting after they locate a scofflaw. And some would like the city to be able to take ownership of impounded cars when their owners refuse to pay the fines. That way, says one official, "we could get the fines by auctioning the cars." Footnote: Thinking of paying those overdue parking tickets in Cleveland? Relax. If you show up with a third of what's owned, the city will let you pay the other two-thirds over an eight-month period.

What's the worst news a city can receive? Here's a candidate: Learning that it's now considered the poorest big city in the country. Welcome to Cleveland. When the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual calculations of population and income recently, it gave Cleveland the unhappiest designation of all, the poorest city in America. "Oh my God," exclaimed one local academic when she heard the news. The Census Bureau numbers are grim indeed: 31.3 percent of Cleveland's households live below the poverty line, which is $18,660 for a family of four. Cleveland's median household income of $23,000 is also the lowest in the nation, and nearly half of children there live in poverty. (Other desperately poor places: Newark, N.J., with 30.4 percent of households in poverty; Detroit, with 30.1 percent and Fresno, Calif., with 28.4 percent.) Mayor Jane Campbell was so upset with Cleveland's ranking that she called for a "poverty summit" of business, government and non-profit leaders to address the problem. "We want to know what are the best ways to move children out of poverty, and what we can do in this community," she said. Meanwhile, civic leaders in Miami are breathing a sigh of relief. For the prior three years, it had been the nation's number-one city for poverty. In the most recent rankings, Miami moved to fifth place. City officials say this probably has more to do with middle-class families moving in than poor families suddenly prospering.