Blog lookup story from AP

TechBits: Showtimes, blog lookup, music videos, holograms, electronic eye: "'Blog' is most-searched word in online dictionary
NEW YORK -- 'Blog' is now the most popular search word in the online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Its frequent lookup paralleled its growth on the political scene this year as keepers of Web logs aggressively chronicled campaign developments they thought were undercovered or ignored by traditional media.

Politics dominated Merriam-Webster's top-10 list, with 'incumbent,' 'electoral,' 'insurgent,' 'partisan,' 'sovereignty' and 'defenestration' among the top searches. Rounding out the list were 'hurricane,' 'cicada' and 'peloton,' the main body of riders in a bicycle race.

Last year was the first that the company kept a list of the top words looked up online. As with this year, the most popular words were frequently in the news.

Last year's winner was 'democracy.'

As for a blog, Merriam-Webster defines the noun as 'a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.'

The story above was by Ellen Simon, AP Technology Writer. My AP contact, Judy Lin, is no longer with Pittsburgh's AP office. I'm now pitching a story to M. Crissey about the 2nd Pittsburgh blog fest -- to happen Dec. 15. More news, I hope, very soon.

Dept. of Parks and Rec -- BIG LEAGUE members invited to an open discussion.

A form letter arrived to invite participants to an open discussion regarding the 2005 BIG League sports season. They are looking to create an advisory board and want input from the community. Citiparks Director asks that one person represent each athletic association at the meeting. Participation is voluntary. A volunteer committee will be set up to give athletic associations the opporutnity to have a positive impact on the future of youth sports in the City.

The meeting will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, December 16, 2004 at the South Side Market House.

www.leaguelineup.com/pghbig

412-488-8585 or
412-488-8580

From Joseph Defeo and Michelle Aul

The BIG League program has been axed. Gone. There was a day when a handful of full time employees and a number of part time staffers helped organize the sports leagues in the city. Kiss em good bye.

I was involved in the Aquatics Task Force in past years. Such a joke. We used to have 32 outdoor swim pools. Now we'll be looking at 12. But, there is $0 in the capital budget. So, if one pool needs a pump or a new fence -- I doubt it will happen. These places have been held together by band-aids for years. Neglect has been the rule. What do they say about making chicken soup without a chicken?

We need a new Pittsburgh Park District. We need some leadership coordination and training. We need some peer review. Time will tell.