Ex-Schenley students try Reizenstein on for size

Ex-Schenley students try Reizenstein on for size: "The squat, 33-year-old Reizenstein building in Shadyside may lack the architectural majesty of the historic, triangular Schenley building in Oakland.
But Reizenstein has new furniture, two student lounges and ample space for playing sports outside.

The district just planted trees in the big field to the east side of the building -- knocking out a band practice field, if not more.

United Airlines/News - FlyerWiki

United Airlines/News - FlyerWiki: "United Airlines Teams Up with Apple
As part of United's plans to upgrade its international first and business class travel experience for customers, United and Apple have teamed up to add iPod connectivity to United's inflight entertainment service. This connectivity will enable customers to plug-in and charge their iPod, watch movies and TV shows on their iPod using United’s big-screen monitors, as well as listen to their entire music library on United’s noise-cancellation headsets.
“There is significant value in offering a superior inflight entertainment experience to our first and business class customers during their international flights,” said Graham Atkinson, executive vice president and chief customer officer. “We are identifying what matters most to our premium customers and then delivering the right products and services – like the iPod connectivity – to meet those needs.”
United announced earlier this year that it will upgrade its first and business class products and services beginning next year and reconfigure the entire international wide-body fleet throughout the next two to three years. Current plans include overhauling ground and onboard products and services to enhance the entire premium travel experience – from when customers check-in to when they arrive at their destination.

The Pitt News - Ron Paul loves you, Pittsburgh

The Pitt News - Ron Paul loves you, Pittsburgh From the polls, it looks like many people aren’t going to vote me president of these United States of America. I guess many people don’t support freedom, and they’re free to believe what they want. I’ve got one more trick up my sleeve, though, fellows.

BTW, the Pitt Libertarians are starting up the new year too.

County solicitor rules against drink tax opponents

County solicitor rules against drink tax opponents: "Allegheny County Solicitor Mike Wojcik has determined that the petition by the group Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation, which seeks to cut the county's controversial drink tax from 10 percent to 0.5 percent by referendum, is legally insufficient.

Jackass.
We do NOT need anyone to protect us from our own democracy.

Ballot access is important.

Democracy is simple. Politics is messy. From time time the process gets messy and simple.

2008 November General Election Candidates

The election in Texas, for President of the United States, has been determined. The Libertarian is the only one who filed in time. No D and no R, so says the Texas Secretary of State on this web page.

2008 November General Election Candidates 2008 November General Election Candidates

Copyright and China

CCTV International China to host 2008 international copyright forum in October
Source: Xinhua | 08-27-2008 17:06
BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Beijing is for the third year running to host the International Copyright Forum in October, the National Copyright Administration said here on Wednesday.
Sponsored by the administration and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the two-day forum, slated for October 27, will feature forums on 'copyright creates wealth' covering issues in software and media development fields.

Would love to soak up this session. There is much to be said about 'open source software' and 'public domain' for art and beyond. However, much of that is also with a copyright.

To stick around for the Paralympic Games will make for many interesting contrasts too. Just as a copyright session would.

Pittsburgh 5th poorest big city, census shows

Pittsburgh 5th poorest big city, census shows: "Pittsburgh residents are making slightly more money than last year, but they still live in one of the poorest large cities in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
City residents have the fifth-lowest median household income among residents of larger cities around the country, at $32,363, according to a report the bureau released yesterday. Pittsburgh was seventh-lowest in the 2006 figures, at $31,779. Unlike some other poor cities, however, Pittsburgh contains affluent neighborhoods such as Shadyside, Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze, potentially skewing the results to make the city look wealthier than it truly is.

Reactions welcomed.
The city is poor now. But, after the retirement and pension funds from all the governement workers run dry, we'll be much worse than now.

Urban Redevelopment boss Pat Ford resigns

Urban Redevelopment boss Pat Ford resigns Urban Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Pat Ford issued a strongly worded resignation letter today, alleging a 'culture of deception and corruption' and saying he will no longer 'support the actions of what I believe to be a failed administration' nor seek to 'return to a position where I will again be forced to serve as a scapegoat for the inappropriate affairs and activities of others.'

There is an expression in China that fits: "Bye bye."

To be fair to the Chineese, they would not give months and months of salary without any work. Nor would they let him off without a division between head and body.

The boss of the FDA of China faced capital punishment this past year. Furthermore, a front page story talked about how the secret lovers of the corrupt officials would not get off either.

No doubt, the administration is not anything to be proud of. But, it fits just what came before it. Ford rose through the ranks in that pool. Somethings float.

BBC SPORT | Olympics | China targets more golds in 2012

BBC SPORT | Olympics | China targets more golds in 2012 China will target sports including cycling, athletics and swimming to increase its gold medal haul at the 2012 Games, China's sports chief says. China will target sports including cycling, athletics and swimming to increase its gold medal haul at the 2012 Games, China's sports chief says.

Rot woo, says Scooby.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Wants To 'Invest In Kids' To Prevent Violence - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Golly.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Wants To 'Invest In Kids' To Prevent Violence - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Police Chief Wants To 'Invest In Kids' To Prevent Violence

Except, it seems, that the way the police invest in the kids is to craft cameras around town to watch them. Then to make road blocks and build curfew centers to contain them.

Mayor Tom Murphy was the worst -- as he did not allow our groups to invest in kids and put computer labs into the city's rec centers. Many rec centers, to this day, have empty computer rooms. They have had the furnature and the little signs on the doors -- but not the computers.

Perhaps this news is a change of heart. Let's hope so.

Not only will the increase in graduation rates drop the number of murders, but I've got some more insights.

Holding AM Swim Practice, say at 5:30 or 5:45 AM -- even slackers are in by 6 -- does a great deal to insure that the students are in bed and sleeping by 10 pm, if not 9:15. Go figure.

Student athletes get better grades than students who are not in interscolastic athletics.

Student athletes have better graduation rates -- and have better chances of getting into college, being recruited into college, getting college scholarships, staying in college once they arrive, getting tudors while in college, getting coaching, mentoring and postitive peer pressure, and staying fit.

Sadly Mark Roosevelt is just as bad as Tom Murphy in terms of killing sports and community participation in wellness activities in the city. Murphy killed the city's marathon and The Great Race. Plus he closed the rec centers and swim pools (all 30+) of them. Meanwhile, Mark Roosevelt took swimming out of the public physical education programs in all the schools, is building new schools that will not have sports programs by design, and allows the city league to be laggards equal to the opportunities girls were presented with in the 1940s.

Wanjiru becomes 1st Kenyan to win men's marathon - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

Wanjiru becomes 1st Kenyan to win men's marathon - 2008 Olympics - SI.com: "Wanjiru negotiated the 26.2-mile course through the Beijing streets in bright morning sunshine in an Olympic record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds.

So much for the bad air theory.

The Pittsburgh Comet: Monday: They'll Sell You the Whole Newspaper, But You'll Only Need the Edge

Humm...

The Pittsburgh Comet: Monday: They'll Sell You the Whole Newspaper, But You'll Only Need the Edge Swimming in political data for years already, having grown acclimatized to it, having followed several election cycles and even having developed some healthy coats of cynicism, there is now a new political animal on the scene -- the 18 year-old veteran organizer. There are creatures in high school, incapable of voting themselves, who nonetheless possess the motivation and the sophistication to evangelize 100, 200, 500 or more voting-age individuals to the polls. Often as not, they do it face-to-face, no Internet required.

I'm with you Bram -- but not buying your story in whole.

The Pittsburgh Comet: Monday: They'll Sell You the Whole Newspaper, But You'll Only Need the Edge

The Pittsburgh Comet: Monday: They'll Sell You the Whole Newspaper, But You'll Only Need the Edge: "Just for fun, can we start comparing who has the most LEED silver, gold and platinum certified buildings? (P-G, Mark Roth)"

For fun? Well, Pittsburgh would be sorta like India -- getting one gold every 100 years. China is blowing the doors off of Pittsburgh in terms of buildings that are energy wise.

Michael Phelps Returns Home

Michael Phelps Returns To His Tank At Sea World | The Onion - America's Finest News Source Michael Phelps Returns To His ...

Cute.

But, we spent much more for places for our fish to swim in -- Pgh Zoo and Aquarium -- then for our children.

A taxi- cab breakthrough - Kelli Anderson - SI.com

A taxi- cab breakthrough - Kelli Anderson - SI.com: "I took a lot of taxis in Beijing; we all did.

Think again. You all did. We didn't.

We took one taxi and that was because the USA soccer game ended with a very late gold medal award presentation that forced us off of the subway because it was closing. At 1 am, we didn't want to ride our bikes the OTHER way home. So, we left them locked at the Workers Stadium and were going to take the subway. But, it is four lines away from our apartment. When you hear in the first subway platform that this is the last train -- we were smart to bolt for the street exit.

Then we burned too much energy at the day, getting to the game, and waiting for the handout of the gold medals to bike home from 1 to 2:30 am with a 10-year old, 13-year old and me. Hell, we've seen street lights go off, yet alone the closing of the subway.

Our taxi ride that night was one of the rare times we aimed to get into a cab. We were one with the bike lanes and able to navigate these games and this city just fine without the car. We took a bus or four. We took the subway a bunch too.

Mind you, we watched the taxi situations -- as our goals included them. We didn't want to get hit by anything on the roads -- most of all -- the taxi.

Our fun as the games come to a close

The 17 days of the Olympics have ended. We watched the closing ceremony last night on China TV. Not once did we see a soul from the USA throughout the entire show. What's up with that?

Early in the day we went out of our apartment and down a small stretch of road -- about from 107 Pheasant to Joan Drive, -- and saw the men's marathon go past. There were a bunch in the pack when we saw the opening hour of the race -- and then when they went past us there were three in the lead by 2-minutes or so. The guy from Kenya won in the end. They got their medals in The Bird's Nest (stadium) and it seemed as if the guy that got 2nd, Morocco runner, was having a hard time lifting his leg to get onto the podium. Glass eyes too. They must have wanted a nap.

In the final day of competitions -- we were lucky to get into the final water polo session. We saw a preliminary game -- Spain and Croatia. Then the bronze game where Serbia beat Montenegro. Both were on the same squad a year ago. Then we saw USA vs. Hungary. Great first half. Then Hungary, winning its 3rd gold in a row, got more goals than the USA team. The fans and cheers from Hungary was wild to witness.

The skys have been blue -- but the smog is going to return, we expect. From our apartment we could see in the distance the fireworks in T-square. We biked there last week -- took about 1 hour or more. The flood lights from the Olympic Green are able to be seen from a hallway window. Our apartment is on the 13th (top) floor of a new building in a neighborhood in Beijing's Silicon Valley. A massive computer mart is 15 minutes away on bikes.

We took lots of photos and video. But, I've not uploaded them. Just waiting. NBC was cracking down on pirated videos. I don't need that hassle.

We all have bikes and are doing well on them. We expect to take a train to The Great Wall on Tuesday. Our flight to Chicago is Saturday.

We will pick up a few more treats -- but -- we spent a good deal on the final water polo tickets. Tickets were hard to get and scalpers were out of hand. But, we paid good / fair prices.

We have some new crafts... Got CD of music used in the games. "beijing welcomes you" is a song we've enjoyed.

Got to meet a number of Olympians. Many of their parents and siblings. Lots of fun people from many nations. The Hungarians were known for storming the doors to the water polo venue -- getting 7 or so tickets but seeing 50 or so get past the gate(s). They got wise to them by finals. Don't mess with China -- unless you are from Hungary.

Erik and I have been going to a 5-star hotel where we joined their health club for a month. We lift and swim. Catherine and Grant to a local university and park where there our outdoor badminton courts. We got more rackets (4) and a net. We're going there again tonight at 5 to play with local boy and his mom, our friends now.

Omega finally releases Phelps photo sequence - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

Why did it take so long to release the photos, Omega?

Omega finally releases Phelps photo sequence - 2008 Olympics - SI.com: "FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu had been pressing Omega, one of Phelps' sponsors, to release the images for several days.

Catching Up With The Water Polo Team : NPR

I hate articles that start with such a big negative.

Catching Up With The Water Polo Team : NPR One of the nation's best chances for an Olympic gold medal this summer is in a sport relatively few Americans watch, even during the Olympics — women's water polo.

BBC NEWS | UK | British athletes 'to get honours'

The rest of the world is investing more and more into sports, fitness, wellness and being competitive on personal level on the global stage.

BBC NEWS | UK | British athletes 'to get honours' 'And as we move up to it we want more and more young people in Britain interested in sport, and that is why we will be investing more in sport in our schools, as well as for our elite athletes.' 'And as we move up to it we want more and more young people in Britain interested in sport, and that is why we will be investing more in sport in our schools, as well as for our elite athletes.'

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Public Schools is pulling the plug on its past investments into sports -- and those were pitty sad to begin with.

Cuban taekwondo athlete banned for life after kicking ref in face - Olympics - CBSSports.com

The coach is not the athlete. Dishing out a lifetime ban to a coach, for the acts of the athlete, is wrong.

Cuban taekwondo athlete banned for life after kicking ref in face - Olympics - CBSSports.com 'This is a strong violation of the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympic Games. The sanctions are the following and are effective immediately: Lifetime ban of the coach and athlete in all championships sanctioned by the (World Taekwondo Federation) and at the same time, all records of this athlete at the Beijing Games will immediately be erased,' said the announcer, reading a WTF release'This is a strong violation of the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympic Games. The sanctions are the following and are effective immediately: Lifetime ban of the coach and athlete in all championships sanctioned by the (World Taekwondo Federation) and at the same time, all records of this athlete at the Beijing Games will immediately be erased,' said the announcer, reading a WTF release.

To re-write history is something that I am not fond of either.