Super Bowl Ads. Let the games begin with a marketing blitz!

Sanjay from Retrevo.com, a product review search engine focused solely on electronics, has a cute tie in to the Super Bowl and buying the right HDTV.

http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2009/01/seven-super-bowl-hdtv-mistakes-you-can-avoid

Favorite podcast, Free Talk Live, gets running mates with network

These guys are expanding in a big way.

Thanks to the AMPlifiers, now FTL is helping promote other great liberty-oriented shows via the Liberty Radio Network! Please help support FTL and Liberty Radio Network by joining AMP at http://amp.freetalklive.com.

Now you can listen to the best liberty-oriented shows on the internet all in one handy live stream! Introducing The Liberty Radio Network - 24/7 streaming of the most recent episodes of great programming like Gardner Goldsmith's Liberty Conspiracy, The Lew Rockwell Show, Freedomain Radio, Antiwar Radio, Complete Liberty, Free Minds Radio, Bureaucrash's Podcrash, and of course, FTL. Plus, you'll also hear live programs originating from our studio in Keene, New Hampshire when they happen! Listen in 64k broadband or 8k dialup at LibertyRadioNetwork.com.

FYI: The Liberty Radio Network streams are in addition to our existing FTL 24/7 streams. If want you want is FTL virtually anytime, just tune in at http://listen.freetalklive.com ! Additionally, we have tweaked our streaming bitrates. Our low bandwidth / dialup stream is now 8 kbps in streaming .mp3 instead of .aac and our broadband stream is now 64 kbps.

If I could only get Ron Morris and these FTL guys hooked up, I'd be in heaven.

Black Pee. No longer red.

Speaken me pirate... black "P," mind ya, yinzers.

Pirates unveil new uniforms for 2009 | pirates.com: NewsThe new black alternate jersey, which will be worn on select home and road games, is adorned with the classic gold 'P' on the left chest. The Pirate 'P' is making a return onto the jersey for the first time in 74 years. It was back in 1935 that a 'P,' which was red and located on the left chest, was last found on the jersey.

School Web Sites -- promises and planning

After my rant in Thursday's email about the Schenley web site that has no information because the district had locked out the school's web masters, I sent an email Friday afternoon to Mark Conner, director of Family and Community Engagement for the PPS district. Mark's office is the one responsible for the Parent Engagement Tuesdays and the Excellence for All Steering committee of which I am one of Schenley's 4 reps.

About 30 minutes after I sent the email, at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, I received a phone call from the PPS. Typical parent of a teenager, when I saw the number on caller id, I had a moment of panic (my son was skiing with the Schenley ski club). As my good Aussie friend always says, "No Worries!" It was Mark Conner who thought a direct phone call would be more efficient than sending emails back and forth. We talked for at least 15 minutes; he listened to my frustrations with the district's horrible communication with parents and told me of the new system that is now ready for use. And of course got me to vounteer to help with the implementation! More meetings?!?!? I don't know if things will be better but at least I truly felt that someone was listening and would try to help.

I am hoping that at the very least we can have a calendar on-line that has ALL school activities. It would be nice to know ahead of time without having to dig through layers on the board web site that there is no volleyball open gym on Wednesday because there is a girls' basketball game. Mr. Conner also said that they will have something to replace the old Dashboard system that will be easier for the teachers to use. Those of us who were at Frick really appreciated the information that was available on dashboard.

Just wanted to share my positive response.
amy moore

We'll celebrate after the fix is live. And, with Dashboard, there was a fix that is now broken again. Dashboard worked in many settings, but not any more. So, this is two steps backwards.

The best thing that could be done with the calendar effort is Google Calendars. The district can use them. They are mission critical, open, free and robust. Each school can have its own calendar. The each parent can subscribe to the calendar from each school. Likewise, central administration should have its own calendar. Then that can be subscribed to as well, if those are interested.

Give edit capabilities to the calendar to dozen of people, from principals, to secretaries, to board members, to teachers, athletic directors and even coaches. Same too with the super-volunteer parents. If they miss-use the calendar, or if they don't use the calendar well, nuke them from user status.

I wish that those on Grant Street and the city's clerk office would use a Google Calendar. I've got a public events calendar. If others want to subscribe to it, feel free. It is at the left hand side of this blog. And, if you'd like to be a contributor / running mate, just comment or send me an email. Then your events can go right into that calendar. But, the best thing might be to open your own calendar and then i can click and copy the events in an easy way into my public calendar.

Mr. Orr of Framingham, Mass, runs up against the man, in an NPO suit

This was shared on E-Democracy.Org public list. Interesting. (Tiny edits by blog editor)

In the sleepy little town of Framingham, Massachusetts, the biggest social service agency (SSA) in the town, sued the town and 13 of its town officials. I'm one of them. This all started in Nov '07. The officials were sued both in their official and in their individual capacities. The suit is available at

http://smog.org/

This town is massively overrun with SSAs and their associated programs. A few raw numbers: Based on population size, by proportion, we should expect to see about 45 programs, 7 agencies and 3 Level 3 sex offenders. Instead we have ~250, 48, and 28, respectively. SMOC is the biggest of the big three in this town and they are a $60M/year operation. They are the ones suing us in Federal Court. (Have you ever heard that old expression, "Don't make a Federal case out of it."?) The suit is totally ridiculous.

Also, a big part of the problem is that SMOC is structured in such a way that they bring people into the town from outside the region. Their clientele is largely based on violent criminals and drug addicts. And, their system is designed with what they call the "Continuum of Care", which keeps their clientele in their programs (and by implication in Framingham) till they die (or until they get better?).

The charges include:
* Conspiracy to create an atmosphere of discrimination against the
handicapped.
* Libel.
* Violation of the Fair Housing laws.

etc...

All news articles since it started are available at

http://frambors.syslang.net/smoc/articles/

So why am I bothering you poor people with this nonsense? I'm one of the people being sued and part of the reason they're going after me is because of the mailing list I run in this town. The list is open to the public, but there is a strong sentiment against the agencies that has been expressed by people, and this includes myself. SMOC would love to shut this list down, the same way that they are demanding that the whole town be placed into receivership.

There's a lot here and I could go on for many hours, but the gist of things as I suspect is relevant to this group is here. And BTW, they're not doing very well. They never expected that we'd actually try to defend ourselves, and because the town's liability policy kicked in, they're being forced to spend about $1 for every $.15 that we spend.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Steven Orr, Framingham

Rec Report hits upon the two guards parable

Love the parable.

Citizens for Legitimate Government: "Imagine two doors, as in Kafka's 'Before the Law.' The first door is guarded by a big bad mean old guard, who says you cannot go into the chamber to confront the law. But, he tells you, if you do get through this door, the one he guards, then you will be confronted by another guard at a second door; this second guard is even more resolved, five times stronger, and more intent on keeping you out than the first guard. This is what the first guard tells you of the second. And the first guard is right.

This is a parable. The first guard is the Republican Party, the Old Garde. This guard will not let you by him, but if you do manage it, you face the real obstacle to change. The second guard represents the Democratic Party, the Avant Garde (from the perspective of the moment). This second guard is the real obstacle to change. This guard has the system's well being at stake every bit as much as does the first guard. Only this guard isn't seen by most people as a guard, because he's only an obstacle if one gets past the first guard, and actually demands to get past him as well, which seldom happens.

Hate the conclusion.

Fishermen and Fishers of Men.

Two Burmese survive month at sea in an ice box - Yahoo! News Two Myanmar fishermen have survived for almost a month in shark-infested waters by floating in a large ice box after their boat sank, rescue officials said.

In other news, the final service at Grace Memorial Presby Church with Johnnie Monroe is today. May his retirement be fruitful and full of peace -- and activities!

Calling for 2 hour delay for Monday, Feb 2

Monday, Feb 2, 2009, Pittsburgh Public Schools should have a two-hour delay. This delay should be announced on Wednesday, at the latest.

Sunday, Feb 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the SuperBowl, of course.

On Monday, Feb 2, a two hour delay would be most welcomed.

By the way, there is no school on Monday and Tuesday of this week. These days were slated to be without students as the yearly calendar was released. They are in-service days.

So, what do you say? Agree? Mr. Roosevelt, make it so.

---

As of Tuesday, we lear that Western Pennsylvania's Eat N’ Park Restaurants Will Close Early On Super Bowl Sunday http://www.wpxi.com/tu/5E8FAMfx3.html

Some notes from Libertarian Party meeting

Dave Powell, Libertarian Party Chair, stated that our priority now should be to recruit candidates for the local elections this coming November. Petitioning to get on the ballot will begin soon.

Dave Eckhardt suggested that we arrange a showing of the movie, IOUSA, for a combined meeting of the Pitt and CMU libertarian groups. He also suggested that we look into speakers for our student chapters since funding may be available from the Leadership Institute. Ron Paul would be a big draw if we could manage to engage him.

Dave Powell reported on the Pa. Ballot Access project. The Voters Choice Act will be reintroduced this session in the state Senate by Senator Fulmer, along with several other cosponsors. It is hoped that more senators can be induced to sign on as cosponsors in order to give the bill more visibility in the legislature.

Dave Eckhardt discussed the latest developments in the effort to demonstrate reliability of the electronic voting machines in Allegheny County. The failure to do so
may be good ammunition for the VCA.

There was some discussion of developing a platform for our chapter that would cover issues in Allegheny County.

Pittsburgh Schools Volunteer For Audit - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Schools Volunteer For Audit - Sports News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh: "But a recent investigation by the Women's Law Project of Southwestern Pennsylvania High Schools found a problem.

'It looks as though two out of three high school athletes in southwestern Pennsylvania are male. And that for every dollar spent on athletics for boys, only 69 cents is spent on athletics for girls,' said Sue Frietsche of the Women's Law Project."

City Parking Authority needs council appointee, Dowd says

City Parking Authority needs council appointee, Dowd says: "'This is hundreds of millions of dollars at question here,' Mr. Dowd said, after sending a letter to Mr. Ravenstahl urging that council be brought into the process. 'You can't make that decision without collaboration, consensus, and without a duly constituted board with clear membership.'

Dowd has a clear mandate to lead the urban youth / recreation committee. We're holding out hope for collaboration and consensus with how to better play with our kids in our public facilities.

Good to poke the mayor with his duty to keep the authorities at full membership.

Sell off the parking authority assets. Liquidate. Don't lease.

Furthermore, let's have retention votes for every authority member. Then we'll have some accountability.

Wheeling Jesuit University freezes tuition

First, YSU does a deal for those in Allegheny County and others in southwestern PA. Now this good news of another local college.

Wheeling Jesuit University freezes tuition: "'Higher learning is a critically important reality in American culture. It's also expensive,' School President the Rev. Julio Giulietti said in a statement. 'Although Wheeling Jesuit University has always tried to keep the seemingly inevitable rise of tuition at an affordable rate, the present national and international financial crisis demands a more radical response.'

Undergraduate tuition is $23,590 per year."

Too bad WJU is NOT eligible for Pittsburgh Promise scholarship money. It would be great if some went there -- from the city -- with Pittsburgh Promise funds.

Do an extra assignment

I posted, again, at the PureReform blog in the wake of a discussion about NCLB (No Child Left Behind).

You know, if the tools in NCLB have measures and benchmarks that are not 'just' nor 'accurate' -- and I think this might be spot on -- then why not issue another, better, more insightful report card and measurement stick with the corresponding tic marks.

Do another report card.

Sure, you gotta do what the NCLB forumla requires, if you want to dance that dance. Understood.

But, great leaders would go above and beyond. They could make their own data open and assign ways to measure and report those facts.

I hear a lot of moans -- but -- the proof is in the performance and the story that can be delivered and supported by the paid leadership of the district.

Sure, pull out the special ed folks. Put them on a different scale. Then what?

Life and our schools are an open book test. Do the homework. Then, do an extra assignment. Go above and beyond. Make challenges that greatly exceed what is required.

Instant Message to Marty Griffin

The Fed dollars that pays for the tunnel under the Allegheny River for light-rail to the stadiums is still OUR MONEY. It comes from the pocket, wallet or purse -- local, state or feds -- but it is still, all of it, OUR MONEY.

Don't build the tunnel because as a FEDERAL taxpayer, it is a waste of money.

Better things can be done with government money.

To win the 'shut it down fight' -- you'll need to get NATIONAL advocates to help. Those in Iowa, Alaska, Calif, Florida, etc., need to help put a fork in it for the benefit of the locals because the local politicians are too drunk to refuse PORK, even worthless PORK.

Pittsburgh Hoagie covers candidate Q&A: Georgia

Three cheers to Matt Hogue for getting insights from candidates in the special election for city council district 2 out into the view of others. Well done Matt. Keep up the great work on your blog.

Now, let's take a look at the statements from Georgia.

Pittsburgh Hoagie: All meat no filler: "Pittsburgh City Council candidate Georgia Blotzer was gracious enough to answer some questions about his campaign."

My replies to her answers. I've reposted these remarks from the comments at Matt's blog. Go there to sustain the conversation, please.

---

Thanks for taking a lead on these Q&As. Wonderful.

My $.02 replies to her remarks follow.

Those interested in responsible and sustainable development should be "developers" in the private sector. You can't do -- it is impossible -- development from the public sector. Those that want to do that need to be embraced in the private sector and disgraced if they dare step within the public / elected world.

When the policitians become the developers, then the developers begin to write the laws.

The way to structure development is to leave it alone within the realm of gov and insure that gov is fair, just, trusted, honest, open. Care -- but never dabble (gov folks).

Once the foundation is provided with gov -- then private money will arrive, without the bribes.

A land-tax policy would do the most to end vacant and abandoned property. That should be the long range plan.

In 5 and 10 years, I want my community to look like things that are hard to visualize -- because it needs to be free and smart. Looks are skin deep. Beijing was spotless in August 2008. I do want that litter control, but not the associated acts of repression.

A BBI overhaul = good thing. Okay answer.

Good to have candidates standing for office.

I don't want people to support needs of the residents of Dist 2 -- unless those needs are about freedom, liberties and constitutional elements. The 'selfishness' of our politicians causes the over-reaching crap that we are swamped by now.

Why didn't the #1 campaign finance reform reformer speak when the issue was before council twice (if not dozens of times) in the past?

Be beholden to concepts of freedom and justice -- not your union card and diploma.

Penn Hills linebacker Mason picks Pitt

Humm...

Penn Hills linebacker Mason picks Pitt: "'The main thing is that I was real comfortable with the coaches at Pitt,' he said. 'They have been recruiting me for three years and I've had a great relationship with all those guys. I took my time with this decision because I wanted to have no doubt and I have no doubt. I know that Pitt is the right place for me.'

School news with Schenley and Frick

Frick PSCC
To help with the transition to the combined schools in the Reizenstein building, Mrs. Facaros plans to invite the Frick PSCC to the Schenley PSCC meeting to be held on April 15, 2009. On April 3, which is scheduled as a half-day, the Frick teachers and staff will be invited to the Reizenstein building to view facilities. The building will be off-limits during the summer while construction/maintenance/repairs/adaptations are completed. In May, the Schenley PSCC meeting will be held at Frick.

4Sight testing has been rescheduled for Jan. 29, 2009. Senior IB students who are registered to take the IB diploma are asked to report to school by 8:00 am. The students will have an opportunity to work on programme requirements. All other seniors should report to the library to work on college aps, FAFSA forms, grad projects. If a senior is not at school by 8 am, arrival time should be 10:45 so as to not disrupt testing.

Feb. 5 -- Winter Concert and FAFSA Workshop--details for the concert will be given later. The FAFSA workshop is sponsored by NEED and is a hands-on session to complete the required financial aid forms for nearly all colleges.

Tech use -- A possible topic for future PSCC meetings is the use and/or abuse of technology at the school. The meeting would cover cyber bullying, text messaging, LOUD mp3s among other subjects.

Prom -- The prom is a privilege not a right.

CHANGE OF SCHEDULE FOR 2ND SEMESTER -- It became obvious early in the school year that the activity period as scheduled was not working. More planning and coordination was needed to provide meaningful activities for students. For the remainder of the school year, most students will report to their period 9 class and will remain there until the end of the day (84 minutes). Students will be required to have a written pass to go to another teacher/classroom for tutoring or activities. (Three classes could not be rescheduled and will continue to meet 10th period--chorus, health, and ???).

PLAY PRACTICE --A bus leaves Reizenstein at 5 pm to take the students to Peabody for play practice. Approximately 45 kids take the bus. Sorry, I didn't get the title of the play or any details but it is supposed to be Shakespeare set to music. As soon as I get more details, I will send them because the Schenley musical is ALWAYS a highlight of the school year.

PEABODY --A parent asked what the current plans are regarding Peabody and the students currently attending there. Mr. Huber who was on the site selection committee for the IB school said that Peabody was a unanimous selection of the committee. (I don't know what other sites were considered but Westinghouse, although beautiful facilities is not accessible to magnet students by bus and Reizenstein would cost too much money to adapt for continued use as a high school). The board has not yet voted on the selection. Data has shown that only 25% of students in the Peabody feeder pattern actually attend the school and the building is seriously underutilized. No plans have yet been announced for the placement of the remaining students if the school does get approved for the IB school.

WEB SITE -- The district is continuing to upgrade the website and coordinate all information. At this time each individual school is prevented from adding any information except the daily bulletin. The school calendar is controlled by the district which means there is NO useful information on the calendar, except for district wide dates.

If you have been reading my emails over the past 4 years or attended any meetings with me, you know that the lack of communication has been one of my biggest gripes. This is the computer age!!!! It is absolutely ridiculous that a school district the size of Pittsburgh cannot get this right. Parent Engagement is a nice catchy phrase but it is hard to be engaged when you have such difficulty getting information. I know that there are many things that we cannot change due to money issues but this is something that would not take much money to fix and would go a long way toward making parents feel engaged. Please call the Parent Hotline and ask when the system will be fully functioning.

Parent Hotline: 412-622-7920


COLLEGE FAIR -- This was not mentioned at the meeting but the date is coming very soon. On Feb 5, 2009, from 9-1 and 6-9, and Feb 6, from 9-12 at the convention center is the NACAC College Fair. Students beginning their college search might find some useful information (http://www.nacacnet.org/EventsTraining/CollegeFairs/ncf/Spring/Pages/PittsburghNCF.aspx)

REMINDER:

Today, Jan. 22, Financial Aid Night at Reizenstein Library. 6-8 PM in the cafetorium.

Feb. 5, FAFSA Parent Night, 6-8 PM in room 144

11th Grade PSSA Preparation, Saturday sessions beginning Jan. 31. Incentives will be given to participants.

Feb 18, IB parent meeting at 5 pm., PSCC meeting at 6 pm., in the library.
Feb 25., parent meeting for current 10th grade students considering IB.

Lots of information. If you have any additions, corrections, or questions, please email, Amy Moore.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Obama speech censored in China

Interesting. Read the full article.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Obama speech censored in China 'To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history,' the president said.

Once again, Xinhua included the passage in full in its English version, but the sentence was taken out of the Chinese translation.

Similar changes were made to versions of the speech that appeared on other websites based in China.

And websites were not the only media organisations that struggled to report some of the comments made by President Obama.

China Central Television, the country's main broadcaster, aired the speech live with a simultaneous Chinese translation.

But when the translator got to the part where President Obama talked about facing down communism, her voice suddenly faded away.

The programme suddenly cut back to the studio, where an off-guard presenter had to quickly ask a guest a question.

Censoring sensitive news reports is nothing new in China, where officials go to great lengths to cut critical material.

No bailout, no connector, agency says - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Shut it down.

No bailout, no connector, agency says - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "unforeseen costs added $117.8 million to the North Shore Connector's $435 million price tag and threaten to shut down the project without a bailout from a proposed federal economic stimulus package.

Education: Board members waiting on CEP progress reports - News - News - Pittsburgh City Paper - Pittsburgh

Coverage in the City Paper about schools.

Education: Board members waiting on CEP progress reports - News - News - Pittsburgh City Paper - Pittsburgh: "Since the start of the 2007-08 school year, Community Education Partners (CEP) -- a private, Nashville-based alternative education company -- has been in charge of educating the city district's most academically and behaviorally challenged 6-12th-grade students.

Perhaps the high jumps in test scores are from the low starting point.

It amazes me that the elected board members are kept in the dark and allow that to linger. The board is fine in allowing little or no news to reach them. That type of oversight is what is killing this region. I want elected board members to be accountable and I want them to be holding others accountable. I want them to be the ones who hold the light high for all to see what's going on in our agencies and institutions. They have to carry the torch. It has to burn bright. And, they've got to do their jobs well.

Finger wagging isn't the same as lighting a torch and holding it high. Be ready to expose and flame as needed, PPS Board. Enough is enough. If you don't have the numbers and scores and a clear understanding of the methods used, in our schools, then fix it. Find out. Don't let them stonewall you -- nor us. Otherwise, you're just a puppet to the administration and this is the proof.