Some road closings start tonight for Great Race

Tell me why some of the roads need to be closed on Friday at 7 pm for a race that happens on Sunday at 8 am. That is silly.

Image from the new Mark Rauterkus public domain photo album called signs.

The races should be able to happen without such a choke hold on the neighborhoods. If a driver screws up in a race zone, it should be double the fines, such as with a 'construction zone.' Then they can close the road at 6 am and get along just fine.

Some road closings start tonight for Great Race Some road closings will begin tonight in advance of the 29th running of the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race on Sunday morning.

The Finish Line area, located at Penn Avenue and Liberty Avenue between Stanwix Street and Commonwealth Place and Stanwix Street between Penn Avenue and Liberty Avenue, will close at 7 p.m. today and will remain closed until 3 p.m. Sunday.

Better yet, and this was the case with the now defunct Pittsburgh Marathon, don't run the race on the roads. Move a good portion of the race off of the roads, then things go much more smoothly.

The Pittsburgh Marathon was designed to snarl traffic. It needed way to many police officers, on bonus pay. It needed too many road blocks. It was a major road nightmare. Many of the churches had trouble too.

We should hold a marathon in this city -- and not utilize the roads but when necessary. Then use only a bit of the roads so as to night tie up major roads from start to finish.

Run the race down the busway. Run the race on a river path. Run a race in a park. Run a race on Sarah Street -- not East Carson Street. Run a race in an out-and-back fashion too. Or, run the race in loops.

Candidates full of suggestions

Flashback from March, 2006:

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The P-G covered the city council race in a news story today (Monday).

A couple of points to note follow:

Candidates for Ricciardi's City Council seat full of suggestions For instance, how about having residents dial 311 to report nonemergency problems that police would handle during lulls in the 911 calls? That idea comes from Mark Rauterkus, a swim coach from the South Side Flats who ran for mayor as a Republican but is now a Libertarian.

It is funny to see the Neville Ice Arena mention as I'll be putting out a press release on that shortly.

The lead about a "lot of interesting ideas" is on target for what I've been trying to bring to the election and campaign. Many of my ideas have even started to take root within the words of the other candidates.

For example, Krane had NOTHING to say about kids until this meeting with the P-G. He was silent on the most pressing topic within the city. Krane woke up on this, finally, and that is always a good thing. But, I think he is still clueless on how to engage kids -- because it isn't about giving the kids $100 check books.

... end snip ...

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This is a happy moment -- where the "I told you so" comes true on a POSITIVE side.

Today's P-G (9-22-06) had this bit of insight:
Ravenstahl holds course on city budget

Ravenstahl holds course on city budget The plan includes $120,000 to create a new problem line, similar to the existing 911 emergency phone number, that would be in operation within months.

'Whether it's a pothole that needs patched, whether it's a tree that fell across the road, whether it's a street that needs salted, [residents] can dial 311,' said Mr. Ravenstahl, and the complaint will be routed to the proper department.

Then the next idea is about 'technology' being put in with the building inspectors.

I often hit my head against a wall. I often put out new ideas that don't get picked up after I say them, when it comes to city government especially. However, there are times when things that are blabbed about do get planted, like seeds, and spring to life in other times.

Time does tell.

It is great to see Luke is moving forward on the 311 project. It will be welcomed.

Democracy Rising News

Special report on the PA Court: "YES" to the pay-jacking
DR News - June 28, 2006: "The PA Supreme Court today:

* upheld the way the pay raise was passed;

* declared “unvouchered expenses” to be unconstitutional but allowed lawmakers to keep them – and the higher pensions resulting from them; and

* declared the non-severability clause “unenforceable,” thereby upholding the pay raise for some 1,200 judges throughout the state and local judicial system – including back pay to the date the pay raise was repealed last November.

This is a conspicuously bad decision by a court that has conspicuous contempt for citizens....

Cyberspace invaders seek votes - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Cyberspace invaders seek votes - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Calling David Conti.... I tried to find your myspace page, to be sure you have had at least ONE friend by now. But, I couldn't locate your page on myspace. You could make me a friend.

http://www.myspace.com/rauterkus

Creative uses key to Market Square's appeal

P-G article: Creative uses key to Market Square's appeal

If you really want to be creative as to what happens in other urban park settings, and I think we should, take a look at a slice of video I just uploaded.

They say that Market Square should have ten activites. Well, this could and should be one. Look at the gathering of the people.

It is from People's Park, Chengdu.

http://blip.tv/file/get/Rauterkus-PeoplesParkInChengdu343.MPG

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People's Park in Chengdu

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Here is another activity that should happen at Market Square, going to the art tykes.

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Or, the same video that has been uploaded to Blip.TV, but with a different opening icon/image.

Buckets of water

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Put in benches in Market Square.

However, the trend has been to take benches away from neighborhoods. They have ordered benches to be removed because people sit on them. People then stay planted for too long. So, they yank the benches. Seniors need benches to sit on an rest while taking walks. Parents and babies and tykes need benches too. These benches in the photo are from Ocean Park in Hong Kong. They are attractive -- yet not so soft for your bottom.

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Post newspapers.

Reading the newspapers that are posted in public spaces, like at bus stops, would make for interesting community spaces. Plenty of interactive web based ideas were dished at the Idea Round Up. How about a few simple, carbon based ideas first. If the City Paper or Trib PM came out like this, around town, they'd not need to litter the streets with so much paper.

Peek at my first photo collection, called 'hex'

From hex

Downsize Violence. No Torture

T. E. and Catherine, (my wife).
We were walking out of a soccer match at the stadium in Chengdu, China.

My wife, Catherine, was upset this week. She was upset because of a political matter no less. Understand this fact of life with my wife: Catherine never gets upset on matters of politics. Of course she'd have to be that way as she's married to me. I think you all get the picture. Well, the political frustration comes because the USA's President wants to set a policy to allow torture. This is upsetting.

I seldom mention my wife in this blog. She gets props (posts here) for getting press coverage and showing up in a family photo as we've been out and about. But, all-in-all, this comes as an exception. This one is a biggie -- with her and, of course, with me too.

This organization in DC did a fine job with its email blast on the topic. It is repeated and worthy. Most of all, actions on your part are welcomed.

Human Rights Watch needed a grassroots organization to fight an evil bill in Congress. They called on us. We are happy to oblige, because the evil is great, and requires urgent action from YOU.

The whole world is going insane.

* When someone implies that Islam may be rooted in Violence, Muslims the world over "rebut" this criticism by committing Violence!
* Here at home politicians say the Islamists want to destroy our Freedom and the politicians "rebut" this threat by destroying our Freedom!

The antidote to this insanity is YOU. You must keep your head while others are losing theirs. And you must also be resolute, firm, and direct. Toward that end . . .

We are going to be blunt in this message. We are going to put aside our usual reticence about naming names in order to avoid pointless partisan divisions and offending deeply entrenched loyalties to personalities. The crimes involved are too great. We mus t, like Emile Zola in the Dreyfuss Affair in 19th Century France, stand up, and point, and shout: "I accuse!"

The President of the United States wants to legalize torture. The President wants to create "Star Chamber" courts. These are war crimes. They are crimes against humanity. They are crimes against our heritage and our Constitution. They are being done in your name. And they endanger your future.

President Bush wants legislation that would empower the federal government to . . .

* Arrest non-citizen U.S. residents accused of terrorist involvement as "unlawful enemy combatants."
* Arrest non-citizens for contributing to charities linked to militant groups.
* Charge, try, convict, and punish people based on evidence they have never seen, and cannot rebut. (Such courts are called "Star Chambers," and they are a stain on the history of the human race.)
* Prohibit the accused from challe nging the lawfulness of their detention before an independent court.
* Hold people in military prison for life, without ever telling them the cause of their detention.
* Subject detainees to cruel and unusual punishment.
* Use evidence collected through torture to secure convictions.
* Redefine the War Powers Act to grant torturers "Get Out of Jail Free" cards.

On the Background page for our campaign against this legislation you will find links to letters from two Generals who are former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They oppose these new federal powers. They know these powers will do nothing to defend us. Instead, these new powers will only endanger us.

* They will create new enemies.
* They will put our troops at increased risk of torture, now and in the future.
* They will stain America's reputation forever.

The reasons for this are perfectly clear . . .

* Information gained throug h torture is useless. Victims of torture will say anything to stop the pain.
* Convictions rendered by "Star Chambers" are baseless. We cannot know who is guilty unless we test the evidence using due process. "Star Chamber" courts will prohibit us from knowing if we have convicted the guilty or the innocent. But . . .
* If we do this, WE will stand convicted in the eyes of the world and of history, and we WILL be guilty.
* And we will move millions who now bear us no ill will into opposition against us.

I could go on -- and on and on and on. But what I've said here should be enough to get you moving (I hope). So I only need to inform you of two more things . . .

First, Congress likes to fight evil with a lesser evil. The lesser evil in this case is a bill from Senators Warner and McCain that would eliminate legalized torture and "Star Chamber" courts, but it would still create special tribunals. We don't ne ed these either. The Geneva Convention, the federal courts, and the Uniform Code of Military justice have served us well in the past against enemies far more terrifying than the Islamic terrorists. But . . .

If the busy-bodies in Congress simply must pass something, they should pass the Warner-McCain bill. Our message to Congress for this campaign is carefully crafted with this in mind.

Second, we need to be bigger. Our government is out of control. We need the size and visibility to wack Congress up side the head with a metaphorical two-by-four whenever necessary. Only you can make this happen by contributing to make it happen.

(Go to their site, DownsizeDC.org, to click and send messages to the Congress.)

Now, go forth and fight evil. If you won't, who will?

Jim Babka, President, DownsizeDC.org

Now what are you waiting for....

5th candidate joins race for mayor's former seat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

5th candidate joins race for mayor's former seat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The Allegheny County Democratic Committee has scheduled a public candidate forum for 7 tonight at Brighton McClure Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Benton and Brighton Avenues on the North Side.

The committee plans to nominate a candidate Saturday.

The deadline for putting in paperwork for getting on the ballot as a Libertarian for the city council special election on Nov 7, 2006, to fill Luke's old seat, is MONDAY.

O'Connor and Motorsports News

Shifting it into high gear....

WhoWon.com ... The Internet Source for Motorsports News and Information O’Connor to Grand Marshall 18th Annual Pittsburgher

by Judy Gower, Dow Carnahan

IMPERIAL, Pa. -- The son of late Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor will be the Grand Marshall at the 18th Annual “Pittsburgher 100” this Saturday, September 23rd at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. This prestigious event is the highest paying race for the World of Outlaws Late Models series in 2006.

The O’Connor name has long been synonymous with stock car racing in Western Pennsylvania. Bob O’Connor’s uncle, Buddy O’Connor, was champion of the Pittsburgh Racing Association in 1954 and 1966, and was honored by the Dapper Dan Club of Pittsburgh those same years. One of the many tracks Buddy O’Connor competed at was the former Heidelberg Raceway. Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, near Imperial, is nearly a mirror image of Heidelberg with the same light standards, grandstands, and press box.

When Bob O’Connor was growing up, he and his family would often attend the area speedways to cheer on his Uncle Buddy. Bob was very instrumental in getting racing memorabilia displayed at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. Some of those items are from Buddy O’Connor’s racing career.

“Western Pennsylvania lost a great man with Bob O’Connor’s recent passing”, said Miley Motorsports President Red Miley. “We are very pleased that Corey and other members of the O’Connor family can be with us this weekend for our premier event.”

Preliminary events including time trials and heat races are scheduled for Friday night with the “Pittsburgher 100” and other features set for Saturday night. Race time both nights is 7pm. For more information, visit the speedway website – www.ppms.com or call (412) 279-RACE.

Then on Sunday, there is "The Great Race."

Prestige, glitter, going fast, awards.

Stephen Pietzak's words against the moving of the FIRST Carnegie Library out of its historic home on the North Side

The resident, Stephen P., speaks from experience in a common-sense desire save a historic building's use in a valued spot in the city. City Council could and should move to tell the URA, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the world, and the North Side that those acts are not going to occur. And, City Council has the power to prevent such a move from happening.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Regional Library: The Best Site Is Where It’s Located Now

I’m Steve Pietzak, resident of the South Side Slopes. I was main Reference Librarian at Allegheny Regional Library for 13 years.

Why keep Allegheny Regional Library at its present location?

The present location of the Allegheny Regional is in the heart of the North Side. It is easily accessible by most communities to the North, South, East, and West. The Library is the closest large branch to downtown Pittsburgh. The Allegheny Library is on the way to ANY location on the North Side. It HAS LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Allegheny Regional Library is the first PUBLICLY SUPPORTED ANDREW CARNEGIE LIBRARY IN THE U.S. Some visitors to the City of Pittsburgh come to see the start of Andrew Carnegie’s Libraries, with more than 2,600 Libraries given to the World by Andrew Carnegie. Any major city would relish the "Cradle of Andrew Carnegie Public Libraries," and preserve, save and enhance this Library as a "Historical Time Marker."

The Allegheny Regional Library was so important to Carnegie that he invited U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, (along with Senators, Congressmen and the Governor) to come and dedicate the Allegheny Library on February 20, 1890.

The Allegheny Library is a very good and sturdy Library Building. The Library was designed and built by Smithmeyer and Pelz, the architects of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. If the Allegheny Branch is considered to be a poor design, then we should also consider abandoning the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., as a poor design.

The $20 Million mentioned as the price of Renovation is a "Rolls Royce" price to pay for renovation. The Carnegie Library Managers should obtain bids from 3 reliable architects to meet the moderate needs of the Library, and not the exquisite ‘Rolls Royce"needs.

Some decisions have to go past the "BUSINESS SENSE," and must take into consideration historical importance, heritage importance, and importance to the community and to the city.

Allegheny Library could be made into a showcase for the City of Pittsburgh. With the New Heinz Field and PNC Park in close proximity to the Allegheny Library—IT MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE AND HISTORICAL SENSE TO TURN THE LIBRARY INTO A SHOWCASE FOR THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH -- To showcase to the World that we care about our History, our Heritage and our Libraries!

The New Proposed Allegheny Library site at 1200 Federal Street will ISOLATE the Library even further than it is now! This new location will NOT BE on the way to anything for most North Siders and it begs SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS.

The Allegheny Library is the last important historical vestige Of "Old Allegheny City" and Pittsburgh—IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONNECT OUR PAST, WITH OUR PRESENT TO OUR FUTURE!

Let future generations say that this was "OUR FINEST HOUR"—to save the "1st Publicly supported Andrew Carnegie Library in the United States" as a Public Library.

Sincerely,

Stephen Pietzak

I agree fully with Stephen. The North Side Library should stay in the building it is in presently. They should do a fix-up of the existing site using insurance money. They should NOT move away from the site. And, the URA should NOT sell land for $1 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for a new location for the North Side Branch.

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Glenn A. Walsh presented to City Council too. See and hear his opinions by clicking the YouTube scree below (best viewed at 160x112 resolution).

All the images in my blog of Thailand are put into the public domain.

Dudes like this, and this size, might not back down.

Friendly American tourists. And they are friendly to Americans, presently and through history.


Changing of the guard.


Various uniforms and weapons from the ages are on display.


Do you think someone is getting boxed in a corner in Thailand this very moment?

TV trucks would be parked here, if this was the states.

Better view of the guard, on the other side of the moat. Bangkok style. We're all used to security.

This is a moat. The pathway isn't for bikes, but for guards.


These are not parade grounds, but a fleet of tanks could park on the grass if necessary.


Fixing an offering.

He's watching. Don't speed. That circle thing isn't a target.

Details, details, details.

Stone guard in Bangkok's palace.

Changing of the guard, in Bangkok.

The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat smells a budget in the oven

The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat The department of Finance is also estimating revenue from the Casino at 'eleventy zillion, bagillion dollars,' although with a note that they may be overestimating the amount slightly.

Bob's Bean | Engage Pittsburgh

Bob's Bean | Engage Pittsburgh Follow Bob into communities: traveling civic coffee truck and net cafe

Vote for this and give it a "10" -- if you please.
Classroom look.

Two power-hitters in idea generation. C and L.

UnNews:Thailand now 60% "less funny" - Uncyclopedia

Humor me.

UnNews:Thailand now 60% "less funny" - Uncyclopedia BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand is now 60% less funny than it was the day before yesterday, according to the Swedish Institute for Rating Amusing Countries. Before the military takeover, the country was given 'Fairly Amusing' status. That has now officially dropped to the level 'Only Makes us Kind of go 'Phnuh...''. The new military leaders have not helped matters by announcing that everyone in the country must now wear a tie, have a haircut and get a proper job. On the other hand, according to SIRAC, Army chief Sargeant Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin has a fairly amusing name, so this might be an optimistic sign.

Picasa 2 Release Notes

Picasa 2 Release Notes Share photos online
Upload photos to Picasa Web Albums for easy sharing on the web. Select the photos you want in Picasa and upload them to the web by clicking the 'Web Album' button. When viewing your friends' albums online, you can even download them right back into Picasa on your own computer.

Political unrest and the role of the artist as activist

CMU's College of Fine Arts email blast has details of an ARTIST TALK with Joyce Kozloff and Ann Messner for Friday, September 22, 5:30 p.m.

Kozloff and Messner will talk about "Disarming Images," political unrest, the role of the artist as activist, and related issues in the gallery. Messner is the creative director of the video, as well as an adjunct at Pratt Institute, and has recently held positions at the Council of Humanities at Princeton University, Amherst College and Harvard University.

All events and exhibitions at the gallery are free and open to the public.

Images of Thailand from our past trip

Masks of wood


Decorations


Carvings


Craftwork


Baskets


Drive Thru in boats


Floating market


Vase


Elephants


Fan


Mixing paints


Book ends


Footwear


Lamps

Marionettes

Creepy, spiders, butterflies.

Parking lot sales kids with postcards. The tour buses are filled with potential customers.

Thailand photos -- all for the public domain

Guards in Thailand.

(Click any image to get a larger view.)

Because They Can.... by Russ Diamond

Red flags should go up anytime a Court requires one hundred pages to explain its position, and the recent opinion by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the 2005 pay raise fiasco is no exception.

The case was unusual in its origin, as the Court reached down to combine three separate cases from lower courts for an opportunity to make a general legal opinion. One case challenged the constitutionality of the pay raise itself, while two others challenged the constitutionality of its repeal.

This combination allowed the Court to cherry pick arguments from briefs filed on behalf of many different parties in each case in order to form its eventual ruling. One wonders whether the Court would have made such a move had their own compensation not been at stake.

Logic would dictate that if the pay raise itself was unconstitutional, any issue regarding its repeal would be moot. But the Court approached it differently, establishing opinions regarding the repeal first, based upon the assumption that the pay raise was constitutional. Doing it any other way would not have allowed the preservation of the judicial raises.

While the opinion goes to great lengths to explain the necessity for an independent judiciary and demands that the other two co-equal branches of government be kept from stepping on judicial turf, it offers no reciprocal respect of the legislature’s prerogative to make a bill an ‘all or nothing’ affair by inserting a non- severability clause.

Another contradiction lies with the Court’s willingness to revisit its original ruling on unvouchered expenses, while on the other hand considering its 2005 opinion regarding legislative shenanigans with the slots bill to be rock-solid precedent. In other words, it’s acceptable to correct a twenty year old mistake but unacceptable to do the same for a decision made just last year.

The biggest insult to our intelligence, however, is the Court’s claim that it had nothing to do with the original pay raise legislation. Published reports from as early as November 2004 mention Chief Justice Ralph Cappy’s overtures to the legislature for a judicial pay raise.

The opinion opens with an explanation of the political implications of the pay raise and an account of the public fallout, including the first-ever non-retention of one of its own last year. With this in mind, the fact that the lone dissenter to this opinion is the very next justice up for retention in 2007 comes as no surprise.

The timing of this ruling raises questions as well. Is its release less than seven weeks before a general election an indication that the Court wished to ‘stick it’ to the legislature in return for botching pay raises for the judiciary? The emphasis on protecting judicial turf lends credence to the notion, as does the fact that public anti-pay raise furor has otherwise taken a hiatus of late.

In legalese, the Court needed one hundred pages to delineate why they restored their own pay raises, but in plain English it takes only three words: Because they can. This should come as no surprise to citizens who regularly follow the Court’s slicing and dicing of the Constitution’s plain language.

The usual follow-up to the brazen ‘because we can’ position is an equally arrogant question: So waddaya gonna do about it? The Court’s opinion actually hints at the answer.

“In our democratic form of government, there are other methods, besides lawsuits, which may serve as a corrective tool for legislative excesses, the primary method being the political process. This case has borne out the effectiveness of that process,” the Court notes.

The opinion fails to mention, however, that the same option is available to address judicial excesses. Pennsylvanians who wish to regain control of their government should choose to not retain members of the judiciary at future elections, following the precedent set last year with Russell Nigro.

Not just because we can, but also because it’s the right thing to do.

Experience the Evolution

The Penguins have a new slogan for its season: Experience the Evolution.

I like it. Well done. It works for me.

Plenty of fun images could be used with this slogan. Imagine a pre-historic man drawn with long arms that nearly drag on the ground, hunched back, and hockey gloves.

Then take the dated images of the evolution of man, from ape to uprigt, and outfit an entire team of players -- perhaps as they take the ice -- and blur into a guy in a crouched skating position showing speed -- but also to remind of the non-upright, being at the early end of the chain / timeline.

Brash bemoans publicity of private life - New Zealand

Brash bemoans publicity of private life - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz The suggestion is crap. I have always made a point of telling the New Zealand public what my policies are and what I stand for in a policy sense. I've never held myself up as a morals campaigner.'

Not only am I trying to get a grip on video blogging and my associated mulit-media archives, I'm excited to tune into more news and research into life in New Zealand.

This dude with a great name, "Brash", has a great answer, "The suggestion is crap" when asked about the news of his afair.

Calling HTML and Blogger code angles

Before I retire to watch the Steelers on Monday Night Football, I'm asking for a little help.

Q#1: I'd love to embed the video from Blip.TV into the blog postings. What is the right code to make that happen?

With YouTube, they give a handy code snip for cut and paste to embed the player.

But, ...

Q#2: With YouTube, how do you manage the size of the object window so that the videos don't get too big and look so fuzzy. You'll see on my video, often taken with a Sony digital camera, that I'm able to get rather small, postage sized video clips. But, when they come into the web via YouTube, the frame gets larger and the imgages look rather ugly.

Are there some code tips or settings that can be managed in YouTube to get smaller reditions -- or accurate renditions of videos uploaded there?

I did touch up the object pixel size in the one video below, but it didn't change anything. Perhaps because my cache wasn't cleared?

Thanks in advance.

New Hazlett Theater Opening Celebration - PittsburghLIVE.com

Splendid news. Wish I could have gone. I'd love to see this place washed in digital photos and a walking tour video blog.

New Hazlett Theater Opening Celebration - PittsburghLIVE.com: "New Hazlett Theater Opening Celebration

Family photo at The Great Wall. 

New photos and videos are perking and moving online this week.

Photos in a video format are headed to my new video blog site. See the link along the left side of the screen. Panda photos are already there. Much more to come. You might want to get that page, Rauterkus.Blip.TV, and subscribe yourself to one of the various RSS feeds available there. Photo show me at The Great Wall. It isn't ADA accessible.

Humm... I wonder. Can PghBloggers be made a subscriber to my RSS fee at Blip.TV?

On Religion: What sort of end will Harry Potter meet? | naplesnews.com | Naples Daily News

Pondering Heros.... and Harry Potter:

On Religion: What sort of end will Harry Potter meet? | naplesnews.com | Naples Daily News “A hero is not perfect. In fact, his flaws are part of what make him great,” said Tobias, pastor of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church outside Pittsburgh. “By the end of a story like this one, the hero has simply become too big to remain in this world. This kind of hero is born for a purpose and he dies for a purpose.”

Surveying the mayoral landscape .... poorly

Surveying the mayoral landscape - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Surveying the mayoral landscape

Joe Sabino Mistick article on the mayor landscape is a blunder of the highest order. This isn't a survey with any sense of truth. It is typical of Pittsburgh's media blunders and why we need a vibant internet and blogger network to point out the failure in their ways.

To begin, Les Ludwig, everyone's favorite, is NOT going to run. I talked to Les this week. Les has three important programs on his front burner presently. All have big implications and are very cost friendly to the city's and county's landscape. But, as exepcted, these projects are not getting the traction they need.

Joe Sabino Mistick should talk with Les about his proposals for his next article rather than put his name in as a mayor candidate. Then when the new proposals are put into the mainstream media, we'll have something good to talk about.

It is not too early to count Les out -- but -- do look at the ideas behind the past candidate next.

Sure, Peduto and Lamb and Ravenstahl are obvious picks.

But what of Joe Weinroth, the Republican.

What of Green candidate Titus North? Titus got the votes of my wife, my mother-in-law and my director of research in the last general election.

Joe wants to ponder, poorly, the elections of the future when dates are still unknown, but won't talk about the present. Titus North is running for US Congress and wants to be on the November 7, 2006 ballot. Why don't you do a real landscape review and talk about him.

Titus North, if he gets on the ballot, could get more votes for US Congress in 2006 than Peduto got for mayor in 2005.

Then there is this crap about James C. Roddey. He doesn't even live in the city Joe. Why not mention Lynn Swann. Perhaps he should be mentioned too.

Oh, and for Dan Onorato, our county executive, why stop there?

Let's wish for Fast Eddie Rendell to come back and be both Governor and Mayor of Pittsburgh.

Hell, let's vote for the departed Bishop to be both Mayor and the leader of the Arch-Dioceses of DC. Perhaps he didn't change is voter identification card. And, I'm sure that they could leave a light on for him at St. Paul's Seminary if he really needed to establish residence, still within the city.

Finally there is the 'keep the powder dry' part. Like this is 'war.' Give us a break. We have elections in this society so we don't need to go to war. But the media is bent on making these democratic funcitions everything that they are not. Elections are simple. Democracy is messy. The media gets is wrong, repeatedly, here in Pittsburgh. Hence, it is no wonder we get what we got.

I like to use another slogan. In war, the first casualty is the truth. Thanks, but no thanks to Joe Sabino Mistick, for proving this heartbreaking point, again, as we talk about the mayor's race due in 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009.

If you want to survey the landscape, then survey the landscape. Perhaps the headline should be about celebs instead.

Psst.... Ever hear of Jack Wagner and Jim Ferlo?

Alabama bayou getting some expert advice on Katrina rebuilding

Alabama bayou getting some expert advice on Katrina rebuilding BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. A panel of experts whose Hurricane Katrina rebuilding advice upset some New Orleanians will focus on Bayou La Batre's storm recovery in a weeklong visit.

Arriving tomorrow (Sunday) night, a 10-member panel from the Washington, DC-based Urban Land Institute brings a range of expertise, including developers, architects, market analysts, and urban planners.

The panel includes former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and former U-L-I Chairman Smedes York of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The panelists will interview about 70 people on Tuesday about the bayou's future and rebuilding efforts before spending Wednesday and Thursday preparing their presentation for delivery Friday morning at Bayou La Batre Community Center.

OMG. Run.

Talk about being irresponsible...

Blip.tv and some Rauterkus videos and Panda images

Check out the first videos to my new BLIP.TV site. My Profile - blip.tv (beta) Rauterkus' video blog

More is on the way. I've got other videos at YouTube.com/rauterkus. But the YouTube has a 100 meg limit per upload. The Panda photo slide thingie -- no audio -- was too large for there, but fit at Blip.TV.

Reactions welcomed.

Transit hearings on possible fare increases shift into reverse

Don't do today what can be put off until tomorrow. Create a real crisis at the last minute. No sense in planning for one in advance. What was delayed with last-minute band-aids in the past year(s) can wait again for more band-aids.

Transit hearings on possible fare increases shift into reverse State and Allegheny County officials have asked the Port Authority to hold off on public hearings on a possible fare increase and service cuts until a state commission finishes its report on long-term transportation funding.

Don't you hate it when you see the county executive say -- "Wait until after the election." Or, where the exact words, "What's the rush? We've got to break ground on the twin tunnels first, then pull the rug out from under the poor?"

"Public hearings.... how old fashioned!"

Free Wiki for teachers

Folks, if you are NOT a teacher, then go to our Platform.For-Pgh.org/wiki/ and start to edit and insert your content there.

If you are a teacher and want to use the wiki space in your teaching and classroom, enjoy the tool and technology with the link above.

Governor Rendell's health good

Catherine Baker Knoll, Lt. Gov, has been adn will continue to be one short step away from being governor. Furthermore, Ed Rendell has aspirations of being on the Dem ticket for 2008's race for President. He might need to bolt from PA in the future, and would be giving us CBK as the state's top leader.

Governor Rendell's health good
Gov. Ed Rendell is slightly overweight and takes Zocor to lower his cholesterol, but overall he's a 'healthy, 62-year-old man,'' doctors say.

The results of his annual physical were released yesterday by his campaign. He took the exam July 17.

Mr. Rendell, who is known around the Capitol and in his hometown of Philadelphia as someone who loves to eat, weighs 257 pounds, which is seven more than when he was elected in 2002. His height is 5 feet 11 inches.

To control his weight he exercises 30 to 35 minutes a day on a treadmill and rides a stationary bike, said campaign spokesman Dan Fee.

Diversity Calls

The Future of White Boy clubs at FactoryCity The Future of White Boy clubs

LEAP -- counter on the drug war with editorial wonks

blog.myspace.com/leapspeakers National Conference of Editorial Writers Annual Convention, Pittsburgh, PA

Newspaper editorial writers are getting a dose of reality when they wander thru the exhibit area at their annual convention this wk, when they round the corner and encounter the LEAP exhibition booth, staffed by the savvy experts HOWARD WOOLDRIDGE and STEVE HEATH. Howard, is, of course, a co-founder of LEAP and a member of the e-board while Steve is a longtime activist focusing on media, OpEd efforts and Letters to the Editor. Steve's wife Doreen is helping out at this very important conference, too. Rarely do newspaper editorial boards write an opinion on drug war efficacy--and hardly ever do they write about the idea of ending drug prohibition--but mostly that is due to the fact that people fm the criminal justice system have approached them to advocate ending the War on Drugs. That's how it is done: editorial staffs host politicians, public health specialists, single issue advocates and others into their offices to pitch to them their views. After grilling the guests and studying the issue they usually come out with an opinion piece under the masthead of the paper so this is a unique opportunity for them to meet LEAP, hear our pitch and then we'll work to set up interviews around the country. Which begs the question:

have you ever called or written to your editorial board about Drug War efficacy? It's an easy bit of activism that everyone can perform. Look at your paper today...find the editorial/opinion section (like this ONE) and find out who the people are behind the opinions. Get the contact information and send it to me AFTER you have first attempted to reach them yourself.