Reports on IB 6-12 and School Site-Based Budgeting Meetings Released

Additional reports from the Spring Forum Series, “Excel.9.12: Community Input into the Continuing Plans for High School Excellence”, are now available on the A+ Schools website at http://www.aplusschools.org/discussion.html. These reports include presentation summaries and community feedback for each meeting. The reports cover the follow-up meeting for the International Baccalaureate program as well as the meeting entitled: “Schools & Money: A Community Discussion about School Budgets”.

Lack of Logic:

Report says: One location for an IB school presents a chance to increase the number of distinct choices that families can choose for their students.

Logic says that moving to one location limits choices. More locations offer more choices. More flexibility offers more choices and more options too.

It is a blasted shame when the school district officials, such as Kate and Mark Roosevelt, get confused between addition and subtraction. As subtraction occurs, less options are available.

Report says: Ms. Reed also pointed out that one of the administration’s initial Excel.9-12 goals, presented in the Spring 2007, was to increase participation in the IB classes.

Golly. If the aim is to increase participation, then increase offerings, increase choices, widen flexibility. Duhh.

I've said from day one that the I.B. program is a successful one within the overall district. I.B. offers students and families a choice -- and that is a good thing for a large, urban school district. I'm fully in favor of I.B. education as an option. I'm also keen on the idea of expanding I.B. within Pittsburgh. Too many people leave the district, drop out of school, and get poor results. We've got to do better and I.B. is one tool in that process to both grow kids and grow the city.

However, the double talk from the district stinks. They can't be trusted to really want to expand I.B. Often it is the case where they can divide and then conquor. Or, in this case, dismiss. The PPS administration could put I.B. into its own school this year only to close that school in the future. It does not help to put I.B. into a school that is a 'temporary location.'

The long-term future of I.B. education is on thin ice, thanks to the administration.

Rather, I would like to see a second I.B. program established. Keeping Schenley High School with an I.B. option would be possible along with a specialized regional magnet on the eastern border of the city. That is called "addition." That is growth.

Frankly, I don't care if it is 'hard' on the 'administration' to have programs span different buildings and located in different parts of the city. They get paid. They have jobs. If it is too hard for them -- others can be hired. However, the place where we need to have easy access is for the students and the families that live here. I want it to be easier for students and their families to go to school here, stay in school here, and even move to the city to go to a school here.

Report says: She explained the coordination of an MYP across two buildings is challenging for staff and students alike.

Nope. There is no challenge for students when more choices are made available. The staff challenges and the student challenges are different and need to be understood.

However, the school district did exactly what it wished against. The 9th grade students who are in the I.B. program are now in a different school and NOT a part of the regular I.B. High School. They made life a huge blasted challenge for more than 25% of the students -- by design. School populations are divided because of the PPS solution.

If the district was really worried about two buildings as a challenge then the 9th graders who are now in the basement of Frick Middle School would be in with their school mates in Reizenstein. Now they are on activity buses and living in a dual world that is a big burden for families. Hence, people have left the district and left the school.

Report says: The focus of the IB Programme is very intense, and the administration believes that it is best achieved with continuity.

Wrong. Continuity might lead to complacency, not intensity. One of the best ways to foster a culture of intensity is with changes of locations. Going to middle school should not feel like it does when going to high school.

Life is intense enough for middle school aged kids without the need to deal with high school kids in the same building. If you want intensity, specialize. The demands, requirements, management and intensity of a 6th grader are not like that of a senior.

Report says: Ms. Reed then reviewed the feeder patterns into the IB programme. Currently, there are a total of 1,538 students feeding into the program from other schools in the district. This number represents the following grade levels:
180 Kindergarten (Class of 2020), ... etc.

There is no such thing as a 'feeder pattern' from grade K to a high school I.B. program. Feeder patterns, by their nature of slots in schools because of a factor of where one's house is located is not about choice. Feeder patterns are mandated choices that eliminate choice.

I.B. is a high school program with a specialized high school diploma. Meanwhile, students in grade K are in a feeder pattern for that flavor of a high school diploma? Makes little sense.

If the I.B. program is a success, people will want to opt into it. If it is flounders, people will opt out. They will go elsewhere. Feeder programs from grade K will not be a way to insure that a high school program is a success.

Natural transitions are necessary for the overall system to be productive for its citizens. Kids that are motivated and want to opt into an intense educational system with languages and I.B. concentrations need to be able to do that -- without needing to have their parents sell their house and move from one feeder pattern to another.

The I.B. program should be constructed as a city-wide magnet that has little to nothing to do with 'feeder patterns.'

The PPS Administration is trying to put a round peg into a square hole. They are not constructing a customer-centric system that educates kids and provides real choices based upon the diversity of the student and our city's population.

Report says: ... the district was very pleased with the current makeup of next year’s ninth grade class at Pittsburgh Frick, which represents almost the exact make up of the district as a whole. The class will consist of 46% males and 54% females. Sixtyseven percent (67%) of the class will be African American with 33% representing other races.

This is funny. The current makeup of next year's class was a forecast. What happened in real numbers. And, percentages are not telling as the real numbers. How many did they expect in May and how many showed in in September? What are the real numbers? How many didn't make the transition to 9th grade into Frick from last year's 8th grade? And, how many affluent kids left.

They never deliver honest numbers. Even attendance figures at ALAs that started in mid-August have never been reported. Shameful FUD.

The entire training and certification of the staff is a joke. Those problems are solved in hiring. Offer contracts in April, not August, or September. Those are human resource matters and the district has been a failure in these matters.

Report says: Ms. Reed reminded the audience that sports are typically not played or
practiced on site at a school, so the logistics regarding sports are no different than in the past.

The swim team practices in the rivers, according to PPS Administrators, not at their schools. Right.

That's one of the many problems. Sports should be practiced within the school sites. Things are different than in the past -- they are worse. And, what was happening in the past stunk.

Report says: personalization is critical for every student and the central focus of
Excel.9-12.

I have no problem with "personalization" as a valued program attribute for our kids and their educational choices. But, the administration's approach to personalization is specialized schools which means that the students who shift gears need to drop-out of their school and re-enroll in another school. Personalization means flexibility.

Schenley was good at this because it was not a botique high school. At I.B. World, if you want to get out of I.B, you hit the road. There is no personalization until you uproot.

Likewise, if you are a student at CAPA and are creative enough to want to study two musical insturments, or change from trumpet to piano, or take creative writing and an instrument -- then you have to drop out of CAPA and enrol in a more comprehensive school, like North Hills. Students can't dual major at CAPA. Students can't change their instrument at CAPA. Personalization works in PPS as long as you get into your shell in 5th grade and don't want to go anywhere else until after your 12th grade year.

They call that rigor. I call it a sure pathway to a declining district enrollment. It is really just a lack of flexibility.

Relearning how to hear - PG article covers UPMC program

My wife, Catherine Palmer, Ph.D., is director of audiology at UPMC's Eye and Ear (no secret). Today's PG has an article that features a program there and she is quoted.

The slogan, "Think again" fits as people often need to think anew -- or re-think, even for matters as basic as hearing.

Relearning how to hear: "Relearning how to hear
UPMC offers adaptation classes for new hearing aid wearers and their significant others

Catherine's quotes, reposted here:

"Although you do much better with an aid, it's still not as well as when you had hearing," said Catherine Palmer, Ph.D., director of the Center for Audiology and Hearing Aids at the UPMC Eye and Ear Institute.

"The family still must make accommodations. You can't talk to them from another room, for example. It's hard for people to make these changes. In clinic we don't have time to go over those kinds of things. This class gives them time."

And at first, for perhaps two weeks, the wearer might feel as if his or her hearing has worsened, because the aid picks up background noise and other sounds the wearer hasn't heard for a long time. The brain must relearn how to ignore unnecessary noise and home in on what it wants to hear.
...
The more the patient wears the aids, the faster and better the adjustment. "Part-time users never do well," Dr. Palmer said.

Kim is a great teacher with plenty of splendid information and insight. The class is worth the time, for sure.

Mcall.com: Capitol Ideas with John L. Micek Blog

Mcall.com: Capitol Ideas with John L. Micek Blog: "Stabile's lawyer, Ronald L. Hicks of Pittsburgh, rejected Stretton's charges, arguing that the lawsuit could equally apply to a Democratic or Republican candidate who took the same action."

When did any person in PA sign any nomination petition for V-P candidates of the D or R party?

It didn't happen. It doesn't need to happen.

But, we, Libertarians, need to switch candidates after getting nomination papers signed.

Cumberland County GOP activist Victor Stabile and his lawyer, Ronald L. Hicks of Pittsburgh are two people that make the world a much more depressing place.

Capital Hijinks: A Personal View: Ophra on Chicago schools

School contrasts detailed.

Capital Hijinks: A Personal View: Ophra on Chicago schools: "Today's Oprah Show featured a ballyhooed interview with Bill and Melinda Gates and a segment which focused on the education gap here in Illinois. Oprah organized a student exchange which allowed kids from Chicago's Harper High to spend the day at a high school in Naperville and brought the Naperville kids to Chicago for a day. Here's what they learned:

When the Harper students arrived at Neuqua Valley, they were stunned to see what the suburban school offered—an Olympic-size swimming pool, a gym and fitness center, an award-winning music department, a huge computer lab, and a rigorous course curriculum. When they arrived at Harper, the students from Neuqua Valley were shocked immediately by the difference between Harper and their own school. For starters, students have to enter Harper through a metal detector. They have a pool at Neuqua Valley, but the Harper pool hasn't been filled with water in a decade.

In Pittsburgh, we need city and suburban kids to visit and compete with each other, day in and day out. This can occur after the city league is split apart so that the city schools join the WPIAL.

Folks gather for Ron Paul rally in Minneapolis

Thousands gather. Not hundreds.

The Associated Press: Hundreds gather for Ron Paul rally in Minneapolis: "The two major political parties are destroying the country, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura told Ron Paul loyalists at a protest convention Tuesday, and he offered himself as a possible presidential candidate in 2012.

'With people like Dr. Paul, myself and all the rest of us, let's get the revolution going,' Ventura said.

Paul Plays Up Role as Party Outcast, With GOP Counter-Convention - America’s Election HQ

Here comes that "A" word again, "Alaska."

Paul Plays Up Role as Party Outcast, With GOP Counter-Convention - America’s Election HQ: "The motion to get a speaking role would be based on a resolution passed unanimously by the Alaska delegation calling for Paul to be allowed to address the convention. As of Tuesday afternoon, Greene was unclear what kind of parliamentary rules his group would have to engage to get the motion advanced, or whether they would even be recognized on the floor.

Cutting Corners

414 Grant Street A little birdie tells 414 Grant Street that the Penguins are busy cutting corners and amenities from the design of their new Arena. The Penguins leadership is apparently 'value engineering' the building to cut corners and cut costs....so instead of a grand new addition to PGH's skyline and a building that improves the surrounding area, we'll be stuck with a bland arena with no character. Great job Pens, good choices....way to take advantage of the historic opportunity given to you. Why isn't the Mayor, the County Exec or the SEA paying attention to this issue?

How about if we tell the Pens that we are going to keep the Civic Arena after the Pens move out of our building.

414 Grant Street: Drink Tax Foes Turned Back!

414 Grant Street: Drink Tax Foes Turned Back!: "Drink Tax Foes Turned Back!"

What was turned away: peace.

My statement at another blog:

It is seldom a good idea to silence the voice of the people.

When people can't vote -- they have a way of making their opinions known in other forms and avenues -- often less peaceful.

As trust in government declines, fewer vote. Votes matter less as well. The opportunity for a peaceful revolution gets set aside and bricks look more righteous.

That's no victory to me.

Even after Bonus-Gate, these PA jerks still do NOT understand how democracy is to work

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr Latest Target of Ballot Access Denial Efforts in Pennsylvania

Harrisburg Event Scheduled to Spotlight Republican Hypocrisy

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
3915 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
www.lppa.org
For Immediate Release: September 2, 2008
Contact: Jim Gordon (Event Organizer) at 717-652-2643 / 717-608-7366 (cell) or
Doug Leard (Media Relations) at Media-Relations@lppa.org or
Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org

Harrisburg, PA – The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania learned recently of an event planned by independent and third party activists for Friday, September 4th. It's a “Thank You” event at the Harrisburg law office of Cumberland County Republican Chairman Victor Stabile for his lawsuit contending that presidential candidate Bob Barr should be disqualified from the November ballot. This, on the heels of the Bonusgate revelations, is seen by many as the Republican Party attempting to rival the Democratic Party at limiting political choice in Pennsylvania.

Event organizer Jim Gordon offered, “We invite independent and third-party voters, candidates and supporters to demonstrate how ‘thankful’ we are that Mr. Stabile spotlighted the unconstitutional, undemocratic and unfair ballot access laws imposed on anyone not a Republican or Democrat in Pennsylvania.”

The event will happen Friday, September 5th (the same date as the Stabile vs. Barr hearing) from 7:00 to 8:00 AM at the Law Office of Dilworth Paxson LLP, 112 Market Street, Harrisburg (Graystone Bank Building). At 8:00 AM, the group will march to the state capitol. (For more information contact organizers at 717-652-2643 or 717-608-7366/cell.)

Victor Stabile of the Pennsylvania Republican Party filed the suit to have Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr removed from the Pennsylvania’s ballot. This year, LP candidates for statewide office collected 51,345 ballot access signatures. Instead of challenging those signatures, the Republican suit probes a technicality to deny Barr ballot access in Pennsylvania.

Their objection relates to the substitution of Barr as the LP Presidential nominee and it highlights the inequality of Pennsylvania's election laws. Under the Pennsylvania Election Code, the Libertarian Party is not a recognized political party, but it appears that the objector wants the Libertarian Party to be further penalized for not being a recognized political party. If so, this objection could be a thinly veiled attempt to remove a political rival from the ballot, thus subverting the electoral process.

Media Relations Chair, Doug Leard, indicated that “in addition to highlighting Pennsylvania’s draconian ballot access laws, this lawsuit demonstrates the hypocrisy at the top of the Republican ticket.” In the 2000 election, John McCain promised that he would “never consider, ever consider, allowing a supporter of [his] to challenge [his opponent’s] right to be on the ballot in all 50 states.”

LP Presidential candidate, Bob Barr, represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, serving as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. He now practices law with the Law Offices of Edwin Marger and runs a consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in the Washington, D.C. area. Barr works tirelessly to help preserve our fundamental right to privacy and our other civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in Pennsylvania and the United States. More than 200,000 people across the country are registered Libertarians, and Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.

House Concert slated for WED, Sept 17. You're invited. RSVPs now open

We've hosted a few different house concerts in the past few years. All have been a success, but this next one is going to be slightly different. It will be held in our third floor space, newly refurbished in our historic South Side home. a

We love to support the arts and make great music. The house concert is a particular form of musical experience.

Few in Pittsburgh are familiar with the concept of hosting or attending "house concerts." They are being done in some locations (Point Breeze included) locally and in different parts of the US (Florida, Wisconsin).

Some concert performers make a living doing these types of shows and even prefer these gigs in homes as they are more intimate than club settings where the music is often less important than the drinking.

The great advantage of the house concert from the performer's standpoint is that it cuts out the venue as middle man, with its associated overhead costs. House concert proceeds go straight to the performer. The "suggested artist donation" for the Joe Jencks concert on the 17th is $10.

Fewer people are needed for a draw for a performer to a particular location because the singer earns more per audience member. Sound guys, door men, bartenders and club expenses are bypassed.

These concerts are intimate in a way that venue concerts rarely are. Performers get a chance to socialize with audiences and vice-versa. There's something very old-fashioned and respectful about sharing music, original music, here. It's a modern version of nineteenth-century parlor concerts.

Phelps donates $1 million bonus - TODAY: People - MSNBC.com

Phelps donates $1 million bonus - TODAY: People - MSNBC.com Appearing on TODAY, Phelps announced that the Michael Phelps Foundation will distribute his prize money to various charitable programs to promote water safety and encourage youth swimming.

Thank you, Michael.

Start Of Class For Shaler High School Delayed - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Start Of Class For Shaler High School Delayed - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh Students in grades 11-12 will report on Wednesday, September 10 and not on Friday, September 5 for orientation.

Students in grades 9-10 will report on Thursday, September 11 and not on Monday, September 8 for their orientation.

The first full day for everyone at the high school is Friday, September 12.

In a letter sent home to parent Superintendent Donald Lee wrote, 'the main reason for this change isn't construction as much it is giving our custodial staff extra time to clean and our teachers extra time to unpack their stored supplies.'

Shaler's new football coach, Coach Gordon, formerly of Penn Hills, has called for an extended pre-season football camp. So, the school district has delayed the start of school to give its football team a leg up.

Shaler won its first game. Meanwhile, Penn Hills lost its first game.

Way to go Coach Gordon. The school board in Penn Hills made a huge blunder.

Give me a "U" -- You are ...

Councilman collecting letters to save UPMC South Side

District 3 Councilman Bruce A. Kraus is continuing to collect letters of support to keep UPMC South Side from closing and being merged into the Uptown campus of UPMC Mercy.
The councilman is collecting the letters which he intends to deliver to UPMC officials at a meeting in the coming weeks. Mr. Kraus said he was pleased with the support and the number of letters he has already received from residents and businesses in the UPMC South Side service area.
Letters of support for having the hospital remain in South Side should be mailed to: Councilman Bruce A. Kraus, 414 Grant St., Room 510, Pittsburgh, Pa 15219, as soon as possible.
UPMC announced plans to close UPMC South Side and transfer in-patient and out-patient services it provides over a period of three to five years. In addition, the Emergency Room will be converted to an urgent care center operating on a reduced schedule
For more information, contact Councilman Kraus office at 412-255-2130.

You are "sick" might be a pun that other bloggers might stoop to deliver to sum up a campaign to save a local hospital. "Heartbroken" might be another.

I'll stick to a classic -- "full of folly."

To tell UPMC that it can't close its South Side Hospital, and put it in a letter, is but a waste of ink and a way to waste valued time.

The real question is what will become of UPMC's facility.

The next real question is what should become of that facility. Can vision be injected into the discussion so that the future can more easily be crafted to make better opportunities?

It is time to think again and not be so full of folly.

Furthermore, this news is bitter. I want to see the hospital stay on the South Side. However, I saw the arrival of the closing.

UPMC made a big play to get and keep alive Mercy Hospital on the bluff. So, we've got hospitals in Oakland and on The Bluff. We've got close access to hospitals -- more so than McDonalds and Eat'n Park. Go figure.

The time to work hard to save and fortify UPMC South Side was in 1999 when I was raising concerns in political circles. That was when the plans of UPMC's South Side football practice facility were put upon the local landscape. That medical / sporting facility was built on valuable river-front land sold to the nonprofit at greatly reduced costs by the public authority, the URA.

The Steelers needed a practice facility and UPMC played the game to get them one, pulling the wool over the eyes of local politicians without the vision to make better suggestions. The land deal was facilitated by a public agency.

The better solution, back then, one that I advoctated for, was to put the football practice and sports medicine facility directly next to the UPMC South Side Hospital. Dr. Freddie Fu does surgery. That is his area of specilization. A close hospital association would have many benefits -- including the long-term sustainability of the hospital complex within the neighborhood.

Furthermore, the public land right behind and next to the UPMC Hospital is closed. They have had a pad-lock on the parking lot and closed indoor ice rink for years.

A dark hole is right in the middle of the South Side. And, next, the hole is going to spread to the UPMC Hospital facility. Whereas this should be a thriving sports medicine complex with recreational and local hospital services.

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.

We Got Hope. We were there! Workers' Stadium, Beijing: USA women win gold in "football"

Are you ready for some great football news?

The USA women's football team -- in western PA its called soccer -- beat Brazil in the gold medal game at The Workers Stadium here in Beijing. And we were there and have lost our voices to prove it.

The day was filled with rain, breaks in rain and tears of joy for a few different teams around town.

We were hoping for gold in the softball -- but Japan beat the USA team, 3-1. Last night we saw Japan tag Australia for the bronze medal game. The victor, Japan, got to play the favorite, USA, for the gold. Oh well.

The other big game on the schedule today was in women's water polo. USA played The Netherlands. The Dutch won by one point.

Today's early hours were filled with heavy rain. Without tickets to the open water swim, and with the rain -- we blew it off. We had the alarm set for 5:45 AM. Got up then and checked the puddles and punted. Back to bed. We knew we'd be up late for the soccer game later.

Very little was on the television too.

We got a swim in ourselves (Erik and I). And we watched the women's volleyball team beat Cuba. We also saw the USA women win the beach volleyball. The women's hard-court spikers advance to the gold medal game against Brazil.

Grant and Catherine played some park badminton and we at the last of the leftover Pekin Duck for lunch.

Then the boys and I headed out on the bikes to the double-header football games. It was a 90-minute bike ride. We locked up the bikes on the street between the Worker's Stadium and Worker's Gymnasium. These facilities look to be a bit older, but nice. I'm not even sure what is played at the Worker's Gymnasium. But there was a lot of activity on the streets around the venues.

The first game of soccer tonight was for the bronze medal and it featured Japan vs. Germany. To the end of the game, Germany scored twice. Then there was a 1-hour break and the gold medal game at 9 pm.

The game was hard. Great for the USA -- our goalkeeper, Hope Solo. She was not going to let anything past here.

The game ended in a tie -- 0-0. Then the game has two 15 minute periods. The USA squad scored in the first session and turned back a number of good opportunities including plenty of corner kicks.

The audience was mostly locals -- some from each of the four teams. But there were 51,000 in the stadium -- with few empty seats. Some, but not many.

Outside, tickets were being sold at face value and below. That's a good sign for going to the men's gold medal game or perhaps to soccer.

We got our helmets off the bikes and headed to McDonals. It was packed and we didn't get anything. Ran to the subway at 12:30 pm and was told this would be the last train. We needed three to get home and were worried about a transfer and getting stuck without the bikes. It took two cab rides to get home.

In the AM, we'll need to get back to pick up our bikes.

Good night.

Yet to come at Olympics

A big day is slated for USA Women's Softball. The team has a leg up with rest as the team from Japan had to get past Australia in a long game tonight.

But we'll be pulling extra hard for the women's USA Water Polo team in its gold medal match.

But we'll be in the stands for the USA vs. Brazil women's gold medal football game -- if all goes well with the ticket delivery. They're be playing football -- also known as soccer to a small percentage of people in the world.

U.S. softball beats Japan in extra innings 4-1, into final - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

We were there.

U.S. softball beats Japan in extra innings 4-1, into final - 2008 Olympics - SI.com: "After losing in the morning to the U.S., Japan beat Australia 4-3 in 12 innings to secure a spot in the gold medal match. The Aussies were left with the bronze.

The pitcher from AUS is Tonya Harding. She is a UCLA grad. I helped to lead a cheer in right field for her. U-C-L-A, U.C.L.A., UCLA - go Tonya!

On the way home we peeked into the baseball venue and the score was still 0-0 late in the game.

The basketball venue, like the Water Cube, changes colors.

In the morning, we are up early to get to the 10-K open water swim for the men.

In today's women's 10K it was a Russian and then two Brits. The Brits have been impressive in the swimming events.

Beijing has the first ever 10-K open water swim races in Olympics. Well, if you don't count when the regular swimming was in the open water. These will be the longest races.

I predict that the USA guy swimmer will be on the podium in the 10K swim.

Examples of pulling rank play out at the Olympics

Examples of pulling rank play out at the Olympics 'The Olympics are a great festival of human beings seeking rank, and that's OK,' he said. 'We all seek high rank, and we rather enjoy watching other people seek gold medals, and we applaud the victor and feel sorry for the loser.'

Problems arise when rank holders abuse their power.

No kidding.

Cyclists observed wearing USOC-issued masks upon arrival

Cyclists observed wearing USOC-issued masks upon arrival 'They should have
taken more responsibility -- maybe publicly supported us and behind the scenes
slapped our wrist,' Lea said of top U.S. Olympic officials. 'It's hard to say
what kind of a toll that could have taken, but, for sure, our first five days at
the Olympics were terrible.'

It has been worse for Friedman, an outgoing sort who is accessible
because he has a blog. He estimates he has received more than 15,000 hate
e-mails from around the world.

I still do not understand. The guys show up in Beijing wearing masks. Then they feel like they were targeted for being foolish. So, now they are done with the competition and have a statement. But the statement they make is full of additional vile and goes to prove that they were foolish. Now the slant is their burden because the USA Olympic Committee did nothing to prevent them from playing the part of a fool.

If I'm missing something -- let me know. I don't think Shelly Anderson is such a reporter as to have twisted things like a soap opera script. But, perhaps I'm wrong.

John Challis, a great athlete, RIP

Obituary:
John Scott Challis / Teen delivered message of hope with cancer
fight: John's two-year battle with liver and lung cancer ended
yesterday afternoon, when he died at his home in Freedom, Beaver County. He was
18.

Playing street games with Beijing's twist of friends and activities

Talking about the words in Chinees and English -- of each sport.


Some morning exercises for Grant and Erik, with a leader.

Jump roap.

We had a great time yesterday playing some traditional games of Beijing with some new friends.

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania announces its 2008 candidates

Libertarian Ticket offers political choice in Pennsylvania

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania

3915 Union Deposit Road #223

Harrisburg, PA 17109

www.lppa.org

For Immediate Release: August 18, 2008 Contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) orMichael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org Harrisburg, PA

The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPa) today announced its candidates for the November 2008 elections. LPPa Chair Michael Robertson said, “The Libertarian Party offers Pennsylvanians political choice. That choice is a first step in restoring public confidence and fairness to a political system poisoned by the unfolding criminal allegations of the Bonusgate scandal.”

Libertarian candidates for public office in Pennsylvania include:

Statewide Offices:President - Bob Barr (http://www.bobbarr2008.com)

Vice President - Wayne Allyn Root (http://www.rootforamerica.com)

Attorney General - Marakay Rogers

Auditor General - Betsy Summers

State Treasurer - Berlie Etzel

U.S. Congress:District 5 - James Fryman

State Senate:District 21 - Mary Lea Lucas

Representative in the General Assembly:

District 35 - David Posipanka

District 63 - Michael J. Robertson

District 64 - Vance Mays

District 180 – Erik Sanchez

Ballot access for Libertarian Party candidates didn’t come easy. This year Libertarian candidates for statewide office collected 51,345 ballot access signatures to insure a challenge cushion. Throughout Pennsylvania, the threat of being “Bonusgated” was clearly evident by the tally of uncontested races for other offices. The current tally has two uncontested Congressional races of 19, three uncontested state senate races of 25, but 101 uncontested state house races of 203. The Bounsgate revelations didn’t come soon enough for the 2008 election season.

“Our Libertarian candidates represent a return to the fundamental principles of American government; individual liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government,” indicated Robertson. “They offer a real choice for voters in a time of ever increasing government authority."

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in Pennsylvania and the United States. More than 200,000 people across the country are registered Libertarians, and Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.

Beijing is a big city -- but it is really fun to ...

We love being in Beijing and running into friends on the street.

We've seen a few folks on various days at various settings.

Our phone(s) has a number of different names and numbers now stored within the "phone book." And, we've called to keep in touch and make future play dates.

People are seeing us on the streets too. Our good friend in China gets updates on our travels from people in his company who see us zoom past while on our bikes.

Another point of smiles is seeing people we've seen and some who we know on TV as they show the crowd shots on TV.

We picked up some new bike shirts at a bike shop today. And, we got a badminton net and more shuttlecocks for our play in the park. Our friends, Simon and his mom, had tickets to weightlifting, so we only played with them for about 10 minutes then they had to depart.

Up soon, a visit to the Beijing Exhibition Hall for an Olympic showcase with all sorts of Olympic stuff. Might get photos.

Had fun going to the computer mall again today. Want to get a new battery for the video camera yet. But, got some disks.

The cheering in all the stadiums from the locals sounds like, "Chi-go" or "Guy-go" or a ChGuy-go. Its literal meaning is 'Add fuel.' As in 'get oil.' Use your energy. Burn baby burn. Then they often say, "China" (but in Chineese) in the off beats.

We want to sign up for "Team Sabrina." She is an Olympian from Canada. Rower.

Hawaii Palace Usurpers Can't Find Throne - Decision 2008 News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Hawaii Palace Usurpers Can't Find Throne - Decision 2008 News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh: "Most of the protesters were charged with criminal trespass and released on $50 bonds."

Greek hurdler tests positive for banned drug - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

Greek hurdler tests positive for banned drug - 2008 Olympics - SI.com:
"Halkia was tested a few days before the Beijing Olympics in Japan, where
Greece's track and field team had been training. She said she had volunteered to
take part in WADA's pilot program in which athletes submit themselves
voluntarily to regular testing.
Halkia, who has moved out of the Olympic
Village, said she was sorry she could not take part in the games and that she
had expected to make the 400-meter hurdles final."

Swedish wrestler stripped of medal after tantrum - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

Swedish wrestler stripped of medal after tantrum - 2008 Olympics - SI.com: "The IOC executive board ruled that Abrahamian's actions amounted to a political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow athletes."

Twitter in China -- changes from the UK

I'm sending you this note because you registered a mobile deviceto work with Twitter over our UK number. I wanted to let youknow that we are making some changes to the way SMS works onTwitter. There is some good news and some bad news.

I'll start with the bad news. Beginning today, Twitter is nolonger delivering outbound SMS over our UK number. If you enjoyreceiving updates from Twitter via +44 762 480 1423, we arerecommending that you explore some suggested alternatives.

Note: You will still be able to UPDATE over our UK number.

Before I go into more detail, here's a bit of good news: Twitterwill be introducing several new, local SMS numbers in countriesthroughout Europe in the coming weeks and months. These newnumbers will make Twittering more accessible for you if you'vebeen using SMS to send long-distance updates from outside the UK.

Why are we making these changes?

Mobile operators in most of the world charge users to sendupdates. When you send one message to Twitter and we send it toten followers, you aren't charged ten times--that's because we'vebeen footing the bill. When we launched our free SMS service tothe world, we set the clock ticking. As the service grew inpopularity, so too would the price.

Our challenge during this window of time was to establishrelationships with mobile operators around the world such thatour SMS services could become sustainable from a cost perspective.We achieved this goal in Canada, India, and the United States.We can provide full incoming and outgoing SMS service withoutpassing along operator fees in these countries.
We took a risk hoping to bring more nations onboard and moremobile operators around to our way of thinking but we've arrivedat a point where the responsible thing to do is slow our costsand take a different approach. Since you probably don't live inCanada, India, or the US, we recommend receiving your Twitterupdates via one of the following methods.
m.twitter.com works on browser-enabled phonesm.slandr.net works on browser-enabled phonesTwitterMail.com works on email-enabled phonesCellity [http://bit.ly/12bw4R] works on java-enabled phonesTwitterBerry [http://bit.ly/MFAfJ] works on BlackBerry phonesTwitterific [http://bit.ly/1WxjwQ] works on iPhones

Twitter SMS by The Numbers

It pains us to take this measure. However, we need to avoidplacing undue burden on our company and our service. Even with alimit of 250 messages received per week, it could cost Twitterabout $1,000 per user, per year to send SMS outside of Canada,India, or the US. It makes more sense for us to establish fairbilling arrangements with mobile operators than it does to passthese high fees on to our users.

Twitter will continue to negotiate with mobile operators inEurope, Asia, China, and The Americas to forge relationshipsthat benefit all our users. Our goal is to provide full, two-wayservice with Twitter via SMS to every nation in a way that issustainable from a cost perspective. Talks with mobile companiesaround the world continue. In the meantime, more local numbersfor updating via SMS are on the way. We'll keep you posted.
Thank you for your attention,

Biz Stone, Co-founderTwitter, Inc.http://twitter.com/biz

New Zealand Swim News

Curtain falls on two fine careers
The curtain came down on two fine swimming careers at the Olympic pool tonight.

Helen Norfolk and Dean Kent, who have become the first New Zealand swimmers to attend three Olympics, announced their retirement from the sport.

Norfolk, who turns 27 later this month, has represented New Zealand since 1997. She won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and at the 2005 World University Games, she scooped a New Zealand record three silver medals.

The medley specialist was extremely emotional in announcing her retirement. “It’s an emotional moment,” she said. “Swimming has been my life.”

Kent, who turns 30 in November, is believed to be the oldest swimmer to represent New Zealand at an Olympics. He made his New Zealand debut in 1999. One of his career highlights was his 200m individual medley silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Neither swimmer went out the way they’d have liked tonight.

Kent, swimming in the 200m individual medley, ended up only 21st fastest of the 46 starters, and his time of 2min 01.12s was about a second outside his best. He had estimated – accurately as it turned out – that he would have needed to duck under 2min to make the semi-finals.

Norfolk led off for the New Zealand 4 x 200m freestyle relay team which was travelling well until it was judged that fourth swimmer Natasha Hind had entered the water too fourth-hundredths of a second too soon – swimmers are allowed three-hundredths’ grace.

It was a pity because the New Zealanders – Norfolk, Lauren Boyle, Hayley Palmer and Hind - swam about 7min 57.3s, which would have chopped nearly seven seconds off the national record.

Burmester fourth as Phelps wins
Kiwi medal hope Moss Burmester's Olympic dream was put on hold on this afternoon as he finished a heroic fourth behind the phenomenon Michael Phelps in the men's 200m butterfly final.

Phelps, racing in his signature event, won in 1:52.03, setting yet another new world record in the process.

Getting away to a fantastic start Burmester was in the lead at the 50m mark by 0.03 seconds ahead of Phelps.

By the time they returned to the starting end, Phelps had stolen the lead back by a fraction but Burmester looked on course to push him all the way. Both swimmers were on pace with world record time.

The third length saw the field closing in on Burmester but he looked set to resist them and deliver New Zealand's high point of the Games.

As Phelps powered on in the final 50 metres, Kiwi eyes were on the man in lane one, but it unfortunately became clear that his fantastic effort looked likely to fall just short of earning a medal place. Sure enough Phelps touched first and Burmester, with a new New Zealand and Commonwealth record time of 1.54.35, couldn't quite get there ahead of Hungarian Laszlo Cseh and Japan's Takeshi Matsuda who claimed silver and gold.

Burmester admitted he had left everything in the pool.

"It hurt. I turned at 100 metres and I knew I was right up there. I was hoping to go a bit quicker but I couldn't have done anything more" he told TVNZ.

The Kiwi had been suffered from a stomach bug in the lead up to the race but said he wouldn't be using that as an excuse for his performance.

Soon after Phelps collected his fifth gold medal of the Games in the 4x200m freestyle relay to clock up his 11th Olympic gold.

Meanwhile New Zealand are still left waiting for their first medal.

Burmester should nevertheless be delighted with his performance, being the first New Zealander to reach a swim final since Danyon Loader in 1996.

Fantastic day -- unreal

What a day.... USA Swimmers were hot. Erik and I were there. Meanwhile, Catherine and Grant were at the men's team gymnastics where China got first, then Japan. The USA was so excited and happy to get third.

Then we went to see the whitewater canoe and kayak races -- a 70-minute bus ride outside the city.

I've got lots of photos. Plus, video. But, they'll have to wait. I'm going to crash. And, the story as how we got there was a bit of a tale as well.

Spartans keep Schenley name - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Another sign that Pgh Public Schools cares little about sports. Fumble.

Spartans keep Schenley name - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "High schools have dropped football programs before. But to have a program without a school, well, that's as rare as a Chicago Cubs World Series win.

Next week they'll tell us that Fifth Avenue High School is the favorite to win the city league title and South Vo Tech hopes to be .500.

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints 'faked' - Telegraph

Humm....

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints 'faked' - Telegraph: "The fireworks were there for real, outside the stadium. But those responsible for filming the extravaganza decided in advance it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air."

this is why I love 'sports.' Sports are not fake. Meanwhile, entertainment can be -- and is.

Sports are games of time, space and relationship. In the world of entertainment, the space and lines between space and time are not real.

One can watch a movie and have the exact presentation over and over again -- without a worry of time. Same too for space. Watch the movie in a cinema or at a home in any city -- and it is nearly the same.

No so with sports.

I am not worried about the fireworks being 'fake.' However, we must be certain to never let our sports become 'fake.'

Now, it is off to artistic gymnastics -- a sport more sporting than professional rassling.

new adventure -- getting more money onto our China Net Account

In Beijing, you can buy access to the internet on a card, like a phone card. These are sold at news stands. When you get the card -- you need to call a number and have them activate the credits to your account based upon your home phone nummber.

The IP address is tied to the phone account.

You pay for internet by time. We don't know the rate.

I did this all today, with a good bit of help from the guy at the news stand and the fellow from the hotel that walked with me to help me buy the cards.

The people of Beijing are wonderful.

The volunteers at the university who were returning from tennis were "worn out." Long days for them, for sure. The bus ride is more than an hour. I've been most impressed with the university students.

Only one in eleven who applied to be a volunteer got 'hired' for these no-paid jobs. They get a shirt, one meal a day and a fanny pack. Some get slacks with zippers to make into shorts. They are trying to navigate a complicated network of events and venes that are the Olympics.

It rained all night last night. Some into the day. Today was 'puddle day.' Some rain returned tonight at 8 pm.

Yesterday it rained as we came home from water polo. We were soaked. No problem.

Our bikes might rust to nothingness in another week. Cerain bolts and bits of the bike are not as sturdy as others. Went to my new best friend to get a new bike seat and bike seat post so it can be raised. I don't like to pedal with my knees under my chin. But now I'm high and can't touch the road while seated at a stop. Comfort wins. I'll make a bigger drafting wake for Grant to glide within.

Talked to a guy at the 'bike shop' who was in Pittsburgh two months ago. Small world. He was here to serve a deligation of folks that visited CMU to talk about ways to better manage computing and community elements. How one person's comments can be tracked to the various conversations. Go figure. That group also spent time in the state of Washington at Olympia. They were here as the Arts Festival was in town.

Our swag rocks. More on that with another post. We are keeping a list of who gets one of our gifts.

Twitter had tip about Wolf Wigo's film showing and Stanford.

Softball's #2, batting 3rd, is a fried of a friend.

By the way, water polo was amazing. I'll need to dedicate that to its own post too. We talked with all the team's players and their families. Photos, etc. They are such a nice group of people.

We saw USA beat China in the opening game of the pool play. At one point, the game was tied 3-3. Great USA Goolkeeping throughout.

Both Erik and I were able to lift today. Working out on weights at a local 5-star hotel. Didn't swim as we didn't bring our swim caps. But, Erik and I both had a bit of tummy troubles too. Won't get any more dumplings from the street vendor.

Good night.

Quick Update from the end of week one

We lost the internet for a couple of days. Sorry about that. Guess I shouldn't go to rouge video sites sorta like Utube-ish.

Out of the blue, Grant crashed on his bike (again). A bit of road rash is on his leg and arm. We've started a list of all the things that Grant has crashed into. I got really mad at him today as we started out and he did the old classic -- "Look mom! No hands." But he doesn't know the joke. The jokes on us. Ouch.

Catherine and I were headed to WalMart on foot to buy a little table for our meals and playing cards -- and we ran into two women who were looking for the weight lifting venue. They had just taken the subway here and were turned around. We walked them to the venue, knowing a short cut even. And, they had two extra tickets. But, most of the session had already happened. Anyway -- we got to see some weightlifting -- on a lark.

They were headed next to the canoe venue and I just got some great suggestions on getting there. Our tickets are to canoe in the afternoon. We have three tickets in the moring to Artistic Gymnastics. Trouble is -- it takes more than an hour to get to canoe. And, we live in the North East/Central, while artistic gymnastics is south west and the canoe is past the airport at the north east.

One tip was to take the subway (train) to the airport and then get a cab to the canoe venue. Most of the cabs don't want to drive all the way to the canoe venue. The charge is about $70 from airport and $120+/- from Beijing at the end of the subway line.

Needless to say, we can't bike to the venues tomorrow.

Swimming Success - #2 gold for Michael, thanks to Jason

We were screaming with great might -- in our apartment. I think the entire building could hear us. What a race. What a finish.
Great summary from another blog:

It appeared though that the best was yet to come. The men’s 4X100m freestyle was spectacular. The Aussies kicked things off, as Eamon Sullivan pipped Phelps in the first leg with a world record time of 47.24. It was the French though who gained control after stunningly consistent swims. Alain Bernard was a length ahead with 25m to go, and it looked like Phelps’ attempt at eight golds was undone on day two of finals. Jason Lezak had other plans.

Swimming Success Swimming with a style that looked like he was trying to climb on the back of Bernard and drown him, he produced a superhuman effort that defied hydrodynamics and dragged himself into contention. It all came down to the touch, and the American got there 0.08 secs quicker. The world record time was an obscene 3:08.24 min - 4.93 seconds quicker than the winning time in Athens 2004!

The 4X100m freestyle is one of the two events in Athens where Phelps failed to win gold. His celebrations at the end, flexing his torso, suggests he knew this would be tough. If he goes on to make history, he’ll be forever indebted to the powerhouse Jason Lezak.

Contact Us - Beijing Traffic

Contact Us: "Please send your suggestions, comments or questions, as well as messages for the Director General and other Beijing Traffic Management Bureau officials, to jgj@bjjtgl.gov.cn

Asking them about cycling competition today.

off of the Olympic site.

'Beijing Tour' Special Media Outings Registration Form
Updated: 2008-08-04 09:45:46 "Beijing Tour" Special Media Outings
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Please mark √ to choose the tour line: 1 2 3

1. Route of City Bus Tour: The city sightseeing on tour bus
Date: August 5, 2008 Departure Venue: News Desk of MPC
Departure Time: 1:30 p.m. Return time: 6 p.m.

2. Route of Museums: The Capital Museum, The Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall
Date: August 6, 2008 Departure Venue: News Desk of MPC
Departure Time: 1:30 p.m. Return time: 6 p.m.

3. Route of Cultural Heritage: The Great Wall—Badaling
Date: August 18, 2008 Departure Venue: News Desk of MPC
Departure Time: 1:30 p.m. Return time: 6 p.m.

Remark:

* Above tour service provided for the registered journalists for free.

* Ten or more registrations are needed to form a group; otherwise, tours will be cancelled.

Contact with:

Yang Wen 13601338207 or Amily Sun 13381068163

wen@btmbeijing.com amilysun@btmbeijing.com

FAX: 86 10 84371065

Wonder if the folks there would handle non media on a tour for a fee?

Judo became more of a story

Suddenly, men's heavyweight judo became much more exciting: Georgia's Lasha Gujejiani, Russia's Tamerlan Tmenov are both medal contenders.

Figures the media is going to be all over this like white on rice.

USA Swimming hosting parties around USA for Olympics

USA Swimming - Lanelines: "Ten major parties:

IRVINE – Monday, August 11, 9pm-12am PST

BALTIMORE – Wednesday, August 13, 8 pm – 12am ET

MIAMI – Sunday, August 10, 9pm-12am EST

CONCORD – Monday, August 11, 12pm- 1pm PST

HOUSTON – Saturday, August 16, 12pm-1pm CST

INDIANAPOLIS – Saturday, August 16, 9pm-12am EST

CHICAGO – Friday, August 16, 9pm – 12 am CST

SAN ANTONIO – Monday, August 11, 8pm – 12am CST

WASHINGTON DC – Friday, August 15, 9pm – 12am ESTTen major parties:

IRVINE – Monday, August 11, 9pm-12am PST

BALTIMORE – Wednesday, August 13, 8 pm – 12am ET

MIAMI – Sunday, August 10, 9pm-12am EST

CONCORD – Monday, August 11, 12pm- 1pm PST

HOUSTON – Saturday, August 16, 12pm-1pm CST

INDIANAPOLIS – Saturday, August 16, 9pm-12am EST

CHICAGO – Friday, August 16, 9pm – 12 am CST

SAN ANTONIO – Monday, August 11, 8pm – 12am CST

WASHINGTON DC – Friday, August 15, 9pm – 12am EST"

Battle erupts over Georgia rebel region - Russia- msnbc.com

Battle erupts over Georgia rebel region - Russia- msnbc.com Battle erupts over Georgia's breakaway region
Russia troops reportedly move into separatist capital amid attack by Tbilisi

Wars are to end, not begin, when the Olympics are held. Did they not get the memo?

[412] Hello from Beijing, China -- the Olympics are here and this city is buzzing

[412] Hello from Beijing, China -- the Olympics are here and this city is buzzing: "I'm sitting with my wife and sons in our August 2008 apartment in
north central Beijing. We had another great day on our bikes learning
about the city and the cultures of the world. This is so exciting.I'm sitting with my wife and sons in our August 2008 apartment in
north central Beijing. We had another great day on our bikes learning
about the city and the cultures of the world. This is so exciting.

So weird to live blog Opening when the content is invention of paper

Live blogging -- really will put it all on Twitter.

Meanwhile, China invented paper.

Scroll unfolds....

dots get typed.....

Pinch me when life gets any better.

List of swim pools in Beijing where we might workout

A new friend from Mexico sent along a list of swim pool for our consideration. We need a place to swim and do our workouts. Grant, Erik and I would love to have a 90-minute workout once a day.

I'm offering to teach or coach for 30 minutes as a trade our admission to the pool. I could come earlier or stay later -- or even do it within the 90-minute time block.

Friendship Hotel
Friendship Hotel, Baishiqiao Road, Haidian District
6849-8888, 10 am-11 pm, 30/2 hours

Fragrant Hills Hotel
Fragrant Hills Park, Haidian District
6259-1166 x 3243, 10 am-1 am, 30

Sino-Japanese Youth Exchange Center Swimming Pool
40 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District
6466-3311 ext. 3185, 1-9:45 pm, 50

Dongdan Swimming Pool
A-2 Dahua Road, Dongdan, Dongcheng District
6523-1241, 10 am-10 pm, 30

Overseas Chinese Village Swimming Gymnasium
Inside Overseas Chinese Village, Jianwai Avenue, Chaoyang District
6515-0615, 10 am-8 pm, 50

Tiantan Swimming Pool Gymnasium
4 Tiantan East Road, Chongwen District
6701-7562, 12 pm-1:30 pm, 7:45-9:15 pm, 10

Yingdong Swimming Pool
Inside Olympic Stadium, Chaoyang District
6491-0468, 11 am-11 pm, 30

Perhaps we'll go to them all. Thanks for the pointers Carlos. If anyone else wants to go or meet us, call. Email might be okay too. Our local phone numbers are listed in the blog below.

8-8-08 is here and we're headed out on our bikes

I picked up a few others to follow on Twitter.

Putting on sun lotion for the big day. Will spend some at "Car a for" a French owned mega super market. This is near the electronics mall part of the city -- North West corner. The torch may be there at noon-ish. Will try to confirm with an Information booth (so nice).

Unraveling the mystery of the Hamm twins. - By Josh Levin - Slate Magazine

Unraveling the mystery of the Hamm twins. - By Josh Levin - Slate Magazine: "The 2004 Olympics
Are Paul and Morgan Hamm identical twins? Their parents say no. Science says yes."

Both are out of the Olympics now. Are their injuries identical or fraternal? (stolen line from twitter)

Amanda Beard's Olympic PeTA campaign cancelled | The News is NowPublic.com

Amanda Beard's Olympic PeTA campaign cancelled | The News is NowPublic.com: "Amanda Beard's Olympic PeTA campaign cancelled"

Surface to air missles sit between Birds Nest and Water Cube. Welcome GWB

US President, George W. Bush, is now in Beijing. His father had
already arrived. Perhaps we'll see W on a bike ride in the morning.

CCTV (China Television) reported that there are two surface to air
missles on the Olympic Grounds next to the major outdoor stadium, the
Bird's Nest. It is also very close to the Water Cube.

Seems that because the world has GWB, it might also have the other.
Are they linked?

In the run up to the games, they said that there would be no 'kites."
I'm not sure when and where there was a kite ban. But today, we saw
two. One was very high.

How in the world do you use Twitter from cell phone in Beijing

I really could use some hand holding on getting my twitter to accept
my updates from my cell phone.

I think it can be done. I must use text messages to a phone number.
They they get re-displayed. Thanks for the help in the comments or
with a call later.

Group Protests Taser Death Of Swissvale Man - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Celeste gets in the news.

Group Protests Taser Death Of Swissvale Man - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh Investigators are waiting for autopsy results to determine if it was the jolt from the Taser that killed Thomas or a medical condition.

Protesters said they are bothered by how Thomas might have died. Shouting slogans and displaying banners, they called for prosecution of the police for their use of Tasers.
'I'm not saying the other ones aren't important, but there's something about this one that's bad,” said protester Celeste Taylor.

As the group gathered outside the borough building, reinforcements were called in from other municipalities and some Swissvale residents, fearful of retaliation, found courage to speak up.

But the protest wasn't just on the streets of Swissvale. Neighbors voiced their concerns to borough supervisors at a regularly scheduled meeting.

She and they take it to the streets -- and into the halls of government. That's the one-two message that must happen. Don't just whip the people into a frenzy and cause street theater. Go those extra steps to hear from and demand behaviors of those who emply the police and their superiors.

Beijing Olympic Games 2008 » Beijing haze getting inside swimming center

OMG.

Beijing Olympic Games 2008 » Beijing haze getting inside swimming center Some United States and Australian swimmers have reported seeing haze even inside the Swimming Center or Water Cube.
“[Monday,] they said it was the worst it’s been,” Erik Vendt, a member of the American 800-meter freestyle relay team, said yesterday. “It was horrible. It was almost laughable, it was so bad. I came into [the Aquatics Center] and I didn’t know if it was my eyes, but I definitely saw something. It was definitely hazy in here.”
Some swimmers including Grant Hackett however, have said it is not a problem.
“If people start coughing and sputtering all over the place, it will be an issue, but hopefully not,” Hackett said.

Hackett has it right. Don't be a cry baby. Get up and go. And, do it with your mouth shut.

There are a number of dimensions to report and blog about this.

First of all, we were there this morning. We didn't get inside the Olympic Green where the Water Cube and Birds Nest are. Bowever, we were able to see the outside of the buildings from a block or two away. We could see em -- but -- the view was milky. Right. It is hot, hazy and humid. Sultry was the word used by one broadcaster.

In our apartment, with the air on -- it is wonderful.

But we biked for four hours today -- and didn't hurl blood. We lived.

It was great seeing some of the other joggers too. There is an Olympic Forest just north of the Olympic Green. We biked along both the east and west roads that go into the venues. Plus the sixth ring road. I think it was sixth. There are two roads that cars can NOT go on -- other than police and officials, plus the buses.

This place is tighter than a drum with security and monitors and police and everything. There is a show of force like I've never seen. I wasn't there in the days after 4 were killed in O-Hi-O. But that was about tension and National Guardsmen at every parking meter in Athens, Ohio -- and elsewhere. This is epic too.

The information booths are packed with volunteers. The colors on the shirts of workers are everywhere. The banners are all along the fences. No barbed wire. No armored guards, generally. But the place is covered with layers and layers of people on duty. They are doing well. They are ever present.

We passed a few Olympic athletes out for their morning runs. One coach on roller blades while the female athlete ran. No masks. None needed. I told our line of bikers (family) that we'd do a U turn the next time we saw a training run that looked interesting.

We were a sight to be seen as well. I was generally at the front of the line -- wearing the bike helmets and gloves, as are the boys. Plus I put on the green and yellow Phonak bike suit to keep my bottom from shredding. Plus, I'm on a no-geared pink local bike with a narly black basket on the handlebars. Its seat is way, way too low -- so I ride often standing on the pedals.

A Canadian biker -- perhaps a BMX guy -- went past us while we were stopped. I didn't notice him until he was 20-meters away and departing quickly. But Catherine did notice him -- and he was doing a triple take of me.

The atheles are generally wearing their national colors.

I do not know what it is like at the rowing or canoe venue. There it would be impossible to see the majority of the course. That is 30-k away from the center city.

The roads are like Christchurch, NZ now. Think of Pittsburgh roads on a typical Sunday morning. Some drivers -- but often the side lanes are empty with only a few cars every few moments. There isn't gridlock even at the height of the morning rush hour. Heavy traffic on the ring roads, of course. But not bad at all.

Beijing is also a 9-5 (err, 9 to 9) city. The song says New York never sleeps. Well, Beijing does. At night the lights are out and the people are too. Not that I'm at the night clubs and discos. But the neighorhood streets are quiet and empty. Even by 6 am, things are still sleepy.

The Olympic Village was very cool to see. I know Erik and Grant got a kick out of biking past that part of our trip today. We could see the 6-story buildings, all new, all with many flags hanging from the windows and mini-balcony. All types of flags. People walking and playing beteen the buildings. Kicking balls, hitting badminton, stretching.

In a way, to me, it felt as if we were biking past the zoo before it had opened and we could see the interesting wildlife on the other side of the fences. Here, other than zoo with small cages, think of a wildlife game preserve. We were on the outside, glances to the side to look in.

The other side of the road has other buildings, generally much taller and filled with residents. They were greated with guards and lots of issues with 'parking' and 'auto use' I imagine. They too had come out to peek at us and others. Many were headed to work.

It must be a pain to live next to the Civic Arena -- and/or new Pens Arena. Heinz Field neighbors, well, the North Siders are on their own for complaints. These folks have to live next to the Olympics for the next 18 days. Ouch. Unlike Woodstock, there are plenty of places to park the buses and use the port-o-johns. Grant hit one, and it was the hold in the ground style.

I'll try to get photos going in the next day. Then you can see the haze yourself.

We've been perfect as to our systems and food. The bag of Twizlers helped on day one when we couldn't tell if we were hungry or just in a jet lag funk. Then we didn't have a refrig that worked either. So, we were not keen to buy groceries.

Boxes (mid sized) of Cheerios were found at WalMart -- for 17 RMB. Too costly. I could knock that off in 2 sittings. Rather our breakfast sandwich place locally has them for 2.5 RMB. Egg and pork and outside bread-like / bagle-like top and bottom. They don't eat cereal. I swear by it. I'm going gold turkey (slag) so far. Hong Kong had decent choices / selections of cereal. Not so much in Chengdu, other than in the gift show of Grandma's Kitchen. And, we saw a Beijing Grandma's Kitchen -- right next to the Olympic Venues. I didn't know it was a chain.

Good night.

Recent blog -- err "journal" entries are on paper and via my wife

My wife is keeping a journal and she has been logging lots of pages there -- on paper. Her stuff isn't crafted for the world to see, as mine flows.

But, another stream that she manages is email to those at home. When she is in a good mood and when I've been good (as I am generally), she'll CC me the messages for my awareness. Re-use, not so much.

Some snips from her about our recent days, edited some by the blog master, (me).

It is Thursday afternoon here (5am for you). We finally have email - it wasn't working at first. Actually, I'm not completely sure how we got on this time, so we'll see if I can get back on tomorrow! We are all settled in. The flight was easy and the driver met us at the airport. We were on a plane with many NBC reporters, USA Today reporters and quite a few athletes. It made for a very festive atmosphere.

We came right to our apartment. Grant started a nap that would last through the night. Mark went out and started to get to know the neighborhood (which includes a really nice WalMart!). He bought a bed (like one of the chairs that we take to the pool, but it stretches out to a long, canvas bed). We need this for Erik. Grant has the coach at night. Bedroom (room 2 of 2) has queen size bed.

Everyone is sleeping well. The apartment is great - very modern with lovely light wood furniture. Mark also got us phones the first afternoon which is great. ... You can call us if you like. (#s below / scroll down)

In the morning we ventured out into our neighborhood and found the little shops that have food cooking. We found a great place for "breakfast sandwiches". The people got a kick out of us - no other foreigners around this little neighborhood behind were we live. We've been there for breakfast each day and they know us now and are very friendly.

We spent part of yesterday buying bikes. We are great on our bikes. (Got plenty to say about bikes later.)

(She is wise to say little about the bikes until our return to keep worries at bay. But, she is right. We are great on the bikes. Erik and Grant are excellent. The New Zealand bike trip made them strong and wise. Here we are even on the right side of the road. Plus China has much less of a problem with drunks than US. Here the bike lanes a wonderful.)

- found the electronics district yesterday. When we went in to the "electronics mall" (largest in Beijing) some people were shouting at us and pointing us away from where we were going. We actually were with the landlord of the apartment and he just kept going, so we did, too. I couldn't figure out what was wrong and why he was ignoring them. On the next level, more of the same. Then I heard what they were shouting - "Dell", "Sony". These were all salespeople trying to guide you away from the competition and to their product. It was unbelievably noisy and visually busy. Pretty exciting. The boys want to go back to check out IPods and flash drives.

(Catherine said later that she was a bit scared upon our entry into the shops/mall. We went to the 4th floor, zip, zipping along. We (white folks) were ignored, helmets in hand. But our leader, a local, got the brunt of the 'welcome.' Catherine felt as if they were telling us to exit as something urgent and bad had just happened. Why would you want to go there -- in -- when a cyclone just ripped the top floors off this building or some other horrible news and gloom await just ahead. We dove in. I had a much better understanding of what was happening and wasn't at all perplexed. The boys and I had been frequent visitors and shoppers at the electronics mart in Chengdu. This one was very, very similar. Tip: this isn't like Best Buy in the states.)

This morning (Thursday) we set out at 6am (since we woke up around 4am) to ride our bikes to the Olympic venues to check things out. It took about 45 minutes (maybe a little less) and we were at the Bird's Nest - really exciting. It was really hazy here today - it will be interesting to see how all this weather turns out for the events. We rode bikes for about 4 hours checking out different venues - very exciting.

Back to Wal Mart today for shopping now that we have a working refridgerator (the new one didn't work when we got here). The boys met one of the medical trainers for the U.S. Diving team and a manager from the U.S. Field Hockey team. They were very nice (buying fans) and gave the kids Olympic pins.

(The apartment / bathroom has a single unit, pint sized) washer with a special supper spin cycle which partly dries clothes. Then clothes are hung in the window area (like a big bay window) and they are dry by morning. It's great to have laundry. (Catherine got it all to work -- despite the electronics / instructions being only in Chineese.)

We are on the 13th floor of the building (top floor). (No worries here about 13 being unlucky. That # is 4.) You'd never see a 13th floor in the U.S. It is neat to look out at dusk and into the night at the big buildings (neon and Chinese letters). We live right behind the big Microsoft China building.

The opening ceremonies are tomorrow. Everyone is very excited to see how it will go. There will be fireworks all over Beijing. Our first tickets are for waterpolo on the 10th. ...

Fireworks at 8-8-08 at 32 landmark spots around Beijing

The fireworks for the Olympic openings will also be sent off at 32
spots around the city.