So what is the proper decision for police and prosecutors evaluating a collision between the operator of a bicycle and a motor vehicle? What, if any, is the criminal conduct? Well,of course, that depends on the circumstances of the accident, but if the cyclist is lawfully in the road, the answers could be many.

I was up at the Ubuntu website downloading the latest version to my ThinkPad (from a mirror site at OSUOSL, which I hopefully thought would be Ohio State University Open Source Lab, but was of course Oregon State) and I noticed a promo that "Ubuntu on Dell now available in the UK, Germany and France" with support from Canonical... one promo said this is available in the USA as well. This is a major development for Linux and for Ubuntu, and for open source development in the world. For the first time ever, I am a Dell fan... I'll be interested how pricing will differ between comparable Dell Ubuntu and Windows boxes... especially after you add Office (v.s. free OpenOffice)... more below and here.

I grew up and lived in Cleveland and, other than school, stayed here until I moved away for about ten years. Since coming back home, one distressing thing I've noted is that decision-makers, at all levels, closely guard information, almost as if a Captain who would rather go down with the ship, than loosen up and perhaps not go down at all.  The Medical Mart non-debate has all those strange dynamics.  Is it possible, I wonder, if a true, public-private partnership on a Medical Mart/Convention Center/Urban Design District might actually make sense after all?

Who's my candidate, the pollster asks?

I will pledge to support what ever candidate does more to make the world hate America less. At the outset, I want to say how truly appalled I am at myself for having such an abysmal standard for evaluating candidates. How can I tolerate, much less espouse, such a bleak, cynical prism to separate the candidates? Yet, I am more troubled by America and an America political system that is content to operate in denial.

Once again, Cleveland's daily is excited about the latest “drive-by shooting” of the film industry, reporting that 'visitors to the Rock Hall got an extra treat — watching Rainn Wilson, chief geek from “The Office,” shoot scenes for his upcoming movie “The Rocker.” Once again, however, we are missing the big picture ... literally.  While one day's shooting in Cleveland warrants the media attention, the “The Rocker” will be shooting forty-five days in Toronto, Ontario.

The dynamic leader of Habitat for Humanity will discuss the REstore program (http://www.gchfh.org/Restore/index.htm) at their offices as well as how providing affordable, sustainable housing helps end a cycle of poverty. http://www.gchfh.org Many opportunities to contribute in this worthwhile, ongoing project in Greater Cleveland will reveal themselves through this lively discussion. And if we are lucky, we may just get Jeffrey to veer off topic a bit and talk about his other life as a performance poet.

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Here's a worthwhile event notice from one of the Founders of Meet The Bloggers, George Nemeth, for their BLOGGAPALOOZA. Now at the Beachland Tavern, mixing with Arts Collinwood, this should be an amazing gathering - need to check this out for sure:

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Located in the heart of the historic Hough Bakeries Complex is the Inner Circle, a weekend club and reception facility operated for the past 7 years by the Hot Sauce Williams family. Starting shortly, operation of the Inner Circle will expand to extended hours every day, featuring a cybercafe, meeting space, computer terminals, free wifi, independent film, the Linux Cafe, art, culture, and great food, coffee, and even wine tastings, via a broader partnership of friends. This pan is from the deck and patio area, and features Guyanese chef and reggae performer and DJ Edwin, who will help operate the Inner Circle, shown with Hot Sauce Williams founder LeMaud Williams, as well.

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Bill Callahan and I are pleased to offer a last moment opportunity to join an important conversation just beginning on making NEO a global leader in the use of Free Open Source Software, with the man who wrote the Open Source Definition, Bruce Perens. Bruce is Vice President of Developer Relations and Policy for FOSS-related SourceLabs, of Seattle. NEO is fortunate to have a local connection with Bruce, as the Director of Marketing for SourceLabs, Athena Diamantis, lives in this region. Digital Vision Director Bill Callahan and East Cleveland CIO Abu Alli met with Bruce and Athena last week to discuss how to make NEO a world FOSS leader, and we decided that is a topic deserving much broader and more open attention. So tomorrow we continue growing the dialog.

 

Join us, if you may... 8 AM breakfast tomorrow at the Juniper Grill.

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It is good to see just released the latest research report from Policy Bridge, which explores: "How Anti-Education Messages in Media, at Home, & on the Street Hold Back African-American Youth". They contend "that institutional policy changes cannot succeed without addressing lifestyle factors that derail far too many black youth – boys in particular – from the surest path toward economic well-being: education." Policy Bridge is a think tank directed by Timothy Goler, who I got to know when he was acting economic development director in East Cleveland. This report is found at their website, here. It seems to do a good job of surfacing many issues and proposing solutions not now part of our dialog. There are other similar issues that make education more complex than it seems.

Join the nonprofit organization ClevelandBikes on its annual “Bike to Work” rides, now bigger than ever! ClevelandBikes hosts commuting rides downtown, led by experienced ride leaders, every day during National Bike to Work Week, May 14-18, with rides continuing on the final Friday of every month, May through September. ClevelandBikes also supports a major health initiative, with a “Bike to Work”ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.livestrong.org) and “LIVESTRONG” day on Wednesday May 16. National “Bike to Work” Week is sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists (www.bikeleague.org), which offers bicycle advocacy and support programs for more than 125 years. Here's the summer “Bike to Work” ride schedule:

    Rhythm Culture Shakes Up Fair Trade at the World Fair
    Trade Day Festival on Saturday, May 12, 11am-3pm, at
    Tri-C Metro (Campus Center).  Move to the music of

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One of the writers at CoolCleveland contacted me about using some of my photos of the Breuer for an article they just posted here - another interesting proposal for the property, broadening awareness of the issues with the current plan and alternatives... read more

 

US National Archives & Records Administration Facility,
Waltham, MA. Photo courtesy of Sika Sarnafil Roofing Systems, Inc.

CLEVELAND “BIKE TO WORK WEEK, MAY 14-18 -- PART OF NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK; LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION “LIVESTRONG” DAY, WEDNESDAY MAY 16; AND SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THE SUMMER!

Martin Varsavsky, founder of FON, and author of his "Blog of an Entrepreneur", posted there an interesting letter he sent to all his employees: "FON is Dropping Microsoft, Adopting Ubuntu". I had seen, on some of his earlier blog entries, that Martin had a major Windows crash and lost his whole hard drive (been there) and so after 20 years with Microsoft he switched to Ubuntu (done that) and also Apple - after a month he settled on Ubuntu. It has been fascinating reading Martin's celebration of discovering FOSS - I remember having the same awakening. It is very exciting to now see Martin move his company FOSS, and to highlight how he is doing this and why - read his personal account here... and think about how this could be happening all over NEO...

 It is very nice to see my favorite real urban planner Joe Stanley featured on Lee Batdorff's very informative University Circle Blog - and thanks to Joe for mentioning us here at realneo! We set up and host his http://neomainstreet.com site, which is one of the best uses of Drupal in this region, and presents excellent work by a talented planner and designer. Joe is working on all the community development projects I'm involved with, including overall East Cleveland planning and the Star Intergenerational Neighborhood planning and The Intergenerational School, along with other work Joe does independently.

While not currently a powerhouse in Free Open Source Software (FOSS), Northeast Ohio is positioned to begin excelling with FOSS in some very strategic ways that may add great value to the regional economy. 

Because of FOSS, we may now bridge the digital divide more quickly and completely here than has any other large urban center in America, we may soon have the highest percentage of workforce properly educated for the new economy, and we may lead the world in some fields of application development and technology innovation with global, open standards, all if the region now embraces FOSS..

"I think Cleveland is a good place. Inner city is rough, but the outskirts is real beautiful, and great schools there. Plus my family, my mom and my sisters, they're all in Cleveland, so it's easier for me to be there than anywhere else." This quote, from an excellent Free Times interview with Charles "Wish Bone" Scruggs, of Cleveland-roots, Grammy award winning, multi-platinum rap trailblazers Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, sings the woes of a place branded as a "Shrinking City", where even the urban hard-core Thugs chose the 'burbs over the 'hood. The result of such out-migration, and downright defection, as is the case with all the other members of Bone, is the subject of a series of art exhibitions and related events taking place over the next month, all over town... which event sponsor Kent Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) introduces by pointing out: "In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Cleveland had lost nearly 20,000 residents in just five years. The city’s population of 458,684 was the lowest in nearly one hundred years." Starting Friday, April 20, 2007, at 4:30 PM, with a lecture at CUDC, explore what it means when a city loses its Bones...

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While I don't really care for the Cleveland Institute of Art slogan "Making Art Work" (to me, work is a 4-letter-word, and art is not), the CIA turns out some of the hardest working and most work-force attractive designers in the world, and each year showcases their talent at an annual Design Show. To get a sense of what to expect, here is my preview of the show from 2005 (missed the 2006 show - will be there this year!).

Here's more info from the official invitation...

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Few occassions in NEO or anywhere offer a more diverse and exciting perspective on life and art than the annual CIA BFA Thesis Exhibitions... from the CIA Website: See exceptional work by the next generation of artists and designers as graduating students present their Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions. The Joseph McCullough Center will be bursting with energy and excitement as the Institute’s graduating seniors challenge the public with fresh ideas and commentaries on our world. Work will be presented in all media including performance and installation art. The senior thesis project is the culmination of a student’s career at the Institute. Please join us to celebrate their achievements!

Exhibition Hours

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I went to a very good talk about climate change and the "Inconvenient Truth" at the Natural History Museum last week.  The dialogue was led by local businessman/ environmentalist Jeff Friedman. It occurs to me that cycling can be a stronger part of climate change discussion.