Jim Russell posted a link to Dick Longworth’s interview on Chigago Public Radio about his new book called, Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism. Dick seems to be thinking about a lot of the things I have since I came to Pittsburgh more than 4 years ago. The entire center of the country seems to be slipping off the global map and losing it’s vital connections to the world, right at the moment it needs them most.

The world only seems to be flat for those regions that are interested in actively embracing it and doing everything they can to stay actively linked to it.

Jim posted this on Rust Belt Bloggers.

Anyone who has seen the South Side Barf walk should be concerned about this issue. We fall behind again. Are we preared to do what it takes to attract kids to Pittsburgh?

I did an early post on here about why I consider Point Park to be one of Pittsburgh’s most important schools in spit of its relatively small size. What I admire is that it seems very serious and successful at developing synergies between itself and the city. I think this is mainly because it doesn’t have the size and power to play the gorilla like Pitt. What has always amazed me since I have been here is just how little impact the cities huge schools have on the region and I think the main reason is the way they are designed as ivory towers posted on an Acropolis.

“New York is a city with dozens of colleges which play a huge role in it’s life. There is Columbia, NYU, Fordam, Pratt Institute, Saint Johns and the huge City University system. There are also tons of smaller schools scattered throughout the city. Parsons, SVA, FIT, Cooper Union, Hunter College, The New School, Juilliard, Baruch College and John Jay are a few. Not surprisingly a lot of these schools have strong specialties in the major “industries of NY” - art, film, media, fashion, theater, music, law, business, design and food.

One is sometimes struck, by the rather unassuming nature of some the schools. Few have stadiums, elaborate sports facilities, fancy campuses or massive buildings. Many of the most respected are pretty low key and functional. But looks can be decieving in that few of these schools beg for applicants and degrees from a lot of them are highly valued. A few like SVA, started small but have grown into sizable institutions. A lot of them do a booming and I think lucrative business in continuing education.”

An obvious way to build synergy with the city would be to place key parts of the schools in the areas of the city to which they best relate. CMU’s art and music programs might be a good fit downtown; Pitt and Duquesne’s law and business programs might be better close to the courts. This would likely make it easier to develop internship programs with local employers.

Perils for Pedestrians is a monthly tv show that airs on the DISH network, public access and (thankfully) the internet. This months episode is all about Pittsburgh.

–We talk with the head of Bike Pittsburgh;
–We learn about Friends of the Riverfront;
–Free Ride recycles abandoned bicycles;
–The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission looks at transportation issues;
–A study at Carnegie Mellon University examines the history of pedestrian crashes.

I have watched part of this episode and I am eager to see the whole thing. I am thrilled to see anyone advocating for more pedestrian safety. Especially since Pittsburgh is #14 on on the Forbes list of most sedentary cities. This video is also great because it shows off some of the great things going on here in Pittsburgh.

Randy Pausch is a computer science professor at CMU. While this alone would be no small feat, he has also been integral in the creation and development of virtual reality and landmark educational initiatives. He has three young children, a wife and inoperable pancreatic cancer.

While the greatest burden of sadness lies with those who know him best, I can’t help but feel moved by his story, which you can read at the PPG site. The world is most certainly a better place having had him in it.

Though I never had Dr. Pausch as a professor, I think he still has something to teach me, and maybe something that we can all learn. The guy who cuts you off on the parkway, the screaming children in Giant Eagle, the snotty people at work - these and so many other struggles are such brief, meaningless trifles. You think you have problems?

Dr. Pausch had a handful of dreams as a child; if you exclude the dreams most marked by childhood longing (being Captain Kirk and playing in the NFL), he accomplished every single one of them.

The lesson I learn, and the most valuable lesson to those of us who only know him from the news, is that life is too short to let fear of failure or the appearance of daunting obstacles prevent us from achieving our own dreams. The fear that prevents us from acting can be controlled, cast aside, ignored. Dr. Pausch may not have been able to accomplish everything he wanted to, but at least he tried.

If you knew you had only months to live, could you say the same?

Whether you say yes or no, there’s no rush - you have the rest of your life to change your answer.

(thanks go to PittGirl for writing about this first)

Even in the rain, the Flow Fest on Washington’s Landing today was a delight. Sponsored by PA CleanWays of Allegheny County, it’s a free art/music/eco festival celebrating Pittsburgh’s Rivers and it’s going on until 5:00 today. Great music, people to talk to, and hands-on art-making for all ages.

Post-Gazette:

Seventy first-year graduate students in the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University got as dirty as coal miners yesterday gutting four, century-old houses. Another 170 got rained on hauling pallets, pushing wheelbarrows, lugging mulch and collecting litter.

As dirty as coal miners? Really? I am sure that actual coal miners are impressed.

Swetha Bharadvaj lit up at the idea. “This will be great,” she said. “It’s a great project for us. We were talking earlier about ethics and the importance of acting with a broader perspective” beyond business.

“This sounded fun to me,” said Sereana Seim. “They told us we’d get filthy. I said, ‘Sign me up.’”

At five o’clock each student was issued a gray pin-striped suit and assured he would never have to worry about dirt again, barring the occasional mud spatter on his jodhpurs from polo pony hooves.

The Bethel Park School Board, whose meeting room is seen here, voted on August 8 to expel a student who had toys in the trunk of his car.

The student was not invited to defend himself at the proceedings, nor even told that they were underway. This was a wise decision on the part of the school board, as they might have had to explain, had they invited the unfortunate seventeen-year-old and his family, why it was acceptable for “district officials” to poke around in the trunk of his car.

It is, however, an absolute violation of the principle of due process, as, it is likely, was the original search. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas famously wrote “neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” I like to think that other constitutional rights are retained also, such as a protection against unreasonable search and seizure and the right to confront one’s accusers.

Also missing here is a sense of any kind of balance. Even if we accept that, for whatever reason, students no longer are protected by the U.S. Constitution while in the parking lot of their school, how can any sort of crime be seen here? This kid didn’t threaten anyone with the gun-resembling toys. He didn’t bring them into the building. He didn’t even leave them in plain sight of other students.

And let me point out one more time, they were toys that looked something like guns, not actual guns.

Daniel Duff, Charles Koch, Charles Scheuble and Vice-President Connie Ruhl, the members of the Bethel Park Board who voted for this expulsion, should immediately resign their positions in shame and remorse for this decision. As they are clearly too tin-eared and half-witted to recognize this, they will instead have to be removed at the end of their terms in office. This is unfortunate, as it will give them in three cases another two years to tremendously complicate the lives of other children and teenagers with their asinine decisions.

This post is a reaction to the previous one. While I am not sure that Mr. Rogers is at fault, I think that there is something wrong with the kind of power we seem to be giving kids– one that often comes with little interest in instilling knowledge or responsibility in them.

The Heinz Foundation for example just dumped $17,000 into a project to get the input of 40 Middle school kids on ways to create a vibrant downtown. It looks like most of the kids have never lived in Pittsburgh and that their average age is around 13.

“Marissa Maddigan, 13, of Munhall, said her group favors eliminating vehicular traffic in Market Square”.

“Students also suggested allowing buskers; cleaning up graffiti and litter; posting more police officers; and holding winter hot-chocolate festivals and ice-sculpture competitions.”

For the most part, the ideas printed made sense and showed a lot of creativity. The concept of asking for young peoples input and active involvement is also very valid. But what kind of lesson is being taught about taking decision making seriously. Urban planning is a critical issue that will affect the future of the region. Are the kids studying for several months or years to look at the history of the city? Are they traveling to study other cities or exploring the case history or logic behind their opinions?

The suggestion, for example(the only blatantly dumb idea they printed) to put in skywalks is in fact a proposal with a long record of failure in many cities since it helps to remove and not add people to the street while the idea of eliminating car traffic in Market Square needs some a lot of study.

I am not sure if Mr. Rogers is at fault or just kids but we don’t seem to be a society that takes thinking seriously anymore

Yesterday we started an interesting discussion over at workabout spacing. Do you put one space or two after a period. Lynsie and I are both believers in 2 spaces. But others here disagreed. We have even taken the debate to google and found a video of someone strongly advocating for one space.
Apparently the two spaces were historically added when typing on a typewriter because typewriter spacing was so tricky. As the conversation continued through out the day we learned that computers now correct you for adding two spaces.
I thought of James’ (since I am writing about grammar I just had to pause for a consultation about how to correctly make James possessive) post about the governments involvement. I am just not sure I like Word having so much control over my writing. If I want to put two spaces after a period that is my prerogative.
For now Lynsie and I will stick to two spaces - double space forever, single space never.