Walt Schmidt

Penn State is bigger than Joe Paterno

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:05:08 -0500

To the outside world, Joe Paterno is Penn State.

But that’s not reality.

Penn State is 95,000 students and hundreds of thousands of alumni.

Penn State is home to the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, raising $9,563,016.09 in 2011 to fight pediatric cancer, and more than $70 million since 1977.

Penn State is Fulbright scholars, renowned researchers, and student-athletes who are students and athletes.

Loud and opinionated pundits will continue to try to out-rage each other. Our current leaders will, deservedly, be shown the door.

But what makes Penn State, Penn State, will remain.

We are still Penn State

Photo

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:21:31 -0400

"Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say...."

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:09:00 -0400

“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world - ‘No, you move.’”

- Captain America
Amazing Spider-Man #537

Doomsday warning from HootSuite

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:06:07 -0500

What is it with HootSuite and reminder emails? I stopped using the site months ago, but now I’m suddenly getting emails that I have to act NOW to protect my account.

What if I don’t?

The e-mail warns they will “disable HootSuite access to (my) social network profiles on March 15th.”

Initially, I was terrified. I felt the urgency in the e-mail. I scrambled and went into panic mode. Certainly, the tone of the email would scare any seasoned social media pro, let alone a hack like myself.

And it didn’t appear to be a form letter. No, it was much closer to a personal plea.

They detailed how they announced their changes in August, had grandfathered my account until November, then provided an additional 7-day grace period. The e-mail explained that their business sales team unsuccessfully attempted to contact me. There may have even been special dispensation from the pope at some point. But now there’s no denying it.

March 15 is coming.

Eventually my fear subsided and I managed to regain control over my emotions.

I realized that I had stopped using the service before their announced changes in August. I determined there were two possible explanations.

Of their users who had not selected a plan, they could not determine who were still active users and who simply had inactive or abandoned accounts.
Perhaps they did know I had long ago stopped using the account and this was an attempt at a clever marketing stunt.

I stopped caring which answer was correct after a few seconds and simply deleted the email.

But HootSuite was worried about my organization’s well-being. So when I didn’t reply, they contacted my wife, who had also been connected on HootSuite to the Twitter account in question. They explained how they were concerned that I had not taken action. They thought, perhaps, that I was no longer a part of the organization.

Once again, I had to ask myself some tough questions. Is HootSuite just one of a thousand web and OS applications used to access social networks? Or do I have some sort of deeper connection with HootSuite that I’m forgetting?

I checked my will. Nope. No mention there.

After another several seconds, I deleted the email without coming to any conclusion. And that’s where things are at now.

I wonder, though. Does everyone do this? I haven’t used TweetDeck in some time, but it’s still installed. If I uninstall it, will they send me dire e-mails? Maybe they would send the Priceline negotiator to help me reconsider.

But I strive to push forward, convinced this is nothing more than marketing.

I’m fairly certain that a service that I haven’t used in months will continue unused.

My confidence is strong.

My Twitter account is tweeting away.

Still …

I can’t help but wonder what will happen on March 15.

Editor’s Note: HootSuite, please don’t take offense to this rambling blog post. I’m just having some fun with you. No worries!

Perfect winds, perfect timing equals ... well, you know

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:15:14 -0500

Yesterday, a narrow lake effect snow band targeted the downtown area of Cleveland for several hours. This is the beauty of lake effect snow. One spot gets a foot of snow. Literally three miles away, just a few flakes.

In Cleveland, though, lake effect snow is routine. We go through this every year. This is not Seattle, where a minor snow event becomes breaking news. Even the worst of storms here, while causing obvious traffic issues, are handled with relative ease.

Not on Wednesday.

Wednesday was different. Wednesday saw a storm drop 2 inches of snow an hour for the entire afternoon. When the storm peaked shortly before the evening rush hour, I knew it was going to be a long ride home.

My brother was with me. He has been working with us downtown for a few weeks. I’m sure it was a treat for him to experience the joy of a freak storm. In my 13 winters working downtown, this is the only the second time a lake effect event has had such perfect timing.

I peaked out my window at 4:15 to see how things were looking.

ST. CLAIR, NEAR ONTARIO, LOOKING AT THE JUSTICE CENTER

We left at 4:30 and walked through several inches of snow to the parking garage. Of course, today was the day that I was forced to park on the roof.

PARKING GARAGE, W. 3RD & ST. CLAIR

We cleaned the car off fairly quickly and started down from the garage’s 7th level.

Then, we got to Level 3. At 4:40.

I knew right away what the problem was. There was a line of probably 25 cars waiting to get out of the garage, but could not exit into the gridlock.

After several minutes, I got out and peaked over the side of the garage to see how bad it was.

PARKING GARAGE, W. 3RD LOOKING NORTH TO ST. CLAIR

Yeah, that’s going to be a problem. And it wasn’t any better in the other direction.

PARKING GARAGE, W. 3RD LOOKING SOUTH TO PUBLIC SQUARE

Finally after nearly an hour, we made it onto the street. The traffic was moving a little better than I expected.

ST. CLAIR NEAR W. 6TH

ST. CLAIR AT W. 6TH

We turned onto W. 6th to work our way south to Superior.

W. 6TH

W. 6TH AND FRANKFORT

Once on Superior, it was obvious that any attempt to cross the Detroit-Superior Bridge would result in more delays. Fortunatly, my normal route happens to be through the Flats, then along Scranton. I worried about the hill, but I managed to successfully slide down to Old River Rd. From there, it quickly turned from nightmare to normal.

W. 25TH

W. 25th near Metro wasn’t bad at all. Only a couple of miles out out and the snowfall was less than half of what it was downtown.

W. 25TH NEAR I-71

From there, it was a fairly normal commute. Total time, right about two hours. Normal would be around 40 minutes with traffic.

I’m convinced if I had taken a more traditional route out of downtown — the Innerbelt or one of the bridges, I would have added another hour.

But this is Cleveland. We’ll deal with it as long as there isn’t an earthquake thrown in.

North Ridgeville Rainbow

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:22:06 -0400

October 26, 2010

LeBron to Miami ... please!

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:36:00 -0400

Anyone who knows me will tell you there’s no ambiguity in how I feel about LeBron James. He’s right up there with the NFL’s #1 diva, Brett Favre. In a basketball world full of egos, he stands alone. Plenty of people excuse him because of how super-awesome he is. But that’s a weak excuse. Kevin Durant doesn’t need that excuse.

LeBron’s grin hasn’t charmed everyone, though.

Kevin Hench:

It’s like LeBron is a rock god, auditioning groupies to see which will debase herself most thoroughly for his gratification and ego satisfaction.

Gregg Doyel:

He hasn’t killed any man, any woman, any dog. He hasn’t been arrested on charges of domestic violence. He hasn’t brought a loaded pistol to the arena. So why am I starting to loathe LeBron James?

Bleacher Report:

There are “kryptonites” that every human beings share. Is LeBron James’ “kryptonite” his ego?

Adrian Wojnarowski:

All those teams that marched into the presentations and listened to some of the foolish and naive questions asked of them believed these kids had no idea what they were doing, or what they had gotten themselves into.

Marla Ridenour:

If there’s a happy ending to the 2010 free-agency frenzy, it will still leave the impression that the King’s head has gotten too big for his crown.

Bob Berghaus:

LeBron James, a free agent after playing seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is just 25, but he’s taking this diva stuff to a new level.

So, goodbye LeBron. Or, welcome back. Doesn’t matter to me. Either way, I’ll always remember you for treating others with respect and your good sportsmanship.

Be sure to check out the Twitter account of LeBronJamesEgo.

Arizona's Un-American Immigration Law

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:01:00 -0400

Arizona's Un-American Immigration Law:

Why aren’t anti-ObamaCare conservatives outraged by this intrusive move?

topherchris: (Re: Police Seize Jason Chen’s Computers)

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:14:05 -0400

topherchris:

(Re: Police Seize Jason Chen’s Computers)

If the Huffington Post was honest.

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:21:00 -0400

If the Huffington Post was honest.

GM Pays Back TARP Loans With ... TARP Loans

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:10:00 -0400

Americans across this great land beamed with excitement when GM announced that they paid back their government loans ahead of schedule. Until, that is, someone had the nerve to ask where they got the money to pay it back. Turns out, GM paid back the TARP money using TARP funds from an escrow account at Treasury.

This must be a misunderstanding. Maybe GM can clear it up:

Question: Are you just paying the government back with government money?

GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky: Well listen, that is in effect true, but a year ago nobody thought we’d be able to pay this back.

Or, maybe not.

GM Pays Back TARP Loans With … TARP Loans

"I’m fascinated at how Libertarians are always derisively painted ‘idealists.’ In..."

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:00:00 -0400

“

I’m fascinated at how Libertarians are always derisively painted ‘idealists.’ In this economic climate, it is realism to urge cutting of budgets and taxes.

The ones wearing the tinfoil hats in dreamy idealism are those who want to preserve full funding at the levels of prosperous times despite the economic reality.

”

- Mike Kole

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Travel

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0400

Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men “are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Here in America, we’re in the midst of an intense, but quite healthy, debate over health care reform. Part of the debate is whether access to health care is one of those inherent rights.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich released a statement last month where he said, “I believe health care is a civil right.”

But if you think the health care debate is explosive, imagine a Congressperson trying to sell what Antonio Tajani is pushing.

Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, said, “Traveling for tourism today is a right.”

The leadership in Brussels agrees. If you’re retired, young, or too poor to afford it yourself, you should have your travel subsidized by the government.

I think Glenn Beck’s head just exploded.

"Having a Hummer is stupid. It’s stupid to waste that much gas. It’s stupid to waste that..."

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:18:47 -0400

“Having a Hummer is stupid. It’s stupid to waste that much gas. It’s stupid to waste that much money on gas. It’s stupid to parade your insecurities on public roads. Hummers are stupid looking. You don’t need an attack vehicle for the Krispy Kreme drive through.”

- Penn Jillette

Tea Party supporters hold favorable opinion of Bush

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:22:10 -0400

The percentage [of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters] holding a favorable opinion of former President George W. Bush, at 57 percent, almost exactly matches the percentage in the general public that holds an unfavorable view of him.

(source)

Is the Tea Party movement really an uprising born from the election of Barack Obama? Not if the majority hold a favorable opinion of George W. Bush. As evidenced by their actions, both President Bush and President Obama believed in increasing the size and reach of federal government. Both Presidents pushed reckless financial policies that included increasing debt. Frankly, they have more in common than most Tea Party supporters would care to admit.

If those in the Tea Party really believed what their signs said, they would hold similar opinions of Obama and Bush. Very little separates the political principles of these two men and of most elected Republicans and Democrats. Another reason why real alternatives brought by the likes of Ron Paul are so refreshing.

Heidi

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:58:15 -0400

Election 2012 Poll: Barack Obama 42%, Ron Paul 41%

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:00:00 -0400

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters finds a hypothetical 2012 election match-up between Republican Congressman Ron Paul and President Obama to be virtually dead even.

This is encouraging to those of us who are frustrated with business as usual.

Paul gets knocked for being too idealistic and not living enough in the real world. But it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Even embracing the spirit of some of his ideas would be an improvement.

Congressman Paul’s son, Rand, is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. He recently commented on “extreme” ideas.

“People sometimes say to me, ‘Aren’t your views a little extreme?’ ” Paul recounted. “I say to them that I don’t think a balanced budget is extreme. I think a $2 trillion deficit, now that’s extreme.”

The Gradual Disappearance Of Flash Websites

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:14:00 -0400

The Gradual Disappearance Of Flash Websites

Ron Paul chastises at GOP conference: Conservatives ‘like the empire’

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:30:43 -0400

Ron Paul chastises at GOP conference: Conservatives ‘like the empire’:

The Republican Party can’t handle the truth.

Video Review of new Panasonic HPX 370/371 House season finale shot entirely with Canon 5DmkII

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:05:11 -0400

Video Review of new Panasonic HPX 370/371 House season finale shot entirely with Canon 5DmkII