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Mr. Stephen Stofka, a Philadelphian, at his blog addressed "Paying for National Infrastructure on National Level. His comprehensive thoughts are at http://philadelphia2050.blogspot.com/2011/07/paying-for-infrastructure-at-national.html.
Mr Stofka recently graduated from Temple University with a Bachelors in Geography and Urban Studies. He notes on his blog the ability to undertake urban, site, environmental, and transportation planning, and is an expert in ArcGIS, Microsoft Office, PCs, and Macs, and am intermediate in Adobe Creative Suite. He has experience in web content development, most notably with http://hiddencityphila.org/author/Stofka/. His studies focused upon urban and transportation planning.
Looking at his analysis together with Gilbert's and Perl's recommendation to create a US "Transportation Redevelopment Agency" argues for a new way to approach land transportation in the country.
30 Kasım 2012 Cuma
Coal Carloadings and Railroad Industry
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As has been mentioned, one cost of coal is the amount of time in which a heavy, low powered train occupies a right of way. The slow speed affects operations for faster trains.
The railroad industry has been affected this year by reduced coal carloadings due to a mild winter. See May Issue 2012 of RAILWAY AGE Magazine, page one at:http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ra0512/#/2 and data at http://railfax.transmatch.com/. Carloadings are off 16 per cent year to year.
Where will the coal business be in the future? A strategic long term discussion was made by Gilbert and Perl in "Transport Revolutions - Moving People and Freight Without Oil."
There is a future probability for significantly less coal carloadings. It is peak coal which has arrived.
They noted, "Coal's availability is often assumed to be limitless or at least sufficient to allow expanded use for decades. For example, a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests that consumption of coal in energy terms could rise by 348 per cent between 2000 and 2050 (i.e. 3 per cent per year). The IEA suggests that proven reserves of coal could allow for 164 years of consumption at current rates, compared with 64 years or natural gas and 42 years for oil.'
"Other sources suggest that mineable global coal resources are much smaller. These include a recent report by Germany's Energy Watch Group that points to the unreliability of data on proven reserves of coal. The most extreme example given was that Germany itself, reported as having downgraded her proven hard coal reserves in 2004 by 99 per cent from 23 billion tons to 0.183 billion tons. Botswana and the UK have also downgraded reserves by more than 90 per cent during the last two decades. Only Australia - the major coal exporter - and India have reported growing reserves. China - by far the major producers and user (39 per cent of the world consumption in 2006) - has reported exactly the same reserves of coal each year since 1992, even though subsequent consumption and loss through uncontrollable fires amount to a quarter of this total. The report suggests that China's coal production will peak in about 2015.'
'The U.S. is the second major consumer of coal and has by far the largest proven reserves (about 27 per cent of the world total). It uses less than 0.5 per cent of its reserves each year, but production of high quality hard coal (anthracite and bituminous coal) has already peaked - but the growth had been in less energy dense sub-bituminous and lignite coals. Production in energy terms reached a peak in 1998 and has since fallen by about 4 per cent. The report's authors suggest that U.S. production volumes could be further increased, but only until about 2025, when they will inevitably decline. Production in energy terms could begin to increase again but would reach a maximum - before the volumetric peak - that would be no more than about 20 per cent above the current value . World volumetric production of coal would also peak in about 2025, with an earlier peak in energy terms." (See pages 138 and 139 of "Transport Revolutions - Moving People and Freight Without Oil.")
A major source of railroad industry revenue faces a decline. The nature of the transportation services provided by the railroad industry without coal carloadings would likely be well served by electrification. Electrification would enable faster operations and denser utilization of the scarce line haul railroad infrastructure.
The railroad industry has been affected this year by reduced coal carloadings due to a mild winter. See May Issue 2012 of RAILWAY AGE Magazine, page one at:http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ra0512/#/2 and data at http://railfax.transmatch.com/. Carloadings are off 16 per cent year to year.
Where will the coal business be in the future? A strategic long term discussion was made by Gilbert and Perl in "Transport Revolutions - Moving People and Freight Without Oil."
There is a future probability for significantly less coal carloadings. It is peak coal which has arrived.
They noted, "Coal's availability is often assumed to be limitless or at least sufficient to allow expanded use for decades. For example, a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests that consumption of coal in energy terms could rise by 348 per cent between 2000 and 2050 (i.e. 3 per cent per year). The IEA suggests that proven reserves of coal could allow for 164 years of consumption at current rates, compared with 64 years or natural gas and 42 years for oil.'
"Other sources suggest that mineable global coal resources are much smaller. These include a recent report by Germany's Energy Watch Group that points to the unreliability of data on proven reserves of coal. The most extreme example given was that Germany itself, reported as having downgraded her proven hard coal reserves in 2004 by 99 per cent from 23 billion tons to 0.183 billion tons. Botswana and the UK have also downgraded reserves by more than 90 per cent during the last two decades. Only Australia - the major coal exporter - and India have reported growing reserves. China - by far the major producers and user (39 per cent of the world consumption in 2006) - has reported exactly the same reserves of coal each year since 1992, even though subsequent consumption and loss through uncontrollable fires amount to a quarter of this total. The report suggests that China's coal production will peak in about 2015.'
'The U.S. is the second major consumer of coal and has by far the largest proven reserves (about 27 per cent of the world total). It uses less than 0.5 per cent of its reserves each year, but production of high quality hard coal (anthracite and bituminous coal) has already peaked - but the growth had been in less energy dense sub-bituminous and lignite coals. Production in energy terms reached a peak in 1998 and has since fallen by about 4 per cent. The report's authors suggest that U.S. production volumes could be further increased, but only until about 2025, when they will inevitably decline. Production in energy terms could begin to increase again but would reach a maximum - before the volumetric peak - that would be no more than about 20 per cent above the current value . World volumetric production of coal would also peak in about 2025, with an earlier peak in energy terms." (See pages 138 and 139 of "Transport Revolutions - Moving People and Freight Without Oil.")
A major source of railroad industry revenue faces a decline. The nature of the transportation services provided by the railroad industry without coal carloadings would likely be well served by electrification. Electrification would enable faster operations and denser utilization of the scarce line haul railroad infrastructure.
1920's HSR PROPOSAL PRR
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In the Spring 1999 of a periodical called THE KEYSTONE published by the Pennsylvania Railroad Historical and Technical Society an article appeared describing the "Samuel Rea Line." Samuel Rea retired from being the President of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1925. His most famous engineering achievement was the construction of the Penn Station and tunnels at New York City completed in 1910. The article indicated that preliminary surveys for a railroad capable of 90 mph were supervised by Samuel Rea for the PRR Board in 1926. The dedicated passenger line was to leave the existing 90 mph mainline at Fort Wayne, Indiana and be built across Ohio and Pennsylvania connecting with the PRR mainline at Lewistown, Pennsylvania. It would have lessened the PRR distance from Chicago to New York City by 100 miles.
In an attempt to learn more about the basis for the article, an attempt was made to contact its author without success. Contact with the Hagley Museum at Wilmington, Delaware, and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, Pennsylvania; major repositories for Pennsylvania Railroad archives, came up empty. The absence of more information about the basis for the article is probably due to a a fire at Philadelphia's Broad Street Station in 1943. Substantial volumes of PRR records stored there were destroyed in the fire.
The route across Pennsylvania would have required 22 tunnels. The longest tunnel would have been north of Altoona and south of Tyrone. That west to east tunnel would have been 29,400 feet or 5.57 miles long. Steam locomotives would have had their fires banked and the passenger trains hauled through the long tunnel by electric locomotives. It would have taken a civil engineer of the caliber of the Samuel Rea to have have supervised such a preliminary survey.
The yellow line represents the proposed Samuel Rea Line noted as SRL. The PRR mainline is shown in blue. The Conemaugh line from the Northside of Pittsburgh to Bolivar, Pennsylvania is shown in dark red / brown. Northwest of Pittsburgh, near Rochester, Pennsylvania a dotted line shows a new connection from the mainline to a place called Ogle for a connection with the Samuel Rea Line. Northeast of Pittsburgh near Kiski Junction across the Allegheny River from Freeport a dotted line shows where a proposed connection with the Connemaugh Division would have been made at a place called Godfrey, Pennsylvania. All tunnel locations have their length in feet indicated.
Was the equipment operated by the PRR in 1926 capable of 90 mph operation? Yes. Was their larger passenger locomotive, the K4 type, capable of sustained 90 mph operation? Yes. Was the smaller PRR passenger locomotive, the E6 type, capable of faster operation? Yes - 115 mph.
The Samuel Rea Line is shown in yellow. The Allegheny summit would have been attained to the west of a large 14,750 foot tunnel that would have been built between Alburn and St. Lawrence, Pennsylvania. The mainline is in blue. The Conemaugh division is in dark red / brown.
The west portal of the 5.57 mile tunnel proposed for the Samuel Rea Line in yellow would have been near Frugality, Pennsylvania. Connection with the PRR mainline would have been made at the west portal of the 9200 foot tunnel through Brush mountain between Tyrone to the north and Altoona to the south. Other connections to the PRR mainline would have been made in the vicinity of Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania.
Had the Samuel Rea Line been built, it would not have had a grade exceeding 0.6 per cent. It would likely have been easily upgraded for 125 mph operation either by diesel locomotives or electric locomotives.
The proposed Samuel Rea line demonstrates that an actual High Speed Rail HSR across the Alleghenies would and require a substantial number of tunnels.
In an attempt to learn more about the basis for the article, an attempt was made to contact its author without success. Contact with the Hagley Museum at Wilmington, Delaware, and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, Pennsylvania; major repositories for Pennsylvania Railroad archives, came up empty. The absence of more information about the basis for the article is probably due to a a fire at Philadelphia's Broad Street Station in 1943. Substantial volumes of PRR records stored there were destroyed in the fire.
The route across Pennsylvania would have required 22 tunnels. The longest tunnel would have been north of Altoona and south of Tyrone. That west to east tunnel would have been 29,400 feet or 5.57 miles long. Steam locomotives would have had their fires banked and the passenger trains hauled through the long tunnel by electric locomotives. It would have taken a civil engineer of the caliber of the Samuel Rea to have have supervised such a preliminary survey.
The yellow line represents the proposed Samuel Rea Line noted as SRL. The PRR mainline is shown in blue. The Conemaugh line from the Northside of Pittsburgh to Bolivar, Pennsylvania is shown in dark red / brown. Northwest of Pittsburgh, near Rochester, Pennsylvania a dotted line shows a new connection from the mainline to a place called Ogle for a connection with the Samuel Rea Line. Northeast of Pittsburgh near Kiski Junction across the Allegheny River from Freeport a dotted line shows where a proposed connection with the Connemaugh Division would have been made at a place called Godfrey, Pennsylvania. All tunnel locations have their length in feet indicated.Was the equipment operated by the PRR in 1926 capable of 90 mph operation? Yes. Was their larger passenger locomotive, the K4 type, capable of sustained 90 mph operation? Yes. Was the smaller PRR passenger locomotive, the E6 type, capable of faster operation? Yes - 115 mph.
The Samuel Rea Line is shown in yellow. The Allegheny summit would have been attained to the west of a large 14,750 foot tunnel that would have been built between Alburn and St. Lawrence, Pennsylvania. The mainline is in blue. The Conemaugh division is in dark red / brown. The west portal of the 5.57 mile tunnel proposed for the Samuel Rea Line in yellow would have been near Frugality, Pennsylvania. Connection with the PRR mainline would have been made at the west portal of the 9200 foot tunnel through Brush mountain between Tyrone to the north and Altoona to the south. Other connections to the PRR mainline would have been made in the vicinity of Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania.Had the Samuel Rea Line been built, it would not have had a grade exceeding 0.6 per cent. It would likely have been easily upgraded for 125 mph operation either by diesel locomotives or electric locomotives.
The proposed Samuel Rea line demonstrates that an actual High Speed Rail HSR across the Alleghenies would and require a substantial number of tunnels.
California HSR News
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Today's Los Angeles Times has an article describing French and Japanese observations and concerns about the California HSR planning process. The Japanese disagreed with the California integration of freight railroad tracks for access to metro stations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The French disagreed upon the route selection in central California.
See: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail-advice-20120709,0,4539140.story?page=2&track=rss
See: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail-advice-20120709,0,4539140.story?page=2&track=rss
California High Speed Rail and WHY It's Important for the Nation
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The "Sacramento Bee" newspaper on 8/13/12 reported about a podcast addressing the importance of high speed rail. See the link below to access the podcast. Set aside an hour for the podcast. It is worth the time.
"California High-Speed Rail and Why It's Important for the Nation"
presented by Rod Diridon, Sr.
By Mineta Transportation Institute
Published: Monday, Aug. 13, 2012 - 11:53 am
SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) will present a free podcast on Wednesday, August 15, as part of its monthly Transportation Innovation Series. The program will feature Rod Diridon, Sr., presenting a series of slides on "California High-Speed Rail and Why It's Important for the Nation." The free program will be podcast from 1-2pm Eastern, and 10-11am Pacific. Access at http://mediasite.yorkcast.com/webcast/Viewer/?peid=7b7cc7961ffc4fa9bdbf47f6c530578f1d
Mr. Diridon is executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose (Calif.) State University. MTI is the lead organization for the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium (MNTRC), a collaboration of nine university transportation centers across the U.S.
His presentation will explain why California's high-speed rail will benefit the U.S. and our environment, and why the state's $68 billion project is an important part of the national plan.
In mid-July, California's legislature gave final approval to sell the Proposition 1A high-speed rail bonds, and it approved the revised business plan. Mr. Diridon will explain the schedule for the first $6 billion in contracts and the related Requests for Proposals (RFPs) now in circulation. He also will explain the differences between true high-speed rail and the incremental upgrades, how HSR will integrate with feeder systems, and how it will create long-term economic benefits..
DISCLAIMER: The views of the presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
ABOUT ROD DIRIDON, SR.
Rod Diridon, Sr., has served as executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) since 1995, four years after its creation by Congress. Mr. Diridon has chaired more than 100 international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment. He frequently provides legislative testimony on sustainable transportation issues and is regarded by many as the "father" of modern transit service in Silicon Valley. He was appointed by Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger, in 2001 and 2006, respectively, to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board, of which he is chair emeritus. He helped found, and is chair emeritus of, the High-Speed and Intercity Rail Committee and the National High-Speed Rail Corridors Coalition of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). He also served as president of the national Council of University Transportation Centers.
ABOUT RITA The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) coordinates the U.S. Department of Transportation's research and education programs, and is working to bring advanced technologies into the transportation system. RITA also offers vital transportation statistics and analysis, and supports national efforts to improve education and training in transportation-related fields. RITA works to ensure that the nation's transportation research investments produce results for the American people. Visit www.rita.dot.gov
ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) conducts research, education, and information and technology transfer, focusing on multimodal surface transportation policy and management issues, especially as they relate to transit. MTI was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and was reauthorized under TEA-21 and again under SAFETEA-LU. The Institute has been funded by Congress through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration, by the California Legislature through the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and by other public and private grants and donations, including grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DOT selected MTI as a National Center of Excellence following competitions in 2002 and 2006. The internationally respected members of the MTI Board of Trustees represent all major surface transportation modes. MTI's focus on policy and management resulted from the Board's assessment of the transportation industry's unmet needs. That led directly to choosing the San Jose State University College of Business as the Institute's home. Visit transweb.sjsu.edu
The "Sacramento Bee" newspaper on 8/13/12 reported about a podcast addressing the importance of high speed rail. See the link below to access the podcast. Set aside an hour for the podcast. It is worth the time.
"California High-Speed Rail and Why It's Important for the Nation"
presented by Rod Diridon, Sr.
By Mineta Transportation Institute
Published: Monday, Aug. 13, 2012 - 11:53 am
SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) will present a free podcast on Wednesday, August 15, as part of its monthly Transportation Innovation Series. The program will feature Rod Diridon, Sr., presenting a series of slides on "California High-Speed Rail and Why It's Important for the Nation." The free program will be podcast from 1-2pm Eastern, and 10-11am Pacific. Access at http://mediasite.yorkcast.com/webcast/Viewer/?peid=7b7cc7961ffc4fa9bdbf47f6c530578f1d
Mr. Diridon is executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose (Calif.) State University. MTI is the lead organization for the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium (MNTRC), a collaboration of nine university transportation centers across the U.S.
His presentation will explain why California's high-speed rail will benefit the U.S. and our environment, and why the state's $68 billion project is an important part of the national plan.
In mid-July, California's legislature gave final approval to sell the Proposition 1A high-speed rail bonds, and it approved the revised business plan. Mr. Diridon will explain the schedule for the first $6 billion in contracts and the related Requests for Proposals (RFPs) now in circulation. He also will explain the differences between true high-speed rail and the incremental upgrades, how HSR will integrate with feeder systems, and how it will create long-term economic benefits..
DISCLAIMER: The views of the presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
ABOUT ROD DIRIDON, SR.
Rod Diridon, Sr., has served as executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) since 1995, four years after its creation by Congress. Mr. Diridon has chaired more than 100 international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment. He frequently provides legislative testimony on sustainable transportation issues and is regarded by many as the "father" of modern transit service in Silicon Valley. He was appointed by Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger, in 2001 and 2006, respectively, to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board, of which he is chair emeritus. He helped found, and is chair emeritus of, the High-Speed and Intercity Rail Committee and the National High-Speed Rail Corridors Coalition of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). He also served as president of the national Council of University Transportation Centers.
ABOUT RITA The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) coordinates the U.S. Department of Transportation's research and education programs, and is working to bring advanced technologies into the transportation system. RITA also offers vital transportation statistics and analysis, and supports national efforts to improve education and training in transportation-related fields. RITA works to ensure that the nation's transportation research investments produce results for the American people. Visit www.rita.dot.gov
ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) conducts research, education, and information and technology transfer, focusing on multimodal surface transportation policy and management issues, especially as they relate to transit. MTI was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and was reauthorized under TEA-21 and again under SAFETEA-LU. The Institute has been funded by Congress through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration, by the California Legislature through the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and by other public and private grants and donations, including grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DOT selected MTI as a National Center of Excellence following competitions in 2002 and 2006. The internationally respected members of the MTI Board of Trustees represent all major surface transportation modes. MTI's focus on policy and management resulted from the Board's assessment of the transportation industry's unmet needs. That led directly to choosing the San Jose State University College of Business as the Institute's home. Visit transweb.sjsu.edu
29 Kasım 2012 Perşembe
Steelers-Browns thoughts
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If I told you before this game, the Steelers would return an interception for a touchdown, force 10 punts, limit the Browns to 238 yards and record four sacks, you'd have almost guaranteed a victory.
Then again, if I told you the Steelers would turn the ball over eight times - to once for Cleveland - and would still have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, you'd have told me I was crazy.
@ Despite this loss, all is not down the drain for the Steelers.
Troy Polamalu and Antonio Brown should be back this week to play against the Ravens, while my gut feeling is that the Steelers will hold off another week with Ben Roethlisberger, even though he is saying that he's going to give playing this week a shot.
The final four games - three of which are at home - are winnable. The Steelers will likely be a three-point underdog at Dallas Dec. 16, but Pittsburgh is a better team.
And even if the Steelers only win three of those four games, the Bengals would have to go 4-1 in the final five to beat the Steelers for the final wildcard spot.
Cincinnati travels to San Diego this week for a tough road game, then hosts Dallas and travels to Cincinnati before closing the season at Pittsburgh and at home against the Ravens.
And there's a good chance Baltimore will be playing to assure a first-round bye in that game.
So if the Steelers can beat San Diego, Cleveland and Cincinnati at home, they'll be in the playoffs.
@ Honestly, what was the difference between Chris Rainey's momentum not being stopped at the end of the first half and Trent Richardson's being whistled dead prior to his fumble at the end of the game?
@ I seriously don't get Mike Tomlin's usage of the running backs at all. All four fumbled in the first half of this game. Yet Rainey didn't get benched because his fumble happened to go out of bounds?
And I really think this fumble rule is putting bad thoughts in the heads of his backs.
Not to mention the fact that Brown and Mike Wallace have both lost key fumbles this season, but neither has been benched.
@ I've praised Todd Haley's play calling quite a bit this season, but I felt he was way too conservative early in this game.
The Steelers really didn't start throwing the ball downfield at all until they were down 13-7 late in the first half.
To that point, everything had been short screens and such, almost as if the Steelers were playing not to lose - or not to have to put Brian Hoyer in the game.
Charlie Batch didn't play all that bad. Sure, he threw three interceptions, but really, only one was his fault - the deep ball into double coverage for Wallace.
Plaxico Burress ran a soft route that allowed Sheldon Brown to easily undercut him on one interception, while Wallace batted another into the air over the middle.
And Batch had some other nice throws called back on holding penalties by Ron Winter's crew, who must get paid per flag thrown.
@ Jason Worilds, subbing for LaMarr Woodley from midway through the first quarter on after Woodley left with an ankle injury, played a whale of a game.
James Harrison showed up strong for the second consecutive game as well and seems to be rounding into form.
Makes me think that outside linebacker might not be the glaring need in the draft that many feel. Though it would be tough to pass on a dynamic young pass rusher.
@ Ryan Clark continues to throw his body around with an apparent disregard for his own safety.
And that, and Troy Polamalu's issues this season, lead me to the safety position as the premiere first-round option for this team, which could use a ballhawk in the secondary.
@ Really, Ike Taylor undercut two passes in the first half just as Brown did in the second. The only difference was that Brown caught the ball, while Taylor dropped it - twice.
@ I honestly didn't understand Tomlin's decision to decline a holding penalty on the Browns at the 18-yard line and allow them to kick a 32-yard field goal as opposed to forcing them into third-and-18 from the 28.
Sure, the Steelers had stopped Cleveland. But a sack, fumble or even quarterback Brandon Weedon falling down, takes the Browns to the edge of field goal range - or even out of it.
Instead, Tomlin conceded the field goal instead of keeping the NFL's best defense on the field and allowing it to try to make a play.
Then again, if I told you the Steelers would turn the ball over eight times - to once for Cleveland - and would still have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, you'd have told me I was crazy.
@ Despite this loss, all is not down the drain for the Steelers.
Troy Polamalu and Antonio Brown should be back this week to play against the Ravens, while my gut feeling is that the Steelers will hold off another week with Ben Roethlisberger, even though he is saying that he's going to give playing this week a shot.
The final four games - three of which are at home - are winnable. The Steelers will likely be a three-point underdog at Dallas Dec. 16, but Pittsburgh is a better team.
And even if the Steelers only win three of those four games, the Bengals would have to go 4-1 in the final five to beat the Steelers for the final wildcard spot.
Cincinnati travels to San Diego this week for a tough road game, then hosts Dallas and travels to Cincinnati before closing the season at Pittsburgh and at home against the Ravens.
And there's a good chance Baltimore will be playing to assure a first-round bye in that game.
So if the Steelers can beat San Diego, Cleveland and Cincinnati at home, they'll be in the playoffs.
@ Honestly, what was the difference between Chris Rainey's momentum not being stopped at the end of the first half and Trent Richardson's being whistled dead prior to his fumble at the end of the game?
@ I seriously don't get Mike Tomlin's usage of the running backs at all. All four fumbled in the first half of this game. Yet Rainey didn't get benched because his fumble happened to go out of bounds?
And I really think this fumble rule is putting bad thoughts in the heads of his backs.
Not to mention the fact that Brown and Mike Wallace have both lost key fumbles this season, but neither has been benched.
@ I've praised Todd Haley's play calling quite a bit this season, but I felt he was way too conservative early in this game.
The Steelers really didn't start throwing the ball downfield at all until they were down 13-7 late in the first half.
To that point, everything had been short screens and such, almost as if the Steelers were playing not to lose - or not to have to put Brian Hoyer in the game.
Charlie Batch didn't play all that bad. Sure, he threw three interceptions, but really, only one was his fault - the deep ball into double coverage for Wallace.
Plaxico Burress ran a soft route that allowed Sheldon Brown to easily undercut him on one interception, while Wallace batted another into the air over the middle.
And Batch had some other nice throws called back on holding penalties by Ron Winter's crew, who must get paid per flag thrown.
@ Jason Worilds, subbing for LaMarr Woodley from midway through the first quarter on after Woodley left with an ankle injury, played a whale of a game.
James Harrison showed up strong for the second consecutive game as well and seems to be rounding into form.
Makes me think that outside linebacker might not be the glaring need in the draft that many feel. Though it would be tough to pass on a dynamic young pass rusher.
@ Ryan Clark continues to throw his body around with an apparent disregard for his own safety.
And that, and Troy Polamalu's issues this season, lead me to the safety position as the premiere first-round option for this team, which could use a ballhawk in the secondary.
@ Really, Ike Taylor undercut two passes in the first half just as Brown did in the second. The only difference was that Brown caught the ball, while Taylor dropped it - twice.
@ I honestly didn't understand Tomlin's decision to decline a holding penalty on the Browns at the 18-yard line and allow them to kick a 32-yard field goal as opposed to forcing them into third-and-18 from the 28.
Sure, the Steelers had stopped Cleveland. But a sack, fumble or even quarterback Brandon Weedon falling down, takes the Browns to the edge of field goal range - or even out of it.
Instead, Tomlin conceded the field goal instead of keeping the NFL's best defense on the field and allowing it to try to make a play.
Wednesday news, notes
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Mike Tomlin shook up his depth chart on Tuesday, and then proceeded to shake things up Wednesday on his offensive line.
With Mike Adams, Willie Colon and Max Starks all sitting out Wednesday, the Steelers moved Maurkice Pouncey to left guard, Ramon Foster to right tackle and Kelvin Beachum to left tackle.
Doug Legursky was at center, while rookie David DeCastro was next up at right guard.
But just because the Steelers made these moves on Wednesday does not mean that will be the starting line Sunday in Baltimore.
In fact, I highly doubt that it will be.
This is a shell game Tomlin is playing with the Ravens, hoping they will take their eye off the ball enough to allow the Steelers to come away with a win.
Chances are, when the Steelers line up Sunday, Starks will be at LT, Colon at LG, Pouncey at C, Foster at RG and Beachum at RT.
But if there's an injury during the game, particularly to Colon, Pouncey could make the move to guard.
And if Beachum is overmatched at RT making his first career start, Foster could move over.
But that is not the plan right now.
@ Ben Roethlisberger did some light throwing Wednesday as he was limited in practice. He's getting better, but I'd be surprised if he plays this weekend.
@ Antonio Brown and Troy Polamalu both looked good Wednesday, a big plus for the Steelers.
With Mike Adams, Willie Colon and Max Starks all sitting out Wednesday, the Steelers moved Maurkice Pouncey to left guard, Ramon Foster to right tackle and Kelvin Beachum to left tackle.
Doug Legursky was at center, while rookie David DeCastro was next up at right guard.
But just because the Steelers made these moves on Wednesday does not mean that will be the starting line Sunday in Baltimore.
In fact, I highly doubt that it will be.
This is a shell game Tomlin is playing with the Ravens, hoping they will take their eye off the ball enough to allow the Steelers to come away with a win.
Chances are, when the Steelers line up Sunday, Starks will be at LT, Colon at LG, Pouncey at C, Foster at RG and Beachum at RT.
But if there's an injury during the game, particularly to Colon, Pouncey could make the move to guard.
And if Beachum is overmatched at RT making his first career start, Foster could move over.
But that is not the plan right now.
@ Ben Roethlisberger did some light throwing Wednesday as he was limited in practice. He's getting better, but I'd be surprised if he plays this weekend.
@ Antonio Brown and Troy Polamalu both looked good Wednesday, a big plus for the Steelers.
Seriously one of my life's biggest regrets at this point..
To contact us Click HERE
In 1992 Bad Religion were touring with this band Green Day. They were scheduled to play a small club in Pittsburgh called "graffiti." It maybe held 500 people? I remember not doing much in terms of school and planning on being grounded when the show was to happen. My brother bought a ticket, and I did not... Thinking that I was saving 12 dollars. Anyway I dont think that I ever showed my parents my report card that year and did not get grounded. Dang.
Don't know
To contact us Click HERE
Yesterday I was trusted with a two-year old for five hours. I can't change a diaper and I have no experience but I got to hang out with the girl for the afternoon. I took her to a place in Pittsburgh has animals roaming around some buffalo a few caged animals in a big pond. There was a family there with a child who is probably my age who was a little bit physically handicapped and mentally slow. He couldn't speak the tried communicating with us and it seem like other kids were afraid of them as he was very social so I just told my little friend to talk to him. I think it made his day. A little while later we saw him again and his mom gave us five dollars for a pony ride for my little friend. I think it may have made her day seeing her son socialize somebody who just treated him normally. 
Friends.. life's stories
To contact us Click HERE
When I was 19 or so I went to my dad's townhouse in the burbs to do laundry. I had been gone for about two years and probably went back three per times year, despite living about ten miles away.
I talked to a friend who was also at his parents' house doing similar stuff. He lived a few blocks from me and we both went to Pitt. We had a few classes together. We had been friends since we were 8 or 9 years old. I would say best friends since 11 or 12 years old. By that time I was racing a ton of bmx and he started getting into it as well. Within a year of racing, he was winning the 12 year old expert field. He ended up two year streak as age group expert PA stat champion...
We hit our teenage years and dated girls who were also best friends. Lots of double dates, lots of "coupling." We continued riding together, however he was way better than me at dirt jumping. He could do BIG 360's and pretty much had no fear. I had no shortage of fear. I remember once when we were about twenty, upon meeting him a kid went "whoah... I had a photo of you on my wall growing up..." He was good.
Anyway, so we are in the burbs doing laundry and decide to go to the restaurant where we both worked as teenagers with two other good friends. Yeah we even had the same job. It was closing,so we went to a local diner, Eat n Park. The first one that we went to was SUPER crowded with teenagers on a Friday night. We left to go to another one like three miles away. Upon leaving, we were going through a traffic circle and had a weird interaction with another car. The tough guys in the car halted us by pulling in front of us and asked if we, and me in particular, had a problem. I was laughing at the situation and told the driver that yes, I had a tetanus shot the day before and I was really sore. That was my biggest problem... Ive been not funny for a long time.
So we pull out and talk about how weird that was, and how those dudes were dicks. We realized that they were following us after a couple of minutes. We continued on to the less crowded diner. Looking bag, we should have just gone to a police station, or somewhere else, but what could possibly happen.. right?
We pulled into a spot, and they pulled right up to our bumper, parking us in. We kind of collectively decided to fight them. We got out of the car and this big dude gets in my face. I remember the trial where the prosecutor asked him how much he weighed and it was something like 225 and 6'4". I was like 145 at the time. Dude is in my face and pushing me. I just kept saying "dude I am not going to fight you" like it was a mantra. I think this just made him madder. I knew this dude. He was two years younger than me in high school. The other dude in the car lived on my high school girlfriend's street.
So when the giant starts pushing me, my best friend steps between us. He was pretty strong and took the push without moving. Then the giant's friend pushes the giant away and just starts tearing at my best friend with a pretty big knife.
I dont really remember watching him getting stabbed. I do remember watching the big guy pull the stabber off. This probably saved my best friend's life. They jumped in their car and took off. My best friend was dumping blood everywhere. Like fucking everywhere. He had new shoes on and took them off, cause he didnt want to get blood on them. I dont think that he realized that he was maybe going to die. I guess he was in shock. Im not sure where everybody else in the car was at this point. My memories are super tunnel vision. We laid my best friend down and ran to find a phone... remember when there were not cell phones everywhere?
Anyway, when the paramedics said casually "we should get the helicopter"... I knew things were really bad. Anyway, this is going nowhere and is too long already, sorry. My best friend had both lungs punctured, his liver punctured and his stomach punctured. Bile went into his body and made him go septic. Like people are always like so and so "almost died" or "it was on the verge of death" ... but yeah I think he was. He lived. He spent a month or so in the hospital. He had to drop out of college, etc. There was a long shitty trial where the kid delayed the inevitable by like a year with bullshit lawyer stuff.
Like I said, this isnt really going anywhere, but was something I have been thinking about lately. I remember going home and staring at my ceiling until I passed out. I remember sitting on my living room floor calling the hospital to see if he was alive the next morning. I remember thanking him when he came to in the hospital. There is no doubt that I would have fucking died. My friend totally punched the stabber a few times and was limiting the damage as it happened. I am weak. I would have been dead. My friend told me "I would do it again" while he was in the hospital. man
There are not many people like this. Even best friends.
4th grade.
My Wedding 20 years later
I talked to a friend who was also at his parents' house doing similar stuff. He lived a few blocks from me and we both went to Pitt. We had a few classes together. We had been friends since we were 8 or 9 years old. I would say best friends since 11 or 12 years old. By that time I was racing a ton of bmx and he started getting into it as well. Within a year of racing, he was winning the 12 year old expert field. He ended up two year streak as age group expert PA stat champion...
We hit our teenage years and dated girls who were also best friends. Lots of double dates, lots of "coupling." We continued riding together, however he was way better than me at dirt jumping. He could do BIG 360's and pretty much had no fear. I had no shortage of fear. I remember once when we were about twenty, upon meeting him a kid went "whoah... I had a photo of you on my wall growing up..." He was good.
Anyway, so we are in the burbs doing laundry and decide to go to the restaurant where we both worked as teenagers with two other good friends. Yeah we even had the same job. It was closing,so we went to a local diner, Eat n Park. The first one that we went to was SUPER crowded with teenagers on a Friday night. We left to go to another one like three miles away. Upon leaving, we were going through a traffic circle and had a weird interaction with another car. The tough guys in the car halted us by pulling in front of us and asked if we, and me in particular, had a problem. I was laughing at the situation and told the driver that yes, I had a tetanus shot the day before and I was really sore. That was my biggest problem... Ive been not funny for a long time.
So we pull out and talk about how weird that was, and how those dudes were dicks. We realized that they were following us after a couple of minutes. We continued on to the less crowded diner. Looking bag, we should have just gone to a police station, or somewhere else, but what could possibly happen.. right?
We pulled into a spot, and they pulled right up to our bumper, parking us in. We kind of collectively decided to fight them. We got out of the car and this big dude gets in my face. I remember the trial where the prosecutor asked him how much he weighed and it was something like 225 and 6'4". I was like 145 at the time. Dude is in my face and pushing me. I just kept saying "dude I am not going to fight you" like it was a mantra. I think this just made him madder. I knew this dude. He was two years younger than me in high school. The other dude in the car lived on my high school girlfriend's street.
So when the giant starts pushing me, my best friend steps between us. He was pretty strong and took the push without moving. Then the giant's friend pushes the giant away and just starts tearing at my best friend with a pretty big knife.
I dont really remember watching him getting stabbed. I do remember watching the big guy pull the stabber off. This probably saved my best friend's life. They jumped in their car and took off. My best friend was dumping blood everywhere. Like fucking everywhere. He had new shoes on and took them off, cause he didnt want to get blood on them. I dont think that he realized that he was maybe going to die. I guess he was in shock. Im not sure where everybody else in the car was at this point. My memories are super tunnel vision. We laid my best friend down and ran to find a phone... remember when there were not cell phones everywhere?
Anyway, when the paramedics said casually "we should get the helicopter"... I knew things were really bad. Anyway, this is going nowhere and is too long already, sorry. My best friend had both lungs punctured, his liver punctured and his stomach punctured. Bile went into his body and made him go septic. Like people are always like so and so "almost died" or "it was on the verge of death" ... but yeah I think he was. He lived. He spent a month or so in the hospital. He had to drop out of college, etc. There was a long shitty trial where the kid delayed the inevitable by like a year with bullshit lawyer stuff.
Like I said, this isnt really going anywhere, but was something I have been thinking about lately. I remember going home and staring at my ceiling until I passed out. I remember sitting on my living room floor calling the hospital to see if he was alive the next morning. I remember thanking him when he came to in the hospital. There is no doubt that I would have fucking died. My friend totally punched the stabber a few times and was limiting the damage as it happened. I am weak. I would have been dead. My friend told me "I would do it again" while he was in the hospital. man
There are not many people like this. Even best friends.
4th grade.My Wedding 20 years later
28 Kasım 2012 Çarşamba
Seriously one of my life's biggest regrets at this point..
To contact us Click HERE
In 1992 Bad Religion were touring with this band Green Day. They were scheduled to play a small club in Pittsburgh called "graffiti." It maybe held 500 people? I remember not doing much in terms of school and planning on being grounded when the show was to happen. My brother bought a ticket, and I did not... Thinking that I was saving 12 dollars. Anyway I dont think that I ever showed my parents my report card that year and did not get grounded. Dang.
Don't know
To contact us Click HERE
Yesterday I was trusted with a two-year old for five hours. I can't change a diaper and I have no experience but I got to hang out with the girl for the afternoon. I took her to a place in Pittsburgh has animals roaming around some buffalo a few caged animals in a big pond. There was a family there with a child who is probably my age who was a little bit physically handicapped and mentally slow. He couldn't speak the tried communicating with us and it seem like other kids were afraid of them as he was very social so I just told my little friend to talk to him. I think it made his day. A little while later we saw him again and his mom gave us five dollars for a pony ride for my little friend. I think it may have made her day seeing her son socialize somebody who just treated him normally. 
Friends.. life's stories
To contact us Click HERE
When I was 19 or so I went to my dad's townhouse in the burbs to do laundry. I had been gone for about two years and probably went back three per times year, despite living about ten miles away.
I talked to a friend who was also at his parents' house doing similar stuff. He lived a few blocks from me and we both went to Pitt. We had a few classes together. We had been friends since we were 8 or 9 years old. I would say best friends since 11 or 12 years old. By that time I was racing a ton of bmx and he started getting into it as well. Within a year of racing, he was winning the 12 year old expert field. He ended up two year streak as age group expert PA stat champion...
We hit our teenage years and dated girls who were also best friends. Lots of double dates, lots of "coupling." We continued riding together, however he was way better than me at dirt jumping. He could do BIG 360's and pretty much had no fear. I had no shortage of fear. I remember once when we were about twenty, upon meeting him a kid went "whoah... I had a photo of you on my wall growing up..." He was good.
Anyway, so we are in the burbs doing laundry and decide to go to the restaurant where we both worked as teenagers with two other good friends. Yeah we even had the same job. It was closing,so we went to a local diner, Eat n Park. The first one that we went to was SUPER crowded with teenagers on a Friday night. We left to go to another one like three miles away. Upon leaving, we were going through a traffic circle and had a weird interaction with another car. The tough guys in the car halted us by pulling in front of us and asked if we, and me in particular, had a problem. I was laughing at the situation and told the driver that yes, I had a tetanus shot the day before and I was really sore. That was my biggest problem... Ive been not funny for a long time.
So we pull out and talk about how weird that was, and how those dudes were dicks. We realized that they were following us after a couple of minutes. We continued on to the less crowded diner. Looking bag, we should have just gone to a police station, or somewhere else, but what could possibly happen.. right?
We pulled into a spot, and they pulled right up to our bumper, parking us in. We kind of collectively decided to fight them. We got out of the car and this big dude gets in my face. I remember the trial where the prosecutor asked him how much he weighed and it was something like 225 and 6'4". I was like 145 at the time. Dude is in my face and pushing me. I just kept saying "dude I am not going to fight you" like it was a mantra. I think this just made him madder. I knew this dude. He was two years younger than me in high school. The other dude in the car lived on my high school girlfriend's street.
So when the giant starts pushing me, my best friend steps between us. He was pretty strong and took the push without moving. Then the giant's friend pushes the giant away and just starts tearing at my best friend with a pretty big knife.
I dont really remember watching him getting stabbed. I do remember watching the big guy pull the stabber off. This probably saved my best friend's life. They jumped in their car and took off. My best friend was dumping blood everywhere. Like fucking everywhere. He had new shoes on and took them off, cause he didnt want to get blood on them. I dont think that he realized that he was maybe going to die. I guess he was in shock. Im not sure where everybody else in the car was at this point. My memories are super tunnel vision. We laid my best friend down and ran to find a phone... remember when there were not cell phones everywhere?
Anyway, when the paramedics said casually "we should get the helicopter"... I knew things were really bad. Anyway, this is going nowhere and is too long already, sorry. My best friend had both lungs punctured, his liver punctured and his stomach punctured. Bile went into his body and made him go septic. Like people are always like so and so "almost died" or "it was on the verge of death" ... but yeah I think he was. He lived. He spent a month or so in the hospital. He had to drop out of college, etc. There was a long shitty trial where the kid delayed the inevitable by like a year with bullshit lawyer stuff.
Like I said, this isnt really going anywhere, but was something I have been thinking about lately. I remember going home and staring at my ceiling until I passed out. I remember sitting on my living room floor calling the hospital to see if he was alive the next morning. I remember thanking him when he came to in the hospital. There is no doubt that I would have fucking died. My friend totally punched the stabber a few times and was limiting the damage as it happened. I am weak. I would have been dead. My friend told me "I would do it again" while he was in the hospital. man
There are not many people like this. Even best friends.
4th grade.
My Wedding 20 years later
I talked to a friend who was also at his parents' house doing similar stuff. He lived a few blocks from me and we both went to Pitt. We had a few classes together. We had been friends since we were 8 or 9 years old. I would say best friends since 11 or 12 years old. By that time I was racing a ton of bmx and he started getting into it as well. Within a year of racing, he was winning the 12 year old expert field. He ended up two year streak as age group expert PA stat champion...
We hit our teenage years and dated girls who were also best friends. Lots of double dates, lots of "coupling." We continued riding together, however he was way better than me at dirt jumping. He could do BIG 360's and pretty much had no fear. I had no shortage of fear. I remember once when we were about twenty, upon meeting him a kid went "whoah... I had a photo of you on my wall growing up..." He was good.
Anyway, so we are in the burbs doing laundry and decide to go to the restaurant where we both worked as teenagers with two other good friends. Yeah we even had the same job. It was closing,so we went to a local diner, Eat n Park. The first one that we went to was SUPER crowded with teenagers on a Friday night. We left to go to another one like three miles away. Upon leaving, we were going through a traffic circle and had a weird interaction with another car. The tough guys in the car halted us by pulling in front of us and asked if we, and me in particular, had a problem. I was laughing at the situation and told the driver that yes, I had a tetanus shot the day before and I was really sore. That was my biggest problem... Ive been not funny for a long time.
So we pull out and talk about how weird that was, and how those dudes were dicks. We realized that they were following us after a couple of minutes. We continued on to the less crowded diner. Looking bag, we should have just gone to a police station, or somewhere else, but what could possibly happen.. right?
We pulled into a spot, and they pulled right up to our bumper, parking us in. We kind of collectively decided to fight them. We got out of the car and this big dude gets in my face. I remember the trial where the prosecutor asked him how much he weighed and it was something like 225 and 6'4". I was like 145 at the time. Dude is in my face and pushing me. I just kept saying "dude I am not going to fight you" like it was a mantra. I think this just made him madder. I knew this dude. He was two years younger than me in high school. The other dude in the car lived on my high school girlfriend's street.
So when the giant starts pushing me, my best friend steps between us. He was pretty strong and took the push without moving. Then the giant's friend pushes the giant away and just starts tearing at my best friend with a pretty big knife.
I dont really remember watching him getting stabbed. I do remember watching the big guy pull the stabber off. This probably saved my best friend's life. They jumped in their car and took off. My best friend was dumping blood everywhere. Like fucking everywhere. He had new shoes on and took them off, cause he didnt want to get blood on them. I dont think that he realized that he was maybe going to die. I guess he was in shock. Im not sure where everybody else in the car was at this point. My memories are super tunnel vision. We laid my best friend down and ran to find a phone... remember when there were not cell phones everywhere?
Anyway, when the paramedics said casually "we should get the helicopter"... I knew things were really bad. Anyway, this is going nowhere and is too long already, sorry. My best friend had both lungs punctured, his liver punctured and his stomach punctured. Bile went into his body and made him go septic. Like people are always like so and so "almost died" or "it was on the verge of death" ... but yeah I think he was. He lived. He spent a month or so in the hospital. He had to drop out of college, etc. There was a long shitty trial where the kid delayed the inevitable by like a year with bullshit lawyer stuff.
Like I said, this isnt really going anywhere, but was something I have been thinking about lately. I remember going home and staring at my ceiling until I passed out. I remember sitting on my living room floor calling the hospital to see if he was alive the next morning. I remember thanking him when he came to in the hospital. There is no doubt that I would have fucking died. My friend totally punched the stabber a few times and was limiting the damage as it happened. I am weak. I would have been dead. My friend told me "I would do it again" while he was in the hospital. man
There are not many people like this. Even best friends.
4th grade.My Wedding 20 years later
Its not what you have... its what you do with what you have.
To contact us Click HERE
So this is a story of a 320 dollar bicycle.
Amy was in the hunt for a bike in 2001. She was basically broke. We scoured ebay and found a Jamis Aurora touring bike for her. It was a funny bike. 26" front and 700C rear. Shimano Sora throughout.
She got it on her birthday March 20th. (3/20... $320)... The stars aligned.
I know a lot of people want to hate on cheap stuff. Yes it is heavy. Yes it can break, however, I have found the light stuff breaks too.
Anyway, I took her on her first bike tour, an overnight camping trip. Then we rode to DC. Then we packed up the bikes and rode around Europe for 9 weeks. She also commuted on it everyday. After 10,000 miles the sora shifters died. TEN THOUSAND MILES.
The bike got stolen, and then recovered.
Then she and her best friend rode Pittsburgh-San Francisco together. Same 320 dollar bike. At this point it has new wheels, shifters, rear derailer, chainrings and cassette.
Life is about what you have done, not what you own.
Still set up to commute and carry stuff.
Under a bridge to avoid rain somewhere in germany. Taken with an analog camera.
Amy was in the hunt for a bike in 2001. She was basically broke. We scoured ebay and found a Jamis Aurora touring bike for her. It was a funny bike. 26" front and 700C rear. Shimano Sora throughout.
She got it on her birthday March 20th. (3/20... $320)... The stars aligned.
I know a lot of people want to hate on cheap stuff. Yes it is heavy. Yes it can break, however, I have found the light stuff breaks too.
Anyway, I took her on her first bike tour, an overnight camping trip. Then we rode to DC. Then we packed up the bikes and rode around Europe for 9 weeks. She also commuted on it everyday. After 10,000 miles the sora shifters died. TEN THOUSAND MILES.
The bike got stolen, and then recovered.
Then she and her best friend rode Pittsburgh-San Francisco together. Same 320 dollar bike. At this point it has new wheels, shifters, rear derailer, chainrings and cassette.
Life is about what you have done, not what you own.
Still set up to commute and carry stuff.
Under a bridge to avoid rain somewhere in germany. Taken with an analog camera.
Dirty Dozen Power Details.
To contact us Click HERE
For anybody who is from out of Pittsburgh reading this, the Dirty Dozen is a 30 year old group ride in Pittsburgh up 12 of the steepest hills. One is arguably the steepest in the world. It is a group ride with a winner, as they track the top 10 Men (5 women) up each hill. Low cadence out of the saddle steep climbs benefit me, and I have won the event 9 years running. Im old. Yes I have won a group ride. Anyway, this is not a bragging post, because all of the numbers except a few are relatively mediocre. Here are the power numbers:
Hill 1 High St 4:15 . 375 watts = 5.978 w/k (Cracked 3 mins in.)
Hill 2 Ravine 4:54 . 357 Watts = 5.69 w/k (Cracked 3.5 mins in)
Hill 3 Berry Hill 1:10 610 watts = 9.724 w/k (1st)
Hill 4 High/Seavy 2:27 . 402 watts = 6.40 w/k (1st)
Missed 5
Hill 6 Suffolk St 3:23 409 watts = 6.52 w/k (1st)
Hill 7 Sycamore ST 2:58 409 watts = 6.52 w/k (2nd)
Hill 8 Canton Ave :58 510 watts = 8.13 w/k (3rd)
Hill 9 Bousted St 1:57 446 watts = 7.11 w/k (1st)
Hill10 Welsh Way 1:47 458 watts = 7.30 w/k (2nd)
Hill 11 Berry/Holt 3:07 412 watts = 6.57 w/k (2nd?) Mathematical Lock
Hill 12 Flowers 5:17 324 watts = 5.16 w/k Open Road to final hill.Lots of attacks.
The times are taken from when my power spikes and declines. Don't compare these to Strava. If you do you are lame.
My power over 3 minutes was lower than last year.My power under 3 minutes was my highest ever. Im impressed with Berry Hill and let down with the first two. My weight was about the same at 137/138. Bike setup was the same as last year with the exception of lighter skewers.
Canton Ave filmed by Matt Dayak
It was great racing somewhere that my family could see me. My Dad showed up to watch his first bike race in about 20 years. Amy wanted to watch 1 hill but watched like five. Im thinking Matt will have another video of Canton this year.
The Niece doing recon for future years.
Hill 1 High St 4:15 . 375 watts = 5.978 w/k (Cracked 3 mins in.)
Hill 2 Ravine 4:54 . 357 Watts = 5.69 w/k (Cracked 3.5 mins in)
Hill 3 Berry Hill 1:10 610 watts = 9.724 w/k (1st)
Hill 4 High/Seavy 2:27 . 402 watts = 6.40 w/k (1st)
Missed 5
Hill 6 Suffolk St 3:23 409 watts = 6.52 w/k (1st)
Hill 7 Sycamore ST 2:58 409 watts = 6.52 w/k (2nd)
Hill 8 Canton Ave :58 510 watts = 8.13 w/k (3rd)
Hill 9 Bousted St 1:57 446 watts = 7.11 w/k (1st)
Hill10 Welsh Way 1:47 458 watts = 7.30 w/k (2nd)
Hill 11 Berry/Holt 3:07 412 watts = 6.57 w/k (2nd?) Mathematical Lock
Hill 12 Flowers 5:17 324 watts = 5.16 w/k Open Road to final hill.Lots of attacks.
The times are taken from when my power spikes and declines. Don't compare these to Strava. If you do you are lame.
My power over 3 minutes was lower than last year.My power under 3 minutes was my highest ever. Im impressed with Berry Hill and let down with the first two. My weight was about the same at 137/138. Bike setup was the same as last year with the exception of lighter skewers.
Canton Ave filmed by Matt Dayak
Dirty Dozen Race 2011-Canton Ave from Matt Dayak on Vimeo.
It was great racing somewhere that my family could see me. My Dad showed up to watch his first bike race in about 20 years. Amy wanted to watch 1 hill but watched like five. Im thinking Matt will have another video of Canton this year.
The Niece doing recon for future years.
27 Kasım 2012 Salı
Passive Buildings vs Active Marketing: What's In a Name?
To contact us Click HERE
First published by Greenbiz 2011-08-17 and covered by Treehugger
Part 1
"Passive" construction is an innovative building technique that reduces energy requirements for heating, cooling and ventilating up to 80 percent. The occupants are more comfortable since a passive building provides consistent temperatures, eliminates drafts and circulates fresh, filtered air. Impressive!
Would You Name Your Concept "Inert" or "Inactive"?
The name passive construction is from the German passive building movement -- PassivHaus. The term "passive" is meant to convey that the building uses mostly non-mechanical methods for heating, cooling and ventilation. This is in contrast to the typical modern building where "active" mechanical systems do most of the work.
Although scientifically correct, the name "passive" creates a poor first impression with an English speaking non-technical audience. Passive is usually used when you want to describe someone or something that is submissive, inert or inactive. Not exactly a word that triggers interest. "Passive" extinguishes any thoughts of innovation or quality.
With A Poor Name, the Consumer May Tune Out Before You Can Educate
Some may think that with solid marketing a poor name can be overcome. The effort is likely to be considerable because most of us use shortcuts to manage complexity. A name is one of those shortcuts.
With limited opportunity to gain the consumer's attention, why waste a marketing effort to correct a deficit that can be easily turned into an asset?
But Is Marketing Even Appropriate?
Some may find marketing distasteful since marketing has been used to hard-sell products that may be dubious at best or outright harmful for the consumer and the environment.
Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, explains that virtuous "Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value. It is the art of helping your customers become better off."
The intention is to practice virtuous marketing to get more sustainable practices and products adopted. The term "passive," used in this context, requires a detailed explanation before most people get it. In the long run, poor marketing will likely hinder and great marketing will help the acceptance of passive and other green buildings.
First Things First: Define the Marketing Strategy
The name is just one part of the marketing mix and to be most effective it should complement the overall marketing strategy.
Reis & Ries advised in the marketing classic The Origins of Brands to first find weaknesses in the leading brand. Then show the consumer how the new brand is the next revolutionary step and diverges from the old category. Brands that excelled at this repositioning are:
Let's explore potential brand positions by contrasting the mechanical house --- the current standard to the energy efficient house. This exercise is to find opposing attributes.
In part 2, we will define three brand positions from the set of opposing attributes. Read more >>
Imagine Your Project's Successful AdoptionContact me to understand how to position your project for success claudia@g3biz.com
Part 1
"Passive" construction is an innovative building technique that reduces energy requirements for heating, cooling and ventilating up to 80 percent. The occupants are more comfortable since a passive building provides consistent temperatures, eliminates drafts and circulates fresh, filtered air. Impressive!Would You Name Your Concept "Inert" or "Inactive"?
The name passive construction is from the German passive building movement -- PassivHaus. The term "passive" is meant to convey that the building uses mostly non-mechanical methods for heating, cooling and ventilation. This is in contrast to the typical modern building where "active" mechanical systems do most of the work.
Although scientifically correct, the name "passive" creates a poor first impression with an English speaking non-technical audience. Passive is usually used when you want to describe someone or something that is submissive, inert or inactive. Not exactly a word that triggers interest. "Passive" extinguishes any thoughts of innovation or quality.
With A Poor Name, the Consumer May Tune Out Before You Can Educate
Some may think that with solid marketing a poor name can be overcome. The effort is likely to be considerable because most of us use shortcuts to manage complexity. A name is one of those shortcuts.
- Is "Jennifer" more attractive than "Gertrude"? Yes. Researchers Willis and Henderson found an attractive name makes the person seem more attractive. When showing participants unnamed photos of two attractive women, both received equal votes when asked who is "most attractive". The results changed dramatically when labeled "Jennifer" and "Gertrude." "Jennifer" was then selected 60 percent more frequently.
- Can "free" be a poor offer? Yes. The founders of "free software" movement thought they had the perfect name. But corporate and other customers were wary of a product that was free. Free software took off when it was rebranded as "open source".
- Is "Caverject" a new James Bond weapon? No, it is an injectable erectile dysfunction drug. Three years after Caverject's launch, Pfizer planned a new approach to market directly to consumers. Pfizer's customer focus paid off. The new drug was christened "Viagra."
With limited opportunity to gain the consumer's attention, why waste a marketing effort to correct a deficit that can be easily turned into an asset?
But Is Marketing Even Appropriate?
Some may find marketing distasteful since marketing has been used to hard-sell products that may be dubious at best or outright harmful for the consumer and the environment.
Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, explains that virtuous "Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value. It is the art of helping your customers become better off."
The intention is to practice virtuous marketing to get more sustainable practices and products adopted. The term "passive," used in this context, requires a detailed explanation before most people get it. In the long run, poor marketing will likely hinder and great marketing will help the acceptance of passive and other green buildings.
First Things First: Define the Marketing Strategy
The name is just one part of the marketing mix and to be most effective it should complement the overall marketing strategy.
Reis & Ries advised in the marketing classic The Origins of Brands to first find weaknesses in the leading brand. Then show the consumer how the new brand is the next revolutionary step and diverges from the old category. Brands that excelled at this repositioning are:
- Starbucks robust taste diverges from regular (weak) coffee
- Mercedes / Lexus (next generation of luxury) diverges from Cadillac / Lincoln (your dad's version of luxury)
- Silk soy (nature's perfect protein) milk diverges from traditional (lactose) milk
Let's explore potential brand positions by contrasting the mechanical house --- the current standard to the energy efficient house. This exercise is to find opposing attributes.
In part 2, we will define three brand positions from the set of opposing attributes. Read more >>
Imagine Your Project's Successful AdoptionContact me to understand how to position your project for success claudia@g3biz.comHow SAP's Software Benefits Poor Rural Women In Ghana
To contact us Click HERE
First published by GreenBiz 2012-01-20
Fatima Abdulai is a wife, mother and the first link in the shea supply chain. The fruit she gathers in the northern Ghana bush is the source of shea butter -- the luxurious ingredient in cosmetics and chocolates.
Fatima Abdulai is one of millions of poor rural women who scrape out a living where they find opportunity. In Ghana, the opportunity is the shea nut. In other places, it may be cocoa, cashews, coffee, or hand-made goods. A small loan, efficient technology, and practical advice are the support these women need to help them maximize those opportunities.
Shea trees are also valuable to the global environment. They store carbon and reduce erosion that puts dust in the air. Increasing shea's worth will ensure that the shea trees are not displaced by other cash crops which use more natural resources and create GHG emissions.
Shea has been an important rural food and medicinal for centuries. Gathering and processing shea was always considered "women's work." In the last few years, exporters started selling nuts and butter to manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. But shea pays poorly for women like Mrs. Abdulai because middlemen take advantage of individual producers.
Opportunities for women are limited in northern Ghana. For her widowed daughter-in-law, shea is her primary source of income. If Mrs. Abdulai earns enough with shea and her other ventures, she is able to continue her children's secondary education. The U.N. reports that secondary school enrollment is about half the national average in northern Ghana where Mrs. Abdulai resides.
After learning about women like Mrs. Abdulai, SAP -- the business software giant -- sought to help as part of its corporate social responsibility program. But SAP wanted to make more than a financial contribution. SAP believed that its business management technology "that helps companies run better" could be applied to the shea trade.
Improved agricultural trade could benefit more than a billion people who live in poverty in rural areas. "Agriculture is an engine for growth and poverty reduction..." states a World Bank report [PDF], "Research has shown that every dollar of growth from agricultural products sold outside the local area in poor African countries leads to a second dollar of local rural growth."
SAP partnered with PlaNet Finance, an international non-profit that specializes in microfinance and technical assistance. PlaNet welcomed SAP's hands-on approach.
"We find that companies that put sweat equity into their social projects", said Ivana Damjanov, deputy director of operations, PlaNet Finance, "are more engaged and stay with it for the long-term."
Both partners found the basics were in-place in rural Ghana for the project to succeed; political stability, growing mobile communications infrastructure, and a product with demand on the global market.
SAP recruited a few of its top employees for 6-month fellowships on the Ghana project. During field visits, they learned from Mrs. Abdulai and other women that providing solutions would require more than technology to succeed.
Mrs. Abdulai typically gathers at dawn so she can help her husband on his small farm and manage the household. It is a 15 minute walk to the shea trees where she collects 30 to 35 pounds of fruit before she heaves her basket to her head and trudges back to the village. In the course of the season, she collects almost a ton of fruit.
Vipers, mambas and scorpions lurk in the elephant grass where Mrs. Abdulai collects shea. 1,040 snakebite cases were recorded last year by Northern Regional Ghana Health Service, but incidents are believed to be underreported. Mrs. Abdulai is lucky; she has avoided a snake bite, so far. Unlike her daughter, who was bitten and others who perished.
When she returns home, the next step is to remove the skin and fruit pulp to expose the shea nut, which resembles a spherical avocado pit. Mrs. Abldulai saves some of the fruit, which sustains the family in the "hungry season" when crops have just been planted.
It takes up to two months of drying before the nuts are ready to be transformed into butter. Rushing the drying may also reduce quality. During bad years, Mrs. Abdulai was forced to sell the shea nuts prematurely. She was desperate for cash to buy food, school supplies and other essentials.
The value of shea nuts are diminished considerably with an early sale: A Stanford University study found that the price differential is as much as 82 percent [PDF] for premium nuts that are dried properly.
Because of poor record keeping, Mrs. Abdulai worried that not all of the nuts would be accounted for and she would be short-changed. She has good reason to worry, it turns out: "Some three-quarters of all adults in the north are illiterate," reports the U.N. -- including Mrs. Abdulai and the women in her village who do shea work.
Brokers come to the villages since it is difficult to get to the market. The brokers buy the small batches of butter and nuts and then sell at a large mark-up to the exporters or other manufacturers. Mrs. Abdulai's cache of nuts in past seasons was only enough to partly pay for one child's tuition. She heard that manufacturers pay much more than what the brokers offer the small producers, but what could she do.
Working with SAP and PlaNet Finance colleagues around the globe, the project team developed a holistic solution to resolve the core issues.
The program also cultivated Mrs. Abdulai's leadership skills. She said, "I used to be very shy, but now I educate my colleagues, organize the association leaders and assist them in carrying out their roles."
Imagine Building an App to Connect With Your Customers and StakeholdersContact me to understand how to develop a simple app that compliments your brand strategyclaudia@g3biz.com
To learn more about other IT Green services >>
Fatima Abdulai is a wife, mother and the first link in the shea supply chain. The fruit she gathers in the northern Ghana bush is the source of shea butter -- the luxurious ingredient in cosmetics and chocolates.
Fatima Abdulai is one of millions of poor rural women who scrape out a living where they find opportunity. In Ghana, the opportunity is the shea nut. In other places, it may be cocoa, cashews, coffee, or hand-made goods. A small loan, efficient technology, and practical advice are the support these women need to help them maximize those opportunities.
Shea trees are also valuable to the global environment. They store carbon and reduce erosion that puts dust in the air. Increasing shea's worth will ensure that the shea trees are not displaced by other cash crops which use more natural resources and create GHG emissions.Shea has been an important rural food and medicinal for centuries. Gathering and processing shea was always considered "women's work." In the last few years, exporters started selling nuts and butter to manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. But shea pays poorly for women like Mrs. Abdulai because middlemen take advantage of individual producers.
Opportunities for women are limited in northern Ghana. For her widowed daughter-in-law, shea is her primary source of income. If Mrs. Abdulai earns enough with shea and her other ventures, she is able to continue her children's secondary education. The U.N. reports that secondary school enrollment is about half the national average in northern Ghana where Mrs. Abdulai resides.
After learning about women like Mrs. Abdulai, SAP -- the business software giant -- sought to help as part of its corporate social responsibility program. But SAP wanted to make more than a financial contribution. SAP believed that its business management technology "that helps companies run better" could be applied to the shea trade.
Improved agricultural trade could benefit more than a billion people who live in poverty in rural areas. "Agriculture is an engine for growth and poverty reduction..." states a World Bank report [PDF], "Research has shown that every dollar of growth from agricultural products sold outside the local area in poor African countries leads to a second dollar of local rural growth."
SAP partnered with PlaNet Finance, an international non-profit that specializes in microfinance and technical assistance. PlaNet welcomed SAP's hands-on approach.
"We find that companies that put sweat equity into their social projects", said Ivana Damjanov, deputy director of operations, PlaNet Finance, "are more engaged and stay with it for the long-term."
Both partners found the basics were in-place in rural Ghana for the project to succeed; political stability, growing mobile communications infrastructure, and a product with demand on the global market.
SAP recruited a few of its top employees for 6-month fellowships on the Ghana project. During field visits, they learned from Mrs. Abdulai and other women that providing solutions would require more than technology to succeed.
Mrs. Abdulai typically gathers at dawn so she can help her husband on his small farm and manage the household. It is a 15 minute walk to the shea trees where she collects 30 to 35 pounds of fruit before she heaves her basket to her head and trudges back to the village. In the course of the season, she collects almost a ton of fruit.
Vipers, mambas and scorpions lurk in the elephant grass where Mrs. Abdulai collects shea. 1,040 snakebite cases were recorded last year by Northern Regional Ghana Health Service, but incidents are believed to be underreported. Mrs. Abdulai is lucky; she has avoided a snake bite, so far. Unlike her daughter, who was bitten and others who perished.
When she returns home, the next step is to remove the skin and fruit pulp to expose the shea nut, which resembles a spherical avocado pit. Mrs. Abldulai saves some of the fruit, which sustains the family in the "hungry season" when crops have just been planted.
It takes up to two months of drying before the nuts are ready to be transformed into butter. Rushing the drying may also reduce quality. During bad years, Mrs. Abdulai was forced to sell the shea nuts prematurely. She was desperate for cash to buy food, school supplies and other essentials.The value of shea nuts are diminished considerably with an early sale: A Stanford University study found that the price differential is as much as 82 percent [PDF] for premium nuts that are dried properly.
Because of poor record keeping, Mrs. Abdulai worried that not all of the nuts would be accounted for and she would be short-changed. She has good reason to worry, it turns out: "Some three-quarters of all adults in the north are illiterate," reports the U.N. -- including Mrs. Abdulai and the women in her village who do shea work.
Brokers come to the villages since it is difficult to get to the market. The brokers buy the small batches of butter and nuts and then sell at a large mark-up to the exporters or other manufacturers. Mrs. Abdulai's cache of nuts in past seasons was only enough to partly pay for one child's tuition. She heard that manufacturers pay much more than what the brokers offer the small producers, but what could she do.
Working with SAP and PlaNet Finance colleagues around the globe, the project team developed a holistic solution to resolve the core issues.
• Dangerous working conditions: Provide boots, gloves and coats to protect women gathering shea fruit.
• Uneven cash flow: Make microloans to support families until nuts are sold at full market value.
• No data: Build an order management tool --- Rural Sourcing Management (RSM) --- to capture and share key data about the product and market prices. The tool uses mobile technology, cloud computing and SAP software. The RSM tool is used by field officers, who are literate and able to use the technology after training.
• Product quality: Educate women on how to improve quality to satisfy the standards set by highest paying customers.
• Weak position as sellers: Set up an association, Star Shea Network, among small shea producers to eliminate the brokers. Recruit a more educated person in the community to record notes from meetings and assist with bookkeeping. Negotiate a long-term contract with a manufacturer seeking organic, fair trade and high-quality shea nuts and butter. The detailed product data provided by the new system and consistent quality were key factors in closing the deal.Under the new program, Mrs. Abdulai joined the association. She qualified for loans to purchase additional tailoring machines for her small business and protective gear for picking. She has repaid these loans. With the additional income she earned, Mrs. Abdulai paid school fees for her three children. Mrs. Abdulai is grateful that the program "opened up her shea business to the world."
The program also cultivated Mrs. Abdulai's leadership skills. She said, "I used to be very shy, but now I educate my colleagues, organize the association leaders and assist them in carrying out their roles."
Imagine Building an App to Connect With Your Customers and StakeholdersContact me to understand how to develop a simple app that compliments your brand strategyclaudia@g3biz.com
To learn more about other IT Green services >>
What's the Right Model for Acquiring Professional Services Contractors?
To contact us Click HERE
Is acquiring a paperclip the same as acquiring an IT specialist? Many large companies acquireprofessional service contractors --- such as IT, marketing and HR --- using asimilar program as they use when buying supplies, equipment, raw materials ormerchandise.
Yet many hiring managersand contract recruiters find the hiring process is unsatisfactory due to timespent vetting candidates or removing contractors that are a poor fit.
So why is the suppliespurchasing model not as effective for professional contractors? An importantprinciple of systems thinking is to apply the right model for the environment.What fits for one context when transplanted to a different context --- evenwhen they appear similar --- may cause problems.
This article exploresthe rationale for the current model, issues and a better approach.
Rationale for Paper Clip Purchasing Model
The solution to such amess is to consolidate the number of vendors and products, leverage the firm's buying power to negotiatevolume discounts and insert a strong centralized purchasingfunction. Often systems are implemented to manage the process.
Given the success ofthis approach, it is natural to apply it to a similar looking mess as theacquisition of talent. The purchaser / product user is the hiring manager.The providers are the professional services contract recruiting firms. Theproduct is the IT, marketing or HR expert. The mess is created whenindividual hiring managers develop relationships with their favorite providers.
How are Paper Clips and IT Specialists Different?
1. Product
Hiring managers providefuzzy specs. Either the specs are too vague that too many ill-suited candidatesare presented; or so narrow and specific that few candidates can be found.
Each candidate is aunique combination of experiences, skills and personality quirks. The good recruitersinterpret the fuzzy requirements to find the right talent.
When purchasing puts awall between recruiters and hiring managers, the dynamics change fromrelationships to checking the box that the candidate meets the requisitionrequirements often leading to disappointing results.
2. Negotiations
3. Cost Structure
Unlike paper clips, consolidatingto fewer providers may create less incentive for the contract recruiter.
Acquiring more talentfrom a particular contract recruiter does not reduce costs dramatically sinceeach new search incurs its own set of costs. Also the professionals have amarket rate and are not under the control of the contract recruiter.
Contract recruiters havesome flexibility on price. They may reduce their margin. The best way to reduceprice is to remind providers that there is a competitive pool of other vendorswaiting to replace them.
What Model Works Better for Talent
Russell Ackoff, apioneering system thinker, cautioned against using mechanistic type models suchas the purchasing of paper clips to humans. “In the long run, such mismatches produce lessdesirable results because critical aspects of the social system are omitted.”continues Ackoff “The more skilled the workers, the harder they are to replace.”[2]
A better model forcontract talent acquisition is a hybrid approach. Specifically:
References
2. Systems thinking is highlighted in Russell Ackoff’s book Re-creating the Corporation.
Is acquiring a paperclip the same as acquiring an IT specialist? Many large companies acquireprofessional service contractors --- such as IT, marketing and HR --- using asimilar program as they use when buying supplies, equipment, raw materials ormerchandise.Yet many hiring managersand contract recruiters find the hiring process is unsatisfactory due to timespent vetting candidates or removing contractors that are a poor fit.
So why is the suppliespurchasing model not as effective for professional contractors? An importantprinciple of systems thinking is to apply the right model for the environment.What fits for one context when transplanted to a different context --- evenwhen they appear similar --- may cause problems.
This article exploresthe rationale for the current model, issues and a better approach.
Rationale for Paper Clip Purchasing Model
The solution to such amess is to consolidate the number of vendors and products, leverage the firm's buying power to negotiatevolume discounts and insert a strong centralized purchasingfunction. Often systems are implemented to manage the process.
Given the success ofthis approach, it is natural to apply it to a similar looking mess as theacquisition of talent. The purchaser / product user is the hiring manager.The providers are the professional services contract recruiting firms. Theproduct is the IT, marketing or HR expert. The mess is created whenindividual hiring managers develop relationships with their favorite providers.
How are Paper Clips and IT Specialists Different?
1. Product
Hiring managers providefuzzy specs. Either the specs are too vague that too many ill-suited candidatesare presented; or so narrow and specific that few candidates can be found.
Each candidate is aunique combination of experiences, skills and personality quirks. The good recruitersinterpret the fuzzy requirements to find the right talent.
When purchasing puts awall between recruiters and hiring managers, the dynamics change fromrelationships to checking the box that the candidate meets the requisitionrequirements often leading to disappointing results.
2. Negotiations
3. Cost Structure
Unlike paper clips, consolidatingto fewer providers may create less incentive for the contract recruiter.
- Each search for a contract recruiter is a new competition, whilepaper clips are bought in bulk.
- With centralized purchasing, the contract recruiter is likely to competewith many more firms for that search. Previously the hiring manager had a fewfavorites.
- With more competition for each opening, there is less incentivefor the contract recruiter to work diligently on the opening since many otherfirms are going after the same pool of candidates. It becomes a race to presentas many candidates as possible rather than a few quality candidates.
Acquiring more talentfrom a particular contract recruiter does not reduce costs dramatically sinceeach new search incurs its own set of costs. Also the professionals have amarket rate and are not under the control of the contract recruiter.
Contract recruiters havesome flexibility on price. They may reduce their margin. The best way to reduceprice is to remind providers that there is a competitive pool of other vendorswaiting to replace them.
What Model Works Better for Talent
Russell Ackoff, apioneering system thinker, cautioned against using mechanistic type models suchas the purchasing of paper clips to humans. “In the long run, such mismatches produce lessdesirable results because critical aspects of the social system are omitted.”continues Ackoff “The more skilled the workers, the harder they are to replace.”[2]A better model forcontract talent acquisition is a hybrid approach. Specifically:
- Centralized purchasing to resolve the issue where product users are on average poorer negotiators than the purchasing professionals. Centralized purchasing would define consistent contract terms / conditions and rate structure. Systems are useful to manage.
- The hiring manager and contractor recruiters would build strong relationships to facilitate matching the best talent for an opening.
References
2. Systems thinking is highlighted in Russell Ackoff’s book Re-creating the Corporation.
Adding to Bittman's Dream Food Label
To contact us Click HERE
In today’s New York Times, Mark Bittman proposeda new food label. [1] Bittman stated that the current food label is informationoverload. As a consumer Bittman said, “I want something that allows me to makea fast but enlightened choice.”
Bittman’s simpler food label would reduceconfusion among consumers. The various components that Bittman proposed areoutstanding:
As a change management and metrics expert, Ihave a few tweaks to Bittman’s “dream food label”.
1. Stick to Standard Scoring Techniques
For each category, Bittman proposes a score of 1 to 5. Since there are 3 categories proposed, the total score is between 3 and 15.
The total should add to 10. Everyone is familiar with that scoring system since it is consistent with our base 10 numbering system that started with our 5 fingers on each hand. A total score of 15 is too hard to conceptualize.
2. Eliminate overlap
"Nutrition" is a category that summarizes the “nutritional facts” listed on the current food label. “Foodness” is a new concept that measures how closely the product is to food found in its natural state.
To see how “foodness” may be applied to food products, consider an apple
The concept of "foodness" is still important. So perhaps the two scores could be combined. Using this approach, tomato sauce earns a 4.5. And a new category name that captures "nutrition" and "foodness" could be devised.
3. Be careful when presenting hot topics such as "welfare"
The "welfare" score is also a new concept. Bittman described welfare as "a measure of the impact of the food's production on the overall welfare of everything involved: laborers, animals, land, water, air, etc."
"Welfare" --- as Frank Luntz would say --- is "a word that does not work". [2] Unfortunately "welfare" is linked to social welfare programs and using that word will trigger already strong associations. For many, those associations are negative.
Bittman proposed adding the individual scores together to compute a grand total. Usually a total score would be simpler, but food is a highly charged topic. Not everyone yet agrees that "welfare" is important to measure. Since "welfare" still requires more public acceptance it should be kept separate. Per my recommendation of presenting only two metrics, people can add them together if both metrics are personally meaningful.
4. No acronyms please
“GMO” stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Bittman referenced a study where 90% of Americans who were surveyed wished to know if their food contains genetically modified organisms.
The study did not measure whether those 90% knew the acronym. But in general, it is unlikely and therefore dangerous to assume that everyone will know what an acronym stands for.
My tweak for this section is to pose as a Question: Genetically modified? Answer: Yes GMOs or No GMOs.
I applaud Bittman for not making a value judgement on GMO. He used a neutral color code of black or white to indicate if a food contains GMO (black) or not (white).
5. My Health / Our Health
"Nutrition / Foodness" could be named the "My Health" score. And "Welfare" could be categorized as "Our Health". These new labels capture both the personal and the community welfare.
Here is the updated dream label:
I offer these suggestions as a few more ideas tobuild upon. Thanks again to Mark Bittman for starting the conversation and providingan excellent foundation.
1. Bittman's article "My Dream Food Label" at The New York Times >>
2. Frank Luntz is a Republican strategist whose research focuses on finding effective ways to communicate complex political topics. His bestseller is Words That Work. Learn more at Luntz's site >>
 |
| From The New York Times [1] |
Bittman’s simpler food label would reduceconfusion among consumers. The various components that Bittman proposed areoutstanding:
- Summarizing a great dealof data into a few categories. They are “Nutrition”, “Foodness”, and “Welfare”.
- Rating bar
- Color code
- Highlight topic ofspecial concern such as “GMO”
As a change management and metrics expert, Ihave a few tweaks to Bittman’s “dream food label”.
1. Stick to Standard Scoring Techniques
For each category, Bittman proposes a score of 1 to 5. Since there are 3 categories proposed, the total score is between 3 and 15.The total should add to 10. Everyone is familiar with that scoring system since it is consistent with our base 10 numbering system that started with our 5 fingers on each hand. A total score of 15 is too hard to conceptualize.
2. Eliminate overlap
"Nutrition" is a category that summarizes the “nutritional facts” listed on the current food label. “Foodness” is a new concept that measures how closely the product is to food found in its natural state. To see how “foodness” may be applied to food products, consider an apple
- 5 points - An apple
- 4 points - Dried apple, apple juice no other additives
- 3 points - Applesauce with some sugars and additives
- 2 points - An apple drink with some apple juice
- 1 point - An apple-flavored drink with no apple juice
The concept of "foodness" is still important. So perhaps the two scores could be combined. Using this approach, tomato sauce earns a 4.5. And a new category name that captures "nutrition" and "foodness" could be devised.
3. Be careful when presenting hot topics such as "welfare"
The "welfare" score is also a new concept. Bittman described welfare as "a measure of the impact of the food's production on the overall welfare of everything involved: laborers, animals, land, water, air, etc.""Welfare" --- as Frank Luntz would say --- is "a word that does not work". [2] Unfortunately "welfare" is linked to social welfare programs and using that word will trigger already strong associations. For many, those associations are negative.
Bittman proposed adding the individual scores together to compute a grand total. Usually a total score would be simpler, but food is a highly charged topic. Not everyone yet agrees that "welfare" is important to measure. Since "welfare" still requires more public acceptance it should be kept separate. Per my recommendation of presenting only two metrics, people can add them together if both metrics are personally meaningful.
4. No acronyms please
“GMO” stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Bittman referenced a study where 90% of Americans who were surveyed wished to know if their food contains genetically modified organisms.The study did not measure whether those 90% knew the acronym. But in general, it is unlikely and therefore dangerous to assume that everyone will know what an acronym stands for.
My tweak for this section is to pose as a Question: Genetically modified? Answer: Yes GMOs or No GMOs.
I applaud Bittman for not making a value judgement on GMO. He used a neutral color code of black or white to indicate if a food contains GMO (black) or not (white).
5. My Health / Our Health
"Nutrition / Foodness" could be named the "My Health" score. And "Welfare" could be categorized as "Our Health". These new labels capture both the personal and the community welfare.Here is the updated dream label:
| Tomato Sauce | Frozen Blueberries | Whole Chicken | Sugary Cereal | |
My Health | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 | 4 / 5 | 1 /5 |
Our Health | 5 / 5 | 2 / 5 | 1 / 5 | 3 / 5 |
| Genetically | NO GMOs | NO GMOs | YES GMOs | YES GMOs |
I offer these suggestions as a few more ideas tobuild upon. Thanks again to Mark Bittman for starting the conversation and providingan excellent foundation.
References
Get Out the Vote: Use Change Management
To contact us Click HERE
It is election season and pundits are lamenting poor voterturn-out [1]. Could change management increasevoter turn-out? There is ample evidence that it would.
In this article, we will review the three standardtechniques to change behavior and how they may be applied to voting.
To change behavior, we need to make the behavior
1. Makeit easier
If voting was a retail transaction, it would go bankrupt.What if Starbucks required registration, provided few places to buy, and thenrequired customers to wait in a long line. Once customers reached the baristathey needed to prove they were Starbucks customers. To increase voting weshould borrow from the retail masters.
Voting That Fits Voter’s Habits
Voting for many is decided closer to election day. A handfulof states have eliminated registration or allow same day registration. Stateswith Election Day Registration have consistently higher turnout than states thatrequire hyper-organization. [2]
More evidence on the impact of registration is the fact thatthose who do not move and hence do not need to re-register, vote more often.
Pre-registering voters is a technique used in Germanyand Finland. Compared to other European countries, they enjoy higher thanaverage turn-out. Pre-registering works because it is a form of “opt-in”; aclassic change management tool that was popularized by Thaler and Sunstein intheir book Nudge.
A longer voting period also increases convenience andreduces peak load so lines are shorter.
It is also an example of socialsupport which will be discussed later.
2. IncreaseMeaning
My Vote Counts
Similarly advocacy groups encourage voter turn-out byfocusing voters on an issue where their vote could sway the outcome.
To further increase the value of each citizen’s vote, manyhave advocated eliminating the electoral college and counting the popular votedirectly.
Rational allocation of districts is another tactic to increaseparticipation. We need to avoid gerrymandering which increases the oddssignificantly for one party or the other and distorts the voting process. [4]
3. Add SocialSupport
Role Models Rule
Peer Pressure Works
Although the Swiss approach does not fit our culture, itsuse of peer signaling has merits.
Feedback Loop
Analogous to earbuds, the “I voted” sticker could be used tosignal that voting is a social norm. Stickers have been handed out after votingfor years, but unless the individual voted early and wore with pride, then hisfellow citizens would not benefit from his good example. Switching fromstickers to social network badges that would accrue for each election wouldmake voters more visible. [6]
But what about those voters whose circumstances make votingdifficult? We can use these simple and low-cost change management techniques to“Get Out The Vote!”
1. Surprise– Voting is Holding Steady, Not Declining.
But total adult population alsoincludes ineligible voters such as felons and noncitizens. Ineligible voters grew from 2 to 10% duringthe period when voting supposedly declined.
When Dr. Michael McDonald, aprofessor of public affairs at George Mason University, used eligible votersrather than total adult population, he found that voter turn-out heldsteady. Read more at Dr. McDonald's website >>
Although the decline is over-hyped,we can still do better than 55 to 60% of eligible voters.
2. Increase in voting where pre-registering iseliminated
3. Votingcenters located conveniently increases participation. Read more at Science Daily >>
4. “Winnertake all” holds down voting
5. TheSwiss experiment to use peer pressure to encourage voting. Read the paper [PDF] >> In addition, U.S. researchers dida similar experiment with good results. Read the article at Political Science Mag >>
6. Socialmedia to signal voting. Read more at Biz Report >>
It is election season and pundits are lamenting poor voterturn-out [1]. Could change management increasevoter turn-out? There is ample evidence that it would. In this article, we will review the three standardtechniques to change behavior and how they may be applied to voting.
To change behavior, we need to make the behavior
1. Makeit easier
If voting was a retail transaction, it would go bankrupt.What if Starbucks required registration, provided few places to buy, and thenrequired customers to wait in a long line. Once customers reached the baristathey needed to prove they were Starbucks customers. To increase voting weshould borrow from the retail masters.Voting That Fits Voter’s Habits
Voting for many is decided closer to election day. A handfulof states have eliminated registration or allow same day registration. Stateswith Election Day Registration have consistently higher turnout than states thatrequire hyper-organization. [2]
More evidence on the impact of registration is the fact thatthose who do not move and hence do not need to re-register, vote more often.
Pre-registering voters is a technique used in Germanyand Finland. Compared to other European countries, they enjoy higher thanaverage turn-out. Pre-registering works because it is a form of “opt-in”; aclassic change management tool that was popularized by Thaler and Sunstein intheir book Nudge.
A longer voting period also increases convenience andreduces peak load so lines are shorter.
It is also an example of socialsupport which will be discussed later.
2. IncreaseMeaning
My Vote CountsSimilarly advocacy groups encourage voter turn-out byfocusing voters on an issue where their vote could sway the outcome.
To further increase the value of each citizen’s vote, manyhave advocated eliminating the electoral college and counting the popular votedirectly.
Rational allocation of districts is another tactic to increaseparticipation. We need to avoid gerrymandering which increases the oddssignificantly for one party or the other and distorts the voting process. [4]
3. Add SocialSupport
Role Models RulePeer Pressure Works
Although the Swiss approach does not fit our culture, itsuse of peer signaling has merits.
Feedback Loop Analogous to earbuds, the “I voted” sticker could be used tosignal that voting is a social norm. Stickers have been handed out after votingfor years, but unless the individual voted early and wore with pride, then hisfellow citizens would not benefit from his good example. Switching fromstickers to social network badges that would accrue for each election wouldmake voters more visible. [6]
Tear Down Barriers
For me, voting is already easy, compelling and sociallysupported. I vote using an absentee ballot. Since I move infrequently, I rarelyneed to bother with registration. As a naturalized citizen I feel a specialhonor to vote. Discussion of the issues withfriends and family reinforces my commitment.But what about those voters whose circumstances make votingdifficult? We can use these simple and low-cost change management techniques to“Get Out The Vote!”
Notes:
But total adult population alsoincludes ineligible voters such as felons and noncitizens. Ineligible voters grew from 2 to 10% duringthe period when voting supposedly declined.
When Dr. Michael McDonald, aprofessor of public affairs at George Mason University, used eligible votersrather than total adult population, he found that voter turn-out heldsteady. Read more at Dr. McDonald's website >>
Although the decline is over-hyped,we can still do better than 55 to 60% of eligible voters.
2. Increase in voting where pre-registering iseliminated
3. Votingcenters located conveniently increases participation. Read more at Science Daily >>
4. “Winnertake all” holds down voting
5. TheSwiss experiment to use peer pressure to encourage voting. Read the paper [PDF] >> In addition, U.S. researchers dida similar experiment with good results. Read the article at Political Science Mag >>
6. Socialmedia to signal voting. Read more at Biz Report >>
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