Tales From the Rust Belt

Proposed Federal Funding Concentrates on Economic Development and includes a New Parking Deck for Downtown

2009-12-11T13:01:00.007-05:00

The Business Journal has a nice article on items Congressman Tim Ryan has earmarked for Ohio's 17th district. The almost 8 million dollars in federal funding is aimed at increasing the economic development of the area. Included is $450,000 for a new parking deck to support phase 4 of the tech block downtown. The parking structure would feature a pedestrian walkway attached to the tech block.

Also in the bill is $200,000 to fund the Western Reserve Economic Development Initiative, which hopes to revitalize economy of Trumbull and Mahoning counties:

The goal is to expand the capabilities of the Western Reserve Port Authority to
areas beyond airport administration into the realm of marketing the region,
attracting new businesses, participating in financial deals to encourage new
investments that will serve to retain and create new jobs.

This is good news. The airport has never been properly managed as a tool to draw business to the area. Our geographic location is a postive aspect of the area that we are all familiar with but one I think we have failed to captialize on. Maybe the new head of the Port Authority, Rose Ann DeLeon, can change that. There is no good reason the area cannot be an intermodal transportation hub, given our position along I-80, a viable (and underused) airport and our rail capacity. I believe the marketing has always been inadequate.

A more complete list of projects and funding can be found here.

Forbes Ranks Youngstown as the 25th Best Bang for the Buck City in America

2009-12-07T12:51:00.005-05:00

Forbes ranks Youngstown as one of the best bang for your buck cities in America, placing it at the 25th spot out of 100. They say, "Solid housing markets, relatively stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick commutes make these metros among the country's most affordable to live."

I think we all know how good we have it here. Housing is cheap compared to other places, like the south. Unemployment may be high but our geogrphical location lends itself well to commuting if you can score a job in Pittsburgh, Cleveland or Akron. Even our retail prices for food and gas are chepaer compared to some places I've traveled. It was nice of Forbes to notice that there are some positive elements to the city and surrounding communities.

Check the bottom of the Forbes screen in the link for their methodology.

Which Area Business Person Bribed Tsagaris and Cronin?

2009-12-04T16:21:00.009-05:00

There's a mystery afoot in the Mahoning Valley. One of the area's successful "senior executives" is handing out no interest loans without a schedule for repayment to local politicians. One of these politicians, former Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas Judge Maureen Cronin has been charged with two felony counts in relation to this "loan" of $18,000. She then presided over several cases this unidentified businessman had before her.

The Feds say this case is related to the conviction of former Trumbull County Commissioner James Tsagaris. He received a "loan" in the amount of $36,551 from an unidentified business man in 2004.

Now gosh darn it, which local businessman has interests in both Mahoning and Trumbull county? Which area senior executive would have no compunction about handing an envelope stuffed with cash to a local politician?

Which local businessman is watching this news and waiting for the other shoe to drop?

I hope we find out soon. But this statement makes it seem like the name won't be dropped by the Feds:

Bill Edwards, a U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman, refused to disclose
the name of the senior business executive or that person’s company.

“We never name people who aren’t charged,” he said.

You see, Tsagaris and Cronin are really in trouble for not reporting the "loans" on state financial disclosure statements. These, it seems, are invaluable for making sure our elected officials aren't taking "loans" that don't need to be paid back.

Hopefully, someone with knowledge of this "senior executive's" involvement will come forth. As we've seen, having a connection to such a scurrilous person could be detrimental to a political career. I imagine it could be especially damaging if one had aspirations to high office.

In fact, this is the sort of thing a politician may want to get out in front of before some enterprising reporter builds a solid case and grabs a big headline.

Have You Seen James at War?

2009-12-02T22:52:00.003-05:00

There's not much I like more than satire and a good spoof so I laughed pretty hard when I watched these two videos from James at War. I can't decide which I like better, Popstar, the spoof of Nickleback's "Rockstar" or the Twilight New Moon spoof.

Demolition of the YBM Corp. Building on the North Side is Good for the City

2009-11-23T14:37:00.015-05:00

The former Youngstown Building Material and Fuel Co. building located on Youngstown-Hubbard Rd. and Logan has been demolished by the city with funds provided by the state Controlling Board through a Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant.

Before

I have complained about this eyesore for years. My problem with this particular building is that it was located at a busy entrance to the city and offered visitors the worst possible view when they entered the city.

The former YBM Corp. building has been empty since 1989 and had that abandoned and derelict look that scares the heebie jeebies out of visitors as they travel to Stambaugh Auditorium, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, YSU and the Covelli Centre. There was nothing quite like pulling up to the light at Logan and wondering if some strung out bum was going to come stumbling out of this joint. Especially if you were unlucky enough to catch a train. I know a few people who just avoided the area by driving out of their way to access the city via Belmont Ave.

I traveled into the city Sunday and was pleasantly surprised to see the building was gone and the lot flattened. I did a little research and it appears that the city plans to plant grass immediately and then develop the land for light industrial use.

After

True, we've lost another "Eddie loves Debbie" work of art but, hey, progress has its costs.

A round of applause is due to everyone in the city and state government who persevered to remove this blighted structure.

Damn Browns, Part II

2009-11-18T12:41:00.012-05:00

Buy this Bumper Sticker!

It's taken me two days to get over the debacle that was the Monday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns. On the Ray Rice touchdown that finally put Baltimore on the scoreboard the Browns had 10 men on the field and they were milling around like old ladies at a flea market. Brady Quinn made a habit out of throwing the ball to receivers who were either invsibile or playing in some other game.

It's been ten years since they came back and it's all been crap.

Terrible owners and bad coaches have sapped the life of fans and the careers of professional athletes. I'm a diehard fan and will continue to be for years to come but this is the year Randy Lerner should decide whether he wants to own a professional football team or not. If he can't hire the right talent it may be time to sell. Hell, Rush Limbaugh is looking for a team to buy. I hate the guy but at least he understands that you have to be aggressive to win.

Do the Browns relaize that it's been two generations since Superbowls started being played and they haven't even played in one? The old joke about the Browns never losing a Superbowl is getting to be a bitter pill to swallow. Especially since the Rooney family has so successfully built a dynasty just 2 hours away.

If you would like to show your displeasure, you can buy a bumper sticker from Rust Belt Pop. Maybe seeing a bunch of "Hope Dies at 1085 W. Third St." bumper stickers around Northeast Ohio will spur the ownership to build a team worth our devotion.

New Christmas Items Up at Rust belt Pop

2009-11-14T14:18:00.004-05:00

We've got a new line of Christmas products up at Rust Belt Pop. They include Christmas cards, shirts, stickers, mugs and more. There are two designs up now with more to come.
Be sure to check out some of our fine products for all your gift giving needs! (We even have ties and designs for the kids!) Click here to go to the main store.

The Republicans are Acting Stranger and Stranger

2009-11-13T16:30:00.003-05:00

Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue". According to this CNN article, people either love her or hate her. I think people are getting too wrapped up in this business of identifying with our political figures. Palin and Obama and all the rest of them are not our friends. Just because you identify with the plain spoken former governor of Alaska doesn't mean people are insulting you personally when they say she isn't qualified to be president. The world is a complex place with problems so subtle and nuanced that even an army of ivy leaguers make the wrong call, regardless of who the president is. You may love her and her attitude but so far she hasn't shown the kind of critical, deep thinking we need from someone who will have to balance active wars, national security, a recessed economy and a crumbling infrastructure. She's interesting, sure but presidential? Come on...

Putting 9/11 terrorists on trial. This article has lawmakers criticizing the Attorney General's decision to try five 9/11 conspirators in Federal court. These members of congress say military tribunals would be better. Really? I can't imagine anything more satisfying than ripping these animals from their burrows all over the world and putting them in a Manhattan courtroom to face the very people they attacked. When did the Republican party lose faith our justice system? And what does that say about them?

Who is Rachel at Cardholder Services?

2009-11-10T08:42:00.007-05:00

It appears that Rachel is the nom de computer of credit card scammers who say they can lower your credit card interest rate. This is the newest scam to burn up the cell phone lines with an auto dialer. Similar to the car warranty scam earlier this year, these robo calls dial your cell phone, hit you with an automated pitch and ask you to push "1" to speak with a person (I bet that big tease Rachel never answers).

So the pitch is that this company can lower the interest rate on your card, for a fee, of course. I think it's best to just hang up on them or string them along if you are in the mood to mess with criminal credit card scammers. In any event, you don't want to give them any personal info or your credit card number.

Return the Stolen Artwork to the Northside!

2009-11-03T09:48:00.005-05:00

People say you can't have anything nice without someone screwing it up and apparently some criminals on Youngstown's Northside believe that. Thieves stole three of thirty-seven 6 x 8 canvases from a fence on Wick Ave. placed there by the group Art Youngstown. They were part of an effort to make art accessible to the public.

According to the Vindicator article, "a neighbor witnessed several young men take down the artworks at about 3 a.m. Saturday." Really? Why would you steal three paintings that were donated by local artists? You can't sell canvas for scrap.

I've been admiring the paintings for the last week as I visited a relative at St. Elizabeth's. Entering the city via Youngstown-Hubbard Rd. is a pretty bleak experience and the artwork was appreciated. The paintings demonstrated a vibrant side to the city and showed residents have pride in the place where they live.

The article states that the paintings can be returned with no questions asked so if you stole them, give them back. The info to do so is below:

The paintings can be returned by dropping them off at the Lemon Grove Cafe,
122 W. Federal St., downtown, which is open until 4 a.m.; by contacting
Dubec at (330) 398-4565; or by going to artyoungstown.org and sending an
e-mail to indicate where the paintings can be picked up.

More Good Stuff from Rust Belt Pop

2009-11-01T13:46:00.003-05:00

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Why is it So Darn Hard to Read Slate.com?

2009-10-29T12:45:00.007-04:00

I like Slate.com. I really do. One of my guilty pleasures is reading Emily Yoff's Dear Prudence column every Thursday. It's just that when I move on to the other interesting articles, I have a problem with being pulled out of the story by a combination of links and seemingly random bold print.

So I'm actually complaining about the formatting rather than the content.

I appreciate that the site wants me to know their writers can properly cite references for the statements they make but I view these large swaths of light blue text as an interruption to the reading experience. Take, for example, this article on Afghanistan (and yes I know I'm using a link but it's small and relevant). Five links in nine paragraphs with the average one being 4.5 words long. My inner reader's voice stumbles over these written speed bumps and loses focus on an otherwise well written article.

And just look at this:

What is up with this seemingly random bolding of large portions of text? Do the editors really think I can't pick out the important parts of the article myself? If I've managed to navigate to the tuna story I probably have an interest in reading and understanding what they are reporting so it's unnecessary to be so condescending as to point out the three or four lines that really get to the heart of the story. Especially something written so plainly as "endangers the species". That packs a wallop all by itself.

Maybe that's what irks me. A relatively smart site like Slate shouldn't be so nervous that it must cite a reference for every fact or treat its readers like dufuses who can't understand which arguments or conclusions are important without being bold (See? It's like I don't trust you to understand that this is the point I am trying to make).

Tom Friedman gets Afghanistan Right

2009-10-28T12:45:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while you read something that so perfectly encapsulates your feelings on a subject you wonder how the writer can be in such synchronicity with you. That is the case with Thomas Friedman's column today in the New York Times.

Mr. Friedman argues that we should not build up the troop levels in Afghanistan because we cannot want victory there than its citizens. He thinks it's time to reduce our presence and re-think our goals. That perhaps if everyone there had to stand on their own they would reconsider the actions they are taking. In his words, "Let them all start paying retail for their extremism, not wholesale. Then you’ll see movement."

From the piece:

What if we shrink our presence in Afghanistan? Won’t Al Qaeda return, the
Taliban be energized and Pakistan collapse? Maybe. Maybe not. This gets to my
second principle: In the Middle East, all politics — everything that matters —
happens the morning after the morning after. Be patient. Yes, the morning after
we shrink down in Afghanistan, the Taliban will celebrate, Pakistan will quake
and bin Laden will issue an exultant video.

And the morning after the morning after, the Taliban factions will
start fighting each other, the Pakistani Army will have to destroy their
Taliban, or be destroyed by them, Afghanistan’s warlords will carve up the
country, and, if bin Laden comes out of his cave, he’ll get zapped by a
drone.

He has a point. The presence of our forces are driving people to act like the Taliban even if they aren't joining the Taliban. They want the foreign invaders gone. The Karzai government only wants us in the country to prop themselves up. If people want democracy they need to work for it and earn it like every other democracy. We cannot keep spilling blood and spending ourselves broke to enforce our will on a country that doesn't seem interested in our way of doing things.

So we should just go.

I hope President Obama is taking so much time to make a decision on Afghanistan because he is considering this option. The United States needs its young people and money right now. This isn't "losing", no matter what the Fox News crowd thinks. This is cutting ourselves loose from a bad deal. I hope the president is smart enough to see this for himself.

Mike Prelee's Rockin' Railroad

2009-10-25T10:16:00.008-04:00

No, not me, the other Mike Prelee.

My Uncle Mike is a world class designer of O scale railroads. I've featured his past efforts, like the Croton Canyon Railroad. "Mr. Mountain", as he is known, is featured in the October/ November issue of O Gauge Railroading with his Red Rock & Roll railroad.

Uncle Mike grew up in the Sharon, PA area but his radio career took him all around the country, eventually landing him a career on New York radio. On trips to the southwest United States he was enamored of the red rocks found in the desert.

He brought this appreciation back east with him and included it when he constructed the Red Rock & Roll railroad. The layout is 9' x 17', 39" high and features five turnarounds, Ross track, 24 switches and TMCC.

Uncle Mike's railroads always incorporate fun with detailed design. Check out the railroad ties being replaced in the Thomas picture or the mariachi band performing at a wedding. It's easy to see that he loves what he does and has a real passion for it.

Issue 3 Treats the Mahoning Valley Like a Red Headed Step Child

2009-10-16T09:44:00.004-04:00

Dave Betras has a point about Issue 3. He says it is bad for the Mahoning Valley because Trumbull and Mahoning counties are left out of the development and his reasoning is absolutely correct.

Issue 3 is on the ballot this November 3rd. It would amend the state constitution to allow one casino to be built in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo. The Mahoning Valley has supported gambling initiatives in the past and many people here are customers of gambling locations at Presque Isle, PA and Wheeling, WV. In fact, it will still be shorter to drive to those locations than the casinos in Cleveland and Columbus.

This proposal prevents future casino development from taking place which prevents new jobs from being created in Youngstown and Warren. The casinos in the other four cities could turn them into the Las Vegas's of the midwest but you'll never see development here in our home. The language in the proposed amnedment specifies one casino in each of the four cities. It doesn't even provide for the possibility of future development. These investors want us to let them into the bakery and then lock the door so no one else can taste the cake.

Given our past support of this issue the residents of this area would be correct if they beg off this time. It's an insult to ignore the part of the state that needs the most development. Where are the jobs for us? Where is the investment in our cities? It's not greedy to think that way. Not when we're looking at 15% unemployment. Providing strong opposition to this proposal may get us what we want the next time they try.

Vote no on Issue 3.

CafePress Changes the Rules and it's Bad News for Shop Keepers

2009-10-14T12:41:00.011-04:00

I've been a shop keeper with CafePress for a few years now. My Zombie Trip T-shirt and other designs have sold well there and put a little extra coin in my pocket. Alas, CafePress has changed their terms of service and made it harder for shop keepers to be successful.

The original terms were very simple. Users create designs, upload them to the website and set a mark up rate. CafePress sold the item for a base price plus your mark up. If customers liked your design, CP made the base price and the user made the mark up. If you sold enough, you even got a volume bonus. They offered a nice selection of items like T-shirts, mugs, prints, calendars and bags. The site offered free stores or premium stores that shop keepers could pay for. These premium stores were about $60.00 a year and allowed anyone to have their own place on the world wide web.

Life was good. Then CafePress got greedy and a little pissy about how folks played in their sandbox.

First, volume bonuses were eliminated. That nice little bit of "extra" shopkeepers received for selling in excess of $250.00 a month vanished but that wasn't so bad. I was never one of the bigger sellers on the site and only received the bonus a few times. Then, earlier this year, the gloves came off.

CafePress decided that any items sold in their marketplace would garner only a 10% mark up for their shop keepers. Their marketplace are the pages upon pages of designs you see when you search the site. Shopkeepers could still place whatever mark up they like on the items in their store but items sold in the marketplace were only worth 10%. In effect, CafePress was competing against their shop keepers.

This caused quite an exodus of shop keepers to other Print on Demand (POD) sites like http://www.zazzle.com/.

The result of these changes was reduced revenue for shopkeepers. If you were making $5.00 per shirt you would now receive $2.20 if it sold in the CafePress marketplace. That's quite a hit in the wallet for a hobbyist like me and damn near devastating for those who were making a living off their sales.

Earlier today I posted a message in the CafePress forums that rankled their moderators. I noticed that my "Zombie Trip" shirt was selling for $22.00 in the marketplace and $18.99 in my store. I promptly put a message under my products politely informing customers that if they liked my products it was cheaper to buy them in my CafePress store rather than CafePress's marketplace.

I then posted my idea for all the shopkeepers to see in the CafePress forums. The entire thread was promptly removed from the site by a moderator. Usually they just close and lock a thread they don't like but in this case the idea was so dangerous it had to be disappeared. Here's a copy of what they told me:

New Private Topic by RowdyJRT - "Post Removed" 14 October 2009 07:32 AM
------------------------------ I have removed your "idea to direct traffic" post
from the forum. CP pays for the forum and offering ideas on how to "stick" it to
CP isn't appropriate nor is it constructive.

This is an official Moderator action.

Like I said, it's their sandbox. The mods get cranky whenever someone comes up with a work around or gripes about the revenue sharing changes. They love to play the "CP pays for these boards" card. Well, that's okay. Google gives me this one for free.

As someone who paid $60.00 for their store, I thought I would be allowed to voice an opinion or post an idea but apparently not. CP must have forgotten they pay for their forums with the fees I pay them for my store and the profit they make from my designs.

So I have decided to move my store, Rust Belt Pop, to www.zazzle.com/mprelee. They have a nice marketplace, good products, great tools and they treat their shop keepers with respect. I'll keep my CafePress store open through Christmas but after that, I'll be happily selling my little trinkets at Zazzle.

If anyone wanders in from the CafePress forums please feel free to link this around. You certainly won't see it posted there.

And with that I bid you adieu and leave you to your own drama.

Who is Card Member Services and Why are they Calling Our Cell Phones?

2009-10-07T21:38:00.004-04:00

I received a call this afternoon on my cell phone from a company claiming they could lower my credit card interest rate. I spoke to a woman named Dorothy who said she worked for a company called "Card Member Services". She insisted on "verifying" my phone number by asking for it repeatedly even though her company had just called me. I ignored her request and asked what her company could do for me.

Dorothy told me her company could get me a lower credit card interest rate if I had at least $4700.00 in debt, an interest rate of at least 14% and still had a good credit score. When I pressed her and asked how they would do this she insisted on verifying my phone number before we went any further. I asked her where the company was located and was told I would have to speak to a supervisor. She put me on hold and no one ever came back on the line.

I've Googled the company and found this entry for a company under that name. Could these be the scoundrels who are calling our cell phones illegally?

Credit Card Scam has a New Number

2009-10-07T11:14:00.003-04:00

The people perpetrating the new credit card scam have a new number, (213) 224-2050. These are the folks who want to help you lower your credit card interest rate if only you'll press 1. Oh, they want you to press 1 so badly but you're way to smart to do that.

Possible Solution to the First Energy Light Bulb "Giveaway"

2009-10-07T09:00:00.007-04:00

What if these bulbs were "received broken"? Can consumers really be charged for something they didn't order if the item was received in a condition which didn't allow them to be used?

What would happen if thousands of customers called and complained that the bulbs were broken upon delivery and in an "unusable condition"? Would they be replaced? Would the charge be legal?

Heck what if they "weren't received"? How could they prove they gave them to the customer?

Just a little something to think about.

By the way, if you were counting on your elected representatives to do anything about this issue you are going to be disappointed. State Senator Capri Cafaro was interviewed by the Vinidcator and stated she would have preferred First Energy give away coupons for discounted bulbs and encouraged those who want to complain to contact the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel at (877) 742-5622.

That's nice but it's not exactly gathering up a busload of constituents to protest at First Energy offices is it? It sounds like the sort of answer you get from a politician who thinks they should be on the record saying something about an unpopular situation but who isn't going to get involved.

The First Energy Light Bulb Give Away is Stupid

2009-10-06T08:33:00.007-04:00

You would think the electric company knows a little about light bulbs and how to use them wisely.

You would be wrong.

According to Cleveland.com, First Energy has a plan to distribute two CFL light bulbs to all of their customers, which includes those served by Ohio Edison, the Illuminating Co., and Toledo Edison. A California company will hang them on customer's doors or mail them out. They are doing this to be compliant with an Ohio state law passed last year that requires utilities to cut their customer's energy use by 22% by 2025.

The catch is that First Energy customers will pay for the 23 watt bulbs with a monthly fee over the next three years. They will be charged .60 cents a month for 36 months for a total of $21.60 for two light bulbs. That charge is being assessed on all customers whether they use the bulbs or not. You can get a six pack of 26 watt bulbs cheaper at Wal-Mart for about $15.00. The outrageous part is that this charge "covers the cost of the bulbs ($3.50 each), their delivery and the delivery of the power consumers would have used if they didn't have them."

There is no benefit to the consumer with this program. If you want to use CFL bulbs, you can buy them cheaper. I've recommended them for years and I have seen a drop in my electric bills but this plan is foolish. This is an case of a company trying to be "green" and compliant with a law but screwing their customers with overpriced junk and fees they have no control over.

If you are served by First Energy I recommend you contact them and complain about the price of the bulbs and the accompnying fees.

Scam Alert! Robo Calls Offer to Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate

2009-09-30T12:41:00.009-04:00

Remember earlier this year when so many people were inundated with calls from scam artists trying to get them to buy bogus car warranties? The calls would come several times a day to cell phones as well as home phones and when you tried to track the number you found out the caller was using spoofing software to mask their real number.

Well, be prepared for round two. This time it's some unidentified company offering to lower your credit card rates. Beware, you do not want to talk to these people and you definitely do not want to give them your credit card number.

The number they called from is (408) 651-8128. When you call it back the line just goes dead. This robo-call uses a pre-recorded message and offers you the chance to speak to a live operator by pushing "1" or being removed form their list by pressing "3". These types of calls are illegal and I bet before too long we hear horror stories about people accepting the offer to reduce their credit card rates only to find out they've been scammed into giving up personal information and having their identity ripped off or end up with bogus charges on their cards.

Why They Love Detroit

2009-09-28T09:28:00.004-04:00

Here's a fun article from CNNMoney.com Assignment Detroit. 13 people share their stories about why they love the Motor City. While I reading their stories I was struck by how similar they were to people who love the Youngstown area. They all had a favorite place that meant something to them, some special spot that defined why they loved Detroit.

It would be tough for me to pick one place in Youngstown or the surrounding area that is a favorite spot. I guess it would be Stambaugh Auditorium, specifically the front steps. The building looks so majestic and is built so solidly that it just gives this sense of permanence. I've been there for concerts, stand up comedians and taken wedding pictures there. It's just such a landmark for folks who aren't very familiar with the city. Whoever you talk to has always attended at least one event there, even if it was a play when they were back in school.

How about you?

Damn Browns!

2009-09-21T19:52:00.007-04:00

Man, I just can't take it anymore. This season the Brown's just stink. Just like they did last season and the season before and pretty much every season since they returned in 1999.

You really have to question your loyalty to such a team after this many years without success or even without hope. So I've channeled my frustration into T-shirts.

Damn Browns

Nobody Ruins a Sunday Like the Browns

Only France Loses More Often Than the Browns

All are available at Rust Belt Pop for $19.95.

A Solar Panel Plant in Northeast Ohio? Maybe, With These Changes

2009-09-16T12:53:00.003-04:00

Thomas Friedman has an excellent column in today's New York Times describing the changes required to make the manufacturing of solar panels and other equipment profitable in the United States. He counts three things as being necessary:

Allowing anyone to generate electricity from solar (which we do).
Connecting those customers to the electrical grid (which we do).
Mandating the utlility company buy power from these users (not in place currently)

He conducts an interview with Mike Splinter, the CEO of Applied Materials, a company that makes the machines that make solar panels. The Silicon Valley comapny has built 14 solar panel manufacturing plants in the last two years but none of them are in America.

The problem is that the United States lacks the advantages countries like Germany and China have implemented, namely "certainty of price, connectivity and regulation on a national basis".

I've looked into solar panels and the cost is $18,000 for a home system that will take 20 years to pay for itself in reduced electric bills. If utilities were mandated to buy power from residential and business owners they could reduce their dependency on coal and natural gas, lower their pollution emissions and most importantly, allow individuals to recoup their investment in home solar more quickly. Instead of reducing our electric bills we would be generating power and selling it to utilities during the day when no one is home.

I would love to be in the solar power bsiness.

The consequences are dire for ignoring these new technologies and allowing other countries to move ahead of us:

although consumer demand for solar power has incrementally increased here, it
has not been enough for anyone to have Applied Materials — the world’s biggest
solar equipment manufacturer — build them a new factory in America yet. So,
right now, our federal and state subsidies for installing solar systems are
largely paying for the cost of importing solar panels made in China, by Chinese
workers, using hi-tech manufacturing equipment invented in America.

Germany has put 50,000 people to work in renewable energy industries. Ohio has a massive unemployment problem that could be solved by building solar panels. We're good at building things here. Manufacturing is sort of our thing. I think there are some synergies that could be put to work.

Pittsburgh Comicon 2009

2009-09-14T06:05:00.021-04:00

The Pittsburgh Comicon took place last weekend at the new Monroeville Convention Center and Sunday was great day to go (Hmmm... a new convention center). The crowd was out in force and fans took the opportunity to bring out the costumes they've been working on. This show is always fun and brings out a great selection of artists, writers and independent publishers. I managed to snag a sketch by Mike McKone and grab a bunch of graphic novels at half-price. There are pics below of fans in costume.

The next show in this area is the Screaming Tiki Con at the Eastwood Expo Center in Niles on November 13-15. This was a fun show last year and it's good to see it return. In addition to comics, it will have toys, sci-fi and games so this is a very good way to spend a day with the family.

Batman villian Scarecrow has to buy a ticket like everyone else.

Cobra Commander fights a Jedi

Harley Quinn with a big hammer.

Batman villians galore

The X-Men's Rogue

A family of Fett

The golden age Red Tornado

The golden age Flash

The best costume of the show...the Golden Age Sandman

Who ya gonna call?

The new venue