The PF HYPER Blog

Tumb, tumbling away

2009-05-30T11:30:00.001-05:00

pfhyper started a tumblr blog. I think I'll use it to store links where I want to say more than 140 characters (the twitter limit). Plus Twitter doesn't archive well yet. We don't really know if our early tweets are in a database somewhere or not.

Minneapolis Unwired: Dead zones & IOUs (plus a Wi-Fi in the parks update)

2009-05-30T11:08:00.002-05:00

Steve Alexander has a report on the Minneapolis Wi-Fi deployment at the Star Tribune. Judging from the dates on the comments, I think it's from May 26 but there's no dateline on the story.

The gist is that it's not done which is also the ongoing mantra. "It's always something" as Gilda would say. Prospect Park is still a "challenge" area and there are others around the metro--a total of three square miles still unwired. The park issue I reported on before seems to be resolved and a contract is in place with a bit of money changing hands from US Internet to the Park Board. (Read details over at the eDemocracy Forum).

The City of Minneapolis is using only $50,000 worth of services but paying $1.25 million per year. The article says the money carries over (an IOU so to speak) so supposedly we will get full value eventually. Some reasons we aren't getting full value now are because the network needs to actually be complete before Police and Fire will mess with it and because some City departments are slow in adopting the service.

Alexander talks about using the network to track video from a police car going 80mph. I would love to know how that is possible. I don't think the current network, in areas where it is fully implemented, allows you to smoothly travel from node to node in a car without losing the connection some of the time. So do we have a "special" high-speed backend network for police and fire? I know there is a "public safety" channel or something but if it's still in the Wi-Fi range, it would be subject to all kinds of interference.

US Internet meanwhile says they now have 14,000 subscribers. Those numbers should eventually translate to cash infusions in the City's Digital Inclusion Fund with a minimum of 5% of net pretax income. The fund has $100,000 left of the initial $500,000 from US Internet. The fund and the money are part of the Community Benefits Agreement in the contract. I'm on the Digital Inclusion Fund Committee and so far we have not heard when we will receive more money and we have postponed this years grant-making cycle.

We are still the muni-wi-fi poster child of the world. It's working here because the City of Minneapolis signed on as anchor tenant and is paying a hefty fee to support a network. However, unless the City starts to get its money's worth of services soon, we may have rethink this poster child status.

"Minnesota's Greatest Generation"Opens Saturday

2009-05-22T23:30:00.002-05:00

The Minnesota's Greatest Generation Project started in 2005, marking the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. The capstone of the project is the Minnesota's Greatest Generation Exhibit that opens Saturday, May 22, at the Minnesota History Center.

Thursday was Media Preview Day and in addition to inviting the known press, the Minnesota Historical Society also invited the local blogger crowd and even called the last hour of the preview a "blogger exclusive." Nice idea although I may have been the only actual blogger to show. I think the scheduling had something to do with that; they held the preview from 10 am to 1 on Thursday. I'm lucky that I have a flexible "real job" work schedule.

Since the invitation stressed the intergenerational aspect of the exhibit, I invited my 11-year-old grandson to join me. Robbie was a great choice and he really enjoyed the exhibit. He brought a notebook and took notes. Joe Hoover, a member of the Historical Society Web Team, was our guide.

The Greatest Generation preceded the Baby Boomer generation. I'm a baby boomer and I was born in the last section of the exhibit, the boom years, where you find all the TV sets. The exhibit itself, all 6,000 square feet, is laid out chronologically starting with the Depression years, then WWII, and then the boom years. There is lots to see and hear.

Some of the highlights of our visit were the 1930s movie theater illusion that makes you think you are in a movie theater with rows and rows of seats, the bullet-packing assembly line, and the C-47 troop transport simulated flight into Europe on D-Day with enemy fighters and anti-aircraft guns firing away. They also have a soda fountain from the 30s which was the "social web" for that generation.

You can listen to many recorded stories as you wander through the exhibit and you can chat to a couple of folks who lived during the time: Frederick McKinley Jones and Virginia Hope. Frederick (1892-1961) was a self-taught engineer and inventor who held over sixty patents. He invented the cooling system to preserve foods for long-distance transport via trucks which was the beginning of the Thermo King Corporation. He was black.

Virginia was a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). These women were the military stateside flyers during World War II, freeing the men for combat. They learned to fly many different types of planes. After the War, they were discharged and it wasn't until 1977 that they were granted veteran status which allowed them to receive benefits.

Make sure to chat with Frederick and Virginia when you visit the exhibit.

There is much, much more. Check out my photos. Check the web site. Get over to St. Paul and see for yourself.

Can Computers Take Advantage of Ultra-High-Speed Bandwidth?

2009-03-17T11:26:00.001-05:00

Christopher Mitchell is Research Associate over at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, an organization that (among other things) supports democratic access to airwaves and wires. I've asked Christopher to post on broadband issues. I hope this won't be the last you see of him here. You can reach Christopher at christopher@newrules.org.

Can Computers Take Advantage of Ultra-High-Speed Bandwidth?
Christopher Mitchell

During discussions about the need for ultra-high-speed bandwidth in communities around Minnesota, some have suggested that many people have computers that cannot take advantage of these faster connections. This has happened before the Governor’s Task Force as well as Committees in the Legislature. One person even suggested that some computers cannot take advantage of speeds beyond 5 megabits/second.

This claim is not only inaccurate; it reveals a flawed understanding of how Internet connections are used in the modern household.

Modern families frequently have multiple devices competing for bandwidth and sharing a single connection, including hand-held Wi-Fi devices, multiple computers and gaming machines and — starting this year — televisions and TiVos downloading content directly from the Internet.

To illustrate: Mom may be checking into the office remotely via VPN, Dad may be uploading video from yesterday's little league baseball game, Suzy is watching a lecture from Stanford for college credit, Tom is on a vidchat with friends, and grandma is checking in with her doctor.

A home office user may sometimes need very fast speeds to transfer large files to co-workers or to rapidly backup large amounts of data. Vendors could provide Ultra-High-Speed networks with bandwidth on demand allowing a user to purchase a 50Mbps connection during the hours from 8-noon and have a more modest connection otherwise.

Fast Internet connections will not be forced upon those who have no use for them. However, communities increasingly have businesses and power users demanding faster connections at affordable prices.

Thus, the argument that communities do not need these connections because some have computers unable to use them is at best irrelevant. But it is also inaccurate.

Ten years ago, computer motherboards had a standard Ethernet jack providing at least 10Mbps speeds. Thus, if someone is using a computer that was purchased within the last 10 years, we can be confident that the computer, at a minimum, can handle a 10Mbps connection. If it cannot, a $20 network card will solve that problem.

The 10/100 network cards (which connect to networks running both at 10Mbps and 100Mbps) were available ten years ago but did not become a standard on most PCs until around 2002-3. Nine years ago, the iMac offered a standard 10/100 port, meaning that any Mac purchased within the previous nine years will almost definitely support 100Mbps speeds.

If I had to guess, I would suspect that at least 95% of computers used today have been purchased within the previous ten years. Nearly all of those computers will have a 10/100 network port built in, allowing them to take advantage of up to 100Mbps. But even faster network speeds have long been available — the University of Minnesota has connected devices to its network at 1000Mbps (1 Gigabit/second) since 2004.

A few months ago, I purchased a refurbished laptop from Dell. For $1000, I received a laptop that came with 1Gbps networking capabilities.

Though most computers today may not have the ultra-high-speed capability of my laptop, we must keep in mind that it will take several years — under the most optimistic schedule imaginable — before these speeds are available to homes. By that time, computers will have commonly supported 100Mbps or faster speeds for many years.

What we call ultra-high-speed networks are becoming commonplace in parts of Europe and Asia. Our computers are not the limiting factor, the high cost and limited returns of building these faster networks is the issue.

Christopher Mitchell is the Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis. His e-mail address is christopher@ilsr.org

2008 Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Awards

2009-03-01T14:11:00.002-06:00

I sit on the Digital Inclusion Advisory Committee and we finished another award cycle last year that I never blogged about. (Here's a search link where you can read more about the Committee and my involvement.) I'm doing a presentation on digital inclusion this week at the U for a journalism class so I thought I should at least get this information online here. (In my defense, I did Twitter the awards back in December.)

We have away $200,000 for the second year. We have $100,000 left. According to the US Internet Wireless (USIW) contract, USIW will continue funding with a minimum of 5% of net pretax income. When the Digital Inclusion fund will see this money is not clear. There are other benefits too including free accounts for nonprofits. The City convened a work group last summer to look at some of these and how to proceed. I sat at the table with that group too and we finished meetings in the summer. We are still waiting for the applications for free accounts. Hopefully this will move forward soon.

Without further ado, here are the 2008 awards:

Casa de Esperanza - $20,000 for Centro de Información y Recursos, which offers free internet and technology access at a location in the Mercado Central on Lake Street.
CommonBond Communities - $30,000 for technology access and literacy efforts at Seward Towers East and West.
Employment Action Center - $30,000 for software and equipment for the Community Technology Center to assist new Americans in a web-based English language learning program.
Library Foundation of Hennepin County - $24,676 for technology training in Hmong, Somali and Spanish at four Minneapolis libraries.
Minnesota Computers for Schools - $8,000 for distribution of refurbished laptop computers to students in a low-income area of Minneapolis, with tech support from student “tech teams” that have been trained in computer maintenance and operation.
PACER Center - $30,000 for technology access and literacy training for low-income people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants/refugees.
Patchwork Quilt - $30,000 for incorporation of computer literacy into all programs as well as computer software skills training for residents of North Minneapolis.
St. Paul Neighborhood Network - $20,000 for digital literacy training and workforce readiness preparation at nine Minneapolis agencies.

Upcoming: PFHyper presents New Times New Tech

2009-02-07T13:29:00.005-06:00

I will be presenting at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 2009 Nonprofit Tech & Communications Conference (New Times New Tech) on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009.

The title of my session is Using the Collaborative Internet for Engaging the Public in Policy & Planning and it will run from 10:30 to 11:45.

Here's the description:

Join your peers to share Web and social media strategies and techniques for involving members of groups, teams, organizations, and various stakeholders, including the public at large, in problem definition, policy or plan formulation, decision making, and implementation. Various tools will be considered for their usefulness in citizen engagement including blogs, wikis, Twitter, Facebook, Google and other social media and collaborative tools. This is not a primer but a group discussion about what's working for you today, what's working for your colleagues, and what you see in the future. Join this discussion to share and discover potential tools to try out, and gain a better understanding of the networked public sphere.

How the hell do we use all these wonderful tools to get our work done in terms of working with our internal groups and engaging stakeholders outside of our organizations? As noted, this will be a group discussion and I hope to learn more than any of you about how you have been using the web and internet in these processes. Is Facebook the answer? Should we just give up on the fancy tools and use email with all its spam and management difficulties? Or should we just drop email and Facebook and move everyone over to Twitter (or Friendfeed or Plaxo or NextGreatThing)?

What I want to find out from you is what's working. Where do you feel that you have some quantifiable success in enhancing your group work process with a collaborative tool. Or at least some glimmer of hope that we are all on the right path. Share with us whatever smart and promising practices that help with group process. Let's hear your stories as to what's working and what's not working and some dashes of humor as we go along would be lovely.

I told a friend about this workshop and she immediately jumped to the concept of lobbying and attempting to influence legislators. While lobbying will likely be part of any policy implementation plan, I want this workshop to look at how we can work as a team over the net to start right at the problem defining itself and move through planning, decision-making, and implementing.

I also want to talk about controlling messages and collaboration. Can you open up social media in your organization and trust everyone to act responsibly? Will social collaboration be successful if you try to control all signals or does that rub too much against the grain of the social media concept itself? Can you just let everyone Twitter and Facebook and hope for the best?

So I am hoping you will want to join me on February 20 at 10:30 and that we will all have a lively, friendly, and respectful discussion. I'd love to see comments here at the blog on your ideas for shaping the presentation! Whether you get to my show or not, stop me and introduce yourself if you see me wandering the halls.

My first draft of slides is up at Google docs. Although the first screen makes you think you must log-in, look center and down for the direct link to the slides with no authentication.

My slides from last year's presentation are at Slideshare.

MCN is also twittering conference information as @SmartNonprofits.

Minneapolis Unwired: Park Board decides to throw its weight around

2009-01-13T08:19:00.001-06:00

This is a follow-up to my last post about Wi-Fi in the Minneapolis parks.

Brandt Williams at Minneapolis Public Radio has an excellent update (Jan. 9) that covers the parks issue along with the issue with "dark" areas (where Wi-Fi won't work) which is limiting the usefulness of the network to the City of Minneapolis which is paying $1 million a year for a current service level worth $50,000.

Park Board Commissioner Scott Vreeland is interviewed in the piece and says that he is "not aware of any staff that knew about it.... It certainly wasn't brought to the commissioners." Scott, Wi-Fi in the parks has been discussed from the beginning of the implementation and it's part of the contract. What you are telling me here is that our Park Board Commissioners ignore anything that isn't officially presented to them to the point of now causing considerable delay in the full use of the Wi-Fi network here in Minneapolis and costing the City a significant amount of money. Thanks.

So the City makes a formal request and the Park Board turns it down "pending further study."

And by the way, I'm pretty sure we're talking free Wi-Fi in the parks. So the Park Board resistance is also holding back a valuable service for residents. Thanks again.

I hope this issue is raised as the campaigns for Park Board Commissioners gear up. I've talked about the Park Board before relating to the Red Bull bike route blockage. Our park system in Minneapolis is one of our most important assets and I want elected representatives who are paying attention to who they are representing.

Everyone welcome! Seward Co-op (re)opens today!

2009-01-08T19:00:00.003-06:00

[Update: Photos of the Ribbon-Cutting]

It's been a long time coming and loads of work (including a lot of financial twists and turns to secure the money) but today the newly built and designed Seward Co-op will rise up on the ashes of the old Riverside Market. (OK. I exaggerated that ashes part but this is the site of the old Riverside Market which was a grocery fixture in Seward Neighborhood.)

Cooking classroom

The ribbon-cutting is at 10 today. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is supposed to attend. I'm sure our Green CouncilMember Cam Gordon will be there. I will be there. Mary (the wife) will be there. My youngest grandson will be there. Will you be there? Probably not but make sure to drop by soon. I hope to have some pictures up today so you can vicariously relive the ribbon-cutting.

For now, you can check out the Seward Co-op web site, view my pictures from the preview day, and read a nice article by Deets man Ed Kohler. (Seward also has a Facebook page.)

Seward Co-op FTW!

Historical notes: Our family is very connected to the Co-op. Mary was an early employee and part of the collective management when we were still a worker's co-op. She was once known as the Seward Co-op Cheese Queen when she revamped the cheese display at the old store (where Welna Hardware currently resides). I served on the board of Seward Co-op during the transition from the Welna site to the current site and I was the editor and publisher of an early member newsletter called Whole Wheat News. I also organized my class at Minneapolis Community & Technical College to build a web site for the store and hosted it via my PF Hyper entity for several years. My daughter Hallie worked checkout at the Riverside Market and met her husband there while on-duty.

Don't count on free (or any) Wi-Fi at Minnapolis Parks

2008-12-22T08:22:00.002-06:00

From 12/19 Star Tribune

Minneapolis Wi-Fi network delayed again

By STEVE ALEXANDER, Star Tribune
December 19, 2008

"The Minneapolis Wi-Fi network, which for more than two years has
been delayed by technical issues, weather problems and signal-blocking
leaves, has run into another barrier: the Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board." [continue at Star Tribune site]

Turns out the City and US Internet never discussed digging up Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) property to plany the poles necessary to support the wireless radios. Oops.

Now the MPRB is refusing to allow the antennas around lakes and the Mississippi pending further study. That leaves Minneapolis with only an 82% coverage by Wi-Fi.

The MPRB just found out, they say, that there was any plan to do Wi-Fi installations on MPRB property. (I guess they were busy during the year of community meetings, often on Park property, discussing Wi-Fi.)

During the community meetings, free Wi-Fi in the parks was one of the selling points of the network. It's even in the contract (p. 7)! (Contract and related docs are available here.)

I think this will be worked out in 2009. It's still irritating that the City has so much trouble communicating between entities and that our park commissioners seemed oblivious to the Wi-Fi network plans that were discussed starting back in 2006.

Minneapolis Greenway Becoming a Crimeway

2008-12-15T10:30:00.001-06:00

Minneapolis police have issued a warning to stay off the Greenway and related trails after dark. I've published the warning and my comments over at Google docs.

Seward Co-op's New Location in Minneapolis

2008-12-14T22:10:00.003-06:00

Pictures of our new Seward Co-op scheduled to open in January. Click the image to see the set at the Flickr site.

The job gets done

2008-11-04T21:34:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting at the table with Mary drinking wine and eating oysters. I wanted to get one of my infrequent blog posts up as we — meaning the US — are sending Barack Obama to the White House. I am so proud of this country tonight. I am so joyous over this choice.

fivethirtyeight.com is calling 284 electoral votes "safe" for Barack Obama. CNN gives him 207. No matter. I'll call it here at the pfhyper mansion.

I think we just elected our first African-American to the oval office.

President-elect Obama: Congratulations! I trust that you will govern with honor and integrity. Vice President-elect Biden: I'm glad you've got his back and I trust that your experience will help the US gain back the respect it has lost over the last eight years.

I can hardly believe this. Feels like the long winter is over and we can all celebrate in the Spring sunshine.

Not to say there aren't going to be some tough times with a shaky economy but I trust in this leadership.

Wow.

McCain Endorses Obama

2008-10-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

I made an idle tweet this morning that it would be great if McCain endorsed Obama and that it would definitely be a "maverick" action. Following the shameful Minnesota GOP mailing that links Obama to former Weatherman William Ayers, I just thought it might be time to short circuit this election honorably and move forward.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a tweet reply from @slolee with a link to McCain's Obama endorsement.

Technorati Tags: politics, mccain, obama, election2008

MN State Fair Milk Run

2008-08-24T10:07:00.002-05:00

Mary, Hallie, and I ran in the Minnesota State Fair 5K Milk Run today. What a beautiful day for running!

We started too far back in the pack so we had a very slow beginning. We were actually behind some walkers! There was no room to pass at the start either. Still, Mary and I completed in about 29 minutes and Hallie completed in 26. It's a really nice run through the neigborhoods around the State Fair and the U of M campus.

Doesn't look like the results are available yet.

After the run, home to shower then back for a day at the Fair. Watch the Flickr account for more Fair pictures.

Technorati Tags: mnsf, Minnesota, State_Fair, 5K, running

Political Fix at Your Local Tom's Drugstore

2008-08-15T11:18:00.001-05:00

You can't spend much time around the U's Humphrey Institute without hearing the story of Humphrey's dad's drugstore in Doland, SD and the political discussions that took place there. That civic tradition serves as inspiration for the monthly (give or take) Tom's Drugstore discussions at the Schneider's at 3400 University Ave. SE in Minneapolis (across from KSTP). Tom Gupta is owner and host.

Tom's Drugstore is a a lively, informal political discussion. The conversation takes place around an old, fake pot belly stove, and people sit in the drug store aisles. If you're a big D local Democrat and haven't heard of Tom's, then you're head has been in the sand as folks like Wellstone, Mondale, and Franken have been in attendance.

Next Thursday, August 21, the topic is how to build on the tremendous civic energy that has been generated this year in the elections -- after the election -- for positive social change. Harry Boyte, author of The Citizen Solution: How You Can Make a Difference, will lead the open discussion.

This is a very important topic. We all do enjoy the Presidential Campaign Show and we do need a positive change in the top leadership of this country. This campaign has triggered political passions and brought many more people to the polls. But what happens on November 5th? No matter who is in the White House, I doubt if there will be lights on the bike Transit Way that links the Greenway to downtown. I doubt if there will be a stop sign on my corner of Franklin Avenue where traffic has increased like 500% since the 35W bridge disaster. And I have my doubts that the new president will intervene if the Minneapolis Park Board decides to block bike transit ways again to benefit corporate interests. But I do have hope that we can do some things together locally and keep the political energies flowing in positive community-building activities.

I'll be there and it will be my first Drugstore event. Hope to see you there too.

Bonus Links

In Minnesota, a Drug Store Becomes Town Hall : NPR

November Fifth Coalition | Citizens at the Center

Tom's Drugstore: Building on the Energy of Campaign Season

Technorati Tags: politics, community, elections, elections_2008, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis Unwired: USI at 10,000

2008-08-13T21:42:00.000-05:00

The Steve Alexander of the Star Tribune reports that US Internet Wireless has more than 10,000 subscribers and is operating at a break-even point. He goes on to say that the number of complaints about the system reaching his e-mail inbox is also reduced, concluding that "the Wi-Fi network seems much improved" although there 5 percent of consumers are unable to get a signal and there are still challenge areas around lakes and parkways.

Congratulations to USIW.

This is great news for the Digital Inclusion Fund as a percentage of the profits will go there.

Red Bull: parting words

2008-08-01T16:19:00.001-05:00

I bet you thought we were done with the whole Red Bull black cube thing, huh? No such luck.

Being a responsible citizen journalist and all, I decided to tie up some loose strings and give you a link group of articles discussing the Illume installation in Minneapolis. Most of them feel that tying up the bridge, a major bike commuting route, for ten days was not a good idea especially when the photos were only visible for a few hours after sunset.

Highlights of the set include Lisa's post at Corporate Babysitter, the blog for Parents for Ethical Marketing. She notes the direct tie-in to Red Bull in the photos (several athletes are on Red Bull's payroll) and the difficulty in finding out who approved the exhibit in the first place. (Minneapolis has rather opaque governance.) It turns out Red Bull paid $25,000 for a permit to the Minneapolis Park Board.

The Star Tribune even published an editorial by a recent Humphrey graduate as to the folly of the exhibit after initially publishing a press release with no comments.

I should also mention the glowing review of large-scale corporate advertising over here (not sure who publishes this blog) wherein the auther states:

Yes, it’s not art like Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” in Central Park. But for an advertisement on the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, it’s really well done. And it just may have expanded my perspective on large scale marketing campaigns. Well done, advertising.

Somehow "Well done, advertising." just doesn't compensate for 10 days of blocked bicycles.

Questions left unanswered:

Was there any discussion with the Park Board as to where to locate the exhibit?

Did Red Bull demand the Stone Arch Bridge location? (Erica Mauter at Metblog points out that Gold Medal Park -- which is down the block from the bridge -- might have been a suitable location.)

Did Park Board Commissioners even know about the permit? (And, did they discuss closing a bike commuter route?)

I plan on emailing this post link to the Park Board. Maybe they have some answers.

Technorati Tags: Minneapolis, Park, Red_Bull, redbull, Illume

2008 Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Request for Proposals

2008-07-15T21:08:00.001-05:00

The Minneapolis Foundation has released the 2008 Digital Inclusion Fund Request for Proposals. (I am a member of the Digital Inclusion Fund Committee.) Before I get into details, here are the links.

Read the proposal online. I translated it to a Google Doc so it may lose a bit of formatting but the info is there.

Download the RFP and grant application. Right in the middle of the page.

Deadline for Submission: Friday, September 5, 2008

The grants are available to nonprofit (501 (c)(3) ) organizations. There is a total of $200,000 to be given away, same as last year. Grant amounts vary between $5,000 and $30,000.

The purpose of the fund is to:

The Digital Inclusion Fund supports efforts to bridge the digital divide in Minneapolis by providing qualified organizations with financial resources to promote technology access and literacy for low-income people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, displaced workers, seniors, and other new users of technology.

and we are interested in funding projects that address:

Affordable internet access;
Technology literacy;
Local, relevant and accessible content;
Adequate, affordable hardware and software tools.

Past grantees can apply but must provide a progress report with specific quantified outcome measures.

US Internet, who is building the Minneapolis Wi-Fi system, gave the money for the Digital Inclusion Fund as part of their contract with the City of Minneapolis.

Send me an email if you have questions: pfhyper AT gmail DOT com.

Further readings:
2007 announcement with some ideas for projects
List of 2007 grant recipients

Technorati Tags: broadband, digital_inclusion, minneapolis, wireless

Red Bull and our bridge: Followup

2008-07-10T12:14:00.001-05:00

Update: I just found a couple of other stories on the exhibit that are worth linking. Corporate Babysitter has a somewhat cynical view of the event and raises some interesting questions like who's paying for the electricity. And there's a review over here that sees it as interesting art and I suppose worth the blocking of a major bike artery. (Includes a link to some photos.)

The show begins tomorrow with the giant photo cubes sitting on the Stone Arch Bridge. The Park Board got back to me (read my email here):

Thank you for your email regarding your concern for the Red Bull Illume exhibit on the Stone Arch Bridge. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's (MPRB) involvement with the art exhibit is limited to the permit that has already been issued for the exhibit. The MPRB event permit office receives a variety of requests for permits each year for events to be held within the parks, and they carefully review and consider each one. I believe the Illume art cubes will be placed down the center of the bridge deck, to provide pedestrian traffic on either side. I've copied our event permit coordinator on this email so that he is aware of your concerns.

Looks like they considered pedestrian traffic but forgot that this is a major bike route. It's hard to understand this lack of awareness given that City Hall is shouting from the rooftops what a bike-friendly town we have here.

Besides the whole bike thing, there's also the issue of promoting Red Bull on park property. The Minneapolis Park Board has also been accepting some other advertising money and some city residents don't think it's proper. The Downtown Journal has a story on the issue.

Maybe this will work out OK and the bikes will have enough room to safely cross the bridge. If the cubes are up, I'll see them tomorrow when my morning run takes me across the Stone Arch Bridge. Also watch for a story on the exhibit in the Minnesota Daily. (I'll post the link when it's available.)

Technorati Tags: Minneapolis, Park, Red_Bull, Illume

Red Bull Illume & Our Bridge

2008-06-18T17:15:00.001-05:00

I wrote about the Red Bull controversy the other day but you can take the shortcut here and read the Minnesota Independent article. It's a money issue of course. Check the Minneapolis Issues threads here and here.

I get that Minneapolis budgets are messed up and we don't have enough money to do all the things we want to do. I still don't believe in shilling for big corporations within our park system and radically changing the bridge experience over a 10-day period. Bike commuters need safe transport across the bridge and I can't see how that will be accomplished by adding 1,600 cubic feet of obstructions.

If you feel like I do, here's the contact list for the Park Board. The email I sent out to the commissioners who listed a contact email address is at the end of this post.

Bonus Links

The Red Bull press release as posted at the Star Tribune site which you can compare with the original. I assume that the Star Tribune understands that by simply regurgitating Red Bull's announcement, they are in fact endorsing it even though there seems to be issues around this decision to take note of.

My Letter

Commissioners and Superintendent:

I just found out about the Red Bull Illume photo cubes that are to be installed on the Stone Arch Bridge on July 10. According to the Minnesota Independent (previously Minnesota Monitor), the Park Board is involved with this project. You can find the article here:
http://minnesotaindependent.com/view/red-bull-photo-cubes

Although I live in Seward Neighborhood, I run on the Stone Arch Bridge regularly. I can't imagine how twenty-five 8-foot cubes will share the bridge with the myriad runners, walkers, and bicyclists that use the bridge each day. I know for bicyclists, this is a major commuter route so it seems short-sighted to clog their path with these cubes. imagine piling these things over on Third Avenue and watching cars, buses, and trucks negotiate a path through them.

I'm aware that there are budget problems but I still can't support corporate advertising that will hijack the bridge experience itself.

I respectfully request that you reconsider and reverse the decision on the Red Bull exhibit. It will do nothing to enhance the Stone Arch Bridge experience for regular bridge patrons.

Thank you.

Peter Fleck
Seward Neighborhood

Technorati Tags: Minneapolis, Parks, Red_Bull, Illume

Minneapolis Unwired: Star Tribune thinks it's a good idea

2008-06-18T14:40:00.001-05:00

The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an editorial today urging the City to accept US Internet's wireless network. "Minneapolis has approached Wi_Fiu with modest expectations and a sound public-private business model."

They kind of make a funny when they mention the "reemergence of leaves" as a problem (they cause interference). Many of us in the City knew that the pesky leaves would be returning and would cause problems for all the radios installed during the leafless winter. It happened last year too.

Editorial: Overcoming hype, Wi-Fi holds promise

According to the article (and confirmed from other sources), there are now about 9,600 subscribers. Friends are asking if they should switch. If you do, realize there may be some configuration time in getting a good signal. Also make sure upfront that you can get all your money back if it just doesn't work. And let pfhyper know about your experiences.

Technorati Tags: USIW, Minneapolis, Wi-fi, municipal

Philadelphia Unwired: Philly Wi-Fi rising from the dead?

2008-06-17T11:14:00.001-05:00

Quick note on update to Philadelphia/Earthlink Wi-Fi situation.

Local investors to rescue Philly wi-fi

Via GigaOM

Minneapolis hearts Red Bull?

2008-06-14T00:47:00.001-05:00

It's hard to imagine twenty-five giant photo cubes depicting extreme sports on the Stone Arch Bridge. Evidently, the Park Board doesn't have that difficulty and has given Red Bull the go-ahead. I assume money is exchanging hands.

This one I'd like to see stopped. I'll be contacting Councilmembers and the Park Board. If you do that too, we may have a chance.

Read the story at the Minnesota Independent.

Technorati Tags: Minneapolis, Parks

Minneapolis Unwired: Oh yeah, the leaves make a difference

2008-06-14T00:31:00.001-05:00

Steve Alexander at the Star Tribune is catching up with my reporting and announcing that the pesky leaves are once again causing problems with the USIW wireless deployment. The article doesn't illuminate much but the comments are interesting.

Technorati Tags: broadband, politics, wireless, USIW, Minneapolis, Wi-fi, municipal

NCMR: Keynotes & Sessions Online

2008-06-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

Free Press site has links to all the major keynotes and plenary sessions from the National Conference for Media Reform and I think they are uploading video of all the sessions this week (and beyond—there were so many excellent sessions and it's probably going to take some time). Here's the video archive. Local folks will want to listen to Keith Ellison's impassioned plea around reform and Janice Lane Ewart's (KFAI Radio) opening address. Bill Moyers' and Dan Rather's vids are up too. Watch for Naomi Klein, Amy Goodman, Shá Cage, Arianna Huffington, and Van Jones. For a twitterful view of the NCMR check Twemes. The official tag for the conference was NCMR2008.

I will have more to say. Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: NCMR2008, Minneapolis, Minnesota