blog link, beginnings

So...here it is... leaving one domain to venture to another. Just get a domain name barter with a friend for server space and bammmm, a new blog!! Amazing... It is so simple in this digital world just to change your "informational" environment.

Not so much content is up yet, no time, busy studying accounting stuff and tuning coils for the blue man!!

click here

winter in cleveland

Cold-snow- and salt. These three components surround ones daily life typically in January in this town. Actually, I like it! Makes me want to go sled riding, even though I haven't done it yet. Work and accounting course work seems to suck up all my time these days.

So, down here in the eco-slavic village one gets cold because you know gas prices dominate so, so the thermostat is always set low. Hats gloves and scarfs are common place here in the eco village even indoors. One village resident managed to make it all the way until January 8th before turning his thermostat up making that call for heat and subsequently using cubic volumes from ole'dominion...

So... what can one do to reduce energy consumption on a daily basis.... not sure... but come to this years NOTACON conference and maybe some insightful tips may just pop up and inspire....

NOTACON

I noticed I haven't put up many pics lately... so here is one from my time in netherlands a couple weeks ago. It is at a cross border business park on the border between Germany and Netherlands. Windmills are in the distance...



Upon posting this, I had to agree to some legal conditions as terms of use for the new format of the site. While I am unsure of how much the content rules and property rights and what not are changing from the old system. I think that this will be my final post of content under this particular site. I will look into hosting my own site. All the best and continued succcess to all those commuting creatures that choose alternative means to the detroit steel...

Lastly, please use the links on the right of this page to keep up to date with coolness that is occurring all the time. Bernard at the video shop and Mark and his woman travelling across asia. All the best...

welcom new year

Well 2007 is has arrived and my first residential week has been completed for the MBA program. Very interesting and challenging events took place this week, ones that I will not forget anytime soon. Some of the highlights:
- Filmed a movie titled "Living the Tango" as a team building exercise. We had access to a professional Dutch television crew. Our film was rather artsy for a MBA students, but the creativity is what allowed us to win best film.

- Lectures from amazing professors, ex.
ok must go my taxi is here... later

As I was saying:
-Lectures from amazing professors from Erasmus and U M business schools.
Particularly the lectures on Trade Negotions were incredibly interesting to me.
Learning the particulars on what defines a most favored nation status and what GATT is all about anyway.

-Lobbying in the EU was another great session.
Here we had a case study present and we role play in the political market as either the EU Commission, the Union, Incumbents, or the Suppliers, the case study was on liberalization of the railway system in the EU.

- Numerous discussions on leadership and influencing styles and connecting with your audience.

Indeed the group in the program is close and the I think that is what makes the program a real success is the relationships that are formed during the learning process even at a distance of 6000 miles!!
Indeed that is all business is about, relationships with people. Simple.

So I fly from afar to learn about simple basic stuff... and pay for this out of pocket and live in the village to compensate my living expenses...hmmmm... so what is next???

One of the discussion was comparrison of qualities of a manager and then of a leader. It was ironic, but after that discussion my friend Mark and I were, as a joke, calling each other managers in a derogatory sense. Thus the use of the word manager became to mean something negative.... thought that was funny. We all want to be leaders!!!

More on bike ways

Portland Bike Ways

Leadership and connectivity and much persistance will make bike lanes a reality in the midwest (cleveland). Join Me!

informative bike video

Some cool person sent this video to me. Very cool. My only comment which is quite cynical is: big business is not able to capitalize yet on bike commuting. Maybe some big business will put up an electrical fence and charge a toll for bike usage on the side of the turnpike..

It is so obvious that advanced cultures like those in Europe or South America see the benifit of introducing bicycle lanes into the traffic plan of the urban environment. Where as in the US the knee jerk reaction, I can hear all the old cronies saying is, who is going to pay for this? Don't raise my taxes for any stinking bike paths. No need to digress on how much is spent ummmmm you know, that area over there...that war thing...
A colleague of mine at work said it best the other day when we were talking about this subject, well not this specifically but related kind of, in that the US pop news/media is so preoccupied with sunnis and shiites and hezbollah or what gay people are doing, oh and don't forget about the position on religious icons at public buildings and whatever other wedge issue you want to bring up; and that is like a little kid lighting a firecracker on a frog that is placed on a railroad track. Howver, unknown to the kid is that there is a train coming down the track at that very moment! That train is the environment! I think it is so humorous how emotional people get when the environment or terms surrounding it come up in casual conversation. My other colleague-friend had another great perspective on this and that was that it is simple, people get uptight about environmental issues because it is very similar to religious beliefs or dogma of a given religion. My thoughts are looking at the funny thing of it all and that is noone can agree on the level of detail of interpretation because there is no common "bible" no "koran" on the environment, no document or tradition inspired by a profit or a martyr on the topic. Well not exactly anyway... there is always interpretations and i am sure green peace probably has something, but aren't they just a bunch of radicals anyway????.. and then that is where the entire communication break down begins in the first place. :-)

The irony again is how quickly another federal highway is planned and constructed but bike lanes are for those "tree huggin sissys". The US needs a planned change immediately! Move from the fossil fuel base economy of the last 100 years to one of energy diversity. The change, has to be driven by YOU! Another funny thing about americans, everyone always says how the "government" screws up everything, from the old funny business of buying 100 dollar toilet seats to more recently with Medicare and Social Security. Even with this collective distain for uncle sam's administrattive prowess the general populace holds contempt for those going it alone driving the change and seems to prefer a "public fix" to the particular problem. Before I go on not getting to the point. It is very easy to be a stick in the mud and just go along for the ride of life. But we as humans are stewards of this planet and until we collectively grasp that concept and begin to balance our economic and industrial needs with our eco-sustainability needs the train will not switch tracks and no matter how fun you think blowing that frog up on the tracks is at that moment only a moment later........(nothing).

So.. anyway.. check this video out.

Bike Lanes Campaign

Merry Christmas!

While I have not been even considering the holiday season, buried in work and school work, I just realized Christmas is this weekend. So, hey I wish you all the best. Enjoy the family, even if they get on your nerves with their quirks, just enjoy it!



Pittsburgh, PA city center

ECO-SLAVIC VILLAGE

Hello, As many might know I am one that doesn't follow the pack, I "beat to my own (perverbial) drum". Since I have returned I have been living in the side of cleveland known as Slavic Village. However, recently I moved into my own place and unbeknown to me, I was moving into again another hidden island, one of those interesting places that makes up the cultural tapestry of cleveland.

I moved to ECO-SLAVIC Village! How exciting. Many may not of heard of this spot, but no matter, it is gaining notoriety daily.
In the up and coming months, the darkest of the year, a project will be undertaken. This project is going to be ECO-SLAVIC Village's first Solar installation project. In preparation for the 2007 National Solar Conference that is coming to Cleveland next year we will embark on this interesting and very ECO path in the ECO-S V, for short.

There of course, will be a photo journal to detail the progress, the first post will be in the next few weeks as we move beyond the winter solstice.

American Solar LINK

core qualities

What are your core qualities?

for me: enthusiam
determination
kindness
(i love women)


what are your challenges?


thoughtfulness
stubbornness
confrontation
focus

how about you?

On another subject, I move this week to my own space! I am so enthused about this. I just realized it has been like 5 months since I have been back. I had a great time in Europe as everyone knows and being back has just been about work and culture shock. The culture shock phase is long and gone and now after the recent success last week I have a moment to reflect. I am going to move into my own space again. And it is sweet!! I want to throw a party for the holidays, one to have the guys from work over and just party because we did a great job. And two because I want to just get back to Cleveland in style, in the village.

This town is so tough, the city that is. Funny thing tonight on the train I am riding and these kids about 19 or so were interested in my bike. They were asking all sorts of questions. Well finally he asked me where do I exit the train and I told him E 55th and that I live in the Harvard E 71st area and he responded, with "damn, you live in the da hood". I just smiled and said , "yeah, I live the hood."

Life here is different for sure, it is a struggle in every form. A struggle to live peacefully and healthy and happy. For sure, the struggle for me is just simply to live. It is a challenge though, my faith and principles are definitely put to the challenge. For me, it is easy to live in europe (Netherlands), things there just make sense, logically there. But in Cleveland in America something wild defying logic exists. The challenge to mold the open space the unsuspecting "consumers" , opportunity at every corner. All these qualities exist here. For me, in Europe all is taken care of, life just works and is fun for me. In America, especially Cleveland I have to constantly work, chip away every day at defining myself. I remember something, well not really, from philospophy about environment shaping the "you", well that I think is what I like most about Cleveland (america) for that matter. For me, i don't want to be shaped like my environment or a status quo or fit into a social demographic, even though I do to an extent. I still reject the social stigma and class behaviour that I see. One thing that still hangs on by a thread in the country is the concept, at least that anyway, that a person can defy social boundaries and be and define themselves as they see themselves, i am not a liberatarian, athough many people I know and respect are. That is exciting, actually. However, in my opinion because opportunity is all around and the basket is full of plenty, this full bushel has brought with it, complacency. This complacency brings with it all the standard negatives or backwards of human behaviour.

In the end my opinion doesn't matter for anything, but one thing that matters is that nothing as I can see is completed without the little things the consistant reminders of being alive everyday. "Home runs" are for the movie stars. If you want proof of that, just look at raising a child. A child isn't "learned" goodwill to others by the few times to the fun park or the fun dvd material items in the back of the rendevous, it is through consistancy and dedicated care and love that creates what becomes a well rounded adult.

Anyway, I need to get back to work. ( just remember, I am an only child, and that should explain it alll...........)