cramer

And here it is: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070125/BIZ01/701250315/1076

There should be a big article today or tomorrow about a GCF study of arts in Cincinnati. I think you'll find that were not as strong as we like to think. We're really under-resourced compared to other peer cities in terms of endowment sizes and public support.

I guess the ideas of Corbu haven't been as completely discredited as I thought. This place looks brutal.

Funny, when I was in SF last, I was intent on seeing that very same Cincinnati replica PCC that runs on the F line -- I was on the lookout for car 1057. Despite being in the vicintity for several days, and doing some touristy stuff along the route, I didn't see it. That is, until I was heading into the BART station to go to the airport. I caught the yellow car in the corner of my eye. I shouted excitedly, "there it is!", checked to see that it was 1057, and yanked my camera from my bag and snapped off a few blurry pics. People looked at me like I was a complete nerd. And you know what? They were right.

That "the tracks should be no more than a block apart" seems counterintuitive, to me at least. Do you mind explaining this a bit? Is it so the development area is more focused, or so people know that the return route of the loop can't be far from where they got off?

I agree that the case is very strong, and that a more conservative estimate is appropriate for Cincinnati. I wouldn't expect a 28 to 1 multiplier on this. Besides other important differences, Portland has an urban growth boundary influencing development patterns.

Oh, my concern wouldn't be a construction timeline. I would just expect delays in the planning, funding, approval phase. I've never felt better about the prospects for transit in Cincinnati than I do at this moment. I'm trying to measure my expectations so I'm not too disappointed if things fall through.

^That's a really aggressive timeline. I hope they can pull it off. But the "if the city pursued it aggressively" is a big IF.

^Rando. As you know, Cincinnati's name was originally Losantiville. Should we change it back? Now, obviously, that's an unfair comparison. But I do think it gets to the crux of the matter. Over the Rhine was named derisively -- at least at first. I dunno what German immigrants at the time called the canal, but I suspect they may have been initially peeved at it being called the Rhine. What does it functionally mean to create a "German tribute" out of a neighborhood? It sounds like Disneyland. I'm not trying to be a dick about it, I'm interested in what that would entail... Chinatowns or Little Italies in most American cities feel like caricatures of what they used to be. OTR has long ceased being Little Germany -- there's no reason to dress it up like something it isn't. That doesn't mean I don't wholeheartedly support fixing up OTR, and I think ideas like historic markers, street signs that show the old names, and holding Oktoberfest in OTR are all fantastic. There's a lot of idealism built up around what OTR once was. I think it might be valuable to recognize that there's more to OTR than the mid to late 19th century.

^Michael. I'm obviously on the outside looking in on this. Thanks for explaining the dynamic. I think your concerns are valid.

Dang it!! You owe me a can of Hudy just for saying that!! :cry: Deal. But better make it a bottle. Haven't seen cans in ages.

^ Rando, you do know that Central Parkway was never named The Rhine, right? I suppose you could call it Miami-Erie Parkway... but Central works for me. I think calling things their "German" names is unnecessary and sort of counter productive. Those different names reflect the rich and changing nature of OTR, which is it's most fundamental characteristic. No matter how much you might want it to, putting German names on things isn't going to bring back the good ol' days of biergartens and 5 cent weinerwursts. I'm all for the brown historic signs like the one on Republic showing that it used to be Bremen. You're not going to be able to turn back time in OTR to the old German days. And even if you could, you'd be ignoring the immigrants and residents that came later. Historic preservation isn't supposed to be a time machine. ^Jmeck, I agree. Brewer's Blvd sounds too focused-grouped. It, like calling something the Brewery District, sounds too generic. Remember when Michael came on here and we all jumped down his throat for trying to glom Mulberry Hill onto Prospect Hill? It strikes me as funny that he's now the one trying to defend his turf. I say that with all due respect to the efforts of everyone doing anything to improve any part of OTR or the surrounding communities, no matter what they're called.

Changing McMicken is a terrible idea. It runs counter to the very idea of historic preservation. To take a name that represents an historical figure and replace it with one that is so generic as to be nearly meaningless, well, it's just a bad, bad move. At least changing Eastern to Riverside (which I also didn't like) doesn't strip away a historic tribute.

^Yeah, stuff like that happens... but on the other hand, roving bands of kids setting cars on fire or getting robbed at gunpoint is clearly not acceptable.

I've checked Cingular's data plans. Not great. http://www.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/data-cell-phone-plans.jsp Depending on what functions are needed, it seems like it could range from $20 to $50 per month for data alone. Smartphone Connect UNlimited is $20. That's the best case scenario, I think.

I didn't see GPS mentioned explicitly, but it did seem like Google Maps knew where you were. My main concern now is what my bill would look like with a hefty data plan.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

5 hours is for video only, 16 for audio. No word on talk-time or standby. 5 hours is for talk time/video/web browsing not too shabby. But I'd be worried that I couldn't stop playing with it over the course of the day and wear out the batteries.

I wonder about battery life and if there is an SD slot.

$500 for 4GB, 600 for 8GB. Ships in June.

^I'm firmly caught in the RDF. That pic above doesn't do it justice compared to it with the screen on. I'm concerned that it's only EDGE no 3G, how well gesturing works, if it gets scratched to hell, oh, and the price.

I can't believe it. The widescreen iPod and the iPhone are the same thing.

I think this outcome, and the entire bowl season, might help pave the way for a playoff. Any way you look at it, playoffs are better. Can you imagine how fun a playoff would've been? It also exposed the underlying fault in rankings: they can't overcome the bias and inherent weakness of preseason rankings. OSU was an excellent team, but it's clear they were not tested (except by U-M) in a relatively weak Big 10. I think USC stood a good chance to beat OSU as well, considering what FLA brought to the table. Then there's the matter of Boise State. Plus, it takes away the reasonable complaint about the delay between games. No team would have to wait 50+ days to play.

What a display. Speaking as a Michigan fan, I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a coach like Meyer or Carroll.

I've been in the place on Dexter. It's gonna be special.