jam40jeff

Which isn't much different than any of the private-sector corporations I have worked for. If teachers pulled some of the crap I have consistently seen private-sector employees pull, I can guarantee you they'd be fired. I'm not just talking bad performance, but blatant insubordination, working 5 hour days, taking off after lunch without telling anyone, consistently coming to work 2 hours late, surfing the web 95% of the day, etc. Actually, I have only seen a handful of people actually fired (not laid off), and nearly every one of them has been for "inappropriate computer use" (ie. porn at work).

But that's pure speculation that there would be less ill-advised firings than there are currently ill-advised retentions.

I know, I was just saying that (in theory) that would make the most (purely) economic sense, but I don't think it is a good idea (both in fairness and in the interest of preserving the quality of education).

I actually disagree there. I think it should always be the worst performers that are let go first, regardless of the reason for doing so (economic or performance). The problem is that it is difficult to objectively judge who is the worst performer without politics and cronyism and back-door deals and favors coming into play. And if "economic purposes" are meant to be the only gain in a layoff, shouldn't people with the most seniority be let go first. (This is why I'm against using "economics" as the basis for who gets laid off, and the only other logical criterion is performance. Least seniority is just the easy way out/good ol' boy system way of not having to accurately assess performance. Of course, I don't have a better solution, though. :) )

It was Hts121 that suggested the Fairmount, but I don't think he ever committed to going. I believe KJP was only in for the downtown lunch gathering. I say we switch to the Jolly Scholar.

Roll call time. So far we just have Murray Hill confirmed. Emmie, are you still planning on coming? surfohio? Hts121? docbroc? cd-celeveland? Would anybody object to the Jolly Scholar? I actually wouldn't mind going there as I will be eating my dinner during Happy Hour. Unless I get responses back about wanting to go to the Fairmount (since that was the original plan), I have no problem switching to the Jolly Scholar.

I still plan on being there...unless I'm going to be the only one.

I agree with R&R's restaurant suggestions. Lolita and B-Spot are both excellent choices if you want to get a little Michael Symon flair without Lola's price point. Also, any Zach Bruell restaurant (Chinato, L'Albatross, Table 45, Parallax) is a must, although they're all a little pricey (but well worth it, his restaurants are among my favorites in Cleveland). Also, I would definitely recommend University Circle/Little Italy just for touring even if you don't want to go to the museums. It's a fantastic place to walk around with all the construction going on, seeing the CWRU campus, Wade Lagoon, museums, Severance Hall, Murray Hill Rd. and Mayfield Rd. through Little Italy, etc. Lakewood is great for a pub crawl, but I also really like Ohio City. Between Old Angle, Dragonfly, ABC, Bier Markt, and Great Lakes, there's plenty of great places all within a block of each other. Plus, there many great dining options as well. If you want dessert (or even a very good dinner at pretty reasonable prices), I suggest making your way over to Le Petit Triangle at Fulton and Bridge (across from Johnny Mango).

We went to Alaturka on Sat 19 Feb and really enjoyed it. I have little experience with Turkish food, so everything was new to me...my date knew more about Turkish food, and Middle Eastern food in general. Started out with Turkish wine...we tried a white and a red...both good, although I thought the white was better. We split the Ezme (tomato) salad dip, served with delicious Turkish bread as well as pita. We then split a Lamb Adana with yogurt--delicious! It's served over pita-croutons, sort of like "Turkish stuffing." I've never had anything like that. Desserts were excellent too: Kunefe (baked shredded phyllo dough with sweet cheese and honey) and Kazandibi ("milk pudding"...like a light custard.) Portions were generous, and represented a good value given the quality. Service was excellent--our waiter explained everything and made good recommendations. The decor, although clean and spacious, is a bit dull (although the space is larger than it appears from the street.) Unfortunately, there were only a few other tables when we arrived around 8:45 pm on a Saturday night...and we were among the last to leave. So we encourage others to try Alaturka! I also ate at Alaturka on Saturday. A friend and I had early dinner (before 5 PM) and there were a few other tables of people there at that time, but they weren't busy. The food was delicious. We had the Hummus for an appetizer, and Lamb Kofte and Chicken Saute for entrees. I also had the dark Turkish beer, which was pretty good. I hope others eat here as it's definitely a nice option to have in Ohio City.

I second Balaton.

Understandable, but that doesn't mean you couldn't root for the Cavs. Although, this season, there's plenty of reasons not to. (Last season, there was only one.)

Maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't Costco considered a "lesser evil" as far as big box stores go (as in better than Sams Club, BJs, Wal-Mart, etc.)? Also, why would "moving further east" be a response to Costco moving in? There's already a Costco (and a thousand other big box stores) further east. Wouldn't moving further west get you away from big boxes if that's what you're upset about?

Really? They have more to lose than multi-million dollar bonus CEOs whose companies are the recipients of "business friendly tax breaks"? Don't let the Regressives fool you. They're not about saving government money. They're about redirecting it into their circle.

Google Maps says 0.7 miles, so it's in the ballpark of 3/4 mile. In college, I used to go up that hill every time I went jogging and it's really not that bad. In Pittsburgh, it might not even be considered a hill. :) And on the way back, you can just stumble downhill back to the rapid.

The Fairmount Wine Bar 2448 Fairmount Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=the+fairmount+wine+bar,+44106&aq=&sll=41.50096,-81.592541&sspn=0.02282,0.055747&ie=UTF8&hq=the+fairmount+wine+bar,&hnear=Cleveland,+Ohio+44106&ll=41.50096,-81.592541&spn=0.022017,0.055747&z=15

Survey says... March 3rd at 6 PM at The Fairmount. Please respond here if you plan to come (or send me a PM) so I can get an idea of how many people to expect. I don't want to show up and drink alone! :)

Yay, Avon Commons on Warrensville Center. This thing is guaranteed to be a pile of crap. Complete with outlots, big parking lot in front of building, and useless tiny bits of "greenspace" on the edges of the property (buffers and area near Warrensville Center on the edges of the outlots). Hopefully they can attract some "quality" establishments to the beautiful outlots. :roll:

I haven't noticed it being sluggish in the slightest for me today.

I noticed this last time this was the default theme. I like the theme otherwise. I think the problem is that the user who started the thread is bold, whereas the thread title is not. If anything should be bold, I think it should be the thread title. Also, I liked the page numbers appearing next to the thread title, instead of the forum the thread is in.

Yes. First of all it's a native app, so it comes with all the goodness of native widgets and whatnot (just feels snappier). Also, one of the biggest pluses is that it makes thumbnails out of images in posts, and when you click the thumbnail, you get a full-screen view of the image. I also like that ti has native tabs for things like latest unread posts, latest participated posts, favorites, etc. It's not a mind-blowing experience, but it's surely no comparison to the WAP garbage.

You beat me to it. I would also add the new condos at Cedar and Fairmount and the Brownstones at Derbyshire as new construction the residents favored. But try to plop in a double drive through McDonalds, and yes, CH residents will oppose that "progress" (even UH residents are in the process of opposing that very plan right now).

Bah, they said that about Cedar Center North as well, and look what garbage is going in there. Are they going to raise the speed limit on Warrensville Center to 45 after they make "improvements"? This sounds like a typical suburban development with tiny hints of "faux anti-suburbanism" in an attempt to please the CH residents. Kind of like when a drug store or fast food restaurant puts a fake cupola or brick veneer on a building which is still surrounded by a giant parking lot to make it "fit in" to a historic district.

I'm hesitant at that price too. It's well worth it IMO. Keep in mind it's a one-time fee, not a recurring charge. If you end up using it a few years, you're talking less than 10 cents a month. (Boy, now I sound like a salesman. :| )

Tapatalk! Same for Android. Thanks again, Rich. I was just browsing from my phone using Tapatalk and it works great!

I started a new thread to separate the discussion of the Urban Ohio lunch meet and the Urban Ohio happy hour. The poll will close in two days, so please vote ASAP so we can get an idea of when to hold the happy hour. EDIT: February 17 is out, as there are only two votes, and one was mine. Please choose between February 24 and March 3.