Hts121

I have now been the victim of TWO malicious pranks this past week. :whip: I am somewhat of a prankster myself and am not used to being on the receiving end. Now, I must have my revenge. I thought I'd start this thread to get/share some ideas with the board. The first prank I fell victim to this year was done by my so-called 'trusted assistant'. I came back from lunch to find a phone message on my desk from a "Ms. Ellie Phant." I know.... I was terribly gullible with this one, but you have to understand that if you just glance at a phone message real quick and not say the name out loud, it is not as obvious. Of course, the message was to call her at her place of employment and a number was provided which turned out to be the Zoo. Being professional, I asked to speak with "Ms. Phant". The receptionist asked "who?". And I said, "Ms. Phant.... Ms. Ellie Phant." As soon as I said the full name out loud and the lady began to chuckle, I knew I had been had. Luckily, the lady at the Zoo, who probably hears this joke several times a year, had a good sense of humor. The second prank occured just last night. I am letting my dog outside when I notice a huge yellow sign in the middle of my front yard. I have new neighbors moving in who are doing some renovations, so I assumed some contractor just put the sign in the wrong yard. However, when I came around to the see who to blame for the mistake, my eyes widened because it said, in big black letters, "AUCTION" and gave the location of the auction, invited interested parties, etc. I snatched the sign up and called the number on it. This was at night, so I get the lady who doesn't really know anything and probably deals with irrate home owners all the time. She was going through the motions and I was starting to get mad. Here is what the conversation went like: Me: "I think you guys made a mistake because there is a big yellow sign in my front yard announcing some kind of auction" Her: "It was in your front yard?" Me: "Yes" Her: "I'm sorry sir, they were not supposed to do that if you are living there" Me: Pause.... "What does that mean" Her: "We'll have them fix that for you sir" Me: Pause.... "What are you talking about" Her: "The sign in your front yard sir" Me: "I still don't understand what you are saying, but it is not there anymore" Her: "Who moved it" Me: "I did" Her: "You can't do that sir" Me: Pause.... "What do you mean I can't do that, it is a mistake" Her: "Right, it is not supposed to be in your front yard" Me: "It is not supposed to be in front of my house" Her: "Right... they weren't supposed to put it in your yard" Me: "Look lady......." I was just about 2.2 seconds away from blowing a gasket when I heard my neighbor chuckling down the street..... f'ing a-hole. If I had looked more closely I would have noticed that the posting was for an August 27, 2009 auction that had already taken place. What's worse is that I have my new neighbors moving in who probably now think I am some kind of deadbeat and my prankster neighbor said it took a total of 10 minutes from the time he put the sign up for the nosy old lady accross the street to call him to gossip and bemoan what might happen to everybody's property values. My assistant is a woman and I can't get into my neighbor's house, so the classic saran wrap over the toilet is not an option (for those who don't know you can make an awful mess of things if you put it on the bowl under the seat and pull it tight enough so no creases are visible). I have some other ideas, but welcome suggestions.

Congrats!

People who prounounce the first syllable of the word "measure" as "may" And while we're on the subject of grammar, people really need to take 5 minutes to learn the difference between their/there/they're and then/than and further/farther.... the list could go on and on.

Congrats to Tyrone Williams from.... it pains me to say this... Shaw HS who recently committed to play for Coach Tressel at OSU.

Alexander Keystone..... well, at least that would be my name if I was a porn star (middle name and street I grew up on).

I'm a fan of E and B. F just looks like a money pit to me. Keeping all of those joints lubed and maintained seems like a lot of work for a bridge that should be as low maintenance as possible. Here's a question that I didn't see answered in the article. Who will operate the bridge? Is the city going to need to hire another bridge operator and post them at the site? The only large vessel that uses the harbor area is the Goodtime III... so maybe they'll have someone certified to operate it? Unless I am mistaken, I don't think the bridge will be built with enough clearance to allow certain other, recreational vessels to pass into the harbor.

Optimistically.... my vote is 6-10

I don't like E and F at all. Concept B would be my first choice.

The County will need at least two very large open spaces in its new offices. Both the Recorder's Office and the Auditor's Office require room for waiting areas, help desks and lots of space for working desks and file storage. To my knowledge, those are the two high volume offices in the current administration building. I wonder though if it is possible to find a home for those two offices in the Old County Courthouse. If that is possible, the County might be able to be more flexible in its search for new HQs.

1. Tele-marketers who are not on the line when I answer the phone. Most of the time, I just hang up if no one immediately responds. But sometimes I will wait for them to pick up their end and then tell them to "hold please" 2. Stuck driving behind someone who will not go the speed limit. Funny how the maximum speed allowable under the legal standards is actually the minimum speed allowable under social standards

I just perused his story, but it seemed like he was using the emails for defensive purposes (his and the company's), not personal gain. Now, if he told the woman "unless you step down so I can take you job, I am going to take these emails to HR", that would be coercion and/or extortion. But there is nothing LEGALLY wrong with taking the emails to HR to either protect your job or the company's interests. Coercioin only arises when you 'force' another into taking or refraining from action where the other person would have a freedom of choice. So.... tattling is not coercion. Threatening to 'tattle' unless the other person does or does not do something which should be the other's rightful choice.... that is coercion. Moonlight - what is and what is not "ethical" totally depends on the industry/profession. There are no hard line rules, save for certain professions such as law, medicine, finance, etc. which have written ethical codes.... but even those vary from state to state.

Don't get me wrong, I would be all in favor of redevelopment of this shell (a la Quay 55) if there was even the slightest hint that someone with the $$ was interested. However, I have not heard a peep and I don't foresee it. If this building was in the WHD, I would be throwing a fit. As it stands now, the building is a big black eye coming up and down Euclid, not much different than the old Howard Johnshon along the shoreway. It really gives MidTown a ghost town kind of feel. All that said and while I would be in favor (very much so) of a "central park" type concept for this part of town, I am not a fan of what Dunham is proposing. I would only be in a favor of a park that was large enough in scale to allow for recreational uses (biking, jogging, picnics, etc).

Not sure what other uses the actual buildings will offer. The property though is on prime real estate for some sprawl construction :( The Brecksville campus was built like it was, with the building spread out over the campus and connected by lengthy corridors, so that it could not be targeted with a single bomb. We just don't think like that anymore.

Ummmm..... nope.

The Mayor's powers and duties are defined first by the City's Charter and secondly by the applicable sections of Title VII in the Ohio Revised Code, Chapter 733. The Charter section can be viewed here: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/clevelandcodes/cco_charter_11.html In a nutshell, the Mayor does the following: 1) Appoint/remove all department heads and other city "officers" not under direct control of a department head 2) Conserve the peace 3) Supervise administration of city affairs 4) Advise council of the City's current state, make recommendations and answer any questions council may pose to him/her 5) While he/she can't vote, he/she is allowed to introduce ordinances/resolutions and take part in Council discussions

I don't see why this point is not emphasized more in the ongoing debate. I have to travel on occasion to Columbus and Cincinnati for business. I usually drive, but if the train were an option I would take it for that reason alone. I could use the time on the train to be productive and prepare for the job ahead.

It looks nearly identical assuming the same color coding of blue for office/hotel, yellow for retail and red for residential. Some slight changes, like the idea of lining Frankfurt exclusively with residential/retail. I believe Stark's proposal had some office space on Frankfurt and W. 3rd. Based on what I have heard, I assume the tall structure on the corner of W 3rd and Superior is supposed to be a hotel. I, for one, would welcome the diversity that more glass structures would bring to the neighborhood. I love the contrast between buildings like Pinnacle and Bradley, which are both beautiful in their own way IMHO.

Im with you, however, it's like other projects, you get the ball rolling and the next project improves upon the last. Again, if I was the developer, I would be building more clasic townhomes with no garages. Agreed. Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of the projects being build no matter whether I find them ugly or not. Hell, I can barely even pick out a matching outfit, so you gotta take my design critiques with a grain of salt.

I don't like these modern townhomes (especially the Circle 118 design).... at all. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the residential development on those lots and I can appreciate the interior designs, I just hate the exterior style I am seeing everywhere (here, AD, Battery Park). I don't think the designs are "timeless" like a brownstone and IMHO everyone will be scratching their heads in a decade or two.

What concerns me is the north and east phases of the 1211 building. I realize that a certain sales level must be met before construction can begin, but I believe that those two wings are a "must" for this project, asthetically speaking at least. I would hate for this to turn out like the Ameritrust Tower where only one phase is built. I have a friend who is working with a similar project in Cleveland Hts (Bluestone) that is similarly priced and the plans have changed once they realized the demand for high-end condos in the Cleveland market (near east side at least) was not as high as expected. They have had no trouble selling the clustered townhomes, but the condo building up on Mayfield is moving a lot slower. In fact, they are changing their plans to build additional condo buildings on the lot and instead are looking into either adding additional clusters or possibly brownstones. The Bluestone project gave itself that flexibility because it built its condo building as a stand alone structure. 1211, on the other hand, looks unfinished with those two blank walls.

^ I think that most conservatives are in favor of those changes. However, the point of this thread is to see where the "MIDDLE-GROUND" lies. Meaning, what "concessions" would you be willing to make to create a "bipartisan" plan. Putting aside the fact that the current political power landscape is left of center, in order to create a bipartisan plan, conservatives will have to make some concessions from their hard line stance and liberals are going to have to back off some of their demands. That is why I think that a public plan for children might be agreeable. Conservatives would have to agree to some form of public option and liberals would have to give up their idea of universal coverage for all citizens. So.... what say you?

Well, I cringe at the buzzword "universal coverage," but yes, I'm one of the more strident free-marketeers out there, and I'm still OK with at least some basic publicly-funded coverage for minors. (My problem with the term "universal" is that some people mean "covers everyone" and some people mean "covers everything for everyone." Both are fair meanings of "universal" but they definitely have different practical implications ... including the price tag.) Well, let's just forget about catch phrases that have been used for tactical purposes in this debate. The idea I propose would be akin to the public school system. Available to all (regardless of class), with the cost shared by all, but not forced on those who can afford a private plan. Thoughts?

The Medical Malpractice field of law could use some tweaking, but it several hurdles are already built in to safeguard the healthcare system - 1 yr. statute of limitations, requirement of an affidavit of merit from another physician, no shifting burdens of proof, etc. I still have not had any outright rejections to the idea of universal coverage for all children in the U.S. Is it safe to assume that is a measure that is agreeable to all sides of this debate? (regardless of what ELSE you might or might not want in the reform package).

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/new_medical_mart_contract_to_c.html New medical mart contract to clear up language in April draft, build in safeguardsPosted by rhiggs August 24, 2009 07:00AM CLEVELAND — A new medical mart contract will add safeguards to an April deal drafted by Cuyahoga County to build a new convention center complex downtown. (continued in link above)

I am not in favor of demolition either, but I think CSU's decisions so far have been intelligent and tactical with an eye on the larger, long-term picture. This school has so much potential to have a major impact on downtown if it can just create that "campus life" which non-commuter, prospective students seek. Agreed with gotribe's point. College kids spend a lot of money, to the point of recklessness. Some of it is mommy and daddy's money. Some of it is because they finally can get a credit card statement in the mail without any parental scrutinization and they envision themselves being able to take care of their debts once they have degree in hand. A lot of college kids also make "fast cash" which tends to burn a whole in their pockets by serving, bartending, stripping, etc. Now, some private developer needs to realize the gold mine in waiting for an influx of 1 bdrm rentals around campus.