Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Pittsburgh Ranked Smartest City in America


Per Pittsburgh Magazine: Pittsburgh Ranked Smartest City in America

According to data on the 100 most populous cities in the U.S., Pittsburgh is the brainiest of the bunch.

BY PM STAFF


PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO
 

Henry Ford once said that failure is simply the opportunity to begin again — this time more intelligently. That observation seems particularly relevant to Pittsburgh’s remarkable post-industrial transformation. For decades after the steel industry’s collapse, Pittsburgh was the butt of jokes (heck, even the rebooted “Arrested Development” hit the ’Burgh with a low blow recently).

While the rest of the world slept on our city, we rebuilt — this time more intelligently.

Now we’re the pound-for-pound smartest city in America, according to data compiled by Motovito. The prolific real-estate website mined data from the following criteria to formulate its rankings:
 
  • Universities and colleges per person
  • Libraries per person
  • Education level
  • Media per person (newspapers, TV, radio, magazines)
  • Museums per person
  • Public school rank

Pittsburgh topped the list of brainy cities, followed by Orlando; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; and Honolulu.

You may also find it relevant that Baltimore was 38th on the list. Cleveland? 47th.

We’re an enlightened bunch, but we put in the perspiration, too. Two weeks ago, research firm Scarborough revealed that Pittsburgh has the highest newspaper readership rate in the nation. So take your outdated Pittsburgh jokes and stuff ’em, Ron Howard.

For the full rankings, including the methodology, head to Motovito.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

LIKELY NOT ALL FACEBOOK GROUPS ARE ALIKE ... OR MEANT FOR YOU!

I'm not exactly clear why you would become a part of a group on Facebook where absolutely everyone thinks the same way you do - a group where the slightest deviation is cause for a verbal attack and verbal abuse.  Recently, I found myself in a political group to which I had become a member by being placed there by the founder of the group without asking,  [Note:  I'm not complaining about that, Although an invitation would have been preferred, I always had the option to leave.] I posted a suggestion that Hilary Clinton was now available on twitter and for those who were interested they could now follow her if they desired.  My suggestion was essentially that this was an option for anyone who hadn't as yet abdicated political responsibility - although my original wording was somewhat less of an indictment. Understand, I don't care whether you support her of not, I was simply suggesting that for those who need more contact and more information, this was a viable option - IMHO!  (...and yes I did say that!)  Don't you know I got a response as if I had attacked someone with a vaginal ultrasound!  It's always interesting when you make a comment directed at no one person in particular, and someone picks that shoe up and tries it on ... and it fits! 
With all due respect to complete disclosure, I do belong to some groups where like minds get together, but it is for the purpose of broadening one's understanding of the central political focus ... and yes, sometimes strong arguments do arise. However, up front we have all agreed that there are areas where we'll have to agree to disagree.  Just for the record, the last post by someone else was a personal attack to which I decided I was not going to respond.  I removed my posts, blocked the attackers and then went to leave the group.  It was at that moment I discovered that I had already been booted - an action which when preceded by a personal attack that you are prevented from answering clearly indicates that kindergarten is in session and you have been kicked out of the school yard by the other children.