I am not a fan of Bill O’Reilly of the O’Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel. Bill O’Reilly’s opinion talk show is uninteresting but not as much as ABC’s talk show The View. So Bill O’Reilly appeared as a guest on an episode of ABC’s show, The View in which he blamed Muslims for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. That’s right, he did not blame the Christians, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Hindus. Co-hosts of the show, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg were outraged enough to walk off the set during Bill O’Reilly’s appearance. How cool is that; invite someone to appear on your show and then walk off because the guest says something that you disagree with. The co-hosts’s contention was that Bill O’Reilly should have used the term Muslim extremists instead of Muslims. Bill O’Reilly said,
No one I know wants to insult Muslims, but almost everybody I know is tired of the political correctness surrounding the 9/11 attack. The truth is that if moderate Muslims all over the world would stand with America against radical Islam, the terrorists could not exist. But obviously that isn’t happening. I am not in the business of sugarcoating harsh reality.
It was reported that NPR News terminated the contract of news analyst → continue reading NPR terminates Juan Williams’ Contract After He Speaks The Truth
This 12-foot sculpture called Lightscape XXIII, by sculptor Carol Adams, near the entrance to Solon City Hall is the brainchild of Solon Center for the Arts. It is an interesting, creative and strong interpretation of the City of Solon by the sculptor. It rests on a pedestal and consists of plantlike white growth of blocks. The enamel on steel blocks illustrate different important aspects of the city. The lower portion of the sculpture represents the early history of Solon and as the sculpture grows and flies outward, it represents the newer history of Solon.
 Public art near Solon City Hall by Carol Adams-Click to enlarge I have walked past this interesting public sculpture a couple of times, without noticing it. I hope that I am in the minority in this regard. The white and colorful sculpture would have probably drawn more viewers if → continue reading Lightscape XXIII – A Microcosm of Solon Ohio
 Homeownership in a transient society Owning a home or renting a home is fundamentally a major financial decision. A home is a immovable liability in any area of that does not have an increasing population and job opportunities. The psychological and cultural importance of owning a home is exaggerated, knowingly and unknowingly. The cliche is that you can’t put a price on it; the fact is that homeowners do place a price on home ownership through the home mortgage.
Real estate agents ridicule renters by saying that “they are throwing away money”, this notion from overpaid sales professionals should to be taken with a truck load of salt. Renting is analogous to the modular design concept, the important advantage is flexibility. Non-modular design is analogous to homeownership, it ties into obsoletism.
→ continue reading Homeownership is a ball and chain in a transient nation
 Government waste or the nature of development or democracy at work
 Federal stimus money at work on Bainbridge Road in Solon Ohio Kevin Westbrooks, Traffic Engineer, Solon, Ohio wrote about the temporary road on Bainbridge Road:
Changing the traffic operations from two-way to one-way will divert traffic through other congested intersections and cause cut-through traffic. There are improvements that can be made to help with the flow of traffic but this traffic cannot be fully accommodated.
Wayne Godzich, Police Chief, Solon, Ohio wrote about the temporary road on Bainbridge Road:
Although we are sympathetic with the resident’s concerns, we should never jeopardize the Emergency and Medical Services times associated with transporting victims to a medical facility. If one life was lost because it required a longer time to transport a victim to a medical facility knowing it could have been avoided, I personally would have a difficult time dealing with that loss of life.
William Shaw, Fire Chief, Solon Ohio wrote about the temporary road on Bainbridge Road:
It is my opinion that two way traffic on Bainbridge Road affects the least number of people while providing the maximum amount of safety benefit with the least cost to City of Solon
According to the grapevine, → continue reading The Million Dollar Temporary Bainbridge Road in Solon Ohio
Basements are constructed with perimeter walls made with
- hollow cement blocks, or
- poured cement concrete.
The blocks are brought to the site and laid by a mason with staggered joints. If the joints are not staggered, the basement wall will have lower strength and it is a sign of very poor workmanship. After the blocks are laid, the hollows may be reinforced with steel bars and filled with a cement concrete to increase its strength and durability. I am not certain if there is an easy method, for a typical home buyer or the second and the subsequent home owners to verify if the hollow block basement walls were reinforced or not. If unreinforced, a hollow cement block basement wall is clearly inferior to a poured concrete basement wall. The hollow cavities will provide a reservoir space for water which will eventually seep into the basement. The unreinforced hollow block basement wall will have lower strength, durability and fire resistance. The purposes and advantages of using hollow cement blocks is the speed and the cost savings using the the large sized blocks. To meet the construction time parameter, a crafty home builder may decide that it is indeed desirable but not essential to reinforce the hollow blocks of the basement wall, particularly, if the applicable building codes do not explicitly require this reinforcement.
So, should a home buyer consider buying a home that has basement walls constructed with unreinforced hollow cinder blocks? These basement walls which also act as retaining walls, will be weak in tension and are highly likely to develop cracks. A poorly constructed basement is trouble and it is prudent to walk away from that home.
 Hollow cement mortar cinder blocks used for basement construction  Concrete and steel reinforced block wall basement Many homes in the Cleveland area of Cuyahoga County in Ohio have basements that are made of these hollow cement blocks. → continue reading The wet hollow block wall basements of Cleveland, Ohio
According to Martha Stout, author of The Sociopath Next door, 4% of the population (1 in 25 people) are psycopaths or sociopaths. What is psychopathy or sociopathy? In short, it is the condition of missing conscience.
Dr. Martha Stout states that according to the bible of psychiatric labels, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Discorders IV, the clinical diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder should be considered when an individual possesses at least three of the following characteristics: → continue reading 4% among us are psychopaths or sociopaths | The Sociopath Next Door
 39 pets euthanized  Financial difficulties lead to uninhabitable conditions  Parents and children lived in these conditions in Carriage Park subdivision of Solon, Ohio
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About  I am a Civil Engineer from Louisiana State University. The compound word, Americaneer, is a combination of the words, American and Engineer. |
