August 13, 2007

Goings-on of interest

Just when you thought all the mills around here had closed, the PG finds this...

When Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle came under scrutiny last year for authorizing $27,000 for a controversial study written by her mother's boyfriend, she defended the study and its author saying, "He's a Ph.D. He's qualified." Lee Otto Johnson, who submitted the 85-page report on city health issues that consisted of reports written by other agencies and an essay on race and religion, does list a doctorate on his resume from Columbia State University.

But it's a school that never existed except as a company that sold phony degrees to people willing to buy them.

In another case that made headlines, the Pennsylvania attorney general sued the owners of a diploma mill called Trinity Southern University in 2004 after state employees paid $398 to obtain a master's of business administration for a cat named Colby Nolan.


Now everything makes sense. I understand where Tawanda was coming from - I’d be frightened of a cat with an MBA.

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I’m just glad there wasn’t any rioting by the poor folks who still didn’t have power last night. Though this person sounded quite upset:

"I can't breathe. It's just horrible, horrible," said Sandi Pickering, who has been without power in her Squirrel Hill home since Thursday. "It's getting dark now and I'm freaking. I'm a nervous wreck."

Has anyone else ever been downtown the Duquesne Light customer service center?

Poor Sandi probably just got back and was emotionally damaged.

The best way to describe it is…jail. There is a big plexi-glass box at the reception desk surrounded by safety glass, accompanied by a security guard. No employees in sight. You sign in, and fill out a form, then hand it to the security guard. An employee emerges from the back, and presses a release to open the box from their side of the security glass. You wait until your name is called. You head back into a narrow room with four windows. You pick up a phone, and stare through more safety glass into the soulless cold eyes of the Duquesne light customer service representative who looks at you as if you are some kind of ferocious Mon River-creature.

Moral of the story, don’t let your roommate pay the electric bill so late that you are forced to go to electric jail to get it turned back on.

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A sad day for Shadyside food and beverage connoisseurs .

Anyone who has ever been to Harris Grill (and perhaps, had the Cheeses of Nazareth) will agree the sooner it can be reopened, the better. Nice people, great outdoor seating area and atmosphere. A real shame.

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For those involved in the Burgher’s comment area on this post - a timely musing in the PG:


Here's a quick snapshot of men's thoughts on their professional pursuits, according to an upcoming survey in the September issue of Men's Health magazine. A full 60 percent of men said they work 41 to 60 hours per week, while 82 percent said they take work-related calls after hours. At the same time, 24 percent said they spend half of their day or less actually working. Employees feel more entitled to breaks during work hours because they're tethered to the office round the clock, said David Zinczenko, Men's Health editor-in-chief. "Our definition of work has changed," he said. "We're much more likely to be connected to the office 24-7."

I’m wondering if someone from the Mayor’s office wrote that…

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From The Comet’s headline…everyone should read this .

Seriously.

Way to go Bram.