Booksigning at the Stately Raven

I spent last night at the Stately Raven book store in Findlay Ohio. The store is an independent bookstore which opened up in a converted church building and recently won an award for the “Best Bookstore in Ohio”. The store has a really cool science fiction room which, unlike most other local places, is actually stocked with the sci fi writers I read!

Last nite I met up with Tobias Buckell, aka Toby, and Gregory Frost, as well as a few other science fiction aficionados from the surrounding area. After picking up a copy of Frost’s Shadowbridge and John Scalzi’s The Last Colony we made our way to a local restaurant for some food and drinks. I had a good time and look forward to digging in to Shadowbridge this week.

It was really exciting to meet another author, as I already know Toby. I hope that the Stately Raven pulls in some other local authors. I also need to get myself up to Penguicon next May to bask in the presence of Sci Fi authors and geeks!

Weather To Foul Ohio Elections?

With horrendous weather on the way for my area of Ohio I have to wonder what will happen to the election if the local Sheriff declares a level 3 emergency.  When a level 3 is declared by local law enforcement only necessary personnel are allowed to travel, basically doctors, nurses, road cleaning crews.  In such a hyped election with anticipated record turnout for a primary in Ohio one has to wonder what would happen if the weather prevented the election form happening.  I’m not talking about people sitting at home due to some raindrops but from the local Sheriff essentially ordering people to not vote!  Granted I have only been voting for a few elections but I haven’t encountered as severe a storm as they are predicting for tonite.

I’ll be interested to see how the primary plays out in Ohio if the weather is bad enough to warrant road and school closings.  Anyone out there with more years of experience know what happens to the election in the event that being on the road is enough to earn you a ticket.  Now if only I could remember, was the Sheriff wearing a Hillary or an Obama button?  Hmmm…

Of All The Problems To Have

Scanning the local police reports is something which always brings me joy. The following report was in The Findlay Courier today and is too funny to withhold from you any longer.

Police responded to a Frazer Street residence Wednesday morning on a domestic complaint after a man became upset that his girlfriend kept waking him up for sex. No arrests were made.

Some people have nothing but problems.  Do you have an even better Police blotter story?  If so leave it in the comments, for daily police blotter hilarity, check out Crime Scene KC.

The Courier Public Record: Findlay, OH 

AnEEE EEE PC Users in NW Ohio?

In part of what may be an ongoing search for a new laptop I am trying to get some hands on time with an EEE PC and so far haven’t found any in a store to try.  So my next ploy is searching for a reader or random Googler who would want to meet up and talk tech while I bought them a coffee and played with their EEE PC.  I really want to check out the overall form factor hands on and see how I can adjust to the lower resolution screen.
If you are in Findlay or Northwest Ohio and wouldn’t mind letting a “stranger” check out your EEE leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Previous EEE PC coverage 

Is Findlay Set for Another Flood?

Checking the National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service tonite, they show a forecasted river level of 15 feet for the Blanchard Valley River in Findlay by 7 PM Thursday February 7th! The record level is near 18.5 which drew national attention in 2007 for the flood which literally cut the town in half. Many residents are bracing for the return of the water and some local businesses are moving to higher ground already.

The Courier, our local newspaper is covering the weather and the flood status in detail and are my local news outlet of choice regarding flooding. They currently are providing a useful breakdown of the actions already being taken to prepare for the rising waters.

Barker said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has rescue boats on standby, which proved to be a key component in helping residents during the August flood.
“Once the river level reaches flood stage, we feel we probably have about three hours or so before it goes up to 14.2 feet,” Barker said Tuesday night. “If water gets to Main Street we’ll probably get water from Clinton Court up to the bridge there and it will virtually divide the city.”
City police were placing cruisers at all city fire stations in case the floodwaters do split the city in half, which is what happened in August when the river crested at a record 18.5 feet.
Findlay fire officials planned to meet at 6 a.m. Wednesday to discuss flood preparations, and Barker said city officials planned to meet at 7 a.m. to assess the flood situation and possible damage.
“Everybody is on an on-call type basis,” Hancock County Sheriff Michael Heldman told The Courier on Tuesday night. “When the river reaches flood stage, (city officials) will call the captain and I at home and we’ll start watching what we’re going to be doing as well.”

If the waters continue to rise I will try to provide some firsthand information as I can as well as pictures. You can follow my Twitter Feed for the most up to date info.

Class of 2010 in Ohio Getting Personal Finance Class

Starting with the class of 2010 all high school students in Ohio will be required to take a personal finance class. As an Ohioan and someone who has learned the hard way about how to deal with student loans all I can say is, “Bout damn time.” Learning the basics about personal finance can’t come early enough as noted by Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray.

It’s a fact of life for many students at Bowling Green State University and other schools. They’re in debt.

Last year alone, BGSU students borrowed $129 million to attend school. Their debt worries don’t end here. Many are piling up bills they can’t pay on credit cards.

The solution: mandatory personal finance classes in high school. That’s going to happen in 2010, the result of a bill sponsored by Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray.

While I am sure some people will argue that the students may not take the classes seriously or pay enough attention to the material, if the classes help even a few students the time and money will be well worth it.

Cordray could kick the classes up a notch by adopting a “Scared Straight” approach, bringing in recent college grads from that specific school system to stress the need for learning about personal finance and the importance of owning your personal finance.  Someone buy Richard a drink for sponsoring this bill.

WTOL 11- Ohio high schools to include personal finance courses