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RMU Alumna's Stay-cation Leads to New Business Opportunity
About five summers ago Miranda Bauer M'08 and her husband, Josh, decided to take a week's "stay-cation". Like many Pittsburghers, although they had grown up in the city, there was still so much they had never seen or done before. So they decided to spend the week like tourists.
"It was one of the most enjoyable vacations I've ever had," says Miranda, a 2008 graduate of RMU's integrated communications and information systems program. "We visited Kennywood, went on the Just Ducky Tour, strolled through the zoo…a bunch of things someone from out of town might do. We had a blast."
Three years later Miranda became a mother, and an even newer Pittsburgh world opened up to her. "All of the sudden, I was a stay-at-home mom visiting places like the Children's Museum, Sandcastle, and the Carnegie Science Center," she says. "That's when I got the idea for PittsburghPass."
Geared toward families with young children, PittsburghPass.com offers a Pittsburgh activities package that includes one admission each to Kennywood, Sandcastle, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Carnegie Science Center, and The Children's Museum – all for just $83.99 (a savings of up to $143 for a family of four). There's also an option geared toward singles and couples for $65.99.
"Basically, anybody looking for fun things to do in Pittsburgh at a discounted rate will enjoy a PittsburghPass," says Miranda.
An only child, Miranda was the first member of her family to attend college. After graduating, she landed a job with a local self-storage company and worked as their marketing manager over the next five years. She says RMU's focus on communication skills played a big part in her success right out of school. "The focus on public speaking was really important. It was one of the key things that helped me excel in my first job."
Today Miranda spends most of her time caring for her two young daughters, ages 2 years and 6 months; however, she also works part-time as an adjunct faculty member for RMU's School of Communications and Information Systems, teaching business and professional communications.
"RMU gave me the confidence to go out and start my own business," she says. "Now I'm hoping I can do the same for my own students." ~
PittsburghPass ticket packages are on sale only until June 7. For more information, visit PittsburghPass.com.
Written by Valentine J. Brkich


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The race has begun. Across America, state and local governments, private sector infrastructure providers, libraries, universities, non-profit groups, school districts and more are all ...
The race has begun. Across America, state and local governments, private sector infrastructure providers, libraries, universities, non-profit groups, school districts and more are all scrambling to forge new coalitions, attend broadband summits, arrange meetings, dial into web conference calls and basically do whatever it takes to gain an edge in the broadband stimulus scramble for dollars. We are all sweating now that the submission countdown has begun.
There are no shortage of articles on this subject. Starting with yesterday's Washington Post, we read Government Makes $4 Billion 'Down Payment' on Project to Expand Broadband. "Vice President Biden yesterday announced guidelines for $4 billion in stimulus funds to expand high-speed Internet access across the nation, jump-starting a program that has been criticized for taking too long to get off the ground.... The Commerce and Agriculture departments said yesterday that they will accept applications from private firms, nonprofit groups, and state and local governments for the first allotment of $4 billion from July 14 through Aug. 14."
Government Technology ran this article earlier this week: Broadband Stimulus Fund Requirements Released by Feds. Indeed, the pages of just about every government magazine describe some different aspect of the stimulus dollars that are coming to a town near you.
Just google "broadband stimulus," and you'll get almost seven million page views.
What I find fascinating, as we watch this new frenzy unfold, are the new coalitions, partnerships and cross-boundary deals being formed, and not being formed, before our eyes. A fundamental question that will soon be answered is this: what new, lasting governance structures will emerge to enable more effective use of these broadband dollars? I suspect the answers will be different in every state. Many states may have multiple answers. This is an exciting time that I am confident will be written about for many years to come.
Take good notes. There is no doubt that there will be winners and losers and whiners. The lack of government dollars due to the economic recession has caused some very unique situations to unfold, and everyone is hungry for local winners. Like the beginning of the season for your favorite sports team, everyone is getting in shape and anxiously hoping for success.
The decisions made now are not only vital, they are the seeds of the future for governments working with together other governments and with the private sector on infrastructure. Beyond broadband networks, similar governance issues will also surface regarding health IT and other stimulus programs.
We are all being tested. We've know this was coming for a while. Some of us will do well, and some not so well. The stakes are huge. One thing is for sure, a large part of our success will depend upon the best cross-boundary teams coming together with the best plans that have maximum benefit and deliver real results. Governance, before and after grant awards, will be key. Let the grant writing begin.
What's your view on governance for stimulus and this entire grant and loan process?
Looking for the latest gov tech news as it happens? Subscribe to GT newsletters.


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Beijing-based Huayi Brothers is producing $12m action thriller Control, directed by Hong Kong's Kenneth Bi and starring Daniel Wu and Yao Chen.
Written and directed by Bi, the film follows an insurance salesman who is blackmailed by a mysterious villain into stealing from the mob. Leon Dai and Simon Yam also star. Yao Chen is an up-and-coming Chinese actress who recently starred in Chen Kaige's Caught In The Web.
Bi previously directed drama Girl$, about the practice of "compensated" dating in Hong Kong, Taiwan-set drama The Drummer and comedy drama Rice Rhapsody.
Controlis currently in post-production following a mostly Hong Kong shoot and is being readied for release in summer 2013. Huayi is handling international sales on the film, which it is co-producing with Taiwan's Kbro Media and Hong Kong-based Sil-Metropole.
Huayi Brothers is also selling kungfu and steampunk action dramas Tai Chi 0 and Tai Chi Hero, Tsui Hark's Detective Dee prequel and Feng Xiaogang's Back To 1942, starring Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody.


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RP on foreign banks (and "US" banks) receiving aid from US taxpayer: "I think it's criminal…This is not how a free society ought to operate. This is all for special interests."
Back in February, Bernanke lied when Paul questioned him about foreign bailouts.
Bernanke: "We have no plans, whatsoever, to be involved in any foreign bailouts or anything of that sort." What about the foreign banks that they bailed out?
Bloomberg Sues Fed to Force Disclosure of Collateral (Update1)
Banks with headquarters outside the U.S. were among the first to begin using the facility in December 2007 and were also among its heaviest borrowers. These included the U.S. affiliates of banks such as Manama, Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corp., Madrid-based Banco Santander SA, and Paris-based Societe Generale SA. Beginning on June 18, 2009, Barclays Bank Plc had two loans totaling $23.45 billion outstanding.
Note that this fed disclosure only occurred due to the Bloomberg lawsuit. We need to use the courts to get our country back!
Filed under: Economy—US Dollar, Ron Paul | Tagged: bailouts, banks, ben bernanke, bloomberg tv, economy, financial system, foreign banks, Ron Paul |


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5 Ways to Watch TV and Movies on Your iPad
The iPad can perform many wonderful feats. One of our favorites — its ability to stream television shows, movies and even some live broadcasting on a high-res screen. And we don't even have to tote around a heavy laptop.
ABC was the first major network to allow iPad users to stream full episodes. Ever since, many other networks have jumped on the mobile bandwagon. For the most part, these apps are free of charge. Most importantly, they're filled with full episodes of the shows you missed or want to watch again.
Sorted by category, here are the best entertainment programming apps to download for your tablet.
If you want to search for a show by channel, chances are there's an app for that. Most channels offer digital viewing of full episodes via their platforms, as well as added features and bonus material, such as schedules, social fan interaction and video clips. Check out ABC, ABC Family, The CW, Discovery Channel, Disney, NBC, PBS, TBS, TLC and TNT.
Movies and TV
You've probably already heard about Netflix and Hulu, both of which have compatible iPad apps. These popular options are only accessible though paid subscriptions, which cost $7.99 per month.
If you don't want to shell out the cash, you can access other platforms to stream movies. Crackle, for instance, may be more limited in terms of available content, but it is free to download and easy to navigate. The service offers movies and TV shows, as well as originally produced programming, such as The Unknown, a horror series starring Dominic Monaghan, of Lost and Lord of the Rings fame.
For another free option, try TV.com. The app includes shows from CBS, The CW and Showtime, searchable by channel, title or popularity.
If you're looking for timeless entertainment, try Tap TV, a platform full of hundreds of old cartoons, the best YouTube videos, silent classics and documentaries. Curators hand-select felicitous content to populate this app.
Sleek and simple in design, NextGuide is a personalized program guide that aggregates information across multiple video apps and keeps you informed about when and where your shows are playing. You can customize notifications for certain actors or even your favorite sports team.
Similarly, use BuddyTV to select your favorite shows and personalize your viewer preferences. Soon enough, the service gives you suggestions based on what you chose. An in-app TV guide allows you to select your favorite channels and see what is airing at that very moment. Additionally, you can view previews, recaps and opt for reminders when your favorite shows are about to air.
Live TV
Rejoice, for technology has bestowed upon us the ability to watch live television on our tablets.
Sports fans, WatchESPN offers streaming feeds from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU, depending on your TV provider. The app gives you access to thousands of live events from college basketball to the NBA playoffs, and shows like SportsCenter.
For news, CNN lets you live stream select programming, again dependent on your provider.
You'll also find that a lot of cable TV providers offer livestreams within their own apps. See: Cox TV Connect, DirectTV, Time Warner, Cablevision and DISH Network. Most also allow you to set your DVR and turn your iPad into a remote control.
As if the show wasn't enough, certain apps allow you to interact with the content.
With Viggle, you can sync to a featured show and answer trivia questions as you watch. For every correct reply, you earn reward points you can redeem at retailers such as Best Buy, Burger King, Fandango and Old Navy.
Known for identifying music, Shazam also works with TV. Tap into a show you are watching and access cast information, episode soundtracks, actor tweets and merchandise links.
For an out-of-the-box viewing experience, try Boxfish. The app captures every word spoken on the TV. It processes the information in real time to see what topics are being discussed. You can set notifications for certain words or topics, view topic-specific clips and determine the number of times it has been mentioned the past few days.
BONUS: http://mashable.com/2012/10/25/ipad-mini-cases/
iPad Mini Cases
Images courtesy of Flickr, Wayan Vota and Photo Giddy


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YESsoccer and its Chicago Fire Camps & Training affiliate are proud to announce our second annual Coach Education Event (#YESCEE), hosted in partnership with English Premier League Club Aston Villa. An invitation-only event, #YESCEE will be held on February 23rd at 'The Academy - Indoor Arena' at Villa Park.
Our Aston Villa event will highlight a 2014 recruitment season through which YESsoccer will place over 150 international coaches in youth soccer organisations across the U.S. With a high percentage of our 2013 coaches applying to return in 2014, the competition for available positions has been vigorous.
Our Coach Education Event will have two goals: to finalise the selection of our 2014 U.S. coaching team, and to share the core values that make YESsoccer the career choice for coaches.
The event will be led by our YEScoach ID team, who will take the candidates through practical interactive workshops that prepare them to coach U.S. youth players. As well, the coaching candidates will be asked to prepare and coach a 15-20 minute session for the YEScoach ID team, where body language, tone, and interpersonal skills will be evaluated in addition to the substance of the session.
YESsoccer is proud to hold its coach education event at Aston Villa, who have an extensive background in youth development. The Villa Football Department deliver programming to over 400,000 young players each year in the midlands. Last season, the club secured Category One status for their Academy following an independent audit of the Club's youth development programmes, which forms part of the Barclays Premier League Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).
In addition to achieving the highest status of the EPPP, the Aston Villa Academy has also emerged as the No.1 ranked Academy in the U.K.
Coaches interested in attending the education day should contact email@example.com to schedule a personal interview.
Coaches who have been invited to the education day should confirm their place at the event by contacting firstname.lastname@example.com
Chicago Fire Camps & Training Director Chris Andrew with Aston Villa's Ian Taylor
Information for; Public Transportation, Travel By Road, Parking Information


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MONTREAL – A construction company boss told Quebec's public inquiry that he received death threats, had his equipment torched, and his brother was beaten up with brass knuckles.
Why? Because he dared to compete for public-works contracts.
The president of Excavations Panthere, Andre Durocher, told the Charbonneau commission Tuesday that there was a price to pay for refusing to co-operate with one of the construction cartels operating in Quebec.
"There were drawbacks to not going along with the system of collusion," he testified.
"Our equipment was burned, we got death threats, we had intimidation, assault, lots of things happened over the span of 20 years," Durocher said.
Once, his brother was beaten up: "He was punched with brass knuckles and they broke three bones in his face. He was out of commission for a year."
Another time, when he wanted to bid on sewage renovation work on Montreal's Chabanel Street, he was forced to withdraw.
He said he kept getting calls on his office phone and cellphone, which he wouldn't answer.
Eventually, he said four men in a black Cadillac show up at his office. Two came to hand him a piece of paper with a phone number on it. "You better call," he recalled the men telling him.
Durocher says he didn't listen.
Soon thereafter, he says, his insurance agent came to see him. He said the agent, Pierre Papineau of Comerco, told him: "Andre, we're going to have our legs broken. You're not bidding on Chabanel. I'm … cutting off the insurance on all your equipment if you submit a bid for Chabanel."
Durocher did not, in the end, bid on the project.
He said he would receive up to 20 to 25 threatening or nuisance phone calls if he ever bid on a project where he wasn't welcome.
Papineau, of Comerco, had testified earlier Tuesday that he indeed acted as a go-between for Durocher and another client who was inquiring about Durocher's bid plans. But he did not offer the same account as Durocher, and did not describe relaying threats to him.
Durocher also told a very different story than one heard recently at the inquiry.
Disgraced construction boss Lino Zambito testified last month that Durocher actually tried to set up a cartel — one of several operating in different municipalities, in different construction sectors, around Montreal.
He said Durocher gathered 15 to 20 construction companies and attempted to set up a closed shop for sewage work north of Montreal.
The inquiry has heard that such cartels would take turns winning bids, conspire with crooked civil servants to inflate the price tag on projects, and turn over some of the profit to political parties and the Mafia.
Durocher said Tuesday that he never went along with such schemes.