Archive for September, 2008

Steve Krause visits and reviews the new Whole Foods store on Ann Arbor’s southwest side, which he likes: “The only down-side of the store for me was the wifi access in there was very spotty, but I suspect that’s something they will work out later.” [Source]

Inside Higher Ed reports on UM’s apparently controversial decision to allow some students to skip the LSAT. “Many law school bloggers have jumped to the conclusion that the law school is trying to improve its rankings in U.S. News by attracting students with very high grades but perhaps those students who wouldn’t score well on the LSAT. In this scenario, Michigan gets more points for a higher GPA and its LSAT average could rise, too….(director of admissions Sarah) Zearfoss said there is no such strategy at work. The number of students who will be admitted this way is such a ‘fractional sliver’ of the class that ‘this couldn’t be a successful route for manipulating the rankings, even if we were so inclined,’ she … [Full Story]

Sign in West Hall promoting Tuesday's School of Information videotaping for the 1000 Pitches contest.

Here at The Chronicle, about the only thing we pitch on a regular basis is a hissy fit. So we were intrigued by the concept of 1,000 Pitches, a contest for UM students, faculty and staff to come up with ideas for new businesses, nonprofits or inventions.

The university-wide contest is sponsored by the College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship, but UM’s School of Information took it one step further. Administrators wanted to make it easier for SI students to participate, so on Tuesday, they set up a room in West Hall for videotaping, and invited people to drop by anytime between 1-5 p.m. to make their three-minute pitch. No muss, no fuss – plus snacks! (Cookies, apples and pop, specifically.)

[Full Story]

Crain’s Detroit Business reports that Denise Dalrymple has been named CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan, a group being formed from four separate councils, including part of the Ann Arbor-based Girl Scouts of the Huron Valley Council. She was previously director of the Washtenaw County Children’s Services Department. [Source]

In his Try Reason blog, John Drake writes about his interactions with Ann Arbor Spark, a local economic development group. [Source]

The Freep publishes an op/ed by Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Center for Health Care Research & Transformation in Ann Arbor. She argues that health care should be part of any discussion about the economy. “While many states are attempting to expand health coverage, no national employer should be expected to manage 50 separate solutions. It is clear that we cannot significantly improve our country’s economy without addressing the issue of health care at the federal level.” [Source]

A Chelsea resident is selling two pygmy goat wether pets, Lenny and Squiggly, for $100, according to the Washtenaw County 4-H Marketplace site. [Source]

A Wall Street Journal article asks whether executive MBA programs are worth the cost. It quotes Nanda Kumar Cheruvatath, an Eaton Corp. vp who attended UM’s program In 2002 and says it strengthened his general management skills. Eaton now sends four execs each year to the program. [Source]

The Shooting Blue blog analyzes the Michigan/Wisconsin game: “I decided to watch Saturday’s game again tonight….more than anything to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. As it turns out, Michigan still won the game. I picked up a lot of other things along the way.” [Source]

Jeffrey Wilson, a UM assistant professor of geological sciences who took part in the recent dig that discovered a new dinosaur – the Aerosteon – is quoted in a Chicago Sun-Times article. He explains why the large animal had air sacs: ”It’s a way to lower core body temperature by getting rid of air.” [Source]

A thoughtful post by a UM “dental informationist” reports on the closing of the Dentistry Library, and the context and implications of that decision. “There are two main clusters of reasons I would give for the closing of the Dentistry Library. The first group relates to facilities issues as well as economic and fiscal resources; the second group relates to educational trends at the University of Michigan and within the School of Dentistry, trends in dental education specifically, and broader global trends in education.” [Source]

After Wednesday, Oct. 1, visitors to the University of Michigan Shapiro Library will be able to leave with a book and never have to return it – because it was just printed off with a perfect binding on an Espresso Book Machine from On Demand Books and paid for right on the spot. The option to have a book printed is restricted for now to out-of-copyright books from the university’s digitized collections, which currently includes over 2 million volumes.

At a cost of about only $10 per book, the entire digitized collection (as it currently stands) could be recreated in physical form by an Espresso Book Machine for $20 million. Put a different way, for the $700 billion price tag of the currently proposed bailout of our core financial institutions, we could instead reprint the digitized collection of the UM library 35,000 times. At 5-7 minutes per book, that project would, on a low estimate, take one Espresso Book Machine [70 billion]*[5 minutes], or 665,905 years. [Full Story]

Some signs at the Sept. 28 Artisan Market, promoting the Oct. 5 Etsy show.

Kate Kehoe has lots of energy, creative and otherwise. You get a sense of that if you visit her booth at the Sunday Artisan Market, where she sells notebooks made out of vintage album covers and video boxes, LPs formed into bowls, a variety of cards and pins – all made by her, by hand.

It’s the Etsy way.

She’s also funneling a good bit of energy into organizing the Oct. 5 Etsy show, where about 30 vendors – mostly from the Ann Arbor area – will be selling their wares in this second annual event, held in the Ann Arbor Farmers Market area in Kerrytown.

If you’re asking, “What the heck is Etsy?” well, you’re forgiven for not having hipster cred. Read on. [Full Story]

BTB and Tios get reviewed in separate posts on Burritophile. The review for Tios is pretty brutal. [Source] The burrito at BTB fared better: “The flavors were integrated well, the cheese was nice and melty, and the proportioning of rice to meat was spot on. The meat could have been made a bit more exciting, but the overall flavor was quite good. I happily finished it.” [Source]

The Education Action Group blog has a post about the Ypsilanti Public Schools and its possible legal challenge over inadequate state funding. They’re enlisting the ACLU to help in that effort. “While the Ypsilanti board may think they’re being clever with a lawsuit aided by the ACLU, the reality is it’s not going to solve the problem they’re currently in. So, as the MEA says, they need to just put on their big girl panties and make some tough decisions.” [Source]

Women's winner, Nadia Baadj.

At the Big House Big Heart Run, runners don’t throw their arms over their heads at the finish line. That victory salute typically comes a little more than 100 yards before the finish – right as runners hit the bottom of the tunnel entrance into Michigan Stadium, a.k.a. The Big House. What’s the big thrill? Oh. Come. On. You don’t think that’s a thrill? [Full Story]

NY Times reporter Micheline Maynard posts the third installment of her Prius Diary: “Because I felt ready for more road feel than my S.U.V. had provided, I had selected the Prius touring package, which provides a bigger spoiler, larger wheels and stiffer handling. As a result, I felt curves and bumps and road surface in a way I hadn’t for years. The change was particularly apparent when I traveled the hills of Ann Arbor, where the Prius would zoom merrily up and down.” [Source]

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune previews an upcoming lecture there by Juan Cole, UM professor of modern Middle East and South Asian history and author of the soon-to-be-published “Engaging the Muslim World.” Says Cole: “In 2000, 75 percent of Indonesians said they had a favorable view of the United States, and this is the largest Muslim population in the world. Now it’s 25 percent. Our public image in Indonesia has suffered mainly because of the Iraq war. What we have to think about as a nation is: Are we harmed by having a poor image in the largest Muslim country?” [Source]

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, is quoted in an Auto Week article about the Chevy Volt. “I think it’s very contemporary in design. You’ve got to be careful in this to not have something that’s too cute.” [Source]

The California Catholic Daily reports that attorney Charles LiMandri of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor is representing San Diego firefighters who sued the city, saying they were forced to participate in a Gay Pride parade and “subjected to sexually demeaning gestures and catcalls as a consequence.” [Source]

A post on the Ann Arbor Designs blog describes why the writer supports Barack Obama: “I am so excited about this election. Being a part of the current generation and trying to break through vocationally has been a struggle. Every American has their own trials in our current economy. Whether it be trying to maintain a current lifestyle, attempting to create a life or losing everything all together; we are all suffering together. Something needs to give.” [Source]

A Sept. 12 article about the expansion of RelaxStation incorrectly stated the cost of the project. Owner Eileen Bristol is making an investment of $90,000. We’re noting the error here, and have corrected the original story.

A Detroit News article looks at alternative energy classes at the state’s public universities, and reports that UM offers at least 60 courses in various departments. Says Margaret Wooldridge, a UM mechanical engineering professor: “The single most important step to address the global energy needs is education. You essentially want to let the students go eyes open.” [Source]