Business, Science and Technology
News, Events and Resources
for Cleveland, Ohio, the Great Lakes Region and Beyond




The Great Lakes Geek Welcomes You!

This is Cleveland author Dan Hanson's second book. The first book, Murder in the Cultural Gardens, is a “whodunit” murder mystery set in the real world Cleveland Cultural Gardens. An unlikely new “Mod Squad” stumbles upon a series of murders in their beloved Gardens and assist in solving the crimes. All 30+ of the Cultural Gardens are covered in the book so readers learn about this treasure while trying to figure out the mystery.

You can find them on Amazon and in local bookstores like Mac'sBacks on Coventry. Or email for autogaphed copies. They make great Christmas gifts!

The project—which showcases original memorabilia as well as digital interactive tools—tells the compelling stories of individuals who have a strong, direct connection to the US, including Slovenian American astronaut Sunita Williams, Voyager engineer Anton Mavretic, professor of experimental physics Anton Peterlin, planet hunter Marija Strojnik, professor of electronics Aleš Strojnik, Silicon Valley pioneer France Rode, and inventor Peter Florjancic.

Silicon Valley Pioneer France Rode

They just reached a new milestone as they announced the launch of a second Data Center in order to boost network redundancy and service quality. The Data Center will be located at BlueBridge Networks in Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland.

We spoke with Kevin Goodman, BlueBridge Networks Managing Director and Partner, to get his perspective on the launch. Kevin told of his personal and firm's commitment to bridging the digital divide and the benefits of a second data center. He spoke of the pioneers of Digital C such as Lev Gonick and Dorothy Baunach who inspired him. And he told of his commitment to Cleveland emphasizing BlueBridge Networks' dedication to building a network "for Cleveland, by Cleveland."

Watch the interview

There are white or black stones - all have the same "powers". Steve said the game scales well so they have a 9x9 board, 13x13 and 19x19 which experts like him play on.

Steve and the Cleveland Go Club were at the 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival inside Asia Plaza and playing and teaching the game of Go. Watch the short video.

John Niedzialek, an earth science teacher and member of the parish council, said the system helps reduce the burden of storm water going into the sewer system. "So that (it) won't overload and we won't have to close our beaches after a big rain anymore. And helps keep Lake Erie clean."

Children at Wilson School, the public elementary school next door to the church, helped paint rain barrels. They capture water than can be reused for gardening. The church was up against NASA in the water challenge category.

Niedzialek told Spectrum news why he thinks the church won. "Well, I just have to say, our engineering is heavenly," he said with a smile.

Pat Connor and Jeff Manuszak of EDSI told us about their Data Center and Cloud and other network services.

What's the Irish connection? Pat's parents actually started the Irish Heritage Club back in the day and they have been strong supporters of the community for years. When the UIS Parade members needed a headquarters, Pat, Jeff and the EDSI team stepped in.

Watch the short video

“Please join me in congratulating our grand prize winners,” said Oanh Loi-Powell, NEOSEF board president. “These students epitomize next generation science and deserve recognition, admiration, and appreciation for their hard work. We are immensely proud of them.”

NEOSEF grand prize winners

NEOSEF is a Society for Science affiliated regional science fair. Established in 1953, NEOSEF organizes the annual science and engineering fair for northeast Ohio students and sends the top winners to compete at Regeneron ISEF.

See more of the winners and projects

Cleveland, Ohio is one of the major cities in its path and there will be a Total Eclipse Fest at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland which is also home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center.

Hundreds of thousands of people will want to view this once-in-a-lifetime experience. (The last total solar eclipse visible in Ohio was in 1806. The next one to pass over Ohio is predicted for 2099.)

Total Eclipse Fest Project Manager Megan Landean
with card and instructions to make your own pinhole device

Concord Casimir studies the weather maps

Concord Casimir will make his forecast again this Friday at High noon. No, he will not be getting up at 6 am like that not so smart critter in Pennsylvania. After all, why would you get up at 6 am when you can eat a pierogi at noon to predict the weather? Niedzialek says, "He works one day out of the year and still complains about it."

Concord Casimir and his Master, John Niedzialek

Come back to see how the miracle cat does this year.

So cool to hear from the Woz and to be able to ask questions in the chat.

It's a large and diverse exhibition. It features more than 200 objects from Neolithic times to the 18th century, ranging from jade, silk, prints, and paintings to porcelain, lacquer, and bamboo carvings.

Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts

Athanasious Sarantopoulus

See pictures and watch a video of the Golden Ratio lecture

Liz Maugans, Joe Sroka, Bellamy Printz, and Kelly Novak founded Zygote Press in 1996 as an open, collaborative shop - to give artist printmakers affordable access to facilities. At the time, many college print departments and print businesses were downsizing and transitioning to digital production. The Zygote founders worked to inherit and purchase discarded presses and other pieces of printing equipment, and so populated the shop with the tools necessary for a functioning studio.

There is also a new system to get a beer quickly. Visit the area, swipe you card, grab the beer you want and as you leave the area the technology charges your credit card while you are heading back to you seat, never missing any action. I can't wait to try that

We are partnering with the Rotary Club of Cleveland to have a Community Day where people can learn about how to get a computer, how to donate, how to volunteer and more. Resources, pizza and fun.

We hope you can attend. Let us know if bringing a group (school class, Scouts, etc.) so we can have enough pizza. If you are a company and want to be involved - a resource table or just chipping in for the tchotchkes and food - please let us know.

Here is a flyer you can share. Thanks

The Tudor dynasty ruled for only three generations but it transformed England from a land devastated by the War of the Roses to a major player in Europe and eventually the rest of the world. This exhibit covers the larger than life personas of Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Tudor Family Tree

As a mathematician (and geek), I was very interested in the Astronomicum Caesareum books. Henry VIII had a large and impressive book collection

Each year we like to gather an eclectic group of friends and business associates for a holiday lunch. No, it's not just techies. Media, non-profits, politicians, business, cultural - they were all represented.

The food and atmosphere at Emperor's Palace in Old Chinatown is always terrific and they opened up just for our 70 or so guests

Victor Ruiz, Jessica Davis and Ron Copfer

---

George Koussa, August Pust, Margaret Wong, Annie Pu and Mehmet Gencer

Nela Park is the headquarters of GE Lighting, located in East Cleveland, Ohio. Nela Park was the first industrial park in the world and was home to most of the lighting breakthroughs of the last century. Thomas Edison was a founder. Albert Einstein and other notables visited.

Dan Hanson was raised in East Cleveland and his family visited the world-famous Christmas lighting display every Christmas season. You used to be able to drive through the campus but in recent years the display is all along Noble Rd. He takes us on a tour of the 2022 display.

For more than 30 years, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) has been providing Northeast Ohio manufacturers with the guidance they need to achieve long-term success. They service 18 counties in Northeast Ohio and consult on a wide range of manufacturing needs to create jobs and drive change by collaborating with manufacturing CEOs, governments, community leaders and educators to solve problems and build opportunities.

They opened a new facility at 63rd and Chester and Great Lakes Geek Dan Hanson took a walk through the amazing new facility. As you will see, there are robots, arc welders, tools for forming metal, grinders, vacuum lifts, 3D printers, injection molding, die cutting and much more. Plus state of the art classrooms and information showing the well-paying job and career opportunities in manufacturing.

Having come of age with many of the luminaries of Cleveland Technology the Great Lakes Geek has begun a series of episodes on Cleveland Tech History including:

• Ron Copfer - Serial Entrepreneur and Tech Pioneer

• Jim Cookinham - Godfather of Cleveland Tech Industry

• Chris Thompson -Journalist who changed Cleveland's Tech Scene

• Tim Mueller - From Web 1.0 pioneer to Deputy Mayor

• Kevin Goodman of BlueBridge Networks

Free Webinar on November 9, 2022 - Budgeting for IT in a Volatile World.

Learn more and sign up for the free BlueBridge webinar

Panelists include George Mehokwho is a chief information officer, author, and advisor with more than 30 years of experience in the technology industry. George is currently the founder and managing partner of robotic process automation and systems integration consulting firm ApertureXI Technologies.

Branndon Kelley is the CIO for AMP. He has more than 20 years of experience providing vision, leadership, governance and execution for technology programs, projects and departments.

Kevin Goodman is Managing Director at BlueBridge Networks, Ohio’s leading managed IT and data center provider.

Sign up on the website or Contact Kevin Goodman, Managing Director for more info and to sign up.

Top of Page

Paula Svadlena is Aer Lingus Regional Sales Manager for the Midwest USA and Canada. She sat down with Dan Hanson and told about Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) which took its first flight in 1937 and started transatlantic flights in the 1960's. The big news for people in Cleveland and NEOhio and nearby is that Aer Lingus is launching 4 weekly non-stop flights from Cleveland to and from Dublin Ireland starting in May 2023.

John T. Hogan is Deputy Chief, Marketing and Air Service Development, for the Cleveland Airport System which includes Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport. He sat down with Dan Hanson and told about how both leisure and business travel are picking up since the pandemic with about 9 million passengers per year, almost back to the normal 10 million passengers. For the 300+ people who travel from Cleveland to Europe each day they will be able to fly direct to Dublin, spend some time in Ireland if they choose, and/or continue on to Paris or Frankfort or Amsterdam or wherever. Plus, with a US Customs Office in Dublin they can clear customs there and when they arrive in Cleveland they can leave right away.

Chief Hogan said this direct flight is an opportunity for Europeans to visit Cleveland and the surrounding areas. He credits several organizations for making this happen.

So sorry to hear of the passing of Michael Heaton, former Plain Dealer writer and more. I did an interview with Michael Heaton in 2007 when his book Truth and Justice came out. It has some great stories and many Cleveland connections - Danny Green, Michael Symon, Frank Jackson, Joe Esterhas and the like. Some great stories as only the Minister of Culture could tell them.

Clevelanders and beyond will know the Keithley Instruments company which was founded by Joseph F. Keithley in Cleveland in 1946. His first product, the "Phantom Repeater," amplified low-level electric signals so that they could be measured by more standard equipment. The device was used by physicists, chemists, and engineers in the development of hearing aids and amplifiers.

The company took off with the introduction of the second product - an electrometer. Now there are about 500 products with major product lines including testing and measurement products such as electrometers, voltmeters, signal generators, data acquisition, and production and benchtop parametric testers and analyzers.

In 1964 they moved to Solon and later (2010) was sold and then merged so it now exists wholly as a brand of Tektronix Inc.

The latest exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art is called Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection.

See photos and take a video tour of the Keithley Collection.

Top of Page

Your first guess/attempt will probably work. Can you solve it any other way?

Fan Expo (formerly Wizard World) was back in Cleveland the weekend of April 30, 2022. Billed as "the ultimate playground for Comics, Sci-Fi, Horror, Anime, and Gaming. Three BIG days of citywide events, family-friendly attractions and world-renowned celebrities including William Shatner, Katee Sackhoff and many more.

William Shatner at Cleveland Fan Expo

Cool costumes at Fan Expo Cleveland



See lots of costumes from Fan Expo 2022 in Cleveland.



Top of Page

With the pandemic dwindling and hopefully leaving for good we are bringing back the Great Lakes Geek Calendar of Events. The Calendar features virtual and in person events about technology, business and science.

We are honored to have the technology leaders of BlueBridge Networks as a sponsor of the Great Lakes Geek Calendar of Events.

Submit your open-to-the-public event (it doesn't have to be free, just open to all) and we will post. You can also sign up for the free Great Lakes Geek eNews which includes upcoming events.

Top of Page

On the supply side, they work with local contractors and individuals who have access to overstock, new or salvaged building material. RBX inventories, markets, and sells dropped-off items. Once an item sells, RBX cuts the 'consignor' a check at the end of the month for 50% of each sale. Instead of dumping, donating or storing usable material; both businesses and individuals finally have a streamlined solution for making money.

On the demand side, they are open to the public 4 days a week! Customers have access to an ever-changing inventory of over 1,000's of new, unique, and vintage items.

Jessica Davis and Ron Copfer

Pictures, video and more of Rebuilders Xchange

Top of Page

There has been a lot of math and science in developing the systems of latitude and longitude and the time zones and related items. From early astronomers and mathematicians to Ptolemy and Galileo and others the creation of instruments like the pendulum clock, quadrant and sextant were brilliant innovations.

In this special episode of Fun with Maps with Dan Hanson instead of looking at one particular area, he look at some items that affect all the maps of earth. These are the terms latitude and longitude. Using those coordinates you can pinpoint any place on earth. They are essential for ship captains and pilots and others.

Maybe this will be a refresher course or maybe it will be new for you as we discuss latitude, longitude, the Prime Meridian, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, the Equator, International Dateline, Greenwich Mean Time, Time Zones and more.

And we explain how you can be at a spot on Earth where it is both today and yesterday.