Sunday, March 29, 2009

Continuing Education; Lifelong Learning

I'm thinking of taking some classes in West Virginia this summer.

Get Involved: Driving Change in Your Community
When was the last time you spoke with your Council representative? While it might sound like a strange question, you should be making your voice heard. Each of us is responsible for the place where we live. Learn how to protect and improve the quality of life in your hometown. Where you live shapes every aspect of your identity. It is time for you to create the changes you want to see in your community.
Instructor: Patrick Ford
Pat Ford, a skilled and passionate public speaker with a genuine desire to see communities, organizations and local leaders achieve their best, has been a town and city planner as well as a consultant to several city projects in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Florida. He has also worked with both young people and adults in planning processes such as "Teen Leadership Fayette County," and the Pittsburgh "Intern Shadowing Program." He earned both baccalaureate and master's degrees in urban planning at the University of Virginia.

Wait. It gets better:

Leadership Tactics of Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun was not even 13 when a king sought to break his spirit through tutelage in the Roman courses. By staying true to his ideals while learning customs of the captors, Attila was able to emerge as a leader of diverse peoples, skilled in policy making and diplomacy. How might you incorporate the leadership tactics of Attila the Hun? You'll learn how to manage responsibility, run successful meetings, create agendas for different audiences, deal with dissenting opinions and delegate responsibility.
Instructor: Patrick Ford

12 comments:

  1. You are getting your material from Woody Allen?

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  2. Tom Murphy and Tom Cox should be team teaching the class, "The Art of War."

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  3. Click the link, it looks real to me. The only part I played with was "continuing education" -- unfortunately these classes are for high school honors students only. Feel like an old-time stakeout, AS?

    Here, more news:

    Planning specialist: Zoning always contentious issue

    Article mentions Pittsburgh's Urban Renewal (sic) Authority.

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  4. Flabbergasted! This has to be someones idea of a joke. Attila the Hun? I am just, I can't even express it, isn't he the one who clammed up, copped a deal and left town and we were left paying a salary with no answers? His newfound, "let the public in on decisions policy" is even more interesting...I just want to say..OMG

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  5. Pennsylvania is likely cancelling its Governor's school for budgetary reasons ...
    Pat Ford sort of clammed up, but he also wrote, in his letter of resignation, that the Mayor and/or his administraiton left Pat Ford to dangle in the wind (words to that effect) and how corrupt the Mayor and/or his adinistration is.

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  6. You mentioned 'letter.' Funny.

    Attila the Hun and crew were not literate. They didn't use a written language.

    Perhaps that is why Ford keeps such a paper trail.

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  7. Mr. Ravenstahl said he did not solicit the campaign contributions. and said he did not believe that Mr. Ford was involved in political fund raising.

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  8. What ever mistakes that PAt Ford made in Pittsburgh does not give us any reason not to wish him well elsewhere. Maybe he learned from his mistakes here and he does deserve to make a living somewhere

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  9. Generally, forgiveness is conditioned on apology and atonement. Ford made some incredibly alarming accusations on his way out of town -- the veracity of which would seem to be confirmed by the hush money he's still earning at our expense. I'd like to know what he knows about our "culture of deception and corruption" before I wish him bon voyage.

    While we're on the subject -- obviously I google Pat Ford's name from time to time. Over time certain old articles seem to rise in popularity and then fall off the radar. Some of my blog posts grow relatively in significance and then seem to be forgotten. Yet through it all, for some strange reason, this one little-noticed article (at least I thought it was little-noticed) always stubbornly appears near the top of the heap. Right now it's coming in at #3 -- higher than anything at the P-G or Trib. Why? I can't hazard a guess.

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  10. Should we really blame Pat Ford for making a sweet deal and taking the money or should we blame the administration for offering the deal and putting up our tax dollars?

    I too want to know what Pat knows but it seems to me that we have to wait until he gets all his hush money.

    Did the administration give him a good job reference? Only Pat knows.

    Please Pat tell Pittsburgh (before the electon) what you know.

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