I don't recognize this country any more

As I read the news and some Facebook posts, I feel more and more disconnected to this country, the United States of America. From the House giving sacred Apache lands away to a mining company to ruin, to Duke Energy polluting numerous streams in North Carolina (which would cost $8 billion to clean up but they aren't going to be cleaned up), to CIA interrogation techniques on a par with Hitler's SS, to a friend being stopped by police while literally walking across the street from work to home (he looked like someone they were looking for [not]), to the average CEO earning 331 times of the pay of the average worker, I don't recognize this country any more.

I vote in virtually every election but my vote simply doesn't count. Many people are swayed by hundreds of television ads encouraging them to vote against their own interests. We have troops fighting for our freedoms, we're told, but are they really fighting for the freedom of celebrities to drug and rape young women without punishment?

We lament what happened to the slaves and indigenous people in a previous century but are blind to the atrocities being committed every day in this century. To quote LeBron James, "I can't breathe."

Soon, I'm going to a Christmas concert with live singers (no "live" television with lip-synching) and try to get the cynicism out of my system. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, everyone.

Updated Dec. 10: Corrected LeBron's name. How embarrassing!

150+ OUPS utility poles in Norwood, Ohio?

On Williams Ave. at
Hazel Ave., Norwood

Duke Energy has been aggressively replacing old utility poles in Norwood, Ohio with new ones. In many cases, the old pole has other utilities attached, typically Cincinnati Bell phone lines or Time Warner Cable cable lines. Duke's contractor cuts the top of the old pole off, leaving the other utility lines attached, and may mark "OUPS" on the old pole with white spray paint (see picture). OUPS stands for Ohio Utilities Protection Service and it means, in this case, that the pole is slated to be removed.

The other utilities move their lines to the new pole and then the old pole is removed. That's the plan, at least, and many times it works well. But here in Norwood it hasn't. I estimate that there are over 150 old, OUPS utility poles lining our streets.

I have embarked on a project to document these poles and report them to city officials so that they can take action. I have a lot on my plate right now and this is a low priority so it will likely take me at least a year to do this. I'm hoping that some of these poles will be removed before I finish my project. As I do, I will publish the results here; there is no reason not to make them public.

At the same time, I have noticed a set of steel utility poles on Montgomery Road that are rusting and need to be scraped and painted. Some are currently being used but many no longer have a use. As a related project, I'm going to document these and see if someone (the City of Norwood or Duke Energy) can repair or remove these eyesores.

It's all about improving the city that I live in.