Hi folks,

I haven't been around all that much since I've needed to concentrate on a number of personal concerns. Normally, I would be posting about the talk occurring from Philadelphians online. I'm not going to get the chance to do that today. But that doesn't mean that Philly Future can't help you explore and take part. Here's how:

Keep an eye on the Philly Wire. Philly Future surfaces conversations and headlines from across the region. Click and take part.

Search the Philly Wire for endorsements of fellow online travelers and local mass media.

Post here or on your favorite blogs your thoughts, your feelings, your concerns. Talk. Speak out.

And more than anything else - get out and vote.

Have a great day everyone,

Karl

From my personal blog:

If you know anyone who would like to be involved in Philly Future from a technology, business, or management capacity - let me know at phillyfuture at phillyfuture.org.

Here is some background for the open call.

Geekadelphia, a project by local blogger extraordinaire Eric Smith launched yesterday. It's bound to be a regional favorite in no time.

Hi folks,

There's been a lot of folks attempting to post local advertisements to Philly Future, in a Craiglist style manner. I don't blame those that do. This service is a great way to reach the Philadelphia region.

For those users, we have have created a new category - Classifieds - that I ask posts be set to. If you post a classified to any other category, we will remove the post.

Thank you,

Karl

Howard Hall, one of the best writers I have ever known, a long time supporter of Philly Future (without which, there were times these last few years the service would have faltered), a good soul and great person, is celebrating his four year blog anniversary.

Stop by and tell him thanks. Our corner of the web is all the richer for his involvement, talent, and passion.

Shallow Center: Sunday Worst: Whether Andy Reid's dreadful week had anything to do with his team's shamefully awful performance is open to debate. What is not is that the Eagles are a team in decline, with too few weapons, too many holes, and no seeming organizational direction on how to fix it.

Metroblogging Philadelphia: Lost...the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles: Now I feel like I'm ready for some football," he said. "I'm stoked!" And yes we were. For exactly twenty-three more minutes.

About.com: The Philadelphia Eagles Have Officially Jumped the Shark: There was, quite frankly, nothing positive to take from the game and only a series of striking negatives from which this team is likely not to recover under the current coaching staff and quarterback.

The700Level.com: Can't Blame You For Leaving Early: It kind of reads like an obituary for this team. It's a gloomy day in Philadelphia, that's for sure.

MVN: Eagles-Cowboys Postgame Rant: Even the trumpet player busking outside the Linc could grasp the significance of the Cowboys’ 38-17 drubbing of the Eagles tonight: As we left the stadium, he was playing "Yesterday."

Just a reminder - it's easy to produce a post like this on any subject

Just search the Philly Wire on any topic and send some attention to interesting voices across our region.

Send some linkage to Philadelphia bloggers and expand the conversation.

Hi folks,

There was an incorrect time setting on the server that hosts Philly Future. Once corrected, the aggregator started operating correctly once again.

Thank you for your patience and time.

Karl

Hi folks,

The aggregator on Philly Future looks like it has been experiencing issues these past few days.

I've been largely off-line dealing with the passing of my mother due to cancer.

Rest assured I will get The Philly Wire up and operational again shortly.

Thank you everyone.

Karl

PhillyIMC.org: Summer Homeless Population Highest in Ten Years:

A recent census taken by the City's homeless outreach teams found over six hundred people sleeping on the street. This is the highest total since 1997 and almost double the count from four years ago.

...Homelessness in Philadelphia has risen steadily over the last seven years after a decline in the late 90s.

The rise in homelessness comes during an unprecedented development and condo boom. Center City is experiencing a resurgence led by an influx of young professionals. The population in Center City has grown 13% over the last decade. Restaurants and bars are flourishing. Real estate prices are rising.

For many, the wealth has not trickled down.

Census data from 2006 shows that the poverty rate in Philadelphia has also risen recently with 25% of the population living in poverty. For a family of four that means making below $20,444. Philadelphia has the highest rate of poverty of the nation's ten largest cities.

Howard Hall, one of the hearts behind Philly Future, will be participating in a walk to raise funds for juvenile diabetes awareness and research. You can read about the effort here and donate here. His goal is $500 and he's at 27% to goal. Get on over there folks.

Daily News: "Dumping ground for dog-killers":

Someone has dumped four dead pit bulls in Fairmount Park over the past six weeks, prompting the Pennsylvania SPCA to post a reward to nab the dog-killer(s) and to issue a call for park-goers to report to the PSPCA any dog carcasses they might find.

PSPCA investigators suspect punks involved in illegal dogfighting rings are behind the dog-dumping.

"We're trying to get the word out there so that people don't just see them and call sanitation or do nothing," said Mike Mansfield, the PSPCA's director of investigation. "We need to know about it so that we can get some evidence off the scene."

The first gruesome discovery was made in early August by a park visitor. The corpses of two decomposing dogs lay just off a path near Fountain Green Drive and at Brewery Hill Drive in West Philadelphia, Mansfield said.

Then on Sept. 9, a dog-walker investigating fresh puddles of blood found two more pit-bull carcasses stuffed in garbage bags near a bike path on Forbidden Drive in Chestnut Hill, Mansfield said.

One of the dogs had severe facial injuries. Several bullet casings were found near the bodies, indicating the wounded dogs probably had been killed where they were dumped, Mansfield said.

Will Bunch: "Getting it wrong on McNabb":

I always say that the best blog posts are always the ones you don't write -- including my plan to start ripping Ryan Howard (although he did, in fact, break Adam Dunn's all-time single-season strikeout record, but we still love the big lug). Likewise, assuming that the Eagles would lose yesterday, and who didn't after those first two clunkers, I was all ready to urge the Birds to end the McNabb era sooner rather than later. Nothing against the man -- I think he's a class act, occasional whining aside -- or his talent while he was in his 20s, but I thought it was time to acknowledge that his skills had been diminished by time and injuries and it was time to look forward, not back.

Uh, I was wrong...

There is a growing assumption in Philadelphia that cameras are a panacea and once installed will lead to a drop in crime.

London's experience has shown otherwise.

thisislondon.co.uk: " Tens of thousands of CCTV cameras, yet 80% of crime unsolved":

London has 10,000 crime-fighting CCTV cameras which cost £200 million, figures show today.

But an analysis of the publicly funded spy network, which is owned and controlled by local authorities and Transport for London, has cast doubt on its ability to help solve crime.

A comparison of the number of cameras in each London borough with the proportion of crimes solved there found that police are no more likely to catch offenders in areas with hundreds of cameras than in those with hardly any.

In fact, four out of five of the boroughs with the most cameras have a record of solving crime that is below average.

Salon: "McNabb says black quarterbacks face more criticism. Amazingly, there are arguments over this. Plus: Vote on Barry's HR ball here!":

Donovan McNabb told HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" this week that black quarterbacks face greater scrutiny and more criticism than white quarterbacks.

Asked if whites such as Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer face the same level of criticism, McNabb said, "Let me start by saying, I love those guys. But they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."

Could it be McNabb isn't controlling for the fact that he plays in Philadelphia?

Probably not. The reaction to McNabb has been predictable and customary. On one side, the "don't be ridiculous" crowd. On the other: "Well, duh."

The first crowd brings out the numbers.

The Onion: "Eagles Fans Give McNabb Three-Week Deadline To Win Super Bowl":

"For the last time: How much longer do we have to wait for McNabb to get off his ass?" Eagles fan Jacob Wilkerson said of the five-time Pro Bowler in one of over 1,500 messages addressed to the quarterback left on the Eagles' voicemail Monday. "Come on McNabb, it's time to finish the job. We've been really lenient up to this point, but it's time to hunker down and throw the ball. If you think you need to take the whole three weeks, that's fine, but we would really like it by next Wednesday."

07newsroom: "We the people":

...Despite the general sense among officials at the hearing that disclosure is a public good, the debates over particulars showed that many officials have lost track of their role. They are not in charge, they work for the public. Have they forgotten "We the people"?Take the discussion over email, for example. Anyone with a job in the private sector knows that an email account on the job is the property not of the individual, but of the employer. The boss has full access to that email account and all emails sent or received are available to the head of the company.

Government employees work for us, the public. There should not be any debate about the use of a government email account. Anyone reading a message sent from a government account realizes it is sent under the color of official authority. There should not be any question about making that email available to the employee's boss -- the public.

Advice to public sector employees: if you don't want something disclosed, don't do it.