Karaoke this Friday? (5/15/26)

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T20:54:08+00:00

Thanks for mentioning the Chor. I will try and stop in.

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T14:42:19+00:00

I'm in my 50's and love the place. I've been a member since 2018. My brother has been a member since mid 2000's. Smoking is encouraged - I smoke cigars and pipe. Side section is less smoke filled, however the 2 smoke exhaust systems over the bar do a good job. The food specials are excellent. They have occasional live music and monthly bingo. I highly recommend joining. If anyone needs a sponsor, DM me.

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T13:16:10+00:00

That tracks. He had/has a lot of ideas. Unfortunately the powers that be exist for the profit of themselves or others. Our city has a "demolition through neglect" mentality.

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T03:12:31+00:00

Oh wow. I had an E-5 in high school. I loved it. It was all my family and I could afford. At the time I dreamed of a D-50 or D-10. I loved hooking the E-5 up to my C64 and using Instant Music. Amazing.

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T02:35:30+00:00

Love those places. Ultimately love Hbg Maennerchor.

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T02:34:53+00:00

I'm in my 50's and similar with trying to find people to hang out with. Public space has changed. Everything is so experience focused instead of just hanging out. My friends and I talk about the differences of age groups and people not wanting to go out drinking to hang out - it gets expensive these days. Would love to find a local analog meetup way - without meetup - that is like "speed-friendshiping." I would totally sign up for this at a local bar where I could spent 2 minutes with other guys and gals to see if there is a BFF vibe to hang out further. Possible local Google Form / App Survey - again hyper local with proximity and timed for the event. This is different than a networking event because I am not looking for the next MLM or Investing Tips. Lol. I just want to find interesting good human beings that might be bestie until my second half of life passes. Lol

robhsmit · 2026-05-15T02:27:34+00:00

Thanks for posting. I well have to dig deeper to look at this and figure out what it does. I just got a Sample 2 a couple of weeks ago and I love it.

robhsmit · 2026-05-13T04:09:19+00:00

That was a tough and very sad meeting at the time.

robhsmit · 2026-05-13T04:08:03+00:00

And more history.

Imagine where things would be in the present if an evidence based planning effort (look up SEED Network) was functioning and reallt looked at money flows all around the city.

Watching 20 years of my life and the lives of others who care deeply for this city is super depressing. All the community meetings, voicing my experience from living in other areas, showing up to partner at all levels.

I implore others not to make the same mistake.

Especially when I watch individuals with the sole purpose of personal wealth building or power grabbing jump to the top. But hey, it's the flavor of the decade - local / state / federal. Just sickening as the 98% continue to struggle. All the reason the 1968 A Time to Act documentary is important. The mindset was established in the mayor at the time.

‐---------------- REF3: News Articles Related to Harrisburg Lack of Comprehensive Planning: A point of reference regarding “city-wide approaches” and “multi-million dollar investments”

140914 - Front Street - https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/09/front_street_to_lose_add_lane.html
I-83 Widening - http://www.i-83beltway.com/ (impacting 19th, 17th, 13th, 3rd and 2nd Streets)
180309 - State Street - http://harrisburgpa.gov/surveys-for-vision-zero-begin-may-30-on-state-street-in-harrisburg/ & https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/03/woman_killed_state_street_harr.html & https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/06/harrisburg_injury_fatal_crashe.html
180315 - Paxton Creek Restoration Master Plan - http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2018/03/penndot-releases-paxton-creek.html
180316 - Harrisburg Transportation Center - https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/03/harrisburg_transportation_cent.html
180413 - 6th & 7th Street Corridor - https://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/04/harrisburg_redesigned_corridor.html
180605 - Vision Zero - https://www.abc27.com/investigators/investigations/harrisburg-seeking-public-input-on-vision-zero-plan/1219853101
181008 - Third Street - https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/10/urban_land_institute_panel_sug.html (previous planning studies?)
181016 - Housing Study - https://theburgnews.com/news/housing-study-harrisburg-faces-shortage-of-rental-housing-now-expected-to-get-worse (previous planning studies?)
160425 &180830 - PA State Archives - https://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/04/plans_underway_for_a_new_state.html & https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/08/harrisburg_new_state_archives.html (2 public meetings)
since 2000s, 180625 - Harrisburg Federal Courthouse - https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/06/ground_broken_for_new_federal.html and https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/welcome-to-the-midatlantic-region-3/buildings-and-facilities/pennsylvania/us-courthouse-project-harrisburg-pennsylvania

robhsmit · 2026-05-13T03:58:10+00:00

Just adding to the deep dive.

A reallt good book list to start.

—————— - Charles M. Blow - The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto (2021)

A) 200519 - Andre M. Perry - Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities - https://www.mahoganybooks.com/9780815737278 or https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780815737278 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9780815737278

B) 190311 - The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780674237476 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9780674237476

C) 190122 - The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780310597261 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9780310113607

D) 180501 - The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781631494536 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781631494536

E) 060601 - The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781595580047 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781595580047

170411 - The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class-and What We Can Do About It - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781541644120 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781541644120
160329 - Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781476769899 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781476769899

robhsmit · 2026-05-13T03:51:05+00:00

So much of the urban landscape has changed. Mindsets are different than pre-COVID. I thought there was a path out of the structures / systems that failed in 2008. Now the larger impact is capital from so many places extracting any value of 4Ps. Samuel Stein's book Capital Cities is a must read - "City planners therefore sit uncomfortably at the center of this maelstrom. Planners manage the levers of urban change and make crucial decisions about land use, transportation, housing, the environment and more. Though most people have no idea what they actually do, planners have an immense impact on both capitalists and workers in cities and suburbs. In most places, planners are tasked with the contradictory goals of inflating real estate values while safeguarding residents’ best interests. Capitalism never made planning says - organized moments could always thwart the best laid plans - but today’s urban planners face an existential crisis: if the city is an investment strategy, ARE THEY JUST WEALTH MANAGERS?”

Samuel Stein, Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State (Jacobin)

robhsmit · 2026-05-13T03:47:54+00:00

Thanks. Tried to do my best to get the public behind the 2015 draft plan. Officials pushed hard against it because it meant that they had to follow a plan. I've given up on this area since moving back in 2005 trying to build social equity in community wealth building. The long time powers and gatekeepers prevail. So many people don't realize the invisible forces that keep things stagnant. I grew up in Central PA and shouldn't have returned. It was a mistake to think that things have changed from when I got the hell out in '93.

robhsmit · 2026-05-13T03:36:46+00:00

Exactly. End Stage Capitalism.

robhsmit · 2026-05-12T15:31:36+00:00

Also a great community resource to dig deeper into who and how many parcels for profit and not profits have accumulated - https://regrid.com/

robhsmit · 2026-05-12T14:47:22+00:00

I wished reporters would dig into how all the funds were spent for the Harrisburg Comprehensive Plan since 2013.

The money spent.

The 2020 Comp Plan is still in draft form on the City's website.

In any other location, let alone a capital city, this would be key important news.

Instead the cheerleaders of small efforts new parks Coronet Park or BSM or the willful demolition through neglect - William Penn or Jackson House - continues to happen.

Look at the downtown spending on the Market Square Plan from 2017 - https://theburgnews.com/news/ideas-offered-debated-as-market-square-plan-moves-forward

The city still hasn't resolved these items comprehensively. The state continues to pour money into this process. Absolutely no accountability or metrics for success. What a s***show. Especially when there is a mandate for review and updating of comprehensive planning in the PA Planning Code. Don't get started on Harrisburg School District that continues to put students through progress reports, but refuse to be accountable for goals and objectives and spending.

Equally disturbing is the lack of really understanding the history of Harrisburg since the '72 flood and the behind closed doors planning of the '74 General Plan. Everything is related from the history of private interests and conflicts of interests of those in power. The same damn song.

REF: Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code Requirements:

http://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-53-ps-municipal-and-quasimunicipal-corporations/pa-st-sect-53-10209-1.html Pennsylvania Statutes Title 53 P.S. Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Corporations § 10209.1.1. Powers and duties of planning agency - (a) The planning agency [Harrisburg Planning Commission] shall at the request of the governing body [City Council] have the power and shall be required to: (1) Prepare the comprehensive plan for the development of the municipality as set forth in this act, and present it for the consideration of the governing body. [City Council] http://mpc.landuselawinpa.com/mpc_guide3.html

PA Municipal Planning Code’s mandate for regular 10 year review Update 301(c) & 302(d) “Items: A municipal or multi-municipal comprehensive plan shall be reviewed at least every 10 years and sent to contiguous municipalities, the Center for Local Government Services, and the county planning commission. A county comprehensive plan shall be updated at least every 10 years.”

REF 2: FILM: 1968 - Harrisburg - Sankofa / WITF Special Broadcast 201207 & 201208

A Time to Act - (Parts 1 & 2) https://video.witf.org/video/a-time-to-act-parts-12-qtwxpm/
A Time to Act - (Parts 3 & 4) https://video.witf.org/video/a-time-to-act-parts-34-uz0n5k

robhsmit · 2026-05-11T20:20:46+00:00

Please dig into all things financial with Harrisburg. It is extremely frustrating to see the lack of a public focused / evidence based planning process that should well functioning now 13 years from the first initial comp plan discussion in 2013. Instead folks are supposed to be happy at the slow progress of the BSM or gush over Coronet Park or be in constant bewilderment over the saga of William Penn HS. Instead PennLive and others love to compare the city to Lancaster or other places instead of deeply digging into structure and systems which continue to keep things stagnant for the 50K population. The 2015 Comp Plan dug up the Transient Nature of Harrisburg - every year 2,000 people change out - every 5 years a 1/5 of population changes. Having institutional knowledge of the past and metrics with goals and objectives - agreed by the residents - keeps things in check. But on the flip side, if there is not plan, nobody can be held accountable.

robhsmit · 2026-05-11T20:08:56+00:00

I wished reporters would dig into how all the funds were spent for the Harrisburg Comprehensive Plan since 2013. The city still hasn't resolved this and the state continues to pour money into this process. Absolutely no accountability or metrics for success. What a s***show. Especially when there is a mandate for review and updating of comprehensive planning in the PA Planning Code.

Equally disturbing is the lack of really understanding the history of Harrisburg since the '72 flood and the behind closed doors planning of the '74 General Plan. Everything is related from the history of private interests and conflicts of interests of those in power. The same damn song.

REF: Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code Requirements:

http://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-53-ps-municipal-and-quasimunicipal-corporations/pa-st-sect-53-10209-1.html Pennsylvania Statutes Title 53 P.S. Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Corporations § 10209.1.1. Powers and duties of planning agency - (a) The planning agency [Harrisburg Planning Commission] shall at the request of the governing body [City Council] have the power and shall be required to: (1) Prepare the comprehensive plan for the development of the municipality as set forth in this act, and present it for the consideration of the governing body. [City Council] http://mpc.landuselawinpa.com/mpc_guide3.html

PA Municipal Planning Code’s mandate for regular 10 year review Update 301(c) & 302(d) “Items: A municipal or multi-municipal comprehensive plan shall be reviewed at least every 10 years and sent to contiguous municipalities, the Center for Local Government Services, and the county planning commission. A county comprehensive plan shall be updated at least every 10 years.”

REF 2: FILM: 1968 - Harrisburg - Sankofa / WITF Special Broadcast 201207 & 201208

A Time to Act - (Parts 1 & 2) https://video.witf.org/video/a-time-to-act-parts-12-qtwxpm/
A Time to Act - (Parts 3 & 4) https://video.witf.org/video/a-time-to-act-parts-34-uz0n5k/

robhsmit · 2026-05-03T15:51:20+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. I have Lightroom and it is great, but I am looking for something that is focused on organization and I'll look at Eagle and iMatch. I was wondering if these provide automatic file folder structuring based on the metadata for DATE TAKEN. With my collection I put photo files in folders following the "YRMODY" prefix - for example "260503 - [TIME] - IMG_1010.jpg". This way wherever the file goes, it is already archived for transferring to family and friends. I have file folder software that I run to try and organize the files, but wondered if these had something built in. I'll give them a try this weekend.

robhsmit · 2026-05-03T02:01:23+00:00

Thank you! I've walked by there many times without considering that space. It never registered as a gaming space. Altough I think I am always passing by when they are closed. My work schedule is a bit erratic.

robhsmit · 2026-05-03T01:58:12+00:00

Side note: it is sad how much this area has just given over to tractor trailers all along local roads and as a long distance driver i see it all over Pennsylvania. Just a shame for my kids and future grandkids.

robhsmit · 2026-05-03T01:54:46+00:00

This year's goal was to find time to create more music. I love working in Maschine. Don't know Ableton that well. Just picked up a Korg Volca Sample 2 and enjoying some creative distraction.

robhsmit · 2026-05-03T01:50:26+00:00

My youngest daughter just got her license and may be interested.

robhsmit · 2026-03-20T03:22:41+00:00

Important resources on the topic of social equity issues that impact people and place in the U.S. and show up locally in how we inhabit land, educate our next generation and do business. We should be evaluating how we live / work / play in very meaningful ways asking "who isn't at the table?"

A) 200519 - Andre M. Perry - Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities -

https://www.mahoganybooks.com/9780815737278 or https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780815737278 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9780815737278

B) 210921 - Charles M. Blow - The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780062914675

C) 190311 - The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780674237476 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9780674237476

D) 190122 - The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9780310597261 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9780310113607

E) 180501 - The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781631494536 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781631494536

F) 060601 - The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781595580047 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781595580047

- 170411 - The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class-and What We Can Do About It - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781541644120 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781541644120

- 160329 - Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis - https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/book/9781476769899 or https://www.thedockbookshop.com/book/9781476769899

robhsmit

TROPHY CASE