LakeVoice journalists Ethan Walker and James Stitt drove to Angora to visit with birdhouse maker Daniel Rankin.

What if, in an effort to show the world that we are sore losers, everyone in Duluth stops using Google and instead starts using the search engine AltaVista? I was able to find AltaVista quickly by doing a Google search and was pleased to find it still exists. I remember using it after my modem finished dialing up.

I tested it out by typing in “perfect duluth day” and found this site was the first result… below something called Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.

In your face, Google! The mayor can change the name of his kid to AltaVista, though his friends will just call him “Alt.” And, yes, I did steal this idea from a crappy weeknight sit-com.

Trondheim, Norway, is a steep, cold city but is also considered one of the most bike-friendly cities. They have a trampe, like a ski lift for bikes, in their town. Maybe if we all name our first born Trampe we can get one.

OK, PDDers, I’m the professor who suggested that Perfect Duluth Day was one good resource to tap into ideas in the community. Well, I thought I’d share a couple stories the students have done so we can try to make this relationship a little more reciprocal.

First, my favorite about the Joy Laugh Club, which I know many of you are aware of, but was new to me. And, of course the video. I’ve just got to believe some of these people are PDD members.

The students also did a series of articles based on randomly calling people in the phone book. Here is one of my favorites about a woman’s experience with the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, and another about a local sled dog racer. And, for a bit of nostalgia, a nicely written (I think) article about Seven Bridges Road.

Actually, there are bunch more. There is some good stuff on that site. You should check it out.

So, they are doing more than just posting requests on Perfect Duluth Day, but your suggestions and this site in general are, in fact, a great resource for this community.

…by the way, do any of you have suggestions on what I should teach next week? I could use some ideas. Oh, that’s right, I’ve got a guest speaker from Perfect Duluth Day (seriously) coming to class. Thank goodness.

Hi PDD people. I teach journalism at UMD where a group of students is working on creating a news web site that will focus on telling community-focused stories from around Duluth. We’re brainstorming for the right name and I thought I’d throw it out there and see what ideas this group might come up with. In the past it’s been called Duluth Community News, but the students think that is weak. Suggestions? Once we’re up and running we’ll share our stories here on PDD and hopefully invite this community to help us discover other stories to tell.