...Oklahoma...

Oklahoma City.

I hated the suburbs of Atlanta, but I was in love around Buckhead, Midtown, & Downtown Atlanta. I think they have a total of 19 cranes up in & around the downtown area.

I love Midtown ATL. Wandered around there all the time when I was at Tech. There is an old, classic, urban fire station I would love to have bought and converted to a home. Alas, someone got it and it was a restaurant last time I was there.

I love Midtown ATL. Wandered around there all the time when I was at Tech. There is an old, classic, urban fire station I would love to have bought and converted to a home. Alas, someone got it and it was a restaurant last time I was there.

Did you ever eat at Bones Steakhouse in Buckhead?

I love Midtown ATL. Wandered around there all the time when I was at Tech. There is an old, classic, urban fire station I would love to have bought and converted to a home. Alas, someone got it and it was a restaurant last time I was there.

Sorry to get off topic. CaptDave--you went to Georgia Tech? I went there 1989 to 1993.

Weird. CNN's Fereed Zakaria just did a GPS piece on how Oklahoma grew 3 times faster than San Franscico the last decade and part of it was the states new found investment in higher education. Now, I know your negative nancy around these parts, but you really need to get your facts straight. OU has moved up drastically, in the rankings of education, in the last 20 years. So much so that its considered one of the top 100 universities in the US and top 300 in the world.

Good thing I was already sitting down when I read that I need to get my facts straight. Though I am glad that Zakaria's fluff piece makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, it's not reflective of reality. I guess he realized he would get in less trouble if he just plagiarizes Chamber of Commerce press releases from now on...

Having both flagship state universities hover around 100 in the rankings is not impressive. The only thing Oklahoma is leading on Higher Ed is budget cuts (http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2012/01/23/oklahoma-ranks-12th-in-state-funding-cuts-to-higher-education/), which Higher Ed is now receiving less than they were in 2007 (budget frozen during recession years, and now the boom years result in... cuts. Only in Oklahoma).

Cutting Higher Ed over 9% one year and 6% the next year (http://newsok.com/6.5-billion-oklahoma-budget-deal-calls-for-deeper-cuts-to-education/article/3566607) when your state's economy is booming just because the neo-conservatives want more tax cuts is not "investing in Higher Ed" no matter how much you want to square this circle. And the prognosis is even bleaker because the conservative quack thinktanks and ranksters keep arguing against essentially any funding (http://watchdog.org/80306/ok-higher-education-officials-tout-economic-impact-but-critics-doubt-claims/) for Higher Ed, and we know which way the State Legislators will bend if given a choice between doing the right thing and getting a freaking-fantastic score on some obscure conservative ranking. David Boren himself, who's not exactly prone to exaggeration, considers our Higher Ed future dire (http://newsok.com/university-of-oklahoma-president-guardedly-optimistic-about-higher-education-funding/article/3805043) if we don't start making it a priority someday.

As for the USNWR rankings (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/spp%2B50/page+2), OU is not a Top 100 school (barely, but you made the claim). OU is in a 5-way tie for 101st place with Iowa State (curious how ISU slipped so much), UC-Riverside, Nebraska, and Tennessee. OSU is actually sliding downhill now coming in at 139th place in an 8-way tie with Cincinnati, NYU-Poly (?), Oregon State, NJ Inst. of Tech (?), K-State, George Mason, and Arizona State. Tulsa is also moving downhill, coming in at 83rd, in a 6-way tie with the U of Denver, Marquette, Indiana, Drexel, and Clark.

Being one of 50 states and one that is not too terribly small, it would be nice if Oklahoma could get 1 school within the Top 50 and then another in the Top 100 and another in the Top 150. Granted, in the rankings our state schools' policy of automatic admissions hurts us a lot because not too many states just straight-up post strict admission requirements (thus anyone who gets rejected should really be an idiot). Maybe making admission requirements "less obvious" so as to attract more inadequate applicants might help fudge the rankings a little, but not as long as OSU keeps lowering admission standards to fuel massive growth, which also bothers me to no end.

So I think you should get your facts straight, because nothing is more dangerous than someone who articulates complacency in the face of what is actually going way downhill. At a certain point you can't keep praying for rich benefactors to bail out OU and OSU - the secret to Texas' modern economic boom was investing oil profits into higher education. Now look at UT (not just Austin, but the entire system, almost all of its campuses being ranked ahead of our 2 flagships) and A&M. Those are unbeatable economic engines, and that's precisely what OKC is up against as we try and accomplish economic development.

edit: fixed grammar, and want to apologize for anyone rubbed the wrong way by this rant, but it needed to be said as coov23 was brazen enough to throw "you need to get your facts straight" at me, when THIS is actually been a huge, cantankerous issue for Oklahoma for some years now and anyone who says otherwise has their head DEEP in the sand.

Good thing I was already sitting down when I read that I need to get my facts straight. Though I am glad that Zakaria's fluff piece makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, it's not reflective of reality. I guess he realized he would get in less trouble if he just plagiarizes Chamber of Commerce press releases from now on...

Having both flagship state universities hover around 100 in the rankings is not impressive. The only thing Oklahoma is leading in Higher Ed is budget cuts (http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2012/01/23/oklahoma-ranks-12th-in-state-funding-cuts-to-higher-education/), which Higher Ed is now receiving less than they were in 2007 (budget frozen during recession years, and now the boom years result in... cuts. Only in Oklahoma).

Cutting Higher Ed over 9% on year and 6% the next year (http://newsok.com/6.5-billion-oklahoma-budget-deal-calls-for-deeper-cuts-to-education/article/3566607) when your state's economy is booming just because the neo-conservatives want more tax cuts is not "investing in Higher Ed" no matter how much you want to square this circle. And the prognosis is even bleaker because the conservative quack thinktanks and ranksters keep arguing against essentially any funding (http://watchdog.org/80306/ok-higher-education-officials-tout-economic-impact-but-critics-doubt-claims/) for Higher Ed, and we know which will the State Legislators will bend if given a choice between doing the right thing and getting a freaking-fantastic score on some obscure conservative ranking. David Boren considers our Higher Ed future dire (http://newsok.com/university-of-oklahoma-president-guardedly-optimistic-about-higher-education-funding/article/3805043) if we don't start making it a priority someday.

As for the USNWR rankings (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/spp%2B50/page+2), OU is not a Top 100 school (barely, but you made the claim). OU is in a 5-way tie for 101st place with Iowa State (curious how they've slipped so much), UC-Riverside, Nebraska, and Tennessee. OSU is actually sliding downhill now coming at 139th place in an 8-way tie with Cincinnati, NYU-Poly, Oregon State, NJ Tech, K-State, George Mason, and Arizona State. Tulsa is also moving downhill, coming in at 83rd, in a 6-way tie with the U of Denver, Marquette, Indiana, Drexel, and Clark.

Being one of 50 states and one that is not too terribly small, it would be nice if Oklahoma could get 1 school within the Top 50 and then another in the Top 100 and another in the Top 150. Granted, in the rankings our state schools' policy of automatic admissions hurts us a lot because not too many states just straight-up post strict admission requirements (thus anyone who gets rejected should really be an idiot). Maybe making admission requirements "less obvious" so as to attract more inadequate applicants might help fudge the rankings a little, but not as long as OSU keeps lowering admission standards to fuel massive growth, which also bothers me to no end.

So I think you should get your facts straight, because nothing is more dangerous than someone who articulates complacency in the face of what is actually going way downhill. At a certain point you can't keep praying for rich benefactors to bail out OU and OSU - the secret to Texas' modern economic boom was investing oil profits into higher education. Now look at UT (not just Austin, but the entire system, almost all of its campuses being ranked ahead of our 2 flagships) and A&M. Those are unbeatable economic engines, and that's precisely what OKC is up against as we try and accomplish economic development.
Does it ever get lonely up there ole Holy One?

Yes, if someone approves of of anything that is happening in OK or points our any good aspect they must be stupid or have an agenda.

Sorry, a fluff piece by Fareed Zakaria without any facts doesn't just override what's actually becoming a huge issue that a lot of people are becoming concerned with. Obviously David Boren is a true statesmen and must have impressed Zakaria to the point of convincing him all is well here - but Boren himself is deeply concerned.

This state used to fund higher ed.

Coov23 took this off-topic with his "you need to get your facts straight" accusation out of nowhere. If you wanna talk facts, I'm definitely happy to talk facts.

Not to rain on the parade, but if this is premised based on 2030, Charlotte will probably add as many skyscrapers as we will by then.

Charlotte will probably be exactly what Atlanta is now. As for Atlanta... my little brain does not possess the visionary capacity to foresee what will be made of the ATL.

Atlanta is a sprawling mess. Nice trees and it looks great from a distance, but not my idea of an urban ideal. Can't say anything about Charlotte, because I haven't been there, but it is a very attractive skyline. Not sure if it's a very walkable city, though.

Sorry, a fluff piece by Fareed Zakaria without any facts doesn't just override what's actually becoming a huge issue that a lot of people are becoming concerned with. Obviously David Boren is a true statesmen and must have impressed Zakaria to the point of convincing him all is well here - but Boren himself is deeply concerned.

This state used to fund higher ed.
Coov23 took this off-topic with his "you need to get your facts straight" accusation out of nowhere. If you wanna talk facts, I'm definitely happy to talk facts.

This dude must be the most pretentious and stuck up person on this board. What's it like when your crap smells like roses, Spartan? I've read this board for 6 years. I hardly post( though I did start the mystery tower thread) and anytime you post it's like I'm reading some pretentious elitous view on everything. The way you speak on here, you must have a bachelors degree from Harvard, masters from Yale and PhD from U Penn.

I see, from the responses of others on here, I'm not the only one that sees this. You give some insight, at times, but if a person disagrees with your views you come at them with a holier than thou post. I know this isn't the first time someone has called you out in your Internet tough guy bit--and it won't be the last as we see nothing changes-- but you need to tone it down. You can blast my school all you want. I'm proud of my OU education. I'm proud of the progress it's shown in the last decade. You may not be, and that's okay. We all can't be as educated, as smart or as good at life as you, Spartan.


If only we could. This city and state would be perfect.

Sadly, OKC got this lesson in the 80s...

What lesson? We have doubled down on oil and gas companies.

It's true that OU has improved and moved up in the rankings, but what Spartan says is also true: Our idiotic legislature is not pushing higher ed funding. We need an educated populace to diversify and grow economically.

It has been my experience that the university someone went to matters about as much as their hat size. The dumbest person I ever worked with had an MBA from Harvard. He could read a financial statement but had zero common sense.

Maybe you just weren't smart enough to understand him. :tongue:

It has been my experience that the university someone went to matters about as much as their hat size. The dumbest person I ever worked with had an MBA from Harvard. He could read a financial statement but had zero common sense.

This is the kind of thinking that leads our legislators and ones all across the country to abandon the commitment to higher education funding... what the heck, it doesn't matter anyway. Who needs quality education...it's all the same anyway, right?

The dumbest person I ever worked with had a conversation with my voicemail for 5 minutes before he remembered I wasn't there. He did not have an MBA from Harvard.

What lesson? We have doubled down on oil and gas companies.

You pointing out what we've done means you got the lesson. We just haven't been able to apply it as well as needed. Though its been said several times now that diversifying is much easier talked about than done.

The dumbest person I ever worked with had a conversation with my voicemail for 5 minutes before he remembered I wasn't there. He did not have an MBA from Harvard.

How do you know he didn't? :)

Maybe everyone should read this:
Higher education spending continues to skyrocket » Opinion » The Edmond Sun (http://www.edmondsun.com/opinion/x471600441/Higher-education-spending-continues-to-skyrocket)

This dude must be the most pretentious and stuck up person on this board. What's it like when your crap smells like roses, Spartan? I've read this board for 6 years. I hardly post( though I did start the mystery tower thread) and anytime you post it's like I'm reading some pretentious elitous view on everything. The way you speak on here, you must have a bachelors degree from Harvard, masters from Yale and PhD from U Penn.

I see, from the responses of others on here, I'm not the only one that sees this. You give some insight, at times, but if a person disagrees with your views you come at them with a holier than thou post. I know this isn't the first time someone has called you out in your Internet tough guy bit--and it won't be the last as we see nothing changes-- but you need to tone it down. You can blast my school all you want. I'm proud of my OU education. I'm proud of the progress it's shown in the last decade. You may not be, and that's okay. We all can't be as educated, as smart or as good at life as you, Spartan.


If only we could. This city and state would be perfect.

Sigh... Stop making this about me, that's what people do when they have nothing factual left to say. It's cheap.

I too am proud of my edumacation from Ye Ole State University of Oklahoma, but I also have a bone to pick with my alma mater, and I put in the time at both of our state's flagships to have the right to make that point.

To say I'm sourpants toward OU/OSU is ignoring the important point I have to make that I think you should consider, if you would just stop the unwarranted personal crap. I could care less who you are, and that's not Internet tough guy, I just don't get personal unless I actually respect someone. Don't take lack of respect for disrespect.

In making a point I always just keep it factual, and that's more than can be said for anyone who dislikes me. People should learn how to debate and make cogent points for a change and stop getting their panties in a wad when they don't know how to respond... certainly doesn't bode well for functioning highly in society. (note: I have no idea how well you function in society, nor care, just speaking generally)

This dude must be the most pretentious and stuck up person on this board. What's it like when your crap smells like roses, Spartan? I've read this board for 6 years. I hardly post( though I did start the mystery tower thread) and anytime you post it's like I'm reading some pretentious elitous view on everything. The way you speak on here, you must have a bachelors degree from Harvard, masters from Yale and PhD from U Penn.

I see, from the responses of others on here, I'm not the only one that sees this. You give some insight, at times, but if a person disagrees with your views you come at them with a holier than thou post. I know this isn't the first time someone has called you out in your Internet tough guy bit--and it won't be the last as we see nothing changes-- but you need to tone it down. You can blast my school all you want. I'm proud of my OU education. I'm proud of the progress it's shown in the last decade. You may not be, and that's okay. We all can't be as educated, as smart or as good at life as you, Spartan.


If only we could. This city and state would be perfect.

None of this addresses any aspect of what Spartan wrote. You completely sidestepped his rebuttal and instead attempted to redirect attention away from the issue and towards him. Either concede his points or rebut them. There's no need to respond with personal attacks.

Atlanta is a sprawling mess. Nice trees and it looks great from a distance, but not my idea of an urban ideal. Can't say anything about Charlotte, because I haven't been there, but it is a very attractive skyline. Not sure if it's a very walkable city, though.

Charlotte and OKC are about on the same level when it comes to walkability. Its easier to live without a car in Charlotte due to a much better bus system and a light rail line, but still a pain.