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Some Lexington news here, Exstream Software is being acquired by Hewlett-Packard for an undisclosed amount.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy American Capital Strategies Ltd.’s Exstream Software LLC for an undisclosed amount.

Based in Lexington, Ky., Exstream Software makes software that allows businesses to personalize documents aimed at their customers. Founded by Davis Marksbury and Dan Kloiber, the company’s brands include Dialogue and AFP Studio.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Exstream Software will be integrated into the Web Services and Software business unit within the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) of HP. “Businesses – whether a bank, healthcare provider or utility company – need to communicate relevant, personalized information to their customers through a broad range of channels,” said David Murphy, senior vice president, Web Services and Software Business, IPG, HP. “We expect that the acquisition of Exstream will allow HP to address a broader set of customers and be a strong leader in the fast-growing document automation market.”

We are very happy to join with HP to accelerate our ability to help businesses around the world to efficiently develop and deploy personalized communications,” said Richard Troksa, chief executive officer and president, Exstream Software. “The combination of Exstream’s solutions and HP’s print software expertise will provide customers with a more comprehensive approach to delivering reliable and targeted business communications.”

The company’s programs help banks print account statements, government agencies print applications and utilities print bills.

Hewlett-Packard expects the deal to close in the second quarter of its fiscal year.

The company plans to integrate Exstream into HP’s (NYSE:HPQ) Web services and software business unit, which is part of the imaging and printing group.

Exstream has more than 300 employees, and its customers include banks, insurers, government departments, retailers, telecommunications companies and utilities.

Jason has good coverage over at WebProWorld as well.

Mark Nickolas, Kentucky political blogger and founder of award-winning blog bluegrassreport.org is joining former CNET founder and CEO Shelby Bonnie in the formation of politicalbase.com. The site, which is open to all political affiliations, looks to have a lot of very Web 2.0 features.

The site is focusing on the presidential races and has tools such as campaign finance and polling databases. Web 2.0 features include traditional blog comments and Wikipedia-style content about candidates, players and issues.

Kentucky Politics gets interesting, as usual.

Bluegrassreport.org made lots of waves, including big news in Kentucky when Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky blocked the site from State employees’ computers, later claiming the ban was strictly to keep them productive. But subsequent information provided by Michael Inman, the former technology commissioner of KY stated that Mark’s site was singled out.
Good luck Mark.

Today the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce released the “New Agenda” list today: “100 of the most compelling suggestions to share with the state and its elected leaders. The selections were made based on viability, financial feasibility, the time needed to implement, innovation and vision, and impact.”

There are a lot of “good” ideas on the list, especially those which address - sort-of - Kentucky’s young professional lifestyles. But some ideas are troubling - such as the one suggesting we bribe university graduates to stay in the state and work for a while and offering “executives” tax incentives to come to the state. We must make the state a place people want to live, and this takes a new way of thinking. These people are NOT following money. They are following quality of life. And the community they settle in are the beneficiaries. We need more small, entrepreneurial, diverse groups of innovators here because it’s a great place to live and work, not because they get an added deduction on taxes. (more…)

Up from 30th, nice to see.

An interesting study comes from CCSU

Drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the 69 largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.

Here are the first 30…

City	Overall Rank 2007	06 Rank	05 Rank
Minneapolis, MN	1	2	2
Seattle, WA	2	1	1
St. Paul, MN	3	5	9.5
Denver, CO	4	8	6
Washington, DC	5	3.5	3
St. Louis, MO	6	12	15
San Francisco, CA	7	9	5
Atlanta, GA	8	3.5	4
Pittsburgh, PA	9	6	8
Boston, MA	10	11	7
Cincinnati, OH	11	7	9.5
Portland, OR	12	10	11
Cleveland, OH	13	14	18
Raleigh, NC	14	13	13
Kansas City, MO	15	17	14
Tulsa, OK	16	19.5	24.5
Lexington-Fayette, KY	17	30	27.5
Honolulu CDP, HI	18	22	35
Nashville-Davidson, TN	19	18	17
Tampa, FL	20	21	24.5
Columbus, OH	21	15	12
Miami, FL	22	23	27.5
Austin, TX	23	16	16
Virginia Beach, VA	24	27	41
Sacramento, CA	25	28	22
Charlotte, NC	26	19.5	20
Baltimore, MD	27	24	21
New York City, NY	28	42	32.5
Indianapolis, IN	29	29	23
Colorado Springs, CO	30	33.5	19

100%. That’s how many of my comments have been censored by local Lexington TV Stations, dropping any credibility for a real attempt to build a community online.

I wonder….If you have something “thoughtful” to say, perhaps not jibing with the bible-beltish, hyper-conservative viewpoints, would it ever be published? From what I can tell, the only thing that makes it in are “God bless our troops” or short, brain-dead “hollerin’”

All of my comments were SFW. I’m not a trouble maker, well, not really, nor am I a minion ready to “cute” my way on the screen.

“We have to keep our comments family-friendly” — oh really?

So that is why you post Santa with a M-16. Yee haa.

Holiday stress, money problems, and more causes child abuse to rise during this time of year. During this time it’s more important than ever to keep a watchful eye on the kids who are part of these situations.

This list, from a release posted at St. Louis University should be read by every parent.

1. Use common sense to determine how many “extras” really need to be done during the holidays. Don’t attend every holiday party, do lots of extra cooking, baking and decorating, mail cards and spend days shopping for perfect presents if the demands of caring for a child already are leaving you feeling stressed.
2. Stick within a budget and spend what you can afford on gifts. Pass on buying your child the extra-expensive gift he is requesting in favor of something else he wants that is within your means.
3. Try to get out, even if the weather is cold and gloomy. A change of scenery can prevent you from feeling so boxed in.
4. Know your personal limitations. Some people can’t handle the incessant crying of a colicky newborn but are fine dealing with a pre-schooler’s non-stop questions.
5. Talk to your spouse about the potential for child abuse. Make the topic a legitimate part of your communications. Don’t be afraid to ask for a break from caring for the children, and conversely, be willing to take over childcare responsibilities if your partner needs some time away.
6. Recognize when you’re about to lose your cool and do something about it. Make sure your child is in a safe place and leave the room. Counting to 10 is another way to cool off.

USA National Child Abuse Hotline
1-800-4-A-CHILD
(1-800-422-4453)
TDD: 1-800-2-A-CHILD

National Numbers and Weblinks by State is here

To report suspected child abuse or neglect in Kentucky call 800-752-6200.

Well, in February of this year, I posted that Lexington’s CompUSA had avoided the chopping blog as the company closed half of its stores.

Well, the other shoe is falling, and CompUSA will be putting all of its stores in Liquidation.

To everyone at CompUSA Lexington, I am really sorry about this and hope you all find new gigs quickly.

With the wireless broadband network now available in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

Verizon Wireless customers can enjoy two prime services:

• BroadbandAccess, the enhanced high-speed wireless service that equips Verizon Wireless’ business customers with a truly untethered mobile office experience, enabling them to wirelessly access their calendars, the Internet, e-mail, and critical business information residing behind their companies’ firewalls; and
• V CAST, a consumer-oriented multimedia service that gives customers access to the most comprehensive selection of downloadable music, high-quality videos, and the coolest 3D games found anywhere.

This very, very small market is a part of the Lexington Metro Service Area, which is already covered by Verizon Broadband.

Related news

Verizon covers Penn State with Wireless Broadband.

Maine and Connecticut get wireless broadband coverage increase from Verizon.

As it continues to deploy in secondary markets, Verizon is lighting up Western Kentucky with over 1400 square miles of broadband coverage. This includes Paducah, Mayfield, Murray and Benton.

“Western Kentucky is a vital market with dynamic, tech-savvy business people, consumers, students, and faculty who want to stay connected,” said Greg Haller, president–Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan region, Verizon Wireless in a release. “The expansion of our broadband network here provides customers with access to the very latest wireless technology.”

With BroadbandAccess, business customers, residents and visitors can expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500 kbps to 800 kbps. This service is based on EV-DO Rev A.

Verizon Wireless was the first national wireless provider to commercially launch a high-speed wireless broadband network in the United States, which is available to more than 210 million people across the country. In Kentucky, Verizon Wireless’ broadband network is also available in Louisville Metro, Lexington and Owensboro.

Murray State University students will surely be one major beneficiary of this setup.

In a related bit, it looks like Verizon and AT&T will be converging on the 3GPP LTE technology for 4G connectivity (100Mbps wireless.) Nokia is running tests now. Expected retail availability 2012.

A cool picture of the different technologies is here.

In today’s New York Times, a fabulous piece gives the account of Steven Kurutz and his friend Chris’ slow, musical meanderings through Kentucky’s bourbon heaven and should not be missed.

While I don’t drink much, I’m a big fan of Woodford Reserve, which is very close to Lexington and the only bourbon distillery I’ve visited. But after reading this I find myself tempted to head out of the city and do a little poking around myself.