Buying chocolate, flowers, or those little message heart candies are fine if there's no time to plan ahead for Valentine's Day, but consider some other options. If you use your senses to lead the way, you might come up with some interesting ways to celebrate love. Or a deep like. Or an "I kind of like you." Here are some starting places:

Sense of smell- With Ohio's botanical gardens' conservatories creating a haven against the freshly arrived winter's chill, head to one of them. Breathe in the fragrances of the jungles, orchid gardens and mountainous regions of the world. So, what if you can't go to a tropical island with your honey this year? At Krohn Conservatory, Franklin Park Conservatory, and Cleveland Botanical Garden you can pretend.

If eating is a way to your loved one's heart, head to a cooking school where you can spend time together--plus taste your efforts. Dorothy Lane Market Cooking School in Dayton has wonderful options. Many restaurants, like Handkes in Columbus also have classes. Here is a Shaw Guides website with links to several of them.

If the sense of sound is your fancy, head to a symphony concert. You can engage your sense of sight as well since many of Ohio's symphonies perform in the most beautiful buildings in the state. In February, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Akron Symphony , The Youngstown Symphony and the Toledo Symphony have concerts.

For the soothing sense of touch, get a couple's massage. The Marengo Institute, a mind body spa that originated in California but now has Cleveland and Columbus locations, has a Couples Delight Package.

Another option for the sense of sight is an art museum. Here is the botanical garden and art museums page of Ohio Travelers.com to find one you may not have thought of before.

Ohio is noted for having impressive, even beautiful, county courthouses. Some diehard architecture fans even make a project of visiting all of them. For groupies like these, the old Montgomery County Courthouse, in Dayton is a high point. It's not only one of Ohio's best courthouses, but one of its best buildings. Some say it's one of the best surviving examples of Greek Revival architecture in the USA.

Howard Daniels, of Cincinnati, designed the courthouse, in 1850. That, in itself, is unusual. Daniels was primarily a landscape architect. He had worked on Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery and Cleveland's Woodlawn Cemetery. That's a different sort of designing, to be sure. He proved his dexterity with more than just tombstones. This building is a gem. Like most public buildings in the Greek Revival style, it resembles a Greek temple, from the front, at least. In the back, Daniels did something that may be unique. Each rear corner has a quarter-round porch with a single column. This not only cut the cost of another porch, it provided more interior space. Another odd feature was the roof. It was made of the same stone as the rest of the structure. This wasn't the best idea. It started leaking about ten years later and was covered with tin.

To support the weight of all that stone on the roof, Daniels made the interior more Roman than Greek. There are brick arches in the basement and attic, and vaulted ceilings in most of the rooms. There were innovations inside, as well. In the middle of the building is a domed rotunda with an unusual cantilevered staircase. A third of each step is embedded in the wall. Another dome, this one oval, crowns the two-story main courtroom. Remember, in 1850, there weren't any sound systems. Lawyers had to rely on pure lung power. I'll skip the jokes. You can have fun with that, yourself. They must have been grateful to the cemetery designer who turned his hand to a courthouse. He made a courtroom with perfect acoustics.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, born to ex-slaves in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio was a contemporary of Orville Wright and a prolific poet who was the first African American poet to reach national recognition. Here is a wonderful video essay of Dunbar's poem, "The Old Apple Tree." The narrator has a lovely deep voice and takes the view on a walk through the woods and countryside while reciting the poem. This is an edited video--the kind you want to share with people.

Public art has a tendency to be controversial these days. Should it be a realistic depiction of something, or should it be the artist's impression of the subject? Dayton has a statue that sort of fits both ends of the debate. Flyover, by David Black, combines sweeping lines with an accurate depiction of the event it commemorates. It may look very abstract, but the 150-foot long arrangement of stainless steel tubes, aluminum, and tile is a fairly accurate representation of the path of the Wright brothers' first flight on December 17, 1903.

Black, who lives in Columbus, is a professor emeritus at Ohio State. His work has a world-wide reputation and has received a number of awards. Flyover was installed in downtown Dayton in 1996. Take a look at the picture. The wings of the biplane extend outward, giving you the impression that you're looking at a series of frozen frames from a film of the flight, a series of moments suspended in time. In a single piece of sculpture, David Black gave Dayton a record of this important event, from start to finish.

So sad, and yet so true. The twelve days of Ohio are over. In case you missed them, here they are again!

On the first day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: a state bird (by Jamie)!
On the second day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: a Twinsburg festival (by Tom)!
On the third day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: sports museums (by Katherine)!
On the fourth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: women astronauts (by Jamie)!
On the fifth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: great actors (by Tom)!
On the sixth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: art museums (by Jeffrey)!
On the seventh day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: baseball World Series Championships (by Tom)!
On the eighth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: presidents (by Jamie)!
On the ninth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: doubled cities (by Katherine)!
On the tenth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: famous Ohioans (by Jeffrey)!
On the eleventh day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: Native American tribes of Ohio (by Tom)!
On the twelfth day of Ohio, the bloggers gave to me: trivial Ohio facts (by Jeffrey)!

Ohio is a trivia fanatic's dream come true. There's always some new fact or odd story to dredge up. Here are twelve to start.

1. Oberlin College founded in 1833, was the first interracial and coeducational college in the USA.

2. John Lambert, of Ohio City, built the first gasoline-powered automobile in the USA.

3.The Cincinnati Red Stockings, as the Reds were known way back in 1869, were the first professional baseball team.

4 The first automatic traffic light was installed in Cleveland, in 1914.

5. Ermal Fraze, of Dayton, invented the first pop-top can. We should all be grateful for that one.

6. In 1870, Cincinnati established the University of Cincinnati. No American city had ever had a municipal university before.

7. Cleveland was the site of the first successful blood transfusion, back in 1905. It was performed by Dr. George Crile.

8. Akron is said to be the first city to use police cars.

9. Dayton produced the first patented cash register. It was invented by James Retty, in 1879.

10. The first municipal ambulance service was started in 1865. Cincinnati takes credit for that.

11. Cincinnati also had the first professional fire department. Really innovative folks, down there.

12. Finally, William Finlay Semple, from Mount Vernon patented a seriously important invention in 1865. Chewing gum.

Hey, everyone knows about the Wright brothers. What about some famous people who were born in Ohio, but found their fame elsewhere? You might not even know they were buckeyes.

You've heard of Zanesville, right? You've probably heard of Zane Grey, too. Ever made the connection? Zane Grey wasn't only born in Zanesville, his family started it. For a writer of westerns, he started pretty far east.

How many of you knew Steven Spielberg was born in Cincinnati? A lot of well known people came from there. Take Ted Turner, he was from Cincinnati, too.

It helps to have a sense of humor, especially when dealing with Ohio politics. Erma Bombeck, who was born in Dayton certainly did. So did my favorite on the list, the great humorist and cartoonist James Thurber. That's his picture at the top. He came from Columbus and told some good stories about the place. While we're on the subject of humor, Ambrose Bierce was from Meigs County. He could tell a funny tale or two when he wasn't in a darker mood.

Did you know Clarence Darrow was born at Kinsman, in Trumbull County. His law practice got started in northeast Ohio, before he moved west. Then there's Norman Vincent Peale, who preached the power of positive thinking.

Next we have someone whose face might not be familiar, but you'd probably know her voice. Nancy Cartwright, from Kettering provided the voice of Bart Simpson. Don't have a cow if you didn't know.

Finally, a woman was born in Licking County, or Athens County, the sources differ, back in 1838. She went on to lead an eventful life and was the first woman to be nominated for president. Her name? Victoria Claflin Woodhull.

It's odd. I can't believe how hard it was to cut this list down to only ten people. The only easy part was leaving out presidents,astronauts, and actors. They were covered in other posts. Ten? I could have listed a hundred and still had more. If you'd asked me years ago, back when I lived in Pennsylvania, about famous people from Ohio, I'd have thought of a few presidents, the Wright brothers,and Thurber. I had no idea how many famous people were born here. I do now, and I'll post on some of them from time to time.

Did you ever realize that we share quite a lot of names with quite a lot of other cities? Look at this list.

1. Cleveland, Tennessee
2. Columbus, Indiana
3. Cincinnati, Indiana
4. Youngstown, New York
5. Akron, Colorado
6. Toledo - I mean, obviously, there's Toledo, Spain, but let's try Toledo, Oregon
7. Dayton, Washington
8. Miami, Florida
9. Athens, Georgia

I mean, let's get the heck out of Ohio! We've got towns all over the place!

• Columbus- They're authorized to have 48 controllers and trainees, but actually have 46 on staff for a 96% staffing rate.
• Akron/Canton- Targeted for 26, they actually have 19 certified controllers and 4 trainees, an 88% staffing rate. Four trainees seems like a lot, depending on where they are in the program.
• Cleveland Hopkins- Authorized for 67 staff, they actually have 52 controllers and 10 trainees for a 93% staffing rate.
• Dayton- Supposed to have 53 controllers and trainees, Dayton actually has 35 certified controllers and 4 trainees, for an abysmal 74% staffing rate. Assuming each staffer works a 40-hour week, to make up the missing 26% staff they'll have to average 14 hours of overtime apiece. I'd be pretty fried working such a schedule.
• Cincinnati- Authorized for 86 people, they actually have 75, only one of which is a trainee, for an 88% staffing rate.
• Toledo- Should have 27 on staff, but currently only have 21, for a poor 78% staffing rate.

• Hocking College Center for Hospitality Training -- $1,838,986
• Butler County Voice of America museum -- $750,000
• Johnny Appleseed Museum, Urbana -- $50,000
• Galion Historic Big Four Depot restoration -- $30,000
• Cleveland State University windtower generator project -- $400,000
• Ukranian Museum -- $100,000
• Mountain Bike Park in Midtown Cleveland -- $100,000
• Little Brown Jug (horse race) facility improvements, Delaware -- $50,000
• Delaware skate park-- $50,000
• Center for Science and Industry, Columbus -- $1,000,000
• ODNR Ohio Fairgrounds display area improvements -- $700,000
• Gallia County French Art Colony -- $100,000
• Jamestown Opera House -- $50,000
• Cambridge skate park -- $50,000
• Woodward Opera House -- $50,000
• Heritage Center of Dayton Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship -- $1,300,000
• Morgan County Historical Opera House -- $25,000
• Shawnee State Motion Capture Studio Project -- $281,300
• First Lunar Flight Project, Trumbull Co. -- $150,000
• Mason ATP Tennis Center -- $1,300,000
• Georgetown Community Tennis Center -- $75,000
  
• Star Park Skate Park improvements (Meigs Co.) -- $65,000
• The Octagon House (Circleville) -- $100,000
• Pro Football Hall of Fame -- $1,650,000

Here is a brief history of the Wright Brothers' historic flight on December 17, 1903 at 10:35 at Kitty Hawk. This is brief, but it's creative and manages to get some facts in.

Since I've written so many blogs about Christmas, I wanted to make sure I gave attention to Chanukah as well. With the first day of Chanukah on December 15, there is no time like now to pencil in an event or two. Lighting giant menorahs is happening across the state. To find more specifics about these events, check out the chabad.org calendar. These are events that would be fun for the whole family.

Dec. 16 - Columbus - Grand Chanukah Menorah Lighting Ceremony at Easton Town Center. 4004 Gramercy St.

Dec. 16 - Bexley. Grand Chanukah Menorah Lighting Ceremony- The lighting of a 13 ft. menorah, dancing, a raffle, doughnuts, etc. etc., etc.

Dec. 17- 5 p.m. Cleveland. Family Menorah Lighting for the whole family. This one involves a giant outdoor menorah. University Square Waterstone Medical Center on Cedar and Mirmar

Dec. 17- Toldedo. Chanukah in the Mall - menorah lighting, latkes, etc.

Dec. 18- Akron. Chanukah at the Mall - Giant menorah lighting ceremony
children's Choir, latkes, donuts, music and a juggler at the Summit Mall
West Market St.

Dec. 18- Dayton. Chanukah at Fairfield Commons

Dec. 20 - Mason.Chanukah Family Game Night N' Latkes by POPS The Jewish Discovery Center

Dec. 21 - Cincinnati. (Evendale) Chanukah-On-Ice at Sports Plus. Skating and more. There's Chanukah music, Chanukah Gelt and dreidels plus raffles and a kosher food stand. A giant ice menorah will also be lit and you can help build a giant 8-ft. Menorah out of Legos. 10765 Reading Rd.

One of Governor Taft's most interesting initiatives is the Third Frontier Project, an attempt to kick-start high-tech research to build future industry in the state. The project was launched via legislation in 2003 and given 10 years and $1.3 billion to nurse Ohio into the digital revolution.

I recently reviewed their grants for 2006. The winners? Cleveland and Columbus. By far the largest awards came in the medical field, split between Case Western Reserve and OSU. Toledo, you were so screwed.

Fuel cell technology was also widely funded. There, the awards came out surprisingly balanced, with a number of firms receiving about a million bucks each. These awards were also spread around the state a little more.

Some of the big winners:
Medical -

• $8 million to Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, to expand the capabilities of their Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. They must figure the next president won't be so hard-ass about stem cell research.
• $4.7 million to ChanTest Inc. of Cleveland for drug research.
• Another $8 million to Case for neurostimulation research.
• $3.5 million to OSU for biomedical diagnosis and therapy device development.
• $7.9 million to OSU to develop new medical imaging technology.

Fuel cells --

• $1 million to HydroGen of Cleveland.
• $999,841 to SOFco-EFS Holdings in Alliance.
• $1 million to Edison Materials Technology Center in Dayton.
• $919,892 to OnPower, Inc. of Lebanon.
• $775,300 to Pemery Corp. of Painesville.
• $751,719 to Catacel Corp. of Garrettsville.
• $999,927 to NexTech Materials.

Some other awards:

• $1,152,400 to OSU in Columbus for superconductor research.
• $1,800,000 to the National Composite Center in Kettering for developing composite materials.
• $2.1 million to U. of Dayton for developing nanocomposite tooling. No, I don't what these are either.
• $1.1 million to the U. of Cincinnati for its "Southern Ohio Creates Companies Pre-seed Fund." As I understand it, they will then dole out this money to hi-tech startups that don't have the sexiness to attract venture capital.
• $1.5 million to TechColumbus for the same purpose.

It's hard to argue against funding research if we want to have jobs in developing industries. Certainly seems like a better place to put our money than a minor league baseball park.

I'm just surprised more interest isn't shown in just who we're depending on for this, and what they are going to do with these windfalls. Let's hope, they do a lot. I could use a nice nanocomposite tool or two.