Tuesday, November 30, 2010

COPS - They're Everywhere and game changing virus's

Last night as I was driving to Cannery Wine and Spirits to go to work (part time - I owe them so much money I needed another job)  there were Police cars EVERYWHERE. I guess they pulled over a car for some tiny thing and three juveniles ran out of the car and scattered with money bags in hand.  hmmmmmm!

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That house explosion in Sun Prairie? There are rumors about a meth lab which would make sense. Nothing confirmed!

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In Columbus a couple weeks ago Kim was taking down the decorative corn stalks that were downtown when a deer runs down the middle of James Street! Didn't see THAT in the Columbus Journal did ya!

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There is a WONDERFUL story in the Miami Harold titled "Fla. Down syndrome teen crowned Homecoming queen" If you want to read a truly heart warming story that will get you all misty eyed this is the one. All she wanted was one friend, and she got an entire school!

It seems when you get older and are not around teenagers anymore except for being  a parent and like even then all you know about teens is Hello, Goodbye and drive safely so all you hear are the bad things on the news.  But in reality teenagers are just like adults . . but younger  (there was a 30 year government study that proves this conclusively - I guess they followed some teenagers for 30 years and 100% of then became adults, except for one guy).

But teens are basically good!!  This High School proves it.  

Except teens do not have the skills of reading facial expressions!  That is weird isn't it?  Teenagers do not have the skill for non-verbal communications yet and 93% of all communication is non-verbal!  


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The mission: Infiltrate the highly advanced, securely guarded enemy headquarters where scientists in the clutches of an evil master are secretly building a weapon that can destroy the world. Then render that weapon harmless and escape undetected.

And in the world of super high level James Bondish espionage comes a story about the Iran Nuclear problems - Uncle Sam You got some splanning to do!

But in the 21st century, Bond doesn't get the call. Instead, the job is handled by a suave and very sophisticated secret computer worm, a jumble of code called Stuxnet, which in the last year has not only crippled Iran's nuclear program but has caused a major rethinking of computer security around the globe.

Mystery Surrounds Cyber Missile That Crippled Iran's Nuclear Weapons Ambitions

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And you think today is cold?  There is no bottom to the temperature today - wait until tomorrow to see a bottom.

Cheers
Rod

Monday, November 29, 2010

Wisconsin Film School needs you help

The Wisconsin Film School is doing a fundraiser and I was contacted for some help.  They would like some help in identifying scenes in Public Enemies which people would recognize as Wisconsin.  One is the inside and outside of the State Capitol.  Can anyone spot any other blatantly Wisconsiny scenes?
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Hey - I had an Obama loan when we refinanced.  Seems many people wanted to refinance but if you are upside down (meaning your loan is now more then your house is worth) you would be denied AND you would have to pay the $300 for having your house inspected.  

So Obama's Home Affordable Modification Program says that if you feel your house is not 80% yours yet you can get refinance BY THE SAME MORTGAGE HOLDER without all the paper work.

Cool - so along with the extra money we have been getting in our checks for 2 years we saved another $200 a month in mortgage.
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On November 24 1960 the first natural gas lines reached Columbus . . . .WHAT???  did everybody have wood stoves to heat their houses?  Did Columbus get electricity 10 years later?  When do we get DSL???
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The Chamber of Commerce now has a weekly blurb explaining they are moving forward and the website is under construction.  How long does it take??

I swear - Parliamentary Procedure, when it comes to small clubs and groups is SUCH a tremendous waste of time.  Seriously - because of this adherence to rules nothing ever gets done.  OR at least everything is slowed by at LEAST 75%.

Plus the fact that in a small group one person is always the leader  which goes completely against the whole Parliamentary Procedure thing.  Sure there is voting but . . . no one wants to vote against the leader right?

Just get things done - don't sit around and analysis and discuss everything for months.  10 things done with small problems is WAY WAY better then NOTHING done perfectly.
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Columbus Family Dental has their new website up with all photos (except 1 . . . .oops - a few) by little ol' me!  Let them know how awesome it looks. Here is the email - just say - "WOW - nice website - love the photos".  :-) 

I can't believe they did not use this one.  I think if they had a big one of these hanging in their waiting area kids would love it.

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Packers - a lot of people will blame Special Teams for losing (actually for EVERY loss this year) but if that guy had not of grabbed the face mask the dude would have run for 30 more yards anyway.  In reality it was the lack of a running game where you can be 3rd and 1 and you don't have a clue how you will get that one more yard.

THAT was the reason the Packers lost.

Yea - the Vikings win and now will win the next 5 games and Brett's will say - I CAN BE GREAT AGAIN and will come back next year.

I heard that if Oregon and Auburn both lose next week the Badgers could be in the National Championship game. Just reporting what I heard. 

Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been fined $100,000 this year on illegal hits!  This is like some guy still driving with 8 DWI's. Get some balls and crack down!!
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Weight Watchers is having a sale.  Fruits and Veggies are now FREE OF POINTS on the PointPlus System!!! 
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As I was driving back from Fort Atkinson I was looking at Christmas Lights of all the towns I went through.  Fort Atkinson had really pretty lights and Lake Mills was WONDERFUL, well done Lake Mills. Waterloo just looked hidious - they have zero decorations and those GHASTLY street lights.  Those downtown street lights have to be the worst in the world!!   Columbus is nice in a simple way.

I'll see Sun Prairies tonight! I should make a little project out of this . . . if I only had more time before it got dark (which is like 4:30 now).   I have so so many projects just waiting for when I have time.

Any other towns worth noting? 

OK - gotta run - have a great Monday - watch for rain later and a mammoth cold front coming our way tomorrow.

OH - looking for Christmas trees?  Found a great place called Millers Christmas Trees   they have 10 different trees, Fraser, Balsam, Cannann & Concolor Fir; Scotch, White & Red Pine; Blue, White & Serbian Spruce - highest price is $6 a foot for.


The #1 best Christmas tree (from a vote) is a Fraser Fir and has excellent needle retention along with a nice scent. Fraser fir was named for Scot botanist John Fraser.

 Here is a nice site that talks about all the different pines and what to expect.

Top Ten Christmas Trees


Have a great Monday! Remember - Monday is the #1 Heart Attack day - be careful out there.

Monday, November 22, 2010

So long Minnesota - Happy Trails to You

Well - I typed in public enemies .blogspot . com and found a totally different website this morning. Forgot to add Columbus. OOPS
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I'm off all this week and today I woke up to the tiny pitter patter of hail stones on my window! It's going to be a very warm day today getting to near 60 and getting C C C C COLD later this week!!

I might come to Madison later today near sundown if the streets will be went as I'd like to get some State Street shots with inclement weather . . or at least wet streets.

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Then there are the Vikings, actually Minneapolis as a whole when it comes to sports. The Timberwolves are known through out the NBA world as the worst team in the NBA.

But the Vikings - the Star Tribune has headlines "Vikings play 'atrocious, bad football' in lopsided loss'"

Not only could it be Favres last start, Chilly's last game to coach but this COULD be the last year the Vikings are in Minnesota as their owner is looking for a new stadium and the people of Minnesota might not want to pay for it after this years . . . year.

It was the 8th worse home loss in 50 years and it's probably never good when players are bickering and yelling "F*uck you" to each other on the sidelines!

BUT - if you are a Packer fan let's not ignore the defense that had a shut out, then a meaningless TD that voided a 2nd straight shut out and then one field goal that voided a third straight shut out. Before yesterdays game after simulations were run the Pack had a 18.8% chance to get to the superbowl but the schedule ahead is not kind.

Here are the remainder of the games with the team efficiency rankings.

@ Atlanta (11)
San Francisco (16)
@ Detroit (20)
@ New England (3)
New York Giants ((5)
Da Bears (25)

Yea - the worst team we play are the Bears (who are in 1st place).
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The Holiday Parade (don't call it Christmas or you will insult somebody) will be this Friday.

If you look in the Columbus pharmacy's, Julie's Java House of Kim's West James Gallery you will see new Christmas post cards.


You can see this 20x30 image at Julie's. 

And I'd like to thank the people who purchased my two images of Columbus at the Columbus High Reunion as $500 went to a very good cause.
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I hope some of you saw the new show on Discovery last night called Brew Master.  I thought it was a great new show and featured the head dude from Dogfish Head Brewery which is known as the most extreme of the Craft Beer genre.   The guy started as a 10 gallon brewery making two batches a day every day and is now one of the leading brewery's when it comes to exciting new beer.

Sunday nights at 9:00.

I have not had a chance to make beer for a while but with the Odd Fellows (is that one or two words) calling for a Brew 101 class  the Wort Hogs (home brew club) are getting some special brews going.

 If anyone wants to attend a Wort Hog meeting you are all welcome.  While home brewing is the common link we are a craft beer club also and just talk beer.   Come on down, the next meetign will be December 16th at Cannery Wine and Spirits in Sun Prairie.

If you have never been to the liqueur store it is a wonderful place for gifts like special cheeses and a GREAT selection of craft beer (rated "A-" in Beer Advocate).


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That's it - I seem to have a small writers cramp of late.  Just not much to say.

Have a nice Monday and a short week and remember - eat aggressively.

rod

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

bad news and then good news and then excellent news - Kangaroo care

Now I know why Walker is trying to get all Wisconsin retiree's back to Wisconsin - he is trying to save us!

Randy has been on the waiting list for a heart transplant for years because of cardiomyopathy, his heart muscle is deteriorating. The condition is the result of rheumatic fever he had as a child (exactly like what I had in the 3rd grade).

Because a heart transplant costs $997,000 his insurance would not cover the entire amount but in Arizona a State Agency would cover the extra cost for low-income people (like Badger Care in Wisconsin). He was forced to quit his plumbing job so. . he was low income.

FINALLY after years of waiting he was next in line and the 36 year old with a 3 year old son was excited.

BUT - the very next day the State cut out all funding for heart transplants in order to save money (like Walker wants to do)! Sorry Randy!

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Then there is Target the Afghanistan war hero dog. Perhaps you saw him on Oprah a few weeks ago? She was a stray Afghanistan dog that befriended American solders and she and a couple of her friend dogs chased away a suicide bomber who tried to blow up a military base. The bomber did blow himself up along with a friend dog and severally injured Target.

Well, Target and Rufus were on tour in America and Target escaped out of her yard on Friday. They found her at the shelter but thought the shelter was closed on the weekend. So Monday the handler and his 3 kids went to pick her up but . . .

the shelter accidentally euthanized Target her Sunday.
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ENOUGH BAD NEWS


There is a sapphire frenzy with the engagement of Prince Willy and Princess Elect Kate. I believe now is the right time to try to corner the market on ALL sapphires!!
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In West Virginia a guy was rummaging through his attic and found an old painting depicting the Texas Revolution's decisive 1836 Battle of San Jacinto.

Seems it's been missing for more then 100 years and is worth $100,000.


More good news

It was a final chance to say goodbye for grieving mother Kate Ogg after doctors gave up hope of saving her premature baby.

She tearfully told her lifeless son - born at 27 weeks weighing 2lb - how much she loved him and cuddled him tightly, not wanting to let him go.

Although little Jamie's twin sister Emily had been delivered successfully, doctors had given Mrs Ogg the news all mothers dread - that after 20 minutes of battling to get her son to breathe, they had declared him dead.

Having given up on a miracle, Mrs Ogg unwrapped the baby from his blanket and held him against her skin when an extraordinary thing happened.

After two hours of being hugged, touched and spoken to by his mother, the little boy began showing signs of life.

At first, it was just a gasp for air that was dismissed by doctors as a reflex action.

But then the startled mother fed him a little breast milk on her finger and he started breathing normally.

'I thought, "Oh my God, what's going on",' said Mrs Ogg.

'A short time later he opened his eyes. It was a miracle. Then he held out his hand and grabbed my finger.'

'He opened his eyes and moved his head from side to side. The doctor kept shaking his head saying, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it".'

The Australian mother spoke publicly for the first time yesterday to highlight the importance of skin-on-skin care for sick babies, which is being used at an increasing number of British hospitals.

In most cases, babies are rushed off to intensive care if there is a serious problem during the birth.

But the 'kangaroo care' technique, named after the way kangaroos hold their young in a pouch next to their bodies, allows the mother to act as a human incubator to keep babies warm, stimulated and fed.

Pre-term and low birth-weight babies treated with the skin-to-skin method have also been shown to have lower infection rates, less severe illness, improved sleep patterns and are at reduced risk of hypothermia.

and that is the good news!

Rod

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

They Shoot Horses Don't They

There is a food cart on the square who's owner used to be a big advertising dude in Chicago. He really loves my photography and is making a new food cart. This will be a vegetarian solar green cart and he would love to have an image by me that go onto his cart (like a mural).

If anybody has any ideas what would look good on a veggie/solar/green food cart I would love to hear them. Plus - remember IT'S WINTER, not like I can run outside and take photos of lush green crops or anything.

On the same subject I was reading the Art Fair forum and they wanted to know the best wisecrack a person has had to listen to and I mentioned the woman who said

"How do you get that "paint by number" look.

To be honest at the time I thought it was a valid question for that particular image. She was not actually insulting because I knew EXACTLY what she was talking about. Yet - as the day wore on that line kept going through my head.

About a half hour later on the forum a guy comments on that particular wise crack

"OK, I gotta admit, this is one of the best I ever heard. It's insulting on
so many levels!"

Of course THEN I had to tell the story about what Kitty B'Gosh did to me at the NEXT Art Fair.

A woman comes into my booth and looks around and then seriously ask's "How do you get that paint by number look".

The blood was rushing from my brain when she breaks out laughing and introduces herself as a bloggette.

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Remember that youtube video a few days about of the tower falling the wrong way? Stop Light dude lives just a few miles from that place. The reporter who interviewed him about Public Enemies was slightly injured by a falling wire.

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I had a real LOL moment today while reading the USA Today. One article is talking about the Vikings and Favre saying the movie "They Shoot Horses Don't They" comes to mind!

This next game on Sunday COULD be Favres last game of his career. He is already positioning himself with an MRI today and I'm wondering if in the 3rd quarter after Mathews sacks him for the 4th time, if all the coaches will gather around him, shielding him from the crowd and we will hear a gunshot.

JUST KIDDING!!!      (they would not shield him)

Then after my fantasy ends I read on. They say his passer rating is 72 which reads like a cadavers body temperature.

I really think that Green Bay will be his last game.
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Speaking of republicans - there is one I like and would actually vote for, but then I would have to move to Alaska. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.   Any republican that does NOT want Obama to fail is a good one. She says why would anybody want our President to fail!

Also "Palin lacks the "leadership qualities" and "intellectual curiosity" to craft great policy. "

Not all Republicans are bad and not all Democrats are good. I have never voted one party but I do seem to vote mostly Democratic.
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Rod

Monday, November 15, 2010

No More TV after this week!

The last meaningful game in Farves career is next Sunday. There is no line yet as the linemakers are waiting for the Brett Farve injury of the week announcement, or whether Chilly will be fired or maybe the entire team quits leaving only Chilly (who hates Brett) and Brett (who hates Chilly) to play the game by themselves.

The Bears are in 1st place over the Packers because of the tie breaker but even though the Bears have 6 wins they will end up with MAYBE 8. You see the only game they have won against a REAL opponent are the Packers who pretty much gave them the game. Otherwise the Bears have beaten teams with a combined record of like 9-36. Now granted they can only do what the schedule permits them to do but . . .
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I worked a shift at Cannery Wine and Spirits Friday night and it's an interesting brain challenge. Long ago I was a wine enthusiasts and knew pretty much everything about wine, but . . . . . that was 20 years ago. American tastes have changed and it seems Gewürztraminer is much much more popular then it was 20 years ago.

If you have a spicy food, a Gewürz is the perfect compliment. I have not had a Gewürz in like 20 years, I'll have to get one!

The aroma of Gewürz is distinctive with a mix of lychee nut, rose petals, peach, and spice while the flavors are delicate with rich spice and fruit flavors of honeysuckle, peaches, apricots, grapefruit, gingerbread, vanilla, clove, nutmeg and allspice peach, apricot, and tropical fruit, you get the idea!!  It is FULL of delicate flavor.

Personally - I do not believe it goes well with Turkey or fish. I would go with a Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc if I was forced to drink a white wine for Thanksgiving. If you are having Ham I would certainly go with a Gewürz.

It's just me but I don't think a white wine goes with Turkey - just to much whiteness for me. I would rather have a red with Turkey,  not a heavy tannic Cab, but a Merlot or Pinot Noir.  Pinot Noir has very little tannin so it will not overpower Turkey.

One note - if serving a red, open the bottle a good hour before the meal (2 hours would be better) and then 20 minutes before serving put the bottle in the refrig, this will bring out the fruit and repress the alcohol!

ANYWAY - while I know beer I'm having to access my wine brain cells again (glad those were not killed, or maybe I should say  . . some survived!).

Pat and Kathy who own Cannery Wine and Spirits  really have a good thing going and I can see that they won't actually have to PAY me as I'll keep buying cheese, bacon,  alligator meat (yes, they have alligator meat) kringle,  beer and wine along with home brew supplies. (OH OH - this is sounding line an infomercial).

Maybe it was not a smart move on their end to hire me.  They were making a nice profit from me! 

BTW - have you ever seen their floor? I had always found it curious but never enough to ask . . .why???? The place was a carpet store before they purchased it. Their floor is all samples of  . . stuff, check it out, tell them Rod sent you for carpet scraps!

The building was built about 1890ish and the store is ACTUALLY the 2nd floor of the building. In the basement (more like a catacombs*) are bricked up windows for the 1st floor! The streets have been built up so much that the 2nd floor is now 1st floor.

** to the right the security camera catches Pat and Rod looking for more Miller Lite! 

**Catacomb = ancient, human-made subterranean passageways for burial or protection of beer and wine.

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I'll have to see if I can find my camera again.   It's been a while since I clicked a photo. So GRAY out!  AND DARK!!!

Also - this will be the last week for TV shows until January as we move into holiday season. This is actually a good thing as I can catch up an all the shows on the DVR!!

OK - have a great day.  OH - I see Scott Walker will solve the budget problems by taking funds away from  education!  He wants everybody in en equal footing with him!  After all, he didn't  need an education to become Governor.

nuff said

Rod

Friday, November 12, 2010

We have a new "W" and "DJ - FacebookDetective".

Here is a trivia question.

Who was the first man to pee his pants on the moon!
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What a day for Scott Walker our Governor elect! This is going to be an awesome 4 years!

First he sends out a very very arrogant letter telling Doyle what he should do and tells the Unions to STOP negotiating immediately if the Unions want to have a working relationship with the new administration. Then tells DOA how to do business until he is sworn in.

THEN - he says he is going to Florida (on tax payer money) and Arizona to talk retiree's into coming back to Wisconsin because they are spending Wisconsin money in Florida and Arizona.

THEN he bullies the Governor of Illinois by telling ILL business about how bad Governor Quinn is and how Walker will try to lure ILL business into Wisconsin. So now Illinois hates us.

geez - this is right out of Rod Blagojevich's playbook! The guy is a freaking lunatic!

So far the Mayor's of Wisconsin two largest Cities are telling him he is wrong about High Speed Rail. The Obama administration is telling Walker he is wrong AND now Walker’s fellow Republicans — at least the honest ones — are telling the governor elect that he is wrong about High Speed Rail.

The only ones that are telling him it's GOOD to cancel High Speed Rail are the ones that donated money to him because they were told the money from the Rail would instead go towards pet projects (road building).
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You know how when you shut down your computer the background loses color? Well I did that and geez - this image looks sort of nice in Black and White.


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I was sitting in the car waiting for DJ after work and she was crossing the street. All of a sudden she bowed and I thought it was nice of her to bow to me but then I realized she was picking something up. It was a billfold and it was full of credit cards and all sorts of ID cards. Like crazy full of cards, health cards, ID's, Credit Cards, Social Security card, library card , drivers license, more cards then I have ever seen before.

Yet - not one phone number. It was some 22 year of college dude.

We did not want to give it to the police as they seem to lose things (my phone). So DJ thought, he is 22, has to be on Facebook!

We get home and can not find him at first but she does find a relative but the number is disconnected. More searching and after about an hour - BINGO!!! She PM's him and later last night they make contact!

a Facebook Victory!

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This weekend I HOPE to get more mulch thrown down - I think 4 cubic yards might have been to much. Have to do it before it freezes in to a big lump! Blake thinks it's a big poop so he poops next to it!

Did you know that a cubic mile of fog is made of less then one gallon of water?

. . . . Buzz Aldren!

Have a great weekend

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Carnival Cruise Line Diet

Next time you think you are having a bad day . . . . . . turn up the volume and listen to the voices!

Why do I chuckle inside when I watch this !! LOL



So Scott Walker found out that the money he thought he would have when he nixed High Speed Rail is not really going to flow into Wisconsin. Illinois wants it if we don't want it.

At least his next plan - to rescind the smoking ban and create toll ways are moving forward! I can already see this administration will have all sorts of brilliant ideas!

Of course I suppose many of you think I'm just anti-Republican and I'm not. I actually do not blame Bush for many of the things many Democrats blame him for!

I don't blame Bush for our economy as much as I do not blame Obama for the BP Oil Spill. It's normally just who is in the chair when bad things happen.

It's the many many small things that take place which most Americans never know about.  That is the power of the Presidency. There are really only a few BIG things which a President can do that change our lives. Supreme Court Justices and so forth.

The economy is way way to large for one guy to really have any BIG impact. All a President can do is try to nudge it one way or the other and with every nudge the results will show up in 5 or 6 years!

Now you say that the War in Iraq killed the economy. Partly true but can you really blame Bush? Both sides of the aisle were raising their hands and saluting after 911 and I'm pretty sure a very large majority of Americans were not THAT against the war . . . in the beginning!  

In fact there was a greater percentage of Americans PRO Iraq War there were Pro WWII. 

I'm not saying I thought the Bushpublicans were right, in fact I feel they were idiots how they actually went about goign to war, they were blundering fools! 

All I'm saying is that you can not ALWAYS blame the other side of the aisle for bad things happening.  Remember - while Republicans blame Obama for the Bank Bailout and while Democrats say the Bank Bailout WORKED.  Remember that it was Bush that actually started the bailout! too weird!

People get so worked up on blaming that they no longer see clearly.
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I'm going to go on the Carnival Cruise Line Diet.  Spam, Pop Tarts and water!

I had to laugh when I saw that the cruise ship that broke in mid cruise had no electricity, plumbing or anything and the only food they could get were, Spam, Pop Tarts and water.  AWESOME CRUISE!!!

nuff said

BTW - I'm a rock star over at the Sports Handicapping blog (Grinders Warehouse).  My picks are an unheard of 41-19 in the NBA Against The Spread.

Rod

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Scott Walker LOL

I have to laugh at Walker. I guess he wrote a rather aggressive note to the Fed explaining how stupid it was to make Wisconsin use their free 300 million for High Speed Rail and we should use the free money to fix roads.

The Fed comes back and says - it's our money and we will give you 300 million for high speed rail, if you don't want it - screw you!

The Fed's vision is to have High Speed Rail all across the U.S. like forward thinking Europe. And this is a way to get it started. Walker said he has the backing of other States that do not want the rail system.

I've looked into other States that High Speed Rail and reviews are pretty good. People like it! I really don't care. But seems to me that that extra few hundred million would go towards jobs and create revenue.

Walker is an idiot.
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OOPS - was I not suppose to press the red button?



The official response is that it is an optical illusion and it's a plane flying TOWARDS the camera. Yea - good one.

LUCY? YOU GOT SOME SPLAININ TO DO!
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Because I'm spending a good amount at Grinders Warehouse, a different blog, which deals with Sports Handicapping and my entire life now revolves around the NBA in which I am the only person that cares about the Milwaukee Bucks West of Racine!

With that said and not wanting to vacate Columbus, the Woodwidow had an excellent review of Nepoli's. I know many of you do not read the comments and missed this!

The Wood Fairy and the Woodwidow are kind of food snobs, so we weren't sure what type of evening we would end up with when we took a chance on Napoli Friday night.

Wow! Even with your raves, we weren't expecting that!

Although it was past 7pm, the waiting area (bar) was jam-packed. We did find a place to sit, and had a chance to admire the refurbishing. Really nice, elegant taste in colors and furnishings and whatnot. The WF figured he'd have to keep pressing through the crowd to get to the bar to renew our drinks (beer and wine)... but surprisingly, one of the bartenders kept coming to the back corner herself to make sure everyone was taken care of regularly.

Our indicated wait of 30 min. ended up being only 20 min., and we were whisked to a fabulous table by the window. Throughout our meal, all the tables remained filled. Good for them!!

And our meal? Wood Fairy reserves his praise with pizzas, but he loved the one he received. I took a big leap and ordered the salmon, and then cursed my adventurousness-- never expect a decent piece of fish in anything other than a place where you expect a decent piece of fish...

And so, shock! It was wonderful! Fresh, flaky, delicately flavored, and the topping was just right. Side veggies perfectly done. Just delicious.

The Wood Fairy is a tiramisu connoisseur, and this one was rave-worthy-- maybe even the best in a long time, if not ever...

The surprises weren't done yet. Even though we noticed that the prices were low, we still weren't expecting a tally akin to, say, a Laredo's or a burger pub.

We left very, very happy! I sure hope the place can keep things going just as they are for a long time to come!

(That pretty much reads like a poorly-disguised owner-planted post one finds on social message boards... but I don't know a soul involved.)

Thanks M - hope you don't mind if I reprinted this.

Monday, November 8, 2010

So long Al Harris

Looks like the Packers will cut Al Harris - here is the thing - his knee was OK but there are other options and they can save $2 million!.

Remember - good teams cut aging veterans a year early while bad teams keep then a year too long. Packers are a good team and it is a business remember!
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Contrats to Columbus - 65% voter turnout!! WOW - excellent job. I'm also proud to know that Columbus is a progressive town as Barrett beat out Mr. Shifty Pants and Feingold BLASTED Mr Milk Toast Johnson, while Tammy Baldwin beat some teenager.

The legislators won, both Republicans so it seems that while Columbus bends left it's more of the clear thinking people voting. Not just voting one way out of habit.

One one other note - why can't we have write in referendums!

For the straight party voters it was basically 50/50, And it was about 50% of the voters were . . . . straight!

I'm personally disappointed in Fall River as they seem to like Mr. Shifty Pants AND Mr. Milk Toast.
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Saturday night Josh, Jenny and Caydence (and Sydney) were over and we wanted pizza. They had never had Nepoli's pizza so we ordered a TWENTY-TWO INCH Pizza.

Well - we went to get it and - OH MY!!! The box barely fit through the door and it was a problem getting it into the car! I had to shift into drive before Josh could get into the front seat.

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Since when does the Columbus Journal run an entire page of SPAM on page two!! The kind that LOOKS like it 's a real news article. So much for news! Very sad!
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I worked my first hours at Cannery Wine and Spirits in Sun Prairie. Cash registers are way different then 25 years ago when I worked in my last liqueur store.

I really enjoyed it actually. I like being around and talking to people, especially about BEER and WINE. I did learn that Stone Brewery (they make Arrogant Bastard) will be discontinuing selling their beer to Wisconsin, too much competition.
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I'm a little short as a lot of writing is going into my other blog - Grinders Warehouse. My NBA system is clicking along and gamblers want to know the picks so . . . .

Plus what is all this WORK I have to do! ridicules!

Grinders Warehouse

Have a quick day!
Rod

Friday, November 5, 2010

A View (not The View)

So Scott Walker ( Mr. Shifty Pants) says he will fix Wisconsin by penalizing government employees. How did Wisconsin get into this mess? Simple.

During the years of massive profits everybody was making money including the State Government. So instead of saving money for bleak times, the people in charge said this is the perfect time to create all sorts of new programs such as Badger Care, we finally have the money.

All sorts of things were made to help the people of Wisconsin and nobody complained. The education system reaped huge benefits as class sizes went from 30 to an average of 17 per room and so forth and everybody was happy.

NOW - all of a sudden revenues are not coming in and all of these programs are struggeling to make ends meet. So on one hand Walker is correct - government is too big AT THE MOMENT.

In his campaign he said he would cut government spending. Well - the ONLY way to make a REAL impact would be to cut funds to education, transportation and Health. Those are the three biggest money suckers! All the other programs add up to let's say 5% of the Wisconsin budget. Think he will cut funds to education, transportation and health? Well - he wants to nix Badger Care. Those damn poor people never contribute to the economy!

This was on my mind because I was reading some posts about how Mr. Shifty Pants has already basically cut 300 jobs while he tries to scrub the high speed rail. The reasoning is that it MIGHT cost Wisconsin 12 million dollars a year.

He says - that money can be used to fix transportation.

Here is the problem - Republicans won the elections with a "don't spend what you don't have" attitude. So while he axe's the rail system he is not SAVING any money, he is just not SPENDING money. So he can't use the 12 million to fix the roads - HE DOES NOT HAVE IT.

I know for many of you I am preaching to the choir but here is a wonderful article from the New York Times written by Timothy Egan.  It's a great read.

How Obama Saved Capitalism and Lost the Midterms.

If I were one of the big corporate donors who bankrolled the Republican tide that carried into office more than 50 new Republicans in the House, I would be wary of what you just bought.

For no matter your view of President Obama, he effectively saved capitalism. And for that, he paid a terrible political price.

Suppose you had $100,000 to invest on the day Barack Obama was inaugurated. Why bet on a liberal Democrat? Here’s why: the presidency of George W. Bush produced the worst stock market decline of any president in history. The net worth of American households collapsed as Bush slipped away. And if you needed a loan to buy a house or stay in business, private sector borrowing was dead when he handed over power.

As of election day, Nov. 2, 2010, your $100,000 was worth about $177,000 if invested strictly in the NASDAQ average for the entirety of the Obama administration, and $148,000 if bet on the Standard & Poors 500 major companies. This works out to returns of 77 percent and 48 percent.

But markets, though forward-looking, are not considered accurate measurements of the economy, and the Great Recession skewed the Bush numbers. O.K. How about looking at the big financial institutions that keep the motors of capitalism running — banks and auto companies?

The banking system was resuscitated by $700 billion in bailouts started by Bush (a fact unknown by a majority of Americans), and finished by Obama, with help from the Federal Reserve. It worked. The government is expected to break even on a risky bet to stabilize the global free market system. Had Obama followed the populist instincts of many in his party, the underpinnings of big capitalism could have collapsed. He did this without nationalizing banks, as other Democrats had urged.

Saving the American auto industry, which has been a huge drag on Obama’s political capital, is a monumental achievement that few appreciate, unless you live in Michigan. After getting their taxpayer lifeline from Obama, both General Motors and Chrysler are now making money by making cars. New plants are even scheduled to open. More than 1 million jobs would have disappeared had the domestic auto sector been liquidated.

“An apology is due Barack Obama,” wrote The Economist, which had opposed the $86 billion auto bailout. As for Government Motors: after emerging from bankruptcy, it will go public with a new stock offering in just a few weeks, and the United States government, with its 60 percent share of common stock, stands to make a profit. Yes, an industry was saved, and the government will probably make money on the deal — one of Obama’s signature economic successes.

Interest rates are at record lows. Corporate profits are lighting up boardrooms; it is one of the best years for earnings in a decade.

All of the above is good for capitalism, and should end any serious-minded discussion about Obama the socialist. But more than anything, the fact that the president took on the structural flaws of a broken free enterprise system instead of focusing on things that the average voter could understand explains why his party was routed on Tuesday. Obama got on the wrong side of voter anxiety in a decade of diminished fortunes.

“We have done things that people don’t even know about,” Obama told Jon Stewart. Certainly. The three signature accomplishments of his first two years — a health care law that will make life easier for millions of people, financial reform that attempts to level the playing field with Wall Street, and the $814 billion stimulus package — have all been recast as big government blunders, rejected by the emerging majority.

But each of them, in its way, should strengthen the system. The health law will hold costs down, while giving millions the chance at getting care, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Financial reform seeks to prevent the kind of meltdown that caused the global economic collapse. And the stimulus, though it drastically raised the deficit, saved about 3 million jobs, again according to the CBO. It also gave a majority of taxpayers a one-time cut — even if 90 percent of Americans don’t know that, either.

Of course, nobody gets credit for preventing a plane crash. “It could have been much worse!” is not a rallying cry. And, more telling, despite a meager uptick in job growth this year, the unemployment rate rose from 7.6 percent in the month Obama took office to 9.6 today.

Billions of profits, windfalls in the stock market, a stable banking system — but no jobs.

Of course, the big money interests who benefited from Obama’s initiatives have shown no appreciation. Obama, as a senator, voted against the initial bailout of AIG, the reckless insurance giant. As president, he extended them treasury loans at a time when economists said he must — or risk further meltdown. Their response was to give themselves $165 million in executive bonuses, and funnel money to Republicans this year.

Money flows one way, to power, now held by the party that promises tax cuts and deregulation — which should please big business even more.

President Franklin Roosevelt also saved capitalism, in part by a bank “holiday” in 1933, at a time when the free enterprise system had failed. Unlike Obama, he was rewarded with midterm gains for his own party because a majority liked where he was taking the country. The bank holiday was incidental to a larger public works campaign.

Obama can recast himself as the consumer’s best friend, and welcome the animus of Wall Street. He should hector the companies sitting on piles of cash but not hiring new workers. For those who do hire, and create new jobs, he can offer tax incentives. He should finger the financial giants for refusing to clean up their own mess in the foreclosure crisis. He should point to the long overdue protections for credit card holders that came with reform.

And he should veto, veto, veto any bill that attempts to roll back some of the basic protections for people against the institutions that have so much control over their lives – insurance companies, Wall Street and big oil.

They will whine a fierce storm, the manipulators of great wealth. A war on business, they will claim. Not even close. Obama saved them, and the biggest cost was to him.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

No Doom and Gloom Here!

Seriously if you are upset OR excited about the elections last night you are in way way over your head.  We voted and it's over.  Yea - Walker will be the least educated Governor we will have since Julius Peter Heil* a uneducated Germain immigrant 1943.   Walker tried to go to college but was thrown out of Marquette University because he cheated when running for Student President. 

*Julius Peter Heil - Often known as "Julius the Just", was known for clowning and silly antics.  I can not find any documentation of his silly antics yet!

ANYWAY - the only times I have actually been depressed over elections was when Kerry lost to Bush because the American people felt Bush was doing a GREAT job! And the other time was when faux liberal Madison voters voted against a casino!

Now - it's all on the Republican backs to save America! The sweet thing is, is that it's a no lose situation for Democrats!

Look at it this way - I feel the economy is doing well, sluggish but no longer on intensive care. Since March 3rd 2009 when I correctly called the bottom the market has risen 62%. The stock market is a very very good indicator of the economy. While most people look at employment as an indicator there are many other things going on that show you the economy is ticking. Jobs ALWAYS lag.

I bring this up because this is why Obama is not really worried about the House being taken over. He can't lose! In 2 years (which was the original time line for a good recovery) he will be able to boast about the economy. IF, for some reason things look flat, well, the American voters are giving the House a chance to "fix" things.

How will they do that I wonder! They have said they will not raise tax's AND they will not cut defense spending so the only thing left that will make a real impact is cutting health care and pensions. That will go over big with the voters! If they cut healthcare and pensions they will piss off old white people (their key demographic).

So while the government employees have a right to be be depressed because Walker hates us and will create more jobs by putting State employees out of work and while we can now finally see what Johnson ACTUALLY plans to do (not that he actually knows but in his campaign speech he mentioned that he would surround himself with smart people (as opposed to surrounding himself with dumb people I guess)) at least it will be interesting.  More interesting then Columbus politics which has grown dull and tiresome as Mayor Bob quietly goes about his business without doing weird and funny things that I can write about!   

DAMN YOU BOB!  

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NAME THE COW 

Seems all art work needs to have a title so instead of calling the work COWS I felt maybe we need a name for the cow!  SO - ideas? opinions? 


This was the image that was bid upon at the Down Syndrome walk and carried away proudly by a guy that I would not have thought would spend 3 digits on artwork.

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And THAT is how the fight started. 

One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift...
The next year, I didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked me why, I replied,
"Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started..... 


My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed.
I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have Sex?'
'No,' she answered. I then said,
'Is that your final answer?'
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying, 'Yes..'
So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started...  


My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she
kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her, "Do you know him?"
"Yes", she sighed,
"He's my old boyfriend.... I understand he took to drinking right after we
split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn't been sober since."
"My Gosh!" I said, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?"
And then the fight started... 


BA BOOM!!  

No I must repair I marriage with DJ  :-)   

Now I must leave you .

Rod  

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

It's all about Minnesota (almost)

I have to say this before I forget this amazing invention. Seems a good number of pets are getting fleas lately. My coworker friend says she uses Frontline but this just makes the fleas active and jump off her dogs! So the trick is to catch those fleas as they look for more succulent blood! They are attracted to humans!

Here is what needs to be invented and I believe Graham Man might be the engineer to do it! Special sticky shoes. Perhaps impregnated with honey or some other "green" material. The fleas would jump on the honey-shoe and get stuck!!

All you have to do is walk around!!!!   Then when the shoes get filled with fleas just toss them out (or let your dog lick the shoes as a special treat).
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Then there is the Vikings. I hate the team, the head coach is so lame it's surreal and 10% of their fans are arrogant boneheads. Yet - you have to admit, the Vikings have the worst luck in all of pro franchise's!  In fact many of their bonehead blunders actually have names and are urban legends!

** 4 Superbowl losses

** 5 straight losses in NFC Championship games


**The love boat incident

** The Whizzantor

**Gary Anderson who had just completed the first perfect regular season in NFL history (not missing a single extra point or field goal attempt the entire year), missed a 38-yard attempt with less than 2 minutes remaining in NFC championship game that most likely puts Vikes in Superbowl in 98.

**in 2003 Arizona's last second touchdown on 4th and 28 against Vikings eliminated Vikings from playoffs. The moment of Arizona's touchdown was actually the first moment the entire season in which the Vikings hadn't led their division. The Vikings became the second team in football history to miss the playoffs after getting off to a 6-0 start

**The "Hail Mary" pass Drew Pearson caught against the Vikes in 75 NFC championship to give Dallas the win in the final minute.

**Jim Marshalls wrong way run

**The Herschel Walker trade in which Vikings gave Dallas three 1st rounders, three 2nd rounders, plus a 3rd and a 6th rounder in addition to 5 players. Walker lasts only 3 seasons in Minnesota
.
**Vikings despite being favored, The Vikings lose 41-0 in NFC championship game in 2000.

**Green Bays Antonio Freeman makes one of the all time great miracle catches in overtime to defeat Vikings in 2000

** With 19 seconds remaining in the 2010 NFC Championship game the Vikings call a timeout on 3rd and 10 at the Saints 33 yard line. They had one timeout remaining, so the smart money was on them running the ball and hoping to gain four to five yards -- thus setting up an approximately 45-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. On that next play the Vikings are penalized for 12 men in the huddle. The penalty pushed them out of FG range and most likely cost them a trip to the Superbowl. See below for nail in the coffin on the next play

**2010 Favre`s 4th down 4th quarter interception with seconds remaining vs Saints in NFC championship puts New Orleans in Superbowl.

Now . . . . Moss      -   at least they have a lot of woods and trees to calm people down.
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The Holiday Parade will be November 26th at 6:30

The Columbus Chamber of Commerce is being revitalized - THANK YOU!!!    They are meeting every Wednesday at 7:30 at the F&M Bank starting at 7:30. They now own the domain name for the website and are working on it! (I will hold my breath).   It's too early to high five them but at least it is movement in the right direction.  BRAVO!!!

Congratulations to DiscountOfficeItems.com. of Columbus.    Inc Magazine ranks  DOI  at 25th among all retail stores in growth rate with a three year growth rate of 483%.

Have a great day
Rod

Monday, November 1, 2010

Packers - never a doubt!!

So when a referee goes under the hood to review a play - is it ALL up to him? Or are there others "upstairs" helping with the decision!

A game like yesterdays Packer game is nice because it gives me fuel for the argument about who has a better team. The old - well the Packers lost to the Bears - THUS - the Bears are a better team style argument.

In Pro football in order to REALLY see who is the best team, I believe you would have to play something like 180 games to take out the luck factor. So while most people are discussing going from 16 to 18 games - I say go from 16 to 180 games!!!

Let's see how Brett would handle a 180 game season! He is reminding me of the THE BLACK KNIGHT in Monty Python who kept getting a limb chopped off but continued to play!

I'm thinking you could make a pretty good parody putting Brett's voice to the Black Knight!



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I won my HUGE "A" game this week. It's 3-1 and STILL under-performing!!  56-16 in 18 years of real time wagering.  My "B" games are 171-103 63% over the same 18 years! I believe (seriously I do) that this is the best results in the world for NFL wagering year in and year out!

The common mantra in every book and every person that actually has a clue about sports wagering says that NOBODY can hit 60% in the long run!! Well - 18 years 225-119 for 65.41%. I rest my case. (6-3 this year).

Looks like the Packers will be 9 point favs over Dallas next week. If they get to be a 10.5 fav I would have to bet heavy on Dallas! I hope I don't have to do that!

In the NBA I'm 20-12.5  Up 5.7 units in 4 days!  
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I had a very odd thing happen. I was about to pick up Elwood and got a phone call. I pull over into a parking lot and it's a woman from Milwaukee who and seen my art in Starbucks and loved it so much she wanted to have my art as the feature artwork in some big complex. A mammoth wall with 3 HUGE images.  We talked for 20 minutes and I said drop me an email and we would figure out logistics!

Later Saturday night it get an email

"enjoyed meeting you blah blah, appreciated your willingness blah blah Drove to West James Gallery but "Your applications at West James were not like Starbucks" (because I actually consider WHO is looking at my art) . .

"Upon further consideration, I regret that we have decided to go in a different direction".

WHAT?

What did I do wrong?  One place was not like another place thus . . . .  move along, nothing to see here?   Talk about letting some big time air out of my balloon!   Lady - I'm good, I really AM what you want!!  You messed up!  I would have given you some pretty powerful images! 

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Someone really SMACKED the side of our house with a couple of golf balls.  Two actually.  One was about 3 inches from the window!! Ever since Kestrel Ridge cut own the natural area between our house and the course we have double the amount of balls in our yard.    In fact the last month has been sort of ridicules!  Two pieces of siding are cracked and 7 balls in the yard. Compared to 4 balls the first 3 months.  Now that can rip it and miss hit it into our house!  

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It's that time of year - the time to order a new lamp for the TV.  Every year (actually about 13 months) our bulb on the DLP TV goes out and we have to not only order another one but spend for next day shipping!

 NOT this year!  get it early!  No "next day shipping".
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It's the 1st day of the month - HAPPY November!!

Cheers!
Rod