12:00 Parade in Columbus

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www.FrontPorchColumbus Dot Com

Here is what I'm going to attempt to do over at FrontPorch.

frontporchcolumbus wants to help our local soldiers stay in touch. Every Friday I would love to have friends and loved ones send a message via our website to solders deployed around the world.

Anything you want to say, funny stories, family news, whatever. The message's will be posted on the site all weekend for our solders to read and of course archived if they can not view them on the weekend. News from home can be such a wonderful thing. You can even send a photo or two that I will post.

This site is your website, all I do is post good, interesting things. So if you just want to write something good about Columbus or leave a Friday message to the troops, you are all welcome. The world awaits. Columbus is a great little town. Let's spread the word.

Just a way to keep them in touch with what is happening in the area.
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It's been confirmed - The Parade starts at noon with the last tractor going by about 8:30 (long parade).

Fireworks will be at sunset and if you have never seen the Columbus Fireworks you would be shocked at how good they are. I was.
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Anybody watching American Idol? We have missed the last two weeks and totally missed the transformation of Adam Lambert. Here is the before and after - holy cow.


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There is a hole in the beer pipeline.

Seems I'm paying the price for the January lull in brewing. The two month lag is biting me in the arse, that and I'm trying to age the brews more.

HOWEVER - This weekend a magazine will be interviewing me and other members of the Wort hogs about home brewing at Cannery Wine and Spirits in Sun Prairie. I'll be boiling a brew outside their store Saturday 3-5:00.

This will be the 4th weekend in a row for brewing which I believe is a record. Next up is my first Belgium Strong Pale Ale with all sorts of odd things going into it. Anise seed, Sweet Orange peel, Clear Candi Sugar. This will not be ready until next winter. I received my huge order of supplies yesterday.

I also have a Porter that is wonderful. It's been really hard to NOT drink it.



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Is this the 1st Wednesday of the month coming up? Anybody thinking of the Kurth.

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I had to buy a Pantone Huey Monitor Color Calibrator for my computer. Seems my laptop color calibration sucks. This will make the calibration perfect AND has a little thingy that will change the screen as the ambient light changes.
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JJ Hardy. An interesting set of stats.

After just four seasons as a Brewer, Hardy has already accumulated more wins above replacement than all but two shortstops in Brewer history. He consistently draws the obvious comparison to the greatest Brewer shortstop, Robin Yount.

But of you look for baseball players with comparable hitting careers at the age of 25 look at the top 10 that are most comparable to Hardy.

1. Lance Parrish
2. Rich Gedman
3. Jhonny Peralta
4. Russell Martin
5. Benito Santiago
6. Tony Batista
7. Stephen Drew
8. Felipe Lopez
9. Edwin Encarnacion
10. Matt Nokes

Anything jump out at you? Only baseball fans will notice this.

Hardy becomes a free agent in 2010 and will get a LOT of money somewhere. Will it be on the Brewers? Perhaps not. The crew actually have a BETTER Shortstop in the wings and Hardy's best hitting years MIGHT be behind him already.

BTW - Ken Rosenthal (Baseball guru) predicts Yovani is the man for the NL Cy Young.

Peter Gammons says this is going to be Rickie Weeks breakout year "after watching the work Willie Randolph has put in getting Weeks to slow down his game." Think how much better the Brewers would be if Weeks played up to his potential.

Any Strat-o-Matic fans out there? Fielding numbers. Braun - 4, Cameron - 1 Hart -3, Fielder -4 Weeks - 4 Hardy -2 3B . . . .who do we have there???? Seriously - I'll have to loo oh yea . . Hall. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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GOOD NEWS - the baby hippo will NOT be fed to the tigers!

There was a report that the baby hippopotamus would be killed and fed to the tigers because of lack of space at a Swiss zoo. I have to laugh as if this actually happened I would NOT want to be that zoo director. Can you imagine the outcry once the news got out??

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This day in Wisconsin History

1918 - Northland Professor Tarred and Feathered
In an anti-German hate crime, E.A. Schimler, a language professor at Northland College, was taken from his room on the evening of March 31, 1918, by a mob of masked men to a lonely spot a half mile from Ashland, stripped of his clothing, covered with tar and feathers, and left to fend for himself. He walked back to his boarding house in Ashland, and then was taken to the YMCA to clean himself. The authorities said there was no doubt, "that the mob were very liberal in the use of tar and also had on hand a lot of feathers."

Well YEA!!!!