Biggest Storm EVER

According to NOAA the storm we just went through was the largest non-tropical storm ever to hit the US in recorded history.

Of course you are saying WHAT? the thing is that there was only rain with it so instead of 15 inches of snow and 70mph winds for 2 days, it was just wind.

This storm was also the largest storm to hit the Great Lakes (which seems logical, I don't know why they distinguish between the two records) surpassing . . .

The Cleveland Superbomb - 1/26/1978
The Armistice Day Storm - 11/11/1940 (I've blogged about that)
The Anniversary Storm - 11/10/1998
The White Hurricane - 11/7-9/1913
The Witch of November - 11/10/75 - The Edmund Fitzgerald Storm

Now we need a name for THIS storm - how about The Big Blowhard.
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My laptop is having problems.  The CD drive no longer seems to exist!  DAMN YOU!!  I don't know if it is software or hardware but it'll probably cost me $200 to find out!  I could buy a nice desktop computer for only $300 more!!!   (plus $90 for Photoshop CS3).

grrrrrrrrrr
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Yesterday was American Beer Day not to be kornfused with National Beer Day or International Beer Day.  Yesterday in 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt enacted the Cullen-Harrison Act, the first step toward the December 5 repeal of Prohibition.
 
The act allowed for beers under 3.2 percent alcohol to be sold in the United States. Plenty of people felt a weak beer was better than no beer at all, so they lined up at breweries nationwide to buy beer legally for the first time in 13 years.

Beer is proof God loves us, and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

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 You guys notice that Sherwood Motors is now open on Saturdays?  I went to Frank Porth Chevy to have a trailer hitch put on my car . . . . . they said they could not do it as no hitches were available for a Subaru Outback . . . . .what???    Well - Sherwood Motors said they can do it for $520ish   $275 for the Trailer hitch, $102 for the special wiring needed and about $120 for installation. (so much for a desktop computer . . . . or actually FIXING my lap top).

But - I no longer want to Beverly Hillbilly it to Art Fairs, loading two cars to the brim  - rather rent a small U-haul for $15 a day.
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See that North Carolina legislator that apologized for a campaign flier?     The flier had "Covering Our Solders Backs" which seems like a good thing, except pictured are the backs of four WWII GERMAIN solders!

oops!   I guess they all look the same?
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Sort of like Ron Johnson who when asked how he would help create jobs said "I'm not going to get into that game".  What??   I guess that is why the republican Green Bay Press Gazettes is backing Russ Fiengold.

In an interview last week.

Asked to explain his jobs plan, Johnson banged away at the GOP mantra: cutting spending, regulation, etc. That didn't satisfy the editors.

"There's no real jobs plan?" one interviewer asked.

"I would say bring fiscal discipline to the federal government," Johnson replied. "We've got to curb spending."
That didn't satisfy his interviewers.


"So your jobs plan is to control spending. But what about the middle class?" the editor responded. "I mean, I hear you talking a lot about business, businesses. But I mean, what is your plan for the middle class?"

"We have to get the economy moving," Johnson said, frozen.

"Isn't that pretty simple though what you're saying is just, you know, elect me, to go there and cut spending and everything will take care of itself."

OH MAN!!!

100?

Did you see that new obsession in the news last night? Owning only 100 things. They showed these people who's total possessions can not total more then 100! My question is , do socks count as 2 or 1. How about toilet paper. Can you get buy without it? Remote for the TV? Is that included WITH the TV? FOOD??

Seems there is some room for loopholes!
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Lowest barometric ever recorded in Wisconsin happened yesterday! Columbus got down to 28.76 inches. Highest wind gust was 60.7. We went from September 21st to October 23rd with zero measurable rain and from Oct 24 to this morning 3.09 inches have fallen.

A good chunk of Columbus was without power for 8 hours (?). Did not come back until about 11:00 last night in much of the town. Seems a tree fell on a tree which fell on power lines!

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STILL trudging through Door County shots!

 I've found I work best (meaning I get less confused) when I have 3 or 4 shots in the works and just leave all the others along.  Then once the ones I like are complete move on.   Otherwise I have 20 all 3/4 done and I'm not sure where I am on any of them.

Cana Island Lighthouse

 

Fish Creek

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I lost the Lakers -7 but won the over.   After talking to balderdash yesterday I found out I miscalculated the Home Field advantage.  Also REAL handicappers said that the Laker's would be much to interested in their new pretty rings to play heads down basketball. 

I did win $$ on Boston beating the pathetic Miami Heat. Watch for a revenge game in a few weeks.

Have a breezy day
Rod

Bad Hair Tuesday

One bit of happy news - IT'S A GIRL!!! Jenny had her ultra sound and and a healthy little girl is on the way!
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Another bit of news is I passed my Bartending License exam.
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Is it too late to play the "I was bullied" card? I had the snot kicked out of me in Junior High. Although while I was pretty bloodied I did happen to land a surprising right hook and gave the dude a black eye which made me sort of a legend for the rest of the year!

He was not actually expecting me to fight back . . . then he REALLY tore into me! What did I do to deserve a snot kicking? I showed no fear (I guess I should have)and did not back down (big mistake).

My other mistake was when he had a hold of me and said put your arms down and I said something like "I'm not afraid of you" and then he blasted my face. hmmmmmm wrong reply I guess! Oddly I remember that I was more concerned with where my glasses flew more then the the warm sticky red substance coming from my mouth! Once I found them I was pissed off, took a swing, landed a right hook (the guy was WAY bigger them me - was I STUPID?)

It became pretty much one sided after that.
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Went to Nepoli's Saturday night with Josh, Jenny, Caydence, and DJ and had a fantastic meal. The Cajun Chicken over Pasta is awesome. Just a hint of hotness - perfect.

I asked Sarah the Manager about the "for sale" thing and it was a broker brain fart mistake. There is no way they are leaving. The place is the "IT" place to go in Columbus for a good, relatively inexpensive great Italian meal. Entree's are in the $8 to $12 range. The pizza is real New York Style pizza.

We left about 8:30 and people were still coming in. ALTHOUGH - my one tiny blip this time was it was a little cool in there, just a heads up. Dress warmly.

Serious good place to go.
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For any gamblers out there.

My BIG pick in the NFL is San Diego -3.5, this is an "A" pick which over 18 years are hitting over 76% (53-16)in real time betting. 2-1 this year - underperforming.

Also in the NBA take the Lakers -7 and the OVER 196.

OH - The Cowboys just got a little more easy to beat (if that could actually happen).

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Had a very weird thing happen Saturday. We were driving past the old Mautz Paint store on East Wash and for some reason I thought of a Manager of Mautz that I knew about 25 years ago. He had retired and was the owner of a Comic book shop next to a liqueur store I worked at (and was held up by gun point but that is a different story . . .I should have kicked that guys ass!).

Anyway I thought of him and then just as quickly forgot about him.

We go the the Sun Prairie Target and are looking around and an old guy and a younger helper go by and . . . . . wait . . . . . was that the Mautz guy? NO WAY - couldn't be!!! And I walked around for 10 minutes with a big "?" above my head.

Saw them again and walked up and asked if he was the guy! YUP - I don't think of a guy for 25 years, think of him and half an hour later I'm talking to him!

TOO WEIRD!
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Weather - hold on - you ain't seen NUTTIN YET!! You call this morning a storm? phhtttttt - it was a warm up!

Why is it that 40 mph winds and blasting rain against my window irritates me UNTIL the alarm goes off and then it's soothing.

A driving hint. Stay on the windward side of big trucks. No need to have one tipping over on you as you pass it.

Have a bad hair day!

cheers
Rod

Sort of busy-ish!

So I'm taking my tests for my bartenders license and learning all sorts of stuff and did you know that when you get pulled over you should ask to have the breathalyzer test immediately as opposed to waiting to go the the station. It takes longer for the alcohol to reach your lungs so typically the longer you wait the more ALC will hit the breathalyzer . . . . . . unless you are pulled over for a tail light being out . . . then I would not ask for a test.
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Packers - it is so much better at work when the Packers win. Normally when they lose everybody walks around like there actually was no game. Averting people eyes and talking about other things.

Listened to National Sports talk radio driving into work. Too funny! One guy said he thought he saw Longwell ask Brett if he could carry his helmet off the field for him.

To me the booos sounded different this year. Last year the boos were almost half heartrendingly boos because Brett was Viking, this year they sounded actually angry, Micheal Vick dog killer angry.

Also - I think Chilly will be fined for calling the refs a bunch of drunks!

Packers are 6 point underdogs against the Jets next week, Vikings are 4 point dogs against the Patriots.
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Attended the Step up for Down Syndrome stand around this weekend  which benefited DS research.  I'm proud to say that one of my images was auctioned off for max profit and by some stranger (not pity bids).

However - I had to laugh as it had to be the worst nutritional lunch involving children I've ever seen.  Now don't get me wrong here - it's all donated stuff but when  hot dog is the BEST part for nutrition you got some issues.  Along with a hot dog you had chips, Hostess products and could wash it down with pop!

mmmmmmmm!

And good luck to Jenny on the ultra sound today!!   All the prayers baby!!   
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ESPN Loves Madison

The Caring for Caydence team needs you!!

We are dong the Step UP for Down Syndrome Walk tomorrow and are looking for more pledges! Check out the Caydence page if you would like to help out!

Also check out the wonderful photos of Caydence on Jenny's blog

Caring for Caydence

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Not actually a video but a couple National ESPN announcers talk about their experience in Madison.



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Columbus (and Madison and ALL towns) are goign to be hit with a new expenditure.  The government has mandated that ALL street signs (like YIELD, STOP and so forth), must be changed to a new, better reflective sign AND the letters will no longer be ALL CAPS!!  They say that with America getting older and eye sight failing it is easier for reads NOT ALL CAPS!

So STOP signs will be Stop signs!   COLUMBUS will be Columbus.   We have 5 years!
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Getting far behind on TV, with Stargate Universe AND Caprica both starting their season  I'm getting a backlog on my DVR.  Plus several good new shows, Hawaii Five-O, Detroit 187, The Defenders all on at 9:00 they get recorded for earlier viewing which bumps other shows to new dates.

I'm finding it hard to find time to complete my bartenders license training. 

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How do you keep a Dallas Cowboy out of you backyard? 

Put up Goal Posts!
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Pretty Boy Floyd was shot in a cornfield on this date in 1934 and in 1962 Americans were freaking out as it was the beginning of the Cuban Missile crisis.  Remember Fall Out Shelters?  Duck an Cover?     Actually the crisis started on October 15th but today was the day Kennedy started the blockade.  During the next six days, the crisis escalated to a breaking point as the world tottered on the brink of nuclear war between the two superpowers.

Can you imagine?  Here we are today worrying about global climate change and back then it was freaking all out nuclear war.
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Getting excited about results from my NBA Handicapping adventure - I'm going through the 2004 season (I don't have a clue how teams did) and results are pretty nice - if anyone is going to Las Vegas late November - let me know!

It's all I got! 

Cheers
Rod

Step UP for Down Syndrome Walk

 This Saturday is the Step UP For Down Syndrome Walk- join us or even maybe pledge to help out MADSS.

Down syndrome is a genetic difference affecting over 350,000 people in the United States. It occurs in 1 of every 733 births in people of all ages, races, and economic levels. Advances in our  understanding of Down syndrome have led to tremendous changes in the quality of life and expectations.

A silent auction with one of my prints will be available. 

Alliant Energy Center-Exhibition Hall
9:30 a.m. Registration
11:00 a.m. Walk

To donate to the cause  this is Caydence's page 

http://www.firstgiving.com/caydence

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I can hardly contain myself - Justin Bieber is writing his memoirs!   Telling classic stories about playing pranks on his tutors to failing his drivers license! WOW - I can not WAIT!!!  I think I'm moist!   I do hope it is out by Christmas as it will be #1 on my list!!     Move over "George Bush, Warrior King!"  there is a new gorilla in the closet. 

(I don't even know that that means).
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I found this website that shows crime in Madison.   The below image is of all the assults that tahe taken pace in Madison in the last ONE month.

The site is called Spotcrime and you can have it look for shootings, assaults, robbery's and all sorts of stuff.  Gets a little crowded at times and you can sort of by date.  You have to sign up for ALL the functions, email address is needed but I have not gotten any junk mail YET!

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Also - if you own an iPhone if you are using your camera you can tap the screen and that part of the photo will be focused on.

DJ found that if she pressed the HOME button for about 3 seconds a "voice control" function came up.  You can then control you phone with your voice.  Things like  "CALL ROD"  or "WHAT TIME IS IT".  It's about all I know from that department.
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Check out this image !!

  Comes from Game 4 of the ALCS when a broken bat went flying into a $100,000 high def camera.

Did you know that the camera man makes $452,000 a year?  What a wonderful job - you get to go the the best games AND get paid a half mil!
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Did you know that Candy Corn was invented in the 1880s and 22 pieces contain 140 calories and no fat. 20 million pounds are produced annually and the recipe is basically the same as it was 120 years ago.



blah

WERE CLOSE TO THE WEEKEND!!

BTW -

White Boy?

Typically every morning DJ and I jump into the car to go to work and as soon as I turn the key I'm frantically trying to turn down the radio from the high Octane rock station or from the CD with symphonic goth metal death rock. Or sometimes the station is on New Country which does not have to be turned down.

Well . . . today we were taking the other car, the one DJ drives and I jump in and turn on the car and what do I hear "PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC WHITE BOY!!"

sigh - I don't even know who my wife is anymore LOL
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Remember on Survivor when Shannon's own tribe was yelling SHUT UP SHUT YUP when he was at a tribal council as he was shooting himself in the foot . . .then he was voted out!

Well - Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party candidate and once front runner for a Senate seat in Delaware had her party yelling SHUT UP SHUT UP a few nights ago at a debate.

O'Donnell, a self professed expert on the constitution and how America needs to be taken back because we are not abiding to the constitution, had a major brain fart.

Democrat Chris Coons said that the First Amendment calls for the separation of church and state.

WHAT?

"The First Amendment does?" O'Donnell asked during the Tuesday morning debate. "Let me just clarify: You're telling me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?"

At which point the audience started laughing. She also did not know three other Amendments which the Tea Party want to repeal, the 14th Amendment (grants citizenship to every individual born in the United States) the 16th Amendment ( created the Federal Income Tax) and the 17th Amendment (that calls for direct election of U.S. senators . . . before this senators were appointed by the governor).

Now, I don't know all the Amendment's but then again I'm not running for a rather large office in the U.S. Government.
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No photos today - some sort of maintenance going on.

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Had my flu shot yesterday - I'm thinking it 's a fake as I never felt any pain. Seriously, you could have punched me in the arm and I would have felt only a punch. I think the trick is to be totally relaxed with your arm bent.

DJ had her arm straight which actually tightens muscles (I think) and her shot hurt like a mofo. Mine - I think they just pinched me and said I had a shot.

ALTHOUGH - this morning I do feel a little pain, like a 1 on the pain level chart.
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In the summer of 1977 Aerosmith inspected a plane, a Convair 240, that they were considering for an upcoming tour, however they had some issues with the flight crew and decided to look elsewhere.

That plane and crew were then hired by the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. On this date in 1977, due to the lack of fuel which the flight crew somehow missed, the plane crashed killing Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines as well as the band's assistant road manager and the plane's pilot and co-pilot. Twenty other survived.

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Minnesota is 3 point favs over the Packers - I'm not seeing that one. Did anyone watch the Viking game? The sort of suck!!! Tickets for the game can be had for between $300 and $850 and there is still one sky box available for $20,000.

Football Outsiders ranks the injured Green Bay as the 12th best team, Minnesota 16th. The Vikings have a pitiful offense and the Packers have Shawn Slocum's pitiful special teams unit. They should fire that dude NOW!!

OH - the Bears are ranked 21.
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For Sports gamblers! I've been working on some NBA basketball theory's and came across some of my older work on the NFL. This is the "Turnover Difference Theory" and through the years has been a solid 59-60% winner.

RETRACTION - paper has Vikings at -3 - the Packers are favored - making minnesota NOT a play!! WHEW

So the games this week are (remember - I have not tested this for like 7 years)

Dallas -3
Chicago -3
Miami +3
Minnesota -3 = NOT!!!!
S.D. +3
Tennessee +3.5

Have a great week

Knock knock - anybody home?

I know you are out there! HELLLLOOOOO!!

SO - Netflix - I'm currently watching the Mini-series "The Lost Room" and it's really good. The official blub about this series is

"Detective Joe Miller (Peter Krause) finds a key that opens a mysterious motel room, he discovers it's a portal to an alternate universe with contents of immeasurable power. When his young daughter Anna (Elle Fanning) disappears inside, he desperately tries to save her. But Miller must contend with a host of bizarre characters who also want access to the room. Julianna Margulies, Kevin Pollak and Margaret Cho co-star in this eerie miniseries."

If you were a fan of LOST and all the other weird mystery thrillers this is a great show (with an ending).  It's about a strange room where every object in the room has a unique power. Some totally worthless (put an egg in a watch band and it will hard boil the egg) and some are immensely powerful but all the objects are missing.   I'm loving the sci-fi series.

Here is the 50 second trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhAGrJW2Tos




Another movie that has stuck in my mind is Quentin Tarantino's fantastic "Inglourious Basterds". DJ is not to fond of the movie and won't watch it but 90% of the battle scenes are like The Longest Day battle scenes, only a few "wincing" scenes.

Elwood and I watched a bit of it and he said "That was not what I expected at all" as it's mostly non-combat scenes and really the Basterds are not the mane subject of the movie (sort of)!! The movie contains one scene which sticks in my brain and won't let go and I consider one of the best cinematography scenes I have ever watched.

Music by David Bowie and it looks crappy on Youtube and contains a tiny minor spoiler but this movie is full of "I never saw THAT one coming" moments!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBk0-43GIdY
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I went to the combined City Council and CDA meeting last night and for the 3rd time in a row was sent away because of secret stuff. However I did get to see the inside of the new council chambers and it's pretty nice. Looks very official and gives a certain dignity to the city council.

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It was suggested to me that I should take photos of all the quaint little towns in Door County. I had thought of that and it was one of my goals but man, when you look at the towns they just are not THAT photo worthy. All sort of spread out. The towns are wonderful but there are no classic shots that I could find. It's a work in progress, they are there, just gotta find them!

Here is one of Fish Creek.

Have a good Tuesday

Rod

Locked Out

Typically when I come back from vacation I spend the first few hours going over email. This time I'm calling the HELP desk about resetting my Passwords. Seems not only do none of them work but once changed everything is fine EXCEPT for my email account.

Seems the only terminal in the world where my password does not work is on MY machine.

So - here I am.  waiting waiting waiting

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Football. Dang it - My two "A" picks were right on . . .except I lost the Texans by 1/2 point. The last three "A" pick losses have been by a TOTAL of 2 points now. 2-1 this year and 53-16 overall dropping to 77% win rate.  2-1, under performing this year! 

Speaking of the Packers. We play the Minnesota Texters next week. I was watching some sports talk show Saturday night and at random times they would just show Favre getting hit in the little Brett during practice, too funny!

Anyway - the game. The ref's have admitted that that penalty which pretty much lost the game was wrong and they should not have called it. THANK YOU!!!

Of course there are SO many other problems. I see Lynch - the guy the Packers could have picked up for a case of beer played yesterday and had a 2.6 yard average. Also I'm pretty sure Mathews could have played yesterday but that would have put next weeks BIG game in jeopardy.  Look at it this way, with stringers and practice square players the Packers are still in games. 

You might be disappointed but it's not like the Pack is playing with a full deck.

Oddly loss meant less then a win. What?? hmmmm how can I say this. Losing yesterday, I feel, was not a big deal. Yea - a win would have been GREAT but losing in a division full of bad teams means that you just have to beat the other bad teams. The Vikings suck and even though Favre's numbers were good . . . how many games can you win when a QB throws for 118 yards, gets sacked 3 times, fumbles and averages 4.2 yards per pass.

We all know why he has tendentious in his right arm anyway right?

While we were up in Cheesehead country I was surprised at how people disliked him even in Green Bay. But as it looks perhaps Favre might be suspended before the Packer game. But I doubt it. New York law does not prohibit an adult from sending sexually explicit photographs to another adult. So if no laws have been broken he should not be suspended.   Plus - as some guys have said - after seeing the photos some feel sorry for him, but then . . .remember he has big hands! 
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In other news - still trudging through photos from the trip north.  Many of you who get my newsletter saw this one already but I'll post it here.

The interesting thing is that while all the images are getting "group" comments the one that people single out is the Seasons End image. 

This next one is from the 16th(?) hole at Alpine Resort.  175 yard par 3 . The one time I played this hole I used my 7 wood and used a ball I was sure to lose!  Hit it perfectly and as you would think the ball flew into the air WAY WAY high!   came straight down and landed about a foot from the green - I then 3 putt for a bogey!

And yet another image of the Cana Island Lighthouse

nuff for today.

OH - someone emailed me a month ago asking for photos of their house!  WOW - spaced THAT one out!  I believe I was getting ready for the Green Lake fiasco.  Sorry - ask me again next year! :-}

Rod

Like An Italian Without Hands

First - run to your local Sports Book and bet the farm on the 49ers and the Texans. They are this weeks "A" picks and through the years the "A" games are 52-15 ATS and 1-0 this year.
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So I started to write a blog Wednesday exclaiming how amazingly beautiful it was up here(there) in Door County and as I took my card out of the camera I realized I forgot my card reader for teh computer.  So all of my images would have to stay in the camera (which is scary as cards DO go bad at times).

I was like an Italian trying to talk without his hands. You just can't do it. I could not expound the beauty without photos!! I got writers cramp and then the miners started popping out of the ground and my blogging interest waned.

Speaking of the miners! Where they really underground? Looked pretty good to me and some had suntans! I think it's a huge cover up. Not unlike Man Landing on the Moon, yea good one, like I believe THAT actually happened! If man landed on the moon, where is all the green cheese!   I rest my case.
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DJ, Blake and I took off early Tuesday morning and while the talking heads in Madison kept saying "we're at peak colors" I kept see the colors get peakier and peakier until there were times I thought we had taken a wrong turn and were in Arizona looking at the red earth.

The first bit of work was to stop at this wonderful jewelry PKJ Designs in Ephraim as I had purchased the down payment for a birthday ring for DJ.  After that bit of work we took a break and I found a nice spot for a photo of Ephraim. This will give you some idea of the dreary area we were in.

We just sort of drove around and I was complaining about the lack of clouds and bad weather (for photography) but only sort of kidding (well, there was a little truth in it . . . I like clouds and bad weather for photography).

Once we were settled in at The Shallows south of Egg Harbor I decided that since this was a business trip (write-off) I should go see the DoveTail Gallery and talk to Kathy about perhaps having some of my art work hanging on her walls.

As it was  the walls were full but she did say check out "A Decorators Gallery" down the road and I met with Clearance and Mary Ann (who loathes Brett Farve) and I'M IN!   I have three pieces hanging as I speak but they are not the ones I really want for next summer.  More like default images as they will be closing (like everything up there) in a few weeks only to be open on weekends.

Wednesday was a crystal blue day (grrrrrrrrrr).  WHAT IS UP!  Everytime in the past that we have come up to Door the 2nd week of October and it's raining, cold, cloudy . . .PERFECT but NOOOOOO now it's warm and not a cloud in the sky!

We went around to gallery's with $10,000 paintings and $7000 metal things and realized that there are very very few images in gallery's taken with a camera.   As the day wore on I noticed cumulus clouds starting to pop up and we zoomed off to Cana Island.

Everybody in the world has taken photos of the Cana Island lighthouse and they all look the same. So I had to figure out what I can do to make MY images different.

This is my first iteration of Cana Island.  I managed to take about 150 images in 3 days and I've only had a chance to work on five so far so . . . . . . . nothing is final yet.  BUT . . .this seems to be blog worthy.

 OH - this is not the last of Cana you will see.  A lot of people forget to look the other way while at Cana.  I turned around and felt I could do something with looking OUT.

As we were driving back to Egg Harbor on County F, DJ said "I love those birch trees" and I slammed on the brakes and like a little squirrel I would darted across the road and scampered into the woods (this happened a lot actually).   

this is pretty much how the entire mid week weekend jaunt went. Drive, stop, scamper, drive, stop, scamper.

And finally (for today) an End Of The Season image from The Shallows.

  Have a good day.

Rod

Friday blog coming

There WILL be a blog today - let me get copious amounts of coffee in me.

BTW - there are two "A" picks this week - Houston -4.5 and 49ers -6.5

"A" picks are 52-15 over the years and 1-0 this year.

It Was Like Kitchen Nightmares

OK - now that the manager of Napoli's is freaking - it's a good review.
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packers - well . . .at least Dallas lost.   BTW - I've never been in love with McCarthy and I like him LESS today.  Really? go for a TD as opposed to taking 3 free points?  jeez - could have used those 3 points couldn't we.

Also - Ted Thompson is a genius - He NEW the Packers would not be able to use another running back.  Heck - a running back is the least of his worries at the moment.  Well done Ted (seriously).     

Let's just hope Rogers only misses one week.  That front line was really letting some guys get to Aaron.

Brett . . . Brett Brett Brett.  At least the other woman  (is there another one coming forward now?) was good looking.
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Big photography weekend as Saturday I was asked to help on a photo shoot at the Club LaMarc as they were having their annual fall Motorcycle ride and 500 cycles were expected to partake.

There was an special photo I was asked to get and while I was there I took the opportunity to get some bike shots! Also a Biker magazine might be interested in my work so . . . . I spent the morning among and Harley's and leather.

I believe there is only one group that wants to have there photos taken LESS and they are the houseless people. So I was careful not to have any shots of Lug Wrench, Stairway Harry, Jingles, Hitler, Skull and Pan, Preacher, Keg, Woody or Claim Jumper.

I was asked couple times if I was with the FBI and said no. At least this time the owner of the bar did not get in my face.

So here are a few of the shots I managed to get and I worked pretty hard to not show any dudes faces who did not want to be shot.

After that I rushed back to Cbus and took some photos of the Fall Festival which had much less leather but there was a very good size crowd.  I believe the near record temps really helped out and I think I'll try to talk the organizers of the Fall Festival to stage it in early summer next year for better weather.  Last year it was snowing this date!

I'll have photos perhaps in a day or two. It's been a busy few days!

Saturday night we decided to finally pull the Italian trigger and check out Columbus's newest downtown restaurant, Napoli Italian Restaurant Pizzeria.

We arrived about 6:00. It was an early dinner. We walk in and are greeted and we decided to eat outside by the fire. They have perhaps 6 tables in their little veranda , although officially a veranda has a roof.  You are sort of faux outside, open to the elements but surrounded by 4 walls and big umbrellas.

I looked around and there were perhaps 8 tables full in the restaurant which pleased me. I've driven past a few times and there are always customers.   They have an extensive martini list and a good number of good wines.  DJ had a Lambrusco and I had a Sangiovese which is the main varietal in Chianti (BTW -the name Sangiovese is derived from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove").

We both order.  I have a Chicken  Marsala just so I can compare it with The Olive Garden and DJ has Spaghetti.

As we sit there we see more and more people coming in and no one is leaving.  I go to wash my hands and look around and now there are 14 tables full.

We get our Garlic Cheese Bread and . . OH MY!  this is WONDERFUL!! comes with a slice of tomato on it which I quickly discard.  The Garlic Cheese Bread is fantastic.

And more people arrive.  In fact it's looking pretty busy and the wait staff seems to be getting a little behind.  Not time-wise but a few things are being skipped (like silverware).  But as soon as a tiny problem is brought to attention it is quickly remedied! In fact this is one of the things that impressed me. While there were tiny logistical problems, it was always fixed quickly and with a smile.  Typical new restaurant, new wait staff glitches.

DJ and I both get our food in perfect time, not to soon and not to slow.

And more people arrive.  In fact it's REAL busy!

You know when you go bowling you never worry about your left arm. It's just doing whatever it does when no one is looking. Don't think about it, throw the bowling ball.  Well, I had a problem.  I've never eaten pasta without a spoon. I know I know - it is considered bad form to use a spoon to help you wrap the pasta.  But . . . . I had no idea what to so with my left arm.   It was just hanging there with out a job!  I ignored it. 

The only other little quibble was the lack of Parmesan Cheese but I put that under the "outside table" problems which seems to bug ALL restaurants.  To me it seems if you choose to eat outside, you do not always get EVERYTHING.  You are away from the throngs and the rhythm of the waitstaff is a little disjointed.  I remember at Buffalo Wild Wings we were outside and no one EVER gave us water.  In fact I think all of the outside tables were sort of forgotten about!! One person takes the order, another gives us drinks, another delivers the food and then YOUR ON YOUR OWN!!


Well anyway -I loved the Marsala.  It was not as rich as The OG, lighter and very tasty.  Very very good and I say it was better they The OG.  DJ's Spaghetti was very good and she liked it.  We were both stuffed!


By that time the restaurant was 100% full, I say they have something like 25 tables, the bar was packed and people were waiting.  WOW!!!!  


It was like watching the last 15 minutes of Kitchen Nightmares, where Chef Ramsy introduces a completely new menu 2 hours before the restaurant open and then makes sure it's completely packed just to stress out everyone?


Yea - the staff and managers were flying around like crazy and from what I could tell, things were running as smoothly as possible. 

BTW - what is the non-smoking rule anyway.  There was a couple smoking next to us! Just curious, we were outside. Not complaining, I feel sorry for smokers.  I LOVE the smoking ban (I would not go to a restaurant with rampant smoking) but feel sorry for smokers.


I feel this is a HUGE bonanza to the City of Columbus!  You could tell that this is exactly what people needed and were waiting for.  This could be the catalyst downtown has been hoping for. It could be the "IT" place for Columbus!  


The Atwood Community in Madison is about the size of Columbus and it took Monty's Blue Plate Restaurant to really turn that area around.  It gave people a reason to "go downtown".   All of a sudden the buildings next to Napoli's might look a little more entertaining to future businesses. 
 

If Napoli's can continue to draw the customers (which I believe they will with good affordable food in a lovely setting,) this will spur more and more growth.   STANDING OVATION TO NAPOLI'S. 


Another store that seems to be doing well is the Snack Shack with ice cream.

 I took a couple photos of their take home menu!  Don't know about the Pizza. Never had a chance to look at it.  It's New Your Style - pretty much all I know. 

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Tomorrow morning (Tuesday) we are head to Door County for a middle of the week "weekend" trip. so no blog Tuesday. Perhaps Wednesday as we will be at The Shallows in Egg Harbor.

Until then.

Cheers and enjoy the weather.

Rod

Drinking the Lake

Robbi - we can't leave Blake at home - that would be like leaving a kid at home. He loves the forest and drinking the lake. In fact we asked him once at home 'Are you drinking the lake?" and now he gets to drink Lake Michigan, ant not the clear stuff, he likes the tasty slimy green stuff.  

also robbi - The tower rocks will be a long long project! it's like 600 feet of planting, one tiny plant at a time.

deppfan - MSNBC is pretty much like FOX but on the other side of the aisle. It's just hard to see how opinionated MSNBC is when you agree with them so much, which I do. In fact I was just reading yesterday that they call themselves the anti-Fox Network.
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Speaking of bad news - man, have you heard what happened in Hungry? Makes the BP spill look like a little spilled milk.

The walls of a  reservoir containing 35 million cubic feet of toxic sludge gave way inundating homes, sweeping cars and burning people through their clothes and poisoning the air.   It's making it's way to the Danube River.  It kills pretty much anything it touches!

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Has anyone seen the new quarters featuring National Parks?   They have been out since April I guess. There will be 56 new ones when it's all said and done.  In circulation now is Hot Springs, Yellowstone, Yosemite (I hope Sam is on it) and the Grand Canyon.

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The movie Secretariat is coming out and it looks pretty interesting.  Did you know that after Secretariat won the Triple crown it lost to a horse named Onion in Saratoga?   Secretariat's heart weighed 22 pounds and was two and a half time larger then the average horse heart and when he died he was given the rare honor of being buried whole (I hope I get that honor).

Usually only the head, heart, and hooves of a winning race horse are buried, and the rest of the body is cremated.  His remains are in Claiborne Farm, Paris, Kentucky. He was 19 years old.

In his Kentucky Derby performance Secretariat ran each quarter-mile segment faster than the one before it and was still speeding up at the finish. He still holds the track record and was the first horse to run the race under 2 minutes. It was 28 years before another horse ran it under 2 minutes.

The final leg of the Triple Crown, Secretariat won by 31 lengths! If you were a betting man a $2 wager would win you 20 cents!
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Hey - I think I see Joe Bidden parachuting onto the Monona Terrace.

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I shook Tom Barret's hand yesterday - that guy is a big dude - he could kick the shit out of me if he had too. I'm not sure a tire iron would do me any good if I ever had to fight him. I'm glad I said friendly things to him.  Walker?  I could spank him and I bet he would cry like a baby!  but I don't want to spank him . . in fact I feel a little weird now even thinking about it.  How about kicking him in the ass for hating government employees.  It Is all our fault right?

ooooooo  don't get me started.
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BTW - that photo yesterday of the water tower - I have it as my background and I really like it.  Looks pretty cool LARGE!!    I might have to blow it up (the photo, not the water tower).

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Have an amazing warm weekend - MAYBE hit 80 on Saturday??

Rod

No Room at the Inn

The plan WAS to go to Door County next week during the week to not only get some fall color Door County photos but also talk to the Dovetail Gallery and perhaps a couple others galleries. We like going up the 2nd week of October as it's typically less crowded!

So we were looking at dog friendly places to stay and . . .OH OH they are all filled! hmmmmmmm There is a serious lack of dog friendly places. Julies next to Peninsula State Park is full, a place in Baileys Harbor is full and The Shallows near Egg Harbor is iffy! Not sure if there are any other places. We use to have a cabin we stayed at but the last time I looked it was now a multi-million dollar amazing house instead. So we're sort of scrambling looking for places and might have to stay in Sturgeon Bay which, while it's IN Door County it's not what I call "Door County".
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Elwood and I were assessing the tower wall and it seems that while we are away it grows, almost triples in size but then when we go to look at it it's back to normal.  We started to make plans and we believe all the plants we need are in my current rock wall at home.  DIRT is the one problem we are facing. We're going to need a lot of it to fill in cracks. One bag at a time.

We're going to have wild flowers in the wall also in a number of places! But - it's a long long term project. 

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Good to see the new shows I like are getting good ratings. Detroit 187 keeps getting better and is the #2 best new show according to a poll in the USA Today.  Blue Bloods and  Hawaii Five-O and The Defenders are all up there.  Nikita is up there but have not had a chance to see it.    

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Check out our Sweet Autumn Clematis and Blake. This is it's 2nd year (and Blakes 14th).   The plan was for two more around the deck (the plant, not Blake) but I was concerned about bee's. The reviews all said it had a VERY fragrant aroma but in reality it is not much at all and I have only seen on bee on it.  

So next year two more will go up! hmmm seems fuzzy - sorry.

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Have I ever shown you what my canopy looks like?

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I see FOX News has employed every 2012 Republican presidential nomination who isn't currently holding office that might run for office and is not named Mitt Romney employed on there fair and balanced staff.  Many people are saying this is going to be a big problem  because they will have problems staying  fair and balanced.  But . . . .will it really be THAT big of a problem? They are not fair and balanced NOW.  I feel they are the biggest threat to democracy pumping out blatant lies, misinformation and half truths!

O'well.

Have a GREAT rest of the week!!  Awesome weather
Rod      

Work?

Why is it a few days before a week long vacation I get a ton of work. Happens every time.

So things are a little blog shorty until I get a control of some fires.

The one thing that has my brain twitching at the moment is I saw a spreadsheet from a guy that put a $20 bet on EVERY GAME against his Pittsburgh Pirates! He had a 18% Return on Investment over 162 wagers. My electrons in my brain are now active.
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Last night after supper I went to the computer and the internet was down. DAMN IT. I unplugged and plugged everything in and . . nothing.  DJ knows that once we were without internet for 3 days and I got pretty testy! WHO'S ADDICTED!!! (no no no not you who).

So after staring at the wall for 3 hours I watched Stargate Universe and went to bed. Woke up and DJ turned on her computer, I say "Net's still down" and she says "I'm on it".

I walk into my room and from a distance I see a little orange light. IT'S THE WIRELESS SWITCH!! OFF! sigh!

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We signed (over 60 times) our papers for refinancing the house. 4.62%. I'll never go through US Bank again! Just too weird. Never actually spoke to anybody and when we called no one actually knew anything. We never seemed to have ONE person to talk to. All rather vague. Odd thing was was that it was all based in Nigeria and this guy kept called me "friend" and "Blessing me".

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FIRE FIRE!!!

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Recess is over - no fire I guess!

now I MUST work.

Rod

Weekend update

I have a new site for voting on photos - if you feel like clicking your opinion and are not on my mail list go to MPI U B the Judge .

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Jenny Josh and Caydence were over the watch the game yesterday and I took a few photos!

 Speaking of the Packers - at least Rogers rested his arm a little - I think with that potent running attack his arm might be in for a long long year. 

And just to tout my own horn - My "A" game that I told you about (Bridgejumber System) won as the Giants beat up the Bears last night.

What you do not see is that on Josh's shirt is an emblem that says Colombus Fire Department.  He ordered two shirts from an online Fire vendor and received two shirts with Colombus, so he calls and they say "keep the shirts" and he gets two corrected shirts in the mail . . . but, only the back of the shirt is corrected . . . not the front!  He says "Where can I wear these???"   I think he could sell them at Fireman's Park during Red Bud Days.
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I'm loving this time of year and have seen a few opportunities for photos - colors are not peaking yet for a few weeks but the fields are all a wonderful gold.

Sunday morning we went down town for the Fireman's breakfast and there was this huge flag so I snapped off a couple of shots and got this.

I'm thinking that if the flag fell we would have to have a Chilean-like rescue as citizens of Colombus would be trapped under it for days.

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In other news the Amish Snack Shack opened last Friday - Ice Cream, pastries, and a section with crafts.  You can rent a little area sort of  like the Antique Mall except with real crafts (not flea market stuff).  The owners used to run True Value until 2006 and owned the building.   More is going in and I think it's going to be a good place to hang up for a soda pop!  They should get an old juke box with 1950s music!

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Two Guys and a Beer Landscaping were looking at the Tower Wall again and the biggest problem we will have is getting dirt and how to make the dirt stick into crevices - more on this tomorrow


Check out Tigers shot - not photo shopped at all - he totally flubbed it and the ball went at the camera

OOPS

Well - gotta stop and put out some virtual fires!

Rod

Lists

Everybody makes lists. I tried to look up "lists' on wikipedia to see who made the first list but all I got was a list. I'll have to conclude that Craig made the first list.

DJ made a list last night continuing the art of list making and I hope that when the big FLASH hits us and we go into nuclear winter we will not lose the ability to make lists because I feel lists are what separate us from most animals which have opposing thumbs!

I mention lists because I found a list which is so true it's scary. You tell me if this lists does not have a ring of truth

1. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when
you realize you're wrong.

2. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when
I was younger.

3. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

4. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

5. Was learning cursive really necessary?

6. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on Hwy 51. I'm
pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you
how the person died.

8. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of
tired.

9. Bad decisions make good stories.

10. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment
at work when you know that you just are not going to do anything
productive for the rest of the day.

11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue
Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

12. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it
asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report
that I swear I did not make any changes to.

13. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I
know not to answer when they call.

14. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

15. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

16. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and
hunger.

18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up
to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers
and sisters!

20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get
dirty, and you can wear them forever.

21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3
feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

22. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874
and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100
years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

And that is today list.

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The Brewer Starters in September had an ERA of 2.87 and in the last 20 games the TEAM ERA was 2.79. Carlo Gomez had an OBP of .434 Prince Fielder had a slugging Pct of .281 OUCH! Escobar had an on base Pct of .154.

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Remember the Bank Bailout? How 70% of Americans disapproved of it? While I was all for it? It was like finding a Bob Banker a hunter in the woods who had shot himself and was bleeding out. You see him and say, "what a fool" but ya gotta save him. But your buddy Ernie Foxpublican is wringing his hands saying he thinks it best to leave him and the wound will heal on it's own.

All you have is a dirty rag and Ernie says don't use it because he might get an infection and all of Bob Bankers kids will be forced to take care of him all of their lives.  So you say, I'm in power now and I will wrap the dirty bailout rag and save his life.

WELL - seems that rag was not so dirty after all and in fact it looks like America will actually MAKE money. There was no infection at all and the kids are fine, all has been paid back (except for AIG) and America is   financially viable.

If Ernie Foxpublican was in charge we would have at least 25% unemployment, there would be zero savings and retirement accounts as all banks would have failed and we would not be getting out of a so called recession but we would be in a very real depression.

Sometimes, while you might not agree with everything Obama is doing, sometimes, it's good to have a SMART President who is not afraid to make a tough decision.

TARP had it's problems for sure and did not always do what it was meant to do but there is solid proof that TARP saved the world from financial meltdown and cost the American Taxpayers basically nothing.

Stuff that in your pipe Fox News and choke on it.

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I shot this on the way home from Green Lake. Just before I passed the manure spreader.

Have a safe weekend and if you are on Tower drive Saturday, Elwood and I could always use some good dirt.

Peace out
Rod