Unconnected

LOL - Left Atlanta IL yesterday with a little pamphlet of things to do.  One thing says "Take a once-in-a-lifetime photo of yourself with a 19-foot tall statue of a guy holding a hot dog".

I don't know, that just reads funny.   I'll have more on that in coming days.
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Have I mentioned that I will never buy a car from Jon Lancaster again?  Oh - we love the car totally but talk about a shady company trying to screw you every chance they get.  I'll talk about that soon also. 

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My buddy Elwood is a non-fiction snob.  He can not understand how people can waste their time reading fiction books.  What a waste of time.  He only reads non-fiction and can not understand how people can spend time not learning things.

My view is that when reading fiction you ARE learning things. It's the difference of learning facts and learning life experience.  When you read fiction you are always putting yourself in the protagonist shoes, what would YOU do in this situation (plus I tend to read historical fiction).

For instance, I've had people come up to me when I 'm taking photographs getting in my face asking me what I'm doing.  I'm sure that in my fiction books someone has had that same experience and I saw how they reacted and handled the situation.  Instead of standing there not having a clue how to react and what the best course of action was, somewhere in my readings something like that had happened to someone else. 

Reading non-fiction is like having a teacher tell you to memorize these facts for a test.  Reading fiction is when the teacher tells you a vague outline and you need to actually THINK.

Reading fiction you learn people skills.
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So DJ and I went to Springfield IL this weekend for a visit.  We knew Ralls and mom did not have WiFi but what astounded me was they didn't even have internet.  WHAT??   They should have a sign on the door, NOT CONNECTED!!  How was I going to find out exactly what the Fontina cheese was that I had purchased.  Inquiring minds wanted to know.  

The internet is like having the worlds largest encyclopedia at your finger tips and I'm always lookign things up!  

The odd thing was that there were no WiFi signals anywhere, even locked ones! (Did you know the FBI were in Columbus the other week?  I noticed that an FBI WiFi signal was in the area . . but it was locked).  

Otherwise it was an excellent weekend.  OH - we filled up our tank at $3.14 a gallon!  SWEET!!!

We turned my mom on to Downton Abby and she loved it. We watched three episodes but the odd thing was I think she was watching something different.   For those who have seen season 1 remember episode 3 where the Turkish Ambassador sort of forces himself on Mary who was not really trying to stop his advances too much.  Well, my mom hated that rape scene.  DJ and I explained that it was not a rape scene but I don't think she bought it.


Along with visiting mom and brother I needed to get some photographs in case I pass the jury for Springfield's much smaller version of Art Fair on the Square ( The Old Capitol Art Fair).  It's smaller but costs half the amount at $300.

ANYWAY -  we here in Wisconsin think our State Capitol is outstanding, and it is.  However it pales compared to the Flatlanders down south.  While our Cap is stunning and huge and very formal, the Illinois capitol is more homy and vibrant, more friendly.  Not the behemoth that Wisconsin's is but smaller and more colorful. 

I'll have more shots coming up but here are the two I have so far.    I did not get to the 2nd and 3rd floors yet as they were closed and of course there is always renovations going on which I believe ALL capitols must go through constantly.

Their Capitol is in a French Renaissance style and ground was broken in 1869 with the building completed 20 years later. 

sculpture of a woman with open arms represents "Illinois Welcoming the World". Singer and actress Lillian Russell was the model for this statue. However that is now being disputed.

Side note - I believe Illinois has had four governors go to prison.  

And this one is from the outside of their Capitol.

Speaking of the Hurricane (which Elwood knew nothing about, he was too busy reading non-fiction books LOL)   There have been some pretty cool shots from New York and a large number of fake shots.

a real photo

 

Odd- just like a movie I saw!!  too weird

OK - I have some programming to do.

Talk to ya later.

Rod

BUY YOUR OWN DAMN CANDY

I have a dentist appointment at 9:30 today. Been seeing this guy for 25+ years and we keep moving farther and farther away from each other.  He keeps moving west and I keep moving east but I don't want to switch.

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Network and I played Trappers Turn yesterday and Trapper had his way with me.  Actually I had my way with myself as I brought my "D" game. Network who never has a bad round was excellent.  Him and his damn conservative "oh straight down the middle again" game!   It's almost like I had not golfed for 2 months.

The thing was when I hit a ball off the fairway it was not like The Oaks where you automatically lose you ball.  I would hit it and say "Oh, it's 10 yards away from that large oak" and we would go and with seven layers of oak leaves were never find the ball.  Course knowledge would have been helpful at times. 

I was going to a meeting Tuesday night and realized I had tossed out my golf shoes out to make sure I would buy new ones.   OOPS!!!!  So I went to Dicks who have some pretty sweet sales of shoes.

So I golfed in pretty new shoes yesterday . . . didn't help but my feet were dry.   Trappers Turn is a very nice course.  Took a few photos but it was so hazy they are all rather dullish . . a little. 

Some of the holes have NINE tee boxes.  The tips are crazy far away.  I would need to drive to the NEXT tee box.
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Gotta make this a shot blog today - I have a 3 hour drive to the dentist  LOL

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A photo of Caydance I took last night. She likes to wear my caps. She picked it up and wore it around, then when she was me she took it off and handed it to me but I put on another one and she put it back on.   She is up and walking around and now getting in all sorts of fun trouble with her litter big sister.  And yes - she is always that happy.

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BTW - that is a freaking hurricane that is going to hit the east coast - don't kid yourself into thinking this is just a big storm.  It's going to wreak havoc. 
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I made some yummy cookies last night - DJ says they look a little dark.  I said she just did not appreciate roughage.

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And then there is Walker and his corrupt Government.  COME ON MAN!!!  He disbands the Department of Commerce and creates his own private company for business.  Then loans out 80 million dollars to his cronie buddies and then "forgets" that they need to pay the money back.   One loan DIDN'T even have to be paid back at all.

Wisconsinites who voted for him are like lemmings.  Fix Wisconsin's deficit by taking out a loan to pay for the loan and all of a sudden we are debt free.  HMMM  oddly we still owe a lot of money but are debt free??   What a freaking mess he has created.  Wisconsin is losing millions of federal dollars because we no longer have staff to complete projects because of "smaller government" AND he just turns down money because  . . .well, we don't need no federal dollars.

Walker - what a freaking corrupt idiot. The guy barely completed high school and cheated so much he was kicked out of collage.

OK OK - step away.
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AND THEN THERE IS HALLOWEEN.

Why in hell do we have Halloween on  Sunday afternoon. Are the people in Columbus that afraid of the dark?  Take one of the best days in the year away from kids because parents are afraid of the dark?  IN COLUMBUS??  geez.  What happened to that questionnaire we got in the mail.  Were there any results???  

I LOVED Halloween as a kid.  I was at the grocery store last night and everyone was talking about how absurd it was for a Sunday Halloween. Maybe we should have High School Football during the day so we can lock the doors and shut the drapes at night - way to dangerous out there.

And speaking of costumes - better not have any Romney costumes coming to my house asking for handouts - sort of hypocritical ain't it.

 BUY YOUR OWN DAMN CANDY KID - GET A JOB!!! 

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OK - I better spend the next 45 minutes brushing my teeth.  I don't want to get yelled at.

actually ever since I went to electric toothbrushes I've had really really good luck at dentists, seriously what a difference electricity makes.

and finally - I just love this photo - makes me smile every time I see it.

 
later gator

Rod

a little blog

WELL - I caught it for even thinking about dissing the Velvet Frog Mel Torme'. 

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OH - get this little piece of crap.  Remember Brad Frye?  The guy that stole 5 computers from his Columbus Computer store including first my hard drive and then the entire computer??  He was in jail but it seems he got out on probation a few months ago.

Well, he now has an extra 5 new misdemeanor theft charges, 1 burglary and 4 forgery charges. Thank you court system.  Yet another probation gift?
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Missed out on the bigger rain yesterday.  Only 0.22 in Columbus while Madison was closer to 0.70.
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Wasn't the light pretty cool yesterday about 5:00?  I tried to capture it but at the moment failed but I really have not had time to look at most of the shots I took.

HOWEVER - while I was wondering around the Columbus Country Club I got an idea for a project - The Trees of the Country Club.  There are a bunch of pretty sweet trees on that course.  All different shapes and sizes.

Here is one. 

Golfing Trappers Turn tomorrow. Never played there.  I'll have to look for my clubs.

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I was watching Lettermen the other night and they had their musical guests.  It's not often that I'll stop what I was doing and actually listen to the performer but this time it was so unusual and then BAM - I remember the commercial I had heard a riff from.   I can't get this out of my head.

The nice thing was that Lettermen had a rather . . . .contentious interview with a Tea Partier and it was a little stressed.  This seemed to bring a lighter mood to the show.  Cna you think where you have heard this song before?

She just puts it all out there!!

http://youtu.be/PjaYUcIpsps


Cheers
Rod

Run Rod Run

So - after a week of learning how to run again (which is very different then walking a golf course) I decided to get serious.  After-all I have serious running shoes so I might as well do this right.  My goal is to get a 13.1 tattoo so half marathon here I come.

All I have to do is run for greater then one minute.

This week, WEEK UNO - I walk 6 minutes, run 1 minute,walk 6 minutes, run 1 minute,walk 6 minutes, run 1 minute and then collapse gasping for air.

Actually was not bad at all but jogging for a minute seems like a long time for someone pushing 60. (did I really say that?  SIXTY  WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN).

So I do that at least three times in Week uno and next week (WEEK DOS) I go 5 and 2.  

Funny thing is that every time I come in from "jogging" and gasping for air my cat looks at me with pity.  FU CAT!!! YEA - YOU GOT FOUR LEGS FELINE GET OFF MY CASE.

So 1.67 miles at a speedy clip of 13.30 minutes a mile.  Stop laughing - you try it.
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WOW - Rodgers - did you know he has the all time high QB% of any quarterback ever in a dome?  Meaningless but still interesting.   We need to find a Packer Bar in Springfield IL next Sunday  hmmmmmmm   I'm sure my mom will understand the need to get to a bar before noon on a Sunday.

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CHESTNUT trees - who knew!!  Did you know Chestnut trees were almost wiped off the earth in the early 1900s? and NO - it was not because of that song (that's what I immediately thought, I had to quickly delete my I HATE YOU MEL TORME' website).  Did you know that Mel wrote that on a blistering hot summer day?  Took him 40 minutes to write the lyrics and tune.

ANYWAY - Chestnut trees . . . .ahh - who really cares - nevermind.

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Congrats to Josh my son in law for getting a new lower paying job.  He'll be working at (I stress WORKING) Portage Correctional Institution.  His former job was screwing him over with insurance.  One of the biggest richest employers in Madison is chincy with insurance and pay.

Speaking of $$.  Get ready for a tax increase January 1st.  Congress is letting Obamas SS tax go belly up so the average household will lose $1000.  Which is fine - it was part of the budget problems.  That money is needed for SS.  IF was sort of a loan.

You guys do know that a lot of this trillion dollar deficit was from loans from OURSELVES right? Not loans from other countries.  And really - not getting all political her but the deficit is NICE for the average Joe short term as it keeps interest rates low. And don't give me all of this we're concerned with long term.  IF you were REALLY concerned you would understand that 4 years is NOT long term with it comes to the economy.  Good Grief.

Republicans are in a no lose situation here.  Either Obama gets America going (which I HOPE is a good thing right?? sometimes I wonder) OR OR   he does not and we have eight years of Republican control starting 2016.  Right??

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Did I ever post a photo of what our new car looked like (with the original windshield).  Did you know that if you get a rock ding on your window 95% of insurance companies will fix it for free waving deductibles??    It's a safety issue I guess.  Too bad ours was not a "ding".

          
 have a great Monday

Meanwhile, in Russia

WOW - Clearly The coach of San Fransisco had money on Seattle last night! 
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Meanwhile in Russia - live goes on.

Reminds me of the TV show Last resort

Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do.   Remember - In Columbus there is a building downtown with a room but no doors to get into it.  oops! 

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0.20 inches of rain yesterday  bring the October total to 4.48 inches this month,

Rain in Columbus  last 4 years - October 1 to October 18.

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Running - photos - I wish Romney used MY money - seriously

Photos - taking some portraits of horses lately.

Now I know how Velvet Elvis was created.  I think I'll make this into a rug.

A different look at a vacation photo

Bridgejumper game - Play Tampa Bay Bucs +2.5 at Home vs. N.O. 

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I got paid for my Yahoo Fantasy Baseball victory and was $100 richer.  SO - since I had pissed off all of my Republican friends I thought I had better get in shape a little.


Actually I had been thinking of this for a while - the other day I had to sprint across a street and bolted.  A half minute later when I had crossed BOTH lanes I felt exhilarated.  geeez - I used to be fast. In Highschool 10 years ago I ran the 100 yard dash in 11.1 seconds.

ANYWAY - last week I decided I should get up to speed.  I didn't want to be a long distance runner but I did want to sprint a little (without hurting something). But they sort of go together.

I purchased some running shoes from Endurance Sports yesterday.  Cool place.  I COULD have purchased some Nikes or so random inn fitting running shoes from Kohls or something for $70 but felt that "running shoes" should really fit well.  So I went to Endurance, the measured me, and took photos of me walking to see where the stress was and all sorts of cool geeky things.

I got some cool shoes that I swear, are the best fitting shoes I have ever worn.  PLUS - they taught me how to tie my shoes correctly. Everybody tieing their shoes wrong it seems.   When I got home I changed all my shoes and they are actually more comfortable.

I put on my new shoes and went for a jog.  I believe I can break the 13 minute mark for a mile!!

This morning I downloaded an app for my phone  MapMyRun+GPS Running.  YEA BABY!!!  half marathon here I come.    
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I see the media is creating more news with it's "latest" polls. COME ON MAN!!!  The polls were taken SIX DAYS AGO.  Before the last smack down.   Good Grief.

The after debate polls show that Obama had a small victory. Big woop.


One of the best predictors for the race over the entire history of America has been the DOW Jones and stock market as a whole.    On March 6th 2009 the DOW hit it's low at 6,626.  Two days later I reinvested all of my funds that were sitting in bonds.  Today the DOW is a 13,557 and there are more millionaires now then in 2008.  Big Business is making record profits.

Then there is this total garbage Obama and Romney are spouting just to kowtow the American public.  This whole China thing and bring jobs back to America.  BOTH know this is just a bunch of malarkey.   If you bring all those jobs back to America a TV will quadruple in price.  Your iPhone or new Galaxy will cost $1000.  Thousands of Best Buy stores will close. The retail industry will go into tail spin.

The argument is that with so many people working there will be a ton of money so we can afford a $1000 iPhone . . . .ever hear about inflation???

The economy is a very very delicate dance.  Oil well leaks, droughts all effect the economy, 911 crushed the economy.  Anybody that blames Obama or even Bush on the economy are clueless.   Yes - I feel Obama STOPPED a Depression.  If there is one thing he has done it's that one thing.

ANYWAY - all these political advertisements - hate them right?  LOL   Just wait.  You will WISH they were back.  I remember in 2008 when the election was over and everybody said - FINALLY - no more political ads but then what happened?   We would watch a show on TV and SEE THE SAME CAR AD SIX TIMES IN A ROW.

Or spend your night watching all of your favorite shows and see TWO ADs  30 times!!!  I remember telling DJ, I wish we had political ads just for some variation.

And if you are a Republican and complain about the ad's  IT'S YOUR FAULT.    remember that the Conservative Right Wing Supreme Court said anybody can spend any amount of money they want.  A business is a person.

In England they have ZERO political ads on their TV.  Against the law over there.

And then there are people on Facebook that say they have done there research and believe Romney is a great businessman.  WHAT???   Have the ever heard of Bain???    Romney is NOT a businessman.  He is a master financial speculator who buys, sells, flip's and strips businesses with leverages buy outs. His money comes from windfalls from gambling in the market.

Look at what he did with Staples!!

Bain loans 5 million seed money for Staples. 1986
Staples goes public amd Bain earns 15 million and the company employees 1000 people.  1989
2012 Staples employs 50,000 full time employees and Bain is making billions - YET - hundred of thousand main street office supply stores are out of business or acquired.  A net loss if jobs.

Romney is a speculator and he wants to speculate with your money.  HOWEVER - he is very good at it. The question is, do you want him to speculate and risk your money.   HELL YEA - I would love that. Probably not good for the poor but as Republicans say - the poor should get jobs so they are not poor.  If we stopped giving all the poor people all that free money they would all get jobs and not be poor.  Simple.  MAKE THE HOMELESS GO HOME - problem solved!


hmmmmmm - I think that extra cup of coffee is working
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Tuesday Stuff

I love how the media is making up there news now with headline polls.  They takes ONE of the 20 polls that were published Monday and make it a headline.  If you look at all the polls that were published Monday - nothing happened, everything is the same.  But the media comes out with huge headlines.

The headline should read - NOTHING HAPPENED.  But in the USA today it reads  WOMAN PUSH ROMNEY TO THE LEAD!!  Which is worse because it's one subset from one poll.

Then you need to take all of the State Polls which are used for the Electoral Collage votes and how they match up with the National Polls because as far as the election is - who cares about National Polls, it's the State polls that actually predict who will be President.

In the State polls right now in Simulations Obama has a 289.2 - 248.8 lead.
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I can't believe Madison as fired all of the Golf Course Pros to save money to improve clubhouses and fix courses.  Screw what the Pros do like Tournaments, teaching and the PGA says they will no longer hold the PGA Junior Championship.   OH , an no longer can you get anything but cheap swill beer, no hard liqueur will be served as licenses will expire. 

OH - a Pro can be hired back at $20 an hour and virtually no city benefits.

You can tell golf is dieing.  Heck you can play Kestrel Ridge for less then a Madison course.
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Remember what happened 25 years ago today?     Jessica McClure, then 18 months old was rescued from that abandoned water well  after being stuck 22 feet down for 58 hours.

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Can you guess who this is?? 

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Speaking of the upcoming debate.  Make sure you watch the debate on CNN.  While 95% of all networks are the same CNN is awesome for debates.  Seriously.  They have running approval graphs on every word the politicians say.

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I'm reading a pretty good book right now called The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman  . . . . wait - did I mention this here or on Facebook.  hmmmmmmm

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans.

Whew - I was worried there for a second.  

OH - if you are looking to put a wager on a game  PLAY Tampa Bay +2.5 at home vs. The Saints.   Bridgejumper is  33-17 on this section.  And this year Bridgejumper is 10-5 so far.

Vacation Won't stop helling us!

Just when we thought it was OK to say farewell to Vacation Hell . . . . .. we did the Down Syndrome Walk in Madison which was awesome and when finished we went out to the car and the tine little windshield crack where the rock hit the car was not a 12 inch long crack running across the windshield.   SIGH!!!     Guess I'm calling Auto Glass Specialist (where I did my internship 50 years ago for computers).
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RAIN - we had 3.39 inches of rain this past weekend.  Too bad it does not go into the 2012 Water Year calendar which ended October first. On Oct 1st because of evapotranspiration we start to actually accumulate water again.

Columbus officially received 28.13 inches of precipitation from OCT 1 2011 to Oct 1 2012.  Compared to 31.68 2010-2011 and 44.71  2009 to 2010.

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I'm feeling like the old wise handicapper.  The kind you see hanging out in Las Vegas quietly winning.

I've won 10 of my last 14 sports wagers in the last 4 months.  Don't bet often but when something stands out . . . . . .I was all over the Packers last night at +4. Seem like a perfect opportunity.  Good team with their backs against the wall against an overconfident unbeaten team that is chill-laxin with 3 home games and eating good home cookin.  Add that they have a huge injury at MLB and have not had to really go through a catastrophic defensive injury before.  Packers?  They are used to injuries and know how to cope.  

Maybe I should Tweet every time I make a wager.

Like taking candy from a baby.
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WOW - did you see that outer-space parachute jump  . . . . LIVE??  My heart was pounding. 

OH - just called ABRA Glass Specialist - it'll cost $358 for a new windshield.  They come out and replace it at home.    Probebly call Auto Glass Specialist next.   $396 for Glass Doctor but I get a 1 year warranty for replacing anything if more rocks hit the  car.   hmmmmm  

Speaking of the Vacation from Hell - a couple photos.

Ship in the Woods

 Linger Coffee House

Linger Coffee House

 

 

Rock Wall in the Fall

  
The bleeding has stopped and Obama has gotten a little boost lately taking all 14 National polls into account. More polls coming out later today but at the moment Obama has a 63.3% chance of winning.

The Democrats have a 86.6% chance of taking the Senate  which is a big big blow to the Republicans as it shows that that last two years were not a shift in America but an anomaly and America is growing more liberal.

If I was a Republican I would be rooting for Obama.  If the US really does go into the tanks The Republicans will have an easy victory in 2016.  If America does come out of it's funk, can you complain??   Or do Republicans REALLY want America to fail. 
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OK - gotta get'r done this morning - taking horse photos at noon!  

Talk to ya later

Vacation from Hell part 2

A couple political notes about the debate last night.

I thought the VP debate was fascinating and one of the most entertaining ones I have watched.  Who won?

The CBS News-Knowledge Networks of undecided voters (the people that think Biden and Ryan are running for President) had Biden 50% Ryan 31%.

The CNN poll of debate watchers Ryan 48% Biden 44%

Nate Silvers (538 political blog site) said liberal tweeters were far more excited then conservative tweeters.

After the Presidential debate Nate (who is very very good at this) said that the Democrats were one touchdown ahead in the 4th quarter and the Republicans just kicked a Field Goal.

After this debate he describes this in baseball terms.  The democrats got a HOLD.  I know I know for us Brewer fans we are not familiar with this "hold" term as the Brewers had very few this year.  But a "hold" is a good thing. 

A hold is when your team has a lead and your job is to come in and keep the lead. Keeping the lead is better then just breaking even as it gains time and holds that lead for the closer to get a Save (another term Brewer fans are unfamiliar with).

On the Wisconsin front.  We see that Kelly Rindfleisch is taking the bullet for Gov Walker who hired her as his Deputy Chief of Staff (the person that works directly with the Governor) and she sat a few feet away from him but he said he had no clue what she did or was doing.  Seems honest enough to me.
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OK Where was I.

We ate at the Bayside Tavern which is a fantastic "local" place and with nothing better to do on a rainy cool afternoon went to a shop and purchased a few sweatshirts and so forth but DJ was not having a fun time on crutches and mobility was becoming . . . not a problem but more of an irritation.   Like getting a tattoo, does not hurt but is just irritating.

So we took a drive around looking at the amazing fall colors.   I was particularity looking for birch trees as birch in the rain is wonderful.   I found a patch and took off into the field in the rain.

Probably did not help my cold kneeling on the wet ground and I was pretty wet afterword.  This is the first of many birch shots I'll trudge through in the next few weeks.  I'm thinking of making a triptych (a work of art divided into three sections).

One thing I'm working on with my computer is that what "I" see on my screen normally has a less pinkish hue. The final products are more pink so . . . .whatever.  I need a better screen and should REALLY fork out some bucks for a professional screen.

And while we were driving around aimlessly I took some shots of our new car which was getting 42mph so far (final average for 556 miles was 38.9mph).  This car has an amazing amount of room on the inside (57.3 cu feet).  A normal 6 foot human could easily fit in the back seat. 

2010 Honda Fit Sport

 So were driving around in the rain, DJ has her foot up on the dashboard (which I always find sexy . . except for that cast wrap thing) and we're both sniffling and coughing like the plague.  I pity the people that have our room after we leave.

I take another random road and come across a ship in the woods.  I've always known this was somewhere up here but I had never found it before.

Can't quite figure out how to work this shot yet so it's a work in progress.  One of those "I'll get back to you " shots.   Of course I reacquainted my knee and pants to mud and water.

Ship in the Woods

 So we drove and drove.

Oh - the offending Coffee Shop got more of our money and I believe I will be able to put some images into their shop . . .but I'm not going to tell them about DJ.  I don't want a "pity showing".

Sharing Stories

We ate at Bayside Tavern again but by that time I was losing my taste buds and pretty much everything was tasting the same.

We decided that night that we might as well go home the next day and wave the white flag on this Door County event.

The next morning we went to The Oilerie to refill two bottles of Olive Oil and taste a few more varieties and get a bottle of this 25 year old Balsamic Vinegar which is totally amazing. "It's rich, thick and luscious. Almost like a liquer."

Then up to Ephraim for a quick photo op and the lack of water is amazing.  Seriously - look at where the waves are and where the dock is.   OBAMA - WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THIS!!!  DAMN YOU  LIBERALS! 

Then to Decorators Gallery to pick up my last four 20x30 Gallery Wraps.

And finally one last stop at The Alpine Golf Course for one of the best holes in Wisconsin.  And BTW - I hit the green the one time I drove this hole.  Only 170 yards away but 150 down, plus I used a 7 wood so it probably went 150 feet UP before it went 300 feet DOWN and there there is the wind.  I used a ball I was sure to lose.  (and I three putted).

No freaking way will I get close!

Then we started the long drive home.  We like to take Co Rd B south as it's much prettier then Hwy42. A quick stop at Lambaugh but I was going down hill fast and DJ could not drive.

SO - we are now south of Green Bay and in Construction Hell. Seriously - WTF???   We have concrete slabs 10 feet high on either side of the road for 40 miles, can't see a damn thing.  EXCEPT - rocks flying past our car as cement trucks go back and forth and right around Oshkosh I THINK (can't tell where we are as it looks like a war zone)  SMACK!!!!  a rock hits our wind shield and cracks the upper left side.  Then I see a LARGER rock bouncing in the right lane.  SHIT!!!

One thing I learned on this trip is the wonders of Tylenol and colds.  I never considered that Tylenol would help on colds but it does a pretty darn good job.  Next time you have a cold try Tylenol.

ANYWAY - as we drive south and finally get out of Construction Hell near the the EAA we get a call from the vet and Milo's test are back.  GOOD NEWS - we do not have to put Milo down (I have been thinking this all vacation which is not a great thought while on vacation) and he has a fungus in his nose or something.  Just more pills but that is not a problem.  I have never had a cat easier to pill then Milo.  In fact I get the piller thing out and me comes to me - weird.  I think he is addicted to drugs.

That's my story at the moment.

More photos to come!  at some point! 

RM

A Vacation to Forget - Day 1.5

Ever put boots on a dog for the first time and laugh until you almost pee your pants? That is what watching DJ use crutches for the first time was . . .except without the laughing. We headed to Door County to pick up art work from Decorators Gallery and just spend some time up north in the beautiful fall foliage.

We left Milo at the vet as he was going to have a procedure done to fix his breathing problems, the vet said they thought it was polyps (not lollipops) in his throat.  We decide to take the longer, more scenic route by going to Sheboygan and then straight up following Lake Michigan. As opposed to the butt ugly route towards Oshkosh. Oshkosh is a pretty city but that area near the highway is BUTT UGLY (sort of what Columbus will look like soon).

 I took this iPhone shot at Two Rivers, our first stop.

 

In the afternoon we get a call from the vet saying that they could not find any polyps and with further tests and flushing there was a lot of blood in his nostrils which COULD be cancer.  More tests were needed (of cour$e). 

After checking in to the  Ceder Creek Inn in Fish Creek we thought that since it was so windy we should go to Cave Point to check out the waves.  

As we get there it is just crazy windy (gusts to 53mph) and I tried to take some photos.  The thing was that I ALMOST lost my camera.  It was on the tripod and the wind blew it over towards the water but I caught it.   Almost lost my cap a few times also.   

The odd thing was that water level is 1 inch from record low and their was only 1 or 2 feet of water surging into the cave area.  Plus I could not go where I normally stand because while the lake is low the waves were pushing everything on to the rocks.

Normally I can stand 10 or 20 feet beyond that wave. 

ANYWAY - we have supper at the Gibraltar Grill and are looking around for other things to do.  A few days earlier DJ mentioned that she felt she had been fighting off a cold  for the last few days and it was now here, she had a cold.    

Undaunted as we were on vacation and we walked around Fish Creek and stopped in for a drink at a local bar for ONE beer.  As we were walking back to our inn we spotted a coffee shop and went up the stairs to look in the windows.  We both agreed to check it out in the morning.  

It was dark and the stairs were uneven with uneven stone at the bottom.  The last step was about one inch lower then all the rest and as we went down DJs ankle, which expected to find the bottom at 6 inches felt nothing and reached out, twisting, searching for footing and found it at the most inopportune split second.   

Snap, pop, and I turn around and WOMAN DOWN!!  After a few moments of pain we limp the final 2 blocks to the inn.  

At the inn we see the ankle has an easter egg size  swelling with all sorts of pretty colors.  I go get ice and elevate it and hope it gets better in the morning.

It does not. I go get some coffee at the coffee shop and we decide to find an urgent care which, it seems, is 25 miles away.  We skip breakfast and drive to the hospital and spend most of the day getting xrays and so forth.  Meanwhile . . . . .I think I'm catching a cold.  

Finally about 1:30 we are let loose.  DJ has two chipped bones in her ankle and we need to get crutches.  FINALLY we are free and WE NEED FOOD!!!  

We go to a bar to get great hamburgers and think about what to do.  It's been raining ever since we woke up so not a lot of outside action going on so it's decided to just drive around looking for photos. 

And that is where I will leave you today!  Late Tuesday afternoon. 

RM 

And for entertainment 

Check out

A Bad Lip Reading of the First DEBATE   - LOL

Facebook - the new blogger

Going to be away from a real keyboard for a while. Won another "A" game last night with New Orleans. HOWEVER - you can always follow our misadventures on facebook as DJ and I laugh and cry our way around Wisconsin. Facebook - the new blogger. I think that is why I have not been posting as many blogs as it's all going onto Facebook. Taking Milo (Mr. Gurgles) in to the Doc to get something removed and he can have his "spa" holiday. Cheers

Ninabuck Bridge

NOW I can break out the Champagne (or sparkling wine in America) as I won my fantasy baseball league.  How did I win?  I road the Brewers to victory.

Now if only I could get my fantasy football teams Wide Receiver problems fixed.  I have Jennings who has been a complete bust this year and with him not playing Sunday and my other big gun having a Bye week my second place standing is in jeopardy.

OH - for any wagerers out there. Bridgejumper has an "A" pick. Bet the farm on New Orleans at -3.5 this week.   "A" picks are 60-16 since 1992. 


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 The Bridge.  

Quite a discussion on Facebook about a few of my photographs of that iron bridge.   Seems it's the Ninabuck Bridge.  One of the few remaining 8 Panel Pratt Through Truss bridges in the United States.  Build in 1907  It was moved about three miles up the river.

The discussion on Facebook was the possibility for a big party/dinner being held on the Bridge next year with perhaps a band or something. 

I'm not sure how you actually move a bridge.  "They" actually had to store it for a while.  That would have been cool having a bridge in my backyard. 

I went there yesterday morning in the fog and took some unremarkable shots but did get this impressionistic image out of the bunch. 

Ninabuck Bridge

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Brewing today.  My neighbor brought over some hops he grew so I put together my West Coast Blaster recipe.  The last time I had fresh hops I made The Blaster and it turned out pretty good.

I have Columbus which I'll use as my bittering hop as it's a high alpha hop (15%) but it's awesome for dry hopping.

Centennial has medium intensity with floral and citrus tones and an alpha of 8%  and Willamette which I'm not sure if I'll include that one.  It's sort of a British hop.  I might add some Amarillo which is hard to find these days.

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Taking a road trip to Door County next week.  I'm hoping there are still some leaves on the trees! 

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OK - I'm in brewing mode - gotta run!

Put away the Champagne

Romney in Final Push to Alienate Remaining Voters 
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So I was looking at my results of my fantasy baseball and wondering why I was not getting congratulations and so forth and start to read the directions.   WHAT?  It's not over??   oops!!!  3 more days!!! sigh!!   (Did you know that on the photo.net forums if you put ?? or !! you get an error saying only one ? is allowed, I guess they have memory problems!!!).

So my fantasy team has today and tomorrow to hold on.  I've been riding the Brewers for a month now and they are doing great for me.  For the last month I've had Gomez, Weeks, Lucroy for most of the year and their starters have been really good.  I pulled away a little last night.
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Packers - I said if they could go 2-2 in the 1st 4 games they were in good shape!!  So far so good.  I feel it's not that the Packer offense is that much worse.  It's just that other teams had an entire winter to figure out how to beat them.  So now they have to look for new ways.  McCarthy is pretty darn good at that.  Plus - would you rather have them be hot NOW?  or at the end of the season.

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Great idea!!! 

 
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So I take the new car to work today and forget that my access key is in the old car.  HMMMMM  I'll have to follow somebody in.  I walk up to the building and everybody is coming out.  Gas leak we're told.    But 10 minutes later we allowed to enter.  No problem getting in. 

Gas was spilled next to an air intake.
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I put this on facebook last night - a giant cockroach was crawling across the field in the Bear game.   I thought it was a mouse or something and rewound.  YEW!  

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OH the Yahoo Fantasy Football report

The Grinder picked up their third win in a row when they defeated Levi Stubbs 121.90 - 95.90, recording the highest score of the week. With Dennis Pitta delivering zero points for The Grinder, the margin wasn't as big as it could have been. Levi Stubbs goes to 1-3 and falls to ninth place. The Grinder is in second place having also recently run over diebradydie (81.02 - 78.74) and I Love This GAME! (100.52 - 86.02).

YEA BABY!!!!
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The new TV season is underway and it's always interesting what happens in Season #2 of new shows.   You gotta think that most producers and writers, when they create a show are most concerned with the 1st episode and maybe the second episode.  Thinking of season two is ludicrous, just try to get ON TV first. They if you are actually picked up you are stressed out at thinking for 12 to 20 MORE shows for the current year.  You might not make it to year two.

But then you get picked up for year two and GULP - what happens next.

Remember Jericho? - a really good show Year One but died year two.   

Person of Interest, one of my favorite shows looks really interesting as The Computer seems to actually have a mind of it's own. I love the direction this show is going.  Have not seen Season two of Once Upon a Time yet (I'll have all night Wednesday for catching up).

Last Resort was GREAT but I read the 2nd show sucks.  This was one of those show where you put everything into the Premier and they the 2nd episode goes a different route because you had no idea if there would actually be a second show.

OK - nuff said!

Fall Colors - and I WIN!!!!!

What do you say when you have nothing to say?  Well, in the past I just made up shit.  But I even had LESS to say then "before" so I just said nothing last week. 

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Yesterday it was stress Sunday.  My Fantasy Baseball team was in the Championship week with $100 on the line and it was so freaking close.  I actually sat down as many of my pitchers as I could.  I had a 0.20 edge in ERA and less in WHIP and wanted to hold on.  HOWEVER - my one relief pitcher went one inning and gave up 2 runs. 

Here is the final result - I WIN!!!! 

Storm had all the ti breakers.  One RBI or one more hit and I lose.

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Went to the Danville Mill area and took a few photos and also a few shots that Elwood wanted from around the house.  Our big landscaping day consisted of watering and drinking beer Saturday.  hmmmmm  things have calmed down a little.  LOL

ANYWAY - the sky was pretty crappy - sort of a washed out sky so  few shots got away due to lack of wonderfullness but I did get a few. 

enough for today

rm