SNOW

5.1 inches of snow last night   0.68 inches of precipitation.

Alfalfa

We are kicking butt in total precipitation compared to the last few years.  The farmers are saying this has been a near perfect winter with snow on the ground for most of the season.  The big worry now is if it rains and there is ponding on alfalfa. Not a clue what that means - farmers speak their own language.     
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DJ got stuck going out of the driveway.  The dude with the snow blower doing the sidewalks just watched as we struggled. Thank you very little.

Seems Honda Fits are freakishly low to the ground.

When I went to take snow/precipitation readings I looked  yup, all is clear we could get out of the driveway.

But in the small amount of time that I made that decision and when DJ backed up the snowplow had gone through.  STUCK.

A dude stopped and helped, he introduced himself and I was immediately excited.  Could this really be a member of Creedence Clearwater Revival????   OMG!!  I felt like Jennifer Lawrence meeting Jack Nicholson (* see funny below Youtube - it's why I really like Jennifer Lawrence)   I was totally pumped!  But then I looked at him and he was much younger then I thought a Fogarty would be . . . .wait . . . .Peter Fogarty? Was he the malcontent brother or something? The name did ring a bell.

OHHHH!!!  Peter Fogarty the School Board dude.

Well he helped a bit and we spread used Kitty Litter (You're just a scoop away from freedom) on the street (I'll probably get a ticket for that) and after much work the car was free.

Now Milo will go into the street to poop.

Thanks Pete - really appreciate the attempted help!!  We gotter done!  

Jennifer Lawrence meets Jack Nicholson for the 1st time

http://youtu.be/WJmhsJ5T5L0

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This morning I'm preparing some photos for the cover of the Madison edition of Yellow Book.  That phone number thing that no one actually looks at.  They contacted me Monday looking for a shot of the Camp Randall archway which they saw on my blog from a few years ago(???)

Camp Randall Archway

They were also interested in Bascom Hall

Bascom Hall

OH MY - I just saw a Yellow Finch outside - I have to go put the Thistle Seed feeder back up  (thistle seed is not actually THISTLE SEED, it's nyger seed).  WOW - snow is cold on bare feet.

Yea - Yellow book.  Madison edition.  Collect them all.  That's pretty much all I know at the moment.

And of course I'm doing the Album cover for the Stellanovas - maybe something like this!  BTW - MAYBE we will have a party this summer with the Stellanovas performing!!  Everybody is invited - bring your own booze!  Can't feed the entire town  LOL

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Hydro Street Brewing got their 80K loan to expand to a 3 barrel system. I can not say enough how Columbus needs more people like Sandye and Aaron.  Entrepreneurship is one of the keys to small town success. They are like small stocks.  So so much upside.  Columbus needs to really cultivate  entrepreneurship.  (note - that word is just a big brain fart for spelling).
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 Did you know that Columbus in the last 6 years is in the bottom 20% in population growth of the 100 towns of 5000pop?
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Nuff said for today.

Just looked - there are 3 finches on the feeder, maybe 50 Junkos under the normal feeder with perhaps 50 sparrows in a tree sharing.

cheers grinder



  

Golfers Elbows

I turned in my fantasy golf team last week and opening week is next weekend - I can't divulge who my golfers are - too many other players waiting for me to slip.   HOWEVER - I am all over Kevin Chappell!!

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 I get really tired of people saying this generation of kids are worthless and only think of themselves - check out this video and let me know if you get a tear in your eye!

Link to Video

Oscars - anybody watch them last night? Watch Renee Zellweger - was was RIPPED. I'm not sure she could actually focus.

Oddly DJ and I have actually seen a few of those movies.

OH - SAD news - Somehow our DVR did not record the last episode of Downton Abby a couple weeks ago. VERY sad night Friday night.  SO - we saw it was on again Sunday Morning so we could record it THEN.

Argo won best movie which was no surprise - I tried to put a wager on the movie and it was $10 to win $1 (get $11 back).  Not great odds!
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Well - We were also recording the Daytona 500 AND Portlanda Sunday morning at the same time and DIRECT TV did not worn of a conflict - SO - it did not record.   How about the internet?  Seems our PS3 can not show that type of software from PBS.  DAMN IT.

So now we have to watch in on a computer.  We will be like listening to Truman on the radio or something, all huddled around a tiny screen.  grrrrrrr


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Monkey Bar Gym finally got me.

Friday was a tough day at the gym.  100 push ups 100 pull ups 100 Hindu squats and 100 clean and jerks . . with out the jerk part.

When I was done (never made it to 100) I felt PUMPED but Saturday instead of feeling that wonderful muscle soreness I felt other pains in the front of my elbows.  Tendinitis.  Seems I over worked things a little too much.  Golfers elbow. Which is the opposite of tennis elbow. 

Can barely straighten either arm. I feel like I'm in a permanent cramp.

But there in research I was surprised at how you are suppose to treat golfers elbow.   Sure cold to the sore area but that will not really do much but make it feel better.  The key is to immobilize your wrists.

Why??  put your arm out, palm up.  Make a fist.  Now holding your forearm move your clenched wrist towards you.  The muscles on the outside stretch and the muscles on the inside contract.  Now move your wrist the other way.  The muscles and tendons on the inside stretch.  Your wrist is the key, not the elbow.

So I'm going to walk around all day with a limp wrist waving at my friends. Hello Hello!!

The rest of me feels GREAT!! 
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I'm now in hour 10 of fasting and CRAVING . . . anything.  at 9:30 I have a wellness clinic and they are going to do all sorts of tests.  I can't even take bird food out to the birds, I might eat some.

I'll let you know if I live or not tomorrow.

Gotta stop - I'm using my wrists!       

Cheers
Grinder

I have to pitch to the networks.

I thought of a fantastic new show that I have to pitch to the networks. 


It takes place on the Titanic but here is the catch.  Aboard the ill fated liner are all of you favorite characters on TV.

You would have the Modern Family group on one deck and they would have all of the funny disaster jokes, maybe the New Girl cast doing goofy things, Nick would tend bar and Winston would be accidentally pogo-ing passengers. On another part of the ship are the Hawaii Five-O team solving some murder,  the Downton Abby gang would be of course in the high class area while Mr bates is in the brig, below deck are zombies and vampires and of course the Person of Interest team would be trying to stop a murder before it happens. The Once Upon a Time group is dealing with Captain Hook who is trying to take over the ship. Glee and Smash are trying to put on a show and Nucky from Boardwalk Empire is dealing with illegal booze!     


Each week we would have a new group and how they handle the disaster.  It would be AWESOME!  any other ideas for the ship?  
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I see this awesome tax break Walker is giving the Middle class works out to be $2 a week for a family of four making $80,000 a year.  I can now see why the middle class is so excited.  Wouldn't want to save that money for tough times when we can super-size a McDonalds meal once a week.


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It Seems my Thank You to Melanie Lichtfeld and her sleigh rally in the Letter to the Editor counted as one of my political pieces so I only have one left.  Geez - I did not know a Thank You was now political. 

I was going to have a REAL complaint this week but now I am not.  Here is what I was going to say. 

I think it was great that the CDA is talking about the beautification of Columbus and brought up the building on the corner of S Ludington and E James, and what would happen if the bulging wall currently being held up by a rotting plank should fail, perhaps onto a tourist who is walking by. 

However, when push came to shove the reason nothing is being done to the building is because, it will cost money and is not a high priority. 

 

Maybe long term residents of Columbus don’t even see it anymore, but for visitors this building is a huge red flag that screams, Columbus does not care about its downtown and this reflects,  not only the quality of life but the sense of community. Who would move to a town that does not care.

This building is the 2^nd oldest building in Columbus, built in 1853 so I understand it is loved and cannot just be leveled. But just ignoring the problem is irresponsible. We need to find out just how bad of shape this building is in.

If it only looks like it’s about to fall we need to be creative and figure out how to make this building, which was a grocery store that operated for 137 continuous years, presentable.

I urge the CDA and the City Council to move forward and find out once and for all if this building is about to tumble or, if we can we move forward,  be creative and make this 160 year old building a relevant part of the historic downtown district.

Let’s be proactive, not reactive.      

Rod Melotte

Let's say this building IS fine and it's not going to tumble down.  Is this the best looking fix we could do? Come on man, let's put a little effort into this. It would not cost much to have SOMETHING on this side of this building.       

In fact I bet we could do something like the below for practically FREE.  Get someone to donate paint and get some youth that love tagging buildings to paint it.  There are many places in Madison (New Orleans Takeout for example) that have walls painted amazingly by taggers who are looking for an outlet for their abilities!  Young people that need an audience to show of their talents.  The guy that did New Orleans Takeout used the wall as a showcase and went on to major in art at some big University.

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Here is a shot of The Stellanovas from a photo shoot last week. 

Two of the three will be performing at Hydro Street Brewery February 28th with The Big Band String Thing.  Awesome music.  

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  Have a great day - OH - a little less then 5 inches of snow starting a little before midnight tonight. lasting until we wake up. 

Grinder 

This and that

Shocking - Mat Gamel is out for the year.  Who could have predicted he would injure himself. Well, there is always next year!
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WORST HEADLINE IN HISTORY


The Wisconsin State Journal had a bottom of the page headline.

Murder charge stalls Pistorius' career.

How about 

Murder stalls Steenkamp's life. 

Who gives a rats ass about Pistorius's career.  He shot Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door.  He claims he thought it was a robber?  What, was the robber taking a dump?  "Sorry man, I really gotta go".   

Then the article goes on and says that all future races have been canceled!   sigh, 

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I have a new post about why Columbus need a change in vision or perhaps just HAVING vision.   MelotteforCityCouncil.org 

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I'm stalling - nothing to say.  I AM going to the CC meeting tonight with a question.  More on that tomorrow . . about how children in Columbus are not allowed to ride bicycles . . . anywhere. 

I was going to talk about DOMS as I'm now suffering through it from Day 2 of Extreme Monkey Bar Gym workout.  My quads are particularly sore today.  Not sure why those took the beating.

DOMS is Delayed onset muscle soreness and is one symptom of exercise-induced muscle damage. It's caused by eccentric (lengthening) contractions of the muscle. It's pretty common and is a normal response to unusual exertion and is part of an adaptation process that leads to greater stamina and strength as the muscles recover and build hypertrophy**.

**a term for the growth and increase of the size of muscle cells.

DOMS normally, is at it's worst within the first 2 days following a new, intense activity and slowly subsides over the next few days . . . unless you do it all again on day three!!

DOMS is a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers which I believe, my quads are now just a bunch of hanging fibers.

There is not much you can do with DOMS but wait it out.  It's actually not a BAD pain to have.  One thing that does seem to help is called "Active Recovery, a low-intensity exercise after an intense workout.  Maybe jumping rope?   I'll do that next time.

I tell ya - day two was as intense and I love it.

this is what it looks like! A freaking lot of fun!!

http://youtu.be/7nS0xOr2g4k

 

I was reduced to a puddle of goo.

I do not work for the Monkey Bar Gym or have friends that work there - this is my own personal opinion.  Grinder

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For anyone looking for my City Council blog go to MelotteforCityCouncil.org.where you can learn about my adult thoughts and who I am!   Not just another pretty faced blogger  :-)
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I knew I was in a worked of trouble when I was gassed after the warm-up.  Luckily everybody around me was also gassed and smiling and I saw no blood so I figured I would just gasp for air with the rest.

I was my first "class" at Madison's Monkeybar Gym.

My first contact with a human other then an instructor was in the locker room and a tattoo dude (I think he did work at a tat place) said to me "I wonder how he will kill us today!"  SWEET  AWESOME - that is exactly what I wanted to hear - honestly it was.

Like so many other people I have started working out after a break 20 times in my life - lots of good intentions but after a few months I get bored and find excuses on why it SO HARD to drive that mile to the health club.Oh man I would have to put on shorts and that would be SUCH a hassle.

After 20+ years of working in a cube I knew that my muscles were leaching out of my body at 10% a year but hey - if you have no muscles to begin with how bad can it be. Seriously though I was pretty buff in the day and I missed those times.  Now at 59 I knew that I was not getting stronger sitting around so I needed to really get serious and places like The Princeton Club were not working.

I mean come on. When you are on a treadmill and see people treading and chatting for an hour and then come back a year later and those same people are STILL overweight . . . how much good is it really doing.

I needed something else.  I wanted to climb rocks, I wanted to tip over cars, something that used my whole body.

So I was turned on to the Monkeybar Gym in Madison.  I wanted to get serious. I needed to be pushed.

WELL - I got what I paid for and it's awesome.

The class had about 20ish people. Not the kind of people you see at typical gyms.  I'm not sure how to explain it.  I guess you could say  . . . non-lycra athletes in all shapes and sizes.  Big ones that were probably football players 15 years ago but got out of shape, little ones, in shape ones, the whole gamut but none of them looked like workout junkies with bulging biceps and necks. But they did look solid.

The one thing I did notice was that they were all in good shape AND, not showing it off.

I opted to do the recommended strength program before I started the conditioning cardio program.  Reason is that strength is slower paced and you learn the ropes (literally) before going to the faster paced "boot camp".

So it began. We started with some simple calisthenics, hey I can do that.  Walking on hands and feet like a . . . monkey,  then crab walks and holding poses and jumping jacks and burpees (I had a personal FAIL on that one!) and so forth and after it was done I could barely breath.

The nice thing was that there is a small rest between each exercise.  You get your heart up and then rest BUT, continue to move.

Once we were "warmed up" we all chose different size kettel-bells and started some actual strength training which was pretty "easy" and fun.  Everything was fun as the group as a whole was having fun (in a rapidly deteriorating strengthy way). I loved it as there was no screaming and so forth but everyone was working hard. Jackie was my partner and I followed her moves (although with 4 pounds less weight - sigh).  This is something they express, everyone helps everyone else, it's a family atmosphere. We're were all in this together.

SO - we did those routines for a while switching weights and utilizing different muscles.

FINALLY we were finished . . . . I thought.  I muscles were clock watching but my brain was enjoying the workout.   BUT WAIT - the REAL FUN was about to happen.

Time to work on the legs a little.   OMG!!

We were in for some lactate acid** flushing.  Always a good thing right?  But first, we needed to get some lactate acid to flush.
         

** During power exercises such as sprinting, when the rate of demand for energy is high, glucose is broken down and oxidized to pyruvate, and lactate is produced from the pyruvate faster than the tissues can remove it, so lactate concentration begins to rise. This is when you start to burn.

We needed to burn! And we did. 

Note, this is one thing I wish the instructor would have told us about. WHY he was putting us through our own personal hell . . . maybe he did.

The way to flush the lactate pain is to have well-oxygenated muscle cells. SO - create pain in various squat exercises and then jump (or at least try) increasing O2 to your lungs.

It was a killer but you know?  It was fun.  Like a disaster party.   I was on a 100 mile bike ride once on RAGBRAI with 25mph head winds the entire way. It was torture but there were 10,000 other bikers all in the same boat. It's not so bad when you have company.

After that we were done

I think this is the draw of the Monkey Bar Gym.  If you are serious about getting in shape and want to be around other serious people of all types - not the typical knuckle scrapers or the lycra clad treadmill gabbing walkers this is the place.   It's fun like a disaster party. We're all in this together, all in pain together, all gasping for air together all getting in REAL shape together.

Note - several of the class told me the yoga classes were outstanding. Have not tried it.

Price? Well, there is a sticker shock but think about it. It's a personal trainer pushing and instructing you,  not someone surfing the internet that glances up every so often.  It's $149 a month OR, OR, a 10 punch card for $200.  That is $20 a session which is not bad at all.

again - if you are serious about getting in shape - bang for buck it's awesome.
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NOTE from the day after -  I'll talk about DOMS** tomorrow and where it comes from.

**DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (I will now try to get out of my chair). 

Grinder 



      

 

Opposable thumbs

Holy Marconi . . .Macedonia   damn it . . macaroni.  I'm like 80 hits away from 600,000 pages read!!  
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For anyone looking for my City Council blog go to MelotteforCityCouncil.org.where you can learn about my adult thoughts and who I am! Not just another pretty faced blogger  :-)

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I've been feeling isolated lately.  This whole City Council thing has taken over my brain and made me much more serious then I like to be.  Who can I make fun of now!  I might upset the wrong people.  All of a sudden I'm not me anymore.  I have to pretend to be an adult. What fun is that!!!

I think way way to many people lose their childlike fun when they believe they must be an adult. They lose their sense of humor and start thinking that perhaps they need to listen to Frank Sinatra more often, NOT that Frank is bad music or anything.  For instance - I would LOVE to go to the Majestic Theater next week to see Lacuna Coil, Avatar and Sevendust but I will guarantee I would probably be the oldest dude there!  Maybe I could pretend to be a music Exec or something. 

Anyway - a good friend, Grahmman, sent me this and it brightened my day. NOT that I have been dull but more like I have been too . . . adult.

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As I feel more and more alone, my phone confidently connects with everyone. As I feel more and more lost, my phone calmly knows how to get anywhere. As I struggle to remember mundane things like the name of that movie with the boat and the guy with the lip, my phone smugly recalls literally everything. As I increasingly lose the nouns, verbs and adjectives that once stood ready to articulate my thoughts, my phone taunts me with its instant access to all the words there have ever been.

There is only one possible conclusion. Slowly, without realizing it, I seem to have outsourced my mind to my phone. And to make matters worse, the damn thing knows it... and it's starting to screw with me.

Several times during the day I feel it buzz in my pocket, alerting me that some vital information has just arrived. Then, when I look, there's nothing there. No email. No text. Nothing. Was the buzz in my mind? I don't think so. I think it's purposeful. I think my phone is mocking me. And it's not just my phone. It's all of them. They are working together, systematically robbing us of our intelligence, our humanity. And then, when we are made stupid and helpless, they will take over.

It's just a matter of time before the next generation of iPhone is equipped with an opposable thumb. Oh yeah, they're smart alright. Evil, world domination smart.

I have to call people and tell them... Oh, great, now I have no bars! Dear God, what is happening?!

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Watched Zero Hour last night.  Seems good enough so far.  A cross between The De Vinci Code, American Treasure and Indiana Johns . . . . . with twists!  Even has Nazi's in it.

NOTE 3/7/13 - Zero hour was canceled after 3 episodes.

I'm Monkeybar gyming it today- what does not tear me down will probably kill me! I need more protein. I'll let you know how that goes.

and then there is that comet.  YIKES holy crap (oh man the religious right will get me on that one) - 500 people injured and it was NOT the big one.

Sadly since America no longer has a viable Space Program (thanks Obama- NOT that I'm anti Obama on MOST things) the earth has absolutely no protection from large asteroids. Unless the Russians have something up their sleeve (they ARE sneaky you know).

BTW - I watched a wonderful set of shows on The History Channel called "The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents"    Very very good.  I mean I have heard of these guys but did not have a clue what they did.   I mean - how many people know what Martin Van Buren did as President.  SEE WHAT I MEAN?  I run for City Council and then watch 12 hours of Presidents - WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!

What I took away was that every President seems to have a big surprise that NO ONE predicted what happens and how he handles the crises defines him.  In order to be a great President it's not just good enough to be ready for the job, you also have to have something happen that matches your particular set of skills.

There have been many good Presidents that had the wrong thing happen at the wrong time and his particular set of skills could not handle the situation. What was interesting was the Great Depression allowed by Herbet Hoover (who wanted to do nothing and let it run it's course) and FDR who stepped in and said the first thing we must do is restore confidence in the banking system. Compared to what happened recently when Bush/McCain wanted to let things run their course and Obama stepped in and his first thing to do was restore confidence in Americans Banking system.

Many people hated how he handled the situation but IT WORKED. We had a "Great Recession" instead of a "Great Depression".  I call that a victory. 

But I digress . . . . . if you get a chance to watch "The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents" it's very bipartisan and interesting.

Grinder   

Columbus Sleigh rally

Would have posted sooner but I had so very important HIPPA training to do.

Last weekend DJ and I attended the Columbus Sleigh Rally and it was pretty nice.  Could not ask for better snow and I had a chance to speak to Fritz Klien again. The nations foremost Lincoln impersonator.   I presented him with a 20x30 image of himself and Grant.  I believe it's the only photo of him ever taken where he was smiling.

At the rally I took more shots (I suppose Lincoln does not love that wording) at Lincoln and the few I've played with are here.

This first one is my favorite at the moment - not sure why.  I think it's just because it stirs  . . .sadness?? I don't know.

and here is one with his wife who was not REALLY excited to be all dressed up for a day but . . . .

Well done Melanie Lichtfeld and team for a nice rally!

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Then there is the Grammy's - WOW - I thought tha twas one of the most boring Grammys ever.  Must have been the anal dress code.

I think the best performance was by Rhinna  - it was intoxicating .

http://youtu.be/zkPwHJvp7DU

  
 Otherwise - not a lot to talk about HERE! 

We had 0.854 inches of rain the other day and I'll post the rain chart when I update it.

Then there is the Pope.   No comment. 

Survivor and Amazing Race premier this week.  Rumor has it three teams quite on Amazing Race.   A new show called Zero Hour premiers Thursday and looks pretty good.   A 13 episode series (+ 9 if all goes well) called Under the Dome taken from a Steve King book  is in the works.  About a town of 5000 where a dome cuts them off from the world 

grr - gotta run! 

Grinder out

Coyotes

After searching the internet for tracks and prints and sounds I've come to the conclusion that the tracks in my back yard are from Coyotes. 

The tracks I posted yesterday look exactly like some I saw on the net.  Then yesterday I was shoving my sidewalk and noticed the same tracks in the snow and on the sidewalk was a print which at first I thought was a large dog but going the wrong direction. So searching I find that it looks a LOT like a coyote track. 

Then  I found this.    Coyote sounds    which at about the 10 second mark is exactly what DJ and I have woken up to a few times in the summer.  And if you REALLY want to have fun.  What your cat when you play the sound.   Milo FREAKS out.  Get's all puffy and is on high alert. 

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The Columbus City Council is following the US Postal Service in a cost saving and voted to turn off all city street lights on Saturdays.  This will save 14% of our street light budget.  With that vote passing some of the Antique Stores downtown have said they will no longer be open on Saturdays saving gas money from having to drive in to open their stores.  They will now only be open between 5:00pm and 6:00pm every other day.

The Columbus Public Works is considering turning off the water pumps on Saturdays to also save money.  In an experiment, water service will be terminated on Saturday to see if anybody notices.  The thinking is that if no calls to complain perhaps fresh water is just another needless entitlement.  Phone service will also be terminated on Saturday and again, if no one complains . . . . .

And on a serious note - Netflix stock jumped 6% yesterday. The reason is that with no Saturday mail Netflix will save $100 million because people will watch less movies.  I guess they believe that Americans will not be able to figure out how to get their movies BEFORE Saturday!          

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I have a new MelotteforCC blog explaining The Gateway. Check it out.  

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City Council Meeting - small blog

I attended the City Council meeting last night as Hydro Street was finally going to get the go ahead for their expansion and The Auditorium people were going to get the rights to enter the Audi at will (except on weekends when the Mayor thought people would be running around tipping over water coolers and so forth).

Well - Hydro Street did not get the thumbs up OR thumbs down as yet more legal questions were brought up with mortgages and so forth.  This is why both sides need lawyers (CC has one, Hydro does not).  This whole mess could have been done and over months ago.  Lawyers ask all the questions before they arise.  I can not fathom ever doing any large financial decision without a lawyer.  Especially where we're talking a multi-party multi-mortgage deal at about $280,000.

The Auditorium went with only a small hitch and while it's good to look for problems it seems the City Council, which as was told to me "are as exciting as a group of zombie's" (or something to those words) . . . . actually zombies are pretty exciting - seriously - that meeting room just sucks all the energy out of people.  Not a huge fan of that room.

The Mayor went on and on and on and on about how he did not want people running wild all over the building creating havoc on weekends and everybody was in agreement after the first 20 seconds and the final 4:40 was wasted breath.  BUT, it was all ironed out and there should be something in the paper this weekend about the Auditorium.

I'll have more interesting news tomorrow as I'm meeting with Steve Sobiak the Economic Development Director about The Gateway Project this morning.
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Does anyone know what these tracks are from??    Probably why Milo was so crazy last night.  Whatever it is it has been through the yard a number of times now.

 
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Probably what you never want to see in your rear view mirror.   We were going through Waterloo and you know that hill just before 89 turns to 55mph on the south side?  yup.  GOT me going 40 in a 30.

Dude said - "is there a reason you were going 40?"   All sorts of comebacks entered my mind but I said "Nope, just driving".

We are pretty sure we were a teaching ticket.  There was one old officer and one very young one who looked like he was embarrassed to give me a warning.  We DID get a $10 ticket because we did not have our proof of insurance in the car (kitchen table for the last week, you know how that is).   We could contest it and have a jury but . . . I think we'll just pay the $10.

Nothing competes with my Winner Winner Chicken Dinner story and Trooper Zang.  

Have a great day - a little less then 4 more inches coming  . . . . that's what she said.

Grinder - I think I have to sign GRINDER here so I can sign Rod over at the more serious blog.  Gotta differentiate the two.   This one is my SHOOTING FROM THE HIP blog.

r
oops
  g  

Jimmy the Stick was not aware if it's shadow

If you read nothing else, make sure you watch the two Superbowl RAM commercials at the bottom of the blog - very inspirational and you will listen to every word. 
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Eighteen years ago my buddy Mack Dowell and I were shooting the shit in my cubicle and Mack was rubbing his black shoe against my white wall and we were talking about groundhogs and if they were aware they were being used as pawns in some giant marketing ploy.

No they were not aware and we both thought that a groundhog really did not give a hoot about his or her shadow and that a stick would have as much knowledge about shadows.

I went out and found a stick on the ground and thus, Jimmy the Stick invented.

Jimmy has been through a lot in it's 18 years.  It's been to Las Vegas, he has almost been held by the Air National Guard (who declined at the last minute).  It's been stolen by ne'er do wells and held for ransom.

In 2010 it had a view of the Capitol.

2010

 

2009

2011 Jimmy was temporally lost when he went out the night before and a blizzard brought a 5 foot snowdrift on top of him and was lost for a few days we had to resort to Ralph the Birch for the forecast.

The scene from the Ground Hog Day blizzard - DJ finding the mailbox.

And Blake

2012

WELL - this year jimmy was up to his normal self but sadly my camera is stuck in DJs car so no photos at the moment.

He did not see his shadow this year which means spring is only 6 weeks away.   More photos tomorrow.

I'm hoping that if I get elected to the City Council I can get Columbus to recognize Jimmy the Stick day.  If Sun Prairie can parade groundhog after groundhog, I mean seriously, this is like groundhog number 12 for them or something.  There is only ONE Jimmy.

Speaking of City Council. Some new literature coming out soon.

I'm working on trying to find out what the Columbus INS rating for our Fire Department is -  1999 was the last time Columbus was rated and according to Mayor Link we just missed being a 4.  Prairie du Chen is a 3.

NOTE - the fire chief DID contact with me and I thank him as it was very instructional.  We had a very nice talk about ISO. 

Note -  seems people are looking for dirt on me and spreading the word.  LOL 


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The Super Bowl was interesting but for non-sports fans it was all about the advertisements. Have you been disappointed the last few years?  I have but maybe we ojnly remember the few outstanding commercials from the past.   RAM has been a winner for two years in a row for me. 

Last year Clint Eastwood hit a homer with his inspiring half time commercial about how America is strong!!

Note - this was actually paid four by all 4 Detroit auto makers. 

http://youtu.be/_PE5V4Uzobc


And this year RAM and Paul Harvey hit it out of the park with it's Farmers ad.  This is an awesome commercial.  The use of HDR photography is a bravo for me!

http://youtu.be/z-PTovjvtsc


Have a great Monday