It's Friday - Whoo Hoo!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been updating my website (RodMelotte.com) with more images of Columbus after I saw the above image of the City Hall, NOT on the site.

A woman that works at Enerpac (I love that building) purchased a framed canvas image and when I told her West James Gallery had closed she was shocked. "It was such an amazing place where you could find gifts and art work that other stores did not have".   SAD!! 

With the Snack Shack now being closed for 3 months and a certain Antique store open whenever they feel like it the downtown becomes more and more vacant.  Well, at least there are plenty of store fronts to choose from if you are a prospective business.

Somehow I'm optimistic though.  We are reaching the bottom and Columbus is STILL not a ghost town. That is a good sign.  People have to understand what Columbus is, a bedroom community, not a thriving business hub.  Many people do not work in Columbus and buy merchandise elsewhere.  That is why I believe we need to reinvent ourselves.

What worked in the past does not work now.  We need to reinvest in PEOPLE, make Columbus a place families want to move too!  Sidewalks, bike paths, better roads, great parks, a Compassionate Police Department.  We have a lot of things going for us.

Build a community organically and naturally, over time.  Just like building wealth, its not an overnight process.

----------------------------------------------------------


My East India Porter is so good it's label worthy.

I have to add a description of what the beer actually is, a highly hopped porter. An EIP was more abundant but lesser historically known beer that traveled the seas. Basically the EIP was consumed by the sailors whereas the IPA was consumed by the officers way way long ago.

---------------------------------------------------------

OH - speaking of Police Departments!  There is a town in Florida, population 480 with 17 police Officers!   WHAT THE WHAT?  you ask?   Seems the town annexed 1200 feet of highway and put up 55mph signs for 1200 feet and then all day long catch speeders.

Here is the problem (as if you didn't think THAT was a problem already).  For the last few years they were taking in about $300,000 a year, and spending it for personal stuff!  The "town" never really saw any of it.

Now the entire City Council and the Mayor have resigned their positions and the State of Florida is considering disbanding the town (or whatever they do).  The residents are a little ticked off and wondering where all their money is!
----------------------------------------------------

Here is a fun fact I learned last night.

What you see is actually 1/10 of a second behind what is REALLY happening.  It takes you brain 1/10 of a second to compute things BUT, because your brain is really good at what it does, it forecasts what will happen 1/10 of a second in the future with pretty good accuracy . . . most of the time.  What you see NOW is always in the past!

The test was that a person follows a fast moving left to right dot on a screen and when it flashs point to where the position was at that point.

100% of the time people would point just a little right of where it actually flashed.  Your brain was forecasting where it was going to be, not where it actually was.

SO COOL!!!
-----------------------------------

I have three Downy Woodpeckers on my suet!  I'll have to attached my GoPo on top of the feeder and see if I can get some shots. 
-----------------------------------