Hole in One - Columbus Disc Golf

Last year when we learned an Eagle Scout was trying to get a disc golf course installed in Firemans Park I geeked out and learned how to throw a disc.  Not like a Frisbee at all I found out.  More of a projectile as opposed to a floating disc.

I played 29 rounds at the various courses in Madison, Waterloo and Beaver Dam and had a rating of 809.  I think this is like a 20 handicap in ball golf.

FINALLY - after more then a year of waiting, 6 baskets were installed and I learned about it late last week.

Sunday after the Packer game, Pat the scout leader and I played the 6 holes three times to get a feel for the course and look for adjustments and yesterday morning I decided to start keeping track of my scores.

I was doing fine and came up to the shortish but tough #6.  The basket is straight ahead but because disc's do not fly straight because of their spin it's a tough little hole. (high speed spin makes disc curve left but when the spin slows more air is grabbed and the disc will dive left, every disk is different).

Well - since I an a RHFH (Right Hand Fore Hand thrower) on drives I had to go left over that bush and try to hook it to the right. I didn't think I could go under the trees.

And because the wind was left to right I knew that I might get extra carry going right at the very end.

Long story short - HOLE IN ONE!!!

As luck would have it Phil and Mike from DPW were doing something by the deer pens and heard my girly like screaming and I have witnesses.  This is as rare as ball golf hole in ones.

BUT WAIT - there is more to the story.

I, of course, bragged about it on DGCourseReview an huge online forum for disc golfers all over the world and many people were interested in a new course in Columbus Wisconsin.

In fact a number of people commented "I grew up in Columbus" and "my parents are from Columbus" and "great fireworks" and so forth.  THEN when they found out that an ALDERMAN disc golfs and I said that THREE aldermen actually disc golf the community said "WOW - what an awesome town!"

Something disc golfers do is try to golf as many courses as can. It's like putting State stickers on your trailer.  So I suspect next year we will have visitors from all over either on vacation or traveling stopping in Columbus.

One small thing is that the police like to hide in the driveway for Firemans Park during the day and with more traffic they will need to find another hiding place.

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I found this image when looking for another photo.  Just thought I would post it.

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Lot's of news from Hong Kong lately. Did you know that Hong Kong has 1,200 skyscrapers?

But check this out - three images of Hong Kong   1910, 1972 and 2011 All from the same vantage point.

I tell ya who is making out like a bandit in Hong Kong with the Umbrella Revolution.  Goggle makers.

But maybe people have goggles already with the smog??  

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OH - I see Chris Christie was stumping for Walker and he said Walker is the candidate you should vote for because you can trust him. WHAT?  And this is coming from someone who understands having the public trust?   I don't think the word "trust" and Walker has ever been used in the same sentence before.

sigh!

And then he wants drug testing for anybody that is on unemployment?  Does he have any idea how much that would cost?  Spend 10 million to save 1 million.  Yea - Brilliant!  That has been tried in 3 states with horrendous financial results!

Speaking of "drugs"

Maryland Decriminalization will be Effective October 1st

$2.3 Million in Funds for Oregon Rec Legalization has been raised - opponents - $0.00

Polls show 65% pro towards Washington DC decriminalization

Missouri is looking into decriminalization (that's weird)

Chili will soon totally legalize smoking marijuana

Australia is moving towards legalizing.

Just sayin.

Oddtoberfest

Saturday was the 4th(?) annual Oddtoberfest celebration in Columbus with many many people in attendance on a beautiful night.  DJ and I went, had a few beers and danced the polka  . . .yes yes she got me out there and I have been scouring the internet making sure there are no videos available.

In attendance were city dignitaries including the Fire Chief Randy Koehn who was telling fish stories to anybody that would listen.  Of course DJ was always there sometimes successfully photo bombing.    

And Sandye Adams of Hydro Street fame in her wedding dress (no really it is).

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After the Packer game yesterday I took to the links at Fireman's Park (is there a name for the course?).  That's right, the almost complete 6 basket disc golf course is ready for play.  The tees are still getting decided on where the best spots will be but the baskets are in place.

I played three 6 basket rounds for 18 "holes". It's a forgiving course that will be good to get people into the sport.  One lap of 6 holes is a little more then 1/2 mile walk so 18 holes will total I THINK about 1.6 miles of walking and throwing.

#1 is a long distance easy start but wind will be a problem with prevailing westerlies knocking down right handed tosses.

#2 is a shorter hole with trees dead ahead- sort of a dogleg right around trees.

#3 is straight south with has 4 large oaks as a guard for the 2nd shot.

#4 is blind and a long thrower will need to worry about the creek.  For shorter tosses you will have a downhill shot that will be tricky if you go to far right.  Going left is smarter.

#5 might is the hardest shot and my favorite on the course as the creek runs all the way on the left side and trees to go under and around.

#6 is a carry across the creek and will have a different personality depending on the water situation.

I've already found large sticks and so forth an placed them along the creek edges as natural disc retrievers as those last 2 holes will gobble up errant throws.

I'm going to get as  many rounds in as I can and keep track of the holes to get a real "par" for the course.

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News from the School Board.

All students in Columbus between 3rd and 12th grade (including 3rd and 12th) will receive Windows Base computers.  Seems we got a GREAT deal.  Of course they might be Windows 2000 or Millennium but  . . . . . KIDDING KIDDING!   Hey - if we cannot get a new school that has running water and electricity might as well have computers.  It's a crime to have our young people go to school in those buildings!  Embarrassing.

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WATCH OUT  - there are some new tiny signs coming off 16/60 to Dix Street saying - NO TURN ON RED.  The logic behind these is to relieve pressure in the Kwik-Trip/Pic-n-Save driveway.

Seems traffic cannot exit when there is a constant stream of cars turning onto Dix from 16/60.  It's a test to see if it helps.

There is a fix coming down the road - not a great one but with a redesign of that intersection and new stop lights that will make that whole intersection faster, help is on the way. Plus with a new grocery store opening soon taking 50% of the shoppers from PnS that will help a lot also.

In fact people will shop at Sentry BECAUSE that driveway fills up. It would behoove Kwik Trip and PnS to help on a solution and maybe install an alternate exit (as they are SUPPOSE to have).

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Loving my Autumn Blaze Maple. We bought this thing as a bendy twig.

The 2004 Urban Tree of the Year

 

Jeter to Play for Red Sox - iPhone BendGate - and OFF is ON in the iPhone6

In a stunning move.  Moments after Derek Jeter won his final game at Yankee Stadium Jeter, taking his cue from other loved sports heroes, announced he was coming out of retirement and will play for the Boston Red Sox next year!

Seriously though - was that NOT a storybook amazing ending for a great guy!   You can not script a better ending.

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Got lost driving home from Sun Prairie last night  LOL It was about 11:15 after Home Brew Club and 151 was completely closed.  So I followed 3 trucks because I THOUGHT they knew where they were going.  But alas, 5 minutes later they are all stuck at a dead end (or making some huge drug deal).  So I turned around and saw a line of traffic and followed them.  I had no GPS since my phone, just before I left for the meeting went into ZOOM mode somehow and was worthless to me because all I could see were 3 letters and I could not get out of it (tap 3 times with 3 fingers to restore  - why didn't I think of that!!)

So I proceeded to follow vehicles which I GUESS were not going to Columbus at all.  Oh - I know how to get to Columbus from the EAST side of 151 but the west side?  I guess not!  I kept thinking that sooner or later I would hit 73 or 60 or 16 or 151 or SOMETHING!!  AND NO - I had not had too much to drink.  In fact at Eddies a friend bought a beer for me - A SOUR beer!  no really - sour beers are the latest fad it seems.  Actually beers purposefully infected with Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces or Pediococcus. Like drinking a sweet tart!  YUCK - I only had one!  

ANYWAY

It was just one of those times you put yourself on auto pilot and all of a sudden you say, wait . . where the hell am I?

BTW - there were cars upside down on 151 and I have heard nothing about this on the news yet.
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A problem with being an aldermen is that all you hear about are problems and complaints and soon you forget how great Columbus is.  The motto - which I will continue to push for "Discover Columbus - Celebrate Small Town America" is so true and I have to remind myself that this IS a great little town and I love living here.  I can see the Milky Way every night and yesterday there were two Great Blue Herons on the creek by my house.  Coyotes howling in the distance and the smell of fresh manure and dog food.  Love it.

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Seems the iPhone does NOT have a problem bending at all.  Only 9 out of the 10+ million have bent but mainstream media has latched onto it after seeing a faux video that shows him bending an iPhone yet . . the time on the phone shows that the video is fake.   OOPS!!

There have actually been more bendy problems with the iPhone5 in 2012 but media did not blurt it out.

BTW - if you have a new iPhone6 there is a tracking setting that is set ON by default and all your activity is being monitored by advertisers.

Go to Settings / Privacy / Location Services ON - click it OFF!

BUT WAIT  not done yet

go back to Privacy and go all the way to the bottom and here is where it gets tricky

Advertising - Now you want to turn Limit Ad Tracking to "on." Yes, it's confusing (really) the default "off" position actually means that tracking is on, so you want to turn it "on" in order to switch it off.  

Not done yet!!!

Click "reset Advertising Identifier  - RESET Identifier to clear the cookies.

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Watched Scorpion yesterday - Fantastic show and will watch again!  Watched Madam Secretary despite seeing the clips and not seeing any actual acting by Téa Leoni, more like script reading.  HOWEVER - it reminded me of The West Wing a little and I'll give it another chance.

Phobatrivaphobia is everywhere

Sometimes it's just better to keep my mouth shut and let others who's opinions I agree with and are more succinct with their words take over behind the scenes. Even I am speechless at times.

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Guess what!  At the moment 2014 is the 8th wettest year on record (since 1895) and while the Summer of 2014 was basically average (seemed COLD to me) overall, including January this has been the 7th coldest year.    BRRRRRRR!

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The last few nights every time we hear sirens a pack of coyotes begin to howl across the fairway.  REALLY loud the other night!  I saw coyote tracks in the snow a couple years ago but I think the pack is growing.

While looking for a neighbors cat the other night I shined a flashlight across the fairway and I saw little shiny eyes looking at me.

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Summer is over - Big Brother had it's finale' last night.  Maybe the most boring BB because one of the best players ever won.  An undercover cop who played a perfect game.  He was never nominated to get kicked out with 55 chances and orchestrated every eviction.  It was like watching Kevin Spacey in House of Cards.  Derrick would talk to the camera and tell us how he would manipulate people to do exactly what he wanted.  Every person who was evicted had a "WHAT HAPPENED" look

He changed his look to fit in perfectly with the younger game players.

Near the end he was magnificent.  In one of the final episodes he said "I need to make Victoria understand it's a good thing to be nominated for eviction because she is just a pawn, I need to make sure Cody does NOT evict her (Cody had other thoughts) and I need to make Caleb volunteer to be to be nominated, and then we will evict him".

Each house guest had a meeting with him and when the last one left he looked at the camera and said "And THAT is how you win $500,000".  

It was boring because when ever someone wanted to make a BIG move and shake up the house he would say "Yea, that is a great idea I love that plan but is THIS week the best week for your game?  Let's wait a week."  and then things would change.

Then in the finale' he let the OTHER guy win the finale challenge so he would not have to make a decision and be found out he was taking EVERYBODY to the final 2.  He knew Cody would make the wrong decision and he (Derrick) would win.

Awesome.

Summer is over.  BUT - Survivor was on and Amazing Race is Friday.  I've always wanted to be on Survivor but how a 55 year old is the "old" guy!  sigh I would be one of the oldest Survivor contestants ever.

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Did you know that the word "Polish" is the only word in the English language where if you take the "P" and make it a "p" it changes from a nationally to a verb or noun?  Fascinating.

and in China KFC's "Finger-Lickin Good" is translated to "Eat Your Fingers Off" which is totally different and not as yummy sounding.  

I need a haircut, maybe today. at least I do not have Tonsurphobia - the fear of haircuts although I might have in the 70s.

Phobatrivaphobia is the fear of trivia about phobias.

Ok - I've managed to stay away from what is REALLY on my mind about the city.  I have succeeded.

Carry on!

   

Dump the penny.

The good news is that a penny only costs 1.6 cents to make last year, down from 1.8 cents last year and 2.4 cents in 2011.  Producing the penny costs the American economy tens of millions a year. Canada dumped the penny when it comes to making change (of course they have $1 and $2 COINS so they can't be THAT bright!)  Canada rounds up and rounds down so we would have to reeducate tellers on how to do math which would cost tens of millions of dollars also.

Pennies are still used in non-hardware exchanges in Canada like credit cards and so forth but not change.  The American Military dumped the penny with no problems and are still able to bomb ISIS. 

There was a study at a Walgreens store. Over one year an average person will spend 4 hours dealing with a penny! 

BUT WHY STOP THERE!!  Most countries have a ten cent piece as their low denomination.

DUMP THE PENNY.  If you have any pennies and want to get rid of them put them near my front door and I will get rid of them for you - just a service I do! 

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I was looking through my iPhone images and forgot I had this.  Did I post this here??  I probably did - sorry

BUT DUDE - is that a whole 16 inch pizza there??  Want to share?? 

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Oddly on the new iPhone when I download a photo it's not called "photo(23)" but called "fullsizerender(2)". 

I took this this morning.  Pretty nice point and shoot camera.  

I've read a bunch of reviews comparing smart phone cameras and all are good but the iPhone is the best in low lights.  

I'm finding I like Siri for texting and all sorts of easy things but DJ says I'm rude when I talk to the iPhone (who I have as a female with an English accent).  DJ is polite and says "thank you".  I just command and show my dominance.     does this make me a bad person?   It does worry me.  For someone that talks to inanimate objects, the one inanimate object that can talk back to me I'm rude too.  Maybe I feel threatened. 

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Another shot of The Orpheum.  Some day it won't be there. 

Are those trees?  I can't wait until Columbus has trees downtown.  It will make the place so much softer and reduce noise levers a little.

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Truth in advertising.  Ever have something in the grocery store that you walk by successfully for years but then in a moment of weakness you break down and FINALLY buy it?  

   

mmmmmmm I can't WAIT to bite into one of these - it's been YEARS since I had a drumstick.  

What - really?  Reminds me of when I see people walking around with pants that are too short and have white socks on! 

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I made some cookies a while ago.  I see nothing wrong. Maybe a tad dark.  But that inside part of that one looks mighty tasty!  I'm pretty sure I forgot one ingredient.  

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Watched Gotham last night and it was pretty darn good.  I think we have a winner. It will be on again Friday or Saturday night again.   You get to see future Catwoman, future Riddler and future Penguin in last night show along with future Batman.

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Congrats to Madison for ranking #1 as the best place to live in America. Affordable housing, great schools, and healthcare, along with plenty of recreational and entertainment options. Plus a Police Chief that is pro decriminalizing marijuana.

Speaking of the Police Department - does Columbus really need to spend $4000 on body blanket armor and small arms fragmentation helmets?  Has Columbus become Gotham?  Do we have a problem? 

Random garbage

hmmm - gotta say it - got a beef with Columbus Water and Light billing.  I've keep track of every drop of water and kilowatt since I moved into this house and this morning I was entering the latest info.  I had missed the last few month and I see the new-look bill is missing some information I used to get.  HOWEVER - I could redue a few formulas so it was no big deal . . . . but wait . . . I needed last months info so I went to the website and . . . I can't find previous billing information.

hmmmm.

Of course I have issues this morning already with Summit Credit Union who I paid off my credit card last month so the balance was zero and then they charged me $25 for a late fee for . . . what?  Sort of like when we paid off a car loan and for two months money kept coming out of our checks and vanishing.  Took them two days to find it.

Or when we get other peoples loan papers in the mail, or when they locked all of our cards because I missed a $5 loan payment, and then said they tried to call me and left a message . . . which they didn't.  Or when some good friends of mine were working with them on house payments and then put new locks on the doors, and when friends said I thought we you were working with us and they said "we called your lawyers" . . . . . except they didn't have a lawyer.
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Got an iPhone 6 Saturday (actually two of them).   My favorite function is "wake me up in 20 minutes".  I tried "Wake me up when the Packer game is over"  but she just told me the Packer game was over after the 2nd snap.  At least I have her calling me "Timelord" now.

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I'm on an American Civil War kick.  When I was in High School in Fort Atkinson our senior year we could make up our own course and I spent a year studying the Civil War since it was only a few years in the past.

In 1993 I was one of the first people to watch Gettysburg the movie (an adaption of The Killer Angels) in the theater.  It is one of the longest movies ever released at 4 hours and 14 minutes! Now I'm reading The Last Full Measure the sequel to The Killer Angels.  This covers Lee, Grant and a few other generals in the last two years of the war.

I mention this because on this day in 1862 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which really pissed off a lot of Northerners AND Southerners.  But what it did was make other countries, who were backing the Confederacy, back off because now they were backing slave ownership.

It did unite the Republicans (who would later become more like the Democrats) stay in power for a few decades.  Sadly Lincoln's first draft of the Proclamation was lost in the Chicago Fire.

The Chicago Fire is why Schlitz (now owned by a Russian company) made Milwaukee famous.  The fire burned downed most of the breweries in Chicago and Schlitz sent down hundreds of barrels of beer to Chicago.   HEY - reading this is like surfing the web isn't it.

Speaking of beer - my neighbor is opening a brewpub in Sun Praire where The Round Table used to be.

I think Ron was a Chef at Kestrel Ridge???

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This has nothing to do with ANYTHING but I found it in my folders while looking for the above - this is a representation of all the aircraft carriers in the world.  We dominate the seas!

Lets see - OH - I know there are a few sports wagerers out there that read this - using the Kelly Criterion in sports wagering (which was really designed for horse racing) I created a spread sheet and ran a few thousand simulations.

This shows what you would do if you had a $100 bankroll and wagered a certain percent of that bank on each of the 170 games you wagered on in a year.   I then broke it into winning percentage for the year.

For instance - if you started with $100 and bet 4% of your bankroll on each game and your winning percentage was between 58 to 62% you would win $237 that year.  I ran the sim 200 times for each category.

My fun NBA system hit 64% last year - just sayin.  Oh - I hate the NBA . . .but it's all about the numbers!

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 Nuff said

Alibaba.

Jack Ma at a business conference

There's this 5 foot tall Chinese dude that was fired from KFC in China in 1997 for being crazy because he kept pushing companies to use the Internet for e-commerce.

So instead of have the backing from other companies he spent his own money and created a business-to-business portal to connect Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers.

That little guy, nicknamed Crazy Jack Ma, later today, will make about 21 BILLION dollars when Alibaba IPOs in the United States.

Alibaba?  What is that?  If you take Amazon and eBay and combine them into one company they are almost the size of Alibaba.  Alibaba sells EVERYTHING.  In the English website they have ONE BILLION things for sale.

Each employee of Alibaba will receive a $250,000 bonus today which considering that the average employee makes about $10,000 a year that's a good deal.  Well, they won't get it TODAY but . . . . . it's not a good time to look for another job!

NOW is a very bad time to invest in Alibaba but in a month when things settle down!  Bet the farm. 

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Want to see how to set up a Flurish Trimline Canopy in 20 seconds!  I time lapsed myself yesterday.

Don't worry - yes it does look like I'm peeing in the corner - I'm not

http://youtu.be/f1D_14CGJZI  

All to get a good shot without people.

I still have a little straightening to do and digitally fix the banner and other clean up things but here it is.  I could actually use another booth with all my stuff but . . . . Hey - Go to The Work Shop in Columbus in October I'll have all sorts of things on Display.  More on that later.

I'll actually have a newsletter coming out in the next week or so for those that signed up!

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Since the new kickoff rules in the NFL - concussions on kickoffs have dropped 40%. I bet in 5 years there will be no kick-offs.
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Did you know that that was Aaron Rodgers first ever comeback win after being down by 15 points?

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OH - Trick or Treat.

I put my Survey Monkey survey on Columbus Connects and this blog and the results are in.

61% of the Columbus Residents would like Halloween to be ON Halloween and not Sunday Afternoons.  Only 70 parents responded but it's interesting.

My next survey will be,  Hell?  or Purgatory.  Pick a side!

And yes - society today is much less violent then in the 70s and 80s.  And there is a  reason that was first written in Freakonomics I believe and has since been substantiated.  Roe vs. Wade. Unwanted unloved children have a tendency to grow up violent.  It's all I'm going to say on the subject.

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When did 74 degrees become "warm".

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NEW SHOWS - lots of good stuff coming on TV that I'm going to record and check out!

Sunday  Madam Secretary - Not fond of Tea Leoni acting but maybe it will be OK - who knows.

Once Upon a Time - I stopped watching the show but if you look at Graph TV the show was outstanding last year.

Monday is crowded - Scorpion and Gotham are on - Gotham is pre-Batman and shows how Gotham got to be like it is!  OH - Blacklist - one of my favorite shows.

Tuesday - Person of Interest. Great show.

Wednesday - Survivor of course. I'm again not on it.  Mysteries of Laura.  I watched the premiere last week and not bad.  I'll probably fade away but who knows.

Friday - Amazing Race

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GO CARDINALS!!!

Happy Birthday and Parent Sex - YUCK!

I MISSED it.  Tuesday would have been the best day of the year to walk around wishing everybody happy birthday.  The reason is that September 16th is the day the most people in America have a birthday.

So if you had your birthday last Tuesday you know what your parents were doing on Christmas Eve.  PARENT SEX!!  Can you think of anything more disgusting?  Yea - if your birthday was September 16th you were probably conceived Christmas Eve. 

Of course the least common birthday is February 29th but that doesn't count. So oddly the least common birthday is Christmas and January 1st which seems weird. Like, do woman have the ability to put things off for a day?   

The 13th of EVERY month is the least common day to have a birthday, again, put it off for a day? 

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Once again we have the Halloween date controversy.  Fort Atkinson City Council just voted to changed back to having Trick or Treat on the actual day. Lake Mills and Whitewater have recently changed.  

I have a Survey Monkey survey and would love to have people vote.  It will probably wind up 50/50.

Day time parents like because it makes their life simpler and night time makes it magical for children. and we all know it's all about the parents and not the kids. 

Most police departments want it during the day because it's safer (because Columbus is so crime ridden?) .

All I know is that Halloween was one of the most special days of the year when I was a kid and the world is actually safer now then in the 70s according to UCR Crime Statistics.    

Take the one question survey.  

I'm not pushing one way or the other (although I think Sunday afternoon's are a horrible thing to do to children). Just curious.

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Took a walk down State Street yesterday for lunch. Saw Michael Clark and quickly looked around to make sure we didn't have a quorum.  Lots of construction going on on State.  It stays the same and changes at the same time.

Took a couple photos for giggles!



Gas prices are going to fall dramatically!  Don't get excited though.  Gas will go down 5% in the next few weeks . . . but your gas mileage will drop 10% (I measured this last year on our Honda Fit).  The winter gas will hit your tanks soon.

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City News - Safe Routs To School Grant has been canceled.  After having staff work hundreds of hours on forms and more forms and forms to get different forms and getting real close the huge pile off money that was promised to Columbus for the Safe Routs To School Grant. Was killed.  

Basically Walker's State Government decided that since Wisconsin is in such an awesome financial wealth that he fixed, small towns don't deserve free handouts.  It's too bad Columbus spent so much time and money preparing plans and so forth just to have the State Government rip up their contract with us. I guess contracts don't mean anything. 

To cover this short fall the Columbus Recycling Center will start to have a very small yearly fee of perhaps 5 or $10 a year for use but $250,000 for non-residents (all we need is one). 

Room Tax - what is better Purgatory? or Hell?   Our City Attorney said we had gone from one to the other and I'm wondering if we made the wrong move and should be in the one we left.  But then I'm thinking that either one has to do with the Church and should we really be bringing up religious doctrines in a place of government? 

Upon review Purgatory is a place you go right after death while hell is for eternal torment so if we are now in purgatory I'm pretty happy.  Right on!!  Yea Purgatory!!!

NEW COMMUNITY CALENDAR  check it out.

BEST BURGER IN COLUMBUS? 

I have no idea - I'm thinking maybe I should try EVERY BURGER IN COLUMBUS and post my findings.  But maybe not the fast food places.
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If anybody is driving around drive on by Vista Circle today - I'm setting up my canopy and artwork for a glamour photo for art fairs next year.

Art fairs charge you to attend AND charge you to be juried into their fair.  Normal small fairs like Deforest cost $100 + $25 for the jury.  The jury decides if you are good enough to be in their fair (they normally take EVERYBODY).  Larger fairs like Agora in Fitchburg cost $150-$25.

But the bigger fairs like Art Fair On The Square cost $600 +$100 and if you do not make it into a show, you don't get that $100 back.  SO - you need to REALLY make your set-up look good.  They don't want a dude with a card table selling Russian eggs.  So that is my plan for 5 hours today (3 hours to set up 2 hours to tear down)

SO - Cloudy, cool day with not a lot of wind.  Gotta do it today.

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Have a great day!

paper cuts and whipping children

So Adrian Peterson says there is no way he is a child abuser.

And then he says that he does not know how many times he has disciplined his son in this manner. HE DOESN'T REMEMBER???  IT'S MORE THEN ONCE?

This is not spanking dude, this is whipping.  OH, this is how he was disciplined and look how he turned out?

I wonder how many Viking fans would say "play A.P." if they had a video of the whipping.

I honestly believe he believes this is not an inappropriate way to discipline a 4 year old.

And don't get me started on the Minnesota Vikings who think this is OK, and you can play this week.  I'm glad at least one sponsor is pulling the plug on the Vikings.  I personally believe whipping a 4 year old to the point of drawing blood should be taken VERY seriously.

But spanking is an interesting thing. While spanking is becoming less acceptable over time there are some interesting breakdowns.  According to polls born-again Christians have no problem with spanking.  African-Americans are much more pro to spanking then Whites.  By region the south are spankers while the other side of the coin the North East are non-spankers.   Republicans are heavy on spanking, Democrats are non-spankers.

But what happened IS NOT spanking. That was whipping. Totally different.  Heck - I've spanked and it made me feel good, temporally, and then I felt horrible and never did it again.  Violence is not a way to discipline.  

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Here is an image of the new Columbus Christmas ornament on sale somewhere at some time by somebody. There are also a few of last years ornament still available somewhere.

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Hmmmm - -wait . . .WHAT?



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Ever had a paper cut?  I worked at a magazine distributor for a number of years and my job, all day was to count magazines and I would get MANY paper cuts and those tiny things REALLY hurt.

Here is why.

Your hands are loaded with nociceptors which signal your brain to create pain. Since the cut is not deep enough to draw blood all of the nerves are just hanging out there.  Plus it's a very jagged cut, not like a knife at all and since paper is made of wood and chemicals it's a messy and easily infected.  

There ya go.
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nuff

PACKERS FIRST PLACE!!

I have nothing (to get me in trouble).

hmmmmmm

HEY - did you see the speed radar sign coming down the hill on West James on Saturday?  It was awesome . . . for one day!  Did someone steal it?  I've never had a speeding ticket or any moving violation and I came down that hill at a brisk rate going over the posted speed limit and BAM - there I was slowing down!  

IT WORKS!!!!   We need a permanent one.    

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FIRE GOODELL. 

NFL Commissioner Goodell is overrated - at least if you look at the stats!  The owners all say no one has ever made them more money. Well . . . . . The NFL is actually the SLOWEST growing sport since he has taken over.  Franchise value inflation-adjusted has the NHL as the fastest growing sport, MLB second, NBA third and the NFL is last.

Here is a twist that has been talked about for a while. You know who is on the very very short list for for NEXT Commissioner of the NFL?   Condoleezza Rice.   In 2002 she said her dream job would be Commissioner of the NFL and I have heard her a few times on the Dan Patrick show and I was really impressed with her.  She knows football better then politics!  

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I've been listening to stories and reports about the Tremont Hotel fire and seriously - Columbus dodged a very very big bullet with some amazing luck.  If the 2nd floor was pitch black with smoke and flames coming out the window with a 35 second response time, think what a typical 5-10 minute response would have been.  

At MINIMUM we would have totally lost The Towne Tap, the Tremont and the Black Kettle with a good chance for a total block buster.  With the Fire Department having a once a month training session AT the fire house, one block away at the very time the fire starts . . . . . freakishly lucky!

A 1 in 186 chance the fire fighters were there at that time on that day. 

Thank you emergency responders.  

Something I HOPE we learned and maybe somehow we can fix is that the city needs to find old cat carriers. Maybe we can get some donations?  We need at least 6 on hand. People standing around holding their cats watching their home burn is not a good thing and a few cat carriers would have been REALLY handy

We also need to have someone in charge (hindsight is always great) of making sure all the people who belong to a burning building are in one place.  If I would have thought of that I would have done it but . . . hindsight.  Get them all together so everyone knows where everyone is.  Maybe it was done at some point but it should not fall on one person.  A learning experience for sure.  

When was the last time the Tremont was inspected by our fire inspector.  Do we even have a fire inspector?  Or a building inspector?  

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OH - the Packers - now we know who called time-out defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.  You can see it in replays.  He apologized saying he was "into" the game and was just trying to help.  Thank you Sheldon (the check is in the mail).

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OH  - A request.  I'm looking for a place to store my 5x8 trailer over the winter. Covered would be great but outside would be . . . . OK.

Have a great week. 

Bubba? The sweet sting of the needle.

WELL - yesterday day was something different.  

I had forgotten the range of physical and emotional swings you go through when getting a tattoo.  I don't take tat's lightly and this was 5 years in the making.  I was the first person I knew to get an earring 50 years ago and one of the 1st people I knew to get a tattoo many years ago and I've never regretted any (more on regrets in a second).  Must be my artsy rebellious nature. 

Whether you approve or not if you are curious of the process here it is.  My artist looked like any normal guy off the street.  Not some dude wearing skulls with piercing all over but just another artist.  I gave him my idea and he stencils an outline.  After 3 tweaks he goes to work.  It would take about an hour. 

I lay back and he works on my arm.  The needle stings a little but it's more of an irritation  . . . . in the beginning.  But as he works he touches on little nerve endings that feel like electricity and  YIKES!! 

But here is the thing, after about 15 minutes your endorphin's start to kick in and while you feel PAIN, it's fine, who cares.  Sort of like taking Oxy for pain.  The pain does not really go away with Oxy, it's just that you don't care. 

Rich gets done and we talk and I'll need to come back for some outlining to complete the work.  It's actually beer runes that he put on.  Just to show people I'm an alcoholic. (NOT REALLY).  It's the symbols for Water, Barley, Hops,Yeast so when I brew I can look at my arm and get things right. 

Some will say WHY get a tattoo, I say why NOT get a tattoo. 

ANYWAY - I had forgotten the feeling you have when you are done.  WHOWA!  What a freaking high you are on. Your endorphin's are wild  and now I remember why once you get one tat you want more. Endorphin's are awesome. While my arm hurt it actually felt like a GOOD hurt, so weird. 

So I get to my car and get a call. My dry mounts are ready and I drive to Michaels. I get there and I'm talk talk talking to the behind the counter person and mention why I'm talking so much and his face lights up when I mention tattoo. We talk and he shows me his botched tattoo.  

He had his girlfriends name on his arm (bad idea). Then his NEW girlfriend did not appreciate it so he went to have it covered up (badly) and it looks like a fuzzy black cloud with red rain drops. 

He's going to get it removed (not that hard anymore, but expensive) and a new one put over it. But anyway. That was my day and now you think I am even MORE crazy!!   When the finished product is . . . finished maybe I'll post a photo.  OH - DJ has a tattoo also, we're like freaks!  :-) 

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Ever since I saw Americas Test Kitchen talk about the BEST way to cook frozen meat is to cook it

WHILE frozen it's intrigued me. Then my buddy balderdash introduced me to frozen store bought burgers which were REALLY good.  The ones on the right were the ones I first tried. ($9.50 at Pic-N-Save/Roundys, $6.50 at Woodmans) and I was really surprised at how good they were. 

The problem I have is if you buy a pound of burger you always have some left over. So you freeze it and a month later toss it out.

WELL - yesterday I purchased some Bubba Burgers.  I have seen them EVERYWHERE and I finally broke down.  

WOW - they are GREAT!  Seriously. The official burger of MetLife Stadium. 100% additive free and super tasty.  DJ who is not a big burger eater inhaled hers. Three thumbs up! 

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Gotta run to the DR today.  I'm talking my DR to get me off Niaspan which I take to increase my GOOD cholesterol.  I don't have BAD cholesterol but I don't have enough GOOD cholesterol and Niaspan has been deemed not great. 

While there I'll have the Columbus budget in my lap reading it like a book.  I've already created a spreadsheet to make things easier to read.   Here is a start - what I did was take total amount the budget for the last 5 years and compare each area to see what % they take from the budget. 

Next I'll start breaking down each category further.  All this is just to give me a clearer picture of what is going on so I can make informed decisions at budget time. This is a work in progress.

WELL - Seems I gotta go!  

BIG WALL OF RAIN coming!!    Yesterday was a record low high and today will break another record low high.  Snow in the Black Hills and the earliest snow since the late 1800's.   Anson Mount, the start of Hell on Wheels posted a photo of their set - ALL SNOW!!!    

see ya! 

35 Seconds

It took the Columbus Fire Department 35 Seconds to reach the fire at the Tremont Hotel in Columbus.  Well done team,  let's see if we can cut that to 33 seconds next time.  There is always room for improvement.

I believe we should schedule all random fires on Tuesdays when the CFD are having training.  This REALLY could have been a problem for that entire block and I don't think people comprehend how lucky Columbus was last night.  Instead of 35 seconds, what would 5 or 10 minutes have done for that entire block of historic buildings.  Seriously.

Sadly there were four cats lost in the blaze which started on the 2nd floor by that air conditioner.  I was just finishing up a budget workshop at City Hall when the sirens started tracking past our windows and we quickly lost focus and adjourned.

The Mayor ran out of city hall screaming MY TOWN IS BURNING MY TOWN IS BURNING I MUST ORGANIZE THE FIRE BRIGADE! (he really didn't do that but it sounds good).

Speaking of the Mayor.

It might sound like him and I have a difference of opinions from time to time. Well, we do and I believe it's a good thing. I've liked many things he has done but who wants to hear that crap.  Boring!
As a famous Chinese Fortune Cookie says.  "There should be no winner in a disagreement, only a solution".  Not actually a fortune like "Don't eat Chinese food today or you will get very sick" but more of a saying.

I think the worst thing you can have in government is a bunch of people that agree with each other. THAT is an idea killer.  Unless both sides of a disagreement don't want to work together to solve a problem. Then you no longer have a working Democracy.

ANYWAY -  back on topic.  On Facebook I made the point on NBC15's post about the FIRE IN COLUMBUS to give a little history lesson about the Tremont and Columbus and John Stofflet thanked me and might have used the word "22" in his newscast (I did not receive any credit for the use of "22").

The Tremont was built the same year as the City Hall 1892 and was a "Grand Hotel" with a classy restaurant with white linens on the 1st floor.  It's where travelers stopped on their journey to the new west.    

Lately it had become a low income housing with 22-ish apartments (the kind with one communal bathroom on each floor).  Hopefully only the inside is gutted and the outside can be saved as it really is a beautiful building. (I did not say that low income housing part) That was done by others.

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OH - the NFL.

Lets see.  Someone drags a dead body out of an elevator with a gunshot wound and the NFL says "ooo that looks bad".  But then months later there is a film of someone SHOOTING someone in the elevator. The NFL says "WAIT A MINUTE, that looks BAD, that person with a gunshot was SHOT".

Well what the hell did you think happened.

If you drag a unconscious woman out of an elevator and drop her face down on the floor like a piece of meat you get suspended for 2 games.  Did they think he was just dragging her around all day? WHAT?  he HIT her in the elevator and knocked her out?  Well, that is a different story now!  WHO KNEW!!!    

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OOPS = talking heads got the rain wrong. The BIG rain went north and south.

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Took my tire to ACTION TIRE in Columbus after finding out the chunk of cement on Hwy151 blew a hole in my tire.  If that broken air pump would have been working air would have been coming out as fast as I was putting it in.

Action Tire?  Columbus?  What?  That is what I said.  It's like a caricature of a tire place across from Duffy Grain.  I will need to take a photo of the place.  Yes - it's a little more then Weber Tires in Bristal but it's local and you don't have a 4 hour wait (well, I have a 2 day wait but I can wait at home).

I like spending my money locally . . . unless like the computer place he keeps my tire and won't give it back and keeps charging me more and more until be moves to another town after stealing my identity.   But I digress.

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Speaking of the Columbus budget.  Not a whole hell of a lot we can do with taxes.  Seriously. It's basically all about what the State wants to give us.  The City of Columbus has actually done well (only a 2.2% rise last year) but the Columbus School District (+6.5%)  and Columbia County (+6.2%) are the culprit.

OH - you ask why the 2.2% raise?  Because we lost $17 million in assessed value and because of that the state gives us less money and to make up for that short fall the City needs to find 17 million dollars.

Our assessed value went up this year a little but . . . . . there is this little James Street Reconstruction coming (maybe in the 4 million range) that needs to be looked into.   All us guys can do wit ha budget is get the best bang for buck out of what we have.  The actually levy rates are pretty much out of our hands.

OH - I'm just putting this out there.  Our Library is DREADFULLY small and is about to bust their seams.  There is no room for expansion.  There is some talk about some exciting developments in the future with a large structure that would combine several organizations.  Still just talk but what about turning the current Library into a Columbus Historical Museum.  There is no room for expansion at the current library which was a great size in 1912.

Oh the talk about that house being purchased was put on the back burner when the city was not allowed to have an assessment. The problem is if the city gets a price, that price becomes public,  The owners did not really like that idea.      

HEY - Maybe the Library could move into the Tremont!!!  It's not a catastrophe, it's an opportunity!
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Interesting - 47% of people reading this blog use Chrome,  45% use Fire Fox and 5% use IE!

In the last month France is the biggest reader with 3750 page views!!  Bonjour France

Columbus Cardinals Shutout Brewers

In an Exhibition game the Columbus Cardinals shut out the Milwaukee Brewers 8-0.  Manager Ron Roenicke commented "We thought this would be a good game to get some confidence back for our guys for the stretch run".

Luckily the Brewers play the Cincinnati Reds this weekend who have already packed it in for the season.  Negotiations are continuing for both teams to forfeit the games but giving the victory to the Brewers for a first round draft choice next year.

In other sports news the Dallas Cowboys home tickets have gone on sale in New Orleans for the Cowboys next HOME game. Owner Jerry Jones at a press conference told reporters that it is only a coincidence that jambalaya, gumbo and andouille will be offered to hungry fans.

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At the Mayors request the Council is looking into basically stopping funding for events in Columbus and having a majority of all money go towards marketing and filling the 10 empty hotel rooms in our one hotel.  Perhaps $5000 would be offered to help events ($16,000 was issued this past year).  

If you have issues one way or the other contact your aldermen and or Mayor.  Personally I'm on the fence.  I can see both sides.  I'm not sure what exactly we should spending $15,000 on with vague  marketing. Will marketing have a larger benefit then helping events bring people to Columbus.  

I do believe we need to spend the Room Tax more on advertising these events as opposed to music and so forth but what does a marketing campaign actually bring to the table.  Visit our downtown?  Come to our Hospital?  Amtrak?  Check out our strip malls and McDonalds?  

I do think putting $$ towards making the pavilion ADA accessible would REALLY bring a greater number of large events to Columbus.    

I believe we need to tighten room tax so that all $$ go towards advertising these events. 

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I want to thank Davis Clark and team CPW for fixing the Recycling Center.  The puddles were getting pretty deep and rumors of lost citizens and residents of Little Chicago floating in the muck were unfounded. (I was told that those apartments south on Cty K are all Chicago mob people trying to run Columbus and the Police Department spends most of their days out there - I'm not sure if this is factual but it was what I was told at Ale and Arts so . . . .). 

Speaking of the Columbus Police Department.  The reason the PD has been ticketing people on 151 is that they are taking part in a "state-wide traffic safety initiative" that happens every year.  

Personally I'm not sure this is really needed as vehicles come to a full-ish stop before entering the city limits and it just gives Columbus a bad reputation with speed traps. And really, who cares if cars speed on 151, shouldn't be a Columbus problem.  I would rather have police vehicles closer to the city then catching speeders out in the country.  Just my personal opinion.

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Ever wonder WHEN you should go to a party?  Just how late you should arrive?  Get to a party on time and feel weird, or go late and arrive when everyone’s there?  Well, there is a study being conducted to find out the optimum time.

If you are having a party watch when people show up and mail the results to 

walter.hickey@fivethirtyeight.com

Right now the average time people show up is 40 minutes AFTER the party starts but more data is needed. 

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Rain rain rain. Here we go everybody!  We got a big one coming and be glad it's not winter. We are looking at 1 to 2 inches of rain tonight.  AND BRRRRR  High of 52 on Friday??  

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Air Pressure Gauge FAIL

Seems the Columbus kindergarten is having problems with SO MANY children. What will happen when they get older and our high school can not hold them.  Perhaps we can get a big circus tent to house the bloating high school. Probably have to have a referendum to purchase more porta-potties. Hope it passes. Maybe we should buy more trees NOW so they will be bigger by the time they can be used.

Reminds me of living in my house and looking out the window watching golfers pee in the weeds across the fairway. I think it happens every day. Must be something about that 15th hole that makes people need to pee in front of our windows.

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OH - one of my BIGGEST pet peeves is stopping at a gas station and having their air pump not only broken (which happens) but broken for "a while"!  It infuriates me.

DJ and I were taking a run to Copps and our car somehow broke a chunk of cement on 151. I looked in the mirror and I saw a 5 inch chunk literally a foot in the air.  All of a sudden lights were flashing on the dash and and I thought I was on the Sea View being attacked by a giant squid or something.

We get to a PDQ on "N" in Sun Prairie and I see the back tire is flat. I go to put air in and, guess what? The air pump is broken. It's "been broken for a while" it seems. WTF?

So now I have to change the tire because of negligence of PDQ Management and I try to get the lug nuts off with this little tool that looks like a large screw driver and it's totally worthless. Time to call AAA who come and put the baby tire on but strip a nut in the process.

Meanwhile I see Alderman Clark looking at me on his cycle and I quickly look around to make sure we do not have a quorum and he takes off on a ride to Potosi  . . . .anyway.  I'll never go back to that PDQ.

Who owns those air pumps.  Are they rented by gas stations? Who is responsible.  I called the number on the side and told them they better come and fix their machine.

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Anybody who missed the downtown event Saturday should be ashamed.  Fantastic day.  GREAT band next to city hall.  Alice Schmidt's last big soup at the Senior Center.  Book sale at the library.

I picked up 10 pounds of books and am now reading "Last Full Measure" by Jeff Shaara.  The last book of the historical docu-drama Killer Angel trilogy about the American Civil War.  Fascinating.

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Made a a delivery to Ultimate Arts the other day and took a photo.  I wanted to make it tattoo-ish or something.

I posted it on Facebook and a friend of mine made a disparaging remark about tattoos and regret at horrible tat's.

Well, the way I see it I have never heard of anybody disliking their tattoo and I know many people with tats.  In fact at art fairs this summer I was actually very surprised at how many people have tattoos.  Did you know that according to Pew Research 40% of people between 26-40 have a tattoo?  45 million Americans have a tattoos.   17% of people with tat's regret having it which means 83% have no Ragrets.

(This is what would happen if I was a tattoo artist).

Don't get me wrong - there are many many truly hideous tattoos but a tattoo is not for others to enjoy. They are for the wearer to enjoy and according to a survey of tattooed persons they could care less
what other people think.  I saw a tattoo just yesterday on a woman's leg.  It was horrible and I shook my head but . . . .she must have liked it.  She gave the OK to have it put on so . . . . .

Not sure why I got into a tattoo talk.  I have three and have never once regretted them.  They don't fade, or spread out like the old blue splotchy ones you see. Technology is awesome.

Plus, tattoo shops are a nice addition to any community.  A tattoo artists charges about $150 an hour.

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Wisconsin Economy.

According to Business Insider there are two articles that rank all the States - the first is how fast is a States Economy growing and the 2nd is how good IS a States Economy.  

Where does Wisconsin rank in growth?

39th. The biggest problem is that wages have decreased by 0.46%

Iowa 41st
Illinois 34th
Ohio 25th
Indiana 21st
Minnesota 19th
Michigan 16th

But what about the actual state of the State economy.  Where do we stand


Ohio 35th  lost 12,400 jobs in July
Indiana 33rd  lost 600
Wisconsin 23rd  added 2,900 jobs in July
Iowa 18th added 6,700 jobs in July
Michigan 17th added 17,900 jobs
Minnesota 16th lost 4,200
Illinois 12th added 10,300

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I just watched Ray Rice knocking out his girlfriend in the elevator - that guy should never play in the NFL again!

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Let's play 

 Guess the NFL Stadium. 

That's right - that is Jerry Jones Memorial Stadium home of the bungling Dallas Cowboys.  Seems only 50% of Cowboy fans showed up to watch their heroes on opening day.   OH - Jerry Jones did not notice.  After all, it was a sellout for Americans Team.

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I purchased a Chromecast for my TV for $35.  Works GREAT and took over 1 minute to set up.  Now I can play videos from my iPhone onto the TV in HD.  Netflix and so forth.  I love it.

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Did you know that ISIS wanted to join Al Qaeda but Al Qaeda felt ISIS was too extreme?   IF you want to see you gas prices ZOOM to $5, just ignore ISIS.  They fund themselves by oil and the oil market is starting to get spooked.


That;s it.

The last warm Friday

Dear Mr knowitall. I did not say the Indians called Mr. Harney a Squaw Killer. He was called that name by white man.  You need to skim better.  :-)

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Packers - well, if you are going to play a bad game you might as well play one that you should lose ANYWAY.  And Seattle - wow, can they play a better game??  At least now "we" don't have to look forward to playing THEM again for a while.

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Very nice article in the Columbus Journal and it's nice to see a real journalist words in the paper.

Council scraps motion to create tourism committee

I don't think we "scraped" it, more of a postpone. There was self inflicted confusion brought on by lawyer-speak and I'm pretty sure it will move forward again.  What I do not agree with is just handing the keys of a $20,000 bucket of money to unknown and untested people with zero control or oversite.

Yes - I was the only person to vote NO to pull it back and start over. I thought the plan that we had all agreed upon two weeks earlier was a good beginning.   I don't think we are starting over at all.  Maybe just tweaking.

I'm bringing up an agenda item for putting a speed radar sign up coming down the hill on W.James.  Even though the Columbus Police Department does not believe there is a speeding problem many many citizens disagree.  So the solution is easy and is a proven winner.  Speed radar signs.  Either mobile or permanent.

On a side note - watch out for speeding on 151 coming into Columbus.  I have heard that the CDP is protecting it's citizens by catching speeders on HWY 151.

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BRRRRRR - cold weather is coming.  Highs by NEXT weekend will be in the upper 50s and lower 60s.
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Enerpac is having an open house Saturday.  Hope they have cookies.

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Big Brother - wow - if you want to know how to manipulate people just watch Derrick.  An under cover cop in real life and he is just running the house and could be one of the greatest players in Big Brother history.  He knows exactly what everybody is thinking all the time and when bad things happen he can turn things around.

In this case Derrick IS in an alliance with Zack.



Here he is getting himself out of a tricky problem that has his game in trouble.



Big Brother is like a real life "House of Cards".  You get to see all of the deals going down behind peoples backs and then get to see what happens when things start to leak out.

You are stuck in a house for 3 months with no outside contact and each week someone gets voted out!  Tons of dealing and secret alliances.  

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A vote of confidence from The Mayor

Thursday Morning - while parts of Madison received over 3 inches of rain. Columbus received 0.04 inches.!
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The Mayor pointed out last night in city council that my blog is 50% correct so I consider that a victory as I believe he meant to say "is up to 50%"  which is an increase and a vote of confidence.

Actually in council last night we continued into Room Tax hell for the 3rd or 4th month and I'm not sure about the other council members but I know the Mayor and I have philosophical differences on how room tax should be used. HOWEVER - I do feel we need to tighten the screws but I do not like the idea of giving total control to appointed individuals with only reactionary over-site.

I'm sure we will be talking about this for yet another 3 or 4 more months.

I believe we agree to disagree.  Or at least I agree to disagree.

Meanwhile there is a big bucket of cash on the City Hall doorstep! Take what you need but leave some for the next guy!  But remember - 75% must go towards marketing/

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On this day in 1855 General William Harney led 700 solders and massacred 100 Indians in a Sioux village in Nebraska.  (not that this has anything to do with the Room Tax problem above).

A year earlier a lieutenant named Grattan tried to arrest a Teton Sioux brave for shooting a white mans cow and basically forced the Indians to attack the 30 men he was leading. All the solders were killed.  Despite numerous witness accounts stating that he had threatened the Indians and it was not their fault this was called the Grattan Massacre.

Now a year later famed Indian killer General William Harney in retaliation, attacked the Sioux village killing 100 men woman and children who were led by Chief Little Thunder.

Little Thunder tried to surrender immediately but Harney refused to accept it.

Later Harney learned the facts and softened his stance on Indians and had a successful peace council but it was only temporary.  Harney would forever be nicknamed "Squaw Killer Harney" and attacks on both sides would become more and more violent.

One Sioux boy who was a witness to the original Sioux slaughter would never forgive and 21 years later would get his revenge at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  His name was Crazy Horse. 
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In case you are wondering August was pretty normal temperature wise  and above normal precipitation.  While the farmers almanac is saying we will have a frigid winter - real science  is saying otherwise.  November through December will have above average temps and average precip.  The rest of winter will be pretty average all around.

OH - here is the forcaste for Columbus 

Sep 1-7: T-storms, then sunny; cool, then warm;  WOW - going out on a limb on that one?

How can you say they are wrong with a forecast like that!!

oh - The next 30 days looks like average tempos with above average precip. 

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I took a walk around downtown Columbus and by my count we have a 71% occupancy rate.  This includes three store fronts that have garbage in the windows and two Antique stores that use their windows as storage and warehouses. The worst most empty underutilized street in Columbus is what I feel is the BEST locations in Columbus. The north side of West James (where Hydro Street is).

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Did I say I feel the Packers should cover the +6 points?      

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Yea - I had the wrong lens on my camera for this shot but . . . at least I didn't almost get arrested this time.  I used my mom as a shield.