The Big Short

I watched The Big Short and am in OMG mode.  Very informative true story movie about the housing crisis and the total corruption of the "banking system" including mortgage brokers, the ratings agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Fed's monetary policy, and Alan Greenspan.

The movie explains things in a conversational manner as the characters talk to the camera and explain things with cut scenes to famous people like "Here is pop star Selena Gomez to explain Synthetic CDOs in black jack terms" then when finished you are OH MY GOD, SERIOUSLY?

It's actually chilling as about 15 fund managers realize what is happening and are betting hundreds of millions that there will be a collapse. They can not believe what they have found and go to a big banker convention in Las Vegas to blend in and ask questions but when finished they realize that they while they will soon be billionaires, at the same time . . . . the American economy is literally about to fail.  People forget how close America was to 50% unemployment seven years ago.

I will order the book today.

If anyone thinks that Bernie or Clinton or anybody can "break up the banks" they are fools. This is a world wide problem, not just an American oddity. It takes Congress to start to look into this problem, not one person and certainly not Trump who depends on loophole banking shenanigans for his money (remember, he has profited from all of his bankruptcies, he depends on banking fraud for his money).

And it's happening again. OH, the banking industry calls things by different names but they are back to their old tricks. When the bond rating agencies will pretty much make EVERYTHING AAA because if they don't the other rating agencies will rate bad bonds AAA and they will reap the profits. Should rating agencies really be "for profit" companies?



Watch this movie if you want to stay up at night and worry.

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Last night at Home Brew Club in Sun Prairie (soon-ish to have a new LARGE brewery run by the head cheese of our club) we had BAD BREW NIGHT.  Everyone makes a bad beer at times and our goal was to taste bad beer and figure out what went wrong.

Might have to rethink this - tasting bad, infected beer is not as fun as it sounds.

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The Dallas Cowboys, with the #4 draft pick drafted a running back. They had better make sure this guy is the next Berry Sanders because running backs are a dime a dozen.  What buffoons . . unless he is the next Berry Sanders.

It was funny at Eddies last night in SP.  The TVs were on and and the draft was going and when the Packers turn came this VERY LOUD bar hushed!  It was eerie.  Then it was announced The Packers pick Defensive Tackle blah blah. There was a moment of silence and then back to normal.  YUP - Packers needed a DT,  nothing more exciting then drafting  DT LOL

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mmmmm Saturday, High of 54 and windy with rain developing - AWESOME!!  

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According to Nate Silver who knows a hing or two about politics, if the Democrats used the GOP process for primaries this race would have been over a long long time ago.  And if the GOP used the Democratic process Trump would have a much much harder road and might not win at all.

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I had to laugh at this

Braves LOL The Brewers of 2016

Seems the Atlanta Braves are the Milwaukee Brewers of this year - they are floundering.  Last night they hit their first home run in 15 games!  It's still April and they have had a 8 game and a 9 game losing streak.  hey have only hit 4 HRs ( Brewers have 20) BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!  Braves are 4-17.

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Donald Trump today in an interview said he does not rule out using Nuclear Weapons against ISIS.  SWEET - this will be a very exciting New World Order!    "Merica!

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The forecast has really gone downhill for the weekend.   Elwood and I were going to work on the water tower wall (which is looking really good) adding more dirt but geez, 53 and rain we might call it off.

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Big day for birds last night. Weather Surveillance Radar reported a massive bird migration across the US about 1AM reaching into Wisconsin but stopping before hitting Northern WI.  Radar spotted millions of birds on the move on southerly winds from the Gulf Coast into central Wisconsin. Many bird watchers in WI noticed Grosbeaks this morning showing up for the first time and Orioles.

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There is a new restaurant opening in London called The Bunyadi where people have the option to eat . . . . . nude.  It opens in June and there is a waiting list of  30,000.  THIRTY THOUSAND.  There will be two areas, nude and un-nude.

I'm not sure this would fly in Columbus. I can't see The Apple Tree going this route on Sunday morning.  Columbus might be liberal but . . . . . not nudeliberal.

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Poor

No comment on the last comment.  I need photos or it does not exist  :-)

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Here is some news that the news does not deem, newsworthy. There was a strike on a house in Mosul Iraq against ISIS which destroyed $150 million dollars (does putting a "$" AND saying the word dollars make this redundant?).  Which brings to total money burned up in air strikes to about $800 million.  Brilliant idea to go after their money. 

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Weather - after tomorrow we shall see a slow and steady climb in temperatures for about 7 straight days and we could be in the 70s this time next week.

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In baseball the Cubs are actually better then we thought and should win over 100 games (according to Nate Silver).  The Brewers should win about 69 games but right now, the Braves are the worst team in Baseball and should win about 62 games.

This means if you take both Milwaukee teams (Brewers & Braves) and total the victories we can beat the Cubs by 29 games - TAKE THAT CUB FANS!!  IN YOUR FACE!!

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Hey - here is something to worry about.  Remember that asteroid that blasted Russia a few years ago releasing 30 times the energy of the A-bomb? AND IT SURPRISED EVERYBODY.  Yea  - totally missed that one.

Problem is is that most of our telescopes are land based and can only see things at night.  This guy (the asteroid)  came out of the sun like a Japanese Zero during the daytime.  And another reason was this was a pretty small asteroid, only about 20 yards wide. Current technology has problems seeing stuff that small.  SO - keep looking up.

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OH - the whole ID/voting thing.  To put this in perspective. Here is what a middle class person would have to do in order to get a voter ID.

Take non-paid leave, drive to Green Bay, wait an hour and drive back. But most people can survive on not getting paid for one day. Not a poor person.  So, take a non-paid TWO WEEK vacation, drive to Green Bay and back again.

A non-paid 2 week vacation is about what losing pay for one day is for someone in poverty and that is if they live with a roof over their head.  Losing one day of pay makes it hard to make your apartment rent so you maybe you can skip eating for a day. OH - food stamps?  My buddy makes about $10,000 a year, pays $500 a month in rent in a dive and receives $120 a month in food stamps. Do the math.  So when people complain about not having a valid photo ID and someone says "go get one" . . . . it's not that easy.

And when someone says "they should ask a friend for help".  Its embarrassing enough to be poor so let's make them feel even more embarrassed.

Everyone should at some point work at a homeless shelter - it will open your eyes.  They are people like you and me.

Being poor does not mean you can plan for tomorrow - you are more worried about surviving today.  You are ALWAYS worried about money, ALWAYS. How long can your one pair of shoe's last, how much does milk cost THIS week.

Health is EVERYTHING.  You cannot afford to miss one day of work, EVER.

You can not even consider buying anything you don't REALLY need. No magazines, or books or newspapers or a trip to a dentist because of a toothache.  Live with it.

Don't even think about getting a job you can not walk too!

Every time a poor person spends money, there is anxiety. 

Asking for help in this culture is often painful and shame inducing.

So do not tell me that the GOP and Walker are not trying to suppress the vote, either they don't care about the poor or are ignorant to the problems of the poor.


sorry - I just get ticked off.    

Beef Jerky and a new car!

Everybody raise your hands if you believe Sundays weather forecast was a big fat fail.  Well, unless you live in Madison where the high was 73 compared to Columbus 66.  SO CLOSE!!!

Enjoy today as it's the last warm day for a while as weakening storms will enter Wisconsin and left punch the warm weather away. Highs the rest of the week will be in the middle to low 50s and even below 50 on Thursday.  Friday temps rebound but sadly we are in for average temps for April.

Perhaps some thunderstorms early this afternoon

FEAR NOT THOUGH - get ready to water your lawns and tune up the AC units as May and basically the rest of summer will  have above average temperatures.

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YOU GET A CAR and YOU GET A CAR and YOU GET A CAR and YOU GET A CAR and I got a car.

I took this of our new car Friday night.  A '16 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited.  We still have the '03 Subaru Outback Perpetual (241,000 miles) and traded in our zoom zoom Honda Fit.  Neither one of those cars were going to comfortably take us to Colorado for our 20th wedding Anniversary.

Is it totally uncool to have two of the same car? Somehow I feel this is a transportation faux pas (an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation.) and I will be shunned.   Hey - they are made in Indiana. Creating jobs for Americans. I am a creator.

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Our bird feeder has become a smorgasbord for hawks.  We came home yesterday and in the corner of our deck was a whirlwind of feathers from what used to be a pigeon. Sort of gross and pretty at the same time.

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I had my first experience with making my own beef jerky.  Now I know how  DJ feels after making turkey for Thanksgiving and she never wants to see a turkey again.  It's actually pretty easy using the oven and a LOT cheaper then buying "good" beef jerky (not that crap they sell in grocery stores).  A kit from the Beef Jerky place will make three 5lb batches but I only did a 2 pound batch to see if it was worth it.

Basically buy some steak, slice it thin, marinate for 12 hours and then bake in a 180 degree over for 4 or 5 hours. I used some round mesh things I picked up at Walgreen's for $1 to put the slices on.  After the smell leaves the house the product is REALLY good.  Yea - I got sort of tired of the aroma (I opened the over 1/2 hour every other hour to let moisture escape) but that is all forgotten with a good nights sleep.

The better the steak the better the jerky but mine was your normal $6.50 a pound steak.  Love it

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Weird - the Koch Brothers will not spend a dime on Trump OR Cruz.  In another oddity, The STOP TRUMP campaign announced, right after The Game of Thrones, that Cruz and Kasich made a deal. Cruz will take all the delegates from Indiana and Kasich will take all the delegates from Oregon and New Mexico.

I can't see how anybody thinks that is a little shifty for the GOP.

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Tonight on PBS is Ken Burns show THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA at 9:00.

Speaking of CAPS LOCK -  NOAA will finally stop using ALL CAPS IN THEIR SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION.  THANK YOU.  Whenever I read it the voice in my head was YELLING.   WHY ARE YOU YELLING!!!

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Ever think what would happen if everyone on earth jumped at the same time?  Me neither.  BUT - here is what would happen so when I try to get everybody on board we will know what to expect.

OK - 7 billion people jump 1 foot in the air and land all at the same time.  The noise would reach about 200 decibels and shatter eardrums which is why I will invest in the ear plug industry and hearing aids.  There would be between a 4.0 to 8.0 earthquake depending how much energy is absorbed by shoes. But the good news is the earth would keep spinning.

hmmmmmm - does not sound THAT exciting of blog worthy.

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Political quote of the day  Ted Cruz:

'If Donald Trump dresses up as Hillary Clinton, he still can’t go to the girls' bathroom'.

OK then - I guess we got that out of the way!

HAPPY 421

HAPPY 421 day.  Well, I missed 420 so I'll go with 421.
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Seems USS  Indianapolis: Men of Courage premiere is being pushed back.  One report is that it is so good they want to have it at the Cannes Film Festival which happens the middle of May.  So no trailers until after Cannes.

Mel being interviewed for Movie #2 coming out this year.

The remaining survivors of the USS Indy - Mel is 2nd from the left

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I was called a MONSTER US Lib on social Media and then the real horror happened when the dude posted a jpg of my Recall Walker signature.   I'm actually proud of that and would sign it again . . . but that would be illegal.

I think when you live in literally one of the most liberal city's in Wisconsin (according to how the latest primary results came in) is it really a bad thing to say you voted to recall Walker?

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Ever wonder how much Woodstock musicals were paid.  Me neither but I happened to see a list and here are a few numbers.

Jimi Hendrix was paid $30,000 for two performances
Blood, Sweat and Tears got paid the most  $15,000
CCR  $10,000
Jefferson Airplane $7,500
The Who $6,250
Crosby, Still, Nash & Young $5,000
and get this Santana $750.

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Last night I was listening to the SF Giants on my phone and then went upstairs to watch the news.  About an hour later I was turning off the lights and I hear something behind me.  I turn around and am trying to locate the noise . . . what is that?? . . . . . . so I'm triangulating and walking around the house and I stop to listen . . . . what the hell??   is it someone speaking Spanish? . . . . . . Finally I bend over for a cat toy and I really hear it . It IS someone speaking Spanish AT A BASEBALL GAME.  My phone in my back pocket somehow turned on the Spanish speaking broadcast of the Giants game.  I thought I was having a stroke or something.

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Speaking of Robins - has anybody else noticed that there are a TON of Robins around this year?  My cats really dislike Robins, other birds are OK but if they see a Robin a special sound comes out of their mouth  eeek eeek eeek eeek eeek eeek - it bizarre.

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Here is something I learned.  The French are so sad that they cannot read Shakespeare. You can't just convert Shakespeare into French (or any other language for that matter). I had never thought of that.

I can't read Shakespeare.  I see the words but they do not make sentences I understand.

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Harriet Tubman will appear on the $20 but because of gender inequality the $20 is now only worth $18.50.   So long Andre Jackson you will not be missed (Andy was a very very bad man in reality - Trail of Tears and the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and all that).  Did you know that on the Trail of Tears the American Indians were getting cold because on their 1000 mile walk so the Gov gave out disease infected blankets to the woman and children. They were not allowed to buy food in towns and were forced to pay 10 times the going rate to cross rivers.

back to money - there are a lot of changes coming to your bills - Broadway Star Alexander Hamilton will be joined by Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul. I actually don't have a clue who a few of those people are, I need to look them up.

Donald Trump is mad that Jackson is coming off the bill "He was a very great man" he said.

OH!  the change is slated for 2030  TWENTY THIRTY!!

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That is something you don't see every day

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Did I mention that March broke a record in world temperature?  That is 11 straight months of breaking monthly records . . . . if you believe in "science numbers"

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Check this out - BATS were recorded in Radar Scope according to NOAA

OK - gotta to get my teeth cleaned - WHAT FUN!

Why I voted as I did

I'm not going to go into the specifics of the whole sidewalk situation as I need to let it go and move on.
 
Many moons ago near the egg of time I was a wee lad who played cello in the Fort Atkinson school orchestra.  I was in the 5th grade and as I remember it City Hall was going to cancel the orchestra program.

My parents were agitated as they must have had visions of me going to Julliard (I was 1st chair cello) and would bring home major amounts of cash or something (little did they know how much musicians get paid).

ANYWAY - there was a huge ruckus and a large group headed(?) by my parents went to "fight city hall".  It was at that point when I decided to NEVER even consider being a politician for anything and that worked out very well for most of my life.

My parents won their battle and the tip of my spear ended up as last chair cello in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony for a while. Beating city hall was a pretty big deal for many people as they brought the evil politicians to their knees and songs were sung around the fires of my village as the story was retold for generations. 

Fast forward to last night.  It is I sitting in front of angry citizens who are calling us corrupt politicians and threatening us with "if this passes I will move out of Columbus" and "I am on my knees begging you" language.

This is so awesome, getting paid basically $1 an hour to go through this after literally having my brain trying to come to grips with a no win situation for the last 2 months. How can I do what I feel is best for the city while at the same time trying to do what is best for the citizens of this neighborhood.    

I am 100% confident that the future of the city should come first and I am 100% confident that what I truly believe is best for the future of this neighborhood is exactly the wrong decision for the people that live in the neighborhood.

Flash back to 7th grade.

A bully does not like that I do not take him seriously. He does not appreciate that this skinny little 120 lb guy will not "yes sir" him and he feels he needs to scare me and decides to push me around.  Well, this skinny little guy is not a surrender monkey and is stubborn and push's back and then goes into a defensive stance.  There is a tussle and he left hooks me in the mouth and my glasses fly off and now blood is flowing pretty freely. 

But then I surprise him and become a berserker unit swing back.  NOBODY swings back at big Jeff and I catch him in the eye.  That was basically it for me and bully wins and next thing I know I'm getting stitches 5 stitches but bully has a BIG black eye from skinny Rod.

Why do I mention this? Because when a citizen of Charles Street (or somewhere around there who owns some apartments or something) threatens me and then another calls us a bunch of corrupt politicians and another threatens us . . . . . . . I ALMOST went into berserker mode.  HOW DARE YOU.  Uncalled for bullying and I am not one that appreciates the nuances of bullying.  Do they know who holds the cards?  Is it really good idea to insult the people that you want on your side?

I ended up voting to help the neighborhood probably because of my parents.  The question is this.  When you are on City Council your job is to help the city move forward as a whole.  But your job is also to create a place for the citizens to have a good life.  Sometimes those two do not match up so what side do you take.

On this day, I decided that while putting in sidewalks would help the city's transportation network and create a safe place for children and elderly . . . .it would at the same time lower the assumed happy people quotient.

There were just too many problems with a sidewalk on that side of the street.  I am a yuge sidewalk proponent but on this particular case I had to side with the citizens on that street.  If/when this comes up again I doubt I will vote as I did this time.  Heck we could not even bend the sidewalk around the trees.  Just too many problems. 

I hope the citizens of that neighborhood appreciate it and I hope next time they will learn how to negotiate better. They almost lost it.

    





 

Zombie Apocalypse

According to blogger I have 703,000 posts read! Didn't notice I went over 700K  

One final thing about fluoride (I really feel Fall River is irresponsible for not allowing their children to have good teeth).

I received this email over the weekend.

My father was very proud of the fact that he led the effort to have fluoride in Boscobel's water supply in the late 1950's.  When he initially started working the majority of his work was on cavities and tooth repair.  By the time he retired in 1987, he could have kept at least 2 hygienists busy cleaning teeth as the number of patients that needed dental work beyond exams had declined so greatly.  


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Yea - The Omega High is not as tough as we thought.  Yea - we had a good run of days and the weather we had Friday was what we had Saturday and Sunday and Monday but it's about to end.

On a side note - the art fair world had a tough weekend as the downpour of rain they had Friday also happened Saturday and Sunday.  On Facebook there were videos of art fairs getting 8 inches of rain and flooded booths with 5 inches of water on the ground.

It's all about to change. A cold front is approaching from the north and is going to bludgeon it's way into Wisconsin pushing the LOW that has been sitting off to the west FURTHER west. It's going to be like a top that is about to topple.

Low to mid 60s at best for as far as the eye can see (which is actually a little above average) and a good amount of rain on our first golf meeting night!  O Well.

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New rule in Cuba - President Raul Castro has declared that party officials should retire at age 70 starting in 2021.

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A sperm bank donor who has created 36 children seems to have lied on his application and does not have a 160 IQ and a PhD.  He is actually a college dropout “who has been diagnosed with bipolar and narcissistic personality disorders and schizophrenia and has spent time in prison for burglary.”

SWEET!!  We need more of those kind of people in the U.S.

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On the 43,066 try the NFL finally got a schedule they can use.  I can totally understand their problems.  Making a schedule for sports teams will fry your brain.  I've done it for a number of leagues (before there was software).  All sorts of special requests like "we want Green Bay to play Minnesota in their first game in the new stadium" type stuff.

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Looking at how states are voting the demographics have been very very consistent on who is getting votes for the left.  Bernie basically has no shot unless something REALLY HUUUGE happens. I mean REALLY big.  If Sanders wins NY (10 latest polls have Clinton up 56-40) he has a very tiny chance.

HEY - I'm just stating the facts - not making judgement's and IF things continue as they are now which is never guarantee! 

Combined polls have Trump winning 54% to Kasich 25% to Cruz 19% in NY.

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OK - 18 million people have seen this but if you have not  . . . . . . .

https://youtu.be/-hVWEefD5ag




A study that started in 1938 followed 700 people. Every 2 years they were interviewed.  half were collage bound and half were among the poor.

What they found was that the group that was healthiest when they hit 80 were the ones with the strongest relationships, good OR bad.  

Fluoride and Omega High

To answer a question

On the city map for the upcoming street projects it shows the one block of Avalon between Hwy 73 and Parkview Dr as a project. What project is this?

This is a small portion of water main.  About 125 feet.  Contractor might start May 2.  This is to complete a water main loop that was never connected to Park Ave.

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There was talk about fluoride at the Water and Light commissioner meeting and the question was asked if we should have fluoride in our water in Columbus.  Seems to be a controversial thing all of a sudden even though many many MANY studies have shown it is a really good thing.

We get fluoride in toothpaste and we get it in our drinking water. The arguments against it is that it can be poisonous. Well, anything can be poisonous if you get too much.  Europe does not add it in their water because their water systems are not as stable as ours and fluoride is already in water naturally and frankly, Europeans don't drink as much teeth rotting crap as Americans do.  They put it in milk and other things.

Mountain Dew will literally rot our teeth out.

Children NEED fluoride in their water.  The below chart shows wards in a large city (missed which one).  Far left are the poor wards and far right are affluent wards. This shows the amount of bad teeth in 5 year old's.  The RED lines show wards with fluoride in their water, the blue - no fluoride.

Fall River voted to remove fluoride and if I was a young family I would NEVER move to Fall River because of this.  I believe it's irresponsible of a government to deny the children of teeth saving fluoride.  There is anecdotal evidence already that Fall River children are having more teeth issues. Communities without fluoride in their water systems (A lot of the UP up North) have a large amount of teeth decay.  If you want to be a dentist, go to the UP, they need you.

Toothpaste fluoride strengthens the outer enamel and fluoride IN the water goes through your bloodstream and strengthen's the growing teeth of children.  Adults are fine, our teeth are in but it's the children that is the concern.

In Columbus it costs W&L about $3 a day to add it but it saves $36 a day in teeth decay.  When the following organizations all say WE NEED fluoride and with scientific peer testing (meaning that every study is sent to other testers to look for holes in the study) should we really just say "well, a scientist on You Tube says . . . .).

American Dental Association (ADA)
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
Institute of Medicine (IOM) “Community water fluoridation is credited with significantly reducing caries incidence in the United States, and it was recognized as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. Evidence continues to show that community water fluoridation is effective, safe, and inexpensive, and it is associated with significant cost savings” American Public Health Association (APHA)
World Health Organization (WHO)

BUT - if you want to believe you tube scientists go ahead.  I'm glad Columbus has fluoride.  At some point you need to trust people scientific organizations.

This whole conversation comes when "we" are looking into what to do about our elderly Well #1 in Columbus.  It's getting up there in age and while it is still pumping a good amount of water it's health is declining.  Wells are like humans (full of water?) when it comes to age. Once you hit 80 you still have a good amount of life but . . . . things need to work.

Luckily we have more wells that go down 700 feet and we continue to drink water that has taken a century to get to Columbus (yes, we drink old water).  The good thing is because it's so deep we are not real worried about contamination from a disaster such as a pipeline exploding like the worry about the Keystone Pipeline going through the west.

If Keystone had an issue it would ruin and entire States aquifer.  No water - PERIOD!  Can you imagine what would happen if all of a sudden ALL the water in Wisconsin was undrinkable?

Columbus has ample water and ample backup. We can support two major fires at once (although it would be tough) unlike many communities.

although personally I'm not a fan of the soft water coming into the house .

One thing I learned is that "we" had to lower the amount of softening in Columbus water because the softer the water the more chances of lead entering the water.  It strips away a special sealant that covers the lead in older homes water systems.

ANYWAY - on a different subject. If you are looking for air conditioners W&L has or will have a rebate for purchasing a energy efficient AC unit. Give them a call or just wait for an announcement in your bill (I would just wait so I will not get blamed for spreading the word too early).

OH OH - if you see people walking around your neighborhood with what looks like a wagon of light bulbs they are actually new meters being installed into your homes.  Pretty cool things that when everything is all finished (it will be a while) will provide customers with some great features.  For instance, you can wake up at 2:00 in the morning and look to see how much water and electricity is being used.

These were installed in one community and several water leaks were found when a customer noticed that in the middle of the night water was being used . . SOMEWHERE.  A leak was found.

But don't hold your breath, it will be a while for that stuff but it's coming.

WEATHER - the Omega High is in charge and whatever weather you are having today in the United States you will have that weather for a while.  Omega High's are tough to move ionce they get entrenched  and this is a big one.

 We will cool down to the upper 60s after the weekend for a few days but back up and MAYBE 80 by next Saturday.  No real rain for a LONG time.  This baby is going to be entrenched  and be glad we are in the GOOD part.

GREAT week coming up!

Yesterday we had a big birthday party for my father in law Mel as he turned 90.  A LOT of people were at the party and he loved it.  One thing he said we had to have were more hot dogs and more cake.  Well, when a 90 year old WWII hero (maybe played my Marine #1 in the upcoming movie USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage opening May 30th) wants more hot dogs and cake you get more hot dogs and cake.  We went through over 100 hot dogs and almost 4 BIG cakes from Carl's Cakes in Sun Prairie.

Jenny, Josh and the kids were there and I took this photo of Josh and the new little one Baylee who is doing great and will sleep through anything it seems.

And Caydence who is getting used to holding her new little sister.  

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The Weather is looking GREAT coming up - next weekend we should be in the low to mid 70s and sunny!  Today will be the coldest for the near term future and no rain for at least the next 8 or 9 days as the weather patterns have moved in our favor.

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After one week the Brewers are looking competitive.  Pitching has been good and middle relief has been great.  The rebuilding pitching staff is a year ahead of the rebuilding non-pitching staff.

One thing with the Brewers offense - a LOT of WALKS which is unheard of with Brewer teams of the past.  Keon Broxton looks a little lost in CF and that needs to be solidified but the Crew have a lot of CF's in their farm system. And then there is 1B Chris Carter who will either strikeout, walk or hit a HR 50% of the time when he comes to bat.  He is one of the top 5 in MLB history (like Russell Branyon and Rob Deer) in this category.

It was a good week for the Brewers and I think they will win today vs. St. Louis.

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According to Nate Silvers team -

Bernie Sanders is even less competitive then we think but I won't go into the math (Clinton is pulling away a little in NY it seems according the the latest polls). NOT trying to tweak my Bernie friends - just trying to ease you into the reality.

And Donald Trump is the Weakest GOP Front-Runner in Modern Era and is far far behind Mitt Romney at this point in the race. NOT trying to tweak my Donald friends - just trying to ease you into the reality.

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If you get to Madison and are on the square - look up and wave at my buddy Zak who has had a change in job locations.  He WAS 260 feet above Epic and now he is 260 feet above the Capitol.

How would you like this window seat every day.

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Looking for some REAL good pizza in the Columbus area?  Check out Solar in Waterloo.  Only 10 minutes from Columbus and they offer REALLY good pizza (some smoked cheese on the pizza?) and very good sandwich's.  DJ had a Apple Curry Chicken sandwich and we ordered a pizza.  Good amount of cheese was perfect and the sauce was tasty and excellent crust.

It's on 89 just on the right as you enter Waterloo - used to be a day care.

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The City Website - When you put your mouse over "Community" can you see ALL the words or just the headings??  Let me know. if you have any issues with the site let me know.

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I won't get into Fluoride issue that has popped up recently.  The U.S. Task Force on Community Preventive Services AND The National Cancer Institute who both conducted numerous studies have found no problems with fluoride who am I to say they are wrong.

Nuff said

Voter Suppression is working perfectly and as planned

Interesting how two Republicans have actually come out and said the voter ID laws (strictest in the nation) were actually meant to suppress the vote. I'm glad these guys were not suppose to keep secrets in time of war.  Secret keeping      FAIL!

I know my best friend, Elwood (who is helping Columbus on the Water Tower wall . .which is looking good) who is 300% below poverty did not vote for the first time because of the lack of a proper ID.  He has a government issued ID but no REAL Birth Certificate so no photo ID.

People have said "why does he just go get one".  Well, being poor is not only financial but psychological.  He could take a 2 hour bus ride across town to SS, stand in line and a long ride back and then take another bus ride to DMV, stand in line and a bus back back but buses cost money and take time.  Plus when you have Social Anxiety Disorder, which is why you are poor in the first place it is a daunting task . . . . . . . the guy has a brain like Rainman but has issues with crowds.

Then they say "why didn't you help".  Because poor people are proud and they do not like asking for help, it's embarrassing and as one friend said "The right of a US citizen to vote should not depend on getting help from other people - it is a constitutional right."

If you REALLY wanted to stop voter fraud (since 2000 there have been TEN cases of in-person voter fraud in the U.S.) you would go with the purple finger scheme like third world countries but I suppose you would have problems there too.

People are clueless what it is REALLY like to be poor.  Try not driving your car EVER AGAIN and live on $10 a day all the time. You really notice how much milk costs and how much a bus ticket costs and how you don't have the luxury of buying a 6-pack of beer because your one pair of shoes which costs $50 are getting a hole.  He does get food stamps ($120 a month) so he can spend $4 a day on food.

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BREWERS WIN BREWERS WIN - anybody notice that the San Diego Padres are 0-3 and have yet to score 1 run?  OUCH!  That, is a rough start.

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George Mason University received a $30 million gift after they announced that the name of their school would be changed to Antonin Scalia School of Law . . . . . . .but on further review they decided to change the name again because no one wanted to say they graduated from A.S.S.O.L.

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Speaking of coming into the 20th Century, Ephraim, in Door County FINALLY passed a referendum allowing the town to sell beer and wine.  Some are saying it will ruin the city. It is been dry since 1853.

BTW - today is National Beer Day marking the day in 1933, the first day in 13 years, that people could legally buy, sell, and drink beer.

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My buddy and founder of The Sun Prairie Worthogs had this in the paper the other day. This will go next to Market Square Diner in Sun Prairie. I believe a 10 barrel+ brewery/brewpub.

I suppose I need to talk about the blasted weather.  By this time next week warmer weather will be on the horizon.  Read that sentence carefully.  How is that for optimism.  The good news is that we will have more sun next week.  WHOO HOO!!

Cheers!

Election Results

Election Results - I believe Columbus had ABOUT a 60% turnout!   

BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   1921
           BALLOTS CAST - REPUBLICAN .  .  .  .  .  .    851   44.30
           BALLOTS CAST - DEMOCRATIC .  .  .  .  .  .   1054   54.87
           BALLOTS CAST - CROSSOVER  .  .  .  .  .  .     16

                          ********** (Republican) **********

          PRESIDENT STATEWIDE
          Vote for not more than  1
           Marco Rubio.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     10    1.18
           Ben Carson .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      6     .71
           Rand Paul  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      3     .35
           Mike Huckabee .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      1     .12
           Jim Gilmore.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      0
           Chris Christie.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      1     .12
           Donald J. Trump  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    285   33.49
           Rick Santorum .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      0
           Carly Fiorina .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      0
           John R. Kasich.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    169   19.86
           Jeb Bush.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      2     .24
           Ted Cruz.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    371   43.60
           Uninstructed Delegation.  .  .  .  .  .  .      0
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      3     .35

                          ********** (Democratic) **********

          PRESIDENT STATEWIDE
          Vote for not more than  1
           Hillary Clinton  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    362   34.35
           Martin O'Malley  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      2     .19
           Bernie Sanders.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    686   65.09
           Uninstructed Delegation.  .  .  .  .  .  .      3     .28
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      1     .09

                          ********** (Nonpartisan) **********

          JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT STATEWIDE
          Vote for not more than  1
           JoAnne F. Kloppenburg  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   1023   57.02
           Rebecca G. Bradley  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    769   42.87
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      2     .11


          COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE DISTRICT 4
          Vote for not more than  1
           Brian W. Blanchard  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   1269   99.37
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      8     .63


          COUNTY SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 20
          Vote for not more than  1
           Tim Zander .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    200   99.01
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      2     .99


          COUNTY SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 21
          Vote for not more than  1
           Henry A. St. Maurice.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    524   99.62
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      2     .38


          COUNTY SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 22
          Vote for not more than  1
           Teresa A. Sumnicht  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    604   99.67
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      2     .33


          Alderperson DISTRICT 1
          Vote for not more than  1
           Rick Royem .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    416   96.97
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     13    3.03


          ALDERPERSON DISTRICT 1
          Vote for not more than  1
           Regan Rule .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    396   97.78
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      9    2.22


          ALDERPERSON DISTRICT 2
          Vote for not more than  1
           Rodney Melotte.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    498   98.61
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      7    1.39


          ALDERPERSON DISTRICT 3
          Vote for not more than  1
           J.D. Milburn  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    157   32.11
           Andrew Traxler.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    327   66.87
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      5    1.02

          SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER COLUMBUS SCHOOL DISTRICT
          Vote for not more than  3
           Julia Hoffman .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    952   29.50
           Mary Arnold.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   1085   33.62
           Mike O'Brien  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   1158   35.88
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     32     .99

Tar and Feathers and Pitch Forks

If I ran True Value I would stock up on tar and feathers and pitch forks. Seems (to nobody's surprise) that everyone wants to fix infrastructure . . UNTIL, it's their street and they have to pay for a portion of it.  

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Seems Sundays cold front was a phenomena and has a name. 

One small thing was this did not REALLY come off the lake but after finding some more articles it's not a 100% lake driven thing.  Most Wisconsin people know this when we go to Miller Park and find out it's 30 degrees cooler.  

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Some sort of voting today - do it.  But remember, only one candidate says he will abolish the IRS and get rid of all of those nasty Environmental Protection "rules" AND, give the rich a 20% tax break so they can help the poor.  Vote with your heart and not your brains.    

I will literally be glued to my TV tonight, and when I say literally be glued  I mean it will be on and I'll be multi tasking probably with a baseball game on.  

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The NEW CDA had a meeting last night which, for the first meeting in a long time was fruitful and confidence is high.  Found out that the OLD CDA gave the OK for a $30,000 loan to Hydro Street which probably would have been paid off.  But the City Council at the time (no members on the current Council were on that one Council)  decided an extra $50,000 was OK.  Should have listened to the CDA which basically disbanded after that. 

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Yesterday was the first time in MLB history that two teams had their starting pitcher batting 8th in the line-up.   Brewers are already making their mark.  

OH - there was a basketball game last night.  I hear it was exciting.  Meanwhile I was watching the Cubs in a 6-0 game.  OOPS!  I forgot about the basketball game.  DAMN IT!  

OH - I think Philadelphia has one of the prettiest ball parks in the Majors . . .at least when I play MLB The Show16.  

And my umpire buddy.  '16 now has 20 home plate umpires each with his real life tendencies.  For instance 

 Mike Fillmore -calls inside strikes vs lefties  

Clyde Washington - Low Strikes and known for wide zone (and everybody hates him).

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and finally - my favorite kind of art is what Norman Rockwell did and when I went to Washington DC I knew the trip was more of a meet and greet (two thoughts in one sentence - must be a name for that).  I took a crap load of photos in DC but knew when I got home I would have a better idea of what I missed.

What I missed were people shots.  I'll have to work on that.

ANYWAY - This is one of my favorite pieces that no one really looks at.   It was taken at The Harmony Bar and Grill and I call it "Harmony".   If I was not obsessed with making millions of dollars I would only do this kind of art . . . . wait . . . I have not made a million yet so maybe I should concentrate on what I like.

Harmony

Have a great Tuesday. 

OPENING DAY

WOW - this week blows for weather - I give it a D+.  In fact looking farther out I see rain in 7 of the next 10 days which is NOT what the farmers want to see.  They would rather have a drought to begin the season. To get the crops IN and then to make whatever they planted send it's root down to get water as opposed to spreading OUT.

This last weekend was REALLY interesting. Saturday Elwood and I were attempting to do some landscaping (the water tower wall is doing well - we're going to put in some veins of color next).  We have a part in our patio that was out of the wind and warms up nicely IN SUN but there were nine concentric bands of heavy snow squalls with bright sun in between.   

Look at what the temps did Saturday as the day went on.  The top red line was all over the place as the bands flew by. The green dew point line kept going lower and lower. 

Then Sunday the weather was windy and kept getting warmer and warmer . . .UNTIL . . the cold front went through 

We went from 67 at 6:15 to 42 at 7:15

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BTW - I'm running for alderman so if you have a chance and see my name on your ballot put a check mark next to "Melotte"  Thank you.  I'm also pro Andy Traxler. I normally do not "support" candidates because I think I actually hurt their chances . . . sorry Andy but I gotta go with my heart on this one. Good luck buddy, your a good honest person and we (I) want fresh excited people in office to help Columbus continue to move forward (which we really are).

Two years ago I said I believe Columbus was like a heavy train that was just getting moving.  Now two years later I feel that train has picked up some speed, with many housing starts, a number of businesses opening and a few on the horizon that are getting the details worked out and plenty of road construction.  In fact this summer is the opening volley for what could be a big 5 years in road construction.  We're even starting to talk about a total reconstruction of Hwy89 now in teh next 5 years.

+++++

It is so awesome how Wisconsin is the tip of the spear and politics and it's all about Wisconsin for 2 more days.

The science polls are all out and disagreeing with each other.  On one hand you have Nate Silvers Poll-Plus which rank polls and take other data into account and back testing is 7% better then just looking at raw poll numbers.

RAW poll has Sanders with a 65% chance of winning Wisconsin while Poll-Plus has Clinton with a 52% chance to win.  blah blah who cares. 

The GOP is the real fighting ground where they have said Wisconsin is the front line for stopping Trump which is weird since he is the Republican front runner.

WE MUST STOP WHAT WE HAVE SPENT THE LAST 7 YEARS CREATING! 

Polls ONLY has Cruz with a 88% chance to win and Polls-Plus has Cruz with a 95% chance which personally is too bad since I am more afraid of Cruz then Trump (as if either can win the National Election). 

The NEXT Primary is New York in 2 weeks where Clinton has a 92% or 96% chance to win and Trump has a 99% or a 96% chance to win.  

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It's OPENING DAY - I COULD be sitting 10 rows back behind the Brewer dugout today . . . . but then I agreed to be at the CDA meeting tonight so . . . . the city comes first.  

    

This year the CUBS have a legitimate chance to go all the way. They had a REAL good team last year and their off season was GREAT.  The Cubs are really good. 

Brewers?  Not so much. HOWEVER - even though they are in a complete rebuild - they are still better the Cincinnati who are straddled with long term contracts and are "rebuilding" like the Brewers used to, sort of half ass-wise wishy washy. 

The over under for the Brewers is when will they trade Lucroy.   I'm looking forward to this 162 game experiment to see what stars will come out and show themselves.  Brewers have the 9th best farm system according to Baseball America.

Major League Baseball is mirroring the PGA.  The PGA has a lot of young stars coming out and MLB has a LOT of future Hall of Famer's showing up. There are so many amazing twenty year old's in baseball all of a sudden.   Mike Trout, Bryce Harper (23 years old, hit .330 with 42 HRs and walked 124 times) to name a few. 

+++++++

OH - there is a basketball game tonight.  zzzzzzzz  sorry - I just can't get into NCAAB unless the Badgers are in it.  zzzzzzzz

There were 276,000 pre-ordered Tesla's.  I am not one of them.  Why get a Tesla when I can get a Saturn Outback instead. We shall see what car will have the most lifetime miles.  My Outback is at 240,000 and getting it's ORIGINAL breaks done today.  I THINK they are original. I got the car at the 110,000 point and I don't think the previous owner had new breaks and I know I have not put any on.

Five years ago my battery went dead and I asked the AAA guy if he could tell how old the battery was.  He said " This is the original battery, how many miles do you have on this" I said 190,000.   

I'll need to get my first oil chance soon I think. Every 250,000 miles for new oil should keep it running for a while  :-)    

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“Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” saw a 68% drop from week one which is the 5th biggest drop for a movie that opened above $100 mil.  Friend of mine saw it and was disappointed.  A LOT of action.

That is the problem now with movies.  The action is SO amazing that it is no longer amazing.  I was watching "Nothing but Trailers" a few weeks ago and they showing action thrillers and I saw the same "new" action sequence in two movies.  Perhaps we need more actual plot??

+++++++++++++++++++++

Sicario

I watched Sicario staring Emily Blunt.  I thought the plot was totally something else and if I would have known it was NOT about a team trying to get a drug lord, I would have liked it better.

Sicario means Hit Man.  It's all I'm going to say.  I really liked the movie but I kept waiting for Blunt and team to go after the bad guy.  And really - she is not even the star. She is the famous person in the movie but it's really not about HER at all.  It's about Sicario.

Still - if you like action shoot at the bad guy movie - it's pretty good.

VOTE TOMORROW!



 

Swing Away

I hope everyone saw Columbus resident Lori Hackman on Beyond The Tank Tuesday night and she was featured again on CH27.

Beyond The Tank: Oilerie's Sun Prairie store featured tonight on ABC's primetime show

Pretty nifty how many Columbus events get on National media.

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Something I have heard recently in the last few years is how baseball is a dying sport.  Even National talking heads say it . . . yet attendance in baseball games has never been higher and Spring Training games are pushing records.   Last year MLB attendance was the 7th highest ever.  Per team the league average 0.4% more then 2014 and this include the Phillies who had a 24% drop last year.

Baseball is dying?  I think not.

I read the Baseball Prospectus article about the Brewers - rather disappointed overall but one thing was hammered in - Bob Melvin was a hack and the reason the Brewers have sucked for so long.

Seems he disliked Walks and did not consider them useful in the overall.  Swing away Merrill, swing away.  It might have worked in one of my all time favorite movies, Signs,  but not for The Brewers.


Now we have Robert Stearns (? is that his name?), a SABR stat geek and I am REALLY looking forward to the next decade of Brewers.

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Did I mention that Saturday's weather is REALLY REALLY going to suck? And Sunday we could hit 60 and Monday is REALLY going to suck but not as bad as Saturday?  What a yo-yo we are going to be on.   45 and showers today, 39 and snow showers Saturday, 58 and party sunny Sunday and 36 Monday.  WHOO HOO!

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Facebook - Seems Facebook is now only for old people.  One young person was asked if they used Facebook and she replied "I don't have a typewriter".   DJ was watching a few things online and the people said how to get in touch with them and Facebook was not one of the social media outlets used.

*****************

Glad I'm not on THIS season Survivor - yet another person had a medical emergency.  For the first time ever Jeff Probts had a house call after seeing how many infections the contestants were getting - OMG it was ugly.  One was so bad they pulled the guy from the game.  This has been a brutal season from worms getting into one woman's year to three contestants all going down within 5 minutes from heat exhaustion and now with so many having scrapes that are getting infected . . . it's been rough.

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That's all I seem to have as I started multi tasking and forgot all about the blog  LOL