What a fine opening day

I really hate it when Google snatches up another account.  I go to log in and BAD PASSWORD.

+++++++


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

Only one team in history of the NBA has won more games by double digits then the Bucks this year.  The Philadelphia 76ers.  NOW - with that said the Bucks Do play in the weaker conference and while they have a .787 winning % over the east it's only .689 vs. the west.

STILL - it's not like Milwaukee has a choice who they play. 

Then in baseball - what a great opening day for the Brewers and all of baseball actually - so many thing happened around the league.

a list

Lorrenzo Cain robs a game tying HR to win the game for the Brewers.
Yelich?  another MVP?  We all know what HE did yesterday.

Should the Brewers bat Chacin 4th? 

The LA Dodgers hit EIGHT home runs. The most ever HRs by one team on Opening day.

Bryce Harper - ranked by players as the most overrated player in baseball - does nothing.

Giancarlo Stanton ripped a single that had a exit velocity off the bat as 120.6 mph.  The firth hardest hit since statcast started keeping track in 2015.   OH - of the 8 balls that have been hit at over 120mph . . he has 7 of them.

MLB The Show ran a simulation using rosters from March 26th.  They have the Brewers winning 67 games.  The Phillies 104.  Last year they predicted the Brewers would be one of the most disappointing teams winning 81 games.  So . . . take that with a grain of salt.

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

I mentioned I tend to lean left on most things.  I was not always so vocal.  My mom was a liberal and my dad was not.  They had a ton of arguments about politics which I just tuned out. I didn't care at the time like most kids.

I remember how people felt when Reagan was voted in.  PRETTY much how people feel right now.  Afraid, horrified and disgusted.  BUT - as we see . . . we are still alive and everything can be reversed.  I would be more afraid of Reagan then Trump.

Reagan had brains (not that I agreed but he was at least an adult) and the backing of the GOP. Trump is just a coward who spews words and childish insults with no substance.

But what I laugh at is how right wingers threaten me.  Yesterday - WAIT UNTIL PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND.

What? I have a background?  I would love to hear it.  I was a happy person until I was elected to city council and then it all went south because I actually cared and learned how bad the GOP actually is for the people they pretend to rule.

I always knew I was left leaning socially but financially I had no problems with being conservative fiscally.  But as we see now - the GOP is NOT fiscally conservative  anymore and waste money all the time, giving it away to the rich and not to the people that actually need the money.

What to poor people do when they get money - the spend it, helping the economy. What do the rich and corporations do with all their extra money?  Save it. Buy back stocks. They certainly are not increasing wages for the staff.  They are not hiring more because there are no more to hire.

as most economists say - a society with full employment is not a healthy society.

I have the believe people call themselves Republicans only because their parents were Republicans and as a all know the REAL Republican party is dead.  90% of them now are just greed mongers and haters. The Republican Party is the party of fear and hate. They want you to be afraid of what MIGHT happen so they can get your votes.

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

We're getting close.

Lighting, more railings and a few other things like the rain chains and so forth.

Meanwhile in the market - Bank stocks are typically a forerunner to the broader market and as you can see they have been nonperforming for about a year now.  Probably why the DOW has been stuck in neutral for a year now. 

An Open Letter to the School Board

"A society grows great when old men plant trees

 whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

Same with schools - you don't build a school to help yourself, you build it to help future generations.

I did not write this and do not know the person who spoke it but agree with almost everything this person said in front of the school board.

Sadly most of the people who are interested in Columbus schools did not see this as that part of the live broadcast was not . . . broadcast

+++++++++++++  READ IT +++++++++++++++

I am speaking with you tonight because I believe we need change in our district. We are losing teachers at an alarming rate year after year. Now recently we have lost a school board member and a principal. I have lived in this district long enough that I remember the days when we were truly a community. Brian Davis was a figure at every event the schools had. He had a genuine smile on his face, and his leadership was inspirational. He took the time to create community by getting to know the people in this district. He carried a sense of pride with him wherever he went. Much like recently resigned high school principal Jake Ekern, who was also a great asset to our district.

Not only are we losing fantastic staff, but we’re losing great families. The people in my circle and I have compiled a list of at least 23 separate families who have either pulled their kids out of public schools in the past year or moved to different communities. And those are just the ones we know of — who knows how many others there are? And they’re not because of job opportunities elsewhere — it’s because of the state of our district affairs. People are fed up. What I’m saying to you tonight isn’t just my words. They’re the thoughts of SO many people who feel the opportunities their children have are greatly limited by the way our district is being run.

Our school district is broken. I don't see any change for the positive coming anytime soon. We keep creating surveys and committees and study groups, and supposedly they’re community led. But in reality, everything that has been done is on the administration’s timeline and within its agenda. If it truly were community led, you would have taken the referendum push started nearly a year ago by concerned district families, used that momentum, and ran with it. Here we are a year later, and I haven’t heard a single person in the administration or on the school board use the word “referendum” once. But whether it’s community led or driven by administration, the feedback we’re getting is the same — we need new facilities. I don't know how else to put it. I'm embarrassed for our athletes, our musicians, our drama students, our debate and forensics teams who travel to other schools and see the facilities we should have for a district this size. When events are held in Columbus, all we hear the parents talking about are how run down our buildings are.

I believe this change needs to start at the top. We need to refocus as a community and decide if our superintendent and current school board president are the best choices. Also we need to repeal Policy Governance. What is the point of having a board if they don’t make any decisions? Are you, as a school board, even told about all these wonderful families who have left our district? Are you told when intermediate school students are attacked and strangled in school restrooms by other children who aren't supposed to be left alone? When the result is contusion, concussion, and plenty of emotional scars? Do you realize that our administration does everything it can to protect children with IEPs, and in doing so the “average” student is being put on the back burner, bullied, and assaulted? These things are happening in our district, and they’re happening because of poor policies and policies that aren’t being properly enforced by our superintendent.

We have one person making policy, and she’s been looking for new jobs every year. We are a small community, we do not need to be used as a stepping stone to further someone’s career or a placeholder until something more convenient and desirable comes along. We need to hire a person who wants to be here, who has the Columbus community’s best interests in mind. We need someone who will enforce policies protecting ALL students, someone who will listen to the pleas from the community, and someone who will bring the spirit back to this lifeless school district.

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

LOL - The last time I had something like this  I was called into the principles office and had a one on one meeting with the Head of the School Board and the Superintendent behind closed doors.

I personally know two families that have moved from Columbus BECAUSE of our schools.  It seems to me our school system is SO afraid of failure they do nothing, which guarantees failure.

Our kids need bigger better schools - look at our growth.  1377 kids go to school in Columbus

MEANWHILE - Betsy Devos the Trump appointed Secretary of Education says the government needs to cut funding for the Special Olympics and move that money to help fund Charter Schools.

Her argument is that there are plenty of private citizens that will donate money.  I have been involved with this kind of thinking in Columbus government.  Remember the FUN group? Columbus used to help them with a small donation from the city to help them out.

Remember the art fairs and little concerts and all sorts of downtown activities they would help coordinate? The city decided that they did not need city our money because they would get enough donations.     FAIL!

Because the city did not see how useful they were and the money did NOT come in - they disbanded and now we have lost all of that energy they created.  I felt that episode in city government was a slap in the face to anyone who wanted to help our downtown.

OH - I truly believe our city government, in the last 5 or 6 years has done a FANTASTIC job of fixing all the things that were broken from past administrations.  The city budget is in a good place and Columbus is moving forward.  Just a few things I totally disagreed with.

It's should NOT be all about saving a dime. 

    

A True Hero / Utility stocks continue to make money

RUSSIAN - IF YOU ARE LISTENING - 

CAN YOU GET US A COPY OF THE MUELLER REPORT?

So geez - NOW what can I gripe about.

Did you know the Seattle Mariners have 17 new players on the 25 man roster this year?  Talk about a change.  Seattle News must have something to talk about . . UNLIKE Madison which rarely mention the Brewers.  Are they playing this year?

+++++

We're sitting here wishing there was a Non-Trump news channel and I get a call at 8:00 from Elweed.  This can't be good.  For one thing he is out of bed already?

I answer the phone and it seems he hit a Royal Flush in his virtual Jacks or Better system.  He has made over $400,000 so far in faux money with a Video Poker system which cannot be recreated in a casino but online there are no issues. 

He said he woke up and his very first hand was 4 to a Royal FOR A QUARTER and he hits it.  It's a progressive system where he has 4 or 5 lines and a progression and he raises bets at some point up.  It's confusing.

WHEW - I was worried it was something important.

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

Rain Chains get installed today. They are pretty cool if installed properly. When going over plans they had two downspouts that looked pretty ugly and jutted out into the yard.

Since our yard slopes because the house next to us built their house/garage backward (garages should always be on the uphill side of a house) we're the only house on a hill that is also on a hill. So the rain will naturally flow away from the house.

We did not want ugly white tubes.

https://youtu.be/tx_Sguldnxw




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

Ever hear of coyote whacking?   it's a thing.  It is legal for a snowmobile to purposely run over a coyote for fun because it seems killing coyotes any way possible is also a thing.  Coyotes can be shot, burned, gassed and run over by snowmobiles.

It seems no one really knows how many coyotes are out there but they do know 68,000 were killed in 2017 and USDA says that from 2010 to 2017 over 500,000 were killed.

California and Vermont are passing bills to make running them over by snowmobiles for fun illegal.

Meanwhile the DEA is looking for an incinerator that will burn 1 ton of weed every two hours.  Think if your house was located next to that thing.

KIDDING KIDDING

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

The 10 year bull run of Utility Stocks continues

   The utility stocks continue to live up to their reputation as good income producers and a less volatile market sector.

NEVER CONVICTED.

I have been laughing all weekend at this line in a John Candy movie.

The inspector is interrogating Candy.

Inspector  "You are charged with sitting on this woman's head, what do you have to say"

Candy "she was cold and had no hat".

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

WELL - some sort of report came out over the weekend with no real news at all so far.  Nothing conclusive.  NEVER CONVICTED.

At the moment, “If Barr, a Trump appointee, Is Representing Things Fairly” without seeing the real report but only some bullet points from a Trump appointed AG protecting his client I'm fine.

Think of the clusterf*ck we would have if Trump was found to be a Russian agent. Now we know it's just his delusional stupidity running the show and a freakishly AMAZING amount of coincidences.

NEVER CONVICTED

Now the Trump GOP lovers are taunting saying waste of time and money (Benghazi Benghazi emails what about the emails).  We now know that Trumps presidency will just end as a whimper after 4 years and not a bang. 

However - The Mueller report was NOT a waste of time and money.

34 people indicted along with 3 businesses
6 Trump cronies charged with misleading the FBI (for no reason it seems)
7 guilty pleas
5 people sentenced to prison

Not a waste of time in my book. 

Now the fun will be after Trump is gone (did we really want Pence to run the country?) and his family of racketeers all go to jail. I think I would rather have all of Trumps kids in jail and let him run things all by himself suffering.

So on one side I'm happy there was no collusion but sad that a delusional white supremacist YET very very weak President didn't get a swift kick to his tiny raisin balls.  (did I say that out loud?).

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

I think we are in the home stretch - next weekend we could be ready to deck party . . . if it was not for the snow storm coming.  They have not started on the other non-covered deck yet.

It seems home builders really make cheap decks.  So many things the original deck did not have structurally. No wonder it was falling apart.

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

Speaking of Columbus.

I watched a show on PBS last night exploring Madison.  It was like looking at Madison with fresh eyes and what an amazing town. 

People in Columbus need to look at Columbus with fresh eyes.  I remember when I used to say that I looked at Columbus like it was the first time.  I lost that when I became an alderman I think.  I got to see the under belly.  All I saw were problems and I lost my child-like glee of only seeing the skin of the town. 

What is funny is I'm on a couple other "city" facebook pages and they are so freakishly the same. It's kind of creepy.  Whitewater has NO grocery store.  ShopKos are closing and people are freaking out about their downtown's losing business and why does the city government not care and do something yada yada yada.

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

Speaking of the Electoral Collage. A lot of people are saying get rid of it.

What if you made each state have the same number of people for each   Each elector would cover the same amount of people for each state. So while Wyoming has 1 elector for ever 150,000 people and California has one for each 500,000 people.  Make them the same. 

Instead 538 electors you would have a few thousand. The results . . .would be the same.

Weird. 




  

THE GOD OF WAR / Columbus Auditorium / Deadwood is back!!

Inspector dropped by this morning and was ready to cancel our deck project.  He looked and said "This will not do" the footings are not properly placed.   The guys working on the deck said.  Those are the original footings, look ONE FOOT to your RIGHT, those are the new ones.

DAAAA!  

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

Meanwhile on Columbus social media . . . . .  

Seems the Columbus auditorium is back on social media.  Five years ago last month the Broadway Theater Group was working on restoring the auditorium.

NEWS: The Broadway! Weather, Smoke Detectors, Subway,

and now it seems a new group of residents are surprised we have this diamond in the rough and talk is again about - why this is standing vacant.

Also - Why no new schools in Columbus.  When EVERY referendum in the last 2 years in surrounding city's have voted for new schools. The Columbus school board refuses to really do anything constructive except going through analysts paralysis.  Analyse something long enough maybe it will go away.

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

NBC15 had a 8 minute "news" thing about why there is a National Emergency and why we need more walls.  It was very one sided as they were asking border patrol about the issues which is like asking our police department if they want a new squad of an office worker if they need a bigger computer.  OF COURSE they will say that need more money. 

They talked like the people crossing the borders were all criminals and they even said that 90% of the people they caught  were being let go. It was a very one sided piece that had nothing to do with local news. 

I was very disappointed.

***********

Mike Trout - actually his salary is a bargain.  Yea - he is THAT good.  Nobody in the entire history of baseball has been this good at this age . .period.  The sad thing is we will rarely see him play since he is in the American League.

THE GOD OF WAR

https://abcn.ws/2M8T7wy



 AND - he is a weather geek storm chaser in his off days.

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

This was written a few days ago so maybe it's old news now.

Those planes that fell out of the sky - the most current one. The day BEFORE that same exact aircraft had the same exact problem but they happened to have a pilot hitching a ride and when the pilot flying the plane was losing control the hitcher knew what to do and everybody lived.  The VERY NEXT DAY - that plane crashed.

It seems the rudderless understaffed FAA who Trump decided to not bother hiring people a head but instead said "let the airlines govern themselves" decided that instead of TELLING pilots of the new software and instead of simulator tests (too expensive for airlines to bother with) just told them to read a few pages of instructions on the iPads instead. . . . . if they get around to it.  No bid deal . . .right?

Who needs government  . . . right? smaller is always better . . right?  Let private industry rule themselves, what could go wrong . . . right?   Trump says trust me I know what I'm doing, government regulations are for losers and cost tax payers money.

************** 

OMG - the trailer for Deadwood is out - the BEST western ever ever produced.  All the original cast is back

https://youtu.be/ztX8KVfDb-A


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

One cedar wall is up and teh ceiling will be totally up by the weekend.

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

OH - I picked Murry State to beat Marquette  YEA BABY.   I won't mention the other picks. I did pick FLA over Nevada

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

Did you know that Whitewater has NO grocery store?

********

I'm not excited about the Brewers chances this year as I believe they are just a bullpen injury away from a pitching meltdown.  What?  It's happening already?

But in Strat-o-matic news - MY team is so weird.  I have a true murderers row at the top of the line-up and then . . . . the Others on the bottom.  I programmed the AI for the computer manager for the away games and then ran a 30 game simulation.  wow - I should lead the league in hitting with those top 5 guys.

You would think this is a real bad thing with such a lopsided lineup.  70.1% of all runs and RBIs are created by the top 5 guys,  and 30% for the bottom 4 guys.  BUT - those top 5 always score and the bottoms . . . sometimes score.

Pitching is average but the defense takes away 1.5 bases MORE then my opponents. The bottom 4 guys in my lineup are near gold gloves.   I feel like I had a poor draft but I had holes to fill and by the time I was drafting for next year  phhhht  nothing left.

*****

Elections are coming.  In the mid terms 16 counties had non-binding referendums which overwhelmingly approved cannabis questions

Wisconsin Voters Widely Embrace Marijuana Legalization In the Midterms

this time

Wood County: “Should marijuana be legal for medical purposes only and available only by prescription through a medical dispensary?”

Wood County: “Should marijuana be legal for adults, 21 years of age and older, for recreational use to be taxed and regulated like alcohol?”

Village of Egg Harbor: “Do you support the use of marijuana for medical purposes?”

Village of Egg Harbor: “Do you support allowing adults 21 years of age and older to engage in the personal use of marijuana on private property?”

A poll found that Montana voters support legalizing marijuana, 51%-37%.

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

And what about Trumps re-election chances??  If the election was today I would say he has an even chance of winning.  The economy is about as good as you can get and his approval ratings is about 40% - THAT is a BIG problem for him when the economy falters, which it always does and his ratings will also take a hit. The ONLY thing he has going for him is the over -heated economy which I'm sure he knows.

Remember - Reagan's approval ratings at this point in his Presidency is about what Trumps is right now - and he was re-elected.

HOWEVER - Trump, unlike Reagan is not going after anybody BUT his basically white nationalist base which is a losing strategy. If he would stop being a delusional ass-hole he would be the odds on favorite. But that is what he is, a delusional ass-hole.

Candidates like Bernie certainly do not help the left at all (see the previous election) but Bernie's approval ratings are sinking like a rock also.  I love the guy but he has never been a actual electable candidate as he is too left-leaning for the richer white burbs.

The interesting thing is that Democratic voters are MUCH more about NOT electing Trump then they were in 2016.  In 2016 they were about "What can you do for ME" which Clinton ignored completely as she went after Trump.  This year's polling data suggest the main issue is defeating Trump and his racist con men/cronies out of office (if Trump is still in office). 

Voters thought Clinton was farther left then Trump was far right. Trump was the moderate in the election.  But now voters see that Trump is MUCH farther right then advertised which will help one of the 40+ democratic challengers.

The left have a bigger base to draw on which will help as REAL Republicans are quitting the party and HOPEFULLY Americans who thought elections were not to be taken seriously by not voting because of the Bernie issue will vote this time.

Trump has a path to re-election as long as the left do not get split again (which I predicted would happen).  We shall see.

OH - I watched 13 Hours :The Secret Solders of Benghazi which was NOT a political movie but a true action story - VERY exciting and Alamo-like.

6 private military guys decide to save 30 people on their own with no american back-up - a true story.  They were never rewarded or recognized for their bravery.  13 hours of pure hell.

https://youtu.be/6D6iu-1B-BI


   

Cheers 

"Columbus - We Bitch About Our Community, But We Do It As a Team"

I guess the "Post title" is important.   Last week I had a Post title of "Oscar Weekend" and it was one of the least read blogs for a while.  I went back and looked at boring post titles and they were always  the least read. 

+++++

So the deck augmentation continues this week after a calm week last week (3 "weeks" in 7 words).  Got a LOT done when it was 8 degrees but last week when the weather got warmer the rain or chance of rain hurt. 

Then Thursday a lot got done . . . . but . . . OH  OH.  You know those shingles are suppose to match a LITTLE closer then those right?  Well, they are going to redo the shingles.  We probably would have never noticed actually.

I was talking to the head dude this morning and he said they were so fast by the time he checked they were done.  HELLO - maybe the roofers might have noticed??   The photo does not do justice.

OH - we did not check with the dead beat association since it is the same foot print and seriously - the "association" does not care in the slightest. The last thing they want to do is deal with residents and the last thing residents want to do is wake up the association.

This week the deck will will start to look like something.  Flooring, ceder siding, roof and a new railing system will go on. 
*****************

Columbus was on two national evening news.  I believe ABC we were "Midwest" and "Columbia County"  with an interview with a Columbus resident being rescued and NBC news actually said "Columbus Wisconsin" with scenes for Columbus rescues. 

But Nebraska took our thunder with THEIR flooding. Nebraska has a new slogan  It LITERALLY is .

"Honestly, It's Not for Everyone"  

which are getting a large play and a big uptick in their tourism website. 

Omro calls themselves "An Involved Community"

The Carriage Master had a great slogan for Columbus

"Columbus - We Bitch About Our Community, But We Do It As a Team"

In Omro every historic building has a plaque for people wandering around to read and spend MORE time downtown and learn about the history.  Columbus Tourism NEEDS to do this. Many people do not know Columbus even has such a history.  HECK - The trees that surrounded Columbus BUILT Madison for gosh sakes.  

If you want to get people talking about "us" you have to give them something to talk about - RIGHT?   

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

New rules in MLB this year and big changes next year

This year are small things. 

Commercials will go from 2:05 minutes to 2:00 for local broadcasts and 2:25 to 2:00 for National.

The trade deadline is changing. The non-waiver Trade Deadline will go down a month.  This rule looks more like the National Tax code book but will changes things.

Voting for the All-star game will be changed and the HR Derby will have a million bucks added to the contest 

NEXT YEAR are BIG changes.  

Mound visits will go from 10 to 5 in a game

A pitcher MUST pitch to at least 3 batters UNLESS it is the end of an inning.  BIG CHANGE. 

A team will have 26 players as opposed to 25 all year

September call ups will only add TWO players to 28 and not the 40

Disable list will go back to 15 days from 10 days.  Some teams were cheating a little.

Teams will have to designate ,on day one, if a player is a pitcher or an position player and a position player can ONLY pitch if a team is up or down by 7 runs AND it's after the 7th inning.

WELL! 

Meanwhile my SOM team has a serious Catcher issue but looking at MLB, there are just not many catchers out there.   ESPN had an article of the 10 best catchers of the decade.  Jonathan Lucroy was among the 10 best . . .really? 

Of course  I also read an article saying Minhaus Brewery was one of the top 3 craft brewery in Wisconsin so I take a grain of salt with professional reviews.  I go with what REAL people think.

Minhaus Brewery - The creator of Lazy Mutt.  The worst beer in America.  From Beer Advocate

geez, I don't know what to say. I feel like a was a volunteer in a cruel medical experiment. I picked it up because it had a great gimmick, an eight pack for a six pack price. Sounded good at the time but now I have to dump out seven beers instead of five.

Poured into a pint, really cloudy, like unfiltered apple juice.
I thought at first that it was tainted or rotten, but after reading the other reviews it appears that it's just really terrible. Not much more to say about it, avoid at all cost.

+++++

Wow, it's hard to really get a good feel for this beer as you just want to drink it as fast as possible - and not in a good way.

It's a cloudy champagne color, and the head disappears soon after it's poured. It smells a little fruity, but a lot like hot wings. 

The taste is a little sour at first, but goes straight downhill from there. I really don't know how to explain the taste, other than just plain terrible. The aftertaste sticks around for thirty minutes and is not pleasant. There's hardly any feel to be had.

All in all this is the worst beer I can remember ever drinking. The worst part is the aftertaste that sticks with you. I see no reason why anyone would pay to drink this beer.

****************** 

Speaking of reviews - I like to look at Flixter to see what REAL people think of movies. The ones that actually WANT to see a movie as opposed to HAVE to see it.

Captain Marvel is getting a 62% rating so far.  A little disappointed but it's a meet and greet movie which are always a little slow - still want to see it.  What surprised me is Alita: Battle Angel which is 94% with 12,000 votes.   Green Book is 92%,  Star is Born 80% , Bohemian Rhapsody 87% , Mary Poppins Returns 69%, The Favourite 67%

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

I see our delusional communist President had a tweet storm this weekend flaming everybody from John McCain (dead) to EVERYBODY else except white nationals (very fine people) and Russia.

I watched a show called "Russia If You're Listening'  that went over ALL the issues in the last 2 years with Trump and Russia and O M G  so many things we have forgotten about.  Trump Jr. saying he NEVER met the Russians, then saying maybe but only because of adoption and the changing the story again. 

This is to be the stupidest family that continually implicate themselves every week. We don't need Mueller at all.  Just listen to what comes out of Trumps mouth is enough to lock him up.  HELLO  KNOCK KNOCK ANYONE HOME?

Trump is just a Putin puppet.  The former head of the KGB vs. a brainless ego-turd and the GOP just follow along because they are more concerned with votes then America.

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

OH - That Plaza Sauce clone I posted last week - OUTSTANDING as a veggie dip AND amazing on burgers.

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

I need to catch up on Game of Thrones - I think I'm in season #4
+++
The San Antonio Spurs have a bat issue. Three of their last 6 home games have been stopped because of bats.  The issues is the AT&T Center is a giant bat cave that has basketball games every so often.  It's 25 miles from the Bracken Cave which holds 15 million Mexican free-tail bats and is EXACTLY along their migration path.

+++

A study found that in a work environment if you sat within 25 feet of a high productive worker you would get a 15% boost in productivity.  Thank you balderdash.  But of you sat within 25 feet of a poor worker you would perform 25% less . .thank you unnamed state worker. 

I think my worst output as a State employee was when I TRIED to retire but they would not let me. I would come to work once a week  . . . to do literally nothing and I told them I was doing literally nothing.  In fact I told them 3 or 4 times "you really don't need me"  I'm making $25 an hour 8 hours a week . . doing NOTHING. 

But they needed me there JUST IN CASE ($200 million a year system with nobody that knows how it works because they all retired).    After two freaking years and begging I was let go.  I COULD have gone I suppose but . . . . geez  $25 an hour LOL They hired contractors at $80 an hour to take my place. SAS programmers can go anywhere for big money.  Legacy languages pay a LOT.

************   

 Nuff said for today - my year long self imposed "stay away from city council" is almost over.         

GREAT week coming up - GREAT weekend.

Salt in coffee - works (in the grounds)

I suppose I better come clean - my parents spent one half million dollars to get me into MATC in Madison for my IT career so I could get a State job.  Was it a mistake?  In retrospect I guess it was.

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

Meanwhile the bombogenesis is creating havoc.  This storm would be a Cat 2 hurricane if it was over water.  I knew it was pretty bad when I got my daily text from a medical cannabis shop in Denver yesterday saying they were closing early from The Storm and if you wanted the current deal (one ounce of top shelf flower for $100) you better get there in the next hour.

When stores are closing in Denver it must be bad.

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

DJ turned me onto a new show on Netflix called "After Life" a British dark comedy staring Ricky Gervais about a guy that loses his wife to cancer and can not get over it. 

I would have a trailer but it's not that great.

If you like  Ricky Gervais's comedy and his life lessons you will love this show.  ALTHOUGH we need to have the subtitles turned on.  I did not think I would like it but it drew me in - and the dog that keeps saving his life is Gus's favorite. 

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

MEANWHILE - roofers are on our house putting shingles on the deck before the wind comes later today.  Making a LOT of noise.   Gus keeps thinking someone is knocking at the door  LOL

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

OH I have a Facebook page called Coffee Grounds and a friend posted an article about putting a dash of salt in the coffee grounds to smooth a cup.  We all poo poo'd the idea but one guy tried it.  he was AMAZED. 

The guys trying it are beer brewers so water chemistry is on their minds.

"I honestly didn't think I'd notice any change. I made my usually bitter, dark roast in the french press, adding a good pinch of kosher salt. I usually cut my coffee with some half & half, but the black coffee straight out of the press was quite a bit smoother. Salt was the only variable I changed and I'll probably stick with a pinch of salt.

It’s simple chemistry (and bio chemistry). The addition of salt(s) buffers the acidity a bit, but also adds chloride to the cup, resulting in a rounder experience. There is the biochemical aspect, salt not only blocks bitterness receptors, but is vital in the transmission of flavor and taste to the tastebuds. It’s why completely unsalted food tastes so bland, and with a teensy but of salt, it can come alive. 

Well - I tried it and  . . . YUP - it actually DOES make a cup better - I'm SHOCKED.

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

balderdash is in Las Vegas and I got a text yesterday that said "Willy F*cking Wonka" and a photo of a $900 win on a penny machine.  His 4th win like this on Willy Wonka slots.

NOW - he is a logical person that knows slot machines are just for fun.  But while we were out there in the fall he won this much MORE then once and it's not like he plays it constantly being a table game player.

I asked him one time when I was watching him and a friend play "How do you know when you win".   "It tells you"  LOL   So on this penny machine I believe he has now won nearing $3000.   Luckly he only plays it when he is waiting for a table to open up.

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

Trump wanted his personal pilot to be head of the FAA.  He declined . . the position is still open after 2 years.  And you wonder why it took so long to ground the plane?

And Trumps night got worse as his fired Attorney General refused to sane "NO" when asked if Trump dangled a pardon in front of Cohan.

Then there is Manafort's day that went for WHEW to very very bad.  He is SO screwed.

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

Gotta run - taking the Crosstrek in for a free software upgrade. My dad never had that issue with his Packard.

Cheers   
 

ROBINS and Red Wing Black Birds have arrived.

If you listen to the talking heads on the news - ANY network, even the pure propaganda networks they will tell you we are in a bull or a bear market and people will get all excited or depressed.

BUT - in reality we have been in a holding pattern since the beginning of 2018, 14 months.  It seems to me that many people seem to believe that "long term" is a year.

Now the fed is hinting that they might lower interest rates which SOUNDS good and will give an instant boost but typically when the fed has been raising rates and then all of a sudden lowers the rates - it's not sustainable, sort of like fools gold.  Be careful.

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

ROBINS - we saw three robins in the yard this morning and a couple of red wing blackbird and a crap load of grackles. 

Kestrel Ridge is sort of pond/river-like and last nights weather was LOUD at our house as the wind was messing with all the STUFF leaning on and surrounding our house.

The yard is turning into mud.

Of course the main issue is hoping robbers will not climb the ladders and drill a hole in the ceiling to secretly drop onto us as we sleep to steal Gus the Weather Dog. 

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

The LA Lakers last year on this day were 31-35.  They added LeBron James and were expecting to be in the finals of the NBA . . . . .today, one year later, 31-35 and will not make the playoffs.

Last night I saw that the Brewers were playing a night game in Scottsdale.  Yea - it's an exhibition game but going to sleep to baseball is ALWAYS wonderful.  5th inning -rain out!  sigh.

Nobody is talking about Jimmy Nelsons first appearance pitching in an actual game in 18 months. It was . . . OK

First batter  BAM  HOMERUN, and then two singles and a double.  OK that was the bad part.  The good part was all three outs in the one inning were strikeouts, His fastball reached 94mph. His off speed pitches were very good.  The VERY good news was there was no tenderness or any PHYSICAL issues AFTER the inning.

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

Did you know they still do not know who murdered Bob Crane from Hogans Heros.  Bludgeoned to death with a wire around his neck.  No charges were ever filed. Most of the evidence from the crime scene have been lost.   In 2016 the case was opened again but no real results.

MEANWHILE - Micheal Jackson . . . . what a total scum he was.  OMG - think of the very worst thing you can do to children and then add another layer.  What a freakish pedophile.  Indescribable what he talked children into doing.  Well, you COULD describe it but I think I would go to jail for even mentioning it.  There is a video from the early 1990s where his sister said she would NOT defend him IF there were ever legal issues with him and children.

I mean you have a 10 year old in your bedroom for 2 weeks? AND you have fake weddings while there?   

He SHOULD have been locked up FOREVER - the doctor that killed him should be a national hero.

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

Our draft is over and I can now go back to normal life.

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

US Customs is at war with Ford.  It seems Ford is cheating to work around the huge tariffs.  Ford pays 2.5% tariffs on passenger cars but 25% on light trucks which includes cargo vans.

Customs argue that Ford imported passenger vans,  removed a row of seats, and flipped them as cargo vans, in doing so saving a bunch of money at the border.    

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

Right now ELO ratings have the Milwaukee Bucks as a 45% chance to be in the NBA finals and a 19% chance to be NBA Champs.

I remember ESPN had an article maybe 8 or 9 years ago that took EVERY professional sports team and their chance of winning a title in the next 30 years.  The Bucks were the bottom of ALL professional teams.   HA!   Right now Golden State and the Bucks in the finals.

Of course there are some games to play yet but the Bucks picked up Pau Gasol which looks weird but it's all about match-ups against Philadelphia and Boston and their BIG front.  The Bucks needed someone BIG to take up space in the middle. 

Elweed had never been an NBA fan but now can tell me the record of San Antonio.  He said he was on the bus last week and there were random people talking about the Bucks.  That NEVER happens in Madison.  He even called me (he's on my family plan and I got him a flip phone LOL) and told me about that.

OH - balderdahs fly's to Las Vegas today - I better get him some picks. Still doing OK.  56% which is not setting the world on fire but with so many picks . . . quantity over quality.  212 picks so far.

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

Trump is seriously considering making Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorists organizations so that our military can go after them. At the same time slashing funding for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy by more than 95%.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), tweeted, "As president I will continue to fight to legalize marijuana, but we should go further—we need to expunge records and reinvest in communities most hurt by the failed drug war. Let's focus on restorative justice, not just ending the prohibition on marijuana."

Minnesota has zero plans for legalizing cannabis.

Opiate deaths in Colorado have been drastically reduced since the legalization of cannabis.

Nuff said



  

The Plaza Sauce revealed

OK - I THOUGHT we could get the draft finished tonight but a couple guys are holding up the boat.   But geez - these are such critical picks.  I mean I picked up Bretvic Valera (Balt) in the 15th round.   Who is he you say?

Yea - wish I knew - he is a body that can play but never ever will see the field but he fills a rule WHICH - - - f*ck . . . . . hmmmmm   I think I screwed up....  hmmmmm   my mood has suddenly soured in front of your eyes.   

hold on . . . .

wow - I think I just made a critical mistake.  I might need to look into some sort of trade.  . . . . . . tonight.  OK - the rule is, a team MUST have a back up shortstop on the team even if his shortstop can play all 162 games . . which mine can.  HOWEVER - my back up is not actually good enough to do ANYTHING . . but now I have to use a roster spot on him the 25 man (out of 40) playing roster.

I did get Jose Fernandaz (LA Angels) as my coveted utility infielder BUT . . . it SEEMS he never actually played short stop last year!  wow      OK - I put out the trade sign.  I feel better.

One guy I DID snatch is the new starting catcher for Kansas City . . . . until they signed Martin Maldonado . . TODAY  sigh   Well, the back up catcher.  my FIFTH catcher (opposed to 2 short stops).

sadly no catcher has more then 200 ABs.

OK OK - emergency diverted.  all is good.. stand down.

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

I mentioned I was with balderdash eating a Plaza Burger last week.  WELL - I GOT THE SECRET RECIPE clone and tried it tonight.   BAM!  Near perfect right away but I suspect if I let the ingredients meld together it will be even better.

All I know was it was GREAT and I could put more on my burger then The Plaza does.  The Plaza USED  to put a lot on their burgers to make them messy but those days are gone.

ANYWAY - I cut this in half

1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1.5 teaspoons salt
2 tsp fresh chives
1 tsp Dried parsley
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp garlic
pickle juice to thin the above down a tad. I put a ... splash maybe 1-2 tblsp?

BAM - there ya go - try it.

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

I got these at HyVee.  They are like melted butter cake chunks dripping with cinnamon.  I picked these up Saturday and when I got home tried 1 and another and then 3 more.  I then took half and hide them from Elweed who literally ate the rest in one sitting.  AMAZING and probably very healthy for you.

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

This is pretty funny   "How do I know what he ate for lunch today!"

https://youtu.be/GEWnXmDfVZg


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

This whole Trump budget thing.  COME ON PEOPLE - this is right out of his playbook that he never even wrote but said he did.

Trump makes a stupid budget and everybody is all upset and will kick and scream and it will never pass, but then once all of the REALLY controversial things are ripped out the NOT AS controversial things will still be there but nobody will worry because the REALLY bad things are not in the budget.  The left will claim victory and the right will wring their hands with glee.

He wins.  Bait and switch.  The perfect con.

and COME ON PEOPLE2 - stop insulting Trump supporters. They are not ignorant but misinformed because of FOX Fake propaganda news.  They are like a cult. YES - they talk ignorant but are really just clueless to real facts. They are being fed misinformation.  Do be mad - be sad for them.  The blue wave IS real. Everything Trump is doing can be undone.

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

I'm pretty sure Columbus will reap the benefits of the DNC coming to Milwaukee.  If Columbus hotels can be full because of the PGA I'm pretty sure "we" will be full because of the DNC.

Thank you Fiserv Forum for bringing the DNC to Wisconsin. 

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

No HUGE progress on the deck that you can see.  a lot of little things.  although they are putting up scaffolding today

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

You know what is sad.  It's Gus the Weather Dog as a bigger following then I do.  sigh  Damn Dog.

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

25% off at Maurers - great deals on booze for sure.   I for a 1.75L bottle of Fireball for $17 and some gin that is $4 cheaper then Hyvee. And of course the 6-packs of craft beer.

ShopKo has they faux 50% off sales but since I could never find ANYTHING to buy in that store.  50% off nothing is still nothing.

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

Weather - rain wind and flooding (isn't that an old rock group?)  - she be commin'   Expect waves of showers for the next few days and warm temps with a lot of wind.  Friday is the transition day and next week looks REALLY good FINALLY  above average and sun.

Cheers

Oscar Weekend

This weekend was Elweed Saturday and Oscar Weekend.

Friday DJ and I watched The Favourite (obviously they do not know how to spell as well as I do)  and afterwards I had to do some reading on Queen Anne, who ruled between  1702 to 1717.  Its certainly a dark comedy.

It stars Olivia Colman who won best female actor for her role and Emma Stone who seems to be in EVERYTHING I am watching lately (Maniac for one).  The term "Favourite" comes from the influences of whoever her "favorite"  . . . . . . girlfriend was at the time.

ANYWAY - what a bazaar intriguing movie with a weird ending.  It's done in chapters so while the plot is linear it's chunked up in 8 chapters.   BEAUTIFULLY filmed and . . odd.   Very . . enjoyable for a weirdo comedy.

Then Saturday I pick up Elweed for a day.  We have a thing where we grade the weather each visit.  Been doing this since he was stuck here on Grinders Island for 2 days when the flood hit and when he was stuck here for a blizzard . . which put him in the Columbus hospital for a week when he blew a lung.  (He never received a bill for a $50,000 stay . . .no insurance so you and I paid the bill with higher insurance rates - Obamacare fixed that  . . . but it's gone now and we still have higher rates NOW).  This was before Badger Care.

ANYWAY - on a scale of 1-10 Saturday was a "2".   The BEST day so far this year was an 8.5 on 1/5/19.  The average this year is 5.3.  When you are forced to huddle in the garage during cigar and cigarette time the rating goes down drastically  LOL 

Sunday DJ and I watched BLACKkKLANSMEN.

This should be mandatory watching.  It's funny, it's poignant, it's shocking, it's humorous, and the ending will completely, 100% floor you.  BRAVO!  I clapped (not that they could hear me).

https://youtu.be/pFc6I0rgmgY



The ending.  DJ says  "WOW - That shit just got real".   Double BRAVO!

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

So Micheal Simon builders in their weekly update says "we're halfway down".  Shingles go on this week and the floor goes in and we are introduced to a new carpenter and what he has been doing before he starts on our place.  !00% impressed with Micheal Simon builders.

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

This was Saturday night as we huddled in the garage away from wind and slush falling from the sky.

and Sunday morning we had these tracks in the snow.

The first guess were Raccoon but they are possum.  You can tell with the front paws showing 5 wide fingers but the back paws look like tiny child's hands. Back feet normally step where the front food stepped but the upper left side you can see some separation.

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

The draft is down to picking up stars of tomorrow in MY last 9 rounds.  Two picks this morning already.     

Me - playing Strat-o-matic in 1969  (X-Chart leaning against the wall)

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

We are done with polar vortexes - WHOO HOO!!!!   See you next January bitches.

I take that back - we should hit 50 on Thursday at least.  I still think the snow cover will cool things down.  It's going to be a windy week that will help evaporate the snow and a good size amount of rain so get ready for some flooding.   

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

OH ONE LAST THING

We were playing some virtual golf and one one of the finalists for the World Cup TGCTours Course Design contest.

I was golfing GREAT.  I had never seen a double eagle much less hit one.    sort of a boring shot - 238 yards uphill by about 8 feet.  I was actually between clubs so was ready to go off the green.

https://youtu.be/FL0Il0qN27g

We made it weather-wise

Geez - So I wake up after a rough night sleeping (never have a Plaza Burger at 9:00 at night) and am drinking coffee and decided I better check out THE DRAFT to see when I'm on the clock since I don't have my auto draft set up for this round.

WHAT?   RIGHT NOW? 

My March Madness continues. I picked up Edgar Santana for my bullpen but he had Tommy John surgery and will not play THIS year . . he's my rent a pitcher.  More on this baseball talk at the end.

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

This should do it. 

  ***************

I went with balderdash to the Badger game last night.   First stop was The Nomad World Pub which serves $1 pints of good craft beer.  Once that got the system going we walked to Paisans for another beer and some food.  I ordered a Super Hot Pizza and the bartender asked if it was "OK to have onions in the pizza sauce". 

ummmmm  I GUESS maybe one onion was be OK in the sauce.  Do you know what is ON a Super Hot Pizza right? 

But I know they are trained to ALWAYS ask that question.  Heck when I was help up at gun point at Wilcox Liqueur in Madison as I was handing over the money I asked the robber "Would you like a bag?" so . . . . yea . . . not complaining about questions.   

He did not want a bag.

It was a good game and for fun I took the UNDER 140.5.  My reasoning is that in the past 4 years the Badgers are

73-55 UNDER

19-6 UNDER in all games -6.5 or greater

13-5 UNDER after a win

18-8 UNDER after 2 Against the spread losses

46-31 UNDER after 1 home game

17-9 UNDER after four games as a fav 

I'm a contrarian in all sports except basketball.  The streakiest game known to man. 

The UNDER was never in doubt

Then as the game is over we head to The Plaza.  ODDLY The Plaza had been on DJ and my radar and their secret sauce that we have a recipe too.  The the REAL recipe but a clone and I HAD to taste a Plaza burger again . . . even if it was at 9:00 at night.  

Secret Plaza sauce contains

1 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

1.5 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh Chives

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp Garlic power

Pickle juice

I have not tried this yet

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

Construction continues

Have you ever thought what you would be if you could do it all over again?  I have always wished I was a carpenter or a teacher.   Or a teacher that teaches carpentry.   

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

Meanwhile, Gus wants to go play which his friends that we saw on the golf course but I won't let him

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

And of course there is NOTHING like fresh sheets on the bed. 

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

Back to MY March Madness.  My team is coming together.  I should have one of the better if not the best offenses in our 24 team league.  I will be shocked if I do not and I should break some records with the amazing defense.  The hole is left field on defense and the bottom of my order vs. RHP.

In the 50 years I have been playing this game I have never seen a better defense on ANY team.  But there are just no quality catchers available. 

Pitching?  I'm like the Brewers last year.  Band aids and bullpen.   LAST year I thought THIS year would be rock solid.  But one guy (Graveman - seems appropriate) pitched 1 month and hurt his arm.  Two other full time starters were injured all year but still pitched ( Fulmer 4.69 and Godley 4.74) so I'm sort of Brewer-like.  

The plan is to have 7 good pitchers in the bullpen which I sort of have.  The problem is that each guy is weak against a certain side of the plate so there will be a lot of bull penning with my 6 man starter rotation.   

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

Weather - I think a lot of the high temps the talking heads are foretasting are a little too warm.   The snow is sucking in all the radiation and absorbing it.  Until we can get rid of some od this snow it's going to be hard to get "warm". 

 I have hear things like possibly 50s Wednesday and Thursday but I don't think that will happen.

36 tomorrow and very windy so don't get too excited - plus rain. Sunday cloudy and 34 . . NOT that I'm complaining.  

The good news is we will not experience the cold we just went through  for a good 10 months.  Warm weather is just a snow pack away with above average temps in the middle of the week and average for March next weekend.  Sun like every other day.  

We made it! 

Maurers, Maniac and Lincoln

WELL - yesterday was entertaining.  I think 16 straight days below average temps is taking a toll on people.
________

I'm reading a book by Martin Dugard about the final days of Lincoln which starts with the final days of the 2nd American Civil war (the first being the Revolutionary War).   I had never read about the final days and what actually happened and how we got there and it's fascinating.

The battle of Saylors Creek which most historians believe to be the most savage hand to hand combat in the war where solders were literally killing each other with their teeth in a giant 1000 man scrum. No weapons besides blunt objects - just hand to hand killing.

Or the clusterf*ck when Lincoln stepped foot into Richmond the Confederate Capitol and the entire town literally burned to the ground by accident.

After the Confederates abandoned the town the towns people did not want the Union to to get ANYTHING.  So with axes they smashed all the whisky barrels and tens of thousands of gallons flowed into the streets.  However - the city government did not want all the tobacco to get into union hands also so they decided to burn all the tobacco . . .which lit the enormous warehouse area on fire which in turn lit all the whiskey flowing in the streets on fire. 

BUT WAIT - there is more.  The Confederate Navy decided that this was the best time to to set the entire James River arsenal on fire.  In the next 4 hours over 100,000 artillery rounds exploded sending steel particles into the air for over a mile killing hundreds that were fleeing from their homes that were now in flames.

Meanwhile Lee and his army were literally starving but they knew a 2 day 48 hour march 50 mile march to the Amelia Court House where there were wagons of food that would fill 50,000 bellies and to continue to fight.  The army had not had more then one tiny meal a day for over 4 months and were literally starving, most had no shoes or warm clothing.

The march alone killed over a thousand as they starved.   They could see the wagons miles away after marching for 48 hours but when they go there.  The wagons were full of ammunition . . . not one speck of food.

The food had been stolen by confederate profiteers and taken to Richmond . . .where it was now on fire.

John Wilkes Booth was a piece of work.  I'm pretty sure he would be wearing a MAGA cap if he was around today.

The Confederate government gave him a boat load of cash to kidnap Lincoln and he had the plan ready to go.  More then 20 people were in his plan to kidnap Lincoln and take him south.

And that is where I am at the moment.

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

Maniac - what a crazy weird binge-worthy Netflix show.  One of those shows where you end a episode and say "What just happened?" and you MUST watch another one.

https://youtu.be/L6cDDmk-O5A


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

Is the Electoral Collage soon to be gone?   Two-thirds of the way there for voting out this National gerrymandering problem that only helps the GOP.

181 votes of the 270 needed have now signed on to dump it.  The Red deeply conservative GOP states are still against it.  But of course the lawyers will get involved so . . . . don't hold your breath.

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

The Bucks lost their 2nd game in a row.  The 4th longest streak of not losing 2 games in a row to start a season in NBA history.   Of course it was the 4th and 5th games of a brutal West Coast road trip.

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

I won't get into yesterdays beef but if you want to refresh your mind about the isues with ShokKo/Sentry go here for the " MY RANT OF THE DAY" 

Cinderella Zoning

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

  I'm a little pissed at Maurers Grocery when they complained that Columbus was just not supporting them and THUS leaving.  Well . . . . I sent an email to the owners saying thanks for lasting THREE FREAKING MONTHS, awesome business plan.  Even though in the past 5 years the store was nothing but empty shelves was boycotted because of the owner and they could not last more then THREE FREAKING MONTHS?   

DID THEY KNOW THE HISTORY OF THAT STORE? 

With that said Maurers right now has EVERYTHING 20% off (even booze) and if you go to

https://maurersmarket.com/

The bottom left side you can get on their email list and get a free $5.   So $5 and 20% off everything.

I don't know where to get good grocery store meat now and their bakery was MUCH better then Pic and Save (I've tossed out their donuts twice).  Since they remodeled they got rid of 3 things I buy regularly and won't put them back in "no room".  I guess they need 15 feet for dog treats you know. 

The their deli us great!! 

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

I continue to draft and there is a SERIOUS lack of catchers. I think I'll have 4 on my team to get enough plate appearances.    My one hole.

I did draft Jose Bricano who has about 100 PAs.  He hit .239 with a .385 slugging - HOWEVER against lefties where he will play 100% he hit .288 and a .575 slugging.

I still need 250 ABS 

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

Ten years ago today the great recession bottomed out.  If you invested $1000 it would be worth $500 today. 

Cheers -  "warm" weather is coming this weekend.

"Local wetbrain" is in trouble.

" Ill take a millionaire over the local wetbrain." 

Now that I am scum.

So with Sentry / Home Town / Mauers closing along with ReMax having or not having mold issues depending on who you believe and ShopKo closing and who knows about the hardware store that TIF area is pretty much toast.  I BELIEVE Columbus got their money back but as you would expect that I, having only a minor filter was mentioning the developer (not by name) in that area along with Kestrel Ridge.

WELL - he showed ME!

His rebuttle

Rod Melotte if your comment to Frank Pabon isn’t the pot calling the kettle black I don’t know what is. You make a lot of stuff up. So I was out for my own pocketbook. How about this. After hearing everyone in Columbus complain about a business park that was growing corn during my 2 years on city council and 4 years as Mayor of the City I decided to invest in Columbus, my hometown. People said they couldn’t buy anything here and that the existing grocery store was not meeting their needs. So as a local person who wants to see this community succeed I put my money where my mouth was. I invested millions of dollars into our community and then I read a ridiculous post like this. I challenge you to find anyone in Columbus who has invested the kind of money, time, and support to local causes I have both personally and through my business interests. 

You make a baseless accusation that the buildings out there have faulty construction based on what? Your expertise? I used a reputable General Contractor, engineer and architect. You may recall since you were part of the City Council at the time that I had Anytime Fitness, GNC, Remax, and of course the Sentry all ready to go. However when your crew took over you caused me 6 weeks of delays in the final approvals (for NO reason) which caused me to miss deadlines for Anytime and GNC. Anytime found a different location but we lost GNC for good. Too bad Rod. Well done! 

By the way another example of your diarrhea of the mouth is your baseless comment on Remax and Kestrel Ridge. You may not remember what a mess Kestrel was before I took over, an inch of rain closed it for days and it suffered from bad management. Under my ownership the course got improved (especially drainage) and Kestrel became the go to place for events, local nonprofit events and other happenings in the community. The staff and service there were and still are excellent. 

Remax claimed they had mold to get out of a lease because their staff quit on them and they can’t man the office. I had a mold remediating company come to remediate the mold. Guess what there was none. So before you spout off your BIG mouth maybe you should check your facts! Some people NEVER learn!

+++++++++

 Rod Melotte not only is the Twain quote meant for you, but you have alot of nerve insinuating I was doing anything under handed behind closed doors during your 4 years on Council. Better clarify sir, its starting to sound alot like defamation to me. As you are probably aware I sm done putting up eith that so maybe you want either back it up or delete false comments about me. I would hate to see you on the receiving end of one of those pesky Defamation lawsuits.

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

threats forbidden by law are those made with an intent to obtain a monetary advantage or to compel a person to act against his or her will. 

Yup - all the city's fault.   I did apologize saying that I am out of the loop for the last year and perhaps he has turned the corner now and is a business angel.   

I will defend the city council I was on to the end!  PISSES me off when someone says "It's the city's fault"

Weird how Anytime Fitness got so pissed off that they left. And then Remax feels like that have to lie (??) about mold issues (no cement floor next door in that place which created mold NEXT door) in order to get out of a expensive rent from that empty strip mall.  I remember when he threatened me (the first time) on this blog saying I would NEVER be an alderman and he was going to take me to court .

And for all you guys still in government I have not spoken about all the inside closed sessions with this unnamed Individual #2.

I remember when that developer told me he has so many law suits against him because that is how successful businesses operate.  Sounds a lot like Individual #1 to me LOL   But I'm pretty sure I can not find that email anymore.   We have a history!  :-)

ANYWAY - enough about him or her.  It's a nice sunny day

8 years ago today Kestrel Ridge had their big Citizens United Tea Party get together.  Thank God THAT will never happen again.

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

Meanwhile - looks like out carpenters are being smart today and taking a outside day off.  Brutal yesterday and I was surprised they were here.

 *******************

NOW I find out I'm not old at all!!    The percentage of people 65 and older is expected to rise 11.5% in the next 3 or 4 decades. That means that 65 is the new 58.  The GOP will have to raise the retirement age, like Russia did.

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

"A new study of 1,787 fast food entrees from Arby’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Dairy Queen, Hardee’s, Jack in the Box, KFC, Long John Silver’s, McDonald’s and Wendy’s between 1986 and 2016 finds that fast food menus are — despite the addition of new menu options aimed for healthier consumers — still getting worse for you! Because for every side salad rolled out to please the FDA crowd, there was a legion of Baconator spinoffs added to cheap plastic trays near you. In 1986, the average entree was 162 grams and 326 calories. By 1991, that increased to 169 grams and 341 calories. In 2016, the entrees clocked in at 201 grams and 416 calories. That means the average entree gained 39 grams and 90 further calories."

 Bigger, Saltier, Heavier: Fast Food Since 1986 in 3 Simple Charts