Maple in distress - Not Brewers

 Seems the Brewers took a que from the Bucks and decided to score all of their runs in one quarter - or inning.  One of the most entertaining games I can think of.  Even after the 7th inning when it was tied I told DJ this was a really fun but stressful game to watch - then the 8th inning happened.

Cub fans were all ready to high 5 and and take a victory back to Chicago.  Bases loaded and a pitcher that can't find the strike zone.   OH - and before that a highlight play between Yelich and Urias to save a REAL important run.  They got nothing.

Then came the bottom of the 8th. It took 35 minutes to pour on 10 runs and you could see Cub fans leaving the park to drive the highway of woe back to Chicago.  Did Aaron Rodgers toss a touchdown? 

OH - a cubs pitcher who gave up 6 runs without getting an out was checked to make sure he was not cheating.   with that said since the rules started to be enforced the average spin rate throughout baseball is much lower. 

So many analytics I never heard of.  The Brewers had a so called analytic broadcast a couple games ago.  I did not know that Suter releases the ball the 3rd closest to home plate and that they even have analytics on 1st base coaches.  The Brewers 1st base coach is one of the best at getting players to steal bases and he said  "you have not seen nothing yet" with Brewers stealing.   the Crew are 12th in MLB but really have only started recently to steal.    

Brewers are now one of the hottest team in the NL and 3rd in MLB behind the Astros and the Giants - Cubs? 2nd worst behind Baltimore.

OH - and DJ noticed - BOOBS - Front row Amy is back. 

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Our Autumn Blaze Maple is yelling for help again this year.  The last 4 years it has been changing color early.  Now half the tree is changing to fall color as the other half remains green.  Leaves are really small.  We called in experts last year and they inserted like 40 gallons of fertilizer into the ground (they say - I never saw any holes) and it's exactly the same. 

I think we will just buy a full grown Maple and replace it.  If they can do it at Augusta with a 150 year old tree we can  LOL 

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problems in Panama -  For each ship that passes through the Panama canal 350 million gallons of water are used.  Not a problem as Panama use to get a lot of rain . . . . no more.  with Climate change a lake that is used for the water is dwindling.      

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A new 10 year study is saying that cannabis does not harm a male sexually.  WELL - I hope that study did not cost much.  Anybody that has tried it sex is awesome with cannabis!  Cannabis did not help our marriage (didn't need it) but I guarantee it has helped many marriages last longer.   Just sayin'. 

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The pentagon wants to build small nuclear reactors that produce 5 megawatts so be transported to battlefields.   Yea - seems like a smart thing to put nuclear reactors into battle zones - what could go wrong. 

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Who KNEW - bumblebees are prolific in alaska.  While their numbers are dwindling in the lower 48 they are robust in Alaska and love the short summer and long winters 

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saw lots of Japanese Beetles on Kestrel Ridge Golf Course - be on the look out  

 

  

Kellogg's - downtown trees - Lockjar-ish

Well - NOW I HAVE to blog as Clark noticed others were getting some sort of  HTTPs error or whatever  - I fixed it so it might be back to "normal"? 

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As for cannabis - Clark makes a good point - legalize it / tax it / test it and get it off the street. Kids should not be smoking cannabis and right now it's easy for them to get street dope.  

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Holy mackerel - I woke up Wednesday morning and it was like my jaw was out of place or something - seriously - I could not put a peanut between my teeth (for example).   I've never had anything like this.  Growing used sucks as each morning you wake up and see what hurts today LOL 

SO - after going 24 hours and doing some  internet research  . . . Lockjaw?  Tetanus ?  WTF?  So Thursday I email my Doc and he returns saying perhaps I should come in EVEN though I said it was a little better today with some mouth exercises.  

Went in and he looked at my charts and basically said "let's wait and see what happens" and then he probably charged me $3000 of which Navitis and Quartz will argue over and I'll end up paying out of my pocket (probably not but I feel that way).

So it's Monday and I'm 85% better.  

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Friday was balderdash 36 hole birthday extravaganza with a small get together at our house after.  The only thing of importance was that some of the attendees compared Nightwish videos to that Detroit band Trans Siberian Orchestra   OMG   Have they not been to an actual rock concert for the last 3 decades?   Are the Grateful Dead sort of like the Dave Clark Five?    My head spun when I heard that.

How can you compare the two bands 

https://youtu.be/FrJvKZNEh7g



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DJ was FORCED to buy a new iPad as hers pooped out and when you buy a new Apple thingy you get a free year of Apple TV.  

We loaded it on the Samsung and LG but our 6 year old Sony did not have it. I'll tell ya - totally impressed with Apple TV or Apple Pro . . whatever.   We watched the Tom Hanks flick Greyhound and loved it.  Yea - it's a beer and popcorn movie inspired by WWII  but it was a fun fun romp and DJ wants to watch it again now that she knows about convoys and the longest campaign in WWII.  

Hanks was in charge of a Mahan Class Destroyer while DJs dad was on a Portland Class Cruiser (about 8 times larger) but you got that wet cold feeling in the movie in the battle scenes in the North Atlantic.  I'm SURE some people would have fits with "you can't do that" stuff but it was a fun movie although I feel there were 2 hours on the cutting room floor. 

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Next stop for the camper - The Apostle Islands - never been there.  Can't wait.  Gus got all excited when we moved the camper out of the garage to open it up.  Smelled like a campfire. LOL

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Columbus received 1.61 inches of rain this past weekend.  

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OH - the first time I mentioned Giannis Antetokounmpo in this blog was October 18 2013        

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It's been 3 years since they installed trees in downtown Columbus and all the predictions of people getting their eyes poked out have not come to pass.  

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OH - watched a thing about Kellogg and Post cereals companies - if you made a movie people would not believe it. 

The guy who invented the first breakfast cereal ONLY wanted it for his hospital - NOT for normal citizens.   A person in the hospital (Post) saw it and stole the idea and started making millions on "Grape Nuts".  Kellogg's brother had been screaming at his dumb brother to market it but the dumb one refused until the hospital burned down and he needed the money 

SO - younger Kellogg started making it but left a batch out overnight.  In the morning the just for the heck of it trying to get the water out of some grain put it through a press and invented Corn Flakes.  he went to Detroit and a manufacturer started to make special presses for his "Corn Flakes".

This started to eat into Post's Grape Nuts so what does Post do?  He buys ALL of the presses and rights to the presses and makes his OWN Corn Flakes . . called Post Toasties. A direct ripoff.

HOWEVER - The reason Post was in the hospital in the first place was stress and this competition was causing stress.  He took his own life.  HOWEVER - he willed all of his EVERYTHING to his daughter - UNHEARD OF - His daughter gave the finger to the Board of Directors and instructed them to start buying up all the small food companies. 

A few years later they changed the name from Post to General Mills!

and that's my story.          

        

A bitter pill

 I had a slightly scary thing happen last night to me.  

I was taking my pills before bed (well about the 7th inning of the Brewer game) and one BIG one got lodged in my throat.  REALLY jammed.   After about 5 seconds of panic I calmed down and saw I could breath.  My two classes on the Heimlich maneuver I had working for the State kicked in.  I could breath so panic gone. 

YET - that puppy was solid in my throat.  Water did not do anything but came back up.  I felt constantly that one cough or burp or yell would dislodge it but NO - it was solid.  I calmed down and waited . . . . . nothing.  Water could not pass and came back out.  DJ said eat somethign but I was afraid of THAT getting in the log jam.  Again - breath? yes. water? no. 

So after about 15 minutes of this (I kept thinking it would loosen - it didn't) I got out my Collier's Encyclopedia  . . . iPad and googled.  

Of course the first few pages were how to NOT get a pill stuck in your throat and then I found a page that had  "Pill stuck in throat, can't breath"  NO  OK - I found a site.   

SO - here is what I did and it worked.  

Put water in your mouth

Lay on your back 

What happens is the water tried to go down my throat and I almost puked - I turned my head and coughed water - BAM - it went down.   Seems laying on your back was mentioned a few times on pages.   WHEW!! 

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OK - speaking about Columbus. 

I REALLY REALLY hate the beer cage in Fireman's Park (yes - it's "man's") which seems to be the only place you can have music outside in the park.  Like immigrants seeking asylum we are pushed into a little cage to drink bad beer and listen to music. 

COME ON MAN!   we have a HUGE pavillion and a beautiful park yet we are like caged animals to listen to music.  There can be wine walks downtown but beer in a Park?  NO WAY. sigh 

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Brewers - I made the mistake of putting $1 bet on the Brewers even though they are on the downswing on Grinder's Power Rating System. 

I've been wagering on teams going UP when they play teams going DOWN - what the graphs show is run differential in the last 11 games.  However - a team cannot score more than 8 runs or give up more than 8.  7 inning and extra inning games are taking into account along with WHO a team is playing.

For instance the Brewers are averaging losing by 0.9 runs a game.   

My theory is baseball is basically a 50/50 game of inches.  And a losing team that has been getting better BUT still losing will have a better odds when playing against a good team on a down swing.    

BREWERS

ARIZONA D-BACKS

I lost.  I did win my other 3 games. This system has been doing well in the 3 weeks I have played with it.  I DID have to enter every score for every team for every game but so far I'm up 17 units in 3 weeks.  PLUS - it really makes this marathon of a season fun to watch.  

Some teams are so random like San Francisco - who knows what direction they are heading 

 but then other teams are like clockwork - look at Kansas City (or the Brewers)

SO - today is a big DOG day - 

Cleveland over the Cubs (+180), Texas +115, SF Giants +110 and San Diego over the Dodgers (even) and of course Houston is like I'm always getting them it seems 

Houston is in a tear. 

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LOTS of rain coming Thursday and mainly Friday - big system with a couple inches of rain with the center of the storm basically over my house it seems. 

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Has anybody noticed that the electoral college and a map of where the covid vaccine is being administered is sort of the same?  and guess what -  the States lowest in vaccinations are the ones with more covid deaths - SURPRISE! 

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OH - I was totally screwed by Navitis/Medicare and Quarts on my Shingles shot!   $1000 out of pocket - both blame the other for me having to fork out $1000.  Navitis said I SHOULD have called them so they could tell me to go to a pharmacy for a free shot!  

DJ can get her free shot from the clinic as she is not on Medicare.  But because I have Medicare/Navitis I can't and must pay $1000.  Seems dubious. 

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In April 649,000 retail workers quit their jobs to go to higher paying jobs. This is the most ever in one month since they started keeping track. They are fleeing to insurance agencies, banks and local governments, places that are also hard up for workers but willing to pay benefits and higher wages.  

Geez - you would think restaurants that pay $2 an hour PLUS tips would be a goto place  LOL. 

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OH - cannabis - balderdash asked with more states legalizing cannabis why are governments not worried about lung cancer.  

WELL - for one thing it's been illegal to research cannabis. BUT what they HAVE found is that it's a tough thing to look at.  Cannabis smokers are also cigarette smokers and they have found no real results - HOWEVER - with ONLY cannabis smokers there is a lack of any real harm but there has been zero real controlled studies yet and you can find arguments on both sides.  

The only real anecdotal studies on pure cannabis smokers they have found no real evidence of lung harm although there SHOULD be.   

Many studies have shown that marijuana smoke contains the same toxins and cancer-causing agents that cigarette smoke contains.

On the flip side, there are also studies that show that THC and CBD may have anticancer properties. 

Truth in advertising - I'm not sure if cannabis should be legal or not.  Decriminalized yes - legal - jury is still out for me. 

   

      

OH - This is blog worthy - it's a small world part deux

 I had a particularly bad round of golf last night although it seems, ODDLY,  many people had worse then normal rounds, and on the last hole after I hit my 100 yard pitching wedge 130 yards onto the tee where a foursome was teeing off I closed out the hole and went to enter my score on my phone . . . . . the phone was gone.   

WTF?   I drove around that last 3 holes (I had not entered my score for 3 holes pissy) retracing my steps and found nothing. Searched the cart up and down and my clothing and bag - nothing.   

I called DJ (I actually knew her number) on balderdash's phone and she looked at the app (Find My Phone) on my ipad and said the phone was "really close by".  Well - that was not a real help.

I drove home out of contact with civilization and felt a little lost.  Got home and looked at my app.  YUP - and oddly my phone was moving around INSIDE the clubhouse. First in front and then in back. Yet when I called nobody had it.  

WELL - I knew it was "safe" somewhere and it was dark and the phone had settled down in a comfy spot on it's little adventure. 

     

So this morning I see the phone is in a new place near the front of the clubhouse.  Was it in a cart? I looked EVERYWHERE in that cart and it was not. 

I walk into the clubhouse and yes they have it - the cart guy found it.  WHAT??  

I walk out and a guy I sort of knew and asked him he said "That was yours?" "Yes - where did you find it?" 

The story goes - he was bringing the carts up to the front and hopped out of a cart and heard a distant belling ringing. ding ding ding -  I knew I had shut off my ringer but I had also been pushing the PLAY SOUND on my iPad which I had no clew what it did.  

He says he heard a bell and looked all over the cart and found nothing.  As he dismissed the sound and was walking away - again   ding ding ding in the distance.  He said  many people forget their phones in the cart but there was nothing . . . .ding ding ding . 

Then he pulled up the seat

 Laying wedged into a crevice next to the battery was my phone!!

And that is my story!  Somehow my phone, which I have always wedged in a nice tight crack on the back of the seat because I knew I would forget my phone or it would fall out - SOMEHOW, the seat lifted up and my phone fell.  

Lesson learned.     

Can't see the woods through the forest

We purchased some land at the tip of door county.  It's in a boreal forest (A forest that grows in regions of the northern hemisphere with cold temperatures. Made up mostly of cold tolerant coniferous species such as spruce and fir). 

Then this morning I find out one of my best friends from high school live in our back/side yard. We drove past their house many times this past week.  SMALL WORLD!  

Anyway, we did a lot of walking around a Gus just ran and ran around with a huge grin.  Here is the kicker, he had a 15 foot leash on him and never got stuck  WHAT?  He gets stuck on a water bowl camping - a gnarly forest?  not once!!  

  The trees are huge going up 70+ feet and one burch? I could not even put my arms around the trunk was so big.

It's a pretty big plot we purchased and most will go undeveloped but we need a survey and an access road /easeway and electric to begin with.   Building is in the future once prices and the supply chain is fixed.  My retired architect brother works part time at Menards in Green Bay and talks about all the things builders just cannot buy and the CRAZY expensive stuff, even wiring is expensive ( 40 cents a foot and now $2 a foot).  Certain PVC is hard to find.  Air Conditioners - still on ships - can unload or ship - no truckers.   

So it will be a slow process.  

That was the big news.  

The other news was our first 5 day trip with Rocky our new camper.  Everything went pretty much perfect. I wrote a piece on things we learned and posted it on a facebook group which now has 450+ likes.

Things we learned from our first 5 day camping adventure.

Don’t bring so much food and snacks

Watch for trees that sap like there is no tomorrow **

Don’t get a site near sites with full sewer connections ( every one of those were loud and bright )

No need for so much “silverware”

Stop drinking earlier.

Our dog was amazingly good and took to HIS chair next to the fire

Dog blanket to avoid sparks on dog - he appreciated it

No need for decorative pillows

New Porta potty leaks. Leave it at home and never use it again

Don t take so much STUFF.

Have flashlights everywhere ( we took 6 small ones) especially if in an international dark sky area ( one camper got lost going potty LOL) FREAKISHLY SCARY DARK

If you don’t have a pop up don’t buy so much stuff from suggestions. Wait and find out what YOU need

BAL levelers fit with ease on Rockwood big wheels

No need for sleeping bags in summer

Keep the ceiling fan/vent on and open at night

You have weeks to pack for a trip but hours to pack to go home

Buy a SMALL tarp for the wood. Not a HUGE one. LOL

CAMELBACK cups ROCK

Frozen 2 litre water bottle is better than ice in a cooler

The #1 most awesome purchase was the below water cooler. 7 lbs of ice a day kept us in cold water 24/7.

  We were at The Wagon Trail Campground with SUPER clean bathrooms/showers and very near an International Dark Sky area and I thought I knew what "dark" was but OMG!!!   The first night DJ comes back from the bathroom about 11:00 and says  IT IS REALLY REALLY dark. 

yea - OK - I know "dark"   I go out and get to our little road and OMG - it literally swallows the light from the flashlight.  After what I believe to walk past a few sites (who all have most lights out - it's a thing to not have lights when camping there) I am actually a little on edge.  I cannot see a freaking thing and am walking almost literally blind.  

Walking back to our site I have no idea where I am on the road as my light sweeps from side to side.  A few days later one woman is calling for help as she is lost on the middle of the road with no flashlight. 

We are way above Sister Bay and only Wisconsin and Minnesota people seem to be there - too far north it seems for Illinois cars.  Took the above photo after pizza at the Wild Tomato in Sister Bay. 

The Wagon Trail Campground is walking distance from  Rowleys Bay where they have a really good bakery/restaurant/bar and hotel  Most closed do to lack of workers.  Typically kids from Belarus and that area of the world are there in the summer but because of restrictions from the past president and then Covid they are not allowed into the US at the moment.  Many places are closed in Door from lack of workers. 

this was Rowleys Bay - it was 64 degrees 

In Peninsula State Park I took a photo of Dames Rocket 

Our land is a short distance from Port de Mort Drive (door of the dead) - sounds scary which is next to Deaths Door 

Seems the Winnebago tribe was moving north and did not like the gentil Potawatomi and forced them to flee to Washington Island.  

In desperation Potawatomi sent 3 spies back to the peninsula. They were to light a fire on the best place for their warriors to land for a battle.  Two spies were killed and one talked.   Knowing the plan the Winnebago had their own plan. They lit a fire on cliffs to get the Winnebago to land in a bad place.  

The Potawatomi saw the fire and launched their warriors.  Nearing the island a fierce storm rose and between being dashed against the cliffs and being shot at by the Winnebago warriors all was lost.  BUT WAIT!

 The Winnebago also launched warriors to the now undefended Potawatomi on the Island - none of them survived the storm.   

The Winnebago took this as a sign to never cross the channel which they called "the doorway to death".  

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BACK TO CAMPING - Gus was fantastic.  Zero issues at all with our little critter that learns so so fast.  Sort of amazing actually.  

For instance - he knew when we were starting to pack and jumped into the car to start out of the way.  He knew which chair was his by the fire and I think he loved watching it.  gus got 4 out of 5 stars on the first trip and 5 out of 5 on this extended trip.  

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Doing fairly well in MLB wagering.  I have a power rating system that takes the last 11 games run differential and opponents run differential and play hot teams on the rise against cold teams going down.  Many dog plays that are working. 

here is the power rating as of TODAY - won 8 units last night!  Sadly only a couple games are taking shape  Mia over St.L and San Diego over Colorado 

 

  

Shawn Inmon - storyteller extraordinaire

 I like books but I'm not a bookworm.  I love historical dramas just because I love reading about the past and I believe in a different life I would be a history teacher. 

I had just finished a three book trilogy on WWII The rising tide, The Steel Wave and No Less Than Victory by Jeff Shaara and then Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton - all outstanding books and I was searching for a new book.  

When looking for a new book I tried a couple different ones but they didn't take and then stumbled upon a time travel book called A Door Into Time: An Alex Hawk Time Travel Adventure by Shawn Inmon.   

So far I have read and or listened too the first three books of this five book "trilogy" (I believe it started as 3 books but . . . . ) and am waiting for the fourth book to come out on audio.   

BASICALLY - a dude goes through a hidden door in his basement and enters the future which has no technology.  An extraordinary world where I learn and  WISH I could live in.  A world where every character is so rich you really want to meet them. A world created that I truly miss. 

Amazon ratings 

Book #1  81% 4 stars or above
Book #2  93% 4 or above
Book #3  95% 4 or above 

It's really a fun ride unlike any ride I have ever taken before.  So while I waited I picked up another one of his books. 

The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver: A Middle Falls Time Travel Story by Shawn Inmon    89% 4 stars or above 

In this a main character at age 54 commits suicide and the next thing you know he wakes up as a 15(?) year old and has to start all over again trying to correct things that he did wrong . . . in Junior High in the early 1970s. He has all of his 54 years of living memories in a 15 year old body.  Nightmares like, "where is my locker" and 'what classes to I have" 

Mr Immon takes you back to that time so craftly that you remember how it was so many times.  Well, without giving too much away Thomas realizes a classmate turned into a serial killer a few years in the future and sets out to stop him.  The perp is a vile disgusting human that you hate with every fiber of your being.   All goes well and the killer is sent to prison and all ends happily. 

In last chapter Michael Hollister (the killer) commits suicide in prison and wakes up as an 8 year old in 1966 with his 20 years of memories still intact - BUT in an 8 year old body.  By a third way through the book you LOVE  Michael Hollister and are cheering for him. 

The Redemption of Michael Hollister: A Middle Falls Time Travel Story  

OMG - I have never ever had tears in my eyes that I could not focus on the words but now in the six books I have read it has happened twice.  They are not tear jerker books by any means but a couple times  whew!  SHAWN - you are so so good.  

If you are looking for a whimsical series that feels real please check out the Alex Hawk time travel series and if you are looking for a real entertaining "real life situations" time travel series check out the Middle Falls books.   

I have turned at least 3 people on to this author and all three have read at least three of the books that I know of. 

If you do audio the performer Mr. Inmon has picked is fantastic.  Every Book SHOULD be made into a movie seriously.   I have never read or listened too a storyteller as Inmon.  And get this - he has written 19 books since 2017 and the next book in the Middle Falls series #3 of 14   92% 4 or above stars. 

PLUS - as a bonus - everything is explained. All of the Whys and Hows are right there. 

I'm Gobsmacked  

remember

Everything will be alright in the end - and if it's not alright, it's not the end.