The Middle of Nowhere

Louisville: Wild Eggs

2010-06-03T05:48:00.000-05:00

On our second morning in Louisville, we decided to check out the restaurant Wild Eggs. With two locations in Louisville, it bills itslef as the best breakfast in town on its website. That's a pretty tall order, especially with places like Toast on Market and Lynn's Paradise Cafe (which we have tried previously and was once again recommended to us on this trip). Of course, this is another restaurant that caught our attention through Urbanspoon, and its online menu showing off a wide variety of menu items that you just can't get at your basic breakfast places.

We arrived just a little bit after 9 at the Dutchman's Lane location to find the parking lot completely full. After circling the lot a couple of times hoping a spot would open up, we eventually settled on a lot a block away and walking over. This also meant a short wait once we arrived at the restaurant before we were able to get a table.

While Wild Eggs also has their own "The King Would Eat These" peanut butter and banana pancakes, this time I went with the bananas foster waffles--ice cream, caramel rum sauce, and bananas, served on top of a waffle. While this was delicous, it was perhaps a bit too rich for breakfast, especially with the large amount of caramel sauce they use. While I don't know if I would order these again, if I did, I would definitely pour the caramel sauce over the ice cream and waffle myself instead of letting them do it, especially considering the large amount of the sauce that they use, and perhaps by doing this, I could better control the richness--and the calories--myself.

Tammy ordered the breakfast burrito, which looked just as big as a dinner burrito at a Mexican restaurant, and came with black beans and skillet potatoes which she said were done to the right consistency.

All in all, I was very happy with our choice to come here and would definitely consider stopping here again next time we are in town.

Louisville: Toast on Market

2010-06-02T05:22:00.001-05:00

A recent trip to Louisville over Memorial Day weekend for Abbey Road on the River gave us the opportunity to try some restaurants for breakfast that we had heard about through Urban Spoon.

The first place we went to for breakfast was Toast on Market. It was busy, but not so busy that we couldn't get a table right away, and the wait staff was still very attentive to serving us. They had a small nook between the store front and the side walk where they had set up tables, creating a patio atmosphere. The negative aspect of this was that it faced the road, so the morning traffic could get loud at times, but it still enabled us to enjoy breakfast outside before the heat of the day set in, as well as being able to listen to and watch the mockingbirds as they went aobut their morning routine.

I ordered "The King" french toast--peanut butter, bananas, and marscapone cheese smoothered between two pieces of "brioche." Now, I've had brioche from a patissiere before, and I'm not quite sure I would call the bread used in "The King" as a brioche, and I saw little different between this bread and other types of breads. It left me wondering if they just decided to use that name as a way of spicing up the name and sound of their french toast. Other than that, it was delicious, and I didn't even need the syrup that came with it. My side was fresh fruit, which I normally pass on, but their fresh fruit contained apples and oranges, which was a pleasant departure from the standard pineapple and melon that seem to be the fresh fruit option at a lot of other restaurants.

Tammy ordered the lemon souffle pancakes, sans the blueberry compote. These were another fine choice from a standard pancake, with a delicious lemon flavor throughout the pancake, bringing to mind a lemon cake, and once again, requiring no other toppings on it to fully enjoy it. In fact, a topping may have taken away from the deliciousness of the pancake.

Despite the fancy descriptions and an obvious desire to be an upper tier restaurant, the prices here were very reasonable--being no more than any of the major chain restaurants that are known for breakfasts, but with more selection and a more satisfying experience.

Located near downtown and not far from the eccentric and ecclectic Bardstown, Toast on Market is in a convenient location to get to.

Close to Home: Minnehaha Falls

2010-05-21T06:11:00.000-05:00

One of the most popular parks in Minneapolis, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually was another stop of ours on a brief daytrip excursion to the Cities this past weekend. It had been years since our last stop there.

Minnehaha Falls park is notable, among other things, for the 53-foot waterfall that is featured in Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha." There is a bridge that crosses over the top of the waterfall for a stunning view of the falls from above, as well as other viewing angles from the top as well. If you'd prefer to see the falls from below, that is possible as well. On one side of the river, there is a long step stairwell down to the river below, with a couple of landings with benches if you get tired. Or, if you'd prefer to not go down in such a quick, steep manner, there are stairs on the other side of the river, as well, that take the descent or ascent in a much more gradual manner with a couple of view points on the way down. When you get to the bottom of the falls, there is another bridge that passes across the river once again and there are plenty of opportunity to get a good picture of the falls. You are prohibited from getting close to the falls, fenced off with warning signs due to the danger of the falls area. However, when we were there this past weekend, the fence wasn't keeping anyone away from getting close to the falls, and they were climbing over the fencing to get closer, unobstructed views of the falls. And there was even one group brave enough to actually walk not only up to the falls along the cliff, but to practically behind the falls. I was sure that we'd witness someone fall in, especially given the difficulty that some in that group appeared to be having trying to traverse what was likely a slippery surface.

Close to Home: Ard Godfrey House

2010-05-17T05:47:00.004-05:00

Every spring, our lawn comes alive with bright yellow dandelions that we haven't bothered killing off like the majority of our neighbors. Living on the outskirts of town, where it seems that weeds of all kinds always get blown into our yard, trying to keep it weed free would be a fulltime job. Not only that, but I've always heard that dandelions, even though a weed, is actually something that is supposed to be beneficial for the soil--just so long as they don't go to seed. Again, clipping off the heads of all the yellow dandelions before they go to to see would be another fulltime job. According to the what I've heard, since dandelions have longer roots, they supposedly bring more nutrients from deeper down in the ground up closer to the surface, where the nutrients can be used by more plants. Well, I'm sure that the other weeds appreciate all the nutrients, though we've always had such bad luck with trying to grow other plants in our poor clay soil. But other than the fact that the dandelions always seem to spring back so much quicker than the grass after I mow, I usually don't give them much thought.

But let's go back to Minnesota, circa 1849. The Minnesota Territory was just recently declared. And there wasn't a single dandelion to be found here at all. One of the first settlers in the area of Minneapolis (St. Anthony Falls) was Ard Godfrey, who was asked to come to build a sawmill in the area by Franklin Steele. After Godfrey got here, he sent for his wife and family to come here as well, coming from Maine. The Godfrey house was painted yellow to remind them of the natural wood colors that could be found in Maine, and Mrs. Godfrey also missed the dandelions that she was used to living out east. She would use the dandelions to make things such as tea and wine. Since there weren't any dandelions in Minnesota, she had to order the seeds in from out east.

And of course, from there, I now have more dandelions in my yard than grass (of course, lawn grass isn't native to Minnesota, either).

The historic Ard Godfrey house can be found in Chute Square in Minneapolis and is the oldest surviving frame home in the Twin Cities, being built in 1849. It has been restored to what it would have looked like during the era of 1849-1853, some of the items inside actually having belonged to the Godfrey family. You can visit the house on Saturdays and Sundays from June 5 through August 29 from 1 pm to 4 pm. Volunteers in costumes from the 1850s give guided tours. Admission is free, but donations are always accepted.

The Ard Godfrey house in Chute Square is located at:
278 Bank Street, SE
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Close to Home: Wisconsin Dells

2010-05-08T06:13:00.000-05:00

We took a weekend trip to the Wisconsin Dells last week with Tammy's parents. The Dells are close to home, with us being able to get there in about two and a half hours or so. We have been there many times since getting married a decade ago, and this was also our honeymoon location then, as well. This particular trip saw us go on one attraction--the Ducks--that we did both on our honeymoon and again last year, an attraction that we did on our honeymoon but not since, and an attraction that we had never done before.

The Original Wisconsin DucksThere are two Ducks operations in the Wisconsin Dells, the Original Wisconsin Ducks and the Wisconsin Dells Army Ducks. Even so, now on the three times that we have gone on a Duck tour, we went with the Original Wisconsin Ducks. The Ducks were probably the best part of this recent excursion to the Dells as they make their way through a wooded area just off the main road of the Wisconsin Dells, into the Wisconsin River, back up onto land, through Lake Delton, and finally making land fall again, doubling back along almost the identical route on land again before returning to the base. If you've never been on a Duck tour, I would recommend this as one of the most-dos in the Wisconsin Dells area and a great way to see some of the beauty in the area instead of all of the tourist trappings in the downtown and main strip areas. It's especially fun if you have never done it or rarely do it. As we had been there last summer and again this spring, we realized that the script that the Duck drivers do is all rehearsed, and there was almost no differentiation between the script this spring and the one from last summer. And of course, right before they get back to the Ducks headquarters, as so often in the Dells, they try to sell you postcards and a booklet about some of the things you saw on your tour. The booklet isn't a bad deal, though, as it has coupons in it that will help you save money on other Dells area attractions. Another thing that the Original Ducks do is before you board, they take a picture of your group and then try to sell it to you when you get off, though this practice seems no different than what cruise ships do, and that is easy to ignore.

Lost Canyon Horse and Wagon RidesThe Lost Canyon Horse rides were next on our itinerary, and they are off the main strip a little bit, so somewhat harder to find, though they do have a billboard pointing the way. Here, you get to go through some of the narrow canyon passageways in a horse drawn wagon and get up close to the sandstone walls. So close, in fact, that if you're sitting on the edge of the wagon, you may find that you have to duck and move out of the way to avoid hitting them. On the particular day that we went, they only had one wagon running, and we were lucky to arrive when we did. If we had been even a few minutes later, we would have missed the wagon and needed to wait. The wagon ride was much shorter than the Ducks tour, and they, too, stopped near the end of the tour to try to sell merchandise associated with the business, though the pitch wasn't as hard as it had been for the Ducks.

Top Secret!

What's a trip to the Wisconsin Dells without doing at least one of the tourist trap attractions that have nothing to do with the beauty of the landscape around the Dells? My in-laws wanted to visit Top Secret!, interested because of the fact that the building appears to be an upside down White House. The idea behind this attraction is that archeologists from the future have uncovered an upside down White House and have begun exploring and excavating it, and then finding such top secret finds such as crates marked "Moon landing set" and evidence of aliens and even a Frankenstein-type lab. There are many things wrong with the workup, though, such as George Washington being in the White House--standing on the ceiling, no less, as the building is upside down. In fact, all of the furniture is on the ceiling, as we all know that we securely fashion all of our furniture and personal items to the floor of our homes just in case it does somehow end up turning over. I was really unimpressed with Top Secret!, despite them having some potential here. There was one area with a corridor of spinning light that is meant to disorient you--however, my wife has a hard time with things like that due to vertigo, and almost couldn't pass through that, and there was no provision made for the guests to bypass this. Not only that, but there was a lot of dark passageways with no direction on where to go where you can't see where you're going, and you have the potential to be left behind. This is a place that I would not pay to go to again. I think your money is better spend elsewhere at the Dells.

Close to Home: Underwater World

2010-04-11T07:04:00.007-05:00

It has been several years since we had last visited Underwater World found beneath the Mall of America in Bloomington, so we decided to head there once again as we celebrated Tammy's birthday. As with anything, there were changes as well as things that stayed the same.

Some of the things that have stayed the same is the path through Minnesota's waters, starting with rain and then moving through the lakes and rivers of Minnesota as we passed by turtle ponds (and a koi pond?--though the point they were trying to make was to not release pet fish into the wild) and other local fish. You walk through and around a beaver dam as you follow the meandering path past a snapping turtle and the first of the large aquarium tanks, featuring such fish as sturgeons, catfish, and alligator gar, most of which (but not all) can be found in the Mississippi River in Minnesota. Next, you come to the shark tank, which is no longer referred to as the Gulf of Mexico tank, but nonetheless features the fish you would find there.

As you continue onward, you pass through the coral reef area, with fish that would be familiar to those who have seen Finding Nemo or that have gone snorkeling or scuba diving in reef areas.

As you approach the end of the actual aquarium, you go through two new areas of Underwater World. One of these areas features a wide variety of seahorses in small aquariums, some of which include pregnant seahorses, baby seahorses, and juvenile seahorses. After the seahorses, you find yourself in the world's largest jellyfish collection before exiting out into the aquarium's gift store.

As you make your way through the gift store, you will find the touch pools. Gone are the baby sharks and stingrays of years past, in its place are starfish and crab. You may also catch a glimpse of the aquarium's resident octopus if you're lucky, and there is also the virtual submarine ride for a nominal price.

All in all, Underwater World features over 5000 creatures that call our world's rivers, lakes, and oceans home.

A Trip to Fargo, North Dakota

2010-03-29T05:56:00.005-05:00

Another weekend, another road trip, as we enter the time of year now where the weather has improved significantly enough where we no longer feel the need to hibernate the winter away.

This particular trip was to Fargo, North Dakota, to meet up with Tammy's parents. Fargo, which has been in the news recently due to flooding of the Red River, is about the half-way point between us and them, thus making the trip to Fargo an annual event every spring.

The Red River crested the Saturday before we went, thus giving the river a week to start to recede once more, though some roads were still flooded or closed to traffic due to the dykes that were erected to control the flooding. Also observed were sandbags down the road that represented the line in the sand against the raising waters, with some houses on the wrong side of the street, and houses that looked deserted with security notices in the windows.

Despite several trips to Fargo over the years, this time around, we were able to visit the Red River Zoo. We had made a previous attempt to visit, but the season hadn’t opened yet on the day we tried. However, when we noticed a large number of cars in the parking lot this time, we made sure to go check it out.

Located just off of I-94, the Red River Zoo sits on an unimpressive-looking piece of land that was once known as the Red River Ranch. Many of the buildings used by the zoo are in fact left over from the ranch, including a large red barn that is easily seen as you pass by on the highway. Also visible from the highway is the zoo’s barnyard where you can find llamas, pygmy goats, and a bull; as well as the zoo’s camel pen.

Besides the barnyard, the zoo boasts animals from Asia and North America as their two main areas of specialty. As you start off down the Asia trail, you encounter a group of red pandas, and then a pair of tanuki—also known as a raccoon dog. Continuing down the trail, you pass by an Asian onager, an animal that is critically endangered in the wild. The Red River Zoo currently has one of eight breeding pairs of onager in the United States . After passing this exhibit, you enter a newer section of the zoo, Takin Ridge, which houses a carousel from 1928, as well as a variety of other Asiatic animals.

Heading around the zoo in a circle, you then pass from Asia to North America , and the gray wolf exhibit in another fairly new section of the zoo. The wolf pack has five wolves—four boys and one girl, and you can get up close to them thanks to the large glass windows set up in the building. Also in the area is a duck pond and an exhibit with bison and deer. As you make your way around to the front of the zoo, you will come to the reptile, amphibian, and invertebrate house.

Rental cars

2010-03-27T04:50:00.000-05:00

When I rented a car for our trip to Arizona I thought that it would be a fairly simple and pain free thing to do--I have rented cars on previous trips without an incident. I thought it would be a matter of simply finding the cheapest rate for the class of car that I wanted--which since it's only my wife and I, we generally go with the compact size. I surfed my way through the big car rental companies--Budget, Alamo, National, Avis, Thrifty, Dollar, Enterprise, and Hertz.

However, it wasn't as simple of a matter as I thought. What I didn't realize was that the timing of the car rental plays big as well. I was checking out the prices of one of these national chains--I won't say which one, and the practice may be similar with more than one of these companies. I entered the time and day of our arrival in Phoenix. It's a Saturday, and we would need it at 2:30. We'd need it until the following Saturday, so I entered in 2 p.m. It was $500 for the week. This seemed particularly high to me, particularly since I have rented a car on a couple of occasions in the past, and do rent cars on behalf of other people. Keeping my pick-up time the same, I changed my drop-off time by half an hour--to 1:30 p.m. That half an hour difference dropped the price by almost half.

I called the reservation line of that company, and I asked why that half an hour made a difference. I would understand it if my drop-off time was after 2:30--adding an extra day to my rental. The reservation agent couldn't explain it, either. When I said that I would be going with a different company, the agent then offered to speak with his supervisor. When he came back on the line, the reasoning he gave was that the drop-off day was a Saturday and therefore weekend rates applied. Apparently, it didn't matter that the pick-up day was also a Saturday, and it also didn't explain the difference between a 1:30 p.m. drop-off time and a 2:00 p.m. drop-off time both of which were that Saturday.

Flying: The Three-Hour Rule

2010-03-26T05:47:00.000-05:00

On April 29, 2010, new protection for people who are flying will go into effect. It is designed to prevent airlines from keeping its passengers on airplanes sitting on the tarmac for more than three hours. If they do so after that date, they will be fined $27,500 per passenger on that plane.

Now, as someone who was kept sitting on a plane on the tarmac for three hours in Minneapolis by Northwest Airlines (now Delta), I know how miserable that was, and how long even three hours can be. And this from an airline that had more planes sitting in a hanger at the airport as Minneapolis was a Northwest hub. The problem is, they had already switched airplanes--using the airplane we were supposed to use for a different flight and bringing the airplane that we were on out of the hanger. But that airplane had some mechanical issues that they needed to fix before the plane could take off. So, the plane pulled away from the gate after we were on board, and we sat on the tarmac for three hours while the mechanics worked out in -30 F temperatures.

This rule is supposed to get the airlines to act more responsible in its scheduling and plan accordingly. It is supposed to give passengers more rights instead of being totally at the whim of the airline. Now, instead of that, the airlines are already trying to find loopholes and ways around this rule in order to not have to do those things. JetBlue sought an exemption to this rule at JFK airport in New York, joined by American and Delta. Continental also joined that group seeking the exemption, but expanded the request for Newark and LaGuardia as well. And now, US Airways is expanding that request to include Philadelphia as well. In essence, the airlines are attempting to punch a hole in that rule, and then expand it from there. Next up would be places like Washington, DC, and Boston, and then a cascade effect throughout the whole country until the rule is meaningless.

I am hopeful all exemptions to the rule will be turned down. If airlines need to reexamine their schedules and make changes to them in order to comply with the rules, that is what they should do. If they make no changes to their schedule and start canceling a number of flights, that will undoubtedly make them look bad in the eyes of the consumer.

Close to Home: RAD Zoo

2010-03-25T05:45:00.001-05:00

When one visits portions of the southern United States, you can likely find alligator farms or excursions by wind boat out into the swamps of the Florida everglades or the bayou of Louisiana and places in between where you can get up close and personal with a variety of wildlife of the reptilian and amphibian variety, on up to the crocodilian family. But for those who don’t want to make that trip, as well as for those who may be a little less daring than wanting to come face to face with that American alligator in the wild, there are reptile zoos all around the country. You can also find reptile houses in most of the zoos around the country.

It’s nice to have one such dedicated reptile zoo close to home, located in Owatonna, Minnesota. The Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Zoo, or RAD Zoo (www.theradzoo.com) is a new entry in this genre, opening up in the fall of 2009.

Unfortunately, the RAD Zoo is not the easiest place to find, even with a GPS set up with the address (which declared we were arriving at our destination, on right, when the only thing on the right was an empty field), and the fact that it is located along the frontage road along Interstate 35. The only signage for the zoo is a single sign on the side of a building that would have been easy to miss had we not been looking for it. And the fact that it shares a building with a concrete business makes it look deceiving.

The zoo is entirely indoors, making it a great destination on a rainy or cold day outside, though there is no disguising the fact that it’s in what was evidently a warehouse at one point. There are plenty of different snakes and lizards from all over the world, and includes a Minnesota section of animals. Notably absent from the collection is the timber rattlesnake, which is a Minnesota native, though admittedly, it would be hard, if not impossible, to include every variety of reptile and amphibian that is native to Minnesota. While the collection is respectable already, it can only get better, with their intention to increase in size as the year progresses, and they would like to start to include some venomous species, which they currently lack. One thing missing that would have improved the overall feel of the zoo, however, would have been more professional signs of what animals are on display. Most of the displays only have a name of an animal printed out on computer paper and taped on the outside of the cage.

There are different programs throughout the day at the RAD Zoo. When we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, we had a little bit of time to view the exhibits before the start of the reptile program focussing on the reptiles and amphibians of the Florida everglades. There was also the opportunity to touch and/or pose for pictures with either a 7-year-old alligator or a boa constrictor. Following this program, they had various different live feedings of snakes around the premises, wrapping up with the feeding of Big Al, the approximately 70-year-old alligator that is the center attraction.

Overall impressions is that the zoo was definitely worth the trip from Rochester to Owatonna, and the admission fee of $7.50 wasn’t unreasonable, though obviously it would have been nice with more specimens. The programs are intended for a younger audience rather than a general audience, and most of the people at the zoo while we were there were there with young children, who may get the most out of the experience. I would consider the zoo to be just as good a way to see these animals as visiting a reptile house at any zoo I have been to.

I do hope to soon have a listing of the zoos around Minnesota here. In the meantime, here are a selection of some of the reptile zoos from around the country.

Reptile Zoo Websites:
www.kyreptilezoo.com
www.reptileworldzoo.com
www.reptilegardens.com
www.regalreptiles.net
www.theradzoo.com

Cruises

2010-03-17T07:34:00.000-05:00

Ever since our first cruise in February 2007, I have been sold on that way to take a vacation. Since then, we have been on three cruises total, with another one booked and one in the early planning stages.

Cruises are a great and affordable way to take a vacation, and prices have come down since our first cruise. Granted, with the Great Recession coming to an end, cruise prices are starting to rebound as well, and the great deals that have been available for the past couple of years are coming to an end. That is not to say that cruises are not a great vacation compared to a land-based vacation.

With any distance vacation, you have the expense of getting there. Unless you want to drive to the port city, which from Minnesota would mean at least two days in a car, you will need to fly. So, this remains constant with a cruise or a land-based vacation.

With a cruise, you may be spending about $100/person per night. Sure, you can spend less than that, or more than that, depending on cruise, destination, duration, cabin, etc., but it's a good rough indicator. A seven-day cruise, then, is going to run you about $700/person, plus taxes and fees. I also think of $100/night as about what you are likely to pay for a hotel room as well. Again, depending on if you stay at a motel (which we normally do) for less, or a nicer hotel for a bit more. Granted, a hotel is per room whereas a cruise is per person. That's $100/night more expensive than a hotel would be. But when you factor in the time and money saved from having to fill a gas tank, as well as three meals a day, plus evening entertainment, it more than makes up for it. Plus, you get to see more of the world when you're cruising. How many other vacations would you take where you get to see multiple stops on the same vacation?

I will admit cruising is not for everyone. Some people may get motion sickness, or they may not like boats, or the thought of being out in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. They may just want to go to one place and be done with it, or they may want to explore a location more fully than a cruise would give them time to do. I consider cruising to be almost like a sample platter of different locales--if you like the locale, you can always go back there as a land-based vacation later.

Our cruises:
WESTERN CARIBBEAN: Costa Maya, Mexico; Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
This was our first cruise ever, and we didn't know what to expect. We did all of our excursions on our own here--the Chacchoben Mayan ruins, which our private excursion was so much better from the cruise ship's as our guide was actually of Mayan descent himself--in fact, the land the ruins were on was at one time part of his family's propert; a visit to Stingray City off of the Cayman Islands; and a plantation and river rafting through Ocho Rios.

BAHAMAS: Nassau and Freeport.
Our shortest cruise at four days, notable for our dolphin encounter, which we did through the Carnival. It also had the roughest seas of all, and cold weather. Nothing like sitting on deck of a cruise ship wearing a winter coat to keep warm as it sails to the Bahamas. Rough waters also cancelled our independently booked glass bottom boat excursion, so we did the Pirate Museum and Ardastra Gardens in Nassau, as well as taking a local bus through some of the streets of the city away from the port to fully experience the island.

BAJA MEXICO: Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada.
A slightly longer cruise at five days, with a semi-submersible submarine excursion through the ship, and then spent quite a bit of time around the port. Not much to do here, and not as nice of a place as I would have thought since it's a popular resort destination. In Ensenada, we chose to not get off the ship due to the ongoing drug war and the fact that many people we talked to in San Diego said they'd be very concerned about going to the region when we were there.

ROUNDTRIP ALASKA: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Alaska; Victoria, BC, Canada.
Our upcoming cruise this summer.

WESTERN CARIBBEAN: Cozumel, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; Colon, Panama.
In the planning stage currently. This would be our longest cruise (by one day) yet, and take us to two countries in Central America, where we would see the Panama Canal and the rainforests of Costa Rica.

Cities I've Been To

2010-03-15T06:10:00.003-05:00

In looking at a list of the largest 273 cities in the United States, I found many of the places that I have been to (or in the case of Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D.C., places that are in the works for being visited) are on that list. In some cases, the list is deceptive, as it goes by actual city size, not the metropolitan area size. Therefore, our recent trip to Phoenix, with a 2000 census population of over 1.5 million people, is ranked number 5. However, further down the list, you come across other cities in the Phoenix metro area such as Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, and Tempe. Information here is taken from Wikipedia, so it may not be entirely accurate, and populations are also based on 2000 Census information. The number preceding the city is the ranking in terms of size.

3 Chicago, Illinois 2,853,114
5 Phoenix, Arizona 1,567,924
9 San Diego, California 1,279,329
10 San Jose, California 948,279
12 San Francisco, California 808,976
14 Indianapolis, Indiana 798,382
19 Memphis, Tennessee 669,651
23 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 604,477
25 Seattle, Washington 598,541
27 Washington, District of Columbia 591,833
28 Las Vegas, Nevada 558,383
30 Louisville, Kentucky 557,224
32 Tucson, Arizona 541,811
35 Kansas City, Missouri 480,129
39 Mesa, Arizona 463,552
40 Omaha, Nebraska 438,646
41 Cleveland, Ohio 433,748
43 Miami, Florida 413,201
47 Minneapolis, Minnesota 382,605
52 St. Louis, Missouri 354,361
56 Cincinnati, Ohio 333,336
65 Lexington, Kentucky 282,114
66 St. Paul, Minnesota 279,590
76 Chandler, Arizona 247,140
79 Scottsdale, Arizona 235,371
81 Madison, Wisconsin 231,916
112 Des Moines, Iowa 197,052
129 Tempe, Arizona 175,523
146 Rockford, Illinois 157,272
150 Sioux Falls, South Dakota 154,997
176 Fort Collins, Colorado 136,509
187 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 128,056
211 Springfield, Illinois 117,352
218 Peoria, Illinois 114,114
266 Green Bay, Wisconsin 101,025
267 Davenport, Iowa 100,827
271 Rochester, Minnesota 100,413

Some of the metropolitan areas I have either been to or have plans to visit in 2010 or 2011, populations based on 2008 estimates and again according to Wikipedia:

3 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI 9,569,624
7 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL 5,497,709
9 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 5,358,130
12 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 4,281,899
13 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 4,274,531
15 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 3,344,813
16 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 3,229,878
17 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 3,027,497
18 St. Louis, MO-IL 2,816,710
24 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 2,155,137
26 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH MSA !B9854481434139 2,088,291
27 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 2,054,574
29 Kansas City, MO-KS 2,002,047
30 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 1,865,746
31 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,819,198
33 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 1,715,459
39 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 1,549,308
41 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 1,285,732
42 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 1,244,696
52 Tucson, AZ 1,012,018
60 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 837,925
76 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 675,069
89 Madison, WI 561,505
90 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 556,230
133 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 377,626
134 Peoria, IL 372,487
141 Rockford, IL 354,394
153 Green Bay, WI 302,935
158 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 292,825
164 Duluth, MN-WI 274,571
188 Sioux Falls, SD 232,930
192 Champaign-Urbana, IL 224,191
195 Appleton, WI 219,720
196 Prescott, AZ 215,503
199 Springfield, IL 207,389
208 Racine, WI 199,510
213 Fargo, ND-MN MSA 195,685
219 St. Cloud, MN 186,954
222 Rochester, MN 182,924
233 Bloomington-Normal, IL 165,298
237 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 164,220
240 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI 162,111
242 Janesville, WI 160,213
246 Eau Claire, WI 158,742
288 La Crosse, WI-MN 131,872
301 Rapid City, SD 122,522
347 Grand Forks, ND-MN 97,279
351 Dubuque, IA 92,724
352 Mankato-North Mankato, MN 92,428
360 Danville, IL 80,680

Events at Sea

2010-03-14T07:42:00.003-05:00

Later this year, we will be taking our fourth cruise--one to Alaska this time. What sets this cruise apart from others that we have taken is that we will be going with Tammy's parents, who have never cruised.

And while we enjoy every aspect of cruising, I'm not quite sure they will embrace everything. In fact, they will likely concern themselves with what can go wrong, especially after the rogue wave that hit the Louis Majesty in the French Mediterranean.

Things can and do go wrong from time to time, and there is never any guarantees.

Rogue waves can hit ships--and rogue waves may not be as rare as was once believed, but since they are short lived, they rarely hit cruise ships. This fact will likely mean little to those who are worried about that happening.

However, as a somewhat experienced cruiser now, cruising to the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and off the western coast of Mexico, I know there are other things to be concerned about besides rogue waves. First off, there is the possibility of sea sickness, followed by the possibility of having rough water that makes it hard to walk on deck.

Then, the biggest concern would be getting the norovirus food illness, which has reportedly spiked this year.

You can keep track of events at sea, according to the website, Cruisejunkie.com.

So far for 2010, they report:

26 instances of illness onboard ship.
15 itinerary change/missed ports of call
08 crimes/deaths on shore.
07 mechanical problems.
06 delays in embarkation/debarkation/arrival/departure
06 crimes/deaths onboard.
05 collisions with pier.
04 people overboard.
03 bomb scares/incidents of terrorism.
02 cruise ships stuck in ice.
02 sinkings.
01 rogue wave incident.
00 fires at sea.

Casa Grande National Monument

2010-03-13T06:07:00.004-06:00

After a breakfast at the Original Pancake House, we headed south once more, towards the Casa Grande National Monument in Coolidge, south of Phoenix. Since we weren't able to get up to Montezuma's Castle, but we did want to take in some indian ruins (not necessarily to offset all the cowboy stuff we did). Casa Grande was the home of the ancient Sonoran desert people known as the Hohokam. The site preserves their community and what is known as the "great house." The site was created as the United States' first archeological reserve back in 1892, and it was given the status of national monument in 1918. The ramada covering was added in 1932 to further protect the ruins from the elements.

The purpose of the Great House, which has been abandoned since sometime around 1450, is unknown, though there is the theory that it may have been used as a sort of observatory. It is a 4-story, 11-room building that was built around 700 years ago in the mid 1300s. The Hohokam people also had wide-scale irrigation and trading system in place.

Surrounding Casa Grande are the ruins of a walled village, likely a farming community, as well as a ball court of some sort.

The Hohokam people are believed to have migrated north from Mexico to inhabit the region from about 300 BC to 1450 AD when they disappeared from the archeological record (the ruins were discovered by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit missionary, in 1694, some 250 years after they were abandoned). The hohokam were creative artisans and are known for their intricate work with shells obtained from the Pacific coast. You can discover more about the Hohokam people here.

Following our trip to Casa Grande, we returned to the Phoenix area, and made a quick stop to Aloha Yogurt. Here, you can get soft-serve yogurt in 12 different flavors (self service) and then top it with practically any topping that you can think of before heading to the Mesa Marketplace for an afternoon of shopping. I was told that this was a place to go to by a coworker, and you can definitely find a variety of different items, and undoubtedly some very good deals in a flea market sort of atmosphere, and there were definitely lots of people there, but personally I don't see any difference in this marketplace and any other flea market you can find anywhere else, or even any different than the retail sections of places like the Minnesota State Fair. Granted, you can count on this flea market to be going on every weekend, unlike other flea markets.

Our vacation ended on Saturday, which after we ate breakfast at the Orange Table restaurant--where we both had jalapeno pecan pancakes which were extremely good, we spent the morning and early afternoon driving around as we didn't have anything else that we really wanted to do before our late afternoon flight home again.

Chinese Cultural Center

2010-03-12T06:07:00.004-06:00

Next up on our journey, we travel from the old west to the far east as we made our way to the Chinese Cultural Center. The ad in the brochure referred to it as Phoenix's Chinatown, where they have Chinese shops, and it said you could walk through their Chinese garden. We weren't really expecting much from the garden, and were surprised at how large it truly was and the things that it contained.

It seems that every structure in the garden is a replica of things that appear in China, and represent five different ancient Chinese cities. Included in the replicas are the Surging Wave Pavilion, the Maple Bridge Night Harbor Poem Monument, and the Li Ting Pavilion from Su Zhou and the Number Two Spring on Earth from near Wu Xi.

The gardens also use the moon gate, scenic window, and garden walls that are a common element in the traditional southern-style Chinese gardens. They are made of brick and often used to seperate various elements of a garden, and feature many different kinds of community style.

Also here is a replica of the Ju Xing Pavilion--or the Star Gathering Pavilion. Ju Xing translates as "a gathering place for all the famous scholars on Earth." The original pavilion was constructed in 1575 in front of the Confucius Temple in Nanjing. The two-tiered roof and octagon design are representative of the Ming Dynasty.

The gardens were designed by the famous garden architect, Madam Ye, and abide by the principles of Feng Shui and Ying Yang.

After enjoying the gardens, and it took a considerable amount of time to get through them, we turned our attention to the shops at the Cofco Center, which makes up the "China Town" aspect. Our first stop was the grocery store, where we took a quick stroll through the vegetable section, looking at all the things we didn't know what they were, before heading to the snacks and candy section and bought a couple of items. Then we took a look through the oriental factory direct store, which had a variety of Chinese items, all of which were very reasonably priced. I definitely would have bought some items had it not been for the fact that I didn't know if we would have room in our luggage for them.

Mayo Clinic

2010-03-09T06:02:00.003-06:00

Waking up on Thursday morning in Prescott, the temperature had dropped down to 36 degrees. The high temperature where we were planning on going that day was forecast to be around 50 degrees, whereas we knew it was going to once again be in the 70s an hour to the south in Phoenix.
We quickly ate at Jb's Family restaurant around the corner from Motel 6--which at the time we thought was a local restaurant, but it turns out that it is a chain of restaurants throughout the mountain states. It was described to me as being "like Denny's, only better." They had a breakfast buffet which was the best deal, so that is what we both decided to have, and I would describe it as more like a Shoney's than a Denny's. We then decided to head south to Phoenix instead of going to Montezuma's Castle, Out of Africa, and the red rocks of Sedona which we were told was a must see as well, deciding that the northern part of Arizona was a vacation better left for warmer months. As we began our descent down the side of the mountain, the temperatures started to climb fairly rapidly, and the midmorning temperatures in Phoenix were in the 60s and felt very hot after a night and morning in the 30s.

So we chose Thursday as the day to visit the Mayo Clinic Arizona campuses, starting with the clinic campus in Scottsdale. Granted, it doesn't seem very exciting to go to Arizona just to go see Mayo Clinic--and it's not high on the list of attractions there. In fact, the clinic building itself is very plain looking, with little on the outside of it to identify it as being part of the Clinic. We briefly walked the grounds between the clinic and the research complex, and taking lots of pictures of the landscape--so much more interesting than the landscape in Rochester, before getting into the car and heading over to the Phoenix campus, i.e., the Mayo Clinic Hospital.
The hospital is what we must often see pictures of when we're at work, with it's large Mayo Clinic name emblazened on the front of the building, proudly showing it's link with the rest of the institution, visible from the road, despite the vast amount of ground parking (free, even, unlike the parking in Rochester)between the road and the hospital building. Despite the better looking exterior of the hospital, we chose not to actually go into the hospital like we did the clinic in Scottsdale.

With it being near lunch time, we chose to go to Coupe des Tartes, a small French restaurant in Phoenix that we wanted to try. Normally french restaurants are a bit too spendy for us, and this one would have been no different if it hadn't been for their lunch menu. Tammy tried the three onion tarte, which had a sweet crust with caramelized shallots, leeks, onions, fresh herbs, a bit of bacon & Gruyere custard. She loved it, calling it the best thing she ate while we were in Arizona, and she has mentioned it a couple of times since coming back home again. It almost seems as if she would want to go back to Phoenix solely for this one lunch, particularly the sweet crust. As for me, I had the Moroccan lamb sandwich, 100% natural grass fed Australian lamb coated in warm spices, chutney, Gruyere cheese & spinach, served on cibatta bread. I will say that this sandwich was good, I am not willing to say that it was the best thing I ever had. The parking lot for the restaurant was small, as was the restaurant itself, and I will say I was a bit concerned about being parked into the small portion of the parking lot behind the restaurant, which turned out not to be the case, fortunately.

Following lunch, we did a little bit of shopping--one of the reasons, I'm told, that people go to Scottsdale to do, more window shopping than anything else, before going and checking into the Motel 6 in Scottsdale, right next to the Fashion Square mall.

Returning to the Cold War

2010-03-07T06:21:00.005-06:00

Wednesday would be our last day in the Tucson area, although we probably could have spent the rest of the week here, there was plenty to do, and it would be fun to return to the Tucson area again in the future. And we didn't get to any of the restaurants that were featured on any of the Travel Channel shows, unfortunately. We started off a bit later than usual, especially after yesterday when we tried to get an early start and it didn't seem to do us any good anyway.

We started off with breakfast at Millie's Pancake Haus, which according to the ad in the phone book had won some award, so we thought we'd give it a try. We weren't disappointed with this place. It was a nice restaurant, similar in appearance to Pannekoeken restaurant in Rochester for those who know what that is. They had a large selection of pancakes from around the world. I thought that I would try some blintzes from Russia as I don't think I had ever tried those before (Tammy seemed to think I had them in Las Vegas as well, but I can't remember back that far). Service at this pancake house was far superior to what we experienced at IHOP yesterday, and the food was a lot better.

We then headed south to Sahaurita, Arizona, to the Titan Missile Museum, where you can see a Titan II missile sitting in its launch silo. The Titan II was on the front lines of the Cold War with the USSR for about 20 years before they were decommissioned in the 1980s. All but one of the 54 silo locations were destroyed, and the land they were on sold to the public (18 around Wichita, Kansas; 18 around Little Rock, Arkansas; and 17 around Tucson). This is the last such surviving silo, and it is used to educate people on the Titan missile program, and a little bit of what it was like to be stationed on the site while the missile was active. It was interesting to see an actual nuclear missile silo, and to learn some of the information about the program. Though the reason that had drawn me there was a bit of a let-down. I have seen movies about nuclear missiles--such as War Games--and they have large missile command centers with big monitors on the wall, lots of different computers, etc. So when I saw that this museum would have a simulated launch, that is what I thought of. On the tour, they went over what it would have been like had the order come through for launch. For the simulated launch, after the two keys were turned for the launch, from the command center, the only indication that the missile was in launch sequence was that over the course of 58 seconds, a series of lights would light up. The missile here had been a crew training missile, and therefore never had an active warhead or loaded with fuel, and was brought in from Texas when the silo was converted to a museum.

You get an opportunity to walk around the ground of the complex, which had changed a bit from when the site was active--other than the fence around the perimeter, and maybe the top of the launch duct, you wouldn't have known anything was there. They talked about the different radio antenna that were in use and the various back-ups in case one or two or even three or more different antenna were knocked out in a nearby nuclear blast. However, the 3-ton blast doors would have protected those in the command center. You get a chance to view the missile from the top of the launch duct, and then you go down three stories underground to the command center, and a chance to see the missle again from there.

The facility has been used to film two movies: one was "Disaster at Silo Seven," which was a made-for-TV movie, as well as the for the movie "Star Trek: First Contact," in which a Titan II missle was used to get Zephram Cochrane's spaceship into outer space.

Wikipedia article on the Museum
Museum website

After the Titan Museum, we headed back north. The idea was that we would try to get to the Petrified Forest in northeast Arizona on this trip as well. And to get there without having to go over any mountain passes. As such, I wanted to make sure we stayed on the interstate highway system, which meant going the long way--back through Phoenix, up through Flaggstaff, and then over. That way, we could also do Montezuma's Castle cliff dwelling site, and maybe the Out of Africa safari zoo by Camp Verde.

Wednesday was also the warmest day of the trip so far, with it being in the low 70s as we passed through Phoenix. As soon as we got through Phoenix, we immediately started up into the mountains, and the temperature started to drop rapidly. I thought we had better start looking for a hotel. We found a Motel 6 a little out of the way at Prescott, so we decided to spend the night there. When we stopped that night, at a little over 5000 feet, the temperature was a cool 45. I was a bit disappointed, because it was 30 degrees warmer in Phoenix, and we hadn't come all the way to Arizona for cold weather. At least we had our winter coats with us, but still, it wasn't the vacation that we had signed up for.

Tucson

2010-03-06T07:30:00.008-06:00

Waking up on Tuesday morning in Tucson, the temperatures seem to have headed as far south as we had. It was a very brisk 39 degrees, and looking up at some of the mountains that surrounded the city, you could see a fresh coating of snow on some of the taller ones in the Rincon mountains. To see snow-capped mountains and yet not have to worry (too much) of dealing with the cold itself is a beautiful sight, even though you could tell that the snow on the mountains wasn't all that deep. Especially when the cloud cover that had plagued our trip thus far had vanished, and you could actually see blue skies and the sun making its journey through the sky.

We headed to IHOP first thing to take advantage of the free pancakes for pancake day. We should have known that things wouldn't go well there--but we did get seated very quickly, and they did bring us coffee right away. However, after 15 minutes, no one had even come to take our order yet. I know they were busy, but after I heard a waitress go to the same table twice to check on orders, and a table next to us empty out, a new couple come in, sit down, and have their order taken very quickly, I had enough. I went to complain about the complete lack of service at our table whereas other tables were being serviced. After complaining, they brought our pancakes very quickly by taking them away from another order instead. After we had our pancakes, they were still utterly confused and tried bringing us two more orders of pancakes.

After breakfast, we headed off for the Tanque Verde Greenhouse. Now, one of the negative things about Tucson (which overall I think is a great city), is that there is a lack of a good highway system through the city. Therefore, we had to drive eight miles through city streets most of the time we were there and trying to get anywhere. We finally made our way to the greenhouse, where they had several different types of cactus for souvenirs (similar to the prepackaged cactus kits you could buy at practically any other store, but here, you actually got to pick out your own cactus and succulents instead of what was included with the preassembled kits). We arrived shortly after they opened, and we took our time looking at the various different cacti. When we picked out what we wanted and decided upon our purchase, there was no one around manning the register. We tried finding someone around the greenhouse grounds, and checked the greenhouse's office. There just was no one around. I tried honking the car horn a couple of times to try to get someone's attention. That didn't work. We did manage to find a sign that was almost unnoticeable saying to ring the buzzer for help. That only rang into the empty office next door that we had already checked. There was another buzzer that rang into the house which we tried several times, all with no one coming to help us. We figured someone had to be around as they had opened the greenhouse up, but yet they had apparently disappeared into a puff of smoke. We tried calling the phone number that was on the tourism brochure, and no one answered the phone. Finally, after half an hour, the owner came out. They also had signs that said they could package up your purchase for flights, but this woman just kept saying that she would not be able to help us package them, so in the end, after making our purchase and she gave us boxes to put our cacti and containers in, we actually had to do the packaging ourselves. It's this sort of what I consider extremely poor service, plus being set back in our schedule by over half an hour, that would make me wish we had just bought the cactus souvenir kits at a store instead of the greenhouse.

After the greenhouse, we headed back up into the Tucson mountains west of town, and went to the Sonoran Desert Museum, which is actually more of a zoo than a museum. We watched a show about poisonous reptiles in the desert, i.e. the gila monster and the rattlesnake. They also had a hummingbird aviary, lots of different cacti, many of the animals you could find in the desert around Tucson, and walked through an exhibit on caves. I would definitely recommend spending an afternoon here, as they have plenty of exhibits and programs to keep you occupied. As we left, we noticed a sign in the parking lot advising people to not feed the coyotes.

After that, we went up the road to the Old Tucson movie studio (www.oldtucson.com). We only had a little more than an hour to tour the studio, and it would have been nice to have a little bit more time there than what we had. We still managed to walk around and see a lot of the buildings that had been constructed for various different movies and TV shows that have filmed there over the years, and we watched one live show about Billy the Kid before they closed down for the day. For a list of movies and tv shows filmed at Old Tucson, go here. As we left the studio, we came across a coyote in the parking lot that was apparently looking to be fed.

As the day drew to a close, we head back to Saguaro National Park to once again look at more cacti, and to attempt to get a good sunset picture. Unfortunately, the sunset that day wasn't that spectactular, but we did the best we could.

We rounded out the day with supper at the Blue Willow restaurant in Tucson, where Tammy tried a sweet potato sandwich, which she loved, and I had the tostada which I am sure was equally good.

Saguaro National Park

2010-03-03T05:51:00.005-06:00

Waking up Monday, we once again found weather very similar to what we witnessed on Saturday and Sunday--more clouds, more rain, and not very warm temperatures.

The one saving grace: we were heading south, to Tucson. Surely the temperatures had to warm up once we headed down that way. We got a somewhat late start to the day, making sure that we didn't leave until after rush hour would be over--though I'm not sure how much traffic we would encounter leaving Phoenix. We also needed to buy a car adapter for the GPS. I had grown tired of needing to recharge it after using it for a few hours.

So, we arrived in Tucson shortly after noon, and after we stopped and ate at Dakota Cafe (where both Tammy and I tried their prickly pear bbq brisket, which was good--however, service there was extremely poor), we decided to once again try to dodge the rain drops and headed west out of Tucson to Saguaro National Park West. I wasn't quite sure what I expected out of the national park, but it was a very impressive area. After spending the afternoon admiring the cactus, we decided to call it a day, and went to eat and spent an evening shopping in Tucson.

Phoenix--Day One

2010-02-28T08:40:00.011-06:00

Our first full day in Phoenix started off the same way as yesterday ended--cold and rainy. Now, you may be wondering how I could think of Arizona as being cold when I come from the land of seemingly perpetual snow and ice in Minnesota. And definitely 55 degrees is a big improvement from the 20 or so degrees we left behind. But I was glad that we had our coats, both because of the rain drops that we needed to dodge as well as the distinct lack of sun. And as the week wore on, I soon had a degree marker for when Arizona temps are such that I can go outside without a sweater or coat, and that marker is 60 degrees.

The first order of business of the day was to find someplace to eat breakfast. Sure, we could have simply gone to IHOP, but where's the fun in that? Unfortunately, there were no places that we were familar with--such as a Shoney's or a Bob Evans. And breakfast isn't a category in a phone book's restaurant listings. We found a place called Bill Johnson's Big Apple restaurant, and with about six of them in the Phoenix area, it seemed like a good bet. Affordably priced, and you got plenty of food as well--I got eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, and biscuits and gravy all for $6. When it comes to trying to do a theme restaurant, some places fail and others succeed. I was very impressed with how well this place made you feel like you had stepped into the old west, complete with sawdust on the floor, and a wait staff dressed for the part.

The next thing on our "to-do" list was to visit the Arizona Renaissance Festival, held out by Apache Junction, about an hour away from Phoenix. We have been to a variety of other renaissance festivals (Minnesota, Twig, Bristol, Des Moines, St. Louis, and Kansas City) in the past, and we wanted to see how this one compared. Tammy was excited at the prospect of seeing cactus that she started taking pictures of stray cactus we passed on the way through the desert despite assurances that she would have plenty of time to take as many pictures as she wanted of the cactus later in our journey. It wasn't the greatest day for a renaissance faire as we needed to dodge rain drops for a good portion of the day, which included a drenching rain as we tried watching the first joist of the day. The sun did manage to put in an appearance shortly after that and start to dry things out--only for it to start raining again just in time for the second joist. There was still the drummers, the comedic pirates, the sword swallower, the jugglers, and the mud show--which given the rainy day was probably a bit muddier than usual.

We left the renaissance festival midafternoon as we still had a couple of other things that we wanted to do. One of those was another trip through time, stepping forward from the renaissance period of European history to the Old West era of American history as we stopped at Goldfield, a ghost town near Apache Junction. This is one of the things that I particularly looked forward to, since I had never really been to a ghost town. Sure, there are "ghost towns" around Minnesota, but these are more of the small towns where you may find the remains of some sort of building foundations buried by weeds and grass if you're lucky. This was an honest to goodness, old west ghost town--pointed out by the signs on the property warning people of that fact and the fact that as such, many dangers existed on the land and to exercise caution. Yes, while it is a ghost town, it was definitely thriving, and businesses used all of the old buildings--which sort of negates the whole "ghost town" aspect, but it probably wouldn't have been exiciting if everything was empty.

Goldfield also gave us the opportunity to look for and find one of the things we really wanted to find on this trip--jalapeno peanut brittle. We had found this during a layover at the Phoenix airport a few years ago, but hadn't been able to find since. We had looked Saturday night in Scottsdale as well, where at a Fry's Food and Drug Store when we asked about it, they said that it sounded like it would be good, but no, they didn't have any. Fortunately, one of the stores in Goldfield did have some homemade jalapeno peanut brittle. It wasn't exactly what we had found last time, but it was still better than naught.

Following our stop at Goldfield, we headed further out on the Apache Trail through the Arizona desert and up into the mountains as we headed for the town of Tortilla Flat. What I hadn't realized when we planned that part of our trip was that we'd be going on a mountain road. I should have realized that something was wrong when we passed the sign that said "Mountain Grade next 36 miles." Having never driven in the mountains before--and it being years since I had been in the Colorado Rockies, I had no idea what I was about to drive into. So, when the road narrowed considerably, and it started looping around and around the side of the mountains, it was enough to start doubting if the car actually wanted to stay on the road. And of course, there was no good place to turn around, so I decided the best thing to do would be to continue onward, however, at a much, much, much slower pace.

"We'll be coming round (and round and round) the mountain when we come, We'll be coming round and round the mountain, we'll be coming round and round the mountain..."

After making our way up, around, and back down the mountains, passing two single lane bridges along the way, we finally arrived at Tortilla Flat. What's so special about the town of Tortilla Flat? It has a restaurant, an ice cream parlor, a gift store, and a post office, and that's about it. Well, they do have a prickley pair icecream that I wanted to try. Yes, I risked life and limb to try some icecream. Of course, it was getting late in the afternoon, and I knew two things--I wanted to be back on flat land before dark, and I wanted to be back on flat land before it started raining again since it had been a rainy day. So, I ate my icecream in just about two seconds flat just so that I could once again start that long journey back up, around, and down the mountains. However, I have decided that next time I see a sign that says "narrow road, mountain grade," I'm just going to turn around.

Phoenix--John Lennon Artwork

2010-02-28T07:50:00.006-06:00

Our first major trip of the year has come to an end, unfortunately. We travelled to "sunny" Arizona. I say "sunny" with quotations around it because the first three days of our trip to Arizona was cold and cloudy and rainy. You would have had a hard time convincing me that Arizona was actually in the desert.

I can't say that the whole trip went down without a hitch. As I was standing in line to rent the car, I turned on the GPS unit I had made sure we brought with us, wanting to give it plenty of time for it to find a satellite reception, only to realize that the GPS battery was low, and the realization that I didn't bring the car adapter with us. Fortunately, Budget Rent-A-Car rents the same type of GPS that we have--the Garmin. So, I asked if I would be able to rent just the car adapter. No such luck. I had no choice but to try to use the GPS sparingly--and it did have a hard time getting reception. I did manage to head in somewhat the right direction to find the hotel, but did get lost a couple of times and started heading in the wrong direction before the GPS did finally find it's signal and get us going in the right direction once more.

The first thing that we did after getting situated in our hotel--Budget Lodge Downtown Phoenix (and letting the GPS charge)--was to go to a John Lennon art exhibit being held in Scottsdale, at the Kierland Commons shopping complex, which happened to be going on only during our first couple of days in Phoenix. John Lennon, before needing to do his gig with the Beatles fulltime, actually attended the Liverpool Art Institute from 1957-1960. You could buy prints of some of John's work at the exhibit; however, the prices of these prints was more than some original paintings that I know of, ranging anywhere from about $600 on up to over $1000. Still, since I had never seen any of John's work before--and didn't even know that he did artwork until very recently, it was still great to see.

John Lennon Artwork website

The Year of Travel Begins

2010-01-01T05:47:00.003-06:00

Dr. Heywood Floyd: I don't know if HAL is homicidal, suicidal, neurotic, psychotic, or just plain broken.
________________________________________
HAL 9000: I'm completely operational, and all my circuits are functioning perfectly.

(movie, 2010)

A new year. 2010. So life isn't like it was in the movie by the same name--something we should all probably be grateful for. A year that I am referring to as the year of travel, as this year is by far the year that we will be doing the most traveling (and thus a good excuse for The Middle of Nowhere turning into a travel blog, something that I started this fall). Some of the places that I am traveling to are familiar—places such as Fargo, North Dakota; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and even Louisville, Kentucky; not to mention places in between. Some of the places will be entirely new, such as Phoenix, Arizona, or Seattle, Washington.

Some of those places I can drive to. Others will be by plane.

Following the attempted bombing of a plane as it descended into Detroit, there are many questions about air travel safety that need to be answered. What went wrong? And do the same holes exist in domestic security? Flying will never be completely safe, and you have no guarantees that you will get to your destination safely.

One of the things to help improve that security that is getting a lot of press right now is the full body scan that is already in use at some airports around the US, and in light of this attempted attack on the homeland will probably become more prevalent. There was a question posed on CNN.com—if you would be willing to undergo a full body scan at the airport. At the time of this writing, almost 75% of the respondents had said they would. This is the same full body scan that raised a lot of eyebrows and uproar against such an invasion of privacy when it was first announced that they would be used. And those same concerns are again being raised. Currently, there are 40 machines in use in six airports around the country. Opponents say that they are an invasion of privacy, whereas there are those who say they are necessary for homeland security. If they had been in use in the Netherlands, they say, we would not have had a near-attack in Detroit on Christmas Day.

I personally fail to see how they are an invasion of privacy, and I could be wrong, but I have a feeling the same people making this argument are the same people who are trying to claim red light cameras are an invasion of privacy (come on people, if you're in public, driving down the road, other people can see you, and they do have a right to take your picture even if you don't like it, and if you're doing something wrong, that's not an invasion of privacy. Law enforcement officers could then declare invasion of privacy if they are caught on camera doing things they aren't supposed to do and sue the camera operator for everything they have. Thieves could claim invasion of privacy if surveillance cameras are used and catch them robbing a place of business). An invasion of privacy would be something like someone looking in windows and/or taking pictures through that window. I have an expectation of privacy in my own home and in a public restroom. I don't have an expectation of privacy when I'm in public.

But let's look at this more closely.

1. Some critics are claiming it's a virtual strip search. Would you prefer to have everyone undergo a virtual strip search, or make everyone have to go into a small cubicle and actually undress? That would really slow down lines, wouldn't it? Not to mention, it would be a lot more embarrassing for everyone involved. At least with this "virtual strip search" you don't actually have to disrobe, and the person doing the search isn't actually in the same room with you.

2. Whereas an actual strip search would be performed by members of the same sex, that won't be the case with the full body scan. However, they are professionals and members of the law enforcement community, not pornographers. It should be treated no differently than a guy needing to disrobe in front of a female doctor or vice-versa.

3. The TSA has taken measures to protect privacy by having the face blurred. Therefore, there is no way to connect you to that image unless they need to pull you directly out of the line for security reasons. Would I still be in favor of this security measure if that wasn't in place? Yes, I would be, for the next two reasons.

4. There is no way for the officers doing the screening to save your image as you pass through security. This means that you don't have to worry about your image ending up on some website anywhere. It just isn't going to happen. My one concern here, however, is that if there is no way to save the image, there is no proof that security had a reason to pull you out of the line.

5. I have seen some pictures of these full body scans performed for demonstration purposes. They tended to show outlines of body, not actual images. They are about as exciting as the diagrams used in fourth grade sex ed books.

6. From what I hear, outlines of underwear would be visible on the enhanced imaging. Now, if you're a guy and you're wearing women's underwear, I can see how this may be embarrassing for you. If that's the case, don't wear women's underwear going through the airport! Simple as that.

7. They are looking for things that you may be hiding, not your actual image. The only reason you have anything to worry about is if you're hiding something--much like the people who claim privacy issues when they run a red light.

I say, let's take this all one step further. In addition to the full body scan, let's have a radiologist in the security booth as well--then if we have any undiagnosed medical problem, they can alert us to go see our internist. Sounds like a good way to lower medical costs.

"No, doctor, I don't need that CT scan--I flew here."

Tundra Swans

2009-11-03T05:24:00.004-06:00

One of the advantages of living in southern Minnesota, where the winters can get down to -25 air temperature (or more) is that you can find some beautiful scenery not too far from home. Okay, so you may say that is true about anywhere. But another advantage to our locale is our proximity to the Mississippi river, and the flightway of the tundra swan. The tundra swan flies south from their summer breeding habitat in northern Canada over the area before turning east and heading to Washington, where I'm sure they get lots of entertainment during the winter as they watch Congress and the President see how much they can muck things up in this country (regardless as to which party controls which branch of government).

We headed over to Alma, Wisconsin, to Rieck's Lake Park, where some of the swans are known to congregate as they fly over, hoping to get a good view and some good photography of them.

Unfortunately, we were apparently too early for the swans, as there were none there when we made our visit. There were plenty of Canada geese and mallards around, though.

And while we have seen the swans there in the past, I just can't help but think that since we got our newest camera with the best zoom, we haven't seen the swans there. Is it a conspiracy? Or just a matter that we can't tolerate the cold that well, despite living in Minnesota, and the thought of standing outside in the cold of winter to see swans just isn't all that appealing.

We plan on going back in another couple of weeks to try again--assuming the temps don't drop drastically in the meantime.

Galactic Pizza

2009-11-01T07:08:00.003-06:00

Not all of our trips need to be extended car rides, or involve going to the airport and getting frisked through security. As the weather turns cooler, we may wish that we may be travelling to warmer climes, but sometimes we just don't have the time or money for something more elaborate. Sometimes, we aren't even going as far as Duluth or Madison, or even Fargo where we may decide to make a weekend out of it.

Sometimes, our wander bug may only take us as far as Uptown Minneapolis. I'm not quite sure I have ever been to Uptown before, where even on a Saturday afternoon, the traffice was crazy. Perhaps there was some special event going on in the area, but the area did attract my attention for a potential future trip. For this trip, however, we went for one specific purpose. To try Galactic Pizza This pizza place attracted our attention for the fact that it had a large number of pizza toppings--10 different sauces, 5 different cheeses, and 38 different toppings, as well as 16 specialty pizzas. Who doesn't like pizza, and with that many different selections...Now, I'm a firm believer in pizza and that pizza is a catch-all food--you can put practically anything on pizza. There were some toppings that they didn't have--buffalo chicken or macaroni and cheese that places like CiCi's would have, or mashed potatoes, or cream cheese, but it would be hard to find a place that had any imaginable topping.

I will confess, I was expecting a much bigger place. We arrived at 12:30, only to find the place consisted of 7 dining "tables"--five traditional tables, one "Japanese-style" table with pillows for chairs, and one small patio "side table" between two cush living-room chairs like you're more likely to find in a coffee shop. And all tables were used. So, we waited--though they only had one chair to sit on to wait. And the whole time we were there, there was at least one group waiting for a table--until 2 pm, when the place finally slowed down and there was no longer any waiting.

But the wait and the hour and a half worth of time it took us from entering the restaurant until we left was definitely worth it. We ordered the Thailander pizza--spicy peanut sauce, mozzarella cheese, marinated free-range organic chicken, organic green onions (they were out, so we substituted red onions), bean sprouts, shredded carrots, crushed peanuts (again, they were out, but they did have the peanut sauce), and fresh organic cilantro. It was a great-tasting pizza, and something that we don't ordinarily get on a pizza. I mean, everyone has pepperoni and sausage--how many places have a Thai one (I know, zPizza does, and probably California Pizza Kitchen), but most pizza places still haven't really caught on yet. So, at Galactic Pizza, you can get great pizza, and make an effort to contribute to a greener planet at the same time (you can read Galactic Pizza's vision statement here . We also made sure we had room for dessert--hemp brownies. It was a great ending to an already great lunch. If there was one thing I would change, it would be the longer than expected 90 minutes spent there, but overall, that was a small price to pay.

Check it out: Galactic Pizza, 2917 Lyndale Avenue S, Minneapolis.

Planning New Year's Eve

2009-10-30T07:53:00.002-05:00

It's not even Halloween yet, but I'm already thinking ahead to the end of the year.

That's New Year's Eve.

All sorts of things are going into the consideration for New Year's Eve this year:

New Year's Eve is a Thursday, with work finishing at 3 p.m.
Friday is a holiday, making it a three-day weekend.
It's been ten years since we have done anything special for New Year's Eve, the last time being Winnipeg in 1999 to help usher in the year 2000. (I still remember that drive to Winnipeg as I went to visit Tammy, as people weren't sure what would happen as the calendars around the world hit 2000. I listened to the radio as they had the hourly updates, and reported that nothing adverse was happening.

So I don't want to spend another New Year's Eve sitting at home, falling asleep on the couch before the ball drops. So, I'm starting my search early for some sort of celebration to go to. I don't want to go sit in a bar somewhere, though concerts would be fine. I also don't want to spend a lot of money for some celebration. I know that there are fun, FREE New Year's celebrations out there, or celebrations with a small cover charge, so I don't see the point of paying a lot of money. After all, I have been to free celebrations before, so I don't think it's an unreasonable request.

If anyone knows of anything that may fit this bill in places such as the Twin Cities, Madison, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Sioux Falls, or even Chicago or Kansas City, or places in between, please let me know.

A Trip to Duluth

2009-10-12T05:41:00.002-05:00

The snow had barely stopped falling when we stopped out the door on the way to Duluth on Saturday morning. While the temperature was still at 31, the snow was light enough and the ground apparently warm enough that fortunately none of the snow stayed on the ground. We quickly discovered though, as we drove through the Twin Cities, that not everyone was quite so lucky. There were patches of light snow on the ground in places such as Sunfish Lake, and cars that had snow on them, and it was obvious that their occupants had needed to scrap the snow off of their windshields before starting their drive on the brisk morning.

We continued our drive up to Duluth, Minnesota, which falls within our three-and-a-half-hour circle, to see a group perform that we hadn't ever seen before. While at least this destination was in Minnesota rather than another trip to Wisconsin, this particular trip meant it was going to be a weekend excursion instead of a day trip (due to the lateness of the performance in Duluth, at 8 pm). When we made a quick stop in Barnum, where it was once again lightly snowing, and there was snow on the ground, we questioned our sanity as to why we would even want to go north when it was so cold in Rochester, and likely would only get colder the further north we travelled.

We made this trip as part of our Beatles Adventure (beatlesadventure.blogspot.com). And the overnight stay meant an early morning without a computer which gave me more time to read, and I was able to finish the eBook on my PDA, "A Princess of Mars" (sci-fiplanet.blogspot.com) and start "Sympathy for the Devil."

An overnight stay meant breakfast the next morning, and we settled on a place called At Sara's Table Chester Creek Cafe. It was located in a residential area, and had at one time been a neighborhood market. There were plenty of cars there, so I figured that was a good sign, especially since it was October and outside peak tourist season, as well as being off the beaten path. As we were waiting to be seated, we heard someone say they had reservations, and the host had asked someone else if they had reservations. I was a bit nervous that we wouldn't be able to get a table without reservations, despite that it was breakfast, and the place didn't look like it was that upscale. We did manage to grab a menu while we were waiting to be acknowledged by the host, and looked at what they had. There wasn't much on the breakfast menu--about a page and a half worth, no pictures (of course, it is a small, private restaurant, so that in itself was not surprising). The prices were somewhat high for breakfast, and nothing that seemed to stand out as mouthwatering just by reading the descriptions. We were in the process of deciding that maybe we should go someplace else when the host was finally able to seat us.

The restaurant had a nice ambiance to it; of course, in the back room they had a shelf of used books along the wall that you were able to purchase if you so desired. I mean, what more could you ask for besides combining a used bookstore and a restaurant all in one?

We settled on trying the specialty pancakes, which allows you to add your choice of two ingredients to your pancakes. I had read it as two toppings, which as it turns out was only partially correct--and I also read it as "pancakes". When they came, it was a single pancake--granted, it was a dinner plate-sized pancake, but still, only one. I had chosen mine to come with bananas and strawberries. On top of this dinner plate-sized pancake wee three pieces of strawberry and one slice of banana. It looked almost sad. Fortunately, there were pieces of strawberry and banana also baked into the pancake--otherwise you would be sure I would have complained. While there was nothing wrong with the taste of the pancake, there was nothing overly impressive about the pancake either. And for the price they charge, there is a lot to be left desired. And while I passed on the coffee, I noticed a lot of people going and getting their own coffee....as if the wait staff can't be bothered to bring it to you? Now, I can see that sort of thing in a small town cafe, but a restaurant in a city of 86,000? That should be part of the wait staff's job, in my opinion, to make sure that your coffee cup is full, and if the wait staff is doing their job properly, it should never become an issue of having an empty cup. So that is another strike against this place.

So, on a future trip to Duluth, this is definitely not a restaurant I would be going back to.

How Can You Miss Me If I Don't Go Away?

2009-09-02T21:15:00.001-05:00

We just upgraded to wireless internet at our house. I know, we are probably severely behind the times with this upgrade as most people probably did this years ago. In my defense, however, I will say that 1) I still know people who a) don’t have computers, and b) still use a landline for their internet. Also, we were severely behind the times when we made the switch from a landline to cable internet as well.

One of the reasons we made the switch is for our Wii. We’ve had it for almost two years now, and we weren’t getting the fullest use out of it as we could have. Now, with Beatles Rock Band coming out next week, which will include future song releases that will be downloadable, it was probably about time.

As part of that, we can now explore the Forecast Channel for the Wii. Well, as we checked out the current and high temperatures for Rochester , well—we actually found a couple of places that had colder temperatures than what Rochester is experiencing this week. Granted, those two locations were Nuuk, Greenland (where the forecast included snow) and northern Nunavut . Even Churchill , Manitoba , was warmer with a forecasted high temperature of 84. Rochester ’s? 70. For those of you who don’t know—Churchill sits on the shores of the Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba . It is not uncommon for polar bears to wander into town.

An Update

2009-08-26T05:28:00.002-05:00

As you can tell, I haven't been around here much lately. I could be documenting things such as my trip to Chicago where we attended the Fest for Beatles fans, as well as taking in a couple of Beatles tribute concerts around the Not-So-Windy City. Or going to Super Dawg, a drive-in in Chicago that has been featured on the Travel Channel and/or Food Network. Or going to Giordano's for pizza. Or Walker's Pancake House's apple pancake. I could be talking about the all-too-short trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire over by Kenosha on our way through, or my attempts at trying to find a nuts-and-bolts scorpion figurine that we initially saw in Janesville, Wisconsin at the beginning of summer but now seems to have mysteriously disappeared into the retail Bermuda triangle and how I called many TA (Travel America) truck stops to around Minnesota and Wisconsin to see if they had it. I could talk about the Artigras fiasco at Mayo Park. Or about going to the free Kansas concert which drew 20,000 to 25,000 people, and how even when we arrived at 1 pm to set up our chairs for the 7 pm concert, the park was already full with other people who had already set up their chairs; and how, since we squeezed ourselves in, sat there from 2 pm onwards to make sure no one tried squeezing us out. I could offer commentary on the Flight to Hell which Rochester found itself in the middle of as ours was the airport the plane sat at for six hours, or join the discussion about the Health Care debate and how there seem to be a lot of misinformed people out there, and a seemingly lack of leadership by our President on the issue. I could offer a tribute to the late Sen. Ed Kennedy. I could talk about my excitement that the Rochester Honkers once again won the Northwoods League Championship, or how I am wondering if Brett Favre will actually help guide the Vikings to the Super Bowl, or if he will join the list of Have-Been quarterbacks that the Vikings have a history of signing. I could mention my anticipation for the Beatles Rock Band game that we preordered many moons ago, and which is still two weeks away, or about maybe wanting to rent Madden 10 for the Wii after seeing someone playing it at Best Buy (for another game system) and seeing the graphics and wondering if it would be just as good on the Wii.

But I won't do any of that, or any number of other things that I could put in this space.

What have I been up to most recently? Well, one, I've become somewhat addicted to the Facebook app called Restaurant City.

As well as trying to focus in more on one of my many hobbies. Most of my hobbies and interests I haven't really concentrated on. Which may be a good thing, as when I get tired of one, I can move to another. Or there are enough things that catch my eye that I don't really get tired of one thing. But, I have been working more on my Sci-Fi and Fantasy Planet blog as of late. Come over there and click on my ad links. Or access Amazon through my associates store for your purchases on that site. Or just check out my reviews, thoughts, and opinions on the science fiction, fantasy, urban/dark fantasy, mythological, renaissance (-ical?), cryptozoological, and related genre.

I'm sure I'll be back here in no time.

Mantorville BeatlesBash 2009

2009-08-02T07:35:00.003-05:00

It was 20 years ago today.....

Well, not quite. But the annual BeatlesBash was held in Mantorville last night from 4 p.m. to just after midnight. This was the fifth annual BeatlesBash, and well, it is getting better all the time. Southeast Minnesota's iconic Lost Faculties (an institution in and of itself when it comes to music from the 1950s and 60s) played the festival, as well as the group Fat Lemon, with the headliner being Cavern Beat out of Chicago in their second appearance.

Now, before we go further, let me state my qualifications when it comes to the Beatles for those who may not know me. I have now seen over 40 tribute bands to the Beatles and related genre (i.e., Wings tribute bands "Band on the Run" and "Wings Banned," John Lennon tribute "Instant Karma," and the "Yellow Submorons" which serve as a tribute band to the parody group of the Rutles). I have seen the entire Abbey Road LP performed three times by two different bands, the Rubber Soul album now performed twice by two different bands (though the Cavern Beat's Rubber Soul set wasn't an authentic performance due to their already having played Michelle earlier in their concert), and the Beatles for Sale album performed once, as well as portions of "album concerts" of the White Album--getting there for Revolution to the end and the first few songs of the Magical Mystery Tour album concert. We have travelled to Abbey Road on the River in Louisville for the past two years now, which is the largest Beatles-inspired music festival in the world, and seen tribute bands perform in other cities and states as well.

That is not to say that my interest in music limits me to the Beatles. Between last Thursday and today, we will have been to four live music venues, including local independent band Jukes of Hazzard playing classic rock covers, Brent Burns--2008 Trop-Rock entertainer of the year, BeatlesBash, and the Down by the River concerts.

As far as connections to the music world itself, in addition to one of my nephews being interested in recording a CD of some of the songs he has written, I also have a connection to Judd , a group that was recently introduced into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in 2008 as well as a connection to Lost Faculties a couple of different ways.

But now back to BeatlesBash. The venue for this year's festival was perhaps the best one yet, sitting on the site of the former Relay Station where the festival got started. And getting there shortly after 4, we were able to get seats near the stage.

The festival opened with a new band with Nathan from Lost Faculties, of which I didn't catch the name of, ensuring there was music playing for the start of the festival, which is good, because unlike previous years, there were no vendors set up selling anything Beatles related at all, except for the Hubble House trying to unload the last few t-shirts from previous BeatlesBashes. And Nathan's band did play a couple of Beatles songs as well. Moving into Fat Lemon, a relatively young group, they played mostly cover songs, and doing a very good job at it. They also played a handful of Beatles songs, including Rocky Raccoon, which doesn't get played that much, so that was a particular treat. Lost Faculties played right after Fat Lemon was done. Unfortunately, other than one song which they performed with JP Lynch, they didn't play any Beatles songs. And then the only Beatles band of the night, The Cavern Beat, arrived to finish out the night.

So, the two disappointments with the festival was the lack of Beatles memorabilia and only one Beatles band. Since I'm now used to a Beatles fest on a grander scale, it may not be fair to compare Mantorville's BeatlesBash to Louisville's Abbey Road on the River. Mantorville has a population of just over 1000, dwarfed by Louisville's 700,000. Abbey Road on the River, a five-day, multiple stage event draws 60+ bands as well as fans from all the Kentuckyana area and from all over the world. Of course, Louisville is probably an excellent choice for a Beatles festival--and good ole southern hospitality and charm beats out the so-called "Minnesota Nice" any day. So, I think, the caliber of the audience between Mantorville and Louisville is different as well, with Louisville once again taking the crown in that regard.

Cavern Beat was great, as they were last year, and JP Lynch is one of the best Beatles performers around.

Next up on our 24-month-long Year of the Beatles? The Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago in a couple of weeks.

A Hodgepodge of Food

2009-07-14T10:20:00.003-05:00

What do Wunderbar (Cadbury), Slurpee's (7-Eleven), Fries Supreme (Taco Bell), and Mozza Burgers (A & W) all have in common?

They are among the different foods that I can't get in Rochester, but readily (sometimes overly so) available in Winnipeg.

You can also add to that list any candy bar (or chocolate bar, for the benefit of Canadians who may be reading this and not being familiar to the term "candy bar") that is made by Nielsen or Cadbury. Or Coffee Crisp, despite being made by Nestle. Or Healthy Choice pudding cups. Or hamburger relish.

With 7-Eleven, there are some of those in Minnesota, but none close to Rochester that I can think of off-hand, though I know the Twin Cities have them. However, even there, they are not as plentiful as they are in Winnipeg, where you can hardly go a mile without passing at least one 7-Eleven. And Winnipeg is the Slurpee Capital of the World--selling more slurpee's per store than any other location. And it's a distinction they have had for the past ten years. This past weekend was the 40th anniversary of the slurpee, and those fortunate enough to have a 7-Eleven nearby were treated to free slurpee's (granted, they were small--probably about a 7-oz. size or so. In a place like Winnipeg, if you had the time and energy to spend, you could definitely get your fill of Slurpee's.

Fries Supreme--or nachos supremes, but the nachos replaced with french fries--are a favorite of Tammy's, and she often laments the fact that they just aren't available here in the States, or at least not available in Minnesota's Taco Bells, owned by Border Foods. Nor are the Mozza Burgers from A & W. We don't often go to the A & W in Spring Valley, so I don't know if they have the Burger family and the mozza burgers or not, but even if they did, an half an hour drive just to get a mozza burger is a bit extreme.

Sure, Canada is a different country, and different countries are going to have different foods--even if those different foods are made by American companies and just not marketed or sold here in the US. But as every trip we make to Canada, it often turns into a culinary delight as we hunt down some of the foods that we just can't get here. Unfortunately, some of them--like the frozen Pizza Pops or Nestle drumstick icecream--would be impossible to bring back with us.

But just as there are foods there that are unavailable to us here, you would be hard pressed to try to find pepperjack cheese in Winnipeg. And that would be very depressing.

Whooza Kooza?

2009-07-04T08:37:00.003-05:00

Or, rather, whooza gonna make a fool out of themselves?

We were in Stillwater on July 3 as part of our Fourth of July weekend, where we got to make fools of ourselves all in an attempt to win tickets to a Cirque Du Soleil performance. We didn't exactly win.

Izzy's Flavor Awards

2009-06-29T04:59:00.003-05:00

We visited Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul on Sunday for their Flavor Awards festivities. This used to be a yearly event, but they have since decided to go every two years as a lot of different flavors have already been submitted and ideas were apparently starting to get worn out. And although ticket prices went up for this year's contest, it's an opportunity to taste some ice cream flavors that I may never taste again as well as being there first hand to see what the future of ice cream may bring.

Let the tasting of the 24 different flavors begin. Now, for some people, the ice cream flavors that I'm about to describe may be bordering on the bizarre and unusual (I won't be mentioning all of the flavors, though, while I had them all, some of them didn't sound exciting and didn't excite me at all). As for me, it's just another excuse to expand my palate. There was the strawberry and chili ice cream, in the fruit category. I was excited for this flavor, but my excitement soon faded to disappointment as I could definitely taste the strawberry ice cream, but not so much on the chili. Continuing in the fruit, we came to the Sticky Rice (coconut ice cream with mango and sticky rice) which was actually my favorite in the category since it tasted like rice pudding and Lemon Lavender which won the fruit category. It was hard to decide between these last two, leading to going back to get seconds on these.

Moving on to the kid's category, there was another tough competition under way. Flavors included Boston Cream Pie, Blueberry Banana Wafer, P.B.R.J. (Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jelly) and yet another forgetful flavor. In this category, I ultimate went with the peanut butter flavor (which was the category winner) due to my enjoyment of peanut butter and the fact that I don't get peanut butter ice cream that much.

In the specialty category, there was passion fruit and cheesecake-based ice cream which for me was a tough choice between that one and the category's winner, which had graham crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate (and this was also the best in show, which means that Izzy's will be serving this ice cream for at least the next year).

I wasn't too impressed with any of the chocolate ice creams. Two of them tasted the same--and one of the unimpressive chocolates was the one that won it's category, perhaps due to the fact that it had brandy in it, as there was no other reason why it would stand out. There was a chocolate with coconut ice cream that at least had some texture to it, and a chocolate with cayenne in it to give it a little bit of a bite.

Other flavors that caught my attention, either due to taste or being on the eccentric side include coconut with curry caramel, coffee with caramel and rum, blueberry buttermilk (my favorite in the local category--I thought it tasted just like blueberry pancakes), Lucky Milk (Lucky Charms were allowed to sit in milk before being drained out, leaving the same flavor behind that your milk has when you're done eating Lucky Charms). There was a chocolate ice cream with brownie batter and cookie dough, butterscotch ice cream with pieces of oatmeal cookie and butterscotch chips, banana flavored ice cream with chocolate-covered potato chips and caramel, and a chocolate with chocolate chunks and wasabi-covered almonds.

All-in-all, it was a good showing, with many delicious and inventive ice creams. I wouldn't expect anything less from Izzy's, which is undoubtedly the best ice cream shop in the Twin Cities, and possibly even Minnesota, having been featured on the Food Network at least once (Throwdown with Bobby Flay), and one that hopefully stands out nationwide as one of the best.

Star Trek Prospers

2009-06-27T06:37:00.003-05:00

I was going to get up and go out on the patio this morning with my coffee and the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman that Heather from work was kind enough to loan me, but since it's raining, I'm spending another morning online, looking at pages dedicated to science fiction, movies, comics, and the news (and realizing once again how small the world really is--learning that Michael Jackson had a connection to the comics world--he was a collector of comics and at one point had discussions about possibly buying Marvel comics.

As such, I was looking at the box office figures for the Star Trek movie that came out two months ago. After 7 weeks, it enjoys the role of biggest grossing movie of the year--still about 14 million above its nearest competitor, UP!--at over 240 million. Not that I would consider the two movies would be going after the same audience. And Star Trek is still in the top 10 grossing movies, despite some big movies that have come out between when it came out and now, such as Night at the Museum, Angels and Demons, The Hangover, Land of the Lost (which turned out to apparently be one big flop), and Terminator Salvation. Not only that, but Star Trek was the only movie in the top 10 to actually have an upward change this past weekend from the week before--albeit only a +1% change. However, that change comes at a time when the number of theatres playing it dropped by over 10%.

So far, the top grossing movies of the year are:

1. Star Trek ($240,255,340)
2. Up! ($226,268,932)
3. Monsters vs. Aliens ($195,513,959)
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine ($177,288,905)
5. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ($156,459,744)
6. Fast and Furious ($154,882,235)
7. The Hangover ($152,817,015)
8. Taken ($144,977,147)
9. Angels and Demons ($128,158,818)
10. Terminator Salvation ($119,727,528)

The Goose Is Loose

2009-06-26T06:11:00.002-05:00

Here are some of the other geese around Rochester. The RCTC goose still wasn't finished when we went in search of the geese despite having more time to complete it than the other artists did. I wonder if that means they get the grade of 'Incomplete.'

Spam Curds

2009-06-25T05:13:00.004-05:00

Spam curds. It's the talk of the town right now. Mostly, it's along the lines of:

"Did you know you can get Spam down at Rochesterfest?"
"What??!! Spam?!"
"Yeah. They have Spam curds at one of the booths."
"Ewww. That doesn't even sound good."

Ok, so let's back up a little bit.

Some of my international friends may not know what Spam is--other than the fact that it's the English-language jargon for all that unwanted junk email you find in your inbox (Thanks to Jesus in Tijuana for mentioning this to me once). Well, spam the unwanted junk mail probably got it's name from Spam, the unwanted spiced ham in a can that doesn't require refrigeration. If you've had Spam, you either love it or hate it. Most likely, unless you're from Hawaii (where they have a Spam festival), or if you're a veteran of World War II, when Spam was a staple of soldier's rationsyou hate it. Some people can't even get past the sucking, sluuurch sound the spam makes as you try to get it out of the can. Since Spam is made by Hormel Foods, and Hormel is based in Austin, Minnesota, just a short jaunt down the road from Rochester, you can find a "Spam museum" (http://www.spam.com/games/Museum/default.aspx) which details the history of the product and of the Hormel company in general, and find all sorts of Spam products (http://www.spam.com/shop/default.aspx). We even had a Spam cookbook at one point, bought at the Austin Spam Days more than a decade ago, signed by the author in fact, but bought more as a gag gift than something that would actually be used.

Now, onto the curds. They are similar to cheese curds...oh, maybe we need to back up here, too? It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that cheese curds were unknown outside of the upper midwest. I would think that by now, they would have become more common around the country, but again for the sake of those outside the US, cheese curds are essentially deep-fried pieces of cheese. If you know what breaded mozzarella sticks are, that's similar to a cheese curd, though nowhere near as good.

So now onto cheese curds. It's a combination of the idea of cheese curds and Spam. Spam curds are pieces of the mystery meat--errr, Spam--breaded and deep fried. They have been available at the Minnesota State Fair for a couple of years now (the Minnesota State Fair is a nutritionist's nightmare, as it seems to be the home breeding grounds for food "on a stick" and the mother lode for things that are absolutely not good for you, which may explain why the State Fair is one of the most popular in the nation), and this year, they have come to Rochesterfest to see how they do.

That's where I come in. My curiosity for foods, especially different sorts of foods, got the better of me, and I knew that despite a general dislike for Spam (except when it's on the open-faced Spamwich sandwiches my mom would make when we were growing up), I just had to try this food. I haven't been to the State Fair for a few years, and even if I had, the odds of finding the Spam booth in the sea of other food vendors there wouldn't have been very good. For Rochesterfest, the food only encompasses two city blocks so it was easy to find--and even if it hadn't been so easy, the information booth had a map of the food vendors which would have shown me exactly where to go.

As for their taste? Most of the pieces of Spam curds were small enough that the deep-frying process diminished the Spam taste for the most part. You could still taste the spice of the Spam, but otherwise, I found myself thinking that it would be easy to forget what you were eating, or if you didn't know it was Spam or possibly could be Spam, it might take a little bit of work to try to figure out what you were eating. The bigger pieces of Spam curds, you could definitely tell was Spam and weren't quite as good as the smaller pieces. Would I eat them again? I would, if they weren't $4 per order. Yes, it's pretty typical pricing for RochesterFest, and a can of Spam isn't the cheapest thing in the store, and the vendors do need to try to make money, but I do try to limit the amount of money I spend on this sort of thing.

America and the Four World Wars

2009-06-24T05:48:00.003-05:00

Everyone knows about World War I fought from 1914 and 1918 between the Allied Powers of Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Italy, the Empire of Japan, Portugal, and the United States (the UK, France, and Russia had the Triple Entente treaty to counter the Central Powers) and the Central Powers of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and the Austrian Hungarian Empire, with fighting taking place in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and briefly even in China and the Pacific Islands.

And then there's World War II, between 1939 and 1945. There you had the Allies of the USSR, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Greece, Holland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and the United States going up against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Fighting took place in Europe, Africa, southeast Asia and China, the Middle East, as well as in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Then the Third World War began. While the Cold War is infrequently referred to a World War--as most people's opinions about the third world war is that it will be nuclear armageddon, it still fits what a world war is. You have two sides: The United States and NATO on one side, the USSR and China, coupled with the Warsaw Pact nations on the other. It started in 1945 with the end of World War II as the US and the USSR saw each other as a rival to its power, and each side tried to outdo the other. While there was no direct conflict between the US and USSR/China, there was conflict and even direct land wars--both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It also included strategies and attack/counterattack between the three superpowers, though through proxy wars and of one side funding one nation or part thereof, with the other side therefore having to side with the other. The end of the Cold War came in 1991, with the desolution of the USSR. There was no treaty ending it, or admission of loss from the USSR, but ended with the death of the Russian empire.

Now America is finding itself fighting World War IV, even though we don't realize it yet. Or at least, I have seen little reference to America's current struggle as World War IV, or even World War III for those still reluctant to consider the Cold War the Third World War. But the battlefield of America's war is being fought around the globe, though most of it is centered in the Middle East. It started on 9-11-01, when Osama bin Ladin attacked the United States. The US responded with invading Afghanistan, and then Iraq. And though we quickly replaced the governments of those nations, we still find ourselves fighting wars in those countries. I am still of the mindset that Afghanistan and Iraq are two separate wars fought for different reasons--Afghanistan was the result of bin Ladin's attack on the US whereas Iraq was nothing more than Bush's war of aggression that was fought for no good reason. The war in Afghanistan could easily spread into Pakistan. And then Iran is still yet another variable. With its nuclear ambitions, what happens if Israel (probably with behind the scenes support from the US) decides to preemptively attack Iran? Such an attack would surely spread into open conflict throughout the Middle East, and the US will find itself fighting on multiple fronts in that region, something that is already proving to be unsustainable. With Israel entering the war on the US's side, most of the Middle East will have no choice but to enter the fray against Israel. And with North Korea saber rattling, they may seek to take advantage of the expanded fighting in the Middle East and launch some sort of attack of its own against South Korea, Japan, or the United States directly--either independently or in conjunction with Iran. Though I disagree with Bush's "axis of evil" ideology, the two nations may decide they have a common enemy and cooperate for no other reason than that and not that they have any common ideology. With the entry of North Korea into the war, the war will truly become world in nature, fitting the description of a world war and not a regional conflict. Both North Korea and Iran have the potential to use nuclear weapons--or allow them to fall into the hands of terrorists for direct attacks against the US. The question then is if a nuclear attack takes place, would the US or its allies use nuclear weapons in retaliation, given what we know of the effects (both immediate and long-term) of the aftermath of such weapons. And if the conflict spreads as described above, would Chavez's Venezuela openly enter the fray? Chavez as far as I know doesn't have territorial aspirations and has spoken out against globalization in the past. He has encouraged poor nations, however, to cooperate against the Washington Consensus.

Some Things I've Learned About My Reading Habits

2009-06-22T08:29:00.000-05:00

I recently signed up for the website www.librarything.com, and started entering some of the books I have read, am reading, and want to read. While I still have a lot of books that I have not entered (and some I will never remember I've read), I am learning quite a bit about my reading habits.

Not surprisingly, thanks to a childhood of reading Star Trek novels (108 and counting--and not all of them have been entered yet), science fiction books lead the pack, with 126 currently.

Next in line are books I've tagged as nonfiction. Wow. Really? Well, to be fair, some of my nonfiction books are actually related to science fiction, and I put both tags on them as not all of the Star Trek books are actually novels. But then, to be fair, there are a lot of nonfiction books out there that take Star Trek and apply it to just about any subject there is--such is the power of that franchise. The books on history (11) and gardening (3) also help get this count up, as do some encyclopedia-esque books on other subjects.

And 20 of my books are from well-known British authors. There may be other British authors in my line-up, but I wouldn't know and not really care if they are British or not. Fantasy books (19) and horror books--generally Stephen King (14) are also up there in numbers. Urban fantasy currently sits at 8.

It also calls into question what I have considered a unique, ecclectic library full of books that many have never heard of or would read. The books I have read have 31 different awards--anwhere from winning a Pulitzer Prize all the way down to being nominees in specialty categories. Five of them so far are in the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Three are on the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels. And 29 (or about 15%) have been on the New York Times' Bestseller's List.

Library Thing also tells me that slightly over 71% of the books I have entered are male authors. It also tells me that almost 85% of my authors are still alive (though it does point out that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, and JRR Tolkein are indeed dead--I'm glad that they managed to clear that up).

And only two books in my collection of 200 so far that are shared with only one other member. And one of those probably because of the particular title listing that I picked.

So, I guess my reading habits, despite being somewhat ecclectic, are not that far off from the norm.

The Goose is Loose in Rochester

2009-06-20T06:08:00.006-05:00

The Goose is Loose has finally hit the streets in Rochester, bringing at long last what other cities have been doing for years, whether it's Austin's Pigs in the City or Red Wing's boots or Fargo's bison or St. Paul's Peanuts characters or the Science Musuem's dinosaurs. Now, you can find 18 of the four-foot, goose-shaped pieces of art at various places around town. You can find the map of where they are at http://www.rochestermnarts.com/events/goose_is_loose/map.html.

I have been following this since late last year, when I first heard about the upcoming project, and have been waiting with baited breath for Rochester to finally catch up with the smaller towns in the area and around the country. Now, Rochester may finally be "coming of age." Only time will tell if this will herald a new age of enlightenment for the city.

Be aware, too, that as you view the geese, there is a decal on some of the geese, and if you find it, you can enter a contest for a special prize. Though, you may need to have good eyes to spot it--the symbol is no bigger than a quarter. http://www.rochestermnarts.com/events/goose_is_loose/symbol_hunt.html

It is ironic, though, that the Canada Goose was chosen. Sure, the goose is a sort of unofficial symbol of Rochester. It can be found on Rochester's flag. Our minor league baseball team is called the Honkers. The image of the Canada Goose can be found on numerous businesses in and around Rochester, and then there's the Canadian Honker restaurant. Or Gary Blum's famous goose poop art. Even radio commentator Paul Harvey caught wind of Rochester's love affair with the bird.

And Rochester is important to the Canada Goose population. The subspecies that make their home in Rochester are the giant canada goose. Why is this special? Because this subspecies was actually declared to be extinct in the 1950s. Well, no one bothered to check with the residents of Rochester in that regard. This error was found and corrected in 1962 when Harold Hanson from the Illinois Natural History Survey rediscovered them here.

Sadly, Rochester has decided to declare war on the geese and have attempted to push them from their home, making them no longer welcome in the city.

Of note, however, is that my sister is one of the artists who have contributed to the project. Her's is the "Goose in the Garden" sponsored by Broadway Residence & Suites by BridgeStreet, located across the street from the Galleria--err, Shoppes at University Square. Karin is a local artist here in Rochester. She at one point had been creating jewelry which had been on display around Rochester, and she has been going to fine arts fairs around the upper Midwest and as far away as Louisville, Kentucky, and has been active with the SEMVA gallery in Rochester. She has turned her attention to painting, and continued her fine arts circuit in that field.

Coming soon, you will be able to vote for your favorite goose statue by going to http://www.rochestermnarts.com/.

You can find her at http://www.karinlynndesigns.com/index.html or http://www.karinneuvirth.com/

Wabasha Street Caves

2009-06-18T15:49:00.005-05:00

A weekend trip to Saint Paul resulted in a short visit to the Wabasha Street Caves, which we had seen and driven by on many occasions, whether because we were in the District del Sol area of Saint Paul or doing something at Harriet Island or just using that route as a way to get to the downtown area. It's important to note, though, that the Wabasha Street Caves aren't really caves (which was a disappointment to me, but only diminished the experience a little bit), but actually sandstone mines. This sandstone was then shipped back to the east coast to be used for glass. And although not an actual cave, one thing that was similar between the Wabasha Street Caves and actual caves is that once inside, the caves hold the median temperature of the environment that they are in, so they were a bit chilly.

Another function of these mines was to be used for producing mushrooms. During that time, there was a lot of horse traffic in the area, which produced a byproduct that mushrooms thrived in. Of course, this being Minnesota, so they say, it took some convincing to get the early Minnesotans to eat something that was a fungus and grew in horse poop (and to this day, I still haven't been convinced, and I'll eat or at least try just about anything--including head cheese).

Then, along came the 1920s and Prohibition. The mine, which had been used for food storage due to the internal temperature, as well as the growing of mushrooms, now started to have another use as well. It was transformed into a Speak Easy. And in those days, the John J. O'Connor legal system (so named after the Chief of Police) was in force in St. Paul. Essentially what this was, was as long as people kept their nose clean in the city of St. Paul (and "cooperated" with the police), the police would leave them alone. Criminals could go into Minneapolis and do what they like, but they had to behave in St. Paul. John Dillenger was known to frequent here because of this legal system.

The Caves are haunted, one of the more haunted places in St. Paul supposedly. Why? The story goes that one night, as the Speak Easy was getting ready to close, four mob-like people showed up to play cards in the FireSide Room. The owners allowed the card players to stay, and told the closing waitress to stay behind and close up after they left, but to not hurry or harrass them out of the establishment. She left them alone, but heard the popping of a tommy gun, and went running into the FireSide Room to see what was happening. She found three dead people on the floor, tables up-ended, and a general mess. She ran and called the police regarding what she had observed. The police took their time in arriving, and told her to wait outside. A couple of hours later, they came out of the establishment and told her that she would be arrested if she ever again filed a false report. She went back into the FireSide Room to discover the bodies gone, the blood and mess cleaned up, and the room back the way it had been earlier in the evening. The only clues that something had happened are that there are bullet marks in the fireplace. What became of the bodies--if the waitress's story is to be believed--is unknown, though they could have been thrown into the Mississippi River or buried in an area that has since been cemented over.

After Prohibition, and during the era of the Great Depression, the speak easy was turned into an upscale restaurant. There, you could buy an entire elegant meal for the grand sum of $1. It doesn't seem like much, but at the time, $1 was about what it would cost for groceries for the week. So, the average citizen wasn't able to afford that kind of meal.

Over the years, the Wabasha Street Caves have been used for a variety of different purposes--including at one point, debris from a flood was pushed into the caves to get rid of the mess, and some of that debris still remains in part of the caves and likely will not be cleaned out since they aren't sure the structural integrity of the caves would hold out.

World Blood Donor Day

2009-06-14T05:36:00.003-05:00

June 14 is also World Blood Donor Day, an event that in 2009 is being hosted by Australia. (How an event or day like this can be hosted by one particular country, I don't know). You can find out more information from www.wbdd.org (though when I went there, I had to hit refresh after arriving, otherwise, it would say it was unavailable).

This year's theme is on improving the safety and sufficiency of blood supplies through achieving 100% voluntary and non-remunerated donations.

Every year, 81 million blood donations are collected, by people from all walks of life. We may all require blood transfusion at some point in our lives, but only about 1% of the population donates blood. And one donation of blood has the potential to save the life of up to three people. That means that every one of us--if we're healthy--can be an every day hero and make a difference by giving a part of themselves.

Flag Day

2009-06-14T05:13:00.002-05:00

Today is Flag Day, a day to make homage to the flag of the United States.

To commemorate the day, here are some facts about the US flag.

It has the nicknames of "Stars and Stripes" and "Old Glory."
It contains 50 stars representing the 50 states and 13 stripes commemorating the 13 original colonies.
It is one of the most complicated flags in the world, requiring 64 pieces of fabric to make.
It has changed design more than any other flag in the world.
Included in the code of ethics for the flag are such rules as the national flag cannot be used for advertising. It cannot cover a monument or any ceilings. It must not be folded while being displayed. No one should write on an American flag.
There has been controversy about whether flag-burning should be allowed or not. Opponents feel that it would violate the First Amendment right to freedom of expression, which everyone is entitled to, whether or not their expressions and opinions are in the minority or are in opposition to the government.
The flag was standardized in 1912.
The current design of the flag is by Robert G. Heft. He did it for a school project, of which he reportedly received a bad grade for because of its uncreativity. He was told that if it was adopted by Congress as the national flag, he would get a better grade, so he set to work to make that happen.

And some dates important to the US flag:

June 14, 1777: Congress adopts a new flag for the United States, realizing that they would need a flag of their own instead of the British Union Jack.

June 14, 1877: The flag was flown from every government building to commorate the flag being 100 years old.

June 14, 1893: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, becomes the first state to celebrate Flag Day.

June 14, 1897: New York adds Flag Day as a holiday. Other states don't jump on the bandwagon quite so fast.

August 1949: President Harry Truman proclaims June 14 as Flag Day, making it a national holiday.

Disease Carrying Mosquitoes of Minnesota

2009-06-13T06:22:00.001-05:00

It's summer, and that means it's mosquito season. As with many states, we joke that the mosquito is the unofficial state bird, exaggerating the size of the mosquito on par with how many and how annoying they seem to be. There are numerous different varieties of mosquitoes in Minnesota, and fortunately, not all of them are a serious problem. However, there are a couple that are of special concern here, though fortunately, we don't need to worry about malaria from mosquitoes like the residents of some of countries do.

Culex variety of mosquitoes: It's a large family of mosquitoes with many different subspecies. The concern with this type of mosquito is that it's the type that can carry the West Nile disease.

So, how much of a concern is the culex mosquito and contracting West Nile from a mosquito bite? While the risk is not zero, the disease has been present in Minnesota since 2002. Since then, there have been 454 cases of West Nile in the state. Of those, there have been 14 deaths. That works out to a death rate from West Nile contracted from mosquito bites to be 0.03%.

Eastern tree hole mosquitoes: Eastern tree hole mosquitoes are known for carrying the disease LaCrosse encephalitis. Since 1985, however, there have only been 124 cases of the disease. Again, the risk is not zero, despite there only being on average 5 cases per year. And of those, there has only been one death from LaCrosse encephalitis in that time.

Japanese rock pool mosquitoes: A new mosquito species to Minnesota, arriving in the state last year, and it is now in the southeastern part of the state. The Japanese rock pool mosquito is native to Asia, and inadvertantly introduced to the United States in the late 1990s on the east coast. It has slowly been making its way across the US. The concern that arises from the Japanese rock pool mosquito is that is can carry both LaCrosse encephalitis and West Nile disease.

Of course, not all mosquitoes bite humans. And even of those that do, it's typically only the females that do so, and the males are relatively harmless. For instance, toxorhynchites mosquitoes will eat the larvae of other mosquitoes. They don't bite humans, and therefore are not a concern for carrying of diseases, and may even help in controlling populations of other mosquitoes.

The Rod Guy

2009-06-12T06:07:00.005-05:00

Thursdays on First have kicked off for another season in downtown Rochester, and this year, it's bigger than before. Another city block is being shut down to make room for more vendors this year, and more food choices.

One thing that hasn't changed is my dad, "The Rod Guy" is set up to sell fishing rods on the Peace Plaza once again. This year, though, he does have some competition from another guy trying to sell rods on the other side of the market place.

These rods use top quality St. Croix blanks, of which you can be assured of by the name on the rod. I'll be honest with you, quality doesn't come cheap. You may find cheaper rods out there, but chances are, if you do, they don't have the St. Croix name on them. It's because it's a second, one that St. Croix doesn't want to put their name on for some reason. The handles of my dad's poles are ones that you're unlikely to find around Minnesota as well. Some of them are made from woods that just aren't available in this area and are shipped in by my brother in California (and although you cannot buy the handles seperately, if you could, you wouldn't be able to find these handles for less than $50, and they are hand-crafted).

Like I said, these poles aren't cheap, so if that's what you want, you can go and find a pole that suits your needs at Wal-Mart. If you want a high quality pole that will last you, shows that you're a serious fisherman, as well as be an attention getter and conversation piece, then consider coming out to Thursdays on First and take a look at these. You can find him at various other craft and art shows--such as the Mayo art and craft show in November and Rochester's ARTigras, and other fishing and sportsman related expos, and these fishing poles have now been sold to people coming from 13 different states.

YouTube Help

2009-06-11T07:46:00.002-05:00

Calling anyone who may have some knowledge regarding YouTube.

We have, in the past, uploaded some videos of various Beatles tribute bands to YouTube without any difficulty. However, after coming back from Abbey Road on the River 2009 and uploading a couple of videos, we noticed something a bit off. Notably, the sound on our new videos was very muted and not sounding very good. These new videos sound good on DVD and on the computer before uploading them to YouTube, but once there, they don't sound good on our at home computer. In attempting to diagnose the problem, we went to some of our older videos from last year which had worked fine on YouTube in the past, and the sound on some of them was also muted and sounding funny. The sound on others seemed to be fine. We visited other people's videos, and the sound of them all seemed to be fine--our videos seemed to be the only videos affected by this "glitch." And once we get to another computer and try listening to some of the videos that sound funny at home, they seem to be okay.

Does anyone have any clue as to why this would be? Any help at all for this strange problem is appreciated.

Restaurant Review: Twigs

2009-06-11T06:04:00.003-05:00

There seems to be an over-abundance of over-priced, locally-owned restaurants in Rochester where there is little on the menu I'd truly look forward to eating. It's something that leads us to eating at chain restaurants when we want both a good value for our money. That's why I was excited when I saw the menu for Twigs Tavern & Grill at Best Western Soldier's Field. The menu seemed to have some interesting items on it, plus it actually seemed to have reasonable prices.

It was cool and rainy on the day we went, and inside the restaurant only seemed to be slightly warmer than outside. Strike one against the restaurant; however, the fact they seemed to have the air conditioning on when it was only 50 degrees outside was offset by the small, cozy, more intimate atmosphere from many of Rochester's eateries. The ambiance of Twigs, right down to the chandeliers that looked like they were made of twigs seemed to enhance the pre-dining mood.

Service was quick and friendly, with the waitress giving ample time to peruse the menu before coming back to take our order, and checking back with us numerous times throughout the course of our meal.

Unfortunately, following a slight mishap with the water glass, we soon found out that the cloth napkins weren't designed to be water absorbant. When we asked if we could get more napkins, we were brought small paper napkins.

I had heard that their butternut ravioli were good, and the menu proudly proclaimed the item had been the runner-up as best menu item in the annual restaurant survey as well as entree winner of the March of Dimes Chef Auction. With such accolades, I wanted to give it a try, but I still wasn't sure if I would like it. Fortunately, the dish comes as a small plate, so I ordered that. Also fortunately, I had advanced warning that the small plate only came consisting of four regular-sized ravioli, so I also ordered a small plate of the buffalo chicken tenderloins. Tammy ordered the jalepeno sausage scramble strip.

When the food came, it came on square and rectangular plates, reminiscent of modern, fusion food. The ravioli plate looked good, though it was small. It was presented well, though, and its already been proven that appearance enhances the flavor of food. And the ravioli was good, and part of me wishes that I had gotten the larger plate to get a better taste. However, whether or not my expectations were raised to high by all I had heard and read, I don't know. That said, I didn't find anything all that special with the dish, and I felt that it's something that could have easily been something created in our kitchen at home if we had the energy to do so. In fact, we had made something similar with pumpkin and without the sauce, but that was a great idea, and I have an idea for the sauce I would use if we did it again. Likewise, the buffalo chicken tasted great, and it was perfectly cooked. The size was consistent with a chicken breast, however with no accompanying dishes, it too seemed small, and with little to set it apart.

To further comment on Twigs menu and how it resembles our home cooking, they have a pear salad that has the same ingredients of a salad that we also make at home.

The jalepeno sausage scramble strip which came with homestyle fries did seem to be quite a bit of food, and unique enough. Maybe I'll try that, or something similar, the next time we go there. And I'm sure there will be a next time.

Who would I recommend come to Twigs? It works great for quick business lunches or first dates.

Statues

2009-06-09T06:12:00.000-05:00

In anticipation of Rochester finally getting it's own artist-painted statues, a review of some of the statues we have encountered in other cities.

Boots, in Red Wing, Minnesota

Dinosaurs in St. Paul, Minnesota, celebrating the Science Museum.

Snoopy and Woodstock, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Guitars in Cleveland, Ohio.

Some sort of pig, also in Cleveland, Ohio.

Horses in Louisville, Kentucky

Sturgeons in Door County, Wisconsin

Bears on Broadway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Cows in Kansas City, Missouri

Not pictured are numerous "Peanuts"-inspired statues as well as Pigs In The City from Austin, Minnesota. If I can find and scan some of those pictures, they will be forthcoming.

Superheroes vs Vigilantes

2009-06-08T06:17:00.001-05:00

Superman never made any money

For saving the world from Solomon Grundy

And sometimes I despair the world will never see

Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job

Even though he could have smashed through any bank

In the United States, he had the strength, but he would not

Folks said his family were all dead

Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself

To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going

-Crash Test Dummies

Comics. Superheroes. Or more precisely, super powers. A thing of fantasy and escape. Most kids probably wish at one time or another that they could be like the super heroes that they read in comics or watched on Saturday morning cartoons. Who doesn't wish that they could be like Superman, with his super strength, super speed, ability to fly, deflect bullets, xray vision, heat vision, and freezing breath. Or Batman with his secret identity hidden behind a mask and his cool gadgets. Or Spiderman, who starts off in life just like an other person but thanks to a spider bite, develops unique abilities.

But that's all it is, right? Just fantasy and escape...

Or maybe not.

The other day, I came across this article on CNN that details how some people are actually turning to these fantasies, spurred supposedly by the economy that is the legacy of the Bush administration.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/04/real.life.superheroes/index.html

I probably wouldn't have given the article much thought or attention, except that it had a picture of someone calling themselves Geist who supposedly patrols the Rochester, Minnesota, area. I couldn't believe that someone from the same area that I'm from would be this crazy. And really, Rochester isn't an area that calls for "extra protection" from a "super hero." For metro areas, Rochester still has a relatively low crime rate, despite the fact that it seems to be rising, thanks to gang violence.

Now, I had never seen anyone resembling this person around Rochester, nor do I remember anything in the paper about him. And probably for good reasons, one of which as I stated above, is that Rochester doesn't need him, and some reasons which I won't go into. I checked with others around town, thinking that perhaps it was just that I hadn't come acrossed him. Nope, that's not it, either. No one I knew had heard of this guy who has taken his childhood fantasies of being a superhero a step too far and actually apparently goes out in public dressed up. So, I started thinking that maybe it wasn't Rochester, Minnesota, that this person was from, but Rochester, New York, which would have been far more believable. I did some more checking, and came across his MySpace page (because apparently, every superhero with a secret identity needs to have a MySpace page--it must be written in their handbook or something, though it does help them keep in contact with like-minded people across the country). He is from this area.

http://www.myspace.com/superhero_geist

Or you can find more of their kind at http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com/world_superhero_registry_gallery.htm

Now, I have to wonder what is going through the minds of these people. We are all a race of supermen, and we can all make a difference, whether it's large or small. Is dressing up in a costume the most effective way to do this? On Geist's page, he says that he gives to charitable causes, food to the needy, toys for the kids. They're good causes, and ones that many people who don't dress up do on a very regular basis. I think it's safe to say that 99.9% of the people in Rochester who support those causes don't dress up to do so. Or help with other nonpolitical causes, such as with floods, or the St. Charles fire, and so forth. And we can all stand up for environmental issues, which can count as being a hero in my mind, even a superhero, but not one that needs a costume. As far as crime, we can all do what we can to prevent crime, and intervene when necessary. Again, we don't need to dress up to do so. And just because we do, does that increase the likelihood of coming across a crime in progress? Unless you were the actual victim, when was the last time you encountered a crime in progress? We are all enpowered to make citizen's arrests if need be, if we can do so without putting our own safety in jeopardy, and the crime is severe enough to warrant a citizen's arrest.

With a degree in law enforcement, though, I tend to frown on people who think that it's okay to be out "looking for crimes" and then trying to stop them. Vigilante-ism is a crime in and of itself, so that means that these people that are supposedly trying to stop crime are in fact comitting a crime. It's a crime because it needlessly puts people at risk. It puts the vigilante at risk of getting hurt or killed. It could put other people at risk because the vigilante does something wrong that could go horribly wrong. And it puts police officers at risk if they need to "clean up" after the events of a vigilante. Or the vigilante could end up getting in the way of police officers who are trying to do their job. On CNN, someone made a comment that they should provide training for people like this on a state or federal level. Guess what? They already do. It's called--LAW ENFORCEMENT!!! If you want to make that sort of difference with your life, then that's the career you should be in. Then you get the training. You get the equipment. You get the support.

Take Batman, for instance, since he is a glorified vigilante, one who operates with the support of the Gotham City PD, and is an established super hero, and has no actual super powers at all. He has the training--he is a master of many forms of martial arts and hand to hand combat. Maybe if these so-called "real super heroes" commit to that kind of training, and can become masters of no less than five forms of martial arts, they can continue on in their mission. Batman, in his real identify as Bruce Wayne, has an almost unending supply of money that gives him his armor, his batmobile, his computers, his batarangs, batboat, bat plane, etc. So, again, if you have that kind of training and the financial support to emulate Batman, we can talk.

Where's the Pig?

2009-06-06T06:01:00.000-05:00

Here's another thought that seemingly comes from the middle of nowhere.

What comes to mind when you hear the term "pigs in a blanket?"

Perhaps it's a hotdog in a crescent roll or some other form of pastry. Or if you find it on a restaurant's breakfast menu, it's likely sausage links wrapped in a pancake.

But I recently heard the term used to describe cabbage rolls. That is, rice and perhaps hamburger rolled up in a cabbage leaf. When I hear of people using the term "pigs in a blanket" to describe a cabbage roll along that line, I just have to wonder, where's the supposed pig in that kind of a dish? At least with the hotdog (which would be made of pork), you have the pig. So, too, do you have the pig with the sausage wrapped in pancakes.

Happy Birthday

2009-06-05T05:59:00.002-05:00

Today is the approximate one week birthday of the five little bably blue birds in the backyard. I could be off by a day or so, but I monitored the nest on Thursday, May 28, and again on Sunday morning, May 31. On Sunday, they had hatched, though I could tell they were only days old--not quite featherless, but just about so. I have noticed an apparent difference between the way tree swallows take care of their young and the way that the blue birds are doing so. The tree swallows would spend all day flying and catching insects and taking them to the baby swallows, whereas the blue birds only seem to occasionally go to and from the nest. I must admit I'm a bit worried about that, and I'll have to make sure to do my weekly monitoring soon.

And unfortunately, the blue birds seem to have gotten what they wanted and have apparently successfully driven away the tree swallows that had been nesting some 40 to 50 feet away. I'll have to check it out. I have noticed tree swallows still in the area, and flying between my house and the neighbors house, but they have largely been ignoring their favored nesting box and the nest and eggs inside, as well as staying away from landing in the yard at all. And at my monitoring session, it turns out that all five eggs have totally disappeared. What or how, I don't know. I can essentially rule out raccoon, as the box should be high enough up, and on a metal pole, to prevent them from getting in. Which leaves the possibility of snake (which I doubt) or other birds, or possibly even the tree swallows moving the eggs, which I have never heard of happening.

Milking cows

2009-06-05T05:42:00.002-05:00

Minor league baseball is something that has been around Rochester for some time, and one of the few well-known teams that seem to be able to make a go of it in Rochester, unlike local basketball teams.

The Rochester Honkers were one of the five original Northwoods League teams (now numbers at 14) which started play in 1994. They have been the Northwoods League champions four times, the inauguaral season of 1994, as well as again in 1997, 1999, and 2006. They are starting their 16th season in Rochester.

Last night was their second home game of the 2009 season, marked by the 16th annual cow-milking contest, as well as a logo baseball giveaway with the Honkers' logo (and a cowhead and the "3-a-day" of dairy logo from Dairy Management Inc. and the American Dairy Association).

The Honkers quickly got off to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings, helped in part by 3 errors on the part of the Mankato Moondogs and quite a number of walks. The pace slowed down after the first two innings, though, and the Moondogs started to make a comeback as the game progressed. As it was, we left shortly before 10 pm, and after only 7 innings. At the time we left, the score was 4-2, and the Honkers managed to hold onto a 4-3 win, improving to 2-4 for the season, ending a four-game losing streak, and giving them a 2-0 record at home so far this season. Their next home game is Monday, June 8, with a promotion that if the Honkers win, so do the fans--those in attendance will get a free ticket for another home game.

Beatles Odds and Ends

2009-06-04T06:04:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple more Beatle's-related websites.

www.abbeyroad.co.uk/visit
This is the website for Abbey Road in London, one of the most famous streets in music, thanks to the last Beatles album and 90% of their recordings were done at Abbey Road studios. Today, there is a 24/7 webcam of the famous zebra crossing, so you can always see what's going on there, and who is imitating the Beatles.

Save Me Obama video
A parody of the Beatles' Lady Madonna, combining the Beatles and politics. The intent may have to mock all the things that Obama and the Democrats stand for; if so, that's not how it comes across, unless you watch some of the choices of pictures for the video. It does illustrate just how bad the US and the situation in the world has become under the previous administration, and how much work that we are putting on the shoulders of one man now to lead us back into the light, or back into the promised land.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Oc-E5ZzZ8

Abbey Road page
And the website for the Abbey Road on the River festival in Louisville. http://www.abbeyroadontheriver.com/

http://www.thebeatlesrockband.com/
I would have been interested in getting The Beatles Rock Band game for the Wii, until I realized how much it is. It's $250, which is the same price as the Wii was. Now, when I bought the Wii console, it was justified by the fact that it was the console, and that we could play a variety of games for it. Is spending that same amount of money on one game worth it? I don't know. Okay, I realize that you get the controllers with it--one that resembles McCartney's guitar and then the drum set, but it still seems like alot of money. I will be getting my research money later this month, but there is always things that we could use that money on besides a game.

Jolly Ranchers

2009-06-03T06:00:00.004-05:00

It seems as though Jolly Ranchers, those fruit-flavored candy rectangles, are everywhere these days. Jolly Ranchers has long been extended into the jelly bean business, but now it seems their line continues to grow.

While we were at Jungle Jim's in Fairfield, Ohio, and walking next to an aisle of beverages, Tammy noticed something in the next beverage aisle over. "I think I just saw Jolly Ranchers," she exclaimed. We made our way over to the next beverage aisle, and making our way to the middle of the aisle, we saw the Jolly Ranchers line of soda. I knew I had to try this, and pulled a bottle of the green apple-flavored drink off the shelf. After the first few swallows, I wasn't so sure I liked the taste of it. But then the liquid had poured down my throat fairly rapidly without me giving it much of a thought. The next swallow, I told myself, I would savor the drink a little bit more. That was when I realized that I was drinking liquid jolly ranchers. They had the taste of the green apple jolly rancher down perfectly. It was then that I decided that this was a drink that I could really appreciate a taste for. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure if retailers in my area carry it. (http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/jolly_rancher/ for more information).

I had essentially put the green apple jolly rancher soda out of my mind until a quick trip to the local Wal-Mart. There, Jolly Rancher ice cream topping was on an end cap by the ice cream. There weren't as many choices for the ice cream topping as there had been for the sodas--we had the choice between blue raspberry or green apple. Once again, green apple was selected. And it's a very bright green, and it almost reminded me of creme de menthe ice cream topping in color. But was it able to capture the taste of the green apple jolly rancher the same way that the soda had? At times, as the topping mixed with the ice cream, I had a hard time trying to figure out if what I was eating actually tasted like the green apple jolly ranchers or not. Then, the next bite would herald the taste I was looking for, followed by a bite that was less intense. And that continued in somewhat the same pattern until the ice cream itself was gone. I would also definitely buy this again for when I'm craving ice cream with something else on it besides the normal chocolate or caramel topping. It has the potential to make vanilla exciting.

And in the End

2009-06-02T06:13:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, our vacation came to an end far too quickly. Before leaving Cincinnati, we made a stop at Big Boy.

And going through Indianapolis on the way home, I tried to get here as quickly as I could. Unfortunately, I still came in last.

It's a Jungle Out There

2009-06-01T06:56:00.001-05:00

Finally, after stopping to see the butterflies and travelling back in time to the romance of kings and knights, we arrived at our real reason for heading for Cincinnati. JUNGLE JIM'S! It's a grocery store. Yes, we went an hour and a half out of our way to get there, and well worth the drive and effort put into it.

It's a foodie paradise.

And unfortunately, photography inside the store is apparently forbidden, though I only know that from the website, I don't remember any actual signs to that effect in the store.

If you're a foodie, this is where you want to head. I don't think you'll be disappointed. The best description as to the size of the store is that it would be like a Super Target or a Wal-Mart Super Center filled with groceries. It has the regular domestic groceries when you first walk in. Throughout the store, there are various animated displays to keep you interested, and as you get going further on in the store, you can find food from many different countries, with the shelves marked as to what country something is from. Asian food is there, and broken down by country. You can find food from the Caribbean. England. Mexico. Greece. Scandinavia. Germany. Italy. The list goes on and on.

The first time we visited, a couple of years ago, we were there for three hours, and actually had to put our shopping on hold and went to eat supper at CiCi's. This time, we weren't there for quite as long--only two hours. And we spent $50 on junk food. Okay, to be fair, it wasn't all junk food. We did buy a single banana mango from Jamaica.

Chateau LaRoche

2009-05-31T06:27:00.001-05:00

The Loveland Castle, also known as the Chateau LaRoche. It's located near Cincinnati, in Loveland, Ohio. When I was looking for things to do in the Cincinnati area, I saw this listed as one of the area attractions and knew immediately that I had to go and see it. I'm fascinated by castles and what it must have been like to live in one. And I never realized that an actual castle like this one was built in the United States. It was made by hand, mostly by one man, who continued to work on it until he died at the age of 91.

More about the Loveland Castle can be found HERE.

Tammy said as we were exploring what the castle had to offer that she had never seen me so excited. I told her to just imagine how excited I would be if we ever get to Europe and actually explored castles actually used by royalty.

The castle had steep, winding stairwells like this one that descended to the depths of the basement, where there was a dungeon.

All hail the King of the Ice Dragons!

There were numerous suits of armor as well as knightly artifacts scattered throughout the castle as well as some shields and other renaissance-type designs hanging on the walls.

A terraced garden to one side of the castle.

Though it's a bit dark and hard to see, this is a picture of the banquet hall.

Next up, the real reason why we made the side trip to Cincinnati.

Butterflies from India

2009-05-30T05:38:00.007-05:00

We don't get to see butterflies from India that often, if at all before. So, when Tammy had said we should take an extra day of vacation to make a side trip from Louisville to Cincinnati, I started looking for things to do in Cincinnati that we could do there. I came across the fact that there was a butterfly show at the Krohn's Conservatory that was featuring butterflies from India that I thought would be interesting.

We saw quite a few interesting butterflies, such as the common sailor (above) that was sitting on my finger.

The Paper Kite, which the literature merely said was from Asia.

Julia, which is one of the butterflies that is actually from North, Central, and South America. They also had a lot of monarchs in the butterfly room as well, which in addition to being present in North and Central America is also found in Europe and Australia.

If I had to guess what this one was based on the hand-out they provided, it most closely resembles the peacock pansy.

The clipper, again from India.

They had some butterflies in a circular cage within the butterfly room that weren't included in the brochure. This one reminds me of Batman.

Another one not in the brochure.

This one wasn't there, either.

Grey Pansy from India. It reminded me of a stained glass window for some reason.

This one sort of reminds me of the red admirals from around this areawith a few differences readily apparent, but the brochure identifies it as India's leopard lacewing.

Next up, a walk through the desert.

Followed by a trip to the tropics:

After spending some time here, it was time to move on to our next destination:

Loveland Castle (to be continued tomorrow).

And Your Bird Can Sing

2009-05-29T05:12:00.004-05:00

He greeted the morning with a bright and cheerful disposition, not letting the fact that the day would soon climb to over 90 degrees with high humidity get him down. Or, perhaps it was because of that fact that he was so chipper in the early morning hours, determined to enjoy the crisp morning air. Maybe, in the morning hours after the sun rose in the east but before the hustle and bustle of the day began, a thought or two entered his head of what the planet would be like had mankind never set foot upon it. Brushing the thought aside, he turned his attention to more immediate tasks. He had a busy day ahead of him. First things first, he needed to find his mate.

His singing greeted me as I lay in the hotel room, contemplating whether or not I should get up and take my morning shower. I was torn between getting up out of the comfortable bed and starting my day, or trying to get some more sleep. It was later than I would normally sleep in until, but then it was vacation. Vacations should be times of rest and relaxation; besides, the night before had been a late one.

Getting up won out in the end, and eventually I made it outside with camera in hand. Based on my very amateur-ish birding experience, I had expected to find a cardinal perched outside, basing it on part of what I had heard the bird singing when I had still been inside. What I saw instead was actually a gray bird with some white on his wings, perched atop the Waffle House sign in the middle of the parking lot. And he was happily singing away, going in rapid succession between one type of song to the next. Part of that, I still thought sounded like a cardinal. Part sounded like kissing noises, and even part of it, I thought I could make out a "here, kitty kitty;" which made sense if this bird was mimicking people trying to call the stray cat that had made the hotel home. It was one of the most interesting sounding bird songs that I have ever heard, and I could listen to it all day.

After snapping a few pictures of this still unknown bird, I ran to the car to fetch my ever-trusty bird guide. I wasn't sure what type of bird to be looking for, but I knew which ones to ignore. I came across a picture of a lark bunting. Could this be my mystery bird? The picture should it to be black with white on its wings and tails, which the mystery bird had. But the mystery bird seemed to have two shades of gray, while the lark bunting was more black. Plus, Louisville was somewhat outside the area that lark buntings would be observed in. The prospect of not being able to identify the mystery bird--something that happens to me regularly--entered my head. Until I came across the northern mockingbird. Checking the computer, and finding a recording of a mockingbird's song, I realized I had most likely found the identity of my mystery bird, and I can now add the mockingbird to my life list of birds.

As for the mockingbird, he continued to greet me each morning as I woke up, and now that I'm home, I find that I wish I had a mockingbird to keep me company here, too.

And We All Shine On

2009-05-28T05:30:00.005-05:00

And we all shine on

Like the moon and the stars and the sun

We all shine on

-John Lennon

I'm back from an extended long weekend, in which we went down to Louisville, Kentucky, and attended our second Abbey Road on the River festival, and we're already looking forward to next year's festival, 51 weeks away.

For those of you who may not know, Abbey Road on the River is the world's largest Beatles-inspired festival in the world. Five days. Five stages. 65 bands. We only went for three of those five days, and we only went to three of the stages, as you had to pay extra for the inside stages, and they just weren't worth it. There are plenty of bands to see outdoors, and as it was, we didn't get to see all the bands that we wanted to see.

We saw Japanese Beatles. Norwegian Beatles. German Beatles (two groups actually). Swedish Beatles. Canadian Beatles. American Beatles. Scottish Beatles. American Beatles pretending to be English. Costumed Beatles. Uncostumed Beatles. Submoronic Beatles (The Yellow SubMorons, tribute band for the Rutles, the fictitious parody group of the Beatles). Blue Beatles. Accoustic Beatles. And we can't forget two different Wings--one from England. And Instant Karma, the John Lennon tribute band.

Two of the days we were there were dedicated to the Beatles, and the final day of the festival was focused on a variety of different music--Motown, Hendrix, the Stones, the Mommas and the Pappas, Phish, etc. I would have preferred it to be all Beatles, all the time, but it was still a great time. Next year, we'll know not to hit the last day of the festival and go for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

At any rate, we got six hours of video from the festival, and now begins the task of burning those to DVD. That means that even though the festival is over, we get to see the groups and songs we recorded two more times. It's like our very own festival all over again!

And we can't forget the images from the Yellow SubMorons.

They are one of the groups that don't take themselves too seriously, which is really refreshing, and makes them one of the more enjoyable groups to watch. (Lucy in the Sky from Germany is another group that is really a blast to watch, and you can tell that they have fun on stage as well).

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

And the Stupidest Announcement on the Coming TV Season is....

2009-05-24T07:35:00.000-05:00

Upfront week has come and gone, with the major networks announcing its plans for the upcoming television season.

Fox continues to be a channel that I won't be watching, save for Sunday night Simpsons and possibly Family Guy.

The CW has one new intersting sounding new show, Vampire Diaries, which it is pairing with Supernatural on Thursday nights to create a unique programming block. That might be interesting to see, if only it didn't conflict with NBC's Thursdays.

CBS continues it's Monday comedies, but beyond that, that is likely all that I will watch. Specifically, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.

ABC seems to have captured my attention the most...with Lost and Better Off Ted being renewed, though both likely won't be coming back until the midseason. And this will be Lost's last season. Also coming midseason will be "V," a reimaging of the two mini-series and series that I am really looking forward to seeing. While the original series was sort of cheesy, the mini-series were top notch, and it will be interesting to see if they can do as good of a job with the new series as they did the mini-series. ABC also has the Kelsey Grammer series "Hank" which I hope will be better than his last outing. There is also the series "Happy Town" which I mention merely because it's supposedly set in Minnesota. I wonder what kind of stereotype they'll have for that. And then the series "Flash Forward" which they have already been aggressively advertising for and "Eastwick" based on the Witches of Eastwick story.

So that leaves NBC, which I feel is making one of the worst decisions that it's made in a long time. They are cancelling one of the more original series in its line-up, My Name is Earl. And they are keeping Parks and Recreation, which I haven't been too thrilled with this midseason. They are keeping Chuck--which is a good series, even if I haven't watched it this past year at all. And they will have the new Thursday night comedy "Community" following a group of misfits at a community college.

We'll have to see what works and what doesn't work for this new TV season. I don't see too many things to get excited about, though.

Restaurants I Wish Would Come to Rochester

2009-05-23T05:29:00.001-05:00

Now that CiCi's is here in town, which I had been going to in other locales for the past couple of years, here's a list of other restaurants that I wish would find new homes in Rochester.

Boston Pizza:
This one is scheduled to open in Rochester in 2009, at the Shoppes at Maine. In Canada, it goes by the name Boston Pizza (http://www.bostonpizza.com/). In the States, it goes by the name Boston's Gourmet Pizza (http://www.bostonsgourmet.com/). I was unsure if these were, in fact, the same restaurant, or if they merely had similarly sounding names. In checking out the Boston Pizza website, it only listed locations in Canada, so I checked out the US site, and in their history, they referenced starting in Canada. I had at first missed the link at the top of the page that points you to the Canadian site.

The Rochester location will be the fourth in Minnesota. In the meantime, you can go to Boston's Pizza in Faribault, Maple Grove, or Coon Rapids.

Red Robin:
Red Robin specializes in burgers, and they have a menu full of uniquely created burgers that will keep you coming back in again and again. My personal favorite is the Bleu Ribbon Burger. And they have bottomless fries with your burger.

Minnesota Locations: Shoreview, Plymouth, and Apple Valley.

Old Chicago:
Old Chicago has some great pizzas, pastas, calzones, etc. Their menu choices are much better than any of the regular pizza places, plus it doesn't feel like a pizza place, perhaps thanks to the sports bar aspect of Old Chicago.

Minnesota Locations: Eight in the Twin Cities (Apple Valley being the closest) along with St. Cloud and Duluth.

Steak N Shake:
A re-imagining of the 50s drive-in, only without the drive-in. The menu is pretty good, too.

Minnesota Locations: None, making Minnesota the only Great Lakes State without one, and along with the Dakotas and Nebraska as the only midwestern states without one. In fact, there are few states in the east and south that don't have one. Closest location: Waterloo, Iowa.

IHOP:

I doubt I would frequent IHOP much, even if it came to Rochester. Don't get me wrong, it's my favorite breakfast place. But we don't really go out for breakfast that much when we're at home. But when the in-laws come to town, they like going out for breakfast, and it would be nice to have an IHOP close by for those moments.

Minnesota Locations: Eight Twin Cities locations (closest one being Apple Valley) and St. Cloud.

Space Aliens:
An alien-themed bar and grill, as well as an arcade for the kiddies. They even have a customed alien that makes an appearance at various times of the day. And they understand that not everyone likes ketchup for their fries. When you get your fries delivered in a funnel-shaped basket, you get your choice of dipping sauce, and they have quite a few to chose from. While not a chain, it has been slowly making it's way into Minnesota and ever closer to Rochester. I discovered this North Dakota restaurant in Fargo, when it's two locations were Fargo and Bismarck. Now, there are 7 in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Minnesota Locations: St. Cloud (Waite Park), Albertville, and Blaine.

Sonic Drive-In:
Drive-In restaurants and Minnesota don't exactly go that well together. After all, we have a thing known as winter that sort of puts a damper on the whole experience. Still, there have been drive-ins in Minnesota that have done fairly well. And perhaps Sonic's appeal is merely that we don't have one here.

Minnesota Locations: There are five Sonic Drive-Ins within 100 miles of Rochester, the closest one being in Savage.

Chili's:

Another TGI Fridays/Applebee's type restaurant, which there probably isn't a whole lot of room for in Rochester, unfortunately.

Minnesota Locations: 12 Twin Cities locations, the closest of which would be Burnsville.

There are others that I would like to see come to Rochester as well, such as California Pizza Kitchen, Grizzley's Bar and Grill, Ruby Tuesdays, Don Pablo's, and maybe even a White Castle--though I've never eaten at one before. I'd be excited if any of these came to Rochester, but the ones above would get me the most excited.

Bluebirds vs Tree Swallows

2009-05-22T06:14:00.002-05:00

An interesting read I found regarding tree swallows and eastern bluebirds. I find it interesting because I have both nesting in my yard. I appreciate both of them being there, and this is a very well written article about the two of these native species living in harmony and how neither species is more deserving than the other.

http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/tresvsbb.html

Birds of the Backyard

2009-05-21T07:47:00.001-05:00

Using stats provided by Wild Bird Unlimited, the average yard will get between 15-20 bird species a day. More if you provide a habitat suitable for the birds. Unfortunately, since I'm in a new development with no old growth trees in my yard, I don't get that many different bird species in my yard. Well, with providing the nesting boxes and bird seed, I may get the 15-20 different species a day, but not more than that.

And if the old addage of "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," I am a very wealthy man, indeed. This morning, I went out to monitor the nesting boxes. Both nesting boxes had the birds in them. With the tree swallows, Mrs. Swallow was pretty terrified to find her normally safe and protected nest becoming not so protective, and a huge predator mammal was staring at her. I put the nesting box on the ground and let her fly out...but in my haste to repair their nesting box, I neglected to actually check the eggs.

The birds in my backyard are below, put here in part to help me remember so that I don't lose my yard list again, as had recently happened. These are birds seen in or from the yard, flying over the yard, or heard from the yard.

American crow
American goldfinch
American robin
Baltimore oriole
Blue jay
Brown-headed cowbird
Canadian goose
Chipping sparrow
Common grackle
Downy woodpecker
Eastern bluebird
European starling
House finch
House sparrow
Killdeer
Mourning dove
Northern cardinal
Northern flicker
Northern harrier
Redwing blackbird
Red-tailed hawk
Ring-Necked pheasant
Rose-breasted grosbeak
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Tree swallow
Dark-eyed junco
Bobolink
White-crowned sparrow
Song sparrow
Black-capped chickadee
Eastern kingbird
House wren
Turkey vulture
Great White Egret
Great Horned Owl
Purple finch
Indigo bunting

Six Foods I Hate

2009-05-20T05:52:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Facebook, specifically the LivingSocial application where you can list five foods that you don't like, I got to thinking. I actually have six that come to mind very easily. Now, when it comes to food, I have tried a lot of different things, though nowhere near as many as Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods. I've had mustard-flavored frozen custard in Wisconsin, garlic-flavored jelly bellys from the Gilroy, California, region. I've ordered jalepeno-spiced suckers, and even baked potato kit kats ordered in from Japan. None of those come close to my least-liked foods. In fact, all of those things were pretty good (except the jelly bellys, I probably wouldn't buy those again). I even like sushi.

So what foods find their way onto my list of foods I don't like?

6. Brussel sprouts.
It's been awhile since I found these on my plate, and I would likely eat them now. Just remember not caring for them when I was little.
5. Cabbage rolls.
I first tried cabbage rolls about ten years ago. Haven't had them since.
4. Liver.
3. Oysters
2. Mushrooms.
There's something about eating fungus I just can't get around. Unless the mushrooms are totally bland and hidden on a pizza.
1. Head cheese.
I first tried head cheese at a Ukrainian supper. I thought I'd try everything. I regretted this decision. The most disgusting food I have ever eaten.

So there you have it. Six foods I hate.

A Smorgasbord of Birds

2009-05-19T07:39:00.005-05:00

Over this past weekend, I attended the birding field trip in Rochester, put on by the Zumbro Valley Audobon Society, and for four hours watched birds at both Kutzky Park--a locale I would never have thought much of in terms of being a birding hot spot, but yet discovered that there were quite a few birds there; as well as time spent at the Izaak Walton's Wetlands out on Salem Road. I had briefly spent time birding there last spring, but since I'm only a very amauter birder, and not able to identify that many species, last spring I wasn't as impressed with it as I was this year when there were guides and others to point out various types of birds.

As a result of this outing, I was able to add many birds to my Birding Life List, including the Oven bird, the Blue-gray gnatcatcher, a great-crested flycatcher, redbellied woodpecker, the Swainson's thrush, chestnut-sided warbler, black and white warbler, black-capped warbler, magnolia warbler, Wilson's sparrow, Northern Waterthrush, hairy woodpecker, and the catbird.

That's an astouding 13 birds in one morning that I had never before seen.

And the first Baltimore oriole of the year showed up in the backyard this weekend, which is always an exciting event. I look forward to seeing them when they come back. This one, a male, didn't stay, and didn't get a chance to eat before being chased away by other birds, but at least it did see that there was food there for it, so I have no doubt that it will come back.

The weekend also brought another bird to the backyard for the first time. That bird being the Bobolink, which I only saw for the first time ever last year. They are usually found in prairie areas, which is what is located behind the yard. While I don't have a large canopy of old trees in my yard, I may miss out on a lot of birds that others may get, but by being in town, I do get the typical backyard birds with some woodland birds (such as the chickadees) as well as the prairie grassland birds, such as the bobolinks. Maybe it's only a matter of time before the meadowlarks show up.

Bird Wars

2009-05-18T06:24:00.001-05:00

When most people think of song birds, they think of all the beautifully-colored birds that do or could be coming to their backyard, all living in perfect harmony with each other. There are the bluejays, the blue birds, the cardinals, the gold finches, the house finches, the orioles, chickadees, tree swallows, etc. that add so much color and joy to bird watching.

And then there are the red-winged black birds, the cowbirds, the starlings, and the grackles that people tend not to appreciate so much. I like seeing all of these birds come to my backyard, as they do need to eat just as much as the colorful song birds, and they are just as happy to find readily available food as much as the song birds do.

I have heard the complaints about how these birds are messy eaters. But then there are birds that like eating off of the ground, like the mourning doves and house finches (which seem to like anything you put out for the birds, at any height), and all of those "messy eaters" will also eat from the ground as well. People complain that they eat a lot, and it costs too much to feed these common, nuisance birds. But they are big birds, of course they are going to eat a lot. As a bird enthusiast, you have to learn to take the crunchy with the smooth, and enjoy them for what they are. Not only that, but they, too, add their color to the mix of the birding enjoyment. And then, I have heard the complaint that the redwing black birds, like many of the larger birds, chase away the little birds. And that may be true to an extent. However, with 11 feeding stations, if a redwing black bird descends with its squack, the little birds simply move to another feeder. Rarely do they get chased away all together, and even if they do leave the feeders, they don't leave the area, and will soon return. So, the bigger birds and the little birds can and do coexist with each other.

But the battle between the little birds and larger birds is not the focus of my attention today.

It's the war of the little birds.

I was out looking at the battleground that is my backyard. And I discovered that bluebirds tend to be a very aggressive species. It seems that they have claimed one of the nesting boxes as their own, and now with it being mating season, they are defending their area aggressively. As most birders will tell you (or should be able to tell you), bluebirds and house sparrows are natural enemies. They compete for nesting locations, and house sparrows are ruthless in their methods--going so far as breaking open bluebird eggs that are left undefended in nests. House sparrows (also known as English sparrows) are not a native species to the US, but rather were introduced here with little consideration for the damage they would do to the native species. But it must be an inbred fact in bluebirds that house sparrows are a dangerous predator. In watching the birds, the bluebirds would immediate dive at and chase away house sparrows that would try to come to the backyard to eat at the feeder, and the bluebirds were relentless in chasing them away every time they tried to come. Now, while the house sparrow is a beautiful bird to see, ever since the tree swallows started building nests in the yard, I would prefer not to see the house sparrows until after the nesting season.

Of course, watching one species of bird chase another species of bird is nothing new to bird watchers. It happens all the time.

This past weekend, though, I did see something that likely is nothing new to some birders either, though it was the first time I had really seen it in action. I watched as a bluebird physically attacked a tree swallow--one from the nest on the other side of the yard. It rammed the bird, knocking it from where it sat, and the bluebird and the tree swallow both ended up on the ground, in a sort of wrestling match, with the bluebird seeming like it was getting the better of the swallow. And it wasn't a quick match, either. Even if the swallow managed to get away, the bluebird would go and attack it again.

So, even your little birds aren't going to get along with each other during the nesting season, and they may not want anything to do with other little, native birds being around either.

Weekend Tidbits

2009-05-17T06:54:00.004-05:00

Here are some things that caught my eye this morning as I briefly scanned the headlines on my netvibes universe (www.netvibes.com/kingoftheicedragons), which if you don't know, includes an assortment of some of my interests.

• Montauk Monster: Last July, when a strange animal washed up on shore in New York, it quickly grabbed the attention of news organizations such as CNN and FOX News. It also was given the moniker of Montauk Monster. And of course, it was also quickly declared to be a hoax. To some, they could explain it away as a raccoon, or possibly a turtle without its shell, or even other animals. However, a lot of these explainations could be debunked by others. There were even some who pondered whether this creature could've been a mutation of an animal from the government's animal disease center on nearby Plum Island. Whatever it was, it suspiciously was hiden away by the discoverer and not allowed to be examined. Though the one explaination that I'm most likely to believe is that it's a water rat. But now apparently a second one has washed ashore, and supposedly from what I've read, was found by the same person. Or is it really the same one again?

• ABC's new fall line-up. It won't be official for a couple more days yet. but they have been releasing some information already. Among those tidbits include the renewal of Better Off Ted, as well as another new show starring Kelsey Grammer. I hope this is better than his last attempt. And then there's the reimagining of "V." I'm excited to see this, though apparently the network wanted an initial buy of 6 episodes, possibly with the intention of a midseason show; an offer that by some reports was turned down by the show's producers.

• As for Batman, who is going through some changes this year (Bruce Wayne is missing once again, in case you missed it), the changes just don't stop. In August, Bruce Wayne will be returning to Gotham, but he won't be taking up the mantle of the bat--at least not right away. Not only that, but it seems that he runs into problems with the new Batman and gang for awhile. It's a concept that I'm looking forward to. Is he being controlled by some force? Partial amnesia coupled with the darkness that he spent around him? Did Ras al Ghul finally get his claws into him? I'm sure we will found out soon enough. (I have since read an article that states that the villian of Hush will actually be assuming the role of Bruce Wayne). And of course, there is the change in title character in Detective Comics as Batwoman takes over that title. And then there is the new Batgirl, exploding onto the scene in her new monthly title.

• When it comes to politics, I find it greatly amusing watching the Republican party self-destruct in front of our eyes. Especially when they don't see the problem and attack members of their own party who do see the ptoblem and want to fix it. They think that its the country that needs to adopt to them. They are an old relic--a dying breed that has grown so extreme in my opinion that they likely will lose its status as a major party. I find it amusing that Rush Limbaugh now needs to fight his battles with John McCain's mother. At the same time, I can't help but feel sorry for him. I wonder what party will take the place of the Republican party--the Reform? Libertarian? Or something else?

Rewritting History

2009-05-15T06:02:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back, I took on the SciFi Network and how I would do things differently if I ran the channel, which at one time had been one of my favorite channels until it started to "expand its audience" (i.e., change it's premise and in effect alienate the people who actually enjoyed it)--and perhaps as a sign that the SciFi channel really no longer has anything to do with sci fi, it is changing it's name to SyFy later this summer. It's something that all channels and networks do, I guess. Remember when MTV actually played music videos?

Now I'm going to do the same with the History Channel, which also was a favorite channel of mine, where I could go and actually watch programs about history and learn from it.

I suppose I should've known that Americans typically don't like history, with it being listed as quite a few people's least liked course in school. And once people get out of school, they seem to no longer be interested in learning...

And so, we are left with a channel that was designed for those of us who like history, but it has changed into something to be more popular with the masses who aren't interested in history. In effect, it has turned into yet another generic Discovery Channel. There is nothing to distinguish it from such.

And so I came across this press release regarding the History channel at the Futon Critic:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20090513history01

NEW YORK, May 13 -- On the heels of its record-breaking ratings success of 2008 and first quarter 2009, HISTORY(TM) announces an ambitious lineup of new original series and event specials that add to the network's already robust programming lineup and reinforce the network's status as the preeminent destination for all things history.

All things history? I wouldn't necessarily call shows such as Ice Road Truckers or Ax Men history. Not that there is anything wrong with those shows, but history they aren't. They are better suited for a channel such as Discovery. If they want to show something like that, at least change the name of the channel to Discovery II or something. Or the series MonsterQuest. Again, it's a great show, but since looking for mythical creatures or those belonging to cryptoscience isn't history, it shouldn't be on the History Channel.

And now, some of the new shows on History for this coming season will be on the Pawn industry...something probably akin to Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men. So, yet another reason not to watch the History Channel. Or the series Madhouse, about retrofitting cars for the big race. Okay, now that seems like it should be on a sports channel, or possibly something like Spike or G4. Not History.

Continuing in the spirit of MonsterQuest, they will launch a series on the prophecies of Nostradamus...not featuring a biography of his life, which could be history-related, but rather on his predictions and speculations that things he predicted are happening in the world today. Not exactly history, and while interesting, something I would expect to find on Discovery. And MysteryQuest, focusing on things of myths and legends.

It used to be that the complaint about the History Channel was that it focussed too much on WWII (and a secondary focus on the Civil War). Now, I would prefer to actually see shows like that on History compared to what they are trying to pawn off on us.

But what I would really like to see on the History Channel is programming on real history. There is so much history out there, American history, Mexican history, Canadian history, Incans, Mayans, Aztec. Cuban. South American. Central American. Native American. The Discovery of America. And that is just skimming the surface of New World History. And then there is so much more with European history. Show us how people lived their daily lives. And how European history and American history intersects, and you can't really focus on one without the other. There is so much that the History Channel could be. It's really sad that it will never realize its true potential.

When Klingons Attack

2009-05-14T06:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's an ad for Burger King. No, I'm not being paid by or work for Burger King.

I just thought these ads particularly funny.

And these glasses are pretty hard to get. I was able to get one, the Kirk glass. On two subsequent trips to Burger King, including one on the day I was told to check back on, I was told they were sold out. It looks like my plan to buy these and then resell them for an outrageous amount is kaput.

An Introduction to Opera

2009-05-13T05:41:00.001-05:00

Once again working to expand my knowledge and my interests, now I can add opera to the list of things that I have seen.

I had seen one opera in the past, if you can call what I saw in the past a true opera. It was on stage, and all of the "dialogue" of what was happening was sung as if it was an opera--though it was done in English. And of course, English isn't one of the traditional languages of operas, thereby probably diminishing it as a true opera, at least in the eyes of opera affionciados.

However, I was loaned four DVDs recently of operas. And while my time seems to be limited by the number of things I need and/or want to do (and the yard work that needs to be done is once again not getting done this spring, but I can pass that off to yet another cold, miserable spring), I thought I had better get started at watching these so I could get them returned as soon as possible. And considering that they all seem to be longer than two hours long, its not something I can do in between other things.

The first one that I watched was "Il Barbiere di Siviglia." You may know that as "The Barber of Seville." The opera starts out with the orchestra's composer, Claudio Abbado (sporting what the playbill refers to as a Beatles haircut--we just can't seem to escape the gravitational pull of the Beatles, it seems) for the seven-minute long Barber of Seville overture; you know, the one that Bugs Bunny made famous.

So what is The Barber of Seville about? You may be asking yourself, at least if you are anything like me. Sure, I had heard of the cultural reference to it, and knew the overture from Bugs Bunny, but that was the extent of my knowledge.

It seems that the Count Almaviva has caught sight of a certain young lady who he has decided to court, Rosina. Unfortunately for him and for her, who she fancies as well, she has been claimed by Dr. Bartolo who plans to wed her. So, he must try to get her away from the doctor, but he doesn't tell her who he is, so that he can be sure that she actually fancies him for him and not for his title or his station in life. For this, he enlists the aid of the barber, a chap known as Figaro, in his endeavors. Things don't exactly go his way as the opera progresses, and as for myself, my favorite part of the opera was near the beginning when Figaro was bragging about himself and how great a station in life he himself has. And yes, Count Almaviva does, in fact, end up with Rosina at the end of the opera as the two are married.

Now, some opera buffs may say that I did not get the true opera experience as I was able to watch the opera with English subtitles across the bottom of the screen and did not have to resort to the play bill for the different scenes in the two-act play for time lengths of them or to read the short synopses of what was happening. But to me, that doesn't matter, as I still gained valuable knowledge and insight into something that is culturally relevant. Now, bring on the Marriage of Figaro.

But not quite yet. After watching an opera in Italian, and listening to some J-Pop in the car last night followed by Celtic music which if there were lyrics were likely sung in Gaelic, I'm ready for some good, ol'fashioned English entertainment.

A Birding Habitat

2009-05-12T06:34:00.001-05:00

The average backyard, they say, will attract 15-20 different species of birds in a day, and quite a few more if you create a habitat that they will enjoy.

There are four things that you need to provide for birds. Once you do, you can actually get your yard certified as a wildlife habitat.

1. Food. You can accomplish this by putting out bird feeders. The more different varieties of feeders you put out with more variety of food, the more types of birds you will attract. Put them at different heights, as some birds, such as mourning doves and sparrows like eating from the ground or low feeders, whereas some birds prefer higher spots. I have no less than 11 different feeders with different types of food, different types of feeders, and different heights. Some of the different types of food, in addition to a variety of nuts and seeds include things such as grape jelly, oranges and other fruits, and meal worms. And nectar for both the orioles and the hummingbirds.

2. Water. This can be as simple as putting out a bird bath. If you're worried about mosquitoes, then use a mister or some sort of fountain that provides water but keeps the water moving and therefore, not a source of mosquitoes.

3. Cover. Any kind of trees, shrubs, and plants, all at different heights, is suitable for this. My yard, being in a new neighborhood, has few older trees in it, and therefore in winter is pretty barren of birds (though I did try planting an evergreen to provide cover in the winter--though it isn't doing all that great).

4. A Place to Raise their young. A good way to do that is to put out birdhouses for the birds such as tree swallows, blue birds, and chickadees that build their nests in cavities that are already made.

If you do those things, you will become a friend to the birds, and they will reward you with hours of entertainment and provide you with insight into their habits, and you won't regret taking the time and effort required.

Star Trek

2009-05-11T05:05:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd post some of my thoughts about the new Star Trek movie. It is one of the best action movies in the past decade, and the only reason not to see it is that you don't like action movies.

There has been some talk about it being a reboot vs. it not being a reboot. About whether or not the new movie fits within established Trek canon.

What it does do, in my opinion, is create a parallel Star Trek universe to go along side the established Trek universe, and that yes, the Trek universe is big enough for the two universes to exist side by side.

It's no secret, and therefore no spoiler, that the new movie features time travel, and taking a page from the premise of Enterprise, those who wish to do ill to the Federation travel back in time to exact their revenge against those who may have done them wrong. Therefore, any changes that they make can be explained away by it being due to the time travel and thus an alternate reality was created.

I would say that the new Star Trek movie is in the top three in terms of Star Trek movies...along with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: First Contact, though I won't rank those three. Yes, it's better than Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the one with the whales). And while the movie is unmistakably Star Trek, gone is the technobabble that defined The Next Generation. The feel of the movie is back to the classic Star Trek movies, except that it's nonstop action from start to finish. It's the best action movie I have seen in a long, long time.

There are spoilers below. If you don't want to know anymore about the movie, don't read any further.

The movie starts out with the USS Kelvin being attacked by a ship from Babylon 5, and George Kirk having to take command of the ship when his captain is killed. At the same time, a young James T. Kirk is being born. With the fight against the Romulans on that ship goes so horribly, Kirk orders the ship evacuated, and is going to use auto pilot to ram the enemy ship. However, auto pilot won't work, so he needs to stay on board to pilot the ship in himself. The death of George Kirk has changed the timeline.

Not to mention, we see these Romulans, unlike the characters from The Original Series, who have no idea (except for Spock) that Romulans and Vulcans share a history. The difference is, however, in this movie, the Romulans don't look like the Vulcans. In fact, the Romulans in the movie look more like Remans. We eventually find out that these Romulans come from 129 years in the future from the launching of the Enterprise, which would put them from a time after the one we know from what happened in the Next Generation era. And that the Romulan sun went supernova, thereby wiping out the Romulan planet. So, either the Romulans are in for some major changes from the time between TNG and when their empire is destroyed, or these "Romulans" are actually Remans, though the movie isn't going to make that distinction. I know, the "prequel comic" may help explain that, but I definitely do not consider the comics to be canon, nor will they ever be, no matter who may try to say that they are, including if that comes from JJ Abrams himself.

The movie jumps through a couple of events from the childhoods of Kirk and Spock until it gets to the point where Kirk meets Uhura in a bar, gets into a fight with her friends, and is then convinced by Captain Christopher Pike to join Star Fleet. And low and behind, all of the major characters from The Original Series are there, except Scotty (and including Chekov, who didn't joint TOS until the second season). And three years later, it shows Kirk's historic reprogramming of the Kobayashi Maru simulator, thereby allowing himself to defeat the classic no-win scenario, so some things remained the same in this new alternate universe.

Kirk is placed on academic review and a hearing is being held regarding the matter when a distress signal comes in from the planet Vulcan. It seems that the planet is experiencing some unusual seismic activity. Which brings up a couple of questions--it's mentioned something regarding the status of the fleet, so I assume that either the fleet was currently preoccupied elsewhere or something happened just prior that managed to wipe out a good chunk of the fleet. And why would Star Fleet need to dispatch seven starships to the planet when they just think that it's seismic activity? Sure, they may need to evacuate the planet, so they say, of 6 billion people, though even with seven starships, you aren't going to evacuate the entire planet. So, when this distress signal comes in, all of the graduating cadets are assigned to those seven starships, all new out of space dock. Uhura, who was originally assigned to the USS Farragut, needed to confront Spock--who was already a graduate and working for the Academy--about why she wasn't posted to the Enterprise and he said that he didn't want anyone to think that it was favoritism. So, there is obviously some kind of relationship between Spock and Uhura, which is expanded on more as the movie goes on. Spock assigns her to the Enterprise, and McCoy manages to get Kirk on the Enterprise as well, bringing together the entire team.

Once on board the Enterprise, Kirk manages to convince Pike that Vulcan is under attack and that they are flying into a trap. When that turns out to be true (and the other six ships already destroyed by the time they get there), Pike is so impressed with Kirk that he makes him first officer, over Spock's protests. Pike goes over to the Babylon 5/Romulan/Reman ship where he is captured. Efforts to save Vulcan seem to be going well, when an anomoly known as red matter is injected into Vulcan's core, creating a black hole that destroys the planet. Spock manages to save his father and three other Vulcans, but his mother dies before his eyes.

Spock decides the Enterprise should rendezvous with the rest of the fleet, whereas Kirk wants to follow the ship to Earth, where Nero is threatening to do the same thing. To get rid of the dissent, Spock orders Kirk put into a lifepod and marrooned on an ice planet near Vulcan (apparently close enough to see Vulcan in the sky, or whether where it had been). There, Kirk runs into a couple of Star Wars creatures and is rescued by Spock. Well, Ambassador Spock from the future. He tells James Kirk, through a mind meld, what happened to bring about the events, and what he needs to do, and they walk to a Federation outpost a few kilometers away, which is manned by Scotty and a creature from Land of the Lost.

Kirk and Scotty beam back aboard the Enterprise (thanks to Spock for giving Scotty the equation to do that), where Kirk manages to expose the fact that Spock is emotionally compromised to the point where he shouldn't be in command of the Enterprise. Then, he assumes command of the ship and takes off in pursuit of Nero at Earth.

At Earth, Kirk and Spock get over to Nero's ship, where they manage to kill Nero and destroy the ship as well as rescue Pike, thus saving the planet. As a result, Kirk's past actions before the crisis are forgiven, and he is given command of the Enterprise.

And a new, alternate reality time line is now ready for exploration. They could now do another classic Trek series, or series set on the Enterprise-A, B, or C without worry about what was established as part of canon in the past. They could also do another series shot on the Enterprise D or E, though that is getting so far out in the future and we are already at the technology level seen in those series that is supposedly hundreds of years in the future.

I was originally skeptical of the movie, but after seeing it, I loved it. And I'm ready for a new Star Trek series of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and company.

The one thing I thought was unrealistic was a ship full of cadets who are suddenly now given commissions? Especially Kirk's, going from cadet to Captain in a day. So, sure, there are minor points to argue about. It's great that the points are minor, though, and probably less important than in a lot of other action movies.

Once again, Star Trek is one of the best action movies in the past decade, and the only reason not to see it is that you don't like action movies.

The Ultimate Star Trek Crew

2009-05-10T06:11:00.001-05:00

I know if any Trek fans read this, I am likely opening myself up to people who disagree with my choices for the ultimate Star Trek crew, as everyone has their own personal favorites. But with Star Trek getting top billing in the entertainment world this weekend with the movie "reboot" of the franchise (and undoubtedly some will debate whether or not the franchise is actually being rebooted or not, or if the new film is actually canon as some of the things shown contradict previously established continuity). I will also point out that my list focuses on the character him/herself, and not on the actor portraying them...for instance, Kirk is Kirk whether portrayed by William Shatner or Chris Pine. There is no difference, even though some may prefer one actor's portrayal over another.

CAPTAIN: Probably the hardest question to answer--the best captain. Archer? Pike? Kirk? Spock? Sulu? Picard? Riker? Data? Crusher? Sisko? Janeway? Someone else? So many characters have been shown as captains of one ship or another. What it boils down to is what character I would be most willing to follow. Of those, I'd have to go with Archer (Enterprise), Riker (The Next Generation), or Sisko (Deep Space Nine). And the winner is---Captain William T. Riker. He strikes me as the sort of captain who would weigh his options carefully while keeping in mind his responsibilities to his crew and not go rushing into battle or backing away from a fight. In essence, he is a combination of James Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard, with the best of both men.

FIRST OFFICER: Another tough category to fill. A good first officer needs to deliver a well-run ship for his captain as well as provide an excellent balance. I think Spock wasn't really shown to do either of those two things, so he is out of the running. Riker helped provide a well run ship and an excellent transition from the crew to the captain, but he wasn't enough of a contrast on Picard. He, too, is therefore out of the running. Chakotay (Voyager) was meant to be a contrast to Janeway--the series started out with the two of them at odds; however, he soon became too friendly with Janeway and failed at both qualifications for a good first officer. Which leaves us with Major Kira (Deep Space Nine) or Sub-Commander T'Pol (Enterprise) as well as Shelby (The Next Generation), though since she was only in two episodes and likely would have become another "yes man" officer, I'm taking her out of the running. Ironically, both of these characters are actually from organizations outside of Star Fleet, and sent to be more of a liason between Star Fleet and another government. As such, they both provide an excellent balance to a Star Fleet captain, as they undoubtedly had their own agendas and priorities. One--Kira--was more militaristic whereas the other--T'Pol--more logical. It's a tough decision, but I'm going with T'Pol with this one.

SCIENCE OFFICER: Essentially three characters filled this category: Spock (The Original Series), Data (The Next Generation), and Jadzia Dax (Deep Space Nine). We could probably add Seven of Nine to this category as well, though I wouldn't even consider her as one of the choices for the best. While I liked the character of Dax, her position as science officer wasn't the greatest. Which leaves Spock, a Vulcan, or Data, an android. Of the two, I think Spock wins out, as he seemed to have more a grasp on actual science, whereas Data seemed to be too intwined with engineering and computer knowledge.

CHIEF ENGINEER: In this category, the two top choices would have to be Scotty (Original series) or O'Brien (Deep Space Nine). One was considered a miracle worker, and the other one in charge of an old, Cardassian-built space station. Deciding factors, however, are the fact that Scotty admitted boosting his miracle work with exaggerated time frames for effecting repairs to make his skills look greater. However, he did write a lot of the engineering manuals. Chief O'Brien, however, needed to work with an alien technology that was already outdated and falling apart. Therefore, Chief Miles O'Brien gets the nod for best Star Trek engineer.

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: McCoy--Crusher--Pulaski--Bashir--the EMH--or Phlox. There is something to be said for each of them. Well, I will immediately rule out Pulaski, who with only one season seemed a two-dimensional rip-off of McCoy. Of course, the EMH would have supposedly all the medical knowledge in existance, as he's a computer. However, it didn't seem to work that way. Bashir, graduating second in his class and sent off to the deep corners of space, where he got involved in spy games? No, I think the best chief medical officer award needs to go to Leonard "Bones" McCoy.

CHIEF OF SECURITY: Yar--Worf--Odo--Tuvok--Reed. Of these characters, I feel that Reed (Enterprise) may be the most realistic of all the characters, followed by Yar, though she lasted less than one season. As far as Tuvok, I just couldn't get into a Vulcan as a security guard. That leaves us with Worf and Odo. A Klingon and a Shapeshifter. While I like both characters and both bring something unique and different to the table, I'm going with Odo (Deep Space Nine). When the chief of security can appear as anything he wants, that's big. And it means he doesn't need to rely on strength and intimidation to get what he needs. That being said, I'd prefer to have Worf at tactical.

OPS/COMMUNICATIONS: The role of communications officer is one that isn't given much thought to in most of the series. For instance, on The Next Generation, the security officer or the unnamed character sitting at Ops would handle communications. For that reason, Uhura (The Original Series), Harry Kim (Voyager), and Hoshi Sato (Enterprise) are the only real contenders. Kim wasn't given much development, nor was Uhura. And while Sato seemed to drop off the list of major characters on Enterprise, as least we did learn more about her background. Therefore, Hoshi Sato wins my choice for best Ops/Communications officer.

CONN: When it comes to Conn, the original series seems to have two characters to handle it--Chekov as the ship's navigator and Sulu at helm. It seems a little redundent, and as such (showing that it takes two to do the job of one), neither of them win. On the next generation, while there was a conn officer in the first season, it was usually filled by an unnamed character. That leaves us with Tom Paris (Voyager), Travis Mayweather (Enterprise), and Wesley Crusher (The Next Generation). I must say I'm not too thrilled with any of these characters, but will give it to Tom Paris.

COUNSELOR: There have only been two characters to actually have the role of ship's counselor, Deanna Troi (The Next Generation), and Ezri Dax (Deep Space Nine). Again, not the best choice of category, and one that Star Trek probably could have done without. However, I'm going to go with Ezri Dax, more because I like the character and the Trill race more than I did the Troi character or the Betazed race.

NURSE: Generally not a character you think of on Star Trek series. There was Nurse Christine Chapel on the Original Series, or Nurse Ogawa for the Next Generation, Tom Paris and Kes on Voyager. I think I remember a recurring nurse or two on Deep Space Nine, but I'm not too clear. Kes was just annoying, and Tom Paris wouldn't be my top pick for a nurse if I needed one in the absence of a doctor. No, I think I'd have to go with Nurse Ogawa as my top pick.

MOST ANNOYING: And finally, the most annoying character in a Star Trek series award goes to--well, there are so many choices: Wesley Crusher, the annoying know it all child (The Next Generation); Deanna Troi, "Captain, I'm feeling..." (The Next Generation); Neelix, the chef and guide (Voyager); and Kes, the child-like nurse (Voyager). Where was I? Oh yes. The winner is...Neelix. Out of all of the characters in all of the Star Trek series, he was the one I absolutely hated the most.

Recaps:

Captain: William T. Riker (The Next Generation)
First Officer: Sub-Commander T'Pol (Enterprise)
Science Officer: Spock (The Original Series)
Chief Engineer: Chief Miles O'Brien (Deep Space Nine)
Chief Medical Officer: Leonard "Bones" McCoy (The Original Series)
Nurse: Nurse Ogawa (The Next Generation)
Counselor: Ezri Dax (Deep Space Nine)
Chief of Security: Odo (Deep Space Nine)
Tactical: Worf (The Next Generation)
Ops/Communication: Hoshi Sato (Enterprise)
Conn: Tom Paris (Voyager)

The Original Series: 2
The Next Generation: 3
Deep Space Nine: 3
Voyager: 1
Enterprise: 2

International Migratory Bird Day

2009-05-09T05:50:00.000-05:00

Today is Migratory bird day.

Some of the issues with migratory birds that need to be recognized include bird strikes with airplanes, as was brought to light last January when the US Airways aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River. So far this year, there have been 8000 reported bird strikes with airplanes in the United States. Since reporting is optional for the airlines, it's believed that number is only 20% of all the bird strikes. There is talk about making the reporting mandatory to get an accurate figure, though unless the government and the airlines actually do something about it, the number is meaningless. They could use radar similar to what the military uses to minimize accidents due to bird strikes, but there is much debate about that approach.

Another threat to migratory birds is the communication towers that have sprung up all over the country as it seems we all use cell phones these days (over 100,000). The American Bird Conversancy, the National Audobon Society, and the Defenders of Wildlife are teaming up to petition the FCC that something needs to be done about this. About one-third of all bird species in the US have been effected by the towers, including some birds that are of special concern.

This white-crowned sparrow came for a visit this week. I could't get a good picture of it, as I was holding the camera in my hand as opposed to a tripod and trying to zoom in too close. It's a small bird and without the zoom, I don't know if I would have been able to identify it otherwise.

White-crowned sparrows are a winter bird for much of the US, though in Minnesota, they are only here as they migrate north in the spring, arriving around the time when the warblers come through as well.

In other backyard birding news, I'm watching what may be yet another unusual behavior with our nesting tree swallows...notably that there may be two nesting pairs of them within the distance that I'm told swallows won't allow other swallows to nest. I haven't monitored the nesting boxes, but one pair was sitting on one nest box, while 40 to 50 feet away, another pair sat on the other nesting box. Neither pair seemed to care that the other pair was there. Previously, the first tree swallows of the year wouldn't allow any other bird to nest in the second box. Does this have any environmental implications? Are these birds running into problems finding suitable habitat as we encroach on their territory? Or does it mean that the tree swallows are simply becoming too abundant? Once I verify that the two pairs are both nesting in the yard, I'll let you know.

Laughter Yoga

2009-05-07T05:42:00.002-05:00

I experienced something new yesterday.

Laughter yoga.

Don't let the word yoga fool or intimidate you. You don't have to do any complex stretches with laughter yoga. While the concept of laughter yoga has its origins in Mumbai, India, and it does incorporate some of the simple yoga breaths (deep, full breaths that completely fill your lungs as opposed to the shallow breaths that we use in day-to-day life), the similarities end there.

All you need for laughter yoga is to know how to laugh. You don't need to know any jokes or even have a sense of humor. All you need to do is be able to laugh. If you can laugh, you're already a pro at laughter yoga.

Laughter brings mind wellness, reducing stress and depression, and research has proven that it may also help your body fight off physical disease such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and high blood pressure. And the good thing? Your body doesn't know the difference between real laughter and fake laughter.

Not that it matters. If you get a group of people together and start forcing yourself to laugh, especially through the exercises you go through, that forced laughter will become contagious, and soon the forced laughter will become real laughter.

If you ever get the chance to participate in laughter yoga, I encourage you to do so. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

May Day Parade

2009-05-06T05:42:00.004-05:00

I was at the May Day Parade in Minneapolis over the weekend, half a block from where this happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJhn8FQKXg

Of course, I didn't see it happen, and we weren't sure why the parade was getting so late. I saw the float parked on the road for a long time, and eventually decided to get up and go to see what was taking it so long.

Finding Fun Things to Do

2009-05-05T05:27:00.003-05:00

I'm often asked, "how do I find out about all the things there is to do in the area?"

It generally boils down to two things...a willingness to try to find things to do, and remembering about them from year to year.

I admit that I don't have the best memory in the world. I may forget some of the things that I may need to remember. Thanks to my PDA, that is a little bit less of an issue now. But then, I still look at others, and find that they don't remember many of the things that I do--most likely because it isn't as important to them as it is to me. And with a pocket calendar or a PDA, if I see something I want to do, I make sure I mark it down so that I don't forget. And if it is an annual event that I want to go back to again, I at least remember the month or time of year of when it occurs, so even if I don't remember that it's always the first full weekend in May, for instance, I at least know that it occurs in spring,or in May, and can easily look it up online again for the next year.

And the willingness to find things to do is important. How many times do you walk past posters advertising this or that and don't stop to pay attention to them? They will often provide you with ideas of things to do. I always make sure I read them when I see them, even if it means I have to read through many posters and advertisements for things that don't interest or pertain to me.

And then I make sure I utilize all the tools that are available to me. Things like the Rochester Magazine, or the Mayo Source, or the free newspapers that get sent on a weekly basis. I check the Post-Bulletin...different articles may feature information on upcoming events. I get put on mailing lists--such as for the Landmark Center in St. Paul--that keep me informed of upcoming events. I look at brochure racks that may have information on upcoming events. Some of this may seem like a lot of work, but it fits into who I am and my interests...I like reading the news, I like knowing what's going on around me, and I like learning--even for awareness sake, so if someone mentions this or that, I at least have a basic knowledge of it. And know the venues in town--places where events may be held--including parks, state parks, and nature centers. They will likely have event calendars as well. The Mall of America has an event calendar. The Mayo Civic Center has an event calendar. Even groups--for instance, the Honker's baseball team has a calendar of their promotions.

Another way to find out things to do is to use the internet...and search for a specific interest. If I wanted to see hot air balloon shows, I will search for that, and I can find a variety of them in the Minnesota/Iowa/Wisconsin region. Or air shows, or parades, or community events, birding events, and the like. Just about any interest you may have will have a website on it that likely will list events that will be in your area.

So, it can be a lot of work finding things to do. The question is, is it worth it to you? Another thing about me is that I like to experience things. Given the choice between sitting at home watching TV/being here on the internet or going and doing something I have never done before that I may or may not like, I'd chose to go and do something new and different. I may discover a new interest to add to my never ending list of things I enjoy or at the very least, add to my list of things I know about and am aware of going on in the world around me.

Free Comic Book Day Wrap-Up

2009-05-04T06:36:00.001-05:00

So, as you can tell, I'm into comics. But I'm not a Comics Geek, or anything of the type. I read an occasional comic book, and have a monthly subscription to a couple of titles through www.comicsnow.com on the east coast, as I can order comics through them and have them sent to me cheaper than I would be able to buy comics locally. The comics I currently read--Titans, Teen Titans, and Futurama. I have always enjoyed Batman comics as well, and the Bat family line in general, though I haven't kept up with Batman for quite some time. I am, however, considering getting back into at least the Batman and Detective Comics lines, maybe the new Batman and Robin title as well. I used to read JLA, though the current incarnation hasn't been all that impressive. I have read some of the Superman line in the past as well, but it's been even longer for that family of books than others. I don't read much more, and I can't recite the various histories of this character or that villian or how they tie in to each other. And quite frankly, I couldn't give a damn. I enjoy them for what they are, a brief distraction, and perhaps a little return to my childhood when things were much simpler.

Which brings me to a final thought on Free Comic Book Day. It's my understanding that the whole concept of the day is to introduce people to comics who may not have given them a second glance. Or perhaps to get a former reader back into reading comics once again. Or to introduce a reader to a new title that they haven't considered or even known about before. To enhance awareness.

I consider myself a casual comic book reader. I know at least the concept of a lot of different characters in the DC and Marvel universe though not the subtleties tied to them. Though there is more to comic books than superheroes. Essentially, everything in pop culture today can be related back to comics--from politicians (there is the current "Female Force" line that features such as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin) to books made into comics (i.e., Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter and The Dresden Files) to TV shows (Star Trek, Scooby Doo, The Simpsons, Futurama, Buffy, etc.) and even movies (The Evil Dead).

But how easy is it for the casual or non-comic book reader to get into reading a comic book that may interest them? Actually, unless it's a DC or Marvel comic, it may not be all that easy. For DC and Marvel, all you need to do is start visiting your local comic store, and you can find all the current titles easily online through a variety of online comic books stores as well.

Take for instance one of the titles from Free Comic Book Day, Mercy Sparx: Under New Management. It seems like it would be a good title, demons versus angels. However, I tried finding the title at various online comic books stores, with limited success. Going directly to the Devil's Dues Publishing website, I was able to find some information, and the ability to order some of their books, including the aforementioned Mercy Sparx books 1-3, though I'm not sure if that is the exact line that continues the story from the Free Comic Book Day, nor would I want to waste my time and money on it if it's not. I couldn't find much info on Mercy Sparx from Advance or Preview Comics. Nor does their website really go into detail about the series are about or give synopsis of each book the way the big companies would. They don't make it easy to find anything out about their titles or even try to build hype around them.

Or another title from the give away, the Dabel Brothers Showcase, there were three prequel stories in their book. Two of them, The Dresden Files and Take a Chance looked like they'd be interesting and that I'd be willing to at least try to read. However, again, I couldn't really find any current information or upcoming titles of those lines. Were these titles they used to publish? I'm not really interested in going in and reading old back copies of the series, especially if they are not ongoing stories.

So, my impression of Free Comic Book Day is either the comic publishers really shot themselves in the foot with this, or they are just perpetuating the comic book industry of being an exclusive club for those who don't have much else to do and don't care about expanding their base to the casual or non-comic book reader.

Bat Villians

2009-05-03T05:44:00.005-05:00

Continuing on in the Bat-theme from yesterday, in commemoration of Free Comic Book yesterday (if you didn't get your free comics, it may not be too late--contact your local comic stores).

Ra's al Ghul: An international terrorist and assassin, Ra's al Ghul, which is Arabic for the Demon's Head, who seeks a world in perfect environmental balance. In order to achieve that goal, he believes he needs to wipe out a majority of humanity. Ra's al Ghul sees Batman as his most worthy opponent, and ultimately would like to see Batman as his successor in his goal. There is some chemistry between Batman and Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Talia. Ra's al Ghul has a greatly expanded life span, and he is currently over 600 years old.

Bane: One of Batman's most intelligent and physically able adversaries, this is the villian who was responsbile for breaking the Batman's back. While he was living in prison, those in charge of the prison forced him to become a test subject for the drug known as Venom, which had killed all other test subjects. It nearly kills him at first, but he survives and finds its effects enhance his physical strength, although he needs to take it every 12 hours (via a system of tubes pumped directly into his brain) or he would suffer debilitating side effects.

Black Mask: Roman Sionis was born into a wealthy, well-to-do family, though concerned more about their social status than their son. They therefore covered up a couple of injuries that Roman obtained as he was growing up. Roman's parents hated Bruce Wayne's parents, but since they were in the same social circle, pretended to be friends with the Waynes to the point of forcing Roman to be friends with Bruce. Roman resented the "masks" that his parents wore in public. He killed both of his parents and inherited the family business, which took a significant nose dove. Roman had his company come up with a product that would save the company--waterproof makeup--but that had a deadly toxin in it that ended up disfiguring several hundred women. Bruce Wayne bought out the business; Sionis felt he was humiliated by the whole thing, and fashioned a mask from this mother's ebony coffin lid, becoming Black Mask. He soon had a large gang of criminals working for him. He tortured the Spoiler shortly after she was fired as Robin, and she later apparently died from her injuries.

Hush: Dr. Thomas Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne; though he hated his parents. Seeking immediate wealth, he cut the brakes on his parents car, and his abusive father dead in a car accident, though his mother survived. He later killed his mother after she cut him off from the inheritance over his choice of acquaintances. His hatred for Wayne, as well as Batman, fuels his villianous activities and alliances with some of Batman's traditional adversaries such as the Riddler. He believes that it is his right alone to kill Batman.

Joker: The most well-known Bat villian, appearing in the 1989 Batman movie as well as the 2008 The Dark Knight. He is also the villian responsible for shooting Barbara Gordon in the back, severing her spinal cord and leaving her a parapalegic, an event that resulted in her abandoning the role of Batgirl and becoming Oracle. The Joker is also the villian who beat Jason Todd, the second Robin, with a crowbar and murdering him. Jason Todd did eventually return the favor, though instead of killing the Joker, left him alive as a pawn to use against Batman.

Killer Croc: Waylon Jones was born with a medical condition that caused him to grow progressively like a crocodile. He initially was very humanoid, covered with green scales. More recently, he has lost most of his human traits and has elongated snout and tail. He was a one-time cocaine and arms dealer.

King Tut: King Tut was originally created for the 1960s Batman TV series, though the villian recently made the jump for the first time to the comics. Victor Goodman is a criminal Egyptologist who targets and murders wealthy citizens of Gotham and leaves Egyptian-themed riddles. This has set him against the Riddler, who doesn't like his modus operandi being stolen.

Penguin: Oswald Cobblepot is a mobster-style criminal, operates a nightclub business as a front for his criminal world, which Batman allows to operate for information on the underworld. He is well known for his unique, novelty umbrella devices. Unlike most of Batman's supervillians, the Penguin is totally sane and in control of his own actions.

Two Face: Harvey Dent, onetime district attorney for Gotham and trusted Batman ally, half of his face was horribly disfigured, causing him to go insane. He now has a dual personality, and uses the flip of a coin to bring about good or evil.

Poison Ivy: One of the world's most prominent eco-terrorists. She generally uses toxins from plants and her own bloodstream to carry out her criminal activities, generally in defense of the natural environment. She is the way she is due to her college professor who injected her with toxins in a sort of experiment, which left her insane.

Mr. Freeze: Victor Fries was a rogue scientist who was attempting to create an "ice gun" when he accidentally spilled cryogenic chemicals on himself, requiring him to need subzero temperatures (and thus the suit) in order to survive. When his wife came down with a terminal illness, he opted to cryogenically freeze her until a cure could be found. He has come into conflict with Batman, and as a result is now determined to freeze Gotham and everything that Batman and Robin hold dear.

Scarecrow: Jonathon Crane, a one time professor of psychology, seems to delight in literally frightening other people to death.

Riddler: Edward Nygma (E. Nygma), a criminal who is generally not a psychotic murderer, and delights in giving Batman clues to his crimes before hand, like playing a game. Because the Riddler's crimes are usually nonviolent in nature, Batman can usually defeat him in more of a nonviolent manner.

The Batman Family

2009-05-02T06:14:00.004-05:00

In observance of May 2--Free Comic Book Day, a day designed to get those who may have never been interested in comics in the past introduced to the wide world of comics, both super hero-related and nonsuperhero-related--I am posting a short article about the costumed vigilantes from Gotham City.

Keep in mind, Batman is currently gone:

Nightwing (like his mentor Batman) has many different gadgets that he uses to defeat his enemies. Most of the gadgets are in the form of small boomerangs; some of them explode, some spread liquid nitrogen to freeze objects, and some are just sharp, which he uses to disarm but not kill. Along with his boomerangs he has a grappling gun, a taser and a retractable quarter staff which measures at six feet long at maximum length and one foot long at minimum length although his preferred weapon(s) of choice are Escrima sticks which are placed in sheathes on his back. Nightwing has also trained in various forms of martial arts including tai chi, aikido, ninjutsu, karate, jujutsu, and judo. Nightwing is also an experienced gymnast and spent several years of his youth in the circus. He is considered to be the greatest acrobat in the DC universe. Along with skills with gadgetry and martial arts, Nightwing is exceedingly intelligent. He uses his detective skills and tactics to out think physically superior opponents.

There have been four people who have taken up the mantle of Robin—Dick Grayson, who eventually retired as Robin to become Nightwing; Jason Todd, who was murdered by the Joker; Tim Drake, the current Robin; and Stephanie Brown, who served as Robin during a time when Tim Drake retired that position. Batman subsequently stripped her of the role, and she was apparently killed by the villain Black Mask, at which point, Tim Drake returned as Robin.

Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, is the daughter of the Cluemasater, one of Gotham City's third-rate criminals. She was a one-time girlfriend to Tim Drake, and took his place as Robin when he retired from that position. Batman fired her from that position, however, when she disobeyed his orders on two missions. She is later caught and tortured by Black Mask, only to die in the hospital. When she later reappears, she explains that it was all a ruse between her and the doctor meant to protect her.

Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, is a martial arts child prodigy. She is a young woman of partly Asian descent. She was not taught spoken language, but instead was taught to "read" physical movement. Subsequently, Cain's only form of communication was body language. The parts of the character's brain normally used for speech were trained so Cain could read other people's body language and predict, with uncanny accuracy, their next move.

The modern Batwoman is of Jewish descent and a lesbian as the DC universe attempts to diversify to include more minority groups. She will be taking over the title book Detective Comics starting with issue 854.

Named after the angel of death, Azrael found his lot in life as an assassin-enforcer in a sinister secret society, and had received training and mental conditioning to prepare him for his role since before he was born. He is a test tube baby, and his genes have been spliced with those of animals. This brought him in contact with Batman, and he decided to work with Batman against the crimelords of Gotham, thus rejecting his birthright. He took up the mantle of the bat when Bruce Wayne had his back broken by Bane, but due to mental problems, began getting increasingly violent in this role.

In modern times, Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, is more of an anti-heroine than a supervillianess with a troubled life as a child, adolescent, and young adult. As an anti-heroine, she took on crime and even worked with Batman against Lex Luthor, and even had somewhat of a relationship with Batman.

The one time Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, and the daughter of Gotham City Police commissioner Gordon, continues in her battle against the city’s scourge of evil as Oracle. She was shot through the spine by the Joker while she was in her civilian guise. As Oracle, she is an information broker, providing much needed information to Batman and the other costumed vigilantes in Gotham. She is also well versed in martial arts, including those she can still do in her chair, as well as many technological skills, including vast knowledge of computers and electronics and has expert skills as a hacker.

Red Hood/Red Robin, Jason Todd, the second Robin. More of an antagonist to the Bat family since his return from the grave six months following his death, he has decided that his destiny is that to replace the Batman, especially now in his absence.

Helena Rosa Bertinelli, known as the Huntress, is the daughter of one of Gotham's mafia crime bosses. She vowed revenge when her entire family was the victim of a mob hit. Batman (Bruce Wayne) feels that she is too violent in her methods, though the rest of the family don't feel the same way. She had a brief relationship with Nightwing, and she and Robin have a good working relationship.

Damian Wayne, the apparent son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, believes himself to be the son of Bruce and wants Bruce's approval and genuinely wants to help Bruce in his war on crime, despite his misguided youth and maliciousness.

For some of Batman's most notable villians, tune in tomorrow, same Bat-time, same Bat-blog.

Celebrating May Day

2009-05-01T05:41:00.001-05:00

May 1. In a lot of countries around the world, May 1 is associated with International Worker's Day, or Labour Day. However, here in the US, Labor Day is celebrated in September. That doesn't mean that we don't have our own celebration for May 1, which we call May Day, a celebration that has ancient roots.

May Day was originally a pagan festival in Europe before Christianity took hold, and it celebrated the Roman goddess of flowers, Flora, and Walpurgis Night Celebrations in Germanic countries.

May Day is approximately half way between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, but in pre-Christian Europe, the first day of spring was celebrated on February 1, making the first day of summer May 1. Using that measuring, that made the summer solstice (June 21) Midsummer.

Some traditions with May Day:

The May Day basket: Although fading in popularity, there was the tradition of leaving a May Day basket on the neighbor's doorstep. This would be filled with sweets and/or flowers. Usually, this was done by children. They would then ring the doorbell and run away. If, for instance, the basket was left by a boy, and a girl answered the door, she would be expected to chase after him, and if she could catch him would have to kiss him.

May pole: While not really a part of American culture any more, the may pole dance was brought to the United States by settlers from western Europe in the 1600s, and this European folk dance is still known by residents of the US wherein a group of people, mostly women, would form a circle around a pole in the ground, and take hold of a colored ribbon as they dance around the pole.

According to Wikipedia, one of the largest May Day celebrations in the United States is in Minneapolis, which is put on by the theatre group, In the Heart of the Beast, which will attract up to 35,000 people. (See A Day in the Life below to see that this is something that is one of the things I was thinking of attending).

Don't Panic

2009-04-30T05:26:00.001-05:00

Two words that bring to mind Douglas Adams' series, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and also two words that can guide us through life, all the way from when we're a kid to when we're in old age. Don't Panic. Unfortunately, when one is told to don't panic, what do people do? They realize that there is something going on that they can panic about.

It seems like everyone is talking about the swine flu--excuse me, North American flu, as they are calling it--these days. Of course, as I have run into work when an idea or new process is put into place, it has one name during its roll-out, and another name once it is fully implemented, the new name rarely takes hold, and it continues to be called by it's roll-out name, and I envision the same thing happening with this. It's in all the news sources, online and print papers. You can't turn on a TV without hearing about it, including the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Bloggers are blogging about it, and here I am, adding to the flu traffic jam in the blogging world. It's even jumped to places like Twitter where people are using that medium to spread their own fear and paranoi about the illness.

Even the Rochester Post-Bulletin, in an article I read online and presumably was in the print edition as well, told people not to panic about the swine flu. At the same time and in the same article, they said that now may be the time to start emergency preparedness in case social distancing may be required, doing things such as having extra food on hand, stockpiling prescription medications (which is something that is virtually impossible to do from both the pharmacy and insurance angles), and making decisions about who will care for you should you become sick. Not that I question the need to be prepared, but rather you should always be prepared for a wide contingency of events that may occur, not just for the swine flu. That 24/7 give it to me now culture that we currently live in may not always be there. A weekend bag should always be packed with clothing and essentials and put in a convenient, easy to get to area, in case you need to evacuate your house (even for a fire). You should always have more food on hand in case you can't get the store for any reason. When you notice that your prescription medication is to the point that it will only last you for two weeks, that is the time to start thinking of refills and not waiting until it becomes urgent for you. Have cash (or checks) available, in case ATMs stop working, or stores become unable to use debit and credit cards. It's a matter of always being prepared, not just for this.

And with a probable case of swine flu now in Minnesota, and the World Health Organization upping its pandemic alert to 5 (out of 6), now is the time to make sure you know the truth and the important details.

But instead of trying to explain the illness, I'll turn it over to the experts:

Questions and answers about the Swine flu: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/swine-flu/MY00675

How serious is the Swine Flu?: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/swine-flu/AN02000

Emergency Preparedness Survival Kit: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/survival-kit/FU00009

Coming Soon!

2009-04-29T05:31:00.000-05:00

After much consideration, and wondering if I'm up to the task, I have decided to bring back the Mythical Creature A Day blog. It probably won't happen overnight, and even once the posts start up again, the blog will continue to be very much a work in progress.

While I find mythical creatures interesting, it isn't necessary something that I follow religiously and all-knowingly like some in the fandom. There are even those...cryptozoologists and students of cryptozoology...that make a living from the field, or write books on the subject, and things like that. I'm not that into the subject. I like reading about things like the Loch Ness Monster or the Jersey Devil or the Moth Man and similar creatures from around the globe, or what we consider to be purely fictional--zombies and vampires and werewolves. I'm not an expert on such subjects, but merely try to bring some of what I learn to other people. I like sharing what I know and what I have learned despite not being an expert.

So why is Mythical Creature A Day set for a comeback, and not, let's see, festivals in the tristate area, or my food blog (which saw a lot of comments as people searched for the Magic Milk Powder that Walmart used to sell), or something else? First off, there are more people who are followers over there, on a nonexistant blog with no postings for over a year, than there are over here on an active blog. That could be that Mythical Creature A Day actually had a widget made for it which I know has been used. I've had emails from people asking if it was ever going to start up again.

I have now also been offered over $100 in recent days to write a paid blog article about a creature in the English Channel. Yes, I'm skeptical. Why would someone pay that much money to write a blog post, and then after that question, why would anyone pay me that much money to write that blog post. Such a posting may be made in coming days or weeks, shortly after the resurrection of the site, but I really doubt I would be brave enough to give this organization any of my information for sending me payment. I don't think I'd be brave enough to give them my PayPal routing for fear that even PayPal could be hacked.

All of this has helped to remind me that there is interest out there in the paranormal, the myths and legends of old, and in creatures that may still be discovered. And there may be a place in that mythos for Mythical Creature A Day. And unless I want to go the way of the dragon, maybe I should once again rear my ugly head.

When I first started it, I had big visions and ideas for the blog. It was going to become the largest online collection of mythical and legendary creatures online. I thought that after three or four years of active posting, I would reach that goal. Maybe one day I will.

A Day in the Life

2009-04-28T05:32:00.002-05:00

I read the news today oh, boy About a lucky man who made the gradeAnd though the news
was rather sad Well, I just had to laughI saw the photograph
He blew his mind out in a car He didn't notice that the lights had changedA crowd of people stood and staredThey'd seen his face beforeNobody was really sure if he was from the house of lordsI saw a film today oh, boyThe english army had just won the warA crowd of people turned awayBut i just had to lookHaving read the bookI love l to turn you on.Woke up, got out of bed Dragged a comb across my headFound my way downstairs and drank a cup And looking up, i noticed i was lateFound my coat and grabbed my hatMade the bus in seconds flatFound my way upstairs and had a smokeSomebody spoke and i went into a dream AhI read the news today oh, boyFour thousand holes in blackburn, lancashire And though the holes were rather smallThey had to count them allNow they know how many holes it takes to fill the albert hallI'd love to turn you on.

It's coming up onto the first weekend in May. One of the problems with having multifaceted interests is that from time to time, there are too many options of things that sound like they would be fun and interesting and fit in with my interests. The first weekend in May is always one of those weekends. On Saturday, I'll have more options of things to do, and not enough time to be able to do them all. And these are just the things that I know about that are happening:

Comic Book Day (All Day Saturday)

Warblers Walk at Quarry Hill at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Craftstravaganza at the Minnesota Fairgrounds from 9-5 on Saturday.

Cinco de Mayo Festival in St. Paul on Saturday.

Living Green Expo at the Minnesota Fairgrounds both Saturday and Sunday.

Festival of Nations at the River Centre in St. Paul both Saturday and Sunday.

Fiesta Day (Cinco de Mayo celebration) at the Mall of America on Saturday. At least this seems to be mostly for kids, so I won't be too disappointed if I have to miss this.

Raptor Release at the Raptor Center on Saturday.

Saturday morning yoga.

National Robot Combat Championships at the Mall of America both Saturday and Sunday.

Eye exam on Saturday.

Program on rattlesnakes at Whitewater State Park.

May Day parade and festival on Sunday.

MicroCon

2009-04-27T05:09:00.007-05:00

With the weather being cold, rainy, dreary, and otherwise perfectly miserable yesterday here in Minnesota, it made for a perfect day to head up to St. Paul for the annual spring comic book convention, MicroCon.

Having never been to a comic book convention, or as this event was being called, a comic book party, we weren't quite sure what to expect. I couldn't find much online as to what would be going on at the event, at http://www.mncba.com/. About all I was certain of is that it would be smaller than ComicCon in San Diego.

Held at the Progress Building at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, we paid our $7 a person admission to get in, and were immediately bombarded by a mass of humanity surrounding tables as people talked to people who were drawing comics, or swarming around tables with comics for sale. The sheer number of people was almost overwhelming. And yes, there were costumed characters, though only a few. I had taken the camera, but upon arriving at the Fairgrounds, made the decision that it probably would look stupid to drag it into the con with us, so I left it in the car. Our first stop, after registering for door prizes, was at a vendor who was selling comics for $0.50. Looking for something more out of the ordinary, I picked up a couple of books called Tales of the Jackalope, and Tammy picked up one related to one of her favorite shows, the Twilight Zone. It meant that we now had a bag to put all sorts of paper into--such as a mini Star Trek movie poster, or postcards, or the Star Trek sticker/bumper sticker, or other types of information in.

Next up, we stopped at a table that attracted my attention due to a black and white comic being opened to a page with a Pac Man screen on it. It turns out it was a local comic book creator, and the book was Space Sheriff and Happy Boy (http://www.spacesheriff.com/). The book that caught my eye was issue 10, which also had a story about assassin spiders that work for the government. Now, I hate spiders, so I can very easily suspend disbelief in reading that story to the point where it makes sense that those little hairy things are in fact out to kill me. I ended up buying issue 10 as well as issues 1 through 5 put together into a collection.

As we moved through the booths of comics, DVDs, and toys representing much of pop culture in the United States that can at least somewhat make a connection to the world of comics--and in today's world, that's almost anything, we came to another booth from a local creator. This time, though, it wasn't regarding comics, but rather there were puppets on the table. They were there advertising their webisodes of Transylvania TV (http://www.transylvania-tv.com/). It turns out they had filmed a pilot TV episode of Transylvania TV, and then ran out of funding to continue. They did manage to get it aired on the CW channel in the Twin Cities, but since then, they have only produced shows for online airing. Follow the links below:

Part 1 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpN7ew0lfs4

Part 2 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4bvGr9c0nw

Part 3 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckl0SqvZ0-Q

Part 4 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgLwX8iWEWQ

Part 5 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFwhla1g8Mg

Part 6 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqoX2diS1-0 (my personal favorite)

Part 7 of pilot episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHWywRWcEZs

Now if only they could get it put on television. Assuming that is still their goal. I'd love to see it end up someplace such as Comedy Central. Puppet comedy for grown-ups. Their YouTube channel is here: http://www.youtube.com/user/tvtvonline.

Earth Week: Arbor Day

2009-04-24T13:19:00.000-05:00

Today is Arbor Day. At least, it is for most of the United States. It will, however, vary from state to state. In Florida, Arbor Day is celebrated during the third week of January, and in California, the second week of March, due to their climates. In Hawaii, it's celebrated in November. In Maine, it's the third full week in May.

As for the holiday itself, it started out in the state of Nebraska, and it was first officially adopted as a holiday there March 12, 1874, with the actual holiday to occur on April 10. The date was later moved to April 22, which was the birthday of the man who started Arbor Day, J. Sterling Morton. Today, the last Friday in April is when most states celebrate the day.

I went to Rochester's 7th annual Arbor Day Celebration at Central Park, where I picked up this year's tree give-away, a red oak tree. Tammy took the other selection, the sugar maple. For the time being, they'll be planted in the out-of-the-way corner of the back yard and see how they do, and how the rest of our trees do. If they survive and flourish, in a couple of years, they may be transplanted to other areas of the yard.

Earth Week: The Planet's Check Up

2009-04-23T05:54:00.000-05:00

If I were a doctor, and the Earth were my patient, we'd be at the point where I'd need to tell my patient that he had to make significant lifestyle modifications, or he would die.

Lifestyle modification. One of the most dreaded phrases that can come out of a doctor's mouth. It means that we actually have to change the way we live our lives, and we can no longer do what we want to do. We have to abide by limitations. It means that we need to stick to changes that we don't want to have to make. I know, I have heard some of the same objections: An overweight doctor telling his patient to lose weight, or a nurse who tells a patient to quit smoking before heading out on a smoke break of her own. Or a doctor telling his patient to watch what he eats, and then heads to the office and downs a donut or two.

But lifestyle changes can be made, even when you don't need to. They aren't easy. I know. At one point, I was 5'10, and weighed 240 pounds, which put my BMI well over the obese marker of 30. On my own, and without a doctor having to give me the ultimatum of change or die, I was able to lose 85 pounds through watching what I ate and exercise. It's just testament to the fact, that together, we can give the Earth a lifestyle modification.

Granted, in health care, I can make a decision to live healthy and still develop a life-changing or life-ending disease. And so, too, is the case with Planet Earth. Six billion people can make the effort and do everything right, only to have the planet struck by an asteroid or suffer a nuclear war, or any other method of the planet dying. There is no guarantee. But isn't it better to know we did our best to save the planet than to do our best to destroy the planet?

So, here is the health check-up for Planet Earth.

REVIEW OF SYSTEMS

Arctic Region: Due to global warming, the ice in the arctic region is melting, and melting fast. By some estimates, the waters in the arctic could be ice free in 30 years. That's within my lifetime, estimated around the time of retirement. That ice needs to go somewhere, so water levels around the world will rise. That may rule out Florida as a retirement spot (or, perhaps Florida would at that time be a series of tiny islands). The lack of arctic ice could also spell doom for the polar bears.

Antarctic shelf: Global warming doesn't just effect the arctic region. Ice is breaking off of the Antarctic shelf in a double whammy for melting ice and rising sea levels. It also raises concerns for the penguins and other sea life that live in that region.

The Hole in the Ozone: Here's some good news. The holes that had been growing, threatening to destroy the layer of atmosphere that helps protect us from the sun's radiation is actually slowly starting to repair itself. Yes, it will take decades for the damage to be repaired, but at least we are going in the right direction here.

Increase in the size and number of ocean dead zones: Since the 1970s, areas of oceans near shorelines have been observed where we have large kill-off of marine animals, and then what should be a healthy, thriving underworld water is devoid of the life we'd expect to find. This is caused by an increase of chemical nutrients in those areas, which number approximately 150 areas world wide, and chemical fertilizer is the prime suspect. One of the more well-known dead zones is in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi River enters the Gulf, creating a dead zone of over 8000 square miles, and putting at risk the shrimp industry.

Coral in crisis: When you go scuba diving or snorkeling, you hear the warning to not touch the coral, and that even coming into contact with coral may be enough to kill it and thus sending the underworld ecosystem into turmoil. As global warming progresses, it will only get worse for the coral. Already, ocean water has risen 1 degree Fahrenheit. It may not sound like much, but it has put enough environmental stress on coral reefs that they cannot handle, and have been dying off. And with an altered chemical state of the oceans, it is harder for coral to build reefs than before. So what does this mean for us, you may be asking? They provide habitat for important food sources, such as snapper and grouper; as well as approximately 25% of ocean life, and other species use coral for nurseries or feeding grounds. They also provide protection to land from tsunamis.

Deforestation: Mostly occurring in the Brazilian Amazon, but also a growing concern in Asia and Africa. Reforestation is occurring in North America and Europe, but not enough to counteract the deforestation elsewhere. Approximately 32 million acres of forests are lost each year.

Water stress: Pattern changes are already occurring in the weather. What have been arid regions are on their way to becoming more dry. And as the water levels in the ocean rise due to the melting polar ice, this could cause the salt water from the ocean to spill up into fresh water aquifers.

Greenhouse gases: The buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is a concern that has attracted most of the attention, with efforts such as the Kyoto Accords grabbing most of the headlines. Advancements in China (which is #1 in total emissions of greenhouse gases) and India are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, though the US is still the largest producer of emissions per capita.

Extinction is Forever: Currently, 45,000 species are threatened with extinction. That includes one in four mammal species.

Population: This is one that we can do little about. In 2007, Planet Earth became home to 6 billion people. That same year, more people lived in urban regions as opposed to rural. More mouths to feed, less suitable land for agriculture.

So as you review what you can do to help make the Earth a better place, remember, the planet you save just might be your own.

Earth Week: Earth (the movie)

2009-04-22T05:47:00.003-05:00

A new movie that comes out today. Celebrate Earth Day by going and seeing it.

Earth Week: Living Green

2009-04-21T05:45:00.002-05:00

It seems that every year, people make more of a decision to start living green. And I've noticed it more this year than ever before. Even Nickelodeon TV is trying to push a greener lifestyle on its young viewers, even going so far as to copy the WWF's Earth Hour from last month, only this time, they are suggesting turning out the lights for a minute.

For those living in and near the Twin Cities, there is the Living Green Expo on May 2-3, 2009. I have been to two of these expos in the past, and they just keep getting better. You will find a childrens' area, a food court, food demonstrations, and seminars on helping you live a greener life. Even if you don't live in the Twin Cities, chances are you can find a similar expo near you.

Don't have time to actually go and visit the Living Green Expo? What about checking out Do It Green, a site with articles on green living, to help educate and motivate Minnesotans to live greener, more sustainably, and to help build healthy communities.

EcoMetro has articles about living green, an eco-calendar to find plenty of events to go to, and a merchant directory to help discover your new green lifestyle.

Check out these pages and events. You never know, the planet you save could be your own.

Earth Week: The Recycling Conundrum

2009-04-20T06:36:00.002-05:00

We taught that it's good to recycle. I remember growing up out on the farm, and in the spring, we would walk the ditches in the country, looking for pop and beer cans that had been thrown out from cars as they traveled down the country roads, ending up with bags full of aluminum, which we would take in to be recycled and turned into a bit of spending cash. Or we would get the aluminum cans in Blooming Prairie during the Fourth of July celebration there.

And then when we moved into town, we learned more about recycling, not for profit, but because it was the right thing to do--things like food cans, the newspaper, milk jugs, and the like. Not to mention, it probably helped reduced the amount of garbage, and saved on the garbage bill as well. And then, of course, there was the start of the recycled paper business (maybe not the start, but I started noticing recycled paper in the stores more often), and we had to go through the education that 100% recycled, or 50% recycled or even 10% recycled didn't necessarily mean anything. It was only the post-consumer recycled that really meant it had actually been recycled.

So, recycling was good. It helped the environment. It reduced the amount of trash. If it was aluminum, you could make money with it. And in Rochester, recycling isn't just a good idea, it's actually the law.

In the past few years, recycling has gotten a boost, as the concept of "going green" has picked up a lot of energy, with cities having Green Expos helping people to actually go green, to recycle, to "reduce your carbon footprint."

Last month, I got a notice from our garbage company, though, as I'm sure people around the country that use Veolia did as well:

Unfortunately, recycling commodity prices have recently collapsed at record levels due to decreased demand from both national and overseas markets such as China. This is also occurring at a time when consumers have been "going green" and increasing their recycling efforts resulting in an overabundance of supplied materials. while this impact is good for the environment, it is having a negative economic impact in the recycling community. Local recycling facilities that previously accepted recyclables for free, avoiding disposal costs, have recently begun charging fees for recycling to be processed. Even worse, some recycling facilities are no longer accepting any material whatsoever as they no longer have storage space and buyers for their recyclable materials have fallen by the wayside. This current trend is resulting in a massive market shift in which the cost of providing recycling service is approaching the same cost of taking regular trash to a landfill.

Veolia Environmental Services is committed to continuing to provide you with a method to recycle your paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminum material. However, a short-term adjustment in your recycling rate will be necessary for us to cover our costs until the prices for the commodities return to their previous levels...

Go figure--anything they can do to try to take even more money from us.