12/18/11 KUDOS TO THE COAST GUARD

A WIMPY SUNRISE

COAST GUARD HOUSING...

...GETTING A MUCH NEEDED FACE LIFT

Sunday, 8:00 AM.  25 degrees, wind W, variable.  The sky is again cloudy, and the sunrise was but a peach colored streak on the southeastern horizon.  It was still completely dark at 7:00 AM and the sun rose about 7:30.  The days are shorter and shorter and one can hardly wait for Christmas and the winter solstice to see things start brightening up.  The barometer predicts snow.
    The Coast Guard owns four houses in Bayfield, which are primarily  used to house personnel with families.  This is necessary because there is little private rental housing in Bayfield that is affordable on military pay and allowances.
        These houses have always been kept up and are a good long term investment for the government, but had begun to look pretty dowdy, so they are in the process of getting a face lift.  New roofs, siding, better insulation, new windows and doors.  They have been made much more energy efficient, and the task has been done primarily by a local contractor and has given much needed work to local tradesmen.  If it is being paid for by stimulus funds it is a good use of the same.  In any case, Kudos to the Coast Guard.

12/17/11 GOING WHERE THE WORK IS, WHEN IT IS

MORNING SUNSHINE; NICE WHILE IT LASTED

Saturday, 8:030 AM.  18 degrees, wind NNE, calm.  Sunlight streamed through the patio doors at dawn, but the rising sun was quickly swallowed up by high gray clouds which enveloped the sky. It was nice while it lasted. The barometer predicts snow.
    We went to Dalou’s in Washburn for pizza last night.  They were mobbed and we never got served until about eight-thirty.  But it was well worth the wait. They have the only wood-fired pizza oven around.
    Overheard at Maggie’s the other night:  several older guys at the next table, who looked as though they should be retired, were excitedly discussing the possibility of going to North Dakota to drive trucks in the burgeoning oil and gas fields. North Dakota is booming. They probably need the money, but even more than that they could use the excitement.  Their talk even got my own blood flowing.  Reminded me of the days of the Alaska pipeline and many of us then young guys talking about heading there.  Some went and made (and spent) a lot of money. North Dakota is not anywhere near as far.  Probably as cold, though.
    A glimmer of hope: maybe, just maybe, Congress will out-maneuver the Obama Administration and get the Keystone Canadian oil sands pipeline project started.  That would really get the economy and those old timers at Maggie’s stimulated, but more importantly it would energize the young folks who are being short changed in these totally unnecessary hard times. The youngsters caught up in the various phony “Occupy” movements would be far better off to pack their bags and head to North Dakota than to listen to their left-wing college professors and the various “community organizers.” I can't imagine young people wasting their youth  in that way.
        Seen in town: Phil, a licensed ocean ship captain, who worked in the Gulf tending oil drilling rigs until most of them picked up and moved to the African coast when the Obama administration stopped oil exploration and drilling after the BP spill (and the huge rigs aren’t coming back any time soon). His company flew him back for the Holidays, all expenses paid.  He would rather be closer to hearth and home, but one has to go where the work is, when it is.

12/16/11 ANOTHER COLD, GRAY DAY, AND DENYING OUR HERITAGE

ANOTHER COLD, GRAY DAY

BUDDY PLAYS ENDLESSLY, ALL BY HIMSELF

 Friday,  8:00 AM.  20 degrees, wind NNE, calm.  It is again overcast and a few lake effect snowflakes are falling.  We have had a succession of dreary days but the barometer is up.
    Buddy continues to be a fun and affectionate addition to the household, is walking nicely on a lead and will play and play with his toys all by himself.
    Commentary. The public hearing on the newly proposed mining bill was held yesterday, and all the usual suspects showed up at the State Fair Park in West Allis (a suburb of Milwaukee).  From what I have read, the  objectors objected to, and the supporters supported, the mining legislation, and I doubt if most or perhaps any read the bill, as they all pretty much presented the same arguments they had made previously.  It is going to take more meetings and more time to resolve the issues involved, and at some point I will try to analyze the bill for myself. At this point my only comment is the following: it seems rather odd to me to oppose, on principal, mining iron ore in Iron County, Wisconsin, which is very close to the cities of Ironwood and Bessemer (think steel smelting) in Michigan.  Also, it has been pointed out that  mining is one of the four icons on the shield of the State of Wisconsin (which is called The Badger State in honor of its miners) and a miner, along with a sailor, are the two human figures on the state flag.  Mining has a tradition of over 100 years in the exact same area that the proposed mine would be located, and mining was a principal industry when Wisconsin became a state in 1848. The quaint mining community of Montreal, Wisconsin, was a company town built at the foot of a mountain of mine tailings.  It is now a national historic site.  Why must we deny our cultural and economic heritage?

12/15/11 A SAUSAGE BISCUIT BREAKFAST, AND "TH..TH..THAT'S ALL, FOLKS"

ANOTHER WINTRY MORNING

Thursday, 3:00 PM.  30 degrees, wind W, strong at times. It has been a wintry day, with ice and snow and slippery roads on an early morning trip to Ashland for a doctor’s appointment and then last minute shopping.  Buddy went along and the highlight of his otherwise I suspect boring day was a MacDonald’s sausage biscuit for breakfast.  Thanks in part  to Micky D's he is filling out some, but you can still see his ribs.
    This from the Associated Press: “The signatures of Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler will be counted on recall petitions targeting (Wisconsin) Governor Scott Walker as long as they are properly dated and include a Wisconsin address,”  the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which reviews the petitions, has stated.  Really!  How about the signatures of Marilyn Monroe, Donald Duck, and Porky Pig?  I am so relieved that the State of Wisconsin is protecting the rights of voters, and incumbents in office,  through such judicious oversight. Can anyone tell me why a public board with such a frivolous attitude even exists, and who it intends to benefit?   Th..Th..That's All, Folks!

12/14/11 LUTEFISK, AQUAVIT, AND A "FAT CHANCE"

MAGGIES IN THE FOG

ANNUAL LUTEFISK DINNER

SKOAL!

Wednesday, 7:45 AM.  35 degrees, wind NNE, calm.  It as been raining and the roads are somewhat icy, and  walking Buddy was a bit iffy.  The barometer predicts more precipitation.
    The trip to Duluth yesterday was a foggy drive but was not dangerous if one paid attention to speed and visibility, and we were back in time to go to the annual lutefisk dinner at Maggie's restaurant, which we missed last year.
    Lutefisk is Arctic Circle winter starvation fare; dried cod which has been reconstituted into a quivering, gelatinous mass by soaking it in lye. Drowned in cream and melted butter it is somewhat palatable.  Die hard Scandinavians claim it as a culinary icon.  I eat it out of respect for my Nordic friends and neighbors, and because the free meal also has Swedish meatballs, boiled buttered potatoes, salads and a number of delicacies such as leffsa, a Norwegian tortilla-like flat bread sprinkled with sugar, and rice pudding with lignon berries.  And of course there is the Norwegian liquid fire, aqavit.
    Comment: 1.2 Billion dollars, has disappeared from and is unaccounted for by M F Global Corporation. Investors money was illegally commingled with other funds and is gone without, evidently, a trace.  All the top executives, including John Corzine, a former US senator and New Jersey governor, testified before Congress, claiming they know nothing.
    The Chinese would simply shoot them.  Congress ought to at least water board them until they tell the truth.  Fat chance of getting to the bottom of this, as Corzine is one of their own.

12/13/11 CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND JIMMY CARTER

CHATEAU BOUTIN

GORDY LIT UP OUR STREET, DIDN'T FALL OFF THE LADER

OLD RITTENHOUSE INN

KNIGHT HOUSE

Tuesday, 8:00 AM.  34 degrees, wind NW, calm to very light.  The atmosphere is damp and murky but there is little actual fog.  The city salt and sand trucks have been out, but roads were still too slippery with black ice to walk the dog very far this morning.  He is out on the porch now, playing with his toys to work off some energy.  He barks some when he plays but I doubt neighbors will complain, at least if I don’t let it go on too long.
    We are off to Duluth today, where Joan has an eye doctor appointment and we may do some shopping. Buddy loves to ride in the truck and will go along.  He also loves a MacDonalds' hamburger.
    We sought out more Christmas lights yesterday evening but the pickings are pretty slim this year.  Too many absentee home owners for one thing, but I think the biggest damper on the season is the general mood of society, and  I suspect this lack of enthusiasm is general throughout the country.  The news and peoples' attitudes are very negative, and the economy is so down that it is bound to dampen everyone’s holiday spirits. The Grinch seems to be at work everywhere, doubt and cynicism rule the day and optimism and goodwill are in short supply. I would characterize it as a Jimmy Carter malaise (put on a sweater, repent of your capitalistic sins and freeze in the dark, folks)

12/12/11 FOG, CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, AND "FAIRNESS"

FOGGY, SLIPPERY MORNING

LUTHERAN CHURCH

SECOND STREET

...MORE

NEIGHBOR MIKE OUTDID HIMSELF THIS YEAR

Monday, 8:00 AM.  35 degrees, wind WWSW, calm.  The sky is overcast and thick fog is developing.  The barometer is down and black ice is forming on the roads. I managed to take a tumble despite being careful.  Buddy walked very nicely, not pulling on the leash at all.  He seemed to know conditions were a bit perilous for bipedal creatures.
    Buddy is improving his manners every day, but still has a stubborn streak a mile wide, which is I think characteristic of the breed.  He still won’t sit for me on
command but sits nicely for Joan.  Of course, she doesn’t command, she cajoles, I.E., “Buddy is such a nice dog, I know he will sit for me, won’t you, buddy dear?”  Now that is patently unfair.  After all, that would ruin my reputation at the kennel club or wherever if I resorted to that kind of bribery.
    The city has a fair amount of Christmas lights  up, but they seem to be fewer every year as there are more and more absentee owners who don’t bother with decorations.  Of course we don’t help much as we don’t put up a lot of decorations either.
    Commentary: Loews is under fire for discontinuing its advertising on a Dearborn, MI reality TV show featuring Muslim-American couples.  It reportedly did so after receiving complaints from other groups that the TV show did not depict the truth about Muslim life.  Now, Loews obviously advertised on that show in anticipation of gaining more Muslim customers, and withdrew the advertising because it believed they were alienating more customers than  attracting . It was a business decision as to how to spend an advertising budget.
    This has now become a political battle, from as far away as California, with lawmakers calling Loews prejudiced for withdrawing its advertising.  Sounds very logical and one might evern be sympathetic to the discrimination charges.  But here's the crux of the matter: if government or its surrogates can tell a corporation how and when and where to advertise, it can play political favorites ad nauseum, and obviously will do so.  How about the federal government telling Walmart and Loews and the rest to advertise on shows that have politicians or political viewpoints from one party or another featured? Or tell them to withdraw advertising from the same?  Or demanding advertising support for General Motors products, the firm still owned by the federal government?
    Life, including business, is not always "fair."  But demanding "fairness" in every instance, especially by the government, creates the opposite; unfairness of the most grievous and illogical sort, including infringement of the First Amendment rights of all of us.  Keep this kind of pressure up and business will be loath to advertise at all.  How's that for stimulating the economy?