I Got a Line on You

Let me take you baby, down to the river bed
Got to tell you somethin', go right to your head
Cause I got a line on you, babe
I got a line on you

- R. California


I've been spending most of my time this summer waiting and preparing for next fall's college term. In the meantime, I've been watching the Brewers do pretty well. Since I don't have a television of my own, I watch the games at the place where I also go to eat. That's handy for me, and this place also gives me somewhere to go when I'm bored. It's called the Amber Inn, and it's run by a very cool fellow by the name of Orv. One day, not too long ago, somebody got the bright idea to have a float on the local river that runs through town. This is the story of that fun-filled event, sponsored by the aforementioned Amber Inn.

Truthfully, in my opinion, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. I've provided a few captions for you. We had about a dozen people on the float, most riding on some sort of inner tube. Orv sailed a canoe. Myself, I had a brandy-new tube to float on, and I had a very, very good time. I think we all did. Anyway, here you go!

This photo was taken at the Amber Inn's parking lot prior to our group loading up in the van and shuttling down to the start-landing.

Most of our group getting ready to start. The shove-off point on the river was just out of view behind the trees on the left.

Most of our group in the water, just before I got in.

Two views from the river. The large mostly-yellow float is actually a kiddie pool.

Our only stop along the way was this tree-swing. Hoo haa lots of fun!

Another view from the river.

The end of the line. The trip lasted about 4 1/2 hours, so we were pretty tired at this point.

And here we are back at the Amber Inn parking lot. The first thing most of us did was make plans for next year. Count me in!!!

Help!

When I was younger so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone I'm not so self-assured
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors. . .

- Lennon/McCartney


Okay, OK, OK, calm down a bit now. Yes, I need help. I'll explain that. But, really, I'm not that desperate. :) I do really like the song, though. Really, who of us that grew up in that era doesn't? Anyways. . . . .

While I was trudging around Wazee Lake County Park this Saturday (see my previous blog-entries) I happened to notice quite a few late-season mushrooms and other higher fungi. This really surprised me, as I figured it was a little too late for them. As a result, I was not prepared to do anything but photograph them in situ. Next time I'll actually collect some, bring 'em home, and study them far better so I can get an accurate identification. That being written, what follows below are some photos of some of the fungi that I saw. If any of you out there recognize anything or have any corrections of what I've got here; PLEASE LET ME KNOW - my curiosity is very piqued on these, especially on the first set of photos.

So, let's get to the photos, shall we? :) Here ya go:

These two photos show something that has boggled my mind ever since I noticed them on the ground. Are these fungi? Are they plants? I certainly don't know! They look cool as heck, though; but I really, really would like an identification on these. This is where I need YOUR help the most. I've looked around a little on the 'net, thinking that these were some type of club fungi or something close to that; but I could not find anything even closely resembling them. There were about 2 dozen of these brown whorls in about a 10 foot by 10 foot area along a walking trail through a mixed-wood forest, predominantly coniferous. These photos show a good representative sample of what the rest looked like. Note the quarter for size-reference.

These two photos show a very common gilled mushroom that I saw on my walk. They were scattered all along the trails I was on in various habitats and were easily the most common 'shroom that I saw. I realize that these photos are not much to go on; but, like I wrote, they're all I have. The only thing I'll exclude is a Russula species, as the stipes were relatively soft compared to what I've read about Russula. Again, this is in mixed forest, predominantly coniferous. These photos were taken from a roadway, the road is no more than 10 years old. I saw lots and lots of different kinds of mushrooms in between the road itself and the actual wooded area of the woods (about 15 feet on average). The soil here, by the way, is almost nonexistent, consisting of sand with very little organic cover on top of that. In the open areas, grass takes a while to get growing well and still grows fairly thin. But, hey, I'm used to the very nice black clays/loamy soils of glaciated central Minnesota.

After a bit of research, I do believe that this is Suillus Luteus, aka "Slippery Jack". These caps weren't viscid, but were sticky. Again, photo taken from the roadway area.

This is one I'm much more certain on. Suillus Americanus. Everything I've read about it points to this species. And, btw, YUCK, what an awful mushroom. :) I will write that these particular samples appeared a bit greener than the texts said, and the photos don't really show that well. Prolly just a bit of regional color variation. There were about 3 dozen caps of this growing in a 5 foot by 5 foot area just outside the tree-line in the roadway.

The only easy 'shroom I found all day. A nice (but small) edible puffball. (Lycoperdon Pyriformes, but don't quote me on that.) These were also fairly common. This sample was split open by squeezing it between my fingers.

Eclipse

There is no dark side of the moon, really -
matter of fact it's all dark.

- background voice at the end of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album.


This post will seem a little odd, even for me. I want to get the funny stuff out of the way first, as I have a few other posts planned.

It has been raining here pretty much every day for the last two weeks. Very dreary, depressing weather; and my mood reflected it. I didn't get out much. Today, when I woke up, there was sunshine. I needed to go have some fun, so I did.

It's mid-fall here, and the trees are turning color. I decided to go a few miles out of town, to a man-made lake, and take my camera with me. I figured that I'd show all of you what a little fall color looks like around here. There were other things to take pictures of, too.

Well, there I was, having fun and taking more than a few photos. I was walking along a trail through the woods near this lake when, all of a sudden, there was a noise like I've never heard before. I looked to where the sound came from, and this is what I saw. I quickly snapped the photo:

What did I get? Nothing less than the ass-end of a porcupine! What I had heard was the little shit raising it's quills. Then it turned away from me. The SOB was mooning me!!! I guess that even the dumb animals here have figured out that I'm in exile from Minnesota. :( Prolly cussed me out too. And farted.

Believe it or not, this the first time I've ever encountered a porkypine in the wild. I've seen and/or been around most other Midwestern wild critters, but this was a first for me. Hell, I haven't even seen one of these as roadkill. I feel lucky that it wasn't drunk and didn't attack. I hear that their quills are tipped with deadly poison and also explode. I didn't even dare moon it back. Fucker.

Anyways, that was only part of my adventure today. The rest is on the way, keep an eye on the next few posts, OK? And don't sit on anything with quills. :) :) :)

Dazed and Confused

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true.
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.
Take it easy baby, let them say what they will.
Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?

- R. Plant/J. Page/J. Bonham/J. Paul Jones


Earlier today, I was checking out some of the blogs that I like to read. One of them, hosted by a professor from the university I attended, (circa mid-late '80s) is named "Pharyngula". His name is Dr. P. Z. Myers, and the university is the University of Minnesota Morris. The blog itself is mostly about biological science issues but also has a few other subjects tossed in. I like it, and lately I've been in the habit of visiting the blog daily.

Well, to make this introduction a little shorter, :) one story that caught my eye today was about a new "creationist" museum opening in Wisconsin Dells. I've read about other such "museums" and, to me, it's all a bunch of bullshit. Yes, bullshit. Bullshit and a half. :) I mean, come on, the earth is less than 10,000 years old according to these nutballs. I've studied too much science to agree with that kind of conclusion. Now, don't get me wrong, anybody can believe whatever they want to; but, myself, I'll go with the stuff that's supported by things like physical evidence and other conclusive lines of inquiry. In essence, reality.

So, anyway, I read about this place and I thought that it would be fun to go and see if I could find it, just for kicks. I had also planned on revisiting the Dells area, as I related in a previous post. Plus, I needed a good excuse to get out of the house and out of town for a little while. So I did.

My basic plan was to visit some of the state parks in the area around Wisconsin Dells, plus to drive around in the area and take photos for my blog - to show people. If I ran past the "museum" I was going to stop and take a picture of that, too. With that in mind, I fired up the foxmobile, hit the interstate, and nosed her eastbound. The local radio station was playing a lot of Led Zeppelin, the sky was cloudless, and I anticipated a fun afternoon.

A little over an hour later, I hit the first exit for Wisconsin Dells, aiming for Rocky Arbor State Park on U.S. 12/16. In just a few minutes I was there - only to find a gate across the entrance and a sign that said, "closed". I figured it was because they were doing maintenance or somesuch just after the summer season. Oh well, there was another park to visit and other stuff to see, so I drove on down the highway and into town. Less than 5 minutes later, I crossed the Wisconsin Dells city line whereupon I pulled off the highway at a gas station to get a local area map. I asked the attendant in there why Rocky Arbor was closed, and he said that the state parks in the area close after Labor Day. Suddenly I felt dazed and confused. :) :)

I recovered quickly and altered my plan. I checked the local map for anything I might be interested in seeing, figuring I would spend my time driving around and stopping whenever I felt there was something worth stopping for. From the map, it looked like a loop from where I was at, through downtown Wisconsin Dells, then across the river, go a few miles upriver, recross, and return would do the trick. That was pretty much what I did, with an eye out for any road that would get me close to the river. Along the way, I took photos of where I stopped.

That plan worked pretty well, except for one small thing. I found out that the vast majority of the northern (or "upper") part of the Wisconsin River is either inaccessible to cars or is privately owned - and closed. Off-season means something here. The only exceptions were both on the west side of the river. The first was the public access at a campground, and the second was a pullover on Stand Rock Road. Oh well, you learn something new every day. :)

After I made the loop (about 2 hours later) I hopped back on the interstate and headed back westbound. I didn't return home directly - instead I revisited a few spots that I had been to about a year ago. Ahhhh, but that's for the next blog-entry. :) Below are captioned photos of the Wisconsin Dells area for you all to enjoy. I did have fun, despite having been a bit disappointed. Please let me know what you think!

This is a view of the beginning of the "lower dells" area. Just downriver from the right-hand bend that you see was where the DUKW that I previously blogged went. Just out of view on the left is where the dam/power plant is. The fishing must be pretty good here. :)



Some early fall color for the area.

This is a view the river (well, a loop of it around an island, anyway) from the aforementioned pullout on Stand Rock Road. The previous photo is looking the other way, across the road.

While this isn't a sandstone formation that the area is famous for, this photo does show what the local bedrock looks like. The shot was taken at the parking lot of the gas station I stopped at.


Apparently, I'm not the only one dazed and confused. This sign wouldn't last 5 minutes in Minnesota. And they wonder why we call them cheeseheads. . . . :)

I couldn't figure out if this was a hotel with rides or an amusement park with a hotel attached. I thought it looked cool, though.

Not everything was closed, however. This amusement park, called "Pirate's Cove", was still going strong. Arrrrr, matey! Avast ye swabs! 'Tis the native stone I am 'ere to see, not this bilge!

Downtown Wisconsin Dells. This is the "shopping area". It also has a few attractions, I noticed. This photo was taken by me in the car while stopped at a stoplight. The car is facing east, the photo is towards the west. I still had time to partially roll up the window before the light changed. :)

Fool for the City

When I see my inner city child
I be walking on a cloud

'Cuz I'm a fool for the city. . . .

- D. Peverett


This is the story of the first "city" that I knew of. When I was just a wee pup, there was only one place that I had been to that could be called a city. Now, I know that most of you, thinking that I'm from Minnesota, would consider Minneapolis or St. Paul to be the city I'm writing about. Nope. I first lived on the iron range, and my first city is Duluth. She's a damned nice one, at that. This story also includes the city of Superior, WI; because, quite frankly, it's pretty difficult to separate the two.

This blog-entry also ties in with the previous two, in that it's part of my trip to the "our generation" reunion at Hoyt Lakes, MN. On Friday, after visiting Pattison State Park and then pulling into Superior, WI, I noted that I visited the Richard I. Bong WW2 Historical Center.

One very large interest that I have is in world war 2 history. I knew about the R. I. Bong Center for awhile, and told myself that sometime, when I was in the city, I'd visit. I just had to see his reconstructed airplane, Marge. On this trip, as I wrote in the previous blog-entry, it was right there on the corner where I had to make a turn. And I had the time. It's a very cool place, to me, and I had a good time when I was there.

Major Richard I. Bong was the U. S. A.'s ace of aces in WW2, with over 40 confirmed kills. He flew P-38 Lightnings in the Pacific, and received the CMH in 1944. He died while test-piloting a new jet-aircraft being developed towards the end of the war. He grew up near Superior, and that's why the Center is here. He also has a park and a major bridge named after him, here. The reconstructed P-38 is modeled after the P-38j that Maj. Bong flew in the war.

The only problem I had with the Center was a sign, just outside of the large display area, that said, "No video cameras - No flash cameras". Fine and dandy, until I realized that I couldn't figure out how to get my camera's flash to not go off. Grrrrrr. So I can't show you the stuff I saw there, just stuff outside. Sorry. I have since rectified that problem - I had my niece show me how to turn the flash off. :)

Anyways, to (kind of) make up for that, here is a link for the Center itself:
http://www.bongheritagecenter.org/
While browsing this site, I didn't see any photos of the restored "Marge", but there is at least one b/w photo of the original. I will also say here that the restoration is quite impressive, one can walk all the way around it and also view the cockpit area from the walkway above. Also on display there were about a dozen models of many different aircraft, some of the ones that Maj. Bong flew and some of the ones he shot down. They also had an original Norden bombsight (most of it, anyway - very, very cool) and an uncrated Allison engine used in the P-38.

The following photos are mine, taken where I could take them, without catching any possible hell for it. :)

This is the outside of the Center from the parking lot.
And this, well, this is something the sailor in me had to take a picture of. It's a ww2 floating mine - I had never seen one before. Kinda reminded me of an episode of Gilligan's Island. :) "LOOK OUT SKIPPER!!!!" :)

This is a photo taken from the parking lot showing Lake Superior with Duluth and the north shore in the far background. The line of dark green trees is a narrow spit called Minnesota Point.

The Richard I. Bong WW2 Heritage Center is right on U.S. 53, on your right if you're westbound, left if eastbound. It's easy to spot and even easier to get into the parking lot. Go visit. I highly recommend it. I sure had fun.

After I left the Center, I proceeded west on U.S. 53, because that went almost continuously to my destination. Little did I realize that, shortly after this, I would be facing a crisis. You see, I have this phobia of not liking steep ledges. This extends to bridges that are "too high". Basically, I know 'em when I see 'em, and the bridge over Duluth/Superior harbor that carries U.S. 53 is one. However, once I got going, there was no alternative but to continue. I fought my panic, and focused on the center of the lane, not daring to look over the edge or change lanes. I got over the bridge OK, but vowed "never again".

Also, as an aside, this phobia of mine has nothing to do with the bridge that fell down in Minneapolis. I'd been over that bridge more than once and didn't have a problem, and I've had this phobia for a lot longer than that recent (and tragic) news event. No, this is just me being me and having to deal with that.

After having had a very nice weekend at the reunion, I once again returned to Duluth on my way back home. Now, you're thinking, how am I gonna deal with the bridge problem? For me, that was easy. I'd driven through the Duluth area before, and I knew a few tricks. :)

Basically, I knew that the other major bridge, the Richard I. Bong bridge, would also be unacceptable for me to drive across. But I knew of another bridge, south of the main harbor area. That route also offered the chance for me to take the scenic route through Duluth.

I came into town, southeast-bound on U.S. 53. I missed the turnoff to Skyline Drive and had to juke around a bit in downtown Duluth. After regaining my bearings (I have nice maps in the car) I was southbound on that aforementioned Skyline Drive. As I wrote, it's definitely the scenic route. It has more than a few pullovers to stop and take a look. Here:

This is a slightly-zoomed photo of Duluth/Superior harbor. If you make it bigger, you should be able to see the aerial lift bridge near the left-center.

This photo is an unzoomed image panned just to the right of the previous photo.

And a further pan to the right. Both photos show the infamous U.S. 53 bridge.




After awhile, Skyline Drive turns from paved to gravel. This photo is a view of the local geology - which is quite interesting in it's own regard.

Just a little further on gives this view.

And the view of the bedrock directly behind the previous shot. Note the foxmobile's corner. :)

After this, Skyline Drive goes down in elevation, and, after that, I took the highway that goes over the St. Louis River at Gary, MN. It was wierd, because about 20 years ago, when I first drove that route, the bridge was a pretty unique affair of pounded spikes about 2 inches apart that I worried would tear up my tires when I crossed it. That bridge is now gone, and the highway goes over a double-deck bridge, auto traffic under rail. Cool bridge, only at tree-top level. :)

From there, I was on WS 105, which took me to WS 35 in Superior. I then retraced my earlier route to U.S. 2 and then to U.S. 53, this time going eastbound. U.S. 53 was a straight shot to I-94 near Eau Claire, which I took the rest of the way back to BRF.

I really had a good time on this reunion weekend, and I hope that I conveyed that in these 3 blogs. I know the photos can't match actually being there; but, for those who will never be able to go to see these things, I hope they'll provide a good taste of what these places are like. I hope you all enjoyed the photos and stories. Please let me know what you think!

After Midnight

We're gonna find out what it is all about. . .
- J. J. Cale

A couple of weeks ago an odd thing happened. I was sleeping away one night but was awakened by something. That happens 2-3 times a night with me, so I just rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. It was a very hot night, so I had my window next to the bed open. A few minutes after rolling over I heard this swhish swhish swhish sound, and I figured what woke me up was some owl or bat outside my window. No big deal, so I rolled over the other way and tried to go back to sleep again. The swishing noise continued, however, and I began to think that it sounded like it was a bit closer than OUTSIDE the window. Uh-huh. Even half-asleep like I was, I figured I better get up and see what was going on. I got out of bed and turned on the light. Lo and behold it was a bat, and here he was flying around in circles near the ceiling of my bedroom. By this time, I'm fully awake and trying to figure out what to do next.

"Hey, there, umm, Mr. Bat, ummm, ahhh, errr, can I help you?" I said.

"Name's Bubba" he replied.

"OK, ah, Bubba, ah, ahem, you look kinda lost."

"I ain't lost. Got any bugs? I love to eat bugs."

"Ummm, no, I don't have any bugs." I thought quickly. "I think I know where you can get some, though. You see that window over there?"

"What's a window?" he asked.

I realized that that was a little too much of a human concept for him, and that this was going to be a bit more complicated than I first thought. I also realized that I didn't want to hurt the poor little fella, because I really don't like bugs and bats do eat them by the buttload. If I could get Bubba outside, both of us would be happy. I thought some more.

"What about them bugs you were talking about?" he said.

"Working on it, Bubba, just give me a little time here, OK?"

"Can you hurry? I'm hungry."

I have a lot of books here in my apartment, but nothing about bats. So I did the next best thing and turned on my computer and hopped on the 'net. A quick search turned up a couple of sites about bats, I picked one and quickly learned a safe & easy way to rid my apartment of my "pet" flying mouse. Bubba kept flying 'round and 'round - once in a while eliciting, "I want bugs!"

"I think I got it, Bubba. Could you land over here where I can help you get more bugs?"

"Sure, anything for bugs, I love 'em."

He duly flopped down on top of my cupboard in the kitchen. I got a chair and climbed up where I could see him. Then, I quickly snapped a few photos, after which I carefully placed a small cardboard box over him. Another piece of cardboard was then slid under the box, trapping Bubba momentarily. "Bugs. . . .bugs. . . bugs," was all he kept repeating, so I knew he was OK. I grabbed the whole rig and carefully got down from the cupboard via the chair. Then, I placed the box on the floor and proceeded to open the 3 doors between the box and the outside world. Returning to grab Bubba, it was then an easy thing to get him outside and lift the box.

He must have been pretty hungry because he took right off and flew around the street light, scarfing up a few mayflies along the way. He turned and looked at me. "Thanks, there, umm, what's your name?" he asked.

"Jeffox." I replied.

"Well, thanks, Jeffox, you ain't bad for a human."

"You ain't bad for a bat, Bubba. Enjoy your meal."

Then he was gone. So were all the bugs by the street lamp. Bats are cool.

Now, there might be some of you out there that think I made up this story - but remember when I wrote that I took photos? Have a look:

And, to those of you who think that I might have "embellished" or "exaggerated" this little tale, you can just ask Bubba. Bring some bugs with you, and tell him I sent you.

The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)

DEAR FOXY
(advice straight from da fox's snout)

Dear Foxy,

I was, until recently, a media personality with a penchant for shocking my audience. My current non-employed status is now becoming quite boring. Do you have any advice for me regarding this condition?

D. Imustasaidsomethingwrong in Iowa


Da Fox replies:

Dear D. in Iowa - It seems to me you've been given a golden opportunity to explore some new paths in life. My advice to you is to drive north of the border, find a good lake, and do some fishing. While you're at it, ask if they are hiring at the bait shops you visit. Don't worry about any possible stigma from your previous life, neither fish nor fishermen care about shock-jocks, anyway.


Dear Foxy,

I'm a single lady who is currently dating a nice man whom I like very much. All would be fine and dandy except that occasionally I feel that he doesn't respect me as much as I need him to. If you could be of help here, I would greatly appreciate it.

Downtrodden in Detroit Lakes


Da Fox replies:

Dear Downtrodden - My advice to you is to have him take you fishing. If you catch more or bigger fish than him you'll almost certainly gain his respect. If you don't, well, at least you went fishing. If he won't take you fishing or doesn't fish, he ain't worth your time. There are plenty of other fish in the lake, if you catch my drift.


Dear Mr. Fox:

I've recently relocated to a very nice lakeshore house, my family and I moving there to escape the big city. Last week, a local developer approached my new neighbors and I offering to buy up our places and turn the properties into a shopping mall. None of us liked that idea, but he kept insisting that the local economy needed the boost. Since he's the town's mayor, he also threatened to use imminent domain if we didn't sell. I know that you can't fight city hall, but shouldn't the neighbors and I organize some sort of resistance to his bullying? We'd be grateful for any help, here.

Hot in Hector


Da Fox replies:

Dear Hot - Hmmm, I really had to think about this, but I believe that I can help you. Get your neighbors together and offer up this simple plan:

1. Plan a neighborly night fishing expedition and invite the developer/Mayor.
2. Get 2 pontoon boats and fill one of them with rocks and 50 feet of rope.
3. Take aforementioned mallplanner out with most of you in the other pontoon boat. Make sure nobody mentions the first boat.
4. Have the other pontoon boat meet you in the middle of the lake.
5. Grab the greedy bastard and tie him up, use the rocks as anchors, and toss his worthless ass into the lake.
6. Elect a new mayor who won't fuck with the fishing.

This plan not only eliminates one ding-dong politician, it also improves the quality of fishing in the lake because the leeches and minnows that gamefish eat just love to feed on the foolish. You can thank me later.


Yo Dere Fox,

Last year fer da walleye opener me an a few udder guys was up ta Vermillion. We was havin' a purdy good time and catchin' a lodda good fish. I had just hooked a nice un when, all of er sudden, my koddamn cell goes off, an a course it's da ol' lady. She sez dat her dad hadda major sunovabitchin stroke and kakked rite den and dere and we hadda go to da funeral. So I hadda leave or she was gonna come up an git me. Anyways, wit da opener nex' week, I was wonderin' if you could gimme some help so's dat don' happen no more, eh?

Callstopper in Coleraine


Da Fox replies:

Dear Calls - Sorry to hear about last year's fiasco, I know how good Lake Vermillion can be for the opener. I think I can help you. I tried this a few years ago, if it worked for me, it'll probably work for you, too. Bring along an extra minnow bucket half-filled with water. When you get ready to go fishing, put the cell in the minnow bucket. That way, if the damn thing goes off, you can't hear it. Best of luck to you this year!!


To Mr. Fox:

Lately, I've noticed that there is somebody out there imitating me with a newspaper column that gives advice to people who write in their problems. My problem is that this imitator (who shall remain nameless) always gives the same answer no matter how serious a problem it is for the letter-writer. Whatever the problem, this 'advice-person' tells them to go fishing. I don't get it.

Abby Lander in Atwater


Da Fox replies:

Dear Ab in Atwater - Of course you don't get it, obviously because you've never been fishing. Go fishing, and you will know. 'Nuff said.



DEAR FOXY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY FOXYCORP, TM, INC., LTD. - THE MAKERS OF FINE FISHING BOATS, MOTORS, LINES, LURES, ANCHORS, AND SUNDRY FISHING EQUIPMENT. THE SPONSOR AND THIS LOCAL BLOG ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTENT BECAUSE THEY'RE OUT FISHING

Down on Me

I must apologize. I know it's been months since I last made an entry here. Please understand that it's not because nothing's going on with me. It's just that I lost my job back at the end of April and, here at the end of July, I still don't have one. Naturally, I feel pretty lame about the whole thing. I have been trying and trying but nothing's going down in this burg right now.

To explain a little further, I also have a mild bipolar disorder and, as a result, I tend to "retreat" from the world at large when bad things happen to me. That's also why my posts tend to be a little "spotty" over time; it's a mood-swing thing.

Anyways, enough of my whining. I have hope that things will get better in the future, and I'm working towards that end.

Of late here, the major stories are the weather and of baseball. To wit: this is the rare time of the year when even Minnesota here gets hot. Very hot. Also very humid. The kind of weather that Florida has all the time. :) Many people here are uncomfortable with that, but, myself, I tend to revel. (I almost died from cold once - when my car suddenly decided to retire on a very cold and windy night before Xmas - so I have a pretty good excuse for my opinion.)
As far as baseball is concerned, yesterday the Twins tied the Chisox for 2nd place in the AL central division, both teams 1/2 game back from the Yankees for a wild-card spot. Myself, I don't think this team is at '91 or '87's level, but they've been pretty hot of late - especially in the dome. We'll see how it goes, and I'll try to keep you all posted. Go Twins!!!

Regarding other sports, the Vikings training camp opens today. Now, I could rant for hours about how I think that the Vikes made huge mistakes in getting rid of Moss and Culpepper, but I'm not going to in this post. What I will write is that the local buzz is if Brad Johnson, the starting QB, will stay healthy this season. He's no spring chicken & has had previous injuries. However, he is a cagey veteran, a good team leader, and has always made few mistakes. The buzzline also carries the opinion that, once again, the Vikings drafted pretty well. As far as I'm concerned, I think that there are too many question marks to be able to predict how they will do this season with any degree of accuracy. If they beat the Packers twice this season, I'll be happy. :) :) :) Go Vikes!!

I have a couple of web-orgs that I need to thank in here, because they, and their members, have been some of the only good things I've had going for me in these past trying months. The first and foremost is AOL's "Oldies Music" chatroom. I've always felt welcome there, no matter what my social condition is, and the music trivia and conversation helps me forget about my problems for awhile. I can't thank them enough for that. The other org is a blogsite known as "Ultraquiet No More" which ties a lot of submariners and ex-submariners together. As one who lived that kind of life for a while, I can tell you quite frankly that these guys are the best, no questions asked. Hat's off (and my sincere thanks) to the members of both orgs - you all are what's keeping me going right now. Oh - and you submarine guys, stay tuned to this blogsite, I have a few ideas kicking around in my head right now that you might be interested in.

And, a little bit on the wierd side: On Monday nite last, as I was heading into my fave chatroom, I discovered that it was full. Since it's no fun chatting by oneself, I figured I'd check another room kwik until "Oldies" had an opening. Well, in this new (for me) room there was a member there who claimed that he was Malcolm Young of AC/DC. Naturally, given the nature of the internet and chatrooms in general, I assumed he was a poser/imposter. After a little bit of back-and-forth Q&A, I changed my mind. After a few minutes of me being the only one in that chatroom who was taking him seriously, he IMed me, and we conversed for awhile like that. He wrote that the band is currently in LA cutting their new Bon Scott tribute album and was surveying fans to see if they should tour after the album is released. Naturally, I was encouraging him in this idea as they are one of my favorite bands. He seemed a very nice fellow & we had a good (albeit too short) conversation. I did write to him that I was a bit awed, and thanked him and his mates for their music. Now, of course, I could be wrong about him not being a poser, but, if he is the real deal, then that's the first time in my life that I've ever personally dealt with someone of his stature. I hope the album sells well and that they do tour and come here to Minnesota. Best of luck Malcolm, and thank you for the time you spent with me.

Well, I guess that I had a little bit more to blog than I first thought, but I think that about covers all the bases. Till next time. . . .

Northwoods Blues

This blog was inspired by an article in yesterday's Mpls Star-Trib. :)

Birch Woods, Minnesota.
Federal authorities have siezed more than 50 truckloads of bread destined for domestic markets today, claiming improper labeling of ingredients. According to them, Northwoods Bakeries, Inc., the bakers of the allegedly illegal bread, were labeling their product as "nonwheat bread" when, in fact, it did contain wheat products. The spokesperson for the company disagreed heartily, however. According to Ella Embarrassola, the packaging clearly states that the bread is produced from smelt.

"How dese guys dere coulda thought dat smelt is a wheat product is clearly beyond my comprehension." she stated. "I mean, really, ya know, smelt is a fish, eh? Jeez.

The federal official, who requested to not be anonymous, responded by saying that spelt is on their list of wheat products and that Northwoods Bakeries had been previously warned that thier product was in violation of federal packaging laws. "What if somebody with a wheat intolerance eats this bread and dies?" he raved.

Ms. Embarssola countered by saying, "Dem goofy guys got it all mixed up, ya know. Ya ya, only a ding-dong would confuse a fish with a plant, no matter how it's spelt, ya know. We tol' 'em dat back when, eh?. And, ya know another thing, eh, izzat dem dere feds like ta go offa da deep end once in a while, ya know. Don' dey know how hard it is to get smelt outta season? (eh don' print dat, eh) Personally, our company could care less about da bread, but we would like ta get our trucks back, eh?

Birch Woods' mayor, Wallace Isabella-Lake, commented, "Ya ya, I don' zackly unnerstan da feds' case, here, ya know. After all, dis stuff ain't lutefisk, eh? Somebody down dere ta DC musta spelt it wrong, fer sure.

The case is set for trial in district court in Duluth, Minnesota, next February 22.

Oooohhh ya ya :) :) :)