I CAN DREAM.........CAN'T I?

At 9 A.M. it was 16 in La Crosse, 49 in Dripping Springs and 76 at Key West.  Guess where I'd rather be.

THIS GOOD OLD BOY THINKS LIKE I DO

Lady: Do you drink?
Man: Yes
Lady: How much a day?
Man: 3 6 packs
Lady: How much per 6 pack
Man: about $10.00
Lady: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: 15 years
Lady: So one 6 pack cost $10.00 and you have 3 packs a day which puts your spending each month at $900. In one year, it would be $10,800 correct?
Man: Correct
Lady: If in 1 year you spend $10,800 not accounting for inflation, the past 15 years puts your spending at $162,000 correct?
Man: Correct
Lady: Do you know that if you hadn't drunk, that money you could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 15 years, you could have now bought a Ferrari?
Man: Do you drink?
Lady: No
Man: Where's your Ferrari then?"

SOUNDS LIKE IT'S COLD ALL THE WAY TO THE GULF

Willard reports clear skies over Houston with 33 degrees at 7:00 A.M.  He said, "Put the boston fern in the garage.  Too cold to leave it outside."

Haven't heard from Donnie yet but the wind chill in Austin was 33.

DID YOU EVER HEAR BUDDY HACKETT'S DUCK STORY?

MORE KIDS AND PORN

We had that story, yesterday, about the school kids exposed to porn and today I see a story about a PRE-SCHOOL teacher in Normandy who thought she'd show the kids a cartoon while she left the room to take a break.

Guess what.  The teacher down loaded what she thought was a cartoon and left the room BEFORE IT STARTED.  Not a good move. When she got back many minutes later the little tykes were enjoying a porn flick.

Sex education trumps a cartoon every time.

WHEN I BREATH MY NOSE WHISTLES

I'm not quite over my cold yet.

THINK YOU'VE SEEN IT ALL IN THE WORLD OF COMPUTERS?

YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!
Get this tablet that's as thin as a sheet of paper!

I LOVE WGN TV

Have I told you, before, that I love the WGN MORNING NEWS that LIVE STREAMS ON THE INTERNET from 4 to 9 AM.  They've got a great team!

HEY! I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE

While I'm complaining about FACEBOOK, this morning, I MIGHT AS WELL PASS THIS LITTLE ITEM ALONG that reports FACEBOOK lost more than a million users in December.

WHY DOES FACEBOOK HATE ME?

There are a lot of things in this world I don't understand and FACEBOOK is one of them.

Every time I try to log into that damn website I get an "Invalid password" pop-up.  I don't know how many times I have changed my password but it's many, many, many times.  Once I change it I'll get in but when I go back, a few days later, I'll get the old "Invalid Password" again and we start all over.

I have a long list of websites that require a password and I never have any problems signing in until I get to FACEBOOK.

You know what?  I've lived for many decades without FACEBOOK and I think I'll make it through the rest of my life without FACEBOOK too.

I give up!

THOSE OLD KIDNEYS AIN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE

I never used to have trouble sleeping and many nights I still don't but there are now other nights that I just forget about sleep and get up.  Last night was one of those nights.  No use to lay there with eyes wide open.

This, of course, is caused by failing kidneys that can't filter out the body's toxins which then invade the organs and bloodstream instead of being eliminated and that's a major UFF DA.

I cheated on my diet when I went to lunch with Janie yesterday.  Ate stuff that is very much forbidden.  I think that's what caused me to be "Sleepless in La Crosse" last night.

I have another round of doctor visits coming up and I'll get some more pills they offered me before to help me sleep.  I've got so many pills now, one more won't be a problem.

I guess I'll have to face the fact that cheating is not worth the price you have to pay.  But, I still have my memories and I'm remembering how great that chili tasted yesterday!

By the way, I read, the other day, that failing kidneys can affect mental health.  HEY! I'm way ahead of them there!  My mental health was affected long before my kidneys started laying down on the job.

HOME IS WHERE THE TREE IS

This looks like something Paul or Friend would like.  Actually, it looks pretty good to me too.  Great summer living!  For more about this great little hide-away go to http://thehemloft.com/

I WISH I HAD KNOWN THIS WHEN I HAD MY COLD/FLU

HEALTH.COM says FENNEL is great for soothing those winter coughs.  It also freshens your breath and slims your tummy.  I've got to find some fennel!

I'm going to save this recipe from allrecipes.com for a couple of months and make a spring salad with fennel and orange.

GO FIGURE!

CAMELS HAIR BRUSHES ARE MADE OUT OF SQUIRREL FUR

ALL THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE END UP IN MARFA

DONNIE or LINDA must have been talking to ELLEN recently.  I turned on the TV to watch the 5:00 local news, last night, and caught the end of her show.

She was talking about MARFA, TEXAS and said she is going there soon because she has been hearing great things about it.

Who knows?  Maybe she saw the pictures on this blog!

IS IT COLD ENOUGH FOR YOU? IT IS IN WISCONSIN!

The sun may be on its way back north but the heat is still in the south.  The sunny blue sky won't help much today with wind chills as low as 4 below in La Crosse.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

SPECIAL NOTE TO BERT
I know you liked "LES MISERABLES" (the movie).  I was looking at the LA CROSSE COMMUNITY THEATER WEBSITE and see they're doing "Les Mis", on stage, this season and guess what!  IT'S PLAYING THE WEEK OF OUR BIRTHDAY!

I think that will make a nice little birthday celebration!

EVERY DAY'S A HOLIDAY

THIS IS DITCH NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS DAY.

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT US

AUNT LIB DIED

22 YEARS AGO TODAY

Both JANIE and I used to love the CAVALIER LOUNGE back in the days when we were "young and free". We were talking, today, about the Community Theater moving out of the old 5th AVE theater next door to the Cavalier.

The theater has been bought by the Cavalier and it will be used as an entertainment venue. We decided it would be fun to go down there and have some fun the next time DONNIE is in town. It used to be a favorite spot in his youth too.

Donnie directed me to their FACEBOOK WEB PAGE which is really fun. I see they're already calling it the CAVALIER THEATER and lounge now. This could be an interesting spot to visit and a great new feature for the downtown area.

WIND CHILL VALUES OF 3 BELOW TONIGHT.

I got a kick out of reading the story out of Oxnard, California about the middle school teacher who has been fired after TEACHERS AND STUDENTS DISCOVERED HER IN PORN VIDEOS THAT THEY SAW ON LINE.

Seems to me that if the teachers and students are already surfing for porn, having an ex-porn star for a teacher shouldn't be any big deal.

I was interested to see that most of the folks who addressed this story on Twitter came away with about the same thoughts I had.

(Can we spell hypocrisy?)

BITTER COLD COMING NEXT WEEK
The National weather service says wind chills could reach 20 BELOW ZERO MONDAY AND TUESDAY MORNING.

I wonder if there's an extra seat on that bus Janie is taking to Florida?

JANIE and I enjoyed a TWO HOUR LUNCH at the Arterial so we covered a lot of territory!  It was good to get caught up on all the news.

She's getting all excited about her trip to Florida.  She'll be there the whole month of February.  I'm jealous.  As far as I'm concerned, February is the worst time of the year to be living in the north country!

UNITED AIRLINES says it has inspected all of their 787 DREAMLINERS and they're flying, as scheduled, today.

A really dreary sky over La Crosse today.

INTERESTING ARTICLE FROM FORBES that forecasts lots of store closings this year.  We know SEARS is having a rough time but I was surprised to see that THE GAP plans to close around 700 locations and invest more in other countries.

I don't think I've ever been in The Gap which is probably the reason why they're in financial trouble.

Have you seen the news that WIKIPEDIA has launched a new site for TRAVEL that looks pretty interesting.  I haven't taken a close look at it yet but CHECK IT OUT HERE and see what you think.

I'll bet this old pickup has a lot of tales to tell!  Donnie spotted it when he and Linda were in Marfa.

TODAY IS

NATIONAL

HOT AND SPICY FOOD DAY!

Hey!  This must be the new grill item for the coming summer season.  I saw Martha Stewart do this, the other day, on TV and now All Recipes is featuring it too.

GOT A NICE NOTE FROM LYNNE:

Great to see you are back online as we have checked morning and night. Isn't it terrible being without your computer?

Have you seen this one yet?

I read a report in the Wall Street Journal that says 57% of the people in this country sleep on their sides.  I'm one of those guys.  Usually on my right side.

17% sleep on their backs and 11% on their stomachs.

You know what W.C. FIELDS said about sleep, "Sleep is the most beautiful experience in life.....except drink."

The National Weather Service has backed the SNOW chance back to 30% for today.

The new head coach of the CHICAGO BEARS looks like a little kid!  It's a sad fact that when you get to my age just about everybody looks like a little kid.

Golden years, my ass!

DONNIE AND LINDA AREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO NEED MOISTURE

The National Weather Service says we still have "abnormally dry" to "extreme drought" conditions across our part of the country.  We sure could use use a good snowfall or, better yet, a good RAIN.

If it's going to be snow, I want it between now and the last day of February.  Come March I'm in no mood for any more white stuff.

Love the GOOGLE LOGO they're featuring today.

I see the 787 was grounded, again, in Japan with battery problems and a burning smell.  I'd still fly it but I hope they get these electrical bugs worked out soon.  There have been too many incidents. 

NOTE TO ROGER: The last episode of BONANZA ran on NBC on this date in 1973.

It's a special note to Roger because we're both fans of the westerns that run on ME TV weekday afternoons from noon until 3.  Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Big Valley are featured.

I've seen every episode countless times but I never get tired of watching them again.

Haven't watched Memorable Entertainment Television?  You're missing some great old TV shows.  TAKE A LOOK HERE

Interesting report released yesterday that says Wisconsin had more cremations than burials last year.

Do you know the five things you need for a WISCONSIN FISH FRY?  HERE IS A NEAT BLOG about good Wisconsin food.

We're supposed to have a high of 37 today but with wind gusts to 26 MPH it's not going to feel all that warm.

Some of the coldest weather of the winter arrives tonight with wind chills of 2 below overnight and 5 below tomorrow.

Best of luck to Eric and Bert on their upcoming surgery in February and March.

Ole and Sven are walking down a street in Minocqua WI, when they see a sign on a store that reads, Suits $5.00 each, shirts $2.00 each, and trousers $2.50 a pair.

Ole says to his pal, "Looky here! We could buy a whole gob of dese, take 'em back ta Dulute, sell 'em to our friends an' make a fortune.

Now when we go in der, you be quiet, okay? Yust let me do da talkin cuz if dey hear yer accent, dey might tink vee are ignorant an' try to cheat us. No way do vee vant dem to know vee're from Minnesota."

They go in and Ole says with his best Wisconsin accent, "I'll take 50 of those suits at $5.00 each, 100 of those shirts at $2.00 each, and 50 pairs of trousers at $2.50 each. I'll back up my pickup and ...."

The owner of the shop interrupts, "You're from Minnesota, aren't you?" "Vell...yeah," says a surprised Ole, "How'd ya know dat!?" "Because this is a dry-cleaners......"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RONNIE MILSAP!

70 TODAY



Janie and I are having lunch today.  Haven't seen her since last May so she should have some news.

She and Rita have become great friends.  They go to the same church and serve, together, on a committee or two.

The MIDWEST FARM SHOW is being held today and tomorrow at the La Crosse Center.  We'll have 5,000 to 7,000 farmers in town for the show.

40% chance for some snow tonight.

Do you know I'm still walking to Festival!  There's no ice, almost no snow and with the sunshine it was plenty warm to walk today.

There have been a few days I've had to take the bus but not many.  I'm not complaining!

Just before my computer went south, Bert sent this "movie review".  Considering the Golden Globes just presented their awards and the Academy Awards are just around the corner this is still relevant.

"Nick and I saw "The Life of Pi" last week.  We loved it.  What a story.

Yesterday I saw "Les Miserable" with Kath.  It was the first time I've seen the audience give a standing ovation at the end of the movie.  Great filming, acting and music.  I would highly recommend this one too."

Remember the good old days when TV was really fun?

Here's a fact that Donnie sent that I sure didn't know about.

Lead, South Dakota is the 5th snowiest town in America.

It doesn't surprise me.  I remember those "Northern Hills Days".  Winter time meant snow up to your ass well into May and I remember seeing snow on the north side of the hills in Boulder Canyon in July.

Logo Design by FlamingText.com   Six days is a long time to out of touch with the world but I learned one thing.  Be very careful what you click on and learn more about this damn computer!

Another thing I learned.  It may be a good idea to take this thing into the "fix-it-guys" just to have them clean everything out and give it a tune-up once a year.  This baby is running just like it did when it was brand new.  Absolutely NO WAITING for things to load.  I love it!


Over 60 email in the gmail account.  I've been out of touch too long.  It will take a while to wade through all of that!

Love this one from Carl.
I was in Orlando, Florida and I saw a bumper sticker on a parked car that read, "I miss Chicago."  So, I broke the window, stole the radio, shot out two tires and left a note that said, "I hope this helps."

Donnie sent this good advice.
From a back-to-school message, from the president to the students, of an upper-end east coast university.

"As we begin this semester, have the courage to spend time alone.  In order to master your fields, in order to be creative, in order to sink deeply into your work, seek out solitude.  Take the time to be silent, to think and to learn."

We could all benefit from this advice.  One of America's biggest problems is that everybody is talking and nobody is listening.  These past days, without the computer, I've been forced to watch some TV and it has become, abundently clear that we need to do a lot more listening and MUCH LESS TALKING.

BOY!  HERE'S ONE I DON'T REMEMBER.
Donnie sent it.  That's a young version of me on a trolley in Vera Cruz, Mexico way back in 1981.

"Raise your words, not your voice.  It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."
~RUMI~

Sad, but true in many cases.

NOTICE

My computer is being repaired so I'll be off line for a couple of days.  Keep checking in and I'll be back soon.

THIS AND THAT

Have you gotten your FLU SHOT?  Wisconsin hasn't been hit too hard yet but there's a lot more cases, in the states around us, than there has been in other years.

DONNIE'S WEATHER FORECAST: This morning I'll begin a cyncial, pessimistic, but experienced weather-watch.

Weathermen have for several days been predicting 3-6" of rain over the next 24 hours. I'll wager all I have that we won't get anywhere near 6", and probably not even 3". How much error and humiliation must these guys take (I keep asking) before they admit that their forecasts are pure shit? As of 8:00 a.m. -- 0.1"

I'm supposed to respect my elders but as time goes on it's getting harder and harder to find one.

I won't be on line tomorrow so I'll pass it along today.  Tomorrow will be the anniversary of day that Thunder came to live with me in 1998. Tomorrow will be a sad day for me.

David Bowie, who I ran into when I worked at the airport, turns 66 today.

LOOKING WEST OVER LA CROSSE

Shakespeare:   "To be or not to be".
NIETZSCHE:     "To do is to be".
SATRE:            "To be is to do".
SINATRA:         "Do be do be do".

MONEY TALKS says the #1 travel destination for 2013 is AMSTERDAM.  Especially, since this will be the 160th birthday of Van Gogh.

Another reason to save the panda and all the other living creatures on earth.  Turns out the panda may have a weapon against those "super bugs" that other anti-biotics can't stop.  READ THE INTERESTING ARTICLE HERE

The best line I've read today comes from David Burge of the Iowa HAWK BLOG.  "You know who thinks the crazy cat lady is sane?  Her cats."

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
WINSTON CHURCHILL

When I was reminded of this quote, this morning, I couldn't help thinking that we've got to STOP BLAMING CONGRESS FOR THE MESS WE'RE IN.  The real blame must be placed on the idiots who voted those air heads into office.  We got what we asked for.

 

Today is NATIONAL ENGLISH TOFFEE DAY and PAULA DEAN has a good recipe from FOOD NETWORK

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I hate to tell you folks but I'll be leaving you, AGAIN, for a couple of days.  Even though I've been on line, I still have the virus I picked up and I'm forced to get on through an involved and cumbersome method to work around the virus.  I can get on line but there are a number of things that don't work.

So, the plan is that I'm going to give the computer to Rita, today, and she's going to take it to MCS Networks in Holmen to see if they can get the virus out and the computer working, correctly, again.

I don't know how long it will take to fix it or when Rita can get it back to me but keep checking and I'll be back on line as soon as possible.

This all reminds me of a joke about the geeks who fix "miserable machines" like computers.

"Salary Theorem" states that "Engineers and Scientists can never earn as much as Business Executives and Sales People and Politicians." This theorem can now be supported by a mathematical equation based on the following two postulates: 1. Knowledge is Power. 2. Time is Money.

As every engineer knows: Power = Work / Time Since: Knowledge = Power Time = Money It follows that: Knowledge = Work/Money. Solving for Money, we get: Money = Work / Knowledge. Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of work done. Conclusion: The less you know,the more you make.

(Think of the congressmen in Washington who set their own salaries, vacation days and retirement benefits.)

WOW! MILWAUKEE!  Named one of the top 12 "ART PLACES" in the USA by ArtPlace, which is a coalition of major foundations and the Endowment for the Arts.

Milwaukee and Dallas were the only two "middle country" cities named.  The rest were all on the east or west coast.

Of all the years, of my life, I've lived in Wisconsin, I've never been to Milwaukee except for one time, on a flight from Chicago to La Crosse, we landed in Milwaukee because of icing on the wings.  Never got out of the plane but I can say I've been "on the ground" in Milwaukee.

The most memorable part of that flight was not the emergency landing but the fact that we left Mother stranded at the La Crosse airport, in a slightly "hysterical" condition, until we, finally, made it into La Crosse around midnight on a flight that was supposed to arrive around 6 P.M.

We're heading to Viroqua today.  By we, I mean Rita, Roger and I.  Maybe Uncle Bob, Carl and Kathy.  Rita was going to call them all to see if they wanted to join us.

We couldn't ask for a more beautiful day for a venture to Viroqua.  Under a mostly sunny sky, our afternoon highs will be close to 40 and we'll have more of the same tomorrow.

Two Minnesota engineers were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up. A woman walks by asks what they were doing. "Ve're supposed to find da height of dis flagpole, " said Sven, "but ve don't haff a ladder."

The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a couple of bolts, and laid the pole down on the ground. Then she took a tape measure from her pocketbook, took a measurement, and  announced, "Twenty one feet, six inches," and walked away.

Ole shook his head and laughed. "Ain't dat just like a voman! Ve ask fer height and she gives us da length!"

People think I'm silly when I say I wouldn't think of going out, alone, after dark anymore.  Well, kids, this only confirms my fears.

I read in the paper that a 60 year old man was hit over the head and robbed just after the midnight hour on New Years Eve.

Want to guess where that happened?  Between 8th and 9th on Cass Street.  That's about as close to home as it can get for me.  Too close for comfort!

This should make Donnie and Linda smile.  Big rain event heading for Austin.  Forecasters say 3 to 6 inches of rain is possible.

DO YOU THINK DONNIE'S "A POET AND DON'T KNOW IT"?

The limerick is quite addictive, be the subject fact or fictive.

One you blogged Sunday

keeps my brain at play,

with results entirely predictive:


In Rome there lived two Arts,
one baked beans and the other baked tarts.
But rich they were not,
they shared but one pot,
and cooked up some very sweet farts.

NORWEGIANS BELIEVE IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.

Max & Arlene lived by a lake in Nordern Minnesota.

It vas early vinter and da lake had froze over. Max asked Arlene if she vould valk across da frozen lake to da yeneral store to get him some beer. She asked him for some money but he told her, “Nah, yust put it on our tab.” So Arlene valked across, got the beer at da yeneral store, den walked back home across the lake.

Ven she got home and gave Max his beer, she asked him, “Max, you alvays tell me not to run up da tab at da store.. Why didn’t you yust give me some money?”

Max replied, “Vell, I didn’t vant to send you out dere vit some money ven I vasn’t sure how tick the ice vas yet.”

I was happy to see that Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" has made more than $300 million at the box office, edging past "The Hobbit".  There aren't many films I really want to see but "Pi" looks like one I'd like.  It's safe to say that if Ang Lee directs it, it's well done.

LEARN A NEW WORD TODAY:  PISTIOLOGY

I was almost afraid to look at the definition but it wasn't what I was thinking.  Actually pisteology is the theory or science of faith.

Now, try to work that into a conversation today.

NOTE TO DONNIE:
STARBUCKS thanks you for your contribution to a great year.  They netted $13.3 BILLION in 2012 and that's a new record in sales.

The BBC is reporting more than 2 million cars sold in the UK in 2012.  That's the highest number of car sales they've seen since 2008.

  

Did you know there are more than 600 million cars on the road, around the world, and that number will double in the next 30 years.

And, while we're on the subject of cars, I was reading that a man in Johannesburg, South Africa parked his car at the airport, over a year ago, and gave the keys to a friend.  Apparently the friend didn't tell the man the car was still parked at the airport and the man didn't think to ask.  Anyway, the parking fee is over $5,000 (U.S. MONEY).

 

I'd like to know the "rest of the story".  How could you go a whole year without noticing your car was missing?

Cousin Janie called yesterday.  We made a date for lunch next week.  I'll get caught up on news from the Dutch side of the family.

 

By the way, if you're planning a trip to the Netherlands you picked a good year.  They're celebrating 400 years of the city's canal system and a lot of other fun stuff.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.

I just checked the stats and I see that we had 201 page views yesterday.  I'm glad you didn't forget me during the few days we were "out of order".

YIPPEE!!

WE'RE GOING TO GET ABOVE FREEZING TODAY!

Not much above freezing at 35 degrees but that's warm enough to melt a little snow.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that with winds gusting to 25 MPH it's still going to feel damn cold.

Remember Terry Moore?
She starred in some pretty big movies back in the old days; "Come Back Little Sheba" in 1952 and "Peyton Place" in 1957, just to name a couple.

Her personal life was, probably, bigger than her movies.  She lived with Howard Hughes back in the 40's and claimed they were secretly married in 1949 and that they were never divorced.  She, also, claimed that all the documentation for the marriage was destroyed.  No proof for the claim was ever found but the Hughes Estate paid her a settlement in 1984.

All of that behind her, she is celebrating her 84th birthday today.

OUCH! You wouldn't want to try this more than once.  Actually, I wouldn't want to try this at all.

A young man is being photographed with a "Go-Pro" camera when an antelope decides to attack!

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FORECAST FOR MONDAY

Our high today will be around 23.  We'll be 10 degrees warmer tomorrow.  By Thursday we'll be close to 40.  We're moving in the right direction!

TODAYS POLITICAL QUOTE

 

"Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other."

 

Oscar Ameringer



I WONDER IF CARL SURVIVED HIS BIRTHDAY?

I don't know if I should even pass this along to some of my readers.  Why encourage them?  But, some of these are unbelievably funny.

It's the TEN BEST DRINKING GAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

I'm thinking you'd have to be pretty well gone before you even started this nonsense.  There was a time when I would have gleefully joined in.  Alas, my time and come and gone and I'm just happy I lived to tell the tale.

ATTENTION WEINER LOVERS

CONEY ISLAND  has announced they plan to open a new store in the Village Shopping Center.  This will give DONNIE a new reason to visit La Crosse again.

 

As we have noted before, however, the Coney Island hot dogs just don't taste quite as good at the other locations as they do at the original downtown Coney Island.

 



I just noticed that EASTER COMES EARLY THIS YEAR. It falls on March 31.  I hope we have an early spring to go with it.

There are a lot of dog lovers who read this blog so I have to pass this along.  At $1.6 MILLION, it's the most expensive dog in the world to own.  READ ALL ABOUT IT AND SEE A PICTURE HERE

Today is NATIONAL BEAN DAY but nobody seems to know why or who started it.  In my research, I did find out that beans are NOT a vegetable.  Beans are a FRUIT!

I also found out that beans have been cultivated longer than, almost, any other plant.  They've been growing them in Thailand since the early seventh millennium BCE and the oldest domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Peru.

I could really go for a big bowl of bean soup but, unfortunately, beans are on the "DO NOT EAT" list for kidney patients.

And, then, there's the "bean humor".

"There was a young man called art,
who thought he'd be terribly smart,
He ate ten cans of beans,
and busted his jeans,
with a loud and earth shattering....." well, you know where this is going.

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We already knew that ROCHESTER had the hottest summer on record last year and now I see, this morning, that MADISON also had their HOTTEST SUMMER in 2012.

SPEAKING OF CHINA, did you know that China has the biggest high speed train network in the world?  Quite impressive considering they didn't have any high speed trains until 2007.  CONDE NAST TRAVELER has an interesting article and a great photo of their newest high speed train.

If you're looking for a GOOD BOOK, I'm really enjoying "WHEN AMERICA FIRST MET CHINA" BY ERIC JAY DONLIN.  I had no idea that the U.S. and China were so closely linked by trading ships in the 1700 and 1800's or how many American merchants became rich by selling OPIUM to the Chinese.  This is some great American history you haven't heard much about, until now.

I think CARL AND KATHY are due back in La Crosse by today.  It wasn't cold enough for them here so they've been up in Superior.  It was as cold down here as it was up there, this morning, so they might as well be home.

Even with the sunshine, this is going to be a cold day.  Brisk northwest winds will give us WIND CHILLS AS LOW AS ZERO.

I LIKE THIS CHINESE PROVERB

"The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it."