It's Spring- Where did all the litter come from?

Driving to work the other day, I saw a black object headed into the road, I thought it was a dog, after slowing down not to hit it, the object was a plastic bag.

Made me think about the fields I pass daily. They are cluttered with these plastic bags.

The litter in the fields will be shielded by the corn and beans that are grown in the fields.

The plastic bags that are in the trees and the hedges and other litter will be in place for quite some time as homeowners turn these into the trash heap.

Are you getting tired of hearing about the Interest only home loans, I know I am

I know its an election year, but to hear Representative LaHood talking on local radio, saying the government has to find ways for these home buyers to not lose their homes.

How can a person buy a house on an interest only loan. When did they think they would be able to pay the principal. This was a gamble and they lost.

Can I go on the Riverboat lose my house and have the government figure out a way for me to keep it. Come on, we need to be responsible for our own actions.

These folks had greed in their eyes. The banker/ mortgage companies had their eyes on a big payout. Who loses, Joe and JoAnn Average Citizen who were not part of this debacle.

When are we going to accept the fact that we need to live within our limits.

Price of Gas- Are you slowing down

Being an owner of a Nine year old auto it has finally dawned on me that I get terrible gas mileage. I need all those items they sell on TV after dark to get better mileage.

Or I could drive slower. My car gets better gas mileage at 50 than it does at 65. But when I get on the interstate you all want me to go 70. At what point does economics win out over the the abuse and tailgating.

Well if you see Mr. Pokey traveling below lightspeed on 74 or 474 observing the the Deer the Hawks, etc. He is saving Fuel, or maybe he has turned into the little old gramps.

Just honk ands wave as you go by and see me getting smaller in the rear view mirror.

VA Gamecock fighting a misdemeanor??

With VA being the home of PETA I was surprised to see this in the Galax VA newspaper online GALAX GAZETTE. What is this guy thinking??


Delegate defends vote on animal-fighting
Del. Bill Carrico (R-Fries) says he’s been dogged by unfair criticism of his vote on a House of Delegates bill that would make animal fighting a felony in Virginia.
“First, let me say that I do not condone violence against, or the abuse of, animals,” Carrico said in a press release last week.
HB 656 passed the House by a vote of 93-2, with Carrico casting one of the votes against. But, he said, that does not mean he in any way condones animal fighting.
The bill’s major policy change was elevating all types of animal fighting, especially cockfighting, to a felony.
Carrico said dog fighting has been a felony in Virginia since 2002. In fact, he was one of four members of the General Assembly to co-patron HB 707, which made dog fighting a felony offense.
“HB 656 did enhance some dog fighting penalties, which I agree with, but it was largely a bill to make cockfighting a felony,” Carrico wrote in his statement. “My objection to HB 656 is simply this: I think the penalty for fighting dogs should remain higher than the penalty for fighting gamecocks. That’s it.”
So, he voted against the bill.
Currently, under Virginia law it is a class 6 felony to fight dogs. If HB 656 passes the General Assembly, it would still be a class 6 felony.
However, what used to be a Class 3 misdemeanor for fighting gamecocks would now be a Class 6 felony.
“I have absolutely no objection to increasing the penalty from a Class 3 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor, which could result in fines and jail time, but I do not feel that a first offense for fighting chickens should be a felony offense,” Carrico wrote.
He said he would support a Class 6 felony for cockfighting if it were limited to second and subsequent offenses.
“I’m sure some people will disagree, but I think there is a fundamental difference between dogs, which are companion animals, and chickens,” Carrico said.


If you want to comment to the story the link is below.
http://www.galaxgazette.com/cgi-bin/storyviewnew.cgi?055+News.2008225-130-055-055007.Full+News

ABOVE FREEZING

Finally, above freezing, a trip,to the park to walk one of the dogs....priceless

Added Bonus... saw 20 deer in a field off rt.9 heading to the Pekin McNaughton Bridge...cool

If life were a Movie I would be scared to Death

Last night as I am roming the house at 1:00 a.m. I am aghast at all the little yellow, red, and blue objects looking at me as I stroll around the house. It seems that everything we bring in the house has a little light peering out of it into our lives. Look around your house, cable box, modem, fire and co2 detector. coffee pot, vcr, ipod charger, laptop power cord,etc. These beedy eyes are watching our every move. It is sort of Big Brotheresque.

Then I started to think about it. The real Big Brother in this is the Ameren Cilco who sends us a welcome letter of doom each month. What portion of our ever expanding electric bill is from these little eyes that glow in the night. Do we really need to make sure the TV is preheated so we can get an instant on picture? What happened to the excitement of seeing the TV warm up. (Yeah, really showing my age, used to get excited seeing the test pattern. For you under 30 - you would not understand)

In this one room alone I can see Seven of those eyes staring in the void. Then add all the appliances that still flash 12:00. One of these days I will figure out how to program them. Did my Eight track player have one of those lights? I'll have to go in the garage and check.

Beware of those eyes watching your every move:-)

Valentines Day a Sugar induced holiday?

Today I was talking to some Mom's about Valentines Day. They both have small daughters and I asked if the kids were excited about the big day.

I heard about the new tradition, cards that have candy attached. Has Valentine's day turned into another Sugar Induced Tradition? Apparently the new Valentines cards are attached to treats for the kids. I thought the holiday was about giving the card, that was excitement enough in my day.

One of the Mother's took a fruit tray to her daughter's class. The shock of that to all the kids looking for the latest candy treat was probably disappointing. The Mom and Daughter will probably be on Maurie or Jerry next week.

How this world has changed. I felt like Charlie Brown hoping to get a card from the Little Red Head girl.

My how times have changed, The thrill of making the shoe box to stuff the Valentines in. Hoping that when it was opened that One Special Valentine was in the box. Now the bags are ripped open to see what kind of treats are to be had.

As Charlie Brown would say "Good Grief"

Granite City Brewing East Peoria

As a special occasion (Which will remain shrouded in secrecy) we went across the river to Granite City for the Brunch.

The real reason for this was several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to this establishment. The waitress said we could have anything on the menu. It was Thursday night so we ordered the Sunday Brunch. It was on the menu. lol. Ended up with the meatloaf dinner. It was really good. Although more than you could possibly eat, it could have fed several. The cost was a little pricey but it was worth the extra dineros.

The brunch was well attended for the ridiculous cold weather we are having. The breakfast items were delicious. Fresh Fruit, French Toast, bacon, Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy, Fresh sliced beef and an Eggs Benedict station. They brought out a large plate of sticky buns. They were fantastic.

It was well worth the visit.

If it would have been warmer it would have been the perfect brunch.

Thunder Snow, Fog, and now Thunderstorms followed by???????

Thunder Snow, Fog wit a two car length visibility, Thunderstorm Warning, Hail in Bloomington, and a forecast of Sleet, Ice and possibly up to 4 inches of snow.

This is February and Central IL- what crazy weather!!!

I am waiting Chuck, Rick or Lee to say there is a sand storm with a herd of Locusts on the way!

THE VANISHING SNOW SHOVEL

6.5 inches of snow arrived Friday Morning, as usual being an early riser 0400. I went out to the garage and looked at my assorted snow removal equipment. Over the years you assemble quite a large collection of snow removal equipment. The new stuff is now some sort of Plastic, the old is still metal with wooden handles.

I remember many years ago the Sweetnam's Hardware store on South Adams in Peoria had a shovel on wheels called the SnowWhizzer. In college I even saw it advertised in the Wall Street Journal. I do not know if they are still available. But they would no match to the 6.5 inches of snow.

Lets get back to the vanishing snow snow shovel, I have been using the new Farm and Fleet Bright Blue Plastic Snow pusher. As I have notoce over these last few snows, as the snow melts the yard is covered by little blue plastic curly shards. The friction with the snow and concrete is slowly eating up the shovel. The shovel is now a third of its original height. Sounds like next year we will have to make a new trip to the farm store.

There is also that new shovel with the ERGONOMIC handle, Looks like it got bent when somebody got mad and threw it up against a fence post. It looks funny and handles funny from us "Old Shovel Users". This seems to be quite a popular design.

Looking around town after this last snow, I think snow shoveling is a lost art. If you are over 40 you probably shoveled the drive. If not you probably put you SUV in 4 wheel drive and just went for the street. If you did not have a 4 whheler you went for the street anyway.

The older I get the more I watch the Weather Channel. It says freezing rain tonight and all rain tomorrow. Why did I shovel? It all going away anyway!

Peoria Airport - FLYPIA

Being a frequent user of many airports, the Peoria Airport is doing a great job for the community. There are many direct flights to more locations now than there has been in the past.

There has been a recent flap over the non existent pay phones at the airport. Have you seen a working payphone anywhere in Peoria? Recently the Telephone company placed a legal notice in the Peoria Journal Star saying they were going to discontinue payphone service in IL. It said it would be gradually phased out.

In the articles and news reports on the payphone incident there was a traveller that needed to make a call for a ride from the airport. In the article the person talked to the County Officer on duty and the Officer did not attempt to help the passenger.

In many flights it seems that the passengers know they are basically handled like cattle from the point of view of the airlines. This gives the passengers a new kinship against the airline. Tyhis kinship stetches to the baggage claim area, most passengers at this point will bend over backwards to help their fellow passenger. I for one would not have a problem asking a fellow passenger to make a call for me on their cell phone. With all the plans it is unusual to use to many minutes. Most would offer to use the phone.

Peoria airport has many positives, close to drop off and pickup passengers, free parking, freindly staffing, clean and pleasant area to wait for your plane.

The only downside is the amount of time it takes to get your luggage once the plane has arrived.

I have flown out Bloomington as well and have gotten great service, and they to have a hard time getting the luggage to you in an efficient manner.

We should be glad to have a fine airport like the Peoria Airport.

Addressed Postage Paid Envelopes

In the process of opening this months mail, It dawned upon me that I had received an overwhelming amount of Credit Card, Magazine, Timeshare, and Insurance offering with the famous Prepaid Postage Envelope.

It seems a waste to not use these nice envelopes.

Sort of like all those address labels you get in the mail. You know the ones, from every organization that is trying to raise money. (The Secret Order of the Salt Shaker, The Sow's Ear Handbag, The Fraternal order of Space Aliens, and the Society for the Prevention of Abuse to Video Game Addicts to name a few) I have a envelope I put all these in and it is overflowing. If I did not receive more of these stickers and wrote three letters a day for the next 13.2 years the labels would finally be used. Let alone the Postage would be staggering.

That spurned an idea, why not use them on the Postage Paid envelopes. That way the purpose of both are in use. The person that sent the envelope wants it returned, or they would not have made it postage paid. The people with the stickers want them used, or they would not have sent them. (Although the sticker folks never include prepaid postage on their envelopes) (Special Note: These stickers are great for Raffle Tickets, you know at the School Carnival where you get 10 for $2.00, slap that label on and you saved yourself from Writers Cramp- And who said the internet did not have good ideas.)

From an earlier incident I have learned that you do not fill the envelopes with anything, like sand, flour, etc. But that is another post.

So my trusty mail carrier will have a box full of letters when he visits the Redbird house this week. Hello City Bank, Bank of America, Wachovia, Time, US News, Geico,Delta,Airtans, Sheraton, etc. Be by your mail box, the Redbird's letters are headed your way.

Price of Gas, Groceries and other necessities

$3.15 last night for gasoline. Grapes near $4.00 per pound. Milk at 2.89 a gallon. The everyday price of things aregoing up at a ridiculous rate. The government has a lulled into thinking there is a 2 or 3% inflation rate. They need to step out in the real world.

This last week I went to a popular restaurant. 14 tables it was 11:40when we entered 1 tables of three, we added another 3 and that was all in the whole place. By noon a table of two had come in. I do not know how they kept the doors open.

The only time you see anyone in the Morton area restaurants for lunch is on Friday. Guess it must an escape valve from work on Friday.

We are paying by my estimates on what I see about 20 to 25% more for food. If you notice this is really evident in packaging. If you buy bulk you will notice that there are not as many rolls of paper towels for the same price point. I was in the Spaghetti sauce aisle and the price of Pasta and sauce has risen quite sharply. You rewally need to review the ads to get the values. But how much shopping can you do with $3.15 per gallon gas.

We have limited our traveling to shop. We now go out 1 day a week for our shopping and try to get it all done by planning ahead.

We were faced with a huge electric rate increase in January of last year here in Central Illinois. The legislature rolled some of that back but sooner or later it will rise again.

Arriving in the mail the other day was the IRS forms. I would predict that this will be a record year for People getting basically a payday type loan on their anticipated income tax refund.

You see the headlines about Credit Card debt, low levels of personal savings, Christmas spending down. Do not have a Crystal ball on the economy but it looks like some lean months for the stock market, even though it is an election year.

Looking around Mid America these are not the same signs that the New Yorkers and Washingtonites are talking about in the national new media. It is the real world out in the Heartland, the real world is not the Big Apple or inside the beltway.

It seems to me that there should be a ground swelling from the voters about the economy. The soundbites from the candidates are anything but about the basic human needs of the voters.

Maybe it needs to be a paradigm shift by the consumers. Do we need to ask ourselves "Is this the highest and best use for my money", as we look at buying that new HDTV or (You fill in the blank).

Happy New Year- Welcome 2008

2007 ended on a cold note. It will start with one of the coldest windiest days of the year.

I look forward to the New Year, it will involve some Graduation Ceremonies, and some Weddings. Do not think I have had so many family things in one year. It will involve a trips to San Francisco, Homer, IL, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Atlanta, Charleston, SC, Norfolk, VA, Dublin, VA.

It should be a great year.

Tamale Gate or Ethanol Heating Up Controversy

Tamale prices in El Paso, TX increased a Dollar from $11.00 to $12.00 per dozen. This price hike is due to Ethanol Production causing the increase in corn prices and higher transportation costs.

Meanwhile the Ethanol plants are struggling. The Canton IL Ethanol plant filling for Bankruptcy and some of the others scheduled to start to build have been put on hold. Is Ethanol the fuel of choice for the future.

We have seen the the first plants that got online before the run up of corn prices make a large return on their initial investments. Many have sold out from their original Farmer owner base as investors saw this as an opportunity to cash in on this market. As the price of Corn has risen we are seeing a change in the scenery. We are seeing the plants looking at sales of the other product of production as a source of revenue. That component is Dried Distillers Grain if the plant has a drier complex. If not we are seeing the wet mash sold as cattle feed domestically. The Dried Distillers grain with a 24% protein level is an attractive feed source in many foreign countries. This product is one of the major new exports lowering our balance of trade deficit. We are bringing in Electronics and sending out Dried Distillers grain and other ag commodities.

We have seen the oil independence of Brazil with the use of Ethanol for fuel for their autos. What is the difference here in the U.S.? Brazil has an Ethanol Advantage. The fuel source for Ethanol is Sugar Cane. To make ethanol Sugar Cane is a fantastic crop. The Sugars are easily broken down into making Ethanol. It is a very efficient crop for this process.

In the Corn based Ethanol process the margins are thin due to the high cost of inputs. The energy to process the grain is large and the cost of grain is increasing at an ever expanding rate. The Canton Plant was going to use a coal mixture for energy to process the Ethanol. Most all the others use Natural gas and Oil for processing.

One Ethanol plant coming on line in the near future is a BioMass plant in Soperton GA. This will not use Corn but will use alternative sources for the simple sugars required to make the Alcohol. This will be an interesting plant to see how economically it can produce Ethanol. And the associated new crop structure to support this plant.

It will be an interesting year to see what breaks out in this market. The Bush Energy bill calls for an increase use in BioFuels. It will be interesting to see if the cost factors will allow this industry to prosper.

Tracks- the fresh snow

The best thing about snow is the tracks>>>>> Look around the snow and see what visitors you had in your yard.

A first set of tracks noticed was from a one legged pidgeon. I spotted the tracks early in the morning near the garage. And saw the little guy by the feeder later in the day. He was eating bird seed off the ground. (Bird Seed funny use of terms. If you plant it will birds grow?)

I also saw tracks from the mouse that lives under the stairs. He is so cute. I am sure he will be burrowing through the snow since I saw two sets of Cat tracks.

There were several bunnies. The dogs get excited when they smell the bunnies. (No not the "Girls next door" kind of bunnies) There was also the rabbit poo all over the yard that was shoveled where you can see the grass.

The Birds are all by the double feeders and Bird Bath. They really enjoy the feed and the Suet. The different bird tracks are of all sizes. From the CatBirds down to the little chickadees. It is great seeing the Cardinals and the occasional woodpecker stop by the feeder.

The freshness is slowly diminishing in the snow. The scholl kids and neighbor dogs are gradually making the front yard resemble Grand Central Station as the tracks accumulate.

We will have to wait for a fresh canvas of newly fallen snow to start the tracks again. It is truly amazing the things you can find in the tracks.

Sleep tight, stay warm, and have a happy holiday.

Toys for Tot's shortfall needing your help

In the news tonight one of the lead stories was the shortfall of toys for the Toys for Tot's program. In the story they said there was a shortfall last year as well. If you have some toys you would like to donate the drop off locations can be found at http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/tft

This is a great charity to light up a small child's Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Critter Meals on Wheels- Neighborhood House, Peoria

In Monday's Journal Star column PET WORLD- "Gifts for pet-lover's keep on giving" it talks about charitable donations to pet organizations.

A local connection (Not mentioned in the paper) is with the Neighborhood House in Peoria. Many of the regular Meals on Wheels recipients have pets to keep them company. These furry companions are very important to the well being of the elderly individuals that are getting Meals on Wheels. It was discovered that many can not afford a lot of pet food and share the meals on wheels items with their pets. So a Critter Meals on Wheels program was started. We have been supporting this for many years. This type of program does not get the exposure that many other service programs receive.

If you have a heart for pets consider this program in your gift giving this year.

Customer Service or lack of training or do people lack tact and diplomacy

I travel quite often and had two instances of poor Customer Service in the last two days. In Hindsight it seems to be a trend.

First example came Thursday in Virginia. I had an hour wait for a meeting and decided to stop at a Cracker Barrel for a bowl of soup. I was propmptly seated and had a good bowl of Beef Noodle soup and a drink. I got the check and headed out to the cash register.

I gave the check to the cashier and she asked me what I had for lunch. She told me that this could not be my check and again asked me what I had. I told her the soup and she looked at me like I was trying to cheat the Cracker Barrel. She went around the counter and tracked down my server and got the correct check. I had not looked at the check since it was so small I did not know how it could have been messed up. When she came back to the register there was no attempt to apologize for the oversight in giving me the wrong check. I wish I had not left a good tip at this point.

How should this have been handled?? The cashier could have said that she needed to check with the server that there may be an error on my check or could have just taken what I ordered and enter it in the register and then talk with the server about the error. In a normal year I will eat at an out of town restaurant approximately 150 times.

Will this experience affect my choice of restaurants in the future. A similar poor service (waiting 15 minutes for a waitperson to come to acknowledge my presence in their section) has already had a negative impact on the IHOP chain. IHOP is at the bottom of my list of restaurants at the moment.

Then last night, I flew into Peoria and on my way home stopped at the Kroger's near the Airport in B'ville. I had quite a cart load. You know never go to the grocery when you are hungry! So I had a large amount of groceries. As I was checking out I realized I had missed one item. I asked the person bagging if I could put my cart near the lane and go back and get the item. So I placed the cart at the front of the store and found my one item. It was after 8:00 P.M. and there was only the one lane open. It now had quite a line so I went throught the U-Scan lane for my $1.49 item. I am leaving the store with my cumulative purchases when I get half way across the parking lot I her a female voice yelling "Sir, Sir." to which I ignore not thinking they are looking for me. Then I hear the Salvation Army guy yelling as well. So I turn around and the Kroger employee is looking for me. She then yells across the parking lot " Did you pay for your (item)?" I told her how I had paid for it.

This could have been a positive had the Kroger employee came to the car since I had a whole cart full and simple asked me if I had found the item in question and if I had any trouble in the Uscan lane since that was the only option other than the lane that she was working at.

I have seen many instances of great customer service and tend to give larger gratuities if applicable or write letters to the company. In the last 3 month's I have sent out 5 letters to companies where the employee had gone above the call of duty.

One instance was a flight out of Bloomington on Airtran. The airline was getting ready to close the door on the plane and a familly of four came in. One was a baby in arms. They were sitting a few rows in front of me. The stewardess helped the family get settled and she got a little snack., etc for the kids. This calmed the frantic parents and kids, who were surely worried that they would miss the plane. This little extra action by the Airtran employee made the whole plane trip more enjoyable for the whole cabin. Feeling that if she had not made this extra effort the kids would have been noisy and not content with the surroundings on the crowded plane. Airtran was in receipt of a letter for this employees efforts.

I do not think we reward good experiences as much as we should. We are always vocal to our friends about bad experiences.

Green for Christmas???

You get the envelope anticipating the gift card to the Electronic store for the latest gizmo of your choice. You eagerly open it to find. "In the True Christmas spirit we have made a donation to KIVA, Samaritan's Purse, etc."

What is the reaction. According to the USA Today, it will not be a warm welcome. If this is truly the case. The thought is nice, why would the receiver not welcome this with open arms. The opportunity to help someone across the world or in the USA should be a heart warming experience.

I can remember times in my past if I received that type of item. I would have had quite a rejection. As we grow and see the benefits to the world as a whole I would welcome this gift today. We need to experience the simple pleasures. Do that extra thing to make someone's day unique.

Tonight I am taking customers to an event that is a fund raiser. Part of the fundraiser is a raffle where they give away big screen tv's, etc. That is the draw to the Christmas Party. It is not the opportunity to help out the kids from the Charity but what they are giving away.

Maybe, what is won will be regifted, maybe not. The Charity will raise a large sum of money. They do every year from the items that are donated. But the act of the raffle is a draw to the event. But it seems to supercede the event.

Green items for Christmas are not new. They are just in vogue. The thought of purchasing a goat for someone in a Village in Western Africa may not sound like a great gift. But it will make a difference to that person and community. The problem that most inject is the amount of overhead many of these charities have to provide the services. Do your homework before you try to Green the World. You want to see that you get the maximum benefit from your donation.

Have a wonderful holiday.