At five AM, Monday morning, the black helicopters began orbiting the house.  These helicopters were not the emissaries of some nefarious government agency, but rather the representative of the various local television stations.  They all wanted to get footage of the first workday commute on The New I-64.  They continued buzzing about the house until I left for work in the morning.  I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, Monday night.  As I was walking out of the store, across the parking lot to my car, there was a helicopter hovering directly above me.  It was a bit unnerving.  Some people worry about big brother. I just say, oh brother!

As I exited from the highway this morning on my way in to work, I decided to tune into the local radio traffic report.  I was amused to hear the helicopter borne radio announcer explain that after two years of construction and a half billion dollars that the regular traffic jams were in their regular spots.  I confirmed this fact on my way home Monday night.  Southbound I-170 started to back up where it always use to back up.  I was also amused to hear the traffic reporter refer to The New I-64 as Highway Farty.  So what did our sacrifices buy us? 

The evening news announcers were saying that MODOT was rather surprised that even on day one traffic levels returned to their pre-construction levels.  I guess that they were not listening to their own announcements.  One can only hope that with time drivers will become more adept at navigating The New I-64. 

I believe that the picture with this post is of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.  Sibley’s was not all that helpful on this subject, so I had to google several candidate species of hawks before I finally, but sill with some reservations settled upon the Red-tailed Hawk.  If anyone has a different idea, let me know.

Good Morning….How’s your world today?
Good Morning…Start with us and you’ll say…
Good Morning…Let the sun come shining through…

If you’re looking to see how the rest of the world is
We’re first every day…

Good Morning means the Globe-Democrat today!!

Anne and I rode the New I-64 on Sunday.  On Monday morning this highway will be reopened to vehicular traffic, but on Sunday the only highway traffic was the human-powered variety.  It was cold on Sunday.  Our outdoor thermometer read twenty-nine degrees when we launched at 10:30.  I had eighteen pieces of clothing on and Anne had nineteen.  Although the highway wasn’t scheduled to be opened until noon, we had no trouble getting on it at Big Bend.  We headed downtown for a rendezvous with some of our Team Kaldi teammates.  We passed a MODOT truck that was picking up the two lines of orange traffic cones from the morning’s time trial race.  There were not many riders on the road at the time.  We rode to Kingshighway, the eastern end of the new section of highway.  From there we took Chouteau to Jefferson.  There we met up with our other Team Kaldi teammates.  Sandy had arranged for a great room at the Jefferson Marriott.

Although I have referred to this new highway as The New I-64, it will always be thought of and referred to by Saint Louis natives, as Highway Forty Farty.  This is not to be confused with Highway Farty-Far, which runs jus’a-little-bit south of farty.  Just after noon Team Kaldi’s launched back the way Anne and I had just come.  When we got back to Kingshighway, there were a lot more people out playing on the highway than when we last passed there.  This year MODOT segregated the cyclists from the pedestrians.  The cyclists were in the east-bound lanes and the pedestrians were in the west-bound lanes.  This kept things a lot tamer than last year.  We rode all the way to the western terminus of the new highway section at Hanley and turned around.

We stopped off at the house on our way back east.  We dropped off some things there and picked up some other stuff.  We also got warm again.  The thermometer now read thirty-four.  We headed east again.  The picture with this post shows the section of the highway where the various political dignitaries planned to do their dedications.  It also features the Tamm overpass bridge, where over two years ago the whole project began.  It was the first overpass to be redone.  It is also the only one to be dropped with explosives.  We heard the explosion.  Subsequently all the other overpasses were demolished using equipment.

We pass Kingshighway and rode on to Jefferson.  There was a pretty good crowd at the Marriott when we got there again.  We had a pot-luck dinner and watched the Rams lose to da’Bears.  Still on our bikes we headed for home at just after four.  It was beginning to get dark but we didn’t plan on biking the entire eight miles back home.  We biked a mile to the Grand MetroLink stop.  We lucked out and our train was the next to arrive.  We load the bikes and rode the train off into the sunset.  We got twenty-six miles.

Went to See Carrot Top last night and it was absolutely amazing. I wasn’t sure what to expect but when I left there my jaw hurt from laughing the entire show. Yeah he might be funny looking and look like he is on steroids, but he is a brilliant comic. His timing and delivery was on point. His use of of props and gags is out of this world. No one was safe when it came to cracking jokes and using props – Criss Angel, Tiger Woods, Terrel Owens and even the Luxor Hotel were the brunt of some of his funnier jokes. I was even more impressed with how much he made fun of himself. GREAT SHOW and I highly recommend going to see it if you get the chance.

-CP

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This is a real 911 Call. This guy thought it was ok to request a police escort for his 350 mile trek to see Lil Wayne in Miami. When the operator say no – he asked for a helicopter.. all because he didn’t want to get pulled over for speeding…IDIOT

So a few weeks ago I piled into my roommate Natasha’s Acura with four other sweet-ass dudes and zoomed off to St. Louis to see The Books (speaking of using technology in new+great+unexpected ways..!), and visit some friends. While we were down there we checked out the Science Center, which was pretty cool. Highlight = animatronic T-Rex chowing down a bloodsoaked Triceratops.

Anyway, what is this blog about? JUST KIDDING I TOTS REMEMBER. I visited the Science Center when about was about ten or so, and I remember it being really sciency. To the point that I was like so bo-o-o-ored. This time I still got bored by 64% of the museum, but other 17% was pretty neat… and the remaining 19%?? Holy smokes, it seemed like the most amazing game system/computer/robot/awesomeness/toy/entertainment center EVER.  If I was ten I would have totally died of the awesome. DIED. OF. THE. AWESOME.

Here’s what I’m saying: computer technology that used to be dry and unrelatable to a kid is now the standard for toys and youth entertainment.  I don’t know a single person between the ages of seven and fourteen whose favorite toy/game/activity is not some form of computer. Seriously. I find it FASCINATING how something that used to be perceived as science experiments are now entertainment.

Writing this now seems WAY LESS staggering and more “well, duh.” But. Whatevs. It was totally interesting at the time.

The Saint Louis forecast for Wednesday night included rain with the chance of light snow, with little to no accumulation.  This was the forecast as of Wednesday evening.  Rewind now back to last weekend.  Holiday weekends are traditionally slow news periods.  For Cindy our TV weather personality, the whole month of November has been quiet, too quiet.  So last Sunday night she drops the bomb, there is a chance of a couple of inches of snow on Wednesday.  But over the intervening days, the couple of inches is whittled away to eventually become little or no accumulation.

It was with some trepidation that I went to the grocery store on Wednesday night.  Saint Louisans have this unusual behavioral characteristic when confronted with a winter forecast that includes snow.  They all flock on mass to all the metropolitan area’s grocery stores, clogging all their aisles and filling all the register lines and only to acquire just two items, bread and milk.  Bread and milk are the original Saint Louis survival rations.  Next month I’ll mark my thirtieth anniversary of my moving to Saint Louis.  In those thirty years there have been only a couple of times that I could not easily drive the day after a snowfall to my local grocery store.  Let’s cut to the chase, there were no crowds at the grocery store on Wednesday night.  I breezed through the aisles and found no line at the register.  I did buy milk, we were starting to get low, but I knew that we had almost two loves of bread.

I’ll leave you with this list of snow related terms that I’ve assembled from various sources.  This is an English list of words, as opposed to an Inuit (Inuit lists of words for snow are actually more popular), which I do not speak.  So let it snow … 

avalanche, blizzard, blowing snow, cornice (a drift of snow that overhangs a precipice), crushed ice (for cocktails), dusting, flurry, freeze, freezing rain, frost, flurries, hail, hard pack, ice, ice cream, ice-cube, ice floe, iceberg, icicle, igloo, lake ice, melted snow, powder, sea ice, sleet, sleigh, Slurpee (I like to make a suicide), slush, snow angel, snow bank, snow blindness, snow boots, snow cat, snow cave, snow day, snow depth, snow fence, snow fort, snow leopard, snow machine (any Canucks out there?), snow melt, snow pants, snow plow, Snow Queen, snow report, snow sled, snow sculpture, snow snake, snow suit, snow tire, snow train, Snow White, snowball fight, snowboard, snowed in, snowflake, snowman, snowmobile, snowpack, snowshoe, snowstorm, snowy egret (I couldn’t resist),  snowy owl (better), thunder snow and whiteout

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Well, I am back in Kirksville. I put all of my new clothes away before I could take a picture of my winner’s circle — but take my word, it was glorious. I bought so much stuff in Kirksville, I almost totally emptied my checking account! This should probably be a bad thing, but I love being broke and having a lot of clothes.

I will blog later about what I did in STL since my last few posts. Until then, xoxo.

Today’s post is courtesy of Uncle Carl.  He was looking through a box of random cards at a baseball card shop and found not one, but two copies of my Great-Uncle Lukey’s baseball card.  You might remember that I blogged about Lukey once before.  The subject of that post was Lukey’s relationship with Babe Ruth.  The baseball card’s story of Lukey ends in 1928.  After leaving professional sports, Lukey returned to his hometown of Fall River and coached high school sports.  The high school auditorium was named in honor of him.

I scanned his picture above and then used the scanner’s optical character reader facility for the first time to scan the information on the back, see below.  The scanner worked really well.  It only had problems with the old English characters that are part of the logo for the card’s manufacturer, The Sporting News.  The Sporting News was based in Saint Louis for years and years.  Recently it was acquired by some other publishing conglomerate and was moved to California.

Speaking of California, I think that I’ll send one of the cards to my folks.  I think that my mom would like to see it.  I just hope that she doesn’t throw it out like she did with my baseball card collection, many years ago. 

Louis John Urban
Height: 5′ 8″      Weight: 168      Bats: Right      Throws: Right
Born: Mar. 22, 1898, Fall River, MA
Died: Dec. 7, 1980, Somerset, MA

In 1921, the Buffalo All-Americans compiled a 9-1-2 record, good for second place in the young American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of the National Football League.  Luke Urban was a regular starting end for the All-Americans, playing in all 12 games and averaging over 20 yards per pass reception.  In the following year, Buffalo slipped to 5-4-1.  Urban saw only limited action, but had better than a 25 yard per reception average, catching 8 passes for 203 yards.  In 1923, Urban was still listed as a starter, but played a still smaller offensive role, with only 6 receptions the entire season.  That was to be his final year of professional football.  In 1927, Luke had his Major League baseball debut as a pinch hitter and reserve catcher for the 7th place Boston Braves.  He batted .288 in 35 games.  The following year, in an attempt to improve their standing, the Braves traded for 2 great Hall of Fame players, George Sisler and Rogers Hornsby. Sisler hit .340 and Hornsby batted .387 to lead the National League but the Braves came in 7th again.  Urban managed only .176 in 15 games, and never returned to Major League sports.

Before we start let’s recap Thanksgiving.  Anne cooked.  I helped.  Dan and Annie came over early.  Dan, Annie, Dave and Rey played a board game called Twilight Imperium.  It seemed to me to be some sort of space opera themed strategy game.  They enjoy it.  Joanie joined us for dinner.  We ate.  Dan and Annie left for their second dinner.  I did dishes. The drain stopped up.  The tryptophan then took hold and well, goodnight nurse!

Today is Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Traditionally, Black Friday is the start of the Christmas shopping season.  It is called Black Friday because this is the day that many businesses sell enough stuff, to make enough money, to go from being in the red to being in the black for the year.

What was once just a tradition has now been hyped to become a major economic event.  These days, big box stores open up at O’dark-thirty to stampeding mobs of shoppers.  Last year on Black Friday a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death at five AM.  Last year on Black Friday, I didn’t go anywhere near a store.  I filmed the gnome movie, for last year’s one-minute movie contest.  This Black Friday I’ll be looking to buy a snake.

Starting Friday evening, even before the stores close for the day, pundits will prognosticate about the day’s economic success or failure.  Economists will expand upon this one day’s impact on the economy as a whole.  Questions will abound.  Is the economy on the mend or are we headed for a double dip recession?  That is a lot to put on just one day.  TGIF!

Forward LaRon Dendy is probable for this weekend’s Chicago Invitational games against Saint Louis and either Notre Dame/Northwestern.

Dendy has missed Iowa State’s last four games with a right knee sprain.

He was in uniform Tuesday for the Cyclones’ 84-53 win over Tennessee State but did not play. Trainer Vic Miller said Dendy planned to resume practice Wednesday with the hope of being available for tonight’s 5 p.m. game with the Billikens.

“I think it is looking pretty good. He’s doing well and feels good,” Miller said.

Dendy scored 16 points and had seven rebounds in ISU’s season-opening win over Idaho State. The 6-9, 230-pound junior was injured in practice the following day.

He’ll need a little time to get back into game shape.

“He’s been out for almost two straight weeks,” Miller said. “We have to try and get him moving and get him in the flow.”

======================

Unless Iowa State plays Northwestern – which is only likely to happen if ISU loses Friday to Saint Louis, considering the hometown ‘Cats face No. 23 Notre Dame in the other half of the four-team tournament – there will be no television coverage of its games this weekend.

The Big Ten Network is planning on televising Northwestern’s games.

Unfortunately, one of the year’s best individual match-ups between Cyclone big man Craig Brackins and Notre Dame All-America forward Luke Harangody will fly way under the radar nationally.

It’s kind of a shame.

Long time, no blog.

I have been very busy this week, goofing off in Saint Louis with Becky and Abby. On the first day, Becky and I did some “pre-shopping” at West County mall while waiting for Abby to get into town. Once Abby made it to STL, we headed to Cecil Whittakers for some early dinner/late lunch before shopping at Chesterfield mall. We went buck wild at American Eagle and Aerie because Becky had a 40% off coupon. Between the three of us, the bill was huge! Thank god for that 40% off…

We pretty much had all the serious shopping out of the way so for the next two days we planned some more “cultured” things to do. We went (by my request) to the Botanical Gardens and then headed up the street to Pho Grand for some Vietnamese. That night my dad made us dinner and we stuffed ourselves silly with popcorn, homemade coffee bars, and Starbucks iced coffee while watching Bruno — we watched it twice in a row might I add (should be proud or ashamed?).

The next day Kim joined us and we decided to head downtown for a picnic lunch at the Arch followed by the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour. The Arch was too cold to really enjoy and too expensive to go up in, so we really just scarfed down some Jimmy John’s sandwiches and went inside the museum to look at all the taxidermy animals and robot people. We busted out of there and went to the brewery which was equally boring. We were really just waiting to get the 2 free beers afterward — which predictably turned out to be the only fun part. The lack of downtown excitement was made up for by the sushi dinner that was soon to follow! It was delicious and I loved watching Abby and Becky nearly die from wasabi burns. Plus, Abby ate a piece of dragon roll that Kim dropped on the carpeted floor when she was trying to romantically feed Abby via chop sticks. Disgusting!

Tuesday was Becky’s birthday for which we (+ my lovely friend Sarah)  headed to the Loop for some shopping/eating. The rain really put a damper on the shopping part so we quickly decided to hit up the Galleria. I can’t even believe I bought more stuff. I have spent sooo much money this week! After shopping, we met up with Lisa and went to Casa Gallardo for food, drinks, and fried ice cream. I hadn’t been there in forever and t was not as awesome as I remember but at least the margaritas were big and Becky got her fried ice cream. Afterward, I went into a short food coma only to wake up in time to see the midnight showing of Fantastic Mr. Fox. I loved Roald Dahl as a child and always enjoyed Wes Anderson as an adult so I must say that the combination of the two was genius. The movie was great! Plus, due to a delayed starting time and initially showing the wrong film, AMC gave everyone free tickets for next time!

Wednesday (yesterday), we got McDonald’s breakfast and saw Abby off. Becky and I went to Old Navy (on the hunt for loafers) and Walgreens (on the hunt for travel shampoo). Then we watched trashy television until Becky left to begin the Thanksgiving hanging out with her family.

Now the only thing I have to look forward to is Thanksgiving food, Black Friday shopping with Beckers, and video games with Lisa.

Today more than ever, consumers are overwhelmed with choices, and distractions. The cost of attracting users to your website continues to increase and keeping them engaged is more important than ever.

Engagement doesn’t end with an individual browser reading content or clicking on an ad. Rather, engagement is an ongoing process that results in loyal customers who come back again and again, becoming more vested in your web site.

How can you make sure you’re engaging and keeping customers?

In order to create a loyal following, there are some basic principles you need to consider. From first impressions to life-long membership, put yourself in the shoes of your browsers and make their experience a valuable one.

• Reduce Clutter. How many times have you visited a website only to be overwhelmed and confused? What is this site about you may have asked yourself. Or perhaps you found yourself asking, ‘Where is the information I’m looking for?

Don’t ask your browsers or potential customers to figure this out. Make your site clutter free and create a                      visual priority that emphasizes the information, resources, or actions your browsers want. By reducing                        obstacles you build trust among new web site visitors and allow for simple decision making – which                            benefits everyone.

• Make Navigation Intuitive. There are many ways to navigate a web page but intuition rules the day. Don’t try to get fancy with your navigation or overuse java script. Basic navigation that follows current convention is the best way to lead individuals through your web site to the information they’re looking for.

• Make The Initial Site Interaction Relevant. When a browser reaches your web site, you have less than seven seconds to get them engaged. Making your initial site interaction relevant to what individuals are looking for is essential for keeping them interacting long term.

If you are promoting your web site with Google Adwords, or any pay per click advertising for that matter, be                sure to create customer landing pages that are truly relevant to the individual who clicks-through your ad.                  Once you’ve established relevancy, you can move them deeper into your content, tools, and resources.

• Ensure That Your Content Is Up-to-date. Web site content that isn’t up to date does not serve your audience and browsers are likely to move on. One way to ensure that information is timely is by providing a feed of relevant news or information. If including static text on your web pages, try not to include specific dates. However, if you must publish dates, be sure to update this information on a regular basis.

• Start An Interaction With Your Users. Each time a browser views your web page, you have an opportunity to interact with them. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. One great way to interact is to offer something of value at no cost. This can be a white paper, access to an exclusive list, or simply a 30 day free trial. Be sure to capture an individual’s valid email address and include them on your mailing list. An auto-responder is best if you wish to engage these individuals on an ongoing basis.

• Provide Plenty Of Support. Don’t hesitate to offer support right from your home page. Prominently display your 800 number, support email address, and additional information for your prospects and customers such as mailing address. This information is viewed favorably by search engines and also creates a sense of legitimacy. Contact information builds trust among prospects and elicits interest in your company.

• Make Sharing Easy. Once you’ve made your web site easy to use, don’t hesitate to offer browsers the ability to share your web site with others. This can be in the form of a simple widget that allows users to bookmark your page, subscribe to an Rss feed, or submit your content to popular news sites like Digg.com.

Individuals are much more likely to visit a web site based on a friend’s recommendation versus some other type of marketing initiative. Leverage the power of viral marketing with easy sharing tools.

Your web site can be your greatest asset. Unfortunately, many marketers and website owners are so focused on increasing traffic that they lose site of the audience that’s already visiting their web pages but are simply not converting.

Don’t make the same mistake. Improve the quality of you site through relevant content that is up-to-date and easy to find. Once you’ve engaged users, encourage them to share. Doing so will make your site perform better, increase conversions, and deliver value for all involved.

www.RaziCommunications.com

info@razicommunications.com

Razi Communications is an Identity Company offering full-service public relations, advertising, marketing and Internet-based programs. We work with clients to help them discover their strengths and the things that make them unique and then help communicate those strengths into effective marketing campaigns. We bring your story to life in language that inspires and motivates utilizing traditional and new media.

Today’s header features a large flock of birds.  They are either starlings or grackles.  I don’t know which.  The bird pictured with this post is of course a robin.  It is the last week of November and the robins have not yet flown south for the winter.  Saint Louis has not had its first frost yet either.  If it doesn’t frost this week we will have a new record for the latest first frost.  I even got a mosquito bite this last weekend.  Winter has been slow in coming this year.

While the bird’s normal migration habits seem to have been delayed the same is not true for people.  Today will be the busiest day of the year for airline travel.  Dave is flying home today.  He’ll leave Rochester this morning.  Later in the morning he should change planes in Detroit.  He is scheduled to arrive in Saint Louis just after one in the afternoon.  I’ll work a half-day and pick Dave up after he lands.  Anne has the day off and plans on spending the day cooking.

Not everyone will be winging their way to Saint Louis today.  Rey will work today also and then drive to Saint Louis.  He might hit some rain, hopefully not though.  There won’t be anything worse than rain to worry about, remember winter is slow in coming this year.  We look forward to seeing him again later tonight.

We’ll probably go out to eat at Lemon Grass for some Vietnamese.  We’re shooting for lunch, so we’ll have to measure evaluate Dan’s work schedule versus Dave’s arrival.  We’ll balanced our hunger and these variables and then calculate when we go to eat.  In any event there will be Lemon Grass dishes at our Thanksgiving table.  So cross your fingers folks, things might not go according to plan, but then again, I might just end up with more blog fodder.

Statistics for this years third quarter (July 1 - Sept. 30) are out regarding the housing market.  Data was gathered from the National Association of Realtors.

Average Total Sales (for Single-family, Apartment, Condos, and Coops)

Average total sales of the nation have increased from the second quarter to the third by 11.4% and the third quarter’s average total sales have increased by 5.9% compared to Q3 of 2008.  In the state of Missouri, the average total sales have increased by 16.4% since last quarter and 1.8% compared to last year’s average total sales.  Only thirteen states have a higher average sale price than Missouri in this quarter, with California, Texas, and Florida leading, respectively.

Average Sale Price (for Single-Family Homes)

From last years third quarter to this years, the national average sale price has decreased by 11.2% and the St. Louis average has decreased by 4.4%.   

There is no data for condos in St. Louis.

Predictions for the St. Louis Market

According to MARIS, the average price in the housing market will remain stable in Q4 in St. Louis City.  The number of homes on the market is expected to increase, as well as new homes built.  The average days on market is predicted to increase and the number of homes sold may not change all that drastically.

In St. Louis County, the average sale price is projected to remail stable as well as the number of homes sold.  An increase in homes on the market, new homes built, and average days on market is predicted.  Overall, the prediction seems to be that both the county and the city will mirror each other in market activity in the fourth quarter.

Data gathered from NAR, MARIS, and Stltoday.com

If you’ve ever Googled your name, you know how important managing your reputation online can be. Each day, thousands of individuals are searching online for information about others simply by searching on Google or other leading search engines. With information being so readily available, managing your reputation is more important than ever.

How to Manage Your Reputation Online

Fortunately, managing your reputation online isn’t all that difficult, but it does take work. Here are 7 basic steps you can take to ensure that your reputation doesn’t become negatively impacted by what’s being said about you online.

1. See where you stand. Start your reputation management initiative by Googling your name. Try it with quotes and with out (first and last name together). Look through each of your results on page one and page two of Google. Are there any there are are negative or you wish to remove?

2. Set up a Google alert. Visit Google and set up an alert for your name. After setting up the alert Google will send you and email to confirm that you wish to receive the updates. Accept the alert and each time your name is published to the Web, you’ll know about it.

3. Contact website owners for name removal. If there are sites that include your name and commentary that is less than desirable, contact the appropriate websites requesting that the information be removed. More often than not, website owners will agree to remove your name and/or inappropriate information.

4. Purchase a domain with your name. Add sites and webpages associated with your name and watch negative search results get pushed lower on Google rankings. Visit GoDaddy or another provider of website URLs and hosting, and purchase a domain that contains your name. Even if your name is rather common, experiment with variations until your name can be established in the form of a dot com. Once you own a domain, publish a webpage with your personal profile.

5. Start a blog under your name. Blogger is a great tool for setting up your own blog which can be used to publish information about yourself. Popular blog sites are often picked up by Google and you can control the content. Be sure to sign up for Technorati after your blog has been published. Submit your blog for review and its popularity will increase, improving search rankings and continuing to push down negative search results.

6. Free press release. Use free-press-release.com or a similar free press release site to publish favorable information about your and your reputation. This form of reputation management is easy and costs nothing. Be sure to use your name throughout the release and in the release title.

7. Author articles in your field. Publish article relative to a particular topic or area in which you’ve done some work or have experience. Use article distribution serivces to build online references to your content. Make sure your articles contain an about the author section that links back to your main website.

There are a variety of strategies you can use to manage online references about you, your family, or others that need to manage their reputation online. Other online sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and Squidoo, offer ample opportunity to deliver favorable search results that can push unfavorable results down in search engine rankings. The key is to start today – proactively manage your reputation and put yourself in a favorable light.

www.RaziCommunications.com

info@razicommunications.com

Razi Communications is an Identity Company offering full-service public relations, advertising, marketing and Internet-based programs. We work with clients to help them discover their strengths and the things that make them unique and then help communicate those strengths into effective marketing campaigns. We bring your story to life in language that inspires and motivates utilizing traditional and new media.

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.

Well apparently the Asian Carp knows how to satiate the pelican and survive.

I was first introduced to the Asian Carp, an invasive species, at this year’s Wings of Spring.  This event is held every year at the Corps of Engineer’s wetlands, just opposite Alton, Illinois.  This wetlands adjoins the Mel Price Lock and Dam.  This is the first and the largest of the twenty-some locks that allow barges to travel up the Mississippi all the way to Minneapolis.  The pictures of the flock of pelicans featured in this post were taken that day in the shadow of Mel Price.  There were hundreds of pelicans there that day.

Just down river from the dam’s spillway was a line of fishermen.  Also along the bank were the scattered rotting corpses of Asian Carp that had been caught and left to die.  These were big fish, two to three feet long, with a thick body.  I asked one of the fisherman about them.  He explained, they were not very good eating, too greasy and bony.  The reason that the rotting fish littered the bank was that the Corps has asked all fisherman not to throw them back into the water after catching them.

I mention all this is because the Asian Carp is poised to invade the Great Lakes.  The Corps have found specimens that have jumped an electric barricade design to prohibit their entry into Lake Michigan.  This species threatens to displace indigenous species.  The Asian Carp is also a hazard to boaters.  This fish has the habit of careening out of the water when being passed by a boat.  It’s razor-sharp fins can cause deep cuts.  Just when you thought that it was safe to get back into the water.

I rode in the Park on Monday morning before work.  There was a little bit of fog on the low-lying grass fields.  This excess moisture in the air probably explains why my glasses were always fogging up.  I would stop to take a picture and by the time I got the camera out, my glasses had fogged.  Needless to say these conditions were not conducive to good photography.  I got fifteen miles.

Washington University’s ROTC was in the Park for PT on Monday too.  The men and women in their matching grey track suits looked so young.  I couldn’t help from staring as they jogged past me.  Afterwards I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before they graduated and after they graduated, how long before they are sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

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