Good morning!!

Back on the road early with the Glee Club. Call time this morning was a bright and early 6:45 am. Now we’re on the bus heading back to the Chicago area after a fabulous day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The morning yesterday started out not quite as this morning did. We left Lake Zurich around 9:45 to drive up to Milwaukee. I really don’t recall what time we arrived. Dates and times seem to blur after so long. Once in Milwaukee we hung out at Le Club, a local fitness and health club. Guys were able to play tennis, use the pool, work out in the gym or just hang out in the common areas. Lunch was at our leisure, and Le Club provided us with sandwiches, chips and soda. It was a pretty solid meal.

The Purdue football game was on, and let’s just say that the Boilermakers never cease to amaze me. Week after week you think they can’t lose in a more embarassing way, but it keeps happening. Turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover, you’d think they’d get sick of turning the ball over. I’m friends with our quarterback, Joey Elliott, and I just wish he would play better (for his sake really, not ours). He’s definitely a talented quarterback, but he’s just not making wise decisions. I don’t know very much about the intricacies of football and playing quarterback, and I won’t pretend to. However, I do know that if you turn the ball over, whether it be by interception, fumble or whatever, you’re goin to lose. And it’s not all on Joey. Other guys are fumbling the ball. I just wish the guys would get it together. They’re a talented group…they just can’t quite get it together.

Anyways, now that my football rant is over, I’ll get back to the Glee Club trip. We watched the game, ate some food and really just kicked back and relaxed while we were afforded the opportunity. From Le Club we headed to White Fish Bay High School, our assistant manager Dan Gardiner’s old high school for set up and sound check. After all that we rehearsed with the high school’s choir, as they were performing with us that evening. We ran through “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and sounded pretty good. The high school choir picked up on our nuances and blended right in for the most part.

After rehearsal, we headed to dinner. We had dinner at Sprecher Brewery Co., in town and had a nice meal. Before dining we took a tour of the facility and saw the process through which they make their products. Though the company started out with beer as their main product, they do brew sodas as well. In fact, they sell more rootbeer than all their other products combined. The tour was great, and we were able to sample some of their products (unfortunately only the non-alcoholic beverages…for the time being ). We sang a few of our table songs as we enjoyed dinner. A local catering company provided the meal which consisted of greenbeans, mashed potatoes, beef brisket and pulled pork. Of course we were drinking Sprecher’s delicious sodas with dinner. I only tried their rootbeer, but it was pretty delicious. Maybe some other time I’ll have to try Raven Red or Puma Cola.

After dinner we headed back to the high school for the performance. We sang our surround and ran on stage to begin the show. We started with our Indiana Medley and had some microphone issues to begin. In true Glee Club fashion, we adjusted and moved on, and Josh Getto sang the first solo without a mic. They worked out the issue for the second solo which featured hometown boy Dan Gardiner. The first half wasn’t the greatest. It seemed maybe some of the focus was a little off. Lighthouse, our gospel quarter, performed and sounded great. We performed a lot of stuff that we didn’t perform Friday night in Lake Zurich. Because we have 4 full dress shows, a church service and a high school convocation, Bill made it a point to mix up the song selection more than ever, and as an “old man” in the group I really appreciated that, and I think a lot of the old men really did.

Dan sang the runout song to lead us into halftime. The Boiler Boys began halftime with their new medley of songs. The Clever Lads debuted a new song last night that the audience really enjoyed, despite a few mishaps. As always, BaNaNa had the crowd going wild with their Beach Boys medley and “Shout.”

The second half began with “You Don’t, You Won’t,” which definitely has sounded better. It wasn’t the best way to begin the second half, especially after Dan lit into us pretty good during halftime. Once through that song we really stepped it up, focused and reconnected with Bill. VoiceOvers performed “Carry On My Wayward Son” again, along with “Plainotfancy.” I was pretty pleased with the way the latter sounded considering we hadn’t performed that one in quite some time. And of course “Carry On” rocked, per usual. The crowd really seemed to enjoy that one. Once again we had some sound issues as the onstage monitors were not feeding us back our voices. It made it crucial to listen to ourselves across our arched lineup. Overall I was pleased with the way our group sounded.

The high school’s choir joined us on stage and performed “The Battle Hymn” with us. There were about 30 guys and 50 ladies that joined us, and they did a great job. I will admit though, I lost focus at one point. One of the things that makes the Glee Club and all of PMO’s ensembles unique is our focus and our attentiveness to the director or whomever may be speaking in front of us. We keep our eyes locked in on Bill at all time. Last night…I lost focus, but I can bet I wasn’t the only one. As the choir is joining us on stage, their guys are filing on to the risers as the girls are lining up in front of our risers. I see a large, blonde nappy set of hair making it’s way up the risers, and I will admit I had to investigate. I quickly glanced and saw that it was a guy who just had really long, disgusting dreadlocks. It was….interesting? I guess that’s the best way to put it. Regardless, they joined us on stage and we performed the hell out of that song.

Toward the end of the show, Dan brought his mother on stage to present his lavalier(which is a necklace with our little Glee Club Pete on it). Each Glee Clubber has the opportunity as a senior to present two lavaliers, one to the woman he intends to marry, and the other to his mother. Dan sang a (very lowered) version of the Backstreet Boys song, “The Perfect Fan.” Dan did a really good job it. In our preshow lineup someone had joked that Dan tripled the number of solos he had done in his Glee Club career in that one performance alone. Dan’s a great guy and definitely has done a wonderful job over the course of his career, and I was glad to see him perform well.

We concluded our show with two of our favorites, “This is the Moment” and “Hail Purdue.” David Maurer sang the solo for “This is the Moment” and did a wonderful job. David has an amazing bass voice and really rocked the solo.

After the show we mingled with the Milwaukee crowd, like we do, and the people really seemed to enjoy it. Because we hadn’t been to the city in a quarter century, it was the first Glee Club experience for most of them, and those people were very receptive and very thankful to us for performing.

We stayed with locals in the community once again, and Jeremy Clifford and I stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a couple that moved from Scotland to the States four years ago and lived next to the Gardiners. They were a gracious couple and we really enjoyed staying with them. The Gardiners had some guests over, so we headed there to socialize for a bit. Mr. Gardiner had purchased a few cases of the Sprecher beer, so we were finally able to sample the fine brew. I personally had a Black Bavarian and an Oktoberfest, both of which were on the darker side. They were both pretty delicious. I wanted to sample all six, but s combination of the 6:45 am call time and our homestays’ readiness to leave hindered that goal. Probably a good life choice though. Regardless, it was a wonderful reception and the Gardiners did a fabulous job getting everything set up and prepared. The people of Milwaukee were great, and despite the cold weather, I was actually pretty bummed to leave.

But we move on to our next venue and our next performance, like we do. We have a church service at Palos Park Presbyterian Church at 10:30, followed by a 3 pm full dress show at Trinity College. Mom’s coming up for that one, so that’s cool. Hopefully she brings whatever siblings of mine she can. I like having family there when I perform. I wish I’d have more of my friends from the area come. People know I’m in the Glee Club, but most don’t really know what it is that we do. I just want them to see how great we are!!

So from this frigid bus to you, thanks for reading and enjoy your day. Recap of Day #3 to come tomorrow!

© Kathy~

   #mce_temp_url#

We’re headed into the biggest gardening weekend of the year!

A special thanks to all who have helped with the Whitefish Bay Weed-Out and with the informational table at events!  Thanks for fitting these activities into your busy schedules and for being great advocates for natural lawn care.

Visit HCP to download the new Natural Lawn Care Tips and Calendar to help you with your lawn care this season.

Happy gardening!

Melanie Ariens

Healthy Communities Project

• Robotic fish to sniff for pollutants in Spain. Toronto Globe and Mail

• Fresh water may be the next oil. The World Water Forum looks at the future of global water supplies. Reuters

• Breaking ice in the cold sun. The Mackinaw works to open Whitefish Bay. Coast Guard Report

• Crumbling harbor infrastructure in Saugatuck, MI. Holland Sentinel

I’m good at resolutions, and each year try to refine them into new ways to improve my life. 2008 was probably my best year for staying in shape. I estimate that I did some kind of workout at least 320 of the 366 days of the year, which is definitely a record for me. In August, as a result of my elevated cholesterol readings, I really clamped down on my diet, which is now primarily vegetarian, with a bit of fish, and chicken or occasionally lamb (I was born in Australia so will have a hard time giving it up completely) every 2nd or 3rd week. I’ve given up cheese, which I love, except for a sprinkling of Parmesan on our home made pizza, and 1% cottage cheese which I use as a supplemental source of protein. I also celebrated 27 years without smoking a few days ago, and have really cut back on alcohol as I’m liking it less and less.

On my doctor’s advice I upped the amount of fibre in my diet. He recommended 20 grams a day, but I read some authorative information (CSIRO in  Australia) that indicated 35 grams would be helpful, and listed a number of foods that help lower cholesterol, including oat bran, apples, tree nuts, blueberries, and many other things, most of which I’ve managed to incorporate into my diet. I’ll find out if this strategy works on my next blood test in early February.

I’ve also been working on getting my weekly running distance up to 20 miles, and some weeks I can do it. My two longest runs are on Saturday and Sunday, so if I’m diving I usually shorten them or forego them completely. Sometimes I have to walk a small portion of these runs because my heart rate is excessive, but that doesn’t change the distance a lot.  I think over time the walking will become unnecessary – unless of course I increase the speed.

So this year I’ve decided to (a) keep up the good work, (b) add two sessions of lap swimming per week to my exercise routine. I usually work at home on Tuesdays and Fridays and think I can squeeze in an hour for swimming on both these days without compromising work. My local recreation complex has a 25 metre pool which I can use for only $2.50 (2.09 USD) and a large, clean change and locker room with excellent showers.  (c) If possible, try to incorporate additional stretching and even some meditation to my schedule. I’ve mapped out the schedule and there’s  not much time left available. So it may come down to stretching while watching TV (I’m a PVR addict but at least I watch good, commercial-free television) and meditating on the train to or from work. (d) Do some kind of workout even on dive days. This may be as little as a warm-up and some stretching, but if I have to get up 1/2 an hour earlier so be it. (e) Drink more water. This is good for diving and good for general health. Sometimes I remember to do this, most of the time I don’t. I hereby resolve to remember to drink more water.

My non-fitness resolutions are as follows:

• Do some interesting technical dives – I’m banding together with some of my chums and we’re looking at diving the Oriskany in late winter/early spring, the wrecks of Long Point in late spring/early summer, and I’m hoping to convince them to make the trek to Whitefish Bay in eastern Lake Superior sometime in the late summer. It’s only about 7 hours by road. In addition I’ll be diving the St. Lawrence in Brockville a couple of times (hopefully we’ll find the Jodrey this time), the usual wrecks in Tobermory (Forest City, Arabia, and Niagara II), and perhaps Kingston again.
• Complete my PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor course. This should happen in the Spring, although I have to do a prerequisite, the EFR Instructor Course, which is scheduled for January 24/25.
• Do some teaching.  It would  be great to get the 25 certifications under my belt that would upgrade my instructor level to Master Scuba Diver Trainer, but with all the other stuff happening it might be a stretch.
• Plan my dives more. I’d like to set objectives for dives, especially wreck diving – and do research up front to map out the things I’d like to see and do on the wrecks. I’d like to take slates down with me to take good notes, and do some underwater measurements in Big Bay Point and other places.
• Log my dives in much greater detail. I’ve started to do this, and the detailed logs are appearing in this blog, of course.
• Help my wife more around the house. This is a prerequisite for domestic harmony with all the diving I’m planning, and also a good thing to do. I’ll manage this by scheduling things better, including exercise before breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays, so the day isn’t half over by the time I’m done. Scheduling better means planning my time, and I’ve developed a schedule to guide me. As we don’t have children, there’s not all that much work to do, but I could still do more than I’ve been doing.
• Stay focused on the things I want to do. A big fault of mine is getting involved in too many things. If I can keep focused on just the things I’m planning to get accomplished, then I’ll have plenty of time for them all, if I start thinking about all the things I’d like to accomplish, then I’ll get none of them done.

Phew. That’s a big list. There’s nothing in it that can’t be done, and I believe the effort will really be worthwhile. Good luck with your own resolutions out there, and have a safe, happy and prosperous 2009. I’ll let you know how I did this time next year.

I happened upon a book in my local library by Dr. Joseph MacInnis (a native of Barrie, Ontario) called Fitzgerald’s Storm: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Prior to reading the book, most of what I knew about the wreck was from Gordon Lightfoot’s song by the same name. The song is referred to frequently in the book and tracks the real story pretty well, but the book provides a lot more depth on the story and the 29 people who were lost when the ship broke in half and sank in 525 feet of water, a little North of Whitefish Bay in eastern Lake Superior (The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay if they’d put 15 more miles behind ‘er).

This book, written in 1995 was a great read. I devoured it in about 4 hours, hardly putting it down. The Fitzgerald was about the same size as the Roy A. Jodrey, a far more accessible wreck (still quite deep though), in the St. Lawrence River near Alexandria Bay New York and so provides some scale for the imagination. I have yet to dive the Jodrey although I tried once (that story will be posted later), but I hope to do so this year.

Our growing cadre of tech divers is also planning trips to various destinations this year, including the Oriskany off Pensacola Florida. Oliver Champeau, the third assistant engineer on the Fitzgerald actually served on the Mighty O. in the Korean War. Other destinations we’re planning are our usual trips to Brockville and Tobermory, plus eastern Lake Erie near Long Point, and I suggested Whitefish Bay after reading an article about the many shipwrecks there in Diver Magazine.

Even discounting the special permits required to dive the Fitz, which has been declared a grave site by the Ontario Government, the depth is beyond my current capabilities, and I am unlikely to ever have the training, fitness, time and money to be able to dive it. I don’t find the prospect all that interesting anyway, although I’m sure it would be a cool thing to do.

I found an interesting film clip in the CBC archives (OK it was on the first page of a Google search on Dr. MacInnis) of a 1971 CBC TV show called Telescope. It’s worth watching just to see the primitive diving gera. Dr. MacInnis has had quite a career, including advisor the discovery team on the Titanic, and co-leading the expedition to film the Titanic in Imax format.

A continuing compendium of reflections upon the desk calendars I found in my junk drawer recently. The calendars run from 1976-2000 and contain much stuff.

Let’s take a look at what can be gleaned from looking through the 1978 calendar:

As a ninth-grader, I volunteered with a friend of mine to go to a couple elementary schools and teach fourth-graders about vandalism. It got me out of class. I think that was my main motivation. There were a few ninth-graders and a few eighth-graders who volunteered. We went in pairs to do the presentation, which included a movie and then a discussion. I thought I was going to be paired up with my friend, which was one of the reasons I signed up. That was not to be, but it was OK cause I got to do my presentation with this really cute eighth-grade girl. So it was all good.

My first presentation was at 9 a.m. on Feb. 8, 1978 at the school I attended previous to the junior high experience. I recall watching kids run shopping carts into parked cars in a grocery store parking lot. I think these hoodlums tipped over garbage cans in the park, too. I’m a little hazy on the details. But I do remember asking the kids what they thought of vandalism, how they could help stop it and the like.  Two weeks later, we hit another local elementary school. All in all, it was a good thing for me. I had to be poised under pressure and act like a responsible, mature person, which was difficult for me at the time. Heck, it’s still difficult sometimes!

I’ve got my whole high school track schedule written down that year. The first meet we had was an indoor meet at West Allis Central on March 3. I think I ran the mile there. I remember running the mile at Whitefish Bay on the 8th. Then, there was the two-mile at Waukesha North on March 14. If I recall correctly, the track at Waukesha North was 12 laps to a mile, pretty darn small. So we ran 24 laps in the race. It seemed as if you were leaning into the turns almost the whole way, which, when finished, made you feel like you were walking crooked.

As a freshman, I stunk. I didn’t get all that much better the rest of my high school running career. Oh, I got better. But I got discouraged, was a numb skull and didn’t realize what it took to reach my full potential in high school. That assessment didn’t just have to do with running, it had to do with just about all aspects of my life. I made excuses and whined instead of doing something about my situation. Thank God I changed my ways.

I worked at the St. Bernard Catholic Church Fun Fest from 6-8 p.m. on June 4 of that year. It was our church’s annual fundraiser, which included kids games, live music and food. My dad usually worked the corn roast. Hank Raymonds, head coach of the Marquette University men’s basketball team at the time, was also working the corn roast this particular shift when I showed up. I needed to do some community service for Boy Scouts, and this was it. I always liked Hank Raymonds. He spoke at a father-son breakfast at church once, discussing motivation.

In July, I worked a few days at the Greater Milwaukee Open … I think. This is the annual men’s pro golf event played in the Milwaukee area. Our neighbor down the street (who incidentally really was at the Ice Bowl) was in charge of the running the parking lots at the event. I got drafted to work a few days. We had to get there really early in the morning, and Mr. Cartier (the Ice Bowl attendee and head boss man) drove me there. Me and two other guys, a teacher form somewhere and a guy in my school a year ahead of me, were in charge of one lot. I found it interesting that people didn’t want to park where we told them to park. For some reason, they thought we were making them park father away than they really were. We did have a nice big rut going through the grass lot as it had rained heavily a day or two before.

This was about the most boring work I ever did. I guess it would have been less boring had more people showed up. But I didn’t really like telling people where to park anyway, so I guess it was about as good as it could have been.

There were these cute cheerleaders from Brookfield Central High School there for some reason and me and the other minor male among us had a crush on the same one. Of course, she hung around with him and not me. Oh well.

I was at the GMO one other time … as a Boy Scout. I carried the scoring standard for a group during the second or third round. Jay Haas and Scott Simpson were two of the three golfers. I don’t remember the third. All in all, golf is a boring game for me to watch. I don’t mind playing once in a while, but it’s not an exciting game for me to watch. Some people say that if you do not find a certain sport exciting or interesting to watch, then you must not know how it’s played. That’s not the case with me and golf. I was a sportswriter for 12 years and I understand the game. I just do not get all that enthused about other watching people smack a ball around.

I showed up for orientation at Wauwatosa East High School on Aug. 30 of that year. The building housed 10th through 12th grades. You could participate in some of the activities as a freshman, but you were housed in the junior high building in ninth grade. I’d run cross country and track, and swam on the high school team as a freshman while still attending Longfellow Junior High School. But now it was time to enter the high school.

It was another cross country season that fall, and the big highlight of the season was on Oct. 18, the final meet of the year. My dad offered to give me (I think it was) $10 if I broke (I think it was) 19 minutes for my 3-mile race. That would be my best time to that point. I was running a junior varsity race against our heated rivals, Wauwatosa West. I recall trying to catch this one guy on our team just about the whole second half of the race. He was a freshman and I really didn’t want him to beat me. I kicked as hard as I could about the last quarter of a mile and caught him just at the finish line. In the process, I leaned forward, slipped on the damp grass and sprawled forward into the chute, sliding on my front side.

It was pretty cool. It was also cool when my dad handed the cash over to me. I think I beat the goal by about 4 seconds or so.

This was also the year that several of us started attending as many home football games as we could. Some of my friends were in the marching band. So we’d sit behind the marching band when they came up into the stands after halftime and cheer the Red Raiders on. The best high school game of my entire life occurred at Hart Park on Oct. 20, 1978. Our team was playing one of the better teams in the state in West Allis Central. They had this awesome fullback named Jim Melka, who went on to become an all-conference player in college at Wisconsin.

It was a heck of a game. But in the final minutes, it looked as if West Allis Central was going to sew up a close victory. We had them pinned back near their own goal line, and it was fourth down, but all they had to do was take an intentional safety and punt the ball away, and we’d be toast.

However, instead of kneeling down in the end zone and giving us two points that wouldn’t really matter, Melka got the ball and started to run out of the end zone. My cousin was an assistant coach on the Central team, and he later told me Melka thought he saw an opening for a touchdown. Our guys tackled him as soon as he got out of the end zone, which gave us the ball back on about the 1-yard line. We ran the ball into the end zone to get within one point on the last play of the game. It was up to the two-point conversion try to either give us the win or the defeat. I think they ran the same play and we scored, giving us a one-point win, and sending the whole student body overt the fence and onto the field to celebrate.

I remember giving Coach Richmond (J.R. to many) congratulations after I got out onto the field. After I figured out there really was no other reason to be out there, I started heading toward the end zone closest to the locker rooms, where there was an exit. I saw Melka standing up against a goal post crying with his head coach’s arm around him. In all my elation over my team’s incredible upset win, I found myself feeling compassion for the other team’s star.

I don’t know why, but I wrote down the Green Bay Packers’ 9-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 29. Hadn’t written any other scores the whole season. I probably shouldn’t have done it. The win gave the Pack a 7-2 record at the time. They only won one more game the rest of the year, finished 8-7-1 and didn’t make the playoffs. It’s my fault.

I was also keeping track of how many consecutive days of school I was attending at the time. I used to get incredibly sick near the end of the first semester or the start of the second semester. It was my annual flu bug or infection of something or other. Made it all the way to 83 straight days, which ended on Jan. 12, 1979. Missed one day and got right back to school. Although I stopped counting four days after that.

Are you the type of person who doesn’t realize how totally messy your home is until the doorbell rings? You may be what we lovingly call a “Stressed Messy”.

Or, are you the type who, when attempting to clean, instead finds yourself organizing your soup cans in alphabetical order? You just plain run out of the time it takes to clean your home to your own high standards. You may be what we lovingly call a “Stressed Cleanie”. 

Either type has a need for Neatnik’s “Clean Intervention”! 

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Hey there! Your sponge here.

I just wanted to take the time to say, “Thanks.” I’ve noticed that you really haven’t been using me too much, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m sure its because of all the other important things you have to worry about; work, kids, school, meals, etc. Of course, the house is looking a little unkempt.

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Teecycle presents…

The Fine Females of Fringe!

Back reads “Newd: Nothing Else Will Do.”

Size Large
Made by NEWD Clothing Company, Milwaukee, Wis.
$7 + $3 shipping

About the model

Name Amy
Nickname AMERS
What she does at Fringe I am a hair stylist or whatever other names that there are for that job.
What she loves about Fringe The fact that 2 super cool people own it and, it is a professional but relaxed place to get your hair, skin and nails done.
Experience 5 and a 1/2
Why people should go to her Because I am super duper good, and I LOVE what I do!
All-time favorite product White Rain! J/K I love Glossing mist by Pureology
All-time favorite T-shirt “Jesus is my homeboy” ( Which is true cause I mean we were both born on Christmas, so he is!)
Best advice for hair and skin Take care of it cause not everyone looks good bald or can look as good as Michael Jackson does! Wink Wink!!!
Favorite T-shirt accessory SPANDEX  Enough said!!!
Anything else to add? This was super fun and you all need to buy a shirt!   NOW!!!!!   RIGHT MEOW!!!!  YEAH, I said it!

$1 of the sale of this shirt is donated to the River Revitalization Foundation to restore urban river trails and waterways.

Teecycle presents…

The Fine Females of Fringe!

About the model…

Name Kristin
Nickname Tin
What she does at Fringe I’m the esthetician, so I do waxing, facials and make-up.
What she loves about Fringe I love that we all like each other, and enjoy our jobs and working together.  The vibe is very positive!
Experience Three years
Why people should see her I am VERY concerned about minimizing the unpleasant aspects of waxing and extractions (ie. pain!), and maximizing the benefits.  I am also straightforward about skincare.  My goal is to educate and help you have the healthiest skin possible (within your budget).
All-time favorite product Eminence Organics Eight Greens Serum.  This is great for anyone who wants too look younger (it’s firming) and/or have fewer blemishes (it’s hormone-balancing).
All-time favorite T-shirt My “I HEART the OC” t-shirt. I bought it when I was bartending. It was a great conversation starter because everyone had a different interpretation of what “the OC” was.
Your best advice for hair and/or skin – Exfoliate!!!! Everyone knows they need to wear sun protection.  But all skin types also benefit from regular exfoliation.  It is critical to healthy skin.
Favorite T-shirt accessory A good-fitting pair of jeans.
Anything else? I think Teecycle is a fabulous idea!  Thank you to Tim & co. for putting this together!

$1 of the sale of this shirt is donated to the River Revitalization Foundation to restore urban river trails and waterways.

$1 of the sale of this shirt is donated to the River Revitalization Foundation to restore urban river trails and waterways.

No wonder the Brewers are gaining such popularity.  They are always out there giving away free autographs.  Yet another Brewers Block Party this weekend.  Some big name players are signing too, like last year’s ROY Ryan Braun.  Not to mention Vegan of the Year, Prince Fielder is also supposedly signing during this party.  So get your cards and gear ready because it’s going to be one great weekend in Wisconsin.  Here are this weekend’s free events:

8/9/08

• Randy Winn – 12pm – 2pm – AT&T Wireless Store – 230 King St, San Francisco, California
• Nick Swisher – 10:30am -12pm – US Cellular Store – 5 Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois
• Nate Robertson – 12:30pm – 1:30pm – Henry Ford Museum – 20900 Oakwood Blvd, Dearborn, Michigan
• Larry Gura – 4:30pm – 5:15pm – Kauffman Stadium – I -70 & Blue Ridge Cutoff, Kansas City, Missouri
• Darrin Fletcher – 11am – ? – Square One Shopping Center, 100 City Centre Dr, Toronto, Ontario
• Bill Hall – 12pm – 1pm – Wisconsin State Fair Grounds, West Allis, Wisconsin
• CC Sabathia – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jeff Suppan – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Mike Maddux – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Prince Fielder – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Ray Durham – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Rickie Weeks – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Seth McClung – 11am – 1:30pm – Elm Grove Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Manny Parra – 12pm – 1pm – Wisconsin State Fair Grounds, West Allis, Wisconsin
• Corey Hart – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Craig Counsell – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• David Riske – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Eric Gange – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Ryan Braun – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Saloman Torres – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Ted Simmons – 11am – 1:30pm – Whitefish Bay, Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

8/10/08

• Don Baylor – 12:30pm – 2:30pm – Frontier Field ,Rochester, New York

If I find any more of these, I will put it out there for you, again this is only a list of free autograph signings, if you are looking for a more comprehensive list of shows and show prices, this is not you list.

Hey All!

Brian here.  Quite frankly, I was amazed at Tim’s Stone Creek Coffee & Tee Bike Ride.  And, though I lack the raw nerve, get-up-and-go, and actual athletic ability to do a similar trip, I did the next best thing… mapped it on Google Maps! 

Tim: I feel ya buddy, after clicking-and-dragging on those curvy Oconomowoc streets for two straight days, my wrist probably hurts more than your whole body.  Hey… where’s MY coffee?

Anyway, Tim broke the trip into two days; a 40+ mile circuit on day one (in blue), and then a monstrous 65+ mile trip (in green) out west to what I would consider nearly bufu mid-southern Wisconsin.

Anyway, it’s free for all to peruse… and if you DO make it to all the Stone Creeks listed, pour some Arabica on the concrete for me, bro.

(Click on image or here For Interactive Google Map).

The sand dunes along Whitefish Bay on the northwestern shores of Lake Michigan are sporting all types of shrubbery and small trees. These white flowers provided contrast against the dark red foliage of a 10 foot tall shrub and the deep blue sky, photographed on an early June hike in Whitefish Dunes State Park on top of Old Baldy, the tallest dune in the park.

Whitefish Dunes State Park is on the Lake Michigan side of Door County, the large peninsula extending off the north-eastern part of Wisconsin. It has the only significant area of sand dunes on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The state of Michigan, 98 miles across the lake, sports much larger areas and much taller sand dunes.

Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes entirely within the borders of the United States; the others (Lakes Huron, Ontario, Erie and Superior) share with Canada. It is the largest freshwater lake in the US and the fifth largest lake in the world.

A boardwalk leads to the top of one of the older sand dunes, Old Baldy, protecting the plants on the sides of the dune while allowing visitors to get a great view of Lake Michigan.

The Whitefish Dunes and the Whitefish Bay area were home to eight distinct and significant Native American villages, inhabited intermittently from 100 BC to the early 1800s, and the site is protected and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.