Monday, 3/31

Well, we survived. The storm really, actually for the first time in a long time was everything they predicted, and more (picture taken at 9:48 am March 31st)--

But even despite that, Loraine and I were able to maximize our time with her nephews Nathan & Jeremy.

And that's always a good thing.

There's one thing I've always noticed when we have company come up & visit, especially members of Loraine's family from downstate. A lot of them want to see the things that even during yucky (ish) weather are part of our everyday life–a great lake, or a mountain, or a waterfall.

I think it’s great when visitors want to see the natural beauty that surrounds us.  Because I think that’s one of things that a lot of us who live here take for granted.

A couple of years ago, my sister-in-law and her boyfriend came up.  He had never been here before, and he wanted to check out some waterfalls. Now to me, to someone who grew up here, waterfalls are no big deal.  But where he lives it’s flat farmland. Not a waterfall in sight, unless, I dunno, someone’s combine springs a leak.  So when we took the two of them out to a few falls, I looked at it through their eyes.

And that’s when I realized I’d been taking this beauty, this amazing display of nature that’s unique to the UP, for granted.  For us, waterfalls (or hills, or parks, or Lake Superior) are just something we live near. But for the vast majority of people, this is where you get that picture you’ll be showing friends for years.  This is where people who visit us stop for a second and think to themselves… “this is a really magical place”.

And you know what?  They’re absolutely right.

There are so many things that we pass by every single day, and really don’t pay much attention to.  Lakes, hills, trees…even things like ore docks, or the view looking across Portage Lake.  Because we grew up with those things, because we see them every day, they’re no big deal.  

But when people who aren’t lucky enough to live here DO lay eyes on them? They go home with memories of a uniquely amazing place.

So, despite what a trio of great American philosophers once said, maybe we SHOULD go chasing waterfalls.  And lake shores.  And hills with views so amazing they can take your breath away.

Because even though they’re just part of our everyday life, we should remember that not everyone is as lucky to have them as we are.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/28

This is one that I don't think I've seen before.

As I type this, we are under an Ice Storm Warning here in Marquette, the latest piece of wackiness in a month that has seen its fair share of weather wackiness. Temperatures are right around freezing, and depending upon where they hit determines what kind of precipitation we'll get. At this point, the temps are forecast to be in the sweet spot for freezing rain; hence, the Ice Storm Warning.

I'm really ready for "winter" to be over.

Normally, I'd just ignore the warning and ride it out. However, Loraine's nephews are up visiting, and while they DID want to get a touch of what winter is like up here, I'm guessing that this might not have been what they were hoping for.

Although it may be what they're getting.

Hopefully, it'll be like the rest of the wacky weather events we've had to live through this month, and skim (or completely bypass) Marquette. If not...well, it is what it is. They wanted to see what winter is like in Marquette, and even though we don't get “real” winters anymore, we apparently still get stuff like ice storms.

I hope they enjoy it.

And with that, I'm off to do a few things with them before I head to work later on. Have yourself a great weekend. Hope that, wherever you are, your weather's not too wacky!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/27

Yes, he was a real person.

As I was writing yesterday, I've been spending a lot of time with my laptop going through pictures.The laptop also has a bunch of old radio shows on it, and for a reason I can't remember, one of those is an episode of “The Lone Ranger”. I don't know why; I was never a fan of the show, and I can't ever recall listening to it.

But there it sits.

In fact, the only thing that might interest me about the show is its iconic theme, taken from Rossini's “William Tell Overture”. And when I saw that I had the episode, I started to think...which, as we all know, can be a dangerous thing.

Especially when it causes me to fall down a rabbit hole on the internet.

I really didn't know the story of William Tell beyond the basics—he was the guy who defied authority a thousand years ago, had to shoot an apple off of his son's head to stay alive, used the same arrow to kill the king whose authority he was defying, became a folk hero to the new country of Switzerland in the process, inspired an opera by Rossini six or seven hundred years later, and then because of the finale of that opera single-handedly made the Lone Ranger the icon that he is today.

And also provided the spark to make me head down that rabbit hole.

It's actually a fascinating story, and that's why the trip down the rabbit hole was a total waste. Aside from the apple and the Overture, I had no idea who William Tell really was. And the story's quite interesting; like I mentioned before, he's now venerated in Switzerland. You can stop and pay visits to all these places at which he supposedly did things, including where he shot the apple off his son's head.. I didn't know that. I didn't know he was a national folk hero to one of the oldest countries in Europe.

But now I do. And because of all this I have to ask one simple yet profound question—what DID we do before Google and Wikipedia existed?

8-)

So anyway, that's what happens when you comb the dark recesses of your laptop for pictures. I'm loathe to think what else I might find on there that could lead me into yet another bizarre search. But I'm sure I WILL find that out soon, right?

Now, to stick it in your head...

Think of it this way. Getting stuck in your brain IS better than getting an apple shot off your head... right?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/26

I had totally forgotten about the picture. And that's a shame.

One of the interesting aspects of my weekly TV piece is that I finally get to use some of the thousands of pictures I've taken over the years. For instance, if you watched the piece I posted yesterday (and if you haven't yet, just scroll back a day and do so) you would have seen ten photographs, nine of which I took myself (the head shot of Tom Izzo being, obviously, the one I didn't).

It's kind of nice to actually share the pictures with other people on occasion.

For another project, I was looking for a picture of green nature. I have a ton of them, but I didn't come across one that captured the spirit of what I was looking for. Then I found this shot--

I took it in the sleepy little town of Triberg, Germany, during our rain-filled tour of Bavaria in 2018. Because it was taken in weather that was less than optimal, it had kind of slipped my mind, unlike a lot of the sun-filled pictures toward which I tend to gravitate. But in this case, it was perfect for what I needed.

And I'm glad I came across it.

In the two and a half years I've been doing “Life in the 906” I've had the chance to use any number of shots that I've taken the past 20 years. I usually have an idea in which year I took them, so I can find them with minimal searching. There have been, though, several instances in which I knew I had taken a picture, but couldn't for the life of me find where it was. It was during one of those searches that I came across the Triberg shot, so while (if I remember correctly) I never did find the shot I was looking for, at least I came across something I could use.

In fact, it's something I could use twice, as I've now gotten an entire blog out of it. So I'm guessing that even though I couldn't find the picture for which I was originally searching, it was not a fruitless task.

Although one day I DO hope I find the picture for which I was originally searching. Wish me luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/25

I was totally serious about the dog poop.

My TV piece last night was a joking little bit about the signs of Spring in the UP. Theoretically, technically, we're now five days into the season (although it may not look like it if you're glancing out the window), and I thought I'd pass along a few things that people may notice over the next few weeks.

And that's where the dog poop comes in.

Those of you who've been reading this thing forever (and have, for whatever reason, managed to retain your sanity) may recall that I used to post a blog each and every year about all the leftover dog poop we see as the snow melts. I haven't posted it for a few years, if only because I figure everyone must be tired of it by now, but I still stand by what I wrote.

That much hasn't changed.

But when I was putting together this week's TV piece that thought did pop into my mind, and eventually made it into the final product. Unlike an entire blog on the subject it was just a throwaway gag line, but who knows—maybe subtlety gets the point across better.

Besides, I'm pretty sure my TV bosses don't want me to spend two minutes of valuable air time going on and on about leftover dog poop. I have a lot of leeway on what I can talk about, but I'm pretty sure that leeway might disappear should I spent my time talking about that particular subject.

Really, I do.

So did it hit the mark? Decide for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/24

The place is bad enough to deal with when it's functioning. I can't even fathom what it would be like when it's shut down.

I don't know if you heard, but London's Heathrow Airport was shut down for almost 24 hours due to a fire at a power transformer on Friday. Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe, something to which I can personally attest, as it's picked up the nickname (at least by me) of “A seething pit of humanity”. At its best (which isn't very good) it's tolerable. At its worst?

It's really not a fun place to be. Take it from someone who once had to spend 12 hours there through no choice of his own.

What happened on Friday would really be my biggest nightmare as a traveler. Can you imagine being halfway through an 8 hour trans-Atlantic flight, only to be told you have to turn around or diverted to another airport because the one at which you're trying to land has no power? While you're wondering where you're going to land, you'd also have to deal with missed connections, possible layovers in an entirely different country, and no idea whatsoever when (or if) you'll get to your eventual destination.

You know—that kind of nightmare.

Things are slowly getting back to normal at my least favorite airport in the world, but I have to ask a question that I'm sure many travelers are asking—how does one of the world's busiest airports stick its main power source and both of its backup system in the exact same place? Did they not think that something like this could happen? Would it not have been prudent to have one of those backup systems on an entirely difference system at an entirely different place?

You know...to make sure that 1,200 flights and 200,000 passengers don't get stranded?

Loraine and I have always gone out of our way not to have to go through Heathrow, but these days you don't have much of a choice. It's literally the hub for air transport into or out of Europe. The next time we go back there—whenever that is—we'll do our best to avoid Heathrow, but it may just not be possible.

If that's the case, hopefully—HOPEFULLY--they won't be having another incident like the one that occurred Friday.

(jim@wmqt.com), shuddering at the thought.

Friday, 3/21

Why do I still dislike UB40 so much?

I don’t know what it is, but that thought popped into my head as I was playing one of their songs yesterday. I’m sure the members of the group are (or were) fine individuals, I’m sure they are (or were) talented musicians, and I know that many people here in Upper Michigan enjoy their music, but for some reason, UB 40 seems to have become, at least for me, the musical equivalent of a cold winter day.

And we all know how much I like a cold winter day.

For those of you who don’t know who UB40 was (and, believe it or not, they’re still around in an altered form), they’re an English ska-pop group that’s been together since the early 1980s. They had a string of top ten hits over here in the late 80s and early 90s, mostly with remakes of songs like “Red Red Wine”, “The Way You Do The Things You Do”, and “I Can’t Help (Falling In Love With You”). Now you know who I’m talking about, right?

When I first started doing this job back in 1988 the station was what was known as “Hot Hits”; they’d play the same 20 songs over and over so you were guaranteed to hear the same songs every 75 minutes or so. And one of the songs that was massively popular at the time was “Red Red Whine”, which means that I got to hear it four times every 6-hour air shift. And since at the time I worked 6 days a week, that means I heard the song 24 times a week, whether I wanted to or not. Multiply that by the 12 or 14 weeks the song was massively popular, and, well, that’s a lot of times to listen to a song, especially one that I didn’t like in the first place.

The more singles the group released, the more I seemed to not enjoy them, even though, like I said, a lot of people did. And a lot of people still do like their work, based on requests we get and audience research we do. That just proves again, I guess, that I’m a little out of the mainstream, as if, of course, we needed any further proof of that. But to me, the songs all sound the same, and most of their U.S. hits were what I considered to be wimpy remakes of songs that probably didn’t need to get remade in the first place.

However, my taste in music doesn’t have a lot with what we play here on the radio. And that’s a good thing, because while I don’t like UB40 most of you do, and since we program for you, and not for me, that’s why you’ll keep hearing it. After all, as a wise philosopher once said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”. Or, in my case, the needs of the one, at least as far as taste in music goes.

So if you want, keep requesting UB40. We’ll keep playing their songs as long as you wanna hear them. I, personally, may be turning the speakers down, but that’s my problem, and not yours, right?

And on that note, have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/20

I wonder if they've used up all their toilet paper yet?

Happy anniversary month, by the way. It was five years ago this month that our world started to fall apart, as the sports leagues cancelled games, schools started to close, the US & the EU shut its borders, and Tom Hanks—TOM HANKS!--informed the world he had contracted Covid. It only took a few days before everything was shut down and our world has yet, in some ways, to recover.

Ah. Good times.

Of course, even though it was five years ago that things really struck home, we had been dealing with the growing impact of the burgeoning pandemic even before that. I'm thinking, specifically, on perhaps the most surreal aspect of those early days, the fact that people were going out and clearing store shelves of toilet paper.

Five years later still don't get WHY they did it, but that's neither here nor there.

The toilet paper “shortage” (there really wasn't a shortage until some people decided that it might be a good time to go out and buy a thousand rolls) led to lots of bemused stares, hundreds of late night TV jokes, and some creative ideas for people. I recall walking down Front Street in Marquette right before everything was shut down and seeing this sign--

I have no idea if it actually worked as a promotion, but it sure was a heck of a great idea.

Of course, as it turned out the toilet paper “shortage” was the least of our worries as things fell apart five years ago. As I mentioned in here a couple of weeks ago things changed so quickly over so many days that for the first month or so of the pandemic just seems like a blur. Even from gaining a little (just a little) perspective over those five years it's still kind of hard to believe, especially (and probably) because we're still dealing with the fall out from it.

But that's neither here nor there. Assuming that you use two rolls of toilet paper a week (and that's just an assumption; I could be totally wrong about that number) sometime around the 10^th anniversary of the pandemic—early 2030—could loom as a significant date.

Why, you ask? Well, I answer, if you do the math, that'll be just around the time people who bought 1,000 roles of toilet paper back in 2020 might need to go out and buy some more.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/19

I can't believe that it had been three months. Really, I can't.

Yesterday I posted pictures I took in Florida, but what I didn't do is tell you the story about getting ready to take them. A few days before I left, when I turned it on to make sure it worked, I found my camera's battery had gone dead. I guess I wasn't surprised; I knew that it had been a while since I had even powered the stupid thing up. Once I switched to the backup battery I have (itself with only half of its charge left) I came to the realization that I had not yet once during 2025 taken it out of its bag. In fact, the last picture I took was on December 30^th, and it was (ahem) a picture of a bunch of chocolate Loraine and I bought at Donckers with a gift card someone gave us for Christmas.

It's been three months since I even thought of taking a picture with a (non-phone) camera. What the heck's wrong with me?

(That's a rhetorical question, by the way, even though I'm quite positive many answers have already popped into your head).

I'm hoping it won't be another three months until I take it out again. In fact, I KNOW it won't be another three months until I take it out. Yet I can't say I'm surprised. If you look at the folders of shots I've taken over the past 20 or so years, they're mostly dated during warmer-weather months. I don't know if it's because I'm not big on winter, if there aren't a lot of winter pictures to take, or it's just because I'm being stubborn, but I don't like shooting when it's yucky out.

It may be a character flaw, but it certainly IS me.

And just so show that you CAN take a nice picture during winter, here's one from a few years ago--

Maybe one of these years, I'll learn my lesson and haul out a camera between December and April. After all, you never know what you'll see, right?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/18

And now, as promised, the pictures.

After I transferred them to my laptop I realized I really didn't take that many pictures as I was down in Florida visiting my parents. Not that that's a bad thing; it probably just means I was actually enjoying my time with them and was too busy to be snapping away. But I'd like to think what I did shoot was good, so let's go through a few.

As always, when you're in Florida beaches are an important thing, right?

And I was at the beach a couple of times, allowing myself to be hypnotized by these--

I noticed that water, in fact, was a theme in many of the pictures I took, either of piers--

Or pelicans

By the way, have you ever tried to capture a pelican in a picture? They're fast little buggers.

On land down in Florida, you never know what you might see. It might be bikes--

Or colors that catch your eye--

Or signs that catch your eye--

And then there's one of my favorite pictures out of the batch I took. Unlike some of their neighbors, my parents are quite active, and will often help out by taking care of a few things. My dad, for instance, takes the neighbor's dog for a walk almost every day, an event that makes my mom laugh, as she claims the little creature is, and I'm quoting here, “a chick magnet”.

So here's Chick with his chick magnet--

Like I said, I had a great time down there, not only because I got to spent some quality time with my parents, but also because no matter where you look, it seems like there's an interesting picture to be taken.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/17

You know how Tom Petty says “the waiting is the hardest part”. Well, it's not.

The unpacking is the hardest part.

I'm back from my little jaunt to visit my parents in Florida.  I had a great time in the sun--in fact, I'll share pictures tomorrow--but in a way, my voyage is not yet over

I don't know why, but whenever I get home from a trip, even a short one like this past weekend, it takes me a while to get everything out of the suitcase, carry-on, and/or backpack I've been using, and put it all away. I'm not quite sure what drives some people to unpack as soon as they get home; I know I couldn't do it. Heck, after a 24-hour trip home from Europe unpacking is the last thing on my mind. So maybe it's not a surprise that it usually takes me a few days to haul everything out and put everything away.

For instance—while the carry-on I brought down to Florida is empty of the clothing it contained, it's still filled with the souvenirs I brought back (minus the ones I gave to Loraine). Likewise, while I took my small laptop out of my backpack, it's still filled with everything else I had, including but not limited to some chocolate, the John Lewis biography I'm only about a third of the way through, and my bag of liquids, which I haven't even thought about until typing this sentence.

Don't let me forget to put those away, if you wouldn't mind.

I'm sure everything from this trip will be put away after I get done with TV tonight, unlike one of those trips to Europe, when it may take almost a week or as long as it takes Loraine or I to get sick of looking at our suitcases, whichever comes first. But maybe that's not a surprise when you're trying to get your body clock readjusted to American time, dealing with whatever crap has come up at work, and trying to stop your head from spinning because you've just come a quarter of the way around the planet.

That's the excuse I have for then. I really don't have one for now. And that's why I'm hoping the unpacking will be done tonight. Wish me luck. Given my history, I may need it.

Like I said, a few pictures tomorrow!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/11

Okay...I AM on my way to Florida, but as promised--

This week's "Life in the 906".

Now, as I way saying--back Monday!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/10

Now, it's all over except the shouting.

Well, now that I think of it, I probably could have picked a better metaphor for the statement I'm trying to make; namely, this is my only day of work this week, as I'm heading down to Florida tomorrow to visit daily blog readers (and snowbirds) Chicky-Poo & Dar in Melbourne Beach.

And I really can't wait.

After the snow we had last week, I was heartened to see that this week's weather forecast appears to be conducive to flying tomorrow. That's always one of the big risks of trying to travel from the UP in January or February or March. You never know what the weather's gonna be like. But each time I've gone to visit them during a winter month I've lucked out, and I hope that string of luck continues this time around.

So keep your fingers crossed for me, if you would.

That, of course, means there won't be a new one of these for the rest of the week. Or, maybe I should say, there won't be a new one of these the rest of the week unless tonight turns out well. What am I babbling about, you ask? Well, I answered I have (what I hope) is an interesting “Life in the 906” planned, and if it comes off like I hope it will, I may post it several places, including here.

We'll see.

Otherwise, like I said, I'm off for the rest of the week. Back on Monday with, I'm guessing, pictures of things including but not limited to sun, fun, flowers, water, food, and space shuttles.

Because, you know, that's how I roll.

Behave yourself while I'm gone!!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/7

This has been a week, hasn't it?

And to cap it off, here's a picture I took yesterday right after the Marquette Downtown Development Authority plowed the sidewalk outside of the station. Now, keep in mind that the sidewalk was clear as of Tuesday afternoon, and that the thing you see in the shot is a yard stick--

See? It HAS been a week, hasn't it?

And with that, I'm off to take care of my final “High School Bowl” responsibility of the year—shooting my segments for the “Year in Review” show that airs after the championship match.

Have a great weekend. Hopefully, have a snow-free weekend, as well!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/6

To quote a great American, when I'm wrong I say I was wrong.

And boy, was I wrong about this.

As you may recall, when we last met I expressed a little skepticism about the possibility of a winter storm actually occurring, going so far as to post a picture of what it was like before it all began--

Well, if you're wondering how my prediction turned out 24 hours later, here's your answer--

Yup. I might have been a little off in my prediction. Just a little.

8-)

And that's just what it looked like here in downtown Marquette, where we really haven't had a storm like this in almost two years. Away from the city and away from the lake things were probably twice as bad, with more snow, higher winds, and additional junk that we didn't have to face here. I'm not surprised that almost literally every single school and business in the area was closed.

And since it's just starting to wind down, I'll be curious to see how many of them are closed today.

In a way, of course, I'm glad that if it had to happen that it happened this week. Can you imagine if I was trying to get to or from Florida, like I'm planning on next week? That would not be fun, and my heart goes out to anyone who's had a flight canceled or re-routed the past few days.

Let's just hope everything's back to normal by Tuesday. I'm going to delve into the cancellation list now, and see what's open & what's closed. After all, I'm sure that, with everyone still digging out, the former will outpace the latter.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/5

Well...this should be interesting. Or maybe it'll just be the same as it has been the past few years.

As I type this we're in the middle of a Winter Storm Warning for what could potentially be a HUGE winter storm, with up to a foot and a half of snow. Or, it could be a HUGE dumping of rain. Or both. At the moment, we've gotten rain mixed with maybe an inch of snow, which has made things a bit of a mess, but with the way our winters go, nothing we get over the next 24 hours would surprise me, up to and including a plague of locusts.

Because that's how we roll up here.

Yesterday, before the event started, I took this picture--

I took it as part of a “before & after” series, because every so often I'll get someone who doesn't believe that we don't seem to get major winter storms—or any major snowfall, for that fact—here in downtown Marquette any more. When I say there's hardly any snow on the ground, I'm not joking.

Really, I'm not.

So tomorrow (assuming we all survive whatever comes) I'll put up the “after” picture, and we can all compare and contrast. Will this storm (for once) live up to expectations? Will it be another tale of lots of snow to our east & west but nothing here? Or will this finally be (for the first time in a few years) “the big one”, and we'll get a taste of what winters used to be like around here?

I guess we'll find out in the next 24 hours, won't we?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/4

Did I mention I'm going away for a few days?

That crossed my mind this morning when I realized it's just a week before I head down to Florida for a few days to visit daily blog readers Chicky-Poo & Dar in Melbourne Beach. I know I had informed my boss (who them promptly forgot) but I don't remember who else I had told. And looking back on the past few entries I noticed I hadn't mentioned it here.

So now I am.

It's actually going to be a quick jaunt for a variety of reasons. My TV schedule's one, while anther's the fact that I only decided to do this a month or so ago and, as you know, I have to work ahead and haven't had a lot of time to do so.

It's also quick (Tuesday through Friday) because, as I discovered if you want to fly on a weekend the cost of a ticket to Florida in March can double in price. And since I'm almost paying as much as I did to go to Europe last year...

Tuesday through Friday it is.

Actually, I'd pay any amount to hang out with my parents for a few days. They're snowbirds over half of the year, and those seven months can be a long time. Sure, I talk to them and video chat with them, but it's so much better when you can see them in person.

And I'm REALLY looking forward to it.

So next week when you don't see anything new here or I mention on the air Monday that I'll be gone the rest of the week, that's why. Seeing as how I keep forgetting to mention it, I figured I should do so now.

You know...just in case I forget to do so again.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/3

In case you're wondering, the traffic cone is still there.

You may recall when, at the beginning of the year, I wrote one of these blogs about some construction work they were doing on the upper floors of the building in which I work. The construction crew had left a couple of traffic cones around the building, to make sure that people walking by didn't wander into a dangerous area. Well, as often happens in downtown Marquette, one of those cones was picked up by (I'm guessing) someone walking home from a bar late one night, and placed (or thrown) on top of the Range Bank ATM building across the street.

As of last Friday, guess what was still on top of the Range Bank ATM building?

I'm not surprised; after all, when I wrote the original blog, I wondered how long it would be up there. And after two months, it's kind of become a piece of downtown. Every day when I walk to work I see iconic buildings & the equally iconic sight of Mount Marquette looming above the area. Now, I also check to make sure the traffic cone is still on the roof of the building.

And it still is.

I have no idea how long it'll be up there. Loraine works at Range Bank, and she's told several people about the cone, but it hasn't been removed. Maybe they feel about it the same as do I...that's it's now part of downtown Marquette, and as such, should be left alone.

I mean, I doubt you, but you never know, right?

Anyway, I'll keep my eyes on it. And who knows, maybe in another two months I can write another entry here, and further update everyone on whether or not the cone is still there,

I bet you can't wait, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)