Thursday, 1/31

Okay. It can stop any time now.

Even though Marquette was the warmest city in the state of Michigan yesterday at a balmy 0 degrees (thank you Lake Superior!) this Polar Vortex can disappear up Earth's vortex any day now. I can't believe I'm to the point where I'm actually looking forward to Sunday's weather (a forecast of almost 40 and (gulp) rain), but compared to what we have now, ANYTHING is better.

So with that in mind, and to remind everyone that we do live in an area where we DO have warmth and we DO have color (if even for only five or six days a year, or so it seems), I offer these pieces of pictorial proof--

And, finally, this one that I particularly like--

See? Better times ARE coming. After all, pictures never lie, right?

8-)

Stay warm, everyone!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/30

I'm not supposed to be here right now.

Actually, technically, that's not true. I should be saying that I'm not supposed to be here writing this right now. Instead, I should be at a TV studio shooting another episode of “High School Bowl”. But for the second scheduled taping date in a row it's been canceled because of the horrid weather, and it wouldn't surprise me if this Friday's scheduled shoot is called off, as well. After all, student safety is paramount, and we were supposed to have kids coming from Cedarville and Ironwood today, a day when police are advising people to not even venture out of their homes, much less drive 150 miles to Marquette.

So a little delay's okay.

However, because of the plethora of weather delays the past couple of weeks we actually have something that we have to start to consider, at least if the cold & snow doesn't go away. Because of the weather and other considerations, we've only been able to shoot one new show since the beginning of 2019. We have the episode that airs this Saturday done, as well as the one that airs next Saturday. But after that?

Nada.

I don't really think that's gonna be a problem; after all, theoretically we could shoot two or three episodes next week and be back on track. But if this insane weather were to continue and we can't safely get students from high schools all across the UP to Marquette; well, on February 16^th you might be watching a rerun. Or a bonus episode of “Lawrence Welk”. Or something like that.

Technically, I suppose, we could always do an episode live if we needed to. We always shoot them live-to-(computer) drive (an industry term for shooting a show non-stop, just like it was live) anyway, so it wouldn't be that much of a change. And you'd be surprised by the number of people who think we do them all live, anyway. There have been many times where I've been at a dinner or a gathering somewhere and someone expresses a little concern that I might not get to the studio on time if I “don't get going soon”. They actually seem a little surprised when I tell them the shows are pre-taped. But, maybe, that's a testament to the way we tape them. We leave all the little fluffs & mistakes in (and trust me, with the host the show currently has there are a TON of little fluffs & mistakes), and it seems like we're coming into your homes in real time.

But we're not. And we don't. Although, with the way the weather's been...

Actually, I've always thought we should do the annual championship show live, maybe with a little year-in-review pre-game show before the actual contest. There are amazing young people who make it to the final rounds, and they deserved to get the same treatment as some bonehead like Tom Brady. So maybe having to do a show live would be a dress rehearsal for an instance like that. I mean, I know it won't happen, but I think to would be fun.

All of that depends upon this horrid weather and whether or not it ever leaves (spoiler alert—it should this weekend). But it does lead one to have a fanciful dream or two, especially because, thanks to that horrid weather, I actually have a few extra minutes this morning.

Stay warm!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/29

This may not work for you. Heck, it may not even work for me. But I think I've come up with a way to mentally, at least, handle this hellaciously cold 10 or 12 or 16 or however many days it'll end up being snap,

Just think of the (pardon the pun) polar opposite,

Now, let me explain. If you study weather or if you're just obsessed with temperatures like some of us, you know that winter is kind of a mirror-universe version of the summer. Even though the temperatures are cold and the precipitation is solid instead of liquid, winter and summer are like the matter and anti-matter versions of each other, or like the evil and good versions of each other.

Which, I guess, would make winter the Spock with the beard.

(And, hopefully, someone is currently rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Either that, or my jokes are just getting WAAAAAAY too specific).

So let's work from that theory, that Summer & Winter are the same seasons, just 180 degrees apart. In that theory, January and July are the yin and yang of the seasons. They both represent the extremes of their respective seasons (which, in real life they do, January being the coldest month of the year in Marquette and July the warmest). If something happens in January there would have to be something happening in July that's a mirror version of it. That would then mean that there is an equivalent version of this hellacious 12 day January cold streak, and it's the thought of that that's keeping me going.

Because, after all, the July equivalent of this cold streak would be a 12-day streak of hot & humid weather in July.

From a meteorological point of view, both streaks are pretty much the same. They're both caused by weather systems that have stalled over the area or that have popped in from a place where they usually don't visit. They both bring extreme and uncomfortable conditions, and they both last longer than (some) people would like. When they finally go, people rejoice in the fact that “normal” weather returns. They're almost exactly like a mirror copy of each other.

Except one's brutally cold, and the other is heavenly warm. And while I can't speak for every single person, I know which one I prefer.

So that's how I'm (hopefully) gonna get through this next week. Whenever I shiver or have to throw on extra layers or, heck, even look out the window, I'm just gonna think—I'm in the Mirror Universe now. But soon, I'll be back in the real one. And when this summer's 12-day equivalent of this cold comes around, I'm gonna bask it in as much as I can.

Hopefully, that will work. Keep your fingers crossed.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/28

That was a Noquemanon rather unlike any I’ve ever seen. And I should know—I’ve been at all of them.

I’ve announced in Noque races that were cold, or lacking snow, or too warm. However, I don’t think I’ve ever announced at one where the temperatures were so cold that two people were treated for frostbite and a third sent to the ER for a frozen cornea.

There was also the fist fight in the middle of the race, but I don't think THAT was caused by the cold.  Although you never know.

I feel sorry for those hardy souls who took part in this year's marathon and half-marathon. Between the ict condition on the snow and the wind chills of 10 or 20 below it took most skiers, even the elite ones, a half an hour to 45 minutes longer (or even more) to complete the course than in a “normal” year. There were some people out skiing for four or five hours on Saturday, and as they crossed the line you could tell by the looks on their face that they had been through a struggle.

And these were the skiers who actually took part in the race. I can imagine that there were a few who just took a look at the forecast and decided not to do it, or who were trying to get here but couldn't because of closed roads (thanks to the weather) or closed airports (thanks to the ongoing government shutdown).

Still, there were some great stories among those who finished. There were people over 70 coming in among the top dozen or so finishers in the half marathon. There were married couples who skied a whole marathon together. And there were the adaptive skiers, with family members helping them over 500 meters or 3 kilometers, coming across the finish line with the crowd cheering them on.

And I have to hand out kudos to everyone in the crowd who stood out and braved the icy cold for a few minutes, or those volunteers who stood outside at the finish line for hours in the bitter wind chill to collect chips or guide skiers where they needed to go. I’m one of the lucky volunteers. All I do is sit in a heated shed and talk. That’s nothing compared to those volunteers who spend the entire day outside in whatever Mother Nature throws at them.

Saturday, she threw her worst at them, and they persevered.

So the Noque is over for another year, and I’ll be curious to see what the 2020 race holds. After all, last year they were worried there wouldn’t be any snow for the race. This year, they were worried it would be too cold. What on tap for next year? Too many lava flows? A tornado?

We’ll just have to wait and see. . .

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/25

Thank you, weather. It looks like I might get the chance to decompress just a little after all.

Because of the cold, snow, and closed schools, I don't have a “High School Bowl” TV shoot this morning, which means that my incredibly packed weekend is now just a little less packed. That means I have a few minutes to reflect on what happened last night, with this sold out crowd--

Over 800 people (some from as far as Iron Mountain!) crammed into Kaufman to hear Jack & me ramble on and on about the docks of and the ships that came into Marquette. They seemed to have a good time, I know WE had a great time, and once again I'm amazed by the power of Lake Superior. Or, more to the point, the power and the hold that the lake has over people who live near it. As I mentioned at the beginning of the show, the only reason Marquette came into existence was because of the lake and what we now call Lower Harbor, and in the 170 years since it's still the reason that many people live here.

It's also the reason, apparently, that we packed Kaufman. So thanks to everyone who braved the cold & the snow last night to share 90 minutes and 200 + pictures with us. We hope you enjoyed it!

Okay; I'm off to work and to get ready for tomorrow's epic vocal Noquemanon stint. Come back here Monday to see if I actually have a voice left!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/24

The next 48 hours should be interesting.

Here's what I mean. Starting at 5 tonight, I have a 48 hour span where each and every single “Jim” gets to do something, and hopefully do it well. It starts tonight when History Jim has his big (and the SOLD OUT!) “What's Up, Dock” show with Jack Deo at Kaufman for the History Center. After a little sleep, TV Jim has to get up and shoot "High School Bowl" Friday morning. Radio Jim then spends the day Friday doing whatever the heck it is Radio Jim does. Tomorrow night, Normal Jim (and quit giggling; even though it sounds like an oxymoron is THIS a Normal Jim) has to take care of whatever it is Normal Jim does (namely running & grocery shopping) on a Saturday, because all day Saturday Finish Line Jim gets to announce the names of all 1,700 (or so) skiers coming across the finish line at theNoquemanon.

Then all the Jims combine into one and pass out.

Actually, I have no doubt I'll be able to physically do it all. I'm a little worried about my voice holding out, but as long as I don't talk when I don't need to talk, and I drink a lot of tea, I should be okay. Nope; the thing I'm kinda curious about is the decompression aspect of it all. Or, more to the point, the lack-of-decompression aspect of it all.

Let me explain—normally, when you do something “big”, like put on a history show in front of 850 people, or host a TV show, or announce 1,700 names, you like to “decompress” afterwards. You like to put your feet up, and reflect upon what just happened (or, at least, that's what I like to do). But with so many events in the next 48 hours coming bam-bam-bam, one right after the other, I won't have the chance to do that. I'll either be rushing from event to event, preparing for the next event to come up, or trying to fit in things like eating & sleeping. From the time I hit the stage at Kaufman to the time I announce the last person coming across the Noque finish line, I'll have done a whole bunch of amazing stuff.

I just have to hope I remember what it all was.

Now, I'm not complaining. After all, I know just how fortunate I am to be able to do all this. And I'm gonna have a blast doing it all. This may be picky on my part, but I just wish I'd have a few minutes to appreciate it all while it's happening, instead of looking back on it a few days later and hoping I got everything out of the 48 hours that I hoped to.

Oh well; that's life. And it all starts later tonight at Kaufman. Hope to see you at one or more of the events. I highly doubt there will be one of these tomorrow; if there is, it may just be a few words or a picture from “What's Up, Dock”. Otherwise, a full report on Monday assuming, of course, I'm still alive.

Wish me luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/23

Here's my next culinary challenge--

Yup. That's a package of Kaiserschmarrn mix, Kaiserschmarrn being the German dessert Loraine and I tried when in Bavaria last year. You may remember the story; we had already eaten a huge meal when they gave us what's basically two pounds of fried pancake covered with a fruit topping--

And we managed to finish it, the troupers that we are. Anyway, it was so good that we decided we'd like to try & make it ourselves. Thankfully, our friends at German Shop have pre-made Kaiserschmarrn mix you can buy, and we're looking forward to devouring the two packages that just arrived. First, though, we have to overcome a few problems.

Namely, the instructions for making it are in German, and the measurements are in metric. But once I figure out what 100 milliliters of milk looks like, and once I learn how to read German, we should be okay. Really, we should.

8-)

I'm actually not too worried about one aspect of that. Converting from metric to whatever the heck it is we use isn't too hard, if you know what's what. So that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And the instructions on the back of the package do have a few pictograms, so that you kinda get the idea of how to make it. But I do foresee a few sessions on Google Translate so that I make it with no problems. After all, it's Kaiserschmarrn.

You wanna get it right.

Assuming I do make it the way it's supposed to be made, we then have a big decision in front of us. What do we put on top once it's gooey and warm and bubbling in front of us? We have two packages, and since it's Bavarian custom to put some kind of fruit on top, I'm thinking for one we could do a cherry or dark berry compote. Cover it with a little powdered sugar, and it should be heavenly. But for the second? I'd like to try something a little different, something that's maybe not traditionally Bavarian in nature.

I'm actually thinking Nutella. Because, you know, there aren't enough calories and grams of fat in Kaiserschmarrn just as is. But we'll see.

I'm not quite sure when I'll get to this project. Because of my packed schedule I know it won't be this weekend, and next weekend is Super Bowl weekend. All I know is that sometime in the near future I'm gonna try to make the Kaiserschmarrn, and hope that it's dummy-proof enough that even someone who doesn't read a lick of German can figure it out.

Wish me luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/22

Here's one of the things I did this past weekend (aside from losing body parts to the cold)--

What—you always knew I was a 12-year old at heart, right?

8-)

The Lego space shuttle I spent an hour or so constructing Sunday was actually a Christmas gift from Loraine's nephews & niece. They know I'm space geek, so they always get me something related to spaceflight. One year it was an astronaut cookbook; another, it was a package of Apollo-Soyuz cigarettes in a display case (surely, one of the most bizarre gifts I've even been given). This year, it was the Lego space shuttle, a gift that Loraine says made me squeal when I opened it.

Believe it or not, I never really played with Legos as a kid, so I had no idea what to expect. It was, however, a 200-piece three dimension puzzle that challenged both my spacial skills and my aptitude for handing really small pieces of plastic without dropping them on the floor (spoiler alert—that's an aptitude I need to work on). I was actually stunned by the complexity of the project. The box said it was for 7 to 12-year olds; if that's the case, I'm pretty sure 7-year olds today are a LOT smarter than I was a 7-year old.

I'm just saying.

I also walked away from the project with admiration for the engineers who design these toys. Not only could I built a space shuttle from the parts, but if I wanted to I could take it apart and use the pieces to built a moon buggy, or a Mars surface crawler. That means that each piece of plastic had to serve three different purposes for three different projects. I have no idea how long it would've taken the Lego engineers to put the plan for the “toys” together, but I'm guessing it was quite a while. And I'm also guessing that a lot of brain power was devoted to the project, as well.

I guess there are toys, and then there are “toys”. That's a difference I learned Sunday while putting together my Lego space shuttle. And I also figure that, should I ever decide to play with Legos again, even at my advanced age, it'll be okay.

After all, look at all the work that goes into it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/21

If, when everything thaws this Spring, you happen to see a right ear and part of a lower lip lying somewhere on the street, would you please pick them up?

They're probably mine.

I can't believe how cold it was when I went out skiing Saturday and running this morning. Of course, I can't believe that I actually went out skiing Saturday and running this morning in a windchill of about 150 below, but I did. In a concession to the weather I did actually wear long pants (several layers of long pants, in fact), but I did go out skiing & running on different days. Call me crazy, if you'd like. You wouldn't be the first person to do so.

As I write this I haven't checked to see if any schools have been canceled today because of the cold, but it wouldn't surprise me. I really do not wanna sound like one of those people who start off every sentence with the phrase “Back when I was a kid”, but (ahem) back when I was a kid, I don't remember having school canceled because of bitter cold. I remember being at school on days when the air is frigid and the wind chills were extreme. In all honesty, I don't recall if the conditions were as harsh as they are on a day ;like today, but it seems to me like they were, and yet I was still in school.

Now, though? Not so much.

I realize that there are legitimate (and very good) excuses for keeping schools closed on a frigid morning like this morning. I mean, the fact that seem to have lost two parts of my body while out running is basically the best reason for closing schools. Still, though, it just seems (at least to me) that they close and cancel things quite a bit more than they did (ahem) back when I was a kid. I don't know if it's true, I don't know if my perceptions are just askew. But all through my life—when I was a kid, and now that I'm what passes for an adult—I just seem to think that many more things went on as normal despite the bad weather.

Like I said, I don't know if that's actually the case or if my perceptions have been warped by whatever's been warping my brain since I was young. But I tend to think that it might actually be the case. After all, if I'm stupid enough to go out running on a day so cold that you lose body parts, I must've picked up the habit somewhere, right? There must be something in my brain that tells me it's okay to go out on a day when the wind chill's around 150 below.

Well, it's just a thought. Hopefully, some day soon, the weather will moderate, and I'll be able to run or ski without losing parts of my face. After all, with only one ear and no more than one and half lips left, I'm rapidly running out of body parts left to fall off.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps--I just checked.  Schools aren't closed today.  Now you know!)

Friday, 1/18

I have to go play TV Jim and do two interviews in a few minutes, but I didn't want to leave you empty handed. So, in that spirit, here are two interesting tidbits that History Jim has found while doing research for that “What's Up, Dock” show I'm doing with Jack in a mere six (yikes!) days (and the reason I'm doing those two interviews in a few minutes).

The first fact? Within about a 10 or so day span back in 1978, NMU had signed (and then lost) both Bruce Springsteen and Hall & Oates to perform in Marquette. Can you imagine how cool that'd been if either of those had actually worked out? I mean, that was before both acts were the hugest of superstars, but still.

Think of the stories people who around then could've told!

Secondly, there was an article from a newspaper back in 1961 or 1962 talking about the Detroit Lions and how they may have ended up using the University of Michigan stadium if they had made it to the NFL championship game that season.

That's so cute...thinking the Lions would get anywhere NEAR an NFL championship game!

Okay; I'm off to TV land. Have yourself a great weekend, and stay warm!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/17

What kind of country do we live in for people to do something like this?

We're almost four weeks into our government shutdown now, and among the places hardest hit are our National Parks. Almost all of them are closed, and the public isn't allowed to enjoy the wonders and the splendors they provide. That, though, isn't stopping people from going into the parks and doing some major damage to them. I don't know if you saw the story, but there are apparently a bunch of people going into the Joshua Tree National Park in California and literally cutting down the trees that give the park its name.

People are cutting down trees that have been around for a millennia just because there's no one there to stop them. How...damaged does someone have to be to do something like that? I just don't get it.

When I saw the story I couldn't believe it. That would be like someone covering the entirety of the McCarty's Cove beach in Marquette with cement just because no one was stopping them. What has to go through someone's mind to make them think they can destroy a unique piece of nature just because they can? Things like beaches and National Parks for there for the enjoyment of everyone. Why does one person (or one group of people) feel they can trash it just because?

Sometimes, I don't get people. I really don't.

I know I joke in here a lot about being more European than American, and it's not just because of what my DNA test results say. In places like France and Germany, there are rules that people follow just because it's for the good of society as a whole. You wouldn't see a German person go into the Black Forest and try to cut it all down just because they could. Europeans realize that rules benefit everyone, and that's why almost everyone follows them. I get that. I agree with that. I think it's great.

In the U.S., though, there is a (small) subset of people for whom rules are just suggestions, and not laws. I realize that this country was founded on the breaking of rules, but that was two and a half centuries ago. Things have changed since then. We now have speed limits because they help save people's lives. We have leash laws in places like Marquette so both dog owners and non-dog owners can co-exist to the mutual benefit of both. And we have laws that forbid cutting down 1,000 year old trees so that everyone can enjoy them. Yet, there are apparently people who don't give a rip about laws, who don't give a rip about being part of a society of many, who don't give a rip about whether or not their actions affect other people. I don't know why they feel that way, I don't know why they think their actions are okay. I don't know why they think they can go out and damage an irreplaceable treasure just because no one's there to stop them.

I just don't get it. And I just don't get the people who do things like that. I'd like to think they'll someday be caught & punished, but the cynical part of me knows that probably won't happen. However, you know what they say about karma, and if there's any justice in the world those people will one day be on the receiving end of it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/16

I like the scent. What can I say?

One of my many jobs around our apartment is the washing of dishes. It's something I do every day except one, when Loraine takes over and makes sure that it's actually done right. While doing it this weekend she came into the room in which I was sitting with the latest bottle of dishwashing liquid I purchased, held it up, and said, and I quote, “Here's another example of why you are so not a man”.

What? Real men don't use lotus blossom and lavender dishwashing liquid?

First of all, just so you know, a very big running joke between Loraine and me is that I basically do nothing like a “man” would do, and we're both okay with that. So I wasn't shocked by what she said; in fact, it made me laugh. After all, what real “man” would buy his dishwashing liquid because it smelled like lotus blossom & lavender? What real “man” would buy his dishwashing liquid just because it was purple and he liked the color?

Heck—do “real” men even pay attention to things like dishwashing liquid? Do they even know what dishwashing liquid is?

I like washing dishes; I really do. It's a couple of minutes of mindless activity in a day filled with activities where I have to overtax my brain. Sure, often times my brain fails me, but even if it did screw up while washing dishes no one would notice. That's why I like doing things like washing dishes and doing the laundry. And if I'm going to spend a few minutes each day washing the dishes, shouldn't I be using dishwashing liquid that smells good and makes my hands soft all at the same time?

It's like aromatherapy, with the added benefit of giving us clean dishes!

So if you're in the market for a new dishwashing liquid (assuming, of course, you still do dishes by hand), I highly recommend picking up a bottle of Palmolive's Lotus Blossom & Lavender. Not only does it clean your dishes well, but it smells nice, too. And isn't that what everyone looks for in a dishwashing liquid...even a “man”?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/15

It was the best of teas, it was the worst of teas.

Okay, I suppose I should apologize to Mr Dickens for stealing such a great line for such a trivial subject, but I couldn't come up with anything more appropriate. Because of the weather I've been drinking a lot of the tea I brought back from Germany recently, and among the tea I've been drinking is one of the best I've ever tasted and one of the worst I've ever tasted.

See why I butchered the opening line from “A Tale of Two Cities”?

Some of you may remember that one of my many strange habits while touring Europe is to grab various bags of tea from hotel breakfast bars, bring them home, and then sample them over the next few months, Mostly, the stash consists of various kinds of green tea with mint, which I love but which Loraine forbids me from drinking while at breakfast because the smell doesn't agree with her that early in the morning. Aside from the mint teas I also grab stuff that looks weird and/or interesting. Sometimes I strike gold; other times, I wonder why a certain tea was ever produced.

And so it goes with this collection.

One of my favorite teas ever is this South African Rooibos with Vanilla--

It's a mild red tea with a great vanilla flavor. It's so good, in fact, that I bought a whole of box of it while we were over there last year. Don't judge; some people buy souvenir T-shirts, I buy souvenir boxes of tea.

I would not, however, ever buy a box of this tea--

“Heisser Hugo” is a lime tea, which I thought might be good. I love lime, after all. However, since my German is almost non-existent I didn't realize that it's not just a lime tea but, instead, an elderberry/lime tea. Germans seem to love bitter flavors, and while I really try to fit in over there that's one thing I can't seem to get into. In fact, the one chocolate bar I've ever come across that I don't want to try again is a dark chocolate-lingonberry bar I picked up in Berlin a few years ago.

I'm sorry. Bitter just doesn't do it for me.

Now, having said that, here's the other tea I can't get enough of--

What is it, you ask? Well, I answer, it's a Fennel/Anise/Caraway herbal tea. Yeah, I know I just spent the preceding paragraph saying about how I don't like really bitter taste, and yet here I am, admitting I like a tea that tastes vaguely of black licorice and a bitter version of lettuce.

Don't worry. Some days, I can't figure myself out either.

So if you're ever in a store looking at teas (or paying a visit to Spice Merchants, one of my favorite places in downtown Marquette), look for a tea with vanilla in it. I promise you won't go wrong. If you see one with elderberry, though, feel free to take a pass. Of course, you can take all that with a grain of salt.

After all, I'm also the person who drinks a tea with fennel and caraway seed in it. I may not be the best person to offer advice on the drink.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/14

Shouldn’t they be down by now?

Now that we have enough snow here in the city of Marquette, I was walking to the Fit Strip over the weekend to try out the new cross country ski boots I received for my birthday when I noticed something that caught my attention. It was weird; in the seven or eight blocks I had to walk I came across not one, not two, but three houses where not only did they have their Christmas tree still up in their living room window, but they had the lights on their Christmas tree turned on, almost three weeks after the holiday.

I think we’ve established in here, quite a few times, that I’m not an acceptable indicator of what’s normal. I think we’ve established in here quite a few times that what I consider to be usual behavior is anything but usual. But when even I look at Christmas trees still up and lit in the middle of January, I’m thinking that’s a pretty good indication that something’s out of the ordinary.

I like a Christmas tree as much as the next person. I like looking at the lights, and I like the seasonal feeling that a Christmas tree can bring. After all, when you see a Christmas tree, you know that the holiday’s just around the corner. You know that you’ll soon be getting together with family and friends. You know that you’ll soon enjoy a couple of days off. And you know that you’re about to embark on a very special time of the year.

However, when you leave your Christmas tree up and lit for an extended period of time after the holidays are over, after the new year has been rung in, and after your life has gotten back to its normal routine, you’re no longer in that special time of the year. And it seems to me that if you leave your tree up & lit; well, that just seems to rob it of its “specialness”, if that’s indeed a word and if that word makes any sense.

Now, I know different people have different traditions, and maybe these three homes belong to people who’ve always left their trees up & lit for an extra three or four weeks. Maybe that means something to them; maybe the “specialness” of the holiday season is enhanced by leaving the tree up and lit until mid-January, or Valentine’s Day, or whenever it comes down. And maybe the same applies to people who leave their outdoor Christmas lights up & lit year round. Maybe, for them, the holidays should be celebrated in the cold of January, the greening of April, and the heat of July.

Maybe I’m just weird that way.

I’d be curious to know when you take your decorations down. After all, like I said, I’m not always the best indicator as to what’s “normal” and what’s not. But it just seemed strange, three weeks after Christmas is over and a few weeks into the middle of January, to see lit Christmas trees in people’s windows. It really was.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/11

Let me introduce you to the very small town of Stobno--

Stobno sits right on the German-Polish border, and over the years has been part of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, France (don't ask), and now Poland. It's the Prussian part in which we're interested, because about 140 years ago a guy named Andrew left Stobno and made his way to Marquette. He had a son named Frank, who also had a son named Frank, who had a daughter named Darlene, who gave birth to the dork who's typing this.

That's right. I have finally found from where the Schwemin side of my family came.

Those of you who've been reading this for a while may recall my attempts to find out where my grandfather's family lived before coming to the U.S. After all, I'm in Germany a lot, and figured that it might be nice (or weird, or strange) to visit the ancestral hometown. I was never able to dig out much information until I had my DNA done by Ancestry, something that allowed me to use their family tree service to figure out that my great-great grandfather came to the US in 1880 from the very small Prussian village of Stobno, which sits about an hour and a half north-northeast of Berlin, a city where I will actually be in a few months.

Unfortunately, I'll have a very tight schedule and no car while I'm there. Oh well...it's always an excuse to back yet again, right?

8-)

Like I said, while Stobno is currently on the Polish side of the German-Polish border it spent most of the past 300 years as part of Germany. It wasn't until after World War II that it switched. In fact, the way the Allies drew the border it was still supposed to be part of Germany, but Joseph Stalin wanted control of the nearby city of Szczecin (which is now Poland's 7^th largest city and pronounced “Stetchin”, if you're keeping score at home) and so the whole area was given to Poland, which proceeded to kick any German citizens out and replace them with Polish citizens whose homes had been destroyed in the war, something that happened a lot in the months following the end of the conflict.

Have I ever mentioned World War II was a horrific event that tore an entire continent apart and whose reverberations are still being felt today?

Anyway, after having spent years wondering about the Schwemin family's upstream origins it's a little weird to look at the satellite view of that very small town and realize that I'm here only because one person left there 140 years ago. I'm constantly amazed how the twists and turns of life have led to the here and now; this is just another small part of that.

I know I'll be spending part of the weekend staring a little more intently at that picture. I hope your weekend is just as mind-boggling!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/10

I remember what the numbers mean.

As you may recall from yesterday, I came across a series of numbers that I had written down when putting together U.P.-oriented questions for both my radio “What's Up, U.P.” contest and for “High School Bowl”. Those numbers?

Delta 81.8

Menominee 81.7

Marquette 81.5

Luce 81

Alger 80.9

Baraga 80.7

And so on. I had also written the words “longest” and “shortest” on them, indicating that I had asked questions about which county had the longest and which county had the shortest of whatever those numbers indicated. I just had no idea what those numbers meant. I spent all day yesterday trying to figure out it, and even wasted a little time last night going through notes making sure I hadn't missed anything.

Then it came to me, like many great ideas, in the middle of the night last night.

I'm guessing it was around 3 am or so, which is a great title for a Matchbox 20 song but a horrid time for a human being to shoot out of bed and realize that the numbers running around his head for the past 36 hours were, indeed, the average life expectancy for residents in each Upper Michigan county.

I probably took two or three years off of my life just by figuring that out at 3 am.

8-)

I don't know exactly HOW my brain figured that out in the middle of a deep sleep, but brains often do strange things at that hour of the morning. So when I woke up this morning I checked just to make sure, and yup—those numbers from yesterday are indeed the average life expectancy of U.P. citizens. As to why people living in Delta & Menominee Counties live a few months longer, on average, than other residents, I have no idea. Maybe it's the fact that they're usually warmer than everyone else.

I just don't know.

Of course, now that I've opened THAT can of worms, I can see my brain waking me at up at 3 tomorrow morning with a theory as to why residents in Delta and Menominee Counties live a few weeks longer than everyone else in the U.P. Because, apparently, that seems to be how my brain works now.

(jim@wmqt.com), happy to know what the numbers meant but willing to wait, at least next time, until dawn to find out about them.

Wednesday, 1/9

I think I've stumped even myself with this one.

I was going through old “What's Up, U.P.?” questions, seeing if there were any that I could repurpose for “High School Bowl” (where I try to throw in an Upper Michigan question here or there just to make it interesting). I found a bunch of great ones, and then I came across a piece of paper that had the following written on it--

Delta 81.8

Menominee 81.7

Marquette 81.5

Luce 81

Alger 80.9

Baraga 80.7

And on and on like that, listing every U.P. county except Iron. I also had a notation that I had asked questions about longest and shortest, which makes sense, if only because I like to keep track of what I ask. There's only one problem with the whole thing--

I have no ideas what the numbers mean.

For some reason, I didn't write down what I was asking; I didn't write down what the numbers actually signified. I assume that I didn't think I needed to write it down, that I'd remember what those numbers meant, but as with most assumptions, all I did was made a heinie out of myself. I mean, I'm sure the numbers mean something—in fact, I KNOW the numbers mean something. I just have no idea what that “something” is.

My first thought was that it had something to do with Great Lakes shore frontage; you know, how many miles of each county touches a Great Lake. But seeing as how Dickinson County is on the list, and Dickinson County doesn't even touch a Great Lake, that theory was pretty well shot. I then tried typing “Delta County 81.8” into Google, but nothing popped up, aside from a very weird ad claiming that Delta Airlines could fly me somewhere for 81 dollars.

Where's that? Negaunee?

I'll have to do a little more research into what that list actually meant. Total mileage of each county's roads? Length of snowmobile trails? Longest and shortest piece of twine in each county? At this moment, I really have no idea. I just know that I asked questions about the longest and shortest of those numbers. Now I just have to figure out the “longest” and “shortest” of what.

And, of course, remember to write it down somewhere so that I don't repeat this whole thing the next time I need to put some questions together.

Sigh. Some days, it's not easy being me. Really, it isn't!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/8

I miss shoveling. And because of that I was almost—almost--tempted to take up Jen on the offer she made yesterday.

Yesterday on her daily station promo our morning personality said she'd offer up my services if anyone needed the 8 inches of snow we received removed from their driveways. I had no idea she said that; then after a listener called and (jokingly) wanted to hire me, I figured out what was going on.

Sorry, but I think I'll have to say no.

For a ten year span in the late nineties and into the 00s I was a monster shoveler. If there was a shoveling hall of fame, I might have made it in on my first try. During that 10 or 12 year Loraine and I lived in buildings where we had to remove the snow ourselves. And for some bizarre reason—especially when you consider that I abhor winter—I really got into it. I actually looked forward to getting out & shovel. But now we live in a building where the landlord also lives, and he removes the snow each & every day. And while it blows my mind, I actually kind of miss doing it.

I know. I'm a freak. What's your point?

Actually, before you call be a freak (well, okay, before you call me a freak for THIS), hear me out. First of all, even though I REALLY dislike winter, shoveling was one of the few parts of it I did enjoy. I liked it because shoveling is a great aerobic and muscle-building exercise. It’s a workout that works out parts of your body you never knew you had. It builds up your heart, your lungs, and your endurance.

It’s a great way to sweat.

I also liked shoveling for another reason. In my line of work, I don’t often have a way to measure what I accomplish every day. Sure, you guys may tell me you liked (or didn’t like) something in particular, and once every year we get a book that tells us how many of you listen on a weekly basis, but I don’t have a sense of “accomplishment”. It’s not like I can sit back at the end of the day and say “look--I made 88 widgets today”. With shoveling, I DID get that sense of accomplishment. When I was finished removing the slop from the driveway or the sidewalk, I could sit back, look at the end result, and say “look--I removed ALL that snow”. I won’t get that now.

So that's why I was tempted, if only for a second, to take anyone up who was interested in Jen's unsolicited offer yesterday. Thankfully, sanity kicked in before I could do so, but there was a moment, and it's all because I'm apparently a walking oxymoron.

And yes, as always, you can leave the “oxy” part of it out, if you'd like.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), loather of winter, lover of shoveling.

Monday, 1/7

Don’t loathe me for saying this but I have a deep, dark secret to share I'd like to share.

My name is Jim, and I don’t get sick.

These days, I’m surrounded by sick co-workers, a wife who just finished battling the blahs, and passersby who say “hello” through a hacking cough or watery eyes. Yet, I feel fine. Better than fine, actually, considering that we haven’t seen the sun much in a couple of months and THAT usually depresses me.

What can I say, other than, perhaps, “Sorry”?

In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was seriously sick. I do remember one BAD bout back in the mid 70’s when I had to stay home from school for a week, but other than hay fever every spring & fall, I just don’t seem to get sick. Believe it or not, I’ve never actually been in the hospital. Okay, I’ve visited people in the hospital before, but I’ve never been a patient (unless you count a trip to the E.R or walk-in clinics because of bike or roller-blading mishaps, but that's thanks to klutziness, not germs).

Now, I don’t know why this is. Maybe I’m just genetically lucky. Maybe it’s because I wash my hands every so often, eat well, try to stay in shape, and don’t let myself get run down. Or maybe it’s because I laugh.

I remember reading something a couple of years ago on how having a positive mental attitude can actually ward off disease. Apparently, people who are optimistic and/or laugh a lot get over a cold quicker, suffer fewer bouts of illness and, in general, have a stronger immune system. So, just maybe, there IS something to that, and I’m lucky enough to be the recipient of that.

Of course, I’m now aware that, by having written this blog on how I never get sick, I’m destined to come down with something like Bird Flu or Legionnaire’s Disease. And with the way Loraine or my co-workers look at me when I don’t catch their bugs...well, I know a few people who might laugh at the irony in that.

But think of it this way—at least they'll be boosting their immune systems while doing it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps--despite the wind & blizzard-like conditions outside right now  it was above freezing Saturday morning when I went running, which means "The Streak"  is still alive!

Friday, 1/4

If this were a normal year it would be mid-May right about now.

I know; when is a year ever “normal”, right? But here's now 2019 is abnormal, at least for me. Loraine and I are going to Europe, like we usually do. But for the first time, instead of heading there around the Labor Day weekend we're going in late April. That's four months earlier than usual. And that means I need to be doing work right now that I'm normally doing in mid-May.

Because, you know, we're leaving four months earlier than usual.

Those of you who've been reading these forever know that the one slight pain in the butt about our trips over there is the fact that I need to work ahead to make sure everything's ready and able to run while I'm gone. So I'm not overwhelmed in the weeks before I go I usually start working ahead on what I can as far ahead as possible. Usually, that's in May. But since we're going in April this year, January has become the new May.

Now if we could only get May-like weather in January. THAT would be cool!

While my schedule and the routine I've established over all the years might be a little discombobulated by our early vacation, there's one incredible silver lining in the whole thing (well, two, actually, if you consider a Spring trip to Germany a silver lining, which I certainly do). Once we get back on May 1^st I won't have to do what I usually do starting in May. I won't have to work ahead to get ready to go to Europe in late August.

That means I have my entire summer to play in the sun and to not worry about a thing. And that hasn't happened since 2007, and that was the summer we moved into our current apartment. So this will really be the first summer in almost 15 years that nothing “big” will be happening.

I actually kinda like that concept.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE going to Europe around Labor Day The weather over there, when it's not raining for six days straight, is usually quite nice, and the holiday allows us to save a precious vacation day to use some other time during the year. The only reason we're going in the Spring this year is because we're going to see a soccer game right around our 30^th anniversary (okay, technically two reasons, but you know what I mean). Otherwise, we'd be going in the late summer, as usual, and I wouldn't be worry (or babbling) about this.

But if I keep referring to January as May or April as August this year, at least you'll know why.

Have a great weekend; hopefully, your calendar and your routine stays as usual.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/3

I don't even wanna think about what happened five years ago today.

You may not remember this, but it's been etched into my brain for half a decade now. A windy snowstorm moved in on January 3 rd, 2014, ushering in a cold snap that lasted, on and off, almost two months. But that's not why I don't wanna think about what happened five years ago today. Nope; the reason I don't wanna think about what happened five years ago today is what occurred at 9:03 pm, most likely caused by the wind and the snow and the cold, although, in all honesty, we may never know the exact cause.

What happened at 9:03 pm five years ago today?  And why do I even remember the exact time?  Well, that's when our antenna array blew up, ushering in a five month period of us being, well, not much of a radio station.

Those of you who tried to listen on the air or may remember reading my daily bouts of whining about the situation know that it was not fun. Something happened 600 feet above the ground that caused metal to melt and things to fall apart. Instead of our usual 100,000 watts of power, we were broadcasting at 100 watts—and that's if we were lucky. Because of the extreme cold the first three months of the year, our engineers couldn't climb up on the tower to find out what was wrong. And on the days that they could climb, they had to trace every single inch of feed line, radomes, and antenna couplings to try and find out what the problem was. Once they found all of the problems (and there were multiple problems) we then had to order a whole new antenna array, wait for it to be built, wait for it to be delivered, and then wait for the winds to die down enough for the engineers to haul it up 600 feet above the ground, install it, plug it in, and hope that it worked.

All that was done, and we were finally back up and running at full power on June 3^rd, five months to the day after storm that started the whole thing.

It was not a five months that I'd recommend anyone go through. It's certainly a five months that I never want to have to experience again. It was bad enough not being able to do what we usually do and have everyone listen who usually listens. The worst part of it was the not knowing—the now knowing what the problem was, and the not knowing when it would be fixed. It was okay the first few weeks; we figured the weather would break soon and we'd get things fixed. But as the weeks stretched into months and as we were all of a sudden looking the the real possibility that a half a year would pass before things returned to normal; well, that's when the absurdity of the situation hit its extreme.

Thankfully, though, things DID return to normal. We found out what the problem was, we had a new system built, and on the afternoon of June 3^rd a button was pushed and our long national nightmare was over. If anything good comes out of a situation like this it's what happened after we returned to full power, and had people from all across the U.P. tell us how much they missed us and how glad they were that we were back. It was nice to know we were missed. And trust me—we missed each and every person who couldn't hear as much as they missed us.

Even after five years I get a little shudder down my spine when a cold snap hits or a winter weather system started spewing ice over the landscape. I know it's probably not going to happen again, but the psychic pain and the mental trauma caused by the accident will probably linger in the back of my mind for as long as I work in radio. And that's probably nothing compared to what my boss had to go through; after all, he was the one who had to pay all the bills for the fun.

The fun that, believe it or not, started five years ago today.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/2

Let's start the final year of the teens by writing about the greatest of all subjects—chocolate! Specifically, this question--when is chocolate really not chocolate? Is it when there isn’t any chocolate in the chocolate?

No, I’m not (deliberately) trying to be confusing, and no, this isn’t some kind of Zen exercise. This is a real question that deserves real pondering, and here’s why--odds are, you received some kind of chocolate product for Christmas or as a gift for hosting a New Year's Eve party, right? I mean, chocolate products are everywhere during the season, and odds are one or two of them ended up in your hands. If you have still have a chocolate gift or two lying around, look at the container in which they came.

Because your chocolate may really not be chocolate.

I’m not kidding. If you received anything from Palmer, or a little box of Andes mints, or perhaps even a giant Nestlé’s Crunch Bar, you’ll see one of two things on the box. You’ll either see that they’re described as “chocolate-flavored products” or if you look at the ingredients you’ll see that they don’t have cocoa butter and/or chocolate liquor, the two things that make up actual, real chocolate.

That’s right--your chocolate may not have any chocolate in it. THAT’S why I posed the Zen-like question!

This has been going on for a couple of years now. Some manufactures, in order to squeeze every cent they can out of their products, have replaced the actual chocolate they buy and use with a mix of partially hydrogenated soybean oil and chocolate “flavoring”, and then pass it off as ‘chocolate”. Now I know I may come across occasionally as a chocolate snob, but in an instance like this, my snobbery may be justified. I mean, if you eat this stuff, you’re not eating chocolate. You’re eating artery-clogging saturated fat that tastes like chocolate. And, at least to me, it doesn’t even taste like real chocolate; it tastes like, I dunno, brown-flavored wax. If you don’t believe me, try a taste test. Take a piece of real chocolate, and eat it. Then take a chocolate-flavored candy product, and do the same.

You may find yourself becoming a chocolate snob, too.

The sad thing is most people probably don’t even realize what’s going on. I mean, how many people read the labels or the ingredient lists on the food they eat? That’s probably why the candy companies figured they could get away with it; after all, if no one paid attention, they could probably also replace any nuts in their bars with “nut-like pieces” of tree bark and no one would be the wiser. It’s sad, but it’s true, and it seems to be a fact of modern life.

I’ll quit complaining about it now; after all, there are SO many things in life that are more important than and deserve more discussion than “chocolate” that it’s not even funny. I just figured I’d point it out, and maybe open a few eyes in the process. Besides, you guys know how I love chocolate. . .at least when it actually IS chocolate.

Caveat emptor, I guess.

(jim@wmqt.com)