Friday, 10/20

 Sadly, I don't have any time to write this morning, but TV Jim has an announcement to make. Hope that will do!

Have a great weekend, and a safe Halloween!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/29

 It's always the strangest, quirkiest thing.

Over the years, I've had people gravitate, for some reason, to some of the strange things that I do. One year it was warm so I decided to go to the beach on my December birthday; I heard about that for weeks afterward. Another year I held a (tongue in cheek) bake sale for NMU when they were going through one of their periodic rounds of budget cuts, and comments about that kept popping up for months afterwards. Now, over the course of the past few days, I've had several people ask about something I got rid of a month ago.

They've wondered what happened to the Corona Curls.

That's right; I've had a couple of people wonder what happened to the mass (or mess) of hair that was growing on my head between early March and late September. I myself had kind of forgotten about them, but apparently I was the only one. One of the people asking about them even asked if I was thinking of coloring my hair purple again any time soon.

I wasn't, but I still have the hair coloring, and it'll probably be a month or so before I can start shooting that TV show I host, so...

8-)

I just think it's funny—I do a lot of strange things in my life. It's part of, for better or for worse, who I am. It's just that it always seems like the things I don't think about much—like the Corona Curls or Birthday at the Beach—are the things that resonate with people the most. I have no idea how; I have no idea why. I just know that if I could figure out I could probably make some money off of it.

I'm not quite sure how, but there must be a way to do so in there somewhere.

So the next time I do something strange I'll be curious to see if people pick up on it or not. I have no idea if it'll happen. About the only thing I'm sure of is that it'll be the most unlikely action that draw the biggest attention.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/28

 Hi, my name is Jim, and I might be a tea-aholic.

I came to that realization yesterday after throwing two new boxes of the stuff onto the shelf on which I keep my current boxes. That realization came because the two boxes would literally not fit on the shelf, which was crammed full of existing boxes of tea. I gathered them all together, boxes of tea old & new, and THAT'S when I realized that I might have a problem--

I wonder if I can find a support group for this somewhere online?

There are 12 boxes total in that picture, nine of them various green teas with or without flavorings, mostly citrus flavored. I'm not quite sure why or how I ended up with nine boxes of green tea, mostly citrus flavored, but I did. The others are an orange tea that I was introduced to by my mother, and two others I discovered in Germany—a red tea with vanilla, and that fennel-anise-caraway seed tea that might be my favorite ever.

Despite the fact that every single person to whom I describe the tea looks at me like I'm insane for even tasting it. They just don't know what they're missing.

So, note to self. You really DON'T need to buy tea for the next couple of weeks (or months). It doesn't matter if it's on sale, or if it's a flavor combination you've never tried before. Twelve (mostly full) boxes of tea is probably almost enough for anyone.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/28

 One week from today, it's over.

I think many of us have been watching this year's Presidential election with a mix of fascination and fear, much like one might watch an innocent little puppy running into the path of an 18-wheel truck. Well, with the election one week from today, we can all (hopefully) breathe a sigh of relief that it has almost run its course.

Almost.

I'm not gonna delve into the politics of the election; after all, we try to stay as non-partisan as possible around here. But I do wanna talk about a trend I've noticed this year, especially on social media, that I don't think is a good trend, and that's the vilification of people who think differently than you. I can't tell you the number of times I've been scrolling down my Facebook feed only to see someone sharing an article that says “so & so DESTROYS Politician One” or “Science proves the followers of Politician Two are stupid”. And those are just the headlines of the articles; once or twice, I accidentally read the comments under the post, and then felt like I had to take a shower.

They were that bad.

Now sure, you can disagree with people on the issues and what they think should be done about those issues. I have friends with whom I disagree politically, but that doesn't mean I think they're morons or should be rounded up and thrown out of the country. That's just...wrong. They're people just like you, people who are concerned about the future of the country and in which direction it's headed. You may disagree with people on something, but that doesn't make them the devil incarnate. It just means they have a different opinion than you. But there's something about politics the past few years, and this election cycle in particular, that has brought out the worst in people. In fact, there have been times this year when I thought things couldn't get any cruder or ruder than they were.

And then I was proven wrong.

I don't know that I would want to be whoever gets elected a week from tonight. I would not want to have to take over a country filled with such venom and hatred, a country where half the people think think the other half are morons or the Anti-Christ. Yet whoever does win next week is going to have that job, faced with the task of trying to lead a country where half the population thinks they should be drawn and quartered. I'd like to say I have hope we'll get over this. However, like I said, I've read some of the comments posted online, and I know that's not gonna happen any time soon.

I wish I had an answer for this; I really do. Because then I could run for President under a platform of national reconciliation, only to find my reputation, my life, and the actions of the people supporting me torn apart, ridiculed, and shoved into the smelly Mason Jar of partisan politics.

So remind me not to do that any time soon.

Maybe, once the election's over, we'll have a cooling-off period, and some people will look back on their Facebook feeds in wonder and disgust at some of the stuff they've posted. Maybe, once the campaign ads are done and cable news goes back to talking about just Covid (as opposed to Covid and politics as a blood sport), people will be able to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

And maybe, while we're at it, I can get that spaceship I ask for every year on my Christmas list. Because I have the feeling there's a better chance of that happening than there is of peace, friendship, and goodwill occurring after next Tuesday night.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/26

 Well, it's good to know I have another 4 to 5 decades of healthy living ahead of me.

I did a lot of reading over the weekend because, you know, the snow wouldn't let me do anything else (sigh).  One of the things I came across a story that the Goldenson Center in Connecticut, a medical research place, had developed a online calculator where you answer a bunch of questions and it tells you how many healthy years of living you have left. Always being curious about things like that, and having a desire to live to be at least 100, I plugged in my info, and found out some good news.

I should make it.

Now, I realize this is just an online test, and in no way indicative of what my future holds (especially because it doesn't ask about family medical history), but after answering a dozen general questions about lifestyles, eating habits, and the like, the calculator says I should have another 42 years of healthy living in front of me, followed by (gulp) five to eight years of failing health before I should shuffle off this mortal coil. Of course, I'm guessing it doesn't take into account any advances in medical treatment in the next half century, but even if it does, I can live with the predicted results.

No pun intended.

Now, I should live that long as long as I keep living the way I do. Because I exercise a lot and (try to) eat well I scored a lot of extra years. However, I know that that could be out of my control sometime in the future and should that happen it would change the results radically. But assuming that I can keep doing what I'm doing (and I PLAN on keeping doing what I'm doing) and not develop any weird diseases I should be able to live the way I do until sometime around 2060, when I then start to go downhill.

Sorry, guys. Looks like you're stuck with me.

What am I gonna do with those 40+ years? I dunno. I suppose I could get a real job one of these days. I've always joked about going back to school once I'm done doing what I'm doing now, studying something really different, and then starting another career for a decade or two. I don't know if that's possible, or if anyone would even want to hire a newly minted college graduate who just happens to be in his 70s, but it's a whole new world out there. I might as well think about giving it a shot, right?

Anyway, that's what my future could hold. If you wanna try it for yourself and see how many healthy years you may (or my not) have left, give it a click—http://apps.goldensoncenter.uconn.edu/HLEC/

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/23

I really have to stop forgetting all these things I write.

I received a Facebook message from a friend yesterday telling me she enjoyed my Mining Journal article. I spent a few minutes trying to think about to which one she was referring, then I realize she meant the new one, the article that was in Wednesday's paper.

You know—the latest newspaper article I wrote and then promptly forgot about. That's a talent I wish I really didn't have.

Since I forgot about it, even though I wrote it, and since I know a lot of you don't have ready access to the Mining Journal, here it is—the story of one of the most (in)famous areas of old Marquette.

Have a great weekend!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

On any given warm summer day hundreds if not thousands of locals and tourists will make their way on bike or foot through Founder's Landing, perhaps stopping to walk the beach, swing over the Whetstone Creek, or climb Gaines' Rock. What they may not know is that they're actually treading on a rather unique piece of Marquette history--

Bum's Jungle.

Picture Marquette Regional History Center

At least, that's what residents in Marquette called the collection of people who lived in makeshift shacks along the lake next to the old South Rail Yards. For over half of the 20^th century Bum's Jungle was an object of both fascination and fear for local residents, especially kids who were told to stay away from the area. But the individuals who lived in the makeshift “neighborhood” had a sense of community and integrity that would have surprised most of those local residents.

To start off with, the name of the enclave was a bit of a misnomer. Technically, the people who called Bum's Jungle home weren't bums. They were hobos, homeless individuals who would set up camp somewhere for a little while, hop aboard a freight train, and then move somewhere else. The number of hobos in the country flourished during the Depression, when trains were the best way of getting around the country, so it's not a surprise that there was quite a large number of them living down in South Rail Yards right by Gaines' Rock.

Both the railroad and the local police tolerated the hobos, as long as they stayed out of trouble. And the hobos actually had a code of honor and policed themselves. If you were to stroll through Bum's Jungle during its heyday you would've noticed many of the hobos hanging their laundry out to dry, cooking a meal over either an open fire or on a makeshift stove, or just engaging in general conversation.

Hobos considered themselves “drifters”, and nothing more. They believed they were regular part of a civilized society. If a hobo was caught acting like a “bum”--if they were begging or drunk in public, or making a nuisance of themselves to the general community, a “hobo court” would hand out punishment—anything from a lashing from a belt for someone caught fighting, to an enforced bath in Lake Superior, a punishment especially popular for those hobos who didn't maintain at least an appearance of propriety.

Picture courtesy Marquette Regional History Center

On one rare occasion in 1939, Bum's Jungle even became the national epicenter of “hobo justice”. J. Leon Lazarovitz, described as the “Chief Justice of the Hobo Kangaroo Court of the United States” and “President of the Rambling Hobo Fellowship of America”, visited Marquette (by train, naturally) to preside over a number of hobo court cases. Seventy six hobos from around the Upper Midwest made their way to the South Rail Yards to have their cases heard by Lazarovitz.

In the end, 21 of the hobos were found guilty of their offenses and sentenced various punishments, while the rest of the cases were dismissed.

As the 20^th century wore on and society evolved, the hobo disappeared, not only from the South Rail Yards but from American life in general. By the 1960s, all that remained of Bum's Jungle were a few ramshackle cabins, falling apart from years of neglect. Now, of course, even those few signs of the once thriving community are gone. But there is still a generation of Marquette residents who, as kids, remember their parents telling them--

Don't go down near Bum's Jungle!

Thursday, 10/22

 Like most children, I blame my parents.

Don't worry; Chicky-Poo and Dar didn't do anything really bad.  I don't have to run to a therapist every week.  I have a healthy & loving relationship.  And I actually really, really like what my parents did to me.

Even if it was turn me into a geography nerd.

That thought popped into my mind as I was leafing through a book I bought called “The Passport Book”.  It's basically pictures of the 200-some passports that exist on the planet, and a a few fun facts about the countries that issue them.  I pick up books like that all the time, and I devour them eagerly.

Thanks, Mom & Dad.

Apparently, my nerd-dom started at a very early age.  According to my mom, when I was a little too young to start school I would longingly stare out the window at all the kids walking to class.  So to make me feel a little better she would read a page or two of a giant world atlas we had, so I would feel like I was learning something even if I couldn't go to school.  As I learned how to read myself, that would be one of my favorite books to peruse, as I learned all about different countries and the people who lived in them

The rest, of course, is history.  And have I ever mentioned that I have AWESOME parents?

8-)

They also introduced me to travel, the other reason “The Passport Book” attracted my attention.  As a little kid I got to go to all kinds of interesting places, and when I was a senior in high school they managed to take advantage of an airline promotion where you could buy tickets and, basically, fly anywhere you wanted within a two-week span.  I realize you could never do that now, but back them we went from Marquette to Houston to LA to Miami to DC to Nashville to Houston and back to Marquette in 11 days.

I didn't need a passport for that, but it definitely one of the things that lit something within me.

So, like many people, I can blame the way I turned out on my parents.  Thankfully, it was in a positive way.  You can tell by the books I still read, even after all these years.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/21

 It’s amazing how things can stick in your head.

I received an e-mail from daily blog reader Emily in Marquette over the weekend, who was asking me about a crackpot idea I had six or seven years ago, My first response was, of course, WHICH crackpot idea? After all, I seem to come up with them on an hourly basis. But Emily said this was a crackpot idea that has not only stuck in her head for six or seven years, but has stuck in her head that long because it was actually a good idea.

A good idea? From me? You sure you’re not just sucking up, Emily?

8-)

Anyway, the crackpot idea that’s stuck in Emily’s head was this one--that we should all be able to “retire” for a couple of years while we can enjoy it, and then head back to work for a few more decades before we actually “retire retire”.

I know I’d go for that!

I mean, think of it this way--many educators get to take sabbaticals once a decade; it’s a chance for them to take time off from their jobs to spend time working on research projects, or to go back to school, or to just recharge their batteries. Well, why don’t we ALL get the chance to that? Why aren’t things set up so that people in their late 30s to late 40s, people who’ve been working hard for 20 years, get to take a year or two off to enjoy an early and temporary “retirement”? We’d get to recharge our batteries, or work on a project, or raise kids, or volunteer, or just do something stupid while we’re young enough to physically recover from it, and then go back to work for another 20+ years, until we’re ready for our “real” retirement.

Shouldn’t things be set up so that when we enter the working world, we’d save for our “mid-career” retirement the same way we save for our “real’ retirement? Shouldn’t employers realize that they could hold on to workers longer, with much less burn-out, if said workers could temporarily step back from the constant pressure and “go go go” of their chosen profession? Should we have to wait until we’re older to enjoy freedom from deadlines and clocking in and clocking out?

Is that a dumb thought, a smart idea, or just a pipe dream? I mean, think about it for a second--what would you do if you had a year off of work? And it wouldn’t even have to be a year; I’ve often dreamed of just taking a summer off, sitting on the beach every day, and doing absolutely nothing. It hasn’t happened yet, and I’m guessing it won’t happen, but if something like a “mid-life” retirement were part of our way of life, maybe then it would.

So that’s the crackpot idea, first brought up six or seven years ago, that has stuck in Emily’s head ever since. And now that it’s rolling around in YOUR head, think about it for just a little while. . .if you could take a year or two off from your current job and current lifestyle, what would you do?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/20

 It's a mask. It's not like you're being taken away in shackles and sold to someone.

Covid-19 cases have skyrocketed in Marquette County the past few days. I personally know three people who have tested positive, and and I'm aware of almost half a dozen others through friends. An outbreak hit the guard staff at Marquette Branch Prison so bad that they had to move a bunch of inmates to Newberry, because there's no one left here to watch over them.

Over the weekend, one out of every seven new cases reported in the entire state of Michigan came from Marquette County. THAT'S how bad it is at the moment.

And yet there are still people complaining about having to wear a mask, saying that it's “infringing upon their rights” to have to wear something that science proves slows down the transmission of the disease. For those of you not in Michigan, the reason it's so bad here right now is because we're physically attached to Wisconsin, a state whose Governor has tried to enforce mask use but has been shot down every single time by lawsuits filed by members of the opposing political party. Because of that, Wisconsin is the American epicenter of the pandemic, with record numbers of cases on a daily basis and hospitals strained beyond capacity. And since we're physically attached to the parts of Wisconsin where it's the worst, the virus is spreading across the entire UP like wildfire. At first, it was just along the border counties; now, it's hit us here.

Thanks, Wisconsin. What did we ever do to you?

Most epidemiologists say that if 90% of Americans wore a mask for a month that Covid could be wiped out, or at least brought down to a level where it could be easily handled. That's not every American wearing a mask; that's just 90% of us. And yet mask use has been so politicized that there's the 60-40 split that seems to (pardon the pun) infect everything in American life these days. 60% of us are for something, and 40% are reflexively against it, even if it could save their lives.

I don't know what has happened to this country in the past few years. I'm even more terrified that there might not be a way to fix it.

I wrote in here a few weeks ago about how being part-Vulcan is sometimes a help and sometimes a hindrance. Right now it's the latter. After all, by doing one small thing a lot of people could be spared infection. Therefore, it's logical that Americans would want to do that one thing. I mean, if you could do a tiny action to help others, why wouldn't you? It's the Vulcan—and the human—thing to do. Yet there are people who refuse to do it, just because they don't want to. They don't care how their actions affect other people; they don't care how many others might get put at risk. Either because they were told not to or they just don't care about others, they refuse to take the one small step that could help everyone out.

Where's the logic in that?

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services publishes the previous day's case numbers every afternoon at 3, and it's getting to the point that I'm almost afraid to look and see what they are. But because it's my job and because I want to see how bad things are getting, I do. I'm just hoping that one day soon a). Wisconsin gets its head out of its rectum and starts taking precautions and 2). people up here will realize that there's something they can do about it, and that that action in no way infringes upon their “rights” or their “freedoms”.

I'm hoping to see that some day soon. I'm just not counting on it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/19

 Rain, rain, go away. Come again...

Well, never. Come again never. That would be fine with me.

Maybe this is just an early case of Seasonal Affliction Disorder talking, but the three weeks of (mostly) rain and cold temperatures we've been experiencing can go away and not come back. I mean, that's not even taking into account the (ugh) snow we had in the air (and lightly on the ground) Friday and Saturday, but all the November-like weather we've been dealing with around here since the last week of September?

It's almost enough, in fact, to make one wish one were a duck.

Although I'm thinking that, by this point, even a duck would be sick of the stuff.

It's all made even worse, of course, by the cold that's accompanied the rain. Even on those rare days when the sun was out, like last Friday, temperatures were stuck in the 40s. In fact, for the month, I think we're something like over 10 degrees BELOW our normal highs.

Ten degrees BELOW normal. Just for comparison, and because I'm won't be able to go there any time soon, Germany has had a bunch of days in the 70s & 80s this month and they're almost ten degrees ABOVE normal.   

Tell me we haven't screwed up the climate of this planet to an amazing degree.

I know; the intelligent among you are ready to tell me that there's nothing we can do about the weather, and you're absolutely right about that. Complaining about it doesn't change it or fix it. It's not like if I yell loud enough I'll create a pressure wave strong enough to move the blocking system that's been causing us to have this wet & cold weather. I know that.

It's just that I think I'm at the end of my rope.

So I'll wrap this up with two thoughts. First of all, thanks for letting me blow off a little steam. I appreciate it. Secondly, I know that I don't like “typical” fall weather. But if we ever DO get a day where it's sunny but a little crisp outside, I will embrace it with all the gusto I usually reserve for an 80 degree day. I promise you that.

I don't know if we'll be getting one any time soon, but if we do, you have my word.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/16

 I don't know why I like the picture so much. I just do.

For the past two years now I've had one picture on my computer desktop. It's not of a warm, sunny, summer day, or a picture of loved ones or of friends. Nope; the picture I've been staring at for two years now every time I come into my office was taken during a cold, driving rainstorm two years ago somewhere in Bavaria. Loraine and I were just walking up a street, I saw something, and took a picture of it. I didn't pay much attention to it then, although I did stick it in one of my trip blogs. However, as I've been looking at it on an almost daily basis, I've come to realize that I really like it.

But, then, who wouldn't?

Yeah, I know it's a cow. Like I said, that should be no surprise to anyone who knows me. What I like about so much is the look on the cow. It's a cow with an attitude. It's a cow wondering why a dork with a camera was standing in the rain a few feet away from it. It's a cow that, if it could, would just shake its head in bemusement and walk away to join the other cows, telling them something along the lines of “you should see what I just saw”.

If, of course, a cow could do that.

I realize I'm attributing human behavior to a cow, but that's what this particular beast looks like, at least to me. I mean, take another look at it. Doesn't the cow look like it's just about to shake its head? Doesn't it look like the cow's giving me that look, the look like a human would give when they see something so stupid they can't believe it?

That's what it looks like to me.

You may see things differently. In fact, I'm sure that you, a normal human being, would look at that picture and see just a cow. Not a cow with an attitude, not a cow with vague sense of superiority, but a cow. A plain and simple cow. And that's fine. It's nice to know that at least one of us is normal.

Just don't expect it to be me. At least not with a picture like that.

Have a great and a, uhm, cow-ilicious weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com), cowaholic

Thursday, 10/15

This is a choice I never thought I'd ever have to make, but since it's 2020 and nothing makes sense any more it was a choice that did indeed present itself--

Do I eat my apple after I dropped it in the toilet, or just throw it as far away as I can?

Yup; just when you thought this year could not get any stranger, it did. I was eating lunch yesterday, went into the station bathroom to wash my apple off (because it IS 2020, after all), and watched in horror as my newly washed apple slipped out of my wet hand and perfectly pirouetted into a toilet bowl that (ahem) someone had thoughtfully left the lid open.

Anyone have THAT on their 2020 bingo card?

I mean, geez...I've done some stupid and/or klutzy things in my life, but I've never tossed an apple (wittingly or unwittingly) into a toilet bowl before. I had never even considered dropping an apple into a toilet bowl within the realm of possibility. But yet, I did it.

Guess I can cross that off my bucket list.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, I did give a few seconds thought to just grabbing it out of the toilet, washing it again, and then eating it. After all, it's water in the toilet bowl, right? Dogs drink it without a second thought. Plus, even though I'm the only one here the toilet does get cleaned quite often. But still...

My desire to eat the apple was really outweighed by the fact that I dropped it in a toilet.

I know; had I closed the lid on the toilet bowl after using it I wouldn't have faced that dilemma. Had I not tried to handle the apple with wet hands I wouldn't have faced that dilemma. Heck, had Sir Isaac Newton not “discovered” gravity I wouldn't have faced that dilemma. But, because none of those things occurred I didn't get to eat my apple. I did, however, get to experience something I never thought I'd experience, so I guess in a very bizarre way something good DID come out of it.

You'd better believe, however, that the next time I go into the bathroom to wash off an apple the lid on the toilet bowl WILL be closed. After all, it's not a choice I'd like to ponder again.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/14

 I am about to say something I’ve never said before, a sentence so blasphemous that my fingers may burst into flames as I type it. So if, for some reason, the blog ends here, you’ll know it’s just because my keyboard’s on fire.

You ready? Here goes—

There's a European chocolate bar that I don’t like.

Okay, let me check my fingertips. Nope; no scorching. And my keyboard’s in good shape, as well. So despite the fact that I never thought I would utter the above sentence, I guess the world is still spinning on its axis. And that’s a good thing.

The chocolate bar in question is one I hadn't thought of for a while, but after discussing a certain kind of filling Saturday at the Farmer's Market with my friend Davin, who actually makes his own chocolate bars, I had to dig around in a box and find the label for it.

(And before you ask...yes, I DO have a box filled with the labels of all the different kinds of European chocolate I've eaten. Doesn't everyone?)

The bar in question was a Heilemann Holunder Truffel bar, part of a series of higher end chocolate that also includes another I've tried, a white chocolate with vanilla and bourbon bar that I actually did like. I bought the Holunder a couple of years ago because it sounded interesting; it was a 65% dark chocolate with an elderberry truffle filling. I wanted to try it because I’ve never had elderberry with chocolate before; heck, I don’t even know if I’ve ever had elderberry in anything before.

But I won’t be trying it again.

The elderberry truffle filling was bitter, perhaps too bitter for a chocolate bar. It didn't blend with darker chocolate the way other fillings may, and if I remember correctly it left a mildly acidic aftertaste in your mouth. I mean, I’m glad I had the chance to see what it’s like, but I certainly wouldn’t travel a quarter of the way around the planet just to buy one, which is something I would do (and have done) for some of the other chocolate I’ve had in Europe.

I think foods with bitter tastes must be a German cultural thing. As an example, just think of one of the most German of foods—sauerkraut. Aside from the elderberry chocolate bar, I've also given several tastes to a jam that sounded promising but left me wanting, and that was a black currant jam.

I don't think I'll be trying it if we ever get to go back again.

Like the elderberry in the chocolate, the black currant was rather bitter, even with whatever sugar may have been added into it. If I remember correctly it wasn’t bad; it didn't make me barf, and I didn’t toss it into the trash. But it certainly isn’t something I would want to try again. But I did try it, and that’s the important thing. Travel experts tell you that to really experience a culture you should do what they do, and that includes eating the culture’s food, which I do try as often as possible. Many times I’ve loved what I’ve sampled. This time, not so much. But I tried it, and that’s the important thing, right?

So now you know that there is at least one chocolate that I won’t go to the ends of the Earth for. And who knows—there might be others, as well. I guess if I ever get the chance I’ll just have to try them all—each and every one of them--to find out if there’s another.

Ah, the things we do for science, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps—speaking of things that are sweet...happy birthday, Mallory!)

Tuesday, 10/13

 As is my nature, I'm trying to be optimistic about it all. I just have no idea if that optimism will be misplaced or not.

Both History Jim and TV Jim have been dealing with scheduling issues during the era of Covid recently. I'll discuss TV Jim in a day or two, because that issue isn't quite settled yet, but History Jim has been given his assignments for 2021. At this point, though, I just have no idea if I'll be able to do them in-person, in another format, or not at all.

Isn't 2020 fun?

As you know, all the walking tours I was scheduled to give this year were cancelled, as were several other things I was supposed to do. I managed to turn one of those walking tours into a video, and I'm working on turn another into a documentary, but everything else just kind of went by the wayside.

Bummer.

However, we had our (socially-distanced) annual programming meeting at the History Center, and even though we have no idea if these will ever come off, we've decided what were going to TRY and do next year. For me, it will (hopefully) start with the annual Jim & Jack spectacular that we do at Kaufman. We've sold the place out the past two years. However, next year we have no idea if we'll even be able to get into the place, or whether we'll have to do it later in the year, or do it virtually, or do it outside at the History Center.

We just don't know.

The video for “Third Street: Day & Night” I did this past summer came about because it was originally supposed to be a walking tour, so I'm hoping to do the actual walking tour again next June or July. As you recall, we were just a couple of weeks away from doing it this July but eventually pulled the plug. And since all the work for it was done, I might as well put it to use.

So that's another.

And finally, I'm hoping to do a downtown walking tour that leans on a lot of “urban archaeology” called “I've Been Working on the Railroad”, discussing how the area was shaped by all the rail lines and facilities that were around the first 100 or so years of the city. I've been meaning to do it for several years now, and seeing as how (coincidentally) the History Center has a big railroad exhibition next summer, it fits in perfectly.

It's also one of those things that could, if circumstances warrant, be turned into a documentary. But I'd much rather do it in person. So, if you know anyone with any sort of influence over Mother Nature, can you please ask them to ask her to please—please--dial this whole pandemic thing down?

I say “thank you”. And so does the History Center.

8-)

Like I said, I have no idea if any or all of these will come off as planned. All I know is that the work on them will get done and hopefully, in one format or another, will get out to everyone.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Tomorrow, if I know any more, the second part of the story.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/12

 MONDAY, 10/12:

It's a holiday today. Does it feel like a holiday to you?

Nah; me neither. So let's talk about some of the greatest music ever recorded!

You know I like Stevie Wonder, right? I may have written about that one or two or several thousand times in here. Well, I came across a list from Rolling Stone magazine of the 10 best Stevie Wonder songs of all time. I have to say I can’t disagree with most of the list; after all, they had “Superstition” at number one, plus songs like “Living for the City” and “I Wish” were all up there. But the one thing with which I need to take major exception is the song at number 7.

You know--“I Just Called To Say I Love You”.

Now I realize I might be swimming in a little hot water here. I know that for a lot of people “I Just Called” is a song they love, and perhaps their favorite Stevie Wonder song. In fact, when we put his songs up for a vote on “Favorite Friday” a few years ago that song ended up coming in second behind “Superstition”. And I also know it won an Academy Award as best song (from the 1984 movie “The Woman in Red”). But to me, “I Just Called” is not a Stevie Wonder song; it’s a generic song that anyone could’ve done.

Go ahead; dislike me, if you must. But when I think of Stevie Wonder songs, I think of tunes with funk, tunes with a beat that will not let your toe stop tapping, and tunes with a heart. At least to me, “I Just Called” doesn’t meet any of those criteria. It’s just, well, a sappy song with a drum machine for a beat. It doesn’t capture the “essence” of a Stevie Wonder song. I realize music is a very subjective matter, and you might feel differently about the song (which is fine with me), but that’s how I feel.

In a way, though, it’s funny. Stevie Wonder wrote two songs for “The Woman in Red”, and the other one is actually something that would’ve made MY list of the top ten Stevie Wonder tunes of all time. It’s called “Love Light in Flight”, and many of the things I think “I Just Called” is lacking “Love Light” has, especially a beat that will not stop. But not many people know about it. I guess when you have a song that was as massive of a hit as “I Just Called” the oxygen gets sucked out of the room for anything else the artist does. But do yourself a favor; if you ever have the chance, listen to “Love Light in Flight”. Even if you think “I Just Called” is a great Stevie Wonder, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by the OTHER song from the movie, as well.

Okay; I’ll get off my musical soapbox for now. If you're off of work today, enjoy it. If you're like the rest of us, hope your week is off to a great start!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/9

 You know what? I don’t have a favorite number.

I don’t know if it’s a big deal that I don’t have a favorite number, just as I have no idea how many people actually DO have a favorite number. All I know is that I don’t have one, and this came to light after reading an article or an essay or something that talked about people’s favorite numbers and how a large majority of them are even numbers.

Maybe, just to level the playing field, I should get myself a favorite number, and make sure it’s odd. Besides, how apt would it be that my favorite number is odd? Certainly would fit, wouldn’t it?

The article (and I wish I remember where I read it, so I could give the author credit) posited that most people’s favorite numbers are even numbers because, for whatever reason, people perceive even numbers as “nice” and odd numbers as “bad”. I’m not quite sure why; I think the article pointed out that, with one exception, all prime numbers are odd and, for some reason, people don’t like prime numbers. That could be a reason. But there’s also something I’ve kind of noticed over the years--even numbers look friendlier.

No, I’m not strange. Well, yes, I suppose I AM strange, but think about it--when you look at an even number like “8”, it just looks friendlier than, say a “15”, which just looks more severe. Or at least it does to me; after all, this theory has absolutely no basis in scientific fact. It’s just how I perceive the way the numbers look. But, according to the article I read, maybe there IS some basis in it. Maybe I’m not the only person who feels that even numbers look “friendlier” than odd numbers.

That might explain why most people have a favorite number that’s even, right?

So like I said, if I ever do picture out a favorite number, I’ll have to make sure that it’s an odd number, perhaps even a prime odd number, just so I can be a contrarian. Right now, I’m thinking 29, although that could change depending upon my whims.

I’ll let you know. And on that note, have yourself an “even” weekend. Or an “odd” one. Just as long as it's a GOOD one.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/8

It's not easy being part Vulcan.

I say that in jest, of course. My DNA says I'm 100% human, so I'm taking Ancestry's word on that. However, having grown up watching a show that features a Vulcan, I'm often wondering about the illogic of certain situations.

Here's one of them.

I had to take Loraine's car out yesterday for a few errands. Because I don't drive much, I'm often very alert when I'm behind the wheel. I keep my eyes where they're supposed to be—on the road—and I don't pay attention to too much else.

However, while on the bypass on the way home, I noticed something pop up on her dashboard display. I was doing what I was supposed to, keeping my eyes on the road, but I noticed it out of the corner of my eye.

What popped up on her dashboard display? This--

Yup. While I was driving Loraine's car popped up a message that I should be keeping my eyes on the road. Of course, to read the message about keeping my eyes on the road, I had to take my eyes off the road. How—on Earth, Vulcan, or any other planet—does that make sense?

There's no logic to it!

I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to have you read a message about keeping your eyes on the road while you're trying to do just that. It totally defeats the purpose of keeping your eyes on the road if you have to take your eyes off the road to read the message. Yet, either Chevrolet or OnStar or some combination thereof thought that it would be a good idea to do just that. Were they not thinking? Have they never driven before? Or were they thinking, somewhat deviously, that “if we get people to read the message and take their eyes off the road they'll wreck their car, and we'll make money selling their insurance company a new one?”

These days, nothing would surprise me.

So there you go. The latest example of non-logic that totally perplexed a logical person. And just so you know, I took the picture after I pulled into the driveway, and no longer needed to keep my eyes on the road. Maybe that's when OnStar and/or Chevrolet should think about putting the message on the dashboard display, and NOT when the driver is (theoretically, and logically) trying to keep their eyes on the road!

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Wednesday, 10/7

 You want proof recycling pays? I found $10 in our recycling bin last night.

No; seriously, I found a $10 bill in our paper bin last night. And it's a good thing I found it, too. This is the first week of single-stream recycling in Marquette, the first week where you don't have to put out just papers or just plastics & metals. You can throw everything together. So instead of carefully going through the recycling I was just tossing everything into a bin, not really paying attention to what I was doing. When I brought it out to the curb, I noticed a strange looking orange-y piece of paper sticking out of the paper bin. I took a look, and lo and behold, there was a ten dollar bill, ready for me to grab.

See? It does pay to recycle.

Unlike many of these weird instances in my life, where a $10 bill might mysteriously appear in my life, I have a pretty good idea where this one came from. It was stuck to the grocery store receipt I tossed in the bin Saturday after getting back from the store. I believe what happened was the $10 was attached somehow to the receipt, and when I tossed the receipt into the bin I didn't notice the $10 bill stuck to it. It then became loose when I moved the bin around, and that's when I noticed it.

First, a buffalo nickel; now, a $10 bill. I suppose I should really start paying attention to the change I get, huh?

I'm serious. You'd think a normal, reasonably sane person would notice that they're missing a $10 bill, right? I mean, I always assumed that I would notice if I was missing a $10 bill. But nope. I can now say, with absolutely no pride at all, that I can throw a ten spot into the recycling bin and not even realize it.

I know. It's a gift.

The second thing is this—if I didn't recycle everything I could, I'd be out the ten bucks. If I didn't recycle I would've tossed the receipt and the money attached to it into the trash, and I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have been randomly moving or digging through the trash enough to cause the money to get loose from the receipt, which is how I noticed it in the first place. The $10 bill would've just gone out to the Marquette County Landfill, where it would've ended up getting mulched into a pulp so the paper could be re-used to put together, I dunno, more grocery store receipts.

Like I said, it was a stupid mistake that I made tossing it in the first place. But thanks to the fact that I recycle 90% of the stuff I use, I was able to find the $10 bill I mistakenly tossed in the first place. So if you are ever told that recycling doesn't pay...

That person is lying. Trust me on that!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/6

 I'd be a catch if I were single.

First of all, let me state this—I am not single. I have not been single for many years. I don't wish to be single again. I am not implying anything with this blog other than the facts about to be stated. So don't read anything into it other than the fact that if I were somehow to be single, I have two things going for me.

'Nuff said.

Now, my “weird fact” yesterday had to do with the two things people are looking for when on a dating website. We've all heard stories about how said sites are not always filled with, well, the best of catches. My single friends have often verified that fact. But there seem to be two things that are deal-breakers, at least for 88 percent of women and 75 % of men.

The biggest deal-breaker is personal hygiene. Apparently, if you post a picture of yourself in bad clothing, or looking like you haven't washed your hair in three weeks, that turns most people off.

Who knew, he says sarcastically.

The other? Bad grammar. Poor spelling and not knowing which there, their, or they're to use is a turn-off for both men and women, although more women than men. So if you find yourself on a dating website any time in the near future, you know what to avoid.

That's okay. You can thank me later.

Like I said at the beginning of this, I'm not single, nor do I have the desire to be single. But I'd like to think that I'm pretty good with my own personal hygiene. And I know how to construct a sentence like, say, “They're on their way there”. So if the world were to flip on its axis—or flip on its axis more than it already has in 2020—and I found myself needing the services of a dating website, I would hope that I would pass muster.

After all, it seems like it's hard being single these days. Who knew there was so much pressure to get everything absolutely right?? Any kind of head start a person can get, I guess, is a start well worth exploiting.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/5

 I got a Buffalo nickel for change over the weekend.

I don’t even remember where I was or what I bought, but when I got home Saturday I noticed I’d been given a Buffalo nickel. I saw it when I was going through my change; I usually keep the quarters, and put any pennies, nickels, & dimes into the big change thingee we have on the front desk at work, and when it gets filled I bring it across the street to Range Bank to do my little part to help out with the national coin shortage.

Only...does a Buffalo nickel still count? It IS a nickel, right?

Now, the only reason I know what a Buffalo nickel is is that, when I was a kid, I was into coin collecting for a little while (yes, my geekiness goes that far back, believe it or not). I used to have those blue books where you’d collect each kind of coin from each year, press them in the book, and then gaze at them, wondering why you couldn’t find a 1943 steel penny or an old Mercury dime.

Just think what I would’ve been like if I was a kid when state & national park quarters were issued!

Anyway, that’s how I know what a Buffalo nickel is. It’s the nickel they issued before Jefferson nickels (the current ones) came out in 1938. So I know my Buffalo nickel is at least 82 years old; unfortunately, because it’s so worn, I have no idea just HOW old it is.

In case you didn’t know, they grade coins on a scale that starts at uncirculated and goes down from there, depending upon how worn said coin is. Well, seeing as how I can’t even see the date the coin was minted, I’m guessing mine might be in the “Melt It Down For A Doorstop” grade, assuming, of course, they have a “Melt It Down For A Doorstop” grade.

Which I’m guessing they don’t.

Buffalo nickels were produced in the U.S. from 1913 to 1938, which means mine can’t be any older than (ironically) 107 years. The back of it’s in okay shape; I can see the buffalo and the “E Pluribus Unum”, among other things. But on the front of the coin the head of the Native American chief is almost gone, especially around his neck where, it appears, the minting date was stamped. I don’t feel bad, though; according to Wikipedia, most Buffalo nickels have the date worn off, so I guess I’m in good company!

And according to something else I found online, Buffalo nickels without a date have their value greatly decreased. I mean, there are some specimens of the coin that are worth $1,800; even average examples of the nickel are worth at least 35 cents. But with the date worn off?

Well, they’re worth about a nickel.

So I’m left to wonder just how this particular Buffalo nickel was given to me for change. Did someone accidentally pay for something with part of their coin collection? Did they know, but because the coin’s worth a nickel, decide to use it as a nickel? Or has it been a coin that’s been circulating among the general crowd for 8 or 9 decades now, and I’m the first person geeky enough to notice it, thereby taking it out of circulation and ending its mysterious 8 or 9 decade-long voyage?

I tell ya...some days, it’s dangerous to look in your pockets. It really is.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/2

 I think I've figured out why.

What have I figured out? Well, as you may know, every August & September I'm always on the prowl for sunflowers, so I can photograph them to use on our station's Facebook page. Over the years, I've discovered that if I include a picture in a post it gets more viewers, and that's why “Mr. Sunflower” is now a valued member of our staff.

Even if he's always hanging around outside and never in the office.

Anyway, I've been looking for sunflowers to photograph, and outside of a couple blocks of Pine Street I've noticed a marked decline of them around Marquette. Being curious, I did a little Google search, and found out that most sunflowers aren't perennials. You have to plant them. Specifically, you have to plant them in the spring—in April & May. And what were we all doing in April & May of this year?

Yup. 2020 is, apparently, to blame for the lack of sunflowers around town this year. Is there anything this year CAN'T ruin?

8-)

*****

Before I go, I have to wish my favorite sister in the whole wide world a happy birthday! Well, technically her birthday's not until tomorrow, but that's neither here nor there.

Happy birthday, Mel!!!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday. 10/1

 The set's still ready to go. It's the other part of it that's not.

If you read this yesterday you know that our first scheduled taping of “High School Bowl” for the season won't be happening this Friday. As it turns out, the second taping of the season, scheduled for the Friday after that, won't be happening, either. As of right now, we're still set to go on October 16^th with the shoot for the third show of the season, but we'll have to see how that turns out.

As to whether or not we'll make our first air date, currently set for November 7^th? If I were a betting person—and I'm not—I'd be tempted to lay money on both “yes” & “no”, just because I have no idea at this moment.

The shoots for this & next Friday were postponed because of the mind-numbingly high Covid rates in some UP counties (64 new cases in Delta County alone yesterday), and the facts that students from those counties were set to join us on campus. That led the Powers-That-Be at NMU, who've done an amazing job of keeping rates at the school as low as humanly possible, to request the delay.

And I really don't fault them for that at all.

The same thing's going on with high school football here in the UP. Schedules were set, and then schools have had to back out, leaving their opponents to find an other teams, also set adrift by the pandemic, to play, or to just bag the week. Some teams will end up playing six games during the truncated season, while other might be able to eke out one or two. It's not fair, but it is what it is, and it's a little bit of what we're having to deal with to get our little quiz show going.

By the way, have I mentioned that if people would just wear masks that we wouldn't have to deal with stuff like this?

8-)

The gang at Public TV 13 will be using the two week delay to put even more finishing touches on the new set and all the electronics that go along with it, so in the end the final result may be even spiffier than it could've been. Let's just hope that “the end” to which I was referring is two weeks away, and not two months, or two years.

Because with the way 2020's been going, you never know.

(jim@wmqt.com)