Monday, 12/30

I wonder which way it'll turn out.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a few pictures from our non-winter winter last year...pictures like this--

Well, after a weekend which saw a lot of rain Saturday and a lot of fairly warm but cloudy conditions yesterday, here's what our “winter” this year now looks like in Marquette--

I know we said it would never happen again...but is it happening again?

It's already not like last year, in that we have had snow so far this year (unlike last year), but not a lot. And because of our Spring-like weather this past weekend what there was, at least here in the city of Marquette, is now pretty much gone. And that's not a good thing, what with ski races and sled dog races and all kinds of winter-related activities on the calendar the next six weeks. Will we have a repeat of last year when everything was either canceled or severely truncated?

I guess we'll be finding out soon. It's supposed to stay relatively warm the next few days, and then turn, from the looks of it, to more November-like weather as we head into January. So what that means for the Noquemanon, scheduled for three and a half weeks from today?

Mother Nature, I'm sure, will be quite clear in her intentions.

*****

Because of corporate holiday schedules I'm off both tomorrow and Wednesday, so we'll be back with something new on Thursday. In the meantime, have a Happy New Year. I hope 2025's good to you!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 12/27

Larger than life? Me? Really?

You sure you have the right person here?

I'm (finally) reading through some of the birthday greetings sent my way on Facebook a few weeks ago (have I mentioned I've been insanely busy recently?) and two people with whom I'm friends, from opposite ends of the country, mentioned a “larger than life” personality in describing me. While I admit I don't have the personality of a “normal” person, I don't know that I'd call it “larger than life”. Dorky, sure. Weird, perhaps. But “larger than life”?

I don't even think the Backstreet Boys would agree with that.

I mean, I guess I can see where they're coming from. I do things that “normal” people don't do; I do radio and TV and public speaking and all that stuff. But I don't know that that gives me a larger than life personality. Even when I do those things I'm low-key. I'm more observational than I am a “performer”. But that's because that's how I am in real life. No matter what I'm doing, what you see is what you get.

I'm just, you know, me. Doing what I do. Probably because I'm not that good at much of anything else.

It's funny; when I think of a “larger than life” personality I think of someone who's “on” at all times and who drives the world around them. That's not me. Like I said, I'm laid back. I notice things more than I drive things. I react, instead of instigate. I make the pithy little comments instead of the laugh out loud punchlines. That's just who I am. My public persona is exactly the same as my private persona, with the possible exception of me being a little better dressed when the “public” me is out there.

Yet, there are still some people who think I'm “larger than life”. I know they meant it as a compliment, and despite my whining I AM taking it that way. I just think they're running down the wrong path. I've known me a lot of years now, and the one thing that I would not call myself is “larger than life”. However, I've been wrong (many times) before, and I'm sure I'll be wrong again, so as far as this goes, who knows?

I just don't think I am.

Have a great weekend. Be larger than life yourself if the mood hits!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 12/26

Is there such a thing as “holiday hangover”? ‘Cuz if there is, I think I may be suffering from it.

When I woke up this morning I had a dickens (no holiday pun intended (well, not much)) of a time trying to get my you-know-what in gear. It’s usually hard for me to get up in the morning, but today was special. At first I thought it may just be the fact that I ate WAAAAAAAAAY too much on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day; but upon reflection I think I can say that scarfing down cookies, a whole bunch of Patitsio, cookies, a carrot or two, chocolate, and, uhm, more cookies isn’t the cause of my “hangover”. And since I don’t drink, I can safely say my “hangover” isn’t of the traditional variety, either.

So what is it? I think I’ve narrowed it down to one of two things. As those of you who read this on a daily basis know, I’ve had (even for me) an insane schedule the past few months. Maybe this “hangover” is just my body’s way of telling me “enough is enough”. Or, perhaps that “insanity” may just have added to effects caused by a hypothetical “holiday hangover”. You know...you spend an intense few days (or weeks) trying to get everything ready for Christmas, everything for which you’ve worked happens over a day or two, and then you’re left with this, oh, “void” in your life. You’ve spend so much energy on a certain goal for so long that you don’t know how to react once it’s over.

Maybe THAT’S a holiday hangover. If so, it might be similar to a “wedding” hangover, an “exam week” hangover, or a “let’s move into a new apartment/house” hangover. Your mind is so fixated on one event that it can’t let go once that event is over.

Hmm...you may like to know that something interesting just occurred. While I was writing about suffering from the effects of a “holiday hangover”, it seems to have started to go away. Maybe just talking through the problem has helped. Maybe I just needed to bounce the concept off of someone. If that’s the case, then, well, thanks for being my “therapist”.

I’ll stick your check in the mail tomorrow!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 12/23

I know I’ve written about this before, but when I was a VERY young kid (back in the 1800s), one of the first magical holiday moments I can remember is driving around in my parents’ car and listening to the radio. WDMJ was broadcasting a report from NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command), where they said they were tracking--by radar--Santa’s sleigh as it was leaving the North Pole. I’d listen to the reports as he flew closer, and it made me SO excited to know that Santa was on his way--TO MY HOUSE--that I probably couldn’t contain myself the rest of the day.

Like I said, it’s a memory that’s stuck in my head for a half century or so. And you know what? You can share that exact same experience with your child, if you’d like, this year. That’s right--we’re teaming up with Ferrell Gas to present those very same reports beginning tomorrow morning around 6 as Santa (if he’s on schedule) leaves the North Pole, and makes his way around the planet, ending up at his ultimate destination, Upper Michigan.

The reports are a little updated from when I was a kid. NORAD still uses radar to track Santa, but they’ve also added satellites and what they’re calling “SantaCams” to help in their task And that very technology also gives you a chance to follow the whole trip. Aside from listening to our reports, you can also track the Jolly ‘Ol Elf on the web as he makes his way worldwide. Just visit this website--

www.noradsanta.org

And you can follow him on his journey to visit all the good little girls and boys of planet Earth, especially those here in the U.P. Now, if THAT doesn’t put you in the holiday spirit, I don’t know what will!

*****

I'm off until Thursday, so I hope you have an amazing few days holiday days coming up. If you're bored, I'll give you something I give you pretty much each and every year. Here's the story of what Loraine and I do every single Christmas Eve. Just substitute “quiet couple Christmas Eve” for “Koski family Christmas Eve Celebration of Noise” and you're all set.

(http://jimkoski.blogspot.com/2012/12/before-we-go-over-to-my-sisters-for.html).

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 12/20

You know, I'm actually not ashamed to admit which Christmas song I've been listening to over & over this year. A little surprised, but not ashamed.

Every year around this time, it seems as if I mentally grab onto a song and listen to it over and over. As we both know, I listen to songs over & over quite a bit, but only once a year do I do that to holiday music. And while I have no idea how my brain happened to latch onto this particular song, I'm proud (?) to say that this year's winner of “The Song That Jim's Psyche Refused To Let Go Of, Holiday Edition” is...

Taylor Swift's “Christmas Tree Farm”?

Nope; I'm not quite sure why myself. I just know that about a week ago I woke up with the song running through my brain and since then it hasn't left. After listening to it dozens (if not hundreds) of times I' was trying to figure it out. I wondered if it was the optimistic lyrics or the sing-along chorus, but after those dozens of listens, I think I finally put my finger on it.

“Christmas Tree Farm” has been stuck in my brain because of the chimes.

I'm being serious. The chimes, which you might not even notice unless you listen to it dozens (if not hundreds) of times, are actually the backbone of the song. I realized that after I found myself air-chiming along, and each time I listen to it I seem to discover one or two hammer hits that I hadn't heard before.

So if I have to give credit to something for lodging the song in my brain, let's give credit to the chimes and whoever layered them into the backing track. After all, I'm usually air-drumming along to whatever song I listen to over and over again on repeat.

But air-chiming? I have to admit that's a first.

Here you go...get it stuck in your head, too--

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 12/19

Even though you think the difference is big, when you compare the pictures you realize it isn't.

Many of you may recall our non-winter winter last year, a winter where we had a whole 30-some inches of snow instead of our usual 120+ (almost half of that 30-some inches on one day). One year ago today we had no idea just HOW non-winter it would be, although we probably had an inkling when you look at some pictures I took on December 19^th, 2023, showing just HOW non-winter it was--

It was so non-winter, in fact, that on December 19^th I actually wore shorts to work-- 

THAT'S how non-winter it was.

So compared to last year, this winter is a return to normal, right? Well, it is, to an extent. We had a bunch of snow a few weeks ago, but as happens with an increasingly frequency as climate change wrecks havoc on us, it disappeared. Here's an example, starting with one of the pictures I took a year ago today--

And then a picture I shot yesterday of the exact same courtyard--

The sky this year is what we expect in December, but it you look closely the snowfall is not what you'd expect in December. Sure, it's more than it was a year ago, but then anything—literally just a flake of snow—would be more than we had last year. I don't know what that portends for the rest of this winter, but we'll see. I'm doubtful we'll have to have a debate about whether or not we'll have a white or green Christmas, but after last winter I don't think anything's off the table any more.

And the pictures I took a year ago today prove it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 12/18

Yesterday I talked about what I find when I'm walking here or there. Today I wanna talk about things I see when I'm walking here or there. Specifically, I wanna talk about one thing I see all the time--

Acceleratorists.

Pardon the made-up word “acceleratorist”, but I couldn't think of anything else to describe the people I see several times a day except “acceleratorist”. These are the drivers I see speeding up to a stop sign or a stop light, hammering their brakes before coming to a complete stop, then flooring it when they start again, continuing the cycle at the next stop light or stop sign.

“Acceleratorists”. It's what you get when you have a fetish for accelerator pedal. And that's how I came up with the word.

Now, I know I'm not a normal person, especially when it comes to driving, but I don't get what acceleratorists are doing. Why would I want to speed up to a stop sign, come to a complete stop, then speed up as fast as possible from a dead stop, only to come to a complete stop again in a few blocks when coming to another stop? I'm kind of sure it's not good on your car, I KNOW for sure it causes you to burn through gas a lot quicker than a smooth, steady acceleration, and I'm guessing that you save very few, if any, seconds in your day by doing it.

I just don't get it.

Ever since I've noticed people doing this, I've tried to see if there's a certain “type” that becomes an acceleratorist. But much to my surprise, I haven't been able to. It seems like every demographic subset is represented. I've seen men do it, I've seen women do it, I've seen people in small cars do it, and I've seen people in pickup trucks do it. I've seen people do it in the morning, during the day, and at night. There doesn't seem to be any defining characteristic to an acceleratorist.

They just seem to be everywhere.

Like I said before, I'm in no position to judge acceleratorists. I don't drive (much), and I have no idea why they're doing what they're doing. After all, they may have a good reason for it. All I know is that, on those rare occasions when I do drive, I don't drive like that. Of course, that's just me.

You know—the me who see things, and finds things, while I'm walking everywhere instead of driving.

(jim@wmqt.com)