Latest Blog Posts
Serving Deuel is “a Real Honor”
As reported by a news channel in Mason City, IA, it appears that Pat’s legend continues to grow nationwide:
Adam Sodersten
MASON CITY, Iowa (KIMT)
A man that’s drawing national attention has a tie to a business in our area.
Nebraska resident Patrick Deuel recently made headlines after he slimmed his weight from over 1,000 pounds to around 600 pounds.
Mason City’s Pat Holt owns a big and tall store. Now, Deuel is buying all of his clothes from Holt.
“He found me on the Internet and it’s been a real honor serving him. I mean it’s great. I feel like I’ve really accomplished something when I can source things out for those people with those hard to find sizes,” comments Mountain Clothiers owner Pat Holt.
For Deuel, that hard to find size was a 10XL available right here in Mason City.
Our dedicated research staff will continue to cover this issue and bring you all the news on Pat in Deuel Watch.
Deuel: Valentine’s Day Accomplishment
As we reported earlier in Deuel Watch, Pat fulfilled a promise to his wife Edith by taking her out for a short walk on cupid’s day. Now, the Omaha Channel has reported that Edith too will have a similar operation to control her own obesity problem:
VALENTINE, Neb.—Patrick Deuel is back home in Valentine, fulfilling the request from his wife to take a walk with her by Valentine’s Day.
While that may not seem like much to most people, to Deuel, it is an accomplishment. He made good on his promise with a short walk Sunday.
Deuel was hospitalized last summer weighing 1,072 pounds. Diet and gastric bypass surgery helped him lose 610 pounds. His goal is to get down to 240 pounds—a weight he hasn’t seen since he was in the sixth grade.
His wife, Edith, also struggles with weight and said she too will have the stomach-restricting surgery. She said her husband’s doctor said it would be to her advantage to have the surgery to help them both change their eating habits.
Our research staff will continue to keep you up to date on the latest Pat Deuel news.
Media Bias in Action
This is a pretty minor example of media bias, but one paragraph in this article caught my eye:
While many parents criticized the badges for violating privacy and possibly endangering children’s health, some parents supported the plan. [emphasis added]
Did you notice it? The article’s author is obviously against the badges, and he wants you to think he’s in the majority. He (she? it?) used the word “many” to describe parents critical of the badges, but “some” to describe the parents in support of the plan. “Many” typically implies a greater number than “some.”
That wouldn’t be a problem, of course, if the author quantified “many” and “some.” He doesn’t. Not only does the author not give any numbers, he doesn’t give the reader any reason to suggest that he has even the slightest idea which side has more supporters. All we know from the article is that Dawn Cantrall is one of the “many,” while Mary Brower is one of the “some.” Looks like a 50/50 split, to me.
Like I said, this is a pretty minor nit to pick. Still, it’s enough to get me to add a new category to the blog: Media Watch.
Annexation for Taxation
Today’s editorial in the Lincoln Journal Star makes a good point: Lincoln stands to lose if it annexes State Fair Park solely for the purpose of imposing the city’s sales tax on the property. How much Lincoln will lose—and whether those losses are greater than or less than potential gains—is debateable. Clearly, though, annexation solely for taxation is lame. It is desperate.
The editorial raises an issue that I have harped on before: Lincoln is desperate for cash. In this case the amount is $200,000 annually. The city’s (proposed) solution? Annoy the state’s citizens and leaders. That hardly seems a sustainable or sensible solution. For other (relatively) small cash needs the city has resorted, fairly successfully, to begging. Begging funded the Sunken Gardens renovation, and begging is fueling the Lincoln Cares program. Begging may be uncouth, but it has worked. But again, begging is unsustainable. Beggars are eventually brushed aside.
Nor will begging fund Lincoln’s larger, and more pressing, needs. Infrastructure improvements, the South and East Beltways, the Antelope Valley Project, and Downtown revitalization efforts will cost billions of dollars in public and private funds. (The first stage of the Antelope Valley Project alone is projected to require a $1 billion investment, including $240 million in public funds.) Where will that money come from? Do Lincolnites and Lincoln have those resources above and beyond the status quo?
Not a single Lincolnite has stepped forward with a solid, sustainable, and promising plan to address the discreprency between Lincoln’s needs (solid infrastructure, good schools) and Lincoln’s wants (a pretty creek bed, a Downtown park). Certainly Lincoln’s leaders [sic] have done little to quell Lincolnites’ unease
about the future. I don’t have a solution, and therefore I urge restraint and fiscal responsibility. Lincoln’s civic leaders [sic] don’t have a solution, and yet they are pushing forward with obstinance and unsupported confidence. If I’m proven wrong I will have been guilty of being overly cautious. If the city council, Mayor Seng, et al. are wrong, they will have robbed Lincolnites of hundreds of millions of dollars pursuing fanciful dreams only loosely linked to reality.
I hope their dreams come true. I really do. But to date they have given me little reason to join in their merry crusade.
Firefox Go Boom
Firefox just crashed! That’s only the second time that has happened to me. This time, as last time, there was no apparent cause.
Only 6,346 more times until it surpasses IE’s total. When that happens I will gladly switch to IE.
(I almost wrote “I will gladly switch back to IE.” Then I remembered that I have never used IE as my primary browser. I have used it at a couple workplaces because I had to—which is where I learned to love to hate it—but I have never used it if given a choice. I used Netscape through versions 3 and 4, tried the absolutely horrible version 6 for about 2 days, switched back to 4.somethinerother, used Opera for a week, moved to Netscape 7, and then hopped on the Firefox [then Firebird] bandwagon at version .7. I’ll try IE7 when it comes out because hey, if it’s better than the rest I’m not going to spite it in favor of some crappier product. I suspect I won’t have to worry about falling out of love with Firefox, though.)
LJS Peddling Mail-Order Brides
Is it just me, or does this LJS headline look a lot like an spam advertisement from a mail-order bride company?
Just Deuel It!
Along with Warren Buffet and Chuck Hagel, Patrick Deuel has recently joined the ranks of Nebraskans who have made national headlines lately. Deuel is a former restaurant manager from Valentine, Nebraska, who underwent gastric bypass surgery recently after being hospitalized at a whopping 1,072 pounds. Deuel has since lost hundreds of pounds, and as reported by the AP, went on a Valentine’s Day stroll with his wife yesterday:
VALENTINE, Neb. (AP) - Patrick Deuel, who eight months ago weighed more than 1,000 pounds, fulfilled a promise and took his wife on a Valentine’s Day walk.
Deuel, who has lost more than 400 pounds since June, promised to take his wife, Edith, on a Valentine’s Day walk in their hometown of Valentine.
‘‘That’s too many Valentines not to do it,’’ Deuel said.
The couple stepped out of their house Monday afternoon and walked about 25 feet.
Deuel said it had been eight years since he was able to walk with Edith on the holiday.
We will be keeping track of Pat’s progress and post frequent updates in Deuel Watch.
Big News From Bill
Huge news from Bill Gates: Microsoft will release Internet Explorer 7 before releasing the next version of Windows (codename Longhorn), in stark contrast with Microsoft’s original, longstanding plan. Why is this huge news? It’s huge for two reasons. First, if folks adopt IE7 quickly, website designers will (hopefully) be able to begin phasing out some of the hacks necessary to get websites to display properply in IE. Current versions of IE are filled with bugs and they don’t adhere well to standards of website design. Second, it demonstrates just how frightened Microsoft is of Firefox, Opera, and other “alternative” web browsers. Microsoft doesn’t scare easily, so the move to release IE7 is an indication that they fear their monopoly is threatened.
Oh, and this also proves that Microsoft is aware that IE is currently a steaming pile of horse crap.
The makers of Firefox and Opera, et al., will need to react smartly and quickly to this news. Expect new versions of all the “alternative” browsers, and maybe even a substantial media push, before IE7 is released.
Something to be proud of
Lincoln isn’t the only place with a smoking ban. In fact, communist dictatorships everywhere are getting into the act!
What Is Mr. Wilson?
Just recently learned about this story developing out of my old alma mater, the University of Iowa College of Law - Is a blogger a journalist? Over to the courts….
The Blogs
-
The blog that covers everything Lincoln
-
The home of the Wilsons
-
In which Mr. T mutters and muses
-
Local and national sports chatter
The Blogroll
The Archives
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004