Lincolnite

Just some quick thoughts:

• Heineman in a landslide. Surprise surprise. If 75% isn't a mandate, I don't know what is.
• I knew Ben would beat Pete, but 65-35? That's an old-fashioned butt-womping. Makes one wonder how many voters voted against Pete rather than for Ben.
• Fortenberry got a scare early, but he has pulled away easily. Moul didn't seem to put up much of a fight (or maybe she was just overshadowed by the Pete/Ben race and I423). I think Fortenberry is beatable in the right circumstances.
• I'm a little surprised that Amendment 2 lost. Was there even any organized opposition?
• Damn, no video keno. I was really looking forward to being bombarded by flashy games. You're telling me I have to drive all the way to Iowa to spend my quarters?
• I love paper ballots. They're easy to use, they are tangible, and they don't crash.

I shot this video on Sunday:

I have been doing some freelance web development work over the past month, and I'm preparing to do even more over the winter during the soccer off-season. One of the projects I helped with just went live. I didn't do all that much work on the project, relatively speaking, but I'm excited anyway. Why? Because the site will probably be seen by a few hundred thousand visitors every month. The site in question is Power Line Blog's Power Line News. Like I said, my contributions were pretty small -- I chipped in about five hours worth of work -- but I'm proud to have helped the lead developer solve a few fairly big problems in that time. For example, I helped set up the system that fetches RSS feeds from other sites, and then automatically creates discussion forum threads based on the individual posts in those feeds. I don't know who came up with the idea to do that (the lead developer? the client?) but it's a cool idea that was fun to implement. I have really enjoyed the freelance work I have done so far, and I'm really looking forward to a huge upcoming project for a guy in San Francisco. I don't know where this road is taking me, but I'm sure enjoying the ride.

The City Council is considering passage of a new $27 million bond to help pay for Lincoln's streets. Lincoln's street financing gap is estimated at over $135 million, so this would make a small, but not inconsequential, dent. A smallish property tax increase may accompany the bond, should it pass. Lincoln has a long way to go to figure out how we're going to pay for all of our impending road financing obligations (not to mention all of the other items we would like to pay for), but this sounds like a reasonable way to start. I would love to hear if anybody has any better ideas. And before you say, "We should start by cutting spending!", let me say that in general I agree. But. Spending cuts alone won't get the job done. Not unless they are accompanied by a great plan to get the private sector to replace the services that get axed.

This is an odd topic, I know, but bear with me. The other day I was chatting with Lincoln expat DMB, and the topic of potlucks came up. He had attended a potluck supper in Imperial (waaaay out in Southwest Nebraska), so we were talking about the dishes he had eaten. To my dismay, most of the dishes I consider to be standard potluck fare were absent. Clearly a Lincoln potluck is different than an Imperial potluck, and presumably both are different than what you'd run into elsewhere in the country. So what dishes (or variants thereon) are all-but-required at a potluck in Lincoln? A few starters:

• Deviled eggs
• Jell-o with fruit (pears or bananas, usually)
• Tater tot casserole (hamburger, green beans, tater tots)
• Goulash (typically macaroni, hamburger, and a bland tomato sauce)
• Rice Krispy bars

What else should be on the list?

I have been addicted to my watch ever since I first started regularly wearing one as a kid. I'm not run by the clock by any means -- I'm notoriously inconsistent when it comes to getting places on time -- but I feel naked without a watch on my wrist. I don't realize just how often I look at my wrist until there's nothing there. So spending much of yesterday without a watch felt very strange indeed, but in a good way. Yesterday was a half work, half rest day. During the working hours it felt great to be driven not by a schedule, but by task-oriented goals. During the resting moments it was a relief to avoid constant "Only X more minutes..." reminders. Every time I looked at my wrist I saw only the long scar I got back in 9th grade when my friend Craig sliced me open with a mechanical pencil. I definitely couldn't get along without a watch most days. But perhaps I should make watchless weekends a regular occurrence. That might make for a nice change of pace.

Hey everybody, a little opinion poll here. Do you like the puzzles and games I post every now and then? Which do you like? Which could you do without? What kinds of puzzles and games haven't I done that you would like to see? I'm particularly interested in hearing from those of you who enjoy playing along, but who don't post answers (or guesses) in the comments. I enjoy making up puzzles and riddles and things, but they do take some time to create. I prefer to spend my time creating things y'all enjoy.

...72 consecutive political commercials. Ugh, nothing like political ad after political ad to take some of the sweetness out of the Husker victory today. They're bad enough when they come one at a time, but when they come three or four in a row, bleh! Only a few more days...only a few more days... Oh, and Go Big Red! I missed most of the game because I was reffing, but it sounds like we played decently. We're going to have to be on our toes in College Station next week. Anybody going to that game? If you do, be sure to hit Freebirds while you're in CS.

Here's a slightly different Friday Five. Five of my favorite String Beans songs:

1. Right Here in Nebraska - An instant classic
2. Bomp She Bomp - Robbie loved this one when he heard it at the Farmer's Market
3. Diggin' Dinosaurs - Roar!
4. Cat Hair - This is why I'm not a cat person
5. Here Comes the Bus - I sing this one pretty much every morning

(Links point to audio samples)

Find the synonym:

1. Holy Mother
2. Plate
3. Fusion School
4. Better Road
5. Brine Mongrels
6. Cash Dudez
7. Autumn Stream
8. Simian Tool Velocipedes
9. Summit Stash
10. Signal Knolls

As [url=http://lincolnite.com/forums/viewthread/4]reported in the forums[/url], Oso Burrito is planning a second location at 70th and Van Dorn. I've been checking up on their progress, and it sounds like they are on schedule for a mid-November opening. I've been hinting to them that I would be more than happy to help them kick the tires on the new place, but so far no invites for any pre-opening black tie soirees. I know that many of you are big Oso fans, so perhaps a meet-up is in order at the new location during opening week. Any takers?

There was a lot of complaining about the plan to re-do the intersections and streets around 56th, Cotner and O prior to it happening. The plan seemed, to many Lincolnites, too loopy (literally). In fact, some Lincolnites still complain, demanding that the more traditional intersections return. But let me ask you this: when was the last time traffic in the area backed up like it used to? I know I haven't seen awful traffic in the area in ages, and I have never heard anybody say "Boy, that 56th, Cotner and O area is a real bear at rush hour". It makes you wonder what other non-traditional traffic solutions we ought to be considering in traffic trouble spots.

Here's a question I've been pondering. Maybe it has an answer, maybe it doesn't. It's an honest question; it isn't sarcastic and it doesn't carry any hidden meaning. I'm really curious. Why do firefighters, as a group, have political clout? There aren't all that many of them, they don't have deep pockets, and their work has little to do with the political realm. And yet it was via pure political muscle that Lincoln firefighters took over ambulance responsibilities, and it was political power that allowed Mike Spadt to bully his way through the firetruck purchasing process. My first instinct was that it has something to do with firefighters' role as protectors and heroes. Heroes are virtuous, the virtuous earn our trust, and trust leads to power. Or something like that. But there has to be more to it. Much more, I think. Perhaps it's a historical remnant...? So there it is. When I'm driving down the street and I see a "Firefighters for Moul" sign, why should I care any more than if the sign said, say, "Librarians for Moul"?

Just a quick post to toss up some photos from last night:

I could be wrong, but I think history was made this morning. For the first time ever (as far as I'm aware), Lincolnite received a mention on the airwaves. Gary and Sue of Froggy 98.1 gave Lincolnite a shout-out on this morning's show. Thanks, Gary and Sue!