Lincolnite

My mom likes to send Robert cards for all sorts of occasions, and she also likes to include a buck or two for his piggy bank. Inside his Halloween card was a crisp two-dollar bill. Here's Robert saying thanks: You're watching history in this video, by the way. The video captures the first time Robbie said "thank you".

I took this photo today while The Missus and Robbie prepared to go to the grocery store.

A few weeks ago, we had to summon an ambulance to a soccer field because a player was knocked unconscious after a free kick (from his own teammate!) smacked him in the head. Fortunately he came to, and his parents opted to refuse an ambulance transport to the hospital. Hopefully they took him on their own. Last night we had to summon an ambulance again, this time for a broken leg. I didn't see it -- I was on the far side of the field -- but apparently it snapped like a twig. The break wasn't associated with a foul or anything. Nobody seems to have seen it clearly, but one guess is that he may have caught his toe on the turf while kicking the ball. In any event, that's two. If it's true that bad things come in threes, there remains one more ambulance to be summoned this season. But bad news, folks: I only have four more matches on my calendar right now (plus the potential for one or two post-season matches), so if you see me on your game, it could be you. Or heck, it could be me. Time to check up on that referee insurance...

Downtown Lincoln Association president Polly McMullen is headed back to San Francisco after 10 years in Lincoln. Under McMullen's leadership the DLA has been an active and powerful force in shaping policy and development decisions in and around the downtown area. Ms. McMullen deserves a lot of credit for her hard work and dedication to her task.

I can't believe it took us eons to get our first Wal-Mart, and now, by 2009, we may have four. At least the fourth store -- proposed at Highway 77 and Warlick Boulevard -- shouldn't see as much opposition as the third at 84th and Adams.

Good ol' Bertram Goodhue has been in the news a lot lately. First he gets a street named after him, and now one of his star creations, the Nebraska State Capitol, has ranked as the 67th favorite piece of architecture by the American Institute of Architects. See the full list (PDF). Hat tip: KLIN News.

Apparently some LJS staffer caught The Holy Grail on television recently and they were just dying to squeeze a black knight joke into a story. Well, maybe I'm just reading too much into the wording. Could be. But I prefer the Monty Python angle.

The Board of Education meets today to decide the fate of Hawthorne and Dawes. What's your druthers? What's your prediction? I think Hawthorne's fate is clear: it will close as an elementary school and be reused for another educational purpose. My guess is it will eventually house the Bryan Community, and perhaps other programs like the vocational assessment center. As far as I've been able to determine, those sound like good uses for the building. The confusion swirling around the closing of Dawes makes that school's future uncertain. That is why I cannot support the school's closure at this time. The status quo may not be perfect, but at least it's a known quantity. School Board members are still far too wishy-washy on Dawes for me to trust them to close the school without unexpected long- (or even short-) term consequences.

I heard a rumor that Manila Bay has reopened Downtown near Kuhl's. Can any of you Downtown regulars help confirm that?

Had an opportunity to eat at El Rancho (27th and O st.) last week, and also met the family which owns it, who relocated from Los Angeles to Lincoln a few years ago. Although El Rancho offers the usual lunch special suspects, we opted to try some of the specials. The son recommended the Arrachera Poblana (grilled steak smothered with cheese and mild peppers) and Pollo Estilo Norteño (strips of grilled chicken breast with peppers, mushrooms, and tortillas – pictured above). How was the food? I will let this drool-worthy photo speak for itself. We left El Rancho absolutely stuffed and barely able to walk through the parking lot. Great food, friendly service, and nice atmosphere. I will definitely be going back.

KFOR's annual Best of Lincoln supplement is in the print copy of today's Journal Star. Sorry paper-phobic folks; KFOR hasn't yet joined the 21st Century, so no online version for you. Although a Best of Lincoln designation makes for great advertising, the awards are really more about name-recognition and absolute number of customers than quality, value, and service. Every year some categories are right on, while others seem laughably out-of-whack. Half the fun of looking through the supplement is judging for yourself how screwy your friends' and neighbors' tastes really are. Just one example: in "Fast Food", Burger King placed third. Really, Lincoln? Out of all of the fast food options in town, Burger King is the third best? I find that difficult to swallow. Anyway, for those of you who are willing to risk a paper cut to see which local companies you and your neighbors voted "best" in Lincoln, which categories' winners look right this year? Which look out of whack? Share your thoughts in the comments.

I went to the Devaney Center this afternoon to watch the Huskers dismantle Hawaii. It was a great atmosphere to be a part of, and I'm proud to say I was one of the 13,396 fans to break the NCAA regular season volleyball attendance record. Woohoo! While there, I noticed two things that I really like about the Devaney Center. First, the concession stands, though inadequate in number, are intelligently positioned so that the lines go away from walking areas. Contrast that with the situation at Qwest Center Omaha. The designer of that facility should have his body hairs plucked one-by-one as penance for being stupid enough to think that the same space can act as both a walkway and a place for lines to form. Second, despite the facility being at near-capacity, we made it from the second-to-last row to the front door in mere minutes. No frustrating waiting in my seat or on the stairs means I leave happier -- and thus more likely to return. I also liked my comfy bench. I had plenty of butt room and plenty of leg room, and moving people through the rows was relatively easy. Try saying that about the seating in a modern arena. Unfortunately, I know any new arena in Lincoln will have crappy plastic seats that pinch your butt and offer zero legroom. That makes me think of a great way to sell advertising in the new arena. Forget naming rights, typically one of the easiest ways to raise cash for a facility. Instead, sell the rights to this phrase: The four inches of extra legroom in Lincoln's Arena are brought to you by [some company]. I would patronize the heck out of that company.

What are your favorite Halloween-related events around town? I haven't really been into Halloween for a few years, so I'm behind the times. A couple old reliables:

• Boo at the Zoo. A classic at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.
• Lincoln Children's Museum's Halloween Hurrah.
• Roca Berry Scary Farm. When I was a kid we always got our pumpkins from Roca.
• Trick-or-treating at Westfield Gateway. My sister takes her kids to the mall every year.

Those are mostly events for young kids. Any to add to the list? What are the best events for older kids and adults?

I didn't realize anybody was seriously considering turning I-80 between Lincoln and Omaha into a toll road. Apparently it's a big enough threat that Lee Terry feels the need to legislate against it. He says states shouldn't be able to charge tolls on roads already built with federal dollars. Personally, I think tolls are a great way to get money directly from the people who use a service. Who better to pay for maintenance and improvements on roads than the roads' users? Of course, it would be easy to take the next step of using tolls to pay for all sorts of other projects. The Lincoln Arena funded by I-80 travelers, anyone?