Lincolnite

I've been stuck in a sour mood for the last few days -- and not without reason, but I'll go into the reasons later. Starting the week angry and frustrated isn't going to help me get anything done. I need to have some happy thoughts, or at least random non-negative thoughts. Let's try this: That frost this morning sure was pretty, wasn't it? I can't remember what that type of frost is called. Any amateur meteorologists out there? I love how it coats everything and makes the world look almost monochrome. Did any of you photographers grab some shots this morning? If so, I would love to see them. Speaking of cold weather, it sounds like we may be in for some trouble tonight and tomorrow. Personally, I prefer to enjoy the beauty of it all. Don't think of it as having to clear your sidewalks; think of it as an opportunity to get some much-needed exercise -- followed by the opportunity to enjoy a couple extra Christmas cookies with no guilt. The Peacock might open this week, sez the rumors. I don't know why I'm so interested in that place. I know virtually zero about it. But hey, it's food, and food is good, right? Most of you know by now that I'm a soccer referee. I have been for many years. I continue to be impressed by how much the adult soccer leagues in town have mellowed. There used to be ejections practically every game. Now, most of the players are out there for fun. And the ones who aren't get ostracized. I bring this up because it's indoor soccer season out at Abbott. So far I've been averaging only 4 or 5 fouls per 52 minute game. The players are out there having fun and taking care of themselves, so there just isn't much of a reason for a referee to intervene, even in the hotly-contested matches. If you're an adult who has thought about getting (back) into soccer, the atmosphere won't get much better than this for you to give it a try. A curious number of finches have been hanging out on my back patio lately. It's odd because there isn't really any food for them back there. Maybe the bricks get warmed by the sun or something. Makes me feel bad that I don't have a bird feeder. That carousel out at Gateway is awesome. I don't understand the payment system, though. Step 1: Hand $5 bill to woman behind desk. Step 2: Collect five $1 bills from woman. Step 3: Insert two $1 bills into machine. Step 4: Collect token from machine. Step 5: Hand token to the same woman from Step 1. Step 6: Get on Carousel. Doesn't it seem like a couple of those steps are unnecessary?

Does a person scoop snow off the driveway, or does he shovel it? Does he use a scoop to do it, or does he use a shovel?

I have begun to notice lately that Lincoln drivers could use a few more reminders to watch out for pedestrians. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody who has ever tried to cross a street on foot in this town. I began thinking about this problem (again) relatively recently with the closure of the bike path underpass at 48th and Highway 2. Bike path traffic is diverted up to the crosswalk. Unfortunately, it isn't one of the safer crosswalks in town. There are two major sources of potential problems: The first is southbound 48th Street traffic turning right (west) onto Highway 2. It's very easy for drivers to roll around the corner without stopping, and so they don't. The second is eastbound Highway 2 traffic turning left (north) onto 48th Street. Turning drivers are so focused on not getting plowed down by trucks on Highway 2, they very often don't look for pedestrians until they have already begun to turn. As a result, if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk, the vehicle is forced to either wait in the middle of Highway 2, or cut off the pedestrian. There are probably many ways to improve this situation, but the most simple is to post signs for the turning traffic. Something like "RIGHT TURNS YIELD TO PEDS". It's relatively cheap, it's easy to implement, and it's a direct reminder for every driver. Several intersections around town already have similar signs. Anecdotally, I've seen them work: a driver who is about to turn takes one more look and stops before getting himself in a jam. (I'm thinking specifically of a couple instances at 27th and Highway 2.) Quite a few more intersections could use a reminder sign or two. Which intersections can you think of? Can you think of any other quick, cheap, and easy ways to address the problem?

Late yesterday afternoon I stepped outside to take out the trash. On my way back in, I noticed something troubling. There was a large icicle hanging from the faucet near the front door. Crap. I went over to inspect it, and sure enough, it didn't look good. I've never seen an exploded water pipe and I really don't care to. The Missus called up Biggerstaffs and got an appointment for this morning between 9 and 11. Around 9:20 the truck pulled up. It took the guy some time, but he eventually got it fixed. Hopefully our basement ceiling is safe now. Knock on wood. So consider this a friendly reminder: go check your outdoor pipes to make sure they aren't leaking.

Thanks to Time Warner, I'm temporarily housed in my parents' basement. On Saturday, The Missus called to cancel basic cable. We had a six-month deal going and the six month mark was only days away. We probably would have extended our subscription had they offered to continue the deal, but they didn't. No complaints here; it's their lost revenue. Unfortunately, the young man who answered the phone at 8:01 a.m. on Saturday apparently was still hungover. As I found out during my 20-minute support call last night, he canceled our Road Runner service in addition to our television service. Grr. That wouldn't be a huge deal except for the fact that I work from home and I rely on that internet connection for my livelihood. At least the tech support guy and customer service lady I spoke with last night were helpful. So here I am, setting up office in the spot I used to sit and play Nintendo for hours on end. Funny, the basement used to seem so much bigger.

What can you say about the shooting in Omaha? There isn't much I can add to what everybody else has already said. Still, I feel like I should say something. You can't just ignore an event like this 50 miles up the road. First, I was a little surprised it took OPD 6 minutes to respond. Maybe that's actually not very long, but it feels like a long time. Not that it mattered in this case; it doesn't take very long to shoot 14 people in a mall. I just would have thought that at least a couple officers would have been closer than 6 minutes. Not that they're just going to go barging in the instant they get there... Second, several people being interviewed on TV yesterday said things like "I thought Omaha was a fairly safe place, but now I know it's terribly dangerous". That's naive in two respects. For one thing, Omaha is a big, growing city, with all of the problems that come with that. Anybody who was surprised that people die from violence in Omaha needs to pull his head out of the sand. It's also naive because mass shootings can and do happen anywhere. Big cities, small towns, malls, schools, parks ... This event wasn't really indicative of Omaha's overall safety any more than it would be indicative of McCook's overall safety had it happened there. Last, did any of you catch the racial faux pas that muddied early reports of the incident? Look for Omaha to have a discussion about that in the coming days.

Did you know that the Brown Baggers on 70th and Van Dorn is not the same as the Brown Baggers in the Haymarket? I learned that yesterday.

Robin Eschliman is getting a lot of buzz these days, but it's all the wrong kind. In the last couple days she has been called ignorant and told it's time to go to bed. She is quickly becoming known as "the negative one". Nobody likes a downer. Actually, that's not true. Lots of Lincolnites are down on Lincoln; lots of Americans are down on the U.S.; and so on. Maybe Ms. Eschliman is just catering to that segment of the population. It may not be a great way to sell the city, but it's a good way to get people riled up. But then she went and took it one step too far. Note to public figures: don't insult folks' charitable giving habits, and especially don't direct your insults at one vocal and powerful chunk of the population. And definitely don't imply that future contract negotiations will take charitable giving into account. Anyway, it's clear that Ms. Eschliman needs a hug. I can go one better. I'm going to give her a puppy.

Ahh yes, the satirical school newspaper. Hasn't everybody at least thought about starting one up? I did. Back in high school. We never made it to press with the first issue, though. Turns out, it's much more fun planning and thinking about those things than it is actually doing it. Does anybody know if any of the high schools or other colleges has a satirical newspaper these days? I love reading those things. Usually they're really, really bad, but occasionally you discover a writer who really has a knack for comedy.

To continue the comment experiments going on around here, now comments you haven't seen before will have a yellow (or yellowish) background. Yeah, it's kind of ugly. But these experiments are all just temporary. If I decide to keep the new comment system, I'll come up with some more attractive permanent styling.

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time coming up with much sympathy for a guy who gets plastered, ignores road blocks, walks off a cliff, and falls to the ground below. I don't wish anybody harm, but I'm not going to waste much energy feeling sorry for a drunk who does something stupid. That applies to all drunks, by the way, not just the homeless variety. I'm very unsympathetic toward those who can't handle the crap they put in their body. Nevertheless, now is as good a time as any to reevaluate the safety concerns surrounding the problem of two sides of the city being separated by uncrossable territory. Drunks aren't the only people who are walking from one side to the other, after all. Should there be more shuttles between the two sides? Should the city subsidize taxi service to get across the tracks? Should we set up a zipline from the top of the Capitol to West O? (I don't know how they'll get back.)

No, not Santa Claus. President Bush will be in Omaha tomorrow to campaign for soon-to-be-Senator Mike Johanns. I love the irony of the man Chuck Hagel considers to be among the worst presidents in history campaigning on behalf of the man who would replace Hagel in the Senate.

All you Star City Holiday Parade fans can rejoice: the parade is on for this weekend. Let's hope most of the participants are able to show up, and that the weather cooperates this time.

For all you south side Lincoln fans of Indian food - seems like The Peacock has yet to open, but is coming soon. The hoped for opening date is December 15, but it may be later. In the meantime, the neon light with The Peacock's name is still on, and the place looks almost ready for business.

Y'all are guinea pigs. I hope you don't mind. You might have already noticed a new "Reply to this comment" link accompanying each of the comments on this site. I went ahead and enabled threaded commenting (as I hinted I might). I don't know if I'll keep it around or not. If I do keep it around, you can count on some formatting and usability changes. What I would like from you, if you're so inclined, is to give it a test drive. If you happen to notice any glitches or see any error messages, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). If you can grab a screenshot of the glitch, even better. Happy commenting!