Lincolnite

Yikes, another D'Leon's, this one Downtown in the former Taco Bueno location? D'Leon's is ok, but I can't believe it's good enough to justify the speedy expansion we've seen across the city. I smell an inevitable crash and burn. Speaking of burnout, two commenters on that blog post note Boston Market's rapid expansion and retraction in Lincoln. I can't recall more than one Boston Market in Lincoln. Where were all the failed locations?

Where is everybody watching the game tonight? I can't decide if I want to just watch it on my dad's fancy-pants television, or if I want to be among the crowds -- and the ice -- at one of Lincoln's 19,282 sports bars. Knowing me I probably won't decide until this evening. Huskers in 3!

I ran across Wikipedia's lists of people from Lincoln, Nebraska (list 1, list 2) this morning. It is always as interesting to see who is not listed as it is to see whose name is present. Are there any people missing from the list who really ought to be there?

Hey, would you look at that? The stretch of O Street between 48th and 56th got some good news. According to Matt Olberding, Barnes and Noble is staying put. That's one nick against the rumor mill. Oh well, I've got to think it was the right decision for B&N. Gateway might have been a good move, but I'm not sure if Lincolnites would have made it work. With Barnes and Noble staying put and Staples coming to the area in a couple years, that big chunk of real estate east of 52nd Street could be pretty valuable. What would you put there, if you were a developer?

Two bits of food news from 70th and Van Dorn: First up, the restaurant formerly known as Brown Baggers is now called White or Wheat. I like the name; it reminds me of New Mexico's state question. I don't know what the connection is between WoW and the two other Brown Baggers in town, but I gather there isn't a lot of love there. Second, Oso Burrito has signs posted announcing that their new Tuesday special will be bison burgers. Burgers at Oso? Weirdness. Then again, this is the burrito joint that offers up a tasty bowl of mulligatawny, so who's to say burgers don't fit right in. There will be something like seven different varieties of burgers. Oso actually calls the meat "buffalo", but personally I prefer the less ambiguous term "bison". Otherwise it is impossible to tell if a "buffalo burger" means a burger made from bison meat, or a burger of unspecified source served with buffalo wing sauce. And don't forget what happens when you take buffalo way too far: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. For the sake of sentence diagrammers everywhere, call the critters bison!

I miss a few things about college. Not among them: final exams. Of course, final exams mean the semester is almost over. Semester break, combined with holiday vacations, will soon leave the UNL campus all but vacant and Downtown Lincoln sparsely populated. I hate to think about it, but I wonder if all the Downtown businesses will be there when the workers and students return. I get the impression that at least a few Downtown eateries, for example, are struggling. A couple weeks of significantly decreased business isn't going to do them any good. On a more positive note, today's snow has put me in a wonderful mood. The temperature could certainly be higher, but I love looking outside and seeing fresh snow. Drive and scoop / shovel / snowblow safely!

What's this? Another empty building on O Street between 48th and 56th? It looks that way, as apparently The Villager Motel has closed. That stretch of O Street is having a heck of a time. Maybe we ought to just bulldoze the whole thing and bring back Kool Krest under the banner of Champions Fun Center, Midtown Edition.

My wife's 2001 Chevy Prizm, which we lovingly called RUNRGAL (Runner Gal), has left the family. She was giving us too much attitude. I'm proud to say my nameless 1993 Tempo remains with us. RUNRGAL's place in the garage now belongs to a new 2009 Hyundai Sonata which we purchased from the good folks at Sid Dillon (just south of 27th and Pine Lake). I have been thinking about purchasing a Sonata for a couple months. Driving one sealed the deal. It's a lot of car for the money, even if you stick with the base configuration. Since this is a blog about Lincoln, and since Sid Dillon is a local dealer, you might wonder how they performed. I have never directly purchased a vehicle before, so my opinions on buying a car are based mostly on indirect experience. The experience at Sid Dillon was pleasant. It is obvious that the modern car-buying process has been researched from start to finish. Everything is designed to feel comfortable and friendly. They even had a train table for the kids which made Robbie an immediate fan. In fact, the only "unpleasant" part is the paperwork. I don't know how you make paperwork sexy. All the people we dealt with were fantastic, including Nick and Sherry. That's their job, of course, but it is important they do it well. They were extremely knowledgeable and, for the most part, open and honest. For example, Nick was pretty blunt about the quality of the base level Hyundai Tucson. (My advice after driving one: you'll want to spring for a few upgrades.) On the other hand, trying to get a car salesman to talk openly about money early in the process can be frustrating. Fortunately, I didn't have to haggle much once the money talk started. I knew going in how much the Prizm was worth as a trade, I knew roughly where the fair sale price range lie, and I knew what I was willing to pay each month. You've done your research, right? The next test for Sid Dillon is the quality of their on-going service. If their service department is as sharp as their sales department, we shouldn't have any problems. Oh, I should mention that if you do end up going to Sid Dillon and you buy a vehicle, be sure to drop my name. I'm not sure how it works -- it wasn't high on my list of questions -- but I know they do have a referral program of some sort.

Here's a little game for your Thursday. I'll give you the stuff on three consecutive corners of an intersection. You tell me what's on the fourth corner. Bonus points if you link to the Google Maps "Street View" of the fourth corner. Ready?

1. • Cars
   • Insurance
   • Education
   • ?
   
   
2. • Museum
   • Paper
   • Sculpture
   • ?
   
   
3. • Tobacco
   • Burrito
   • Home cookin'
   • ?
   
   
4. • Gas
   • Onion rings
   • Hardware
   • ?
   
   
5. • Pizza
   • Drugs
   • Groceries
   • ?
   
   

Nebraska's three Representatives voted no on the Big 3 automakers bailout plan. It's not really an issue that directly impacts Lincoln, but it's the sort of vote you should track and remember when election time rolls around. Personally, I am pleased with the unanimous chorus of nos from Nebraska. It's a refreshing, if hypocritical, change of pace from a state whose Congressmembers are rarely willing to say no to bailouts (often under a different name) for their own state's primary industry. The last polls I saw showed support for the Big 3 bailout at around 40%. Do you get the vibe that the support ratio is pretty similar in Lincoln? Are you pleased with our Congressmembers' vote?

Son of a cracker jack. In November our garage door opener died. It cost us over $250 to purchase and install a new one. A week ago our dishwasher died. Purchasing and installing our new Bosch cost about $500, after sales and rebates. Hopefully it gets installed soon. Just now the good folks at DuTeau called and gave us the worst news of all: RUNRGAL, our 2001 Chevy Prism, needs an heart engine transplant. Crapsicles. Now, my family has always said that bad news like this comes in threes. Family history has pretty much supported the claim. This is number 3. So we're done, right? Right? You may recall that I was somewhat excited a couple months back about the possibility of shopping for a new car. That's because I thought my car -- a 1993 Ford Tempo -- was dying. It was supposed to die. The decision to (a) put money into it, or (b) scrap it was very easy. But it didn't die. It's still going, just like all the other '93 Tempos you see around town. (There are a bunch!) The Prism was supposed to be our "good" car that would last us a few more years. I'm not prepared to decide whether it's worth throwing thousands of dollars at the car. *sigh* Anybody have a good car for sale at a great price? How 'bout a cheap engine for a 2001 Prism?

Buried in Deena Winter's column today is a quick bit of info that the City would love to spend $1 million in federal cash on sixteen new "digital message signs". Really? That's one of our transportation infrastructure priorities? I think we can do better. As far as I've been able to tell, the few message signs scattered around town do nothing. I have seen exactly one of them turned on exactly one time. Is it really worth $62k per sign to never use the things? The portable signs now often used throughout the city seem like a better deal. They can convey just as much information, but since they are portable they can be placed wherever they are most convenient. I like that they can be placed along parade and road race routes as needed, for example. I have also seen them strategically placed in specific neighborhoods to announce public meetings relevant to that area (i.e. upcoming sewer line work). If we do splurge for the unnecessary permanent signs, I hope we can at least put them to good use. I'm thinking Burma Shave ads for the morning commute.

It's official: the City of Lincoln is out over $5 million -- not including lost tax revenue -- and all we have to show for it are two damn parking lots. Catalyst One's death isn't much of a surprise, but it is a huge disappointment. It represents a tremendous failure of City government on par with the largest failures Lincoln has ever seen. This day is historic for all the wrong reasons. Lincolnites should be livid. This kind of misadventure is not acceptable. Millions of dollars are lost, businesses have been disrupted, and public confidence -- not something Lincolnites have an excess of -- will take a beating. Mayor Beutler had this to say:

The mayor’s job is to prioritize need and carefully assess the city’s capacity for new commitments. Lincoln’s taxpayers can be assured that I take that responsibility extremely seriously and will not let our dreams surpass our ability to responsibly finance them in light of such a challenging economy.

Those are timely words, considering one of Beutler's dreams is due to come to a vote in 2009.

Lincoln has crossed the line to buck fifty gas. The current lowest listed price is $1.47 for midgrade at Sam's on North 27th. The lowest price for regular -- my fuel of choice -- is $1.51 at the same location. Who knows, we may soon be able to drive like it's 1999.