Lincolnite

Police Chief Tom Casady has a nice visualization of data comparing DWI cases before and after the bar closing time change from 1:00am to 2:00am. The short version, based on preliminary data: offenses have shifted later, as one would expect. Anyway, go give the post a look. These will be data to keep an eye on over the next year or so.

Did you ever notice that there are a few street signs that say "Pioneer Blvd" rather than "Pioneers Blvd"? I don't know what my point is. Considering how much I drive (and run) along the street I guess it has just always bugged me. It seems like there are fewer sans-s signs than there used to be. Perhaps they're slowly being replaced. Have you noticed any other situations like that around town?

It's a belated edition of Where in Lincoln today. Mr. T is globetrotting, so today's photo comes from guest WIL photographer Kevin. UPDATE: Zingo! andrew started things off quickly by posting the correct answer -- the Post Office at 13th and Calvert -- mere minutes after the photo went up. Good job, Andrew!

This wouldn't be a very good Lincoln-related blog if I didn't praise a few local businesses when they deserve it. Here are three cheers for three local outfits I've dealt with recently. First up is Simply the Best Autos on 46th and Cornhusker. We needed a reliable used minivan to haul around our three boys -- the back seat of the Sonata just wasn't cutting it any more, especially since two of the three are still in car seats. Thanks to a friend-of-a-friend recommendation I stopped by to see Robin Calcara. He gave me a great deal on the van as well as on my trade-in. The process was personal and informal. Simply the Best specializes in school cars, but they have a variety of vehicles to choose from. Next up is Overhead Door of Lincoln (466-3667). This was another business recommended to us. One of our torsion springs broke on our garage door. Somebody came out, made some recommendations, and put in a temporary fix until he could get the necessary parts. He came back about a week later and got it up and running in no time. The cost was right on target with what they told me (a bit lower, actually) and the process was quick and painless -- well, except for the chunk I took out of my finger when I first tried to diagnose the problem on my own. Finally a shout to Andy's Appliance Repair. Our dishwasher started causing us trouble. Not wanting to flood the house, I called in reinforcements. Clay tore apart the dishwasher but unfortunately all he was able to do was eliminate the dishwasher as the cause of the problem. (He also complimented our taste in dashwashers.) Although he couldn't go any farther without straying from "appliance repair" and into "plumbing", he narrowed down the location of the problem enough that I got up the courage to try tackling it on my own. I made a mess that required a shop-vac and five scented candles to overcome, but I did eventually find (and fix) the problem right where Clay told me it'd be. So thank you, local business folk!

This isn't related to Lincoln in any way, I'm just curious. I've asked this question of many people over the years and some of the responses have been very interesting. Santa doesn't drop by 625 Elm Street. We made the decision to ask for the bypass back when Robbie was a baby. Since that time Robbie has figured out on his own the difference between fact and fiction. This year things are a little trickier. We now have an 8 and a 3 year-old who came into our house with different expectations about His Jolliness. Nevertheless, we remain on the fat man's Do Not Call list. I have a feeling he may stop by grandma's house instead, grandmas being the way they are. So the question: does Santa stop by your humble abode?

Well, I know what I'm doing with my boys next September.

Well, not exactly. But you may see more advertising on public properties or at public events. It sounds icky at first blush, doesn't it? But hey, our world is slathered in advertisements already. Heck, you are probably covered in ads right now. (Quick, count the number of logos, brand names and so forth on your clothes.) Brewsky's Ballfield sounds better than 40th & Highway 2 Field anyway. For what it's worth, I've long felt that the bike path bridges over 14th, 27th, 48th, 84th, and Highway 2 (any others?) would be great spots for either advertising or for large murals. Or advertising disguised as large murals. If anybody uses that idea I want my commission. In barely-related news, the Journal Star used a horrible photo of Chris Beutler to illustrate this story: For how long has Lincoln been run by an Oompa Loompa? The resemblance is uncanny, at least on my non-color-corrected monitor. Orange skin aside, out of all the photos the LJS must have of Beutler, why would they ever choose that blurry mess? The mind boggles.

I surely can't be the only one who wants to buy this house and move it out to rural Lancaster County to reopen it as a bed and breakfast. I have $16 in my wallet and a little more in the bank. Think it'll be enough?

I delivered newspapers for several years. I began in fifth grade, delivering the Lincoln Journal on an afternoon route in my neighborhood. Eventually the Journal and Star merged and it became a morning route. I delivered in rain, sleet, snow, ice, hail, wind, heat, and a tornado warning or two. But I never did achieve my dream: Helping rescue somebody and being hailed as a hero in the newspaper. Oh well. There was always that one cat that thought I was pretty darn cool. I guess that's something.

I have a couple free tickets to Friday's 7pm Omaha Vipers game if anybody is interested.

So apparently bronchitis is going to be an annual tradition for me. I went through a nasty bout of it last October to kick things off. That round lasted about three weeks in total, it ruined a month's worth of soccer reffing, and I even threw out my back thanks to my coughing. This year my bronchitis symptoms began yesterday (with other symptoms starting Saturday). I wonder what this year's edition has in store! Ugh. Enough about me. How are you all doing? Families healthy? Jobs going well? Getting all packed up for a nice vacation?

Trader Joe's opened this weekend in SouthPointe. I didn't venture into the neighborhood, but what I hear from those who did is that the store was packed with people and pretty much empty of products. Lincolnites haven't been in this much of a food frenzy since Famous Dave's came to town. Did you make it to TJ's this weekend? Which was more entertaining, the shopping experience or people watching?

Mr. T treated me to breakfast at The Green Gateau yesterday morning. It was only my second trip to the restaurant, and frankly that seems like a big problem to me. The Green Gateau has a nice atmosphere and great food. Why don't I get there more often? I think the same can be asked of Lincolnites in general. The Green Gateau is almost never mentioned among Lincoln's notable restaurants. It seems most people know it's a respected establishment, yet it's quite easily overlooked. I know I forget about it pretty much all the time unless I happen to be driving up 10th Street. So far I've only tried breakfast at The Green Gateau. I'm going to make a commitment to try lunch and/or dinner as well. The menus look fantastic. Tell me your Green Gateau tales!

It's not often a Journal Star commenter gets a genuine chuckle out of me, but Richard D., you're my new hero. The Foster Care Review Board has released a new report saying, in short, that child welfare reform has gotten Nebraska exactly nowhere over the past ten months. (The report itself, as far as I can tell, isn't available anywhere online.) Todd Reckling, director of Children and Family Services, has something to say about that: