Lincolnite

Finally some good news at 48th & O: the city has helped to broker a deal that will put a Walgreens, West Gate Bank, Braeda, and Runza on the southeast corner of the troubled intersection. The city will pay $4.5 million to buy the property from Julius Misle, then sell it to the developers for around $4 million. The $500,000 difference is accounted for by a strip of land retained by the city that will act as a buffer between the development and abutting houses. On the one hand this development is a trifle disappointing. This new development will just help 48th & O to look like every other commercial development built in Lincoln in the past five years. In that regard this news is newsworthy only for its utter blandness. The fact remains, however, that the intersection of 48th & O is -- or was -- going nowhere. I may find it annoying that every strip mall in Lincoln looks the same and includes the same businesses, but that's no justification for considering this news as anything short of a success for the city. I'm sure neighboring Lincolnites will appreciate the convenience of new places to bank, buy convenience items and drugs, and eat. And surely we all agree that fresh development at the corner is better for the city than the stark, crumbling, empty parking lots currently found there. I wonder: who from the city was responsible for helping to assemble this deal? The article linked above doesn't say. Nor does the printed version of the story (which is slightly different). Was it Mayor Colleen Seng? Her photo accompanies the online article, but the only mention of her involvement is that "Mayor Coleen Seng said the $10 million project will bring life back to the area, which has deteriorated into vacant, crumbling expanses peppered with light poles." Does that mean that she was directly involved in t he deal, or was she on the sidelines? It is important that Lincolnites know what our mayor is up to. If Mayor Seng did play a critical role in the deal, we need to know so that we can praise her. And if she wasn't, why the heck not? Addendum: One thing about Mayor Seng's role is certain: she has made 48th & O a priority. She has sicced Urban Development and others upon the intersection. She deserves kudos for pushing the issue. I would just like to know how much her involvement went beyond that. I think there's an important difference between a mayor who pushes an issue indirectly ("You guys go fix this and report back to me when you're done"), versus one who leads the charge directly. My impression of Mayor Seng is that she more often uses the former technique than the latter. In my opinion she is passive to a fault. I'm curious, however, if she was more active in this particular situation. If so, I would like to give her the credit she is due.

Will Mayor Colleen Seng run for a second term? Should she? It may be early, but I've looked into my crystal ball and made a case.

Good news! Lincoln is now virtually crime-free! All of the murderers, rapists, burglars, robbers, and public urinators have been taken care of, so Police Chief Tom Casady wants to go after the next most severe threat to public safety: improperly registered vehicles parked on private property. Casady's proposal isn't exactly the end of civil liberties as we know them, but it does raise the question of how Casady knows that a given vehicle has actually been driven while improperly registered. My vehicle, for example, is parked in my driveway with improper license plates. (They expired in October; the new plates are sitting in the house, waiting ever-so-patiently to take their place on my car.) But my vehicle hasn't been driven since October. In other words, I haven't broken the law, nor do I plan to. Would Casady ticket me anyway, then place the burden of proof on me if I want to get the ticket rescinded in court, rather than keeping the burden of proof on the government, where it belongs?

The Journal Star apparently isn't capable of doing its own reporting, so its readers to come to the rescue. Which begs the question: for what purpose? The Journal Star had the opportunity to print a story on Saturday (the mall event occurred on Friday evening), and they did. If they wanted to run a more detailed article, they could have done so on Sunday. Why are they just now getting around to realizing that news happened nearly a week ago? Why was nobody from the Journal Star on the scene at what should have been a newsworthy event even without the chaos?

Dear Adobe, Thank you for making Adobe LifeCycle Designer 7.0. It's a swell product. With Designer I have been able to develop some incredible dynamic forms. I still have a lot to learn about the product, but so far I am very impressed. I do have one tiny little gripe, though: Designer likes to impersonate Windows 95. Designer's performance degrades the longer you use it, and every now and again it crashes for no particular reason. Designer especially enjoys crashing when I press CTRL+S. I nearly broke my keyboard this morning while venting in reaction to one of the three crashes I've experienced so far today. My co-workers probably think I have anger-management issues. Please fix this impressively powerful and frustratingly crappy software as soon as possible. Thank you. --Mr. Wilson

The Missus and I dropped by Krem Le Bistro this past weekend. It's a new restaurant located on the second floor of the Creamery Building, home of Ivanna Cone, Paint Yourself Silly, and a few other local shops. The Missus and I didn't eat at Krem, having just cleaned our plates at Lazlo's across the street. Instead, we just took a glance at the menu. We almost stopped in just for dessert -- the options were very tempting! -- but we were much too full. Krem offers a variety of sandwiches and a few heftier entrees. Prices ranged from about $6.00 to $15.00 or so; the sandwiches were especially affordable. Some quick impressions of Krem Le Bistro:

• I worry about the name. My first impression of the name was "Hmph, sounds like a snooty place with tiny portions and high prices." Not having eaten there yet I can't speak to the portion size, but the prices looked pretty reasonable. Will the name keep people from ever making it up the stairs to their front door to give them a fair shot?
• My first impression of the restaurant itself was much more positive. It looked cozy and warm inside, with a pianist performing some very nice pieces. It looked like a place I wouldn't mind spending some time in.
• The off-the-street location is a risk, but I think it can work out for them. Word of mouth will be key, which makes excellence in service and food quality throughout this first month especially critical.
• Krem can only increase Ivanna Cone's visibility and, by extension, their business. The same will be true for the other small businesses in the building.
• A quick glance at the menu seemed to offer options for most any diner. Carnivores, vegetarians, and, if I recall correctly, even vegans have some good options. (Don't trust me on the vegan thing; I may be remembering incorrectly.) The menu is not large, but it still seemed to offer some good choices.

nThe Missus and I may give Krem Le Bistro a try on this week's date night (Wednesday). We're going out with another couple, though, so we'll have to see what they're in the mood for.

This probably sounds odd, but I'm a little jealous of Omaha, what with all the cougars showing up around the area. Why can't we get a couple of those bad boys down here in Lincoln? Omaha gets cougars, and we get turkeys. Typical.

If you're a big fan of melodrama, check out Life in the Red. I have a really hard time not laughing at doomsday declarations like the ones found over there. They remind me of a teenage girl who finds a pimple on her nose on senior photo day. "My life is ooooover!" I wonder if the sports writers at the LJS are wearing black this week? Q: How many Husker offensive lineman does it take to stop a pass rush? A: I'll let you know the first time it happens. Did you hear about the new restaurant being opened by members of the Husker defensive line? It's a drive-thru. Please, somebody post some actual humor in the comments. This stuff is awful.

Hey hey, what do you know? The Republican Senate is actually going to cut spending. But only a little, and mainly in areas that affect the poor and elderly. That latter fact certainly won't do anything to improve the perception that Republicans only care about the wealthy. Part of me wants to celebrate this news. I mean, any spending cut is a good spending cut, right? To an extent, yes. But why pick on the poor and elderly first? Why not pick on Uncle Ted and other porkers? Of all the excess government spending out there, do Republicans really think that's the place to start? Besides, I thought the war on budget fat was over!

Note to self #1: stop kicking the power strip under my desk. Note to self #2: upon ignoring note to self #1, refrain from swearing loudly enough to draw attention from co-workers when the computer suddenly turns off.

Many of you will scoff, but I'm actually just a little bit excited about the Westfield Gateway makeover being unveiled at 5:30pm tonight. Some Lincolnites believe that Gateway is an anachronism, an outdated mall destined to fade into obscurity. I'm not so sure. I think Gateway can continue to be a relevant and powerful force among Lincoln's shopping venues. I'm very pleased with the resources Westfield has put into Gateway. When Westfield purchased Gateway several years ago I was wary. As it turns out, I needn't have been. Gateway's exterior looks better than it has in years. occupancy rates are up, and the likelihood of hearing somebody say "I'm going to Gateway this weekend" isn't nearly as remote -- or giggle-inducing -- as it was only a couple years ago. It's too early to say that Gateway is back. But from the perspective of the Lincoln shopper, it's nice to know that Southpointe is not the only quality shopping option.

My father and I are going to fire up the chain saw and put on our best lumberjack impressions tomorrow. Place your bets on the likelihood that:

1. One of us ends up in the hospital
2. We damage the roof of the house
3. We pull down a powerline

The Missus and I have pondered the fate of two trees since we first moved in. One is an evergreen bush-tree thing that sits right next to the driveway. It's too big for its britches, and The Missus likes to scrape her car with it every time she backs out of the garage. The other tree is some sort of 25 foot flowering thing with evil, evil roots. Roots from hell. Roots that extend in every direction just at the surface. Roots that literally reach up and grab your ankle, trying to snap it in two. I hate the tree with the evil roots, while The Missus hates the bush-tree. So we compromised: we're chopping them both down. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with the void we'll be left with, but we'll figure something out.

Hey, that Dilbert guy doesn't suck as bad as I thought! Scott Adams' blog is pretty dang funny.

What does Bush keep in his pockets? - CNN