Lincolnite

A triplet is a set of three words having the same consonant sounds, but different vowel sounds. For example, given the clue A large container for collecting insects is a..., the answer would be BIG BUG BAG. Note that sounds are important, not letters. Try your hand at these triplets:

1. A piece performed by our Mayor is a...
2. The burial places for the police chief's caps are...
3. A conceited truck parked on V Street is a...
4. Peanut butter cup-eating competitions at a local grocery store might be called...
5. A noisy boy in the audience at a performing arts center is a...

[Note: Mr. T jumped in with answers before most of you had had your morning coffee, so don't look at the comments until you're ready. Also, feel free to chip in with your own triplets!]

This weekend is a biggie for Husker sports. There's the football team's trip to Kansas City, of course. I know I'll be watching that game. The only question is: from my couch, or from the stands? But to be honest, I would really prefer to grab tickets to the Coliseum as UNL hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Huskers take on American University on Friday, and either Winthrop or Northern Iowa on Saturday (assuming that the Huskers win on Friday, of course). If you managed to get your hands on tickets, you're a lucky sonuvagun. Go Big Red!

There will soon be a new coffee shop in Downtown Lincoln. Kopeli Coffee -- any relation to this guy? -- plans to open in January in the new building being constructed in the Amigo's parking lot. Does Downtown need another coffee shop? Well, no, probably not. But you've got to give Kopeli credit for an excellent location that should pick up a decent amount of University and drive-thru traffic.

Five movies filmed in Lincoln:

1. Airport (1970) -- "Mel Bakersfeld is the hard-charging manager of Lincoln International Airport, trying to keep his airport open despite a raging Midwestern snowstorm and an angry wife. Meanwhile, his antagonistic brother-in-law, Vernon Demerest, may have his plans for a placid layover in Italy disturbed by unexpected news from Gwen Meighen, and by the plans of the D.O. Guerrero, the loose cannon on board."
2. Terms of Endearment (1983) -- "Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways."
3. O Pioneers! (1992) (made for TV) -- "Alternately tragic and triumphant story of Alexandra Bergson's love of the sometimes unwelcoming farmland of the southern Nebraska plains. Captures well the quiet tone of Willa Cather's best work."
4. 7-Teen Sips (2000) (independent) -- "This laughably pretentious and tedious examination of teen angst comes from pro skateboarder-turned-filmmaker Stephen Berra, who claims to have mined the story for his feature debut from the experiences of actual young people he encountered while touring the heartland of America on the skating circuit."
5. About Schmidt (2002) -- "Warren Schmidt is forced to deal with an ambiguous future as he enters retirement. Soon after, his wife passes away and he must come to terms with his daughter's marriage to a man he does not care for and the failure that his life has become."

But clearly Lincoln's most famous screen time came by virtue of Tommy Lee. Wait, did I really just use "virtue" and "Tommy Lee" in the same sentence?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! In honor of the holiday, Neal sent in a special cartoon: (Click to see a larger version) What are you thankful for today?

I can't say much for the timing of the announcement -- who makes a big proposal right before a holiday weekend? -- but Chris Beutler's "New Roads to Good Jobs" plan is worth a look. NRGJ is a proposal to fund Lincoln's impending street needs (some $135 million worth) through sales taxes specially set aside within development districts on the city's edge. The districts would be like tax increment financing districts, but with sales tax revenue. Some quick thoughts:

• Awesome! The first big news of the election season is (1) an actual, honest-to-goodness plan, and (2) not an attack on another candidate's character. That makes me very, very happy.
• If the new sales taxes are all going to roads, what happens to the funding for all of the things that would have been funded by the sales taxes had they not been directed exclusively to roads? Beutler's comments so far seem to imply that he's using "free money". For example: "Tying those bonds to the sales tax created by new businesses allows the city to reap benefits without further burdening our taxpayers." Well, right. But the plan isn't costless. If the money is going into a pot for roads, it has to come out of a pot for something else. Whose pot is getting robbed?
• "New Roads to Good Jobs"? I don't like it. For one thing it has the distinct ring of politspeak. For another, it implies that the roads to good jobs will be primarily on the outskirts of town (or, heaven forbid, out of town). And the letters (NRGJ?!) don't even spell anything neat. But picking on the proposal's name is a minor quibble.

I enjoy creating games and puzzles here on Lincolnite and, as demonstrated by how many of you participated in Where's Wilson, many of you enjoy playing. But I know you would enjoy them even more if a prize of some sort awaited the winner. I have plans to supply a few prizes on my own dime for some games I would like to do, but since Lincolnite earns me exactly $0.00 every month (technically even less than that), the prizes won't be too exciting. If any of you own a local business or have the ability to offer a prize or two, I would be happy to give you a little free chatter here on the blog in exchange. And just as a teaser, I am working on a game that I think a lot of you will really enjoy. It's a Lincoln-themed version of a TV show you may have heard of. I even heard a rumor that Sean Connery might play along...

If the weather seemed a little warm in late September or early October, I know why. It was my fault. I don't remember exactly when I last used our grill, but it was around a month and a half or two months ago. (Too long!) When I pulled the chicken off the grill, I left the grill running. I usually leave it running for a couple minutes just in case The Missus -- who grew up with parents who, in the interest of food safety, burned everything to a crisp -- wants her stuff thrown back on the heat. Well, this time I forgot to turn it off until, oh, yesterday. Needless to say, the tank was very, very dry. Did I mention that the LP tank was full when I started cooking?

C'mon, folks, don't give up on finding me just yet! With four questions remaining, you know the following:

1. I'm not in a park or a building
2. I am in the Haymarket, and I am:
   • On or north of P Street
   • On or west of 7th Street
   • At the Train Station or its surrounding grounds
3. I'm not at the Farmer's Market
4. I can smell food or beverage

You have used 16 questions, so you have four remaining. (And remember, making a guess counts as a question!) Four questions is plenty to figure it out given what you know. So come on, Find Mr. Wilson!

As the title suggests, I'm all in favor of allowing Lincoln's billboards to go digital. I have seen digital billboards in other communities, so I have a few reactions to some of the concerns:

• They are too bright. Of the ones I have seen after dark, I wouldn't describe any as being obnoxiously bright. They aren't so bright that they are a hazard or annoyance while driving, and they certainly are not so bright that I wouldn't want one within a mile of my house. (Not that I would want one directly next to my house.)
• They are a distraction. Not much more than a regular billboard, and certainly no more than any of the thousands of other distractions on the road. I'm far more distracted by waiting for slow time and temperature signs to switch from celsius to farenheit while I drive by.
• They are obnoxious. I don't find them to be obnoxious. They could be, I suppose, but with the regulations Lincoln is currently considering, it would be tough.

The good news is, LES hasn't asked for a rate increase for next year. Last year's 4.5% rate increase, along with a group of new fees, has improved LES' bottom line. The bad news is, they will probably ask for one next year. One item worth discussion is LES' advertising budget. The Lincoln Employers Coalition wants it cut. The current advertising budget is $400,000, and it is mostly directed toward informational and educational advertising. (i.e. "Here's how you can save money on your electric bill...") Trying to pare down $400,000 in an almost $200 million budget seems a little silly, but I suppose the group figures it has to start somewhere. Fair enough. Still, spending less than $2 per Lincolnite for informational and educational advertising doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Perhaps what the Lincoln Employers Coalition needs to do to convince me is to speak in terms of what they would cut (and what they would leave), rather than in dollar figures. Then I could be a better judge. What's your take on it?

The leaves are falling off my oak trees. They aren't just trickling down, they're virtually gushing. That is good news. Not because I'm a fan of raking leaves; quite the opposite. Rather, it's good news, because this means I can get the leaves cleaned out of the gutters before mid-winter, when I have a tendency to put these things off. And that tends to result in clogged gutters come springtime, which results in a wet basement, which results in a very cranky Mr. Wilson. So here I am, sitting at the kitchen table -- oh, did I mention I took this week off work? -- watching leaves come pouring down. Each time one hits the ground, I let out a little cheer. Of course, I still have to go clean them up. Maybe tomorrow...

I call this game Where's Wilson? It's a very simple, Twenty Questions-style game. I am thinking of a place somewhere in Lincoln. Your task is to figure out where I am by asking questions. Here are the rules:

1. I will only respond to yes/no questions. Be sure your question can be answered with a simple yes or no.
2. Each person should only ask one question at a time. If a single person asks more than one question at a time, I will only answer one. (It is fine if several people at a time ask one question each.)
3. A guess ("Are you at 27th and A?") counts as a question
4. Please number the questions so that it is easy to follow along and see what questions have been asked.
5. You have twenty questions to figure out where I am.

Ask away!

Compare and contrast these three customer service experience The Missus, Robbie, and I had today: 1. We had photos taken today at a place that advertises that you'll be in and out with your photos in "about an hour". We have had photos taken there before, and we have been pleased in the past. Today, though, was different. Troubles began after the photo session was completed. We were told we could come back in 15 minutes to pick up our photos. Great! We hadn't had lunch yet, so we went and had a leisurely lunch. Lunch took about 30 minutes. When we went back for our photos, they weren't ready. They had had to "restock the machine", whatever that means. But we would have our photos "in about 15 minutes". Fine, we could wait 15 minutes. So 15 minutes later we went back. The photos weren't ready. We told them to give us what they had finished, and we would pick up the rest later. The woman went in the back to fetch our photos...and came back 10 minutes later, supposedly with our entire order. As we walked to our car, The Missus happened to look at the photos. The first one was great! So was the second one, except it wasn't a photo of any of us. We stormed back in, only to be brushed aside. Long story short (too late!) we left dissatisfied, angry, and frustrated. What would have prevented all of that frustration? If the woman had simply said, "I'm sorry, our machine is down right now and we're so busy I'm not sure how long it will take us to catch back up. I don't know how long it will take. Would you like to wait, or would you prefer to come back another time? I apologize for the trouble; please accept this coupon for free services on your next visit." Would that have been so difficult? 2. We spent a lot of time at Westfield Gateway today. The Missus and Robbie investigated the family lounge for the first time. The Missus was incredibly impressed. Comfortable chairs, private nursing booths, changing stations with individual Diaper Genies and heated wipes... In short, Gateway's family lounge is top notch. Two thumbs up for Westfield Gateway! 3. The Missus ran into a problem with a prescription at Hy-Vee. I'm fuzzy on the details, but the basic story is that it was a messy case of computer error, forcing the pharmacist to have to go back to the original paper copy of the prescription from over a year ago. But that isn't the story. The pharmacist was so concerned about getting things right that long after The Missus had left the store, the pharmacist (a) called the on-call doctor, (b) called the insurance company, and (c) called The Missus at home to let her know that all the loose ends were tied up. How's that for service? Now, is there really any question which businesses we will eagerly patronize in the future, and enthusiastically promote to our friends and family? I wonder how much extra business they will see as a result.

Here's a bit of big news out of 625 Elm Street: Robbie crawled! I just received a phone call from The Missus, and she said Robbie spontaneously began crawling across the living room. Granted, he made the trek in reverse (seriously), but crawling is crawling. That totally makes up for the fact that he has kept us up the past two nights for no particular reason (teething?). Way to go, Robert!