Lincolnite

Apparently some people have been having troubles commenting here on Lincolnite. There has always been the occasional hiccup -- the odd comment gets labeled as spam for example -- but I get the feeling troubles have increased lately. And by "lately" I mean ... well, I'm not really sure what kind of timeline we're talking about. The past month, perhaps? Anyway, this post comes in reaction to an amusingly passive-aggressive note I received today. It ended:

Blockade your blog all you want. It is simply going to reduce feedback. I won't bother myself again.

I have no idea why this person didn't just email me a quick message like "Hey dude, your site won't take my comment. The error it gives me is [error]. What gives?" Some people just get their kicks from living in an irrational world where everyone is out to spite them, I suppose. Does anybody actually believe I solicit comments only to put up some sort of virtual "blockade" to forbid them? That would be a strange thing to do. Of course I'm not deliberately blockading Lincolnite from legitimate comments. However it may be true that I have unintentionally done more harm than good while trying to keep out spam. It happens. To see if that's true, I have turned off some spam-catching machinery behind the scenes. If you previously have had troubles commenting, please try now. If you haven't had troubles commenting, please try anyway. And if you never comment, please comment just to say hi. If you can't comment, drop me an email at mrwilson at lincolnite etcetera, or hit me on Twitter. You could try to catch me via Facebook, but that'll probably just get you ignored. Thanks folks, and sorry for the inconvenience (if any)! As for my emailer: passive-aggressive behavior is lame and I hope you knock it off, but I forgive you and I hope you stick around. I do sincerely apologize that you ran into troubles while commenting and I hope it didn't ruin your day.

I just saw this tweet from Jack Mitchell:

Tired of ESPN announcers & their rants? KLIN is syncing the #Huskers radio audio with the TV broadcast for the ISU game so can turn 'em down

I'm not necessarily anti-TV announcer, but I grew up listening to games on the radio so I've always had a soft spot for the medium. I could see a lot of Husker fans taking advantage of this.

Today is election day. Get out and vote, if you are so inclined. Don't forget to do your research before you head to the polls. Locally there are two City issues to keep in mind. The first would shift the City to a two-year budget, rather than the current annual budget. The practical effect on Lincolnites is nil, though the assumption is that it would free up some City employee time for other activities. The second issue is an $8.2 million stormwater bond. Lincolnites are generally asked to pass this sort of infrastructure issue every couple years, and generally voters approve. This year should be no different; love or hate local government, basic infrastructure is not something you refuse to fund. There are two state constitutional amendments on the ballot this year. Amendment 2 would abolish the State Treasurer's office. The pros say it'll save money to keep all of the Treasurer's functions inside the Department of Revenue; the cons say an elected official is more likely to be an effective check on wasteful activity. Amendment 1 is a no-brainer that would allow communities to fund economic development projects via means other than local sales and/or property taxes. Why would we not want communities to have more flexibility? I plan to vote later this morning. If I can find my polling place, that is. It hasn't been at the same location twice in a row for the past several elections. It's like voter whack-a-mole.

I made it through October alive! Last year I struggled with pneumonia throughout much of October. My coughing was so bad I pulled a muscle in my back. And yet for some reason I continued to try to referee soccer. It was not a pleasant month. In prior years I finished the month exhausted and burnt out thanks to a heavy reffing schedule. Call me superstitious, but this year I played it safe. I kept my reffing schedule light and I tried to pay attention to my health. And ... I made it through October! Woohoo! Best of all, I'm healthy and upbeat with nary a symptom of too-many-soccer-games-itis. It's a wonderful feeling. Now, please excuse me while I go knock on wood.

Seacrest Field is the place to be on Friday if you like high school football. Southeast hosts Millard West at 3:30pm, while Northeasts hosts Millard North at 7:30pm. The current forecast calls for clear skies but a high of only 48 degrees, so take a blanket or two.

Yesterday was Halloween, a holiday typically associated with eating candy. Yet by the end, only one of my kids had eaten any candy at all. Robbie ate a single, puny box of Junior Mints given to him by one of my cousins. Other than that, no candy. What kind of bizarre kids live at my house?!

Hickman has unveiled a nifty plan for what they're billing as a regional recreation and event complex. It's a fun, ambitious plan that includes sports fields, a golf course, and even ... a drive-in movie theater? There's a throwback for you. If you aren't familiar with Hickman, located about 15 minutes south of Lincoln on 68th Street, you may at least remember its most famous (former) resident, a horse named Peter Rabbit. Currently it's a small town approaching 2,000 residents, but with Lincoln's continued growth to the south, Hickman has been growing as well. The proposed complex is clearly intended to be a proactive move to give Hickman an advantage over other Lancaster County towns like Waverly. Speaking of proactivity, I've long been curious why Cortland hasn't more actively promoted itself similar to this. Cortland sits about halfway between Lincoln and Beatrice on Highway 77, a very convenient location on a nice, well-maintained highway. Hickman is much less convenient, relatively speaking. I suppose something similar could be said for Ceresco up north of town. In any event, it's nice to see that at least one area town isn't going to just sit back and watch Lincoln take over. I hope this project turns out well.

South 48th Street through College View opened up this week. The project isn't entirely finished, but at least traffic can now flow through the area. The street and streetscape have been significantly improved. There are left turn lanes and a center turn lane! They've been a long time coming. I'm a little disappointed that the city didn't gamble and install back-in angled parking, instead opting for traditional angled parking. I think it could have been a fun -- and potentially accident-preventing -- experiment. On the other hand, Lincolnites have trouble with traffic experiments so perhaps that would have ended in disaster. College View probably won't look completely refurbished until next year when the grass comes in, but for now at least many traffic problems have been addressed.

I don't know what Adam Hornung is smoking. Why oh why would he vote against the purchase of the Experian building? He complains that the ridiculously large space -- a mere 15 times what the City was shopping for -- is wasteful. Perhaps, but only in the eyes of somebody who lacks foresight. Mr. Hornung needs to think big. Mayor Beutler thinks big. That's how we know he's not just going to use the Experian building for City offices. Oh no! He has more in mind than that. Consider all the things that will fit into the leftover space:

• Bowling alley
• Roller rink
• Ice rink
• Skate park
• Miniature golf course
• Go-kart track
• Paintball arena
• Climbing wall
• Futsal fields
• Basketball/volleyball courts
• Racquetball courts
• Playground

...and there will still be room left over! Can you imagine how awesome this place is going to be? And yet Mr. Hornung wants to halt the building purchase in order to maintain "the integrity of the [bidding] process". Bah! *sigh* Bah indeed. The Experian building does seem like a "good" deal, but is it the best deal? We will never know since nobody else had a fair chance to offer up an alternative. The lesson going forward seems to be "Who cares what the City asks for, just throw everything at them and see what sticks". That can hardly be expected to be good for anybody. I wonder if this is a good chance to stop wasting a certain nice old building as simple storage space and instead put it to good use, perhaps on the private market, with its contents going to the Experian location.

It's Comprehensive Plan time again -- didn't we just do this?! -- as Lincoln and Lancaster County plot their future to 2040. The public will have plenty of opportunities to chime in, but for now the general question is which of three growth patterns we prefer. There's the Every-which-way Plan; the Go East, Young Man! Plan; and the Pack It In Plan. Not that we're stuck with whichever growth pattern we choose, of course. That's why it seems like every major project announcement in Lincoln is accompanied by a catch such as "the Comprehensive Plan will need to be modified to accommodate this project". And far more often than not it is, especially if the money is good. One thing I would like to see in this round of the Comprehensive Plan is a thorough examination of how intra-town travel will be improved. Specifically, I would like to see plans for solid north-south and east-west "throughways". Driving across town is difficult, as we all know, and traffic isn't exactly going to decrease if we add 100,000 people over the next couple decades. Having a couple prioritized routes in both dimensions across the city would be hugely helpful, if unpopular with folks along the routes. What are your goals with this round of comprehensive planning?

Apparently Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe [warning: Flash website + obnoxious autoplaying music] is open at Centennial Mall and O in the corner location that has been empty for ages. I know nothing about Pickleman's beyond what's on the website -- they're open until 2am, they serve sandwiches and pizza, and they're originally from Columbia, Missouri. If you happen to stop by, let us know what you think!

Yesterday I received a new card in the mail for one of my credit card accounts. As usual it required calling in to activate the card. The activation process is, of course, partially about security and partially about trying to get me to sign up for additional services or card features. When I called last night I ended up on the line with a particularly friendly young man who did a nice job making his script seem less, well, scripted. Near the end he tried to sell me on a card upgrade. (A Visa "Signature" card, ooooh!) At that point he apparently had a lot of freedom to deviate from the script. Unfortunately for him it didn't go so well. You see, apparently his elementary school teachers didn't spend much time on the American geography portion of the curriculum. While trying to hype the card upgrade, he suddenly asked, "So how is New England today?" "Uhh, what?" I awkwardly responded. "I see you are from New England. How is the weather there today?" At that point it dawned on me what he was talking about. On his computer screen it said I was from NE. That's New England, one of the fourteen original colonies. From then on I let him keep asking me about the state of New England, while all my answers were about Nebraska. It made for a bizarre conversation and I had a heck of a time not laughing. Boy, did he sure try hard to relate to me in the great state of New England. In the end I had to break the news to him that I had no interest in the fancy new card he tried to sell me. He was disappointed -- I think he thought I was a sure check on his quota sheet -- but friendly to the end. At least now he knows that New England is a damn fine place to live. Perhaps one day he'll come to visit.

Technically the JPA could still say no, but for all intents and purposes the Haymarket land that will one day host an arena is now in our hands. Any environmental problems in the area are now ours. Cross your fingers.