Lincolnite

Why is there a $0.15 premium on gasoline on the south side of town compared to the north? Is there some hidden tax on south-siders that I'm not aware of?

In case you missed it, the Journal Star endorsed Chris Beutler for Mayor over Ken Svoboda. Unfortunately, the endorsement doesn't contrast the two candidates to give us a better feel for why the LJS made the decision it did. (Not that I would expect it to; endorsements typically just focus on the one being endorsed.) With just one week to go, have you made your decision? Will you vote for the Yalie or the Husker? The outsider (uhh...sort of) or the insider? The D or the R?

It seems that Boston's free wi-fi network doesn't like BoingBoing. Well, that's not entirely true: as it turns out, the filter software Boston is using just got a little twitchy because of a single URL. Still, it raises some good questions about the extent to which municipal internet services can or should censor the content served over the network. If Lincoln were to go wireless (or wired via LES), these sorts of things will inevitably come up. For the record, I'm in favor of zero content blockage. I wonder if the system would have to have a maximum upload/download limit per user, though? That seems reasonable.

I'm starting to think that the Lincoln East soccer teams are going to ask that I never again referee one of their matches. In the past three years, I have been the center referee in four games that ended in East being upset (two boys matches, two girls matches). The boys team was the latest victim of the Wilson curse when they fell to Kearney 3-0 yesterday. The girls team also lost yesterday, to North Platte, but I had nothing to do with that game. The boys game was a very fun match to be a part of. It featured two very talented teams, both of whom should have a chance to work their way through the state tournament in a couple weeks. It was a clean, hard-fought match, and the players kept it clean throughout almost without exception. Best of all, it was the sort of game where I was pretty much able to stay out of the way. I only called four or five fouls in the first half, and I think I ended up below twenty for the game. The final score looks a bit like a blowout, but don't read too much into it. As far as I could tell the two teams were pretty evenly matched. Kearney won yesterday, and they earned the victory. But if those two teams were to play ten times this season, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they went 5-5. Unfortunately, the Journal Star once again missed out on covering a good game. For that matter, they didn't cover any local high school soccer matches yesterday. I didn't see any TV cameras either. Bummer. It seems weird that next week is already District Tournament time. Before then, I'll be a part of three more big-time matches this week, each one of which could have serious implications for the participating teams' seasons. Then next week I have accepted contracts for six District matches, including a center on a final. After that, I'm hoping that my assessments from the regular season and District Tournament are enough to get me some matches at the State Tournament. And as always, I would love to get a center on a State final. I came close last year, but no dice. Will this be the year?

This is just a lame "sorry for the lack of posts today" post. I pulled an all-nighter last night doing some freelance work. I may have some time to post something over lunch. In the mean time, anybody have a Friday Five they want to share?

Susan Ames Rivers of Raymond wrote to the Journal Star with a nice story:

On March 30 at 8:20 (think rush hour traffic), I witnessed an amazing event. I was at a service station getting gas when a Mountain Dew delivery truck lost several cases of pop off the back of his truck. They were scattered all across Ninth and Q streets. In many places, people may have just chuckled to themselves and kept in their own business, but not here -- not in Nebraska. There were at least 10 people who stopped, ran a block down the street even, just to help this guy out. There were businessmen and women, my service station guy and even a couple of Department of Roads guys who came to his aid. The Department of Roads guys even parked their truck to deter traffic. It was such a cool sight to see, I was almost moved to tears, seriously.

Don't you feel all tingly inside now? Like Susan, I get a kick out of seeing things like this. And thanks to my dad's good example while I was growing up, I get a kick out of participating in these things, too. (Thanks, dad!) I don't know if Nebraskans are more or less likely than anyone else to help out in these situations, but it doesn't really matter, does it? All that really matters is that we help out when we can. I have to laugh at the thought of the incident happening closer to campus. I can see a horde of students in a frenzy, each of them thinking "Screw altruism, I see FREE CAFFEINE!"

The Missus, Robbie and I must look very approachable. After our dinner at Lazlo's last night we grabbed some ice cream at Ivanna Cone, and then we headed for the small park north of the Train Station where we sat in front of the brick mural. We must have looked picturesque because a woman asked if she could take our photograph. Well, sort of. She asked if we would mind being in the background of a photo she was taking for her nephew's Flat Stanley project. We said sure. Well, The Missus and I said sure. Robbie said "Give me more of your caramel shake right now!" A few minutes later as we were walking back to our car, a young couple in a Duncan Aviation vehicle stopped and asked us for directions to Fireworks. The woman had a tourist map in her lap, so I assume they had read about Fireworks on the map and decided to give it a try. I broke it to them that Fireworks had bolted for more suburban pastures, but that Lazlo's was owned by the same folks and would be a good substitute. It's interesting to observe who asks whom for directions and other related help. I know when I'm lost I look for certain characteristics in the people I choose to ask for help. I also pay attention to people who look lost as they look around for somebody to assist them. (You'll see these people Downtown all the time if you look for them.) If I'm in a grouchy mood or in a hurry, their eyes skip right over me. But if I make eye contact, offer a little smile, and cock my head just a bit (that's the part that asks "Can I help you?") they scoot right over. Last night I didn't do any of those things; in fact, the people came up from behind us. I think they just figured that happy family with ice cream = likely to be helpful.

For those of you who don't already know, Lazlo's in the Haymarket has completed its expansion into the former Fireworks location. I didn't get a chance to ask our server what will become of the old Lazlo's space, but I miss it already. The new space lacks the atmosphere of the old, in much the same way that the south Lazlo's lacks the atmosphere of the Haymarket location. Bummer. In other restaurant news, I noticed that a new restaurant is taking shape at 9th and South Streets on the northwest corner. It appeared to be a diner of some sort, which is a good fit for the neighborhood. If anybody happens to notice when it opens, please let us know.

American Idol fans are well-aware of the website Vote for the Worst. If we were to stage a similar effort for Lincoln's mayoral election, I think Jim Wilson (no relation) is our candidate:

In a handwritten announcement, he said he supports a city manager form of government, drive-in theaters, expanded StarTran hours, a bicameral Legislature and creation of a senior citizens co-ed softball team. He said he's pro-choice and "pro-smoker" and proposed a tobacco tax "to pay off fines at our libraries for children’s overdue materials."

His number four goal for the city (out of fifteen), is "to see Nebraska play Michigan in football this August". Upon hearing that, Bill Callahan smacked his forehead and exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that?!"

This is getting really old. First Chris Beutler was overpaid -- TWICE! -- by the City. Now we find out that Ken Svoboda was overpaid, too. I was willing to begrudgingly accept the explanations for Beutler's overpayments so long as the problem was immediately fixed. But now that Svoboda, too, is a "victim" of overpayment, it is extremely difficult to think these are isolated incidents. The City's Finance Department is broken. Somebody must be held accountable. Unfortunately, I have my doubts that accountability will be enforced. Mayor Seng hasn't exactly demonstrated an ability or willingness to show the type of leadership I would like to see in this sort of situation, at least not publicly. And being a lame duck hasn't given her voice any extra oomph.

Sometimes when I prepare to show a player a red card, my mind starts to race. Did that really happen? Did I actually see what I thought I saw? Was I in position? Does this player really deserve to sit out the rest of this match and the entirety of the next match? Those questions came to mind last night as I reached for the red card in my back pocket. Then, when I drew it out and held it high in the air, the player smirked. Good call, ref.

Don't forget to pay your taxes today. If you need help getting into the mood, read this.

Holy crap. Local officials say they are as prepared as they can be in the event of a mass-victim tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech yesterday. That's probably true. But it's also probably true that despite everybody's best preparations, many people could be hurt or killed long before police would have a chance to do anything about it. Events like yesterday's really make you think about the question of "What if it happened here?" We don't know, of course, and hopefully we never find out. Still, today is as good a time as any to ensure that your emergency plans -- for your family, business, organization, or whatever -- are up-to-date. You can be sure UNL, LPS, and other local agencies are doing just that right now.

Wow, I had no idea that Lincolnites reported thefts from cars at a rate of eight each day in 2006. That's over 3,000 crimes resulting in over $1 million in damages. I wonder how that compares to other cities Lincoln's size? I have never had anything stolen from inside my car, though I did have my license plates stolen once. The Missus' poor little Chevy Nova was broken into in the Lincoln Southeast parking lot several years ago. I think the thief made off with a handful of change.

Lincoln is generally known as a friendly community, and Lincolnites are usually very willing to help out. That doesn't mean you'll always get good advice when you ask for it, though. Here are five phrases that ought to tell you the person you're talking to isn't in the mood to be helpful:

1. "Pop? Oh, you mean Coke. We call everything Coke here, just like in the South."
2. "Memorial Stadium? I'm pretty sure that's in Omaha."
3. "Early August is the perfect time for an afternoon outdoor wedding at Tierra Park."
4. "Keep going until you hit I Street, then take a left."
5. "Amigos is wonderfully authentic, just like the stuff you'll find at a corner cafe in Guadalajara."