Lincolnite

I had no idea that LES will bury your power lines for free. The only thing you have to pay for is for an electrician to come out and change the meter entrance to your home. That is awesome. I hate the way the power line (and cable line) awkwardly cross my yard and attach to my house. I have talked about having those lines buried since we first moved in, but I held off because I assumed the cost/benefit ratio would be unfavorable. Do any of you know how "destructive" the burying process is to the ground? Unless I get to tell them what path to follow, the wires would go straight through my garden. Assuming they prefer the straight-as-an-arrow path from the main line to the house, I'll probably have to wait until after my garden is finished producing for the year.

Every time I travel to Albuquerque I marvel at how efficiently you can drive around town. How is it that traffic moves twice as efficiently in a city twice Lincoln's size? I'm not talking about traveling on the freeway, either. I'm talking about driving through town on regular ol' arterials. One of their secrets isn't so secret: many of their major roads are six lanes wide. That certainly helps keep things moving. But that doesn't explain it all. I have always wondered how Albuquerque keeps traffic moving when so many of their arterials are lined, mile after mile, by driveways for businesses. Unlike Lincoln, which tries to minimize direct access to businesses as much as possible, Albuquerque seems to tolerate it with very few problems. Granted, it makes for an ugly roadside, but it doesn't seem to have hurt traffic flow one bit. If anything, it seems to have contributed to the city's superior vehicle movement. Fewer collector roads means fewer stop lights. Fewer stop lights means less traffic interruption. Less traffic interruption means you get where you're going sooner. We managed to drive 10 miles through the heart of the city in 15 minutes at 5:30pm. I can hardly imagine doing that in Lincoln except at 3 in the morning. I have no doubt there are dozens of factors at play that help make driving easier in Albuquerque than in Lincoln. For example, Albuquerque is less dense than Lincoln (~2,500/square mile versus ~3,000/square mile). I suspect that at least some of the contributing factors could be emulated here. I sure wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Sheesh, I leave town for a few days and come home to find that you guys left a big mess all over my yard. Branches, twigs, leaves. At least my oak and maple trees were kind enough to stay standing. Were any of you among the lucky few who got to spend some time without power? The Missus, Robbie, and I spent the weekend in Albuquerque where we witnessed my sister-in-law's 47-second [sic] marriage ceremony, hung out with family, and ate mass quantities of quality New Mexican grub. The eating began with carne adobada at Sadie's of New Mexico and ended days later with the last bite of a green chile chicken burrito from La Hacienda Express while flying somewhere over eastern New Mexico. I should have photos from the trip posted in the next few days.

She didn't make quite as big of a splash with her departure from her high school soccer coaching position as another coach did recently (ahem), but Lincoln Southeast coach Linda Wilson's retirement (no relation) is still pretty big news. She was an asset to the local soccer community. I actually tried out for Coach Wilson's team when I was a freshman. But can you believe it, she cut me! That was back in the dark ages when freshman had to make the varsity squad or they couldn't play high school ball. After that I tried out for the track squad and, well, I had a much more successful track career than I ever would have had as a soccer player. So, thanks for cutting me, Coach Wilson! (No, really!) Now I'm curious who her replacement will be. There were rumors going around this season that one of her former players was in a good position to take over, should she ever leave. Hmm.

I was so mad at myself last night. The Wilsons went on a walk around Holmes Lake and I forgot to take my camera. Grr. At first I was just annoyed. But as we walked I noticed dozens of great photo opportunities. I hope somebody from the Lincoln Convention & Visitors Bureau was out there, because I'm telling you, it was one postcard after another, all the way 'round the lake. There were the softball games; the folks fishing; the walkers; the bikers; the picnickers; the kids on the playground; the family preparing for a hiking trip by walking up and down the dam; the family goofing off by sliding down the dam on big blocks of ice; the guy chucking balls into the lake for his dog to fetch; and on and on. Norman Rockwell would have wet himself. It was the most time I've spent at Holmes Lake in a while, so I spent a lot of time evaluating the park's evolution. I am very impressed. There are only a couple things missing. First, they could use mileage markers on the path around the lake. Or maybe just a nice big sign that says "spot X is Y fraction of a mile from spot Z, and the entire path is Q miles long". Or maybe it would scare people from walking all the way around the lake if they knew the path is approximately 2.25 miles. (That's my rough estimate using the GMap Pedometer.) The other thing that's missing is, in my opinion, a biggie. Paddleboats. Holmes Lake is begging for paddleboats. Last night was so perfect, I would have paid good money to put the family on the water. The last time Holmes Lake saw paddleboats was, what, 20 years ago? I, for one, would like to see them make a comeback.

I recently had my best burrito ever at Oso Burrito, and it got me to thinking about all the different types of burritos I like to order there. My dad and I -- and often The Missus, Robbie, and sometimes a guest or two -- hit up Oso once a week, usually on Tuesdays. I used to order the same thing every week: the jerk chicken special. Now, though, I mix things up, alternating between fish, chicken, and potato. Here's how I had them make my favorite burrito yet:

• fish
• guacamole
• rice
• black beans
• lettuce
• cheese
• chipotle crema
• pico
• ginger garlic salsa

I'm telling you, it's concentrated awesomeness in a tortilla. How do you like your Oso?

What's this? A new pizza joint called Suite 1 has opened in the Haymarket at 8th and Q, beneath Magnolia's? Who knew? Well, Beerorkid knew, and he has posted his first impressions. I fully intend to go as soon as I can, but probably not for a couple weeks, unfortunately. For one thing I love that it's in the basement. My first -- and only -- authentic pizza experience in Chicago came in a basement restaurant. Mmm, good stuff.

According to a sign on the window, looks like Holyland Cuisine and Hookah Bar is moving in to the old location of the Pita Pit downtown at 13th and O street, right next to the new Subway where the old Taco Del Mar used to be. Is this the same Holyland Cuisine on 27th south of Vina Plaza? Anyone have any more information on this?

A hearty congratulations to Lux Middle School student Akshay Rajagopal for winning the Natinoal Geographic Bee! The win comes with a $25,000 college scholarship. Akshay didn't miss a single question in the preliminary or championship rounds. And what, you may ask, was the winning question? Here it is:

The urban area of Cochabamba has been in the news in recent years due to protests over the privatization of the municipal water supply and regional autonomy issues. Cochabamba is the third largest conurbation in what country?

I absolutely love it when Nebraska's politicians panic about gambling, as Governor Heineman and others are doing these days in response to a proposed Carter Lake casino. Watching them fall all over themselves in their scramble to condemn gambling and its effects on society is positively hilarious. Is there any political hypocrisy more transparent than a government's simultaneous celebration and condemnation of gambling?

After hours of muscle-straining labor, my garden finally looks like a garden again. It was a long process. First I tore out the old rock path that runs from the patio to the side yard, bisecting the garden. When I originally put it in I didn't lay down any weed blocker, and then I didn't maintain it very well. As a result, it aged poorly. Have you ever tried to remove a bunch of rocks that have lodged themselves in the underlying ground? What. A. Pain. Once I finally had (almost) all the rocks out, I reworked the ground and leveled things out. Then I laid out pavers to act as a border between the path and the garden. I wanted to line up the border pavers with the pavers that make up the patio, which required widening the path a couple inches on each side, not only for the pavers, but also to make room to install the plastic edgers that would hold the pavers in place. Then I thought, "Those old rocks are all dirty and dingy. I need new rocks. But what to do with the old rocks?" I just love creating more work for myself. I decided to extend the path around the side of the garage, using the old rocks next to the garage where they didn't need to be as pretty. That meant buying a bunch of new rocks for the garden path. Long story short, the new path through the garden is finished, and it looks awesome. Now to start work on the extended part that will go along the side of the garage. That part shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 hours. I also have most of my garden planted. This year's crop includes:

• Jalapeno
• "Fooled You" chile (look and taste like jalapenos but are much milder)
• Hungarian wax chile (I love these for a mild zing)
• Habanero (4 plants! What am I going to do with 4 plants worth of habanero?!)
• Serrano
• Cayenne
• A Thai chile I can't recall the name of (perfect for adding to summer veggie stir fries)
• Anaheim
• Italian roasting peppers (great for kabobs)
• Red, yellow, and green bell peppers
• Eggplant (a request from The Missus)
• Cucumber (most will go to my mom so she can make cinnamon pickles)

Yes, I went crazy with the peppers and chiles this year. I still need zucchini or some sort of squash. I also have a couple spots open for other plants, if anybody has any suggestions. Both spots are in full sun. One spot has loose, quickly-draining soil and is close to the house (so it will be warm). The other spot's soil is a bit denser and retains moisture better. Disappointingly, I didn't get any cilantro this year. After a couple years of cilantro practically taking over my garden, not a single plant came up this year. I don't know what I did to make it mad. What's in your garden this year?

Many of my favorite memories from summertimes past involve family gatherings at Pioneers Park. On many a Sunday afternoon, family from Lincoln, Omaha, and Grand Island would gather for a picnic lunch, followed by an afternoon of softball, frisbee golf, or just playing in the playground. Sometimes my parents would let me buy a treat from the concession stand -- a can of pop, a candy bar, or maybe a frozen malt. The park used to be quite busy on Sunday afternoons, and we would often have to scramble to find a picnic area big enough for all of us. And then there was Babe Ruth baseball. I rode my bike five miles to every morning practice. Once I stopped to feed wild berries to a fox near Beal Slough. Another time I got the crap beat out of me by hail until I was able to take shelter in a fire station. And on yet another trip to practice something fell from a tree, hit me in the eye, and lodged itself under my eyelid. Now that I think about it, I remember far more about the bike rides to and from practice than I do about practice itself, or even the games. I suspect many of Robbie's early summertime memories will be from the playground at Antelope Park. We spend a fair amount of time there, and why not? It's an awesome playground. Southpointe's Friday night music series will probably also be up there in his memory bank. Heck, that's where he stole his first kiss. What are some of your favorite summertime memories in Lincoln?

Last year in Nebraska 158 girls were named Addison. Addison? I don't think I have ever met or known an Addison, yet here it is, the most popular name for baby girls in 2007. Once again pop culture passes me by. Ava was the only other name on the top 10 lists that surprised me. I'm familiar with all of the others, especially on the boys side. Any surprises for you? Any guesses on which names will be up-and-comers, and which will drop in the near future? I'll give you a hint: Brent is dropping quickly, having now fallen out of the top 500. Sadie (my wife's name), on the other hand, is about to crack into the top 100. I could see that one taking off.

My dad had some dental work done today and he isn't supposed to chew for a few days. That means lots of soup for a while. We had planned to eat lunch together today, but my brain froze up when I tried to think of good places to get soup for lunch. So I'm opening it up to you folks, not just for my dad and me today, but for all Lincolnites: Who has the best soups in Lincoln?