Lincolnite

David G. Brady of Lincoln works for the State, and apparently one of his employers (that's you and I) is forcing him to work at gunpoint. What other explanation could there be for him to put up with this litany of abuses for 25 years? The poor man! Even with a gun to his head, Mr. Brady isn't afraid to let his employers have it. He says we are "morons". Frankly, I don't want my employees to talk to me that way. Mr. Brady, feel free to clean out your desk. I'm sure you will appreciate the freedom of no longer being forced to work at such a horrible, awful, no-good job.

Quick, see if you can identify everybody in today's cartoon by Neal Obermeyer. (As of 8:00am it isn't online. Hopefully it will be soon.) I recognize several local, umm, "characters". Edited: You can see the cartoon at Neal Obermeyer's website.

When it comes to advertising practices, what is deceptive? Is it deceptive to advertise that a certain price comes with limitations? How clear must the limitations be? How much responsibility falls upon the customer? I really want to know your thoughts. Attorney General Jon Bruning thinks the bozo gas station owners along I-80 in central and western Nebraska may be committing a crime. But I don't take his opinion on this very seriously; he is running for public office, after all. (Not that I would accuse Mr. Bruning of allowing his future job aspirations to control his decisions at his current job. No, politicians never do things like that.) These are our laws we're talking about here. Where do we want to draw the line between deceptive advertising and caveat emptor?

I have a really hard time feeling sorry for Jim Brewer. After Monday's storm a "giant tree branch" dangled over his house. So who did he call? A tree trimmer? His insurance company? His friends who own chain saws and tall ladders? Nope. He called the cops. And they said "You're on your own". Mr. Brewer said "I was just really, really ticked that they didn’t send anybody out and just look at it and give me some advice." Judging by the article in the LJS, apparently that's appalling. I had no idea the city was in the business of giving tree trimming advice. The city certainly should come to the rescue when life and limb (ha!) are in danger. It doesn't sound like that was the case here. What did Mr. Brewer end up doing? He contacted a professional tree remover who was at his house by 10:00pm that night. Problem solved. Now why didn't I think of that?

That was a pretty storm last night, wasn't it? OK, I admit, I'm saying that as somebody who didn't experience any damage. Still, the clouds were neat. Did you see how they rotated and bubbled and gurgled? Good stuff. For a couple minutes it looked like Lincoln might break out of its tornado-free streak. Fortunately, the streak continues. Did you have any damage at your place?

I think both Jon Cook and Jonathan Camp need to sit in timeout for a while after yet another spat over the fire department. This is really getting old. The problem is, even though they are both wrong, they are also both right, so neither has much of an incentive (in his own mind) to back down. The fire chief applicants have got to be positively giddy about stepping into the middle of this.

Sam Keller is Nebraska's newest quarterback. Now Husker fans can move from the speculation phase to the critiquing and nit-picking phase. I was able to peek my head in on practice yesterday. That is one hell of an operation.

You should, of course, drive well every time you're behind the wheel. Duh. But school is firing back up again, so drive extra cautiously for the double reason that kids will be swarming around schools again, and LPD just loves to ticket drivers during the first week of school. Watch those school zones, stop before (not in) the crosswalk, and buckle your seat belts.

I drove by it on Saturday, but I didn't realize The Legacy's sculpture had been vandalized. The buck was removed. You know the sculpture -- the one on the corner of 56th and Pioneers. It's a nice work. I especially love it when they leave the water running in cold weather and the waterfall freezes. There's a thousand bucks (no pun intended) in it for you if you help convict the bozos who did it.

Nobody wants to move in on the northeast corner of 48th and O. Can you blame them? Why would anybody want to move their business to a location that nobody can get to? If you have any ideas for increasing the sellability of that chunk of land, drop Urban Development director David Landis a note. I'm sure he would love to hear from you.

Three weeks ago I did the most insane thing I've ever done. I submitted my resignation. Yesterday was my last day. When I showed up at my new job this morning, all sorts of things were different. My office isn't nearly as fancy as my previous office, but I get to set it up however I want. All of my cool co-workers are gone. In fact, I don't have any co-workers at all. For the first time in over five years I didn't take the bus to work. I walked. And my boss? I'm still undecided about him. He's pretty mad at me for showing up five minutes late this morning. And really, what excuse do I have for being late when my office is in my basement? That's right, today I joined the ranks of the self-employed. It's a move I've been thinking about for a long time, and seriously considering for almost a year. About a month ago the stars aligned just right, so I said, "What the hell?" It's a big move, and one I haven't taken lightly. I couldn't be more excited. I will be working on many different projects for many different people. Part of my time will be dedicated to working with NetRaising, a web services company out of Portland, Oregon, that provides "web design, web development, web hosting and web consulting for nonprofits, education, and business." (That's me down at the bottom of the consultants page.) I will be starting on my first projects for them very soon. Most of the rest of my time will be spent working on projects for my own business, Studio625. (I'm still working on the branding, so don't bother going to the website. There's nothing there at the moment.) All of my personal projects (including Lincolnite) will be under the Studio625 umbrella. My specialty is building sites using ExpressionEngine (EE), and creating custom modules, plugins, and extensions for EE. My first major project is finishing Caloree, a full-featured calendar module for EE. What does all of this mean for Lincolnite? Only good things. Lincolnite is now more than a hobby; it's part of my job description. In the coming months, expect many improvements to Lincolnite, including some fun additions and related projects. It also means that Lincolnite will have to start paying for itself. Yes, that means advertisements. But don't freak out on me! I know that ads done poorly can be a pain in the butt. (I run Firefox with the AdBlock extension, after all.) I want to create a win-win situation for both local advertisers and you, the users of this site. The trick is helping local businesses, organizations, and other advertisers get noticed, without being obtrusive. I think that can be done. The boss is telling me I have spent enough time writing this, so I had better get to work on other things. Before I go, I want to thank everybody who, each in his or her own way, has given me the courage to do this. And if you or somebody you know needs a new website, a website redesign, or any custom web development, drop me a note. I would love to help!

foxspit dropped me a note to say that a new restaurant is on the way at 8th and Q, in the former Brazen Head / Eighth Street Iron Works / etcetera location. Hopefully the new restaurant fares better. Anybody have any info about the restaurant? Are there any signs up? I haven't had a chance to get to the Haymarket lately, and I probably won't until next week when I try Bread & Cup.

I think it's a good idea for Lincoln to define "restaurant" in the zoning code. The article focuses on benefits associated with alcohol (it would be easier for restaurants to get an alcohol permit), but hopefully the benefits are broader than that. I suspect neighborhood associations will have something to say about the plan, so it will probably change a bit before it goes live. The plan will face the City Council in September; by then, groups will have had time to really think about the positives and negatives of the idea.

Roger Welsch thinks Ben Nelson is due for a party switch:

I predict that if there are substantial losses for the Republicans in the Senate next year, Ben Nelson just may become a Democrat.

He's probably right since, you know, Ben Nelson already is a Democrat. That's not what Mr. Welsch means, of course. He is suggesting that Nelson will convert from a DINO to a real, honest-to-goodness Democrat. Do you think Mr. Welsch is right? Or do you think Senator Nelson will stick to his cross-party ways?

Why should wages in other states dictate wages in Nebraska? Shouldn't wages be based on things like performance, skill, and, most importantly, a mutual agreement between employer and employee regarding the value of a particular job?