Happy New Year 2019

Similar to the last few years, we will be ringing in the new year at home with just a couple friends, Terry and Becky, as long as the roads don't get too slippery.  My wife is going to cook a late dinner of beef tenderloin with those fancy little potatoes.  We'll play some games, have some special drinks and pop the champagne at midnight.  If we do manage to make it all the way to midnight that will be pretty much it, and I'll have to get a nap in just to help me make it that late.

Back on Christmas weekend we were going to drive to Mom and Dan's in Dubuque but Kate came down with the bug I had the week before.  Now we'll have to see about getting the presents to the nieces and nephews soon.  I may have to ship them to my sister and her kids, but it's a good excuse to finally drive down and see my brother's family and the house they built.  On Christmas Day Kate was feeling a bit better, well enough to not cancel her family coming over for some great food, presents and holiday cheer, so we did get one family gathering in for the holiday.

Happy New Year to you all.  The ones I read, the ones I love, all my friends and all of you who take the time to read me.  Whether you comment or not, I can see you're there.  Thank you.

Merry Christmas 2018*

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I've never been a card person so consider this your holiday greeting.  I hope you're all enjoying whatever you're doing.  Cheers!




*Edit, 9 a.m.
I scheduled the above last night to post early this morning.  When I finally arose today and opened the curtains this is the sight I saw - a layer of snow on the ground!  So it seems I lied earlier - we have a White Christmas after all!

Solstice Fire Pit

Just because I could, I relaxed with a fire for a bit this afternoon.  It was a few degrees below freezing - so maybe not the brightest* thing to do coming off the flu - but it was nice.  Happy Winter Solstice, everyone.

*Pun intended.

December This-And-Thats

December is slipping away, the holidays are almost upon us and I've hardly posted a thing lately.  There's not been much to post about, really.  Well, I'm sure I can come up with a few things so time to start typing again and see what fills the page.

• Somehow we seem to have had December weather in November and vice-versa.  There was only a trace of snow on the ground in spots yesterday and that's probably erased by the rain today, and with the expected temperatures we will not be having a white Christmas this year.  Lake Mendota officially froze over five days ago, on the 15th.  About normal, but that date can vary greatly year to year.  Lake levels are looking better, but still not down to where they should be.  I haven't heard anything on that debate lately but, like any other year, the further from the event the less people think about it.
• I've been sick all this week, probably a flu bug but I didn't go to the doctor.  Sunday evening I remember being especially tired, then Monday and Tuesday were absolutely miserable for me but I'm slowly starting to feel like myself again.  Today I worked a full shift for the first time this week and I am exhausted.  At least my boss is letting me slide on the required overtime this week and we have no overtime for the next two short holiday weeks.
• I have all my holiday shopping done and finished wrapping this afternoon.  This was a tough year to buy something for my wife.  I thought about jewelry again but she doesn't really wear any regularly.  She did mention wanting to get her ears re-pierced but she won't let me do it so I came up with a few other gifts that will have to do.  She has a birthday coming up in a month so I guess I'll have to make up for it then.
• Sadly, the pictures on my garden blog from August 13, 2012, to May 14, 2017, have been deleted.  It was a shame and I am not happy about it, but I had almost 1400 pictures on Flickr and starting soon they will only allow 1000 for free accounts.  Most importantly, I didn't want to lose anything from this site, so I sacrificed those pictures rather than pay a monthly fee forever to keep them.  You can read more of what I wrote about that here and here.  As for the future of that garden blog?  I just don't know yet.  
• I've been scanning the local venues' websites for upcoming shows that I'd like to see, and still there's only one on my radar.  On February 10, Marty Friedman plays at the High Noon Saloon.  He used to be a guitarist in the band Megadeth and then spent the last 15 years in Japan.  Other than that, there's a few things that slightly interest me and you never know when a new show will be announced.  In fact, it was just announced that Neil Young is coming soon to Madison on a very short solo tour.  Unfortunately it's on a weeknight and the tickets seem to be outrageously priced and may already be sold out. (Luckily, I've seen him before - but that was over 20 years ago!)

That's all I can think of that I want to share for now.  I'm sure I'll post a holiday greeting soon and I don't think we have any plans for New Year's Eve yet, so there will be more to come before 2019.

Latest LIVE Listening Pleasure 31 - Steel Panther

For some time now I've been lamenting the lack of shows coming to Madison that interest me.  I see tour announcements often, and I rarely see Madison on the list of dates (yet Grand Rapids, Michigan, a smaller city, seems to get a lot of shows).  Maybe that will change with another good Madison venue, The Sylvee, that just opened this fall.  Months ago I was scanning the upcoming shows and saw this show coming up.  Surprisingly, my wife agreed to go with me so as tickets were relatively cheap we went out to see Steel Panther and check out The Sylvee on Friday night.

Steel Panther, if you haven't heard of them before, is a band that spoofs 80's hair metal.  They perform classic metal songs and their own music, all the while performing satire of sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Definitely not safe for work, nothing seems to be off limits and being in on the joke is much of the fun.  It does surprise me, however, that so many women like the band in this #meetoo time we live in, considering how they objectify and make fun of them in their songs and banter.  But it's all in good fun and in the name of heavy metal.

I posted this holiday song when it was new a few years ago, here it is live - The Stocking Song:


It was cold that night - in the mid teens (ºF) - but a new parking ramp just opened up right next door to the venue so that was very convenient.  As usual, I bought a shirt first, probably the only one for sale that I could actually wear to work as the others had innuendo that someone would take exception to, I'm sure.  We walked around the crowd a bit but took a spot in the balcony.  The balcony has a couple rows of seats around the front but the rest is all general admission.  When a band comes that I really want to see I think I'd spring for the seats.  The first band, Wilson, was forgettable.  Steel Panther ran through their set like a well oiled machine, despite having a fill-in bassist for this stretch of dates.  We left before they came out for the encore, so we missed a song or two but I'm okay with that.  We beat the crowd and were home and warm minutes later.

Steel Panther performing a cover of a Motley Crue song, Shout At The Devil, with some fun at the beginning:


My third video, Poontang Boomerang, can be seen on my channel here.

I hadn't seen Steel Panther before even though they've played Madison several times over the last decade or so, and if I had been to a good show recently I may not have gone this time, but I'm glad we got to check out The Sylvee and the band was pretty entertaining.  If I sound a little underwhelmed, well, I guess I am.  I'll keep my eye on the upcoming shows and maybe something will come up that will get me a bit more excited.

Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia
LLP 27 - Rammstein
LLP 28 - Marilyn Manson LIVE
LLP 29 - The Harp Twins LIVE
LLP 30 - Diamante
LLP 31 - Steel Panther LIVE

2018 Flood IX - A Different View

On Thanksgiving Day we went south to Stoughton to my sister-in-law's house to celebrate with her family.  They happen to live near the Yahara River, south of the four lakes connected by the river, so we walked over and took a look during our time there.  Now, I've posted about Lake Mendota from our times out on the boat.  Also Lake Monona from bike rides and trips to Olbrich Park.  And mostly Starkweather Creek as it passes through my neighborhood toward Lake Monona.  The next two lakes down the chain are Waubesa and Kegonsa, then the Yahara flows for some time before emptying into the Rock River.  Stoughton is in the bottom right of the map, we live above Lake Monona and east of  Lake Mendota.

Lake Waubesa, Yahara Outlet

On the drive down we only got glimpses of the lower two lakes as we drove by so getting pictures wasn't easy, but I did get one looking out onto Lake Waubesa where the Yahara exits the lake and while not over the banks it did look very full.  That's what we found in Stoughton as well, the river looked very full - and fast, it seemed to be running much faster than we've seen before.  Looking at the lake levels map, it was as expected as they continue to release water down the chain trying to get the levels lower.  Lake Mendota is looking the best so far, but the rest have several feet of water to go down yet.  When you think about it, it really does take a lot of time to let all that water flow.

By spring I don't think we'll have any issues, but that could change at Mother Nature's whim.  I also noticed in the news that just recently all the slow-no wake rules on all 4 of the lakes have now been lifted.  Of course, not many are out boating anymore at this time of year anyway.  Mostly the ice fisherman are waiting for the ice to form by now, which brings another thought:  What will the ice conditions be if the water keeps lowering under it?

More pics after the break.

Home on the NEW Range

We finally replaced the range in the kitchen.  It had been a long time coming.  The old electric stove and oven was, well, old - very old.  My wife is quite the cook and knew exactly what she wanted to replace it, a gas range with a double oven.  This range has essentially been picked out for almost a year, but appliances go on sale in November so we waited and saved hundreds of dollars.

It was scheduled to be delivered early afternoon on Wednesday, so I got an early start to the weekend to wait for it to arrive.  The delivery men were in and out in short order and we had our new range!  Of course, there were a couple issues.  There always seems to be, for us.  Nothing terribly major.

Months ago we had our plumber extend the gas line to once again come up behind the range.  It had been removed long ago to install the outlet for the electric range.  But, he installed it with a fitting that is not normally used for gas ranges.  The installers luckily had adapters to use but that made the connection too big to get the range against the wall as close as it should be.  Now, we've used the same plumber since we got the house and while they have done some good work for us they've also done some questionable work for us, so after this we are ready to move on and try another local plumber.  This week I will find one and schedule them to get the gas connection sorted and possibly moved so we can push the range in farther.  (While they're here I may also have them look at some minor leaks by the utility sink downstairs.)

Also, both the new refrigerator and the new range (both LG) have the same type of electrical plug where the cord goes straight down, parallel to the wall instead of perpendicular.  I'm sure it's meant to stay out of the way when pushing the appliance in, but that means you can't use two of the same type of plug in one regular outlet.  There is space, so I will have to find an adapter to extend the top one out a bit, is all.  So, another upgrade to the kitchen, which Kate finished repainting yesterday.  Next on the kitchen list is flooring, counter tops, and a vent above the range.  All in due time, except for a hanging pot rack I need to build now - ASAP!

Needing New Picture Host?

Back when I started this site (and the garden blog) I uploaded pictures to Blogger to post without a care in the world.  Eventually I got the message that I had used up all my storage when I didn't even know I had a limit.  I needed a new place to put my pictures so I could post them on my sites.  I wrote about that on August 13, 2012.  Now, I seem to remember getting that message from Picasa.  I don't know if that's right or what the connection with Blogger is, but all those old pictures are still on the site (though many linked photos may not be) and come up as from Blogger.  Well, unable to post pictures I got a free account with Flickr and have used that to host all the pictures I post ever since.

Well, it wasn't long ago I got an email that Flickr had been sold to another company, and then on November 13 I received an email from Flickr about important updates to my account.  Basically, no more free ride for me.  They will allow free accounts with up to 1000 photos, or I may upgrade to Flickr Pro for an as-yet-undisclosed annual fee (but I can get 30% off the first year).  My problem is that I have almost 1400 pictures on Flickr, so after January 8, 2019, I will no longer be able to upload pictures and after February 5, 2019, I will have my photos that are over 1000 deleted, starting with the oldest, unless I pay.  What this means is that after that date my pictures on posts on both my sites from August 2012 to 376 pictures later will disappear from my sites.  My guess is that would go through 2015 and include some cherished memories, but I definitely do not want to pay - any cost, every year, forever.  If it becomes relevant again, I can always re-upload to my next picture host and update the post, but it is a terrible shame because I do look back to years past on my sites.

So what do I do now?  Well, I noticed that on my phone I have the old Picasa logo.  Picasa is now Google Photos.  It does not have all those original photos that I uploaded way back when, but when I take a picture with my phone it is now backed up there.  And there's even pictures saved there from my old (first) smartphone.  There does appear to be a limit, so I still have to figure out how it's going to work over the long haul, but I think it will work for me.  And I can still use the camera and upload the ones I wish to, but I will probably start using my phone almost exclusively for taking pictures.  And after getting the pictures off my phone and saved onto the computer I should "clean up" all the excess pictures I take out of Google Photos to extend my limit.

I have two more posts in mind for very soon that I will want pictures, so I will be trying this out probably later this weekend.  This should not affect normal blog viewing at all, unless it is an older affected post being viewed, other than the picture will open differently when clicked.  If anyone else has a better idea I'm very willing to listen!

Soooo, funny story:  I was re-reading and editing the above when it occurred to me I hadn't even tried to upload directly since that day in 2012 when I got the message about reaching the limit.  I  just tried now, and it works!  I won't need an outside image host after all!  Limits must have changed in the last 6 years?  How can I tell?  Well, Google is Blogger is Chrome is Youtube is Google Photos is Android is everything else I am, it seems.  I'll still have the loss of posted photos for that 2012-15 period, and that pains me greatly, but hopefully I'll never have to deal with this again.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

Like most years, it's best known to me as a 4 day weekend with one day spent with relatives.  This year we're staying close to home and visiting my wife's side of the family.  Other than that I don't know if we'll be leaving the house much as this Black Friday weekend will make it a madhouse on the roads and at the shops.  Feast of the cash registers, as some might say.  I do need to start shopping for gifts, but that will probably be entirely online.


I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and thank you for stopping by!

Snow and 2018 Flood VIII

Late Thursday/early Friday we got a small layer of snow that has somewhat stuck around due to our temperatures have stayed below freezing.  Not much, but if anyone was still in denial then here's their slap in the face - winter will not be stopped.  I've yet to get out the full winter gear, and until it gets even colder more consistently I don't see the need.  Looking ahead in the forecast, we have temperatures above and below freezing and even some more snow toward the end of this week.  Well, you can't control the weather so we'll have to roll with it just like every other year.

In this picture of the back yard you can also see, on the top left, workers installing a new telephone pole.  While it might be tougher in cold weather my guess is they do it now purposely, after the loss of foliage that would surely be in their way going through back yards.  You can also see in this picture that I finally got the leaves cleaned up last weekend, knowing the snow was coming.  I also cleaned the gutters, started the snow thrower and got out the salt and snow shovels.  That means I have all my outside work done in preparation for winter - finally.

Friday afternoon I walked to our favorite local bar and grill Brothers Three (currently under new ownership after 33 years) and had the opportunity to take a couple more pictures of the creek.  I did notice it had gone down further yet, but still not down to where it should be.  A quick check of the lake levels shows that - while much better than a couple months ago - they are still a couple feet higher than they should be and I know they are still working on lowering the levels and still talking about how best to manage lake levels in the future.

Looking up this stretch of Starkweather Creek you can start to see the top of some of the big rocks on the sides.  On each side there is at least two rows of big rocks that had been underwater for several months now.  It is nice to see it go down, but this should still be considered significantly high.

Just because I like side by side comparisons, after the break is the view of the Milwaukee Street bridge from pictures I'd taken Friday and previously.