The Economy is improving. woot told me so.
Okay, it really didn’t in words, but more in the actions of the users. For those unfamiliar with the site, woot is a website that sells one item-per-day. When the inventory of that item is gone for they day, you wait until the next to see what they offer. About once every two monts, they hold woot-offs – where there are multiple items per day and once the inventory for one is gone, they pop up another.
Simple, right?
I can’t believe it took this long.
After living here for almost two years, I’ve determined it is necessary to add an “Only in Madison” section to this website.
In a Cap Times article, Eric Sundquist, a member of the Madison Plan Commission and former Atlanta newspaper reporter proposes restricting or banning the drive through in Madison. Quoting:
“Given the concern about all the carbon going into the atmosphere, I’m not sure we should be building more places for people to sit idling in their cars,” says Eric Sundquist, who was appointed to the citizen panel by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz this spring.
A former newspaper reporter in Atlanta now working as a researcher at the UW-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Sundquist notes that several cities in Canada have recently moved to ban the drive-through coffee shop or stand-alone fast food restaurant.
Seriously, what happened to American ingenuity? Are we now forced to copy bad ideas from Canada?
Read more…
An editorial today on The Capital Times site suggests that Madison should embrace Alderman Mike Verveer’s proposal to restrict sales of cheap alcohol downtown. The CT says:
The truth is that sales of cheap booze should be regulated. It is unlikely that Verveer’s proposal will address every social ill or challenge associated with such sales, but it is the beginning of a rational response — a response that can be tinkered with, extended or otherwise altered as evidence suggests is wise.
I’m sorry, I thought prohibition was overturned in 1933.
For a city that is supposed to be open and liberal, an ordinance governing what types of alcohol can and cannot be sold seems extremely hypocritical.
Christina Ricci,
Kung-fu cars and cool graphics
Make this movie cool
3.5 out of 5 stars
Write your own haiku review in the comments.
Since videotapes and DVD’s became popular, movies have played a more significant role in our lives. After a bad night at the bar, it’s easy to pop in a movie that relates to your current mode or to make you feel better. We each have movies that we relate to different life experiences. As I sit watching one movie from this list, I’ve created short list of some of mine:
“I quit/got fired from my job” – Reality Bites. When you feel a bit bummed about leaving a job (by choice or otherwise), the thought of Winona Rider losing her job, and Ethan Hawke being fired from 14 makes a person feel a bit better for some reason.
“Women make no sense” – High Fidelity. Yes, women are confusing as hell. What better way to celebrate this than by watching a movie where the man is actually the one with a few screws loose (or is completely sane depending on the day)?
Those not familiar with Jonathan Coulton are probably the type of people that “have lives.”
When opening band Paul & Storm asked the audance to produce a 20-sided die, you could see numerous people in attendance frantically searching their bags to try and find one. When Coulton himself took the stage, a fan was able to produce a power adapter for his Apple Powerbook that was low on battery life.
Such is the audience at a Coulton concert.
This is the second time I’ve seen Coulton with Paul & Storm opening. It’s less a matter of an opening act and a headliner as two bands that work together well. Paul & Storm provide backup for many of Coulton’s song.
The end result – three hours of laughter and music in the key of geek.
Related links:
My interview with Coulton for 77 Square – “Songwriter embraces lyrical nerdiness”
Madisonite John Kovalic of “Dork Tower’s” cartoon about Coulton’s show tonight.
“Change is inevitable. Change is constant,” — Benjamin Disraeli
Change is all around in Madison. Drive by where University Square was once located, past the Chazen Art Museum and the addition to Granger Hall.
Change is not limited to campus. Downtown is in a constant state of flux. The west side continues to grow. Even the suburbs seldom remain the same.
For those not from Madison, change is noticeable when you visit your hometown. A favorite clothing store is replaced by Target; the local drug store is now a Walgreen’s.
Read more…
I was surprised when I popped on the television early this morning and was surprised to find the draft already in process. Then I remembered they had an extra round to do on Sunday this year, and it made sense.
Interest in the draft is still minimal. My normal Sunday morning tradition inivolves sitting down with my multiple newspapers and trudging trhough them while listening to the classic country music station on cable. However, I decided to flip to the draft during and noticed the Packers were within three picks of their next selection.
The Packers address one of their needs, taking tight end Jermichael Finley from Texas. Finley is a pass-catching tight end that needs work on his blocking.
The NFL Draft. In past years, draft weekend was a holiday for me. I would plan to watch the entire first three rounds from my couch, cheering and jeering my favorite and least favorite teams.
Over the last two years, my interest has faded significantly. When a friend asked if I planned to watch the draft this year, I told him no.
Then something happened. I was out running errands when the draft was about to start. The normal pompous ESPN crew was spieling crap about who would be the best player. Still no interest. Then I noticed another television. The Detroit / Colorado hockey game was about to start.
I knew it was time to race home.
Over the past two years, I have become more of a hockey fan. While I’m not a Detroit or Colorado fan per se, I’ve grown to dislike the Red Wings enough that the game is of interest.
But the ultimate question still lingered, which would I watch more of – the draft or the NHL?
It’s April Fools Day, the day where any sane person expects anything they read or hear to be a joke. Still, some of us manage to forget, and are fooled the clever initiative of others. It’s a day where every news source has the opportunity to pretend it’s “The Onion.” Personally, I think on April 1, The Onion should do real news to really throw everyone off.
While so far I can say that no one has “got me,” here are a couple of my favorites I’ve stumbled across today.
MPS forced to cut art, English – from OnMilwaukee.com
Favre to rejoin the Packers for ’08 season -also OnMilwaukee.com
Teacher’s head explodes due to Wi-Fi, mobe radiation – from The Register
Google to acquire U.S. Government - InfoWorld
and my personal favorite from ThinkGeek – Betamax to HD-DVD Converter
April 1 is also the 3-year anniversary of Dane101.com. I have written for them for just over a year, and I am proud to be a part of their team. Happy Birthday to Jesse and the gang that makes it all possible.
It was usually still dark when the lines started to form. Some were students that partied all night. They brought a beer or two to ease the cold while they waited. Others were professionals, clad in ties and dress shirts, hoping to have a pint before heading to their jobs.
By 5 a.m, the line usually stretched past the heaters the bar positioned outside for early birds. By 5:45 a.m, the line circled the block.
When the doors finally opened at 6 a.m, the party began. Shirts that proclaimed “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning” were handed out to the first 100 patrons that entered. Green Guinness flowed, as did Irish music. By 8 a.m, many moved on to the next pub or headed to work.
Such is a typical St. Patrick’s Day in Milwaukee. So why is Madison so lame when it comes to the holiday?
Yesterday was a day to remember the career of the greatest athlete of my time. Personally, I had a glass of wine and watched a DVD of highlights. Today, Brett Favre is still retired, and the team and Packer fans needs to move forward.
The Packers went 13-3 this past season, and have a young and talented team. However, they currently have only one unproven quarterback on the roster.
Aaron Rodgers looked good in limited playing time last season, going 20 for 28, 218 yards and 1touchdown. However, The packers need to acquire two more legitimate quarterbacks to contend before the season starts in case Rodgers fails.
Originally appeared on Dane101:
It appears the reports that surfaced on the Packer’s web site last week were true. FOX Sports is reporting that Brett Favre has retired and will not play in 2008.
Favre is the NFL’s all-time leader in several major categories, including touchdowns, passing yards, consecutive games started, and interceptions. Favre is coming off an MVP-type year where he threw for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns.
The reaction in the coffee shop where I am currently writing this seems to be unified – without Favre, why watch the Packers?
While the Packers are a good young team, I have to admit I initially agree.
It was the perfect for Capital Brewery’s Bockfest. The weather was a balmy 20 degrees, the sun was out, and the crowd was ready for beer.
I arrived in Middleton a little before 11 a.m. The line was already quite long, but I knew beer awaited my arrival on the other side. Or at least so I thought.
As a current Madison resident, today is voting day. I maneuvered through a traffic jam and slippery streets to reach the Gates of Heaven; my poling place around 9:30 a.m.
As I entered to cast my vote, a woman who was leaving said “Vote Obama!”
“You can’t do that in here’” informed an official.
The other woman did not seem to care. As I was undecided, and I feel strongly about campainging at the polls, her actions may have cost her candidate a vote.
Law prohibits campaigning within a certain distance of polling places. This is to keep voters from feeling intimidated. When I worked on campaigns, it was made very clear this line should never be crossed.
Some people are very vocal about the candidates they support. Others prefer to keep their vote private. My top two candidates are out of the election, and my third choice has yet to enter. Still, I would never have the gall to profess “Vote Richardson” while leaving a voting area, even if he was still in the race. It is one thing to support a candidate, and quite another to be obnoxious in a polling place.
For the record, Richardson was still on the ballot in Wisconsin, and thanks to one woman’s actions might have received a vote.