Merry Christmas!

Traffic obstacle...

Suddenly you slam on the brakes! The street in front of you is blocked. The police have the intersection sealed off while they try to figure out what to do. Then you realize... it's after bar time, on University Avenue, in Madison Wisconsin... and the students have been restless lately!

International TV star visits Toys 4 Tots!!

Yes, Friday we had a real star show up at the Toys Tots broadcast at the LaCrosse Center. I was fortunate enough to get my picture taken with my "idol"! He even asked me to tickle him...

Come see the Cavern Beat!!

This Saturday night at 9:00 the best Beatle tribute band returns to Features in West Salem! Come join me for a great evening of Beatle music!
The first picture is what you'll see with your eyes open, the second picture is what you'll hear with your eyes closed!

28 Questions...

Are there things in life that make no sense to you? Following is a list of things that have troubled me for years:

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

6. Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

7. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?

10. Why are they called " stands" when they are made for sitting?

11. Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

12. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

13. Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?

14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?

15. Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?

16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?

20. Why is bra singular and panties plural?

21. Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control
when you know the batteries are dead?

22. Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?

23. How come abbreviated is such a long word?

24. Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?

25. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

26. Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?

27.Christmas - What other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

28. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway ?

Now they tell me...

I guess they should have put the information in the manual for this guy... "always back your vehicle in when you want to launch your boat."
They really let these people vote????

What I've been doing the last couple weeks...

Getting ready for the Mississiooi Fandango, the State Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting. The 12th annual Fandango was at the Holmen Rod and Gun club October 9, 10 & 11. Over 150 competitors came from several states to compete using the guns of the wild west while wearing the clothes from the period as well. This is a picture of me and a group of my best friends on one of the town stages.

FIRST BAND OF THE BRITISH INVASION?

What's your answer? Easy right? The Beatles were the first band from England with a hit in the USA, paving the way for the British Invasion. Actually... that's WRONG!!
The Springfields were the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" … their lead singer was Mary O'Brien, who would later sustain a major solo career using the stage name... Dusty Springfield. How about that?

Finally... what to do with my Randy Moss jersey!!!

How wide is a dirt road?

All right, let's figure this out... a car is six to seven feet wide. And most dirt roads just sort of widen with time and traffic so they'll acomodate like a car and a half. Which means that a dirt road is around ten feet wide. Which also means that this moose, seen near Elliott Lake, has got to be the size of a TRUCK!!! What a monster!

Catbirds...

It seems so long ago... 1985 to 1994. Almost like it was a lifetime ago. But sometimes I really miss those good old days. And the players... Brian Rahilley, Denny Nutt, Mark Davis, Claude Gregory, Eddie Hughes, and the dazzling duo; Vince Hamilton and Vada Martin. There were many, many more too... here's to great memories!!

The band makes it's debut!

Saturday night, August 15th the band made it's historic debut at Goose Island campground. We played in the big shelter behind the camp store from 8 - 11. Okay, the band is called "Viagara Falls" and we play oldies, rock, country rock, and a dab of country. Just a group of older guys that still want to play some tunes... we don't really care if we gig or not. That's me on drums, Daryl on lead guitar, Jim on rhythym and Mike on bass. We had a good crowd and had a blast... and we had to play "If I Had a Million Dollars" twice... because Ida missed it the first time... lol.

The Golf Tourney...

I've been surprised at how many people have asked me how the LaCrosse Radio Group team did in the best ball golf tourney recently. You guys are good listeners! Okay, at the LaCrosse Country Club our three-man team shot a two over par. Not very good for best ball, but remember - we were a man short. Anyhow, here's the team... me on the left, Rik Franke from 100.1, and Neil Klos our sports director. The gent in the white shirt is the pro at LCCC, and he didn't wanna play with us either....

Lake Arbutus Jam - 7/25/09

We talked about it on the air a lot, and it was a blast. I'm looking forward to going back next year! A big thanks to Troy and the gang at Lake Arbutus Resort... you guys really know how to throw a party! I also thought the bands were superb, Mr. Blink, Little Vito and the Torpedoes, Tin Horse and Mike McAbee. I also enjoyed hanging out with the bands... especially Tin Horse (can you tell?).

How to get friends to go camping...

Cook them a great breakfast... like my wife cooks for us when we're camping!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

The ONLY way to camp!

Earlier I mentioned camping in Leon, Wisconsin. I was going to do a whole story about that, but the truth is we just had a real nice weekend with friends. Nothing earth shattering happened, we just had a nice weekend, and enjoyed being with friends... and that's what it's all about. And that's my point... get a bunch of friends together and go camping! It's the best!
Pretty nice setup doncha think?

My Dream Boat...

Whenever I'm on the river, I wish I had a guitar along with me. But I always worry that it'll get wet or wrecked or something. But... if I had a boat like this...

Pictures of Barenaked Ladies!!!!!

Okay fine, it's a rock band named Barenaked Ladies so all you guys settle down. They played Friday night at Rockfest and virtually stole the show... far better than Sheryl Crow in my opinion. And my wife (in the orange hoody) got their autographs while I got a couple photos!

What is this man doing?

Now, if you look closely he appears to be ballet dancing in a grassy field. Perhaps doing a pirhouette... or, is he leaping to the sky like he thinks he's Superman?

Actually this is my friend Jay and he's pitching horseshoes. He's pretty good too. This is what we did a lot of when we camped at Leon a week ago. What else do you do when you have a grassy field right next to your campers? More on camping at Leon later.

MJ's roots...

I got an e-mail from someone that says these are photos from Michael Jackson's boyhood home in Gary Indiana. Which means an awful lot of people lived in this tiny home back then. I keep wondering where they all learned to dance??
Sure has become a shrine hasn't it!?

Crater Island

If you haven't been there in a while, boaters be sure and check out crater island. The Corps of Engineers created a very cool bay that's perfect for a day on the river. It's right across from the Lawrence Lake area near Brownsville... you can't miss it!

The Beach Cruiser

I can't think of a better way to spend the 4th of July... 8 hours on the Mississippi and Black River in the American Marine Beach Cruiser!
I'll post more pix tomorrow, but here's me (the skipper) and where we went for a couple hours... anybody know where this is?

Camping again!! The three best things!!

Okay, in my opinion the three best things about camping (excluding the obvious friends and beer) are playing frisbee cups... eating great breakfasts (cooked by my wife).... and sitting around the campfire (but what are those women talking about??)

I want one of these for cruising the Mississippi!!

How about a 2,000 HP Outboard Inflatable? Actually its the latest drug runner toy from Europe. This thing was belting across the English channel 3 times per week and was just a blur on the radar of the British Coast Guard. They were so astonished by the speed of the unknown craft, theybrought in a special high speed helicopter to chase it. Drugs were found onboard. Of course, you'd have to be on drugs to put the throttle down on this thing!

Awesome!! Races at the Speedway!

Saturday night we headed to West Salem and the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway! Great weather and some very exciting races! From Randy Hass taking a roof-ride to J. Herbst picking up his first speedway victory we were on the edge of our seats!
Thanks to Jacklyn Daniels for the pix!

Thought for the day...

You really have two choices...

Remember when you turned 21 and the realization hit you that the whole world was yours! You looked around and took stock of what was important right away... car, color TV, stereo... maybe even a motorcycle. And then... wow, I can get a dog! Holy smokes... I can have kids! And remember a few short years later when you realized that just maybe you should have waited a few more years for the dog or the kids!!!

So we went to a diner... and didn't eat!!!

Too funny!

Good advice today... "Always Call Before You Dig!"

This is like a public service announcement. Sadly, bears don't read my blog...

DEAL OF THE DAY!!!

Don't miss this one! Your chance to really score a bargain... buy 3 for the price of 3!! Hurry, this is a limited time offer, I bet tomorrow it's 3 for the price of 4!!

HOLD THE ONIONS!!! from the Professor

Sent to me by a friend. Cannot vouch for the validity of content, but check it out.

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products. Mullins is HUGE and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family. My friend Jeanne is the CEO. The facility is mammoth. We toured about 280,000 square feet! Questions about food poisoning came up and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist. The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He's one of the brothers. Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula. He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's.

Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made Mayo is completely safe. It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary. He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the quintessential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from. Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the onions, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES. He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator. It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you. (And doubly watch out for onions at the baseball park!)

Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put in on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

So, how's that for news? Take it for what you will. I am going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onion.

Memorial Day Weekend Camping follow-up...

Goose Island from Friday to Monday! Yes we camped, yes we had great weather, yes we had a great time, and no there wasn't any beer left in the cooler. No firewood left either, the whole truckload was burned up.

We biked, we hiked, we ate very well, we euchred, we ladder golfed and we Frisbee Cupped... or would that be Fricketed...? We also slept in every morning... well, I was up early Monday but other than that we slept in. Why is it that you need two days to recover after four days of relaxing??

I'll just post one photo for now... me in front of our camper. But more pix will follow after I download some more.

From the Professor!!

This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday.
The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?"
I think this guy nailed it!
Dear Mr. President:
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan: There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered-Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage -Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and theirconstituents pay their taxes...

We Still Need Rain... but we're going camping!

Yeah, the famous rainy Memorial Day Weekend... and we're going camping. Hopefully it only rains at night... ;-)

I like this sign though!

THE BIG MATCHUP!! Brew Crew VS Twinkies

Well, this weekend my two favorite baseball teams face off - Brewers and Twins. My friends all know which one I root for when they play... maybe you can tell from this bobblehead doll. And yes that's me, and no there wasn't a real Keith Anderson bobblehead. Sheesh!!!

SURVIVOR - 5/17 - J.T. Wins

Well, turns out it wasn'teven close. Here I thought I was doing my usual, picking someone that wouldn't win... and it turns out everybody wanted J.T. to win. Yep, unanimous voting and everything. Now I don't even feel special. Anyway... the next Survivor is in Samoa, and that looks like a pretty nasty place. I thought Toncantins was supposed to be nasty but did anybody even see a wild animal? Better luck Samoa. And by the way, did you see Coach? The only contestant to bring a signed note from your friendly Lie Detector Operator. Sheesh. But, congrats J.T., I picked you!

SURVIVOR - 5/17 - Taj is betrayed!

First hour of the finale is history... and Taj is gone. Steven and J.T. betrayed their old alliance partner and Jalapao member because they thought they'd have a better chance if they kept the very un-likeable Errin. Duh, guys the problem is the entire jury is original Timbura members... like Errin. Would it not have made more sense to have the final three be all Jalapao members so the jury would have had to choose on a more equal basis??

Oh well, bye bye Taj... go J.T.!

He's my pick to win it!