Saturday, September 10, 2016

Making you feel at home before you sign the lease



UPDATE: South Gateway Drive and Mendota Avenue reconstruction almost done


Curb, gutter, and sidewalk come to South Gateway in Middleton
  


Even the dead-end Charing Cross got a makeover.  And a sidewalk.



Some residents living on the west side of Gateway lobbied the City of Middleton to locate the sidewalk on the east side of the street.  To no avail.


A reconstructed Mendota Avenue at the entrance to Lakeview Park.



7/26/2016 update, "Mendota Avenue in Middleton now driveable, still no parking", starts here.

The view from Allen Boulevard

Still much work yet to be done on South Gateway

According to the non-Bernie signs along the side of the street, the 'no parking' rule remains in effect until August 15.




6/5/2016 update, " Middleton Home Talent provides parking options map for 2016 baseball season", starts here.

Looking west.


Looking east.

Parking options found here.


Updated 5/7/2016 post,"City of Middleton street project 2016:  Work now underway on South Gateway Street and Lake Mendota Drive", starts here.

A view of South Gateway.  Still bike-able but not for long.



Original 4/9/2016 starts here.

The project also includes the Charing Cross Lane cul-de-sac.

Source:  City of Middleton  (orange arrows added)
(Close-up screenshot of Five Year Street Improvement Plan)

And what are we lookin' at here?

South Gateway Street at University Avenue.


The reconstructed street will include curb and gutter, as well as a sidewalk on the north (this) side.  (That's the turn-off onto Charing Cross Lane at center-right.)



(Halfway between University and Lakewood Blvd.)  I use South Gateway a lot when I'm biking to access the Pheasant Branch trail -- and points north and west.  It's a bumpy right ride here.


As it is between Lakeview and Mendota Avenue.  

I'm looking forward to the improvements.   

(Prior to being annexed by the City of Middleton -- I don't know the exact date -- this street was located within the Town of Middleton.  Which is why there's no curb and gutter.]



Mendota Avenue from near its intersection with Allen Boulevard.  Lakeview Park is at right.



On-street parking for Middleton Home Talent baseball games won't be available this summer.  

All photos by Retiring Guy

UPDATE: One more layer of asphalt left in Park Street reconstruction



8/9/2016 update, " School starts in 23 days (Park Street reconstruction in Middleton)", starts here.

No activity was talking place last Friday.




6/25/2016 update, "School's out, street construction underway (Park Street in Middleton)", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Original 5/7/2016 post, "City of Middleton street project 2016:  Park Street and High Road", starts here.

This street project won't get underway until after school is out.
\
Source:  City of Middleton  (orange arrows added)
(Close-up screenshot of Five Year Street Improvement Plan)

The stretch in photos

At the southernmost point where the reconstruction begin.  Looking north from where the Pheasant Branch Nature Preserve trail crosses Park Street.


Just up the street from the previous photo.  The brand-new Kromrey Middle School is at the left.  This two-year construction project is part of the reason for the beat-up condition of the street.





The view just north of Donna Drive, which is named after Dane County Executive Joe Parisi's mother. 



High Road to the city limits.  Northside Elemetary School is located at the crest of the hill, to the left.


UPDATE. Are Hurts Donuts as good as Max's perch plate? Stay tuned.




For Hurts, it's all about location location location!



Original 4/4/2016 post, "Max's Farm Table closes its doors for good -- without a word of goodbye", starts here.

At the southeast corner of Parmenter Street and Donna Drive in Middleton, this strip mall has become a jinxed location for restaurants.  The Blue Spoon was unable to make a go of it here, having struggled for nearly 3 years -- September 2007 to August 2010 -- to find an audience.  The space remained empty, for the most part, until Max's opened in October 2015.

I stopped here yesterday once I noticed that all of the signage had been removed.


Not a word of explanation is offered.


The restaurant started out with such great promise.  My older son and I were particularly impressed with the perch plate we ordered on Friday, October 16, 2016.



The perfectly seasoned, crunchy breading enhanced, rather than overwhelmed, the flavor and texture of the moist fish.

"Amazing perch!"  I proclaimed on Facebook.  "Better than the K of C in Two Rivers.  And that's the highest praise."

Unfortunately, on three subsequent visits with my wife, the quality of the meal deteriorated each time.  Even the hand-cut fries and cole slaw made on the premises.  And since service was never the restaurant's strong point, we both figured Max's had a limited shelf life.

In other words, yesterday's discovery came as no surprise.

The two faces of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf


Photo credit:  Wells Fargo


Reported by Michael Corkery in Wells Fargo Offers Regrets, but Doesn't Admit Misconduct.  (The New York Times, 9/9/2016)

According to a 5/11/2016 article in Forbes, "Money Masters: The Most Powerful People in the Financial World", John Strump is #14 on the list with a net worth of $200,000,000.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Heather the Harridan pushes her usual collection of misstatements and lies



What's actually going on.

“Planned Parenthood for decades has provided ongoing well-woman services and contraceptives to millions of women in the U.S. and has been oftentimes the best access for some underprivileged women to get access to contraception,” Lawrence said. Noting that approximately half of all pregnancies are unplanned, he said reducing access to birth control could increase the number of unintended pregnancies among women exposed to Zika through travel, sexual contact, or the new local outbreak."

Dr. Christopher Estes, chief medical officer for the local Planned Parenthood office, said the organization has been preparing for the virus for months and informing patients. The next step is going door-to-door with Zika kits for pregnant women and informational fliers for everyone. The Planned Parenthood kits are based on the Florida Department of Health kits and contain insect repellant, standing water treatment tablets, educational materials in Spanish, English and Creole and condoms. 

Related post:
Heather Weininger teaches us about the use of hyperbole (The Heather Chronicles).  (9/9/2016)

Heather Weininger teaches us about the use of hyperbole (The Heather Chronicles)



Planned Parenthood is Forcing Taxpayers to Foot their $1.6 Million Bill.   (Wisconsin Right to Life news release, 9/9/2016)

Oh....Heather.....honey.....as someone who should know best explains it.....
This is what happens when Republican legislators pass unconstitutional laws that are designed to restrict women from having the opportunity to exercise their constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy through abortion. In Wisconson, they passed a law written by a radical anti-abortion group, never stopping to consider how much it would cost the taxpayers when the law was found to be unconstitutional. The truth is that those Republican legislators do not care about wasting tax dollars. It is just other people's money they are willing to shell out in their unrelenting effort to advance a primary tenet of their party: misogyny.




Lightning didn't strike twice with Tommy Roe's follow-up to his early 1969 #1 hit, "Dizzy".  (4 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.)   "Heather Honey" peaked at #29 and spent just 8 weeks on the chart.

Looks as though we'll be saying goodbye to 'Heather' at the end of the year.


Great black comedy.


Dear unidentified 52-year-old driver, Somehow I'm having trouble visualizing this


And this Internet photo doesn't help.



Reported by Bill Novak in Driver crashes into tree on West Side, extricated by Madison firefighters.  (Madison.com, 9/8/2016)

The 'Be George Jetson' UPDATE: The Ehang 184 autonomous-flight drone


Estimated costs:  Between $200,000 and $300,000.  No precise time frame for commercialization.



Electric, self-driving, flying taxis are the future.  The wealthy and the brave can soar above the traffic.  (Houston Chronicle, 9/6/2016)
Business columnist Chris Tomlinson likes what he sees.  While the concept may seem like science fiction, a self-flying vehicle is really just a scaled up electric drone, the kind that children fly every day. Add in self-driving car technology with existing aeronautical safety systems, and the concept of hopping on a drone and tapping a flight plan onto a tablet computer doesn't seem like a big deal.

Original 1/14/2016 post, "Be George Jetson:  Ehang 184 AAV drone at CES2016", starts here.



This octocopter wants to fly you at 60 mph.  (c|net, 1/6/2016)
Caution, regulatory buzzsaw ahead.  "It isn't going to be that you get one under the Christmas tree, take it outside, and go flying. You're still talking about what amounts to a manned aircraft," more like a helicopter than a drone, said Mark Dombroff, an aviation attorney for law firm Dentons, who previously represented the Federal Aviation Administration and Justice Department. "They're not going to be able to sell this without having some sort of airworthiness certificate, probably experimental."

General specifications:
  • Room for 1
  • Travels at up to 60 miles per hour (Ashley sez 65 in the video report)
  • 23 minute battery life
  • 11,000 maximum elevation

Hanna-Barbera's 4-passenger drone (pre-unmanned phase)



Related CES 2016  posts:
BMW's "undeniably cool" Spyder concept car.  (2/19/2016)
DJI Phantom 3.  (2/16/2016)
Netatmo welcome home security camera.  (2/13/2016)
Volkswagen BUDD-e concept.  (2/11/2016)
Samsung Gear S2 smart watch.  (2/10/2016)
Intel Xiaomi Ninebot.  (2/9/2016)
360 Fly 350 degree action camera.  (2/9/2016)
Ricoh Theta S spherical camera.  (2/8/2016)
GoSun solar stove.  (2/8/2016)
Immersit 4D  motion furniture.  (2/7/2016)
Spün smart utensils.  (2/7/2016)
Grillbot or grill brush.  (2/6/2016)
Flip Pal Plus mobile scanner.  (2/6/2016)
ThinOPTICS reading glasses.  (2/5/2016)
My ears were initially all in for this gadget (Earin).  (2/5/2016)
Are you Ditto-worthy?  (2/4/2016)
Triby (tri-bee) takes you back to the days of the family phone.  (2/4/2016)
ODG R-7 smartglasses.  (1/24/2016)
Withings Thermo smart thermometer.  (1/24/2016)
SensorWake alarm clock (you'll need to lobby for bacon).  (1/23/2016)
Dear Panasonic, This transparent LCD display promo does not fill me with anticipation and excitement.  (1/18/2016)
All, if not much more, than most of us will ever need to know about the Vert wearable jump tracker.  (1/17/2016)  Be George Jetson: Ehang 184 AAV drone at CES2016.  (1/14/2016)
Virtual reality porn ('full immersion for the adult experience').  (1/14/2016)
'Crazy, trippy' OLED rollable TV.  (1/14/2016)
ModiFace mirror.  (1/14/2016)
A personal bartender available in multiple colors.  (1/10/2016)
Wearable translator.  (1/10/2016)
Samsung KS9500 SUHD 4K TV with stunning natural curves.  (1/8/2016)
Be your own home brewer the easy way with Pico Brew Micro Brewer.  (1/8/2016)
Daqri smart helmet.  (1/8/2016)
This shower head tells you when your time is up.  (1/7/2016)
According to this HairMax instructional video, 82 medical-grade lasers will put a smile on your face.  (1/6/2016)
You may or may not get a charge out of the Digitsole Smartshoe.  (1/6/2016)
Enrich your family life with this Samsung Smart Family Hub Fridge.  (1/6/2016)

Social justice and gay issues get Robin Vos's goat


How telling.


Reported by Mark Summerhauser in Robin Vos: UW System must invite more conservatives to speak on campus. (Madison.com, 9/7/2016)

NoRoJo2016: A tale of two Homeland Security Committee chairmen




Ron Johnson mum on Donald Trump's praise for Vladimir Putin.  (Madison.com, 9/9/2016)

Other NoRoJo2016 posts:
Chapter 1.  (1/2/2013)
Chapter 2.  (1/10/2013)
Chapter 3.  (2/12/2013)
Chapter 4.  (2/13/2013)
Chapter 5   (3/11/2013)
Chapter 6.  (3/25/2013)
Chapter 7.  (4/8/2013)
Chapter 8.  (4/9/2013)
Chapter 9.  (4/12/2013)
Chapter 10. (4/14/2013)
Chapter 11.  (5/2/2013)  
Chapter 12.  (8/15/2013)
Chapter 13: One-trick pony?  (10/17/2013)
Chapter 14.  (10/24/2013)
Chapter 15.  (2/19/2014)
Chapter 16.  (3/15/2014)
Ron Johnson for President? Well, he might as well give it a go since he's not going to be re-elected U.S. Senator.  (5/14/2014)

Ron Johnson:  The sunshine of their love.  (6/18/2014) 
Chapter 19.  If only:  The early arrival of NoRoJo16.  (7/21/2014) 
Chapter 20:  As if we need more evidence.  (8/3/2014) 
Chapter 21.  Time to "ween off" RoJo.  (8/8/2014) 
Chapter 22.  The empty head addresses Cuba.  (12/22/2014)
Chapter 23.  We Really Don't Need Another 6 Years of Deep-Red Embarrassment.  (1/9/2015) 
Chapter 24.  Retiring Guy's illustrated dictionary:  'meaningless'.  (4/19/2015) 
Chapter 25.  Ron Johnson talks out of both sides of his mouth regarding 'career politicians'.  (5/17/2015)
Chapter 26.  The company he keeps.  (12/15/2015)
Chapter 27.  Dear Ron Johnson, Some of your best buds in the U.S. Senate are career politicians.  (2/4/2016)
Chapter 28.  Ron Johnson misreads the Constitution and misinterprets originalism.  (2/15/2016)
Chapter 29:  Dear Ron Johnson, How do you possibly expect to get reelected with these numbers?  (2/25/2016)
Chapter 30.  Two guys with low favorable ratings visit La Crosse.  (2/29/2016)
Chapter 31.  Ron Johnson:  Not our senator.  (3/15/2016)
Chapter 32.  Dear Ron Johnson, Let me speak frankly; you don't have a prayer! (3/17/2016)
Chapter 33.  Ron Johnson mouthpiece speaks up for silent boss.  (6/7/2016)
Chapter 34.  Dubya:  I'm with Rojo!  (6/18/2016)
Chapter 35.  Dear Ron Johnson, Most of us started at the bottom. It's no big deal.  (6/22/2016)
Chapter 36.  Ron Johnson, former dishwasher, is wrong again.  (6/28/2016)`
Chapter 37.  Even30/2016) the Senate Leadership Fund sez NoRoJo2016.  (6/30/2016)
Chapter 38. In Ron Johnson's world, freedom and limited government trump health insurance for cancer.  (7/2/2016)
Chapter 39.  Ron Johnson tramples on disability rights, concept of 'justice for all'.  (7/3/2016)
Chapter 40.  The Ron Johnson college course catalog.  (8/24/2016)

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Obscene



The Census Bureau notes as an aside, “The official poverty thresholds developed more than 50 years ago do not take into account rising standards of living or such things as childcare expenses, other work-related expenses, variations in medical costs across population groups, or geographic differences in the cost of living.” If such factors were included, poverty in the U.S. would be far worse.

Lester Nero (1937-2015) Warren High School Class of 1955



1954 Dragon yearbook

1967 Warren City Directory
  • Logan Glann M (Geraldine M; Munksgard & Logan) r Six Mile rd (Tiona)
  • Nero Lester E (Viola E) insp NF (National Forge) h510 N Public way
  • Nero Paul E (Dorothy S) crane opr NF h905 Conewango av
  • Rulander Lyle F (Jeannette N) layout mn PFI (Penna. Furnace & Iron) h16 1/2 S Morrison 
1983 Warren City Directory
  • Logan Glenn M & Geraldine M (Logan & Ansell) rTiona
  • Nero Mrs Dorothy S clk Boro of Warren h2 Canton St
  • Nero Paul E & Dorothy S; security guard NF h2 Canton St
  • Nero Todd E studt r2 Canton St
  • Rulander Jeannette N Mrs clk Penelec h16 1/2 S Morrison
  • Snyder Janet ofc sec Warren Library Assn r119 W 3d Av


For 'Lester', the 20th century was one long slide into oblivion, with a few bumps along the way.


Other class of '55 members:
Cleo Stack Yaegle.  (10/24/2015
Carl Stranburg.  (1/30/2015)

ITT Technical Institutes in their prime porker period




Downfall of ITT Technical Institutes was a Long Time in the Making, by Patricia Cohen.  (The New York Times, 9/7/2016)
Feeding greedily on taxpayer dollars.  For-profit colleges were a magnet for billions of dollars in federal student loans and grants to low-income students. In 2010, they gobbled up more than $32 billion, a quarter of all federal financial aid, nearly double their share less than a decade earlier, the Senate committee inquiry found. Hundreds of millions more flowed in from the Pentagon and veterans’ programs through the G.I. Bill.  
For ITT, the total haul in federal dollars that year equaled $1.1 billion. Absent that steady stream of public funds, these privately managed businesses would collapse.  [emphasis added]

Planned Parenthood defunding queen Janel Brandtjen peddles patently false information


Actually, you haven't heard, or will never hear, any such thing.


It's just one of those lies, repeated ad nauseum, by those suffering from Planned Parenthood Derangement Syndrome (PPDS).

Related reading:
Conservative pundit says Planned Parenthood CEO 'forced to concede' abortions make up 86% of revenue.  (PunditFact, 10/5/2015, which rated the statement "false".)
Representative Janel Brandtjen and Representative Andre Jacque:Defund Planned Parenthood.  (News release, 10/1/2016)

Janel had trouble getting through the rest of the day after reading this headline.  It definitely wiped that smile off her face.


Other Janel posts:
State Assembly races: 3 suburban Milwaukee Republicans running unopposed.  (7/19/2016)
UPDATE: Gasket-blowin' Bob Gannon brings his own stir stick to cauldron of fear.  (6/9/2016)
Dear Janel Brandtjen, the American Academy of Pediatrics has 64,000 members.  (9/15/2015)