Waukesha Water Wars

I was one of about 300 people who attended today's Great Lakes Compact hearing at Caroll University in Waukesha. Waukesha is requesting a 10.1 million gallons a day diversion from Lake Michigan, which it can do because it sits in a "straddling county." The Compact says that communities in straddling counties can apply—but only under strict conditions.  Today was fascinating and destined to be an important part of Great Lakes history.

For the first hour Waukesha and the Wisconsin DNR presented the Waukesha case. After that it was 3 hours of comments, overwhelmingly opposed. Above, Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee stating his opposition. 

A more in-depth write up will be forthcoming. 

Separate Ways

Sue to Victoria Lane, me to Bywater Lane. 

Sue had fun with Mads and Becc, and I got in a very competitive game of hockey with Will. The sad thing now is that we don't get to see as much of the older kids because there are in SCHOOL. 

We grandparents reassembled back in Whitewter this afternoon, in time for Sue to concoct a carrot cake which will be coming out of the oven not long after dinner is finished. 

I would note that the good folks at Verizon, where I bought my malfunctioning little folding keyboard not so long ago, willingly gave me a replacement. This is good, because once you learn to type on an odd little., squished little thing, you don't want to relearn something else. 

(Note: I know here are lots of typos in this blog, and I apologize for that. But I wil say that this shrunken folding keyboard is partially responds able.)

Trying Not To Pay Attention...

...to all the political nonsense, but still, and I apologize for being ghoulish, I am glad a certain justice is no longer issuing opinions. 

In Bush v Gore, Scalia gave us Bush, which meant the Iraq war and everything else we might have wanted to avoid. In Citizens United, Scalia gave us the oligarchic and corporate takeover of our country.  I have not been fond of either decision.

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And here some Scalia quotes:

Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carryout a death sentence properly reached.

As long as judges tinker with the Constitution to 'do what the people want,' instead of what the document actually commands, politicians who pick and confirm new federal judges will naturally want only those who agree with them politically.

 The body of scientific evidence supporting creation science is as strong as that supporting evolution. In fact, it may be stronger.... The evidence for evolution is far less compelling than we have been led to believe. Evolution is not a scientific fact, since it cannot actually be observed in a laboratory. Rather, evolution is merely a scientific theory or guess.... It is a very bad guess at that. The scientific problems with evolution are so serious that it could accurately be termed a myth.

Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't.

In a big family the first child is kind of like the first pancake. If it's not perfect, that's okay, there are a lot more coming along.

This is an execution, not surgery. Where does that come from, that you must find the method of execution that causes the least pain?

Last of the Deep Winter

Breakfast in the Piedmont Room at, sunrise.  

Of course, when you are well up north and at the extreme west edge of the Eastern time zone, sunrise comes late. We sat a respectable distance from the lively fireplace, had the Early Riser’s Special, and watched the snow come down as the sun came up. And, yesterday, after cocktails in the Sky Room overlooking Lake Superior, delicious surf and turf. 

When we arrived at the Landmark’s front desk yesterday afternoon we were absolutely surprised to find a gift card in our way. Thanks Abby and Tony and Brian and Renee!

On the way home we stopped at Aunt Janet’s for lunch and a chat. And then to Bywater Lane for some brief play time with the kids, and to pick up Pax. Thanks to Abby, Katy, Will, and Buddy for having him stay overnight.

Ultima Thule

Well, if not quite there, at least as far north as possible at this longitude , on the shore of Lake Superior.  An excursion in celebration of 40 years of wedded bliss to the fabled Landmark Inn in Marquette, MI., built in 1929--in the Earhart room where Amelia stayed in 1932. 

Bluetooth keyboard malfunctioning so no more commentary.  

Hiding Out...

...or rather, hiding in, because it was too cold out.

The doves and the squirrels take turns, just as the lion lies down with the lamb. 

Somehow the birds and squirrels enjoy (survive?) the great outdoors both day and night, but me and Pax, not quite so much.  Barometer way up high, and just now starting to drop.  Light winds, as might be expected under a high pressure dome, but even so, the breeze had bite. 

Looking back a few blogs to the lines by Tonino, which, while not Zen koans and certainly not haiku, still seemed interesting, I've decided, at the spur of the moment, to toss out a few lines of my own, possibly similar or at least in the same vein. Admittedly a bad idea, so I encourage anyone else to join me in this race to the bottom. Misery loves company.
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Life is good for you and your dog when he can poop without your knowing. 

It is always colder on a couch than it is walking across a frozen lake. 

When you can't hear anything at all you know you have found a good place. 

There is not the least bit of doubt that our ancestors were tougher than we are. 

Sitting still in one place is difficult—but worth it. 

Octodogs are far tastier than caviar. 

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I would be delighted to post other profundities here, and I encourage contributions.

Hockey With The Habes

UW vs Michigan. 

Incredibly cold walk from parking to restaurant to stadium to parking. Michigan won, but it was still fun.

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)

Big day in science. 

Just after these two large and extraordinarily sensitive devices were set in operation last fall they observed the signal above—a gravitational wave. This discovery confirms Einstein's theory of relativity and confirms the existence of black holes.  What I find fascinating is the amount of knowledge that can be deduced from these squiggles. According the the scientists involved, the signals illustrated above tell us that 1.2 billion years ago two black holes spun into each other and coalesced, sending out a big wave of gravity. This wave has been traveling toward Earth all that time and arrived just a few days after the detector had been turned on. Buried in this signal is even something called "ringdown" which is when two black holes shake off anything extraneous and settle into a globular shape. 

Longer Days, Frigid Nights

Very cold. Walking a challenge, though Pax has not yet complained.  We now have an hour and twenty minutes of light that we did not have at solstice time. So, as I've said before, If winter's here, can spring be far behind?

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Winter is a mood as well as a season.

On a calm lake at night one can row a small wooden boat across the stars.

There are places worth visiting that can only be reached by sitting silently in an empty room.

A paw print in the mud is enough.

A book of poems and a pot of tea are almost too much to handle.

--Leath Tonino

Too Soon To Think Spring?

Windy and cold, but Pax and I still had good walks—actually pleasant in the sun when sheltered in the woods. 

But serious cold is in the forecast. 

Sue is out this evening to dinner and a play with some of the neighbors. Much to my regret I began noticing a strange malady early this morning, and it has lingered, so I had to pass on tonight's outing. But not to worry...I think I'm feeling substantially better every minute. And, I'm looking forward to watching election results; curious to see if voters will vote for an android—the MR1, also known as the MarcoBot.

Back to Snow and Cold

Half an inch of fluff this morning and more coming down this evening,  Thermometer starting to drop rapidly. We appear to be in for the coldest stretch of winter so far.

On our morning wak Pax and I went in street shoes without creepers. No falls, but big mistake. That was a long, hard walk. 

An email from Jeff at CERN advises that a gravity wave created by the collision of two black holes will pass by our panet this Thursday, so hold on to your hat. And if you end up on the ceiling, don't say I didn't warn you.

All In The Same Boat

Another beautiful day on the ice—sunny, warmish, and windy!

Ferry service. The starting line was a mile offshore, and people needed to see the action close up.

Tony finishing fast in the Gold Fleet.

Bri on the starting line in the Silver Fleet.

Run! Push! And then quickly and smoothly jump in, while trimming the sail.

Get her going. Get clear of the other boats' wind shadow.

Point up, and head for the weather mark, finding the sweet spot between speed and point.

Three laps later, (quite a bit more than six miles later), (and about 8 minutes later) come screaming across the finish line.

A Lot In One Day

Up early to get to Pewaukee in time for the skippers meeting (although only providing moral support).

A starting lineup. 

Tony getting a good start. 

Bri getting a good start. 

A photo finish. 

Mimi and Bubba had charge of a wide selection of grandkids for a large part of the day. So home late.

Solstice vs Wombat

Nite nationals called ON. And on Pewaukee, which is convenient. Bri took the afternoon off, so he and I set the boats up on the ice and then went for some practice sails.  Nice ice, and just enough wind to get going.

Wombat is still a bit slow, at least slower than Solstice, but she still goes pretty well, for an oldster. Furthermore, we know what the impediments are, and we are working on fixing them. Actually, it was quite a big thrill to have #10 out on the ice and moving well in a relatively light breeze. 

Thanks to Bri (in Solstice, the yellow boat) for the video. I was too busy sailing to shoot back.

Geodes

Geodes were the topic of Elie's science for project, and she ha become quite an expert on them. 

Explaining things to the judge. 

A very interesting fair with everything from geodes to volcanoes to electric motors—and lots of excitement about science. 

Boots on The Sidewalk

Pax is having intestinal problems, and last night he needed to go out immediately quite a few times during the wee hours. On one of those trips I wore primarily my crocks (which tend to be porous) so I did a good deal of chilly wading through pools of ice water where the sidewalks had been dammed by hardened snow. 

Today we took Pax to the vet, where we learned that he had been in for exactly the same condition almost exactly one year ago. I don't know how to make sense of that. Does Groundhog Day cause diarrhea? Or what?

Gray, windy day, with he meter slowly dropping below freezing.  A few snow showers, BUT no accumulation. The ice is going to be nice. Except on the sidewalks.

Wrenching

Hanging out with Will this morning while Ab worked on farm stuff. 

Will waned to fix the flat tire on his bike, a noble idea, so I assisted while he did the wrenching—removing the chain guard and the rear wheel.  He is quite a skilled mechanic, and meticulous too, placing all nuts, screws, and washers in one place (the white plastic tray, above).
After lunch we dropped him off at the Schlitz/Audubon for his afternoon preschool.  Before leaving we helped him suit up for today's initial class activity, a hike through the woods and down the ravine to the lakeshore.
It must have been a memorable hike—sleety snow mixed with rain riding a wind so strong that the roar of the surf could be heard a mile inland.

Never Live in Iowa

Looking To Iowa

It will be interesting to see how things develop.
I watched the last Republican debate—at least a substantial bit of it, actually as much as I could stand—the one without Trump. What came clear, almost immediately, was that Cruz, Rubio, and Christie are loathsome mud-dwelling scum-bags. Really vile and really despicable. Really. Of the others, Rand Paul is defines the word loopy, and Ben Carson is sleepwalking across the poppy fields in Oz. Surprisingly, and against all my better instincts, I found Bush the most likable, and Kasich the most electable.
And that leaves Trump (if you discount all those at the kid’s table). I have come to the conclusion that he is not really capable of sustained thought. Listening to him talk I hear words, phrases, and the occasional sentence, usually repeated, but that’s it. Never a paragraph, and certainly never any sustained logically developed reasoning. I have always maintained that if you can’t speak coherently and at some length on a topic, and if you can’t write, then you can’t think.
But Trump, thoughtless as he is, remains an enigma to me. And this is because I don’t believe a thing he says. It is all a show.
So I wonder if there is there really anything underneath the orange comb-over.  I don’t know. But, knowing nothing, I still like what I don’t know better than what I do—which is Cruz, Rubio, and Christie. So—hold on to your hat—I would vote for Trump over most other Republicans if I had to. Of course, I’m not a Republican, and if I were really voting on the dark side I would vote for Kasich.

Stepping into the sunlight, I love Bernie. I have always admired him, and I love his ideas. However, when the voting comes to Wisconsin, I’m punching a chad for Hillary. We need a chief executive who can do at least as much as the much maligned and much under appreciated Mr. Obama.

Bright sun. Above freezing. But treacherous waking with lots of black ice slick patches.  No sign of the impending blizzard. Let it go north. Let it go north.

Symphony Pathetique

With Abby and Tony to MSO concert, availing ourselves of thier unique Christmas present. (Also a little Bartok on the program.)

This photo was not taken today, but rather two days ago. Today, dense, dark clouds extending from stratosphere down below most manhole covers. And all day today, clouds dispensing rain, mist and fog. Dozens of trucks, however, out on the ice in Oconomowoc, which proves that the ice is still strong or that Wisconsin ice fisherman are more interested in the Darwin award than the fishing derby trophy.

Another big rain event is forecast for Tuesday, and lots and lots of ice boaters are doing rain dances trying to keep the freeze line well north of here (which is predicted). If we can get back to cold without more snow we will be sitting pretty (which is iceboat talk for sailing fast).

Nowhere Fast

Got both boats set up on Pewaukee on a sunny ad mild day, only to sit perfectly still due to lack of wind. 

Even these young sailors couldn't get the boat to go.  On the up side, we were able to work on Wombat—shorter shrouds, new pedals, and re-sharpened runners—so if there had been wind she might have moved.