Weekend Bonus Blog Entry Aug 29-30

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE NEBRASKA (Go Big Red)!

Excerpts from Omaha World Herald (6/22-I know, a little dated):  "One hour & 18 minutes into my tater tot waiting game at TD Ameritrade Park, * I spotted Bill Long . . . holding the object of my desire:  an order of the Grounds Crew Tacho. As soon as I tried the mammoth pile of tots w/oodles of toppings created especially for the College World Series by the chefs at Levy Restaurant Group who cook for the park, I knew I wanted to track down an actual diner willing to try the dish during one of the CWS games. 
      "Just after 5 p.m., Long dropped a tenner for his half-lb of potatoes w/nacho cheese, hickory-smoked brisket, pico de gallo, pickled jalapenos, & 2 sauces:  bbq & 'Cobra sauce'--buttermilk ranch dressing kicked up w/a spicy combination of sriracha & buffalo wings sauce. 
        "The reason Long decided to try the tachos? He saw them on Omaha.com . . . 'I actually couldn't find the brat burger,' Long said, 'so I decided on this instead . . . he planned to make the tachos his dinner. 'I don't even want to know how many calories,' Long said, but he did plan to demolish the whole dish himself."
      [Other accolades, as quoted in the column, followed:] "Tot's & spicy cheese. What's not to like." (Dustin Pischell, Verdigre, NE) "Tater tots. Brisket. Barbecue. Hell **, yeah." (Dave Feit, Lincoln, NE) "While Feit waited for his buddies, he took his first bite of tots. 'Pretty good. Pretty damn ** good.'" 
* OWH food critic Sarah Baker Hansen, reporting from the College World Series in Omaha last June.
** While this blogger neither condones nor typically uses such profane language, in this context it seemed appropriate to make the point.

Also from OWH (8/10--It's my blog; deal with it):  "Kroc Center offers the latest in swine dining. BaconFest is really a pork lover's fantasy posing as a fund-raiser for the Salvation Army's Kroc Center in South Omaha. About 1,500 people jammed the campus at 2825 Y St. on Sunday for the 3rd edition of what is rapidly becoming one of Omaha's most popular foodie events. Attendees had the chance to taste--over & over again--18 bacon-focused items created by local chefs . . . BaconFest Omaha raises awareness & money for the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center's mission & activities for all ages. [Bacon? Fund-raiser? There truly is no place like Nebraska!]


Excerpt from Lincoln Journal Star (8/5--Get over it!):  "Nebraska will fight Clean Power Plan. Attorney General Doug Peterson said Tuesday that Nebraska had joined a coalition of other states to fight implementation of new federal regulations to reduce power-plant carbon emissions . . . 'Left unchecked, this inappropriate jurisdictional overreach of the federal government will have serious consequences by driving electrical costs up for all Nebraskans across our state.'" [Why not save this entry for my Political Tuesday blog? Because WE ARE NEBRASKA! We don't need the federal government telling us what we can & can't do with our carbon emissions! It's our air! What about our air drifting across our borders into adjoining states? Let them move THEIR blue-state, federal-regulation-loving boundaries!]

CALIFORNIA? *
* Did you notice the color-symbolism attached to both the Nebraska heading at the top of the column & the California heading above? You didn't?! Well, I can't explain everything to you.

Excerpts from Norfolk Daily News (8/17):  "Hold It! City uses paint to fight urination. Public urination has gotten so bad in San Francisco that the city has painted nine walls w/a repellent paint that makes pee spray back on the offender. It's the latest effort to address a chronic problem in a city where the head of public works calls himself Mr. Clean:  Walls are coated with a clear, liquid repellent material that goes on much like paint. Any urine that hits it splashes back on a person's shoes & pants.
      "Mohammed Nuru, director of S.F.'s public works dept., said offenders will need to make the mistake only once to get the idea. 'If you have to go,' he said, 'go in the right place.'" [This being California, I'm thinking that any day now a lawsuit will be filed by PETU. *]
* You know, People for the Ethical Treatment of . . . You guessed it! Sometimes I just crack myself up.]

Also from NDN (8/26):  "Bugging out: Outbreak of insects irks California. (dateline Lone Pine) The gas station's ground was covered w/the small winged bugs. Piles of carcasses, inches deep, sat swept to the sides. On the road, they rained onto car windshields. They flew by the thousands toward even the smallest sources of light, & crept along windows & kitchen tables.
      "Such has been the skin-crawling reality for the past two months in the high-desert communities where residents have seen an explosion of the black-and-red seed bug special Melacoryphus lateralis . . . 
      "Gas stations & rest areas along Hwy 395--a roadway that crosses through sparsely populated & rural areas--are prime bug targets because of their lights. After dark, the bugs swirl like surreal artwork, below the Pearsonville * Shell gas station's overhead lights. 'Millions, tens, twenty, we can't count it,' gas station owner Soma Praba said."["Plenty of room at the Hotel California-da-da-DA-da-DA-da-da-Any time of year{any time of year], You can find it here . . ."]
* According to Mapquest, Pearsonville is 252 mi. south & east of San Jose. I'm just sayin'.

HAWAII?

Also from NDN (8/26):  "Sewage spill prompts Hawaii beach closure. Most of the famed beach fronting Waikiki was closed after heavy rains triggered a half-million gallon sewage spill near Hawaii's world-famous tourist district, officials said. The inundation overwhelmed the sewage system, causing 500,000 gallons of wastewater to spew from manholes . . . " [Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Honolulu city official admitted, "We usually have to shut down Waikiki once or twice a year when we have a half-million gallon sunscreen spill overwhelm our sewage system."]

IOWA?

Excerpt from Omaha World Herald (8/24/15):  "Prisoner again escapes from work release program. (dateline Coralville) Iowa authorities are searching for an inmate who walked away from a prison work release program for the second time in less than two years . . . [The prisoner] walked away from the same work release facility in April '14 & was missing for 4 months before he was found." [Authorities are said to be exploring the possibility that there may be a pattern to this man's history of walking away from work release programs.]

Also from OWH (8/25):  "Board member accused of harassment quits. A Sioux City school board member accused of sexually harassing a district employee has resigned. Paul Speidel resigned Friday. Earlier last week he acknowledged sending inappropriate texts, but said he would remain on the board. He said the communications had stopped . . . Speidel said he'd exchanged texts w/the woman for years & was surprised that she did not tell him she was offended by his communications." [I can neither confirm nor deny that this man was the product of a blue-state public school cultural sensitivity curriculum.]

MINNESOTA?

Also from OWH (8/16):  "Do you need a license for that?" [What followed was a list of 5 categories of jobs--bounty hunter, fortuneteller, florist, interior designer, & manure applicator--& which states require & which do NOT require a license for each profession. Tellingly, Nebraska, a red state, as one would expect, does NOT require a license for any of these professions. Also tellingly, as one might expect, MN requires a license to be a manure applicator "as a 'commercial animal waste technician.'"]
      In all fairness, so does Iowa. Iowa also requires a license to be a bounty hunter, as does CA, TX, NJ. Massachusetts requires a license to be a fortuneteller. [Dept of Imaginary Conversations:  EXAMINER:  Can you tell me if I plan on issuing you a license or not? ASPIRING FORTUNETELLER:  Yes, I foresee you handing over a license in return for my $175 in cash. EXAMINER: Wow, you're qualified! Here's your license. Gimme your cash.]

NEW YORK?

Also from OWH (8/17):  "Blizzard babies arrive right on time. Last November, a pair of freak snowstorms dumped a historic 70" of snow on the area around Buffalo, New York, in a matter of 5 days. Now a Buffalo maternity ward is dealing with a different kind of blizzard. Officials at Mercy Hospital told the AP they've seen a 'mini baby boom' . . . almost exactly 9 months after the 'Snow-vember' storm.
      "You know, those 9 months. * 'Nowhere to go, nothing to do,' new parent Stephanie & Jason Brueggeman said of those chilly November days.'" [Such a romantic reminiscence. And what a special story to share w/your child some day. "We were trapped in the house & didn't have anything better to do, so . . . "]
* Yes, I am an English major, not a math major, but it doesn't mean I can't count backwards. Duh.