The excitement is building for Google Fiber.

I still think it sounds like a breakfast cereal, but that’s neither here nor there.

Madison is holding a meeting tonight to get public input, so we can submit the best application possible.  It sounds like Google will come to the winning city and set up another internet service provider option, which will include high speed fiber optic connections to residential areas. Here’s the video they’ve posted on it.

Sweet!  Internet at 100 times faster than it is now.  I’ll take it.  We’re a pretty tech savvy city too.  Why not Madison.

If the idea of a public meeting turns you off, what about this as an attractor for your input tonight.  There’s going to be a new flavor of Google- Babcock Hall Ice Cream unveiled at the meeting.

Hmmm…I wonder what it’ll taste like?  I’m guessing something crunchy, for fiber purposes.  It’ll probably have a vanilla base because of Google’s blank background homepage.  Then throw on multi-colored sprinkles in the Google blue, red, yellow and green.

Mmmmm…ice cream.  It does a body good.

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I am an admitted sun-aholic. Bright sunshine makes and inordinate positive impact on my psyche and well-being. When it’s gone for more than a day or two, look out.

That said, you would think that today would be a bad day for me. Another morning of fog followed by a monsoon. Nice. Despite that, it’s actually a pretty good day for me, attitudinally speaking.

Why?

Well, because I just came across this photo on my phone, snapped back in December in my driveway when we got that first big dump. This is a picture of the final shot of the 2009 outdoor basketball season.

We wondered then how long it would be before that ball would come down. Not long, as it turned out.  Around Christmas, you might recall, it got just warm enough to rain for a couple of days, letting loose that last shot.

Anyway, looking at this photo has reminded me how much nicer a spring monsoon is than a Christmas monsoon. It is truly a great day.

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     She says she’s turned down hosting Saturday Night Live three times in the past, never feeling “New York” enough.  But her agent finally talked her into it!  The Emmy winning actress will the the sole host of the Mother’s Day show and producer Lorne Michaels has also booked former SNL players (Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer) to pick up the slack in case the demanding live show format proves too much for the 88 year old actress.  I am only worried the show won’t be able to keep up with Ms. White. 

     I haven’t watched SNL in years.  But I’ll be watching May 8th, for sure.

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Happy Birthday Chuck Norris. You are the king of all Bad A** dudes.

To celebrate, were playing this most excellent summary of Chuck’s skills today.

Chuck Norris Rules

To enhance the Walker, Texas Ranger experience, I’ve also added the ultimate fight:  Chuck Norris vs Bruce Lee.

Oh yes, note the scene at 35 seconds in.  That’s some manly-man stuff.

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Normally, on a rainy morning in March like today, I would not think, “hey, maybe I’ll fire up the grill tonight!” In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s been at least 5 1/2 months since I last did just that so, obviously,  it’s not yet returned as a regular part of my thoughts.

However, Charlie Shortino pointed out to us this morning that despite the weather early today, tonight might provide the first reasonable weather conditions of the season for charring some meat on the deck.

Hear it here:

grillnight

What are your minimum weather standards for firing up the grill?

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This is nacho mama’s chapstick! This is Wisconsin, and we need more cheese products. 

From our cheese-coated lips to God’s ear…. this is what we’ve been waiting for.

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I don’t mean to be insensitive to Farrah Fawcett, her family or any teen boy whose ever got “romantic” with her pin up, but is all this protest really necessary?

Some seem to be up in arms that Farrah was not included in the “In Memoriam” section of the Oscars on Sunday.

So the question is: did they leave her out on purpose? The answer appears to be yes. A rep for the Academy Awards has said they can’t include everyone.

I won’t try to debate whether she should, or should not have been included. She was an actress, so I think she would qualify.

Also, what about Bea Arthur, Billy Mays, Alania Reed Hall (Susan from Sesame Street), Ed McMahon, Don Hewitt (60 Minutes producer), Henry Gibson and Ricardo “Fantasy Island” Montalban!

They didn’t make the cut either. I think this is a situation where you can’t please everybody, because it’s such a subjective topic.

I say if you want to remember Farrah, go rent Logan’s Run, The Cannonball Run or the original Charlie’s Angel’s on DVD. I’m sure she’d want to be recalled for her life, rather than her death.

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     Although Fletch did not give up meat for Lent, members of his family did.  So he’s kind of a vegetarian by default these days.  And he’s run through his repertoire of veggie-only dishes.  Enter my Spicy Pepper Potato Soup to save dinner tonight!  Here’s the list of ingredients for a two person serving (just double up for a family of four!)…

2 cups diced potatoes

1 poblano pepper, diced small

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced small (no vein or seeds unless you all like it hot!)

1/2 white onion, diced

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp oil (olive or veg–your choice)

1 14oz can vegetable broth

1 cup milk

1 tbsp flour 

1/2 cup shredded cheese (again, your choice but cheddar rocks)

Toppings–more shredded cheese, chives, green onions, crackers

Heat the oil in your soup pot and add the potatoes, garlic, peppers and onion.  Saute for a few minutes and season with cracked pepper and your spices of choice.  Add the can of broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Take a wooden spoon and smash the diced potatoes against the side of the pot.  This soup is not meant to be pureed; it’s a bit chunky.  Simmer another 30 minutes or so.  Continue seasoning with pepper, garlic and onion powder–whatever floats your boat.  Put your flour in your cup of milk, stir to slightly dissolve.  Slowly add milk and flour mixture to soup.  Simmer another 15-20 minutes, stirring pretty frequently.  Add cheese.  As soon as it melts, serve it up topped with what you like!

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… you might have warned me not to do as a kid. Or maybe not.

On Saturday, the day of sunshine and 40 degrees, I was itching to get my bike out of the garage and to go for a ride. So, out it came with a flat tire I swear it didn’t have the last time I rode it, probably in October. No matter.

I pumped up that tire and rode out the driveway, quickly accelerating through my gears until- whoa- I felt that wind chill. Now isn’t that interesting? At slow speed, with no wind and bright sun, it felt great to ride, but at speed greater than 10 mph, the windchill was a bit too much for me.

So, I decided to take a low-speed ride instead, across Lake Wingra.

Now, I’ve ridden around Lake Wingra a million times, winding around through the Arboretum, Vilas Park, and down Monroe Street. But on this day, a rare one when the ice was solid enough to ride on and the temperature was warm enough to make it enjoyable, I rode across Lake Wingra, and back, and didn’t tell my mommy I was going to do it.

When I mentioned it to a friend he said that when he was a kid he skated across Lake Mendota without telling his parents. He said, “hey, it was the 70’s and helicopter parents didn’t yet exist.” True that. We just did stuff and maybe talked about it later. Maybe not.

If you want to send the URL of the video to my mom, go ahead. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, right?

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Rated PG – 1h48 -

It looks like Alice, but it’ missing some of the heart and some of the wonder. The film tries to make up for a lesser story with great visuals. This didn’t feel like Alice In Wonderland should have felt.

In Tim Burton’s version, Alice is a teenager. Faced with the prospect of grown up decisions, she follows the White Rabbit into the forest and falls down the rabbit hole. Believing she is having her recurring dream, Alice begins to realize she has returned to the familiar Underland, and reunited with some familiar friends. She is then charged with the quest of ending the Red Queen’s reign.

As I recall, original story is filled with characters taunting and misdirecting Alice on her way home. The imagery is dark and the ideas are a little scary. This story is seemingly happier, even with the Red Queen and her constant requests for beheadings.

What is fun about his is the cartoon-esque hallucinogenic world that Burton creates. He had help from one of the visual designers from Avatar, and Wonderland is fantastic looking.

The characters, some old, some new, seem to be there more out of a convenience. They are clever and interesting to look at, but it felt as if Alice could have made her way through without the advice of the hooka-smoking caterpillar. Isn’t he supposed to be a key player?  Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter was a treat.

Another problem is Alice’s journey, which resolves in a gigantic climactic battle. Isn’t Alice on a journey of finding herself, while finding her way home? Why does she need a dragon to slay? I guess it helps pack the film with some more action.

This movie leaves you feeling like you saw something impressive, just not a better version of the story. Something is missing. By the way, the 3D format did nothing to improve on the story, and serves more as a distraction.

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