Weather...Or Not: April 2012 Entries

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4/30/12

There is an American flag outside of the station. It has been there for several years now. It used to be that we would fly the flag 24/7…only it wasn't lit up at night. Anyone familiar with the flag code knows that that ain't right! Many years ago I complained about it several times and the station finally lit up the flag area like it is supposed to be. Now it is very well lit and a shining example of how the flag is supposed to be displayed at night. I feel good about that.

Most mornings when I come into work I look at the flag for a second. It is always dark when I come to work in the morning and something about seeing Old Glory lit up the right way stirs me. So every morning I come into work I get a couple of seconds of reflection about our flag and what it means. It is a symbol of what this country has been, and what it took for our country to even exist. And I think about that just about every morning I come to work because of that well-lit flag outside our building.

I believe I should tell you, though, that this morning I did not have that moment of reflection. It was raining "cats and dogs" when I pulled into the parking lot at work this morning. I was parked about 30 feet from the door and had to run in the pouring rain! That is not a complaint, mind you. But the running in the rain means that I couldn't even tell you if that flag was there this morning!

4/27/12

We did "Phrase of the Day" yesterday and no one got hurt, which is great. Stephanie did get to slap me in the face…but I walked away unscathed. Something tells me she enjoyed yesterday's POTD more than the rest of us, though!

We're heading into a wet start to the weekend. Some rain and maybe a storm or two will take us through tonight and tomorrow morning. It should dry out a bit for Sunday…but next week we'll get stuck into a pattern of storms off and on through about Thursday the way it looks right now. We really need the rain…but hopefully we can avoid any nasty storms.

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Tammy (4/24/12):

Yeah! I am so glad you are bringing it back! The morning show is just not the same without it. Don't get me wrong, it is still great but just not the same. Thank you for making my day!!!!

"Phrase of the Day" was fun yesterday morning. And of course you can see it on the video player above if you missed it. I am not sure how often we will do it going forward…but likely at least once a week for a while. Thanks for the support, Tammy!

From Jerrie (4/25/12):

Good morning Greg It was good to see you on the evening show The wand crew has really went through some good changes Everybody is looking like they are getting into shape and also you all look like you have something positive in your lives The rain finally stopped and got the garden planted in the cold air but not in the rain Tell everyone to keep up the good work I miss Scott England hope he is doing good many thank for doing the good job that you all are doing a faithful viewer

Thanks, Jerrie! Yeah…I can't really speak for the other crews, but I think the morning crew is pretty good right now. Even the behind-the-scenes people that you don't see much are good. And probably the best part of it is that the personalities mesh very well so far. All of us in the morning love to have fun with our jobs and no one takes anything too seriously. Mark and Stephanie have that good combination of knowing when to be serious about the news and when to cut loose with me for some fun. And of course we don't horse around during bad weather, either. It's the right kind of mix, I think.

That's why I prefer working mornings compared to evenings. I've had the opportunity both here and at other places to work at night…and so far I have turned the offers down. The night time dhows are usually less fun…and a big reason for that is that the people are more serious. I just don't enjoy the vibe of working the later shows most of the time. I am happy in the morning…and I like this group we have right now. Believe me when I say that hasn't always been the case!

From A Gregorian (4/26/12):

I have know that for some time about leaving it lay in the yard. The wife and I buy Laytex Gloves in the 100 count box at Harbor Freight, and slip one and hold the Plastic bags with the other and pick it up. Pick the glove off and place that on the bag, tie it up and put in the regular garbage bag before closing it up.

I was pretty disappointed when I learned about the dog waste, simply because we have so much of it. As a side note…our next door neighbors got a puppy Saint Bernard a few months ago. "Kawi" (like Kawasaki) is a few months old now and getting VERY big…and I am sure she is already leaving her fair share of waste in the neighbor's yard. So our end of the block is well covered in that department.

Once again…enjoy those Cheerios this morning!

4/26/12

--For years I have thought that doggie waste was good for a yard. Right now we have one small dog, The Wu, and two larger dogs, The Blonde Bastards. Those three canines leave a lot of waste in the back yard. All this time I thought that their waste was a big reason that the grass grew so well back there. Well yesterday I posted something about being able to help someone's yard by giving away the excess waste from my boys. Someone responded with information that dog waste is actually not good at all as a fertilizer!

Most of the time I doubt information until I can confirm it. So I went online in search of the truth. I found it! Doggie waste is not good as a fertilizer. So now I am left trying to figure out why my back yard grows so well so I can duplicate it in the front.

--This morning we will be bringing back "Phrase of the Day". At some point later this morning, assuming the game doesn't bomb, you will be able to see the video of the game in the video player above. Stay tuned! Let's hope it doesn't suck right out of the gate…

--Tomorrow is "Feedback Friday"! Hit the feedback section below to send in your thoughts on any topic. They will be posted tomorrow morning...

4/25/12

I heard on the news on the radio this morning that Pakistan has around 100 nuclear weapons today. It was also reported that Pakistan has the fastest growing nuke arsenal in the world at the moment. That news took me a bit to digest when I heard it. To me it is frightening to think that a country to whom we are casually friendly with a shaky partnership, at best, is growing their capability to wipe out parts of our planet in a matter of minutes.

That government seems to be suspect. And that government is in a part of the world that can change at the drop of a hat, or a few ill-timed words. Add to the mix the fact that the people in control of that government can push a button and wipe out its neighbors and I would say that it makes things like our national elections that much more important.

Of course we can't really, truly stop other countries from chasing weapons that could be global killers. We have more weapons like that than anyone else on the planet, and I don't even think the race is close anymore. We have weapons that we don't even know about at this point. I'm sure our government has been doing top secret research for decades…and the public is probably 20 years behind when it comes to knowing what our military has at its disposal. And honestly, as long as that military remembers that it belongs to us, that is probably the way it should be.

I'm not predicting the end of the world. But you have to think that in the next couple of decades one of these rogue nuclear states is going to set off at least one of their bombs. It's been several decades now since someone used a nuke on another country (Japan) and unfortunately that is long enough for governments to forget the horrifying results of using weapons on that level. Thinking about human nature it seems that we'll have to be reminded why mutually-assured destruction has been the biggest deterrent to using nukes. I hope I am wrong about that. But the feeling I get is that someone is going to go loco and remind the world about the true dangers of weapons of that scale. Enjoy your Cheerios this morning.

4/24/12

If you look at the video player at the top of this blog you will see videos from an old game we played last year called "Phrase of the Day". It was a Facebook-based game that would allow people to submit a phrase that they wanted me to work into a weathercast around 6:51 on any given morning. People could vote on their favorite phrase by hitting the "like" button on their favorite submission. The phrase that got the most likes would be the phrase that was chosen. So I would try to work the phrase into a weathercast either by myself or by using the people and objects in the studio at the time. If someone stumped me or I messed it up the person that submitted the phrase would get something from the station.

The game started as a fluke on a whim. But I was very surprised with how well received it was. We played the game for what turned into several months, much to my surprise and delight. But on the final work day of 2011 we did our last "Phrase of the Day" contest. I was very worried about the game becoming stale and I did not want people to get tired of it. So we put it on the shelf…until now.

I recently asked the people that follow my Facebook page if they wanted to start the game again and the response was once again overwhelming in support of the game. So this coming Thursday morning on my Facebook page we will begin the "POTD". You have a couple of days to hit the link above that says "Hit Me on Facebook!". And then "like" the page to be able to play along. Eventually you will be able to watch the new "Phrase of the Day" contest on the video player above, too!

4/23/12

--This morning it is possible some of us will have frost. As someone that recently planted a garden with peas and some other sprouts already up…I hope the frost misses my house! If you are concerned about plants, etc, you may be happy to know that it doesn't look like we'll have a chance for frost again the rest of the week.

--Do you remember the Zodiac Killer that terrorized parts of California about 4 decades ago? There was an investigator on "Coast to Coast A.M." this morning that was very interesting. He has spent the past 15 or 20 years looking into various theories involving the Zodiac Killer. The guy even has a website dedicated to figuring out who the killer was. He seems to think it is one person that has since died, and they are just waiting on enough DNA evidence from the Zodiac Killer to be able to test this suspect's DNA against it to see if it is a match. It was a pretty interesting interview. Here is a link to the guy's Zodiac website if you'd like to investigate the matter further.

--Our weekend meteorologist Kevin Chierek got married over the weekend! That is why I was working Saturday and that is why I will be working next Saturday. Kevin married his high school sweetheart. He's a good dude, and they have a sweet story. We're very happy for him!

4/20/12

--We've got just a little bit of rain to get through today, which is good because we still really need the rain. And later today cooler air will start moving in. But all in all…this weekend's weather will be perfect for spring…just a bit on the cool side.

--Does anyone know what Ted Nugent did or said to get so many people mad at him? I haven't really researched this issue yet. But I've seen on Twitter that many people are calling him a bad guy. And I think I caught a headline saying something about him meeting with the Secret Service. Anyone that can fill me in…please do!

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Jerrie (4/16/12):

Good Morning Greg Sorry about the loss but maybe your rein is over for now but dont feel bad you done very good with raising money so feel proud for this so whom ever has the hammer it is for a good cause I want to say thankyou for what you do for the cause there is a saying its not how you played the game but its what you felt inside of a good job wether you win or loose . just try harder next time Greg thankyou and the wand tv crew for all of the good work you do I wish there is one thing that you could do turn the rain off for a while and stop the wind I want to get my garden planted lol have a Bless week jerrie

We play up the bowling event pretty hard, Jerrie. But I really don't mind losing as long as money is raised for the kids. And this time around we did raise more money than anyone else at the Media Night event!

Hope you got that garden planted this week, too! At my house we've got some sprouts starting to come up!!

From David (4/19/12):

WAY TO GO GREG !!!

My Mom used to have this annoying saying, "You're not gonna learn with me doing it for you. " I HATED that. One day I told her I'd be less likely to break something if she showed me how. My Dad said "The boy's got a point." Mom wasn't happy.

I guess the point is, you learn best by hands on. Good luck with your future projects, but be careful, I see a "honey do" list in your near future. LOL

Thanks, David. You know…there are actually many things I can do around the house. I am excellent when it comes to caring for a yard. I can wire a stereo system and take care of TV's, computers, and basically anything electronic. I'm also pound-for-pound one of the best cleaners in the business. But when it comes to building things or other forms of maintenance I usually fall a little short. That's why me doing the sump pump without any help was such a huge deal.

Coming off the heels of such a triumph, though…I am still not worried about that honey-do list getting too big. Faye still gets the call when a wall has to be repaired or the floors need to be sanded! (In all honesty we make such a good combination that we have basically anything that comes up covered.)

That's it for this week! I will be working for Kevin the next two Saturdays so he can run off and get hitched. I might blog again tomorrow if I get the chance. If you are signed up for the email alerts you will be notified via email if I do the blog tomorrow.

4/19/12

--Today is going to be another great Spring day. We'll get into the upper 70's this afternoon with a few more clouds starting to move through late this afternoon. It will be a bit breezy again today with wind mostly out of the south gusting up to 25 mph. Tomorrow will be completely different! We'll have a cold front move through that will trigger some showers tonight into tomorrow morning, and it might even pop a mild storm or two. Tomorrow will be breezy as well, but the wind will be out of the northwest gusting up to 25 mph…and that will bring in colder air. Tomorrow we will only get up to around 60 degrees.

So there is your weather summary!

--If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you will already have this information. I'm not technically gifted when it comes to doing "manly" projects around the house. Don't get me wrong…I can do stuff. I'm just not good at home projects. I think I could roughly embalm a body…but putting up drywall is not in my wheelhouse.

Over the weekend when we had all of the rain in Mattoon we had an issue with our sump pump. The switch started going bad. While the thing still pumped water…there were times where we had to literally sit next to the thing and start the pump. We got through the little wet period but knew we would have to replace the thing.

That was my project for yesterday. Faye's Dad is one of those dudes that can make or fix anything. Guy's like that tend to have things like spare sump pumps lying around. And he had a brand new, industrial-strength pump that he was more than happy to give us (gotta love Dad's!!!). Long story short…I think I pulled off the upset of the decade yesterday by putting in the new sump pump completely unassisted. There was one guy at the Home Depot in Mattoon that helped me find a part that I couldn't seem to locate on my own. Other than that assist I did the entire project alone with no consultation from anyone!

It probably won't seem like a big deal to most people. But people that know me will be shocked and amazed!

--Tomorrow is "Feedback Friday". If you have any thoughts you'd like to share hit the feedback section below, or send me an email with "Blog" in the subject line. I'll post your feedback tomorrow morning!

Also…while you are down there doing feedback you are more than welcome to sign up for email alerts. If you do that you will receive an email whenever I update the blog. That will ensure that you never miss a post!

4/18/12

Yesterday someone sent me an interesting link to a story covering the 15 most deadly years for tornadoes. As you look through the list keep in mind how structures have changed over the years. The better the technology the better able our buildings are at handling stronger winds and storms. Also…this list was compiled as of May 23 of last year. So the rest of last year and the beginning of this year are not counted. It's still an interesting list. And it makes me wonder with our active last couple of years how many deaths we would have had the past couple of years if our buildings were more like they were in 1925, the deadliest year.

Also our earlier detection times now save countless lives. So here is the link. Enjoy!

4/17/12

--Tax day! I hope your tax situation is under control. Not to get too personal…but my tax situation is still up in the air a little bit this year. I got my taxes done around the start of March. But I've had to send the IRS some forms to clear up a thing or two from last year's taxes that impacted this year's taxes. Lemme just say…thank God for my good friends at H&R Block. The IRS just needed confirmation on a thing or two and H&R Block is working it out for me. Considering the last tax place I used had to change it's ownership and it's name for legal reasons…it is nice to be with people that are above-board.

--I drive through Sullivan every morning. On the right side of the road close to the end of town heading towards Decatur there is a gas station that isn't really a station. It looks more like a co-op that truckers/farmers use for their gas. There is a sign close to the road and this morning on that sign was a message from some high school kid asking a girl to the prom. Talk about a ballsy move! I liked it. Good luck, kid! I hope she says yes and I hope you have a great time.

--If you listen to the radio station based out of Taylorville called WTAX you may have noticed that the WAND-TV weather team is on there now. It's a radio group and we've partnered with them. Basically we do the weather for their stations and eventually we'll start using some of their news sources. While it is extra work for us…there is something special about this particular partnership to me.

You've seen me tell the story here before of how I began in television. Well going back just a little bit before the TV career began I started in radio in Mattoon at Cromwell Radio (yes…where The Hammer resides at the moment). During our morning show we got our weather from Bob Murray from WAND-TV at the time. We would go live every morning with Bob. We'd have some fun and then he would do the weather for us. It really felt big time to a kid from Mattoon.

Fast forward almost 20 years. Starting yesterday as part of our partnership with WTAX I do two weather cuts in the morning and who is on the other end?? Bob Murray. We've come full circle. Now he is on the radio hosting the morning show and I am at WAND-TV doing the weather. It's almost like I can retire now! As I've said before on this blog…Bob was like a Bill Parcels when it came to training me. He was old-school. He wasn't always easy on me…and it worked. He taught me how to survive and he taught me how to not settle when it comes to my work. I will always be grateful for that.

4/16/12

It's been all over Facebook this weekend. WAND-TV lost the Bowl For Kids' Sake championship hammer this past weekend. We had held the title since we started doing this event several years ago. But Friday night Bub and the crew at WMCI and Cromwell Radio finally got it done. They left the bowling alley with trophy in hand…and it wasn't even close.

The good news for us is that for the first time ever we outraised everyone else at the media night event. And thanks to the generosity of many of you I alone outraised any and all of the other teams that took part in the media night event. It's humbling to see how eager you are to support such a good cause…and I thank you for helping kids in the area.

4/13/12

--I've got a job shadower this morning! His name is Brody and he's a pretty cool kid. He is interested in weather so we set him up to come in and watch us this morning! Given that, though, this blog this morning isn't going to be a long one!

We may get some storms this morning in our western counties…and then the rest of us to the east will get some later today. And it looks like a fairly wet weekend. We need the rain.

"Feedback Friday"!

From David (4/12/12):

Check your package or The Farmer's Almanac for the gestation length for whatever you planted. That will give you an idea on whether or not they died off. Most garden plants are at least 14 days. Your's should be OK !!

Good tip, David! I think most of what we planted won't come out for a couple of weeks. We should start to see some sprouts soon, I hope!

See…I told you this would be quick. Brody says hello!

4/12/12

--My hope is that your plants were not harmed recently with the frost. Unfortunately I have heard from some of you saying that your stuff didn't make it through our little cold snap. Recently we put in a garden but nothing has grown to the point where it would be hurt by the cold. Of course after being in the ground for a week I would have thought we'd see something starting to sprout. But this is our first garden experience and for all we know everything could be dead already! Time will tell…and we will learn for the next time.

--The other day there was a huge earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. Yesterday Mexico had a mild earthquake. On any given day there are many, many earthquakes…so we shouldn't lose our heads over it. But it is interesting to me to check the US Geological Survey website once in a while to check out the recent quakes.

--The weekend is going to be a wet one, with any luck. I mentioned yesterday that the timing of the storms may be bad because of outdoor plans. But we need the rain! And it will be warming up this weekend, too…which I think is good.

4/11/12

It's quite possible many of you will wake up with frost on the ground this morning. For most of us it isn't a big deal at all. But…for farmers and gardeners it could be a bad morning. The frost could very well hurt crops/plants that have already been planted. I've heard for farmers that the insurance date was April 6^th, which means if their crops are damaged that their crop insurance went into effect on the 6^th…if they bought the insurance. So hopefully if there is widespread damage this morning and tomorrow morning due to frost some farmers will be able to recoup some of their losses. Yes…I said tomorrow morning. We could see more frost tomorrow morning, too.

Getting into the weekend it will hopefully become very wet around here. We have a good chance for storms Friday night through the middle of next week. I realize you may have outdoor plans and the rain won't be good for you. But thinking of the overall greater good here…we are a few inches behind what we usually have this time of the year. We need the moisture.

4/10/12

--It's early in the season and the last thing you want to do early in the season is get too excited or depressed about how your team is doing. BUT…don't look now…the Cardinals are 4-1. It's nice to get off to a good start sans Albert. Again…it is WAY too early to get excited. But given the off-season it is nice to see the Cardinals playing like a team.

--I read this morning and heard on the radio yesterday that there is a machine that is said to "read minds", or at least be able to soon. Stories like this always fascinate me because of the possibilities they bring up. Just as a quick little thought…think about the law enforcement uses and moral issues that arise with this type of technology. Interesting…here is a link to a story about it.

--Friday night is the annual Big Brothers/Big Sister's Bowl for Kids' Sake Media Night event at the Mattoon Bowl. Once again we will be taking a team to Mattoon to take on the Cromwell Group of Radio Stations. Proceeds benefit BB/BS, which of course is a fantastic organization that provides mentors to kids that could use a little attention.

If you would like to donate to the event just send me an email with your name, address, and donation amount. The minimum is $5. In a few months the BB/BS will send you an invoice that you can pay then. Every little bit helps this great organization. Thanks in advance for your consideration…

4/9/12

I hope your weekend was fantastic! Mine was pretty solid. Friday night we had dinner with friends. Saturday night we had dinner with other friends that were married the weekend before. And yesterday we went to Faye's parents' house. Of course the food all weekend was out of this world.

Friday night we had Mexican and Faye and I were introduced to a dish to which neither of us can remember the name. But it comes in a big stew pot-looking thing. It has beef, pork, chicken, and shrimp in it and you eat it in tortillas. It was really very good. Saturday night we grilled steaks and Faye made this potato casserole stuff that was tremendous. And yesterday Faye's Mom made a load of great food. So this week I likely won't need to eat much at all.

I did something yesterday that I had never done before. Faye's Dad has been in the process of clearing some land to make room for a house they want to build. He has a backhoe…and yesterday we went out to the site so I could operate it. I ended up moving several loads of dirt/debris, including the trunk of a large tree that had died and had to be taken down. That backhoe was very cool. When I grew up we didn't have earth-moving equipment around. Although I wouldn't trade knowing how to embalm someone for anything…it was fun yesterday checking something else off of my "never done before" list!

We had beautiful weather all weekend, of course. While we do really need rain right now…at least if it is going to be dry it was sunny and decently warm. Tonight we will get a blast of colder air bringing us close…but not quite to…freezing. I think the wind tonight should keep frost from forming. But tomorrow night into Wednesday morning it is looking like a very good chance for more areas of frost. Once we crack the middle of the week it will get a bit warmer. So we just have to make it through Wednesday morning…

4/6/12

Yesterday was the first time ever for me on a mushroom hunt! It was initially scheduled for Wednesday but of course it was rained out. So my friend Scott and I headed down south to the Louisville area to some land he has down there. It was a perfect day for a hunt! I had moderate success for a first timer. I learned a lot and maybe had a handful of mushrooms in my bag by the time we were done. Scotty, however, has been hunting since he was a kid and was very familiar with the area. His bag had many more mushrooms than mine. And that is okay!

When I got home I stripped off most of my clothes. Faye was home and had mentioned she was concerned about me getting ticks. So after I took my shirt off I approached her with arms wide open. Ever since I was a little kid I have been able to push my stomach out to make it look like I am pregnant…and this is what I did as I approached Faye. When I got a foot from her I said in a ridiculous, silly-sexy voice "You want some of this??" Then I told her that I don't have any ticks…just as a tick ran across the top of my belly! I couldn't have planned it better if I wanted to.

Naturally Faye was a little grossed out. I pinched the tick to kill it and threw it in the trash. Several minutes later we found another tick. But so far that is it.

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Don (4/5/12):

Thanks for the 'laugh of the day' about the body mix-up. I don't thnk that 'error' should bring on a law suit, but some would sue over spilled milk.

My guess is that this situation is one of those things that you can't really imagine until it happens to you. So while my first inclination is to think like you and assume the family is pushing for money…we really don't have all of the information. Fact of the matter is that funeral homes have to be VERY careful with how they handle their business…if for no other reason than how they perform their duties determines a person's final memories of a loved one. Now I don't know if that means they should be sued. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't, either. That's just how I see it…and that doesn't mean that I am right!

From Cindy (4/5/12):

I read the story about the mix up of bodies at the funeral; that would really suck for the people it happened to. When I got to the funeral home for Matt's they took us into a private showing before the visitation started. I walked up to the coffin and looked in and asked the lady that worked there where my son was, she said this is your son. They also had a table with flowers on it directly in front of the casket and I had to squeeze around it so I asked if they could move it so I could get a better look and she said no because his face was made of wax, I proceeded to go hysterical and told them this was not my son. His face looked just like my brother's best friend John and when his wife came in she almost fainted because she thought it was her husband lying there. I was so hoping they had made a mistake. On top of that during the service it stormed really bad and the tornado siren's kept going off and people came in drenched. By the time it was over I was exhausted from all the hysterics and just wanted to take a valium and sleep for days.

That's why I typed what I typed above in response to Don, Cindy. I am sure it would suck. If someone spills hot coffee on him/herself and then sues we should probably roll our eyes because MOST people understand that coffee is hot. But when a funeral home messes up the funeral, in any way, of a loved one I'm not sure suing them isn't a good idea. If nothing else maybe it teaches the funeral home to be more careful.

That's it for this week! Enjoy the holiday weekend, whatever your religious proclivities are or are not. The weather will certainly play nicely this weekend with a lot of sun both Saturday and Sunday. There may be a little bit of rain Saturday night but we really need the rain anyway. See you Monday…

4/5/12

--I think most people misunderstand what "irony" really is and I certainly don't claim to completely understand it. But what my English teacher/professor friends tell me is that people mislabel things as "ironic" all the time and those things are not actually ironic. So as I type what I am about to type I am just hoping that it is in the ballpark of being correct.

It seems a little ironic to me that after going about 4 inches below normal for rain this year so far that my mushroom hunt that was planned for yesterday was rained out. Maybe that fits the definition of irony and maybe it doesn't. But the hunt has been rescheduled for later today after the rain stops. My hope is that the rain actually raises the chances of having a good hunt.

--You know if you've read this blog long that funerals are interesting to me. I grew up "in the business". So it is only natural that stories about death, bodies, funerals, etc, usually catch my attention. When a loved one has left his/her body one of the final duties of the loved ones left behind is to give that person a fitting send-off…what ever fitting is to that person. Sometimes, however, accidents happen. Here is a link to a story of one of those accidents.

4/4/12

--This morning my Father will wake up in a hotel room near the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. He was on a flight from Mexico yesterday afternoon on his way back home to Chicago. His flight was scheduled to land around 4:15…but didn't hit the ground until around 4:45. All things considered that is not a huge delay. But his connecting flight to Chicago was cancelled by the twin tornadoes that ripped through the airport. He is retired so it isn't like this is a huge inconvenience for him. But it is little events like this that tend to remind us of how little control we actually have over…well…anything, really.

It sounded on the radio this morning like the situation in Dallas wasn't nearly as nasty or deadly as what southern Illinois/Indiana had several weeks ago. A dozen confirmed tornadoes in that area yesterday…but it didn't sound like widespread damage. Maybe that assessment will change this morning. If it stands then I think that part of Texas needs to consider itself fairly lucky.

--Do you have a trip coming up anytime soon? Here is a link someone sent me recently that reports which areas of the country have had the most bed bugs recently!

Enjoy!

--It is quite possible in the next day or so that I will, for the first time ever, go mushroom hunting. I do like morels...but until now have always enjoyed the fruits of other people's hunts. Likely later today a friend and I will head out. My buddy is an experienced hunter, both of shrooms and various animals. So I am looking forward to the benefit of his experience! I will let you know how it goes...

4/3/12

There was a championship college basketball game on last night. For whatever reason I really could care less this season. To be honest I am not a huge college basketball fan and never really have been. But most of the time I could at least tell you what was happening with the big tournament. Not this year! For those of you that do care and missed it…Kentucky won the national title last night.

Speaking of things that most of you won't care about…WrestleMania weekend was fantastic! It's basically a four hour stretch packed with emotional highs and lows and great drama. The pure entertainment event was well worth the time and money in my opinion. It's an annual event in my house and the only pay per view that I put money on.

Yesterday of course was a day off for me. WrestleMania runs up to about 10 Sunday night so I usually try to take the day after off so I don't have to worry about working on little sleep. So yesterday I slept in a bit. During the day yesterday Faye and I put in a garden! I actually ran a tiller, believe it or not. Faye and I have slightly different philosophies when it comes to projects like this. She sees something like a garden as a rewarding labor of love. I see it as a project to get done quickly so we can get back to rest and relaxation! Heh. After getting the thing finished, though, I can see how being out in the garden will be good. It is quite possible my philosophy will change on this one.

Weather...Or Not: April 2012 Entries - Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

Weather...Or Not: April 2012 Entries