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This message forum is an ongoing discussion about anything and just about everything ... within reason.  One thing our class was good at was having opinions.  Almost 70 years of life experience certainly qualifies us as experts on most everything!   Ask a question ... give an opinion ... share some insights ... it's our web site, it's our forum.  That said, it's probably not a good idea to get into arguments about politics, religion, and the like.  While we're experts on everything, we also have a wide range of values and beliefs. This site belongs to all of us ... the whole range ... and we are not here to isolate, alienate, or subjugate anybody.  Of course insults, humiliation, sophomoric barraggadocio, and demented humor is expected behavior among some of us less mature people.
 

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Let's celebrate the relatively short season for cicadas and fish flies while we remember the miserable onslaughts of no-see-ums in Florida which made us grateful for air-conditioning when at anchor, and the vigilance with which we scan our bodies for tick bites in fear of Lyme disease here at home. Or we could be pleased not to have mosquitos whose size in Minnesota have earned them the wise-crack title of State Bird. Oh, the less-than-edenic side of paradise!

Garry Sellers

There's a couple of things bugging me!  First, speaking of bugs, we're having a family reunion of sorts (not a lot of us left) in Eagle River in August.  One of the things they want to do is go to a lumberjack show ... at night!  That means they'll be able to throw their axes at the mosquitoes dive bombing the show.  I didn't know mosquitoes where supposed to be the size of geese!  I had to have a transfusion last time I visited.

Second, I'm sure you get as many weird emails from "friends" as I do.  I got this one the other day that said it was useful information.  Yeah, right.  But guess what ... it was.  Here's a couple of tidbits I'm not sure how many of you knew.  (1) There are tabs on the ends of amuminum foil and plastic wrap boxes that you're supposed to push in to prevent the roll from coming out!  Who knew???  I asked about 20 or 30 people if they knew, and none of them did.  They were all amazed to run home and check and sure enough they're there!!! (2) You can use a staple remover gizmo to open key rings without destroying your fingernails!  So NOW they tell me!  How many nails have you sacrificed to the key ring gods?  Thanks for the information but it makes me wonder how many other obvious things I should know but don't!  I don't need any help to make me feel stupid!!!

Jim Cejka

Hey,

Great advice Garry. Now I'll always carry a stape remover with me, just in case.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Jim,

You always leave us with choice words, so I thought of you yesterday while tidying up the refrigerator door (endless font of wisdom and expired coupons) and came upon one of my favorite (it's from the Talmud):

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.

Do justly, now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now.

You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it

Jim Cejka

Thank you Nancy, I like that.

We just had our grandgirls here for a week (6 & 3), so our fridge right now is a respository of local artworks. No room for such words of wisdom.

And, speaking of fridges, whose bright idea was it to make those "stainless" finished fridges whose doors wouldn't take magnets? He/she got sometihing against art, or kids, or memories? I think the AARP should put out a warrant for that person.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Never mind the doors, Jim; they hold only fingerprints.

Use the sides.

Jim Cejka

Understood Nancy, but if we turn the fridge sideways to display all that art, it's hard to open the door.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Instant diet.

Jim Cejka

Not if my wife is always baking cookies and thiings that aren't kept in the fridge.

Barbara Blair (Brenzel)

Hey Garry,

I totally enjoy the "look backs" that you post.  It also gets me a little teary eyed at times!  What wonderful memories!

Barb Blair (Brenzel)

Garry Sellers

I'm not saying we're in a terrible drought out here in California but this is a photo of me playing the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. I'm going to be in Eagle River for a family get-together in a couple of weeks.  I wonder what restrictions the airlines have about carrying buckets of water back to California with me.  Might get a little sloppy during the transfer in Denver (you can't get directly to or from Milwaukee from almost anywhere).  But maybe I can top off the buckets while in Denver and give buckets to other passengers to carry back to SF for me.  I wonder if a bucket of water has to go under the seat or the overhead compartment?

Jim Cejka

Garry,

Look at the bright side of the CA drought - for golfers anyway - no more water hazards.

As for your trip to WI, my relatives that live up in that area assure me that there is still enough water to breed mosquitoes.

Lauren Dieterich

Garry, I'm in Bullhead City, AZ For the last month, we have been the hottest city in Arizona. We took that title away from Yuma. We are right across the Colorado River from where Nevada comes to a point.  I don't want to brag; but, a 110 degrees is freezing. We've had at least a dozen days above a 120 degrees. Yesterday, our cold water was a 108 degrees. There have been several nights where it never dropped below a 100 degrees. We've has 1.11 inches of rain for the year to date. Our normal rainfall to date is 3.6 inches. 2 weeks ago, we got 3/4 inch of rain in a half hour. It didn't do us any good. It ran off before it got a chance to soak in. With summers like ours; all that you can do is stay inside with the air on max cool and brag about it.

Jim Cejka

Deer season came early in Milwaukee.

Lauren Dieterich

Since I live in Arizona, I tell the locals that I will root for the Arizona teams; EXCEPT when they play a Wisconsin team, then all bets are off. Now, I have to get a Buck's NBA Champion t-shirt.

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Definitely worth a read!!
 

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/terrible-city-title

Jim Cejka

Anybody remember when we were teenagers and coming into CARS? We knew them all. I could sit on our porch on 35th St and identify the year, make, and model, and make a pretty good guess at the engine or h.p.. There was even a requirement for some Scout level where you had to identify X number of cars. Read all about them in Mechanics Illustrated. Dream, dream, dream.

Today, who can name a car, other than your own? I can’t even ID the half dozen that come down our cul-de-sac each day. Out on a real road, or a freeway around here today, of all the vehicles, there are only- pickup trucks, large SUVs, medium SUVs, small, SUVs and things that are not SUVs, and they all come in black, dark gray, light gray, or white (except mine, mine’s red). 

Does this mean I’m not a car guy anymore?

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Mark your calendar! Sign up! September 18th!

Jane Bednarz (Holdridge)

Gary: The Weather for your stay  in Rhinelander should be ideal   I live during the summer in Kronenwetter WI; just south of Wausau which is an hour south of Rhinelander and the weather has been unusually warm for Northern Wi but with plenty of rain.   
If you have any rainy days, come visit the big town of Wausau,  I am a docent at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson art museum here and the galleries are  open for visitors;. The area also has many great restaurants other that lumber jack types.   
I am a little late catching up with your note about the ends of the aluminum foil boxes.  I had to look at mine and pushing in the ends does work  There are also instructions on the box that I had never read.  As a retired IT developer who wrote instructions for my users; I hope that sometimes my users read them..

Jim Cejka

OK, so it looks like Jeopardy just lost this viewer, at least for the regular show. The whole “auditions” thing was a sham. At least I agree that Mayim Bialik will make a good host for the college spin-off show, and I’ll look forward to that. I thought she would have made a great host for the regular show too. She brings a fresh spark, and has the smarts to be good at hosting.

To me, Richards is a lightweight. It appears the bosses decided to re-frame the show into the standard cutesy game show. Richard is smiley and glib, but doesn’t have nearly the aura of integrity or depth of intelligence that Alex had, or that Bialik has for that matter. (And, that's not counting the bad PR on him the last couple of days.)

Granted, not all of the guest hosts were auditioning for the position, but were good hosts and carried on in the Alex fashion. 

Just about every other host brought something unique to the show and would have maintained the class of the show in their own way (Except Dr. Oz.) Some were really good, especially that guy last week that nobody ever heard of. I wasn’t a LeVar Burton fan, and didn’t think he did as great as so many hoped, but I’d be happy with him as host too. Hey, Aaron Rogers brought something more to the show than Richards. 

I’m bummed. Guess I’ll have to have reruns of Paw Patrol for dessert now.

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

Now, now Jim. Let's give Richards a chance as Jeopardy host. When he made his appearance as host, he was quick, good with the contestants and has the "broadcaster's voice" - which Alex also had, both of them coming from broadcasting backgrounds. It does rankle a bit that it seems like such an "inside job", but I always liked the fact that he was super conscious of Alex's legacy, and because they worked together on the show, he knows the things Alex valued. I agree the others you mentioned could have done a good job, and I'm so glad Mayim Bialik was brought in. Maybe when Richards feels too overworked both producing and hosting, he'll let her take over. But what do you think of the new reigning champ Matt Amodio? It's interesting the way his answers come out: as if he's reading them from somewhere. Hopefully, a script in his head, and not a secret microphone in his ear. (Don't I sound like a conspiracy theorist?)

Jim Cejka

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

  Terri,  I'm pretty sure that Matt has a photographic memory. When you say he looks like he's reading the answers, I think. you're spot on!

Jim Cejka

Ok, so if the guy has a “photographic memory,” he still must have been exposed to an incredible number of things to “photo” so much into his memory, at his age. HIs strategy is interesting too. He takes the big money questions off the board right away, so even if he gets them wrong, they're gone, and the others don’t have them to play catch up with. He’s going to be tough to beat. 

If he's a PhD candidate, I can imagine what his professors are thinking about how to do his orals. 

As for the host, Richards didn’t strike me as anything outstanding or “wow, he’s the best.” But l feel like I’ve been conned. All those guest hosts; we anticipated, and invested our feelings - “Wow, that one would be good”, “Dr. Oz - pffft”, “That one would add something, take it a step beyond Alex”, etc. They lead us to believe there was some suspense and anticipation, and all along it was an inside job. The Alex show always had integrity, this “search” blew it. Richards may turn out to be good, but I think their fan base (me) feels cheated.

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

WOW! All this blood, sweat, & tears (and thinking?) spent on a GAME SHOW HOST?! Boggles my mind!