Sometimes It's Not The Venue, It's The People Being Entertained!

Just back from a really fine evening of making pizza and entertaining some really genuinely warm and real human beings at Dale and Kim Schmidt's 25th Wedding Anniversary party.

Dale planned my part of the celebration as a surprise and the look on Kim's face was priceless. My Kim came along to help me in the kitchen as we prepared eight pizzas, starting with a fresh tomato and basil pie, then a mushroom pizza, piled high with cooked down fresh mushrooms, then onto the standards -- pepperoni, sausage, and combinations.

When the last pizza was out of the oven, I joined the group in the garage and did about 35 minutes of comedy and music and to tell you the truth, I have worked as opening act for big names on national stages, but I had more fun today with this great group of people in this intimate setting than in any number of the so called "big time" experiences.
You can tell when it's been a good day by the smiles, the compliments, and just the glow you see on the folks faces.

Thanks, Dale and Kim! I would love the opportunity to do it again!

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Back To Durand Rod And Gun for Harmon Chicken With Tom Johnson in Tow

We ultimately decided that death to the eardrums by shotgun blasts from the clay pigeon murderers was a better choice than remaining inside the bar and drowning in the throes of senior citizens bellowings over highballs and gin rummy!

So we made our way through the massive throng to the comparative peace of 12 gauge shotguns blasting away, high above the Chippewa River. Again, even though we thought that we were arriving early, we ended up being ticket holders 254 and 255 and that's much too long to absorb the lengthening shadows of late afternoon and the bellowing of five gunners working over hapless orange clay saucers.

The chicken, however, was just as delicious as last trip, and well worth the wait! I can see that this is going to be standard fare the rest of early autumn every other thursday -- and I suggest you do the same and join in the fun and camaraderie of west central Wisconsin Americana!

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My good buddy "Blinky" Johnson, house painter and apartment renovator extraordinaire (not to mention renown author of "Rescuing Clare") boogied up from Madison this past thursday so I made reservations for yet another foray to the Durand Rod and Gun Club for the Jack Harmon chicken dinner -- always very well attended as can be attested by the jammed parking lot pictured here.

We went inside and purchased our tickets, fighting our way through the crowded ar and wondering how a group of people can continue to expand their vocal volume to the point that you have to order a beer in sign language.

Meet Hammy and Stella!

My good friend Tom Jonson arrived around noon today and after running some errands with me, he was kind enough to come with me to the Eau Claire Humane Society to take a couple of photos of our soon-to-be-family members, Hamilton (Hammy) and Stella. Hammy is the "orange" tabby and Stella is the grey sister of Hammy.
When we arrived they were putting on quite a show, chasing each other around the cage and in and out of the cardboard box that was part of their cage.

In no time at all I was laughing to tears just watching their antics. It was like watching kindergartners -- perpetual motion. I found myself wishing there was some way I could, by reaching out and touching them, absorb some of that energy!

I spoke briefly with the staff and established that we would be picking up our new "kids" on this coming Sunday at noon. Meanwhile, we are cleaning the basement of all the dust left behind of years of kitty litter being poured in the litter boxes for Hannah and Harley.

Because I am now a "senior" the $50 fee per cat was waived, and when we get them both altered, that fee will b e retruned to us as well -- an all around good deal for years of companionship.

I am so looking forward to the patter of little feet!

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Pure Water In The Swamp - Pure Pleasure and Entertainment

I hope that Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin cherishes the gift they have in Jerry and Carol Way!  Since Jerry has retired from teaching music, he has been very active, as has his lovely wife Carol, in working on projects for the Heyde Center.

Last night I had the honor and the privelege to attend Jerry's latest composition:  "Pure Water In the Swamp", a delightful look into the more recent history of Chippewa Falls through Jerry's music and lyrics, presented by the Swampers, a group of nine accomplished musicians and singers in front of a backdrop of some breathtaking slides that demonstrated just how beautiful Chippewa Falls is.

The production was indeed a learning experience!  I hadn't known that the earliest settlers of Chippewa had begaun settling on the south side of the Chippewa Rivr in the aera that is now know as Frenchtown.

The show kicked off with "Play A Song For You" which gave each of the Swampers an opportunity a chance to shine instrumentally with a short solo from each.  With mandolin, kazoo, hand percussion, several guitars, Irish whistle, alto recorder, autoharp, acoustic bass, and violin, the Swampers were a veritable orchestra.

They played very well in ensemble and I was particularly impressed with the solos by Rob Kuchta on violin, Jerry way on guitar, and Judy Brist who switched effortlessly between Irish whistle, guitar, and alto recorder, sometimes all in one tune!

Jerry's skill as a songwriter is most impressive considering that he takes all the historical facts and presents them in great verse and song.

I was particularly impressed with "Afternon At The Gallery" as Judy Ganser narrated a wonderfully colorful slide show of Chippewa Falls artist Hugh Mandelert's paintings.  She followed that up with "Through His Eyes" whch was equally enthralling.

Jerry's sense of humor shown brightly in the finale of the first act with "The Big Flush" which took us back to 2000 and the cleaning of the well pipes to protect Chippewa's famous pure water.

There was no lagging in the second act which featured "Come On In", which got a lagging audience back to their seats, and I especially enjoyed Jerry's salute to Butch Cardinal.

The tech crew of Laura Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Ross Wilson, and Joel Wiltrout deserve kudos as well as the show ran without a hitch all evening.

Unfortunately, the show runs only two nights, so if you would like to see it, tonight would be your last chance.  I recommend it highly.  It was an evening well spent!

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Yesterday I finally cajoled Kim into going over to the Eau Claire Humane Society to see if they had any kittens and we both fell in love with a brother- sister team.  One is a light "orange" tabby (male) and the other is a female gray with just a few touches of the "orange and white" under her chin and on her forehead.

So we are going to be parents again -- probably by Sunday.  We need to get the basement cleaned and dusted thoroughly before then.

Being enamored of the cartoon movie "Over The Hedge", we are thinking of naming them Hamilton (Hammy) and Stella after two of the characters from that movie.

I will post pictures as soon as they are officially family!

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May as well clear the air with my feelings on the Brett Favre fiasco.  So much has been said and written that it is very difficult to know what is even true in all the stories that have transpired.  I do know that I am totally disgusted with all parties involved --  from Ted (the ego) Thompson

to Brett (the ego) Favre.

One would think that working adults would know enough to keep their mouths shut in front of the press and go forward and get everything settled behind closed doors before it is presented to the public.

Questions abound.  Did Favre really want to retire when he made the announcement last March?  Has he really been "waffling" back and forth all these months or is that just Ted Thompson planted stories?  What was said that Favre cannot forget enough to  come back and play another year in Green Bay?

I think every fan in Wisconsin knows our best chance to get anywhere near the Super Bowl is to have both Favre and Rodgers on the sidelines, given Rodgers "glass legs" of last season.

I truly doubt that he is tough enough to play the entire season unhurt.  Then what are we left with?  Two rookie quarterbacks.

So now Fave is a NY Jet.  At 38, he is a year older than head coach Mangini.

I quickly went to the Packers schedule and was glad to see that the Packers won't be facing the Jets during regular season play.  I am glad that he has moved from the NFC to the AFC where he will have to face Tom Brady twice a year.

All in all, it could have been much worse.  I don't think my heart could have survived seeing Favre run out on Lambeau field on the first Monday night game wearing a white jersey with a purple number  --  it has been hard enough to see Darren Sharper and kicker Ryan Longwell in purple last year.

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Took A Sentimental Journey

Today I met my friend Gary Spaeth at the Eau Claire Municipal Airport to get a close up look at a B-17G Flying Fortress that landed earlier in the day and will be here through Monday.  

"Sentimental Journey", according to the history blurb: "was built in late 1944 by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California.  It was sent to the Philippines where it flew on reconnaisance missions.  It never saw combat (even though the bomb symbols on the side originally  represented such missions).

After the war, it was statoned in Florida where it was used for search and rescue missions in the atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.  Later it became a mother ship or remote control drones that the military flew ovr nuclear test sites.  In 1958, it was acquired by the Aero Union Corporation of Chico, California, which used it to drop flame retardant chemicals on forest fires in the West.

In 1978 it was donated to the Commemorative air Force.  After an exhaustive restoration, the plane is now "95 per cent" authentic.

Since the restoration, it has been in hundreds of air shows.  Those shows are tallied on the plane's nose in the form of little bombs stenciled on the metal just above the painting of 1940's pinup girl betty Grable.  There are also two movie cameras stenciled there, representing the two films the plane has appeared in: "1941" and "All The Fine Young Men".

The plane visits about 60 cities a year.

Finally Some Really Good News In The Press

Finally, this morning, I read the following article and it gave me such hope for the future of mankind. Now if we can just get the damn politicians to wrench the power from the oil companies and proceed, we have a real chance at survival by cleaning up our environment with really clean and inexpensive energy.





News
"Major Discovery" From MIT Primed to Unleash Solar Revolution

Thursday 31 July 2008

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by: Anne Trafton, MIT News

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MIT's Professor Daniel G. Nocera has discovered a way to do large-scale solar power generation. (Photo: Donna Coveney)
Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system.

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity - whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source - runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.

"Giant Leap" for Clean Energy

Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.

James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.

"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."

"Just the Beginning"

Currently available electrolyzers, which split water with electricity and are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates.

More engineering work needs to be done to integrate the new scientific discovery into existing photovoltaic systems, but Nocera said he is confident that such systems will become a reality.

"This is just the beginning," said Nocera, principal investigator for the Solar Revolution Project funded by the Chesonis Family Foundation and co-Director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. "The scientific community is really going to run with this."

Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.

The project is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, a program designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI Director Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, noted that "this discovery in the Nocera lab demonstrates that moving up the transformation of our energy supply system to one based on renewables will depend heavily on frontier basic science."

The success of the Nocera lab shows the impact of a mixture of funding sources - governments, philanthropy, and industry. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years.