Crane Hanging In There..For Now!

It's become one of the scariest images from the aftermath of Sandy on the East Coast: The damaged and dangling crane hanging from a Manhattan building under construction. And the damaged construction crane perched high atop a luxury high rise in lower Manhattan continues to cause concern. Timothy Galarnyk, an expert in infrastructure risk analysis and prevention says precautions should have been taken before Hurricane Sandy to protect the building and the people in the neighborhood. Mayor Bloomberg said the crane had been inspected on Friday. Several buildings remain evacuated due to the concern the crane could collapse at any moment.

The Deed Is Done!

Ok, it was a bit weird! Deb and I did indeed vote yesterday at City Hall. And, frankly, it wasn't so much that we were voting a week early, it was 'cause so many other people were doing the same thing! No kidding, it looked like voting day down there. I felt bad for the volunteers when we got there, because the computers were running slow and the line was starting to back up. It's a little different procedure: First you check in in the main lobby at one desk, then you take your slip of paper that says "Registered" over to another desk. There they look you up again and print out a label with your name, etc. on it that they put on an envelope and send you to the second floor. There you check in with your envelope and they give you your ballot and off to the voting booth you go! After filling out your ballot, you seal it in the envelpe and drop it in the box and you're outta there. It sounds a little bothersome, but it goes pretty quickly. They have a a lot of great volunteers there, by the way.

      Like I said, it was really busy there. Looks like a lot of people had the same idea that we did about voting early and avoiding the crowds on the actual voting day. So the deed is done, and now we can sit back and watch the circus next Tuesday! Did you vote early? How did you like it? Drop us an email if you'd like: johnandjacklyn@cc1063.com.

We're Voting Today!

     Yep! You might be saying, "John! Election day is next Tuesday, not today." You'd be right, but my wife, Deb and I are taking advantage of  Early Voting to get it done today. Here's why: Deb works 12 hour shifts at Gundersen Lutheran and she's scheduled to work next Tuesday, voting day. By the time she gets done at 7 p.m., and we get to the polls, stand in line, etc., it's going to get real late. You just know since it's a Presidential election the polls are going to be packed in the evening, so we're taking advantage of Early Voting and doing it today. We'll be heading down to the City Clerks office this afternoon and casting our votes.

     What's really interesting is that some folks we know are not happy with us! Some just feel the "sanctity" of voting day shouldn't be messed with, and some feel we're affecting the outcome. I can understand this in some way because if people are allowed to conduct exit polls and release that info, some folks may not be inclined to vote if they feel it would make no difference. But the truth is that something like 4 million people have already taken advantage of Early Voting, including military personel, etc. Are we messing with the sanctity of voting day? Maybe, but it's my vote, and at least I'm exercising my right! What do you think? Shoot us an email: johnandjacklyn@cc1063.com

Toothbrush Exorcism?

I'm highly concerned about my Sonicare toothbrush. I absolutely love the thing. Thanks to the stellar job it does on my teeth, I can get in and out of the dentist office in a half hour. (It would probably be less than that, but my hygienist and I tend to talk a lot.) Bottom line is--the thing does an amazing job cleaning my teeth. However, lately it's been acting... well, possessed!

In the middle of the night, it will suddenly turn on and wake us up with its vibrating madness. I was reaching for the alarm clock, trying to hit snooze--before I realized that was NOT what the noise was. After crawling out of the fog of deep sleep, we shut the darn thing off and stumbled back into bed, only to have it repeatedly go off again and again.

We tried unplugging the charger and removing the toothbrush from the charger, but nothing was making it stop pestering us. Eventually, we moved the sonic demon to the back bedroom and shut the door. Problem solved. Although I could occasionally hear the incessant hum down the hall.

This morning, I crept down that hall and opened the door to that bedroom. There on the floor was the offending dental device. Silent and looking like one of Santa's messed-up toys on the Island of Misfits.

I took the thing back into our bathroom and oddly enough, the battery still had plenty of juice left, despite having run on and off most of the night. The thing works great. It just seems possessed at night.

So, now I'll have to place a call to Sonicare to inquire about an exorcism, or preferably a replacement. Although, with my luck, I'll be just one day past the warranty period, which will force me to buy a new one.

Have you had problems with a Sonicare toothbrush? Drop me a line!

Didja See That?!

On Sunday, daredevil skydiver, Felix Baumgartner finally was able to make his "edge of space" jump. (The operation had been postponed several times previously, due to the winds.)  In a word, the jump was AMAZING.

I consider myself to be a bit of a thrill-seeker, rarely shying away from roller coasters or any other pulse-pounding opportunity. However, I don't know if I would've had the colossal gonads to do what Felix did. 

I felt queasy, just watching the video as he leaned over and leapt from his tiny vessel, to complete the highest freefall in history--a whopping 128,000 feet--approximately 24 miles.

Felix tweeted after the event, "I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it." 

Check out the video of the jump.

SERIOUSLY?!

Apparently, my dog negates delivery of packages by the US postal service in my area. I arrived home yesterday and made a stop at my mailbox, retrieving some letters and spotted a fluorescent orange note on top of them, which read: "Parcel waiting at Post Office. Unable to deliver because of dog. 10-11-12."

I frowned and gave Bo, the-Attention-Hog-Dog a look. Pondering what he could have possible done to prevent the delivery of a package. I mean, he's a big lug--mostly harmless, really--unless you have food. Then he will drool on your leg and expect you to share... a lot.

At any rate, I traipsed down to the post office to get my package. I decided to inquire what exactly Bo did to the guy. I was told that Bo "charged" the vehicle and was barking. He also said that Bo was "jumping up on the vehicle." That last one, I find hard to believe, as we've NEVER had that issue, but whatever. Bo is more interested in racing you up the driveway. He's a male. They're competitive that way.

Bottom line was, the guy said that they are trained to not get out of the car if there is a dog loose in the yard. I told him that I have invested in a Pet Stop system and that Bo has free reign of the entire expanse of the yard to romp around.  He replied that they are told if they get bit, "it's their own fault and it would not be covered." 

Now THAT gave me pause. Seriously? You work for the government and if you get "injured" on the job--you have NO coverage? No recourse? I was shocked to hear that our government, who seemingly opens the wallet for every imaginable cause would turn their back on their employees who might get hurt on the job.

I let the guy know that I have homeowners insurance and if Bo ever decided to bite him, I would have him covered. But reiterated that Bo is honestly more interested in playing or eating some of whatever he might have to offer.

That didn't seem to ease his concern. He pointed out the "cage" that I have on my porch. The one with the note that read, "Please leave packages in here, as the dog might eat them."

Apparently, he interpreted that as Bo is a snarling mean dog--instead of what it really means: Bo likes to eat. One week before Christmas a couple of years ago, he ingested a deluxe art set that I had ordered for my niece Klarrisa. Needless to say, we had some VERY colorful dog turds the next couple of days. And I had to find an alternative gift for my niece.

I guess if the delivery of packages from the US postal service won't happen because of Bo--I'll instead look to UPS or FedEx, because quite frankly, I don't always have time to run and pick up my packages. What's the point of delivery, if it doesn't get delivered? Feel free to share your thoughts HERE.

Brad Paisley Grants Dying Man's Wish

What a cool story! Brad Paisley granted the last wish of a dying man by taking one of most cherished possessions home with him. The man is Lee Feldman and he has terminal pancreatic cancer and he wanted to pass his custom-made guitar on to someone that will, as he says it, "play the frets off it." A few of Feldman's friends made some phone calls that led to Paisley meeting him at recent concert in Pennsylvania, where he accepted Lee's prized guitar. Feldman said, "He (Brad) told me that his grandfather had died from pancreatic cancer and that his grandfather was the one who taught him how to play guitar in the first place." Lee also stated that Paisley is planned on using the special guitar in a song on his next album. A story like this just goes to show how great country people are, right?

Check This Out

O.k., it's a bit hard to see because I took this picture through my windshield, but take a look at this photo:

I was on the way home yesterday (Tuesday), and couldn't help but notice this vehicle just ahead of me. Look carefully and you'll see it's fom a company called Royal Canine Express, which apparently specializes in safely transporting dogs around the country. Now, I'm sure they do a great job, but look below the sign and you'll see something wrapped up in a tarp on the hitch platform. Could that be????

Jason Aldean Caught In A Kiss

Oh, oh! TMZ is running a bunch of photos on their site of Jason Aldean in a Hollywood bar called The Den with his arms around a girl looking cozier than he should have as a married man. While the allegations are flying around and will more than likely hit the tabloids this week, Jason himself took to Twitter on Sunday evening to share the truth. "Hey Guys – I wanted to talk to you directly, so you were hearing the truth from me and not just reading allegations made about my personal life on gossip web sites. The truth is that I screwed up. I had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar. I left alone, caught the bus to our next show and that's the end of the story. I ultimately ended up embarrassing my family and myself. I'm not perfect, and I'm sorry for disappointing you guys. I really appreciate being able to work through this privately with my family and for all your continued support." And who was the girl? Reportedly, it was former "American Idol" contestant Brittney Kerr. So whatcha' think? A kiss is just a kiss?