At Least It's Buckled Up!

John here~ So I'm walking out of Kwik Trip in Onalaska this morning on my way to work, and saw this big Teddy Bear sitting in the back seat of this car. I guess I'm glad the owner had the sense to make sure it was wearing it's seat belt. I'm sure there's a story behind why it was belted in, but I'd rather hear what you have to say: What do you think the story behind this cute fella is? Drop us your thoughts to johnandjacklyn@kicks1063.com.

Just Where Does This Go?

OK, this is a picture of the side of the Kohls department store. It's the side of the store that faces the street that runs between Kohls and Hobby Lobby. You'll notice the very nice set of concrete steps that lead to.....a blank wall! Actually it looks like there might have been a door there at one time, but what happened to it? I noticed this last year and finally had a chance to take a pic of it. Every time I see it I think of the construction workers who put the steps in. They were probably asking themselves, "What the heck are we doing this for?" If anyone knows the story behind these "steps to nowhere", feel free to let us know!

Agree or Disagree?

Was the minister right in this video to prohibit further photography during the wedding ceremony, in which he was officiating?  The awkwardness on the faces of the bride and groom are quite uncomfortable to watch!  What do you think about this situation?  Agree or disagree with it?  Drop us an email.

The Art of Rebuilding a Tractor

This isn't Riley Hanson's first rodeo.  The Melrose-Mindoro high school student has been to the Delo Tractor Restoration Competition before and knows how intense it can be.  The cool part is that we can actually help him, just by casting three votes per day for him.

Here's the story of Riley's restoration project:

Pretty inspiring, isn't it?  It's neat to see a high school student have such a wonderful labor of love, but it's even better when a community can throw their support behind him!  So PLEASE take some time each day to cast your three votes for Riley.  He is the only student in the competition from Wisconsin!  Here's the link to vote.  GO RILEY!!!

Smell That Smell!

What does the nose know? Researchers have categorized the 10 basic types of odors humans can sense. The 10 elements they’ve determined are woody smells (like grass and pine), sweet scents (like chocolate and vanilla), florals and perfumes, citrus fruits, non-citrus fruits, minty smells (including eucalyptus), toasted, nutty scents (like peanut butter and popcorn), and three separate categories for unpleasant odors like gasoline, sour milk and rotten meat. Experts say complex scents can usually be described by combining two or more of these elements. It's also well know that the sense of smell is one of the most powerful memory triggers. For Jacklyn it's petroleum products, for John pine trees. Other callers this morning talked about fresh baked bread, burnt matches, even the smell of freshly ironed clothes!

This Video Is Crazy Cool!

If you place 32 metronomes on a static object and set them rocking out of phase with one another, they will remain that way indefinitely. Place them on a moveable surfacelike in this video, however, and something very interesting (and very mesmerizing) happens! The all begin to "sync up" with one another. No trick photography here! How does it work? Energy from the motion of one ticking metronome can affect the motion of every metronome around it, while the motion of every other metronome affects the motion of our original metronome right back. All this inter-metranome "communication" is transferred by the moving board, which serves as an energetic intermediary between all the metronomes that rest upon its surface. As the video progresses, keep you eye on the second metronome in the last row. It lags behind all the others and then catches up! Insane physics!

My, How Times Have Changed!

We used to pick up the phone and call someone we were interested in, setting up a date or just getting to know them. Now it's all different! Clichés about love at first sight aside, how long it takes to sweep someone off their feet depends on your method of communication. Couples of decades past were limited to phone calls when it came to courtship. People ages 55 and older who were on the dating scene back in the 1970s and 80s say it took an average of 30 phone calls- or about two and a half months- to fall in love. But the vast and varied communication options of the modern world have proven to be dating-game-changers. According to a poll, it takes 224 tweets, 163 text messages, 70 Facebook messages or 37 emails for contemporary couples to fall for each other. And they say romance is dead!

Is It Just Me...???

John here--I took a picture of these folks yesterday and thought I'd share it with you and see what you thought. Is it just me, or should there be some traffic rules about where "panhandlers" or whatever you want to call them, can set up shop? While I was waiting at the lights by the mall where Highways 16 and 157 meet, these two and their dogs just walked right out onto the concrete median at one of the busiest intersections in the area, sat down and started soliciting drivers for money. I'm not ripping on those less fortunate than me who have no other option but to panhandle, but shouldn't there be some limits to where they can do it? What if one of them accidentally steps in front of a car and gets hit? What if one of their dogs runs into traffic and gets run over? What do you think, should those who need to panhandle be allowed to do it any way they want because they are less fortunate? Do you ever give money to these people? Love to hear your thoughts: johnandjacklyn@kicks1063.com. Also note I didn't use the word "beg" or "beggars". Wouldn't want to be considered "insenitive"!

Did You Celebrate The "Day Of Conception"?

Now here's a holiday we can all celebrate: The Day Of Conception! Russia celebrated its eighth annual “Day Of Conception” last week, meaning couples in the eastern region of Ulyanovsk were told to stay home from work in order to have sex. The governor of the region urged bosses to allow men and women to take September 12 off to procreate. In past years, prizes have been awarded to couples who gave birth exactly nine months from the unofficial public holiday. Last year, the winning pair got a jeep! The celebration is part of Russia’s efforts to increase its struggling birth rate. You can read more about it here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/skip-work-have-sex-russians-celebrate-day-of-conception-as-sporting-community-continues-to-criticise-putins-antigay-legislation-8812840.html

Hey, there are worse ways to spend a day off!

Opening Pandora's Cigarette Box

The latest rage for people trying to quit smoking is the "E-Cigarette," an electronic, battery powered nicotine inhaler.  They're shiny and snazzy looking, but they are more dangerous than people think.  You're essentially ingesting nicotine and despite the absence of tar and other additives that are commonly found in regular cigarettes, nicotine is still a dangerous substance.  You can still become addicted to it, quite easily too.  Plus, there are other carcinogens and hazardous chemicals in the E-Cigarettes.

But even that aside, there's another fold to the problem.  Kids can legally purchase them at many places.  There are no regulations to prevent that, much like smoking devices that kids can purchase online, without question.  And the things are even seemingly marketed to kids, by coming in colorful presentations with "flavors," like cherry, strawberry, vanilla and cookies & cream milkshake.

The powers that be forced cigarette companies to stop using Joe Camel years ago, because the cartoon character was seemingly appealing to children, but "flavored," nicotine bullets in colorful packaging are "good to go?"  I'm confused.  And fearful we're going to see a huge rise in cancer for the kids of this generation, that are using these things.

I'm going to venture a guess that the E-Cigarette, while initially designed to aid smokers hoping to stop the habit, figured out it could be turned into a marketing tool to hook a younger demographic and increase sales.  Voilà, it worked.

Have you used E-Cigarettes? Have you seen kids using them?  What are your thoughts on them? Drop us an email!

Time Lapse Of The Rim Fire

This awesome, and scary, video is a time lapse of the Rim Fire that burned so much of Yosemite National Park and the surrounding area. The first part of this video is from the Crane Flat Helibase. The second half of the video is from Glacier Point, showing Yosemite Valley. And all this damage was reportedly caused by one careless hunter who's campfire got out of control. A lesson for us all who enjoy the outdoors!