The Power of the Internet

A house about a half mile down the road from our house exploded this morning. I never heard the explosion, but the constant cavalcade of emergency vehicles convinced me that something bad had happened nearby. Where did I hear some information about the explosion?

The radio? No.

Surely the local television station carried it as breaking news? Nope.

I read up to the hour reports of this tragic accident online. Yep, the internet was the first place I found any coverage.

WWMT.com was the first news format of any kind to break the story with video images shot while the local fire departments put out the smoldering bits and pieces of the house. No live reporters giving the usual soundbites, just a stark video of the devastatingly small remains of the home.

The owner of the home was airlifted up to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo with burns over 70% of his body. My thoughts and prayers are with him.

Legendary Detroit Tigers Broadcaster Ernie Harwell Turns 90 this Friday

Ernie Harwell will turn 90 years young on Friday, January 25th. How does he do it? Daily exercise, doesn't eat a lot of sugars and fats, and his mental attitude. Ernie is nearly three times my age and he gets more exercise than I do. That doesn't bode too well for my longevity. Guess I had better hit the treadmill tonight ;).

Anyway, Happy Birthday to a true gentleman, Ernie Harwell.

Want to know more about Ernie Harwell?

Stormy Kromers, Yooper Scoopers, and Nimrods

This title sounds like a Yooper-Specific Jeopardy category. Want to know more about Stormy Kromers, Yooper Scoopers (no, they aren't for cleaning up after your dog), and Nimrods? I created a few new pages to bring some great Yoopers and some ingenious products made up in the U.P.

Stormy Kromers

Yooper Scoopers

Watersmeet Nimrods

As seen on a sign at the local Arby's

I was passing through Three Rivers and the local Arby's had an unintentionally funny saying on their sign.

French Dip Subs. Oh lala!

Um yeah, I think that should read Ooh La La!

The 2008 Banished Word List from Lake Superior State University

The always humorous and much anticipated Banished Word List from Lake Superior State University was issued last week in conjunction with the start of a new year. Nominations for banished words are made through the university's website at www.lssu.edu/banished. Then, the nominations are whittled down by a committee and released to the public. Without further ado, here is the 2008 Banished Word List.

• PERFECT STORM
• WEBINAR
• WATERBOARDING
• ORGANIC
• WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING
• AUTHOR/AUTHORED
• POST 9/11
• SURGE
• GIVE BACK
• 'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y'
• BLACK FRIDAY
• BACK IN THE DAY
• RANDOM
• SWEET
• DECIMATE
• EMOTIONAL
• POP
• IT IS WHAT IT IS
• UNDER THE BUS

For more information about the 2008 Banished Words visit the Lake Superior State University website. There are also comments to read from the folks who submitted the words.

You can also read last year's list.

Stuck in high school

Well, this blog is anyway. ;) I saw a blog with this box from the Blog Readability Test and decided to check out the reading level required for the good old All Things Michigan blog.

Here it is -

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - we're rather busy shipping out a ton of gift baskets before Christmas :)