Michigan senator wants yard waste back in landfills

State Senator Patty Birkholz has introduced a bill that will bring yard waste back into state landfills 13 years after yard waste was banned. She claims it will help create methane (quicker than current garbage residing in landfills) which can be harnessed for power. Since we still see fit to import trash from Canada I just don't see the benefits (nor any actual scientific data) to back this bill.

Community compost piles and individual compost bins are the way to go (in my humble opinion). I use a mulching blade on our mower and I don't even have to worry about raking grass. It all goes into the ground to become nitrogen and help feed the lawn.

For more information on how to compost, what to put in compost, etc. see The Lazy Man's Guide To Compost.

In preparation of March Madness

The clock is ticking towards the first tipoff today at 12:20 when Xavier takes on Georgia. 32 games of college basketball await over the next two days. I'll be cheering on Michigan State since my beloved Western Michigan Broncos lost in the MAC tournament and didn't get the automatic bid to the Big Dance. Get ready for all of the excitement at my March Madness page via Squidoo. You can watch highlights of last year's tournament, get last minute tips on filling out your bracket, and find tickets to some of the upcoming games (Detroit is home to one of the regionals this year).

Let the madness begin!

For St. Patrick's Day - The Muppets sing Danny Boy

I saw this posted over at boingboing.net today and I laughed so hard I nearly cried. Animal, the Swedish Chef, and Beaker sing (well, I guess you could call it that) Danny Boy. It's two minutes of hilarity.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The real reason Michigan's economy is in the tank?

I just read this article at the Detroit Free Press stating that Michigan is one of only 4 states to spend more on our prison system than higher education. For every $1 spent on higher education, Michigan spends $1.19 on its prison system. Contrast this with Minnesota (happy owner of the lowest ratio) who spends only $.17 on prisons for each $1 it spends on higher education. There are numerous rhymes and reasons for Michigan's poor economy, but perhaps this ratio is the most telling of all. How can you move forward and increase technology jobs and other brainy economic activity within the state when you are spending more money locking folks up than educating them for these new job sectors?

This article really struck me as I also read today that 1 out of every 100 Americans are in prison. Anyone else think that having 1% of your population locked away is a frightening statistic?

I hate bringing up bad news, but it was sad for me to see that Michigan is one of only four states that spend more on prisons than college.

Scary.

Biggby Coffee Blog is a fun read

Biggby Coffee (the coffee shop formerly known as Beaners) has a neat blog that I just found out about today via an email. The blog's title is "Where is Bob?" with "Bob" referring to Biggby CEO and co-founder, Bob Fish. It's basically a collection of Biggby Coffee news as well as stories about the franchise owners and possible upcoming locations (Owosso looks like a winner). This is a great example of what a big company blog should look like. It provides business information, but at the same time helps spread their message and shows you that they aren't a faceless corporation - the stores are owned by people living in the same community as the coffee shop.

I fell in love with Beaners Biggby Coffee when I used to live and work in Lansing (their first location was on Grand River in East Lansing). My Biggby Coffee standard order (unless I try one of their limited time special flavors) is the Caramel Marvel. Man, that is THE best cup of coffee I have bought each and every time.

Contrast that with a well known national chain that sells music, food, books, and then coffee as an afterthought. Biggby Coffee sticks to what they do best - make a great cup of coffee with excellent service and a comfy atmosphere.

While that faceless corporate coffee shop closed their locations yesterday for three hours of training at least one Biggby Coffee location in Grand Rapids (located just across the street from said faceless corporate coffee shop) was offering all of their coffee drink items for f-r-e-e during the three hour time frame.

Even if there isn't a Biggby Coffee near you I have seen a select number of their whole bean coffee variations for sale at Meijer. It looks like their expansion plan will lower the number of folks that don't have a location nearby.

This quote from their website Biggby.com says it all about what they stand for -

Every BIGGBY café is locally owned and operated; there are no corporate stores. The people behind the counter are people from your communities, and the dollars generated stay in your communities.