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Monthly Archives: April 2011

Daily Bread

Daily Bread 4.12.11

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Good morning.

It’s a sunny day ahead for Whitewater, with a high temperature of sixty-one.

There’s a PTO meeting tonight at Lincoln School, proud home of the Leopards.

Over at ScienceNews, there’s a story about a wasp determined to get an ant out of the way, entitled, “Wasps airlift annoying ants.” The story describes how a wasp, fighting with an ant over food, uses the power of flight to get the ant out of the way.

A kind of wasp that often flees from scary, acid-spraying ants turns out to have a strong move of its own. When both the invasive Vespula vulgaris wasps and native New Zealand ants scramble to collect the same food windfall, one of the wasps sometimes swoops down and grabs an unsuspecting ant, then flies backward and drops it. The ant typically does not choose to return to the food, Julien Grangier and Philip Lester of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, report online March 30 in Biology Letters.

Here’s a video of the maneuver:


AIRBORNE from Science News on Vimeo.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 4.11.11

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Good morning.

Today’s forecast is for a cloudy day, with a high temperature of fifty-seven.

There will be a meeting of the Planning Commission tonight at 6 p.m. The agenda is available online. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a meeting on the Library Board.  The agenda of that meeting is also available online.

In our history, the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls three notable events that took place on April 11th:

1951 – General Douglas MacArthur Relieved of Duty
On this date General Douglas MacArthur, who lived for a time in Wisconsin and is the son of well-known Milwaukeean Arthur MacArthur (himself a decorated war hero), was relieved of his duty by President Truman. MacArthur had advocated a very aggressive position in the Korean war, threatening at one point to attack China. [Source: CNN Cold War]

1965 – Palm Sunday Tornadoes Ravage Midwest
On this date six tornadoes, part of the “Palm Sunday” outbreak, ripped across Southern Wisconsin, causing 3 deaths and 65 injuries. The outbreak of 51 tornadoes was responsible for 260 deaths and over $200 million in damages throughout the states of Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. [Source: National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office]

1970 – Doomed Apollo 13 Launches
On this date Apollo 13, commanded by James Lovell, who graduated from high school in Milwaukee and attended the University of Wisconsin prior to his time at the United States Naval Academy,lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two days later, an oxygen tank exploded, making it impossible to complete the intended lunar landing and jeopardizing the lives of the astronauts on board. The mission ended safely on six days later. [Source: NASA]

Nature

Whitewater’s First 70-Degree Day (with heat to spare)

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Two weeks ago, the FW comment forum asked, in comments and a poll, what would be Whitewater’s First 70-Degree Day this Year?

Today was that day (using the Weather.com data for Whitewater), topping out at over 80 degrees. (The National Weather Service data for the Whitewater area, using Janesville information, showed a high temperature of 70 yesterday, for a few hours. I’ll go with today as the clear winner, but it’s April in any event.

Here’s what readers predicted —




The overwhelming majority of respondents picked, correctly, April. (I had April 27th, so I got the month right, but was erroneously pessimistic about how soon we’d hit 70 degrees.)

Here’s hoping for many balmy days ahead.

Twitter

Recent Tweets, 4.3 to 4.9

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Jefferson Cty 40/41 precincts Prosser 12,860 Kloppenburg 9,365 One precinct not reporting until tomorrow #wivote
5 Apr

Walworth Cty 40/40 precincts Prosser 14,233 Kloppenburg 8,929 #wivote
5 Apr

Rock Cty 86/86 precincts Kloppenburg 22145 Prosser 14626 #wivote
5 Apr

Rock Cty 42/86 precincts Kloppenburg 11400 Prosser 7907 Huge numbers above 08, 09 #wivote
5 Apr

AP reporting Walworth Cty 9/40 precincts Prosser 10,600 Kloppenburg 5,962 Neither 08 or 09 had justice as high as 10k #wivote
5 Apr

Of Walworth, Jefferson, Rock counties, Walworth has least attractive & informative election website, Jefferson easily has best
5 Apr

Past results for baseline 2009 Walworth Cty Abrahamson 6735, Koschnick 5464 *** 2008 Walworth Butler 5655 Gableman 8122
5 Apr

It’s a completely surreal realization that nation states can be seriously confronted by teenagers” http://nyti.ms/eGdjIm
4 Apr

Tastesless Lede of the Day™ Sheboygan Press on felony battery of woman: “Hell hath no fury like a … man scorned?” http://bit.ly/hPdSAd
4 Apr

Libertarians

Libertarians Call for Permanent Government Shutdown!

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I’ve not been following closely the reports of an impending federal shutdown, as Wisconsin’s own politics have been more interesting to me.

For those who have been reading national reports, here’s a press release from the national Libertarian Party that offers a libertarian take on the drama. The release is very true-to-form for the LP, especially under Exec. Dir. Benedict. The release’s title, “Libertarians call for permanent government shutdown,” is meant to provoke. I really like the titles he crafts.

I’ll bet, though, that there’s at least a part of this — although that part may differ between people — with which many would agree.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2011
Contact: Wes Benedict, Executive Director
E-mail: wes.benedict@lp.org
Phone: 202-333-0008 ext. 222

Libertarians call for permanent government shutdown

WASHINGTON – As elected officials put on a dog-and-pony media show about a temporary shutdown of small parts of the federal government, the Libertarian Party calls for a permanent shutdown of most of the federal government.

Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict said, “Just think how a permanent government shutdown would allow so many Americans to regain the blessings of liberty.

“Education would blossom as the Department of Education ended its War on Learning, no longer wasting our money and preventing educational innovation with one-size-fits-all centralized mandates.

“Job opportunities at companies big and small would multiply, providing opportunity and choice for American workers.

“The world would enjoy peace as we withdrew our forces from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Our government spends almost as much on the military as the rest of the world combined.

Millions of industrious men and women who work for the military and its contractors could be focusing on building up our economy, rather than tearing down others’.

“Crime would plummet as the government’s War on Drugs ended, no longer sustaining a giant violent black market and overfilling our prisons.

“The life of many poorer Americans would improve as welfare programs stopped, no longer trapping low-income families in an endless cycle of government dependency.

“All Americans would feel a huge burden lifted every April, as they were no longer required to wrestle with a byzantine and oppressive IRS.

“But most importantly, Americans would once again be free of unjust and unconstitutional violations of their unalienable rights.”

Benedict added, “We’re not talking about eliminating the federal government. We want to end all federal activities that are not authorized by the Constitution, and we want to cut everything else as much as we can. In 2000, the federal government spent $1.8 trillion. This year it’s expected to spend $3.8 trillion. Things are going the wrong way — fast.”

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website [www.lp.org].

Comment Forum

Friday Comment Forum: How will the Brewers do this year?

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Here’s the Friday open comments post.

How will the Brewers do this year?

I’ve not the talent to write consistently and well about baseball, yet I love the game. In the NL Central, of six teams — Reds, Pirates, Cubs, Brewers, Astros, Cardinals — how do you think the Brewers will do? Baseball-Reference.com is available for all the stats, history, and info one could need.

I’ll say first or second in the division, with a good chance at a wild card if second.

Here’s a poll —

 


The use of pseudonyms and anonymous postings is, of course, fine. Although the comments template has a space for a name, email address, and website, those who want to leave a field blank can do so. Comments will be moderated, against profanity or trolls.

Otherwise, have at it.

I’ll keep the post open through Sunday afternoon.

Uncategorized

Daily Bread for 4.8.11

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Good morning.

It’s a day of mild temperatures but showers ahead for Whitewater, with a high of fifty-five.

In our schools, it’s Caps for a Cure Day for Lakeview School. At 6 p.m., the Whitewater Elementary Orchestra will hold a concert at the university, in the Light Recital Hall, part of the Greenhill Center for the Arts. It’s spring picture day at Washington School.

Today is a memorable day in Wisconsin — and American — athletics, as the Wisconsin Historical Society notes that

1905 – First High School Basketball Tournament

On this date Fond du Lac won the Lawrence College Invitational, the first high school basketball tournament held not only in Wisconsin, but in the United States. [Source: Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association]