10000

Wow, the push from 9000 to 10000 visitors was pretty quick, and then to top it off, the 10000th came on while I was sleeping yesterday. Normally there would be a big celebration or something, but when I went back and saw that the 10000th visitor was from Connecticut, well, I decided to put it off.

Why?

Because I don't like Connecticut. I find it to be pretentious. They go around saying, "Hi, we're Connecticut, we're better than you. We have a silent 't' in our name, how many other states have a silent 't' in their name? Huh? Do you know? None! So put that in your pipe."

See? I just don't trust folks like that.

Slap Bet

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I got to see some anti-war hipsters!  Whoohoo!  They had their nifty Peace Surge buttons on and everything!  Plus, one lovely young couple came in dressed to the hilt in wonderfully warm wear, but the young man had wore a beard, which I’m sure he was proud of, but even John Lennon would give him a strange look, it was quite out of place.

Anyway, the hipster moonbats came in, then the oldster moonbats came in later.  I know there was some cane waving down in DC the other day!

Oh, and for better coverage, check out this linkage

Kitten Cannon

Yeah, this is awesome

Kitten Cannon - Presented by AddictingGames.

And your new Council member is...

From the Record Courier

Council names new member
January 18, 2007
By Tom Prusha

WINDHAM -- Village Council this week named Philip C. Snyder to replace Councilman Jason DeBolt, who resigned in December.

Snyder has lived in Windham for more than 50 years and served on the village's board of public affairs and on council. He also was a member of the Windham Board of Education.

He is a baseball coach with the Windham Hot Stove League, softball coach and softball manager, a Cub Scout den leader, Boy Scout Merit Badge Advisor, and Boy Scout executive board member. He belongs to the Friends of the Windham Library.

He is a Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 1040, a charter member of the Kent State University Vietnam Veterans Association. The Second Vice Commander and the Child Welfare Officer of the American Legion Post 674.

Mayor C. James Moore presented his annual report in which he said more income taxes were paid in 2006 than what was expected with the total amounting to $520,747.54.

The East Center and North Main sewer line construction was completed in November 2006 but there are some remaining street and landscaping repairs to be finished this spring.

Community Road construction is expected to be started this year.

You can send roses to the Administrative Office.  No real reason why, just because.

HR 78

Perhaps you’ve missed it in the fray.  HR 78 is a resolution that allows the representatives from the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to vote on the floor of the House, rather than only in the committees to which they’ve been assigned.  There’s a big problem with this.

It violates the United States Constitution.

And its not some obscure line hidden way down in the many lines of the Constitution, Article 1, Section 1 points out that “The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen…by the people of the several states.”  Nice and clear, right?

If HR 78 passes, not anymore.  Thanks Democrat House Leader Steny Hoyer!  We really appreciate your efforts to streamline government!  This will make so much more sense!

Meltdown

From Opinion Journal's "Best of the Web"

"At a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, Sen. Barbara Boxer quizzed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iraq strategy. The New York Post is rightly appalled at what Boxer had to say:

"Who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price," Boxer said. "My kids are too old, and my grandchild is too young."

Then, to Rice: "You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family." . . .

The junior senator from California apparently believes that an accomplished, seasoned diplomat, a renowned scholar and an adviser to two presidents like Condoleezza Rice is not fully qualified to make policy at the highest levels of the American government because she is a single, childless woman.

It's hard to imagine the firestorm that similar comments would have ignited, coming from a Republican to a Democrat, or from a man to a woman, in the United States Senate.

Part of the reason this is shocking, of course, is because it breaches feminist etiquette. If Boxer had said this to a male official who had no children, it wouldn't have carried quite the same sting--though it would still be creepy.

We've remarked frequently upon the tendency of war opponents to infantilize American servicemen--by demanding, for example, to know why President Bush hasn't "sent" his daughters to fight in Iraq, as if he had the power as their father to order them to enlist.

In truth, members of the military are adults who have made an adult commitment. They deserve to be respected for their maturity, not patronized as victims. It dishonors them to use their sacrifice as a political cudgel."

Thinking Outside the Box

So I’m perusing the hometown papers and came across something I’d forgotten. At my alma mater, Hiland High School, basketball is king, or in this case, queen. The Classic in the Country is going on this weekend back home. Its a showcase of the best girls basketball teams in Ohio (and other parts). College head coaches fly in to see this thing and its become quite the boom weekend for the area.

They schedule it every year over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend because of his work and the progress made in the area by Perry Reese Jr., legendary boy’s basketball coach of the 80’s and 90’s. Its really quite amazing and is a great weekend of basketball.

Classic in the Country a 'can't miss event'

By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer

The Classic in the Country is set for its third go-round, and the girls basketball showcase to be held Saturday through Monday continues to draw rave reviews.

It's ranked as one of the top three high school events in America by the USA Today and it's also drawing a few important new faces this season.

"With a lot of college head coaches having tight schedules, most have sent their assistants to scout the first two years," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "This year we actually have a decent amount of head coaches who have made arrangements to fly into (the Holmes County Airport). They want to come in, see a game of a kid they're recruiting, talk to the family and then be on a private plane out of here."

There are plenty of quality players and games to be seen, as 30 teams will play 20 marquee games over the three-day event hosted by Hiland High School in conjunction with Tom Jenkins and the Ohio Girls Basketball Report. More than 75 Div. I college prospects will take to the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center court between Saturday morning and Monday night.

"I wonder if we can keep saying it year after year, but it should be bigger and better than last year," Schlabach said. "If you look at the player rankings, the state rankings that come out later this week, and the national rankings, it's just unbelievable."

Three of the four reigning Ohio state champions will compete in this year's Classic in the Country. Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (Div. II) is the lone title-holder who will not be on display, but Dayton Chaminade-Julienne (Div. I), South Euclid Regina (Div. III) and Berlin Hiland (Div. IV) will all play in Berlin.

Also joining the host Hawks from the area will be Waynedale and West Holmes.

Waynedale and Lexington tip off the event Saturday at 10 a.m., while West Holmes battles Hoban Monday at 5 p.m. Hiland is the nightcap on two occasions - Saturday at 8:30 versus Fort Recovery and Monday at 8:30 against Garfield Heights Trinity.

"Hoban is an established program with a very solid backcourt," West Holmes coach Matt Voll said. "I feel like our team has gotten out of the chute very well and solidified ourselves as being a good team, but this will be a good test.

"I'm intrigued about how we come out and play in this environment. I am going to learn a lot about my team and I really do think this could act as a springboard for the rest of the season."

Waynedale coach Don McConnell knows his team has a stiff challenge awaiting them.

"We tried to beef up the schedule a little bit to get prepared for tournament time, and to be honest with you, this will be our biggest test of the year," Waynedale coach Don McConnell said. "Lexington has athletes across the board and provide some matchup problems ... but it will be a good opportunity for some of our kids to get some exposure, and for us to play in a tournament-like atmosphere."

The event is not only about good basketball, though.

Intentionally scheduled over the holiday weekend honoring Martin Luther King Jr., the CITC is intended to remember the sacrifices Dr. King made in order to bring about racial harmony in America. It's also meant to remind people of the racial barriers the late, great Hiland boys coach Perry Reese Jr. faced by being the first black coach in Amish Country.

"It's a special event, honoring two special men and held in a special corner of the universe," said Jenkins, the director of OGBR which was voted the No. 1 single-state scouting service in America by NCAA coaches. "The Columbus public schools are not allowed to play on Sunday or Monday in order to honor Dr. King. But to be honest with you, 85 percent of the kids would learn more coming to Berlin and being part of the Classic than they would staying home."

The credit for quality matchups must also go to Jenkins, who projects strength of teams and schedules the CITC games 14 months prior to the event.

Trinity head coach Chrissy Falcone, whose team beat West Holmes in the CITC last season, was sure impressed with the matchups her club received this winter. The Trojans will play the defending Div. I state runner-up (Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame) Sunday and the reigning Div. IV state champions (Berlin Hiland) Monday. After playing Bedford Chanel in a conference game Saturday.

"Do you like that? I did at first, but now I'm not so sure that I do," Falcone joked. "Seriously, though, I didn't request it - but I'm very, very, very excited about it.

"We went 20-3 and 20-2 the last two years, but we had two, three or maybe four decent teams on our schedule. Our schedule has not helped us get ready for the tournament, but I made sure that was going to change this year."

Aside from removing the softball field at the front-entrance area of the Reese Community Center and replacing it with handicapped and regular parking spots, this version of the CITC will not change much.

The sponsorship of 89 area business, and the efforts of close to 250 Holmes County volunteers, will again help the event run smoothly.

Hopefully the college coaches flying in will have as smooth a landing.

And perhaps for our community’s part, this is pertinent…

Dreaming big has paid off for CITC

By AARON DORKSEN
Daily reocrd Sports Editor

A few thoughts from the week in sports ...

If you dream big, there's no telling what the result might be.

Just look at what the folks in Holmes County have done with the Classic in the Country Challenge.

Mmm, cookies

And in another food themed post, let’s talk Girl Scout Cookies.

If you frequent The Forum, you know that Sonya’s Troop 555 is now observing that long standing tradition of teaching young girls the secrets of Big Business. The unmitigated evil of Girl Scout Cookies is making another appearance in the earth, bringing us one step closer to Global Annihilation.

And they’ve coerced my two daughters into their subversive web.

So if you want some “stuff”, you know where to get it. If you live within 1000 feet of a school or any building that children frequent, we’ll have to set up a meeting.

I'll never (part seventeen)

Of course, the number of the parts to this particular category number more than seventeen easily, but as the Farmer said, “that’ll do”.

17. I’ll never sit down in Cal’s again.

Oh I know, this is gonna be one of the harder nevers to keep, because we are, after all, dealing with food, and personally, I kind of like food. Rumor has it that you need it to survive or something, I really wasn’t paying that close attention in biology class. There was this really cute little red-headed girl that sat in the row next to me who was far more interesting than hearing discussions of mitochondrial RNA or the such like. But I digress.

My parents owned a restaurant during my formative years. We did ok, nothing spectacular, but there was always food around, good customers, close friends, and a girl (now woman) who I may be working for when we move back to the area, which honestly is not exactly irony, but something closely resembling it. I took her to my Junior Prom. The guys at school were jealous. Something that wasn’t directed toward me very often in High School, so I drank it in. There’s nothing like a little envy directed your way to really bolster that self-esteem. So anyway, I think I know a few things about being a restauranteur.

There are two keys to running a successful restaurant. Without these two things, a restaurant will have a great deal of trouble and never really get much more than breaking even. First, you have to give the customer just a little more than they expect. There’s no need to go overboard with anything. You don’t give a customer a filet mignon for $3.98 a plate. That’s just insane. You do give him just a slightly larger steak than expected. You give them a few more fries than a normal serving. Make the glasses just a little larger than what someone has at home. It doesn’t have to be grossly larger to the point of being noticeable; just a bit. The second key is quick service. No one likes to wait, but we all have different ideas of what waiting too long is. This is where the owner or manager needs to step in with the waiting staff to show them what a customer who is ready looks like. This is a developed skill, there are very few people who are born with the ability to look at someone and know what they are thinking. Generally it is a general disinterest in the menu, noticing that the eyes aren’t focused at the table anymore, things along those lines.

Put simply, I waited too long this evening. You may say that never going back is being a bit trifling about the whole situation, but this isn’t the first time its been this way. I’ve always been pleased with the serving sizes there, but there is a continual lack of attentiveness on the part of the wait staff which grates at my nerves. We’re still polite and offer a nice tip at the end of the night, but it isn’t nearly what it could be with excellent service.

Luckily we have a restaurant here in town that for a while now has been offering excellent service and ideal portion size (I’ve noticed!) that draws people back. Even those of us who kind of forget those points sometimes.

Thank the Democrats!

Finally, some good news!

For all of 2006, the nation's unemployment rate dropped to a six-year low of 4.6 percent as the economy added 1.8 million jobs. In 2005, the unemployment rate averaged 5.1 percent.

Oh wait, that was 2006, who was in power then?  I think I’ve suddenly caught the amnesia that the AP has had for the last four years.

167,000 Jobs Added to Payrolls in Dec

Why I Love Google Ads

Right now, they’re showing ads for the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Maybe I’ll finally get a visit from them again now! 

Some Randomness

The Discovery Channel totally rocks!  Dirty Jobs, MythBusters, It Takes A Thief…and the list goes on and on.  If you (or your kids) aren’t taking in some of this stuff, you’re really missing out.

My obscene passion of the moment is anything Doctor Who.  Yeah, I’m geeking out with British television, even watching the Torchwood series playing in Britain right now, but really, its good stuff.

MySpace is both the coolest thing in the world, and the scariest.

How can any adult forget the old adage, fifteen will get you twenty?

Is it just me or is the Villager much smaller lately, old media it is, but it is definitely worthwhile.  Make sure to pick it up and patronize its advertisers.

For that matter, patronize Windham’s businesses.  The return on investment will be worthwhile.

Oh I'm getting around to it

Seriously, one of these days, I’ll be inspired.  Maybe its the tree coming down today, or the putting away of the Christmas decorations.  Perhaps its the furniture rearrangement.  Things are sliding back to normal.

Now, on to those pesky resolutions that are destined to be broken by Friday.