Rob_Haswell's Blog

Today is supposed to be the busiest travel day of the year.

I makes me remember my family and our trips to see Grandma!

Of course this was in the late 70s and early 80s so we had none of the car seats, booster seats, or any safety equipment at all!  I'm not even sure if the seatbelt law had been passed at that point.

We'd put pillows down on the floor to make a kinds of bed so we could sleep if we wanted.

Sometimes we put blankets in the back window of the Oldsmobile and nap there!

Seems pretty crazy now!

We'd fight over who was on who's side and who was hitting too hard during punch buggy but we seemed to survive most trips.

Now we keep the kids busy with the built in DVD and hand held video games!  Back then my sister and would load up the back seat with toys and games and make a GIANT mess out of it all and it would come spilling out when we opened the doors!

What are your memories of traveling with the family for Thanksgiving or just to see the Grandparents?

I had one or two calls a few days ago about a light in the sky and it seems likely that what you may have seen was a meteorite.

A much larger meteor was spotted over parts of Canada that same day.

Here is a link to some dashboard video of the meteor over Edmonton, Canada.

CLICK HERE

Enjoy!

A belated thanks and a Happy Holidays to all those that came out to the Germantown Christmas parade this past weekend!

I thought I'd share a pic of me and the kids in our cool horse drawn carriage that we got to ride in for the parade!

If you want my face or any Wake Up face on your pumpkin -we're here to help!

Nicole and I carved all the Wake Up faces this morning and you can see that on the Wake Up page but if you want the stencils we used to do it please CLICK HERE

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My very talented wife, Tanya, made this cool picture for our annual calendar we give to the grandparents and I liked it so much I thought I'd share.

The faces are my kids of course! :-)

You know the old saying "No two snowflakes are alike."  right?

Well, depending on how strict you want to be on your definition, two flakes can actually be alike indeed!

While it's true that full sized flakes are unique, smaller flakes can often look the same.  Check out this picture of small flakes- sometimes called nano-flakes - that are simple hexagonal prisms!



Look pretty much the same huh?

Now of course that's now really what most people think of when they think of a snowflake.  When it comes to the full fledged, traditional flake like this:



it is indeed true that no two are the same.

Here's a great site that gives you an even more in depth look at snowflakes.
CLICK HERE

What are all those little bugs?

 

If you live in the United States, your home is probably being invaded by swarms of lady beetles.  Most of us thought these were the harmless "lady bug".  But we were wrong!

Many people are wondering what they are and what to do about them.  Here are the answers from the Missouri Department of Conservation. 

Over the last few years, many Missourians have been encountering thousands of lady beetles "swarming" around and inside their homes. This is not some bug that's gone berserk, but actually an insect that is new to Missouri. The multicolored Asian lady beetle was originally released into some southern and eastern U.S. states several years ago as a predator to control aphids on trees. None were released in Missouri, but the beetles have spread here from other areas.

There are about 400 species of lady beetles in the U.S. Most of these are native to the U.S., and because most feed on insects that attack plants, they are generally considered to be beneficial insects. However, the Asian lady beetle has become a major nuisance because of its swarming behavior. These insects congregate in the fall as they try to find sheltered places where they can hibernate during the winter. Then on warm days in early spring they congregate again in huge numbers as they come out of their over wintering sites.

In their native range in Japan, Asian lady beetles swarm around cliffs to search for crevices for over wintering sites. However, houses and other buildings seem to be attractive alternatives to cliffs. These beetles enter homes by slipping through cracks around doors and windows or through attic vents. Lady beetles do not reproduce indoors during their hibernation period. They do not harm humans or pets, although at times they can give a bit of a nip by biting.

The best thing you can do for this problem is prevention. Caulk up all crevices around doors, windows, and utility pipes. Make sure you have tight-fitting screens on windows and attic vents. You should especially concentrate on openings on the south and west sides of the house, because those are the warmer areas where lady beetles are more likely to gather. If you already have lots of beetles inside your house, about the only thing you can do is vacuum them up and dump them back outdoors, preferably in a sheltered place a long distance from the house. Avoid squeezing or crushing the beetles, because they can emit a fluid that can stain carpets or drapes. Spraying with insecticides is usually not effective, and trying to use enough insecticide to have some effect just adds a high level of toxic materials to your home.

The Asian lady beetle has been introduced into the U.S. several times since 1978. Since then, they have spread to many parts of the U.S. and Canada. They were first found in Missouri in 1993 in Carter and Wayne counties, but have now spread throughout much of the state. It is difficult to predict what impacts we will see in Missouri as the Asian lady beetle becomes well established here. Eventually native predators may provide some measure of control on lady beetle populations. Recent research in North Carolina indicates that as much as 25% of lady beetle populations were parasitized by a tachinid fly.

 

I found this online and had a good giggle - thought I'd share:

You know you are from Wisconsin when...

Your whole family wears green and gold to church on Sunday.

You refer to the Packers as "we."

Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on
the highway.

"Vacation" means going up north to Rhinelander for the weekend.

You measure distance in hours.

You know several people who have hit deer more than once.

You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

You drive at 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard,
without flinching. (ROB NOTE: DON'T DO THAT!)

You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both
unlocked.

You think of the major food groups as venison, fish, and berries.

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road
construction.

It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item even when you're
in a rush because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town.

You buy your Christmas presents at Fleet Farm or Menards!

You know what cow-tipping is.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to
use them.

You define summer as three months of bad sledding.

Your definition of a small town is one that has only one bar.

You have gotten frostbitten and sunburned in the same week.

You can identify an Illinois or Michigan accent.

You learned to drive a tractor before the training wheels were off
your bike.

Down South to you means Chicago.

Traveling coast to coast means going from La Crosse to Milwaukee.

You know a brat is something you eat and Eau Claire is not.

You can pronounce and spell Oconomowoc.

You know where Waukesha is and can pronounce it.

You consider Madison exotic.

You got a passport to go to Minnesota.

Your ides of foreign culture is listening to Da Yoopers.

You know what a bubbler is.

You go out for fish fry every Friday.

You can recognize someone from Illinois from their driving. (ROB NOTE: And we have naughty nick names for them too!)

You've seen a hodag.

You know how to polka.

You used to think Deer Season was a national holiday.

You know Gotham is a real city.

You can make sense out of the words upnort and Trivers.

You can visit Luxemburg, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Berlin, New London
& Poland all in one afternoon.

You design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit.

You go to work in a snowsuit in the morning and return home wearing
shorts.

You've seen mosquitoes with landing lights.

You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

You enjoy driving in the winter because the potholes fill in with
snow.

Your sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.

The local paper covers major headlines on 1 page, but requires 4 pages
for sports. (ROB NOTE: The whole first section of the Ozaukee Pres IS sports!  LOVE IT!)

Your snow blower gets stuck on the roof.

You find 0 degrees a little chilly.

You drink "soda" and refer to your dad as "pop".(ROB NOTE: Unless you're from SW Wisconsin where they say Pop!)

You call an ATM a Tyme machine.

You get a drink of water from a Bubbler!

It's just the beginning of October but already our neighborhood has gone Halloween!

We joined the crowd on the weekend and since we talked about it a bit last week and again this morning on Wake Up, I thought you might be interested in a picture of the decorations.

It's dark - obviously - but that's the best way to see all the lights!

Here's a link to the website I mentioned today during the 11am news:

CLICK HERE

Enjoy the Fall colors!!

The summer of 2008 for us has ended and ended without any official 90 degree temperatures recorded.

However, despite a lack of super high daytime high temperatures here in our backyard, the planet was still on the warm side.

In fact, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration it was the ninth warmers on record! And August was the 10th warmest.

Here are some snip its from the official press release:

The combined global average land and ocean surface temperature for summer 2008 was the ninth warmest since records began in 1880, and this August was the tenth warmest, according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Summer (June – August) Highlights

• The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for summer 2008 was 0.85 degrees F (0.47 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 60.1 degrees F (15.6 degrees C).

• Separately, the global land surface temperature for the summer was 1.12 degrees F (0.62 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 56.9 degrees F (13.8 degrees C).

• The global ocean surface temperature for summer ranked ninth warmest on record and was 0.74 degrees F (0.41 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 61.5 degrees F (16.4 degrees C).

August Highlights

• The August 2008 combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 0.79 degrees F (0.44 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 60.1 degrees F (15.6 degrees C) and tied with 1995 for the tenth warmest August on record.

• The global land surface temperature for August was 0.88 degrees F (0.49 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 56.9 degrees F (13.8 degrees C).

• The global ocean surface temperature for August was 0.77 degrees F (0.43 degrees C) above the 20th century mean of 61.4 degrees F (16.4 degrees C), which tied for seventh warmest August with 2001.

Other Highlights

• Arctic sea ice extent at the end of August was at its second lowest extent on record according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Sea ice declined by a record rate in August, decreasing by 950,000 square miles (2.47 million square kilometers) between Aug. 1 and Sept. 3. The current extent is 800,000 square miles (2.08 million square kilometers) below the 1979-2000 average.

NCDC August 2008 analysis: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2008/aug/
aug08.html

Smell is an amazing sense.

An odd statement perhaps from a guy who works in a medium that only caters to sight and sound but I find that - for me - smell transports me places instantly.  Often more so than any other sense.

Today I was walking the hallways of the Rite Hite YMCA where they are renovating and caught the smell of wood shavings.  The much have been cutting 2x4's or something but I was instantly transported to a different time.

No not for real you in the tin foil hat club!  But in my mind I was 10 years old and back on the turkey farm.

We used wood shavings on the floor of the turkey banks to absorb the nasty stuff and in very short order the smell was nasty but when the new chicks (actually baby turkeys are called pullets) arrived, the smell of fresh wood shavings was amazing.  Everything smelled so clean and the memory of those cute little birds is a nice one to be sure.

Have you ever had a smell take you somewhere?

Or a sound?

Maybe  a texture?

Comment below!

Here I am with good friend and fellow Possibility Playground volunteer Heidi Bertler at the build on Thursday!

It was a great day to build and the site is really taking shape!

However, they do need more volunteers - especially for this afternoon and early evening.  If you can give a couple or hours or more please check out their website at www.possiblityplayground.org

Arrrrrrr me hearty's!  T'in talk like a pirate day!  So shiver me timbers and prepare to walk the plank!

Seems there be pirates all over da place here in Milwaukee!

Dere's pirates at the DOT today working da pirate cams!

And the Harken folks are wearing parrots on their shoulders today too - 'tis an epidemic just like scurvy!

If you want to start talkin' like a pirate check out talklikeapirate.com!

I hesitate even to broach this subject - especially in the blog-o-sphere - but it's probably pretty obvious by now that I do agree with most of the science behind global warming or more accurately global climate change.  That was probably clear when I did my special report (Emmy nominated special by the way LOL) "Global Warming - What it Means for Wisconsin".

I won't go on and on about my opinion other than to say I do agree the Earth climate is changing.  The entire world will not warm uniformly and some areas may even cool but the climate is changing.  Most - if not all - scientists agree on that.  The argument is whether or not human pollution is causing it, speeding it up or making it worse in some way.  I'm not sold on that 100% but it's clear to any common sense person that it isn't helping.  My Grandpa used to say, "you don't poop in your own feed bucket".  The earth is our feed bucket and we're literally and figuratively pooping in it!  That can't be good right?

Okay,  enough soap box, that wasn't the point of this post.

The point was to bring to your attention another study showing some proof of this change.

New data is now showing that Arctic sea ice may reach its lowest level on record this summer.

This would be the second year in a row, and that trend could threaten polar wildlife and accelerate global climate change.

The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center has said that Arctic sea ice coverage is already the second lowest on record, and could break last year's low mark before the season is over. That is based on satellite measurements dating back 30 years.

Here's a LINK  to an article on the ice melting and look at what it means to our global climate.

If you want to share your opinion, feel free but remember to keep it clean and not political.  The political blogs is a different tab! :-)