After about 16 hours of hard labor, the Toy has been enhanced. Trail report to follow after the weekend. I'm going back to "nature" for a few days. Stay well all.

Six Days...

until the annual pilgrimage to Iron River. Ten or eleven guys this year. Will tie or break the record. That's many people in a two-room, no running water, no electricity cabin. Good thing we're away from any civilization as no one would want us near them by the end of the weekend. The first time I went was nine years ago. I've only missed one year since as there was something pretty major going on and funds just weren't there as they were basically gone or frozen. The weekend could be classified as male bonding, but for me, it's more of an escape from everyday life. We're all very different on views and/or opinions, but it works and there's never been anything that couldn't be settled around the campfire. We ride the trails in the woods, have a clay pigeon shooting contest for bragging rights, hike and catch up with each other. Home states represented are NC, WI, MI, MN, KY and AK. The first year, meals were: B-fast - Fruity Dyno-bites, milk, juice and coffee; Lunch - bologna on white, granola bars and beer; Dinner - beans from a can and anything you could put on a sharp, pointy stick and roast over the fire. Here's Saturday's Dinner menu:

Pan Seared Loin of Venison

Wild Rice Buckwheat Blini

Low Bush Compote

Char Ratatouille

Rocket Couscous

Gateau Chocolate, Maytag Blue, Port and Espresso

One of the guys that goes with now is a professional chef. We can all very much hold our own in the kitchen, but he has certainly moved the bar up a few notches. We've come a long way, but now it's almost more of an eating fest as opposed to an outdoor, back to nature gathering. My brother-in-law and I are taking care of Friday night's dinner. Trust me, it will be good, but it will be a very simple, midwest-style camp meal. It's at the request of the host who now lives in NC and doesn't get the finer things that he grew up with. The Toy gets the wrenches put to it tomorrow as it needs some enhancements before I flog on it next weekend. Hopefully all will go well.

That's all. I know it's been some time since the last post as someone was kind enough to point out to me.

Oh yeah, Julie is great, Sam is great.

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The Badgers beat the Wolverines in the Big Ten Tourney yesterday. I have difficulty dealing with the fact that Bucky only put up 51 points. I have no idea how I'd handle a team that only scored 34 like, oh, say, Michigan. So is this a testament to incredible defense or poor-beyond-belief offense?

In Training for Madison

Sam has found a new favorite activity. He's just learning in this video (sans sound by the way) but he's really gotten the hang of it now. "Jump Around" will be a piece of cake when he makes it to Badger games. 5 months old and I already see that he's going to be high energy. Yep, Julie and I are in trouble.

There is talk about

a tax on hospitals. I don't know the particulars and, admittedly, I'm going to have to do some more checking on it. This bill failed in our state before while the budget was getting hashed. There are people in office that ran on a platform that included the thoughts that health care in our state was too high. I agreed. After all, we'd all like to see things cost less. There are wonderful facilities in this state and we have access to many things that are among the top of the field in many areas. But, just on a surface observation, how does taxing the hospitals to increase state income decrease the cost of health care? I would think that these costs are going to be passed to either the patient or the insurance companies who will then pass it to the patients.

Am I Missing Something Here?

The possible change to the Wisconsin State Constitution regarding voter photo ID did not pass. The Milwaukee County Arm of the Law did a 3-1/2 year study and produced a 67 page document that outlined the voting fraud that happened during the last major election. In my eyes, this is unacceptable. I must show ID when I'm at work, when I use my debit or credit card, when I write a check, when I cash a check. I went to pick up some medications today for sick family members and I had to show photo ID to the pharmacist before I could buy an over-the-counter cold symptom remedy. Yet to vote - one of the most important things we may do for our country - all I had to do was tell the volunteer my last name, first name, and address. I received a ballot and away I went. Heck, I know my neighbors' names and addresses. I know some of them didn't vote. What's to stop me from from saying I'm one of them and casting a few more votes? In my case, morals and ethics. As the documents have shown, not everyone has high standards of themselves. Why is it our lawmakers deem this a permissible practice? Can someone enlighten me? I'm open to reasonable explanations and even not so reasonable ones.

Julie works in a dental office that sees Title 19 patients. These patients, through various means, have come to rely on tax dollars for their health care. This can be a very good program when used properly and enables those who are in need of health care to receive it. The office typically double-books these patients. Why you ask? Because the have a 50% failure rate. This means that half of them don't show up for their scheduled appointments and services. Are they unable to get there? That should never be an issue as they receive taxi rides to and from the appointment at no cost to them. Some even take advantage of the cab time and free fare to run errands and go shopping. Others may have reason for not showing, but calling to cancel is unheard of. I know that many private patients can be charged for not showing for an appointment or failing to give adequate notice of cancellation. But these issues are not what got to me. They upset me, but the kicker is, THEY GET A FREE $10.00 GIFT CARD FOR WAL-MART FROM THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM JUST FOR SHOWING UP FOR THEIR APPOINTMENT! That makes free health care, free transportation, a free $10.00 gift card and still a 50% failure rate. Oh, and by the way, there are those that are in this program that do have their own transportation. Some in that group have a nicer vehicle, better clothes, and more expensive cell phones than I have. I don't want to be in the position that I need to be supported by the government. I do like the fact that there are programs in place in case that does happen and I truly need it. But, when I see what is going on, I start to feel that I've been doing things wrong. I see a lot of room for improvement in a program where there is much abuse happening.

In Vain

So, the trenching and the ice removal yesterday? Yeah, water coming into the basement. I'm now working from home in between sucking up water and rerouting any water outside that I can. If I had more than just the two years equity, I'd be thinking pretty hard about moving. I'll suck up some more of that seepage and then I'm going to spin for awhile and go make dinner for my wife when she gets home. I do lead an exciting life.