Two More

Jan 10, 2012 - 5:19 PM

Jan 11, 2012 - 4:52 PM


Lots of clouds and snow showers today.

If YOU happen to see the sun, please tell it I said hi.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

In case you haven't noticed, things change.

Here's more proof:

Dec 24, 2011

Jan 8, 2012


That may not look like much of a loss in the grand scheme of things - or even the small scheme of things - but... I think it represents a loss all the same.

The structure in the first photo was known locally as the Japanese Tea House because that's what it was for much of its existence. It started off as a regular house until a US Army linguist who had served in Japan bought the place in the 1950s and transformed it into a showcase for Japanese culture.

That linguist even went so far as to import a Shinto shrine from Japan and set it up in the back yard.

Next to a carp pond.

Here's the postcard view of it that they used to sell to those with a quarter or two to spare:

I never found the time to take a tour of the place while such tours were still being given but apparently hundreds and hundreds of area school kids did thanks to the invention of the field trip.

It was one of the most unlikely things I've ever stumbled upon in central Ohio and it's likely to continue to hold that title until the Democrats regain control of at least one house of the state legislature.

I'm never exactly sure how special little things like this go from being eye-catching gems to empty lots, but a news story from about two years ago did a fair job of succinctly charting its decline.

According to that story, the linguist's son sold the place for $500,000 back in 2005. It was sold again for $330,000 in 2007. The city apparently bought it a year or two ago for about $126,000.

Now it's an empty lot.

Ready for redevelopment, they say.

We'll see.

Maybe someone will actually put something on the site that's even more interesting, but I have my doubts.

In fact, I'm betting on yet another ugly CVS drug store popping up, but we'll see.

The fact that someone actually decided to put a Japanese Tea House there less than 20 years after Pearl Harbor would seem to indicate that almost anything is possible.

Bottom Line: I remain open to being surprised.

Got lots of money you don't know what to do with? Why not give it a shot!

*Suddenly wondering what it might cost to turn the site into a trilobite sanctuary*

Things In My Yard: Exhibit E

It's been months since anything very interesting has found its way into my yard.

Well, anything made by humans, anyway.

That ended yesterday when my S.O. brought in this late afternoon find:




As usual, it seems to have come from a place many miles away.

Do you suppose that a force strong enough to deposit this receipt in my yard is strong enough to also deposit the item it happens to be a receipt for?

Apparently not - but I'm continuing to keep an eye on my yard, just in case.

(To see some of the other things that have turned up in my yard, go here.)

Greetings From The President

I hope everyone had a great holiday season.

Mine was ok.

About two dozen old-fashioned snail mail holiday greetings found their way into my home this time around. The snowmen cards far out-numbered the religious ones. That put a smile on my face - and it probably will right up until the day a complete stranger comes up to me on the street and tries to tell me that Frosty melted away for my sins.

I even got a holiday greeting from the Obamas!

See?

I'm not sure why I got this. I've never sent them a card. Maybe every American got one?

If so, then you probably already know why I ended up feeling a bit miffed by the experience.

If not, well... reading the insert that came with the card might help you understand my feelings:

I think this is the first time in my life that I've received a holiday card that included a request for money.

Such a request would strike me as tacky under almost any circumstances I can imagine.

It especially struck me as tacky coming from a family with an income these days of $400,000 a year.

I understand that the money is going to the re-election campaign and not to keep Michelle in pearls, but even so.... From what I've read, that campaign is already expected to take in and spend a billion dollars this year. Hitting me up for another $50 at the same time that my local food pantry is begging me for any spare cans of peas I can spare seems more than a little inappropriate to me.

It never even occurred to me to send a holiday card to the Obamas asking *them* for money. Now that it has, I doubt that they'd respond very positively if I acted on that thought. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if using the postal service to ask the President of the United States for money doesn't get one placed on some sort of watch list.

*Sigh*

Just for the record, I also got a holiday card from a local plumbing company that I've never sent a card to. Sure, it's probably nothing more than an attempt to get money out of me somewhere down the road, but... at least it was subtle.

See?

NO obvious request for cash - let alone a list of suggested amounts.

What does it say about us as a nation when a local plumber has a better sense of tact and etiquette than the people in the White House?

I guess I should be glad that they didn't say the baby Jesus had told them to ask me for money, but... it's hard.

Or at least harder than it should be.

I can only hope that any Arbor Day greeting they might care to send me is a bit more endearing.

The Show-Off Sky

Jan 6, 2012 - 5:20 PM

Jan 7, 2012 - 5:16 PM

Jan 8, 2012 - 5:01 PM

Jan 8, 2012 - 5:12 PM

Jan 9, 2012 - 5:17 PM

Jan 9, 2012 - 5:27 PM

Jan 9, 2012 - 5:37 PM


Do you suppose it's a cry for attention?

Scenes From A Drive

Weird Postcard Of The Week

I'm not sure what intrigues me more - the idea of dental parlors or the fact that someone thought kittens were the best animals to use to promote a business with Buffalo as part of its name.

(The fact that the kittens are mathematically inclined, on the other hand, seems to make perfect sense to me on some subconscious level.)