Saturday, September 15, 2018

24 days after the storm in Middleton: Pond View Road access continues to show improvement





After the storm in Middleton (and Madison) posts:
Pheasant Branch Trail at Park Street (part 2).  (8/21/2018)
Powerwashing between the Beltline and Parmenter Street.  (8/22/2018)
Along Pheasant Branch Creek east of Parmenter Street.  (8/23/2018)
Costco and environs.  (8/23/2018 update)
Entrance to Esser Place parking lot, then and now.  (8/24/2018)
Longmeadow Drive and Stricker's Pond, then and now.  (8/24/2018)
Greenway Station is open for business.  (8/24/2018 update)
Views of Pheasant Branch Creek from Parmenter Street bridge.  (8/25/2018 update)
Intersection of U.S. highway 14 and Deming Way.  (8/27/2018 update)
Century Avenue and entrances to Pheasant Branch Conservancy trails.  (8/27/2018)
UW Health administration office building.  (8/27/2018)
Longmeadow Gulch.  (8/28/2018)
Pheasant Branch Trail at Park Street (part 1).  (9/3/2018 update)
Woodside Heights Park.  (9/4/2018 update)
Stricker's Park.  (9/4/2018 update)
Boardwalk access ramp to Tiedeman Pond.  (9/7/2018 update)
Flooding in East Washington/East Mifflin area of Madison.  (9/7/2018)
Tiedeman Pond access at Pond View Road.  (9/9/2018 update)
Tiedeman Pond pumping.  (9/10/2018 update)
Voss Parkway.  (9/10/2018 update)
The dual dead ends of Middleton Street.  (9/10/2018 update)
Stricker's Pond footpath.  (9/11/2018 update)
Pheasant Branch Conservancy just north of Century and Branch.  (9/11/2018)
Confluence Pond expands to become Confluence Lake (and back again).  (9/12/2018 update)
Stricker's Pond.  (9/12/2018 update)
Pheasant Branch Creek algae bloom.  (9/15/2018)


9/9/2018 update starts here.

A  portion of the path connecting South Avenue and Woodside Heights Parks is now visible.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Pavement marking make a reappearance.



You can now see the entire back of the bench.


The floodwater recedes from the sandbags.




8/31/2018 update, "Tiedeman Pond level same as before (the Pond View Road edition):, starts here.

Water level is receding a bit
Photos by Retiring Guy

Looking across the flooded grassy area to Woodside Heights Park...


...where the residents of this house are probably breathing easier.  But not all that much yet.


8/28/2018 update, " Tiedeman Pond level same as before (the Pond View Road edition)", starts here.
The grassy area pond extension

Photos by Retiring Guy

 Sandbags in place


Under normal circumstances, there should be no water in this frame.


8/22/2018 update starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Under normal circumstances, there is no water in the frame.


Close-up






Original 8/21/2018 post, "Tiedeman Pond access at Pond View Road", starts here.

Under normal circumstances, you'd see very little water in this frame.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Under normal circumstances, you'd see nothing but an expanse of grass here.


 Under normal circumstances, the Teideman Pond shoreline starts 20 feet beyond the trees.


Under normal circumstances, water would not be almost lapping at the house's foundation.  In fact, there would be no water in the frame.





26 days after the storm in Middleton: Pheasant Branch Creek algae bloom


Photo by Retiring Guy

After the flood: The sun shines, water recedes and algae bloom. (Wisconsin State Journal, 9/11/2018)
The underlying cause of hazardous bacterial blooms is an overabundance of the nutrient phosphorus. Rain has been carrying phosphorus off farm fields and city streets for many decades. 
Algae outbreaks aren’t unusual this time of year. As the water starts to cool and sink, nutrients that have built up near lake bottoms can start rising toward the surface, setting off explosions of what scientists call “cyanobacteria” — commonly called blue-green algae. 
But heavy rains that fell across the Lake Mendota and Lake Monona drainage basins Aug. 20 almost certainly washed a big new load of the fertilizer into the water.

After the storm in Middleton (and Madison) posts:
Pheasant Branch Trail at Park Street (part 2).  (8/21/2018)
Powerwashing between the Beltline and Parmenter Street.  (8/22/2018)
Along Pheasant Branch Creek east of Parmenter Street.  (8/23/2018)
Costco and environs.  (8/23/2018 update)
Entrance to Esser Place parking lot, then and now.  (8/24/2018)
Longmeadow Drive and Stricker's Pond, then and now.  (8/24/2018)
Greenway Station is open for business.  (8/24/2018 update)
Views of Pheasant Branch Creek from Parmenter Street bridge.  (8/25/2018 update)
Intersection of U.S. highway 14 and Deming Way.  (8/27/2018 update)
Century Avenue and entrances to Pheasant Branch Conservancy trails.  (8/27/2018)
UW Health administration office building.  (8/27/2018)
Longmeadow Gulch.  (8/28/2018)
Pheasant Branch Trail at Park Street (part 1).  (9/3/2018 update)
Woodside Heights Park.  (9/4/2018 update)
Stricker's Park.  (9/4/2018 update)
Boardwalk access ramp to Tiedeman Pond.  (9/7/2018 update)
Flooding in East Washington/East Mifflin area of Madison.  (9/7/2018)
Tiedeman Pond access at Pond View Road.  (9/9/2018 update)
Tiedeman Pond pumping.  (9/10/2018 update)
Voss Parkway.  (9/10/2018 update)
The dual dead ends of Middleton Street.  (9/10/2018 update)
Stricker's Pond footpath.  (9/11/2018 update)
Pheasant Branch Conservancy just north of Century and Branch.  (9/11/2018)
Confluence Pond expands to become Confluence Lake (and back again).  (9/12/2018 update)
Stricker's Pond.  (9/12/2018 update)

Friday, September 14, 2018

'Tree hugger' Gary Kriewald's isolated incident


"Hey Jude" debuts in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending September 14, 1968


And the 'B' side, 'Revolution', makes a strong start but doesn't quite reach the top 10.


Related links:
The Beatles by the numbers.  (CBS Sunday Morning, 2/4/2014)

Related posts:
Aretha Franklin's two-sided hit single among the newcomers on Billboard Hot 100 for the week 
ending August 17, 1968.

Iron Butterfly makes its first appearance on Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 24, 1968.

Big Brother and the Holding Company makes its first two appearances on Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 31, 1968.

Fire! The Crazy World of Arthur Brown debuts with its only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. ( For the week ending September 7, 1968)

UPDATE: Dear president littleman, You are a one-man circus when it comes to making yourself look as bad as possible



Reported in As a New Hurricane Roars In, Trump Quarrels Over the Last One.  (The New York Times, 9/13/2018)


9/12/2018 update, "Based on a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, the Hurricane Harvey recovery effort gets a C-", starts here.


Source:  One Year After the Storm:Texas Gulf Coast Residents’ Views andExperiences with Hurricane Harvey Recovery.  (The Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation Harvey Anniversary Survey. August 2018)


9/12/2018 update, "Donald Trump takes yet another undeserved bow on the Hurricane Maria recovery stage", starts here.


Source of DSM-5 creiteria:  Mayo Clinic

Italicized section reported in Citizen Tribune, 9/11/2018/

Related reaidng:
Trump administrationThe forgotten scandal in the Trump administration: Hurricane Maria.  (The Guardian, 9/11/2018)
The only reason the president can get away with this kind of nonsense is because he’s being protected by Republican leaders in Congress. Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria – in pictures After almost 3,000 civilians died in the terrorist attacks on 9/11 there were multiple hearings, investigations, reports and commissions. Everything from airport security to national security changed. 
But after a similar number of civilians died in Puerto Rico, there have been only two hearings with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (Fema) administrator. 


Original 9/6/2018 post, "Base to Trump:  Loving you has made me bananas", starts here.



Reported in 13 totally bananas moments from Donald Trump's phone call with Bob Woodward.  (CNN, 9/56/2018)

Guy Marks made his only appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with this novelty tune.  "Loving You Has Made Me Bananas" debuted at #90 for the week ending April 13, 1968.  It spent 6 weeks on the chart, peaking at #56.



Related articles:
History experts in New York Times op-ed: Trump worst president ever, Obama in top 10.  (USA Today, 2/20/2018)
It's slowly dawning on Republicans that Trump just might be the worst president ever.  (Daily Kos, 7/22/2017)

Related post:
Narcissist-in-chief gives himself great reviews.  (7/14/2018)

Latest Scott Walker campaign gimmick comes complete with shiny bald spot


Related reading:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is sending 671,000 families an election-year check. Democrats call it bribery.  (Washington Post, 5/3/2018)

And the voters agrees.

Related post:
Clueless: Scott Walker picks the wrong issue to emphasize as he campaigns for a third term.  (9/11/2018)

Abandoned principles: The GOP and the deficit


Photo:  Unsplash

Re;ported in U.S. on course for $1 trillion deficit.  (Axios, 9/11/2018)
The U.S. deficit grew by $222 billion from this time last year — reaching a total of $895 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 
Why it matters: This increase was due mostly to the new Republican tax law and Congress' routine decision to increase spending, which grew by 7% compared to revenue growth of only 1%. The CBO says the deficit will approach $1 trillion by the end of Fiscal Year 2019.

Related reading:
On The Deficit, GOP Has Been Playing Us All For Suckers.  (Forbes, 4/15/2018)

UPDATE. Brad Schimel takes a page out of the Donald Trump playbook



Reported in Bice: Brad Schimel requiring all Wisconsin DOJ employees to sign nondisclosure agreements.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/13/2018)
Payback time.  Former Corrections Secretary Ed Wall is sharply critical of Schimel and Gov. Scott Walker for their handling of problems at Lincoln Hills School for Boys, a juvenile prison north of Wausau that has been under criminal investigation for three years. Schimel fired Wall from the Justice Department in 2016 after he told a Walker aide he should feel free to destroy a document. Wall writes in his book that that incident was misconstrued. 

Josh Kaul for Attorney General



1/8/2018 update, "On pre-publication book tour, fired WI Corrections Secretary Ed Wall out for revenge, lambastes former boss", starts here.

See Schimel statement below.


Former corrections chief: Wisconsin's AG Brad Schimel 'completely botched' probe of teen prison.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/4/2018)


8/14/2016 update, "'The best shall serve the state:' The Ed Wall bellyflop", starts here.


Reported at Ex-prison head recommended 'scenary change'.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/12/2016)
The Journal Sentinel reported this May that the Department of Corrections had not checked Peterson’s work history when it hired her as education director in 2011. If it had, it would have found she resigned as an associate dean at Northcentral Technical College two weeks after she was demoted and had her pay cut by more than $14,000 “due to deficiencies in leadership communication.” 

Original 4/16/2016 post starts here.


As quoted in Former corrections secretary fired from new state job.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/15/2016)

"The best shall serve the state".

Related posts:
Friday news dump. (4:52 p.m.) Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development: Attracting, hiring, and retaining (TBD) the best of the best.  (11/13/2015)
Dear Scott Walker, I know someone you should look straight in the eye when spouting this nonsense.  (11/10/2015)
In light of recent actions by Walker and his appointees, does Roger Roth realize how silly he sounds?  (11/7/2015)
Sad Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) enters the Republican, civil service echo chamber.  (10/29/2015) 
Storytime at the Wisconsin Department of Administration.  (10/29/2015)
Terry Katsma (R-Oostburg): Have I got a speedy hiring process for you!! (10/28/2015)
Wisconsin Republicans gut civil service: Are you starting to see a pattern here?  (10/28/2015)
Dear Mike Rohrkaste, Perhaps you weren't paying attention in 2011. Two words: Act 10.  (10/28/2015)
Newspeak just where you'd expect it -- in an Americans for Prosperity news release.  (10/28/2015)
Just think. Once the legislature guts civil service, Scott Walker's former aides can be appointed to all levels of state government.  (10/6/2015)
Scott Walker wants to party like it's 1904.  (9/24/2015)

UPDATE. Get me rewrite: Paul Ryan in Trump lapdog mode again



Reported in House Speaker Paul Ryan says Wisconsin businesses should be patient with Trump tariffs.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/13/2018)


Original 7/13/2017 post, "But we all know that potus45 lapdog trumps Russia hawk", starts here.


Reported in Congress Wants to Punish Russia, but Can’t Dole Out the Punishment.  (The New York Times, 7/12/2017)

Breaking news: Foxconn unable to find Wisconsin veterans



Plus this helping of b.s. from last year.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Calling it as I see it: Simply Crumbs


I have purchased my last bag of this brand.

Photo by Retiring Guy

An excellent basic recipe, to which you can add flavors to suit your taste.  Don't skimp on the liquids as the result will be too dry.


Poll UPDATE: Donald Trump's best cross-tabs in latest NPR/Marist poll


Source:  NPR/Marist poll

And then there's this.


7/22/2018 update, "The Wisconsin demographics of Trump's base", starts here.

Overwhelming male.  There is a sizable gender gap.


Higher level of income

Rural and collar-county suburban


Not as lily white as you might think.


Among age groups, younger Baby Boomers and older Gen-Xers give Trump the highest marks.



Those with the least and most education share an antipathy towards Trump. 



3/14/2018 update, "The Trumpness of older white conservative males in Wisconsin", starts here.



As Trump's ratings with Wisconsin men rise, gender gap becomes massive.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/13/2018)
Compared to the last time Marquette polled in Wisconsin — June 2017 — Trump’s net approval is down 8 points among women but up 14 points among men. “In this case, it looks like more of the change (in the gender gap) is being driven by men becoming favorable to Trump” than by women becoming more negative, said Marquette pollster Charles Franklin.

Percentage of total respondents by age:
  • 21.5% -  18 to 29
  • 23.4 % - 30 to 44
  • 31.9% -  45 to 64
  • 28.0% - 65 and older


3/6/2018 update, "Donald Trump and Scott Walker approval/disapproval ratings by age group".

30-44:  Younger Gen X-ers, older Millennials, or a combination of the 2?

Source:  Marquette University Law School poll

Oldsters love Walker most of all.


Original 3/5/2018 post, " Donald Trump and Scott Walker approval/disapproval ratings by geographic region", starts here.



A sign that Scott Walker is in trouble?

While Donald Trump's favorability rating in the 'rest of state' is 8 percentage points higher than his unfavorables (52% vs. 44%), Scott Walker is underwater in this category -- 44% favorable, 48% unfavorable.

Looks like somebody's getting desperate!