Skating Rink

It is like a skating rink around here.

A mid-winter thaw followed by a cold snap has left the trail system ice-covered and slippery.

Sure could use a pair of crampons for getting around.

It got up to a perfectly tropical twenty degrees yesterday.

Wolf Moon

The first full moon of 2010 rose last night and it was the largest full moon of the year.

According to Native American tradition January's full moon is also known as a wolf moon. There are wolves around here but I sure didn't hear any howling last night.

Good thing too.

This year's wolf moon was 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon as it was actually closer to the earth than usual.

The moon is at its perigee - the closest it will get to the earth - a distance of 221,577 miles (356,593 kilometers).

Apogee is when the moon is at its farthest from the earth. Perigee and apogee generally occur in every month - but the moon's wobbly egg-shaped orbit means that the precise distance at each of these events varies throughout the year. The moon's phase can also be different during each perigee and apogee event.

According to astronomer Marc Jobin at the Montreal Planetarium - This month has the largest full moon of 2010 because it coincides with the special moment when the full moon happens to occur on the same day as it is at perigee.

Coincidentally - Mars is directly opposite to the sun in the sky. As the sun sets in the southwest Mars rises in the northeast.

When Mars is in opposition to the sun it is also at its closest to the earth. On January 27 Mars swung by at just 61 million miles (98 million kilometers).

Look for it in the night sky - a bright orange planet next to the wolf moon.

Mystic Blues

I saw Harry Manx for the first time last summer when he opened for Richie Havens at the Peg Egan Performing Arts Center in Ephraim.

This dude is one interesting artist - mixing western and Indian music with the blues.

A virtual one man band - he's a virtuoso with the harmonica, banjo, stomp box, lap steel and the mohan veena (a custom-built twenty string combo sitar/guitar).

He also tells some pretty funny jokes.

This talented Canadian was back to the peninsula to perform in the continuing "Art of Music" winter concert series last night at the Ladder House in Sturgeon Bay.

Catch one of his performances when you can.

Tell him Gas sent you...

Happy 40th Birthday

The Boeing 747 airliner celebrated its 40th anniversary of service this year.

The 747 is an airline staple that revolutionized air travel and ushered in many of conveniences that we take for granted today.

The development of this mammoth plane was anything but convenient. More than 75,000 engineering drawings were used to produce the first version of the 747. The plane also endured nearly two years of wind tunnel testing. The result is an airliner that can carry 63,500 gallons of fuel with wings that each weigh 95,000 pounds.

To put this plane into perspective, the Wright Brothers' first flight could have been performed entirely within the economy section of a 747-400.

Read more amazing facts about the 747 from the Boeing web site.

Slow Learner?

Only a dumb person would install Windows Vista on their PC.

Need I say more?

Having a Bad Day?

Just in case you think you are having a bad day - remember that there is always someone else who is having a worse one.

Have a nice day.

Put Down the Submarine and Raise Your Hands Slowly

A federal judge in Minnesota today ordered Trevor G. Cook jailed for failing to surrender more than $35 million in assets.

Specifically, the judge in the case wants Mr. Cook, a self-styled money manager charged in an alleged $190 million foreign currency trading scheme, to surrender $27 million located in offshore accounts, a BMW and two Lexus automobiles, a submarine, a houseboat, a collection of expensive watches, a collection of Fabergé eggs, Bon Jovi concert tickets and $670,000 in cash.

Yes.

A submarine.

News From the Swamp

It is a freak'n swamp out there.

Literally.

Girlfriend and I ventured out yesterday afternoon (packing heat since there have been wolf sightings in these parts) and there was water and ice everywhere. Water running in the creek. And both the big pond and little pond filled to over flowing. By the time we returned with the trail camera it had started to rain.

It rained all afternoon. It rained all night. As I tap-out this post it is just beginning to let-up. Since the ground is still frozen there is standing water all over the place. And we've lost a great deal of the snow. I've had to trade the snow shoes for the tall rubber boots.

Temperatures next week are expected to drop into the single digits. Then there will be a vast ice sheet across the land.

This is a good time to stay in doors and get caught-up on reading by the wood burner.

Can you believe it? Mud season is just around the corner.

Word of the Day

Got out of bed in the dark this morning and drove to Green Bay with a couple of my neighbors to attend the North East Woodland Owners winter conference.

These meetings are generally pretty interesting as it's an opportunity to meet other folks with similar interests, maybe learn something new and have a couple of doughnuts. It's a blue jeans, flannel shirt and Carhartt work coat sort of crowd. Different from the day job.

Today's program included presentations on bear and wolf management, an update on Wisconsin's Managed Forest Law and various forest pests.

Beech bark disease has arrived in Door County. The emerald ash borer is knocking on the door. And Annosum root rot is as close as Shawano County.

Annosum root rot - Heterobasidion annosum.

And you don't want to get this rot as it can persist for upwards of a hundred years.

Blech.

Tommy Thompson vs. Russ Feingold?

Former Wisconsin Gov. and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is still considering a challenge to Sen. Russ Feingold (D).

How To Know When The Recession Is Over

Keep a sharp eye on the MUI - the Mintel Underwear Index.

I am being absolutely serious and not making this up.

You can learn all about it over here.

You can also take encouragement from knowing that I purchased new men's briefs at the Kohls in Manitowoc over the holiday break. They were on sale.

And now you know the answer to the age-old question...

Fox Hunting

Adds an entire new meaning to our understanding of fox hunting, eh?

Arrrgh!

Unlike the majority of global businesses, Somali pirates managed to turn in another banner year in 2009. Captain Hook would be envious of the Somali pirates who managed to grow their "client" base by over 30 percent, expand revenue by 100 percent, and increase their geographic footprint in a terribly difficult economic environment. These organizations have done so well in fact that the wage for a low level pirate often tops $20,000. This amount is not only good by Somali standards; it stacks up favorably against the many nations that are attempting to thwart the piracy. A low level seaman in the United States earns around $19,000, while in Russia and China they earn a mere $6,000 and $700 respectively. Read more about the business of ship highjacking

First Anniversary

Today is the solemn occasion of the Campingplatz's first anniversary.

Including this - that makes for 185 posts, 3558 visits, 6403 page views and a collection of five followers.

Speaking on behalf of the vast technical staff here at the platz that has labored so mightily to keep things running smoothly - we thank you for stopping by to check us out from time to time.

We're feeling so good about our first year that we've given everyone in the company the day off to celebrate...

Canadian Olympic Hockey Team Training

I learned a long time ago to never bet on the American team when it comes to Olympic hockey.

Here's why...

Technology Issues

The dang laptop took a dump on me last week. Therefore, the Campingplatz may be down for a spell (at the worst), or sporadic for a spell (at best). I cannot tell yet if it will be short or long.

We should be up and running like a finely tuned muscle car before too long. All of the highly-trained and technologically brilliant staff here at the Platz thank you for your patience as we try to find our way through these issues.

So in the interim I say - Prosit!

(A Belated) Happy New Year From the Campingplatz

This is a bit late but when your laptop goes on the fritz sometimes a posting is delayed by forty eight hours.

I happen to think that a picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures from a couple of the Door's more popular New Year Day venues speak volumes.

A possible record crowd at Jacksonport's Polar Bear Plunge - the weather a balmy nine degrees with a water temperature of thirty one.

And Egg Harbor's ever-popular New Year's Day parade - all ten minutes of it.

Wolf!

It is definitely a wolf. Confirmed by Adrian Wydeven with WDNR.

Two (that we know of) have been shot in Door County in the last decade. And a local sports writer tells me that a sheriff deputy got one on video not far from us - just south of the new highway earlier this year.

This certainly stirs the pot.