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While many people were concerned that December 21 2012 marked yet another end-of-the-world event, Rush nerds fans worldwide were excited about the prospect of marking 2112 at 9:12PM on December 21 2012 (2112 on 2112). Why?
Today also marked the re-release of the classic album, originally released in 1976. The album's first side tells the story of a dystopian future in the year 2112 when the Priests of Syrinx determine the content of all reading matter, songs, pictures.
The re-released vinyl album contains a hologram that can only be viewed while the record is playing:
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The Island of Hawaii is the largest in the island chain of the state of Hawaii. Hawaii is famous for many things, including being the birthplace of President Barack Obama. Oh, unless you are Donald Trump, Joe Arpaio or any of the 'birthers' who believe a less obvious story, that Obama was born in Kenya and the evidence of his birth was planted in a Hawaiian hospital and the local newspapers so that one day a Muslim-Fascist-Socialist-Communist could become President of the United States (or something like that - I don't have a tin-foil hat so I don't get all the updates).
The Big Island (as it is also known) is home to the annual Ironman World Triathlon Championships and has been since 1981 when the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km, originally a two-day event), and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2mi./42km) were combined into one continuous event (The bike stage was reduced by 3 miles to link it to the start of the marathon course in the original location on Oahu). The swim start and run finish are marked by the permanent sign (shown above) on Aliʻi Drive in Kailua-Kona.
The bike turnaround is 56 miles away at the tip of the island in Hawi, marked only by a small shop called As Hawi Turns:
There have been many memorable moments in Hawaiian Ironman history but none more than in 1989 when Mark Allen and Dave Scott raced side-by-side for 138 miles before Allen pulled away on the run, finishing in 8:09:15, just 58 seconds ahead of Scott. Here's some grainy footage of the key moment:
Allen's and Scott's achievements are remarkable. Their run times of 2:40:04 and 2:41:03 respectively have yet to be beaten in the Hawaiian Ironman, 23 years later!
What do you eat after a Hawaiian Ironman? Try Dave's Coffee Shack:
And ask for the Loco Moco. This dish comes in many varieties but the key elements are white rice, hamburger meat and brown gravy. This one shows a fried egg, and sides of mac n cheese and noodles (in case there weren't enough carbs):
Don't try this before a Hawaiian Ironman!
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A whole entry in Wikipedia is dedicated to Wisconsin city nicknames. Cambridge is “the umbrella city” (more appropriate for the original Cambridge, I suspect), Bear Creek is “Home of the World’s Largest Sauerkraut Plant” (!) and Eagle River is the “Snomobile Capital of the World” - which all makes you wonder a) who keeps track of these things? and b) is someone somewhere currently trying to build a larger sauerkraut plant?
Five cities have cheese in the title, which frankly is disappointing considering how big a part of Wisconsin life cheese is.
Wisconsinites are commonly called “cheeseheads” because of the amount of cheese produced in the state. If you go to a Green Bay Packers game you will likely see something like this:
Stevens Point (named after George Stevens, hence no apostrophe in case you were wondering) is nicknamed the “Gateway to the Pineries” reflecting the other major industry in the region: timber.
Paper mills still form a part of the present day economy here, but that is disappearing like so many other traditional industries.
The list of notable residents of Stevens Point is almost as sparse as that from Manvel, TX. Two people of interest that did stand out were Peter Weller (of Robocop fame) and Brandon Peterson, X-Men artist (called a cartoonist by Wikipedia!).
Fortunately for visitors Stevens Point (and Wisconsin in general) has a growth industry - breweries. In one bar in Plover (a suburb of Stevens Point) they had 40 different beers from Wisconsin! Of course this is not my first brush with Wisconsin’s craft beers, having first experienced the horny goat (!) on a previous trip to Milwaukee.
Anyway, the ideal accompaniment to your Wisconsin craft beer is deep fried cheese curds. These are unlikely to ever be classed as a health food but they do make you feel good. Or was that the beer?
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Vaudeville star May Irwin said that a dressing containing chopped vegetables reminded her of the Thousand Islands in the St Lawrence River and so Thousand Island Dressing was born.
There are actually 1,864 islands in the St Lawrence River, some just a bit of rock, some with single inhabitants and some a bit grander:
This is George Boldt’s Castle. George was also a key part of the Thousand Island Dressing story. May Irwin shared the recipe with him who was, at the time, a hotelier and the rest, they say, is history.
One one side of the St Lawrence River lies Canada and the other the USA, as you can see here:
With the St Lawrence forming the border between the USA and Canada it is a short trip from one country to the other (for instance over the bridge seen above).
Despite what the locals tell you (including our cruise ship guide) this bridge is not the shortest international bridge in the world, because both islands (the Zavikon islands) are in Canadian territory:
Confusingly, to the uninitiated at least, Upper Canada is the end of the river lowest on the map and Lower Canada is at the other end. These distinctions are not so commonly used these days but were very relevant in the war of 1812-14, where the USA failed in it’s attempt to take British North America, as it was then known. The British forces were led (until his death in 1813) by Sir Isaac Brock, a Guernsey native for whom Brockville is named. October 13th is now Major-General Sir Isaac Brock Day in Ontario in honor of his death at Queenston Heights near Niagara.
Not only is there a bust of Sir Isaac in Brockville:
but there is also a 185ft high monument to him in Queenston Heights (note that Nelson’s Column is only 169ft.
So even in Canada, everything is bigger and better!
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When you live in a country that claims to be against corruption and wrong doing that when you receive an official looking letter (such as the one above) you really need to act because surely it is all above board. Isn’t it?
This letter says we need to pay $87 (or $122 if after 13 April) to get a copy of our property deed. It implies that this is an official document from a government department and that we need to act accordingly.
It turns out that this is not an official letter. When you read the letter you see it says “Record Retrieval is not affiliated with the county in which your deed is filed in, nor affiliated with any government agencies. This offer serves as a solicitation for services and not to be interpreted as a bill due”.
At the bottom of the letter it further adds that “you can obtain a copy of your grant deed or other record of title from the county recorder of the county where your property is located in for up to $87” which is true. In fact in our case Harris County charges $5 to get a copy of any record. Of course if you’ve just moved in to your property (which is what triggers this solicitation) then you will have a copy anyway.
I bet this sort of thing is illegal in Nigeria.
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Wilbur Sardo is a neighbor of ours, and a most unusual one at that. He is a miniature pot-bellied pig and has caused quite a stir since he appeared in Christmas 2010.
The Home Owners Association (HOA) is locked in battle with the family over whether or not Wilbur is classed as livestock or pet. Experts have been called and deposed in a legal battle that has ensued since the HOA sent a letter to the family asking that Wilbur find a new home back in July.
Wilbur can only hope that the Seventh Commandment of Animalism is interpreted in its final form, the same way it was restated by Napoleon and Snowball - “All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others.”
And if you think that’s unusual, think again: just round the corner in another neighborhood another resident has just won a battle with their HOA to keep their pet kangaroo!
Can’t wait to see what’s next...