Top 10 Secrets to Getting Free Beer and Retiring Early

Well let's see how that title affects traffic....

Now that I have your attention, on to business.


Check this out, it's super cool:



Thanks Feen.

Sunny out there -- better get out of the house with the kids and take the dog to the park

~ will

More Thoughts on Sobriety

When I wrote my first entry on life without alcohol the other day there were some things I left out that I would like to insert now. Some of these gaps were obvious, others less so but everything I’m adding here is important.

First, my list of benefits to abstaining should have included the following items:

-          Way fewer bad/stupid decisions

-          Less tension in the house

-          Less anger & hurtful/stupid behavior

-          Respect of my family and friends (yes, I do have friends)

-          Weight loss

-          Demolishing the last stronghold of self-imposed victimhood

-          The feeling that anything is possible

And secondly  I would like to say right here that sobriety is not something I carry around with me.  Alcohol hit the ground the moment I decided to stop drinking it and to never drink it again. Mr. Earle “left those chains in Tennessee.” I left them on Division Street. Maybe meetings work for some people but what I’ve learned, if you're in AA, there is no freedom. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic they say, one day at a time. That is, until you make the decision to quit for good.

No Drama Zone

New year, new attitude.  I’m going to avoid negative energy like the plague. Both from myself and from others.  I am officially declaring myself a no drama zone.

~ will

Tesla & Faraday cage

Cool!

Thoughts on Sobriety

(photographer unknown)







(this is a shot I took a few weeks ago with my phone)

As much as I occasionally miss drinking alcohol, hanging out in bars, feeling altered, and the taste of
Lake Louie Arena Premium in particular, the benefits of having chosen to quit drinking by far outweigh the pleasure associated with partaking. Here, in case anyone needs convincing, are the benefits to not drinking, as I have discovered them first-hand, in no particular order:

- you save a shit ton of money
- you have a lot more time on your hands to do more important things
- your memory improves greatly
- no guilt
- no fear of driving
- self-respect
- better sleep
- better judgement
- rediscovering myself
- and on and on and on....

Here's what other have to say about the health advantages of not drinking:

- Brains can recover from alcoholic damage but patients should stop drinking as soon as possible

- The liver is a unique organ. It is the only organ in the body that is able to regenerate... that is completely repair the damage -- however: The long-term complications of liver disease occur when regeneration is either incomplete or prevented by progressive development of scar tissue within the liver. This occurs when the damaging agent such as a virus, a drug, alcohol, etc., continues to attack the liver and prevents complete regeneration. Once scar tissue has developed it is very difficult to reverse that process.

I drank for 30 years. 30 years! Hard to believe really. And the last 3 of those years I drank heavily as I went through my divorce. I think I explored everything drinking has to offer. Time for the alternative. I like it so far. Most of the time.

~ will

Spirit of Christmas Past

I was walking around the Capitol Square today, thinking about Christmas being only two days away and how unchristmas-like down town Madison seems. Gray sky, no snow. Blah. There is really no way of knowing just by looking that it's December 23rd. Sure, there are wreaths on the Capitol and some of the stores but generally it's nothing more than another early winter day.

So I decided to change things up and recall how things looked this time of year down town when I was a kid. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's being a grown-up. Maybe it's the fact that all the old shops are gone now and everyone is jammed into the malls but whatever the reason, downtown Madison was much more beautiful and exciting at Christmas time when I was a kid.

Here are some of the places I miss. Moseley's, above, was the bookstore to go to not only for books but for stationary and fancy pens -- back when letter writing was normal. Even as a small kid I found this store to be crowded and hard to get around in but that just added to the excitement for me.

Next down the block after Moseley's was Fanny Farmer's candy shop. I couldn't find a photo of this but I can describe it. I recall (I swear my over use of this word has nothing to do with Scott Walker) the outside of Fanny Farmer's was like one of her candy boxes: Brown script type on a white background with a silhouetted cameo of Fanny. Large windows and large glass cases filled with eye-popping displays of candy.

One of my three sisters used to work there and I would ride the bus down to visit her and sometimes get freebies. This was in the 60s when Madison was a focal point for political activism, you'll recall. One night my dad went to pick my sister up from work in the middle of a riot and he got tear-gassed.

Continuing down Mifflin Street, on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue, was the Manchester building. The photo above was taken while the building was being demolished. This was a real department store with an elevator complete with an attendant. It was a special thing to bring home a box with the name Manchester's  on it.

Behind Manchester's was the elevated parking garage which to me was truly wonderful. I remember us using it just once since I'm sure it was quite expensive.

Across Wiscosnin Avenue from Manchester's was Gimbel's which was kind of an upscale dime store. No photos available of this. My last memory of this building before it was torn down was an M.C. Escher exhibit which was fantastic.

Finally and most fondly, at the end of Mifflin St. at the corner of State & Carrol, was Rennebohm's Drug Store. Better known as Rennie's, it was like a Walgreen's with a lunch counter. They were nearly as ubiquitous then as Walgreens are now too.  I remember riding the bus at a very young age to get a vanilla coke from the soda fountain. The building now is home to the Wiscosnin Veteran's Museum; probably my kids' favorite museum in town.

What was it about downtown Madison at Christmas time back then that it lacks today? I can't put my finger on it. There really were shoppers rushing home with their treasures back then. Now we have people fighting for parking spots in a wilderness of mall lots. I overheard a fellow employee the other day expressing relief that Wisconsin has concealed carry now because most muggings happen in mall parking lots. Really dude? We've really come a long way.

Merry Christmas everyone. May the brightest candles of your favorite holiday memories warm you and your loved ones as we head to a new and better year.

Year's last chance to see two spaceships in the night sky

Year's last chance to see two spaceships in the night sky

At a Loss for the Perfect Christmas Gift?

How about a bumper sticker? Perfect for that red-neck uncle of yours or that pro-life, pro-capital punishment sister-in-law! Or buy some for yourself and tell the world how you feel while you are stuck in traffic!

Product details:

• Measures 10" x 3"
• Printed on 4mil vinyl using water and UV resistant inks - means no fading in the sun or bleeding in the rain.

Go to my store at Cafe Press and order a whole bunch today!

Thanks for looking

~ will