The New Republic has a story covering the battle between John Dingell and Henry Waxman and their battle for control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Link:

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/archive/2008/11/09/why-the-dingell-waxman-dispute-matters.aspx

River Rouge Industrial Plant by Charles Sheeler - Public Domain Image

My trips to area parks often take me past the Chrysler proving grounds near Chelsea.  And, occasionally, I spot a car or two with the tell-tale signs that it is still in the testing phase.

Tonight, I was driving on N. Territorial Road near the Washtenaw/Livingston border and I spotted a group of four Lexus test cars.  I snapped a couple of photos.  I don’t know if these are anything special.  They look like they are in the LS family.

The internet is a weird place.  Someone in Gaylord has a live web cam focused on some wildlife feeders.  For about the last ten minutes, I’ve been watching a bear on the cam.  Weird.

http://www.snowmancam.com/

After that last post, I just had to post this Youtube clip:

A set of unusual circumstances means that some area children will have the possiblity of trick-or-treating for three straight nights.  Here’s how it will work in Lenawee County:

Thursday Night:  Adrian, Blissfield or Petersburg

Friday Night: Most communities

Saturday Night:  Onsted

The trifecta can be achieved any number of ways.  Here’s the Blade’s list of trick-or-treat times:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081030/NEWS16/810300289/-1/RSS10

Why are there so many nights?  The answer is the state high school football playoffs.  Many games are scheduled for Friday night.  Others are scheduled for Saturday.  Many communities decided not to make parents choose between the two.

Prior to the Detroit Lions’ move from the Silverdome to Ford Field, blackouts were fairly regular events.  The rule is that a team must sell out its stadium by the Thursday prior to the game otherwise the local area - roughly 75 miles - cannot see coverage on the local television station.

Given that the Silverdome was roughly 80,000 seats big, blackouts were common.  The roughly 60,000-seat Ford Field is a different story.  A game has never been blacked out from Ford Field…

…until now.

Here are some tips on how to work around the blackout:

1) Antennas won’t work.  I used to regularly avoid the old blackouts by using my dad’s outdoor tower antenna.  We would pull stations in from Kalamazoo - safely outside the blackout area.  Unfortunately, the Fox network broadcasts now on a lower-power station in Kalamazoo.  Local viewers can’t receive the signal.  Fox affiliates in Cleveland are not broadcasting the game.  The Lansing Fox affiliate is within the blackout zone.

2) Find someone with a high-speed internet connection.  This is not a guaranteed work-around, but I have been able to watch many NFL games at www.justin.tv.  Just wait until 1PM, click on that link and run a search for “Detroit Lions” or “Washington Redskins.”  You are quite likely to find a live stream.  I have been able to watch the last three Red Wings games this way.

The quality might not be perfect, but that is the best shot for those within the blackout zone.

Several years ago, I took the Underground Seattle tour in that NW city.  Hidden beneath the historic downtown area were many underground passageways.  An article in the Ionia Sentinel Standard reminded me of this tour.  Apparently, the City of Ionia did an Upstairs Downtown tour to show area residents what the attics of various downtown buildings looked like:

http://www.sentinel-standard.com/articles/2008/10/10/news/01news.txt

I have to say that I think Monroe would be an excellent spot for a tour like this.  I’ve had the chance to climb the St. Michael’s steeple in the past.  It is very cool.  The father of one of my childhood friends once owned a downtown business and I had the chance to kick around in some of the cool back rooms.  And I’d like to explore some of the views from top-floor windows.

Anyone else think that this would be an interesting idea?