I also was pretty ticked when I didn’t renew the domain www.ideatreks.com and it was bought out from under me.

I no longer want to blog under the name www.ideatreks.wordpress.com

So, come visit me at the all new www.simpleblackcoffee.com

At my local Toledo Kroger last night I spotted these 12 packs of Bud Light. Quite an innovative marketing strategy really. The colored cans appeal to Ohio State and Michigan fans, yet Budweiser doesn’t have to pay a licensing fee.

Cool view of a July 4th sunset in the rearview mirror as I motored east to Bowling Green.

I first watched this video a year or so ago. I was amazed. I watched it again today, I’m still amazed.

I stumbled upon this video by using Flixxy.com. It’s just under 3 minutes and very funny. Watch and enjoy!

Banquet dinners are selling quite well, supposedly in part because they are comfort foods, although I’m pretty sure the $.87 price tag is a big draw as well…that’s cheaper than a McD’s Double Cheeseburger! (I bought one tonight for dinner…a Banquet meal, not McD’s…I’m no Dollar Menuaire)

Another brand undergoing a decent revival is SPAM. Not the junk e-mail, the canned pork-based meat product.

A week and a half ago “The New York Times” published an article on SPAM’s newfound popularity. One part of the article:

Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of thrifty grocery items that are selling steadily.

Pancake mixes and instant potatoes are booming. So are vitamins, fruit and vegetable preservatives and beer, according to data from October compiled by Information Resources, a market research firm.

“We’ve seen a double-digit increase in the sale of rice and beans,” said Teena Massingill, spokeswoman for the Safeway grocery chain, in an e-mail message. “They’re real belly fillers.”

Kraft Foods said recently that some of its value-oriented products like macaroni and cheese, Jell-O and Kool-Aid were experiencing robust growth. And sales are still growing, if not booming, for Velveeta, a Kraft product that bears the same passing resemblance to cheese as Spam bears to ham.

I love that last line about how Velveeta is to cheese, as SPAM is to ham! HA!

Hmm, this could be an interesting time in America’s gastrointestinal history. You recall how in the last couple years dietitians and health professionals have become increasingly concerned about obesity in America, often targeting cheap fast food and school lunches. Just add this shelf stable food to the pantry and watch America GROW!

I eat SPAM once a year. When Ethan and I go camping or backpacking and have no refrigeration we always take a can of the meat product with us. Nothin’ like SPAM cooked on a backpacking stove in the great outdoors…but at home? Forget it.

I stayed on the 11th floor of the Hyatt Regency which provided a very nice view of downtown and the Milwaukee River.

This hotel had a rather startling historical display near one of it’s entrances.

Weird, eh? More can be read here.

This is the bell tower of Milwaukee’s City Hall. It’s a pretty impressive structure and what caught my eye as much as the interesting architecture was the height of the scaffolding for the ongoing restoration process. The wikipedia entry notes:

Formerly the tower had a message board on the front three sides; the Welcome Milwaukee Visitors message on the building was one of the iconic images of the opening sequence for locally set Laverne and Shirley.

Here’s a funkily decorated office building I walked past in my search of local coffee shops. Those are some BIG lady bugs.

Inside the main entrance to the Midwest Airlines Center I encountered a security guard. I said “hello” and was rather surprised to not get any reply. It was then that I realized something was a little off here. Turns out he’s wax. I can’t be the only one that has tried to talk to the statue…but in case I was, I blame the head cold I was suffering from at the time. It’s very convincing…except for the nylon barricade.

As I mentioned earlier, the Milwaukee River runs through downtown…

and in 1945 the city went nuts over some ducks…

Here’s the statue of Gertie on the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge.

Last but certainly not least…The Fonz. “Aaaay!” A bronze statue of Henry Winkler as the Fonz was put in place along the riverfront only a few months ago. It seems a little short but apparently Henry is a shorter guy anyway. The painted jacket and t-shirt looks ok I guess, but I’m not a fan of the teal painted jeans.

Here’s video of the unveiling as well as a promotional website.

The “Happy Days” TV show was based in Milwaukee along with the previously mentioned “Laverne and Shirley“

We ate at a few cool restaurants in Milwaukee. The Safe House is a spy themed restaurant with lots and lots of rooms and small staircases and tons of decor from 007 movies as well as KGB and CIA stuff. It also boasts the world’s largest mechanical puzzle. Not only does a person have to determine which door is the correct door to enter the restaurant, but you have to submit a correct password for entrance. If you are unable to get the password correct you must perform a  slightly humiliating task (viewed on closed circuit television by everyone inside) in order to be allowed in. I didn’t get any pictures inside…dunno why, just didn’t (blame the head cold again.)  Nor did I get pictures outside…it was raining.

I also ate some great thin crust pizza at the Calderone Club which was right across the street from the hotel and I had a great meal -and a beer sampler- at the Rock Bottom Brewery.  All restaurants come recommended in my book.

I can’t think of a single reason why I’d be returning to Milwaukee anytime soon, but I’d be happy to. It’s a nice historic city, very clean and has a vibrant downtown chock full of things to do and great places to eat…and drink.

The Boston Globe, among many sources, is reporting:

It’s not a big surprise, but for many of us, it’s a big disappointment. ABC has cancelled “Pushing Daisies,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” and “Eli Stone”! The network has not actually used the word “cancelled,” but it is not picking up the shows for the second halves of their seasons. Which, essentially, means cancellation.

I, for one, was a regular viewer of ALL 3 of these shows. I can’t speak to the defense of “Dirty Sexy Money” I guess, sometimes it was a little too soap opera-y. But “Pushing Daisies” and “Eli Stone”! I loved those shows. I suppose because it was something different and unique it must have not garnered enough attention in the ABC world of decisions. They’d rather keep airring a stupid show like “Private Practice.” That show was a spin off of “Grey’s Anatomy,” which I enjoy every week. But “Private Practice” is hardly unique…or good.

I take relative solace that “Life on Mars” was spared the impending hatchet…for now. However, the show is shelved til January where it will follow “LOST” when it returns.

So, if you are a fan of the 3 cancelled shows, enjoy them while they are still on the air, the remaining new episodes will be used up by january.

These pictures were taken at around 2:00pm.

‘

psst, wanna know a secret?  Here’s what it’s gonna look like when it’s all done.

Today, Tuesday, was the day that the real action started.  The husband/father is a Toledo firefighter so the TFD was an instrumental part of the initial phase of demolition.  They cut a hole in the roof of the house and knocked out interior walls…all of which was filmed for the show.  I didn’t get to the site in time to see the demolition, I arrived right after of course, but my friend Cindy took lots of great pictures and allowed me to post a few.  Thanks Cindy!

The house, gutted and prepped for knock-down.  Wouldn’t be difficult to envision this house as the scene of a fire would it?

Here’s Ty Pennington getting ready to film his part of the pre-demolition for the cameras.

Hey!  There’s Todd of Tony & Todd’s Roadside Attractions on the lefthand side!

Here’s the man himself…perhaps mentally preparing himself for the next shot?

Here’s lookin’ at you Cindy!

Ty in action…you’ll see this part when the show airs.

Down she goes!

There’s an extensive blog being kept at 13abc.com about the entire building process.  The whole 106 hour build will be detailed online at 13abc.com