Cincinnati Chili

Here is a great chili recipe for those who like a sweeter and milder flavored chili. Chili is a great dish to have on any cold and blustery day. Enjoy! What you need:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• Chili seasoning to taste
• 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• Splash of Cider Vinegar
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• Add tomato juice to taste
• 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans drained & rinsed
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup chopped onions

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef & drain
2. In a large saucepan add cooked ground beef to remaining ingredients (excluding cheese and onions) and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Serve chili topped with cheese and onions. For genuine Cincinnati Chili serve it over cooked spaghetti noodles.

Michigan's House Approves Minimum Wage Hike

The minimum wage hike that the state Senate passed last week is now on its way to Governor Granholm's desk waiting for a signature. The bill was approved with about half of the votes against it coming from Republicans. The votes against it were most likely those who were speaking out against the bill for small businesses. Small businesses are those who have been the most vocal agains the $1.80 hike in the minimum wage that will go into effect October 1, 2006. This wage hike is long overdue and in the end, the pluses will far outweigh any negatives that are currently being perceived.

Read the full story in the Lansing State Journal.

Winter Storm Hits the U.P.

Despite the balmy weather of the past few days, winter is still trying to stick around. The western Upper Peninsula was slammed with their worst storm of the season on Monday. Around southwest Michigan we saw colder temps and a skiff of snow, but that didn't keep the Robins from coming back. I started seeing them last week and I keep seeing more and more of them. Check this out if you missed my previous article about removing the Robin as our official state bird.

I have even heard reports that the "peepers" have been singing although the recent cold spell might tone that down for a while. The "peepers" are those frogs you hear at night with their incessant "peeping" sounds they make. I am not sure what the technical name for them is, I have always known them as "peepers"

I had to laugh when I saw this headline in the Mining Journal out of Marquette - "Holy wah! Winter's empire strikes back." For anyone who has ever been to the U.P. or heard any songs by "The Yoopers" you will find that some folks north of the bridge tend to say "holy wah" as an exclamation like when we say "holy cow!" Anyway, the article has all of the details on that huge snowstorm that dumped up to two feet in some areas.

Think spring!

Say it ain't so, Tiger Stadium to be Demolished?

Money is running out to continue the very minimal upkeep that has been going on since the franchise moved to Comerica Park almost seven years ago. We all know that Detroit (the city, not the franchise) is strapped for cash and the $400,000 per year it takes to perform maintenance is just too much. I don't know what maintenance is being performed anyway. I have seen photos of trees (yes trees) growing behind the visitors dugout in the stands. Plaster falling to the floor in old offices and standing water on the old concourses and dugouts are just a handful of the signs of how time has passed this grand old ballpark by.

No realistic plans have ever come through for a legitimate use of the old facility. I wish that something would have occurred that would save this historic ballpark, but perhaps it is better that it be this way. I would rather see the wrecking ball and demolition crews take it down quickly instead of the ravages or time creating more of an eyesore than a historic monument.

I would love to be able to have a seat or two from Tiger Stadium. I hope they have an auction of some of the stadium's historic pieces. Although, photos and memories of a hot summer day sitting in the upper deck and seeming to hang right over the field are all I really need. That is how I will remember Tiger Stadium. Not the peeled paint and crumbling concrete.

So Long to the Old Blue License Plates?

There is a bill currently in the State House that would effectively replace our familiar "Old Blue" license plates with lighter-colored plates similar to the other plates currently being sold. The new plates would have a reflective background which makes it easier to see the plate numbers at night. The frontrunner design for the replacement plate would have the white/light-colored reflective background with blue lettering. If the bill were to go into effect, the next time you had to renew your license tabs you would be issued the new plate at no charge. Another benefit to switching plates is to make those with expired or forged blue plates to purchase the new plate and get their vehicles registered. This could mean approximately $15 million in additional revenue.

My wife would be happy if we were forced to switch to a new plate. I kept my first ever license plate and had it transferred to our new vehicle a few years ago. The plate has some chips and rust which, according to my wife, just looks junky. I am not partial to the old style, I just liked knowing one of our vehicles license plate numbers. I still don't have my truck's license plate number memorized and I have had it for five years. :)

For a neat photo that shows what our state's license plates have looked like over the years, view this past post - Wall of Michigan License Plates.

TVs at Secretary of State Broadcasting Ads

A pilot program has begun at 11 Secretary of State branches across the state using 42-inch flat screen tvs to keep waiting customers from becoming bored. Hey! That sounds great! Unfortunately, when I looked into this a bit further it did not look so great. Instead of getting to watch CNN, I Love Lucy reruns, or ESPN, the televisions are broadcasting some artwork from a Detroit artist (cool) and messages from the Secretary of State that tout their various services (ads?).

Wait a minute. You know, this smells like advertising here. Messages from Secretary of State = ads for their services. Who are they kidding? Luckily for us taxpayers, the screens are courtesy of an Ann Arbor company called Digital 10 and we are not footing the bill. Nothing comes free of course. For “allowing” the Secretary of State offices to use the tvs Digital 10 can sell advertising that is then broadcast on these “free” tvs.

I don't understand the claims that this is not advertising. There is talk of national sponsors (sounds like advertising) who will show information on the services they offer (again, this sounds like ads to me). They are calling it “narrowcasting” (narrowed and targeted advertising) because the “data” (this is what they are calling these ads – unbelievable) is shown to a narrow audience.

The thing they are not mentioning is that this “data” is not only being shown to a narrow audience, but to a captive audience as well. To me this is no different than sitting through commercials when you go to the movies. It is not right and it is not fair.

Even worse, you are subjecting paying customers to crummy ads when they are already not happy to be at the Secretary of State and have to wait for so long. Personally, I handle everything I can with the Secretary of State through the internet. When I do have to go (grudgingly) I bring a book.

So, the state had closed numerous branches of the Secretary of State to save money. This means longer lines and wait times for customers. To “help” the customers not get bored they have now decided that subjecting them to ads while they wait would be a real treat.

What do you think? Does this sound good to you? Read the article from the Lansing State Journal.