Lake Superior State's 32nd annual banished words list

Each year Lake Superior State processes thousands of words that the public recommends should be banished from "the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness." The list is whittled down by a committee in December and released in January. Here is this year's list in no particular order.

• GITMO - shorthand for U.S. military base in Cuba
• Combined celebrity names (i.e. Bragelina)
• Awesome - Rats, that's a favorite of mine. Probably due to watching Napoleon Dynamite too many times.
• Gone/Went missing - Is that in Nebraska? Can you get me directions to Missing?
• PWN or PWND - popular phrase online gamers use instead of "own" or "owned"
• Now Playing in Theaters
• We're Pregnant - Oh yeah big boy? I thought you were just gaining a little weight.
• Undocumented Alien - no documents = Illegal
• Armed Robbery/Drug Deal Gone Bad
• Truthiness - Hmm, sounds like a bad tasting granola bar. Maybe it is - they say that sometimes the truth is hard to swallow ;)
• Ask Your Doctor - and make the pharmaceutical companies some cash!
• Chipotle
• i-ANYTHING
• Search - as in the internet
• Healthy Food
• Boasts - as in our motel boasts king-sized beds and a jacuzzi.

View the list with additional comments at www.lssu.edu/banished/.

Average Michigan gas price has gone below $2

For the time being, Michigan drivers can fill their tanks on sub-$2 gas. Whether it is due to the mild winter weather, politics, or the generosity of OPEC (hah, doubt it) we have an average Michigan gas price of $1.95. I filled up yesterday morning for $1.93 and by last night it had dipped down to $1.89. Not too shabby.

Gas price data courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Out with the blue (license plates) and in with the new

The new standard license plate for Michigan drivers became effective on January 1, 2007. This new standard plate replaces the familiar old blue plate with white lettering. Now the background is white and the lettering is blue in order to make it easier for law enforcement to see your plate number. According to the Secretary of State's website the new plate is -

Clean in design, rust-resistant, tamper-proof and easily identifiable.

Does this mean that the state admittedly sold us license plates that were not rust-resistant or tamper-proof before this new plate became available? ;) I think my first-ever blue plate can attest to the fact that they were not rust-resistant.

So, when it is time for you to renew your plates this year you will have the option of the new standard plate (at no charge) or the other "special plate" (aka extra revenue makers for Michigan) - Spectacular Peninsulas for $5. The other special cause fundraising plates are still available at $35 a pop.

For those wondering what to do with your old blue plates -

I will pay the postage for you to send them my way. Old license plates make great projects for crafty individuals like myself. Drop me a line in the comments for this post if you want to get rid of your old plate. I would rather recycle them than have them get tossed in the trash.

Seriously, I really want your old license plates. :)

Expect the unexpected at Menards

Okay, this is not really "Michigan" themed, but I was so struck by something you wouldn't expect to find at a home improvement store that I had to write about it. After glancing through the Menards ad for this week I tried to think in my head a conversation I might have either in my head (no, no one ever answers my questions) or with my wife before firing up the truck and heading to Menards where I can save big money.

It might go something like this -

*while scanning the flyer and making my list* "Lets see, I need some 8 foot studs, finishing nails, a new belt sander, and . . . Holy Wah! Menards has a 3 lb stick of Summer Sausage for only $5.49! That will go over great for the wife's bridge party tomorrow afternoon. I wonder if they sell cheese and crackers too?"

Who goes to Menards and buys a giant stick of Summer Sausage? I don't know - it just struck me as odd. Maybe everyone else expects to find Summer Sausage at Menards. I don't.

The ice (not the sky) is falling!

A combination of sun and today's wind is causing large chunks of ice to fall off the trees in our yard making it hazardous to partake in any outdoor activities that do not involve playing "dodge the falling ice." The past couple of days the trees have been serenading us with their strange creaks and cracks as they moved their ice-laden branches with the breeze. Today, they are shaking their icy exoskeletons loose and pelting the ground (and our house) with them.

It is an odd sight and sound to see and hear chunks of ice whistling through the air and breaking into hundreds of separate shards upon impact.

Just before I hit the 'post' button on this a large bluejay was either chasing another bird or disoriented due to being hit with falling ice and slammed into the side of our house. He is still in a bush that he flew to after getting off of the ground. He appears to be alright, but it sure looks like he is still disoriented.

Michigan gas prices dipping below $2

Wow! I didn't think we would really see gas for under $2 again, but it's back! Here in White Pigeon the local filling station is selling petrol for $1.98. The current Michigan average is $2.006 per gallon. That is the lowest it has been in over a year.

A quick glance at MichiganGasPrices.com shows the lowest reported price to be $1.79 in Mount Morris at the Marathon station at Dort Hwy and Mount Morris Rd. The highest reported price in Michigan is $2.33 at the Mobil station in Ontonagon on River St.