Second annual Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival is this weekend

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum plays host to the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival this weekend (March 24). The event celebrates the stringed-instrument history and legacy of Kalamazoo. Guitars have been produced in Kalamazoo for over a century, but Kalamazoo was also home to banjo, basses, ukuleles, mandolins, and other stringed-instrument production. The event runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and admission is free. Various workshops and lectures on topics such as A History of Gibson Guitar, Fingerpickin' Beginner to Intermediate, The History of the Banjo, and much more will take place throughout the museum.

Performances by Great Lakes Grass (traditional bluegrass), Third Coast Ensemble, Royal Garden Trio, and the Fabulous Heftones will take place during the event in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum gallery.

For more information and directions to the museum visit their website - kvm.kvcc.edu.

Via the Kalamazoo Gazette

Furniture made from cow manure is no bull

Picture yourself walking across the floor and sitting on a chair at your kitchen table. Now imagine that the floor, chair, and table are all made from cow manure! Sound gross?

Researchers at Michigan State University are currently working to use the fiber from processed and sterilized cow manure in place of sawdust in fiberboard. Early results of some tests show that the "manure fiberboard" "seems to match or beat the quality of wood-based products."

This would certainly be a plus for farmers. Instead of having to pay an average of $200 per cow annually, farmers could bring in revenue by selling the manure to fiberboard manufacturers. It will be interesting to see if this flies or not.

Read the article at cbs11tv.com.

USPS rate increase to be effective May 14, 2007

Stamps will cost $.41 instead of $.39 and a "forever" stamp has been introduced. The "forever" stamp can be purchased at the new $.41 rate and will be valid against future increases. Unfortunately (for businesses that heavily rely on shipping - like us) they also raised their rates across the board for everything including Priority Mail. We will be evaluating our shipping rates over the next couple of months and most likely we will have to raise at least some of our shipping rates. We generally lose money on shipping as it is and with this Postal Service rate increase we will be forced into raising our rates in May.

For Example: Our most popular gift baskets weigh approximately 8-10 pounds and generally fit into the $9.95 charge for shipping. Currently to ship one of those gift baskets to Texas it would cost $12.60 so we lose $2.65. On May 14 when the Priority Mail rates increase it will then cost $15.60 to ship that same basket and if we do not raise our rates at least marginally - we will lose $5.65.

Now, this in no way means that we will charge $15 for shipping instead of the current $9.95 for gift baskets in the $50 to $74.99 range. We will run some calculations based upon current shipping destinations and the basket types that are shipped most often and come up with new shipping rates.

Again, we will not raise our rates until the new Postal rates take effect on May 14, 2007. Until then our current shipping rates will still apply.

Michigan gas prices below those of this time last year

Last year at this time Michigan gas prices were averaging $2.57 per gallon. As of this today, the average price is $2.46. However, here in southwest Michigan I haven't seen anything below $2.59 yet today. Prices were in the $2.43 range over the weekend and then jumped $.13 this morning. Why? You got me - the price for a barrel of oil went down so it can't be that.

MichiganGasPrices.com is reporting the lowest price for gas in Michigan at $2.21 in Lapeer at the Meijer gas station on Demille road. The hot spot for the highest gas prices is at the Sunoco station in Remus on the corner of M-20 and M-66.

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

Enjoy some Irish music for St. Patrick's Day

Well, the corned beef has been purchased. The homemade root beer is brewing (I don't drink "real" beer). All I need is a little Irish music and to watch John Wayne's, The Quiet Man - simply one of the best movies filmed in Ireland. You can get The Quiet Man on DVD at Amazon for under $10. Not a bad deal considering I probably paid twice that when it first was released a few years back.

My favorite local Irish group is Whiskey Before Breakfast. I believe they take their name from an old tune "Whiskey Before Breakfast." I could be wrong on that, but I thought that is what they had said when I saw them perform one time.

Enjoy a sampling of their music with one of their tunes - Rocky Road to Dublin.

They are playing all over the Kalamazoo area tomorrow. It looks like they have quite the busy day ahead of them. Here is a quick rundown of their schedule:

• Kraftbrau Brewery, Kalamazoo - 9:30am to 11:30am.
• O'Duffy, Kalamazoo - 11:30am to 1:30pm.
• The Livery Brewery, Benton Harbor - 4pm to 8pm

Anyway, enjoy this short clip (2.5 minutes) of some wonderful Irish music just in case you don't make it out anywhere tomorrow.

If the player does not appear you can watch this 2.5 minute clip directly at YouTube right here.

By the way - my favorite way to eat corned beef is on a fresh Kaiser roll with some Thousand Island dressing. Yum!

Check out the 'Do Something' blog for some positive ideas

Via the Detroit News Dosomethingblog.com has a single post asking for comments on doing something positive. According to the Detroit News, the Do Something blog is the creation of PR firm, Beach Communications.

People across Michigan know something is wrong with Michigan. Politicians have not acted quickly enough or in a manner that we can agree with and this gives folks a chance to voice their positive ideas. This is their chance to have a public forum, of sorts, where their voices can be heard.

Reading the positive comments and ideas helped me get in a positive frame of mind. It is far too easy to be pessimistic about things like gas prices (should I quit posting the average price of gas?), our economy, or our state government.

Lets be positive and creative and see what happens.

Have a Great Friday!