Low Lake Superior levels means lighter loads for Great Lakes freighters

Folks along Lake Superior are seeing land where there used to be water. "Islands" are popping up as water levels continue to drop among all of the Great Lakes. This creates problems in harbors where the freighters plying the Great Lakes with loads of iron ore, grain, and coal must lighten their loads for safe passage. The Mining Journal reports that "For every inch the lakes recede, ships must reduce their loads between 50 and 270 tons." Last shipping season those lighter loads meant that "ships lost about 8,000 tons per trip."

Visit www.boatnerd.com for more information on the freighters that run the Great Lakes. My favorite feature is the "Vessel Passage" that has a map of the Great Lakes with data points showing the locations of ships.

President Bush might be visiting west Michigan this week

Channel 3 News is reporting that President Bush might pay a visit to west Michigan later this week (perhaps Friday). There are tentative plans for the President's visit to occur on Friday. The exact location of his visit and further details of his plans for the trip will be made available later in the week. He is planning on a speech with the war in Iraq and the war on terror featuring prominently.

Michigan legislators will pay Apple back for 'free' ride

The Detroit News is reporting that the two legislators who had at least part of their California trip paid for by Apple are planning on paying Apple back. They want to "end this public perception that something is misguided," said Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills." Um yeah, why did it take public outcry to make you realize how foolish this makes you and the state of Michigan look? I just read in the news today that Gov. Granholm will cut school aid funding as much as $125 per pupil if the legislature doesn't come up with a way to balance the state budget soon.

Hmm, that's funny that Granholm is threatening school aid cuts. Look at what she said 2 1/2 weeks ago.

An article in the Detroit Free Press dated March 27, 2007 quotes Granholm as saying -

"I urge you to suit up, jump in, fight like the future of Michigan depends on you," she said. "They need to hear how it's going to affect local schools."

This was in response to state Republicans wanting to cut school aid funding by $34 per pupil to help erase the state's budget deficit.

She further said -

"For those of you who have already looked your legislators in the eye, I need you to do it again," she told a group of more than 200 educators gathered at the Lansing Center. "Write letters, send e-mails. The kids need you, the state needs you."

Where is the anger from Granholm about slashing state aid by up to $125 per pupil?

Still want to spend that $38 million on iPods?

Perhaps we should all write our governor.

Michigan man receives court settlement in pennies

Bob Wilson received his court ordered settlement of $350 in pennies. That's 35,000 pennies for those of you are playing along at home. Wilson won his case in small claims court against Karl Stephen, owner of NSK Motorsports in Fowlerville. Wilson had repeatedly taken a dirt bike in to NSK Motorsports and it was never fixed properly and it sat unfixed for a few months.

Stephen paid the settlement in pennies to "show his contempt for Wilson." He did pay in legal currency - there is no law that says you can't use pennies.

Now, I have heard in the news where folks that are unhappy with their traffic tickets try paying their fines in pennies and are told by clerks that paying in pennies is an unacceptable form of payment. They paid their fines in legal currency too, right?

You have got to try the Cinnamon Swirl Latte at Beaner's

I signed up with the Beaner's E-wards program last year and every week I receive a couple of coupon offers. Some of them are only valid at specific locations (annoying) in the area, but most of them can be used at any Beaner's location. Anyway, last week I received a buy-one-get-one coupon for a new drink - the Cinnamon Swirl Latte. Oh man, that was the best coffee I have had from Beaner's.

They add a shot of vanilla and a shot of cinnamon flavoring to the espresso. It is topped off with a generous dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of some sort of sweetener, and sprinkled with ground cinnamon.

Man, I wish I was sipping one right now. It was so good. It kind of helped to make a cold wintry day in April not feel so bad.

Get your free copy of the 2007 Michigan Travel Ideas magazine

The 120 page magazine (published by Midwest Living) is chock full of great ideas for every corner of the state. I ordered a copy a few weeks ago and have already received and read through it. It was neat to see quite a few pages devoted to the St. Joseph River, Michigan's first Heritage Water Trail, as that is practically in our backyard. There were also a few pages devoted to historic stops along U.S. 12 such as Walker Tavern and Rosalie's Roadhouse. The travel ideas cover summer, fall, and winter travel destinations in Michigan.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Thumbs Up! - Enjoy the blue waters of Lake Huron and the beautiful 'thumb' region of Michigan
• Fishing and canoeing the Au Sable River
• City weekend trips - covers - Grand Rapids, Detroit, Bay City, Midland, Saginaw, Benton Harbor, and St. Joseph.
• A slew of Beach Time at great shore towns all along the hundreds of miles of Michigan's coastline
• Autumn trips on southwest Michigan
• Great places to ski and snowmobile in Michigan's winter wonderland
• A really interesting list of places to visit on Michigan's Freedom Trail - the Underground Railroad

Order your free copy today!

P.S. Don't forget to request a free copy of the 2007 Michigan state map that highlights the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge.