Don't forget to visit the Anatomy of a Yooper exhibit

This past January I wrote about The Anatomy of a Yooper exhibit at the Marquette County History Museum that began running in April. The exhibit is still open and is featuring traditional U.P. food (I'm thinking pasties) at an open house this Thursday from 7 to 9pm. The exhibit showcases how Yoopers coped with the harsh Upper Peninsula winters and how the conditions in the U.P. created hardened workers with a great work ethic. Numerous pictures and Yooper gear abound in this interesting exhibit.

A great book to read that tells how Upper Peninsula residents made it through the tough conditions is -

So Cold A Sky, Upper Michigan Weather Stories

This book is one of the 2007 Michigan Notable Books.

Ever wonder what a great lakes freighter sounds like underwater?

This interesting video of a dive in the St. Clair river near Marine City shows what happens to divers when a freighter passes directly over them. Everything is calm and clear and the divers are exploring a shipwreck. Then a freighter passes over them.

Turn your volume up and check it out -

If the player does not appear, click here.

Hey, we have a Michigan business tax on the table

Finally. State lawmakers have a new tax on the table that replaces the SBT which expires December 31, 2007. Lawmakers had to have something put together by July 1 in order for it to take effect for the new fiscal year which begins October 1.

Right now it looks like there will be a tax of just under .8% on gross profits minus purchases of tangible property (anything other than real estate or money - furniture would be tangible property) and a tax on profits just under 5%.

I can live with this. There are a lot more details to work out, but at first glance it does not appear that businesses (like ours, for example) will be hit too hard.

As a business owner, Katherine LaMont, was quoted as saying, "The devil's going to be in the details."

It always is. :)

For more information read the article at the Detroit Free Press.

Justin Verlander Pitches the Detroit Tigers First No-Hitter since 1984

This is not a sports blog, but a no-hitter in baseball does not come along too often. A no-hitter by a Tigers pitcher comes along even less frequently. Last night Justin Verlander pitched a No-Hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. Here is a list of all of the No-Hitters pitched by the Detroit Tigers over the years via my Detroit Tigers page:

George Mullin 7/14/1912 Virgil Trucks 5/15/1952* Virgil Trucks 8/25/1952* Jim Bunning 7/20/1958 Jack Morris 4/7/1984 Justin Verlander 6/12/2007

*Interesting to note that in 1952 those two no-hitters that Virgil Trucks pitched would be 2 of his 5 wins for the year. He had a 5-19 record in 1952.

Watch the top of the 9th inning (I got chills watching the last three outs) -

If the video player does not appear, click here.

For more coverage of Justin Verlander's No-Hitter:

Mack Avenue Tigers: A Detroit Tigers Blog

The Detroit Tigers Weblog

How to get rid of the seagulls at Comerica Park

I have a solution to get rid of the seagulls that have been congregating at Comerica Park during baseball games as of late. Watch this video to find out. It's only 16 seconds long.

If the video player does not appear, watch it here.

Detroit News article about the seagulls at Comerica Park

Construction has started on Michigan's largest wind farm

The construction of 32 wind turbines has begun in Michigan's thumb between Elkton and Pigeon. The turbines will produce 52.8 megawatts of electricity. That is enough to power 15,000 homes. I found it interesting that the credit arm of John Deere is helping to finance the project. I checked out their website, deere.com, and found that they are actively trying to invest in wind power by extending credit and investing equity into projects like these. The turbines are located on farmland that will continue to be cultivated.

I know a lot of folks complain that wind turbines are an unsightly blemish upon Michigan's lovely horizon. I guess I would rather see wind turbines with their enormous white blades churning in the breeze instead of a huge smokestack from another coal-fired electric generating plant.

Read the article at Freep.com.