This and That
Aug. 6th, 2004 08:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hafocEver since the folks at Red Rose left overnight (rumor said absconded) we had one Chinese restaurant in town. It was called China One. The reason for the name was that they went into what had been the Cellular One office when Cellular One moved out to the abandoned used car mall west of town. With the name they chose, they could have a whole illuminated sign and only have to buy the h, i, and n.
They were in the Wal-Mart Plaza. When the Wal-Mart moved to the new Super Wal-Mart Plaza, about half a mile away, it left the old shopping center just about completely deserted. If we had tumbleweeds they'd be blowing through the parking lot of that place. The prospects for something else opening up in there look grim. New box stores are popping up all around, but the ten-year-old ones, once abandoned, sit empty for years. The other "anchor store" in the Wal-Mart Plaza was a huge supermarket called Buy-Low, and it's been sitting empty for about six years now, I think.
Most everything in the Wal-Mart Plaza followed Wal-Mart's high-class clientelle (which would include me, I admit). The Rent to Own place moved. The Payday Advance check cashing place moved. The Nationally Known House of Cheap Fake-Leather Shoes, Buy One Get One Free moved.
I thought China One did too, since a new Chinese restaurant opened in the new Wal-Mart Plaza. It is called China 1.
But I pulled into the old plaza t'other day and saw the light was on in the old China One. Sure enough, they're still open. Have a fair lunch crowd too.
So now we have TWO Chinese restaurants in town. In this corner, China 1. In that corner, China One.
(Insert BIIIIGGGG shrug here)
---Candidates:
John Ramsay, father of the famously murdered Jon-Benet, put on a $100,000 campaign in the Republican primary here. He was going for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives.
He lost, but not by much; came in second, with 25% of the vote, in a six-way race. The winner was a young fellow who was not a carpetbagger from Colorado ("But I'm not from Colorado! I've vacationed in northern Michigan for years!") and who was not suspected of complicity in his own daughter's death. He got 27%.
I'm kind of glad how things came out. They're all right-wing, pro-business, anti-choice, anti-gay-marriage types, but I don't think we need Ramsay representing us, especially not on a "family values" platform.
But I AM rather disappointed, from the scientific point of view. I was wondering, given the choice of a Democrat or a suspected baby killer, which one this district would vote for. Now we'll never know.
---Me
I'm alive and doing OK, although a bit run down. Doctor says my liver is showing signs of stress-- apparently the two shots of whiskey and the one beer I've had IN THE PAST TWO FRICKIN MONTHS was just too much for it. Gotta lay off such heavy drinking for a while. Sheesh.
'Course the fact he prescribed a toenail fungus medication that's hard on the liver probably had more to do with it, but I'm done with that now. It's another of these wonder drugs; we'll cure your toenail fungus for you, but oh, by the way, it might destroy your liver, cause your spleen to explode, paralyze your left foot, cause impotence, cause cramps, make your testicles (for those who have them) fall off, and cause constant uncontrollable flatulence. Whee. Just try to say all of that in 2.4 seconds the way the drug pushers do in their commercials.
Would have been better off keeping the fungus. I had a nice raptor claw going there.
Hilltown is coming along, but I've also been mucking around with Flanker a bit behind the scenes; following good suggestions (thanx![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
athelind and typing in reams of typo corrections that various people have given me over the past six months or so, in Flanker and elsewhere.
And I've been busy, because with the two or so months of warm weather we have up here, this is the Inspection Season. I'm moving along with those-- probably will finish them before the boss gets nervous about it-- but it does tire me out.
It's good work, though. Involves a fair amount of wandering around in the countryside and the opportunity to get lost up in the Pigeon River Wilderness, which is a cool thing to do.
I did that earlier this week. There are lots of good roads (good for sand and gravel roads, that is; the fact that 4x4s don't really go offroad much is hardly an argument against them up here, given some of the ON-road driving we have) but there are no road name signs anywhere up there, once you get into the State Forest proper. So you're going to take a wrong road, and you'll come out of the Wilderness again, but perhaps not where you intended.
It's a shame I haven't wandered around there enough to be able to find my way even without knowing the name of the road I'm on. Oh well, another project for that mythical day when I have time for it. In the mean time, getting lost is fun enough.
They were in the Wal-Mart Plaza. When the Wal-Mart moved to the new Super Wal-Mart Plaza, about half a mile away, it left the old shopping center just about completely deserted. If we had tumbleweeds they'd be blowing through the parking lot of that place. The prospects for something else opening up in there look grim. New box stores are popping up all around, but the ten-year-old ones, once abandoned, sit empty for years. The other "anchor store" in the Wal-Mart Plaza was a huge supermarket called Buy-Low, and it's been sitting empty for about six years now, I think.
Most everything in the Wal-Mart Plaza followed Wal-Mart's high-class clientelle (which would include me, I admit). The Rent to Own place moved. The Payday Advance check cashing place moved. The Nationally Known House of Cheap Fake-Leather Shoes, Buy One Get One Free moved.
I thought China One did too, since a new Chinese restaurant opened in the new Wal-Mart Plaza. It is called China 1.
But I pulled into the old plaza t'other day and saw the light was on in the old China One. Sure enough, they're still open. Have a fair lunch crowd too.
So now we have TWO Chinese restaurants in town. In this corner, China 1. In that corner, China One.
(Insert BIIIIGGGG shrug here)
---Candidates:
John Ramsay, father of the famously murdered Jon-Benet, put on a $100,000 campaign in the Republican primary here. He was going for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives.
He lost, but not by much; came in second, with 25% of the vote, in a six-way race. The winner was a young fellow who was not a carpetbagger from Colorado ("But I'm not from Colorado! I've vacationed in northern Michigan for years!") and who was not suspected of complicity in his own daughter's death. He got 27%.
I'm kind of glad how things came out. They're all right-wing, pro-business, anti-choice, anti-gay-marriage types, but I don't think we need Ramsay representing us, especially not on a "family values" platform.
But I AM rather disappointed, from the scientific point of view. I was wondering, given the choice of a Democrat or a suspected baby killer, which one this district would vote for. Now we'll never know.
---Me
I'm alive and doing OK, although a bit run down. Doctor says my liver is showing signs of stress-- apparently the two shots of whiskey and the one beer I've had IN THE PAST TWO FRICKIN MONTHS was just too much for it. Gotta lay off such heavy drinking for a while. Sheesh.
'Course the fact he prescribed a toenail fungus medication that's hard on the liver probably had more to do with it, but I'm done with that now. It's another of these wonder drugs; we'll cure your toenail fungus for you, but oh, by the way, it might destroy your liver, cause your spleen to explode, paralyze your left foot, cause impotence, cause cramps, make your testicles (for those who have them) fall off, and cause constant uncontrollable flatulence. Whee. Just try to say all of that in 2.4 seconds the way the drug pushers do in their commercials.
Would have been better off keeping the fungus. I had a nice raptor claw going there.
Hilltown is coming along, but I've also been mucking around with Flanker a bit behind the scenes; following good suggestions (thanx
athelind and typing in reams of typo corrections that various people have given me over the past six months or so, in Flanker and elsewhere.And I've been busy, because with the two or so months of warm weather we have up here, this is the Inspection Season. I'm moving along with those-- probably will finish them before the boss gets nervous about it-- but it does tire me out.
It's good work, though. Involves a fair amount of wandering around in the countryside and the opportunity to get lost up in the Pigeon River Wilderness, which is a cool thing to do.
I did that earlier this week. There are lots of good roads (good for sand and gravel roads, that is; the fact that 4x4s don't really go offroad much is hardly an argument against them up here, given some of the ON-road driving we have) but there are no road name signs anywhere up there, once you get into the State Forest proper. So you're going to take a wrong road, and you'll come out of the Wilderness again, but perhaps not where you intended.
It's a shame I haven't wandered around there enough to be able to find my way even without knowing the name of the road I'm on. Oh well, another project for that mythical day when I have time for it. In the mean time, getting lost is fun enough.
