respublica

Jumping without a chute

A man who has made over 18,000 parachute jumps in his life will be trying something crazy today. I guess after 18,000 things get routine and boring. He plans to jump without a parachute or a wingsuit (whatever that is).

The Fox network will broadcast the two-minute jump live at 8 p.m. EDT Saturday as part of an hour-long TV special called “Heaven Sent.”

So what's the plan?

He plans to land in a net which will be about one-third the size of a football field and 20 stories high, providing enough space to cushion his fall, he says, without allowing him to bounce out of it. The landing target, which has been described as similar to a fishing trawler net, has been tested repeatedly using dummies. But uh oh, one dummy crashed right through the net.

The broadcast of this jump will be on tape delay....just in case something goes very wrong. This is something I hate to admit I want to see.

 

Best places to live in St. Louis

Actually this headline from the Riverfront Times is a bit misleading. The best places to live aren't all in St. Louis, some are suburbs. However, number one on the list is the Hi-Pointe neighborhood and this area borders on the seminary so we know it well. Around here it is known as the Hi-Pointe/Demun neighborhood, but who's counting.

What makes this area unique is not just the bars and restaurants, hotel and theater, but the people. Most of the area consists of brick two or three level apartment buildings which are occupied by graduate students from Wash U or the medical school. Also professors and young, well educated adults just starting out in their careers. We get to know many of these people because so many have dogs and walk through our campus with them. Part of the area is in the city of Clayton and part in the city of St. Louis. Those who are within Clayton's boundaries often feel neglected by the city. Bill McClellan of the Post Dispatch is one of these and he jokingly calls his neighborhood, "Lower Clayton". 

Be that as it may, it's an interesting place to live.

2 points of interest

The Billhardtz Animal shelter Facebook page posted an interesting followup story recently. This is the sweet conclusion of a lost dog story. For many months earlier this year a big Golden Retriever type dog had been seen in many places around town. He was in yards on the east side, off Keebler, Bissell, etc and try as they might, no one could ever corral him and bring him to safety. Many put out food which he ate, others tried to talk him into coming to them, all to no avail. The minute he saw anyone, he'd take off. These sightings went on for a long time as more people saw him, the story got more heartbreaking and frustrating as attempts to save him went no where.

Finally someone was able to get him into a yard and close the gate. Or some such. He then went to a place where he was found to have heartworms and began treatment. He also learned to be socialized. And yesterday the news came that he was adopted to a loving family and the photo shows a really happy dog. I am so glad to learn the end of this story of a dog now named Kimble.

Also an aerial photo of the former home of Collinsville's famous gangster from years past. The story always was that he lived in a huge home east of town surrounded by a moat. Many have wanted to see this location but never found it. So this picture is intriguing in a historic kind of way.

Empty Shelves at Schnucks?

According to a news story on KMOV, Schnucks grocery stores across St. Louis City and County are experiencing delivery problems and even leaving shelves bare at some stores. Many union workers believe this is due to the company's switch to a non union warehouse while Schnucks says it's due to high customer traffic, a power outage at their IT building and the transition to the new warehouse.

I've noticed a bit of this empty shelves, but since Schnucks always has employees stocking shelves with their big carts in the middle of aisles, I never thought much of it. What I have experienced is a upturn in broken crackers in the Triscuits we buy. Maybe this is for the same reason.

Actually, the transition to a new warehouse and employees which even Schnucks mentions, must be a large part of the reasons.

One more hot theory

A climate professor from Nothern Illinois University has tossed out a new theory on why Illinois summers seem hotter.

The experts say the humidity is actually the aggravating factor and farming is playing a role.

Farming? Yes. Here's why they believe this. "Farmers today are specialists and they are getting technically really good at producing a lot of crops at one time. Sun and water the key. And we're getting a lot of it this summer. Believe it or not, it does come at a price for the rest of us. Our summers are more humid as a result."

Corn crops are making us hotter they say because corn used to have 40 inches between rows and now its 30.

I find this to be quite the stretch and am often amazed by things scientists come up with. You could just as easily blame the environmental push to plant more trees and Monarch butterfly bushes or any leafy thing. Summers are hot part of the time and yes, the Midwest has always had its miserably humid days.

Speed Awareness Day in Illinois

Illinois State Police will be out in force today, stepping up patrols and watching for speeders on the highways. This is fine with me, you more often than not see them on 55/70 from Collinsville to the Poplar. But I hope this also means they'll be strictly enforcing the speed of the big trucks as well as cars because those trucks are too often going way too fast and never seem to be pulled over.

Oddly, or maybe not, I never ever see a speed radar patrol car on highway 40 from downtown west. Or from west to downtown. I guess that is because there is no place to pull anyone over, the shoulders are very narrow.

What should go in the new tif district

I was reading through many comments to a question put on the Collinsville Facebook page. "What type of business would you like to see go in this area?"

The answers were varied and many. Some wanted to see a bookstore which won't happen mainly because bookstores have been going out of business right and left. Restaurants, Target, pool, hotels etc. So many want a Target.

It's interesting about the desire for a pool or splash pad by many. Collinsville has a pool and other water features in Splash City. My guess is Splash City is too expensive for many and I've heard good things about the new splash pad in Edwardsville.

I don't know what will eventually go in the area around the racetrack but I do hope it will be things which draw both Collinsville and outside people.

Conventional talk

While watching both political conventions and putting aside the conflicting crazy talk, a couple of things hit me. 1. With the democrats, each speaker yesterday (and there were many) all seemed to have commentators touting that person as someone who would make a great future president. Or, maybe with some wishful thinking, a great candidate for even this year. Hillary will have to go some to get the reaction these people have received on the first day.

2. Republicans are also stuck with wishful thinking over what might have been a better candidate.

Watching baseball has been much more satisfying.

Alumni reunion

This weekend was filled with events revolving around the first ever Alumni reunion for Holy Cross Lutheran School. Almost 300 people attended a dinner at the VFW on Saturday night and Sunday morning continued the fellowship between services. What struck me most was the happiness and joy surrounding the weekend. You could sense this by the sheer volume of talk and laughter which never stopped. The food was great, the stories fun, the memorabilia displayed was riveting. Our new pastor played the banjo with the only song he knew...or so he said. Good times.  Here's a short glimpse of Saturday night.

Former principal and former Athletic Director

Former teacher, Cindy Davis Hammond with her husband and daughter. She's now principal at a school in western Missouri.

Selling things

A table of Holy Crossers. Hi Louis!

The reunion committee

There was even a photo area and photo booth where families and friends could have their pictures taken

Pastor Wright

An impromptu choir lead everyone in the school fight song

The food was catered by Ravenelli's and I give lots of props to the two young women who handled this all by themselves. They carried and lifted and moved food into and off the table all night. Heavy pans. They were consistently cheerful.

And there was one woman doing the bartending dealing with constant long lines and she was just as pleasant.

Didn't really need any encouragement to laugh but fun anyway.

A great night

And most fitting, a Kruta Bakery cake on Sunday morning.

 

Frozen mug for beer?

At last a beer expert answers the age old question of whether beer should be served in a frozen mug. We keep a few beer glasses in the freezer but don't always use them. So is this good or bad?

The question in St. Louis Magazine went to beer guy, George Reisch and he said, "Imbibers who favor super-cold beer are "more after the refreshment aspect".  But just like with wine flavor is affected by serving temperature, i.e., more characteristics and nuances of cold beverages become apparent at less cold temperatures.

In other words, icy cold beer loses some of its taste, but if you're after beer to cool off with after cutting grass, nuances aren't what you're looking for. If you're mainly drinking beer with dinner or for taste as you would with the micro brews, don't use a frosted glass.

Oh, and, the lighter lagers are best for those hot and sweaty times.