Renting Near Medical College of Wisconsin and Froedtert

I know, this might seem out of place on a blog about Jacksonville, but there's a chance someone out there knows someone who's looking for a good place to rent or buy in Milwaukee right next to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MCW and Froedtert) for a residency or fellowship.

Neighborly Tattling Or Not

The neighbor kids tend to play in our front lawn a little bit. Not a big deal. The other day, however, one of our Christmas decorations was destroyed. I asked my own kids if they had been in front at all (they hadn't), which was confirmed when I watched some surveillance video. I know the neighbor kids broke the decoration (even if it's just out of view), and the neighbor kids know, but it's still more complicated than all that.

After More Than A Year, I Realize There's A Skyway in JAX

Sorry, city leaders. I just didn't know there was a vibrant Skyway automated monorail in town. I kind of thought it was either an idea that had never been made or something that was closed down. Although I still have not seen this in person, I went to several websites to confirm that it does exist. My goal, in the next year-and-a-half, is to find a reason to ride this free people-mover.

I Almost Sent A Pretend Gun To School

I'd say it's mostly good that I have made it a point to protect my kids from the scary news of mass shootings at schools, murders in Jacksonville, and guns in general. But there's a negative, I suppose, if you're naive when it comes to guns. I've been there more than once in my life, and I almost sent my daughter down that road because of my own naivety.

Freelancer Nightmare: Unpaid Work

I'm busy getting some websites off the host so I can make room for more. A couple of the websites were done as actual jobs that never received pay. I figure a website takes me at least 10 hours to complete, even in the pre-production form. The two websites here would represent 20 hours of actual, sitting in front of the computer work, along with another few hours of research and contact with the clients. Let's say 25 hours, at least. I'm cheap, as far as high-end web design goes, but these two sites were set at about $1,000 each, so it's a couple of decent checks not coming my way.

Who IS a Journalist?

I was looking up someone who edits a local news-ish website and magazine that's mostly a fancy blog with a lot of paid ads that purport to be articles when I saw the person had a Muckrack profile. After clicking through a little, I realized that I, too, would like to have a profile that puts all my writing together in one place. But then I read the "strict" requirements of being verified. Very ouch, I'm not technically a journalist. But then again, who is?

New Christmas Traditions In or Near JAX

We've been asking around in order to find out what our new Christmas traditions might be for our family. Granted, the kids keep growing and changing, so they might not be as interested in some of our old traditions from Wisconsin. However, we are trying to figure out what will work for us in Florida.

Jacksonville Security Cam Feeds

I was watching the news talk about how we want to avoid school security cams from being hacked. The news also mentioned that a website has posted several security cameras from the Jacksonville area. I felt it was my duty to confirm this information, partially so you don't have to navigate to this website. The IP address of the website, according to another article I read, is linked to Moscow, as in Russia.

So I Stole My Wife's Jane Austen Writing Prompt

I'm not part of my wife's Jane Austen Meetup group, but I do get to hear about the assignments. I don't tend to read the books, even if I do want to. However, when the group decided to do some writing, I figured I could produce my own version of the assignment. Basically, the goal is to write a response to a quote. I do not know if there were other requirements because I'm not always the best listener. But I'm a decent writer. My wife wrote a pretty good piece that was in the form of a book of manners. Mine was a little different.

Jacksonville City Water That Tastes Good

I recently received my automatic order for my EveryDrop filter, and it seems like a good time to revisit the water situation in Jacksonville. It's not as bad as you might think, but since I don't like the taste of the natural elements in the water, I spend $50 every six months on a filter. I go with the EveryDrop filter because it's the manufacturer-recommended filter and it has some certifications that seem important. And the water tastes just right.

No More High Speed Police Chases

I don't know how many police chases there are each year in Jacksonville, but one that recently led to the death of a kidnapping victim will open the JSO policies up to scrutiny. About five years ago, this debate was a big deal in Milwaukee, after a few high speed chases resulted in innocent bystanders getting hurt. Back then, I sat in a bar with a police officer friend and created an invention in my head. He said it would never work. Less than a year later, Milwaukee was using this invention (which someone else sold them) on their police vehicles. Maybe Jacksonville needs to look into similar technology.

Interviewing With St. Johns County Schools - Part I - Before The Interview

Truth be told, I am only in the process of getting materials together so that I might apply to teach or otherwise work in the St. Johns schools. However, in the process, I saw the interview advice given on the school district website, so I thought I'd pass that along to any of you looking to interview in St. Johns or anywhere else. The advice listed comes from a quick job interview guide published by another website, but I am certain interviewers in St. Johns know that future employees will be looking at the image (rather than reading the links on the page). Let's see if these will all work for me.

Medicare For All; Build The Wall - I'll Go There

A majority of Americans want some version of Medicare for All. A majority of Americans want some kind of border control. Most Americans don't want years of government shutdown, no matter how much we pretend it's OK. And we don't want Trumped-up uses of a state of emergency.

Just Have a Fist Fight, And May The Best Man Win

A woman was being interviewed about a shooting near her house, and I liked her comments. I am sure it's not going to change anything, since words rarely do, but her idea that people ought to put the guns down resonates with me. The problem is that putting the guns away and having a fist fight would mean the best man with his fists would win, and that's not always what everyone wants.

Meeting Someone Special First Sunday After New Years

The news teaser was that researchers have found that the first Sunday after New Years is a great time to meet someone. For dating, I assume. After watching the 10 second "news" story about meeting someone, apparently the first Sunday in January is the top day for people to join dating sites.



If this is the first Sunday of a new year right now, stop reading so that you can check out the dating sites immediately. If it's no longer the first Sunday, read on.

Tipsy Tow and Tow to Go New Years and Beyond

I thought I remember seeing that the bus was free last year on New Year's Eve in Jacksonville. This year (2018), that seems to have been replaced by a free tow system. Makes sense, really. The bus is so ineffective in getting anyone home in Jacksonville, since everything tends to be so spread out. Since everyone has a vehicle, the tow service gets your sleigh home with you, too, instead of having to bum a ride back to wherever the party was.

Checking Off One More Year Without Sweetest Day

It was late October last year when I realized I'd missed Sweetest Day. This year, as the calendar turned to mid-October, I knew it would happen again. How could I possibly miss this important day once again? Well, it's partially because people in Kansas (last year) and Florida (this year) don't seem to know that there's a second Valentine's Day, roughly half a year after that holiday.

We're Giving Away $1 Million

I'm kidding, of course. We're not really giving away $1 million, and neither are the gambling halls. A local gambling establishment, bestbet, around Christmas was saying that it was "giving away $200,000." Can that really be true? I mean, if it's true, then I'm in. But I assume it's a play on words. Kind of a slight of hand.

Best Kitchen Purchase This Year is a Garbage Can

More than likely, the kitchen garbage is one of the last upgrades you're thinking about right now. I only had to go there because ours stopped working. We like the motion sensor automatic garbage cans, and they do tend to fail after some use. We'd also got into the habit of owning two full-sized garbage cans for our kitchen, one for garbage and the other for recycling. Since my wife thinks it's kind of gross (and a waste of valuable cabinet space) to mount the garbage inside our island, it was time to shop for another garbage can. This time, however, I wanted to eliminate the two-can system in favor of a two-in-one garbage/recycling can. After a few months, I feel I can safely say I made the right choice with this stainless steel, two sided garbage can from Amazon.

Good Credit, Bad Credit, We Should Care

If you've shopped for any big-ticket item in Jacksonville (and other places in the US), then you've run across the stores that claim your credit score doesn't matter. Actually, it does, but so do the scores of others who shop at that store. Whether it relates to you or other shoppers, you actually should care about bad credit. I'll give you some scenarios that might help you understand why you should care.