QR Code Interview Gimmick

My kids' school created a pamphlet with a QR code that linked to the website, so I figured it could be useful to do the same thing when I bring in my resume to a job interview. Especially since I made a cool online resume that really looks a lot better than the printed kind. Plus, printing all that I've done over the last two decades would be a huge waste of paper (unless it gets me the job).

Who's Got My Back in Jacksonville?

I've seen several political ads recently that focus on people who have the back of the police officers. I suppose that's a thing, but I am not a police officer (or a native of Jacksonville), so I'm kind of wondering who has my back as I settle in here.

Interest in Curling is an All-Time High

I saw that the Curling Club of Jacksonville members were working out? on the ice recently, and the news story indicated that an Olympic win in the sport? has led to interest being at an all-time high. So there are literally hundreds of Americans interested in curling. But being from Wisconsin, I know a thing or two about ice-related activities, and I kind of wonder why curling would be taking off nationwide when there are several other ways to have fun on or with the ice.

JAXEX Bad Neighbor 2

The last time I wrote an article about JAXEX being accused of being a bad neighbor, my website broke because I tried to embed the flight map. I am hoping it does not do that again, and it's really kind of mean-spirited of the flight tracking company to NOT allow embedding, and also to have a 10 minute delay.

Retiree Guide to JAX

Jacksonville just made the Top 10 in some list of places to retire. The only problem is that the city isn't really in the Top 1000 for people who are actually looking to retire, so maybe it's time New Jax Witty works on putting together a local guide for folks who no longer have to work.

A Funny Story From Our First Spelling Bee

My son participated in his first spelling bee this year, making it to the finals of his school and then filling in for the champ at the Duval County written spelling bee, which he did well enough on to get to be one of the 26 finalists. That's pretty cool, and it's further than I ever got in a spelling bee, even though I was pretty good at spelling. Just not in front of people. The event itself was an interesting experience, and one that's as much a lesson for parents as the kids. Problem is that not all the parents learn the lesson, apparently.

Church of God the Mother at UNF

UNF sent out an email regarding at least one of the churches that shows up on campus to talk to students. I don't attend UNF, so I don't actually know much about the situation. But I went to college, and there were sometimes churches represented near the Union, and there were sometimes heated debates. I never got involved myself, and I was only approached one time, so I'm not taking a stand on Christians on Campus or Socialists or Republicans or White Nationalists. So I'm cool with anyone except Nihilists or The Eagles showing up on campus to discuss whatever with Millennials. I'm just wondering about the name "Church of God the Mother."

Arlington Renewal: Reality Check

I'm all for reviving and renewing Arlington, as long as it's not going to wake up all cranky on us. I have enough experience in urban planning (as a college student and connoisseur) to be able to predict a few major concerns with renewing Arlington, whether or not some hot-shot Miami developer says it's going to happen. And I don't have millions of dollars or years of experience in the neighborhood. Just sense.

Grammar Police Issue Warrant for Pablo Creek Library

I don't expect a whole lot out of the general public when it comes to grammar. I kind of think that the English language is generally a stupid language. We could do so much better, but we're not going to change to Esperanto in the near future, so we just have to deal with it. Like I said, I can understand when someone at the local gas station calls it the Ladie's Room or Lady's Room or Mens' Room. I can look past it when someone in marketing says, "A winner must claim there prize immediately." Errors, all of them, but those are just normal, everyday people. I'm an English teacher, so I see all the mistakes; I just don't tend to give them much thought. However, when I see some questionable grammar at the local public library, that's when it's time to put on the old badge.

Gunshots, Babies Crying, and Screaming - Jacksonville

It's my first mayoral race here in Jacksonville, but I assume it will be a fun one. Two candidates who don't like one another. Anna Brosche's attack ad seems to be a metaphor for her distaste for Lenny Curry, but a lot of people also called the ad itself distasteful. If it was for a local ice cream shop, I'd totally agree, but when we're talking politics, then you can use the gunshots, crying babies, and screaming without crossing the line. Fear is the top emotion for local news, home security sales, and political ads.

An "Interesting" Résumé Means Good Luck

I got one of those weeding-out phone interviews recently. (I'm kind of looking for a job.) The interview was a lot like the ones I got right after I got laid off as a teacher of twelve years back in Wisconsin. Even though I've had an added several years of experience (not teaching) in addition to my years as a teacher, I still apparently have an "interesting" résumé. I know this means I won't be likely to get a call for a real, in-person interview, since the only people who appreciate interesting résumés are those who don't work in HR. If you also have an interesting résumé, I feel for you, and I'd hire you if I could.

Adverstising on Zillow For Free?

I was looking up the highest crime area of Arlington when I came across a strange phenomenon on many of the homes near the high-crime apartments. Someone had claimed the homes on Bert Rd. and added the following:

This property is never For sale or rent sun and Jerome Harrison Wilson and Emma kim-tashis Harrison Landlord Owner contact me at 904....

The $5,000 St. Augustine Trash Bin

St. Augustine wants to replace garbage cans with garbage/recycling cans. In theory, I like the idea, since I did the same thing in my kitchen. I know that my $60 kitchen garbage can isn't commercial-grade, and it's probably a bit smaller than what's needed, but for $5,000 a pop, I'm hoping some local artisans are building 16th century vintage trash cans. Wait, there were no garbage cans when St. Augustine was founded. So we can do whatever we want.

Giveaway! Florida Drug and Alcohol Course & Permit Exam

This contest is currently Closed

If you are a parent of a soon-to-be driver or a kid who's looking to get a license, I've got a giveaway that's perfect for you. I have been authorized to offer Aceable's (Florida-valid) combined Drug and Alcohol Course & Permit Exam (valued at $48 online; on sale for less right now) as a giveaway for New Jax Witty readers.

What Can You Get For $5 and Some Potato Chips in Jax?

Sometimes, police officers must have a hard time believing the stories they hear, even if the admission is so ridiculous that it must be true. This is one of those stories. A woman was shot at a gas station by a man who fled on foot. Those are both fairly typical events in greater Jacksonville. The assumption would be that she'd been mugged. Or targeted for some reason. Uh, not exactly. Actually, the woman had been paid $5 and some Pringles to provide a service for the man. He then shot her and took the $5 back. No word on the chips.

Free Offer to Federal Employees

I was trying to come up with what I could do to help local government employees to manage not having a paycheck right now. I made it my business goal to help others so that they might want to help me someday. While that hasn't worked out all that well for me, I'm still going to give it another try. I've seen all the suggestions that include selling items or starting a side business, and that got me to thinking how I could help those of you who need it right now.

Doctors and Hospitals You Should Never Visit

I wish I could give you the right advice on this one, but I can't. I saw an ad for Morgan and Morgan wherein John Morgan basically says that he's old enough to say what he wants, and that there are doctors and hospitals he'd never use. Honestly, I'd really like to have that list. Wouldn't you?

Nocatee Fees: CDD and HOA

We spent our first day in the Nocatee area of St. Johns / Duval in order to check out the farmers market. While there were only three actual farmers at the market (two produce and one dairy), it was still interesting to see the planned community. In fact, our kids were quick to suggest their grandparents look into the area, since it has a certain feel that's similar to some of the retiree planned communities in Florida but without the stigma of being just for old fogies. But what about those fees and cost of getting in?

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.

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.

I Wonder Which Cheap Frontier Flights Were Dropped From JAX

Less than a year before I write this post, I was all excited about the possibilities of Frontier Airlines adding direct flights to Jacksonville. JAX was getting a handful of new non-stop flights, one of which would take me home to Milwaukee. The flights seemed to be seasonal somehow, but they did exist, starting in early fall and kind of ending for the holidays. So, cheap, direct flights from September to early November. What a deal! I was already planning my spring trip home, but flights were initially only available through December, so I waited.

I Like Beer

I was surprised to feel like I had to take notes recently while watching a show about beer. I've seen promotional material while touring breweries, and I've seen educational shows that mention the drink, but this program focused on beer as being vital to all kinds of important changes in the history of mankind. While I'm sure it was a slightly biased program that was trying to argue a point, the arguments seemed legitimate enough for me to go buy a four-pack of some beer from my hometown of Milwaukee. If you want to amaze your friends at your next party, watch the full documentary or check out my notes below.

Can Safe Touch Help Me Be Safe?

Technically, I'm not looking for a security system right this minute. Maybe in a bit, once and if I get a job where I'm away from home. No, I need to find a way for my family to be safe with the currently unused alarm. Basically, we still can't test our smoke detectors because the realtor who lives one block away has not made it a priority to get the passcode for the alarm system from the previous owner. That means that I have to have an unhooked alarm that screams at me if I give it a current. Problem is that if I test the smoke alarms, then those also bother me until I plug the house alarm back in.

I Totally Forgot About My DIY Greeting Card Series

Back when I was first setting up Real Wisconsin News, I had this idea to use a photo of my friend in various settings to help promote the site. That turned into the idea that I could make an entire line of greeting cards with him as the messenger. The main problem was that I didn't have the digital photos to edit (this is back in 2005 or so), and I really didn't have a way to market the idea. So I just stuck "Homeless John" in several photos that I did have in digital format. One day, I'll add him to more of the 30,000 photos I have. For now, I'll just go through the process I used, if I can remember it.

Styx, Poison, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake among many others

Andreas Lawen, Fotandi [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
I got my weekly library email from the Jacksonville Public Library trying to get me to buy discounted theater tickets. It's for Rock of Ages, which will be here January 10, 2019 (and maybe some other time in the future). I've seen the movie, and it was fine. I think my wife and I saw some kind of theatrical version at some point, maybe at a high school. It's decent and all, but I just kind of wonder about that "among many others" part of the ad. Here's the full line:

Featuring the music of hit bands such as Styx, Poison, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake among many others.

Why Retiring At 37 Was Not An Option For Me

Sometimes, I hate my news feed. I looked up something about retirement several months ago, and I get news about retirement way too often. It's depressing because I'm not retired. It's also depressing because the Union I was part of sucked all the good retirement out of the system for themselves (Baby Boomers) before leaving me to deal with angry management. So I'm stuck with a pittance as a retirement when I get it, along with my wife's even more miserable monthly stipend (once she's finally vested).The truth is that I did everything about as well as I could before I was retired by my employer at around 40, but it wasn't good enough to stop working. And it won't be for you, either, so stop reading about the guy who did it.

JAX is a Registered Trademark of What?

I was doing a totally unrelated search of my friend Alex Bartoszewicz when I came across some medical paper some other Polish guy with the same last name had written. That guy's paper was on some Jackson Laboratory website (jax.org) that has a little registered trademark symbol after JAX, especially for something called "JAX® Mice." And I'm all wondering if our city leaders are aware of this, what we can do about it, and why it matters.

DNA Evidence Caught a Hit and Run Driver?

A local woman was arrested for being behind the wheel of a car in a hit and run accident nearly two years ago. If you break the law, you should face the consequences, so I am glad the police found the driver. The news kind of questioned why it took so long to catch her, and I can see that scrutiny. A witness saw the accident and called the police. The story implied the driver never stopped or called the police herself. But the news did say that the arrest was made because of DNA evidence.

I'm Number 200,000 or Thereabouts

I haven't checked my Amazon Author ranking in some time. It's actually an interesting, humbling experience. If you've been trying to sell books online, it's worth your time to check on it once in a while, especially if those books start selling to any degree. Right now, I'm ranked somewhere around 200,000th in the world? or America, I don't know.

The first image here shows my rankings for this year. You can see that I achieved my top ranking in the spring, which makes sense, since my top title is an ACT-prep kind of book. It seems I was in the top 50,000 for a fleeting day. Hooray for me! However, my ranking seems to be trending down over the year, so sucks for me. Really, you can't get too riled up over author ranking, but I would like to stay in the top 50,000 at some point. That would give my life some meaning, I suppose.

Kindle Blogging With NewJaxWitty

Like any author, I want my words to get out there. Kindle allows me to sell my books online. The Amazon Author page allows me to post my blog content to my profile. This can be useful in order to show that I know how to write, but it's also a nice cross-promotional tool. People might show up on my website and read more there, whether or not they ever buy a book. The problem is that my blogs have mostly disappeared from my author profile. Luckily, this blog seems to work.

Most of my other websites are Joomla and https. There seems to be a problem with getting the feed in that configuration, at least for Kindle and Feedburner. I get an error when trying to validate my feed:  

Server returned [Errno 1] _ssl.c:510: error:14077410:SSL routines:SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO:sslv3 alert handshake failure

Skin Cancer Higher in Florida, Obviously

Being fairly new to the area, I have realized that the sun in Florida is more intense than in Wisconsin where I'm from. It seems so intense that it's probably dangerous, and I've met two people here who have had to deal with skin cancer, so it's for real. Obviously, Florida must lead the nation in skin cancer. Or not. 

>Here are the rates of skin cancer per 100,000 for a recent year:

1. Delaware—32.6
2. Vermont—32.3
3. New Hampshire—31.4
4. Wyoming—30.1
5. Oregon—29.6
6. Montana—29
7. Iowa—27.8
8. Washington—27.5
9. Utah—27.4
10. Maine—26.5

These rates are similar to other ones I found online from 2015, which had Utah way at the top with something called the age-adjusted rate (not sure if that makes a difference).

Tough Times in Jacksonville

Mayor Curry's wife was talking about all the good stuff her husband has done to keep our families safe. Then she wished me a Merry Christmas. But one thing that got my attention was when she said this:

We are thankful for coming through tough times together to rebuild and restore. 

Just wondering what the tough times were.

My Screenplay Play

Maybe someone out there is a struggling screenplay writer like me. Maybe you've mailed the scripts or tried the pitches. Maybe you watch the typical Hollywood rehash and wonder why no one will even look at your work. I totally understand. I've written two movie screenplays and a musical play, and I've gotten no real bites. Here's a letter I wrote to someone in Hollywood who was willing to look over my work. His comments were encouraging for one of the scripts--the one he actually finished--but he wasn't in a position to help more than that. Anyhow, besides publishing the screenplays as Kindle books and hoping for the best, the guy I knew through a friend will probably be my last attempt to get them noticed.