Some blogs are about big ideas. Others are about the little thoughts that pop in and out of our heads.
This blog is about the latter.
Collector license plates on not-so-classic cars: Putting "classic" collector license plates on any old car more than 20 years old appears to be the scam of the year. In case you're not familiar with the deal, any car made before 1989 is instantly considered a classic car by the Wisconsin DMV, and once you buy the $200 plates and pass emissions just once, you never need to renew them or take enough emissions test again. This is a heck of a bargain over time; I, myself, have a '75 MGB and am happy to make use of this service. But clunker minivans and other assorted rusty jalopies are hardly classic cars, and people are clearly using this loophole to get around renewals and emissions tests. Doesn't it seem like it should be the other way around? If you're going to drive a junky old car that can only pass emissions by filling up with a bottle of "Heet," shouldn't you have to take emissions tests annually like everyone else? Or if not, shouldn't you have to prove that your classic car is truly a classic, and you drive it so infrequently that you actually deserve this exemption?
Mispronouncing Mark Attanasio's name: When Los Angeles investment banker Mark Attanasio bought the Brewers in 2004, many people mispronounced his name. Even Bob Uecker repeatedly called him Ahn-tan-asio, adding an "n" where there wasn't one. But now, five years later, some pundits, like Steve "The Homer" True, can't seem to get it right. It was funny when my grandma used to refer to Robin "Yunt." It's just lame when professional sports radio hosts can't pronounce the name of the Brewers owner.
Motorcycles modded to tricycles: This summer, I've seen a lot of Harleys that have been converted into three-wheelers. What's up with that? Something seems a lot less bad-ass about riding around in a hog that doesn't require any balance to keep it standing. If it's about safety, then drive a car. If it's about ease of use, then drive a car. Call me crazy, but shouldn't motorcycles be limited to two wheels?
Tweet, sleep, tweet: Professional therapists probably call this Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but please let me know if you have this problem, too. Do you find yourself ever dreaming, or semi-dreaming, about the last thing you did before you went to sleep? Last night, I took a look at my new Twitter page (I promise, I'm not obsessed about this ... yet) to see if I had any new followers. Somehow, the number went from 37 to zero, and I still am not coming up in the "find people" search. Obviously, something was broken, since the number was 70 this morning. But all night long, I imagined myself tweeting my dreams. At one point, I imagined tweeting "Zzzzzzzz." I've encountered this strange phenomenon over the years, usually when posting a concert review right before bed, or back in college, when I'd cram for an exam until the wee hours. Is this normal? Or should I seek professional help?
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
