Bitching
Winter Wasp Woes
I have wasp problems. At least, I think they’re wasps … could be hornets, I hope not. Anyway I know I have nests in the porch ceiling pretty bad, but it’s possible they are also in the walls too. How bad? I’m afraid to know, but the real problem started last year on New Year’s Day, a couple hours into 2013.
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Someone wrote a headline like this once and it was shared on Facebook. Then something amazing happened …
Do you miss the days on Facebook when all the clickbait headlines your friends shared were numbered lists?
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Minnesota Shoplifting Detain/Restrain Laws?
Does anyone know the laws regarding detaining/restraining suspected shoplifters? I walked out of the mall tonight and found three Younkers loss-prevention staff holding a woman face-down in the snow, with their knees on her back attempting to handcuff her while she was telling them she couldn’t breathe.
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Snow emergencies?
I just don’t get it. When Duluth gets more than a couple inches of snow, we plow one side of the street, and the following Sunday we plow the other. For example, if 13 inches of snow falls on Monday, the parking side remains unplowed until Sunday. You can’t park on the side that was plowed, and the side you must try to park on won’t be plowed for days!
WTF? Is there any logic behind this? Coming from Minneapolis, it’s absolutely bizarre. The “second” plowing happens no matter what — why wait until the following Sunday to do the rest?!
Give or take some of the rules, here’s the reasonable plan.
Is there a term for those jagged ice formations on Duluth streets?
It’s probably the worst on Grand Avenue in West Duluth, but above is a shot on Fourth Street in the Central Hillside. You know what it is and obviously it pisses you off, but what is it called? Duluth has probably never experienced it before to an extent worth coming up with a name for it.
A news release today from the city of Duluth refers to it as “caked-on ice.” Is that good enough, or does someone have a better term?
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Duluth’s first double-header roller derby
If any of you missed the Harbor City Roller Dames first double header and Women’s Flat Track Derby Association sanctioned bout at the DECC, you missed some amazing roller derby action (twice as much as usual).
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Could Duluth lose Christmas City status?
This story is four days old, but I just heard about it and it’s pretty much the biggest controversy in the history of Duluth, so it needs some space on PDD.
Apparently the commentators of the Christmas City of the North Parade telecast — Michelle Lee, Kevin Jacobsen and Barbara Reyelts — did their announcing in front of a green screen inside the Northland’s NewsCenter studio. And they still wore jackets.
This revelation, of course, has me fearing that Santa Claus might strip Duluth of its Christmas City of the North status and perhaps bestow it on Superior or Thunder Bay.
Woodland School Song
While wondering the halls of Woodland Middle School, I came upon the school song.
The school is slated for destruction in the very near future. I can hardly wait for the Chipotle or other chains that they will force upon us.
Stolen Bicycle: Park Point Break-ins
Hello fellow Duluthians. ‘Tis a sad day on Park Point. It appears another round of robberies has occurred. I had a bicycle stolen out of my garage last night. Pretty ballsy I must say, the thing didn’t even have flat pedals so I am surprised they were able to get off with it. Anywho, if you happen to spot a red Masi Randonneur with a leather saddle, front racks and goofy swept leather handlebars around town, please be so kind as to shoot me a message.
Cash reward for any info, and on account of being a bicycle mechanic, free tuneups for a lifetime!
Cheers,
Justin 218-310-7961
Twelve Years a Slave
Does anybody else think that the local Marcus Theater movie selection blows?
I was really hoping to see Twelve Years a Slave on the big screen, and I was waiting patiently. Apparently it isn’t going to be shown in Duluth/Hermantown because we need Thor to be shown on seven screens instead, and because Jackass Grandpa needs to run for a month.
Did I just totally miss it or something? I at least hoped Zinema 2 would pick it up, but I haven’t seen it there either.
Restaurants not honoring advertised prices
Twice in the past week I have gone to local Duluth restaurants due to specials I have seen posted on their websites or on Twin Ports Nightlife only to be told once I got to the restaurant that they were no longer honoring that price. When I explained that I specifically made the trip to that restaurant to get the advertised special, servers at both places have acted annoyed and refused to honor the price. No apologies, no offering to give me the discount since it is their mistake, nothing.
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Gripes about the cost of internet in Duluth/Superior
Well, it turns out the discounted internet I’ve been getting from Charter (for the past 10 years) came to an end. Unless you are a new customer or have the “triple pay” it costs like $58/mo. I don’t need 30mpbs, 10mpbs is fine for what I do … and would happily pay $30/mo for it.
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Duluth Trading Co Flannelytics
The Duluth Trading Company has just posted a new blog post regarding the Top Flannel Cities in the US. I am already a tad prejudice toward them since their connection to Duluth is in name only. Now, seeing they don’t even mention Duluth, Minnesota as a flannel locale, I am even more opposed to their co-opting our city name. One would think they would at least try to open a retail store here, instead of only in southern Wisconsin and the Twin Cities area.
Shoddy construction
Before I begin my condemnation of BlueStone Lofts and the Park Point Marina Inn, I just want to preface my position with this. I don’t mean to vilify anyone personally. I do not begrudge anyone for trying his level best to make an honest living. I just feel there has to be a voice of reason where there is none and that happens to be me on this occasion.
I’m far from perfect and I’m not a know-it-all. I simply hate this throw-away practice of our modern, disposable society. And for some reason, I still want the very best for Duluth even though I haven’t lived there for decades.
There are some good people there doing great things. In architecture and house building, it’s David Salmela and the Bruckelmyers. Builders’ Commonwealth is up with the best, too.
It is the armchair urban planner, the aesthete, the eco-warrior, the idealist and the public advocate that is writing this. That said, here is my tirade.
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Traps, again
Via Wildwoods Founders:
Yesterday evening, friends called about a red squirrel caught in a leghold trap set on the edge of a city park. We don’t know how long the squirrel had been trapped there. See the brown discoloration on the fur by his mouth? He’d been trying to chew his way out of the trap.
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Aquaman Saves the City
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-1vPhSfJJo
I saw broken bottles underwater at a popular Lake Superior swimming spot in Duluth. A few days later I was able to return and used my powers for good to clean up after the bad guys. You can either wade in at the shallow end of this spot, or rock-jump in at the deep end, either way there was broken glass within reach of innocent bare feet. It was the remains of at least five separate beer bottles, probably from one douchebag at a party of cowards.
I spent about three hours collecting all the glass I could in dives lasting 30-45 seconds each with rests to catch my breath in between. I couldn’t get it all, there were many shards too small to pick up, but they will wash away most easily into the deep. All of it would have turned into smooth beach glass sooner or later, or been sucked out to sea by the next storm, but in the meantime this mess sat there for several days and could have easily lacerated someone. I was very careful picking it up, but obviously it was a little risky and the wave action was moving me around quite a bit (good thing my Atlantean physiology is adapted to the pressure at great depths, so my skin can even resist machine gun fire).
Be warned: I protect this lake, and those who come here. If I catch anyone breaking glass at the beach I will not hesitate to call the police. Either that or I will telepathically summon a giant catfish to eat you.
Local news spot here.
Why doesn’t Duluth have a repeater of the Current?
Why doesn’t Duluth have a repeater of the Current? What would it take to get one?
T-Mobile Cell Coverage in Duluth
My wife and I are long-time Verizon wireless subscribers. In my experience, their coverage is second to none, no matter how far off the beaten path I’ve gotten. Unfortunately their customer services are starting to fade.
It used to be that after two years (contract period) they’d offer discounted prices and a $100 credit toward a new phone. Then, a few years back, it was lowered to a $50 credit. Today, when I looked at a replacement phone for her cracked one, there is no credit, plus they now charge $30 on top of the phone price ($100 to $300) as an “upgrade fee.” All the while collecting the $140 per month for service while “locking” us in for an additional two years.
Well, I’m getting woozy from this roller coaster and want off. From my research, T-Mobile has the market cornered in both service price for two smart phones as well as remaining contract-free. My worry is whether those savings and lack of seat belts will come with sketchy coverage? Any PDD people with T-Mobile?
Video Auto Play
Apparently, because of some changes at YouTube, some videos on PDD have been autoplaying under some circumstances, in some browsers. That should never happen, and we apologize profusely if it has happened to you.
Please, if you ever open a page on PDD and a video starts playing without you asking it to, e-mail help @ perfectduluthday.com with a note about what video it is and what browser you are using and we’ll either fix it or take the post down.
That’s our PDD no-auto-play guarantee, for what it’s worth.
Sprint coverage in Lakeside/Lester Park?
Does anyone have a Sprint phone in Lakeside/Lester Park? I’m with AT&T and its coverage has become almost non-existent in the past six months. I’m thinking about trying Ting, which uses an intriguing billing model, but it uses Sprint’s network and I don’t want to find out its coverage sucks too. Its map looks okay, but I was hoping that someone here could back that up with actual experience.
On a semi-related note, am I the only one in the country who can’t imagine paying $80 per month for a phone? I’m currently only paying $20 a month (no data) by having a line on my sister’s AT&T plan.
Duluth sanitary sewer repair estimate
So we received a while back information telling us that we would need to repair our existing sewer line because of inflow and infiltration along with other neighbors. The city of Duluth does provide a grant for these projects (80 percent of $4,000 to $5,000). We were looking at lining the sewer line rather than excavating it.
However, we called the same company (they were the lowest bidder for the project) as our neighbors did and got an estimate that was nearly $2,500 more than the estimate they gave them!!!
I’m sure others in Duluth have dealt with this, or are dealing with the same situation as myself. Ideally I would like to get a ballpark figure of the expense and the company any of you chose for this project. Needless to say we will be calling around.
Bike Thefts on the East Side
My son’s bike was stolen this weekend. A really nice white-and-black Specialized Hardrock Comp with disc brakes was taken from my back yard. The officer from DPD told me there has been a rash of bike thefts east from 10th Avenue East. I spoke with a pawn shop owner who told me they are often moved out of town to more populated cities to our south. So get ’em locked up and put away or end up like my little-big man who will be mowing lawns for a new one.
First Tick of the Year — 2013 Edition
In addition to misapplied possessive apostrophes and upset people in the newspaper, another thing we’ve been following on PDD for quite some time is the first tick to show its face each year. This little bloodsucker latched on to me today on the Lumber Camp Trail at Pattison Park.
Vikings Fumble
Well, I don’t really follow football, and now here’s another reason to despise the world 0f big, corporate sports. Message sent and received–athletics is a place where freedom of speech will kick your football on down the field. Boo team Vikings!
Chris Kluwe’s release by Vikings sends message that gay-marriage talk is not tolerable in NFL