Daylight Savings Time?

Did you all remember to turn your clocks BACK one hour? If not, you’ll be early to where ever you’re going! heheh

The 15 Dumbest Apple Predictions of All Time!

What a great article by Rob Beschizza: blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/11/analysts-dont-k.html

New Amusement Park Coming to Grayling?

Thanks to my friend Amanda for this heads up:

Anyone been up to Grayling in awhile? No, not Gaylord where “Call of the Wild” museum is, but south of there. Well, in the past year the township council unanimously approved the concept plans of a $161-million, four-season, 1,800-acre amusement park (Cedar Point is only 364 acres)!

MainStreet America, Inc. is a newer company consisting of Rochester-based Axiom Entertainment, a private, entertainment-based marketing company that specializes in socially responsible television programming for families. It’s rumored that Disney and Universal Studio are working along with Axiom to bring the park to fruition. The new park may be called, “Four Seasons” others are reporting that it might be called MainStreet America. [1]

Mybaycity.com reports that the Ilitches are involved with Axiom Entertainment, “Mike Ilitch Jr., 48, associated with Axiom Entertainment, is one of seven children of Mike and Marian Ilitch, founders of the Little Caesar's pizza chain in 1959. They own the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and have a large interest in the Motor City Casino [2]. The couple has seven children: son Christopher Ilitch (born June 1965) is CEO and President of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.; daughter Denise Ilitch (born November 1955) is an attorney. Other children are Ron Ilitch (born June 1957), Michael Ilitch, Jr.; Lisa Ilitch Murray; Atanas Ilitch; and Carole Ilitch Trepeck.” [3]

According to residents of the depressed area, “it’s something that’s desperately needed.” 2000 new jobs will be created—700 full-time and the rest depending on the season. According to spokesman Patrick Crosson, 95% of the employees will be from a 75-mile radius of the park. Minimum wage would be $8 per hour, with many of the jobs, like theme-park ride operator requiring a college degree and paying approximately $36,000 a year.

The Gaylord Herald Times reported, “Another feature of the park included Crosson’s suggestions that the park would use several alternative energy sources including solar, wind and battery mixed with traditional sources like gas.” [4] Another report says as many as 200 windmills will be used to help power the park.

MainStreet America/Four Seasons would be built just north of the junction of I-75 and US-127. Included in the plans are three roller coasters (one open year round); a race car track doubling as a snowmobile track; a working farm with horses; indoor and outdoor water parks; rock climbing; indoor surfing; industrial, timber and military exhibits; hotels and campgrounds; and more.

Most local residents are in favor of the park to help bring money to the high-unemployment, low-income county. Seasonal or weekend residents with vacation/retirement homes (called flatlanders or downstaters by locals), have quite a different opinion. They’re worried that it will bring crowds and traffic to the quiet town. Another worry by some locals has to do with the environment. What will happen to the ground water with the new proposed park? Residents depend on wells for water and would be very upset if the wells dry up.

According to a story in the Detroit Free Press, “Other locals bristle at the criticism, especially from out-of-towners.

“We’d like to think we’re smart enough to do this on our own, rather than having people from downstate telling us how we should live,” Grayling Township Supervisor Terry Wright said. “Every time we try to do anything positive for the people up here, we get bombarded with criticism from the people who don’t live here.” [5]

What ever the case may be, in my opinion the only way this is going to succeed is if the planners have something that no one else has…be it a spectacular, ground-breaking new roller coaster or a huge indoor wave/surf pool. Something has to bring in the people. Being a year-round park just won’t cut it. Grayling is approximately 200 miles north of Detroit and over a three-hour drive, where as Cedar Point is approximately 140 miles and two to two and a half hours away with 69 rides, 17 roller coasters and a gigantic waterpark. I’m optimistic and I’ll get a group of friends to visit MainStreet America/Four Seasons when it opens in 2010. Anyone remember AutoWorld in Flint? [6] Hey, I can’t be the only one that visited it!

Interesting article: How to snare a job at Main Street America

9&10 News (Northern Michigan News) has a short video: www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=117305

Notes & References:

[1] www.mlui.org/landwater/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17169

[2] Wikipedia: Marian Ilitch, one of the founders of the MotorCity Casino, purchased controlling interest from various minor stockholders and Mandalay Resort Group (Circus Circus Michigan)/MGM Mirage Resorts in 2005. Michigan gaming laws prohibit one company from owning more than one casino property in a market, so to affect the Mandalay Resort/MGM Mirage merger the publicly traded companies had to divest MotorCity Casino, choosing to keep MGM Grand Detroit. Mrs. Ilitch paid $525 million for Mandalay Resort Group's 53.5 percent interest in the MotorCity Casino enterprise.

With Mrs. Ilitch as sole owner, MotorCity Casino Hotel is reportedly one of the largest independently owned casinos in the U.S. and likely the largest and only 100 percent female-owned casino enterprise in the United States.

[3] www.mybaycity.com/scripts/Article_View.cfm?ArticleID=1628&NewspaperID=366

[4] www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2007/06/01/breaking_news/doc465d7a444fa83535338911.txt

[5] www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070902/NEWS06/709020636

[6] www.flinthistory.com/places/autoworld.shtml

A Life Saver Called “Plumpynut”

Anderson Cooper Reports On A Nutritional Breakthrough.

(CBS) You’ve probably never heard a good news story about malnutrition, but you’re about to. Every year, malnutrition kills five million children—that’s one child every six seconds. But now, the Nobel Prize-winning relief group “Doctors Without Borders” says it finally has something that can save millions of these children. Read the entire story and watch the “60 Minutes” segment.

Make a Difference

Help donate to six different charities. It’s FREE and it’ll make you feel good. No credit cards required. They don’t even ask for ANY personal information. All that IS required is a willingness to click on a link (well, actually 12 links). The total investment of your precious time is under 30 seconds ONCE a day! If you’d like you can check out each of the six charities and see other items for purchase and to help more. I have no affiliation with this site. I just feel the more we can do to help each other the better we’ll all be in the long run.

First, click on the above button. Once there, click on “Click Here to Give – it’s FREE!” Now notice at the top there are six tabs. Click on each tab and it’s associated “Give” button. That’s it! You’re done.

How it works: When you click, they display ads (all on one page—no pop-ups) from their site sponsors. 100% of the money from these advertisers goes to the site’s charity partners, who fund programs for each of the six charities below.

Also, their store gives a portion of every purchase to their charity partners if you choose to peruse and purchase items.

The six sites and amount of donation per daily click:
The Animal Rescue Site: each daily click gives .6 bowls of food to rescued animals.
The Rainforest Site: you are helping to protect 11.4 square feet of rainforest.
The Literacy Site: 1% of the cost of a book is donated to fight illiteracy.
The Child Health Site: helps a child in need get healthcare; on avg. over 1000 children are helped each day.
The Breast Cancer Site: your daily click gives sponsor funds that are helping a woman in need get a free mammogram.
The Hunger Site: you give the value of 1.1 cups of food to the hungry for each daily click.

Just think if you told just one person and they told one person. Now, what if you told two people and they told two people? WOW! What a difference we can make!

Fans of Star Wars—Yoda Postage Stamp

Today, the U.S. Postal Service announced the issue of a Yoda commemorative 41¢ stamp. YaY! Seems that America voted and this was the top vote getter.

Postal Service Issues Yoda Commemorative Stamp Oct. 25

May the Force Be With You

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Earlier this year America voted which of their favorite Star Wars characters should appear on a postage stamp. Beginning later this month, Hoosiers will be able to purchase stamps bearing the likeness of 900-year-old Jedi Master Yoda.

The Postal Service will issue a 41-cent Yoda commemorative stamp in New York City Oct. 25.

“With this special issuance, the U.S. Postal Service fulfills the wishes of the hundreds of thousands of people who voted online for their favorite Star Wars stamp,” said Al Eakle, a spokesman for the Greater Indiana District of the U.S. Postal Service. “This new stamp depicts Yoda as people have always known him: stately and wise, a mentor and a Jedi—and a major force in the most beloved space adventure of all time.”

The full Star Wars stamp collection — 15 images from the movie — will remain on sale until May 25, 2008, while the single Yoda stamp will remain available through Oct. 25, 2008, continuing one of the most unique collaborations in Star Wars and U.S. Postal Service history.

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase the new stamp at the NAME OF TOWN Post Office, at The Postal Store Web site at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

YODA STAMP
POSTMASTER
421 EIGHTH AVE RM 2029B
NEW YORK NY 10199-9998.

After applying the first day of issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by December 24, 2007.

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first day of issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

INFORMATION FULFILLMENT
DEPT 6270
US POSTAL SERVICE
PO BOX 219014
KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There are seven philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

Uncut Press - 461584 Sheet Left, $24.60
Uncut Press - 461586 Sheet Right, $24.60
First Day Cover- 461561, $0.79
Digital - $1.50 461565, Color Postmark,
Ceremony Program- 461591, $6.95
First - $8.99 461593, Day Cover Keepsake
Digital - $9.70 461599 Keepsake, Color Postmark Cancellation