Two Peoria businesses are no more. The Journal Star is reporting that Leo’s Flowers has closed its doors and declared bankruptcy, and that businessman Mike Sullivan is getting out of the bar business by selling Sullivan’s, the last of many bars he’s operated in downtown Peoria.
I’m sad about Leo’s. It was running out of Metro [...]

I decline ALL responsibility for the details for the next Blogger Bash. I’ll be perfectly happy to attend the next bash — provided it’s held on Jan. 29, 2008, the fifth Tuesday of the month. But Cory really, really, really wanted to have it at Buffalo Wild Wings (a hated chain restaurant). By agreeing to [...]

My emergency back up computer is back up and running, so there might be a post of two later tonight. I’ll find out tomorrow, I think, whether what’s wrong with alpha computer is a fatal case of not. If nothing else, I hope to salvage the hard drive.
And thanks to Anon E. Mouse and David [...]

Two things are pretty obvious here:
First, The timing on this was like clockwork. These bad guys have literally had Bhutto in their sites since her plane touched down when she returned from exile. The number of attempts on her life are almost impossible to number. This attempt was perfectly planned. Look at the timing and [...]

Ray LaHood comes off looking good in this Associated Press article on how some Congressmen use the “franking privledge” to run for office on the public dime:
U.S. House members spent $20.3 million in tax money last year to send constituents what’s often the government equivalent of junk mail — meeting announcements, tips on car care [...]

Via the Rockford Register-Star:
Inez Harris, Rockford Register Star human resources manager, has been named to the top human resources position at the State Journal-Register newspaper in Springfield, State Journal-Register Publisher Scott Bowers announced today.
Harris, 48, has held the human resources manager position at the Register Star — second-in-command at its HR department — since 2005, [...]

I’m feeling better, somewhat. I plan on sleeping a lot
The computer is still being treated at an undisclosed location.

Via the Observer-Dispatch:
UTICA (NY) — Observer-Dispatch Editor Jon Broadbooks has been named editor of the State Journal-Register, a GateHouse newspaper in Springfield, Illinois, effective Jan. 7.
Broadbooks came to Utica as editor in April 2005. Donna M. Donovan, president and publisher of the Observer-Dispatch, said the move provides Broadbooks with the opportunity to be top editor [...]

Details here.

You know how Cindy Ardis-Jenkins is rumored to be holding Aaron Schock’s place in line? The theory goes that if Schock loses in the primary and someone else gets the Republican nod to run for U.S. Congress, then Ardis-Jenkins would drop out of the race for 92nd District seat in the Illinois House, freeing local [...]

Since the boss is under the weather, I just thought I’d do something a little different and post a photo essay featuring local railroad activity. Below is a collection of photos showing trains operated by each of ten railroads serving the Peoria area.

A BNSF Railway coal train is about to cross Farmington Road in West Peoria on [...]

LA Times consumer columnist David Lazarus scoffs at the idea of people paying for online news, simply because no one is paying for online news right now. Perhaps that’s because newspapers like his own keep dumping their print content onto the Web for free instead of asking people to pay for it.
He needs to ask [...]

Two isssues to bring up:

I’m tired as hell, as I’m at work for the 6th day in a row and having been under the weather for longer than a week. I’ll be sleeping through my weekend.
And my computer seems to be on the fritz. I’m hoping I can get it repaired tomorrow.

Merry Christmas.

I learned a few things this Christmas.
1. As much as an 11-year old boy wants to be treated like a grown-up, sometimes his still just wants to be a little kid.
2. Six years ago, my oldest daughter was in her first school Christmas program. Six years from now she will be in her [...]

I’ve been using Google Reader for the simple reason that it’s, well, a simple and easy way to keep track of the sites I need to keep track of. I tend to use multiple computers at multiple locations, so a Web-based RSS aggregator is very handy indeed.
But I’ll be abandoning Google Reader as soon as [...]