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Here’s Your Chance!

Here’s your chance to investigate the Mpemba Effect.  There’s a video of some Canadian dude on the internet performing this interesting experiment.  He takes a hard plastic water gun (A Nerf weapon would probably not work; you’ll see why)sucks up boiling water into it (That’s why you use hard plastic) and squirts  the water out into the air. The...

How Can I Benefit from Tax-Advantaged Investments??

For many people, tax-advantaged investing is an excellent way to reduce their taxes. And while many of the traditional tax-advantaged strategies have been eliminated, there are still alternatives left that can help you reduce your taxes. Some are described below. Real Estate Partnerships Two of the most common types of real estate partnerships are low-income housing and historic rehabilitation. The federal...

Speaking of Graduation….

And speaking of graduation….  Well, isn’t everyone? High schools…colleges…pre-schools& kindergartens…wait…pre-schools & kindergartens?  Yup.  Saw it in the R-C picture congrats.   All very well and good, I suppose, and grandparents like to get in encouragement wherever they can but what’s the kid have to look forward to if they’ve already done graduation at age four?  Little tykes are going to...

Notes From The Vineyard

January is one of my favorite times of the year at the winery. Even though January brings in our “winter hours” (Friday and Saturdays from 3pm – 9pm) we are quite busy working behind the scenes at the winery. We are doing the usual work in the cellar, checking the wine from this past fall, monitoring the juice to...

Isn’t technology wonderful?

Sports Illustrated reports that there is now a “Smart Sensor” basketball(94Fifty) full of God-only-knows what kind of sensors, nine of  ‘em, complete with circuit board, battery pack and Bluetooth relay—don’t ask—which will  do amazing things for your mastery of the game.  These sensors are processing whatever it is that’s happening with the ball, at your direction, of course, and...

Coming This Summer….

So, vacation time is here.  What to do?  Where to go?  How about museums--educational, right?--of culinary phenomena? You could start with the National Mustard Museum( formerly the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum) in Middleton, Wisconsin, found on the National Registry of Hysterical Places, perched atop the Condimental Divide.  It features over five thousand various mustard-filled items from some sixty countries and...

Will Social Security Retire Before I Do?

People have traditionally seen Social Security benefits as the foundation of their retirement planning programs. The Social Security contributions deducted from your paycheck have, in effect, served as a government-enforced retirement savings plan. However, the Social Security system is under increasing strain. Better health care and longer life spans have resulted in an increasing number of people drawing Social...

My Kind of Month

October is my kind of month.  It’s interesting. The harvest is winding down; those shocks of corn so prized by decorators are actually passe’ .  Nobody uses them any more, unless they’re Amish, of course.  Corn pickers are where it’s at as far as harvesting corn is concerned.  They’re also one of the reasons why farming has always ranked as...

Your Kind of Retirement

How do you picture your retirement? Do you envision visiting old friends and traveling to new places? Do you plan to take up a new hobby or pursue an old interest? If you have high hopes for your retirement, you aren’t alone. The retirement script is being rewritten by today’s generation who don’t plan to spend their retirement days...

It “Bites” To Be A Former Allcare Dental And Dentures Patient

It’s been over a year since I’ve written a column for the Weekly Villager. Thankfully our practice has become very busy and I have not had time to write. But, I just can’t stand by idly and not comment on recent events that have befallen the dental community. An event occurred last week that that is outrageous, sad and unfortunate....

How Can I Better Manage My Short-Term Cash?

For the vast majority of people, it is essential to keep a portion of their assets in liquid form in order to meet monthly commitments. For example, most families have to meet their mortgage or rent payments, grocery, utility, and transportation bills out of their monthly paychecks. There is a host of other expenses that arise from month to...

Costume Crises

Well, it’s all the talk.  Superman, in the new movie coming out soon, “Man of Steel”, has a new look--no tights!   The new costume still sports the iconic red capital “S” across the--very broad--chest on an all-blue, sort of metallic, more-armored-look unitard.  No belt, exactly, but a waist-defining red detail on the sides and red cuffs and a red...

Super Bowl XLVII

So…O.K., …I took notes….not during the Super Bowl game, which didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped, but of the commercials that paid for all of the hoopla.   Mercy, what an assortment! The R-C had a short piece from the Associated Press headlined, “Celebs, babies, beer : It’s Super Bowl ad time”.  Indeed it was, although I didn’t...

Sparkling wines during your get-togethers

By now you probably have had your share of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries and desserts! But if your family is like mine you also have enough leftovers from dinner to have a second Thanksgiving dinner. Whether you are serving turkey sandwiches, turkey chili, turkey soup, turkey frittatas or just plain turkey there are so many ways you can...

IRA Rollovers: Helping Retirement Savers Defer Taxes, Avoid Penalties

If you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you may have concluded that you don’t need a traditional IRA. Many people see the IRA as unnecessary because they don’t exhaust the contribution limits on their employer plans. But don’t be fooled into thinking that an IRA can’t help you reach your retirement saving goals. Chances are actually pretty good...

Straight Talk

As I type, my dog is in her bed, snoring her head off. The even sounds of her snores work as a sort of white noise machine, making it hard to feel anxious of my impending work deadlines. It also brings to mind the subject of voices we each hear in our own heads. Not the voices that urge...

Hot enough for you?

Holy Schmoley!  It’s-a some kinda hot out there!  How much more of this is there going to be?  We get a sort of “teaser” when the temperature is just hot--not an inferno--and then the whole thing turns on us and you can start looking for the hinges of H-E-DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS again right across the road.  Wheww! Leaving aside the fact...

Getting Old is NOT for Sissies!

Just dealing with the medical and insurance issues is enough to send a rational individual(That would be me…no snickering out there) around the bend. I will be the first to admit that my medical and insurance issues are--knock on wood--WAY less fraught with difficulty than many other folk out there who have to deal with catastrophic situations and illnesses.  BUT…...

Game On!

Now that the baseball has officially started--with a few fits and starts as well as a false spring heat wave--you might notice a few things different from last season. Sure, sure, there are new players; that happens every year, more or less. No. Look at what they’re playing WITH…new bats. Not just new, as in “We bought these this...

Home Sweet Home, both of ‘em

My current abode being somewhat the worse for wear, I was recently inspired to “go home” to Wellington to get one more look–maybe the last…or close to it–at the old homestead before someone new gets to call it “home.” So, anyway, it was a fine drive to Lorain County and even after all of these years, I still notice how...

How do I get on these lists?

How do I get on these lists? Bad enough that I get pleas from every animal rescue organization on the planet--puppies, kittens, polar bears, horses, donkeys, whales, big cats, farm animals, exotic animals (I tend to hope that abusers, traffickers and slaughterers will all fry in hell), you name ‘em.  I also get tree-hugger stuff--parks, water, trees, natural resources, pollution...

Flipped WHAT Bird?!?!

All of a sudden the avian population seems to be catching my attention.  First it was the “sitting duck” mamma down at the Rite Aid in the landscape mulch, then it was the geese and goslings, duck and ducklings down on the creek behind the house, then it was the blue heron below the dam, which has been replaced...

Vancura Valedictory

So…here’s my plan: Nearly everyone who knew Barry Vancura knew that he was all about Christmas. He loved shopping for gifts, getting just the right gift for everyone on his list–which was extensive, getting “a deal” on the items which met his exacting criteria, decorating for the holiday (What ? You think that he didn’t have a hand–or at least...

Why You Need a Good Website

Does your business have a website? With today’s consumers first looking for information before contacting or entering a business or even making a purchase, a website is an absolute necessity for all local companies. Your website is not just a digital business card but a tool that can increase visibility, support customer relationships and give you a competitive advantage. Establishing...

The Muse Is Angered

Well, I just hate it when electrical things get weird and I have to do something about the situation without having a CLUE as to how to approach the problem. So, I go to start writing another of my pieces of deathless prose for inclusion in The Weekly Villager ( This is something that I do on a regular basis...

What We Got For Christmas

Y’ know that old pop/novelty song, “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”?  He sort of lisps and whistles through the tune.  Real cute.  Ever wonder what the kid actually GOT for Christmas? (This is all sort of a segue into the next topic, which is what I got for Christmas, which, as it applies to humans...

Follow the Signs: Part I

This is a story about running down a Model “A” Ford lead and possibly being able to purchase the car.  We most often look for hobby cars that were never finished or cars that have sat in the garage for years and years, forgotten until a new owner or relative comes on the scene and wants to get rid...

The Most Important Meal?

I understand that breakfast is the most important part of the day. I agree with the theory that a healthy and productive day starts by fueling your body, which kick-starts your metabolism, giving your body the energy it needs to face the day. This idea really has merit, so I feel validated sharing it with my kids each morning....

WWJD: Finding A Place To Park

When you’re a “nomad” traveling in a camper van finding a place to park for the night can get tricky; by “tricky” I mean difficult or down right impossible! I am currently in the Florida Keys and most businesses as well as land owners are not keen on letting people sleep on their property. Sure, there are rest stops...

Hoppin’ Down the Bunny Trail

Most interesting Easter in a while. Got an invitation to brunch which I had to turn down because it landed smack in the middle of church, which ran long on account of technical difficulties to start with, then just because it’s Easter, involving all sorts of “pomp & circumstance” and majorly long hymns of celebration (Charles Wesley never could...

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