Around Ohio

I was watching the Price is Right recently, and saw a game called “Flip-Flop.’ It’s where you flip one number, or flop the other one, to get the right price and win.

I thought, hey, this where Strickland gets his ideas!

He’s thinking, wow, I can FLIP!, vehemently oppose gambling then

FLOP! come out in favor and hold up the budget process!

I can FLIP! freeze state university tuition to help Ohio families then

FLOP! cut state university funding!

I can FLIP! cut the hell out of public library funding and then

FLOP! issue a statement about how I support public libraries!

I can FLIP! ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling that public school funding is unconstitutional and then

FLOP! push for some weak school plan that costs more without a way to pay for it!

FLIP-FLOP!

Will Strickland flip next, or will he flop? Your guess is as good as his.

Unfortunately, when he flip-flops, we always lose.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia

First Strickland vehemently opposes gambling, then he’s suddenly for it. He talks about supporting public libraries, then cuts the hell out of funding for them. When other states are promoting tourism, he wants to cut our tourism budget to zero.

All this while the Columbus Dispatch reports influence buying by the nursing home lobby is causing increases in nursing home reimbursements–as other states move toward cheaper home care.

What an idiot.

Taft was so bad, I figured this guy couldn’t help but do a better job.

Well, technically I suppose Strickland has done better. But not by much.

Strickland ran on a platform to “turn around Ohio.” In three years, we have turned around–around the drain, that is.

Impeach Strickland! And I’m voting for Kasich–don’t know if he’ll do better either, but can’t do much worse.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

As I read today about Farrah Fawcett’s death from cancer, I was surprised to see she got her start right here in Ohio.

Well, sort of.

Ohio.com reports that a Medina poster company took a chance on printing a Farrah poster. That one that every kid I knew in the 1970s had. That made them plenty after Farrah skyrocketed to fame on Charlie’s Angels.

What’s more amazing is that I am talking about the death of an icon FROM MY CHILDHOOD. God, how did I get this old?

I remember the Farrah poster everywhere. I remember every girl in school had her hairdo. We all loved her on Charlie’s Angels.

And now Farrah is gone.  People always say to me “you’re only as old as you feel.”  Now I’m feeling older by the minute.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

With the economy and gas prices and all, “staycations” are all the rage. I suggest that “stayohiocations” are a great getaway. One place to get away from it all while staying in Ohio is Amish country.

Located in Holmes County, this relaxing rural getaway is just an hours’ drive from Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus. I just spent some time there, and while Millersburg and Berlin were a bit more touristy than they were 20 years ago, it is a quaint part of the state to visit.

My wife and I spent much of our time at the White Oak Inn. The White Oak Inn is located on Rt. 715 near the Holmes/Knox County border. I really didn’t think Ohio had such rural areas left; we drove several miles without really passing a thing. The White Oak Inn brochure says they feature “gracious country lodging and fine dining…with relaxed hospitality.” I would agree. Their multiacre setting includes rooms, cottages and cabins surrounded with woods (and you just might be able to adopt a kitten while you’re there). Here are links to a few photos:

White Oak Inn signs

White Oak Inn highway

White Oak Inn main house

White Oak Inn grounds

^{Photos ©2009 John C. Kazalia}

And if you email me I’ll tell you how to save 50 bucks at your stay at the White Oak Inn!

For more places to stay in Ohio’s Amish country, visit this page where you can book a room online! For more about Amish country attractions, visit my Amish country page.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

When I picked up the Columbus Dispatch and saw this:

Columbus Contemplates Roundabout, I about threw a fit! I HATE those things!

My wife and I have a timeshare in Florida, and a couple years back the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) proposed a roundabout at the intersection in front. Residents, me included, threw a fit. FDOT admitted they are not safer, THEY ARE CHEAPER. Traffic lights require electricity, maintenance, get knocked over in hurricanes and accidents. Roundabouts just sit there. Roundabouts are NOT safer, THEY ARE CHEAPER.

Guess what they put in instead?  A STOP SIGN.

And what are pedestrians supposed to do?  Traffic lights have walk signals.  On a roundabout, pedestrians are on their own. 

Roundabouts are awkward, confusing antiquities. Bag roundabouts and add turn lanes!

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

Amazing! The man who said gambling is not the answer to Ohio’s economic problems now supports gambling at Ohio’s racetracks. You can read more about it here:

Strickland Supports Gambling

Funny how morality takes a back seat when your state–and your political career–are sliding down the drain.

Now Mr. Strickland, why couldn’t we have done this years ago? How much revenue has the state of Ohio lost over the years? While I did oppose this type of gambling in Ohio years ago, my eyes were opened when I realized how many people I know gamble anyway. They drive to Wheeling, Indiana, wherever. They do it online. They take gambling cruises. They do it in their neighbor’s garage. Ohio hasn’t been preventing anything, just losing out on bringing in revenue from it.

And how are you going to do it now that the voters of Ohio have turned it down? It will be interesting to see how they “repackage” this to get around that.

Hmm…I’m beginning to think that the best way to save Ohio is to vote Strickland out of office.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

I must be getting old, but I am a bit confused about all this digital television transition.

We have cable TV at our house, so no need to worry there. But we just stayed somewhere where, uh, what’s the deal with the TV? Oh, I see, it’s got a digital converter so we have to use one remote for the channel changing and another for volume (and both to turn things off).

Got that figured out, but the instructions say to run scan on your TV “because channel numbers in your area may have changed.” This fits with the
FCC’s Final Decision on Digital TV Assignments.

Yet, as I flip around I see Columbus channels are still 4, 6, 10, 28, 34, 51. Huh? I don’t get it. Or are they going to change later? Seems implausible. I’m confused.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

UPDATE: Okay, I found the answer: When the digital TV system was being designed, engineers knew both the analog and digital signals cannot be on the same channel. They also knew that TV stations around the country spent years and lots of money promoting their channel number and that would be lost when they changed numbers. A system was designed to keep the old channel numbers in the public’s eye.

Here is how it works. We will use Channel 10 for the example. The analog transmitters operate on Channel 10, just like they have for the last 50 plus years. But the digital transmitter is actually on Channel 21. There is a signal within the “digital data stream,” called PSIP . The PSIP signal tells the channel display on your TV screen what channel number to show you. In other words, the TV set creats a virtual channel and tells you it is on Channel 10 (10.1 to be exact) when it really is on Channel 21. So, after you get your antenna up and working and you set channel scan, you can forget about Channel 21.

Based upon this article, I would have to say yes:

Truth About Cars

The crisis in the American automotive industry is having profound negative effects upon the Ohio economy. I hear folks support the Washington bailout because it will, hopefully, save jobs and American industry. I hear folks oppose the bailout because we are supposed to be a free-market economy and business should live or die on its’ own.

While I tend to agree with the latter, I can understand both. But I cannot understand the logic in supporting GM, then boycotting it because Obama is the one who wants it to be saved.

If you were supporting GM before, wouldn’t you want it to be saved? And even if Limbaugh changed his mind, who would use this logic? So if a Republican president saved GM, he would be for it?

Nuts. This kind of blind partisanship is what is wrong with America. Ohio, along with the rest of the nation, needs solutions. Who thought of it is hardly the issue.

Your Buckeye, John Kazalia.

I don’t know about all of you, but I about faint when I see what they want for fresh produce in the grocery store these days. $2.99 for one pepper?!?

You can get great fresh produce for a great price at a local farmers market. Here’s a listing of all the farmers markets I could find around Ohio:

• Baltimore
• Bexley, 2242 E. Main St., Saturdays July 11-October 31
• Bellefontaine, Detroit and Chillicothe St., Saturdays thru October
• Canal Winchester
• Cleveland/Shaker Square
• Columbus/North Market
• Columbus/Pearl Alley
• Columbus/Clintonville

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Originally planned for completion in 1975(!!) and delayed many times, the US 33 Nelsonville bypass is finally underway. You can read more about it at this
ODOT Web page.

It is hard to believe anyone could be in opposition to this project. But this Plain Dealer reporter thinks it is merely a political payoff from Governor Strickland. Really? Have you ever left Cleveland and driven this stretch of highway?

An entire four-lane highway grinds to a halt. Sometimes it takes half an hour to traverse a 3 mile stretch of 2-lane road. Backed up traffic and rear-end accidents are the order of the day. And this is a political payoff? Get real.

This project should have been completed DECADES ago. It may be one of the few things in Strickland’s legacy we can look back on as a good thing.

I had to laugh when I saw this:

Strickland Not to Blame for Ohio Job Losses.

Not so much because Strickland said it, because the article comments that Strickland has been in office for 3 years.

Really?!? Has it been that long? And what has Strickland accomplished in that three years?

[sound of crickets chirping]

To be fair, Strickland isn’t responsible for GM and Chrysler’s problems and he can’t prevent NCR from leaving the state. But what has he done otherwise? Not much except some silly proposal to increase the number of days schools are in session.

Really? When school funding is being cut and voters are reticent to pass levies, you want to increase their expenses? Get real.

Strickland’s Turn Around Ohio plan was supposed to stop Ohio from “circling the drain.” But we’re turning around the drain faster than ever. How many things on this plan have really happened? Not many.

Governor, you may not responsible for GM, Chrysler, NCR, and DHL, but what have you done to make Ohio a better place in three years?

If you’re looking for a cheap, local getaway, the Lake Erie Islands are one of my favorite places to visit. My favorite access to the lake is in the Lake Erie Islands area, basically Sandusky and surrounding communities. Visit shoresandislands.com/ for more information on this area.

The Circle Tour takes you to the Lake Erie Islands area, Cleveland, and beyond. This one will take more than one day if you try to follow the whole tour. Just following the Ohio portion will take days if you stop to take it all in. Here are links to more Lake Erie islands info:

• Lake Erie’s Islands have a lot of state parks–here’s an overview of Kelley’s Island, the Marblehead Lighthouse, and more.
• Unless you like to swim, you’ll need to use a ferry. Neuman’s Ferry is
  one way to get from the mainland to the Erie Islands and beyond.
• This guide to Put-in-Bay from their Chamber of Commerce shows all the fun stuff to do on Put-in-Bay Island.

Cities along the coast in the Lake Erie Islands area have their own Web sites with tourist information:

• Huron–A directory of food, fun, and more in this lake town.
• Port Clinton–Here the Chamber of Commerce provides tourism information and more about Port Clinton.
• Sandusky–Recently rated the 6th best small town in America, Sandusky combines lakefront charm with a shopping mall and other modern amenities.
• Vermilion–You’ll think you’re in New England with this town’s marina in the heart of downtown.

And if you’re looking for a place to stay visit my hotels and motels around Sandusky page.

I remember hearing that saying a lot while growing up in Toledo in the 1970s.  It makes me wonder:  now that Detroit is on life support, what does that mean for Toledo, and for the rest of the state?

The old adage comes, of course, from Toledo’s role as a supplier of parts to the then “Big 3″ Detroit automakers.  Now when we read of GM, Ford, and Chrysler plant closings, an Ohio plant is almost invariably on the list.

Now some may say, “what do you care, Mr. Hyundai driver?”  Well, I do care, but it is all much more complicated than that.
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