Another beautiful day. If this is what the end of winter looks like, I look forward to the last week of the winter season.

There must be something about March that causes local non-profit organization to wake from a long winter hibernation. Roots and Wings, Habitat for Humanity, Friends of Rogers, St. Baldricks, The United Way, and Big Brothers Big Sisters all have their own fundraising event this month – and all for a good cause, by the way. That’s a lot of giving for the most charitable in our community. If you have a cause to which you would like to contribute, you certainly have your options.

We’re almost halfway through March already, which means (believe it or not) it’s time to start looking toward summer activities. Blues Fest, the Fair, Colorscape – all fun, but I’m really looking forward to Airport Day in June. Planes fascinate me and what’s more fascinating is that a trained pilot can barrel role a plane hundreds of feet in the air without screaming like a nine-year-old girl (at least I’ve never heard it before). I have to say, it’s nothing I would try doing myself if I were cool enough to have pilots license, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of being in the same plane as someone who would… so long as I have dry underwear and a brown paper bag handy.

When I wrote an article about renovations at Burger King at the South end of town, I think I underestimated just how much work construction crews planned to do. I drove by it today and the place looked a little less like a restaurant and more like a wooden box with a drive drive-thru. I heard that it closed temporarily – my heart goes to a select few Chenango County residents who possibly thought they would starve to death. I’m sure that the temporary closing of Burger King influenced some sort of self-revelation among some people out there. Personally, I choose not to eat there. It’s tasty, but a Whopper has a really distinct scent that lingers in the car for months. You can’t hose that smell out.

For the avid readers, I’m sure that you saw the Rails for Trails article written by Julian in yesterday’s paper. While I don’t foresee a train running through Chenango County any time soon (if ever), I say it’s not time to dump the rails yet. And to have trails take their place is just a waste of time, effort and money. The thought of trails promoting a healthier lifestyle in the area and increasing tourism is too idealistic. Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s a great idea for more metropolitan areas and perhaps if Chenango County wasn’t… well… Chenango County, I would jump on board. But let’s not lie to ourselves; few people would use a new trail and it would only be a matter of time before it was covered with weeds and garbage.

Speaking of jumping on board (segue), a lot of people are kicking themselves with excitements now that Apple unveiled its new iPad, complete with high definition display screen and 4G. And at a starting price of $629 for Wi-Fi and 4G, it’s much iCooler, iFaster, and iBetter than any iPiece-of-crap I can afford. Time to start collecting change from the couch cushions.

What a beautiful day! Though to fully appreciate the sunshine and 60 degree weather, let’s look at Evening Sun headlines from March 7, 2011:

“Snowmageddon!” “Chenango Declares State of Emergency” “Roads close as storm buries Chenango again”

Makes a good day feel that much better, doesn’t it?

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the only one who’ll decide where to go…”

It’s Dr. Seuss’ birthday and I couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate it than to begin a blog from my favorite Dr. Seuss book. But as much a Dr. Seuss fan that I am, I’m still torn about my opinions of the movie rendition of “The Lorax.” I admit, though the film looks bad, it makes me giggle a little that color is the only characteristic deciphering the differences between the Lorax and Danny DeVito.

At the risk of sounding a little redundant to those who regularly read blogs and tweets on The Evening Sun website, we are in the midst of familiarizing ourselves with a new software upgrade here at the paper. I suppose it’s called for; our previous software was old enough to legally vote this year. While things are transpiring much more smoothly that they were at this time Thursday, I still can’t help but cry a little when I save stories and don’t know what happens to them afterward. Anyhow, now that I got the computer to stop smoking and angry (and at times, verbally abusive) computer warning boxes have stopped appearing on my screen, I think I’m on the right track. I have new respect for ghosts of reporters past who made the transition from type writers to computers. I don’t think I would have made it.

If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, check out the United Way’s mini golf course at the American Legion on Saturday. Money raised from attendees helps out the United Way’s 2012 campaign. Country club style golf apparel (polo shirt and vest, baggy plaid pants, goofy hat and colored knee high socks with white golfing shoes) are optional… No, I don’t stereotype.

Another year gone by, another Academy Awards that I didn’t watch. It’s not that I don’t support the arts and film industry; I do… sort of. OK, It’s not that I discourage the arts and film industry, it’s just that I don’t necessarily care to watch an awards show for it.

Newt Gingrich got my attention in a news article I read earlier today. While addressing a conservative crowd at a Georgia church, he said it’s up to God and the American people to decide the next President. I’m not trying to step on toes by mentioning God in a blog; I’m just bringing to light my own self-revelation that candidates know the right things to say in order to appease the right group of people at the right time. What an art! Every speech they give is meticulously tailored for a specific demographic. It reminds me of the Chris Rock movie “Head of State:” “It’s people like you, the ranchers, that are the backbone of this country” … “It’s people like you, the factory workers, that are the backbone of this country” … “It’s people like you, the church people, that are the backbone of this country.” I wonder who Gingrich would have said decides the next President if he weren’t in a church…

Way back in mid-November, I wrote an article involving the Chenango SPCA and took a picture of Bo, a bull terrier mix at the shelter, to go along with the article. Sadly, the dog that became a pseudo celebrity thanks to a headshot on the front page of the Evening Sun is still at the SPCA. Sounds like a sad children’s book to me: “The Puppy that Nobody Wanted.” Best of luck to Bo; hang in there, buddy.

Gas prices have risen for the 20th consecutive day. I’m considering the option of selling my car or trading in for a lama and a saddle. It’s good to keep options open when it comes to alternative modes of transportation.

So as I mentioned in my last post, I had planned (and I use the word “planned” very loosely) to go see “The Vow” with my wife last weekend. As expected, the movie got me into trouble because according to the wife, I “don’t do anything that romantic.” True. In a theater full of roughly 150 people, about a tenth of them were guys who had also “planned” to be there and are now paying the price – I’m sure I wasn’t the only one of them in a lobby full of estrogen and teary eyes who was in deep trouble with their other, better looking half. Thanks for setting the bar a bit too high again, classic chick flick. Next time, I’m picking the movie.

Switching gears, I had a great time speaking with Sheila Marshman over the phone last week. Marshman will be speaking at the UN on March 1st, as I mentioned in today’s story. Before beginning work at The Evening Sun, the extent of my agricultural expertise covered only the basics; plants grow from the dirt and cows need to eat. But with each ag. related story I write, I’m learning more and more, and I’ve grown a great deal of respect for the agricultural market in the county. My perceptions of plants and cows have been made anew in the light of local agriculturists.

With talk of consolidation surfacing once again in today’s paper, I wonder about the future of Chenango County. 21 townships, (8 villages?), and one city in a county of 50,000 – seems like there should be some tightening of the belt someplace. I read a 30 sec. post that suggested we consolidate school districts because paying one superintendent would be more lucrative than paying for ten. There might be some truth to this, and if someone can figure out a financially sound way to do this without overcrowding classrooms and subjecting kids to a four-hour-one-way bus ride while still maintaining a reasonable student to teacher ratio in closely supervised educational environment, I will follow that someone like the Jews followed Moses in the desert for forty years – without question. Good luck with your idea, 30 seconds ranter.

After my last complaining rant about paying $30 for my wife and I to go to the movies (2 admissions, 1 large soda, 1 large popcorn) I specifically remember pledging that it would be a long time before returning – perhaps when pigs fly, hell freezes over or, the much less likely, when politicians agree on health reform. My resistance was mainly because it would take a long time to save up that kind of extra money again. Not to mention, it’s just not worth paying that much money to got to the movies. I usually get stuck near the front where my neck hurts by the end of the movie, no one around me chews with their mouth closed so I hear the rotten “smack-cruch-smack-crunch-smack-crunch” of 50 other people eating popcorn, and it’s too dark to ever see whatever it is that’s making the floor sticky.

But the wife seems to have enjoyed all of it.

Yes, not even a month after my last visit to the movie theater which left me with nothing in my wallet except a driver’s license, a fist full of IOUs and a few moths, my wife decided we should go again. Apparently, that was an easy decision for her to make – the more difficult decision will be what bill isn’t going to be paid on time this month.

“Fine, if we must go again, let’s pick a good movie. And by good, I mean something with a lot of explosions, or something with car chase or gun fight, or something that makes me rip the arms off my seat off in terror – you know, something worth seeing on the big screen. No? We aren’t going to see any of those? Well, how about a movie that we can agree on? A comedy? Adventure? No? Well… what should we see?”

Over the years, my wife and I have learned the process of compromise; We each have equal strength in the initial voting process when it comes to things like deciding which movie to see. And in the event of the all too common tie vote, we refer to a tie breaking re-vote, in which my wife happily assumes a two-thirds vote. So, given our movie dilemma, we “compromised” on seeing a romantic drama. Thank goodness for a compromising system that works for everyone, huh? Through the unwritten rule of democratic marriage, we voted to see “The Vow.”

“Well… that’ll be fun.”

Happy Valentine’s Day. If your not tired of seeing red, white and pink by now, you haven’t been outside or online much today.

Keeping my Valentine’s vigor alive, I decided to wait until last minute to buy my valentine a card. It’s OK though – I seem to work well under pressure. I didn’t panic at all while I sprinted down the sidewalk, darted in front of traffic and knocked over two people to get to Service Pharmacy to find a good Valentine’s Day card before they were gone. Work well under pressure, indeed.

Actually picking out a good Valentine’s Day card on the other hand… well, that’s different. Over the years, I’ve learned that picking out the perfect card is an integral part of Valentine’s Day – it’s like guessing which wire to cut in order to disable a ticking time bomb. If I get the wrong card, I might as well not go home at all. I would think it wouldn’t be too difficult, since it seems that so many Valentine’s Day cards say the same thing in different words, but I still can’t seem to escape the risk of grabbing the wrong one.

The trick is to narrow down the options to just a few: Do I want the Snoopy and Woodstock card? Do I want the card with the cheap fart joke that leaves a slight feeling or remorse for having read it? Or, do I want the card that says “You are my everything…Love you so much….Blah…Happy Valentine’s Day?” Right away, I knew that one of those cards is just silliness and wasn’t going to work at all in my favor, so I put it back, which left me with two – the mushy-gushy sentimental one and the one with the fart joke. After another ten minutes of deliberation, I went with the lovey-dovey card. Bomb, deactivated – and with plenty of the day left to spare. I look forward to doing it again next year.

There’s something about Fridays that makes time seem to stand still, regardless of how busy I try to be.

I had a good day in McDonough today – a place that I’ve kind of neglected since beginning here at the paper. My apologies. A big thanks to everyone I’ve met out that way so far. You have been more than welcoming and it’s changing some of my biased opinions of hill folk, though I’m still on the lookout for the Clampett truck.

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, which means I have to think of something to do for my significant other. Excuse me, I have to think of something outstanding to do on a very tight budget for my significant other. Why must saying “I love you” be so expensive (and the jewelry commercials on TV aren’t helping any). Maybe I’ll be spending the weekend making paper mache flowers and a macaroni necklace (and perhaps I’ll get a really cool pair of toilet paper tube binoculars). Stupid Valentine’s Day.

So Apple is unveiling its new iPad 3 soon. And just in time, as I’m sure so many people are sick of the iPad 2 they got for Christmas. Money spent on technology seems useless if whatever I buy is outdated in less than a year. I want something I’m going to get a return of investment on, not something I need to replace before taking it out of the box. Oh, how grand to read an entire iPad 3 user manual only to find an advertisement for the latest Apple product on the back cover: “iPad 4 now available.” It might be a better idea to buy another week’s groceries instead.

I saw an interesting news report earlier today about Facebook and it’s addicting appeal. Apparently, new studies show that Facebook is as addicting, if not more addicting than tobacco and alcohol. Researchers are pointing to the fact that unlike tobacco and booze, Facebook is free, available almost anyplace at anytime and doesn’t come with the same governmental restrictions and social taboos as other addictive substances.

This brings interesting new questions to the table. What’s the cut-off for Facebookers and how much status updating is too much? What constitutes as Facebook withdrawal? Should there be a Facebook support group (I would say Facebook anonymous if it weren’t an oxymoron it itself)? And my favorite, is this a real problem?

The funny thing about Facebook addiction is that it’s only my generation, generation Y, that’s ever going to make claim to such a dumb addiction. Generation X – now there’s a generation that had real addictions: Sex, drugs and rock and roll – status updates were written in graffiti. Their parents never had to listen to lectures on the seriousness of cyberbullying, though if they did, I’m sure they would have had a blunt solution. “What? Cyber wha… Shut the computer off and go mow the lawn … go chop some firewood!”

As far as whether or not there really is such a thing as a Facebook addict (like big-foot, you don’t really believe in it but don’t want to say it doesn’t exist either), the idea of Facebook addiction easily meets 3 of the 4 symptoms of substance abuse criteria outlined in the DSM IV. Scary, huh? Even our Guru News Crew friends at CNN felt it was worth the time to highlight the seriousness of Facebook addiction in past stories and of course, they have a list of symptoms to convince people that they’re addicted; I’m still waiting for the prescription drug that cures the ailment (and if there really is a market for that, please let me know; I’ll happily invest or be the spokesman).

So, off my Facebook-I-got-a-problem-but-it’s-not-a-real-problem rant, today is the 77th anniversary of the board game Monopoly – a game that maintains a nail-biting excitement matched only by other rousing capitalist board games like The Landlord’s Game and Inflation. In celebration of the milestone, I’m going to start brainstorming ways to actually make the game fun.

I guess it wouldn’t be an appropriate blog without mentioning the Patriots / Giants game on Super Bowl Sunday. Since I’m not a big football fan myself, that’s enough said for me.

Anyone without day-long Super Bowl plans should consider checking out the Northeast Classic Car Museum this Sunday when they have a two-for-one special. They have some amazing things in that building and as a heads up, it’s much, much bigger than it looks on the outside. It’s a fun attraction and a good chance to get out of the house.

After taking a tour of Unison Industries yesterday, I’m still trying to wrap my head around some of the things they do. I watched employees assemble components no bigger than my finger nail but still a crucial piece of a larger temperature sensor that’s essential to keeping a plane in the air… that’s something to consider next time a see a plane flying overhead.

Temperatures are supposed to be back into the mid 30s this weekend, bidding this week’s 50 degree days a fond memory and we all have the groundhog to blame for it (but thank you weather, for once again being the topic of choice when I have nothing good in mind to write about). And speaking Groundhog Day, I didn’t get a chance yesterday to watch the Bill Murray movie and I’ll have to watch it tonight. You know the one I’m talking about – I just don’t know if I’m going to watch Ghostbusters one or two…