Author Archives: Jeff

Jan 21

Liberty Bowl parade

Posted on Monday, January 21, 2013, at 10:52 AM by Jeff

Memphis, Tennessee, December 30 — Beale Street was packed with Cyclone fans the day before the Liberty Bowl for the parade. I’ve been through many an hour-and-a-half parade before, but never standing the whole time in wall-to-wall people while wearing … Continue reading →

Posted in Trip Reports | Comments Off on Liberty Bowl parade
Jan 20

Interesting inauguration trivia

Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2013, at 11:52 AM by Jeff

Assuming President Obama serves out his second term, two things will happen that are rare in presidential history: We’ll have three two-term presidents in a row for the second time in history, after Jefferson-Madison-Monroe at the beginning of the 19th … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Interesting inauguration trivia
Jan 19

Some sign photos from the Memphis area

Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2013, at 1:15 PM by Jeff

Because of the freeway revolt that resulted in I-40 being routed around the north side of Memphis, the exit numbering convention is a little off. There are multiple lettered exits in “mile” 1 and 2, and then I-40’s exits around … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous, Trip Reports | Comments Off on Some sign photos from the Memphis area
Jan 18

A bad BBQ experience on Beale Street

Posted on Friday, January 18, 2013, at 2:02 PM by Jeff

This is slightly out of order. The roadgeek part of the day will follow later. Memphis, Tennessee, December 30 — We knew there would be a LOT of Iowa State fans on Beale Street Sunday, so getting there early was … Continue reading →

Posted in Trip Reports | Comments Off on A bad BBQ experience on Beale Street
Jan 16

A long-tenured schedule

Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2013, at 1:44 PM by Jeff

Here is a list of current college football coaching tenures, organized by date of hiring. Paul Rhoads has been around four years, placing him in a tie for 38th, five places below Bill Snyder 2.0. Iowa State’s schedule includes four coaches … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on A long-tenured schedule
Jan 15

Shiloh battlefield

Posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, at 10:52 AM by Jeff

Shiloh, Tennessee, Dec. 29 — It was the bloodiest day of the Civil War until surpassed by Antietam, and a bunch of farm boys from Iowa were caught right in the middle of it. The Iowa monument at Shiloh is … Continue reading →

Posted in Trip Reports | Comments Off on Shiloh battlefield
Jan 14

The three-game OT loss club

Posted on Monday, January 14, 2013, at 2:39 PM by Jeff

One of SB Nation’s college football writers ranked the year’s games with this stretch in the middle: 52. Michigan State 16, Wisconsin 13 (OT) (October 27). 51. Ohio State 21, Wisconsin 14 (OT) (November 17). 50. Penn State 24, Wisconsin … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on The three-game OT loss club
Jan 14

Factoids about 2013-14 Iowa Legislature

Posted on Monday, January 14, 2013, at 10:19 AM by Jeff

No particular theme here, just some random pieces. All links are to PDF maps and district descriptions are approximations. Big state map (PDF) City insets (PDF) 55 House districts are smaller than the basic “4×4” county (572 square miles). So … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Factoids about 2013-14 Iowa Legislature
Jan 11

One hundred and one!

Posted on Friday, January 11, 2013, at 9:58 PM by Jeff

North Tama 101, CAL (Latimer) 21. The NT boys’ coach used the entire bench. CAL only had eight players on both the boys’ and girls’ teams. The North Tama boys have never reached the century mark. The 1996-97 substate team … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports, Tama County | Comments Off on One hundred and one!
Jan 10

The flip side of the eleventy billion channel universe, addendum

Posted on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 1:49 AM by Jeff

SEE? See what ESPN deprived its basic-cable audience of? Or alternately, see what ESPN saved thousands of Cyclone fans from watching? You know the age old question of “Is it better to lose in overtime or a blowout?” Good news! With … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on The flip side of the eleventy billion channel universe, addendum