Jan 31

They’re not ‘Basic Skills’ anymore

Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2013, at 2:20 PM by Jeff

A longtime component of everybody’s schooling in Iowa changed last year. They’re no longer the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills or the Iowa Tests of Educational Development. They are now the “Iowa Assessments.” The change happened last school year, and the old scores won’t be comparable, according to the Waterloo school district.

The kids here and across the country will still be taking the “Iowa tests,” but they won’t be taking “Basic Skills.” Since the ITBS name was in use since 1935, I suspect many teachers and parents will have trouble letting go of that. (Plus, “Basic Skills” is easier for elementary students to grasp than “Assessments”.) The name had historical weight, but I guess the restructured program needed a new designation.

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Jan 30

Denver, Kansas?

Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at 1:57 PM by Jeff

Oops. That’s not Colorado. That dot is a little east of Salina, Kansas.

NBC Nightly News podcast, Jan. 29.

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Jan 28

Pages updated

Posted on Monday, January 28, 2013, at 2:25 PM by Jeff

IA 196 now has photos from its new north end at new US 20. IA 130 and IA 77 have new pictures as well.

For IA 330, I’ve updated some of the text and have a placeholder for the new south end, but that page hasn’t been created yet.

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Jan 26

Liberty Bowl pictures

Posted on Saturday, January 26, 2013, at 9:56 PM by Jeff

What more is there to say about the game? It was overcast, it rained during the second quarter, and ISU lost. (Then it really started raining about 30 minutes after the game.) Because of the dreary day, I had few usable photos. Here are some sights you may not have seen on TV.


The scoreboard at the south end of Liberty Bowl Stadium, where our seats were.


The end zone design (ISU’s was the north) was similar to that of the 1972 Liberty Bowl, so it’s stood the test of time.


The Temptations perform at halftime with “America’s Homecoming Queens” dancing to the music.


This is the play before Tulsa’s third-quarter touchdown to go ahead 28-17. The final was 31-17.

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Jan 24

More IA 58 crashes

Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2013, at 11:27 AM by Jeff

Three-car accident Tuesday. (KWWL)

The problem with any studies about how to deal with the numerous crashes is that development is now too close for 58 to be expanded into a controlled-access freeway. The stretch between US 20 and University Avenue is the only part of the Avenue of the Saints with stoplights, and that contributes to the traffic situation.

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Jan 22

The NICL bracket

Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2013, at 1:35 PM by Jeff

The girls’ basketball pairings are out, and for the first time, North Tama is in the postseason as a 2A team. This is the only time of the year it matters, since the regular season is played in conferences and all teams are plugged into a postseason bracket. There’s still a third of a season left to go, but a so-far losing record and class bump make a return to the state tournament doubtful.

Ten of the 12 teams in Region 3 are members of the North Iowa Cedar League, which North Tama left a decade(!) ago because its enrollment was lagging compared to the rest. The other two are NT and Iowa Valley, which is in the South Iowa Cedar League.

Based on the BEDS numbers, North Tama is the 10th-smallest Class 2A girls’ basketball school, six above the cutoff. North Mahaska, last year’s Class 1A champion, is second-smallest, and along with NT is in the awkward position of being in Class 2A girls’ basketball and Class A football simultaneously.

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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 a winter coat.

In a departure from usual parade protocol, legendary ISU football coach and grand marshal Johnny Majors was at the end of the parade along with the ISU band and pom squad. The parade organizers knew how to keep people hanging around.

Near the beginning was a set of floats carrying “America’s Homecoming Queens.” I didn’t know about this organization/competition, but it’s connected to the Liberty Bowl/St. Jude’s, awards scholarships, and is limited to real high school homecoming queens. I would later feel very, very sorry for them when I saw them wearing beautiful gowns to a cold, rainy football game (and walking along/out on the field in them!)


ISU pom squad and cheerleaders walk down Beale Street. Notice metalwork on right holding up building facade.


Johnny Majors in the Liberty Bowl parade.

After the parade, there was a pep rally near Beale and Fourth at W.C. Handy Park. Although it’s supposed to be for both teams, here again 95% to 99% of the crowd were ISU fans. We stuck around for the whole thing, but the setup was such that we could NOT see anything or anyone on stage.

While the day was a bit chilly, it was pleasant overall, and all the Cyclone fans were in high spirits. Little did we know what was in store…

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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 Century (1801-25).
  • Obama will be the fifth president originally elected in a year ending in 8 to serve two full terms. It hasn’t been done since Ulysses S. Grant.

The presidential term that starts today is the one including October 21, 2015 — the “future” day of Back to the Future II.

UPDATE 1/23: Inauguration Day gas prices: E10 super unleaded $2.989 Sunday, $3.099 Monday; $1.719 Jan. 19, 2009; $1.669 Jan. 15, 2005.

UPDATE 1/29: Now $3.299.

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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 I-240 are a little strange. Eastbound, Exit 10 is followed by Exits 12A-B-C followed by Exit 12, while westbound, it is Exit 12 followed by Exits 10B-A followed by Exit 10 — and 10B is I-40 exiting from itself. Mileposts on the side note distances on Mile 11B.

Westbound I-40 approaching east junction I-240. The exit sends traffic down to one lane, just like I-55’s loop ramp east of the Mississippi River.

Sam Cooper Boulevard is the part of I-40 through Memphis that was built. It goes about halfway through to a dead end north of Liberty Bowl Stadium. There are still signs that say “West / [blank space] / Little Rock.” Continue reading →

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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 important. Plus, we wanted to take in the famous Memphis barbecue. A restaurant can’t be on Beale without good BBQ, right?

It was a recommendation from someone seen there that led us to Superior Restaurant. At least, that’s what it said outside. Inside, the menu said Flynn’s. As of Jan. 18, the restaurant website is inactive.

The place was packed with ISU fans and there was live music. It was pretty busy. It was so busy, in fact, it took 40 minutes to be seated, and we were told the restaurant had run out of brisket.

It was another 40 minutes before our food arrived. At this point we started to be concerned we wouldn’t be done before the parade.

While eating, we all came to fast agreement: Hickory Park was better. Then Mom dropped a bombshell:

“I’ve had better pulled pork at graduation receptions.”

Maybe the restaurant simply wasn’t prepared for the influx of people. Perhaps it was understaffed. But we waited 80 minutes for universal disappointment.

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