Trapped in Southern Bellevue … Road Construction Woes

If anyone has recently tried to get around in eastern Bellevue recently, one may have easily become frustrated. With many (in our case most) of the throughways blocked by construction, it has been both an expensive (in gas) and time consuming endeavor in making ones way to any destination other than directly out of town.  

At least with Stage 1 of the construction project completed, including the addition of a new round a bout at Verlin Rd (Co. JJ) and Main Street (Hwy 141), it helps somewhat. 

Now to Stage 2. 

Phase 2 of Manitowoc Road Project Begins Monday, September 13th as described on th e http://villageofbellevue.blogspot.com/ blog with more information on the town’s website,http://villageofbellevue.org/. 

One may derive from the stage 2 detour map that only one direction may be available.  It almost felt as if we were trapped here for a good part of the summer. We should not have been surprised when trying to get on to I43, a route SE in to Mason St via Ontario Rd.  Not so much.  One will find that just to the north of Ontario Rd/Eaton Rd Round A Bout, Ontario Road is closed and blocked as well.  One does not seem to discover this until there.  At the blockage. This fill force one to take a detour …  from the detour, thus adding more time to the overall trip and miss ones appointment.  On the map to the right I, I show the approximate location of where Ontario Rd is blocked.

The Village of Bellevue Blog states “Project Status; Construction has started on the 2nd phase o f  the project.  With this phase the bridge between the ramps over I-43 will be closed to traffic during construction.  In addition, night ramp closures will also occur.  The first closures will be September 14th, 15th, and 16th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 AM.  This closure will impact the NB I-43 Ramp to Manitowoc Road.  The second set of closures will impact the SB I-43 On & Off Ramps and will occur on September 21st, 22nd, & 23rd.  These dates and times subject to change based on weather.  All construction must be completed by November 23, 2010”. 

The Village of Bellevue Website states in their Stage 2 Overview “The second stage of the project  will be to complete the work needed on the bridge and ramps over I-43. It is anticipated that the bridge will be closed to all traffic for a maximum of 15 working days. During this time the bridge concrete will be repaired and resurfaced. The ramps would remain open except when temporary closures take place for repairs and improvements on those ramps.  Construction will be allowed at night to expedite the construction. Ramps may be closed at night from 7 pm to 9 am, but reopen during the day. All lanes of traffic along CTH JJ between the ramp and Eaton as well as the ramp and Main Street will remain open to traffic”.

Let us all hope that the remainder of the work goes well and is finished on time. I am depending on it, and so is my gas budget.

Wisconsin Gets Fall Weather Eary ... La Niña Maybe?

Fall really hit Wisconsin early and with a burst of high wind and cool temperatures. Color of fall are starting to already appear in NE Wisconsin, well before normal.  Is it global warming, or the effects of La Niña (I pronounce the term incorrectly in the video).  

According to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, “ THE MAIN FACTORS WHICH USUALLY INFLUENCE THE SEASONAL CLIMATE OUTLOOK INCLUDE:
1) EL NINO AND LA NINA - WHICH COMPRISE EL NINO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION OR ENSO.  IMPACTS OF THESE EVENTS ARE SUMMARIZED BY SEPARATING 3-MONTH OBSERVATIONS FROM 3 OR MORE DECADES INTO EL NINO, NEUTRAL, AND LA NINA SETS, AVERAGING EACH SEPARATELY, AND THEN COMPUTING ANOMALIES. 

THESE ARE CALLED "ENSO COMPOSITES", AND ARE USED TO SUBJECTIVELY MODIFY THE FORECAST. 2) TRENDS - APPROXIMATED BY THE OCN TOOL AS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MOST RECENT 10-YEAR MEAN OF TEMPERATURE OR 15-YEAR MEAN OF PRECIPITATION FOR A GIVEN LOCATION AND TIME OF YEAR AND THE 30-YEAR CLIMATOLOGY PERIOD (CURRENTLY 1971-2000)”. More can be found at …

• La Niña Advisory Issued
   • NOAA 2010 Updated Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook
   • NOAA's 35th Climate Diagnostics & Prediction Workshop

NEED TO KNOW | The price of gas | PBS

Fall Arrives a Little Early in Wisconsin?

It almost appeared as if fall has already arrived in NE Wisconsin today. With high winds knocking out power to thousands of customers, dark clouds and trees that seem to be already changing colors.

Here are three clips shot this afternoon.  They are just unedited raw footage right off the camera and uploaded to Youtube.

 

Online HD News Distribution Quickly Becoming a Worldwide Standard

In today’s digital flow of information, news and images, getting a story out in almost real time isn’t only for the big guys any longer.   With tapeless workflow, small efficient High Definition cameras and all digital non linear editing systems available now to even basic consumers, it is quickly becoming all about workflow and efficiency. 

Those with an already established workflow and a proven and efficient method of distribution will win.  He who gets the story out first … wins.

Now with today’s even most basic non linear editing systems … it is possible to quickly render one to two minute reports in full … crystal clear High Definition, with rapid online worldwide distribution available in multiple formats and resolutions depending on the ability of the consumer’s hardware and their personal preferences.

For those who embrace this new forum to distribute quality information, news, and video will have an advantage over the others in cost as well as quality.The ability to provide content to independent as well as network distributors with very little in investment or overhead costs for the distributor … in a rapid digital format that can keep pace with today’s continuous rapid flow of events as they occur.

With the internet infrastructure improving and bandwidth expanding the demand for quality High Definition content is increasing every day. 

By using the Opaque business model and working directly with your field crews, we can provide you with a low cost method of delivering High Definition online video content.

Creating this high quality content at a cost and pace never before seen … providing our viewers with the highest quality content in the shortest amount of time … Getting the story out first … with the technology of today … and the vision for tomorrow

If you would like to download this video, here are your options ….Quicktime H.264 720p version, (54.3MB, click here to download).  If that file is to much for your video processor on your office computer, you can try the HD Light version (23.5MB, click here to download).
In Windows Media format, 720p HD version (86.2MB, click here to download),  1080i version (MB, click here to download).