Hoosier lore

Breaker, breaker, good buddy. Better slow down that semi. Around that curve up ahead is someplace Smoky likes to hang out. Oh, my God! You in the semi -- you are the Smoky!

My cat Dutch occasionally escapes from the house when I'm not fast enough getting in the front door. But he doesn't know what to do after that, so he just sits on the front porch looking confused (forgive the anthropomorphization) until I pick him up and toss him unceremoniously back inside. Seems like escaped criminals aren't any smarter or better prepared than my cat:

I recently posted about West Lafayette's intention to spend nearly $24,000 to "educate" residents on how to use roundabouts. Here's a writer who says Americans should get over their aversion to these traffic managers. They promote safety, he says. They don't really add to drivers' overall time on the road. They waste less energy. They make more efficient use of public space.

The DIY cooking fad (as opposed the the plain old cooking Mom had to do) is apparently giving new life to the jar that made Muncie famous:

The iconic Ball Mason jar may be 125 this year, but its versatility makes it fresher than ever.

The rounded-shoulder jars originally were produced for canning peaches and pickles. Today, preserving edibles has evolved from a survival tactic to a huge foodie movement.

I was on the noon show yesterday at WBOI, NPR, talking about Hoosier retailers, mostly grocery and convenience stores, making their latest push to legalize Sunday alcohol sales and to permit cold beer sales at places other than package stores.

Now, this is my idea of good government:

Richmond Common Council members have canceled Monday's regularly scheduled meeting due to a lack of agenda items.

No business to discuss, so let's not have the meeting. What a concept! You know how many government groups would desperately search until they found an agenda item rather than cancel the meeting? Yes, i fear you are right.

Am I misreading this, or is Pat Bauer promising that he will fight for a tax increase?

If the (Barack) Obama administration had not provided this assist, I wonder whether today's announcement would be quite as rosy," House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, said in a statement.

By God, the money is just rolling in, isn't it? Indiana gets $4 million in federal stimulus funds to help clean up leaking underground gasoline storage tanks! Indiana is getting more than $9.5 million in stimulus money to help revitalize communities and create jobs!

Well, this won't waste anybody's time:

Tom Turpin, an entomology professor, hopes to amend Indiana's status as one of five states void of an official state insect.

Legislatures dismissed the “Say's Firefly” bill in the mid-90s because it was perceived as a dumb bill and not a priority amongst state economical issues.

[. . .]

Richard Lugar has become the first Republican to jump ship on Sonia Sotomayor:

Indiana Sen. Richard K. Lugar this morning became the first Republican to pledge support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who appears to have largely diffused allegations of judicial bias during three days of intense questioning about whether she is fit to sit on the nation's highest court.