Quadsville

Rbowling won Quadsvillagers' Choice for her photo of the kids enjoying a snowy day.

Rick won the Kevin's Pick award for his stunning sunset photo. He writes, "I took this photo of the Centennial Bridge from the Davenport side of the Mississippi River, nearby the Rhythm City Casino. These are the natural colors of the sunset as I observed them; the sky was particularly beautiful that evening!"

Next week's contest is open for entries until Wednesday at noon. The theme is "black and white."

As Tim D'Avis alluded to in an earlier post, we've made a few changes to the community page. Individual, group and business blogs now all have their own stack. What do you think of the change?

I'd like to welcome the following businesses to Quadsville. They are offering $50 gift certificates in the New Year, New You Get Healthy Giveaway. Check it out. You could win some extra motivation to keep all your New Year's resolutions. ;-)

Scott Co. Y

Fitness Xpress

Illingsworth Chiropractic

Take Action

2 Doc’s Chiropractic

EICC

Kimberly Park Dental

Serenity Salon & Day Spa

2 Hear Again

Audibel

Advanced Hearing

Granite City

Pleasure Pools & Spas

Ionislim

Blue Hue

Juicing for Jocks

Herb Cellar

Voting in the photo contest ends at noon today. I'll update this post with the winners this afternoon, but in the meantime, please vote and check out the skillful photographs snapped by our Quadsville shutterbugs.

I'm looking for the best blog posts of the week to highlight on Sunday's Quadsville page in the Quad-City Times. Do you have nominations? Put the link in the comments. I've got a few that caught my eye, but I want  to know what you think deserves an encore.

I was off yesterday for my birthday, so I'm catching up on all the news and blogs right now. I have to share this amusing tidbit with you all: I got my driver's license renewed yesterday and along with my spiffy new ID I was handed a pamphlet about identity theft with an intro signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. I wonder if they are handing those out today. Did they toss them? Is some clerk sitting in the back crossing out his name and writing in Gov. Pat Quinn? Maybe I should save my pamphlet as a memento of the final hours of Blago's governorship. Oh, wait. I already recycled it.

The Blagojevich trial should wrap up today, and the governor plans to attend to give a closing argument. He has 90 minutes to make his case, but because this isn't testimony, he will not be under oath. Keep an eye on Kurt Erickson's blog from Springfield to find out what bizarre turn this takes next.

Vilsack, who, as former governor of Iowa, knows a little something about rural communities, says Internet access is a must for farmers. "You can't open yourself up to world markets, to new opportunities, unless you have access to that tool," he said.

Having grown up on a farm before the digital age really took hold, I'm interested to hear from some farmers. How are you using the Internet to run your business? How has Web 2.0 changed the agriculture industry?

Reminder: A new Quadsville photo contest is up and running. Submissions will be accepted until noon Wednesday. Then the voting begins. Check it out.

It's the start of a new week and it comes with a new look for the Quad-City Times. You can read Editor Steve Thomas' blog post about the changes we've made to the print edition and give him your feedback here.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial starts today. Still not a good enough reason for Blago to show his face in Springfield. He's out in New York appearing on "Good Morning America," "The View" and "Larry King Live." You can follow @Illinois_Stage on Twitter for live trial updates. Kurt Erickson will also be blogging here in Quadsville.

What do you think of the layoffs at John Deere. More than 500 workers at the plant in Brazil will be fired. About 190 workers in Davenport will be laid off or temporarily reassigned. I guess I just keep thinking that it could have been the other way around and I'm glad it's not. How about you?

Your weekend social planner

Looking for something to do this weekend? "The Moustrap" is playing at Playcrafters Barn Theatre. Kevin Meaney is at Penguin's Comedy Club. The Parrotheads are partying for a cause on Saturday night. And you can take the kids to see Dan Wardell and Bob the Builder at the Family Museum. Find more fun things to do here.   

What's the buzz?

In case you haven't checked in on the conversations over at QCTimes.com lately, here are the biggest discussion draws of the week. These stories received the most comments, in paranthesis with the total at the time of posting. Check them out and throw in your 2 cents.

• Quad-City residents make way to Washington, D.C. (103)
• Draft order calls for closing Guantanamo Bay (86)
• Q-C baby names range from the traditional to the unique (77)
• Frenetic street scene awakens capital before dawn (75)
• Police seek woman in Davenport bank robbery (55)

I was NOT able to join the online live inaugural chat...as you will understand below.

rbarry13 We are back at our hotel in VA. and have had our lovely buffet meal. Sorry I did not send any news today - it was flatly impossible. 8:50 PM Jan 20th from web   Both our cell phones went dead, even though we never really used them?!? I could only take a few pictures and a short video, as we were packed in like sardines the entire time. Many times there were some of my body parts that I could NOT move, period. It was that TIGHT!!! We could NOT fall down, much less sit down; because we were supported by EVERY BODY around us. We swayed together to Aretha Franklin's singing. And we all joined in a couple of choruses of "Naw, Naw, Naw, Naw, Naw, Naw Hey Hey Hey Goodbye!!!" to George W. when he was announced!!! The most wonderful and telling part of being in that crowd of MILLIONS...after all the worrying and warnings...I can say that I never witnessed or heard of ONE INCIDENT...no one being overly rude, no pushing or shoving, no pickpocketing, and no fights. We all did our very best to get along...and we were all so HAPPY! Later I heard on the local news there, that INDEED the POLICE OF DC HAD NO REPORTS TO GIVE ABOUT ANY INCIDENTS>>>NO ARRESTS, I think was how they reported it! It was a GREAT GREAT Day for the United States of America...and I am so glad that I was there to witness it.

For all of you "Lost" fans, I know tonight is a big night. The three-hour season premiere starts at 7 p.m. and Stephanie De Pasquale will be chatting live in Quadsville for the whole event. So grab your laptop and watch along with her.

Here's a few interesting things I've come across online today, to get this open thread started:

This editorial has quite a discussion going on qctimes.com. What's your take on union bargaining during tough economic times?

This Indonesian man has suddenly become very popular thanks to his resemblance to President Barack Obama. He's even portrayed him in a commercial that takes its story line from one of Bush Sr.'s visits to Asia. Pretty amusing.

Of course, I can amuse myself for hours on failblog.org. 

What are your thoughts on the speeches delivered? The music performed? The enormous mass of humanity that packed the National Mall?

I am still processing everything and looking forward to rereading Obama's speech. I found it particularly powerful that he called our duties to ourselves, our nation and the world the price that we gladly pay for citizenship. His speech was a good pep talk for America, but also had a good measure of tough talk aimed at hostile governments and organizations. What did you think?

Also, have you checked out the new look of whitehouse.gov? The first blog post of the new administration went up at 12:01 p.m. EST.

Keep checking back in to Quadsville. Our D.C. bloggers will be writing about their adventure later today. I'm sure there will be some good photos along with the posts.

Also, don't forget about the Quadsville meet-up Wednesday, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Blue Cat Brew Pub, 113 18th St., Rock Island. There's also a live chat Wednesday night, 7-10 p.m., during the "Lost" premiere hosted by Stephanie De Pasquale. And David Burke will be hosting a chat with WQPT's Rick Best on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. about the digital transition, so chime in with all your TV-related questions.

A final reminder and invitation to my live chat tomorrow: Please stop by from 9 a.m. to noon and share your thoughts on the ceremony. I'll likely be watching it on CNN here in the newsroom as we chat. We'll have some reports from our friends in D.C. via Twitter, too.

Later today, I'll fill you in on my personal blog about the service project I helped out with over the weekend. I found it through usaservice.org. There are several more planned for today, as MLK Day is a national day of service. If you are participating in a service project or service honoring Dr. King today, please tell me about it and share photos if you have them!

I've been waiting to see how President-elect Barack Obama and his team would use all the cell phone numbers they collected during the campaign. During the election, the campaign texted calls for action: vote for me, phone bank for me, come to my event. I wasn't sure call-for-action texts would work once the election was over.

America has its first chance to prove me wrong this weekend.

I sent the SERVE text message and received a reply directing me to USAservice.org. It's a social network launched by the Obama-Biden administration that lets citizens create and sign up to participate in service projects all over the United States. The official kick-off for this national call to service is Monday, Martin Luther King Day, which was declared a national day of community service by Congress in 1994. However, many events have also been organized this weekend, allowing people who have to work on MLK Day to participate.

Here are the search results for events within a 50-mile radius of the Quad-Cities, plotted on a map. There are 17 service projects, ranging from reading to children to painting a domestic violence shelter to collecting items for food pantries.

The Web site states, "Unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He is asking all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face."

If you register on the site, you will be notified by e-mail about current and future service projects in your area.

Quad-Citians organize service projects year-round, whether they be Girl or Boy Scouts, Lions Club members, Optimists, Rotarians, neighborhood block club leaders, environmentalists or any of the thousands of local citizens already committed to serving their nation and community. What's promising about USAservice.org is that it provides a central location for people to recruit volunteers and for volunteers to find a project that interests them. The site even provides a community service event guide.

I felt proud and inspired when I typed in my zip code and 17 service projects popped up. A national project like this has the potential to change the images of our communities, to inspire us to be less selfish and more concerned about the common good. Do you think Americans will continue to answer these calls to action over the next four years? Will you? 

If you still have something to say to Obama or an idea for the administration, you can still send your thoughts directly to the White House. Valerie Jarrett, transition co-chair, announced the Citizen's Briefing Book in an email this week.

Citizens submit their ideas for the administration and then vote for the ideas they like best. The ideas with the most votes will be assembled into a briefing binder for the president. 

Of course, you are advised not to travel today, but for some of us, it's not an option. Keep an eye on the bridges and other traffic updates here. Wednesday morning's commute was slow due to lots of accidents on I-74 bridge. Centennial was closed in  both directions by 9:15 a.m. (Update: Reopened shortly before 10 a.m.) Luckily, my usual bridge, the sturdy Government Bridge, was open, although traffic was moving slowly.

Congrats to Rock Island High School student Rachel Segal who won the Thoms Family Above & Beyond Scholarship last night. You can read about the mentoring program that earned her the $5,000 scholarship here. Tara Vandygriff won a $2,000 scholarship as the runner up for her Ready, Set, Read program. Congratulations to all the finalists.

What's on your mind today, besides the weather? Are you home with the kids? How are you keeping them occupied? Do you have a favorite snow day activity? Don't forget, you can sign up for text message alerts for school closings. Stay warm, Quadsvillagers!

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver will address the legislature this morning at 10 a.m. to give the condition of the state address. Keep an eye on qctimes.com for a story or follow along as our Des Moines bureau live blogs the speech. Iowa Public Radio is also carrying live audio of the address. Let me know what you think of Culver's speech. What do you think Iowa's No. 1 priority should be this year?

Voting is now open on the Cutest Pet in Quadsville contest. There are 22 dogs, kitties and even a dwarf hamster for you to choose from. The voting goes until noon on Friday. The pet with the most votes will become the new face of the Quadsville Pet Owners group.

Take a minute to cast your vote!

Next week, the regular weekly photo contest will return. Do you have ideas for themes? What do you like to snap photos of?

When I got home and opened my paper, one of the Quadrants items was on the same topic. It advised parents to periodically Google their kids' names with them and then discuss what comes up in the search results.

This is a great idea, especially for parents who aren't keeping up their own MySpace and Facebook profiles to keep tabs on their teens. But there are a few tricks to doing this successfully.

1. First try just Googling their name. If they have a unique name, or are connected to networks with high Google ranking, you might get results immediately. Go a few pages deep in the search results and see what comes up.
2. If your son's name is, for example, Joe Smith, you might want to add the city you live in or some other identifying bit of data in the search field (i.e. Joe Smith Rock Island) and see what that turns up.
3. Once you've done the general Google search, I'd advise also doing a Google image search, which would bring up any photos associated with your kid's name. Again, if the name is common, you may have to add in other data to narrow the search a bit.

If you've got some good tips for parenting in the digital age, please share them below. Have a great weekend, folks!

This week's ribbon cutting: We have a new business to welcome to the Quadsville Marketplace. Please drop by Studio D Photography and check them out! 

"American Idol" is almost here: Dave Heitz, Quad-City Times reporter and "Idol Chatter" blog writer will be hosting a live Web chat during the premiere of "American Idol" on Tuesday, 7-9 p.m. So log on while you're watching at home and tell Dave what you think of the new judge and the first round of auditions.

Clint Eastwood's movie "Gran Torino" opens tomorrow. I read Linda Cook's review yesterday and there was a column by Leonard Pitts about the film on today's Editorial Page. Both make me want to see it, as I think it will be a movie that sparks a lengthy post-viewing discussion. Anyone going to see it this weekend? It's playing at Showcase Cinemas 53 in Davenport and Great Escape in Moline. Tell me what you think about it. I so rarely go to movies, but my dad's tendency to spend Sundays watching movies like "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales" made me an Eastwood fan early on. I'm still more inclined to go see "Doubt."

Sorry, but that was the first thought in my head when I saw the photo of all the presidents - past, present and future - lined up at the White House today. Maybe it's because I just had a discussion with coworkers about how quickly the office ages its occupants. Even this last presidential campaign took a toll on Barack Obama. He's showing a little more gray than he did when it started. And that was the easy part.

What do you think about today's presidential pow-wow? I admit I got a little verklempt reading the story. It's touching to know they can all stand together, talk together and offer advice to the president-elect, despite differences in party, policy and personality.

But I burst out laughing at the video clip. Obama thanks the president for hosting and then all the cameras flash for the photo op, and then they're just standing there for the cameras and the only audible bit of conversation is Bill Clinton saying, "I love this rug." (!) Oh, my.

Did you see the story in today's paper about the local Inaugural Ball being held at the River Center? Only $40 for a ticket and all the money goes to the food pantry run by Churches United. What a great way to come together as a country and as a community. Anyone thinking about going? I have some sorely neglected formal wear somewhere in the back of my closet....

First, snap a photo of your pet dog, cat, skunk, lizard, guinea pig, goldfish, Shetland pony or whatever else you have running around the house (if you have a pony, I hope you have a really big house). Then, go HERE and upload it. You will be entered into the Cutest Pet in Quadsville contest and the winning photo will become the new group icon for the Quadsville Pet Owners Group. Submissions can be made all week. We vote next week. There are already lots of adorable canine and feline mugs for you to look at and comment on.

Once you're finished with that, it's time to get thoughtful. Or perhaps didactic. It all depends on what you want to say in your open letter to the president-elect. What do you want Barack Obama to know (in 250 words or less, of course) on Inauguration Day? Do you have advice? A request? A hope for our country or your kids? A warning? Submit your thoughts here. The Quad-City Times will publish some of the responses in the special Jan. 20 inauguration edition.

I will be hosting a live blog on Inauguration Day. If you are watching it at home or at work, please join me for the conversation here in Quadsville. If you'll be in D.C., holler at me. There are ways you can participate, too, from your phone, PDA or computer. 

As with any good Show & Tell Day, there should be an open category, so if you don't have a pet (or you have one, but it's not photogenic) and you don't have anything to say to our next president, tell me what is on your mind or post the latest neat photo or video you took. I am settled down on my carpet square and ready to give you my attention. :-)

Basically, it's a food diary and weight chart. Once you set it up, you can edit your diary on the TWYE site or send updates on what you've eaten and how much you weigh from Twitter (Web, text message, and there's an iPhone app in development).

The reason this is more convenient than just keeping a handwritten food diary is that TWYE uses crowd sourcing to fill in the calories for the foods you eat. You don't have to look them up or pick apart the ingredients in your food. But you can also manually enter the calorie count for each entry, too.

I tried it out this morning. It was a little complicated to set up. There's several steps to go through. But once set up, tweeting updates was very easy. And in case you're wondering, your food diary/weight updates are private. You send a direct message to TWYE via Twitter, so no one else is seeing that you just ate a cheeseburger and six Hostess donuts. :-)

Not sure I'm disciplined enough to keep a food diary. But if you are on a weight loss program that requires tracking your calorie intake, this could be a useful tool. It will even remind you to send updates. Check it out.

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I am setting up a new photo contest to select a new group icon for the Quadsville Pet Owners group. So get your photos of your cuddly companions ready. I'll update the blog when the contest is live.The contest is up and running! Click here to submit your photo. You have one week to get your snapshots in. Good luck!

Now it's my turn to write my list. I found the 2009 list to be more difficult than I'd imagined. It's not that I'm not looking forward to 2009. I am very much. I guess I just tend to anticipate good things rather than set expectations that specific desires will be met.

Anyway, here's my list. And if you haven't already, please share yours below.

Remembrances of 2008

1. Spending six weeks in Vienna on a U.S.-Austria Journalism Exchange Fellowship. What an amazing experience and city.

2. This was the year my 1st-grade daughter really took off with reading. It clicked right around her 7th birthday in October, and it's such a joy to see her enjoying words as much as I do.

3. I kept my New Year's resolution (see last week's column).

4. Election 2008 brought with it my first Iowa Caucuses experience (as an observer and journalist) and first presidential election night in the newsroom. It was all unbelievably exciting.

5. The weather. I feel old for admitting this, but seriously, this year brought some of the Midwest's most bizarre and difficult weather, including multiple floods, a derecho, tornadoes, ice storms and the "death fog" (remember that?).

On to 2009

1. I'm looking forward to seeing the Obama administration in action. There are probably a lot of unrealistic expectations on Obama and his team. I'm not really expecting him to immediately solve any major crises. I'm more interested in the process and the tone of the administration, which has started off intriguingly enough with a very transparent and interactive transition. Since my job centers on social networking, I'm most fascinated by the prospect of the President of the United States communicating with citizens in very 21st century ways.

2. I apologize for the schadenfreude, but I can't wait until U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald puts Rod Blagojevich away. I live in Illinois and Blago is probably the biggest embarrassment to ever come from my state. I hope we can elect a decent, Jim Edgar-ish gov in 2010.

3. Traveling to the East Coast to visit my sister in New York City and my mom and step-dad in the house they are building in South Carolina.

4. Turning 30! Is it strange to say I'm looking forward to that? Well, I am.

5. While I'm sure 2009 will bring a whole new set of parenting challenges, I'll also be able to watch my daughter grow another year smarter, taller and more beautiful. She never fails to surprise and amaze me.