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The state continues debating over the details of a smoking ban. The ban, if passed as intended, is to go into effect on January 1, 2009. Legislators in Madison are battling over whether or not to postpone the ban in taverns and restaurants.

The American Cancer Society recently sponsored a town hall meeting to discuss the impending statewide smoking ban, also known as the Breathe Free Wisconsin Act. Tavern League of Wisconsin representatives clashed with non-smokers and other business owners during that meeting.

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The original LEGO brick turns 50 today. For several generations, the LEGO building bricks and systems have brought to life the imaginations of children and adults. Many impressive ideas developed from them, and the company continues to grow its line of great bricks.

I played with the bright (and some not so bright) colored bricks during my entire childhood. I built many different models and such, but I especially enjoyed building spaceships with the LEGO Space system kits. To this day, I still have a model of my favorite ship in my living room.

So, happy 50th Anniversary LEGO!

Time magazine: Lego’s Legacy Continues to be Built

Last night’s NFC Championship game did not result in a win for the Green Bay Packers, but they played against a very hungry and well-rounded New York Giants team and made them work for every last point. Given what the Packers have done this past year, the team is poised for greatness in the future, and it has done a fantastic job with Brett Favre at the helm.

With head coach Mike McCarthy and legendary quarterback Brett Favre’s leadership, the Packers went from “the youngest team in the league” to “the youngest team in the playoffs.” When no one gave them a chance early on, they picked up the chips and started winning games. They ended the regular season 13-3 and won the NFC North Division. They made their fourth NFC Championship Game since 1992 (Favre’s first year in Green Bay); only one year after ending the season 8-8; this year’s rally towards the Super Bowl kept the fans buzzing and on their toes right up until the final Giants field goal that ended the NFC Championship Game in overtime.

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This is part three of a three-part series.

In the previous two posts of “My new bike,” I explained why I started searching for a new bike and how I chose to purchase the Trek Pilot 2.1. With making a decision, the next step was to do it.

One of the quandaries about buying a new bike in the winter is wondering when you’ll actually ride it. It was already November when I decided to purchase the Pilot. I had already resigned to riding on a CycleOps trainer for the season. Even then, I was ready to purchase the new bike…

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