AnnArbor.com News - Category: Edward Vielmetti http://www.annarbor.com/ en-us edward.vielmetti@gmail.com Copyright 2011 2011-03-10T11:20:00-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Who has the best Lenten fish fry? Your guide to fish dinners around town http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/links-lent-fish-fry-2011/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti A fish fry, hosted at the social hall of a Catholic church or fraternal organization, is an area Lenten tradition. They are fundraisers and community gathering places with traditions that go back decades. Here's as much information as I could... 70575@http://www.annarbor.com/ A fish fry, hosted at the social hall of a Catholic church or fraternal organization, is an area Lenten tradition. They are fundraisers and community gathering places with traditions that go back decades. Here's as much information as I could find about fish fry dinners in the area, with reviews when I could locate them.

In general, an organization that will host these dinners will hold them during six weeks of Lent on Fridays, excluding Good Friday; this year, that means that the typical organization will start on Friday, March 11 and continue through April 15. The Dexter Knights of Columbus got an early start this year and began on Feb. 25.

Continue reading Who has the best Lenten fish fry? Your guide to fish dinners around town...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Faith | Food ~ Drink 2011-03-10T11:20:00-04:00 Federal data catalog at Data.GOV: Farmers markets, failed banks, and peculiar Arkansas earthquakes http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/federal-data-catalog-at-datagov-farmers-markets-failed-banks-and/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti The Federal government collects an enormous amount of data about what goes on in the world. Agencies collect this data in the course of law enforcement, program spending, health and safety management and a thousand other reasons. Data.GOV is a... 70439@http://www.annarbor.com/ The Federal government collects an enormous amount of data about what goes on in the world. Agencies collect this data in the course of law enforcement, program spending, health and safety management and a thousand other reasons.

Data.GOV is a single point of contact to look for freely available, published data sets, maps, and statistical information that can be downloaded directly. It coordinates and consolidates, but does not replace, individual publishing efforts by each agency. The site claims that 308,666 different data sets are online, representing the work of 258 federal agencies. Here is at best a brief sample of the information, with a look not only at what's there but also how it might be put to use.

Continue reading Federal data catalog at Data.GOV: Farmers markets, failed banks, and peculiar Arkansas earthquakes...

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-03-10T10:10:00-04:00 Outdoor warning sirens were tested at 1:00 p.m. in Ann Arbor on Paczki Day http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/siren-2011-march-paczki-day/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti City of Ann ArborThe City of Ann Arbor started its annual tornado siren test program today at 1:00 p.m., in celebration of Paczki Day and because it's the second Tuesday of March. The City of Ann Arbor Siren Warning System... 70321@http://www.annarbor.com/ Siren.jpg

City of Ann Arbor

The City of Ann Arbor started its annual tornado siren test program today at 1:00 p.m., in celebration of Paczki Day and because it's the second Tuesday of March.

The City of Ann Arbor Siren Warning System has 22 sirens throughout Ann Arbor, designed to be activated in case of a tornado warning, nuclear attack, hazardous materials spill, or other reasons as needed by the city's Office of Emergency Management. The sirens are tested on the second Tuesday of each month from March through November, except when inclement weather threatens.

Please call the Office of Emergency Management at 734-794-6980 if you were outdoors and did not hear the sirens on the scheduled time and day of the testing. The next test in Ann Arbor is scheduled for April 12, 2011.

Edward Vielmetti listens for warning sirens for AnnArbor.com.

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-03-08T13:20:00-04:00 Checklist for a daily column http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/checklist-for-a-daily-column/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti I write a Links column for AnnArbor.com every day, and sometimes when it gets close to deadline and I don't have any ideas I fall back on some techniques that seem to work every time. In the interests of documenting... 70305@http://www.annarbor.com/ I write a Links column for AnnArbor.com every day, and sometimes when it gets close to deadline and I don't have any ideas I fall back on some techniques that seem to work every time.

In the interests of documenting the process, here's a short checklist for how to do this task; if I'm ever unavailable, you can follow a simple five step process and come up with something approximately equivalent to something I've put together.

Continue reading Checklist for a daily column...

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-03-08T09:52:44-04:00 Paczki Day 2011 - made locally, or imported from Hamtramck http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/links-paczki-day-2011/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti Tuesday is Paczki Day, the local celebration of pre-Lenten excess based around the consumption of fat, jelly-filled Polish pastries. Find out where to get them. 70156@http://www.annarbor.com/ 021510-News-Paczki-MRM-Dom-Bakeries.jpg

Baker Tyrone Hatch lifts a tray of paczki from the fryer as Dom Bakeries owner Fea Chov looks on in this February 2010 photo.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Tuesday is Paczki Day, the local celebration of pre-Lenten excess based around the consumption of fat, jelly-filled Polish pastries.

My 2010 Paczki Day guide was pretty good, and most of it is still true, so I won't repeat myself too much. Here's some notes on what is new this year in paczki production and consumption. The Arborwiki paczki page is another good source of detail.

Continue reading Paczki Day 2011 - made locally, or imported from Hamtramck...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Food ~ Drink 2011-03-07T10:39:31-04:00 Huron River forecast for high water Sunday afternoon http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/huron-river-forecast-march-2011/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti High water is forecast on the Huron River, with levels predicted to crest at 15 feet, one foot short of flood stage, on Sunday afternoon. At the 15-foot level, flooding starts in Island Park, Riverside Park and Fuller Park, all... 70035@http://www.annarbor.com/ annm4_hg.png

High water is forecast on the Huron River, with levels predicted to crest at 15 feet, one foot short of flood stage, on Sunday afternoon. At the 15-foot level, flooding starts in Island Park, Riverside Park and Fuller Park, all in Ann Arbor. Note that sudden rainstorms can bring about spikes in water levels on the Huron not reflected in this forecast graph.

National Weather Service

As of Friday afternoon, Washtenaw County is under an areal flood watch through Saturday evening, due to a forecast of rain and melting snow.

For more information and current conditions for the Huron River, see the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service forecast for the Huron River at Ann Arbor.

Edward Vielmetti writes about the Huron River for AnnArbor.com.

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-03-04T16:42:13-04:00 FOIA Friday: How to delay a FOIA request http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/foia-friday-how-to-delay-a-foia-request/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti A common complaint about the Freedom of Information Act process is that it is slow to produce results. Here are a number of sources for those delays; consider it a handbook for the bureaucrat who wants to adhere scrupulously to... 69961@http://www.annarbor.com/ A common complaint about the Freedom of Information Act process is that it is slow to produce results. Here are a number of sources for those delays; consider it a handbook for the bureaucrat who wants to adhere scrupulously to the letter of the law while dragging their feet in answering a request.

Continue reading FOIA Friday: How to delay a FOIA request...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Government 2011-03-04T13:00:00-04:00 What's on the bulletin board at Beezy's in Ypsilanti http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/whats-on-the-bulletin-board-at-beezys-in-ypsilanti/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti Local cafes, if they are any good, have a wall full of event and concert posters. The coffee shop bulletin board should be a quick way to find your people if you are in a new city and want to... 69835@http://www.annarbor.com/ Local cafes, if they are any good, have a wall full of event and concert posters. The coffee shop bulletin board should be a quick way to find your people if you are in a new city and want to get involved in the local culture.

Here's a snapshot of the wall at Beezy's Cafe in Ypsilanti, with links down deeper to the events and issues of the day which encompass world politics, art, poetry, roller skating, and finding a place to live.

Continue reading What's on the bulletin board at Beezy's in Ypsilanti...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Passions ~ Pursuits | Ypsilanti 2011-03-03T09:12:04-04:00 Camera-Wiki.org and Ann Arbor's Argus Camera http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/camera-wiki-org-argus/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti Crossed forks mark Camera-Wiki's split from Camerapedia. Camera-Wiki.orgCamera-Wiki.org is a non-commercial encyclopedia of the world's cameras. From the latest in digital technology to hand-made pinhole camera, it works to collect and document photographic technology. Ross Orr from Ann Arbor... 69679@http://www.annarbor.com/ fork-alpha.png

Crossed forks mark Camera-Wiki's split from Camerapedia.

Camera-Wiki.org

Camera-Wiki.org is a non-commercial encyclopedia of the world's cameras. From the latest in digital technology to hand-made pinhole camera, it works to collect and document photographic technology.

Ross Orr from Ann Arbor is one of the Camera Wiki editors, and a number of his photographs of cameras from the Ann Arbor based Argus Camera are in the collection.

Continue reading Camera-Wiki.org and Ann Arbor's Argus Camera...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Passions ~ Pursuits 2011-03-02T09:33:44-04:00 Gmail downtime; back up your mail, or live without it http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/gmail-downtime-back-up-your-mail-or-live-without-it/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti The postman hits! You have new mail. Google's Gmail electronic mail service was disrupted for some users on February 27, and service outages continued for those users until late on February 28, according to the Google Apps Status Dashboard. An... 69544@http://www.annarbor.com/ Gmail_logo.pngThe postman hits! You have new mail.

Google's Gmail electronic mail service was disrupted for some users on February 27, and service outages continued for those users until late on February 28, according to the Google Apps Status Dashboard. An account from Google VP Ben Treynor, posted on the official Gmail blog, described an unusual software bug that caused the inboxes of 0.02% of mail users to disappear. Accounts were being restored from backup tapes that had been kept offline.

The University of Michigan has announced that it is migrating most campus collaboration tools to Google, including a plan which will consolidate more than 40 email and calendar services onto the Google platform. This outage affected at least one existing Google account at a library on campus, with a report that a calendar and a custom Google widget had gone offline.


Continue reading Gmail downtime; back up your mail, or live without it...

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-03-01T11:00:00-04:00 The Huron River runs through Ann Arbor in 1819 http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/the-huron-river-runs-through-ann-arbor-in-1819/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti The Huron River flows freely through Ann Arbor in this 1819 survey map. Islands top center are in the middle of what is now Argo Pond; Island Park is visible center right. Joseph Wampler | Bureau of Land Management... 69402@http://www.annarbor.com/ Huron-River-1819.png

The Huron River flows freely through Ann Arbor in this 1819 survey map. Islands top center are in the middle of what is now Argo Pond; Island Park is visible center right.

Joseph Wampler | Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records Automation web site has more than 5 million documents of land patents, survey notes, field notes and land status records dating back to 1810. The records are sorted by state and county and are searchable by name.

Continue reading The Huron River runs through Ann Arbor in 1819...

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-02-28T09:33:43-04:00 FOIA Friday: Logging your requests http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/foia-friday-request-log/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti 69262@http://www.annarbor.com/ Under Michigan law, Freedom of Information Act requests have specific mandatory time frames for replies. You must receive a response within five business days of the receipt of your request for records, and the agency can extend their response by 10 business days without justification by notifying you of their intent to do so.

What this means in practice is that you could send in a new FOIA request every workday for three weeks and not get your first request answered. If the request was rejected in whole or in part, there are additional delays associated with the appeal process.

If you are frequently sending in FOIA requests, you will want to track them on your side to make sure that nothing slips through the cracks. I've been doing this routinely and systematically now for a couple of weeks, and think I finally have a workable, if not ideal, method for tracking my work and, most importantly, ensuring continuous follow up on slow moving responses.

Continue reading FOIA Friday: Logging your requests...

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-02-25T10:35:44-04:00 Friday snowstorm predictions http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/friday-snowstorm-predictions/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti Another storm is on the way, scheduled to hit on Friday. Here's a current prediction, collected on Thursday, from the National Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center showing a 95% chance of 2 or more inches of snow. The Thursday prediction... 68826@http://www.annarbor.com/ Another storm is on the way, scheduled to hit on Friday. Here's a current prediction, collected on Thursday, from the National Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center showing a 95% chance of 2 or more inches of snow.

The Thursday prediction map shows changes from the same forecast from 24 hours ago. The confidence in the storm track is greater, and the intensity of the storm is greater than it was before; in addition, the storm path has moved a bit south.

prb_24hsnow_ge02_2011022500f024_sm.gif

Thursday's predictions for Friday's storm.

Hydrometeorological Prediction Service

Continue reading Friday snowstorm predictions...

]]> Edward Vielmetti 2011-02-24T16:25:00-04:00 Strange maps and cartographic curiousities from Frank Jacobs http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/strange-maps-and-cartographic-curiousities-from-frank-jacobs/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti Strange MapsStrange Maps is a weblog written by Frank Jacobs, who has been collecting map-related oddities since 2006. He is the author of the book Strange Maps (ISBN 9780142005255), published in October 2009 by Penguin. The collection of maps spans... 69048@http://www.annarbor.com/ michimap.jpg

Strange Maps

Strange Maps is a weblog written by Frank Jacobs, who has been collecting map-related oddities since 2006. He is the author of the book Strange Maps (ISBN 9780142005255), published in October 2009 by Penguin.


The collection of maps spans the globe, with the odd, the unusual, and the extraordinary featured. Here is a sample of that collection, pointing you at those maps which depict Michigan.

Continue reading Strange maps and cartographic curiousities from Frank Jacobs...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Weird 2011-02-24T09:49:50-04:00 Ballotpedia: an interactive almanac of state politics http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/wiki-wednesday-ballotpedia/?cmpid=RSS_link_vielmetti Ballotpedia is "an interactive almanac of state politics." It endeavors to be a comprehensive database of local elections, with detail on ballot measures large and small across the country. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Burns Institute, a nonprofit based... 68853@http://www.annarbor.com/ Ballotpedia is "an interactive almanac of state politics." It endeavors to be a comprehensive database of local elections, with detail on ballot measures large and small across the country. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Burns Institute, a nonprofit based in Madison, Wisc. which also sponsors WikiFOIA and Judgepedia.

Here's a look at its Ballotpedia's coverage of Washtenaw County politics. Some progressive advocacy groups have called out media organizations for not acknowledging the conservative sponsors behind Ballotpedia's coverage.

Continue reading Ballotpedia: an interactive almanac of state politics...

]]> Edward Vielmetti | Elections 2011-02-23T11:06:35-04:00