Gophers v. Hawkeyes, 11//27/10 at TCF Bank Stadium

All's well that ends well.

That couldn't be more true for the 2010 Golden Gopher football squad. Interim Coach Jeff Horton's 2-3 record may not be impressive at first glance, but consider the teams the Gophers played in that five-game stretch.

• A home loss to a Penn State team that is well-coached and on its way to a bowl game after wrapping up a 7-5 season
• Another home loss to Ohio State - A top 10 team that will likely be playing in a BCS bowl game
• A road loss at Michigan State - Another top 10 team that would have been the Big 10 champion if it were decided on the field and not in the BCS
• A come-from-behind road win against bowl-eligible Illinois
• A win against a ranked Iowa team, in a trophy game, that might qualify as the most exciting, satisfying Gopher victory since Mason beat Michigan

According to the experts, Horton will not be considered for the head coaching job. Knowing that, I think I join a large number of the Gopher Nation who'd like to thank him for the job he did taking a broken season and making it interesting and a lot of fun to watch down the stretch. Let's hope this late-season success propels the Golden Gophers into the next era of winning football at the U!

Dayton v. Emmer Recount

To celebrate the recount for the Minnesota gubernatorial election, I present to you, the greatest moment all-time in Minnesota election recount history...



Special thanks to Jed Hirschfeld for reminding me of this ballot from the Coleman v. Franken recount.

What the Vikings Should Be Thinking

The more I think about it, T Jack could easily give the Vikes a 2-1 record in the next three games (Lose to the Pats, win at home against Arizona and on the road at Chicago) By then, Brett's healthy enough to beat the Packers at home and the Vikes are 5-5 and (probably) in a tie for first at that point.



There. Problem solved. No need to lose any more sleep or productivity. Skol.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul at Sunset and Sunrise

Work on the Riverside Plaza video communications plan is underway! Earlier this week, I made my way to the top of the tallest building in the apartment complex. From 40 floors up, downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul are even more beautiful than they look from ground level...

Here's looking east toward downtown Saint Paul at sunrise...

The sun going down over Minneapolis...

Riverside Plaza: Rebuilding Minneapolis History

It's a city within a city. More than 5,000 residents living in high rises on a space about the size of Target Field. It's a place with history - this winter it could be added to the state's historic register - and also a place with nearly 10,000 Facebook fans. If you've ever lived in Minneapolis, you know that place; perhaps by its not-so-flattering name, but for those who live there it's Riverside Plaza.

Riverside is back in the news and that's a good thing. Check out this FOX 9 report for part of the story:

Now here's the rest of the story. To answer Jeff Passolt's question at the end of the above FOX piece, this January the landlords will be starting a two-year renovation project that will rehab every square foot of living space in Riverside, including new plumbing to address the pipes mentioned in the FOX story. The renovation will preserve Riverside's history while once again making it a comfortable home for the people who live there. Warehouse Media is fortunate enough be the firm chosen to produce the video communications associated with the renovation.

The videos will...

• Communicate important renovation-related messages with all of Riverside's residents in several different languages. (Versions will be translated in multiple languages to serve the community's diverse population)
• Explain why the renovation is happening and what needs to be fixed.
• Talk about the history of a complex that has been part of Minneapolis' skyline since the early 1970's.
• Tell stories about life as a resident in Riverside.

The last point is what excites me the most. Perceptions of the people who inhabit this place aren't always positive. Probably because the people with those misconceptions don't know stories like the one where a child who lives in the complex, whose family makes roughly $10,000 a year, led a massive fundraising effort to gather money and supplies for the earthquake victims in Haiti. Those aren't the stories you'll see on 60 Minutes, but they are the stories we'll be telling on Riverside's soon-to-be-developed YouTube channel.

So stay tuned...

Warehouse Media Expands

While I've talked personally to many of you about this, my career path has taken an unexpected, but (so far) rewarding turn - I am now 100 percent self-employed. Yep, Warehouse Media is no longer just a silly Twitter handle ...it's also the silly name of my company!

In short, I create high-quality video content for organizations to use on their blogs, websites, Facebook pages ...basically, I give you something to show people online. Which is important, because Google loves nothing more than YouTube videos (SEO). For more, check out my short video explanation of Warehouse Media:



So if you know anyone who wants to get noticed using video, please send them my way! Justinwarebco at gmail dot com.

Minneapolis Recycling - Sort it ...sometimes

Recycling is beyond important. The amount of glass, plastic, metal and paper that would otherwise end up in landfills is evident every time you drive through one of Minneapolis' many alleys on that area's recycling collection date. So, it would stand to reason that the city would make recycling as easy as possible for its residents. After all, plenty of other midwestern cities have adopted commingled recycling (where the city does the sorting for you) ...so why not Minneapolis? Well, here's the explanation from the city:

Sorted recycling generates the biggest revenue. Revenue from recycling provides money for:

-Large item pickup
-The voucher program
-Clean City programs
-Ongoing operating costs

If the City of Minneapolis used single-stream recycling (all recycling in one bin, as some areas do), the higher cost of processing these materials would result in lower revenue, and possible cuts in other waste services.

OK, that makes sense. I really do appreciate being able to leave large items out and have the city take them, at no extra cost. Which leaves me with just one question ...if all recycling needs to be sorted by individuals, then where does the trash from the commingled recycling in city parks go? In those blue cans, conveniently placed all over heavily used public areas, we discard all of our recyclable waste all in one intermixed container. Is that recycling sorted by hand? ...or does the city have a machine for that?

This is not a complaint, just an honest question. If anybody knows the answer, please share! Ultimately, I'd like to see recycling made as easy as possible for everyone.