Mike's Blog

City on the Wolf: Shawano, WI

2008-02-21T17:27:28Z

Interested in information about the City of Shawano? Here is list of sites for government, schools, police, chamber, library, economics and more. Also you will find links to nearby Legend Lake and the Menominee Community. If you have any questions about Shawano or are considering a relocation to our area, please feel free to comment below and I'll promptly answer your request. CITY OF SHAWANO

100 Degree Dichotomy between Two Days in February Brazil/Wisc. (Vanity Post)

2008-02-18T20:30:08Z

Photos from a February 2008 trip to Praia do Flamengo, Salvador Bahia Brazil and the return scene to Wisconsin. It is mid-summer in the southern hemisphere and vacation time for Brazilians. Any worker who has worked one year receives an extra months paycheck in December called month 13. Later they also are entitled by law to a month off with pay. Many Brazilians who can afford to come to Salvador in the northeast, a formal capitol city, from the south cities such as Sao Paulo.

Brazil Brazil Brazil, Just Returned

2008-02-07T17:38:12Z

Forget about Carnaval, forget about the warm, clear days, the dream-like beaches, the 'gente bonitas' (The Beautiful People) and their nation's culture that North Americans and Brazilians themselves can not fully grasp or explain. Forget not being able to 'swing a dead cat by the tail' and not hit a gorgeous woman. Each winter I try to make the trip, if nothing else it is a cure for the seasonally affected. Still the Brazilians may not even notice the changes. Brazil is growing wealthier. I no longer argue whether it is because of their government or despite the government, in Brazil, somehow both could be true. The darker side of this huge country still exists and those origins pre-date the founding of the USA. In case someone reading this wants to somehow feel guilty and think we have had anything to with it, well I can tell you let that idea go. After driving into the interior on BR324, I made an innocent comment about a boy sleeping on the side of the road. The Brazilians looked shocked, perhaps confused, not knowing how to react to what I had just said. As if someone from another country had driven through a 100 miles of Wisconsin State Highway and then had made the comment about the deer he saw 'sleeping' alongside the road. But there is much to be said about the obvious improvements from a country that has a net energy self-sufficiency, a strengthening currency, low debt and no trade surplus.

I'll comment next on the real estate market in Brazil.

The Only Thing between Us and Brazil is 12" of Runway Snow.

2008-01-16T15:34:36Z

With the help of technology, planning and executing a vacation for the 'non-teamed' agent was never easier. Our last winter trip below the equator lasted 3 weeks and I listed a home (back in Wisconsin not in Brazil) while in South America. It was an REO and the contracts were via email, I just needed the agent covering for me to put up a sign and lock box. Other than that, it really did not matter where I was. Brazil along with many other countries historically had poor land-line phone service but they had technologically leap-frogged into new communication systems that put them on par and at times advanced beyond us. Once I returned excited to tell my fellow agents about Skype, as it was in widespread use in South America. I had trouble getting anyone here to use the service. One agent did and he met someone on the service, quit and moved to Asia! What do you think?

Everything (Virtual) is set, communication systems are established, I have access to files so if needed I can take care of business. But a real world, old school snow storm is about to hit Green Bay and is calling the shots right now.

The Upside of Higher Oil Prices

2008-01-14T19:50:16Z

I have never seen so much real world excitement, passion and action from so many people towards solving our energy/environment/economy situation. Years ago after the Arab oil embargo many US businesses were formed to produce alternative energy. Unfortunately OPEC raised their oil quotas and dumped cheap oil on the market which bankrupted most of the fledgling enterprises. Many are fearing history will repeat itself and congress had attempted to prevent this by adding a tax to a barrel of oil so oil would never drop below a certain level and keep us moving forward to energy independence. But there are two other factors in our current situation. The first is the growing markets of China and India where their demand for resources will continue to increase and keep oil high. Next is our concern about our environment. Whether or not we believe global climate change is caused and affected by humans is still debatable but the uncertainty alone gives most everyone reason to take action and begin the change toward the new economy. Cheap oil will not change the momentum. Housing itself will change and we will be a part of the change and we need to lead the change. I am finding people locally who are taking action and it is inspiring.

Solar Panels for a Rehab Project

2008-01-11T11:29:02Z

An alternative to solar panels for hot water in our northern climate may be solar vacuum tubes. These panels of tubes are manufactured in Great Britain, China and other countries* andhave been used in Great Britain with success for many years where the sunlight is limited due to cloud cover.

Last year we looked into going solar with a rehab project but actually had difficulty getting the installer to come and evaluate the site as he was very busy. We let the idea slide as we were very busy and now we are considering the solar vacuum tubes which appear to be less costly and more suited for the northern latitudes.

Has anyone had any experience with solar vacuum tubes?

*The few companies listed as U.S.manufacturers have distribution centers and a few may have R & D sites in the USA, but I could not find any manufacturers that built solar vacuum tubes in our country.

The Next Economy

2008-01-10T12:59:40Z

Just closed on an 11 acre piece of vacant land. I commend the Buyer. He has acquired a windmill permit and now has a contract to sell energy to electric company. He has stated that his plans are to only use a small portion of the land for his future eco-friendly home and seems interested in learning how to restore the soil to a healthy state. Another adjacent parcel recently sold is being transitioned from traditional crops to organic and this new owner of the 11 acres wants to follow suit with the land. Another adjacent neighbor is attempting to establish Black Walnut trees from seed. Those trees will grow tall but should be far enough from the wind-powered generator so as not to interfere with the wind flow. The Black Walnut trees could easily fail, organic farming is costly and labor intense and who can say if the wind turbine will be cost effective in future markets. But these new Buyers are taking action toward a new economy. If I'm seeing this happening in my little corner, I'm inclined to believe its happening thousands of times over throughout the country.

Switching to Switchgrasses

2008-01-08T12:07:10Z

Millions of acres of farmland in the Midwest that have been taken out of production due to marginal soils are going to replanted with Switchgrasses. These soils for a variety of reasons are not productive for corn. Switchgrass is a native grass of the U.S. plains and has been grown in European countries as an alternative energy crop. Mostly it will be planted as a monoculture crop and it has good potential as an alternative to corn for ethanol production. Environmentally it may be better for our environment's biodiversity although Switchgrass naturally grows with 60-80 other plants. So there will still be debates on whether or not Switchgrass should be grown as a monoculture. For the most part this crop should be a viable though temporary energy crop to help with the transition from imported energy to less polluting domestic supplies of energy. I said temporary because I believe a long term change will go beyond the burning of food supplies.

Recent Activity update on the Wolf River

2007-12-27T14:16:03Z

It is probably not well known or at least forgotten that under a large expanse of Northern Wisconsin lies one of the world's largest mineral deposits. When Exxon Corporation attempted to open a mine near the Wolf River by Crandon, the project was met with a lot of opposition and the Wolf River became known as one of the most endangered wild rivers in the United States. Exxon gave up the pursuit and sold their land to the Potawatomi Tribe.

The Wolf River runs through Shawano. One day I and a friend got the idea to float this river from Shawano to Oshkosh and left one rainy morning with fishing gear but little food and rowed for 7 days before arriving in Oshkosh. The next week we attempted the northern half of the river, putting in at Post Lake and arrived 2 days later in Lily fairly beat up and exhausted. The northern half was the section they were obviously referring to as wild.

Recently the City of Shawano along with the efforts of local organizations, acquired and cleaned up an old lime kiln plant along the Wolf. They planted trees, preserved the shoreline and within view of the water laid out a few residential parcels. South into Belle Plaine Township a parcel of approximately 120 acres of Wolf River frontage was auctioned at an estate sale. As a lover of this river, I hated to see it chopped up and residentualised. The auction was well attended and the land was sold to one Buyer, the Wisconsin Department of Resources with funds from the Stewardship Program. This year the finding was raised form $60,000,000 to $80,000,000. so the DNR will be actively seeking to preserve other sections of the Wolf River.

Here is a photo of the old lime kiln site in Shawano, not an unpleasant sight even in the dead of winter

Preliminary 2007 Sale Figure Shawano Area

2007-12-27T09:38:15Z

It appears Shawano County is down only about 5% in total sales dollars compared to 2006. Due to the typical lag of reporting December sales, the conclusion more than likely will have to be adjusted in early 2008. The number of units sold is down about 15% but since the average price of a home went up about 8%, 2007's sale volume in dollars has not decreased significantly. Days on the market did increase by more than 25% to 154 days.

Century 21, REMAX and Christmas In China

2007-12-26T12:13:47Z

Recently I was going to write a story about Century 21's presences in China and about Remax's endeavors to became established but then I received this from a friend who resides in Shawano who is now working in China and thought it was quite interesting.

Christmas in China:

I was told that not long ago, about 4 years ago you would not have seen this. It has been that recent that the Chinese have started to celebrate the Christmas Festival (they call it this). I was told by many that as their living standards change, economics change and so one that they saw most of the world would celebrate Christmas that they wanted to be part of the rest of the world and started to celebrate it also. Most of the decorations are in stores, restaurants, etc and this has been growing very fast. People also decorate their apartments (they do not have single family residences like in the US) decorate with a tree and some other decorations but you do not see this as much as the businesses. They very much enjoy this festival about giving gifts and decorating and this will continue to grow. I have been very fortunate to have been able to share with many of my students what Christmas is really about but explaining it to them why Jesus was born and all the things involved with that. I had a unusual time on Sunday afternoon when I went to this little school I teach at for 1 hour and they asked me to talk about Christmas, God, Jesus, what we do in the US to celebrate Christmas and so I explained all about God, Jesus, 3 wise men, what we do on Christmas eve and day, what we eat, kids opening gifts, and playing in the snow (if you had any). They all were very interested in this. I do not consider myself much of a disciple of going out and talking about Jesus and within the last 2 weeks of my life I have had that opportunity to do it more than all of my entire life. I wanted to share my Christmas in China will my family and friends so I have put a picture in this email and also an attachment or two. You may get another email with more pictures so I hope that you enjoy this event that takes place half way around the world from you. I will be sending the pictures in perhaps 4 emails to you so please look for them all. I have had many students text message me to wish me a Merry Christmas for they know that this night is special for Christian people. The weather here has been very nice with temperatures between 25° F (-4° C) to 48° F (9° C) usually it is sunny but sometimes it is very breezy. They do not get much if any snow (good thing they do not have any way to clean it up!). One last mention, I have gotten a part-time job. I am the Regional Executive Training Director of International Cruise Line HR China Dalian Branch Office. Besides teaching at the University I have private tutoring lessons and also a training program for a corporation that I do. Next term at the university besides teaching my business course, I will be teaching courses in International Marketing and Accounting. Time has went fast for me and now I only have 6 months to go before I must decide if I wish to stay in China another year teaching, work full time, or open a business of which I have been working on. I have told my students and friends here that one day when I leave and go back to the US I will miss them very much because I have a life style here with many friends. I told them that one day I will wake up one morning in the US and think that my whole time in China was just a dream! Gale Kruger Note: If you would like to email Gale a question or comment about China, his email is kruger@frontiernet.net