About Me

Born and raised in Michigan - the Great Lakes State.  I love how easy it is to set up a lens at Squidoo.  I get so many ideas for new lenses that I keep a notebook with me so I can jot down my ideas before I forget them.

I have been running businesses on the internet for the past several years and building lenses at Squidoo is the most fun I have had.  It allows me to be creative and share fun topics without the worries of SEO.

 Squidoo is like the line from the movie Field of Dreams which I will paraphrase here, "If you build a quality lens, people will come."

A Lazy Man's Guide to Compost

Making compost that your plants will love is quite easy.  You don't need an expensive bin or a fancy compost tumbler.  All you really need is an enclosure of some kind and the organic ingredients to create black gold.  Black gold is wha...

Tiger Stadium

Bennett Park. Navin Field. Briggs Stadium. The Corner. Tiger Stadium. For over 100 years baseball was played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Here are pictures and stories of the ballpark in each of it's various constructions. Although the fin...

Raised Bed Gardening

I became a raised bed gardener not by choice, but by necessity.  We have a small space that gets adequate sunlight for a garden and tree roots make it impossible to till the ground.  The solution was an easy one.  Build Raised Beds. &nbs...

Camping in Michigan - Tips and Tricks

I love camping and Michigan has many, many great places to camp.  Whether you prefer tents or RVs Michigan has numerous options. You will find the Top 10 Essential Camping Tips, a list of the Best Campgrounds in Michigan, camping equipment, and m...

Indoor Water Park Hotels in Michigan

Michigan is home to six indoor water park hotels with two more set to open later this year (2008). Michigan is a perfect fit for indoor water parks since we have such a brief timeframe for swimming outdoors. I've been to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse...

Bob Ross

Although I never tried to paint, I always loved watching Bob Ross painting his "happy little trees" and creating beautiful landscape paintings.  His show used to be on our local PBS station on Saturdays and I would usually watch it mor...

Michigan State Parks

Michigan has 97 state parks and recreation areas.  This means that when you are in Michigan you are never more than an hour's drive of a state park or recreation area.  Pretty impressive. More than 22 million visitors are welcomed to Michiga...

Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge opened for traffic on November 1, 1957 and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. No matter if it is spelled Mackinac (like the bridge) or Mackinaw (as in Mackinaw City) the 'ac' in Mackinac is pronounced 'aw'. Some folks go a...

Crafts for Kids

Arts and crafts with kids is a great way to spend time with your kids.  Your kids don't even realize that they might even be learning something while they are having fun.  

Michigan Vacation Getaway

Michigan's inland lakes number over 11,000. 36,350 miles of rivers for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. Hundreds of grand resorts with spectacular views of Michigan's beautiful landscapes. Climb one of the giant sand dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes, enj...

The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas was nominated for an Acadamy Award for Visual Effects and was also the first stop-motion feature film to be produced on such a large scale.  What began as some sketches and a poem by co-producer Tim Burton became a...

Why Recycle?

I chose to name this lens "Why Recycle" because it is a question that a lot of folks ask.  Why take the time to recycle old newspapers, tin cans, plastic bottles, etc.?  What do I get out of it?  Well, I hope to answer these q...

Detroit Tigers Baseball

The Detroit Tigers became charter members of the American League in 1901 after spending the first eight years (1881-1888) of their primitive existence in the National League. They dropped out of major league ball in 1889-1900 until their return in 19...

Veggie Tales

VeggieTales are great videos that deliver a message that both kids and adults should hear. VeggieTales started out in 1993 by taking a Bible verse and building a computer animated cartoon around it. Big Idea, Inc., the company that produces VeggieTal...

How to Add Your Squidoo Lenses to Google Base

Just what is Google Base and how can it help drive traffic to your Squidoo Lenses? Google Base is a search function usually used by people looking to purchase an item.  Search results come up with details about the item and a link to a Google Bas...

Best of Michigan - What You Never Knew You Wanted to Know About Michigan

Michigan is a wonderful place to live (despite what the national media might portray) and I want to help get the word out. Some of the things you will find here will include - Michigan Trivia, Michigan Travel Information, Michigan Recipes, and much m...

Ice Cream

Ice cream is one of my favorite treats. I don't think that I would even pigeon-hole ice cream into a "favorite dessert" category as that is simply too limiting. Who says you can only have ice cream for dessert, right?  I have been known...

Pirate Fun

What is it about pirates that bring out the kid in all of us?  From games to movies to costumes it seems like playing at being a pirate is always a good time. You'll find a treasure trove of Pirate Fun here for the whole family! Avast ya bilge rat...

Recycle Ink Cartridges

That is nearly One Million Ink Cartridges per Day! That figure is unacceptable! In order to reduce the number of ink cartridges that end up in the trash we need to recycle them. The good news? Each year approximately 20 million ink cartridges are be...

Hardy Boys

I first began reading The Hardy Boys series when I stumbled on my dad's collection of Hardy Boy books from his childhood.  He had about the first 20 in the series and I read them all multiple times.  The great thing about The Hardy Boys is...

Great Wolf Lodge

My wife and I have stayed at Great Wolf Lodge with our son a few different times. No matter what time of the year it has always been an enjoyable experience and well worth the money. The nice thing about Great Wolf Lodge is that it can be a side trip...

Three Cups of Tea

"Failure is not falling down, it is staying down."  I read that on the sign of a church a while back and it truly applies to Greg Mortenson.  Greg failed to make it to his goal of reaching the summit of K2, the world's second tall...

Napoleon Dynamite

Moon boot wearing, Liger drawing, funky dancing Napoleon Dynamite seems to live in a world all his own.  Explore his small Idaho town with the Quirky Quixote-esque Napoleon as he strives to survive his bizarre home life and help his new friend P...

Really Bad Photography

I was digging through a box of stuff from my childhood while cleaning the basement and came across this batch of photos. I can't remember how old I was when I took these pictures, but I do know that I didn't know what I was doing with a camera. I mea...

Top 10 Michigan Wonders

I love the state I live in!  You can tell by my Squidoo handle, AllThingsMichigan, and the number of Michigan-themed lenses that I have created. We have all heard of the 7 Wonders of the World and I thought that there were at least 10 places or t...

Chernobyl

Homes, toys, money, possessions, and for some - family members were all left behind after April 26, 1986 when the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl melted down and the surrounding areas were evacuated. Imagine being forced from your home by a disaster and...

Ernie Harwell

Born William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell in 1918 down in Washington, Georgia. As a youth Ernie was tongue-tied and through the help of a speach teacher paid for by his cash-strapped folks during the Depression, the sweet southern voice baseball...

Classic Halloween Cartoons

Why feature Classic Halloween Cartoons? I love the old black and white cartoons.  They just set that proper mood with the shadowy darkness inherent to black and white animation. The Disney and Bugs Bunny Halloween themed cartoons are the ones that...

Horror Movies

I really only watch horror movies around Halloween.  It is the only time of the year where I feel like I need a good scare. So, I tried to make a list of some of my favorite Halloween movies.  You can vote on your favorites or add those you...

A Soldier's Silent Night

Originally titled "Merry Christmas, My Friend" and written by Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt in 1987.  The audio recording was done by Father Ted Berndt and his daughter Ellen Stout in one take.  Father Berndt has since passed aw...

The Dangerous Book for Boys

As a boy I lived for the end of the school day and long summer vacations so I could get home and go outside where endless opportunities for adventures and troubles awaited.   I built numerous forts (both from scrap lumber and snow), hideouts, dug...

Creating the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This lens does one thing, but it does it well.  Here you will learn what it takes to create the best chocolate chip cookies. It all starts with the recipe. A poor recipe will create poor tasting chocolate chip cookies. I struggled for years usi...

Nintendo Wii Deals

Nintendo Wii is so popular that right now the most difficult thing about it is finding a Wii Console.  I'll try and help you find a Nintendo Wii at a good price with this lens. The Nintendo Wii is all about having fun no matter what your age.&nbs...

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

Lower your energy bills, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and help the environment just by switching to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.  Those are pretty good accomplishments to make just by replacing a light bulb. According to CFLbulbs.com...

A Christmas Story

I watch A Christmas Story at least once a year around Christmas.  The cult classic has gained status as one of the most loved and watched Christmas movies right up there with It's A Wonderful Life. Who knew this rough-edged film about a boy's lon...

Where to find and how to get free samples

I am a recovering accountant who still sticks to his tightwad accountant ways.  I am always looking for deals and free stuff.  I created this lens to post links to deals and freebies that I find. Enjoy!

Simply Awful Halloween Costumes

For all the wrong reasons.  It was pretty easy to find a collection of photos of really bad Halloween costumes.  The difficult part was knowing when enough was enough and to stop looking at these horrible costumes. I tried not to include awf...

Newsboys

I am a HUGE Newsboys fan! I have seen them in concert about a half-dozen times and they are awesome live! They expanded their pop-style music into the worship music category with great success on their Adoration album and created a legion of new fans...

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash (1932-2003) seems like he is still around. Sure he left us on September 12, 2003, but his music is everywhere so in a sense he lives on. The movie, Walk The Line, was released in 2005 and brought a legion of new fans both young and old t...

The Hobbit Movie

A simple book that begins with "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."  The Hobbit launched the novel The Lord of the Rings and consumed the remainder of author J.R.R. Tolkien's life with his creation of intricate backstory and...

Anatomy of a Murder

Anatomy of a Murder was a novel written by John D. Voelker (under the pen name Robert Traver) that was based on an actual murder and trial where he was the defense attorney.  Mike Chenoweth (Big Bay Lumberjack Tavern bartender and winner of the...

Classic Toys

As a parent, one of my favorite things to do is play with my kids. And the best part about playing with my kids is getting to play with some of the toys that were my favorites when I was their age.   Are kids these days familiar with the simple jo...

Nimrod Nation

The Watersmeet Nimrods take their mascot name from the bible. In Genesis 10:8 it is said that Nimrod was a "mighty warrior [or hunter] on the earth." For those not in the know, hunting is a big deal in Michigan's Upper Peninsula which is where the to...

LEGO Star Wars

Who knew that when LEGO first was licensed to create Star Wars themed play sets that the series would have grown to where it is now? In addition to the numerous sets created using characters and themes from all six films are the hugely successful l...

Stormy Kromer Hats

In 1903 railroad engineer George "Stormy" Kromer had lost one hat too many to the wind while running his locomotive. He had his wife sew ear flaps on one of his old ball caps and the first Stormy Kromer was born. He now had a hat that would keep his...

The Christmas Tree Ship

I first heard of The Christmas Tree Ship a number of years ago.  It's sad demise in a late November gale on the icy waters of Lake Michigan stuck with me. I researched and wrote the following article for a Christmas newsletter for my gift basket...

The Yooper Scooper

A Yooper Scooper is simply a large snow scoop that gets its nickname from the fine folks in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who are commonly known as Yoopers. The Yooper Scooper is manufactured in Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Silver Bear Manufacturing a...

LEGO Indiana Jones

I am positively ecstatic over the new LEGO Indiana Jones sets having already seen the success of the LEGO Star Wars line. Four sets have currently been released with four more scheduled to be released in May 2008. Each set is based on a scene from o...

Thanksgiving Dinner for Dummies and Lazy People

If you came here looking for an easy way to make a classy and complicated Thanksgiving dinner you came to the wrong place (and you ignored the title).  Yep, from the guy who brought you The Lazy Man's Guide To Compost - I give you instructions o...

How to Display RSS Feeds as HTML

Keep your content fresh by converting RSS feeds to HTML on your website.  I use CaRP to display my most recent blog posts on the main page of one of my sites.  It helps build traffic to the blog and the search engines like the fresh content...

You Don't Need to Get Your Joost Invite Here

Joost is possibly the future of internet tv (and quite possibly tv as we know it). I started up this lens to give away invites to the beta program. People  actually were paying for these on eBay and I wanted to offer an alternative. Joost is no...

Bo Schembechler Video Showcase

Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler was the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1969 through 1989.  He was born April 1, 1929 and passed away on a Friday, November 17, 2007. In one of the biggest ironies of sports, Bo Sche...

Michigan Gift Baskets

We fill each one of our gift baskets with numerous products either grown or made here in Michigan.  Our mission at Gift Baskets From Michigan LLC is to place Michigan products in homes across America.  This will help keep Michigan farms and...

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a classic that tops my list of favorite Christmas cartoons.  First of all, I love the Peanuts characters and comic strip that the beloved Charles Schulz created.  They are so easy for both kids and adults to rel...

Organic Products

Organic Products are defined in the USA (according to the Organic Food Production Act of 1990) as "food and products that are at least 95% free of toxic and synthetic materials as described in the USDA National Organic Program."

Yes Virginia, there is a Christmas

One morning back in 2005 I had had it with all of the Happy Holidays and holiday programs and holiday trees.  Fortified with a cup of coffee I wrote the following which was published in the Kalamazoo Gazette in December 2005.

Classic Christmas Commercials

It may sound funny, but a classic Christmas commercial will transport me back in time to my childhood just as quickly as a Christmas Song, Christmas Movie, or Christmas Cartoon would. I watch the old Coca Cola Christmas commecials and "bam!"...

My Favorite Christmas Songs

There is nothing like a favorite old Christmas song to take you back down Nostalgia Avenue.  When you hear the first few notes of an old favorite song you are instantly transported back to a moment in time. Perhaps you are reminded of those halcy...

Top Christmas Gifts

Find out what the top Christmas gifts will be this year so you can get them before they are gone.  This way you can avoid not finding that "perfect" gift. Using a few different sources I hope to spot some trends and compile a useful lis...

Black Friday

What kind of deals drive millions of people to shop on the Friday after Thanksgiving?  What is it that makes folks get up at 4am to shop? Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial beginning of Christmas Shopping (even though C...

Christmas Lights - What You Need For a Great Display

Whether or not you deck your house with thousands of lights you will find everything you need to do the job here.  You'll find deals on Christmas lights, outdoor extension cords, light clips, LED lights and video instructions on making your Chri...

Halloween Music

I scanned the internet and the foggy files in my head for at least 10 decent Halloween songs.  It was harder than I thought.  Only a couple of songs pop in my head when I think Halloween. Monster Mash and Thriller.  Definite classics fo...

Freaks and Geeks

If video killed the radio star, then television executives killed the much beloved 1999 tv show Freaks and Geeks before its time.  NBC continually bumped the show all over the schedule and changed the days and times that it aired until it felt t...

Christmas Cartoons Video Showcase

Remember when you had to actually wait until the last two or three weeks before Christmas to see a Christmas cartoon on television? Shoot, now they start playing them the day after Halloween. This page is a celebration of the classic Christmas cartoo...

March Madness

Here at The March Madness lens you can: Find out who made it in. Did your school get in or were they snubbed? Get tickets to the games! Grab a printable bracket to fill out. Watch highlights from the tournament. Take a brief lesson in the Science of...

The Smurfs

The Smurfs has finally been released on DVD. The Smurfs DVD Season 1 Volume 1 was recently released and it is well worth the wait. 19 cartoons (9 individual episodes) of Papa Smurf, Gargamel, Azrael, and all of the others are here in their uncut glo...

TurboTax Makes Filing Taxes Easy

Death and Taxes.  The two big surefire things in life.  We all have to pay taxes, so why pay someone to prepare them too? TurboTax makes it nearly foolproof for anyone to file their taxes.  They even provide online and phone support if...

Super Bowl Sunday

You can have Groundhog Day, President's Day, and I'll even throw in St. Patrick's Day. Give me Super Bowl Sunday as the next great American Holiday. It's officially THE Unofficial Holiday. It's like Thanksgiving only with better food, football, and b...

Our Gang Video Showcase

Black and White is All Right Kids today might think that black and white movies are not any fun.  I watched these Our Gang (and their later name - The Little Rascals) when I was a kid and this was during the age when anything black and white was...

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is definitely one of those Christmas “Classics” that seems everyone watches each year in one format or another. The Charles Dickens classic has been done as numerous cartoons and live-action movies again and again. Fro...

It's A Wonderful Life

I must confess.  I cry at the ending of this movie every year when I watch it.  The message of prayer, faith, and the un-measurable value of true friends gets me every single time. Upon it's original release the movie wasn't even that big of...

Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader

Kindle is Amazon.com's newest product.  It is an ebook reader on steroids.  At 10.3 ounces Kindle weighs less than the average paperback, but it holds two hundred books! The technology behind the screen has been referred to as "digital...

Michigan Newspapers

I am a news junkie. I like to know what is going on around Michigan and I read the major Michigan newspapers online on a daily basis. I have news feeds from each of the major Michigan newspapers that provide syndicated RSS feeds. From the U.P. on dow...