Steven Helmer Publications

Or, at very least, may have to consider a good pair of hip waders as it sounds like the Labor Day weekend will be filled with even more rain. To be fair, we haven't had as much and aren't expecting as much as other parts of the state. However, I went for a walk this morning (no camera because I didn't want it to get wet) and the trail I normally walk on, which is wide enough for cars, was still almost completely submerged in Beaver Dam Lake despite having a couple dry days. Another heavy rain and I'll have to find a new place to take my morning walk for a while. Fortunately, it sounds like the rain will hold off until at least later tonight. That should give me an opportunity to get my lawn mowed before it's too wet to do so.

Now that the backup quarterback situation (at least on paper) has been settled with Brett Hundley being traded to the Seattle Seahawks, I am going to attempt to predict what the Green Bay Packers final roster will look like after they make their cuts following their final preseason game tomorrow night. Please note, I am just listing the players at random. I am making no attempt to predict the opening day depth chart. I am also not going to attempt to predict what this roster will look like after week 1. Quarterbacks - Aaron Rodgers Deshone Kizer Tim Boyle Running Backs - Aaron Jones Jamal Williams Ty Montgomery Bronson Hill Fullbacks Aaron Ripkowski Tight ends Jimmy Graham Marcedes Lewis Robert Tonyan Lance Kendricks Wide Receivers Randall Cobb Davante Adams Geronimo Allison Trevor Davis Jake Kumerow Marques Valdes-Scantling J'mon Moore Equanimeous St. Brown Offensive Line David Bakhtiari Lane Taylor Corey Linsley Justin McCray Bryan Bulaga K...

According to media reports , the Green Bay Packers are moving on from Brett Hundley and have traded him to the Seattle Seahawks. While I'm not a huge Hundley fan, I am a bit mixed about this trade. Hundley obviously didn't look too hot playing in relief of Aaron Rodgers last season. But, to be fair, he did win just enough games to keep them in the playoff hunt until Rodgers returned. I also thought Hundley outplayed Deshone Kizer, in preseason so far. Statistically, they were about the same. But, Hundley was typically playing against more starters and looked lot more poised in the pocket. Not to mention, Kizer is winless as a starter. Sure, he played for the Cleveland Browns. But, it's really hard to go winless in the NFL. It's only happened five times since 1944. So the fact he is one of the quarterbacks who belongs to that small group doesn't exactly make me feel confident about him being our guy if he's asked to win a game or two (or four). To ...

We had some pretty nasty weather go through the area yesterday, heavy storms and even some tornadoes. As a result of this, we had a small lake in our back yard yesterday evening. But, today, I'm feeling thankful because that was pretty much the worst of it for us. The worst part of the storm went north of us and caused quite a bit of damage to some communities about 20 minutes away. So, as I keep them in my prayers, I'm glad we came out of all of this a bit wet but mostly unscathed.

Overall, I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to ghost stories and, whenever I hear the word "haunted," I can't help but think there's some other explanation. That being said, there are times when I do wonder if my own house has a spirit living in it. This includes thinking (on multiple occasions) someone walked into the kitchen and turning my head to see nobody was there, something that has happened to my wife and I simultaneously, I might add. We also used to hear doors shutting and three of us have heard what sounded like a baby crying. This latest incident, however, was definitely one of the stranger ones. My wife and I were watching TV a few nights ago when our printer (located in the corner of our living room) suddenly turned on and started printing something. She was on her phone at the time but had not done anything (that she's aware of) that would cause her to print off of it. She even checked her history to make sure of that. I didn't have any ...

She used to take classes like her sister but decided to try dance and, once she joined the dance team, it got to be too hard for her to do both. This was especially true on Wednesday night classes, when she would be at the dance studio for two hours then the ice rink. As a result, she stuck it out for a few extra weeks (through the ice show) and has taken the last year or so off. However, her dance schedule recently changed and she now has Monday nights free. So, since skating classes are on Mondays, she decided to give it a try again and had her first class last night. I was a little concerned, with so much time off, she would be very rusty and need a major refresher. But, as it turns out, she picked up right where she left off. I was volunteering behind the concession counter and didn't get to see her skate. However, she came off the ice with a big smile on her face and said she even managed to do crossovers, a move that stumped her the last time she took lessons. I'm o...

The cats (as always) were hungry in the middle of the night so, rather than let them be pests, I got up to feed them. As I was standing in the kitchen, I noticed a lump on the floor by my foot. I ended up examining it closely and it took me a few seconds to figure out I was looking at my big toe. Guess I was more tired last night than I thought.

The park was still kind of wet from all the rain we had earlier this week so I had to be a bit careful and avoid some paths while out walking (mostly because I forgot my hiking boots). I still managed to get a few photos while I was out, however. Some of them are posted below.

Of course, my first reaction (jokingly) was "why do I need to go to the orientation, I already graduated high school." But, I must admit, the informational meeting was pretty informative and I did come out feeling a lot more confident about my oldest daughter starting her freshman year next month. The thing I found I liked best about their setup is how they have a class period that is set aside to either "enhance" or "intervene." In other words, if a student is doing good in all of his/her classes, they can participate in an additional activity but, if they are struggling in a class, that period is used for extra time with the teacher. This was something my daughter actually needed last year, when she was struggling in algebra. She knew she needed help but her teacher never seemed to be available to help her. I'm glad, at least at the high school level, they are recognizing this is a need. I'm still not a big fan of the fact they allow studen...

Synopsis: Radio show host Wally "The Fox" Benton is famous for his ability to think up clever fictional murder scenarios (which he then solves in his show). This talent attracts the attention of a group of scam artist cult leaders who kidnap Benton, his fiancee and his sponsor's daughter in an effort to force him to help them get away with a real murder. Who's in it? The movie stars Red Skelton , Ann Rutherford , Virginia Grey , Conrad Veidt and Rags Ragland. Review:  I watch a lot of classic films. So, I was surprised when I realized I have not watched many Red Skelton movies. So, when I came across this film on one of my movie channels a couple weeks ago, I decided to record it. I finally had a chance to watch it yesterday (starting it at lunch and finishing it before going to bed) and, after seeing it, I do have to say I enjoyed it. I think the thing I liked about this film is, even though Skelton's Wally Benton character managed to keep it upbeat...

Synopsis: A competitive gamer, Max Davis, has everything he could ask for in his equally competitive wife Annie, who makes a perfect partner during their regularly-held game night with friends. But, when he continually fails to get Annie pregnant, she believes it is from the feelings of inadequacy caused by his successful older brother, Brooks. When Brooks comes to visit, he hijacks game night, hires a company to run an interactive murder mystery and, later in the evening, is kidnapped. There's just one problem, the kidnapping is not part of the game. Who's in it? The movie stars Jason Bateman , Rachel McAdams , Kyle Chandler , Kylie Bunbury and Jesse Plemons . Review: I wound up getting this film on DVD through Netflix because, from the description at least, I thought it sounded a lot like the movie Date Night and, since my wife and I both loved that film, I figured it would be worth taking the time to watch. As it turns out, this wound up being an OK film with ...

Synopsis: Drifter Frank Chambers accepts a job at a rural diner and falls in love with the owner's beautiful and ambitious wife, Cora. Cora feels the same about him but has worked too hard to make the diner successful and leaving her husband, Nick, would mean starting over from scratch. The only way for them to be together is to murder Nick. But, to get away with that, they have to fool a very capable district attorney. Who's in it? The movie stars Lana Turner , John Garfield , Cecil Kellaway , Hume Cronyn and Leon Ames. Review: I came across this film on one of our movie channels a couple weeks ago and, mostly because it's a movie I had always wanted to watch, decided to record it for a rainy day. My original intention was to watch it by myself (probably early in the morning, when everyone was still asleep). However, my wife and I were unimpressed with a movie we attempted to watch on Netflix and, since we didn't have a contingency plan, I decided to watch...

So, I made a small mistake today. I wasn't planning on going for a walk at lunch because it looked like it would rain. However, the sun came out and I decided to go after all. Since the walk wasn't in my original plan, I didn't bother charging my camera battery. But, I thought there would be enough juice left in it so I didn't worry too much about it. As it turns out, the battery was lower than I thought it was and, as a result of that, I ended up missing a couple photos because I had to turn it off to preserve what battery life it had left. Despite that, I did manage to get a few photos today. Here are some of them:

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this series when I came across it last week. The description sounded interesting and my wife and I are familiar with Debby Ryan from the show Jessie and Dallas Roberts from his guest stint on Law & Order: SVU . So, since none of our favorite series have any new episodes, we decided to give it a try. Overall, I have to say my opinion of it is a bit mixed. I'm choosing to skip over the more controversial aspects of this show, including the criticism it has received for fat shaming. But, even with doing that, I do see quite a few problems with this series. First, I'll start with the good. Ryan is actually pretty fun to watch in her role as Patty, an overweight teenager who got into a fight with a homeless man, got her jaw broken, lost weight and decided to get revenge on those who bullied her by becoming a beauty pageant contestant. She manages to be quirky but, when the scene calls for it, can come off as psychotic as ...

It is a bit muggy out again today so I didn't take too long of a walk at lunch (mostly because I didn't want to go back to the office all sweaty). I did, however, get out for a little while and managed to get a few photos. Here's some of them:

I believe this is called a downy woodpecker. I saw it hopping around in one of the trees in front of my house yesterday evening.

Synopsis: Hercule Poirot dreads going to the dentist but bravely sits through his appointment with Dr. Henry Morley before vowing not to return for another 6 months. When Morley is found dead of a gunshot wound a couple hours later, Chief Inspector Japp is quick to rule it a suicide. And, when one of Morley's other patients dies of an apparent anesthetic overdose, it only strengthens that theory. Poirot, however, isn't convinced. And, when a second dentist patient, Mabelle Sainsbury Seale, disappears, he is convinced the death is a homicide and is possibly part of a larger conspiracy against prominent banker Alistair Blunt. Review: Our local library didn't carry this Agatha Christie book and I wound up getting it on Kindle instead. Since I had to pay for it, I was somewhat concerned I wouldn't like it. But, as it turns out, it was a pretty decent mystery. One of my biggest concerns about this book, when I started reading it, was it was going to go down a path ...

Synopsis: A few months after helping Cora Tannetti (Jessica Biel), Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) is called back to his former hometown to investigate the murder of a man and woman that was apparently carried out by a 13-year-old boy named Julian (Elisha Henig) My Thoughts: 1. When I first heard there was going to be another season of this show, I was curious how they planned to carry it out. My first thought was they were going to essentially reboot it, with the same actors playing different roles (similar to American Horror Story). I was pleased to discover it is, in fact, a sequel to the first season with the same detective but, at the same time, is still its own story all together. 2. I must admit, while I figured Julian would kill the people he was traveling with (which may or may not be his parents), I really wasn't expecting his method. I figured he would wind up stabbing them or something. The poison angle took me by surprise. 3. I kind of wish the show would hav...

The Beaver Dam Family Center (the ice rink my daughters skate out of) is having its annual Skaters Unlimited Banquet fundraiser in November and, after a little arm twisting, I agreed to help organize it. Right now, that job mostly consists of reaching out to area businesses in an effort to get cash donations and in-kind donations for the silent auction and raffles we plan on having. But, I'm also throwing in my personal touch as well. One of the things we are going to have this year (courtesy of me) is a "prize pong" table. Similar to beer pong only, if you get the ball in the cup, you win a small prize. I think that will be very popular and will give us a way to give away the smaller gift items (small gift cards, etc) and make more money than we would if they were part of the traditional raffle. I am also pushing for dessert to either be served with dinner this year (something that used to be the case but disappeared a few years ago because of budget issues) or be ...

My life is sometimes dark and dreary. With so much pressure on me, I feel like I'm coming down sick with the flu. My chest is tight, my stomach aches and I can barely breathe. So, I'm left standing and wondering what it is I'm supposed to do. That's when I start searching for my compass. For I know He is there, somewhere, waiting to guide my way. And, I know when I find my compass. He will make sure everything is OK. Image courtesy of Pixabay There are days when I'm filled with hatred. It just seems as though everyone is getting on my nerves. It feels as though something bad is just going to end up happening as a result. And, yet, I keep moving toward it, not willing to swerve. That's when I take a deep breath and start searching for my compass. For I know He will point out the right way. His soothing words will teach me forgiveness. And, from my anger, I will sway. Image courtesy of Pixabay There always seems t...

My wife had a photo shoot with a photographer at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI yesterday afternoon. So, while she was doing that, I took my own camera and explored the park. Here are some of the photos I took.

I come across an article telling me the CDC actually has to tell people t hey shouldn't wash/re-use condoms. The fact I'm bothered by this has nothing to do with the fact people are doing it. After all, it's not like sex education is available everywhere. Plus, condoms might be too expensive for some people so, if anything, I'm going to applaud them for at least attempting to have safe sex. What I'm worried about is, now that this is public knowledge, I'm sure there is somebody who is going to try to make money from this. I fully expect to turn on my TV one Saturday morning and discover an infomercial for the world's first reusable condom. All you have to do is throw it in your dishwasher when you're done. And, yep, that does make my skin crawl a bit.