A Jacksonville woman thinks she saw an UFO.

I think it was the Mitt Mobile.

I’m undecided.

I have no clue who I am go to vote for in the Florida primary. Thankfully, I am a republican so at least my vote will count, once I make my decision.

Anyway, because I am undecided, I’m trying to look a little deeper than the surface issues because, frankly, what I’m finding in the national media isn’t making any of these guys all that appealing. I’ve started poking through the Jacksonville Activote site. Cool stuff, good for trying to dig in and make some sense of it all.

But here in Florida, it is likely that the Property Tax Amendment will be bringing as many voters to the polls as the primaries. It’s been hotly debated, with lots of information and misinformation on both sides. To give you a sense of how close this Amendment’s vote will be, today’s poll at the Jacksonville Activote site is asking if you support the amendment. Completely unscientific, of course, but I was shocked to see that with over 400 votes cast, there was a 2-vote difference:

Check it out, maybe go over and cast your own vote.

The TU reports there were no indictments from the Grand Jury investigation of the Jacksonville City Council for Sunshine Law violations.

Really? Not one?

The TU also made a database available of meetings between two or more city council members for the period of June 1, 2005 and December 1, 2006, and made a widget available to little old bloggers like myself. So, one point for the TU one the subject of embracing the internet. You’re now even for the point you lost yesterday by not just saying, “Yeah, um, there were no indictments.”   

Guess we have to wait for the Florida Times-Union to report tomorrow on the Grand Jury’s presentment involving Sunshine Law violations by Jacksonville City Council members.

Way to embrace the internet age, FTU.

It’s probably all much ado about nothing. After all, the city council passed an ordinance last spring that will ensure council members will comply with the Sunshine Law.

Whew. Good thing. Because we all know the law doesn’t apply to city council members unless they say “ok, we’ll comply”.

My daughter thinks so.

What does she know, she’s six years old.

I really need to spend more time with my kids.

There is a story locally about 4 young girls who willingly donated their tickets to the Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus concert in Jacksonville at the end of January, to be used in a raffle fundraiser for another girl. She has a rare condition that affects her eyesight, and needs to travel to China for an experimental treatment.

From the homepage of blessherwithsight.com:

Rylee Lovett is a beautiful, happy six year old girl living in Saint Augustine, Florida with a rare congenital condition known as Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH). This rare condition, of unknown causes has left her with less than ten percent of her optic nerve. Her endocrine system was also affected, leaving her with a daily regimen of medication and injections. Since diagnosis at four months of age doctors have said that nothing can be done. She would be blind with no hope of recovery.

Until recently there was no hope of Rylee growing up to see the world in the way everyone else does. Recently, doctors in China began using the blood discarded after the birth of a child to restore sight in children like Rylee. This innovative transplant of stem cells, collected through the umbilical cord of afterbirth, has given other ONH children the ability to see. It has even given one little girl the ability to recognize her mother’s face when previously she could not even see light.

Please help to bless Rylee this holiday season with this same gift of sight. She wants to see her favorite television show DragonTales, to take gymnastics with her little sister, and above all to see the faces of her loved ones. Please help us meet our goal of $60,000 and send Rylee to China to give her the chance to see. With your help this beautiful child can be lucky enough to get the priceless gift of sight this holiday season.

Please head over to the site to buy your raffle tickets through paypal, or to just make a donation.

Cross-posted at floridasundog.com

So, I was trying to handicap the Pats - Jags game for some theoretical wagers with monopoly money. I was thinking that the lines were giving the Jags too much credit (sorry, I’m a fan too, but come on…) at +13. They’re just too weak in the secondary, and Brady is too dominant. Take Moss out of the picture with 2 guys, but who covers Welker?

But, I’m not as strong an anlyst as a couple of my brothers when it comes to handicapping the games. I asked for input, and here’s what I received:

I think the pat’s are gonna win by over 21 points. Here’s why:

• Belichick’s playoff record in New England: 14-2
• Brady’s playoff record at home: 6-0
• Belichick’s record against Jack Del Rio: 3-0
• New England’s lifetime record against Jacksonville: 7-1
• New England’s 2007 regular-season record: 16-0
• Number of ‘07 Patriots wins by 14-plus points: 11
• Record of ‘07 Jags after falling behind by more than seven points: 0-4

The difference in the game is going to be Wes Welker. Jax has no one to cover him, no one! Get as many points as possible, but probably not going to be enough, I’d take N.E. at plus 18 if I had to, it’s gonna’ be viscious.

How sick is it that I have to talk about my favorite team in the Divisional Playoffs not in terms of winning or losing, but just how badly their going to lose?

Nicely done by little bro’, wouldn’t you say?

Last month, the powers that be at Rock 105 in Jacksonville saw fit to fire Mark, Genny, and Dahmer just weeks before Christmas, to make room for Bubba the Love Sponge.

Merry Christmas.

Now, I wasn’t a huge fan of MGD mostly because their idea of entertainment was to have stupid contests every. single. day. But, is a guy whose major claim-to-fame is that he broadcast the castration of a hog going to be a step up?

It wasn’t a gimme.

The Jaguars didn’t cover the spread.

They won, but it was a helluva game.

Sports fans in Jacksonville have gone beyond being all atwitter over the Jaguars and their playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming dangerously close to making the classic mistake of looking ahead.

Stop that!

On paper, the Jaguars right now are the superior team. But the game isn’t played on paper. This game will be played against a proud team and a proud franchise with something to prove. Roethlisberger exposed the Jaguars defensive secondary in their last game, and the Jags had to come up with a late-game drive to get the win. Inconsistency in the form of big-play breakdowns has been a challenge this season, and it isn’t going to get any better against one of the top QBs in the league.

Yes, I think the Jags will win the game, but it isn’t going to be the gimme everyone is expecting. I believe Coach Del Rio will have the team focused on the Steelers, despite the fans being focused on New England.

But, it’s going to be tight. Vegas started out with the Jags as underdogs and the spread at +1.5, and it has since moved to make the Jags the favorite at -2.5. Not exactly overwhelming.

Of course, these are the same guys that had UF an 11-point favorite over Michigan, so what do they know?