My kids and I stopped by Columbia Grounds this morning and were pleasantly surprised to learn that live blues music was on offer. The kids sat entranced as they watched the band play, then we went out and wandered the gardens. In the gardens, we enjoyed looking at the landscaping and ironworks.

Columbia Grounds is a unique place: coffee shop, deli, garden center, art gallery, and gathering place. Because neighborhood coffee shops don’t have a corporate master that demands compliance with specific image guidelines, they can develop their own flavor. I have no objection to the corporate chains, especially when I need an emergency caffeine infusion, but I do prefer the local shop. Do you have a favorite local coffee shop that we should all know about? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Art Attack is an open studio and gallery crawl through the sprawling Northrup King Building. Smaller than Art-A-Whirl, but bigger than First Thursdays, Art Attack is a great chance to discover some great art. You can find beautiful and amazing paintings, sculptures, clothing, furniture, rugs, and musical instruments all in one building. Think of it as an opportunity to buy some art as a gift for a friend or to spruce up your home before the holiday parties. Even if you don’t plan to buy anything, it’s worth a visit to see what can be done — it’s amazing.

Art Attack runs just over the weekend — starting Friday, November 2 and ending on Sunday, November 4 — so don’t miss out!

I’m unwilling to spend the money on cable service (I mostly like to watch DVDs), so I’ve made do with a cheap, rabbit ear-style antenna. With my old, analog TV, this antenna was good enough to get a snowy or ghostly image on four channels if I really felt the need to tune into broadcast TV. With digital, it’s a whole different matter. It’s really all or nothing — you get the channel or you don’t — and I’m shocked to discover that with my same old antenna, I now get 14 channels. That means I now get nearly perfect reception of almost all of the local digital channels without spending a nickel on cable.

Going digital hasn’t been entirely good, though. The novelty of static-free TV has been alluring: I’ve watched more TV in the last couple days than I did in the previous couple months. I’ll have to see if I can get that under control.

• Playing on the hay mountain (kids only). (free)
• Feeding and petting the goats. (free)
• Pony rides, which we didn’t do because the line was too long. ($4)
• Orchard tour, towed behind a tractor. This saved us a walk that would seem long to my 4-year-old and got us right into the orchards with ripe apples. ($1)
• Exploring the orchards on foot, and picking apples. We agreed that apples fresh from the tree taste better than store bought apples. ($1.50 per pound for apples)
• The huge corn maze covering 5 acres, which we didn’t do because I feared that the kids would get tired of it part way through. ($4)
• The Apple Cannon. A compressed air gun that fires apples out into a field. The kids wanted to do it, but the line was long and the payoff seemed limited, so we moved on. ($1)
• The Cow Train ride. 10 55-gallon barrels decorated to look like cows, mounted on wheels and towed behind an ATV. My boys (6 & 4) were instantly entranced and enjoyed their ride. ($1.50)

Do you have a favorite orchard suitable for family time?

PS. I’m sorry about the lame title. I couldn’t help myself.

1. Arrive early. The gates open at 9 am. Try to be there by 8:30. You get to park close to the gates, watch the pre-Festival entertainment, and avoid a lot of the crowds.
2. Dress appropriately. This being the Fall, the morning weather can be chilly and the afternoon weather toasty. You should dress warm enough to be comfy in the morning. When you start to get too warm, get your hand stamped as you go out and make changes in your wardrobe (shed layers, switch into shorts, etc.) at your car. This assumes that you’ve got the extra clothes in your car, just in case you need them. Keep this plan in mind even if it’s going to be rainy. A pair of dry socks can be a blessing. Because you got there early and were able to park near the gates, the walk to and from your car is quick.
3. Catch some shows. They are entertaining, but they are also a chance to rest. Wander for a while, but then sit down and relax. It will allow you to more fully enjoy the Festival.
4. Check out the artisans. Some of the glasswork, jewelry, and painting (just to name a few) is out of this world. Take your time and look around! You’re not obliged to buy anything.
5. Use the privies before you leave the Festival. Yes, there are privies in the parking lot, but they are fairly far from the gates and are full of people who failed to plan ahead.

What are your tips for the Renaissance Festival?

I find it interesting, though, that right next to the statistics on foreclosures is the dancing guy selling cheap mortgages.

Caveat emptor, I guess.

• The inventory of homes for sale increased by 11.4%
• The number of homes sold the previous year declined by 14.6%

This means that many more homes are sitting on the market, waiting for buyers. The report observes “Massive inventory growth is taking place in the lowest price ranges, possibly due to the role of subprime foreclosures.”

In other words: Yes, the housing crisis is coming to the Twin Cities.

Read on for some of my thoughts on what should and should not be done about this.

I’m hearing reports in the news about possible bailouts at the Federal level. A bad bailout model would be direct payments or subsidies of mortgages. This would reward poor decisions and behaviors at the expense of the public treasury. If the politicians feel they must meddle, I hope they will keep the following principles:

1. The lending institutions that made these loans should feel a bite from the bad loans.
2. The homeowners who signed up for loans that they cannot repay, should feel a bite from being unable to repay their debts.
3. The goal of any bailout should be to prevent a catastrophic surge of foreclosures, not to save lenders from going out of business.

Here’s an idea for a bailout that might help consumers and the mortgage industry without costing the treasury a fortune. Instead of foreclosing on a home and then trying to sell it on the open market, allow the lender to immediately sell the property to the government for 75% of the remaining mortgage amount. This allows the lender to get some value from a bad loan immediately, instead of waiting months for the house to sell on the open market. At the same time, the lender is taking a hit for the bad loan.

The government then backs a new 30 year conventional mortgage to the homeowner for the total amount that they owed to the lender, but at the current market rate for a 30 year conventional mortgage to a person with good credit. This transaction should be reported to the credit agencies as part of the bailout. Much of the sub-prime mess is due to adjustable rate mortgages suddenly getting too expensive for homeowners when the rate adjusts. This keeps the homeowner in their home and puts them on a stable, reasonable-rate mortgage, but it holds them responsible for the amount of money they actually borrowed. This is essentially a no-cost refinance package for sub-prime borrowers who are in over their heads due to high interest rates.

That difference between the 75% of the mortgage amount paid to the lender and the total amount being repaid by the homeowners is used to cover the costs of running the program and the eventual defaults.

Some people will object to this because it doesn’t relieve the borrowers of their debts. That’s a feature, not a bug. They knew they were going to have to repay that money when they took the loan. That’s what a loan is and they don’t lose their house. Compare that to a foreclosure.

Others will object that it might hurt the mortgage companies, who are surrendering 25% of the outstanding loan principal. This is true, but they get the money quickly instead of waiting for months. Compare that to a foreclosure.

Finally, some will complain that this isn’t fair to those who are making their payments on time, even though their rate is high. Agreed. All bailout schemes turn into rewards for those who made bad decisions at the expense of those who did not.

It’s not terrible or even bad. It’s worse than that: it’s acceptable. Service is fine and professional. The food is usually OK, though I’ve never had a sublime experience there. The facilities are fine. In short, everything about Green Mill is totally unremarkable. Please enlighten me. What am I missing here?

Or maybe I’ve been misunderstanding and there is no “Green Mill is good!” reputation after all?

The exhibition features nearly 30 works by Picasso as well as a wide-ranging display of works by nine American artists: Max Weber, Stuart Davis, Arshile Gorky, John Graham, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, David Smith, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns. Each will be represented by approximately 10 artworks spanning their careers.

Go get your art on!