Garbage man's exquisite heart


It's winter in Glen Loyd' video, but the little girl isn't wearing shoes. Her feet are skuffed where shoes should be.

Hibernation, early film by Star Wars craftsman


Last week Glen Loyd told us about Thomas G. Smith who learned how to make movies filming farmers here in Southern Wisconsin and went on to work with Steven Spielbeg and George Lucas on films such as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Poltergeist. Glen has another early movie by Thomas G. Smith. For more information on Thomas G. Smith go tohttp://www.afana.org/smitht.htm

Dec 12, 2015

The film that ties 'Star Wars' to Wisconsin and shows 4-H farmers from 1960s


Thomas G Smith was a special effects coordinator under Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on films such as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Poltergeist . He was also General Manager of the George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic studio. This week, Glen Loyd has an early film made by Smith for Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Films about a Southern Wisconsin Farm family.

7 Automotive Turkeys: The Least Satisfying New Cars

Consumer Reports
SUV: Jeep Compass*/Jeep Patriot
Definitely would buy again: 46 percent

My weekly video for the Janesville Gazette


Glen Loyd introduces us to a charming cow known as a Highlander and shows how horses can be protected during huting season.

My weekly Janesville, WI Gazette video


The eagles in this video were photographed by Darin Pfaff at Lake Mills, WI. He was fishing a weed bed full of blue gill and perch. "The eagles found me there one Saturday and moved in," says Pfaff. "I had fish for breakfast only one weekend because the birds wiped out the weed bed in short order."

My weekly Janesville Gazette video


Neil Rettig of Prarie du Chien, WI is a world-renowned, 6-time Emmy award winning cinematographer who works with National Geographic, the BBc, PBS and IMax. Neil tells our Glen Loyd why he and his wife, Laura, picked Wisconsin for their home base

Oct 11, 2015

300,536 Views for Glen Loyd's videos

Thanks to everyone who watches my weekly Janesville, WI Gazette videos on You Tube. I've just reached a total of 300,536 views. I will have close to 80,000 views this year alone, a gain of 10,000 over 2014. Some of my individual videos have had 45,000 views.

National Geographic Photographer Neil Rettig and his pets


Neil Rettig of Prairie du Chien is a world-renown, 6-time Emmy award winning cinematographer who works with National Geographic, the BBC, PBS, and I Max.
From the Wisconsin cliffs of the Mississippi River, Neil filmed the American Eagle for the PBS Nature series and has also documented rare forest eagles--the Harpy eagle of Central and South America and the Philippine eagle.
He also trained snow geese to fly by the Statue of Liberty with Go Pro cameras for the BBC's First Flight programs 
Glen Loyd continues his conversations with Neil Rettig at his home near the Mississippi.

Oct 4, 2015

Darkening Disappearing Moon


Genesis1:16  And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night...

There is nothing like an eclipse of the moon to get scientists revved up with explanations. But man and his mathematicians don't know everything about the universe. Despite finding water on Mars, NASA sa.ys it still doesn't know if life exists beyond earth. And Wikipedia says the size of the universe is unknown and may be infinite. When I was filming the eclipse this week, it was hard not to sense something Biblical about it

Memory Supplements Spiked With Vinpocetine

Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports chief medical adviser Marvin M. Lipman, M.D. says, "All dietary supplements should be viewed with great caution and used at one’s own risk."

Dangerous bird with dagger beak


Striking quickly with their sharp bills, these pterodacytyl-like monsters have no natural predators and can even cause serious injury to humans. Great blue heron chicks are often aggressive toward each other and some are pushed out of the nest.--Seattle Audubon Society.

Sep 21, 2015

Be careful of hotel room real estate seminars!

In the past, there have been Wisconsin consumers sorry they attended get-rich-quick real estate seminars in hotels. Two things to keep in mind: out-of-town businesses that operate in hotels eventually leave town.  And if real estate deals are so profitable  why aren't these experts taking their own advice rather than trying to sell it to you?

Oh deer!


Sometimes you see a lot of deer along the Rock River in Janesville. If you are very lucky, you will see them swimming. If you have hostas, they will visit your backyard and leave you with nubs. Or deer may suddenly appear at your backyard cook out, and then gallop off. I've seen groups of them come up from the river at the western edge of Lustig park, jump the fence at the Wisconsin School for the Blind and then race around residential areas in the middle of the street. The ones you will see in this video were filmed at Lustig before they jumped the fence.

Sep 13, 2015

Desert so hostile that man has yet to set foot on it


The beautiful Sand Barrens of the Lower Wisconsin River with its cactus and lizards are called the Wisconsin Desert, but the hostile desert Glen Loyd takes us to this week seems devoid of life.

State AGs And Former RadioShack Reach Unredeemed Gift Card Settlement

Consumerist
Another reason not to buy gift cards! My advice is never every buy gift cards!

Walleye, Northern Pike and Family Fun


My Weekly Janesville Gazette Video
Just up river from my Studio in Janesville is the It's a Keeper Bait Shop, a fun place if you're hankering to catch a fish or hungry. Children are welcome and appreciated.

Bird migration starts in Southern Wisconsin


Last night in V formation, hundreds of Canadian Geese flew over the Rock River in Janesville, honking and crying, while getting in shape for a long journey. Other birds are itching to go, too. (In this video I mentioned that the Weather Channel wanted to feature my recent purple martin video, but they ended up not using it.)

Aug 23, 2015

FOX 4 reporter confronts woman accused of stealing his identity (video starts automatically)

 KDFW-TV
I was the consumer reporter at this Dallas, Texas TV station 40 years ago. When KDFW-TV submitted one of my investigations along with others from reporters there, the station won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence. .


Aug 16, 2015

Rock River's late season baby ducks


This week's video is about dabbling ducks. Some ducks dive under water to find food while others called dabblers rarely dive and find food closer to the water's surface. See Wikipedia for a full explanation.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck

Dancing with fireflies...my weekly Janesville Gazette video


And the Fireflies were dancing, so I danced too!--Rudyard Kipling

What more could you ask for in a summer evening...a dazzling red sunset, a stunning yellow moon, and soft white dots in the dark from flickering fireflies... all in this week's video!

Mozart's bird found on Rock County farms


In his video this week,Glen Loyd filmed the favorite bird of Mozart. The musical genius was so fond of his pet starling because it could whistle his Piano Concerto in G Minor. When the beloved bird died after living with Mozart for 3 years, he arranged an elaborate funeral for it.

Jul 13, 2015

Scenes from a rainy day


A grey day soaked with a heavy rain, an evening with enchanting orange clouds, and a night graced by a full yellow moon. Keep an eye out for wading sparrows (a public domain photo from Wikipedia).

CA-DAs Fine Kohl's 1-Mil for Overcharging

PRESS RELEASE:  Kohl’s Department Stores Agrees to Settlement in Civil Protection Lawsuit of Nearly $1 Million District Attorney Jeffrey S. Rosell announced today that Kohl’s Corporation (“Kohl’s”) agreed to a settlement of $958,686.27 stemming from a civil complaint filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office along with Fresno, Riverside, and Shasta county District Attorneys. The complaint alleged that Kohl’s charged customers a higher price than the prices advertised on store shelves and signs. The complaint also alleged that material disclosures relating to the “Kohl’s Cash” program were not adequately made in Kohl’s advertisements. The case arose from scanner/price inspections by multiple county Weights & Measures units, including the Santa Cruz County Department of Weights & Measures. Kohl’s cooperated with inspectors and the prosecutor’s offices during the investigation and has instituted new policies and procedures to improve pricing accuracy. Without admitting wrongdoing, Kohl’s consented to the settlement that includes injunctive provisions to ensure future compliance, as well the payment for civil penalties, costs of investigation, and restitution. The matter was prosecuted for Santa Cruz County by Assistant District Attorney Kelly Walker, who said, “Our consumer protection unit brings these types of actions to ensure that customers are charged the correct price when paying at the register. Consumers in Santa Cruz County who believe they are a victim of a price overcharge may contact either the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office Consumer Protection Unit at (831) 454-2601 or the Santa Cruz County Department of Weights & Measures at (831) 454-2383.

Mother rabbit defends babies from a murder of crows


Many of us are seeing a video on Facebook and TV about a mother rabbit trying to protect her babies from a snake. Well, a few years ago, I witnessed and filmed something similar in my own backyard in Janesville: A mother rabbit protecting her babies from a gang of four hungry crows.

Jun 28, 2015

Eagles, sandhill cranes and water lilies


Glen Loyd says the eagle fledglings he's been following are still in the nest and adjoining tree branches.

Jun 21, 2015

Counting eagles and swans


Last year  a Department of Natural Resources survey found 1,279 occupied eagle nests in Wisconsin. Only four were  in Rock County and 7 in Dane County. Glen Loyd has been documenting an eagle family east of Madison.

Opinion: "How Beats Tricks You Into Thinking It Makes a Premium Product"

Opinion from gizmodo
What’s really in a $200 pair of Beats headphones? According to a teardown by venture capital firm Bolt, about $16.89 worth of parts. They found a device mostly made out of injection-molded plastic, pieces of metal that serve no purpose other than to make the headphones feel heavier than they really are, and a whole lot of glue.

Jun 14, 2015

Fresh fish for eagle fledglings


Glen Loyd continues to dccument a Southern Wisconsin eagle family

Swan family vies with canadian geese for nesting


Learning how to swim, eat, and stay out of trouble is strenuous for baby swans. Watch for one of them falling asleep on the job.

May 25, 2015

Dangerous journeys


Goslings go blindly where ever their parents lead them...even to dangerous places.

Eagle, Great Blue Heron and Sandhill Crane


From a distance, Great Blue Herons and Sand Hill Cranes look similar. But but close up, you see herons have a white face and Sandhills are grey with a red crown. Rolling in mud can give Sandhills a redish-brown appearance. Great Blue Herons fly with their necks tucked back while Sandshills don't

Journey into the Cave of the Mounds



I may have spent 45 years appearing on TV as a consumer advocate, but it is still an honor for me to be recognized by strangers. It happened again...this time in a very dark and damp place--Cave of the Mounds near Madison, WI. Becky, the nice and knowledgeable tour guide, pointed her flashlight and studied me like I was a stalagmite. " I've seen you on TV," she said. I've also been recognized as the creator of these videos for the Janesville Gazette. Folks in Janesville and Madison have come up to me to say they know me from my Gazette videos and appreciate them. Strangers being kind to an old fossil!

My opinion: Don't invest your money in a juicer

As a consumer reporter, I've done stories about questionable health claims for juicers.  What's more, it's my opinion that after using a juicer for a few weeks, it may be put away somewhere with the breadmaker.