ManOfWy

Final post on this blogspace

2010-09-28T07:01:00.000-05:00

I have moved the blog to WordPress. The old content has been meticulously moved to the new platform. You can find it all at manofwy.wordpress.com

Getting close to Trivia Weekend

2009-02-05T08:18:00.002-06:00

Trivia Weekend is coming soon. That fifty hour marathon of sleep deprived thinking starts on Friday the 13th. I suppose there will be a question about the origins of that superstition. The visual trivia prep has been progressing but the team still has some unresolved photos. More information about Trivia Weekend is on the radio station's website http://kvsc.org/

Pesto ends salmon?

2008-11-22T12:58:00.003-06:00

While making my choice at one of the dining rooms on campus the other day, I spotted this salad and had to take a photo. After buying it, of course. So, pesto is able to cease salmon from doing something.

Another trip around the Sun!

2008-08-15T09:03:00.002-05:00

I thought it was appropriate to get around to making an update on my blog in commemoration of my completion of another trip around the Sun. Yes, I have clicked the year counter up again. I am still ignoring the AARP membership opportunities. It is interesting to see who sends birthday greetings - my insurance agent, the contracting house that I do my billing through, Culver's, Noodles, and Borders. Of course, I also got more personal greetings and a bottle of Port.

MacBook Pro unboxing

2008-07-20T15:12:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know there are unboxing photos on the net already for MacBook Pros. After all the computer has been out for a few years. My daughter got one a couple of months ago and I was looking back through photos today and found these fun unboxing pics.

I loaded the entire set basically unedited to my Flickr account MacBook Unboxing

Wow! Has it been that long?

2008-07-10T10:50:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I reused a title. I didn't realize I missed the entire month of June in my posts.

Another thing that has been a long time is the sighting of a BSOD. I have a older model Dell laptop issued by my employer and today I got to see something that I had not seen for a very long time I just had to take a photo with my iPhone to remember the experience of shock and dismay.

We were lucky

2008-05-27T05:30:00.003-05:00

The Hugo tornado went about 7 miles north of our house. Too me that is just too close. Our niece was less than a mile from the tornado path. Her new place had some siding damage and her car was hail damaged. I did a walk around of our house after the storm and did find some roofing damage. I have a attached a photo so that you are able to see the extent of the damage. No one was home at the time.

MS150 plans

2008-05-10T09:31:00.003-05:00

No, I am not riding in the MS150 in June. I am however going to be a volunteer helping out with intersection safety. I get to sit at a bunch of intersections during the ride and help the riders watch for traffic. Once they have all cleared an intersection, I hop in my Bug and drive ahead of the riders to the next assigned intersection.

If you are not aware of what the MS150 is, it is an annual fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The bicyclists ride from Duluth to Hinckley the first day and from Hinckley to Blaine the second day. They cover about 150 miles during that run, hence the name MS150. My sister will be one of the riders. You can donate to the MS Society and help her reach her pledge goal at her website.

Semester complete

2008-05-07T08:09:00.002-05:00

I just turned in my final project for the Spring semester. The school year is now officially complete for me. Just the wait for the final grade is left. The professor gave us a choice between a paper and a project. I choose the project option, but I feel that I straddled the line a little. I approached the project somewhat as a paper and made use of the web to format that paper. You can view the completed project at my project website.

I do hope to make enhancements to this project including figuring out how to randomize the quiz using only client-side tools.

It's so much fun living in a Microsoft world

2008-04-20T15:11:00.004-05:00

I installed Office 2008 for Mac today. Yes, I know that is a type of oxymoron but we live in a Microsoft world. It does give me entertainment value to read their installer messages. A case in point is this one. Are they yelling at Apple? Is it in Spanish? To what degree? It even seems to be radical.

Circle the Square - Session 10 - April 15

2008-04-16T07:29:00.007-05:00

I got the shirt!
I couldn't leave it at only two punches left on the card for long. After class tonight it was time for dinner. I started with the Big Sky Seasonal, in this case the Winter Ale was in stock. So it finally gets warm and I get the Winter Ale. I poured it down the middle of the glass and ended up with a large head. The head didn't take very long to go down. In fact, the entire bottle didn't take long to go down. It reminded me somewhat of a Newcastle.

After the final beer on the card, it was time to move to the hard cider. The last punch on the card was the Strongbow. This is the only can on the card and clocks in at 16.9 ounces and 5.0% alcohol. Very tasty but I had waited for nice weather to get this one as I think of it as a summer time drink.

Then it was time to get the shirt. Turns out that I was the first to get a shirt through this promotion. I had most of the staff tell me that as I was drinking the Big Sky. I took a photo of the fully punched card. As you can see it was getting difficult to carefully put in my wallet. Now I won't need to. I'll save you all from a photo of me in the shirt since Rheanna did a much better job modeling at the beginning of this series of blog entries.

Now as a reader of this blog, you have one thing left to do. Go and get your own shirt. The Square is located at 4736 Washington Square in downtown White Bear Lake, Minnesota. It's just a block off of highway 61 and the patio is starting to open as our winter finally seems to be ending. I'll see you there!

Circle the Square - Session 9 - April 14

2008-04-14T20:14:00.002-05:00

Coming in to the final turn! I dropped the taxes in the mail and went to the Square for dinner. The Abbey Prima was a good start with it's anise and orange peel flavors. To finish the left side of the card, I went from Belgium to Prague with the Staropramen. It was a little plain for my taste or overwhelmed by the Abbey and the nachos. I am down to only two beers and still have a chance to be the first to get the shirt. Technically, I only have one beer left, the other is Strongbow hard cider.

Circle the Square - Session 8 - April 10

2008-04-10T20:04:00.003-05:00

Double triple night! I had the two triples on the card tonight. I started off with the Abbey Triple that actually says Floreffe Triple Ale on the label. The Floreffe Abbey has been brewing for centuries and they are good with it. This is a Belgian beer with about a 7.5% alcohol content. Very drinkable but not as good as the Konings from last night. Maybe I was just in the mood for the Konings last night. I mentioned that it was a double triple night. I followed the Abbey with the Triple Karmeliet. This was a little more to my liking. The part I have noticed as I do the circle of the square, I haven't really found a bad beer. There is definitely a wide range of them out there. I also found out tonight that I might be the first to make it around the circle. The manager didn't know of anyone completing the card so far. Only 4 left to drink - it's a tough job but someone has to do it.

Circle the Square - Session 7 - April 9

2008-04-09T20:07:00.003-05:00

Dinner and beer time! I have two more punches on my Circle the Square card. I now have 14 out of the 20 punches. The first beer, that was consumed while I was waiting for dinner, was the Capital Brewery Island Wheat. This was very drinkable and normal. The second beer was delicious! It was also 10% alcohol. The Konings Hoeven Quadtupel is a Holland brew that is served with a tulip glass. I will definitely have another one of these after I get done with the card. Oh, by the way, the card is getting a little ragged. I am certain I will make my goal of having the shirt by summer.

Circle the Square - Session 6 - April 5

2008-04-05T14:03:00.003-05:00

Saturday lunch time was a good time to get two more punches in the Circle the Square card - it is starting to look a little ragged with so many holes around the edge. I am now over halfway to that coveted t-shirt. Ok, I really just want to try the different beers and this is an excuse. Today I started fancy. I had the Kriek Lambic. This is very syrupy and cherry flavored. It does come in a wrapped bottle that has a champagne cork top. This rated two photos before and after opening. As the meal progressed I decided to go in a completely opposite direction and ordered the Left Hand Milk Stout. Both of these beers were very good and I will have to have them again -- after I get the t-shirt.

Circle the Square - Session 5 - April 3

2008-04-03T20:20:00.005-05:00

It has been a busy time since the last post. I did get back to the Square tonight for dinner. Of course, a couple of beers were consumed and more punches on the Circle the Square card. Yes, I remembered to take photos. The first beer was a little on the large size but very tasty. My father-in-law was along and also had a Fat Tire as his second beer. My second beer was the one on the card that I have been avoiding since I don't care for hoppy beer, the Hopped and Infuzed. It wasn't as bad as I expected. Oh, what's that? It's Hazed and Infuzed? Still very hoppy.

Circle the Square - Session 4 - March 28

2008-03-29T12:32:00.004-05:00

I love my wife. She came home from a conference in Minneapolis and said "Let's go to the Square for dinner". So I got to work on circling the square some more. We perched on the corner of the crowded bar and I was able to have two more punches added to my card. For those of you keeping count, this is 8 total. The first one was from Oregon, Dead Guy Ale. It went great with the shredded beef quesadillas, but was mostly gone before the food arrived. Ok, so I was thirsty. I then told Ef to get me something else on the card. He first wanted to have me go with the Fat Tire but I looked at the size of the bottle and decided that was not a second beer choice. It will wait for a single beer choice session. He then read my mind and brought me the Bells Porter. I am a big fan of porters and this one does not disappoint me.

Circle the Square - Session 3 - March 27

2008-03-29T12:07:00.005-05:00

How better to follow-up lunch at the Square, then to return for dinner? This turned into a 3-brew session thanks to Ef insisting that I needed dessert. The first beer was the Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. I am not a fan of beers that are served with fruit but I was able to avoid the lemon stuck to the glass. Since I was having Mexican for dinner (don't miss the Mexican section of their menu - the food is great!), I had a Bohemia. Very light and tasty with my mole enchiladas. Then the bartender decided that I needed dessert, so he brought me a Duvel. It is a little sweet but read the label carefully. It is a 8.5% brew. I also found a drawback to taking these photos with my iPhone. As I was lining up the shot of the Duvel, one of the waitresses (Jamie) came by and picked up the bottle and said "Oooo, I love the shape of these bottles, don't you?"

Circle the Square - Session 2 - March 27

2008-03-29T12:04:00.003-05:00

Ok, I snuck down to the Square for lunch and couldn't resist having one beer. My choice was the Bell's Amber Ale. A good lunch brew!

Circle the Square - Session 1 - March 22

2008-03-29T11:56:00.004-05:00

Ok, I promised beer postings so here is the first session. I was surprised by my first selection. I was looking for the worst one to get it out of the way, but I found it a decent beer. I had the Negra Modelo as my first punch on the card. I followed that with a completely different beer, the Lucifer. I am already starting to believe that they only choose good easy drinking beers for the card.

Circle the Square

2008-03-29T11:39:00.005-05:00

My favorite little bar and grill, Washington Square, has started a new promotion. All you need to do is get one of their "Circle the Square" cards and get all of the names punched around the edge. Simple enough, right? The catch is, of course, that all the names are bottled beers that they stock and to get the punch you have to purchase and drink the beer. There are 20 beers on the card and some are better than others in my opinion. I started last Saturday, March 22nd with my card. That was after one of the T-shirt model and bartenders accosted me with "You have got to start one of these cards" as soon as I walked in. I did get photos of the shirt. I like the quote on the back of the shirt, "A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be throughly sure."

I plan to post photos of the beers as I 'Circle the Square' and in fact have 8 to post already. Stop by Washington Square Bar and Grill at 4736 Washington Square, White Bear Lake, MN 55110 and get started on circling the square.

It's a quiet evening

2008-03-21T19:51:00.002-05:00

I am finally taking some time to just sit and enjoy the quiet. As I look around the room the lights are off and the main light in the room is the glow of the laptop screen. I have that dimmed as well. I know that the hustle and bustle of the weekend will be starting soon. My daughter is coming home for the weekend and my son returns from Europe on Monday. I feel like I should be doing something but then I realize that I am - I am enjoying a little peace and quiet - we have not run out.

Our son is ready for Europe

2008-03-09T07:01:00.000-05:00

I am jealous - we are sending our son to Europe for his final spring break as a graduation present. Now he will have to graduate when he returns. It seems that he is ready. He just had a birthday and his wish list included Euros. His grandparents came through!

Got my ducks in a row

2008-03-02T17:42:00.003-06:00

While walking between casinos in Laughlin, NV I was able to find that I had my ducks in a row.

Finally posted Trivia Weekend photos

2008-02-25T18:36:00.002-06:00

Doing trivia for 50 hours straight is very hard on a person. More photos on flickr

Who said the lunar eclipse didn't affect things?

2008-02-25T18:20:00.002-06:00

I think I found an after effect from the the lunar eclipse. Or is this beer just that powerful?

College town coffeehouse - Cup or Bowl?

2008-02-24T14:06:00.003-06:00

It is a different atmosphere trying to study in a coffeehouse across the street from a college campus. It isn't even the school I attend! I got through the reading but it was difficult. I think we sat too close to the counter. Banging those shots and the steamer and the shouting between the workers. The coffee however was very good. I am not sure if I got a cup or a bowl.

We are in Winona, Minnesota and came down yesterday to attend A Prairie Home Companion. Yes, it is normally a 20 minute drive from home but where is the fun in that? We have not attended APHC at it's home at the Fitzgerald in downtown St. Paul. Instead, it is a 2 1/2 hour drive to Winona. This way we got to attend with our daughter. Today, the coffee shop while our daughter is in a rehearsal for the Winona Symphony concert later this afternoon. After that concert we get the 2 1/2 hour drive back home.

Ursula's Wine Bar

2008-02-16T22:08:00.003-06:00

If you are in the White Bear Lake area in Minnesota, the place to eat and enjoy a great glass of wine (or two or three) is Ursula's Wine Bar. This is a tiny little place on the edge of 'downtown' White Bear Lake just west of highway 61. The food is great and the owner knows his wine. I finished off my dinner with a nice Port. I would say wonderful things about the great staff there but it would just go to their heads.

First attempt to post to this blog from my iPhone

2008-02-16T19:30:00.002-06:00

This is my first try at posting to my blog from my iPhone. Trying to make use of this little keyboard is a challenge. We are currently all in the living room, one of the few rooms on our house without a TV. Of course, I do have my iPhone, daughter has her MacBook, and my wife has her Nintendo DS. Ah, the 21st century family!

23 Things On A Stick

2008-01-30T07:19:00.000-06:00

Ok - now my wife has me learning more about the web via a web-based library web instruction tutorial called 23 Things On A Stick. Check out my new avatar on the right!

Trivia Weekend coming soon

2008-01-28T06:35:00.000-06:00

I am feeling better about Trivia Weekend the weekend of February 8th. I was able to post an answer to the team wiki for one of the visual trivia questions. It sure helps that some of the other teams have posted questions publicly for all to gather. So, of course, this post will be intentionally vague. I was not able to participate last year due to a conflict with a trip to Mexico. This year it looks like the entire family may be participating on the team.

Back to School

2008-01-25T21:00:00.000-06:00

The spring semester has begun and I have had one class session. The class meets in a technology laden room. There are two projectors with screens that come down automatically when the projectors are turned on. There are also 5 HD screens mounted on the walls and the tables have connectors to allow the students to connect to the projection system. Perfect room for a class called 'Visual Rhetoric'.

iPhone World Clock refuses to let go of 2007?

2007-12-31T14:21:00.000-06:00

I just checked the world clock on my iPhone to see if my nephew was now in the next year since he is currently in India. The iPhone shows the right time but the date for the other timezones is wrong. Tokyo and New Delhi should both be in 2008 already and it shows 07/12/31 not 08/01/01. I took a photo to show this. Yes, my iPhone is set automatically and it is showing today is 07/12/31.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T08:35:00.001-06:00

Well the title for this blog entry was easy.

I have completed another semester in my quest to get a second Masters degree. I am also maintaining an A average. Ok, so some of them have a little horizontal line following them. I am now officially in the Masters program and get to plan on more classes for a couple of years. I even get an official advisor and plan to meet and put together a map to get from where I am now to the graduation.

The Christmas shopping is all done and the cards should have been in the mail. Technical difficulties prevented that. Hallmark Photo Cards have no traction in a printer. It is hard to tell the glossy side from the back and trying to print proved nearly impossible. I wasted 2 for every good one. Had to order HP Photo Cards and they won't arrive until the end of the week. I guess I will be changing my design to include Happy New Year! The HP cards have a backing that almost feels like sandpaper in comparison to the Hallmark cards. I ordered enough of the HP cards to take care of next year too so I might even get the cards out before Christmas.

Today we get to start opening presents - first at our house, then at my in-laws. Then tomorrow we open our stockings at home and then at my parents. Lastly we open additional presents at my parents. This is all intermingled with food and drink. Most importantly though we reflect on the gift that God gave us at this holiday time. Our redemption in the form of the baby, Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

B&B - 2nd stay

2007-10-28T07:20:00.000-05:00

The start of the concert season gave us the opportunity for a second time at the B&B in Winona. This time we were able to get the Maude King Alexander room in the front of the house. This room is huge and has a huge bathroom including a shower and separate tub.

Winona B&B - First time at a B&B

2007-08-25T05:55:00.000-05:00

With a daughter in a symphony orchestra, we have a good excuse to get away. We discovered a better way to stay in Winona. Last school year we were staying at the Holiday Inn. Most of the nights were bought using points earned over years of business travel. When we had to spend real money we looked at what alternatives were available. We never thought of ourselves as B&B people but the Alexander Mansion in Winona has won us over. For the same price as a room in the Holiday Inn we get a wonderfully decorated room in a mansion formerly owned by one of the founders of Watkins. Also in the price is a wine and cheese reception and a 5-course breakfast that is awesome!
Our first time was at the start of the school year and we stayed in the Maid Mary room. It was a smaller room in the back of the house. That night was part of our 25th anniversary celebration. The other guests that night included a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary and a couple that had been married a year ago at the B&B.

Least Dangerous Game had danger today

2007-06-30T17:59:00.000-05:00

Aric decided to hide today for Least Dangerous Game at Matt's Bar on Cedar in Minneapolis. It is the "Home of the Jucy Lucy". I was not there in time to win (congratulations Ed Kohler) but I did meet Chuckumentary and Aric returned. Aric had hightailed it out of there once he was found. That wasn't the danger though. I ordered a Jucy Lucy for lunch. These hamburgers have radioactive hot cheese inside that can squirt out and cause bodily harm. It was delicious.

Catching up on the blog

2007-06-28T06:36:00.000-05:00

Didn't realize that it has been so long since I updated this blog. The last 2 months have been a good time for me. I started a new contract position that has been interesting. I also got to go to Alaska on a Princess cruise. The photo is just outside of Skagway and taken from a moving train. Check out the White Pass and Yukon Railway

Oh - one other change - this is my first blog post from my new MacBook Pro. Seems that Safari and Blogger are not fully compatible - I had to manually add the link above.

Concert

2007-05-05T07:48:00.000-05:00

Took a break from the paper last night to attend the Minnesota Orchestra concert last night. They named it "Fleezanis Flair & West Side Story" and flair it was! Jorja Fleezanis is the concertmaster and the Kurt Weill, Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra, Opus 12 really highlighted her talent. This concert is presented at 8:0opm tonight - get tickets and go!

Now back to my regularly scheduled paper - it will be done today!

Yay! Classes are over ...

2007-05-04T13:35:00.000-05:00

Too bad that paper is not yet done. Is it getting done - no, I have a blog post to create. Ok, I promise I will work on it right after I publish this post.

Final week - no, not Finals week

2007-05-02T13:54:00.000-05:00

Pleasant part of going to graduate school is that the professors don't give finals. So this is the last week of class. The downside is that they instead grade papers and presentations. One presentation done last week. One this afternoon - group of 4 of us and it will be awesome. The paperwork that goes with it is nearly 100 pages plus 4 DVDs. Then I have the other class that requires a 12 page paper - gotta get moving on that but posting to the blog instead, cleaning instead, surfing instead ... one of these days I will get motivated about it.

Yes, it has been a while

2007-04-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

I knew it had been a while since I blogged - I didn't realize it was 5 months! I am now enrolled in classes for a Post-baccalaureate certificate in technical communication at the U of M. I have completed a contract position with U.S. Foodservice and looking at possibly starting another one there soon. As you can see from the previous entry, I have a working digital camera again and will probably post more often now - with pictures even!

Better sign of spring than a robin

2007-04-17T11:08:00.001-05:00

Better sign of spring than a robin
Originally uploaded by manofwywbt.

On a walk to get dinner, I spotted the best sign of spring in this area. A line at Cup and Cone. This means that summer will be coming soon and the end of the dreary weather. The robins are unpredictable - they were walking around in the snow a week ago.

New cell phone

2006-11-02T16:44:00.000-06:00

I was having phone calls drop on my end - the person on the other end could still hear me. This is not good when you are talking to prospective employers. I bought the new LG phone that Cingular is offering. I even found a program that allowed me to update the address book in the phone via Bluetooth so I already have my contacts updated for the most part. It wasn't totally clean but close.

Only 3 left!

2006-10-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

I have made progress on the logogame. I found 2 more. Now I still have the ones left that I mentioned in my last post. The walk through 2 liquor stores only resulted in increasing my beer inventory at home.

I also have made a lot of progress on my job search this week. I had 2 face-to-face interviews and a phone interview. That is about the most real activity I have since in the last few months. Maybe there is an end in sight.

My latest time waster

2006-10-25T08:16:00.000-05:00

Those that know me, know that I like trivia. Trying to determine the brand name of a product by a picture of a small portion of their label seems innocent enough, right? Well, trying to determine 26 different American Beers or breweries is next to impossible. I would have included a couple of examples from the game, except that the creators may get upset. The game is on a website called Logogame. I looked at the Hall of Fame for this and only 3 people have completed all 26. I tried a couple of others like fast food and technology. Those have extensive lists of people that have completed them. I was able to complete them in fairly short order.

Currently I am at 21 of the 26 so I only have 5 left to find out. I think a stroll through the aisles at a liquor store or two may help. I still need the first "B" and the "HO" among others.

Using an iMac!?

2006-10-19T08:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, this post is being written on an iMac. I was able to rejunvenate an old iMac G3 with a hard drive replacement. What a way to jump into learning the differences between Wintel and Apple! So far there are only the apps that come with the iMac OS X installed on the machine with the exception of Firefox. I had to have that.

There are some differences that I noted right away - first the maximize, minimize, and close icons are on the left instead of the right. They also do not work the same as Windows - but who would expect them to.

This machine will probably not have a primary role in my office. In fact, it will most likely move to the family room and become the quick Internet lookup and iChat machine.

A fine wine from the area famous for wine ...

2006-10-16T07:22:00.000-05:00

Missouri. The Friendship School Red from the St. James Winery has a unique taste that I found even my mother-in-law that prefers Reisling enjoyed. It was a very good compliment to the lasagna that was served. Since my mother-in-law likes Reisling, we started the evening with a Torres San Valentin Parellada Catalunya from Spain. The wine is easy to spot as a small white cupid is attached to the neck of the bottle.

She returns again

2006-10-12T19:17:00.000-05:00

The last post talked about seeing my daughter. Since then she has been home and we saw her for a few hours in her college town. Right now she is at the train station ready to board the train and come home again. At least this time without laundry (I think). We will now get to see her every weekend this month.

The return of the daughter!

2006-09-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

Today we get to see our daughter again for the first time in more than a month. She has gone off to college and it is about a 2 1/2 hour drive. My sister volunteered to pick her up so she can see the campus. It will be too short of a weekend. On the bright side we will see her again next weekend as we pass through Winona.

St. Paul Classic Bike Tour 2006

2006-09-10T12:24:00.000-05:00

I just got home from the wet St. Paul Classic Bike Tour. It was a 15 mile ride in a light drizzle. It never really got to raining so it was not too bad unless you wanted to see through your glasses. I did get up Ramsey Hill with my feet near my pedals. I found people to take my picture at each of the stops. First at the Mississippi River Overlook on Shepard Road. The coffee tasted great there but holding the warm cup was actually the best part. The second photo (with the Bike Route sign) was at the top of Ramsey Hill. I had gotten my breath back by the time this photo was taken. The last picture is at the end of the ride at the University of St. Thomas.

Wow! Has it been over a month?

2006-08-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

I guess it has been a while since I have updated this blog. The job search continues but there have been some positive steps toward a job. I have had a big concentration of interviews lately including a second interview at one location.

Tomorrow is a day I am both looking forward to and also hoping it won't come. My baby goes off to college. I wish her the best in school and know that she is totally ready for this step in her life. However, part of me wishes I could keep her here close to me. Good luck DB!

Laughlin is a blast!

2006-07-17T17:53:00.000-05:00

Blast furnace that is! We spent the last couple of days in Laughlin, Nevada. Yesterday we were walking around in 118 degree heat. However, the gambling was good (at least for us). We never seem to come back from Vegas ahead and we are small time gamblers but we are about $60 ahead right now. We will probably not be that far ahead soon since we are now in Vegas. The first machine we played after arriving in Vegas took all the money we put in to it. It was exactly the kind of machine that was paying off for us in Laughlin. I had always heard that you had better chances in Laughlin and now I believe it.

We also took a side trip to Lake Havasu City yesterday. BORING!!! Most of the British shops that they built to go with London Bridge are closed. The only bright spot was a brew pub where we had lunch. The brews were all a tad on the sweet side though.

Northwest Airlines does good!

2006-07-14T08:47:00.000-05:00

Since we had a free ride to the airport that saved us those huge parking fees (Thanks Alex), we were a few hours early for our flight. We checked our bags and then meandered over to the gate where the next Las Vegas flight was departing. We got on the standby list and they told us there was a good chance we would make it but we would have to return to the airport to pick up our luggage 4 hours later.

Yes, we made it and with the kind help of a passenger, we were able to sit together. The flight was good, avoiding a storm in western Minnesota, and we arrived on time. After getting to the baggage claim area, we checked with an employee at the desk that confirmed that since we checked in so soon, our bags had indeed traveled with us!

We were able to dine at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville on the strip without needing to return to the airport afterwards. We ended up with front row splash seats for the volcano blow where a girl in a bikini slides down the volcano into a huge margarita. Too bad I forgot the camera (and the fact that my phone has one).

Thanks Northwest! (Did I say that?)

Hot enough for you?

2006-07-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

Global warming seems to be affecting even chilly Minnesota. We are not going to be able to keep up our image of a cold zone when the temperatures are in the 90's. I guess it could be worse, Las Vegas is expecting 113 most of the weekend. Of course, that is a dry heat! So where do I go and leave the kids at home to work, etc. - Vegas.

Two Harbors still a working port

2006-06-28T21:20:00.000-05:00

We were 'Up North' this weekend in Duluth with a side trip up to Split Rock lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, and Two Harbors on Saturday. We arrived in Two Harbors in time to watch an ore boat arrive in the harbor. These huge ships are amazing in how they can come into the harbor and turn in a relatively small area. The St. Clair is 770 feet long and considered a mid-size boat. The boom is 250 feet long and is used to self-unload the boat. The boat was built in 1976.

My baby has graduated from high school!

2006-06-10T08:15:00.000-05:00

My daughter walked proudly through her graduation ceremony last night. Of course trying to get a picture at the distances involved is a difficult task. Congratulations Bug!

Actually, her brother helped to hold her still in his classic neck hug. We have pictures of the two of them in about that same pose going back to pre-school.

The Rain did go away

2006-06-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

The rain cleared and I was able to use the electricity in the gazebo on Thursday and Friday. Doing things like a job search are more enjoyable when you are able to sit out in the fresh air.

Electricity is good!

2006-06-01T07:28:00.000-05:00

We have had a gazebo attached to our deck for many years. This week I finally put electricity in the gazebo. It is only one outlet but it is a major change. It is now much easier to plug in and use the gazebo for an outside office. When I first thought about this many years ago, I was going to have to also run a phone line out there. Now with cordless phones and WiFi networking the only piece is electricity. That is not even necessary if you have a better laptop than mine. Or at least a better laptop battery. Mine is pretty much non-functional.

Now I just need a non-rainy day so that it is enjoyable to be out there.

Longest bike ride so far this season

2006-05-30T15:54:00.000-05:00

Today I got up and decided that it was a nice day and I was not going to waste it. I put on my bike clothes and went for a ride. I went around the south side of White Bear Lake and out to Mahtomedi. From there I picked up the Gateway Trail back in toward St. Paul. Once I got to North St. Paul, I stopped up at church and completed one of the finishing touches on the Fireside Room. The fireplace insert is now officially fully installed. The next stop was at Ace Hardware to pick up the final pieces for the Fireside Room. A couple of door stops. Back to church to install them and declare the Fireside Room completed. Then back home via McKnight Road. All told it was 23.7 miles. It felt good, especially when I did not have a time line or fixed agenda. It is also nice to be able to call home on the way back and have a pizza waiting for lunch!

Finally a great weather Memorial Day weekend!

2006-05-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

We used to camp every Memorial Day weekend and put up with the cold and rain. This year we are not camping and the weather is gorgeous! The high today is to be in the low 90's. There is a slight breeze keeping things cool and not a cloud in the sky. Wish I was camping - of course, it would then be 50 and raining.

Day By Day Cafe

2006-05-27T15:59:00.000-05:00

Went to a place on West Seventh called the Day By Day Cafe for breakfast today. There was supposed to be paintings by one of Lynn's cousins but we must have missed them. We did eat out on the large patio and had a really good breakfast. We got there at the right time too as there was a long line to get in as we left and a lot of tables both inside and out when we arrived. I recommend the number 10 with bacon. The short stack of pancakes is huge as well. The cakes cover the entire dinner sized plate. We found out later that it is not on the menu but you can order one.

Speeding by the park

2006-05-25T15:10:00.000-05:00

At the end of my road is a park with a ballfield and playground equipment. There has been concern that the speeds on the road along that park have been too high. The County did a speed study and found that 86% of the cars are going 25 mph or slower. It is posted at 20 mph. They are going to look at it further to determine if there is a pattern to the other 14%. One was clocked at 44 mph during the study. This is a park that often has children crossing the road to get to it and holding the speed down on the traffic is important.

Yes, it did rain by the end of the meeting in the park.

Cleaning Day

2006-05-24T17:28:00.000-05:00

It was supposed to rain today. Of course, it has not yet. The plan was to take advantage of the rain and spend the day cleaning the house. We did clean but it is a better activity for a rain day. There I go listening to those weather forecasters again. I do have one outdoor activity planned for this evening. The Town Board is having a special meeting regarding speed control on the street at the end of my block. They are having it in the park right by that street. It will probably rain then since it looks and feels like it now.

Job Search has gotten boring

2006-05-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

The search for a new job has become a chore and the weather has become nice. In combo, the search is harder. We discussed this in my job team a couple of weeks ago and the benefit is that those that keep at it reap the rewards. The pool of candidates drops off in the summer as people do more to enjoy the weather and that means less competition. I can see it myself. It is much harder to concentrate on looking now. I still have a couple of interviews scheduled and a few positions backfilling the pipeline from there but it is difficult to keep backfilling the pipeline. I had a good opportunity fall out of the pipeline on Friday. Again, it went to ‘internal candidates’. What is with that? Those people have a job! I think I will go for a bike ride and take my mind off that. Oops! That is what I was talking about.

"LIght Their World" gala

2006-05-20T10:06:00.000-05:00

Last night we attended the Roseville Rotary Club's "Light Their World" gala. The dinner was very well attended and included a silent and live auction, featured guest speaker Don Shelby of WCCO TV, and some fun things like a game called "Top Hats and Trousers". You had to make a donation to get into the game. This gave you a string of beads. The more beads you bought the more you would be able to keep playing. Then they had all the participants stand up. You were told to put your hand on your head (Top Hat) or on your tail (Trousers). They flipped a coin. If you matched the coin, you were still in the game. If not, you lost a string of beads. If you were out of beads, you were out of the game. It looked like a woman won by being the only one with her hand on her head but there was a couple that still had about 3 strings of beads each. They kept going and got down to the two women with one string each. The one that almost won earlier, ended up losing in the final round. It was an interesting twist on things and I think it raised a lot of money for the "Light Their World" program. The program is a reading literacy program being kicked off by the Roseville Schools, the Ramsey County Libraries, and funded by the Roseville Rotary.

Ride of Silence completed

2006-05-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

The Ride of Silence was completed on Wednesday evening without a sound. Here I am at the end of the ride with my black ribbon. It was scary at times with the amount of traffic whizzing by in the downtown areas and around the UofM. It was a good statement to show that we are able to share the road and a reminder to drivers that they should share the road as well.

Ride of Silence

2006-05-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Speaking of nice weather, there is a bike ride this evening in Minneapolis. It is a memorial ride for all people killed or injured in bicycle - vehicle collisions. I will be riding along with many family members in memory of my sister. The ride is to be completed in silence and expected to be about an hour long. The organizers requested riders to wear black armbands and two of my sister’s best friends have made up some for us. Thank you both!

Nice weather - FINALLY!

2006-05-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

It is finally a nice day to sit out in the gazebo and relax. In fact, I am posting from the gazebo. Sorry about the picture quality, it is from my phone because it was handy.

Itzhak Perlman concert

2006-05-16T14:02:00.000-05:00

If you ever want to be impressed by a violin concert, do whatever you need to go and see Itzhak Perlman in concert. The setting on Monday night was a synagogue so it was not a massive hall. We had seats almost straight back with the wall behind us and at most the equivalent of 20 rows in front. With that crowd it was especially poignant when he played a piece that he helped write, the theme from Schindler's List.

Mother's Day

2006-05-14T16:32:00.000-05:00

Went to church and saw my daughter using a puppet up in front of the church. Then off to a grocery store for brunch - Byerly's has an awesome resturant with a 'Minnesota Omelet' that is delicious. Then on to my mom's for more food.

Ok, this is a boring blog entry - but at least I am starting to update it again.

Sushi and cat versus human

2006-05-13T18:12:00.000-05:00

Who will get the sushi? It is great to have my son home from college. We had a chance to have a slow paced day together.

Oops - I guess it has been a while

2006-03-20T19:53:00.000-06:00

I have been busy guarding Pilate and the Priests. I am a guard in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. It has been interesting and fun to be on the other side of the audience. I have been involved before from the sound booth. At least I don't sing or dance.

Wanna buy a house?

2006-02-14T17:46:00.000-06:00

The work on my parent's house is about done. It is ready for the market. We have put a lot of work into preparing it for today's market. Three bedrooms, a living room, family room, and large sun room. The house is located on a finger channel that connects it to Forest Lake. It is going to be listed at a bargain price!

Trivia weekend completed

2006-02-13T07:39:00.000-06:00

I was unable to participate as much as I would have liked. The team ended up in 10th place. The answer to where is the statue is now revealed - Glochester, MA.

Interviewing clinic

2006-02-09T05:39:00.000-06:00

I completed a clinic on interviewing yesterday at my outplacement firm. This was one of the best classes I have had. I went in there hating the idea of role-playing but I came away with good ideas and more confidence in my interviewing skills. These are skills I hope I will be using soon.

Civic duty completed

2006-02-09T05:37:00.000-06:00

A little late in posting this. I completed my week of jury duty uneventfully. I did not have to report to the courthouse after Tuesday and never saw anything outside of the jury waiting room. My huge paycheck of $40 plus mileage is in the mail!

Civic duty still boring

2006-01-31T20:31:00.000-06:00

The jury duty has not gotten any less boring. I still have not seen anything but the assembly room. The good news is that I will not have to report to the courthouse tomorrow.

Civic duty is boring - so far

2006-01-30T19:39:00.000-06:00

I served my first day of jury duty today. Very uneventful. You are sitting in a large room that is too well heated with 112 of your closest strangers and wait. You wait for a person in a suit to come out of his office and announce your name to go to be part of our government. Well, I get to go back tomorrow - maybe he will call my name.

Statue found

2006-01-25T19:45:00.000-06:00

I will post the location after the trivia weekend.

Trivia is driving me crazy

2006-01-23T09:23:00.000-06:00

Can anyone identify this photo? Private e-mail preferred to avoid other teams finding the answer on the net.

Appetizing?

2006-01-23T09:17:00.000-06:00

Saw this sign when visiting a local fast food recently. Sounds yummy!

Aaron's birthday party

2006-01-18T07:33:00.000-06:00

We have been wanting to see my nephew's house for a while. We used his birthday as a good excuse to invite ourselves over. The candles for the cake were forgotten, so a tea light was substituted. Aaron has posted photos from the party on his blog.

Trivia Weekend approaching

2006-01-14T12:41:00.000-06:00

I am now addicted. I will be participating in the upcoming trivia weekend. I received copies of the visual trivia yesterday and have spent at least 10 hours already researching the information. I won't post much about them here since I don't want to give away anything. I can't wait for February 10th - the start of the contest. Check out the contest website at www.kvsg.org

More theater involvement

2006-01-10T21:58:00.000-06:00

I have been recruited as the Production Manager, Production Assistant, Production Secretary, whatever you want to call it, for the upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar at my church. This should be an interesting adventure. The cast is split between adults that have to work all day and high school kids that have to worry about school and homework and jobs. We have only about 2 months of prep time before the shows in mid to late March. Auditions were held on Sunday and the call backs tonight. Thursday is the big day - first rehearsal and the time that the cast finds out what roles they will be playing.

Night at the Theater

2006-01-10T21:53:00.000-06:00

I just left the Guthrie Theater at intermission. The play, The People's Temple, was plodding along and did not seem to hold much hope for anything except more of the same in the second act. Maybe I just was not in the mood to hear about Jonestown. Part of the reason to leave was technical. For most of the first act there was a disturbing buzz or hum in the sound system. It was bad enough that I was tempted to leave during the show and complain a couple of times. I guess the old theater is starting to fall apart with only a couple of months left.

2006-01-07T20:51:00.000-06:00

This is a boring night. It is only the cats and me in the house. Oh, yes, I forgot the beta too. I will be feeding the fish right after this blog entry.

I think I am starting to show signs of the flu that everyone else got at Christmas. Might be a good night to head to bed early.

Job search has officially begun

2006-01-06T17:04:00.000-06:00

The official start of my new job search was today. I went to an orientation meeting at the outplacement firm. This is going to be a whole new experience for me - the branding of ManOfWy! It should keep me busy for a while. Maybe by the end I will know what I want to be when I grow up.

Design to sell - the saga continues

2006-01-04T15:29:00.000-06:00

The wall in the main bathroom is not smooth and it never will be. We looked at using a faux finish on that wall and were advised to leave it alone. Many potential buyers will be turned off by it and most will be looking at repainting anyway. The good news is the bathrooms are now all completely painted! There are now rooms that can be checked off as complete (all need cleaning yet but that is phase III).

I was able to have a nice lunch with my sister at Norman Quacks. They seem to have decent food and atmosphere there and it is not like going to one of the chains in Forest Lake.

Design to sell

2006-01-02T17:36:00.000-06:00

The ongoing project to update my parents old house for sale continues. The light fixtures have now all been updated. The clutter at least consolidated. The bedrooms are all repainted to neutral colors as are the bathrooms, kitchen, living room, and family room. Still to go is the hallway, stairway, and dining room. The skylights also still need to be painted. The carpets can then be replaced in the bedrooms and the rest of the house given a good cleaning. We set a goal today to have it market ready by the end of the month. I'll post some pictures soon in case anyone is interested in buying a lakeshore home in the suburbs of the Twin Cities.

Morning rain

2006-01-02T17:34:00.000-06:00

Rain in January! This is Minnesota not California. At least it has now stopped and most of the roads had enough traffic to dry out.

The buck stops here

2006-01-01T17:21:00.000-06:00

For the first time we spotted a buck in our front yard. I was alerted to his presence by our ever vigilant cat, Neko. The deer had arrived from the direction of Bald Eagle Lake a couple of blocks from our house. He stopped to nibble on the foliage directly in front of the kitchen window. We have lived a couple of blocks from a nature center for over 20 years and never have seen deer in our yard before. Wish I would have grabbed a camera.