In a Shameless World

Volunteering for the Holidays

2008-12-15T10:55:00.008-06:00

"I'm going to volunteer this year at Christmas time," I said. And with that I had made my decision. It was final. After years of contemplating about donating my time, but never actually going through with it, this was the year to follow through and make it happen. OK. I was committed.

So now what? Find a soup kitchen? Sure. Find a home to rebuild/repair? Cool. Several ideas came to mind that fit my capabilities/skills/interests, but somewhere in between getting myself and one of these ideas together, another opportunity came to me.

"Seeking volunteers to clear tree falls on the Kekekabic Trail in the BWCA in December," the email said.

So despite having never been to the Boundary Waters, having never gone on any winter hikes, having never contemplated winter survival in 10º temperatures for hours at a time, I felt that this was the chance I had been looking for. For me it was something I was capable of, an opportunity to learn something new, and most importantly: a way to give my time and energy back to an outdoor community that offers me such wonderful enjoyment year-round (although typically in warmer months.)

And with a simple nod of agreement I was in. I was a volunteer for the Boundary Waters Advisory Commitee. We met for the first time - the 5 of us: Tess, Luke, Karen, and Martin (trip leader and President of BWAC) - at Midwest Mountaineering on Monday, December 8 to go over gear, cold weather behavior/survival and general expectations. I left with a short list of gear to buy and 3 days to organize. We were leaving Friday morning.

Tess, Luke and I had gyros (with a side of chili for me) and drove up to Ely Friday afternoon. We had a quick stop for hot chocolate (extra large for me and a cookie) and then a nice dinner at the Ely Steakhouse (deep-fried walleye for me... seeing a trend here?) . We got to Smitty's on Snowbank, our home base and lodging, around 8:30 or so. Following a glass of wine and a safety talk, we went to bed about 11, planning on getting up at 6:30, and leaving for the trail at 7:30.

Here's where it gets interesting. I awoke with nausea and cramps (do you suppose it was something I ate???) sometime around 1am, which kept me up until sometime after 4. I slept poorly, but I felt a bit better in the morning, and after eating just a bit of oatmeal, felt like I was on a slow but steady upswing. I assured everyone that I wouldn't "go bad" and after breakfast we packed up and drove to a boat landing to start the hike.

This map shows the route we would follow. The horizontal line across the bottom is the Kekekabic Trail, where we did the clearing. The rest is hiking: getting there and getting back. A 7.32 mile round trip.

After some brief route-finding instruction, using a map and compass, we took a bearing and headed south toward the Kek. Route finding was really cool. Step 1) Map: Find where you want to go (waypoint), then align north with the compass dial. Step 2) Your body: Hold the compass and align so the compass points north, then follow the arrow. Important to pick a visually distinguishable point along your direction of travel. Helps you walk in a straight line.

I made my bearing and lead the hike across the frozen lake, where we learned about sounding out the ice for hollow/thin spots and how to handle slush (don't worry about it, just keep moving). Then we turned inland toward the first trail clearing spot, got out the tools and made some sawdust!

I should mention that we were extremely fortunate with the weather Saturday. The weekend was book-ended by highs of 12º and sub-zero lows, but Saturday gave us a high of 32º and a low in the teens. This made the hike and the work much easier and took a few risks out of the equation.

We worked, taking regular water and snack breaks, until around 12:30 or so, then hiked across a cut-down/logging area and made lunch on the other side.

I was feeling about 95% at this point - really feeling good, enjoying the amazing scenery, the quiet, remoteness, company, the hard work - everything. We melted snow (I used my Coleman backpack stove for the first time) to refill water bottles and cook Ramen, make hot cocoa, and cooked Tim Curtis sandwiches. A Tim Curtis sandwich is ham/turkey and cheese on buttered bread with olive oil drizzled on the outside, wrapped in tin foil, then heated over a fire. ....Wait, how much oil/grease/cheese is in that? Uh-oh...

Unfortunately, my pre-lunch energy level was short lived. We hiked and worked for about 3 more hours, but my condition dropped slowly and steadily through the afternoon, back to early morning levels. The oils give you energy, but just weren't something I should have been putting into my system that day. Plus, blackened-olive-oil-flavored burps are disgusting!

At any rate we worked until dark, having moved through beautiful balsam fir-lined paths and clearing some very gnarly barriers:

The most interesting part of the trip was by far the 2.5 hour hike back to the car in the dark. It had started to snow, the wind had picked up, the sky was bright but overcast, and we had our longest segment of route-finding ahead of us: about a mile of exposed hiking across a frozen lake, without the benefit of a clear tree or point in the landscape to fixate upon.

In my experience leading friends on climbing excursions, there is a point, sometimes, when I feel that little extra weight of leadership settle upon my shoulders; a point when I sense that my friends have fully given me their trust, and despite the fact that they don't know exactly what will happen next, they trust that I will guide them through it safely.

It was at this point in the trip when I was on the opposite end of that bargain. I was tired. I was unsure what would happen next. I was worried about getting sick and burdening the crew. I was worried about spending any more time exposed out there on that frozen lake than absolutely necessary. But I had confidence in my companions, I had confidence in our guide, I had confidence in our route-finder, and so I concentrated on focusing my energy on following, putting one foot in front of the other, and staying together. We found our portage on the other side of Parent Lake, hiked through, leap-frogged to a couple islands on Snowbank Lake, and easily came back to the boat landing where we had started.

I came up to the Kek to give, but it was this portion of the trip where the Kek gave back.

Clockwise from top: Luke, Martin, me, Karen, Tess. For the rest of the photos and a more thorough description, see Martin's photo essay of the trip.

Unplugged, Offline and Analog

2008-11-16T22:32:00.008-06:00

Cancun Day 1 - Thursday November 13, 2008

I was already relaxed by about half-way through the flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta, which left about 45 minutes late. That made the layover in Atlanta that much shorter and then I was off to Mexico for the first time.

I got up early this morning, worked out, biked, and then took a cab to the airport plenty early. I got a coffee and a piece of gingerbread loaf and took a few spins through email, Facebook, and a quick glance at work, vowing to unplug for the duration of the next few days.

Why am I always so hungry when I travel? The coffee and frosting-laden bread didn't set me up for a healthy start, but I finished the day healthy: apple, banana, and a cookie by way of a sausage egg muffin (D'Amico NOT McD's but what's the difference?) and a tasty lentil salad in Atlanta. Anyways, here's to healthy eating the next 3 days.

Now I'm on the beach under a near full moon (maybe full tomorrow night?). The occasional cloud darts across the moon and makes it hard to see what I'm writing. Otherwise it's brilliantly bright. I can already get a sense of the turquoise blues of the water; a steady gradient that turns to navy at the horizon.

I'll be right back here for sunrise, then the gym, then see how far down the beach I can run, then breakfast. Back to the beach, the pool, happy hour, see if the moon comes up over the same horizon... Repeat. That's the plan, and I'm hungry again.

It's quiet here. The party music and crowd noises have faded from further down the beach. There's no one else in sight. My shorts are soaked halfway up from a walk in the surf, I have no idea what time it is, and it sets in: I'm here. I'm relaxed, and ready to go to bed, so I can start tomorrow.

Cancun Day 2 - Friday November 14, 2008

I slept with the doors to my balcony open - the waves crashing in my ears all night. An immersive start to the weekend. I was up before 6 am and went down to the beach to look for the sun. There was a thick line of clouds along the horizon, obscuring the view.

I walked further down the beach to a rocky/coral ridge (ouch! wear shoes next time). I was convinced I'd missed the sunrise when it lit up just above the thick clouds. The rocks and plants around me were lit up in orange light and even the shadows seemed to glow warm gray.

I took some pics, went to the gym for a quick, intense circuit, then ran, kind of. Running in sand is hard! (DON'T wear shoes next time) The run turned into a walk - the sun already hot and high overhead. Now some breakfast and maybe a lounge chair after I buy some sunscreen.

Holy crap do they ever gouge you on the sunscreen! Twenty bucks a bottle. Oh well, can't live without it.

Layed in the sun just enough to get some color I think. Then swam, then snoozed and read. Shrimp fajitas for lunch, more reading, followed by a serious nap on the beach as the sun went down behind me. Now happy hour with a margarita on the rocks. Have to drink it before the ice melts! It's not quite 6 pm and it's pitch black out. The sun sets quickly here too, I guess. I'm comfortable in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, but still thinking of heading to the pool and hot tub. And what to do tomorrow? Sounds like the ferry to Isla Mujeres isn't cheap but it's a cool place... Decisions, decisions.

Cancun Day 3 - Saturday November 15, 2008

Two A-holes order breakfast. Seriously, just like the SNL sketch.
A-hole dude to waiter: Two coffees. Babe, you want coffee?
A-hole chick: Yeah
A-hole dude: Two decafs. Babe you want decaf?
A-hole chick: I don't want coffee today.
A-hole dude: One decaf. babe you want decaf?
A-hole chick: No.
A-hole dude: Diet Coke?
A-hole chick: No.
A-hole dude, to waiter: One decaf.

Wow. I'm at breakfast, sitting next to the A-holes. I'm feeling freakishly good already this morning. I was up before 6, had some tea and watched the sun rise from my balcony...

...then went to the gym for light weights and about 50 minutes on the bike. Great cardio. I probably wouldn't have gone so long, but I was waiting for the spa to open. At 8 I went into the steam room. Didn't last long in there (very claustrophobic) but just long enough to feel like a seive. Sweat was pouring out of me. Awesome. Then a cool shower...

Walked down the beach to a volleyball court and got in on a couple games. Met a nice couple from England. Too bad they weren't staying at the Westin. Pretty slim pickings for friends over here. Nothing but old people in the Royal Beach Tower, the main pool bar is overloaded with loud tattooed Texans and girls with added... buoyancy. Oh yeah and the gay couples. Who knew it was bear country?

Maybe one more dose of sun before I quit the beach for today. By 3:30 the sun is a lot less hot and the air gets cooler... I'm having my first beer of the trip: Sol. Uno mas, senor? Si.

Cancun Day 4 - Sunday November 16, 2008

Didn't sleep great last night... kept waking up. A storm rolled in overnight and the sky is overcast with lots of wind. Got up about 7 and went to work out. Not a bad day to leave, I guess. I'm ready. I haven't checked email or even thought about it much. Barely turned on the tv - just for some tunes... I worked out 3 days, stayed unplugged, finished a book, and hardly spent any money (stupid sunscreen). I feel great. This was a good idea.

Ouch

2008-07-19T02:34:00.005-05:00

Yep, it's busted.

First broken bone in 20 years, fourth ever.

#1 - 1987: Non-displaced fracture of the right mandibular ramus. (Broken jaw)

#2 - 1988: Green fracture of the left radius (broken wrist)

#3 - 1988: Spiral fracture of the left tibia (broken leg)

#4 - 2008: Displaced fracture of distal phalanx of the fourth finger. (Broken left pinky)

Another Rock Wall

2008-07-15T22:34:00.005-05:00

The second retaining wall project around my driveway came to a close this past weekend. I spent lots of time in the sun, and a bit of time transporting a ton of rocks in the trunk of my car (literally a ton, in two trips). I back filled as I went and leveled out the hill, so the rocks had something to retain.

Here are the numbers:

4 tons of rocks
2 yards of fill
3 yards of top soil
100 lbs of class 2 base
10 potted plants/flowers
1 sunburned back

Still need to get 200 or so square feet of sod, but the heavy lifting is done.

Midway update

2008-07-08T10:02:00.005-05:00

Time for an update on the driveway rocks. They're coming along, but slowly. I haven't been able to get more rocks for a couple weeks because of the hours the landscape place is open and I don't want to pay the $55 delivery fee for $140 in materials. Anyway, here's where it's at.

Before:

Midway point:

Kinda hard to tell from the pics, but the hill has been raised quite a bit. previously the yard sloped down from the property line to the driveway, but now it levels off at the top of the short retaining wall. I used my entire compost/mulch pile in back to fill it in plus three yards of dirt.

Eventually there will be plants/flowers among the rocks, and grass and border plants on top... Hope to get another load of rocks this weekend and put them in!

Cool Cucumber Wasabi Sauce

2008-06-10T10:35:00.005-05:00

Cool with a kick. A tasty sauce for shrimp, steak, potatoes, whatever. Wimps, skip the wasabi.

1/2 cucumber
Sour cream (1 cup or so)
Inglehoffer wasabi
2 garlic cloves
Chopped chives
Juice of 1/2 lemon
A drizzle of olive oil
Salt, pepper

Mix finely chopped cucumber, pressed garlic, chives in a bowl with sour cream. Drizzle in a little olive oil, add lemon juice and stir. Season with S&P, squirt in a tablespoon of wasabi, taste, then add another. Good for dipping shrimps and spreadding on bites of steak. Enjoy!

The Dramatic Reveal

2008-06-01T21:36:00.003-05:00

Mom and Dad came up this weekend to hang out and work on a project, per the usual itinerary. We decided to replace the basement door to the garage and got so far as bringing home a 32" fire door Friday night. It's interesting that we went to the trouble of buying a 32" fire door when I needed a 36" fire door. That was the first sign that the project was in peril. After returning the wrong door and shopping around fruitlessly for the right one, we determined that this was not the weekend for the fire door project, and that the standard 36" door maybe isn't right after all. I'll custom order a fire door and save that project for another time.

So, what we did do was some electrical work. I have wanted to install lights on either side of the garage ever since I moved in. The best way to wire these new lights would be to put them on the switch that turns on the light outside the front door. I even planned ahead and bought lights that matched the one by the front door last year when I painted.

So we got 50' of household wiring and went to work. We cut a hole in the basement ceiling and fished the wire into the wall upstairs to the switch. Then fished the other end of the wire out through the basement ceiling joists and into the garage, through the cement block and stucco, and out to where the lights would go. Finally we mounted the lights and threw the switch. Piece of cake - a project started and finished in one day. Flippin sweet!

And you know what? This part just never gets old:

Before:

After:

OK, so that "before" picture is a little outdated, but you get the idea...

Fixing what ain't broke

2008-05-18T18:56:00.005-05:00

Super awesome weekend! Best yet this year.

I spent the weekend doing nothing but working in the yard. I moved some boulders, put a few in place on the west side of the driveway, bought mulch and put it around my trees and shrubs in the front, watered everything, stirred my compost pile, stacked wood and sticks, mowed, and then did a sort of unnecessary thing - I tore out a perfectly good built-in rock fire pit.

Actually it wasn't perfectly good. I had wanted to redo it and get the fire a bit further away from the patio - don't need more heat playing thermal expansion games with my new concrete. Plus I think someone called it "cute" and/or "litte". And that just ain't right.

So I tore it out.

And rebuilt it.

Now it's bigger, deeper, wider, and probably hotter, too.

Working on it

2008-05-15T09:13:00.003-05:00

I'm kicking off the landscaping season with a couple of projects: the remaining area by the driveway and the backyard. I'm still in planning phase, and these pics show the current state and my wireframe blanks...

This area by the driveway will get some boulders and some more dirt.

The Northeast corner of the back yard needs some work - several shrubs and trees coming out, and some new trees going in.

Let the mess-making begin!

Oh yeah

2008-05-05T14:13:00.005-05:00

It's here. It's finally here, and this time in a way that just can't be stopped. I'm talking about Spring and it's been a bit of a tease thus far in these parts. Of course with it comes a list of to-dos, some of which were accomplished this weekend. The stacking of wood, the picking up of sticks, sweeping and blowing leaves… Thank goodness there is no painting on the list, although I need to do a bit of touch-up in a couple spots. The focus this summer will be on landscaping both in front and in back. More boulders, more plants, some new trees, and one less apple tree, and the expected disappearance of a certain mulch pile.

Gonna do it again

2008-04-30T11:19:00.002-05:00

I'm running again. I picked it up a couple weeks ago and hit the 5K goal last Wednesday. I didn't enter an actual 5K, just ran the distance around Marsh Lake. Training up to that distance took the least amount of time this year, compared to other years.

Must have been all the dodgeball I played this winter.

3 weeks ago (when it was 60, before it was 25 again) I walked it and ran the middle mile. Next time out I warmed up/cooled down the first and last 1/2 mile and ran the rest. Ran the whole route a week ago, then bumped it to 4 miles last night.

Last year my goal was to train up to 10K distance by the 4th of July. This year it's 10K by the end of May. Maybe try and get that time to under an hour by the 4th...

Best Sammich ever

2008-04-14T16:31:00.004-05:00

I can't take credit for coming up with this recipe, but I can take credit for making it and eating it, which, if you missed it, was delicious.

Grilled Ham and Egg Sandwich

2 slices Sourdough bread
Sopressata (Italian salami)
Prosciutto
Fresh mozzarella
1 egg
basil leaves
red onion thinly sliced

Fry the salami in a wide shallow pan (big enough to fit the whole sammich in later) just until the fat renders. Remove from pan and set aside. Fry the egg in the oil sunnyside up, remove and set aside. Layer the bread with the salami, prosciutto, mozzarella, onion and toast - right back in the same pan - on both sides. Add fried egg and a couple basil leaves to the bottom half, slice and serve.

Great with a crisp Pinto Grigio.

In Summary

2008-03-05T12:39:00.006-06:00

Imagine this scenario: You're browsing through the TV listings, scanning for a movie to watch, occasionally pausing to read the brief synopsis of the movie (the one or two-liner that describes the show, maybe on-screen, maybe in your news paper or TV Guide).

If you're watching TBS pretty much any given Saturday afternoon, you'll find:

The Breakfast Club: "A wrestler, a rebel, a brain, a beauty and a shy girl share Saturday detention in a Chicago high school."

More specifically, on a sci-fi type channel you might find the following:

Back to the Future: "A teen takes a crackpot's DeLorean time machine to 1955 and sees his parents in high school."

Or,

E.T. The Extra-terrestrial: "A boy's close encounter with an alien stranded on Earth leads to a unique friendship."

The summaries are jam-packed with keywords, often stacked 3 and 4 in a row, maximizing the description in a short space. So, they might seem a bit odd to read, but when you know the context, they are effective in describing, in this case, a couple of mainstream 80s movies.

Imagine how my curiosity was piqued upon reading the following synopsis (which was from the 80s, but NOT a mainstream film):

Solarbabies: "Orphan roller skaters follow a magical sphere to freedom from fascist police of the future."

Roller Skaters, you say? Yes, but ORPHAN roller skaters.

Follow a sphere? Wait - where? No, a MAGICAL sphere. To FREEDOM.

Freedom from the police? Even worse. FASCIST police.

OF THE FUTURE.

I'm not sure I've ever seen 15 words say so much.

As a sci-fi fan I had to watch this movie. No surprise, it was terrible.

My valentine

2008-02-19T21:24:00.003-06:00

...And happy half-birthday to Sophia!

Some people...

2008-01-31T15:53:00.000-06:00

I have pretty much the coolest co-workers ever. About a week ago, the lunch club surprised me with a few bottles of wine to begin stocking the recently completed wine cellar. How awesome is that?! Then, I got a package in the mail from my sister with some wine tags she had made herself! Super sweet!

Some people are too cool... I thought they were very nice gestures, and lovely gifts. Thank you!

But wait there's more!

2008-01-22T22:14:00.000-06:00

So, you say. That's great that you have those single-bottle racks, you say, but what do you do with larger bottles - champagne, 1.5 ml bottles, magnums, odd-sized bottles?

The answer? Diamond bin racks, of course!

The 2 x-shaped racks add room for about 40 more bottles bringing the total storage capacity to something around 240. Plus some room for other beverages that like to be kept cool...

Cellar floor

2008-01-20T13:34:00.000-06:00

Back to some continuing progress in the basement wine cellar. I took one step back in order to take two steps forward. I removed the wine racks again and took a long look at the dirty, white-primered floor.

After considering a few different options like paint, hardwood, carpet, a big rug, etc... I went with an idea I had early on - cork! Now, rather than getting the expensive $12-per-square-foot official stuff, I got the $4-per-square-foot bulletin board grade stuff. It comes in 4-packs of 1 foot tiles. I got a dark, coarse version that goes well with the dark colors.

It even came with its own adhesive squares.

At first I was a bit skeptical of it's durability as a substrate, but given the low traffic (I know what you're thinking - yes, I'll be in there all the time, but it's not like I'll be running laps) and that it's tightly fit together, I'm going with it unless I have a reason to change. Besides it looks cool and fits the theme, obviously.

I got a bit more trim and finished off the seams between the tiles and the paneling. The racks went back in, and got anchored to the walls again. Next I'm building a few diamond stackers for over-sized bottles...

The new girl

2008-01-18T07:51:00.000-06:00

The new girl has been here 5 months. I haven't posted any pics of her for a while, and some have been asking asking about her, so here she is!

I got lots of time to look at that smile over Christmas, but no matter how much time you get it's never really quite enough is it?

Panels and Trim

2008-01-13T00:12:00.000-06:00

I finished putting panels on the wall today.

Also picked up some dark trim that smells of rich mahogany (or at least looks like it) and covered up all the corner seams.

Then after I realized that I had put the wine racks together with one section upside down (on both racks, of course) I took them apart, put them back together, then put them on some 2x6s to elevate them just a bit. The floor is very uneven, so it took a few shims.

Next I'll attach the wine racks to the wall so they can't tip, then do the floor. Getting closer...

Light!

2008-01-06T09:13:00.000-06:00

I had been pondering how to mount my under-cabinet-style lights on the ceiling since the beginning of the project. The ceiling is plywood with a layer of insulation on top, then concrete. The conundrum was how to have lights up there and have paneling on the ceiling, but not see the wires. The solution was to router a groove in the plywood that the wires could sit in and not bow the paneling when I glued it up.

View of the ceiling from the front. The pencil line going back is where I cut the channel.

The glue didn't set as quickly as I had hoped, so I had to use lots of screws. In the struggle to secure the ceiling panelling up, the wires got themselves stuck outside of the channel. When I tried to pull one free it broke under the panelling after I had screwed it up. Well, now I had really screwed it up!

I was able to fish both ends back out and splice them back together and all is well... Ceiling is done and one panel on the wall.

The two most challenging parts are done now (the door/frame and ceiling/lights) and now it appears to be a matter of measuring, cutting, and gluing panelling. Progress is good!

Racks

2008-01-06T08:57:00.000-06:00

The racks were delivered earlier this week.

They're modular, so these two finished racks are made from 4 smaller ones. From http://www.winerackstore.com/. I found they had good prices, great selection, and free shipping on the ones I got.

The horizontal bars came predrilled and were notched to receive the vertical pieces, but the vertical assembly peices were not predrilled. I predrilled those to prevent splitting. They went together in about 30 minutes each.

A door

2008-01-03T20:46:00.000-06:00

Framed a rough opening for a prehung door:

And installed that door:

Of course, all this required moving the electrical again, I think for the last time. I still need to permanently attach the door to the frame, but it's in! Next is to make room for the ceiling lights and their wiring, then panel the ceiling and walls... The wine racks are on their way!

How I'm spending Christmas vacation

2007-12-26T09:49:00.001-06:00

...Or, Look what a mess I've made.

I recently hinted that I'm going to build a wine cellar in my basement, and this is the week to get started! My house was built in 1956, so it's got a small room where the well used to be (of course, it has since been converted to municipal water supply). This little cinder block room is surrounded on 3 sides by dirt, so it's naturally temperature regulated at about 59°. To make it into a wine cellar I need to do a bit of rewiring, then fill some holes with foam gap filler, paint a moisture sealant on the concrete block walls, panel the walls, cover the floor, then put in the wine racks and stock it! And something about a door, too, probably...

Right now the well room looks like this:

But soon it will look like this:

Make a sammich out of it!

2007-12-14T08:54:00.000-06:00

I've been doing it this way forever! Make sure you try it during the holidays, and show your friends. Works great on cake, too!

http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2007/12/how-to-eat-cupcakes.html

Like Yo-Yo Ma without a didgeridoo

2007-12-13T09:36:00.000-06:00

I've been doing some research on building wine storage in my basement. Along the way I found this quote:

"We slouched away from the wine shop as another liquid treasure teased us from the window. Like Amelia Earheart without a plane or Miles Davis without a saxophone, we were wine fans without a cellar. "

This wine lover isn't much of a jazz fan, methinks. The original article is here.

Butt bone connected to the... shoulder bone

2007-12-04T09:24:00.000-06:00

Roast Pork Butt (Pork Shoulder)

This cut of meat comes by many names: pork butt, pork shoulder, picnic roast. It really is the shoulder, and it really is the cheapest cut of meat in the case: about 1.79 a pound. Apparently the reason for that is it's a very fatty, tough cut of meat with a bone in it.

Cook it like this and you'd never know it:

4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 red onion
1 pork shoulder, bone in

Mince or press the garlic and rub it all over the meat. Mix the rosemary and fennel seeds in a bowl and sprinkle them on the meat pressing it with your hands so it sticks.

Cut the onion into eighths and place the segments in a roasting pan or 5-quart casserole. Place the pork fat side up on top of the onion and cover.

Roast in 250° oven (yes two hundred fifty) for 8 hours. Put it in over night if you want it for lunch. Remove from oven, let cool 1/2 hour and serve. The meat falls away from the bone and you don't even have to cut this stuff. It's ultra tender, juicy and delicious. Keep the meat in the juices when reheating leftovers.

Proof

2007-11-26T09:38:00.001-06:00

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as James Bond, Agent 007

James Bond is MI6's best agent, a suave, sophisticated super spy with charm, cunning, and a license's to kill. He doesn't care about rules or regulations and somewhat amoral. He does care about saving humanity though, as well as the beautiful women who fill his world. Bond has expensive tastes, a wide knowledge of many subjects, and his usually armed with a clever gadget and an appropriate one-liner.

83% James Bond. Also 76% Jack Sparrow and 68% Lara Croft. A somewhat conflicted hero, apparently. You can take the silly quiz here.

Make this sweet potato recipe

2007-11-20T10:53:00.001-06:00

Make this delicious twist on sweet potatoes and you shall be a hero at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Sweet Potatoes au Gratin

5 to 6 medium sweet potatoes
3 cups heavy cream
1 stick butter
1/4 cup chopped parsely
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 cups grated swiss cheese
Salt & pepper

Slice the sweet potato into 1/8 inch slices. (Square off the sweet potato prior to slicing. Round is fine, but square slices will fit into the baking dish better.)

In a saucepan, heat the cream, butter, and herbs, on low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until butter is melted. Place a single layer of the sweet potato slices into a buttered 3 quart baking dish. Pour about a cup of the cream mixture over the sweet potatoes. Add a layer of Swiss cheese. Continue with sweet potato, cream and cheese layers and finish with Swiss cheese. It's quite runny and expands while baking, so a bit of room at the top will keep it all in the dish.

Bake for about 40 minutes at 375, or until potatoes are tender, check after 25 minutes.

Plan plenty of time to let it sit. 30 minutes will help everything firm up. Serve and enjoy! Makes 6-8 big servings.

Don't be afraid to make lots - the leftovers reheat very well.

The hardest working band in show business

2007-11-18T05:34:00.000-06:00

Friday, November 16 at First Avenue: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

I got 2 words to describe this show: DAMN!

Energetic and non-stop, the show opened around 10 pm with the throw-back Dap-Kings for a few introductory tunes. And they never stopped playing once. As soon as one tune ended the next would start in a seamless flow of tight horn hits and funky rhythms. Sharon Jones, who's apparently 51 years old (!), was brought on stage after a classy and lengthy introduction by the fast-talking lead guitar player, and she proceeded to shuffle, sing, dance and belt with endless energy for the next 90 minutes.

This show was nothing but good old-fashioned class, which was enhanced by the guitar player's fast talking. I'll offer a quote that he said prior to Ms. Jones' return to the stage during the encore:

(The Dap-Kings had come back up on stage and were vamping, while we expected Sharon to come back on stage.)

"Ladies and gentleman, I must inform you that due to contractual obligations the time has come when we have played the allotted songs in the allotted time. Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry, the show is over."

The crowd boos in disbelief. The band came back up on stage just to tell us THAT?!

"But when one door closes, another door opens, and while the show may be over, the party has just begun!"

Incredible. See them when they come to your town and in the mean time listen to their album, 100 Days 100 Nights, or buy it from Daptone Records. You won't reget it.

Lil Punkin

2007-10-26T06:49:00.000-05:00

I've been asked for some updated pics of my neice. These were taken a couple weeks ago, when she was 8 weeks old. Just starting to smile a bit... Pretty freakin cute.

Heroes, Gyros, & Beer-os

2007-10-23T10:36:00.000-05:00

It's been happening every week during the TV season since last fall...

The break out phenomenon that took the nation by surprise...

It's called Heroes, Gyros, and Beer-os.

Monday nights Lee and I get together to watch Heroes, eat gyros from Gyropolis, and drink Grain Belt Premium beer-os.

You, too can help make Monday everybody's new favorite night of the week: watch some good TV, support your local gyro shop and tip back a local brew.

And let me know if you have food and drink ideas that rhyme with Lost and 24.

Catching up part 5

2007-10-17T23:45:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to get this up for a long time. It's come up in a few conversations recently so I guess it's time. I went to India in March of 2006 to train some Dell employees. These are entries from my journal while I was there. Previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Friday, March 10
6 am
The Charminar, Hyderabad, India

Sunrise was a bust for photos and lighting, much like the sunset the night before. We left the hotel, the same driver from last night and I, and I actually saw the most color in the sky from the car as soon as we left the hotel, about ½ hour before actual sunrise. The driver kept going slow, explaining the surroundings, in spite of my gentle urging to get to the Charminar, a prayer temple in the oldest section of the city, before the sun was actually up. “You see, sa. Sun is coming slooooooowly, sa.” Repeat. He would make a statement like that every so often, like “very old, sa. 600 years, sa,” or some trivial information like that. Then he would repeat it until I actually said, Yes or OK, not just uh-huh, or mmm-hmmmm. Then he’d say it one more time. I appreciated his enthusiasm, but got a little tired of the routine, plus I was annoyed that the weather was not cooperating with my photo ops.

The Charminar opens at dawn for prayers.

So I took a couple pics, said no to a half dozen stops he suggested on the way back to the hotel, had breakfast and went back to bed.

2 pm
The Final Run

I hooked up with a driver, the same one who had driven me around on Wednesday, and went out for one last round of souvenir hunting. Went to some more authentic shops this time - not touristy; rather where Indies go to shop, less mall like and more bazaar like. In fact one place was called Big Bazaar. Got some pearls for the girls and a shirt for my brother. Couldn’t find a t-shirt with Hindi on it. Not even one that said India. All the t-shirts with writing were in English. Not aimed at the same type of tourist shopping that I expected. Couldn’t find any postcards either. Strange. Also went to Karachi Bakery, apparently a world famous place, and got some biscuits (cookies) to take home.

So I took it easy the rest of the evening, had a snack and a Cobra Premium (it’s no Grain Belt) at the bar, got packed up and took a nap. Had one last dinner and left the hotel at 12:30 am Saturday the 11th. Got back to the states about 24 hours later around noon on Sunday the 12th.

I'd love to go back.

Catching up part 4

2007-10-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

On the way up the block was a strong smell of urine, mixed with sweet, pungent incense and some food spices. There are food stands nearly everywhere, and I had already seen a few men peeing on walls or on the sidewalk while we were driving around, so I wasn’t too surprised at the wide variety of smells. Made for an interesting aromatic experience, though. The streets are filthy.

With the tire fixed, my driver insisted we go to the temple, which didn’t really matter to me much at the time. He said the view was great at night - much better than the day, so I said fine.

First, you must remove your shoes. Most everyone else was in bare feet, so I removed my socks as well. Also cameras are not allowed, so this led to quite a sacred experience for me. It’s easy for me to spend too much time behind the lens of a camera sometimes, trying to take every memory home with me... so I feel a little more reverence, I guess, when I know I’ll be taking mental pictures.

It was amazing! From the cool stone on the bottom of my feet to the many people who had come to pray wearing colored chalk on their cheeks and receiving a blessing, all the white marble (god, all the white marble), the cool breeze, the moon and clouds overhead, the prayer chants.... From the top you can see the giant statue of Buddha in Hussein Sagar. A Lutheran guy with a Muslim guide, in a Hindu temple, looking at a Buddhist sculpture. Pretty heavy.

At the top, a very peaceful place, I stood with my face into the wind and enjoyed a serene moment, just taking it all in, really for the first time so far on the trip. My guide said quietly, “It’s very quiet up here. No traffic.” (And he said sir, or “sa” at the end of each sentence.) He continued, “No stress, sa. Very peaceful, sa. Very quiet, sa... No one to bother you, sa. No one to interrupt you while you enjoy the mood, sa.” And on and on... Actually it seemed like a comedy routine after a bit. I had to laugh.

Don't forget your light-up Vishnu and Ganesh on the way out!

Read Part 5...

Catching up part 3

2007-10-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

Thursday, March 9, 2006
10:30 - 3 pm
Emporium, shopping

I hired a driver to take me out souvenir hunting. Half day excursions cost Rs. 825, all day 1200. Rupees are about 44 to the dollar, so 100 rupees is just over 2 dollars, 1000 rupees is about 23 bucks. The first place was an emporium, specializing in India handcrafts. Surprisingly this would be the only such store I would get to see the whole trip. Had I known this I may have bought more items. The store clerk was very helpful and spoke English well. The woven silk pieces were really beautiful. From large and small tablecloths to pillow cases to place mats, it was difficult to choose just a couple items. Along with a carved elephant, I chose a violet pillow case with peacocks and elephants in the design and a blue table runner.

Now, I had been told that prices were negotiable everywhere, not to settle for the price tag or the quoted price in both online research and from a local at Dell. The total of my items came 1440 rupees, or about 33 bucks. Pretty cheap, but I was going to try my hand at bargaining. I offered 800 rupees for everything. The guy looked at me funny and said, “I don’t understand.” He again added up the total and said it again 1440. This guy’s pretty good, I thought. I repeated my offer and after a bit of the same upped my offer to 1000. He then politely but firmly informed me that this was a different kind of store. The price here is the price you pay. Some markets will not even have a price - those are the ones to bargain with. Not here. You can see the price clearly on the item, and you can pay it or you can leave. I had insulted him and I felt bad. Or else he was REALLY good. So I smiled and said do you take American Express?

My driver and me.

The taxi driver and the hotel doorman. They were all smiles until it was time for a photo.

After a little more shopping at a mall, my driver and I had lunch at Paradise Biryani, “the best place in town” for biryani, a rice, herb, spice dish served with lamb, chicken, or veg. We washed our hands and sat down upstairs inside. It was better to be inside than outside, my driver said, but I’m not sure why. His English was better than my Hindu or Telugu (which is nil), but not too great, so many of our exchanges ended in confusion. We had lamb biryani and ate with our fingers, me following his lead. Silverware was provided, but traditionally meals are eaten with the fingers. This was the only time on the trip where I saw it, but I didn’t eat outside the hotel much. The dish was a little spicy and came with some spicy sauce and a milk sauce. Washed it down with a Pepsi and payed the inflated bill, which I didn’t notice until later. We ate 2 biryanis at Rs. 95 each plus 2 sodas, but were charged for 3 sodas, 2 biryanis, 2 soups and 2 salads. Even the inflated total was less than 10 bucks. Surely an honest mistake.

The street from outside Paradise Biryani.

I mean no disrespect, but that's from Mad Max right?

After that I went back to the hotel and had a beer by the pool and relaxed for a couple hours.

Read Part 4...

Your life, the soundtrack.

2007-09-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

You are making a feature film about your life. What songs do you select for the soundtrack? You'll want at least one song for each major stage of your life, the highs and lows, significant relationships, educational and career milestones, etc.

It starts with Mickey Mouse Disco, 1979. That's the first record I remember listening to over and over. The theme songs from Dukes of Hazzard and Knight Rider would come next, followed by - I know you had a copy of this, too - The Thriller album. We can wrap up the eighties with Axel F - the theme from Beverly Hills Cop - the first song I learned by ear and showed me playing the piano can actually be fun (which it still is).

Fast forward to high school so I can embarrass myself with titles such as Keep on Movin, It Takes 2, and Bust a Move. By the time I was out of high school, U2's Joshua Tree was constantly in the Discman. From then on (and still today) it became transitional/travelling music. Whenever I was on a long road trip or going somewhere new, U2 was along for the ride. Still the best album ever.

College was grunge: Pearl Jam's Ten album - the whole thing ought to do it. Late nineties would be a few songs from the ska band I was in, the Jinkies. I was 24, had a "real job" and I was in a band outside of school. At that moment I felt like I had made it. Funny what silly things you think when you're 24.

The soundtrack of my life for the past 5 years or so would be an odd mix between chilled out funk from the Meters, chilled out ska from the Skatalites, and chilled out electronica from Groove Armada and St. Germain, among others.

Last week I picked up 3 new titles in the funk and soul category: Budos Band II, Stanton Moore III, and Greyboy Allstars' What Happened to Television? I highly recommend all 3.

Aaron, Lee, Jodi, it's your turn. And pass it on.

Catching up part 2

2007-09-26T18:07:00.000-05:00

Catching up part 1

2007-09-26T17:53:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to get this up for a long time. It's come up in a few conversations recently so I guess it's time. I went to India in March of 2006 to train some Dell employees. These are entries from my journal while I was there.

Monday, March 6, 2006
Hyderabad, India

After 19 hours of travel I arrived from Amsterdam a at about 2:00 am. My first impression was the feeling of humidity and the large crowds waiting to greet their travelers. I was aware of the stares, and had been informed that this was common. Indeed, I was the subject of gazes wherever I went.

The cab to the hotel took less than ten minutes. I checked in and went to sleep around 3:00. I met up with Gavin from Corel’s UK office for lunch, then went to the Dell office. Work at Dell was rather monotonous. 3 pm to midnight or later each night Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I stayed up until at least 3 each night, trying to sleep in each morning, but that didn’t work too well. I grew more and more tired each night we worked. Perhaps it was the repetition of delivering the same material to 7 or 8 groups per night...

The Dell office is in the "Hi-Tech City" area of Hyderabad.

Read Part 2...

...But only as a last resort

2007-08-29T08:31:00.000-05:00

There's just so much to love about the following statements. If I had to pick five reasons to enjoy sake (or beer for that matter) these reasons make perfect sense.

The tag stops here

2007-08-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Aaron tagged me with a 7 random things meme. OK, I'll play along, but I'm not sending it to anyone - they've both already been tagged...

1. My sister has a daughter which means I have a niece. She's here.
2. Since getting HD tv service, I've really paid a lot more attention to baseball than I ever did before.
3. However I'm not able to rattle off stats, player names, positions, or team place in standings. And I likely never will.
4. I think it's quite possible that slowly, over a couple years I went from a person who truly loved his job to one who is simply very glad to have one.
5. When you tell someone you haven't spoken to for quite a few years what you've been up to all this time, you'll quickly find out that there just isn't all that much to tell.
6. I think that's because the real fun is in the details. I can think of 10-minute experiences that are a hell of a lot more interesting than a brief history of the last 10 years.
7. My 15-year high school reunion is this summer. I am not attending. I suppose #5 has something to do with that.

It's a baby girl!

2007-08-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

Congrats to my sister and her husband on the birth of their baby girl, Sophia Ana-Marie!

Born August 17. 8 lbs, 7 oz., 20.5"

It's all pretty wonderful and amazing. And she already really likes me. I'm pretty much her favorite uncle. Well, definitely one of her 11 favorite uncles.

She's awfully sweet, in that way babies are. I only wish she lived closer, both for sis's sake and mine. I'd love to be able to see the little gal more often!

I never like that tree limb anyway

2007-08-14T08:59:00.000-05:00

So Ma Nature swept in and helped everyone in west Bloomington with a little pruning, including this limb on my maple Friday night, and leaving about 250,000 people without power. Also note the downed power lines in the pic below.

Several trees were uprooted and toppled over, especially on Vincent and on 91st. As for a little bit of "lemons into lemonade", I was able to safely paint around the power lines attached to the house while the power was off. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

The end is (nowhere) near

2007-07-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

...But progress is being made. Yeah, I know I've been whining about it for days, so here are some pics to: a) prove that I wasn't making it up just to get attention, and b) show off some pics so that I can get some attention...

I started scraping a little bit in June, and really started working on it this past week. I took a few days off work over the 4th and, with some help from Lee and Adam (thanks, guys!), got the entire front of the house finished: priming all the bare wood and trim, and applying two technicolor dreamcoats on everything. "Before" pics are from about 3 1/2 months ago, in March.

The new color is very similar to the old, but more beige-y and less taupe-y, I guess. And you can see more of the not-quite-finished boulder project, too. The job change in March has made such a difference in what I can get done around here. I'm honestly happy to have the time to be at home and work on this stuff, even when it's hard work...

Stuff I built - a patio update

2007-06-13T10:40:00.001-05:00

This is the patio right after they took the forms off. It looks a lot better now that it has a couple chairs, a bench, another bench, and stuff. Kinda looks like 1/4 of Mickey's head, upside down, doesn't it?

So here are a couple pics of the stuff I've built and put on the patio. First is a cedar trellis, on which I have hung some tiki lights (not pictured). Sort of a screen to section off the AC and firewood area.

Also, I built a cedar planter box/bench combo, which now holds some herbs (also not pictured). Thanks for the herbs, sis!

There's lots of landscaping left to do around the patio - mainly adding dirt, mulch, maybe plants. I still need to complete the boulder wall project in front, so landscaping in back will likely come later. And I keep putting off scraping and painting the house, mostly because I just don't want to do it. I mean who would?

And I shall call it "Timmy"

2007-05-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

I threw the summer kick-off party Sunday, the inaugural bash on the new patio. I'd say it was a smashing success. Had a couple of neighbors over, the bro, lots of friends... There was much food, drink and burning of stuff. Adam made pitcher after pitcher of Mojitos, Jenny made some killer peanut butter chocolate bars, among many other tasty treats. We played volleyball in near darkness, then whiffle ball batting practice in complete darkness. As it got cooler we put on extra layers and lit a fire. Hardly anything got broken at all until...

Lee and I decided the patio needed christening (with a bottle of Premium, of course). So after much fanfare and a brief naming brainstorm, the patio was dubbed Kon-Tiki-Tiki-Lau in a glorious spray of golden, foamy beer and shards of glass. It was quite lovely.

I can't wait until the next one...

Planters all done

2007-05-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

Before:

After:

Close up:

And good thing I got it done, too. The driveway guys are coming 2 days early! Tear out is Tuesday May 8, pouring Wednesday...

Work in Progress

2007-05-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

Inspired by my soon-to-be-installed new driveway, I decided to spiff up the rather neglected area by my front steps. So right now, somewhere around half done is a retaining wall and a couple of planter boxes. I need to patch a step before I finish adding bricks, but after that, a few more layers and voila...

I'll post before-and-afters when it's done.

24, or 12: the halfway point

2007-03-06T07:35:00.000-06:00

Season 6, 5:00-6:00 pm

Worst episode ever. Here's my take, in the words of some of the characters who were actually there, but didn't have a chance to say what they really thought:

Secret Service in White House Bunker:
First Agent: Dude, a bomb! Almost blowed-up the Prez!
Second Agent: Well, that's what happens when we bring a known terrorist in to meet with the president in the most secure and super-secret place we could possibly imagine.
First Agent: You really think he did it?
Second Agent: Nah, but I got a wife, kids, and a pension to think about. I mean it's MY ASS.
First Agent: Somebody else must have smuggled it in, I guess. We gotta talk to somebody at the metal detector. I mean it's EVERY TIME with those guys!

Conspiracy in EVEN MORE super secret pipe room:
Bad Guy: You think he'll talk?
Ex-Mrs. Hillary Swank: Nahhhh.

Russian Embassy, exterior:
Jack: Funny, but my Russian is still fluent. I may have lost that slight Ukraininan accent I worked on, but hey, it's been 18 months since I even spoke ENGLISH! Don't make me choke you!

Russian Embassy, interior:
Markov: You know, it's really great to be here in the US of A, in this sunny state of California, where I don't have to work too hard or wait in the bread lines or ration my fuel... But I think we should destroy these filthy capitalist pigs and teach them a lesson!
Soon-to-be-deceased Russian guy: A lesson in what? Why should we make trouble?
Markov: I don't know I guess... Just to shake things up, maybe? I mean, wouldn't it be nice to just go back to the motherland and poison some MF's for the KGB now and again?
Soon-to-be-deceased Russian guy: Da.

Russian Embassy, interior, later on:
Soon-to-be-deceased Russian guy: Jack Bauer just told me something werry, werry important. Now I'm the ONLY ONE who can stop Marko. I have a funny feeling about this...

CTU Los Angeles:
Morris: There's no way ever that we could ever monitor anything coming or going from that embassy. Oh, wait...

Washington, DC airport:
Karen Hayes-Buchanan: Hi Bill, I'm in the Worldperks lounge at the airport. Yeah, another Northwest delay. What do you mean "should have called 5 hours ago"?!

Back in the White House Bunker:
President Palmer: Ouch. How could you let this happen? Are you the head of my Secret Service or NOT??
Secret Service Agent: No, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

...And we're back!

2006-11-22T00:20:00.000-06:00

Yeah, yeah, long absence and all that... OK, so here's a couple pics from Joshua Tree National Park.

I got there late in the day, took some pics in the waning light, watched the sun go down, stared at the stars. The first coyote call I heard after the sun went down lent some real ambience to the scene. By the time I heard the third howl, getting progressively closer I had to immediately jump in the car and leave, but I really wish I could have layed on that rock and stared at the sky all night...

It's about time

2006-08-27T04:28:00.000-05:00

One idea was to chronicle my home improvement projects up here. So, I'll start with the most recent: the half-bath on the main floor. When I moved in in September 2004 it looked like this:

It was outdated but functional so the kitchen took priority until early Spring 2006, when this bathroom's time had come. First the tear out, which happened over a weekend.

Sweet old wallpaper surprise. Everything came out. Tiles off the wall, the sink, light, mirror, cabinet, floor, toilet, wallpaper. Everything. Two weeks later I was able to spend another weekend on it and I rebuilt the cabinet. I had left the skeleton of the cabinet in place and just built on all new fascia, doors and drawers.

No turning back, now!

I built everything flush for a sleek, modern look. The design phase was obviously well under way, but I was still not sure exactly how the counter top, sink, faucet would come out. So I created a very simple line drawing on which to sketch some ideas.

Keeping with the modern theme I designed a curving countertop that extended all the way across the wall with a built-in shelf. By this time I had also decided to get a counter-top bowl sink and cool faucet. After a little searching I found both on eBay for super cheap, saving $250 off similar items from Lowe's and hundreds more compared to Restoration hardware and other designer shops. After a weekend with lots of help from the family (and an accidental plumbing error/emergency repair), it looked like this:

Thanks guys!

I used countertop laminate glued to cement board for the lower walls in a marble color and oak veneer hardwood floor. New toilet, too. Over the next couple weekends I cut the particle board for the counter top using a router for the curved parts. The counter top is laminate green marble. After installation of the counter top, I installed a 30-inch mirror and a 3-globe hanging light, and began searching for tile to use as border trim along the wall laminate. It had to work with both the cream marble and the green - NOT easy to find as it turns out. After lots of hours of online searching and probably 125 miles of driving I found it! That was the final element and I'm very happy with the result:

They're Heeeeere...

2006-08-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a novel by pulpy novelist, Dean Koontz the last couple nights. It's called The Taking and, well, it ain't bad. I have to admit that I am pretty much a sucker for anything weird or sci/fi so I get sucked in pretty easy. If it is also scary, then I tend to become absorbed.
So right from the first night reading this book, I'm starting to get freaked out. It's about this gushing rain that won't stop and brings evil creatures that want to eat your face off, turn mirrors into portals, you know real end-of-the-world type stuff. I finally get to an unscary part and put it down. Whew! I'm like scared to turn out the light scared from this book. Looking into the hallway, glancing out the window, closing closet doors. worried that the evil rain and baddies are coming for me. Not really scared, but very cognizant of the story even while not reading it. Really enjoying it.

Last night I'm storming through this page turner, the plot thickens, the evil rain is still falling, creatures are coming, eating faces, infesting minds, corrupting youth, etc. I finally give in and put the book down sometime after 12:00. Whew!

I am awoken, suddenly this morning at about 4:00 am by - no shit - an intruder leaping through my window onto my bed! The monster is small and less agile than he thought, because he falls off the bed and gets stuck between the bed and the wall. The window is thrown wide open and the wind blows violently through, flapping the curtain. Elsewhere in the house I here other intruders skittering past blinds, knocking objects off tables, invading!

A thunderstorm had rolled in and blown my window fan in, off the window sill. All the open windows in the house began breathing with the storm, throwing anything that weighed less than the October issue of Details around the room. (Seriously that thing is like 3 pounds)
Needless to say, with all the ideas rambling in my head, I was freaked out. Not the best way to start the longest day of my life, which by the way, is Minneapolis to Orange County for the afternoon, then to Spokane via Seattle. I'm on the Seattle layover now..... At least I get warm cookies in Spokane.

OK. I'm going to finish this book now. I doubt I'll sleep on the next flight.

Shawn the Thatcher

2006-08-21T06:41:00.000-05:00

A little yard clean up goes a long way. I rented a power rake yesterday to dethatch the lawn. The buildup of clippings, mulched leaves and junk was 1/2 to 1 inch thick.

First I clipped the lawn very short, and bagged the grass. Then I set the power rake to the second-deepest setting and it dug into the thatch very well and loosened it up, pulling up dirt in some spots. But those were spots where the lawn was pretty much just thatch anyway.

Next came the clean-up. I spent the rest of the afternoon raking the junk into rows and picking it up by hand into a wheelbarrow. The mulch pile in back grew quite a bit. I suppose I should have been bagging the grass every time I mowed, but I've only mowed about 4-5 times this summer, as dry as it's been. Anyway, it's a big job, sore muscles, blisters, etc.

And at this point the lawn looks like crap. I planted some seed and fertilizer and will water for a week or so, but honestly, the front yard could maybe use an old Trans Am on cinder blocks to improve the looks a bit.

I'll let you know if the lawn bounces back next year...

Next time medium rare, please

2006-08-13T00:44:00.000-05:00

I went all the way to Cleveland and all I got was this lousy sunburn. Seriously, if you are chronically Scandinavian, limit your time in direct sunlight as if you were a vampire. I went for the 1-hour burn-to-tan plan. It didn't work. It's been 4 days and I'm still glowing.

It's hahda than it looks

2006-07-31T20:58:00.000-05:00

If I went for a run today in Back Bay near B.U. and had clam chowder and crab cakes for dinner, can you guess the name of the baseball park I'll be at tomorrow?

If yeh need a refresha, here's how they talk heah:

Bizah - odd
Flahwiz - roses, etc.
Hahpahst - minutes after the hour
Hahwahya? - how are you?
Khakis - what we staht the cah with
Pissah - superb
Retahded - silly
Shewah - of course
Wikkid - extremely
Yiz - you, plural
Popcahn - popular snack
Review mirra - so you can look at what you just passed, naturally

Sure, but the 401(K) still sucks

2006-07-18T08:19:00.000-05:00

I started excercising a few times a week about 3 months ago. Recently I upped it to running 3-4 miles at a time. Anyway, I've been listening to the unabridged Harry Potter series for every minute of excercise in these 3 months and according to my calculations I have now logged just over 40 hours of footwork. It's not tons, but it's like a week of work, well in my case 2 weeks of work. Maybe 3.

So to keep my head in it and steam right on past this milestone I'm creating my own personal marketing campaign on that theme. Some options:

1. Running is a part time job. At least it's not Burger King drive-thru.

2. Running is a part time job. Or training for the guy with no shirt on COPS.

3. Running is a part time job. You can't be fired; you can only quit. (Definite inspirational poster material)

4. Running is a part time job. No promotions, no vacation, no feeling in your legs!

...And put on your best Up With People face for my personal favorite...

5. Running is a part time job. The pay is terrible but the benefits are great!

Right to the bottom line

2006-07-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

Lemonade Stand Economics 101

Stopped at a corner lemonade stand this afternoon for some delicious refreshment. The beverage was tasty, if a little warm (needed ice), the service was polite and prompt, but the price seemed maybe a little high for a less-than-premium product. 50 cents a glass (in a big plastic cup and not filled all the way) is the going rate nowadays.

Now we all know that in a fair market, supply and demand regulate cost at what the market will bear. Further, inflation and rising labor costs contribute in equal but different ways to the rising price of commodities, including, in lesser part, the raw ingredients of lemonade. Oil prices have skyrocketed per barrel leading directly to rising costs of petroleum products including plastic cups. Assuming the real estate has been procured for the lemonade stand and the raw ingredients are already factored out of net revenue, and the lack of competition in the area, this lemonade stand can project some pretty healthy profits. I only wonder, had they opted for a more enviro-friendly serving choice, maybe smaller biodegradable paper cups, that they would have

A) reduced the labor needed to remove the trash from the stand, thereby reducing overhead

B) increased the customer experience by giving them a full cup while still serving the same amount of product, and

C) increased sales by attracting new environmentally sensitive customers.

I think I'll take what I know about their practices, set up across the street and put 'em out of business. It's a tough world out there and business is business.

Do you know which way counter-clockwise is?

2006-07-10T08:33:00.000-05:00

Thursday night we went out for some awesome Italian on Coronado Island, in San Diego bay. My choice:

Linguine Mare Chiaro - Thin flat pasta with clams, mussels, prawns and scallops; seasoned with tomatoes, crushed red pepper, garlic and trebbiano wine.

Yeah, just as good as it sounds. After dinner, we started to talk about the famous Hotel del Coronado located on the other side of the island. It's big, it's old, it wouldn't stand a chance against a match and some kerosene... And it's within walking distance, according to the valet guy.

valet guy (vă-lā' gī) n.
1. An employee, as in a hotel or on a ship, who performs personal services for guests or passengers.
2. A generally underpaid college student who fucks with tourists for fun and then tells his friends how he got 5 idiots to walk ALL THE WAY ACROSS the island to that dumb hotel.

So off we go, into the dark night, to walk to the big hotel, just a short walk away - it's just like a mile away, he said. Right - the half of an hour later we're still walking, mildly annoyed, and I gotta pee. So with the hotel still 11 blocks away (we called and they laughed at us), I dash across the street to a coffee shop to use the facilities. Two guys sat outside, either customers or employees, and tell me that they are closing soon, but yeah there's a bathroom I can use, no problem. The following is an account of what happened:

Me: Knocking on the bar as I walk in, "Hi, are you still open?"

The guy: Counting out his cash drawer, "No, close at 10."

Me: Since it's 9:50 and the neon OPEN sign is still on, "Oh sorry, do you have a restroom I can use?"

The guy: Pointing to unisex bathroom, "Sure, it's right there."

Me: "Thanks." I go in, pull the door closed and - this is important - turn the lock. I pee, I wash, I leave. Or so I think. I turn the lock back counter-clockwise, the opposite way from locking it, grasp the door handle and, turning it, push to open the door. The door does not open at this time. The handle merely turns loosely in my hand. So I keep turning the handle, waiting for it to catch, but it doesn't. I push again. Nothing. I turn the handle the other way, now starting to angle it, trying to get it to catch the mechanism inside, the whole process making a little more noise now. After about 20 - 30 seconds of fiddling I hear the guy outside.

The guy: Already bothered, "Turn it counter-clockwise."

Me: Turning the knob back counter-clockwise, "OK."

The guy: Very bothered, "Turn it counter-clockwise."

Me: Still turning, "It just spins. It's not doing anything."

The guy: Becoming agitated, "No. The lock. Turn it counter-clockwise."

Me: Oh, the lock. I grab the lock, which is already turned counter-clockwise (unlocked), and turn. It doesn't turn. I say, "It doesn't turn."

The guy: Indeed agitated, "Turn THE LOCK counter-clockwise. Do not push on the door."

Me: Wondering why I shouldn't push an outward-swinging door to open it, twisting harder now, not moving the lock, not pushing on the door, "It's not turning."

The guy: Angry, "Do not push on the door. DO YOU KNOW WHICH WAY COUNTER-CLOCKWISE IS???"

Me: Not-so-much-amused anymore, "Yeah, I know which way counter-clockwise is." Resisting the urge to quote lefty-loosey, righty-tighty, turning so hard I have red dents in my fingers.

The guy: Very angry, "DO NOT PUSH ON THE DOOR."

Me: Now pulling on the useless door knob and the tiny lock itself to somehow reverse my stupid pushing of the door. At the same time the guy, my nemesis, pushes on the door from the other side to releasing it from whatever lock-turn preventive position it was in. I grab and turn the lock (counter-clockwise) one last sliver of an inch, it clicks open, the door swings and I am free.

The guy: Angry, disgusted, oozing sarcasm, "There you go."

Me: Without so much as another word or backwards glance, I walk swiftly to the door and out into the night. Behind me I hear the unashamed laughter of the two guys sitting in front. They had heard the whole thing, and I don't think this was the first time it had happened.

20 minutes later we were on the other side of the island checking out the hotel, the beach. It was a pretty cool place and it did make the long walk and ordeal worthwhile. The breeze blew in from the ocean, the flags around the courtyard flowed and dipped, and a silver wind gauge spun...counter-clockwise.

The week in retrospect

2006-07-10T08:08:00.000-05:00

Well, well, a hell of a 4th of July weekend! I'm sure that Tuesday is the best day of the week the holiday could fall on, giving most of us the four-day weekend and the build up to the big day. Only the tiniest gripe was that I had to fly out for work on Tuesday. Yes, only slightly, as I was headed to San Diego for the week - not so shabby. Tuesday was actually really cool, hung out with a co-worker, did some beach, did some sushi... Good times.

Also, to my surprise, I kept up with the running all week. The goal was to run in a 5K on Friday that coincided with the trade show, the 5K being the inspiration that got me started a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, we didn't officially run in the 5K, amid registration errors and erroneous doping charges, so no lousy t-shirt... but a jog by the bay beats a jog around the neighborhood any day.

So it was a good week - good food, good scenery, fun with the Canadians.

Not today

2006-06-30T08:26:00.000-05:00

I decided last night not to run this morning. It must have been somewhere around the 4th hole or the 4th beer, not sure... So, I'm taking a day off from excercise, I guess.

But I golfed last night. And tonight I'm playing poker. That's a sport, right? I mean, if they have it on ESPN, it MUST be a sport.

Just like ice dancing is a sport.

I think you can see her flush...

I can't believe I ran the whole way

2006-06-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

I've taken to running the past few weeks, trying to mix a little more run with my walk each day. Today I walked to warm-up and cool down, but ran the 3.5 mile middle part of the route. Now that I know I can do it, I'll have to do it every time, damn it! Well, it had to happen some time. I'm just glad I didn't wait until the day of the 5K I'm running next week. Now if I can just break that 10 minute mile barrier...

Family weekend

2006-06-27T05:59:00.000-05:00

Had the whole family in town this weekend. Mom, dad, sis, gramma, even lil brother plus GF for a little bit. The girls mainly shopped for dresses for the wedding while dad and I patched some concrete on my steps. No big projects this weekend - but I will get around to posting the big projects that have been completed...

Sarah (sis) and I did get out to see Nacho Libre Friday night. Some observations:

1) Director Jared Hess apparently has a food fetish. Food is featured front and center in several throw-backs to the Napoleon Dynamite opening credits. Jack Black's friar character is even a cook.

2) Ana de la Reguera is way too hot to be a nun. Pure, yes.

But way

too

hot

to be a nun.

3) Interesting how they dealt with the "I'm hot for that nun" angle. Or didn't. OK, not worth the whole analysis at this point, but it is very funny, you will laugh, you will be a little grossed out, and you will like it.

Spicy Seafood Soup Recipe

2006-06-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

I made this last week. I think it turned out great and it was a hit at work.

Spicy Seafood Soup
This has a very nice spice, but you can add some more peppers if you want to really kick it up. Re-heats very well for leftovers, too.

Ingredients:
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced

1 lb. fresh or frozen shrimp, thawed, tails removed
1 lb. fresh or frozen gem scallops, thawed
2 - 3 filets white fish, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 can clams with juice

3-4 cups water
3 cups Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice (1/2 large bottle)
1 can bamboo shoots, drained
1 can bean sprouts, drained
juice of 1 lemon
Old Bay seasoning
Corriander
Salt, Pepper

Instructions:
Place seafood, except clams, in a bowl or on a large platter and squeeze lemon juice over it. Season with corriander, salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat. In a large stock pot add a little Old Bay to the water, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Add leek, celery, jalapeno and clams with juice. Reduce heat and add seafood. When seafood is cooked (2-3 minutes) add V8 juice, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts. Heat until hot (don't boil) and serve.

Yield: 10-12 servings

#1

2006-06-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

And so it begins. I picked this crumby camera phone picture of myself for two reasons. 1) it is the most recent photo of me; and 2) it has an air of late night, techie, web-camminess that you just can't fake, for somebody like me who's not really techie or web-cammy.

I had considered using this first post to gripe about my long-brewing pet peeve regarding the overuse and misspelling of the word definitely, but I will not take a turn to Negative Town. Not today.