08:48 Meme Participation bit.ly/bmZNGi 08:58 @timwilsie Yep - ow.ly/1nNLA 09:03 RT @Shakopee: "Tired of the 494/169 bottleneck? Well, it's about to change. bit.ly/ajf8pP " 13:19 2 mile: bit.ly/aJanfu -Fastest 2 mile run in 8 years (13:53). Thank you recent weight loss. 13:21 Concerning my recent weight loss, one of my tricks - ow.ly/1nWg2 15:01 RT @JeffLast: "This is what a ... [Link]
I don't care too much about money, but if my life ever works out so that I am shamelessly filthy-rich, I am going to give a lot of money to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. A lot, as in "It's the nineteenth century again and I have just discovered an inexpensive way to import sugar and oppress native peoples! Rejoice, ... [Link]
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I participated in a meme started by John Hodgman on Facebook. He does that on occasion. I think he needs the material.Anyway.Here is the question he posed, "Create your own joke. This joke must not be able to produce laughter." Here is my attempt.Two guys, one dressed as Peter Pan, the other as a giant lobster. They crave a beer, ... [Link]
19:49 Back from St. Pats festivities. Lots of fun in St. Paul this afternoon, but don't like the hangover symptoms at 7 PM. 20:48 St. Pat's cam - flic.kr/p/7Lu5L8 20:51 TC 10 mile run- flic.kr/p/7LyarU -See, I did run the TC 10 mile. Would of run faster if it wasn't for the cursed copyright watermark. 21:18 Alex Chilton passed away, ... [Link]
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I first got quite excited about the competition to win Google’s investment to wire up a small city. I was however too distracted to do anything about it and have subsequently ignored a couple requests to join the Duluth facebook group to woo Goo. I often get irritated when streaming media at sites like youtube stops in its tracks to ... [Link]
To me the Red Plan has been much more about the practice or mispractice of democracy than anything else. If it is a great success good for Duluth. If it is a great failure the hillside will not fall into Lake Superior. This is my home and I have felt compelled to take a stand for principle’s sake but compared ... [Link]
The numbers are in, and they're a pleasant surprise. [Link]
Remaining permits for Wisconsin's 2010 spring turkey hunting season will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis starting Monday, March 22. [Link]
Last night the Duluth School Board gambled a million dollars to offer all day kindergarten. It was something previous school boards refused to do because there was no funding for it. The successful passage of an increased operation levy could have funded this but the most recent attempt failed. That meant a million dollars had to be found elsewhere in ... [Link]
The first big push of bald eagles over Duluth occurred Tuesday, when counters with Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory counted 679 of the birds at the West Skyline Parkway observation area. [Link]
11:52 5k run: bit.ly/avaDZU - The Garmin had problems tracking initially in the sprinkles. 13:38 Montage of my childhood best friend - ow.ly/1n0VM - Put together by his sister. Warning.. it's a tear-jerker. 14:12 My friends have a wonderful house for sale north of Lake Hiawatha in Mpls. - www.4143-26thave.com - Have a look! [Link]
Our birdfeeders are crawling with woodpeckers right now! They're ranging from little chickadee-sized ones, some roughly the same size as robins, on up to big guys like this pileated woodpecker (about the size of a crow). I've seen the big pileated ones a few times over the last few years, but never this many at once.They're up to something, I ... [Link]
More fun than actually sitting down and starting to write the novel in my head, is interviewing myself about the finished product, in my head.Q: Where did that opening scene come from? It was so ...A: Horrifyingly awesome? I know. I wanted something equal parts gruesome and hilarious. I considered asking a friend who is a former EMT for a ... [Link]
The mating season of the Northern-Midwestern Redneck [homo sanguineus collum] kicks into gear sometime between Easter and the last day of school, but it really hits its peak in mid-summer. The courtship rituals of the Ashland redneck are most visible in the evening hours around the area of downtown loosely classified as "Main Street," but there are many other hubs ... [Link]
One week ago I posted videos of considerable snow, ice and melt water. On my walk around the course yesterday it was quite difficult to find any snow at all. The melt came and went quite quickly without any sort of trouble. Meaning everything drained and water did not end up anywhere it should not have been. Usually at this ... [Link]
QUITO “Li! Li!” “Ga! Ga!” “Universitalia!” Duke’s Cameron Craizes and all other supposed diehard U.S. sports fans don’t quite stack up to the intensity and passion expressed by Ecuadorian futbol fans. The above chant is one of many rallying cries from the “loco faniticos” in support of Liga, my newly adopted team from Quito. It just so happens that the ... [Link]
Duluth gets projects from Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty did what he said he would with the bonding bill, he did not veto it. He did however trim it down. That said, many Duluth projects stayed in the bonding bill. Governor Pawlenty trimmed $319 million from a $1 billion bonding bill. Duluth is one of the cities that is left ... [Link]
Do you like Gladiator movies? Every now and then we get one of those episodes where Danny just seems to be phoning it in. Today is one of those episodes, unfortunately. And...Ashley calls him out on it. But what about the content? What is discussed today? Well, Danny talks about getting a visit from a Google-Twin Ports guy. There is ... [Link]
There's a reason I like my coffee bitter - to counteract Caribou's treacly new coffee cups*.Design-wise, they're kind of cool. They have messages in different fonts and sizes written on a white background. I always like the look of handwriting, even if it's fake.But the messages themselves make me gag. A sampling:Do More Cannonballs: This is so stupid I don't ... [Link]
In a news release today, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources clarified the baiting rule as it applies to turkey hunting, which opens next month. [Link]
When I was a kid I saw a David Niven comedy called “Best of Enemies.” Due the the modern miracle of the Internet I was just able to confirm my memory with the link in the preceding sentence. It was about the odd duck friendship between warring enemies on the North African front in WW II. I suspect I’ve always ... [Link]
12:15 Shirts are lined up: Olive drab today, dark green tomorrow, bright green Wednesday. Haven't figured out the pants... maybe I'll skip'em. 17:42 More tech fail - my timing chip didn't work for the TC 10 mile - ow.ly/1llgj - My name is no where to be found in the results. 20:08 Just called Texas, "Canada" during my weather brief. ... [Link]
I used to love digging in the drawers in my parent's bathroom. It was limbo for dead peachy Clinique blushes and petrified caterpillars, mascara wands in a previous life. There was one tool that was especially fascinating: It was a 7-inch silver wand with a tiny scoop -- like a Barbie-sized melon baller -- with a tiny hole in the ... [Link]
I don’t know how I missed this today. A friend just emailed it to me: It was only a few months ago that Dr. Dixon was waving the possibility of a four-day school week before Duluth School Board members. Since that time he’s crafted a budget cutting $4.5 million away including a lot of muscle and very little fat. There ... [Link]
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Evidently my undergrad has a good basketball team. I really wish it didn't.Roll your eyes if you will - and you will. I know it - but I wish my school were known for a great science department or for having excellent Renaissance scholars or for producing creative civil engineers; for anything, in short, other than a sports team. (Yes, ... [Link]
I read the other day something that I’ve noted but never quite put into words. The Democratic party which has been accused of political correctness for the past couple decades by Republicans never agrees on anything. In other words, when it comes to their agenda they fight like heck with other Democrats. On the other hand the Republicans who like ... [Link]
This week’s NSFW episode maybe our most pornographic ever, “Blowback Mountain,” in which Officers Chuckles and Tickler penetrate a secret society of suicidal sex maniacs. Also featuring: “Zwonk’s Animal Extermination Service.” [Link]
Who was the first person to realize our banks had invested America’s future in fiscal insanity? Check out this NPR story. Then Burry began to realize that the futures of several companies he was investing in turn on a weird lending market, the subprime mortgage bond market. So he started reading the prospectuses of subprime mortgage bond offerings. In the ... [Link]
I’m not sure how the Mayor will like being paired with the Duluth School Superintendent by our superlative spewing Chamber of Commerce President. In fact, most of the encomium seems to intended to shore up support for the latter. Keith Dixon is exactly what our school district needed. He is a resilient, intelligent and tough-minded optimist who believes in providing ... [Link]
I don't know if there are opposing groups for A and Dubs in Duluth and A and W in Superior. [Link]
I’ve been innundated with Grandfatherly duties. As I told a fellow whose been waiting for me to do some serious writing its hard to write with grandchildren underfoot. Lately that has meant blog posts too short as they are. I’ve got a bunch stacked up like planes at O’Hare. Here’s one tidbit though I found stuck on a sticky note ... [Link]
Listening carefullyOriginally uploaded by Laura EricksonThis is the script of today's radio program, available, like all my "For the Birds" programs, on iTunes:When I was a freshman in high school, our English class read Julius Caesar, and I first encountered the portentous words, “Beware the Ides of March.” Sure enough, the next time March 15th rolled around, our family cat ... [Link]
SHORT STORY MONDAYWhen I wrote The Red Scorpion it had three sections. This was the middle section at the time. I wrote it in first person, then wrote it as a journal. Finally, I re-wrote it in the third person so as to correspond with the rest of the book. Each form has its advantages and limitations, and unique challenges. ... [Link]
11:51 @Zenkitty714 Well that post saved me a heavy breathing phone call. 12:18 If memory serves, parts of the local bike trail are under the MN River @ 18'- ow.ly/1kf57 -Using forecast, soon to be over 10' under. 12:22 Sunny out. Temps teasing the 50s. I wonder how my bike is doing? 16:13 Shakopee Bike: bit.ly/dcEshv - Yep... the bike ... [Link]
Here is how I spent the past week: ALL THE NEW FOODS I MAKEI made two things this week with the word "casserole" in the title, which Chuck considers evidence that my West Duluth indoctrination is now complete. If I start calling these "hot dishes," I'm going to need Princess Kay and Garrison Keillor to come here and kick my ... [Link]
Dear Ian McEwan:I want you to know I have already made arrangements to obtain "Solar," the novel you have coming out this month. "On Chesil Beach" made me squirm, but I am throwing it out and grading on a curve - "Atonement" and "Saturday" did wonders for any scrap of emotional progress I've made in the past ten years.But Ian, ... [Link]
What I Know: My friends Greder and Sarah are intrepid souls. They quit their jobs in northern Minnesota and are traveling across South America for the next six months. I picture their lives as "The Motorcycle Diaries, But With Internet Access."What I Don't Know: Why Sarah is calling named her blog "A Green Sheep." But it doesn't matter. You should ... [Link]
Back to blogging. Here's a sketch I found in a 20 year old note pad. [Link]
-Attendance: Vern S., Joel K., Kathy A., Andy A., Ron M., Scott B., Adam R. and a woman whose name I didn't get.1. March 19: On Friday, March 19 NAWC will be holding three vigils to mark the 7th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. We'll be picketing 7:30-8:30am at Central & Grand; 11:30am-12:30pm at Mesaba & Central Ent; ... [Link]
QUITO The abundance of great pictures in Latin America inspired a new photo features: My 5. Ok, fine, it’s a rip off of the cell phone commercials “My Fav 5″ with Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley, but the feature hopefully won’t be as annoying. The first post will include five pics from Quito’s botanical garden. We haven’t left the capital ... [Link]
From the moment we found out that I was pregnant with boy #2, we knew that they were very different. I remember being at Zachary's ultrasound and he was so calm and relaxed, the technician took beautiful "portraits" of him with his face staring right out at the world. Karsten on the other hand, was wiggling and squirming so much, ... [Link]
I am reading Joshua Ferris' "The Unnamed."It's, um. Well, it's.... You know, the best thing I can say about it is that it has taught me four new words:Etiolate: Transitive verb - to make pale; to deprive of natural vigor.Postprandial: Adjective - occuring after a meal.Nugatory: Adjective - of little or no consequence; having no force.Lambent: Adjective - softly bright ... [Link]
My apartment is on the second floor of my building. It overlooks some sad little attempts at rock gardening and a horseshoe drive where cars turn in to drop residents off.Last night, I was in bed reading. The window was open and I heard someone approaching the front of the building. The irregular scuff of his shoes on the pavement ... [Link]
This is the second part of an interview with jazz drummer Jeff Peabody. Yesterday he talked about how he became a drummer, and today he shares what jazz drumming is about, and how he unintentionally came to replace Billy D at the Club Saratoga.Ennyman: How'd you get interested in jazz?JP: As time went on, I played in different groups. I ... [Link]
Pushing Daisies on TheWB.comOriginally uploaded by TheWB.com [Link]
Do you want to learn more about the Republican candidate for the Minnesota House District 7A? Saturday, March 27th will be your chance.Carinda Horton will be running against DFL candidates Tom Huntley or Brandon Clokey in the primary. Horton has a number of events scheduled for March 27th. She would love to see people at any or all of them.Her ... [Link]
Today I had the opportunity to run a covert operative with the a blue print that aped something out of a junior high girl's puppy journal. My friend's girlfriend did him a favor -- this time -- by breaking up with him as she taste-tested the regulars at the bar where she works. Much like locking a bulimic inside Old ... [Link]