Triveality

Solid Advice

2012-02-02T14:28:00.002-06:00

Ricky (at the bottom), needs to write books on making relationships work.

Source: unknown :-(

It's a Bout Time!

2012-01-30T19:06:00.000-06:00

In mid-January I finally was able to make it to my friend's roller derby bout for the first time. Themed as 'Zombie Prom 2012: Take My Brains Away' it was the Banger Sisters versus the Kilmore Girls that was my reason for being there. These two teams, and two others, make up the North Star Roller Girls.

The game itself is simple for rules but complex for implementation and strategy, which makes for an excellent combination. Vague rules [sidebar: like offsides in soccer] just complicate things. Plus they offer an excellent tutorial on their website/online program.

The event started with Savage Aural Hotbed which is a band that seemed to imitate The Blue Man Group and Stomp! But less Vegas and Broadway-worthy. It was too loud and just not my style. If you've walked near a construction area and someone drives by with their bass booming, you've pretty much just heard SAH.

The savage aural ~~assault~~ music continued until past 7pm, the official start time of the bout. Eager for the bout to start so the "music" would cease, I was acutely aware of this transition of 2 bells into the Dog Watch. When the Hotbed was put to bed, the two announcers came out and started to pump up the crowd. At this point I must admit that I was already past 'getting pumped up' since I had been there for over an hour and it felt like I was at some NASCAR event. [sidebar: sorry NASCAR fans, but I don't get it. Racing around in a circle isn't what I would call a sport, I call it traffic]. Eventually this enthusiasm transference gave way to a derby tutorial, which was FANTASTIC since they did it slowly so everyone could get the basic premise down. It wasn't overly long and gave great tips on what to watch for during the jams.

Eventually the bout began, and it was sweet. Good action, great skaters, and the announcers (same ones at the start) were really good commentators. They explained what was going on and, at least one, was a former player (maybe still plays, I'm not sure) so they knew the intricacies.

As the first half ended, the halftime show began. At this point I wished upon any shooting stars that might be overhead that the PA system would break. Koo Koo Kanga Roo, which is two guys that do dance party music (I grabbed that reference from the North Star Roller Girls website to be nice) got up on the stage and began yelling into the mics so loud that I could barely understand anything. At the time I thought I heard them say that we were responsible for saying "L M N O P" at a certain point in the song. Maybe it was the glass of wine I had [sidebar: yes they sell wine at the bouts - and it was pretty decent!] but I thought I couldn't have heard that right. Soon enough they start "singing"/yelling into the microphones, sure enough it was a song that was the alphabet. At the right moment they pointed the mics to the crowd that assembled near the stage and wanted everyone to yell "L M N O P." In writing this blog I wanted to provide a Youtube link (here) and I finally was able to understand what they were singing. There were some other songs, which I'm not bothering to verify, that seemed like they were about cruising in a minivan and a dinosaur stomp. Some guy behind us said that he should just go write a song about Legos or something, another responded, "I never thought I want the other band to come back, but I do. Enough of this kid's hip hop." Now I'll own that I've never done huge parties, I don't really do concerts and maybe it was just bad acoustics and / or I'm just a big fuddy-duddy, but I almost left early. I get that putting together live performances is tough and scheduling all that is an effort, so kudos to those that do the work, but I really hope that this is not indicative to every bout. I know some around me were commenting on if they would return if this was the norm. For if it was, it just isn't their thing.

Never before in my life have I ever wanted to just watch a zomboni drive around in circles in peace and quiet.

Eventually the bout resumed and I finally got to watch my friend skate. I'm going to try and go to the next one if I can Feb 18th, but I really hope that the bands are better or perhaps I'll just have to go back to hoping that the North Star Roller Girls get that streaming video back so I can use the ol' mute button.

By the way, if you wanted to, you can watch the Dance-A-Long Video to LMNOP. After reading all this (if you made it this far) you're probably thinking the same thing that the only comment to this video says, "wtf am i subscribed to..."

Holidays 2011

2012-01-30T18:20:00.002-06:00

So who would have known that having a second child would be so much work? It's not all just giggles and tax breaks.

I promised some Christmas pics and never say I don't follow through, maybe not within an acceptable time frame...

To recap, Spence came home with us mid-November.

Besides the lack of sleep and the fact that he cried a lot, we started prepping for Christmas. Annie helped decorate the tree for the first time. All non-breakable ornaments were on the bottom half, so it made for an interesting looking tree. Eventually I added candy canes and after she was taught how to break them open, they were quickly put away.

During the tree decorating episode, Spencer decided to sit that one out. Maybe next year.

We didn't push it, but we try to continually have the two kiddos be near each other. We hope this will generate some closeness as they grow up. Crystal isn't convinced but I think this may help if they ever want to be some crime fighting duo. However I will need to approve Annie's costume, since these aren't father-approved.

Some regression may have occurred initially, but we are (mostly) past that now. Now we are right in the midst of the 'interesting' twos.

Every year Christmas cookies are made. Annie wanted to help, so we allowed her to put sprinkles on some cookies. And by cookies I mean two, since she applied one sprinkle at a time.

Christmas day was fun, this is probably the last year we'll need to wake her up to start opening presents. And yes, Santa came and was AWESOME!

The cliche shot, but true nonetheless.

Flying Solo

2012-01-08T18:57:00.001-06:00

Things have been crazy busy lately, especially for the Holidays. Spencer continues to wake up during the night and still cries... a lot.

On a more current topic, I'm flying solo at home for a bit while Crystal and the kiddos are visiting Crystal's folks. During my solitary confinement I've been working on a small remodel project and shelf building project. They are both mostly done now with some success. All that's left to do is some trim work, and if the kitchen is any example it won't be complete even after many years later ;-)

This coming week is going to busy for work-work. This and the other projects were part of the rationale for the pilgrimage to Wisconsin. In fact I'm actually sitting at the "work desk" working (well, not right at this moment as I type this) right now on a Sunday evening. The coming week looks like it might see me camped out here more during the evenings. Hopefully I get caught up on things so when the family comes back I won't have my evenings blocked out and can actually spend quality time with them.

I'll try to post some pics from the Holidays shortly.

One Month Later...

2011-12-15T20:07:00.002-06:00

One month after the birth we've been asked if things are getting better, the answer is simple.

No.

It would seem Spencer has colic. And he sure has a lot of it! Things actually seem to get worse each day. With him not sleeping at all some nights, one (or both) of us is a complete zombie the following day and sometimes a 'quick tempered' one at that. A few nights now I've driven Spencer around to get him quiet; one night I drove all the way from Albertville to Buffalo just to calm him down. That particular night had fog so dense you could only see two of the center lane dashes in some parts.

To top it off I'm just coming off a few days cold or flu. Luckily, I was more lethargic than my normal whiny self (when I'm sick now... come on I'm not whiny any other time!) and just slept, unfortunately leaving Crystal to fend for herself. To say thanks I ordered flowers to be delivered today for her but got a call around 4p saying that the (FTD) couldn't find someone to fulfill the order and would I want it delivered tomorrow. Thinking I'd have time to stop (hah!) and get them myself I said no. As a result I came home late due to traffic with no flowers. Instead I took the kids and dog for a pre-dinner drive. Not quiet the same, but hopefully she appreciated it anyway.

I still brought home the receipt as proof that I ordered the flowers. :-)

Last Minute Shopping?

2011-12-15T08:12:00.000-06:00

Try This is Why I'm Broke!

Some examples include:

Mini Jelly Fish Tank ($350)

Tron Motorcycle ($55,000)

Shark Sleeping Bag ($299.95)

Father / Son Time

2011-12-14T09:33:00.003-06:00

Source: http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/kalexanderson/

Control+V

2011-12-03T19:38:00.001-06:00

Well, well, look who decided to come crawling back to his own blog.

As before I think I have a good reason.

World, I'd like to introduce Spencer Kenneth.

Born: 11/14 @ 8:03a, 7 lbs 15oz, 21" long.

Moment of Weakness

2011-11-12T07:48:00.001-06:00

The other day Crystal and I got into the car to head off to some errand and NPR was on the radio. I've taken to listening to that more and more during my commute. Crystal doesn't share my enthusiasm so she started reaching for the radio.

"Wait!" I deplored, "This is relevant stuff, it's interesting and they have good stories."

Crystal responded, "Just because I watched that one History Channel show that one time doesn't mean I want to listen to this. It was a moment of weakness." With that she changed the station.

At least one of us went about our errands happy.

Feels like 3D

2011-11-03T20:13:00.001-05:00

Crystal, Anne, and myself went to the Mall of America aquarium. As we wandered around we eventually found ourselves in the Jellyfish room. While we were watching the different jellies swimming in their tanks a random kid appeared, looked at the jellies and yelled to his parental unit, "Wow, it feels like 3D."

Well duh, didn't he see the glasses when he entered the aquarium?

No Tricks, Just Treats

2011-11-01T19:13:00.000-05:00

This year Anne went as a Giraffe that Crystal found at Goodwill for less than $3.

Getting her dressed initially was a bit of a chore since she wasn't very happy.

We went to the Outlet Mall nearby where some stores were giving out candy or stickers. At first she was hesitant to approach the staff members but eventually started warming up to them.

As her bucket was filling up she realized exactly what was going into the basket...

Halloween 2011 handled...

... like a BAUS!

Baus = slang term for boss

Babies = Zombies??

2011-10-28T20:15:00.004-05:00

Source: http://www.howtobeadad.com

Zombie Fitness Test

2011-10-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the zombie theme here. Want to know how you'd do when the zombies begun to overrun society?

Hunt down (pun intended) your local Zombie Fun Run like this one:

http://runforyourlives.com/

In some cases you can also be the zombie so you'll know how to chase down those pesky humans!

Zombie Task Force - Now Recruiting!

2011-10-18T19:36:00.000-05:00

In honor of Halloween:

The CDC has finally received more Zombie Task Force shirts. I was going to post this a bit ago but they have been out for a while. I am ordering a few since I plan to go through a lot during the Zombie apocalypse [sidebar: that's a hard word to spell without spell check - I hope we still have that after the ~~apocoly apocao~~ disaster].

Anyway, you can get them at the CDC: http://www.cdcfoundation.org/zombies

I think these may possibly be the best Christmas gift ever!

Hair Raising

2011-10-18T19:29:00.002-05:00

Scene: Men's Bathroom

Actors: Me and "other gent"

Opening Scene begins with Me and "other gent" doing what one (pun intended) does in a bathroom.

Actors finish at same time and approach sink for hand washing

SUDDENLY, "other gent" reaches up and runs hand in hair!

Me: <trying to not act shocked>

Actors finishing washing and leave bathroom at same time.

Me: <to shocked to say thanks when "other gent" props door open for Me.

Me: <now feels like a jerk for being to shocked to say "thanks">

Fade to black, end scene.

Brown Noser

2011-10-14T17:57:00.001-05:00

House White [UPDATE]

2011-10-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

Some have asked what the shirt says, it says, "I'll try a glass of the House White"

Princess and the Frogs

2011-10-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

Walking by one of our downstairs windows I noticed a couple of frogs. Inspecting further I realized that there was a even more activity on a smaller scale. New queen ants were walking up grass stalks and taking flight to go and create new ant realms. The frogs had arrived to feast on these taxing princess. Then I noticed that there were several frogs and I stood there watching for quite a while. Eventually I thought, "I need to share this with those that will appreciate it!"

So I grabbed a cat.

The one I showcased my find to made the "call" and eventually the sill looked like this.

Apparently our own "princess" was too busy with her own affairs.

Bored?

2011-10-06T08:20:00.002-05:00

Not any more!

http://armorgames.com/play/12302/wonderputt

Wheels

2011-09-30T07:27:00.000-05:00

Being home by myself one afternoon I decided that for lunch I would cook a wonderful Hawaiian style pizza. This "wheel of deliciousness" would then provide me delicious leftovers from which lunches could be fulfilled. It was a beautiful plan, until I opened the package and stood there with my mouth a gap. Did I just get suckered by some marketing department and buy a "wheel of false advertising"?!?

Still holding true I cooked the "wheel of bait-n-switch" hoping that perhaps the flavour [Sidebar: I left this misspelling in on purpose - I've been reading a lot of books lately where the author is from the UK. Whenever that happens I can't spell certain words correctly anymore] of the three pieces of pineapple would counteract for the dis-compensation from what was shown on the picture.

I placed it into the oven and eagerly awaited the bounty that would return heralding by the searing blast of heat when I opened the oven to return said "wheel of deliciousness." I retrieved my lunch and future leftovers and began to slice it up and in my mind thinking, "mmmm, today. Mmmmm, Monday. mmmm. Tuesday." Until I realized that as I'm slicing it the cheese is somehow getting pulled off of each slice into the void between the slices! Shocked, my mind whirls and wonders what kind of "wheel of sorcery" is this!?!? I quickly called the police to put out a search for my missing cheese. While I waited I had my first slice, then the unthinkable happened. One of my three pieces of pineapple fell on the floor. According to my calculations that's like 800% of what I had to begin with! I'm a grown man but I don't think anyone will think less of me when I say that I cried a little. Especially considering everything I've been through so far.

Taking my first bite (still sniffling), I realized I had broke the golden rule of frozen pizzas, "Thou shall wait for the molten pizza sauce to cool first." Oh, how I paid for that sin.

In the end, I must hand it to the folks at Freschetta, the "wheel of emotional roller coaster" did rise like you wouldn't believe just like my hopes. However, unlike my hopes it didn't fall from despair and calamity. Overall mistakes were made; but primarily in the purchase of this "wheel of lies".

Whew!

2011-09-21T19:24:00.001-05:00

I have been noticeably absent lately but for a good reason. I've been studying for the CISSP (this stands for Horrible Time Sucker and Devourer of All Fun Time You Have for the Next Few Months... or something like that) test which has taken up a lot of my time. A. Lot.

I didn't want to talk about it until I knew what the outcome was since I didn't feel confident when I finished. I was sure I would be taking it all over again. I found out just a bit ago that I passed!

What a relief.

Irony

2011-09-14T12:48:00.001-05:00

At a gas station I noticed the classic truck bumper sticker, "Yes this is my truck. No I won't help you move." I thought it was cute as I remembered when I used to have the only truck in my circle of friends.

As the truck pulled out of the parking stall and drove past me the an advertisement on the side was for a moving company.

A Little Mascara, Deer?

2011-08-27T18:36:00.002-05:00

Conversation between Chris and I while watching Baby Einstein with Annie:

Crystal: Look at that deer. He has big ears!

Chris: That's a girl.

Crystal: I know...she has really long eyelashes!

Chris: Touche.

Overheard

2011-08-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

Overheard from a group coming back from a lunch sitting on Psycho Suzi's, a very trendy/hip place, deck on the first decent day we've had for about 2 weeks (meaning not broiling hot outside).

1: It was so nice outside!
2: Yeah, but the scenery [ed: meaning people] could have been better.
1: Totally. It was like AARP Days, I mean go to the Olive Garden.

I'm not exactly sure who gets the "Oh, snap!" here, but I think there's a little bit for everyone.

Little Helper

2011-08-06T19:04:00.000-05:00

While cleaning the bathroom one day, Anne was determined to "help". Making sure that she was not getting into any chemicals, I gave in (she mainly wanted to unroll the toilet paper). I was scrubbing out the big bathtub and heard a funny noise behind me. Turning around, I found that Anne had taken a kleenex from the box and was "scrubbing" her baby bathtub just like Mommy! This isn't the first time that she "helps" me with chores. She loves to help unload the dishwasher (handing the plates and bowls to me) and boxing up her out of season clothes (which for her is putting her dirty clothes from the hamper into her half empty diaper box)!

Traveler's Respite

2011-08-03T08:06:00.005-05:00

Traveling can be stressful enough with all that comes with it. Sometimes it's wonderful to find that quiet, out of the way place that doesn't have TVs blaring, kids screaming, carts beeping, etc. On a trip out of MSP I finally found such a place. In Terminal C (potentially D, I can't remember now since I didn't post this right away), there's an observation deck that you have to climb a spiral staircase. This keeps those that have the largest carry-ons out of the area too. On one of the hotter days here in the Twin Cities, this location was cool, quiet, and had a great view.

MIA = Me

2011-07-24T14:18:00.004-05:00

It has been awhile. I haven't given up on the blog, but I think it's close to giving up on me. As a result I've brought in some help. A little more down-to-earth and much better looking, Crystal will help out every now and then. Anne also offered to write some entries so I asked her for a draft post and the following is what I received.

fedwaaaaaQARY$A$ZRY$ZZY$RAR$YUA$A$YAYY4$YY$$$$F $F$FewHEWerhjaDR eryRY yh tttttttttttttttttttttt tgh edy edyEDDacsrx st ASXsXsdwfwwwwwwwwwwewfvgwfgfg

Even though her rates were low (Nilla Wafer per post), I decided to pass. Seriously, who uses all caps like that?

Lost in Translation

2011-06-22T05:16:00.005-05:00

Overheard (one child to another):

"Cheater Cheater pants on fire!"

That's not how I remember it, but then I'm "in the know" anymore. I'll have to check with Anne.

Joke Time!

2011-06-13T08:00:00.003-05:00

What do you call a spider's lair?

We call it our downstairs bathroom...

hmm, that seems less funny when it's true.

Zelda the Helper

2011-05-11T19:49:00.000-05:00

Anne loves to take things out of a container and put them back. Well, more the former than the latter. She does this for her toys, things in drawers, and one time we found her emptying the dog biscuit box. In this particular case however, Zelda was helping Anne by eating as many of the biscuits as possible so Anne wouldn't have to pick up afterwards. We're not sure how many were "processed" but Zelda wasn't feeling well for a little while afterwards.

Zelda's such a team player.

Blue Moon Occurrence - And I'm Not Talking Beer

2011-05-03T09:01:00.000-05:00

It took over a year, but I finally was the recipient of some niceties at Costco. You may not (or maybe you do) recall my rant about how there is no such etiquette at the retailer. However yesterday's jaunt to procure some hamburger and dog food was actually a nice surprise.

After gathering my items I went to checkout only to find three checkers with a couple of people in each line. I chose what seemed to be the quickest line (by that I mean the one that might get me out of the store within 3 hours). Having only a few items is a drag when one must wait for those that have put entire aisles into their carts. But it is what it is, resigned to my fate I chose the line and began to zone out. Then an angel in the next aisle over invited me to cut in front since I had such few items.

Cautious that I might be on some sort of Costco version of Punk'd (not linked on purpose) I carefully approached the offered spot. However no trick, sham, or deceit was present and I successfully exchanged monies for goods and headed out of the store. Reaching the Costco guardians, those that check your receipt and cart to ensure that you didn't slip a 60 pound bag of potatoes down your pants, the usually somber-almost troll like guardians of the Costco goods were in a good mood and cracked a joke, "Is that for the dog and that for you?" she mocked pointing to the hamburger and dog food respectively. Shocked by this 540 (yes that's 360 + 180) I mumbled some stupid response and left for home.

What an astounding trip, I actually checked the phases of the moon and almost called this in as some sort of unnatural occurrence but Crytsal talked me out of it, plus I wasn't really sure where to call.

Brush with Fame

2011-04-21T20:37:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip for work I ended up flying through Arizona on my way to California. In boarding the smaller CA-bound plane I ended up sitting next to a young lady that mentioned she hated flying on such small aircraft. As we talked for a little bit she mentioned she was on television. When I asked what show she was on she replied, "VH1's Love & Hip Hop." I tried not to act like I had no clue what that was, but I literally had no clue. I held back my initial question which was, "don't they play music on VH1 anymore?" After getting to the hotel, I had to Google the show just to see what it was and who my neighbor was. She mentioned that she'll be on the coming Monday episode. Maybe I'll watch it, if I'm not too ... um busy ... um ... ok I most likely won't at all.

My destination also put me into a town with a large Armenian population. Armed with a local's suggestion for the best and authentic Armenian restaurant (at least within walking distance since I had no wheels) I went and had a great meal of lamb and chicken kabobs and some "hammos" (hummus). The cabbage salad was a little salty/oily but overall it was a nice place. Apparently it was a fairly early dinner (at least by California standards it seemed) and of the three tables us customers occupied - the other two weren't speaking English. Once again this trip, I headed to Google. This time to look up an entire country, Armenia. Did you know it's near Turkey and the most popular sports are wrestling, weightlifting, judo, soccer, chess, and boxing?

Overall it was a good trip. Between my rubbing elbows (literally - it was a small plane) with a "celebrity" and an authentic Armenian meal, the meal was definitely the highlight.

Wakeful Worries?

2011-04-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep because of some concern? I have as well, but I find it much easier to get that needed reassurance so I can get back to sleeps-ville all because of this website.

http://www.abevigoda.com/

If this is the root cause of one of your anxiety attacks too, you may want to bookmark it.

Cooking with Fire

2011-04-13T21:34:00.001-05:00

While winter has been reluctant to let us move into spring, it's mostly here. Here enough for me to assemble my new grill and give it the inaugural run. The test run was already performed after a long seasoning session. But for the first true grill-time we decided on some good ol' burgers.

And how did the burgers turn out?

Truisms

2011-03-31T20:18:00.000-05:00

There are few absolutes in life (and I'm not talking about vodka).

Opposites attract,
The US will never accept the metric system,
The Yankees suck,
And the most important of all:

New to the Taste(buds)

2011-03-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

There's been a big transition lately here, I've taken a new job. However, I don't really talk much about work here, and I plan to keep it that way. But that fact will cause some delays in postings as I work out the "newness."

In the meanwhile let me share some other new things with you. I recently went to a sushi bar and tried three items there that I've never had before. White tuna (which was like eating a piece of silk - real smooth), squid (felt like I was eating a piece of rubber), and baby octopus (cooked) salad. While the first two are rather standard sushi fair the latter was totally different.

I wanted to take a picture of the salad but I thought it would be in poor taste at this restaurant (few people and we were at the sushi bar) so I found one on the internet as close to what I had there. Mine had no lettuce but had some seaweed greens and cucumbers, but I think you get the picture (pun intended).

Source: http://janetnewenham.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/baby-octopus.jpg

The person I was having dinner with enjoys sushi and was curious as to how I would take it (or if I would even eat it). I think I surprised us both, it was all good.

Cabinet Latch Crisis

2011-03-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finished a project that I've been working on for about a month. Granted it wasn't an everyday/night project but I had a driver. That driver's name is Anne. I have been working on putting the safety latches that we got on all the kitchen cabinets. This entire project started as Anne began opening the cabinets and removing the contents. Initially she went to certain cabinets so I targeted those first. Like some escalation oddly similar to the Cold War Anne would then go to other unlatched cabinets; raising the stakes. I would respond with more latches thinking I was done. Upon realizing that her new cabinet of goodies was no longer available she would initially fuss but then regain her composure and move down the line to the next one.

Using most of my remaining latches I installed them to all the remaining cabinets in the kitchen. However Crystal (playing the role of JFK in the Cuban Missile Crisis) requested the removal of two on the cabinets that contained some Tupperware, annexing those as Anne-friendly. My latches returned to the motherland. Eventually the Imperialistic little girl found the cabinets in the bathroom and began to remove those contents. With my 3 remaining latches for 5 cabinet doors I installed them to the ones she opens the most and now with my resources depleted (stupid 5 year plan!) I can only hope she doesn't find those last two. Once she does my government will collapse and all that remain is many independent states and I'll have to join a mafia and become a hacker sending out spam messages. Here's hoping she doesn't find those unlatched cabinets, eh comrades?

Maybe Your Kids are Weak

2011-03-12T12:40:00.001-06:00

While running some errands today with Crystal and Anne, we were discussing buying a sippy cup to replace the one that Zelda thought she needed to eat for lunch. During the discussion Crystal mentioned that she was looking at the Amazon reviews of the same type of cup we used to have and that Anne really liked. Many of the reviews complained that the cup required too much suction to get the liquid out that was beyond the abilities of their children and (sometimes) themselves. Crystal's rebuttal was simply, "Maybe your kid is just too weak. And the parents too."

Oh snap!

Conditioning

2011-03-11T19:07:00.001-06:00

A learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment
Source: wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

It's amazing what conditioning gets you. You can get fit enough to run a marathon or become the next muscle bound beach hunk. In my case it gets me some peace and my own whole cupcake.

The cats have learned that Crystal is the one that usually feeds them their canned food on the occasional mornings. When I go into the kitchen every morning the cats could care less. Whenever Crystal enters the kitchen they start circling like sharks, mewing at her feet, and generally making as much ruckus as our flock of four-legged famished felines can muster.

The additional benefit was realized in full just today. Crystal made some amazing cupcakes recently. For dessert tonight we were going to each have one. I grabbed mine first and made my way back to the table to eat it. Anne sitting on the kitchen floor didn't seem to notice me with the delicious pastry. Asked if I was going to share it I said I would if someone made her way and wanted some. Undisturbed I ate mine all up. As Crystal got hers, made her way to the table she was quickly followed by Anne. Without even able to get an undisturbed bite she had one little hand on her leg with the other looking for some cupcake.

When I think about the those two circumstances I can't help but think, "well done!"

So Happy I Could Cry

2011-03-07T17:21:00.001-06:00

This past weekend we got together with some friends and had a great time. Even our Amish friend came, but he isn't very observant since he carries an iPhone and works as a Server Administrator. Come to think of it, I'm not sure he even is Amish, he probably just looks like one to claim it for tax purposes.

However I don't recall much about the evening since everything was overshadowed by the fact that we had Hawaiian pizza. I don't get to have my favorite pizza very often since Crystal doesn't like it... at all. So when we buy a pizza or make it ourselves it doesn't make sense to get two or make one that 50% of the eaters won't enjoy. In this particular setting I wasn't alone and we ordered the king of pizzas. It was so good that just thinking about it has me tearing up. In fact I'll just post this since I can't see the keyboard very well anymore.

It's a Frap!

2011-02-28T08:10:00.002-06:00

Source: Unknown - but you rock.

Our Friend Gravity

2011-02-14T18:49:00.003-06:00

Anne has a new hobby that involves her Mega Blocks.

Admitting is the First Step

2011-02-14T18:13:00.000-06:00

Anne and I were sharing a Valentine's Day cookie in the kitchen when she stood up and took her very first step. Crystal saw the entire thing and confirmed that it was indeed the very first.

Very cool.

Happy Valentine's Day

Stressless Saturday

2011-02-12T21:14:00.000-06:00

Work has been a little stressful and I've put in some long hours recently. But today was a great stress release. We didn't do anything elaborate or expensive. We all just spent time together. First we made pancakes for breakfast and played around inside. Then we got ready and went out for a "Valentine's" lunch at Famous Dave's (Anne doesn't like plain meals - in fact she had to have honey mustard on her leftover chicken), we were going to head over to Costco but it was so busy (everyone was enjoying the thaw) we skipped on that idea and just headed straight to our last stop of the day - the Maple Grove Library.

I haven't been to a library since I was in college. We intended to stop by for a couple of books that I wanted to get for a series I started reading (actually I read the second of a series of four first - I've never been good at following directions). We ended up with an armful of books between Anne and myself. Some of the books were technical, but most for fun.

After getting home we went sledding in the yard and then finished the night reading our books and watching some documentaries on Netflix.

Such a fantastic Saturday, hopefully Sunday won't disappoint.

Following the Rules!

2011-02-08T18:42:00.000-06:00

Work It!

2011-02-07T19:46:00.000-06:00

For the first time in a long time Zelda and I hit the doggy park. We went Sunday morning and since she's been suffering from sever cabin fever I thought I'd make her work a bit. I found her backpack and we hit the trails.

It had the desired effect, I pretty much had a nice tired puppy for the rest of day.

Hitchcock Would Be Proud

2011-02-07T19:39:00.001-06:00

Some cold mornings when I drive in to work I'm confronted by a cacophony of caw-caws. On such mornings the parking lot is surrounded by ravens in every tree. I tried to snap a picture here of one such tree but due to low light, cell phone camera, and coffee-starved photographer this was the unfortunate product.

It's strangely eerie hearing the hundreds (if not thousands) of birds all around you. I bet if you don't like birds it would be unnerving. But that's completely unfounded, right? After all, a group of ravens isn't called a murder for nothing...

Slow Down?

2011-01-28T19:42:00.000-06:00

This week is finally over! It contained two big events that were occupying much of my time. The first was on Tuesday where I was part of a panel at a Twin Cities user group. The second was today where, at work, our department had a booth "celebrating" National Privacy Day.

I'm hoping with both of those big events over things will start to slow down a bit and get back to a more manageable pace. It hasn't been horrible, but I've been doing more work at home or staying late to prep. Plus, I tend to stress a little over the public speaking aspects that both had. Maybe I can finally attack some of the home-focused projects I've been putting off now...

Badgers? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badgers!

2011-01-20T20:46:00.000-06:00

It's website time again!

http://badger.enix.org/

You're welcome.

2010 Review

2011-01-19T13:27:00.000-06:00

It's time for the annual (and late) year in review. Here are some of the top posts as determined through comments (both on the posts and in "real" life). From newest to oldest:

Hip2bsqd
New Fox Reality Show?
So You Are Saying You Don't Like It?
It's So True (and it really, really is).
Miller Cabin (part 4)
You Can Call Me Al
Water Dog
Gamer Girl
Working Windows for the Win!
Science Museum and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Jane, Get Me Off This Crazy Thing!!
Hairy Clogs
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Peace Out!

Certifiable

2011-01-06T19:03:00.000-06:00

So where have I been lately? Besides out driving around in the new car? I've been frantically studying for a SANS class and the associative certification attempt as well. Largely to factors outside my control, I ended up taking the exam a month and a half early so I could get credits to renew another certificate. Yesterday I drove down the U of M campus and took the test. I emerged 2.5 hours later tired but able to add more certs after my name, should I choose (but I rarely do). I now have (at least for the next four years) my GPEN.

It was probably one of the more intense and awesome classes I've ever taken.

So now after my name I can put the following: Clangs Scamps Cinch Egg Eggs

This is what my certifications spell out when you plug them into an anagram machine.

Hip 2 Be Squared

2010-12-26T16:59:00.000-06:00

So one of the reasons I've been pretty quite lately is that we've been having one of those monumental decisions on our hands. Our Grand Prix (the same one I replaced the window power motor on) decided to have additional troubles. We wanted to be proactive so we started looking early. We narrowed our choices down to a few vehicles. Eventually settling on one particular model we hunkered down to save up for down payments and to see what would happen when the 2011 models hit the market.

Then our hand was forced when the Grand Prix caught wind that it was going to be swapped out, threw a fit, and the oxygen sensor decided to stop breathing. We went to the dealership practically coasting the car to the parking stall and brought home the new wheels.

Some vanity plates we contemplated were Rubix and Hip2BSq. Unfortunately vanity plates cost extra per year and Minnesota vehicle fees are high enough. However, maybe next year we'll upgrade to some, any other ideas out there?

Bam Baby!

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-26T16:49:00.000-06:00

Second attempt at gingerbread decorating. I think this one turned out pretty decent. The icing was a better consistency but still a little runny. I think I'm getting a little better at my bag control. Merry Post-Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T18:08:00.000-06:00

And of course the classic!

Oh Kittehs

2010-12-19T16:48:00.000-06:00

Here's a couple of cat themed websites.

I wasn't sure how to describe this site, so I pulled part of a testimonial:
Usually the internet is full of crap but this site... I love it.
-Geduza

Well, if Geduze loves it, then you know it has to be good.
http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl

Is it silly? Yes. Is it pointless? Absolutely. But then, that's most of the internet anyway, isn't it?
http://catsinsinks.com/

Begging to Differ

2010-12-12T17:14:00.000-06:00

In a previous post I (re)posted an article about a pig spleen's winter forecasting abilitie s. According to it, it will be an easy start to our winter that eventually turns nasty. So I thought I would check out my own winter forecasting abilities and last Monday had my appendix taken out (I wanted to keep the spleen).

I actually started not feeling well Saturday during the day and it got steadily worse until Monday morning arrived when I decided not to go to work and take an extra day to feel better. Later that morning Crystal drug me to the clinic where they pre-diagnosed me with acute appendicitis. Shipping me off to Buffalo they confirmed that thought and had me on the ol' cutting slab that afternoon.

I was able to head home Tuesday after lunch and have been taking it easy (or trying to with the recent winter storm) for the week. I've been weaning myself off the heavier pain pills so I can drive myself and plan on heading into work tomorrow.

Apart from my still sore 2 inch gash and incredibly sore abdomen (where it hurts to sit in a "normal" chair for extended periods of time); I'm so ready for work!

Oh, and my appendix calls the pig spleen a liar.

NFL Play of the Day

2010-12-12T13:40:00.000-06:00

The Vikings game got deferred to tomorrow due to the weather we have been having. At first it was because the Giants got diverted to Kansas City yesterday. But not for sure, especially after this happened...

Take a look at the impressive video here: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/12/metrodome_colla_1.php

New Fox Reality Show?

2010-12-04T08:41:00.000-06:00

When Mixing LEDs Goes Horrible Wrong or maybe it will be When LEDs Attack.

Two of our three existing Christmas Light strands have started to go awry. Since they are approximately 10 years old and neither Crystal nor I have the inclination to find the individual burnt out bulb we decided to go with some LED lights this year.

Crystal found some strands from Target and during placement realized she didn't have enough. With the huge snowfall we were getting at the time (coupled with her desire to finish the tree) she only went to the local Ace store for another strand rather than going all the way to Target. When she finished looping the tree with the new lights and plugging them all in they were different shades of white. The Target "warm white" lights were more on the side of piercing, blinding, "staring into the sun" shade of white. The Ace brand could be described as having a softer glow than the other. The result was you couldn't look at the lower half of the tree without having to use your sunglasses.

Personally it didn't bother me quite as much as Crystal. Apparently she has an issue if the lower half of the tree can be confused for stadium lighting while the other half looks like a Christmas tree. Who knew? To appease the better half (whom also did all the decorating) I braved the foulest weather known to modern man and drove the half mile to Ace to get more of the warmer lights for my darling, affectionate, and caring wife. [sidebar: my boss let me work from home in the afternoon so I was home before the storm hit our area. My co-worker/friend said it took him almost 4 hours to get home.] With energy reserves depleted we left the replacement for the next day.

Waking up early (thanks Anne) we attacked the tree before sun up. Luckily it was caught unaware and our assault was most successful with minimal casualties. The lights were swapped and all is now good. Except for the fact that our tree seems to have been coated with some sort of catnip as the cats get at it all the time just like last year. Does anyone one know of a Christmas decoration that is a motion sensor turret?

Best Customer Experience Ever!

2010-12-04T08:01:00.004-06:00

I have to share this awesome customer service experience with you. It's a fantastic concept that's worth noting. As you may recall, I have a hate/loath relationship with my phone. When I don't hate it, I loath it.

We received an email from Best Buy for a free smartphone with a contract renewal. We are not exactly thrilled with Verizon but we aren't dissatisfied enough to leave either. I guess it could all be summed up as "m'eh." Looking on their site I found a phone I'd be interested in swapping my crap-berry for so I thought I'd call (the last time I checked we weren't within that timeframe that allowed us to take advantage of that deal). Calling Best Buy they offer the ability to either "wait for the next available representative" or that they will call you back if you'd prefer that option (and you don't lose your place in "line"). Initially with a wait time of 2-4 minutes I opted to just wait. After 20 minutes of waiting I disconnected. I called back immediately and interestingly enough the wait time now listed as 15-20 minutes, but I was heading for the call-back option anyway.

Entering the required information I happily disconnected. About 10 minutes later I received the call-back. "Not to bad," I thought, "this is pretty cool." After confirming I did indeed place such a request (a vry nice feature) [sidebar: a potential area for misuse/abuse, "I know it's 2am but didn't you request a call back?"] Anyway, after the confirmation it put me on hold to transfer me. Where I sat... and sat... and sat... and then disconnected.

Another example ofa great concept and poor execution. Of course maybe it's just my "smartphone" just messing with me...

The Snooper

2010-12-04T08:01:00.000-06:00

Anne's first Christmas approaches. Crystal thought of a great Christmas gift for her would be a stand up play table (Anne plays with one at the Mommy and Me classes and a friend's place really liking them both). A week ago we took advantage of a sale from Target and picked it up at a slightly reduced price. Keeping it in the box with plans of the whole Christmas experience we resisted the urge to give it to her right away.

Fast forward to just this past Thursday [sidebar: isn't that a weird statement ... fast forward to the past]. I dropped off more things to Goodwill (officially not related to the Hoarder's post) I also decided to peruse the wares (and to see if some of our stuff was there - the bigger stuff that is). While wandering around I found the exact same stand-up table that we had purchased from Target for under about a third of the cost ($9.99). Grabbing it and heading to the checkout with a 99 cent book for Anne I left with the total for both only costing $5.00. I don't know how but I seem to go to Goodwill during half off sales without realizing it.

Bringing it home, Anne saw it and immediately starting playing with it (I had to make sure the batteries were just dead and that the entire table actually worked since Goodwill only has a 7 day return policy and Anne is the best tester here). Since Anne was enjoying the table so much we decided to just let her play with it and get her another small item to wrap up. Crystal got said small item and put it aside out of sight. However The Snooper Anne zeroed in on it the moment she was placed on the floor in the same room as the item (still in the Target bag -- we keep forgetting our reusable bags *palm meets forehead*). Now the bag was tucked away near a few others but it wasn't in her direct line of sight nor was any flashy colors visible either.

We drew a line in the sand where she can play with it until we wrap it. And that one still counts towards her presents for Christmas. Of course I'm still planning on the best Christmas gift for an infant/toddler. I'm going to take a full tube of colorful cheap Christmas paper and put a bow on that - done. I may also give her a box - but she'd have to fight the cats for that one.

Chicken, Rafts, and Particle Labs

2010-12-01T19:42:00.000-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've last posted anything. Thanksgiving came and went, leftovers are almost finished, and work resumes in full. Until the rest of me catches up with the last item, here's some filler.

Chicken and a Raft [Make sure your volume is on ... but not too loud]

Particle Lab [Interactive and cool]

What a Hoot

2010-11-16T18:39:00.001-06:00

For the longest time we've not done much for Halloween; now that's nothing as in nothing. No decorations, no handing out candy, nothing! This year I decided to carve a pumpkin however. Maybe it's being a new dad, maybe it's the look of all the little kids eager to get something for nothing, or maybe it was that the pumpkin cost $1...

Here's the just completed pumpkin. You can see the template we used from a kit.

It's not great but this was the best pic we could get of it lit in the darkest room of the house.

My artistic or spooky shot of it. It's spooky or artsy cause it's black and white. So be amazed, or scared, I don't really care.

How could I resist placing this shot? It's cuteness meter practically breaks the internet!

That'll Do Pig, That'll Do.

2010-11-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

I meant to blog this a while ago, then I forgot during our fun-flu-filled days earlier this week. But with the recent weather we've had here I remembered.

Pig spleen weather forecaster Norbert Schulz says winter's going suck

by: Hart Van Denburg, Wed., Nov. 10 2010 @ 9:00AM

Who needs perfectly coiffed TV weather jockeys when you have 83-year-old Norbert Schulz in overalls, a trucker's cap and pig spleen bigger than a loaf of bread?

The bigger the pig spleen, he says, the nastier winter will be. This year, the Jamestown, N.D., farmer says, the northern midwest winter will start off fine, "then she's going to turn real mean."

Schulz would likely be dismissed as some crazy old farmer out on the plains if it weren't for the fact that his forecast method was so accurate. Last year, for example, he read his spleens and predicted a cold and snowy December that the National Weather Service in Bismarck said was pretty much spot on.

And he's not alone. A Saskatchewan farmer named Gus Wickstrom has been relying on the pig spleen forecast for years, and the Old Farmer's Almanac says he gets the weather right, too.

source: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/11/pig_spleen_weat.php (further sub-links at source)

Now if we only knew which organs predict Favre's retirement.

It Was A Good Run... I Guess

2010-11-07T19:25:00.000-06:00

This weekend was less productive than we both hoped for. We made some good strides on a larger project (more on that later) that we've been "working" on for the past month or so.

Anyway, the element that derailed our work train was the kiddo. She cried when in bed so much on Friday that we ended up taking her downstairs and sleeping on the couch. Saturday we called the Nurse Line and they said "potential ear infection" and that laying prone is painful. We decided to head to an Urgent Care but by that time it had transitioned into evening, with no open Urgent Care spots. Using Friday as a model we geared up for a night of camping in the family room and took shifts of being the "crib" while the other slept as much as possible.

Heading to the U/C the doc confirmed the double ear infection and the nurses were amazed that Anne had gone 10 months without an infection to date. This impressive viral-free run failed to impress the little girl whom seemed more impressed with her ankle ID tag.

Armed with antibiotics we hope to end our crib impressions tonight.

PS I was better...

Product Comments

2010-11-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

Share time. Literally, check out the comments for one gallon of milk on Amazon.com.

After that, read the reviews for the now infamous Three Wolf Moon Shirt.

So You are Saying You Don't Like It?

2010-11-01T17:05:00.002-05:00

A little bit ago we received Mother Nature's criticism of our trellis on the side of the house. I drove up to the house, parked in my normal spot on the driveway, and noticed that the trellis was much more horizontal than normal.

Each leg had a small metal bit that was screwed into the wood and then sunk into a two foot long piece of concrete. Here you can see happened to one of the legs:

One corner the concrete cylinders was even brought up.

One of the metal fasteners (similar to the one you can see me holding above) is still attached to the trellis (it just broke out of the concrete) and another was bent to a 90 degree angle before it released its grip on the yard decoration. In the first picture there is a large piece of metal that looks like siding. It was delivered (again by Mother Nature) in the subsequent large wind squall, however it isn't siding and its thicker than it looks. I'm just grateful that it didn't gust itself into something/someone else.

For now, I've put the trellis aside the house to attempt repairs a different day. We will probably re-sod the little side gardens to make way for a gate on a future fencing project.

To Mother Nature: we do take criticism well. However, we prefer more subtle approaches like notes on the front door or maybe a phone call. Any duplication of this methodology and we will call the authorities and seek a restraining order (we still remember your critique of our exterior and roof as part of your little hail-storm "dialogue").

One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)

2010-11-01T08:18:00.001-05:00

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

Where does that tune come from?

Filling in the Cracks

2010-10-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

I recently worked on filling in some of the cracks in the cement and asphalt around the house. Out back there are three cement squares that have begun performing their reenactment of Pangea. In the front, the driveway is starting to sink in various places (especially at the edge to the garage) due to the weight of the cars. I decided enough was enough. I grabbed some filler and got to work. The back went nice and smooth. I got a before picture but the after pictures just didn't come out at all, I mean everything just came out grey (it's cement after all!!). But to let you see what I was dealing with, here's the before picture:

The front is still a work in progress, the asphalt there is as stubborn as I am. I got the worst of it, so I consider it finished ... for now...

picture source: http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/photos/images/D0484.JPG

Home-wreckers

2010-10-25T20:40:00.000-05:00

Well, we thought we had a great plan. We rented out our little haunted house to some respectable (and respecting) ghosts and ghouls but all they did was trash the place. As you can see they punched holes in the walls, broke part of the roof, and busted up the landscaping. Of course, they all took off and all their contact information was phony!

To add insult to injury they even ripped all the copper wires and tubing out of the house. We decided to cut our loses and demo it. Since that day we never talk about our real estate investment adventure. In the future (if we ever do this again) we know to not take references that include Dr. Acula and Frank N. Stein. D'oh!

Have You Ever Wondered?

2010-10-21T05:50:00.001-05:00

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

It's comforting to know for sure isn't it? I think so too.

Finish It!

2010-10-11T20:11:00.001-05:00

This weekend Anne got her first cold. Not something to really celebrate (in lieu of cards just send cash) yet something notable nonetheless. This last weekend was akin to when we first brought her home - sleepless nights and lots of crying. Time seemed to warp and twist, I can't recall exactly but I think we went to bed around 8p both Saturday and Sunday. Because of this we postponed some of the weekend projects we have been meaning to work on.

Tonight I played catch up with the most critical. Finishing our gingerbread haunted house.

The orange was a little soupy so it started to sag on some of the applications, but after trying to work on this for the better part of a month, it was time to just get it done! Now that this is complete I can move on to less critical things like taking out the garbage and doing laundry.

It's So True

2010-10-05T17:27:00.001-05:00

If you use Google, you've probably noticed that as you start typing a search query it will try to offer suggestions. Some of the sequences are quite funny. Here's a screen shot of one.

Source: Failblog.org

What's a little less funny is, guess what cell phone I have? Yep... and I won't dispute any of those.

Miller Cabin: Ep 5

2010-09-30T19:39:00.001-05:00

During the week at the cabin I needed to head down to Tomah to drop off the in-law's computer. People that know me well can attest that I'm directionally challenged when I'm outside (inside I'm fine).

[sidebar: Once when I got lost I called Crystal at home and asked her to help me by accessing Google Maps. She asked me what direction I was heading. What direction?!?! I responded with, "Forward ... you do realize who you are talking to right?"]

Needless to say we ended up getting a GPS at some point and it's been a better investment than our house (the house's debt to value ratio is still in the "things that make Chris unhappy" range). So using the GPS to get me from the cabin to Tomah I started to blindly follow directions as they were issued to me. Soon I found myself on a "road" that didn't seem just right. I don't know what led me to that conclusion. It could have been one of the following:

The road didn't use any cement, pavement, or asphalt.
It was really just one lane.
It was as level as a politician (whoa! Sorry I couldn't resist).
Instead of Speed Limit signs it had signs saying "road open to all motor vehicles."
The 5 foot puddle with the log in the middle of it that threw mud all along the side of the vehicle was too much fun (like frost heaves in Alaska).

I almost figured it out by the time I crested this ridge and found that all further routes only allowed ATVs or Snowmobiles. Driving neither I was forced to turn around and go back the way I came. Which I might add was better the second time.

Eventually I got to Tomah, did the work, and drove back to the cabin. Pulling John and Crystal in the car I took them to the road and drove it again. It was great.

Meanwhile, where was Zelda during this week? She was at doggy fat camp. When we finally picked her up she was noticeably slimmer. Actually, it was just normal doggy day care; but with the wonders they seem to be able to work out, I was thinking of spending a week there myself...

Spaghetti Fortress of Solitude

2010-09-30T19:38:00.002-05:00

Failbook

2010-09-30T17:02:00.000-05:00

I found this on Failbook.com, I thought it was a hoot.

** Not trying to offend anyone but I thought that the time spent on putting this all on Facebook mirroring historical facts in a facebook-style conversation was too funny.

Miller Cabin Ep 4

2010-09-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

While we were at the cabin we took a fair amount of pictures, hopefully fair themselves. Here are a few.

Miller Cabin Ep 3

2010-09-26T21:42:00.001-05:00

At the cabin a Game Tourney started as soon as Brad and Kendra arrived. There were five contenders for the title of "winner" (we didn't give that part of the tourney much thought). Games played ranged from Rook, Scrabble (which I was able to miss out on since I slept in that day), Dominion Intrigue, Zombies! (which I enjoyed the most even though I lost), and more. A 1000 piece puzzle was also brought, which ended up taking up some time away from the games. I thought it was nice since I need a break from competitive games after a bit. Unfortunately the colors blended quite well and some someone like myself that sees colors in the range that equals a box of crayons (the 16 crayon set mind you - not the fancy 32 or 64 boxes) I ended up looking at the pieces' shapes without being able to rely on the visual clues. Stupid colors.

Some of the games were new for Crystal and myself, such as Dominion. We enjoyed it so much that when we got home we looked it up and found that the original version of the game is ranked 7 on boardgamegeek.com's website. We looked at how much it cost and found it really cheap (compared to everyone else) at Amazon with free shipping. If this sounds like and ad ... it is.

In the end I won second place to Kendra. Unfortunately we didn't come up with a cool name for second place. So I came up with Greatest Game Player at Miller Cabin That Didn't Quite Win But Came Really Close. This title was approved with the following votes: YES (Chris), No (no one), Did Not Vote Due to Not Being Asked (Crystal, John (aka Dad), Brad, and Kendra).

Miller Cabin: Ep 2

2010-09-22T20:19:00.000-05:00

Have a seat, or two. Or ten! Miller cabin had a bad case of "Extra Chairs". Fortunately it was just a small case... literally.

Cause and Effect

2010-09-18T20:19:00.000-05:00

Anne has begun to learn the principles of cause and effect. She will drop a toy on the ground when in her high chair and wait for us to pick it up. Repeat, again, and again, ...

We reinforced our own understanding of this.

Sunday: we get sucked into a couple of episodes of TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive.
Monday: we watch some episodes of A&E Hoarders.

Saturday: We go to Goodwill and drop off some clothes, a couple of boxes of household stuffs, and a couple of other knickknacks.

Miller Cabin: Ep 1

2010-09-14T17:45:00.001-05:00

For our recently mentioned vacation we went to the Miller's Lakeside Cabin. It is a vacation rental property located near Rock Dam, WI. It was a nice cabin that was situated on a peninsula right off the lake. We got there during Labor Day weekend which was expectedly busy. After Monday the amount of people dropped to just the locals and us. It was quite pleasant. Besides us, Crystal's folks were there as well as Brad and Kendra from Sunday to Wednesday. It was located roughly equidistant from each of us.

The cabin had full amenities and had a relaxing atmosphere post-Labor Day. Since the nearest grocery store was a little jaunt away we each ended up bringing food and we all hoped to not have to transport back any of it. We all fell a little short of that goal and cars were still packed when we drove towards home at the end of the week.

We also found out that it is also a stone's throw (at least thrown by Zeus) away from Jason and Cirsten's cabin. They are situated on a beautiful 100 acre tree farm (lumber barons as they call themselves). So we finally got to visit the cabin that they have been working on since they bought the land. It was secluded and cozy.

More on the cabin coming up...

New Website Time!

2010-09-11T17:01:00.001-05:00

We just got back from a week long vacation. It was a good time, I'll post some pics about the trip. But until then here's a new segment for the website.

Weird Website of the day/week/post: http://www.leekspin.com.au/

Post your best time in the comments if you wish to admit to it...

As of this posting I'm close to 5 minutes. Crystal tried to turn the speakers off within 30 seconds.

You Can Call Me Al

2010-08-29T21:08:00.001-05:00

Almost a year ago I was mad. Pissed mad. Mad enough that I decided to write a letter to my senator. While I never thought anything would come of it, I actually received a response. Near the midle of June I received a reply.

Dear Chris,

Thank you for contacting me. I appreciate hearing from you, and deeply regret the delay in responding. It has been a tremendous experience thus far to represent Minnesota in the United States Senate, and I look forward to representing you in the months and years ahead.

My first nine months in office have brought unique opportunities to represent Minnesota's interests, but also unique challenges. I joined the Senate at a time when so many issues critical to Minnesota and our nation were being debated and decided. Please be assured that while my response has been delayed, I have very much appreciated you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I will continue to take your views into account and am eager to hear from you in the future.

Again, thank you for contacting me, and please don't hesitate to do so again in the future on any matter of concern to you.

Sincerely,

Al Franken
United States Senator

Not picking on Franken at all, but this is living up to my expectations I had back then.

Nothing.

Sincerely,

Chris

Vampires Beware

2010-08-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

Since we make our own baby food we also have Anne experience spices with those foods as well. With her cereal we give her a little cinnamon, things like that. Unbeknown to me, tonight she had green beans and summer squash with a little garlic powder.

When I arrived home Anne was finishing up a bath, so I helped to get her out of the tub and dry her off. During the dry off process I smelled something that was just ... well ... ripe. I queried Crystal and she told me about the menu-du-jour. For tonight it was hard to get close to her at all without being overpowered by the Aroma of Anne.

While I normally love being able to see both Crystal and Anne before I leave; I'm hoping that I'm off for work tomorrow before she wakes up and her diaper needs changing.

Third Time's a Charm!

2010-08-17T19:41:00.004-05:00

Now that the weather has cooled to something reasonable (last week it was almost as hot as the surface of the sun) the tennis match could resume. I didn't mention a previous loss since, well, it was depressing. However the third game ... was ... fantastic!

	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3*
Matt	6	6	1
Chris	2	4	6

* I had to star this particular match since Matt was going to some sort of concert later that night so I don't think he was ready to play an extended game. I'm not entirely sure, but I think the concert was the Justin Bieber or Hannah Montana or something.

Voracious Book Devourer!

2010-08-12T07:48:00.000-05:00

Our little girl practically devours books already at age 7 months! Here's a couple of shots of her in action.

We are so proud!

An Oil Covered Rose By Any Other Name...

2010-08-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Whoa! Soapbox Alert!!

First time I've ever really ranted about something like this before. I just heard this on the news today that BP stations are thinking about re-rebranding, or maybe just unbranding themselves and going back to Amoco (American Oil Company). BP started making all the stations transition over from Amoco a few years ago. I'd hate to think that this will make the average American consumer not realize that they are still BP stations (for those that are boycotting, or just supporting non-BP stations). However I think even I don't have that much naiveté.

But in case they can't make up their mind, here's a couple of suggestions (not politically correct).

I'll stop now and get off my soapbox... for now.

Double Vision

2010-08-03T19:16:00.000-05:00

Isn't it amazing how you can get used to something and come to take it for granted until it's gone? That's exactly what happened for our dual monitor setup at the home computer. One of them suddenly decided to stop working. No power... nothing. The monitor was the newer of the two but still beyond any warranty (and I don't regret passing on the Best Buy extended warranty - if nothing else just on the principle of how mush they push it!).

Doing some research, I found that our particular brand of monitor seems to have issues with the capacitors in the power supply. Following the link on that particular page directed me to a How To for the DIYer I disassembled the screen to see if the capacitors were in fact bad. Sure enough, they were bulging out - a clear indication. So I ordered the capacitors and waited for them to arrive. And waited ... and waited ... all the while trying to get used to having just one monitor again. I wasn't the only one to be going through dual monitor withdrawal, Crystal even mentioned it a couple of times.

Eventually it arrived and I was able to begin the process of swapping out the offending bits of electronics. I tried to keep in the back of my mind that I had never actually removed a soldered component before, let alone one that was professionally done. Filled with confidence I went to work. After I finished I looked at how long it actually took me; over 48 minutes! Whew. I put everything back together and plugged in the power cord and it worked! Then I finished plugging everything back into the computer and it died again. I realized that it ended up being a cable that was the primary culprit. Although the capacitors were definitely on their way to fails-ville, they weren't the true responsible party. However I got the cable replaced and then everything is working like it was. I love the double vision!

Just Beet It

2010-07-28T17:27:00.001-05:00

Anne likes beets. Why is this awesome? 'Cause now I can buy beets with impunity and Crystal can't give me the "why did you buy beets" expression (as long as I share them I suppose). But anything Anne likes we have gotten more of so that means more beets!!

I'm not sure what veggies Crystal is lining up next but I think we are both hoping Anne doesn't like brussel sprouts.

Vikings Tickets

2010-07-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

Crystal and I heard on the news this morning around 6am that some Vikings tickets would be available for sale at the Metrodome starting at 10am. The initial news teaser showed a person covered in a blanket on a folding chair next to an empty folding chair. After the return to the broadcast they went into a little more detail about what games would be available. I didn't really hear them as Crystal was mentioning that all they kept showing was that sleeping individual next to an empty folding chair. They didn't pan down the line at all.

So exactly how popular were these tickets? I thought I would check it out by deviating from my normal walk-to-work route and see how long the line was by the time I passed the Metrodome. An hour later (7am) I took this photo of the line of excited fans eager to snap up their tickets.

See them all? It's a little hard to see them in this picture (which I zoomed in all the way on my phone) behind all that empty space...

Almost Too Productive?

2010-07-25T13:54:00.011-05:00

We practically destroyed the kitchen yesterday. But let me take a step back.

Saturday morning we got up nice and early thanks to Anne (she's such an early riser that the early birds are usually still asleep). After everyone ate we went to Buffalo for the Farmer's Market. We picked beans (regular and purple ones - Majestic Burgundy?), carrots (regular and multi-colored baby ones), purple potatoes, a baker's dozen of corn, and two cookies for Zelda. From there we shot to Maple Grove to get formula for the kiddo at Costco (I do not relish trips there during the weekends), dropped of books at the library. Right after we got home I got the call to complete the CraigsList sale. So back to Maple Grove I went. Returning I mowed the lawn and then helped Crystal in the kitchen.

While she steamed, cut up, and then pureed summer squash that she picked up from Albertville's Farmer's Market on Thursday we were steaming beets, and cutting up carrots for steaming and pureeing after the squash was done. Crystal has been making most of Anne's baby food from scratch. She actually figured she saved $11 on a previous food making process involving squash. During that entire process I was prepping the stages for our dinner on the grill, corn cobs soaked in water, potato packets using the purple potatoes, vegetable skewers and then a nice pork tenderloin. Since we have a small grill it was done in stages, which means I kept making more messes as the stages progressed.

During all that Crystal helped Anne with taking a "swim."

At the end of the night there was barely any counter space available. To celebrate I went to the store and got some ice cream. When I was purchasing the ice cream with my credit card (which I know they track and trend purchases that way) a coupon printed out along with my receipt. Ironically, it was for heartburn medicine... which gave me the idea to end the night with a nice fire that Crystal and I enjoyed after Anne went to bed. Luckily she didn't make a sound (we use a baby monitor).

CraigsList

2010-07-25T13:40:00.001-05:00

We're not new to Craigslist as we've purchased things from the site before (lawnmower and wine corker). However we were newbs to the whole selling part of CL. But we can now count ourselves as a CL alumni; albeit not very successful ones. I tried to sell all the vintage macs that we've been hauling around since we lived in Green Bay (many a moon ago). I tested everything, posted it, and received no response for over a week. Then I finally got a query, but it was just someone asking if I would sell just a keyboard and mouse... Not what I was hoping for (I wanted someone to take it all). Since I still hadn't gotten any other queries I talked them into buying at least one system with keyboard and mouse.

We met at a neutral location, made the transaction and then I promptly took that money and went and got a haircut.

Tennis Elbow and Red Neck

2010-07-21T07:38:00.002-05:00

After many years I picked up a tennis racket again for a friendly game with my friend Matt. Going to an outside court at a nearby park I realized I forgot any sunscreen. We then began to lobby back and forth looking like complete amateurs until I finally challenged him to a more competitive (yet still amateurish) game.

In under an hour I ended up loosing the set. We will most likely keep playing so I'll be using this blog to keep track of our game.

Matt	6
Chris	2

Now the day after; my arm hurts and I am doing my literal impression of a Redneck with a decent sunburn on my neck and arms. Which makes wearing a long sleeve shirt and tie most pleasurable.

Water Dog

2010-07-17T12:51:00.005-05:00

Zelda doesn't care for the water too much, but there are two motivators that will cause her to abandon this desire to remain dry. 1. Throw one of her precious balls in the river. 2. make a sprinkler sound like a toy car (or remote helicopter). The first she loves and must retrieve, the second she must destroy. Let me provide some examples of the latter (make sure your volume is up).

Tilt-Shift Photography

2010-07-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon this website a while ago but never really did too much with it. The other day I recalled it and sat down and processed some of our photos. From the site explaining what tilt-shift photos are:

Tilt-shift miniature style photos are pictures of real-life scenes that are manipulated to look like model photographs.

Now you can easily transform your existing digital camera photos into tilt-shift style miniatures using tiltshiftmaker.com. Our online photo editing tool is fun and requires no registration or signup

Here are some results from our photos:

Dog beach in San Diego Chad (and Magnum) took us to during our CA trip.

San Francisco

During last year's big snowfall - neighbors helping neighbors

Small town in Colorado

Another (or maybe the same - I can't recall) small town in Colorado

I have a couple more that may transition well, but I haven't been able to finish those ones just yet.

Gamer Girl

2010-07-13T17:43:00.000-05:00

Working Windows For the Win!

2010-07-12T19:58:00.001-05:00

As mentioned before, the car's window stopped working. In an effort to get this fixed at a cost less than the value of the car, we started asking around. We were informed that we could do the work ourselves with parts from a distributor for a fraction of the cost. Skeptical, but intrigued, we looked into it.

Working from the print out we were given, we researched what it would take to get the part from 1A Auto. We found the part online and setup to order it. Whenever I order things online I usually do a quick Google Search for the company and coupon. In an stroke of luck I found a 10% off coupon and the code worked! That on top of free shipping from the company itself made getting the part an under $50 affair. Great start.

Then we started researching YouTube videos on how to do the work. Luckily, the same company had two videos that were just what we needed. Dismantling the door for a Pontiac Grand Prix and replacing the window power regulator in a Grand Am (similar enough). Needless to say we watched the videos many times to prep ourselves. Waiting until we had plenty of time (the website cautioned about starting the project and not finishing) we decided to wait until July 4th weekend to do it.

After a quick run to Menominee to pick up a table and last remaining chair (thanks again Brad and Kendra!), we went at it. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say, we got it fixed ourselves in an hour and fifteen minutes. That included about 10 trips to the computer to watch the videos while we worked on it. Here are some pictures of the process.

Removed door panel

Window taped up so power regulator can be removed.

Zelda helping.

Testing the replaced regulator before reinstalling everything.

What a helper!

Feeding the wires back through the water shield.
Yes I know the shorts are awful, but they are my grunge ("I don't care if they get dirty") shorts.

Finished door with offending regulator.

Resting on our laurels... or just plain resting.

Bad Fridge, Bad!

2010-07-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

As I had mentioned briefly before the day after Father's Day our fridge began to fail. We noticed the fridge was making a noise every now and then, like a motor was trying to start but then shutting down right away. Unsure what it was we decided to look online at what it could be (initially we thought it was the ice machine or the water dispenser). The real clue was the ice cream melting in the freezer (which I'm told from searching Google, that is not normal). We then got the task of looking into the fridge and deciding what was worth saving by moving to the 1.5 cubic feet (dorm room style) fridge downstairs.

After much searching we think it was either the relay switch or the compressor. Continuing further into the Internet we found that fixing a compressor isn't worth it due to the amount of work required (and it can only be done by technician because of the work involved - a few sites said that some welding may be required) and that the switch relay could extend the life of the fridge for a bit but didn't work for everyone.

Sitting back and reviewing our options we decided to not invest resources into a 13 year fridge and began looking to hire a replacement. We initially went Appliance Smart and found a potential replacement in their dinged-up section. Unfortunately they couldn't deliver it until almost a week later. The next stop, Best Buy, resulted in looking at about 3 units that had potential but were all overpriced (instead of sticker shock it was more like sticker kicked-in-the-groin). We were just about to leave when the sales person caught us. Trying to find out information he asked us, "what things about your last fridge did you really like?" I replied, "It kept our food cold." As I recalled to a friend afterwards, I get where the sales guy was coming from but it's not like it scratched our butts and played the cello!

After a brief run down of their inventory he decided to give us the entire speech about the extended warranty services Best Buy offers (even though we gave every signal that said - "we aren't going to buy your overly expensive appliances" - in fact we both made overt comments about how expensive they were). His reply to that was then to walk us up front and have them give us the finance talk. The coup-de-grace was a story where one customer bought a HDTV with a 3-year no-interest financing option and put on a new stove on it since the appliance no-interest timeline was only 6 months. And how that was just "smart of them" hint hint hint. We left after that.

Proceeding to Lowe's we discovered a closeout model that could be delivered the next day. We decided to get that one after some discussions and then checking with an external professional. While Crystal talked to them I wheeled Anne around in the cart trying to keep her happy (at this point it was 2 hours past her bed time) and not crash into workers, customers, or the shelves. I was partly successful (there's going to be a couple dinged up items on the clearance cart now).

As a result we now have a fridge similar to this style:

While it may keep our food cold it definitely doesn't play the cello. It plays the oboe instead.

Board in Green Bay

2010-07-08T12:27:00.000-05:00

During our trip to Green Bay we also played quite a few board games. In total we played Ticket to Ride: Europe, Munchkin Quest, and the awesome Cave Troll. Crystal and I have played Munchkin Quest, just the two of us, but never finished due to the changes from the card game and it seems harder with just two people. While similar in style to the card game version the there is increased intensity, rules, and math (adding is hard!).

Yours truly won the game with Brad. I was going to win solo but so many monsters were thrown into the mix I needed to recruit some help. Here are some pics from the last big battle.

After this monster fight we all went to bed (pun intended).

Green Bay

2010-07-06T10:47:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago we went over to Green Bay to visit with Brad (Crystal's brother) and Kendra (Brad's wife). Our trip had two primary goals:

See how many chairs we could fit from their old dining room set we could squeeze into our car.
See their new house (the reason for them giving us their table and 6 chairs).

We knew we wouldn't be able to get the table into our car with the babe riding in the back but we hoped we could fit the majority of the chairs in amongst our own travel items (Crystal and I share one suitcase - Anne has her own). Brad and Kendra have been working on their new house near downtown Green Bay (moving in from the outskirts) and some of the before and after shots are just amazing in what they've done so far. They didn't finish when we were there but I have no doubt that once they are done it will be spectacular. They can actually complete home projects and have them look good when they are done... sigh.

While we were there we visited our favorite Goodwill store. I know that seems so odd, but this Goodwill store is really above and beyond all the others. We've been able to get newish items that look great for everyone. In fact the last couple of times we've been there we usually walk out with some really great deals (I ended up getting a pair of jean shorts for just around $5 and Anne got a fitted hat for about $1). On Saturday the crew went strawberry picking but I wussed out (sun + hot = sunburnt cranky Chris) and stayed at their place and watched USA lose to Ghana in overtime.

By Sunday we packed up to head home with 5 chairs that were placed in the car by the Tetris-master Brad. The table and last chair would have to be gathered later on.

July 4th

2010-07-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

Another July 4th and another scared puppy. No picture this time since we haven't vacuumed the carpet yet. Last year's post works: one scared pup under a blanket tent...

http://triveality.blogspot.com/2009/08/scardy-dog.html