Running With Scissors

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2009-08-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Retirement

2009-07-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening we were eating at the dinner table. Sandy said, "Oh did you hear Casey Kasem Retired?" I said, "Really? I guess I didn't even know he was still alive." Sandy said, "Heh, yeah. He just announced his retirement. He's been doing that show like forever." Then Eli pipes in, "Retired to the Jets?" We laughed and I said, "Yes, he'll probably go to the Jets."

Oh, Grandma

2009-01-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

Grandma (Sandy's Mom) was over for Christmas Day to watch the boys open presents in the morning. She likes to help out while she is here. She attempts to do dishes and pick up and stuff. God bless her for trying. Her heart is in the right place. But there are things that she has trouble with. Pretty much anything having to do with electronics/technology is just beyond her grasp. Thursday, after the fury of the present openings, Sandy and I were in the kitchen doing the lunch dishes. She started cracking up and pointed out the scene below. Grandma had hung up the TV remote. I couldn't help but imagine her saying, "Sandy, I don't know what's wrong. Every time I turn to channel 911, the cops show up at the door."

Blue Moon

2008-12-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

Blue Moon is a decent beer. I have only drank it on a few occasions. Each time with very strange results. One time was the night out with the Symantec guys, Heather, Anna, and the tornadoes. Thursday night there was a holiday party for the businesses in our building. Good food and free drinks. Mine were of the Blue Moon variety. After two and a half, I was pretty chatty. But otherwise fine. Sandy & I went to see a movie at the cheap theater. Nothing's too good for my girl you know. We watched Changeling. Pretty good, I thought. It's a story of abuse of power by the LA police force. Not really what I was expecting but good. Anyway, that night I had the strangest dream. In the dream I had been drinking. I was driving the van alone through a graveyard. I got very sleepy drunk and could not focus to drive. Somehow I got onto a footpath then started mowing down headstones. One got caught under the van and I was stuck. I hoofed it home (but not to my house) because I didn't want to face the cops in that condition. Soon I was asleep. Yeah, I went to sleep in my dream and had another dream. I don't remember what that dream was about but there were no vehicular causalities. The worries about the van floated away into dreamland. Eventually I awoke from the inner dream. Wakefulness brought with it that nasty gut wrenching feeling that you get when you remember all the crap you did while you were drunk the night before. I remembered the van was wrecked and that I'd have to take care of that ugliness. Ugh. I started walking back to the graveyard. Then I woke up. For real this time. It took me quite a while to figure out what was dream and what was reality and whether the van was wrecked or not. I've never taken any hallucinogenics, but... Blue Moon does seem to have some funky effects on me.

Toothy Questions

2008-12-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

Lately, we've noticed that Jacob is having trouble brushing his teeth thoroughly enough. When we were at my Mom's last weekend, I brushed them a bit myself and I could see the gums bleeding some. I had a talk with him and explained that he needs to do a better job, making sure every tooth gets brushed. Sandy and I tried to convince him that going to the dentist with a cavity is very unpleasant experience. I think he got the idea because later he came to Sandy and said, "I need to talk to you about something. I just read 'little critter goes to the dentist' and he had a cavity. I'm afraid to go to the dentist now." Sandy told him everything would be fine as long as he brushed his teeth well enough. The next morning he brush his teeth for about five minutes. :-)
Every night before bed, he brushes his teeth and uses a fluoride rinse. Last night he asked, "Dad, what is that rinse I use?" I told him it is a fluoride rinse to help strengthen the enamel on his teeth and prevent cavities. He said, "Oh boy. I just have so many questions." I was just able to contain my laughter. I told him to go ahead and ask some of his questions. Sandy started cracking up and soon I was laughing too. He asked, "What is fluoride? What is enamel? Why is the rinse red or green?" I did my best to explain everything and sent him off to bed.

Cloud Cult - Again

2008-11-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

Sandy and I are going to another Cloud Cult show this Friday. I can't wait! I'm so glad I got acquainted with their music. (Thanks Steve). It's not very often that you find music that makes you change your outlook on life. That's how powerful it is - to me at least. I suppose it's not for everyone. Everyone has their own musical preferences. Their lyrics are very personal and courageously open. I've tried to introduce some family and friends to them, with some success. My Mom said she likes them a lot. And Sandy loves them like I do. To me, the sharing of music one likes with others can be a strangely touchy area. I realize that listening to music is a personal thing and the last thing I want to do is to push my tastes onto someone else. Like, "You Must Like This". I hate it when others do that, with religion, politics, or whatever. But rather my position is this, "You know, I found something that I really enjoy. I want to share it with you because I care for you. I hope you might get the same enjoyment from it that I do." End of pitch. No pressure.

Actually,

2008-10-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve discovered the following property of Girl:

int Girl::getNumActuallys()
{
    //The number of times a girl says Actually is directly
    //proportional to the product of her stupidity and hotness.

    return this.getStupidity() * this.getHotness();
}

Grandma Kate

2008-09-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

My Grandma (Dad's Mom) passed away last week. We traveled to Goshen, Indiana for the funeral. I don't have a whole lot of memories of her. A big yard to play in, a swing hanging from a tree branch, and pie. That's about it. She was a very kind lady. Unfortunately she married an unkind man. That led to my belief that visiting her house was not a joyous affair. She was tough, stubborn, hardened, and dutiful. I realize that's because she had a difficult road in life. She still managed to be very loving to us grandkids and she will be missed.

Going Home

2008-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

We're hading to Chippewa this weekend to visit my Mom. I always enjoy a trip back home. The kids love to see grandma Julie. Of course she spoils them terribly, but I figure that's a grandmother's privilege. Sandy and I plan on taking advantage of the free babysitting opportunity to go out and catch a movie. We've both been wanting to see The Dark Knight. I'm not so sure she'll like it but she wants to see it because of Heath Ledger. She's been a fan since she saw Brokeback Mountain.

Mom had me order her a new computer last week. So part of my entertainment will be setting up her new system. Her last computer she had built by a freind with a computer business. It overheated and fried out. She was not at all happy about that. I directed her to Dell this time. I've had pretty good luck with them in the past. Since I'm a computer programmer I feel somehow responsible for my Mom's computing experiece. Wierd.

Lately, during breaks, I've been going out the the park that's next to my workplace. The weather is beautiful this time of year. Sitting outside really relaxes me. There are usually some - let's just say less fortunate - people sitting on the benches out there. If I have some change in my pocket I leave a quater on my bench. It's dumb, but I figure it means nothing to me and it might make someone else's day brighter. I'd leave more but well, I don't. And I'm sure if I was to give someone a quarter, he'd be offended and upset at the amount. But if he finds the quarter, he picks it up and feels fortunate. Funny how people are. And I don't exclude myself from that.

Travel

2008-08-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm not much of a traveler. But I'm off to Raleigh, NC this evening to meet with a client of ours on Monday. My nerves are jumping. Not sure what it is, I guess I'm just a small town dork. Going to an unfamiliar place to meet unfamiliar people makes me squirm. I'm sure everything will go well though. I'm confident that I can solve their problems. It's just a matter of getting there and settling in.

So here's a funny story to lighten my spirits. Sandy was at Cub a week or so ago buying groceries. A young girl was ringing up items for the lady ahead of Sandy. Finally she finished that lady's order and got to Sandy. Sandy had inserted one of those plastic separator sticks between her items and the items of the lady in front of her. The young girl pick up the stick and studied it, turning it over and over. She looked at Sandy and asked "Do you know how much this thing is?"

Crazy Kids

2008-08-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Cloud Cult

2008-06-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sandy and I recently went to see Cloud Cult in concert in Minneapolis. Those guys are so awesome! If you're not familiar, I'd strongly suggest that you check them out. I suppose I would classify them in the alternative music genre. Their music and lyrics are so passionate and emotional. Craig is the lead singer and his wife Connie also tours with the band. She is one of the artists on stage. They did two paintings during the show we were at.

In 2002 Craig and Connie tragically lost thier 2-year-old son Kaidin. He died mysteriously in his sleep. A lot of their music speaks of their struggle to deal with their loss. Many of the songs display a heart wrenching pain, and yet a rejoicing in the fact that there is still love and life afterwards.

The band will be performing on "Last Call with Carson Daly" on June 17th. Tune in and see what they're about.

New Math

2008-05-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Jacob loves math. He enjoys coming up with problems on his own and asking me if he's got the answer right. A few days ago he asked me if one thousand times one thousand equals one million. I told him he was right and he was really excited about being able to come up with such a big number.

Saturday was my birthday. Sandy and I were going to go out for dinner and a movie. So, we were at her Mom's apartment to pick her up. She's usually the babysitter when we go out. She came out and was walking towards the van. She had on a green shirt and green pants. Sandy said, "Oh, and she's wearing my favorite outfit". Then Jacob said, "Green plus green equals Grand-ma"

Oatmeal - A Tale of Tragedy & Windfall

2008-05-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

RE: Quaker Simple Harvest Multigrain Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans

Michael:
It's great to know you are in love with Quaker Simple Harvest Multigrain Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans. We really appreciate you taking the time to let us know about the trouble you had separating the packets resulting in what felt like the loss of a dear friend.

Your comments will be shared with our product development team so they may be considered in reviewing packaging in the future. Please enjoy the full value replacement coupon being mailed to you which will arrive in about a week.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Michael. We appreciate your business and loyalty.

Kimberley
Quaker Consumer Response

=============================================
Dear Quaker Folks,
I am hopelessly in love with your oatmeal, Simple Harvest - Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans. That stuff is just fantastic. I would like to offer a suggestion for improving the packaging though. The individual packets should not be joined. This morning while trying to separate two packets, one of them tore open and I ended up with delicious oatmeal falling on the kitchen floor. Sigh. I felt like I had lost a dear friend. Luckily I still had the other packet to console me.
-Michael

10 Years

2008-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Sandy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary April 18th. It seems to have gone by so fast. To mark the occasion we went out for a night on the town in Minneapolis. First we went to uptown and walked around Lake Calhoun. We stopped into William's bar to have a beer and shoot pool like we did so many years ago. After some sushi and shopping, we eventually made our way to the Red Stag restaurant. I had heard it was a nice place and it didn't disappoint. I had the butternut squash ravioli with roasted duck. Sandy had the pork chop. Both were delicious and the service was great. Next we went to the Acme Comedy Club for some stand-up. Pretty funny and a good time. We stayed the night at the Westin hotel downtown. We had a really fun time. It's been awhile since we've had a day completely to ourselves. My sister was nice enough to watch the kids for us. And Fritzie spent the night at a new kennel. She seemed to get along nicely there. The owners said she was shy but well behaved. They seem like nice people.

No Matter What

2008-04-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

A month or two ago I had a special little talk with Jacob. It's one that my Mom had with me when I was young. I remember that it meant a lot to me so I guess I'm passing it on. I told him that there may times in life when he finds himself in difficult situations. Maybe he won't know what to do about some problem. He may feel embarrassed or ashamed about something. Or he may have done something wrong that got him in trouble. I told him that not all that long ago I was little too. I've had the experience of those childhood problems. I told him I want to make sure he knows that I am here to help him when anything like that comes up. That we are a team, both on the same side. That he can come talk to me No Matter What. That he is my son and I love him. That nothing he ever does will ever change that.

Anyway, he didn't have much to say about it. But he did seem to be listening, so I was hoping that it got through to him. Like I said, that was a couple of months ago. Just last weekend I overheard him talking with Eli. They were playing hockey in the hallway like always. They were on a break. Or maybe Eli called that it was Zamboni time. Jacob was telling Eli that he is his little brother and that he will always love him no matter what. :-) Nice

Monopoly Monopoly

2008-02-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

I didn't think it would ever happen. I finally found someone who likes to play Monopoly as much as I do. I guess it makes sense that it's my son, Jacob. Eli got Monopoly Junior for Christmas so we played that a few times. It seemed to be a little simplistic for a 6 year old, so I decided to try regular Monopoly with Jacob. He loves it! And since Eli's game is called "Monopoly Junior", Jacob has taken to calling the old version "Monopoly Monopoly". "Dad, do you want to play Monopoly Monopoly"?
He is doing really well learning the math of it too. He's calculating change from rents and purchases, doubling rents of monopolies without houses, adding mortgage values, etc. And he's getting good at the strategy part. Good fun!

Smellywasher

2008-01-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

We've had a problem with a moldy smell in the house. For the past couple of years it has been getting stronger and stronger. I was afraid it was coming from within the walls. No way I could afford to fix that. My wife and I noticed the smell would come and go, but we couldn't figure out what was causing it. Finally she latched on to the idea that it was worst right after she did laundry. Yes! The washing machine was moldy - UGH! Well I searched the internet and came across www.smellywasher.com. The price was reasonable so I gave it a try. I was amazed with the results. per the directions, I filled the tub with really hot water and added a few tablespoons of the powder. Within minutes a bunch of mold was floating on top of the water. I cycled the washer and repeated, soaking it overnight. I'm delighted to say that my house no longer smells! I recommend this product wholeheartedly and without reservation. I have a top loader but it says it can be use on front loaders too.

Spooky

2007-10-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

Sandy went upstairs to tuck Jacob into bed last night. In his room there is what's called Christmas tree storage space. It's just a long narrow closet. We use it to store miscellaneous crap. There's a light in there too. Well, last night she noticed that the light had been turned on. She asked, "Jacob, do you know why that light is on?" Jacob let go a big loud fart and said, "That's why."

Oops?

2007-10-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

From: Miller, Mike
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 12:02 PM
To: Nicki; Russ
Subject: RE: Mike

OMG, what? Yeah, I’ll need the larger Firepond crockpot. And a half gallon of 1% milk. As for Nicki’s ‘other thing’, I’m all set.

From: Nicki
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 11:42 AM
To: Russ; Mike
Subject: RE: Mike

Mike,

Jodi’s notes had 3 dozen for 15 people, so I am thinking 5-6 dozen. We will get you the supplies. Are there any specific ingredients you want us to get you like milk or anything along those lines? I can also bring my cock in if we need it.

I can’t wait for your eggs- they are so good!

Nicki

Senior Accountant

ABC, Inc.

From: Russ
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 11:34 AM
To: Mike
Cc: Nicki
Subject: RE: Mike

nicki and i are contemplating the # of eggs. hoping Jodi has some old notes on it. our plan is to go shopping tomorrow for the ingredients.

do you have a larger crock pot? the one at work is avaliable. thinking 25 people, 2 per person, maybe 3 since we are planning the smaller softshells.

and yeah, we were thinking the cheese would be separate if that is ok with you. or we can mix in some cheese and then let there be supplemental on the counter.

From: Mike
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 11:35 AM
To: Russ
Subject: RE: Mike

How many eggs should I make? I assume the cheese will be a separate item in the build-your-own line up, correct?

From: Russ
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 11:13 AM
To: Office
Subject: Mike

Hi,

Since they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and since we care about you so much, eACT has decided that the October event will focus around breakfast.

What: Breakfast burritos
When: Oct. 17 - starting about 8:30am
Where: the break room
Cost: 0

We will have a self-serve line setup with soft shells, eggs, sausage, salsa and you are welcome to help yourself.

As an added bonus we are pleased to announce a guest chef for this event - our very own Mike. Since he does such an excellent job with the eggs/cheese/sausage mix on food days we've asked him, and he has agreed, to prepare the eggs for this event.

hope you can all make it,

eACT

Pumpkins!

2007-10-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sandy and I went the Smashing Pumpkins show in St. Paul. What a great time. They played for almost 3 hours. They included quite a bit of older stuff - Today, Cherub Rock, Rocket, Drown, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Tonight Tonight, Zero, 1979, Perfect, Heavy Metal Machine... Nothing from Gish though. That would be my only complaint. 1979 and Perfect were acoustic – very nice. To be honest, I thought their new stuff sounded tighter than the old songs. You could see that Billy was more excited about playing those. And for the most part, Zietgeist does kick azz. They started with United States, a ten minute plus face melter from Zietgeist. In the middle he added in a guitar solo of the star spangled banner ala Hendrix. I just couldn’t stop smiling. The band is now Billy and Jimmy (the old drummer) and a couple cute new girls. James and D’arcy are not back, but they were always just background anyway. Billy and Jimmy still know how to rock hard. Worth the price of admission and then some.

Ron Paul video

2007-08-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Congressman Ron Paul in the GOP presidential debate held in South Carolina (May '07).

I Heart Ron Paul

2007-08-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

From the Ron Paul newsletter.

August 22, 2007

Not all the media are biased. A local newspaper in New Hampshire
reported on an annual GOP bbq in the town of Hollis. It could be called "the Ron Paul show," they said, since the far bigger crowd than usual consisted mostly of our supporters. One volunteer even rented an airplane and flew a wonderful sign around the sky. What great, creative, self-starting people I'm meeting, at every stop, all of them united by a love of America and American freedom.

Politics is usually about division. But this campaign is just the opposite. Not only are our volunteers a bunch of happy warriors, but they also practice the virtues of tolerance and peace, just as they want the nation to do.

The other day, the state chairman of an opposing campaign (not in New Hampshire!), angrily tore a sign out of one of our supporter's hands and trashed it. Different people with different beliefs might have responded differently. But our people, though they'd been standing in the rain all day, applied the Golden Rule. It's because of quiet heroes that I know we can change this country.

A reporter in New Hampshire told me this story about Florida: she had seen the same three supporters working every day passing out our literature, and so decided to interview them. She was startled to discover that one was a Republican, one was a Democrat, and one was an Independent. But I wasn't.

Freedom brings us all together. We can all agree on leaving people alone to plan and live their own lives, rather than trying to force them to obey at the point of a gun, as runaway government does. Instead of clawing at each other via the warfare-welfare state, people under liberty can cooperate in a unity of diversity.

There is no need to use government to threaten others who have different standards, or to be threatened by them. Looking to our Founders, our traditions, and the Constitution, we can build, in peaceful cooperation, a free and prosperous society.

At a talk show in Nashua, New Hampshire, the host asked me about the fair tax. Well, I agree on getting rid of the IRS, I told her, but I want to replace it with nothing, not another tax. But let's not forget the inflation tax, I said.

This was something she had never considered, but after I talked about the depreciation of our dollar by the Federal Reserve, its creation of artificial booms and busts, and its bailouts of the big banks and Wall Street firms, to the detriment of the average person, she loved it. That is another tax, she agreed, a hidden and particularly vicious tax.

They try to tell us that the money issue is boring or irrelevant. In fact, it is the very pith of our social lives, and morally, Constitutionally, and economically, the central bank is a disaster. Thanks to the work of this movement, Americans are starting to understand what has been hidden from them for so long: that we have a right to sound and honest money, not to a dollar debauched for the special interests.

Unconstitutional government has created a war crisis, a financial crisis, a dollar crisis, and a freedom crisis. But we don't have to take it. We don't have to passively accept more dead soldiers, a lower standard of living, rising prices, a national ID, eavesdropping on our emails and phone calls, and all the rest.

We can return to first principles, and build the brightest, most brilliant future any people on earth has ever aspired to. Help me teach this lesson. Help me campaign all over this country, in cooperation with our huge and growing volunteer army. Help me show that change is not only possible, but also essential. Please, make your most generous contribution (https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate/) to this campaign for a Constitutional presidency worthy of our people. Invest in freedom: for yourself, for your family, for your future.

Sincerely,

Ron

Pen's

2007-07-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

The other day I was at Great Clips, my low-budget choice for hair care. After my cut I went up to the counter to pay and something caught my eye. They, like so many other high end boutiques, had come up with a clever way of displaying the pens available for use by their customers. They had a little flower pot filled with coffee beans and sticking out of it was a flower. It had a stem made out of a pen and had a construction paper flower head taped to it. In the middle of the flower head was written, "Pen's". I did a double take then started laughing a bit too loudly. Not only was the apostrophe incorrect, it was also a bit exaggerated in size. I asked the girl behind the counter if she noticed the sign. I said I wouldn't have given it a thought except that it looked like a completely different word than the one that was intended.

What's going on?

2007-07-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Jacob turned six last month. We had the party at Dutler's Bowl. All the kids had fun bowing and playing games. It's been a busy summer. Jacob is in soccer and t-ball so that takes up four of our evenings each week. Lots of fun though. Jacob can't get enough of sports. Eli is pretty much potty-trained. He just needs a pull-up during naps and overnight. What a relief that is.

Last weekend we went camping near Fairmont at Flying Goose Campground. It went pretty well. We only stayed one night and we had nice weather. More than one night and I start to get cranky. I did get a bit frustrated when it came time to set up the tent. The campsites we had were pretty much filled by the RVs and the camper. So we had to squeeze into a spot barely as big as our tent. And there is no soft grass anymore. I guess no one tents these days.

We are staying put this weekend. We're working on painting the toy room and the bedroom. The plan is to paint then get new carpeting in those rooms and the window room. I hope it turns out nice. I always worry when making decoration/color decisions. But Sandy has a good eye for that, so it should be OK. The ceiling in the loft has had some water damage in the past. So when we tried painting, all the popcorn stuff came down. Ugh...

I decided to give golfing another go this summer. But I'm already about fed up. By the seventh hole I am hot, tired, frustrated and wondering why in God's name I got out of bed early. First time out at Minneopa I got a 60. Next time a 63. Today I got a 70. So as you can see, I'm on the fast track to success. I guess I should stick to pool and Sorry Card Revenge. I rock at that game!