July 2005 Archives

I'm getting behind on my blogging lately. Here are a few brief items of interest.

It might make my trips to the airport take longer, but I still want one of these 4th Ammendment messenger bags.

Jennie pointed me to an odd toaster that I am strangely attracted to, even though I don't really want to eat "breakfast sandwiches".

The Pennsylvania Heath Care Containment Commission reports what I've always known in my gut, hospitals can make you sick.

I've been drinking a lot of tea lately. This "tea stick" fascinates me. I wonder if it is as good working as it is cool looking. I doubt it works as well as my little filter thing.

I really want to try these "flat bowls" on my next camping trip.

Sprog looks pretty cool. I should really get around to trying it.

If someone doesn't make a PC port of this graphics software I might have to buy a Mac.

When I moved into my neighborhood, I always hoped that my lawn would not be the worst lawn in view. Thanks to some neighbors down the street my position of having the second worst grass on the street seemed assured. Then last year those people moved. The first thing the new owners did was to remove their entire lawn and replace it with something that looks like a golf course.

Personally, nuking my lawn with herbicides has no appeal. Monoculture is not for me; I like clover. I don't even really sweat the dandelions. I like diversity everywhere, including my lawn.

Turf management is very low on my list of hobbies to pursue.

While walking with the family from the Science Museum of Minnesota to Cossetta's, I found a tiny ruby red slipper.

I couldn't help but wonder where Dorothy and her little dog Toto were. Maybe this was the result of strange a mashup of Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz, sort of like when Laverne and Shirley would appear on Happy Days.

We left the shoe on the street corner hoping the rightful owner would hobble back to claim the missing piece of footwear.

I went to Stella’s Fish Cafe & Prestige Oyster Bar in Uptown last night. Stella's had been suggested by my co-worker Brenda several times. (Perhaps I should say she suggested it once, then I asked her to remind me of the name three or four times.) The restaurant is very close to what I've wanted in the Twin Cities for some time, namely a somewhat casual seafood restaurant, with really great fish.

I had the small plate "Sesame-crusted Ahi Tuna with wasabi and ponzu sauce", fresh bluepoint oysters, and the "Spinach salad with hot pancetta bacon dressing." The tuna was perfectly done (meaning very rare) and the oysters were very fresh and extremely tasty. The salad was huge and was perfect for sharing. The dressing was a little sweet for my taste, but complimented the salad nicely. The best part of the salad was the slightly spicy croutons made from a corn bread.

This is the first time I've eaten raw oysters in the middle of the country. I've always felt a little squeamish about ordering them so far from the ocean. I still don't think I'll make a habit of ordering them in Minnesota, but these were absolutely delicious. Jeannie was brave and tried her first raw oyster. She downed it like a champ but is in no hurry to make it her next vice.

My wife and I also split the Hot Crab and Spinach dip. This was pretty good stuff and was plenty large for sharing.

I'll be going back to Stella's. There were lots of items I still wanted to try. We walked up to the deck on the fourth floor after dinner. It seemed like a great place to eat dinner. It was cool and breezy even on a warm evening and was high enough up that you didn't hear much road noise. I'll be eating on the roof next time.

P.S. They have valet parking, of parking in uptown is too challenging for your tastes.

When I am out for a nice hike in the woods and I come to a bald granite outcroppping I always have a moment of "Where did my path go?" Finding a cairn reassures me that I'm on the right path. It would be nice if the markers in life were as neatly marked. Most days it feels like the people in front of me spent a little too much time scattering them or perhaps I am just walking past them without seeing them.

You may have noticed I haven't written much lately. I was away on holiday spending last week with family on Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota. Lake Vermillion is near Ely, MN and is not far from the Canadian Border, providing you want to paddle there.

The highlights of my family trip were the ripe blueberries, camping and hiking in the BWCA, visiting the International Wolf Center, my annual Soudan Mine Tour and finding a great cup of coffee complete with internet access at the Ely Surf Shop.

Announcing the winner for the first and only "Guess how many scissors" contest ... may I have the envelope please ...

The long awaited scissors I purchased on Ebay have finally arrived.

The thirty pound box contained 453 pairs of scissors and one combination bottle opener/pocket knife. (I'll announce the winner to the "guess how many scissors are in thirty pounds" contest as soon as I figure out who it was.

Many of the scissors were in excellent condition, some were even in their original packaging.

Some of the scissors have names written on these. I would like to return these to their rightful owners if possible.

• Dave: These red scissors had a lot of doodling on them. I think they must have meant a lot to Dave.
• Chase H.
• Amelia Pungler
• Alexa Wiebusch

If you are the original owner of these scissors or believe you know the original owner please contact me and I'll try and return your scissors to you.

I attend a largish church in a suburb. Occasionally, I get into a conversation about large churches and why they have become popular in the last few decades. I've personally heard many theories but I'm fairly convinced boils down to the same reasons people go to Target, Walmart & Home Depot. I think that the combination of service and price wins customers.

When I give my pronouncement that large churches are part of larger national trends towards professionalization and consumerism, most people think I'm bashing large churches or the people who attend them or work in them. I don't mean that at all. Good things and bad things happen in churches of every scale. I wouldn't go to my largish church if I didn't believe it was doing more good than harm.

Colby Fisher recently wrote an article entitled Church Mart for the web site Killing the Buddha which elaborates nicely on this theory. He points out some reasons for optimism that I often fail to note in my overly pessimistic way of looking at things.

I would sooner stop shopping at Target and Home Depot than go back to a tiny church. (Of course I won't shop at Walmart, I have some standards.)

I think Hell's Kitchen is still my favorite place to eat breakfast in the Twin Cities.

They made me feel like a rock star today. The two people in front of me in line were told the wait was an hour. I told them who I was (a person with reservations) and they said "right this way."

They even elevate something as simple as toast to an entirely different level.

Julie recently wrote about Independence Day. I'll quote my favorite passage below, although you really should go read the whole thing.

That phrase --- "tragic past and transforming present" is a really wonderful expression. Reading that phrase out loud helps quiet my temporary discomfort and malcontentedness with life, the universe and everything. It's the kind of phrase that actually renews hope and faith in me, especially in the light of the recent tragedy in London.

Joel forwarded me a link to the Japan SAQ. SAQ if you haven't guessed already stands for Seldom Asked Questions. It is both amusing and fascinating.

I've been leaving for work early and coming home late more than I like to think about. Elise is a light sleeper and often catches me looking in on her on my way out.

On Wednesday she caught me as usual and wanted a hug. While she hugged me she kept whispering in my ear "I'll never let you go ... I'll never let you go ..." It's the most wonderful thing I heard all week.

I think it's what we all want to hear from someone.

I take a walk at work more days than not. According to the Gmap Pedometer (which is a very cool tool, btw) my usual route is about 2 miles.

I'm always amazed at how much better I feel after a good walk, even when the trees crash at my feet or the geese are hiss at me.

If I'm in a bad mood, a walk almost always helps.

The 30 pounds of scissors that I won on Ebay are expected to ship today. I'm having a little contest to see if anyone can guess how many scissors are in 30 pounds of scissors. The package should arrive late next week, so send your guesses in before then.

According to the Wikipedia it's the birthday of Thomas More, Merv Griffith, George W. Bush, Sylvester Stalone, Nancy Reagan, and a rapper named 50 Cent. Curious group of people born today. I wonder if anyone else, like a co-worker perhaps, has a birthday today? Happy Birthday everyone!

I lived in Richland Center, Wisconsin from the middle of kindergarten through second grade. It was a great place for a kid. There were places to run in the woods on the hill behind the town. Almost all my friends were within walking distance. The parks were all on Church Street and the churches were on Park Street. My grandparents had a big Victorian house where my parents and I lived with them. The best part of that house was the porch on the front with a swing on it. I spent a lot of time in that swing especially when storms would blow in. During storms my grandmother was quite sure I would be struck by lightning and would frequently implore me to come in. After enough warnings someone would drag me in. I loved being so close to the rain that the wind felt wet. Now that I think about it, it's nearly the same sensation I get when sailing.

This weekend I realized that the same swing is hanging from the laundry line thing in Grandpa's back yard. It's not nearly as sturdy as I remember it but it still does the job. It felt really good to swing with both my grandpa and my kids this weekend.

I wished it was on the old porch, I wished it was raining & I wish my grandmother was there to shoo me inside.

I love Wisconsin!