September 2006 Archives

• Super creepy story - "Daddy's Girl"
• The Attractiveness Scale
• Cool refridge magnets
• Dirk - the interconnected game

I have to have a t-shirt.

Puzzle, originally uploaded by timbu.

Matthew and I have nearly completed a 550 piece puzzle. This is a big deal since the largest puzzle to date was a 200 piece and prior to that we had only done 50-100 piece puzzles.

Halloween, Alaska CD Release Party, originally uploaded by howwastheshow.

Halloween, Alaska is playing Friday at the Varsity Theater. Doors open at 7:00. They are playing with Cloud Cult.

Will I be there -- no, I am missing another Halloween, Alaska show. My absence guarantees they will play "State Trooper" which I've never heard them play live.

Silver blades, originally uploaded by Pensiero.

Yesterday I had my first skating lesson.

I had been on skates a couple of times in my life, probably the last time was when I was 14 or so. When I found out one of my co-workers taught children how to skate, I figured he could teach me too. After all, I have a nice ice skating pond behind my house, I might as well be able to enjoy it.

The lesson went pretty well. I practiced t-starts, stopping, walking like a duck, picking myself up off the ice. Surprisingly, given my lack of coordination, I could actually glide around the ice a little. I'll be back for another lesson next Thursday.

Apple Pie, originally uploaded by timbu.

This is the first apple pie I ever baked from scratch. It was entirely from scratch including the dough. It turned out good. This pie looked and smelled amazing. The only minor problem was that the apples came out a little soupier than I expected and I should have left more crust around the edge of the pie tin. It wasn't as good as my mom's apple pie, but it was pretty good.

Packer Bike, originally uploaded by timbu.

Green Bay is now 0-2 for the regular season. While the last game wasn't a blow-out it looks like it's going to be a long, long season.

While sailing I had the luxury of finishing up a few books I've been working on.

My favorite book of this batch was "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver The narrative style, which switches between points of view, was jarring at first, but I adapted and even looked forward to the different voices. I loved the way that the book told big stories about culture & religion, colonialism & nationalism, white & black, wealth & poverty all in the context of a dysfunctional family. I liked the authors writing style, the description of the mother's grief has stuck in my mind.

The book made me think a lot -- I am just really glad I don't own a parrot. Thanks for lending me the book, Brooke.

Next book was "That Old Ace in the Hole" by Annie Proulx. I liked the descriptions of people and places in the book, but found the story a little weak. I liked "The Shipping News" much better, although both books had a fantastic sense of the characters that inhabit a place. There were a few passages in the book, usually droll descriptions of characters that made me laugh out loud. In the end I liked the tiny stories that the characters told - more than the actual story told by the author. I'll read other books by Proulx -- this isn't my favorite.

Jennie answered the questions, why shouldn't I?

[1] What is your middle name? Thomas
[2] What color is your mailbox: Green (I think)
[3] Last time you kissed someone: Moments ago
[4] Have you ever hit a deer? Yes
[5] Do you have to drive over a bridge to get home? No
[6] Who checks the mail in your house? Me
[7] How many TVs are in your house? Three
[8] Do you know anyone with the same ring tone as you? 
     I don't carry a cell phone.
[9] What do you do first in the morning? Hit snooze button.
[10] What brand is your printer? HP & Epson
[11] Do you enjoy fighting with people? Nope
[12] Is your hair naturally straight or curly? 
      Straight, what little I have left.
[13] Who was your kindergarten teacher? No idea
[14] Are you taller than your mother? Yes
[15] Do you have a favorite word? yes
[16] Are you good? No
[17] What do you do to get over a broken heart?
      How would I know how to do that?
[18] Do you have a deep dark secret? Yes
[19] Drink of choice: At the moment, espresso.
[20] Do you enjoy writing in colored pens? No
[21] Does anything on your body hurt? No
[22] Do you often cry during movies? No
[23] Do you hate your life? No
[24] Number of pets: -0- but I want a dog.
[25] Are there any animals that scare you? Green Mambas
[26] Do you get mad easily? No
[27] Can't wait for? I can't wait for my next sailing trip.
[28] What is your biggest pet peeve? Mean people
[29] Favorite song: The song of the moment is "Bullet and a Target" by Citizen Cope
[31] Weather outside: Temperate, no bugs, no humidity and sunny.
[32] Most attractive quality about you: I dunno, ask someone who is attracted to me.
[33] You're in the mood for? 
     Hanging out with people who can readily list my attractive qualities.
[34] Do any of your friends have kids? Yes
[35] If you could have a threesome with any 2 celebrities, who? 
     How could there be a correct answer to a question like this when you are married?
[36] Do you have any friends? Yes
[37] Do you have any mean friends? Yes
[38] What is the ugliest color in your opinion? Safety Purple
[39] Have you ever liked someone who all your friends couldn't stand? Yes
[40] Have you ever felt like driving off a cliff? Yes
[41] Have you ever been fired from a job? 
     I was never fired but at Sears I was permantly not scheduled to work at my part-time job. 
[42] What year was your house built? 1995ish
[43] When was the last time you slept in someone else’s bed? 
     When I was sailing last wekend the boat was rented so it was someone else's bed.
[44] What brand are the pant/jeans you're wearing? 
     Diesel Industry and they are comfortable. I bought them for $12.00.
[45] How tall are you? 5'10.5
[46] What is the closest green object? Packer Flag on my wall
[47] What is on your feet? Keen shoes, dark socks.
[48] Do you always wear underwear? Yes, except in dire emergencies.
[49] Do you want to have kids? Yes
[50] Who is the last person who you would expect to be gay? Me
[51] Do you know how to draw? Badly but yes.
[52] What’s your mother's middle name? Mae
[53] Stupidest movie you ever saw: Ever? Snakes on Plane, but I liked it.
[54] Do you collect comic books? No
[55] Do you look like your dad? The hairline is starting to look all too similar.
[56] Do you have any TV shows on DVD? MASH
[57] Are you wearing make up? No
[58] Do you have a tattoo? No, I have a fear of lifetime committments.
[59] You win the lottery and you: quit my job, buy a race car and race full time.
[60] How many pairs of underwear do you have? About 14 pair.
[61] Are you hungry at the moment? No
[62] Favorite movie of all time: Apocalypse Now (not Redux)

Gray Day, Hard Winds, originally uploaded by timbu.

The old man is back from the sea.

PICT9053, originally uploaded by timbu.

I finally made biscuits and gravy from scratch. The biscuits were amazing. The gravy was ok.

I think I couldn't enjoy the gravy properly because I had a little too much guilt about eating so much pork fat.

When I was young and foolish, I thought that one of the main requirements for a wife was that she be able to cook me breakfast like this one. Funny how love will make you toss your requirements right out the window.

Secrets, originally uploaded by timbu.

I've always meant to send a secret to the postsecret web site. Since I had extra time over the weekend I printed out the address with the intention of making a postcard. I lost the address in a pile of other papers and got engaged in dealing with my thorny brush pile. When I got home from the State Fair on Monday the postsecret address was taped to the fridge with a question in what appears to be a womans handwriting.

The Pack lost on Monday Night Football 48-17, then went on to lose to the Titans, going 1-3 for the pre-season.

I am not looking forward to this season.

I finished Fargo finally. It was a very dark movie. Overall I liked it but I'm in no hurry to see it again and I'm not sure that it's a movie I would want on a mythical desert island.

Speaking of chippers, I rented one today from Home Depot. It was a complete disaster. Not only was chipping my pile of brush slow, the engine kept dying, and eventually the teeth of the thing got so meshed that I couldn't restart it. (Thankfully I didn't have to pay for the rental, since I only got about 1/20th of my project done before I gave up and returned the machine.)

Today's experience leads me to believe that the chipper scene in Fargo was not realistic.

Here is my prize thistle from my weed patch -- too bad there isn't a category for "Best Noxious and Thorny Weed" at the Minnesota State Fair.

[Photo's courtesy of Barb]