Tiny Daisies (Pretending it’s Spring), originally uploaded by djwudi.

Reading that makes me long for both spring and having hair.

I love this collection of High Dynamic Range photos on flickr.

I also liked the instructional set for this so called, bedside saddle also found on flickr.

I was amused while reading the obituary for poet, Irving Layton. Among the many kind things said in his memory, was this memorable phrase.

The phrase “a matter of wonder for his family and of pride for himself” is the really perfect phrase you want in your obituary.

Amber amused me by blogging about knitting using yarn obtained from dogs.

City Pages surveyed freeway exit ramp panhandlers asking them, about their worst jobs and their dream jobs. The answers are interesting. Lee Westmoreland when asked about his dream job said, “I’d like to be a pirate. I think that would be a good job. Just give me a treasure chest; I’ll be fine.” You and me both Lee.

I would love to go to this software development conference, Waterfall 2006. Thanks for the link, Josh.

I saw a new toy at thinkgeek that looked interesting. I can’t decide if it’s funny or creepy. Since the inhabitants of these little cubes respond to each other, it seems like if you buy enough you’ve created a weird little cell block.

If you like free music check out the link to iTunes and Stanford University. There is a little something there for everyone.

I recenly spent an evening with friends at Zushiya a sushi restaurant in Maple Grove. This sushi restaurant is attached to the Sawatdee Thai restaurant, in the fake Main Street area of Maple Grove.

The rolls were ok. None that I tasted were a symphony in the mouth but they were much better than you get at the grocery store. The Miso was good and very welcome, given how cold the night air was. I had a spider roll since people have been telling me how great they are. I liked it ok, but I wasn’t converted. I especially thought that the size of the end pieces, with the soft-shell crab claws awkwardly sticking out, was especially difficult to eat.

One item really stood out to me. I ordered the bin toro nigiri for dessert. It didn’t come and I reminded our waitress about it. She came back a few minutes later with the bin toro. It was sashimi instead of nigiri — but I wasn’t worried about that. It was artfully prepared in the shape of a flower and it was truly amazing. The flavor was perfect, it was all the melt in your mouth buttery goodness that you expect from white toro. I should have just ordered the miso and some bin toro and called it a night. I actually wanted toro, but it wasn’t available — no matter the white toro was great.

I think our server had too many patrons to serve at the same time, like maybe someone had called in sick. This resulted in longer than expected delays and some instances of forgetting. She also didn’t know the menu very well and couldn’t answer questions about the offerings.

When the bill came it was exactly $100.00 for our food. The strange thing is that the tax brought the total to 106.51. That seemed strange, is there a special tax in Maple Grove that makes the rate 6.51%? More likely it’s a software error.

Scott McGerik has already been there, as you might imagine, and written about his experience.

I know I’ve been away for a while now.

For now, I’m still enjoying the echoes and the silence.

Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.