...What Little Free Time I Have, I'll Share

Let Your Fingers do the Walking...on your Keyboard, not on Paper.

2011-02-01T11:11:00.006-06:00

Spare me the jokes about taking so long between posts until another date. (They are deserved, btw). This topic deserves a mention and immediately inspired me to post.

Unless you're my grandmother, I don't know anyone who doesn't have internet access. If this is the case, then you probably use it for searching for just about anything you need to buy or service you need performed: pizza joints, plumbers, repair shops, etc. You can also use sites like Angie's list that will give you feedback/recommendations for most companies that advertise heavily in the phone books.

Which brings me to the topic of phone books. Why - in the name of common sense and all that is seemingly right with this world, do I receive FIVE new phone books every year? I haven't used one in probably a decade. I don't recall asking for one, much less five of them. So they go directly to the recycling bin as soon as they arrive. They waste my time, and not to mention are an obvious drain on the planet's resources.

There is good news: You can FINALLY opt out of all those irrelevant phone books forever. Just to this link, http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/ , enter your zip code, and let the process take you to a world free of books printed on canary yellow paper.

Art that I Appreciate

2009-07-24T16:44:00.005-05:00

If I ever could have a job that afforded every opportunity to waste tons of time, this is what I'd do.

This micro-city is made completely out of staples. Plain. Old. Staples. And the result is beautiful and stunning. I can only image how many times I'd have to start over if I ever attempted to build something like this myself.

[Source: Gizmodo]

New Gadget Envy

2009-05-29T22:04:00.004-05:00

I've blogged before about MP3 players (or PMPs as the more technical term), but my 30GB Zune is having hard drive problems and barely runs for 5-10 minutes without crashing. I definitely think Apple makes better players, but I'm too cheap to pay top dollar for them. So I'm eyeballing the landscape to see what choices are out there.

Obviously, Apple dominates the player market, but I really like the Zune's software and integration with their players.

The game just got interesting - Microsoft just announced their new Zune HD player which is scheduled to go on sale sometime in the fall. The reviews for it are based of pre-production units, but even in beta, the Zune HD looks solid. Consider me impressed and seriously looking that way.

For any geeks who read this, this thing is smaller than the iPhone, has an OLED display (read: better than iPod Touch/iPhone, has built-in HD radio, finally has a web browser to go along with the wi-fi that Zunes have always had)

My only gripe is that this thing doesn't have GPS on it, and Microsoft has generally stayed out of the GPS market despite producing several excellent software packages on the web and for purchase. Only the iPhone has all the features I want, but you can only get the phone if you sign up for the data plans - and I'm not into that...

The photo above is from Gizmodo, but be sure to check out this link for more photos and videos.

RIP - Pillsbury College

2009-01-04T17:19:00.003-06:00

My college alma mater (and Nikki's) just closed their doors forever last week. Pillsbury College had been struggling or well over a decade, and finally had to close their doors for good to avoid going deeper into dept during these already uncertain financial times.

I have mixed feelings about it - the signs were there that this day might come, but it's still sad nonetheless.

I stopped by the school during a trip home from Des Moines for work in late October. It was a beautiful Fall evening, and the memories came flooding back.

The picture above is of "Old Main." This is the administration building, as well as the chapel/theater where I performed in several plays along with my senior speech recital.
This is a picture of the center of the campus. That's the dining hall straight ahead.
Here's a picture inside the library - one of my favorite places during my years at Pills. The furniture has been rearranged, but this is roughly where I'd sit for a couple hours a week reading the most recent magazines, newspapers, and periodicals - as well as doing some class reading. It was quiet - just the way I remembered it.
This is a view from the center of the campus looking out toward the soccer field where I placed for 4 seasons. Clearwaters Hall is on the right - this is where most of the faculty offices were located.
This is the men's dorm - where I lived for 3 years. Not much has changed inside, other than updating the furniture.

Tessa's First Basketball Game

2009-01-04T17:15:00.003-06:00

On Jan. 2, I took Teagan to her first hoops game: T-Wolves vs. Golden State. She loved it - didn't complain at all, and was really into the game. Tess especially enjoyed clapping, and watching the "dancing princesses" (what we ended up calling the Timberwolves Female Dance Team.)

I couldn't force my camera to both autofocus or flash, so I'm not happy about the way this turned out...

Bonding Trip - Chicago Fire Game with Karsten (and Dan)

2009-01-04T17:07:00.003-06:00

Cousin Dan had the idea to go to Chicago for an MLS soccer game. Since my parents were still living in Chicago, it made for a fairly easy trip since we could stay at their house while there.

The game was pretty good - Karsten's and my second MLS game this summer. Of the two stadiums, I liked Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver better, but Toyota Park in Chicago is quite nice as well.

More Vacation Pics in CO - Garden of the Gods

2009-01-04T16:43:00.006-06:00

I know my blog hasn't been updated in ages, so I'm trying to get some posts up here today. We spent some time in Colorado Springs, and the kids really liked visiting park.

Every Daddy's Hero (or Worst Nightmare)

2008-08-22T20:00:00.005-05:00

I promise I WILL eventually get to blogging the rest of our vacation, and other subsequent trips and events, but this one is pretty easy to blog about.

Last weekend, I was talking to a certain relative of mine, and his kids had been repeatedly asking if he would build them a tree house. It's not that this daddy didn't want to, but like most daddies, he knew his capabilities and limits - and decided this was a task that was better left undone (or better yet, avoided altogether).

So I read today about this shoo-in from Canada for "Intergalactic Daddy of the Year." Unlike most dad's, he DID build a treehouse for his kids, but he went all out to make it happen in just 15 months.

Consider the following from the original article from The Record in Ontario, Cananda (via Gizmodo)

It's equipped with electricity and cable TV. There's an intercom so Norris can talk to his kids if they're having a sleepover, and a urinal that drains into a pail beneath the structure.

A smoke detector is wired to the house, so family members can be alerted to any smoke, whether they're in the treehouse or not. A revolving light clicks on when the treehouse's trap door opens (where a rope ladder drops down).

Old fire horns that Norris snagged from the University of Waterloo blare if an intruder tries to break into the fort. "It sounds like an air-raid back in Berlin. But I had to do it for my peace of mind."

Even the family's Jack Russell-cross, Sammy, has his own ramp. Norris made it after the dog fell near the top of the wide, stair-like ladder.

The roof is sealed and welded on tight, and the floor is sturdy enough to hold an adult. Stephen sleeps in a loft bed, Ryan on a mini-futon and their father on a pull-down bed.

Wait, he didn't put a heater and/or air conditioner in there? Amateur...

Summer Vacation: Colorado Rapids Game

2008-07-26T22:15:00.006-05:00

One of my personal highlights on vacation was going to a Colorado Rapids MLS match. It was a chance for just Karsten and I to hang out and enjoy the sport we like more than any other.

The Rapids have a new stadium (Dick's Sporting Goods Park) that is just gorgeous. It seats a little over 20,000, and there's not a bad seat in the place. The weather couldn't have been better either - a perfect night for soccer with temps in the low 80's at kickoff, and only dropping to the mid-70's toward the end of the match.

We sat in the cheap seats, which still had great views and sightlines. We could have moved to much better seating once the match started, but Karsten wanted to stay where we were. Our seats were in the section next to the "avid" fans section - they played drums and trumpets, and sang the entire match. Pretty cool - although not the flavor of international matches that I've been too where the whole stadium in singing and playing instruments.

Geoff Cameron is a rookie on the Houston Dynamo, and has been getting reagular appearances for the 2-time defending league champions - a significant achievement. His mom, Diane, ended up sitting right behind me, and I had several converations with her before and during the match. Geoff didn't start, but entered the game at the 70th minute, and created several good chances for teammates to score.

Colorado Rapids are affiliated with Arsenal (you can see the Arsenal banner above the tent on the right side of the photo above. They are sort of a minor league/development team for Arsenal - but there's not a lot of close ties that any serious fans would notice. Nonetheless, Karsten is definitely a Rapids fan since the two clubs are affiliated with one another.

The power went out at the 70th minute and delayed the game for about 20 mins. Three of the four light towers failed. There was still enough light to see, but there were definitely too many shadows for the match to be played until the lights came back on.

Oh, and Karten wouldn't let me take his picture, nor would he let anyone take a picture of the two of us at the game. He's already acting like a teenager - and he's only 7.

The game ended 0-0. A couple goals were disallowed for either side, but it was pretty entertaining all the same. We will definitely go back, and are also planning to visit an MLS game in Chicago later this summer as well.

Summer Vacation: South Platte Park (Littleton, CO)

2008-07-26T22:03:00.003-05:00

We decided to ease into vacation and do a nature hike at the South Platte Park in Littleton. It was close to our hotel, offered exposure to the great outdoors, and seemed to have plenty for the kids. It's certainly not the most scenic part of CO, but it was worth the trip.

The nature center offered a couple important amenities: 1) air conditioning, and 2) a flood simulator where kids can build a city of sorts, and see how flooding and erosion have an impact on where we live and the environment. The kids absolutely loved it, and would have played longer than the 45 mins or so we were in there.

Summer Vacation: Hitting the Road

2008-07-26T21:55:00.003-05:00

The kids travel pretty well. The only irritating things they do are get on one other (and my) nerves, and make a big mess of the van - but we manage around that well enough. Frankly, what do you expect when you're in a van for around 55 hours in 9 days, and they do that at home often enough - so there were no suprises there
We had some severe storms (hail, heavy rain) between the CO-NE border and Denver, but managed to get this pic of a huge rainbow after we cleared the inclement weather.

Summer Vacation: Colorado

2008-07-26T21:35:00.003-05:00

Well, we got home from vacation 4 weeks ago to the day of this writing, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. Sure things have been crazy, but my biggest barrier to start blogging our vacation was that I knew I'd have to sort through about 5oo photos, make edits, write, etc. It's pretty overwhelming even as I write this.

So baby steps are in order, I'll start by covering the first few days and hopefully have the entire vacation blogged within a week or so.

We decided to go to Colorado this year. Why did we choose Colorado? Well... the best reason is we couldn't come up with anything better to go that was within a more reasonable distance (if you call nearly 1000 miles each way at today's gas prices "reasonable," that is). I lived in Denver for a summer during college while I did my internship, and loved it. Nikki has been there too, so since there's lots for the kids to see and do as well, it seemed like a good choice. I'm glad we did.

As I did last year, here are a few stats from our vacation:

Miles Driven: 3126
Hours Driving during 9 days of vacation: ~ 55
Emergency bathroom breaks: 2 (still room for improvement, but I'm not complaining...)
States visited during trip: 6 (MN, IA, NE, CO, WY, and SD)
Survived a Hail Storm?: yes (2 years running now)
Cost for new brakes on van because people ahead of us didn't know how to drive in the mountains on vacation: $487
Number of nights staying in hotel: 9
Number of nights we paid for a hotel: 1 (we used my Hilton points for every night except our last night in Wall, SD - since Hilton didn't have any nearby hotels)
Stops at McDonalds: only 1
Moving/Traffic violations: 0

Public Service Announcement: Protect your Home and your Identity

2008-07-22T01:01:00.003-05:00

I know I've been really delinquent about blogging lately. I have a ton a stuff to post from our vacation at the end of June - but there are too many things in the way at the moment.

I had actually set aside some time tonight to start some blogging again, but Nikki ended up spending out night on something else.

We left to take the kids to Park and Rec soccer tonight, but as we backed out of the driveway and on to the street, we noticed a bunch of (at least 5) police squad cars in front of our neighbor's house just 3 doors down. Our neighbors were outside their house standing next to their vehicles on the street. We pulled over and asked what had happened - and they had just been burglarized. It's a huge shock for them (obviously) and for the rest of us neighbors. We live on a quiet street in one the of lowest-crime areas in the metro area, and this just didn't seem true.

It turns out the burglars came sometime between 2-4pm - in broad daylight. They didn't take laptop computers or electronics (very lucky), but instead went after jewelry and their financial records. Reportedly they succeeded at both - even getting credit cards and social security numbers.

As a result, one of our other neighbors just signed up for ADT home security tonight. We ended up doing the same this evening as well. I have to travel too much for work it seems, so this gives both Nikki and I peace of mind. We also went through the house looking for any financial documents or credit cards that were easy to get to, and also made sure to store other important documents in an OFF SITE location. I also shredded three bags full of documents and old check stubs as well.

We've talked to our neighbors tonight, and I've compiled a list of tips I've learned from them, as well as adding a few of my own.

1. Sign up for online billing statements. I'm amazed at how many documents I shredded tonight (and then burned in the fire pit.) If you opt for online statements, you get the additional benefits of decluttering, saving time, and also reducing the impact on the environment.

2. Even if you sign up for online statements, you need to make sure you store your statements online or on your computer SECURELY. That means use passwords whenever possible for both hardware and software. (this includes thumb drives and back-up hard drives). Lock down your wireless network and internet access. Encrypt your data if possible as well.

3. Back-up your data. Our neighbors were lucky that their computers weren't stolen, but imagine if you all your personal photos, files, and other important (even irreplaceable) information is gone in an instant like that along with everything else. There are seemingly countless computer back-up options available that are easy to use. Use them...regularly.

4. Shred your documents as you receive a piece of mail. Consider whether you really need to keep a document for more than a few days. Shred junk mail/solicitations as much as possible- this includes credit card offers and other solicitations as well.

5. Our next door neighbor is a police officer, and he said you should try to answer the door every time a salesperson comes to your door. This may seem counter-intuitive (for personal safety reasons) - so let me explain. There are crime groups that go door-to-door selling magazine subscriptions, tree services, and countless other things. Do NOT ignore them. They HOPE you don't answer the door, since this gives them an opportunity to case your property for either an immediate or future burglary. If you answer the door, decline whatever they are selling, and then keep an eye on them as they continue through the neighborhood or any suspicious activities.

6. Crooks know where to look for your personal documents, jewelry, and other valuables. Your desk drawers, bedside tables, and dressers (underwear or sock drawers) are typically the first places crooks will look. This also goes for credit cards, blank checks, and tax documents.

7. Use a home security system. We purchased a state of the art security system that included door sensors, glass breakage sensors, and motion sensors. All entry and exit points are covered. In addition, we opted for the system that uses a cell phone technology to dispatch the authorities instead of using land-line telephone service. This is important since criminals would only need to cut your phone lines in order to bypass the alarm system and prohibit alarms from being sent to the security company. This isn't the case using cellular technology. It works all the time, even when power lines are cut. These systems aren't as expensive as you might think, and your homeowner's insurance may give you rate discounts for using these security services as well.

8. Talk to your neighbors. This event is really bringing us together. Watch for suspicious activity in your neighborhood. Don't do it just once, do it regularly.

I'd like a coronary with that...

2008-06-13T14:40:00.004-05:00

I like BLT sandwiches. One of the people in my lunch meeting commented on a 1/2 pound of bacon BLT while looking at the menu, and I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. I had to see what such a beast looked like, and in order to see it, such a monster had to be ordered. Since no one else wanted to order it...well I won't comment any further.

If Star Wars Was Real...

2008-05-25T22:22:00.002-05:00

I just found out George Lucas created a pretty amazing sci-fi universe known as "Star Wars." Sounds interesting. So I googled the name, and found out this thing is pretty big.

There's a website I found that attempts to rewrite history IF Star Wars was real. There's some pretty good Photoshop skills used here...

[Photos Credit of ISWWR website]

Spring Break - Duluth, MN

2008-04-17T22:20:00.005-05:00

Over spring break, we decided to spend a weekend in Duluth. It couldn't have worked out better. The weather was fantastic, tourism was low, and the 2 hour drive was just right.

Saturday had temps in the upper 50's, which is awesome for Duluth in early April. We decided to spend some time at the historic lift bridge, which the kids really liked. The timing worked out well since one of the larger freighters was coming into the harbor while we were there.

We stayed at a hotel that had a waterpark, and that served as a good family event center as well. On Friday, we celebrated Nikki's birthday, part of which was spent cleaning up one of our child's throw-up 4 times that day. The joys of being a parent.

On Sunday we went to the Great Lakes aquarium - which took a few hours to visit. It's mostly stocked with the same fish you see everywhere, but the kids liked it pretty well.

House on the Rock

2008-04-17T21:36:00.006-05:00

When we go to visit Chicago, we've started to make a stop in the Wisconsin Dells for the kids. This year, since Easter was at the end of spring break for most schools in MN and WI, the rates were jacked up big-time when we decided to go to Chicago over Easter weekend.

We opted for a plan B: doing House on the Rock instead. This is in the same general area of Wisconsin, but a little off the beaten path. Still, there are signs all along the interstate that we've always ignored, so this looked like a good opportunity to make.

As an aside, the weather didn't cooperate. The Madison, WI area has had record snowfall, and the day we were passing through the area was pretty crummy due to another snowfall of 6-9 inches of fresh snow. The positive is that the House on the Rock had very view visitors - it was almost like we had the entire tourist trap to ourselves.

This is a an interesting place that I guess you need to go through once. Nik and I commented that we won't be bothered if we don't go back for another 15-20 years. The place was hit or miss for me. A few rooms were interesting and unique, most were boring to me, much less the kids. Karsten and Kiera both used the words "dark" and "scary" to describe it. I couldn't imagine this place during peak tourist season and having to maneuver around lots of people. Still, the House on the Rock took several hours just to tour all the rooms since it's a pretty sprawling place encompassing several large buildings that have been added over the years.

Oh, and did I mention that there's shag carpet everywhere - including most ceilings? I'd hate to have to be the one to vacuum this place.

Here are some pics. My favorite was the Infinity room, which juts off the top of the mountain and goes ~100 ft. straight out over the valley. Visibility was bad due to the weather, but the effect was still stunning.
This is a pic. of the Carousel Room. Supposedly, there are 20,000 lights on that thing. I counted them, and that's a bit of exaggeration. I stopped at 599,527, but I'm not sure if I counted some lights more than once since the Carousel was moving the whole time.

Lastly, we were told to check out the bathrooms. They were pretty cool. This is one of the nicer men's rooms.

This bathroom below helps men keep man law #12: avoid using the urinal right next to another dude at all costs. There was easily 5-6 feet between the urinals, and each urinal had it's own sink to boot. On the downside, the picture looks like some dude still has bad aim, if you know what I mean. That, or they just hosed the place down for a cleaning... I stayed away just to be sure.

THE Office

2008-04-17T20:15:00.004-05:00

Unfortunately this isn't a post about the TV show, but it's still pretty important.

When I'm not jet-setting for work across the Midwest, this is my new space where I occasionally get to work when I'm actually home. We finished part of the basement in January, and I'm just now getting around to posting some pictures from it. I still need to hang my art (you can see some of the Ansel Adams prints in front of the bookcase), but it's functional and provides some level of privacy (though it could use more sound-proofing...).

What my inner geek is thinking about these days...

2008-04-03T22:35:00.004-05:00

I consider myself a serious gadget guy, but have to confess that I don't own one of the most prolific gadgets available today: a GPS.

This may seem odd since I travel aplenty for my job, but I've managed to work around this by either planning ahead or using Google Maps on my Blackberry with large success. Rarely do I get lost or am unable to find where I need to go.

That doesn't mean things can't be better. Enter a new company called Dash. They just launched a new GPS that offers some significant features no other GPS available can provide. Allow me to elaborate.

By far then best feature is two way communication that gives you real-time TruTraffic updates. What this means is that the GPS unit has a basic cell-phone-like feature that always communicates with Dash and receives information from Dash as well. So if other cars are stuck in traffic due to an accident, the Dash knows about this almost instantly and can send you to your destination via another route. Once more of these units are sold, the data will only get more accurate and effective.

The service also automatically updates maps which is often a time-consuming and even costly proposition.

The Dash also has wi-fi so you can enter addresses and points of interest on your laptop and wirelessly send them to your car in the garage/driveway if you have a simple network set up in your home.

True, it's nowhere close to being the smallest or sexiest-looking GPS on the market, but right now I'd prefer functionality over form.

It's priced fairly resonably at $399. There is a monthly service fee of $12.99 though. I'll let you know if I bite on this one or not...

If you go to Dash's website, there's a short video that shows how this works.

[photos are from Dash's web site as well]

I so want to do this...

2008-03-24T21:22:00.002-05:00

http://view.break.com/175421 - Watch more free videos

Many people seem to think that Europe's TV is more entertaining than what we Americans get to watch. I think there's a case in point from the BBC's show Top Gear.

If I had the time and unlimited resources, I would so do this on my own. Enjoy.

[credit: Gizmodo]

I've no idea what game this is, but here goes...

2008-03-05T22:38:00.002-06:00

Apparently I've been tagged by JRoosh. I've never heard of this game before now, but I think the rules are that you have to list at least 5 little-known facts about yourself. Here goes...

1. I have never been "dumped" by a girlfriend. (albeit, I haven't had very many...)
2. During high school, I ate a peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwich EVERY day for lunch.
3. I have never sat on or ridden a real horse.
4. When I was 16, I got out of a speeding ticket because I was wearing a hot pink dress shirt and printed tie with burgers, soda pop, and french fries on it. The officer asked where I was going, and I said I was running late for work at the local grocery store (true) and he let me off with a warning. Even more amazing was that several of my friends all got tickets in the same area...
5. If I could learn an instrument, I'd want to play the drum set.
6. For "Career Day" during spirit week in high school, I went as a McDonald's burger flipper. (I previously had worked there 2 weeks, and put in my 2 weeks notice. I NEVER wanted to work there, but my mom forced me to get a job. The uniform was used and REAKED of fat and grease - and the smell NEVER washed out...) So glad that aspiration never worked out...

I'm so Proud of Him...

2008-03-03T22:16:00.004-06:00

[sniff]

I've shared that one of my passions is Arsenal Football Club, but few things I can think of could give me more pride than seeing the same passion develop in my son.

[drip]

My friend from work, Mat, knows about my fever for Arsenal, so he gave me a team flag as a nice gift during my last trip to St. Louis. [sniff] When I got home, I showed the flag to Karsten, and his jaw dropped open. He asked what I was going to do with it - and I could tell he wanted it for himself. I didn't have the heart to say no, so I said I'd put it up on the wall in his bedroom.

[drip] So above is a picture of K showing off the Arsenal colors proudly. When you see him next, be sure to ask him how Arsenal is doing in the League. He knows...

Work Rides: Volvo S60

2008-01-31T23:54:00.001-06:00

One of the nice things I already said I like about renting from National Car Rental is that you get to pick the car you want. I'm no longer stuck at the mercy of whatever the rental agent feels like giving me. There's an aisle filled with cars. I pick out a vehicle. Then I get to drive it at our low corporate rate.

I was a little surprised when St. Louis had a Volvo S60 in the Emerald Executive aisle there for the taking. The reasons seemed obvious: #1 Volvos aren't usually seen in rental car lots, and #2 - one would think someone would have already jumped on the chance to drive this.

I have to say that the Volvo S60 is hands down the best rental car I've ever driven. In fact, it might be the best car I've ever driven in my lifetime. (that's probably more pathetic than surprising, so spare me your insults...)

Seriously, this was a great car. The 2.5T trim I had included (heated!!!!) leather seats, and a moon roof (it's cold outside, so who cares...). Otherwise, there weren't many other features of note. That said, the car had a solid feel, and I felt absolutely safe thanks to Volvo's stellar safety ratings. The interior and dashboard were nicely appointed and had a sleek, yet understated European feel. The engine was peppy and ready to accelerate quickly when needed. The interior was quiet, and road and engine noises were minimal.

So as scary as it is to say this, I really can't think of any reason why I wouldn't want to own this car. Oh wait, it starts at $30,885. There's one... (but if I can find one at a lower price, then I'll seriously consider one...)

Volvo S60 website

Where Work Takes Me: Austin, TX

2008-01-31T23:37:00.000-06:00

I wish I could have taken this. I grabbed it off Wikipedia

One of the few pictures that turned out. This is Austin City Hall

I cover a lot of ground for work, but Austin isn't a normal stop (nor is it part of my territory). One of my accounts was having their national sales meetings there, so I was asked to help cover.

In many ways, that's a shame. I really liked this city, and I'm definitely interested in going back. Now, I say that even though the temps never got above 40 degrees F (I obviously hoped the weather would be better...), and I could barely see any local sights since the cold temps created a fog that limited visibility to a few hundred yards the entire time I was there.

That said, what I did see impressed. Downtown is modern, easy to navigate, and safe. The airport is one of the best "small" airports I've ever been.

The local cuisine is pretty good, too. The Tex-Mex was outstanding.

We'll see, maybe I'll have an opportunity to go back one day. If so, I'll most likely go gladly.

Sign the Apocalypse is Upon Us...and One Way to Survive It At the Same Time

2008-01-31T20:53:00.000-06:00

So I've posted in the past about Pancake mix in a can, and thought that was weird. Now something even weirder has come to my attention.

I introduce to you: Cheeseburgers in a Can.

Makes Spam sound appealing now doesn't it? (unless you're my dad or live in Hawaii - two places that are inexplicably infatuated with Spam).

So for all those fallout shelters that were stocked for the turn of the last millenia, now you have a new product with even more class to put in there. This might even be the classiest food to ever come out of a can - evem more than caviar.

Product page here

Gizmodo's taste test

Por mi Hermano

2008-01-25T15:50:00.000-06:00

My brother likes to collect T-shirts. He collects them like I used to collect baseball cards when I was growing up. He doesn't NEED any more T-shirts - yet when he heard that I had to be in Ausin, TX this week for work, he asked me to pick one up from a local running store called RunTex.

Well, since T-shirts are a relatively "safe" addiction, I figured why not and make him happy. (though the jury is out whether this will make his WIFE happy. ;-)) But I love the guy so I might as well show it. :-) So I went out of my way (about a 1 mile walk each way) to get this for him. (It's the only souvenir I got on the whole trip...)

A Dubious Prank

2008-01-22T22:48:00.000-06:00

Allow me to share just one item from CES. As regular readers know, I like to read the tech blog Gizmodo on a regular basis. Before covering the event, they were given a demo unit of a product called TV-B-Gone, which is essentially a universal remote that can turn off any TV set if one is annoyed by loud televisions in public spaces.

One of Gizmodo's writers decided to use it for more deviant endeavors. Watch the video on this link to see what hilarity ensued as they walked the show floor shutting of every TV in sight - even disrupting a press conference with Motorola.

In hind sight, it's not the nicest or most innocent prank - but I definitely would have done this if I had the technology and the resources to do it. Oh, and you can read the consequences here.

[Gizmodo]

Hey, you...Remember me?

2008-01-22T22:29:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm finally back...

Thanks to all who have been bugging me to post again. I've really wanted to make some posts over the last 6 weeks, but a lot has happened:

Tons of work on the basement (I'll have a dedicated post on that soon)
a Birthday party for Ava
my brother-in-law's wedding
only 4 family Christmases
beloved family members staying with us over Christmas
catching up on lost time with Nikki and the kids
New Year's Eve/Day (Nikki and I both got the flu)
Trips to KC, STL, and Austin, TX so far this year.
The "Super Bowl" for Gadget/Consumer Technology lovers: CES
Then MacWorld and a slew of new slick products from Steve Jobs
I had another birthday
Nikki's computer going on the fritz, trying to fix it, then having to buy another (inexpensive) one (unfortunately not a MacBook Air, which is FAR too expensive - but oh so beautiful)
a slew of other miscellaneous items I'm forgetting...

Hopefully you get the picture. It's not an excuse - just and apology. More posts to come soon, I promise.

Feeling a Little Trashy...

2007-12-07T11:32:00.000-06:00

Most of my readers know that I use Hotmail for my personal email account. Overall, it's a great (and free) web-based email service. I've used Hotmail for over 11 years, and apparently use it often enough that they asked me to be a beta tester for their current version (called Windows Live Mail) a couple years ago. So relatively speaking, I'm in their pretty good graces.

I'm starting to wonder though...

Today I sent a quick email to a friend from church, and had the following message to confirm my email was sent. Normally, I don't look at ads, but I'm a geek and saw the phone in the ad at the bottom. Then I read the message and wasn't sure whether to be insulted or laugh. See for yourselves... [I added a red box around the main element.]

Yes, apparently, I'm a "Ho" since I use the "Homail" service. Perhaps this is a growing trend to create services around specific lifestyles, but I'm not sure why "the oldest profession" needs any special email services different from anyone else's.

The additional irony is that the ad talks about "get[ting] cozy."

My current theory is that Hotmail might have retained radio shock jock Don Imus' services during his off-the-air stint resulting from him his calling women from the Rutgers women's basketball team "Nappy headed ho's".

Certainly, we can't attribute this to a simple spell check problem... :-)

Karsten's Ant Farm

2007-12-06T23:43:00.000-06:00

Karsten received an Ant Farm from Mema and Papa as a souvenir from all their travels this fall. It's one of those AntWorks like the ones went up in the space shuttle, and has this gel that ants can use for food and still make their tunnels.

This is a great idea for a gift, and the kids really liked seeing the ants get to work on their tunnels pretty much overnight. However, the last couple weeks the ants have just been hanging out at the bottom in a big huddle. They rarely venture out for food or exercise...so we're not sure if we have relatively lazy ants, or if they are eating some bad ant gel.

Anyway, I'll be certain to post critical updates as soon as the ants start to move again...

Ava's New Interest

2007-12-06T23:27:00.000-06:00

As a man who has enjoyed his fair share of television in the past, I admit a little bit of pride looking at these pics. I also worry about tv turning my kids into some sort of mindless zombies if used in excess, but this isn't a problem or concern in our home. Overall, the tv isn't on that much around the house, so I can look and laugh with a clear conscience.

Kiera - newest pic

2007-12-06T23:21:00.000-06:00

Here's a recent pic of Kiera. Her hair isn't always that curly - it looks that way since we had just let her hair down after being in bands all day.

Christmas Letter Season

2007-12-06T22:48:00.000-06:00

At this point, it doesn't look like we'll be able to get a Christmas letter written. Lord willing, we'll at least manage to get a family photo mailed out by within the next 3 months. The picture above was taken this fall when Nikki was trying to take pics of the kids for our Christmas card, but it didn't make the cut - since there's no Ava. Hopefully this blog will suffice...

My mom informed/asked me that she put my blog on my parent's annual Christmas letter. If anyone comes here from my parent's blog, be sure to post a comment on this post so I know you visited!

Ava's 1st Birthday

2007-12-06T22:40:00.000-06:00

Today my Littlest Princess turned 1! She wears her crown well, don't you think?

We didn't do anything too fancy...just Key's Cafe (Ava's choice, of course). Ava enjoyed eating birthday PANcakes there tonight.

MP3 Player Odyssey - Steps Backward, Forward, Dizziness Ensues

2007-11-20T23:57:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I've posted my thoughts on MP3 players I'm looking at purchasing here. I ended up buying the Cowon D2 8GB flash memory player. After reading numerous reviews, message boards, and even watching a couple videos on youtube, it was pretty clear this was the right choice.

This particular brand isn't available via local retailers, so I had to buy it online. After shopping around, I found the best deal for the D2 at a site called zipzoomfly.com (referred by Cowon's own site) This is a good site with prompt, efficient service.

My player arrived when promised, and setup was a snap. The D2 doesn't come with much of a manual or documentation, but figuring out the touch screen navigation and the menus wasn't a problem. I didn't have any problems setting up Windows Media 11 to synchronize with the player either.

However, a few problems with this player popped up when I tried to use the player for the first time.

Not all of my video files (all in .wmv format) were able to play. Some files would play without problem. Others would play on the player at all. On other videos, the image was very jerky - a frame every other second or so.
The menus require to much digging to get to basic information. When using the D2, I found that it would take up to 10-12 taps (sometimes more) on the screen just to get to an album/artist/track I wanted to listen to.
The player would show the wrong album art for the track I was listening to. This happened regularly. Some tracks would show the wrong cover art with different wrong covers numerous times. I checked the firmware, and didn't find any fixes for this.
The D2 would read any of my SD cards. This was a big deal since I hoped to view pics from my digital camera on my player. While the prices of these keep going down, I'm not interested in spending another $50 or more to get something I already have and use.

So I'm returning my D2. It's a shame, since I had high hopes for it - and I'm losing 15% of my $219.99 due to a restock fee.

After trying out other players, my Odyssey had me staring at the iPod Touch 16GB - but spending $400 on that player just seems crazy for a player that will be obsolete in less than 12 months.

Last week, Microsoft released their new Zune2 series of players, but I was disappointed in these players overall. The Zune flash drive players didn't offer any compelling features or advantages I was listed in, and I want to avoid getting a hard-drive-based player due to moving parts that are susceptible to breaking.

But I came across a deal that's too good to pass up. Amazon.com has the original (read: 1 year old) Zune player for only $89. This has a 30GB HARD DRIVE (ugghh), BUT!!!!! the player was selling for $249 about 2 months ago. When I factor the $89 for the cost per GB, this is a no-brainer. Also, when I considered that Microsoft is giving free software updates to their new software for their older models - there really wasn't a reason't a reason not to do it. Actually - on reason is that the player is out of stock and won't be available for a month - but I can live that. Getting a player for this caliber for only $89 is good any way you look at it. It's almost disposable at that price.

Updates to come later...

Work Rides: GMC Acadia

2007-11-20T23:31:00.000-06:00

My employer switches travel agencies this summer. To most people, that's not a big deal - but for someone like me who is out of town most weeks, that can lead to big changes. One casualty of the change is that we switches from Avis to National for car rentals.

I had gotten used to the free upgrades as one of Avis' top tier of renters, so it was a welcome change when my regular use of National's fleet allowed me to start getting upgrades in their frequent user program as well. The nice thing about National is that you can pick your vehicle and go - no worries about getting stuck with a make/model you don't like, and they give you a whole aisle to select from (all at the same price). Frequent users like myself get access to the "Executive Collection" aisle, and there are always a couple good choices.

With this setting in mind, I decided to take advantage of National's fleet to take somewhat of a test drive of a vehicle I have some interest in purchasing somewhere down the road when my current lease is up. Enter the GMC Acadia (and is nameplate cousins the Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave).

I did a joint sales call with a client that had one of these, and liked it. It's slightly larger than my Nissan Pathfinder, but offers a couple nice differences

Seating configuration: The Acadia has 3 rows and can seat up to 8. The thing I like is that the second row can be configured with 2 captain's chairs instead of a bench seat. With 4 kids, this makes it a lot easier to get the kids into the back row since we have larger car seats for the younger kids in the 2nd row.
Handling: while the Acadia is a fairly large vehicle, it handles well. Overall feel is more like a car than a truck. My model had a rear sonar - which was a nice touch for such a large vehicle.
Sound. Engine noise was less pronounced than on my Pathfinder. Again, this seems to be attributed to the Acadia being designed more as a car than a truck.
Amenities. These were great. On top of Sonar and XM Satellite Radio, my Acadia also had a rear DVD system. While this served no purpose or benefit whatsover, it's a nice touch nonetheless.

While my impressions overall were good. (So much that I rented the same vehicle two weeks in a row...) There are a few drawbacks:

Cargo area: There isn't much storage area behind the 3rd row. While several bags/suitcases could easily fit there, there's no way this vehicle could accommodate our family of 6 + luggage/gear for any vacation or even a weekend of camping. Bummer. Only the Suburban or a 16-passenger van seem to be our options...
Price: Starts a ~$30k. Steep.
Intangibles: I've had great success with Japanese cars (namely Nissans and Hondas) and minimal success with American ones (Chrysler, Ford) I've never owned a GM car, but I do have concerns about their reliability. This could ultimately be a deciding factor...

Places Work Takes Me: Wichita, KS

2007-11-03T23:16:00.000-05:00

This was the first time work necessitated that I make the trek to Wichita, KS. While I'm witholding final judgment on this alledgely fine city, I have a few observations:

It's not easy to get to. It's about a 10 hour drive, so flying is the best way to get there and back. The problem is there aren't a lot of options to get there in a timely manner. I ended up having to take a 9:30pm flight unless I wanted to arrive at 1:30pm at the earliest if I left during the daytime.
It's not easy getting back. Northwest only has 2 flight options coming home: a 7:30am and a 5:15pm. Not much of a choice at all if I want to get home at a decent time to see my family, but still conduct meetings that day.
Wichita is bigger than I thought: I was told that the city itself has a population of around 350,000, and the greater metro area of approximately 500,000. I thought is would be closer to 100,000.
I DID know that the economy is largely based in the avionics industry. Cessna/Citation, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing, and I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting. Surprisingly, the houses and economy seems to be very blue-collar. Again, this isn't authoritative - just a first impression.
It's VERY flat: you can see for miles and miles just be driving on an overpass along the highway. Granted, it is Kansas, but it is definite proof that the world IS flat.

And this is the picture out of my hotel window in Wichita. There are a few things worth pointing out from it.

Many of those houses had more wood showing than paint on them.
It was somewhat scary driving through these neighborhoods trying to get to my hotel at 11:30 at night. These streets had no lighting whatsoever.
However, the hotel and parking lot DID have lots lighting.
Why is there a 6' high WALL around the hotel? I doubt it's for aesthetics
This reportedly wasn't a bad part of town.
The hotel itself was very nice. Probably the nicest Hampton Inn I've ever stayed in (and I've stayed in dozens of them.)

So, I'm still wondering where to rank Wichita. If you have any thoughts or comments, be sure to post them.

Halloween 07

2007-11-03T22:59:00.000-05:00

The first two are the best of all 4 kids together. Admittedly, none of them are perfect (the pictures - the kids most definitely ARE), but they'll do nicely

Karsten was a firefighter (again).

Kiera was a ballerina. This picture was taken out our church's halloween party. It's always a big event. They have indoor trick or treating (they decorate all the classrooms in the basement like different houses), a petting zoo, carnival-type games, cookie decorating, crafts, and hayrides (outdoors) with a team of horses. There's usually 500 or so kids, there, so there's never a dull (or quiet) moment.

This is Teagan with Nikki's cousin Jessica.

Ava for Halloween

2007-11-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple Halloween pics just of Ava. She didn't make for a very good Eyore - not mopey enough. :-)

Karsten's Birthday

2007-11-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

My best buddy turned 7 a week ago. He's growing up so fast!

His favorite gift was a wheelbarrel from Mema. He's been begging for one for years, and uses it often in the yard. The John Deere tractor is definitely a favorite though.

Here's a couple more pics from his party. He and 11 other friends went to the local gymnastics training center (Ziplines, trampolines, etc.) - and it was a huge hit! They do parties just for kids his age, and I'm glad they had experience with this...no way I could manage 12 kids for 90 mins. with all that stuff around. (as you can see in the picture below that was taken about 100 mins. into the party)

Albino Squirrels

2007-11-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

For the last couple weeks we've been seeing an albino squirrel in our yard. This, of course, is a bit unusual, but isn't THAT rare...until we saw a second one, then a third.

So we thought it'd be a great idea, but those squirrels knew we were trying photograph them, and would have nothing of it. Several attempts to snap a pic of them resulted in the albinos scrambling in different directions before we get close enough to take said photo.

Squirrels are very sneaky, you know. :-)

But my wife is MORE sneaky - and got several snaps of them. Enjoy. (oh, and we have several more that I didn't even bother posting.)

(Jodi - knowing your history with squirrels, I expect a reply to this post, if not several of them...;-))

Expensive Trees...

2007-11-01T21:00:00.001-05:00

I'm all about doing what I can to "save the earth," so any random passers-by to this blog should know that we didn't want to have these cut down. We had two dead oak trees in our back yard that were each 50 feet or more, and we didn't want them falling on our house - or the neighbors' - so those had to go asap. There's also a tree that the previously owner felt should be allowed to live less than 10 feet from the foundation of our house - so much that he decided to build the deck around it. Since that tree overhangs the house, we had acorns, leaves, and even a little bit of moss growing on our roof. It only made sense to drop that tree as well.

So a tree cutting service came through the neighborhood, and gave us a good quote. (At least, I thought it was a good quote - there turned out to be a big misunderstanding - so these trees cost us far more than I thought. I'd rather not discuss it, but let's just say I could buy a decent used car for what these trees.)

The guys came out and did great work - and I certianly recommend them to anyone else. Here's a few pictures of their work. Since they ended up coming out on Karsten's b-day, he got to make a special trip home for the lunch hour to come watch.

Wisconsin Dells

2007-11-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

We spent a weekend with some friends from church at Wisconsin Dells. The kids love spending time there, and so do we. Being with our friends who feel the same way made it even better!

The resort was great. Even though it was late October, and all the outdoor pools were closed, this resort had THREE indoor water parks - easily enough stuff to keep the kids occupied and entertained for the weekend.

Here are some pics from our room. It slept 4 adults and 7 kids (yep, 'tis true) with extra room for the adults to chat after all the kids were in bed. Well, "in bed" doesn't mean our kids stayed there, but we did have some chances to chat.

We're definitely planning to go back.

A Couple of IDIOTS

2007-11-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

yep, one of these dweebs is me. Believe it or not, this was actually at work...in front of my customers...hundreds of them.

Sweet Ride

2007-11-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know this isn't a Ferrari or Porsche, but for a rental car it's pretty good. I drive a lot of rental cars when I'm on the road, but this is one of the best I've had. It beats the plain old Malibu's, Impalas, and Tauruses that I get stuck with far too often

This is the '07 Dodge Charger I had in Omaha last week. It's all "business," with a sporty edge to it. I've driven the similar Chrysler 300, and didn't care for it nearly as much. Another big plus with this particular model - it came with Sirius Satellite Radio...always a plus.

Although it wouldn't be at the top of my list if I were shopping for a new car, it certainly would get consideration.

Interesting Idea: Would you buy this?

2007-10-26T22:34:00.000-05:00

I came across this new product while scanning my favorite tech blog Gizmodo today. Normally, I'm not for cutting corners, but after being in Wisconsin Dells and making my fair share of pancakes last weekend, the idea seems pretty appealing.

Basically, it takes the same idea as Readi-whip in a can, but sprays out USDA certified organic batter that becomes tasty pancakes or waffles. The convenience and presumed tidiness compared to having the inevitable batter drips around the griddle seem to overcome the awkwardness of using a pressurized can.

I can also see this being an ideal solution for camping trips - presuming one has access to to cooler to keep it refridgerated.

One can reportedly makes 8 pancakes, so I'm guessing the convenience will cost you. And be sure to post in your comments whether you'd buy this or not.

Check out their website to search for avaialability near you.

How NOT to Handle One's Comcast Problems

2007-10-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

I've blogged about my dislike for Comcast's VOIP phone service in the past. (read HERE, then HERE for all the details and horrid reminders).

But apparently, Comcast knows how to treat their other customers just a crappily (I just made that word up) as they did to me. A 75 year-old woman, Mona Shaw decided to switch from Verizon for Comcast's Triple Play service package. When they couldn't get the service operating, Mona took her trusty hammer and drove to the local Comcast office - and then proceeded to use said hammer to bash all sorts of Comcast property while shouting "Do I have your attention now?"

(Aside: I don't think that it was intended by Mona, but that's an AWESOME parody to Verizon's marketing slogan. "Can you hear me now?")

Mona, I can sympathize with your dilemma, but violence rarely works in these types of situations. Keep good notes, demand fair compensation, and blog about it so you can vent instead of releasing your rage in more physical iterations.

[Washington Post via Gizmodo, photo from Washington Post]

An MP3 player I WON'T be purchasing...

2007-10-12T23:23:00.001-05:00

I'm all about sharing my faith with others, and I'm definitely a geek to the core. So just as two great things like chocolate and peanut butter are best together, one would think this would be the ideal end to my new MP3 player odyssey. But mixing two good things sometimes creates very bad results: brownies with Ex-lax, electricity with water, and drinking with driving come immediately to mind.

This thing makes me ill just looking at it - for geeky and spiritual reasons...

(and yes, it's real. You can buy it in 1, 2, and 4GB sizes here. )

[Source: CNet via Engadget]

Airwolf: Donations for Memorabilia Needed

2007-10-09T21:51:00.003-05:00

Normally I have a healthy dose of sarcasm in my posts, but I'm totally serious with every word I'm typing. My all-time favorite show growing up was Airwolf (far beyond Knight Rider).

It started with the smokin' theme song
that awesome helicopter pictured above (with retractable guns and rocket launchers, "sun burst" defense system, bullet-proof exterior, and in later episodes the lazers).
The way "the lady" looked in the "lair": Airwolf's hidden hangar in a butte in some desert.
The characters: Strinfellow Hawk (Jan Michael Vincent), Dom Santini, Archangel.
The cool air battles at the climax of each episode showed off what this fine specimen this vehicle and it's writing truly was.

Right now, I have to find creative ways to purchase one of the 26 helmets on eBay that are available from the show. Bids start at $700 and Buy Now is $900. This is geek memorabilia in it's purest form.

Please help!

It's Back!!! Basement Update

2007-10-08T23:25:00.000-05:00

Although I haven't received any requests for updates on our basement, I'm sure you're all eager to read what's up...

I've steadily (my wife is more inclined to think that "slowly" is the appropriate word) been working on the basement when time allows. We've passed all the necessary inspections to be able to sheet rock the office and bedroom down there. The office is pretty much rocked now, with only a few small, quick touches needed before we tape/mud.

I'm not sure of any dates when these rooms will be completed (more like all my estimates from before have been wrong), but I'm hoping it's by the end of the year.

My MP3 Player Odyssey hits a bump

2007-10-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I had posted before that I'm ruling out the new iPod Touch and Nano as replacements for my now officially "crappified"4G iPod 20GB. In that same post, I said I intended to purchase the Creative Zen since it offers more features at the same or lower prices to the iPods (FM tuner, expandabale SD memory card slot).

Well, that plan hit a bump when I stumbled across this review of the Zen on a site called anythingbutipod.com. This guy has reviewed most MP3 players made by any company other than Apple, and seems to know his stuff really well. On his review of the Creative Zen, he noted a major flaw - that the Zen's SD memory expansion slot has been crippled so that it provides minmal functionality/real world usage.

So instead, the writer suggest that one look at the Cowon D2 player (pictured above), which I'd never heard of. After reading the review, then checking CNET's thumb's up review, and finally checking out the features and price points, I'm impressed. It's quite compact, has a touch screen interface, SD expansion slot (that actually works), and good product support. Too bad it's not available in the at any mass retailers so I can try it out myself before buying - so I may have to buy it from an online etailer with a liberal return policy in case it doesn't meet my expectations.

I'm also now reconsidering it the iRiver Clix2 player (above). I had heard about this great player back in January when it was announced, and the 8GB just started shipping a couple weeks ago. However, I had ruled it out since it didn't have any memory expansion. But since the reviews on CNET and anythingbutipod rated it so highly, it's back in the running again.

Another, though less likely, option is the new Zune 2 from Microsoft. These players are bigger than I prefer, but I like the usability and feature improvements that Microsoft has made from the first generation that launched nearly a year ago. While I generally don't pull for Microsoft - they're doing quite well in case you haven't heard - they are one of the first MP3 player manufacturers to upgrade prior models with new features that will be on upcoming models. I'm not referring to firmware updates, but a major system upgrade that adds significant new features. In particular, the Zunes offer wireless synchronization, so you can recharge the Zune without wires. Sweet stuff, and I really wish Apple would take note of this instead of forcing existing customers to upgrade when new features come out on new models. Microsoft is also improving their Zune online portal to give iTunes a run for it's money. The new flash memory Zune 2 will ship in mid-November. It's a long-shot, but I'm keeping my eye on it.

So maybe I'll just wait a little longer...

uuugggghhhhh.

A Speed Record I Have No Interest in Breaking

2007-09-30T21:46:00.001-05:00

I like riding my mountain bike well enough, but going 130.7mph down hill on a mountian bike is absolutely crazy. (on snow/ice no less)

MP3 Player Choices: Interesting Developments

2007-09-29T22:29:00.000-05:00

In my post on MP3 players a few weeks ago, I noted that I'm leaning toward the new Creative Zen instead of the new iPod Nano or Touch models. The good news is that Creative has started shipping the 8GB model that I was strongly considering, but they've lowered the pre-release price of the 16GB model to $249. This is highly intriguing - and if it were shipping, I would already own one.

My employer has provided a Blackberry 8703 for me to use for some time now. While the Blacberry serves as stellar and indispensible email device, it offers no multimedia features (no MP3 or video capabilities) to speak of. (and thus my desire to get the Creative Zen player) But there's a new wrinkle of reports from

But this week, the Blackberry got a VERY positive boost. Sling Media is developing their mobile player to run on the Blackberry OS. Those that aren't familiar with Sling Media or their Sling Box, here's the quick rundown: Sling Box is a small server that connects to your home network. This box is set up next to your TV, and accepts the output from your cable TV, satellite, or Tivo-type devices. The Sling Box is connected to the internet via your home network, so you can access your own TV content anywhere you have an internet connection. That means I can access any of the previously recorded content already on my Tivo, or even change the channel and watch live TV at my leisure whenever I please. The great thing about Sling Box is that there are no service fees to use the device, other than the $100-150 for most of their Boxes. As I see it, the only real issue is that the service wouldn't work well on an airplane since there's no signal up there...

I'll still probably get the Creative Zen player, but I'll definitely watch for the Sling Box once they release the Blackberry compatible version.

It's Coming Back! Knight Rider

2007-09-29T21:35:00.001-05:00

If I knew the time it came on, I'd be setting our Tivo to record this... but Knight Rider is coming back to TV. I could care less who plays Michael Knight; I'm most curious as to which car will be picked to play the role of K.I.T.T.

This was one of my favorite shows growing up - and I'm hoping it doesn't bomb like most of NBC's shows nowadays...

Source and photo: E! Online

Places Work Takes Me: Kansas City

2007-09-18T22:12:00.001-05:00

I've also never taken pictures of downtown Kansas City either. I know I was ready to take some before, but fog and rain pre-empted those attempts before.

I rarely go downtown Kansas City either. In fact, I think I drove through once, but I've never actually DONE anything downtown. There's a lot to do downtown KC. The sporting events currently take place in the Eastern suburbs at the sports complex along I-70. Downtown does the the "old" Kemper arena and the new Sprint Center arena - but neither has a permanent tenant that calls either place home.

I usually stay in the Overland Park area when I'm in town. This is the Southwestern part of the KC metro area. The reason I usually stay in OP is that it's centrally located where most of my clients for work are.

The "hot spot" in KC is "The Plaza" an upscale area about 2 miles south of downtown. This is where all the great restaurants, high-end retail shopping, and luxury condos and large homes are located. It's beautiful and classy - but I rarely get there either...

There is some great BBQ around here. The best place I've had so far is Gates BBQ - which has several locations around KC. There's a really good Chinese restaurants called Chinese Palace in Overland Park, KS.

Places Work Takes Me: St. Louis

2007-09-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

I've been covering St. Louis for 15 months now. In that time, I've never been downtown. I've never even been CLOSE to downtown.

"Why?" you ask?

Frankly, I have no idea. The most logical reason is that St. Louis has the highest violent crime rate over any city in the country. (Detroit seconds the list). Yet, downtown doesn't seem to have the problems. When one crosses the Mississippi River and goes to EAST St. Louis (which is in Illinois), then the crime rate shoots up dramatically. But since I don't cross the Mississippi River, I should still be relatively safe going downtown.

So the best answers I have is that I've never had a reason to go downtown, and it's too far out of the way for me to go down there (since I usually stay in the Western suburbs about as far away from downtown as you can get.)

The ironic thing is that I didn't go to the Arch - which necessitates at least another trip downtown at somepoint in the future.

My reason for going downtown was for a Rams-Chiefs preseason NFL football game. Mat and I were running late due to traffic, so I only had time to snap a few pics while driving.

I'll write more about the Western suburbs another time...

Places Work Takes Me: Des Moines

2007-09-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I took these pics back in June, but never posted them. The good people of Des Moines have every right to be upset over my negligence.

Des Moines is probably one of the biggest "small" cities around. It has a big city feel to it, but it's actually much smaller than one would think (around 500k people). The city is pretty easy to navigate and get around. There's not much nightlife downtown to speak of, but then I'm not a big nightlife guy anyways. Scenery wise, Des Moines has an attractive skyline and scenery along the Des Moines river that runs through it.

We had an event at Principal Park which is downtown along the river.

My favorite place to eat is a place called Mojo's in Johnston, a northwestern suburb. They have some amazing Almond crusted chicken fingers that are the best chicken tenders one could ever possibly eat. The entre's change regulary, but it's hard to go wrong with anything you order here.

Places Work Takes Me: Alexandria, MN

2007-09-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

OK, normally I don't get to Alexandria, MN for work. Actually, I've NEVER been to Alexandria, MN for work before. Sure, I've been past there, but never actually stopped there.

It's a pretty nice place. I was there covering a trade show, and needed to spend the night since it was over 2 days. The show was held at the Arrowwood Resort. This resort offers reasonable prices and includes amenities like wifi, pool, basketball court (which I actually used), etc.

It would have been nice to have Nikki and the kids along at this place...but I was there over Karsten's first couple days of school - so we just couldn't get it to work easily.

Somehow, I forgot to take picutures of the trade show - but I honestly DID work while there...

Labor Day at MN State Fair

2007-09-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

We made our annual trek to the MN State Fair. (When I say "we," I really mean just "me" since Nikki and the kids usually go a couple other days as well.)

For those who don't know the MN State Fair, it usually averages ~2 million fairgoers over 10 days each year and concludes on Labor Day. Crazy stuff. Usually, the fair is an excuse to spend 10x more on food than you would at any fast food restaurant, but that food has 10x the normal (high) fat content. Perhaps the extra cost is mostly due to the expense and labor of putting the food on a stick. Ironically, there are no pictures of us eating any food at the fair this year. Perhaps - that's a good thing...

What makes the state fair such a draw? Frankly I don't know. It costs our family over $20 just to get in. We spend $30-60 a day on unhealthy food (usually bringing our own drinks to cut down on costs). We walk around aimlessly looking a farm implements, wandering through smelly livestock barns, and trying not to navigate around animal dropping, massive strollers, or people who are paying more attention to the food they are eating food on a stick while wandering the fair than walking itself. Yet, the time goes by quickly and you never feel like you've seen enough and want to go back again to catch what was missed.

So without further adieu', I give you a brief tour of our day at the fair

This is one of the few things NOT on a stick at the fair. The intersting thing about this cow is that the owner lives 2 doors from Nikki's parent's house. This cow is literally parked on the street as I type (I think). With tetes like that, I'm sure it's a great milk producer.

These two pictures above are of a modern Paul Bunyan. This guy cuts up logs into sculptures. I'm really not sure what this one was supposed to be, but my best guess is a fox or raccoon (most likely). This guy was promoting Stihl tools - evidence that just about everything has a sponsor nowadays - even at the fair.

Here's a couple pictures of us on the Kidway. (that's the Kid's version of the Midway at the MN State Fair for those who don't know).

Pictures of the kids in the poultry barn.

We took a break in a shaded area for a little while. This was one of those guys that's acts like a statue until you walk buy. He was walking to the dressing room after his shift was over - freaked the kids out...

This is our new stroller that we took to the fair. It works great. Strollers are a VERY big thing at the MN state fair. Strollers are as essential to take to the fair as taking a ball glove to the ball park when you have seats in the outfield. Many people like to "pimp" their cars and trucks to show off to everyone else. At the MN State Fair, people like to show off their strollers and how big strollers can be. I think I saw a stroller that could sleep a family of 4. Pretty huge.

Our stroller is relatively modest in size. Nikki got a good deal on it via ebay (I think - I just know she got a could deal on it), and apparently this is mega-pimped out as far as stollers go. For starters, there's the pink color - which is apparently very customized - much like an airbrush paintjob on a hot rod. It grabs attention. Then there's the optional/detachable seat in front that allows you to push TWO children in a stroller that would normally seat only one child. Finish the stroller off with dual beverage holders and zippered pouch on the handlebars - you've got one tricked out ride.

With the extra seat on the front, this stroller is still relatively easy to push UNLESS you need to turn or go up a curb. To help Nikki out, I offered to push the stroller most of the day. Yep - the man was pushing a pink stroller around hundreds of thousands of people - in PUBLIC. And you know what??? I was treated like a demi-GOD. I kid you not. I had mothers coming up to me asking where we had got it, what brand it was (I still have no idea), and wondering how we liked it. Our stroller was so popular I had to turn away photo opps and autographs from envious mothers and fathers just so we could see everything else we wanted to see.

Yep - it was a great (and typical) day that could only happen at the MN State Fair.

For Uber-Nerds Only

2007-09-18T17:37:00.000-05:00

Do you have a fetish over the Star Wars series?

Do you fantasize over the latest gadgets and consumer technology?

If you answer in the affirmative to both questions, welcome to your nirvana...

Some super-dorks have built a home theater room designed to look like the bridge of the Death Star. Upon reviewing the list of A/V components, they've easily spent a couple hundred grand on on this.

I must admist that the execution is flawless, and I briefly considered scrapping my current plans for the basement remodel to include a similar design...but I prefer to sleep in the same room (or house) as my wife - so common sense prevailed.

Source: Gizmodo

Friendly Neighborhood Spidey

2007-09-09T23:53:00.000-05:00

Not only has Karsten lost a few teeth, he seems to have developed some new super-hero capabilities.

Toothless Wonder

2007-09-09T23:33:00.000-05:00

Karsten got in a fight again...

At least that's what I like to tell people for fun. Both of his front teeth fell out about 2 weeks of each other - so he's looking pretty tough.

Dilemma: Which MP3 player?

2007-09-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

Since I travel a lot, an MP3 player is pretty indispensible. I've had a 20GB 4G iPod for 2.5+ years that has a crashed hard drive since April. I've been waiting for something new to come along, and knowing Apple was supposed to be making major announcements this past week (Sept. 5) had me excited.

Since my old iPod had a crashed hard drive, I definitely want to get a player with flash memory since there are no moving parts, and these are more compact in size as well. (The trade-off to not getting a hard-drive based player is smaller flash memory and higher price.) I also wanted to get a player that did videos (especially for watching episodes of the office, and maybe a couple movies and sports clips.

Apple only got it half right. Ideally, I wanted 16GB of flash memory, so the new iPod Touch is the ideal candidate. There's so much to like: built-in WiFi, a gorgeous 3.5" widescreen, and Apple's flawless integration and operating system. However, the $399 price tag is freaking me out.

The other Apple candidate is the new Nano. Unlike previous versions, this popular player now does videos and manages to do so in a dimunitive size that's about half the size of a credit card (and about as thick as 1-2 credit cards as well). I stopped by the Apple store to check these out, and they are a true wonder. The price is a more modest $199 for the 8GB model.

However, I can't bring myself to get the Nano. I love iTunes and getting podcasts, but I don't want to play Apple's game of limiting features and forcing to upgrade a year or two down the road. Here are some of the featuress that I wish the new iPods had

a 16GB Nano would be passible
built-in FM tuner to listen to radio (especially at the health club)
expandable memory card slot
larger screen on the iPod Nano

So I think I'm going to get the Creative Zen when it ships. While a 16GB version for $299 will be shipping soon, I'm planning to get the 8GB version for $199 (the same price as the Nano). But the Zen delivers an SD memory slot to increase memory capacity or to view and transfer pictures from my digital camera (a big plus). There's also a larger screen that considerably larger (2.5"). Lastly, the Zen uses a standard min-USB interface, so that means one less cable that I'll need to have for transfers and charging the battery.

While the Zen is larger than the Nano, it's still a tiny player that packs a potent punch and will serve my needs well. If only there were any places that had it in stock so I could pick one up...

Jason B.

2007-08-22T23:16:00.000-05:00

I'd be remiss to not pay an added measure of thanks and appreciation to my good friend, Jason. It had been about 13 years since I last spoke or saw him. Frankly, I'm kicking myself for not calling him or trying to catch up with my other high school buddies over all these years. What was I thinking??? While my blog is called "Little Free Time...", certainly I could have found the time somewhere to try to catch up to him. I feel like I missed out on sooooo much....

I'm really proud of Jason and the life he has both personally and professtionally. He's a chiropracter with an established practice in Fishers, IN - so any blog readers in the area should check him out if they have back/neck pain or are just in need of an adjustment. Here's a link to his website. I'm also impressed with how connected Jason is to his community as a respected leader and recognized professional. When we were walking around downtown Noblesville on Sat. night, he seemed to know at least half the people we passed on the street. He seems to have all the qualities to someday be a respectable politician! (if such a thing is possible...)

His wife Tina is first class, too. (not that I would expect anything less... :-)) They make such a great couple! It's interesting that Jason and I each married a woman that's two years older than us, and we discovered over the weekend that we were even married within a week of each other. Great minds think (and act) alike, I guess!

Another highlight for me from the was when Jason played a video from one of the first times (maybe the first?) that I was at his house fishing at the nearby pond. It brought back another flood of good memories, and served as a great reminder of how close friends we were. Thankfully, I can still say we are still good friends as well.

Jason and I have been friends since third grade when his family moved to Indy from PA. We were in the same class every year all the way through Sr. year of high school - and I can still say that Jason is one of the best friends I've ever had in my lifetime.

Hopefully our friendship continues for many, many more decades

Trip to Indy: Our Hosts - Jason and Tina

2007-08-22T22:35:00.000-05:00

After our reunion, Jason and Tina had invited us to stay at their house in "historic" downtown Noblesville. This seemed odd to me since no one would describe Noblesville as "historic" during the time I lived in Indy, but it certainly proved to be a fitting description. The downtown district has been restored to emphasize and promote local artisans and small businesses, and many of the houses nearby have been restored to their turn-of-the-century (that would be 20th century) charms.

Jason and Tina's home would certainly fit the description of historic. Their home was built in 1901, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Most of the house was restored before they moved in 2 years ago, but they're still putting their mark on it and restoring/updating a few things as well. They've also done a wonderful job of furnishing the home with beautifully appointed antiques and replicas that complement the character of the home. Nikki and I like to stay at Bed and Breakfasts when we travel without the kids, and their home certainly had the same feel and accommodations as the finest B&B that we've ever visited. Even the store-bought chocolate covered donuts we had for breakfast in the morning tasted better in that house! :-)

The house was even featured in a local historic homes magazine.

Many thanks to our most excellent hosts!!!!!

Trip to Indy: Class Reunion

2007-08-20T23:24:00.000-05:00

For most people, I guess it'd be hard to call it a class reunion when only 5 class members show up. But seeing how that's 1/3 the graduating class from our small private school, that's pretty good for getting it set up in just a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll also be able to catch up to a few friends who couldn't make it in the next week or two.

The time spent together was so enjoyable. Nikki and I didn't have our 4 kids along so that we could fit the tub in our minivan, yet I couln't help but wish ours were all there so they could play with everyone else's kids. I have to say that all the kids were very well behaved, and that's a testament to good parenting. In many ways, it made me wish my family and I lived in Indy still - it felt like we'd always been together, and all our wives and children got along really well to boot. I'm really glad we took a group picture with all the wives and family. I'll spare you all the monstrosity if I tried to photoshop my 4 kids into that group photo...

We reminisced as much as we could in the few hours we had together. We talked about old teachers, memories, stupid mistakes, and caught up on what everyone else has been doing. Jason played a video from Bible project that had me crying since I was laughing so hard. We flipped through the old yearbooks as well.

My friends that were also there were: Jason, Kerry, Aaron (Smitty), and Phil. Also in attendance were Jason's parents, Taylor and Marie. Jason's dad was the principal at our school for a few years, and was also my algebra I and II teacher. I'll always remember Jason's mom being one of the best moms whenever I spent the night at ANY of my friend's house. So it was good to see them again as well.

Botton line: every mile to be there was so worth it. Hopefully we can make these get-togethers more of a regular occurence.

Trip to Indy: My High School Alma Mater

2007-08-20T23:15:00.000-05:00

Nikki and I also drove past my old high school. It's a private school called Colonial Christian. There were only 15 people in my graduating class: 10 guys and 5 girls. Most of us had been going there for close to 10 years, so we were a pretty close-knit group.

It looks like they built a new wing that add a lot more classrooms and space (second pic). Since we were there on a Sat., we didn't get any tours.

Trip to Indy: Revisiting my Childhood

2007-08-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

After checking out of our hotel in downtown Indy, we did a bit of driving around the old neighborhoods and stomping grounds. I thought it would be a good idea to take some pictures of the two houses we lived in while in Indy.

Above is our first house on 98th Street, just northwest of 465 and Keystone Ave. It was a 3 BR, 1 Bath house. The one thing I remembered as we drove by was that the water lines were in the garage and right next to the garage door. There were several years that our pipes froze - even during Indy's mild winters. We never knew who's bright idea that was, but that would seem obvious. Overall, the house has definitely had some upgrades since we lived there, and it certainly looks better than the way it was when I remember moving out.

The pictures above are of our second house in Indy on Village Park South Dr., just east of where Keystone and Meridian merge. Our family built this house, and we were one of the first in this new housing subdivision. This was a 3 BR, 2.5 Bath house with a lot more.

A couple things about this house.

The first thing I noticed when I turned into the neighborhood was that it had full-grown trees. Since this was a brand new subdivision when we built the house and moved in, there were only young trees the whole time we were there.

The second thing is that I'm pretty sure that there still some egg residue on the house from the 16 dozen that my friends decided to skip out of school and drop off at our house. :-) Seriously, when our house was up for sale, my friends though this would be a good idea. The deed was done while both my parents were out of town, and we had 2 showings scheduled the following day. So we were up late trying to clean as much as we could, but my mom got to the bottom of it a made the scoundrels :-) clean up the rest.

ah, good times...

Trip to Indy: First Night

2007-08-20T22:15:00.000-05:00

We left for Indy from Minneapolis Friday afternoon, and got into town around 10:30pm local time Friday night.

Since I travel a lot for work, I'm able to accrue frequent traveler miles from hotels, airlines, and car rental companies. We decided to go all out and burn some points at the Conrad Hotel in downtown Indianapolis.

Unfortunately, my camera had a dead battery when we were in our room, so I was unable to take an pics. The room we had was pretty similar to the one in the pic above though. The 42" Plasma was a nice touch, but I was also impressed by the Boston Acoustics Receptor tabletop radio that was playing rich, classical music when we arrived. Most radios in hotel rooms sound like utter crap...but this was nice. LED sconces on either side of the bed were another nice touch.

This was easily one of the top 2 or 3 hotels I've ever stayed. Quite likely the best. The only odd thing about the room was that there apparently was no closet or anywhere to hang one's garments. We never did figure that one out... Still highly recommended if you have to hang your clothes over a chair.

Trip to Indy: the Cause of it All

2007-08-20T21:58:00.001-05:00

Our trip to Indy would likely not have happened were it not for this: an Aquatic Infinity VII Whirlpool tub my wife bought on eBay for our basement remodel.

See, I lived in Indianapolis for 12 years - from 2 days before starting first grade in August 1981 until leaving for college in August 1993. My dad transferred to Chicago at that time, so Indy was never home in a literal sense again.

I went back to Indy for my old manufacturing job during the summer of 1994, but didn't get to see many of my high school friends over the 10 weeks or so I was there.

Since then, I've only been back to Indy for a day trip since our old church held a wedding shower for Nikki. My dad and I drove around for a couple hours during the shower, but never managed to see anyone. That was 11 years ago.

Since then, I haven't talked to anybody that I graduated with until Nikki won this tub on eBay, and I called one of my good friends, Jason, who is a chiropractor in a Northern suburb. All it took was a phone call explaining when we were planning to come through, and Jason took care of the rest and set up an impromptu reunion or sorts.

My only regret is that I would have made that phone call so many years earlier.

We Interrupt This Basement Remodel for...

2007-08-04T22:38:00.001-05:00

My friend, Ryan - has given up several weekends over the last few months as we attempt to rewire our house and wire the basement remodel - got married today. I couldn't be happier for the guy and his new bride.

Nikki and I got a baby sitter, and drove ~90 mins to get there. The wedding was beautiful, and went off without any hitches that I noticed. What a great time.

They will be on honeymoon, but thankfully we have enough done so that we can start insulating and sheetrocking this week (pending a framing inspection). Thanks to Ryan, we passed the electrical inspection with flying colors this week.

Overnight Camping - Aug 07

2007-08-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

We went camping at the Lake Elmo State Park last night. This has become somewhat of a tradition. We typically go with a group of friends from church.

Last year, the whole family went (including Teagan at age 13 months). It was the hottest weekend in MN I can ever remember. Temps well over 100 degrees. So hot...oh, and Nikki was pregnant with Ava at the time. Most families bowed out for the second night (as did Nikki and Tess), but my brother-in-law, Dan, and our two oldest kids (each) stayed for another night. rough stuff.

This year, It was Dan and his two oldest, along with me and my two oldest. It proved to be a great night. Much cooler temps, a few rain showers, but nothing that made things messy. We only stayed one night since Nikki and I had a wedding to attend on Saturday.

Anyway, this is a pic of Dan's new tent where we slept, a picture of Karsten eating his second vitamin fortified donut in the trees, and a picture of Kiera who wouldn't stand still for ANY pictures.

Where are the pictures?? Part Deux

2007-08-01T22:09:00.000-05:00

I just noticed that the last few posts don't have any picture of the family or from my travels for work. The reason is that the shutter button fell off Nikki's digital camera a few weeks ago, and thankfully it's one of the few things that our extended warranty still covers. It should be back in another week or so...

In the meantime, Nikki is using my camera to potentially capture any moments with the kids. So enjoy staring at the lovely test pattern in the meantime.

Tribute to Kevin Garnett

2007-07-31T17:03:00.000-05:00

I frankly don't know where to begin on this. There are so many thoughts going through my mind right now over the official news that Kevin Garnett is no longer a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As a lifelong sports fan, there are inevitably some athletes that will be all time favorites. My short list would include: Kirby Puckett, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp (soccer players), and Kevin Garnett.

As I reflect on Garnett, he is without a doubt my favorite athlete ever. Here's a sampling of the reasons:
* Kevin Garnett made me a Timberwolves fan. Growing up, I cheered for the Indiana Pacers - who were a perennially lousy team. When I went off to college in fall of '93, the Pacers had their first good season and made it to the Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks (a series that had the best performance I've ever watched: Reggie Miller's 25 points in the 4th quarter of game 5). The Pacers continued to do well for the next several seasons, but then the Timberwolves drafted a kid out of high school with the #5 draft pick in 1995 (a VERY rare occurrence back then) named Kevin Garnett. I still cheered for the Pacers, but all my friends in MN (since that's the state I attended college) really took to the guy. I was skeptical at first, but it didn't take long to draw me in as a fan of the T-Wolves AND a fan of Kevin Garnett.
* Any success the Wolves have had is a direct result of KG. They had no history before he came, and he made them a perennial playoff team most of his time in MN.
* KG is a TALENTED, FREAK of NATURE. The man is at least 7' tall, runs like a gazelle, and can leap out of the gym. Never before has there been a player with Garnett's size and quickness put together. During his time here, he would regularly guard the opposing team's best player - even if that meant the small, agile point guard. KG could guard any of them. In short, he is the finest athlete I've ever witnessed.
* KG is LOYAL. It's very clear the Garnett didn't want to leave MN. News reports today are indicating that. KG made a connection with the people of MN, and I truly believe KG wanted to make MN his home. Not many pro atheletes would do that.
* KG ALWAYS played HARD. I've watched KG play more than any other athlete in my lifetime. When I attend live games, I make a point to watch Garnett at all times. He never quits. Even when the ref blows a foul, and the player from the opposing team shoots, Garnett will still try to block it. This annoys some, but I love it. Even over the last couple seasons when the Wolves were a crappy team, Garnett never tanked or lowered his intensity.

One of my biggest regrets about KG leaving is that Karsten won't be able to watch him as much anymore. We loved going to Wolves games together, and Karsten loved KG too (especially since they share the same initials). Hopefully, Karsten will still have opportunities to watch KG play again with me, and I'll be sure to point out how hard KG plays, and how he plays the right way.

I shall also miss Garnett's pregame ritual at Target Center. Shaking the talcum power on the scoring table was the first step. Garnett was always the last players to step on the court for tip-off. He shook hands with every opposing team member before walking to the center circle to go for the jump ball. It was all as if he was a king and everyone was in his court at his request.

Garnett's leaving MN is bittersweet. It pains me to say this as a fan, but it's the right thing for the Wolves right now. Garnett is the highest paid player in basketball - and he deserves every penny of it since I think he's the best all-around player in the NBA. But unfortunately this also meant that the T-Wolves had severe salary cap restrictions since ~40% of their payroll went to one player. Garnett's departure means that the Wolves will finally have some flexibility to get new players and rebuild. I would love to see Garnett say, but I also want to see the Wolves win and compete - and it was clear that Garnett wasn't going to be able to make that happen on his own in MN. Hopefully he gets a championship for another team....

To Kevin: I doubt you'll ever read this, but if you do - I just want to say a heartfelt "thank you." You exemplified everything I believe a pro athlete should be: a prominent and highly regarded role model both on and off the court. You play the game the right way, and I will always be your fan. Don't ever let up. I'm saddened you are gone, but I'm already looking to purchase tickets to the Celtics game at Target Center this upcoming season. You are one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and I count it a privilege to have been able to watch you over the last 12 years. You can be assured that I will watch as many Celts games that I can this coming season, and I'll check the box score to see how you're doing every morning.

You will be missed - but always loved.
Aaron

IKEA is expanding it's ever-reaching business...

2007-07-29T18:16:00.000-05:00

I'm only blogging about this since I have a few family members that really like IKEA. (I won't name any names, but I'm looking in the direction of South Dakota.) Personally, I've never even been into one of their mega-stores (although I've flipped through the catalog once or twice).

Anyway, it appears that IKEA in Oslo, Norway will allow 30 lucky shoppers to stay overnight in dormitory-style bunk beds for free. Included in the deal is a supper, breakfast, as well as getting to keep the sheets, bathrobe, and slippers. I'm sure these aren't stellar quality, but not a bad deal nonetheless.

It also appears that IKEA will have a special honeymoon suite for an undisclosed fee. The room will include most likely the finest encoutrements that IKEA has to offer, but I'm guessing the newly wedded couples must put their beds, chairs, and tables together first before they can consumate their marriage... :-) What a marriage builder, if a couple can put together the furniture with sufficient time to have a little "fun," then that marriage will likely hold the test of time.

Link to Gizmodo:

Another Advancement in Technol...err - what?

2007-07-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

I'll let you decide whether this is a step forward of back in terms of technology. (My personal view is the latter). Basically, this thing is a personal email device that looks and acts like a typewriter. I guess if this gets my grandparents to use email, it can't be a bad thing...but wouldn't they be better off with an inexpensive pc that can also use to play solitaire?

Here's a summary from the blog Gizmodo:

Apparently you need to use special paper in order to be able to send emails, but the way you can receive emails on thing is strangely missing.

Perhaps this is a last-ditch effort for the typewriter industry to sell ink ribbon and special papers. Here's to hoping they can also find a way to use typewriter correction tape...

Thoughts on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio Merger

2007-07-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

I've already admitted I'm a recovering gadget freak, but I may find myself in a relapse soon.

I've used both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio services in the past, and really like the idea since I travel a lot and quality radio coverage is often pretty bad - and the idea of having every station available anywhere in the USA is appealing as well. I ended up cancelling Sirius (in my opinion, the far better of the two) since I found myself paying the $13 a month for the service, along with many other "small fees" for other gadget-related services. These were really digging into my monthly expenses, and had to go...

As part of the proposed merger of the two companies, (a business move that has local radio stations are trying to have the government block) they are talking of being able to pick your own a la carte' stations - up to 50 - and pay only $6.99/month. Seeing how either service goes for $13/month each, and since I only listen to 5-6 channels regularly, that's a great deal.

Here's to hoping this deal goes through...

source: Gizmodo

Baby Blue Eyes

2007-07-16T20:58:00.000-05:00

Frank Sinatra himself has nothing on baby Ava. Check out these pics Nikki took over the last week or so...

Ava is crawling all over the place and climbing up on anything she can. She'll probably be walking in a few weeks.

Hopefully she'll figure out potty training by the time she's 1... :-)

July 4th - Valley Fair

2007-07-16T20:39:00.000-05:00

We spent the 4th at Valley Fair with Nikki's family. These trips turn out to be days of child-watching more than days of thrill rides - but it's fun to see the kids enjoying themselves. Karsten is now over 4 feet tall, so he could ride most of the rides - if he wanted to.

The day started with Karsten wanting to ride one of the older wooden roller coasters (named the "High Roller" that's relatively tame by roller coaster standards, but a good one to start on. He loved it. We planned to ride the new coaster, Renegade, later in the day - but after standing in line for 10 minutes, they shut the coaster down for repairs, so we left and did a different coaster Karsten didn't like as much.

Here are just a couple pictures.

Teagan's Birthday: Family Party 6/30/07

2007-07-15T00:45:00.000-05:00

We had all the grandparents (both sides) and aunts/uncles that could make it to a get-together for Teagan's birthday. I had grill duty, so most of the pictures were taken by Nikki - although I took the ones that Nikki is helping Teagan with the gift opening. (Nikki always looks exceptional, but she was looking especially exceptional that day :-))

Teagan's 2nd Birthday & our 11th Wedding Anniversary

2007-07-15T00:24:00.000-05:00

June 28 will always be a busy day in our household; mainly since it's our wedding anniversary but also of high importance is Teagan's birthday as well.

An easy compromise on where to celebrate the occassions was TGI Friday's: a definite step up from any fast food chain that the kids like, but still very kid-friendly. The free ice cream for birthdays might have come to someone's mind as well. :-) (
Aside: I can't explain it, but I LOVE TGI Friday's. Normally, I don't get into chains of this type, but there something about the atmosphere and food that I love. Their burgers are exceptional. They have a new Turkey hamburger with whole wheat bun, and I order a side of sliced fruit - delicious and [moderately] healthy all at the same time. I order the same thing everytime I go there...)

Anyway, Teagan decided to show off her new Dora umbrella to everyone in the restaurant, and we got a few other pics of the family as well.

Vacation: The Farm (6/23/07)

2007-07-07T18:01:00.000-05:00

Both my parents grew up on farms in Southwest MN, and farming is still in our family's blood. My mom's only brother, Uncle Dave, still works a farm in the area.

Karsten has a definite interest in farms, and we want to try to expose the kids to this type of life so they understand the work involved and appreciate what goes into producing the food they eat. Thus we try to get out to the farm at least once a year.

When we were coming through on our way home from the Black Hills, they were just finishing spraying the crops for weeds. There was still some hay to be cut, so Uncle Dave took Karsten and Kiera out about 90 mins in the tractor to cut it down.

Uncle Dave seems to be pretty impressed with Karsten's knowledge of the farm. He said that Karsten was wondering why they couldn't bail the hay by pulling the bailer behind the cutter. David said that the hay needed to dry before it could be bailed, otherwise it would rot. Karsten in turn asked why he couldn't a "furnace" to dry the hay between the time it was cut and bailed. Dave said no one had come up with a way to do that, but if Karsten could he could make a lot of money with that idea.

There are no working prototypes yet, but we're already cashing the check ;-)

Vacation: Storybook Island (Rapid City, SD) 6/22/07

2007-07-07T17:48:00.000-05:00

We planned to head back to Brookings, SD to visit with my brother, grandparents, and other relatives on our way back home. In order to get there, that meant a quick trip through Rapid City and Storybook Island.

Storybook Island is a free park operated by the city and a private trust. Most of the attractions are themed from popular children's books. It's more or less a playground, but it kept the kids busy and subsequently burned a lot of energy as we began the 5-6 hour drive to Brookings.

Vacation: Spearfish Canyon (6/20/07)

2007-07-07T17:38:00.000-05:00

After spending the day in Deadwood and Lead, Papa suggested we take the drive through the Spearfish Canyon. It was the opposite direction we needed to go in order to get back to the cabin, but it was worth it.

Hopefully these pictures will do it a little justice. My only real problem is that there aren't any places to stop and take pictures when driving through the valleys. The way to get the good pictures is by hiking - something we didn't have the time to do.

These pictures were taken using my new tripod...the steering wheel of our minivan.

Vacation: Homestake Mine (Lead, SD) 6/20/07

2007-07-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

After going through Deadwood in the morning, we drove a few miles to Lead (prounced with a long "e" sound) to see the Homestake mine.

At one point, this town had a population of over 10,000. Today, the population is only around 3,000 since the mine is now closed. In it's heyday, the mine more or less WAS the town of LEAD since it owned, built, and operated: all the roads (so employees could get to work), the hospitals (with full family medical and dental coverage), the library (the largest in the state in it's time), an opera house (seeting 1,000 people, the schools, and even the local power plant. The mine even gave discounts on the houses and sold them at cost of materials only and free land.

The mine claims it is the country's largest gold mine, but the company had to shut down in early 2002 when the cost of mining was more than the cost of gold recovered, refined, and sold. The primary factor that led to the shutdown was the sheer depth: 8000 ft. Most mines don't even reach 5000 ft.

Overal, the kids liked it pretty well, too.

The tour doesn't allow you to go down in the mine. You only get to see what's above ground. For more pictures, info, and history, you can access the Homestake Mine website.

The first picture is of the open dig (Again - no pictures of the mine underground). The second is of one of the 5000 ft cables used to access the mine shafts. (There is another room this size 5000 ft below ground so the mine could potentially go 10,000 feet down). We also had a little bit of hail as well...

Vacation: Deadwood, SD 6/20/07

2007-07-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, we took the drive up to Deadwood, SD. Home of gold mines, brothels, gambling, and Wild Bill Hiccup (I know it's "Hickock," I feel like being juvenile at the moment) Of the notorious items mentioned above, only gambling is still prevalent today. Come to think of it, gambling pretty is all that's in Deadwood. There really isn't a lot to see in Deadwood without going past a slot machine. I saw a sign that claimed Deadwood had 80 casinos - if that's the case, then this town of 1,380 has a gambling dependency. I've been to Las Vegas, but Deadwood seems more over-the-top than Sin City - mainly because there are other things to do/see in Vegas that Deadwood simply can't offer.

From an architectural view, the town has been beautifully preserved and restored. One can't help but get a sense of history in this little town - even if much of that history is somewhat dubious.

Vacation: Custer State Park-Sylvan Lake 6/19/07

2007-07-06T23:42:00.000-05:00

We spent the middle of the day hiking around Sylvan Lake. I took way too many pictures for a lake only 1.5 miles around or so, but these are the best of the lot.

Vacation: Custer State Park-Needles Highway 6/20/07

2007-07-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, we spent most of the Day at Custer State Park. In the morning, we drove the Needles Highway through the park. It was amazing...I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Vacation: Crazy Horse Monument 6/20/07

2007-06-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

At this point on our vacation, we had already driven by the Crazy Horse monument a few times. It's pretty difficult to miss, and clearly visible from the highway. After all, they're making the ENTIRE MOUNTAIN into a rock sculpture. To put the uninitiated into a proper prespective of the size of this, all of Mt Rushmore would fit on the head alone of the Crazy Horse monument. That hole in the mountain is as tall as a 10-story building (about 100 ft). That's BIG.

The entire site and project is privately funded, and there are no estimates when it will be completed. I can only hope it will be completed in my lifetime, but that's pretty doubtful.

I learned a lot at this site, and I think the kids did too. I found myself leaving with two deeper realizations: 1) that the Indians got totally shafted by the white man, and 2) the man Crazy Horse is far more significant to not only Indian culture but to National Culture as well. Overall, it was a sombering experience, but I think it's better that way.

One cool thing is you are able to take rocks that have been blasted from the mountain during the project. I picked one that has lots of colors in it. I'll keep it on my desk as a reminder of how I ought to treat others fairly and as a reminder of what Americans have done that frankly cause me embarrassment and shame.

We went in the evening so we could all watch the light/lazer show on the mountain after going through the video presentation and museums. My camera had a hard time focusing on something so far away in low light conditions, so I wasn't able to take many pictures. The second picture has the 1/34 scale model with the monument in the background. The last 2 pictures are blurry, it was a LOT of tweaking just to get those. For more pics and info, here is the link to the Crazy Horse memorial.

Vacation: Buffalo Sighting 6/20/07

2007-06-30T22:37:00.001-05:00

On our travel to/from Hot Springs, we passed through Windy Cave National Park. The herd was on the move, right next to the road (and in the road on a few occasions).

I wish I could have seen the herds with thousands of buffalo roaming before the white came and them to near-extenction. Thankfully, these wild buffalo now number 14,000+ in the Black Hills alone.

Vacation: Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD 6/20/07

2007-06-30T22:08:00.000-05:00

This is probably the only place we visited on vacation that my wife and her family hadn't visited before on any of their previous trips to the Black Hills.

My wife found out about this place when she was doing to vacation planning. They have a Jr. Paleontologist diggin program where they teach you how to dig and then you dig for mammoth bones. We though it would be a good idea since Karsten loves to dig. (as the holes in our yard, flower beds, and perimeter of the sandbox attest.)

The dig went well (Karsten found a mammoth Rib, and Kiera found a 4ft. mammoth femur bone.)

This site is pretty impressive. So far they have found remains of at least 55 mammoths (110 tusks have already been discovered.) They expect to find at least that many more as they continue to go further down into the ground.

How did so many mammoths get here? Well, the site was originally a huge grassy plain. Some underground cave collapses caused a giant sinkhole about 60' by 120'. Over time, the hole was filled by a natural hot spring. This was significant since the hot water never froze during winter and also kept surrounding grasses growing year around. Thus the site became an oasis for the mammoths. The problem was getting to the water: Since mammoths are big, the would cause the ground to collapse and/or just fall in trying to hydrate and eat. Despite being strong swimmers, the mammoths would drown due to either starvation or exhaustion, then drown.

The site was discovered in 1974 after the sinkhole became a mound due the hardening to the remains and erosion of the surrounding area. A bulldozer attempting to level the site scraped a tusk, they called out a paelontologitst, and the rest-as they say- is history.

Hopefully these pictures give you a good idea of what's there. Admittedly, it's hard to tell the bones from the dirt in most of them. If you'd like more pictures and info, you can check out the Mammoth Site's web site.

Vacation: Sunset at Lake Pactola 6/18/07

2007-06-28T00:04:00.000-05:00

On our way to Circle B Ranch, we drove past Lake Pactola, a resevoir in the Black Hills. I don't recall why, but for some reason, we didn't stop to take pictures. Since the chuckwagon show got out around 8pm, we ended up driving back past Lake Pactola just as the sun was setting behind the mountains.

Admittedly, it's difficult to make out all the shadows, but I love the way the sun comes over the mountains and outlines the clouds. This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.

Vacation: Circle B Ranch 6/18/07

2007-06-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

For dinner and the evening entertainment, we did a chuckwagon dinner show at the Circle B Ranch. I've never been to one, but it's an experience one needs to do when in the Black Hills. I guess there are a couple other chuckwagon/show options, but this is supposedly the best.

The picture above is on the ranch on an old prairie wagon.

I wish Papa's hearing was better (for many reasons), since he really likes the type of western music that was performed during the show. The group is pretty good: a father, mother, and 3 boys. It's not the kind of music I prefer to listen too, but it really helped immerse me into the "cowboy experience" that is prevalent in the Black Hills.

None of the pictures I took during the show turned out well, but if you'd like to view the Circle B ranch's website, you can click here for more info and pictures.

Vacation: Mt. Rushmore 6/18/07

2007-06-27T23:43:00.000-05:00

I have to confess that I don't think there's ever been a better day to be at Mt. Rushmore. After a couple of days with temps in the 80's, this day was in the 60's with a nice breeze. Long sleeves were needed for a little bit of comfort, but the weather felt refreshingly cool.

I also must say that I've NEVER seen a sky that's more "blue" (or is it "bluer"?) It brought to mind the day Nikki and I were at Heart Castle in San Simeon, CA - but this sky at Mt. Rushmore seemed even more amazing.

These pictures are unedited...judge for yourself.

Vacation: New Methods of Transportation

2007-06-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

This vacation allowed our family to unleash two massive forms of transportation. Our household had just picked up a Burley SUV - er - child transport device. In other words, a glorified stroller that you can also connect to a bike and pull behind us. We hope to get a lot of use out of it. The thing is massive, and looks like a giant lady bug. The kids all seem to like it. Remarkably, it's pretty easy to maneuver and almost effortless to push.

This was also the first big trip for Papa's new electric scooter. As you can see by the picture, our stoller is higher, wider, and longer than Papa's "go-cart." At least the stroller weighs considerably less...

Both proved to be helpful aids to getting all of us around...especially at Mt. Rushmore.

Vacation: Father's Day 6/17/07 - the 1880 Train

2007-06-25T23:14:00.000-05:00

We wanted to catch the 10am train that departs from Hill City, but it was sold out, and the next train at 1:15pm had a few seats left. Thus, we ended up spending a couple hours wandering around the shops in Hill City. Kiera and Nikki each got a new pair of Keen sandals - meaning that our entire family (with exception of 6 mo. old Ava) now have Keens. (I'll write about that later.) We also stopped to get a bite for lunch at a local cafe. The food wasn't exceptional by any means, but they had an all-you-can-eat buffet for only $5 if you were a dad. I wasn't that hungry, but since a hot dog was the only item less than $5, I went ahead and did it anyway. One trip was plenty for me.

The 1880 Train was both Karsten and Kiera's highlight of the trip. It's an old, turn-of-the-century train that runs the rails between Hill City and Keystone, SD (approx. 10 miles). It wasn't a dramatic experience, but a nostalgic experience nonetheless.

Somehow amidst everything...I never managed to take a picture of the actual TRAIN itself. I'll have to check Nikki's camera if she had enough forsight...

You can also click here for more information (and pictures) on the 1880 Train website

Vacation: Our Cabin for the Week.

2007-06-25T23:03:00.000-05:00

We arrived at our cabin around 6:15pm MST on Saturday night. Mema and Papa had already checked in, so we grilled some 'dogs and brats and had a great dinner.

The name of the cabin is the Good Shepherd Lodge, and it's owned by a family in Sioux Falls - and they rent it out when they're not there. It's very reasonable for all the amenities, and served us well. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer & dryer, and full kitchen all came in very handy. The location was great as well as Hill City is centrally located to hit all the tourist stops in the Black Hills. I highly recommend anyone going there to check them out.

Here is a link to the Good Shepherd Lodge website for more photos of the cabin and other info. If you can contact them, let us know we referred you (not that we get a finder's fee, but I try to help people out when I can.)

Random Observation on Vacation

2007-06-25T18:37:00.000-05:00

I'll get back to vacation bloggin shortly, but I wanted to post something that I noticed while away...

Before I explain, I should note that I am a bit biased toward Nissan vehicles. I've had 4 of them in the last 10 years. (97 Altima, 99 Maxima, 03 Altima, 05 Pathfinder) More than likely I'll get another one next time around too.

So anyway, Nissan just updated the Altima - and I noticed a LOT of them on vacation. The car has only been shipping for a few months, but without exaggerating, I saw more Altimas than either the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord by a ratio of 4:1 or 5:1.

With looks like this, wouldn't everyone? Seriously, it makes the Accord and Camry look like as stale as an Oldsmobile.

Vacation: Almost to the Cabin

2007-06-25T00:20:00.000-05:00

The kids were holding up great after all the time in the minivan.

Vacation: Badlands National Park 6/16/07

2007-06-25T00:04:00.000-05:00

We left Brookings at the time we (ok, I) wanted to by 10am. It looked to be about a 5-6 hour drive to our cabin in Hill City, SD. On the way, that meant a trip past the Badlands

I should mention here that I've been out this way before for work, but I've never stopped to visit (including the other tourist sites around Rapid City).

We made it to the Badlands in good time, around 1pm MST. The weather couldn't have been better. Sunny skies, hardly any clouds in the sky, and warm temps but not too hot.

We had a great time climbing around the formations, and the kids definitely want to go back.