kurtandsandy

2011-11-22T17:08:00.001-06:00

Treehouse Progress!

2011-07-03T13:03:00.004-05:00

GOAL:

False front in colors of Bryggen in Bergen. Norway.

Will not have writing as kids don't like that idea.

Pine siding will have to be stained/painted. Windows are from the Luther College's Ylvisaker Hall .

The Chicken Coop

2011-04-30T20:12:00.000-05:00

This year we decided to build a chicken coop and buy three chickens to collect the eggs and experience a bit of farm living at home.

The first step to this is building the coop. We decided to build a "chicken tractor" which is a mobile chicken coop and run on wheels. The chickens get new grass, weeds and bugs every few days.

The whole thing is 7' 6" by 3' 6" and 4 feet high. It will have a simple roof. In the winter there will be a heat lamp to keep the birds comfortable. At the back of the coop there will be two nesting boxes with a top we can list up to remove the eggs. In Rochester the ordinance for keeping chickens spells out the rules, and we will meet them all.

I am not a great builder, but I decided to go ahead with no specific plan and just see what happened. I read somewhere that the worst looking chicken coops make the best eggs, so if it's not perfect, we're not gonna worry.

Cat Loves Water

2011-04-15T22:29:00.004-05:00

Cat Loves Water

Christamas Letter 2010

2011-04-06T06:43:00.001-05:00

In 2010, Sandy made a commitment to take one photo every day. She did it, and we combined many of the photos into a photocollage based on a picture from the Peanuts Christmas special. This was printed onto thick paper stock and cut to postcard size.

On the back, we printed our Christmas greeting and signed it. Below this is a link to Sandy's 2010 Flickr picture set. The body of the postcard is Linus' of the King James version of Luke 8-14.

Merry Christmas!

2010 so far. . .Change come

2010-10-12T00:07:00.006-05:00

If I had to choose a word for this year so far, and the year to come, it would be: CHANGE.

For the better.

This year it seemed that we really made some headway toward long term lasting changes in our family. Amid my unfinished tree house and a garden that would not grow like we thought it would, we made some lasting changes that I think will affect us for a long time.

We started buying organic and free range food.
We joined a CSA (a farm co-op) that will supply us with locally grown organic fruits and vegetables for the winter. If this works I can only see us buying a larger share as the kids grow and need more food.
Sandy continued baking all our bread.
We refinished the guest bedroom into a dedicated homeschooling room.
We made plans to get our own chickens next year.
We saw a financial planner and implemented major changes into our saving and investing activity.
The kids continue to grow tall AND wise. The boys are learning to read, Annika is reading and writing so much more than I could hope for.

These were all things that anyone could do. And yet we seemed to get into them all at the right time. It seemed pretty easy.

Of course, Sandy works extremely hard at all this, and I sometimes feel like a bystander -- just lucky to be part of it.

I have been working on some new projects for work that I hope will come to fruition, but I see myself being very stable at work, too.

It just feels like this year all of our decisions were right.

And I'm not ashamed to say I think were the happiest couple I know.

Today on our way down from the park on our scooters, I thought I noticed just a hint of...skepticism...from a neighbor.

Yes, it was a Monday. Yes your kids just got home from school and mine are riding their brand new scooters down. No we didn't screw around all day avoiding the public schools. Yes, we DID just come from chess, art, drama and Spanish class. Yes they are going on a field trip to the Minnesota Historical society tomorrow.

Yes. It was a good year. And it feels like it is only gonna get better.
Change come fast and change come slow, but change come.

And for that I say, thank you.

Last night I dreamed Peer Gynt had faded

2010-07-13T15:50:00.002-05:00

Last night I slept very soundly and this morning I was aware that I was dreaming that I was back in my old home and looking through mementos in the upstairs attic. While looking at the inside wall where we had shelves and boxes of things, I noticed at first what seemed to be a large picture of a room, and when I moved back and forth realized that I was looking INTO a room. The room contained a small bed and on the floor was a cat that was very pale in color, looking very old but not gaunt or sick, just like he had been there for a long time. It looked like he had not moved in a long time but he was alive. I realized it was Peer Gynt, a cat I had when I was young, that had aged and faded, but who was still part of the house.

Later in the dream the house was going up for sale and we were going throughout the mostly cleaned out rooms, all very elegant, taking pictures. I wanted to stay. I realized that the home was not my home, and that it was in fact a much grander and ornate home, more southern in character, with larger open rooms and chandeliers.

I enjoyed the dream, but I worry about the cat.

Comic Sans

2010-07-09T19:14:00.001-05:00

The Designer of Comic Sans talks about it's use.

Treefort Palette

2010-07-08T14:50:00.003-05:00

inspiration

Space Saving Furniture

2010-07-05T08:07:00.001-05:00

Deer vs Dog and Cat

2010-07-02T11:40:00.002-05:00

Starting at 1:10, this mama deer shows basic self defense martial arts techniques anyone could benefit from. Once you get them down, don't let them get up until you are done.

It is also interesting to think about the emotional state of the mama deer. Right after beating up the dog she reacts calmly to the cat seems to understand the idea that Proportionality should be a guideline in war.

Tik Tok Star Trek

2010-06-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

Building a play house for the kids - ideas

2010-06-04T18:33:00.003-05:00

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5167468&size=lg

A classic album from my childhood

2010-05-20T08:21:00.002-05:00

Album in MP3 format. link

Easter Basket Hunt PIctures

2010-04-08T07:24:00.002-05:00

Took the pictures from this image and added text clues to them for the kids to hunt and find their Easter Baskets.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:37:00.002-05:00

Had a great Easter today. Mom came down to spend Saturday and witness the hunt for the Easter Baskets in the morning. Smoked a Turkey in our new smoker and it turned out awesome. Tomorrow I think we will go a buy a new treadmill, and Sandy and I will start running every day again.

Then we will be ready for any Easter Egg hunts anyone chooses to invite us to next year.

Nuff Said

2010-03-20T22:22:00.003-06:00

I am paying the kids 7.5 cents an hour for good behavior.

2010-02-08T17:36:00.002-06:00

That's $50 per kid.
For 28 days.
For being good.

No hitting., lying, poor behavior in public or while we are on the phone. They will listen when we tell them what to do, and pick up messes when asked.

You gotta love the allure of souvenir money.

Piece of the Berlin Wall - from 1992

2010-01-07T22:38:00.001-06:00

This is what I gave my girlfriend Kate Owen for Valentines Day in 1992, and tonight she sent me a picture of it. This rock is almost 18 years old.

I love that she kept it.

I never knew potato salad could make you do this.

2010-01-07T15:54:00.001-06:00

Web 2.0 Suicide Machine

2010-01-06T23:59:00.003-06:00

Quite a few people I know should seriously consider this.

web 2.0 suicide machine promotion from moddr_ on Vimeo.

365/5

2010-01-05T23:29:00.001-06:00

Bosch Dishwasher: High Loop and Tang

2010-01-01T20:19:00.004-06:00

Interesting.

There is a bit of a smell from our dishwasher and searching through Internet forums I found what is probably the solution. Making sure that the drain line is high up and looped to create a proper air gap, and running a container of TANG powered drink mix through the machine once or twice a year.

The repair is simple, use a rubber-coated hose clamp or PVC conduit strap to get the loop of the drain line inside the sink base as high as possible above the disposal connection, preferably right up under the countertop. Sometimes I have add to the length of the drain line to accomplish this. Once done, I run a short cycle on the dishwasher to flush out the bad water, then let it fill up again, then pour a jar of powdered Tang breakfast drink into the dishwasher and let it run the full cycle. The dishwasher comes out clean and the smell is gone. I then advise the homeowners to run the Tang through it once or twice a year to keep the unit clean.

The TANG I can do. It's the loop that's probably gonna be the problem.

Neat picture of boxing gloves

2010-01-01T17:39:00.003-06:00

Carpet Repair

2010-01-01T14:24:00.002-06:00

Let's add carpet repair to the lists of tasks which I have attempted and will not be wanting to try again. The dog chewed up some bedroom carpeting and I had to replace a 5' x 1' section between the bedroom and the closet. Seam repair glue seems a bit sticky.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T22:16:00.003-06:00

Use the Internet less. Read more.

Start out earlier. Drive slower.

Work more deliberately. Expect more of myself.

Talk less. Listen more intently.

2009 Christmas Pageant

2009-12-24T21:38:00.003-06:00

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

This year was a Choose Your Own Adventure theme. Approximately 25 pages long with 4 possible story paths. Enjoy!

What does $250,000 worth of spilled Vodka look like?

2009-12-19T16:17:00.001-06:00

EPIC shelving fail at 0:37.

2009-12-18T18:30:00.002-06:00

Kurt and Sandy

2009-12-18T16:43:00.002-06:00

Going through my email, found this:

I believe this is from a website that makes you look like the Mad Men TV show characters.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized

2009-12-18T15:12:00.001-06:00

Required watching for anyone who does not understand the falling economy.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

My Christmas weight problem

2009-12-09T01:35:00.005-06:00

In previous years I have had to pay extra for things because I was overweight. But this year, like last year, I met my weight loss goal.

The Christmas Letter comes in at .8 ounces. You should be receiving it shortly.

My only concern is that one of the graphics didn't print at nicely as I had hoped. Here it is for posterity:

Bear Attack Story

2009-12-05T23:18:00.002-06:00

In searching for some stuff online I found an amazing story of a bear attack that was pretty cool.
http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/survival/2008/10/backcountry-grizzly-attack

The new Inkscape has some nice textures

2009-12-04T18:18:00.000-06:00

Annika got her hair cut

2009-12-04T11:41:00.003-06:00

Just one more reason why Cats are better than Dogs.

2009-12-03T23:51:00.003-06:00

Sorry, Jack.

Trip to Duluth after Turkey Tryptophan

2009-12-02T21:58:00.002-06:00

A trip long overdue.

This weekend we realized that we needed to go and purchase a cake in Duluth. Eleven years ago Sandy and I were married in Duluth and we had a wonderful cake from the Exchange bakery. Since then Sandy and I make the yearly trek to pick up the cake. This year we opted for the 8 inch version, as our children are older and wise enough to know when we screw them over by giving them tiny pieces.

When we arrived in Duluth, we found that the Bentleyville holiday lights display had been moved from Cloquet to the Duluth waterfront. We hopped on a train at Fitgers and trundled down to the event, which was wonderful. The admission fee was a few cans of food for the needy, which we had purchased earlier in the day at the Cub Foods. We enjoyed free hot chocolate, cookies, candy canes, and roasted marshmallows. The children stood in a short line to visit with Santa, and kindly informed him that our dog had hookworms. I got a verbal agreement from Santa that he would be careful to not land the sleigh team on my new Owens Corning VentSure® Ridge Vents. Because the last thing you want when you pay top dollar for the highest quality ridge vents in the industry is to have a reindeer hoof or sleigh runner damage them.

Other things we enjoyed this weekend were meeting with Ron and Callie for lunch, and being able to see Mike for lunch at the Schneider home. I was also able to install Ubuntu Linux onto Sandy's mother's computer. She has a new kitten that is very adorable.

Also, we had a wonderful dinner with the Davis family. I always love seeing Terese and my goddaughter Hallie. But Steve was also there and I have not seen him for a long time. Steve is a great guy and was glad to be able to see his new Honda Accord Hybrid, which was pure awesome lovingly wrapped around a voice controlled interior. The children enjoyed playing WII games with Hallie.

On the way home we stopped by my Mom's to see her, and the children expertly decorated her Christmas Tree, which I thought was really special for her to let them do.

What is Installed on My PC? 2009 Edition

2009-11-25T13:25:00.002-06:00

Inkscape 0.47-3 - Vector Graphics Creation
Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD - Movie Editing
Gimp - Image Editing
Civilization IV - Game
Stellarium - Planetarium/Star Charts
Google Chrome - Web Browser
Firefox - Web Browser

Aging, 2000-2009

2009-11-18T17:55:00.003-06:00

Who the hell is that little punk anyway?

Differences I can see:

less cars
umm..
one guy has 3 kids

Last Will and Testament?

2009-10-31T07:19:00.001-06:00

"Hey guys, when I die, is there anything of mine that you guys want?"

Annika: "No."
Owen: "Yeah. Your money."

Getting good at this...

2009-10-24T01:05:00.001-05:00

Time for bed now.

This is so much harder to do than it looks

2009-10-21T21:18:00.001-05:00

Interesting Interview with the Mad Men Prop Master

2009-10-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-scott-buckwald-prop-master-for-the-hit-tv-show-mad-men/

Screwing around in Sony Vegas

2009-10-17T16:32:00.002-05:00

This is the new Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD 9 product. Costs about $40 and makes Microsoft Movie Maker look like it fell off the back of a truck.

I have been playing with it today trying to make some videos for work. Basically trying to make short intros for what will be how to videos...

The web team at the White House is very adept at making what I feel are high quality videos and I have been trying to reproduce some of their stuff as examples...

White house videos on Vimeo.

Prohibitions on Sex at the local Bible college

2009-10-15T07:50:00.002-05:00

Interesting.

From their Student Guide, which I found this morning while perusing their website.

Sexuality and Relationships - Crossroads encourage healthy interactions between men and women and desires to strengthen a biblical sexual identity for its students. Behavior that falls outside biblical intentions such as premarital sex, intimate touching, adultery, homosexual acts, and pornography or other explicit materials are not appropriate and will not be allowed for Crossroads community members. Casually sleeping or lying with members of the opposite gender, or public affection that is inappropriate or causes others to be uncomfortable is not acceptable. Single students dating married persons or a married student dating anyone other than their spouse is prohibited. Behavioral choices involving cohabitation (even for a day or evening) or which imply or have potential for immoral activity are not considered appropriate for community members. Sexual assault such as rape, attempted rape or sexual battery/assault is unacceptable and may be reported to the authorities.

Does anyone else think that their policy on reporting assult is a little weak?

Reupholstered Beste's Couch

2009-10-14T12:40:00.002-05:00

Blue Flower Pattern.

Cushions were rebuilt with new foam in a better size to fit the seat and the back was rebuilt to be tighter. Cushions still feel kinda foamy when you sit in them but they will break in. Looks great.

Horseback Riding in Pine Island

2009-10-06T09:32:00.004-05:00

My former manager Jean Brown invited the kids out to the Pine Island Saddle Club to go riding last night. When we got there, Jean arrivd with three horses, and each kid got to ride one by themselves for about an hour! After some brief instruction on turning and stopping, Jean let them go to just ride around by themselves. The kids had a great time. When they were done, Jean had the kids brush the horses and then they got to sit on them baraback. Jean asked Alex what he would hold on to if he didn't have a saddle. Alex instinctively grabbed the horse's hair. "Right here," he said.

Roofing - Day 6

2009-10-03T11:31:00.003-05:00

Woke up at 5:30. Went outside to prep for a guy who was coming to fix the mistakes made by my first hired roofer. He arrived about an hour and a half late, but by that time I had everything cleaned up for him and ready to go. He expertly reshingled my improperly shingled (out of order not structure) cricket, and fixed two screwed up vent flashings.

Now all I have to do left is finish installing my metal flashing. I had done half the garage, and he said I did a good job. After putting on the flashing, I will rehang the siding and then tomorrow (Sunday) I will install the ridge vent on my roof.

And on the 8th day I will rest.

Roofing - Day . . .WTF?!?!

2009-10-02T04:58:00.009-05:00

Last year we had a couple of roofing places come out and give us bids on the roof. I thought they were all too high, so I decided to do the work myself. In retrospect, that probably would have been a good idea.

Instead, I decided to hire someone to help me do the work. And for 95% of the roof, it went really well. This is the story of the other 5%.

Roofing a house is something that probably anyone can do, but that needs to be done right. To make a long story short, everything that I thought should be done one way should have been done that way.

Nailing the shingles
When the guy started off, he started nailing the shingles down with 6 nails. When I pointed out that the installation instructions said that you only needed to use 4, I was told, "You're the boss." Part of the reason I did this was so I would not have to buy another carton of nails, but this issue turned out to be the least of my problems.

Shingling the cricket
Where the downslope of a roof meets the chimney, there is a triangular structure called a "cricket" meant to divert water around the side. The book that I got from the library indicated that this structure should be shingled first. When I said this, I was told that it could be done later and I had nothing to worry about because I had used a special waterproof underlayment. He actually forgot to shingle the cricket, so I did it myself. The guy who came to look at the roof told me that the job I did looked good except for the fact that it should have been done first.

Shingling around the vents The only vent which the fix-it guy said was done right was the one done by my friend. The other ones (for the plumbing and bath fan) will have to be redone because water can go right under the shingles.

Flashing
Where one roof meets the sidewall, you need to install flashing to guide the water away from the wall and off the roof. I had removed the flashing to better clean the old shingles away from the wall and redo the work cleanly. Again, the guy did not install the flashing and told me the water barrier I had would be enough.

What I Learned
Anytime you hear the words "Don't worry, we'll black jack the shit out of it," fire that person.

Fixing the Damage
The man who came to my house in the rain and pointed out the mistakes will fix them for $100. And, we're done.

Canoeing the St Croix with Sandy

2009-10-01T08:36:00.001-05:00

There is a story behind this. . .

Roofing - Day 4

2009-09-30T08:10:00.004-05:00

Everything went fine. Mostly I am concerned that we may have not started shingling the chimney cricket right, so we will resolve that today.

We shingled the main house. We left the ridge vent for Day 5. That is the part I am most excited about doing. The concept of cutting through the entire top of the house intrigues me.

2009-09-28T14:23:00.002-05:00

5:54 - This guy is a little kid who just wants to win!

2009-09-28T14:15:00.001-05:00

Roofing - Day 3

2009-09-28T14:05:00.001-05:00

My alarm was set for 6:30 but I woke up at 6:15 and turned on the news.

"Winds consistently gusting above 30 miles per hour. . .we will see gusts as high as 45 miles per hour."

A wind advisory is in effect until 7 o'clock tonight. I decided I did not want to shingle today, nor have anyone on my roof shingling.

I waited til 7 to call the shingle place and delay the delivery, but the doorbell rang at 7, instead. It was my friend Craog who is helping me shingle the roof. I got dressed and had a bowl of cereal. Called the carpenter to tell ask his opinion and he shared my thought that today was not a good day. He did want to come over and meet me and check the prep though.

Then we went outside to look at the roof and wait for Alex, who was going to help me unload shingles. Alex came right at 8. We unloaded the shingles, and then waited for the carpenter.

The carpenter arrived promptly at 9. He was impressed by the work we had done getting things ready. We looked at what had been done and he made some more minor recommendations for prep. He gave me a list of things to buy:

a five pound box of 2 1/2 roofing nails for installing the ridge vent
a box of 7200 coil nails
four more tubes of roofing tar
the rest of my new flashing for my rooftop exhaust fans and plumbing vent

Loaded the car with some extra roofing supplies and drove to Menards with the dog. Returned $173.60 worth of supplies. Bought everything on my list, which came to $102.78.

So I trip netted me $70.82, which is almost enough to pay for the two day rental of a roofing gun.

Came home and called Sandy, then made myself a baloney sandwich and a poured a glass of milk. Wrote this blog entry. (Time now is 1:54)

Now I will go out and do the following:

Rake the lawn and pick up the rest of the debris.
Finish installing drip edge on the garage, and fix some of the edge from yesterday.
Pull back some siding on the house to make flashing it and installing shingles easier.
Drag fallen branches to the habitat pile.
Take some pictures.

I miss you Sandy, Alex, Owen, and Annika!

All Alone, an Animal Man

2009-09-27T23:08:00.002-05:00

Today I am alone.

Sandy took the kids to Duluth to escape flying roofing debris, and today I finished prepping the house for a shingler who will come tomorrow. I worked all day.

I didn't get tired. I did not have lunch or dinner but instead had a cup of coffee around noon and a couple pops on and off.

I remembered to take the dog out and in.

At days end, I thought I was done. I had removed my clothes and was preparing to climb into bed, when I heard a scraping noise from the roof.

I quick threw on some shorts and a new T shirt., put on my boots, and went out. All of the threes were whipping about wildly. It was pitch black, save for some moonlight. It was raining.

I climbed up the wet ladder and found that some of the rows of tar paper had blown off. Quickly I ran down and grabbed the staple hammer (pre-filled for tomorrow), a screw driver, and 2x4s. I climbed the ladder, stapled the rows down again, and then laid 2x4s over them and screwed them into the roof deck. It held.

I came in.

Threw a plastic bag of pizza into the microwave for a minute. Went to the bathroom. Took a hot shower until the hot water was all gone. Dried myself with the hairdryer (which smells like a log cabin because I use it for lighting the BBQ) until it got too hot and died.

Threw the again not-warm-enough bag of pizza into the microwave for the remaining 25 seconds. Came down and turned on the fireplace which now heats my back. I will sleep down here tonight.

If Sandy and the Kids were here it would be different. She would have had lunch and dinner made for me. The kids would have hugged me goodnight. But they are in Duluth.

That's OK.

I am sure somewhere tonight there is a fox out hunting, or a deer away from its family.Maybe a wolf traveled too far from his home in the Rockies and needs to sleep in a hollow tree. He will not get to playfully bite his children, but instead, he licks his wound. That one there where the farmer was too quick for him, and grazed him with some buckshot.

It's OK. Tomorrow he will get the rest of the chickens. Tomorrow will come. It always does.

Roofing - Day 2

2009-09-27T22:30:00.005-05:00

ROOFING SUCKED TODAY

Showers off and on

Sustained wind gusts of over 30 MPH

Several of the cources of roofing on the main house felt blew off at 10:00 and I had to go and put them back on and then secure them with 2x4s.

Finished installing weather shield and roofing felt IN THE DARK.

But you know what?

I liked it.

It was exciting, and dangerous. It was kind of thrilling.

Some parts I did with help.

Some parts I did alone.

But I did it.

And for that, I am a better and more rounded person.

Have I roofed in a windstorm in dark of night? YES.

Roofing - Day 1

2009-09-26T22:30:00.003-05:00

Started about noon, and tore off the shingles with my friends Craig and Russ. We started on the toughest part of the house, where we had to replace damaged wood near the chimney, board up the vent holes, and learn how to best apply the weather guard. I learned a few lessons:

Working to carefully roll up and remove long sheets of shingles is more efficient then tearing them off section by section working apart.
Weather guard is kind of annoying to apply. The plastic covering the adhesive back does not come off super easily, but it is not THAT sticky, and once removed it can be moved around and is very workable.
Carefully removing nails and staples and sweeping the desk clean, and then using the more expensive 30# roofing felt yields a deck which is smooth and easy to walk on.
Chimneys are tricky to work around. I should have studied up or brought up my roofing book so Craig didn't have to work so hard to figure it out.
I applied more weather
Roofing is fun.

Tomorrow we will removc the rest of the existing shingles and install weather guard and tar paper on the rest of the house. We also need to board up two small vents over the garage so we can install the ridge vent there. I used twice the amount of weather guard I probably needed over the house. This will result in better protection against ice dams, and I figured that I should do it right. Owens Corning specifies to install the weather underlayment 2 feet past the interior wall line, but an area roofer says they install it 6 feet back from the roof edge. So I am installing a double layer on the main house. The garage will just get a single course. It's unheated anyway.

In the morning tomorrow I will go to the store for screws, roofing tar, and drip edge. I thought we could reuse the drip edge but I don't like how it looks on the side. I think I should be able to remove the existing drip edge and replace it pretty easily. Also I will remove some of the siding to make shingle installation go faster on Monday.

That was Day 1. Thank you Craig and Russ!

Roofing this weekend...

2009-09-24T06:43:00.002-05:00

	Friday Isolated thunderstorms. Showers in the morning...then showers likely in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Friday Night Partly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in the lower 50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.
	Saturday Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the mid 60s. Southwest winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Saturday Night Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.
	Sunday Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s.
	Sunday Night Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s.
	Monday Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s.
	Monday Night Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.
	Tuesday Sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.

Weather sucks because it has not rained for about three weeks and lately it got rainy and now I will probably not be able to start tear off until Saturday evening/Sunday morning.

ARRGH!

Re-Shingling the House

2009-09-21T13:02:00.002-05:00

Last year I blogged about how Sandy and I had sought estimates for our roof repair. They ranged from $5440 to $6720. The estimate that mosyt closely matches the shingles that Sandy and I decided on was $5660.

I decided to roof the house myself nd in the interest of transparency this post will serve as a running total of the cost:

(rounded up w/o tax)


Ice and water barrier:  $450
Starter shingles:       $120
2x4 Lumber:             $9
Ridge Vent:             $226
Shingle ripper:         $35
30# felt                $243
TOTAL (so far)          $1083

Extected extra costs: Shingles: $2225

(Owens Corning Duration in Driftwood)

Misc: $400

Labor: ?

Couch Fabric

2009-09-16T16:29:00.001-05:00

Curbing my Enthusiasm for Facebook

2009-09-12T21:00:00.002-05:00

Anyone who has not seen Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm is missing out on some good TV. Basically, it is about a man who keeps getting into very uncomfortable unintentional situations which cause him social harm and hurt the feeling of his loved ones.

The first episode "Pants Tent" involves a situation in which a pair of bunchy pants winds up making his wife's friend feel that she has arounsed him.

Recently I was involved in an unfortunate web browsing incident which involved:

a co-worker with a sense of humor
a shared enjoyment of stupid websites
a website for desperate people seeking booty calls
an old website I made for tricking spammers
a fake email account
a PO'd spouse

I posted an full account of the incident on my FaceBook page, which I rarely use, but which is good for reconnecting with old friends. School, camp, etc...

No one commented. No one wrote to say: That is so funny! or No way that kinda thing happened to me!

Instead I got crickets chirping.

So I deleted all my Facebook friends except for Sandy and Jonas. Facebook is basically only good for playing Bejeweled anyway.

Schroeder Family Update: Early September, 2009

2009-09-11T19:53:00.002-05:00

Everything has been pretty normal around the Schroeder household this summer. We started out with a couple of camping trips but have settled into a relaxing pattern of quiet weekends lately.

A couple of months ago we figured out that we need to catch up on some money stuff. Typically we use a basic budget, but Sandy deftly concluded that the best way to spend less would be to simply give ourselves a daily spend allowance. And we do not exceed it. So far, we have been able to sock away a lot of money. I stopped going to Qwik Trip every day, and am none the worse for it.

I would definately recommend this simple rule to anyone.

Besides that excitement, we have taken the step of ordering fabric to recover 'Beste's couch" after finding a very reasonable upholsterer. Pica to come.

This weekend I am going to Moms with the kids to do some painting.

As today is Sept 11, I guess I should say something about that, too.

Basically, I am one of many people, including New York firefighters, scientists, and others, that the World Trade Center attacks were not quite as they seemed. There are lots of unanswered questions. To me, it is a JFK type incident. I am not sure that the truth will ever really be known. But I do know that many innocent people lost their lives that day.

My hopes and thoughts are with those people grieving their loved ones, and for the many hundreds of rescue workers still struggling with health problems. I hope that they get all the medical assistance they need, as they are just as deserving of it as the soldiers that are putting their lives on the line across the globe.

I will close todays blog post with a favorite poem of mine.

WHEN WILLIAM STAFFORD DIED
by Robert Bly

Well, water goes down the Montana gullies.
"I'll just go around this rock and think
About it later." That's what you said.
When death came, you said, "I'll go there."

There's no sign you'll come back. Sometimes
My father sat up in the coffin and was alive again.
But I think you were born before my father,
And the feet they made in your time were lighter.

One dusk you were gone. Sometimes a fallen tree
Holds onto a rock, if the current is strong.
I won't say my father did that, but I won't
Say he didn't either. I was watching you both.

If all a man does is to watch from the shore,
Then he doesn't have to worry about the current.
But if affection has put us into the stream,
Then we have to agree to where the water goes.

ZEND CORE

2009-09-11T19:11:00.002-05:00

After a week's worth of training in the Zend Core PHP processor, I am officially ready to support any and all Zend customers.

Today however, we found out that Zend will not be a part of our final supported product.

My 1 Follower: Pauly

2009-09-11T19:07:00.002-05:00

Apparantly, my blog has one official follower--Pauly.

I have no idea who this is, or even that it was possible to follow a blog like mine. Not sure if this is an AJAX or RSS feed thing or what. At any rate, I just wanted to say hello to Pauly and say that he can feel free to suggest something for me to blog about that he would find interesting.

I suppose I'm gonna have to send this guy a Christmas letter.

The Do-It Yourselfer

2009-08-29T11:20:00.003-05:00

This morning I spent a couple of hours helping a neighbor shingle their roof.

Last year, Sandy and I realized that our roof is about 20 years old and it is starting to weather. Many of the shingles have cracked and worn edges, there is some cupping on some of them, and they are generally worn. So we decided to replace them.

We had a couple of companies come out and give estimates.

Gary Kline Roofing $5440 - $6540
KW Billman $5975 - $6720

After I saw that, I decided that perhaps I should re-shingle the roof myself. After all, I have successfully fixed the following appliances at our home:

Refrigerator (multiple times)
Dryer
Washer
Stove
Garbage Disposal
Toilets
Numerous electrical projects

I also have drywalled and sheet-rocked bathrooms, installed many doors, and replaced parts on the car. I have installed new lighting fixtures and bath fans which required me figuring out how to do things I had not done before.

On top of what I feel is a fair amount of proven work, I also feel that I have other assets that make me a good candidate to complete this project successfully--patience and time.

I have read through a couple of roofing books from the library and done research on how a roof should be reshingled. From the get-go, I did not want to cut corners. I never wanted to just shingle over what is there, and I have researched shingles enough to know that Owens Corning Duration shingles with the SureNail strip (shown at right) is an excellent choice for me.

So this morning when I headed over to my neighbors to help out, it was because I wanted to see someone actually putting them on. After all I have read I realize that the most difficult and time consuming part of shingling a roof is the part you do not see. The tear off, the proper application of weather underlayment for our cold climate, and the installation of new flashing and ridge vents. There are videos devoted to showing how much not doing these things properly can screw up your roof, and I am determined to get that part right. But I also have felt a little daunted by the task of actually nailing down the shingles. I want to get them in a straight line, I want to make sure that the corners and sides of the roof are straight, etc. So I wanted to see how that was done.

From what I could see, it could not be simpler, the guy doing the work (a friend of a friend of the homeowner) didn't even snap chalklines. New "architectural" shingles used today do not require careful layout, as the only thing that the installer seemed concerned with was making sure that he did not use less than a 4 inch wide shingle, and making sure that he laid the singles on fairly straight. At certain points, around ridges and valleys, he was careful to weave the shingles together so that they laid down nicely, but what he did totally matched up with how the books (and each pack of shingles) show you to do it. I asked him a few questions relating to the width of shingles used and some technical questions about his equipment--the fact that he used a gas powered air compressor made the work faster--but the moment that he learned (from me) that I was a budding do-it yourselfer, was the moment that I started getting razzed for wanting to do it myself. The following things were mentioned:

That because he did it they would have a warranty. This is false, as the warranty plainly states "Installation must be in accordance with our written installation instructions." The warranty does not say that a certified roofer has to do it.
That he got them the shingles cheaper.
That I had to include the cost of the other materials (nails, equipment rental, etc..)

What he did NOT mention was the fact that he could do it better or that it would look nicer when it was done.

So here I sit. With last year's quote of $6000 (which he said would be higher because the cost of shingles has risen) staring at me from one side, and our need to purchase some new energy efficient appliances, recover a couch, and take a trip to New York on the other side.

The one thing that I am considering is having some people help me tear the old roof off, as by the homeowner's admission that was the hardest part. Also, having someone help to unpackage the shingles and lay them out for install would be helpful. For the task of installing the shingles however, I am undaunted. This will just be another notch in my do-it yourselfers belt.

Two confused people talking about google voice

2009-08-26T11:10:00.001-05:00

Google Voice. Kinda confusing sometimes.

Camping in Taylors Falls

2009-08-25T23:28:00.002-05:00

This weekend we went camping in Taylors Falls at Interstate Park. Hiking, canoing, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, exploring the glacier-formed Potholes at InterState State Park, sliding down the mountain slide and riding kiddie cars, shopping in little towns like Stillwater, having breakfast in Osceola, and getting rain poured on our tent on Tuesday morning. Perfect. As always.

The Apple of My Eye

2009-08-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

Mechanics, 1942

2009-08-20T17:33:00.001-05:00

http://www.shorpy.com/node/6343?size=_original

For Dan

2009-08-20T08:34:00.004-05:00

For Dan from Kurt Schroeder on Vimeo.

Dan the password is the name of your instrument in lower case.

Our Swallowtail Caterpillar

2009-08-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

From Drop Box

Canoeing the Zumbro, and my Accidental Triathalon

2009-08-17T01:48:00.003-05:00

This Saturday morning I took the kids canoeing down the Zumbro. We put in at a park in north Rochester and canoed a couple miles to a pot upstream where I could pull the canoe out. Water was deeper than previous attempts, we had some little rapids, and the kids loved paddling and shared the bow. Then I went home and worked in my pajamas until 10:30 at night taking IBM iSeries support calls.

Today I woke up and instead of attending Church, which starts at a sometimes too early (:00 am, I took the kids swimming at the Y. Then we came home for lunch. Dropped them off at an afternoon birthday party and then Sandy and I went to the Y again and I ran a little over three miles. Then we came home, picked up the kids, and I took them for a bike ride.

Swam, Ran, and Biked.

Sounds like a triathlon to me.

On Second Thought. . .

2009-08-12T21:44:00.006-05:00

In my last post I detailed plans to take the kids canoeing down the Zumbro. Tonight I took them out on a trial run and let me say this regarding my prior plans: SCREW THAT NOISE.

The river is less than 2 inches deep in some parts, and about 10% of the trip was spent ankle deep in sand and muck pushing three kids up and down river in the canoe.

That is not to say it was not fun.

We saw bald eagles, a hot air balloon, some herons, fish, toads, and crayfish. The kids dutifully took turns paddling and I did not chastise them harshly when they took extra time to hold the paddle correctly. (I tend to have a bit of a short temper, which is one thing I truly dislike about myself. I am blessed to have a wife and children who are very patient with me.)I was most impressed with the fact that there was no goofing around. No slapping the water or splashing.

I left the canoe outside tonight nd I think I will taken them down the upper portion of the Zumbro tomorrow. I know it is deeper and Sandy could pretty easily meet us with the car downstream. If we do I will post pictures of what Rochester looks like from the water.

Our trip to the SFZRCAW

2009-08-12T07:16:00.007-05:00

Or as most people call it, the South Fork of the Zumbro River Canoe Area Wilderness.

I decided that I would like to take a trip with the kids down the Zumbro. This is not an easy, nor an especially smart decision, being that:

The canoe weighs about 80 pounds.
It would be the three kids and me. (Its not big enough for 3 kids to duff, and none of the kids would want to stay home).
In some places the water is only 6 inches high.
I have never really canoed more than about a half of a mile down the Zumbro.
The kids have very little canoe experience.

BUT, being the adventurer that I am, we set off in the van to try and find a good spot to put in.

The first place we found the water was extremely shallow and the dog jumped out of the car and ran about an eight of a mile down the road. I got him back by pretending to abduct Annika while she screamed, "Jack HELP!" Good thing there were no people or houses around.

The second place we found would have required an extraordinary amount of effort to put the canoe in and not swamp it. It was basically a three foot drop off after a climb down a weedy bank lined with boulders, broken concrete and rebar.

The third place we found was perfect. A little pond near the side of a gravel road. The canoe can slip right down the grass into the pond and there is no traffic, so we can take all the time we want. There are no houses around so no one will see us put in. The river leads from the pond directly into woods so deep they look thousands of years old, so we will immediately feel like we are out of civilization. A must for any authentic canoe experience.

As you can see, the river is lined with trees, beyond that the Zumbro Canoe Area ~~Wilderness~~ Farmlands are prevalent.

The fourth place we found had red and blue Slurpees.

Green is start and red is stop. Looks to be about 8-9 miles. Might be too long, but we'll see. if we start in the morning and bring our fishing poles to stave off boredom, we might just make it.

Late NIght TV

2009-08-04T22:32:00.003-05:00

Sitting, fascinating, watching a park ranger describe exhaled breath crystalize on the hair of a bisons face.

Watching Ken Burns new documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

Yosemite's Buffalo Soldiers

Yosemite's Buffalo Soldiers highlights the work of Yosemite ranger Shelton Johnson and his rediscovery of the story of the African American soldiers who patrolled the parks of the High Sierra at the turn of the last century. Shelton tells the story in the dramatis personae of a Buffalo Soldier himself, directly engaging visitors in a way that is immediate and often high impact.

Sunday August 2, 2009

2009-08-02T15:18:00.004-05:00

Today we had a busy, yet unplanned, day.

I slept in til almost 9:30. Last night I stayed up til after 2 am watching The People vs Larry Flynt. Excellent movie. Sandy got the kids to leave me alone by telling them that if I woke up we would have to go to church. (Summer Sunday school is sometimes a bore.)

We went and did some light shopping for necessities -- a few reams of printer paper and some wide rules notebooks. Also a new dog leash to replace Jack's very worn one.

Came home and went to the church park nearby. Came home and ate lunch. Then everyone went swimmming at the Y. My new prescription goggles allow me to see well underwater, something I have never done. If you have glasses you NEED prescription goggles. Mine were about $50, but seeing my children jump, swim, and dive underwater is a beautiful and fascinating thing.

Came and home and the children had quiet time while Sandy and I played Farm Town on Facebook. It is a time killer but its kinda fun. We are both woring to make cute little farms before we get bored and give it up. I don't really like Facebook but like a blog it seems to have its uses, and its easy to play a 5 minute game on it than on my XBOX.

Then I went through a stack of old CDs and threw out quite a few. The list included:

A hack CD containing Duke Nukem 3D, MSWorks, Netscape, Norton Utilities 95, Partition Magic, Quake 2, and Windows 95 and 98
Multiple scratched/blank CDs
A copy of Half-Life: Opposing Force
An install CD for Lotus SmartSuite. Ripped the Cd image to .iso format and threw the CD away. Might need it some day for old documents or whatever.

Then we got the kids up and while the ate a snack I showed them the 5 minute portion of the KnightRider episide where KITT wins a demolition derby.

I loaded the bikes onto the car and drove to a local park near the Zumbro. The kids and I went on about a 6 mile bike ride on some trails near the Zumbro and by the Mayo Mansion. Stopped by to see the Larsons who had just returned from a family reunion in Iowa. Sandy stayed home to make bread.

Came home and had pepperoni pizza and a simple lettuce and frozen pea salad for dinner. After dinner the kids played outside for about 45 minutes with the neighbor girl Miya, and then came back in. We watched the beginning of the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Then Sandy read the kids a book about Monarch butterfiles, which we have been raising lately. Our first butterfly, El Capitan Munchero, recently lost a wing, and previously refused to leave. We found milkweed plants nearby, and found butterfly larvae on them. We hope to release them successfully. El Capitan will probably be a lifelong resident of of our home, which means by next month she may be gone. C'est la vie!

Tomorrow we will drive up to the cities. I will drop off the kids and Sandy at the MN Zoo where they will take in the butterfly exhibit. I will drive to moms and fininsh my electrical work. I have been installing 6 recessed lights to replace less powerful fixtures in her new apartment. After that is done I will also refininsh the texttured ceiling and paint her kitchen.

Fixing a Pioneer LaserDisc Player

2009-07-24T23:27:00.006-05:00

My friend Dan lent me a LaserDisc player which I am returning him this weekend. When discs are ejected, the machine sometimes makes a noisy grinding sound which is made by two gears failing to mesh properly. In this video I show the problem and the method of fixing it which involves simply pushing down on a portion of the player to make the gears mesh.

The resolution that I suggest in the video is to perhaps have a piece of metal bar that can be inserted into the player and used as a lever to press the failing parts together, but what may actually work better is to simply replace a spring which holds the gear down with a slightly shorter spring.

I am not very mechanically inclined, however, and will not attempt to try this fix before returning it. Especially as the player works fine once the noise has stopped and the gears finally mesh.

Also, there does not appear to be any wear that is caused by the missing of the gears, just the annoying sound itself.

This issue is also discussed here.

The Kids Butterfly Hatched!

2009-07-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

Next stop, Maxico!

Another Summer Project: Building a Rain Barrel

2009-07-24T12:05:00.002-05:00

I have access to a large number of used 50 gallon drums which I will be using to make rain barrels. These will be used for drip irrigation. This will be a good project to combine with my other project of replacing the shingles and rain gutters.

My primary goals are two:

Save water and prevent needless runoff by recycling rainwater.
Eliminate any chance of mosquitoes using these as a breeding ground. Currently we have almost NO mosquitoes in our backyard due to a lack of standing water anywhere.

Backyard Adaptations of Classic Video Games

2009-07-22T09:16:00.001-05:00

http://kotaku.com/5318775/backyard-adaptations-of-video-game-classics/gallery/

Shows how to play Pac Man outside using chalk and pocket change.

Trip to New Ulm

2009-07-18T16:04:00.004-05:00

A brief video of our trip to New Ulm, Minnesota.

Better Home Videos: Panning

2009-07-11T15:27:00.001-05:00

The Traveling Salesboy

2009-07-11T13:21:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago upon returning from our trip to Wisconsin, the doorbell rang. It was a traveling soap salesboy. A young black kid, he professed that he had been flown in from down south to raise money for college. I talked to him for a few minutes, brushed his witty sales barbs aside, "Is it too much cleaner, or too much money?" and shut the door. Frankly I was pissed off that he had wasted my time and insulted me by challenging my preference not to buy a miracle soap that I felt had dubious cleaning abilities. He aqlso did dirturning things like spray some of the cleaner in his mouth and lie to me about all of the dogs he owned.

I thought about the incident for a few days, as I am apt to when these things occur, and finally decided that the best response would have been to say that I was willing to buy 1 trial bottle. (Each bottle of condensed soap costs $37 and makes 50 bottles. I could afford the 75 cents that he would never let me spend.

Then last night I was listening to The Story on NPR and heard how awful these sales "Crews" can be. The lady was denied medical care and eventiually miscarried her baby before leaving the group. I did some research and found that there are organizations devoted to helping the people recruited by these companies, and that there is help for the salespeople that maybe want to leave but can't find a way out.

All a member of a "crew" has to do is call Parent Watch at (917) 579-4641. This organization's purpose is to get kids out of these places if they want help and to get them free transportation (a bus ticket I am guessing) home.

Normally I don't post impassioned pleas for people to do anything, but after seeing this young boy spraying soap in his mouth on my doorstep and litening to a "mag crew" horror story last night, I think that this is something everyone can help out with. At least offering a phone number and a name of a helpful orgainzation is better than slamming a door and being grumpy for a few hours as I was.

If I can remember the name of the soap the kid was selling I will update this post. I also think that I will write a letter to the editor about this sales practice.

Saturday July 11 2009

2009-07-11T12:14:00.004-05:00

Today I woke up after a very hard sleep. Alex and Owen were trying to shoehorn their way into bed. Sandy and I managed to get a few more minutes of sleep by telling them to let Jack out.

Woke up and went down to bathe the kids. At a recent doctor appointment, we were told that Owen sweats quite a bit from his feet, and the dryness could be helped by more moisturizing. Sandy and I also decided that daily showers should be implemented. Now that it is summer the kids are out more often. I like to give what I call "Navy" showers - get wet, wash hair, inse hair, turn off water. Appky conditioner, wash the body, rinse, done. These go quickly and I feel they are the most efficient use of water, while allowing the conditioner to work.

After showers we cleaned the cat room, something we do every morning. many people do not clean the litter box every day, and this is a huge mistake. Try flushing every three days and see how YOU like it. When you do it every day there is no smell, and it takes almost no time. Scrape, scoop, dump, and then sweep the floor.

Breakfast consisted of cold cereal for some and hard boiled eggs for other folks. Sandy and I made a pot of coffee (24 ounces) which was not really enough. We decided that we probably need to make at least 30 ounces (5 cups) to be satisfied. The Seroogy's coffe that I wrote about has run out and we are supplementing with Gevalia (prounounced with a hard G) Kona and Eight O'Click French Vanilla. I am very happy that Sandy loves coffee now. Coffee tastes better when shared with someone you love. Additionally, you get the joy of making it for someone. When the boys and Annika are older I know that our family will go through a lot of coffee. I think that's OK. Some people think coffee is carcenegenic, but you cannot avoid every danger in life, and it tastes pretty damn good.

After breakfast I made the bed and then dressed to take the kid to Quarry Hill Nature Center. This past week the kids have attended an afternoon day camp there, and every day they had nature themed activities and went for hikes. Annika was promising to take us on a super trail to find raspberries.

Here is a map of our walk:

The only explanation I can think of is that Annika needed to retrace the entire walk her camp group took to find the raspberry picking spot. Good exercise anyway!

After this adventure we drove home to find Sandy mowing the front lawn. Lately the lawnmower has sounded horrible. We decided it must need new spark plus, which it totally did! $2.30 and the mower is running fine again.

This afternoon I am at work and Sandy is home finishing the packing for camping. Sandy always packs for our tripsl, and while I lament the work she has to do on her own, I can't seem to remember to step up to the plate and take the initiative to do it myself. Sometimes I think Sandy needs a vacation from vacations.

That's it for today.

July 5, 2009

2009-07-05T13:35:00.002-05:00

The Boxcar Children first, then when the kids are napping, some Gabriel García Márquez.

How can you survive the end of the world?

2009-07-05T10:53:00.002-05:00

This was the headline on a flyer from the Jehovah's Witnesses that greeted us upon our return from a short walk.

Annika's response?

"I know. You could go up to space and bring all your food and stuff."

---

Instead of awaiting the end of the world though, I think I will focus on enjoying it right now. It's time to play with Legos.

The boys fifth birthday @ ValleyFair

2009-07-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

Lighting a cigarette with a flamethrower. . .

2009-07-01T12:41:00.006-05:00

when a simple match would do.

I have struggled with the task of intertwining video clips together the past few weeks at work. I started the project NOT wanting to rely on a professional (expensive) application like Adobe Premier, which I know would do the job. Instead I wanted to complete the task with a free software.

I found Cinelerra which is an open source/Linux video software which does the same things as Premiere, but I have found it to be very complex and frustrating, and besides that, the videos which seem to play well in Windows crash in Linux. So today I happened upon the idea of using Blender instead. Blender is a free and open source 3d rendering application which allows people to make complex movies like the one below. Apparently, you can also use it to do the simpler task of joining/blending multiple videos together.

Example video made in Blender
I am hopeful.

Google Voice offers Free Long Distance Calls to and from real phones

2009-06-27T17:33:00.004-05:00

OK, so how cool is it that Google Voice has an option to call anyone in the US for free? All you need to do is click Call, type in any US number, choose your phone that you want to ring, and then Google calls you, and then connects you to the other number for free.

So...like...unlimited free cals from US phones.

PLUS, you can choose to have the conversation recorded or transcribed.

Google Voice

2009-06-26T21:58:00.003-05:00

I signed up for Google's GrandCentral ovr a year ago and today it paid off. I got my invite for Google Voice. It rocks.

I have a Duluth phone number, so anyone from there can call me for free.

How I Roll

2009-06-24T14:21:00.000-05:00

V Neck Shirts

2009-06-24T11:15:00.002-05:00

I always wondered why someone would buy a V-neck shirt. They look like something grandpa would wear and I just didn't understand it. Then it hit me.

They are for when you don't have your shirt buttoned all the way up. Like how I wear mine 90% of the time.

Filing this under: Realizations

810 Brookwood West

2009-06-24T10:14:00.003-05:00

On our recent trip to Green Bay Sandy took some photos of my childhood home. I was encouraged that the only difference to the place seems to be the growth of the trees and the unfortunate repainting of the front door from a rich blue to a yellowish/tan color. Other than that the place looks great. If I had the money... :-)

BTW My brother has the plans for it and I would LOVE to get them and recreate the house in Sketchup. If only I had the time...

Let there be light

2009-06-17T09:42:00.002-05:00

in the garage.

Spent last night installing 4 new can lights in the garage. I think it looks very nice, but after climbing up and down from the attic until 3 am, I have some unanswered questions:

Why does an entire prewired recessed can light enclosure cost $8 but the simple white platic external cover cost $10?
Why is my mucus black?
Should I wire up some outlets for christmas light plug-ins on the roof line?
Seriously, why is my mucus black?

Yelling at my kids

2009-06-15T23:39:00.002-05:00

I mean, redecorating the garage.

Took $17 worth of crap to the recycling center and tore out the old shelves and replaced then with white wire shelves. The boys helped, holding things up.

Any self-installable rack hanging hardware that crappy should be illegal.

Tomorrow we will have a little picnic in the backyard. Grilling, kids playing, etc... Should be fun.

Wednesday it's back to the grindstone.

Hello Summer. Goodbye Sobriety.

2009-06-15T23:38:00.001-05:00

No one gets a deal at the Packer Pro Shops. . .

2009-06-10T09:30:00.005-05:00

Except maybe the guy who bought a pair of size 33 unhemmed "Bill's Khakis" for $20. They were on a table marked "Game Ready" (worn?) and they typically retail for $97. I will wear them with pride this season. GO PACK.

http://www.billskhakis.com/shop/pants_twill.html

BTW this is technically a better deal than the $140 dollar pair of pants I got for $35 back in 1999 in Kohler so I could eat in the Wisconsin Room at the American Club, but after the alteration charges it will be close.

Wisconsin--the place for amazing deals on pants.

-------------------

Update: I got the pants hemmed with a cuff for about $12 at "Stitch It -- America's Tailor" in the local mall. Another reason I love the pants is that they have a 8 belt loops, which eliminate the pinch/sag factor.

What is a life of luxury?

2009-06-08T22:42:00.004-05:00

This weekend we stayed at the Green Bay Holiday Inn. The next morning, Sunday, we went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. As we were seated, I noticed a table of elderly people next to us. The man and his two female companions were enjoying a leisurely breakfast. On their table sat the remnants of a basket of muffins, a carafe of coffee, and one of juice. When the man spoke it was in a German accent. The women appeared to be Green Bay locals/Packer fans, but I could tell that the people were regulars--they conversed with the staff and chatted with other passing folk. When they left they strolled out and their table was quickly bussed and reset for the next group.

What struck me most was what for us was a random morning, unlike any other before or in the future, the people at that table had likely lived that same breakfast experience every day for years. To me, their morning seemed...luxurious in a way. The restaurant was in no way fancy. It had a nautical theme with wooden steering wheels and pictures of ships all around. But, to me, this typical experience, when I imagined it played out over and over again, became a simple luxury. And it got me thinking that maybe luxury didn't mean what I thought it did.

So I googled it. "Something inessential but conducive to pleasure and comfort" was the first definition given. That's not what I had imagined it would say.

Tonight when I came back from seeing my father, I found Sandy laying back on the couch checking her email. Behind her say a small box of Seroogy's chocolates. I told her I wanted some and then I realized that Sandy had bought me a box of dark chocolate angel food the other day in De Pere, just a few hours after our breakfast. I went in to the kitchen to get the box and in the Seroogy's bad the thing my hand felt something else--a bag of chocolate dessert coffee. I thought of luxury again.

A few years ago it occurred to me that I have reached the point in my life when I could afford just about anything I wanted. And I don't mean crazy things. I mean things like, if I wanted to always have a box of my favorite Christmas candy on my desk at work, I could do that. If I wanted to always have a package of Wrigley's spearmint gum, my favorite, in my pocket, I could do that. Call me insipid but I think that sort of thing is wonderful.

As a young boy I liked so many things. I still do. When I go into a candy shop I could just as well grab a bag of licorice as a pouch of Big League Chew. I could just as well throw on a pair of jeans as a pair of khakis. However, as I get older, I think that perhaps my life would be easier if I made some more concrete decisions about how I live my life. Lately I have been wearing the same kind of thing to work--a pair of dress pants, a white T-shirt, a white shirt with french cuffs slightly rolled up, black socks, and black dress shoes. It it much easier than coming up with something new every day.

So tonight when I touched that bag of coffee, I thought, if I like this coffee, and if Sandy likes it, I should buy it regularly. I can order it online from my favorite chocolate shop in De Pere and have it shipped a few hundred miles away to my split-level in Rochester. To some, that might seem to be a luxury, but to me, if I kept at it, it would simply become a part of my daily routine. A little something which, though inessential, would be conducive to my leisure and comfort.

Just deleted my twitter account.

2009-06-07T04:38:00.001-05:00