Blog, Jvstin Style

Think you could be an election judge?

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2008/11/19_challenged_ballots/

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2008/11/what_were_dealing_with_here.shtml

Take a look at some of these ballots, challenged during the recount of the Coleman-Franken-Barkley Senate race here. Could you be fair in all of these cases and determine voter intent every time without fail? Could anyone?

Minnesota Majority's voter disenfranchisement plan

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/17/votercomplaints/

I like Minnesota's attitude and laws that allow same day registration and encourage voter participation and turnout. Our state has one of the highest participation rates in the nation and with good reason. Is it perfect? No. Errors can and do occur.

So, then comes this from "Minnesota Majority":

Spokesman Jeff Davis claims that same-day registration leads to errors, such as voters casting ballots in the wrong precinct. Davis says no one should be allowed to vote until their legal eligibility has been verified.

"We believe our current election system is making a mockery of eligible voters who try to follow the letter and sprit of the law. In doing so, the system is disenfranchising legitimate voters," Davis said.

I don't follow his logic. And I will not speak evil and say that the intent of this group and is to disenfranchise voters and discourage turnout, but rolling back Minnesota's progressive policies in this regard to require a photo ID and to end same-day registration certainly will do that.

The final verdict on the I-35W Bridge Collapse

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/14/ntsb_day2/

The National Transportation Safety Board has closed its investigation into the I-35W bridge collapse. The board ruled that the gusset plates on the bridge were not designed properly and also found that MnDOT had not adequately overseen the bridge's design.

The 35W bridge's undersized gusset plates were staring bridge inspectors and engineers in the face for the 40 years of the bridge's life. They inspected the bridge, watched it age and documented it with photos.

But inspectors weren't trained to know that under-sized gussets posed a threat to the bridge. As NTSB Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker said, at the time, even computer modeling didn't consider gusset plates.

Waterfall Comparison May to October

Waterfall ComparisonOct
Originally uploaded by Jvstin

Michelle Bachmann, *again*

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/biden-gets-it-exactly-right-by-tristero.html

http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/10/anti-american.html

Bachmann basically suggests a new House UnAmerican Activities committee...or for the media to expose Unamerican Representatives.

She is the face of my district. It's sad but true.

New 35W bridge to open at 5 a.m. Thursday Sept 18

New 35W bridge to open at 5 a.m. Thursday
by Tim Nelson, Minnesota Public Radio,
Melanie Sommer, Minnesota Public Radio
September 15, 2008
Minneapolis -- The new Interstate 35W bridge will open to traffic early Thursday morning, state officials announced today.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, along with Minnesota's two U.S. senators, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, announced details of the opening this morning at a news conference at the site of the bridge.

The $234 million bridge was fast-tracked to restore a traffic route that accounted for 140,000 trips a day. The old bridge collapse into the Mississippi River on Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring nearly 150 others.

Pawlenty thanked officials at the federal, state and local levels who helped get the bridge constructed in a short amount of time.

"Minnesota's congressional delegation has been outstading," he said, saying members from both parties displayed incredible teamwork and bipartisanship in pushing to get the bridge rebuilt.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak announced plans for a memorial garden to remember the victims of the bridge collapse.

"We've been working very quietly but very hard for almost a year with the families of the victims of the bridge collapse, to come up with a memorial that they found was appropriate," said Rybak.

Tom Oslund, a landscape designer who designed Gold Medal Park next to the Guthrie Theater, described what is being called a remembrance garden.

"Simplicity is the key," said Oslund, in describing an 81-foot square site with a 65-foot circle in the middle of it. The area will feature a 13-foot diameter fountain in the center.

Oslund and Rybak said the choice of Gold Medal Park as the site of the garden is appropriate, because of its role as an impromptu gathering spot when the bridge collapsed. Rybak said Flatiron Construction and Trivent Financial Services have already provided grant money to partially fund the memorial.

Pictures from the Mississippi River Cruise

FRB and Bridge at Night
Originally uploaded by Jvstin

The flying photographer

MPR: The flying photographer

A photographer in Minnesota takes aerial pictures via a powered parachute. Wow!

Minnesota Zoo Dolphin Show on hold

MPR: Dolphin at Minnesota Zoo is pregnant; dolphin show on hold

The Minnesota Zoo has temporarily canceled its popular dolphin show because one of the dolphins is pregnant and another has been having behavior problems.

The zoo brought in two female dolphins in January, hoping to breed them with the zoo's only male dolphin, Semo.

One of the females, named Allie, is now pregnant and due next spring. The other female, April, is not pregnant but is seemingly acting as though she is.

The dolphin show, I have to admit, is one of the best things about the Minnesota Zoo. For those who have never been here, a lot of the zoo (including the aquarium area) is indoors (or accessible by the monorail) to make it more of a four season zoo in chilly winter.

My wacko Congresscritter strikes again

TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | GOP Rep. To Environmentalists: Jesus Already Saved The Planet

The rest of you can enjoy her colorful sayings. Me, she's my duly elected Congresswoman.

As I have said before, I could do a better job representing the 6th MN district, my district, than Michele Bachmann.

A new MN Zoo Exhibit

MPR: 'Grizzly Coast' takes Minnesota Zoo visitors to Russia

This exhibit has me and my friends excited. Sure, the MN Zoo isn't the Bronx Zoo or a Zoo from a first tier US City, but its a nice zoo. This exhibit though is an attempt to "catapult" its status up a bit.

Happy Walleye Fishing Opener!

Today is practically a state holiday up here in the State of Minnesota.

It's the Walleye fishing opener. The Walleye (which tastes good deep battered fried, let me tell you) is the state fish and common in the lakes of Northern Minnesota. The first day that its legal to catch the fish in the season is called the fishing opener, and its a big deal here.

The Governor has a photo-op laden event every year (with various Governors having varying degrees of success...), and its estimated that a *million* people (in a state with a population of 6 million, so its one out of six Minnesotans) go off to fish this weekend.

Needless to say, the traffic to and from the north of the state this weekend is a complete and utter mess.

Pawlenty runs for VP by being a "fiscal conservative"

MPR: Gov. Pawlenty delivers a setback to the Central Corridor project

The Governor of Minnesota has a line item veto, and he used it with flourish and without restraint today, cutting a number of important projects from the bill. Most significantly (although far from the only item) is cutting funding for the important Central Corridor light rail project between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

I suppose Pawlenty thinks the crumbling freeways and the pitiful bus service are good enough transportation options. By cutting this, he makes Phil Krinkie, head of the We hate Public Transit Taxpayers League, happy, and he shows off as a "fiscal conservative."

I think its a shot intended to make him a stronger VP candidate for McCain.

Proud of my Senator!

You've heard about the telecom immunity debate in the Senate.

(One place where it is discussed is in Carolyn's Livejournal: (http://kadath.livejournal.com/631883.html)

Some months ago, I emailed one of my Senators, Amy Klobuchar, about her previous vote to authorize an extension on FISA rules. She had emailed me back, then, explaining that she thought it was right and necessary.

On the recent spate of votes for amendments to the FISA bill, my Senator voted to deny the telecom companies immunity. Even though those votes failed, and the immunity remained, at least she voted the right way.

Today, unsolicited and unprompted, she emailed me about the bills, explaining her vote. She remembered that it was an issue I gave a damn about, and took the time to contact me.

Her email is reproduced below. I emailed her back immediately praising her for her vote, and taking the time to tell me about it.

Dear Paul:

Thank you for contacting me concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I appreciate hearing from you.

I believe that long-term FISA legislation must strike the right balance between protecting our safety and protecting our civil rights. Both the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of the Senate passed bills that proposed to elevate the role of the FISA court and provide more oversight of the government’s surveillance activities. While both bills represented improvements over the temporary law, I believe the Judiciary bill struck a more appropriate balance between security and privacy considerations, and I voted to move that version of FISA reform forward.

After a majority of the Senate rejected the Judiciary Committee’s bill, I voted for several amendments to incorporate key elements of the Judiciary bill into the Intelligence Committee’s bill, including an amendment to remove the provision granting blanket retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies. Unfortunately, each amendment was defeated. Since blanket retroactive immunity was included in the final version of the bill, I could not support the legislation passed by the Senate on February 12, 2008.

Thank you again for your input, and please don’t hesitate to contact me again regarding this or any other issue.

Sincerely,

Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator

A guidebook for me to pick up

MPR: New North Shore guidebook explains Minnesota's origins

The author of a new guidebook to trails on Minnesota's North Shore was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio today. The book sounds like its right up my alley for geological,historical and botanical explorations up there.

Hear me ask Garrison Keillor a Question on the radio

I went to the Minnesota State Fair today.

One of the highlights was watching a live interview with Garrison Keillor, the creator of "A Prairie Home Companion". I asked Garrison a question...and you can hear it for yourself.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/31/midday2/

My question was early in the show (I knew what I wanted to ask and flagged down one of the staffers as soon as the show started). Its at just after the 9 minute mark.

I got a CD of Lake Wobegon stories for my trouble, and after the show, he was good enough to autograph it for me.

I sound like *such* a dork on the radio.

Bridge Collapse Coverage on MPR

Minnesota Public Radio has been up front in covering the I 35-W bridge collapse.

If you aren't local and want to know more, this is the place to go. And if you are local or are coming through the Twin Cities, its an essential resource. It runs the gamut from the personal stories to the big picture of what happened and how (as far as we know so far).

Bridge Collapse--I am okay

Just letting my small reading public know that I was home safe and sound when the bridge collapsed here in Minneapolis.

The Federal Reserve Bank

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Originally uploaded by Jvstin

Minnesota set to ban smoking

Minnesota set to ban smoking Oct 1

I was very shocked when I moved here to see how much smoking there was, compared to New York and California. I am glad that Minnesota is joining them.

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
May 12, 2007

Early Saturday morning, the Minnesota House passed a bill that would ban smoking in all bars and restaurants across the state. Gov. Pawlenty says he'll sign it. The bill's passage comes after a day of doubt about whether there were enough votes to get it to Gov. Pawlenty's desk.

St. Paul, Minn. — Once the bill is signed, smokers won't be allowed to light up in any bar, restaurant, bingo hall or bowling alley beginning on October 1. Supporters of the legislation have been pushing for this type of ban for years because they say it will protect the health of workers. That refrain continued on Friday during debates in both the House and Senate.

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, says the bill protects the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

"This bill will be such a huge leap forward for worker safety and worker health," he said. "It will be an important step that we take on behalf of Minnesotans. It's what citizens and leaders are telling us throughout the state that they would like to have."

But critics of the legislation say the cost is too great. Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, said rural Minnesota bars -- and their workers -- will feel the impact quickly.

"When this gets out to rural Minnesota, the border areas are going to be seeing an exodus of people to the states around them and bars would close," Tomassoni said. "We will eliminate more jobs in rural Minnesota. This is a bill that will do exactly the opposite of what you want it to do. And that is protect workers. It is actually going to eliminate workers jobs."

The Senate passed the measure 43 to 21. The tougher test came in the Minnesota House, which started debating the bill close to midnight.

Throughout the day on Friday, the bill's fate was in doubt. Several House members expressed concern that the bill didn't include enough exemptions allowing smoking in certain settings.

One of the bill's fiercest critics, Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, was unsuccessful in trying to convince his colleagues to renegotiate the bill with the Senate. The House originally passed a bill with several exemptions which did not survive the conference committee that hammered out differences with the much stricter Senate bill. Rukavina accused the House negotiators of caving in during talks with the Senate.

"I don't know how you fight, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in a fight with you backing me up if that's the hardest you can fight for a provision that made a lot of sense," Rukavina said.

Still, There are a few exemptions remaining in the bill. Smoking would be allowed at a disabled veterans rest camp, in the cabs of farm vehicles and farm buildings and for actors who are performing on stage. Smoking would also be permitted on outdoor patios.

The smoking ban debate divided lawmakers more by geography than party. Several Republicans, especially those who represent the seven-county metro area, supported the bill. Several DFLers, especially those representing the Iron Range, opposed it. The debate pitted the right to breathe clean air against personal freedom.

Rep. Dan Severson, R-Sauk Rapids, who supported the ban, suggested to his colleagues that they were on the verge of a historic vote.

"This is the bill that needs to pass this body tonight. This is the bill that sets the slate and sets the standard for Minnesota and for our health for us and our kids and our future," he said.

But Rep. Dennis Ozment, R-Rosemount, said the bill is too restrictive. He said he would have preferred to see more exemptions in the final bill.

"This piece of legislation turned out to be just plain mean," he said. "It's not trying to regulate something or put out options or talk about how to maintain the air or how to protect the workers. No, it's how to be mean to our fellow citizens through oppressive government."

Despite the question mark hanging over the bill, the House passed the bill by a lopsided vote of 81 to 48. Violations will carry fines of up to $300 for smokers and those who allow smoking in their establishments.

Icy North Shore Pictures

Ice Formations
Originally uploaded by Jvstin.

Great Brown North

According to the state climatologist, the current lack of snow cover across the state is the worst that its been in 50 years.

Its certainly been cold, with temps in the single digits and low teens for the last few days, but there has just been no moisture. The drought we fell into so suddenly this spring and summer, a "Flash drought", continues unabated.

The reason why *you* should care is that this could result in higher produce prices next year if the crop season is bad.

Drought, Drought, Drought

Well, the Great White North is now in the worst drought they have seen up here since 1988 (long before I moved up here, of course).

The Mississippi is at its lowest levels in the same time period. From my window at work, I can see exposed shoreline that I couldn't see last summer. Water restrictions abound, and crops are taking a major hit.

One interesting thing that I've learned from this drought, though, is that most of the cities along the Mississippi get their water from the river. Back in New York City, getting water from the Hudson was impossible because of the pollution and the estuarine flow of salt water up the river. So, it came from hundreds of miles away, up in the Catskills. And of course, when I lived in So. California, water came from hundreds of miles away, from the Owens River and Colorado River flows.

This is the first time that the source of water for where I live has actually been local.

More Photos

More photos, this time from Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park.

I had no idea, before I moved to Minnesota, just how turbulent the Mississippi is up here. Most people's view of the Mighty Mississippi is the big, wide, placid river down by St. Louis and New Orleans. Up here in Minnesota, its a different beast.

A sample, and link to the photos in the extended entry.

The Mn Road project

Mn/ROAD Project, Minnesota Road Research Project

The Minnesota Road Research Project is a project on and near a stretch of I-94 NW of the Twin Cities, on the way to St. Cloud, MN. You can even tune your AM radio to learn about the project when you reach it.

It's the world's largest testbed laboratory for road research.

Paul foolishly tries to do good and nearly ends up a statistic

Most of you will have seen this on my LJ, but I decided to record it here, too, just so I can look back at how foolish I really can be.

Or, as my brother Greg might put it: Intelligence: 15. Wisdom...6

My Johari window suggests that I am caring, giving, sympathetic and helpful. It also says sensible, but I wasn't sensible today.

I drove into work today, since its Monday and its almost certain to be busy and overtime filled. I got off the interstate at my usual exit and drove up to the red light where I turn right and head toward work. Its a stoplight where one cannot turn right on red and so I was stuck there.

And that's where the adventure began. As I sat there waiting in the cold 10 degree morning, a man waved his arms frantically as he crossed the intersection, and me. It was a cold morning, so I watched and waited as he came up to the passenger door. I opened the window.

The african american man, maybe in his 40's, laid into a spiel about his pregnant wife being in a car nearby that had broken down, and couldn't I take him to the tow truck company?

It was early in the morning, and I didn't want to drive away. Despite my car having been broken into recently, I decided to believe him, and I let him into my car.

He introduced himself and kept flashing this ID at me, telling me that he worked at the U of M and his pregnant wife was in the car and he couldn't get a hold of his son, yada yada. I resumed driving and asked him where the tow truck company was. My intention as a Good Samaritan was to take him there, drop him off, and head to work. I did smell the alcohol on his breath by this point but figured he might still be on the level. I was wrong.

The gentleman pushed too hard and too early for money, which was his mistake in the end. He said that they were "only a few dollars" short of cash, and wouldn't I stop at an ATM. He said he would pay me back, I could hold onto his wallet for collateral and so forth.

The fact that he was so eager for money that he wanted me to turn onto a one-way street (the wrong way) to get to a cash machine sold me on the idea that this was a scam. So I kept telling him that I would take him to the tow company place and continued heading toward downtown. He kept up his spiel for money, saying he wasn't really a few dollars short, but he had talked the guy down to $139 and only had $130. Finally I told him that I could go no further and I would drop him off where we were, about halfway to the street he claimed the tow company was located on.

He was incensed. He begged me to bring him back downtown, or back to his wife and the car. I attempted to get him to leave the car on two tries, without success. I turned the car onto a couple of streets, heading back to downtown. The gentleman then tried to change the deal, telling me that I could drop him at Washington and Cedar, on the far side of downtown from where we were.

My patience was over. We were on the west edge of downtown, and I had to get to work. So I pulled to the side and for the last time, demanded that he leave the car. He refused.

I slammed onto the car horn, something I never have done in Minnesota before. This managed to get the guy out of my car, furious and upset, and, shaking like a leaf, I turned to head toward work.

Its possible that he was on the level after all, and if he had not asked for money until we had gotten to the tow company place, I might have actually given it to him. But a constant plea for money sets off my spidey sense.

If he had had a knife, or a gun, I might not be here right now. And yet...on a cold 10 degree morning in Minneapolis, I foolishly tried to do good.

Google Map of my area

Google Maps - 55014

Google has a beta version of their mapping program. It has a different look than Mapquest and its kin. The link above is a link to the area around where I live.

You can see just from this small slice that Minnesota is indeed the land of lakes.

Edward Prescott gets Nobel Prize

An associate of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Edward Prescott has won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Also seen, and good commentary by a non Nobel prize economics maven, Brad De Long.

The building here, by the way, is covered inside with decorations celebrating the prize. And it got a mention at a meeting I attended today. People are really jazzed about it on an otherwise dreary looking day.

Keyword of the Day: Snow!

It snowed here last weekend, as you have no doubt seen on the news, be it internet, newspaper or the nightly news.

Where I am, we only got 7 inches, although it was howling and blowing at a good clip on Sunday. Is it any wonder I stayed home in the apartment?

Today? Cold and Clear. Blue skies, the sun is shining

...and its in the mid 20's.

Minnesotan understatement

(And a test to see if I am really back)

The local paper had this to say about tonight's weather:

"Unseasonably brisk. Low of 17"

Somehow, I've never thought of 17 as brisk, unseasonably or otherwise.

Most fun cities in America

The makers of Cranium commissioned the guy who does the "Best places to Live" for Money Magazine to do the "Most Fun cities in America"

I must be a more fun loving guy than you or I might think.

#1 on the List is Minneapolis, Minnesota.

#2 on the list is Orange County, California (not a city, admittedly)

New York comes in at #41. Sin City, Las Vegas is a better but anemic #25.

Last weekend adventures

Last weekend was a bit odd for me, since it was the first weekend that I wasn't moving stuff from Scott's house to my matchbox, or getting something for the matchbox, or whatever.

So, I found myself at an unusual amount of liberty, since I now have a car.

So, Saturday I went and saw a movie. Yeah, alone, after all my movie buddy is still in Florida awaiting the birth of the adopted baby-to-be. I saw "Runaway Jury", even though Grisham and law thrillers are not my usual genre by a long shot.

Did I like it? Yes, although I could see a few holes in the plot, and I thought that the structure of the groups of characters were not all equal. It has a very good cast--Hoffman, Hackman, Weisz (the female lead in the Mummy movies), Cusack (aka, he who I would pick to play me in a story of my life), and even a cameo by the guy from the Practice (or was from the Practice, anyway). The plot revolves around a trial of gun manufacturers, jury picking and tampering, bribery, corruption, ethics and morals. And of course the "big secret at the end" that one side is racing to uncover before time runs out.

Besides that, I wandered over to Borders, and also Best Buy. At the latter I found something I'd only heard of and not seen--and picked that up instead of my intended purchase of the Matrix Reloaded: A Cd-rom set of every National Geographic add-in map up to the year 1999. One of my favorite things about NGO is the maps that come in every other issue or so, and this Cd-rom has all of the ones from the previous century. Best of all, it was just $20 Sweet!

On Sunday, I decided to do the male-bonding thing with Scott. I came over, put a new experimental recipe for sausage chili in the crockpot, and we watched football (with a little Good Eats thrown in as well). I'll mention the Sausage Chili in more detail in an entry of its own.

Football was a disappointment--as Scott pointed out, we went "1 for 3" today--the Packers lost to the Rams, the Giants unbelievably lost to the Eagles on a punt return in the final minute, but Felicia's Saints won and won big. It was good to spend time with Scott, anyhow, and I think he appreciated the company.

But it was a fun weekend. Next weekend, assuming I don't get wrapped up in something else, I think I am going to go a little further afield and really begin exploring the metro area. Museums, culture, parks, and more await...and its much more practical to do this with a car of my own.

Generosity

One of the things I can't handle well, psychologically, is generosity. It goes back to my low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness and other such psychological lacunae in my mental health that many of you know, either from my online persona, or from knowing me personally.

I am not sure if its intended as an early Xmas gift, something to repay him back at some point, or what, but as I sat in my apartment last night, I got a knock on the door. It was Scott and he had some groceries I had left at the Olsons house--stuff he would never eat.

He also had a brand new television for me. Its the same brand as my old one, and actually a little better than that one. And, oh, yes, it does work, since I watched Dark City on it last night.

I just feel...awful isn't the right word, I am not sure there IS a word for the emotion that I feel about the whole thing. Unworthy is not an emotion, but its the closest word I can think of to it.

Update:

Now that emotion has turned into a purer guilt and unhappiness, since I have discovered that my brother has bought (and it has shipped) an early xmas present

A television.

Now the question becomes--can I/Scott return the first television? That might be easier than dealing with shipping back the second...

The moral of this story is to shut up about my problems.
Arref is right, that's not the moral. But sometimes when stuff like this happens, that's how I feel. Even if I know its utter greffet

Another busy weekend

Well, last weekend was again jam packed with goodness. I'm now moved out of the Olsons basement, and now have a matchbox sized studio apartment over in Circle Pines/Lexington (its a bit odd how that works, the USPS insists its Circle Pines, but other sources insist its Lexington).

I don't even have a dialup connection since Qwest is horribly slow, so I am sort of internet lame at the moment. One not so happy consequence is that I unpacked my television and tried to hook it up. It's been sitting in a box for months ever since I shipped it here.

It's dead as a doornail...and worse, now out of warranty. So I have no TV or DVD watching, either. I need a new TV and can't really afford one at this point.

Just more life in the Gopher state...

A busy weekend

Yesterday was the first day that I haven't put a blog entry up for over a month, and with good reason.

First things first, Scott and I went over to what is going to soon be my new apartment. A tiny matchbox sized studio over in Circle Pines will shortly become home sweet home, since the whole baby thing is coming closer and closer. The downstairs bedroom (where I am now) will become the office (which it once was), and the office will turn into a nursery. So even with a temp job (although a fairly stable one) its time for me to risk a place of my own, and it was high time I left from being underfoot at the Olsons anyway.

Scott and I also mapped out and drove the route to a place that I have a job interview for on Monday. Yes, a real life job interview, finally. The job market has been tighter than, well, something better mentioned in A Grand Affair. So I realize that I have a fair amount of competition, so I am neither overconfident, nor am I "counting" on getting this job. It would be a fair commute, too, about 30 miles each way in a car.

But for a real, full time job, is it worth it? As they say here in Minnesota...you betcha. I got some badly needed driving practice on Interstates, even if I don't get the job.

On the way back, we stopped in the high-end grocery store Byerly's, which looked a lot like Zabar's back in NYC. Unable to find them elsewhere, it was here that I finally found good old Nathan's hot dogs, and I bought a package, naturally.

Scott and I also went to Big Bowl, even if save for the appetizer we didn't stray from our favorites. Scott went for a Thai inspired dish, I went for the equally spicy "Blazing flat noodles". As an appetizer, since I had not had them in quite some time, we had lettuce wraps (ground beef, scallions, rice noodles to which you add sauce and put in bibb lettuce, fold and eat).

And today, well, on Oct 5, 1971 at 1:35 PM EST, I was born.

No major plans for today...maybe buy stuff for the apartment, a few other minor chores and things. Last year I spent hours on a bus, bus, train, bus trip from my apartment in Anaheim all the way to the Getty Center and back. It was a long and exhausting trip but a lot of fun.

Well, if I were to be so lucky as to get this job, I probably will "celebrate"...otherwise I will be relatively frugal about the matter.

Two shot at Hennepin County Government Center

About Nine floors above me this morning, there was a shooting.

Oh, I'm all right. They did lock down the building for quite some time as they sorted this out.

Nasty business.

UPDATE: Two people were shot, a man and a woman. The woman died from the wound. The shooter has been charged with murder.

Ticket to Ride

I wanted to share the "big" news this weekend for me with everyone.

I bought my first car. Yeah, I know that I am overdue, but then I've only had a license for a few years. It was due, aye, past due for me to do this.

I am now financing a 2002 Dodge Neon. White, which will be bad if I get into a snowbank, but otherwise its a *nice* car with about 26,000 miles on it. I am paying through the nose on APR and such because this *is* my first major life purchase.

But I now have wheels of my own. I know most if not all of you have done this far earlier in your lives than me, so forgive me for my enthusiasm and (especially) nervousness.

Notoriety

I guess my quirkiness is becoming more noticed at the office. Today, when the head of the Department came over since he needed someone (me!) to fix a giant batch of mistakes in the database, he saw my background screen with Mars on it.

He asked me if it was "my home planet."

I guess my reputation for reading SF and stuff is *that* noticeable. But still...I discuss sports and stuff and other things with my co-workers. I'm not that eccentric.

Honest.

I don't know when this temp assignment is ending. I've learned a further step today, and an accidental (honest) overhearing of my immediate boss felt good--since out of the small group back here, I was the only one she deemed good enough and trustworthy enough to fully register documents. But the paper suggests Hennepin County is not hiring any more people--even if they could likely hire me and save money on the deal, since they have to currently pay me AND a fee to Dolphin.

Felicia, the Baby, and Everything II

Well, almost on cue to Jenn's comment on the last topic of this name, Scott and I had an interesting evening last night.

First up, we went to a used auto parts store and fortunately found a replacement side-view mirror for the Dakota. Scott and I then proceeded to replace the mirror. Yes, I actually participated, significantly in this venture--Scott is a strong believer in that Protestant work ethic.

So, the car has a mirror again.

We also discussed other matters at length...

The dispensation of cooking duties, for example, is going to be a tennis match. Last night Scott cooked up sausage in buns. Tonight, I am going to cook buffalo chicken breasts that were in the freezer, and also make a Lipton Noodles and sauce packet. And so on. (So, the culinarily interested on this Blog will see a lot more food entries as I document my highs and lows in this venture).

We also discussed the "Exit strategy" for me. I cannot stay in the Olson household much longer, logistically and otherwise. They need the room with the baby coming in, and the guest room must perforce revert to office status. I might move into/with the apartment of Matt (mentioned here) but at this point, its a disaster area. Fortunately, from my piece of mind, this is not quite the bum's rush that I got from Bonnie and her mother. I don't think Scott expects me to go live at a hotel if nothing else comes up.

We also discussed auto transportation. Paying off Bonnie, unfortunately, was a hit as far my savings, but this is the season for relatively good deals on automobiles, and getting wheels of my own would open up more options. It would also prevent me from damaging the Olson's vehicles any further. I don't think I am going to go new, unless I get a really good deal.

And if I do wind up staying in the house past when the baby comes back, well there is paperwork that I must fill out and hopefully have California and NY process quickly--a background check.

Now if I would only get some of these job applications turn up for interviews, my days would really be packed...

Felicia, the Baby, and Everything

I am home alone again this weekend, as Felicia and Scott have begun a driving trip that will take Scott as far as Atlanta before he flies back home, and Felicia all the way to Tampa, Florida.

The reason is something that I've resisted talking about in this space because, and this will sound foolish, I didn't want to jinx it, even though people like Deb already know about it...

Felicia and Scott are going to adopt a baby--a friend of Felicia's from one of the RPG message boards.

Anyone who knows Felicia as well as I do knows that she is a born mother. She loves children, is unhappy that the custody arrangement for Damion only allows her to see him a few scant months of the year, and the fact that she cannot have any more natural children is a sadness to her.

Felicia and Scott have talked about adopting a child for a long time, but this sort of dropped on them. One of her friends, Pam, called a few months ago with the news that she, a single mother, was pregnant again, and that she didn't feel that she could handle raising a second child by herself. And Pam didn't want to abort the baby, either. Instead, Pam wanted Felicia to adopt her baby, knowing that it would go into a good home.

Felicia and Scott debated and thought about this for a long while before Felicia convinced Scott. There have been ups and downs, a long series of paperworks, and other things (last night was a home study interview), but the due date for the baby is approaching, and so Felicia is heading down to be with Pam when she gives birth. (Felicia has long since met her before at "Portalfest"--a con for the message board where they met).

Scott's driving endurance is amazing, and driving such a long distance alone is a hardship, so Felicia and Scott are driving today all the way to Kentucky, and tomorrow as far as Atlanta. There, Scott will fly home, and Felicia will drive the remaining distance to Tampa.

Where I come in this is that I will have to pick up Scott from the airport, in Scott's truck. Scott offered to let me beg off and he take a cab-but I am no coward. Even if driving his truck on an Interstate is a sobering thought.

Hometown paper goes Nuclear

And that's Nuke-le-ar, not Nuke-cu-lur.

Anyway, the Strib (as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is sometimes called) has an editorial taking the VP to task on his mendacity.

Admittedly, the Strib is the more left of the two major papers in the Minneapolis area (the other being the St. Paul Pioneer Press) and admittedly, this is a fairly progressive place (or to be more accurate, the Democrats here are very progressive, the somewhat less numerous Republicans are equally strongly conservative, it still washes out to overall somewhat progressive). In fact, Scott has told me that sometimes the Strib has been derided as "The Red Star and Tribune."

But still, the Editorial Board gives Cheney no quarter in this editorial. Sure, there have been some (mostly tepid) criticisms before of the Executive Branch's mendacity, but this qualitatively and quantatitively different. Read it. And wonder when other papers will dare to do the same.

Thanks to Eschaton for pointing out the weblink for the online version of the Editorial, I read the 'dead-tree version' of it this morning.

Monday Mashup: The West Wing

A toughie from Byrant this week, as he asks us to mash up...The West Wing

This one was tough for me. I don't watch the show, I just never had the chance to get into it, and haven't sought it out to do so. I have a general idea of what the show is and its theme.

Still, not knowing the peculiarities of Bartlet and his staff makes it hard to strike more than generic tones on this one.
The game I'd mash this with is one I've done before...Nobilis.

Get a set of players with high realm scores...ie, players who are very invested in the Chancel. This way, the plots and foci of the game will revolve around the Chancel's administration, the interpersonal relationships between the ennobled and their subjects. If the government of the chancel (perhaps an Imperator of Liberty?) makes at least lip service to being something other than autocracy, the PCs are going to have to juggle the needs and demands of the people with the realpolitk of keeping the Chancel healthy against Excrucians, other Nobles, and so forth. The GWB even mentions that governing the Chancel is something that the PCs can and should do--this sort of setup would bring that front and center, rather than a sideline in the Excrucian War.

The wheels of Bureaucracy really do run slowly

Working in the Hennepin County Government Center as a Temp has been an educational experience.

For instance, I've seen for myself just how slowly the gears of government turn.

While working in the Public Records area here, I've done a number of tasks relating to mortgage documents. Until recently, I was reviewing Satisfactions of Mortgages, checking their details against what we have in the computer. It's just a process in the chain of handling these documents.

Now, I am doing document registration, taking documents which have already been reviewed, and assigned a new document number, and registering those in the computer, entering them, basically. Since I am registering Satisfactions and outright new mortgages, I am seeing some of my old Satisfactions.

The thing is, the Satisfactions that I did are over a month old. In essence, in a month's time, the document went to me, I approved it, stamped it, it moved on to someone to be assigned a number, and come back to be registered.

A month. For one intervening step in the process, and a rather mindless one at that. I know there is a huge backlog here (and one of the reason why there are a horde of temps), but that's ridiculous.

I personally think they should train and hire some more full time personnel but with budget cuts and a lousy economy, its not that likely. But to all of my friends doing refi stuff...now you know why it takes so long for the county/state to get their act together. I can't imagine that my observations of county government in Minnesota are atypical.

Land Developers as Tolkien fans

Clearly there is at least one out there.

While doing Document Registration of Mortgages today, I came across a Mortgage for a property in "Lot 4, Block 1, Isengard Second Addition."

It's the sort of thing almost no one is ever going to see outside of a Real Estate office, or, well, Public Records here in Minneapolis. It's not like a street name, which everyone can see. This is far more subtle, and I thought it amusing enough to share.

Drought, Drought, let it all out...

Well, its now official. Minnesota is in the throes of a drought, and apparently the driest summer in fifteen years.

The crops are just doing awful, up here. Yields are going to go down and prices will likely go up. The economics of this will eventually ripple out to the rest of the US, too. Sure, the dry, warm, clear weather is great in the short term (and it does help cut down on the mosquitoes), but this is just not funny anymore.

I'd gladly take some of the rain which has inundated the NY city metropolitan area as of late.

Ren Faire and the Snow Gryphon

Snow Gryphon Page

Today, The Olsons and I went to the Ren Faire down on the south side of the Twin Cities in Shakopee.

Although some bad connotations with me and previously visited Ren Faires threatened to spoil my visit, I managed to get over some early morose feelings and enjoy myself.

Of course, half of the fun going to such an event is the booths. The Minnesota Renaissance Faire is no exception, with a wide variety of wares to sell. And I found myself tempted at the booth of Windwolf Studio. While not quite at the level, monetary and otherwise of, say, Ruth Thompson (who also had a booth), I fell head over heels for a print of a rather unique Gryphon.

I like Gryphons (or Griffins if you prefer). Not as overdone as, say, Dragons, there is just something about the combination of big cat and bird that appeals to me. A merging, if you wanted to get mystical, of earth and sky. I point to the fact that Hadrian and his shadow of DuMarque have a Griffin as a special symbol and protector.

Anyway, the rather unique picture (which can be see at the link at the top of the entry) is of a Gryphon composed of a snow leopard and a gyrfalcon. I forced myself away from buying it the first time I saw it, mainly because I was still in that bad mood. The next time we passed by the booth in our looping travels, I was strongly tempted, and told the Olsons that I wanted to stop by the booth before we left.

When we did make that final trip, I picked it up. Sure, it cost me $25, but its absolutely unique, and gorgeous. And it helped to "make my faire", especially when the Olsons decided to throw in a surprise. Once we left the shop, Felicia went back in, ostensibly to look at other stuff. What I didn't realize until we got back to the car and she handed it to me was that she had gotten me a t-shirt with the very same picture as well. No doubt I will wear it at next year's ACUS.

Really, sometimes I don't deserve such generous friends.

Cabela's

Yesterday, Sunday, the Olson family and I went on one of their annual (semi annual?) pilgrimages down to Owatonna, MN. There lies the Cabela's superstore.

It's an Outdoor sporting goods store. Everything from fishing poles to kayaks to, well, an extensive gun selection. The restaurant upstairs has some unusual items on the menu, including Venison Ostrich, and Caribou along with the more standard fare.

It's quite a place. We spent much of the time in the gun section--since Scott does own and fire guns, Felicia has fired guns (especially during her short stint in the Marines) and Damion wants to learn to fire guns next year when he's legal to do so. And I? Well, although I couldn't hold it worth a damn, even I picked up a gun or two in perhaps unconscious imitation.

But even besides the firearms, its a rather intriguing place. There is a substantial aquarium, the aforementioned restaurant, and the largest collection of taxidermic animals this side of the Museum of Natural History.

Afterwards, we went to the megamall (aka Mall of America) where I somehow managed to be the only person not to buy anything. But, then again, we didn't pass near one of my major temptations there--the Atlantic Book Warehouse.

All in all, a long, but good day.

Another Temp Job

Finally, I've managed, in this weak economy, to at least score another temp job. I started yesterday, and this will run (theoretically) until the end of August. I am working for "The Man" again, this time over at the administration building for Hennepin Cty. I will be reviewing and looking at documents sent in pertaining to mortgages--seeing if the requests are properly filled out.

It's a job that my trainer wants me to do by visual inspection rather than "thinking too much" about any particular document. So I need to unlearn some of my habits in order to do this job. We'll see how it goes.

Friday is my last day at Hennepin

Well, its official. I confirmed with my Boss today that Friday ends my temp stint here at Community Health center of Hennepin County(Minneapolis).

Here's hoping for more temp jobs (as well as of course the larger fish of a permanent position).

Thank God, a temp job

Finally, my persistence has paid off, so to speak.

Starting Tuesday, I will be temporarily out of the ranks of the unemployed, and working at a temp job in downtown Minneapolis. Perhaps reassuringly, this was from a temp agency with whom I met only a few hours previous to getting the phone call with the offer. I have to call and get all of the details tomorrow, but it looks to be working with Excel spreadsheets for a Medical company.

Something is better than nothing, even if it is only a one month assignment

Scottish Country Fair

Scottish Country Fair

The 31st (and sadly last) Scottish Country Fair was held this weekend at MacAlester College, in the Twin Cities. Yesterday the Olsons and I attended it. MacAlester College is Scott's Alma Mater.

They have gone to it for years, and even if this was not the last one, there was no chance of missing it, or dragging me along. I was a bit blue because of the whole memory of the one-year anniversary of leaving New York, but I got into the spirit of things.

I've now covered the bases. I've been to Renissance Faires, Scottish Renissance Fairs, and now a Scottish Country Fair. This is not to say that you couldn't find pewter dragons or the like for sale, but there were things purely Scottish there...from dog breeds, to music, to food. I didn't see haggis for sale, but they did have Scottish Meat Pies and the like.

It was a lot of fun. The conglomeration of the bands was smaller than in previous years (usually I understand its around 500, this year I counted less than half that). But it was fairly crowded with guests, set on a small bucolic campus in the middle of the Twin Cities.

I even got to see Kaber tossing? Ever see men in kilts tossing "telephone poles" on TV? That's a kaber, and we watched a bit of them picking up 100+ pound pieces of wood, running with them, and launching them end over end. That, hammer tossing, and people trying to toss a 50 pound weight over a 15 foot high bar were the "sporting events".

The booths were diverse, offering things Scottish, Celtic, and even British. I was tempted by likely overpriced British candy they had available, including the elusive Cadbury Flake, but I remained steadfast.

If you don't like the weather...

...wait a half-hour, it will change.

It's an expression I had heard for Minnesota, and I have had first hand evidence.

In the last 72 hours, here in Blaine, MN we have had:

Record heat (90 degrees)
Thunderstorms
Hail
Ice and a bit of wet snow falling with the rain
Temperatures hovering in the 30's and 40's.

Fun fun fun. But I kind of missed storms. The lack of overhead wires, though, means fewer blackouts than I am used to. The blackouts I can kind of live without.