Nussmier

Earthquake

2011-08-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

Firts thing I thought was a tree landed on the house. Then I thought something exploded at the Univeristy. Then I thought I should probably leave the house because this is an earthquake. Sure signs you have never been in an earthquake that moves enough you can feel it.

Move in Day

2011-08-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

So last weekend was move in day for all the college students. It was a little nuts around here with all the moving vans and all the parents and all the shopping at Walmart and Target. While it was cool to feel the energy of the new students and students returning with that comes a general cluelessness. There are the parents trying to turn the wrong way down a one way street. Students wandering around not knowing where they should be. There are the students walking down the middle of the bike path with there MP3 players so loud you cant say or do anything(short of hitting them) to get them to move. So goes the change of Seasons in Happy Valley....2 weeks to the first home football game. Now that should be interesting.

Bikes and stop signs and Tickets

2011-07-27T09:55:00.000-05:00

The other day Kari was riding to work on her bicycle and got yelled at by a police man for not stopping at a 3 way stop sign where Kari was on the top of the T intersection and there were no cars coming. This and the fact that someone(a biker) at her work scolded her and told her she should stop at all stop signs touched a nerve with me and I decided I needed to rant.

Now I get it. The law is she has to stop. I am not arguing that. She didn't get a ticket but if the police man wanted to give her a ticket they could have. Here are some issues I have with this. First is the laws need to be updated. Why is it that a bike is treated as a car? A pedestrian doesn't follow the same laws as a car? A person on a horse doesn't? There are so many different laws for different ways of commuting that why is it a bicycle is treated as a car. I don't think they are very similar vehicles. It be like treating a sailboat like a motor boat. Of course they don't do this they always give the sailboat the right away. Bikes have been around way longer than cars. I think you will find that most laws for driving came about because of cars and how much more dangerous they are then bikes So argument one is that the laws need to be updated such that a bike is not treated like a car. I don't know exactly what that entails but I am sure some smart people can come up with some good ideas.

Second argument: When you drive your car you speed, you roll through stops, etc etc. I do the same when I bike..ok well I speed when I can on my bike but the point is that I don't always follow the laws whether it be in a car or a bike. When you break the law in a bike you are so much less likely to do any harm to someone else besides yourself. I know this sounds like some republican personal responsibility statement but..... If you break the law in a car you could do serious harm if not kill many people. I think that some states have actually lowered the fine for DUI on a bike as compared to a car because they realize that being on a bike is better than being in a car when drunk. Now its not perfect but its less harmful. Now I know there is the odd case where someone might swerve to avoid a crazy cyclist and get in an accident but that is so rare. Just look at what they driver did in the Tour de France this year. Choice between getting in an accident or hitting some cyclists...the driver chose the cyclists.

Third Argument: This is kind of a combination of the first two arguments. This can be called the lack of respect argument or the cars are out to get me argument. I call this The Immortal Class argument. Anyone who wants to read an interesting book about biking should pick that one up. Its a quick read. The basic principal of the book is that everything in a car is controlled solely by the driver. They can control the temperature(weather), the radio, the seat, the steering wheel, speed, etc etc. So when they loose control of something it makes them angry(and in extreme cases lead to road rage). When a biker is in front of them making them loose control of there speed it frustrates them and makes them angry. They think WTF that biker should be on the shoulder or on the sidewalk. Who let this stupid biker on the road anyway? I'm going to squeeze right by this biker and get back to being in control. So that leads to bikers being seen as a negative or an unequal. Hence the lack of respect.

Fourth argument: This is the holy than though argument. I don't always subscribe to this argument but I am going to lay it out just so its there. By biking to work one is doing a lot of good. They are becoming healthier saving everyone money in health care in the long term. By biking one is not burning fossil fuels and hence making the city and the environment a nicer place to be. They are one less car on the road(but one more biker) So the argument goes that if one is doing all this good shouldn't they be given a little extra rights. They have HOV lanes for carpooling. Why don't bikers have HOV lanes as they are doing even more good. They have bike lanes but not everywhere. I don't always subscribe to this argument but it does go back to the argument that a bike should have different rules to follow than a car.

There are tons of great car drivers and cyclists who are idiots. Hell Ive been an idiot on both before. I just don't think it makes sense that police are wasting there time with cyclists and that cyclists are treated like cars. I've been treated so differently because I'm biking than I ever have as a driver. Ive been yelled at. I've had cigarettes, beer cans, and whatever else someone can find thrown at me for biking in the bike lane. Ive been hit by school buses while biking in the bike lane. There needs to be more education and enforcement of bs like that. On the opposite side I have had people yell and scream at me when Ive driving my bike like a car. So I can't win. Ride in the bike lane get yelled at. Ride in the street get yelled at. Something has to change.

Ok I'm done ranting. If you want to watch something funny about the general subject check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ&feature=player_embedded

East Coast Wimps

2011-03-23T07:16:00.000-05:00

Schools delayed 2 hours today for this..

Seriously? Is this some type of joke? No ice and literally 1/8" of snow. It is possible that this could make me move. Absolutely ridiculous.

We think there for it is

2011-02-01T12:26:00.000-06:00

One thing that is hard to get used to here is the amount of school delays/closings. I think in 2 1/2 years of Isaac going to daycare in Minneapolis we had 1 maybe 2 days where it was closed. Already since we have been here we have had five 2 hour delays and 1 day closed. A few of the days have been a little ridiculous. The other day school was delayed 2 hours for no joke 1/2 inch of snow. Now I know it is hilly here and is a little difficult to drive but in all school closing cases if one of the teachers has mentioned school might be closed or delayed tomorrow then it is. I believe these teachers should start giving Nostradamus a run for his money.

Warm Weather

2011-01-18T05:19:00.000-06:00

Not to be one of those who constantly remind you about how great the weather is where they live but. With high is int 20's every day and lows around 15 this weather is great. Of course most people here think it is the end of the world its sooo cold.

On a side note I also found out just how hilly it is here. I decided to go pick up Isaac and Nora from Daycare using the Bike trailer. Of note the bike trailer is not really made for 2 kids in winter gear even though it says it fits 2 kids. Anyway Pulling an extra 50 lbs plus the bike trailer up sone of these hills was interesting. I was standing and pedaling as absolutely hard as I could and barely made it up a few hills. It was great excercise but tough work....

TV

2011-01-13T19:30:00.000-06:00

My ancient 29" Tube TV did not make the move. Part of me was a little sad to see it go only because the energy was spent to actually move it that it would be nice if it would work. I have since purchased a new TV which Koogs thins is of course way too big. In any case I realized I know very little about current technology and paying a cable bill sucks even if I get part of it paid by work.

Now..

2011-01-12T20:28:00.000-06:00

when talking about Come Feel the Illinoise I think its ok to pronouce the S...

Some sweet threads for Nora.

The Silent S

2011-01-06T21:22:00.000-06:00

We made it to State College(I guess I need to change the header on this blog some how). It was pretty un-eventful trip. Kids traveled great, of course they were with grandma and grandpa the entire time. We were missing the snow as none was on the ground until tonight. We figure we had the snowiest December on record in Minneapolis and maybe we can have the snowiest January on record here.

We have had a few issues with our house. Go figure. Everyone we have had come do work has been really nice and done really great work at a lot cheaper then Minneapolis. Tonight however we had to have our sewer pipe cleaned out. As one can imagine sewer pipe cleaners are not typically rocket scientists. Now I will preface this entire thing with the fact that they people doing work here were nice and did good work. They arrived a little earlier then they were supposed to and we were just arriving back from running some errands. So we get by the first little bit of chit chat and he asks me that he noticed my cell phone was a 612 number and where that was from. I said oh Minneapolis. About 5 minutes later as we are talking he asks. Where is Minneapolis. I said oh in Minnesota. About 5 minutes later he asks where is Minnesota. Is it out near Illinois(no silent S). I say well a little north and west of there. Then he goes on to ask me if it is cold there. While this conversation is unfolding in my head I started to think holy crap after all this time giving Minnesotans hard times about there inferiority complex and the like that maybe there is a reason for it. Oh and the fact that I wanted to grab him by the scruff of his neck and scream the S is silent in Illinois.

New house

2010-11-08T12:25:00.000-06:00

After much debate we bought a house in State College. It is in a great neighborhood and we are excited to move into it. Here is a link to it http://www.trulia.com/property/3010111769-796-Cornwall-Rd-State-College-PA-16803

On a side note anyone want to buy a house in Minneapolis?

Holloween

2010-11-01T11:31:00.000-05:00

The Great Pumpkin

2010-10-28T08:14:00.001-05:00

There she goes..

2010-10-22T14:28:00.001-05:00

Its a happy day.....and a sad day

On a similar subject. Anyone want to buy a house?

Ghost House

2010-10-19T09:27:00.002-05:00

I find it somewhat strange that if you want to sell your house that it should look like no one lives in it. We were told that we cannot have any kids things out. You know how hard that is with 2 kids in the house? Basically our house needs to be as sterile and un-lived in as possilbe. While it is nice to get rid of some of the clutter our house is starting to look like the inside of a hospital. I guess we have to play the game to sell our house. Specially in this market.

Hypocrites....

2010-10-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

I really don't have much of a problems with politicians believing in something and trying to convince others that what they say or believe in is the best way to proceed. There are some caveats to this one being homosexuality but lets just leave that be for now. For example believing that taxing the wealthy more is not the right way to balance the budget. Or say the stimulus bill was not the right way to stop us from going into a deeper recession. These discussions are good to have and work out differences and come to some agreememnt. I think the thing that drives me most nuts about politicians/personalities in general is hypocricy. For example saying the stimulus bill is absolutely the wrong way to balance the budget while at the same time writting letters to the federal government asking for stimulus money(*cough* Bachman *cough*) Or saying that protectiong our troops is utmost importance meanwhile leaking a CIA name to the public for political gains. Or saying homosexuality is deviant behaviour and all homosexuals should be shipped to Siberia and partaking in that behavior in private. Maybe I have huge blinders on but it just seems as if the current Republicans are the kings/queens of hypocricy. Hence my current dislike of them. Well that and I can't get over the bash the homo under tones of the party.

State College

2010-10-06T08:58:00.000-05:00

Well most of you probably already know this. It is with much sadness and excitemnt that we will be moving to State College, PA. The time frame is the end of the year. I will try and let you know more as I do. So things are a little crazy around here getting the house ready to sell and attempting to get things moving in order to buy a house.

Isaac says ...

2010-09-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

After getting seriously annoyed with Isaacs impatience of trying to push through the door while carrying Nora Mom Says sternly "Isaac Sit"

Isaac says, "Silly Mommy. I don't have a tail"

Basically Isaac is saying don't tell me to sit. I am not a dog.

To Craigslist or To Not Craigslist

2010-09-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

So I have always not liked Craigslist. I know there is no listing fee so the possibility to make more money is there but....It is a pain in the ass. You constantly have people emailing you. Some are asking if the product is still available some are trying to low ball you. Then you have to deal with meeting someone at your house who could be a serial killer or meeting them in some neutral location. Not to mention all the hastle that goes along with setting up a time to meet. In contrast you post something on ebay it sells you get paid and ship whatever you are selling. I know ocassionally someone doesn't pay on ebay but that doesn't happen that often.

Ok so now to my story. K talked me into selling a few of our used baby things on Craigslist. So I put a baby swing and a bumbo on craigslist. I must have had 10 people email me about the swing asking if it was available and wanting to set up a time to look at it and probably buy it. After replying to them all only one person then replied saying they wanted to come Friday and pick up the swing(they never showed up). So after all that hastle the swing still hasn't sold. Now to the Bumbo. Who knew bubmo's were so popular. I had a ton of emails on it and finally had set up for a person to come by and pick it up. They came around 6pm(it was a mother with her baby). She shows up and asks if she can come inside and change her baby...ok a little strange but no big deal when a baby has to go they go. She then sat and chatted for a little bit before paying us for the bubmo. She gives K a $20 bill folded up and doesn't ask for change when the bumbo was on sale for $15. Ok again a little strange but whatever. After K realizes she had given us a $20 she digs out change and gives it to the lady. Who then leaves with the Bumbo and change. The next day K goes to the coffee shop with the $20 takes the twenty out and thinks it is a counterfit. She sends me a freak out email about how we have been had blah blah blah. Well it turns out after taking the $20 bill to the bank that it isn't counterfit but just an old twenty.

So the moral of the story is Craigslist is just more work then it is worth.

This killed me

2010-05-19T08:41:00.002-05:00

I found this website hugely entertaining. Maybe you will to.

Shitmydadsays.com

Happy B-day Amelia

2010-05-13T19:49:00.001-05:00

With Attitude

2010-04-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

Isaac puts toy in mouth.
Mom says, "Isaac don't put the toy in your mouth. If you put that toy in your mouth one more time I am going to take it away from you"
Isaac immediately puts toy back in mouth.
Mom takes toy away.
Isaac immeditely puts hand in mouth removes hand and says, "Momma can you take my finters away?"
Isaac 1 Mommy 0

Isaac gives new meaning to cool shades

2010-04-24T22:20:00.001-05:00

This is my house

2010-04-09T07:59:00.001-05:00

Moisture Question

2010-04-07T12:38:00.000-05:00

While enjoying an outdoor activity on an overcast day with a high chance of rain you feel what appears to be a rain drop land perfectly on your lower lip. Do you...

A. lick your lip and think to yourself ahh rain sweet nectar of the Gods
B. lick your lip and spit out that vile substance as quick as possible.
C. screem ala the wicked witch of the west "I'm melting" from the acid rain
D. lick your lip only to find that this isn't rain but a passing bird's little gift to you
E. Stop drop and roll...oh wait that is for something completely different
F. leave it on your lip doing a complex science experiment to see how long it will take to evaporate

Isaac

2010-04-04T06:42:00.000-05:00

Didnt want Isaac to get jealous

Nora Christine

2010-04-04T06:40:00.000-05:00

This is it

2010-04-01T09:09:00.000-05:00

I have been searching high and low to remember exactly who a coworker reminds me of. After years of searching I have finally remembered.

Nora Christine Poole

2010-03-07T21:30:00.000-06:00

New addition

2010-03-05T23:59:00.000-06:00

New yet un-Named baby girl. Everyone is doing great

2010-03-05T15:02:00.001-06:00

It is the beginning.

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Flinstone like stoppingough

2010-02-25T19:55:00.000-06:00

As the weather in Minneapolis slowly changes we have the joys of lots of ice. During the day the snow slowly melts which in turns freezes to a nice sheet of ice. While biking to work on Monday I came across the Greenway and 5th Ave. This place is usually a lake of water this time of year. It usually is deep enough that just a half inch or so freezes on the top and when you ride your bike on it you just break right through and are riding in about 6-7 inches of water. While this can pose challenges of its own, ie trying to break a half inch sheet of ice as it hits your tire 5 inches or so up on your front tire, it is much better then riding on glare ice. So Monday I did the little dance through the small pond and carried on my way. I was lucky enough to get the west side of St. Loius Park before I had to use my brakes again. The down side of not using my brakes for so long was that the water that was on my rims from the lake froze to a nice icey layer. Needless to say while I was trying to brake I wasnt really slowing down. This caused me to put me feet down a la Fred Flinstone and stop. For a brief second it was a little scarey. After that I used my brakes a bunch in order to warm them up and melt the ice. Moral of storey is check your brakes after riding through a pond in below freezing temperatures.

I am Lost...

2010-02-05T21:12:00.000-06:00

Maybe it is me or my generation but it seems to be that Rocky 3(oh sorry Rocky III) and Rocky IV have some great quotable lines in them. I mean Clubber Lang was awesome in Rocky III. "So champ what do you predict for this fight?" "I predict Pain..." In Rocky IV Ivan Drago provides the quotable material. "He is like piece of Iron." "I must break you" Why is it that it isn't the "star" who provides the quotable lines. Is it that Sly truely sucks that much as an actor. I mean Governator provides the best quotes in most of his movies. Anyway I just find it interesting that those 2 movies are not really the greatest movies but they provide some excellent quotable lines by the villans. Of course again maybe it is just me who thinks they are quotable.

I watched the first 2 episodes of the final season of Lost. I thought this season was about answers. Ok to be fair I feel there was one somewhat big question answered but there must be about 20 new ones to take its place. One word to the wise...Fear the smoke monster. I think I might be sad when this show ends.

41 year old hasbeen declares he will quarterback Notre Dame

2010-02-04T22:20:00.001-06:00

That is almost as ridiculous as this story http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncf/news/story?id=4888515 Of course I don't really have any eligibility left so my headline is a bit more ridiculous but still. A 13 year old declaring where he is going to school. He better be the next football jesus or he is destined for failure with all the pressure his parents and others are putting on him.. I don't know if I should not like him or his parents or just our stupid sports industry in general.

Can you believe this?

2010-01-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

My legs are like piece of iron!

The Alien Still lIves

2010-01-11T20:35:00.000-06:00

and no that isn't hair.

A new car

2009-12-31T11:28:00.000-06:00

Well we broke down and finally bought a new car. It is a Volkswagen TDI. Thought we got a pretty good deal on it considering how much in demand they are. Hopefully it turns out to be a good car. Can check it out at http://www.vw.com/jettasportwagen/en/us/ Ours is silver with a big sunroof.

A couple of things...

2009-12-11T11:50:00.001-06:00

First, I can't tell you how happy I am that Florida lost to Alabama in the SEC title game. I know I am a little late on this but it hasn't had any affect on the joy I feel. I know I shouldn't feel good about anothers failure but Tebow's post game interview was great. I mean he was on the verge of crying. Get a grip dude. Your team was overated all year. Now I am looking forward to him traveling into football obscurity in the NFL,

Second, it is Christmas weekend. Lots of parties to attend. For the first time ever I will be attending a work xmas party. Don't get me wrong I like some of the people I work with but I am not sure I will be able to put up with the BS. By bs I mean all the better then the joneses stuff or all the subtle brown nosing that will be going on. I should enter this with an open mind but I can't. It doesn't help things that I would rather be spending more time at a different gathering on the same day. Don't get me wrong I will be attending the other gathering but would rather be attending it for longer periods of time. I amthinking about trying to find a cheezy xmas sweater for the second gathering. Thrift shops here I come...I am sure they will not be picked over.

Sorry for those of you who are Vikings fans but the rest of us were waiting for that game all year long. Do you know the Vikings have only beaten one team with a winning record. The Packers, and lets be honest most of the time division games don't matter with record. Specially one that has as much angst as that game. Don't get me wrong I think the Vikings are a good team. I just think the hype around Favre is a little much. As a life long bears fan I have no love loss for Favre. He does have a pretty good team around him and the team went 10-6 without him last year and has only gotten better offensively since then. It is only one game but I learned a few things about the Vikings...If you can get pressure on Favre, and it isn't easy, he will revert to the interception king. It was unbelivable that he got thrown to the ground on one play and the very next play threw an interception. He was also falling down on sacks when people barely touched him. Adrian Peterson carried the ball only 18 times in the game? I have been saying this all year long, give Peterson the ball more. 18 times? I don't dislike Childress but come on dude. You have one of the best running backs in the league. The week before Chirs Johnson ran for like 100000 yards on Arizona. GIVE HIM THE BALL! Should be interesting to see how Vikings do against Cincy. I feel Cincy is a similar team as Arizona. My guess is being that Vikings are at home and probably a little angry about last week so they should win. If they don't come out with some intensity though look out.

There is something ultimately peaceful about biking in the cold like this. It just doesn't seem to be any outside noise. Not sure if the cold weather means less people are out and about so there is less noise. Or if the cold air makes sound travel differently. Or if I have so many head layers on I can't hear. In any case all I could hear most of the way to work today was the crunch of my tires on the snow and my breathing. Very peaceful.

Important Quiz

2009-12-07T12:39:00.000-06:00

Check to see exactly how much time you wasted as a child/or adult as the case may be.

here

I got 12/15. Never played "fighter" games and who cares what Megamans name was in Japan? I live in America dammit

Bizzaroland

2009-11-24T08:28:00.000-06:00

I have now entered bizzaroland. I land of pure strangeness. I had a very strange conversation last night. A little background before I begin. I usually leave work around 430ish. It isn't really dark yet but it is on its way. I usually get home around 530ish and by then it is dark. I typically turn my lights on if cars have their lights on. When I get on the bike path I usually turn my light down to half power or lower to conserve battery. Ok now on to bizzaroland.

So I am biking home last night and I have just turned on to the bike path and gone down about a block or two when a pedestrian walking the other way kind of waves his hand and says'

"Excuse me. Could you stop please."

I figure that was pretty polite maybe they need directions or something so I stop and ask, "Whats up?"

The start of the rabbit hole is, "What is with the light?"

I start to explain that it is so the cars can see me when I arrive at cross streets and when I actually ride on streets but I get interrupted with, "It isn't even that dark out and the light really bothers me. All the blinking and what not. You should really think about turning it off." While talking he makes a strange jesture with his head as if the lights were making him dizzy.

Mind you I don't have a blinking front light. At this point my mouth drops open and I have that classic what the hell is going on face. I am waiting for the joke or the punch line. When there is no response or anything I realized he is actually serious. I reply using about as much sarcasm as I can muster at this moment with, "Yea well we should also ask all the cars to turn off their pesky lights."

He looks as if he is seriously contenplating it. I used that moment to get back on my bike and escape

The Bitcher

2009-11-23T15:12:00.000-06:00

I have never heard someone bitch as much as the guy who sits right across from me. We are at work and he bitches about getting emails. I mean WTF. It is work you get emails. He was also bitching about the weather. Again WTF its end of November and its close to 50 out. I can't wait to hear him bitch when the weather is actually bad. I think this guy should enter a contest on bitching. I guarntee he would do well. Oh before I could finish writting this he is bitching more about. Sweet.

Bubble boy

2009-11-17T11:15:00.000-06:00

I have made a concious decision to not watch or read any news. I find it to be pretty nice. I don't get riled up everytime I see someone debating Michelle Bachman's ideas like they actually have merit and are not just ravings of a sly lunatic. I find myself living happily in my little bubble. I al don't have to feel guilty about not being more involved.

On a completely different subject. As I was biking home last night at about 6 pm I had one of those scared shitless moments. As any one knows around these parts it is pretty dark at 6pm. I have a nice light but it can only do so much. In any case, I am not emberassed to say that I had a death grip on my handlebars, a clenched jaw, and all breathing had stopped. This occured because I just missed hitting a small dear by about 2". I actually am not really sure how I didn't hit it. Hard to tell when your eyes are closed. Ok my eyes were not closed but I was frozen in the paralysis of fear. In any case I had a good laugh about it after it happened.

I see sick people

2009-11-04T20:01:00.001-06:00

First the child now Koogs. Sick people everywhere. Knock on wood. hopefully I don't get the sicknes.

Earworm

2009-10-31T19:27:00.000-05:00

I have had Insistor by Tapes n Tapes and Happy Hippo from Cloud Cult running through my head like all summer. Specifically the tune from insistor and the line "I gotta happy hippopotamus. She livin under neath my matteress. She showed me jesus at the bottom of a Colt 45". not that i mind having either song running through my head but i find myself whistling either one as I am biking to or from work or doing whatever.

Check it out here for more info. Here

Pathfinder vs Tree

2009-10-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we were at Koogs's cabin. It has been raining a lot and anyone who has been there knows its not the nicest road to ride in on. We were driving back from town about 7 pm on Saturday night. I want to go down on record as saying Koogs was driving and not me. Of course it doesn't mean the outcome would have been any different but.....it makes me feel better. Again as anyone who has driven in or out of that road knows trees fall and need to be removed from the road. Usually it just means chainsawing a section of the tree out wide enough to open the road up and leaving the rest of the tree there. In this case there was a old sawed tree on the side of the road. This one happened to be laying on its branches so it wasn't on the ground but about 4-5 feet in the air. As Koogs came around the corner she slid a little and went off the side of the road right into this reminants of a tree. The trunk of the tree caught the passenger side roof(yes the side I was on) and then slid down a little and came through the window. The limb was solid and really didn't move that much. As we were not going that fast there really was no danger of being impaled movie like on the tree limb. I did comment that I thought Koogs was trying to kill me. I had to remind her that I don't have much life insurance yet so she might want to wait to do that. In any case there was glass everywhere from the shattered window. We cleaned the car of glass and duct taped cradboard on both sides of the hole in the windw and drove home. Kind of felt a little white trashish but what can you do. In any case we are fine well except the truck which is currently in the shop getting repaired. Tree 1 Pathfinder 0. Of course the tree was already dead so what kind of damage could the Pathfinder do? Pathfinder needed +1 to Treant damage.

Too Cool Fixie

2009-10-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

Anyone who bikes knows there are "groups" of bikers. You have your spandexed out road riders, you have your jean wearing wallet chain toating single speed and fixed gear guys, you have the adrenaline junkie mountain bikers, then you have the rest. Ok there are a lot more divisions of biking but for this conversation that will suffice. I will try not to generalize but it makes it so much easier to be angry at people when you can catagorize them. All this brings me to my ride home yesterday. I tend to bike home fast. Part of it is just to get home quick to releave Author#1 from child duty. Part of it is just trying to bike fast to get more excercise. Yesterday I pull up to a stop light on Portalnd and Lake. For those of you who don't know Portland is a 3 lane one way road out of the city that has a nice bike lane on it. Also I have learned that if I bike around 21-23 mph I can catch all but one light. As I pull up to the stop light at Lake it is red so I stop to wait for it to turn greem(This is the first light I hit off the bike path so usually I have to wait for it.) As I wait for it to turn green another biker kind of just pulls in front of me. Of course it is a fixie dude with his trendy backpack, torn jeans, and wallet chain. He does his little balancing act until the light turns green and we start to go. I almost immediately want to go around him because I want to make sure I go fast enough to catch all the lights. He then proceeds to ride in the middle of the bike lane so I can't pass him on the inside because of parked cars and can't pass him on the otherside because of moving cars. So I wait to a point where there are no parked cars figuring he will move over and I can pass him. The problem is he doesn't. So I wait for the next break in parked cars and pass him on the inside. This apparently disrupted his senses. There is this strange thing where bikers hate to be passed. I can't tell you how many people speed up when I pass them. In any case as I pass him he starts to yell something to the affect of "HI! Bye!". He must of yelled it about 5 times looking for some reaction from me. I so badly wanted to stop and let him know that this wouldn't have been an issue if one he didn't pull in front of me at the light at Lake St. Or two had the decency to move over when I was behind him. Instead I just sped by him ignoring him hoping I could go fast enough to make the lights.

Flat Tire

2009-10-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

I got my first flat tire on my road bike this morning. Not ao good morning to get it but I got'r done and made it to work in under an hour.

On a completely different subject...I am not one to really dislike people but a have a corworker that I just really can't stand. One he is horribly lazy, everything he has ever done is the hardest thing ever done, and he talks to himslef all day long. For me these three things are the perfect storm of disliking. I will give you a perfect example of one in the list of many reasons I can't take this guy. I am sitting here working away. His cell phone rings...no big deal. He answers it and says hello. Now whetjer he says hello too quickly or the other person has an issue on there end(which I doubt because this happens a lot)I don't know but they never seem to hear him and must reply Hello. His reply "That is what I said.". I am not joking that I hear that about 2-3 times a day. Everytime I hear it I think what an asshole.

On another completely different subject that Glen Beck book is a joke. He goes on and on talking about the constitution and how we have strayed from it etc etc. He then talkes about these questions you must ask yourself and answer honestly. I don't have them in front of me but one of them revolved around everyone must speak english. I am not costitution scholar but I am pretty sure that isn't in any of the amendments to the constitution. So why is he even talking about it. There were a few other ones that I will try to post. I have only ever put 1 book down before finishing reading it. This one might make it to number 2. It is a struggle to read.

Snow Slog

2009-10-12T13:54:00.001-05:00

First day of riding the bike to work in the snow. Was really nice out and was enjoying the ride until my feet got really wet and my glasses started fogging over. Never got cold but it just isn't pleasent to ride in soaking wet shoes.

Wanted to go mountain bike riding this weekend. Didn't happen. Now I am a little worried we are done for the year. Just when I felt like I was getting back into it..

Baseball

2009-10-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

Those who know me know I am not a huge baseball fan. I enjoy the occasional game. I just think there are way to many games and lets be honest half the people on a baseball team have a specific skill and are not really atheletes. I liken it to bowling or golf. They have a sweet skill but it doesn't mean they are athletically inclined. Anyway I have been in many an argument about what is the definition of an athelete and I am not here to argue that. I am here to say that the game between the Twins and the Tigers the other night was one awesome baseball game. The pressure of every at bat was awesome. The lead changes. The strategy. The clutch hits the clutch defense. If baseball could bottle that recipie and repeat it would blow every other sport out of the water. That game was a freaking classic. I hate when people say that but it was. MaYbe they should have 2 wild cards teams from each division play a 1 game playoff to see who will advance. Maybe they should play a lot less games so every game means more(This is what I like about the 16 game NFL season) I am no expert but man was that a fun game to watch...even if I watched in on the internet...stupid cable TV.

Who I want to win the world series from most to least....this has no basis in who will probably win. And yes it is who I want because after all it is all about me.

Twins...I am not a homer trust me. I am not even a serious twins fan but everone loves an underdog...and hates the Yankees
St. Louis...Hey there from the midwest and they have a chance to win
Colorado...I lived there..the stadium is cool and they are the comeback kids..never count them out.
Angels...Never get any respect with Dodgers in town.
Philly... Better then the rest
Dodger, Yankees, Boston....I put them all on an even playfield of teams I don't want to win

I Hate People

2009-10-06T14:11:00.000-05:00

It was a pleasant 42 degrees and pouring rain when I left for work this morning. As I am biking to work a make a stop at a stop sign to wait for some cars to pass before I take a left turn. When I stop I would say I was in the middle of "my" lane. I had to wait a minute for the cross traffic to clear. As I am waiting a car pulls up next to me pretty much half in "our" lane and half in the oncoming lane. When the traffic clears I start to make my left turn and the car starts to go straight across the intersection. Right from the start my sixth sense or my bicycle sense started tingling so I didn't make a hard left turn but went straight a little knowing this bozo was going to do something stupid. As he went by I shinned my nice new helmet light right in his face. The driver then proceeds to give me the hands up in the air like somehow this was my fault. Cases like that I wish I could interrupt peoples radios and give them a lecture on the rules of the road. Or maybe just call them an idiot. I know I don't always make the best choices when I bike but I am not driving a 2000 lb machine either.

Was a fun game to watch last night. Was close to the end even though it seemed like Minnesota should have been winning 40-10.

Vikings vs Packers

2009-10-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

Oh yea this is what I was thinking about....Best shirt I have seen. On the front it says one of you will betray us...on the back it has the number 4 with the name Judas. Classic.

Cat Fight

2009-10-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

A conversation overheard as I was filling up my water bottle

Woman #1 as passing Woman #2's office, "Hey you have a package sitting out here."
Woman #2 in what I would say a bitchy voice, "Well it can stay there until I get up and get it."
Women #1, "Allright I was just letting you know."
Woment #2 "Thank You."

I don't know the history there but there must be one.

Oh also I remember there is some type of football game tonight. I can't remember the teams or if it will be worth watching.

A New Addition

2009-10-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

Kari has an alien in her as seen below. I am figuring when it is born we will host our own documentary like Jon and Kate pluse Eight but it will be something like Kari and Mike plus distric 9. I just hope it brings some of those cool weapons with it.

Nightrider.....

2009-10-02T11:08:00.000-05:00

And I don't mean the suave 70 TV sereis. I mean the crazy insane driver that Mad Max deals with in Mad Max.

I went mountain bike riding at night on Wednesday. Did it with a head lamp. It was really freaking fun. Kind of spooky and couldn't really go at break neck speeds or anything but still very cool. Well that was until I clipped a tree with my handlebar and screwed up my rear tire. Luckily I was able to ride out. And I know you are thinking it but the hitting of my haddlebar on the tree had nothing to do with riding at night. Just one of those things. I can and will do it again.

I then woke up Thursday morning to the joy of riding to work in the pouring rain. Wasn't all that pleasant but not seeing a single sole on my ride in made it like I was doing something illegal. Maybe this is kind of dorky but I get a little bit of joy doing things that other people think is a little nuts. For example, mountain biking at night or biking in the pouring rain.

ALl I can think is the Nightrider line.

I am the Nightrider. I'm a fuel injected suicide machine. I am the rocker, I am the roller, I am the out-of-controller!

Just a Brush

2009-09-25T19:53:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday biking home I got hit for the... I actually have lost count. In all but 1 case the car/truck/van hasn't even stopped. The one case where the person stopped, was when I actually got knocked off my bike. Maybe I should act more like a true soccer player and fall down grabbing my leg like it has been tore off. Ok I wouldn't do tha The I have chalked it up to people not stopping because they haven't known they even hit me. I am not sure that is a good thing being that someone driving a car doesn't even know they hit someone but that is what I have guessed is the reason. Though Wednesday night was different. I was going pretty fast in order to get home by 6 so Kari could out to dinner with a friend. I was probably going about 23-24 mph when a white van decided they no longer wanted to wait behind the person turning left and moved right into the lane I was in. I had one of those oh shit moments where I locked up both brakes and started to slide and kind of steer further towards the curb. As I couldn't turn or stop quick enough the van hit my leg closest to it. To be honest I have probably been hit harder by Isaac then the van but that isn;t the point. I of coursed yelled at them but that didn't stop them. After it happened I of course in my adrenaline fueled anger tried to catch the van. In the city this is usually pretty easy because the spped limit is low and there are lots of stop lights for me to catch up to. In this case I started to catch up to the van and they actually sped up. I am sure knowing what they did. At one point going down Chicago Ave I was going close to 35 mph and the van was pulling away from me. I got exhausted before I could catch them at that speed. It is all probably for the better but...it makes me angry that they knew they hit me and took off anyway. What I really need to learn to start taking liscense plate numbers down and just call the cops. In the moment though I can never remember that.

Stairway to heavan

2009-09-23T14:31:00.000-05:00

While I am not too particular about punction or spelling when it comes to writting as my feeling is if you get your thought across who cares if it is spelled or punctuated correctly. As the point of writting is to get your thought across. I must say the blog editor on this thing drives me nuts. Though it is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor it will absolutely not show the two spaces I put after a period. I am too cheap to actually pay for a blogger so here I sit.

I had this thought as I was walking through the doors at work today. Another person walked in right behind me proceeded to push the button for the elevator. Now mind you there are only 3 floors in this building and this person is rather young and has no known medical conditions that stop him from walking up 2 flights of staris. I thought probably rather harshly that if at his age if he can't walk up 2 flights of stairs its time to start digging your grave. Like I said maybe a little harsh and "elitest" but its what came into my head. To make myself feel better after this I tried to clarify my thought by adding all these stipulations to it. Like if you are retired it is ok to take the elevator or if you have a medical conditioin etc etc.

Big Cup

2009-09-21T11:56:00.000-05:00

Wow what a nice weekend. Got some water skiing in and was able to drop a ski and ride for a while. I did it goofy which is what I am but it didn't seem normal. Maybe being on one ski just isn't normal.

Golfing was fun but we didn't break any records. -5 under only.

Vikings fans at work talking like it is all but a forgon conculsion that the Vikings are the best team ever. I keep trying to remind them that they have played Clevland and Detriot(not exactly power houses) and in both cases started the game slow. If they do that against a good time they might have some issues coming back. Though as much as I hat to admit it the Vikings are good. Interesting to see how Favre does in 8 weeks after talking a few more hits. Oh yea and the Bears got a lucky win so that works.

I seem to have a lot of these moments but do you ever have a moment when you think...."Humanity as a whole is doomed." I am sitting at work about 5 minutes ago and this muscle head who happens to be a football coach for 10 year olds. Is talking about someone on his team getting imjured and feeling proud that he told the 10 year old to "Stop complaining about being hurt get in the game and go hit somebody" 10 years old? This is what is wrong with sports. I hope Isaac likes theater or something non sport releated.

Lastly, in an attempt to understand "the other side". I am reading a book by Glen Beck. It is really really hard to continue reading it but I feel I must complete it in order to put together complete thoughts on exactly how crazy the Birthers and like are. I will start by dissecting the first thought in his book which is about saying we all voted for "change" in washington and what the politicians think we voted for was a system of handouts and entitlements. First, I don't know about the rest of you but I voted for change away from the party in power because we couldn't take another 8 years Bush like policies and that is exactly what MCain was proposing. I also happen to think that some type of affordable health care for everyone is a right. Not sure if that is a government run system or not but I think it is a right. What we have isn't working. So sorry Glen(who by the way no way is in the we that voted for Obama) I was voting for a completly different type of change that you say I was voting for. Strike 1 on your great theories.

Cutler?

2009-09-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

Lets say he didn't have the greates game. I was hoever fairly happy with the way the defense played. I don't think the loss of Urlacher for the season is going to be as big a deal as people are making it out to be. But what do I know. In any case the Bears won't win to many games with 4 Int. If Cutler has another game like that he will be chased from Chicago. Really it is that simple. On a positive note the Bears offense couldnt have played much worse and they did have a chance to win. Oh one last think run to set up the pass don't pass to set up the run.

Steve's Last Night in Town

2009-09-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

For a while when I have talked about the cabin I have felt like the song above. I kept talking about it going away and it never would happen. Well that day is done. I got a call from my dad on Friday and the cabin is officially going on the market today. Makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. Money makes people do some pretty crazy things. A piece of land that has been in the family forever will be gone for no reason other then people want the money from it. Dad said he couldn't do anything to save it because it is just too much money for him to buy etc. While I know my dad is trying I just don't believe he really did everything. He didnt talk to his siblings years ago about a way to keep it or by them out. He didn't buy my Uncle Jim out of the trust when my uncle Jim begged hiim to do it. Now these people will become multi millionaires. Drives me nuts. I could go on but honestly it just makes me sick. Hopefully it will be around one more summer but who knows. One positive thing is I will probably never see any of these relatives again and to be honest I will be better for it.

Oh yea

2009-09-10T15:59:00.001-05:00

That sound you will hear around 735 tonight. That will be me me opening a beer and heaving a huge sigh of relief as the NFL season begins....

District 9

2009-09-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

All in all I liked the movie. My expectations were way to high but even with that I still liked it. It had pretty cool special effects like the "air" pulse gun and some totally quality kills. Don't read any father if you don't want it ruined. A few things that bothered me. First is that none of the aliens could use there own guns. Was it because they were all worker aleins and not able to or smart enough to use guns. Who knows. Also I didn't like how the movie came in and out of documentary mode. Lastly I think there was too much content there for a short movie. I started to think how/why did the aliens come to earth? Was it to spread black fluid and turn everyone into aliens themselves? Were they coming in peace? Were they only here to get fix/get fuel for the ship? How did there ship get stuck and without any power how was it floating? Wouldn't the military be trying to take apart the ship as much as they were trying to acquire and steal gun technology? I mean come on 20 years floating above Johanaburg? What situation made all the worker aleins live but none of the smart ones(well except one possibly?) Will the alien come back in 3 years? Was that a lame set up for a sequel. I think it be cool to have a prequel that bleeds into a sequel. In any case I had a lot of questions but the movie was still entertaining. I give it a 8 out of 10 stars

Plumbing

2009-09-08T14:06:00.000-05:00

Plumbing is hard jammed under a cabin. A person who will not be named did the original plumbing like a 2 uear old and didn't put access to everything in the cabin. What this means is water pipes run into unaccesible walls. Makes sense right because you would never want to get to plumbing runs again would you? Anyway I spent three days under the cabin and succeded in redoing the plumbing and having no leaks at about 10 psi. Next up is the pump and running that to the cabin. Hopefully 50 psi will not bring any leaks.

Favre...

2009-08-27T21:29:00.001-05:00

I could go on about Favre but instead I will leave it up to this....

Someone is not happy.

Football...NFL style

2009-08-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

I am way more of a football fan then baseball. The only thing that maybe comes close for me is college basketball. College football...lame. Maybe because I went to a small school whitout a football team that I just don't get college football. There are so many flaws...one being no playoffs. Two the stupid ranking system. Three teams like Ohio state playing some crappy team just to "warm" up. I just am not that much of a fan. NFL is the real deal. Plus this weekend I am going to Chicago for a little fantasy draft. I am sure I will be about 500 as I am every year but I will have fun doing it.

I have got to get a Favre post in here.

Vomit Commit

2009-08-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

So we had the opportunity to experience the vomit commit for ourselves. The trip from Milwaukee to Muskegon on Wednesday was pretty uneventful. The boat was pretty empty and there was much in the terms of waves. On Sunday for the return trip there were 5 foot waves and the boat was rocking back and forth pretty good. There were a lot of sick looking people(none were us) and the occasional random puke by younglings in the isle. Isaac wanted to get up and run around. As you can imagine I had to make him hold my hands the entire time as he kept taking diggers from the boat rocking. To add to the excitement there was a pretty good thunder and lightning storm in the middle of the lake. It was so windy that the tops of all the waves were getting blown off. I had never seen anything like it. It was like looking at a lake and every single wave has a whitecap on it at once. Like something out of a book. Was cool. All and all the vacation in Michigan was awesome. So relaxing. That place is a mind relaxing gold mine. It is also perfect for kids because there is so much room to run and play and there is always the creek to play in if the waves are to big in the big lake. I will miss it a lot if/when it goes.

Bike Race

2009-08-11T09:46:00.000-05:00

Ok so a week and a half ago I did my first ever bike race. I have done a triathalon and some "rides" but never a race. This was even a mountain bike race. Well it was really fun but I learned a few things. First, I am not a good mountain biker. I have lost the ability to block all fear from my mind. I know what I should be doing but I can't get my body to comply. As I come down a deep decent I will say to myself don't hit my brakes, don't hit my brakes. Then what do I do? Hit my brakes. Because I hit my brakes so much I have to work twice as hard and I am just not in good enough shape to make that happen. That is the second thing I learned that I am not in as good of shape as I want to be. In any case I wasn't able to finish because I took a digger and completely bent my front wheel so bad it was game over. I had a pretty bad start but I would have definetly finished in the bottom half of the race. In any case it was fun and I plan on doing it more next year.

Vacation

2009-08-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

After a weekend at Kari's cabin...in which yes I caught one large mouth around 20 inches and a crappie, hold on to your hat, that was 16.25 inches. I couldn't freaking believe it. Was AWESOME! Caught it on a fake gulp minnow. I am sold on those things. Stay on your hook forever and when you are done with it throw it back in the gulp juice and it recharges. Oh and it is biodegradable. Win Win..

Now we are off to a ferry ride and the cabin. I keep thinking of the song from Ben Folds Five about Steve's Last Night in Town. I feel like every time I go to the cabin it could be the last but somehow it just keeps holding on. So here is to the possibility of the last night at the cabin...

Gators' Tebow

2009-07-24T13:22:00.000-05:00

I am tired of athelets thinking that somehow god really cares if they win a football game or not. The completing a pass and pointing to the sky like it was God shinning down and them that made them complete a pass. It is just silly self righteousness. I am sure I spelled that wrong. I can't decide if I don't like Tebow because he is on the Gators or I just don't plan like he because of shoving is religion and virginity in my face.

Lance is down...but not out

2009-07-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

I think its funny that the tour is no longer the tour..it is all about Lance Armstrong. In some strange way I wanted to see Lance fail miserably. He hasn't done that but he probably is not going to win given Contrador's lead. It would be pretty amazing if that team finished with 3 riders in the top five. If the Tour directors were smart they would ask Lance to keep doing the tour until he dies. It is the only thing saving the sport at this point. That is until half the field is found to have been doping two weeks after the tour ends...

New Isaac pics....

2008-09-21T16:22:00.001-05:00

See link on the side...

Food or Tapeworm redux...

2008-08-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

I couldn't continue to post everything as I got really busy the end of last week and went to the cabin on Friday. Suffice it to say that Thursday and Friday were pretty much like the rest of the days during the week. On Friday I barely ate anything until I got up to the cabin. As for Saturday and Sunday man did I put away the calories!!!!

With all that being said I have come to the conclusion that I am binge eater. Is that better or worse then a binge drinker? Not really sure. In any case for some reason I don't eat that much during the week. As a result because of all the excercising I do, my energy level goes down as the week goes on. Then the weekend comes and I pack my self full of food. Then Monday comes and I start the entire thing over again. I am guessing that this isn't all that healthy and probably doesn't do well for my muscle mass from biking as I am pretty burning muscle by the end of the week due to my calorie shortage.

Conclusion: Try to eat more spread out during the week and spend the weekend drinking my calories instead of eating them...

Food or Tapeworm Wednesday

2008-08-20T18:47:00.001-05:00

Excercise
Existence.................2100
45 Min bike ~19 mph........620
45 Min bike ~19 mph........620

Food

Banana........................................................108 cals
12oz Glass of OJ..............................................180 cals
Whole weat Bagel..............................................254 cals
Fat Free Yougurt w/Granola....................................300 cals
Apple.........................................................60 cals
6 Pretzals....................................................100 cals
Popsicle......................................................75 cals
PBJ Sandwhich.................................................560 cals

finished later

Tuesday Tapeworm or Anorexia

2008-08-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

Right to it...

Excercise
Existence..................2100
30 mins biking 15 mph......320 cals
2 hours of soccer..........1600
1 mile of walking..........125

Food
Bowl of Raisin Bran with milk........260
Bagel................................254
Banana...............................108
Los Ocompos chicken burrito..........1000
2 Brautwurst with Saurkraut..........700
1 Bottle Propel......................25
2 Handfuls of grapes.................75
10 strawberries......................65

Total Cals out 4145
Total Cals in 2487

I think I am beggining to understand why I eat so much on the weekends. I am a binge eater.

Food or Tapworm??

2008-08-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

Ok so I am going to try and keep track of all my food and excercise for one week starting today. Sometimes I think I have a tapeworm with how much I eat. Other times I don't think I eat enough as I get really schlunky(a made up word that means to be tired of have lack of energy). It may be possible I have a very cyclical eating cycle. So I guess I am turning this into a diet/excercise journal for 1 week. At the end of each post I will attempt to record total calories consumed along with total calories burned. I am going to assume that a normal male ~190lbs burns about 2100 calories in a normal day. I will attempt to edit the post to make one day complete in one post. Ok so here goes day 1

Excercie

Normal existence..............................2100 calories
45 min bike at ~19 mph).......................620 calories
45 min bike at ~19 mph).......................620 calories

Food

Banana........................................................108 cals
12oz Glass of OJ..............................................180 cals
Whole weat Bagel..............................................254 cals
Fat Free Yougurt w/Granola....................................300 cals
Apple.........................................................60 cals
12 wheat thins garlic&Herb Chips..........................130 cals
6 Pretzals....................................................100 cals
small box raisins.............................................130 cals
Odds and ends while feeding Isaac.............................50 cals
Steak.........................................................390 cals
Potato........................................................278 cals
Broccoli......................................................100 cals
Ice Cream.....................................................420 cals
PBJ...........................................................560 cals

Total Cals Out 3340
Total Cals in 3060

Hmm I need to eat more!

Edit:oops forgot PBJ

Suprise!

2008-08-11T15:57:00.000-05:00

No. It is not a surprise that I actually posted something. Author#1 pulled off a surprise birthday party for me at the Cabin in Michigan. I was really surprised. It was really fun to have everyone there. Especially the people who came all the way from Minneapolis for a weekend. Pretty cool. I didn't want to leave and wished everyone could have stayed longer. Also wished the weather was a bit warmer but in any case it was still fun.

The waves were so big in the lake that the Ferry was cancelled and Author#1 and myself were forced to drive all the way around through Chicago and home. It was a long drive. We got a late start because we thought we were taking the Ferry. Actually we left at what I feel was the worst time for traffic going into Chicago. I also explained to Author#1 my conspiracy theory on the Indiana toll road. So I have been driving back and forth from the cabin to Chicago since before I can remember. One thing I do remember is that there is always....and I mean always construction on the stretch of 94 in Indiana. It is only a 48 mile stretch of road but yet it always seems to have construction. My theory is that Indiana purposefully puts construction on this road to force people to the toll road therefore making more money(Though I believe now the Indiana toll road is private...shhh don't tell anyone it ruins my theory). It always seems as if the construction starts right around a convenient exit to get to the toll road and ends where the toll road ties back into 94. It also doesn't make sense that in the 40 years I have been driving the road that it doesn't seem like it has been widened once yet there is horrible traffic there year after year. With this being said I went against all principles and decided to go onto the toll road. Which surprise surprise moved much faster then 94. One thing I notices was I-Zoom lanes in the toll plaza's. There was nothing zoomey about these I-Zoom lanes. Every other speedy toll pass I have seen means you don't have to stop to go through the toll plaza. You either can drive through slowly...ie 15 mph or quickly 70 mph. In this case you had to stop in the I-zoom lanes like any other lane. In any case I just found it funny. With all the bad traffic...and history of bad traffic...and the fact I was staring a very long day of driving in the face I started to think what does Indiana have that is special? Author#1 reminded me she had special relatives in the state. To which I replied besides that what is there a bunch of Amish? Anyway we got home at 215ish am. Long day...I'm tired.

Kugler Fishing Tournament

2008-06-18T17:53:00.001-05:00

So the weather was a little cool. The fishing was good but not great. In any case fun was had by all. As far as the results go here they are.

Biggest Northern 30" Chad
Biggest Bass 19" Mike
Most fish unkown as I won by so many....Mike
Smalles Fish ~3" Jason

And an unofficial award will be given to Steve for must entertainment while fishing and the most grunts during a 5 minute period... If I can get some pictures from Chad I will post them.

Minnesota Nice...and bikes

2008-06-12T18:17:00.000-05:00

I will not claim to be completely innocent in the events that follow but I don't think I did anything terribly wrong either.....

This story needs a little background before it starts. I have been biking to and from work pretty much since I moved to Minneapolis. I have been yelled at...in advertantly run off the road...had stuff thrown at me from car windows and pretty much have had to put up with a general lack of respect for bikes. On my way to and from work I bike through the intersection of chicago and 38th street. Those who know minneapolis know its not the nicest part of town. For some reason in that spot I have been almost hit nicked and squeezed more then any place on the city. So my senses are high and on tend to be a little on edge when I reach this spot on my ride home.

To the car driver defense I have flipped people off when they get to close to me and yelled at people that they are m-fers. Even stopped and pummuled(in a not to hurt way) a kid after he nailed me with a stick while biking. Usually its provoked but sometimes its just a bunch of little incidents that boil to the surface.

Ok enough background...now to the story. Today on my bike ride hom I reach the infamous intersection metioned above...well actually just slightly before it. I see a car(huge pickup truck) in the right line trying to pull into traffic. I slow down to an almost stop to let the guy in. He doesn't react so I stand up and start pedaling again before I have to completely stop and unclip my pedals. As far as the rules for the road go I am completely in the right to pass this guy. As I pass him he says through his rolled down window in a severely condscending voice.."Oh Come on Dude."
I reply "Whatever" as a go by him
He then speeds into the lane of traffic and catches up to me at which point Im going about 20 mph. He rolls down his passenger window and proceeds to tell me "how everyone was waiting for him and why I didn't wait."
To which I reply "When is the last time you waited for a biker?"
He replies "You sure have a bigg mouth."
I reply "F-off"
He replies "You sure have a big mouth why don't you pull over and we will settle this"
I reply "You sure have a big truck and are quick to fight. Do you have a small penis?"
The conversation degrades from there, if that is possible, with him saying lets pull over and my saying blow me until he finally turns right on like 10th street and I continue straight....

Not saying Im completely innocent in these matters but when it comes to bikes there is no such thing as Minnesota nice.....

For the record I want to state that this gentlemen was of white anglo decent....

Baby Sleep...

2008-05-15T18:27:00.000-05:00

After endless amounts of research I have come to a conclusion. That conclusion is that baby sleep books are a bunch of crap. I might even go as far as to say they are a scam aimed at poor new sleep deprived parents willing to try anything to sleep. This hard research comes from Isaac. He pretty much sleeps as much as he feels like at night. Nothing changes he sleeps 8 hours straight then the next night he wakes up every 2 hours. Ive decided to come up with a snappy name and write my own baby sleep aid book. It will be called Baby in a Coma. I will come up with all these great ideas of how to get your baby to sleep but then I will set unrealistic guidelines so that I alway have an out when the baby doesn't sleep. One such guidelines is that every night routine must be exactly the same. If you deviate your baby will never ever ever sleep through the night and you are doomed to fall asleep at the wheel of your car and crash into a tree. I think you get the idea. I am sure it will make me millions.

On a completely different subject. I hate when engineers say have you checked this or checked that or did you think about this or what about this but never have to answer any questions or give any ideas themsleves. It is almost like an Engineer critic who never has to come up with an idea themselves but is quick to point out everyone else short falls or percieved short falls.

Salem R.I.P

2008-05-06T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well it is with a heavy heart that Koogs and I say goodbye to Salem. She was put to sleep on Sunday night due to a bad heart and other issues. We will miss her greeting us at the door when we get home, her indestructable tail, her ability to still act 2 even though she could barely walk, and the way she captured Isaac's attention. We love you Salem and say hi to all of our previous pets in pet heaven.....Hopefully you are swimming endlessly chasing the geese and ducks.

Chicago Style Dogs....

2008-04-25T18:38:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1LPf9mnyU

Somebody call Guiness

2008-04-22T08:01:00.001-05:00

Isaac slept from 630 until 3 am. A new record. It seems we were trying to feed him things he doesn't like at dinner which meant he didnt it that much which meant he woke up more at night because he was hungry. All I can say is down with sweet potatoes!

Bicycle Bomber

2008-04-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

So apparently I have become a suspect for bombing. Why you might ask? Oh because I happen to carry a backpack. Oh and my backpack has a blinky light which we all know signifies a bomb inside. So I bike to work pretty much every day and then shower in the locker room next to the shop floor. When I have a lot of jobs on the shop floor I tend to check out my jobs before heading upstairs. When I do this I usually throw my back pack in a corner in the locker room and grab it when I go upstairs to my office. I have been doing this for about a year. Well apparently this day someone thought my bag might be a bomb and called security. Thankfully security didn't over react and just came and got my bag. The ensuing phone call entailed the security officer telling me "We have something of yours." . I was waiting for him to say what it was he had of mine even though at this point I knew it was my backpack because it was missing when I went to go grab it. I then got the lecture about how I shouldn't leave my bag unattended as it could be thought of as a bomb. In my head I was screaming "You have to Fn kidding me. This is a freaking joke." but on the outside I was just nodding along numbly waiting for him to finish his speal and to walk away. One last thing is that you need a security badge to get into the building so it isn't like any bomber can just walk in here and bomb you it almost has to be an employee. FEAR YOUR CO-WORKERS THEY COULD BOMB OR SHOOT YOU AT ANY MOMENT.... I would be willing to bet a lot of money that the guy whow feared my back pack voted for GW in the last election...

Rick Roll anyone?

2008-04-01T08:49:00.001-05:00

http://www.kongregate.com/games/BenV/kongaiLaunch

Hawaii 5 0

2008-03-31T19:36:00.000-05:00

Hawaii was nice and warm. I camped on the beach 2 nights so that was nothing to complain about. I did get yelled at on Monday by a Park pooolice for not buying a permit. He actually was pretty cool about it. The thing I found strange was that there are only like 3 places on the entire island to buy a camping permit. I thought that was pretty unfriendly for camping in general. It was a very crowded weekend as it was spring break and Easter. Is it necessary to say spring break and Easter? Do they always land on the same day...No idea..Moving on.. So I did some swimming and some body surfing, though I have no idea how to body surf on Hawaiian waves. I had nor problem in New Zealand but Hawaii I just don't get. The waves don't roll they just kind of smash into the ground. Making for some good sand pummeling when you try to ride them. So in an effort to avoid the crowds I decided I would go more towards the interior of the island and hike figuring no one would be there. Well I was correct in my assessment but had a somewhat Deliverance experience. You look mighty pretty boy...That sure is a pretty smile..never mind.

It isn't all that great that winter decided it isn't over yet. Pretty much done with winter this year but apparently its not done with me...

Not so nice

2008-03-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

Well I messed with mother nature and mother nature won...this time. I spent the weekend tuning up my road bike in hopes I could finally get out of cold storage and ride to work this week. Well thankfully I decided monday was not the day for it. Then mother nature decided to drop a little march snow on us. So now the road bike is back in storage for a little longer. Mother nature 1 Me 5. Im winning because I biked multiple times this winter in weather well well below zero.

During the cleaning process I found a huge compression dent in the frame of my road bike. I guess one to many wipe outs on it. I have had it for about 10 years. Thats not so bad. So looks like this will be the year to turn it into a single speed and upgrade my frame.

Nice

2008-03-12T19:22:00.001-05:00

I know it was only like 43 out today but it felt great. Somehow it seems as if I got to work so much faster on my slow ass mountain bike.

I have a business trip to Honolulu in a little over a week. Let see with HPD I traveled to the middle of nowhere. With GE I travel to Honolulu. Score one for GE. One thing I find never endingly amusing is that people at work telling me all about travelling and where I should sit and how I should do it. Or better yet how much it is going to suck to fly to Hawaii for 4 days. My categorical response to everything...in my head of course.. is that they have no idea what suck is or means. They all know I used to travel like crazy as a service engineer so I just find it amusing.

OK!

2008-03-10T15:53:00.001-05:00

Alright so a I had a bit of a hiatus. I was totally swamped with work and child rearing that I just didn't feel like typing anything here. All is well here. Isaac still doesn't sleep. He did however on Saturday decide he would sleep 8 consecutive hours. Which is well beyond what he has ever done. It was great except for the constant worry that somehow he had suffocated himself in an empty crib with 2 nooks. Though to make sure Kari and I didn't get to excited about that Isaac decided to wake up at 1:30 this morning and stay awake for about 3 hours. I guess the point I am trying to make is Isaac doesn't sleep much and whenever we think we get hand he pulls something like this to show that he really is the one who has hand....

One interesting story while I was away is one morning at about 6am someone tried to steal my car. It was a freezing cold morning..something like 10 below. I decided I would go start the car while I got ready for work. For some strange reason I was munching on a wasa cracker while staring out the front window. I noticed a pickup truck stop right next to my car. This obviously got my suspicion up slightly as why would someone be stopping next to my car at 6am. I then saw the break lights on my car light up as in someone is stepping on my brakes. I then bolt to the door and yell "Don't even think about it!" Why I yell this as opposed to the million other things I could have yelled is beyond me. I guess it is all I could think about at 6 am. The person then jumps out of my car and starts running down my street. One may ask why wouldn't you just drive away with my car. I mean he is in it at this point. I would like to think that my STERN warning scared them away but my guess is that in this day and age is that he didn't know how to drive stick. Stick pays off again...anti theft...and better gas milage! I think he was about 15 maybe 16 at the most. He was running to his waiting buddy at the end of the street. At this point I have a decision to make. Take of running across my yard and into my street in my bare feet when its 10 below. Or just stand there and watch him run. I hesitated and then hesitated more and decided I wasn't going to run after him. Though I would have caught him easy I am not sure I wanted to catch him for fear of what would happen if I did. I then went out to my car at about the same time the kid got to his buddy waiting pickup truck at the corner. I then proceed to chase them down 13th avenue at much higher then safe speeds. I chased them all the way to Powderhorn never really getting close enough to get a plate number. We turned on 35th at which point I decided the chase was no longer worth it, because of the speeds we were traveling at. So that is my big story while away.

2007-11-09T00:05:00.000-06:00

Awww...Isaac on his first date...Some drool..some cross eyes...Good times had by all=)

Isaac pictures

2007-10-31T20:40:00.000-05:00

Ok I know I have been remiss but this will make up for it I promise... Check out some pics of Isaac here http://picasaweb.google.com/nussmier/Isaac

Soccer anyone?

2007-10-04T15:51:00.000-05:00

So I was reading a little over at Tsjaz and it reminded me of something I wanted to write about. I know everyone wants to hear more about this so lets talk about US womens soccer. The back story is that there is a goalie named Solo who was the starting goalie for the entire world cup and many of the games leading up to the world cup. She gets benched for the semi final game and the US team goes on to loose. This wouldnt be a story if (1) the US didnt have one of its worst loses in team history and (2) she didnt bitch about being benched. Something doesnt make sense. Specially when it happened a bunch of X players came out and called for the coach to quit. I mean think of it in terms of football. Ok you team has won 17 games in a row and is in the confernce finals. And the coach benches Peyton Manning and puts in Travrius Jackson because he belives Jackson is quicker then Peyton. I'd be pissed if I was Peyton. So why shouldnt she be pissed? I had to write about this because it hits close to home. My buddy Ed was an amazing goalie. He played what amounts to semi-pro soccer and had some amazing goals against record. He was player of the year for like 2 years in a row. Though everytime this pro goalie came to play for the team who was the same nationality as most players on the team Ed would ride the pine. One would think thats fine the other goalie was a pro. The problem is that the team lost way more with the "pro" goalie then they ever did with Ed. To this date he is still one of the best if not the best outdoor soccer goalie I have ever seen play and he didnt even start our freshman year of college? Why you might ask? Politics I will answer. It was a joke. He was way way better then the other goalie. The problem is we were all good players and didnt bitch about it and tell the coach and everyone else who would listen that it was a joke. We didnt want to hurt the other players feelings and because of it we were a worse team. Political crap like this is why soccer will never ever be big in the US....Well that and the fact its boring as hell to watch. Play soccer = fun.. Watch soccer = full frontal lobotomy.

J B-day

2007-10-02T10:06:00.000-05:00

Before the birthday celebration we went to Fujiya for some sushi. I was craving sushi like a supermodel craves heroine. It was really really yummy. Koogs then went home and me, Scott and Marg went to Gasthoff's J's bday. It was octoberfest and really busy outside. After a while we found everyone inside and to my suprise it wasnt that crazy inside. We had a couple boots of beer which was fun. A crazy german guy played happy birthyday song to J that went something like this....Jason, Jason he's so hot. He wants to be an Astronaut. Repeated again and again and again. I found it amusing every time.

Played some soccer on Saturday which was nice. The days of outdoor soccer for the year are coming to an end so I must enjoy every chance I get.

Isaac is doing good. He had a doctors appointment and he is up to 9 lbs 4 oz. 1 lb 10 oz in the last 2 weeks. He is a chow hound just like dad... He actually is starting to show signs of having baby fat. One of these days Ill post some more pics. Just haven't been properly motivated yet.

Isaac redux

2007-09-11T08:54:00.001-05:00

So for those of you who don't know Isaac Arthur Poole was born on August 23rd at about 230 in the afternoon. He came a little early due to some complications. After some surgery all is good and we have been home with him since Labor day. While in the hospital Isaac had to pass many tests before we could leave. Including ultrasounds on every internal organ imaginable, along with a seroius of blood tests they were testing for who knows what. Below is a picture of Isaac breezing threw the car seat test. Yes he had to pass this test before he could leave. After all the others he thought it was so easy he'd sleep through it....

New Member

2007-08-30T12:56:00.000-05:00

Isaac Arthur and Mom....

Theme?

2007-08-21T17:19:00.000-05:00

In the vane of the last post...greatest comercial ever...

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=24817

Princess Peach or Toadstool...you choose

2007-08-21T15:18:00.001-05:00

I was going to write this long post about how we never see any TV footage of daily life in Iraq and how I saw so much more in other countries when I visited them but that just depressed me. So instead I am going to write about something more fun. I got the new(er) Deftones and Rush album from J. I have had a chance to listen to both of them a few times. I am a pretty big Rush fan and I can’t say it did much for me. I’ll give it a C. Maybe after 400 million albums I am Rushed out. The strange thing is I never really was a Deftones fan and I thought the album was a B+. Track 10 is really good and there also is some other acoustically pleasant sounds on it. I want to see the movie King of Kong that opens this weekend…which of all things is about Donkey Kong…Now tell me THAT isn’t going to be a great movie.

Football/Vick

2007-08-20T16:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, I will admit it I am a Michael Vick fan. They guy has amazing athletic talent. One of the fastest people I have ever seen in my life. I am not sure he will/can every be an amazing QB but when he takes of running its fun to watch. By no means am I justifying what he did. I am just judging him on pure athleticism. Now with the news coming out today that he is coping a plea to his dog fighting escapades on his property a question should be asked. Do public figures like athletes, who the young look up to, be treated differently then everyone else? For example, should Vick be allowed to play after he pays his due (fines/jail time/etc etc)? His debt to society filled should he get a second chance? I can think of 2 other cases where a football player went to jail and played football again. One is Lewis (I think) who went to jail on some type of drug charge and is still playing in Baltimore. The other is Little (I think) who killed a person while drunk driving. I tend to think that football does a good job of trying to keep its image clean. Unlike baseball that will give Mr. Strawberry like 42 chances to come back from rehab football has the 3 strikes and you are out policy. Should this count as more then one strike against Vick? I tend to think it should. I tend to lean towards the fact that he shouldn't be allowed to play. Yes I would miss his amazing talent but I just think as such a franchise/league wide star he was that he should be held to a slightly different standard then others. Or at least make it very clear to him that this is strike 2.9999 and you so much as don’t throw your jock in the laundry basket you are gone gone gone from football forever and ever….

Triathlon

2007-08-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

I finished my first triathlon on Saturday. It was actually pretty fun and not as hard as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong I was tired when I was done but not as thoroughly spent as I thought I would be. The day started out with my chip being accidentally given to someone else. So they were broadcasting over the PA system that everyone should check their chip. About 10 minutes before the race started they gave me a new number. It might have been nice to concentrate on not drowning rather then worrying about my chip. Ok who am I kidding it wouldn’t have made a difference. In any case I did the entire thing. I was happy with my swimming (even though it was slow) and biking but my running was a little slower then I would have liked. I finished pretty much in the middle of the pack. Which I was happy with considering I had never done it before and my training consisted of biking to work and playing soccer. Biking was the funniest because I flew by everyone. Only got passed by like 3 people the entire time. Was a great feeling. My bike time was about 12 mins off the best time. I wanted to be a little closer then that but it didn’t happen. I do think with Koogs swimming, me biking, and with a person to be named later running that we could really compete in the coed relay division. The winning coed team did it in 2 hrs 10 mins. They swam in 22, biked slower then I did, and then ran 5:45 miles. I think Koogs could come close to 25 if that is all she had to do. I could further increase my speed biking and make more time there then hopefully the person to be named later can run like the wind. Not that we would win but it be fun to see where we could finish….Bottom line is it was fun and I would do it again. There is a little empty feeling not having that looming in the future then I remember oh yea I am going to be a dad soon…

Cat or the DEVIL?

2007-08-10T18:12:00.001-05:00

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=24645

Father

2007-08-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

I know I am not the most qualified to comment on this yet but I am going to anyway. As becoming a father quickly approaches it is very strange the weird societal pressures that are put on you. For example, you must buy the 1 million dollar stroller otherwise your child will DIE! Or questions people ask like “Are you going to let your child run around without pants on?” Or “Your not supposed to bring the child outside for the first 3 months because there are too many germs for them and they will DIE!” Its like every question/statement is judging. I don’t think I am hypersensitive but maybe I am. What is wrong with different means to the same end(a healthy child). Trust me, I need lots of help and ask lots of questions. Answers like we didn’t like cloth diapers because they were to much work or we didn’t like that stroller because it was just too heavy. or Baby A didn’t like that dress because it gave her a rash or Baby A2 really likes being held like this. Great information.. The bad ones are “Babies must eat xxx or they will grow up dumb” Maybe its just the fear thing or underlying fear that gets to me. The other strange thing is that having a baby IS the greatest thing ever. I mean it has to be otherwise you’re a horrible parent! It is obviously life changing but who says everything is for the better? I even have a hard time writing that for fear everyone will think I don’t want to have a child and will be a horrible parent. Isn’t everything that is worth anything a little give and take? Is it wrong to miss spontaneously going to the cardinal for a beer? Or spontaneously going to a Prince concert? Doesn’t mean you want to ditch your child but it doesn’t mean that having a child HAS to be the greatest thing ever all the time otherwise you’re a horrible parent….

WYSIWYG

2007-08-06T16:32:00.000-05:00

Any good computer nerd can tell you that wysiwyg stands for what you see is what you get. Which in this case is supossed to be the type of blog posting tool that is used here. Problem is that it isn't. This blog editor will not allow me to put two spaces without using code. IE when I wrote this there were 5 spaces between the upcomming I and O. I O. So it isnt really wysiwyg. So I wish they would stop lying or someone could show me how to use nbsp code because I cant figure it out.

Film Anyone?

2007-08-06T12:22:00.000-05:00

Another day closer to being a dad. Not sure why I mention this besides the fact that it is (evil Matrix voice) inevitable. Ok its not a bad thing its just that my mind seems to work in movie quotes a lot…specially with the amount of film I watched this weekend.

Friday night I had the idea that I would go to Block E and pay for a $9 movie at like 5pm and try to see as many movies as I could. Get my money’s worth. Ok so I didn’t go to the movies on Friday but that idea is still there and before all the blockbusters leave the theatre I will put the plan into action.

On Saturday I played some soccer and on my bike ride home thought I would go to the Powderhorn Art Fest. I called Tsjaz and he swung by to join me. It was nice to walk around Powderhorn. I must admit it’s the first time I have ever done it. The park is decent. The art displays were nice. As usual there is some stuff you wonder who on earth would purchase and how on earth they would fit it in a house. I did notice like a lot of them were not “local”. I saw a place from Iowa and Illinois. I guess they are not that far away but I am betting there was someone in Minnesota who could have been there. Maybe I am being too picky. I didn’t get anything besides lemonade. All in all it was fun.

Tsjaz gave me the mini-series to Battlestar Galactica and I proceeded to watch the entire thing on Saturday (3 plus hrs I think) and then go see Bourne Ultimatum. Maybe not the most productive Saturday on earth but if I could I would do it more often. So Battlestar Galactica is good. Though I am still reeling over the fact that Starbuck (I wanted to mention that spell check wanted to put Tarbush in for Starbuck) is a woman. Mind-boggling. So far I give it a B. They did do a good job of setting up the series though there were some pretty cheesy parts of it. Though the scenes with number 6 and the scientist are funny and dumb at the same time. I do like how they have the silent space battles.

Bourne Ultimatum did not disappoint. Of course there are some scenes where you have to suspend reality but isn’t that why you go to a movie? Also there could have been less shaky camera going on. Because of the Bourne movies and Good Will Hunting I will always think Matt Damon is really smart and can kick some major ass.