CA vs TX

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only...

doing what is natural. He calls Animal Control. Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training regarding the nature of coyotes. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.

 

TEXAS: The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks his dog. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge. The buzzards eat the dead coyote. And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Texas is not.

Shed in a Box

 I really wanted to build a shed this fall and get stuff out of the garage so I could try and get my truck inside, but it wasn't in the cards . . . . but I had been looking at these temporary sheds for quite a while and then Menards put it on sale for $60 less than the best price I had seen, so I bought one.  Mom and I put it up -- she had the frame on her blog.  It took about 3 hrs total to put together.

So I have a list of stuff to bring out here from the garage and the yard for the winter, and maybe I'll still be able to get the truck under cover.  We are worried a bit about thievery, but I thought I'd put cable locks on all the gates and then chain everything together to at least slow someone down.  Locks didn't keep someone out of our Beaumont shed -- if someone wants something they will find a way to get it.  Hopefully this will do for now -- and a real shed will show up next spring.

Cannon Falls - home of the blinking red lights

 There is a small town not too far from where we live that is the intersection of many good motorcycle roads and rides.  Not related to motorcycles it has a good material store too for mom. 

Anyway either because many old geezers ride their bikes through town, or because one old geezer rides his bike through town a lot of times, with their/his turn signals on, they have posted signs to help me, I mean them, remember to check their signals.  It must be quite a monumental problem.  I've never seen a similar sign in all my travels.  My understanding is that a Goldwing has signals that turn off automatically.  :o)

 

 

Birthday Flags

Mom got me these cool flags and flage holder for my motorcycle for my Birthday present.  Sort of like a little kid with a crep paper streamer on his tricycle at the neighborhood parade.  Pretty cool!  Thanks Mom.

LARK TOYS

So whilst Matthew and Diana were looking for homes in Buffalo we took the kids to a toy store called Lark Toys in Kellog, MN just south of Wabasha.  They have all sorts of old fashioned (now Chinese) toys and several pretty cool wooden pull toys.  You can check them out at www.larktoys.com.

 Anyway one of the featured attractions is this old merry-go-round that this guy carved all the animals for over a period of time.  They are all wooden as is the rest of the carousel and for a small fee you can ride it for a small period of time.  I thought the carvings and paint jobs were amazing.  I'm guessing that over time the painting as been re-done with someone who is an expert with an air brush.

 This was a big moose that wasn't on the carousel, but was just sort of watching over the eating area.  Yup, also for a small fee you could get a burger, corn dog, chicken strips and fries and have the moose look at you while you ate.  He was pretty amazing too.

Here is a fish on the carousel.  All of them were pretty amazing pieces of work.  So if you need a reason to come back and visit MN -- remember Lark Toys is up here waiting for your oooooo's and aaaaaaaa's 

NEWS FLASH!!!!!

36 years ago on this day Bruce and Lorraine met for the very first time. . . . and the rest is history.

Weekly Bike Ride

Mom and I try and ride a couple of times a week and at least once try and ride on the the Cannon Valley Trail.  I really like riding the trail.  This week I finally remembered to bring the camera and snapped some pictures, most of which while I was riding, which made things interesting.  The pictures probably don't seem like much, but it is really pretty and quiet, and enjoyable.

 This is 10 miles from our starting point at the Red Wing Station.  I stop to rest my bum a minute and have a drink of water.  Mom wouldn't stop if she had her way, but she usually needs a pit stop (notice the 2 water bottles which are gone in the 1st 10 miles).

 This is the view from my cockpit moving right along at a bit over 16mph, heart rate in the target zone.  I had to wait a long time to find a down hill slope to take this picture so you could see how fast I ride.  :o)

 This is my normal view of mom -- she is always 1/2 mile ahead of me.  She can climb the hills like crazy.  If she didn't have to blow her nose and slow down to drink, I would never catch up to her.

 There are some open areas that are sunny and then a lot of shady places where the trees form a canopy over the trail.

 I took this picture while riding holding the camera backwards over my shoulder to catch a picture of Mom -- she was having a pain in her side, so this is one of the few moments she was behind me.

Here I am loading up at the Welsh station -- ready to head home after another wonderful ride.  We have the rack on the truck which makes it really handy to come and go.  Notice the cool shades and the caterpiller hitch hiker.  That is one thing bad about the trail is that you pick up a bunch of cob webs and bugs falling out of the trees on you.  So far it hasn't been anything too frightening.  I'm waiting for the day some big old tree spider drops on me.  We regularly see deer, bunnies, turtles, squirrels, chipmunks, cows, turkeys, and other fun animals.

Happy Trails!

50 Cal Pens

I was thinking that the BAR that Grandpa Glade carried in WWII shot 50 cal, but Michael set me straight that it was a 30.06.  Anyway I ran across these Pens made from an actual 50 cal cartridge and I think they are sort of cool.  They are really easy to make, and for some reason I really get a kick out of doing them.  As they won't hold the sentimental value that I originally thought, maybe there won't be an interest, but if you want one, let me know.

Not too much news from MN. We were spoiled in March with unseasonably warm weather, now in April it has seemed cold and rainy. We need the rain badly after no snow this winter, so we won't complain. Mom and I bought our bike passes for the Cannon Valley Trail. I dragged her out of the house a couple of Fridays ago and when we got to the trail it was still 38 degrees. I kept telling her it was 45 and to quit being a wimp, but it took half of the ride and some sunshine to finally get warm. So this Saturday when I tried to get her to go, she just rolled over, pulled the covers up a little tighter, and said "ITS TOO COLD". It was pretty cold again only about 35, so I guess we will just have to be patient.

We are putting a 2000 piece puzzle together. It has a bunch of water and then a rock cliff in it, and it has been hard. Mom did all the water and all the other hard parts and I did the easy colored building parts. It is of a little village on some coastal town in Italy. We have been working on it since conference weekend and I think we still have about 300 pieces to go.

Not too much major going on in the shop at this time just a few signs and a pen now and then. The signs are further developing my painting skills. I would like to try an air brush, but I wonder how much it would really get used. Have any of you ever used one? Matthew has a doll cradle project to do, but we haven't gotten together for that yet. I still like to spend time out there even if it isn't working on a big major project. Mom and I were at Rockler on Saturday and they had a steam bending box that they were demo-ing. The guy says that he has actually bent 2" thick cherry with steam. For the demo he was bending 1/4" maple and making Shaker boxes. It looks sort of fun to try, but a lot of effort and probably cost, and then how much would you really use it? Another thing I have seen is this guy figured out how to make a bowel on a table saw. That looks like it would be really fun to try -- you need a sheet of 3/4 MDF to make the jigs, but it looks like a pretty cool process. If you are interested you can check it out at AmericanWoodworker.com/WebExtras.

As you have seen on Mom's blog, we have fired up the grill a couple of times and also roasted some weenies in the fire pit. I've never been a huge fan of S'mores, but we made some a couple of weeks ago that were really good. Mom and I tried a new BBQ place up here that was better, but still a long ways from Rudy's. And we have found some better Mexican that is okay, but will never touch Pappasitos. I think the longer we live here, the more receptive we are to mediocre restaurants.

Well that is about the extent of my news -- sorry no pictures -- I'll have to work more on that.

And The Winners Are . . .

Bruce 78
Benjamin 71
Nicole 70
Sarah 67
Brent 66
Matthew 65
Michael 60
Lorraine 60
Brandon 59
Heather 50
Diana 42

The Final Dance

Here is where we stand:
Bruce 72
Nicole 70
Sarah 67
Bug 65
Michael 60
Lorraine 60
Brent 60
Brandon 59
Matthew 59
Heather 50
Diana 42

If Kansas wins, Nicole will be 1st, I will be 2nd, and Sarah will be 3rd. If Kentucky wins, I will be 1st, Bug will be 2nd, and Nicole will be 3rd. Diana has the booby prize safely in hand -- No one can unseat her!

Final Four Results

Some don't have a chance for any more points as shown below. It looks like we might need to put in a tie breaker. For the tie breaker please send me your guess on the total final score (both teams added together) of the championship game.

Bruce 67
Sarah 67 -- done
Nicole 65
Bug 60
Brandon 59 -- done
Michael 55
Lorraine 55
Brent 55
Matthew 54
Heather 50 -- done
Diana 42 -- done

UNC Pulls out OT Victory. Can they take Kansas?

Well the Elite Eight closed some gaps for some people. Sarah and Nicole were the top round pickers at 18 points

Here are the totals:
Bruce 59
Sarah 59
Nicole 57
Brandon 55
Benjamin 52
Michael 51
Lorraine 51
Heather 50
Matthew 50
Brent 47
Diana 42

Some of the early wrong choices continue to hurt some of us. The Final Four picks will be really fun because the current top pickers mostly have the same scoring opportunities, but all have picked different round winners.

Have fun!!!!

It is a tight Race

Here are round #2 results
Bruce 20
Heather 20
Michael 20
Sarah 18
Matthew 18
Brandon 18
Nicole 18
Lorraine 18
Diana 18
Bug 16
Brent 12

Here are the total results
Bruce 44
Heather 41
Sarah 41
Matthew 41
Brandon 40
Michael 39
Nicole 39
Bug 37
Lorraine 36
Diana 36
Brent 35

We have seen some great games -- hope you enjoy the tournament.

The Media Spin

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qKdScVerrBU&vg=medium

I hope you feel good about saving lives by paying $4.00/gal gas.

Norfolk St over Missouri -- Got us all!

Above is a picture of the stadium at the Missouri/Norfolk game. The clown was pulling for Norfolk.

First Round results are:
Bruce 24
Brent 23
Sarah 23
Matthew 23
Brandon 22
Nicole 21
Bug 21
Heather 21
Michael 19
Lorraine 18
Diana 18

Some of the sheets were a little hard to read so double check me.

Let the Dance Begin

Well it is that time of year again. Attached is a braket form. It appears it may n0t be finalized as of yet, but by later tonight it should be done. Please email me your pics by March 14 as the first round begins on March 15. May the best picker win.

Winter is Here

After unusually warm weather we are finally getting some cold. This morning it was -11 with a wind blowing that took the wind chill to -35. Still not much snow, but they are predicting a bit over the next few days. I've used the snow blower only once this year so far, and that was really just to see if it would start.

In the midst of the cold Mom gets on a plane tomorrow to head for Texas for a few days, and Michael and Heather head south to work on their winter tan lines. Just hope their ship stays in an upright position for the voyage and they don't go for a close-up view of a big rock. Just wave hi from a distance, and we will use the telephoto lense to take a picture.

Above is my finished woodburning. It was quite fun to do. I need lots more practice, so I will burn the other side of the same board and then sand or plane it all off and do other pictures. I figure I can probably burn 50 or so scenes on the same board doing it that way.

I hope you are all staying warm and enjoying life.
Love, Dad

Back to the ol'Grind

Mom and I have had a wonderful holiday season. I was able to take a few days off from work and it was very enjoyable. We appreciate so much all of the wonderful gifts we have received from you and the grandchildren. We are so greatful for your thoughtfulness.

I was speaking to Michael on the phone and he said I had never posted a picture of the finished rocking chair and it it is true, so above is the rocker all finished up. I enjoy it a lot -- Mom says it doesn't get used much -- for sure it isn't a comfortable as the recliner, maybe I should sit in it to read my scriptures so I don't fall asleep as easily.


I continue to enjoy doing things in the shop. I have always wanted to build a rocking horse, but find the required wood to be pretty expensive. Anyway I came across this toddler rocking horse pattern and built it up out of baltic berch plywood. I thought it came out kind of cute, but it definetly has its size limit. Mom got me a sign maker for Christmas, so now I can make wooden signs. For some reason, they are really fun to do. More on that later.

Mom's big present to me was a solid state wood burner. I have wanted one for a long time, but always put off getting one. So with wood burner in hand and inspired by Brandon's artistic ability I started off on my 1st attempt. If you can't tell what it is, it is supposed to be a fall scene of a barn with some trees around it. I will post a picture when I finish it if it isn't too embarassing.

I hope that each of you have had an enjoyable holiday season, spending time with your family, thinking of old times, and making new memories.

Love, Dad