Say What?

I've got a stat counter which tracks the number of users to my blog in addition to some other gee-whiz stuff and because I'm a bit of a 'details' guy I think it's cool information to have. But, there's a part of me that would like to forget that other people read what I have to say. Odd as it is I sometimes worry that my writing may be hindered because people I know will read my words and maybe they'll infer something they shouldn't from my writing. There are often times when I feel compelled to blog because there are regular viewers who stop by and I want to have a new entry for them. That can cut both ways in that it can motivate me to sit down and collect my thoughts (therapy) but I may also find myself writing not so much because I have something to say but because I feel I have to say something. That doesn't always make for interesting reading. I need to remind myself why I began my blog in the first place. For me, as a way of expressing mys...

We met with Bob and Julie last week to talk about a stained glass project they'd like us to do for them. They're not sure what they want so we brought over some books of stained glass designs that they can look through to get some ideas. Julie had also downloaded some images off our website that she liked . I don't know if we'll be able to get their project done before I close up the shop for the warmer months but we'll see if we can at least get some sketches made so we can be ready to move on it when the time comes. We're slowly making progress on the project we're working on for our entertainment center. There's no way to speed this up. It's just going to take some time; lots of time. I'm getting into a bit of a rhythm with it though as I manage to spend a couple nights a week down in the shop cutting, grinding and foiling pieces and then positioning them on the work table. I very much enjoy my time working the craft as I find it a relaxin...

Tammy and I last went out for dinner on Valentine's night 7 or 8 years ago. We'd brought my mother to Timberlodge in Burnsville and it was such a zoo. I'd made reservations earlier in the week but they didn't have us on the list when we arrived. We were eventually seated but the oversight brought some added tension to the night that we could've done without. We learned our lesson and have since planned our Valentine's Day celebrations so as to not make that mistake again. This year Tammy had to work until 7:30 so I decided to treat her to a dinner I'd make for us. I by no means consider myself to be much of a cook but I can barbecue a steak without any trouble. The menu: Rib eye steaks, baked potatoes, salad, Pepperidge Farms garlic bread, and Green Giant Healthy Weight vegetable medley. Oh, and a bottle of Kendal Jackson, Cabernet Sauvignon. A thank you to Jackie for some menu tips. I always like to buy Tammy an hour massage at Keep in Touch Massage ...

Charles Darwin would've been 200 years old yesterday if only his body had been able to adapt to the rigors of time. Darwin's theory of evolution was our topic of conversation at dinner last night. Rachel's teacher in AP-Bio doesn't allow for much skepticism when it comes to evolution. Rachel approached her after class yesterday to discuss the lack of transitional forms/fossils necessary for Darwin's theory to hold water. Her teacher would have none of it. It's apparent to Rachel that Darwin's theory isn't much of a theory at all in her teacher's mind but rather, fact. There needs to be more emphasis placed on the following which I lifted from Wikipedia... Darwin's theory of evolution required that transitional forms exist. As Charles Darwin became older, however, he became increasingly concerned about this lack of evidence in regards to the fossil record. Darwin wrote, “ When we descend to details, we cannot prove that a single species ha...

I headed out into a light drizzle with a temp in the low 30's for my Monday morning ride today. You'd be surprised at how nice riding can be in those sort of conditions once you get moving and are generating heat. Of the three elements working against me, the cold, rain, and wind, the wind was and usually is my least favorite. I was going to take a pass on today's ride but it looks like it may be several days before I'll have another chance. I was able to get outdoors to ride twice over the weekend. It's nice to have that option again. The only dicey areas were the side streets close to home where there were some scattered patches of ice. Otherwise, the roads were dry and fine for riding. I saw my first Robin of the year along the side of 185th street west of the freeway as I put the finishing touches on yesterday's ride. I no sooner saw the one before seeing a couple dozen others poking around the only earth I could see among the still deep snow. I can neve...

I was in the geek room at work yesterday surfing some blogs while becoming increasingly annoyed by a small beep, the source of which I couldn't figure out. It was getting on my nerves with its regular beep every 45 seconds or so. It got to the point where I had to fire up my Windows Media Player and don my ear-buds to drown out the sound. I probably could've lived with it if I knew where it was coming from. About that time,  Tracee stopped by to chat about getting some pointers for putting together a website. "Do you hear that?" I asked her after another beep. "That Beep?" she asked. "Yeah, it's driving me nuts" I replied. She said it sounded like an Annoy-a-Tron . She told me that somebody had brought them into the training department not too long ago and it took them weeks to figure out what the noise was. In her case, they were actually dealing with 3 separate Annoy-a-trons. I lifted the following from the ThinkGeek website; the makers ...