Say What?

After 32 years, 952-892-6617 and I have parted ways. Technically, when I was first assigned the number it had a 612 area code. For the longest time about the only calls we've been receiving on it have been from telemarketers but the landline was bundled with our cable package and it was simply cheaper to keep it. That's no longer the case. And speaking of area codes, did you know that the area code for Cape Canaveral (where they launch the space missions) is 321 as in 3-2-1 liftoff!? I really only have one item on my bucket list, and that's to spend a week or two in San Diego riding some of the same roads on my bike that I rode when I was stationed there in the mid to late '70s while in the Navy. I can't imagine what feelings and memories being on those roads again would evoke in me so I need to find out. Honestly, the thought of it gets my heart racing a little. Sometimes I feel like the years are slipping away much faster than I'm comfortable with and I f...

I just finished burning a few Supertramp CDs for my daughter. She's recently developed a love for '70s rock music (Supertramp in particular), and Supertramp was and still is my favorite band. I saw them twice in concert when Rick and Roger (the main forces in the band) were still together. I've seen Roger's solo shows a couple of times since their split in 1983, and I flew out to Los Angeles in 1997 to see the reconstituted band play at The Greek Theater—a great experience! I couldn't have been more pleased to hear that Rachel's interested in hearing more of their music. And speaking of Rachel: Tammy and I spent last weekend at (her boyfriend) Drew's mother's cabin in northwestern Wisconsin with the 3 of them. Jenny's cabin is less than 15 minutes from the city of Webster where my parents owned 40 acres of land from the early '70s to the mid-'80s. We kicked around the town of Spooner for part of Saturday before driving to Clover Meadow Win...

Fourteen years ago tonight I was putting the finishing touches on one of the best days of my life : a 266 mile (428 km) bike ride from our home in Lakeville to Tammy's parent's home in Babbitt, Mn. I doubt I'll ever attempt such a distance again but I've learned to never say never. I received a group email from a friend last Thursday inviting me to take part in a longish ride the next day. It would be a ride with some of the riders from Lakeville's Silver Cycling bike group. I first rode with them in the spring of 2005 when our paths crossed on Hwy 246 south of Northfield. Although I'm mostly a solo rider, I rode with them a few times. Steve and others in the group are experienced, competent cyclists and I enjoy their company. I've been lacking any long rides this year so I scrapped my plans for a round of golf and joined the ride . It was a lot of fun! (See embedded video below.) I appreciate the way Steve (aka Silver) and others in the group sniff ou...

Tammy and I took in our first Pride Parade event last Sunday. Rachel was in the parade, walking along with a friend of hers who is a candidate for Hennepin County Commissioner, Irene Fernando. We drove to the Mall of America where we picked up the light rail for a ride into the city. Storms to the west of us threatened to rain on the parade but they fizzled out. It was a fun time . I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the recent retirement announcement of Justice Kennedy from the Supreme Court of the United States and the likelihood that another conservative pick by Trump* will risk rolling back many of the gains made through the court in recent years, and not so recent years. The protections for same-sex couples affirmed by the court not so long ago are now in jeopardy of being stripped away. But we've got the Citizens United decision that tells us corporations are people too, so you'll have to excuse me for being more than a little confused. I finally got our cuckoo cl...

Another rainy day today had me sitting on the couch in our sunporch fixing dead links on our website . I don't add to the site all that much anymore but I've got a lot of time invested in it over the years so I'd like to keep it and its links somewhat relevant. The one area of the site that I'm considering refreshing are the pages devoted to stained glass. Much of what I have there are photos of my early work. I'd like to add photos of some more recent creations. Also, I need to add SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) coding to each of the sites I manage (a total of 3). Beginning in July, unless I've got the coding added to the site, it will show that it's an unsecured site next to its URL, looking somewhat like the image to the left. A secure site will have a padlock icon next to the URL. GoDaddy wants $60 a year for each site to keep them secured. For that price, I'll figure out the coding on my own. I received a message via Google Hangouts a couple hours ag...

It's a dreary day outside my den window but I welcome these sorta days. We're between lines of thunderstorms and the birds are using the respite to fill the air with their songs. I've got nowhere that I need to be. It's taken me nearly a few years of retirement but I've finally reached the point where I'll allow myself to take an afternoon nap. A nap was never something I could indulge in when I was working because it only made more of a mess of my sleep schedule than it already was. It's nice to know I can play that card pretty much whenever I choose to now. I've been spending more time riding than golfing this year and I'm enjoying the change of pace. I sorta neglected my riding for my love of golf last year and although I have no regrets about my time spent walking the links, I wanted to find more of a balance this year. While I enjoy the relaxed nature of a round of golf, it can't compare to a hard workout on any of my bikes. My fitness...

As I sorta figured would happen, my stained glass items on Etsy lost much of their rankings (for search engine queries) while I had my shop on vacation mode while we were away. It'll likely take a while but I'm hopeful that they'll make their way back up in the rankings to where they were before we left. I've been able to chip away a little at a stained glass project I'm doing for my brother Bryan and his wife Sue. I was hoping to have it done and mailed to them before they leave for vacation in July but I don't think I'll be able to finish it in time. The lure of being outside is simply too much for me this time of year as it always is. I'm trying to work on it just a couple hours at a time but even that's a big ask for me now. I'd include a photo here of the design but I want it to be a surprise for them. Tammy and I made a fairy garden for Trinity Care Center where her mother is a resident. We're pleased with how it turned out. It...