Two photos, 6 months and 133 Degrees

It was so hot, 103F/39C, on Tuesday, June 7th that the sidewalk at my neighbors' house expanded until it cracked and buckled. The sidewalk is about 4" thick, so I estimate it pushed up 7".

6 months earlier, on Dec. 11th, I posted the following picture. It was taken standing right where the sidewalk cracked looking across the street. The forecast was for -30F/-34.5C and 20" of snow with this storm.

Although, 133 degrees apart, I felt the giddy excitement of extreme weather both days; I love living in a place where the weather isn't monotonous.

Bow Fishing With Steve

A friend, Steve, called on Fiday night offering me a chance to try bow fishing on Saturday morning. I needed to decline the invitation so I could fulfill fatherly obligations, Chinese and soccer. I love my children, but longed to use a reel and fishing arrow I ordered a couple of months ago. I'd shot with this gear a few times in the back yard; no fish, just dirt and strange looks from neighbors.

When I heard Steve was thinking of going again on Sunday morning, I called. We had a great morning standing beside a bridge on and outlet of Medicine Lake.

I saw fish right away and shot shooting well over the fish like the rookie I was. I knew about refraction making the fish look farther than they are, but couldn't get my excited self to add brain to my instinctive shooting. Missed a few more, but then took my time to line up the shot and consciously aim low. Hit a bowfin right in the center. Bowfins are mean predator fish that have been around since dinosaurs. Badass, mean looking fish that will intentionally try to bite you . I, however, was not the one bitten. Tasty.

The next arrow aimed at a large carp. A long shot in deeper water hit the fish top center. Turns out a 25 lb fish can put up a good fight with an arrow in his back.

The pictures are of the big carp and bowfin I shot and of the carp Steve shot. I fried up the smaller carp with the bowfin, delicious. What a fun morning. After a day of shooting and eating rough fish, I think I'll go see if NASCAR is on.

Matt Dillon and Kwai Chang Caine Thanks and RIP

Today, June 3rd, 2011, marks the death of actor James Arness. His character Sheriff Matt Dillon taught me to be a man. His seminal sense of justice, duty, respect and wisdom inspire me. Sheriff Dillon got his man with constant, gentle toughness.

In high school I stayed up late Sunday nights to watch Gunsmoke and Kung Fu. A friend would do the same. Monday mornings were spent discussing the fine points of the shows while feigning interest in Mr. Adair's Sophomore English lessons. Gunsmoke was also my crusty Grandfather's favorite show. He even looked a bit like James Arness.

Coincidently David Carradine the actor playing Kwai Chang Caine of the Kung Fu series also died on June 3rd two years earlier.

These two characters helped form a young man's moral compass.

My New Old Bike 1989 Vintage Touring Steel

I know these to be great bikes, and saw one on Craigslist for $100. It shows some wear, but still has nubs on the original radial tires. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but a sweet bike nonetheless.

From Sheldon Brown:
Miyata touring bikes, including the 1000 and the lesser (but still extremely nice) 610, came with very unusual tires, Panasonic radials. These may be the only radial bicycle tires ever sold.

What Wikipedia's says about this model:
Miyata 6xx : A quality touring model, one step down from the 1000, with slightly different frame geometry and lower level components. Mid 1980's 610's have triple-butted splined Chromoly frame tubing, an unusually high quality tubing and construction for its price level. This bike is slightly lighter in weight than Trek 520/720 touring bikes, but of similar quality.

Childhood Memory

I wonder what ever happened to this lamp that sat next to my bed for years. Good night Puss in Boots.

Claire's Quiver

Claire designed and made this quiver. Friday night. She started by making a paper pattern. I helped cut out the leather to her specs. Then she played around with a stitching system until she came up with this one incorporating some beads we picked up in Taiwan. It works well and looks good too.

"Dad, I feel like a full grown man today"

I took Harris to Harmond Park to try mountain biking today. I wasn't sure how well he could pedal the Schwinn Moab, as it's still a bit big for him. After having no problems on the North Loop, we rode the entire course.
Harris was amazing. I could see him using both his biking and XC ski background on the trail. He skillfully rolled the down hills and handled more technical stuff easily. I enjoyed watching him ride.
The title quote comes from a chat we had while sharing a snickers blizzard after the ride. I'm proud of my kids.

Altered Esthetics Bike Art VI

Jim Walsh - Bike Pot

Altered Esthetics’ 6th annual bike art show brings together some of the Twin Cities’ largest communities…artists, cyclists, and those who love both! Join us in creating another amazing exhibit of bike-themed photography, painting, sculpture and interactive art.

Opening Reception
Friday, June 3, 2011 - 7pm-10pm


Arty Garage Sale
Saturday, June 18, 2011 - 7am-12pm

2nd Annual Bikini Bike Wash


Artists' Discussion
Saturday, June 18, 2011 - 1pm-3pm
1224 Quincy St NE, Mpls MN 55413 • 612.378.8888 • contact-at-alteredesthetics.org
Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 1pm–7pm, Saturdays 1pm–5pm

New Bows For The Children

Harris' bow (above) is a Ragim Matrix Jr. Youth Recurve. The bow is 48" long with a 16# pull. The Matrix Junior recurve take-down bow is the lightest bow for beginners available on the market.

Both Kids are getting pretty good with their crappy red fiberglass bows. But, it's time for an upgrade. They'll be reinforcements, as we face down small stuffed animals in backyard battles. The alien below will never phone home again.
Claire's (below) is the Greatree Mohegan Take Down 48" youth recurve bow. It is manufactured of an attractive layering of maple and oak woods. Her lefty bow is 48" long with a 20# pull.
I ordered these and a bow fishing kit from Quality Archery Bows. I place the order Sunday and they should be at my house Wed. Not bad for free shipping.

21st Annual Traditional Bow Shoot Coon Rapids, MN June 18-19

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Hakuna Matata.

Only foam animals were hurt making this blog post.

Harris/Insideous Rat Boy

In celebration of finalizing his plans to take over the Universe!

Tall Bike Joy

Claire and Harris conquered the tall bike today. Dismounts were not graceful, but they were able to get off without too much assistance from gravity.

With snow melted alley biking is on.

The bike is homemade out of two boulevard bikes and a section of black pipe. Total cost $5 for handlebar grips and 1/2 a can of spray paint. Q, a friend of mine is the master mind. We built this bike and two others one night in his So. Minneapolis Garage. Good times.

Skunk Cabbage is "Warm Blooded"

Thanks to all the people who helped identify this fascinating plant, symplocarpus foetidus or skunk cabbage. Wikipedia says,
Skunk cabbage is notable for its ability to generate temperatures of up to 15-35°C above air temperature by cyanide resistant cellular respiration in order to melt its way through frozen ground,[2] placing it among a small group of plants exhibiting thermogenesis. Even though it flowers while there is still snow and ice on the ground it is successfully pollinated by early insects that also emerge at this time. Some studies suggest that beyond allowing the plant to grow in icy soil, the heat it produces may help to spread its odor in the air.[2] Carrion-feeding insects that are attracted by the scent may be doubly encouraged to enter the spathe because it is warmer than the surrounding air, fueling pollination.[3]

Strange Plant Along the Minnehaha Creek

Harris, Claire and I found several of these plants growing in a wet area about 1mile down stream from Minnehaha falls on March 31st. At first we thought they were some type of shoot, but it appears to be a flower of some kind. (Click on the picture to make it larger for a better look.) I also thought it maybe some type of pitcher plant. I didn't see any images from a web search that looked like this. Anyone know what this is?
Some were singles; some grew in clusters of green or red.

Artcrank Scores

I purchased Blood+Sweat+Chemo by Jason M. Miller 6/100 (above)
Claire chose Chainwhirl by Courtney Billadeau 1/30

Both Claire and Harris came with this year. They enjoyed the art and bikes, I enjoyed having such and event we could share together. Claire was excited about her purchase with her own money.

Getting Excited for Artcrank

This link will give a sneak peak at portions of the posters available. I'd like to hear impressions of the different posters. I appreciate the one above.

2012 GT-R

I parked my Honda Civic and drove another of the world's best cars this afternoon. Previously, I've experienced a BMW M6, a CLK 63 AMG Black Series, Porsche Cayenne, BMW X6M and a 2009 GT-R. But, this thing made my special spot tingle like no other car I've been in.

With two people in the car, we did 0-60 in 3.4 seconds slowed by wheel spin resulting from a cold road. This GT-R is reported to be able to do the same feat in 2.88 seconds. Crazy fast.

To put this acceleration in perspective, Ferrari asserts that its 599 GTO, its fastest ever road car, can do 0-62 in 3.35 seconds. The GT-R is faster than the fastest Ferrari off the line.

My purpose with this blog post is, however, not to do a review of cars. I've put links in that do that better than I could. My thoughts are on quality. The 0-60 numbers only quantify some of the qualities of the GT-R. Knowing someone generous enough to let me drive this list of expensive toys similarly quantifies quality. I appreciate the amazing cars, but am more impressed with someone who shares so freely.

Thanks for the drive; quality counts.

More GT-R pictures here. More data and an article here.

What do Liberia, Myanmar and the US have in Common?

We're the only three countries who don't use the Metric System.

Artcrank Minneapolis

Artcrank April 2 @5pm in Shelter Studios.

Hipster Trap

Stolen from someone on Reddit.com

Found This Poisonous Little Creature in the House Tonight

My 9-year-old son shouts, "Dad! Come quick I found a cool little bug with claws" I came quickly, as I wondered what he might have found.

This little creature is a pseudoscorpion. It's a harmless arachnid that has been roaming the Earth for the last 380 million years eating other little mites and flies. The claws have a poison gland to subdue prey in a pinch. Ours was very tiny, 2mm or so long. The photo below shows it to scale with a 12 point font.

The kids and I released our catch back in the basement to continue munching other little crawlies in the house. Too bad we didn't have a tiny radio frequency tracking collar.

Holy Grail of Cultural Knowledge

Tonight the family snuggled together on the couch to watch a Netflix movie via our Wii. This is a favorite activity for all of us. When we couldn't quickly find a mutually agreeable title, I suggested we watch Monty Python's Flying Circus. No loss if they didn't like it.

The show was a hit. I loved to hear the kids laugh at all of the right times. as we watched the first two episodes. But, the best part of the evening was telling stories about watching these same episodes as a teenager myself. Other topics of conversations started by the skits included Genghis Khan, the Gestapo, early 20th century artists, and why the British enjoy making fun of the french.

This night came to be a technologically enhanced 21st century equivalent to the ancients sitting around the campfire learning culture through oral traditions. I can't wait to share the lumberjack song and the story of the Holy Grail.

Cars-R-Coffins RIP

Link

What Do You Do When An Eleven Year Old Loses A Tooth?

You load toothpaste on a mousetrap and try to catch the Tooth Fairy. The note reads:

Dear Claire:
Your dad tried to catch me with a mousetrap. He snapped glitter off my dress, but I got away. Thanks for being such a good girl and taking care of your teeth. Tell your dad to watch his back!
The Tooth Fairy

It's like leaving milk and cookies for Santa mixed with snipe hunting.

47 Sunny Degrees and a Ski with the Kids

Single digit highs with below zero wind chills last week gave way to a memorable day of warmth and sun. The kids and I skied at The Ravine in Cottage Grove. The picture are on the trail, a break with oranges and the obligatory monkey mouths.

The videos are action shots of me trailing the kids on down hills. Harris was almost flattened after he crashed in front of me. Reckless parenting almost caught on film.

Less Busy Now

The last several weeks have been a blur; I'm ready for a less frenetic pace. In addition to my regular work and family commitments, my high school ski team, Minnesota Youth Ski League Team and basement projects have kept me occupied. Not complaining; all are rewarding and largely a blast. Here are a few pictures showing what I've been up to lately.I don't have a before, but here is a during and after picture of my basement project. I tore out a room move lots of stuff prior to tearing up the floor. I hired a plumber, carpenter and electrician, but spent lots of time coordinating their work, , insulating, getting materials, hauling stuff to the dump, tapping drywall and painting.


Here's part of my Minnesota Youth Ski League group. I started this program last year for Claire and Harris and as a feeder program for my high school team. The snowmobile the kids are sitting on was another project in itself. We purchased it new in Dec. to keep the trails groomed for both ski groups. Fund-raising and grooming our ski-course came along with getting the sled.

I started working with my high school team in Nov. We'll finish up with our awards banquet next Tuesday. Groomed trails helped the kids improve and have fun.


Ling-Hui did, however, just fly off to Taiwan for the next two weeks. I wouldn't have made it as a single parent, albeit temporary, a month ago.

新年愉快