My latest spin-off blog, Skiing in Minnesota, launched last weekend at skiing.mn. I’m not sure how much I’ll actually get to ski this winter, but at least I have a new outlet to write about it. If you have ideas or suggestions for stories (or would like to be a guest writer), drop me a line at dk@skiing.mn.

Tonight I stopped by the Apple Store at the Mall of America to pick up a new MacBook for a colleague at work. After 30 minutes of unpacking and configuration, I have to say, it’s a pretty nice machine.

The previous edition of the Mac Book has served many people I know very well - my wife has one and I purchased quite a few for the school here and in LA. Aside from a few notable melt-downs, they have worked great for the price.

My biggest issue with the new edition was the lack of a FireWire port. This has been talked about all over the web and I understand the reasons Apple dropped it, but I will still miss the convenience of FireWire target mode and the ability to use the huge pile of FireWire hard drives I have laying around.

The build quality of the new machines is top notch - the block of aluminum process creates one solid-feeling laptop. It’s a lot lighter than I expected and the glossy LED-backlit screen is bright and vivid without too much glare. The entry-level configuration is somewhat pricey, but has specs that are usable right out of the box without needing any extra upgrades. No video cable in the box sucks, though.

This is not the laptop for me (I’m a 17-inch matte screen guy), but it’s very nice and would likely serve the needs of 80% of the laptop market quite well.

Still way behind on posts, so here’s the most recent…

A week ago Saturday, Colleen and I went down to Roy Wilkins Auditorium (site of our high school graduation) to see Tenacious D, Ben Harper and the Beastie Boys for a Rock the Vote concert. We’ve never seen any of them before and tickets were only $35, so we decided to use the valuable tickets instead of selling them to a broker (the 6,000 ticket show sold out instantly).

I was just as excited to see the D as I was the Beastie Boys, seeing as how my work servers are named JB, KG, Lee and Sasquatch. They only played for about 45 minutes, but it was awesome:

• Kielbasa
• History
• Dude (I Totally Miss You)
• Kyle Quit
• Friendship
• Saxaboom
• The Government Totally Sucks
• Wonderboy
• City Hall
• F*ck Her Gently
• Tribute

The Ben Harper set was extremely loud. I didn’t really know much about him going in, but he played well and was enjoyable. JB and KG came out for some vocal contributions during a cover of Queen’s Under Pressure, which was one of the highlights of the night for me.

The Beastie Boys set was a total flashback to our high school days. 44-year-old MCA is still our favorite - such a cool, unique voice. He definitely has lost a step on Mike D and King Ad-Rock, though. Mix Master Mike shined during Three MC’s and One DJ and I loved the opening to No Sleep Til’ Brooklyn, which sent chills down my spine.

The sound in the auditorium wasn’t the greatest for their vocals, but it was plenty loud on everything else. The boys all played instruments during the encore, which was a trip to watch. I especially enjoyed seeing MCA play the distinctive riff from Gratitude. I was also happy to have Ad-Rock repeatedly correct Mike D about which city he was in. Maybe it was that Andy Samberg hair messin’ with his mind…

Here is the set list, as quoted by the Star Tribune:

• Super Disco Breakin’
• Flute Loop
• Alright Hear This
• Sure Shot
• Pass the Mic
• Check It Out
• Root Down
• Body Movin’
• No Sleep Til’ Brooklyn
• Right Now
• Three MC’s and One DJ
• So What ‘Cha Want
• Intergalactic
• – Encore –
• Biz Vs. Nuge
• Time For Livin’
• Gratitude
• Sabotage

Vote for Yo Mama!

My wife and I decided to stop by the new restaurant in Eagan that I saw while running last week. Pardon My French is a new bakery, cafe and wine bar located in the Thomas Lake Center at 1565 Cliff Road (in the same strip mall as Axel’s Bonfire Eagan location).

Google turns up a few other people writing about this place, but I didn’t see their official site until after we visited. I love prosciutto, so even though we were there during breakfast, I had to try the Prosciutto Déjà Vu:

You’ll swear you’ve had this tasty sandwich before. Buttered Poppy Seed Baguette with Prosciutto, Swiss cheese, Tomato and Lettuce. $6.50

It was very good, but I think next time I want to try the Haute Ham sandwich. The pastries and baked goods in the case were beautiful, but I didn’t sample any on this visit. My only disappointment was that all of their soft drinks were cans or plastic bottles - no fountain drinks.

The space is large and had a nice vibe (although I wouldn’t really consider it French, aside from the music). I love to see local, non-chain places like this, but I find it hard to believe they can last in this location. Uptown? Maybe. An Eagan strip mall a mile off the freeway? Doubtful (unfortunately)…

University of Minnesota golf course, St. Paul, November 1, 2008

Anybody know what tree drops leaves like these?

UPDATE: Jake says it is a Ginko Biloba tree. That was Colleen’s thought too…

Better late than never, right?

The weather here on Friday night was awesome by Minnesota standards and the kids had a great time. I think we had a little over 100 trick-or-treaters this year and it seemed like the street was teeming with people from dusk until about 8pm.

Pictures are now up in the private section of the photo gallery.