I haven’t really been writing much here the past few months. Part of that is due to the new job at 318, but mainly I just haven’t felt like writing.

The 2009-2010 Minnesota winter hit me harder than usual – I’ve definitely felt the “winter blues” this year. The warm weather this week has helped (especially by melting most of the snow), but the forecast calls for more below-freezing temps and I’m sure we have at least one more snow storm before summer.

It’s also easy to get down when thinking about all the issues in the world – the economy, the collapse of housing values, rising health care costs, unemployment, earthquakes, etc.

As a sort of coping mechanism, I’ve been compiling a list of things that make me happy. For the three or four of you who read this site on a regular basis, most of these won’t be too shocking:

• Social bonds – family and friends
• Fitness – running, golf, skiing, mountain biking, racquetball
• Eating out
• Travel (and Motoring)
• Nice weather
• Trees, mountains and water
• Pop culture – TV, movies and concerts
• Cities and their associated cultural amenities
• Attending hockey games
• Casino gaming
• Learning new things and staying informed

As I look over this list, I realize how lucky I’ve been in this life and really shouldn’t get too down. Geez, I’m starting to sound like a Ben Folds song…

Don’t know how I got so swamped all of a sudden, but it’s already been over a week since I visited my friend and former co-worker Mike at his new job in downtown Minneapolis.

Mr. Guille is now a Macintosh Desktop Analyst at the Art Institutes International Minnesota on 9th Street, which seems to have avoided the economic downturn nicely. AI has new toys all over the place, as witnessed on the tour Mike gave me.

Before the tour, we had lunch at the Fogo de Chão restaurant at 645 Hennepin Avenue. Talk about a total meat orgy! Here’s what their web site says:

The lunch and dinner menu features unlimited servings of 15 different delectable cuts of fire-roasted meats, a sumptuous buffet of gourmet salads and fresh-cut vegetables, and a variety of Brazilian side dishes.

Each guest uses a two-sided disk to control the pace of their meal. The green side signals the Gaucho chefs to bring out skewers of sizzling fire-roasted meats to carve at the table. The red side indicates a stopping point. Turning back to green lets the Gaucho chefs know to start offering the meats again.

The flat-rate pricing (around $32) was very reasonable for the quality and quantity of the meats being served. The servers were incredible and made sure we received everything we wanted in a very timely manner. My only knock against them was the expensive and tiny bottle of Coke.

I’m pretty sure now that if I worked in downtown Minneapolis I’d go broke eating out – and forget about losing weight…

This started about a week after I turned on the sprinkler system. Master Sprinkler Systems said I should call their plumber (Duda Plumbing in Hopkins, 952-933-5636) with the part number. It’s a Watts Regulator, model 800M4-FR, as far as I can tell.

Anybody out there know what would cause this to happen? Do I really need a plumber?

My sister has joined my brother in Florida – both now work for the mouse on the Disney Plantation. Lynn is on a cooking internship, currently working as a pastry chef at the Contemporary Resort. I think that lasts through June or July.

Yesterday I got a package in the mail that contained an awesome birthday gift: a Pirates of the Caribbean hockey jersey. Thanks Lynn!

I will always be a real tree kind of guy, and I like to support local businesses and growers when we buy our Christmas tree each year. Getting a painted tree from Home Depot that maybe came from North Carolina isn’t my idea of a good deal. As they say, it costs money because it saves money – or something like that…

I’ve mentioned them here before, but Lilydale Garden Center has been my local favorite ever since we moved into this house eight years ago. The staff is great and they always have a good selection – all year long, really.

We’ve had smaller trees the past few years, so we decided to go big this year. This 10-foot Canaan Fir needed to be clipped on top in order to fit in our living room. I also need to head to Target to buy new lights – pretty sure I don’t have enough to cover a tree this big.

Best. Tree. Ever.

I swore I wouldn’t join Facebook – I already spend way too much time online between my job and my hobbies, I told myself. My wife became a member after she went back to grad school. Then a race I ran this fall posted pictures only viewable by Facebook members. On November 10th, I broke down and signed up.

As a web developer, Facebook seems really well done to me. I’m still not that familiar with all aspects of it (or some of the history), but it’s been a blast getting back in touch with a bunch of people I would have never connected with using just Twitter, LinkedIn and my blogs. Seems miles ahead of MySpace, too.

What amazes me the most about Facebook, though, is how much complexity there is beneath the surface. I can’t imagine how much time and thought went into programming this thing. I don’t know what it used to be like, but I find the performance and implementation of features to be very strong. Uploading and sharing photos, in particular, is stellar.

If you’ve been dragging your feet about joining Facebook, all I can say is jump in, the water’s fine…