Founded 1857

https://substreet.org/

Welcome to the first Flash-free day of the rest of your life

When he entered office four years ago, Republicans controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress; when he leaves, Democrats will hold all three. The last time that happened was 1892…

Abridged edition

That Han Solo thing is made of soap – per CMK

https://video.tpt.org/video/tpt-documentaries-lowertown-rise-urban-village/

The tweet I published earlier this week about old technology lead me down another rabbit hole the last few nights. All this started with a review of equipment at work, some of which have been running non-stop for more than four years without a reboot. We are in the process of reviewing maintenance contracts and it seems everyone needs to get creative these days when it comes to pandemic capital spending and the lifespan of various technologies.

This got me thinking about the many computers I’ve had over the years, long-departed applications and obsolete storage formats. I remember my dad having paper punchcards at his job when I was little and over the course of my career, I’ve managed tape drives, 5.25-inch floppies, 3.5-inch floppies, Zip and Jaz media, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, external spinning disk drives, SSD drives, thumb drives and various forms of cloud storage. The storage capacity on my current home workstation is insanely large compared to those earlier days, in physical form factors that are smaller, lighter and less expensive by unit than ever.

I’ve always tried to have multiple backups of my personal data in different formats, but it’s amazing how many files have made it this far in my life. Even for the weird, obsolete file formats, many of today’s applications have good importers and translators to open ancient files created with long-gone programs. Old video game ROM files from original arcade games can usually be emulated on current hardware (although I’m having trouble getting MAME to work on Big Sur). I came across this article talking about the shelf life of old game console cartridges from Atari, Mattel, Nintendo and others that still start up and run like the day they were first sold.

That article also talks about NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity and the software used to run multi-year, remote missions. What an amazing engineering and technology challenge! I look back to the multimedia CD-ROM golf guide that I produced in 1999 using the authoring tool mTropolis and old versions of Photoshop and Illustrator. While I still have a few copies of the CD laying around, I don’t think I have any machines that can actually run the guide. My current version of Photoshop (22.1), however, can open all of the original media files. I was also able to open my 1995 résumé file with a current version of Word (16.43) and rediscovered what was very likely my first email address:

• dkingsbu@vx.cis.umn.edu (check out the only match on Google)

Speaking of email, this is probably the only tool I’ve used over the years that I don’t really archive. I would hazard a guess that most of the work emails I’ve written or received in previous jobs are long gone. Even the latest version of Outlook at my current job doesn’t tell me how many messages I have in my inbox any more – it’s just one long, infinite scroll. I’ve been using Google with my personal email domain for years (7.37GB out of a 15GB quota), but I rarely go back more than a month or two to look for things.

My daughter asked me about JPEG and PNG tonight and it’s really nice that these formats have been around for a while now, working on many different platforms and with many different applications. Keeping these files organized is a seemingly endless task, but at least there is little concern about losing access (as long as my backups remain solid). I do occasionally run across old music files that have strange DRM tied to them, but it’s easy enough to replace those. I won’t get into the vinyl > cassette > CD or Beta/VHS > DVD > Blu-ray conversation here, as it’s depressing how many times I’ve purchased and re-purchased the same content over the years.

I’ve been publishing this site for almost 15 years now and would love to have it available to future generations of my family. Web publishing isn’t free, though, and even with the recent switch to AWS, it’s still something that requires time and money to keep online. I should be mirroring the site on my workstation (which I used to do), so that if the public site eventually goes dark, at least the family could run it locally. WordPress, PHP and AWS upgrades (not to mention the issues around things like the RedHat/CentOS dustup this week) mean that online sites can’t really be “frozen” without active maintenance.

Website durability might be my hardest nut to crack…

My latest research rabbit hole started when my friend Brad told me the Montgomery National Golf Course website said MNGC was one of architect Joel Goldstrand’s best designs. We’ve played a lot of rounds on Goldstrand courses over the years and I was curious to 1) know what he was up to now and 2) come up with a list of my personal favorite Goldstrand courses. Jim Souhan helped me out with the first part by interviewing him last year before the 3M Open.

Now in his 80s, the Plymouth resident has designed or renovated more than 100 golf courses during his career in several states (the majority in Minnesota). He also had an impressive playing career, winning a Minnesota state high school title in 1957, two NCAA titles at the University of Houston, the Minnesota State Open in 1973 and 1985, a tie for 12th at the U.S. Open at Hazeltine and an appearance at the 1971 Masters (82-77-MC). He was a pro at Minneapolis Golf Club for 16 years and won the Minnesota Section PGA Golf Professional of the Year award in 1979.

I haven’t played all of his courses, but here are my favorites (in rough order):

• Ridges at Sand Creek – also a part of my Minnesota 7, this gets the top slot mainly because I’ve played it the most.
• Superior National (Canyon 9) – technically now a Brauer course, the Canyon 9 has some amazingly photogenic holes (above).
• The Pines – Fred Boos (RIP) knew what he was doing when this grandfather of Brainerd courses opened in 1990.
• Eagle Valley – the City of Woodbury has a very nice muni layout thanks to Joel.
• Cannon Golf Club – not a lot of original Goldstrand left (second nine, but Garrett Gill re-did four holes in 2006).
• Links at Northfork – haven’t played here a lot, but lots of people rave about it.
• Fox Hollow – last time I played here, I got paired up with Pepe Willie. Love the green in the middle of the Crow River.

The Golf Advisor website has a comprehensive list of Goldstrand courses, while RJ Smiley at Tee Times Magazine has a fun story about Minnesota architects (Goldstrand ties with Don Herfort for biggest impact on Minnesota golf history). Explore Minnesota Golf also published a short video interview with Goldstrand back in 2010. I think Joe Bissen should head over to Plymouth with a note pad and tape recorder – a Goldstrand book would be awesome!

Back in high school, I loved studying history. Richard Demers was my favorite teacher, leading such courses as Ancient Civilizations, Western Civilizations and American Experience as part of Central’s Quest program. As I mentioned on my biography page, I took eight semesters of history, along with one independent study about the history of classical music. His euphemism for tests, OTEs (“opportunities to excel”), is something most of my high school classmates will recall fondly. They were always very difficult, but I’m grateful that grading on a curve was a thing back then.

Another concept that Mr. Demers taught in “Ancient Civ” was the Greek notion “excellence of body, excellence of mind.” This resonated deeply with me, but Google has not located authoritative references for this saying that I clearly remember (perhaps the Mandela Effect is in play?). The closest I’ve found is the Greek term arete (not to be confused with mountaineering’s sharp ridge separating two cirques or glacial valleys in mountainous regions). This line in the arete Wikipedia page jumped out at me:

It was commonly believed that the mind, body, and soul each had to be developed and prepared for a man to live a life of arete.

While I don’t recall the word arete being used by Demers, I do remember him discussing the concepts of paideia and the education of the aristocracy. It seems there is much more to learn about these concepts from Aristotle and Plato – perhaps some light reading for the long Minnesota winter?

They be turkeys

Interesting times, indeed

We would have to have 6 oz. Coca-Cola in the studio. When they were working on the Traveling Wilburys’ first album, Roy told Tom that the sugar and the syrup put just a little smooth on your voice…

So long, Dacha Batinich

“May her memory be a revolution”

What’s the difference between a bookkeeper in the garment district and a Supreme Court justice? One generation.

Joe Biden is the Democratic equivalent of George H.W. Bush — another ambitious vice president who believed in loyalty and decency more than in any particular set of ideas…

I forgot that was one of my first ever projects – NWA Newswire, February 11, 1992

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_OfficeVision

Sample from when I was eight – Hawaii trip recap

The Magic Kingdom Club was quite a deal

My dad’s 50th high school reunion

The Unraveling of America  

Silver certificates are cool – 1928 one dollar note from the Smiths

Home of the Anishinaabe and Dakota

Iggy from the block

As I started reading through Joe Bissen’s new book, More! Gone. Minnesota’s Lost Golf Courses Part II, I realized that not only are there a lot of closed courses I actually played, there are also a large percentage of the courses I included in my Minnesota Golden Links CD-ROM back in 1999 that are no longer here (43 by my initial count). Joe was kind enough to include a chapter with a list of all the closed courses he knows about, so I thought it would be fun to go back to my original Photoshop files and post the screens for the ones that are no longer open for play (pics after the jump – please excuse the ancient Photoshop techniques and poor color corrections).

Joe says in the introduction to the new book that he isn’t as interested in the courses that have closed recently, but it’s amazing how many of the entries in my 1999 guide are gone (including a few that opened after my guide and are already closed). There are a number of inconsistencies between his list and my guide, as I only included public courses that were members of the Minnesota Golf Association (MGA). Make sure and check out his original book Fore! Gone: Minnesota’s Lost Golf Courses, 1897-1999, as well as his website. Fun stuff.

Albert Lea Golf Club, RIP 1912 – 2006

Birch Bay Golf Course, RIP 1965 – 2015

The Bridges of Mounds View, RIP 1995 – 2006

Brockway Golf Course, RIP 1935 – 2004

Carriage Hills Country Club, RIP 1967 – 2005

Elm Creek Golf Links, RIP 1960 – 2013

Fort Ridgely State Park Golf Course, RIP 1927 – 2017

French Lake Open Golf Club, RIP 1985 – 2015

The Greens at Howard Lake, RIP 1995 – 2013

Greenwood Golf Links, RIP 1985 – 2006

Hampton Hills Golf Course, RIP 1960 – 2003

Hayden Hills Golf Club, RIP 1972 – 2018

Hidden Creek Golf Club, RIP 1996 – 2009

Hollydale Golf Club, RIP 1965 – 2019

Irish Hills Golf Course, RIP 1985 – 2009

Ironman Golf Course, RIP 1960 – 2017

KateHaven Golf Course, RIP 1981 – 2014

Lakeview Golf, RIP 1956 – 2013

Links of Byron, RIP 1994 – 2013

Lone Pine Country Club, RIP 1967 – 2002

Maplebrook Executive Golf Club, RIP 1974 – ???

Meadow Lakes Golf Club, RIP 1998 – 2012

Meadowbrook Country Club, RIP 1984 – 2008

Meadowwoods Golf Course, RIP 1991 – 2004

Mississippi Dunes Golf Links, RIP 1995 – 2017

Orchard Gardens Golf Course, RIP 1967 – 2004

Parkview Golf Club, RIP 1969 – 2013

Pine Meadows Golf Course, RIP 1921 – 2004

Pine River Country Club, RIP 1981 – 2010

Prairie View Golf Links, RIP 1983 – 2013

Red Rock Golf Course, RIP 1932 – 2016

Rich Acres Golf Course, RIP 1980 – 1999

Ridgewood Country Club, RIP 1987 – 2016

Rolling Green Fairways Golf Course, RIP 1977 – 2003

Rolling Hills Golf Course, RIP 1970 – 2016

Root River Country Club, RIP 1962 – 2014

Sauk Centre Country Club, RIP 1921 – 2013

Silver Springs Golf Course, RIP 1974 – 2009

Thompson Oaks Golf Course, RIP 1997 – 2017

Valley View Golf Club, RIP 1992 – 2015

Wendigo Golf Club, RIP 1995 – 2011

Wilderness Hills Golf Course, RIP 1995 – ???

Woodland Creek Golf Course, RIP 1989 – 2010

Sooooooo sad

https://theathletic.com/1902636/2020/07/07/us-bank-stadium-rejected-designs-retractable-roof-big-shard-of-ice/

Golf courses I’ve played that are no longer open:

• Valley View, Belle Plaine
• Carriage Hills, Eagan
• Rich Acres, Richfield
• Hudson GC, Hudson
• Wendigo, Grand Rapids
• Brockway, Rosemount
• Parkview, Eagan

Can’t remember the last new one that opened around here…

Um, what the hell, Mickey?

Lakeside Bar

February 1969

I read a lot of words, but not enough of them are in books. This one I took from my parent’s house on Lombard and brought up to Croftville Road for the weekend. Turns out my sister purchased it for my dad when she visited Highclere Castle as part of her Downton Abbey tour. I never knew that the real Downtown Abbey Lord was Howard Carter’s partner (George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon), but I’ve loved Egyptian history ever since the 1982 World’s Fair (and multiple Ancient Civilization courses from Mr. Demers at Central). This was a quick, light read, with a few pictures I know I’ve never seen before (hello, Tutankhamun mummy).

Now on to my pile of Economists…

Inside harbor walk, Grand Marais, Minnesota

Railroad bridge over the Mississippi

Dave’s Bar, San Francisco, California

One of the highlights of grade school for me was Scholastic’s Dynamite magazine. It appears I started to subscribe to that in 1976, lasting until 1982. I found a box of these in the basement of my parent’s house on Lombard as we were getting it ready to sell, but they weren’t in great condition. I scanned and posted the entire issue from August 1979 here, if you want to get a feeling for what it was like.

Now that I have my ancient Canon scanner working again with my iMac, I thought I’d scan the front and back of the issues that survived the trip down to our loft. SK will now get the originals for her art projects and I get to keep the digital scans (which you can see after the jump).

Dynamite Magazine, August 1979

Thanks for the memories…

Disneyland Hotel postcard, circa 1983

But my mom really liked it

Richie Rich was my Leng’s Fountain go-to buy

Dynamite magazine – ah, the memories

Always hustlin’

PowerBook 5300cs

That’s still about right

Busy day in the neighborhood

…that will take a really long time.

I wonder if that IIc in the corner will boot up

Slowly, desparatly slowly, the remains of passage debris that encumbered the lower part of the doorway was removed. With trembling hands I made a tiny breach in the upper left-hand corner. And then, widening the hole a little, I inserted the candle and peered in. The hot air escaping from the chamber caused the flame to flicker, but presently details of the room within emerged from the mist…

1969 was a good year

That’s just sad

https://deadspin.com/lets-watch-princes-super-bowl-halftime-show-the-best-w-1772302774

Original turf sample from U.S. Bank Stadium

Off with his head!

The Ghost Bride @ Fairmont Banff Springs

Old shot of the Banff Springs course

Thanks for the memories, Mortenson

I’d say that’s about right – thanks, BK!

Sounds like a lost Wilbury song

Vikings and runestones

Rose Street Patisserie

…but happy anniversary moon nerds!

The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable.