Every time I manually type out “sudo certbot renew” for my quarterly renewal, I feel like I’m letting @cedge318 down
That thing was cool
Zantigo Monday
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life:
Who is it, darling? It’s a Mr. Death or something. He’s come about the reaping. I don’t think we need any at the moment…
Nobody wants to think about death, but unfortunately our family has had a lot of experience with it the last few years. With the state of the world now, I thought it might be useful to write up a post on our experiences, what you should do to plan and how to make things easier for your loved ones when the time comes.
When I was younger, I can remember having an intense fear of dying (and of losing other people in my life). The funeral of my great grandmother was open casket and was very traumatizing for me. I also remember my next door neighbor dying after an ambulance pulled up outside – she was the first person close to me that died and I had nightmares about it for years. I remember going on a trip to southern California shortly after that and having an existential freakout in the backseat of the rental car as we drove from LAX to Anaheim. Sorry about that, mom and dad.
As I’ve aged, my thinking about death has become less scary and more sensible. It’s still incredibly hard to mourn and deal with loss, but now I know it’s a part of the natural cycle in our world. That’s not an easy thing to come to terms with, though, after losing so many people in my family. I thankfully haven’t had a lot of friend funerals yet and feel extraordinarily lucky to not be one of the first after that fateful morning in 2018. And even though I never met them in person, I still get emotional when I listen to a Prince, Tom Petty or David Bowie song.
So, what happens when the reaper comes calling? A good funeral home can help immensely and we’ve had great experiences with Mueller Bies in Roseville. If you’re a fan of the HBO series Six Feet Under, you may have pre-conceived notions of what the funeral home business is all about, but a good funeral director can be a huge help in navigating what is usually an extremely difficult time for people. They will work to arrange cremation or embalming, assist with purchase of an urn or casket, coordinate any desired church services, host visitations, order flowers, help write and publish obituaries in local newspapers, submit paperwork to the state for death certificates and arrange for cemetery services (if needed). These services do not come cheap: expect it to cost $7,000 – $12,000.
Hummel Bin #1
In honor of Mother’s Day 2020, I thought I would finally start the “Hummel Project.” As part of the sale of the house on Lombard, I bubble-wrapped most of mom’s Hummel figurines and filled several bins that now take up half of my dining room. I’m not sure what to do with them – the market for Hummels was bad even before the current situation. My goal is to take photos of each one, then try to find them new homes.
If you see any you’d like (or know of a place that might be interested in them), please drop me a note. Photo gallery of the first bin after the jump.
She said doodee
Forever in our hearts ️❤️
PSA: the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart is available to watch until 5/12 here
So I drank myself some whisky, and I dreamed I was a cowboy, and I rode across the border…
- North Dakota
Five pars in a row
Eat in the car-bone’s
Chester the Jester
Deceptively cold and windy
I’d be 110% OK with leaving Mississippi River Boulevard like this all the time
Ah, Dave’s
The schedule is set
15 years between visits
Cool trees and clouds
Beef jerky time 24/7
Remembering TBF and Marvel Bar
I’ve waited almost a week to write this post, as my initial shock turned to anger, and it’s never a good idea to write when you are angry. On April 30, 2020, co-owner Eric Dayton tweeted that our favorite Minneapolis restaurant and bar would not reopen.
How could this be? If anyone should have the resources to weather this storm, you’d think it would the Dayton family. They owned the building. Their mother is a Rockefeller, for crying out loud. They are fighters for the North, do-gooders trying to feed the hungry and solid fundraisers and organizers. How could they throw in the towel so early?
I’ve never met Eric Dayton, but by all accounts, he’s a good guy and outsiders never know the private facts and details behind public decisions. I’ll even cut him some slack for hating skyways. To be honest, though, I was mad at him for this decision, mad for taking away the place my wife and I visited more than a dozen times, mad for taking away our Cocktail Club destination, mad for quitting while others battle on.
Of course, life changes even in “normal” times. When my favorite bartender of all time, Pip Hanson, left in 2015 for London, we were sad. When Chef Paul Berglund left in August of 2017 (a year after winning the James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest), we were sad. When Erin Rolek left in August of 2019 for the beautiful shores of Santa Monica, we were sad. Happy for all of them, but sad they were no longer in that special building in the North Loop.
Now we are sad for the current groups of stars who carried on the tradition. Jonathan Gans started in November of 2018 and re-earned the four star review from Rick Nelson. The Forager Chef Alan Bergo had joined the kitchen. Monday pork chop night was as good as ever.
Now we mourn the loss of the toast racks, the Swedish meatballs, the popovers, the wine board, the red books, the individually-wrapped cookies, the purple door, the “secret” staircase. Gavin Kaysen had some wonderful comments on his Instagram, Erin had an inspiring series of pictures on her Instagram story (that are now sadly gone) and Chef Jonathan is asking for financial support of his team via GoFundMe (done, Chef).
I’m sure this won’t be last of these stories before all this is over, but very few will hit us as hard as this one did. Maybe a road trip to Rochester will help a little…
❤️TBF
Two birds: help out our favorite club and get something to do
Something different tonight
Olly and Otis
Do not enter
Best box lunch ever
Top 7 Disney World Attractions
Tom and Sarah Bricker’s excellent Disney Tourist Blog just published a post with their ranking of all 94 attractions at Walt Disney World. I’m really missing the Disney parks these days and haven’t seen any of the new Star Wars rides in California or Florida, so it was really fun reading this (and all of their posts, to be honest). Here are my personal top seven in Florida:
- Expedition Everest – Great theming throughout (and I love all things about the real Everest).
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – The original and still the best. Also has killer theming throughout.
- Test Track – I like Radiator Springs Racers in California better, but this OG made the other one possible.
- Avatar Flight of Passage – Not a huge fan of the movie and the wait times are usually crazy long, but it’s worth the wait.
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – One Florida ride that is equal to almost all the others in the world (with the exception of Paris).
- Pirates of the Caribbean – Disneyland will always have the best version in my opinion, but this one is strong too.
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – the theming might not appeal to “the kids” these days, but I love the whole pre-show, loading area, soundtrack, coaster layout and finish. Long live rock ‘n’ roll!
I’m sure some of the new rides I’ve haven’t seen might impact this list. Looking forward to our next visit…
Still terrible at selfies
Magnús’s Mighty Flip
Leave it to the experts
Like mom used to make
Beautiful day to be outside in Jordan – shot an 88 from the white tees
Happy Friday
Congratulations, Leo
Dynamite Magazine
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).
Drove around a bit
What’s around the river bend?
Every human relationship can be adjusted with the right amount of money…
- Solomon
My new biking buddy
Looking for a good face mask? These are my favorites so far
The George King
Someday, we hope
That close to an ace
It’s been fun listening to KROQ tonight – only took about an hour to hear Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day
A Sunday ride in the park
Any suggestions, @ct_turf?
THE DOCUMENTARY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
New menu item alert
Last night I rediscovered listening to @TwoDots music with headphones – so calming
I’ve been walkin’ these streets so long, singin’ the same old song. I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway, where hustle’s the name of the game…
- Rhinestone Cowboy
Springtime in Saint Paul still rocks
Somebody got a new ride
Best curb-side purchase yet
Breakfast for lunch
A little slice of normal
Happy Earth Day, puppers
Almost every one
He’s still out there
Hey, wait, when did the Star Tribune get a live cert? Now about that auto-refresh…
