Frustrating Wild game, but I have to say I do like the Kings – nice job on the back-to-back

Hello 2010, nice to meet you. Thanks for the Rose parade float with snowboarding bulldogs – you are off to an awesome start

Looking forward to pizza and trying Bootlegs tonight at neighborhood poker

Maybe the four Bootlegs and one Cape Codder weren’t such a good idea – head hurts in more ways than one

Taking kid one and two for early morning haircuts – head still pounding

Feeling better – ran first 10K of the year (on the treadmill) while watching Wild lose to the Devils. Also did sit-ups and weights

Feel bad for kid one – one of her best friends is moving to Iowa. Sucks to lose a friend

Nice try, Vikings, but you are still dead to me. If you are still playing next month, maybe we’ll talk

Just emptied my closet of things that don’t fit anymore. Should be happy, but need money for new stuff

I wonder what sort of nerds show up for the 10:30 showing of Avatar on a Sunday night when it’s 12 below zero

Turns out quite a few nerds (male *and* female) show up for the late screening of Avatar on a cold Sunday night in Minnesota – liked it

WSJ: Chance of an American dying over an eighty-year period via an international terrorist: 1 in 80,000 vs dying in a car crash: 1 in 80

The paper shredder got a good workout this morning – continuing to get as much crap out of here as I can

Pretty busy for a Monday – lots of office work, conference calls, emails, wife came home sick, then tons of errands with kid two

OK, officially not a fan of automatic WordPress upgrades – I can upgrade sites (and plugins) manually much faster and more reliably

Did the 5K basement routine tonight while watching yet another college bowl game. They should just have a month-long seeded tournament

Caught the tail end of episode one of the PBS series This Emotional Life – it’s a good one. http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/

Finally exploring wordpress.com – the differences between it and .org are bigger than I expected. I’ll stick with my own server, thanks

Back from Target run – I’ve never seen the shelves so empty there. And when did BK get so expensive? Prices in Eagan just like airports

So fun to read the tweets from @doctorow as he visits Walt Disney World

First episode of This Emotional Life now online at http://video.pbs.org/

Our social bonds: “When they’re strong, we are happy. When they’re threatened, we worry. When they disappear, we suffer.” Amen to that

Driving in to the Metrodome, er, “Mall of America Field,” to do a little dome running tonight

Ran 15 sub-7 minute mile laps at the dome. It was packed – must be the first session of the new year

Training session at Archiver’s HQ in Minnetonka this morning

Good lunch (and visit) with my mom at the new Smashburger in Har Mar Mall. Two thumbs up on the burgers – can’t wait for the Eagan one

Hurray, Minnesota state tax forms arrived in the mail today. This year will be extra painful

Planning a party for January 19th…

Really enjoyed This Emotional Life – lots of good stuff to think about http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/

Back to the upper body snow shoveling workouts today – at least it’s the light, fluffy stuff

“I’m not afraid of you cops, I’ve gotten in fights with cops in Ohio and broke their arms in three places. I’ve broken skulls too!”

The plow just went by, so more shoveling, then lunch with the wife at Granite City

Congrats to Dee Forsberg-Voss, who was named Minnesota PGA Section’s Teacher of the Year for 2009 – http://minnesotapga.com/

Deceptively slippery out on the roads right now – saw multiple cars in the ditch on the way back from lunch

Pretty good nerd humor in Something, Something, Something, Dark Side

Watching Suzanne Vega Live at Montreux from Netflix. I really should have gone to those shows at the Dakota last year

3 things I didn’t know about Suzanne Vega: born in Santa Monica, middle name is Nadine and she turned 50 last year. Mobile Wikipedia rocks

Driving out to Shoreview to drop off some forms, then a visit to the Coffman Union book store (and hopefully some Chick-Fil-A)

Getting ready for kid two luau-themed birthday party. Cranked up the heat so I can wear shorts

Only 45 minutes of birthday party joy left to go

What an incredible comeback by the MN Wild tonight. Hope the Vikings were watching for inspiration in their upcoming game vs. Dallas

Back at the Bunker in Minnetonka with Tim – winter sim golf in MN is better than no golf

Library, credit union, office supply store, meeting with lame duck Gophers golf coach

Wow, the McDonald’s in Dinkytown only takes cash. Is that even legal?

So nice to feel the sun outside while using the snow rake to clear off the roof today – temp actually felt decent too

Multi-tasking overload tonight: backups, server maintenance, downloads, DNS & Apache config, web design and Wild-Pens game on Versus HD

Busy night turning into a busy day – more web development today, faxes to send at Fedex, birthday lunch and dinner with kid two, doctor

I’d just like to restate, I think the new Hockey Unplugged policy the Wild started isn’t fan friendly. Who can spend all day there? not kids

Allina Medical Clinic Eagan check-in, doctor visit, prescription faxed to Target pharmacy and back home in like 45 minutes. Bravo!

Lots of subtle changes to 7minutemiles.com uploaded today. I might even get around to writing a new post for 2010 soon

Cord on front window blinds finally broke after hanging on by a tread for months. Time for a new house, I guess

Finished updates to http://bradjamesgolf.com/ – last chance to attend one of his camps before he leaves for down under

Crap, the new Twitter Tools plugin seems to have stop pulling tweets. That plugin is sort of hard to troubleshoot, too

Wasted way too much time on this Twitter Tools update issue – maybe it’s just the Twitter API acting flaky again. Try again later, I guess

Long distance Windows XP tech support – all you need is a phone, an internet connection and Google

Back to WordPress plugin troubleshooting and theme development. Feeling better today, too, so I might try to do some skiing tonight at Afton

Who knew the number 2147483647 was so special? Curse you, eighth Mersenne prime!

WordPress MU 2.9.1 upgrade is out today – loading on test site now

So has the lovely Amber been banished from the Price is Right? Haven’t seen her since “the incident”

Credit union, drop off kid two for photo shoot in Minneapolis, then spy on kid one during ski trip to Afton Alps

“Dad? What are you *doing* here?!?” I love surprises…

Back in my day, you skiied *around* bamboo gates, not through plastic ones. And snowboards didn’t exist. Same old slow chairlifts, though

Might be the same food in the Alps chalet cafeteria

Still one of my favorite things about skiing http://twitpic.com/y4h1o

Watching the Wild-Blues game is more enjoyable when sitting next to the fire and sipping hot chocolate in the Highlands chalet

Fun night skiing solo at Afton Alps. Forgot how much better winter is when you ski – too bad you only get about 15 turns per run in MN

The iPod in the MINI was helping with ski trip flashbacks – Erotic City, Mony Mony and We Will Rock You

MGA news bit 1) Minnesota golf show moving dates and locations: March 12-14 at the Minneapolis Convention (same time as the auto show)

MGA news bit 2) Associate Member Day sites for 2010 announced: Oak Ridge (6/7), TPC (7/5), Giants Ridge (8/22-23) and Somerby (9/20)

Red Cross Haiti relief donations via iTunes (no fees) – http://bit.ly/84kljT

Conference call with New York to finish up changes for the new Tapemark Charity Pro-Am web site – launch announcement coming soon

Time to go read Green Eggs and Ham to kid two’s class

Lunch with Mr. Miller at the Eagan Leeann Chin – their new color scheme isn’t so new anymore, but reminds me of California for some reason

Played Guitar Hero for the first time in months – two hours instantly disappeared off the clock and now I can’t bend my wrists

Will never again go back to the postal center at Byerly’s. It’s like a post office for suckers – charge way more than the real USPS

Was very impressed with the new Erik’s Bike Shop location in Eagan, though. Shopping for kid two birthday present (and looking for me)

Erik the Bike Man told me about this great site that includes my favorite place to ride: http://morcmtb.org/trailreviews/metro/lebanon.html

License to Freak

Serious fog outside Hastings, but the sun is burning it off

Got a little too much sun skiing at Welch today, but I guess that’s a good problem to have during January in Minnesota

Wife taking me on a surprise date night somewhere in Minneapolis

Dinner at Bar La Grassa was pretty damn incredible – http://twitpic.com/yl30x

5 minutes to Jack-a-roo

Rode the snowy mountain bike trail today – stupidest thing I’ve done in months. Probably go back again this week 😉

Free skiing on your birthday at Wild Mountain. Don’t think I’ve been here in 20 years – lifts open at 10

Woot – free wi-fi in the chalet. Good thing, because I was freezing my fingers off checking for a signal outside

The Eagle’s Nest at Wild Mountain actually made me a fresh French Dip sandwich for lunch – best MN ski area food I’ve had in a while

Picked up the cheese cakes from Muddy Paws, now to fill up the car and get it washed, then take a shower before the dinner party

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes – another year above ground is a good one, right? 😉

Companies that sent me birthday-related marketing today: Cirque du Soleil, Coke, Harrah’s and Motorwerks MINI

January 20th is always sort of a downer for me. Need to get some stuff off the to-do list today

WTF? Video on ABC doesn’t work in 64-bit Safari?

Had to switch to a different WordPress/Twitter plugin today – Twitter Tools still not working for me. http://rick.jinlabs.com/code/twitter/

Nice to be back in the faux tropics of the Black Hawk swimming pool for kid two lessons. No Betty Draper, though

Gruber is right, this is awesome: Stars Wars opening crawl using only HTML and CSS http://bit.ly/7VAdvS (requires SL and Safari 4.0.4)

Not in the greatest state of mind today – maybe some protein for lunch will help

Things are looking up – full from lunch and I might get to go to the Wild-Detroit game tonight

The “live feed” on Facebook actually seems to be live again now for me. Still a little random with what actually gets displayed, though

It’s raining ice pellets outside right now. Driving to the hockey game tonight could be interesting

Underway at the X – Wild vs Red Wings. Sitting in section 216 tonight

Voice is shot from yelling after crazy end to Wild game. Leftover Muddy Paws cheesecake I found in the fridge makes it all better, though

Interesting – Strib reports “Hobbit spokesman Jon Austin…” in story about possible refunds. Jon was a cool PR dude at NWA when I was there

Sweet – Lou Reed with the Blind Boys of Alabama on Letterman

Ran 64 laps (~10K) on the indoor track at the Eagan Community Center – warm, but oh so boring

Security update for Seattle server successfully installed

Cracks me up to hear Chevy Chase use the term GDB

Finally back home after Savoy pizza, a client gig in Minneapolis and a scary drive home down my skating rink of a street

The weather for Hockey Day Minnesota isn’t really cooperating much – what a sloppy mess

How come there is never any local running news? Did the Frozen Half actually happen today? Winning time? Depth of ice on course? 🙂

Awesome dessert tonight at BWW – http://twitpic.com/zfwe7

Started watching season 3 of The Wire, but now it’s time to brave the icy roads and head to the Park Tavern to see Amy

Park Tavern is jam packed

Still above freezing, so the roads home were just wet. Oh yeah, saw that the new Eagan Smashburger had their sign up – opening soon

Sunday shopping at the MOA http://twitpic.com/zkwhh

Minimal success on the shopping trip – found two shirts. Side trips to American Girl, the Barbie Store and Claire’s not much help

Don’t know if I can even watch this…

Yeah, definitely can’t watch this – holed up in my office packing for the trip instead

So, what did I miss? Ah, nothing has changed, I see – http://twitter.com/kingsbury/statuses/7149625546

Oh geez, I need to get to the credit union for some travel cash. The snow can stop any time now (at least until my plane leaves)

Sitting at the end of the E concourse, also known as the MSP ghetto 🙂

I wonder what the chances are of my suitcase making the connection in DFW? Too bad the fee AA charges isn’t a wager – $20 on red!

Piedmont is still an airline? http://twitpic.com/zqgw1

My MD-80 to the Big D http://twitpic.com/zqnca

Switching planes at DFW

Very full 757 to LA (with large winglets) http://twitpic.com/zrnfx

Landed safely at LAX

Nice dinner in Venice with Nome and his wife. Mostly unpacked and getting a bit tired – up early tomorrow

Hooray – a code fix to Twitter Tools was posted in the forums that clears up my issue. Back to using that on 7minutemiles.com again

Cool – the plugin even went back and pulled all of the old tweets and populated them in the database

California may suck to live in, but sunny and 70 in West Hollywood for lunch outside on the patio today was damn nice

Just watched the Apple keynote videos and I think I need to delay forming an opinion until I see one in person

Ran about 10 miles in Venice and Santa Monica – nice to be back out again in reasonable running weather

Bad news: throwing up at 1:45 AM. Good news: can probably sleep now

Heading to the LBC this morning – will keep my eyes open for Snoopy-Dog-Dog

Excitement – dead car battery in Compton. Thankfully, super nice client helped me find jumper cables and get it started again

Having solo dinner tonight at Lilly’s French Cafe in Venice. Going to try some new stuff – salmon tart, new kind of steak and berry crumble

Time for a little double-double action – http://twitpic.com/10lwd1

Good morning from the happiest place on Earth – http://twitpic.com/10prh3

I hardly remember Roger Rabbit – I wonder how many kids know it now – http://twitpic.com/10q456

Todd’s next car? http://twitpic.com/10qbdj

The Rivers of America have run dry – http://twitpic.com/10qhkn

FYI – the second seat on Splash Mountain is not for those who want to stay dry

WordPress people, this project is really cool – http://tierra-innovation.com/wordpress-cms/

Crap, January is over already? That seemed quick

Still amazes me how much information flows through my computer on a daily basis (email, RSS, Twitter, FB, web, etc)

I Love LA – weather, food, Disneyland, beaches, scenery, KROQ, freeway driving (when it moves, it moves)

Ran the 10K route from Venice to the end of the Santa Monica pier and back. This part of town has a different vibe from south bay

Had some good chicken teriyaki at dinner with Nome and Tiffany tonight in Marina Del Rey. Now it’s time for 24 in HD

So how come everything happens later on the west coast, yet I still have to wake up at the same time?

Ran the 10K route to the pier and decided all the people on the beach at 6AM are crazy to one degree or another

Still love the SoCal paradox: health obsession + awesome donut shops on every other corner

Pretty cool that the Wild are on FiosTV here in Venice – too bad their play stinks tonight

Tough Wild game to watch – the guys need to D up on those post-goal shifts

Preparing iPhone for software update…

Archiver’s new WordPress-based blog is up and running at http://blog.archiversonline.com

Staying up late to watch Grand Torino + sore legs = no morning run today

2010 Running Budget: TCM – $100, Grandma’s – $85, Red, White and Boom – $55, Get in Gear 10K – $25, Heart of the City – $35 + new shoes

The Kingsbury clan is now spread all over the country – me in LA, kids in Orlando and wife in Minnesota. Poor wife

Think I’ll try the Abbot Kinney branch of Lemonade for dinner tonight (http://www.lemonadela.com/), followed by a stop at Pinkberry

Pinkberry: “If your masterpiece does not inspire chilly bliss, let us swirl you a new one”

Hey record label people, sign this guy now – http://hanserik.net/2009/12/04/new-backing-vocals-on-a-kind-of-chao/

The friend of the clerk working at Pinkberry asked him if he knew who Atmosphere was – pretty cool

Great – study says people who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are more likely to show signs of depression

Ran a 12 mile ocean route towards Malibu – looks like the rain is moving back in

Can’t wait – Johnny Cash, American VI: Ain’t No Grave drops on Friday, February 26th http://tinyurl.com/ycfveam

Nice dinner with Nome at the C&O Trattoria in Marina Del Rey. I could eat their garlic rolls all night long

http://www.cotrattoria.com/food/killergarlicrolls.html

Love that the Kings are kicking the Ducks butt at the Staples Center – I should have checked the schedule and tried to get tix

Now it’s 4-1 Kings over the Ducks. I need to get me a Kings jersey – the black and purple look is nice

Geez, tie game now, 4-4. Damn Ducks

Final – Kings 6, Ducks 4

Ran one last 10K to the end of the Santa Monica pier and back in the light rain – might not get another outdoor run in for weeks

One more rainy night in LA, thanks to American Airlines (who thought I’d like STL much more than MSP)

Even though I thought I’d be home by now, dinner with Nome and Tiffany at Paco’s Tacos (http://www.pacoscantina.com/) was great

Tomorrow’s day starts at 3:30AM and includes cabs, LAX, O’Hare and snow. This can’t go well, can it?

So far, so good – woke up before the alarm went off and the cab got here early. Still raining like crazy, though

Come on, American, $75 to check one (admittedly large) bag? Through security and hoping Burger King opens for breakfast soon

On the 6AM LAX-ORD flight in seat 9C – looks like an on-time departure

Landed safely in Chicago

Livin’ the high life – airport Burger King for breakfast and airport McDonald’s for lunch

Minnesota winters are less appealing to me more and more every year – when will I finally snap out of it and wise up?

No kids for a few more days, so dinner tonight at Barbette, followed by a movie at the Lagoon

Got the driveway cleared of ice and snow – just in time for the 14 inches forecast to fall in the next two days

9:30PM and I’m just sitting down after work, dinner and several hours of shoveling. I should run downstairs, but I prefer a Weeds marathon

Anxious to see the kids tonight – it’s been 15 days since I last saw them (longest time away ever)

Running MacNikto on localhost took a long time, but finally returned results. Now trying on a live host

Network is a little slow today – too many new devices?

Hmm, how come the new Digital Camera Raw update doesn’t require a restart this time? Nice…

The Dyson Airblade hand dryers actually work pretty damn well

The Orlando Express has arrived! http://twitpic.com/12bix0

False alarm – that was a plane from Vegas. Headed to gate G11 now

This should be the right one http://twitpic.com/12bomt

Disney bags – must be the right plane this time

Everyone under one roof again for the first time in weeks. Really want to sleep, but headed down for a basement workout – gut is growing

5K on the basement treadmill : LA beach run as Yugo : Aston Martin

Eagan Smashburger opens on 2/17 – http://twitpic.com/12cdbx

Retrospect for iPhone looks pretty nice – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retrospect/id353826048

Wow, FTP traffic to NetSol’s servers is very flaky – no wonder I was missing data

Wild game tonight with kid two at the X – Backstrom back starting in net vs. Phoenix

Pre-game warm-ups at the X http://twitpic.com/12hm8h

I think my old snow UFO wireless base station is dying a slow death

Hunting for more hard drives in the basement

Attempting to install Snow Leopard Server in a VM – this should be fun

And while I’ll wait for that installer, experimenting with swapping SIM cards between iPhones

Looks like I need to visit an AT&T store – a straight up SIM swap between a 3G and 3GS didn’t work

I think my laptop is about to blow up. Asking it to do way too many things at once

OmniGraffle Pro and OmniPlan licensed and installed, Snow Leopard Server in VM taking forever. Still missing some hard drive cables too

Crap, running out of space on laptop drive and old D70 now won’t transfer picture files to it over USB

File Vault + Time Machine = not convenient

So it seems that Google Buzz currently only works with Gmail proper and not Google Apps for Domains. Never use my actual Gmail account

Teacher conference for kid two, then Walker Art Center

Pretty crowded at the Walker tonight – didn’t know it was Free Thursday http://twitpic.com/12os2u

H3 by Bruno Beltrao and Grupo de Rua wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was better than sitting on the couch

Decent morning: created an OD master server, installed Podcast Producer, chatted with some partners, set up a VM and got a check in the mail

Now headed to a sales lunch meeting at Granite City Eagan

Nice dinner with Brad at the Downtowner bar (restaurant full of hockey fans). Headed to the Wild-Atlanta game next

Who was the genius who scheduled a haircut for early Saturday morning?

Learned my lesson and booked next appointment for noon

I’ve reluctantly given my old mobile number to kid one, so you can now reach me at 952-232-9296. We’ll see how long this setup lasts

Pebble looks beautiful today in HD – I could totally live there =)

How can this possibly be the *20th* season of Survivor?!? Finally sitting down to some HD On Demand tonight

Valentine breakfast with Colleen at J’s in Burnsville, then Wild-Canucks game with kid two and friend – they get to be “bench buddies”

Throwing caution to the wind and attempting to re-partition a laptop drive in place

Voilà – instant deployment test environment

What’s with the blue paint on the downhill course? Back in my day…

Must. Refocus. 10K treadmill, 225 sit-ups and 90 dumbbell reps while watching Olympics

Oh, and thanks for dinner tonight, Smashburger Eagan – totally worth having to work it off later

Starting to cook kid one’s big birthday dinner – for #12 she requested hot dogs and fries at home. Not sure she’s really my kid

My friend Doug’s brother gets to play on tour this weekend (with Doug on the bag) – http://bit.ly/boSFLa

Heading to a bunch of meetings in downtown Minneapolis – should be an interesting parking day

Least favorite lunch I’ve had in a while -Wendy’s in North Minneapolis. Actually felt safer in Compton 🙁

Guess it’s time for jump rope for heart at Deerwood. Needless to say, I will just be an observer (never have been able to jump rope)

Guess I can stop watching Survivor this season

Guess I’m using the word “guess” on Twitter way too much today

Online registration is now open for the 2010 Tapemark Charity Pro-Am and Women’s Golf Event – http://tapemarkgolf.org/

Gear Daddies March 13th at Papa Charlie’s in Lutsen – where did I leave that extra bag of money?

I have no clue how curling is played, but I can’t stop watching

Ran/slid the 6 mile zoo route in Eagan and AV. Could’ve used crampons and an ice ax – whatever happened to the shovel your walk laws?

Today’s motivational anthem: Given Up by Linkin Park. Damn, those are some dark lyrics for such a powerful song

Dropped off like 12 bags of stuff at ARC’s Value Village this morning – http://www.arcsvaluevillage.org/

Back at the Eagan Smashburger – http://twitpic.com/14d64g

Dinner and Olympics with Tim at Joe Senser’s Eagan

Ski cross seems suspiciously like the Chinese Downhill

10 mile bike ride in Eagan and AV. Sun was nice, but the wind and puddles more than offset that – feet, hands and ears still cold

OMFG – first pass at federal taxes is pointing towards a refund. Sort of in shock right now – hope this isn’t some sort of cruel joke

Wife gone tonight at play and kids in bed, so I get to watch end of US-Canada game in peace and quiet

Great hockey game

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard this music – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnMd7tD7HhE

Spent lunch break cleaning up my Twitter follow list and trying to get Facebook to display what I want in the live feed. Mildly successful

Office 2008 still doesn’t like Spaces, eh? Also, back to ~10 second launch times on my current MBP

New swimming session for kid two starts in 15 minutes – hello warm, tropical air

More curling – men first, then women. Definitely want to try this sometime

Was hoping to get my old EyeTV up and running on my MBP, but it appears I need to get a power adapter in order to connect via FW800 port

4WD, 4-door MINI? Not sure if I like the look, but it would make sense in MN – hhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv_T9Q5FVIw

Breakfast meeting in Edina, Fedex/Post Office, then trying to stay warm the rest of the day

Found power plug for EyeTV200, so now I can watch the Olympics on my laptop. Bit of information overload now, though

Almost forgot, looks like Mike Podolak shot 75-71-73-219 (+3) to finish T66 at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, FL

So, does Facebook display ads based on your browser history or is it just a really good guesser?

Love setting up Google Apps for Domains – free, powerful and pretty awesome for many uses

Damn, first it was late night curling keeping me up, now it’s hockey.

Oh, hello, Mr. Gaborik

And now my other old friend, Demitra

Tried, but can’t stay up for the rest of this game. Hard to believe they really play this late – even for the west coast

Version Tracker, now a part of CNET, CBS, Upload.com, Download.com and a million others (I think). Much easier to figure out before

Congrats to Clutterbutter – three more years!

Fighting in women’s hockey? Bring it on!

Got caught up on two weeks of 24, but just realized I missed women’s hockey gold medal game (and Survivor)

I’d put Backs in too, but please don’t get hurt

Looks like I’m having girl scout cookies for dinner tonight

Oh great, possible cookie recall on the exact kind I just ate half a box of a few minutes ago

The free hot dog was totally not worth the 15 minutes I had to spend at the school winter social

I think Cheryl Bernard is my favorite athlete of these Olympics – one end (hopefully) until gold!

OT in curling

Damn – guess I cursed them. Canada loses the gold to Sweden in women’s curling

Ran the 6 mile zoo route in Eagan and Apple Valley. One of the nicer winter days in a while – sunny, 28, light head wind and melting ice

Hate being on the roof, but happy to have ice dam outside my office window gone

Why exactly is Waste Management sponsoring the Phoenix Open? It’s going to be an interesting few years for the PGA

Line at Smashburger Eagan too long, so we just hit up Panera tonight – http://twitpic.com/15qhi8

Get to cross another state visited off the list today – Nebraska will make 39 out of 50

Only TVs at the MSP airport (Humphrey Terminal) that have the game on are in the bar – and it’s packed

Landed safely in MKE – congrats to Team Canada!

It’s been a long time since I had to walk outside on the tarmac to get on a plane – http://twitpic.com/15yel8

Landed safely in OMA

Just checked in at the O’Neill, Nebraska Super 8

Headed here for dinner tonight, so I can be king of the castle – http://www.blarneystone-oneill.com/

Ate way too much beef at the Blarney Stone, but I did have a salad too. Now it’s time for Jack-a-Roo

Lunch at the bowling alley today was delicious, one of two options for food in Atkinson – did the Subway yesterday

Dinner at B-B-Q Central, with pool afterwards at the Good Timin’ Bar http://twitpic.com/16ao9y

So whatever happened to the 1TB laptop drives? I’d even take a 750GB, especially if it spins at 7200rpm

WTF? MINI Countryman intro video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49hoafjm9os

North central Nebraska is pretty much the same as south eastern Minnesota

Trying the best Mexican in Holt County at Tia Zia tonight http://twitpic.com/16gp0y

So this is the last new episode of Nip/Tuck ever? Guess I’ll try to stay up and watch (even though I missed the last few episodes)

Checking out the WordPress exploit scanner plugin – this may take a while

I think there are about five other people staying in this Super 8 and they all have rooms near mine with TVs blasting

For some reason, it felt really, really good to hit snooze *twice* this morning

Crispy chicken wrap at the bowling alley today http://twitpic.com/16l6zw

Dairy Queen is Dairy Queen, no matter where you go http://twitpic.com/16n2fb

Tonight’s agenda: Survivor, CSI, web surfing, packing and documentation writing

More CIA story lines on CSI, please

Still don’t understand why Private Practice had to create a fake Santa Monica pier for the ending credits

Such *interesting* sounds coming through the thin walls of this motel tonight

Packed up and ready to check out of the O’Neill Super 8. One more trip over to Atkinson this morning, then back to Omaha

Lunch today at the Norfolk Culver’s http://twitpic.com/16rxnh

2 hours early at the Omaha airport is plenty of time today http://twitpic.com/16srmv

Back at MKE (with a 1+ hour delay). Checking out the cool used book store while I wait

Dear Chili’s corporate, your branch on concourse C at MKE has soiled your good name twice in one week (but it’s really the only option)

AirTran delay is over – getting ready to board

There’s a seat waiting for me http://twitpic.com/16uw6s

Back home safely with kid one and kid two (wife gone to church retreat until Sunday night)

A week in Nebraska was not good for the Weightbot charts

Taking kid one in for her first hair color appointment, then maybe Zantigo and Alice in Wonderland

Now that I can watch TV on the laptop again, there is (of course) nothing on any of the 100+ channels worth watching tonight

The Johnny Cash cover of Aloha Oe on the new CD is just perfect

Ran 10K on the treadmill + sit-ups and weights. Gotta start training (and lose about 10 pounds)

Ran the Lake Harriet/Calhoun loop – still icy, but overall pretty nice

Great experience at MOA Apple Store -exchanged faulty headphones with one off the shelf. No muss, no fuss

Kids loving the nickel jukebox at Johnny Rockets – old timey iTunes, says kid one

Wow, a Wild game on KSTP in HD – has that ever happened before?

Officially back in training now – registered for the 2010 Twin Cities Marathon today

Oscar pre-show mania has begun at our house

Heading to the other junior high for kid two swimming tonight, thanks to the Caddyshack incident at BHMS yesterday

Ran a 5K on the treadmill at Boston pace. Forgot how tough that is – will this be the year?

Playing data wrangler in Excel this morning – haven’t done that in a while

Seems like the parking ramps at the Mall of America are becoming a death magnet – http://www.startribune.com/local/south/87109337.html

The new Tron Legacy trailer looks great (visually and content-wise). In fact, how do the studios make HD trailers look so good?

And, just like that, my new copy of FileMaker is obsolete

School lunch with kid two today – corn dogs and mac and cheese

Got a letter in the mail today saying HOM Furniture has purchased Hoigaard’s (and also owns Gabberts). All your furniture are belong to us!

Get to watch Wild-Panthers game from a suite tonight – thanks Joe!

Basement workout much more tolerable with the MSHSL Boys Hockey tourney on (should have gone down there for the late game)

Major blowouts in the class A tourney today – Warroad vs. Breck should be good, though

Minnesota State High School League on Twitter @MSHSL has only 83 followers – come on State of Hockey, boost that up!

Sort of freaking me out having thunderstorms during the boys hockey tournament instead of blizzards

Great, my WordPress security review has now locked me out of the admin backend of my own site. Time for lunch, though

Informative lunch with Mr. Keeney at Houlihans and I now have access again to the WordPress dashboard

My first post on the 318 Tech Journal – RT @318inc: WordPress Security Auditing http://bit.ly/cvlQSa

I hate when I know I have code samples somewhere, but Spotlight can’t find them. Google can usually find the originals, though

Magpie RSS + Sourceforge custom hosting server environment = no love

Music concert featuring kid two tonight at the school

To hell with the rain, I’m going out for a run

Ran 10 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley at an 8:00 pace – 45 degrees and drizzle never felt so good

Kid one receiving a Panther Pride award this morning at BHMS – so early

Does Office 95 work on Windows XP? What the hell kind of question is that? =)

Can’t remember who mentioned The Loop on Twitter, but as another ex-airline employee, this is pretty funny. Just finished season one

Let’s see how long I can be productive today – laundry, tax forms, Target, cleaning, run, finish season two of The Loop

Ran the 7 mile hilly route in Eagan and Apple Valley. Forgot how different hills can be – need a bar run tonight with Tim to recover

I was right, two screwdrivers and an order of bull bites is the perfect antidote for sore legs

Ran two 4 mile loops in Eagan – sun and 60 felt pretty good for mid March

Federal and state taxes finished, signed, copied and mailed (yeah, I still do it the old fashioned way)

Jake’s weather app says today’s high of 64 was a record high (previous was 62 in 1990)

A little insomnia tonight, so I caught up on 24 and played a little video poker. Gonna pay for that the rest of the week, I’m sure

Breakfast and free wi-fi at the Stinson McDonald’s. I wonder if they’d let me office here all day

Trying Smashburger St. Anthony today with Charles

Even with the warmer weather outside, attending kid two’s swim lessons at the tropical BHMS pool is a treat

Also digging Snoop Dog on the new Gorillaz CD

Planning to run 10K on the treadmill during the Wild-Oilers game, but I’m having trouble getting off the couch

Couldn’t stop eating today and now I almost fell off the back of the treadmill -twice. Not a good day for health goals

So nice to be outside today – 60 and sunny in Minnesota on St. Patrick’s Day

Ran a decent 6 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley (46:22). Few street lights on + low crescent moon = extra challenge (and lots of stars)

Lunch at Runyon’s today with Charles. Didn’t know I’d be in Minneapolis today, but the weather is awesome

Kid one happy to be back in the pool swimming laps, even with all the “old people”

Just when I think kid one’s musical tastes are hopeless, she redeems herself by asking to stay in the car to hear John Lennon

Denver was really the 1 seed? UND vs SCSU for the WCHA title brings back memories of freshman year

So many choices http://twitpic.com/19sxod

Haircut, check. Shag Haunted Mansion shirt and nice jeans, check. Expensive vodka, check. Ready for poker!

Trying to get more crap out of the basement – went through three bins of old cables this afternoon, but there is oh so much more left to do

Sweet, my brother is officially registered for the 2010 TCM now too

Note to self – playing 80s Trivial Pursuit with drunk people can take a *very* long time to finish

Ran 14 leisurely miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. A little cold and windy, but the sun felt good

Walked kid two down to the school playground – it’s spring break week and she just can’t stay away

Picked up another pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 12s from Run N Fun in Burnsville. Same model, but different color + 30% off since they are ’09s

My quick domain registration and DNS config for a friend resulted in staying up way too late, thanks to Futurama and South Park

Ran a late night 6 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley by the pale moon light. Smooth transition to the new shoes, too (so far)

The neighborhood is going to hell: Bibo has closed after only one year and somebody just tried to break in to the neighbor’s house

Wrote new 318 Tech Journal post on WordPress 3.0 – http://techjournal.318.com/web-development/wordpress-3-0-on-the-horizon/

Registering for certification exams almost requires a certification in registering

Wow, most of the Heart of the City half marathon course in Burnsville is underwater

The grand tour of Mall of America, Southdale, Ridgedale & Rosedale is complete – driving would be much more enjoyable with no other traffic

Trying Hoban Korean BBQ in Eagan with the wife (kids gone for a few hours)

Passed my first certification exam this morning with a B+ (first time I’ve ever taken a computer-based exam like this). Next one tomorrow

Finally finished season three of The Wire – only 8 more DVDs to go

Half way home – passed second certification exam with flying colors. Third one on Wednesday in Rochester

Red Bull Flugtag ads on TV make me smile. Twin Cities is July 24 on Harriet Island – http://redbullflugtagusa.com/

It’s official – I get to visit Hurley, Wisconsin, very soon

Good thing my MINI is paid for: new brake pads (again), rotors, cables and labor = $788

Ran the 7.4 mile loop in Eagan and Apple Valley – still a few traces of snow around, but it’s getting better

TV slug afternoon: caught up with multiple episodes of South Park, Modern Family and Private Practice

S’mores at the neighbors, then off to the casino

Great time at Mystic Lake with Joe. Broke even – all the money I won at Blackjack was lost on video poker

Ran 10 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley with kid two on bicycle escort. Sun was nice, but the northerly headwind was rough

Hurray! First golf holes of 2010 complete – walked the front nine at Valleywood. Glad scores don’t count for 2 more weeks, though

Free Showtime? Looks like a Californication and Dexter marathon tonight

10.6.3 took forever to update, but now that it’s up and running, everything seems OK so far

I see Tweetie still doesn’t like Spaces

Damn you, Showtime preview. ALL the episodes of Dexter and Californication are available in SD. Sleep can wait

Driving to Rochester today for ACSA exam number three

Ah, finally off the road. Got one wrong on the test (98.44%), then visited a client in Minneapolis, followed by lunch with CE at Pop! in NE

8 Tylenols later, headache finally gone, so I ran 11+ miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. First 100+ mile month in 2010

Hated the end of Dexter season four – are they going to pull a Dallas on us?

Nice to have Survivor back instead of college basketball

CBS is messing with my head tonight

Thunderstorms and conference calls during the day, onsite at a Minneapolis client tonight

AM – Kid two haircut, Easter egg hunt, then lunch from Zantigo. PM – test out the WordPress 3 beta, then ???

State tax refund hit checking account, urge to buy iPad growing

After one false start, WordPress 3 beta 1 now up and running. Explore more later today – time for Zantigo!

Needed an iPad for professional development. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Not sure what to think of the iPad yet. It sure was a time suck this afternoon – more to report later

Ran a leisurely 14 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley – on to the ham gluttony

Happy Smash Easter

Too much stuff to get ready for this week and next – at least there is late night Wild hockey on

More bacon than the pan can handle

Exam passed, ACSA obtained. Now visiting client in downtown Mpls, then dinner mtg at new Lucky’s, followed by flight to Detroit (via ORD)

The “new” Lucky’s looks just like the original – http://twitpic.com/1dhfxs

AA delayed to Chicago, so I might actually get a Delta nonstop to DTW instead – fingers crossed

Hurray for Delta – http://twitpic.com/1di2v5

Landed safely at DTW

Suburban Detroit is just like suburban everywhere

First hotel I’ve ever been in that doesn’t get CBS on the TV – no NCAA final for me

Never mind – just a typo in the channel guide. Wondered why anyone would need two channels of CBC

Late night thunder and lightning outside my hotel room – love it

This one’s for you, Chuck (via Schoun) – http://twitpic.com/1dpkx7

Ann Arbor liquor store #2 – notice a trend? http://twitpic.com/1dpoht

Fish fry and screwdrivers at the Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor – http://twitpic.com/1dq2mw

2010 NYC Marathon registration status: Not accepted

Now entering travel limbo

AA cancelled my flight to ORD and wouldn’t put me on Delta or give me a hotel voucher (said it was weather). Plan B: mom’s non-rev perk

Have they always shut down airports for a few scattered lightning claps?

I guess that would be lightning bolts and *thunder* claps

Delta FTW!

Landed MSP – so glad I wasn’t stranded overnight

Twitterific on the iPad seems kinda weird after using Tweetie on the iPhone and MBP for so long

Oh yeah, the Masters is on

Ran 7+ miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. Pitch black sidewalk + large stray dog = pure terror

Wild win three in Calgary?!? That alone should have been worth a playoff spot

So much stuff to organize, clean up and file away today before heading back out on the road

Masters.org video still amazes me year after year – bravo IBM

Lunch with the wife at Bonfire in Eagan today – wish I would have remembered my new frequent diner card

Play profile. Ignore.

Up earlier than planned, with only a wee headache. Today’s agenda: laundry, Jeff Galloway running clinic at MOA and prep for Hurley trip

I’m guessing the 4+ hours of thatch removal today in the front yard isn’t going to help my golf game tomorrow morning

Beautiful day for a round of golf at Willingers

Shot a very rusty 95 at Faribault from the whites

Taking LA Tim to Famous Dave’s at Mall of America – fake north woods before the real thing

I totally had one of these when I was little http://twitpic.com/1ezmda

Arrived safely at the Days Inn Hurley

Al Capone ate here, right? http://twitpic.com/1f508h

The writers for Dexter and 24 can both go to hell

One benefit of motel life: swimming pool, hot tub and sauna. Gotta get me one of these saunas next winter

I take back what I said in Detroit about not needing two channels of CBC. Cypress Hill, curling – more please!

Can’t use my ticket to Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright III tomorrow night in St. Paul – hit me up if you want to go

Ran 5 hilly miles in Hurley, Wisconsin. Visitor’s guide says the air quality here is 95x better than LA

UPS units in the house

Geez, where did this evening go? I need about six more hours, please

Playoff hockey on CBC – how can I get this in MSP?

Neil Young is a San Jose Sharks season ticket holder?

What is it with San Jose and the playoffs?

Not really sure exactly what they sell here http://twitpic.com/1fvn7o

And tonight’s late night CBC match-up: Kings vs. Canucks. Sleep can wait

Today’s fortune cookie: Your hard work will get payoff today. Damn straight.

One last Hockey Night in Canada (Sharks-Avs) while eating cheesecake and packing to return home in the morning

Signed up for next weekend’s Get in Gear 10K – http://www.getingear10k.com/registration.html

Hot Tub Time Machine = movie for old guys like me

Watching hockey on Versus while sitting on the weight bench for the first time in a month. Arms are burning

Ran 6 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley using a modified Galloway routine. Up next: first day of the season on the mountain bike trail

Beautiful day at Lebanon Hills mountain bike trail. Lots of people out and the trail was in great shape. Kicked my butt, though

Good luck to everyone running Boston tomorrow – hope I can join you next year

Reading an actual Sunday paper for the first time in years. Good Sun Country article and a 2-for-1 Leeann Chin coupon

It’s frickin’ beautiful outside and I’m sitting here in front of a keyboard creating documentation. Something is wrong with this picture

Kid two trying out community ed swim team at the Eagan Wildcat pool. Tears at the start, but better now

Ran the hilly 7.4 mile route in Eagan and Apple Valley at sub-BQ pace. Only one dog tried to kill me tonight

My first iBookstore searches for “Apple Training” and “Snow Leopard” turned up no matches. Not good

New client visit in Little Canada – wonder if they get CBC here?

Smashburger FTW!

LazyTwitter: any recommendations for a good scanner/fax/copier device that works well with Snow Leopard?

Sunshine on the deck + glossy laptop screen = not the most efficient workspace

0-1 on the new Mega Millions game

The iPad does make a pretty nice couch companion. Messing with it while watching Kings-Canucks on Versus

Bummer – the Heart of the City half marathon in Burnsville is cancelled due to road damage from flooding

Time for a little brainless TV watching

Looks like a rainy Get in Gear 10K today in Minneapolis/St. Paul

Feel like a drowned rat, but broke my 10K PR today at Get in Gear by 4+ minutes – watch time of 44:48 (7:14 pace)

Today’s mile splits – 7:05, 7:08, 7:19, 7:21, 7:17 and 7:14

Studying for another exam, but at least the rain stopped and I can sit outside and read

Tried to sit outside to study, but had to move inside to the couch when my nose starting running. Back to cold and windy today

Dammit, my Monday state of mind is settling in early. Weekends are supposed to be *all* good, right?

It was tough, but passed the delta exam for my ACSA 10.6 certification today in Minneapolis

Registered for another marathon. In Eau Claire. This Sunday. Just because. =)

Three nights of The Jayhawks at First Avenue in June? Hope I can be around for one of them

Geez, Canon, how many more times will I have to restart before I can use my new scanner?

Kid one music concert tonight – tuba!

Ran 6 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. This will be the quickest taper week ever

Adult perk – late night Target run in the MINI. Should stop for McDonald’s fries too – just because I can

Tomorrow will start way too early, but it will be totally worth it

Sun shining at Town and Country – should be a great day

Taking all night to catch up on email, Twitter and news feeds. How come everyone else gets to go to cool places this week?

I’ve heard Ode to Joy four times today: Beethoven on iTunes, kid one playing keyboard on iPad, kid two playing guitar and Pengo intermission

Heading to Best Buy HQ to pick up my old friend for lunch at 5 Guys

It’s been a really long time since I had to clean up HTML code by hand. Not so fun

Good night – four screwdrivers and up like 188% on my buy-in

Haircut with Kim, lunch at Zantigo, then a free afternoon before tomorrow’s race in Eau Claire

Zantigo switched from Coke to Pepsi – weird having Mt. Dew with chilitos instead of cherry Coke

Training materials ordered for MCITP Server Admin certification exams – all 3000 pages worth

Broders rocks for pre-race meals http://twitpic.com/1k50l4

It’s 5AM, so off to Eau Claire we go

Arrived safely in Eau Claire. Sunny, little wind and about 45 degrees F

Ran 26.2 miles in 3:47 at the 2010 Eau Claire marathon. New PR by 25 minutes (need to cut 27 more for Boston)

I know the Chick-fil-A at Coffman Union is sort of fakey, but is still tastes pretty damn good

MySQL access control is really pretty convoluted

“Congratulations! You are officially registered for the 34th annual Grandma’s Marathon on June 19, 2010.”

It’s cold, windy and rainy, but sitting on the front porch with a blanket is very relaxing (Wurdle helps too)

Up way too late on a school night – thanks Mr. Wisenbaker for helping to close Uptown with me

Starting a three day onsite at a charter school in northeast Minneapolis this morning

The wind is really whipping tonight – glad the garage blocks the front porch so I can sit and watch the tumbleweeds roll by

Now it’s like a hurricane – rain driven sideways in sheets. And just as I typed that, things turned yellow.

Rain stopped, darkness and cold prevail on this Minnesota spring evening – time to go inside

Back in NE Minneapolis

Porky’s on Central is shut down apparently, so it’s the walleye sandwich at Pop’s today

Last day in Northeast

Barely made it home in time for Survivor – long day

TV zombie night – Survivor, CSI, Private Practice, Glee and now South Park

Shot 92 from the whites at Sand Creek. Weird weather – sun, clouds, wind, calm, rain & hail on 18th

At Bloomington Ice Garden, home to Tom Saterdalen and the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars. Wish it was because of hockey, but it’s not

Dinner at the only true Carbone’s, then on the road to Three Lakes, Wisconsin

Still getting a signal in Cameron, Wisconsin

Arrived safely at the Onieda Village Inn in downtown Three Lakes, Wisconsin. Had two screwdrivers in the bar to celebrate. Friendly locals

Dinner at the OV – http://twitpic.com/1ms5ic

Rhinelander ShopKo is a trip – reminds me of Madison college days

I agree with Gruber, this rocks: http://bit.ly/c3RyFE

Ran 6.6 windy miles around Spirit, Medicine and Laurel Lakes with one deer tick on my leg. Still looking for the talking raccoons

Neil Diamond, copper bars, pool, smoke and screwdrivers. Livin’ the high life…

Proof – http://twitpic.com/1n21lf

Gruvy – http://twitpic.com/1n7l52

Ran 8.5 miles on “Hwy X” to Island and Little Fork Lakes. Deer to runner ratio 1:1 and I could swear I heard a wood chipper

Things I’m pondering purging from my online life: Flickr, LinkedIn, Facebook, iChat, several mailing lists and half my RSS feeds

On the rainy roads back home. First stop: Culvers in Wausau for dinner

Just drove past my mother-in-laws home town. Still seems like forever left before we get home

Happy to be home, but my head is pounding today. Think I needed about three more hours of sleep in my non-crappy-motel bed

I thought some drugs and sitting outside would make documentation more enjoyable. I was incorrect

Last minute twilight golf with Mr. Schuster at Highland National

Squeezed in all 18 – http://twitpic.com/1nucw0

Shot 81 from the whites at Highland. Grabbing a quick juicy nookie with John before heading home

I heart Legends Club

Legends Club isn’t as forgiving as Highland National – shot 93 from the blues with three triples

Reading a Microsoft certification book on a beautiful Saturday evening must be some sort of plea for help, right?

Couldn’t kill off anything completely, but did some major housecleaning on Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds. More to do, but good for now

Ran 10 slow miles in Eagan & Apple Valley with minimal knee pain. The scent of spring lilacs is hard to beat

Punch pizza is even better outside – http://twitpic.com/1oeoqj

Dammit, headaches on weekends are extra painful

Registered kid one and I for the 2010 Minnesota State Fair Milk Run. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled

Ran 7.4 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. Amazed at how many people are out at this insane time of the day

Set up shop this afternoon on the back deck listening to the new (old) Jayhawks CD that Amazon had on sale for $5

Upload speeds on my home internet connection leave a lot to be desired

Office move – can’t believe it was almost too hot on the back deck. Now set up in the shade on the front porch

OMG – “Greetings from Grandma’s Marathon – 32 Days to Race Day!”

Up $7.50 and I haven’t played a game yet – casino promotions rule

Final tally: even in video poker, lost 20 bucks at blackjack

Get to live real-life Community today in Inver Grove Heights

Ran a 6 mile hill route in Eagan. Minnesota isn’t *all* flat and boring

Sweet, three old crappy bikes are now gone forever from my garage – thank you neighborhood garage sale

Doing remote support for LA clients from the deck with birds singing doesn’t suck

10 minute power outage wrecked havoc on all of my home office tools

Multiple sleepovers means I’m outnumbered five to one. Think I’ll just close the office door now (or go to sleep)

Chased off the 18th green at Bristol Ridge by lightning and rain. Shot 88 from the whites, though

So much for sunny and 90 today

It’s 6PM already and I’m just now starting to feel better from last night. Must remember to eat and drink water next time

Looks like I broke a toe last night while playing on the slide. Doctor visit scheduled for tomorrow

Toe x-rays came back negative – just internal bleeding. Never thought that would be the desired outcome

No 24 spoilers here, other than that I’m totally loving it so far

Dammit, doctor called back and radiologist says toe *is* broken. Not supposed to run for 4-6 weeks, but that really just doesn’t work for me

My VMs are a total mess right now – was hoping the new upgrade would improve performance, but that doesn’t seem to be the case

Wow – Styx, Foreigner and Kansas: United in Rock, July 1 at Target Center. Wonder how those voices are holding up in the senior years

Taking a break from fighting with technology to go to a member’s event at the “new” zoo tonight

The Minnesota Zoo should be open until 8 every day when the weather is nice. Now enroute for some Fat Lorenzo’s pizza

First time I’ve really seen American Idol and I get some old school Janet Jackson. That would be Miss Jackson, if you’re nasty

Today I bought a 20-year-old book on the iPad in the living room, but had to drive to Best Buy to get the latest Mario Brothers game

Breakfast at Key’s on Raymond with @tapemarkgolf president Phil Callen this morning

Oh, Mac Davis, where are you now? Baby, baby, don’t get hooked on me…

Shot another 88 this morning at Theodore Wirth from the whites. A little hot (~90F) and very slow (5 hours)

90F outside – must be time for Lord Stanley

Big Buff versus Pronger will be fun all series long

I could listen to the Fratelli’s all night long

How about some Flyers in the penalty box the last five minutes?

What a great game one – congrats to the Blackhawks

Broken toe + biking = not bad. Rode for 10 miles + the black diamond trail at Lebanon Hills

Waiting while kid one tries on summer clothes at some generic “it” shop at MOA

Saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tonight at Edina 4 with the wife. Good show, but that is one messed up story

Shot 92 from the whites at Boulder Pointe. No blow-up holes, but just couldn’t get many pars to drop

Heading to Denver soon – if any of you all have a hookup at Red Rock, hit me up. Would love to go there Tuesday or Thursday night

Come on MAC – “Terminal 1” and “Terminal 2” are lame (and a massive waste of money)

Frontier non-stop to Denver – http://twitpic.com/1sve48

Geotag is back, right?

Landed safely DIA

75MPH speed limits? I love Colorado!

Frontier flight had DIRECTV for $6, but guy in front of me paid for the hockey game, so I got to watch for free

OMG, OMG, OMG – map says Chick-fil-A just down the street!

A respectable joint – http://twitpic.com/1t1ljx

The front desk has just informed me that channel 5 is “out” right now, so looks like no Glee for me

Slow optical installs mean I may get caught up on reading mailing lists by the end of the day

Free night in Colorado – what to do, what to do

Check it out, kid one http://twitpic.com/1tef65

Trying the Bent Fork Grill in Loveland for dinner tonight – TripAdvisor says it’s the #1 restaurant in town http://twitpic.com/1tei88

Seems sort of sad I have to watch the Stanley Cup final game online instead of on a TV. Even the bar in this Colorado hotel doesn’t have it

Hiking the Trading Post trail at Red Rocks before the concert http://twitpic.com/1to53d

Didn’t know Red Rocks was a CCC project. Super cool museum down below the seating, too

Joe Cocker is pretty awesome for an old guy http://twitpic.com/1tovkd

Drunk guy just staggered by with a black “Suits Suck” T-shirt

Seeing a show at Red Rocks was like attending mass at the church of rock and roll. With lots of weed.

Welcome to the clustercuss

There should be a law against radio ads that contain police sirens

For a newish airport, DIA sure isn’t designed very well. Stuck here for an hour and a half

Watching the Stanley Cup in an airport bar. How did my life end of here?

I guess I shouldn’t complain about airport bars. They did have Versus (and drunks from all over the world)

Landed safely at MSP. Home for < 48 hours

The quality of Netflix on Wii is much better than I expected. Wonder what video settings they use (and if it will stall eventually)

The rain cleared out, so I got in 14 miles on the bike. Just roads – the trail would have been too muddy

Could it be? Hookers & Blow at Grand Old Day

Deer are vastly outnumbered on Grand Avenue right now, if you know what I mean

How come I’ve never heard the term “Canadian tuxedo” until today?

The big metal flying contraption has arrived to take me back to the Mile High City http://twitpic.com/1umeyg

Is the plane broken? Nobody’s saying anything, but we were supposed to leave 15 minutes ago

Near riot on concourse E – Frontier and Continental operations FUBAR. Poor CO pilot taking questions from the angry mob

Should be able to be board in a few minutes – wish I was watching the game

Nice – free TV on the flight b/c of the delay. Get to watch the end of the game after all

Landed safely in Denver. Incredible lightning show on the way out here (plus a great win by the Hawks)

It could hit 100F in Denver today, yet my fingers are almost frozen solid. This is one well chilled server room

Tonight’s Colorado dinner spot http://twitpic.com/1uvstz

Dammit, Bonefish is really just another national chain

Nearing the brink of insanity. Not there yet, but I can see it from here

It’s probably a good thing there aren’t any “real” Chick-fil-A locations in Minnesota

Tonight’s dinner: locally owned chop house, lemonaza martini, ranked #3 in Loveland on TripAdvisor http://twitpic.com/1v4y78

How can you not like a restaurant called “Widow McCoy’s”?

Time to write some ugly code

My code may be ugly, but does anyone really care as long as the output looks the way people want?

Hockey karma – love it

Looks like my code isn’t so ugly – working like a charm at the Tapemark drawing. Good thing, too, as the hotel Internet connection is down

Let’s see if I can find a sports bar with wi-fi for the third period

Sports Station American Grill in historic downtown Loveland has hockey and wi-fi. Cherry Coke and a club sandwich in honor of the Tapemark

Way to go Blackhawks! Strange finish, but what a game

Mmm…breakfast for lunch on my last day in Colorado http://twitpic.com/1vlh7r

Snagged a table at Chef Jimmy’s Bistro & Spirits on concourse A. Hope the storms move through quickly

Hmm, free wi-fi at DIA comes with ad injected html headers on every page load

Getting ready to leave Denver http://twitpic.com/1voopk

Landed safely at MSP. Hope that lightning we flew over doesn’t make it to the Tapemark tomorrow. First tee at 6:40AM

Not the greatest weather for day one of the Tapemark at Southview CC – hours of rain and lightning

Weather clearing at the Tapemark. Planning two shotguns today – should be interesting

About to be crushed by data

A little lull while we wait for the next crush of scorecards. But that will be followed by Hookers and Blow, so it’s all good

So tired, but can’t stop listening to Hookers and Blow

Back at Southview, bright and early. Weather outlook, not so good

Quick break from the Tapemark to get a haircut from Kim

Biked 4 and ran 4 with Bonnie in Eagan and Apple Valley. Quick change, then back to Southview for the conclusion of the soggy Tapemark

Tapemark, check. Lawn mowing, check. Dinner with wife, check. Now time to pack and drive to Hurley, Wisconsin

On the road at 9:30PM and Frankie says relax

Duluth in 2:10

Hurley in 4:06. Deer scoreboard: 1-0

8 straight hours of talking about OS X Server. Only 32 more to go…

Back at my favorite restaurant in Ironwood, Michigan. There’s even a wait for a table

Too bad I gave up drinking last week – http://twitpic.com/1wvjfi

Wow, slept for 11 hours

The new Mac mini is pretty sweet, but it keeps moving farther and farther away from the $500 product it originally was

Sweet – new (and free) Tom Petty music today. Mike Campbell, I salute you

Is this available everywhere now, or just in northern Wisconsin? http://twitpic.com/1x42rj

Where do I sign up for the FU Crew?

Conscience off…

Playing a little twilight golf at the Eagle Bluff Golf Club in Hurley – http://twitpic.com/1xdw1t

Hmm, no Harry Potter on HBO tonight – guess I read the guide wrong. More time to sleep, though

I need to do what in 24 hours? Feeling a little anxious

On the road again…

Nothing quite like Grandma’s – http://twitpic.com/1xy2g2

Dinner at Black Woods Grill and Bar with my long lost kids – http://twitpic.com/1xygsl

Marathon number 16 in the books (6th Grandma’s). Chip time of 4:28:56. Heading to Grand Marais to get some Sven and Ole’s pizza

More lupine along US 61 than I ever remember seeing

Took dad to Grand Portage casino tonight. Lost $25 on poker, slots and keno, but got free drinks and watched the Open in the bar

Beaver – http://twitpic.com/1yjyav

Google says it will take 2 hours and 40 minutes to get from Grand Marais to Tower. Better get to sleep then, I guess

MINI + MN Hwy 1 + no traffic + 3 well-behaved deer = fun drive

Totally soaked after shooting 97 at Fortune Bay. Hard to score when you can’t grip the wet clubs

Home stretch

Safely home. Still amazed how much stuff the MINI can hold

Decisions, decisions

New software testing day – PresSTORE 4 and WordPress 3. Minor issues with both, but overall very nice

Kid one off to summer camp for a week

Haircuts for wife and kid two, Zantigo for lunch and Toy Story 3 this warm afternoon

Where did all this crap in the basement come from? Also: spiders and dead bugs. So gross

Wow, a hummingbird just flew up to the hosta right next to my leg and had a little swig from a few blossoms

Just when I thought I finished Super Mario Galaxy 2, they give me more – http://twitpic.com/214ozv

Kid one has returned from church camp and is now one of them – made me turn off a song on the iPod with a “swear word”

Three apps that had issues with iOS4 and three software updates today that fixed them all

Tonight (and for one night only) the songs of Radiohead performed by Phil Callen and friends at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, 7:30PM

Bedlam Theater, Minneapolis – http://twitpic.com/21d04o

Bad parent 101 – calling on Ronald to help with lunch today

Eagan BWW with the family

Shot 90-something from the blacks at Troy Burne, checked out the new house on Prior Lake and now headed to poker – long live holidays!

We must be getting old when poker ends by 11PM. Funny and entertaining night, though – right, Laura?

Waiting for the family to return, then off to Bone Lake in Wisconsin for some grillin’ and jet skiin’

Almost time for some jet ski – http://twitpic.com/22gl52

Waiting for Eagan fireworks to start – trying out the Blackhawk hill this year

Trash & recycling got picked up today, so I returned to the basement. Didn’t take long to fill the bins up again, unfortunately

I am hereby renaming the basement the “pit of despair”

Hmm, Twitter.com is working fine, as is Tweetie on the phone. Tweetie on the laptop? Not so much

Talked kid one into two laps around the shorter mountain bike trail at Lebanon Hills. I really need a new ride soon – destroying this one

Time for a little server and web site maintenance

Don’t know if I’ll really read them again on a phone screen, but downloading all of the books I read in Quest is cool (Edward Gibbon, etc.)

All the latest software updates installed on server and nine sites upgraded to WordPress 3.0. Much more productive than most nights lately

Kid two did her homework, so we’re heading out to lunch

Shoulder is killing me – can’t sit at the desk any more and can’t really clean the basement. Useless…

Enjoying Pirate Radio – lots of great British TV peeps (plus January Jones)

Lots of weird support tasks today – ready for the evening to begin

Rode the full mountain bike trail tonight for the first time in a while. Legs and arms burning, so it must be time to start running again

Just checked out the mountain bike trail map at Giants Ridge – wonder if it’s as good as it looks. Might need a winter *and* summer pass

And how did I ever miss Honk the Moose and the world’s largest authentic hockey stick? http://bit.ly/aCrPte

This will be very nice too – http://www.mesabitrail.com/

I think this is the most attention I’ve paid to my web server in years. Lots of new stuff coming soon

Climbed on tub in bathroom this morning to kill ant, jammed knee into sharp corner of marble countertop on way down. Such an idiot

Postini, MX records, SPF, Xsan, mdutil, scripting, edquota – too much nerdiness today

Add in some awk, du, df and remote tunneling too

A Think and a Drink: Member Fridays at the Walker Art Center. Beautiful night – http://twitpic.com/23wfdm

I like the new Guthrie and all, but trading in the old one for an open field and parking ramp wasn’t a decent trade, IMO

*Almost* slept past the entire morning. I love Saturdays

No kids tonight, so Target, movie at the Uptown and late dinner

Seems wrong not have a burger at Burger Jones, but it’s poutine and buffalo wings time http://twitpic.com/248t4d

Back from a great night out. I think I love Lisbeth (the girl with the dragon tattoo who plays with fire)

New Minikahda Club photos added to the gallery – https://7minutemiles.com/v/golfing/minnesota-mz/minikahda/

Taking kids to see Despicable Me, then off to Lake Vermilion

Sweet, the new commute to work is totally against traffic

Two hours to Cloquet

Under three hours to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

3 hours and 20 minutes door to door. Weather tonight on Vermilion is just perfect

Shot 93 from the whites at The Wilderness with my first visitor from the Twin Cities. First day of work was pretty good too

So home come my phone interacts with Exchange nicely, but not my laptop?

Scouting Giants Ridge and Biwabik tonight – about a 30 minute drive from Fortune Bay

Honk the Moose – http://twitpic.com/252nz9

Turns out I *can* gamble at Fortune Bay, but only two days each month. Sort of like caddie day at the pool, I guess

Geez, is the whole city of Ely for sale?

Reading Slot Manager magazine’s new games column. Favorite model: IGT’s “Cougarlicious”

That last Cherry Coke at 11PM was a bad idea. Four tens is a nice idea, but the 6AM wake-up call is not

I love that my new work “cafeteria” is the casino grill

What a day – meetings are much better when they are in clubhouse bars and marinas

Think I’ll wait for this next cell to pass before heading over to Ely

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at rainbows the same again – http://twitpic.com/25by6y

International Falls has DOCSIS 3.0, but Tower doesn’t? Come on, providers, help me out here

Walked 18 holes after work at The Wilderness. Got soaked on 3 holes, then the sun came out and I finished with a 90 from the whites

The chicken wild rice soup at the Wilderness Grill is superb. Made with this – http://nettlakewildrice.com/

Heavy traffic on northbound I-35

Walked 18 holes at The Summit and shot a pretty poor 94 from the whites

Back on the road – hope the accident on 35 clears soon

Think I just passed the accident scene on 35 – scary

Arrived safely back in God’s Country. Wish that nurse could re-take my blood pressure now

Feeling lucky – my room this week is in the new wing and I got here in time for True Blood on HBO

“There is no such thing as luck. It is all mathematics.”

Dinner here tonight – http://bayviewlodge.com/. John’s place is right across the bay

Ran 4.1 miles tonight – first run since Grandma’s and first run at Fortune Bay. Also stopped at the fitness center that I can use for free

The fitness center was very nice – building and equipment room have windows out towards the lake and a nice assortment of machines

Looks like one of my first business trips for the new gig will be to Vegas. Oh, darn

Was standing by to join Jake’s foursome at The Wilderness this morning, but alas, all the other guys showed up

Kids almost here – can’t wait. Sitting on the balcony and watching for them – http://twitpic.com/27yyo7

Dinner tonight with the family at the Chocolate Moose, then s’mores by the lake with the McKee’s

Ran out of time for s’mores tonight, but got to really check out Ely (and Tower in the dark)

Tower Depot Days, then spending the rest of the day on Lake Vermilion with Schuster and Friends

Kid two sure likes the pool at Fortune Bay

Tried the “combo” tees at the Wilderness and got my butt kicked. Struggled to stay in double digits

Whee – flat tire and I need to be at the airport in 90 minutes. Who told me to not get run-flats again? 😉

Made it to the airport on time (thanks to my wonderful wife), but this is the last place I want to be right now. Heading to PHX in an hour

747-400s are some seriously cool airplanes

US Air flight 350, MSP-PHX, seat 4C, running a little late

Landed safely at PHX

The Hampton Inn Gilbert actually has that new hotel smell – very nice. Late night steak with Beau at the local Keg Steakhouse & Bar

Seems wrong to be sleeping under a comforter while the AC is cranked in the middle of the desert. Feels pretty good, though

Cricket traps in the data center (which provide food for the scorpions under the raised floor) – http://twitpic.com/28w98b

This going from freezing cold data centers to Arizona outside temperatures is tough

Feeling old and broken down today – broken toe still hurts, bruised knee, stomach abrasions and strained arm muscles from flat tire

…and now I almost fell asleep watching TV. I’m already in Arizona – I should just join AARP now and be done with it

After the wife yelled at me for eating bad, ordered onion rings and a chicken *sandwich* instead of strips – http://twitpic.com/297z01

Monsoon, rainbow, 102 temp and pizza – http://twitpic.com/29b0ms

This hot/cold business is hard on the throat

Feeling sick as a dog, but headed to dinner at the local Gordon Biersch Brewery

Imaging a lab and pushing 117MB/sec of data over the gig-E network (and we’d still like it faster)

Monsoon season in Arizona – http://twitpic.com/29ttt4

The temp in Phoenix right now is only 85 degrees, but the dewpoint is *80* – dry heat has left town

Pretty sunset in the valley of the sun tonight – http://twitpic.com/29vstv

It’s now 9PM local time and my co-worker is *still* on a support call. Dude, I’m starving!

Last day in Arizona. Still have the cold and I’m not looking forward to the 3+ hour flight home tonight

Back at Joe’s Farm Grill – not healthy, but oh so good – http://twitpic.com/2a3get

Made it to gate A6 at the lovely Sky Harbor airport for tonight’s return trip to Minnesota

Almost time for my head to explode – seat 14F, PHX-MSP

Landed safely at MSP. Wish my head had exploded – would have been less painful than that descent

Hair cut, lawn mowed, laundry started and head still decompressing from last night

Gained 5 pounds in the last two weeks. Need to shake the ailments and pack up the gym bag this week

Computer backed up, car loaded (including bike, golf clubs and suitcase) and snacks packed. Ready for the commute back north

A few raindrops on the drive tonight

Thumbs up on the Virginia, MN Target store. Just like the thousands of other Target stores, but oh so comfortable

My mobile phone is now hangin’ in the two-one-eight. Visit https://7minutemiles.com/contact to see the whole dealio

Got in a good solid hour of hard biking on the Mesabi Trail and the Tower-Soudan 10K loop. Very scenic

This will be awesome when it’s finished: http://www.mesabitrail.com/_site_components/images/trailmap-big.png

Went for a little run down the Gold Mine Trail after the bike ride, then out to the marina and back. Another beautiful sunset too

Internet and voice lines down at the Bay. Can’t believe AT&T edge is my backup – must change that soon

Ah, sweet, sweet internet – NE Minnesota has missed you (9 hour outage due to severed fiber-optic line in Aurora)

Rode 11+ miles tonight on the mountain bike checking out some back roads near the resort

I’ve got an entry level opening on my team if you want to move to the north woods

Shot a not-as-embarrasing-as-last-time 93 from the whites at the Wilderness. The game still needs lots of work though

Stayed up late to finish Letters from Iwo Jima. Gonna pay for that decision later today, I’m sure

Never knew my “home” state of Oklahoma had so many casinos – 10+ pages in my directory (MN had 2.5 pages)

Sweet, the Rhinestone Cowboy will be here November 19-20. I still have a 45 somewhere of Southern Nights

Ran from Fortune Bay to the end of Echo Point and back (~6.5 miles). Whitecaps on the lake tonight

Damn, according to my Runnersworld.com training log, I ran all of 4.1 miles in July. State Fair Milk Run and TCM coming up – gotta kick it

Surprise visit tonight with Bill and JoLynn Giles and family. Finally got to try the pizza at Vermilion Club – thumbs way up

The mayor showed us 2 houses in Tower (loved the blue house), met Troy Swanson, had walleye shore lunch, now checking out Virginia library

Slept in a little, breakfast at the Tamarack, kayaking at Giants Ridge, then off to Duluth for the night

Late lunch at the Wacootah Grille – http://twitpic.com/2cjow0

Hit the Timber Twister (not fast enough, but still fun) and now waiting for a table at Pizza Luce on Lake and Superior

Looking for a DBA at Fortune Bay. SQL Server and stored procedures experience a must, Oracle helpful. Email me – dkingsbury@fortunebay.com

I’m practicing the art of inbox 9999 – http://twitpic.com/2d7u1t

Both open Fortune Bay IT positions are now posted. Direct links to PDFs: help desk – http://bit.ly/cS0ytU and DBA – http://bit.ly/9Ba2yV

Wow, are the Royals really this bad? It was 6-0 when I left for the bike ride and now it’s 12-0

Why does FS North have to trick me with baseball re-runs in prime time?

“Social media has replaced pornography as the world’s No.1 Internet activity.” Aren’t they sort of the same thing?

Budgets are eating up my day today, but at least nobody quit (so far)

Damn, TCM is less than 8 weeks away. I am so screwed

Gorillaz finally come to Minnesota and it’s at freakin’ Target Center?

Ran 10.4 miles from Fortune Bay to Bay View Lodge and back. Wildlife count: 2 deer, 1 pileated woodpecker in flight

Twins doing pretty good – this hockey fan double-checked the schedule to make sure it’s really live tonight

Beautiful 16 mile bike ride to John’s cabin and back, with a stop at the Bay View Lodge for a quick burger

Second internet outage to the resort in a week. The streets will soon flow with the blood of the non-believers…

Number of slots at commercial casinos in Nevada – 170,341. Number in MN tribal casinos – 21,946 (CA has 67,672 and OK has 53,897)

Totally worth leaving work early to see Baby T today – congrats Tim and Kristine!

Funny, I love real sugar in my Mexican Coke, but not so much in my Mountain Dew Throwback

Shot 89 from the whites at the Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan. Still pretty hot and humid (fog too at the start)

Taking kid one to see the Everest movie at the Uptown, then dinner somewhere over there (or BWW). Everyone else out and about

WTF? Eagan BWW has 2 TVs with the Vikings game and at least 11 with TB-MIA

Inspired by @andrina, ran 14 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. TCM is 7 weeks from today – feeling a little more optimistic about it now

I love the look of Whistling Straits, but I can’t imagine scoring well there with my game (let alone the price)

Got kid one off to zoo camp, $$ from credit union, hit Home Depot, repaired drawer and got painter started in bedroom. Shooting Star 2nite

State Fair Milk Run bib numbers 739 & 740 for the 2010 event. Only two weeks away (which means it’s almost school time already)

Arrived safely at Shooting Star Casino. Jacuzzi right in the room – http://twitpic.com/2ffcqj

I think I found a place with worse bandwidth than my place – can’t even get the speed test to load

Played a ton of hands, but still ended up down $20 (done for the night)

Feel like curling up into a ball and turning off the lights for the rest of the day

Was down to my last chip on blackjack, but got back to even (up $10 overall for the night)

Bemidji at 6AM – why did I agree to that focus group at 9:30? On to Grand Rapids

A spot of rain in Grand Rapids

Crap, 169 detour to Hibbing

How can you not feel good after listening to Rainbow Connection? Thank you, Kermit

Almost caught up after being gone for five days, but I still feel like I’m sitting on several bombs that could go off at any minute

Back at the VC for pizza, vendor talk and the Twins game

No golf today, but nice dinner and I *love* this room. Can I be like Howard Hughes and just reserve it for the next few years?

Vegas trip booked – get to try The Palms this time

No wonder I’ve gained weight – breakfast *and* lunch today: Cheez-Its and cherry Coke

I wonder if pizza-flavored goldfish crackers are more nutritious than Cheez-Its. It’s what’s for dinner

The Minnesota PGA Professional Championship will be held Aug. 30-31 at The Wilderness at Fortune Bay. All my pro friends will be here…

Bailey, Barge, Berry, Brischke, Guili, Israelson, Jones, Kelley, Lass, Meyers, Nelson, Norgaard, Snyder, Sorenson, Tentis, Waryan & more

Had 11 piles of stuff on my desk today, but just went outside and remembered why I love it here

A little better breakfast today – banana, honey nut Cheerios (no milk) and Mt. Dew from the gaming floor

It’s pretty cool that OmniGraffle can easily import Visio template files (plus all that is available at Graffletopia)

Whoa, time to venture east through Ely and Silver Bay on the way to Grand Marais and a visit with kid two

Fascinated by the phenomenon of Lake Superior fog. Deer appearing out of said fog? Not so cool

I don’t remember seeing this many people in Grand Marais for a long time – cars circling for open spots to park

Never thought to add bacon to a walleye sandwich – score! http://twitpic.com/2gwrrj

For dessert – hot fudge sundae cheesecake. This place rocks – http://twitpic.com/2gx26i

North Shore candy is the greatest – http://twitpic.com/2h8zj7

Curse you Duluth construction traffic

Heading back to the Bedlam Theater in Minneapolis tonight to see Phil and Company do more Radiohead

Second week in a row I’ve seen 4:30AM. This trend needs to stop

Arrived safely at work after the long, 3 hour and 45 minute commute

I like Bob Dylan songs more and more every day (and not just because I’m on the Iron Range now)

John Unwin, CEO of the new Cosmopolitan resort in Vegas: “I’m working my ass off — and loving 94.7 percent of it.”

Yikes – Western Petroleum to be sold for at least $95 million to Florida-based World Fuel Services Corp

Heading up to Ely to play nine holes with John and the Mayor

Shot 44 from the whites at Ely, then had a nice evening with John’s family at their Vermilion place. Sleeping at The Hideaway tonight

Interesting: Wynn and Encore in Vegas make almost as much from food and beverage as they do gaming ($111.5 million vs. $117.2)

I love tech vendors that offer free, easy to find, high quality visio templates of their products. So nice for professional documenation

It’s employee gaming days tonight, but I better head to Target instead and get some stuff for the Hideaway

No TV and no Internet make Homer something, something

Has DVD Player always had the “skipping over damaged areas” feature? Pretty nice to have for scratched up Netflix discs

Seems like the latest security patch fixed the weird Spaces/Tweetie bug (but maybe it’s just my imagination)

Hey database nerds, want to work in the north woods? http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/sof/1918165425.html

Still makes me smile to walk daily across the gaming floor. Can’t believe 10 hours have gone by at work, but now it’s time for a bike ride

Rode a bunch of new places tonight: Everett Bay Rd, Westhaven Dr, Birchwood Ln, Norway Rd

Mapped out last night’s bike ride – almost 18 miles. Lots of good hills in there too

Nerd slot machines have arrived – Lord of the Rings by Williams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGzAmr3c8kg

Home a day early – can’t wait for the Milk Run on Sunday, to be followed by a day of complete gluttony at the fairgrounds

Friday in the Cities – must be errand day

I still love Smashburger, but they are getting a little chintzy with the portion sizes on fries (especially considering the price)

Despite AMC On Demand dropping the first episode, planning to catch up on Mad Men season four tonight (everyone else gone on a sleepover)

TV slug night: caught up on Mad Men, True Blood, Entourage and Hung. Now starting latest Harry Potter

Decided I already watched that Harry Potter movie, so on to server upgrades and moving all sites to WordPress 3.0.1

Going to have nightmares for weeks of all the creatures I saw while weeding in the backyard today

I still think the Vikings marketing department should have used “50 Years of Heartbreak” as the slogan this year

Everyone up early for the State Fair Milk Run

Ran 5K with kid one at the MN State Fair in 33:29 (kid one PR!)

Pronto Pup #1 – it’s what’s for post-race breakfast http://twitpic.com/2jd9mx

The 26th edition of the Milk Run shirt http://twitpic.com/2jdacp

Sweet Martha cookies, Pronto Pup, corn on the cob and cheese curds. And it’s not even 10AM yet – whee!

Listening to Brooklyn Rider at the MPR booth – very talented and fun to watch

Walking the big Midway for probably the first time in 20 years

Earliest we’ve returned from the fair, but it was just too hot and crowded to stay longer. Only spent $100, though

The northland beckons – time to hit the road

Countless bugs have met their demise on the MINI tonight. I’ll call it even for the weeding nightmares

Too hot outside to run or bike tonight – planning to hang out in my air conditioned office with the free wi-fi until the sun goes down

Late Vermilion bonfire with Mary, Alex, Ann, Jennifer and the mayor on Birch Point. Gonna pay for that one later today

What a day – “interesting” interviews for my open help desk position, directors meeting, staff meeting and the final round of the MN PGA

Congrats to Columbia pro Jeff Sorenson, who beat Edinburgh USA pro Don Berry in a two hole playoff to win the 2010 MN PGA Championship today

Geez, bats flying around inside the casino tonight. Where’s Chevy Chase when you need him?

Damn, the new Twitter Tools 2.4 setup using the Twitter API stuff was a bit complex, eh?

Played 18 holes at the Wilderness in 2 hours, 7 minutes before work. Shot 88 from the whites with 2 triples, 6 pars and 1 birdie

iTunes 10, where are you?

Just finished watching District 9 – pretty interesting movie

Woohoo – listening to new Richard Thompson this morning

Oh yeah, hot walleye fingers and chips for lunch today at the Bay

I find it hard to believe that after all these years no one has been able to convince Disney leadership to abandon the silly go.com URLs

Waiting out the storm in my office, installing WinXP in a new VM and listening to live Petty from the Mojo tour

Funny how four ten hour days is turning into six 11+ hour days

Stood on the roof of Fortune Bay in the cold wind to scope out crowd shot photo angles for the Dwight Yoakum concert tomorrow

Hmm, Johnny Cash once cited Dwight Yoakam as his favorite country singer? That’s good enough for me

Yoakum also played with Hüsker Dü and on Warren Zevon’s last album. And of course there’s also the Sling Blade thing

Lastly, Yoakum dated Bridget Fonda and starred in a movie with January Jones. Maybe there is something to this country business

All ready for Dwight Yoakum in a few hours – http://twitpic.com/2la0xg

The crowd is slowly filing in with the openers about to start at Fortune Bay – http://twitpic.com/2lb8va

Late night travels after Mr. Yoakum’s show

Wow, every Fuddruckers in Minnesota is now closed? There are lots of alternatives now, but that’s still sort of sad

Kobe burger at Burger Moe’s was pretty tasty – http://twitpic.com/2lo5lf

Ran 6 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley, then biked the short Lebanon Hills trail with kid two (thanks Tim!)

Both kids successfully off to a new school year

Dinner at Leeann Chin, car packed up, heading back to work for a short week, haircut, Sunday race, then out to Vegas

Every Lee Oskar song I own brings about a large smile when it comes up on shuffle mode

Damn, I thought I was getting HDR on my 3GS

Had to return for an extra layer for tonight’s bike ride from the Hideaway to Pier 77

Found hiding in the Hideaway (but empty) – http://twitpic.com/2mopk5

Dammit, something broke the Tweetie/Spaces thing again. Safari update, I’m looking at you

Ignore MySQL on localhost for months and you forget everything- think I may just nuke and pave

That wasn’t too painful – now have a 64-bit version of MySQL installed, the latest phpMyAdmin and a fresh copy of WordPress 3.0.1

Lovely dinner at the Batinich residence on Vermilion. Time for the Vikings to step up

This drive would be much more interesting with no speed limit

Not texting and driving by the way. Testing out Dragon dictation…

Colleen just said her meal has “too much bacon in it.” Heresy!

Wonder how sales at Goldy’s Locker Room are going this evening…

Ran the City of Lakes 25K in 2:16:22 (half marathon split of 1:52). Toe fine, ankles a little sore

Today’s rough splits – 7:54, 7:45, 8:32, 7:36, 8:18, 8:17, 8:44, 8:31, 8:50, 8:54, 8:56, 9:12, 9:31, 10:10, 10:10

The Sun Country chariot to Vegas awaits – http://twitpic.com/2nuw7i

Seat 8A for MSP-LAS

Landed safely in 100-degree Nevada

My room key at the Palms – http://twitpic.com/2nxfhx

Finally – time for the HBO season finales to start in the Pacific time zone

Not much going on at the Palms pool on a Monday – http://twitpic.com/2o4pak

Not sure what to think about CityCenter. Something just seems off a bit – http://twitpic.com/2o5t4b

Still my favorite – http://twitpic.com/2o65ku

Too funny (at Caesars) – http://twitpic.com/2o6dyu

Still love Caesars too – theming and atmosphere done right

Not the Burnsville Mall – http://twitpic.com/2o74lv

Turns out it’s hard to focus on work when your conference is in Las Vegas

Training rooms with a slot machine are pretty cool – http://twitpic.com/2oew9v

The technology at this conference makes me cringe: Visual Basic 6, AutoCAD R14, SQL Server 2000. What year is this anyway?

You know it’s bad when the keynote speaker is a client of yours who spends most of the time talking about why they almost switched

Phone battery died, but headed to party at the Palms pool, followed by trips to Fremont Street and Gold Coast to search for $5 blackjack

Dammit, drinking screwdrivers again here – http://twitpic.com/2ok7x1

Fun evening, but I’m totally going to pay for it in a few hours

Much better sessions so far today, although I’m now a bit panicked about switches and networking

Mmm, best conference treat ever: macadamia nut cookies half dipped in chocolate. Palms catering is pretty damn good

Now that’s service: my Palms maid keeps folding my dirty clothes and stacking them in the nightstand each day

Tapemark Women’s Event next Monday at Southview CC – http://tapemarkgolf.org/2010/09/tapemark-womens-event-schedule/

Heading to Nora’s for dinner tonight with the Fortune Bay crew – http://www.norascuisine.com/

Leading a tour of Caesars, Mirage, TI, Wynn and the Venetian on our last night here

Wonder what soundtrack the Sirens of TI will dance to this year

Nice end to the trip – Elvis singing Viva Las Vegas at Bellagio http://twitpic.com/2ovp11

Star Wars, Cinnabon, Vegas and a lobster – http://twitpic.com/2ozcw0

Sun Country flt#102, LAS-MSP, seat 21F – http://twitpic.com/2p0033

Landed safely at MSP. Airplanes are truly amazing machines

Post-Vegas catch-up day: lots of errands and chores. Heading back north with kids after school

“You need three ingredients for a cocktail, vodka and Mountain Dew is an emergency”

Thumbs up on Gordy’s Hi-Hat. Ordered bacon cheeseburger, corn dogs, rings, fries, curds & shakes – http://twitpic.com/2pf319

Back at the Hideaway, this time with actual people. Brenda Lee concerts were tonight – that woman can still put on quite a show

Kid two in the bathroom singing “we don’t need no education” 🙂

Welcome to the Ely Bowling Center – http://twitpic.com/2pr1m1

Busy day: Pier 77 mini golf, lunch at the Batinich’s house, wolf & bear centers, bowling, Bear Head State Park, Bay View and Fortune Bay

Tried mountain biking the Hideaway Pines Trail, but didn’t get very far before turning around – http://twitpic.com/2q542b

A little late night coding on 7minutemiles.com – need to find some blogroll drop-down code samples

Gave up on the blogroll code search and just removed all links for now. Sort of like it better this way (sorry linkees)

Fortune Bay Halloween Party featuring Hairball, October 29th at 7PM in the Woodlands Ballroom

Just now unthawing from the Indian Summer Classic at the Wilderness this afternoon. Blustery, cloudy and cold: team shot 71 (winners – 61)

All done with employee gaming days: even at video poker, contributed $40 to our bottom line at the blackjack tables

“Why don’t you give me half the money you were gonna bet, then we’ll go out back, I’ll kick you in the nuts and we’ll call it a day”

Drop a few things in the mail – http://twitpic.com/2qxsiz

After reviewing all three major party candidate websites for MN governor, I don’t think I can vote for any of them with a clear conscience

Look quick before they are all gone – fall colors in the Northland. http://twitpic.com/2qzkxe

No Country for Old Men caused sleep deprivation last night; tonight it’s Blood Simple (also watched Vegas Vacation & Spinal Tap)

Need to sleep, but foolishly started Stop Making Sense

Twitter *and* Facebook having problems? That’s like watching Tiger Woods hit a ball out of bounds – makes my screw-ups feel not as bad

The road to 25 cent wing night at Bay View Lodge – http://twitpic.com/2rajno

Yikes, all of the songs my daughters are buying in iTunes show up on my Ping profile. Good thing nobody looks at that

The Robert Cray Band will be at Seven Clans Casino in Red Lake on TCM eve – too bad it’s a five hour drive back

Uh oh, @badbanana and @SteveMartinToGo are conversing on Twitter? That could be trouble

I’ve never been on a cruise, but this looks like fun – http://www.cayamo.com/

Watching some Father Ted this evening – brilliant!

Loved the school leaders in Virginia. Finished payroll and got laptop PO started at FB. Leaving now for rainy drive to Lutsen

The fall colors on highway 1 from Ely to Lake Superior were unbelievable. Still one of the best MINI roads in the state, too

100 years of Split Rock – http://twitpic.com/2rlfyg

Slept in for the first time in weeks (plus Tobies donuts). Gondola ride to see fall colors at Lutsen, then wedding on the lake tonight

Fiesta can’t wait for ski season – http://twitpic.com/2rwcrr

Post-wedding bonfire with s’mores and hot dogs on the beach in Lutsen – http://twitpic.com/2s0hdu

Grandma’s does Oktoberfest right – http://twitpic.com/2s9g26

Rare sunny and warm fall day in the northland and I’m sitting in the laundry room at FB – something is wrong with this picture

Advance forecast for 2010 TCM looking good

Time for a new plan – gonna change it up after TCM. Pondering…

Plenty of extra fat energy stored up for Sunday’s marathon – 17 pounds heavier than last year

Missing all my 612 peeps today – sending you all good vibes from the 2-1-8

Already wearing my ski jacket at the new office – scared to think what it will be like in January

iPhone was unable to retrieve email from imap.gmail.com for the past 2 weeks – fixed it by changing setting to imap.googlemail.com

Tonight’s dinner at the Hideaway: Mountain Dew and Chex Mix. Welcome to marathon week!

Three words: drink, feck, girls

Coen Brothers remade True Grit? Nice – http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/truegrit/

Becoming quite fond of wild rice soup

Last year I topped 1,000 miles running. This year sits at 376 miles and 52.4 miles of that were marathons. Hope next year is better

Can’t wait – just ordered upgrades for my laptop: 1TB hard drive (up from 500GB) and 8GB of RAM (up from 4GB)

Thank you Omnigraffle for seamlessly opening all of these ancient Visio files left from FB employees who are long gone

Too nice out to watch more DVDs – think I’ll try a long bike ride this evening

Halfway – http://twitpic.com/2swwls

Biked from the Hideaway to Cook and back (~30 miles). Could’ve used more sunlight and a much, much softer bike seat. Beautiful stars, though

Damn 40+ knees are killing me this morning. Next week should be just peachy

ProCurve 2626s and Cisco Aironet 1240s just keep turning up everywhere here. New/updated documentation will help immensely for support

Amazon has 2146 free MP3s for download and I only wanted two – not very adventurous today

Today: meetings, drive home. Friday: golf at Stonebrooke, TCM expo, mow. Saturday: catch up on TV shows, pasta dinner with BK. Sunday: TCM

Nothing like fall golf in Minnesota – http://twitpic.com/2tnx64

Shot 85 from the blues at Stonebrooke – absolutely perfect fall day

Kid two rocked the Diana Pierce one miler on TCM family day. Celebrating at Cosetta’s with more pizza

Upgraded laptop hard drive and RAM in no time – easiest MBP upgrade ever

Lebanon Hills mountain bike trail is truly an asset to the south metro – still haven’t found a single track in the northland as good

Checked my scores page and realized this year was a slow one for golf – “only” 17 full rounds played (so far)

Caught up on Mad Men, Survivor, CSI, Community and The Office today. Pasta dinner now over; 6AM wake-up call for TCM

Off and running…

Ran a nice, easy, social race today with Brian and his co-worker Lisa (who PR’d by a minute and a half). Got to chat for nearly 5 hours =)

Ran 26.2 miles at the 2010 Twin Cities marathon in 4:58:35. Really need to train for next race 😉

It’s been a while since I had a crappy Monday, but today definitely qualifies. Time to regroup

Just when I thought my day was getting better, the casino floor went down. Got it fixed, though

It may be 35 degrees and windy here, but I can see the Milky Way and a bazillion stars. Plus popcorn and Mt. Dew for dinner

I know I’m late to the party, but Angry Birds is pretty damn fun

Mostly successful with early morning server room upgrades: exceeded window, had a user call and still more patches left, but up now

Bummer, the Hell’s Kitchen in Duluth (which was renamed HellBurgers) is no more

Last week of the Wilderness Grill for the season. Love the buffalo chicken wrap and waffle fries – http://twitpic.com/2uwtto

Vendors who come up with creative solutions for me in this budget environment are my favorite type of vendors

Proud: kid one just called to say she beat her mile time at school today by a minute and 20 seconds (8:06)

Funny, “Frustration” by Sugar just came up on iTunes as I started troubleshooting an Exchange/PowerShell issue on our server

Made some minor edits and additions to the biography page at 7 Minute Miles – https://7minutemiles.com/biography

Tonight’s commute home passed 2 cars, 1 truck, 2 motorcycles, 2 deer and 1 hopping frog

Casablanca gets better and better each time I watch it

No hot water this morning – waiting to see if pressing the big red button does anything

Can’t believe that worked. Wish I had a big red button for all of life’s troubles

Upcoming concerts at Fortune Bay: Travis Tritt 10/14-15, Hairball 10/29, Glen Campbell 11/19-20 and Heart 12/17 (outdoor heated tent)

Working the evening shift at the casino to make sure the Twins broadcast gets streamed correctly throughout the gaming floor

Working late to make sure the Twins game streams correctly to the casino floor monitors

This is all terribly confusing – streaming video, standard def TVs and HDTVs in casino all off about 10 seconds each on TBS feed

Heh, just got kicked off the casino floor by security for using my laptop by the bar

Can’t believe I had to stay at work for this long, crappy game. At least I built a fully-functional intranet prototype while I waited

Last Wilderness round of the year – http://twitpic.com/2ve79v

Back-to-back pars on 13 & 14, while a loon calls in the distance. Seriously. Unbelievable October day up here

Walked and shot 93 from the combined tees at the Wilderness. Saw zero other golfers all morning and get to eat lunch outside on the patio

Getting ready to launch the Twins stream, then hit the road. Need to get home before the end so I can remote in and shut it back down

Will tonight be Target Field or Hostess Field?

Note to dude on I-35: when the cops pull you over, don’t get out of the car with a drink in your hand

Breakfast with my aunt and uncle at Key’s on Raymond

Absentee ballot form submitted, Run 4 Deerwood complete, watching Mad Men. Patina shopping trip with kid two soon

Lebanon Hills long trail kicked my ass – too soon, I guess (but glad I went)

Appleside Orchard is a shell of its former self: no trees to pick, run-down building and no real pumpkin patch. Awesome caramel apples, tho

Actually kinda hot out, so taking kid one to see the Social Network at Regal this afternoon

Joey Browner is running for mayor of Eagan?

Left my phone on the desk all day, so here’s the recap: woke up with sore hand, cleaned house, trimmed shrubs, shopping, visits, packing

Time for bed – trying out the new 4AM wake-up routine tomorrow

Aside from the 4AM part, this Monday morning commute is a breeze

Made it to work by 8, but now I just want to take a nap. Good thing there are new laptops to configure this morning

Just registered for the 35th Annual Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. Wanna run too? Rates go up on 10/22

Hammering the poor northern Minnesota DSL line pretty hard this morning (and with only three laptops)

I feel like a day trader today – http://twitpic.com/2wsnzi

Ran 6.3 miles from Fortune Bay to Echo Point. Shorts and T-shirt weather, plus a golden Vermilion sunset

The Goofy Challenge is only 70% full, but it’s also $310. That’s just crazy

52 and drizzle: think I see a treadmill in my future. Quick escape for lunch – http://twitpic.com/2x134v

Rain cleared out and the temp rose above 60, so I ran the same 6.3 mile FB-Echo Point route again. Surprisingly hilly for a lake peninsula

Trying a chef salad from the deli tonight for dinner. Seems pretty unhealthy, as far as salads go

“Did you get a job here?”

Legs feel much better this morning and the forecast looks promising. Will try for three six milers in a row after work

Another beautiful evening in the northland, another 6.3 mile run on Echo Point – http://bit.ly/aZIIVo

Love, love, love having TV and internet again – Survivor and Modern Family time

Back working on the intranet prototype, afternoon meetings, concert prep for Travis Tritt, then the long commute south

Wow, big changes in store at Cossetta Italian Market & Pizzeria – http://tinyurl.com/298beys

A little late leaving Tower thanks to “Travis Time”

If I didn’t have a MINI Cooper with a smokin’ sound system, these long commutes would totally suck. It’s like a 3 hour concert with turns

Lots of deer (and one large cat-like creature I couldn’t ID), but safely back in Eagan

It’s coming – today is the last day to officially post golf scores in Minnesota

A little laundry, Mad Men, library, bike repair (and hit the trail), lunch with Phil?, meet kids after school. I love Fridays!

Nice lunch with Mr. Miller at Al Bakers – the chicken caesar salad really hit the spot

Got a little too aggressive on the Lebanon Hills long trail, but nothing is broken. The non-plastic pedals held up nicely

Four grand for the new AutoCAD?

Went back to Lebanon Hills and rode the short trail with kid two. Trying to decide where the kids and I will go for dinner – Culver’s?

Culver’s lost out to Buffalo Wild Wings

Ran the 6 mile Eagan/Apple Valley zoo route – still my favorite

Raked some leaves, trimmed some more shrubs, bought some clothes and making party pizzas in the oven. Leaving for Brackett’s Crossing soon

Shot 87 from the whites at Brackett’s Crossing

Wild vs. CBJ at Xcel – http://twitpic.com/2y9a32

Slept in, then ran 10 miles in Eagan and Apple Valley. Another beautiful fall day in Minnesota – sunny and 54

Just voted absentee – where’s my red sticker?

The 4AM Mondays wouldn’t be so bad if I could actually get some sleep on Sunday nights. Off to work I go

Must be losing my lead foot – took almost three and a half hours to get to Fortune Bay today

Wow, the Wild just sent a promo for tomorrow’s game: 2 upper end tix, 2 hot dogs & 2 sodas for $55. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of these

Another 6+ miles on the hills of Echo Point. Ran into Bob from marketing and met his beautiful puppy Jack (and saw two deer)

Totally chilling out in the hotel while watching Monday Night Football

The new Cosmopolitan resort in Las Vegas: “Just the Right Amount of Wrong”

The Yankees could end up winning every remaining game this season, but see Twinkies, that’s how you do it

Full day: software installs for marketing, policy review and IT audit for McGladrey, director’s meeting, accounting/HR upgrade planning

Someecards: “One quality I’m not looking for in a partner is the ability to maintain a virtual farm”

Wow, that was a lot of meetings today. Dinner tonight with Troy Swanson at the Vermilion Club (pizza!), then Wild-Canucks on FSN North

Woohoo – Wild hockey on in my room. How did people live before satellite TV?

Pizza + hockey = no run tonight (but maybe a late night swim in the pool)

Finally updated the résumé page (https://7minutemiles.com/resume) and PDF (https://www.7minutemiles.com/media/KingsburyResume.pdf)

I wish I was half as good a swimmer as either of my kids – 12 laps in the smallish Fortune Bay pool and I’m completely exhausted

Thanks to our wonderful accounting manager, the IT audit report has been completed and sent to McGladrey. On to PCI compliance…

Gina and Mr. Welle must be working hard: USB profit up 51% – http://www.startribune.com/business/105337528.html

Perfect – a little live stream to go with lunch today

Forgot that Eminem sampled Heart on a song. Wonder if they can get him up here in December for a cameo in the heated tent

Scattered thunder/snow showers tonight after 7PM, with winds gusting to 20. Sounds like a great evening for a run, right?

Minnesota total lottery sales rose 3.7% last year to $499 million. Top state? New York at $7.8 billion, followed by MA at $4.4 billion

Glad I ran the Echo Point 6 miler tonight – the new shell took care of the cold wind and Vermilion is just beautiful no matter the weather

Had breakfast for lunch at the Tower Cafe – eggs, pancakes and hashbrowns

Stopping in Virginia to scratch the Mickey D’s fry itch and fill up the MINI

Time to play city mouse again

Errand day: credit union, TJ Maxx, Best Buy and Leeann Chin. Mountain bike long trail this afternoon

What’s up with cousin Eddie?

Heading to the Eagan auction house to check on some TVs and monitors, then haircuts and Zantigo

Duluth paper: St. Louis County (MN) is larger than the state of Delaware (4,135 square miles). No wonder it takes so long to drive anywhere

Rode the short trail with kid one and two twice; now heading out on a hilly 7.4 mile run through Eagan and Apple Valley

Ran that last route at a 7:59 pace – haven’t done that since Get in Gear in April. Seems harder and harder to lower that number now

Think I’m done using Time Machine for laptop backups – was working fine until I upgraded to the new 1TB drive. Going back to SuperDuper!

Kids have basically controlled the iPad since I bought it, so it’s nice to snatch it to catch up on Private Practice – great video quality

Ran two wet and bloody laps around Harriet and Calhoun (~13.4 miles). Saw one bald eagle, one Schutz and a multitude of hipsters

Lots of changes underway at the Minnesota Zoo – construction equipment all over

Almost forgot – saw small kid fall into the starfish pool in Discovery Bay. The mom freaked out and the dad was laughing his head off

Vikings loss, 4AM wake-up, dark and drizzle on the commute, Cure songs on the iPod random shuffle – how much more depressing can today get?

My backup troubles seem to be related to my photo library, which is now 215GB in size. Trying to figure out which direction to go from here

Cold rain + work backlog + sick laptop + Wild game + “upper body injury” pain = no run tonight

Found multiple corrupted photos in my Aperture library – restored those albums from a backup and seem to be OK now

Glad my commute this morning was a stroll down the hallway – it’s brutal outside. The MINI should be clean after sitting out in that crap

More laptop beach ball issues last night and it looks like Spotlight and Time Machine are to blame. Hello single-user mode, fsck and rm

Growing tired of troubleshooting the laptop. Tried one final thing – if that doesn’t work, the new drive will be RMA’d tomorrow

Getting closer and closer to a nuke and pave