lori is... um ... 31?

we went to lori's birthday party yesterday, and despite the blistering heat, we had a good time.

here is lori. she said she was turning 31, but something about this picture doesn't seem right. =)




















also, here are some pictures of the necklace i made her.






























the pictures didn't turn out as well as the actual necklace, but you get the idea.

happy birthday lori!!

apostle islands- last weekend

aaron and i went up to check out the apostle islands in wisconsin last weekend.















we made it over to madeline island, and though it was a nice day and we were away from everything, we were somewhat underwhelmed by the place. we rode bikes around the island for several hours (about 15 miles) but really only had about a half hour of good viewing.




















practically the whole island is private property. almost the whole 15 miles looked like this:















well, anyway, it was fun to be with aaron for a weekend of chillin'.














check out all the pics here.

apology note generator and bitch letter generator

this site is, excuse my language, fucking hilarious. go to this site to create either an apology letter, or a bitch letter, and laugh your ass off.














there's got to be some company out there in the corporate universe that could make something like this into a huge, branded viral campaign.

park avenue house- sparkles prevail

so i used to work with dan knutson, the house manager for the park avenue house. it's a home where recovering addicts can live and give themselves the structure they need to stay clean and stay on the right path.















dan's doing a really great thing with this. i know he must get a huge sense of accomplishment by helping others, and he deserves to.

dan is fantastic!!

water navigation- well executed

i like the way the navigation works in this site (bda worldwide).











it's engaging, but i don't think it gets in the way of the content.

cooper roland is still damn cute!

i had the opportunity recently to meet cooper roland (remember this post?).

cooper is still adorable.















i needed to make sure ya'll were up to date on his cute-factor.

new mountain dew commercial

if you haven't seen it, it's worth a watch.














my favorite part is the spinning wheel of hands...

free tree

so when my brother was visiting, we went to see the al gore film and i decided a few things:
1. i'm going to try to take the bus to work at least once a week (when i don't have any client meetings).
2. i'm even more serious about putting solar on the house when we can afford it, now.
3. i'm going to look for ways to use less energy/gas.
4. aaron and i are going to plant at least one tree in our yard.

it wasn't the first movie that motivated me, but it was the first where i felt like i already knew what things i could do to help. i liked it for that reason.

so i joined the national arbor day foundation. they are going to send me 10 trees this fall sometime. i would like to give at least 8 of them away. do you want one?
















if you want one, let me know. it's free and easy.

also, think about signing up for the newsletter at this website (ideal bite). they have really easy and simple ideas for small changes in a good direction. it's one of my all time favorite newsletters (and i get lots of newsletters).

gift for my sister is really a gift for me

i bought my sister a new web cam because her's was simply aweful.

today, i learned just what a great gift that was... for me. =)

check it out:
first one
second one

i love my sister and her family.

a scanner darkly

aaron and i saw 'a scanner darkly' tonight and we decided that the movie must employ that new sound frequency that only teenagers can here, cause all the young kids laughed and the movie didn't really work for us the same way.

it was a strange film.

definitely worth seeing, because it was artfully made. but plotwise, i'm still not sure what i think.

go see it and tell me what you think.

feeling good

a friend and previous coworker said a lot of nice things about me (to me) tonight. i am slowly healing from my recent ordeal, and this was neosporin and a bandaid for the wound.

thanks paul.

also, my friend stacy called to check in with me and see how things are going in my new endeavor and i told her honestly that i'm really enjoying the new challenge and i'm excited about the great learning opportunity.

feeling good.

sq

breeding like... well... like rabbits

yeah, it's kinda fun. go to the vw rabbit site and breed a rabbit.











it's a fun idea, wonder if they take it further...

other than the randiness, the site is sorta shallow.

action script birthplace

i think of my friend adam when i see this site... it reminds me that geeks like to learn and teach and share. not that adam is a geek, though, actually, he is. but i like geeks.









i'm a geek, this stuff is fascinating.

modern living / neurotica series

okay, someone put a lot of time into this site, and it's kinda strange. dark, even, i would say.

















in a very cool way, though, it's thought provoking.

the skylines of the world

this site is actually pretty cool if you ask me.
you can go to this site and check out the skylines of the world.














i can see why hong kong is number one.... damn!

for some reason, skylines have always caught my interest. i happen to think minneapolis is a pretty darn nice skyline. it makes it on the list at 63. what's your favorite?

in the nudie- update

so remember when i told you about my friend josh and his pair of jeans? here's a refresher...

josh bought a pair of nudie jeans for $265. they are dry salvage, meaning never treated/washed. the point of buying them that way is to wear them for 8+ months before washing them, so that they have a chance to learn your exact body. when you finally wash them, they are yours forever, with a fit like no other pair of jeans you'll ever own.

okay, that's the theory.

so i have an update with new pictures. josh has been wearing them for almost 10 months and is intending to wash them soon.

here they are at purchase:




















here they are right now (having never been washed- he says they don't smell too bad, but i'm not sure i believe him):







































stay tuned, i will post pics after the wash (i know you're on the edge of your seat, aren't ya?).

thanks for the pics, josh!

i'm a sucker for a cute kitten video

how can i help myself?

see it for yourself here.















i think i'm purring.

sharps: barber brigade

okay, some of these product sites are starting to get a little predictable and hokey, but the fun part about this one is you can send an ecard to a friend to tell them to shave their nasty facial hair (look under the barber twister thingy with the rollover text 'sharpsmen') .
















"yer girl says shave it... "

catchup (not catsup)

so, here's what i've been up to for the last couple of marathon weeks...

the last kickball game of the season went well. aaron and i are making a special video to commemorate the whole season... check out a small clip here.
















aaron, my brother scott, his friend bob, and i went to the boundary wates and completed the lady lakes chain, starting at lake kawishiwi and ending at sawbill. damn fine times.
















when we got back from the wilderness, my step sister kristen flew into town for the holiday weekend. first we got our hair cut...




















then we went out for sushi with kat and scott mcgerik. thanks for the fun night kat and scott!!















then, we shopped at the mall of america, ikea, and grand/victoria. please note: we shopped, but we never dropped.




















i bought some new yarn to make some socks and a hat.















we had a little bbq on sunday july 2nd with my brother, my step sister, and a few other folks. didn't get any pics, can you believe me?

after kristen left town, aaron and i met tasha, pete, dan and my friend amy (who was in town from philly) down at the stone arch bridge for a little firework celebration.




















here's a little video- listen to the prediction of the little kid in the background, and then his reaction (hilarious at the time).

while my brother was here, he got to hang out at the raptor center at the university of minnesota. he had so many fine things to say about those folks, they must be awesome. thanks u of m for showing my brother such a great time.

my brother gave me this picture of him working at a wildlife refuge in australia.





my brother is going to be a vet.














so as you can see, i've been very busy lately. now that everyone has left, i'm a little sad, but i'll be getting back into the swing of things and blogging a lot more now.

thanks for your patience.

gorgeous wilderness

did you know it could be this beautiful?















aaron, my brother scott, his friend bob and i completed the lady lakes chain, starting in lake kawishiwi and ending in sawbill.

this trip seemed easier than previous trips. i think we've had enough experience with wilderness camping now that we've gotten most everything figured out. it's much easier now to just enjoy.

we fished a lot more this year and caught a ton of fish. i caught a northern that was at least two feet long.














some of our favorite phrases from the trip:
we've just had a near ass-wet experience.
whose idea was it to bring bob?

you can see all the pics here.

blog backup

with all the activity of the last couple of weeks, i haven't been able to blog the fifty thousand blogs in my mind. please hold on, i will start to push them out soon.

please check back.

sq