I decided to make a tumblr page since that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days. I’ve already made a few posts and so far I think I like it better than wp, has a lot less bloat. But I guess we’ll see how that goes.

I suppose I should apologize that in this latest flurry of updates, I’ve held off on the most important one until now. Yes, even more important than moving, or camping, or new bikes, or finally getting a paper published. That’s right, I’m talking about the event that occurred at the end of September, an occurrence of such gargantuan awesomeness that its magnitude will take decades to fully appreciate: the weekend Steve returned to the Great White North to grace Minneapolis with his presence once again. And not just that, but the memorable binge of fine wining and dining that ensued. As this was Mr. Block’s second visit to Minneapolis, we had to up the ante a bit. Hopping in my trusty Avenger, I picked up our honored guest at the airport shortly after noon on Thursday, and after a brief stop at a local Menards, we enjoyed a wholesome locavore lunch at the Birchwood Cafe, followed by a relaxing cold press on the sidewalk patio of the Coffee News Cafe on Grand Avenue in my soon-to-be ‘hood.

While everything had gone smoothly thus far, I was a bit worried that our comfortable social equilibrium was going to be interrupted by Sam, who could apparently not afford to take an afternoon off work to enjoy the company of our most distinguished guest. But the addition of Sam luckily did not cause the disruption I had feared it might; our afternoon sailed on into evening rather uneventfully, until I had to leave briefly for band rehearsal. Following a perfectly-executed pickup by Sam in the celicar, we braved the newly-opened I-35W bridge on our way to Restaurant Alma (deemed one of the best restaurants in America by a certain esteemed food-critic on the east coast), where we met up with Samm and Erin. And while our meal probably did not measure up to our first mind-blowing experience at the restaurant, it was incredibly tasty, and easily the pinnacle of the weekend in terms of culinary endeavors. Not that the rest of it was poor by any stretch of the imagination, but the bar was set, perhaps unfairly, at an unmatchable level.

The following day the three of us set off once again in the indomitable Avenger, this time with Sam at the helm and the bow pointed south, with Ames–that oasis of the great midwestern agricultural desert–as our heading. Of course, this was to be the real highlight of the weekend: two nights of free lodging, high-quality victuals, and a host of wine and spirits to soothe the soul. And, if we were lucky, a rousing rock serenade and perhaps even some good-natured revelry with old comrades. For this was no ordinary Ames adventure; the entire purpose of our mission, the lone responsibility with which Sam and I had been entrusted and which we had taken on with a ferventness bordering on obsession, was to deliver Steve, whole and unharmed, to the weekend’s festivities in central Iowa. And it is with the utmost pleasure that I am able write that we accomplished our mission, and then some. A good time was had by all, and a finer wedding celebration would be hard to come by. We wouldn’t have missed it for all the world, and I’m sure the unnaturally pleasant autumn weather was a sign that even Mother Nature bestowed her blessing upon the marriage.

Congratulations and best wishes Andy and Lindsey, you guys are awesome =)

This post is long overdue, but since the last month or so has been rather hectic (even for a fantasy-camper like myself) what with moving, and weddings, and camping, and everything else, I’ll cut myself a little slack. For quite some time now I’ve really wanted to get a decent road bike; I had a chance to ride a friend’s LeMonde a few times last year and realized what a difference it makes to have a good bike. So after camping craigslist and ebay for a solid month or so I managed to find an ebay deal that seemed too good to be true: a 2001 Specialized Allez for $250 + $75 shipping, which was a steal if the bike was in half as good of shape as the auction claimed. I caught a break (or two) and as it turned out, the seller worked in St Paul so I saved money on shipping, and the bike was in excellent shape. The fork had been upgraded from the stock aluminum to a carbon one, and it came with a wireless computer, which were nice bonuses. On the downside, the front derailleur was beyond repair and I’ve had to replace half the spokes on the rear wheel, but it’s an amazing bike for the price. And it hauls. Makes my new 5.5-mile commute a little more bearable =)

Last weekend I made a trip to northern Wisconsin (Bayfield) for the annual Applefest along with some friends and labmates. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but as a few of my comrades had been there last year and assured me a good time, I consented to go even though it came right after a week of packing, moving, and cleaning. But, you know, I’m a big fan of apples, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose.

We camped Friday and Saturday night at Big Bay State Park on Madeline Island (one of the Apostle Islands), which is about a 20-minute ferry ride to Bayfield. This would make the second time I’ve been camping this year, and I think I’m starting to enjoy it. If I keep this up I might have to ask for a tent for my birthday or something. I’m sure my experience was enhanced a bit by the weather, which was perfect; sunny and calm during the day and maybe down to freezing at night, but not unbearable. This meant, of course, that Applefest was pretty crowded, which became a bit of a drag since Bayfield is not a big place. But other than being a bit let down by the lack of variety of apple-related products (I had been told there was Apple pizza, which we never found), it was a tasty experience. I found easily the best apple dumping I’ve ever tasted (the rum sauce really did the trick), and brought home some cider and apple butter. To add a little excitement to the trip we packed 5 people into an extended-cab pickup for the ride home, and horked a yard sign for some Wisconsin senator who happens to have the same (rare) name as a buddy who was along on the trip.

On a side note, I think this was only my second trip to Lake Superior, and the first time I’ve been there with decent weather. Madeline Island was beautiful, and I took a few pictures (check the gallery here.) We decided it might make sense to come back during the summer when there; fewer people and the water is a bit warmer; there were definitely some rocks that would have been fun for jumping.

Oscar turned one-year-old today! According to the internet his life expectancy is around 12 years, which means he could be around until I’m almost 40. Crazy. Since he’s a dog, he had no idea it was his birthday, but just for fun I took him to the pet store to get a new nylabone and some tennis balls, which he is enjoying immensely. On a side note, his presence is making it a little more difficult to secure a new place to live (I’m moving at the end of the month since Brian came up here to go to grad school at the U), but it’s not like this came as a surprise. He’s worth the trouble =)

August already. Hasn’t been a terribly eventful summer, but it’s gone fast, as usual. I missed making an 8/8/08 update, but I was camping in the Dells with some friends, so I suppose I have an excuse. I hadn’t been camping in ages, and although this really didn’t count since it’s such a touristy area, it was still a good time. We spent all day Friday at Noah’s Ark, which I hadn’t been to since I was in grade school probably… I know it sounds childish, but I had a lot of fun =) Not sure when I’d last been to a waterpark, but the rides have certainly evolved beyond simple body slides since the last time I went. And the cute Europeans serving as lifeguards (complete with nametags identifying country of origin in case you couldn’t place the accent) were something I might have missed last time, but were a, erm, pleasant addition this time around. It also struck me how odd it is that a whole day of riding water slides can make you so damn tired…

We also managed to make a quick trip to Lake Delton–the former site of Tommy Bartlett’s Greatest Show on Water–which as of now is little more than a creek winding through a large, muddy field. If you didn’t read about it earlier this summer (such as here or here), basically what happened is the area received roughly a foot of rain in a very short period of time, and the lake (which is actually a reservoir) became so full that it broke through an embankment and emptied the entire lake into the Wisconsin River in a matter of hours. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the dam that failed; the lake just found a weak point in the land separating it from the River and blew a 400ft-wide hole through it. So we found the public beach and wandered around on what used to be the bottom of the lake, which was an odd experience, especially looking around at all the now-useless boatlifts and lakefront restaurants and hotels. I guess they’ll rebuild it all at some point and re-stabilize the shoreline, but that had to be a big hit for some to take. Nevertheless, the whole thing struck me as a bit humorous; it seemed like the river just wanted to return to its original state. I guess you just don’t eff with mother nature. Naturally I took a few pictures, including a really poorly-done panorama below; the rest are in the gallery. As I’ve probably mentioned before, my camera really is on its last legs, so I apologize that the pictures are so bad.

A couple weekends ago I managed to make it all the way to Stillwater and back on my beast of a bike, a trip of some 55+ miles. On a wobbly back wheel with two busted spokes, no less.  I had never been to Stillwater before, but it seemed like it would a fun place to visit sometime. We had a nice relaxing lunch (with beer, of course) at a restaurant right on the St. Croix River, then climbed the Myrtle Street hill (a real monster by Minnesota standards) on the way back to Mpls. Even though it was a lot of work, the ride was fun– I’d do it again, but probably not without a road bike. Meanwhile, I’m once again repairing the bike, and finding that even something as simple as a rear wheel replacement is giving me headaches…

I guess it’s already been a month since the last update … where does the time go? It’s mid-July already, and while the weather certainly seems appropriate I’m not sure where the first half of summer has gone so quickly. Even more shocking considering I have a lazier-than-usual schedule this time of year, but, you know, I’m an expert at fidgeting and time-wasting. So let’s see… there was roughly three weeks in there of watching the EuroCup, which unfortunately coincided with my regular work hours. And since priorities are priorities … I didn’t get a whole lot of work done in the afternoons. The greater irony was perhaps the fact that I generally had to go to work to watch the games over the internet, since I don’t have cable and the U of M has a subscription to espn360.com. I got VPN working one afternoon however, and was able to get some games in at home. Good times.

I also had the opportunity to watch STP again with Sam and Liz, this time at Lazerfest in Iowa on the weekend of the 4th. I have to say I wasn’t expecting much, given that they’d be playing to a crowd consisting mostly of sun-burned drunken rednecks sitting around in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, but for whatever reason they seemed much more in their element in an outdoor setting. The sound itself was much better than the Roy in St. Paul (which I’ve always thought has the acoustic brilliance of an old high school gym), and they seemed to be enjoying themselves a bit more and rocking out accordingly. Dunno what else can be said at this point, just glad I’ve had the chance to see them a couple times. What a shame there’s no chance for me to see them next month =) 

In addition to forcing me to use my air-conditioner, the hot weather has also inspired me to start making cold brew coffee. Sam was always the one to make it before, so I’ve had to do some learning on my own this time around. I’ve messed around a bit with grind coarseness and steep times and ratios, but haven’t found anything that produces quite what I’m looking for. The internet seems to recommend a 4:1 water to grounds volume ratio and a ‘coarse’ grind, but I’ve found the flavor seems a bit more intense with something less than the coarsest setting on my grinder. Still beats hot coffee in 90F heat and 80% humidity though.

That might be about it, beyond the obligatory Oscar update. I took him to the groomers for the first time last week and asked them to cut him pretty short since in shaggy mode he was overheating in the sun when I took him for walks. When I went back to get him I thought I had the wrong dog at first, I hardly recognized him with a cocker-cut ;) He’s still adorable, but looks even, erm, prettier than before. I sort of feel bad for the little guy, but at least the heat’s not bothering him as much anymore.

Oh, and go see Wall-e if you haven’t, it’s amazing. 

I can’t exactly say when I decided STP was probably my favorite band, but it might have been when I realized I never get tired of listening to Purple. It was the second CD I ever owned, and I still listen to it a bunch. Obviously they still kept making music after that, and I loved it for the most part, but for whatever reason it never occurred to me to go see them live. Maybe I was too young, or didn’t have money, or just figured that sort of thing was for other people. However, in this truly bizarre year that feels (at least in terms of politics and entertainment) like it already happened a decade and a half ago, STP reunited and offered me a chance to see them play music before my very eyes. And thanks to more than a little irc/ichat hype and constant reminders from Sam, I managed not to forget to attend this concert like I did the Devotchka show last month (for which I am going to be kicking myself for a long time.)

I don’t really have much to compare the concert to, since I’m not sure I’ve ever seen bonafide rockstars in the flesh, but it was an awesome experience and worth every penny that I have yet to pay Sam for the tickets. Yeah, they’re getting old, and seeing them at Roy Wilkins was probably nothing compared to seeing them play a stadium in their hey day, and perhaps I might just have been shocked that Scott was actually present and conscious, or truly appreciating just how essential Eric is to the band’s sound, but the bottom line was that I had a big grin on my face for two straight hours. I might have even thrown my hands in the air and participated in some singing when I wasn’t busy dodging the big drunken assholes moshing around starting fights at the most bizarre times (during Sour Girl? really?) To sweeten the deal, I get to go see them again in a month in Indianola, provided they are still a functioning band at that point…

So last weekend was the Dam-to-Dam 20K in Iowa, which I ran for the second year in a row with a couple of my soccer buddies and a friend of theirs who was kind enough to host us in Ankeny. While I had been in pretty awesome shape sometime around March, I got my right foot stomped on (twice) while playing soccer and had to take about a month off, but I guess it didn’t hurt me too bad. After taking 21 minutes to complete the first two miles due to the huge mob at the start, I finished the last 10.4 in about 72 minutes, good for a 6:54 mile pace and a finish around #370 out of 4800 runners. Not too bad, really. What made the race more interesting was wearing my lucky(?) pink socks and the blindingly-yellow running shirt I got from the race last year. I garnered more than a few laughs and random comments from fellow runners and spectators, which was just enough to keep me entertained. And of course the free food and beer after the race was awesome as usual, though it’s always an odd feeling after downing a couple beers and BBQ pork sandwiches and getting a very stong urge to nap — just to look at my watch and realize it’s only 10:00 am, and on a normal Saturday I might just now be hauling myself out of bed =)