Anyone here know of a good web image protection software?

Hot Dog!

Howdy folks! Finishing up my 2nd coat of kitchen paint so I can pack and go to Lake Vermillion. My friend Sue has a family cabin on an island and we are going to make trouble there. I am in charge of the snack foods and fruit for 16 people. Sue said to lean toward the salty snacks instead of the sweet.

By the way there is a hot dog stand in the park above the freeway during the day. Not sure about his schedule but I have heard good reports.

Have a great weekend.

punk ass in shop class

In ninth grade I was a real punk ass in shop class. I didn't mean to be. I just didn't do things right. The band saw was a problem. I wouldn't hold the wood down and it would bounce all over. But, everyone thought I was doing it on purpose and they thought I was cool. I would also burn myself a lot. There was a piece of plastic that was supposed to be shaped into a napkin holder. Well, I had a damn time with it. I really wanted it to work. But, I got burns. Everyone thought it was cool. I even had my first propostion for a date in shop class.

If only not knowing how to work tools could get me the results now that it did when I was in ninth grade at Ordeal Junior High.

Brilliant.

from "A Philosophy of Dust" by Anthony Bukoski

"The entire city of Superior, my neighborhood included, is a classroom for the study of failure. The curriculum for the Study and Analysis of Heartache comes from our citizenry's heavy drinking. We're Scandinavians, Slavs, and Indians of all makes and models. The curriculum is also tied to our living on the shore of the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Superior alters our weather for the worst, makes us ugly. Step out the door, see old newspapers blow down the streets in a lake wind, wipe dust from your eyes, go to the Palace Bar, Isle of Capri, Captain Cliff's Night Club, Lost in the '50s, Al's Waterfront Tavern. Find the locals lined up for an eye-opener at eight in the morning, and that, to a sensitive former academic like me, is Hard Knocks. When you can't find work and need to get yourself more depressed, listen in the hallway of your run-down flat for the neighbor guy to strike his wife or she him. Add gray skies. Add fog, and in winter and into late spring, throw in bitter cold, and that's how it is in Superior, Wisconsin, at the Head of the Lakes. Every day I take a refresher course in how to be a loser."

ladders

Was a day of being on too many ladders. Left work early, repaired stucco, sealed a skylight, and sealed a roof. Plus went around with a tube of roofing cement and acted like I knew what the hell I was doing. We shall see when next come the rains.

On other news This is my first web site written strictly with a text editor. Still some typos, but...

Tomorrow, MORE STUCCO! fun.

Forgive me. It was free and I was curious.

audblog audio post

first day.

today was my first day as an intern at 826 Valencia, which i can honestly say was the most fun i've ever had in a day of work.

some highlights:

* gave several people a good mopping.

* got lard all over my hand when rescuing a spyglass from said fatty substance. after being greasy nearly all day, my skin on that hand is now silky soft.

* the kids today participated in a workshop on espionage. they had to dress up in a disguise, and find the two agents of Captain Rick that were lurking around the store. at the signal of, "it's hot out today," i handed the budding spies granola bars.

* met Dave Eggers. he seemed very bemused and bewildered by all that he has spawned. nice guy, very soft spoken. reminds me of a friends' older brother from when i was younger. i didn't have the heart to tell him (yet) that i think his revision of "You Shall Know Our Velocity" compromises the emotional integrity of the original (though I won't go as far as to say the new version 'sucks.' but almost.). i would advise everyone to read the first McSweeney's version, which is excellent

* hob-nobbed with the good folks that put together the Believer and McSweeney's Quarterly. can you say 'inside track'?

* had my official staff Polaroid portrait hung on the 826 bathroom wall. oh, the glory.

in a week, i'll start working with the kids and also doing some production stuff for the 826 Quarterly. this is the best job ever.

tim

p.s. hey Sharyn, if you want an offical 826 pirate eye patch, drop me a line-- they're a bargin at $4, and i'd be happy to take one to the post office for ya.

Jack White gets screwed...three times

Possibly the best evocation of the red and white color scheme the White Stripes have ever come up with.

Advice for the squeamish: This link contains video and photos of a surgical procedure.

However, as a certifiable lightweight when it comes to blood and guts, I was able to watch it from a surprisingly scientific perspective.

Enjoy.

Burnin' up, burnin' up for your love

Flames. This city is full of 'em. They're everywhere...on the brims of hats, on the hoods of trucks, climbing up the legs of shorts. This city is on fire! Hot! Hot! Hot! [ouch!]

Do it for Paul.

Read this. Any ideas? I have long been a fan of Jim Walsh and this is a great idea.

B-52's need you!

The B-52's are scheduled to appear in Duluth, MN. at the DECC on August 28th. That is a thursday night and I have heard from a reliable source that the show is in danger of being cancelled due to lack of presale tickets. Come on people, I think we can do a little better than that. Get out and buy your ticket today so I don't have to go to Mpls. to see the 52's.

Last time I saw them in the "Love Shack" heyday the concert was cut short because the dancing in the balcony of the Northrop auditorium threatened the folks below us. Chunks of plaster were rumored to have come loose.

So get out and do your bit for the Rock Lobster, your city needs you and you know you want to go.

p.s. Paul Lundgren knows of a sure fire way to sneak in to the DECC auditorium. Give him a call if you are broke.

so many cars.

As I ponder whether or not to sell my car I can't help but remember all the others that have come and go.

1. '84 Honda Civic. My first car, purchased for me by my mother. I drove this car over 80,000 miles, was on my second engine and finally destroyed it in a weather related car accident on I-35W.

2. '80's Mazda GLC. This was the replacement car for #1 and was purchased for me by my father I believe. Good car, should have kept it longer.

3. '80's VW Rabbit convertible. My first and only convertible. Took a great road trip to Austin, TX. one time and got a bad sunburn.

4. Old VW camper van. I was the third owner of this fine van. I Was going to live in it for a summer but ended up moving to Duluth where the hills were too much for the old beast. Took a great Southwest road trip in it before finally selling it to a Deadhead who just got out of the Peace Corps.

5. '89 Toyota pickup 2WD. Really great truck with low miles and excellent body. I wish I was still driving this beauty. I sold it after the first big snowstorm when I couldn't make it up the hill to my house.

6. '89 Toyota Landcruiser. This was by far the nicest vehicle I have ever owned. It drove through any amount of snow and I put a great car stereo in it. It lasted a whole year before I got sick of the payments and gas prices.

7. U.S.P.S. mail delivery van. The one with the steering wheel on the wrong side. Bought a car seat at a junk yard for the other side. Really fun car to drive in but a TOTAL death trap at highway speeds.

Just the beginning folks.

This Just In... blog needs breaking news of questionable veracity...

OFFENDED!! Zombies respond to "28 Days Later"

AMAZED!! Local man notes S.S. Meteor "not goin' anywhere soon"

SHOCKED!! Local child: "Harry Potter isn't in very many books"

OVERWHELMED!! Woman from Duluth Heights bikes to Park Point... Trades bike for tent... "Who the hell puts a city like this on a big, dumb hill?!"... developing

UNDERWHELMED!! Unscientific poll: Duluth has a baseball team?

UNEXPECTED!! Cool kid concedes: "Star Trek... not that bad"

UNCHANGED!! Lake Superior still too cold for swimming... skinny-dippers: "Never stopped us before"

CHANGED!! First Frost Forecasted... Duluth is a Cool City by first week September

OBVIOUS!! WKRP in Cincinatti: "Best TV show about radio"

I may be crazy.

I want to cover Enger Tower in bedsheets. I have a plan but i need lots of old bedsheets. More details to come soon. I will also need people as crazy as me to pull this off.

This is a lucky dog.

Someone loves this dog a little too much.