Monday, May 2, 2005
02:31 p.m.
Here's a crew picture from Omaha! I'm not in it, because I'm taking this awesome, crystal-clear, perfectly composed picture. (I'm anything but modest these days from what I am being told.)
Picture taken by Verle Peterson.
The Lights On Omaha crew started setting up at midnight, I came in at one in the morning, and the camera guys rolled in about 3.
Everybody did a great job, but the Lights On crew was really spectacular. By our first hit about five in the morning, the whole park was lit up like mid-morning.
What really made my weekend was spending a large part of it with my new girlfriend Melissa. I have not received picture approval to post any pictures yet, so if you are really wondering then you'll just have to wait.
All I can say is that the weather could have been just a little bit warmer, and that would have been the only way to improve this weekend. It just doesn't get better than this.
I'm on the road again... Where am I going?
Monday, May 2, 2005
07:00 a.m.
I happened to go through Lanesboro, Minnesota a little while ago and was able to see how much progress my friend Chad Ascheman has made on his log cabin.
He is trying to get the house done in May, in time for the spring rush of homebuyers. The place is completely awesome.
The inside is really cool, too. It has a log-cabin look throughout the home. And I think he's working on one or two other places at the same time so I'll be amazed if he actually makes his May goal. I think he sold his last house before he could finish it. But I'd think that would be an exception.
Monday, May 2, 2005
06:52 a.m.
While trying to escape the snow hitting Michigan last week, I happened across something quite odd that I'd only seen two other times with Starbucks and McDonald's.
Yes, they are building a Bob Evans across from a Bob Evans. As comedian Louis Black would say, it's a perfect idea for an alzeimer's patient. They'd walk out of one Bob Evans, and think, "I could really go for some pancakes!"
Sunday, April 24, 2005
09:50 a.m.
Welcome to Michigan!
This is a bit strange. It's snowing on April 24th. Weather people across the country, and mostly here in the Detroit area are saying we could get anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow. That means county and city shops are probably putting the plows back on their trucks. And even though it isn't really adding up on the roads here yet, that doesn't mean it isn't adding up closer to the lake.
The camera crew is not too happy about the conditions. Most of them had probably packed away their winter gear.
The best guess is that the double header scheduled for today will be cancelled or postponed. And that's probably a good guess. That means we all still have to tear down, so that means another hour or so when somebody makes that decision. And we may go on the air just because we are hear. I'm basically waiting to hear about our orders.
Last week I was lucky enough to be a part of the first televised "Big 10" night game. It's weird that it has taken this long, but I guess it's better late than later.
The Sinke side of my family comes from Michigan, so it's cool that I get to come out here once in a while. I think my grandpa and great-grandpa went to college here, but I'd have to ask my dad.
I was up early today so I watched and listened to the first homily from the new Pope Benedict XVI. I'm glad to see all the coverage of the new Pope, rather than just "deathwatch" coverage of the previous Pope. A part of me worried that this might be the case, but maybe it's a sign of things to come with news coverage.
I only hope that we see a little of the same when another religious leader, like the Dalai Lama passes on and the search "begins" for the next reincarnation. I've read about the past searches, and they are often tucked away somewhere in the middle of The Times or specialty magazines and newspapers. Maybe the next time action on the internet, popularity of his books and writings, and coverage from non-U.S. networks will encourage news agencies from not being afraid to cover religion as a news story.
As I sit here, I just received word that we are released for the day. Sweet!
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
10:57 p.m.
It wouldn't be a month at the ranch without a visit from the farrier.
Here's a picture from Kathy and Randy's place (we all call it "the ranch" where Paul is working on one of the Fjord horses.
Donna Kleppe is Kathy's "hired hand" and takes care of a lot of the impossible tasks around the ranch. Here she is getting far too close to her dog Dexter. She will probably kill me for posting this picture, but it is a really good picture of her, acting like herself.
And here's just another picture of Kathy and Paul, the farrier. They have a really nice setup for the We Can Ride program, in that the area for getting horses ready is right next to the arena.
That's all I had time to post. It's time for me to hit the road again.
Monday, April 4, 2005
11:37 p.m.
We did a little frog giggin' in the stream and pond in my front yard.
Danny's boy, Tyler needed to bring in some frogs for his first grade class, because they are studying them. So we picked up seven little frogs and a big ol' toad.
We figured that with the Toad, the kids could see the difference between frogs and toads.
Danny and I both used to go frog giggin' as kids (we didn't grow up together, but we had similar childhoods).
We also found a lot of eggs, from what I could tell at least half a dozen different species of frogs. You can hear almost a dozen different species at different times of the day and night.
Friday, April 1, 2005
04:09 p.m.
I finally was able to purchase a zero-turn mower at a recent auction, and yesterday I got it out to mow about 3 and a half acres, in under two hours. Wow.
The picture has my friend Danny taking it for a spin (literally). The mower needs a couple of little welds, and will eventually need some metal patches, and since Danny is the master welder, he said he will fix it for me. (I can also do it, but his welds always look like a row of dimes.
I need to get back to work. Enough of this slacking off.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
06:13 a.m.
It's so late it's early. But I wanted to post a couple of projects I've been working on the past few days.
Here is a new design for rustic tables. This would make more of an end table, or small coffee table. It's basically the same design as the coffee table, except this is square, about 21" X 21" and roughly knee-high.
I hope the images post right. If they don't, then they may show up in a day or so... or I'll have to go in and fix them myself. I'm using a new picture server and I think it resizes some of the images if they're too large.
This table was just delivered to my friend's bar, a place in Tonganoxie, Kansas called "Tuna's Tavern." It's a recycled bar/restaurant table that was in rough shape. The formica top and sides were coming off, but the wood core and the table base were both very solid, so I took it home and picked up some tile and trim to top it off.
Charlie is a huge KU (University of Kansas) fan, as are many of the locals. So I figured a simple theme would be a good start on the first table. I have four or five others to work on, when I get time. They don't really have the room anyway.
I was pretty limited by the tile, and that really surprised me. I went to Home Depot, a place that usually has a good variety. But this time out they didn't have jack.
There were no simple colors, just faded and bland colors. It's as if they only offered the seasonal colors, as if people change tile colors as often as they change holiday decorations. And that just isn't the case. Tile is something that's meant to stay.
I guess I'll just have to hit the other places, and start looking in weirder places, like garage sales and auctions for tile.
