There ain't nothin' like 'em nowhere

This is outstanding. If you like baseball, then this is well worth watching (I couldn't figure out how to embed this in a post ...it's late Saturday night).

Also, apparently, this is not the first time something like this has happened. I've never seen anything remotely like it before.

Grow me a beard just to see what the rednecks would do

I shaved last night, and the beard is gone (yea, Janell!). However, I did not get anywhere near as creative as this guy. Several people did not immediately recognize me at the office today, but someone did say, "nice face." I'm going to assume she wasn't being sarcastic.

Although, I think I now look like a 12-year old boy.

Look what the river has done to this poor farmer's land

Yep. It's been a long time since I've posted. Lately, last thing I've been in the mood to do is write. In honor of the midwest floods cresting tomorrow, I'm posting a picture I took (a couple months ago) of the northern Mississippi River, near Brainerd, MN.
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It doesn't look so mighty up this way.
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I received a call last night from my friends, the Ziehrs, in Iowa City. The Iowa River came within 4-5 blocks of their house, but they have not had any damage (they were also out of state all last week). Unfortunately, one of my sisters didn't have as much luck with the creek in back of her home.
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I went home this past weekend for my first weekend off in 5 weeks. I flew over Iowa and parts of the Mississippi River, and I saw a lot of the flooding from the air. As of now, I'm staying right here in Minnesota, and I'm just fine with that. There is plenty of work here for me. However, my department is going through more upheaval as of today (so who knows what will happen).
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That's all for tonight. I'll try to update again, soon.

With his feet on the ground and his head in the sky

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This is one of many Paul Bunyan statues around Brainerd, MN.

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I still think the statue of Robert Wadlow in Alton is cooler (but that may have more to do with my family's involvement).

Burnin' with determination

It's been mentioned that I promised new posts a while back, yet have done anything. Please bear with me. I'm working long hours everyday, and the last thing I feel like doing is fighting with the internet here in my hotel.
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So, to go back a few weeks, I was in search of some local fare of which I'd heard. It's called the Jucy Lucy. It's nothing like the Chef's Pride at Barrel Head in Springfield, IL. The waitresses and short order cook at Matt's wore T-shirts that said, "Don't Fear The Cheese." I should have.
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The sandwich is two burger patties sealed around cheese. It's cooked very well done and the cheese is basically boiling on the inside. My waitress asked me if I knew what I was about to bite into, and I told her I had read about it. I waited a while for it to cool, but it wasn't long enough. As soon as I bit into it, molten hot cheese slid out onto my lower lip and right hand. It burned my hand and blistered my lower lip. I had to play it cool, since she had warned me. When no one was looking, I felt my lip and rubbed some mayonnaise on it to help it cool. The blisters broke and stung. Take my word that eating salty french fries with a broken blister on your lip is not advisable.
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I suffered to finish this sandwich. I survived it, and I didn't even cry. However, it did give me a split lip for about 2 weeks. I don't have any immediate plans to try one again, but I feel that I want to conquer it. I keep telling myself that I am the master of all cheeseburgers.

Bippity... Boppety...

BOO!

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I'm still around with more to come. I've got a few in the queue.

Did you ever stop to notice

Happy Earth Day

Great River Energy just moved in to their new building this month, and it is a couple blocks from my hotel. I can actually see it out my window. This building is supposed to be [one of] the 'greenest buildings' in the country.



The windmill rotates to face whichever direction the wind is blowing. Sometimes, I'm entertained by the simplest things.

For anyone thinking I'm going soft, then enjoy the comments section from the State-Journal Register's article on Earth Day, today. Once again, the genius' in central Illinois shine bright.

All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

I went to my first Twins game today. The [Hubert H. Humphrey] Metrodome was not as impressive as I imagined. Afterall, this is the facility which beat the Cardinals in the '87 series (not necessarily the Twins, themselves). It's kind of a strange place for a ballgame, and it was my first indoors baseball game. I'm not too familiar with the Twins or the Indians, and I'm not much of a fan of American League ball. I'm disappointed I couldn't have seen Torii Hunter play here (I guess on that note, Kirby Puckett would have been cool to see, too). However, the game went 10 innings, and it got exciting after the 8th. There was a spectacular diving catch by the Twins new center-fielder, and it will probably be a webgem on ESPN tonight. The Twins ended up winning 2-1. It was kind of weird to see the team take the field like they just won the pennant.

The Twins are building a new ballpark across town. It's going to be open-air, and not even with a retractable roof! That's genius with the weather up here. Not even close to a sell-out crowd, so I may go to more games before I get released from here.

I know not everybody has got a body like you

This story was on stltoday.com a few days ago, but internet connectivity in my hotel pretty much sucks. So, I may be posting infrequently unless I figure out something else.



But, this dog is an amazing story, and she came through the St. Louis Airport a few days ago. I highly recommend watching the video in the Post-Dispatch story or her own website.

We've been through it all

Happy Anniversary to Mom & Dad.

27 years.

(no, I'm not a bastard; well... not exactly)

Also, Happy Anniversary for Kristi, Mike, Jennifer and me.