Category Archives: Personal

For the last two years, I have been working from the standing position. While I would like to say I work standing because it is supposed to be healthier, I actually work while standing because I was having some issues with numbness in one of my feet, and working from a standing position eliminated this problem. While it took a bit of time to get used to, I now prefer working from the standing position. In fact, I am now setting up my garage-based shop area for standing work. Continue reading →

Quote of the Day Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. — Abraham Lincoln. This quote reminds me how important preparation is to the success of any endeavor. … Continue reading →

I love this time of year in Minnesota. I have setup cameras around my cabin in northern Minnesota so that I can see what is going on up there. I have been watching my lake go through the entire thaw process – it is almost clear of ice (Figure 1). I plan on being up there quite a bit this summer. Continue reading →

Last week, I was having a conversation with my youngest son about how I read the books that I own – he sees that I vigorously engage with these books, and he was wondering why I read this way. I shared the following story with him, and it may be of interest to some of you. Continue reading →

I just came back from a weekend visiting friends in Northern Minnesota. The snow is beginning to melt, and this makes everyone excited about the arrival of spring. During my weekend, I spent some time walking the streets around Gull Lake, which is near the city of Nisswa. I often see things that strike my fancy while walking. For example, I am always looking for good ideas to apply to my cabin, which is in the Grand Rapids area. Figure 1 shows a unique street light consisting of a wooden carving of a bear holding an old-style hurricane lamp. Bears and moose are common themes in northern Minnesota lore. Continue reading →

I just watched the movie The Martian with my oldest son, and I really enjoyed it (Figure 1). As I thought about the movie, it certainly was the best of the "man versus Mars" movies I have seen – and it was the first with a real sense of humor. Every so often, Hollywood rediscovers the escape from Mars theme and The Martian was the best of this genre yet. Continue reading →

I am from a small town in Minnesota called Osseo. I had never traveled far from home until I finished my undergraduate work and moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado. When I arrived in Colorado, everyone that I met immediately knew I was from Minnesota – I had no idea that my accent was so strong. After living five years in Colorado, I also developed an ear for accents, and I also could pick out where people were from because everyone in Colorado was from somewhere else. Continue reading →

I watched an interesting video about the survivors of Hiroshima on CSPAN this weekend. While the main topic of the video was interesting, I was surprised to learn that there were a number of Americans POWs that were present at Hiroshima and died. They also mentioned an American POW that was near Nagasaki when it was bombed named Joe Kieyoomi. Joe, a Navajo soldier, has a war story that is almost unbelievable. Continue reading →