I do accept honorary [memberships](http://www.mplsclub.org/). :)
Category Archives: General
Clouds are starting to part
Big weekend. Replaced a bathroom faucet. Visited a family birthday party. Then spent about twelve hours at my Mac working on various projects. And finally, many are drawing to a close.
But in the midst of my busy weekend, I still had time to notice that our home is becoming a nature center. Well, it was actually last week I woke up to this baby robin hanging out at the dining room window (click for a bigger view). What I couldn’t catch with the camera was Mama Robin bringing baby a worm. That was pretty cool. The baby was too young to be nervous about being near a Human’s house, but Mama was definitely uncomfortable.
But big deal, right? Robins are all over the place. True, but bunnies aren’t. Well, at least not out in the open taking a nap. He came out at bedtime last night and just sat there. I was able to take this picture by creeping out of the front door. He saw me and didn’t even care. We wondered if it was the same one Kenny used to chase around and around the house when he was little. Probably not – that was about six years ago – but it brought back a fun memory.
OK, fine… bunnies are not exactly novel city creatures, either. Well, my favorite of the weekend was discovered Saturday morning when I woke up. I was clicking away at the dining room table, when I looked over and saw this fellow. Yes, a goat. I’ve heard his little bleats floating around, but I’ve never caught a good look at him. He’s new to the neighborhood. A little mexican lady came over and tied him to the tree in our boulevard for a snack. He’s their pet. There’s a little kid in their family who came over and bugged it for a while. I kept hoping the goat would get fed up and bite him. Or I was going to have to. I’ve never understood kids who were unkind to animals; portends bad things. Anyway, to my disappointment, no one got bit.
As I was driving in to work today, I remembered that I’d sprayed some weed killer over there. I was wondering if I should tell them, but their english is poor and I wouldn’t want them to think I disliked having the goat on our boulevard. Then I thought a sign might do the trick. Symbols! International!
What would I do? I thought “well, a goat with a circle slash for ‘no goat’… that’s good… and then a skull and crossbones for ‘poison'”. Then I realized that would look like “if you bring your goat here I will kill him”.
So I’m not doing the sign.
This last week
It’s been a tough one. It started last Saturday with a nasty sunburn earned by finishing up the garden area fencing. That was sore for a few days. Then Monday night while working on my web site it went down. Shortly afterwards a powerful, exciting thunderstorm blew through. I assumed they were related.
Tuesday came. Yes, 6/6/06. No, I don’t put anything into that date. Came in to work to a broken water main having flooded the basement. Later, my boss’s email went down while she was out of town. Then another employee’s email for a different reason. The I find out that my blog being down was just the symptom of my provider (and friend) having lost his server to a hard drive crash. I stopped by and helped him for a few hours. We decided to rebuild using Apache instead of WebStar.
The next days were a blur of working my regular day job, working on building a new server remotely, and occasionally seeing the visiting South Carolina Martins. Little sleep. Lots of stress. A handful of big, tough deadlines looming.
Well, it’s almost over. The day job deadlines have largely been met. The server is running (as you can see), though it’s not complete yet. I have a bunch of catch up work to do for past clients. Looks to be a weekend in front of a screen. But forecasts promise rain, so it won’t be bad to hang out inside.
Mind over matter
[1]: http://www.firewalking.com/
Matter won.
I was out doing yardwork all day Saturday. Barefoot. Why wreck my shoes, I thought. Feet clean easily.
I had been gathering up scrap wood and twigs into our little copper fire pit and I finally decided to set it aflame. Everything was burning nicely, but I needed to tend it occassionally[1]. At one point I came in close to pick up a branch which had fallen out. I stepped on something with the foot I was leaning in on. Well, I had been stepping on things all day and usually just a little twist of the foot will relive the pain until I can shift my weight and pick up my foot. I shifted. It hurt more. And more. OW!
Well, I hadn’t stepped on stray twigs or pebbles as I had thought, but rather a few burning cinders. Oh man.
It wasn’t too bad and it doesn’t hurt anymore, but what a surprise! It funny how benign hot cinders look in the daylight.
I guess I need to go to [school][1].
[1] Whew. I almost split my infinitive.
Yes, I’ve been away again
[1]: http://www.kpmartin.com/?p=92#comment-589
[2]: http://www.kpmartin.com/?p=92
But how nice to log in after my long absence and see a [comment from the mayor of Maplewood][1] on [my post giving the business][2] to the East Side Review for their coverage of recent Maplewood events. Well, I have some things to say about that and a couple of other topics, but I’m not blogging any more until I contact my mom, whom I didn’t call on Mother’s Day. Oh, I’m so bad. Guilt!
So until I’ve met my Official Offspring Obligation, adieu.
Java Drive rocks
[1]: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=234+Snelling+Ave+N,+St+Paul,+MN+55104&hl=en&ll=44.948198,-93.166895&spn=0.002027,0.005375&t=h&om=1
[2]: http://www.kpmartin.com/?p=69
[3]: http://www.spcballet.org/
I was out with all the kids, shuttling Anna to her ballet class, and since I’d overslept, I didn’t have time to make the morning coffee. I decided to swing into [Java Drive][1], mentioned before in my [post][2] lamenting Caribou Coffee’s poor decision in changing their mocha recipe.
Anyway, The very nice girl there always knows what I want: a cheerful “the usual?” Yep, big mocha. Today, however, I pulled up to ask if she took plastic as I had no cash. No, she only took cash and check. “But if you just want to pay me next time you’re by, I’d trust you.”
Funny how such a little thing can make my day. It felt like stepping back from the contrived barriers of corporate policy into a time which perhaps never actually existed where business was something that simply happened between people.
The old, long-time hardware store below Anna’s [ballet school][3] which closed down a few months ago has reopened under new management. I went in a bought a few things I marginally needed to support the local, non-big-box shop.
The old one went under because it opened a branch in a mall near Mendota Heights, but it couldn’t support itself and leached money from the successful Saint Paul location until, apparently, things got too bad. It was sad to see it close. It’s nice to have it back.
I appreciate and use the services of huge corporations who, because of their resources, have the ability to develop products of vast scope. But I sure do like small businesses where you’re just that much closer to the people who had the passion to start the business in the first place.
Happy Birthday to me!
Yesterday. Very nice day. The sun broke through after four grey days of rain. I had an office party on Monday where I got pizza, pie, and a nice Apple Store gift card. What to get? I think I’d like this iPod audio recording accessory, but it’s not actually out yet.
Later I had a nice evening at home, even though yet one more has fallen to strep; Anna. Not fallen like died. Been stricken, maybe? Anyway, Helen, despite illness and sick kids, prepared an awesome meal: chicken tortellini alfredo, ceasar salad, nice bread, and creme bruleé for dessert. Well, *first* dessert. Then there was cake.
Kenny spearheaded (and mostly financed) the family buying me *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)* widescreen DVD. Cool.
“Christianity in a Consumer Culture” conference this weekend
[1]: http://www.consumer-culture.org/
[2]: http://www.maclaurin.org/
My friends at [The MacLaurin Institute][2] are helping to bring the [“Christianity in a Consumer Culture” conference][1] to the U of M campus this weekend. I might try to take in some little bit of it, though Kenny got strep (again), so that will mix up the weekend a bit. Looks like good stuff, though. From the supporting website:
> Consumerism is the driving force in our society—a spirit of our age. It is enmeshed within the fabric of our society. There are many critics to consumerism—those who are rightly concerned about the destructiveness of consumerism when it comes to economic justice or environmental issues. However, consumerism also reaches deep into the heart of American spirituality. Consumerism shapes the way we relate to each other, to our society, and to our God. Christians need to intentionally and carefully navigate our consumer culture, responding to its dangerous complexities with a deepening awareness of its promises and perils. The Conference on Christianity and the Consumer Culture will be both informative, fostering a deeper understanding of consumerism and its role within our society, as well as formative, providing strategies for faithful living in light of the promises and perils inherent to our consumer culture.
>
> Towards this end, we will bring together Christian thinkers and practitioners who will offer analysis of the way our consumer culture shapes Christianity in America as we cultivate practices which will help us faithfully respond to Consumerism as a driving force in our society.
I’d go, but I have some shopping to do.
Kidding! Consider it if you’re interested. Maybe I’ll see you there.
“Yes, I’ve powered down the modem!”
[1]: http://www.helenmartin.com/?p=96
I was going to chronicle my epic, nearly week long struggle with Qwest and USFamily.net, but I think I just need to let the whole episode slip into fading history. We’re back up and [Helen has posted something about it][1], so I think I’ll leave it lay.
However, I do want to congratulate modern corporate society for the invention and skillful implementation of the Customer Service Moat: a carefully crafted network of automated answering services and half-informed first tier customer “service” staff whose purpose is to ensure that no one penetrate too deeply into the corporate castle. Never have I so clearly and so often heard the auditory equivalent of the blank stare. Modern physics is wrong; energy can be turned into nothing.
Please, someone somewhere… please note that I will always try powering down the modem before I run to the phone for the pleasure of the customer service experience.
Portable drive-in
[1]: http://www.springwise.com/entertainment/popup_drivein_movies/
[2]: http://www.robparks.com/
When I see things like [this][1], I think “cool”, “I should do that” (yeah, sure, in my spare time), and “that is so [Rob][2].”
**UPDATE:** Under construction?! Shame on you, Rob. :)