Category Archives: General

They Exist: Crime Novels with Excellent Writing

Posted on 2/15/2013 by Tim

The Four Stages of Cruelty: A Novel by Keith Hollihan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was reluctant to read this book because I thought it was going to be a sad story without much action about a young … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Minnesota, books | Comments Off

Wandervogel at Wolf Ridge

Posted on 10/21/2012 by Tim

I was fortunate to be able to chaperon a weeklong field trip to Wolf Ridge environmental learning center with my son’s sixth grade class. I was in charge of a dorm room full of eleven year old boys and accompanied … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Minnesota, outdoors, parenting | 1 Comment

Charlie is my Darling

Posted on 10/20/2012 by Tim

Charlie is my Darling is a documentary film of the 1965 Rolling Stones tour in Ireland. I saw it last night at Pepito’s Parkway Theatre. I think portions of it are available online, but this version features unreleased material and … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Minneapolis, music | 2 Comments

eating like a mcguire

Posted on 7/2/2012 by Tim

This is from someone who was taking care of Frank: My favorite Frank line: Me to Frank: Are you sure you can eat that whole thing? Frank: I can eat the whole anything.

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Using the fires in Colorado for political points? I can do that too.

Posted on 6/27/2012 by Tim

I noticed that conservatives with nothing better to do are taking to the internet to blame Obama for the fires out west. In that spirit, I provide this: State and federal officials have outlawed fires and fireworks on all public … Continue reading →

Posted in General, guns | Comments Off

Swimming Discouraged

Posted on 6/25/2012 by Tim

I took my kids and some others to the new pool on our side of town. I have to say it was fun and that the climbing wall and zip line were great for the novelty factor. We saw lots … Continue reading →

Posted in General, St. Paul, health, parenting, swimming | 2 Comments

I’m sick of being treated like a criminal

Posted on 5/8/2012 by Tim

I want to record the shit I put up with around here. Four times yesterday, I was treated like a criminal: At 9:00 AM, I got notice that my dependents will lose their health insurance in 9 days if I … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 1 Comment

claymation hospital

Posted on 2/13/2012 by Tim

this was a group project with some clay and a webcam

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Locking Down Facebook

Posted on 1/11/2012 by Tim

I get a lot of pleasure out of Facebook. While I’m happy to use it and even be advertised at, this free application needs to be watched. A lot of security and privacy folks have quit Facebook for their security … Continue reading →

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My Sexy Shoes

Posted on 1/9/2012 by Tim

As requested, here are the shoes I mentioned in a recent post:

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Firefox Certificate Patrol

Posted on 1/4/2012 by Tim

Several months ago in Syria, a Facebook user noticed that Facebook’s IP address resolved strangely. He was also getting an untrusted https certificate warning. A certificate is a piece of text that sits in your browser. You can view yours … Continue reading →

Posted in General, firefox, security | Comments Off

Light Rail on Robert St.

Posted on 12/19/2011 by Tim
Posted in General | 2 Comments

St. Augustine was a real guy

Posted on 11/23/2011 by Tim

Saint Augustine by Garry Wills My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’m glad I read this book because I gained insight into the world of late antiquity. Augustine’s personality and the events of his life come alive. He became a … Continue reading →

Posted in General, history, religion | Comments Off

My Holds

Posted on 11/21/2011 by Tim

I like the rhythm of the library. Request, borrow, read, return.

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The Koch brothers

Posted on 10/3/2011 by Tim

The Koch brothers have been much maligned recently, especially in a New Yorker article by Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side. Looking for an enemy of the day, I just read the wikipedia page for David Koch: “I have … Continue reading →

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The Hiawatha Cyclery ride August 13, 2011

Posted on 8/19/2011 by Tim

The Hiawatha ride has a life of its own and it happens even when the organizers are out of town. This past Saturday, there were two of us and we rode through Ft. Snelling State park and in a loop … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Minneapolis, cycling | 1 Comment

Mounting a smart phone as a cycling computer

Posted on 8/1/2011 by Tim

Hi, I’m Matt, Tim’s brother. I decided to geek out and mount a mobile phone on the handlebars of my bike to use as a cycling computer. Tim asked me to write a guest blog post about it – you … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, General, cycling | 1 Comment

Fox Hydration Backpack – 2 years later.

Posted on 7/21/2011 by Tim

I bought a “hydration” backpack about 2 years ago during our trip to New Mexico. The bike store guy recommended the Fox brand over Camelbak because it was cheaper and just as good. I recommend hydration packs in general and … Continue reading →

Posted in General, cycling, product review | Comments Off

Electric Assist – Unexpectedly fun

Posted on 6/30/2011 by Tim

I just tested out a Trek electric assist bike. This bicycle uses an electric hub motor to boost your pedaling efforts. Like a Prius, it can charge itself while going down hills or when braking. The motor/charging system is made … Continue reading →

Posted in General, cycling | 2 Comments

Industrial adventure tours

Posted on 5/28/2011 by Tim

I just came back from a fantastic bike ride with two new cyclists, ages 10 and 12. We headed down the University of Minnesota bike and bus transit way and encountered construction. It was a chance to teach them to … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Minneapolis, Minnesota, cycling | 1 Comment