After patiently waiting for the newest release of the Android OS for my Moto DROID (lets not forget the many rumored and canceled releases for 2.1) I just had to track down the udpate vs. wait for the 47MB OTA update to come at some unknown time starting on or after August 3. A quick Google search brought me to a familiar place, androidforums.com.

I snapped up the download, which is the legitimate release from Google for STOCK, non-rooted devices. Sure I’m antsy, but I didn’t see the need to root my phone and lose some features to gain others, plus, I don’t need the upgrade to the ‘Brick’ feature in case something went south.

The update process is cake, as noted in the link above, I rebooted and after a few minutes the first round it was up and running. I had to do some digging to find the Flash 10.1 app as well since it’s not listed in the Market yet. I found you’ll need to reboot your device after you install Flash to make it play nice with the browser.

Here is what I found after a night of playing.

1. FASTER – Hella faster than 2.1 in terms of app and screen switching, and just overall a much quicker build.
2. The new look to the Launcher is nice, especially the app listings, however I did install Launcher Pro due to some really cool add ons like mini-docks at the bottom for contacts, shortcuts etc.
3. The new clock app is great. Extra features such as also displaying the temp, and news if you wish, along with shortcuts to music, photos etc, and a dimming feature. It’s intent is to be used with the dock, however until I find a dock that fits my case, it just sits on the bedstand.
4. Flash works! – Now I can more easily monitor my weather information at home. This will be a great added bonus to the phone for a number of reasons for me.
5. Did I mention it’s much faster?
6. Camera support – Updated interface for accessing all the features in the camera/video camera, along with LED ON feature for video camera for low light video.
7. Has better support for corporate calendars (since I had the DROID to begin with, it had native support for Exchange calendars.
8. The default Mail app appears to have support for Signatures now. I had been using K9 mail, which was great for the signature support, however it had difficulty parsing a few emails from various web-apps I maintain, which makes mobile upkeep a pita.
9. USB Tethering – I haven’t tried this, and I’m not sure I will. I’ve been using PDA-net, which has worked flawlessly for me.
10. – DOWNSIDE – Still no support that I can find for connecting to an Untangle VPN server.

Overall, I’m quite happy I tracked this down last night and set it up. I’ll probably hook up the GF’s DROID as well later this week if mine is performing well.

Many of you know I’ve dabbled in photography for a number of years. I’ve done portrait sittings for local Real Estate groups, parties for the Yacht Club, MLS photography via Obeo, and taken thousands of photos camping, outdoors and at Rollag.

I’ve started to collect a number of good photos that I’d like to put a price on, either for a digital copy, or by print or framed print.

I know I can manage the online digital downloads etc, however I’m a bit at a loss of where to start looking for framers or printers for the photos. Some photos are panoramas and could be broken up into 3 photos to occupy an empty wall (that is my current plan for a recent pan I’ve taken) Some would do just fine as 8×11, of which I can handle in-house. One photo actually ended up on a billboard last year.

The other question I’m coming up with over and over, – What do I charge? I know I’d need to cover the cost of materials, however I undervalue my creative talent and time big time. Granted the photos of rare sites and those that require more setup or post work would be more. I’m really at a loss of what to tack on tho..

Any suggestions welcome!

It’s that time again, a little earlier than normal to head up to Rollag. Due to some warmer weather, and an Expo meeting that is at the Hill this weekend, it seems like a great opportunity to open up the camper, get some work done, and hang out with some of the Rollag crew.

So we may have limited access to power and water, oh well.. Camper has 12v power, and LP appliances, including heat!

So, here’s to some good weather, good friends, and a great weekend ahead!

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the switch to the DROID coming at the end of March, however Friday morning I woke up to an ailing Crackberry. Having the TAC insurance plan, and pointing out my New every Two plan was due for renewal in two weeks, I asked about just pushing that date to Friday, vs. getting another new Curve on VZW’s dime. The agreed to this after a little back and forth, and by dinnertime on Friday, I had myself a shiny new Motorola DROID.

Since I had spent some time with in at the store, I was familiar with the basic operations and capacity of the device, however the more I’ve been using it this weekend, the more I am blown away by the abilities of it. While I can’t pass judgement on the battery yet, as it needs a few cycles to get fully up to capacity, It’s been holding it’s own so far, unless I have Meebo open for IM. – UPDATE: 3/10/10 – Battery is getting me thru a day, and I’m not carrying along my USB charging cable anymore. With ‘average’ use, it’s quite adequate when you’re in a metro area and not constantly looking for towers.

The interface is pretty slick and easy to use. While I did have to google the basic methods to get apps to the main screen, and other random functions, but overall, it’s been a pretty easy learning curve!

What has impressed me most, is the accuracy of the touch pad. While I’m really enthused to have a full QWERTY on the device, I haven’t used it as much as I thought I would. I’ve been able to easily add my IM, social media, weather and other basic apps to get me back up and running. I’ve also found Gmote, would enables you to control your music library on your computer via the DROID. Also, I’ve located a pretty decent VNC program, all available from the Android Market (short of Gmote). Short of being able to completely setup my VPN connection to my Untangle Firewall, the DROID pretty much removes the need for me to drag a laptop places with me and tether up to the Internet.

There are a few items missing from it that I’m hoping are resolved quickly are: No easy copy/paste in the interface I found if you longtap the content in question, you can copy it, moreso, you can longtap just about anything, anywhere for a host of options. No ability to add signatures on outgoing emails. Seeing as I use this for businesses, It’s critical that this feature be implemented soon. Maybe in 2.1.

Otherwise, the speed, usability, stability and overall performance of the DROID is pretty impressive. I opted for a slightly overbearing case on the phone, because I admit I’m a bit hard on stuff, and wanted to give myself the best chances to now destroy it. The one phone call I’ve made with it, I found to be exceptionally clear and crisp. The speaker actually had decent quality sound, not tinny or choppy like I’ve experienced with other phones.

Overall, I’m going to give the phone a 9 out of 10 review, only discounting it for the copy/paste and email signatures, two a pretty basic features on all other platforms of phones.

It’s no real secret that I’m kind of a technology whore. I’m quick to take in any old, yet still useful computer gear (with the exception of the TekTronix terminal). Mainly, I’ve gotten gear from businesses or family/friends that are offloading it, because they don’t need it, and/or don’t want to take the time to refurbish and resell it.

I am now getting a stockpile of computers again (mostly server grade, dual CPU, SCSI, RAID etc) and will be cleaning them up and selling them locally. My goal is to take the proceeds and donate them to a non-profit organization.

If you have any hardware that you are looking to get rid of, that would be of any cash value, I’d be happy to clean it up, and send it on it’s way! The other alternative, is they sit in your basement, and annoy your spouse that you have ‘too many computers’

OK – So, if you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably had at least 1, if not 1,000 invites from your friends to play FarmVille, no need to be ashamed. I was sucked into the game last summer, and found myself spending more time than I should have been spending, plowing, planting, milking etc.. It wasn’t so bad, because you could plunk away at it while you watched TV or ate lunch at your desk.

Recently, You’ve had to become fans to get a bigger farm, and play some of the other Zynga games in order to get upgraded farm stuff. Sorry, I’m not playing Mafia Wars for a reason, I DON’T WANT TO.

I gave FishVille a try, because I like fish tanks. After about a week of feeding my fish, I tired of it, and currently have sold all my fish, and assume I have a very green tank.
Also, with all the recent upgrades, added stuff etc, it’s taking longer and longer to load, and now that I’ve upgraded to the largest possible field, and you cannot doing any farming function in mass *plow all* *milk all* etc, it’s becoming far too much of a time eater than it should.

I’ve started ignoring most of the requests and gifts I get, because, honestly, while it was fun in the beginning, The appeal is gone. It’s more of a task now than a fun thing to do on FaceBook. Also, with spring on the way, and warm weather activities, the last thing I want to do, is be tied to my computer on a nice day collecting chicken eggs.

What is your take on FarmVille, and the other Zynga games?

I was looking for a good pizza joint to go and meet up with Mike at, and dropped Aaron a quick line to get his suggestions. Based on our target area near North St. Paul, he said we needed to go to Randy’s Premier Pizza. He thought the idea sounded good, so he joined us as well. If you’ve never been to, or ordered from Randy’s, I can assure you that you’re missing some of the best pizza on the East side of the cities.

While primarily a take-out pie shop, they do have a few tables in the back if you care to dine in. They have a cooler with various non-alcoholic beverages in it, and Mike and I chose the classic Orange Crush in the glass bottle and placed an order while we waited for Aaron to show up. Mike ordered a pizza with spinach and artichoke on it, and I ordered a pepperoni pizza for Aaron and I to split. Soon after, an order of Italian Bread Sticks arrived, which is listed as an Italian crust with garlic. We dug into that, and made short work of it. Randy dropped in on us to see how we’re doing, and since Aaron is a regular there, they caught up on life for a few minutes, and then he returned to his post behind the counter making pies.

Shortly after we finished the bread, our pies came out and they both looked delicious. Not being a fan of the veggies like Mike, I didn’t try his, but just the presentation alone was enough to confirm that this was indeed a good pizza. His pizza was smothered in cheese, and fresh ingredients. Both pizzas were ordered with the hand tossed crust, and I could see that the edge of the crusts were proportional to the different size of the pizza, but both were plump and inviting.

The pepperoni pizza arrived and I noticed that it too was covered in cheese, which had a good amount of pepperoni tucked underneath. When we pulled out our slices, the cheese was plentiful and stringy between the slices. My impression after the first few bites was nothing less than stellar. The blend of the cheese and pepperoni and sauce was an excellent blend, and none of the ingredients over powered another. The sauce had a slight zing to it, and left me waiting for the next bite. The pepperoni was tasty, bold, but not to detract from the rest of the pizza. The crust was a bit limp towards the center, but not in a bad way, it was what I had expected. The closer you got towards the end the more flavorful the crust became. The crust is made fresh, not frozen like you might find at some other pizza shops, which I feel can make or break a pizza experience. If your crust is bland and soggy, overpowering or crackle thin, it will turn me off. If I want a thin crust, I’ll order it. The hand-tossed crust I ordered was right on the mark.

Partway thru our meal, Randy brought out some Pizza Fries. Aaron wasted no time on digging into these tasty morsels. It’s the garlic crust, loaded with cheese and cut into strips with dipping sauce. The three of us made short work of these and went back to our pizzas. We were getting full, but I didn’t mind, I was able to stuff another slice of this great pizza in before calling defeat and boxing up about 1/2 the pizza to take home.

Randy dropped by again to ensure our meal was OK, and we assured him it was with full mouths! He noted that he was going to be adding a wood-fired oven in the spring, so I will sure come back to check that out. Randy’s also offers some larger pizzas, from 30″ up to 48″ and also a pizza challenge to eat the 30″ pizza in 30 minutes.

The bill for for pizzas and drinks came to 37.50 + tip, which split across the three of us, was certainly an excellent value for the meal. I’ll certainly return and check out more items on the menu in the near future.

Have you eaten at Randy’s? What was your experience? – Check out what my friends Aaron and Bill have to say about Randy’s from their prior visits.

Randy’s Premier Pizza
6030 50th St N
Oakdale, MN 55128
651-777-1400

So, the start of the new year has come and gone. Was your New Years full of drinking and chaos, did you stay at home and do nothing, or something in the middle? I kind of used it as my last stand before getting back on the health wagon.

We spent NYE with our friend Rachel up in Fargo at Bid D’s (after having to wait outside for 20 minutes in the effing cold weather). They had 2 for 1 specials on all the drinks, so 25$ went along way that night.. We had a good time, and having being a change of pace for me, from hosting something, it was nice to just be able to get back to a bed, and fall over. Rachel is always a great host, so we had some ‘za and a few more drinks back at her place, and called it a morning, about 3am.

New years day, we set out for Fertile, to go visit Eileen’s parents, and go a post-holiday gift exchange since we didn’t make it up over the Christmas weekend. We visited, puttered around, took a trip around the area to see what was going on, and later in the evening met up with a few other Rollag friends and ventured out to the Other bar.. Town was dead, of course it is small town MN, and we pretty much had the place to ourself, had drinks, pizza, shot some pool and BS’d until close. Made our way back to the farm, and went out to the shop to carry on the party with a little squeezebox music and rollag songs, and for more rum of course.

Despite the -30f+ temps, we had a good time, cars started, and Jake n Ty didn’t freeze in the cabin. It’s built so well they actually had to open the door after the wood stove got up to temp! We ventured back down to the cities Saturday afternoon, and just pretty much relaxed the remainder of the weekend before getting back into the swing of life, and full 5-day work weeks. All in all, it was pretty grand.

Kicking off the new year, I’ve been able to work from home one day a week, partly to save some miles, and also help cut down my energy use and driving costs. This has been a real awesome opportunity, and it’s only been the second week in. While I do still put in my time, the furry kids can lay next to me on the couch, and I can start something in the crock pot for supper. Eliminating the drive also lets me get a head start on my workout that day, allowing me a little more free time after supper!

Some of us have made resolutions, some of us have said to hell with making a plan we know we’ll never stick to after two weeks.

What side of the line do you fall on?

Personally, I listed my 2010 goals over here, and so far, have been pretty diligent. I did cave and have a microbrew last night, just because it sounded really good. Otherwise, I’ve been keeping the snacking at bay, and being diligent with my exercise. While we’re only two weeks into the new year, I hear that the gyms are still packed with the new years newbies who will only stick it out for a few weeks, but seeing as we have all the gear at home for an effective workout, I have no excuse to fail, other than blaming myself.

I’d like to hear what your big plans for NYE were, and what are your goals for 2010? What will you do to hold yourself accountable for your resolutions or goals?

How was your 2009? After a rocky first quarter, the last three got progressively better. After a few visits to sunny Florida to quell my winter blues, some time to clear my head from the ending of 2008, my year picked up drastically.

I do want to thank all of my true friends who stood beside me over the last year. You were a true shoulder to lean on when I needed you.

I spent most of January and February working on the G-RAFFE, replacing a variety of suspension parts, and redoing the upholstery. Also, dealt with frozen pipes, and I managed to pull my head out of my arse in March and realize what was good for me, admitting some things from the past are best to let go, what is vs. what was, and give way to new adventures in the present and the future. I think I’ve managed to keep my foot out of my mouth for the most part thus far in that department, so lets hope that carries into 2010.

May started off the Steam Show season with the first of a few trips to Rollag for a weekend of opening things up for the year, a little camera work, and some time out of the cities.

In June, I once again participated in the MS-150 bike tour, and have already signed up for the 2010 ride, as Captain of our team, the Wheels of Fortune. Feel free to pledge, or join the team! I know people have different views on charities and fund-raisers, however, I’ve been riding this ride for about 15 years now, and it started with me and a friend wanting to ride our bikes for a weekend and go camping, and felt it a worthy cause to contribute to.. Now, I’m captain of a team, and won’t miss the weekend for anything, as while you ride with 3,xxx other riders, you end up seeing the same people year after year, and the riders are all great.

Also, we went camping with our good friends Vicki and Justin, and Bill and Kim our in Wisconsin. We did get a little rain and thunder, but overall it was a great time, and even thought Vic and Justin moved out east for work, i’m certain it will happen again at some point in time! At the end of June was another work weekend at Rollag, where we had some cold beers with good friends at night, and by day, worked hard, got dirty and loved what we were doing.

July brought my Birthday, the 4th of July, and more local steam shows, such as the Log Cabin Pioneer show in Hastings. We caught up with some of our Rollag friends to catch the tractor pull and have some beer.

In August, we trekked north an hour to the Almelund show for an evening with Rollag folks again before we were shooed away by what turned out to be a nasty storm 5 miles south of the show. Lets not forget the annual trek to Rollag for 11 days, where I, along with another volunteer film over 20 hours of footage over 4 days and create the annual DVD.

Carry into September, we rolled out to Wisconsin for an annual gathering of college friends, another weekend of Steam at the Albany show, and finishing up some remodeling in the back of the house.

I started a new job at the end of October after seeing my job at my previous employer change roles, and start heading down a road that would lead to a lay off. Give a company three years of sacrifice, and you get shafted. Great job.. This job has provided a HUGE sense of relief, that I’m at a company that appreciates me, I love getting up and going to work, and I have flexibility, freedom, and plenty of room to grow with the company.

November took me up north to Beaver Island, to try out deer hunting. I didn’t shoot, or gut a deer much to the girlfriends dismay, but I did have an opportunity to shoot old computer parts, drink beer and hang out with.. You guessed it, more rollag friends! Also, we hosted Thanksgiving, which went over great, Jake stopped by on his way thru, and had his squeezebox with him, so he whipped that out and kept us entertained for a spell.

Chris and I also finished the 2009 Rollag DVD. They say the third time is the charm, and this is probably our best production to date!

December starts the Holiday madness, and wrapping up the 2009 year. Santa brought all kinds of neat goodies, but mainly I enjoyed being able to spend time with my family, which is very important to me.

For 2010, I resolve to do the following:

Continue my efforts to workout and eat healthier

Leave the rum in the bar until the weekends

Structure my time better, to not always be working

Those are three items I think I can pretty easily attain. What are your goals and aspirations for 2010? – I know a few other items on my plate are a trip to Florida in February with the better half, and meeting up with a few Rollag friends who will be down there as well. Once the snow melts, the biking, camping, boating and steam shows fire up, so I’ve got to be sure I have all my camera goodies and camera cart in working order.

Enjoy the New Years weekend, be safe, and have a safe and prosperous 2010.

Recently at work, I found myself forgetting to bring lunch with. Not wanting to spent the afternoon regretting a sub-par lunch from Jimmy Johns (I will state that I don’t mind Jimmy Johns on a road trip, but not for a lunch that will be holding me for the remainder of the day) – I ventured over to Pairings to check out the food. I had been there a few times to pick up some adult libations previously, but not been into the restaurant portion. My boss suggested I check out the pizzas. I called ahead and ordered one of the 10″ pizzas, made to order. I chose pepperoni and garlic.

I drove over to pick it up, and it was ready and waiting for me. While the cashier was running my card, I checked out their cases of other food. They had huge meatballs, lasagna that looked enough for two meals, along with salads, pastas and gigantic pork chops.

I grabbed my pizza and headed back to my office, just down the road. As soon as I was in the confines of the truck, I was overwhelmed by wonderful smells of fresh garlic and pepperoni. When I opened up the generic white box, and saw a wonderful meal waiting for me. The pepperoni slices, as you can see were huge, and looked and tasted very fresh. There were actually full cloves of garlic chopped in half and spread around the pizza, that was a huge bonus.

The cheese was plentiful, but not overwhelming, and while it gave the pizza substance, I didn’t find it overly flavorful, or something that made the meal for me. The crust was pretty good around the edges and most of the way in, however I think the center was just slightly underdone. It is fired in a faux wood oven, and was rotated a few times while cooking. This didn’t turn me off to the pizza at all, since the outer two-thirds of the crust were fantastic.

Overall, I would certainly go back to Pairings for pizza, and possibly to try some of their other food options, as their menu is quite varied. Also, When you stop in for food, check out the wide selections of wines and beers they have. Along with a vast array of wines from around the region, and world, they carry a number of craft beers that are sure to satisfy any thirst you may have.

Have you eaten at Pairings, or picked up something from their liquor store? Let me know you opinion.

Pairings Food and Wine
6001 Shady Oak Road
Minnetonka, MN 55343
952-426-0522

You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter

We seem to have run straight from summer, back into spring, so do it appears with our recent weather. Where are our nice fall days to go out and view the leaves. We’ve had just over 3 inches of rain this month according to my weather station and it’s only the 6th day of the month.

What would you have normally been doing this time of year? Out picking apples, taking a fall leaves tour with your camera?

Let me know what you’d normally do if it wasn’t raining cats n dogs. I should be out in the garage building an ark, but the garage is kinda full right now with other projects!

Since becoming a homeowner back in 2005, there have been a few things I’ve not really cared for about the house. I’ve decided that this year will be a good time to get to a few of those things, starting with the floors on the upper level. Back when the home was build in the late 60′s, full hardwood was pretty common. The wood in my case was in the, what now is the dining room, the master bedroom and master closet. Originally the upper level was the family room, two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. Back at one point, the two bedrooms were split into a master room, walk-in closet and then the bathroom was extended into a master bath with jacuzzi tub. The kitchen was blown out into the original dining room, and the family room became a formal dining room. (there was a large addition put on the back of the house to serve as the current family room.

When they knocked out the wall for the master bedroom, instead of replacing the old stud-base with hardwood, they slapped 1×4 down in it’s place and threw carpet squares over it. Adding to they, they used some light sky blue carpet. Lame. OK, back to the point, I was sick of the carpet squares and the worn and damaged hardwood among other things, but this sounded like a good challenge, and didn’t involve plumbing, removing windows, redoing countertops, replacing linoleum, painting more or replacing little door pulls… Yah, nice list of to-dos.

Back to my point, after clearing out the upstairs, pulling up the squares and bedroom carpet, and pulling off all the trim, I headed out to Menards to pick up the floor sander and other supplies and got started.

In talking to other that have done this in the past, I’ve heard it was a pain in the butt, terribly dusty, and in general just a big pain in the ass. I was very amazed at how EASY this process was. Granted, I do have about 16-18 hours invested in labor, but the end result turned out far better than I anticipated.

After pulling up the 1×4 in the bedroom, I re-laid some flooring I was given by a friend who pulled his up for a remodel. Our homes were built in the same era, so this wood was an exact match size and wood-wise. His wood had a different finish on it, but wouldn’t be an issue since it was getting sanded anyways. I air-nailed and wedged in his wood into the floor and it looked better than I expected. I guess I need to jack up the expectations of my home improvement tasks after this since I seem to have outdone what I thought I’d do.

I dug into the sanding, starting in the closet, working into the bedroom and dining room. To make it short, In about 7 hours of sanding, I ground down to the bare wood in all the rooms, laying a great start for re-finishing. The dust containment system on the sander worked really well, and I had very little airborne dust to deal with. (I had sealed off the entire upper level for this, to keep dust in, and other contaminants out) Using three varied grits of pads, I got the floor back to a nice bare smooth layer, hit the edges with my palm sander, and sucked up all the remaining sawdust in the cracks and corners.

I decided to go with a satin water based finish on the floors, because I was not fond of the semi-gloss oil finish from previous, which yellows with time. After the first coat was laid down, I saw an immediate change in the wood. It sucked up the finish, and brought out a rich coloring to the wood, even with no pigment in the finish, it just made all the difference in the world from basic oak to a beautiful tone of natural wood.

I ended up putting 5 coats on the floors, and while I do not have a mirror glaze, smooth as ice finish, i’m more than OK with that, as it wasn’t my goal. My finish is satin, so it’s not going to have a mirror shine to it (however, when the sun caught it today, it was quite blinding) Also, I don’t believe natural hardwood should be slippery like a laminate. You can feel a light texture to the wood, and of course a few bits of dust ended up in the finish, which will wear down with time. The final result is however, slick enough to slide 15′ in your socks wall to wall.

All in all, my out-of-pocket expenses were less than $130.00 including rental of the sander, supplies and floor finish. I do not have a clue what I would have been quoted to have someone come in to re-finish the floors, but I know it would have been more than I was able to pocket. Also, I was able to do the floors on my schedule, so it was very convenient for me, and I’m certainly capable of this type of work.

Starting out, I was a little reserved on how I would fare, based on what I heard from those who had done it before. When I was finished, I was more impressed and happy with the outcome than I expected or thought possible. I have always been a fan of DIY jobs to save money, and take some pride in the ownership of your home, or whatever project you have, but this was a great experience, and hopefully gives a few of you the confidence that floors are not such a daunting task.

First off, I need to say a big ‘hats off’ to all of the volunteers that helped with this entire process, from providing or moving food, filling bags, getting down in the trenches to shore up dikes, or doing whatever you could to help out, Thank You. Also, thank you to the men and women of any and all branches of service that contributed to this massive effort to work to save Fargo Moorhead from the flooding.

I had made a decision to go up and give a hand as soon as I could possibly get out of work on Friday, and ended up cleaning my desk off Thursday, able to take all of Friday off. I ended up leaving my home in Cottage Grove about 10pm after realizing I would get no sleep sitting at home waiting to leave in the morning. I took off with a full tank of gas, a few cans of red-bull and some other goodies to keep me awake for the trip.

I kept in touch with a few locals up there en route (going against the MN law of texting and driving, and it wouldn’t be the first traffic violation in efforts to help out I break this weekend) My initial plan was to meet up with Myrtle at Steamer Hill and crash at the trailer for the night before getting up and heading to Sandbag Central to fill bags. Upon arriving to the Hill at 1:30am, we realized getting in would most likely result in one of us getting stuck. – Now, usually I have a carefully thought out plan on where I’m staying, when I arrive etc, In this case, it was ‘drive till I get somewhere with a bed’

We decide the Hill is no place to stay and venture in to Hawley as I needed gas, and we had a last resort to call, Stan. I left him a voice mail (as he said he would open his door for us when we spoke earlier, even if it was 3am) – As we were about to venture into a Perkins to stay awake as no other hotel had a room, Stan came thru with a return phone call and a place to rest our heads.

We graciously accepted, and I left him a loaf of my Amish Friendship Bread in the morning (I knew I brought it for some better reason than to eat) – We left at 7:30 in my truck, bound for Fargo/Moorhead to see where we could help, and meet up with our other sandbagger Hill-people, Crystal, Rachel, and find our other friends coming up from the cities, Vicki and Justin.

Myrtle and I ended up at the Fargo Dome sandbagging after calling in to the Flood-Line. We arrived and signed our waiver (which I expect will result in some mailing since our address was requested) Walking into the arena, I had never seen anything like it before, it was as close to an organized fuster-cluck as you can imagine. Shovels flailing, bags being filled, pallets, dumpsters and front-end loaders being filled, it was amazing to see all the people working for a collective effort.

We jumped right in and started to fill bags, chatting with those around us, all working for a common goal, to save Fargo/Moorhead.

I could not believe the food that poured in, the support and the positive nature of everyone around. There was a decent amount of coordination and some notion of order, but at one point before the dinner hour, we all reached a critical mass of sandbags everywhere. Everyone finished up their piles of sand (mind you, it took 30 minutes for a crew of about 50 people to polish off three dump-truck loads of dirt, we were MOVING) – I also estimated that you can fill a sandbag every 10 seconds from start to finish if you were working at a moderate pave. We were there from 9-5, with a little lunch break, do the math. – We ended up moving that amount of bags later in the day to get them out of the Dome, and then again Saturday to help shore-up dikes.

Vicki and Justin made it in about lunch time after dealing with road closures and other flood-related traffic issues. After a lunch of Pizza, or Brats, or Sammiches and cookies, chips, water, juice or coffee, we headed back to the grind and filled more bags after they cleared the floor, and got re-organized. The afternoon went much more streamlined to the point where we were done filling bags at 4pm, and on to starting to remove them from the Dome. After humping bags into massive front-end loaders for a good amount of time, the four of us retired over to BW3′s across the street and met up with another fellow ‘Bagger Myrtle knew and had some beer and wings. A group of Servicemen sat down next to us and Vicki bought them a round to which they thanked us. We were the ones thanking them for their support.

Being later in the day, we tracked down Rachel and Crystal who had been bagging all day over in Moorhead and collected them from a hard day. After finding one of the few bottle shops open, we all piled into Rachel’s house (safe from the waters) and made our way thru the shower hoping to feel a bit more refreshed. I will admit that some Advil and a few beers did help the sore muscles, and we retired at a decent hour.

Waking up Saturday, we checked out the news and radio and heard of a local street in need of help. After Crystal made us a fantastic breakfast, we saddled up and tossed our thermals back on for a day of bagging and shoring-up dikes in residential areas.

Since I was the only one with a 4WD vehicle, we all piled into the Explorer (mind you, 6 people, 5 seats.. yah.. someone was riding cargo) – At this point, we didn’t think the minor infraction would be an issue considering we were going 10 mph, and we were headed to sandbag.

We found a block near the Family Service Center and Clay County Jail that was in need of help and jumped in line with the other 50 some people in the yard tossing bags and helping save a few homes. Again, I was amazed at the people, the support, the FOOD (Papa John’s rolled by with 12 pizzas) The homeowners were so thankful, and when we shored up their house, they joined us to help at the next home.

The house above, was the last house we helped with, and they had multiple pumps running, and really would have been in trouble without some help. You can see the dike is about 8′ tall, with water up to about 2′ from the top of it. Typically, these residents cannot see the Red River from their homes. After moving another 2500 or so estimated sandbags, there was a lull in the action while more sandbags were waiting to be dropped off, and our crew was tuckered out, and seeing fresh bodies coming down the street to help, we bowed out, back to dry warm clothes and a hard floor to un-crunch my back on.

We coined the festivitives ‘Flood Party ’09′ with some brews, pizza, movies and good friends. Waking up Sunday to seeing the river leveling off and things mostly under control, those of us from the cities packed our bags and started the trip back home. There were a handful of homes lost in the flooding as of this point, and water in some school basements from a few levy’s that began to fail (that were later shored up)

This was a tremendous experience for me to be a part of, and felt really good to be helping, contributing and making a difference. I realized at one point over the weekend that I had done more sandbagging than photo taking, which for me, meant I was really there to help out vs. be a gawker, and normally I’m that guy with the camera.

You can bet I’ll be back up again if the need is there, and will bring friends again. – Vicki and Justin said next time I plan a ‘weekend adventure’ to make it less strenuous, so I guess I owe them a weekend of camping and beer when the weather gets nice!

Were you affected by the F/M flooding, or from a surrounding area affected by the water? Did you help out too? Please comment and leave your story!

In the midst of trying to have a peaceful sleep last night, I was rudely interrupted by the following dream. (Mind you, I had not been setting sail with the captain, eating odd foods or doing anything outside my normal routine)

I was sitting up in Woodbury having some food with friends, I don’t recall the name of the place, and I doubt it exists anyways because it was a cross of Famous Dave’s for the decor, but with the menu of BW3′s.. Who knows, it’s not all that important to the story.

Anyways, I got a phone call from one of my buddy Karl from the Steam Show and stepped outside to talk because it was too loud indoors, and I /hate/ people who sit and yap on their damn phones at the table with others around, really rude if you ask me, unless you are talking to someone that is arriving at your venue.

I stepped outside to see this monster storm brewing down to the South as I looked over and past the Olive Garden that was also nearby, however, in my dream, there is no Best Buy and Sports Authority in the way of my vision like there is in reality… Again, go figure. – When I got to the restaurant awhile before, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it was warm and breezy out, typical nice summer day.

As I see the storm brewing south and talk with Karl, I notice the wind start to drastically pick up, and am blinded by repeated flashes of lightning in close proximity (within a mile maybe) of where I was, as I instinctively hit the deck when the thunder clap came a split second after the flash. Karl was still on the line and asked what it was, and as I said it was thunder, I rose to my knees to see a large almost shock-wave like cloud of dust closing in on my location.

I ducked down again as this massive wave of dirt, dust and wind billowed by me, and as it passed, I got to my feet to hear the horrible rumble that can either be a fright train or a tornado. I turned around to face the oncoming storm and where I had just seen the blinding lightning now swirled not one, but two tornados like in the classic movie Twister.

At that moment, I told Karl I had to go and hurried back into the restaurant where everyone seemed to be oblivious to what was about to happen outside. I ran to nearby tables and told of the storm and was brushed off like some drunk bar patron, I went to the bar, the hostess desk, same thing. NOBODY WOULD LISTEN TO ME.

At this point I turned around to see the storm heading for the restaurant and this is when I was woken up by a noise outside (freight train in the stock yards, go figure)

Now, as best I can figure, this is some metaphor about how some people in my life do not, won’t, or haven’t listened to me, and there have been scaled catastrophic results based on the issue at hand.

I could go into great detail about who, when, and what the issue was, and that’s really only important to me, so I’ll summarize it and say that it’s happened at the job, with friends, and in my past love life.

In most cases, I forget most of my dreams by mid-morning on the day I have them, however, this has stuck in my head all day and night and I felt compelled to write about it, either to get it out of my head, or to display how much of a nutcase I am?

In either event – what do you think it means? Crappy bad dream that robbed 4 hours of my sleep, or something on a bigger scale? – I’m going for something bigger than a night time nap robber.

Today Marks the second Obeo shoot I’ve done for 2009, which I hope is a sign of the housing market picking up. One, so I can get out and shoot more listings and make some money, and two, to sell my damn house. I’ve got a few ideas to explore if I don’t start getting bites on it soon, but I did just repaint a few rooms to make them a little more modern and neutral colored. Those of you who have seen my kitchen know what I mean.

Anyways, my travels today took me down to Cannon Falls, and I took the scenic route down 61, thru Hastings etc. and scoped out some areas to stop and take photos at on the way back. I managed to get my shoot in (which was a huge house, wow…) and headed back thru town, stopping along the Cannon river to get some photos, I may post more to Flickr if I get motivated.

Anyways, aside from getting snow in my shoes, it was a pretty relaxing drive. The sun was out, no lame drivers on the road annoying me, and I had many opportunities to stop and shoot some photos. I even donated to the Goodhue County sheriff’s department along the way as well.

Having a little time in the car gave me some time to reflect a bit and think about the recent history. Over the last few months, as some of you may have heard, I’ve gone thru a few rough patches here and there for various reasons, and am making a decision, while a bit difficult, to try and sort of the parts of my life that are good for me right now, and the parts that will be good for me in the long run.

Now, it’s not some large major shake up, or running off to a new corner of the world, just will be a matter of making a few different decisions, hopefully better decisions to leave me with less broken dreams, less disappointment and hurt, and take with me the lessons I’ve learned recently of who your true friends are, and who are the liars and the cheats are, and knowing which ones to keep close.

I could turn this into a rant and list off those who have hurt me, been deceptive or otherwise taken advantage of my overly trusting and good character, but I don’t need to re-burn those bridges again.

See you in the papers…