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2.26.2007
I've decided that the key to Wisconsin weather isn't any particular pattern of temperature or precipitation, but rather the lack thereof. Or to put it another way, it seems as if the weather here is simply designed to shock one's system. In the past month or two we've gone from unseasonable warmth, with people wondering if the lakes would even freeze, to bitter cold (those lakes froze over pretty fast), to cold with snow, to warmth just enough for the snow to start going away, to snow, snow and more snow this past weekend. We got hit hard on Friday night, but Saturday morning I got everything cleaned up, and by the afternoon things were melting a little. And then Saturday night we got hit even harder, this time with a slushy snow/rain mix.

Of course, summer is the same way. It will be "chilly" and cloudy one day, and 90 the next.

That's what we love, right? Right? Anyone?

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2.19.2007
Finally getting around to posting some photos...:

- Ahrndt family Xmas
- Out in the snow
- Dinner for my cousin Shannon
- Racine lakefront last Saturday
- Playing with my new flash

Not much else to speak of, I guess. It was downright balmy today - at one point I think my car said it was 44 degrees. Warmer please.

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2.14.2007
As anyone who looks to the right of this post can see, my birthday is coming up in 2 days. 28 this time around. Usually my birthday comes and goes and I don't give it much thought, but I've been much more hung up on it this time. It is a bit frightening when I can remember events from 20 years ago, even if I was only in second grade at the time. In some ways that seems like an eternity ago, and in others it seems like yesterday. Both aspects of that are scary. Time seems to pass faster and faster; I worry that if I blink I will be 48 without knowing it. I distinctly remember Mr. Weaver telling us all at the end of sophomore year that the next two years of high school would fly by and before we knew it we'd be graduated. That was 12 years ago.

On a very related tangent, I bought The Joshua Tree on CD for the first time the other day. That was released almost 20 years ago (March 9, 1987), although I'm thinking I got it for my birthday (which would have been 1988), so I've only had it for 19. On tape of course (I remember my aunt buying the LP by mistake and having to exchange it). Now, I'm notorious for getting music, listening to a few things, putting it away, and then "discovering" it later and really getting into it. The funny thing is that while I've had this album for close to 20 years and listened to it many times throughout those years, I don't think I ever really paid attention to anything but the first few songs. I certainly knew (and liked) the three hits, and I also knew (and disliked) 'Bullet The Blue Sky', but listening to the rest of the album yesterday was like listening to a whole new album. And what's even more funny is I've found myself liking the rest of the album more than the hits.

"Sleep comes like a drug . . . In God's Country"

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2.11.2007
I wish I was a musician.

Sure, I played an instrument for years, and probably could again if I wanted to. I wasn't bad, but at the same time, I wasn't that great either, and I never felt like, well, a musician. If I worked at it a bit, I could play the notes on the sheet in front of me. But that was it. Ok, I could solo a little, but I was never terribly comfortable with it, and always felt like I was stumbling in the dark, hoping I wouldn't hit a sour note.

Just being able to play without music would be a huge deal. But when I see people playing, I think of so much more. Like being able to play something you've never played before just by knowing the key the song is in. Or writing a song and playing it for the first time in front of a bunch of people (without screwing anything up).

It seems like music just flows from a true musician effortlessly. Even at my best, I don't think that was ever the case with me. For years I've wanted to play guitar and keyboards (among other things), but I think even if I got the basics down, I'd never really be happy. I'd want to do more than just play the notes.

Hmmm.

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2.08.2007
As anyone who has ever been around me knows, I use a lot of tissue. And paper towel. And toilet paper. And whatever else happens to be available when my nose is in need. While bringing in a new box of Puffs (plus lotion!) to work today, I noticed this on the bottom:
Limited warranty to consumers * Good Housekeeping Promises * replacement or refund if defective

Now I've seen that thousands of times in my life. But I guess I never gave it all that much thought. Thinking about it, though, how is a box of tissue "defective"? Who stops and thinks "this box of Puffs plus isn't quite 'plus' enough, I want my money back"? And who actually goes through the trouble of contacting Good Housekeeping to get a replacement box (or their money back)?

Anyone out there work in customer service at Procter & Gamble and/or Good Housekeeping? I'd love to hear stories.

Maybe if I complained enough I'd get a lifetime supply or something...

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2.05.2007
Teens? Did I say teens in my last post? I wish. I think it was -12 while driving in this morning. My car has been none to happy, although it hasn't not started yet. The other day I grabbed the jumper cables that were left in the garage and threw them in the car. Hope I don't have to use them.

I've been a little out of it. I haven't been keeping up on other blogs for a few weeks. Posting on my blog seems to correlate to how much I read others.

Apparently I haven't mentioned it, but I've been working a project to jack up the floor/wall between the dining room and living room. It was really sagging there, and some investigation revealed that when some air vents were put in at one point, one of the joists was heavily notched out. A 2x8 isn't quite as strong when over half of it is gone. Anyway, I bought some floor jacks and started attempting to level things out (despite my best efforts, I don't think I'll ever get it good as new). Last night I finally started to finish up - I bolted a 2x6 to the (formerly) sagging joist and put in a few more pieces to better support the subfloor. I've taken out 2 of the 3 jacks, but I'm a little worried about things sagging back down again when I take out the third. Maybe tonight...

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The Simpsons Archive

Vital stats:
DOB 2/16/79. I'm a web developer at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. I like lots of old music, including The Who. I spend a lot of time working with computers. And my favorite TV show (when I actually decide to watch TV, that is), obviously, is The Simpsons.

Education:
In May 2002 I officially graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BS in computer science. In 1997 (man that seems like a long time ago) I graduated from Washington Park HS. Yes, I know, that site isn't very impressive, and no, I haven't touched it for several years.

WFS Logo

WFS:
One of the best experiences I have ever had was on a trip called Western Field Studies. This is a 33 day adventure throughout the western United States. Students travel on a school bus to national parks, monuments, forests, and places of historical interest and camp out (in tents or under the stars). I was a part of trip 25, which took place in the summer of 1996. A first for WFS was we took along a laptop computer and kept up a web site. That link will take you to the 1996 site, where there is a link to the current site.