365 in 365: Images 021 through 027

Here are this week's pics.

No. 021:  01-21-13

Mississippi River frozen near solid.  Didn't test to find out for sure.

No. 022:  01-22-13

View of Minneapolis from Bryn Mawr Park

No. 023:  01-23-13

U of MN Weisman Art Museum near Washington Ave Bridge

Bowling Fail X2

Uff-dah!  I did NOT represent myself well for the first two weeks of the second half of the bowling season.  We had a five-week layoff, during which I did nothing in terms of keeping my bowling skills honed.  At least one set of games before the start of the second half would have helped.  Since I didn’t, I crapped the bed - twice.  It’s a shame because during my warm-ups, I was able to pick up a couple spares, including an odd 6-7 split.  Alas, it was not meant to be.

January 17, 2013

Game 1

9/, 6-, 72, 9-, 9-, 6-, X, 07, 9/, SX81 = 118

Game 2

72, X, 41, 81, 9-, 72, 9-, 6/, 62, 8/8 = 107

Game 3

X, 9-, 9/, 6/, 9/, 81, X, 71, 8/, 9/9 = 154

Series Total:       379

Series Avg.:        126

Season Avg.:      148

Season Hdcp:     46

January 24, 2013

Game 1

X, 81, S81, 71, X, 81, 63, 9/, 6/, 61 = 121

Game 2

72, 63, 9/, 81, X, 8-, 7/, X, 9-, S7/X = 139

Game 3

S72, X, X, 9-, X, 9/, 9-, 9/, 8/, 81 = 159

Series Total:       419

Series Avg.:        139

Season Avg.:      147

Season Hdcp:     47

Assholes Don't Just Drive Cars

Back in 2011 during the Thanksgiving holiday, we took a trip to Orlando to have a Disney family vacation.  For those of you who read my recent Father’s Day post, you’ll remember I said I hadn’t seen my father for three years before his visit because of limited resources of time and money.  A Disney trip would seem to belie that claim, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity with my Mom, who paid for our accommodations.  The trip was still very expensive and used almost every cent of our free cash, but G-Bug was 13 years old and had never been to a Disney property; at least not with me and I wasn’t going to miss out on the chance.   We had a really fun time, created a lot of great memories, and took lots of pictures, but I really want to make a ventry about the tool shed I saw on our flight home.

Say ‘hello’ to Mr. Stephen Baker, an obnoxious, self-absorbed douche nozzle totally indifferent to the comfort of those around him, a testimonial you won’t read on his campaign Web site for a judgeship in 2010.  I want to clarify, this is just my opinion as Mr. Baker is an attorney and I don’t want to be sued.  What I detail below are the facts as I witnessed them while on the airplane.

Mr. Baker was traveling with his family who were seated in the row in front of him.  G-Bug and I had seats in the row behind him on either side of the aisle, so he was sitting in front of her and diagonally opposite me.  During the boarding process, Mr. Baker was speaking animatedly on his cell phone and continued to do so after the airplane doors were closed.  I was moderately perturbed when he did not power off his electronic device, as per the flight attendant’s instructions.  After what I thought was his last call, he leaned forward to his wife, sitting in the middle seat, and said something to the effect of “we’re losing money while on this flight.  Like, literally thousands of dollars!”  (Greed)

365 in 365: Images 014 through 020

Week 3 of my "365 pictures in 365 days" project.

No. 014:  01-14-13

The last of the "Three Sisters Lakes"
A frozen Lake Harriet and its band shell

No. 015:  01-15-13

Downtown St. Paul

No. 016:  01-16-13

The "Witch's Hat" water tower
One day a year the tower is opened for people
to climb to the top & take pictures.
I'm hoping 2013 will be my year to do it!

The Dirty Dozen: SitRep 01-18-13

A lot has changed since the last time I made a post regarding my Sharebuilder IRA account (The Dirty Dozen).  What finally ended up being a set of twelve stocks grouped by dividend payout per month in a quarter, has dwindled to ten; but still grouped to receive decent dividend income every month.  Here are the stats for the stocks in my portfolio, including the profit or loss I’ve experienced with the stock and the number of shares I will gain in a year with reinvested dividends.

First Month of Quarter

B&G Foods (BGS) – Small staple foods manufacturer

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$10.54

Reinvested Shares Pace:              5

H&R Block (HRB) – Chain store tax preparers

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$4.47

Reinvested Shares Pace:              5

Xcel Energy (XEL) – Local power company

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$2.83

Reinvested Shares Pace:              4.75

Second Month of Quarter

Paychex (PAYX) – Small paycheck processing company

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$7.82

Reinvested Shares Pace:              4.75*

* Paychex paid its 1^st & 2^nd quarter dividends at the end of 2012 to assist shareholders with the expected increase in the tax rate for dividend income

TECO (TE) – Tampa Electric Company, power company

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    -$1.12

Reinvested Shares Pace:              5.25

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) – Large pharmaceutical manufacturer

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$5.69

Reinvested Shares Pace:              4.25

Third Month of Quarter

Hershey Company (HSY) – Large chocolate manufacturer

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$30.46

Reinvested Shares Pace:              3.25

Mattel (MAT) – Large toy manufacturer

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$12.63

Reinvested Shares Pace:              4.25

Waste Management (WM) – Large recycling and waste removal company

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    +$2.78

Reinvested Shares Pace:              4.75

Crown Crafts, Inc. (CRWS) – Baby cribs and accessories manufacturer

Profit/Loss Per Share:                    -$0.92

Reinvested Shares Pace:              16.25

2012-13 Bowling Season: First Half Results

The Gutter Snipes

I’ve embedded myself like a tick in my work’s mixed bowling league.  After two years of being an alternate, and a year as a full member of the team (with team name credit), I am now the league Treasurer/Secretary.  This requires me to be the heavy in collecting weekly fees and treating the other 39+ bowlers as my fourth grade class, telling them where to be and when and not to forget their lunch money.  Add to that, my obsession to manage the duties of my team’s chatty Captain and I’m putting my stank all over this league.

Both the team and I had a very successful first half of the season.  The Gutter Snipes ended up tied for first place by record with the perennial powerhouse team.  The tie-breaker is most pins, so our official finish was second place.  For myself, I’m at the top of the list for “Most Improved – Men” with an increase in my average of 9.66 pins.  Since we use round numbers, my average moved up from 141 to 150.  I’m also in the top position for the “High Series Handicap – Men” with a 741.  I must have been bowling out of my mind that night.

One of my life bowling goals was to bowl a 200 game.  I did that once all of last year, but in the first half of this season, I’ve done it twice (all my 200+ games occurring in 2012).  My next goal will be to have a clean game, all strikes and spares.  After that, I will try to get a scratch 600 series.

For those who are interested, I have documented my first half season performances.

Happy Father's Day Memory

In a previous post I discussed a little about New Year’s Eve and traditions.  One other tradition involving the holidays is the Christmas newsletter.  Don’t worry; I’m not going to post one here.  Unless you want me to.  No?  You’re sure?  Just check . . . No?  Okay.

This year we went with the New Year’s newsletter.  We made up an excuse for not sending the letter before Christmas; something about another letter being a lot of “white noise,” but the truth is we (mostly me) were lazy.  In the newsletter, I mentioned my Dad and brother, Mike, coming to Minnesota for Father’s Day.

 

They flew into Minneapolis on the Thursday before Father’s Day.  I arrived early at Terminal 2, hoping to wait outside in the car as the former Lindberg Terminal is pretty lax when it comes to idling cars.  You will be waved off after a while, but if you time it right, you can wait for a good 15-20 minutes.  Unfortunately, the terminal was being renovated and the loading/unloading zone was blocked off, so I had to park.  Fortunately, the flight was late, so I got my money’s worth in parking.

After several laps around the Ticketing and Baggage Claim areas, making sure I didn’t miss them, I saw Dad and Mike exiting the Gate area.  It’s been about three years since I’ve seen my Dad, and I worried I wouldn’t recognize him.  My Dad lives in Connecticut and my brother in Boston, so schedules and finances have prevented us from having frequent get-togethers.  We do stay in touch with phone calls and emails every few weeks, but those become insufficient over long periods.

 

I needn’t have worried though, as my brother is about my height, which is taller than average, and I had a clear view of him; and my Dad looks like me, but with less hair and about the same amount of weight stuffed into a five inch shorter frame.  We exchanged familial handshakes and pleasantries (the flight was good), and Dad told of some drama when checking in at Logan.  In the flurry of activity to take the train to Boston to meet my brother, he had forgotten to bring his identification and didn’t realize until he was at the counter.

“You should have taken advantage of your age and started to shake and tell them you were confused,” I joked.

“He did!  His hands were trembling and he looked bewildered,” my brother revealed.

I felt bad then and decided not to pursue it further.  Dad had to go through extra security until TSA confirmed he wasn’t a threat.  Later, we learned his ID was left in his checkbook on a table at home and he had it FedEx to him for Saturday delivery.  We walked to the car and drove home.

365 in 365: Images 007 through 013

Installing a new television and stand had caused some internet connection issues, so I was unable to make the following post on Sunday.  This is the next week of photos in my "365 pictures in 365 days" project.

No. 007:  01-07-13

Lake of the Isles ski course turn

No. 008:  01-08-13

The Basilica and Loring Park area of Minneapolis

No. 009:  01-09-13

Lake Calhoun ice safety patrol

No. 010:  01-10-13

Underneath the 35W Bridge

No. 011:  01-11-13

We love our Gopher hockey.
Both Men's & Women's teams ranked #1 in the nation

No. 012:  01-12-13

Last hurrah for the Christmas tree before it's
stripped naked & kicked to the curb

No. 013:  01-13-13

The reason for the Internet problems.  Totally worth it!
Thank you family for your Christmas donations!

Of Resolutions and Traditions

As you can see above, I have continued my New Year's tradition of making snow angels in my underwear.  Going on four years straight!

The other timeless tradition of the New Year is the list of resolutions.  Here are the ones I chose to focus on for 2013:

• Post at least 315 pictures for the "365 in 365" project for 2013.  
• I know this seems cheap, but it is over 85% of the year and I didn't get through September the last time I tried it, so it's an improvement.
• Must keep in mind that "nothing is boring" and keep myself open to any chance to take a picture
• Make at least 6 posts per month to my "Novel Ideas" blog
• Four of these posts can be weekly updates to my "365 in 365" project
• Just need 2-3 ideas a month to write about
• Lose 11% of my body weight, roughly 2 pounds per month
• 25 pounds total (200 lbs at year end)
• Exercise 3x a week:  at gym or walking/jogging around a lake
• Drink more water/juices and less soda
• Have +$360 in savings account by year end
• Transfer $15 every paycheck into savings
• Adjust 401K deductions
• Consider consolidation loan
• Budget, budget, budget!

Thanks to goal creation activities at work, I was able to make the resolutions SMART resolutions:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.  It will be interesting to see how well I do.

365 in 365: Images 001 through 006

Back in 2011, I had created an album on Facebook called "365 in 365."  My plan was to have one picture for every day of the year.  I did pretty well, but I would say a quarter of the pictures were "placeholders" for a date, taken either a day or two before or after the date it was assigned.  I was able to maintain the project well into September, but faltered at the end of the year.

For 2013, my plan is to make weekly blog posts with pictures taken during that week.  Hopefully, this will put me on a path to be more diligent in taking pictures.  Finding new subjects or locales may be a struggle, but at least it will be an outside interest to distract me from work.

Here are the images for this week

No. 001:  01-01-13

Jill giving me my second New Year's kiss

No. 002:  01-02-13

Our failed furnace to start 2013 auspiciously
I didn't say all the pictures would be exciting!

No. 003:  01-03-13

Brand new Lowry Avenue Bridge in Mpls - Opened October 2012

Happy New Year!

I spent much of 2012 getting to know Twitter. I created a Twitter account in hopes to link this blog with another social medium. I liked the simplicity of Twitter as I found it easier to make random tweets in 140 characters or less than to create a blog post. However, I typically have much more to say.

Since creating my Twitter account in late 2011, I have over 2,000 tweets. Many of these are retweets from other people or me giving the business to rival sports fans or people with differing political opinions. In between, there are a few Captain's Originals I think are pretty clever or humorous and I wanted to start the New Year with my favorites of 2012. Since I have linked my Twitter account to Facebook, many of you will have read these posts before.

One of the hashtag trends on Twitter is "#FF," which means "Follow Friday" and tweeters use it to recommend people to other followers. This term is similar to one I've seen in the HuffPo comment sections for "Fan and Fav." To those who may think I'm fanning and favoring myself, might I suggest that you FF yourselves.

There are 50 tweets, but they're short, so this should be a pretty quick read.  I hope you enjoy.

General Humor