Christmas in September

I was walking through one of the big box stores earlier today, perusing the electronics department looking at video games I can’t afford to buy at the moment when I noticed they were putting up Christmas tress.

Putting up Christmas trees in mid-september. More then three months before the holiday actually happens. This of course means that one-fourth of the year is dedicated to the Christmas season.

Remember when Christmas was one day, sort of stretched into two? Trying to get people in the Christmas spirit, one month before Halloween mind you, is a good way to delude the season and really make me want to say bah-hum-bug. I love Christmas, but for me the season doesn’t begin until after Thanksgiving.

Think of it this way. If you were to buy a live Christmas tree and put it up when these stores try to get us in the Christmas mood - it would dry and wither months before Christmas actually comes. Happy Holidays indeed.

Giving my review

I was digging through a box in a closet tonight looking for my “Encyclopedia Beatles” my reference for all things Beatles, including details of the “Let It Be” film, a subject I am increasingly interested in delving into.

During my digging, I discovered two CDs I’ve been looking for and feared lost. The two were Whiskeytown’s “Strangers Almanac” one of my favorite albums that I was close to re-purchasing and Remy Zero’s “The Golden Hum” an album that marks the early Otts for me pretty clearly.

While doing this I’ve had music on in the background, specifically Nine Inch Nails “Ghost I,” the first part of a recent download album Trent Reznor released much like Radiohead did late last year.

With such a breadth of music to dig through, it makes me realize how varied my tastes in music really are.

Continue reading Giving my review…

Minnesota Winter Hits Hard

I’ve lived in Minnesota for 12 years now, with an extended period of duel citizenship with Iowa, so I’m no stranger to extreme cold weather. From piles of snow to inches of ice, for nearly two decades I’ve seen just about everything one can experience living in the area the movie “Fargo” took place.

Today though was something a little different. The wind chill dropped to levels that according to some estimates I’ve heard has reached -40 degrees or so. Frightening.

I felt it first hand waiting for the gas pump to kick in, $12 of gas never seemed so far away. I ended up stalling in the gas station building, trying to hold onto the last few minutes of warmth before jumping back into the car and driving 30 miles - knowing the heat wouldn’t kick in until I was at my destination.

I’m one to complain about the cold, but rarely the heat. I love hot weather, I’ve talked about this before. And yet, this region is home. I couldn’t imagine, at least at this point, moving into a major metro area on the east or west coast. I won’t say never because I don’t believe in absolute statements, but I will say my personality would have to change.

My camera phone was going to capture a few moments of the cold today, but the thought of holding a semi-metal item in my bare hands just sounded like a bad idea, so I hope this paints the picture for you. I’m still can’t fully feel my lips - it’s that cold.

We’re supposed to see a warm up in the coming days, it can’t come soon enough for me. Only a few more months until we’re hitting the 90s again. I can’t wait.

Meeting expectations

As a reporter, one of my jobs is to attend meetings. I have my standing county board meetings every Tuesday (except the 5th Tuesday, if there is one), in addition to meetings that pop up every so often. Public hearings, informational meetings and discussions on topics ranging from transmission lines to feedlots.

There is one thing I have found at many of these meetings: experts have a hard time understanding things at the base level. During a recent meeting that included a number of extremely technical subjects with scientific background, I was treated to explanations of things that needed explanation.

One of the most difficult things to do is express difficult things in simple terms. When you live so close to something, you don’t always see how someone else can’t understand what you’re saying.

I know I do this too. Technology isn’t an easy thing to grasp and I find myself using terms that the average person doesn’t come in contact with on a regular basis. It’s always my goal to explain things in simple terms, as a reporter it’s my job. The only problem is, I have to understand things completely as well. That isn’t always easy to do.

So next time you’re explaining something dealing with what you do, that others might not be in contact with regularly, take a step back and think about the time you first learned it. Go from there.

What? No Original Crust?

Have you ever been to a restaurant, ordered one of the most basic items and been greeted with “sorry, we’re out of that.” It’s kind of annoying. It’s happened to me a few times in recent memory. A trip to Taco Bell gave up the line “we’re out of beef,” in one of the many Sioux Falls locations. Mind you, 70 percent of the menu relies heavily on the low grade beef we all secretly love. Lucky for me, I got my order just before the beef drought crippled the location.

Tonight however I didn’t dodge the “we’re out of that” bullet. I decided to treat myself with my favorite cheesy pepperoni pizza from Godfathers. I normally like to stick with original crust, it’s the right thickness, and you feel like you’re getting a hearty feast as you make your way around the pie.

“What kind of crust would you like sir?” asked the voice on the other side of the phone. I promplty replied “Original please” only to be told they were out of it. At a pizza place. On a Friday night. What?

Lucky for me they still had golden and thin crusts. Neither of which make up the feast of a pizza that I’ve come to expect when I plop down more money than I should on a pizza. I went with the golden crust because the thin crust just doesn’t play ball for me.

While I enjoyed the lovely toppings and seasonings that were poured over the pie, it was still missing that one ingredient that puts it over the top.

At any rate, how crazy is it that a pizza joint can “run out” of a crust. Isn’t it all made of the same stuff? It’s pizza dough. All of it. Can’t they make more? My Friday nights are exciting aren’t they?

Currently listening to: Wisely.

Tired of complaining!

Alright, I know I’ve been doing this a lot lately and I’m sorry. From my cell phone woes to car trouble, work and other things going on I feel like I’m complaining too much. Granted, blog reader, you haven’t been privy to too much of it.

I’m making a resolution right here, right now. To you, my good friend, that I’ll cut down on the complaining.

Alternator needed replacing? No worries! $200 plus to replace it? It’s all good!

Cellphone service not working like it used to? I’m not bothered. Can’t get hold of some people I wanted to talk to? I’ll catch them around the next time.

See, I can let these things slide. I’m not going to say I’ll never complain again, but gosh darn it, I’m going to try to cut down on it. Keep me honest dear blog reader, don’t let me be *that guy* who never lets things go.