Post a Comment

Done and Done

A mere 10 months after my dad and I started, the garage is done.

posted by Brad at 6/07/2005 12:25:00 AM | permalink | 6 comments

6 Comments:

• Are you sure it is ok to park 2 cars in that garage? Really, Brad, I've never seeen it done that way! Mom

  By  Anonymous, at 6/07/2005 5:37 AM 

• 10 MONTHS TO CLEAN IT OR BUILD IT? IF IT IS 10 TO CLEAN YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD. DO YOU HAVE BEFORE PICTURES? THIS COULD REALLY CATCH ON "CLEAN OUT MAKE OVERS." I AM VERY JEALOUS MY NEW CAR 2001 HAS NEVER SEEN THE INSIDE OF THE GARAGE FOR THAT FACT NEITHER HAVE SOME OF MY KIDS!!

  By  Anonymous, at 6/07/2005 1:48 PM 

• Do cars belong in garages? that is a novel idea. I will have to share that with my husband. Jan

  By  Anonymous, at 6/07/2005 5:40 PM 

• Nice air brush on the license plates!

  By  Anonymous, at 6/07/2005 9:27 PM 

• 10 months ago, my dad and I ripped the drywall off the north wall and tore out a bunch of dry rotted wood. We replaced most of the wood, but that's as far as we got before he head to leave.
  
  It took me 10 months to hang drywall on that and 1 other wall, tape, sand and paint everything.

  By  Brad, at 6/08/2005 2:11 AM 

• That "airbrush" is actually just the flash reflection, but I suppose that worked out rather well...

  By  Brad, at 6/08/2005 2:12 AM 

Post a Comment

---

Sunday, June 5

Not Quite Milwaukee

We just got back from Summerfest, covered with infield dust and a bit of a sunburn. Good times, though - the people watching was entertaining, conversation enlightening and company (Susan and Brie) outstanding.

Veronica and Rachel from MTV's Inferno 2 were "guest MCs", actually just hawking their line of "Future MILF" t-shirts. Oh, and there was music too...

 

posted by Brad at 6/05/2005 08:11:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

• My appointment is Thursday at 5 PM with Jamie - I hope Regina doesn't get all jealous...

  By  Brad, at 6/08/2005 2:13 AM 

• Susan - thank you for being such a GREAT bridesmaid and leaving the straps at home...
  strapless dress + strape tans = NOT CLASSY

  By  Anonymous, at 6/08/2005 2:05 PM 

Post a Comment

---

San Francisco Park Olympics

Even though most every resident & tourist wasn't aware, the Olympics were held at Lafayette Park yesterday. Events included

• Croquet
  
• Bocce Ball
  
• Horseshoes
  
• Bean Hole
  
• Beer Relays
  

No medals were awarded, but Susan and I did take home the 2nd place trophy in the Horseshoes competition. I was also lucky enough to capture the Bocce Ball title, which means we added 2 pieces of hardware to our ever-growing collection. Too bad they are traveling trophies and we'll have to defend them in the fall...

We met lots of new faces, as well as a few we hadn't seen in years - namely Josh Danielson and Marc Wendorf. We had hecka fun despite the somewhat brisk weather conditions atop the hill, but the drive home required some emergency Peanut M&Ms and 711 coffee to keep me company (Susan and the dog were OUT).


Note that the 1st place trophies had little men atop them, while women adorned the 2nd place ones - nice work Tim. Who plays horseshoes in a skirt?!?

posted by Brad at 6/05/2005 11:14:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

---

Thursday, June 2

Light Up A Stogey...

I had my first ultrasound yesterday, but I'm somewhat disappointed to say that it is neither a boy nor a girl:

ULTRASOUND EVALUATION OF KIDNEYS

INDICATION: c/o right flank pain and hematuria.

TECHNIQUE: Transabdominal evaluation of retroperitoneum was performed with special attention to kidneys.

FINDINGS: The right kidney measures 113 x 47 x 62 mm and contains a calyceal stone measuring about 7 x 5 x 7 mm. The left kidney measures 118 x 59 x 61 mm. The renal parenchymal thickness is 11 mm on the right side and 14 mm on the left side. No hydronephrosis is identified.

The limited evaulation of the urinary bladder is unremarkable. The ureters cannot be well evaluated in the retroperitoneum.

IMPRESSION: A small right sided nonobstructive calyceal stone.

In case you ever decide to ask me for a kidney, keep in mind that the left one is larger, thicker, and seems less prone to producing stones...

Which means you can have the right one.

What's this about my bladder being unremarkable? I beg to differ.

posted by Brad at 6/02/2005 09:39:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

---

Wednesday, June 1

Dear Melissa,

(This post is in response to a comment below, but I wanted to make sure everyone could see it in case they care...)

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.

It's basically just data - in the case of your blog, each new post is a new piece of data. The important thing is that the data is formatted in a standardized way. As a result, the RSS feed from your blog looks similar to the RSS feed from my blog (and everyone else's, you get the idea).

But RSS is not exclusive to blogs - any website can use the standard to advertise new pieces of data. I just happened to notice that the Star Tribune has RSS feeds - I'll be subscribing soon!

Since all sites that publish RSS feeds use a standard format, I can use a software program that understands RSS to view feeds from all over the Internet. This type of software program is called an aggregator.

I currently use Bloglines and NewsGator for aggregating RSS feeds, both of which are free. The "blogroll" on my website is simply a list of all the feeds I track in NewsGator.

But here's the best part: Instead of going to all the websites/blogs I want to keep track of to see if they have been updated, the RSS feed tells me when there is new content. I can now go to one place (my aggregator) and see if any of the 100+ feeds I track have been updated...

My case might seem a bit extreme, but there are people out there subscribed to over 1000 feeds. The point is that even if you only keep up on a few sites, using RSS with an aggregator will allow you to stay more current with less time & effort. Make sense?

posted by Brad at 6/01/2005 02:19:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

• Yes it does make some sense. I'm guessing that if I sign up at bloglines or newsgator, the process will be self-explanatory?
  
  Is one of those better to join than another?

  By  Unknown, at 6/02/2005 7:46 AM 

• Yes, both services will help you get started with RSS feeds.
  
  I have primarily used NewsGator, but recently started playing with Bloglines and honestly think I like it better. Why?
  
  1) Posts are marked as read as soon as you view them, no extra click required
  2) You can rename feeds from their default - for example, you could change "The Myth of the First Mover Advantage" to "Brad's Blog" if you so desired
  3) Package Tracking, Weather, Unlimited Search Feeds & more are built in to Bloglines
  
  I should probably also mention that I am beta testing NewsGator Outlook Edition 2.5, which anyone who uses Outlook will enjoy very much.

  By  Brad, at 6/02/2005 9:50 PM 

Post a Comment

---

RSS = Really Sad Story

I was thrilled to see that my hometown newspaper has several weblogs available on its website. As an out-of-towner, what a great way for me to keep up on what's happening of interest in my community.

I know I could just check their website or probably even sign up for an e-mail newsletter, but this is where RSS can be truly powerful. I can pick and choose the blogs that interest me, then add their feed to my aggregator and track them alongside everything else I care about...

...oh wait. All the feeds on the Journal Times weblogs point to the same one - for "Rob on the Road." I filled out the "contact us" form on their website to find out why, and was saddened by the response I received...

The blogs probably just create an RSS feed for the "main" blog, which is currently set to Rob on the Road. To be honest, the RSS feeds are a "side effect" to the blogs. We weren't terribly concerned about them.

Get with the program! You're breaking my heart.

UPDATE: I received another e-mail from the webmaster - "If we get more feedback about it, we may look into it more but you're the first person to ever speak up about it so it's not a priority..."

In case you care to nudge them in the right direction, the contact form is here.

posted by Brad at 6/01/2005 09:48:00 AM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

• Bradley,
  
  I think I'm finally ready to learn some of this shizzit you're always talking about.
  
  What is an RSS feed and why do I want one?
  
  Why would I use a linkblog? What the heck is it?
  
  This is in response to your offer on Monday, May 9:
  
  "Does all of this scare & confuse you? I'd be more than willing to hold your hand if it means you'll give it a whirl..."

  By  Unknown, at 6/01/2005 10:31 AM 

• Nudge Nudge...
  
  I wrote to the Journal Times about the same issue, and they seem to have the same excuse for everyone:
  
  "We know but we never set up the RSS feeds. We just have whatever nucleus set up. We never really intended to set them up and I'm not sure how they work for the software. If I find time I'll look into it but it isn't a priority."

  By  Nick, at 6/04/2005 3:03 PM 

Post a Comment

---