Blogging and Community

I saw North's last post where he said he liked blogging and I had to respond...

I like blogging too!

I'm going to have to spend a lot more time than just the few minutes I have right now to write about this topic, but I'll jot a few things down right now...

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. When I used to be out in the field picking weeds for Kurt's CSA farm, I would think about technology. It was an interesting feeling. I felt "connected to the Earth" or something when I was picking weeds. I would wonder "what good is technology? It is good to be out here in the field picking weeds. This is "low tech". This is reality, life, death, soil, etc."

Sometimes when I'm sitting at my computer at home--especially when I feel pressure to be there, as in trying to finish a project for work, or especially when the weather is really nice outside--I have to ask myself, "Is this what God wants me to be doing? Sitting at a desk all day pressing buttons on a computer?? Indoors?"

But then there is blogging. Blogging seems to be a wonderful way to "build community". Most people probably would agree that building community is a good thing.

That's all for now. I'm supposed to be working.

Finished Log Home

If you look back to the September 18th post you will see a photo of Holly and me at Norman Lowell's log home in the begining stages of being built. Here is what it looked like in August of 2003.








Here is a photo of John, Heidi, and Christoffer with some of flowers and vegetables in the Lowell garden. This is one of the hidden gems to visit when you come to Alaska next summer.

Signage

I think if I was on the city council of Watson Lake I would propose adding a feature to my city's web site - I would have a large panoramic photo of all the signs with the ability to click on any area of the photo to see a close-up. It would be a hoot to randomly click on different areas and see where the signs come from.

Have I mentioned that I'm enjoying blogging? This is fun even though it's only for an audience of three or four.

CrossWired

Do any of you read the magazine "Wired". The last page of every issue has a feature called "Found: Artifacts from the future". The August issue had a crossword puzzle. One clue was: Mars settlement: _____ Station. The answer: Sagan. Another clue: Waterfront capital (post_quake): abbr. Answer: Sac. As I was solving the puzzle I discovered a mistake. I saw this as an opportunity to advertise my web-site, so I sent them a letter and signed my name above 'Crosswordese.com'. Of the hundreds of letters they probably received pointing out the error they must have assumed I was some kind of authority when I signed my name like that so they published mine (letter). Of course they didn't publish my web address - I'm not seeing any increase in traffic...

Aaaaaaah...

Ah, yes - there's nothing like a dip in the hot springs.

The man with a silver spoon

I kind of like this picture of John Quick and Dean. It would be a nice picture to fix up a bit with photoshop elements if i could ever figure out how it works.

Four Comments From a Grouch

1. Why is it that some of the titles are cut off and others aren't? Has anybody noticed a pattern yet? I have tried beginning posts in various ways but haven't been disciplined enough to pay attention to what what works and what doesn't. For example, I began this post with a "space" and then an "enter".

2. There is a conspicuous absence of posts from certain members of the family. I'm too gentle to name names, but I'm hoping Greg and Steve and Jean (and sundry spouses) are paying attention.

3. I have tried to nudge things a bit. I called Steve, telling him I just wanted to talk, when, in fact, I really called to try to get him involved in the e-round robin. He assured me that once his new computer was up and running he would do something. I must confess that I'm a bit disappointed that a week has gone by and still no response. The long distance call cost me $1.23!

4. Jo and I visited Ericka and Joe telling them we just wanted to see their new baby, when, in fact, I was was also trying to implement an injection of strategic pressure on them and (indirectly) Jean and Ralph to get them to start paying attention to this blog. After our visit I e-mailed Ericka and Joe specific directions on how they could post pictures of their ever-so-cute kids on the blog and then encouraged them to teach Jean and Ralph how they could do likewise. I must confess that I'm a bit disappointed that a week has gone by and still no response. . .from anybody. At least the visit to Ericka and Joe's didn't cost me anything. . .except some muffins Jo baked.

Humph!

Dan

A Coffee Break on the Road to Alaska

Pies and a promise inspired three women to bicycle the Alaska Highway in 1959
A slide presentation of Kachemak Bay may have inspired the trip, but it was pie a la mode and coffee that kept Ella Hitz and her friends pedaling their bicycles through wind and rain along a dusty road toward Alaska.

Milepost Zero

Only 1523 miles from Dawson to Fairbanks.

Road Trip

The next few pictures actually come before many of my recent posts. This weekend I've been scanning slides from the first part of mom and dad's trip to Alaska. I totally forgot that they actually took the Alaska Highway on their way there, riding with the Lindmans, and then flying back.

It's too bad they had such poor weather - very little blue sky. As I recall my trip to Alaska in '73 was similar. We had some nice weather early on, but once we got into Alaska we no longer saw the sun. Mark, that's not normal for Alaska is it?

Ericka's Baby

Yeah... I'd like to see Ericka's baby posted to the blog too - not the one above. I'm waiting for postings from a couple other family members also. Beanman... Dancer.. perhaps it's time to make some 'technical' visits and show these people how easy this is.

New grandaughter

Jean and Ralph, we have been waiting for a few days now to see your new grandaughter on the e round robin. It would be a great opportunity try out this blogging! I did get your email with a lot of photos on a word document, but was not knowledgeable enough on how to get one of those photos separated from the document and onto here.

Another Sun Room Picture

Building Crew

Mark is the visual artist of the family and my ability to aprehend visual images is at a kindergarten level, nevertheless I will post the picture that has touched me more than any other. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.

Greg, Denise, and Amy

Here Comes the Airplane

Lake Stephen

Talked to Steve last night. He just bought a new computer and will soon have it up and running. Hopefully he'll be adding his own posts to the robin.

But for now here are two pictures taken of the pond he has been digging out of the peat swamp.

Man's Best Friend

As far as I can tell this picture is also authentic...

24 lbs!!

I'm embarrassed! I can't believe I doubted an elder brother. I apologize and I promise to be more careful in the future before opening my big mouth. Please forgive me. Proof of authenticity: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/bigcat2.asp

Something's Rotten In The State Of Denmark

Something has been bothering me for a few weeks . . . an uncomfortable feeling in the gut. I finally localized the discomfort to a post at this web site regarding an enormously overweight cat. I was overcome with the photo of this astonishingly obese cat. I showed the photo to friends and family.
Then I noticed someone had posted a comment. It was Paul. He insinuated that the PHOTO WAS FAKE!!!!!!! At first I was agahst at the audacity of Paul, to insinuate that a blood relative would deceive us all with a photo of questionable authenticity. But now. . .well. . .I have stared at that photo for hours on end and with great hesitation, I now, too, stand with our courageous younger brother, and dare to question the authenticity of this fat cat.
I hereby issue a challenge to the one who posted this photo. Give us proof that this photo is unadulturated and that this cat is real. If no such proof is forthcoming then we are all given the freedom to post at this web site photos from whatever source we choose.

Home Building

Crosswordese Word of the Day

DOWN
7) QB VII author
Answer

Fishing in Homer

Mark catches a little fish for dinner...

Cars...

I wonder what life would be like without cars? I sure would like to experience it. Is there any place (city?, county?) that doesn't allow cars? The poor Amish don't believe in cars, yet they have cars driving through their neighborhood. I guess they don't have cars on Isle Royale and other places like that...

This evening, Kurt and I were carpooling home from work and a car rear-ended us--pretty hard. She was driving a Volvo so we got the worst of the damage. Her radiator got punctured, so she had to get her car towed. No one was injured.

Looks like there's a problem with photos.blogger.com tonight. It's "intermittently" not serving images. This is the message I get when I click on a broken image icon:

You don't have permission to access /blogger/6597/1468/1600/P00024321.JPG on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Maybe it will fix itself.

Alaska Family

Mark, I'm guessing this is Homer. Am I close?

Signs and "Maine Nice"

Signs

I was in Maine for 2-1/2 days on business. I did a little driving around to go to a lobster restaurant. Thought I'd try some "Maine lobster".

One thing I noticed there (Brunswick/Topsham area), is that there are not many commercial signs. And not many street signs either for that matter. And not many street lights either... It is aesthetically nice because they don't have billboards or tall signs around. There was no sign for the restaurant except for the small sign on the side of the building. There was a small sign on the ground by the driveway to my hotel and one sign on the hotel. It was difficult finding the restaurant because it was hard to find street signs.

"Maine nice"

I keep hearing that people in Minnesota are "Minnesota nice". It seems like the people in Maine are "Maine nice". I ran into a lot of nice people there--nicer than necessary. I didn't find any "not nice" people: the people I worked with, the receptionist at work, the people working at the hotel seem genuinely nicer than usual hotel employees, the person I asked directions from looking for the restaurant was very nice and another person standing nearby volunteered more directions. The waitresses three times at restaurants were nicer than average--and it didn't seem like the "fake nice" that you see sometimes.

Kitten Picture of the Day

Three kids and three kats!

Lake Louise

Banff Hike

Banff or Jasper?

Moon Landing

How cool is this? We were there.

. . .OR DIE!!!

I got tired of Jonathan's cute kittens staring at me on the desktop background, so I altered it a bit to make things interesting.

Five Course Garlic Fest

When Dean and Kurt went to Yellowstone this summer, we agreed to feed the animals and keep watch over the farm. As a "token" of their appreciation they took us out to dinner at the Bayport Cookery on Friday. The chef chooses what to serve. It was a five course celebration of garlic. Everything had garlic in it. A good time was had by all.

First Course: Savory Garlic Panna Cotta with two forms of salmon (salmon cake and salmon pate), lobster mushrooms and aged balsamic vinegar.

Second Course: Shrimp Souffle with saffron garlic whipped cream.

Third Course: Duck Breast with roasted garlic, green olives and Israeli couscous.

Intermission: A palate cleanser of cucumber ice with candied apricot

Fourth Course: Thousand Hills New York Strip with wilted spinach, brazed oxtail, baby beets and a garlic confit.

Dessert Course: Blueberry Tart with berry compote and fried garlic ice cream.

Bo Conrad et al

Grandma Peterson

This is a classic picture of Grandma Peterson.

Welcome Greg

Welcome to the e-round robin Greg...

-Dean

Feeding Frenzy

There is one thing to remember; dogs and kids get bigger,










and cats get bigger too!

UNDER SEIGE

DeanTheBean's cute photos of the kittens is not helping to establish domestic tranquility at our house. After the family picnic, Jonathan set the following picture to be our desktop background. He has offered to pay all vet bills for as long as he's living in our house.

Need a Profile Photo?

Got it! If you want a picture for your profile here's one way to do it. The only downside is everybody who goes to the e round robin will have to stare at your ugly mug for a month.

1. Post the picture to the e round robin, just make sure you choose the "small" size.
2. Exit and wait for the new post to appear in the blog.
3. When the picture appears "right click" the picture and select "Properties".
4. One of its properties is the URL address. Highlight the address and copy it (control "C").
5. Find your way to the place you can edit your profile. Starting with a click of the orange "B" in the upper left corner.
6. On the "edit profile" page find the line where it asks for a photo address. Go there and deposit the URL you had copied (control "V"). Save and Exit.

Oops... What Happened Here?

...Take the corner a little too fast did we?

Kitten picture of the day...

Tell me if these kitten pictures get boring...

Peter Eats Some Food

Peter, being a teenager and a runner, is always hungry. He and some friends have contests to see who can eat the most. . .things like Krispy Creams, Potatoe Oles and Big Macs.



Four supersized french fries



On the Fourth of July they had a pop drinking contest. Peter won. Next to him is his cousin Bryan from Texas. He got third place.

John and Heidi

We really enjoyed having John and Heidi up for the summer even it they were a little stressed out when they first arrived.
By the end of summer nothing bothered them. They were much more relaxed and even calm in the face of danger. Maybe those hair color treatments did the trick.

John and Heidi are back in Washington now and living in a home very close to Lake Washington. I guess you could say they are neighbors of Bill Gates since they are on the same lake.

Byron's Bikes

I emailed Byron the other day to let him know his face was being plastered all over our blog.
One of the things he's doing these days is restoring old bikes. These are some of the bikes he's been working on.

Halsey Street Party

Whoever can name the most people in this picture wins.

Helge Ruth and Florence

Taken in Anchorage AK in the mid 50's. Florence Lindman is on floor in front of Helge. Carl is probably taking the picture.