apple juice

I have a new theory to put forward. (Or is it hypothesis? Anyway.)

People with exceptionally loud ring tones also talk far louder on their phones than they need to.

I have only anecdotal eveidence at this point, but further research will be necessary.

What do you think?

In Wisconsin there are many fine eating establishments. You’ve got your Norske Nook in Osseo. There’s Bosacki’s up in Minocqua. And who could forget the (now closed) Chalet, also in Minocqua?

On trips of a repetitive nature, I often pick out a restaurant or two that I would like to stop at some day for a bite to eat. It’s a fantasy really, when am I ever going to stop at El Amigo in Castle Rock, CO or The Black Steer (casual upscale dining) outside of Coates, MN. (Or the House of Coates for that matter). It would be like the Red Sox and the Cubs in the World Series. It can’t happen. Got to get to where I am going!

But I can look. And dream. My current dream involves this place:

The Thorpedo

The Thorpedo Restaurant is surely one of Thorp’s finest. I have wanted to stop there many times as I fill up at the Amoco across the street (they have Premier Diesel).

This time through the town, we came close to eating at the Thorpedo. I asked the young lady at Subway what she thought of her hometown restaurant, and she replied simply, “It’s not too bad”

“Do they have a sandwich named “The Thorpedo” or something similar?”

“Yeah, yeah, I think so.”

A ringing endorsement.

Well, maybe next time through I will stop at The Thorpedo in Thorp for a Thorpedo Sandwich. I’ll see what all the hype is about.

I received a speeding ticket yeseterday. Always a fun time, sitting on the side of the road while the officer writes you up for breaking the law.

I would like to propose a national drive the speed limit week. Everyone will drive the speed limit, and the police departments will crumble under financial duress without all the revenue from speeding tickets.

Ah, well, that will never go over. And I don’t really want to see reduced capacity for law enforcement.

I guess I don’t have a solution. Drive a bit slower maybe?

Honestly, it’s been raining for about a month straight!

Memorial Day has come and gone, I was up at the cabin for about 26 hours, which is not nearly enough time to settle in and enjoy, but enough time to say hi to some family that I haven’t seen in a while.

It used to be tradition to jump in the lake on Memorial Day. It was supposed to mark the beginning of summer, or at least that the long warm days and nights of summer were just around the corner.

There was absolutely no way I was getting in the lake this year. I had pretty much sealed that decision before I even arrived. The leaves on the trees still looked pretty thin and cold. Unsure about whether it was time to appear or if more chilly days were around the corner. When the leaves look more like April than May, you know it’s not a good tiime to jump in the lake.

As it turned out, the lake was 62 degrees. not so cold that I couldn’t have jumped in, had I wanted to. But still pretty dang cold.

So another Memorial Day has come and gone. We’re all back at work and school now, myself looking out at the rain and wondering when summer is really going to make an appearance. Hopefully soon…

Mini Update (6/2/04 @ 4:46PM) – In the process of upgrading this site, I was looking back at some of my old posts, and about 9 months ago to the day I was whining about how it hadn’t rained in a month. I guess the grass is always greener.

Or… Reasons I bought a Golf

This article, Big and Bad is quite good, and there are some really interesting things discussed.

Jettas are safe because they make their drivers feel unsafe. S.U.V.s are unsafe because they make their drivers feel safe. That feeling of safety isn’t the solution; it’s the problem.

Yes, believe it or not, VWs are among the safest cars on the road.

Read the article, it’s good.

Hello friends. It has been a while.

We have moved.

The wheels are in motion.

It is raining.

Yeti destroyed my lady’s nice white shoes that were to be worn on saturday. Yeti is in the proverbial dog house.

I have many pictures, stories and incoherent ramblings stored up inside my head from the past few weeks. Hopefully I can spill a few of them out onto the page.

More updates soon…

Every morning when I drive to work, I pass an bright yellow H2. It is parked, in the driveway. The owner’s brand new house and garage do not accomodate the size of his new vehicle.

In the winter when I passed this vehicle, everyday, exhaust billowed out of the tailpipe as the owner warmed it up.

One day I actually saw this car in motion. (I was running a little late) Amazingly, I saw the length of the trip. I saw it back out of the driveway. Start down the street, pull across the street onto my side of the street, drive down to the corner and stop. His daughter was in the front seat. They were waiting for the school bus. 1 block away.

As I was taking evasive manuveurs to avoid crashing into this hulking mass, I stared, dumbfounded, as I passed. He gave me the finger.

I didn’t flash my brights, honk my horn or do anything of that nature. I was confused. He gave ME the finger.

His wife drives a bright yellow “sport edition” Cavalier. It looks like Nascar barfed all over this car. (Racing stripes and what not.) I pass her when I leave work in the afternoon. She drives really fast through her neighborhood. So fast that the old guys at the retirement homes shake their fists as she drives by.

There has been a bunch of press about the SUV small business credit. Write off up to $50k on an SUV for your business! What a deal! The H2 has a giant sticker on it for what I can only assume is his small business.

Today there was a new hulking mass of steel in front of H2 Man’s House. Some sort of vehicle from the 50’s, white washed tires, the length of 3 of my cars. Texas plates.

These are the conclusions I have drawn:

• If Texas were to secede, and Puerto Rico became a state:
• We wouldn’t have to change the flag.
• GWB would no longer be eligible for another term.
• The NRA could move there, and leave us all alone.
• If fuel were $4/gal:
• People would think a bit more before purchasing such a huge vehicle.
• Americans would be skinnier.
• We would have more rail transit.
• We would pollute less.
• I am a giant hypocrite.
• I drive 1.9 miles to work everyday.
• I could ride my bike to work, but don’t.
• My furnace is from 1967.

Here’s what I would like to see happen.

• Give a tax credit to vehicles that get “really good” mileage.
• Fully fund rail transportation in this country and in our state. (Pass the Northstar!)
• Expand the hiawatha light rail line into a whole system of light rail.
• Tax fuel to pay for all this.
• Get Texas to secede