Do we got the clearance, Clarence?

"Roger, Roger."

Well, maybe not. "Blizzard 2009" is taking shape somewhere over the US and may delay or cancel our scheduled trip to Sherwood for the Christmas. Two questions here:

1.) Why, when the dates align and you get an automatic 4 day weekend for a holiday, does the weather always have to try to ruin it for you?
2.) Why does the Weather Channel insist upon naming the blizzards with the year now?

We know it's a blizzard, we know its the year 2009, 15 years from now we're not going to say "Do you remember Blizzard 2009?". No, we're gonna say, "You remember that blizzard we had 15 years ago? Back in about 2009." I seriously think they are so bored at the Weather Channel, that they are going to start giving them actual names like hurricanes. Blizzard Bob, Blizzard Bill, you get the idea.

Maybe they could even hire former legendary Minnesota Vikings coach Denny Green to come on and explain about the 'Calcutta Clipper' as well.



So yeah, I'm hoping that things turn out well and we're able to get out of town Thursday afternoon, but we'll see. It's not like 5 years ago when I drove 450 miles to Minneapolis on icy roads to watch the Dolphins play a football game. It still amazes me to this day that Steve Thompson carried on a cell phone call as we were driving down the interstate sideways without missing a beat in the conversation.

The cargo of a 7 month old baby and the weather aren't something to be toying with.

Anyways, Merry Christmas to everyone! Hopefully the Silverado is pointed north and locked into 4WD about this time tomorrow!

Your (belated) "Bob Ross Memorial": Whiteboard pic of the month

Here at the blog, we've always tried to stay with the times, especially when it comes to the whiteboard pic. But alas, the world moves much faster than my snail pace. So even though this is a few days or weeks late, here it is! Obviously not my best work, but it'll have to do for pacifying the masses.

For those of you not from the Bismarck area, there was a mountain lion shot in the Bismarck city limits on November 27th, up by the former Home Depot location. (No, I wasn't the triggerman).

That's probably why it closed up. People are just going to quit coming around when you have mountain lions. They're just bad for business.

Flat and No Trees Has It’s Privileges

I’ve been spending the week working in northern Wisconsin and although it’s nice country, flat with no trees has it’s privileges. I’ve stood in the middle of a grass slough somewhere west of nowhere in Renville County, North Dakota and made a cell phone call with perfect clarity. I’ve driven countless miles in the same area deer hunting and had a dozen radio stations or more to listen to and I’ve always taken for granted that that’s the way it is everywhere.

Not here, not in northern Wisconsin. My daily drive takes me from Hayward to Cable, about a 17 mile drive through the forest and while Hayward does have some cell reception, it rapidly decreases the further you get from town. On my drive back the other night I spun through the channels on the radio and found one FM station that came in with regularity and the song playing was a Wilson-Phillips song. So there was my dilemma – Wilson Phillips or flip to AM and choose between a station from Iowa talking about Big 10 volleyball or a station doing 1924 replays of the Clicqout Club Eskimoes.

For those of you not down with the Clicqout Club Eskimoes, click here to find out more about them than you want to know.

I’ve reached another milestone in my life this week as well. To this point I’ve seen the worlds largest Holstien cow, largest Sandhill Crain, Walleye, concrete whale and fishing lure. Add to that list, The Worlds Largest Muskellunge!!! Located near the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, it’s a 143 foot fiberglass tribute to the Musky. Rumor has it that around Christmas time here, Santa makes an appearance out of the mouth of the fish, which can either be very exciting or very disturbing to a young child I suppose.

Also, if there was any doubt that I was in Wisconsin (normally the Old Style Beer signs and cheese factories are a clue) I was helping out a lady in the plant dept. with some software issues and heard more than one CSR on trouble calls end their conversations with customers with “You watchin the Packer game tonight?”

Yep, I am definitely back in Wisconsin.

Look who's talking

“Hey, how’s it goin?”

“Just hangin out over here by the stairs, nothing too much going on with me. Don’t worry, I have no intentions of climbing these stairs today if that’s what you’re thinking. Yep, just haaaaaaaaaaaaangin out!”


“What!?!? I’m just stretching my legs here. Gotta keep the calves loose and stuff ya know??”


“Ok now, just a quick check over my shoulder to see if they are look…….. darn. Staring right at me.”



“FINE! I’ll come over here then! Plenty of stuff to get into here as well.”