I am CuTRis

We went hiking today at the Long Meadow Lake unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. We started on the proposed state trail and came back on the Bluff Trail. The wind was calm, the sun was shining and it was about 60 degrees (Fahrenheit). Here are some pictures.

Hmmm... Do I want to get something at "By's?" Maybe I should go to the Golden Arch . Hmmm...

Spring arrived a few minutes ago!

Cutripedia Recently, the news is full of something called a Ponzi scam . People like Bernard Madoff and Tom Petters swindled other people out of their life savings. But where did the term "Ponzi" come from? During the 1970's, characters from the TV show Happy Days created a spin-off show about an alien, called Mork and Mindy . This alien introduced the characters to the Star Trek crew. Eventually, the character Fonzie was accidentally merged together with Potsie during a Transporter accident. The new creature, being comprised of both Fonzie and Potsie, was called "Ponzi." "Ponzi" had the aggressive traits of Fonzie, and the stupid traits (and great singing voice) of Potsie. Eventually, this new being tried to bilk Richie, Mr. Cunningham and Ralph Malph, out of their life savings by selling fake shares of stock in Arnold's Drive-In. Fortunately, Scotty was able to reverse the process by beaming Ponzi back through the transporter--separating ...

American International Group Inc. sucks. Don't get me wrong, Citibank sucks and so do a bunch of others. Recently, the news has been about how AIG used its government bailout money to give bonuses to executives. This is exactly what the bailout money was not supposed to be used for! Apparently "they" did it so the "best" employees wouldn't quit. With all of the talented people currently out-of-work and losing their jobs, let them quit! How hard would it be to replace them? Are these "best" employees so sure they can find new and better jobs? Are average Americans upset? I think so. We have seen our incomes shrink and expenses grow. Now our tax money is going to bonuses for executives! Yeah... they need to pay it back...

"Why are you lookin' at me like that?"

Here is nine seconds of ice flow on the Minnesota River from yesterday.

Our friends Mike and Sue decided to stay inside and play with toy trains, because they were afraid to walk in the mud on our hike at Bloomington Ferry. Here is a picture of the mud.

We went hiking in the Bloomington Ferry unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. It was an absolutely beautiful day! We saw Bald Eagles, Common Mergansers, a Swainson's Hawk, Robins, assorted woodpeckers, Canada Geese, Mallards and more! The ice was breaking up in the near 50 degree (F) temperatures. Here I am at "The Tree of Much Damage." Ice Window Common Merganser Marsh Canada Geese Bald Eagle Beaver

I can't talk about work, as there are "spies" who monitor such things. Suffice to say, I've been figuring out a digital television media system. It's a bulletin board that circulates postings (on TV) and also has both a news and a weather crawl. It's been quite a learning experience. The small amount of support I can get is usually completely useless. I have over the last few days, figured out the system pretty well (on my own by trial-and-error) and I have it up and running. In other news, it seems that this blog (once under scrutiny) has taught me how to expand the capability of the work related website that I help to update. Will the spies be angry that what I do during my own free-time has increased my productivity on the job?

Cutris Gives Wishes to Charity March 12, 2009 UnAssociated Press Cutris stated by telephone to the UnAssociated Press, that the Internal Revenue Service was taxing him for capital gains, due to his receiving three wishes from a magic unicorn and then creating a fourth wish by wishing for five wishes. Thus Cutris has stated that he has donated all four of his wishes to charity, to avoid any tax penalties involved from coming out ahead. When asked if he would get a tax break from his capital loss, IRS spokesman Ini Yoface, replied that it was unlikely due to the one-sided nature of taxation.

Cutris Believes Magic Unicorn Gave Him 3 Wishes March 12, 2009 UnAssociated Press Cutris told reporters today, that a magic unicorn gave him three wishes. When questioned about what he did with his wishes, Cutris replied that he had wished for four wishes several times, but each time he used a wish in the process, and so never was able to get above the original three wishes. Seeing his dilemma, Cutris set out to remedy the situation by wishing for five wishes, which accomplished his goal of having four wishes.

NeonLollipops.com

The famed Cutris Octuplets posed together for a photo today. They declined to do an interview, but wanted the world to know that they are fine.

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A year ago I told the dentist I had a problem with my tooth. He couldn't identify anything, though I said I thought it was the second from the back on the bottom, right. Six months ago a different dentist couldn't verify any problem when I told her it had gotten worse. Today I had root canal on that very same tooth. I'm a little upset that it had to get really bad, and nothing was done sooner. I guess that's how it goes sometimes...

Today I went hiking in the ravines of the old section of the Rapids Lake unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I saw a lot of wild turkeys, two Bald Eagles, one Red-Tailed Hawk, a Harrier (Marsh Hawk) and a cottontail rabbit. None of them were going to hang around for pictures though, so here's a few of the landscape. Turkey Tracks!

Ultra-conservative Rush Limbaugh announced publicly that he wants President Barack Obama's policies to fail. This is further proof that Limbaugh is an idiot. When George W. Bush announced "mission accomplished" from the deck of a navy warship, I really hoped he was right! I wanted the President to succeed. I think he did fail, and I didn't like his policies--but why would I want him to fail? The problem seems to be that some people (like Rush Limbaugh) think the (in this case Republican) party is more important than the country. This is stupid. The party fighting needs to take a backseat to the good of the country. No wonder nothing gets fixed if the parties and idiots like Limbaugh promote all this infighting!

I admit that I cut coupons. Sometimes there are some good deals. Most often though, I can hardly believe that someone would think it is a great deal to "buy 6 tubes of toothpaste and get 25¢ off!" You'd need to have a warehouse with a method to ensure the use of products before their expiration date. It is hardly worth "saving" a quarter. Here are a couple of coupons, based on some experiences when I found that just when I wanted to use one, it wasn't quite the deal I thought it was. Oh yeah, always read the fine print… Click image to enlarge. Click "back button" to return to blog.

The Top 10 Reasons Why I Enjoy Being an Old White Dude 10. My short pants don't go down to my ankles. 9. I can wear baseball style caps right-side-out, and with the bill facing forward! 8. I can enjoy music with a melody, not just percussion. 7. I can exist without continuous loud music. 6. I'm largely unconcerned whether or not I'm perceived as being a tough guy. 5. I don't need tattoos or body piercings to improve my self-image. 4. I can refrain from using the F-word, N-word, B-word, C-word and other cussing just to show how "bad" I am. 3. I can remove my winter coat, hat, and hood while indoors. 2. I can choose to have a dog that isn't a pitbull. and finally… 1. I don't have to worry that my pants will fall down and I don't have to hold them up--because I can wear pants that fit!

The Minneapolis/St. Paul area got hit by a snowstorm this afternoon. Several inches of snow piled up in a very short time. Where it's plowed the driving is okay. Where it isn't yet plowed, it is advisable not to stop (if possible) or you might get stuck. Worst of all, is that the wind is strong and blowing the snow. There are no visible lanes on the roads and freeways. Everything is white. It is tricky to drive a multi-lane road with no defined lanes. Of course, by this time tomorrow everything will be plowed out and all will be fine. That's how it is here in Minnesota. Snowfall that would cripple many cities is handled quickly. "Snowdays" are few...

Huh huh huh huh...

Oscar Goldman (AKA Richard Anderson) Oscar Madison (AKA Walter Matthau) Oscar Madison (AKA Jack Klugman) Oscar Wilde Oscar the Grouch C-3PO Oscar?

Attorney General Eric Holder has commented that America is a nation of cowards , because the country remains "voluntarily socially segregated." While there is some truth to this, it is a rather "broad" statement that lumps everyone in America together. That sounds kind of like stereotyping . If we go to the animal world, we can see that "like kind" animals congregate together. Perhaps there is a certain level of comfort in being with those who resemble you. Some people don't want to mix with those who are different, some are afraid, and some just don't have many opportunities to do so. I am blessed with friends and family that cross a variety of cultural and racial lines. Usually it "just happens," occasionally we are ridiculed for it, and sometimes there are people who want to "join in" just to show that they are politically correct. Whatever the reason, or the temporary discomfort, we are almost always better for the experienc...

My friend Mike just sent me a picture of my old friend Wendell. I did a tribute to Wendell , on the day he died. Mike was also the person who informed me of Wendell's passing, as he still works at the county where we all met. One other note, Wendell can be seen on his cell phone in the picture. Mike said he was talking to me, and this was while I was living in Providence, Rhode Island. That was a difficult time for me, and shortly after (if memory serves me) I was calling Wendell because he lost his son (in an accident). We were always lookin' out for each other. We kept in touch until just before he passed away. I know he influenced my life, and I like to think maybe I influenced his a little too. We met when he was approaching the "end," and I was still trying to figure things out. We weren't that similar (in age or appearance), yet we weren't that different (in the ways that mattered). I went to a couple of gatherings at Wendell's house. The people the...

If you liked Brett Farve's first retirement, keep watching! The sequels will just keep coming...

Cutris strolled into the room as if he owned 47.2% of it. His presence carried an air of authority. Though he was only 5'8-and-3/4" tall, to everyone present he looked to be at least 5'9" or 5'10". The event appeared like a typical cocktail party, except everyone was wearing sunglasses. Immediately, Cutris removed his own sunglasses to throw everyone else off guard. No one in the room seemed to notice that he was dressed in the armor of a Teutonic Knight. That too was to throw them off. As he clanked across the room, Cutris noticed her. "That's the spy who loved me," he thought. She shouldn't be here. After all, he was married, and that meant something to him. Yes indeed, it meant something. He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and attempted to sit down on the couch. His armor didn't cooperate, and after several minutes he decided to stand. It didn't help that he had to pee from drinking the champagne, and he deci...

UnAssociated Press February 10, 2009 "Forward Wing Command to Cutris , come in Cutris ." "This is Cutris Wing Command, I read you over." "You are authorized to engage the hostile; Cutris , I repeat, eliminate with extreme prejudice." "Affirmative Wing Commander, in pursuit." The F-22 Raptor rapidly closed in on the strange craft that had appeared less than 20 minutes ago. In the short time before Cutris had been deployed, it had sent the local population fleeing in panic, as it dropped its putrid payload upon the city below. Homeland Security had contacted the air command and Cutris was in his F-22A and airborne within five minutes. Closing on his target at Mach 2, Cutris locked-in two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles. A moment later, the enemy was gone. A post incident investigation concluded that the enemy… er… "craft," had been laden with goat dung. It had dumped much of its… er… "payload" onto the city before being...

A recent article printed in the New England Journal of Stuff, indicates that up to 80% of people don't know what the heck they are doing. Furthermore, of the 80%, 72.9% of those people have no idea why they are doing it. When surveying upper-level managers, the percentages can jump as high as 94%. Breaking the statistics down by race, sex, economic conditions, education and religion, could create data that is not politically correct, so this was not done. The $47M study funded by MENSA simply concluded that most people are dumb.

It wasn't until very recently, that the (U.S.) government admitted that we are in a "recession." Of course, the Bush/Cheney administration admitted to almost nothing... Cheney/Bush Now, suddenly (perhaps because of Barack Obama), the word is that we are in a depression , and things are much worse than "we" thought. Barack Obama My friend Dave, has come up with a new, far more descriptive term for what the economy is now experiencing. He calls it the "Economic Butt." Dave

We picked up my parents from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport the other day. After parking the car in the ramp, we had to take the "tram" to the terminal. So all along the way, there is this woman's voice telling you stuff and she has a British accent. "You have pocked in the red zone." "The tram is about to de-pot ..." Why the British Accent? We're in Minnesota! If I go to London will I hear a Minnesotan say, "The train is about to leave you betcha!" ???

Saturday was beautiful, sunny and (relatively) warm. Danny took us ice fishing. The ice was about 2 feet (.61 meters) thick. Thick enough to drive on. Inside the "ice cube," we were warm and had everything we needed. Our first site didn't get us much, though we could see fish. When we moved to deeper water, however, we had three hours of Crappie catching! Each licensed angler may keep up to 10 Crappies and they have to be at least 9 inches (22.86 centimeters) long. We released most of them, but kept enough for dinner.