I am CuTRis

If you click on these photos you can see the birds that I had the pleasure of seeing near the lake this morning. They did not perceive me as a threat and I managed to get a couple of photos of the Blue Heron and two Great Egret s.

I remember so well the September 11 attacks in 2001 . I remember how heroically the first responders were. I remember the airplane sounds all stopped except for that one F16 that circled at night. I remember the September 11 in 2002 with the American Indians at Camp Coldwater . I remember...

Click HERE for my version of the Star-Spangled Banner . http://youtu.be/bxfmyMHDV54 In honor of the anniversary of 9-1-1, and because so many "singing stars" have sung it so poorly, and to everyone who is a proud American, here is my quick version I recorded with a digital camera next to a pier on a lake where my audience was two egrets and a Blue heron.

It was a good run, but I am wearing long pants today...

"Once-Exiled Republican Tom Horner Backs GOP's Johnson " So I read that headline and I'm thinking.... did I actually see that???" http://kstp.com/article/stories/S3555984.shtml?cat=1 I have underlined the funny part for those who don't instantly see juvenile humor...

The interview... specifically, the job interview . It is one of those times in our lives when we talk to a virtual stranger, regarding one of our most important decisions. Some people misrepresent themselves. While usually this is thought to be the applicant , it is also (so I found out in the past), sometimes the employer . It is no wonder that the interview is a stressful thing—as is changing and learning a new job. Yet, often, it is good to move. If your employer is not paying you well or maybe is not running the business well, you may be able to find a better situation. But there are always risks. I've changed jobs perhaps more than most—but that may come from learning that I don't need to stay in a situation that is unstable or needlessly stressful. These changes always start with the interview. It begins with meeting someone you (typically) don't know; and negotiating what you will do and where you will spend a lot of your time and what you will get in payment and be...

We had fun exploring the Oakdale Discovery Center on Saturday!

N ow more than ever, A s I reflect on how things are being run, T oday may be just one of many days, I t might be like a hundred others, O ver time we should step back, N ot to pat ourselves on the back, A s much as to recognize, L eadership at its finest. D oing the things that, U ltimately will bring the house down, M aking everything fall apart. B umbling though they may be, F ailing in seeing the big picture, U ndermining logic with personal power, C orrupting the data, K illing the product, E roding the very fabric of the machine, R educing it to garbage slowly but surely. D ecide now to celebrate the incompetence, A nd make this a good day! Y ou may need to leave after that.

I was able to get extremely close. She was eating fallen plums in someone's yard.

Everybody gets a box of Band-Aids , some rubbing alcohol and two cotton swabs . Don't worry, the cotton swabs are two-sided!

Nighttime road with 6 second shutter

Dear Customer(s), Some of your $hit is probably broke(n). We aren’t sure if it is, what it is or where, but likely it is. It’s not that we don’t give crap about this $hit, it’s just that a lot of it is broke(n) right now. Hopefully yours is OK, but if not, sorry about that. Thanks, Us

Hey America! While "we" are all fighting about racism and about the trivial differences between Democrats and Republicans, ISIS (or ISIL ) is murdering, torturing, raping and swearing to kill all non-Muslims. Meanwhile, they are also killing plenty of Muslims too. They are doing this all in the name of "Allah." This is a warped and extremist interpretation of the Quran —which I have read. My interpretation of this book is not important. In the United States of America, we enjoy freedom of religion. This is why radical Islam hates us so much. Because we tolerate others and they do not. So let's show some tolerance toward each other! Let's stop the bogus accusations and the stirring up trouble at home. ISIS is the enemy! If you want to shoot guns at people and cause trouble, then fine! Go fight ISIS! They have shown no mercy in beheading, torturing, raping and murdering innocent people. So now it is time we show them equal treatment. America and the world ...

Why is this getting so much attention ? It was turned into a racial thing and maybe even calculated to do so. The guy was waiting in a place where he wasn't supposed to be. He refused to leave when security officers confronted him. Then when police arrived, he refused to show identification and cooperate. Then when they arrested him, he recorded it on his cell phone and created a racial incident. He was black and says he was waiting for his kids. I argue if he was white, or blue or any color and he (mis)behaved the same way, he would have been arrested. But of course if he was white, this would never have made the news. Likewise, if he would have behaved reasonably and cooperated with either the security or the police he would have never been arrested. The St. Paul police made one mistake here. They should have sent an African-American police officer to arrest him. Why is this even being debated? Being black does not permit you to defy authority and get away with it. Sure it pr...

The first day of school is today for most children. It was a day I hated when I was a student. It was a day I hated when I worked in a school. Now at least for me, it is a day. For all the students and teachers, I wish you a good year.

I found this draft I  made back in February of 2010. I drew the picture (during a staff meeting) of the ALC administrators, when I worked at the school district. I decided not to publish it back then because "they" were trying to tell me I couldn't blog. Now I don't work there so here it is 4 and a half years later. Who are these two people? I'm not particularly talented at drawing, so it could be lots of people. I drew this picture of two people, for no particular reason. The interesting part about it is that while these people may resemble certain individuals who may play a role in my daily activities, they also resemble certain individuals from my past work with the county. How is it that this unlikely duo, could reemerge in the guise of two unique, new individuals, yet share many of the same traits as those from the past? In some ways, it is freaky. I'm in a new place in a new time and "poof!" I'm "transported back to another time a...

“Well I was just warming up my coffee so I’m not sure.” Sigh… “In the past that was all done by someone I didn’t like.” “I think my coffee is a little bit cold again.” “I have some slips to look at.” “I guess I’ll go to the microwave.” “Maybe I’ll walk around and act important.” “I can make noises that sounds like I was working.” Sigh… “I have to make a call.”

Click picture to enlarge: Click "back" to go back Doesn't this "Outlook guy" look like Rob Morrow ?

I seem to have a lot of readers from Turkey recently. Hello Turkey!

CuTRis May Have Trained as a Velociraptor UnAssociated Press August 28, 2014 New information from somewhere indicates that CuTRis May have trained as a Velociraptor in the late Cretaceous Period ; while he was time traveling . This could explain why the now converted CuTRis is actively involved in the The American Society for Velociraptor Attack Prevention . Every year, a number of people fall victim to Velociraptor attacks. This is unfortunately due to people being unprepared for such attacks. Groups like The American Society for Velociraptor Attack Prevention are hoping to change that.

Periodically I feel that I must write about the injustices in the world. However, after returning from my walk in the park just now, I have decided to let go of some of the horrors of the world. God can sort through the rubbish of humanity if he chooses to. I am choosing to drop off a load of negativity and focus on the positive. It is a lesson that has come directly from the beautiful weather, the woods I walked through and a small toad and yellow flower. This day is truly a blessing and I will not let it be spoiled by politics.

There is a new place now for the pathetically inept . Those who formerly didn't fit anywhere—who could only vent their frustration by plotting and carrying out the mass murder of defenseless school children, can now join radical Muslim groups such as ISIS . Radical Islam is inviting to these people with low self-esteem, poor social skills, and a lack of intellectual and physical prowess. In the past, these individuals may have found their depraved outlet by the mass shooting of defenseless school children. But now, thanks to terrorist organizations, they are able to take their warped vendettas into backward regions of the Earth where they can team up with other pathetic losers. Unfortunately, many of these worst excuses for humanity are coming from Europe and the U.S. The prime suspect for the murder of James Foley is thought to have been a rapper from London. With a father facing federal terrorism charges in the U.S. and a family banned from Egypt, he decided to give rap a ...

Here is an idea and feel free to say whether you think it is a good one or not. Once the man who beheaded James Foley is captured, how about feeding him to wild pigs? I mean if ISIS is truly the baddest of the bad, wouldn't it be a pretty appropriate response? The obvious disregard for decency and life is shocking, but unfortunately if one looks back into history it is nothing new. Mankind has a bloody and cruel and violent past and in many ways, that has not changed much. It is an unfortunate commentary on humanity and especially on certain segments—particularly those who hide behind religion to satisfy their immorality. “War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” — William T. Sherman

As regrettable as it is that young black men have been in the news for being shot by police, the likelihood of a young black man dying at the hands of another young black man is far higher. This should be considered by those who say a disproportionate amount of African-Americans are arrested as opposed to whites. If the implication is that more white people should be arrested to even up the percentages, that is asinine . Arrests should be based on crime and not color. We already are supposed to mark our race on job applications before we are hired. Do we need to do the same before a police officer can decide if it is okay to arrest us?

I saw a sign the other day that said "1 out of 4 traffic deaths are caused by drunk drivers." This is truly startling; though even more concerning is that means 3 out of 4 traffic deaths are caused by sober people.

Not sure what to do with that canned ham you got last Christmas? Send it to ISIS! Nothing says how you feel, quite like giving a terrorist a Christmas pork product.

I saw this Green Heron this morning while fishing.

http://cutris.blogspot.com/2014/08/payback-for-james-foley-killers.html

http://cutris.blogspot.com/2014/08/payback-for-james-foley-killers.html

Coffee Warming Basics: Is 30 Seconds Enough? Directing Without Knowledge Managing on a Shoestring Budget How to Lose Customers by Being Cheap The Smoke Break: How to Make it Last Pretending You Are Smart Blame Shifting for Beginners Doing Nothing When it Counts the Most How to Make Noises that Sound Like You Worked Hard Leaning on the Desk and Sighing: How to Emphasize What You Haven't Said

Send some psychic payback with me at Noon today!

By now you likely heard about the gruesome murder of reporter James Foley in Syria. You likely think it is horrible as I do. You probably think you can't do anything about it. Is that really true? Here is my proposal. Tomorrow, August 22, 2014 at 12:00 PM (Noon) Central Daylight Savings Time (Use St. Paul, Minnesota on the time converter) I ask that you join me in wishing bad things to those directly responsible for the beheading of James Foley. Click Here for the Time Converter , so that we can all be directing our combined negative thoughts simultaneously. I will pursue this activity for five minutes; from 12:00 to 12:05. Now I don't know if it will work, but wouldn't it scare you a little if you were the target(s)? Who exactly are the targets you might ask? When dealing with Karma , I'm inclined to think that the directions will be correct if you just focus on "those who killed James Foley." It could be that the spirit of James Foley might be able to hel...

Banana s are good but when they get overripe, they usually get thrown away or made into banana bread. Recently I cut one lengthwise and fried it in a little oil with a shake of cinnamon on top. Wow was I surprised at how good that was!

Tit for tat

Go home now. You are putting everyone in danger. Don't be too dumb to stop before you die. Let the FBI do their job. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/18/ferguson-national-guard-michael-brown-jay-nixon/14219621/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/19/officer-supporters-ferguson-shooting/14259993/

Picture a baby bird in a nest. The bird keeps saying, Corn! … Corn! … Corn! … Whydon’tchamakesome Corn! …

I've been noticing a lot of two issues. One is drivers running red lights and the other is people throwing their garbage (littering) on the ground or in lakes. When I wake up in the morning, I can see trash on the street and on the lawns of myself and my neighbors. Apparently it is our responsibility to clean up after the steady stream of people who walk from the apartments at the end of the block—through our neighborhood to the convenience store and back all day and all night. Now to my morning fishing excursions. In the past few days, I have fished out of the lake, bait containers, fishing line, pop cans, beer bottles, cigarette packs and other assorted trash. Much of this is likely from people fishing from the pier. I'm not sure why people who like to fish, like to do so amidst a pile of garbage, but apparently it is also my responsibility to clean up their trash from the lake where they tossed it. Bringing me now to the second part of my rant. Every day, I notice on avera...

As I walked back to my car from this morning's fishing, two large Labrador s ran at me barking aggressively. Meanwhile the guy they arrived with was back at his truck where my car was. I know dogs and am comfortable around dogs and I stood still until the guy finally looked my direction. "Call your dogs off!" I yelled. I heard some noise as the dogs had some sort of mechanized collars. Then the guy yelled back, "They're friendly!" My response was, "They didn't act like it." Well the guy was all smiles and asked me how fishing was. I was brief with him because let's face it, not everyone is comfortable with a large dog (or in this case two) running and barking aggressively at them. I know people who would have been terrified and he should be more careful with his "friendly dogs" in a public park.

We visited the Lutz Railroad Garden yesterday.

I found this little guy crawling up the side of my house Sunday morning.

Whoever owns this pickup was having a bad day yesterday. I saw this on south 35W at the Minnesota River.

Groove d Pavement

No, I'm sure the water isn't radioactive ...

CLICK HERE TO SEE PYONGYANG

As I drove out of the parking lot where I was fishing this morning, I noticed a sign that said, "Buckle up, we value your life!" I couldn't help but think about the news I heard this morning that Robin Williams took his own life . Since the age of 13 when my friend Steve committed suicide , I have realized the devastating effects of such an act and how it scars the friends and family of the person who caused his or her own death. How tragic, when people who want to live, die prematurely. My Boy Scout friend, Joe, died last month unexpectedly. My friend Charlie died a couple of years ago of failing health. Both of these people were age 50 and neither wanted to go so soon. A horrible headline last week told of a 12-year-old who stabbed to death a 9-year-old on a playground in Michigan. Yesterday an argument at a gas station (a few miles from where I was at the time) ended in a man shooting his companion to death. In fact, every day there is death and murder both near and f...

On the outside looking in, most of us don't know what really happened in the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. Obviously someone is lying . This is very destructive in this case—especially if the police officer was in the right. That is because a segment of the population has already made up their minds and the truth is not going to be accepted if it contradicts their agenda. What is left out of the story can be just as devastating as a lie. If I told you that a man pooped in the park, you would likely feel disgusted by the news. Yet if I told you that he had actually used the restroom at the park, this added information would likely remove any disapproval. What we say or how much we choose to disclose, can be as devastating as lying. The police say the young man was fighting for control of the officer's gun. Others say the youth was surrendering. What I do know, is that the so-called, civil rights protesters who are now rioting, looting and vandalizing , a...

No sooner had CuTRis pulled out his camera phone to photograph the suspicious activity, than someone really fast put up a sign behind him!

No Train Horn Fed to Giant Gerbil in North Korea UnAssociated Press August 8, 2014 No Train Horn, the noted nuclear physicist from North Korea , had nearly finished his life's work. It was a bomb that would single out and destroy only Americans . Unfortunately for No, the supreme leader, Kim Jong-butt became so paranoid that No Train would make a bomb that would eliminate only Kim Jong-butt, that the supreme leader had the physicist killed by feeding him to a giant, starving gerbil . The huge gerbil is said to have eaten Horn in 12 minutes. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the demise of No Train Horn. This sign, is said to mark the exact spot where the giant man-eating gerbil pooped a half an hour later. It is the only known memorial dedicated to the memory of No Train Horn.

I I saw this Red-tailed Hawk today while out walking.

I'm taking a big risk today. I'm eating spaghetti while wearing a white shirt.

Once upon a time there was an adventurous man named Johnny , who lived on the North side of a Mini-Apple. He didn't play by the rules that the backhanders used. Johnny was too enlightened to pretend that those who were gunned down in the streets were all saints—the way the media types represented them. He preferred to tell the truth as it was written in public records and even by those involved themselves—in social media. For this Johnny became a target of the dark side and those who preferred politics over correctness. How much better it appeared to the masses that the poor victim of last night's shooting was not mentioned in the news as being affiliated with a den of thieves or another from parts unknown, being shown with the gang that stood staring through the smoking of the gun. It sounded better to portray them all as "innocent victims" —even though in the book, their faces showed their true colors. But the saddest thing of all was that the politicians and thu...

CuTRis Threatens Sign Stealer UnAssociated Press August 6, 2014 In the most recent scandal involving CuTRis , he has been accused of threatening to shoot a man who was removing a gun control sign from his yard. Apparently CuTRis threatened to shoot the man for stealing the sign. Thinking that CuTRis meant to shoot him with a gun, the perpetrator ran to police who intervened on his behalf. By this time, CuTRis , was holding his slingshot , and was apprehended without incident. Fearing for his safety, the unnamed sign stealer declined to press charges after seeing YouTube video of CuTRis using his slingshot to shoot a rock through a playing card that was tossed into the air inside of an Old West saloon back in 1867. This apparently was accomplished some time ago... or in the future; when CuTRis was involved in time travel . CuTRis was not available for comment after the incident.

Tonight is National Night Out . I'm happy to say, my neighborhood will be out tonight. Last year we weren't (at least as a neighborhood). As we join together this evening to take a bite out of crime, there are several, recent, news stories about gun violence and police officers (among others) being shot at. Tomorrow will mark the funeral services for Officer Scott Patrick who was murdered during a traffic stop last week. I know, all the pro-gun advocates will be saying that Officer Patrick should have had a gun of his own—and then he would never have been shot. They will also say that the bad guys will have guns anyway, even if the guns are "taken away from" the good guys. All of this is neither here nor there to Officer Patrick, his family, or the others who have been killed or have lost loved ones due to senseless gun violence. I know Americans love their guns. I am also weary of seeing and hearing stories about yet another person being killed; day after day.....

Who knew Xena was so small?

I was out a bit later than usual last evening—attending a training session for some new video equipment I will be working with. So I was asleep when my alarm went to off this morning. In fact, I remember that I was dreaming about F Troop and Sergeant O'Rourke was explaining to some officer why he wasn't worthy of a promotion—which of course would take him away from O'Rourke Enterprises . Standing where I was in that dream, I could have been Corporal Agarn !

Three days this week, my urban fishing ventures have been thwarted ! It can really only mean one thing... the forces of Eeeevil have unleashed an insidious plot designed to prevent me from enjoying the short minutes of pleasure that fishing affords me! It all started three days ago when I was delayed by road construction —costing me valuable time and also a morning's worth of fishing. The very next day, I had ample time—but was unable to find access to a new lake I wanted to try; because of all the expensive houses and giant business campuses surrounding it. Again, I ran out of time searching. When I finally decided to try a different lake, I was once again, the victim of road resurfacing. The access to the parking area was blocked. Today, I tried again. I was attempting to gain access to a park with a fishing pier on a lake I fish frequently. I was stopped by a closed gate and security guard sitting on a golf cart. The guard told me the park was closed. Apparently the park is ...

"Hey mom! There's a fish living in the toilet!" "Yeah, sure there is..."

Judge Throws Out Ventura Suit UnAssociated Press July 30, 2014 A U.S. Federal Court judge threw out the lawsuit filed by Jesse Ventura against CuTRis —citing that the "shoe print says it all."

Ventura Suing CuTRis for Defamation UnAssociated Press July 30, 2014 Fresh from of his victory suing Chris Kyle's widow , Jesse Ventura is heading back to court to sue the author of How I Punched Jesse Ventura & Stuff, for defamation . CuTRis is said to be recovering after being stepped on by Ventura after the fight—that Ventura claims never happened. By telephone CuTRis told the press that he still has the shoe print on his stomach that proves his claim.

CuTRis Claims to have Punched Ventura UnAssociated Press July 30, 2014 In his new book entitled, How I Punched Jesse Ventura & Stuff, local author and former Presidential candidate , CuTRis , states that he, "...punched Ventura in the knee, and then I fell down and he stepped on me and I had to go to the doctor! When I got to the clinic they asked, 'what happened to you?' So I told them that I fell down after punching a former Navy SEAL who was (formerly) in politics and who now just says a lot of dumb things that make people think he's a dumbass! So then the nurse says, 'Oh, you mean Jesse Ventura ?' And I said, 'yeah, how did you know it was him?' Then they patched up my stomach where the giant shoe print was still visible. Then the doctor said to me, 'all right CuTRis , go home and take two aspirin and don't let any former pro wrestlers step on you for at least two weeks.' So I went home and wrote my new book, How I Punched J...

This is one of the healthiest poison ivy patches I've ever seen. If you wondered what it looks like, this is a good example. However, if poison ivy is growing in the shade it looks more pale and less vigorous .

On Sunday, we visited the Little Log House Show ; which has become a favorite annual event for my wife. In a daring daylight raid, my son infiltrated the German camp and stole their watermelon without any resistance!

We visited the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum on Saturday. We always have a good time looking at all the airplanes. My son poses with an airplane.

As I was driving in the rain recently, I adjusted my windshield wiper speed a couple of times to accommodate my speed and the amount of rain falling. I like variable speed machines. But often, the quantity of speed settings is questionable. I probably have 6 or 8 windshield wiper speeds and only need about 3. But my ceiling fan s at home have 3 settings and I only use the lowest speed. In fact, if I had a lower setting I would use that. I'm not sure why the highest setting is so high. It looks like the darn thing is going to take off when it is on high! I have a 21-Speed bicycle . I think I use 3 speeds and 90% of the time I have it on the middle one. I guess I could get by with a 3-Speed if it had the same three settings I normally use. My guess is an actual 3-Speed would have some configuration that was not my (current) lowest, middle-est and highest—which is what I like; so I guess I'll keep the 21-Speed bike. VCR 's (remember them?) had 3 recording speeds. Now I hav...

After following this van for a short time, I snapped this photo and then adjusted the sign on the back to be more accurate...

This morning during my urban angling venture, I hooked a small Northern Pike on a red and white spoon . It was probably in the 18" to 20" size and perhaps a bit small for the frying pan. The fish managed to get unhooked when I got it up near the pier where I was fishing—thus saving me the trouble of unhooking it and deciding whether to keep it or release it.

Outboard Motors at Fishing Museum We went to Little Falls, Minnesota on July 20-21. The Perkins in Little Falls was great and they helped me out by supplying a big piece of free birthday cake to help our family celebrate my wife's birthday. One of our first destinations was the Minnesota Fishing Museum . The museum's director, Mavis, was a wonderful host and I found the collection of old outboard motor s interesting. MN Military Museum We also toured the Minnesota Military Museum which is located at Camp Ripley . This was a lot of fun and the collection is impressive. We had dinner at Cabin Fever which had a nice quarter chicken dinner on special. We enjoyed the view of the Little Falls Dam and accompanying Maple Island Park . MN Military Museum We stayed overnight at the Clifwood Motel . If you can get by without a swimming pool and "continental breakfast," it is just about exactly half the price of everywhere else and will have all the...

When you first enter Rambo Foods , don't expect a warm "hello." Don't expect a shopping cart. Don't expect aisles of food waiting for you to choose from... you wuss ! At Rambo Foods , you will be given a large knife when you enter the store. All that other crap you brought in will be confiscated and you will be pushed through a bamboo doorway into a jungle where you will stalk, hunt and finally kill your food with only your wits, courage and strength! Oh yeah, you can use that big knife too if you want to. Or, you can use the knife to make a fully functional bow and arrow set. You see at Rambo Foods , we don't think you should get to eat unless you earn it! Why you cower ing little wuss! If you can't kill your meat, how do you expect to eat? If you can survive the jungle, the poisonous snakes, the quicksand , the wild animals, the hostile natives, land mine s and the enemy combatant s, you will be allowed to pay for your food and leave. We take ...

Whether you like to wear your pants below your butt crack or whether you ride a motorcycle with ape hangers , somebody will probably think you look dumb...

Once I realized I was due to get a colonoscopy , I decided that it would be best to get it behind me as soon as possible. Three days before the procedure, I had to eat a low fiber diet and I'm telling you, that surely was for the ass! Yes, everyone who says the prep is the shits is correct. I got pretty sick for some reason , during the process of taking large overdoses of three kinds of laxative s. My nose was running and I threw up and let me tell you, I felt like crap. I had also heard stories about having bad results and one person even told me she had to go back and swallow a camera! Apparently after the camera sent images to a fanny pack she had to crap it out or "they" would need to perform surgery to remove it! My first response was "so did they want the camera back after you crapped it out?" The answer was "no;" so I'm assuming it must have been a disposable camera ... The actual procedure, when a doctor finally pushes a camera up yo...

If you choose to believe that there is a heaven, then perhaps you should also choose to believe that there are more ways than only one to get there. If I want to go home from wherever I might be, there are not only multiple roads I could drive, but there are multiple methods as well. If I am not in a hurry I might walk. If I am very far away I may choose to fly. Ultimately I will make it home; barring any unfortunate disasters that are always possible. So too, it is likely that if Heaven is accessible to one religion or doctrine, it is also available to others. Your way may not be my way, but who can say which is better? Kevin J. Curtis

Relationships are built on distribution of power and duties. In my marriage, my wife doesn't like insects , which have always held a certain fascination for me. One of my duties is bug disposal. When insects enter our house (as they sometimes do in the Summer), they are unwelcome. I will often pick them up and put them outside or toss them into the toilet—depending on the type of intruder it is. My wife will either capture it in a pill bottle or with exceedingly hideous specimens (in her scale of discrimination), they are squashed into an unrecognizable mess by a shoe swung with extreme prejudice . Often, a pill bottle will be waiting for me to both identify and then dispose of the occupant inside. Recently I released a captured spider on the front lawn. I was "scolded" by my wife, for not taking it 11 mile s away—as apparently a spider released on the front lawn will find its way back into the house in a matter of minutes... So this leads me to my story of what ha...

Sometime this Spring I noticed a black spot showing up on my digital pictures and videos. I have had my digital camera for over six years and I really like it. I couldn't clean the spot off the outside, so I surmised it was inside. I thought that I would have to replace the camera. Then I looked on the Internet and found how to clean the inside of a camera lens with a vacuum cleaner . I had nothing to lose so I tried it. Only I used full suction power and instead of messing with a roll of plastic I held an empty toilet paper roll over the open lens and crunched the other end around the vacuum wand. I pulled it off and put it on and sucked that stupid speck right out of there! I was pretty surprised it worked but it did and how cool is that?

With animals and music (and the chance to be in the band), my son had fun at the Ramsey County Fair last Saturday.

Day 30... This is no exaggeration. It has been a month now since these same dirty dishes were dropped here.

Quarters Fall From Sky UnAssociated Press July 14, 2014 Large hail and quarters reportedly fell from the sky recently. Several people were also reportedly injured by falling hail and coins; while scavenging for small change during the height of the storm.

I read that chicken livers make good bait for catching catfish . I usually eat the liver, however, so I used a chicken lung instead. I did my typical 15 minutes of urban fishing this morning and while there was some "activity" around my baited hook, I did not catch anything. This is not uncommon, as one can frequently go fishing and not catch anything. But I had to wonder... if the catfish knew that I had substituted an " inferior " type of organ meat? Maybe that catfish was too smart to fall for my substitution! After all, I wouldn't eat the lung. On the other hand... maybe the fish just wasn't hungry or it was on the other side of the lake...

I noticed the news headlines and there, amongst them was this totally ridiculous lawsuit filed by Jesse Ventura with the title, Jury Selection to Begin in Jesse Ventura's 'American Sniper' Suit . But then, when hundreds of people are trying to cross the border from Mexico into the USA, why should I be surprised by the actions of a man who has claimed he is (mad at the USA and) going to become a Mexican citizen ? This whole thing brings me back to elementary school where a certain individual in my class was primarily concerned with how tough everyone thought he was. From all accounts, this guy never grew up—and neither did Ventura. Not that I would believe Chris Kyle either; but that is my point. Who gives a crap about any of this? In the world of tough guys there are only three truths. 1. Most of them will say anything to make themselves look tough. Look how many times Ventura brought his own problems (from the "media jackals") because he couldn't back up...

Priest Reportedly Didn't Have Sex with Children! UnAssociated Press July 8, 2014 Unnamed sources have divulged information indicating that a Catholic Priest was found to not have had sex with children. This is still little more than a rumor at this time, but it opens the speculation that there could be others who have also not violated children while working as priests !

CuTRis to Release Movie called, "Kim Jong Un is Dumb" UnAssociated Press July 1, 2014 "No! Me tough guy! Very smart!!! Movie fans everywhere are eagerly anticipating the release of CuTRis' upcoming movie, "Kim Jong Un is Dumb." That is, everyone except for North Korea n president, Kim Jong Un . In the first 8 seconds of the movie, the main character, QuTRys , says that, " Kim Jong Un is dumb, and anyone could kick his ass. In fact, if word gets out how dumb and weak he is, the people will rebel and he will end up getting beat-up by a schoolgirl who will take over as president and then things will be much better over there." When Kim Jong Dumb heard about this he was infuriate d! He has threatened merciless retaliation if the movie is released. CuTRis was unavailable for comment due to his hysterical laughing fit (when he heard about the threat).