Welcome Home Baby!

Merry Christmas!

My wife and I are enjoying our new present!

Happy Birthday!

My wife and I welcomed our new son into the world yesterday!

Fire Hose?

And so the fire raged on as no one could find the "FIRE HOSE."

Working in the Data Warehouse

The data comes in and it is usually dirty. It requires cleaning before it is accepted into the data warehouse. All day long people send this data. They typically think it is just pushed into the warehouse and put on its appropriate shelf. Little do they know how much work goes into it!

The warehouse is virtual, yet it is also real. The work is virtual--yet the data is real.

Out of all the many jobs I've ever had, this is definitely one of them.

Cutris Gave it a Lot of Thought

Cutris gave it a lot of thought.
Then the thought floated away on a thought bubble.
"Where did the thought go?" Cutris thought.
But the thought was fleeting...

Goodbye Sherman Potter

Actor Harry Morgan best known for his role as Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H, died yesterday at age 96.

New Job

Much brain power required.

Herman Cain Continuing Controversy

Herman Cain Continuing Controversy
UnAssociated Press
December 5, 2011

Even though Herman Cain has suspended his presidential campaign, he remains the subject of controversy. Today it was reported that two more women, a chicken and a sunflower have accused him of sexual harassment.

The Secret Life of Beavers

Cutris shows the outside of a huge beaver lodge. As impressive as the outside is, it is nothing compared to the interior.





Here is a photograph that Cutris has supplied which shows the inside of the beaver lodge.

Amazing!

The Roasted Duck

My wife is on bed rest as we wait for our son's coming birth. As a result, we did not venture out to the two Thanksgiving invites that we had. We still had a good meal, as I made this duck for us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Louisville Swamp Before Winter

I went hiking (the Mazomani Trail) at Louisville Swamp in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge today. It was 37 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy. The snow was melting, but there was just enough to brighten up the scenery. I saw one juvenile Bald Eagle, a lot of animal tracks and a Yellow Perch trying to fight its way upstream through a tangle of branches in a culvert. Aside from the usual assortment of woodpeckers and a lot of trees cut by beavers, I didn't see too much wildlife--but the scenery there is fantastic! Here are some photos I took...








Jab's Farm Ruins












Tracks!











One of the Rock Ledges













The Swamp












The Giant Rock

Between Jobs...

I am literally "between jobs." I gave my notice (i.e. told my boss I was leaving), worked two weeks and haven't started my new job yet.

November in West Wilkie

I managed to find a few hours to go hiking today! I went into the (west end of the) Wilkie Unit in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

The temperature was in the lower thirties (Fahrenheit) but I was plenty warm if I kept moving. Along the way I found a deer skull, a Cooper's Hawk, a Belted Kingfisher and viewed the nests of the heron colony. Here are a few photos I took.







Blue Lake













Deer Skull













Heron Nests













Leaf Carpet













Beaver Dam














Bald-Faced Hornet Nest










Great Horned Owl

Cutris Reenacts Lethal Weapon

For your enjoyment, and in case you missed them, Cutris (in a dual role) will now reenact all of the Lethal Weapon movies in eight seconds. The scene is punctuated by the crazy rantings and reckless behavior of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). Also important is the shouting of Rigg's name by Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Now sit back and enjoy the show!

11-11-11

Today is,

11-11-11

Bus Bomb

This disaster training video is kind of cool. I know the guys who did the recording of it. The credits for the creation can be found HERE.

Some People Don't Know Dick

How would I describe Dick? He's not big or small; he's an average size Dick. Dick is smart. He knows about different parts like bolts; and nuts. Dick's nuts are galvanized. It seems that someone is always looking for Dick! Guys are always calling, looking for Dick. Women like Dick too. I work with Dick every day, but soon I will be working somewhere else—so I won’t see as much of Dick. Maybe you work with a Dick too! Do you have a friend who is a Dick? Here is a picture of my friend Dick.

Photo of Dick measuring his wood

DISCLAIMER: No Dicks's were harmed in the creation of this post.
Proper authorization was obtained prior to posting this post.
A sense of humor may be required to fully appreciate this posting.

Cutris Talks to The Tree of Life

TOL - "Yes Cutris, what is it now?"
Cutris - "I have another question. During my life as a Mongol, did I have any computer aptitude?"
TOL - "That is a ridiculous question. Computers hadn't been invented yet!"
Cutris - "I know that, but was the aptitude there anyway?"
TOL - "Yes, I must admit that it was."
Cutris - "Cool... that's what I thought..."

He Kept on Looking Ahead

He recognized the warehouse where he did his work. It had only been a few months since he had fled from the independent district. Now, he tried not to feel sad that his wife was further in the city, resting in the hospital. Their son was still likely to arrive before the scheduled date, but there was some hope now that things would be alright.

Yeah, it was a stressful time and he had bumped it up a little when he decided to step off the ship and throw his future in with another group in the company of new people. Those he had spent the last few months with were so brilliant and had become good friends. Still, it was undeniable how the climate could change in rapid succession when the head man arrived. The dark cloud would loom in above the tiny warehouse and the discomfort was unavoidable and undeniable.

Yes, it was a good time to leave, yet it was more stress on top of the stress. He was tired. The cursing in the next room was uncomfortable, but he would soon be free of it. More friends would be left behind as he climbed further upward.

The wind blew in his face as he looked at the horizon. The river flowed on past. Life continued forward. Rocks sometimes got in the way—but he kept on looking ahead.

—KJC

Cutris Plans Daring Escape!

Cutris Plans Daring Escape!
UnAssociated Press
October 28, 2011

Cutris is rumored to be planning a daring escape! Just when, where or what Cutris is escaping from is as of yet unknown. According to inside sources close to Cutris, he has been planning to launch his escape plan at an as of yet undetermined time. More information about the alleged escape plan of Cutris was not available at the time this story was printed.

Cutris Found Living Under Fallen Tree

Cutris Found Living Under Fallen Tree
UnAssociated Press
October 24, 2011

Last week it was thought that Cutris was living with otters. Now it seems he has been sighted once again--this time living under a fallen tree. Has Cutris abandoned the human race? When asked by reporters, Cutris simply growled and scampered away.

Hiking at Wilkie

Yesterday my wife and I hiked around Fisher Lake in the central part of the Wilkie Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. It was a really nice fall day. Here are a few photos.

Cutris Thought to be Living with Otters

Cutris Thought to be Living with Otters
UnAssociated Press
October 20, 2011

Unconfirmed sources have indicated that Cutris may be living in Northern Minnesota with a family of River Otters. Apparently Cutris was seen frolicking in a stream in an undisclosed location--but disappeared underwater before he could be photographed. If this is true, it will be the fifth time this year that Cutris has been seen living with wild animals. One can only speculate as to why Cutris is living with otters (if indeed he is). Perhaps he needed a vacation, or is friends with the otter family. Maybe it is simply a publicity stunt before he officially announces his candidacy for U.S. President.

Cutris Seen Defying Rules Again

Cutris Seen Defying Rules Again
October 19, 2011
UnAssociated Press

In another link in his string of scandals, this picture of Cutris emerged today. Will the former independent presidential candidate run again? Or is his record of civil disobedience too long? Or is the country ready for a president who is not more of the same?

Mississippi Morning

Here is the Mississippi River this morning from the Wabasha Bridge in St. Paul.

Fall at Tamarack

Here are two pictures from yesterday's walk at Tamarack Nature Center.









The second picture shows the Tamarack trees the park was named for.

The Civil Wars, Poison & Wine

The Civil Wars, Poison & Wine is just a great song. It is proof that simplicity and harmony makes great music.

Wall Street Bastardos Story

In the city of Cutris in the land of Cutris, there was a place called, The Castle of Cutris. The castle was very beautiful, and the King of Cutris Land lived there. One day after the greedy Bastardos of Wall Street ruined the economy, the government bailed out their debts and then the Wall Streeters stuck-it-to the people of the land of Cutris—including the King. Thus, the castle’s mortgage was now upside-down—and King Cutris owed more than the castle was worth (which had been $32 bazillion previously, and was now 89 cents).

Then one day King Cutris received an email from Mafutoo Bam Ba Lam of Nigeria. The email said that Mr. Bam Ba Lam had $76 Trillion that he could share with his good friend King Cutris, with whom he had never met. The poorly written email asked that Cutris not tell anyone about this wonderful deal—and to hurry and send his full name, address, phone number, Social Security number, bank account number and underwear size—so that Dr. Bam Ba Lam (yes, Mr. Bam Ba Lam had become a Dr. since the beginning of the email) could get the money out of his country and then split it with King Cutris.

King Cutris thought hard about this wonderful proposition! Then, he replied to Mr. Dr. Mafutoo Bam Ba Lam to go and put dynamite in his shorts and light the fuse. Then the King of the land of Cutris went to work to earn money to pay for his mortgage to the Wall Street Bastardos who made money by mismanaging funds and were then bailed out by the government.

Fine Weather

Sun and 80's (Fahrenheit)! What fine October weather we've been having!

Grand Grill

My cheap little grill looks rather grand in this picture doesn't it?

Cutris Buys New Car

Cutris Buys New Car
UnAssociated Press
October 4, 2011


Cutris is shown standing next to his new car that he just bought.
"I've always felt," said Cutris, "that a car should say something about the driver."
Cutris did not specify what his new car said about him.

Will the Vikings Play Ponder?

The question is, will the 0-4 Minnesota Vikings play rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, or will they continue to rely on the ready-to-retire-quarterback "strategy" for yet another game? Is a losing season going to get them a new stadium? It might have if they decided to go with Ponder and Webb this year and call it a "building" season.

Paint Your Countertop?

My wife and I decided to try this countertop paint from Rust-Oleum. She heard about it from watching the Nate Berkus show.

The idea is great. You can refinish the countertop without replacing it. Let me warn you, this stuff is smelly and hard to work with. Part of it went well, and the imperfections of application set almost immediately and are very unforgiving. Trying to fix these problem areas made things worse. After sanding and redoing one problem area four times, we finally got it to work pretty well.

Though this stuff sets immediately, it takes three days to cure/dry completely. So get set for a smelly kitchen that you can't use for at least several days!

I must admit, I like it now though...

Vikings Second Half Collapse

I've got to hand it to the Minnesota Vikings. To come out way ahead of their opponents the first half of the first three games--and then completley collapse and lose in the second half is shear brilliance. No one (including me) will have any idea how good they are if they keep this up!

Despite changing owners and coaches, the team has followed the same strategy of hiring ready to retire quarterbacks instead of developing their new talent-- and still , for some reason they continue to lose!

Imaginary Zombie Chickens Attack Cutris

Cutris had finally gotten the chance to rest. He had assembled and secured large pallets of WiMAX, broadband radio equipment for shipping that day and he was tired. Of course, there was work to do once he got home too—including making dinner.

Now, as he finally got the chance to sit down on the couch, he began to daydream about imaginary things. Soon he imagined that zombie chickens began to emerge from the kitchen garbage can. They must have assembled themselves from the leftover chicken bones that he should have brought out to the outside garbage, but was too tired to do.

The imaginary chicken zombies staggered forward as zombies do. They wanted to eat his brains for some reason! Why do zombies like to eat brains so much? Cutris asked himself. There was no time to imagine why. The imaginary chicken zombies had crawled out of the imaginary garbage can and Cutris was imagining them coming for him in an imaginary, and menacing way.

Just then, Cutris imagined that he had a large slingshot and then he saw some imaginary rocks on the ground. He quickly loaded the slingshot with the rocks and pelted the imaginary zombie chickens one by one. The chickens fell to their undeaths and Cutris swept them up with his imaginary broom and put them into the imaginary garbage.

Then Cutris got up off of the couch and took the trash outside to the trash can—thus saving the world.

--KJC

St. Paul in the Morning

Downtown St. Paul had a glow this morning as I drove in...

Cottonwood Branch Out Books Departing

Today I will mail four Cottonwood books to four U.S. soldiers serving overseas. If I hear back from any of these people, I will link it to The Cottonwood Branch Out Project page (the link is to the right of main my page).

One Sign You Might be Cheap

If your wedding is held in a trash can, you might not have spent enough...

The Cottonwood Branch Out Project

I've come up with the idea to send four copies of Cottonwood to four members of the U.S. armed forces serving overseas. I found four candidates on Any Soldier.com. These four soldiers mentioned books in the list of things they wanted during their deployments.

Inside of each book I will include this note,

The Cottonwood Branch Out Project

This book was donated by the author
for your reading enjoyment. The one
thing I ask, is that if you enjoy it—please
sign your name & location on one of the
blank pages and then pass it on. You may
also want to leave your comment on my
blog,
http://cutris.blogspot.com
(Note the unique spelling of my name in URL)

I hope that eventually, someone will contact
me (thru the blog) and send the book back to
me after it has traveled significantly.

Thanks & Enjoy!
Kevin J. Curtis
St. Paul, Minnesota

Traveling Book #1


I have a link to the right that will serve as a way to keep track of any information that comes from this.

Project Links:

The Books Depart

Note* 10-28-11 I received a postcard from Sgt. Shawna thanking me for the book.

Remembering 9-1-1

I remember ten years ago when I was working at the Hennepin County, Chemical Health Division in Minneapolis. I received a call, then more calls while working in my office. Airplanes were crashing into the World Trade Center; Twin Towers. In disbelief I verified this on the Internet.

Later I watched video on one of the few TV's we had at the office. It was a strange feeling of dread that overwhelmed me. As the day went on, it was announced that anyone who felt they needed to leave work could go. A group of my coworkers let out an excited yell and left work happily. I stared in disbelief as these disenfranchised people rejoiced in their half-day off--at the expense of thousands of victims in new York City. I stayed at work. I didn't know what else to do.

Later, alone in my house near the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, I listened to the erie silence. I was used to hearing airplanes and for once there were none. Later, as I lie in bed, I could hear the feint sound of a lone F-16 Fighter patrolling the sky at high altitude. Ironically this sound kept me awake--unlike the louder sounds of commercial aircraft that I was used to.

I no longer live or work in Minneapolis. Marriage has influenced me to move across the river to St. Paul. Like most Americans, however, I can remember September 11, 2001 with remarkable clarity.

-KJC

Time Savers!

To save time, ambulance chasing lawyers could team up with the ambulances!

Siamese Twins

A Great Relief

It was "touch and go" there for a few moments, but the school board finally agreed to let me leave. I was worried that they would reject my resignation and I would have to keep working there!

Cutris' Package

Now he did it! Cutris had sent the package to the wrong address! Somehow he had missed the notation and instead of going to Liberia, it was heading to Tokyo! Blast it, thought Cutris, I don’t have time for this! Then he pulled the shade down and it fell off the bracket, hitting and scratching the toilet seat. Cutris had no time to waste, so he left the shade and ran to get his swim suit.

First he ran, then he swam across the ocean, and finally he flapped his arms so fast that he actually gained the power of flight! After an hour of flying, he grew tired, landed and then called the Tokyo office on his cell phone. It turned out that they had already shipped the errant package from Tokyo—and now it was headed to Liberia.

Cutris could only shake his head and smile. He started walking back home so he could fix the shade. Boy did he ever learn his lesson! Always read the entire order, notes or email—to make sure you send the package to the right place!

A Trip to the Garden

I like this time of year when a quick trip to our little vegetable garden gets me this.

Summer?

Where did the summer go?
That June vacation seems so long ago,
Yet the summer left so quickly
I can only shake my head and sigh.

-KJC

Beer Making: A Pictorial Guide

My new beer book is out in paperback! Click HERE
to find it!

Burnsville Art & All That Jazz

Here is a clip from the Burnsville Art & All That Jazz event Saturday night. This is Mick Sterling & the Irresistibles.

Sauk Centre Mini-Trip

My wife and I have gone to Sauk Centre for a quick fishing trip last year and the year before that. So when we decided to go this year, not much changed as far as where we went or what we did. The Bear Trap has a new addition (first photo)! We found a better motel, in that it was cheaper and there was no noisy bar below. We stayed at The Gopher Prairie Motel this year. Aside from fishing at the pier and the dam, we also shopped and explored. I've included a few photos below, including one inside the Palmer House and one of the writing desk of Sauk Centre's own, Sinclair Lewis. At the time Lewis penned his novel Main Street, the townspeople weren't too happy about how they were portrayed. Now, however, he is celebrated in his home town.

In the last photo, Cutris tells others that "this is an interpretive center, where you can interpret things."

Late Afternoon Hike

Here are some photos I took while hiking the proposed state trail in the Long Meadow Lake unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Walking Away

After six years working for the school district and the last four working in technology at the alternative high school in Eagan, I set the school's computer equipment up as best as I could for the new school year--and then I turned in my keys and left.

I am leaving for a new job that I was able to tryout this summer--working for a company that creates wireless networks for under-served (rural) areas.

The school district is low on money, and the result for the employees is that we are losing pay, benefits and facing lay-offs. I decided to walk away from that.

In spite of what some Republicans would tell you, the problem in my opinion is not that public employees are paid too much. At least not those working on the "front lines." I did, however, see abuses of power even at the school I worked at. It seems that at least some of those at the top are costing the tax payers lots of money.

Just as an example, the principal of the school I was working at has for her own personal use, one desktop PC, one color printer/scanner/fax, two laptops, an iPad and a smart phone. In addition, though there are three secretaries supporting the programs, she has employed her own daughter for at lease three years as a long-term temp. When teachers and support staff are being laid off, I find it distressing that this is allowed; while at the same time any and all reasons are being sought to eliminate employees from much lower paid positions--because "it is necessary to lower costs."

I will refrain from speaking about how the HR Dept. has somehow actually grown during these cutbacks in staffing...

I really hope that public education doesn't suffer any more budget cuts. I also hope that those people in power will have to be more accountable in the future. The future of our children, our country and our world depends on everyone.

Gordon W. Frederickson

My wife and I went to the Dakota County Fair yesterday evening. I met Gordon W. Frederickson there. We talked a bit about the difficulties of becoming a published author. Click on his name above to visit his website.

Decision

I've been trying out a new job over the summer and now I have to make a decision. With the financial problems the public schools are facing, my technology job is changing, and I think downsizing and cuts are likely in the next year or so.

The new job is with a company that creates and supports wireless networks. It is very different from the school, but this small company seems financially sound.

color red

hh

Just Say Sela???

Here is a copy of the coupon from the website of Sela Roofing, that they wouldn't give us after the work was completed on our roof.

We're curious as to why other people we know who had work done, did get the coupon. So far we can't get an answer/reply from our estimator--who we were told to contact regarding this.

text color

blue

Cholesterol

Last February I had a physical exam and while I was deemed healthy, the one concern was that my cholesterol was too high. My doctor thought I should go on a low dose of statin, because I was "already in good shape, and probably couldn't do much to change it."

Now, five months later I have been checked again and fall well into the "normal" categories. My doctor assumed it was the medication, but I haven't taken any! I used diet, exercise, lost a few pounds and take one fish oil pill each day.

Incidentally, my brother Jim (the mechanic) told me about fish oil. So why didn't my doctor tell me? Maybe the reason people take too much medication is because the doctors want to prescribe it. Obviously I didn't need medicine. I had never really "watched" my diet before. Now I do...

Beer Making: A Pictorial Guide

Click here for the eBook by Kevin J. Curtis.

Beer Book

Watch for my new beer making book coming soon!

Little Log House Show

Yesterday we spent five hours in the heat at the Little Log House Show. Here are some photos.