I am CuTRis

I went hiking in the Wilkie Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge today. Most of it is currently underwater due to spring flooding. Here are some photos which include, a deceased coot hanging in a tree, and a turkey flying.

I just saw an elderly woman beat-up a young dude and take his man-bag ! I was going to call 9-1-1, but I couldn't find any dashes on my phone's keypad!

Cutris Blocks Door UnAssociated Press March 28, 2011 Yet again, Cutris has been photographed in a scandal . It is once-again, plain to see that Cutris is disobeying the rules by blocking a fire door! Those of us at the UnAssociated Press are truly shocked... and stunned.

I'm working to make my novel, Cottonwood into a paperback...

Dan doesn't really get those emails. It's also a lie... Where is Dan? Stop calling me if you aren't CEO Dan Hesse. So far, all any of you have "done for me" is bounce me around until I now have a plan that costs the same as the one I had before--when I started this, except now I have 550 anytime minutes instead of 700. I also found out (yesterday) the "discount" you promised if I signed for 2 more years doesn't apply to me! If you can't help me, then stop bothering me. My comments can be seen at http://cutris.blogspot.com. Kevin

In the past month, I have been trying to get a better price on my cell phone bill from Sprint . Since then, I have talked to numerous customer service people and been bounced from plan to plan for virtually no savings--though I have lost "anytime minutes" in the process. After five years, I will leave this company when my contract expires in June. That is simply because on all occasions, I have been lied to. The discounts are never what I am told they will be. Now, Sprint wants me to sign a contract for two more years-- before they will give me a discount. Based on what has occurred, I cannot trust them to honor the discount and need to see said discount before I commit to a new two-year contract. Unfortunately, they have declined--even though I would have to renew my contract in June anyway. These people are not out to serve me. They are out to take my money. Avoid SPRINT!

Cutris Disobeys Rules Again! UnAssociated Press March 21, 2011 Here is the latest in a string of cases involving Cutris disobeying rules! Click on picture to enlarge

We visited, Sea Life Minnesota . We also hiked around the Bass Ponds .

The truth is, in spite of what Adrian Peterson says, making millions of dollars playing professional football in the NFL is not like "modern-day slavery."

The recent earthquake(s) and resulting tsunami that has devastated parts of Japan, has now resulted in nuclear disaster , as nuclear power plants have overheated, exploded and begun to meltdown. The irony of all of this is that Japan suffered horrible nuclear devastation during World War II. All of this (also ironically,) comes less than a month after Minnesota decided to lift a 17-year moratorium on building new nuclear power plants. Somehow this reminds me of when I was a kid, and my brother Jim, who is five years older than me, made those plastic, scale models of cars, airplanes and ships. These were delicate replicas of cool machines, and I, of course, being a younger brother wanted to touch these fascinating "toys." When I did, however, I would break them! It was soon made clear to me that I should not play with my brother's stuff! Are humans now playing with God's stuff? Sure "we've" gotten "cocky" over the last few decades with our ei...

In case you didn't know who really runs the world...

My second novel, "Cottonwood" is now available.

Here in the north country, the world is beautiful this morning. An early fog was frozen to the tree branches and they are all white with tiny ice crystals. Only the news lets me know that in Japan an earthquake has triggered a deadly Tsunami .

Though I'm not a teacher, I work in technology within the realm of (Minnesota) public education, and my wife is a teacher. Every year as budgets get tightened, staff in schools--including teachers, get lay-offs. Yet somewhere, somehow, the public is being lead to believe that there is some giant teacher shortage! Let's get realistic for a minute. If the average person knows that unemployment has gone up and people in all sectors of the workforce are suffering from lay-offs, pay-freezes, loss of benefits, etc., do you really believe that these same conditions somehow don't exist for teachers and other school employees within our financially strapped schools? So now in Minnesota, there is new legislation to make it easier for people who didn't study to be teachers, to get jobs as teachers. At the same time, there is a lot of "lip-service" about how education is suffering and student achievement is down, yada, yada, yada... So somehow having less qualified t...

As sad as it is, it seems that people like to "watch a train wreck." It's that morbid curiosity, as "we" watch someone like Charlie Sheen self-destruct before the public eye. As we make comments about his "loss of reality," think for a moment what his reality was and is. Born into the family of a famous actor is different from how most of us grow up. The sense of entitlement and especially the fits of anger he is prone to, reminds me of the addiction problems I saw when I worked in the county, chemical health division. I'm not really an expert, but it kind of resembles a long-term Cocaine addiction. At the end of the day, even Charlie may not believe his own rants about his alleged "superness." But what else does he have right now as he destroys everything he touches... or talks about? Most people would know that you can't really have "tiger’s blood," and if you did, you would be in violation of laws regarding endangered...

On Friday evening I went out to eat with my wife. We were at the mall and walked around after dinner. When my wife decided to try on some clothes, and was taking a really long time doing it, I walked around by myself. It wasn't very busy, but I noticed one store was full of dudes! After I got a closer look, I could see that they were playing (or watching others play) video games in a store! Not a woman was in sight! I felt sorry for these guys for spending their Friday night in such a nerdly way... I made the appropiate adjustments to the photo I took of the whole sad affair. Just click on the picture for a better view.

Just this morning there was a news story about a puppy that survived being euthanized. Its litter mates weren't so lucky. Apparently this little dog was moving around in a garbage bin after the process. Not so long ago there was the story of a puppy that someone tried to mail in a box. There were people waiting in line to adopt it afterward. Eventually someone (who was carefully screened) got the dog via a lottery. My question is, why are there so many people ready to give a home to these animals after something bad happens to them--but not before? Is it because the new owner can retell the heartwarming story about how they got their pet? Can't people adopt animals that need good homes even if they weren't abused or harmed in some way? Aren't all the animals who need homes in need as well as those with an incredible or interesting story?

Recently someone was talking to me about wanting an LSD Projector . This struck me as funny, because I knew the person was actually talking about an LCD Projector ! The two might "project" very different images!!! It makes me wonder what an "LSD Projector" would actually be used for...

I would like to thank the prospective employer who called me in to take a couple of hours of tests for a job. After sending an email message asking if I was no longer being considered and hearing nothing back, I thought, "Remember when prospective employers thanked you for coming in?" Then yesterday I received a letter that said "they" were not going to fill the job due to "restructuring." I would like to thank "them" for having me come in and waste my time taking tests before they made that decision... -K

I took these photographs at the Minnesota State Capitol yesterday. My wife teaches art, and some of her students work was being shown there.

I've had my Mr. Coffee, coffee grinder for 20 years or so. It stopped working almost a year ago, and I took it apart and got it to grind again! On Saturday, Mr. Coffee ground its last cup of coffee. After finishing, when I tapped it to get the last grounds out, the whole thing fell apart in pieces! It reminded me of the Blues Brothers Car ! Even though I was able to get it put back together, it would not stay together. Eventually, I was forced to throw it away. Back almost a year ago when the Mr. Coffee, coffee grinder first showed evidence that it might stop working, I searched for a new grinder and found a ProctorSilex coffee grinder. This one works really well and was pretty cheap. It also has a great retractable cord feature. I wonder if this one will last 20 years?

In my earlier blog entry , I hadn't considered a viewpoint I saw in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper. That is, that the Democratic party gets significant support from labor unions. Thus, if the Republicans can "cripple" organized labor, they are essentially doing away with the opposition.

Right now there is a push by a group of conservative Republicans who are trying to take away the collective bargaining power of labor unions . The main battle-ground so far has been in Wisconsin , where Governor, Scott Walker , has not budged in his quest to destroy organized labor's power--despite the fact that unions have already agreed to concessions to wages and benefits. Democratic senators have fled to Illinois to prevent passage of this bill that would send workers' rights backwards more than a century. Remember this when you vote next time. Do you want the rich to get richer and the bulk of Americans to pay for it?

We got over a foot of snow again on Sunday and yesterday. I'm getting tired of shoveling!

At a safety training I learned that back pain is the number one pain affecting people at work. Interesting to note, pain-in-the-ass is number two.

Cutris Loses Super-Powers in a Bet UnAssociated Press February 16, 2011 Cutris has apparently lost his Super-Powers. Sources say that an evil troll bet him that he couldn't build a full-size replica of the Taj Mahal in less than 12 minutes. Cutris did it in 13 minutes, 27 seconds. Cutris was unavailable for comment at the time this story was printed.

Cutris Gets Super-Powers UnAssociated Press February 16, 2011 It seems that Cutris may have gotten Super-powers from eating some "poisonous berries." Here Cutris is shown taking a five-minute break from building an entire house. The entire job from start to finish took him less than half-an-hour! Here is the finished house that Cutris built out of a matchbook and a piece of string, in 28 minutes.

Curtis May Have Eaten Poison Berries! UnAssociated Press February 16, 2011 Sources today claim that Cutris may have eaten poison berries. No further information is available at this time.

I set this bowl down on the counter the other night and it spun around for almost half a minute! I did it again with the same result. Then I grabbed my camera and did it this third time! I just think it is kind of cool how long it goes.

If you are in charge, and your behavior has made at least two people that you are supervising cry--in the same day, you may want to consider reviewing your communications or decision-making strategies.

This little package from my wife was waiting for me when I got home yesterday. It was obviously for Valentine's Day which wasn't for five more days! I couldn't wait, so I opened it. Then, I thought maybe I should have waited until February 14th!!! So I re-wrapped it and left a note. Somehow, my wife seemed to know that I had opened it! Apparently it was okay that I did open it, but she didn't seem to "buy" the excuse on the note that said I hadn't opened it yet...

Once on I think it was Columbus Day or some lesser holiday, we were denied use of a coupon at IHop . Here IHop is advertising Valentine's Day dining coupons. Here I circled the disclaimer that might prevent you from using the coupon on Valentine's Day ...

Listening to a corporate consultant today, who was using acronyms and such, I came up with my own. In my opinion, Whims and Mismanagement are the biggest wasters of time and money. I think I will share that one with him tomorrow.

The game was good! Both teams played well and it was close. The Packers just played a little better than the Steelers . The half-time show was pretty bad. I was not very impressed with The Black Eyed Peas . There certainly are much better musical performers! Finally, the singing of the National Anthem by Christina Aguilera wasn't very good--and oh yeah, she forgot the words! I do have a suggestion (and I do sing lead for my band so I have some knowledge of this). One syllable words do not necessarily sound better when you make them into three syllable words! That might also be why Christina lost the flow and forgot what the words were supposed to be.

Work can be so stressful! So many of the problems (others have that) I have to "fix" are self-made. Honest scientific answers are not appreciated...

This method of protesting is cool!

Cutris Achieves Interplanetary Greatness UnAssociated Press January 27, 2011 Cutris has achieved interplanetary greatness according to numerous sources today. Among his recent legendary achievements, is the removal of QT prior to R180 distribution package deployment--insuring a successful outcome.

This window shattered in the subzero cold last week. I enlarged this section and enhanced the lighting. I think it is pretty awesome. -KJC

It was -14 degrees Fahrenheit (-25.56 Celsius) in the Twin Cities this morning...

Cutris Tells How to Avoid Bad Economy UnAssociated Press January 21, 2011 "In order to prevent future economic disasters, I have come up with a few rules. 1. "Don't have wars. Seriously, do you think funding a war in Afghanistan and a war in Iraq had anything to do with the USA going so far into debt? This, of course, does not even address the lives lost, people maimed and destruction. 2. "Don't let bankers and lawyers go unmonitored. Business that makes money from other money can deflate in a hurry. 3. "Create incentives for renewable energy. If you invent something to keep us from needing to use oil, you should be well compensated. Creativity is often best motivated by profit. 4. "Create domestic jobs. Jobs in Dubai don't help Americans. Without jobs Americans can't buy things. If that happens, who are you going to sell to? 5. "Create a healthcare system that is not reliant on employers providing coverage. How many jobs would this ...

Cutris Speaks to the World UnAssociated Press January 20, 2011 "While I am proud of being a citizen of the United States of America , our great country has been involved in things and in places that we should not be—often in pursuit of our addiction to oil. Had we stayed on the course that former President Jimmy Carter laid out during the energy crisis at the end of the 1970's, we may be in a much better situation today. Less fossil fuels and more renewable energy are needed for so many reasons; both economic and environmental. "While economic conditions have continued to decline, governmental bodies preach job creation, while simultaneously cutting government jobs and issuing 'stimulus packages' to artificially 'jump-start' the economy. The economy ruptured as a result of the greed of many people in the banking, real-estate and business sectors. Sending nearly all of our manufacturing business overseas after World War II , left formerly prosperous citie...

Cutris Takes Over Nova Scotia UnAssociated Press January 19, 2011 In rapid succession, Cutris has been taking over various cities, states and countries. Most recently he is reported to have taken over Nova Scotia . Apparently Cutris has also left a message with the United Nations , promising to cease his takeovers if he is allowed to make a statement and "get a few things off of his chest." When and if this occurs, the UnAssociated Press will be the first to bring you the report.

Cutris Has Taken over East Grand Forks UnAssociated Press January 19, 2011 Unconfirmed rumors state that Cutris appears to have taken over East Grand Forks , Minnesota this afternoon. No further information is available at this time.

Cutris Plans to Take Over the World UnAssociated Press January 19, 2011 Several world leaders expressed their concern today, that Cutris may try to take over the world. Apparently the fear began when Cutris exclaimed that he was fairly "unhappy with the way things are being run!" He also indicated that if he had to, he would "take over" and "make some changes." Furthermore, it is reported that in 1971, Cutris successfully staged an uprising and became supreme ruler of his sandbox. Legends of the event can be found at http:www.thecutrissandboxuprisingof1971.org/ . Cutris was unavailable for further comment at the time this story went to print.

This important notice was posted on the gas pump I used the other day. It was blank! What did it say? I seemed to have pumped my gas without incident though the important notice was blank !

We saw the movie Red yesterday. It has an all star cast; including, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker. For all of its violence, it is a comedy! John Malkovich is one of my favorite actors too.

Click on picture to enlarge.

I've been working on my latest (3rd) novel. I'm doing all the things that all the agents and publishers said I should do with my previous novel. "We'll" see if it really makes a difference. I'll try to put something funny on this blog soon...

Relentlessly pursuing every cent they can get out of their authors... More Note* I get my rights back for free later this year when my contract runs out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: noreply@publishamerica.com To: Cutris Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:03:09 -0500 Subject: Returning your book's rights Dear author: Your book He Who Goes First, has shown no sales for longer than a year. At this time you may want to have your book's publishing rights reverted back to you. We can arrange that. Go to www.publishamerica.net/RevertingRights.html and instruct us to return the rights to you. In the Ordering Instructions box, write your name and the title of your book. You will receive the termination documents by mail. There are no strings attached to this termination except the $99 processing fee that covers our administration costs and our de-listing obligations to vendors and/or wholesalers. You must choose a shipping option to acti...

Lots of "ones" in today's date...

This is a constant, light and very slippery snow. It's not so good for driving in.

When Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford and others were shot and/or killed in Tucson , Arizona Saturday, little was said about Arizona's lenient gun laws . While guns in general, are way too accessible in the U.S.A. (and being funneled into drug wars in places like Mexico) and "unstable" people can get them in pretty much any state, better control may have prevented Saturday's tragedy. Also in question is the ridiculously nasty fighting between the two political parties in the United States. While neither of them is fundamentally that different, the members spend enormous time, money and resources battling insignificant details. This has created a meanness that has split our people and pitted Democrats and Republicans against each other.

My wife and I decided to recycle our old cell phones through an organization that uses them to benefit the Great Apes . Besides the obvious benefits, there are also less obvious ones--such as reducing the need for mining in the few areas inhabited by several great ape species . It all makes sense to me now! Originally, I had thought maybe the apes felt left out because they didn't have cell phones; and that made me sad.

Walgreens frequently has coupons and specials in their newspaper ads. Some of the deals are pretty good--except for one problem. At least half of the time the sale items or specials are not in stock, unavailable, not yet arrived, or not carried by some stores. So I ask, what is the point?

Cutris replied to support@publishamerica.com See (below) Publish America's latest shameless attempt to get money from an author! Trying to squeeze that last nickel out of me huh? http://cutris.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-with-those-zany-publishamerica_02.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: noreply@publishamerica.com To: Cutris Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 06:02:50 -0500 Subject: Returning your book's rights Dear author: Your book He Who Goes First, has shown no sales for longer than a year. At this time you may want to have your book's publishing rights reverted back to you. We can arrange that. Go to www.publishamerica.net/RightsBack.html and instruct us to return the rights to you. In the Ordering Instructions box, write your name and the title of your book. You will receive the termination documents by mail. There are no strings attached to this termination except the $149 processing fee that covers our administration costs...

My wife and I went to see True Grit and Black Swan recently. Personally, I had some difficulty caring a lot about the ballet troop in Black Swan, though the depths that Natalie Portman's character sinks to psychologically are definitely interesting. I really liked True Grit. The characters were very well done. True to what you might expect from the Coen brothers , there is a lot of violence. Neither movie is really "family friendly," as there is both violence and sexual material in Black Swan. For the adults, both movies are worth seeing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We recorded "Someday Soon."

The darndest thing happened. St. Paul just cleaned up that big mess they made on our corner! After I sent them that link to my blog about it too. Now I really do have to say "thanks!"

Sunday is the last game of the season for the Minnesota Vikings . After a pretty horrible season, rooky quarterback, Joe Webb brought fans some hope by leading the team to a 24-14 victory over the Philadelphia eagles and Michael Vick on Tuesday. So why is there talk about putting Brett Favre back in as starting quarterback? Can the Vikings look to the future instead of the past? Can they do it just once? Maybe the team will have a future if we stop coddling Farve and develop Webb.

We struggle to keep the driveway and sidewalks shoveled and the fire hydrant uncovered and the plows come back on Sundays and on sunny days when it hasn't snowed, and repeatedly plow everything closed. You can see the corner where it was open and now it is up to the top of my wife's head!

We've gotten a lot of snow this winter. Especially when you consider winter has just officially started today. Here is a view of my drive home yesterday afternoon. It was only safe to go about 45 MPH because of how slippery the roads were. I seen one car in the ditch along this stretch of road. Of course, just minutes later, I was stopped in traffic heading toward downtown...

Stores keep advertising Door Buster Sales ! I guess if you bust their door(s) you get a good deal on merchandise. I thought I would try it, so I went to ShopMart and broke the front door. Not only didn't I get a good deal, they called the police! I ran away! I'm not shopping there anymore!

Fourth Metrodome Panel Fails UnAssociated Press December 16, 2010 A fourth roof panel has failed at the Metrodome in Minneapolis . Heavy snow from last weekend had already caused three panels to fail--necessitating the Vikings to find other venues for their last two home games of the season. The Vikings organization has been trying to get a new stadium and only has one more year on their contract in the Metrodome. Inside sources say that during the latest failure of the roof, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was seen running from the top of the Metrodome's roof with a penknife. This report had not been substantiated at the time of this printing.

We got something like 17" of snow in the Twin Cities on Saturday. Then, it got windy and drifted. Even the roof of the Metrodome collapsed! I spent a lot of time snowblowing and shoveling over the weekend. My wife and I also made homemade eggrolls. Boy were they good after a couple of hours of moving snow!

I had a dental appointment earlier today. I mentioned that I have a "sensitive" tooth, so the hygienist proceeded to jab my tooth and gums around that area with a sharp steel tool... repeatedly jabbing and poking... "There is some inflammation," she said several painful minutes later. "It seems to be bleeding right there." (I couldn't talk because someone was in my mouth with an instrument of torture, but I'm thinking...) Well yeah!!! Do you mean to tell me that jabbing a sharp, metal object into that area repeatedly would cause inflammation and bleeding??? I'm pretty sure it only just started bleeding now... Huh... must be why it hurt so damn bad when you were doing it...

I was remembering back years ago, to when we used to play Foosball between (band) sets over at Dave's house. Now that the weather is cold and we don't want to sit on the patio, I wondered why we ever stopped playing? Then I walked back to where the Foosball table is and I remembered.

Brains are so interesting. I once heard that if you didn't have a brain, you couldn't do anything! Think about that! Ha! You used your brain. If I had to guess, I'd say it was around 16 or 17 years ago that Dave's (now grown-up) daughter, Holly drew these pictures. Dave and I had been playing music and making cable TV shows under the label of No Budget Productions. We had created many strange and wonderful songs, characters and skits. There was no doubt that both of our brains must be somewhat different from that of average people. Kevin's & Dave's Brains Then one day Dave discovered that his young daughter had drawn the exact diagram of each of our brains. He labeled each one, and they've been hanging on the wall of his basement (in our band practice area) ever since. The realism and exactness of these drawings still astounds me! Click photo to enlarge. You can see in the renderings, that Dave's brain is all over the place, yet still contained wi...

I think $449 for Charmin toilet paper is a bit expensive--even if that is for the "convenient 1,000 pack!"

By Kevin J. Curtis, Captain Picard’s Voice: “Captain’s log, Star Date 173498.7. We are in the Commodious System surveying Interstellar Plankton. My First Officer, Commander Riker is experiencing irregularity.” The scene is on the Bridge of the Enterprise., “Are you still unable to go number 2, Number One?” asked Picard. “Negative Captain,” replied Commander Riker. “I’ve tried everything. I’ve even read an entire Romulan screenplay, while I was trying to ‘go,’ and nothing!” “Have you seen Dr. Crusher about this?” asked Picard. “Yes,” replied Riker. “She gave me a hypo-spray, but so far it has not helped me to go number 2.” “That’s highly irregular Number One,” replied the Captain. “Normally Dr. Crusher’s hypos will have a person going number 2 in no time!” “You should try prune juice,” said Mr. Worf. “It is a warrior’s drink!” “You know,” said Picard, “Mr. Worf may have something there. Humans have been using prune juice to facilitate going number 2 for centuries, Number One.” “...

If Minnesota has a budget surplus now, but will have a deficit later (like we were told yesterday), could "we" take the surplus and put it into the bank to use later?

By Kevin J. Curtis “We’re getting the new sign today,” said Harland Butz—owner of what had been known as the Mr. Butz Dairy for well over a century. As the crew took down the old sign and replaced it with the new, Butz Family Dairy, sign, Harland sighed. He looked at the small group of visitors that he was leading in a tour. “I guess that’s the end of an era,” he said. “How come you decided to change the name?” asked one visitor. “That’s a good question,” said Mr. Butz. Then he began to tell the story. “The Mr. Butz Dairy has been in the family for 114 years. While the building has been remodeled, the products and philosophy are largely unchanged. Dairy products such as specialty cheeses, milk and butter are created on site and in view of the visiting public. In fact, the daily tours are a big part of the operation’s success. “The store sells a variety of grocery and convenience store products. Most in demand, however, are the Butz products that are manufactured in the adjoining bui...

Dear Kevin Curtis: We are in receipt of your email concerning your contract for He Who Goes First. As you have indicted that you do not wish to renew the contract, your contract will expire and your book will go out of print on 3/29/2011. This email serves as your written notice of such. Thank you and have a good day, HannahPublishAmerica Supporthannah@publishamerica.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Kevin Curtis Sent: Thu 12/02/10 7:59 AM To: PublishAmerica Just in case my previous email wasn't clear, NO I DO NOT WANT TO RENEW MY CONTRACT. Kevin J. Curtis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Kevin Curtis To: PublishAmerica Subject: RE: Contract Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2010 07:47:15 -0600 Hi PublishAmerica! You guys make me laugh! In July you wanted me to pay you $99 to "return my rights." Now you want me to sign for another 7 years!!! The movie for my book is on hold until after ...