I am CuTRis

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

I saw theis Redtail yesterday near downtown St. Paul. I was walking on the Wabasha bridge across the Mississippi River.

Yesterday as I came home from work, someone in a parked car swung a door into the mirror of my car as I drove past. It was just bad luck, but at least the child who swung the rear door of the SUV open was not injured. Our vehicles, however, were damaged. It adds to the many things that have been on my mind lately. I'm contemplating a job change, as a life-changing experience is on the horizon. I've been fixing and painting things--and there just seems to be more waiting when I finish. Still, life is grand most of the time.

Here are More Pictures at Harriet Island and Raspberry Island in St. Paul. I took these pictures yesterday.

Tuesday in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The dew point was 83 and the heat index was 119. Today it is beautiful!

With temperatures in the 90's (Fharenheit) and dew point s in the 80's, it is pretty hot here in the "Great White North." Hot in the City

Photos taken from Harriet Island .

The Minnesota budget disagreement was settled. Thank god the rich were spared from more taxes! $700 million was diverted away from K-12 education (like what happened last year when Tim Pawlenty, who was then Governor, said he "balanced" the budget) to end the government shutdown.

Minnesota Politicians... we the people of Minnesota think you suck and we want our state back. Your party (i.e. GOP vs. DFL) battles are not more important than the people.

I'm supposed to be enjoying my summer off and last week I did. I've enclosed pictures from Como Zoo and the Dragon Festival . Lately, More recently I've been working a lot... Lily Giraffe Bonsai Polar bear Dragon Festival

My wife and I went hiking at the Tamarack Nature Center on July 4th. Aside from the Deer flies , it was great!

The 4th of July!

My wife and I had to fix a rotten window frame on the garage. Of course it took way too long since we hadn't done it before, but I think our custom made frame looks good! After demolishing old frame After cutting, fitting & sealing new frame Completed!

This excersize place went out of business in 2010. Could it have been for false advertising ?

The city lakes seem to have more fish than the ones up north!

June 12, 2011 We left St. Paul at 8:30 AM. We stopped for lunch in Two Harbors , and saw a moose along the road near the Cascade River. We stopped at Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais to buy minnows for bait. Then we drove 48 miles up the Gunflint Trail to Heston's Lodge where we checked into the White Pine cabin at about 3:30 PM. We went canoeing on Gunflint Lake , which is divided down the center and half is in Minnesota and half is in Canada. I think we were slightly over into Canada when the wind came up, and we had to paddle hard to get back. After dinner we went fishing off the dock. We found the same radio station we listened to last year ; 105.3FM, the Giant . June 13, 20100 At 5:00 AM we went fishing from the dock. It was 5 degrees Celsius, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After we stopped to make breakfast burritos, we rented a boat and motor for four hours. Besides fishing until Noon, we also stopped at “Campers Island.” Our early and busy day, caused us to nap after we got...

Duluth , Minnesota is a Traffic Nightmare. There has been construction on I-35 for about three years and it is down to a single lane with no shoulder through town. I’ve been caught in this every year lately, as I go through this otherwise interesting town. This past Saturday, Duluth hosted Grandma’s Marathon . For some reason when we came through about 1:30 PM (returning from our trip up the Gunflint Trail), Someone who is apparently an idiot had decided to close the ramps onto south I-35, and route traffic through downtown Duluth into the aftermath of the Grandma’s Marathon. There were no signs to direct us through, and half of the streets in the downtown were closed. We were stuck in traffic, being funneled deeper into the mass of traffic generated by the race. After an hour, I finally managed to find my way out and unto the single-lane of the freeway that seems to be forever under construction. So who’s “bright idea” was it to funnel all of the traffic into downtown instead of allev...

My wife and I spent the last four days up the Gunflint Trail. We're back in Grand Marais now. Watch for photos soon.

The buck bus stops here!

Yesterday the Minneapolis/St. Paul area hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit and was the hottest place in the nation!

Cutris strolled up to the microphone, tapped it, and then began to speak. "His name is 'Representative Weiner,' did he ever really have a chance? "People are now analyzing Mr. Weiner ..." Someone walked up to the podium and beckoned to Cutris . The man whispered something to Cutris . "What?" said Cutris irritatedly. "His name is Anthony??? Are you sure?" The person whispered something else to Cutris , and then sat back down. Cutris cleared his throat and continued. "Based on recent information I have no further comment." Cutris exited the stage.

Over the weekend I saw some people swinging around from ropes on the side of a big building in downtown St. Paul . It was part of the Flint Hills International Children's Festival . So whenever something like this is going on, people always warn you, "Don't try this at home!" I didn't listen! When I got home, I was hanging from the top of my garage from a clothesline doing some really cool stunts while Metallica was playing in the background! Then all of a sudden, the clothesline broke! I fell almost three feet to the ground! Wow! I sure learned my lesson! I'm going to stop at the hardware store and get some rope before I try that again!

Cutris Uses Book Royalties to Buy M & M's UnAssociated Press June 3, 2011 After selling one million copies of his novel Cottonwood , (including his Amazon sales ), Cutris says he is ready to make a big purchase! When the UAP asked him what he planned to buy, Cutris replied that he was planning to buy a large bag of M&M'S . This seemed like an awfully small purchase for a man who has sold a million copies of his novel Cottonwood , (including his Amazon sales ), so we at the UnAssociated Press decided to ask him about it. AP: So why aren't you going to buy something big? A million copies is a lot of books to sell. Cutris: Yes, that is true. However, when you are a relatively unknown author, the publisher keeps most of the profits. If you have an agent, they get their cut. By the time you get back to the author, there isn't very much money left. AP: How much do you think you've made so far? Cutris: Let's see... One million sold, minus publisher...

One Million Sold! UnAssociated Press June 2, 2011 Cutris has sold one million copies of his novel Cottonwood according to one source today. When asked about it Cutris replied, "Yeah probably, if you count the Amazon sales ."

Yesterday my wife and I went to Journey's Backyard BBQ to see the Plain White T's . It was a free show in the parking lot of the Maplewood Mall. Here are a couple of photos --including one of my wife with lead vocalist and guitarist, Tom Higgenson. Click here to hear, "Hey There Delilah"

Cutris had worked two jobs and then cleaned out the garage attic afterward. It was after 11:00PM when he finally went to bed. The next morning he woke up later than usual. It was almost 4:30 AM. Exhaustion was slowly catching up to him. As the afternoon went on, Cutris began referring to himself in the fourth-person.

Cutris Kills Rat UnAssociated Press May 26, 2011 This photo of Cutris emerged this morning, with the explanation that he killed this large rat in his neighbor's garage. Click on picture to Enlarge

Cutris Finds Rare Invisible Duck in Mojave Desert UnAssociated Press May 24, 2011 Cutris has apparently found a rare, invisible duck in the Mojave Desert --according to an anonymous source named Steve. Cutris was allegedly tipped off to the duck's whereabouts by a magic, Largemouth Bass that he met down by the Minnesota River . The type of invisible duck that Cutris found is unknown, because after all, it was invisible . No further information was available about either Cutris or the rare, invisible duck at the time of this printing.

My condolences to those affected by recent tornadoes in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

How can we be so sure it is Arnold's baby?

Not quite understanding the concept of the Chinese explosion-proof lamp, North Korea has begun testing the military applications of exploding old Soviet light bulbs . This has prompted China to create exploding watermelons . Wow... we are all so scared now!

I don't understand the allure of watching people (or animals) fight and injure (or kill) each other. The thought makes me doubt that humanity has progressed very far. Here is my thought... I would watch a movie about a war, but I probably wouldn't want to watch the real war. There is a difference. Fighting for entertainment so that a bunch of drunk people can gain satisfaction by watching violence, is hardly a good reason to fight.

Somehow I find this photo amusing... It's actually even funnier considering I took the picture at Dick Blick .

Once upon a time there was an evil queen, known as the Black Queen. She was very dumb and needed lots of help from her court in order to keep rigid control of the subjects in her kingdom. The evil queen had an axe that she liked to swing around at people. Though she tried to pretend to be nice, it was plain to see that she was nasty as could be. Also in the kingdom was a prince. The prince was unable to concentrate on anything for very long, but he was extremely loyal to the evil queen. He would send anyone to the dungeon if they disagreed with the queen. So, the evil prince kept the evil queen happy and she kept him safe. The subjects of the kingdom were growing unhappy, because the kingdom was run simply to keep the queen and the prince rich and powerful. Meanwhile the subjects were just there to do all of the work. While the queen and prince frequently told the subjects that they were important and valued, their words did not mirror their actions and so no one believed much of what ...

He watched as the powerful ones attempted to control the truth. So much energy was spent in the attempt to control the others. So much wasted effort was used in trying to force their will on those who would have willingly followed if the leaders were only smart and compassionate. The voices could be stifled temporarily, but opportunities would present themselves and the falseness of the leaders would fall out of the cloak of concealment. He almost felt sorry for them. How pitiful they were for wasting so much life on creating their own little dictatorship. Out there... the real world existed--away from this false hierarchy. If they tried to follow him into the wilderness, they would become lost and cry out as the elements took them away. Only the spirit matters so much. Matters of the soul can be cherished and sought after. All the money and power on this earth will never be as valuable as how true and kind you were in life. Money and power will not matter as much as what knowledge ...

Is it because they were harboring a known terrorist leader (i.e. Osama bin Laden)? Is it because the USA went in and killed bin Laden in the middle of their country next to their military installation and they were unable to do anything about it? Is it because the USA is giving them billions of dollars in aid to combat terrorism? Is it because the USA didn't warn Pakistan that a SEAL team was coming to end Osama bin Laden because if we had, bin Laden would also have been warned? I would just like to say, "Boo hoo, and quit your whining!"

The Landmark Center is such a cool looking building.

In case your "R" gets dirty. Also helpful to cleanup those "R" ratings

Fly me to the Moon, and no worries my friend . -K

My wife and I have been married for three years!