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At 8:00 AM I wake to the sound of a small plane getting ready to land on our lake. “The plane! The plane!” I hear someone yell. In my excitement, I can’t unzip my tent to get out of it. Good thing this was not a bear attack. I busily start breaking down my tent and packing away my Thermarest and sleeping bag. I then hear the bad news. “It’s not ours.” The competition, another air service, finally returned to break-down the other (better) camp site. Thanks guys, but it would have been nice if you did that 3 days ago. The others start eatingRead More →

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I awaken in to morning to about a dozen mosquitoes on my tent, hoping I get close enough to the mesh flap that they can bite me though it. Turns out, some already have. There is hum that fills the woods. The hum of mosquitoes. It’s no fun being hunted. At breakfast, we decide to regroup and figure out what to do. Dan still isn’t having fun. Jayson thinks we should either take the boat out of the lake and all the way back to civilization – he’s checked his maps and it’s possible – or hike our way out. Kevin and I still thinkRead More →

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We awaken early, after about 5 hours of sleep, to a warm reception. Apparently we picked the right yard. We were lucky enough to have coffee with honey (it’s an Alaska thing, I don’t understand) and biscuits with tundra berry jelly. We’re told not to miss lunch at the Eureka Lodge because it is excellent. We wait our way though the road construction and make it to Eureka two hours later. Perhaps the anticiaption was too great, because the food was only average, through the staff was very friendly. We did get a great view of the Eureka glacier from the front of the restaurant,Read More →

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I’d finished packing my backpack the night before so I could work a half day before heading to the airport. This was not the best idea, as I felt like I left 10 loose ends behind. Regardless, Nicole and I had a quick lunch a Arby’s and said our good byes. The trip officially begins. I brought a pistol with me for bear protection. It was taken into the airport in a locked case and I was surprised how easy the check-in process was. A couple of hours into my layover at Denver, Kevin Colon finds the gate. It’s great to see him again. WeRead More →

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In: Entertainment
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There are always some great “bubble” shows that may or may not get renewed because they just don’t have quite enough viewers. Here are my favorites that did make the cut: How I Met Your Mother: I find this show more enjoyable than any other comedy on television. Watch The Office just plain makes me uncomfortable. If you know what “Swarley” and “Slap Bet” are, you know what I mean. Luckily CBS is keeping HIMYM around for another season. Friday Night Lights: The best drama on TV. NBC needs some major hits since their ratings stink. This show is not a major ratings hit, butRead More →

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The Class: This show was not very funny; I stopped watching after the pilot. But somehow my wife and I watched a few episodes later in the season. They had re-tooled the cast and the story, and it worked beautifully. The show became an evolved version of Friends. But the first half of the season must have turned-away too many views and it was too late to be saved. Too bad this show won’t be picked up by another network. Veronica Mars: A great show, an almost perfect show, that did everything right but found it impossible to find a substantial audience. The show hasRead More →

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My favorite portion of the TV season is mid-May. The sweeps period is ending. There are multiple new episodes of (pretty much) every show. There are Season Finales that wrap-up the season and make you look forward to next September. There are Series Finales that let you say “good bye” to your favorite shows. There are “advertiser up-fronts” by each of the major networks, detailing their renewals and new shows for the next season. Unfortunately, there are also the unexpected/unwanted cancellations, but at least you find out for sure that a show will not be back. Thus begins my once-a-year flurry of television-related posts. OverRead More →

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As Nicole mentioned mentioned in a post today, we were completely snowed-in until a entrepreneurial BobCat operator cleared our driveway (see her blog entry for pictures.) I was thankful for the modern mechanical marvel, especially given the fact that I spent an hour-and-a-half clearing the driveway last night only to have my work completely erased by snow drifts during the night. Seeing all the snow and the machinery makes me think of a pretty amazing piece of equipment designed to function in a similar environment, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser. I first learned of the novel approach to polar exploration about 4 years ago when someoneRead More →

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About my Integra: Common Failures: Ignition Coil: Car will die suddenly while driving. Car may or may not immediately restart. Eventually, the car will not restart until the engine compartment cools down. The ignition coil is located in the engine compartment. Ignition Relay: The car will not start when the passenger compartment is extremely hot. Usually, when you turn the key to the “on” position, you will hear a faint click coming from the relay above the drivers left knee. The relays start to fail and will not switch on when the passenger compartment is hot. Turning the key on and off repeatedly will eventuallyRead More →

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Nicole had another doctors appointment today. Since it was going to be a multi-hour ordeal and I was working, I didn’t go with her. She called me and I was nervous as to whether or not it would be good news or bad news. I was afraid to ask and we talked for a minute or two before she casually mentioned that she heard the heart beat. I can’t believe it — our little speck has a heart beat! I could hardly speak I was so surprised and excited! This is definitely good news! I was curious what our little speck was like, so IRead More →