tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44737386556094729242009-05-03T21:25:20.519-04:00Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-23671255468745893552009-04-03T10:18:00.002-04:002009-04-03T10:26:52.747-04:00

My dad sent me this today. It brought a smile to my face. I hope it does the same for you.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------World Ideologies as Explained by Reference to Cows--------------------------------------------------------------------------------FeudalismYou have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.Pure SocialismYou have two cows. The

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-20891947809576694572009-03-19T22:18:00.002-04:002009-03-19T22:19:39.146-04:00

I have some plans for some upcoming actual content, but until then here's something to fill the space:

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-6170407076323456892009-03-08T14:58:00.010-04:002009-03-08T20:57:09.574-04:00

Whenever I tell someone that I roast my own coffee they look at me like I just dropped in from Mars and then they ask "How do you roast your own coffee? Isn't it hard?".Roasting coffee yourself is easy. Really. If a person can make popcorn, they can roast coffee. There are many methods to roast coffee at home. There are even appliances dedicated to home coffee roasting. The method I use and

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-16663622577554001882009-03-04T11:00:00.000-05:002009-03-04T11:00:51.223-05:00

Resource Investor - Should You Put Gold into Your IRA?Holding gold (or other precious metals) in an IRA is easy. But, it's not for everyone. This is a nice article with some things to think about when deciding whether to hold gold in an IRA.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-21495757987412206572009-02-21T07:46:00.000-05:002009-02-21T07:46:13.067-05:00

Tony's Restaurant of Birch Run wanted for Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" - Mid-Michigan Business News - Flint, Saginaw, Bay City Business - MLive.comMan, I gotta get there. Sounds wonderful.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-18512246147817007822009-02-09T20:23:00.002-05:002009-02-09T20:33:32.888-05:00

Lately I have been reading through The Federalist Papers. The other day I came across some great quotes from Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 8 first published Tuesday, November 20, 1787:Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-84799980964672215492009-02-01T22:29:00.002-05:002009-02-01T22:31:36.956-05:00

This video demonstrates some presspot techniques that I haven't tried before but might be worth a shot. Pulling the grounds off before pressing will make for easier cleanup if nothing else.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-78613271265882270702009-01-30T21:04:00.000-05:002009-01-30T21:04:29.429-05:00

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Offline GmailThis is pretty cool. Next up on the wish list: offline calendar and Google Docs. Google is very close to making it completely unnecessary to install an office (e.g. MS Office, OpenOffice, etc.) software suite on my computer.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-57818968015222176312009-01-29T22:16:00.000-05:002009-01-29T22:16:04.667-05:00

FT.com / US & Canada - Obama slams Wall Street over bonusesSending these clowns a no-strings attached bailout was bad enough. Now they are just adding insult to injury. When the banks are paying these bonuses out of their own profits, that's one thing and I'm OK with that. It's a tried and true method to attract and retain top talent. But, when they start paying these bonuses with our tax

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-62735518021904222622008-12-21T18:08:00.004-05:002008-12-21T18:12:50.947-05:00

It's the first day of winter. Somehow it looks a lot like the last four weeks of fall. Here are some pics from the neighborhood:

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-86332281081962078292008-12-03T22:59:00.004-05:002008-12-03T23:09:34.274-05:00

Friday morning, November 21st I woke up to our first real big snow of the season. We'd already had several smaller snows. Nothing compares to the first really good snowfall though.Of course, now that it's been a couple of weeks of repeated dumpings like this, the novelty is wearing thin. By the time Christmas is past us, I'll be ready for the snow to go away altogether. But, like an unwelcome

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-88397942383192387752008-12-03T16:24:00.003-05:002008-12-03T16:28:34.077-05:00

I voted for my picks for the 2009 NHL All Star Game. Have you? Go here to vote: http://fanballoting.nhl.com/vote.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-18486554440722861922008-12-03T10:47:00.000-05:002008-12-03T10:47:58.795-05:00

Grand Rapids high school students cannot get failing grade under new policy - Grand Rapids News - The Grand Rapids Press Online - Michigan Newspaper - MLive.comWhat? I thought this was a joke at first. What happened to failure being the best teacher? We are becoming a nation of lazy, do-nothings that expect to be bailed out at the first hint of trouble. Sheesh.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-5248902915452914432008-11-13T21:17:00.000-05:002008-11-13T21:17:34.021-05:00

Ex-Tiger Mason named pitching coach for Beach Bums | The Detroit News | detnews.comThis is kind of neat to have a Tiger connection with the Beach Bums. Not that I didn't already enjoy a nice summer evening lounging on the outfield berm at Wuerfel Park.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-63769979800844454762008-11-09T00:19:00.002-05:002008-11-09T00:22:25.056-05:00

There is some truth to this:

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-53107545095828828582008-11-05T07:23:00.002-05:002008-11-05T08:26:20.229-05:00

The following is a journal of our recent trip to Florida.Friday, October 17, 2008Pack the car and drive to Romulus, MI to spend the night. Romulus is about a 3-1/2 hour drive from Cadillac where we live. We parked at an off-airport facility and our hotel stay gave us 8 days of free parking at the lot. Since we would be gone for 10 days, only paying for 2 days was a good trade off. We live in

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-73318607127256543682008-10-14T23:41:00.002-04:002008-10-14T23:45:10.643-04:00

Just finished day 1 of my no soda pop experiment. So far, so good. It's easier than I imagined it would be. Probably the toughest time is right around 5-ish in the afternoon. Why am I doing this? Because I feel I am getting far too much sugar in my diet right now. Cutting out the Dr Pepper and the Coke was an easy way to start cutting down.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-19089933067194710132008-09-19T07:25:00.001-04:002008-09-19T07:25:58.975-04:00

The Official site for International Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19Avast ye scurvy dogs! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Have some fun with family, friends and co-workers by using some pirate vernacular today. You're sure to get some funny looks at lunch or dinner when you break out with "Well, me hearties, let’s see what crawled out of the bung hole." See the link

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-45833924287913232682008-09-12T07:17:00.000-04:002008-09-12T07:17:04.059-04:00

Five New Favorable Developments in Housing TaxationWow, there's some good stuff in here to be aware of for home owners for the coming tax season.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-36343215692539273472008-08-10T09:36:00.000-04:002008-08-10T09:36:06.426-04:00

Petoskey News-Review - Sports - Stanley Cup coming to Traverse CityJust in case you don't have plans on Labor Day. The Cup will be in Traverse City September 1 with Dallas Drake. Cool!

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-56115509682567228022008-07-31T17:53:00.000-04:002008-07-31T17:53:40.899-04:00

Bowman leaves Wings for BlackhawksIt's been a quiet summer around here. This caught my eye today though. So long Scotty, we'll miss you. I can understand Scotty Bowman going to the Blackhawks. He'll get to work closely with his son. By now Scotty Bowman has probably taught Mike Babcock everything he possbily can anyway. Hopefully Scotty Bowman can make a positive impact on the Blackhawks

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-39304505641117659552008-06-04T23:20:00.002-04:002008-06-05T23:49:30.391-04:00

Highlights from game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. Woot! I hope the Penguins fans enjoyed watching the Red Wings hoist the cup. I'm sure they will enjoy it even more in a year or two when the Penguins are hoisting the cup. The Red Wings were better this time. The Penguins have a great, young core moving forward and will challenge for the cup again.This is

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-33842778608671129942008-06-03T21:14:00.004-04:002008-06-03T21:18:47.797-04:00

Oh my. Who would've thought the Red Wings would come out flatter than yesterday's Vernors? For the first and second periods the Red Wings didn't look very good. Give the Penguins some credit, they came out flying and kept up the pace all night long. Under the new rules, speed is everything. Here's hoping the Red Wings can find their legs in time for game 6 Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-36374180200903364692008-06-01T13:11:00.002-04:002008-06-01T13:13:52.348-04:00

Woot! The Red Wings lead the best of seven series 3-1 now. Monday night the Red Wings will have a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice. Game 4 was a close game but the Red Wings looked like they were in charge the whole time. Pittsburgh looked like they were having a tough time finding open space on the ice to work with. Go Wings!

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473738655609472924.post-35302406546145071202008-05-30T23:04:00.005-04:002008-05-30T23:35:12.728-04:00

My 6 year old daughter had her dance recital today. Of course, proud parents that we are, we recorded some of it. It was rather informal as dance recitals go. The kids really seemed to have a good time though. Some pics from the recital:

Michael Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01866085953233253500noreply@blogger.com0