tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55430512009-10-22T08:16:34.806-07:00.Thoughts from wherever we happen to beMikenoreply@blogger.comBlogger421125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-81071985512028309562009-10-22T08:15:00.001-07:002009-10-22T08:16:34.825-07:00Groupon.comQuite possibly the coolest site I've seen in a long time. Collective bargaining power at its best! If you're outside of Portland, just go to Groupon.com and it should pull up your city.Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-56345890391400273362009-10-14T22:04:00.000-07:002009-10-14T22:21:50.538-07:00I know my rights!Apparently, the Finnish government has just finalized legislation making it a right for each of its 5.5 million residents to have a one mega-bit broadband connection by July 2010 and 100 mb by 2015.I recently read that, as of the beginning of the year, the US ranks 15th in worldwide broadband adoption. I know we have a few more folks than our Finnish friends, but seriously, Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-20450927914172311382009-10-14T07:04:00.000-07:002009-10-14T07:08:36.079-07:00As I sit waking up on the couch, the sound of the traffic outside is amplified by the water on the road. Yep, it's that time of the year. Last week was a bit chilly, but gorgeous. Just a few days later the forecast is rain each day with temps in the sixties. This week also marks our fifth anniversary in Oregon and, I have to confess, I am less enthusiastic about the oncoming wet season than Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-25596539111281997082009-09-25T17:59:00.000-07:002009-09-25T18:04:14.803-07:00Oh, snap!New Sufjan. This ain't your Grandpa's beat-infused jazzy folk.Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-10249052775450377612009-09-13T12:42:00.000-07:002009-09-13T12:48:41.945-07:00I'm losing it...Katie's been out-of-town at a workshop since Tuesday. It's always the same. The first few days, I've got enough work, school, etc to keep me busy. After about day four, I get a little loopy. By day five, I'm googling "Hilarious Pictures" to keep my morale up (see below). This is the kind of thing that keeps me sane...which is probably a sign that it's far too late. I want myMikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-25464140929828185252009-09-05T23:23:00.000-07:002009-09-06T00:20:50.085-07:00Ch-Ch-ChangesYep, this is going to be another one of those posts...the type where we play catch-up from being off the blogger grid for months. Not sure how much folks really blog anymore, though. Have they fallen out-of-favor with the latest facetweet thingamajig?Well, in brief, we're good. Katie's just started her third year at her school and has already sold a few hundred tickets for her Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-11569362878255068992009-08-17T11:35:00.001-07:002009-08-17T11:36:36.530-07:00it's august. we're alive.we've been traveling.and living. and enjoying it.ciao.Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-46322930686658190902009-03-28T17:28:00.000-07:002009-03-28T17:38:33.428-07:00Some old memoriesMikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-30486472388035377392009-03-24T11:32:00.000-07:002009-03-24T11:40:29.936-07:00SpringIt's technically spring. But it's 40* and raining here in Portland. I know, I know... you southerners are saying "it always rains up there." Not so. It's really beautiful at times. It does make for a restful week.I am headed to the beach in a couple hours for 2 days- sans Hubby. No, nothing is wrong or difficult in our marriage right now. He can't get any time off and that's all i need! So,Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-89897781930750301102009-03-20T15:36:00.001-07:002009-03-20T15:38:11.257-07:00It's spring break. I need rest. I have been thinking for a while about starting a blog... I know I might have missed the "cool" bandwagon earlier as I am late in doing this. But it has been nagging me for a while to start writing therapeutically. I might not make it public. It might sometimes be rated R. But this is what I am thinking today... KatieMikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-47647485677740933622009-02-19T17:25:00.000-08:002009-02-19T17:31:18.946-08:00RestHaven’t blogged much lately; been too busy…for a lot of things. Too busy to spend time with good friends. Too busy to read something that wasn’t assigned. Too busy to just relax and think about nothing-in-particular. For this reason, and because I’m not getting any younger, Katie encouraged me to go to the doctor to get a physical. It’s been quite some time since I got the general Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-51174272680960360352009-02-01T16:57:00.000-08:002009-02-01T17:19:56.156-08:00The Big DanceWhen I was little, since age 3-4, I used to put on these "shows" for my parents and any guests they would have over. I would first put all my younger siblings into costume, according to the "show's headline" and then stretch with them in the dining room. At the exact moment of "lights up" (which only meant my dad pressed play on the tape recorder) we would run into the room together Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-2459275712408434472009-01-28T18:05:00.001-08:002009-01-28T18:08:54.068-08:00mmm...nostalgia...My buddy Jay stumbled across this old picture of some of the DJ's from the old college radio station - KANM. I'm not used to my college memories being nearly a decade old. This can't be right.Despite this picture looking a little 90210-ish, we were really hardcore. I swear.Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-50465898429200922612009-01-25T15:34:00.001-08:002009-01-25T15:34:22.525-08:00i turned 29. this feels really old. kMikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-75998225355544830612009-01-03T23:13:00.001-08:002009-01-04T00:15:49.856-08:00another post about resolutions...really?Yep! Time for the obligatory post around New Year's about all the stuff we failed to change last year and are dead-set on quitting in the year to come. In all honesty, it's been a good year. Some of last year's resolutions stuck, some didn't. While I stopped drinking aspartame-infused diet colas, I'm still a sucker for those darn Jonas Brothers. Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-2004177141694024592008-12-17T13:01:00.000-08:002008-12-17T13:46:33.030-08:00But what goes on our Christmas cards? It's 2008. Almost 2009. Mike and I have been married for 6 years now. We are working full-time. We have no kids. Nothing has really changed in the past year. So, in deciding what to put on our Christmas cards this year, I am at a loss. I feel very humbled at God's love for me. His patience and teaching at the exact moments I need them often bring my thoughts Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-4325921183574255422008-11-27T20:20:00.000-08:002008-11-27T20:28:19.824-08:00Happy ThanksgivingToo serious? Okay...Love to our families. We miss you!Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-67787668257364835262008-11-22T14:48:00.000-08:002008-11-22T14:49:07.056-08:00Giraffes!!Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-79532501389338304432008-11-11T16:03:00.003-08:002008-11-11T16:12:56.708-08:00Mark your calendars: Nov 23 - The ApocalypseThat's right, Guns n' Roses is releasing its first album in 17 years. The band (really just Axl and a bunch of other hacks for whom this is somehow a career-building move) has elected to have the album, Chinese Democracy, distributed exclusively through Best Buy.In this hyper-stressed, economically exhausted environment, I think this might be the Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-13488840301651959382008-11-08T19:56:00.004-08:002008-11-08T20:12:25.579-08:00making it all fitAn Op-Ed was just published in the New York Times by none other than Al Gore regarding the need to move forward aggressively to fix the climate crisis in the afterglow of the recent election. There’s nothing too surprising here coming from Gore; he’s been beating the same drum for some time now. Whether you’re a fan or not, ears continue to perk up as the crisis (both economic Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-79666006762973824512008-11-06T08:29:00.002-08:002008-11-06T08:31:52.522-08:00On Making HistoryIf there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-41709034670437793422008-11-01T14:53:00.003-07:002008-11-01T15:07:26.678-07:00november 1Is it too early for Christmas songs? I think this one isn't too premature, as it's seasonal fervor is tempered by Dave Bazan's classic spirit of doubt. I rarely feel as conflicted as his songs sound, but his constant sense of questioning is always very refreshing to me. Not that I necessarily share it too often, but I appreciate the fact that most of us probably do at times...he justMikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-23237027443576823522008-10-27T20:09:00.002-07:002008-10-27T20:46:10.321-07:00 four yearsRoughly 1500 days ago, Katie and I moved into a small, musty apartment at the foot of the West Hills in the biggest city in the 33rd state to join the union. We said it after the first year, the second year and we'll hopefully say it after the twentieth: "I could live here forever." "Forever" really means "indefinitely" because, well, you never know what's going to happen. But for Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-22879881157239709282008-10-17T22:33:00.002-07:002008-10-17T22:43:59.036-07:00work blowsEvery once in a while, it's nice to get out of the office. We had a site dedication for one of our recently completed wind farms in the Columbia Gorge and I headed out with a few others from my department for a day in the field. The staggering size of these "gentle giants" is, well, staggering. Mikenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543051.post-85586493847419999342008-10-10T17:19:00.004-07:002008-10-10T17:25:54.621-07:00So today I heard...That 72% of doctor visits in the last month have been attributed to stress-related illnesses.That the stock market dropped again... and that we are facing another depression. That the Haitian village that our church has adopted is suffering from potential violent flooding.I love life because we can laugh freely and lightheartedly, even at bad times like this. This really makes Mikenoreply@blogger.com0