Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

This past weekend Kelsey, myself, Kristen, and Cameron all headed up to Bayfield, WI to check out the sea caves at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It was about a 4 hour drive up there, where we had a cabin at Woodside Cottages for the weekend. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture, but it was very nice, and the staff was great as well.

Saturday after lunch we drove around to Meyers Beach, where you park and walk out. It's about a mile to the first caves, right across the frozen ice of Lake Superior.

Here's Kristen and Cameron, ready to head down the stairs to the beach.Kelsey and myself.
There's a bit of an ice wall where the surf freezes over.
There were a lot more people than I expected. It seems this is quite the attraction in the area. The caves aren't accessible in the summer, as there's no beach in front of them. Here you can see a bit of the crown walking to/from the caves. We're headed out to that point.
An example of what lies ahead.
The sandstone in this area was quarried out and hauled to Minneapolis, Milwaukee, or Chicago to build buildings.
Kelsey under the ice.
This was a pretty cool ice damn. It was about 12 feet tall at the highest point, maybe 8 on the right side. There's no ladder, just the indentations in the ice from previous climbers, and stalactites and stalagmites to hold on to.
I did make it up, which was pretty cool.
A break in the rock behind the ice damn. It's probably 75 feet to the top.
A panoramic view of Lake Superior. You can't see it in this one, but in the original you can see right across to Minnesota. Our friend Anton was in Two Harbors the same weekend, and I bet we could've walked across the lake!
Time for some hot cocoa before we head back to the car.
Our beach vacation for the winter.

Alex Rodriguez Takes Shteroids

And he has a funny lisp.

Shteroids.

The Andy Rooneys

Anton, Steve, Ian, and I have joined the Sunday night bowling league at Memory Lanes. We are, The Andy Rooneys! Now, none of us are spectacular bowlers, by any means. But I feel that in week one we all put forth a valiant effort. Which could come back to haunt us, as it's all based upon average. My week one scores, if anyone cares.

Game 1	Fr 1		Fr 2		Fr 3		Fr 4		Fr 5		Fr 6		Fr 7		Fr 8		Fr 9		Fr 10
Aaron	6	2	8	-	8	1	X		3	5	6	3	7	-	7	/	8	/	9	/	9
	8		16		25		43		51		60		67		85		104		123

Game 2	Fr 1		Fr 2		Fr 3		Fr 4		Fr 5		Fr 6		Fr 7		Fr 8		Fr 9		Fr 10
Aaron	9	-	9	-	s8	-	9	-	X		9	-	5	/	9	/	3	4	9	/	-
	9		18		26		35		54		63		82		95		102		112

Game 3	Fr 1		Fr 2		Fr 3		Fr 4		Fr 5		Fr 6		Fr 7		Fr 8		Fr 9		Fr 10
Aaron	-	7	X		7	-	6	3	7	1	-	/	s8	1	9	/	1	5	6	/	7
	7		24		31		40		48		66		75		86		92		109

These Beats Are 20 Years Old

I've taken a hiatus from keeping up on new music lately. It just got to be too much work trying to listen to everything. I'll stream The Current, but I probably haven't seen a show in a year plus. I'm trying to fix it, get back to being "hip" and "in the scene." It's tough.

Rob gave me a hint to check out the new David Byrne / Brian Eno work. The song "Strange Overtones" is damn good, and has the post's title line. Why is this relevant?
Well, last week I was driving out to Hudson, and heard a song on the radio I just loved. It sounded very 80s (a decade I enjoy maybe too much), yet still modern. It could've been released in 1986, and it would've sounded the same. The drum beats had an immediately recognizable sound, a somewhat vocodered vocal part, and a very synth bass line. It put me into an immediate good mood. I needed to know what song it was. NOW.

Well... those beats weren't 20 years old. Hell, they weren't 20 months old. Who was it?

Kanye. Kanye West.
The album title explains the sound, that's for sure. The Roland TR-808 is the quintessential 80's drum machine. And I guess if he's co-opting a sound I like, it can't be all that bad, right? But Jen brought up a good point last night, that it's hard to overcome the preconceived notions. I'm not really a fan of Kanye's ego, but if he's gonna start making music I like, then maybe I should start tuning in.

RIP Bubba. 2004-2009.

Bubba, the giant Tiger Oscar, died this morning. Many of you may remember Bubba as the fish that thrashed about wildly in our living room. Kelsey thought she would be happy when this day came, but she was saddened by the passing of the fish. Now we have to decide what to do with a 60 gal tank.

The scale is probably not evident in the picture. Bubba was probably 12" long or so, and weighed around 10 lbs . And no, the water was not green. It was a function of the camera flash.Bubba was preceded in death by Cheeky (2005), and an innumerable amount of rosy reds.

New Year's 2009

Welcome to the last year of the 'aughts. Our evening was a trip to the Village Pub, and then off to Maxwell's. Mike and I did not subsidize the events this year, however.

Derek and Nicole made the trip all the way from Germany just for New Year's! (okay, maybe not just New Years)Here we are celebrating 2009.Shawn was our dispenser of fine tasty tonics.
One half of the Aaron (Erin) Zimmermans made it.
Alicia, Kelsey, and Malinda.
I think Derek's been caught in the headlights. Or at least looks like a deer caught in headlights.
Jen and Rob McGarry made it out too!
I don't know what point Nicole was trying to get across.

Even Kellogg's understands a great name when they hear it! For the record, no, we didn't buy it.

The RRoD Strikes!

One of the risks of owning an Xbox 360 is the dreaded Red Ring of Death. It's usually just a matter of time, and this weekend, our luck ran out. By some accounts, nearly 20% of Xbox 360s fail this way. Microsoft had extended the hardware warranty to 3 years, however we've got a used unit, which means no such luck. Tonight it looks like I'll be doing some minor surgery on my console. Otherwise it's off to BestBuy for a new one...

Cindi and Steve's Wedding

Pumpkins!

The second annual Kelsey and Aaron pumpkin carving occurred on Saturday evening. Pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin beer, spiked cider, cake, and salsa was enjoyed by all!

The first pumpkin up is the domo-kun pumpkin. I got (or shamelessly stole) the idea from Target.Here are Ashley, Kelsey, and Jake carving out the 'kins.
Kelsey carved out an Obama '08 pumpkin. If you want to do your own, visit yeswecarve.com!
Among other patterns available are the silhouette of Obama, which Christina did. Steve carved the old man pumpkin, probably for the hoodlums to smash!
A partial line-up.
The full line up. Jake did the Pac-Man and ghost pumpkins.
Unfortunately the squirrels are already busy at work destroying the pumpkins. They've been a menace in the backyard this year.

For those of you who enjoyed the cider, the recipe is still at last year's post.