Revisiting the Mall of America

The primary reason for visiting Minnesota last week was for Susan to attend a business meeting for her new company. The location of her meeting was about 10 miles away from the Mall of America, so we decided to stay at the Marriott hotel that connects to the mall. We spent several hours at the mall Tuesday afternoon, and while Susan was at her meeting on Wednesday I walked back over the mall and spent several more hours exploring the biggest mall in America. This was my third time to visit the mall. My first visit took place back in… (read more)

RobOHara

Touring Prince’s Paisley Park

While I wouldn’t call myself a rabid Prince fan, everyone who grew up in the 1980s was, on some level or another, a fan of Prince’s music. In 1984, songs from Prince’s album Purple Rain took over radio airwaves, with many of those same songs remaining in rotation on 80s radio stations today. And while Purple Rain itself was enough to cement Prince’s place in music history, it only represents a blip in Prince’s discography and doesn’t include many of his biggest hits like “Little Red Corvette,” “Kiss,” “Raspberry Beret,” and “1999.” After the success of Purple Rain, Prince began… (read more)

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Visiting the Evel Knievel Museum

One of the first stops of our vacation was the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas. Evel was not from Topeka, but the big red Mack truck he toured in was restored in Topeka, which is how the museum ended up there, attached to a Harley-Davidson dealership. I was too young to remember most of Evel Knievel’s career and only remember seeing one of his jumps live on television, but everyone knows Evel Knievel’s name, which when I was a kid was synonymous with any daredevil act. He certainly inspired a generation of kids to build shoddy bicycle ramps with… (read more)

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The Mystery at 5519

Susan and I have stayed in AirBnB rentals all over the country. We’ve stayed in some pretty normal ones and some pretty weird ones, but never one like the home at 5519 in Minneapolis. Something’s afoot inside (or underneath) this home. Something mysterious. Something nefarious. Something… stinky. The offending smell doesn’t hit you right away, the same way ghosts don’t jump out and shout “Boo!” the moment one enters a haunted house. We first noticed the odor after retiring in the living room out first evening. The smell there was so strong that we immediately and bravely began sniffing all… (read more)

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Attack of the Roofers

On April 19, a freak hail storm pounded our property. We were not home at the time, but according to news broadcasts from that evening, the hail ranged from golf ball-sized to baseball-sized. We have been dealing with insurance claims and repairs ever since. The damage to our cars was obvious. The windshield on my car and Morgan’s old car, the one we’re trying to sell, were broken. Morgan’s old car, Morgan’s new car, and my car also received extensive hail damage to their bodies. Morgan’s new car and my car have full coverage, and the combined estimate to repair… (read more)

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I Present to You… the Amazon Table

Over the years we have owned several types of tables. We’ve had coffee tables, dining room tables, end tables, and entryway tables. Over the past couple of years we’ve added a new table to our home: the Amazon Table. The Amazon Table sits about a foot away from the front door and has become the first stop for all Amazon packages. Even though we feel relatively safe living near the end of a cul-de-sac in a gated community, it’s still not a great idea to leave Amazon packages sitting outside on the front porch for days at a time. There… (read more)

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Morgan’s High School Graduation

On Mother’s Day weekend, we threw Morgan a graduation party at our house. Last Monday she took the last of her semester tests. Friday evening, Morgan attended her high school graduation before leaving for Project Graduation. On Saturday, Morgan zipped around town attending her friends’ graduation parties. And, just like that, she is done with high school. For several years now, Yukon High School has held their graduation ceremony outdoors in the high school’s football stadium. Back when Susan and I graduated, the ceremony has held indoors in the Fine Arts auditorium, and the 360(ish) graduating seniors were limited to… (read more)

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If This Goes Down, Then That Stops Working (IFTTT)

Today, the website known as IFTTT (aka “If This Then That”) announced they will be greatly reducing functionality for free users (including the removal of access to all Twitter applets) at the end of the month. IFTTT currently has approximately 20 million users. I am one of them. As a kid, home automation seemed very futuristic. I always thought it would be cool if lights automatically turned on when I entered a room, or the stereo in my car automatically changed to my favorite radio station when I started the car. Those are examples of “if this, then that.” If… (read more)

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Celebrating Morgan

Morgan’s high school career is coming to an end. On Friday, she — along with Susan, myself, and several of our family members — attended her Senior Farewell Band Banquet. Sunday, we had Morgan’s (pre)graduation gathering here at the house. The band banquet would not have been possible without Susan, who stepped in when asked to assist with planning the event and logistics, two of her strong points. Susan helped get items donated, plan parts of the event, and most importantly, wrangled up a bunch of volunteers to help with setting things up and breaking things down in a room… (read more)

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Bye Bye, Old CPAP. Hello, New CPAP!

After four months of waiting, I finally have a new CPAP machine. Sometime last year, my previous machine (a ResMed S9) began displaying an error stating the machine was past its life expectancy and that it was time for a new one. I called my old sleep doctor and discovered he had died, so I had to reenter the system anew by calling my primary care provider and requesting a new machine. I made that call the first week of January. By the time my doctor referred me to a new sleep doctor, that doctor scheduled me for a sleep… (read more)

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