J.P.

Block e.

Photo on 11 17 13 at 1 48 PM

So I’m sitting at a Starbucks in “Block e” in Downtown Minneapolis. It isn’t really that much different than any other Starbucks other than it’s the only one I could find in the immediate area that was actually open on a Sunday morning. Block e is framed by Hennepin Avenue, 1st Avenue North and 6th and 7th Streets. Looking out the front of this Starbucks I see the Target Center across the street.

My flight home isn’t until early this evening, so I’ll be heading to Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport around 15:30 or so. I’m thinking the flight scheduling could be dicey with the severe weather that is passing between here and home this afternoon. Who knows, I might be staying another night.

I am reviewing the relatively low key events of my long weekend and have decided that this vacation has been most satisfactory. I was able to slow my head down enough to actually think about a few extraneous things that had been niggling at my well-being over the past several weeks. I was able to enjoy sights, sounds and smells and be in the moment. While I loved being alone the entire weekend, there were some moments of loneliness and it was at these times that I was thankful for technology. FaceTime (and Skype and all those services) is a beautiful thing.

My feet are killing me. My left Achilles tendon is sore. I have a huge blister on the bottom of my right foot. But none of these things are debilitating, rather they’re just reminders of my adventures this weekend. Well, they also remind me that I’m 45 years old. Contrary to popular belief, I find it easier to ride my bike 80 miles than walk 15 miles a day. Maybe I’m just better built for cycling. But I’ll get over it and bet the better for it, and that’s what’s important.

* The observant reader will notice in the photograph above that I no longer have a mustache. During one of my light-rail train adventures yesterday a crazy man asked me if I was a rapist. Concerned that my small mustache may have led to this extra dose of crazy from this crazy person, I decided to shave off my mustache to see if another crazy person asks me the same thing. This is a completely random set of occurrences that actually have nothing to do with one another, but there’s a bit of comedic value in there and I thought I’d embrace it.

17 November 2013 by J.P. Ponderings and Musings 1

Transit.

So in Minneapolis they have a light rail transit system. It’s like a subway but above ground for the most part. Similar systems are found in St. Louis and Phoenix. They are actively expanding the system with a line to St. Paul opening early next year.

The rules of the rails are simple: $1.75 per ticket unless it’s rush hour, then it’s $2.25. You buy a ticket at a station and then just get on the train, there’s no turnstiles, no gates. Trains randomly have security folks asking to see tickets and the like. Tickets expire a few hours later, so theoretically you can get multiple rides out of one ticket. The ride from the Mall of America to downtown Minneapolis, basically the length of the blue line, is about 35 minutes.

I just rode the train to MOA and I followed the rules, like most everyone else on the train did. Two security guards came through and wanted to see my ticket. Fair enough. Across the aisle were two folks that didn’t have tickets. They would be fined. To write up the ticket, the officer asked for their IDs. They didn’t have any identification on them. He asked their names. The woman had recently changed her name. It was three words. When asked how to spell her name, she couldn’t. She didn’t know how to spell her name. The officer accused her of using a fake name and she said that she wasn’t, she just couldn’t spell anything. She didn’t know how to read. She did know her birthdate, though.

The guy with her gave his name and birthdate and unfortunately, couldn’t spell his name either. He didn’t how to spell.

Since the blue line passes through MSP Airport, the officers decided that the two folks in question would exit the train at one of the airport stations, since this would make it difficult for them to run. The first officer warned, “if you’re using fake names, I’m throwing the book at you.” She calmly replied that she wasn’t using a fake name, she just couldn’t spell.

The officer had one hand on his taser as he escorted the two passengers off the train at the first airport station. They were being seated on a bench as the train pulled away.

While I don’t feel bad for the fare violators, it’s sad when an honor system is abused, I do feel bad for them in that’s they apparently didn’t have the means of being able to spell their name, which meant that they couldn’t read. The given birthdates indicated that they were both in their early 30s. Something in their early life failed them, whether it be the education system, their family or whatever else contributed to their need to violate the fare requirements today.

Observing this opened my eyes just a little bit. I hope they find a more solid path.

16 November 2013 by J.P. Ponderings and Musings 1

Skyway.

It’s a Skyway kind of day in Downtown Minneapolis.

16 November 2013 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 1

31,409.

So yesterday my FitBit recorded me walking 31,409 steps or 14.4 miles. Since my plan for this weekend in Minneapolis was to do it all on foot (with maybe some mass transit thrown in here and there), I must say that I am quite pleased with how much walking I did yesterday. My walking was about half and half indoor and outdoor: the weather has been quite nice and the Minneapolis Skyway System is very impressive.

I took a bunch of iPhone shots yesterday. On my way up to the river I stopped and photo bombed a photo that a man and woman were taking at this corner: she was throwing her hat up in the air like Mary Tyler Moore and I was standing next to the traffic light seen in the photo below, staring at the camera like the woman in the background of the Mary Tyler Moore opening. To my left is a TV Land statue of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat up in the air. update: I messed that up, we are looking at the statue and I’m standing where the background woman was.

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The Nicollet Mall is just starting to see the installation of holiday decorations.

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My first panoramic shot with my iPhone, standing on the restored Stone Arch Bridge.

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Other snaps along the Mississippi.

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There’s all sorts of restoration going on along the river, and it is a wonderful thing to see. I really appreciate when urban planners embrace what they have and make it better when possible, instead of just ripping everything done and starting over from scratch.

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A bridge to Nicollet Island. I found these power line towers to be quite interesting in design.

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The hotel wifi isn’t as snappy as I would like it to be, so the rest of my photos will have to be posted at a later time. I am really loving this long weekend and I’m off to go exploring again. Perhaps I can hit 15 miles today!

16 November 2013 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 1

Familiarity.

So I’m in Minneapolis on vacation. It is just past lunch time and I have already walked 8 miles today. I’ll probably walk nearly 12 miles when all is said and done by the end of the day today.

I feel magnificent.

I am trying something a little different this weekend with my diet and actually eating my heavier meal at lunch instead of at supper time. I think the change of pace will help me sleep better and I don’t have to worry about nodding off at my desk, since this is vacation and all, so I thought it’d be a good time to give this a try.

I decided to eat lunch at the hotel restaurant. I am staying at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis and they have a nice restaurant called “Basil’s”, which overlooks the courtyard of the IDS Center.

As I sat there eating my lunch and enjoying a brief conversation with my server, Jan, I had a sudden “geek” moment. Where I was sitting all of a sudden felt very familiar. This theoretically shouldn’t be possible, because this is my first time eating lunch in Downtown Minneapolis. However, the pop culture geek in me kicked in and I realized that I was eating *here*.

In the opening credits of the later seasons of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, Mary and her then-husband Grant Tinker ate lunch in the same restaurant!

So, while I don’t have a cameraman traveling with me, after being a complete geek I had to do an escalator shot, since I then figured out which escalator Mary was filmed on.

Earlier I quipped on Facebook that I had photo bombed a picture that a husband and wife were snapping where the woman was throwing her hat up in the air like MTM’s famous hat toss. My contribution was standing on the opposite corner looking at the woman, though I was wearing a winter hat and sunglasses instead of a scarf and cat eye glasses (I left them at home.)

I’m such a geek.

15 November 2013 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 1

Vacation.

And I’m off to Minneapolis on Delta flight 3340. This is my first flight ever as a first-class passenger. This is a weekend of new experiences, and I figured this was a good way to kick it off.

As you can see in the photo above, I took a photo during takeoff, because we can now. At least we can do it legally now. Yay!

I have only one thing definitely planned for this weekend but there’s a lot that I am looking forward to doing in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Today is my only day with a rental car, as I’m going to be one of those mass transit types Friday-Sunday, so I’m going to drive out of the city limits and see what’s in the surrounding area today. One stop will be at American Time and Signal Company, a company that still makes clocks like the school clock/master-slave clock system collection that I have wired throughout the house. I tried to tell the folks at my alma mater that I could have used ATS to help fix the clocks in my elementary school, but they went with a whole new system 12 or 13 years ago. The one clock that was left intact (and that I got from the school) still works beautifully even though it’s nearly 80 years old.

First class is a wonderful experience. I am drinking diet pop out of a real glass. Lovely. Syracuse Airport did not have potable water this morning so there is no coffee or tea for economy class, but they were able to get two pots of coffee from the airport terminal before we left. Coffee and tea for first class. Since I’m enjoying a diet coke perhaps someone in economy can have a cup of coffee.

It is a gorgeous flight thus far. We are currently flying over Hamilton, Ontario. I can see the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area off in the distance. I’m waving to friends on both sides of the border.

Because this is an adventure I elected to wear my Dad’s flight jacket to keep warm in the chilly Minnesota autumn weather this weekend. Dad always liked hearing about our travel adventures, this is a good way to share new experiences with him.

Earl is off to Chicago this weekend to visit Jamie and then next week he is on to Memphis for work. We have another little getaway planned for December (let’s hear it for frequent flyer miles!) and then we’ll be home for the holidays.

Life is good.

14 November 2013 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 2

Glass.

So Google has opened up the Glass waiting list a little bit, giving more of the general public the chance to sign up purchase their next big thing, Google Glass. For those unfamiliar with Google Glass, here is a video with a nice man explaining all about Glass for you.

I have talked about my interest in Google Glass before. I have met a few folks that have actually tried Glass and I’ve chatted with even more folks online about the experience and I have to say that I’m still pretty intrigued. I can’t say that I’ve seen a lot of people wearing Glass in the wild, but then again, there’s not that many people that have the pre-release Explorer edition of the device. When you couple this with the fact that folks in our neck of the woods are still using flip phones and dialing up sex lines on a 900 service (calm down, I’m kidding), it’s not really surprising that there’s not a lot of Glass around here.

If you know about Google Glass and you know what it’s capable of (see the video link at the end of the first paragraph), I’m curious as to whether my gentle readers would ever be interested in such a device. Rumor has it that it will work to a certain degree with an iPhone, but for the full Glass experience you’re better off being an Android user.

Me? The only thing that I’m really hesitant about is being seen in public with Glass on. I think I’d be shy about it at first but who knows, maybe I’d scream “Glass ON!” and then don my Glass when I wanted to be all techy in public. I wouldn’t have to wear tights or a cape or anything. That’d just be too much. I think Android has progressed to the point where I would be very comfortable moving to the appropriate smartphone to support the device.

What are your thoughts? To dorky? Do you love it? Will it catch on with the masses?

Lead image courtesy of blogs.blouinnews.com. We love his mustache.

12 November 2013 by J.P. Geek 1

Persevere.

So yesterday it was 43ºF and soggy outside. I’ve been feeling a little stir crazy lately, despite the amount of travel that we have been doing, and I decided that it had been too long since I had done some sort of zen-like experience through exercise.

I most readily find my zen when I’m riding my bike.

Despite the temperature and other weather conditions, I decided that I needed to go on a bike ride. So I bundled up in several layers of clothing, put a wool cap on under my helmet and off I went, headed for the Canal Trail. I was the only one down there.

A couple of years ago, the local Department of Public Works abandoned a bridge that connected the Utica Marsh area to the rest of the world, claiming the land under the auspices of Eminent Domain. While there are still ways to get to this area in a motor vehicle, it’s no longer an easy task, and the roadway is starting to look quite abandoned.

Barnes Avenue

I rode the mile or two to the abandoned bridge before turning around and heading back to the canal trails. It was a little spooky. I then continued eastward on the trail.

The trail ends at a busy street, so I decided I would just do a U-turn and head back home. This would bring my ride to about 12 miles or so and I was feeling every mile; it’d been a while since I’d ridden my bike. When I turned back and looked at the western sky I picked up my pace significantly.

The sky was very dark with a storm blowing in. Since it was 43ºF when I had left, I knew that it would be interesting.

I was about a mile from home when the skies let loose with a little bit of rain and a lot of hail. This was my first time riding in a hailstorm and I can confidently say that it’s not really that pleasant. Hearing the hail pinging your helmet is an interesting phenomenon, having the hail hit your exposed face is really interesting.

I laughed about it all. I ended up having a ball. However, I was happy that I only had a mile or so to go to get home. If I had to ride any further than that in those conditions I probably would have been a little less jovial about the situation.

Despite the weather I really enjoyed the experience and cemented (for the billionth time) that I am happiest exercising when I’m doing it on my bicycle.

I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity, come rain or shine.

11 November 2013 by J.P. Cycling. 1

Real.

As a baby DJ in the 1980s, I always tried to find some fun songs that you wouldn’t hear on the radio every 10 minutes. I always tried to fill the dance floor with a track that the audience might know, could probably be able to sing to but more importantly, would get them moving. I like to think that this approach made me a successful club DJ back in the day. One such song was from 1985. It was a top 10 track called “Don’t You Want My Love” by Nicole, sometimes billed as “Nicole McCloud”.

If you follow along with me on Twitter, you probably know that Earl has somehow roped me into watching “The X Factor” with him on selected evenings during the week. Over the past several years shows like this have made me cringe for a number of reasons, including the fact that there is way too much in the way of urban-yodeling, people are screaming more than they are singing and quite frankly, sometimes it feels rigged. Once in a while a story will come along that tugs at your heartstrings and this makes it feel worthwhile. For instance, 54-year old contestant Lillie McCloud.

Ms. McCloud can definitely sing. She has a very impressive voice and when she gets a record contract, I’m sure her album will be impressive. She has the gift and she knows how to use it.

The folks at “The X-Factor” have shared the backstory about Lillie, she’s a 54 year old grandmother who is anxious to share her artistic abilities with the world. She has experience.

Mother of three and grandmother of 7, Lillie McCloud has experience on her side. Find out what went through her head when her first audition made the judges cry.

She has a beautiful stage presence. Kelly Rowland has even commented about her seemingly very natural presence on the stage. Well there’s a reason for that, Lillie McCloud is the aforementioned Nicole McCloud.

I thought shows like “The X-Factor” were touted as a vehicle to showcase otherwise unknown talent. Now granted, Ms. McCloud has been out of the public spotlight for over a decade, and one can not deny her gorgeous talent, but I have to admit that I feel a little cheated when the folks at “The X-Factor” don’t really mention her previous abilities in her backstory.

Earl says I worry too much about little things. I probably do.

11 November 2013 by J.P. DJ 1

Utopias.

So I’m an avid listener of the Michael Smerconish ( smerconish.com ) program on Sirius/XM POTUS 124. I usually end up listening on demand, but driving around the evening afforded me the opportunity to listen to the replay at “6 East” or as I like to think of it, 1800 ET.

One of the interviews during the last hour was with Jim Koch, founder of Sam Adams. They discussed a beer that I have never heard of, Sam Adams Utopias.

From the way they described it, it’s like the Cognac of beer. Michael said that he really felt that it would have been appropriate to enjoy a cigar with this beer.

Very interesting.

I’m always looking for different beers to try and I have to admit that this Sam Adams Utopias has me intrigued. It doesn’t sound like your typical beer experience. I understand that it is quite pricey, as it is produced in very limited quantities each year. I haven’t looked into where to get it yet.

I am curious to hear if anyone has an experience with Sam Adams Utopias. Is it worth the price? Does it still taste like beer?

Jim said that once opened it should still be drinkable five years later, much like a fine wine. I understand that it is best enjoyed a room temperature.

I’d love to have others weigh in on Sam Adams Utopias. I think a trip to Boston might be in order.

Photo used without permission from uncrate.com

8 November 2013 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 1

J.P.

Block e.

Transit.

Skyway.

31,409.

Familiarity.

Vacation.

Glass.

Persevere.

Real.

Utopias.

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