Minneapolis Spaghetti Junction

I took this photo while standing on the Dupont Ave bridge that spans I-694 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The multiple lanes you see also incorporate Highway 100 and I-94. You can view a larger version by clicking on the image.

You can see more of my Minneapolis photography by clicking here.

You can see all of my photos by clicking here.

See all of my Minneapolis photos!
William Drew Photography

Solace

About two weeks ago I finally got my recording studio set up and for the first time in a dozen years I've been able to record music again. Below is the first song I have finished, a song called "Solace". This song is an instrumental, and might very well go good in a movie chase or fight scene. Let me know what you think!

The Vikings Draft

I'm probably a little tardy with a blog about the Vikings draft, but I wanted to let this settle in for a bit before commenting on it. Most "experts" say it takes three-years to evaluate a draft, but then none of these "experts" never tell us how anyone drafted three years ago. At the end of this blog I'm going to actually do that with the Vikings draft from 2007. Before I get to that, lets look at this 2010 Vikings draft.

Chris Cook, a CB from West Virginia was the Vikings first pick of the draft. I think this was their worst pick of the draft. It's my feeling that they gambled in trading down that one of their top CB's would still be there and they all got gobbled up. I think they could have traded down again and still got Cook if that is who they wanted. The highest pre-draft ranking I saw for Cook was a 46th pick. The Vikings took him 34th. Cook does fill a need since both starting CB's for the Vikings are coming off injuries, but I'm thinking he's going to be strictly a special teams player.

The Vikings next pick was Toby Gerhart, a RB from Stanford. I absolutely LOVE this pick. Taking him at #51 might have been a little bit of a reach, but this pick fits perfectly for the Vikings. Probably the biggest loss the Vikings suffered in the off-season was losing Chester Taylor (including the double impact of losing him to a division rival). No offence to Taylor, but I think Gerhart comes in a does a better job than Chester did this past season. Toby can run, block and catch just as well as Chester did, but Toby will also punish defenders. I can't imagine defensive players being too happy about having to try tackling Adrian Peterson, and then when AP takes a break they then have to face Gerhart.

Everson Griffen, DE, USC was the Vikings 3rd pick in the draft (taken in the 4th round). This is another pick I love. Most people gave him first-round grades, in fact the lowest grade I saw given to him pre-draft was as the 23rd best prospect. The Vikings took him with the 100th pick, which totally makes up for the reach on Cook. He fell to the 4th round mostly from teams doubting his drive and determination. From the looks of it, that could be a legitimate concern, but I find it hard to believe anyone can work with a guy like Jared Allen every day and not have some of Allen's drive rub off on you. When Griffen is on, people have been comparing him to Dwight Freeney. Anytime you can draft someone in the 4th round that is compared to Freeney I'm thinking you got yourself a pretty good pick.

The Vikings next pick was Chris DeGeare, OL, Wake Forrest. Uh... ok. As good as the Griffen pick was, this one makes me scratch my head. I never saw this guy ranked higher than 262nd in anyone pre-draft rankings. The Vikings took him at 161. That is just an incredible reach. And then lets consider how un-intelligent this DeGeare is. He missed a year of football because he couldn't figure out his school work. His scouting report say he has never been able to figure out the twists and stunts defensive linemen pull. Great. Welcome to the NFL DeGeare.

For their 5th selection, the Vikings took Nate Tripplet, LB, Minnesota. This pick right here might have been the worst pick in the entire draft. By any team. I don't think anyone in the world had him ranked in their top 500 players. In fact, in the five places I found that had players ranked at least 500 deep he wasn't listed on any of them. And the Vikings used their #167 pick on him.

Joe Webb was the Vikings next pick, and possibly the most confusing pick they made, at least initially. Most places had Webb listed as a QB. He was listed as a QB on the NFL.coms draft tracker. Ok, the Vikings obviously need a QB. And Webb did something in his last two seasons that no QB had ever done in the history of college football by passing for 2,000 yards and rushing for 1,000 yards two seasons in a row. Most of his scouting report basically made him a Tavarious Jackson clone. Why would the Vikings take a QB that is pretty much exactly like one that has already failed? Then it turns out they took him to play WR, which is where he played his first year in college, and now it's looking like it could be one very nice pick. Just like Randy Moss when the Vikings drafted him, Webb has a freakish combo of size and athleticism. How athletic is he? His college coach was also the college coach of one Bo Jackson. That coach said Joe is in Bo's league. In Webb, the Vikings got a 6'3" 223 pound WR that can run a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash, and a 42-1/2" vertical. He only had 30 receptions that one year he played WR in college so he might be a little raw out there. But getting this kind of potential with a 6th round pick is very much worth the gamble. Not to mention I'm already getting giddy about a possible wild-cat formation with Webb at QB, Percy and AP in the backfield. That could drive some defenses nuts. After the initial confusion, I'm now excited for this pick and hoping he turns out.

The Vikings 7th selection was Mickey Shuler, TE, Penn State. I think this pick was also a bit of a reach. He does fit the blocking TE mold pretty well, and that's a spot the Vikings will need to cover as Jimmy Kliensasser is getting up there in experience. I'm not sure this pick makes the team except for maybe being on the practice squad.

Ryan D'Imperio, LB, Rutgers was the Vikings 8th and final selection in this 2010 NFL draft. This is yet another pick that I'm sure would have not been drafted by anyone else. I think he has the same odds of winning the lottery as making the team.

So, over the past couple of years, the Vikings have done remarkably well in the draft. All seven picks last year started and contributed. This year... I love two of the picks (Gerhart and Griffen). I think those two could possibly turn in performances that overshadow how bad the rest of the draft was. I think two other picks will contribute (Webb and Cook). I'm at a loss for words at how bad the rest of the selections were. But then again, I'm a restaurant manager. Maybe the guys that get paid to do this knew what they were doing again and we'll see all seven do well.

Now, lets look back at the 2007 Vikings draft.

1. Adrian Peterson. All-world stud. Grade A+.
2. Sidney Rice. All-pro WR last year. Grade A.
3. Marcus McCauley. Held his own during his rookie season, has disappeared since then. No longer on the team. Grade D+.
4. Brian Robison. Very solid backup on a very good defensive line. Grade B-
5. Aundrae Allison. Never made it above 4th WR. No longer on the team. Grade D.
6. Rufus Alexander. Failed. Grade F.
7. Tyler Thigpen. Tyler started 14 games in 2008. For the Chiefs. Nice pick, the failure here was trying to sneak him onto the practice squad. Grade C-
8. Chandler Williams. Failed. Grade F.

Adding it all up, for the 2007 draft I'd give the Vikings a final grade of a C+/B-.

OK Go - White Knuckles

This track of OK-Go's new album is too funkey. Gotta share it with everyone. Enjoy.



I know the video doesn't fit in this tiny space. Blame youtube for not making a small-enough version of it. But its just audio anyway.

I have listened to a few tracks off their new album "Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky" and the first thing that comes to mind is these guys must have listened to the Prince's Dirty Mind album non-stop before making this album. Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky has a fantastic sound and feel to it. Check it out when you get a chance.

Where Will Tebow Go?

I can't remember ever seeing anything like this Tim Tebow "phenomenon" that is going on now with the draft just one day away. Most people know the story by now. When it comes to the intangibles (leadership, desire to win, coachability, on/off field personality), every team in the league would take him with the first pick in the draft. But despite having better college numbers than, say, either of the Mannings, no one wants to waste a pick on him as a QB.

So where does that leave us? Let's look at the teams that absolutely do not need a QB right now. New Orleans (Brees), San Diego (Rivers), Dallas (Romo), Green Bay (Rogers), NY Giants (Eli), Atlanta (Ryan), Baltimore (Flacco), NY Jets (Sanchez) and Detroit (Stafford).

I left a couple of teams off that list that might surprise most. Indianapolis and New England. These two teams obviously have two of the best QB's in the game in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Peyton is 34, and Brady, while only 32, has been getting beat up recently. Both of these teams have been outstanding at finding and drafting talent in the later rounds of the draft, and both of these teams could afford to draft Tebow and let him learn behind two of the best QB's ever for a few years.

How about some teams that are absolutely horrible in their QB situation that really can't sit around and wait for Tebow to develop? Buffalo (Brian Brohm), Oakland (Gradowski) and San Francisco (Smith).

OK, so that is now 12-teams that I'm pretty sure wouldn't draft Tebow unless he was still sitting there in the 4th round.

As for the other teams in the league, here's how I think they'd play it (listed in order of when they draft, and excluding the teams I've already mentioned).

St. Louis Rams: If they don't take Stafford with their first pick and go with Suh, the Rams would have to take a QB with their 2nd pick, but I'm not sure they'd go with Tebow just based on how they need a QB NOW.

Tampa Bay Bucs: They seem to be pretty set on seeing what Freeman can do, so I don't see them taking Tebow.

Washington Redskins: Now this is an intriguing pick. Again, I don't think they'd do it first round, but could see it happen with their 2nd round pick. They have McNabb to hold down the fort for a few years and then hand over the franchise to Tebow.

Kansas City Chiefs: This team is kind of in no-mans land with their QB situation. There are too many questions around Cassel, and I think in that situation you don't bring in a player like Tebow.

Seattle Seahawks: This is a team that I believe might be aggressive in getting Tebow. I don't have anything to base this on other than a gut feeling. Matt Hasselback is on his last legs and might be able to squeeze one or two more years out. And with Pete Carrol coming in, I could really see this team take Tebow and give Carrol a couple of years to teach this kid the ropes of the position. The fact that they have the 6th AND 14th picks in the first round, I might actually be surprised if they don't take Tebow with that 14 pick.

Cleveland Browns: It's no secret that this team has a pretty shitty QB situation. It's also no secret that Mike Holmgren loves Tebow as a football player. The Browns have Jake Delhomme at QB right now, and just like Seattle, they could let Tebow learn for a year behind Delhomme. Their issue is do you take Tebow with the 7th pick, or hope he is still there for their 2nd round pick? I'd guess here that if the Browns want him, they will try to trade down to the last third of the first round, get another draft pick in the process and take Tebow there.

Oakland Raiders: This team is in such a disarray, I'd hate to see Tebow end up here. The Raiders have so many holes to fill, most people would think they'd focus on players that could help this year. But if any team is a wildcard in all of this, it's Al Davis and his Raiders. After all, when was the last time this team made a good pick in the first round?

Jacksonville Jaguars: With David Garrard as their starting QB, this team very much could use an upgrade at the position. And with the Florida ties, a lot of people are saying this could be a good fit. I'm not so sure with this one though. If you want your young QB to learn the mechanics of the position, do you really want him learning from Garrard?

Denver Broncos: This team does need an upgrade at QB, but with two young guys still trying to prove themselves (Orton and Quinn), adding a 3rd project at QB would be a messy situation.

Miami Dolphins: I might have just missed seeing it, but I have not seen much talk about Tebow and the Dolphins. But I think this is a pretty good fit here. No team excels like the Dolphins do in running the Wildcat, and just think how much better it could be with Tebow, an actual QB taking the snap? He has the rushing skills to just take off with the ball, and his current QB skills would open up the ability to pass out of the formation. The Dolphins currently have a young QB with Chad Henne, but the book is still out on him. I think Parcells is drooling over the chance to add Tebow to his roster. This might be a place where a 1st round pick makes sense.

Pittsburgh Steelers: This teams only QB issue is 'character'. For an owner like Rooney who takes pride in having a 'family' atmosphere in his team, these incidents by Ben Roethlisberger, one would think that he'd love to get someone like Tebow on his team. But Rooney lets his front office guys handle things so I don't see the Steelers taking Tebow just to get a character guy.

Cincinnati Bengals: This is another team I could see going after Tebow. Carson Palmer has been heading in the wrong direction, and the team will probably address the QB position. My thoughts with this team is they will go after Clausen in the first round instead of Tebow.

New England Patriots: As I mentioned above, I could see them taking Tebow, but not with their current first round pick. Watch out for any moves by this team trying to slide up in the 2nd round.

Philadelphia Eagles: This is a team in a transition phase. They have let a lot of big names go this offseason. I'm not saying it's a rebuilding year because they still seem to have a strong team, but I don't see them bringing in a QB in this draft.

Arizona Cardinals: This team needs to let Leinart develop and play this year so they can see what he can do. Adding any QB would be a bad decision for the Cardinals this year.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have an above average QB in Tony Romo, and the only thing keeping him from being a top-tier QB is consistency. When he is on, it's VERY tough to stop him, so there is no need for Dallas to look at a QB right now.

Minnesota Vikings: This is one spot where taking Tebow actually makes sense. Tebow could watch and learn with Favre for a year, and possibly get some playing time in short-yardage or 'wildcat' formations.

When it comes down to it, this is my top three spots I think Tebow could end up:

1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Miami Dolphins (If they trade down)
3. New England Patriots.

Views from Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom

The photos in this blog were all taken at Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom theme park.

You can click on any of the photos to view a larger image.

The first is a photo of two Asian Tigers as they play by one of the pools in their area.



The second photo is of a Fruit Bat, the largest bat in the world. But you don't have to worry about it, it's a fruit eater.




The third photo is of a White Rhino taken on the Kilimanjaro Safari.




You can see more of my photos from Disney World's Animal Kingdom here.

You can see all of my Walt Disney World photographs here.

You can see all of my photography here.

What's In A Name?

The NFL Draft is this week, and it has a new three-day schedule. This year the first round of the draft will be on Thursday during prime-time. Rounds two and three will be on Friday, and rounds 4-7 will finish up on Saturday. This is a GREAT marketing move by the NFL, but we'll have to wait and see how it plays out for us fans.

I was looking through a few different lists of players that will be in the draft this year, and there were a few names that stuck out to me. This has nothing to do with these particular players talents, the positions they play, the school they went to or if I think they'd be a good fit with the home town Minnesota Vikings. What made them stick out is one simple thing.

Their name.

I'm not here to make fun of any of these names, although I'm sure it might come across that way. These names are just purely entertaining to me. It might just be how fun it is to say their name, or how difficult, or maybe a name just might be funny at a purely childish level. And with saying that, below is my list of players who are entered into the 2010 NFL Draft that I find have a purely entertaining name:

Tyson Alualu - DE - Cal: Hello Hello Alualu!

Arrelious Benn - WR - Ill.: Arrelious? Are you serious?

Ciron Black - G - LSU: Ciron? This guy has to have the best break-up line ever. "Every time you hear a siren, you'll think of me."

Selvish Capers - OT - West Virginia: "Selvish! Stop being so selfish and share with your brothers!"

Barry Church - SS - Toledo: I'm guessing Church wants to be on the gridiron and not in church on Sundays?

Michael Hoomanawanui - TE - Ill.: Not only is his last name fun to pronounce... how does someone have Hoomanawanui as a last name, and Mike for a first name?

Brandon LaFell - WR - LSU: A wide-receiver with the last name LaFell? Brilliant.

Rolando McClain - LB - 'Bama: Yippie Ki-yay

Zoltan Mesko - P - Michigam - The Legand of Zoltan is a Punter?

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah - CB - Indiana (Pa): By far the funnest name to say in the draft. And I had no idea there was an Indiana in Pennsylvania.

Alterraun Verner - CB - UCLA: Alterraun? Is there an Actualraun?

Lindsey Witten - DE - UConn: A football player with the first name of Lindsey?

And finally, the name of the draft:

Spud Dick - QB - DePaul

I Wanna Be a Cowboy

Clicking on the photo will give you a larger view of it.

This is actually one of the oldest photos in my collection, but I have recently updated it with my new software. I took this photo just a couple of days after getting my camera. When I got my camera, I had one month to practice with it before taking it on vacation to Disney World, so I wanted to get out to places with crowds and get used to photographing in situations like that. So I brought my camera out to the Minnesota State Fair and for a while I was looking for interesting people to photograph when this young lady in her cowboy hat came into view. I only took one photo before my view of them vanished in a crowd of people, and to be honest, the motion I captured that enhances this photo was not a part of my original intent with this photo. But I'm very glad it turned out the way it did.

You can see more of my people photography here.

You can see all of my photography here.

5-Below and Falling Snow

Clicking the photo will take you to a larger version of the photo.

This photo shows two people walking across the Stone Arch Bridge towards downtown Minneapolis. While taking this photo, the temperature was five-degrees below zero Fahrenheit and it was also snowing. I'm not exactly sure what drove me grab my camera and go out for some photography on this day, and I specifically remember being frustrated that these two walked onto the bridge as I was getting ready to take my photo of the empty bridge. My frustration quickly went away when I saw how these two strangers made this photo look spectacular.

You can see more of my Minneapolis photography here.

You can see all of my photography here.

See all of my Minneapolis photos!
William Drew Photography

The Spoonbridge and Cherry

Clicking on the photo will give you a larger version of the photo.

You can see more of my Minneapolis photos here.

You can see all of my photos here.

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an 11 acre park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is located near the Walker Art Center, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country, with 40 permanent art installations and several other temporary pieces that are moved in and out periodically.

The centerpiece of the garden is the Spoonbridge and Cherry (water sculpture designed by husband and wife Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Claes Oldenburg is best known for his ingenious, oversized renditions of ordinary objects, like the giant "soft" three-way plug and overturned bag of french fries in the Walker's own collection. He and Coosje van Bruggen, his wife and collaborator, had already created a number of large-scale public sculptures, including the Batcolumn in Chicago, when they were asked to design a fountain-sculpture for the planned Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The spoon had appeared as a motif in a number of Oldenburg's drawings and plans over the years, inspired by a novelty item (a spoon resting on a glob of fake chocolate) he had acquired in 1962. Eventually the utensil emerged--in humorously gigantic scale--as the theme of the Minneapolis project. Van Bruggen contributed the cherry as a playful reference to the Garden's formal geometry, which reminded her of Versailles and the exaggerated dining etiquette Louis XIV imposed there. She also conceived the pond's shape in the form of linden seed. (Linden trees are planted along the allées that stretch before the fountain.) The complex fabrication of the 5,800 pound spoon and 1,200 pound cherry was carried out at two shipbuilding yards in New England. The sculpture has become a beloved icon in the Garden, whether glaceed with snow in the Minnesota winters or gleaming in the warmer months, with water flowing over the surface of the cherry and a fine mist rising from its stem.

The Crack of the Bat

Ahhh... it's opening day for the Minnesota Twins. This is always a great day, getting to watch that first game of the season (even though it will be interrupted by watching Butler and Duke battle it out for the NCAA Basketball Championship).

There is a much higher than normal energy about these Twins this year. Part of that is obviously the new stadium they get to play in this year. Another part of that is for the first time since I can remember, the front office actually went out and got some good players in free agency.

Baseball is a beautiful and boring game. I LOVE watching the Twins, but can't really bring myself to watch any other games like I can with Football and Hockey. Baseball is also a very maddening game in that despite all of its stats and history, it's just so difficult to know what is going to happen during the season.

In baseball, you have the Yankees (who are supposed to win the World Series or their fans jump off the Brooklyn Bridge in protest), and every one else. Most teams go into the season with hope springing eternal (and teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh leave that hope in the Spring as any and all hope will be gone long before summer gets here). With the additions the Twins made this off season, and with hope of some improved seasons by players like Francisco Liriano and Delmon Young, the hope here is the Twins move past winning the division and actually win a playoff series or two, or three.

But with every chance of a player like Liriano and Young improving, there is also a chance some players will have off years. Justin Morneau's back might not be as healthy as we would hope. And of course the best closer in the game, Joe Nathan, is already shelved for the entire season.

There are also players with big question marks. J.J. Hardy was an all-star in 2007 and demoted to the minors last year. Which Hardy boy do we get to see this year? Francisco Liriano was back to his dominant self in Winter League, but he's shown signs of his habitual sloppiness in spring training. And both Pat Neshek and Jessie Crain have injured arms they'd like to put in their past.

With all of that said, it's my belief that the Twins will win the Central Division, and I don't believe it will be close. Many people are saying losing Nathan will doom the team, but it's my opinion the closer position is the most overrated position in the game. As good as Joe was at it, he earned a save in 92% of his chances while the league average is 87%. That's what, three games difference? And with this years team having the lineup they do, I just don't think we will see as many save opportunities as prior years.

I believe this team can score pretty close to one more run per game on average. They were at 5.1 runs per game last year and I don't think its a stretch to see 5.9 from this group. I can see Denard Span raising the bar and becoming one of, if not the, best lead off man in the game. The combo of him and Orlando Hudson should be able to get on base pretty often for the power-alley to knock them in for some runs. Joe Mauer should be his normal self, which means he once again could have people shaking their heads in disbelief at how good this kid is. Justin Morneau is my big question mark in the lineup. Michael Cuddyer should be similar to last year. Jason Kubel will most likely improve on last years numbers. Delmon Young, man, if this kid can play like he did at the end of last season, we could have a guy in the 7-hole hitting .330 with 30 home-runs and 110 RBI's. JJ Hardy gives us a guy in the 8th spot that could pop 25-home runs. The 9th spot could be interesting. Punto is the most loved and hated player on the roster. The guy is also amazingly inconsistent. How can one player bounce year-to-year like he has with a .290, .210, .284, .228 batting averages over the last four seasons. With the eight guys ahead of him, I'd be happy with him just having an average season. Then there Punto's platoon mate Jason Harris who could hit .290, which getting that in our 9th spot would be freakin fantastic. But will either of them even get much play time after the all-star break, or will Danny Valencia get his callup and take over third-base and the 9th spot in the lineup?


I also believe our starting rotation should be able to lower their 4.84 ERA from last year to something closer to 4.40. There is a lot of warranted talk about our starting rotation having a bunch of #3 starters and no ace or #2 starter. Having a rotation of #3 guys will make for a good regular season, but you really need that ace and #2 guy for the playoffs. Scott Baker has the 5th best win-percentage in the American League over the past three seasons. I'd like to think he can be a pitcher this year that can border that #1/#2 position. And if Liriano really does have his nasty junk back, he can easily be a staff ace.

I believe our defense should improve, with the addition of Hardy and Hudson up the middle, and Span sticking to Center Field instead of moving all over the outfield. I'd say you could argue the Twins could have the best middle of the field defense in the league with Mauer behind he plate added to Hudson, Hardy and Span.

The bullpen is a question mark, but in today's MLB, what team doesn't have bullpen questions? Relief pitchers seem to be the type that can dominate one year, and have no control the next. And I'd be willing to bet every single team in the league will change over at least 50% of their bullpen during the season. Losing Nathan right off the bat obviously hurts, and I don't believe Rauch will be the closer when we get to the dog-days of summer (Pedro Martinez perhaps?). But one thing is certain, the Twins have a history of finding closers, from Jeff Reardon to Rick Aquilara to Every Day Eddie to Nathan. That's been a pretty remarkable run. Maybe they are due a bad year from a closer? Maybe Rauch comes on and doesn't let anyone doubt the decision to put him there? It will be fun to watch it unfold as the season goes along.

To wrap this up, I think this Twins team has the chance at hitting 95-97 wins. Maybe with Nathan out, they get 93. Any of those should win the division. As easily as I can see the team getting those numbers, the ball might bounce the wrong way too often and we could see Detroit or Chicago taking the division. That's one of the fun things about being in the Central. It seems like every season the team that is supposed to win it falters and teams picked to struggle around .500 end up catching lightning and winning the division. For now though, I'll stick with my 95-97 win prediction.

The Minnesota Zephyr

Clicking on the photo will take you to a larger version of it.

The Minnesota Zephyr is a heritage railroad operating out of Stillwater, Minnesota. It operates as a dinner train and serves a five-course, white linen dinner on a six-mile route, traveling between four and seven miles per hour.

You can see more of my Minnesota photography here.

You can see all of my photography here.

Squirt Guns and Canines

I have a dog sharing this humble abode with me. The dog is a Miniature Pinscher, her name is Jasmine, and that's her in the photo on this blog.

Besides being extremely loyal, very playful and extremely funny dogs, min-pins also have one other trait.

They bark.

A lot.

Jasmine is actually my 2nd min-pin. My first one (named Jafar) also barked more often than most people would like to hear, but at complete different times. When I had Jafar he would mostly bark during two occasions; when he wanted to either go outside or come inside, or when he was in his kennel. That was pretty much it. Jasmine actually loves being in her kennel, and when she wants to go outside she'll just come tap me on my leg. She could easily spend the rest of her day barking.

She can see the neighbors INSIDE their own house and bark. She can see a leaf blow across the yard and bark. She can hear me walk into the room she is in and she will bark. And don't even get me started on people walking by on the street. Or heaven forbid she sees the mailman.

The times she sees someone either out on the street or the mailman, or someone pulling into my neighbors driveway to pick up their kids (the neighbors have a daycare) she will bark incessantly until the offending party is out of sight. And for the mailman that could be a long time because he always parks his truck out in front of my house while he walks the street, so the truck is there a long time.

Yelling at her doesn't work (for more than a couple of seconds anyway), calling her name doesn't work, making funny sounds doesn't work. About the only thing that has ever really worked is simply going up to her and standing next to her. She then not only stops barking but usually bows down and submits to me.

But how often do I want to get up and walk over to her? I've heard a few people over the years tell me to get a squirt gun and use that when she barks. I heard it again earlier this week and so on my next trip to the store I went and picked up a new squirt gun.



I used the squirt gun for the first time on Thursday when two people were walking down the street. She started barking, I squirted her and that immediately caused her to stop barking and look over at me with a "what the hell was that" look on her face. She then came over and had to inspect the squirt gun and after doing so she decided to curl up in my lap.

A few hours later the mailman showed up and she went into her normal over-the-top barking and racing all over the couch routine. I squirted once, she looked over at me once again with that "what the hell was that" look, and then came over and wanted to lay in my lap.

A short time later she again wanted to bark at some people out on the street, and this time she actually heard me pull the trigger on the squirt gun, turned and saw the water approaching and ran out of the way. She is a quick little dog, but despite not hitting my target it still worked. She again came over and laid down in my lap. But that showed me just how quickly she learned.

Today there was only one time that she started barking. I hit her with the first squirt of the gun and she again came over and laid down in my lap.

I am completely amazed at how well this worked. And I'm amazed at how fast Jasmine picked up on it. Now, min-pins are smarter than normal dogs (a tool they quite often use in spite), but they are notoriously difficult to train. And here I am, I've used the squirt gun just four times and she's already learned that she'll get squirted when she barks, AND she's totally submitted to me each time I have squirted her. I've never had to say a word, and after pulling the trigger three times on the first use, I've only had to pull it once on the subsequent times.

I have to say, if you have a dog that has habits you want to correct, go get yourself a squirt gun. Trust me, the longer you wait, the more you'll end up kicking yourself for not getting one sooner.

Disney Worlds Cinderella's Castle

I took this photo back in 2007 on my first trip to Disney World after getting my DSLR. I don't think I ever posted it to my photography site as I wasn't very happy with it. But now that I've finally figured out how to tweak a few things with photoshop, this just might be my favorite Disney photo.

Clicking the pic will give you a bigger view of it.



You can see more of my Magic Kingom photos by clicking here.

You can see more of my Walt Disney World photos by clicking here.

You can see all of my photos by clicking here.

Dave Matthews Band - You and Me

I've been having a hard time getting this song out of my head recently. And that is not a complaint. The song is called You and Me and is from the Dave Matthews Band album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.

Fixing Joe Nathan

The Minnesota Twins came into this years Spring Training sessions looking like a lock for the Central Division title and a possible long playoff run. They have the best line-up they've had in decades. They have the guy that has been statistically the best closer in the game the past six years. And they have a young and hopefully improving pitching staff.

On Saturday a big chunk of their team fell apart. Joe Nathan (the guy I mentioned above as being the best closer in the game) tore a ligament in his pitching elbow during a spring training game. The typical procedure for this is to watch and treat the injury for two weeks and then see if surgery is needed. This is the path the Twins are apparently taking with most people saying Joe will almost certainly need surgery. This route would keep Joe from playing this year, and with his age being 36, it might be a career ending injury.

I've always been one who thinks the closing position in baseball is very much over-rated. But you simply can't take someone who has dominated the position off your roster and not suffer a loss. If Joe is out for the year, it wouldn't be difficult to see an extra 5-8 losses this year as you couldn't expect anyone else to do as well as he has. And with how close the Central Division has been the last few years, those 5-8 games are beyond important.

But what if the Twins could have Joe back, say, in the middle of May? There is a new procedure that doctors are using that could have Joe closing games again that early in the season. The procedure is called Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy. This procedure is so cutting-edge that there still needs to be much more research done before it becomes mainstream.

The procedure centers around using the patients own blood. Their blood is drawn and spun to isolate the platelets. I'll state here that I have absolutely no idea what that means, but the platelets are 10 times more concentrated than in normal blood which helps them clot and promote healing. The method, which is strikingly straightforward and easy to perform, centers on injecting portions of a patient’s blood directly into the injured area, which catalyzes the body’s instincts to repair muscle, bone and other tissue. Most enticing is that the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and possibly obviate surgery.

To date, there is been just one other MLB relief pitcher that has had this procedure done, and this pitcher was back throwing in two months. The pitchers name is Takashi Saito. He was the Los Angeles Dodgers closer during the 2008 season and suffered his injury in the middle of July. He was the Dodgers closer again during that seasons playoffs. Not only is Saito a relief pitcher like Joe is, but he was 38 years old when the procedure was done. Joe Nathan is 36. Having elbow surgery might not just put Joe out for the season, at his age it might end his career.

As I mentioned, this is still a very new procedure, and the procedure as it is now performed fails over 20% of the time. The only downside of it failing is Joe would then get the Tommy John surgery and be shelved for a season.

To wrap up, I don't see why they wouldn't look into this procedure. If Joe was 26 instead of 36, yeah, you do the surgery. But if the elbow hasn't healed at the end of this two weeks of rest, I think this option is too good to pass up. At that point you're looking at surgery where he'd be out for the season. Or you could try something new and possibly be back in two months, and helping what looks like an exciting season for the Twins close out on a good note.

Burger Making 101

There is a secret to making a mouth-watering burger that gets looked over in back-yard grills everywhere you live. You can make a MUCH better burger in a frying pan than you can a grill.

Don't believe me? Let me explain something. Do you see all of those juices dripping from your burger that land on the charcoal at the bottom of your grill? Each and every one of those drips is flavor. The more of those juices that you can keep in your burger, the better your burger will taste.

So how should you cook a burger? Get yourself a cast-iron skillet and follow these simple steps:

1. Pre-heat your skillet for at least five minutes on high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add 1 tbs of canola oil (or your oil of choice).

2. Form a 1/4 pound of ground beef into a ball. Drop the meat in the pan and set your timer for 1 minute. While the meat is cooking season the top of the burger with your choice of seasonings (my favorite is paprika and pepper).

3. When that minute is up, flip the burger and then using your spatula press down firmly on the patty until it is around 1/2" thick, set the timer for another minute, and season the burger again.

4. After that minute, flip the burger for the last time. If you want cheese on your burger, this is when you want to add it. Then depending on how you want your burger cooked, use the following times: For a Rare burger, cook it for one minute after that final flip for a total cook time of 3 minutes. For a Medium Rare burger, add a fourth minute. For Medium, add 45 more seconds. And then add 45 seconds for each Medium Well, Well and Hockey Puck. But going back to the keeping the juice in the burger theory, the more you cook a burger, the dryer it becomes.

That's all there is too it. Using a skillet will keep the juices in the pan, thus keeping the flavor with the burger. And during each of the first two minutes of cooking the burger, those juices will caramelize on the burger, creating a seal that will help keep the juices inside of the burger.

I'm very much aware that cooking a burger on the grill just feels good. You can still do that and get the same results by placing a small cookie sheet on your grill and cooking the burgers on there.

There are many ways to cook your hamburger. If you try doing it this way it may just become your favorite.

Painted Shoes

I found these painted shoes in the town of Seaside, Florida. The shoes were all painted by kids in their grade school and were set out on these steps to dry. Clicking on the link will take you to its page at William Drew Photography where you can see a larger view of it.

Maybe The Best Song I've Ever Heard

Andrew McMahon has got to be the most unheralded songwriter in the history of music. Back in 2002 I stumbled across an album titled "Leaving Through The Window" by a band named 'Something Corporate'. I fell in love with the album. I later bought Something Corporates album "North". Again, I loved the album. Andrew McMahon was the singer/songwriter for Something Corporate. After the band finished up touring for their North album they decided to take a break. They were not planning on killing the band, they just wanted to get away and rediscover what made them become Something Corporate in the first place.

Andrew put together a side project called Jack's Mannequin. On the day they finished recording their debut album 'Everything in Transit' in 2005, Andrew was diagnosed with Leukemia. He is now in remission, and in 2008 Jack's Mannequin released The Glass Passenger. I've absolutely loved all four of these albums.

This past Saturday, Feb 20th, I got the chance to see Jack's Mannequin in concert at First Ave. and it was one hell of a show. I was on Youtube today and came across some videos from that First Ave. show. As I was reading through some of the comments I saw some talk about a song called Konstantine and how people scream for it to be played at every Jack's Mannequin concert and Andrew doesn't like hearing that. I had no idea what they were talking about.

Tonight I was online and I decided to look up Konstantine. I found out its a song from the Something Corporate days that wasn't on either of their two albums. I then found a video of the song. I took a listen.

Fuck me.

This song makes me melt. Listening to it is like being in heaven for 9 minutes.

Here it is. Something Corporate - Konstantine




And as a bonus, here is a live performance of it.




From the wiki for this song (yes, the song has its own wiki):

"Konstantine" is a song by alternative rock band Something Corporate. The song is the third track of their album Songs for Silent Movies, which was only released in Japan.

The song is about lead singer Andrew McMahon's relationship with his ex-girlfriend Krystal and their breakup.

Although the band has stopped touring, fans of McMahon's new band, Jack's Mannequin, still request the song to be played while the band is touring. McMahon refuses to play the song and has said in a recent interview, "If I ever play it, I’ll have to play it forever, every night. If it weren’t such a big deal for me to play Konstantine, then I probably would play it. But the truth is, as soon as I bring that song out one time, I will never be able to walk through a venue, no matter what band I’m playing with or no matter where I’m at, and not have people chant and cheer for it.”

The Darko Initiative

I'm a few days late with this, but I should comment on the Minnesota Timberwolves trade that happened before the NBA's trade deadline last week.

On Wednesday February 17th the Timberwolves made a trade with the New York Knicks, sending them seldom used Brian Cardinal for seldom used Darko Milicic. This is a trade that shows why David Kahn is doing a much better job than Kevin McHale did. I'm not one of those people that bashes McHale. He did a very good job of building the franchise up from being a laughingstock to a team that made it to the Western Conference Finals. Of course it then headed straight back to being a laughingstock before Kevin left not of his own accord.

There is a chance this trade will end up just being a wash for the Timberwolves. Brian Cardinal was not going to be on the team next year and he wasn't playing this year. Darko has been on record saying he is done with the NBA and will head home to Europe and play there next season. So, if Darko does stay in Europe next year, the T-Wolves are no better or no worse than they were without the trade. And that is the absolute worse this trade can be.

The good side of this deal? Milicic was taken #2 in a very deep and talented draft. He probably should not have been taken then, and hind-site says that was an absolutely horrible pick by the Detroit Pistons. But the fact remains that he does have some undeniable skill and for whatever reason has not been able to put that skill to use in his NBA career. He is also only 24 years old which means he should just now be entering the prime of his career. A time that his physical skills should start to flourish. He has been in the league for seven years already, and has mostly been an afterthought through those seven years. He's shown flashes of the brilliance that made him become the #2 pick in that draft, and he's also shown why he finds himself at the end of the bench on most of the teams he's played for.

He is exactly the type of player the Timberwolves need to compliment Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, and if Milicic can figure out how to use his skills here, this will be one of the best trades this team could ever make.

As I'm writing this, Darko has played exactly one game with the Timberwolves. He has stated he flat-out is not in game shape because of his lack of playing time in New York. So we should be expecting some growing pains here in what will amount to a 27-game tryout that will let each side know if Milicic will be a good fit with us or be better off going back over-seas. In that one game he played... WOW. Who would have seen this coming? He played 19-minutes, which is more than anyone could have expected him to play. But the thing is he earned those minutes. He scored 8 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, blocked 1 shot and had two assists, one of which was a beautiful back door pass to Damian Wilkins. But the big stat of the night? He was a +35, which means the Timberwolves outscored Oklahoma by 35-points while he was in the game. That's an insane number especially considering a)it was a close game decided by two-points and b)we lost. It would be easy to see someone be +35 in a blow-out win. It would be easy to see a +35 with someone playing garbage-time minutes. But this was a +35 where he found himself playing meaningful minutes and he found himself on the court for the last 4-minutes of a game decided by just two points.

It was only one game, and maybe that will be the peak of his career with us. But if he can build on that, and enjoy himself and comeback to play next year and years to come, wow, this trade would just be brilliant for the Timberwolves. The T-Wolves don't need a center that needs to score. They need a center that can play defense, block some shots, grab some rebounds, and score when needed and that is exactly what Milicic can bring.

Here's looking to some positive days with Milicic as the starting center for years to come.

My Walt Disney World Fireworks Photography

This blog is going to feature some of my Walt Disney World fireworks photography. You can click on any photo to see a larger version of it.

Wishes fireworks at Magic Kingdom




Illuminations fireworks at EPCOT




You can see more of my Disney fireworks photos here.

You can see all of my Disney photos here.

You can see all of my photos here.

Friday Night Video

I've always loved this song, and it's one of my favorites of the ones Prince has written for other artists. There is another version of it (The Uptown Remix) that has Prince playing his guitar all over it. But Sheena Easton simply sings her ass of in this song. Part of me wants to wonder why this song didn't get more airplay back in the day, but the simple thing is despite how good this song is, it's not a pop song. One thing is for certain though: Prince and Sheena Easton were magic working together. Wish they had done more.

Sheena Easton: 101



4 every night that u`ve been gone i`ve lit a candle
There must be 99 around my bed, around my bed
Lying awake all night long tears in vain
Sometimes I think that i`d be better off dead
Being without you is murder baby

Get in a taxi, subway train
Don`t make me cry these tears in vain, baby
A hundred nights without u is murder baby
A 101 just won`t do, no!

Why do I cry 4 u - u probably found someone new
And no one deserves ya, I say, no one deserves ya like I do
Baby u know it`s true
Oooh - what we had u said was meant 2 be

If that was true tell me why`d u leave
Baby, I wanna know
I`m sick of, i`m sick of, i`m sick of
Crying these tears in vain baby

Why don`t cha get in a taxi, subway train
I`m going mad baby
I`m going insane baby don`t cha know
101 just won`t do - no, no listen

Nothing on TV, my girlfriends bore me
They try to please me but I need u baby
U and me need 2 be together, together physically
Why can`t you come see about me?
Why can`t you come see about me?
U`ve got 2 get in a taxi, subway train
Don`t make me cry these tears in vain, baby
A hundred nights without u is murder baby
A 101 just won`t do, no!
No just won`t do

I`m in the funk
I`m in deep
U got to come baby see about me
That 101 just won`t do

My Futile 2009 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs Prediction

Before I start rambling on about my thoughts on these games, I have something I need to get off my chest. And that something is this: Why the HELL do people bet money on these games? I mean, would these people also drop a few Benjamin's on a coin flip? I'm looking at all four of these games and its very easy to make a case for all eight teams winning this weekend. But yet billions of dollars are changing hands betting on these games. I know I'm here making an attempt at predicting these games but trust me, in no way would I even bet $1 on these games.

Especially after my prediction last week that New England would make it to the Super Bowl.

(That sound you just heard was a rush of people leaving this blog)

All four games this weekend are outstanding match ups. It's not just eight good teams playing football this weekend. The way those eight teams match up with their opponents are absolutely perfect.

Case in point, lets discuss the New York Jets at San Diego Chargers game. This game has by far the best defense in the AFC against by far the best offence in the AFC. These two teams also have the top two W/L records over the last five weeks of the season. The Jets 'D' is just sick. Darrelle Revis is by far the best cover corner in the league. Unfortunately for the Jets, San Diego doesn't have a #1 WR for him to shut down. San Diego simply has too many weapons on offence, and Philip Rivers uses them all. Everyone is all over San Diego this week. They did close out the year on that amazing 11-game win streak. Despite that I really want to pick the Jets. But I won't. Wait... yes I will. New York wins by 3. 27-24.

The next game I'll talk about is the Arizona Cardinals at the New Orleans Saints. I'll start off by saying this: As a Vikings fan, I would LOVE to have Ken Whisenhunt as our coach. I think he's fast becoming one of the best coaches in the league. But, in saying that, he's coaching by far the most unpredictable team in the league. When he has his team on top of their game, they can beat anybody. But when they are not on top of their game... phew, they stink. Kind of the same thing as New Orleans. They looked outstanding starting off the season 13-0. And then... man, did they stink those last three games. Here's my take on the Saints. If Drew Brees takes their offense and puts up a couple of quick scores, forget about it. That puts their defense in position to do what they do best, which is create havoc for the opponents QB's. But outside of that, if they are in a close game, I don't think their D can stop any of the teams left in the playoffs. Which also leads me to say I believe these are the two worst teams left in the playoffs. Not that that's a bad thing, but they are. The winner of this one? If Arizona couldn't stop Aaron Rogers last week, no way can they stop Drew Brees. New Orleans wins 38-23.

Now lets talk about the Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts game. Are the fans in Baltimore over the Colts leaving them yet, or is this game festering in all of their hearts? OK, just like the other AFC game, we have one team with a shut-down defense (Baltimore) playing on the road against a team that can light it up (Indy). Up until their coach pulled the starters in week #15, Indy was unbeatable. Not only were they looking unbeatable, but they were also winning close games, which is a good lesson to learn come playoff time. Despite the turnover in coaches and players the Colts went through, Peyton Manning just knows how to make his team win. Baltimore looked outstanding in knocking the Patriots out of the playoffs last week. But outside of that huge victory last week, take a look at Baltimore's record against this years playoff teams: 1-7. That's why I'm going with the Colts this week. Baltimore played out of their minds last week and I don't think they can do it again. Indy wins 23-21.

And finally, lets talk about not only the game I'm most looking forward to, but the game that I believe features the two best teams playing this weekend. The Dallas Cowboys at the Minnesota Vikings. This game might be one of the best playoff games we've seen in a long time. Being a Viking fan that hates the Cowboys WAY more than the arch-rival Packers (dating back to the Drew Person out of bounds catch and push-off game), it pains me to say that the Cowboys are the only team left in the playoffs that scare me. I'm not saying any of the other teams left couldn't beat the Vikings, the other teams just don't scare me. The thing that makes this match up so good is how evenly matched these two teams are. Two teams that can dominate the physical game. Two teams that have enough skill players to score at a moments notice. Two teams that can stuff the run as good as anyone in the league. And two teams that have fans wishing for better coaches despite their successes this year. For all the national talk about how DeMarcus Ware will eat up Bryant McKinnie, it's laughable that no one is talking about the other side of the ball. Jared Allen gets to tee off on Flozell Adams, the most penalized tackle in the game, and a player that has obviously lost a step or two. I obviously hope the Vikings win, but nothing will surprise me with this game except for it not going down to the last play of the game. Since this is my prediction report, I have to call it, and I'm going to say Brett Favre carries the Vikings to a victory. Vikings 23, Dallas 21.

Enjoy the games. This should be a great weekend of watching football.

Sticky Bar

I have discovered a recipe for a wonderfully tasty and healthy snack bar that I'm going to share with you. I've tried it and trust me, you'll love how good this thing tastes! You won't believe that it is good for you. Below is the recipe as written in the Beachbody 'Thin Kitchen' recipe book. I'll share my little tweeks to it at the end of the recipe.

Tony Horton's Sticky Bar

You will need:
1/2 medium sized banana
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter (organic and natural, without hydrogenated oils)
1 cup unsweetened granola
Wax paper

Mix and mash ingredients in a bowl
Spoon onto a sheet of wax paper. Roll up contents into a cigar/hot dog shape. Set in freezer for about 90 minutes.

Cut in half. Eat frozen or throw into microwave for 10 seconds. This recipe will give you four servings.

Serving size: 1/2 of bar
Calories: 180
Fat Total: 11g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 3g
Protien: 6g

If that looks like a very simple recipe, you've got a good eye because it very much is a simple recipe. I did make a few changes to it though. The first one is I doubled the recipe. That gave me eight bars so I had enough to last the week. As for the peanut butter, I did use Natural Chunky peanutbutter. My grocery store apparently doesn't have the exact kind listed. Just make sure you don't use any regular peanut butter as then you'll lose a bunch of the heath benefits of the bar without really gaining any more taste. I use the Skippy Natural Peanutbutter brand. The third tweek is instead of using wax paper I used a small pan/bakery dish and spread out the mixture in that instead. I then cut it into eight pieces after I took it out of the freezer.

So there you go, enjoy it!

My 2009 Photobook

I just finished putting together some of my photographic highlights of 2009 and I'm here to show them to you. The best way to view this photo journey is to click on the main link I'll provide in a bit, click on the first picture, and then scroll through each picture. The pictures come with stories about what was going on and when they were taken. The album is set up in cronological order and starts out with 2009's Pond Hockey tournament.

You can click here to see this photo album.

You can also view this album as a slide show by clicking here. You can sit back and easily enjoy the photos this way, but you wont get any of the captions on the photos.

Hope you enjoy it!