A subtle gloom has settled over Ann Arbor this morning...

Both mirroring and exacerbating my mood.

Tomorrow is a new month and not just any month but September. 

Aviation has given me so much...

Today was a roller coaster ride...

I am not sure where I ended: up or down but I am pretty sure it was not on the up side.

My day started out a little batty:

I did not see exterminator on my job description but today that is exactly what I was doing when this little guy showed up at the office and drove everybody quite literally nuts.
While everyone was ready to call for help I scooped this little guy up place him in a box setting him by the woods hoping he will fly away tonight after it gets dark.
Turned out that  he was just a little baby and kind cute just trying to curl up until it gets dark out.

Look Who Is back In ann Arbor...

A short flight back from Ohio later things seem to be a lot better with the plane back in Ann Arbor. Its funny how sometimes something small like moving something from one place to another can change things so dramatically.

What is this you say?

Geese practicing flying in formation under the brilliant August sun.

My latest obsession...

Aliens Invasion.
Pretty damn fun

Suddenly I realized....

Almost the entire summer has gone by and I have not had
ONE
SINGLE
BRATWURST

What the hell has happened to me.
Thank god its almost tailgate season.

Everyone is talking about the east coast earthquake today....

I am so glad that the injuries were limited and there appears to be no deaths just a lot of shaken up people. No pun intended. 

That being said maybe NOW people will take my "giant segway building stabilizer" idea seriously.

No really why don't they have gyro stabilizers for entire buildings?

I mean besides cost feasibility, physical limitations and the whole segway /apple patent dispute. (Isnt apple suing everyone?)

Hanging out in Chicago has its benefits....

Moving the girl into her apartment we were tired and ready for a quick meal. I noticed nearby this bar and grill looking place so I suggested we just get I quick bite there after a long day.
Little did I know that we were stumbling into one of Chicago's new hipster hot spots simply called "Frontier" (AKA "Frontier lounge", AKA "The Frontier")

Our experience was much like the reviews a little hit and miss. It started out slow and they were out of a few things. The sever was not impressed with the girls request for a custom salad but once the food was finally served. WOW it was really good. The Smoked beef brisket Reuben I had was simply amazing. Even the Frontier burger and fries were good.

We did not read the reviews ahead of time, nor did we know that this was such a popular new place. I am glad we did not know anything as this was a chance to experience it without expectations. Was it a perfect experience?
No.
Would I go Back?

Absolutely.
For what its worth I even look forward to it.
If you are in the city look it up for yourself.
If you do , let me know what you think.

.

Back in Chi Town

We made it. The girl is moved in. We are dead tired and are going to settle in for a relaxing night before we head home. Not a bad view around these parts.

Packing for moving day again...

The girl is going back to school and we are packing for the big move this Sunday. This time its law school.
Tanner watches on as we load up the truck and her car.
It seems that she is always on the move, in one way or another.

I caught this little guy...

Hanging out in the front yard today. Thought he was cool so I snapped a photo of him. Maybe he is a harbinger of change.

Happy B Day Sweetie....

Today may have started out rough but it ended well. It was the Girls B day and we had a good dinner with the kids and opened some presents.

Here she is reacting to her new candle holder. She must have thought I forgot she looked at this once. I think she was glad I remembered. Happy B Day Sweetie.

I dont want to say today is going to be a bad day but.....

The fact that I got almost no sleep last night is not getting me off to a good start.

Best comment of the day: TV style.

From FUTURAMA:

Season 8, Episode 9 – Aired: 8/11/2011
"Fry am the Egg Man"

While flying around looking for somthing to eat.

Leela: " I know! I will use that new app that tells you what resturant is nearby."

Fry " You mean the window?"

Leela: "Yes."

Speaking of technology.... the phone is back in business

After a major wipe/reinstall most everything is back to normal. 
I do like having a camera everywhere I go.

I was downtown Ann Arbor for lunch with my friend Carrie and I took this quick shot of Main st at Washington looking south. Click on the image to enlarge.
What a nice day.

Last night my phone went dark and my entire world came crashing down.

It started last night.  I was putting myself to bed when I updated some apps before I shot some Stupid Zombies and let myself drift off to sleep.

That is when it happened. My phone re-booted and then would not come back. It was stuck in an obvious cycle of boot, crash, boot crash it was maddening. Before you say “did you turn it on and off again?” That was the very first thing I did. I pulled the battery. Then I pulled the memory card.

Then the sim.

Then I let it rest.

Rebooted then crashed.

Again and again and again.

I had an old phone somewhere but screw it I was not happy so I decided to wait till morning to solve it.

Before you say your iPhone would never crash, BS I had one, it can crash. They all can crash.

They are just computers after all.

It was now way past Zombie time and into bed time and for sure I was to tired to mess with it more. I had to leave the battery out and go to sleep.

It was weird.

For the first time in a long time I was disconnected from the outside world. What I someone tried to call me? (gasp) I even had to set an alarm CLOCK because the damn thing even wakes me up.

I went to sleep uneasy but woke no different than usual. I reminded the girl not to call me until I remedied the situation and went in a little early with intent to fix the problem.

Here is the thing… it was oddly liberating.

I did not have a phone.  I did not know what the temperature was exactly, it was just pleasant.  I did not know who had emailed me, it could wait. I did not know who updated their status, or texted me… I was just by myself driving.

It was kind of nice.

When did the phone take over my life? It sure was sneaky, I didn’t even notice it.

I learned something today. The phone is not my life.

The phone messing up reminded me I did not need it.

The are useful, they can be fun, but in the end… they are just computers after all.

RE-post: The US Patent System Is Killing Innovation

Re post from Gizmodo

The US Patent System Is Killing Innovation:

HTC sued Apple over mobile patents today. Again. Pretty soon Apple will likely sue them back. Again. Shrug. Throw it on the pile. And while the patent Cold War continues to heat up, weep for the real casualty: innovation.

Please click *here* to check out the entire article by Gizmodo

Bad Dream?

The other night I had a bad dream.
Not just a dream but a super realistic sequence of events.
I would wake, realize I was dreaming, go back to sleep and pick up right where I left off. Like a movie. I get these kind of dreams every so often. This one was particularly disturbing as I was a wanted man. Being chased by the police, not directly at first but I was involved in some nefarious happenings and I could feel the noose slowly tightening as they narrowed the search and closed in on me. Until I was arrested. I almost expected it and I waited for it to happen until it did. It was a dismal version of this world.
It was like my current life, same people just slightly different roles.
It was just like watching another version of my self going through things that seem totally unrealistic to my life I live now yet...
Yet somehow it was still familiar.
When I finally woke for the day I was relieved.
It took a while to shake the weird feeling of the dream. I woke with the memory of every detail.

Maybe dreams are not dreams but a glimpse into another universe. 
Almost like our current one, just slightly different.

Shop Time: Drawer Fronts

I did get some shop time in the shop this week end and knocked out some  drawer fronts for the kitchen.
They were surprisingly difficult to get just right but they are finally coming together.

 

Ashley and Washington

The Girl went to see Kid Rock tonight and that left me time to meet my freind Will for some drinks downtown. I stopped for a moment to take this quick shot. Just amazing.
Not bad for the cell phone.

How has someone NOT invented -

a robot that will clean the dog hair out of my vehicle.
I could leave it in there all night while I am sleeping and then in the morning it would be spotless.

Seriously. Tanner sheds like a... well like a bitch.

I really could use one.

Hint Hint.

Stick figures....

Stick figures.... now with 100% more awesome.

Somtimes I Make Shit up...

But if you had asked me to come up with some f'd up stuff I could not even have thought up a day as crazy as today.

Really.

I thought my dreams last night were weird, but maybe they were just a warning  for the day to come.

Tuesdays is the new Monday and other lies I tell myself to keep going.

oday I will totally try to trick time.

I am doing a mental re-boot so to speak and starting this week over with  fresh eyes.
After yesterday, a new start to the week is called for.

Life lessons learned this week (its only freaking Monday edition)

The only way to fight crazy is with even bigger crazy and sometimes even that is not enough. Damn it I hate being out crazied.

If you ask your self “this couldn’t possibly get more complicated” just take a second to savor the moment… its about to get worse. Way way worse.

The amount that you want to eat your lunch is inversely proportional to the amount that people care that they are interrupting you. The closer you are to Monday the greater the divergence.

People will mess your shit up. By people I mean people and by shit I mean your day.

Mess

Your

Shit

Up

Sunday Fail

It just did not work out the way I wanted it to today.

Now I cant even sleep right.

Stupid Sunday

I’m not jealous…. I don’t mind.

I’m not jealous…. I don’t mind.

Sure there is a car show going on down town.

Sure is Saturday.

It’s not like I would rather be there or something.

Who cares that I have to work.

It doesn’t bother me in the least.

Not.

In.

The.

Least.

There is somthing about the smell..

Of ripe mullberrys that bring me back to childhood memories like a flood of familiar places brought back to life. Today this smell stopped me in my tracks and took me back in time.

Spider in the morning

As if  she too was happy it was Friday...

This spider was hanging out all content in the front bushes this morning basking in the sun. You might have to click on the image to get a close enough look to pick her out from the sun dappled back ground.

I love caffeine, I love caffeine. I love caffeine. I love caffeine. (breathe) I love caffeine....

 Yet another reason to love caffeine.

Ahhh caffeine... making days more bearable since 1819.

Best comment of the day: Thread eddition

You can read the article *here* but the real gem is in the comments as follows:

JonThomasDesigns

Wed 03 Aug 2011 12:30 PM

How is this even a Story ? This is seriously one of the Stupidest Post i have Ever read

Matt Buchanan @JonThomasDesigns

How is you even a Commenter ? This is seriously one of the Stupidest Comment i have Ever read.

Brian Barrett @Matt Buchanan

How is this even a Reply ? This is seriously one of the Stupidest Reply i have Ever read

AgentRockstar @Brian Barrett

How is this even a Thread? This is seriously one of the Stupidest Threads i have Ever read

Joe Brown @Brian Barrett

How is you guys even have jobs? This is seriously one of the Stupidest Employment Situations i have Ever read.

Philip.J.Fry @AgentRockstar

How is this even internet? This is seriously the stupidest internet I've ever experienced.

Is it only me?

Or is the new Planet of the Apes movie more creepy than scary. More icky than evil. More freaky then... fraide.

OK that last bit does not make sense.
Seriously though it creeps me out.

I pad head... I pad head... I pad head

Ummm .... just weird.

Thanks to engadget for this one

The stupid network is down....

and my productivity is tanking .