tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874608265065708382024-03-12T18:25:09.783-06:00So this is your blog . . .The life and times, blah, blah, blah . . . you found your way here, now get your read on.Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.comBlogger628125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-5191351829680389772018-02-27T07:27:00.001-07:002018-02-27T07:27:06.601-07:00Bikes!I'd totally post a picture of my bike, but I am not sure I can find it . . . In 2018, I have ridden my bicycle outside a grand total of 0.00 times. Today that changes.<br />
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<span _ngcontent-c3="" class="fct-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 5px;">Today</span><span> </span><span _ngcontent-c3="" class="fct-date" style="box-sizing: border-box;">02/27</span></div>
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<a _ngcontent-c3="" href="https://www.wunderground.com/us/co/denver/zmw:80210.1.99999/precipitation" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1088b0; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;"><span _ngcontent-c3="" class="pop" style="background-image: url("//icons.wxug.com/i/o/sprite-common-vert.png?v=1.20"); background-position: 0px -383px; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-weight: normal; height: 15px; padding-left: 12px; position: relative; top: -1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 15px;" title="chance of precipitation"></span><span> </span><strong _ngcontent-c3="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">0</strong>% /<span> </span><strong _ngcontent-c3="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">0</strong><span> </span>in</a></div>
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Plentiful sunshine. High 51F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.</div>
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It looks like it'll be almost downright pleasant. They say something about "blah, blah, blah, like riding a bike" but I'm slightly terrified . . . it's been a while.<br />
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On the plus side, my hydration levels should be much better than they ever have been. This is not because of water consumption, but because of the new whole house humidifier I installed a couple weeks back. The house is almost jungle like compared to our usual high desert plains climate. When I last checked, we were hovering right around 38% relative humidity . . . my skin is so soft!Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-88635281703553096382018-02-15T08:51:00.000-07:002018-02-15T08:51:10.490-07:00Keepin it Klassy!Nothing says classy like a couch on your porch . . .<br />
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While I advocated for this as a permanent fixture for comfort and convenience sake, the rest of the household vetoed it, boo! In any case, Habitat for Humanity is picking it up this afternoon since we donated it. Moving it out of the house brought back memories of moving it in way back in the early 2000s. I believe Les E. and I were responsible for clumsily navigating through a couple doorways. If I remember correctly we managed to get it wedged in the front door, inexplicably. This morning, with expert assistance and supervision . . .<br />
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. . . we successfully got the couch to the porch in one go. The old couch served the house well but out with the old, in with the new! Shortly after Habitat picks up, Crate and Barrel will be dropping off, hooray for new furnishings.Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-40877233294778899452018-02-12T12:00:00.004-07:002018-02-12T12:00:49.281-07:00No We Don't Have Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We do not have human children in this house and there are no plans to add any, but we know how to spoil our new fuzzy child Fritz.</div>
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Yes there are two beds for him . . . and he has two crates right now although one is a loaner. He has two crate pads, an ample supply of chew treats (I'll get to bull pizzle another day), and all the toys he wants, be that which he picked out at the pet store or what we thought he would like.<br />
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He'll be going to obedience training soon, mostly so we can learn how to speak his brand of "dog" and make sure he's a good canine companion and citizen about town. For now, he is exploring the world, smelling new things, peeing on them and having a good time in general.<br />
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Here's what we know; Fritz likes tennis balls, he finds squeaky toys fascinating, he likes his crate, he loves his memory foam bed from Costco. It can be exhausting being a puppy dog in a new house . . .<br />
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<br />Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-62057340398452807332018-02-09T09:48:00.000-07:002018-02-09T09:48:13.570-07:00I'm Bitcoin Rich!I won't be going to any extremes like changing my name to "Blockchain" or "CryptoRubin" but I own fractions of a Bitcoin . . . .00132857 to be exact.<br />
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In all honesty, I took the path of least resistance in my quest to obtain my cryptocurrency. I waited for the Square Cash app to open their exchange so I could buy and sell from the convenience of my phone, without having to figure out the other exchanges in the great wide world of the internets. Being the risk averse individual that I am, I also waited to get money from Square for referring people to the app. My investment comes $5 at a time with not really my money.<br />
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What's the purpose of this experiment? I don't really know . . . sound like Arizona is going to let people pay their taxes in Bitcoin in the near future. Maybe it will become more useful to my normal, everyday life . . . maybe I just wanted on the bandwagon . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-5237084754543941732018-02-05T11:16:00.000-07:002018-02-05T11:16:37.393-07:00Around the HouseFebruary seems like a perfectly good month to start tackling some projects around the house. There are some big ones, some small ones and some small ones that get big when you find out what is lurking beneath the surface . . .<br />
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I didn't take pictures because I didn't really know I was going to be getting into a Jr. Plumber project until there were parts lying on the shower floor. As things change gradually over time you tend not to notice. The temperature control on the shower was one of those things . . . everything was great, showers were hot, then they became hot enough, and then we started wondering why they weren't as hot as they used to be. I took a quick look online and didn't see anything remotely resembling our Hansgrohe thermostatic valve, but how different could they all be? That point was moot through the first hour of trying to pull the handle off. After some tugging and light prying, I switched to dumping hot water on the handle, hoping that would loosen things up. Then I switched to swearing and brute force and finally the handle flew off and thankfully did not break the glass of the shower enclosure.<br />
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With the handle off, I could go back to the internet to find out that my older valve looked nothing like the instructional videos online. For example, my valve did not have service shut offs that everybody kept talking about . . . so I went to the basement and shut off the lines to the shower with the conveniently located valves in the laundry room. The amount of torque required to get the mixing cartridge out of the valve body left me with the nasty thought at the back of my mind wondering how many plumbing connections I might be breaking in the wall . . .<br />
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To make a long, boring story less long and only slightly less boring, the cartridge was all scaled up. White vinegar and water did the trick to loosen things enough to be able to clean off the gunk. Everything went back together much more smoothly that it came apart and like magic our shower can be cold, hot and everything in between. As a bonus, the water pressure is better now too!<br />
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This is only a taste of what's to come on the DIY (and YDIFM) front. The house just got some new insulation, new windows are in the works. I am planning on installing a whole house humidifier and for fun, we are looking into getting the floors resurfaced!<br />
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You might ask why all the attention to the house?<br />
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Doesn't he deserve it?Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-43233784847842789822018-01-29T11:31:00.001-07:002018-01-29T11:31:26.486-07:00Time Marches On . . .It has been quite a while and I'm pretty sure I no longer know how to write. Nothing like life changes to inspire one to scribble down some thoughts and practice some sort of expression. Dempsey, like every other smart being likes biscuits.<br />
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As of the last entry in the blog, Dempsey the dog was an experienced, spry 8 years old. In the past few years he has hiked, backpacked, wandered all around Denver, enjoyed life in general. He has been a great friend, always listening to what we had to say, never judging. <br />
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Unfortunately today we have to say goodbye. Nothing is forever and even if it were, forever wouldn't be long enough with this guy. May all your drinks of water be from cool mountain streams and well . . .</div>
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Thanks buddy!<br />
<br />Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-11663751559054077972013-03-11T19:02:00.004-06:002013-03-11T19:02:53.476-06:00Marching Right AlongIn keeping with my apparent one post per month kind of pace, I'm getting well ahead of the game for March. The past weeks have been filled with my foray into the knitting world. I have a really good teacher, she is nice to me and patient. I forgot to take a picture of my very first knitting piece which was just a swatch of stitches and a veritable knitting playground. I tried knitting and purling and did my best to remember what was what. I made a couple ribbed sections and practiced switching between the two stitches until I was comfortable. Then came the scarf . . .<br />
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Um, I made it out of yarn . . . and it is a cable pattern. G still has the pattern, I thought it would be burned into my brain, but I only remember P4,K3,P4,K15,P4,K3,P4 . . . and P7,K4,P15,K4,P7. There was some repetition and a little variation to get the cable part done. I only had one big mess up where I didn't cable in the right direction and had to unknit a bunch of rows which was pretty scary, but we fixed it.<br />
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We also made some dumpling/potsticker things from scratch the other night. Standard pasta and even ravioli are pretty easy for us as a team, but these guys were a new test. I tried to take the easy way out when G offered to buy potsticker wrappers at Sakura Square, but unfortunately the market was already closed, so we blazed forward bravely with a new type of pasta dough.<br />
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The basic dough is flour, salt and boiling water. For some reason I thought I'd be ok kneading for 10 minutes by hand so I skipped using the food processor. After getting my workout in, it was time to roll, stuff and close some dumplings.<br />
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The dumpling press was purchased one morning at the Pacific Mercantile after we dined on dim sum at Super Star Asian. It came in quite handy as hand crimping 36 dumplings would have been a chore.<br />
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For the filling, we went with shrimp, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, napa cabbage, and a few other ingredients. G mixed up her favorite dipping sauce of garlic chili paste and soy. The cooking process was fairly straight forward . . . brown one side of dumplings in pan, steam in pan, brown the other side lightly.</div>
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The end result was delicious!<br />
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There have been some other various adventures since my last post. We all, Dempsey included, went on ski vacation to Steamboat. G and I took knife skills class at Cook St. and we both have all of our fingers still. I rode bikes inside, I rode bikes outside . . . and despite the season, we made things grow . . .<br />
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Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-14745088091612158622013-02-17T11:29:00.002-07:002013-02-17T11:29:46.103-07:00Wow, February 2013How/why is it already more than half way through the second month of 2013? Since my ghost writer has been slacking on my blog posts, I figured I better step in and type something on my own.<br />
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There are so many things that happened between October 2012 and today so I'll hit the photographed highlights in no particular order:<br />
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G and I have made lots of pastas, various pastas . . . flavored, stuffed, thick noodle, thin noodle, basic, exotic . . . the picture above was a red wine pasta. It had lovely color, but tasted mostly like . . . pasta.<br />
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I bought a couple new to me espresso machines after selling the Nuova Simonelli I bought a couple years back for $100. Not too surprising, the 2-group machine was less expensive than the 1-group, but the benefit of the single group machine is that I can physically pick it up and take it into either shop if something happens. I nerded out and put a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller">PID controller</a> on the single group machine for "fun". It provides some semblance of temperature stability, but no great benefit beyond that.<br />
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It did actually snow in Denver once, at some point during the winter . . .<br />
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Thanks to new Local Velo sponsor Sugarlicious, we had more gummy candies to play with. We give gummy army people a solid two thumbs up!<br />
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We have been to Dim Sum at Super Star Asian more than once in the past few months. Dumplings are good!<br />
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G found out why Dempsey likes his bed so much . . .<br />
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We planted more things to grow in the gardening off season. The paperwhites seemed like a good way to go and since the above was taken, they have grown significantly. The succulent in an old portafilter just seemed so . . . artsy . . .<br />
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We traveled to snowy and cold locations, fortunately there were hot springs for soaking. Unfortunately it was so cold south of Salida that the car froze and didn't want to start until we hooked up to a very robust battery and cranked and cranked and cranked . . . -17 degrees is cold!<br />
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We went to Steamboat, and stopped at the top of Rabbit Ears Pass on the way to stretch the legs and snowshoe before a weekend of skiing/snowboarding.<br />
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G rented skis with authority! This was her first official ski vacation, longer than a day trip . . . fortunately we were rewarded with healthy snowfall over the weekend and had about a foot of fresh powder the last day of skiing.<br />
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We made a handy cutting board rack on the inside of the kitchen cabinet. Thanks the internet! You are so full of good ideas! More to come . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-72595192788546053282012-10-21T20:13:00.000-06:002012-10-21T20:13:36.529-06:00Thus Ends the Growing Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've said it once and I'll say it again, the first year of gardening was reasonably successful. It is all about managing expectation and mine were pretty low given I had no idea what I was doing. We spent a couple hours clearing out the garden area after the NC trip since everything froze while we were gone. I was amazed at how shallowly rooted the massive pumpkin and watermelon vines were, but that made it all that much easier to clear them out.</div>
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We did some work to start training the raspberries and blackberries, hopefully next year they will produce a little more.The raised beds are back to square one which is perfect for our plans for next season. There is currently a massive research effort going on to identify what, how, when to grow and potentially why. The last harvest of the season yielded much watermelon . . .</div>
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It was only after eating the green tomatoes that I found out you can let them ripen off the vine, they sure were tasty as fried green tomatoes . . . for which the Rise & Shine secret chicken dredge worked perfectly.<br />
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G definitely provides some good support and motivation for getting things done around the house and the yard. The pile of mulch that sat on the strawberry area finally got spread to other parts of the yard and the strawberry pot is now centered with a number of this year's runners planted in the ground. Again, the hope is to increase yield beyond the handful of strawberries we had.</div>
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Along with the end of the growing season comes the end of this being a part-time gardening blog. Having a little more time in life has not only given me the opportunity to start updating the ol' blog again, but we've even left town a few times with more travel coming up . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-40859523762499628272012-09-30T20:34:00.001-06:002012-09-30T20:34:47.306-06:00Signs . . .The way people think is pretty fascinating and every once in a while you get a glimpse of that thought process, quite possibly still in its phases of infancy . . . half cooked and leaving plenty of room to question!<br />
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As we ease into autumn of 2012, it seems like advertising the garage sale of the century might be a hair on the premature side. I did not take the opportunity to visit said garage sale of the century, but given that I didn't read about it in the national news shortly there after, I don't think it met its billing.<br />
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One of the best parts of living in a neighborhood is neighborly behavior. I'd like to think that people have the capacity to look out for each other, even if there is no relationship established other than proximity. Many neighborhoods have dog poo aid stations. They don't all have to be as formal as seen above, often a neighbor effort comes in the form of something simple like a milk jug with a cut out in it so re-purposed plastic bags can be removed easily for poop control.<br />
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Apparently the dog owning brain trust in my n-hood couldn't figure out how the system works. I personally have never imagined any sort of poo-fairy that would take care of the scene above. Sigh . . .<br />
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There is no such thing as a free lunch. Knowing what happens to coffee that sits around, especially coffee that isn't loved and looked after, the offer of free coffee at the end of a shop's business day isn't really that much of an enticement. How about if I take the challenge and drink some of your blown out coffee, you give me a free pastry? That at least would make for a compelling offer and an interesting sign.<br />
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G and I were talking about the new bike rack with a built in service station a few weeks back. Her employer didn't want to install them because of cost and responsibility of maintenance of the facility. Whole Foods on the other hand went all in. They chalked up a new sign and everything! Unfortunately when I found myself in a time of need, shortly after they installed their new bike station, I found out it had been removed because it broke . . .<br />
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I had to take a break from garden posts because this blog was starting to get a little too agricultural, but a harvest post is pending. The fruits of gardening labors have been both sweet and tasty, making me fat and blog lazy!Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-77273471611063174612012-08-24T08:50:00.000-06:002012-08-24T08:50:46.973-06:00Growth and ChangeSo, where have I been the past few weeks?
I went camping again with Dempsey and the cool girl who now also feeds him treats and is nice enough to let me call her "my girlfriend" . . .
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When it comes to the "man's best friend" kind of loyalty, I see where I stand here . . .</div>
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The latest trip was the Fancy Pass loop, up in the hills somewhere between Minturn and Leadville. Fortunately the turn for the forest road was before the <a href="http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31261435/detail.html">sinkhole</a>. You can't just cover an old railroad tunnel . . . nice going long retired CDOT engineer.
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Again, it turns out that Dempsey is quite the little trooper, very willing to hike for hours over whatever kind of terrain happens to be under foot/paw. There was quite a variety on the hike with some rockiness over the passes, alpine lakes and meadows, and even some random mining-like equipment left in the middle of nowhere. We have our next trip planned, sans Dempsey. We'll be heading to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort for Zak and Melissa's wedding, some hot springs soaking and possibly another hike up a 14er.</div>
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Not surprisingly the garden continues to grow and I keep making new discoveries as the season goes by. After a slow start, the creeping, viney plants, the pumpkin, watermelon, and cantaloupe finally got to growing and grow they did! I'll have to get a shot of the area the pumpkin took over towards the northeast side of the garden . . . but at last it did its job and made a pumpkin, well three actually. </div>
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This picture is a couple weeks old and now the smallest of the bunch is up to a whopping five pounds. The largest is probably big enough to turn into some sort of horse drawn carriage . . .</div>
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Ok, maybe not that big, but the pumpkin is way bigger than my hand!
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Every once in a while, something gets overlooked in the harvesting walk of the afternoon. I'm still not sure what to do with oversized vegetables besides start my collection of veggie fetish photos . . .</div>
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Look at the size of that watermelon . . .</div>
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There's the shot of the pumpkin's supporting foliage. For reference, that is a second story window in the background . . .<br />
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Of the raspberry bushes that were donated to me, a couple survived and one is making fruit by the handful, probably not my hand, maybe a small child's hand . . .<br />
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The sunburst cherry tomatoes or whatever they are have been making garden snacks for me and Dempsey daily. He discovered that he likes tomatoes and cucumbers and if left alone in the yard, he will find the ripe ones and very indelicately harvest them.</div>
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More updates to come, but think furniture shopping . . .</div>
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Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-51634180616339555582012-08-24T07:45:00.001-06:002012-08-24T07:45:08.083-06:00Heart to HeartDear blog,
I know it has been a long time since we last checked in with each other. This does not mean that I have forgotten about you or that I don't love you anymore . . . I do, I have just been busy.
I remember the good times we've had, but also the times you taunted me with your unblinking stare, your demands for attention, your lack of self-motivation to simply update yourself. So blog, I am here to help. You will not be merely lost in the passing of time. Even though I have changed and you have not, I still care.
Here's your stinking update already . . .
MeSeth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-74013061410053259402012-08-01T10:07:00.000-06:002012-08-01T10:07:50.181-06:00Early AM . . .There is a whole lot of difference between making a right turn out of the door in the morning instead of the usual left to head north . . .<br />
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First and foremost, I have found that my neighbors to the north love to drench the sidewalk along with their weeds that serve as a "lawn"... I'm usually not in the mood to dodge and weave my way down the block. Dempsey is also very dainty and does not like getting his paws wet, except for special occasions.
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I'm not sure what has been going on mornings of late, but I was starting to get convinced that the zombie apocalypse was starting in my neighborhood. I have been seeing an odd cast of characters stumbling around the streets during the wee hours. Changing my route had kept me safe... Dempsey sure wouldn't protect me.
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It is hard to believe that August is already here. What happened to July? I think there is going to have to be some sort of recap in coming days. There has been a whole lot going on in my life and times...
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<br />Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-25570666419291476592012-07-13T09:32:00.000-06:002012-07-13T09:32:27.648-06:00Breaking StuffIt is no secret that I have very little fear when it comes to taking things apart. There is never a guarantee that they will go back together with the desired result, but I will dismantle things!<br />
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My smart phone device recently experienced an impact with the ground, touch screen first and as one would assume, the glass cracked. I did some calling around to see what it would cost to repair and the standard charge seems to be $120 these days, but nobody stocks the parts. Based on my experience paying somebody else to replace the power supply on my iMac, I decided to check on parts costs and the repair process.<br />
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Thanks to the powers of the internet, finding the required information wasn't all that tough. Parts are readily available thanks to eBay and instructional videos populate youtube, some good, some horrifying.<br />
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I think my favorite video is the one where they remove the broken touchscreen from the front side of the phone by breaking it thoroughly! I followed the steps in the above, but didn't use a heat gun to separate the LCD/digitizer. As a result, I managed to crack the LCD in the process. That is now on order and the process will be repeated.</div>
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Fortunately I have some backup options if I completely destroy the phone and . . . I'm up for a phone upgrade in December . . .</div>Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-54006617873541621622012-06-28T11:56:00.003-06:002012-06-28T11:56:46.052-06:00First HarvestI took the opportunity provided by a cool, early morning to poke around the garden to see if anything was ready for picking. The crookneck squash does a good job of obscuring its produce with abundant, giant leaves, but there was a squash of reasonable size that I went ahead and plucked. Since there are many more to follow, I will probably just slice into this one and eat it raw to see what it would best pair with flavor wise.<br />
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The radishes are probably planted a shade on the dense side so it is a bit harder to see how they are coming along. I found a few that were showing a larger root size toward the top, they will be eaten shortly. <br />
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The lettuces that were unhappy with the heat seem to have made the adjustment to our early Colorado summer. I have some strategies for getting plants in the ground next year and keeping more of a continuous harvest. I am starting to see some action from the other veggies ... the tomato plants are doing their best to branch out and supply me with lots and lots of tomatoes, more updates to follow ...Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-19256711210530685342012-06-26T09:05:00.000-06:002012-06-26T09:05:01.978-06:00Gardening is Hot!Everything in the yard has been growing much faster than I have been keeping track of and documenting! I managed to get some seeds and seedlings in the ground sometime shortly after the mother's day weekend which generally gives Colorado Front Range gardeners the green light for frost free planting. I suspect I could have started earlier and I will next year with some seeds started indoors.<br />
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What was once an empty box, aside from the dirt added, is now full and lush. The one of the crookneck squashes (upper right corner of the first box) has really taken off. The other seems to be lagging behind a bit, but maybe that will result in an accidentally staggered harvest. The various lettuces seem to be doing alright, but something is nibbling on the row of bitter salad mix ... as well as the radishes. I suspect the culprit is the notorious flea beetle. I have seen a few hop around when I have plucked a few leaves for sampling. Word on the street (or the internet) is that used coffee grounds repel these little guys and fortunately I have a very steady source.<br />
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The radishes have been rapid growers and I never really took the opportunity to space them out after they sprouted. I'll be harvesting them as they start showing decent sized roots, I don't want them to get too bitter. I did space out the romaine, unfortunately right as it started getting hot out. Some of it should survive, but it definitely looks a little stressed. <br />
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I thought the Japanese Eggplant blossom was particularly charming looking with its purple hue. I hear that eggplants can be quite prolific once they start fruiting.<br />
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Besides pest control, I have a pretty regular schedule and cycle of garden chores. There seems to be no shortage of weeds that magically appear around the plants. I rather enjoy my late evening watering and picking sessions. There is something very relaxing about the mindless activity. With any luck, my next shots will be of my first harvests!Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-21663748808374990622012-06-15T15:18:00.000-06:002012-06-15T15:18:36.108-06:00Road Trip!Dempsey gets to go on his first camping trip this weekend. We're hitting the road and heading towards Chaffee County and <a href="http://14ers.com/routemain.php?route=huro1&peak=Huron+Peak">Huron Peak</a>.<div>
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In preparation for the trip, we've continued a regimen of cross-training with Avery on the tennis courts. He should have plenty of fitness at this point to tackle the 10+ mile hike up to 14,000' and back. I'm more curious to see how he will do in a tent overnight!</div>
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This will be the second trip out of town for some outdoor adventures. Two weeks ago, I went out of town with the Blah Life, up to Steamboat Springs. There was hiking, there was some getting lost, there was some snow, there was some relaxing., and hot spring soaking.. All in all it was a lovely time. More to follow...</div>Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-84712639864992477022012-06-07T21:50:00.004-06:002012-06-07T21:50:59.170-06:00South Pearl ActivitiesThe morning dog walk is a magical time, the quiet of the morning is a great time to think and observe my quaint, quasi-urban surrounding. Some mornings are marked by beautiful sunrises, tranquil moonsets and I am usually the only soul (Dempsey excluded) out and about.<br />
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The camera phone doesn't really capture the serenity of the morning, but it is good for some details.<br />
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The early morning light and shading of the faux concrete at the entrance to Sushi Den give little indication about what the cropping of the picture is hiding.<br />
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Somebody stole the neighboring building under the cover of night!<br />
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I knew that changes were coming since there was significant work on the inside of the old Pearl St. Grill space. What I suspected was that it would be a renovation of the existing space, after which, the Wynkoop Group would take over the Izakaya Den space and the Super Den would be depleting the world supply of delicious tuna at an accelerated rate.<br />
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I will be very curious to see how construction on the "addition" will progress. The previous projects I have observed over the last few years, the construction of Izakaya and the iterations of Ototo were build in a manner that suggest no expense was spared. I am assuming this one will follow suit . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-64029277129537176532012-05-31T22:13:00.000-06:002012-05-31T22:13:09.632-06:00Aww, Poor Dempsey!It really isn't a secret that Dempsey is a) hairy, very hairy and b) hates being bathed. This time of year is especially bad when his undercoat is coming out in preparation for the dog days of summer . . . which dogs "they" are referring to it a mystery to me.<br />
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You can see the sad look in Dempsey's eyes and the sheer resentment for said "bathing activities" . . .<br />
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This is only a small sample of the pooch's downy undercoat. I have joked a few times about making Dempsey yarn and knitting something as a keepsake, but I don't think this is really a possibility. <br />
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We took advantage of the sun and wind and Dempsey dried out in nature's hair dryer, shaking frequently, bits of hair floating away in the wind. He started looking happier until the brush came back out.<br />
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Nothing like a little dog tennis with Avery the German Shepherd to make a dog forget his woes. <br />
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Besides smelling funny, this effort was in preparation for a visit with Dempsey's feline friend, Gus-ticles . . . gotta represent!<br /><br />Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-17485966259281490082012-05-31T06:39:00.003-06:002012-05-31T06:39:57.148-06:00Gummi Animals on the TownOne of the benefits of living in such a beautiful state is that there is no shortage of scenery, even in our urban environs. This little guy was sunning himself, making the most of the spring warmth this weekend.<br />
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I'm not sure how long these gummies stayed in place, being in such a high profile spot, but they really did fit right in.<br />
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There were some urban assault installations over the past few days . . . who comes up with this stuff?<br />
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It is amazing what you can spot if you are looking the right direction at the right moment. We, along with the yellow gummi bear, were witness to a terrible gummi accident the other evening. The red bear just happened to be in the crack of the sidewalk . . .<br />
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There were some shopping trips that provided opportunities, some more artistic than others . . .<br />
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Some slightly ironic, I'm pretty sure there isn't a dining option in that particular store . . .<br />
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And some that definitely kept up the whimsical side of the bargain . . .<br />
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The variety of gummi animals keeps expanding and we've learned a few lessons along the way. Sour gummi candies have no place in art, but they sure taste good. Gummi sharks are disturbing in their size and just in general. People rarely pay attention to what others are doing around them . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-73207718375061782282012-05-24T10:19:00.000-06:002012-05-24T10:19:21.364-06:00Digging in the DirtThe backyard project has been a long time in the making. If you don't remember what the yard looked like, you can revisit <a href="http://sethrubin.blogspot.com/2008/09/break-it-down.html">September 2008</a>, that should give you the basic idea of what kind of condition I started with. Last summer's efforts really began with some coaxing from Brian K. who was around for the first time the yard crap was purged. We dismantled the ramshackle brick patio and repurposed the bricks and used them as a border for the walkway/patio, carefully laid out!<br />
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I hate flagstone patios with a passion because of the labor involved with installing and maintaining them so I opted for pea gravel which is easy to spread, rake, grade, replace . . . the only hard part was moving it, one bucket at a time into place. Another point of minor inconvenience was the state of the timeshare pickup truck. The alternator wasn't working for some mysterious reason so every trip required a recharge of the battery. The state of hybrid technology for vehicles has come a long way but our 1985 F-150 certainly wasn't meant to be run this way!<br />
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Life is often about timing and there just happened to be a patio table and chair set on craigslist that was of interest as the patio was getting finished. It fit quite nicely and as the rest of the yard was progressing, it gave me a place to sit and admire my work.<br />
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I put together two 4' x 8' garden boxes and dreamed of vegetables to come . . . more on that later.<br />
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With the old brick patio gone, the grill was relocated as you can see in the background. Work on the beds for the plants was well underway with weed barrier and mulch down to keep the yard from returning to its previous state!</div>
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All of the random rocks and flagstones that were dug up from whatever the former owner of the house had done were reused creatively, mostly because I had no desire to figure out how to dispose of them.<br />
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The last mission for the truck and the slurpee drinkin' crew was to roll out the green carpet and get some grass a growin'. I'm a huge fan of sod for the instant gratification it provides. Where there was dirt, there is real, live grass!</div>
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I was never a boy scout, but I'm pretty sure I have earned my junior irrigation specialist merit badge by this point. I extended/expanded the existing drip system and included some zones for the grassy areas.<br />
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The backyard has been transformed. Once upon a time, we sat back there and burned scraps of old fence and whatever else we could find. Now, we can dine al fresco, in class/style/grace and solve the problems of the world.<br />
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In phase one, I got the bulk of the work done in the yard, but there were still a few spots to fill in and more plants to plant. I didn't get around to planting a garden last summer, just some herbs in pots. So last week, I used the yard as an excuse not to ride my bicycle. The pickup truck, now working properly (thanks to Mr. Edwards, the senior), was once again loaded up, this time with a "planter's mix" of dirt.<br />
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Said dirt found it's way into the raised garden boxes and as you can see from the excessive amount of grass clippings, the sod has taken and the grass is growing very quickly.<br />
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The garden now includes some tomatoes, some lettuces, a couple peppers, a few varieties of squash, radishes, carrots, beans . . . I'm sure there is something else I am forgetting. I also planted a few creeping, viney things on the outside of the boxes; a pumpkin, a watermelon, and a cantaloupe. I have a few fruits growing in the yard. There is a row of raspberries and a row of blackberries that I will be training along the fence. I planted three blueberry bushes that are already showing signs of fruiting in year two. I'll include more detail in future posts, especially as things start to sprout and grow into something of visual interest.Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-4620550648844539252012-05-17T08:33:00.001-06:002012-05-17T08:33:30.037-06:00Very MysteriousSometimes you are in the right place at the right time and something of mystery and wonder reveals itself to you. Take a look:<br />
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It appears to be some sort of 'manifesto' written in purple crayon, on a napkin, slightly used. The text reads:<br />
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<i>To whom it may concern:</i></div>
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<i>We the messengers of the gummi snacks will be creating a variety of gummi installations at random locations with neither rhyme nor reason starting NOW, operating under the following principles:</i></div>
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<li><i>Be whimsical + witty</i></li>
<li><i>Spread the joy of the gummi without malicious intent</i></li>
<li><i>No gummi mess will be created</i></li>
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<i>Please enjoy these works. Tell your friends, loved ones, pets, etcetera . . .</i></div>
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<i> Word</i></div>
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This means something . . .</div>Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-18508705721012483982012-05-14T22:28:00.001-06:002012-05-15T05:56:44.120-06:00ElusiveI once told a girl that I loved her and she responded, " I don't think about you at all . . ." Kids can be so cruel . . . ok, that didn't really happen.<br />
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Sometimes the hardest part about a blog post is getting the briefest moment of inspiration to get started. Once you have that, it seems like the words flow more easily. I have been collecting pictures randomly without a clue when/where/how they would work into the mix . . . here's one.<br />
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I'm pretty sure the collection of irises on the other side of the fence are much more impressive than the two that tried to escape. If the grass is greener, what are the irises?<br />
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Thanks word inspiring muse person . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-11000582620827428972012-05-09T20:56:00.001-06:002012-05-09T20:56:39.420-06:00Sweet Action . . .Oh how I do love some <a href="http://sweetactionicecream.com/">Sweet Action</a> ice cream! It seemed like a good idea to swing by after dinner for a scoop and the ice cream was top notch as usual. After trying a few flavors, I opted for the Huckleberry Pie and Deb went for the Red Velvet Cake, both winners. There is one part of the experience, external to the store, that pains me greatly . . . being in hipster central on South Broadway!<br />
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Unfortunately there were elements I couldn't pick up with my stealthy shot. The blue suede shoes and penny loafers really completed the above outfits as did the track bike that dude with the messenger bag walked up with (riding fixies is hard, but you still look cool if you just stand next to it).<br />
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I did some hipster fact checking to confirm my suspicions, it is all about expressing your fierce individuality through conformity, mimicking fashions gleaned from other sub-cultures/groups. A couple notes; hipsters hate anything you like and like anything you hate and a hipster will die a fiery death before admitting to being a hipster.<br />
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The loafers really got me thinking. Who do I know who rides a bike in penny loafers . . . hmmm, my dad! It really is true that fashion is cyclical because apparently dear old dad is again at the top of the game with zero effort which in my eyes makes him way cooler than any hipster out there . . . penny loafers, check . . . tweed jacket with elbow patches, check . . . facial hair (although no ironic intent), check! In keeping with my thought that since the invention of the internet original thought is hard to come by, low and behold, there is already a "dads are the original hipsters" <a href="http://dadsaretheoriginalhipster.tumblr.com/">site</a>, complete with pictures and commentary.<br />
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I can only hope that this fashion wave of anti-fashion will pass and a few years from now, all of these people will browse their photo collections and reflect upon how inanely stupid they looked . . .Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87460826506570838.post-71857342971644497402012-05-07T18:28:00.000-06:002012-05-07T18:31:42.064-06:00After the Rain Came Down . . .I had a completely different post idea in mind after hearing a bit on the radio about the selling price for Edvard Munch's The Scream at auction last week. The follow up question on the news piece was "if money were no object, what piece of art would you buy?" The show host responded with the pyramids, but then pondered if they were art . . . or a funeral home. What is art anyways?<br />
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Let's start with more conventional . . . We hit up First Friday on Tennyson St. on Friday night to check out a couple of the galleries to see what they were showing. One featured photos taken out of a car window with various shutter effects. A couple of the shots were interesting, but the rest looked like, shocker . . . blurry bands of color. It was interesting for me to get out and about in a n-hood where I work. I only saw about 15 people that I know from the shop. I also had a chance to finally sample the pizza at Hops & Pie which has been on my list of places to visit.<br />
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Saturday, we made it back up to the Highlands for Brian's graduation party. Since it was the night of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon">Supermoon</a>, a rooftop party was perfectly timed . . . along with the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo.<br />
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The light towards the end of the day made downtown look really cool, I don't think the camera phone does it justice. Thank goodness for smart phone apps though, the Google Sky Map gave pretty clear indication where we would be able to spot the Supermoon rising, cape and all.<br />
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It also made for some great shots for our very own art project. Upon spotting a bowl of gummy bears amongst the party fare, I reminisced about the good old days of licking gummy bears and sticking them to things. What started as a joke (and eventually migrated back to being a joke before returning to high art) became a thing of wonder and beauty . . . our first concept piece:<br />
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Fun with focus and aperture adjustment:</div>
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This one ended up being a really cool shot after much discussion on how to set it up. I would have liked to taken some pictures towards the church on Federal or North High, but this came out very nicely:</div>
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Back to being, dare I say, juvenile:</div>
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With the exception of some bears placed in undisclosed locations, the evening's art workshop came to an end when the wind and impending rain forced us to move inside. We held a few gummy bears in reserve for one last piece, but riding home was a pretty muted event given the rain and emergency stop at My Brother's Bar to seek shelter . . . and french fries.<br />
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The project was completed Sunday morning, but not as originally planned. South Pearl Street provided plenty of opportunity, but I couldn't resist the opportunity offered up by the front window of Ototo:<br />
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Dempsey got into the spirit of things too. I was hoping for performance art . . . "sacrifice of the red gummy" . . .<br />
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The next morning, after a night of rain, the piece was still intact:<br />
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Later this afternoon though, we had a casualty. I think the red bear is trying to escape before Dempsey returns hungry.<br />
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This was one of the more fun weekends out I have had in a while. Too much work and no play . . . blah, blah, blah. It does make everything more fun having a good partner in crime.Seth Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955170375408423603noreply@blogger.com0