Saturday, January 17, 2015

Friday, January 16, 2015

Florida Police have Four in Custoday After Manhunt

According the the following article at buzzfeed.com, four fugitives in Florida committed a series of horrible crimes and the manhunt for them ended after suspects were taken into custody in Haines City a small city in east central Florida. The four individuals started their crime spree by robbing a pawn shop on Thursday night and when police responded to the robbery the suspects shot at them from their red SUV get away vehicle and narrowly missed a canine officer in the squad cars back seat. About an hour after the robbery at the pawn shop the police responded to a home invasion call and the suspects charged out of the garage and police were able to shoot one of the suspects but the other three escaped.  When police went into the home they found that an innocent mother and daughter had been brutally murdered by the suspects.

Police en apprehended the suspects in Haines City, Friday morning.

All four men have been charged with multiple counts, including armed robbery, attempted murder on a law enforcement officer and grand theft. They were treated for non-life threatening injuries and will be held at the Polk County Jail.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Fancy ice fishing houses in Minnesota video

Yikes, dat ice house cost more than my first house!

Check out this video on the Ice Fishing Institution known as Minnesota. The land where people spend a great deal of money going out fishing on the ice.

Lake of the Wood Ice Fishing Video





Ice Fishing Bar Video



Brained Jaycee's Ice Fishing Extravaganza gets go ahead from Sheriff

It's official. The Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza scheduled Jan. 24 on Gull Lake's Hole-in-the-Day Bay was given the go ahead Wednesday by Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl. Dahl and other members of the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office checked the thickness of the ice in two different locations on Gull Lake where the contest will take place to see if the sheriff's office would issue the Jaycees the appropriate permit for the event. Dahl said the ice thickness typically must be at least 17 inches or more in order for him to issue the permit.

Freightliner Cabover Hauling Computers and other cabover truck pictures

Coffin style sleeper on a Freightliner cabover.  Computers must have been much larger during this time as the trailer states it is made for hauling computers.  Cool looking old truck. I have never seen that type of setup before...


Here is a cabover Freightliner that appears to be show truck ready.


This is an interesting picture of a miniature White Freightliner Cabover.  Or else the guy is a giant!
International Cabovers were a common favorite of grain haulers in Minnesota during the 1980's:



Wednesday, January 14, 2015

FX television series: "Fargo"

The series "Fargo" on FX is based upon the classic Coen brother's film.  I'd say the dialogue is pretty accurate in terms of the lingo found on the tundra of Minnesota and North Dakota.  This series is a must watch of fans of Billy Bob Thornton, which plays the bowl haircut main character.  I haven't seen any of the episodes yet, but just watched the first seven minute clip below.  Check out this series...it is easy to relate to the endless snow, jello salad, ice fishing, hot dishes, fishing, hunting, and other stereotypical elements distinguishing this part of the country.



Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Brainerd Jaycee Ice Fishing Extravaganza Ice Check Update!

Gull Lake: 1/11/15


The Brainerd Dispatch reported the official ice check of for the January 23rd $150,000 Ice Fishing Tournament will be conducted this Wednesday, but I don't think anyone planning to visit for the event should stay up late worrying about the results. While warmer weather will return to this area on Thursday (spring-like highs in the 30's) the last few weeks have been below zero cold. I am sure the ice on Gull is plenty tick...I meant to say thick, and it may even be seasonably warm for the event this year. I don't plan on catching any fish at the tournament, but after attending for the last few years, it is an event for people watching and the entertainment is priceless. Pick up your ticket and support a great cause! You can't win the truck or money if you don't attend. Good luck out there and keep your line in the water!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Down at Gull Dam Tonight: Swan Song

We drove around Gull Lake tonight to see if there were people out fishing but the traffic was pretty light.
''


We are going to start fishing down here in the evenings, so be sure to keep updated or become a member to hear about the catch.


The swans, despite having wings and instincts to do so, have decided to stay here in Minnesota on the small bit of open water to endure the Arctic temps.  Pretty but dumb swans.



No Lifeguard on Duty




Friday, January 9, 2015

Blogging jobs: Link to ProBlogger Job Board

The pro blogger jobs board is fun to look through and many of the jobs are for specific niche areas such as a few of my personal favorites:

01/09eCig Vaping Bloggerat Kingly VapesCorporate/Business
01/09Thriving Cougar Contributorat Thriving Cougar, Inc.Co-blogging
01/09Award-winning content writer and creative bloggerat The Site SlingerBlog Networks
01/09Writers Needed Immediately for Adult Content Projects!at JB EnterprisesCorporate/Business
01/08Experienced Article Writers for Women's Authority Websiteat LadiesLifeBlog Networks
01/08Intellectual Property, Branding, and Startups Bloggerat Innovation to ProfitsCorporate/Business
01/08Content Curator For Blogs and eBooksat Digital DominationCorporate/Business
01/08Content Creatorat Penn Media LtdMiscellaneous
01/08Social Media / Internet Marketing Blogger Wantedat Elegant ThemesCorporate/Business
01/07Blog author to write real estate / house flipping articlesat Cornerstone CompanyCorporate/Business


When reading through this list, it may be tough to find a job or maybe you can connect with one of the diverse topics associated with these jobs. It is a good start for finding a part time blogging hobby job.

Brainerd, Minnesota Restore: Great place to find used building materials at a great price

Habitat for Humanity's Restore, is a large retail warehouse specializing in second-hand building materials.  Restore is located in an unassuming industrial park in Brainerd, Minnesota, and the location is  open Wednesday-Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Despite the limited hours, discounted building materials of all kinds can be found for a bargain at Restore, and I have purchased used lumber, plumbing, housewares, windows, doors, and many other heavily discounted household and building materials.  Restore adds new inventory weekly, and many popular materials, like plywood, disappear rather quickly, so I always try to visit Restore early on Wednesday morning, so I can shop the newly added inventory, and save a great deal of money on the building supplies. Before finding Restore, I used to buy building materials for retail price, at the big box lumber stores. Restore is a great option for anyone interested in a great value on used building materials, and many other items.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Minnesota handmade cruiser skateboard

I really like handmade skateboards:
made by DL boards

For more info. on Minnesota handmade skateboard decks  check out Obsolete.  Their new Minnesota Missile is a really nice looking skateboard. I really like the look of this cruiser style skateboard deck.  I am getting too old and fat to ride on it, but my daughter would love a cruiser like this made in Minnesota:
Read the description of this board below:


Introducing the NEW, locally crafted, ‘Minnesota Missile’ skate deck from OBSOLETE Skateboards! The ‘Minnesota Missile’ was inspired by the first few skateboards ever made. NO ply’s, NO fiberglass, NO bullish*t. Straight up solid oak. These old school cruiser decks will have you skating for hours.

Locally made by WAAM Industries, each deck has a unique grain pattern and stain+lacquer finish. These decks are available in both the classic tear drop shape, or always popular, fishtail design. Hang it on the wall as a totally-rad art piece or shred it when you’re in the mood to cruise.

Be one of the first to buy at Soundset 2014, this Sunday! Decks come as a complete with Penny Trucks+Wheels and ABEC 5 bearings. Kick it old school with a deck that is truly OBSOLETE!



sleeper cargo van pictures

motercycle van 1.jpg

I really like the way these expedite cargo van drivers have customized the interior spaces of these Sprinter, Ford, and Chevy cargo vans. Insulating the cargo area would be very important for drivers operating in the northern states during the winter and most of the time I add more R value than suggested, since I have spent my whole life in the northern plains where the winter winds and windchill factors make the extra insulation money well spent.

In the photos below, I like the way the both wells are covered and e track is also installed for securing cargo.


vanback10.jpgbed_down.jpg

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Author Jim Harrison interview: On Why He Writes Patiently

I  am very impressed by this interview of Harrison and was drawn to his writing because of the Northern Michigan settings and have followed his writing genius for quite some time. I am impressed by the following writing advice her provides in this awesome interview and commentary via The Atlantic

Entire quote is Harrison's writing advice:

Once I start, I very rarely change my mind about the nature of the story. And when I begin writing, it’s sound that guides me—language, not plot. Plot can be overrated. What I strive for more is rhythm. When you have the rhythm of a character, the novel becomes almost like a musical composition. It’s like taking dictation, when you’re really attuned to the rhythm of that voice.

You can’t go to it. It has to come to you. You have to find the voice of the character. Your own voice should be irrelevant in a novel. Bad novels are full of opinions, and the writer intruding, when you should leave it to your character.

When you’re not writing in the first person as the speaking character, the danger is there’s too much temptation to show off. And many writers do. They hit what they think is a high note, then keeping shooting for that. I like what Deborah Treisman at The New Yorker says: She has to have a story, she can’t just have effect. There must be more than writerly effect. And it’s true. Nobody likes a showoff.

So, you learn to think like the character, to speak with them. Wolf’s structure grew out of that rhythm more than any conventional sense of plot. In the case of my novel Dalva, I felt I could dream the character. It’s like you have an extra voice in your brain while you’re writing. And it’s a wonderful feeling, though it doesn’t happen often.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Believer Magazine link and what Nick Hornby has been reading

http://www.believermag.com/issues/201409/?read=column_hornby


STUFF I’VE BEEN READING
A MONTHLY COLUMN
by Nick Hornby


BOOKS BOUGHT:
Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of “The Great Gatsby”—Sarah Churchwell
Detroit: An American Autopsy —Charlie LeDuff
The Fever—Megan Abbott
My Salinger Year—Joanna Rakoff
Swing Low: A Life—Miriam Toews
The Blue Room—Hanne Ørstavik

BOOKS READ:
A Man in Love—Karl Ove Knausgaard
Traveling Sprinkler—Nicholson Baker
My Salinger Year—Joanna Rakoff
Crooked Heart—Lissa Evans

I am a father, so I know something about the pain of childbirth: it didn’t look too bad to me. Reading Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle series, however, is an act of heroism, and only those who have been through the experience are really entitled to talk about it. I bought A Man in Love, the second book in the series, pretty much the moment I’d finished the first, A Death in the Family, but after a couple of months of reading shorter, less intimidating, and, frankly, much more fictional novels—Knausgaard doesn’t make stuff up, and you know that if he spends three pages describing the peeling, cutting, and frying of an onion, that onion actually was fried, in real life—I began to wonder whether I had another Knausgaard in me.

I was lured back partly because I missed the sound of Knausgaard’s voice, and partly by the title of this second volume. I wanted to know about his marriage, partly out of prurience: how many novelists are prepared to offer up every single narrative beat of a relationship in an attempt to make sense of it? A recent piece entitled “How We End Up Marrying the Wrong People” in the Philosophers’ Mail, an online newspaper set up by the writer Alain de Botton, suggested that “a standard question on any early dinner date should be quite simply: ‘And how are you mad?’” What we normally do, of course, is reveal our own madness and discover the madness in our spouses over a period of years, by which time the information isn’t as much help to us as it might have been in the first flush of romance.

We hope you enjoy this excerpt.

To read the full piece, please purchase a copy of the magazine from The McSweeney’s Store.


Nick Hornby is the author of six novels, the most recent of which is Juliet, Naked, and a memoir, Fever Pitch. He is also the author of Songbook, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award for music criticism, and editor of the short-story collection Speaking with the Angel. His screenplay for An Education was nominated for an Academy Award. He lives in North London.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

How to Make 2015 Your Most Successful Year Ever as a Freelance Writer: 6 Things to Do You Probably Never Thought Of | Inkwell Editorial : Inkwell Editorial

How to Make 2015 Your Most Successful Year Ever as a Freelance Writer: 6 Things to Do You Probably Never Thought Of | Inkwell Editorial : Inkwell Editorial

Pictures of rustic birdhouses made from mill slabs of wood


I am a big fan of waste wood utilization.  I really like the way these birdhouses look and the way slabwood was used in their construction.   Slabwood can be obtained for pretty cheap in this part of Minnesota. Many of the sawmills around Brainerd sell this stuff for around thirty bucks a ton. Sometimes the oak and other hardwoods will be a little bit more expensive and sell for forty to forty five dollars per ton. The challenging part of getting slabwood is finding something to haul it with.  For this reason I purchased a trailer chassis from Fleet Farm for $399 on sale.  The trailer is rated to haul one ton, which is a large enough weight rating to haul this type of wood depending upon how wet it is and how long it has been drying out in the wood yard.

Check out the pictures of some of the creative birdhouse designs made from waste slabs of pine and birch:


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Pallet Hunting Blinds

Pallets are often found for free on sites like craigslist, and I like to build deer blinds and ice fishing shacks from pallets.  Here are some pictures of pallet builds:
via wingshooters.net

via texasbowhunters.com
Trent via Pinterst

Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza: Brainerd Minnesota Ice Fishing


I have attended the Brainerd Ice Fishing Extravaganza for the last five years. It is a great event with a ton of prizes, but I have never caught a fish. The Jaycees are a great organization and the money from this event is donated to many great causes, but the reason I attend is due to the shock value of seeing this many people on the ice.  I was in awe the first time I loaded up my gear and climbed on the bus to head to this great event.  Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what it is like to attend this amazing event:

This picture is amazing when you realize it is -20 F with a 30 MPH wind. Party Time!
Add caption
Vendors selling food and cold beverages are found in the center of the event and a police helicopter is overhead to make sure nobody sneaks in with a previous caught fish. It is a very fun event and I was especially impressed with the way it is organized. BIR (Brainerd International Raceway) offers free parking with bus service to tournament, and I have always parked at BIR. This is a great event to take part in during a long Minnesota winter.