Disassembling a Tower Crane

Leaned over our balcony to watch a crane being disassembled. A 41-story condominium tower has topped off next door. We can’t see the tower from our home, but we have had an armchair view of construction materials and the odd porta-potty rising up past our windows.

Normal Life Returning

It was good to see the Guthrie Theater coming back to life. We’ll order season tickets when they go on sale in August.

Categorized as Arts

Burger Journey

Poolside burger and fries, nephews, Hawaii Big Island, March 2012. I love to travel, whether it’s by plane, train, bicycle, or on foot. The destination may provide some purpose, but it’s not necessarily the main point. Such was my search for hamburger parts these past few days. I say “parts” rather than “ingredients” as a…… Continue reading Burger Journey

Prototype Soil Sensor

Did a science experiment: measured soil moisture with an inexpensive (as little as $2 apiece) capacitive sensor wired to a cheap Arduino computer which communicates wirelessly with our home hub. If I deploy this system, the biggest expense will be waterproofing the circuitry.

Celebrating July 4

On our July 4 walk: the neighborhood was a backdrop for a group of Hmong women in traditional dresses. The Twin Cities are home to over 65,000 Hmong people.

Ground Chuck

After “Foraging for Brioche Buns” yesterday, ground chuck took center stage today. Cycled over to our old neighborhood to an actual butcher shop, Lowry Hill Meats. Tomorrow, we grill thoroughly curated(!), hopefully not cremated, hamburgers.

Categorized as Cook

Foraging for Brioche Buns

My bicycling theme today was ‘Foraging for Brioche Buns.’ Eventually struck gold with buns from the very excellent Rose Street Patisserie. I’ve double-bagged and frozen them until July 4. We only make hamburgers once or twice a year, so they need to be good.

Categorized as Eat