Inklings

Blog

  • Shopping

    I’m not a huge fan of shopping (not even for myself), so needless to say Christmas shopping is a bit of a task for me. I don’t like the crowds, lines or nagging doubts that what you’re going out for will even be found or, if found, appreciated. At the same time, I’d rather make the effort to find something special than fulfill the requests of someone’s shopping list. Despite this fact, I usually end up asking my wife (a billion times) for a hint of what to get her, only to be reminded that I should just know. I hate it when she’s right.

  • Plight of the Gingerbread Men

    gingerbread_card

    Christmas goodies! Everybody loves ’em, nobody really needs ’em but the holidays just wouldn’t be the same without them. Here’s to mothers everywhere who bake enough homemade favorites to feed a small township. Exaggeration? Hardly. I know moms who had to resort to stashing baked goods on the upper shelves of the garage until Christmas.

  • Yep, it’s Monday

    It’s not like I don’t usually greet the morning alarm with pleasant thoughts, but for some reason today came a little too early. We don’t believe in the “snooze” button either. I never understood the reason for prolonging that torturous transition from “slumber” to “awake” in nine minute increments. Ready or not, day, here I come.

  • Sharing the Joy

    Advent is in full swing and many of us are going through the annual rituals to prepare for Christmas. I hope everyone has the opportunity to take the time this year to really focus on what Christmas is about and the joy it brings. Share that joy with others this year and you just might change someone else’s Christmas. Like the Grinch himself discovered, “Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more!”

  • If only it were that easy…

    I have to agree with my wife, I too, wish our kids had a floating stats meter above their heads to give us immediate feedback as to when they’re feeling tired, sick, angry, happy, scared or hungry. It seems the older they are the better they think they are at convincing you what they’re feeling – even if their body language suggests otherwise. Just think of all the arguments that could be avoided with such a meter. Our oldest is going to a birthday party/sleepover today and I’m quite sure at some point tomorrow his meter will be completely empty. I know when we suggest he take a nap we will inevitably get “I’M NOT TIRED!” To which we could confidently, yet calmly reply with “but your meter says you are.” End of discussion.

  • Energy Efficient Escalator

    My soon-to-be seven-year old son, Chase, has always been fascinated with the escalators at the downtown Wells Fargo Bank Building (what kid isn’t?). But he’s concerned about the fact that they are always running – “wasting power”, as he puts it – even when people aren’t using them. His invention: a motion-activated escalator that would power up or down when someone walks by the sensors at either end. There would obviously be a point in the day when it would run continuously, but think of the “down-times” when no one is using it. I thought it was a pretty clever idea. I’m no mechanical engineer, but I’m guessing there would likely be some logistic wrinkles to iron out. I figure if they can do it with lights, it wouldn’t be so far off for escalators. Now if we could just get our budding young conservative to take shorter showers.

  • Survivor

    I think it’s safe to say that winter is upon us. This year was really extraordinary with regard to weather and it was really nice to have the time to prepare for the snow this year. Most of the time, winter comes like an unexpected guest and a lot of the fall work is buried until spring. Even if it had come in October, we North Dakotans would still endure it (though there were certainly a lot threatening to move last winter). Let’s face it, for living in this part of the country we’re all pretty resilient and that makes us who we are… crazy.

  • Progress?

    I’m amazed at my kids’ generation and their fascination with cell phone technology. My oldest was begging for one as a fourth grader. What in the world would a fourth grader need a cell phone for?! Granted, there seems to be a fair number of “cell phone” kids (formerly known as “latch key” kids) out there that do, at the insistence of their parents, have a cell phone so that they can keep tabs on them during those idle hours between school and the 5 PM end to the workday but I say you’re getting the bad with the good. The investment for a device that will keep you connected with little Johnny or Jenny has been elevated by these children as a status accessory coveted by all their peers and will most likely not be limited in use by them to just two hours a day. It seems that many young cell users could get by without ever having to make or take a phone call on their little hand-held social taskmasters. Let’s face it, to them making a call using a cell phone is so 20th Century now. The mantra that this generation speaks is, “if you want to communicate with someone, don’t dial digits – text!”

  • Preparation

    Well, it’s December and it still doesn’t quite feel like the season yet (that could change today). My Midwestern upbringing has always assimilated snow with Christmas. I do remember a few “brown Christmases” but traditionally we’ve been pushing snow as early as Halloween. Admittedly the weather this year has been unusual all around and I’m grateful for the extended fall we’ve had. I’m certainly not wishing for the record snowfalls we had last year but I am dreaming of a white Christmas. The lights are strung, the tree is up, the halls are decked… and the shovels are ready!

  • SKOL Vikings!

    My oldest son, Mason, is a devout Bears fan (I think he still is) so Sunday afternoon’s Vikings – Bears game was a must watch. “Just-like-a-car-wreck” must watch. After several fits of anger followed by tears, we had to remove him from the game all together. We all knew the Bears were going to eat it, except Mason. I certainly don’t worship football, but I do claim to be a Packer Backer. One thing I will freely admit, is that Favre, even wearing the Purple and Gold, is still fun to watch. For 16 seasons he pulled a lot of the same stunts for the Pack and now he’s doing it for <ughh> their chief rival. Minnesota sure looks tough this year and the kid in me (the one that used to like the Vikes growing up) wants to see them make it all the way to the Super Bowl.