Anderson/Hatgidakis/Nelson/Metcalf: Newsletter

Old news: March 2011

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Gary
3/30/11
No web updates for the next few days, as I am in Philadelphia! A short trip -- leaving this morning, and will be back on Saturday. Should be fun. (And no, this is not an Aprils Fools joke.) I lived there for about a year, but haven't been back there in (gulp) thirty-five years. How is that possible? Seems like it was just a little while ago. So I may be visiting a few old favorite spots and eating a few old favorite local foods, if any of them are still around....

In the meantime, you can stay busy with these cool sites, courtesy of John:

  • The Known Universe
  • Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration
  • A very special lioness and her cubs
  • Baby Laughing Hysterically at Ripping Paper
  • IBM Centennial Film
  • We Didn't Start the Fire
  • TheChapel. A short film. (HDR timelapse)
  • Memory-a spoof by Pam Peterson
  • Why We're Here: Twin Cities
  • Colors Mother Nature

    Back in a few days!


    Gary
    3/25/11
    John, thanks again for today's cool site. It really brought back memories from all my years working in print shops. I have opened hundreds of those Pantone cans, and watching this movie I could almost smell the ink again. Ink really is an almost mystical stuff -- there are mysteries in the simplest, and unlikeliest, things, and this little zen-like movie really touches on that.
    Gary
    3/24/11
    Okay, the newsletter text-submission box above is working again. Feel free to make use of it! :-)
    The Hatgidakis Family
    3/23/11

    Happy Birthday Donna!!!!!
    Gary
    3/23/11
  • Do you still play games on your computer?
  • Do you like "The Sims"?
  • Do you you enjoy "The Lord of the Rings," and King Arthur, and Robin Hood, and the medieval period in general?

    If you answered "yes" to those questions you might want to know about this: The Sims: Medieval. It takes the Sims concept (i.e., creating little people and watching them interact) and puts it in a fantasy medieval setting. So where before your Sim might have been in law enforcement, say, and lived in a small house in the suburbs, here your Sim might be a blacksmith living in a hovel next to the castle -- or a member of the royal family living in the castle itself. Sims: Medieval has the same house building and furnishing component as the old Sims, but it also has heroic quests and magic and (if you are the King or Queen) empire-building. I've only played around with it for a little while now (it was just released two days ago), but it looks like it's going to be fun. Just thought some of you might be interested!


    G'Ma
    3/23/11

    Happy Birthday, Donna!!
    Nelsons
    3/23/11

    Happy Birthday Donna
    Amanda
    3/23/11
    I noticed the "what's the story?" submission error last week, but assumed it was my phone, sorry I didn't speak up then!

    Yeah, any time you (everybody) see any problems on the site, go ahead and let me know. On the newsletter, for example, I don't use this form for my own items. (It would be like sending email to myself.) So I wouldn't have known there was a problem here. Thanks to Karen for alerting me to it! The problem has baffled me all day, and it is currently baffling the tech support team. Hopefully fixed soon. Until it's fixed, you'll have to continue to send in items by email. --Gary


    Donna
    3/21/11

    Happy birthday Anna!
    G'Ma
    3/21/11

    Happy Birthday, Anna!!
    Your Lovin' Family
    3/21/11

    Happy Birthday Anna!!!!!
    Nelsons
    3/21/11

    Happy Birthday Anna
    Gary
    3/21/11
    I just found out that this page isn't working right -- the "send" button is not sending in the newsletter items. I don't know what the problem is, and don't have it fixed yet, but I'll hopefully do that some time today. In the meantime, you can still send in items by email. Sorry for the inconvenience.
    The Hatgidakis clan
    3/13/11
    Congrats to the Emily and Erika!
    Donna
    3/13/11
    Congratulations Erika! That is GREAT! It's obvious I've been a positive influence on you. ;-)

    Congratulations Emily! They would have been crazy to not offer you a full time position.


    Karen
    3/12/11
    Congratulations to Erika!! She recieved a scholarship to Morningside College for $30,000 today!

    Congratulations to Emily for her job. She was hired as a full time Resident Counselor at Crittenton Center -- she will start once she is finished with school!

    Wow, nice going, both of you! --Gary


    Gary
    3/11/11
    So this quake is the 5th strongest in recorded history -- stronger than the 1906 San Francisco quake. In addition to all the other massive destruction, there are not one but two out-of-control nuclear reactors in danger of meltdown. US nuclear teams are already on their way over there.

    Also it was just reported that this quake affected the earth's rotation, slowing it down by 1.6 microseconds. So the day just got a bit longer.


    Donna
    3/11/11
    Anyone tuning into the horrible tsunami that hit Japan? The destruction is unbelievable. West coast is now on alert.

    After this morning's big quake in Japan, the California coast is on the alert for a tsunami. If you want to watch live video from the area, try here. I just watched some live shots from Santa Cruz where a boat in the harbor snapped its mooring and became a runaway (unoccupied, obviously). Helicopter was following it bumping its way past other boats on its way out to sea. Currently all the beaches are reporting the water level dropping -- which is a bad sign, and indicates a big tidal wave on the way. --Gary


    Donna
    3/11/11
    Celeb pics have been fun this week. The first one today of Johnny Cash, I thought that was a really bad pic of June Carter until I read the names. Bob Dylan is just plain weird.

    On behalf of June Carter Cash, may I say: "Ow!" And on behalf of Dylan fans everywhere, may I say: "Bob Dylan is awesome." --Gary


    Karen
    3/6/11
    Erika is doing fine. Got the results from the doctor and they said it was "normal." So a whole lot of stress for nothing. She did end up getting the flu and stayed home for another two days. Brent had an infection and was in bed for two days last week. He went to the dr and is now on some meds and feeling much better. Emily was off of school all last week for semester break. Just one more term and she is done! Still has tomorrow off. Tomorrow is the first day of Lutheran School Week, it will be a crazy week. Something fun every day for the kids. Tomorrow is pj day and a bounce house at all recesses. Not sure if we will get any of the snow -- once again we are on the edge of the storm. We did get a dusting of snow today.
    Marsha
    3/6/11
    We still have a ton of snow on the ground from November, but it looks like we will not get the foot we were promised for Tuesday. Talk about a winter of discontent! Gary, have you seen the new Planters Peanut commercial with Mr. Peanut (Robert Downey Jr.) running a marathon? I love it! But my fave is still his Christmas party.

    Mom, are you loving your Keurig? I really love ours. Donna, it is a good investment!!!! We are about to watch The Defenders. Does anybody else watch that one? It is fun and I never liked Jim Belushi until seeing him in this and Jerry O'Connell is very good too. Karen, how is everyone feeling there? We are all doing fine, John has an MRI on Tuesday, but that is routine, part of his quarterly schedule. John is too busy polishing the Oscar to write anything himself.

    Almost forgot............ check out Harry's Law with Kathy Bates. It is by David Kelly who also made The Practice and My All Time Favorite Boston Legal. It is excellent!

    I will watch for the new Planters ad. Robert Downey Jr. can do no wrong in my opinion. Except for all the drug stuff, of course. (Kids, just say no.) I have seen Harry's Law but am not into it yet. Also, thanks for the new recipe! --Gary


    Gary
    3/1/11
    The Oscar results are now up. Thanks to all the participants for making it so much fun, as usual!

    I have added the Oscar hand-off date to the Countdown page.