About Forgiveness

When we used to go to Elkader, we often would attend Mass with Father John Haugen at the Catholic church in town. Father John is retiring in July and we won't be in Elkader until after he has left. I hope he enjoys retirement - I always thought he was a thoughtful priest.

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https://youtu.be/ 1--ABeNAFvs - Title Goes Here

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How a Small Iowa Newspaper’s Website Became an AI-Generated Clickbait Factory

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https://www.wired.com/story/iowa-newspaper-website-ai-generated-clickbait-factory/ - How a Small Iowa Newspaper’s Website Became an AI-Generated Clickbait Factory - When two former Meta employees dug into why the website of Iowa’s Clayton County Register was spewing dubious posts about stocks, they uncovered a network of sites slinging seemingly AI-made content.

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Decision Day: Could I Commit for 30 Days to Improve my Drumming

 https://prhmusic.blogspot.com/2022/08/could-i-commit-for-30-days-to-improve.html

Could I Commit for 30 Days to Improve my Drumming?

$97, 15 minutes a day, for 30 days to improve my drumming. The obvious question is, "Could I commit for 30 Days to improve my drumming?" It's September 5th to October 5th. 

I'll set a reminder to return to this post on Thursday, September 1st. As of this moment, it sounds interesting and, frankly, it may be the right time to do this. As of today, Tuesday, August 16, 2022, R of RP is in CO and his return date to Iowa is not set. During the 30 days between September 5th and October 5th, I will play drums at Saint Thomas More 2 out of 4 weekends (September 17 and 24) - the weekend of September 10th, I will be in Elkader and the weekend of October 1st, I will be in northern Iowa at a wedding.

I'm not going to speculate further - sign up through the website - https://www.drumeo.com/drumshop/30-day-drummer/ - or don't. Decide.

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WWE Causes a Trip to be Taken

I don't think that pro wrestling - specifically, the WWE - do segments like this one from 2005 anymore. The title of the video is Kurt Angle, HBK, John Cena, Edge, Lita, & Big Show Carlito's Cabana Segment - RAW 10-10-2005 and it's a good segment. In modern times, it seems like the scope of "who" is going to contend for a championship is, in general, limited to one other person. In the segment embedded below, five WWE Superstars are in the ring, each claiming they deserve a championship match with John Cena. Cena doesn't make his appearance until towards the end of the segment, which is when his mic skills shine. He "criticizes" each of the 5 in the ring, including the ultimate scorching of Edge's girlfriend Lita with 4 words: Lita... you're a slut. When I was watching this segment in 2022, I burst out laughing at that line.Watch the video below.

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https://youtu.be/ftmNxPR_hDI

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So that segment is from October 2005. I can tell you that in October 2005, I lived in our current house and we were approaching our 1 year anniversary of doing so, which was going to be December 2005.

Want to know how my brain works when determining if I can write the following sentence: 

I can tell you that in October 2005, I lived in our current house and we were approaching our 1 year anniversary of doing so, which was going to be December 2005.  

It may be what other people do but I start with a major milestone in life and work my way forward. The milestone I use is 2004.

• 2004 was the Memphis in May concert that I went to with Phil, Jamie, and Serbi, which was then followed with seeing Godsmack open for Metallica in August 2004 in Moline and the reason I know it was in Moline is because my godson's birthday party was that same day in Blue Grass, IA, and I had arranged to have Serbi and ... hmmm.... You know, I don't remember who else was in our group that day. 
• I remember that I had arranged to meet my group at the Walcott Truck Stop so that I could ride with the group to the concert. Fast forward a bit, and I can say that I know that it was at this concert when Serbi told me that he and his wife were going to get a divorce. Their 11th wedding anniversary was going to be in 11 days, on 9-4-2004. In general, I would remember nothing about this concert if I had not purchased the live recording of it on https://www.livemetallica.com/live-music/0,62/Metallica-mp3-flac-download-8-22-2004-Mark-of-the-Quad-Cities-Moline-IL.html
• And the reason I know we moved into our current house in December 2004 is because when I went to Memphis in May 2004, Phil, Serbi, and Jamie picked me up at our old house.
• 2005 was the year Karen, Megan, Alex, Lou, Jean, and I went to Disney. 
• And the reason I know we had moved into our current house in December 2004 is because when we went to Disney, the 6 of us left our current house and drove to Dave's house in Blue Grass because he was taking us to the Quad Cities Airport for our flight. To continue along this path, I remember that we took a later flight that morning and because we had agreed to take a later flight, Allegiant Airlines gave us 6 flight vouchers, which is a key detail for how I remember the events of 2006. 

See how I did that? I used a major event in my life to work forward to where I wanted to end up. I can keep going:

• 2006 was the year Karen, Lou, Jean, Dave, Chris, and I used the 6 flight vouchers from the Disney trip in 2005 to go to the Grand Bahamas.
• 2007 was the Memphis in May concert that I went to with Phil, Kevin, and BSS. We took Phil's Honda Element, which was a very awesome orange car and the play was to be picked up at our current house. 
• I remember more about when I was dropped off than when I was picked up because I had bought a t-shirt for Karen in Memphis and a birthday card for Karen's birthday at a Wal-Mart along the way home, which was unimpressive to the birthday girl. 
• 2008 was the year that doesn't really jump out at me for having any huge milestones except that Karen planned a surprise party on my 39th birthday in December. That turned out to be a good thing because...
• 2009 was the year I turned 40 and was actually in UIHC as a patient for pneumonia on my 40th birthday. It was also the year that Megan tipped over a golf cart in Elkader because, as I was in my hospital bed in December 2009, Karen and I were discussing a bill we had received from the Elkader Country Club to pay for damages to the golf cart.

So that is how my brain works.

Golf Today

Tee shot on 5 in Elkader  - 1 putt for a Birdie!

We pulled a bee hive out of our camper electrical area on Saturday...

There is a Delay to the Start of Summer Camping

I understand why... but that doesn't change how odd it feels to not be preparing to head to Elkader.

It's not just the campground. Yesterday, I received an email that said if you are an employee who is working remotely, you should plan to continue to work remotely until May 15th.

It feels like there's a lot of pressure on May 15th to deliver

1. the end of working from home
2. the opening of the campground

For the record, we have a seasonal campsite. I sent a check to Deer Run in April for ~$1700 that paid the balance of our seasonal campsite. The total for the season is $2471.00. The campsite is open for 183 days (6 months) from April 15 - October 15. That's a per day rate of ‭13.50273224043716‬. On May 15th, it will be closed for 30 days. ‭13.50273224043716‬ x 30 =  $405.0819672131148‬ as credit towards our monthly electric bill, which is never more than $100, or towards the 2021 camping season. It's a decision to be made in the future as I think it's too early to make any sort of bet on the 2021 camping season - it's one of many uncertainties in life at this point. Thus, I'll be determining what our total for electricity was for the 2019 season and make an informed decision. I will also consider whether the $2471.00 seasonal rate is going to increase. In 2016, it was $2075; in 2017, it was $2161.40; in 2018, it was $2268.40, in 2019, it was $2471, so, roughly, it increases $98.80 a year so 2021 would be $‭2,569.8‬0 (estimated).

A lot to think about for sure!

Snake Farm

When Megan and I watch Gup and Company in Founders Park in Elkader on Friday, June 28, 2019, they covered this tune.

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Vacation

I am away from my desk until July 1st. 

Fear not! I have a Google Doc with (as of now) 212 links that I will transform into ~35 posts,  which doesn't include ~48 additional links to the Get Your Political Opinions Here 5.0 page, a new page for Gup and Company,  and a new page for the bowling games on Thursday, 6/28.

Plus,  I think that I have additional information to post on this blog. 

Patients please...

Stay in a Haze to Be Honest

This will continue. NAOMI videos will be embedded as I hear more of the tunes.

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It's not a warning - it's the way it is.

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Required: 4 Weeks

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/movies/2017/11/15/star-wars-last-jedi-elkader-iowa-movie-theater/865776001/

Plans for Today through Monday

It has been a little bit - 2 weeks, 2 days - since we moved Alex and Megan into their living quarters at UNI. Today is when we will see them for the first time since that day. The kids are driving from Cedar Falls to Elkader to spend the weekend at the camper. 

Golfing on August 2 in Elkader

Dealing with Idiots Already

Back from my Va-Cay-Tion(!) and dealing with idiots already:

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Why yes, let's enter credentials on a website whose helper text states my login could be compromised. <Sarcasm>That's a good idea.</s>

Vacation was good in Elkader. We saw "Wonder Woman" in 3D on Sunday at noon instead of Saturday. Overall, an entertaining movie. There were two Easter eggs that I can mention:

1. Diana Prince receives a package at the beginning of the movie from Wayne Enterprises (Batman).
2. In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman says, "I've killed gods before" and that is explained in this movie.

We will return to Elkader next weekend.

Va-Cay-Tion!

I am on vacation until Wednesday, July 5th, which is when I return to work. This is the schedule I know about as of this moment:

• Friday - drive to Elkader
• Saturday - see "Wonder Woman" in the Elkader Theater, go to 4 PM Mass, eat supper
• Sunday - Lou & Jean are going to Bob & Mary Lou's 90th birthday party in Dubuque; unsure what Karen, Alex, Megan, and I are doing.
• Monday - Lou & Jean & Karen are going to Lou's doctor appointment in Dubuque; unsure what Alex, Megan, and I are doing. I had thought about going golfing but with 3 of us, that wouldn't really work out well.
• Tuesday - Lou & Jean & Karen & Megan & Alex & I are going to the Garnavillo 4th of July parade. It starts at 10 AM and, traditionally, we leave from Elkader around 9 AM to get a good seat. Sometime after the parade, we'll likely pack up and return to North Liberty - most likely prior to any local to North Liberty area fireworks beginning.
• Wednesday - Karen & I return to work; unsure what Alex & Megan have planned. 

It will be a busy weekend. I have nothing planned other than 'going with the flow' and seeing the "Wonder Woman" movie. We can see it not in 3D at the following times:
Saturday - noon
Sunday - 3:30; 7:00
It looks like a movie called "Megan Leavey" might be the next movie:

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And what would my life be without finding errors on websites. On the "Reserving Seats" page - http://www.elkadercinema.com/page/5210/Reserving-Seats - I found this:

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Yes, I used the "Contact Us" page to tell them about it.
Editor's Note: This is a reminder to check the "Reserving Seats" page on Wednesday, July 5th, to verify the typo has been corrected and that there is a link (or that the "click here" text has been removed).

50 Million will Buy a LOT

Frankly, I don't take a lot of time to invest in what $50 million homes look like around the world - though I just breezed through the slideshow at the other end of the link. I have more important things to keep me busy. For one, we are heading up to Elkader for the weekend for what I hope is a relaxing weekend. This is the movie at the Elkader Theater, but Karen doesn't like 3D movies and it is only being shown in 3D when it is possible for Alex, his friend Austin, Karen, and I to go:

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I personally don't have a problem with 3D movies so maybe I'll end up seeing it - the trailer looks funny.

Watched this Game

Jim Rousch & I watched this game in Lou & Jean's camper on Saturday night: Texas upsets No. 9 Notre Dame in two-overtime thriller

Elkader Floods

It's like a repeat of June 2008 in Elkader. There are floods and as I posted on June 11, 2008. There's not a lot of difference between 27.8' and 26.5' so it's devastating. We were not planning to go to Elkader this weekend - Alex has marching band tonight - so the next time we had planned to go up was next weekend. However, as of this moment, it's somewhat doubtful we will camp in Elkader on Labor Day weekend. Lou, Steve D, and Jim R were up in Elkader yesterday and moved our camper out of the Deer Run Resort for us. Ans while accurate, this KCRG article about the 2016 floods provides no comfort and neither does Looking at the National Weather Service site shows me this:

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Worse Job Ever

In the window of a store in downtown Elkader.