The Codgers

Does ActiveRain have the feature?—Should it?

2008-05-23T05:28:29Z

I haven’t written a post all week for Our Saint Paul, and yet there was a new post there every day! Like magic a new post (well sorta new—early episodes of Danger Bay repackaged and combined as chapters, but they could just as easily have been new) appeared every day.

There are those who know stuff about blog-building who will tell you that posting every day is important, but sometimes that just isn’t possible. It certainly isn’t for me.

This is not the first time I’ve used a feature found on most blog platforms that allows for timed post deployment. When I have the time, I write my posts and set them to deploy automagically—thus giving me more time during the week to catch up on my blog reading or graphic drawing.

So my question is: Does ActiveRain have this feature? And if not, should ActiveRain have this feature?

Today is not a rerun day: Danger Bay—Episode 80—Port of Saint Paul! The gang is visiting my home town! (HA! Thought you’d escape my shameless blog promotion, huh!)

Reflections from Jay’s Back Porch—one year—319 Posts!

2007-09-16T07:04:05Z

It’s a fine fall-like 56ºF morning on my back porch here in my beloved old river town of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and I am enjoying my “Danger Bay Collectible” mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-roast coffee firing up my remaining brain synapses to synapting, as I consider this, my one year anniversary here on the ‘Rain.

Hello Activerainers (September 16, 2006)

I don’t expect to write a lot in this blog, but from time to time, you may expect me to offer an opinion or two about home repairs & maintenance. Opinions I have many—and I’m usually willing to share (folks my age tend to be loooong on opinions, ‘cause we don’t let facts get in our way).

One year ago today that was my first ever post to Active Rain. It seems much longer to me—as if the time I’ve been here should be measured in years not months!

Wow! I was certainly mistaken in that first phrase: “I don’t expect to write a lot in this blog…” After 319 (counting this post) posts, 24 of them featured, 111,956 points (excluding this post), it would seem my ability at prognostication is wanting—or perhaps, my understanding of the addictive quality of blogging was lacking—not to mention competitiveness.

When I began blogging here, Active Rain was a relatively small group of plucky bloggers, and today? Who would have thought there would be more than 48,000 members—no longer a small community by any measure!

A short trip down memory lane:

I haven't displayed those in a while.

It’s been a great ride—and I loved it! But this is my last post to the ‘Rain. The time has come to let an RE professional claim the second spot in Minnesota! I have a new blog-mistress, “Our Saint Paul,” and she is demanding my complete attention!

But I’m not leaving completely, I’ll still stop by to comment, even if it is only by leaving my new “Comment Icon” just to let you know I’m still around and still care about our Gentle Readers!

I have included many of your outside and AR blogs in my blogroll and in my RSS Feedreader—so that I may remain in contact, and I invite you to visit me at Our Saint Paul—you will be warmly received.

Sincerely,

Jay

Old Men & Coffee Shops—in Danger Bay

2007-09-03T06:21:38Z

A Complete Episode (no link-click required)!

Happy Labor Day, Gentle Readers! It is a fine Saint Paul, Minnesota morning with the temperature a pleasant 65ºF. I was just thinking that all too soon we’ll be reporting temperatures in degrees below zero [[shudder]]!

Pleasant as the weather is in Saint Paul, we decided to have our chipped & well-used “Codger Collectible (January ’07 Edition) Mugs” of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, here in Danger Bay at Silverthorn’s Café instead. We both have a very busy Labor Day in front of us.

As we clumped up on the boardwalk and entered the café, we saw Hiram, Sr. behind the counter, Medlar Farkleberry, and an old geezer (who we haven’t yet met) at the counter.

We headed for our usual table, the one by the front plate-glass window when Hiram called out: “G’mornin’ fellas. Please have a seat here at the counter—it’s too early for me to be traipsing all the way over there.”

“Saving your energy for the morning rush?” Boomer asked as we ambled over to the counter.

“The Sparrow is making her first Voyage from the harbor this morning,” Hiram replied as we sat at the counter between Lar and the strangely familiar looking geezer, “Maggie tells me they have 30 reservations for the trip, so I figured I’d better save my energy for REAL customers.”

“Aww Hiram,” Lar piped up, “That ain’t what ya’ told me when these fellers came in th’ door, You said: ‘Let’s jes see who wins a battle o’wills, me—or that stubborn old man—bet I kin get ‘em ta sit at th’ counter!’ That’s what ya said.”

“Stubborn old man?” the geezer next to me piped up, “Just a short time here and he’s already got you pegged!”

I took a closer look at the geezer (in Minnesota—we don’t generally stare at people we don’t know—part of our passive-aggressive nature) and realized who it was: “M…” I began, but was interrupted by Boomer:

“…Jay! We gave him back that name for his own purposes—remember?”

“The ‘Codger,’ as he is known in these parts,” Hiram said, “used to fish commercially, until 61 was re-routed away from Danger Bay. Used to sell fresh Lake Trout from his shop on the pier, but the realignment of the highway caused his business to dry up. In fact, that’s where you guys have your office now.”

“Yep,” the Codger added, “I left the blog, but kept the keys. I have all the passwords (heh-heh), so I can visit whenever I wish, and regale you with my wit & wisdom.”

“But, who drew you?” I asked, taken aback just a little, “You can’t draw worth spit!”

Boomer only smiled.

“OK, there’s only one ex-Codger left,” I thought aloud, “but he says he’s waaay too busy for this stuff anymore.”

“Is this where we meet for the boat trip?” came a voice from the entry…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Gentle Readers, this was a complete episode—brought to you by:

Danger Bay Stories

Danger Bay Graphics (NEW GRAPHICS)

Danger Bay Sets (NEW GRAPHICS)

and

Farkleberry’s Ship’s Chandlery (Collectible Stuff)

Please visit us!

It’s September the Oneth! (Updated)

2007-09-01T06:09:40Z

Boomer & I are enjoying our chipped & well-used “Codger Collectible (January ’07 Edition) Mugs” of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, and enjoying a late summer Saint Paul, Minnesota morning on my back porch.

Yeah, Jay, and your over-sized and totally ripped-off version of my replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer tells us the temperature is 65ºF, and I can plainly see that the sky is partly cloudy. And for now, and through Monday, no rain is expected!

This should be a good weekend for the Minnesota State Fair—the harbinger of fall for kids everywhere in the state. Moderate temps, no rain—the place should be packed!

True—for this last week I’ve had to find work-arounds to avoid any of the streets leading to the Fair, Jay. Couple that with the tragic loss of the I35W bridge, and traffic can be miserable.

Around here folks, we don’t wait for mid-September for fall to begin, it begins, conveniently—I think—just when the Fair ends. The kids go back to school, and we start our preparations for our too-long winters, and certainly enjoy the cooler, drier weather of the season.

Thanks for reminding me, Jay—I’ve gotta get the snow-blower fixed.

You’ve had all summer to do that!

Can you spell “p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-e,” Jay?

I can spell it—better yet, though—I sometimes practice it—if I get around to it!

There’s a point somewhere here, for why we are posting this morning, right? Some sort of announcement?

Well, sure—we completed the remodeling of cyber-Ines Hedegus-Garcia’s “Danger Bay” cyber-business! See:

That’s cool, but there was something else. (more)

We completed the update to cyber-Sarah Cooper's General Store:

Why Didn’t I Ever Grow Up?

2007-08-26T09:17:53Z

(This post inspired by Sarah Cooper’s post: “When Did I Grow Up?”)

Although some who know me may disagree, this is NOT a post about failing to mature—but rather—why, oh why, was I more blessed with short genes than with tall genes? At my tallest (we DO shrink a bit with age—a gravity-thing I suspect—I’ve lost a half inch somewhere along the way—and I’d like it back!), I reached a towering 5’6”.

It’s Dad’s fault! He comes from a very looong line of short people, reaching an astounding height of 5’4”! Mom, the shortest of her siblings, was 5’4” as well—not too bad for a woman born in 1911. Her siblings ranged from 5’8” to 6’3”, so there was some height there—but that ability to attain normal height was limited to the children of the sibling’s families—not to us.

There are some real disadvantages to being vertically challenged:

Having to look up to see down.
Having to look up to people you really don’t look up to.
Being patted on the top of your head—as someone’s warped idea of humor.
Hating Randy Newman.

BUT—there are some real advantages to being vertically challenged:

Not having to duck nearly as often as normal people.
Being able to swing my legs while sitting on a curb.
Being able to comfortably drive almost any car—including really neat sports cars!
Having less housework to do—if you don’t see it—it don’t matter!
A six foot long bed is just fine.
Not experiencing “acrophobia” merely from simply standing up.

Being short is not so bad-eh?

See you—ahem—shortly!

Boomer

It’s Monday! The Weekend has passed (and for SOME the work week is upon us)

2007-08-20T05:34:23Z

This gray Saint Paul morning we find Pruett’s telling us the temperature is a cool 62ºF, and out lens-assisted eyes tell us it’s cloudy. The weather people tell us to expect it to be partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High 71ºF. winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph, chance of rain 30%.

We are here on my back porch, savoring our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee. I am, at least, savoring the week to come, ‘though Boomer may be of a differing opinion.

From Boomer’s point of view, this week could have had a miserable start. Over the weekend, MnDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) closed down the intersection of MN 280 & I94 to expand the number of traffic lanes for this critical detour around the downed I35W river bridge.

Then came the drought-easing rains—all weekend! This could have prevented the planned reopening of the intersection at 5am this morning. If it didn’t open there would have been a traffic headache of epic proportions. At last word, our MnDOT folks worked through the night after the rain subsided, and the intersection should be open. Who says state workers just lean on their shovels?

Boomer is also, amazingly enough, of fast-tracking necessary improvements—he managed to complete ALL his yard work Friday evening! This allowed us both to work on “Danger Bay” graphics. Some of which (we managed to get ahead of the story a bit) you may see here. This includes the debut of Sarah Cooper, who joins fellow AR luminaries Maggic Dokic & Ines Hegedus-Garcia at Danger Bay.

Well, its back to the drawing board—er—drawing software for me, and off to work (LOL) for Boomer. Have great Monday, and we’ll stop back here from time-to-time today.

Jay & Boomer

It’s Friday! The Weekend is upon us!

2007-08-17T06:20:43Z

This morning as Boomer & I savor the coming weekend, enjoying our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee on my, yes my back porch, the temperature in Saint Paul is a delightfully cool 61ºF and the sky is clear. Boomer has the weekend off (as always), and since I march to the beat of my own drummer, so do I.

So how exactly do those of us not involved in the weekend-intensive RE field spend those marvelous 48 hours? Well—excluding our necessary chores—whatever we want!

Boomer has a drought/rain ravaged yard—with the recent rains the weeds have recovered well ahead of the grass—his hedge picked this past week to exhibit a spurt of growth, requiring trimming—a lot of trimming!

So when we have completed the maintenance, we will turn our attention to graphics. I made a commitment to yet another AR luminary to make a caricature for “Danger Bay” (NOTE: no link here). We also have more townspeople to draw, as there is a pending town meeting to discuss the pending “Sparrow Lake Tours” (NOTE: again—no link) operation setting up there.

If you are fortunate enough to have time off this weekend—how will you spend it? Do you set time aside for “you-time,” when you take the time for you (or for family)?

Moving on, I’ll bet based on our last several posts—you are expecting a link. There is none. We HAVE, however, established a link—right there, just to the right of this post, that will bring you directly to the Danger Bay posts where you may see ‘em all (and if you didn’t stop yesterday—there is a new post there). It is at the top of our links, titled, oddly enough, Danger Bay Stories.

Jay & Boomer

It took SIX HOURS—was it worth it?

2007-08-14T06:29:32Z

Again in spirit, Boomer & I are enjoying our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French Roast coffee this morning on the boardwalk of Silverthorn’s Café.

Last Sunday, I decided it was time for Boomer to learn how to do graphics. He, with some reluctance agreed. I asked that he draw a car to add to the tow-truck and old time car I had drawn earlier.

So, he set out to draw his own car. After about four hours of attempting to “get it right,” and some language I dare not repeat, as it may offend the ears of our Gentle Readers, Boomer abruptly stood up from his desk, grabbed his camera went outside and photographed his car.

“You can’t use a jpeg—too much photo shopping involved,” I told him.

“Just watch, y’old coot, I have an idea.” He replied with a smile.

A relatively short two hours later, after cropping the jpeg, dumbing it down and copying it to the Word document, and then outlining the car—viola! A cyber-car was born!

Jay

And the story continues at Danger Bay—Identity revealed!

From Saint Paul to Danger Bay…

2007-08-13T05:53:53Z

…yet another “link-post” from Jay & Boomer—

It’s a comfortable 66ºF here on my back porch, after a string of very hot & dry days followed by a couple of severe thunderstorms causing damage around the city. Boomer & I are here in body only, but much as the former “Codger Lodge” would draw me away in spirit at least—so too does Danger Bay!

So, in spirit, Boomer & I are enjoying our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French Roast coffee this morning on the boardwalk of Silverthorn’s Café. Medlar Farkleberry has just opened his “Star Service” station (full service only, thank you very much), and if you look closely, you’ll barely make out Hiram Silverthorn & sons inside the café.

I’ve resisted the urge to post all weekend, concentrating on my graphics instead and Boomer posted yet another genealogy post to Our Saint Paul. Now this is interesting—his genealogy posts are the only ones that have drawn hits through Google! I noted several hits on Saturday using search terms that identify (probably) gray-hairs looking for information—they (we) are very active doing on-line research (who says the internet is just for young folks?).

So this is yet another blatant attempt to draw you to “Our Saint Paul.” Today we re-introduce you to a “Codger” who has agreed to join the cast of Danger Bay and a brand new character based upon an Active Rainer of fine repute. Wanna know who they are?

There’s but one way to find out (I crack me up)!

“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles...”

2007-08-09T05:45:32Z

“…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” Mark Twain, as presented by my Blog-Granddaughter.

What has that to do with this post?

As some of you may have noticed, my imagination frequently gets the better of me—which is precisely why I so missed writing the old Codger’s “Cyber series” of posts from “our corner of Cyberspace!” I’ve heard myself described by well-meaning, but imagination-bereft individuals as a touch addle-brained.

What those folks don’t understand, and I only recently came to understand, is imagination-based flights of fantasy are very therapeutic in these times we’re living through. Engaging my imagination—and then writing about it is my way of dragging my thoughts away from my troubles, and when I return to reality, I am refreshed and ready to deal with it.

Earlier this morning, Boomer came to my home (he & Teresa have a house guest and we feared our repartee would awaken her), to work on this post—he had no idea what he was in for:

“Why don’t you go out on the porch,” I said to Boomer, “and get me the official St. Paul temperature for this morning’s post.”

“But ‘Pruett’s” is on my porch,” he protested.

“Doesn’t matter,” I replied, “I bought a thermometer from the hardware store yesterday and mounted it on the porch.”

“Okay,” he said as he went out the door, and then exclaimed “Jay! What have you done?”

Just then…Continued:

Realtors® (and other RE professionals) help create Family History Resources!

2007-08-07T05:58:46Z

I’m here on Jay’s back porch—OK, really on my back porch, but Jay has not updated that drawing yet—enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee, while Jay is out of sight drawing—something.

According to MY replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer (shown in the graphic as on HIS porch where really, there is nothin’ but pillar. Hey, the white tip of Daisy's tail doesn't show up! Jay needs to move her over just a tad so the itp shows!) it is currently 72ºF and humid. BTW: Jay told me I HAD to include all that crap about coffee & temperature because it is our trademark. I think he should butt-out and let me write my way—right?

All that typing just to get to the point of this post: that real estate professionals are creating valuable resources for future generations of amateur & professional house detectives & genealogists.

Every time a home or property is sold, the transaction becomes part of that home’s genealogy, for example from my family history: “The names and later residences of his (Timothy Bordman 1700-1753) children appear in a deed to Daniel Boardman, their brother, Jan. 17, 1769, from Charles and Seth Boardman of Wethersfield, Timothy Boardman and Jonathan Brigden, and Elizabeth his wife, all of Middletown…” [Boardman Genealogy p234] and (John Bordman) “…in a deed of Jan. 17, 1769, when he, with his brothers Charles and Seth of Wethersfield, and the other heirs, sell to their brother Daniel all right to the home lot of their father, Timothy Bordman…” [Boardman Genealogy p289]. As you can see, it also places various ancestors at specific locations at specific dates.

My own home was built in the fall of 1858. We learned this by reviewing the abstract and discovering that a mortgage was taken out in the late summer/early fall of 1858 in the amount of $400. Imagine that—the house was built for less than the monthly PITI for this home!

So as you go about your professional duties, you are recording history. Some day in the future, a grey-headed descendant of mine, in the Ramsey County Registrar’s office will exclaim: “AHA! Jack & Teresa Boardman DID live in St. Paul as I suspected, Ethyl. It’s right here in the tax records!”

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of future genealogists! Oh, and before I forget—Jay will smack me upside the head with his big stick if I fail to link to “Our Saint Paul” so you might humor us and see what’s going on there!

Boomer

Reflections from my back porch—I35W Bridge Collapse

2007-08-03T04:38:27Z

While I am enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, my thoughts are of Wednesday’s catastrophic collapse of the Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge.

I spent the entire day glued to the radio listening to the coverage of this tragedy, I couldn’t tear myself away. It was our own 9-11—‘though on a much smaller scale. We were horrified by the tragedy, buoyed by the stories of survival and the selfless actions of ordinary citizens in helping the victims, and by the extraordinary response of our emergency services personnel.

We still don’t know the extent of lives lost to this disaster, and it may be days before we do. Recovery efforts, suspended yesterday due to dangerous currents around the debris, making it too risky for divers to search. I suspect that by manipulating dams on the river they are attempting to lower the water level, and decrease the current in the search area.

When I finally stopped listening to the radio or watching TV news of the event last night, I came away with a number of things to reflect upon, ranging from very negative, to very positive: (more)

Bridge Falls in Minneapolis!

2007-08-02T04:58:37Z

By “Boomer” Jack Boardman

At 6:05pm, the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi suffered catastrophic failure and fell 64 feet carrying at least 50 vehicles into the river and the adjacent shores. As of this writing seven people are known to have perished and the toll is expected to rise. (More) (Video)

At the time my son Andrew and I were at the Saturn Store in White Bear Lake as I was helping him pick up his new car. The sales process takes about an hour and while Andrew was waiting for the paperwork to be processed, I went outside for a few moments, this was about 6pm. When I came back into the store, the show floor was virtually vacant. Our family’s sales consultant Steve told me that the I35W Bridge over the Mississippi had fallen and that everyone was watching the news in the break room, where I found my son.

On the twelve-mile drive home along I35E (I35 splits into I35 East & I35 West north of the Twin Cities, the east branch through St. Paul, and the west, Minneapolis), traffic was already at rush-hour levels, and I realized that earlier in the day I had crossed the river on that very span and shuddered. I couldn’t help but think of those who were on the bridge and the horror they must have felt as the bridge began to collapse.

Arriving home, I turned on the television for the latest news and while I watched, my thoughts turned, I now am ashamed to say, how this will affect my job. I deliver auto body and other parts for Saturn of St. Paul, and the loss of this major bridge will put stress on all the remaining highways in the cities, creating all sorts of problems for me.

As I continued watching the story unfold, I noted the remarkable response of ordinary people who quickly began helping the victims of the collapse, some of them victims themselves, who after riding the bridge down, got out of the cars and immediately began to help the injured! So many people came to help that officials had to send them away. This is a remarkable example of how we will overcome our differences and unite in a disaster!

The search & recovery efforts will continue after dawn this morning, and soon the investigation into the cause of this catastrophe will get into high gear, and I will never approach a bridge with the same nonchalance as in the past.

Boomer

Why would I post on a Sunday around 1:30pm (when I could be napping)?

2007-07-29T13:38:12Z

To tell you what these little shapes are, of course! Would you’d care to guess??

When I introduce a new graphic, it seems to follow that I’m asked how I draw the graphic, and what program I use.

Although I’ve answered the program question—I’ll cover that again—it’s easier than linking to earlier explanations. I use three pieces of software: MS Word (kinda old, from Office 2003), MS Publisher (to combine hand drawn graphics with jpeg photos, also from Office 2003), Adobe Photoshop Elements (also a bit long-of tooth: version 2.02, 2002).

The question I’ve never really answered, is how I draw the graphics. And today I’ll cover that—sort-of.

I’ve spent a lot of time these past several days working on new characters for the “Danger Bay” story series, and completed the first character, “Medlar Farkleberry,” owner of the Star Gas Station, in what passes for downtown “Danger Bay.”

The bits & pieces above are elements of Medlar’s face, and the graphic below will show the steps taken to build the face of any character, through to the finished product. Each piece is drawn individually.

The following is all done in MS Word:

Draw the shape.
Add color.
Give the shape dimension & shading using “Fill Effects”
Combine shapes, making sure that the pieces are in the correct order(eyes, for example—the pupil must be in the front of the eye, so using the “Order” selection in the pop-up section under “Draw” on the graphics toolbar, with the pupil selected I click on “Bring to Front”), remove the lines, and finally “Group” the elements using the “Group” command on the Drawing pop-up window.
Draw, color, and combine and group the elements into individual features of the face.
Finally combine all to form the face.

Simple, huh (…and that’s just his head)! To see how this all looks in the context of a complete drawing—and get to read the first “Danger Bay” installment—click here!

Oops—I forgot to warn you—another link-post— ;-)

Jay

Jay CLAIMS “allergies”—but I have a differing opinion...

2007-07-27T05:41:58Z

…I think he’s suffering from something else!

By “Boomerjack” Boardman

Jay stopped by at insane o’clock this morning, as he frequently does when he wants to post to Active Rain.

This time, he informed me he was too sick due to “his allergies” to post, and gave me the keys to this blog.

“Allergies” indeed! I think that old curmudgeon has one sip too many of his Summit “Great Northern Porter” (Summit Brewing, St. Paul, MN—support your local business) and had a case of the “Brew Flu” (if you know what I mean).

Okay, so the 2^nd & 3^rd paragraphs are a complete fabrication (and boy am I gonna pay for that later today)! Jay stayed up until midnight drawing & combining the graphics for the accidentally-deleted “Fiction” page of our blog, and this morning he was simply too tired to post, and asked me to pinch hit

Jay had been concerned with the perspective of his earlier drawing of the east side of the village of "Danger Bay." For reference, here is that first graphic:

So, now renamed “Danger Bay Graphics,” you may find it here. The link will take you to yet another "link-post," Jay told me to do it!

(UPDATED JULY 26) Village of “Danger Bay” PROGRESS!

2007-07-25T05:54:51Z

WARNING: LINK POST—LINK POST—LINK POST!

In my former blog-life as one of five “Codgers” I would with some frequency write from “my corner of cyberspace,” mixing real people with totally fictional people in the cyber-city of “Codger’s Corner.” “Codger’s Corner” occupied the same space along the “Cyber-Mississippi” River as my home town of Saint Paul does along the Mississippi River. When we needed a break from the city, we’d all head to the North Shore of “CyberLake Superior,” which occupied the same space as...well, that much is obvious.

With the passing of one of our number, the blog-entity “The Codgers” passed on as well, including our corner of cyberspace. Sometime later, after talking my reluctant friend Jack “Boomer Jack” Boardman into joining me, the blog “Our Saint Paul” was launched. I quickly discovered that I missed our forays into fiction—and felt my blog voice had been lost, or at least modified, by not having an outlet for my imagination, so…

Welcome to “Danger Bay,” a bypassed village of some 127 persons along the North Shore of the “Big Lake.” The name is taken in part from a map-spot along the North Shore of Lake Superior: “Castle Danger.” What a great name! Although I’ve searched for it, I’ve not found the origin of the name.

“Danger Bay” remains under construction—there are many location sets yet to draw—but here is where we are as of today:

First I combined several photos to make the background for the village:

Then I created “Medlar’s Station,” “Silverthorn’s Café” and the little white church:

Jay

Back by Popular Demand

2007-07-23T14:57:24Z

WARNING: THIS IS A LINK-POST! WARNING: THIS IS A LINK-POST! WARNING: THIS IS A LINK-POST!

One of the things I’ve missed most about the demise of the Active Rain blogging entity “The Codgers,” was the frequent trips to the “Codger-Lodge,” and excursions aboard the “Pegasus II.” So today you may have noticed the old Pegasus II resurrected for one last time with her full compliment of “Codgers,” including the late “Harold Peterson.” She won’t appear again on this page, or any other page—except in my AR archived posts.

By popular request—Boomer & I will begin a new fictional series within the pages of “Our Saint Paul.” It will take place in a small (so far unnamed) village, on the North shore of a very large (also not yet named) freshwater lake—obviously derived from our own Lake Superior.

So now I am beginning the process of set-design—drawing a grip of new buildings and characters. My Gentle Readers have overwhelmed me with delightful names for these folks—now to give them personalities & occupations.

The first new graphic is of the “MV (Motor Vessel) Sparrow,” (more)

At least this one is not quite so blatant...

Jay

I’ve lost my “Blog Voice”—and can’t find it…

2007-07-21T07:13:32Z

By Jay Merton…and Boomer Jack

I’ve invited Boomer over to my back porch this fine 60ºF & clear morning here in Old Saint Paul…

…Why, exactly am I here, Jay. We have out of town out-laws, er—in-laws arriving this afternoon—and I’m expected to complete a very long honey-do list before they arrive.

If you’d keep still, Boomer, I could get this done! Since the “Codgers” broke up their act, I’ve found myself unable to re-establish my blog-voice. It used to be easy—if I was short on blog food, I could always get inspired by the guys at the coffee shop—or go into “our corner of cyberspace” and post from “Codger’s Corner.” But without the rest of the guys…(more)

Sorry, Gentle Readers—I just can’t help myself.

Believe it or not—I AM an introvert!

2007-07-17T05:49:41Z

It’s a comfortable 68ºF this fine Saint Paul morning on my back porch as I am enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee (as is necessary to get my brain firing on all remaining synapses)!

Yes—you read the title correctly—I am an introvert. At times, painfully so. This is probably why I never went into direct sales as a career. Maybe “introvert” is too strong a word—“shy” is a softer version of introvert.

Meeting people for the first time has always been stressful for me, but for the most part, I was able to overcome my natural shyness when it was necessary. Since my (mild) stroke of a couple of years ago—leaving me with difficulty speaking the words my brain commands—meeting people is even more difficult. My ability to speak is inversely proportional to the level of stress I’m experiencing (in other word, meeting people leaves me speechless!).

Blogging allows me to meet & get to know people without losing my ability to speak—cool. So I will continue to hide behind my keyboard and meet new friends.

BTW: thanks to all who visited “Our Saint Paul” on Monday, and especially to those who went a little further into cyber-space and visited (Medford) Ambrose’s new “Fisher’s The ramblings of a predigital curmudgeon”! Another shot of Self-Promotion!

Jay

Boomer’s posting on our new Blog!

2007-07-15T12:21:44Z

It’s a fine partly-cloudy, 77ºF Sunday afternoon here on my back porch. Don’t let the graphic above fool you, Boomer & I are not enjoying mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, but some nice cold water (don’t need any more coffee, no matter how much I love the stuff)!

Boomer has written his very first ever blog post on our new blog! I don’t know if the blogging bug has struck him yet—but he DID call me to let me know he posted.

Check out our new personal blog banner. Click on the banner & find out what Boomer has to say. Oh, and if you look closely in the “Recent Comments” section on the side bar, you’ll see a photo of the real “Medford.”

Yet another marketing tease!

Jay

Life goes on—and so will I

2007-07-09T04:04:38Z

It’s a very comfortable 66ºF, although a bit humid this fine Saint Paul morning on my back porch. I served for a time while I was in the Army at Fort Gordon near Augusta, GA, and the weather here this past weekend reminded me of the weather I suffered through then: mid to upper 90s and tropical! It rained last night—much needed rain, and somehow most fitting.

It’s been some time since I’ve been the sole proprietor of this blog—and it feels a bit awkward. On the upside, I do have my mug, and I am enjoying my hot organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Blend coffee. That, at least, won’t change!

I’m moving on, and have much to do. I have hours of data-entry to do in my family history database—while I’ve been addicted to blogging, my data-entry as a consequence, has fallen woefully behind—so that is first on my agenda. That will require my full attention for some time, and I’ll have to deny my addiction (I’ll have to design a robo-comment so I can at least let my Gentle Readers know I’ve not forgotten them).

Next up on my agenda is to build a new “Other Blog,” ‘cause I can only hold off this %$#@*!! delightful addiction so long! Be patient with me—I have many graphics to draw for the new blog & it will take a while.

So Gentle Readers—be good—I’ll be checking in from time to time!

Jay

Changes

2007-07-08T11:25:49Z

Life is full of changes.

Codger Harold Peterson died on Wednesday morning, peacefully, in his sleep. We buried him today. He will be deeply missed by his family and his friends.

We knew sooner or later one of us would make that final journey.

We also agreed that would mean the end of the Codgers as a blog-entity, so as you can see, changes have been made here.

Our other blog and the on-line store have been closed.

This blog started out as just me—and it is again—just me.

Sunday Morning Update:

I just learned there was an obituary in the St. Paul paper for a “Harold Peterson.” This is not our Harold. The name “Harold Peterson” was a self-chosen “Blog Name” and not his real name. It was the only way we could get our friends to allow us to use their words in our blog.

Harold had prearranged his funeral and cremation—he didn’t want all the trappings. Notification of his passing went out by email and by telephone. A short service was held and a moving eulogy delivered by his son. It was attended by some 25 friends and family. His ashes were interred with his parents and siblings—just the way he wanted.

Jay

Monday Morning on my Back Porch

2007-06-18T05:27:06Z

Medford met me at my back porch early this Monday morning. According to my replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer, the temperature was 74ºF, and it felt muggy, and my lens-assisted original equipment eyes told me it was hazy, here in our hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota. A quick look at look at local weather on the ‘net informed me that we are expecting the high temp today to reach about 80ºF, with an 80% chance of much needed rain.

“Mornin’ Jay,” Medford greeted as he gimped his way up the steps of my back porch, “Laura’s gone already this morning.”

“Gone?” I answered, a bit perplexed, as I knew Laura usually slept late in the mornings, until at least six, “Whaddaya mean gone?”

“To the café,” Medford answered, “she left a note.”

“That settles that,” I concluded, “we’ll see her when we get there. How was your Father’s Day?”

“Pretty good,” Medford replied, “Laura took several jobs off my ‘honey-do’ list. Hey! Where’s the organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee? I brought my porcelain, not china, but made in China, Codger Collectible Mug, and a packet of sugar and of creamer, but I have nothing to put them in.”

“Don’t have any of that,” I rejoined with a smile.

“Say what?”

“Don’t have any organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee, but I do have organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Sumatran-Roast coffee, just inside the door, to your left, as always.” (Bet you thought I wouldn’t work those catch-phrases in, didn’t you!)

If you are wondering what the Codger Ladies are up to so early in the morning, head over to the Café to find out.

This is a self-promoting "LINK-POST"

A New Codger Order—Something Fun This Way Commeth!

2007-06-17T09:33:26Z

By the time we launch this post, it will be waaay past dawn on this fine Father’s Day Sunday morning. As you can see, the whole crew of Codgers & Codger Ladies (& Cyber-Daisy, my step-dog) are here this morning enjoying our porcelain, not china, but made in China, Codger Collectible Mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee, except, of course, Laura, who is enjoying her teacup of fine Earl Grey tea). So, why exactly are we all here on my porch at insane o’clock?

We are announcing the re-launch of our “Cyber Café, Back Porch & Codger Lodge Conversations” blog (formerly Cyber-Café Conversations). This revamped (we’ve deleted all the old posts to this blog—for a fresh start) blog will have the same kind of content, and same attitude towards comments as the Cyber-Café & Back Porch Conversations blog on AR., and with some luck, expand our readership and add to our “Gentle Readers.”

After many months of having fun on Active Rain, we’ve decided to take our show on the road, and see if it has wheels. We are not leaving Active Rain! We are going to concentrate more on this new blog, and as a consequence will cut back the number of posts to the ‘Rain.

This is not a “LINK POST” exactly, but there is a link above, if you wish to visit our newly revised, work-in-progress blog. The link in our sidebar here still works, as well. Today’s post on the “Cyber Café, Back Porch & Codger Lodge Conversations” blog has stuff you folks already know, and part of this post.

Reflections of Father’s Day from the Pilothouse of the MV Pegasus II

2007-06-16T10:24:51Z

Good morning Gentle Readers! Here aboard the Pegasus, anchored in our secret cove on Cyber-Lake Superior, it is a computer-controlled 65ºF, with a light northwesterly breeze. As you can see, I’m in the pilothouse with my loyal step cyber-beagle Daisy standing watch on the deck just outside the pilothouse.

Have you noticed in the past few weeks, all the advertisements for “gifts for Dad?” Tools, yard equipment, sports jerseys and equipment, fishing supplies, even cologne (manly cologne, to be sure). Is this what dads really want? Some do, I expect.

My dad wanted nothing more than a home-made card. He loved our crayon or pencil-drawn cards! He was, for his time, I guess a different kind of father. He worked often sixteen hours a day—yet he always, no matter how tired he may have been, found time for us kids. Whether it was tossing a ball around, telling us stories about the “olden days,” or overseeing our homework, he always spent time with us each day.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad:

My thought for this day: I hope I was half the dad to my sons as my dad was to me (my hand drawn cards arrived yesterday.)

Jay