So the second crest didn't exactly happen. The first crest was 40.8 (already an all-time record) and originally they said there was a 75% chance the second one would be over 41. As it happens the second crest was only 34 feet, so they were way off. Out of superstition I suggested we leave all our stuff in the upstairs living room for the entire month so we wouldn't have to move it down and up again. Yes, I'm a bit superstitious when it comes to Murphy's law. I guess Fargo has us to thank since our preparation meant there was in fact no second crest to speak of. Other cities in ND have it pretty bad though...

Also, wanted to mention Roxana Saberi - I don't know if it's actually news that people would be hearing about a lot outside of Fargo but she was in my grade school and high school class - I actually had a sleepover at her house once. She is a journalist who has just been convicted of spying in Iran and sentenced to 8 years in prison there. I am sure she is not a spy and naturally I hope they will release her before then!


Three Replies to More news

Amy Austin | April 20, 2009
Wow! What a way to reconnect with an old friend -- that sucks!!!

Scott Hardie | April 20, 2009
Her story isn't just Fargo news; it's international news. Iran's government is corrupt and these are charges are theater, but at least this didn't happen in certain other countries in the region, where she would already have been executed. I hope for her safety and early release.

Denise Sawicki | April 21, 2009
I know it's big news (Obama said he was deeply saddened by her conviction!) but over here we probably hear more about it than elsewhere.

Her parents met her and say she is doing fine. I think she will be OK. I hope so.


Prayer for the Paranoid

Denise Sawicki posts whatever she feels able to post without serious consequences Read more »

Chair

Over the weekend we went to Mills Fleet Farm to pick up the specific present my dad wanted for his birthday. I doubt you have the Fleet Farm in the more "civilized" parts of the world but it is a bit like a Walmart with the addition of things like calf medicine, saddles, fence posts, and a huge amount of hardware, machinery, building supplies, etc. I mostly stick to the more Walmart-like areas of the store, except for that one time when I built a fence :). Go »

I love waking up early

I got up before 5, took a shower, did a bunch of my fun and addictive getting-free-stuff-on-the-internet activities, had breakfast, and went and found some treasures in Kameo, all before heading out to work at 7:50. That was awesome. We always go to bed before 10 anyway so what's the point hanging around in bed in the morning when I'm not tired. Go »

Adventures with food

So, Darrell is getting really into cooking lately so I got him a pasta machine and this weekend we used it for the first time.. OK I used it... and it was kinda fun! Go »

Don't go computer shopping at 6 AM...

So, we have an old and crummy computer that's been bothering us for years, and for reasons that I can't get into, it suddenly became critical to go computer shopping at 6 AM on Saturday. :P I got a digital video camera for my birthday and Darrell took some awesome videos of Philip and we wanted something that would be capable of video editing. I headed out to Walmart at 6 AM on Saturday, looked at the stats of the various computers,. Go »

door to door salesperson

Well last night I had somewhat of a weird experience when this wacky lady came to our door to sell some cleaning supplies for $37 a bottle... I normally do not buy anything from solicitors but she had me flustered and I was cracking up at everything she was saying... Didn't want to send her away empty handed after her lengthy comedy show. Go »

Flood

So... not sure exactly why I live in this ridiculous state of North Dakota. I can tell myself that we're better off than California much of the time but who's to say? Go »