The BBQ

GRILLING RULES:

We are about to enter the summer grilling season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity, as it's the only type of cooking a 'real' man will do, probably because there is an element of danger involved. When a man volunteers to do the cooking the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...

(1) The woman buys the food.

(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.

(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - drink in hand.

Here comes the important part:

(4) The man places the meat on the grill.

More routine....

(5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.

(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring an other drink while he deals with the situation.

Important again:

(7) The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.

More routine....

(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.

(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:

(10) Everyone praises the man thanks him for his cooking efforts.

(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off.'

And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....

Enjoy your weekend with a little BBQ grilling humor.

Beer and BBQ go so well together.
Sirloins, Asparagus, Vidallia Onions, Red and Yellow Bell Peppers drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and minced garlic with a pair of goblets of Secco-Bertani Valpolicella Valpantena Ripasso; its whats for dinner.

Minnesota, 150 Years of Statehood

Minnesota, located in the midwest; south of Ontario amd Manitoba Canada. This year we celebrate 150 years of statehood. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858. The state is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"; those lakes and the other waters for which the state is named, together with state and national forests and parks, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Minnesota's state symbols:[119]
State bird: Common Loon
State butterfly: Monarch
State drink: Milk
State fish: Walleye
State flower: Pink and white lady slipper
State fruit: Honeycrisp apple
State gemstone: Lake Superior agate
State grain: Wild rice
State motto: L'Étoile du Nord ("The Star of the North")
State muffin: Blueberry
State mushroom: Morel
State photograph: Grace
State song: "Hail! Minnesota"
State tree: Red Pine also known as Norway Pine
Nicknames:
"Land of 10,000 Lakes"
"North Star State"
"Gopher State"
"Land of Sky-Blue Waters"
"Bread and Butter State"
"State of Hockey"

For more Wiki-information, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota

Corner Coffee Shop

Daniela's in Forest Lake sereves coffee, espresso, imported treats and candy, but best of all gelato!

Reflective Twist

Somewhere downtown Minneapolis, shot thru the skyway window.

Hang On

Back by Nope's demand; music for your enjoyment. Seems he missed the mini concert here at the northmetro blogspot.

I queued up Pink Martini's tune, "Hang On Little Tomato" to go with this photo I took last November. I liked the colors, and oddly enough, it is similar to Pink Martini's album (CD) Hang On Little Tomato.

I like this photo, I originally called it Determination, "when times are tough, hang on tight. Courage, Hope, Perseverance. When everyone else has bailed and let go; be strong, hold on to the bitter end and make a difference".

My wife and I made it to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul in record time to see Pink Martini in person. We were pleased to see this performance. China Forbes can really sing, just like an angel. The opening tune was their rendition of "Bolero". "Lilly" was beautifully mastered as was "Hang on Little Tomato". My personal favorite, "Una Notte a Napoli" was outstanding.

If you ever get a chance to see them in person, do it! You will not be disappointed. Better yet, buy all three of their albums...er...CD's; Sympathique, Hang On Little Tomato, and Hey Eugene.

For more information, Pink Martini

Skyway Blues

Skyway over the mall in detail. The skyway system in Minneapolis is an elevated enclosed connecting "bridge" from one building to the next above traffic. This is a great way to get around the downtown area without stepping outside when the temperature has warmed up to -25 F, -31 C.

Early Morning Freight

An early morning in Hopkins; the railroad engineers ready the engine for a pickup.

I was not prepared for a black and white photo for B & W Saturdays. Instead, I chose this colorful photo I took on Friday morning on my way into the office. A quick stop in at the Coffee Depot, then a walk up the bike path toward these three engines. They had just entered the cab when I shot the three necessary photos for HDR.

Yellow Brick Stairs

This doesn't look like Kansas, Toto!

Stairway down from Gaviidae Common, downtown Minneapolis.

But it looks more like something Deney Terrio dreamed up.

Sidewalk Hydrant

As seen on the Nicollet Mall from the skyway above. This photo is from a photo shoot I was on with 13 other fellow photographers for our Tips From The Top Floor Minnesota Get Together (TFTTF MN TGT #3).

Our venue, the skyway system of downtown Minneapolis. Six times building security asked us to either please leave the premisis, stop taking photos, or both. We complied spending more time in the skyways.

I had a great time meeting fellow photo enthusiests and spending the afternoon with eachother. I am looking forward to future photoshoots. Until then, enjoy my version of the Minneapolis skyways.

Little Yellow Bell

Lunch at the Lone Spur Grill on Cedar Lake Road in Hopkins, MN. Fabulous TexMex food and southwestern decor. This little bell was above our table.

Miss Burger

Another fast food burger chain but perhaps not as famous as the Golden Arches. What is better about Wendy's is their malt simply called the Frosty. Chocolate and vanilla, excellent malts. The best in the fast food industry. Well, maybe Dairy Queen has the upper hand in the malt department. Yet at Wendy's, you will find none of that yogurt simulated food product that McDonalds tries to pass off as a malt. And yes, they too have a drive thru for your burger and Frosty convenience.

Giant Blue Corkscrew

All we need now is a giant bottle of red wine.

When the world seems to shine

Like you've had too much wine

That's amore

Lone Oak

Broadway Pizza

Lately I've been feeling a bit blue. The cold weather and anticipation of the spring thaw has me down with a bad case of spring fever. That and this nonesense of year-long ongoing political hot air. (Imagine, being elected into a position and not doing that job for nearly a year like the Presidential wannabees) The only saving thought is this is preseason baseball.

At month's end, baseball will be in full swing! And what better place to enjoy those games on the TV than at a bar/grill with multiple TV's playing baseball. Broadway Pizza is it. Great pizza pie, fine refreshments, and baseball on TV. I'll have another Guinness if you please!

Regal Theater

Now showing at The Regal movie Theater in Brooklyn Center...and on 20 screens!

Townhomes Rising

Construction workers busy working on the new townhome development. This is just to the north of the existing townhomes and the plethora of Signs I submitted last November. And located just south of Super Target and the Arby's "restaurant" seen here; Arby's

Fire Safety

Fire Department Connections

A classic beauty in hopkins. Not the prettiest feature on an architecturally pleasing building. Not pretty on any building for that matter. But pretty cool in ther own right. We typically are impressed by the pretty facads and beautiful lighting in our downtown areas and we overlook the simple functional features. Look around, and see what the mechanical and electrical engineers have designed. sometimes form over function and vice versa.

(Yes, this building is this putrid pinkish color as shown)

Somewhere in Minneapolis, if my memory serves me correctly, on Portland Ave. just south of Washington Ave. Not sure if this is operational any longer.

Bark has Bite

Old gnarled oak tree growing near a sidewalk on our daily walks. This photo was taken by Mrs. Dusty Lens. Full credit goes to her for today's posting.

Happy Leap Day

This year is Leap Year and today is Leap Day. Have a great extra day. This really should be a paid National Holiday. Leap year only comes once every four years; we should spend this day celebrating this 1/4 event marvel.

I was just made aware of a good argument to have this day off. For those who are salaried employees, we're working for free today. As TN from our office stated, "After doing a bit of number crunching it is worse than I’d suspected. It turns out that instead of 2080 hours of weekday, this year we have 2096".

Now I have not verified these numbers, but somehow, I feel cheated. I'm thinking I shall spend the rest of today surfing the web, City Daily Photos, checking gmial, and perhaps playing some Guitar Hero in the conference room's plasma TV monitor.

OK, ok, back to work. Sheesh, you'd think after all the taxes extorted from us we'd get a small break. 'Course not. (Why worry about Tony Soprano when we have the Senate?)

Big Ass Fan Spins Again

Last June, I posted about the Big Ass Fan over my fabric box in the cube farm I reside in Monday thru Friday. (see link below) Prairie dog style, we see this Big Ass Fan in action from across the cube farm from RB's deskal space looking toward the front door.

It does a great job of moving air around as we need it. Being that I am directly under it, I tend to get the most refreshing air. Although when it is cranked up, paper weights are needed. But a small price to pay for the more temperate cubicle weather in this large 28 box cubical farm. http://northmetro.blogspot.com/2007/06/062707.html

Maybe next time I'll provide a movie clip. Or, a cool HDR image, but the fan needs to be turned off. I wonder if RB is up to staying late at the office some evening to turn the fan off...

I'm Thinking Arby's Tonight

Or, maybe not.

Fast "food" on Highway 169, just in front of Super Target at 120th Ave.

A pseudo-realistic look from 3 images. I really like messing around with this HDR imagery.

James Tillich ate here.

This image is tonemapped considerably eyond the realistic extent. Really quite fun to create, but I am thinking I prefer the more realstic look like the first photo. Look for more of this, (but not too many) in the future. I'll let you be the judge, which do you prefer, the fisrt photo or second photo?