If you are somewhat famous and see me walking near you, treat the sound of those steps as your death rattle.

Last summer we were in Girwood at the Double Musky when Uncle Ted walked in. We chuckled and elbowed each other at our small brush with fame. Ted was dead within 2 weeks.

This past weekend we were in Homer for a relaxing weekend and as we cruised down the spit I craned my head in hopes of finding the Time Bandit in port. There it was. I'm not the huge Deadliest Catch fan that I was when the show was new (the plotline is pretty repetitive at this point), though I still enjoy it. We snapped some pictures. Even cooler was watching the boat randomly tool around outside of our room Sunday afternoon.


(more pictures here)

The weekend was terrific all around and we were sorry to leave on Monday. However, a Time Bandit deckhand passed away later that night. He had to have been on the boat while we observed its 10 minute cruise just off the Homer spit.

We did see Tom Skilling at the Double Musky a few years ago, but he seems to have escaped unscathed. Maybe only the Alaskans have the mark of doom?

The more I live in a townhouse, the more it annoys me. I understood this potential decline when I bought it, but at the time it fit my budget and needs. I suspect this is true of many people. However, as the years pass the fees and rules get more frustrating. The only cure is single family home ownership, which should happen in 4 years or so.

Waking up on Monday morning to no hot water sent me downstairs to realize that the first floor was 53 degrees. The electronic thermometer also told me that it was -3 outside. I threw on some pants and shuffled onto the deck to check the boiler/water heater closet. It couldn't be more silent in there, meaning that nothing was operating. This boiler feeds 2 total units and is accessible from outside the 2 units. I called the emergency condo line, flipped the switch on the gas fireplace, and embraced an ice cold whore bath. Becky and I washed up and put on a few extra swipes of deodorant.

The outdoor closet was very much off limits in terms of tenant monkey wrenching. The heating and plumbing guy would be there within an hour and would not need access to our unit to fix the problem. And since he doesn't want to fix any burst pipes, he would be there in a hurry. Finally, since it was outside the unit we would not pay a penny. +1 for condo ownership today.

I'm pleased with it and very happy that it is done. It was an excellent change of pace from painting little dwarfs, and also a sentimental journey (I hadn't built a model plane since middle school). The decals are a bit long in the tooth, but then again they are close to 20 years old. I have a few more kits from that era that have yet to be built. And they will be built.

It's hard to permanently escape the model cars and planes I built way back when that brought me to my current Warhammer hobby.

So many things these days are dangling and crying out for completion. It's not as if the world will shudder to an end in mid July, but rather things will happily take a sharp 90 degree turn after which it will then be much harder to find the time to wile away at solitary tasks.

I can't say that I am being much more productive than usual. It is probably more accurate to say that my focus is on being less schizophrenic in my interests.

Rather than dabble across several stacks of comic books and collections, I now pick a single title and finish the sucker within a day or so.

That stack of complete Jonah Hex comics from the 70's that I had been reading in slow tastes as to enjoy them like fine wine or kobe beef? I'm now devouring about 5 comics each night and immersing myself in the themes and settings. I've chosen a sack of White Castles over a bi monthly Kobe slider. How could that be wrong?

I've been mentally annoyed with finishing a model airplane and have consequently not painted a Warhammer model since Christmas. I asserted that the plane must be finished before anything else hits my painting table and I have stuck to that, albeit with sluggishness. The plane goes down this weekend.

I have thrown my hat over the wall regarding a June triathlon. It's a sprint distance and one I have completed before. Now I just need to do it faster. Between swimming laps, hitting the treadmill, and nordic skiing, I'm training away 6-7 days a week, showering twice a day, and producing as much dirty clothing as cycling season. This may explain why the model plane idles away, but that is a weak excuse.

Miles to go before I sleep...

It sounds like the snowbeast has put the hurt on the midwest quite forcefully. Judging by the facebook status updates and growing stack of posted pictures, Chicago and Madison have been slammed. We get plenty of snow and cold up here but without the population density and arterial road system of the midwest, it is much easier for us to muddle through. Also, it is expected and tolerated to a much greater degree. It's Alaska.

I do love the pictures of Lake Shore Drive and the orphaned cars. So cool.

As a child I remember the blizzard of 1979 vividly as a time when I was not allowed to build snow forts in the yard without direct adult supervision, which meant someone watching from my parents room. I guess a kid somewhere in Chicago found himself in some collapsed snow, and due to not being monitored closely enough ended up suffocating. So that's the doom of '79 in my mind.

Chicago always has a strange, distinct beauty when submerged in superfluous fresh snow.

...

I am a long time fan of The Office, though these days it is more mediocre than anything else. We're staying together for the kids, regardless of the random guffaws a given new episode will yield. Parks and Rec is complete genius in my mind though. Ron Swanson is the man.

The remainder of Thursday nights on NBC is a good impetus to head upstairs and iron or paint for an hour or so. The less said about Outsourced, the better. 30 Rock always feels very pretentious and cute about itself -- if you're not in on their little jokes, well then you are just not in. And Community is a bit too repetitive in theme.

However, this week's Community is all about Dungeons and Dragons so they've captured my time.

Point, NBC.