Random
Tenancy Questions: Pets, etc.
A friend of mine is in a state of post-graduation flux. He’s been asked to renew his lease. He has days to decide. He might be relocating, so renewing is committing before he knows what his job prospects are.
1. He may know within a few weeks. How does one sweet-talk a landlord into extending a lease for a few months? (more…)
The hunt for a wireless provider in Duluth
We’re ready to ditch Dish and are looking to go wireless-only at our house (no cable package). Are there any good companies providing wireless (besides Clearwire) in Duluth these days?
Busy… Arts and Such
A lot of ground to cover this week… (more…)
This Week: clovers, cars, comedy and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
It’s St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, and there are a number of themed events going on. The Ides of March continues with bands playing the music of the Ramones, Alkaline Trio and the Dropkick Murphys, there’s a parade and music at Clyde Iron and Celtic music is at Duluth Congregational Church.
The rest of the week is well-stocked, too: there’s an Antique Appraisal at the Depot, the DuLutsen North of North Music and Ski Festival gets underway with six days of entertainment, Fuse Duluth celebrates their 10th anniversary, the Twin Cities’ 20% Theatre Company comes to town, the event formerly known as the World of Wheels is taking place on Saturday and there’s comedy at Dubh Linn.
Bird on the loose
Anyone in Superior missing a pet? My wife got this pic this morning. The bird is currently in the care of Wildwoods.
Little League sign ups in West Duluth
Western Duluth Little League is registering players ages 5-15 for the 2015 season. Registration can be conducted in person at Wheeler Fieldhouse this Saturday, March 14, from noon to 2 p.m., or anytime online at westernduluthlittleleague.org.
“A bat flew into my car and bit my hand.”
She was on her way across town to tell me about a road trip she’d taken with friends. She texted me while she was driving — something that I wish she’d never do, but this seemed extraordinary circumstances.
“A bat flew into my car and bit my hand.” (more…)
Thank you, DTA
To the driver of the #6/7 running past 20th Avenue East Jefferson Street at 8:45 this morning, who saw me looking dejected as he rolled past the intersection (I was running late trudging through the snow) … and pulled over and waited for me … thank you!
You can read minds.
Why do you choose to bus, bike or walk?
In preparation for the fourth annual Bus Bike Walk month in May, Healthy Duluth is now collecting stories from community members who regularly bus, bike or walk as transportation.
Research shows that there are many personal and societal benefits to active transportation including physical fitness and overall well being, an improved economy and fewer vehicle emissions than driving. Many people in the Duluth community utilize these forms of transportation, and by showcasing their stories, the community will be inspired to give people-powered transportation a try.
Click here to share your story and inspire others to Bus Bike Walk.
Fireworks in February
I’m in the cafe at Barnes and Noble, where I just bought the new issue of Charlie Hebdo. I wish that it didn’t feel so commercially crass to have bought this now. (more…)
Slowing Down
Friday night, I celebrated my friend Scott’s birthday. When I asked him how old he was, he only said that he was 39 again. I know that feeling.
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Bobcat in the Snare
From my friends at Wildwoods, with a warning that some images are graphic:
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Tim Kaiser at Jefferson Peoples House
Tim Kaiser celebrated the kickoff of his crowd fundraising event by performing at Jefferson Peoples House in Duluth.
Minnesota Cup overfloweth with Northlanders (maybe, if you help)
Minnesota Cup event at the Green Acres Barn Event Center.
Minnesota Cup is an innovative idea competition. According to Mark Dayton on the website:
The Minnesota Cup celebrates and encourages the unique character that makes Minnesota a special place to do business. From our rich history of entrepreneurship to our impressive list of Fortune 500 companies, Minnesota is where great ideas become great companies. Attracting more than 8,000 entries since 2005, the Minnesota Cup is now the largest statewide new venture competition in the country…. I am grateful for the support provided by the Minnesota Cup’s lead sponsors, including: the University of Minnesota; Wells Fargo; Carlson Companies; Digital River; General Mills; UnitedHealth Group; and the state of Minnesota. This is an excellent example of how public and private partnerships can work together and encourage new business development in Minnesota.
It would be great if I could post every year about a Northlander winner of this competition (and celebrate the cash as well as mentor support this program offers new businesses). But I can only do that if you apply with your amazing business idea.
Blind Tigers, Zombie Robots, karaoke, acoustic guitar, trees in the dark
Tracing backward … (more…)
Pixel Farmer Yields Big Harvest for Locally Laid
Friend and local pixel farmer Lucie Amundsen yielded a big harvest when she wrote a reply to a letter complaining that her actual farming operation (“Locally Laid”) was too spicy for the grocery aisle.
She’ll be on the Daily Circuit (MPR) today; the story has been picked up regionally here and here and here.
Duluth creativity (and Duluth passion for sustainability) on the map!
Perfect Day Duluth
Is it just me or do you notice that a lot of people refer to this blog as “Perfect Day Duluth?”
1) What’s up with that? Why do people make that mistake?
2) When they do, do you correct them? How do you correct them without sounding like a pretentious know-it-all? I am a pretentious know-it-all, so that’s why I ask.
The Really Angry Bear Who Almost Upset the World
As this gem appears to have little if any local coverage whilst topping the list of our truly closest encounters, I’d like to explore it now and see if anyone in the community has memories or knowledge of this exciting chapter in history.
One of my favorite pastimes has to be pretending that ‘man’ hasn’t come as close as he has to setting this Garden of Eden ablaze, returning it to its former self of one giant cinder cone that only the smallest rodents underground survive. The itchy-trigger-fingers of sociopathic generals (immortalized in such films as How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) illustrate the kind of antics that happened right over the hill from here one fateful evening. (more…)
The Piedmont Smelt Incident
Aside from the occasional monster wave, there is no finer display of the raw and natural violence of her majesty’s beauty than the Lake Superior Cyclone. Air is churning over the water’s surface in a melee of suction and force that would clean the beard on a Lumbersexual or the balls off a beaver. They were visible near Stoney Point on New Years day of 2010 where you could see them toward Wisconsin pulling through gravity and time, swaying in the distance of a sunny cold afternoon.
Then I heard this fishy tale from a neighbor:
Coming home from kindergarten in about the spring of 1960, after school and dressed in his spacesuit rain gear, he sees funnel clouds over the lake. As the storm passes and nearing home he notices on the lawn a patch of small silver fish, then another yard with more of them, telling his dad who doesn’t believe him a tornado could siphon a school of smelt off the lake into the hills of old Piedmont.
Temps are deadly, call homeless hotline with tips
Photo: Deb Holman
Please, if anyone reading this is experiencing homelessness or knows of someone who may be living outside, in a vehicle or in an unheated building, call the Street Outreach hotline at 218-461-8505. An outreach worker will follow up on all tips and try to get people into shelter.
The Street Outreach Team is also in need of winter boots (all adult sizes), gas cards and warm hats and mittens. Donations can be brought to CHUM (102 W 2nd St) or Loaves and Fishes (1712 Jefferson St).
Well, Duluth, it’s been great!
I’m sad, so sad, to have to leave my adopted home of the past 3 and a half years. With Cliffs closing the Duluth office, I need to move where the work is, so on Monday I start my transition to the Eau Claire area.
Duluth is truly a special place and one that I will hold in my heart. (I so want to stay that I’m even keeping the house I bought in Kenwood and will have a family member reside there.)
To those like minded folks that love Duluth as I do, I don’t have to list the reasons why. To those haters out there, you will never understand the attraction the the place. I have endured five corporate relocations in the 29 years my wife and I have been married. I have lived in the South, the West, and the Northeast, but nothing beats the Upper Midwest.
Farewell, Duluth, Bon Chance!
Cable Natural History Museum Naturalist/Curator Job Opening
The Cable Natural History Museum’s naturalist/curator position requires curiosity, active engagement with projects, professionalism, independent initiative, effective communication skills with children and adults, and a desire to work with animals. (more…)
Peaceful Duluth Day
This is a fun little project I’ve been thinking about for a while. I thought today is as good of a day as any to post. Did I miss any?