The 46th Annual Camp-a-ree

Our family from my Dad's side got together Sunday from as far away as Arkansas and South Dakota to celebrate Labor Day at the 46th Annual Camp-a-ree. Our family reunions involved camping for the first 35 or so years. This year we met at my parents house in Lincoln, Nebraska. There was a great lunch that my Mom spread out for us. Then we moved to a nearby park that had horseshoe pits. My brother Jim and cousin Jason went undefeated and were declared the champions for the day. Back in the garage we continued with other games like water balloon toss, bubble gum blowing contest and many others that we call the Dakota Relays. Great to see everyone and share a real nice Sunday.

My cousin Jill introduced a new game. The goal was be the fastest one to get the 8 golf balls out of the tissue box that is tied to your backside...

My nephew Zac was fastest.


My daughter Cali's awesome attempt.

More photos when you click here...

Camparee2010

Championship Game...

Curb Appeal Enhancement

The outside front window trim is finally done. Next I will tackle the inside trim/staining/sealing. Ted S. and I got these windows replaced on a weekend when it was not raining. Then it seemed to rain or was blazing hot every time I planned to work on the trim. At least I can scratch something off my list today. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!


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Replacing Windows

Defenders of Freedom - Offutt Air Show 2010

Everything came together today for an adventure riding our bikes down to Offutt Air Force Base. I picked up Scott and we met Chris N. and Steve at 72nd and Q. From there we rode south to the Defenders of Freedom Air Show. It was just starting as we rolled up to the levee at the NW end of the runway at about 1:30PM. With the heavy south wind the aircraft were taking off on the opposite end on the runway from us. We got to see the aircraft land from where we stood. We saw bombers and fighters but the Thunderbirds were the stars of the show. It was a great time just like last year and I'm planning to do it again next year.

Cali Goes To College

The long awaited day arrived for Cali today when she strikes out on her own. We couldn't ask for a nicer day to get her moved in to Doane College. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us stay with you last night and the great breakfast this morning. It really helped to have a short drive to Crete, NE from Lincoln. The facility shooed out all the parents at about 3PM today. Sounds like the freshmen will be super busy with orientation this weekend. We are proud of you Cali. You’ll do great!

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Cali Goes To College

TNR action at Tranquility tonight

Made it back from Crete, NE in time to catch some TNR action at Tranquility tonight.

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TNR0826

Back Online

Our local cable provider had upgraded their network to the point where we no longer had the equipment to stay online. Years ago I setup a Toshiba PCX5000 because it had cable modem/wired lan/wireless lan support all in one unit.

It worked great until recently when our local cable provider stopped supporting the DOCSIS 1.0 cable modem standard. We have been having intermittent lost of high speed service for most of the summer. This morning it was completely gone. Luckly I had done some research ahead of time and found the Motorola SBG6580
supported the services that our Toshiba supported and then some.

The main thing is that it is compatible with DOCSIS 2.0 and 3.0. which means we are back online (a little faster too). I did have to contact our local cable provider and have them activate the new equipment. That went smooth enough. After putting up with all the geek talk today I'll leave you with some Backstreet Boys...

Have you seen this bike?

A racer came from Des Moines this past Sunday for the Tranquility Race. While he was here someone took his 2010 Lynskey Pro29 (XL). The frame serial # 7783. Please keep your eyes out for it. If you do have information about it please post a message to the owner from this link ...

Specs:
frame: 2010 Lynskey Pro29 XL - Matte Ti
fork: Fox F29 100mm - white
stem: Thomson X4 110mm
headset: Chris King - Navy
handlebar: syntace duraflite
brakes: Shimano XT
rotors (f/r): Formula R1 160/160mm
hubs: Chris King ISO Disc QR front, QR rear - Navy
rims: Stans 355 29er
skewers (f/r): Salsa - Blue
tires (f/r): Schwalbe Racing Ralph Snakeskin - 2.25/Maxxis Crossmark 2.1
bottle cage: Specialized plastic - Black
seatpost: Lynskey Ti
saddle: WTB Rocket V SLT
cranks: Shimano XT 175mm
pedals: Shimano XTR 959
bottom bracket: Chris King - Navy
cassette: XT
R der: XT Shadow
F Der: XT

WWII Nose Art photos from airbase in the Philippines

Jodi had an uncle stationed in the Philippines during WWII. His name was Harley and he was a mechanic. We found some of his nose art photos recently. Most of these planes look like B-24s. I did some internet searches and could not find any photos of nose art quite like these. I did find a different version of "Modest Maiden". I thought these were too historic and interesting not to share with the rest of the world. These have been sitting in a box for about 65 years.

Click on this photo to view the album...

WWII Nose Art from from Philippines