Usability Lab at the University of Minnesota

B-18 Walter Library
117 Pleasant Street SE
Lab Reception Room Phone: (612) 625-4385

Last night (May 14, 2008), I toured the Usability Lab at the University of Minnesota as part of a course I'm taking in my graduate program (Research and Usability class taught by Dr.Tori Sadler). A usability lab is where you go when you want to test your web site or software interface for user friendliness. If you are going to invest thousands of dollars into a web site launch or software distribution, the last thing you want to discover after-the-fact is that no one wants to use your product because it is difficult to use.

One example of how the staff at the usability lab would test your web site would be to select 6 to 10 people to perform specified tasks on the site. The tests would occur similar to the following:

• The subject would enter a sound-proof room and be seated at a computer that is equipped with eye-tracking capabilities.


• On the other side of a two-way mirror, staff would observe the participant as he or she interacted with the test interface.


• The participant would speak what he or she was thinking while maneuvering through the interface.


• The eye-tracking software allows the staff to monitor what the user is looking at, detecting what he or she reads or examines.


• Mouse movements, key strokes and vocalizations are recorded for later study.


• The staff records problems and challenges and successes experienced by participant.

I can think of a lot of software I've used that could benefit from this type of usability testing. For example, searching for topical help when programming in Flash. It's maddening to search for a word that is a key programming phrase and nothing is found. I'm sure you have had similar experiences with some software or web site.

Below is the meeting room where the staff allows companies to watch through the two-way mirror as their product is being tested.

Below a participant (viewed through a two-way mirror) speaks out loud as he attempts to declare a major using a college website being tested. He did not have an easy time figuring it out.

Below is some of the equipment used by the staff to evaluate the participant's actions.

Below, the eye-tracking software is calibrated as the participant looks at locations on the configuration screen.

Very, very cool wall animation

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Dinner at Shuang Cheng

I've heard some claim that Shuang Cheng has some of the best Chinese food in the Twin Cities. I would rate it highly, with the comments that it has strength's and weaknesses. One of their strengths is their fried rice. If you are a fried rice fan, you will not be disappointed. After the first bite, you will think about the taste in your mouth and remember it as an old friend who comforts a weary heart.

Shuang Cheng Restaurant
1320 4th St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 378-0208

Some foods really are comfort foods, aren't they? I used to feel that way about the oyster wings at Lee Anne Chin. If I ever felt down, an order of oyster wings could take me to a happy place indeed.

The prices at Shuang Cheng are average for local Chinese restaurants. The menu has a lot of variety. I had the Moo Shu Pork.

The atmosphere is a no frills environment. If you go there, you're either going for the food or for its proximity to something else. It's not romantic, and you'll notice the conversation of your table neighbors.

Go early if you can. Sometimes a line forms and people wait for seating. The only place for them to wait is right in the customer area where you're eating; so, if you have an outside table, someone may be peering over your shoulder waiting to take your table.

Like I said- Pluses and minuses. Over all, the great food at an average price will win you over. For parking, you might get lucky and get to park on the street. Otherwise, I recommend the lot right around the corner that charges like $2 for the evening. Below is where I parked my Sebring.

The eagle that nests around the corner

Last night, we decided to check out an eagle's nest that is around the block from our house. I took my camera, which is just one of those portable Canon PowerShot A650's.

When we arrived, the nest appeared to be empty, but we kept starring at it like we were waiting to witness the Miracle of the Sun or something.



Becky said, "I think I saw something move." I zoomed in with the camera as much as I could. "I don't see anything" I said. "There it is again," said Becky. Suddenly, I saw its head peak up over the edge of the nest.


Apparently, it was time for dinner. It was nearly 8:00 pm, and the sun would set soon. It hopped onto the edge of the nest and looked around for a moment. Becky said, "I'm glad we didn't bring our dogs. Freckles would look like lunch."



With a lurch and whoosh, the eagle took flight. It was enormous, powerful and elegant. I already had my camera to my face or I would have missed the shot. Just like that, it was right over my head. I can't believe I was able to get this shot.


The eagle flew a few hundred yards away and perched above the lake. We kept waiting for it to swoop down and grab a fish, but its patience was much greater than ours. Still, it was fun to get a glimpse of such a majestic bird.

Building Wood Duck Houses

On Tuesday, we built wood duck houses. The event was organized by Kevin McDonald in cooperation with Windom public school (where my wife teaches 3rd grade).

(Click the slide show in the upper left corner to view the slide show full sized)

We built wood duck houses because of the decline of the wood duck's natural habitat. Normally, the wood duck locates a hollow tree facing a body of water. Hollow trees at the edge of the water are becoming less common due to several factors like logging and the encroachment of humans.

The Duluth PBS TV crew from Venture North was on site filming our duck house installations. If you watch the slide show in the upper left corner, you'll see them.

The wood duck lays her eggs in the box. After they hatch, the ducklings will be in the water within 24 hours. Inside the duck houses are a strip of wire mesh that assist the ducklings in climbing up to the hole. From there, they jump to the water to join their waiting mother.

Hopefully, these houses will be well used. The wood chips need to be changed annually. So, someone will be back to check on them.

Festival of Nations

On Sunday, we (Kenny, Becky and Jenn) attended the Festival of Nations at the St. Paul RiverCentre. I really had a great time. I often have the thought that- In this small sliver of time I'm here on Earth, I'm living life with people who all have one thing in common. We're all here, alive during this time period. Maybe that sounds corny, but it makes me wonder what they're all up to. At the Festival of Nations, they all want to show you. They want to show you how to do their cultural painting, weavings, and egg decoratings. I may never want to own a hand painted egg, but I think it's fascinating that someone enjoys taking time to create such delicate beauty (CLICK THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM).

Being at the Festival of Nations was, frankly, just refreshing. I was surrounded by people who were different than me in politics, religion and skin color, and they all wanted to smile at me, share with me, and talk. It was nice.

The photo below if of a Malian musician. Wow, could he play this instrument, which I believe is a traditional Manding repertoire.


Below is a photo of Becky and me.


The doll, in the photo below, was sitting outside of an oriental garment display. It reads, "Tell us if you want get dressed. It's really fun!" It did look fun. Several young girls were trying on traditional wraps. I started to ask if I could try one on, but I wasn't sure if my attempt at facetious humor would be understood.

Below is a photo of the Latvian dancers.

Below are the Irish river dancers.

With his permission, I took this photo of his Chinese Lingnam nature painting.

Below, Jenn became a Scandinavian baker.

The photo below is of Paraguayan Musicians.

With permission, I took these two photos of delicate Czech & Slovak Egg Decorating.



Below, is a photo of Swedish Hand weaving. Becky knew this woman from her a class she took in her Graduate program.

Below is a photo of the banner that's hung in the main auditorium where the dances were performed.

Below, the 1:00 showing began with all of the various ethnic dancers carrying out an American flag. In the center of the stage, they spread it taut while the National Anthem was sung. One side would lift and lower their edge of the flag to create a wave effect.



Below are the Swedish dancers. I tried to get a shot of the little old lady in the yellow and red, but she just swished along so fast, I couldn't get it. She was so cute.

And look at the way the man is looking at her. I think there's something between those two. He looks like he adores her.


Below are the Ecuadorian dancers.



Below are the Armenian dancers.

Below are the Chinese dancers. I have more photos of the Chinese dancers than others because they would move, and then stop as if to pose for photos. The dance was introduced as an exhibition of the beauty of Chinese women in the 19th century.








Below are the Israeli dancers. I thought their dance was very well choreographed.






Okay, I thought this was a turkey. I didn't look at it very closely before asking Jenn to pose in the turkey. Becky and Jenn razzed me so much about thinking it was a turkey that I had to pose.

Below is a photo of Becky and me (similar but different from the one at the top).

Here we are (below) skipping down the path.

Below are the German musicians.

Below, Jenn and I are in traditional American Indian costume (sort of).

There was a ton of food at the Festival of Nations, but it didn't really entice us. It was a lot of fried and breaded foods and things on a stick. There were sausage foods, and there were foods you could get on most oriental buffets. We decided to eat outside of the event and went to a pub around the corner from the RiverCentre.

Here's Jenn, looking mischievous.

We got home around 4:00 pm, and the weather was beautiful, so Becky and I went for a bike ride around Lake Nokomis. I wanted to get a little harder workout, so I biked down into Ft.Snelling. We have wonderful bike trails in Minneapolis.

Palm Oil - The Death of a Rain Forest

I'm no tree hugger. Tree huggers are loonies who live in trees to keep the trees from being cut down. I am a realist. The real truth is that corporate greed around the world is wiping out rain forests. The real thing is, the low lands of Indonesia are being stripped of invaluable rain forests faster than most of us understand. Why? So we can plant for palm oil harvesting.

In my last blog, I extolled the virtues of Jatropha Curcas as a bio fuel. It doesn't require fertile land for growth- Grow it in the desert, on rocky hills or even salty plains with adequate drainage. Temperature requirements for Jatropha Curcas are similar for corn. Grow it like you know it.

Take a moment to watch this video. It's only a couple of minutes long.



That video targets Dove, and I hope it has an effect on Dove, but refusing to buy Dove products is only the tip of the iceberg. Palm oil is also in many food products. You use it in cosmetics, chocolate, condiments, chips, etc. Also, palm plantations employ whole societies in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Benin, Kenya, Colombia.

Are there less fertile places outside of the rain forests where these people can plant Jatropha Curcas? In some case "yes," and others "no."

I previously mentioned that Jatropha Curcas produced like 500% more oil than corn. However, this is not a fair comparison. We use corn to produce bio ethanol. We use bio oils (Jatropha Curcas) to produce bio diesel. Studies are forthcoming that compare other bio ethanol sources to the leading sources of bio ethanol corn and sugarcane. Switchgrass is a strong contender as a replacement for corn and sugarcane as a bio ethanol.

Let's take a look at bio sources of oil ranked by gallons per acre (see the chart on the right). Keep in mind that there is a tremendous amount of variability in these numbers. For example, Jatropha Curcas produces more seeds in its third year than second. The chart is just to give you a general idea of potentials. Most of the numbers came from http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html.

You can see that palm oil is at the top. Some would argue that Jatropha Curcas will eventually be able to double the oil per acre over palm oil. Time will tell. In the mean time, we must be careful not to encourage palm oil's use as a bio fuel. Anything we can do to discourage the destruction of rain forests is a plus. If you don't think it matters, I promise you- It matters more to you than you know.

One problem of both bio ethanol and bio diesel is that it will require an enormous amount of land to produce enough bio fuel to replace petroleum. Even if we figure out a way to meet demand for this decade, world population is increasing faster than we can keep up. In 1802, we had 1 billion people on the planet. Now, we have 6.5 billion. We'll have 7 billion people by 2011. Population is increasing by 211,090 people per day (according to CIA world facts).

We need a bio fuel that can do better than 1000 gallons per acre. We need something that can produce 10,000 to 50,000 gallons of oil per acre.

Look no further than your fish tank. I'm talking about algae. We researched it years ago, but someone said it was too expensive to go from harvested oil to usable fuel. That was back when crude oil was $20 a barrel. I'm guessing that with improved technology and the economies of post-$100 barrel oil, things have changed.

When we talk about how many gallons of oil per acre that can be produced, we normally think about a vertical crop that covers an acre. This is not the case with algae. It can be grown in multiple stacks of vertical sheets. In the future, you could have a 10-story building producing 30,000 gallons of oil per story per year (or more). It's the new soylent green without the mess of people. The water will be recyclable and algae eats CO2, cutting green house gas. Maybe, we'll grow our own fuel in our backyards.

We've already identified algae strains that produce best. Once we master conversion costs from raw oil to fuel, we'll never fight another war over crude oil again. Doesn't that sound nice?

Take a look at these videos on the process.















Videos found on: http://peswiki.com/index.php/Videos:Algae_as_Fuel

Jatropha Curcas as a Bio Fuel?

A couple of years ago, I was on a plane reading an article about bio fuels. The article was trumpeting the benefits of a raggedy plant called Jatropha Curcas (pronounced JAT-ruff-uh cur-cuss). According to the article, the plant grew like a weed, but is more like a tree. It sounded like the perfect plant for bio diesel.

I assumed that I would be hearing about it in the news soon, but I never did. So, whatever became of Jatropha Curcas as a bio fuel? Why don’t we hear more about it?

By now, most of us realize the dangers of using corn as a bio fuel. It drives up food costs, it encourages the razing of forests, it injects nitrogen and pesticides in soils (nitrogen causes green house gases from soil microbiological processes), and it takes food needed for starving people and puts it in cars. I realize that oversimplifies the issue a bit, but the broad strokes are there for discussion.

I want to talk about the pros and cons of using Jatropha Curcas as a bio fuel. I'm not an expert in bio fuels, but I'd like to understand the issues.

In the original article I read, Jatropha Curcas, which is also called the "physic nut", was touted as being so easy to grow that it was planted along the railway tracks in India. It requires much less water and nitrogen than other bio-fuel plants, and it can grow in soil usually considered too infertile for food production- like beside a gravel-pocked railroad track.

Its leaves have a natural resistance to insects, so it does not need to be treated with pesticides. It cannot be eaten by animals, so raising it for fuel does not reduce supply of livestock feed, and, per hectare, it produces substantially more oil than corn.

The Cons: There are worries that- because Jatropha Curcas grows so easily, it will become an invasive species, overwhelming native ecologies and reduce biodiversity. Also, though bio fuels are more environmentally friendly, bio fuels extend the life of the combustion engine. Some would like to see it disappear completely, regardless of its projected eco-friendly nature with bio fuels. While they burn cleaner than petroleum products and do not produce sulfur emissions, bio-diesels continue to produce carbon dioxide emissions (C02). Of course, like most plants, Jatropha Curcas absorb C02. However, I do not understand how close the emissions and absorption balance each other out.

The following is a chart I created to compare pros and cons on several different levels for Jatropha Curcas.

Jatropha Curcas	Corn & other bio fuels
Jatropha Curcas can be grown in waste lands with poor soil and limited water	Corn/soy requires prime farm land with access to ample irrigation. Deforestation can result from the desire to produce more prime growing lands.
Jatropha Curcas is resistant to insect attack and does not need pesticides	Corn usually requires pesticide treatment, which can affect water table quality
Jatropha Curcas requires little to no fertilization	Corn usually requires nitrogen fertilization which releases nitrous oxide from the soil creating a green house gas
Jatropha Curcas does not require refrigeration or protection from rodents to transport. This increases the possibilities for interior communities to transport the product to locations of export.	Corn must be protected from vermin and will spoil if transported over hot terrain for long periods.
Jatropha Curcas is not edible. Therefore, it is not taking potential food from starving peoples. It is also not taking land needed for planting food crops, as it can grow in less desirable land.	Using corn as bio fuel increases food costs and potentially makes food less accessible to those with few resources.
Because Jatropha Curcas is not edible, crop losses due to wandering animals does not happen.	Corn and other bio fuel. foods are often eaten by native animals- often incurring substantial crop loss.
Jatropha Curcas produces some 500% more usable oil from its seeds than an equivalent amount of corn. Oil extraction from its seeds varies from 28% to 94% with 37% to 50% average.	Corn produces 1.55 pounds of oil per bushel
Methods for harvesting Jatropha Curcas seeds is currently underdeveloped (2008). The method most likely to be used is similar to coffee, in which the plant is shaken to force the seeds to drop.	Corn harvesting is well developed and automated.
Jatropha Curcas can survive drought. It can even be planted in the desert, clay or rocky terrains (5 - 6.5 PH). Flooded plains will not grow Jatropha Curcas. The land must have drainage.	Corn cannot survive drought without intervention. Soil must be fertile.
Jatropha Curcas crops do not need to be rotated to maintain soil.	Corn crops must be rotated to a different food crop to maintain soil - or, the soil can be supplemented with fertilizers.
There are fears that Jatropha Curcas could become an invasive species that might dominate non-indigenous locations. More study is needed.	There is no fear corn will become an invasive plant.
Jatropha Curcas can grow from cuttings or seeds, making it economical to plant.	Corn is grown from seed planting.
The oil from Jatropha Curcas would be primarily destined for use as bio-diesel. Eating it is considered poisonous.	Corn oil is used as bio fuel and in food preparation.
Jatropha Curcas has been successfully tested as a viable bio-diesel.	Corn has also been tested as a viable bio fuel.

The main downside I can see is that Jatropha Curcas may get out of control as a pest plant. However, it was introduced in parts of Africa as a wind break several years ago, and invasive monopoly of local ecology has not ensued.

So, why do we continue to talk about corn as a bio-fuel when other plants seem to do it so much better? I'm going to keeping looking.

Below is a video I found on Jatropha Curcas.

WATCH VIDEO

How to start a rumor

Re: http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/oss/rumormanual2june1943.htm

This is a declassified document from 1943 on how to effectively start a rumor. From the date, and since it's in English, I assume it's an American military document from World War II. It would be interesting to compare the tactics outlined in the document to events that happen on YouTube and other viral media outlets.

http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/oss/rumormanual2june1943.htm

A Mid Summer Nights Dream

Last night was a blast. Becky and I had dinner at a restaurant near the Guthrie Theater and then met some friends to see the theater production A Mid Summer Night's Dream.

It was cold and gray and the rain drizzled, but we soldiered on- determined to have a good time anyway.

The restaurant where we wanted to dine was booked, so we decided to try Spill the Wine, an attractive-sounding restaurant just down the street from the Guthrie. I look like a doorman for some bad reality show.

I was disappointed with the atmosphere. It reminded me of a deli with candles on the tables and Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. Maybe the food will be better?

The menu didn't have much variety, and the prices were higher than Babalu's we visited near by a couple of weeks ago. The night we visited Spill the Wine, the average plate was about $30.00.

I ordered the Salmon, which came with new potatoes. I asked if they would double the vegetables instead of giving me potatoes. So, my Salmon was ordered with cooked spinach and a side of broccolini. I wasn't sure what broccolini was. It looks like baby broccoli, but it's a hybrid of broccoli and kai-lan (chinese broccoli).

The Salmon arrived wrapped in bacon, which turned out to be the best part of it. I enjoyed my meal okay, but it wasn't outstanding like we had at Babalu's the other night. In fact, it wasn't even as good as the Firecracker Tilapia I had last week at Chili's.

Becky had the beef tenderloin with new potatoes and broccolini. She was even more disappointed with her meal. The new potatoes were under cooked. She thought the broccolini tasted like a rubber tire smells, and the center of her tenderloin was a little too rare. On the other hand, she loved the bread. Both of us loved the coffee.

We left a little disappointed with Spill the Wine. The atmosphere was lacking, the prices were high and the food was mediocre. However, the service was good, and our waitress took our photo.

We decided to park in a ramp near the Guthrie. It was $8 parking for the event, and the ramp was packed. We drove up level after level and couldn't find a place to park.

We had been going up and up levels looking for a place to park; when we noticed that the cars were starting to look familiar. "Are we driving in circles?" Becky asked. Oh my god, we had circled the same level like five times. We both laughed so hard.

In our defense, we could see higher levels, it just wasn't obvious when you were supposed to stop turning left.

On the way to the elevator, Becky went to throw her gum into waste container in the corner. She took it out of her mouth, and threw it toward the can. The gum fell about a foot away in front of the can. I thought that was pretty funny. I took out my gum and tried to throw it into the can, and it landed right beside hers. Neither one of us had any wine, but you sure wouldn't know it- as goofy as we were acting.

Inside the Guthrie, we found our friends, Jane and Todd. Becky and Jane are long-time friends and co-workers. I met Todd for the first time that evening. He seems like a really nice guy. I wanted to talk more about his new bike, but the evening distracted us.

Jane took our photo beneath the LCD marquee. She had to time it so that the correct theater production was showing and people weren't walking in front of the camera.

The play was outstanding, but perhaps a little long (3.5 hours). The costumes were incredible (by Paul Tazewell). The lighting by Jane Cox was always interesting. The set design was really cool. It had a huge globe that came out of the floor and opened to reveal characters inside. The set design was by Frank Hallinan Flood. It was directed by Joe Dowling.

At intermission, we went out to the scenic over-look. It was still drizzling rain.

The play had terrific dancing and singing (by people who could actually sing well). Near the end, a cross-dressing actor named Randy Reyes stole the show. He came out in a school girl uniform that had all of us straight guys saying to ourselves, "Remember, he's a guy". He was so funny.

As we shuffled out of the theater, there was a live Jazz band playing on the lower level. I wish we would have stayed to hear them. It had a great sound, and the singer knew her way around a jazz tune.

Rogerian Argument Video

Tonight is my last class for this Rhetorical Theory course with Anne Aronson at Metropolitan State. This has been one of the best classes I've ever taken. A constant theme for the class has been persuasion in writing. Interestingly, a sub-theme has been morality. Basically, most teachers of rhetoric (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, etc), explain that it is more difficult to persuade your audience if your character is in question.

The video linked to the left is my last assignment for the class. The assignment was to apply a principle we studied to something I had already created. I chose to create a documentary-style video using Rogerian argument to examine the debate over creationism.

The video was created by transforming a debate I was having with someone who believed that Adam and Eve were literally the first people on earth because they believe the book of Genesis to be revealed wisdom from God.

Rogerian argument is used to defuse tension in debates that get very emotional - like politics and religion. The idea is start by telling the person what you like about his or her views. Then you find a common ground and move out from there. This video is a documentary-style video of my secular debate with Christian fundamentalism using the Rogerian Argument approach.

This assignment was challenging- both in trying to maintain Rogerian philosophy and in putting together such a large project in a couple of weeks. Due to time constraints, it's not perfect, but I think you'll find it interesting.

Check it out when you have time. It's a little long, but the video player I made for it has a fast-forward if you have to come back later.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

http://www.kennyshomework.com/morality.html

BARACKY: THE MOVIE

I thought this was clever.

My Diet Update

I've been on a low-carb diet since January 2008. I weigh myself every Sunday morning. My goal was to lose 30 lbs by the time my Rhetorical Theory class was concluded. Well, that became a goal once I saw that I might be able to do it.

As of this morning, I've lost 31 lbs. This week's weigh in was important because I changed my diet. I've added fruits and grains back to my diet. Now I'm eating oatmeal for breakfast instead of an omelet. I'm snacking on fruit now instead of beef jerky.

This was my goal all along. First, drop some major pounds and then switch to a more low-fat diet. I'm still avoiding breads, sugar and potatoes. I can lose 1.5 lbs a week on low-carb.

I've been lifting weights at the gym for years, so I have a good base of muscle. You just can't see it due to the fat. It's getting better, I guess. The older I get the less forgiving my body is.

Here's a photo of me and Becky before our date last Friday.We went to Chili's (the baby back rib place). I highly recommend the Firecracker Tilapia. I love anything with cilantro. They doubled my vegetables and dropped the rice for me. I don't know how they cook their broccoli, but it tasted like it was drizzled with butter (so, so good). The Tilapia is glazed with a sweet red sauce.

Kenny in 1978

I was hunting for a book, and I ran across my high school yearbook from 1978. I was a freshman. I started reading some of the things that people had written in my yearbook, and then I remembered something that happened that day during yearbook signing. My girlfriend wrote something bizarre. You just have to read it. Here are some of the things people wrote in my yearbook.

"Kenny, you are a sweet, nice, good looking, funny, cool, weird... whatever. Stay the way you are! Watch yourself this summer. Love, Margie Overland."

"Kenny, You are a very sweet guy and I hope to see you in the future. Love ya, DeAnna Sisk"

Kenny, You are a good friend. I hope we stay good friends. Love ya! Sandra Ward."

"To a real sweet guy that will always be my friend. Stay cute. Love, Kelly Stelthing"

"Kenny, Your a real sweet and good-looking guy. Keep in touch Okay! Michelle Gardner"

"Kenny, to a very sweet and cool guy. Love always, Karen Reams."

But the following was the best one, because it was from my girlfriend. If you read it carefully, you'll see that it was my first "dear John" letter. See if you catch it.

"Kenny, To a guy I loved. Hope to see you in the future and summer too. Hope we can be together each day. Loved you. Love, Kathy Bidwell. Always."

We were standing in the high school parking lot on the last day of class. People were signing yearbooks. I had passed mine around to a few people. So had she. Then, we signed each other's yearbook. I don't remember what I wrote in her's, but it was probably mushy.

We exchanged yearbooks, and I opened mine to read what she had written. "Loved you?" I asked. "What do you mean, 'loved you'?"

Apparently, it meant "It's not you, it's me" and "Let's see other people." We broke up right there. Who breaks up with their boyfriend by signing his yearbook "Loved you?"

So, I opened my yearbook and read what some of the other girls had written. Apparently, "I'm a very sweet and cool guy."

The summer of 78 was a lot of fun.

A date a Fuddruckers

Friday night, Becky and I went to the Fuddruckers on France near 494. It always amazes me how they can use inventory for decoration and crowd management. When you enter, you wonder through a maze of beer crates.

Our daughter, Jenny, came with us. Normally, I try to avoid bringing the kids on Friday. It' s supposed to be our date night. However, Jenn just returned from a trip to Cancun, and we hadn't seen her much and wanted to visit.

We went to Fudruckers because of a fund raiser happening at the school where Becky works. By presenting a coupon, a portion of the meal proceeds went to the school.

I had a salad with chicken strips on top and spicy ranch dressing. I really wanted a hamburger, but I'm trying to drop a few pounds. Becky did have a hamburger. Jenn had cheese covered fries and a strawberry shake.

We ran into some of Becky's co-workers. I know one of the, Tim, pictured below. Like Becky, he also teaches 3rd grade. They both teach in Spanish half of the day and English the second half. Tim's a fun person. We went to his Halloween party last year, and he was dressed as a bride with high-heel shoes. I don't know how he wore those.

We were invited to sit with some of Becky's co-workers, but we didn't because we wanted to visit with Jenn.

A Night at the Theater

Over the weekend, we attended Shapiro and Smith Dance: Next Steps at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. The performance was spectacular. The dancers were well rehearsed and their movements athletic and graceful.

The program was divided into three or four vignettes separated by an intermission. The core of the production was the work initially produced by Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith. Danial Shapiro passed away in 2006 of prostate cancer. Joanie Smith continues the artistic vision of Shapiro and Smith, and her choreography was featured in the production.The second vignette started with the lights low and the dancers in silhouette. When the lights came on, the dancers were nude except for thin, skin-toned underwear. The dance was inspired by the Holocaust, and I interpreted this minimalism as the exposed frailty of humanity during this time. It left an impression.

At the end of the production, a short film of the life of Danial Shapiro was shown. It showed a man who was passionate about his work and who seemed to find every drop of joy each day had to offer. Well done, Danial Shapiro.

A date at Babalu's

Last Friday, I took my wife to one of our favorite Minneapolis restaurants, Babalu's. It's a date destination. The atmosphere is romantic and fairly quiet (at least in the early evening). The cuisine is described as Latin-Caribbean. I've never been there later than 7:00 pm. I hear the live jazz is outstanding later in the evening. The bar and restaurant areas are separated by a dividing wall. The bar lighting is low and lit with creative colors that set the mood. One wall is dominated by an artistic light display that is very inviting.


The food is some of the best you can get. The Babalu chefs always add something to the plate that is unexpected but never unpleasant. I had the seared tuna with giant asparagus. The asparagus arched over the tuna like those enormous swords over Baghdad. Under the tuna and asparagus was a two-color sauce (yellow and red) that was lightly sweetened. There was also avocado and cilantro bedded beneath. The meal was completely satisfying.