Velcrometer
Throwing stuff at the internet to see what sticks
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M. Giant's Velcrometer Throwing stuff at the internet to see what sticks |
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Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Humpblog (11/17/04) I enjoy the view from my office on the 24th floor of a downtown Minneapolis office building. On a clear day you can see Burnsville. I could probably see my house from there if the Target building weren’t in the way. As well as a real lot of trees. And the building didn’t go up until 2000, which means that that particular view didn’t even exist until several years ago. Unless you wanted to string a rope bridge between the tops of LaSalle Plaza and the Foshay Tower, which to me sounds, um…windy. Today’s view was like looking out the window with a gray pillowcase over your head. The fog was so thick this morning that I couldn’t see the downtown skyscrapers until I was among them, and even then anything over fifteen stories was completely obscured. I sometimes picture myself as a tour guide, pointing out notable Minneapolis sights to an imaginary visitor from out of town. I would have been embarrassed today: “Two blocks ahead of us is the IDS tower, the tallest building in Minnesota. It’s actually much taller than it looks right now. Seriously. If you count the antenna, it’s even taller than 220 South Sixth, which is coming up on our…Oh, hell. Look, I promise we have tall buildings, okay? No, I’ve never been to Muncie. Just be quiet.” Writing about weather and cats. I have become a cliché. * * * It’s been a while since I’ve seen any new state quarters. Which has made me sad. I got an Arkansas one at the Post Office back in the spring, but other than that it’s been a pretty dry spell. I was beginning to wonder if maybe the whole State Quarter program hadn’t been scrapped or something, and the government had gone back to paying veterans’ benefits with regular quarters. Actually, I ascribed it to working in an office that didn’t have vending machines to give me change, and then I ascribed it to working at home, where the only change in the vending machines is the change I put in. But I’ve been at this downtown gig for nearly a month now, and all I got for weeks was another bunch of Connecticuts. Those are dropping off though, which isn’t surprising. The U.S. Mint produced about 1.3 billion of them, and I’d say that about ninety per cent of those are in my house. I don’t think I’ve gotten a Michigan coin yet. They’re probably all hiding because they’re embarrassed. "Look at our quarter! It says, ‘Michigan is the home of Michigan!’" Whatever. And then, in quick succession, I got one each of Florida, Iowa, and Texas. I enjoy the Texas coin’s message: “Don’t bother leaving Austin.” If only others had listened. * * * I keep forgetting to mention that I’m participating in a new collective online effort called “Metroblogging.” The Minneapolis one, if you can believe that shit. And of course, by “participating” I mean “wishing I had time do to more than think about participating.” Fortunately, there are a number of other bloggers taking up my slack, including Linda. And of course, other DHAK writers are on the rolls in other cities from Toronto to Chicago. Okay, that sounded like a much bigger range in my head. See if your city has a Metroblog for you to take part in. Or don’t. I don’t actually care that much. I’m pretty sure Muncie’s out of luck anyway. * * * Today’s best search phrase: “Pumpkin breasts – chicken halloween yard.” Sadly, the neighborhood squirrels nibbled away at my already imperfect pumpkin-borne rendering of Trogdor the Burninator (thanks to Omar for the tip) until it looked more like a tribble, i.e., perfectly round and featureless. And then there was the nasty orange fluid collected several inches deep inside the bottom. What the hell is wrong with kids today that you can’t even count on them to smash your jack o’lantern before it gets all gross? posted by M. Giant 6:02 PM 11 comments 11 Comments:
I actually saw a funky new nickle the other day - it had Lewis and Clark on the back. I used it to buy food.
By When I lived in Toronto (http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?c12) having the tops of some of the buildings hidden by fog was pretty common. Even the CN Tower is not that impressive when you can only see the bottom 50 feet..
By Do you work in the building during the construction of which one of the construction workers died when hit by falling tools? (I swear, I tried to come up with a less complicated but still correct version of that sentence and failed. Clearly.) At the time, I wondered if the death was truly an accident, or if someone on the building crew was dedicating the building to a demon. You know you're getting a little too involved with watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when...
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You know, we really don't like the Shrub here in Austin. We're glad he's not here, although we'd be happier if he'd just disappear off the face of the earth. And, seriously, if you're in Texas, why would you want to be anywhere but Austin anyway?
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Dude - try living on the West Coast, and trying to collect the state quarters from each mint. My Dad gave my sisters and I these folios that hold each year's quarters, from both the "D" and "P" mints.
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J. was recently given a shiny quarter from the land of his birth by a friend in DC. It has cheese on the back, no lie. Maybe the friend got it at the Mint? He had been there recently. I'll keep an eye out for you.
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So, Connecticut has a balance going on re: the things you mentioned. Our quarter puts many other state quarters to shame. The Charter Oak kicks ass because it's pretty AND historic. Our tall buildings? Not so good. A casino checks in as the fourth-tallest building in the state.
By Man, I wish I could get some variety on state quarters. I keep getting connecticut over and over again. I need Texas!
By I'm sure they'll get Philadelphia soon. I don't think my Alabama cities will be as lucky. Atlanta is only two hours away -- I wonder if I can be part of their metro area?
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You don't want the Michigan quarter. It's stupid. What does it have on it? Michigan. The outline of the state. We've got the Mackinaw Bridge, we've got cool cars, we've got...um...cherries... Anyway. Stupid.
By Muncie, Indiana?...I live 20 minutes south of Muncie
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