Hockey Hall of Fame, Eveleth

Went to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth. I got plenty of pictures there, including of the profiles of some inductees. We knew about cartoonist Charles Schulz being inducted, found out Little Caesar's pizza boss Mike Illitch is honored there as well. On the upper level, there was a video running of the 'Miracle on Ice' hockey game from Lake Placid in 1980. I watched the goal that tied the game at 3-3. I liked getting to shoot a puck at a net, and at another target, in separate areas. Though my speed at shooting a puck isn't that great. I bought two souvenirs, a postcard and a little blue hockey stick. I think I will move the stick to the office, as some souvenirs are kept there. It has plenty of Minnesota artifacts there, honoring coach Herb Brooks greatly. Then there were sections about the NHL's Wild, and high school hockey in the state. I noticed the really nice framed metal sports team logos of the previous pro hockey teams, the Fighting Saints and North Stars. It reminded me of a bar at a comedy club in Bloomington, which had it for pro football teams since it is near the site of the former Met Stadium.
   We also liked finding the gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in Cloquet. I thought it was odd to see his name and picture on a sign. So on the way back from the Hall of Fame, we did look around there. I went upstairs to the lounge, and since I needed to use a bathroom (and it was unlocked) I did use the one onsite. Really impressed with how it looked, but it appears to be just a car repair shop now. Pleased to find out it's historic enough to be listed on the National Register, the plate is near the stairway.
   We ran into a traffic jam on the interstate on the way back to the Twin Cities, and decided to reroute. I had to make a quick decision to turn around when the chance presented itself. The turnaround place wasn't paved so I knew well enough to gun the engine to minimize the chance of getting stuck in the small amount of mud that I saw.
   It was a big weekend for postcards, as I bought four more today for a grand total of 18 for the weekend. Besides one at the Hall, I got two at a convenience store- of the Iron Range. The fourth was from an ethnic souvenir shop, in Cloquet, which has items from Sweden and other Scandivanian nations.  

Split Rock Lighthouse

I went to the Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior today. Impressed with seeing how it's so well preserved, and remembered in various ways like as part of a postage stamp series. It is just a museum now, and it was helpful to hear about the history like how advancements in technology made it largely obsolete. I got plenty of pictures there, and noticed there were a decent number of visitors from foreign countries, judging by the guestbook. Somebody from the Netherlands signed it.
  After driving back from the lighthouse, we made it into Duluth and saw Wade Stadium, built by the WPA. But it meant staying outside as the baseball season is over, since it was all locked up. Noticed how some magnet schedules were on the entrance doors. On the way there we stopped at a cabin in Two Harbors that is now a Chamber of Commerce office, built by the CCC. There was a big sign that one could see from the road, describing what the CCC did in the Depression.
   In the evening, we went to the harbor. It was nice to see a drawbridge in action, had to wait for it to get across to see a former U.S. Steel ship that is now a museum- the William A. Irvin. We ate at Grandma's restaurant, well known as the sponsor for the city's marathon. I acquired two smashed pennies from these travels today, at this restaurant as well as at the lighthouse. This is in addition to plenty of postcards, eight at the lighthouse and four at the restaurant. Liked seeing a retired railroad car used as a food stand near the restaurant- for popcorn and ice cream. I got two more postcards at the casino hotel we stayed at, one was of route 66 and the other of Alfred Hitchcock.
   One of the pictures was of a bumper sticker on the back glass of an SUV, saying 'Kids that hunt and fish don't have time to steal and deal'. I agreed with the sentiments.
   

Roosevelt Homecoming Game

I left work early to go over to Minneapolis for the Roosevelt homecoming football game. I decided to go this year as they have a varsity team again and it's a good idea to see a game if my student in the mentoring program happens to be one of the players. I had to think about the continuity on some levels to the homecomings I had attended as a youngster in Newton. I passed by a Cardinal restaurant and bar, and that is the name of Newton's athletic teams. After getting my game ticket I saw some people wearing homecoming buttons and I asked about where they were available. It meant going outside where the student council was selling them. I bought one for a dollar, the student was wearing two at the time. Then I went back in to see the game. The button is nice to have as it was cheaper than one of the shirts. At halftime I got the 'meal deal', which was chips, a hot dog and a soda pop for four dollars. It was A and W and doritos. Then I saw there was string cheese, so I got one of those as well.
   I was near some of the 'old grads' back for a reunion, class of 1972. One of them spoke of living in the Washington, DC, area, across the river in Arlington, VA. He said he had entered the Foreign Service after the Iran hostage crisis, which began in 1979. When one of their own showed up they said 'strike a pose!' and said he looked like a Sears underwear model. But there weren't too many good stories after that from them, just some stale jokes about the refs being the NFL replacement refs. I didn't sit next to them in the second half, they talked a little too much and I wanted to stay focused on the game.
   Roosevelt had their chances in this one, but lost to Minneapolis North 36-20. No extra points were attempted, I guess neither team had a good kicker to send out there. And there were plenty of penalties, Roosevelt got two of them for unsportsmanlike conduct. One was right after a long run for their first touchdown and the other was in the second half after some other penalties moved them way back, like third down and nearly 30 to go. Not much scoring in the second half, as North led 28-20 at the half. Also at halftime a photographer commented about how I found a plate stating who the stadium was named for, I like knowing who it is. It happened to be Al Gowans, a teacher, and was dedicated in the 1960s. He said he had to leave, guess he wasn't hired for the entire game.

Midway Stadium Postcard

I found another postcard of interest on E-bay tonight so I bought it. Since I like attending St. Paul Saints games I had wondered if there were any postcards of their home, Midway Stadium. I found one, albeit of a mural outside the stadium, and not of the actual playing field. Not sure when the card will arrive when it is coming from Canada.
   After watching 'Big Bang Theory' tonight, I went to Walmart again to get another photo album. I got a Kitkat candy bar as well, unsure why as I had to remind myself I already had oatmeal creme pies at home. I was thinking of needing a snack for lunch tomorrow.
   This is another hundred cards now in an album, most of the smaller ones anyway. The larger ones still need one, along with those from Great Britain and Iceland. I did shred a few, but they were usually duplicates and thankfully there aren't too many of those. This album went from Florida to Virginia, and covered South Dakota as well. It covered many of those not from anywhere in particular like the 'Star Wars' cards, six in all. These were from the exhibit at the Science Museum. Or even one of Route 66, which I got from a nonprofit. I found two more of recipes for pie, pecan and peach, from the south of course. Earlier, there was a recipe card for Boston baked beans. This was the sixth album, so it means I have around six hundred cards. It might surprise some that I have this many, but they're everywhere and I like reminders of where I've traveled to.
    At work there was pasta for lunch, not much left by the time I went in. I didn't want to wait in line shortly after it was served, I am more of a 'second wave' type.

2 Lip Rings and 2 Kids

On the bus tonight after work I saw a woman with 2 lip rings and 2 kids. Hadn't seen this type of  combination before.
   I decided to move 2 more Charlie Brown and Snoopy items into the lunchbox I bought from E-bay, as it has become the depository for these items. One was a mint tin which had been used for storing Canadian coins, but when I have zippable plastic bags I could easily find another place for coins. The other items moved were hard plastic keychains attached to plastic halloween candy dishes. Found those at a store in Winnipeg in 2004 while in town for the Van Halen concert.
   My colleague that does copies wasn't in today, but thankfully another colleague was covering for her for most of the day so I had to do very little of the making of copies.
   There was a Security Awareness training session at work, but for much of the 30-plus minutes I was bored, as we didn't hear much in terms of new information on computer security.
    When I was reading online articles I was surprised to find one earlier this week, about Newton mayor Chaz Allen stepping down as mayor to take another job. One thing mentioned in his bio was how he had a bit part in an independent movie called 'Underground' which was filmed in Newton. I saw the trailer on Youtube, it is a horror movie and I usually don't see those except for 'Scream'. I hadn't heard of it before, it was filmed back in 2009.  Another article said one of the filmmakers went to jail for fraud related to getting tax credits from the state government. It was said that a rave, with plenty of extras, was filmed in a former Maytag washing machine plant in the town.
   I got some pizza after work and was surprised to see a fellow comedian there, the Philadelphian. Also notable was the two songs I heard while waiting, one was 'It's My Life' by No Doubt, though I didn't want to have to explain why I was pointing when I got to the 'It's my life' part. The other was Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance', but not the version I like, which is with Kardinal Offishal.

Inventor Jokes

At the comedy club tonight, I liked hearing the show closer do jokes about history. He is from the Twin City area originally and is back from Los Angeles to do some shows. One of them was about inventors just being lazy. Others were about wars, and naming places 'New something'. I said I don't hear history being considered funny all too often aside from 'Night at the Museum' or 'Bill and Ted' so it's refreshing to me. The show runner told me of somebody being escorted out due to mental illness, said they have been banned from multiple clubs. Though I was not immediately aware of this since there was no disruption during the show. But I know he is going to be 'in the know' more than most others will be.
    I was doing some comparison on postcards online, looks like E-bay does rank fairly well in terms of those available. It's just not the only one out there. I am also finding places like Card Cow, U.S. postcards, and Delcampe. Unsure how they compare in terms of price, though Card Cow seemed to be high. So it looks like I am looking in the right place by primarily looking at E-bay. I haven't ordered anywhere else yet, but may do so for those I can't find there that still interest me. It's best to pace myself on how many I order at a time, like two a week. Then it's easier to pay off the Bill Me Later account in full each month. I am familiar with how it can ebb and flow as to how often I order from this site. With postcards I had to look at purchase history, which does go back to 2010 even if the pictures of the items bought aren't there after a while, like 60 days. I wanted to pay off the bobbleheads before ordering much else, since those items cost more than some things I've bought. It helps that I was given a 6 months, no interest deal.  

Font of Random

The theater guy spoke of fonts, and I had to look it up to see if he meant something besides just the kind of typewritten letters used. 'Font of random' is still something I haven't heard of much before, and there didn't seem to be a clear definition when I searched for one online. But he is a member of Mensa so he will say things at times that can be described as obscure and offbeat. I still like how he challenges me intellectually. I guess I didn't think of looking it up in the Urban Dictionary, as there are some obscure definitions of words and terms there. It was where I found out somebody had already used the term 'Economic Darwinism' besides myself. I work with somebody, in another department, who said they were disturbed by what they found on this site. Well they are an older person and would be unwilling to accept change and new things. But I understand how life can be vulgar, so it doesn't bother me much. I prefer knowing over not knowing, and try to understand as much as possible without being judgmental.
   At the comedy club tonight I decided to finish my beer before going into the show, it had just started by then and usually I am in before the show begins. The first comic went over his time, somebody I had spoken with outside after getting signed up. He wore an Ireland shirt and said he was waiting for a friend to bring him his coat and cigarettes. Not sure if he ever got both things. I will give pointers to comics if they ask for them, but he didn't ask for any like where the time light is.
The show closer did a good joke about Plan B birth control pills, and I was pleased that she asked me to watch her bag while she was onstage. I like being entrusted with these responsibilities, even if I don't express it verbally.