"Talk is Cheap" the saying goes. With the Web and simple journaling applications talk has become more than cheap, it has become free for anyone who wishes to say something. EXPRESSION is my two cense worth.
My uncle has long been collecting and collating a wealth of information about my family history and has put together a fairly comprehensive family tree going back about five generations. I’ve recently become interested in what he has compiled and actually posted an outline of it online at Geni a free family tree website. […]
After my previous post, I found another local coffee shop worth noting. Columbia Grounds, located on the northeast corner of Central Avenue and 33rd Avenue in northeast Minneapolis, is another great spot to kick back and enjoy your favorite coffee creation or even lunch. They offer coffee, a small but full menu of […]
One of my favorite pastimes is to find a local coffee shop and frequent it as often as I possibly can. I’m not talking about the chain-gang Starbucks & Caribou-type places, I’m talking about genuine, locally owned & operated establishments with real character. Much of the character being owed entirly to the characters […]
At work, we’re beginning to develop the next version of our proprietary content management system (CMS) called ACTIVEA. In its current rendition, the CMS has been around for roughly 3 or 4 years. It desparately needs to be updated. Just think about how far web design in general has come in that […]
A little email conversation I received recently:
Individual A: “You brought me my computer last Monday. I went to use the external mouse and I have a connection with a round end but my computer needs a connection with a flat end. Can you get me the correct mouse or direct me as to where to […]
So several people in my family have asked what I want for Christmas this year. I figure what easier way to share the news than posting it right on the front of my website. It’s not at all boastful or over the top in any way to post one’s desires on one’s own […]
We purchased a 2001 Jetta GLX VR6 last Monday and I finally had the time to post some photos. The car has 103,700 miles, every imaginable option and it runs great. It needs a few minor fixes (tie rods & alignment, new e-brake cables, new serpentine belt) some of which I’m hoping to […]
“The experienced web designer, like the talented newspaper art director, accepts that many projects she works on will have headers and columns and footers. Her job is not to whine about emerging commonalities but to use them to create pages that are distinctive, natural, brand-appropriate, subtly memorable, and quietly but unmistakably engaging.”
‘Nuf said.
A Quote from […]
So I did it. Today I broke down and signed up for Facebook. Against my better judgment and all the while feeling like I was doing something very, very wrong, it’s official. My wife has been begging me to join so her status can be married to someone and not just “married.”
If […]
In a previous post, I mentioned that I was hoping to find a way to open and close the CD tray on my Mac Pro (running Windows XP under Boot Camp without the Apple Keyboard and its eject key) without having to open My Computer, right-click on the drive icon and select Eject. So […]
My world has changed. My internet rock, the one I knew would never change has changed today. Jeffery Zeldman got Facebook. I’m not sure what I am to do. I don’t really feel that I need another place to go online and waste time. I spend enough time staring off into the deep white digital […]
Just what we’ve all been waiting for: Photoshop CS3 Extended for the iPhone! (Thanks SimpleBits).
In the midst of work projects that need to get done this evening, my father calls to inform me that a major interstate bridge here in the Twin Cities has collapsed over the Mississippi River. The shock I feel is something close to the feelings I remember as we all watched 9-11 unfold. […]
My previous post regarding running Mac OS inside Virtual PC got some great comments. Thanks to everyone for their input. It would appear I’m stuck switching between Mac OS and XP only by shutting down and restarting–the way Apple’s Boot Camp set me up originally. At least Apple is now offering Safari for […]
That’s my goal.
My primary system at work is a Mac Pro with all the bells and whistles. I’m running Windows XP Pro with SP2 as the primary OS because that’s what I need for work. We’re a Microsoft shop. There’s no way around it. I’m not going to switch to OSX […]
I completed the paperwork with the landlord on Saturday. Erica and I will be relocating to St. Anthony, MN. We’ll be moving our belongings up the weekend before the big day and our return flight from the honeymoon will drop us off in our new hometown. I can’t describe how excited I am […]
Hey Everyone, I finally got our wedding website posted. You can stay up-to-date with the wedding plans at our site: http://davidanderica.net.
I just finished reading “Jesus Has Left the Building” by my dear friend Paul Vieira. it took me a great deal longer than I had anticipated to finish it, but that’s the nature of life some times.
The last chapter of the book was to me the most captivating. Maybe because I have heard […]
Last night, outside the Rotary Lights at Riverside Park with the temperature hovering around nine degrees Fahrenheit, I asked my beautiful girlfriend to become my wife.
“How did you do it?” you ask? Well, it started with the help of her roommates who blindfolded and kidnapped her for the trip down to the park. […]
I was finally able to spend a little time finishing the last few details of this site. The site was pretty close to complete before today, but if you ever happened to use the search feature in the past, you would have noticed the results didn’t show up very nicely. And what’s even […]
Well, we made it. Almost 24 minutes ago we launched the new Mathews Inc. website. Mathews makes the world’s most renowned bows. The biggest offering on the new site? A new bow release that has been kept under tight wraps for months.
The site was actually swamped by visitors when we made the […]
So the Democrats took back the House in yesterday’s elections. What can I say? “Big deal” sounds about right. The process of democracy in our great nation still seems to function properly, but in reality (to most of us) a change in control just means a different set of agendas. Agendas […]
My lack of recent posts suggests what is true—work has been ridiculously busy as of late. We are very, very near to completing a major web project application that is entirely unique from anything we have ever done in the past. This project was an “initiation” project for one of our new developers. […]
This past Tuesday morning, I had to stop and have a punctured tire repaired which meant that I had a few minutes to kill while waiting. I decided to check out the new Starbuck’s here in town (as in our first official Starbuck’s—we’ve had a Barnes & Noble Café for quite sometime now, but […]
Today, I happened to be using Google Maps and decided to take a satellite look at where I stayed while I was in New Orleans helping with the rebuild effort this past March. I quickly located the city park that was home to our tent city and recognized the outlines in the grass of […]
On August 20th I competed (for the second time) in the St. Paul Inline Marathon. 26.2 miles of inline skating excitement. This year I did a minute better than last year with a time of 1:47:18.6. Not bad for a guy who didn’t really practice at all this season. Last year, […]
Yesterday, Erica and I did our laundry together for the first time…ever. Kind of a big step in the grand scheme of things. I mean, her underwear and my underwear shared the same wash water. That’s pretty huge.
Everything was going great until Erica started sorting the first load to come out of […]
Call me obsessed, call me financially minded, call me whatever you’d like. It seems as of late many things that I’ve spent time thinking about have been money related. For the last few months, I’ve been mentally debating myself about buying a new bed. The bed I currently use is “that bed” […]
On Tuesday, I came across a ‘98 Dodge Durango that was for sale by owner. The truck had 78,000 mile on it, still had a two year extended warranty and was overall in very good condition. The seller was only asking $5,900 for the vehicle. The blue book was a lot closer […]
Yesterday, four of us from work became team “Gang Green” and headed to Drugan’s for a La Crosse area golf scramble. The game was a best-ball tournament against other area businesses. One of the four of us is actually a really good golfer, one of us can hold his own and the last […]
At my place of employment, we work hard. No mincing words, no beating around the bush; as web developers in a highly internet-based world, there is a lot of work to keep us busy and we strive to complete our projects as professionally and quickly as possible.
But sometimes, we need a break. Thankfully, […]
WordPress 2.0.3 – that’s the version of WordPress that I just upgraded to. I had been running a version 1.5 derivative and had been concerned about how difficult it might be to upgrade as I have really customized the system to my liking.
Guess what I found out? It was a piece of cake […]
A weekend of cornfields; that what I saw the most of on my trip into Iowa. Erica and I went south to the Walker, Iowa area to visit my college friend and former business partner who is now teaching with his wife at a private boarding school there.
The lifestyle is fascinating. There is […]
What to say, it’s been far too long since I last wrote anything here. Life has been more than just a little busy; but then again, everyone says that. So, if everyone is always busy is anyone really busy at all? That’s my dumb question for the day.
Recently, I’ve been spending a […]
Well, it’s been almost two weeks since my trip down to New Orleans with Campus Crusade. What a busy two weeks it has been. My parents are preparing to move back into their home after becoming refugees from a house fire that took their home last July. Hence two weekend trips up […]
So today is the last day of work before a busy weekend (Banquet at church tonight and good friend’s wedding tomorrow) and then a trip down to New Orleans for a week of Katrina Relief with Campus Crusade and all I can keep thinking is how excited I am about being able to help out […]
So last week I get a text message from my old best friend, Dan Ostebo. All the message says is something like “Support your local starving artist. Go pick up our new album at Best Buy.” Keep in mind, I haven’t talked to Dan for more than 5 minutes over the phone […]
I’m taking David Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at a local church. The program is a thirteen week course designed to teach ordinary people how to get out of debt, save money and understand other types of financial investing. I’ve attended the first two weeks and just missed the third because I was out […]
It’s been almost a week since my beautiful new truck was demolished by a missed yield sign two blocks form my house. Yes, last Wednesday an older gentleman failed to notice a yield sign and collided into my truck causing severe damage to both vehicles. What is most interesting about the whole situation […]
Abstractions & Simplifications is great! The show is a beautiful combination of work done by Mandy and myself. The opening was a smash (thanks also to the La Crosse Area Woodworkers and La Crosse Comedy Club for also having events the same night). We had a ton of people show up. […]
After much anticipation and even more work “Abstractions and Simplifications From Life” is ready for public review. The show features a collection of paintings, monotypes, mixed-media pieces and a few sculpture/installations created by Mandy Timm and yours truly.
The show is on display at the Pump House in La Crosse, Wisconsin from November 29 (that’s […]
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again if for no other reason than to remind myself. Christianity is Love providing for those hurting and needy in this world. Brennan Manning states it unequivocally—
“When preoccupation with my personal salvation drugs me into such insensitivity that I no longer hear the beating of […]
My professional work recently has revolved around a fairly high-profile (in La Crosse terms) re-brand project for a local company. Research for this project has brought me back to an internal debate that I’ve had since my first design courses as an undergrad almost five years ago.
When considering “high-design” or good design versus “low-design,” […]
Preparing for an art show is something of a struggle. I mean, I love it. I truly do. It just always seems to be the last month before a show and I’m busting my butt to get all the details wrapped up and the work completed with time remaining to really critique […]
Two weeks ago tonight my life changed, a lot. You see, two weeks ago tonight I started dating an amazing woman of God. Erica is the sweetest (read—not slang “sweet,” but the for real, like sweet tea, sweet) blessing that God has given me for as long as I can remember. […]
It wouldn’t be right to end one post saying farewell to my old truck and not introduce Lizzy at some point. Lizzy is a 2000 Chevy S-10 ZR2 all dressed up in her sleekest black party dress and she is without a doubt the most beautiful truck I have ever seen.
Our first week […]
Read an article on Slashdot today about a Swedish MP3 player maker who is being taken to court for not paying a “fee” to the recording industry that “compensates” them for music being copied to other formats for personal use. All I can say is, “More power to you, Jens!” If there is […]
Monday marks the end of an eleven year love affair. My truck, brought home by my parents brand new in 1994, will be retired as a trade-in for a newer model with less than a quarter of the miles and ten times the options and goodies. She’s been an amazing friend for all […]
Another weekend comes to a close. And what a weekend it has been. I got to spend a lot of time my garage…, where I feel safe…, no one knows about this place…sorry I couldn’t help but make the song reference to Weezer right there. But seriously I had a great time […]
Laxcru.org, the online home for Campus Crusade of Christ in La Crosse, Wisconsin went live today with a brand new site whipped up by yours truly. The old site was about as comprehensive as frozen pizza is a good dinner—all the basics were there, but it was still missing any real “nutritional value” or […]
Today my truck turned 200,000. She may not look it, but she sure feels like it most days. Poor old girl has taken good care of me; and I her, as much as possible. It’s an odd thing to look back on the last 11 years of her life. She’s had […]
“Organized religion has domesticated the Crucified Lord of Glory”
- Brennan Manning,
The Signature of Jesus
I’ve read the book at least three times, and every time I still find things that amazing me. Lately, I feel that God has been bringing me to a significant crossroads in my life. A place of decision so great […]
What a week! Life has been more than just a little hectic. Too much to do and too little time to accomplish it all. It’s gotten so crazy that I even crashed with a migraine headache yesterday afternoon. I had to leave work early I was so out of it. […]
I just got back from Winona State University where I had the privilege of manning a sound board for “The Dave Ellenwood Band” as they like to call themselves. Yes, I know, that’s my name. Let’s just say that it wasn’t my idea and leave it at that. Although, I am quite […]
Just got back from skating the St. Paul Inline Marathon. What a blast. I’m exhausted and halfway proud of my time. I hope in the future to do better, but training is a must! Unfortunately, one of the people in our group took a pretty serious fall and broke his Pelvis. […]
Working the regular 9-to-5 for the last few months has put me into the usual “It’s Friday” mode. It’s nice to think about the fact that I don’t have to get to the office in the morning right away, that I can just “do whatever” for a few days. But for me, work […]
As I stated previously, much of my own worldview stems from the theory that my life inherently portrays the love and grace of Christ because he lives in me. To me it would seem that if I have asked Jesus into my life and the Holy Spirit has become one with my soul/spirit, then […]
Tonight I headed to Grizzly’s for our usual Tuesday evening cheap burgers (it used to be 2-4-1 burgers, but then the messed it up so I can’t rightly call it that anymore). Anyway, I had expected a really small group of individuals to show up as there were a number of people out of […]
July 4, Independence Day here in the United States. It is foolish and unwise to not take a moment to remember those who have given of themselves so that I can be free. A huge thank you to all of my brothers and sisters around the world who are fighting for the freedom […]
Since my first art courses at college in the fall of 1999, I have developed and maintained a personal “philosophy” relating my art, my work, and my relationship with Jesus Christ. Something of an unstated statement of beliefs, this mental framework has influenced everything I do creatively.
For example, the foundation of my whole theory […]
Well, as of June 1, my life got a little more interesting. I started at Sleeping Giant Studios, LLC of Onalaska, Wisconsin. Essentia Studios is in the process of merging and I am no longer a small business owner. My title at Sleeping Giant is “Graphic and Interactive Designer” which means I […]
I bought my first “Protected” CD today from Best Buy. I had heard the VanZant Brothers “Help Somebody” a few months ago while it was getting pre-release radio time and loved it. Today I had the chance to go pick up the CD and was looking forward to importing it into my library […]
Today ended my career as a Coca-Cola merchandiser and my long-standing career in the grocery industry. After just shy of ten years, I’m moving full-throttle into my field of choice—visual design, primarily for digital media. What an exciting transition. Yes, I’ve been running my own web design shop for about two years […]
Maybe I’m a little behind when it comes to breaking news (I don’t watch television and our newspaper subscription expired a few weeks back—yeah, I need to take care of that) so I am just now stunned by the fact that Adobe is going to buy out Macromedia.
Design school was not that long ago in […]
I forgot one major component to my fantasy cell phone company—the customer service department would be required to speak properly accented English so that I can properly understand them when I have an inquiry. But again, I have no extra few million lying around.
If I had all the money in the world…or at least a few extra million laying around, I’d start my own cellular pone company. First of all, there would be no contracts. You’d pay for service on a month by month basis and get a discount depending on hour many months you paid […]
Well, here we go, the new site is now live! I hope everyone enjoys the redesign and I know I’m going to enjoy being able to post new content regularly. After almost six years, it was definitely time for a change.
There are still a few kinks to work out, but they are minor […]
I just finished one of Tom Clancy’s more recent novels, “Teeth of the Tiger” and was mildly entertained. The book begins by introducing us to a young FBI agent who on the search for a man who has just kidnapped a little girl. The methods by which he handles the unfolding situation get […]
Through the series of events that has unfolded recently, it has become increasing obvious to me that the time has come for Essentia Studios, LLC to mature and become the primary focus of my professional life. With two years of solid experience under my belt, I feel much the same way I did that […]
Today I received word on my job opportunity in Minneapolis. It came down to me and one other candidate. After three months of waiting and a total of three interviews, they decided to go with someone else. To say that I am not disappointed would be a lie. But to say […]
My business partner, Matthew, and I attended a marketing seminar at the local radio group last week and the speaker it started me thinking about what (and even if) there is anything unique enough about Essentia Studios to make it worth continuing even as I pursue other occupations in web design.
When we started the business, […]
Well, the show opened yesterday without a hitch. It is a beautiful exhibit. My paintings and prints compliment Mandy’s sculptures exceptionally. Right up to the opening, I began to have some doubts as to the value of my work. Is it good enough to be on display somewhere? Why do […]
I spent a few minutes today reflecting on my personal tendency toward excellence. Throughout my thus far short professional life, I have been joyfully surprised by the feedback I have gotten from my employers and other figures of authority. Once again, as I prepare to move on after four years at Coca-Cola in […]
I picked up Day of Fire’s debut album today, and so far am mildly impressed. The band’s lead singer, Josh Brown, formerly of “Full Devil Jacket” became a believer while in rehab after he OD’d on tour. The goal of the album (per a video interview with Josh on the CD) is to […]
As the hunt for a web design job continues, I’m beginning to consider the pros and cons of being back in the Twin Cites. As much as I have enjoyed my eight years in La Crosse, I have to admit that the thought of being back in a metro area with all of its […]
