Posts

Wednesdays

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April 15, 2026 -  Haven Bar and Grill (Earl, Lisa, Kathy, Cathy) I think we were all impressed by the regular crowd that greeted us.  There was a 'restaurant' area separate from the bar/lounge area we sat in.  Nice, well-lit place and the food was pretty darn good. April 8, 2026 -  Neighbor's BBQ (Forgot to get a picture - possibly due to the fact that we were the only people in the place aside from the bartender and a possible [unseen] cook in the kitchen.) Everyone was there again, in any case. April 1, 2026 -  Nick's Bar & Grill Kathy Jankila (Skerjance) - Lisa Kirchner (Ojanpa) -  Cathy Rinne (Josephson)  - Earl Hart Second attempt @ Nick's to cut down on travel time since weather is/was possible and the return of Cathy, who finally escaped the hospital for our dinner!   March 25, 2026 - Sammy's Pizza & Restaurant Lisa Kirchner (Ojanpa) - Earl Hart The original crew doing what we were doing for about a year now. March 18, 202...

What Makes A Painting Great?

 If you work nights long enough, eventually you will hear every question.  Tonight the list got a bit longer. The last reservation showed up and got the regulation rundown of the answers he would want for the night.  To fill the last possible moment of contact, my question came out "Any other questions?"  Basically an open invitation to interaction. "What makes a painting great?" was the question I heard. OK, I can deal with that one with what could be a glib answer but I tend to be a bit direct at the same time. "How it hits you." That got a reaction.  A quizzical look is still a reaction. I continued: "If you're looking at paintings for a reaction, that belongs to you.  You'll know what paintings you're looking at and may know the style or technique but only you can judge whether a particular painting hits you.  If one hits you as a great painting then it's a great painting to you and no one can change that reaction." A bit deep...

Real-Life Math Problem:

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Earl always fills his tank when he gets gas for his truck.  Earl also likes to use coupons.  Most of the coupons are $0.10 off per gallon and he can pay inside the gas station. A new station opened that takes $0.12 off per gallon but you have to pay before pumping the gas. The truck provides this information: Can you figure out how much Earl should pay for gas when he needs more? Edit: Apparently the request was enough for me to open a spreadsheet.  3 variables, 1 fixed number, and some manipulation of data - Here I go...