Jamie Thingelstad

Tammy and I went to the Prince concert last night at the Xcel Center. I’ve never seen Prince before and he put on an impressive show. It was non-stop for a little over two hours. The stage and the lighting was very cool and the music was very good as well. Not being a consummate Prince fan, I probably wasn’t as “into it” as others at the show were.

We were guests of Trizec which is a property management firm we are considering moving our offices to. The suites at the Xcel Center are very nice. Nicer than even the Target Center.

Tammy and her Mom went and picked fresh strawberries today. I’ve already had at least a pound and a half of them. Fresh, real, vine ripened strawberries are just amazing. Strawberries are by far my favorite fruit and these are like an entirely different thing than what you get at the megamart or even the co-op. Yum!

Here is a series of three articles called Beyond Megapixels (part 1, 2 and 3) that is a very good read on the issues around digital photography and where the technology and industry is going.

We just got back from a quick overnight car camping trip to St. Croix State Park. The beauty of car camping is that you do really bring everything and the kitchen sink with you. We had our large tent which I affectionately refer to as “the condo” and blow-up mattress. The weather was fine even after a very rainy Friday.

We went for a long hike on Saturday covering a total of 9.6 miles. The first three miles of the trail, just like our actual campsite, was swarming with mosquitos. They were really terrible, and turned the first bit of our hike into an unplanned speed hike as we tried to stay a step in front of them. They were in fact so bad that it actually drove Tammy to use DEET for the first time. She hates the stuff – in fact is downright scared of it. This was no simple first time either since she used my Jungle Juice which is 95% DEET unlike your typical 10-15% found in most bug sprays. Enough with the skeeter talk.

Our hike was great. We had a wonderful campfire and good food. We broke camp right after completing breakfast on the new Coleman camp stove that I just “had to have”. Made pancakes, eggs and sausage (hey, this is car camping!). After leaving the jungle behind we went to Hinckley and did a couple of hours on our road bikes on the Willard-Munger State Trail out of Hinckley.

Aside from the mosquitos, it was a good trip. With the mosquitos, it was less than fun!

On our way back from our camping excursion we stopped in Stillwater and watched the final stage of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival. Today was the horrendous criterium in historic downtown Stillwater. There are a couple of climbs on the course including a brutal one that is over 25% grade. The race was fast and seemed to be more competitive than other years. The looks on the pro riders faces reminded me that this was no walk in the park.

It’s great to have one pro level bike race in Minnesota. I hope it continues to improve!

• 1 (4 to 4 1/2 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 11/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

With a fork, prick holes in the chicken pieces. Using a knife, cut diagonal slices 1-inch apart, and 1/2-inch deep into the larger pieces. Place the chicken in a baking dish.

In a blender, combine the oil, onion, garlic, ginger, pepper, and process on high speed to a paste. Add the paprika, salt, cumin, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and cayenne, and process until well blended. Add the yogurt and lemon juice, and process to a smooth sauce, scraping down the sides to combine all the ingredients. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Turn to coat evenly, rubbing the marinade into the holes and slits. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat a grill.

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Place on the grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on the first side. Turn, baste as needed, and cook on the second side for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn and continue cooking, as necessary until the chicken is cooked through, but still tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. (Alternately, bake in a preheated 425 °F oven on a baking sheet for 35 minutes.)

We just got back from watching Stage 3 of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival. This is the Minneapolis downtown criterium. It looked like they might have to cancel it as the race approached because of the weather. There were very ominous skies and the rain was pretty hard for a while. The race did get off about 45 minutes late, but it did finally get off. It’s so exciting to see pro level cyclists just hammering along in a big “train of pain”. I stood on the side of the road on one of the sprint laps and the wind coming off the peloton was awesome.

Going to go see the final stage on Sunday in Stillwater as well.