We decided to have dinner at Crisp & Green last night so that we could see Mazie at work! She was surprised when we showed up. Delicious bowls! 🥗

Lake Cam Properly Mounted

Last week when I repositioned one of the UniFi G4 Cameras so that I could keep an eye on the flooding and the pontoon I didn’t consider raccoons getting interested in the camera. I had just put it on a 2x4 on the ground. The 2x4 was to keep it from being on any pooled water. That didn’t even make it 24 hours.

Luckily I had a yard stake and some scrap wood. Problem solved! Additionally I’m now looking closer to eye height instead of having a view from the ground. Stay away raccoons! 🦝

Wondering about all that green stuff on the water? That is floating algae that collects in the little alcove that our dock sits.

Cannon Lake Flooding Update

We stopped at our cabin yesterday to check on the flooding on Cannon Lake. Lucky for us the only real situation we are managing is our pontoon and dock. The water was down a few inches from last week but still very high. The lake association also sent a warning that the water may be contaminated due to all the flooding upriver from us.

I also replaced the sump pump discharge line. Usually the sump pump there doesn’t run often but it is running every minute to two now and I noticed the discharge line had several holes and it was spraying water all over the place. I figured with all the flooding I may not be able to find a replacement but Faribault Ace Hardware had our back. Our sump pump didn’t have a threaded connector but I was able to make it work and got the new line in place.

We drove along Cannon Lake Trail and the water had receded a few inches but still a lot of flooding and even more debris after a week. We also looped through Dodge Court and most of the really big houses there were still okay but there were a few that were badly flooded. In Warsaw I was surprised that bridge that crosses the Cannon River on Farwell Ave was still open. I thought it ould be flooded too. The Channel Inn was not flooded, but Doc’s Dock was flooded and several of their permanent RV spots were as well.

It is fun to think back to 17 years ago right now, tweeting on iPhone launch day, when I got my hands on the original iPhone. What a journey! 🚀

Lovely stroll with Lucky this evening. A blooming Northern Catalpa, Minnehaha Creek brimming with water, and Asiatic Lilies.

Ledger Stax Arrived

This weekend I received my Ledger Stax crypto wallet! I pre-ordered this in December 2022 because I loved hearing how Tony Fadell, who designed the original iPod, approached designing this. The device is meant to look like a book and you can customize the spine and cover however you wish to help see what is “inside” the wallet. I unboxed it tonight.

The packaging is well done but very big for such a small device. The box it comes in is the same book shape as the Stax itself, and then the Stax is simply tucked away inside. Very nicely done and all simple cardboard so very recyclable.

I didn’t set it up yet, but I did power the Stax up and it makes a nice twinkle sound and the screen comes to life. It is a touch sensitive screen and is surprisingly responsive when you touch it. Very cool.

I have a Ledger Nano X already so I’m going to need to sit down and figure out how I want to configure and setup the Stax. I actually pre-ordered two of these so am expecting another one to show up soon.

A sleek, purple-and-black rectangular package featuring a small, reflective metal card with inscriptions is lying on a smooth white surface.A sleek, black open case with a minimalist design holds a compact rectangular device, surrounded by a smooth surface.A black hardcover book is placed next to a small black cardholder on a smooth, light-colored surface.A hand is holding a sleek, black electronic device with the words TRUST YOURSELF displayed on its screen.A Ledger Stax device is resting on a closed black laptop on a reflective white surface.

Summer Challenge: Create a Counter using Shortcuts

This post is part of the Summer Challenge Collection, a collection of tasks or projects for our kids to do over the summer.

For this challenge you will create a simple counter to keep track of any number of events that you might want to track. You could use this to keep track of the number of books you’ve read, the number of times you did a certain activity, or how many summer challenges you’ve completed.

The counter must be created using Shortcuts and Data Jar. The shortcut should have at least these functions:

  • Increment a counter
  • Decrement a counter
  • Create a counter
  • Remove a counter

Once you have created the Shortcut then write a post about how you created it, and include a link to install the shortcut via the share sheet.

Completed!

Summer Challenge: Write about a book

This post is part of the Summer Challenge Collection, a collection of tasks or projects for our kids to do over the summer.

For this challenge you can write about any book that you’ve read. A book report style post is fine, but you could also share something different about the book. The post should include an image of the cover. Preferably it would also include some text quoted from the book as well.

You can redeem this challenge up to five times.