Jamie Thingelstad

We have been wanting to have dinner at Gus Gus for a while and tonight we had a reservation and made our way to St. Paul to try what we had heard was an amazing cheeseburger. We all ordered it and loved it. For a gourmet burger it was fabulous. Tammy thought it may top the delicious burger at Lake and Irving. I thought it tied it. However the fries would clearly tip Gus Gus to the win — they were incredible. The bun was so airy and delightful. The cheese was ridiculously melty. No notes.

Tyler, Tammy, and I had a lot of fun solving our way through The Istanbul Gambit at Enigma Adventures in Bloomington today. We finished the room with just 1m 39s remaining on the clock. This was our 64th escape room!

The room was very well done and we always felt like we were moving forward. There were multiple “a ha” moments and towards the end a super cool solve involving lasers. Also unique with this room was that you actually had three separate tasks to complete, with the final being to get out of the room. It even had an add-on mission to identify some additional information that you could tackle if you had time. We did that one as well!

Recommended room!

The Avocado Toast at Lynette is the best I’ve ever had. Wow! 🥑

Tammy and I enjoyed The New Standards Valentine’s Concert at The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis tonight. The emcee introduced this as a hopeful first show to become a tradition for Valentine’s day. We’ve seen The New Standards so many times and we’ve even seen them at the Woman’s Club, however it was in the theater and this was a more intimate setting in the dining room. The performance was good but the sound was a bit lacking. I felt the speakers and amplification was too small for the room, and I didn’t see a sound person working the dials. It also seemed like Chan was “off” in some way, he wasn’t his typical witty self.

We had a fun evening of laser tag at Tactical Urban Combat as part of Tyler’s birthday.

Ads that hit home with me from the Super Bowl.

So Win — Nike

To me this one was the best by a mile. Led Zeppelin as the soundtrack was top notch. Gruber agrees with me.

Take Me Home — Rocket

Has there ever been ad that directly tied back to the stadium experience? This had us singing along in the ad and then cut to the stadium full of people also singing along with all of the in-stadium advertising connected up. Impressive.

Whatever Comes Your Way — WeatherTech

I’ve bought WeatherTech floor mats for every car I’ve had for years. In the winter they are a must.

Big Game — Jeep

Freedom. Jeep. Harrison Ford. Of course.

The Intelligence Age — ChatGPT

ChatGPT with a “typical” technology company spot.

A couple of months ago my cousin Josh sent me a text that David Francey was coming to Minneapolis and wondering if I’d like to go? I had no idea who Francey was or where he was playing, but after clearing the calendar the answer was an instant yes! Last year Josh had turned me onto the High Kings and they have been on high rotation for me ever since, so I was happy to get introduced to another musician. Josh and Dawn, and their good friends Paul and Jodi, joined Tammy and I to see Francey at the Celtic Junction last night.

It was a great show.

Before we get to Francey there was a short set from Terra Spencer to open the show. Spencer was a great opener with a novel-like background of being a funderal director in a small town. Her songs were captivating. “Coyote” stood out in her songs for me.

For the final song of her set David Francey came on stage and joined her, and then Chris Murphy came on as well and Francey’s set started, with Spencer staying for a couple of songs but the majority of the set was Francey and Murphy.

I had listened to some of Francey’s songs before coming so I was expecting a delightful evening of folk music and we got that and some more. He shared a story for every song he played.

“This Morning” stood out for me. He wrote it on John Prine’s passing and brought in components of Prine’s music into it. I’ve listened to this song several times now. “The Breath Between”, the title song off of his newest album had me rapt as well.

As I listened to him it hit me that his accent and singing reminds me so much of the late Shane MacGowan of the Pogues. Francey doesn’t have the gravel and drunk sound of MacGowan. But the cadence and lilt is very similar.

Lastly, the Celtic Junction was a cool venue. They partner with the Irish Fair of Minnesota and have a nice community center.

I thought for sure there would not be a Weekly Thing this weekend. Then my afternoon opened up and it is happening. That makes me happy. Will go out tomorrow morning! 📬

I was excited to see my question, how to choose a donut, answered in latest issue of Mike Monteiro’s Good News!

Another morning at Getaway Motor Cafe. Got a mug for home and a Nose Warmer Latte. Very good breakfast treats too.

Tammy and I rescued Robin Hood in the Sherwood Forest room at No ESC Puzzle Collective in Shakopee tonight. Took 59m 36s!

Tammy and I had our first free court time at Mega Pickleball today. We practiced various drills getting ready to play others.

It was a bit windy today but otherwise good time on the Three Mile Walk at the Minnesota Arboretum.