Red Wing Gentleman Travelers

About a year ago, I purchased a pair of Red Wing boots. Specifically, they were the Gentlemen Traveler series, in Black Cherry "Chromexcel" leather. This leather was made by the Horween company in Chicago Illinois. The ironic part about all this was the fact that these boots were not at the time available for purchase in the United States. They were made in Red Wing, Minnesota, of leather made by a company in Chicago, Illinois, and I had to purchase them from a website based in Germany. Isn't globalization grand? Here is a picture of the boots new, from the website I purchased them from - Cultizm.

New:
Here's a few photos of my pair, which have been worn for a year, in all sorts of different weather:


The initial break-in period lasted a few weeks, and did cause some foot pain. However, once the boots were broken in, they became quite comfortable, and I can wear them all day without any issues whatsoever. The leather is purported to be waterproof, and while I doubt that, I have managed to keep my feet dry in rain, snow and slush. If only they had speed lace eyelets, they'd be perfect.

I was grown on a cube farm

Tomorrow, everyone in my office is moving to a new location; many, to new floors. I have been in a cubicle for almost a decade now. Short walls, faux privacy, and poorly designed ergonomics have been my constant companion these many years. As I prepare to move down to the 11th floor, I can't help but wonder - how did we get here? No one can really think this is a good way to work, can they?

So I did a little research - by little, I mean a search on Google. And by research, I mean I clicked on Wikipedia and another link entitled "History of the Cubicle". It seems I can blame my carpal tunnel and bad eyes on a man named Robert Propst who worked for Herman Miller. He developed a prototype cube in 1965. That's over 40 years of bad offices!

Behold, the original "Action Office":


While that office doesn't really look functional, at least you can stand up and there aren't dividers cribbed from veal fattening pens. The Action Office was where we were going to design nuclear powered spacecraft to take us to the Moon and beyond! It was where American scientists and engineers were going defeat the Communists! I want a cubicle that goes with a skinny tie and a short sleeved dress shirt, dammit!


There's just no soul in this. No one is going to invent a better car, defeat the Terrorists, or earn a Nobel Peace Prize looking at cloth covered walls in three directions. Ah well, at least my view goes from office wall to parking garage across the street.

The Bums will Always Lose!

Yes Cheney, they will.

And while we're on the subject of The Big Lebowski, this combines two of my greatest loves: that movie, and Legos. When I was a kid I would play with them for hours, making airplanes and spaceships and helicopters etc. I should have been doing this instead.

I am Just a Cowboy

Sometimes I forget how good they were.