Tuesday, 17 May 2005 - 10:42 PM CDT

It's good to see your blog once again. As for me, I have to move out of my east side apartment soon, but have found a place across the Milwaukee River near my Burning Man fanatic friend.

Many times you have mentioned that Duluth is your favorite city. My first reaction to that is you don't get out too much. Actually, I got to spend a few hours there last month. I really like Beaners Central Coffeehouse in West Duluth on Central Ave. Who else would think to put a double espresso shot in a pint of Guinness!

The reason I was in Duluth was that I was in trasit to and from Lutsen. There was a party at the Papa Charlies bar near the Eagle Ridge ski resort to send off two guys who are now attempting to travel across the Arctic Ocean. They started one week ago and are doing well, but drifting ice has prevented them from making much forward progress. You can follow their progress at www.oneworldexpedition.com

Wednesday, 18 May 2005 - 10:17 AM CDT

Jamie, it's good to hear from you! I hate to disagree with you, but I have indeed gotten around! Admittedly, I did most of my traveling when I was a young buck (like you), but I have lived in Europe and have been in almost every state of the US.

And no matter where I go, I find myself comparing the place to Duluth. The city has its problems to be sure, but I love it anyway.

The next time I'm there, I will go to Beaners. I usually hang out at the Amazing Grace coffee place, but Beaners intrigues me. They must have gotten the Guiness/espresso idea from Drew Carey's show. The character 'invented' Buzz Beer, a coffee/beer concoction.

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Thursday, 19 May 2005 - 1:40 PM CDT

Mike;

First, don't be discouraged out this. This may all just be a misunderstanding between you and the paper. Keep that frame of mind. You might even want to be proactive and call the legal department first.

Second, get a nice yellow legal pad and lay out your concerns. You have no cantract. You've never been presented with this concern before, or, for that matter, any directives about ebing "exclusive" to this paper. How does this paper define "freelancer"? Get the terminology straight and find out what the facts are first before you make any decisions.

Third, sleep on it. Use the lovely and gracious Janelle as your sounding board, sleep on it, and then figure out what you want to do.

Works really well for me.

~~~John~~~