Steven Helmer Publications

Long story short, the building landlord was soaking a vent cover in the utility room sink and thought he turned the faucet off before going to lunch. As it turns out, the faucet, for some weird reason, turns differently than most faucets and, instead of being off, it was opened wide. There was a hose attached and, since the other end was emerged in the water, he didn't notice the water wasn't turned off. As a result of all of this, I got up from my desk to use the rest room about 11:30 yesterday and noticed water seeping into the office. Upon further investigation, I discovered the entire basement of the office building was flooded. By the time we figured out what was going on and got the water turned off, I had a good half inch of water standing by my desk and water had gotten into every room. Surprisingly, despite being right next door to the utility room, this office wasn't the one that got hit the worst. The office on the other side of us happens to be on the bottom...

I used to do that before coming into the office in the morning. However, I wound up taking a long break from it. That changed this weekend, when I took in the aluminum cans I had in bags outside my house and discovered they are worth 50-cents per pound again. I had 130 pounds (a lot of them were ones I found on my walks) and the $65 will allow me to do something with the family this summer. Granted, it's not a life-changing amount. But, if I can get $10 worth here and another $10 worth there, it does add up after a while, especially if I'm putting it aside for family nights out.

We did manage to have a couple decent, sunny days this weekend but, once again, the clouds are out and we're getting rain. Normally, I wouldn't care too much because I need the rain to make my garden grow. But, my plants also need some sun. In fact, I could use a little myself. I might have to start taking Vitamin D pills again at this rate.

Synopsis: Jacqueline de Bellefort is in love with Simon Doyle and intends to marry him. When her former fiance decides to marry her rich and beautiful best friend, Linnet, instead, she becomes obsessed with ruining things for the newlyweds and follows them on their Egyptian honeymoon. When Linnet is found murdered, Jacqueline is naturally the primary suspect. But, when she is immediately cleared of the crime, it is up to the vacationing Hercule Poirot to figure out who else had motive to kill her. Review: It took me a little longer to read this book than it normally does, mostly because I didn't have as much free time the past few weeks as I normally do. I finally managed to finish this book this morning. To tell you the truth, I figured out who was responsible for Linnet's death (and, later, a couple other murders) about halfway through the book. This wasn't because of any specific clue or anything like that. Instead, Agatha Christie tends to re-use certain con...

I wasn't sure if I was going to take a walk today. The weather was perfect for it. But, there is apparently a large amount of grass pollen in the air and, even with doubling my allergy pill, my allergies have been awful today. I ultimately decided to tough it out and go, mostly because it's been a week. I did cut it a little short because of the reason above and didn't get to see too much as a result. But, I managed to get a few photos.

I heard about this last week and decided to take the girls down to Watertown this morning so they could see the Moving Wall (a half-sized replica of the Vietnam War Memorial) and check out some of the military vehicles that were also there. The Moving Wall was surprisingly humbling and I could feel myself choking up a little bit when I saw the long list of those who died in the conflict. Even my daughters, who are normally very talkative, were quiet as we walked through. And, it was pretty neat seeing some of the weapons (both modern and historic) up close.

The Wold of Outlaws were racing at the Beaver Dam Raceway last night and, apparently, one of the drivers went over the wall and into the billboards on the third turn. We heard Flight for Life come in around 10 p.m. and, according to some reports, he didn't make it. My prayers go out to his family.

I have a busy day planned today. This morning, I am finally running my aluminum cans to the recycling center (something that is long overdue) and picking up a new (used) grill for my patio. Afterwards, I have plans to pick mulberries since my tree is full of them and, this afternoon, my youngest daughter is going to a birthday party so my wife and I have plans to take her then figure out something to do for two hours (the party is in Waupun, so we don't want to drive home only to have to drive back there a couple hours later). Guess it's better than sitting around on the couch all day, though that does sound inviting too.

My wife attempted to do the stay-at-home mom thing while she tried to get her sewing/embroidery home business off the ground. But, after a few weeks, realized she missed having a regular paycheck and decided to find a new job. Finding the job was actually pretty easy. One of her former bosses wanted her to come back to work with her and she was hired on the spot after a required interview. But, I have to tell you, the tax paperwork she had to fill out afterwards was insane. Image courtesy of Pixabay Granted, it's been about a decade since I last had to fill out tax forms and I'm sure some things have changed since then. However, I didn't realize they changed this much. Instead of just one form, consisting of a half-sheet of paper (as was the case the last time I had to do it), she had to fill out multiple forms that honestly seemed kind of complicated and, even with the help of Google, I'm still not convinced we filled them out correctly (for example, how can ...

My allergies have been pretty darn bad the past few days. I've been waking up with itchy, watery eyes and have been sneezing up a storm. It's gotten so bad, I've had to start doubling up on my allergy pill just to stay functional. It's been cool and rainy the past few days so it may have something to do with that (mold spores in the air?) Or, something might have bloomed that is making them worse. I know I get kind of bad when there's clover and there's quite a bit of that popping up in the yard right now (and I can't mow because of the rain). But, I guess there's not much else I can do about it. Probably should stock up on tissues.

My wife was running some errands yesterday afternoon and, since she had to stop by the grocery store anyway, decided to pick up some frozen pizzas for dinner. We had never had this brand before and was interested in something a little different so she brought home the BBQ Recipe Pulled Pork & Bacon variety. To tell you the truth, my wife probably enjoyed this pizza a lot more than I did. While she likes a variety of toppings and sauces on pizza, I am much happier with something a little more basic and, while I won't say I hated the pork and barbecue sauce, it really wasn't my thing. That being said, there were some things I did find I liked about this product. One thing, in particular, I found I did like about this pizza was the deep-dish crust. I've had this with some other frozen pizza brands but, more often than not, haven't been overly impressed with it. This one came out just the way I prefer it, a little crispy without being hard. The pizza also...

Despite our attempt to save it by taking it to the Wildlife in Need Center in Oconomowoc, the abandoned baby rabbit my parents found did not make it. My wife called to check up on it today and learned it only survived another day. It's very disappointing to hear but it wasn't very strong when it was found and we knew its chances of survival, even with expert help, weren't very good. At least we can say we tried.

Synopsis: In the late 1970s, pilot Barry Seal simultaneously works as a courier for the Central Intelligence Agency and as a smuggler for a South American drug cartel. He makes more money than he knows what to do with as a result. But, even with the CIA's assistance, must find a way to stay a step ahead of several law enforcement agencies. Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Cruise , Domhnall Gleeson , Sarah Wright , Caleb Landry Jones and Jesse Plemons . Review: We had a Father's Day dinner at my parents' house on Sunday and, while there, I wound up watching this movie with my dad. This is a film I've seen previews for and, while it admittedly looked decent, I wasn't really sure if I would like it or not. However, after watching it, I do have to admit it was a pretty good film. I'm not a fan of most of Cruise's later films but this role was perfect for him. He always manages to have a natural arrogance when he's in front of the camera an...

I manage to avoid using an air conditioner until this past weekend, when the temps were in the 90s, it was extremely humid and very uncomfortable. However, after digging our portable air conditioner out of the shed and getting it going, we discovered it developed a leak over the winter. While this is something we can probably fix, my wife and I weren't in the mood to mess with it right now and, because we also didn't want water all over our living room floor, I decided to just purchase a cheap window AC unit instead and picked up this air conditioner at Wal-mart yesterday morning. My primary reason for purchasing this air conditioner was the $116 price tag, which was about $30 less than the next most affordable choice. Since we are on a bit of a tight budget during the summer, I was trying to spend as little as possible and, because of that, there really weren't any other serious factors that weighed into that decision. I did have two big concerns about this air co...

My family and I continued an (almost) annual tradition by walking down to the Swan City Car Show yesterday. We weren't there long but did manage to see all the cars. Here are some of the photos I took:

My wife and I are in between shows at the moment and, because of that, decided to give Orange is the New Black a try. Granted, this show has been on Netflix for a while now and isn't exactly a hidden gem. But, based on our normal viewing habits, we weren't really sure if it would be for us and weren't expecting to make it past the first episode. As it turns out, however, it is actually as good as people say it is. The show is definitely geared more toward women. But, even as a guy, I have found there are quite a few things I do enjoy about it (none of which involves the occasional nudity or lesbian sex). In particular, one thing I found I really like from season 1 is the relationship between the incarcerated Piper ( Taylor Schilling ) and her fiancé ( Jason Biggs ). It's an intriguing story (please don't ruin it with spoilers) because they both have made some pretty big mistakes and I'm curious if their relationship will make it. I'm not sure if it...

Synopsis: While serving detention, four teenagers discover a video game and decide to play it. However, the game, Jumanji, is magical and, when they are sucked inside, they must work together if they hope to survive and return home. Who's in it? The movie stars Dwayne Johnson , Jack Black , Kevin Hart , Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas. Review: It was pretty warm out yesterday and, even though I did manage to get some work done outside (and make an appearance at a graduation party), none of us had a lot of energy by yesterday afternoon. As a result of that, we wound up having a family movie night and picked this movie, which I got on DVD through Netflix. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film when I first saw previews for it. I didn't hate the original Jumanji , but it also isn't on my list of favorite movies. And, because of that, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this sequel. But, as it turns out, the movie was pretty good. One thing I found I l...

Heat advisory starts today so we'll be bunkering down at some point. Unfortunately, central air didn't fit our budget this year (thank you $40 tax return) so I guess I probably should go get the air conditioner out of the shed and hope it still works.

My wife had to run out to Wal-mart a couple days ago and, while she was there, went into the freezer section. She came across these pies and decided to pick up a couple of them for us to have for dessert. I think I've had these pies in the past but, when she brought this home, I couldn't remember what I thought of them. I finally got around to trying it again last night and, overall, I have to say it wasn't too bad. While this single-serving frozen pie wasn't the best apple pie I've ever had, it did have some things going for it. For one, I liked the convenience. The pie stayed in the freezer until I was ready for it and then all I had to do was pop it in the microwave. A few minutes later, I was eating it. That is definitely a lot more convenient than baking something like this in the oven. As far as taste goes, it was acceptable. The apples were a little sweeter than I prefer but were OK and, at minimum, was better than some other frozen pies I've tr...

It was a bit overcast today, making it a little difficult to get some photos because of the lack of light. But, the part was almost deserted so I was able to go for my walk without a lot of people scaring photos away. My big surprise of the day had to be a painted turtle I encountered on one of the trails. Not only was it an unusual spot for it, the turtle made no effort to get away from me as I walked past it. I'm wondering if maybe it was making a nest or something. Here are some of the photos I took: