What's New This Week? We had an eclipse this week and it was pretty cool although it didn't get as dark as I thought it would. Rather than doing the pin hole and box thing we watched it on TV. They had a special camera on it and you could really get a good look at it. Ken's brother Ron in Northern California said that he noticed a bigger difference when the sun was blocked. I guess you really needed to be in South America to get the best effect.
      Speak of celestial things, have you been following the space shuttle trip to the International Space Station (ISS) this past week? They had a little trouble getting off the ground but they are up there now and changing crews for the ISS. When the space shuttle is hooked up to the ISS it's quite a mass in space and you can see it pretty easy as it goes overhead. The best time to see it is at dusk or just before sun up. You can check out the times it will be going over your house at www.nasa.gov. In case you hadn't heard the crew that just left the ISS broke the U.S. record for the longest space flight. They were up there for 233 days. When asked if they wanted to stay any longer they unanimously said "NO".

     I have been looking for a little clipboard program that will allow you to copy several things to the clipboard and then paste them into anything on your computer. I think I found one that works really nice and is FREE, my favorite price!
      Clipboard Magic (tm) is a FREE Windows clipboard extender. It's about a 900K download that installs very easy. There are a bunch of options that make it very configurable for each individual. It resides on the start bar for easy access. They have a rather complete list of features on their web page. For Clipboard Magic just go to www.cyber-matrix.com/clipmag.htm. While you are there you might want to check out their other programs. CyberMatrix specializes in providing quality business software applications to help companies increase their productivity. I haven't tried any of their other programs but a number of them sound interesting.

We are always looking for new and interesting sites. If you know of a site that you think our readers would like please share it with us and our readers. Let us know and we'll share your favorite with everyone else. The Internet is growing every day and we can't check all those great sites out by ourselves so please share your favorites with us.

Father's Day Gifts

     Father's Day is Sunday and it would be nice to give dad a had crafted gift from you. Here are a couple of suggestions for you to try.

Picture Frame

Here's what you'll need:

• An old (or new) picture frame
• A nice picture of you to go into the frame
• Some items that make you think of your dad
• Glue

Find some items around the house that will remind him of his hobbies. If he's a fisherman you might find some old lures, bobbers and hooks. If he likes woodworking find an old broken wooden ruler, a hinge, nails, screws, etc. If he likes computers you might cut up an old CD, a floppy disk, and perhaps an old mouse.
Put your picture in the frame and then glue these items around the edges.

Great Dad Certificate

How about giving dad some help for Father's Day?
One of the best father day gifts I ever got was helping me with a job. I'll bet your dad would really like you to wash the car or mow the yard or just about anything else.
We have two certificates for you to print out and give to your dad. All you have to do is fill in his name, the project you'll do and your signature.
You can get these certificates from our web site by just clicking on the one you want to print. Be sure to set your printer for landscape.

Now go have a great Father's Day and do something really nice for your dad.

If you have a kids project that would be suitable for Fathers Day we'd love to share it with our readers. Just contact marilyn@runnerduck.com and we'll do the rest.

Remember we have all of our past kids projects archived on our web site at www.runnerduck.com/kids_corner.htm.

      This wonderful Teddy Bear will not get to you in time for Father's Day but it sure would be nice to have to remind you of dad. "Dad the Father's Day Bear" can be ordered from the RunnerDuck toy store at www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/bcentral-vstore/runnerducktoys for only $10.99.

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The Tempos News and CD of the Week

     The Tempos big swing band has a little break until July 6th when we play for a wedding at the Woodland Park Zoo. I'm sure you're thinking of all kinds of cute remarks but it really is a wedding between two people. If you have a special event that could use the wonderful music of a classic big band be sure to contact The Tempos at thetempos@runnerduck.com.

      Summer is only a week away so it seems appropriate that we feature one on the all time great summer albums. "At Birdland Summer 1952" was recorded by Count Basie July 31, 1952 at Birdland. This CD was remastered and released in 2001. We have it this week at a SUPER DISCOUNT of $3.20 off the regular price at www.runnerduckmusic.bcentral-vstore.com

Click HERE for "At Birdland Summer 1952 " by Count Basie, our featured CD of the week.

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Joke of the Week

      Who says kids today don't do creative writing. Just check out some of these analogies from high school essays:

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
-- Joseph Romm, Washington

She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.
-- Rich Murphy, Fairfax Station

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 P.M. instead of 7:30.
-- Roy Ashley, Washington

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 P.M. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 P.M. at a speed of 35 mph.
-- Jennifer Hart, Arlington

Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
-- Sandra Hull, Arlington

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
-- John Kammer, Herndon

It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
--Brian Broadus, Charlottesville

He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
-- Susan Reese, Arlington

She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
-- Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park

   THIS WEEKS FREE RECIPE

Mexiburgers

• Scant pint of water
• Chopped Onion
• 3/4 Cup Catsup
• 2 Pounds Hamburger
• 1/2 Cup Salad Mustard
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder

Simmer the Water, Onion and Catsup until onion is done.
Add remaining ingredients, salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer 4 to 5 hours.
Serve on fresh hamburger buns.

Remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share please send it to marilyn@runnerduck.com.

     Every month we post a new recipe on our web page. Be sure and check out our June recipe at the RunnerDuck Kitchen Store. We'd be happy to post your favorite recipe there or in our newsletter and give you credit. Just drop a line to marilyn@runnerduck.com

      Pam Anderson has put together "The Perfect Recipe" cookbook. "The Perfect Recipe: Getting It Right Every Time Making Our Favorite Dishes the Absolute Best They Can Be" is by the executive editor of "Cook's Illustrated" who made a study of 180 recipes for popular foods and, through extensive tests, devised the absolutely best way to create each one. This cookbook includes foods such as hamburgers, potato salad, roast turkey, brownies, and other well-loved everyday favorites.
      You can find "The Perfect Recipe" by Pam Anderson at the RunnerDuck Cookbook Store and this week for only $22.99.

The RunnerDuck web site is hosted by

Do It Yourself Bio Filter - Last Step

     Now that we have our bio filter and Jenny box ready to go we need to make it look nice. You wouldn't want a plastic garbage can sitting next to your lovely pond.
      There are a number of ways to hide you tank. Put plantings around them, hide it behind rocks or build a box for it. That's what we decided to do and here's how we did it.
      We started with a 2-by base mounted on landscape timbers. The landscape timbers were put on top of crushed rock so that water would drain away better. We used (2) 2" X 12"'s and (1) 2" X 6" for our floor.

Click on any picture for a bigger view

Next we placed our tank on the floor and got it positioned the way we wanted it. We measured, cut and glued the overflow pipe in place.

Now you can build a 2" X 4" frame around the tank. We had to cut out the sill plates to accommodate the pipe and drain. Be sure to leave enough room around the top for access.

To make our project match the existing building we put cedar siding around the box.

The final step is making a cover for the box. We used (3) 2" X 2"'s held together with cedar 1" X 3"'s spaced 5" apart. We put cedar shakes over the 1" X 3"'s and some 1" X 3" fascia boards and we were done.

We hope you've enjoyed this project and good luck with your pond.

     We are always looking for new projects to feature in our newsletter. If you have a project that you would like to share please drop us a line and we'll help get it published in the RunnerDuck review. We are looking for woodworking, gardening, crafts and kids projects so send us your thoughts at projects@runnerduck.com.

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CONSERVATION TIP

      On the way home the other day we saw a man sweeping his driveway with water from a garden hose. While this is an easy thing to do it sure can go through the water. We think that a broom is probably a lot better option. Not only does it conserve water but it also is a lot healthier for you. It really doesn't take that much time or energy to spend a little time on a broom handle and we're not talking witch! In fact it's usually quicker than the spray from a wimpy garden hose pushing those rocks around. The next time your driveway or sidewalk needs sweeping do just that and leave the water for the plants and drinking.

If you have a conservation tip please send it to conservation@runnerduck.com and we'll post it in our newsletter.

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The RunnerDuck Goodies Store

     We have a new polo shirt at the RunnerDuck Goodies Store for you to check out. There are lots of other nice RunnerDuck items also.

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Until Next Time...

     Have a great Father's Day! We hope that you will be able to spend dads special day with him. We will be going to Marilyn's dad's first and then to Ken's daughter for supper. It should be a wonderful day. If you can't get to see your dad do the next best thing and send him a FREE greeting eCard. Just go to our web site and click on 123 Greetings in our new Quick Link section.

     If you want to talk about something just drop us a line any time, we like to talk about most anything.

     If you forward these newsletters to your friends just drop us a line and we'll do it for you. Just send us their email address and we'll do the rest. Remember, we never share our email list with anyone, period! Just drop me a line or go to our registration page and sign up your friend.

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The DuckMaster

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