139 thoughts on “June 9, 2011: Series Win”

  1. When I took Omar out to do his business this morning, towards downtown (East) looked pretty forboding, but towards my office (West) looked fine. The radar was not much help since I'm so close to the actual station. So I get on the main route and what do I see but the biggest blackest storm cloud right over the office. The storm was split right down the route I was taking. The clear sky I saw was off to my right, over the mall, and I couldn't see that because the other apt. building was blocking my view. About half way there, I started seeing lightning beyond the office and I thought "Sh!t, I better book it." I got to the office just as it started to sprinkle. By the time I had changed into my work clothes it started hailing. I could be in for it trying to get home.

    1. It's bike/bus to work today and even though there was a steady wind from the North and East, I made it to work just fine. However, a good family friend of ours brother was killed the other day riding his bike to work in New Mexico. He was 49, fit as a fiddle. Of course news like that freaks out my wife. So be careful out there, wear a helmet, keep alert of your surroundings, and remember you will always lose a bike-car/truck showdown.

      1. I've got a broken tailbone that agrees with that. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago I got to make the choice, run into a parked car or get hit by a moving car. I picked the parked car. I ran right into the bumper of a late 80's model Crysler that looked like a boat. I flipped head over feet before landing on the curb, right on my rump.

        I use my exercise bike in my own home now a days.

        1. I am also in the "hit-by-a-car" club. Fortunately, I was hit by a car just starting to pull into traffic (don't ride on the sidewalk, kids), so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I went over the handlebars and managed to merely roll over my shoulder, though I ended up with a strained neck. I wear a helmet these days.

          2. I never had a car/bike collision, but I was a calamity on wheels when I rode my bike frequently. I hit my dog once, had the quick release of my front wheel released by some hooligan so that came off while riding once, smashed my handlebar into a pole once, and twice hit a fence, one time flying completely through it. I never wore a helmet, that was stupid of me.

      2. He was killed in a bike-vehicle collision? I think you imply that but don't say it.

          1. My step-uncle killed a cyclist years ago in the middle of night. The cyclist had no lights on his bike, which had long been a source of contention between he and his parents. As a result, the family didn't blame my step-uncle at all, but as you'd guess, he thinks about it every day. Just a couple of reflectors on the wheels, and the guy might still be alive today. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

      3. Both of my brothers ride their bicycles everywhere (one, at 26, has never owned a car). With that much time in the saddle, I guess it goes without saying that both have been hit by vehicles; a truck and a bus respectively. Both were wearing helmets and both are still alive - though with broken bones to show for the "ride".

        I've recently started riding my bike to class and for the first time in my life I'm happily wearing a helmet.

    1. In the last two games.

      Thomas - 78 saves, 1 GA
      Luongo - 58 saves, 12 GA

      The first two in last night's game were goals you expect Luongo to stop, the third one was an absolute breakdown by his defense.

      Tim Thomas has to be the Conn Smythe winner at this point, right?

          1. Are you guys implying that he too tall to stick at catchergoalie for much longer?

        1. I'm sure it could be picked up, but its the 11th class out of 12, so my wife would probably be very upset with me if I was watching baseball.

              1. I haven't been to any yet...how can I be sure to NOT be that guy?

                Also, what can I expect?

                1. You won't have to say much, and it's not particularly difficult. Most of it is common sense and I think the classes are definitely geared toward, um, the not-so-bright. I probably never said a word in class, besides to the Milkmaid, and as a result it was an easy experience.

                  1. Even this class, where they advocate a much greater role for the father in the birth, was pretty easy over all. I learned quite a bit, too. The only hard part is when we watched a circumcision performed. I started to get physically ill during that one and I'm glad we're having a girl.

                    1. I pushed for serving calamari in a red sauce at the party after the Boy's bris, but was rebuffed. Something about squid not being kosher, mebbe?? 😉

                      whatevah. It was not that bad. Of course, our mohel was also a board-certified surgeon.

                2. We are doing the Bradley Method (natural childbirth), but I don't know how that translates to other sorts of classes.

                  If you don't want to be "that guy" in my class, just don't try to be the smartest person in the room constantly and don't try to act as if you have a deep knowledge of the mindset of a pregnant woman as a result. Basically this dude never stops interjecting and over-explains everything to the point I want to tape his mouth shut.

                  1. We ended up doing an online class where we also met with someone from the hospital one on one with another 2 sessions optional if we had questions. It worked pretty well, and of course Gwen's birth was not at all what we had planned, anyway, and no class really would have prepared us.

                    2. My wife's roommate from her undergrad study abroad just had her first born yesterday. The labor was long and complicated: baby was face up and the umbilical cord was wrapped around the neck. The doctor opted for a C-Section after something like 20 hours of labor...the parents (and my wife) expressed disappointment at that. My wife even said that she hopes that our midwife isn't in too much of a hurry to co-opt the "birth plan" if there's an issue. I hate to be a jerk, but I think that's nuts.

                      I guess I can understand that if what you'd been planning and working for doesn't pan out, you'd be disappointed. Me, I'm just happy mom & baby were all right. Guess maybe that's what classes are all about - getting parents on the same page.

                    3. Yea, it really sucks when your plan goes awry, but like you said, as long as the baby and mom are okay, it's all right by me.

                    4. The Milkmaid had to have a C-section after 37 hours of labor with Skim, because she would have died otherwise. I knew a few holier-than-thou idiots who were disappointed that my wife had to have an epidural and then deliver that way. Ridiculous.

                      The silver lining: the main idiot has since had a kid, and she came to me and apologized about every single thing. Now she knows.

                    1. Or scheduled C-sections.
                      CER was breech.
                      HPR was soon enough after that if she didn't go into labor before like a week before the due date, they'd do the C-section (and they did).
                      AJR was after two C-sections and apparently they don't recommend VBACs at that point.

                      Same surgeon for each. After AJR, he said something like "I think we can only do like eight more."
                      I think he has eight kids himself. It made me happy that our delivery doctor had so many of his own.

                    2. It made me happy that our delivery doctor had so many of his own.

                      They say the same thing about pilots and landings.

                3. Thanks gents, my first class isn't for awhile but the only "birthing" info I have thus far comes from What To Expect When You're Expecting which doesn't tell me much about my job in class...or in the maternity suite.

                  1. Your job is to be there.

                    Our "class" consisted of about a 10-minute session in the doctor's office while she was going into labor (the Mrs. had been on bedrest for the last ~2 months of pregnancy, so we couldn't attend the Lamaze classes).

                    I do remember the doctor asking if I wanted to catch the baby on the way out. Uh, no, doc. That is your job. And, frankly, that was not the lasting memory I wanted of my wife's nether regions, with or without the episiotomy.

                    1. And, frankly, that was not the lasting memory I wanted of my wife's nether regions, with or without the episiotomy.

                      That's what I've been saying (and getting dirty looks in return).

                    2. Thanks to the complications, I didn't have to see that. Instead, I saw the Milkmaid's intestines sitting outside of her as they set them aside to take the baby out of the large incision they'd created. Much more pleasant!

                    4. Both kids were C Sections. I was smart enough to stay behind the blue sheets they put up. My wife had labor induced for Junior and never really had big contractions. She eventually was in constant pain because his head was too big and it was lodged in her pelvis. She had the spinal block or whatever its called, but it wasn't doing much for her. They had to give her a pretty strong pain killer after much pleading. They then went in for the emergency C Section. They got him out pretty quick because his heart rate had dropped. He started to cry and my wife asked me, "Whose baby is crying?" I asked her, "Who do you think?" She was pretty out of it. This came after about 48 hours of being in the hospital to induce her into labor. With Trey, we just opted for C Section and never regretted it.

                    5. They suggested to me not to look over the sheets, but I didn't want to miss it. They told me I'd be sick, but I'm just not that kind of person. It didn't affect me at all, to tell you the truth. Maybe there's something wrong with me, but it didn't do anything to me. All I could see, really, was my firstborn daughter.

                    6. All I could see, really, was my firstborn daughter

                      and, you know, the Milkmaid's entrails.

                      That would have scared the sh!t out of me.

                    7. I certainly understand that, but I really never gave it much thought. Meanwhile, I am terrified beyond description of fish of any size or type (I'm allergic, too, but I don't think that figures in). Go figure.

        1. Definitely, but I guess I'll never understand it. Even in my soon-to-be-former huge corporate company, failing to deliver sales for two weeks doesn't cause firing. I wonder how I'd feel if I followed a team that wasn't the polar opposite.

        2. It usually is SOP, but I'm still a litte surprised because as a rule the A's aren't a team to panic and overreact.

      2. I'm not so sure. Geren recently had a public spat with Fuentes and I recall another player saying Geren's communication skills sucked. The nine-game losing streak might be the excuse but not the reason.

        3. on the other hand, Geren was the best man at Billy Beane's wedding. So either Lew Wolff put the screws to Billy, or Billy finally realized that Geren wasn't the man for the job.

        4. Also, Geren's not exactly been Earl Weaver, either. 335-376 W-L record, no seasons better than .500.

            1. Yeah, I was a little surprised at that myself. Tough to judge just by the W-L record, but I figure 2-3 seasons is long enough for a GM to observe how the players respond to the manager, how the team has done compared to reasonable expectations, whether the manager has acted in accordance with your expectations, etc. It's a little easier to judge that stuff from the inside, sometimes.

              1. This is why I've completely jumped off of "Fire (Manager/Coach X)" bandwagons in recent years, with the exception of football, where play-calling failures are more apparent. The majority of what a leader does is hidden from the public's view, so I save my anger for the players.

                1. It's kind of funny how we never use the term fire when referring to players. Fire Nick Punto! Fire Rondell White! Fire Ramon Ortiz! Fire Drew Butera! Usually a stronger sort of F-word gets used, I suppose, but the way we use the language, it's as though we feel the manager has a job, but the players don't have jobs, just contracts and roster slots.

                  1. Usually a stronger sort of F-word gets used
                    Free Jason Bartlett/Jason Kubel/Kevin Slowey?

                  2. just contracts and roster slots.

                    That sounds like it could be the motto of the first half 2011 Minnesota Twins.

  7. Just saw an article stating the Tim Wakefield is baseball's active wins leader. Of course he's also baseball's active losses leader and just about every other counting stat including IP, HR, BB, WP, HBP and Errors by a pithcer. Considering he'll probably pitch until he's in his 50's it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers he can compile.

    2. What will really be awesome is that when Jamie Moyer comes back next year, Wakefield will drop to #2 in a lot of those categories. I wonder how many times the active wins or losses leader has dropped to #2 among active players without actually being passed by a player underneath them on the list.

        1. He should still be on the active list. B-R lists Wakefield as the leader, presumably because Moyer hasn't pitched yet this year and so is assumed to be done by whatever compiles the leaderboards.

          1. For instance, Johan has 1877 strikeouts, good for fourth* on the active list (but just one ahead of Livan!). However, he isn't listed since he hasn't played yet this year.

            Actually fifth if Moyer were to be counted.

  8. If you want to see some video of the flooding in the Sioux City area, you can go here. The water continues to rise, and will do so for a while yet.

    1. As more water is released by the Army Corp of Engineers the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro is bracing for the flooding. They the water will be around for months.

      1. Predictions are flood level in St. Charles CO when the water gets here; any measureable precip here or upstream in the meantime is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

            1. They said on the news this afternoon that Union Pacific is re-routing some of its train traffic to Sioux City because they expect their facilities in Omaha to be affected by flooding.

    2. I used to work at the Ag Processors plant just a little ways south of the MidAmerica power plant they showed in the video. There's not much to hold the water from spreading out a long, long ways to the east once it gets up over the bank there.

  9. I'm gonna do a commercial, sorry: my next Spookymilk Survivor game, a variety-based game where writing is just one of many aspects, will be starting within the next two months. If you want in, say so. If you want to play the next writing-based game, say so as well, as I've been gathering names for that too.

    If you prefer, as most do for some reason, email me at foreverunchanged at gmail.

    1. can you go a little more into the variety aspect? maybe some examples from previous games?

      1. Alright, a few examples: one, a photo scavenger hunt (late in the game). I ask for photos of certain things where the player must also be in the photo.

        Another, a game I call "Letterboxes" or something, where I give a list of pop culture acronyms and players get points for figuring them out (KHAC = Kind Hearts and Coronets, for an example that I used before). Others that don't necessarily fit in the writing games that I've used include the best concept for a party, the platform of an eccentric mayor hopeful, a pitch for a new videogame, and whatnot. This time through I plan to add a game where players can keep others from winning Immunity, and I'll have a couple "Hidden Immunity Idols" on the site somewhere. I also used to do an in-person poker game one week and an in-person Drunken Spelling Bee, but with players so spread out these days, that doesn't really work. I may do an "in-person" real time challenge using that notepad thing we used to talk about this site, though, if I can coordinate schedules.

        Fiction 59 and the one where the teams combine to make the funniest answer to a question are also usually used.

        1. Oh man, I love the idea of a challenge where players can knock other players out. That's totally Survivor-esque, and those are almost always my favorite real-life challenges.

    2. I'd like in for both. I'm terrible but I want to force myself to do this kind of thing. Well, if there's a rap challenge in the variety game, I'll have a fighting chance.

    4. Still not ready to jump in again. I don't want to commit unless I can give it the right amount of attention.

      Your acronym game reminds me of the fun we used to have at StreamingSoundtracks website chat, where someone might say, "I just found PotC [Pirates of the Caribbean] too silly" and the response would be, "What part of Passion of the Christ could be considered silly?!"

      1. Oddly, I was handed a Christmas list by a customer who said, "I wrote POTC down but I can't remember what it is." I figured it out, and that's when I got the idea for that challenge.

    6. Given my note below, I'll have a bunch of other things to work on before then, so I'll have to pass. Again.
      This timing never works out.

  10. Yesterday morning, EAR wakes me up at 5:30 am, with a little plastic stick with two lines on it. She's not even late until tomorrow, but I noticed on Tuesday night that she found some broccoli unbearably stinky even though it really wasn't that bad. I asked her about it and she said that she didn't think it was likely. But the next morning... two lines.

    This is the only place I'm mentioning it, no family or friends have been notified, please don't write anything on my facebook. Generally, you wait until this kindof thing sticks before telling others. But I just felt like sharing in this place of pseudo-anonymous friends. If it doesn't stick, I can share that with y'all, too.

    Please don't write anything on my Facebook.

    1. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Kyi0WNg40

      heh, shouldn't you be writing about this is today's post?

      anyway, uh, mazel tov...?

    2. So the new Ha Ha Tonka album came out and you celebrated by impregnating your wife?

      1. The HHT album came out in March. This is much more recent.
        Its possible you could draw a connection with the fact that the Twins were not worth paying much attention to...

        Apparently for EAR and I, not actively avoiding pregnancy is the same as getting pregnant. I don't think there has been a single time that we could've gotten pregnant but didn't.* I know others that have been at the opposite extreme, and I much prefer this way, but with __R here being #4 and likely our last, I would have once liked to have to try for a few months.

        *I'm going to be sure that the kids get that message once they're teenagers and start dating.

        I haven't cared about genders before, but with one boy sandwiched between two girls, I'd like this one to be another boy. Also, then I could name him CJR.

        1. not actively avoiding pregnancy is the same as getting pregnant.

          My wife made it almost to two months after she stopped taking birth control before she was pregnant for our second child. That was the longest it took of the three. For some reason, that makes me a lot more sympathetic to people who have difficulty conceiving.

          1. anti-Dido.

            The Mrs. was eager to get pregnant our last year in SD, to go through it with our best friends. It got to the point where my buddy offered to pinch hit for me (jokingly, in the presence of other grad student friends).

            It is a different experience when (a) you are trying to write your dissertation and (b) your schedule is being determined by a freakin' thermometer.

            postscript and a note to all wannabee fathers in the Nation. It helps your spouse to get pregnant if she actually ovulates.

            1. Yep. My wife opted for a shot that she only had to take every few months instead of the pill, but a common side affect is not ovulating when you want to once you're off it. For Junior, it took us about 15 months to conceive. We were more patient than some though. We didn't use the thermometer or even see a fertility doctor. We suspected it was going to take a while initially, so that helped. After he was born, she just used the pill instead. For Trey, it only took a couple months.

              1. We use NFP, which seems to be working fairly well. We had a schedule started for Gwen's estimated arrival and we got within a month of it. Plus the wife and I don't really like the idea of any excessive meds, so that's a plus. We'll have to see how well it works with #2 in the future, though.

                1. NFP here to. With us, once we've decided that we're gonna try in a few months, we stop being quite so careful, and, well, HPR and __R.

                  NFP is good if you can actually stick to it. For religious reasons, EAR isn't going to think much of anything else, so once we have the #4 which is our planned-for last, we might have disagreements about whether to use anything else.

                  Fortunately, I think she's hot when pregnant.
                  Unfortunately, I've got so many things to get done before __R arrives.
                  Fortunately, I won't have to worry about Twins games in October.
                  Unfortunately, I'll probably watch the BoSox and Yanquis play seven extra-inning games despite my rooting interest being for the meteors.

                  [I think I shared too much there. Oh well, I'm pseudo-anonymous.]

    3. Are there any letter combinations left in the alphabet for naming the newest R? Congrats!

    8. Woo-hoo, the newest member of the WGOM tee ball squad! Congratulations man!

    1. I was in such a hurry to congratulate you that I couldn't even reply properly, I guess.

    2. I'll offer my congrats too, AMR. And I'll do it here so bhiggum doesn't have to feel as lonely.

  12. I just discovered a huge area of rot under my eaves. Holy. Shit. This was painted and covered up by the previous owner, and way should have been detected by the "inspector". At the low end this could be several thousand dollars that we don't have. Holy. Shit.

    2. painted over == fraud???

      You have no recourse against the incompetent home inspector, but if the previous owner was aware of the situation and did not disclose (as implied by "huge area of rot...painted and covered up).... Perhaps a real lawyer could dispense a non-legal-advice opinion?

      1. Our realtor f-u-¢-k-ed us with this home purchase. There was so little support, no explanation, and very little follow up after we settled into this crapshack. The things the inspector did find she refused to help us get compensated for. I'm not sure who was receiving kick-backs here, but after we went with a large bank, with whom we've both had accounts since childhood, instead of her friends at the local branch she became very difficult to work with. I'm feeling pretty shitty at the moment, but I can't shake the feeling that we were robbed.

        1. this is a crappy lesson to learn. The realtor does not work for you. The realtor makes money off the seller, not the buyer. You have to hire your own agent and pay him/her directly if you want the person to be obligated to care about your interests.

          1. How are most buyers' agents compensated? I'm curious if it is really a compensation structure that aligns their incentives with the incentives of the home buyer. It seems like everyone in the housing business wants to push you into spending as much money as possible.

            1. They don't really work for you, either. We had an agent and she was most interested in getting us into a house.

        2. That's a terrible feeling. I can't fully relate, since I haven't made a purchase of that magnitude, but even under similar situations with lower stakes, I've felt pretty bad. You can at least hold your head high knowing that you're not the jerk who lied about the house he was selling.

  13. I do know that (in MN) it is illegal to actively hide a defect in the home...we just put our house on the market and I was concerned about our basement. Serious rain, i.e., 3-4 inches in 12 hours leads to a small amount of water down there. Not standing water, just a small puddle here and there on the concrete floor. Our realtor said we had to disclose it or fix it. I'd look into if that's the rule down there as well.

    2. Right, false disclosure leads to liability of the sellers (in MN at least). Unless you purchased "As-Is". As ours was. In that case, you replace the painted-over moldy sheetrock yourself. Or whatever your problem is.

      1. I'm not sure what to do here. On the one hand, I can just repair the effing roof and pay for it by turning tricks on the avenue. On the other hand, I can seek legal remedy and pay for that by turning tricks on the avenue. I've always thought of myself as not really the litigious type, but this is testing my core values.

    1. I saw 44 and a half minutes of a great game tonight on the DVR. Thanks so f-ing much, U-Verse. Un-be-freaking-lievable.

      How difficult is it to send a digital signal indicating that a show is over, so that DVR's know when to stop recording? If a game might run long, I gotta record the next show too? I might as well program manually....

      1. that part at the end where dirk jumped over both wade and king james and slammed the ball into the hoop among the shattering glass and fireworks was pretty sweet. the shock wave caused the buttons of all the young ladies blouses to explode like popcorn and then flung their shirts off like a nuclear blast scattering paper houses. it was quite a sight to behold.

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