58 thoughts on “October 9, 2011: 0-4”

1. I'm going to keep watching the Vikes even if they keep losing. I'd be more excited about it if Frazier would try changing the things that aren't working, but bad football is better than no football.

   1. so, you are a big Gophers fan?

      1. I like to watch them struggle against the teams from the Dakotas, but no, I'm not a fan.

   2. I'm not sure I prefer bad football to no football anymore. I'm not entirely sure I prefer good football to no football anymore, so this is trying my patience.

      1. I'm not sure I prefer bad football to no football anymore.

         That's why I pretty much avoid watching any college football these days.

   3. I didnt expect the Vikes to be any good this year, so my soul hasnt been crushed. But what I dont understand is why the media and some fans want Ponder to play when Joe Webb is sitting right there

      1. Why not? Joe Webb is a fine athlete but it's like comparing Revere to Tosani prospect wise.

   4. Plus, there's still Peterson.

2. Saw this yesterday

   A seven-year old boy was at the center of a Hennepin County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.

   The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him.

   After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

   After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Minnesota Vikings Football Team, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

   1. Very nice- I did not see that last sentence coming.

   2. Laugh. Out. Loud.

      1. that was more of a groan out loud for me.

   3. I heard this one a few years ago in relation to the Pirates or something, but I'd forgotten about it until that last bit.

      1. it works better for football, because you can do it with a legitimately winless team. Bad baseball teams still win a lot of games.

         1. Yeah, definitely. But for me, this is a groaner either way.

            1. Stef said I'm only allowed two of these jokes per year.

               1. That's too many, but I'm glad she set a limit.

   4. This got the Buffalo treatment last season.

   5. Reminds me of the old joke about news that the retired place kicker (Fred Cox in my day) had attempted to commit suicide, but is thankfully recovering because the gunshot was wide right.

   6. Hi-yo!!

3. This could really set the bar for horrible Vikings losses today.

   1. #itshappening?

      1. #itdidn'thappen

         Nothing to see here, move along.

4. Some Guy on the Vikings feed: "Amazingly, both the Eagles and Giants are losing right now."

   The Eagles have been a mess and the Bills, who are at home, have been very good. Is that amazing? It might be time to let go of preseason biases for a while.

   1. You're only saying that because you're jealous of the 2011 World Champion Boston Red Sox.

      1. The Braves woulda kicked their butt!

5. Who wants to make crazy Breaking Bad predictions for tonight?

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      I read one yesterday that suggested the cigarette Skyler smoked in the last episode was actually the ricin smoke. It would make sense that Skyler smoked it, not the boy, since symptoms usually take 48 hours, not the next morning. I did suggest Skyler coming to an early end a while back, this is not how I would have expected it.

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         That's an interesting theory since Gilligan once said "There are no happy coincidences on this show," although I don't know why she would have ended up with it. Character-wise, though, and story-wise, it might fit. There's very little reason to show her smoking, and that could be a reason. As they showed the previous week, if something too small to be filmed is filmed, there's a larger purpose.

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            I'm not feeling that so much. That substance was in what I assume was a glass tube. There's no way she doesn't notice there is something in that cigarette if she did get it, and smoking it isn't going to dose her unless she oddly smoked it long enough to melt the plastic cap, which would make her an idiot.

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               You have to think if someone took the time to steal the cigarette from Jesse that they might have taken time to remove the ricin from its container. Then again, I really just want to talk about breaking bad all of the time and reading that provided me the perfect chance to talk about it today.

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                  I certainly won't begrudge you for wanting to talk about Breaking Bad. I figured from your letter above that they were positing that Skyler smoked the actual cigarette with the ricin vial. I could maybe see that someone could have taken it and dosed one of her cigs wtih it. If Gus figured out that Jesse had it, that would make some sense. I think someone is dying tonight, though, be it Walt, Gus, or Skyler.

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                     Given that the show is about Walt's descent, I believe he'll either die in the final frame of the series or live, and win, but be completely horrible. I think Hank and Gus are both pretty decent bets to die, if anyone does (and they have to, right?). Mike might, but I'm not sure the writers would have him survive this just to move him quickly to death. Even Marie might be in trouble. As for Skyler, as much surprise as her death would provide, I think she's a much more useful story element alive, since Walt's rottenness is turning her as well. I'd be surprised if she didn't end up dead, but I'd be surprised if that came tonight, too. As for the ricin thing above, yeah, I assumed if she smoked it, someone (Walt?) had removed the vial and had poisoned her intentionally, thinking she might be a liability to the operation with her brazen and quick responses.

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                        Okay, I think we should have a quick survey on who dies tonight A) Jesse B) Gus C) Hank D) Skyler E) Other (please specify) F) No one As much as the Slyler theory interested me I don't know if the show is ready to go on without her yet. I am going to go with E and say Hank'a old partner, Gomez, takes one between the eyes for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. He might even be trying to save Hank's life in the process. This, ideally, won't serve as a cliff hanger between the seasons or a climax of the episode but someone has to die tonight and I figure Gomez is the only one who isn't really essential to the story the rest of the way. Then again, if Skyler dies via meth or ricin overdoes I reserve the right to say I told you so.

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                           There's a possibility I didn't expect. I can see that, though. Saul, Huell and the dude Bill Burr plays could all die too. I don't know why they'd be around in this episode, but I think the writers realize someone has to bite it here, and everyone else is too essential to the story. I also wouldn't be surprised if Junior dies tonight. That would be a hell of a season-ender, and one of the last things left that could make Walt remain a sympathetic character, if only for a time.

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                              Unless, you know, he dies because of something Walt causes. Making Walt an even bigger jerk.

                  2. I wish there were a marathon of BB on right now to get me more pumped up for the finale. Instead I just have this and this to get me ready.

                     1. there is on netflix instant...

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                           I didn't see this thread earlier, but I told Sheenie that I thought Walt would be identified as the source of the poison. Go me!

6. Ok, so my bathroom vent fan failed two days ago. It was a middling piece of crap to begin with, but did the job. 50 cfm/2.5 sone model from Nutone. I know I bought this one at Home Despot or OSH when I replaced it the last time, and it is EXACTLY the same model that I have in my other bathroom.

   So I goes to Home Despot to buy a replacement. No soap. The crappiest they have is another brand (Broan) owned by the same company, and it is 50 cfm but 4.0 sone, for about $14. The next available in the size I need is like $100 (for more horsepower, but still not as quiet as what I already had). WTF? How does technology get crappier over time? That's not supposed to happen.

   I'm pissed, so I go to OSH. Same shit, same prices. Worse, when I get the POC home, I discover that (a) it's not a bare fan, like I bought before (I don't need to replace the housing; I just want to slide the new fan into the old box and plug it in) and (b) configured differently, so that I would at least have to remove the damned box and relocate the plug for the new box, or saw out a hole in the new fan's casing so that I could plug it in with the old box. Oy.

   Twayn! Where are you, man?

   I check around -- Home Despot is SUPPOSED to be an authorized Nutone dealer, but they didn't have any that I saw. The only other authorized dealer is some damned electrical supply company in town, which is only open M-F 8-5. How convenient for the home owner.

   1. toasters have gotten crappier. My grandma had a toaster that lasted forty years and still cooked toast perfectly.

      1. It's Joe Mauer's fault.

      2. Mine started malfunctioning after three months.

         1. well, that's because you made "modifications"...

            httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U52VT_TT-sQ

   2. Lowe's

      You shop online at all? If you already know what you want/need, Google it. http://www.build.com has the model you're looking for. There's also an 80cfm available. 'sides, you really need to be pushing cubic decaliters around in your bathroom

      1. I'm already pushing around cubic decaliters in my bathroom, thank you very much. 😉

      2. so, upon further review, there appears to be an "upgrade kit" to a 60 cfm, 3.0 sone model (Nutone 690NT, which is also Broan 690, I think) that my Home Deposition is supposed to have in stock and is supposed to fit easily in the housing I have. $28+. I guess I'm going that way tomorrow.

7. Went to the local cricket championship in Hartford this morning. Only white dude there. Windies guys kept coming up to me, greeting me, curious as to why I was there, am I a playa?, am I the guy from Fox News?, etc. Quality match. Good bowling.

8. Pierre Marc Bouchard gets a two game suspension for an accidental stick to the face....crazy

   1. i've been waiting to see video on that. that's pretty crazy. hopefully he can appeal.

      EDIT: whoa, the NHL prepares some thorough explanations of their disciplinary actions. looks like they're not gonna go for PMB's explanation regardless.

      1. Those explanation videos are new with Shanahan taking over for Campbell. It's nice to know what their thinking is I guess.

      2. so...if you're responsible for your own stick, what happens if another player steals your stick then murders the President of the United States?

         1. That's at least 5 minutes...

            1. now wait, that's only for a US player. It's an act of international terrorism if it's a Canadien for instance, and then Homeland Security gets involved.

   2. I can see Shanahan's point though. When you hack at an opposing player like that, you're responsible for the results, regardless of intent.

      That said, clearly PMB had no intention of injuring Calvert, and it's really unfortunate that it happened and that he will be a "repeat offender" in the future.

9. NBB Veal Saltimbocca

   .75 lb veal cutlets
   fresh sage
   prosciutto (1/3 lb) thinly sliced
   salt/pepper
   Irish butter
   lemon wedges
   olive oil

   Using the side of a small plate, pound the veal pieces (.75 lb should do) until pliable. Salt and pepper, then coat 1/2 half with small pieces of fresh sage. Cover same half of veal with prosciutto, fold over, and use a toothpick to tie it together. Dredge in flour, and saute each cutlet in med-high pan w/ butter until brown. Remove to a separate plate under low heat.

   Deglaze the saute pan under med-high heat with white wine, reducing to half. Add some Irish butter here (2 tbsp) to make it wonderful. Capers here will also enhance the dish. Also, squeeze lemon wedges into the sauce to add flavour.

   Oncet the liquid has reduced by half, add the veal back to the pan to absorb the liquid, then serve it warm, with mixed greens salad w/ balsamic vinegar and a lite twist of olive oil, and a handful of cherry tomatoes from the garden.

   Bella cosa!

   1. sounds delicious, Bo.

      I made fried chicken with dino kale colcannon tonight (mashed potatoes with sauteed dino kale and sauteed onion). Instead of milk or cream, I used buttermilk in the taters, which gave a nice tang.

      for the chicken, I had two whole, skinless/boneless breasts, which I trimmed and separated into four breasts, four "tenders" and about 6 "nuggets". I pounded the breast pieces a bit to even out the thickness, then soaked all the pieces in buttermilk for ~30 minutes, then dredged in a seasoned mix of dry breadcrumbs, cornmeal and flour. I'm thinking after the fact that maybe an egg wash would have made for a better coating, but whatevs.

      I shallow-fried in batches for ~3 minutes per side, then finished in the oven. Not as crispy as I would have liked, but good flavor.

10. So, it turns out I didn't overpay.

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