Congratulations to Barry Larkin, your sole 2012 HOF inductee. And congratulations on not screwing up that one again, BBWAA.
178 thoughts on “January 10, 2012: Small Hall”
I'm trying to decide if this is merely a gross advertisement or the grossest advertisement I've ever seen. The worst part is that it's totally safe for work.
The vuvuzela part is pretty weird.
The really sad thing is that they've got such an awesome product to sell. I absolutely love Cadbury creme eggs.
The caramel ones are phenomenal.
They're practically my favorite anything.
This
It's up there on the gross scale, that's for sure. Go back to the clucking rabbit, please.
Furthermore, why are some creme eggs fully clothed with mustaches while others are naked? How about a little consistency, Cadbury?
You're definitely covering all of the major concerns I had with this commercial.
There's even a "streaker" in one part, which seems to indicate they were even thinking along those lines. I guess it was traditional for the Olympians to be naked during the games at one point, though...
I think the most disturbing part for me is that the eggs are both the participants and the inanimate objects (drums, fireworks, etc). Somehow, it seems vaguely cannibalistic. Definitely should have stuck with the bunny.
That was another concern of mine but I didn't want to come off as overly critical.
Furthermore, why are some creme eggs fully clothed with mustaches while others are naked?
Yeah, I'm guessing this is where they got the idea.
This Cadbury ad was all over when I was in Ireland. The general consensus among my friends was "Wait, what?"
httpv://youtu.be/TVblWq3tDwY
Okay, I find meat's to be more gross and Mag's to be more WTF. Cadbury's ad department needs some serious help.
I absolutely love both of them. Will you ever forget them?
Mission accomplished.
Memorable, sure. The first one, I even knew what the commercial was for, so it's a little more acceptable in my opinion. Neither one gave me the urge to go buy Cadbury's, though.
I have to admit, they both did so to me.
Why, oh why, can Norm Macdonald not go mainstream (besides his complete apathy and aversion to that sort of thing)?
While we are on the subject, this one was on while I was there too. It's definitely my favorite of the 3 here.
httpv://youtu.be/TnzFRV1LwIo
For the record, it predates Tyson in The Hangover
Now, that one I enjoyed. Plus, it got the raised eyebrow from my wife for the song, then the eyeroll when I showed her the gorilla playing drums. Wins all around!
Phil Collins did the soundtrack for Tarzan, now he dresses up like a gorilla for a commercial.
Your move, Peter Gabriel.
Before clicking those links, I'm going to assume the answer is "they play with more joy and effort than the pros."
The CEO of Best Buy accidentally allowed comments on his blog recently and employees nationwide are letting him have it.
He used to come into my store. Seemed alright, if a little intense.
Our store's intranet message boards are pretty ridiculous. I can't believe he would allow comments on his own blog.
Let me put this one to you, Nation: last night, a guy over at the Casa de Leche who seems like a pretty natural Citizen let me (and others) know that he didn't come here because he thought it was too intimidating. He said it takes him too long to find the content he wants. I find that one a little dubious, but I could see the rest of it: between our retired joaks, lexicon and our general way with one another, he thought our family was a little intimidating. Sean and I had a quick email exchange last night about it, but I decided to bring it to the Cup:
Certainly this guy might just have a hangup or two - he said as much - but is there anything we can do to appear more welcoming? After all, bhiggum's only been here for over a year, and I feel like he's been one of us since the dawn of time...or at least my time here. On the other hand, bhiggum's been here for over a year and I don't think we've gained a single regular since (wait...HomerDome has been popping up again. Well, still, only one).
If you semi-recent guys have anything to add, that would be valuable. I guess I was under the impression that we had the pieces in place to ensure our door was open.
I think a lot of the things that some would consider intimidating are the things that make this an exceptional site. You don't have the trolling other sites have because all the contributors are regulars. And there isn't usually much tolerance for hyperbole. There are probably several lurkers who get enjoyment from here without posting much.
Heck, I'm on daytime lurker mode half of the time, and I get enjoyment from that.
Intimidating? Us?
Sean's tall, you're in California...looks like I'm Dana Carvey, then?
The three of us combined still have less mass than Arnold though.
We've had a couple since then. This place just gears itself toward a different kind of fan than a lot of sites do. Less hysterics, more community. I suppose this sort of place can appear rather insular, but it's really not. It's just built for different sorts of people than a lot of sites of its ilk.
I wonder if one reason why we're getting fewer regulars (or that it at least seems that way) is because every Twins blog linked to SBG, while very few link here.
Gleeman linked here once, but hasn't added us to the sidebar.
Twinkie Town still links to SBG. Ditto: Seth Stohs, Sinker, and probably others.
It seems we just need to notify everyone that this is the WGOM.
I noticed that on mngameday.com, now that you mention it. The links there were how I kept getting to the WGOM, until I finally wised up and just bookmarked the damn thing. Now that site never links to this one anymore.
i think i first showed up because the cup of coffee kept showing up in the twins feed on there (i believe SBG eventually adjusted this). i was wondering what that was for awhile, and then i checked it out, lurked for a bit, and ta-da!
I'm with sean on this. I'm the sort of guy who never comments on other, more traditional message boards because those are the intimidating ones where there are far more people, meaning a far higher number of dicks to jump on newb posts. (BeerAdvocate is a good example.) When I came here, I felt right at home from the beginning, and I don't think the mood here has changed since then, save for that one Yankee-Twins playoff series.
So, eliminating all that, it has to just be exposure.
Plus, the Twins have been crap since we moved and it's been an underwhelming offseason, with very little buzz.
bS and I have both emailed Gleeman to let him know where the site is, but he's never changed it. I mentioned it at Nick's blog too, I think, but I didn't think that was updated either.
I'm not sure why we're having trouble with this linking business.
I can't think of any noob who has posted here that hasn't had more than reply saying welcome. Whether they feel welcome or not is up to them.
i was wondering how much the pall of the last season had to do with it...
I could have lots to say about this particular subject. I'll start with this: I'm of fairly recent vintage around here; I visited once or twice in late '09 and started posting more regularly sometime in mid-2010...I think. I still feel like a newbie at times (rarely, but still). Anyway, here’s my take. Or, at least a part of it.
I believe it takes a certain type of personality to expose themselves to "strangers" in a forum like this. This isn’t the comments section of which we so often disparage. Although it's fairly anonymous, you can’t really participate anonymously. If you’re here frequently enough, your interactions with others follow you - become a part of the WGOM’s collective consciousness - to the point that personalities are on display. Whether these are true or cultivated, it makes no difference,* you basically have to own what you say and how you say it. Comments and discussions become part of a fairly permanent record. If yours are not coherent, or at least half-baked, there is no shortage of Citizens willing to call you out – sometimes eagerly.**
This place is not the real world, though in some ways, I wish it were. People here are civil (usually), intelligent, thoughtful and well-spoken. They’re polite to each other and respectful about new and different points of view (mostly) :). The rules about staying away from off-limits topics are adhered to and the discourse about everything else is, in general, much to my liking. I went back to my e-mail exchange with Mags when I submitted my info for the now defunct “Better Know a Citizen” and I found this.
WGOM has been a fantastic place to hang out. It's been a blast to meet Twins fans who also happen to be witty bookish foodies with excellent (or at least unique) tastes in beer, music, and movies. My kind of people!
*Perhaps this is why I enjoy meeting citizens face-to-face – to get a sense of how accurate my perceptions & assumptions about them really are. I’ve been very pleased with how many of you are even better in person.
**Or so it seems.
Twins fans who also happen to be witty bookish foodies with excellent (or at least unique) tastes in beer, music, and movies.
Man, I can't think of a better condensation of what this community is about.
I've been coming here since... I don't know, since the site was pink and Stick was picking fights with Bat Girl, but I lurked for a long time. I bet there are more than a few lurkers out there who should try dipping their toes in.
I lurked for a quite a bit of the 2007 season before just hopping into a game log toward the end of that year. It'll be 5 years right around october, I think.
Want to hear something amazing? I had no idea bhiggum had only been here for a year. I just assugreyed that he had been posting for about 4 or 5 years here. There's definitely a tipping point with new posters and once they hit it, my mind just tricks itself into thinking they've always been part of the community.
if i'm not mistaken, i think b-higgy and cannacorn showed up about the same time. around the same time as well, i wanna say johansolo or something, and homerdome started peeking around.
It's been less than two years, I'm pretty sure. I showed up a couple of baseball seasons ago, didn't come back much during the offseason, then once I finally got internet at my house I've been logged on here pretty much non-stop for the last year.
SBG originally said he set out to make his site comparable to hanging out at a neighborhood bar. If you're not a regular at the bar, I think it can be intimidating for some people. It's not intentional or due to anything anybody does or says. I think it is just a common byproduct when you have a close group.
That's why people complain about Minnesota Nice!
This is about how I feel, Algonad. I think our door's open. It's just hard for some to walk through.
I understand why it might seem intimidating, but it really shouldn't be. If a fifty-three-year-old pastor can hang with you guys, it can't be that hard.
I think any lack of growth can be put down to three things - First is the lack of linking to/exposure of the new basement. The second was the crappy season. Both of these have been mentioned. I can see how people can be intimidated by the third part, which has somewhat been discussed already, that we require a fairly high level of thoughtfulness and quality in our people - things like proper use of the English language*, the ability to argue a position rather than just screaming into the ether and doing your arguing in a respectful manner (going both ways), stuff like that. I can't speak to what it's like to be a n00b since I'm definitely OC**, but I can see how one might be intimidated not by our manners/personality, because we're all more-or-less Minnesota/Iowa/Wisconsin nice, but rather worry about whether they'll be up to snuff or whether they'll find their niche.
To that, all I can say to anyone who may be lurking this is "don't worry about". As Rhu-Ru said, I can't think of anyone who introduced themselves that wasn't initially welcomed wholeheartedly. So, to anyone reading this who has ever thought about joining up, I would like to personally invite you to do so. Just use this if you're not sure how to start:
Hi everybody, I'm [your name]. I've been lurking for [length of time] and finally decided to start commenting. Nice to finally be here.
*The occasional "Rifding Homke" or "half-bakef" typo or hj's lack of caps not withstanding. **Like comment #6 on the original blogspot SBG
I'd like to think I add some much needed Buffalo grit.
It takes a village, that's for sure.
I can't think of anyone who introduced themselves that wasn't initially welcomed wholeheartedly
MiltOnTilt excepted?
New blood should note: Too much talking about Lady Gaga gets us bored and makes us testy.
What seemed to rub people the wrong way was his attitude after he started commenting after awhile, not just the mere act of showing up.
Right, it seemed that a lot of why he came here was to irritate the rest of us.
I still wish he'd come back, because I didn't mind it.
(Now, if he'd ever compared Gaga to Tonka...)
i'll go you one further and say that i feel MoT was a valuable contributor to the site. i wish he would show up more often...
I agree.
I'm most sad about apparently losing our entire semi-regular female population.
No kidding. The empty pizza boxes and beer bottles are starting to get embarrassing. Not to mention the dirty laundry.
We need some distaff pressure to keep us in line. Come back, ladies!
We should probably start wearing pants.
Never!
*paging CarterHayes, who's apparently just wearing a Fighting Saints t-shirt*
Good point.
I even took Tricia to a game on company tickets!
TDPWY probably does nice things for Sheenie, too.
ThisIsBeth.
/Did I miss one?
I think some of it, too, is that it's a fair bit of time to get really acclimated. As Can of Corn says, people get to know you here and respond to your posts accordingly. This is much of what gives the community aspect, but it can also lead the community to be far more engaged and forthcoming on topics raised by long term members than relative noobs because we know them better and can see where they are coming from.
Even coming back from my somewhat frequent absences, it can take a while to get used to what's happening now and to get a handle on what topics will be interesting and what will be left alone.
I agree with this. I go through periods when I don't stop by for a week or more and getting back in to the swing, even though I don't comment too much, can be tough.
My $.02:
When I first started the site, I had a very difficult time getting people to read what I had to say. Then, I devised a strategy: I invented the game of Pepper! where I would have another Twins blogger come on the site every week and answer some questions. They would link to the post and it slowly dragged some eyeballs over. Then, I pointed out that if you are going to call the other team "Bitch Sox", maybe you shouldn't be surprised when their fans come over and pound your site when their team is better than yours. That one post, which I probably shouldn't have posted in the first place, drew some folks over. By then, I had established a rapport with all of the other bloggers (save that one) and that's how I got the links.
I'm thinking that Gleeman won't link, despite his being really good to my site (he unfollowed me on Twitter for some reason). Bonnes might, he's pretty magnanimous. My suggestion to you is to engage some of the other Twins bloggers and bring them over here. If someone is a good writer, but you suspect that they might be tiring, invite them to write here. When someone posts for the first time, make sure you say, "Welcome aboard." Also, try to refrain from pounding on people who contribute, unless they've been around for awhile and developed their WGOM legs. I've pounded on some folks from time to time, but guess what, I don't like it when I get pounded on. So, be careful in that area.
Also, pick up the empty pizza boxes once in a while.
Strangely silent on the issue of pants...
Who will be the first person to invite TJ to write over here? (After all, no one else has more "tired" writing.)
Bonnes might, he's pretty magnanimous.
It's a Carleton thing 😉
But hey, mebbe a re-run at the guest blogger tactic would be timely. Something like a "Get to Know a Blogger" series could be fun for us and for them without being too taxing on either side. I'd like to see ones with at least some Central Division blogs (Sox Machine has always been good to us), maybe one of Rhu_Ru's baseball card pals, etc.
the CSI posts might be the kind of hook that we could use to entice some big shot to play ball. I'm thinking Uniwatch. He's gotten a lot of love in these parts.
I always include links to WGOM in my posts (CSI/NCIS, etc) when appropriate, and while I know several jump over here for a look-see, most follow "foreign" teams. I've recently found a couple other Twins collectors, and I'll be sure to try give them a little push into the front door.
This is the kind of idea that I was hoping someone had in their back pocket when I asked. Little did I know (but certainly, I should have guessed) that the answer had been utilized at the WGOM before.
FWIW, SBG lured me into this trap by disagreeing with me re: Batista v. Cuddyer over at TwinkieTown. Then he posted over here about some of their stats and I kindly 🙂 pointed out that he made an error in his arithmetic.
Back in those days I did actively promote the site by visiting other sites. That was part of the deal, for sure.
Was it Twinkie Town, or Bonnes' predecessor site? If it was the latter, I'm guessing that was the conversation which brought me over here for good.
I think it was Twinkie Town. I didn't spend a whole lot of time at Twins Territory.
Twins Teritory was definitely hard for me to navigate for some reason. I remember RR, bS, Andrew, Moss, and the Bossman were frequent commentors on my site (not that the rest of you weren't, I just don't remember the frequency), so this was a natural place for me to jump over because of the wider variety of topics being explored.
mebbe we should flashmob a few of the local blogs to shame them into updating links?
Let's not be those people.
awwwww.
yeah, i was gonna say, you lost me at flashmob.
what, we are hipsters who've moved beyond flashmobbing now? 😉
You should hear professional actors talk about flash mobs. Not being able to get people to pay to see you isn't an invitation to force your bad acting on them.
(dejectedly replaces shearling-collared trench coat back in closet, goes back to eating Cadbury's creme eggs)
Love it bh, love it. I choked on my sardines & rice and not because it's sardines and rice.
I found Batgirl and Gleeman when Bonnes had his one-year gig at the Strib. That was the first that I realized there were non-professional sports writers just like there were non-professional pundits on the [redacted subject] blogs that I soon gave up.
I found SBG shortly after he appeared through one of those three and probably commented that day.
I used to do that: drop comments randomly, follow up a bit, and see where I stuck. I was more active at Batgirl for a while, but that got too... something. Crowded for one thing. Overly optimistic?
Pepper was a very effective hook, IMHO.
there's a couple of bodies i've been trying to push through the door for a bit now. both are entrenched members of academia, so i'm sure they'll fit right in. 😉
Oh great. More beer talk.
what what?
oh, and Boss, did you see Bizarro today (Jan 10, 2012)? It was written specially for your Satisfaction.
Great, more people I will forget on the sporacle quiz making me feel awful.
Only three more months (plus several days) until the year-old sporcle quiz!
Oh great, we gotta remember the babies' names, too?! Some of us don't remember things well anymore.
I mostly lurked when SBG started his site. I would make a post a month for about a year and a half. It wasn't until the 2006 game logs that I began posting regularly. Better Know a Citizen was also a very nice welcome. Even if MagUidhir doesn't continue it, I think someone should to help the newbs feel a part of the group (and help us get to know em!).
I'd happily do a BKAC for anyone who needs one. I'm not sure who has and has not been profiled.
It's been so long since most of the original set, it might be time for Even Better Know a Citizen.
Nice to see Roger back.
I figured it was time now that season 5 has a premiere date. Plus, this may or may not be a precursor to something that may take place at some other Internet location in the near future.
vote Pete Campbell
Glad you cleared that up.
I actually am pretty sure I never did one. But most of my answers would be "none of your damn business" so I don't know how much fun that would be.
I don't know, I think I'd enjoy repeatedly saying "Oh yeah, well I'm making it my business."
Oh yeah, well screw you!
(I'm very combative.)
I read this almost every day. I pop in for EPL stuff and I'll be back once the Twins start again.
I'm more of a game log guy. You guys aren't intimidating at all.
You're not helping. Oh wait, you mean the guy on the right
Man, this weather is really working me over. Winter is my favorite season, not because of the holidays, but because it's the one time of year I can go outside without feeling hot. (No kidding - I feel hot at temperatures much above 55 degrees. I have a hypothalamus in dire need of recalibration). I know a lot of people are usually miserable in winter because of the cold or the lack of light or related things, but it's the one time of year I really enjoy the weather. I've been telling friends and neighbors, half-jokingly, that I'm getting seasonal affective disorder from the lack of snow and cold. Well, with no Upper Midwest winter in sight, I'm done joking.
I entirely understand where you're coming from. My seasonal adjustment so far has been leaving my coat in the car more often than not during the days. I also haven't gotten to break out the wool sweaters yet, which is a huge bummer.
I've been doing much the same. The other day I wore just a Fighting Saints T-shirt out to lunch with friends, not immediately realizing the irony of it.
Hey man, I'm with you on loving winter weather. The freshly snowed landscapes are one of my favorite things, ever and I find it easier to get more comfortable when its cold (layers) then when its hot (can't take my skin off).
That said, I admit this winter is kind of nice as it removes a significant driving worry now that we have a kid. Next year, though, mother nature better bring winter.
Mrs. Hayes said something about this winter being the balance for the last few heavy snow ones we had. I told her it doesn't work like that up here.
Driving has been significantly easier, you're right about that. Despite 350 pounds of sand sitting over the rear axle, my truck is amusingly useless in even a dusting of snow, as I discovered when it "snowed" in Winona while I was there. First gear is too low and the engine makes too much torque, meaning I have to start in second. I don't want to get going too fast, since I have manual brakes, so I often don't get into third, meaning I'm ultimately driving a truck with a one-speed manual transmission.
Heh, I was wondering about that. It seems we've made some notable improvements in automobile winter driving capabilities in the last 50 years.
To be fair, I deliberately bought the most basic old truck I thought I could reasonably keep running, so I wasn't expecting much. I'd actually be curious to drive its contemporary equivalent, just to see what a new basic truck feels like by comparison.
fwiw, my 1994 Saturn wagon (well within the 50-year window for improvements) absolutely sucks on wet, snowy or icy pavement.
I had an '01 Saturn L200 and it pretty much sucked on all pavement.
I have a 98 SL2 and if the plows come by while I'm away from home (we live on a snow emergency route), then I have to go about a half mile up the road to get enough speed to drive through the "plowed" snowbank and park. Not a lot of pick me up. A few years ago, three guys helped me shovel my way out of the the snowbank when my car didn't quite have enough juice.
yeah, i'm a winter fan as well, and this winter has been laughable. the only benefit i've enjoyed is an easier walk to the bus stop (i take a lot of shortcuts). last year too. besides that minor blizzard (and it was minor, chicago), we got nothing while minnesota got creamed. man, i wish i could've been there for that.
And speaking of things that have nothing to do with the weather, you have some mail.
What you all said...especially the "I'm naked and still sweating" sentiment. I have a snowboard trip scheduled for Lutsen in early March and I haven't fished through the ice yet. I am very concerned.
I went the other day. One of my friends actually has a fish house out on Miltona. Lots of ice noise all night. It was... eerie.
I love ice fishing. The ice noise, not so much.
I 100% agree with you here. I wear T-shirts around outside until it gets to 30 degrees or so. I know lots of people are excited about them essentially getting an extra long fall, but this is my season, dammit. I don't jump around and sing when we have cold, wet summers.
EAR has been working on compliance with the kids on caps and mittens during the winter. So we go out walking on Sunday and I've got an open spring coat, no hat, no gloves, and she rolls her eyes at me. I know not to pick the fight about making the kids bundle up when it's over 40. But I'm not gonna melt.
A week or two ago, it was coldish in the morning so I wore my winter coat. I came home and needed like a half-hour to recoup from heat stroke or something from sitting on the (crowded) bus. I haven't worn long-sleeve shirts to work since the second week of December, and I've started to take my coat off on the bus if I need to.
I, on the other hand, could not be loving this more. Despite a lifetime of Midwestern winters, I never have liked them.
I'm with Mags. I wish it could be like this every winter.
If I recall correctly, we might be the only two with this opinion.
This winter isn't hurting my feelings any, but I wouldn't mind some snow.
daytime temperatures have been a little higher than normal out here, but the worrisome thing is severe lack of precipitation. This is supposed to be our wet season, but the Sierras are pretty much barren of snow and we've had very little rain. Another drought year would not help California's feeble economic recovery.
Ditto on the dry year here- we're really in need of the precipitation before next spring, or the corn and bean crops are going to be worse than this year.
I know we need moisture, I'm just not too worried about it yet. Lots of nice April showers would be just fine with me.
Doesn't entirely work that way. Snowcover soaks in much better than heavy rains. And when the ground is frozen (or nearly so), a lot of rain will run off and not soak in.
If you're against snowfall, what is needed is several extended light rains to make up the difference.
In addition, snowcover helps with wind erosion, which they're concerned with here in Omaha (where I am currently) due to the dry powdery topsoil right now.
The local farmers don't seem to be worried yet, so I'm not going to be.
They're predicting another, more severe, 'one year' drought in W. Texas, and that has me concerned. I'm fairly certain that a substantial number of W. Texas towns, like the one we currently live in, will dry up and blow away within my lifetime. The rate at which we are using water for landscaping alone is absolutely killing the reservoirs, and beginning in 2013 we'll begin piping in water from 400 miles away. Oh, yeah, that source has extremely high levels of naturally occurring radium, but not to worry murray, they'll figure a way out to filter it.
Good news, Radon cures! Think of all the money you'll save by getting it direct!
He did live in my town, and wrote from experience.
I don't know about NorCal, but SoCal had one of its wettest years ever last year, which lasted through July or so, so I'm not complaining about 70s and 80s.
We did indeed have a wet year last year in NorCal, which partly made up for several consecutive years of drought.
I with me you guys.
Fourthed. Travelling ~1000 miles a month during these winters is absolutely terrible. I'm loving this.
Despite what I wrote above, I'm good with this winter, especially the no shoveling.
You may remember I bought a new house last December while prepping the old house for renting. The old house had a long driveway, we have no snowblower. We also paid someone to clean off the roofs because we were worried about leaks. So then there was a three-foot near-ice pile in front of the garage the night before an a.m. showing.* I spent so damned much time shoveling that I lost weight during the holidays. I got dead arm. I'm happy if I can go without shoveling for another two years. EAR is 8 mos pregnant and is having a scheduled C-section on Feb 9, so I'll do all of the shovelling that needs to be done for the rest of this winter.
*The people from that showing became our tenants, so the work paid off.
I just need to chose freezing in the mornings to heat stroke in the evenings.
The kids say they want snow, but they've also been able to be outside a lot more.
A good five inches once or twice would be nice, so long as they melt within the week.
You do not recall correctly. I could really get used to this warmth in the winter.
Really? I guess I always had you pegged for a big winter person, being from ND and all. Welcome to the club, I guess.
For all you stalkers out there, my brother just bumped into Rubio at the Lunds at University/Hennepin.
gross. Bud has done some good things (no labor stoppage since the mid 90s) and some terrible things (looking the other way for a decade when PHD's were in full use), but its time for some fresh blood leading baseball
Bud had blood?
LIKE!
looking the other way ... when PHD's were in full use
who doesn't???
Got my article on the Algona Brownies from the interlibrary loan. Hopefully with the new digitized newspaper database I can fill things out a bit.
Good news department: Dr. Chop had 4 Job interviews over the last week at the big national meat market (one of which is in the midwest(!) one in WNY (not buffalo, but close enough...), and she's already been invited for a campus visit at a small school in a big southern city. We're both feeling like this is our year to escape W. Texas, and this week has been good in that department.
She was also notified that another school would like to interview her on Friday. The location leaves a little bit to be desired overall, but is close enough to the Twins spring training facility that I could probably watch the B squad workouts without the aid of binoculars.
The bad news department: Dr. Chop isn't coming to Ireland because she has a job interview on Friday. Another grand down the toilet. This trip has gotten a bit crazy, but here's to hoping that one of these job opportunities comes through.
best o' luck, meats!
If there was one guy that could get me back into the Pink it would probably be you. Hmmm, that probably didn't sound great. Bummer about the Dr. not making it to you, hopefully song long term questions are answered by her staying in the states this weekend.
I may have grown out of my pink phase. I'm willing to give the hardware a chance, what with their awesome beer selection.
I'm sorry she won't be getting to Ireland, but overall that's great news, meat. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the Doctor gets her first choice.
dido. You are high on my list of people deserving a good turn.
An earlier version of a photo caption with this post misidentified Dave Racaniello as Kevin Slowey of the Rockies, who is also on the trip.
Found this article that basically reinforces my feelings about the Beasley/Williams situation, plus offers a semi-solution to the failure that is Wes Johnson.
I've been wishing the Wolves would bring in Bogans ever since the Bulls waived him.
hasn't anyone dared to employ Joel Przybilla yet? Surely he'd provide at least as much manna as Darko.
so, a guy in our new york office called me up to tell me he's taking me to the giants/packer game because he doesn't know anyone else in the area. i said, "okay."
Wow. I'm quite envious of you.
Or maybe that should be "WoW" instead?
Will there be a separate T-Wolves game log post tonight?
Go for it. I added you to the authorship list, so feel free to post the first game log of 2012.
cool. Short and sweet intro to it.
So he walked into the bank wearing the ski mask? And no one thought it was suspicious? Well, I'll be.
now I know what a shearling collar is. I've learned something today, must be time to go home.
You never watched McCloud?
Listened to the Bolaño short story on the New Yorker podcast. Goodness, I could listen to his stories for a long time and not tire of his language and rhythm. Liked how they discussed the interconnectedness of all his works.
Another weird (but engaging) NY podcast is Salman Rushdie's reading of 'Concerning the Bodyguard' by Donald Barthelme. The entire story is relayed in questions.
I'm trying to decide if this is merely a gross advertisement or the grossest advertisement I've ever seen. The worst part is that it's totally safe for work.
The vuvuzela part is pretty weird.
The really sad thing is that they've got such an awesome product to sell. I absolutely love Cadbury creme eggs.
The caramel ones are phenomenal.
They're practically my favorite anything.
This
It's up there on the gross scale, that's for sure. Go back to the clucking rabbit, please.
Furthermore, why are some creme eggs fully clothed with mustaches while others are naked? How about a little consistency, Cadbury?
You're definitely covering all of the major concerns I had with this commercial.
There's even a "streaker" in one part, which seems to indicate they were even thinking along those lines. I guess it was traditional for the Olympians to be naked during the games at one point, though...
I think the most disturbing part for me is that the eggs are both the participants and the inanimate objects (drums, fireworks, etc). Somehow, it seems vaguely cannibalistic. Definitely should have stuck with the bunny.
That was another concern of mine but I didn't want to come off as overly critical.
Furthermore, why are some
creme eggs fully clothed with mustaches while others are naked?Yeah, I'm guessing this is where they got the idea.
i think they went a little more contemporary though.
I want candy.
I like it.
This Cadbury ad was all over when I was in Ireland. The general consensus among my friends was "Wait, what?"
httpv://youtu.be/TVblWq3tDwY
Okay, I find meat's to be more gross and Mag's to be more WTF. Cadbury's ad department needs some serious help.
I absolutely love both of them. Will you ever forget them?
Mission accomplished.
Memorable, sure. The first one, I even knew what the commercial was for, so it's a little more acceptable in my opinion. Neither one gave me the urge to go buy Cadbury's, though.
I have to admit, they both did so to me.
Why, oh why, can Norm Macdonald not go mainstream (besides his complete apathy and aversion to that sort of thing)?
While we are on the subject, this one was on while I was there too. It's definitely my favorite of the 3 here.
httpv://youtu.be/TnzFRV1LwIo
For the record, it predates Tyson in The Hangover
Now, that one I enjoyed. Plus, it got the raised eyebrow from my wife for the song, then the eyeroll when I showed her the gorilla playing drums. Wins all around!
Phil Collins did the soundtrack for Tarzan, now he dresses up like a gorilla for a commercial.
Your move, Peter Gabriel.
What do Alabama and NDSU have in common? Georgia Southern.
Before clicking those links, I'm going to assume the answer is "they play with more joy and effort than the pros."
The CEO of Best Buy accidentally allowed comments on his blog recently and employees nationwide are letting him have it.
He used to come into my store. Seemed alright, if a little intense.
Our store's intranet message boards are pretty ridiculous. I can't believe he would allow comments on his own blog.
Let me put this one to you, Nation: last night, a guy over at the Casa de Leche who seems like a pretty natural Citizen let me (and others) know that he didn't come here because he thought it was too intimidating. He said it takes him too long to find the content he wants. I find that one a little dubious, but I could see the rest of it: between our retired joaks, lexicon and our general way with one another, he thought our family was a little intimidating. Sean and I had a quick email exchange last night about it, but I decided to bring it to the Cup:
Certainly this guy might just have a hangup or two - he said as much - but is there anything we can do to appear more welcoming? After all, bhiggum's only been here for over a year, and I feel like he's been one of us since the dawn of time...or at least my time here. On the other hand, bhiggum's been here for over a year and I don't think we've gained a single regular since (wait...HomerDome has been popping up again. Well, still, only one).
If you semi-recent guys have anything to add, that would be valuable. I guess I was under the impression that we had the pieces in place to ensure our door was open.
I think a lot of the things that some would consider intimidating are the things that make this an exceptional site. You don't have the trolling other sites have because all the contributors are regulars. And there isn't usually much tolerance for hyperbole. There are probably several lurkers who get enjoyment from here without posting much.
Heck, I'm on daytime lurker mode half of the time, and I get enjoyment from that.
Intimidating? Us?
Sean's tall, you're in California...looks like I'm Dana Carvey, then?
The three of us combined still have less mass than Arnold though.
We've had a couple since then. This place just gears itself toward a different kind of fan than a lot of sites do. Less hysterics, more community. I suppose this sort of place can appear rather insular, but it's really not. It's just built for different sorts of people than a lot of sites of its ilk.
I wonder if one reason why we're getting fewer regulars (or that it at least seems that way) is because every Twins blog linked to SBG, while very few link here.
Gleeman linked here once, but hasn't added us to the sidebar.
Twinkie Town still links to SBG. Ditto: Seth Stohs, Sinker, and probably others.
It seems we just need to notify everyone that this is the WGOM.
I noticed that on mngameday.com, now that you mention it. The links there were how I kept getting to the WGOM, until I finally wised up and just bookmarked the damn thing. Now that site never links to this one anymore.
i think i first showed up because the cup of coffee kept showing up in the twins feed on there (i believe SBG eventually adjusted this). i was wondering what that was for awhile, and then i checked it out, lurked for a bit, and ta-da!
I'm with sean on this. I'm the sort of guy who never comments on other, more traditional message boards because those are the intimidating ones where there are far more people, meaning a far higher number of dicks to jump on newb posts. (BeerAdvocate is a good example.) When I came here, I felt right at home from the beginning, and I don't think the mood here has changed since then, save for that one Yankee-Twins playoff series.
So, eliminating all that, it has to just be exposure.
Plus, the Twins have been crap since we moved and it's been an underwhelming offseason, with very little buzz.
bS and I have both emailed Gleeman to let him know where the site is, but he's never changed it. I mentioned it at Nick's blog too, I think, but I didn't think that was updated either.
I'm not sure why we're having trouble with this linking business.
I think bS might have things backward.
I just want to pump US up?
I can't think of any noob who has posted here that hasn't had more than reply saying welcome. Whether they feel welcome or not is up to them.
i was wondering how much the pall of the last season had to do with it...
I could have lots to say about this particular subject. I'll start with this: I'm of fairly recent vintage around here; I visited once or twice in late '09 and started posting more regularly sometime in mid-2010...I think. I still feel like a newbie at times (rarely, but still). Anyway, here’s my take. Or, at least a part of it.
I believe it takes a certain type of personality to expose themselves to "strangers" in a forum like this. This isn’t the comments section of which we so often disparage. Although it's fairly anonymous, you can’t really participate anonymously. If you’re here frequently enough, your interactions with others follow you - become a part of the WGOM’s collective consciousness - to the point that personalities are on display. Whether these are true or cultivated, it makes no difference,* you basically have to own what you say and how you say it. Comments and discussions become part of a fairly permanent record. If yours are not coherent, or at least half-baked, there is no shortage of Citizens willing to call you out – sometimes eagerly.**
This place is not the real world, though in some ways, I wish it were. People here are civil (usually), intelligent, thoughtful and well-spoken. They’re polite to each other and respectful about new and different points of view (mostly) :). The rules about staying away from off-limits topics are adhered to and the discourse about everything else is, in general, much to my liking. I went back to my e-mail exchange with Mags when I submitted my info for the now defunct “Better Know a Citizen” and I found this.
*Perhaps this is why I enjoy meeting citizens face-to-face – to get a sense of how accurate my perceptions & assumptions about them really are. I’ve been very pleased with how many of you are even better in person.
**Or so it seems.
Man, I can't think of a better condensation of what this community is about.
I've been coming here since... I don't know, since the site was pink and Stick was picking fights with Bat Girl, but I lurked for a long time. I bet there are more than a few lurkers out there who should try dipping their toes in.
I lurked for a quite a bit of the 2007 season before just hopping into a game log toward the end of that year. It'll be 5 years right around october, I think.
Want to hear something amazing? I had no idea bhiggum had only been here for a year. I just assugreyed that he had been posting for about 4 or 5 years here. There's definitely a tipping point with new posters and once they hit it, my mind just tricks itself into thinking they've always been part of the community.
if i'm not mistaken, i think b-higgy and cannacorn showed up about the same time. around the same time as well, i wanna say johansolo or something, and homerdome started peeking around.
It's been less than two years, I'm pretty sure. I showed up a couple of baseball seasons ago, didn't come back much during the offseason, then once I finally got internet at my house I've been logged on here pretty much non-stop for the last year.
SBG originally said he set out to make his site comparable to hanging out at a neighborhood bar. If you're not a regular at the bar, I think it can be intimidating for some people. It's not intentional or due to anything anybody does or says. I think it is just a common byproduct when you have a close group.
That's why people complain about Minnesota Nice!
This is about how I feel, Algonad. I think our door's open. It's just hard for some to walk through.
I understand why it might seem intimidating, but it really shouldn't be. If a fifty-three-year-old pastor can hang with you guys, it can't be that hard.
I think any lack of growth can be put down to three things - First is the lack of linking to/exposure of the new basement. The second was the crappy season. Both of these have been mentioned. I can see how people can be intimidated by the third part, which has somewhat been discussed already, that we require a fairly high level of thoughtfulness and quality in our people - things like proper use of the English language*, the ability to argue a position rather than just screaming into the ether and doing your arguing in a respectful manner (going both ways), stuff like that. I can't speak to what it's like to be a n00b since I'm definitely OC**, but I can see how one might be intimidated not by our manners/personality, because we're all more-or-less Minnesota/Iowa/Wisconsin nice, but rather worry about whether they'll be up to snuff or whether they'll find their niche.
To that, all I can say to anyone who may be lurking this is "don't worry about". As Rhu-Ru said, I can't think of anyone who introduced themselves that wasn't initially welcomed wholeheartedly. So, to anyone reading this who has ever thought about joining up, I would like to personally invite you to do so. Just use this if you're not sure how to start:
*The occasional "Rifding Homke" or "half-bakef" typo or hj's lack of caps not withstanding.
**Like comment #6 on the original blogspot SBG
I'd like to think I add some much needed Buffalo grit.
It takes a village, that's for sure.
I can't think of anyone who introduced themselves that wasn't initially welcomed wholeheartedly
MiltOnTilt excepted?
New blood should note: Too much talking about Lady Gaga gets us bored and makes us testy.
What seemed to rub people the wrong way was his attitude after he started commenting after awhile, not just the mere act of showing up.
Right, it seemed that a lot of why he came here was to irritate the rest of us.
I still wish he'd come back, because I didn't mind it.
(Now, if he'd ever compared Gaga to Tonka...)
i'll go you one further and say that i feel MoT was a valuable contributor to the site. i wish he would show up more often...
I agree.
I'm most sad about apparently losing our entire semi-regular female population.
No kidding. The empty pizza boxes and beer bottles are starting to get embarrassing. Not to mention the dirty laundry.
We need some distaff pressure to keep us in line. Come back, ladies!
We should probably start wearing pants.
Never!
*paging CarterHayes, who's apparently just wearing a Fighting Saints t-shirt*
Good point.
I even took Tricia to a game on company tickets!
TDPWY probably does nice things for Sheenie, too.
ThisIsBeth.
/Did I miss one?
I think some of it, too, is that it's a fair bit of time to get really acclimated. As Can of Corn says, people get to know you here and respond to your posts accordingly. This is much of what gives the community aspect, but it can also lead the community to be far more engaged and forthcoming on topics raised by long term members than relative noobs because we know them better and can see where they are coming from.
Even coming back from my somewhat frequent absences, it can take a while to get used to what's happening now and to get a handle on what topics will be interesting and what will be left alone.
I agree with this. I go through periods when I don't stop by for a week or more and getting back in to the swing, even though I don't comment too much, can be tough.
My $.02:
When I first started the site, I had a very difficult time getting people to read what I had to say. Then, I devised a strategy: I invented the game of Pepper! where I would have another Twins blogger come on the site every week and answer some questions. They would link to the post and it slowly dragged some eyeballs over. Then, I pointed out that if you are going to call the other team "Bitch Sox", maybe you shouldn't be surprised when their fans come over and pound your site when their team is better than yours. That one post, which I probably shouldn't have posted in the first place, drew some folks over. By then, I had established a rapport with all of the other bloggers (save that one) and that's how I got the links.
I'm thinking that Gleeman won't link, despite his being really good to my site (he unfollowed me on Twitter for some reason). Bonnes might, he's pretty magnanimous. My suggestion to you is to engage some of the other Twins bloggers and bring them over here. If someone is a good writer, but you suspect that they might be tiring, invite them to write here. When someone posts for the first time, make sure you say, "Welcome aboard." Also, try to refrain from pounding on people who contribute, unless they've been around for awhile and developed their WGOM legs. I've pounded on some folks from time to time, but guess what, I don't like it when I get pounded on. So, be careful in that area.
Also, pick up the empty pizza boxes once in a while.
Strangely silent on the issue of pants...
Who will be the first person to invite TJ to write over here? (After all, no one else has more "tired" writing.)
It's a Carleton thing 😉
But hey, mebbe a re-run at the guest blogger tactic would be timely. Something like a "Get to Know a Blogger" series could be fun for us and for them without being too taxing on either side. I'd like to see ones with at least some Central Division blogs (Sox Machine has always been good to us), maybe one of Rhu_Ru's baseball card pals, etc.
the CSI posts might be the kind of hook that we could use to entice some big shot to play ball. I'm thinking Uniwatch. He's gotten a lot of love in these parts.
I always include links to WGOM in my posts (CSI/NCIS, etc) when appropriate, and while I know several jump over here for a look-see, most follow "foreign" teams. I've recently found a couple other Twins collectors, and I'll be sure to try give them a little push into the front door.
This is the kind of idea that I was hoping someone had in their back pocket when I asked. Little did I know (but certainly, I should have guessed) that the answer had been utilized at the WGOM before.
FWIW, SBG lured me into this trap by disagreeing with me re: Batista v. Cuddyer over at TwinkieTown. Then he posted over here about some of their stats and I kindly 🙂 pointed out that he made an error in his arithmetic.
Back in those days I did actively promote the site by visiting other sites. That was part of the deal, for sure.
Was it Twinkie Town, or Bonnes' predecessor site? If it was the latter, I'm guessing that was the conversation which brought me over here for good.
I think it was Twinkie Town. I didn't spend a whole lot of time at Twins Territory.
Twins Teritory was definitely hard for me to navigate for some reason. I remember RR, bS, Andrew, Moss, and the Bossman were frequent commentors on my site (not that the rest of you weren't, I just don't remember the frequency), so this was a natural place for me to jump over because of the wider variety of topics being explored.
mebbe we should flashmob a few of the local blogs to shame them into updating links?
Let's not be those people.
awwwww.
yeah, i was gonna say, you lost me at flashmob.
what, we are hipsters who've moved beyond flashmobbing now? 😉
You should hear professional actors talk about flash mobs. Not being able to get people to pay to see you isn't an invitation to force your bad acting on them.
(dejectedly replaces shearling-collared trench coat back in closet, goes back to eating Cadbury's creme eggs)
Love it bh, love it. I choked on my sardines & rice and not because it's sardines and rice.
I found Batgirl and Gleeman when Bonnes had his one-year gig at the Strib. That was the first that I realized there were non-professional sports writers just like there were non-professional pundits on the [redacted subject] blogs that I soon gave up.
I found SBG shortly after he appeared through one of those three and probably commented that day.
I used to do that: drop comments randomly, follow up a bit, and see where I stuck. I was more active at Batgirl for a while, but that got too... something. Crowded for one thing. Overly optimistic?
Pepper was a very effective hook, IMHO.
there's a couple of bodies i've been trying to push through the door for a bit now. both are entrenched members of academia, so i'm sure they'll fit right in. 😉
Oh great. More beer talk.
what what?
oh, and Boss, did you see Bizarro today (Jan 10, 2012)? It was written specially for your Satisfaction.
Great, more people I will forget on the sporacle quiz making me feel awful.
Only three more months (plus several days) until the year-old sporcle quiz!
Oh great, we gotta remember the babies' names, too?! Some of us don't remember things well anymore.
I mostly lurked when SBG started his site. I would make a post a month for about a year and a half. It wasn't until the 2006 game logs that I began posting regularly. Better Know a Citizen was also a very nice welcome. Even if MagUidhir doesn't continue it, I think someone should to help the newbs feel a part of the group (and help us get to know em!).
I'd happily do a BKAC for anyone who needs one. I'm not sure who has and has not been profiled.
It's been so long since most of the original set, it might be time for Even Better Know a Citizen.
Nice to see Roger back.
I figured it was time now that season 5 has a premiere date. Plus, this may or may not be a precursor to something that may take place at some other Internet location in the near future.
vote Pete Campbell
Glad you cleared that up.
I actually am pretty sure I never did one. But most of my answers would be "none of your damn business" so I don't know how much fun that would be.
I don't know, I think I'd enjoy repeatedly saying "Oh yeah, well I'm making it my business."
Oh yeah, well screw you!
(I'm very combative.)
I read this almost every day. I pop in for EPL stuff and I'll be back once the Twins start again.
I'm more of a game log guy. You guys aren't intimidating at all.
You're not helping. Oh wait, you mean the guy on the right
Man, this weather is really working me over. Winter is my favorite season, not because of the holidays, but because it's the one time of year I can go outside without feeling hot. (No kidding - I feel hot at temperatures much above 55 degrees. I have a hypothalamus in dire need of recalibration). I know a lot of people are usually miserable in winter because of the cold or the lack of light or related things, but it's the one time of year I really enjoy the weather. I've been telling friends and neighbors, half-jokingly, that I'm getting seasonal affective disorder from the lack of snow and cold. Well, with no Upper Midwest winter in sight, I'm done joking.
I entirely understand where you're coming from. My seasonal adjustment so far has been leaving my coat in the car more often than not during the days. I also haven't gotten to break out the wool sweaters yet, which is a huge bummer.
I've been doing much the same. The other day I wore just a Fighting Saints T-shirt out to lunch with friends, not immediately realizing the irony of it.
Hey man, I'm with you on loving winter weather. The freshly snowed landscapes are one of my favorite things, ever and I find it easier to get more comfortable when its cold (layers) then when its hot (can't take my skin off).
That said, I admit this winter is kind of nice as it removes a significant driving worry now that we have a kid. Next year, though, mother nature better bring winter.
Mrs. Hayes said something about this winter being the balance for the last few heavy snow ones we had. I told her it doesn't work like that up here.
Driving has been significantly easier, you're right about that. Despite 350 pounds of sand sitting over the rear axle, my truck is amusingly useless in even a dusting of snow, as I discovered when it "snowed" in Winona while I was there. First gear is too low and the engine makes too much torque, meaning I have to start in second. I don't want to get going too fast, since I have manual brakes, so I often don't get into third, meaning I'm ultimately driving a truck with a one-speed manual transmission.
Heh, I was wondering about that. It seems we've made some notable improvements in automobile winter driving capabilities in the last 50 years.
To be fair, I deliberately bought the most basic old truck I thought I could reasonably keep running, so I wasn't expecting much. I'd actually be curious to drive its contemporary equivalent, just to see what a new basic truck feels like by comparison.
fwiw, my 1994 Saturn wagon (well within the 50-year window for improvements) absolutely sucks on wet, snowy or icy pavement.
I had an '01 Saturn L200 and it pretty much sucked on all pavement.
I have a 98 SL2 and if the plows come by while I'm away from home (we live on a snow emergency route), then I have to go about a half mile up the road to get enough speed to drive through the "plowed" snowbank and park. Not a lot of pick me up. A few years ago, three guys helped me shovel my way out of the the snowbank when my car didn't quite have enough juice.
yeah, i'm a winter fan as well, and this winter has been laughable. the only benefit i've enjoyed is an easier walk to the bus stop (i take a lot of shortcuts). last year too. besides that minor blizzard (and it was minor, chicago), we got nothing while minnesota got creamed. man, i wish i could've been there for that.
And speaking of things that have nothing to do with the weather, you have some mail.
What you all said...especially the "I'm naked and still sweating" sentiment. I have a snowboard trip scheduled for Lutsen in early March and I haven't fished through the ice yet. I am very concerned.
I went the other day. One of my friends actually has a fish house out on Miltona. Lots of ice noise all night. It was... eerie.
I love ice fishing. The ice noise, not so much.
I 100% agree with you here. I wear T-shirts around outside until it gets to 30 degrees or so. I know lots of people are excited about them essentially getting an extra long fall, but this is my season, dammit. I don't jump around and sing when we have cold, wet summers.
EAR has been working on compliance with the kids on caps and mittens during the winter. So we go out walking on Sunday and I've got an open spring coat, no hat, no gloves, and she rolls her eyes at me. I know not to pick the fight about making the kids bundle up when it's over 40. But I'm not gonna melt.
A week or two ago, it was coldish in the morning so I wore my winter coat. I came home and needed like a half-hour to recoup from heat stroke or something from sitting on the (crowded) bus. I haven't worn long-sleeve shirts to work since the second week of December, and I've started to take my coat off on the bus if I need to.
I, on the other hand, could not be loving this more. Despite a lifetime of Midwestern winters, I never have liked them.
I'm with Mags. I wish it could be like this every winter.
If I recall correctly, we might be the only two with this opinion.
This winter isn't hurting my feelings any, but I wouldn't mind some snow.
daytime temperatures have been a little higher than normal out here, but the worrisome thing is severe lack of precipitation. This is supposed to be our wet season, but the Sierras are pretty much barren of snow and we've had very little rain. Another drought year would not help California's feeble economic recovery.
Ditto on the dry year here- we're really in need of the precipitation before next spring, or the corn and bean crops are going to be worse than this year.
I know we need moisture, I'm just not too worried about it yet. Lots of nice April showers would be just fine with me.
Doesn't entirely work that way. Snowcover soaks in much better than heavy rains. And when the ground is frozen (or nearly so), a lot of rain will run off and not soak in.
If you're against snowfall, what is needed is several extended light rains to make up the difference.
In addition, snowcover helps with wind erosion, which they're concerned with here in Omaha (where I am currently) due to the dry powdery topsoil right now.
The local farmers don't seem to be worried yet, so I'm not going to be.
They're predicting another, more severe, 'one year' drought in W. Texas, and that has me concerned. I'm fairly certain that a substantial number of W. Texas towns, like the one we currently live in, will dry up and blow away within my lifetime. The rate at which we are using water for landscaping alone is absolutely killing the reservoirs, and beginning in 2013 we'll begin piping in water from 400 miles away. Oh, yeah, that source has extremely high levels of naturally occurring radium, but not to worry murray, they'll figure a way out to filter it.
Good news, Radon cures! Think of all the money you'll save by getting it direct!
He did live in my town, and wrote from experience.
I don't know about NorCal, but SoCal had one of its wettest years ever last year, which lasted through July or so, so I'm not complaining about 70s and 80s.
We did indeed have a wet year last year in NorCal, which partly made up for several consecutive years of drought.
I with
meyou guys.Fourthed. Travelling ~1000 miles a month during these winters is absolutely terrible. I'm loving this.
Despite what I wrote above, I'm good with this winter, especially the no shoveling.
You may remember I bought a new house last December while prepping the old house for renting. The old house had a long driveway, we have no snowblower. We also paid someone to clean off the roofs because we were worried about leaks. So then there was a three-foot near-ice pile in front of the garage the night before an a.m. showing.* I spent so damned much time shoveling that I lost weight during the holidays. I got dead arm. I'm happy if I can go without shoveling for another two years. EAR is 8 mos pregnant and is having a scheduled C-section on Feb 9, so I'll do all of the shovelling that needs to be done for the rest of this winter.
*The people from that showing became our tenants, so the work paid off.
I just need to chose freezing in the mornings to heat stroke in the evenings.
The kids say they want snow, but they've also been able to be outside a lot more.
A good five inches once or twice would be nice, so long as they melt within the week.
You do not recall correctly. I could really get used to this warmth in the winter.
Really? I guess I always had you pegged for a big winter person, being from ND and all. Welcome to the club, I guess.
For all you stalkers out there, my brother just bumped into Rubio at the Lunds at University/Hennepin.
'Til death do we part.
gross. Bud has done some good things (no labor stoppage since the mid 90s) and some terrible things (looking the other way for a decade when PHD's were in full use), but its time for some fresh blood leading baseball
Bud had blood?
LIKE!
who doesn't???
Got my article on the Algona Brownies from the interlibrary loan. Hopefully with the new digitized newspaper database I can fill things out a bit.
Good news department: Dr. Chop had 4 Job interviews over the last week at the big national meat market (one of which is in the midwest(!) one in WNY (not buffalo, but close enough...), and she's already been invited for a campus visit at a small school in a big southern city. We're both feeling like this is our year to escape W. Texas, and this week has been good in that department.
She was also notified that another school would like to interview her on Friday. The location leaves a little bit to be desired overall, but is close enough to the Twins spring training facility that I could probably watch the B squad workouts without the aid of binoculars.
The bad news department: Dr. Chop isn't coming to Ireland because she has a job interview on Friday. Another grand down the toilet. This trip has gotten a bit crazy, but here's to hoping that one of these job opportunities comes through.
best o' luck, meats!
If there was one guy that could get me back into the Pink it would probably be you. Hmmm, that probably didn't sound great. Bummer about the Dr. not making it to you, hopefully song long term questions are answered by her staying in the states this weekend.
I may have grown out of my pink phase. I'm willing to give the hardware a chance, what with their awesome beer selection.
I'm sorry she won't be getting to Ireland, but overall that's great news, meat. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the Doctor gets her first choice.
dido. You are high on my list of people deserving a good turn.
r.a. dickey's on his way up.
Found this article that basically reinforces my feelings about the Beasley/Williams situation, plus offers a semi-solution to the failure that is Wes Johnson.
I've been wishing the Wolves would bring in Bogans ever since the Bulls waived him.
hasn't anyone dared to employ Joel Przybilla yet? Surely he'd provide at least as much manna as Darko.
so, a guy in our new york office called me up to tell me he's taking me to the giants/packer game because he doesn't know anyone else in the area. i said, "okay."
Wow. I'm quite envious of you.
Or maybe that should be "WoW" instead?
Will there be a separate T-Wolves game log post tonight?
Go for it. I added you to the authorship list, so feel free to post the first game log of 2012.
cool. Short and sweet intro to it.
So he walked into the bank wearing the ski mask? And no one thought it was suspicious? Well, I'll be.
now I know what a shearling collar is. I've learned something today, must be time to go home.
You never watched McCloud?
Listened to the Bolaño short story on the New Yorker podcast. Goodness, I could listen to his stories for a long time and not tire of his language and rhythm. Liked how they discussed the interconnectedness of all his works.
Another weird (but engaging) NY podcast is Salman Rushdie's reading of 'Concerning the Bodyguard' by Donald Barthelme. The entire story is relayed in questions.