92 thoughts on “May 5, 2012: Viva Benito!”

  1. Woke up way too early today, lower back pain is killing me. Hurts to sit, stand or lie down. Any suggestions?

      1. The Mrs. has some muscle relaxers, I keep telling her that I hear muscle relaxers and alcohol go great together.

        1. I have been known to enjoy a muscle relaxer from time to time. I effed my back up pretty badly when working for a museum, and found that lying down and pulling my knees gently towards my stomach helped ease the pain a bit by stretching out my lower back. A tylenol 3 or two will also help.

    1. Ice is my standby. I also use a mentholated rub called Zheng gu shui (available at Chinese groceries). It seems to help muscles relax. also available at teh Amazon. That price is about what I pay locally for it, without a shipping add-on.

    2. I have a Shiatsu massager. I carry all my tension right below my shoulder blades, and use it about once a week on my back, combining the shiatsu and heat features. Best birthday present I ever gave to the Milkmaid. Ahem.

  2. We just went running in Stromovka, a really nice park here in town. It was the first time I've gone running in months. It was good to get out there again.

    1. I was thinking it might be by model, not team, and so I thought a certain Pink cap would be high.
      It's unclear whether this is the sales of official 59Fifties or all caps from New Era.
      The columnist has the same thoughts but maybe some reporting would be in line?

    2. In related ballcap thoughts, I need to get HPR one of those Astros H-Star throwbacks. Kid would look sharp.
      I'm hearing rumors (or speculation or just hope) that the Astros entry to the AL will include those unis.

    1. Someone needs to tell them that no one in Minnesota is singing that.

      btw, last night during the game I was hanging with a Tigers fan and and Indians fan in a baseball card chat room, and the following was discussed:
      1) why do the Twins carry Butera? conversely, why to the Tigers carry _elm_n?
      2) Batgirl! Tigers fan loved her (Legovision! B.O.D!) while the Indians fan will check it out.
      3) Whoa - what happened to the Twins?!

      1. "this is sooo Goy."

        how does a Twins fan even know what that means? (present self and selected other excepted)

    2. A perfect time to recommend The Damned United to anyone who wishes to watch an excellent movie.

      Leeds doesn't come across great in it.

  3. staying up late to watch the Twins win, and then having a 7am wakeup call because I got to go to work this morning was probably not a smart thing to do.

    1. The important thing is that the Twins won, and you got to see something we might not ever see again- a 1-2-3 Capps save.

  4. BTW, WGOM.org is the simplest place to find out when the next Twins game is.

    Seriously, what is mlb.com doing? They used to be the epitome of useful and standarized official team websites (at least among the top four US sports).

    Next game isn't listed on each team's homepage. Three most prominent things should be:
    1. Prior game, Small Box score and pitchers of record listed
    2. Current game (if in progress), Small Box score, link to gameday, and either current at-bat (batter and pitcher) or both pitchers in game listed.
    3. Next game, time, broadcast availability, and probable pitchers listed.

    Also, I can't find a team's probable pitcher schedule.)

    1. OK, I see it now on Twins.mlb.com, but there's way too much junk for me to see it.
      Also, there should be a link from final box scores and game wraps to current standings. Right now, I have to click on the MLB.com logo, which brings me back to the team site from which I first got to the box (usually Twins, even if I'm not looking at a Twins' box score). Then, the tiny mlb.com logo on the team site, to the main MLB site, and then "Standings".

  5. This afternoon is the day a bunch of my friends and I are riding around Minneapolis on the Pedal Pub in Mario Kart costumes. If anyone sees a group matching that description, flag down the Pedal Pub because it'll have to be us.

    1. My coworker and her husband make that trip too. I had got to cover for her yesterday.

  6. I spaced the game last night for reasons beyond my comprehension. Thanks to my schedule, I'll miss today's and tomorrow's too. Well, crap.

  7. Thanks to a federal grant, I'm going to get a new electric mower today from the Air Quality Management District for $50 and my old gas mower. I'm not exactly an environmentalist, but getting a new mower for just $50 is too much to resist. It'll probably be a pain to mow with an extension cord, but it will save on maintenance costs and fuel as well. We'll see how well it mows. I'm hoping it will be lighter as well. All my yard equipment is now electric. My trimmer/edger and "leaf blower" are both cordless. The "leaf blower" is really called an electric broom and is basically just good for blowing grass clippings off the sidewalk onto the grass. But in Southern California, we don't have many leaves to worry about. They don't come down all at once.

    1. Switched to an electric trimmer and like it as well. Before with the gas versions, you are running the thing from when you start to when you are done. With the electric, its only running when you squeeze the trigger to trim something. And much quieter.

      1. I used a propane powered trimmer this week. I loved how easy the trimmer was to start, and the weed whacking power it punched.

    2. aren't there any decent cordless, rechargeable electric mowers yet?

      I have one that needs no plug. An older version of this model.

        1. I should say my new one is cordless. Just tried it out. Very nice. It is designed to stay plugged in so you don't have to remember to charge it. It can mulch, so you don't have to bag, but you can if you want. The height adjuster adjusts all the wheels at once so you don't end up accidentally lopsided. It is quieter than a gas mower and is no heavier than my old mower, maybe a little lighter. This was the cheapest one offered in the exchange, so I wasn't expecting very much. I am very pleased. I don't think I'll ever go back to a gas mower.

      1. I own a very much older version of that one. My neighbor refers to it as the prison model.

    3. I used to have a push reel mower. It was nice to not have to worry about gas or cords, and it worked really well if I mowed all the freaking time. Last year though I ditched it for a regular mower.

      1. I can't see using a gas trimmer, so I schlup the cord around for the electric trimmer/edger. The lawn mower just turned 22 this year (thanks Toro!) and the drive mechanism turns 51 later this year and still is going strong but not as well in the heat (humid 90F+ today).

  8. Earlier when up in the playhouse for video week I posted a clip by a Cape Verdean, Cesária Évora. Here's another one.

  9. Ready to assemble the Avengers with the Boy. Breathless fanboy reviews to follow.

    1. I just came back from The Avengers. I had a pretty bad movie going experience with people's cell phones not being turned off. Effin jerks. Why do you need to bring your phone into the theater?

      1. I saw the Avengers yesterday afternoon. During one of the plotier parts of the movie the dude in front of me whipped out his phone ans started to change his status on Facebook. I politely* asked him to put his phone away.

        *I may have told him that I'd go all effing hulk on his phone.

        1. he is the AT&T of people.

          my cell phone problems came from people not close to me. I guess I should have got up and grabbed an usher or something, but I didnt want to leave the movie

  10. The Magic are trying to make a game of it here with the Pacers in the last minute.

    1. Sorry Mags, I am pulling for the Magic in this series. To win without Dwight would just be the perfect feather in SVG's hat.

      1. Terrible plays for both teams to end the 4th. On to OT.

  11. Verdict: MoT is off his rocker. Avengers was outstanding. Sure, the story was a bit light on plot and heavy on fight. But Joss Whedon's fingerprints were all over this film. Tremendous fun.

    1. This is the first movie Junior has actually kept track of when it comes out in theaters. We can't afford to take the family out to movies very often, but we'll probably surprise Trey by taking the family out to watch the movie on his birthday next month.

    2. For some reason, I didn't know Whedon was involved. Now that I know that, I'm really want to see it.

  12. Now I see that MoT predicted my response. Yah. We are the Target audience.

    Scarlett was surprisingly good. More than just eye candy.

    1. I guess I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like it. But I don't think it's even top three for Marvel.

    1. “He’s young, but he’s one heck of a player, man. He’s unbelievable,” Burke said. “That’s the best player I’ve seen here — by far.”

      1. Can't wait for the Sano era to begin- I just hope he can continue to develop the way he has been.

  13. From Jim Bowden's espn column titled: Possible relief targets for Yankees

    coming in at number 6:

    Matt Capps, Minnesota Twins

    Capps has great makeup and competitiveness to go along with 128 career saves. He’s off to a slow start with a 5.00 ERA in nine appearances but does have four saves and a WHIP of 1.11.

    Oh please, please, please.

  14. I enjoy watching Blake Griffin, the best power forward in the league, struggle.

    1. What an ending to that game. Wow. Not the best shot attempt by Gay there but about as exciting of an ending as you can ask for.

    1. First comment on that Morneau article:

       
      royalstar05 May 5, 2012 8:37 pmTrade his worthless @$$. I'm done with this figure skater.

      Awe. Some.

      1. Ugh, my dad pulled the "pansy overpaid pussies" thing about Moreau today. I told him to immediately stop with that line of thinking.

  15. Morneau to the DL. Who didn't see that coming? Don't know who will be called up. Darin Mastroianni and Ray Chang are the only two really hitting right now. Dozier started out well but his average has really dropped. Revere might be an option since this is an injury replacement.

    1. I saw that coming. I hoped I was being an anti-socal. (A SF101? No, that would have been assuming Morneau has to retire.)

    2. The best part is that they came out with a really positive report, so that the fan base has reason to believe that Morneau is just a pussy.

  16. I am stunned.... STUNNED I SAY!!!!!!!1111!!!! To hear that Morneau's going on the DL.

    The Twins absolutely suck when it comes to handling injuries. They suck.

    1. I can't imagine being a major-league free agent and signing with the Twins. They treat their players like crap in so many ways.

      1. I was thinking this exact same thing earlier today and got really bummed out by the whole thing. I was hoping that with TR back in charge that stuff like this would stop happening. It has not.

        1. Yeah, I also had the identical thought. There's gotta be enough people who don't suck at bein a trainer/team doctor that they could fire all the incompetent boobs, right?

    2. I think it's more an issue of the players not being honest about their injury. There's no structural damage, so it's just a matter of how much pain the player can tolerate. If he's not being completely honest about the pain, then it would be hard to judge if he needs to go on the DL.

      1. Why would he be less than honest though? Oh right, because the staff will rip you in the press. It's absolutely ridiculous that the players can't be honest with the trainers, as it can only hurt the players and the team.

        1. Yep, and the fans will eat it up and boo you. Even if you're a local. Why ever sign with this team unless you're desperate?
          If you are desperate, you're probably gonna need a minor-league contract and you'll get treated like Chuck James, so why even then? Surely there's an NPB, Korean, or Mexican team that would have you.

    1. I had orange juice this morning, because I was celebrating O. J. de Mayo.

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