107 thoughts on “6-11 Cafe au lait and beignets”

        1. Ask for two. Or however many empty HDMI ports you have on the viewing devices. I bought four when I got a new TV and used all four within a year.

            1. One of my HDMI cables was used for that. Added in a cheap HDMI-DVI converter and I was back to having two monitors.

          1. i'm a little ashamed to admit that we got our first grill a couple of weeks ago. we haven't done anything as crazy as that yet, but i did grill my first avocado yesterday. that one will be making it into the rotation.

              1. it's ridiculously simple. cut, brush on some olive oil, apply to grill. dress it however you would like after that.

                1. somewhat apropos, I grilled peaches last week, for the first time in ages. The peaches were not close to ripe, but when grilled (brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt, cut side down for about 2 minutes, then turned over for another 2 on a very hot grill), were succulent and sweet. The parents, in-laws and immediate family complained that I had not made enough.

                  1. I love grilled peaches. Apparently cumin works well with them, though I've yet to try that. I also like to skewer a handful of blackberries, grill them slightly, and serve them with the grilled peaches and whipped cream as a desert (peaches coated with cinnamon in this instance).

                    1. Strat -

                      Yeah, that meatloaf looks fantastic. Also, I just finished a lunch of leftover bbq pork ribs with noodle stir-fry (it turned out to be probably one of the top 20 things I've ever cooked. So that was awesome.). You should make that. I didn't use a recipe, so it should be easy for you to follow.

                  1. I've made a somewhat similar dish where the meatloaf mixture is rolled flat, cheese and bacon is put on top, and the whole thing is rolled like a cinnamon roll. Meatloaf+ meat and cheese = tasty (and likely quite unhealthy).

    1. I bought myself a new pocket-size AM/FM radio and earbuds (very early Father's Day present). Of course, I found my old radio about three days later, but the new earbuds are a lot nicer.

      1. I used my best Billy Mays impression while reading the entire website out loud to Dr. Chop. She wasn't amused. I read the FAQ and was left wondering if it jullienned potatoes.

        1. Seriously. The Smokenator 1000 sounds like something I would have made up as a joke. I just KNOW that I'll get it and then they'll come out with the Smokenator 2000. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

        2. This was my favorite line:

          In the past, the only option was put coals into charcoal rails or baskets, and for its time, a good idea.

          The unwritten declaration is that now its the Smokenator's time!!!

                1. Pretty similar, huh? Looks like the only differences are the tiger meat isn't marinated (I guess the steak tartare isn't always, either) and the name sounds cooler.
                  Here's an actual recipe. I've had some before, and it's really pretty good.

                  1. I like it a lot, but I haven't had any in a long time.

                    Raw hamburger and raw eggs. Yeah, I think I'll stay away from now on.

    2. Between my birthday and father's day, I'm hoping for a pair of running and climbing shoes.

    3. I've dropped a bunch of hints about wanting to add Pet Sounds to my physical music library, but Philosofette frequently misses on the hints. Of course, last year she got me a gorgeous set of grilling utensils, which was way better than anything I was hinting at, so her missing out can cut my way too.

    4. I can never remember whether or not I get gifts for Father's Day. It's fine with me either way, but I seriously can't remember. I always get something sweet from the little milklings, and that's enough.

      We did get an HDMI cable last night, so we'll see if that counts.

        1. And just why do you think this year will be different from all the others? Huh?

          (Enjoy your first! Father's Day as a dad. It is one of the best days of the year, no question.)

          1. My first father's day was amazing - I assembled my new grill, made some ridiculous steaks and then went to dairy queen.

            Enjoy it HJ/DG/Other New Dads.

  1. I just wanted to give a quick thank you to everyone for all your prayers, thoughts, and good wishes last week. It was greatly appreciated. One of the wonderful things about this place is being able to share the joys and sorrows of life with a group of people who (even though I've never met any of you) I consider my friends. Thank you.

  2. Dragged myself out of bed this morning after finishing the MS 150. Yesterday was absolute torture. All I kept hearing from the many experienced bikers was that it was the worst conditions they had ever endured on a ride. 75 miles in 90 degrees directly into a 22 mph wind. It took me two hours longer yesterday to cover the same distance as Saturday.

    Still, it was a great experience and Sheenie and I are already planning on doing it again. If anyone else (free, CoC, etc.) is interested, we could try to form a WGOM team.

    1. I thought about your ride yesterday knowing it would be rough.

      I participated in the Urban Assault Ride yesterday and took 17th out of 500 teams. I bet we were in top 3 if they had an over 40 category. My partner had a nasty wipeout that cost us at least 10 minutes so maybe we could been in top 15 overall. Now in two weeks I am doing 160 miles in a 3 days trek on the Paul Bunyan Trail with some guys from Church. Highlights include staying at the Owl's Nest motel and drinking at the Hackensack VFW.

      1. That event looks awesome. I would love to do something like that. I just need to get back on my bike. (Of course, I probably need a new bike as well)

      2. Have you been on the Paul Bunyan Trail before? Sheenie and I planned to ride from Lake Hubert to Backus and back a couple of weeks ago for training but it ended up being 47 degrees and rainy and Sheenie lost the feeling in her left hand by the time we reached Jenkins (from the cold), so we turned around. Definitely a better ride than the properly Sunshine Trail yesterday.

        1. I have not, but the guys are I'm going with have done the Bunyan 4 years straight and have a blast.

          An oh, did I say we came in 17th place yesterday? Officials results came in and we were 14th overall, 9th for the men. Punman, it is a blast and I would encourage it.

    2. Congrats on living to tell the tale.

      A friend of mine is about to start on a relay ride from SF to Boston. Approx. twenty riders in 8-hour shifts, 24 hours per day.

      1. more on the cross-country bike trip by Team Will (not our Will)

        Team Will is hosting our fourth signature 10 day bicycle relay across the United States to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer research & family resources. This year we will start in San Francisco, CA, cross 13 states, visit 18 hospitals and participate in 7 community rallies, while ending in Boston, MA. Our fundraising goal for this year is $125,000 with our benefactor being The Foundation for Children with Cancer.

    3. Thanks for all the kind words. Knowing that Sheenie was also determined to finish the entire ride was ample motivation. I kept having to reassure her that my hands were all tingly and I could barely feel my pinky fingers because she's now conditioned to believe that symptoms like that are part of MS.

  3. A while back I watched the movie The Big Year. It wasn't fantastic. But it has kind of inspired me to think about birding a little bit. Anyone else here do any of that? AMR, I feel like I've seen you mention birds enough times...

    1. I'm not that freaking serious. I get in what I can, and my location makes things pretty easy.
      Coolest thing I've ever seen was a male Blackburnian Warbler, jumping around the boulevard across the street from my old house.
      He did not strike anyone out.

      1. I don't really intend on being serious about it either, just kind of keeping track of what I've seen. But identification... I'm not good at it. I'm thinking of buying a book to help with that. Do you use one? If not, how do you handle identification?

        1. Depending on how smart your phone is, I bought the Audubon Society app on sale for $1 (regularly $20 - yikes). It makes identification super easy.

        2. I started as a youth with the Golden Guides, which are kindof lame for those higher than casual.
          Then I went to the Peterson Guides, which are good enough, but their maps are all in the back for some dumb reason. (And I'll hardly ever identify a bird likely out-of-range unless it's absolutely obvious, which it never is.)

          As a teenager, I got a National Geographic, which is more extensive, and bigger. It satisfied me well for a long time.

          But last year I got myself a Sibley Guide, which is even better than that, but it's awfully big for field use, but great for using for ID off the deck. It's also most up-to-date and has tons of confirmed sighting out-of-range dots.
          I've also been supplementing with youtube: many very good videos up there of various birds with behavior and call.

          When viewing a bird, the following are my immediate thoughts to ID: do I just know this (Robin, Mallard drake, Crow, Mourning Dove, male House Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Grackle, male Baltimore Oriole, Blue Heron, Green Heron, Great Egret, Bald Eagle, Cardinal, Hummingbird, Osprey, Red-Tailed Hawk, etc.*)?

          If not, how big is it (in relation to those birds I do know)?
          Where is it? (Not just parkland, but On ground, high branches, brush, etc.)
          Song or call?
          Behavior?
          Distinct and obvious coloration? (If the sparrow has a big dot on its chest, or a yellow dot in front of its eye, etc.)

          I still don't instinctively look for things like wingbars or eye rings that can make trickier IDs possible, but this method generally satisfies me, and I'm aware that if I don't get a good look, I might only narrow it down to one of several species. And I am never going to care about Empidonax Flycatchers!

          *These (and maybe a dozen others) are distinctive in MN. If I travelled somewhere else, they might no longer be.)

  4. Ben Revere is now at a 115 OPS+ and Trevor Plouffe is at 110, so the Twins now have seven regulars they can stick in the lineup with at least a 103 OPS+ (Span being the lowest after his recent slump).

    1. Meanwhile, only one starter has an ERA+ over 100. However, Walters is about average for starters, for now.

  5. Scouting report from John Sickels:

    Eddie Rosario, 2B-OF: 20 year old from Puerto Rico, drafted in the fourth round in 2010. Listed at 6-0, 170, which looks about right. Left-handed hitter, very quick bat, stings the ball, good pop to the gaps, controls the strike zone very well, makes adjustments within at-bats. Handles both breaking stuff and fastballs effectively. Running speed a little above average, but he is a very aggressive, skilled, and alert baserunner who will take the extra base and pressures the defense. He played second base in one game and center field in the other. He wasn't challenged defensively so I didn't get a good in-game read on how his defense will work at second base, but he appears to have the athleticism for the position and didn't have any obvious problems. He plays with some intensity and looks like he is having fun out there, which isn't always true for A-ball players.

    Miguel Sano, 3B: Age 19, still officially listed at 6-3, 195 but looks more like 6-5, 230. Despite his size, he moves with some grace on the field. Arm strength and range look just fine for third base and he handled a couple of difficult plays without any problems. He's made 21 errors already, but I didn't see any reason (based on these two games) why he can't improve defensively and be an average defender, at least. Hitting-wise, Sano has tremendous bat speed, among the best I've ever seen, with huge raw power, at least 70. He also swings and misses a lot. He actually did a decent job working counts and laying off breaking pitches and changeups, but he swung and missed on outside fastballs that he was trying too hard to pull. The Burlington pitchers didn't give him any sort of hittable fastball, pitching to the outside corner and past it, refusing to throw stuff on the inner half to him. He's hitting .240/.350/.507 with 14 homers, 33 walks, and 74 strikeouts in 225 at-bats. Given his youth, I think Sano will make the proper adjustments. If things work out: Miguel Cabrera. If they don't: Joel Guzman.

    1. but he swung and missed on outside fastballs that he was trying too hard to pull

      If only the Twins organization had some emphasis on hitting the ball the other way.

    2. Arm strength and range look just fine for third base and he handled a couple of difficult plays without any problems.

      That might be the most positive thing I've ever read about Sano's defense.

    1. Thanks for the coverage Padre. Worked all weekend and a double yesterday - this is the first time I've been online since Friday.

  6. Does anybody out there have any experience with Subarus? I'm looking to pick up a used vehicle for my daughters but money is tight. I've been looking into Subarus and it seems that their 2.5 liter engine has a history of head gasket issues between 75,000-150,000 miles. The DOHC version (pre-2000) looks like a real PITA to replace the head gasket without pulling the engine, but the SOHC version looks pretty straightforward and can be done fairly easily with the engine in the vehicle. So I'm thinking of getting an Outback or Forester with a bad head gasket that I can fix up. That way the girls get a car, and dad gets a summer project to work on that doesn't involve sanding and staining my deck (which was the summer project I had on the docket before deciding I'd rather work on cars), and the WGOM may get a few new installments of Truck Time.

    1. I've got a friend with a Subaru Outback wagon with a sh--ton of miles on it- he loves it, drives it all over for his cabinetry business. I'll see if I can get a hold of him- I think he might have had a head gasket replaced on it.

      1. Those 2.5 liters hold up really well except for the head gaskets, from what I hear. Lots of folks on Subaru forums say you can get 300,000 miles on them with regular maintenance, but the head gaskets are only good for about half of that or less.

        1. My friend's is a 2002 2.5L with 165,000 miles on it (hmph, I thought he had told me more than that before), head gasket has not been replaced- yet.

    2. I'm gonna be a slight contrarian and suggest finding a high mileage VW diesel. Mine has about 172000 on it and runs amazingly. It can still be a project for you in terms of suspenaion ans such, though. Plus it sounds funny and gets good mileage.

      That, or you could get a subaru. I've heard good things.

    1. As someone who's read a number of Craigslist ads over the last few days, I have to say that dadboner has certainly gotten to tone just right.

  7. And it's over. The department head at Podunk U called for official confirmation, and dr. chop tore the bandaid free. He explained that one of her colleagues was "very concerned", then told her which one it was. This individual should have a special place in hell reserved. The cost estimate for this jealously stands at just above 6500 dollars. Absolutely boo. I'm glad that it's over, but I just don't see the angle this individual is playing.

    1. Is Dr. Chop not fulfilling her contract in some way? I don't understand how she can be denied pay and/or benefits if she is. Of course, I don't deal with these particular kinds of contracts, but speaking from a general perspective this seems quite odd to me.

      Also, it just seems wrong. As a lawyer, I forget to mention that part first.

      1. it is total cr@p. No self-respecting university treats faculty, even one-year appointment teaching slaves, with this kind of contempt.

    2. It's a lousy deal, but as you say, the good news is that it's over. Now the two of you can move on, which is a good thing.

      1. Totally. I feel a little bad unloading this craptastic news here, but we've had precious few outlets to even talk about this chapter of our lives. I'm eternally grateful to stick, and now seanto, for creating and maintaining this rich community.

        I should add that this was written from a corner cafe on Magazine street in New Orleans. I'll let the bitter and jealous have west texas, I'll take New Orleans.

  8. From Peter King today:

    "For those of you too young to remember much about Spielman the player or character (I can't believe I'm writing those words; seems like Spielman was suiting up for the Lions five years ago), he was a blood-and-guts player the way Jack Youngblood or Dick Butkus was."
    Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/06/10/mmqb/index.html#ixzz1xXnPwXVn

    Umm...If you are too young to rememember Chris Spielman, how are you going to recall Youngblood and Butkus?

  9. Twins agreed to deal with Buxton, according to LEN3. Draft picks are signing right and left. You've got to hand it to Selig, or whoever came up with the slotting on the draft picks, it has the players signed very quickly and I can't imagine any high picks going unsigned. Barrios and Buxton could both move fairly quickly, at least faster than most high school picks, so getting them signed before July could move them that much quicker. With the way this season has started with so much absolute boo, now I'm almost giddy with how June is going. Not that I think the Twins are true contenders right now, but I at least can look forward to the games and winning some series. Right now, the bullpen, offense and defense are all pretty good. The rotation is a recovering disaster area, but at least it is just one part of the team that needs fixing. I think that could mean a faster fix than just an overall bad team. Plus, I can see some pitchers to get some hopes up for the future. A rotation of Gibson, Wimmers, Barrios, Diamond and Hendriks could be pretty good, I think. Of course, that is a couple years away from being complete, at least.

    1. what's also helping players getting signed sooner is the deadline is now July 13 compared to August 15.

    1. How is it possible that one week in june can increase a team's odds of making the playoffs by 28.8%? (Baltimore)

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