Having Josh over is awesome, but we're not the bulletproof young lads we used to be.
54 thoughts on “January 27, 2013: Aging”
Our neighbors invited Mrs. Runner and me to a trivia night after buying a table and then his employees who were going to play bailed on him. We had a lead for a couple rounds, waffled with another table, and ended up taking 2nd by a point. One from our table won the 50/50, plus (amazingly) our table split the pot after tying another table on the speed round. I say amazingly because we were given a list of 30 names and 30 birth names and had X minutes to pair them up. We matched all the obvious ones and were in the process of making educated guesses for the rest when time ran out, and we turned it in with 5-6 blank lines, yet still got 21 right. Pretty good evening all round.
What game is this?
St Louis uses Trivia Nights for fundraisers quite a bit. It is especially popular in Catholic schools.
I went to one last year and it was a lot of fun. They had 10 questions in 10 categories. The table would come to a consensus answer and compete with the other tables. I found that a wide range of ages helped a lot.
exactly. This particular one was held at an Elks club, and in a month Runner daughter's old HS marching band will be holding one. They're pretty entertaining.
You'd think it couldn't get worse after the header, but it just devolves from there.
This isn't the first time I've read a story where someone avers that statistics not only don't but can't increase fan enjoyment. It's a weird argument. I'd be happy if I never again had to listen to The Doors or The Steve Miller Band, but what kind of asshole would I have to be to say you're a lesser music fan for liking them, and how egomaniacal would it be for me to say that nobody could possibly like them? Why do these idiots talking about statistics derisively get a pass on that from the MSM?
Wait, you're not a lesser music fan for liking The Doors?
What's your stance on fans of The Eagles?
kerful, kids. I just may happen to own albums from all three of these mentioned bands. Music is not an area where preferences can be wrong (like, say, beer preferences).
the eagles = drain pour
(what the hell, if we're digging holes...)
beer = drain pour
I don't buy that, via transitivity, the_eagles = beer. So one of you must be wrong.
to borrow a line from the Dread Pirate, "and I'm never wrong."
Hey, that's Humperdink's line! Don't confuse me with that warthog-faced buffoon.
Use smaller words...
I don't think that is a good analogy. I think a better one would be to criticize someone who enjoys reading the liner notes while listening to an album.
HS friends hated me on that.
Lyrics, too.
Good analogy.
He wants to discuss statistics in sports, so he calls a former athlete who was also a PhD in... Mathematics.
Maybe when he wants to know about steroids he should call an athlete who was also a Chemist.
Or if he wants to know about Spanish Literature, he should call someone with a degree in Italian.
Not my only complaint, but the only one I'll voice.
the weatherman wasnt kidding around when the forecast called for ice.
its straight up raining but freezing on contact with anything.
Josh is amused by the fact that it almost never rains here, but for his four-day visit, it's going to end up being nearly nonstop rain.
Any thunderstorms though?
No. Now those are rare, and since I've gotten here, have only happened in the middle of the night.
The drive to church was ok. The walk into church from the car was awful.
Citizens: my daughter (h.s. sophomore, almost 16, suddenly thinking seriously about applying to Caltech) has expressed an interest in "building a computer" with me over the summer. Recommendations on strategies and/or kits? Or should I steer her toward a Raspberry Pi and focus on programming and learning Linux? (I don't have a soldering iron, nor do I have many other tools that might be appropriate for electronics work, and I'm, uh, not particularly expert anyway)
There won't be much "building" with a Raspberry Pi. It's a neat device, but for embedded stuff I think the Arduino is a better choice. Also, if she actually wants to use the computer, the RPi (more so the Arduino) would be rather underpowered. It might be useful to build a computer (I can't recommend anything else but Linux or a BSD, but I'm biased) and then build something embedded with either of the aforementioned products. Soldering iron is usually required, but not always.
Yea, I think I can find somewhere to acquire a soldering iron. I was more trying to frame the question. I'm not useless with tools, but neither am I particularly adept. So are there kits out there worth looking into that a novice could assemble and get a working device? Or am I better steered toward buying (or gutting) a chassis and assembling various parts from Fry's?
the point here is the learning experience for her. I'm not sure how much of a hardware experience she really wants. If it were me, I'd lean more toward the software experience. But it ain't about me.
#wink
A lot of online retailers like New Egg etc. have barebones kits. That generally gives you a pre-assembled case, power supply and motherboard/processor combo. From there you buy the memory, hard drive, and other components that you want and start assembling. The toughest part is plugging in the various wires from the chassis controls (on/off switch, power LED, HD indicator LED etc.) onto the motherboard if you buy them separately. The connections are usually clearly marked, but very small and not always easy to read, but getting a barebones kit avoids that issue. Configuring a modern motherboard is pretty easy, though, no switches or jumpers to set, it's mostly all plug and play nowadays.
Ditto all of this. I often buy my cases at retailers (Microcenter here) just to avoid shipping something so heavy. Everything else is purchased at NewEgg or Monoprice.
Microcenter has absurd prices. I'm planning on heading to the Cities to visit some friends, and to buy new parts for my computer in the next couple of weeks.
I've never found them to be that high, besides the usual way overpriced items (e.g. cabling).
in which case you take your cabling order to monoprice
I'll second the preassembled combo kit suggestion. get a couple good grounding straps and a well-lit work table, and you're on your way
Yep. It's a pain sometimes to wait a few extra days, but paying 5% as much is worth it.
My first PC was a 486-DX 100 that I built from the case and motherboard up. It was a big upgrade from the 386 chips and 66 mhz single channel archicture of the time, and I got hooked. I've never had any real formal computer training, just dove in and learned it on my own so my education is very incomplete and my teacher not at all qualified, but when you build something yourself from the ground up you get a much better understanding of how everything works. Since my first PC 20-some years ago I've built more than a dozen computers for myself and family members, and I've fixed or upgraded at least that many along the way.
love the patch on the sleeve and the hat has a minor league baseball vibe (not that its a bad thing)
It's a very good "minor-league" vibe. It's an old logo for the team. I think it's great, though they misspelled "LeCroy".
That's way better than their regular threads, which are some of the worst in the game. The lettering on that set in particular looks pretty good, though I think script might be more appropriate for something mimicking a beer label. Bringing back the Beer Barrel man is great, but I'd much prefer the caps in this logo design (and the more extensive soutaches/piping).
Yes. Those caps are fantastic. That's the one part of the other ones I didn't love. The close up on the mascot's face isn't great. This one is.
Well the hats you pointed too are even better.
With Beer-Barrel-Man-Head cap, I like how it's hard to make sense of it without the full logo. Because it's the tap of
But then I like things in logos that don't make immediate sense, like the old Expos "elb", or the Twins' "TC", or the Canadiens' "CH".
From Richfield?! I'm going to figure out how I tangentially am connected to the designer.
Rondo has a torn ACL.
stinks for Boston, but wake me up when they have 3 starters go down to injury.
Bill Simmons tweeted that it wasn't fair. Boo-freaking-hoo.
Boston fans. Bleccch.
Question for the lawyers: my wife has been nannying part time for a family since about the end of July. It was all set up so that she was their employee, nothing under the table or anything like that. A contract was written, though it wasn't signed because the family said they wanted to make sure it was all ok, but thy never did. My wife does still have email discussions relating to the contract details. In it, it was specified that they would pay her for at least 18 hours a week even if she didn't work them all, as well as a requirement that they must give her a two week notice if they want to end the arrangement if its not due to performance. They also had 7 days vacation/sick time with no mention of any sort of accrual system.
Now, a couple months ago, my wife had to make a couple concessions from that contract that were verbal only: she took less pay and no longer had the guaranteed hours. Then, as of a couple days ago, they indicated they couldn't afford to employ her and gave her a two week notice. My wife asked to be paid for the vacation days she didn't use, which is resulting in a messy divorce from this family as they changed their two week notice to an immediate termination, while agreeing to pay the vacation time.
Just before this happened there was a discussion about changing the nature of the relationship to having my wife be self-employed with them as her customers because since August, they have been bringing their,ifs to our house.
Now, my question is if we have any steps we could take to make them pay out two weeks of 18 hours per the original contract for the required two weeks. I know they really can't afford it, but they've handled this like asses, going so far as threatening to not send in the withholdings they took out of her checks, so I'm pretty angry. At the same time, I'm starting to think we are best off just taking the vacation pay out and never speaking to them again. (If they make good on it, that is.)
I am not a lawyer, but I would separate from them as quickly as possible. You don't have a written contract, which is bad. Do you have an email trail? I would be most concerned about payroll taxes. If they don't take care of that, you may have to cover the whole thing out of takehome.
We have a written contract, it just isn't signed, and there is an email trail. I also presume they sent in the initial employment documents when she started, so the gov't is aware that they were employing her. But yeah, I'm no expert and am leaning towards not trying to ruin them. Basically, this has shown me that people suck.
cheap - You've got mail.
You'll probably want to talk to Can re: employment specific stuff, but I deal pretty routinely with contracts and messy informal breakups thereof, and might be able to throw a few thoughts your way. Drop me an e-mail on Monday to remind me to respond.
NBC sports bench "reporter" to Wild coach during first intermission: "what about Parise amazes you?"
Also, can I have JP's baby?
Oy.
Vikings might end up being worried about Walsh playing in the Pro Bowl: eight extra points and two field goals. Might pull a muscle with all the kicking.
Our neighbors invited Mrs. Runner and me to a trivia night after buying a table and then his employees who were going to play bailed on him. We had a lead for a couple rounds, waffled with another table, and ended up taking 2nd by a point. One from our table won the 50/50, plus (amazingly) our table split the pot after tying another table on the speed round. I say amazingly because we were given a list of 30 names and 30 birth names and had X minutes to pair them up. We matched all the obvious ones and were in the process of making educated guesses for the rest when time ran out, and we turned it in with 5-6 blank lines, yet still got 21 right. Pretty good evening all round.
What game is this?
St Louis uses Trivia Nights for fundraisers quite a bit. It is especially popular in Catholic schools.
I went to one last year and it was a lot of fun. They had 10 questions in 10 categories. The table would come to a consensus answer and compete with the other tables. I found that a wide range of ages helped a lot.
exactly. This particular one was held at an Elks club, and in a month Runner daughter's old HS marching band will be holding one. They're pretty entertaining.
I don't enjoy math so you shouldn't either.
You'd think it couldn't get worse after the header, but it just devolves from there.
This isn't the first time I've read a story where someone avers that statistics not only don't but can't increase fan enjoyment. It's a weird argument. I'd be happy if I never again had to listen to The Doors or The Steve Miller Band, but what kind of asshole would I have to be to say you're a lesser music fan for liking them, and how egomaniacal would it be for me to say that nobody could possibly like them? Why do these idiots talking about statistics derisively get a pass on that from the MSM?
Wait, you're not a lesser music fan for liking The Doors?
What's your stance on fans of The Eagles?
kerful, kids. I just may happen to own albums from all three of these mentioned bands. Music is not an area where preferences can be wrong (like, say, beer preferences).
the eagles = drain pour
(what the hell, if we're digging holes...)
beer = drain pour
I don't buy that, via transitivity, the_eagles = beer. So one of you must be wrong.
to borrow a line from the Dread Pirate, "and I'm never wrong."
Hey, that's Humperdink's line! Don't confuse me with that warthog-faced buffoon.
Use smaller words...
I don't think that is a good analogy. I think a better one would be to criticize someone who enjoys reading the liner notes while listening to an album.
HS friends hated me on that.
Lyrics, too.
Good analogy.
He wants to discuss statistics in sports, so he calls a former athlete who was also a PhD in... Mathematics.
Maybe when he wants to know about steroids he should call an athlete who was also a Chemist.
Or if he wants to know about Spanish Literature, he should call someone with a degree in Italian.
Not my only complaint, but the only one I'll voice.
the weatherman wasnt kidding around when the forecast called for ice.
its straight up raining but freezing on contact with anything.
Josh is amused by the fact that it almost never rains here, but for his four-day visit, it's going to end up being nearly nonstop rain.
Any thunderstorms though?
No. Now those are rare, and since I've gotten here, have only happened in the middle of the night.
The drive to church was ok. The walk into church from the car was awful.
Citizens: my daughter (h.s. sophomore, almost 16, suddenly thinking seriously about applying to Caltech) has expressed an interest in "building a computer" with me over the summer. Recommendations on strategies and/or kits? Or should I steer her toward a Raspberry Pi and focus on programming and learning Linux? (I don't have a soldering iron, nor do I have many other tools that might be appropriate for electronics work, and I'm, uh, not particularly expert anyway)
There won't be much "building" with a Raspberry Pi. It's a neat device, but for embedded stuff I think the Arduino is a better choice. Also, if she actually wants to use the computer, the RPi (more so the Arduino) would be rather underpowered. It might be useful to build a computer (I can't recommend anything else but Linux or a BSD, but I'm biased) and then build something embedded with either of the aforementioned products. Soldering iron is usually required, but not always.
Amazon has soldering irons, doc.
Yea, I think I can find somewhere to acquire a soldering iron. I was more trying to frame the question. I'm not useless with tools, but neither am I particularly adept. So are there kits out there worth looking into that a novice could assemble and get a working device? Or am I better steered toward buying (or gutting) a chassis and assembling various parts from Fry's?
the point here is the learning experience for her. I'm not sure how much of a hardware experience she really wants. If it were me, I'd lean more toward the software experience. But it ain't about me.
#wink
A lot of online retailers like New Egg etc. have barebones kits. That generally gives you a pre-assembled case, power supply and motherboard/processor combo. From there you buy the memory, hard drive, and other components that you want and start assembling. The toughest part is plugging in the various wires from the chassis controls (on/off switch, power LED, HD indicator LED etc.) onto the motherboard if you buy them separately. The connections are usually clearly marked, but very small and not always easy to read, but getting a barebones kit avoids that issue. Configuring a modern motherboard is pretty easy, though, no switches or jumpers to set, it's mostly all plug and play nowadays.
Ditto all of this. I often buy my cases at retailers (Microcenter here) just to avoid shipping something so heavy. Everything else is purchased at NewEgg or Monoprice.
Microcenter has absurd prices. I'm planning on heading to the Cities to visit some friends, and to buy new parts for my computer in the next couple of weeks.
I've never found them to be that high, besides the usual way overpriced items (e.g. cabling).
in which case you take your cabling order to monoprice
I'll second the preassembled combo kit suggestion. get a couple good grounding straps and a well-lit work table, and you're on your way
Yep. It's a pain sometimes to wait a few extra days, but paying 5% as much is worth it.
My first PC was a 486-DX 100 that I built from the case and motherboard up. It was a big upgrade from the 386 chips and 66 mhz single channel archicture of the time, and I got hooked. I've never had any real formal computer training, just dove in and learned it on my own so my education is very incomplete and my teacher not at all qualified, but when you build something yourself from the ground up you get a much better understanding of how everything works. Since my first PC 20-some years ago I've built more than a dozen computers for myself and family members, and I've fixed or upgraded at least that many along the way.
and now your language can make a sailor blush!
Ron Mahay retired
The last of the scabs from 1995.
new Brewers uniforms?
love the patch on the sleeve and the hat has a minor league baseball vibe (not that its a bad thing)
It's a very good "minor-league" vibe. It's an old logo for the team. I think it's great, though they misspelled "LeCroy".
That's way better than their regular threads, which are some of the worst in the game. The lettering on that set in particular looks pretty good, though I think script might be more appropriate for something mimicking a beer label. Bringing back the Beer Barrel man is great, but I'd much prefer the caps in this logo design (and the more extensive soutaches/piping).
Yes. Those caps are fantastic. That's the one part of the other ones I didn't love. The close up on the mascot's face isn't great. This one is.
Well the hats you pointed too are even better.
With Beer-Barrel-Man-Head cap, I like how it's hard to make sense of it without the full logo. Because it's the tap of
But then I like things in logos that don't make immediate sense, like the old Expos "elb", or the Twins' "TC", or the Canadiens' "CH".
From Richfield?! I'm going to figure out how I tangentially am connected to the designer.
Rondo has a torn ACL.
stinks for Boston, but wake me up when they have 3 starters go down to injury.
Bill Simmons tweeted that it wasn't fair. Boo-freaking-hoo.
Boston fans. Bleccch.
Question for the lawyers: my wife has been nannying part time for a family since about the end of July. It was all set up so that she was their employee, nothing under the table or anything like that. A contract was written, though it wasn't signed because the family said they wanted to make sure it was all ok, but thy never did. My wife does still have email discussions relating to the contract details. In it, it was specified that they would pay her for at least 18 hours a week even if she didn't work them all, as well as a requirement that they must give her a two week notice if they want to end the arrangement if its not due to performance. They also had 7 days vacation/sick time with no mention of any sort of accrual system.
Now, a couple months ago, my wife had to make a couple concessions from that contract that were verbal only: she took less pay and no longer had the guaranteed hours. Then, as of a couple days ago, they indicated they couldn't afford to employ her and gave her a two week notice. My wife asked to be paid for the vacation days she didn't use, which is resulting in a messy divorce from this family as they changed their two week notice to an immediate termination, while agreeing to pay the vacation time.
Just before this happened there was a discussion about changing the nature of the relationship to having my wife be self-employed with them as her customers because since August, they have been bringing their,ifs to our house.
Now, my question is if we have any steps we could take to make them pay out two weeks of 18 hours per the original contract for the required two weeks. I know they really can't afford it, but they've handled this like asses, going so far as threatening to not send in the withholdings they took out of her checks, so I'm pretty angry. At the same time, I'm starting to think we are best off just taking the vacation pay out and never speaking to them again. (If they make good on it, that is.)
I am not a lawyer, but I would separate from them as quickly as possible. You don't have a written contract, which is bad. Do you have an email trail? I would be most concerned about payroll taxes. If they don't take care of that, you may have to cover the whole thing out of takehome.
We have a written contract, it just isn't signed, and there is an email trail. I also presume they sent in the initial employment documents when she started, so the gov't is aware that they were employing her. But yeah, I'm no expert and am leaning towards not trying to ruin them. Basically, this has shown me that people suck.
cheap - You've got mail.
You'll probably want to talk to Can re: employment specific stuff, but I deal pretty routinely with contracts and messy informal breakups thereof, and might be able to throw a few thoughts your way. Drop me an e-mail on Monday to remind me to respond.
NBC sports bench "reporter" to Wild coach during first intermission: "what about Parise amazes you?"
Also, can I have JP's baby?
Oy.
Vikings might end up being worried about Walsh playing in the Pro Bowl: eight extra points and two field goals. Might pull a muscle with all the kicking.