My daughters are getting ridiculous songs stuck in my head. I'll spare you.
63 thoughts on “April 21, 2013: Earworms”
Aaron Hicks: .042/.179/.042/.220 . 2 hits, but his 8 walks is the second most on the team (Willingham has 11, Mauer with 5)
Wild Playoff Chase
One week to go in the season. The Wild are currently 7th in the West and 2nd in the Division. Their schedule is on the sidebar, they get 3 teams that are out of the playoffs (CGY, EDM, COL) and LA (#4 in the West) at home. Pretty favorable schedule.
Vancouver beat Detroit last night to lower the Wild's elimination number for the division to 3 points. Vancouver plays games at home against Chicago (#1 in the West) and Anaheim (#2 in the West) before closing out the season in Edmonton (out of the playoffs).
I'd say there's a non-zero chance that the division isn't decided by the final day of the season, but it's a small chance.
The Wild's magic number to clinch a playoff berth is 5. They need to beat out three of Columbus (MN = 5), Detroit (MN = 6), Dallas (MN = 5), or Phoenix (MN = 4).
Tonight's Games
Calgary @ Minnesota -- If the Wild keep winning, they're in. This should be a winnable game.
Columbus @ San Jose -- San Jose is real good at home (1 regulation loss in 22 games)
Dallas @ Los Angeles -- LA is also good at home, not quite the juggernaut that San Jose is, but good. (17-4-1 at home)
If those three games go the right way, the Wild's magic number would be down to 2.
this should really be in whangdoodle form...
losing 1-0 to the Flames.
This game is stupid.
You could say those were a couple of big goals for Spurs.
AND ANOTHER!!!
Do they have enough gas in the tank to finish at #2?
They have to run the table and City has to lose all their games. If City would have won today the Spurs would have been eliminated from 2nd. Believe me I'm paying attention.
My math was a effed up. Spurs stll have a chance at 2nd but they don't exactly have to win out but it's close.
I'm a casual fan, and don't really want you to have to pay out, but it would be awesome if they pulled it off.
Dempsey scores in big games. Second best game of the season after winning at Old Trafford.
So since we came back from Argentina/Uruguay trip, we have been doing much more vegetarian in our meals.
We both read Finding Ultra by Rick Roll during the trip. Once we got back, NBBW ordered a Vitamix blender, and pretty much every morning she has been (and sometimes me) having a weird smoothie for breakfast (various fruits and vegetables, coconut water/reg. water, spinach/kale, and chia seeds). Avocado is real good in there also.
Today we had pancakes w/ raspberry sauce made in V. blender. Mmmm.
Vitamix rools.
I make a creamy butternut squash soup you may like. S.fry about one tbsp Thai red Chile paste in a but of oil. Add and sweat garlic and ginger and a couple of chopped chiles (mo hotter, mo better) and a couple big punches kosher salt. add a tbsp or so brown sugar and fry a bit more. Add one peeled, diced butternut, one quart veg stock. Bring to boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add one can coconut milk, simmer another ten. Add a tbsp fish sauce (omit if veganizing). Add juice of one lime. Blend in batches until creamy smoov. Reheat, check seasoning. Might need more salt.
Serve with toasted seeds from the squash, crispy shallots, and croutons, srirachi, cilantro. Or top with grilled shrimp.
Yes, indeed. Having just secured employment I may be looking at a Vitamix....
Also, crepes are really easy to make.
1 cup flour
pinch salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tbs melted and cooled butter plus a little more for cooking
Combine flour, salt and milk in a blender and stir together. Slowly add eggs while blending, and then drizzle butter into the mixture. Heat a nonstick pan over medium high (Bittman says that the pan is right when a drop of water skitters across the surface before evaporating). Melt about a tablespoon of butter in the pan, and ladle about a tablespoon of batter into the pan swirling the pan as you drizzle returning the excess into the blender container. The batter will dry almost instantaneously, cook about a minute and flip (the secret here is to ensure that the crepe batter is dry on top, lightly browned and separates easy from the pan). Flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds. You're looking for done but not crispy. Stack finished crepes on a plate.
Fillings can be sweet (berries and cream) or savory (bacon and green chilis + cream cheese / ham and gouda / roasted asparagus and goat cheese). Seriously easy.
Like the meme, Meat - good suggestions above. Smoked salmon/creme fraiche/capers? Also, Montreal has some fine Crêpes Restaurants...
I'm fairly certain that just about any combination of cream + meat / protein (or cheese plus meat) will do just fine in a crepe.
Doc, any ideas on how to use fava beans?
I heard they are good with liver and a nice chiante.
right.
The WGOM now has a secured version. You will get some mixed content warnings, especially on the front page.
Everything's working fine for me.
dido (home machine)
Illinois-Ohio St baseball is on Big Ten Network right now. Couple of things: I still hate the 'ping' aluminum bats make, Ohio St is wearing awful Zubaz style jerseys, and the only place where dirt seems to be is the pitching mound. everything else is FieldTurf.
also, its Nick Swisher Field. oooook.
Re: ridiculous songs. I was flipping through TV channels in my hospital room yesterday and came across something called the Doodlebugs. My first thought was they over medicated me. It was horrible, but for some reason I couldn't turn away for almost five minutes.
I've gotten good at immediately recognizing that and quick hitting the channel up button. I shudder thinking about what 5 minutes of that might do to me.
Doodlebops, possibly? My daughters never got crazy into that one, and yet the stupid theme song runs through my head just about every day. For instance, when I read the words "Google Docs."
Oh that show?
Hated it when it was live action.
Hate it now that it's a cartoon.
Children's programming gets less credit from me when it's based on some sort of celebrity culture. Doodlebops are rock stars. We all can be famous. It's all inside of you, you unique creative person that craves the acceptance and adulation of your entire national cohort just like everyone else. Puke.
And now I'm remembering my old desire for one of those Disney-channel acting starlets that begins her recording career to make Hardcore Techno, Black Dice-style noise, or Cheaptoy metal.
Royals loss this evening and the Twins are in first place
Tony Fiore could not vulture a win with that kind of deficit
this guy Berted it up pretty good on his first day (NSFW)
httpv://youtu.be/D0rP6IM4wjU
To all of you who are writing in…I want to apologize for an incident that occurred prior to our early newscast this evening, when one of our employees used profanity on the air.
He did not realize his microphone was on, but still, that’s no excuse. WE train our reporters to always assume that any microphone is live at any time. Unfortunately, that was not enough in this case. WE can’t take back what was said. The person involved has been suspended until we resolve the situation. All we can do at this point is ask for your forgiveness, and I can offer my personal assurance that I will do my best to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again under my watch.
Monica Hannan, KFYR-TV News Director
PROSPECT WATCH
Through Games of 4/21
Pitcher
IP
ER
Hits
K
W
L
HR
GO/AO
ERA
WHIP
BB
K/BB
Gibson
20.33
10
19
19
0
3
1
3.00
4.43
1.28
7
2.714
Meyer
16.00
3
13
19
1
0
0
8.33
1.69
1.25
7
2.714
May
14.33
5
13
19
0
1
3
1.10
3.14
1.61
10
1.900
Duffey
19.67
5
10
17
2
1
1
1.35
2.29
0.66
3
5.667
PROSPECT WATCH
Through Games of 4/21
Player
G
AB
Hits
BB
K
HR
RBI
SB
BA
OB
Slug
Arcia
10
33
13
4
9
3
8
2
0.394
0.474
0.727
Sano
17
64
24
7
18
6
16
0
0.375
0.437
0.734
Rosario
17
71
25
4
13
2
11
1
0.352
0.392
0.507
Buxton
15
53
22
11
11
2
10
3
0.415
0.523
0.642
Nice.
dido. FYI, you can get some advanced stats on these guys at statcorner.com. For example, here is the page for the Miracle. (their server seems a bit slow this morning for me)
Sano is sporting a park-adjusted wOBA of .494; Rosario, .382. (league average is .325)
where is the 'ejection after hitting a 450 foot HR' stat?
Sano - 1
The story fails to mention the four hbps by Ft. Myers pitchers, at least two of which came prior to Sano's ejection. One of the players was the other team's cleanup hitter.
I knew a guy in college who was bit by a pit bull. He ended up with a joker smile because the dog bit through his cheek down to the corner of his mouth. The owners left the fate of the dog's life up to him and he decided that the dog needed to be put down. They protested, but he held firm based on the thought that a child may have been killed by the dog. I've never looked at a pit mix the same, and just tonight I had a run in with a pit at one of my favorite watering holes. Those animas scare the shit out of me.
Wild down 3-1 to the Flames. two easy PP goals for Calgary
How very Minnesotan of them.
Whoever did the Hoey banner: nice!
Much like the Craig James banner, we know it's an ineffective reliever, but the photo just says "Awesome!"
the link to the picture and inspiration for the banner (hence: "world's greatest") both came from you.
Bought tickets on StubHub for Thursday Night's game. $8 each. I'm taking HPR: he needs to go to an athletic contest for his Tiger badge, and as far as I can tell, Target Field is the only thawed & dry ballpark in MN. Would have preferred to go tomorrow night, you can get super seats for less than $10 (sec 115, IIRC), but that doesn't work with our schedule. We got 3rd row in 325, but I don't even know if we'll head that direction. I've got a feeling these cold evening games have really suppressed attendance.
Any chance they weaken their beverage restrictions when it's under 40F and would let me bring in a thermos of hot cocoa? I really don't feel like getting burnt hands or tongue from a cup at the park.
we got ticket mid-1st base line and about 30 rows up for around $23 each at the cell today. of course that's the side that was in the shade, so we were able to move up to about row 15 by the 5th inning. still, it was a little chilly.
not going to tomorrow's game probably works out since the forecast is for 3-7 inches of snow for the Twins Cities area
I'm seeing snow forecasted for late Monday night, so might be fine. However, the game could be cancelled because of the rain that will happen before.
Let every 3-game series be made two, and let every two-game series be made one.
Ok, I need some tech advice. Wife is trying to do a picture slideshow set to music to burn to DVD for her preschool. We are having zero luck getting the wmv files on DVD+R discs to play on our DVD players. Windoze live moviemaker only saves to wmv. I downloaded a wmv to avi converter (WinX Free), but still no luck.
Ideas? Recommendations? She is now under big time pressure, having spent days putting the show together in Photostage Slideshow Producer. Which Suh-hicks. All the slideshows were munged. So she went to the windoze program.
Any help appreciated.
borrow a different DVD player from someone?
What does "zero luck" mean? Unreadable? Readable but unplayable? I haven't run into any issues with .avi, or even divx
"disc unreadable" or "disc not in a recognized format" or some such. They play fine on the computer.
then I'd borrow someone else's DVD player
I would set up a computer to display the slideshow.
our need is to burn DVDs to provide to preschooler parents, so setting up a computer to display the slideshow won't feed the beast.
none of those preschooler parents have computers?
can't sell DVDs if they don't work. the standard for "work" is that you can play it on a DVD player.
If you have the slideshow in .avi format, I would maybe try burning it with a different computer. Maybe upload to dropbox, download from dropbox on a different computer with different burning software, and give that a shot.
Alternatively, since you say the DVD you have already is readable by computer, maybe just insert that DVD into a different computer and perhaps a copy of that DVD using different burning software will write something more compatible with DVD players.
Aaron Hicks: .042/.179/.042/.220 . 2 hits, but his 8 walks is the second most on the team (Willingham has 11, Mauer with 5)
Wild Playoff Chase
One week to go in the season. The Wild are currently 7th in the West and 2nd in the Division. Their schedule is on the sidebar, they get 3 teams that are out of the playoffs (CGY, EDM, COL) and LA (#4 in the West) at home. Pretty favorable schedule.
Vancouver beat Detroit last night to lower the Wild's elimination number for the division to 3 points. Vancouver plays games at home against Chicago (#1 in the West) and Anaheim (#2 in the West) before closing out the season in Edmonton (out of the playoffs).
I'd say there's a non-zero chance that the division isn't decided by the final day of the season, but it's a small chance.
The Wild's magic number to clinch a playoff berth is 5. They need to beat out three of Columbus (MN = 5), Detroit (MN = 6), Dallas (MN = 5), or Phoenix (MN = 4).
Tonight's Games
Calgary @ Minnesota -- If the Wild keep winning, they're in. This should be a winnable game.
Columbus @ San Jose -- San Jose is real good at home (1 regulation loss in 22 games)
Dallas @ Los Angeles -- LA is also good at home, not quite the juggernaut that San Jose is, but good. (17-4-1 at home)
If those three games go the right way, the Wild's magic number would be down to 2.
this should really be in whangdoodle form...
losing 1-0 to the Flames.
This game is stupid.
You could say those were a couple of big goals for Spurs.
AND ANOTHER!!!
Do they have enough gas in the tank to finish at #2?
They have to run the table and City has to lose all their games. If City would have won today the Spurs would have been eliminated from 2nd. Believe me I'm paying attention.
My math was a effed up. Spurs stll have a chance at 2nd but they don't exactly have to win out but it's close.
I'm a casual fan, and don't really want you to have to pay out, but it would be awesome if they pulled it off.
Dempsey scores in big games. Second best game of the season after winning at Old Trafford.
So since we came back from Argentina/Uruguay trip, we have been doing much more vegetarian in our meals.
We both read Finding Ultra by Rick Roll during the trip. Once we got back, NBBW ordered a Vitamix blender, and pretty much every morning she has been (and sometimes me) having a weird smoothie for breakfast (various fruits and vegetables, coconut water/reg. water, spinach/kale, and chia seeds). Avocado is real good in there also.
Today we had pancakes w/ raspberry sauce made in V. blender. Mmmm.
Vitamix rools.
I make a creamy butternut squash soup you may like. S.fry about one tbsp Thai red Chile paste in a but of oil. Add and sweat garlic and ginger and a couple of chopped chiles (mo hotter, mo better) and a couple big punches kosher salt. add a tbsp or so brown sugar and fry a bit more. Add one peeled, diced butternut, one quart veg stock. Bring to boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add one can coconut milk, simmer another ten. Add a tbsp fish sauce (omit if veganizing). Add juice of one lime. Blend in batches until creamy smoov. Reheat, check seasoning. Might need more salt.
Serve with toasted seeds from the squash, crispy shallots, and croutons, srirachi, cilantro. Or top with grilled shrimp.
Yes, indeed. Having just secured employment I may be looking at a Vitamix....
Also, crepes are really easy to make.
1 cup flour
pinch salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tbs melted and cooled butter plus a little more for cooking
Combine flour, salt and milk in a blender and stir together. Slowly add eggs while blending, and then drizzle butter into the mixture. Heat a nonstick pan over medium high (Bittman says that the pan is right when a drop of water skitters across the surface before evaporating). Melt about a tablespoon of butter in the pan, and ladle about a tablespoon of batter into the pan swirling the pan as you drizzle returning the excess into the blender container. The batter will dry almost instantaneously, cook about a minute and flip (the secret here is to ensure that the crepe batter is dry on top, lightly browned and separates easy from the pan). Flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds. You're looking for done but not crispy. Stack finished crepes on a plate.
Fillings can be sweet (berries and cream) or savory (bacon and green chilis + cream cheese / ham and gouda / roasted asparagus and goat cheese). Seriously easy.
Like the meme, Meat - good suggestions above. Smoked salmon/creme fraiche/capers? Also, Montreal has some fine Crêpes Restaurants...
I'm fairly certain that just about any combination of cream + meat / protein (or cheese plus meat) will do just fine in a crepe.
Doc, any ideas on how to use fava beans?
I heard they are good with liver and a nice chiante.
right.
The WGOM now has a secured version. You will get some mixed content warnings, especially on the front page.
Everything's working fine for me.
dido (home machine)
Illinois-Ohio St baseball is on Big Ten Network right now. Couple of things: I still hate the 'ping' aluminum bats make, Ohio St is wearing awful Zubaz style jerseys, and the only place where dirt seems to be is the pitching mound. everything else is FieldTurf.
also, its Nick Swisher Field. oooook.
Re: ridiculous songs. I was flipping through TV channels in my hospital room yesterday and came across something called the Doodlebugs. My first thought was they over medicated me. It was horrible, but for some reason I couldn't turn away for almost five minutes.
I've gotten good at immediately recognizing that and quick hitting the channel up button. I shudder thinking about what 5 minutes of that might do to me.
Doodlebops, possibly? My daughters never got crazy into that one, and yet the stupid theme song runs through my head just about every day. For instance, when I read the words "Google Docs."
Oh that show?
Hated it when it was live action.
Hate it now that it's a cartoon.
Children's programming gets less credit from me when it's based on some sort of celebrity culture. Doodlebops are rock stars. We all can be famous. It's all inside of you, you unique creative person that craves the acceptance and adulation of your entire national cohort just like everyone else. Puke.
And now I'm remembering my old desire for one of those Disney-channel acting starlets that begins her recording career to make Hardcore Techno, Black Dice-style noise, or Cheaptoy metal.
Royals loss this evening and the Twins are in first place
Royals tied it up.
KC Won: still in second.
10 years ago, Rick Reed gave up 11 runs in 4.1 innings to the Yankees
Tony Fiore could not vulture a win with that kind of deficit
this guy Berted it up pretty good on his first day (NSFW)
httpv://youtu.be/D0rP6IM4wjU
PROSPECT WATCH
Through Games of 4/21
PROSPECT WATCH
Through Games of 4/21
Nice.
dido. FYI, you can get some advanced stats on these guys at statcorner.com. For example, here is the page for the Miracle. (their server seems a bit slow this morning for me)
Sano is sporting a park-adjusted wOBA of .494; Rosario, .382. (league average is .325)
where is the 'ejection after hitting a 450 foot HR' stat?
Sano - 1
The story about that over on 1500 ESPN makes me glad he pimped that one a bit.
The story fails to mention the four hbps by Ft. Myers pitchers, at least two of which came prior to Sano's ejection. One of the players was the other team's cleanup hitter.
Stuff like this doesn't help the reputation of pit bulls.
I knew a guy in college who was bit by a pit bull. He ended up with a joker smile because the dog bit through his cheek down to the corner of his mouth. The owners left the fate of the dog's life up to him and he decided that the dog needed to be put down. They protested, but he held firm based on the thought that a child may have been killed by the dog. I've never looked at a pit mix the same, and just tonight I had a run in with a pit at one of my favorite watering holes. Those animas scare the shit out of me.
Wild down 3-1 to the Flames. two easy PP goals for Calgary
How very Minnesotan of them.
Whoever did the Hoey banner: nice!
Much like the Craig James banner, we know it's an ineffective reliever, but the photo just says "Awesome!"
the link to the picture and inspiration for the banner (hence: "world's greatest") both came from you.
Bought tickets on StubHub for Thursday Night's game. $8 each. I'm taking HPR: he needs to go to an athletic contest for his Tiger badge, and as far as I can tell, Target Field is the only thawed & dry ballpark in MN. Would have preferred to go tomorrow night, you can get super seats for less than $10 (sec 115, IIRC), but that doesn't work with our schedule. We got 3rd row in 325, but I don't even know if we'll head that direction. I've got a feeling these cold evening games have really suppressed attendance.
Any chance they weaken their beverage restrictions when it's under 40F and would let me bring in a thermos of hot cocoa? I really don't feel like getting burnt hands or tongue from a cup at the park.
we got ticket mid-1st base line and about 30 rows up for around $23 each at the cell today. of course that's the side that was in the shade, so we were able to move up to about row 15 by the 5th inning. still, it was a little chilly.
not going to tomorrow's game probably works out since the forecast is for 3-7 inches of snow for the Twins Cities area
I'm seeing snow forecasted for late Monday night, so might be fine. However, the game could be cancelled because of the rain that will happen before.
Let every 3-game series be made two, and let every two-game series be made one.
Ok, I need some tech advice. Wife is trying to do a picture slideshow set to music to burn to DVD for her preschool. We are having zero luck getting the wmv files on DVD+R discs to play on our DVD players. Windoze live moviemaker only saves to wmv. I downloaded a wmv to avi converter (WinX Free), but still no luck.
Ideas? Recommendations? She is now under big time pressure, having spent days putting the show together in Photostage Slideshow Producer. Which Suh-hicks. All the slideshows were munged. So she went to the windoze program.
Any help appreciated.
borrow a different DVD player from someone?
What does "zero luck" mean? Unreadable? Readable but unplayable? I haven't run into any issues with .avi, or even divx
"disc unreadable" or "disc not in a recognized format" or some such. They play fine on the computer.
then I'd borrow someone else's DVD player
I would set up a computer to display the slideshow.
our need is to burn DVDs to provide to preschooler parents, so setting up a computer to display the slideshow won't feed the beast.
none of those preschooler parents have computers?
can't sell DVDs if they don't work. the standard for "work" is that you can play it on a DVD player.
If you have the slideshow in .avi format, I would maybe try burning it with a different computer. Maybe upload to dropbox, download from dropbox on a different computer with different burning software, and give that a shot.
Alternatively, since you say the DVD you have already is readable by computer, maybe just insert that DVD into a different computer and perhaps a copy of that DVD using different burning software will write something more compatible with DVD players.
thanks. will try both.