97 thoughts on “July 16, 2013: Aw Snap”

  1. Ten years in a row I had watched the HR Derby with CER. Last night broke that streak.

    Lack of Cable (Guessing I could still get it on ESPN3 though)
    Lack of Interest
    Spite towards Berman
    CER not at home (staying at Grandma's for a half-week)
    Minor Plumbing "emergency" (cleaning out kids' bathtub drain, screw holding on overflow cover had corroded to less than 1/16" and broke right off on an eighth-turn with a screwdriver. The head looked like a thumbtack. Needed to go to Home Depot for replacement cover, screws, and screw-without-a-head-backing-out-tool. Even with that tool, it was a pain in the butt to back out that screw and I was about to give up when it finally moved. Bonus: HD guy had a plate and screws leftover from some kit that had been pulled apart for something else and was due to be trashed.)

    So really it was overdetermined.
    It's a real minor thing, but a ten-year streak being broken is kinda sad.

  2. Greetings from south of the Mason/Dixon line. It is surprisingly cool here (i.e. not unbearably hot, but still pretty warm). Mid 80s yesterday(!!!!?!!), up to about 90 today. So, just like home, I guess.

          1. To be fair, you all did get hit harder then we did down here, so I don't blame you.

            1. As I'm working downstairs in a climate controlled lab without windows, I can honestly say that I have no opinion of the weather at the moment.

  3. Spooks,
    What's the Milkmaid experiencing? I can't remember which pregnancy it was (probably the second, definitely not the first), but once EAR complained that the newspaper I grabbed for our road trip stank too much and that I should have left it at home. At that point I was fairly certain.

    If you are expecting, it sounds like you've known what you're doing with the first two. Also, they can be incredibly helpful with things.

    1. And as I've mentioned before, every time it's been not impossible for EAR to be pregnant, she has been. I believe you related the same thing.

      1. And as I’ve mentioned before, every time it’s been not impossible for EAR to be pregnant, she has been. I believe you related the same thing.

        That sounds like us. Every time we start to think that we might be ready for another one in the near future, we find out we're pregnant that month. Ah, the joys of NFP!

        1. Right, you think you might be ready, you lose a little discipline, and you're pregnant a few months early.

          1. Heh. We get uber-disciplined the months before, and have pretty much nailed our spots. NFP has been a total charm for us.

            ...

            I'll talk to you guys again in a couple weeks.

            1. NFP has been great for us. We got GRZ on our first try. For OGZ, we were thinking somewhere around 22 months (actually was 21 months and 27 days and she was a bit early). For RMZ, we decided to sort of try a month early, then go from there, and got her right away (and she's due 20 months and 18 days after OGZ was born, so we're looking at a reverse split, but we're pretty close to 'plan').

              1. With our first we decided we were ready, and then didn't pay attention for a couple months. We weren't actively trying, and it didn't happen. The first time we tried, we succeeded. With Aristotle we jumped right into trying and were successful (2 years and 10 days after Aquinas).

                It's also worth noting how successful we've been at not getting pregnant too.

                I have a fair number of friends and family who use NFP and their stories are all pretty much the same. Not to wade too far in, but for anyone who might be out there wondering, I can't advocate for NFP enough, and I'm happy to discuss it more offsite.

                1. Agreed on recommending NFP. The discussion below really cements my joy that that's what we use. Also the wife really enjoyed knowing a bit more what changes meant "down there" after having it be pretty much a black box for her early life.

                  1. Yeah, my wife is an even bigger advocate than myself. She's also very green in her thinking, so the idea of not monkeying with chemicals and nature and making all fish female makes her very happy.

              2. My wife used the injection before we had kids. I forget if it was montly or every three months. When we decided to start trying it took over a year before she got pregnant with Junior. When we started to get concerned, the doctor told us this could happen with the injection, but I don't remember that being mentioned before she started, or at least not emphasized. She went to the pill after Junior and she got pregnant with Trey a month or two after we started trying.

                1. Your wife's is not the first case I've heard where that's been an issue. I've also had friends have some pretty nasty side effects from the pill (heart attack/stroke). They're rare, but certainly another reason to be glad for NFP.

      2. I think it also bears mentioning here that vasectomies are not that big of a deal, for those inclined to but are on the fence. An intimate weekend with a bag of frozen peas and a take-it-easy week the next week, and you're good as new better than new.

          1. Which is what my dad did, then had it done again. I think he just likes surgery.

            1. Ouch. My friend in the Navy had his reversed - it was following this surgery that he experienced what bS suffered through.

        2. When my son is born, like as soon as he's out, I'm heading to the desk to schedule my appointment. (Though I'll probably set it up for after my paternity leave is over. Probably wouldn't be the best idea to have a take-it-easy week that early.)

          1. I am one of the 1 percenters. Had an infection afterwards. Not. Fun. but the surgery itself was pretty easy, and antibiotics cleared up the bonus material.

            [double bonus: the Girl, in preschool at the time, got to tell the class how daddy spent the weekend with an ice bag on his lap. Hilarity ensued amongst the teachers]

            1. Oh, goody! I get to tell my vasectomy story. I had mine done about ten or twelve years ago. The wife went along to drive me there (Valium for breakfast) and then home, and was in the room for the procedure. So the doctor, a big, hulking guy named Yuri who looked and sounded a lot like the Turkish prison guard in Midnight Express, goes to work. He's explaining the procedure to my wife as he goes along and decides that she should actually see what the vas deferens looks like, so he takes the button-hook thingy and pulls one out several inches. Despite the Novocaine and Valium a serious shock of pain ran all the way down my right leg. I think it actually made my toes curl up. I let out a yelp and told him it was hurting, but he didn't seem to think that was possible, so he pulled it out a little more to prove his point. Oy vey iz mir. At any rate, for several years afterward I would have occasional twinges of pain on that side. Nothing major, at least not enough to justify going back and biting his tongue out, but enough to make me curse his name when it happened. Eventually the twinges stopped, and I found out that a small percentage of men will experience the same kind of thing. But hey, we did our thing for zero population growth, so we have that going for us.

              2. well, you got to be in the delivery room for the babies, right? Seems only fair.

                I very much recall the OB/GYN inviting me down towards the business end of the delivery to observe The Boy coming out of the shoot. I declined. I could see all I needed to from up by the mrs's head. Especially after the episiotomy.

                2. Daughter the Elder, 28 hours of induced labor followed by a C-section. I was at the foot-end of the operating table with my Canon AE-1 taking pictures (I had no idea until then that the uterus has such a vibrant orange hue). With Daughter the Younger, a VBAC, I was holding one leg up (her sister had hold of the other) while the nurse-midwife barked orders at us all like a drill sergeant. Definitely the two most intense and emotional experiences of my life. I get a little verklempt just thinking about it.

                  1. My wife went through 48 hours of inducing only to have to go to an emergency C-Section for Junior. His head was pressing on her pelvis so hard the epidural wasn't helping much. They gave her an injection just before the C-Section. When he came out and started crying, my wife asks "Who's baby is that?" I told her, "Who's do you think it is?" She just went with the C-Section for Trey. It went much smoother.

                    1. we've had four scheduled c-sections (breech, didn't want to wait too long after a prior C-section, well you've already had two prior c-sections, well you've already had three)

                      one time the healing went funny, but other than that they were great.
                      (says the parent that wasn't cut open)

        3. Mine was pretty painless, except for the hour+ of Jack Johnson I had to endure while waiting for the doctor sans pants.

          1. It is a little disconcerting having your junk the center of attention in the room. Procedure was pretty painless, but when, um, "half done", I had to ask for another shot of painkiller. Overall nothing more than a bit of discomfort.

            1. A little discomfort now to prevent a lot of discomfort later is ok in my book.

                1. You aren't the only one putting it off, strat. Maybe this winter, when I'll be sitting inside much of the time anyhow...

                  1. They're typically done on a Friday, so you're only out the weekend. I'd suggest loose pants the following week, and no sports or running up and down stairs.

                2. I had a friend put it off until his wife gave him a surprise. She was not pleased with him, but they were still happy parents for the third time even if it wasn't planned. She made sure that he didn't put it off any longer, however.

        4. My wife had a C-section with Trey (both boys' heads were too big), so "Hey, Doc, while you're in there ..." No added pain for anybody, so that worked out. My thinking was that I'm not the only one that can get my wife pregnant. And I'm not talking about not trusting my wife. It's not a pleasant thing to think about, but it does eliminate any other possibility.

            1. THIS.

              After I had mine, my dad revealed that he'd had one too, back in the day.

              Apparently, in small town 'merica in the 1960s, this procedure was considered suspect. Like, commie or immoral or something. So, to hide the fact that he'd had it done, he kept his "usual" golf date with buddies the next day. Apparently, golfing the day after is not such a pleasant experience.

  4. Apparently, my van was feeling left out of Twayn's Truck Time. We had headed up to a friend's cabin for the weekend, were heading home, and got the dreaded flashing check engine light accompanied by a chugging engine (classic engine misfiring).

    Thankfully, we were with my parents and sister, so we could offload the kids and still get home Sunday night, but that left my car about 85 miles from home in a shop that didn't want to touch it.

    Yesterday's excitement was getting the car back to the cities so we could get it looked at (Thank God for my wife's extended family - her uncle owns a trailer big enough to haul the van around).

    Today, I get to find out the damage and start the fixing.

    1. The check engine light is the single greatest invention in automotive history. 95% useless, but when it isn't, you would immediately know there was a problem even if it wasn't on. I'm convinced there is a mechanic's lobby lobbying auto makers to make things that scare people into spending money.

      1. The check engine light is the one bulb/LED in the entire vehicle that will never, ever quit working.

        I tried pulling the bulb for my CEL on my '02 Ranger since it had been on for about 9 years, only to find that about half the dash lights run through that circuit. Well played, Ford.

          2. Not too far off- just bulbs connected to a circuit board, and it's a lot easier to run one wire all the way around through the board instead of two lines to each bulb, I guess.

            Compared to some of the "engineering" on the two Chrysler products I've owned, that setup is near genius-level.

      2. Yea, usually I ignore them until I can pull the code myself, but this time it was apparent that I should stop sooner rather than later. After a talk with my mechanic friend, I'm glad I did since too much driving with a misfiring engine can apparently melt the catalytic converted pretty quickly.

        1. ...too much driving with a misfiring engine can apparently melt the catalytic converted...

          Ahh yes, the segue I hoped wouldn't show up in this thread. My check engine light following the bad gas incident indicated faulty combustion and the mechanic pointed to the catalytic converter. Said he'd reset the light and that I should drive the tank nearly empty - refill it with new gas, and see if the light comes back on. If it doesn't, then it was just the gas. If it does, it's likely be the catalytic converter which runs ~$1300 to replace.

          It came on this morning...but I haven't driven the tank empty yet. I'm going to see about resetting it myself, driving it empty and refilling - then see if it comes on again before I make a decision on a repair that costs half the value of the vehicle.

          Side Note: The catalytic converter on my old Tacoma was stolen a few years ago. While the vehicle was parked in front of my house, someone crawled under the truck took a hacksaw to the exhaust pipes either side of it. I had my BiL reconnect the exhaust pipe sans converter and saved about $700. Then I got rid of the truck.

          1. …too much driving with a misfiring engine can apparently melt the catalytic converted…

            Ahh yes, the segue I hoped wouldn’t show up in this thread.

            I'm just glad it showed up in this thread, and not the vasectomy thread.

          2. That seems like a mighty steep price for a catalytic converter. I'd get another estimate if possible.

            1. I think so too. Two things: it is a dealership and I believe the estimate was for all work, not just the cat itself. I have to admit that I may be an outlier here - I generally don't like to invest in repairs costing anything over about 20% of the value of a used car.

              1. Compare the cost of the repair to the cost of getting another car not the value of the car being repaired. Not sure which you meant, but we're regretting deciding not to repair our old car and are making payments we can't really afford at the moment.

                1. Yeah, that seems like the appropriate replacement level to use. Maybe more precisely use the forecasted cost of ownership for the current car compared to the forecasted cost of ownership for the replacement car.

              2. I assumed the labor was included, but flat rate is typically $100 to $150 an hour. I can't imagine replacing a converter would take much more than an hour for a professional mechanic.

  5. If they're determined to keep trying to play almost everybody at the all-star game, I wish they would put in a re-entry rule. As it is now, if it's a close game, it gets decided by guys who, while they may be fine players, are not the big stars everyone wants to see. If they had a re-entry rule, you could put the good but lesser players in the game in the middle innings, then bring the big stars back at the end.

        1. If that's your attitude, it's a good thing I didn't tell you all the changes I'd reallylike to see in the all-star game.

    1. What kind of table? You can use the sr table for replicating the look and functionality of sports-reference.com tables. I think WordPress allows commenters to use the table tags, so you can build them manually as well.

        1. It should work in posts and pages as well. There's just no quicktag for it. If it doesn't work, let me know.

  9. Fun Fact!

    'slap single happy' Joe Mauer career SLG: .468
    power hitting CFer Torii hunter Twins SLG: .469
    does things the right way slugger Micheal Cuddyer Twins SLG: .451

    2. But but but I just heard Paul Charchian on KFAN say Mauer should be batting 8th in the ASG since he doesn't have any power! I don't understand.

    1. That Rick Smith guy sounds like a butt.

      I've never actually had good sake. I should try it sometime.

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