70 thoughts on “Cup of Coffee: 13 September 2013: I’m Taking Over”

  1. Okay tech gurus: my daughter's teacher emailed my wife and me. My wife got the email, but I didn't (in my work account). Not caught in our spam filter, either. E-mail address is right, I sent an e-mail and she tried to reply to it. I'm trying to find help through work. Anyone ever seen this?

    1. For some reason I cannot e-mail one of my uncles, I can only respond to e-mails he sends me. I've never solved it.

    2. How would we ever see it? 😉

      are you sure that her email isn't being caught in a filter at the enterprise level at your company, rather than at the client level?

    3. I had an e-mail that my wife sent me that never came to work but went to my gmail just fine. Couldn't forward it from gmail to work either. I'm guessing that the URL it contained was something that was completely rejected.

  2. so, Jeff Wagner, mayoral candidate. I wonder how many thousands of votes his oddball advertising effort on teh Utoob will garner?

      1. Jeeeeee-tah /hushedtones

        Seriously, how effing pompous is it that Jeter has the long dead Bob Sheppard introduce him in every at-bat?

  3. Yesterday, Souhan admonished Dubay for using the term "small sample size." He said that is a term nerds use to sound smart.

    Is hate too strong of a word? How does he have a job? He adds nothing.

    1. Well then let's pencil in the following Twins for next year :

      NAME GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
      Eric Fryer 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 .500 .500 2.000 2.500
      Josmil Pinto 9 30 6 14 5 0 1 4 22 3 5 0 .467 .515 .733 1.248
      Alex Presley 11 47 4 16 3 0 1 7 22 3 9 0 .340 .380 .468 .848
      1. Half baked response. Let me finish the job.

        NAME GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
        Eric Fryer 162 324 162 162 0 0 162 162 648 0 0 0 .500 .500 2.000 2.500
        Josmil Pinto 162 540 108 126 90 0 18 72 396 54 90 0 .467 .515 .733 1.248
        Alex Presley 162 692 59 236 44 0 15 103 154 44 132 0 .340 .380 .468 .848

        Frankly, Gardy should be fired for not putting Fryer in the lineup for more than two at-bats a game. And holy hell, Fryer isn't clutch. No home runs with a man on? Sheesh.

        1. Note that Fryer would set records for HRs and TBs, but not for the batting average because he wouldn't qualify. 90 2Bs would be a record. So would the .467 BA.

          1. He would qualify: ~180 hitless AB would be added to his totals, although I don't think his BA would be high enough then. I'd calculate it, but I'm on vacation and don't want to venture into sean territory.

            1. I already calculated it and he would finish with a .322 average. Probably be in the top ten at season's end.

    1. "I want it to have that freak-nasty, bass-heavy Washington County steez," said the Stillwater native. "You just get on the floor and shake that ass. From the window to the wall to almost St. Croix Falls."

    1. Fun article, thanks for sharing. I have met many people around my age that are unhappy because they're not in their dream career or have the things their parents have. My parents worked their butts off and they still couldn't afford cable TV, new furniture, or semi-new cars until the 90's. I find it even difficult myself to not have some of the luxuries I grew up with. So many college kids and those in the early part of their career use credit to get all of the luxuries their parents worked years for, and then complain about being in debt.

      I am very happy, and I've been fortunate enough to be in the career I wanted and get paid enough to live comfortably. But I think my parents made sure I knew that I had to work hard for everything and that I wasn't special, at least out in the real world. I know some baby boomers parents that constantly bail their kids out of mistake after mistake and it's so frustrating to watch.

      1. Amen to all this. I make sure to let Runner daughter know that she IS special in the real world, in that she knows how to balance a budget and pay off her credit cards. She also has had to do hard work -- enough to give incentive to finish off college.

      2. My parents (Dad actually) had some major career changes over the past 10-15 years which means that they went from being at a point where they were finally able to afford those things you (Beau) mention to not-so-much. Unfortunately, I wasn't around for their more recent 'privations' so I hate to admit that I related to quite a few of the writers points.

        I spent most of my youth and teenaged years thinking I was special/superior/smarter, etc. and it's taken a long to come to the realization that my folks' parenting style, though filled with much love and support, didn't do much to prepare me for the real world. I didn't work hard at school and paid for it mostly on credit. Though it may not appear "easy" to some observers, I took the military route in part because I wanted an out and it provided one. I also knew at that point that I needed to learn some discipline and felt that there weren't many other options for a 21-year-old to really face that.

        I'm a relatively smart guy and a hard worker, especially when I like the work. However, I'm still grappling with the idea that what I do for a living doesn't have to be "Fulfilling" or a "Passion" if it pays the bills and isn't hell. I also still need to learn that what I do for a living doesn't define who I am. For a long time, I thought it did, even though I wouldn't admit it. I don't think so any more, but it's taken me a long time to get there.

        All that said, I'm happy with my life: proud of my lovely wife and daughter, proud of my education and service, grateful for my health and the opportunities I've been given. I'm still looking for the right career/path, but in the meantime I'm gainfully employed and have the ability to explore my options. That's a pretty good place to be.

        1. When it comes right down to it, the two places where we spend more of our time than anywhere else are (a) work and (b) bed. Buy a good mattress and find a line of work that is fulfilling.

          1. Oh, damn. Now that I've read the piece, I see that I've doomed my children to a life of unhappiness.

          2. Of course I'd love to do something fulfilling (and I have every intention to continue looking for it), but here's the rub: I've already saddled myself with six-figure student loan debt thinking that my job title was somehow more important than the results of my professional endeavors. Finding something fulfilling that will also pay the bills ain't easy.

            As for your kids...yeah, probably 🙂

        2. I also still need to learn that what I do for a living doesn’t define who I am.

          That's been a big problem for a lot of people. I was a sports copy editor for nine years at one paper and I was a sports writer and/or editor for several years before that. Then suddenly I got laid off and suddenly I found out the hard way there wasn't any work available unless I was willing to uproot my family. That was four years ago and I haven't really established any kind of career since. I've decided to just freelance now so that I can have multiple income streams instead of one that I have no control over.

          When people, mainly men, define themselves through their careers, if that is taken away, then they suddenly don't know who they are until they are able to continue that career elsewhere or find a new one. I don't want to stray to far into the forbidden zone, but I think a lot of men have given up and aren't even seeking careers instead of accepting their situation and making the best of it.

          I've found there are two ways to have a career you enjoy. One is to find something you really enjoy doing. The work itself is its own reward regardless of the pay. Of course, it does help if the pay at least meets your financial needs. The other, which is my situation now, is to find something that you don't mind doing daily that allows you to enjoy the other parts of your life that bring you joy, such as family, friends, church, sports, music, travel, etc. I think the wiser people tend to end up being in the second situation. If you are able to do both, then consider yourself truly lucky.

          When I was a sports writer/editor/copy editor, I worked evenings and most weekends. It meant sacrificing time with my wife, who was a teacher, so that I could do something I loved. We made sure to have "quality" time, and when I was a copy editor, we made enough money for that to work. Once the boys came along, my wife liked having me at home during the day to take care of them and I enjoyed that as well. Once they got into school, I started looking for a new career, so I wasn't altogether disappointed when I was laid off. In the years since, I've had the best financial year of my adult life and the worst. However, I have refused to go back to that life on a permanent basis. I've figured out that what I enjoy most is freelancing as a writer/editor/proofreader, which allows me the flexibility to enjoy what is truly important to me.

    2. Agreed that it's a good read. I totally agree with the writer that Facebook can have the effect of making everyone else's lives seem fabulous.

  4. How can you have this discussion without counting the rings? (I know, it's mentioned, but that should totally be a category.)

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    1. I would love to find a good description of how the various Caribbean leagues do things. I'm sure there are rules and stuff, but as I've said before, I get the impression that if a good player just wandered into the clubhouse in the fifth inning sometime, they'd give him a uniform and let him play.

      1. According to the shrimper, "you fry 'em, put 'em on ... saute 'em whichever, they good, they real good".

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        Also, regarding the entirety of Season 3...

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        1. Mike is awesome. That's not really a spoiler.

          Saul is great too, though he's usually just a device, and not a guy who moves the plot forward. As someone who prefers to use others and get their hands dirty, that makes sense.

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