I may not ever see anyone I care about outside my wife and daughters, but Facebook has pretty much made my birthdays tolerable for the last five years.
142 thoughts on “October 4, 2013: Social”
Chad Curtis is going to prison for a long time for molesting other people's daughters. You may want to avoid this quote by him below if you don't want your heart filled with tar this morning.
He described himself as a Christian servant and said he and one of the victims “could write a book together someday, and it could have a positive impact on a lot of people.”
Sometimes the worst lies of all are the lies we tell ourselves.
That might be the most perfect, prescient LTE in the history of this site. I can't fathom any better response to that quote.
Small world. Your parish is losing a pastor while my parish is gaining a "temporary administrator"...
Even under the best conditions, that would be a tough job. My prayers are with him.
I just read that in Minnesota clergy are not mandated reporters when they hear things in confession. Is this true? And if so, what the fuck is wrong with government? I can't imagine one good argument that could convince me that a priest should not report a confession of rape while a vulnerable client fired me yesterday, her most ardent supporter, because I reported her PCA for stealing a pain pill.
The legal basis for this privilege comes from the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the freedom of religion.
That horrifies me
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for discussing this, but tying a distinctly religious ceremony to legal proceedings seems like a really bad idea. Arguably, if this wasn't protected by the 1st amendment, it could be used as a run around of the 5th amendment. "You don't want to incriminate yourself? Well, if you want to confess and receive absolution for your sins, you must waive that right."
Now, the role of the priest in giving a penance to address the wrongs may be interesting to discuss.
I"m not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone here, but I sense this discussion falls outside the WGOM boundaries.
We need to add sex to the conversation so we can hit the trifecta.
Whether or not to shield rapists is forbidden zone? Guess I'll stick to baseball and video games
I believe if you review my comment you'll see that I was just giving my opinion that I sensed this was treading on FZ territory. It was a suggestion and I don't think it deserved your response.
And since the topic is apparently so non-controversial, here are my two cents:
I find rape horrific. I do not find confessor-priest confidentiality horrific. I'm not Catholic, and frankly I don't know that I can really claim to be Lutheran any more, but I'm not about to step in and tell Catholics that their priests are legally obligated to report confessed crimes to the police.
It's a fine line, to be sure, but I tend to disagree on this particular instance.
The FZ is in place (in my mind) to keep this place safe from political discussion, which often overwhelms and ends up tainting other discussion. It's worth being aware of, but the FZ itself shouldn't dissuade us from talking about some of the more difficult stuff, so long as we can do it in a way that isn't diminishing any of our citizens.
well said, nibs.
Rule number one should always be that this is a friendly, inclusive, fun place to have adult conversations. When it doubt, spoiler. When in real doubt, probably best to take it off line.
I say this as a serial transgressor. I never take offense at those who point the stick at me to say I've crossed into the FZ. There are enough other places on the Series of Tubes in which to engage in butt-hurting exchanges (or, more usually, serial monologues).
That's not to say that we should totally avoid adult conversations about FZ-borderland issues here, just that we should all be high self-monitors and gracious bar-mates.
I apologize for coming off non-inclusive. I said what I said because I thought I was preaching to a choir. Like if I came here and shouted that murder should be illegal or Mauer was a good catcher.
If I felt it was FZ I wouldn't have said anything, spoiler or otherwise.
Let's just say that obligating confidential service providers, such as priests and lawyers, to report on admissions of illegal activities that they've received from clients raises non-trivial difficulties.
I think the Catholic Church has painted itself into a very difficult corner with its general treatment of sex abuses by priests. That said, do I think the confessional should be pried open by legal threats against the church? Well, I'm not a believer, but even I find that a difficult circumstance.
I think it's an interesting conversation either way, and since law is discussed here with a pretty high frequency, I took it more in a "law" aspect, rather than a "religion" aspect.
If you read the link that I posted and related stories coming out of the St. Paul/Minneapolis Archdiocese recently, you get a good feel as to how difficult that corner is. If what the local media has reported is true, the Church has, at the very best, been negligent in their handling of information that they received (in non-confidential situations, mind you) about potential abuses by their clergy.
My mother likes to remind me that it isn't just Catholic priests that are abusers. My response to that is that the Church holds itself out to be the One True Church. Saying that "others are doing it, too" (not to mention what seems to be an organized coverup by the hierarchy) seems like less than a satisfying response to these types of allegations, considering the Church's self-proclaimed position in the whole spiritual universe.
Certainly, when knowledge of illegal or allegedly criminal behavior by staff members becomes known to organizational superiors, it becomes pretty hard to justify an organization that fails to report said allegations to law enforcement.
I think we can share disgust at willful disregard of moral responsibilities without necessarily reaching the conclusion that the privacy of the confessional need be destroyed.
also, I agree again with nibs. There are interesting legal questions here too.
My mother likes to remind me that it isn't just Catholic priests that are abusers. My response to that is that the Church holds itself out to be the One True Church. Saying that "others are doing it, too" (not to mention what seems to be an organized coverup by the hierarchy) seems like less than a satisfying response to these types of allegations, considering the Church's self-proclaimed position in the whole spiritual universe.
Clericalism & corruption (and my anger in response) was a major part of what finally drove me to leave Roman Catholicism. I'm not saying where I am now (Eastern Orthodoxy) is better, but I was at a point where I needed a fresh start because of all the scandals involving clergy and a sense that some priests of my acquaintance – like the one who buried Pops – had long since ceased to give a shit about their flocks. A deep-seated spiritual void was the other major factor.
Even then, as someone who was raised a Catholic and believes it can be a global force for good, I read these things and my heart hurts, not only for the victims, but for those Catholics who still fill the Church's pews pews.
My wife was raised in a very evangelical/free, uber-Protestant type of setting...lots of literal interpretation of the bible (NIV/recent King James version only - none of that Apocrypha stuff). No dancing at school functions (no attendance). No secular/popular music or radio. Weekly services, bible study, bible camp, bible school, etc., and lots of believing that Catholics are nearly akin to Muslims - needing salvation, redemption, what-have-you. My wife gave it up when she moved out for college, but 18 years of this experience have certainly influenced her religious outlook. She believes in God, but doesn't actively practice any religion.
When we had our daughter baptized - my wife acquiesced because she knew it was important to me - her mother refused to attend the ceremony.
The reality of what the Church has done (and is continuing to do) does not make my position any easier. In fact, I've mostly stopped attending services unless my parents are around. We read children's bible stories and books at home, but I'm not looking forward to a discussion of First Communion, Reconciliation or even longer term religious education.
I have definitely shifted from being raised Methodist to now basically being agnostic. I think it's driven primarily by two things.
One, I don't have a physical church in which I feel at home. The one I was raised in was shriveling in size and merged with another one that is conveniently, just eight blocks from my home. However, I can't get past the totally perkiness of the pastor (she just likes to yell about "WHAT A GREAT DAY TODAY IS!" and all that sort of stuff. It's fine, but it's not for me.
Two, I go to all the High Holidays and (a few) other services with Sheenie at the temple. I find many, many things appealling about Judaism because the underlying beliefs (or at least those that are taught at this temple) really hit home with me.
One, I don't have a physical church in which I feel at home.
I feel like this can't be overstated as a factor. I've never had strong belief in Christianity, but happily attended church regularly for the 4 years that we lived in KS because the church we found there was wonderful, inclusive, socially active, and a real family (we're planning our next drive from NM to MN to go through Lawrence so we can meet with people from that church).
Since moving to New Mexico we have struggled to even make it to church once a month, and I think a huge part of that is that we were spoiled with how great our most recent church community was, and the churches here just ... aren't that. I know that has been particularly hard on my wife, who has a very strong faith.
I'll just throw in my two cents on a couple of things. You're of course free to disagree.
My understanding is that, under South Dakota law, I am a mandated reporter. It's a tricky thing, though, and I would assume that in Catholicism it's even tougher, because of the expectation of privacy that people have when they enter the confessional (I claim no expertise on Catholic church teachings, but that's my understanding of it). You want people to feel free to tell you anything with the expectation that it will go no further. That expectation is not one you want to throw away lightly, even when what you've been told amounts to a confession of a serious crime. I've never been faced with the situation. I would follow the law if I was, but it is not as easy a thing as some might think.
Also, since it was brought up, finding a church in which you feel comfortable is very important. It's one of the hard things about being a pastor in a small town, because you can't focus solely on one age group or one type of person. On the other hand, trying to do a little of everything can lead you to doing a lot of nothing.
For those of you who live in larger places with a variety of churches, if you haven't found one in which you feel comfortable yet, I'd encourage you to keep looking. In an area the size of the Twin Cities, for example, there has to be a church like that somewhere. But it's not always easy to find it.
I would compare it to the privilege given to lawyers and spouses.
I am not a lawyer, but this is how it's grouped in my mind.
Actually, there's a huge distinction between thsoe two privileges (lawyers and spouses). A lawyer cannot disclose without a waiver of the privilege by the client; a spouse may disclose whatever (s)he wants, but is protected from being compelled to disclose.
OK, like that.
I meant in willingness to allow the state to impel breech of confidence.
Lawyers clearly have responsibilities above what a spouse does.
And while a confessor has a moral obligation to keep silent (to be weighed, certainly, in extreme cases), I don't believe there is a legal obligation. Yo no soy abogado. Soy capitán soy capitán.
I'm reading this morning that Dusty Baker is out at Cincinnati.
Even more relieved the Twins re-upped Gardy.
As we all know, the Cincy market is much less forgiving than a small town like Minneapolis.
we are talking about Dusty Baker here though, after all
I know, but I'm not above taking a cheap shot now and then.
*triggers Mauer booing track*
Ever since the C. Trent Rosencrans incident I've wondered who the Dusty Baker-est player is: Brandon Phillips or i-i.
every time I see Fernando Rodney pitch I expect to see him give up a 12-run home run.
that made me chuckle and nod.
The Capitol chase story just keeps getting sadder. Hard to over-criticize the officers involved for firing their weapons, but you just wish they could have found another way....
Hard to over-criticize the officers involved for firing their weapons, but you just wish they could have found another way...
Amen.
Yeah, ideally the tires get shot out, they realize she's mentally ill, and she gets help. But unless something more damning comes to light, I won't be harsh either. For all they knew she had bombs.
i'm imagining that law enforcement in DC isn't in a mood to take too many chances as of late.
I think I would be more comfortable with it if it weren't for the actions of other, unrelated officers in other stories I've heard lately. That's perhaps unfair of me, but I seethe every time I hear about another innocent person being killed or in some other way harmed by a police officer.
Her? Well.. her behavior was certainly irrational and dangerous. I don't think what she did was deserving of the end of her life. Innocent isn't the word I would use, though I was more referring to other people when I said that. And while the circumstances surrounding this death isn't exactly similar, it's another person's life cut short by police bullets and it makes me sick how many of these happen.
My brain is probably not fully warmed up yet this morning so I apologize if I'm not making sense.
whether this was suicide-by-cop or was an even-more tragic case of someone suffering from a mental illness, her actions appear to have led to a justifiable use of deadly force. Either way, it is tragic.
I don't think anyone involved would argue that she "deserved" to die for her actions. Obviously, bad things can happen when firearms are discharged.
Certainly, there is room in this country for better training of law enforcement officers in how to recognize and respond to mental health-related threats appropriately and without the use of deadly force. In this case, I suspect that the recent shootings at the Naval Yard AND heightened political tensions in the Capitol have everyone a bit more on edge than is usual. I don't think any of us really are in a position to condemn the Capitol police for the outcome in this episode, at least not yet.
Again, this is tragic.
Yes.
Reports out today indicate mental illness was a contributing factor. The woman's mother specifically noted post-partum depression, and what could be some recent paranoid delusions.
No two people in business seem to have deserved one another more than A-Rod and Selig.
Yeah, it's really hard to pick a side in that one.
The only interesting angle I see here is that the media has vilified A-Rod to such a degree that he really has nothing to lose. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing how MLB got to 211 games. Had they even stuck with 100 games, the second-time violation, it might have been somewhat hard to defend but at least they could point to something pre-established. Making up an A-Rod specific penalty smells like something personal.
Yankees: "Hey Bud, can you make this one personal? Please?"
50 games for PED plus another season for being A-Rod.
And about $33 million in saved salary from the Yankees if he'd just taken it!
Not to mention the Yankees' attempt to avoid luxury tax.
I've read quite a few complaints (I'm working on two different Rule 12 motions to dismiss right now!), but I've never seen a header as fantastic as "The Disastrous Tenure of Commissioner Selig"
Also, they somehow botched McGwire's homerun total in ¶ 21.
Why cant all this stuff wait until after the playoffs?
wattsy, I feel you, but we are talking about the guy who announced that he was opting out of his contract during the last game of the World Series. We'll be lucky if he doesn't have papers served on Bud Selig during the trophy award ceremony this year. Come to think of it, that would be one of the awesomest things of all time.
I would get rid of the "one of" in that last sentence.
But that wouldn't be grammatical!
I think the timing was intentional.
So, there's this storm brewing off the coast. While it's more bark than bite, my museum has gone full tilt boogie in preparedness. My boss, and his boss, have that thousand yard stare thing going on this morning. I'm going home to stock up on miller highlife and pork to smoke. /lez le bon temps roule
There's a storm of a different kind not that far from me. Blizzard or winter storm warning for most of western South Dakota. Only a winter storm watch here. It's chilly and windy, and we've had some rain, but not cold enough to snow yet.
An October 4 blizzard really would be a memorable thing. And probably devastating for some farmers.
Was watching the local newscast last night and they had a story on how the wet/late spring affected crops - specifically corn. The farmer and U of MN extension agent they interviewed said a lot of the corn had mostly caught up, despite the dry summer. Farmer went on to say that he'd been farming long enough to remember the Halloween blizzard and was therefore in overdrive to get the fields harvested/corn dried as soon as possible.
6" of snow on Halloween night ~1978; I remember corn being harvested from snow-covered fields
Risk and cost management are a big part of farming. Drying corn costs a lot of money so you want nature to do as much of it as possible, but if you wait too long you risk losing a big part of your crop. I don't envy farmers some the existential decisions they have to make.
I loved growing up on the farm, but I could never be a farmer.
The only kind of Blizzard I want to remember in October is Butterfinger blended into ice cream.
I'm known as a lover of winter, but this is a little early for the white stuff.
Its never too early for the White Stuff
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvDgnsFrjSc
!
Now I want Oreos.
How about the one after the Twins last won the World Series?
I remember that one. For some reason we decided it would still be a good idea to go trick er treating.
So did we. And by we, I mean my parents.
My sister went out that year and she made an absolute killing. It was a great idea, provided one's costume allowed for a heavy coat and winter boots.
Allowed for? I think our costumes were heavy coats and winter boots.
My brother (4 or 5 yrs old) was Robin Hood. His tights were not the greatest for the conditions, especially when I pushed him into a snowbank.
I had just turned 14.
I can't remember what my original plan was, but I ditched it and took a pair of my mom's pantyhose, stretched it over my face, had a pillowcase for candy and a 3-D-Cell chromey flashlight. +Parka and snow boots. I was a robber.
Lots and lots of candy.
For some reason we decided it would still be was a good idea to go trick er treating.
totally FTFY.
Ch - I got the impression that that's the one the farmer was referring to. Started our trick-or-treating in regular costume get-up and swung back by the house for snow suits and Sorels.
Looking around, I found this. I wonder how much difference having Black Jack around for the '92 season would have made. He led the league in wins with Toronto but posted a 101 ERA+ and WHIP of 1.255 in 240.2 innings. Could he have helped make up the 6 games they finished behind the A's?
What was his records against the A's? From what I remember, they were neck and neck until August when the Twins crapped the bed in a series against them and then lost several right after that.
He was 1-1 with a no decision in 3 starts against them. Gave up 8 runs on 22 hits in those starts, pitching a total of 19.2 innings.
I was backpacking at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch that August.
USA Todays on the drive out had them one or two back.
First newspaper on the drive home (10 days later?) and the race was over.
Unlikely. If he replaced Pat Mahomes, Willie Banks, Mike Trombley, and David West (they combined for 35 starts while Morris had 34, close enough) he would have added 1.2 WAR to the starting staff. Mahomes was replacement level, Trombley was +0.6 wins, but Banks and West were both -0.6 wins. Replacing the net -0.6 wins with Morris' +0.6 wins would make them maybe beat out Milwaukee for third place. You could argue he would have a positive effect on the bullpen due to the 240 innings, but it's hard to quantify and would be minimal.
Unless the Twins also scored 5.6 runs in his starts (league average was 4.3 runs/game)
They averaged 4.61 runs/game that year, led the league in team average at .277, 2nd in the league in OBP at .330 but were 7th in SLG at .391.
Month by Month
Mo.
W
L
RS
RA
WP
April
9
12
92
94
.429
May
18
8
162
105
.692
June
18
11
153
105
.621
July
16
11
108
100
.593
August
12
17
105
133
.414
September
14
12
101
102
.538
October
3
1
26
14
.750
Also, if they still had Morris, they probably wouldn't have traded for John Smiley.
And Smiley had a really kick-butt season
And without Smiley (namely the Reds signing him), the Twins don't draft Torii Hunter.
Twins have the 20th pick and do better than every other team except the Mariners, drafting A-Rod first. It seems baseball more than any other sport has less dependency on draft position for successful drafting.
I wonder if the Twins would have traded for Smiley had they retained Morris. Smiley had his career year with the Twins, and a front four of Tapani-Smiley-Morris-Erickson would have been pretty dang good. Of course, the Twins gave up Denny Neagle to get Smiley. Neagle wasn't actually good until 1995, but after that he was really good - almost combined 11 bWAR for the Pirates in 1995-1996.
Dude, October is pumpkin pie blizzard month!
The western part of the state is in a blizzard. The weather guessers are saying we won't have one here, but we are in a winter weather advisory. It hasn't snowed here yet, but the last I saw, 1-3 inches is expected.
Also, the southeastern corner of South Dakota (where I used to live) is in a tornado warning.
Just some rain, for the most part. A couple of tornado sightings, but I've gotten to the point where if I don't see a picture of the funnel, I assume someone got excited about strong winds or maybe a dust devil and reported it.
My friends in the Wynstone area of North Sioux City say there was a tornado there. Also hail in the area.
Looks like we're not going to get any snow here after all. Still chilly, drizzly, and windy. We got quite a bit of rain, but I'm sure everyone here is a lot happier to see it come that way.
The first time I was in New Orleans was for a work function. It was late September and a tropical depression rolled in. I remember walking back from the Quarter to the hotel on Canal Street in the wee hours in a soft, steady rain that was as warm as a shower. Bon temps, indeed.
We've got an early start to our Santa Ana wind season. Not enough to really cause damage, but we have a red flag warning, which means we have to be very careful about fires. Also, it's playing havoc with my sinuses.
pretty windy up here near the top of the Central Valley too, yesterday and today. Also red flag warnings.
from the Bee:
Humidity is expected to be as low as 10 percent during the day with 15 to 25 mph winds and gusts up to 45 mph
His logic for being confrontational was "they're mean to us, so why not be mean to them?" And while that line of thinking might make sense on the playground, it's really not too great of a mindset to further your agenda. If someone snaps at you about what you think and berates that line of thinking, I'd be more likely to simply ignore that person as opposed to continue to listen.
So, so applicable to other, recent events in the news.
also,
I'm a huge fan of craft beer. If one of my friends is drinking a boring adjust [sic] lager
TIME TO MOCK!
Ronny Turiaf could be a fan favorite and other stories from Britt Robson's T-Wolves Media Day report.
Ronny pretty much had me convinced at "Jumps over Monster Truck".
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GY0cTvc2lQ
I love Ronny Turiaf. But he's probably not an improvement over Stiemer, and he's on the wrong side of 30 now.
I'm in no disagreement there in terms of abilities. I'm speaking strictly from a personality stand point.
The Runner family has been flu shotted. It's not too early...
Those with children should have them inoculated as it's shown to decrease the death rate in the elderly.
This boyo just got the flu shot after a work trip to Columbia, SoCar - Heard plenty o' sneezes on the flight home - figgered I was due.
I have a 1/2 marathon Sunday after next - don't want any problems.
I got mine in Sept yet.
Work gives 'em out for free.
I really don't know why more workplaces don't do that. They save so much money on man hours they would lose otherwise.
under the ACA, preventive care, including immunizations, is now required to be "free" (no marginal cost) under many/most plans.
But it's in bringing the shots into the office with a minimum of paperwork that really gets 90%* of the staff to get the shots.
*anecdotal estimate
Oh, I totally agree. Time and nuisance are money.
Funny Breaking Bad item. Minor Spoiler for those who haven't watched to the end.
I guess you will have to cut and paste the link into your browser.
Linkified.
I was about to share the same link.
Politically, but funny. Read the first column letters for the first paragraph of this National Weather Service forecast.
That one didn't have any coded message. The previous version did though. That link will likely need to be fixed when the next forecast is released.
Huh. They must have changed it from the time I read it to the time I posted, because I still have the tab open with the original language (version 2; you linked to version 3).
I've been doing this with all my LTEs since 2007 and none of you have caught on yet.
Chad Curtis is going to prison for a long time for molesting other people's daughters. You may want to avoid this quote by him below if you don't want your heart filled with tar this morning.
Sometimes the worst lies of all are the lies we tell ourselves.
That might be the most perfect, prescient LTE in the history of this site. I can't fathom any better response to that quote.
We are all a part of Jeff A's flock. /notkidding
2nd.
Even under the best conditions, that would be a tough job. My prayers are with him.
I just read that in Minnesota clergy are not mandated reporters when they hear things in confession. Is this true? And if so, what the fuck is wrong with government? I can't imagine one good argument that could convince me that a priest should not report a confession of rape while a vulnerable client fired me yesterday, her most ardent supporter, because I reported her PCA for stealing a pain pill.
The legal basis for this privilege comes from the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the freedom of religion.
That horrifies me
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for discussing this, but tying a distinctly religious ceremony to legal proceedings seems like a really bad idea. Arguably, if this wasn't protected by the 1st amendment, it could be used as a run around of the 5th amendment. "You don't want to incriminate yourself? Well, if you want to confess and receive absolution for your sins, you must waive that right."
Now, the role of the priest in giving a penance to address the wrongs may be interesting to discuss.
I"m not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone here, but I sense this discussion falls outside the WGOM boundaries.
We need to add sex to the conversation so we can hit the trifecta.
Don't make me go Godwin on you, dude!
Whether or not to shield rapists is forbidden zone? Guess I'll stick to baseball and video games
I believe if you review my comment you'll see that I was just giving my opinion that I sensed this was treading on FZ territory. It was a suggestion and I don't think it deserved your response.
And since the topic is apparently so non-controversial, here are my two cents:
I find rape horrific. I do not find confessor-priest confidentiality horrific. I'm not Catholic, and frankly I don't know that I can really claim to be Lutheran any more, but I'm not about to step in and tell Catholics that their priests are legally obligated to report confessed crimes to the police.
It's a fine line, to be sure, but I tend to disagree on this particular instance.
The FZ is in place (in my mind) to keep this place safe from political discussion, which often overwhelms and ends up tainting other discussion. It's worth being aware of, but the FZ itself shouldn't dissuade us from talking about some of the more difficult stuff, so long as we can do it in a way that isn't diminishing any of our citizens.
well said, nibs.
Rule number one should always be that this is a friendly, inclusive, fun place to have adult conversations. When it doubt, spoiler. When in real doubt, probably best to take it off line.
I say this as a serial transgressor. I never take offense at those who point the stick at me to say I've crossed into the FZ. There are enough other places on the Series of Tubes in which to engage in butt-hurting exchanges (or, more usually, serial monologues).
That's not to say that we should totally avoid adult conversations about FZ-borderland issues here, just that we should all be high self-monitors and gracious bar-mates.
I apologize for coming off non-inclusive. I said what I said because I thought I was preaching to a choir. Like if I came here and shouted that murder should be illegal or Mauer was a good catcher.
If I felt it was FZ I wouldn't have said anything, spoiler or otherwise.
I think it's an interesting conversation either way, and since law is discussed here with a pretty high frequency, I took it more in a "law" aspect, rather than a "religion" aspect.
also, I agree again with nibs. There are interesting legal questions here too.
I would compare it to the privilege given to lawyers and spouses.
I am not a lawyer, but this is how it's grouped in my mind.
Actually, there's a huge distinction between thsoe two privileges (lawyers and spouses). A lawyer cannot disclose without a waiver of the privilege by the client; a spouse may disclose whatever (s)he wants, but is protected from being compelled to disclose.
OK, like that.
I meant in willingness to allow the state to impel breech of confidence.
Lawyers clearly have responsibilities above what a spouse does.
And while a confessor has a moral obligation to keep silent (to be weighed, certainly, in extreme cases), I don't believe there is a legal obligation. Yo no soy abogado. Soy capitán soy capitán.
I'm reading this morning that Dusty Baker is out at Cincinnati.
Even more relieved the Twins re-upped Gardy.
As we all know, the Cincy market is much less forgiving than a small town like Minneapolis.
we are talking about Dusty Baker here though, after all
I know, but I'm not above taking a cheap shot now and then.
*triggers Mauer booing track*
Ever since the C. Trent Rosencrans incident I've wondered who the Dusty Baker-est player is: Brandon Phillips or i-i.
'Old Hoss Rodbourne' previews the ALDS
that made me chuckle and nod.
The Capitol chase story just keeps getting sadder. Hard to over-criticize the officers involved for firing their weapons, but you just wish they could have found another way....
Amen.
Yeah, ideally the tires get shot out, they realize she's mentally ill, and she gets help. But unless something more damning comes to light, I won't be harsh either. For all they knew she had bombs.
i'm imagining that law enforcement in DC isn't in a mood to take too many chances as of late.
Without trying to cross too far into the FZ...
Yes.
Reports out today indicate mental illness was a contributing factor. The woman's mother specifically noted post-partum depression, and what could be some recent paranoid delusions.
I know movie day is quite a ways away, so I don't want to discuss it too much, but Gravity is excellent and you should go to it ASAP.
Sandra Bullock, woo!
I have to admit I was skeptical due to her involvement but it was a hell of an enjoyable film.
And Clooney, too.
Clooney is good enough that I'll sit through some pretty dreadful pictures to watch him.
The A-Rod monster just belched.
No two people in business seem to have deserved one another more than A-Rod and Selig.
Yeah, it's really hard to pick a side in that one.
The only interesting angle I see here is that the media has vilified A-Rod to such a degree that he really has nothing to lose. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing how MLB got to 211 games. Had they even stuck with 100 games, the second-time violation, it might have been somewhat hard to defend but at least they could point to something pre-established. Making up an A-Rod specific penalty smells like something personal.
Yankees: "Hey Bud, can you make this one personal? Please?"
50 games for PED plus another season for being A-Rod.
And about $33 million in saved salary from the Yankees if he'd just taken it!
Not to mention the Yankees' attempt to avoid luxury tax.
I've read quite a few complaints (I'm working on two different Rule 12 motions to dismiss right now!), but I've never seen a header as fantastic as "The Disastrous Tenure of Commissioner Selig"
Also, they somehow botched McGwire's homerun total in ¶ 21.
Why cant all this stuff wait until after the playoffs?
wattsy, I feel you, but we are talking about the guy who announced that he was opting out of his contract during the last game of the World Series. We'll be lucky if he doesn't have papers served on Bud Selig during the trophy award ceremony this year. Come to think of it, that would be one of the awesomest things of all time.
I would get rid of the "one of" in that last sentence.
But that wouldn't be grammatical!
I think the timing was intentional.
So, there's this storm brewing off the coast. While it's more bark than bite, my museum has gone full tilt boogie in preparedness. My boss, and his boss, have that thousand yard stare thing going on this morning. I'm going home to stock up on miller highlife and pork to smoke. /lez le bon temps roule
There's a storm of a different kind not that far from me. Blizzard or winter storm warning for most of western South Dakota. Only a winter storm watch here. It's chilly and windy, and we've had some rain, but not cold enough to snow yet.
An October 4 blizzard really would be a memorable thing. And probably devastating for some farmers.
Was watching the local newscast last night and they had a story on how the wet/late spring affected crops - specifically corn. The farmer and U of MN extension agent they interviewed said a lot of the corn had mostly caught up, despite the dry summer. Farmer went on to say that he'd been farming long enough to remember the Halloween blizzard and was therefore in overdrive to get the fields harvested/corn dried as soon as possible.
6" of snow on Halloween night ~1978; I remember corn being harvested from snow-covered fields
Risk and cost management are a big part of farming. Drying corn costs a lot of money so you want nature to do as much of it as possible, but if you wait too long you risk losing a big part of your crop. I don't envy farmers some the existential decisions they have to make.
I loved growing up on the farm, but I could never be a farmer.
The only kind of Blizzard I want to remember in October is Butterfinger blended into ice cream.
I'm known as a lover of winter, but this is a little early for the white stuff.
Its never too early for the White Stuff
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvDgnsFrjSc
!
Now I want Oreos.
How about the one after the Twins last won the World Series?
I remember that one. For some reason we decided it would still be a good idea to go trick er treating.
So did we. And by we, I mean my parents.
My sister went out that year and she made an absolute killing. It was a great idea, provided one's costume allowed for a heavy coat and winter boots.
Allowed for? I think our costumes were heavy coats and winter boots.
My brother (4 or 5 yrs old) was Robin Hood. His tights were not the greatest for the conditions, especially when I pushed him into a snowbank.
I had just turned 14.
I can't remember what my original plan was, but I ditched it and took a pair of my mom's pantyhose, stretched it over my face, had a pillowcase for candy and a 3-D-Cell chromey flashlight. +Parka and snow boots. I was a robber.
Lots and lots of candy.
For some reason we decideditwould still bewas a good idea to go trick er treating.totally FTFY.
Ch - I got the impression that that's the one the farmer was referring to. Started our trick-or-treating in regular costume get-up and swung back by the house for snow suits and Sorels.
Looking around, I found this. I wonder how much difference having Black Jack around for the '92 season would have made. He led the league in wins with Toronto but posted a 101 ERA+ and WHIP of 1.255 in 240.2 innings. Could he have helped make up the 6 games they finished behind the A's?
What was his records against the A's? From what I remember, they were neck and neck until August when the Twins crapped the bed in a series against them and then lost several right after that.
July 29, 1992 The Eric Fox game.
He was 1-1 with a no decision in 3 starts against them. Gave up 8 runs on 22 hits in those starts, pitching a total of 19.2 innings.
I was backpacking at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch that August.
USA Todays on the drive out had them one or two back.
First newspaper on the drive home (10 days later?) and the race was over.
Unlikely. If he replaced Pat Mahomes, Willie Banks, Mike Trombley, and David West (they combined for 35 starts while Morris had 34, close enough) he would have added 1.2 WAR to the starting staff. Mahomes was replacement level, Trombley was +0.6 wins, but Banks and West were both -0.6 wins. Replacing the net -0.6 wins with Morris' +0.6 wins would make them maybe beat out Milwaukee for third place. You could argue he would have a positive effect on the bullpen due to the 240 innings, but it's hard to quantify and would be minimal.
Unless the Twins also scored 5.6 runs in his starts (league average was 4.3 runs/game)
They averaged 4.61 runs/game that year, led the league in team average at .277, 2nd in the league in OBP at .330 but were 7th in SLG at .391.
Month by Month
Also, if they still had Morris, they probably wouldn't have traded for John Smiley.
And Smiley had a really kick-butt season
And without Smiley (namely the Reds signing him), the Twins don't draft Torii Hunter.
Twins have the 20th pick and do better than every other team except the Mariners, drafting A-Rod first. It seems baseball more than any other sport has less dependency on draft position for successful drafting.
I wonder if the Twins would have traded for Smiley had they retained Morris. Smiley had his career year with the Twins, and a front four of Tapani-Smiley-Morris-Erickson would have been pretty dang good. Of course, the Twins gave up Denny Neagle to get Smiley. Neagle wasn't actually good until 1995, but after that he was really good - almost combined 11 bWAR for the Pirates in 1995-1996.
Dude, October is pumpkin pie blizzard month!
The western part of the state is in a blizzard. The weather guessers are saying we won't have one here, but we are in a winter weather advisory. It hasn't snowed here yet, but the last I saw, 1-3 inches is expected.
Also, the southeastern corner of South Dakota (where I used to live) is in a tornado warning.
Just some rain, for the most part. A couple of tornado sightings, but I've gotten to the point where if I don't see a picture of the funnel, I assume someone got excited about strong winds or maybe a dust devil and reported it.
My friends in the Wynstone area of North Sioux City say there was a tornado there. Also hail in the area.
Looks like we're not going to get any snow here after all. Still chilly, drizzly, and windy. We got quite a bit of rain, but I'm sure everyone here is a lot happier to see it come that way.
The first time I was in New Orleans was for a work function. It was late September and a tropical depression rolled in. I remember walking back from the Quarter to the hotel on Canal Street in the wee hours in a soft, steady rain that was as warm as a shower. Bon temps, indeed.
We've got an early start to our Santa Ana wind season. Not enough to really cause damage, but we have a red flag warning, which means we have to be very careful about fires. Also, it's playing havoc with my sinuses.
pretty windy up here near the top of the Central Valley too, yesterday and today. Also red flag warnings.
from the Bee:
The Sabermetric Debate Is Turning Into First Take
So, so applicable to other, recent events in the news.
also,
TIME TO MOCK!
Ronny Turiaf could be a fan favorite and other stories from Britt Robson's T-Wolves Media Day report.
Ronny pretty much had me convinced at "Jumps over Monster Truck".
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GY0cTvc2lQ
I love Ronny Turiaf. But he's probably not an improvement over Stiemer, and he's on the wrong side of 30 now.
I'm in no disagreement there in terms of abilities. I'm speaking strictly from a personality stand point.
The Runner family has been flu shotted. It's not too early...
Those with children should have them inoculated as it's shown to decrease the death rate in the elderly.
This boyo just got the flu shot after a work trip to Columbia, SoCar - Heard plenty o' sneezes on the flight home - figgered I was due.
I have a 1/2 marathon Sunday after next - don't want any problems.
I got mine in Sept yet.
Work gives 'em out for free.
I really don't know why more workplaces don't do that. They save so much money on man hours they would lose otherwise.
under the ACA, preventive care, including immunizations, is now required to be "free" (no marginal cost) under many/most plans.
But it's in bringing the shots into the office with a minimum of paperwork that really gets 90%* of the staff to get the shots.
*anecdotal estimate
Oh, I totally agree. Time and nuisance are money.
Funny Breaking Bad item. Minor Spoiler for those who haven't watched to the end.
I guess you will have to cut and paste the link into your browser.
Linkified.
I was about to share the same link.
Politically, but funny. Read the first column letters for the first paragraph of this National Weather Service forecast.
That one didn't have any coded message. The previous version did though. That link will likely need to be fixed when the next forecast is released.
Huh. They must have changed it from the time I read it to the time I posted, because I still have the tab open with the original language (version 2; you linked to version 3).
I've been doing this with all my LTEs since 2007 and none of you have caught on yet.
A joak.
The Alien Invasion is sooo on now.
Are you saying Bayner is a pod?
Sad about Lampedusa.