My two best friends at work have returned from long absences. I can't believe how much I needed them around.
25 thoughts on “August 3, 2014: the Return”
This is scary:
Hughes’ delivery is mostly to blame. He snaps his head down and closes his eyes as he releases each pitch. He admittedly doesn’t put himself in proper fielding position.
“I knew he barreled it,” Hughes said. “I heard the crack of the bat, but by the time I looked up I just saw something coming back at me. Line drives up the middle, I usually don’t see them anywhere near in time to make any sort of an athletic play towards them.”
Hey Rows, I mentioned earlier, I already have a ticket to the game tomorrow, but I'm going to Old Chicago tonight if you wanted to work on your world beer tour...
Team bS has arrived in Cambridge MA. The Grand Tour begins.
(If there are any swimmers in Team bS) MIT lets you get in to their Natatorium (Zesiger) for a $15 day charge. It's a great pool and should be in 50m-mode this time of year. Don't be surprised if the only people you see this time of year are Chinese students.
Also have never done but if you have time check out the sail-boat rentals on the Charles just between Harvard and MIT. Look's like fun - but watch out for the scullage.
If in North End check out Mike's Bakery - Ital cookies are to die for.
Damn. Sorry I missed this earlier. We were in North End for a bit of touristaism (very little, as the female contingent was unenthusiastic) and early dinner (hole-in-wall italian joint doing a busy takeout trade). Turns out it is hard to find many options for a vegan in an area dominated by italian and seafood.
hard to find many options for a vegan
When you get home, look up recipes for Sicilian caponata - molto bene. My eggplants are getting ready to be harvested - thank God the squirrels/rabbits don't find them attractive.
Can we have our Mauer back, please, Mister?
Just got back from a week vacation in Minnesota. Kinda off the grid (no Wifi at our cabin in the country), but had GOT Season 3 discs. Switched off the Ulysses for the week (read another book in its entirety - Luxury!).
But did a lot of house projects. Had a mature yew by the side of the house that had gotten nailed from this last winter - took me the whole week to reduce it down to just a stump and I couldn't even finish that - the shoulders were fried from all the branch clearing and root-digging.
Minus - no Twins in town. Plus - did get to the Surly Tasting room on Friday in Brooklyn Center.
Minus - week's car rental at Hertz has on top of the rental charges($468):
CONCESSION FEE RECOVERY (11.11%) $41.83
RENTAL AUTO FACILITY CHARGE $22.75
TAX 21.475% ON EST. TAXABLE TTL $94.73
So I paid $159.31 fees/taxes (34%). Honestly, I've never seen anything like this in any other country I've travelled to.
Yuck.
Today's lesson: if there's a big ass weed growing out of your rock retaining wall and its got needles all over it, wear goes when you pull it. My arm has a nasty rash now.
"Pro tip"
What are we talking about here?
Nettle? Greenbriar? Raspberry/Blackberry? Barberry? Thistle?
If it was a greenbriar or barberry, you're a fool for attacking that without gloves.
If it's a nettle, it'll be over soon enough.
I went after a weed last year that I've since learned was nettle. It will be over soon enough, but you won't forget what it is when next you cross it.
When I was in my early teens, I walked through a bunch of nettles while wearing shorts. OH...MY...GOD. It does go away reasonably quickly, though.
stinging nettle and I are on a first name basis. it can blister the skin a bit but it's pretty temporary
While stinging nettle and I are friendly, I'm best acquainted with his cousin wood nettle.
When we were kids, stinging nettle was "Itch-Weed" and wood nettle was "Burn-Weed".
I've never had a poison ivy reaction, although I'm sure I've had dozens if not hundreds of exposures. My dad has said the same thing. Either MN has weak poison ivy, or I'm hereditarily immune.
I've grabbed just a bit of greenbriar, and that's up there with carpet tack-strips for evil sharp pokinessness:
Either MN has weak poison ivy, or I'm hereditarily immune.
Hereditarily immune, if I were to guess. Having had poison ivy multiple times, I really don't believe it's the strength of the poison ivy.
On the subject of evil sharpness... Linds got stuck by a barberry last week. That stuff just completely ignores gloves.
There is no such thing as heredity immunity. Through exposure, everyone eventually loses it.
Huh. My dad's been wading in stuff that I can't be anywhere near for years and years now. He used to roll in the stuff on dare. He's never had so much as a blister.
Has he done that lately?
He walks through it (often in shorts) just about every time we go golfing.
It was just a nettle. It blistered briefly right away, and still tingles a bit today, but it's getting better. Annoying as hell though.
Insane monsoon here right now. Cable down, sirens everywhere, people unable to function. The same thirty customers have been in my store for an hour, just waiting for it to pass.
In about an hour, we got more rain today than I remember getting in any August total. The average rainfall here in August is less than 1/4 of an inch. Still it was nothing like that, just rain and some thunder and lightning. I heard Palm Springs got hit hard with flash floods and mudslides, though.
This is scary:
Hey Rows, I mentioned earlier, I already have a ticket to the game tomorrow, but I'm going to Old Chicago tonight if you wanted to work on your world beer tour...
Team bS has arrived in Cambridge MA. The Grand Tour begins.
(If there are any swimmers in Team bS) MIT lets you get in to their Natatorium (Zesiger) for a $15 day charge. It's a great pool and should be in 50m-mode this time of year. Don't be surprised if the only people you see this time of year are Chinese students.
Also have never done but if you have time check out the sail-boat rentals on the Charles just between Harvard and MIT. Look's like fun - but watch out for the scullage.
If in North End check out Mike's Bakery - Ital cookies are to die for.
Damn. Sorry I missed this earlier. We were in North End for a bit of touristaism (very little, as the female contingent was unenthusiastic) and early dinner (hole-in-wall italian joint doing a busy takeout trade). Turns out it is hard to find many options for a vegan in an area dominated by italian and seafood.
hard to find many options for a vegan
When you get home, look up recipes for Sicilian caponata - molto bene. My eggplants are getting ready to be harvested - thank God the squirrels/rabbits don't find them attractive.
Can we have our Mauer back, please, Mister?
Just got back from a week vacation in Minnesota. Kinda off the grid (no Wifi at our cabin in the country), but had GOT Season 3 discs. Switched off the Ulysses for the week (read another book in its entirety - Luxury!).
But did a lot of house projects. Had a mature yew by the side of the house that had gotten nailed from this last winter - took me the whole week to reduce it down to just a stump and I couldn't even finish that - the shoulders were fried from all the branch clearing and root-digging.
Minus - no Twins in town. Plus - did get to the Surly Tasting room on Friday in Brooklyn Center.
Minus - week's car rental at Hertz has on top of the rental charges($468):
CONCESSION FEE RECOVERY (11.11%) $41.83
RENTAL AUTO FACILITY CHARGE $22.75
TAX 21.475% ON EST. TAXABLE TTL $94.73
So I paid $159.31 fees/taxes (34%). Honestly, I've never seen anything like this in any other country I've travelled to.
Yuck.
Today's lesson: if there's a big ass weed growing out of your rock retaining wall and its got needles all over it, wear goes when you pull it. My arm has a nasty rash now.
"Pro tip"
What are we talking about here?
Nettle? Greenbriar? Raspberry/Blackberry? Barberry? Thistle?
If it was a greenbriar or barberry, you're a fool for attacking that without gloves.
If it's a nettle, it'll be over soon enough.
I went after a weed last year that I've since learned was nettle. It will be over soon enough, but you won't forget what it is when next you cross it.
When I was in my early teens, I walked through a bunch of nettles while wearing shorts. OH...MY...GOD. It does go away reasonably quickly, though.
stinging nettle and I are on a first name basis. it can blister the skin a bit but it's pretty temporary
While stinging nettle and I are friendly, I'm best acquainted with his cousin wood nettle.
When we were kids, stinging nettle was "Itch-Weed" and wood nettle was "Burn-Weed".
I've never had a poison ivy reaction, although I'm sure I've had dozens if not hundreds of exposures. My dad has said the same thing. Either MN has weak poison ivy, or I'm hereditarily immune.
I've grabbed just a bit of greenbriar, and that's up there with carpet tack-strips for evil sharp pokinessness:
Hereditarily immune, if I were to guess. Having had poison ivy multiple times, I really don't believe it's the strength of the poison ivy.
On the subject of evil sharpness... Linds got stuck by a barberry last week. That stuff just completely ignores gloves.
There is no such thing as heredity immunity. Through exposure, everyone eventually loses it.
Huh. My dad's been wading in stuff that I can't be anywhere near for years and years now. He used to roll in the stuff on dare. He's never had so much as a blister.
Has he done that lately?
He walks through it (often in shorts) just about every time we go golfing.
It was just a nettle. It blistered briefly right away, and still tingles a bit today, but it's getting better. Annoying as hell though.
Insane monsoon here right now. Cable down, sirens everywhere, people unable to function. The same thirty customers have been in my store for an hour, just waiting for it to pass.
In about an hour, we got more rain today than I remember getting in any August total. The average rainfall here in August is less than 1/4 of an inch. Still it was nothing like that, just rain and some thunder and lightning. I heard Palm Springs got hit hard with flash floods and mudslides, though.
Bad mud slides near san bernadino. One dead.