Well, I caved and got a smartphone. My previous phone was failing so horribly it sped up the process.
154 thoughts on “December 23, 2014: I’m in the Club”
Happy Festivus!! Time to air those grievances you ingrates. I'll start:
Ticketmaster charging me $5.00 for the “convenience” of printing off my own ticket! What’s with this cash grab!
Urban bikers who ride at night without a light or a very dim light – Please, I don’t want to run you over.
Archbishop Nienstedt
Wisconsin sports fans who are way too full of themselves and then look to conspiracies or the refs when their teams ultimately choke.
People who don’t vote
The Minnesota Twins ineptitude to field a competitive team has lessened my interest in baseball
God that $1 billion football tv studio under construction on the east end of downtown is going to be ugly.
The innate ability of humans to degrade and demonize other humans based on such trivial matters as skin color, social standing, sleeping partner, religion…
The cost of a college education
Cancer Sucks!
Oh and that latest Superman movie. I realize it came out in 2013 but I just saw it in the last year. My God did that suck.
I think I can get into this:
Christmas music in the office over the PA system.
Ugly Christmas sweaters.
Gift giving obligations.
Flip Saunders mouth. (and GM abilities, and Glen Taylor's crappy ownership, and really just all of the Wolves organization.)
The inability to escape football discussions and the awkward pauses when I say I don't watch any of it.
A 3-year old with pooping issues leading to potty training difficulty.
Rain in December.
Probably more to come.
A 3-year old with pooping issues leading to potty training difficulty.
This too shall pass.
We had that with HPR. He was nearly potty-trained several times but we had to give up because he'd stop himself up.
AJR just had something similar show up but she's been potty-trained for two years, so we noticed quickly and took corrective action before it became a big deal.
I see what you did there.
Nice to see someone paying attention to the half-baked crap around here.
Actually, Flip did a pretty good job with last year's draft. He took one pick in the first round of a weak draft and ended up with Shabazz and Gorgui. That's an A+ in my book.
Fair enough, and I'm happy enough with the Brewer trade. My biggest grievance is certainly with his coaching. I just don't trust that good decisions will be made in the future.
I don't think Flip even wanted Shabazz. He pretty much said so on draft night. But, it turns out that Bazz apparently has a burning desire to improve. He'll never be an All-Star, but he's a quality piece or it at least it appears so because he appears to work his ass off out there. So I think he got lucky there a little.
Think of this trade: Minny gets Trey Burke, Utah gets Shabazz and Dieng. Who says no?
You had better believe it is the Wolves.
Also, he probably won the Kevin Love trade. David Thorpe:
Wiggins can be better than Kawhi Leonard, the reigning Finals MVP, or another Finals MVP, Paul Pierce. But the key is Wiggins can be, not necessarily will be. He needs help from his franchise and coaches, and from teammates and good fortune, to be at the level of those guys, much less be better.
Wiggins doesn't have a chance to be a top-five player of all time, but he can be a top-five player in the NBA for a number of years. And that should make everybody happy.
If Wiggins is indeed better than Paul Pierce, that's an enormous win. Enormous. Again, Flip got lucky there with LBJ going back to Cleveland and I'm not as bullish on Wiggins as Thorpe (but he does a helluva lot more than me), but his performance as GM has not been a problem at all in my mind.
Of course, it doesn't take much to improve upon Kahn....
He still hired the coach.
The inability to escape football discussions and the awkward pauses when I say I don't watch any of it.
There is a school-wide movie day today. It was a democratic election between 5 movies, and they chose The Game Plan. All football, all the time.
I thought you said "Flip Saunders Month" and I wondered what the hell the Wolves were up to now.
I'm going to list the traffic light at 58th and Lyndale for the fourth consecutive Festivus. Why am I stopped for three minutes when no one else is at the intersection?
The return of eye- eye. I believe this has been covered.
The St. Louis area. This year you've given me two more reasons to loath you besides The Best Fans in Baseball nonsense.
The goofballs on the Book of Face who keep telling me about how we're victims because people less privileged are frustrated.
Losing my grandma just days before the Valet was born. Life isn't fair.
Sylvain Distin. It's not your fault, but you're old and washed up. John Stones needs to get healthy pronto.
University of Memphis basketball fans. I've never seen a bigger group of uneducated morons than in the days before GW's NCAA tournament game when our little (seriously little) corner of the internet was raided by these inbred trolls.
I'm going to list the traffic light at 58th and Lyndale for the fourth consecutive Festivus. Why am I stopped for three minutes when no one else is at the intersection?
This describes every traffic light in the entire state of Illinois.
I guess I'll throw on the Franklin/Minnehaha/Cedar intersection. What a mess.
Heh, everytime I have to stop at that light I think of you.
The St. Louis area.
Hey, let's not get personal now!
Slow moving HR departments, and another quarter of paying ungodly amounts for medical "benefits"
ii. Because it bears repeating.
Baseball card "prospectors" driving up the prices that those collecting for fun have to pay.
Movie soundtracks that have to have a vocal piece running over the end credits just so it has an entry in the Best Song Oscar.
Health issues and unemployment. Because when it affects one of us, it affects all of us.
Waking up in the middle of the night. Even when you sleep easily, it sucks.
Media coverage which misidentifies "hoodlums looking for trouble" as "peaceful protests turned ugly".
Gonna have to hit the Y at lunch today to prep for the feats of strength.
Okay, back from the Y, and I'll throw in another one: how is it that I can max out the back extension machine at 300lbs, and yet embarassingly only 30lbs on the shoulder press? I'm getting a good workout, but I wish it was a little more balanced
CF. Unemployment.
Those two are big enough that I've been trying to focus on the positive lately. Sorry if I can't really get in the Festivus spirit this year.
Sorry if I can't really get in the Festivus spirit this year
Dang, I was going to challenge you to a feats of strength demonstration. Instead, I'll do this for you:
Cable news
Money in politics
Uninformed electorate
Disingenuous talking points
The end of the Colbert report
The end of the late late show with Craig Ferguson
Facebook comments
Strib comments
Unfair prick classification
Really it has been a year of a lot of unexpected change and I don't have much room to complain.
Passwords requiring 8 digits, a capital letter, a number, and a special character.
The plastic wrapping around 2D batteries (could be used as a weapon).
People at Whole Foods who buy from the food bar and eat in the store.
People at Whole Foods who buy from the food bar and eat in their car.
People at Whole Foods who buy from the food bar and eat it in the checkout line.
Race volunteers who lie (Good job, Dude, you're almost there!).
The tape that comes with winterizing window plastic (Impossible to separate the sticky from the unsticky part).
People who try to get out the vote.
Rental car reliability, lack of cleanliness.
Passwords requiring 8 digits, a capital letter, a number, and a special character.
Password changes like iTunes that don't let you re-use prior passwords.
I'm just trying to re-set it to what I think it should be!
Special characters in passwords aren't an issue; just throw parents around it
Bottle full of bub, mama
Zach Lowe does not sugar the pill.
Bryant leads the league in shot attempts and usage rate. He is shooting 37 percent. No one in NBA history has faced so little accountability. It is absurd on its face. Bryant has hijacked the entire organization.
I love it when he goes 1-on-1 for half the shot clock, forces up a horrible shot, then yells at a teammate for some imagined failure. It's faaaaaan-tastic!
This is a perfect way for his career to end.
Meanwhile, though, six, there are tons of great stories in the league. I am so pumped about this season. Kobe going down in flames is a pretty good story, too, in my book.
Oh, for sure. Even with a historically great Western Conference, the Hawks might be the biggest story of all at this stage of the season. They are playing some fantastic basketball under their Pop acolyte coach. And Dennis Schroeder might be the Most Improved Player in the league. Him or Bazz.
The other really big story in my opinion has been the job Steve Kerr has done with GS. He's taken a good team and turned them into a great team, all with no prior coaching experience. Then again, he struck me as a pretty sharp fellow as an analyst. Someone who might have learned a thing from some of his former coaches--like Lute Olsen, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Lenny Wilkens, Phil Jackson and that guy in San Antonio. In addition, Kerr was a ball boy for two years at UCLA when they were coached by the Wizard of Westwood: John Wooden. That's a pretty impressive roster of coaching acumen from which to glean ideas.
And to think he almost took the Knicks job...
Steve Kerr: Prefers prime rib over shit sandwich.
I always loved the "Steve Kerr" chant at Arizona.
Yep, that's a big story. Steve Kerr was one of my favorites from way back when he was at U of A. I'm a fan of the league more than anything and I'm watching when they are on. Steph, man is he fun.
Remember, they really wanted Kevin Love, but wouldn't part with Thompson as part of the deal. They probably would be better with Love, but I'm pretty sure they're not crying to hard about that one.
You might have seen that Nate in St. Paul has sworn off of the Timberwolves until Taylor sells. That's too bad. He's pretty great to read even on Twitter.
Was it until Taylor sells or until KG sells?
I did see that. He also went and saw the Warriors a couple of days later when they were in town. Granted, he got free tickets from the owner of the Korean joint he frequents.
Curry is my favorite player, hands down. He's got one of the best handles in the league, passes like Ricky and might be the best pure shooter since Reggie Miller. What he does in the court is pure artistry.
And even though I thought GS was stupid for not trading Thompson for Love, that decision looks pretty smart about now. Especially the way Green has developed into an elite stretch forward. That dude (a 2nd round pick, btw,) is gonna get paid next year. Not sure if the Warriors will be able to afford him.
They drafted a player with a second roundpick?! Didn't anyone tell them they could sell those picks for cash?
Cash? You betcha!
He needed money to buy the Star Tribune. People dont buy paper products anymore!
Say what?
Curry is my favorite player, hands down.
Mine too, dude. I watch Warriors games at work just for his presence, something I haven't done with an NBA player since KG from about 98-04, and I had a rooting interest there.
I also love that he still looks like a school boy amongst grown-ass men with his slight frame and youthful visage. That goatee ain't foolin' me.
Anyone watching GS v. LAL just saw Curry dribble through traffic like a stunt driver. So smooth.
Full disclosure, Lakers up by 15 at the half. LA with 19 1st half assists. Kobe not suited up. Coincidence?
This game is another one in the "Kobe isn't all that" file. I'm good friends with a unapologetic Kobe fan at work, and this one should provide good ammo. Man, I hope I see him tomorrow.
speaking of grievances, I'm disappointed that Geoff hasn't come by to spew some invective after his BYU homies started a brawl after losing their Toilet Bowl game yesterday. Come back, Geoff! 🙂
Yes his Book of Face about it was very insightful.
/Nods in agreement
I don't really have a lot of grievances. This has been a great year in my life. My daughter has really blossomed this year, she's gotten into figure skating and playing piano with a zeal that encourages me and makes me proud. I got a new boss who isn't crazy (actually she's great, but only decent would have been a huge step up). I didn't waste a single minute watching NFL football. We are all happy and healthy. I gained some weight, sigh, but that gives me something to do in 2015.
I realize that nothing lasts forever and tomorrow isn't promised, but I have had a lot of happiness this year.
Having said all that, I am saddened by what's going on in this country re: policing and race. I am really saddened by my parents' reaction to it. They are old, I suppose, but it is distasteful and discouraging to hear some of the vile they spew. My mother actually called me last weekend to warn me that "the blacks" were protesting at the MOA and that I should stay away. OMG, mom.
Also, I went to a family reunion this summer and was subjected to flat out racist talk. I noted to myself who said what and then walked away in disgust.
I'm expecting some of that sort of stuff out of my dad when we visit this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but definitely hoping to avoid that line of conversation.
I spend a good chunk of my time at my parent's house as you may know and my mother brings this crap up all the time. I do everything I can to ignore it, but I will tell you that I get pretty sick of hearing it.
The best way I've found to avoid that sort of thing is just to not say anything and to change the subject at the earliest opportunity. Our parents are creatures of their time, just as we all are, and they're unlikely to change, so just love them anyway.
You've obviously never met my mother. 🙂
She not only wants to spew it, she wants you to agree and if you say nothing or disagree, there's gonna be a problem. She's also not amenable to changing the subject. The one good thing about this is that I've learned how to deal with really, really difficult people.
I said it was the best way I've found. I didn't say it works all the time 🙂
Oof. I can at least change the subject when my dad brings stuff like that up, so its really more of a mild inconvenience for me. (and half the time I'm not even sure he believes what he's saying.)
I struggle with how to respond as well. My parents are pretty benign, with only a rare-occasion statement that makes me flinch. But my brother seems determined every time I see him to say something really offensive and gratuitous (and him apparently not even aware). The last thing you want to do is to call somebody out at the holiday dinner table in front of the whole family.
My father-in-law gets me disagreeing with him even when we agree on things.
But when we disagree, I just don't respond much. Or I mutter. Or help a toddler with things.
I had forgotten this was coming. I should bone up on some news-related internet sites to know what the outrage of the day is.
It doesn't really matter. The comments will be pretty much the same no matter what the particular outrage is.
The thing for me is that I don't find those conversations very interesting even when I do agree. So we all agree that "X" is an outrage. Okay, now what? Now nothing, because we can't do anything about it. So what did we accomplish?
I believe it's called getting in the Festivus spirit.
I find it frustrating because I get along well with my FiL. Hunting & Fishing. I've gotten him into birding since he's retired. War & action movies.
But he just wants some time to be the radio talk-show host of the family, and I don't want to tune in. This is why I don't watch the news or have cable anymore. (well cable is also the $$.)
And if everything he wants to complain about were fixed tomorrow, he'd have a whole new set of things to be ticked off about within 24 hours (unless we keep him occupied and away from the internet).
Ugh. I'm about to spend 48 hours with my FIL. We can't be more different, and while that's the spice of life it's very frustrating to be confronted with his attitudes concerning race and politics for the whole trip. I've taken a refusal to participate attitude, but it doesn't stop him from spewing. Ugh. Now, my folks are the compete opposite. They never want to offend so they offer very little if not completely sure if everyone already agrees with their opinion. They're this close to being actual socialists, so that's something.
I'm extremely fortunate in this way. My parents are not products of their time, which has colored my own ability to love everyone. On my mother's side, even my grandparents would fit in well as young folks today (my father's side is a bit like SBG's, and only my dad and one sister appear to have overcome the handicap).
My wife, however, comes from a pretty "old-fashioned" family. A black man married into the family about five or six years ago, though, and to their credit he's honestly changed the outlook of a great many of them who initially deemed him "good for a black."
I'm having a hard time really thinking of anything. It's been one of the best years of my life. Being a dad is so rewarding. Even though my son has had some struggles, and I regularly grieve that, he also has many successes, and I'm learning that every parent and child have struggles and I feel lucky with the problems he doesn't have.
I share a lot of the political grievances others do here. Otherwise, my personal life has been great.
C'mon Beau (and Nibs) get in the Festivus spirit! Petty grievances count too. Like that old guy who is always trying to find out his points total at Super America while you just want to pay for your gas and go. Or the incessant e-mails you get from some company you bought one thing from that one time. Or when Cub doesn't have the cereal that you buy because they had a crazy sale on it and you don't care if it was 20 cents cheaper.
How about Targeto on University and it's inability to stock toilet paper? There's my grievance.
In the store or in their restrooms? Because in the restrooms, that can be a Real Problem.
Ha! I'm terrified of the restrooms.
I have no grievances of my own. My job is going well, my brother is home for the holidays. My immediate family is healthy (and growing, come June).
I have grievances on behalf of other people, but very, very few of my own.
!!!!!!
(that means congratulations)
Yay! Congrats nibbish!
Wooooo!!!!
A new niblet! Congratulations!
Indeed, congratulations on that.
ooh! A nibbito/a? (I just can't use the "@" sign. "nibbit@" looks like an email address.)
Felicitations!
Hooray!
W00T!
Another grievance: people announcing births in a Festivus thread.*
*congrats!
Felicitations! Best news of the day.
Salud, Nibs.
Congratulations Nibs. This is pretty awesome news.
Nibbish begats.
Congrats, nibs!
WAIT WHAT
Heh, I continue to be impressed by the citizens here to be able to subtley announce "I'VE CREATED LIFE!"
The most impressive thing about it is that Pete and I are on gchat damn near daily. I can't believe I didn't know.
Way to go bud - Congrats to you and yours!
Thanks, everyone! Linds and I are excited.
We're 2 hours from driving 3+ hours back to the hometown for Christmas. Wife discovered a mouse has hit our van's glove box.
Think we'll have to audible to shoving the family and all of our stuff into the car for the extended stay while leaving a million mousetraps around the van. Just really can't imagine driving off with the van and a possible stowaway.
Okay, here's a grievance. I only like eggs over-easy when they're cooked in bacon grease. But I don't want bacon all the time. Sometimes I can pawn the bacon off on my son. Othertimes, I have to eat it.
And here's a solution: Keep a metal coffee can next to the stove and save the bacon grease when you do make it. Now when you want eggs, you've got a supply.
I want to say I'm perfectly healthy despite using the coffee can, but I never use it for cooking. Its just a place to put it so I'm not dumping it down the sink.
I'd venture to say that the bacon is a bigger threat to your health than the BPA from using the coffee can to store bacon grease. Because Bacon.
Last year, I used that to feed the birds squirrels. This year, it hasn't been cold enough for the grease to stay solid.
People throw away bacon grease? I always save the bacon grease as it can be used for so many things. For example: use substitute bacon fat for butter when making a roux for gravy. Mmmmmmm.
So, last night I saw It's a Wonderful Life for the first time.
Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed were terrific, but man, the script could have used some work. Having a bunch of people donate money isn't gonna keep you out of prison. Also, it doesn't seem like there was any evidence to charge with any crime in the first place. But, I suppose these enormous plot holes are kind of beside the point.
I saw it for the first time last year. And yeah, same thoughts.
My take on that has always been that it was all about what George Bailey thought was going to happen, and right or wrong didn't matter. He let Potter get into his head, and that created the crisis, not the actual reality creating the crisis.
Also angels are supposed to be different from humans. So there's that, too.
And Donna Reed ended up a spinster? Didn't she have a couple of other guys chasing her earlier? I found that unbelievable, too. OMG, if not for George, she would have ended being, shudder, the Librarian!!!!!
If he was gonna commit suicide by jumping in the river but he jumped in to save the angel (headfirst!) how exactly was he going to commit suicide?
Also, how does the board of the Building and Loan demand that a 20 year old that has never gone to college end up running the business?
Also, what pharmacist has a bottle labeled "Poison" on the shelf?
Also, did he buy that house or were they there under adverse possession? If it was abandoned, how was it that there was a bed and such in there? And electricity? She was running her record player, where did she plug that in?
Who puts a swimming pool under a dance floor? That whole thing was absurd.
Dude, they put the dance floor on TOP of the swimming pool, not the other way around. Sheesh.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQNO51TtzE
Okay, but Donna Reed ends up a spinster? Explain that one.
Librarian, duh. Everyone knows that librarians are all spinsters.
The library is the worst group of people ever assembled in history.
Some days I think that.
Agreed. My mom was a librarian for twenty years...
I never liked that movie, for the reasons you outline, and have caught hell for it here and there.
It's one of those where I really think I should have seen it at a younger age, when I wouldn't have been so unforgiving of reality. It's a convenient Hollywood blockbuster, for sure.
convenient Hollywood blockbuster? Wasn't it originally a bust?
Yes, yes it was:
Theatrically, the film's break-even point was $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release.
If I say "blockbuster," I'm talking intent, not result. I have little or no interest in how movies do at the box office, but the quest for money that goes into the filmmaking process is of great interest and amusement to me.
Philip Seymour Hoffman.
So, we have some long time friends here that periodically make lefse around Christmas time, and are kind enough to share some with us. Thing is, they give it to us dry and hardened. I know how to "re-moisturize" them again, but I'd never seen them in that form until they gave us some the first time. Anyone else seen it in this format?
No, I haven't. Sounds strange.
My father-in-law tried a new recipe this year, and what came out of it is... sticky. Not particularly good.
I've got a lot of problems with the world, and now you're all gonna hear about it!
● The movie* Maleficent and everyone that made it. I'm still pissed about paying my money to see that pile of garbage. Now it's success, which I've added to, will encourage them to make similar movies or a sequel. I guess I can hope for similar re-makes that make more sense with the starting information or at least don't turn all of the heroes into one-dimensional villains.
● I'm disappointed in the rest of you that none of you have joined me in the hate I have for Maleficent.
● Will Oldham has put out album after album of songs that aren't horrible, but which could have counted as the least-beloved song on any album released from 1994-2009
● The last week-plus of weather has been hard to take. If I wanted to suffer ten straight overcast rainy days with highs in the 30s, I would live in Seattle!
● While I'm on the weather, the amount of rain in the spring kept my mushrooming grounds underwater! I never did find more than three or four morels all year.
● Saint Paul is getting too many decent concerts. I don't want to drive so much to get to see national touring artists. Anything east of Cedar-Riverside is too far.
● The Vikings don't think it's enough to make us pay for their new expensive, 8-uses-a-year coliseum. And it's not enough that it's gonna be a butt-ugly blight on the skyline. And it's not enough that they've killed my hopes of them ever leaving. No, they've got to plant their heels on the æsthetic interest of killing migratory birds.
● The Twins, for continuing to keep their games off of local broadcasts**, leading me to raise a generation of __Rs with no allegiance or interest in the local club. HPR has a friend that's a Yanquis fan (he's of northern NJ extraction), and HPR could easily pick that fandom up.
*Since free complained about Superman.
**Disinterested and irregular national broadcasts notwithstanding
Addendum:
● Squirrels, get a clue! Getting shot at means you're not welcome.
● Raccoons! I thought all warm-blooded animals were smart enough to know not to $#!+ where they eat. You seem to think my deck and birdfeeders don't need that rule.
● Mice! I see you running around in my yard. Don't get any smart ideas. Mice that enter the house never leave, and not because it's such a great place to be.
● Deer! Actually, you've been doing alright, thanks to the hunters, I'm sure. Let's keep it that way.
● Power companies and the butchers they hire to clear branches from the lines! You jerks cut down our (native) choke-cherry trees while leaving the just-as-tall and faster-growing buckthorn. Now I have to start with completely new plants if I want a natural and native barrier to the back of my yard. And you made the whole neighborhood look like $#!+!
● Buckthorn! You're a horrible plant and I hate you. I'd rather have poison ivy. Just let the grape vines kill you. Die already.
Re: Buckthorn
This sounds like the makings of a Cub Scout service/ecology project. I'll chop up some buckthorn for the cause. Kids'll have all the sticks they could ever dream of whittling.
You should never complain about too much water unless there's flooding. When people talk about how you could possibly live in a cold place like Minnesota, having plenty of water is a feature that I point out.
I didn't complain about Maleficient because unlike you, I didn't waste any money on it. I also didn't pay to see Frozen*, although my wife may have let the DVD infect our house
*I did see Frozen on our Disney Cruise, though. My review: fewer plot holes than It's a Wonderful Life!
Disney's done plenty of good things lately, even outside of Pixar and their importing of the Studio Ghibli films
Frozen is good if flawed. Tangled is better but with worse music. Wreck-it-Ralph is pretty great.
You went to a big-budget live-action blockbuster starring Angelina Jolie based on an animated movie with no plot on purpose, and you're blaming the filmmakers?
spoons has got a point....
Yes.
Because there was something much better to be done there, and they didn't do it.
And when they previewed it, it looked like they were going to that better place.
Wait, are people allowed to poke holes in other people's grievances on Festivus?
Sounds like an addendum to your grievance list is in order.
Indeed.
● Spookymilk, for belittling my grievances and for generally mockitude of the two movie comments I made this week. [This, and Avatar. Forget the story, it looks cool and I like the environment-building (not exactly world-building, more like an imaginary episode of Nature). I'd totally forgotten about the horribly-written characters. Speaking of horribly-written villain characters,.. King Stephan in Maleficent. Also, what a waste of Imelda Staunton!]
Decidedly not a Festivus grievance, Danger Mouse is returning to TV again -- oh crumbs!
I really hope it gets to American TV, and that it's as good as the original.
I own all the seasons of the original. MAN that show had a low budget, but I adore it.
The prosecution’s final slide, the pièce de résistance, opened with a header that said “Murder 2.” Then, under the header, a single word flashed, in all capital letters, in 96-point red type:
GUILTY!
As the word flashed, the prosecutor told the jury: “The defendant is guilty, guilty, guilty.”
At least 10 times in the last two years, US courts have reversed a criminal conviction because prosecutors violated the rules of fair argument with PowerPoint.
I'm pretty certain no one ever told me that wasn't allowed.
Gas for $1.98 -- it's a Festivus miracle!
2 and change in Hugo, MN. Wish I owned a pickup.
Pfft, diesel is still $3.50.
Twins sign Tim Stauffer to 1-yr, $2.2M deal. Average K rate for relievers. A little better than average walk rate. 3.30 FIP the last two years with the Padres.
a potential image?
I don't think I have ever participated in the airing of the grievances, but here goes:
Tailgaters in winter- Do you see I have a hitch on my truck? Go ahead see what it does to your hood!
People who can't give a courtesy call like "f$#k you, I quit!" instead of just not showing up for work, then not answering the phone.
Guests who tell me to my face that their food is great, and then leave a nasty comment card. Stupid Waiting movie.
Trucks that rack up huge repair bills shortly before the last payment is sent.
Edina Hockey - (see Yankees, Patriots, Lakers), why cant you just lose!
Dustin Pedroia- How can you run so fast while swinging your arms left to right like a Munchkin?!?
Voles- really? WTF is a vole and why my yard?!?
Teenagers who think it is cool to drag a yard waste container around the neighborhood with their vehicle until it destroys my mailbox, during the winter, when I can't freakin dig a new post in.
The home printer ink cartel
The work printer toner/drum cartel - really? You can]t let me decide when the toner is done? I have to bypass a stupid page counter?
People that still market blindly through faxes. Yes, please, I want to do business with your state of the art company that contacted me via Fax.
The hypocrisy of being the guy who still owns a fax machine.
Guests who tell me to my face that their food is great
Linds and I have been enjoying the new menu quite a bit.
I will add a couple of grievances:
* People that work in complex jobs with no backup that turn in their two week notice, then leave before a replacement can be hired, much less properly trained.
* Payroll software.
* Java.
Thanks. I am fortunate the bad comments are few and far between. Just wish people would feel comfortable telling us right out that they are not happy, as we do want to make it right.
Did you and I ever figure out if we know each other?
I don't think we do, but I'll see if you're around next time.
Oh... and congrats!!!!!
Oh, I completely forgot about work place grievances:
Upper management that incompetent handles layoffs and makes everyone hate them in the span of one workday, then builds on their lack of communication by waiting two weeks to have a staff meeting and then further lowers morale by instituting a requirement that salaried employees report to hr when they come in late or leave early.
Voles are like mice with shorter tails and as far as i can tell, they don't want to enter your house.
I had moles in my old yard and some folks said I had voles. I didn't tell them my opinion of their nature-ID skills.
IIRC, voles make "tunnels" above ground, under grass and snow.
People that still market blindly through faxes. Yes, please, I want to do business with your state of the art company that contacted me via Fax.
My office -- a state agency, mind -- REGULARLY gets faxspam from some company trying to sell dream vacations. On second thought, maybe that makes sense.
Shouldn't those faxes be going to the elected officials?
Happy Festivus!! Time to air those grievances you ingrates. I'll start:
Ticketmaster charging me $5.00 for the “convenience” of printing off my own ticket! What’s with this cash grab!
Urban bikers who ride at night without a light or a very dim light – Please, I don’t want to run you over.
Archbishop Nienstedt
Wisconsin sports fans who are way too full of themselves and then look to conspiracies or the refs when their teams ultimately choke.
People who don’t vote
The Minnesota Twins ineptitude to field a competitive team has lessened my interest in baseball
God that $1 billion football tv studio under construction on the east end of downtown is going to be ugly.
The innate ability of humans to degrade and demonize other humans based on such trivial matters as skin color, social standing, sleeping partner, religion…
The cost of a college education
Cancer Sucks!
Oh and that latest Superman movie. I realize it came out in 2013 but I just saw it in the last year. My God did that suck.
I think I can get into this:
Christmas music in the office over the PA system.
Ugly Christmas sweaters.
Gift giving obligations.
Flip Saunders mouth. (and GM abilities, and Glen Taylor's crappy ownership, and really just all of the Wolves organization.)
The inability to escape football discussions and the awkward pauses when I say I don't watch any of it.
A 3-year old with pooping issues leading to potty training difficulty.
Rain in December.
Probably more to come.
This too shall pass.
We had that with HPR. He was nearly potty-trained several times but we had to give up because he'd stop himself up.
AJR just had something similar show up but she's been potty-trained for two years, so we noticed quickly and took corrective action before it became a big deal.
I see what you did there.
Nice to see someone paying attention to the half-baked crap around here.
Actually, Flip did a pretty good job with last year's draft. He took one pick in the first round of a weak draft and ended up with Shabazz and Gorgui. That's an A+ in my book.
Fair enough, and I'm happy enough with the Brewer trade. My biggest grievance is certainly with his coaching. I just don't trust that good decisions will be made in the future.
I don't think Flip even wanted Shabazz. He pretty much said so on draft night. But, it turns out that Bazz apparently has a burning desire to improve. He'll never be an All-Star, but he's a quality piece or it at least it appears so because he appears to work his ass off out there. So I think he got lucky there a little.
Think of this trade: Minny gets Trey Burke, Utah gets Shabazz and Dieng. Who says no?
You had better believe it is the Wolves.
Also, he probably won the Kevin Love trade. David Thorpe:
If Wiggins is indeed better than Paul Pierce, that's an enormous win. Enormous. Again, Flip got lucky there with LBJ going back to Cleveland and I'm not as bullish on Wiggins as Thorpe (but he does a helluva lot more than me), but his performance as GM has not been a problem at all in my mind.
Of course, it doesn't take much to improve upon Kahn....
He still hired the coach.
There is a school-wide movie day today. It was a democratic election between 5 movies, and they chose The Game Plan. All football, all the time.
I thought you said "Flip Saunders Month" and I wondered what the hell the Wolves were up to now.
I'm going to list the traffic light at 58th and Lyndale for the fourth consecutive Festivus. Why am I stopped for three minutes when no one else is at the intersection?
The return of eye- eye. I believe this has been covered.
The St. Louis area. This year you've given me two more reasons to loath you besides The Best Fans in Baseball nonsense.
The goofballs on the Book of Face who keep telling me about how we're victims because people less privileged are frustrated.
Losing my grandma just days before the Valet was born. Life isn't fair.
Sylvain Distin. It's not your fault, but you're old and washed up. John Stones needs to get healthy pronto.
University of Memphis basketball fans. I've never seen a bigger group of uneducated morons than in the days before GW's NCAA tournament game when our little (seriously little) corner of the internet was raided by these inbred trolls.
I'm going to list the traffic light at 58th and Lyndale for the fourth consecutive Festivus. Why am I stopped for three minutes when no one else is at the intersection?
This describes every traffic light in the entire state of Illinois.
I guess I'll throw on the Franklin/Minnehaha/Cedar intersection. What a mess.
Heh, everytime I have to stop at that light I think of you.
The St. Louis area.
Hey, let's not get personal now!
Gonna have to hit the Y at lunch today to prep for the feats of strength.
Okay, back from the Y, and I'll throw in another one: how is it that I can max out the back extension machine at 300lbs, and yet embarassingly only 30lbs on the shoulder press? I'm getting a good workout, but I wish it was a little more balanced
CF. Unemployment.
Those two are big enough that I've been trying to focus on the positive lately. Sorry if I can't really get in the Festivus spirit this year.
Sorry if I can't really get in the Festivus spirit this year
Dang, I was going to challenge you to a feats of strength demonstration. Instead, I'll do this for you:
Cable news
Money in politics
Uninformed electorate
Disingenuous talking points
The end of the Colbert report
The end of the late late show with Craig Ferguson
Facebook comments
Strib comments
Unfair prick classification
Really it has been a year of a lot of unexpected change and I don't have much room to complain.
Speaking of airing of grievances: The USA could dramatically improve the lives of the 10 million Americans with serious mental illness if it would make wider use of proven programs.
Passwords requiring 8 digits, a capital letter, a number, and a special character.
The plastic wrapping around 2D batteries (could be used as a weapon).
People at Whole Foods who buy from the food bar and eat in the store.
People at Whole Foods who buy from the food bar and eat in their car.
People at Whole Foods who buy from the food bar and eat it in the checkout line.
Race volunteers who lie (Good job, Dude, you're almost there!).
The tape that comes with winterizing window plastic (Impossible to separate the sticky from the unsticky part).
People who try to get out the vote.
Rental car reliability, lack of cleanliness.
Passwords requiring 8 digits, a capital letter, a number, and a special character.
Password changes like iTunes that don't let you re-use prior passwords.
I'm just trying to re-set it to what I think it should be!
Special characters in passwords aren't an issue; just throw parents around it
Bottle full of bub, mama
Zach Lowe does not sugar the pill.
I love it when he goes 1-on-1 for half the shot clock, forces up a horrible shot, then yells at a teammate for some imagined failure. It's faaaaaan-tastic!
This is a perfect way for his career to end.
Meanwhile, though, six, there are tons of great stories in the league. I am so pumped about this season. Kobe going down in flames is a pretty good story, too, in my book.
Oh, for sure. Even with a historically great Western Conference, the Hawks might be the biggest story of all at this stage of the season. They are playing some fantastic basketball under their Pop acolyte coach. And Dennis Schroeder might be the Most Improved Player in the league. Him or Bazz.
The other really big story in my opinion has been the job Steve Kerr has done with GS. He's taken a good team and turned them into a great team, all with no prior coaching experience. Then again, he struck me as a pretty sharp fellow as an analyst. Someone who might have learned a thing from some of his former coaches--like Lute Olsen, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Lenny Wilkens, Phil Jackson and that guy in San Antonio. In addition, Kerr was a ball boy for two years at UCLA when they were coached by the Wizard of Westwood: John Wooden. That's a pretty impressive roster of coaching acumen from which to glean ideas.
And to think he almost took the Knicks job...
Steve Kerr: Prefers prime rib over shit sandwich.
I always loved the "Steve Kerr" chant at Arizona.
Yep, that's a big story. Steve Kerr was one of my favorites from way back when he was at U of A. I'm a fan of the league more than anything and I'm watching when they are on. Steph, man is he fun.
Remember, they really wanted Kevin Love, but wouldn't part with Thompson as part of the deal. They probably would be better with Love, but I'm pretty sure they're not crying to hard about that one.
You might have seen that Nate in St. Paul has sworn off of the Timberwolves until Taylor sells. That's too bad. He's pretty great to read even on Twitter.
Was it until Taylor sells or until KG sells?
I did see that. He also went and saw the Warriors a couple of days later when they were in town. Granted, he got free tickets from the owner of the Korean joint he frequents.
Curry is my favorite player, hands down. He's got one of the best handles in the league, passes like Ricky and might be the best pure shooter since Reggie Miller. What he does in the court is pure artistry.
And even though I thought GS was stupid for not trading Thompson for Love, that decision looks pretty smart about now. Especially the way Green has developed into an elite stretch forward. That dude (a 2nd round pick, btw,) is gonna get paid next year. Not sure if the Warriors will be able to afford him.
They drafted a player with a second roundpick?! Didn't anyone tell them they could sell those picks for cash?
Cash? You betcha!
He needed money to buy the Star Tribune. People dont buy paper products anymore!
Say what?
Curry is my favorite player, hands down.
Mine too, dude. I watch Warriors games at work just for his presence, something I haven't done with an NBA player since KG from about 98-04, and I had a rooting interest there.
I also love that he still looks like a school boy amongst grown-ass men with his slight frame and youthful visage. That goatee ain't foolin' me.
Anyone watching GS v. LAL just saw Curry dribble through traffic like a stunt driver. So smooth.
Full disclosure, Lakers up by 15 at the half. LA with 19 1st half assists. Kobe not suited up. Coincidence?
This game is another one in the "Kobe isn't all that" file. I'm good friends with a unapologetic Kobe fan at work, and this one should provide good ammo. Man, I hope I see him tomorrow.
speaking of grievances, I'm disappointed that Geoff hasn't come by to spew some invective after his BYU homies started a brawl after losing their Toilet Bowl game yesterday. Come back, Geoff! 🙂
Yes his Book of Face about it was very insightful.
/Nods in agreement
I don't really have a lot of grievances. This has been a great year in my life. My daughter has really blossomed this year, she's gotten into figure skating and playing piano with a zeal that encourages me and makes me proud. I got a new boss who isn't crazy (actually she's great, but only decent would have been a huge step up). I didn't waste a single minute watching NFL football. We are all happy and healthy. I gained some weight, sigh, but that gives me something to do in 2015.
I realize that nothing lasts forever and tomorrow isn't promised, but I have had a lot of happiness this year.
Having said all that, I am saddened by what's going on in this country re: policing and race. I am really saddened by my parents' reaction to it. They are old, I suppose, but it is distasteful and discouraging to hear some of the vile they spew. My mother actually called me last weekend to warn me that "the blacks" were protesting at the MOA and that I should stay away. OMG, mom.
Also, I went to a family reunion this summer and was subjected to flat out racist talk. I noted to myself who said what and then walked away in disgust.
I'm expecting some of that sort of stuff out of my dad when we visit this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but definitely hoping to avoid that line of conversation.
I spend a good chunk of my time at my parent's house as you may know and my mother brings this crap up all the time. I do everything I can to ignore it, but I will tell you that I get pretty sick of hearing it.
The best way I've found to avoid that sort of thing is just to not say anything and to change the subject at the earliest opportunity. Our parents are creatures of their time, just as we all are, and they're unlikely to change, so just love them anyway.
You've obviously never met my mother. 🙂
She not only wants to spew it, she wants you to agree and if you say nothing or disagree, there's gonna be a problem. She's also not amenable to changing the subject. The one good thing about this is that I've learned how to deal with really, really difficult people.
I said it was the best way I've found. I didn't say it works all the time 🙂
Oof. I can at least change the subject when my dad brings stuff like that up, so its really more of a mild inconvenience for me. (and half the time I'm not even sure he believes what he's saying.)
I struggle with how to respond as well. My parents are pretty benign, with only a rare-occasion statement that makes me flinch. But my brother seems determined every time I see him to say something really offensive and gratuitous (and him apparently not even aware). The last thing you want to do is to call somebody out at the holiday dinner table in front of the whole family.
My father-in-law gets me disagreeing with him even when we agree on things.
But when we disagree, I just don't respond much. Or I mutter. Or help a toddler with things.
I had forgotten this was coming. I should bone up on some news-related internet sites to know what the outrage of the day is.
It doesn't really matter. The comments will be pretty much the same no matter what the particular outrage is.
The thing for me is that I don't find those conversations very interesting even when I do agree. So we all agree that "X" is an outrage. Okay, now what? Now nothing, because we can't do anything about it. So what did we accomplish?
I believe it's called getting in the Festivus spirit.
I find it frustrating because I get along well with my FiL. Hunting & Fishing. I've gotten him into birding since he's retired. War & action movies.
But he just wants some time to be the radio talk-show host of the family, and I don't want to tune in. This is why I don't watch the news or have cable anymore. (well cable is also the $$.)
And if everything he wants to complain about were fixed tomorrow, he'd have a whole new set of things to be ticked off about within 24 hours (unless we keep him occupied and away from the internet).
Ugh. I'm about to spend 48 hours with my FIL. We can't be more different, and while that's the spice of life it's very frustrating to be confronted with his attitudes concerning race and politics for the whole trip. I've taken a refusal to participate attitude, but it doesn't stop him from spewing. Ugh. Now, my folks are the compete opposite. They never want to offend so they offer very little if not completely sure if everyone already agrees with their opinion. They're this close to being actual socialists, so that's something.
I'm extremely fortunate in this way. My parents are not products of their time, which has colored my own ability to love everyone. On my mother's side, even my grandparents would fit in well as young folks today (my father's side is a bit like SBG's, and only my dad and one sister appear to have overcome the handicap).
My wife, however, comes from a pretty "old-fashioned" family. A black man married into the family about five or six years ago, though, and to their credit he's honestly changed the outlook of a great many of them who initially deemed him "good for a black."
I'm having a hard time really thinking of anything. It's been one of the best years of my life. Being a dad is so rewarding. Even though my son has had some struggles, and I regularly grieve that, he also has many successes, and I'm learning that every parent and child have struggles and I feel lucky with the problems he doesn't have.
I share a lot of the political grievances others do here. Otherwise, my personal life has been great.
C'mon Beau (and Nibs) get in the Festivus spirit! Petty grievances count too. Like that old guy who is always trying to find out his points total at Super America while you just want to pay for your gas and go. Or the incessant e-mails you get from some company you bought one thing from that one time. Or when Cub doesn't have the cereal that you buy because they had a crazy sale on it and you don't care if it was 20 cents cheaper.
How about Targeto on University and it's inability to stock toilet paper? There's my grievance.
In the store or in their restrooms? Because in the restrooms, that can be a Real Problem.
Ha! I'm terrified of the restrooms.
I have no grievances of my own. My job is going well, my brother is home for the holidays. My immediate family is healthy (and growing, come June).
I have grievances on behalf of other people, but very, very few of my own.
!!!!!!
(that means congratulations)
Yay! Congrats nibbish!
Wooooo!!!!
A new niblet! Congratulations!
Indeed, congratulations on that.
ooh! A nibbito/a? (I just can't use the "@" sign. "nibbit@" looks like an email address.)
Felicitations!
Hooray!
W00T!
Another grievance: people announcing births in a Festivus thread.*
*congrats!
Felicitations! Best news of the day.
Salud, Nibs.
Congratulations Nibs. This is pretty awesome news.
Nibbish begats.
Congrats, nibs!
WAIT WHAT
Heh, I continue to be impressed by the citizens here to be able to subtley announce "I'VE CREATED LIFE!"
The most impressive thing about it is that Pete and I are on gchat damn near daily. I can't believe I didn't know.
Way to go bud - Congrats to you and yours!
Thanks, everyone! Linds and I are excited.
We're 2 hours from driving 3+ hours back to the hometown for Christmas. Wife discovered a mouse has hit our van's glove box.
Think we'll have to audible to shoving the family and all of our stuff into the car for the extended stay while leaving a million mousetraps around the van. Just really can't imagine driving off with the van and a possible stowaway.
Okay, here's a grievance. I only like eggs over-easy when they're cooked in bacon grease. But I don't want bacon all the time. Sometimes I can pawn the bacon off on my son. Othertimes, I have to eat it.
And here's a solution: Keep a metal coffee can next to the stove and save the bacon grease when you do make it. Now when you want eggs, you've got a supply.
better: a pyrex or glass bowl with a lid. Don't want those nasty BPA toxins rubbing off the inside of a metal can into your bacon grease. 🙂
I want to say I'm perfectly healthy despite using the coffee can, but I never use it for cooking. Its just a place to put it so I'm not dumping it down the sink.
I'd venture to say that the bacon is a bigger threat to your health than the BPA from using the coffee can to store bacon grease. Because Bacon.
Last year, I used that to feed the
birdssquirrels. This year, it hasn't been cold enough for the grease to stay solid.People throw away bacon grease? I always save the bacon grease as it can be used for so many things. For example: use substitute bacon fat for butter when making a roux for gravy. Mmmmmmm.
So, last night I saw It's a Wonderful Life for the first time.
I saw it for the first time last year. And yeah, same thoughts.
I do love that movie.
Dude, they put the dance floor on TOP of the swimming pool, not the other way around. Sheesh.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQNO51TtzE
Okay, but Donna Reed ends up a spinster? Explain that one.
Librarian, duh. Everyone knows that librarians are all spinsters.
The library is the worst group of people ever assembled in history.
Some days I think that.
Agreed. My mom was a librarian for twenty years...
I never liked that movie, for the reasons you outline, and have caught hell for it here and there.
It's one of those where I really think I should have seen it at a younger age, when I wouldn't have been so unforgiving of reality. It's a convenient Hollywood blockbuster, for sure.
convenient Hollywood blockbuster? Wasn't it originally a bust?
Yes, yes it was:
If I say "blockbuster," I'm talking intent, not result. I have little or no interest in how movies do at the box office, but the quest for money that goes into the filmmaking process is of great interest and amusement to me.
Philip Seymour Hoffman.
So, we have some long time friends here that periodically make lefse around Christmas time, and are kind enough to share some with us. Thing is, they give it to us dry and hardened. I know how to "re-moisturize" them again, but I'd never seen them in that form until they gave us some the first time. Anyone else seen it in this format?
No, I haven't. Sounds strange.
My father-in-law tried a new recipe this year, and what came out of it is... sticky. Not particularly good.
I've got a lot of problems with the world, and now you're all gonna hear about it!
● The movie* Maleficent and everyone that made it. I'm still pissed about paying my money to see that pile of garbage. Now it's success, which I've added to, will encourage them to make similar movies or a sequel. I guess I can hope for similar re-makes that make more sense with the starting information or at least don't turn all of the heroes into one-dimensional villains.
● I'm disappointed in the rest of you that none of you have joined me in the hate I have for Maleficent.
● Will Oldham has put out album after album of songs that aren't horrible, but which could have counted as the least-beloved song on any album released from 1994-2009
● The last week-plus of weather has been hard to take. If I wanted to suffer ten straight overcast rainy days with highs in the 30s, I would live in Seattle!
● While I'm on the weather, the amount of rain in the spring kept my mushrooming grounds underwater! I never did find more than three or four morels all year.
● Saint Paul is getting too many decent concerts. I don't want to drive so much to get to see national touring artists. Anything east of Cedar-Riverside is too far.
● The Vikings don't think it's enough to make us pay for their new expensive, 8-uses-a-year coliseum. And it's not enough that it's gonna be a butt-ugly blight on the skyline. And it's not enough that they've killed my hopes of them ever leaving. No, they've got to plant their heels on the æsthetic interest of killing migratory birds.
● The Twins, for continuing to keep their games off of local broadcasts**, leading me to raise a generation of __Rs with no allegiance or interest in the local club. HPR has a friend that's a Yanquis fan (he's of northern NJ extraction), and HPR could easily pick that fandom up.
*Since free complained about Superman.
**Disinterested and irregular national broadcasts notwithstanding
Addendum:
● Squirrels, get a clue! Getting shot at means you're not welcome.
● Raccoons! I thought all warm-blooded animals were smart enough to know not to $#!+ where they eat. You seem to think my deck and birdfeeders don't need that rule.
● Mice! I see you running around in my yard. Don't get any smart ideas. Mice that enter the house never leave, and not because it's such a great place to be.
● Deer! Actually, you've been doing alright, thanks to the hunters, I'm sure. Let's keep it that way.
● Power companies and the butchers they hire to clear branches from the lines! You jerks cut down our (native) choke-cherry trees while leaving the just-as-tall and faster-growing buckthorn. Now I have to start with completely new plants if I want a natural and native barrier to the back of my yard. And you made the whole neighborhood look like $#!+!
● Buckthorn! You're a horrible plant and I hate you. I'd rather have poison ivy. Just let the grape vines kill you. Die already.
Re: Buckthorn
This sounds like the makings of a Cub Scout service/ecology project. I'll chop up some buckthorn for the cause. Kids'll have all the sticks they could ever dream of whittling.
You should never complain about too much water unless there's flooding. When people talk about how you could possibly live in a cold place like Minnesota, having plenty of water is a feature that I point out.
I didn't complain about Maleficient because unlike you, I didn't waste any money on it. I also didn't pay to see Frozen*, although my wife may have let the DVD infect our house
*I did see Frozen on our Disney Cruise, though. My review: fewer plot holes than It's a Wonderful Life!
Let it gooooooooooooooo!
If only the water would freeze though.
Disney's done plenty of good things lately, even outside of Pixar and their importing of the Studio Ghibli films
Frozen is good if flawed. Tangled is better but with worse music. Wreck-it-Ralph is pretty great.
You went to a big-budget live-action blockbuster starring Angelina Jolie based on an animated movie with no plot on purpose, and you're blaming the filmmakers?
spoons has got a point....
Yes.
Because there was something much better to be done there, and they didn't do it.
And when they previewed it, it looked like they were going to that better place.
Wait, are people allowed to poke holes in other people's grievances on Festivus?
Sounds like an addendum to your grievance list is in order.
Indeed.
● Spookymilk, for belittling my grievances and for generally mockitude of the two movie comments I made this week. [This, and Avatar. Forget the story, it looks cool and I like the environment-building (not exactly world-building, more like an imaginary episode of Nature). I'd totally forgotten about the horribly-written characters. Speaking of horribly-written villain characters,.. King Stephan in Maleficent. Also, what a waste of Imelda Staunton!]
Decidedly not a Festivus grievance, Danger Mouse is returning to TV again -- oh crumbs!
I really hope it gets to American TV, and that it's as good as the original.
I own all the seasons of the original. MAN that show had a low budget, but I adore it.
For your Grievance-airing pleasure, this last one from the WaPo's sports grievance column today:
The lawyers in the room will surely enjoy this one: Washington state appeals court overturns conviction because of prosecutor's use of PowerPoint.
I'm pretty certain no one ever told me that wasn't allowed.
Gas for $1.98 -- it's a Festivus miracle!
2 and change in Hugo, MN. Wish I owned a pickup.
Pfft, diesel is still $3.50.
Twins sign Tim Stauffer to 1-yr, $2.2M deal. Average K rate for relievers. A little better than average walk rate. 3.30 FIP the last two years with the Padres.
a potential image?
I don't think I have ever participated in the airing of the grievances, but here goes:
Tailgaters in winter- Do you see I have a hitch on my truck? Go ahead see what it does to your hood!
People who can't give a courtesy call like "f$#k you, I quit!" instead of just not showing up for work, then not answering the phone.
Guests who tell me to my face that their food is great, and then leave a nasty comment card. Stupid Waiting movie.
Trucks that rack up huge repair bills shortly before the last payment is sent.
Edina Hockey - (see Yankees, Patriots, Lakers), why cant you just lose!
Dustin Pedroia- How can you run so fast while swinging your arms left to right like a Munchkin?!?
Voles- really? WTF is a vole and why my yard?!?
Teenagers who think it is cool to drag a yard waste container around the neighborhood with their vehicle until it destroys my mailbox, during the winter, when I can't freakin dig a new post in.
The home printer ink cartel
The work printer toner/drum cartel - really? You can]t let me decide when the toner is done? I have to bypass a stupid page counter?
People that still market blindly through faxes. Yes, please, I want to do business with your state of the art company that contacted me via Fax.
The hypocrisy of being the guy who still owns a fax machine.
Linds and I have been enjoying the new menu quite a bit.
I will add a couple of grievances:
* People that work in complex jobs with no backup that turn in their two week notice, then leave before a replacement can be hired, much less properly trained.
* Payroll software.
* Java.
Thanks. I am fortunate the bad comments are few and far between. Just wish people would feel comfortable telling us right out that they are not happy, as we do want to make it right.
Did you and I ever figure out if we know each other?
I don't think we do, but I'll see if you're around next time.
Oh... and congrats!!!!!
Oh, I completely forgot about work place grievances:
Upper management that incompetent handles layoffs and makes everyone hate them in the span of one workday, then builds on their lack of communication by waiting two weeks to have a staff meeting and then further lowers morale by instituting a requirement that salaried employees report to hr when they come in late or leave early.
Voles are like mice with shorter tails and as far as i can tell, they don't want to enter your house.
I had moles in my old yard and some folks said I had voles. I didn't tell them my opinion of their nature-ID skills.
IIRC, voles make "tunnels" above ground, under grass and snow.
My office -- a state agency, mind -- REGULARLY gets faxspam from some company trying to sell dream vacations. On second thought, maybe that makes sense.
Shouldn't those faxes be going to the elected officials?