72 thoughts on “March 23, 2015: With Each Passing Week”

      1. Dido. I just sent my parents back home last week after another winter out here. They were very happy to get back home, but the day is coming soon when that will no longer be viable.

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          1. Anyone who doesn't understand the moral of "Green Eggs and Ham" may not be qualified to be leader of the free world, no matter where he was born.

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    2. I see two cases in your neck of the woods in two weeks. I try to finangle the assignment.

    3. It was a good day, and I think I'm going to like it here. I have much to learn, and there will be plenty of good, hard work. I'm very excited.

      DPWY, let me know how your scheduling goes.

  5. I had an awesome weekend. Took my car in for an oil change on saturday. Dudes say "hey, have you noticed that rumbling/grinding sound? You need a new water pump." I was at a Speedee Lube, so not enthusiastic about having them do the work. Took it to my guys this morning, who estimated ~$500 (3.5 hours of labor???), which was a LOT more than the Speedee estimate. But, well, I trust my guys to do it right. (online price range advice for my car, a 2003 Camry, was $300-$500, so I guess I'm winning!)

    drove to Napa yesterday with wife and a friend from college, visiting from St Louis. Had a great afternoon, but on the drive home, the dashboard on the wife's car lights up like a christmas tree. ABS! Brakes! Death warnings! Owner's manual says this triple-warning indicates failure of the ABS system. Sweet!!!!!

      1. Yea, mine is a 4-cylinder, which apparently is an "easier" car to work on for this repair than the 6-cylinder version. Still, 3.5 hours of labor seems pretty high, given the Speedee guys estimated 1.5 hours.

        regarding the ABS, she still had breaks in her car, but unclear whether the ABS still works.

        1. I don't have any warning lights, but I know my brakes need to get done.

          In other news, I paid a tree service more than $850.00* last week to take down a huge (later determined to be 88-year-old) pine on my property which had died a couple summers ago. It was either remove the thing before it fell and damaged property or clean up the mess afterwards and repair the damage.
          We also learned that our huge silver maple (7+ ft diameter and at least 60-years-old) which looms over both our house and garage should be taken down. At some point, the previous owners had a portion of the upper trunk & branches removed as they were hanging directly over the house. Unfortunately, in doing so, they opened the trunk to the elements. There's now a 20-inch wide cavity open to the sky, housing a family of squirrels, running who knows how far down the heart of the tree. Cost estimate for taking it down: $1500.

          *I opted to have them leave the wood for me to deal with, rather than spending an additional $500 to have it removed.

            1. I spent the entire day yesterday lying on the couch, watching Curb Your Enthusiasm. My wife was rather angry that I didn't clean the house while she and Miss SBG were at the Stars on Ice program.

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              1. wimp.

                Men are such pansies. Don't (ever) forget, she carried that kid in her uterus for 9 months, then pushed a bowling ball out a straw. You probably feinted from a hangnail.

                  1. I have no idea how big this is. The nesting levels are deep enough it's borked on my phone. Please fix if necessary. Gracias.

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                  2. True, somewhat related story: I broke my wrist playing basketball in grad school. Probably played another half-hour before we were done*, then went to get x-rayed. Not as epic as your story, however.

                    *It had little effect on my shooting. I sucked before, I sucked after.

                    1. The skating story was much worse. I fell again after breaking my wrist. This time, I was acutely aware that my wrist was broken, so I rolled onto my shoulder to avoid further damage to the wrist. Afterwards, I couldn't raise my shoulder without suffering intense pain. Had great difficulty putting my shirt on or my jacket. This went on for several months until one night I was heading down the basement without the light on. I had my right hand on the rail, but I stepped on the cat in the darkness and threw my left arm up to balance myself. The pain was so intense that I laid on the floor and cried. I then went to the doctor for X-rays. Nothing broken, but possible rotator cuff injury? I went through a month of PT, with no real improvement. I was all set for a cortisone shot, but I missed my appointment and had to reschedule. It turned out that the next appointment was the day before I was flying to Europe, so I decided that day not to get it, in case there was some sort of reaction.

                      My flight to Amsterdam was very uncomfortable. I was stuck in the back row of the plane, against the window. My right (good) shoulder was jammed against the side of the plane for nine hours. Couldn't put my seat back, couldn't sleep, constant pressure on my shoulder. However, when I got off the plane, I realized that my left shoulder was now good again. Something must have been pinched and nine hours of inadvertent therapy fixed it. Hasn't bothered me since.

          2. Ugh, silver maples. We have a large one in the front yard that I would like removed but it provides nice shade and is in a perfect spot to where a better shade tree would go (plus $$$). Until then, hope it stays up.

            We have two pretty large spruces in the front that need to come down. The front yard isn't that big and it's half taken up by spruce trees. The back has a tight row of seven spruces that hang over the neighbor's yard and take up a large portion of our yard. Plus a few other small ones in bad spots. I think those are going to be "free"...

            1. Spruces are annoying.
              I'm a strong supporter of Hackberries, if anyone's looking for something to plant.
              I've got two giants in my yard and they're magnificent in every way the Ashes and Boxelders aren't.

              1. sean - I'm hoping what you're hoping. I asked both arborists I had out what they thought about the tree and the general response was, "Depends on how comfortable you are with risk."

                AMR - I'll definitely look into Hackberries when I'm looking for a replacement. There are a couple of them in my parent's yard that are, as you say, magnificent.

                Was going to ask about your beef with Ash & Box elders, then realized that I could probably figure it out.
                According to the Repository (paraphrased):
                Box elders are small, fast-growing, short-lived trees with weak wood, irregular form and prolific seeding.

                Couldn't find an obvious answer for Ash. Is it simply because of the emerald ash borer?

                We get box elder bugs in the house all winter...didn't realize that the tree they're named for is part of the maple family.

    2. My ABS light went on four years ago and my ABS still works. Maybe not as well as it should, but they've always stopped me.

    3. My new chocks and jack stands have arrived. My new sway bar should be here today or tomorrow. I ordered a new fuel filter and some line clamps too. Figured, you know, while I was under there.

  6. Another NFL role model.

    PHOENIX (AP) -- Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper was sentenced to nine years in federal prison Monday immediately after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona, marking the first change of plea of the day for the former safety accused of drugging and assaulting women in four states.

  7. seen on my alumni FB page just now. any suggestions?

    Community service needed! Seeking non-profit volunteer hours in the St Paul area this week/weekend for my son (Mac student). Anyone have contacts? Thanks!

    1. Mac student? Community service hours needed? I think we all know what this is about.

        1. I'm guessing he implies charges for substance possession, or something along those lines.

    1. I think she needed to take a little flack for Iowa St. to win it all. She may be 17th overall now, but that ISU pick is gonna keep on giving.

    2. If that is one of the worst examples of mean she can find in her feed she is better off than almost every other public figure on Twitter.

    3. Overheard while sitting in the airport today...Elderly man and woman are sharing a phone. Woman: "Iowa State, Kansas, Virginia...You're screwed!...Ha! Villanova!"

  10. So, my wife and I went thrift store hopping in Chicago this weekend. Picked up a couple cheap board games.

    First, picked up my own personal copy of Diplomacy for $2. I will probably only play this once or twice, but I couldn't resist getting my own copy. Now if I play a game on CdL, I'll have a board to look at.
    Second, picked up a fun trivia game called Bezzerwizzer. Played this once a couple years ago, and the wife and I seemed to like it.

    Also picked up A Tale of Two Cities and How Now Shall We Live in terms of books. I'm always on a mission to find good classics in good condition. I've picked up War and Peace, Huck Finn, Hamlet, and others in the past.

    Also, I was looking to start a series for games (replacing Pixel Perfect Memories) featuring talks about board games, video games, and the like. I haven't found a good time of the month to feature this. I know we have a movie day and a book day, what day would be good for a game discussion day? Thoughts? (I think I need a deadline so that I actually print something up.)

    1. The Our Features page has a table listing when things happen. Last week had movie day so that means PPM is due for tomorrow. How's that for a deadline?

      The second and fourth weeks of the month are empty so whatever works for you.

    2. I'd be willing to pick up an occasional post on this rotation, if you wanted help.

      I bought Ticket To Ride as a reward for getting a new job a couple weeks ago. Haven't had a chance to play it yet. I've played TransEuropa (and TransAmerica) before, and I know it's similar, but the added complexity looks enticing. And I love adding to my Spiel Des Jahres collection. I'm now at 6 ('95, '01, '03, '04, '06, '09).

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