59 thoughts on “May 1, 2015: Is it Still a Thing?”

  1. All of a sudden, Brian Dozier is on a run scored pace has was on last year. Now up to 17 in his 21 games played.

    1. Amazing what hitting in front of a good, veteran presence will get you...

  2. May Day was a thing when I was a kid. But I dont think it is anymore, at least in my town.

      1. Cheaptoy would have been totally out of luck yesterday. "Nope. Sorry, that's tomorrow, sir."

        1. I had enough to drink before my flight that I would have yelled it anyway and probably gotten surly with anyone who told me that.

          1. gotten surly with anyone who told me that.

            Yeah, I agree. Whenever you get into a tiff with anyone, it's a good idea to sit down and have a beer with them.

    1. When we first moved into our house, our neighbor's 7 year old daughter would craft us May Day baskets and leave them on our doorstep. It was fairly adorable, plus, you know, free candy.

      It was sort of a shame when she outgrew that.

    2. EAR has one friend that's quite into it.
      So EAR was freaking this morning that she didn't have anything for this friend's house.
      The next-door neighbor from the old house just passed away two weeks ago. My kids would do her house, too.

  3. At my college, there was a little saying invoked on May 1.

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    As you may surmise, the school was in a cold-weather climate.

    1. (Goes back to check for Pepper's contributions to yesterday's mascot discussion...)

  4. States Attorney in Baltimore brings down the hammer: six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Good.

    I told my wife last night about "rough rides" and that that was how Mr. Gray was mortally injured. She refused to believe what I was telling her. She did, however, get to hear about it from the States Attorney in Baltimore this morning.

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                1. Re: Good Ol' Boys, dudes, this place is crazy. I've never seen such a network of friends, connections, relationships, partnerships, secret societies, clubs ... ... ... ... It's a small town run by a small group of people most of them boys, most of them old, but maybe not so much good.

  5. I just watched the Baltimore prosecutor's speech. Avoiding the forbidden zone and all, I think it's worth watching. Especially having also watched the Ferguson prosecutor's speech.

        1. It just happened half hour ago. Give the internet a little time to catch up.

          If you didn't see McCulloch's press conference, you could probably find that somewhere now, for purposes of comparing and contrasting.

  6. Any STP folk wanna grab lunch next Friday? (May 8th) Are there people who work downtown St. Paul?

    1. Sure. There are three of us: the Pirate, Corn, and myself. So far I'm available next Friday.

      1. Same here ... but could change depending on what's happen[ed/ing] with the Legislature between now and then.

    1. I'm so old I remember when teaching kids progressively broader boundaries and to behave responsibly was just called "parenting."

      That's part of my visceral reaction to the "free-range parenting" crap. "Free-range" parenting isn't good parenting any more than "helicopter" parenting is.

  7. I'm probably not going to be around much today since I'm driving, so I figured I'd just try to firm up my plans for tomorrow.

    - Around 3:30 or 4:00 I'm going to meet Pepper at the Walker Sculpture Garden
    - I plan on arriving to the Depot between 5:00 and 5:30
    - The Speedy show starts at 8:00 and I'll be heading into the Entry around then, maybe a little later

    You're more than welcome to join for any of the above. If it's easier to coordinate via email, my email is zmoney at google's email service. And if it's easier to do so via text, email me and I'll give you my phone number. I'll be the guy in a Fargo-Moorhead Twins cap and pink sneakers. Promise you can't miss me.

    1. I'll have the pepperlings with me, so others are certainly welcome to bring little(ish) ones.

      I don't yet know what color my shoes will be, but now I wish I had a pair of pink kicks.

    2. I didn't realize part of this would be a kid friendly event...I may have to reevaluate my plans.

      1. Heh, it wasn't until I realized it was going to take an act of Congress for me to be able to get out of the house sans kids at any point tomorrow.

    3. Whoa, 5:30 to 8:30 at Depot? You may catch some after Twins action there. Also if you don't already, follow First Avenue on Twitter, they post set times typically late afternoon.

      I won't be at Sculpture Garden but I may make an appearance at Depot and/or Speedy Ortiz.

  8. Tim Stauffer to the DL with a "right intercostal (rib cage) strain" (never heard of it). Ryan Pressly called up. Isn't Duensing coming off the DL tomorrow? I guess they wanted another righty. I'm assuming Thielbar goes down when Duensing comes off the DL. I was hoping Stauffer would be DFA'd when Nolasco came off the DL. They've told Milone that he's going to the bullpen, so I assume that he's safe. So who goes when Nolasco returns? Molitor has already said that Boyer will be getting 8th-inning duty, so I can't imagine them dropping him. Are they going to give Graham back to the Braves or maybe work out a trade to send him down?

  9. So, this is interesting. Seattle has nation's highest water bills.

    Circle of Blue surveyed 30 major U.S. cities for their current utility water rates. In Seattle, for a typical family of four in which each person uses 50 gallons per day, the monthly bill totals $171.48.

    For that level of usage, Seattle’s water is the most expensive in the survey — more than $20 higher than No. 2, Atlanta.

    And — bafflingly — drought-stricken Fresno, Calif., has some of the cheapest water in the nation. At a 50-gallon-per-person usage, a family of four would pay just $41.63 — less than one-quarter of the cost in soggy Seattle.

  10. Hey, tax-savvy Citizens! In the event that a (non-custodial, i.e., owned by the parent) 529 account withdrawal exceeds the adjusted qualified educational expenses, who technically is supposed to claim the additional income on his taxes, parent or college kid? #askingforafriend

    1. and seriously, could the IRS make the instructions any LESS clear? If you read Publication 970, you will see in one spot that room & board is NOT a qualified educational expense; but in another spot that it is. (It's not deductible, but is part of the Qualified Educational Expense calculations on whether or not you've withdrawn "too much" money from a 529 and therefore will have to declare some earnings as taxable income). Turbotax does not handle this issue well. I may have just learned that the IRS doesn't really know what it's doing either....

      1. Qualified education expenses are defined differently for tax credits and 529 plans. (Not tax advice. Consult with your tax advisor.)

        From IRS pub on 529 plans:

        Qualified education expenses. These are expenses related to enrollment or attendance at an Eligible educational institution (defined later). As shown in the following list, to be qualified, some of the expenses must be required by the institution and some must be incurred by students who are enrolled at least half-time. See Half-time student , later.
        The following expenses must be required for enrollment or attendance of a Designated beneficiary (defined later) at an eligible educational institution.

        Tuition and fees.

        Books, supplies, and equipment.

        Expenses for special needs services needed by a special needs beneficiary must be incurred in connection with enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution.

        Expenses for room and board must be incurred by students who are enrolled at least half-time. The expense for room and board qualifies only to the extent that it is not more than the greater of the following two amounts.

        The allowance for room and board, as determined by the eligible educational institution, that was included in the cost of attendance (for federal financial aid purposes) for a particular academic period and living arrangement of the student.

        The actual amount charged if the student is residing in housing owned or operated by the eligible educational institution.

        You will need to contact the eligible educational institution for qualified room and board costs.

        1. Yea. If only Pub 970 and the instructions for the relevant tax forms were as clear. they are not.

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