53 thoughts on “July 13th, 2015: Billed in Error”

  1. On Friday when we were heading in to the city for the game, I looked out the window and asked my brother: "what the hell is that monstrosity?"

    The Vikings should have been left to move.

        1. I remembered your comment right after I asked the question and my brother told me what it was.

  2. You may have noticed on the book of face that I went on a 30-mile solo hike trip on the Superior Hiking Trail this weekend. Basically from Sonju Lake to Temperance River. It was hot and grueling but I made it with just some muscle soreness and one small blister on my foot.

    I have now hiked about 150 of the 325 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail and have gone the entire route from Castle Danger to a little north of Grand Marais -- This is probably some of the most spectacular scenery on the SHT but also most rugged. Next up is the kinda boring Two Harbors to Duluth section. I've also been picking off sections of the trail south of Duluth and my goal is to finish the entire Superior Hiking Trail before I turn 60 -- meaning I have 8 years. Definitely doable as long as I keep at it.

    AMR, I wish I had a recording of all the bird songs (calls?) I heard. I bet I heard at least 10-12 different birds. It be interesting to find out what they were.

      1. It's going to take me maybe 10 years to finish the 325 mile SHT. That will be my life's work. I am however going on a Colorado 2-day hike in August and Zion in September.

    2. The north shore is a hotspot for breeding warblers. Probably:
      Yellow Warbler
      American Redstart
      Chestnut-sided Warbler
      Black-throated Green Warbler
      Nashville Warbler
      Black-and-White Warbler
      Ovenbird
      Common Yellowthroat
      Mourning Warbler

      Possibly:
      Black-throated Blue Warbler
      Tennessee Warbler
      Golden-winged Warbler
      Northern Parula
      Northern Waterthrush
      Blackburnian Warbler
      Bay-breasted Warbler
      Pine Warbler
      Canada Warbler

      Plus others like Vireos, Thrushes, Flycatchers, Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, and Crossbills.

    3. That looks like something I could get into when my kids get older yet.
      I'll start with some one-nighters at Afton and other nearby places, but even those are still a few years out.
      Or maybe Glacial Lakes: it's near the in-laws' and it was beautiful out on the prairie.

      1. I've been hearing great things about Glacial Lakes. Which, I suppose, is to be expected from the locals.

        1. It's like two parks. The northwestern corner is forested with a cool little motorless lake. That's where the campgrounds, camper cabins, and picnic grounds and beach are. (The beach is barely worth mentioning, but the kids liked it. Go to my FB photos to see what you think.) Nice enough, but kindof buggy and not that different than lots of places I've been in my life.

          The rest of the park is big glacial hills covered with prairie and small pothole-type lakes. When I was out there, there were no bugs except in one corner where I came up near the woods. Winds kept me cool. I saw my lifer Bittern fly across the trail from one slough to another. Sedge and Marsh Wrens. Great views, and a few backpacking campsites further out. I could see being dropped off on the eastern edge of the park one day and being picked up near the entrance the next day.

          1. I absolutely love Glacial Lakes - While at school in Morris, I hooked up with the outdoor club and did a winter camping/cross country skiing weekend at the park - slept in a quinzee at the southern end of Signalness.

    4. Funny.

      A couple months ago I ran the Bimbler's Bash (~12K trail run in Guilford, CT). Tough run, very technical - rocks/roots, but I enjoyed it immensely.

      Last night on the flight from Minny to H'istan, the guy sitting next to me (John) is from Guilford, and also ran the same race. And I am wearing the Bimbler's Bash 2015 T-shirt on the flight. Probably <200 souls in that race. What are the odds?

  3. courtesy of Twins Daily:

    3. Phil Hughes is on pace to allow 245 hits and 40 home runs. Only Bert Blyleven and Brad Radke have given up 40 homers as Twins. That's not necessarily the worst sign, because both those guys were pretty good. And despite leading the league in both hits and homers allowed, Hughes has still been fairly effective (especially lately). That is, in no small part, because…

    4. Phil Hughes is on pace to allow 20 walks. That would equate to 36 total over the span of two seasons. To say he is in control would be a putting it lightly.

    2. As amusing as I find on pace numbers early in the season, by this point of the season they're just misleading. Point #2 is proof enough:

      2. Brian Dozier is on pace for 35 home runs, 87 extra-base hits and 122 runs scored. All incredible numbers. Only three Twins have ever scored 120 or more runs in a season: Chuck Knoblauch (1996), Rod Carew ('77) and Zoilo Versalles ('65). Tony Oliva currently holds the franchise record for extra-base hits with 84, set in 1964. It's worth noting that Dozier had 18 homers at the break last year and finished with 23.

        1. He was in the derby. There's no proof that it messed up his swing, and I don't really recall anyone from the Twins mentioning that as a reason he didn't hit as many homers in the second half. He had a dropoff in power in the second half, but he batted about the same and actually reached base at a little better clip in the second half last year.

    2. I would've had all four of those without trouble, but the rest are a pain.

      I feel certain I've seen #3, for all the good it's doing me. The one in the van with the triangle head seems familiar too.

  6. Nine Years ago today, the Twins started the second half with a loss to the Cleveland Indians. They gave them a 47-40 record which was good enough for 3rd place behind Detroit and Chicago, 12 games back of first.
    After that, the Twins went on one of the most fantastic tears I've ever seen, finishing 49-26 for the rest of the year and took out the Detroit Tigers on the last day of the season.

    I bring this up, well, for no reason other than that season was so much fun (I'm pretty sure that's when I discovered this place). But also that after losing that opening game, we were about as far out as we'd get that year (the most out we'd gotten was 12.5 in late May). To come back and make up 12 games in only 2 and a half months was awesome to behold.

    I have no idea if the Twins can keep up what they've done this season, but what gives me hope is that they do seem to be improving. Now granted, going from May to June, was not an improvement. May was just awesome. But seeing them come back against the Tigers, and then taking the rest of the games in the series, especially after what they did to us opening week, gets me excited for the second half.

    So again, no real reason to bring this up other than I'm really excited for the second half of this season (and a little bummed that the Twins have to stop playing for a few days.)

    1. I just came her to re-start my improbable AL standings report, with games above/below the second wild card.
      KCR +5.5
      MIN +1.0
      NYY/LAA +0.5
      HOU (WC2 Position)
      TBR -3.0
      DET/BAL -3.5 (.500 record)
      TOR -4.0
      CLE/CWS/TEX -5.5
      BOS -6.0
      SEA -7.0
      OAK -8.0

      MLB.com (using Baseball Prospectus) now has the Twins above the Tigers for Postseason probability:
      KCR 74.7% DIV, 13.7% WC, 88.4% Total
      MIN 10.3% DIV, 24.5% WC, 34.8% Total
      DET 7.9% DIV, 17.5% WC, 25.4% Total
      CLE 5.6% DIV, 13.5% WC, 19.1% Total
      CWS 1.4% DIV, 3.9% WC, 5.3% Total

      I only put Cleveland in there because, two days ago, the probabilities were:
      KCR 73.4% DIV, 13.4% WC, 86.8% Total
      DET 11.9% DIV, 22.2% WC, 34.1% Total
      CLE 8.1% DIV, 18.3% WC, 26.4% Total
      MIN 5.4% DIV, 16.4% WC, 21.9% Total

      And I kept in the Sox because starting the season:
      DET 38.7% DIV, 9.7% WC, 48.5% Total
      CLE 29.7% DIV, 8.6% WC, 38.3% Total
      CWS 19.7% DIV, 7.2% WC, 26.9% Total
      KCR 6.8% DIV, 3.5% WC, 10.4% Total
      MIN 5.1% DIV, 2.7% WC, 7.7% Total

        1. AL-only:
          LAA 57.3% DIV, 19.8% WC, 77.1% Total
          NYY 58.0% DIV, 14.7% WC, 72.8% Total
          HOU 35.0% DIV, 27.4% WC, 62.5% Total

          After the Twins is Tampa Bay, at 32.0% total.

    1. yeah, I'm not entirely sure the GW Heh Heh is a good thing, and also ... KFC is still a thing?

          1. I laughed. There is a KFC next to my printmaking workshop in Northern Ireland. I laugh almost every day as I walk past.

            1. Ireland was great. Pristine white sand beaches. Countryside beautiful, Giant Causeway, Belfast was beautiful. We'd go back. Irish sports rock.

            2. I love the north coast. Absolutely love it. Still would live in Belfast given the opportunity.

            3. I remember seeing "Tennessee Fried Chicken" in some European city (London, Paris, Vienna, or Prague).
              ...or was it NYC two years later?

    2. I had to get used to it, but it was an inspired idea. Yes, we don't have the chance to see Hamilton-like numbers anymore in a round, but the speed of the thing creates memories all the same.

      1. It also avoids a player hitting 30 in the 2nd round and being gassed for the final

    3. I caught on if the semis, then the final. I agree that I much preferred the pace of this format.

  9. Way, way, way up on the list of things I never, ever want to witness again is a cat coughing up a hairball. Right after that is having to clean up a fresh hairball.

    1. pffft. You haven't lived until you've been projectile pooped on while changing a diaper. Hairball is child's play.

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