83 thoughts on “October 28, 2015: Royals Strike First”
Kill out at Minnesota due to health concerns. Not. Good.
I'm no fan of the Gophers, but Kill did a good job. He took a program that was in smoldering ruins and brought it to a level of respectability. Given what he had gone through already, I hope that he's not in some serious danger and is just going to focus on relieving the stress and having good quality of life.
In reading about Flip, I came across the name of one of his old CBA teams: the LaCrosse Catbirds. I had to look up the logo:
I guess that's OK, but if they had orange, why not put some under the tail as in a real catbird:
I think because it would look like the bird was crapping a basketball.
legitimate LOLz.
That would be OK by me.
I just remembered that I never finished my reply to your personal email...
Mental Floss has an article about a bird chart with every bird native to the US on it.
I need one. Nits, picked at:
1. "Native" is incorrect: it also includes introduced species (Pheasant, Pigeon, Starling, Chuckar, Snowcock)
2. Missing: Gunnison Sage-grouse, Ringed Kingfisher, Gray Catbird, Nelson's Sparrow
3. Scale is really bizarre. I was hoping it was at true scale, but somehow it makes Pileated Woodpeckers look smaller than Least Bitterns and about the same as Black Swifts. Downy Woodpeckers about the same as Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Merlin bigger than Peregrine. Snowy Owl the size of Screech-owls. Northwestern Crow larger than American (when the primary field mark is that Northwestern is smaller). I think that what they did was fit each bird to a square based on length, regardless of how the bird was presented (note the ginormous Arctic Tern). I think the Snowy Owl just had bad data (inches instead of cm?).
4. Including Hawaiian endemics is kindof cool, but just makes me happy that the AOU and ABA exclude Hawaii, because those birds really muddle the finches and thrushes.
Was out doing hill-repeats at Eliz. Park a 1/2 block over from us - great cardio where I am totally gone at the top of the hill.
There was a dude with a camera on a stick, set up and taking photos of a red-tailed hawk on the top of a light pole, engorging itself on a squirrel.
Third repeat of my hill-loop and the squirrel was just a plank of fur. Hawk 1, Squirrel nil.
wow
Stunning news: #Gophers coach Jerry Kill retiring for health reasons. Tracy Claeys named interim coach.
The press conference is amazing. Pure emotion on display.
Bad week for MN sports. Bud Grant, Lou Nanne, Kent Hrbek, Alan Page please head to the secure bunker under the Mayo Clinic stat!
Feel bad for the guy. I hope he can get his body right or as right as possible and enjoy life.
He's only 54. Yikes.
I know. He looks terrible for being that young.
"So, with that, my doctor told me it’s in my best interest for my family, my kids, hopefully grandkids someday that if I didn’t go and move on with my life that I may be a guy that don’t think too good down the road, and I want to be able to think"
It sounds like the seizures have returned, but it wasn't made public.
StL Arch celebrates its 50 year anniversary of the day it the final piece was placed. Have any of you been to the top? Only $1 today, from what I heard.
I have been to the top. It's kinda cool.
I've been. I was not as freaked out as I thought I'd be. ( I hate heights)
Never been, doubt I would ever. Not afraid of heights; massively claustrophobic.
I'm not a fan of uncontrolled heights (though I pushed that aside to do things like rapelling in my old gig). Visiting the observation deck of Ostankino Tower and standing on the glass floor 1100 feet up was amazing, so I'd definitely do the Arch.
I got physically ill in the Washington Monument.
The claustrophobia got me there. I would much prefer taking the stairs to cramped elevators.
The arch's pods are quite cramped. Stairs not an option.
There's always going up the outside of the Arch, Adam West/Batman-style...
It's an option when you're hired for that pod-repairman job.
I've been to the top a few times. My grandparents lived across the rivers in Alton, IL. My mom has memories of the arch going up, with the most prominent being that my grandpa (a mech. engineer), looking at it every couple of days and exclaiming that the two sides wouldn't meet up at the top.
I've been. I'll echo "kinda cool." It looks 50-years old up there, and a little tough to get much of a view for long.
Museum below was worth seeing, too.
The museum is closed currently for a long overhaul. They're giving everything a nice facelift, including the grounds.
I was there many years ago. I think it was 1987.
Late October, maybe?
Sadly, no. As I recall, it was August. I did get to a ball game, though. I remember that John Tudor pitched for St. Louis.
Let me say, New Busch is sooo much better than heat-holding Old Busch. You went there in August?!?
I was working for the state of South Dakota back then, and there was a meeting in St. Louis they sent me to. The hotel was just a few blocks from the ball park, as I recall. I also got to spend a few hours in the Bowling Hall of Fame, which was a lot cooler than it might sound like it would be.
Do they actually have lanes there? I'd be a bit disappointed if they didn't actually.
As I recall (it's been a long time, obviously), they had some modern lanes and also had some old-timey lanes with old-timey pins and balls. Sadly, I did not have time to bowl on them.
I was. The pod was smelly.
I saw the Arch for the first time last week as I drove through StL on my way to Memphis. Someday.
drove through?? *sad face*
We drove to Memphis & back over the weekend; if there had been actual time to stop, you know I would've gotten in touch!
The good news is, we have two sets of close friends down there now, so travel to Memphis may be more frequent in the future. I would certainly be open to a meet-up in StL on one of those trips.
I will be there 12/26-12/30. I have no idea what my obligations will be until we get there.
Your obligation is to weasel out a couple hours of escape
I agree!
I went up to the top while on a family vacation at age 6 (I think my father had a physics conference in St. Louis). My strongest memory is of waiting in line and another woman teaching my mother how to French braid my hair. Given how often she braided my hair in the years that followed, it was a pretty darn good use of time. Alas, I remember very little else. I don't have any real fear of heights, particularly not when in an enclosed space.
We did the Arch when we were there for the niece's wedding. Heights don't bother me if I'm enclosed in a structure, so I enjoyed it, I'm a fan of really large vistas. We went early and spent some time in the museum, I've got pictures of it somewhere. After that we went to an afternoon ballgame with the extended family.
1. Shakespeare in Love. Thought Girl with the Pearl Earring before getting this one.
3. Cowboys and Aliens
4. Major League
6. Jurassic World. Knew it was one of the series, got lucky on the first guess that it was actually this one.
8. Hudsucker Proxy
I think I'd like Hudsucker Proxy more now that I did at the time I saw it. We watched it in social studies class somewhere around 9th grade or so. I have no idea how that was supposed to fit with the curriculum, but it was one of those teachers who had us watch movies all the time, likely so he didn't have to really do much of anything, and so he could just get paid to watch movies he liked.
Pretty sure that was also the year we watched Gung Ho and Red Dawn in class as well, with minimal relevance (if any?) to the topic at hand.
I had a screenwriting class in HS that was mostly watching movies (did you get to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre in class?). We occasionally actually wrote something.
Real quick, tHSP was my first real acquaintance with Tim Robbins (I realized later that he was in plenty of things I'd seen). The very next one was Shawshank Redemption. It was hard reconciling those two characters in my mind. Every time he looked thoughtful or brooding, I could only think of "Fight On Dear Old Muncie".
I had 3, 4, 5, and 6. I also had your initial first guess on #1 but didn't get the actual result.
Dang, I even saw that one! I had it in my mind that she must be Dakota or Elle Fanning, and couldn't get passed that idea.
NBA last night: ZOMG.
Pau with a game saving block on LBJ. Cleveland will be fine, Love looked good (except for that hair). Chicago looked good.
Steph Curry is not human.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Apparently you are not watching the Pupoies at the Lackers. This game is not fun to watch. Boring.
Jury Duty Day in H'istan.
Haven't been called for jury duty evah before. NBBW does all the time.
Showed up on time. Brought a thermos of coffee but they had a food truck parked right in front - Chicken Parm, hey!. TSA-like screening and whisked up to the 4th floor, where ONLY jurors can go.
Watched the video, learnt some French voir dire, and waited whilst they read out names in waves of batches, never mine.
CT has it's own unique flavor of voir dire, which involves individual interviewing of each juror candidate. Some here think this is wasteful.
Lunch break at 1. Walked to Park Street (barrio), went in to a Honduran restaurant and had some lechon asado, platanos, & rice and beans. Only 5 clams - bonito. Back to the courthouse just in time to beat the rain.
Waiting. Reading Economist - Paul Prudhomme obit. Schwab Onward magazine - Social Security Admin projects that the current system will remain sound through 2036, but after that, benefits could be reduced by 22%...
Time stands still.
Final call at 3:30. They called everyone but me for the last pull. I went to the office and inquired What's Up? Court dude said he thought I had been pulled earlier (his shirt signage said he was a Marshal).
Me: Nope, I've been here all day, and not called.
Marshall: Did you check in this morning?
Me: Yep.
He: Hmm... Oh. Here is your slip. Not sure why that happened. You can go home.
Me: Will I get credit for this? Do I have to come back? /* BTW I am billable, Marshal. */
He: Yeah. You'll get something in the mail. You're set.
Parcoured National Anthem - delivered as predicted.
Holy Crap - Pete Rose is a talking head on Game 2 - NBBW pointed out the combover - and A-Ski - natch.
Took my SUNY-Binghamton buddy out for lunch yesterday as he was passing through to give a talk down in the valley. And snuck a beer. Founders Breakfast Stout. Mmmm.
Hey, I have a SUNY-Binghamton buddy! He straddles a couple of departments over there.
Mine is in political science.
Yup, they surely know each other then. My boy's PoliSci and Environmental Science.
I also had a Founder's Breakfast Stout the other day! We could be Twins!
Missed it by this --><-- much.
I've heard of SUNY-Binghamton and I went with a sixer of the Porter last week.
I nearly moved to Binghamton and I'm sure I would have had a porter whilst living there had I done so.
4-letter reporting that Gardy is in the running to manage the Padres.
Finalist for Padres but out of running for Nats. The guy the Padres fired beats out Gardy for job in Washington. I don't think that bodes well for Gardy in San Diego.
Nick Young looks like Dave Chapelle playing Rick James.
Getting interesting, thanks to the second unit. And Ricky has made jumpers!
So, I take it all back. Ricky making shots is exciting.
I think Ricky and Wiggins may have traded jump shots.
I don't know if I am ready for a world in which Ricky punishes defenses with mid-range jumpers off the dribble.
This Bjelica kid looks like a player.
I guess his nickname is "Professor Big Shots"
which automatically makes him my favorite player
Refs treating KAT like a rookie.
Same ol' pups down the stretch. Bad shots, missed layups, missed defensive assignments. Up one with 4 seconds left.
And they escape with a win because the Lakers did not execute.
Got home in time to watch the second half. Wolves looked great in the fourth quarter until they looked more interested in killing clock than running their offense. That's something they'll need to work on, but hopefully they'll have a lot of opportunities to work on protecting leads. I loved that Kobe called timeout because they weren't giving him the ball in the final seconds and then they didn't give him the ball for the final shot.
Puppies!
lol
It was all about the number 24 tonight. Kobe led all Lakers players with 24 shots and 24 points. pic.twitter.com/NN1cyq03Ek
Kill out at Minnesota due to health concerns. Not. Good.
I'm no fan of the Gophers, but Kill did a good job. He took a program that was in smoldering ruins and brought it to a level of respectability. Given what he had gone through already, I hope that he's not in some serious danger and is just going to focus on relieving the stress and having good quality of life.
In reading about Flip, I came across the name of one of his old CBA teams: the LaCrosse Catbirds. I had to look up the logo:
I guess that's OK, but if they had orange, why not put some under the tail as in a real catbird:
I think because it would look like the bird was crapping a basketball.
legitimate LOLz.
That would be OK by me.
I just remembered that I never finished my reply to your personal email...
Mental Floss has an article about a bird chart with every bird native to the US on it.
I need one. Nits, picked at:
1. "Native" is incorrect: it also includes introduced species (Pheasant, Pigeon, Starling, Chuckar, Snowcock)
2. Missing: Gunnison Sage-grouse, Ringed Kingfisher, Gray Catbird, Nelson's Sparrow
3. Scale is really bizarre. I was hoping it was at true scale, but somehow it makes Pileated Woodpeckers look smaller than Least Bitterns and about the same as Black Swifts. Downy Woodpeckers about the same as Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Merlin bigger than Peregrine. Snowy Owl the size of Screech-owls. Northwestern Crow larger than American (when the primary field mark is that Northwestern is smaller). I think that what they did was fit each bird to a square based on length, regardless of how the bird was presented (note the ginormous Arctic Tern). I think the Snowy Owl just had bad data (inches instead of cm?).
4. Including Hawaiian endemics is kindof cool, but just makes me happy that the AOU and ABA exclude Hawaii, because those birds really muddle the finches and thrushes.
Was out doing hill-repeats at Eliz. Park a 1/2 block over from us - great cardio where I am totally gone at the top of the hill.
There was a dude with a camera on a stick, set up and taking photos of a red-tailed hawk on the top of a light pole, engorging itself on a squirrel.
Third repeat of my hill-loop and the squirrel was just a plank of fur. Hawk 1, Squirrel nil.
wow
The press conference is amazing. Pure emotion on display.
Bad week for MN sports. Bud Grant, Lou Nanne, Kent Hrbek, Alan Page please head to the secure bunker under the Mayo Clinic stat!
Feel bad for the guy. I hope he can get his body right or as right as possible and enjoy life.
He's only 54. Yikes.
I know. He looks terrible for being that young.
It sounds like the seizures have returned, but it wasn't made public.
StL Arch celebrates its 50 year anniversary of the day it the final piece was placed. Have any of you been to the top? Only $1 today, from what I heard.
I have been to the top. It's kinda cool.
I've been. I was not as freaked out as I thought I'd be. ( I hate heights)
Never been, doubt I would ever. Not afraid of heights; massively claustrophobic.
I'm not a fan of uncontrolled heights (though I pushed that aside to do things like rapelling in my old gig). Visiting the observation deck of Ostankino Tower and standing on the glass floor 1100 feet up was amazing, so I'd definitely do the Arch.
I got physically ill in the Washington Monument.
The claustrophobia got me there. I would much prefer taking the stairs to cramped elevators.
The arch's pods are quite cramped. Stairs not an option.
There's always going up the outside of the Arch, Adam West/Batman-style...
It's an option when you're hired for that pod-repairman job.
Parachuting is also not an option.
I've been to the top a few times. My grandparents lived across the rivers in Alton, IL. My mom has memories of the arch going up, with the most prominent being that my grandpa (a mech. engineer), looking at it every couple of days and exclaiming that the two sides wouldn't meet up at the top.
I've been. I'll echo "kinda cool." It looks 50-years old up there, and a little tough to get much of a view for long.
Museum below was worth seeing, too.
The museum is closed currently for a long overhaul. They're giving everything a nice facelift, including the grounds.
I was there many years ago. I think it was 1987.
Late October, maybe?
Sadly, no. As I recall, it was August. I did get to a ball game, though. I remember that John Tudor pitched for St. Louis.
In fact, I'm fairly sure it was this game.
Let me say, New Busch is sooo much better than heat-holding Old Busch. You went there in August?!?
I was working for the state of South Dakota back then, and there was a meeting in St. Louis they sent me to. The hotel was just a few blocks from the ball park, as I recall. I also got to spend a few hours in the Bowling Hall of Fame, which was a lot cooler than it might sound like it would be.
Do they actually have lanes there? I'd be a bit disappointed if they didn't actually.
As I recall (it's been a long time, obviously), they had some modern lanes and also had some old-timey lanes with old-timey pins and balls. Sadly, I did not have time to bowl on them.
I was. The pod was smelly.
I saw the Arch for the first time last week as I drove through StL on my way to Memphis. Someday.
drove through?? *sad face*
We drove to Memphis & back over the weekend; if there had been actual time to stop, you know I would've gotten in touch!
The good news is, we have two sets of close friends down there now, so travel to Memphis may be more frequent in the future. I would certainly be open to a meet-up in StL on one of those trips.
I will be there 12/26-12/30. I have no idea what my obligations will be until we get there.
Your obligation is to weasel out a couple hours of escape
I agree!
I went up to the top while on a family vacation at age 6 (I think my father had a physics conference in St. Louis). My strongest memory is of waiting in line and another woman teaching my mother how to French braid my hair. Given how often she braided my hair in the years that followed, it was a pretty darn good use of time. Alas, I remember very little else. I don't have any real fear of heights, particularly not when in an enclosed space.
We did the Arch when we were there for the niece's wedding. Heights don't bother me if I'm enclosed in a structure, so I enjoyed it, I'm a fan of really large vistas. We went early and spent some time in the museum, I've got pictures of it somewhere. After that we went to an afternoon ballgame with the extended family.
The fascinating life of Vigo The Carpathian.
Quite a story there.
Just finished reading it and thought the exact same thing...holy cow.
Finally got around to posting the Invisibles quiz for the week. I managed 5 of them:
Also, I can only add:
I had 3, 4, 5, and 6. I also had your initial first guess on #1 but didn't get the actual result.
NBA last night: ZOMG.
Pau with a game saving block on LBJ. Cleveland will be fine, Love looked good (except for that hair). Chicago looked good.
Steph Curry is not human.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Apparently you are not watching the Pupoies at the Lackers. This game is not fun to watch. Boring.
Jury Duty Day in H'istan.
Haven't been called for jury duty evah before. NBBW does all the time.
Showed up on time. Brought a thermos of coffee but they had a food truck parked right in front - Chicken Parm, hey!. TSA-like screening and whisked up to the 4th floor, where ONLY jurors can go.
Watched the video, learnt some French voir dire, and waited whilst they read out names in waves of batches, never mine.
CT has it's own unique flavor of voir dire, which involves individual interviewing of each juror candidate. Some here think this is wasteful.
Lunch break at 1. Walked to Park Street (barrio), went in to a Honduran restaurant and had some lechon asado, platanos, & rice and beans. Only 5 clams - bonito. Back to the courthouse just in time to beat the rain.
Waiting. Reading Economist - Paul Prudhomme obit. Schwab Onward magazine - Social Security Admin projects that the current system will remain sound through 2036, but after that, benefits could be reduced by 22%...
Time stands still.
Final call at 3:30. They called everyone but me for the last pull. I went to the office and inquired What's Up? Court dude said he thought I had been pulled earlier (his shirt signage said he was a Marshal).
Me: Nope, I've been here all day, and not called.
Marshall: Did you check in this morning?
Me: Yep.
He: Hmm... Oh. Here is your slip. Not sure why that happened. You can go home.
Me: Will I get credit for this? Do I have to come back? /* BTW I am billable, Marshal. */
He: Yeah. You'll get something in the mail. You're set.
Parcoured National Anthem - delivered as predicted.
Holy Crap - Pete Rose is a talking head on Game 2 - NBBW pointed out the combover - and A-Ski - natch.
Took my SUNY-Binghamton buddy out for lunch yesterday as he was passing through to give a talk down in the valley. And snuck a beer. Founders Breakfast Stout. Mmmm.
Hey, I have a SUNY-Binghamton buddy! He straddles a couple of departments over there.
Mine is in political science.
Yup, they surely know each other then. My boy's PoliSci and Environmental Science.
I also had a Founder's Breakfast Stout the other day! We could be Twins!
Missed it by this --><-- much.
I've heard of SUNY-Binghamton and I went with a sixer of the Porter last week.
I nearly moved to Binghamton and I'm sure I would have had a porter whilst living there had I done so.
4-letter reporting that Gardy is in the running to manage the Padres.
Finalist for Padres but out of running for Nats. The guy the Padres fired beats out Gardy for job in Washington. I don't think that bodes well for Gardy in San Diego.
Nick Young looks like Dave Chapelle playing Rick James.
Getting interesting, thanks to the second unit. And Ricky has made jumpers!
So, I take it all back. Ricky making shots is exciting.
I think Ricky and Wiggins may have traded jump shots.
I don't know if I am ready for a world in which Ricky punishes defenses with mid-range jumpers off the dribble.
This Bjelica kid looks like a player.
I guess his nickname is "Professor Big Shots"
which automatically makes him my favorite player
Refs treating KAT like a rookie.
Same ol' pups down the stretch. Bad shots, missed layups, missed defensive assignments. Up one with 4 seconds left.
And they escape with a win because the Lakers did not execute.
Got home in time to watch the second half. Wolves looked great in the fourth quarter until they looked more interested in killing clock than running their offense. That's something they'll need to work on, but hopefully they'll have a lot of opportunities to work on protecting leads. I loved that Kobe called timeout because they weren't giving him the ball in the final seconds and then they didn't give him the ball for the final shot.
Puppies!
lol
Ricky goes for 28 pts 14 assists 1 steal 1 turnover
*insert fire emoji here*
CBSsportsd has Rubio with a turnover, ESPN has him at zero *seligshrug*