At least they avoided another 90-loss season, right?
40 thoughts on “29 September 2016: 102 & Counting”
Meg Rowley, today at BP: José Fernández, Joan Didion, and magical thinking. It's a meditation about so much more than "just" losing an extraordinarily gifted baseball player. I really hope they didn't paywall that one.
Aaron's first task as EIC is to give her a raise. With Sam Miller gone she might be my favorite writer there now.
Aaron...Gleeman?
Yep.
Some personal news: I'm the new Editor-In-Chief of Baseball Prospectus, which is literally the job I dreamed of when I was 16. So excited.
On a lighter note, in a record-breaking offensive onslaught, the Lynx blew out Phoenix in Game 1 of their semifinal series last night, leading by as many as 25. Recap from the four-letter, but it's a good read and Pat Borzi's "one of us," which is nice.
I'm shocked the crowd was only ~9,000. Mid week, first round game? Still, seems like it should be higher.
I wonder how much the move to Xcel for the Playoffs hurts attendance. Getting to an event in downtown Minneapolis is so much easier for me than St. Paul, especially on a week night.
Wow. I'd think, given the history of success and the high quality of the players, the Lynx would be a bigger draw. Truth be told, I've followed the Lynx more closely than the Wolves (save what I read here) the last couple years.
Maybe the Mercury's poor record doesn't generate that much excitement? I don't know. Still, they have Taurasi, who's widely considered the greatest woman's basketball player in the world and Brittney Griner was the first overall pick a couple years ago and was the consensus best player when she was drafted. Plus, you think a team with 2 former Gopher stars and one of the best all-around players in the league in Maya Moore wouldn't need an exciting opponent to generate buzz. Minnesotans complain about all the losing among pro teams and they have a bonafide dynasty that they aren't supporting.
Mrs. Runner is celebrating the day by adding a splash of my Bailey's to her morning coffee. Ahhh, vacation.
Last night as the four of us here in Estes Park arrived downtown to do some dining, we noticed a bull elk in the parking lot not far from us, and three of his herd by the water in the tall grass under the rock cliffs alongside the lot (even the parking lots are beautiful here). While we maintained a strategic vehicle between us and the elk at all times, we quickly warned a guy who had walked up to an SUV with 2-3 others when he unwarily walked within ~10' from it. I'm used to driving warily when wildlife can be present (and we've had to stop numerous times for elk...and turkeys), it's a little unnerving to have to be vigilant when walking. The residents here seem to be comfortable with elk and deer walking through their yards...or resting in the shade under the tree in the front yard. Rutting season had been entertaining, for certain.
AMR, it's getting gruesome out there. On the north side of 3rd Avenue, just west of Nicollet, there's a quantity of feathers dispersed under a small tree. And on the east side Hennepin Ave, just north of Washington Ave (by the bus stop), I saw two black wings on the sidewalk. Maybe robin-sized? I looked away pretty quickly, but one of the wings had white spots on it.
White spots sounds like woodpecker or White-breasted Nuthatch. (Belted Kingfishers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks also have spots on the wings.)
I've got a W-b Nuthatch wing that I found downtown a year or two ago, no other sign nearby. Maybe dropped by a Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk.
I was early this morning and there were no wings there at 7:45am. Wait, not your bus stop but across the street from Whole Foods.
Dispersed feathers usually indicate mammal predation. Perhaps a coyote, fox, or feral cat is learning that downtown is full of morsels in the mornings.
On Monday, there was a Crow next to Cancer Survivors' Park that picked up a Common Yellowthroat as I approached. Crows are smart, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of window-kills end up in Crow stomachs before any people arrive. Crows probably also turn window-stunned birds (I've seen five or six so far this week) into snacks oftenly.
Egad, you weren't just early--you diverged from your usual route!
Looking up the four birds you mentioned, a woodpecker wing definitely looks most like what I saw.
P.S. Where does one store the wing of a bird?
I'm cutting through Cancer Survivor's Park almost every morning, but my timing has been all off anyways (early or late).
If, hypothetically, I kept it, I would have used to keep it on a cluttered shelf. But by now would have moved it to a clear plastic box (a "mini" tackle box) with a bunch of bird feathers. Hypothetically.
cc to Phyllo: you have some "interesting" bookface friends. I look forward to subscribing to their Internet newsletters.
You're running into one of the more interesting ones. I've learned that I usually shouldn't engage him. And the other one I'd call... active, and well intentioned, and leave it at that.
You'll probably just want to give up on that one branch... I often don't follow where he's going/coming from.
yea, I'm done with my lunch, so I probably won't be paying any more attention to him for the rest of my afternoon .
reading comprehension is a challenge for all of us, I guess.
Don't know if they can quite compete with your bookface friends there
None of mine have Internet newsletters. Well, maybe The Roommate....
I would put my guy up against anyone.
AMR -- had one waterfowl (female mallard?) that had an uninteresting mottled brown aside from a blue under-wing feather (I sent a picture, but the blue is hard to see); also a dark gray waterfowl with lighter belly and darker head. Plus a raven and four muskrats, all in the Lily Lake area. Moose were reportedly just down the road, but probably gone before we'd have gotten there.
Blue wing teal?
I considered that, but the head and feet didn't match the descriptions, and too much blue. I think my guess is right.
It is a Mallard. I'm thinking a first-year drake or just a drake in eclipse.
Dark gray: Maybe Scaup or Ring-necked drake in eclipse? Maybe Gadwall drake or Goldeneye hen?
The yellow-green bill (not orange with or without black markings) identifies the Mallard as a male.
The Lesser Scaup looks the best fit, but I don't remember the belly being a striking white, just a lightening of the top color. It wasn't that close, and it was sunset...maybe three female canvasbacks, and we didn't make out the brown? Or American Coots?
btw, we did spot a mountain bluebird in flight while driving.
I remember lots of Mountain Bluebirds around Winter Park (where we stayed).
Coots don't look like ducks in flight.
(I assume in flight because you saw the belly).
uhhhh, not so much the belly; they were not in flight. all the photos I see of the Scaups are on the water, and the gray-to-white transition is a lot more striking (and higher up on the back) than I remember
Meg Rowley, today at BP: José Fernández, Joan Didion, and magical thinking. It's a meditation about so much more than "just" losing an extraordinarily gifted baseball player. I really hope they didn't paywall that one.
Aaron's first task as EIC is to give her a raise. With Sam Miller gone she might be my favorite writer there now.
Aaron...Gleeman?
Yep.
I don't know what that means, but I am giggling nonetheless.
*cough*
I meant second favorite after Trueblood
I haven't read much of hers, but what I have, I liked.
Hey, some website I've never heard of declared Minneapolis the 3rd best US city for coffee lovers. Hooray?
Y'all realize today is National Coffee Day.
On a lighter note, in a record-breaking offensive onslaught, the Lynx blew out Phoenix in Game 1 of their semifinal series last night, leading by as many as 25. Recap from the four-letter, but it's a good read and Pat Borzi's "one of us," which is nice.
I'm shocked the crowd was only ~9,000. Mid week, first round game? Still, seems like it should be higher.
I wonder how much the move to Xcel for the Playoffs hurts attendance. Getting to an event in downtown Minneapolis is so much easier for me than St. Paul, especially on a week night.
The Wild even bought 500 tickets and gave them away to fans.
Wow. I'd think, given the history of success and the high quality of the players, the Lynx would be a bigger draw. Truth be told, I've followed the Lynx more closely than the Wolves (save what I read here) the last couple years.
Maybe the Mercury's poor record doesn't generate that much excitement? I don't know. Still, they have Taurasi, who's widely considered the greatest woman's basketball player in the world and Brittney Griner was the first overall pick a couple years ago and was the consensus best player when she was drafted. Plus, you think a team with 2 former Gopher stars and one of the best all-around players in the league in Maya Moore wouldn't need an exciting opponent to generate buzz. Minnesotans complain about all the losing among pro teams and they have a bonafide dynasty that they aren't supporting.
Mrs. Runner is celebrating the day by adding a splash of my Bailey's to her morning coffee. Ahhh, vacation.
Last night as the four of us here in Estes Park arrived downtown to do some dining, we noticed a bull elk in the parking lot not far from us, and three of his herd by the water in the tall grass under the rock cliffs alongside the lot (even the parking lots are beautiful here). While we maintained a strategic vehicle between us and the elk at all times, we quickly warned a guy who had walked up to an SUV with 2-3 others when he unwarily walked within ~10' from it. I'm used to driving warily when wildlife can be present (and we've had to stop numerous times for elk...and turkeys), it's a little unnerving to have to be vigilant when walking. The residents here seem to be comfortable with elk and deer walking through their yards...or resting in the shade under the tree in the front yard. Rutting season had been entertaining, for certain.
Sheesh, Wilson Ramos can't catch a break.
AMR, it's getting gruesome out there. On the north side of 3rd Avenue, just west of Nicollet, there's a quantity of feathers dispersed under a small tree. And on the east side Hennepin Ave, just north of Washington Ave (by the bus stop), I saw two black wings on the sidewalk. Maybe robin-sized? I looked away pretty quickly, but one of the wings had white spots on it.
White spots sounds like woodpecker or White-breasted Nuthatch. (Belted Kingfishers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks also have spots on the wings.)
I've got a W-b Nuthatch wing that I found downtown a year or two ago, no other sign nearby. Maybe dropped by a Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk.
I was early this morning and there were no wings there at 7:45am. Wait, not your bus stop but across the street from Whole Foods.
Dispersed feathers usually indicate mammal predation. Perhaps a coyote, fox, or feral cat is learning that downtown is full of morsels in the mornings.
On Monday, there was a Crow next to Cancer Survivors' Park that picked up a Common Yellowthroat as I approached. Crows are smart, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of window-kills end up in Crow stomachs before any people arrive. Crows probably also turn window-stunned birds (I've seen five or six so far this week) into snacks oftenly.
Egad, you weren't just early--you diverged from your usual route!
Looking up the four birds you mentioned, a woodpecker wing definitely looks most like what I saw.
P.S. Where does one store the wing of a bird?
I'm cutting through Cancer Survivor's Park almost every morning, but my timing has been all off anyways (early or late).
If, hypothetically, I kept it, I would have used to keep it on a cluttered shelf. But by now would have moved it to a clear plastic box (a "mini" tackle box) with a bunch of bird feathers. Hypothetically.
cc to Phyllo: you have some "interesting" bookface friends. I look forward to subscribing to their Internet newsletters.
You're running into one of the more interesting ones. I've learned that I usually shouldn't engage him. And the other one I'd call... active, and well intentioned, and leave it at that.
You'll probably just want to give up on that one branch... I often don't follow where he's going/coming from.
yea, I'm done with my lunch, so I probably won't be paying any more attention to him for the rest of my afternoon .
reading comprehension is a challenge for all of us, I guess.
Don't know if they can quite compete with your bookface friends there
None of mine have Internet newsletters. Well, maybe The Roommate....
I would put my guy up against anyone.
AMR -- had one waterfowl (female mallard?) that had an uninteresting mottled brown aside from a blue under-wing feather (I sent a picture, but the blue is hard to see); also a dark gray waterfowl with lighter belly and darker head. Plus a raven and four muskrats, all in the Lily Lake area. Moose were reportedly just down the road, but probably gone before we'd have gotten there.
Blue wing teal?
I considered that, but the head and feet didn't match the descriptions, and too much blue. I think my guess is right.
It is a Mallard. I'm thinking a first-year drake or just a drake in eclipse.
Dark gray: Maybe Scaup or Ring-necked drake in eclipse? Maybe Gadwall drake or Goldeneye hen?
The yellow-green bill (not orange with or without black markings) identifies the Mallard as a male.
The Lesser Scaup looks the best fit, but I don't remember the belly being a striking white, just a lightening of the top color. It wasn't that close, and it was sunset...maybe three female canvasbacks, and we didn't make out the brown? Or American Coots?
btw, we did spot a mountain bluebird in flight while driving.
I remember lots of Mountain Bluebirds around Winter Park (where we stayed).
Coots don't look like ducks in flight.
(I assume in flight because you saw the belly).
uhhhh, not so much the belly; they were not in flight. all the photos I see of the Scaups are on the water, and the gray-to-white transition is a lot more striking (and higher up on the back) than I remember