Cup of Coffee

December 8, 2016: Because Seventeen Degrees

63 Comments

We're reaching a new low point for customers. When I go out for lunch and it's 17 and windy, I get it. I almost want to demand answers from my customers, in fact.

63 thoughts on “December 8, 2016: Because Seventeen Degrees”

  4. The Twins have apparently agreed to trade the first pick in the Rule 5 draft to the Padres; they selected Miguel Diaz, who played A-ball for the Brewers last season. The Padres selected Allen Cordoba, an infielder who spent 2016 playing rookie ball for the Cardinals' Appy League affiliate. Presumably Cordoba is headed to the Twins with some cash. No word if his glove is made of soft Corinthian leather.

        1. I wonder if they'll end up with 2 Rule 5 guys. That could be interesting. Tough to hide 2 guys.

      3. Just looking at his minor league stats, Haley looks interesting. He was really good in 2014 in A and AA, really bad in 2015 in AA, really good in the AFL after that, and really good in AA and AAA in 2016. I wonder if he was trying to pitch through an injury in 2015 or something.

        1. Haley looks like a guy the former Twins regime would traditionally draft. College pitcher with mediocre K rate and good control (although he started out with mediocre control and has improved the last couple years). I like him just by the fact he was born on my 20th birthday. Scouting report on Diaz makes it seem likely that he'll end up as a reliever while Haley probably has a better chance at being a back end of the rotation guy. Also Diaz had pitched only 1 season in low-A ball and had only pitched 20 innings in 2015, so possibly some injury history. Diaz is 22 and Haley is 25. I think Haley is much more likely to contribute to an MLB team this year and could possibly be in the Twins' rotation.

          2. Yeah, just looking at numbers Diaz is really hard to evaluate. Entered pro ball at seventeen, spent four years in rookie ball, and just one at Class A. He just turned twenty-two, so he still has time, but it's anyone's guess how good he might turn out to be. Which is true of most guys in low-A, of course, but seems to apply even more here.

      1. Reputation as a good defensive catcher, weak bat, although he does draw a good number of walks. Not to downplay the importance of defense from your catcher, but he looks to me like the kind of guy you can usually find if you're looking for one.

  5. My car's tire pressure indicator light went on the other day, so I put more air in the tires last night--first time I've ever done it myself. Afterward, I felt pretty manly competent. Also, I felt as if my fingers might fall off from the cold.

    2. We got good at that when the wheel was cracked... Twice a day.
      Good thing we got it fixed before now.

    3. Competence is totally underrated.
      And, agreed, for some reason filling tires in the cold is in a rare category of finger-numbing activities.

      1. No kidding. Had to explain a couple of years ago, when Little Miss Fancy Pants East Coast College was a h.s. senior that that dashboard indicator that looks like a gas pump, when lit up, might be important to pay attention to, and why.

  6. Dr. chop was notified as a recipient of a faculty research grant from the NEH last night. Less than 7% of applicants were funded. This is actually huge bigly big league. Thank god she got in before the axe man takes office.

        1. I have a book on anti-Irish political cartoons somewhere. I'm sure Dr. Chop is acquainted with the work, but I can get it to her once I find it if she doesn't have it.

  7. Had a rental last year from Hertz over the holidays - after a day or two of driving one of the tires was really low. It was quite cold then also (sub-twenty if I recall).

    I went to a gas-station in Stillwater to add air, and the compressor machine didn't work because it was so cold outside. I was relieved when we made it back to the rental return at the airport.

  8. Some really good stories from Prince's friend/acquaintances/associates in here. First one right off the bat:

    Corey Tollefson (Minneapolis-based entrepreneur and fan; attended events at Paisley Park for over 20 years): The thing that was funny was you never saw Prince [first], you smelled him. He always smelled like lavender. And you knew when he was there because you'd turn around and go, "Holy shit, I smell Prince." And then, ten seconds later, you'd see him.

      1. I had no idea that story was based on a true story until I saw an interview with the lead singer from Shalomar.

        (I'm sure I will get called out for not remembering his name.)

  9. Just back from my (almost) two month hip checkup; doc is pleased with everything. In addition, Runner daughter had an x-ray taken to check if she also had the genetic impingement issue that I did, and thankfully, like with her teeth, she chose from the correct side of the family when it comes to hip joints.

      1. Just had knee checkup with Dr. Selden this last week - Xrays showed nothing, but he wants an MRI...

        1. Heading back to the orthopedist for my 3rd visit for the ankle soon. Pretty much zero progress in 2-3 months. X-rays showed nothing. I want the MRI.

          1. Seems like a couple bucks and a water witch (with a wooden Y stick or a pair of pliers) and we'd have all of it.

  10. John Glenn dead at age 95.

    When I worked in Washington, DC I had a good friend who worked for Senator John Glenn and got to meet him a couple of times and of course knew a lot about him from my friend. He was a good guy. Had an ego from here to Akron, but he definitely was a good dude.

    1. Time to watch The Right Stuff again. Or better yet, pull the book from my shelf and reread it.

      When it was reported that he had been hospitalized for the better part of a week, I think we all knew what was coming, because 2016.

    2. Oh and Runner, Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer died too.

      I still think 2016 has one big celebrity to bring down by the end of the year. Barbara Streisand? Just a guess.

  11. Our daycare provider has taken more sick days this autumn than I have taken in my entire professional life. I have been very fortunate with my health, thank goodness, and I try to be understanding. I'm just frustrated that I'll probably be burning yet another vacation day tomorrow (and cancelling appointments, which inconveniences others).

    1. Our old preschool/day care took a full 4 weeks off a year for various breaks (summer, winter, etc), PLUS was closed for a whole smattering of other days (sometimes 2-3 at a time). It was like, yeah, fine, okay, but why do we still have to pay for it?

      1. !!

        Ours is closed only a handful of days a year and some of those are holidays we already have off (e.g. Labor Day). But that meant a big adjustment to the school schedule when the jalapeno started kindergarten last year. (What do you mean they get a random day off out of the blue for the end of the quarter?!)

        1. Yeah, I wasn't including the holidays that we already had off. Our preschool prior to that was nice enough to take the boy in over those longer breaks. You know, so we were double paying (plus $75 registration fee at the old school...).

      2. Ours takes her yearly paid vacation between 23 December - 3 January, when her kids are out of school. Fortunately, we get several of those days off already, so we don't need to dip too far into our own time to cover the gap.

        I have family members who have some pretty scary health histories, and a pretty deep personal conviction around fair labor practices. I believe people should get paid sick time when they need it. I'd rather she not get my kid sick if it's something communicable. At the same time, her service is essential for me to retain my own job and support my family. Even if I have the vacation time to use, I'm not being a good steward of my position if I'm frequently cancelling appointments with less than a day's notice. I don't know how to square those two circles.

          1. It would be nice if the smaller providers could sign up for a sort of "insurance policy" back-up care network, giving them the ability to bring in substitute caregivers similar to the way that schools bring in substitute teachers. Personally, one advantage of working for a giant company with good benefits is that we are compensated for a certain number of back-up care days per year, so basically if our daycare provider can't provide service that day, we can get a nanny or whatever. It's probably a net positive for the company, since I get to work those days instead of taking sick days that I otherwise wouldn't take.

          2. Indeed. Ours go to a center, so there's never a concern they won't be available. Plus, they give us three weeks of "vacation" so like Christmas week we won't have to pay.

            1. I'm on the other side, as my wife is a pre-school teacher (and assistant director of the school). Definitely not a daycare, so somewhat different. They are open on the same schedule as the public schools. The teachers don't get paid sick leave or vacation. Strictly hourly pay. Parents pay monthly tuition.

          3. I guess we've been pretty luck in our day care situations, as we've found in-home licensed placements that were reasonable in their charges and willing to do part-time, which usually means strictly hourly and we're not paying them for vacations. I believe right now we have one of our kids at full time, so we pay for the days she's closed for that one, but the other kid is part time. Plus our current day care only does school year, so we won't have to worry about paying for the summer or losing a slot when Philosofette isn't teaching.

            1. Ours isn't hourly, and she doesn't do part time (and we do give her vacation), but we have nonetheless been very lucky with our in home day care, as well.

        2. We had a nanny that took more than the 2 weeks of paid sick time that we gave her. When I called her on it and said we couldn't pay her, she got pretty upset. It turned out that she had started a nanny job with another family and was trying to double-dip on the payment. My wife was paid hourly with no vacation time so I wasn't too happy about the situation.

  12. For Mags:

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