Have a happy and safe 4th, everyone. May all your digits remain intact.
44 thoughts on “July 4, 2019: ‘Murrica”
Was at the Children's Hospital ER from 1230-145 last night because Honest Abe woke up crying and correctly self-diagnosed himself by saying, "I have croup." Didn't even think to check to watch the Twins game while we were in a room.
Hope he's doing better today.
croup is the worst. Here's hoping Abe is feeling much better.
He's recovered enough to be at his second parade of the day
Before we got to the game last night, we did a little light fieldwork.
We tried everything except the Pulp. Favorites included the Master of Crumpets (lots of coffee on the nose balanced with some cocoa and vanilla, smooth finish; a lot of body for a brown ale), Juice Crusher (big, citrusy nose, but very balanced; none of their IPAs were excessively bitter), Future So Bright (tons of fruit aroma), Shindo (big, citrus-hop nose; very Sierra Nevada-ish), World of Make-Believe (very fruity nose and flavor profile), and the Young Hazy (one of the tastiest hazies I've had).
Both of the fruity sours had their attractions. The Vanillaberry was too sweet for me, but was relatively balanced between the fruit and the sour for others. The Caribbean Queen tasted of guava to me (the passionfruit, I guess) and, for me, came closer to the right balance of sweet and sour for a fruity sour.
The Mrs plays along. She gamely drank a taster of the vanillaberry, which she deemed "not terrible."
... I hate beer. Well played.
view from our seats, pre-game. A beautiful day by the Bay.
What are these long sleeved things with hoods attached to them, doc?
It got down into the upper 50s. I had my sweatshirt on by about the 5th inning. This is the "warm" side of the Bay.
We ran into a bunch of Twins fans after the game, including a couple of LPNs who work at Mayo and went to Spamtown Vo-tech back in the day. They and their crew apparently follow the Twins around the country for every 4th of July series. That was kinda cool.
Also, we were in the relatively expensive seats. Surrounded by friendly A's fans. I sat next to a young father with his maybe-5 year old son. The kid was somewhat interested, but put more attention into his hot dog, pizza, and hot chocolate than into the game. I think they left in the 9th.
What is this hot chocolate that you speak of?
Play ball!
also, I won't say I spookied Polanco's Bomba, but I knew it was out off the bat. Stroked.
Well played - Polanco was the choice I came up with too while mulling it over while mowing today
I don't like him, but I'll take Sano.
Anything for points
I've been meaning to drop this for a week, but Trueblood mentioned to me the other day that, whatever the prior issues, he has seen in the clubhouse that Sano can be a good teammate, who brings a lot of joy and fun to the others on the team.
That's not a reason to like him, per se. Nor a reason to keep him on a team. But, coupled with the not-guilty type of finding, and the lack of other accusers (a rarity when accusations are made)... it's... something? Its worth mentioning at least?
I'm still don't feel exactly easy with the guy, and a trade for value would certainly alleviate my conscience by removing the problem.
You can root for a person who did bad things to do good things.
Polanco.
What the hell: Adrianza
Kepler
I’ve been riding Polanco for weeks and the day I don’t make a pick, he goes yard.
Buxton.
Cron, goddamnit.
Ok, he has the day off. Hopefully he gets his mojo back. I will go with Sano.
Kepler!
You may have heard this by now, but R. I. P. Arte Johnson, best known as part of the cast of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In", at age ninety.
Artie made Nazi soldiers funny. That probably wouldn't work so well today.
I have that same thought when I watch "Hogan's Heroes" reruns.
On the Grill Smoker
I couldn't find a whole duck anywhere so bought three magret breasts and made Tea Smoked Duck:
Rub (after applying sesame oil): sugar, salt, pepper, 5-spice powder, cinnamon, coriander
Smoke mix: cherry wood chips, white rice, black tea, cinnamon, star anise, orange peels, brown sugar. (no need to pre-soak the wood)
Light briquets (1/4 of them in a chimney for 15 minutes) then add the rest to the smoker. Hook and hang the duck breasts from the rebars. Each breast was about a lb., so smoked them for 2.5 hrs.
Serve: warmed corn tortillas with chopped cilantro, chopped scallions, thinly sliced cucumber - add hoisin sauce and thinly sliced duck.
Awesome.
Pork butt has been on for three hours so far. Charcoal snake, cherry and hickory. Tortillas, cotija, fresh salsa, black beans, corn on the cob, salad. Thinking about cocktails....
Muy bueno, señor.
Mezcal old fashioned!
I’m at my mom’s in MN. My siblings and all the kids came over, we grilled burgers, dogs, and brats. My mom unfortunately got the cheddar filled brats. Plain would have been much preferred. I also made these bars which are still cooking in the fridge. They are still pretty gooey, but they’ll be tasty once they’re solidified.
Mezcal old fashioneds are amazing.
Ooh. Those bars look good.
The Mrs made a peach/blueberry crisp. Mmmm.
I can't wait until my raspberries come in.
Does A-Stud have some brothers or cousins or something in the minor leagues? There's a Wilfred Astudillo playing for the Kingsport Mets in the Appalachian League and a Willfrann Astudillo playing for the DSL Blue Jays. All three of them were born in Barcelona, Venezuela. For all I know Astudillo might be as common in Venezuela as Smith is in the United States, but it seems at least possible that they're related somehow.
For anyone who might be curious, Wilfred is batting .346/.393/.500 in 28 plate appearances for Kingsport. He's nineteen. Willfrann is batting .148/.246/.167 in 61 plate appearances. He's seventeen. Wilfred is a catcher/first baseman. Willfrann has, as Gordo used to say, played around. He has seven games at shortstop, seven at first base, four at third base, three in right field, one in left field, one in center field, and one at second base.
Was at the Children's Hospital ER from 1230-145 last night because Honest Abe woke up crying and correctly self-diagnosed himself by saying, "I have croup." Didn't even think to check to watch the Twins game while we were in a room.
Hope he's doing better today.
croup is the worst. Here's hoping Abe is feeling much better.
He's recovered enough to be at his second parade of the day
Before we got to the game last night, we did a little light fieldwork.
We tried everything except the Pulp. Favorites included the Master of Crumpets (lots of coffee on the nose balanced with some cocoa and vanilla, smooth finish; a lot of body for a brown ale), Juice Crusher (big, citrusy nose, but very balanced; none of their IPAs were excessively bitter), Future So Bright (tons of fruit aroma), Shindo (big, citrus-hop nose; very Sierra Nevada-ish), World of Make-Believe (very fruity nose and flavor profile), and the Young Hazy (one of the tastiest hazies I've had).
Both of the fruity sours had their attractions. The Vanillaberry was too sweet for me, but was relatively balanced between the fruit and the sour for others. The Caribbean Queen tasted of guava to me (the passionfruit, I guess) and, for me, came closer to the right balance of sweet and sour for a fruity sour.
The Mrs plays along. She gamely drank a taster of the vanillaberry, which she deemed "not terrible."
... I hate beer. Well played.
view from our seats, pre-game. A beautiful day by the Bay.
What are these long sleeved things with hoods attached to them, doc?
It got down into the upper 50s. I had my sweatshirt on by about the 5th inning. This is the "warm" side of the Bay.
We ran into a bunch of Twins fans after the game, including a couple of LPNs who work at Mayo and went to Spamtown Vo-tech back in the day. They and their crew apparently follow the Twins around the country for every 4th of July series. That was kinda cool.
Also, we were in the relatively expensive seats. Surrounded by friendly A's fans. I sat next to a young father with his maybe-5 year old son. The kid was somewhat interested, but put more attention into his hot dog, pizza, and hot chocolate than into the game. I think they left in the 9th.
What is this hot chocolate that you speak of?
Play ball!
also, I won't say I spookied Polanco's Bomba, but I knew it was out off the bat. Stroked.
As was Laureano's 3-run shot off of Gibby.
I guess the Souhan mentality exists long before Souhan.
Wow. That sure was something.
My choice for today will be Polanco.
Let's go Cruzin'
Kepler.
Well played - Polanco was the choice I came up with too while mulling it over while mowing today
I don't like him, but I'll take Sano.
Anything for points
I've been meaning to drop this for a week, but Trueblood mentioned to me the other day that, whatever the prior issues, he has seen in the clubhouse that Sano can be a good teammate, who brings a lot of joy and fun to the others on the team.
That's not a reason to like him, per se. Nor a reason to keep him on a team. But, coupled with the not-guilty type of finding, and the lack of other accusers (a rarity when accusations are made)... it's... something? Its worth mentioning at least?
I'm still don't feel exactly easy with the guy, and a trade for value would certainly alleviate my conscience by removing the problem.
You can root for a person who did bad things to do good things.
Polanco.
What the hell: Adrianza
Kepler
I’ve been riding Polanco for weeks and the day I don’t make a pick, he goes yard.
Buxton.
Cron, goddamnit.
Ok, he has the day off. Hopefully he gets his mojo back. I will go with Sano.
Kepler!
You may have heard this by now, but R. I. P. Arte Johnson, best known as part of the cast of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In", at age ninety.
Artie made Nazi soldiers funny. That probably wouldn't work so well today.
I have that same thought when I watch "Hogan's Heroes" reruns.
On the
GrillSmokerI couldn't find a whole duck anywhere so bought three magret breasts and made Tea Smoked Duck:
Rub (after applying sesame oil): sugar, salt, pepper, 5-spice powder, cinnamon, coriander
Smoke mix: cherry wood chips, white rice, black tea, cinnamon, star anise, orange peels, brown sugar. (no need to pre-soak the wood)
Light briquets (1/4 of them in a chimney for 15 minutes) then add the rest to the smoker. Hook and hang the duck breasts from the rebars. Each breast was about a lb., so smoked them for 2.5 hrs.
Sauce: hoisin, soy, rice wine vinegar, ginger, chopped cilantro, sesame oil.
Serve: warmed corn tortillas with chopped cilantro, chopped scallions, thinly sliced cucumber - add hoisin sauce and thinly sliced duck.
Awesome.
Pork butt has been on for three hours so far. Charcoal snake, cherry and hickory. Tortillas, cotija, fresh salsa, black beans, corn on the cob, salad. Thinking about cocktails....
Muy bueno, señor.
Mezcal old fashioned!
I’m at my mom’s in MN. My siblings and all the kids came over, we grilled burgers, dogs, and brats. My mom unfortunately got the cheddar filled brats. Plain would have been much preferred. I also made these bars which are still cooking in the fridge. They are still pretty gooey, but they’ll be tasty once they’re solidified.
Mezcal old fashioneds are amazing.
Ooh. Those bars look good.
The Mrs made a peach/blueberry crisp. Mmmm.
I can't wait until my raspberries come in.
Does A-Stud have some brothers or cousins or something in the minor leagues? There's a Wilfred Astudillo playing for the Kingsport Mets in the Appalachian League and a Willfrann Astudillo playing for the DSL Blue Jays. All three of them were born in Barcelona, Venezuela. For all I know Astudillo might be as common in Venezuela as Smith is in the United States, but it seems at least possible that they're related somehow.
cousin
Is Wilfred a cousin as well?
For anyone who might be curious, Wilfred is batting .346/.393/.500 in 28 plate appearances for Kingsport. He's nineteen. Willfrann is batting .148/.246/.167 in 61 plate appearances. He's seventeen. Wilfred is a catcher/first baseman. Willfrann has, as Gordo used to say, played around. He has seven games at shortstop, seven at first base, four at third base, three in right field, one in left field, one in center field, and one at second base.