31 thoughts on “April 29, 2020: The Boogie Woogie Pastor”

  1. Got a double-whammy of good news yesterday: our airfare for our Ireland trip was refunded in full (we'd be on our way today in a 'rona-less world), and the limited partnership we are in that owns some land near our church has been told there is an serious offer. We aren't major investors, but we've held the property for several years waiting for the right buyers. We may not get all our money back, but it's going to be a retirement facility, which are much better neighbors than storage units, etc.

    1. (I only know one verse)

      Good place to post Wesley's Rules for Singing:

      I. Learn these Tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.
      II. Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.
      III. Sing All. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up and you will find a blessing.
      IV. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.
      V. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
      VI. Sing in Time: whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
      VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your Heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

  4. Giving our internet connection a run for its money as three of us are currently on video chats. Thankfully, the baby isn't required to be on one right now.

      1. I made the waffles a fews back but would like to make them again. The last two Saturdays I've made these waffles--doubling the recipe so that we get leftovers. My favorite lunch this week was one of the waffles topped with a cheddar and broccoli omelet.

        I'll definitely check out that cookie recipe!

      2. Holy. Shit. Just the waffles sound amazing. I've got all that stuff in my pantry. I'm making those waffles tomorrow instead of the corn bread I was planning to accompany the bbq chicken legs that I was already planing on.

    1. Career highs in PAs and hits, but not RsBI.

      Fial. Three more hits and one more RBI in 2006.

  7. Our chancellor just distributed an announcement of initial furloughs by email. Nearly every full-time employee is included. It’s a double hit for our family, as we’re both employed by the institution. We’ll be okay, but will have to reconsider some plans we’ve had for the next year.

    The chancellor, provost, and vice chancellors are taking a temporary 15% pay cut, which means the chancellor will probably temporarily make less per month than the annual salaries of the lowest paid workers on campus. Notably missing from the group getting the 15% cut: anybody in the Athletic Department.

    1. That sucks. Good luck.

      At least it sounds like the medical news today gives us a chance for a normal semester starting in September.

      1. Higher education better hope there’s a medical breakthrough. The terminal date for these initial furloughs is pretty telling; by October we’ll know how drastically enrollment is off, particularly by the out-of-state & international students who pay significantly higher tuition. Our institution has increased non-resident tuition costs pretty much in parallel with the drop in state funding over the last forty years.

        1. Man, sorry to hear this news.

          I've only really paid attention to some headlines about the uncertainty around higher education, but I can't imagine having a high school senior (or even junior) right now.

          Unfortunately I have a feeling a lot of states will be slashing funding even further in the near future as they run up against massive revenue shortfalls.

          1. High school seniors are going to be making some very difficult decisions in the next few months, and I can imagine juniors are going to be wondering what the implications are a year from now — just about impossible for anyone to anticipate at this point. It’s a terrible position to be in.

        2. FZ SelectShow

          Good luck with this, my man.

          1. Thanks — for now, we’ll weather this okay.

            I’ll be honest, though...I’m waiting for Vos & Fitzgerald to exploit this and come after the state pension system.

    2. From my experience unemployed, it's the uncertainty that's the worst. Glad you're able to make do for the interim, but hopefully things get going for you again sooner than later.

      1. I might have been imprecise...fortunately, this isn’t a total furlough. It’s a number of mandatory days of unpaid leave, graduated based on salary. So far, everyone is being retained in their positions.

    3. Oof. Not unexpected, exactly, but still, oof.

      I lived through one round of furloughs with the State a decade ago. I fully expect to see another in the coming FY (starts July 1) whether the economy "restarts" or not.

      Our income is already down about 20 pct per month with the Mrs' preschool shut down. Still, thankful to have a job and benefits.

      1. Yup. We all knew something was coming; the regents had already begun discussions, and System itself announced furloughs for its employees over the next 14 months.

        I suspect you’re right about another round coming your way. I hope it’s not too drastic, and that we all come out of this with state governments that realize they can’t tie their hands the way they’ve elected to over the last few decades.

  8. Grabbed the $5 Little Caesar's lunch special today (because nearby and cheap), and also threw in for their Covid special which provides a pizza to healthcare workers and first responders -- I'm assuming the local hospital just down the street. Win/win/win the way I look at it.

    1. Man, your Little Caesars must be better than ours. I used to like them fine in the late 90's, but the ones around here it's just garbage ingredients. The mushrooms literally came from a can and were added after cooking. Even the non-special-order pepperoni made me gag and I'll eat Domino's and Papa John's all day long if it's free.

      2. Canadian Little Caesars has Crazy Bread that's stuffed with mozzarella cheese and it's tremendous. I miss that.

    2. The Little Caesar's by our place -- maybe 200 yards by foot has been permanently closed since about January. Lots of restaurants in Eagan were shuttered before the lockdown. Wonder what it will look like when this is all over.

  9. This was unexpected:

    You will automatically receive full credit for each of the Twins' impacted April home games at Target Field associated with your season plan, plus an additional 15 percent of the cumulative total for those games, that will be applied to reduce your season account balance due when monthly charges resume.

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