33 thoughts on “August 10, 2020: 1 Of 8”

    1. That strategy doesn't seem to have worked out well for the Twins. Maybe they should try not letting the leadoff batter get on base and see if that works. Someone call Rocco and give him that idea!

  1. R. I. P. Carroll Hardy, an ex-Twin, the only man to pinch-hit for Ted Williams, the pride of Sturgis, SD, and a longtime Denver Broncos executive, at age eighty-seven.

  2. My COVID test came back negative on Saturday morning, but since I do actually have some similar symptoms, they still recommend isolating. So, I'm stuck in our guest room, while my wife has to deal with getting everything moved around and ready for the kids to start online school tomorrow by herself. Plus, she has to take them for the drive-through supply pickup this morning in between her meetings, and there's not going to be much I can do to help the kids with their first week. So, not a great situation, but still better than a positive test.

    1. was this the brain-tickler test or a back-of-throat swab test or what?

      I am seeing that the main concern with the brain scraping test is false negatives because it is so difficult to administer.

  3. I made the focaccia over the weekend, so today's pesto-chicken sandwich with mozzarella and tomato was amazing.

  4. My brother-in-law tested positive for COVID. They suspect my nephew has it as well. The rest of the family (my sister and three boys) is probably testing today.

    I’m pretty surprised he actually went to get a test. Talked to him for an hour yesterday. He’s still a denier:

    “My summer colds are worse than this. I don’t know why everybody’s up in arms.”

    “The tests are rigged and it would have come back positive whether I had it or not.”

    “We started wearing masks at work and than I got it. So you can imagine I feel even more that masks are worthless.” (Rumor from my mom is that they started wearing them 2 days _after_ 5 employees had symptoms. All 5 employees are now positive. He was incredibly defensive about anyone giving his employer, who is in SD, an ounce of blame for this.)

    72 hours before his symptoms we had seen him for 10 minutes outdoors at 4-6 feet. Technically by CDC/MDH rules this probably means we don't need to isolate, but rather just look for symptoms. We made the hard choice to keep it safe. That means pulling the girls out of a soccer camp we had signed them up for. (That decision is a different discussion.) Cancelling the haircuts our three girls had been waiting 2 months for and cancelling a few other things.

    It's not that big of a deal, but we are not happy. My sister and her family have not taken this seriously. They have been attending what appears to be full church services (yes, in Minnesota - SW Minnesota) for weeks now. They sent two of their boys on a church camp that was kids stuffed in a vehicle driving up to Itaska, Duluth, and back. Our 16-year-old is pissed. In most situations, she said she'd be disappointed, but fine. In this situation she's unhappy because their poor behavior is what likely led to their infection and now we have to deal with it. Not to mention when we see them socially distanced outdoors, their kids (16, 14, 10) seem unable to just keep at a reasonable distance.

    I have not talked to my sister, but my mom has. My sister is very "woe is me" about it. She now feels guilty about sending two of her boys out to her in-laws (who are 75+ with health issues) on Saturday. Yes, you heard that right. He started getting symptoms Wednesday, he took a test Friday, yet they still sent their boys out to the in-laws on Saturday. Of course they asked permission first!

    I'm not too worried about us getting an infection from them at this point. I suspect we're clear. And even if we're not clear, we could have picked it up from the grocery store as likely as them. I'm not too worried about my parents. They've been very careful and I suspect they're clear. But it is hard to have sympathy for my sister and her family – especially when she about-faced to essentially begging for sympathy immediately after it impacted her.

    All that being said, obviously we're hopeful if any of this appears in them it is only a mild version and not with a long-term impact. We hope their church doesn't have a giant outbreak (that will absolutely kill some people). We also have to hope that their church and congregants change behavior when hearing one of their own has the virus, but I don't expect it to actually impact their behavior.

    1. So sorry to hear this internecine struggle, bjhess.

      My guess is that it is not that uncommon, unfortunately.

      1. I think there is a difficulty in admitting that maybe you were wrong. At times he wasn’t making sense. He both mentioned we’re all getting it so let’s get it over with and also it is good to delay when people get it so that treatments can improve. 🤷‍♂️

        1. True that. I've read that admitting when you are wrong (even when you aren't, or don't think you are) is an important marital skill too.

          But I could be wrong about that. 🙂

    2. I feel you frustration. On one of our very first family Zoom calls, my sister had asked if we'd heard anything regarding Bill Gates and vaccines, and the rest of us quickly informed her it was garbage and quit spreading conspiracy theories. Why yes, she does live in TX, why do you ask? Thankfully her kids' families are better on top of things.

      1. my wife, who runs a pre-school, has been very proactive in prepping for re-opening safely this fall. Unfortunately, not all of the parents are exactly on board. One particularly vocal parent has been echoing all of the worst complaints via bookface on the regular. It's a hoax, masks don't work, the gubmint is all jack-booted thugs takin' away ar gunz-n-libertah.

        Businesses are in a no-win situation. You can't force your employees to be the mask police, because some people get completely unhinged, and no business wants to be dragged online. And yet.

        If I were the praying type, I would be praying for a lot more grace, a lot more neighborliness and caring for others, and a lot more deep breathing before responding to anything. I can't say that I'm always on the side of the angels in how I respond to folks on line, but my wife and I are drinking and rage-scrolling a lot more in the privacy of our home.

    3. Oh man, this sounds awful, I would also have a hard time finding sympathy.

      Unfortunately I don't see behavior like your family's changing any time soon. I'm struggling with neighbors that have been wearing "I still hug" and "I still shake hands" shirts on occasion.

  5. The pizza turned out very tasty.
    Dough:

    1.75 c AP ~2/3 c sourdough starter 1/8 tsp yeast
    3/4 c water 1/2 tbsp kosher salt 1 tbsp granulated garlic
    1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp black pepper 1-2 tbsp olive oil
    bench flour as needed

    Mix dry ingredients, then mix in the wet. Using a stand mixer or your hands, knead for about five minutes. Add tbsps of flour if needed so that the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and is smooth, not sticky. Cover and let rise for several hours, coated with more olive oil. Punch down, then spread in your well-oiled cast iron pan, pushing dough up the sides. Cover and let rise while you preheat the oven to 500.

    Push the dough down again with your fingers, spreading evenly up the sides. Cover the bottom with a healthy layer of cheese (I used shredded mozzarella and crumbled feta). Sprinkle some oregano, then add a layer of toppings (pepperoni), another, thinner layer of cheese, another layer of toppings (more pepperoni and sauteed mushrooms), more cheese. I then topped with a large clove of garlic, finely chopped, and an 8-oz can of tomato sauce.

    I pre-heated the pan on the stove top for a couple minutes on low to minimize thermal shock, then onto my baking steel on a low rack. About 20 minutes in the oven. Check to make sure the crust is well browned. Run a knife around the outside to make sure it is not welded to the pan. Let rest briefly, then carefully lift out with a couple spatulas and let cool on a rack or plate for 5 minutes or so. Cut wedges and serve with a bit of chopped basil and parmesan.

    Salty goodness.

    1. sourdough starter is not required, of course. It's just a cheat for developing flavor faster. You can make this dough with 1/4 tsp yeast and an overnight in the fridge to develop flavor. The NYT recipe calls for a lot more yeast, but I don't think it is at all necessary.

  6. Stroman figured out how to manipulate service time in his favor. Genius.

    1. MLB free agency is totally ridiculous. Players should become free agents five years after they are drafted or three years after they debut in the majors, whichever comes first.

      1. NHL has a nice system for that:

        A player may only declare himself to be an unrestricted free agent if he is over the age of 27 or has played in the league for a minimum of 7 years.

    2. Good for him. Management does it all the time, so I have no problem with a player doing it.

  7. Had a healthy gust front come through while I was helping Runner daughter with some Delivery Express stuff at the post office. Driving off I saw in my rearview mirror some sparks falling from a pole, and we had to dodge a lot of debris on the streets. Came home to a small leak above one of the windows. But it looks like my drainage project in the back may be working as desired

  8. Last night I slept on a sheet on the 1st floor it was so hot. Without any power left in work laptop, iPhone (which is now Internet) or personal laptop, I checked into a hotel in WeHa. Found that my iPhone cable wasn't charging my cellphone so that was another trip back to the desert that was our house.

    At around 8PM tonite we had power restored to our place in H-istan, thanks to electric crews from KY and NoCar.

    This after 5 days of no power, tossing everything in the freezer and most of the stuff in the fridge. Still staying at the hotel, we are watching real TV for the first time in five days (Chopped, mostly), and having chilled wine and store-bought popcorn.

    Pizza recipe above looks fab - I need a recipe I can do on the grill.

Comments are closed.