Cup of Coffee

May 20, 2022: Up In The Air

37 Comments

I was telling a coworker that I needed to climb up and clean out the gutters soon and they reminded me that helicopter season is fast upon us. They weren't wrong and our yard produces plenty. Think I'll wait a week or two before hitting those gutters.

37 thoughts on “May 20, 2022: Up In The Air”

    1. We're just now getting the oak pollen, the last couple of days have been pretty bad. I've got a silver maple in the front that I'd like to take down. Getting it done before the helicopters arrive would be optimal.

      1. Our Spring goes: 1) Yoshino cherry petals, 2) Maple helicopters, 3) Maple helicopter stems, Yoshino cherry "cherries" & stems, #*(&@ spurge, and those are overlapped with Oak allergy season and wild iris $&*^*@

    2. I watched as the downpour yesterday filled up a gutter that was blocked by last season's helicopters. Shame.

      It's flowering crab petal season in my yard. They're beautiful when they bloom, but quickly become a decaying apple-smelling brown lot on the driveway and walk if not tended to promptly,
      Did you know cedar waxwings will eat blossom petals? That was interesting.

  2. Don't see a FMD, but don't want to step on FTLT's toes either, so I'll just put this here:

    I'm seeking songs that mention rain, or thunder, or the rain going away, or after the rain, etc. But I'm not looking for obvious references ("I love a rainy night" "here comes the sun", etc.). I'm looking for songs that maybe have a lyric or two about rain - or maybe more, but are more hidden gems than the plethora of obvious rain songs. Also, that are good songs for singing along to, for like a summer mix. Any nominations are appreciated! Also, any really good new music for a summer mix? I feel like so much new music these days is... moody? I wants upbeat.

    1. Players sometimes forget that they make the big bucks because people pay to see them play. The pitch clock is for the fans, not the players. I don't really care whether they like it. I care whether the fans like it.

    2. I've read interviews with MiLB pitchers who say how they feel "cheated" when they're given strikes when the batter doesn't get ready in time, like they didn't get to "legitimately" earn ithem. So it's not just pitchers that have to get used to it.

    3. Every other sport will change their rules pretty quickly if they think it's better for the fans.

      Any rule that helps prevents pitchers from throwing max effort on every pitch I am open to. Strikeouts were fun when it took someone like Johan or Randy to get to 9 per 9. Felt special. I am not sure any pitching petformance impresses me these days. On the other hand, singles excite me more than ever.

  4. At the Short-Term-Disability Lunch Counter

    Today this boyo is making Banh Mi Sammies:

    Quick-pickled thinly sliced radishes, onions, and carrots in rice-wine vinegar/sugar/water (yes, daikon would be more BTS, but it's what I had).
    Flash-fried chicken tenderloins (like a chicken has loins).
    Gutted out baguette, then toasted, lightly spread with Sir Kensington's mayo.
    Added chopped chix, covered with the quick pickle, cucumber slices, jalapeño, and cilantro. Squeeze of lime. Nous arrivons.

    1. Думаю, это очень вкусный сэндвич.

      I’ve been known to use jicama in place of daikon, depending on availability. Right with you on the chicken “loins.”

      Time to make some bàhn mí next week, I think. The local whole-animal butcher is making their own braunschweiger, and I can grill the other protein. I’m thinking slices of marinated pork coppa…

      1. Bàhn mmmmmí!

        Now, Braunschweiger would be an interesting pick for one

        I usually have daikon and carrot pickling in the fridge. Currently out of carrot. ☹️

        We just got over a couple hundred-degree days, with more coming next week. Probably time to bust out the Bún thịt nướng.

          1. After watching Tucci's Umbria episode, I amazon'ed some guanciale to Hnos Coot in Lake Elmo, with the idea of him making carbonara.

            1. We wanted to start watching that the other night, but the CNN app doesn't have Chromecast compatibility (and we were too lazy to turn on the desktop to cast from it) (And we don't have Hulu)

  6. How are my Covid-positive peeps?

    I'm feeling "near 100%," which is an overestimate. Still some gunk in my system and I'm stuffy. Woke up with a sore throat, but it's gone now.

    I might get emotional if I somehow test negative tomorrow morning seeing how it is our eldest daughter's high school graduation party.

    1. I started Paxlovid a couple days ago. I was never all that sick (cough, low grade fever, etc.) and don't think of myself as high risk but they offered, so I accepted.

      I still have a cough but otherwise feel close to 100%.

      Good luck on the grad party!

      1. Fever free for somewhere in the 36-48 hour range. No nap needed yesterday. Heart rate was elevated for a couple days there early in the week, but seems to be normal-ish.
        Still with the coughing, but I think I'm sleeping ok. Nobody else has significant symptoms or tested positive. Kids and Mom are at the dance comp today, I'll join tomorrow, masked.

        Doc mentioned Paxlovid in the context of...if positive, the nurse will call and discuss treatment. That never happened.

        I haven't pushed myself to see whether resting 100% equals active 100%. Maybe will test those waters with a vigorous mow this weekend.

      2. Algonad, do you have the weird taste in your mouth from the Paxlovid? It kicked in for me about an hour after my first dose. No other side effects so far, though.

    2. I'm officially on Day 2 (since the day you test positive is Day 0) and am feeling pretty decent. I qualify for Paxlovid and took my first dose Wednesday night, and I do think it's helping. The worst I felt was on Thursday morning before my second dose. My nasal congestion and scratchy throat are mostly gone. I have some fatigue and achiness, which are probably amplified because they're also side effects of my infusions. But no significant fever and no cough.

      I am doing daily walks in the neighborhood and walked the peperoncino to school this morning, which was more tiring than usual but still manageable. (I was masked, but he also walks the last part on his own, so I was plenty distant from everyone else).

    3. Mrs. Twayn is on day seven and still has some congestion and occasional cough but no fever for several days, no headache, and her energy level is back up to near normal, so that's nice. I'm still symptom-free and all of my tests have been negative and we didn't bother to firewall at home, she just stayed in the house for a week and sent me out to run all the errands. I did mask when I went into a public building, though, because.

      1. The worst part has been isolating from the family for the week. At least I've been able to get out for some walks.

  7. Nice -- Southwest Airlines reward drink coupons in the mail! Looks like things are returning to normal...if you squint really, really hard.

  8. Anybody else have trouble with window sizing on the site here? I have to scroll right to read a lot of conversations. Should I be changing a setting somewhere?

    3. Shoot, left the conversation…this is on my laptop. The post frame seems to always be about 10% too wide.

  10. Ryne Harper is playing in the Atlantic League this year. In 9 and 2/3 innings he has a 2.172 WHIP and a 12.10 ERA

    1. Too bad. I always liked him, understanding that my liking someone doesn't make him a better ballplayer. But at least he had some moments in the sun.

  11. I'm convinced that Lewis would be better at first base and third base than Miranda without any need for more reps there.

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