Yeesh, I thought that last play call by the Vikings was terrible, but then McCarthy asked us to hold several of his beers.
38 thoughts on “January 23, 2023: Big Finish”
COVID check-in: several of my family members who had COVID a year ago are now on their second go-around. My parents picked it up in Egypt at the beginning of the month and both had very mild cases. My sister, who hadn't been in contact with my parents, tested positive Saturday morning. And the peperoncino's ukulele teacher apparently just got it for the first time (!), so his lesson this week will be via Zoom. Feels like another surge is upon us...
Cases and deaths have been increasing since early December, though slowly for now. Of course, it’s unclear to me how reliable the case numbers are, as I expect home tests are now the most common source of positive tests, and reporting those is certainly less consistent than tests done elsewhere.
My 11-year-old is the only one in our household to get it so far. Hopefully our good luck continues.
My guess is that the most reliable testing for prevalence in the population is wastewater surveillance, since most folks are unlikely to opt out.
The data isn't really showing that yet.
Last week I reported how COVID wastewater data for the Twin Cities had started to decline. Today we've got new data showing Minnesota COVID hospitalization figures are trending down. It's possible SOME of this is data lag, but the downward trend seems real. pic.twitter.com/NGPXK0QVgT
Nationwide, it looks like we had an early spike for flu, RSV, and COVID. It looked like it could go very bad but thankfully, cases have overall trended down since then. Influenza B could still make that part worse; apparently it tends to spike later.
IA bro (who is a teacher) is on his third COVID go-round, and it's a very light case. Mrs Runner and I have still dodged COVID, although not the standard mid-winter sinus cold (no, I tested twice).
mrsS is back to work today after a week of isolation. She took four (FOUR!) tests yesterday afternoon (all negative) to confirm she was ready to go again.
My parents, son and I all avoided catching it from her. But I was very, very happy to sleep in the bed again after a week on a pull-out.
After two positive tests last weekend, the wife is now clean from COVID. One day she slept most of the day with a headache; I never tested positive. Homemade chicken soup seemed to have been a factor (also Paxlovid).
I have expanded the Nation's investigative programming with "CSI: Andalusia" over the weekend. The location on a listing for a flat didn't jive with what I was seeing in the pictures, so I set out to investigate.
The flat was listed as being in Zaidín, a neighborhood in southern Granada, but Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Granada and the Torres Baremejas were visible in the pictures, from the balcony and back window, respectively. Both of those locations are closer to city center.
So using those locations I eyeballed the rough area of where the flat is in reality and started looking around.
I decided that the balcony picture would be the best to work from, and I identified the two features of the Iglesias, the wrought iron balcony railing and a uniquely angled rooftop to help narrow it down.
After a few minutes, I was able to find a Google Earth view that approximated the view from the listing
Then I went to street view to see what else was visible, where I found a balcony with the same wrought iron pattern
It's in a neighborhood called Realejo, more than a mile from the listed location
Nice sleuthing.
This needs to return as a recurring feature.
Impressive! The jalapeno recently started playing an online geography game that reminds me a bit of this. You get dropped down in a random location in what looks like the Google Maps street view and have to figure out where you are. The goal is to guess as close as possible to the actual location.
Geoguessr? That game is very fun.
I doubt I could have done this in any town with which I wasn't as familiar, but having spent a lot of time there it pinged my "somthing's not quite right" radar.
I did find the exact street address, but I didn't put that out there here or twitter
Yes, that’s it!
I assume jalapeno is familiar with Rainbolt's videos?
He said, "I've seen him before! He's really cool."
I'm taking my dog to the vet today to find out if she broke a rib. She took a real hard spill on some ice the other day and her side is swollen and very tender, she's struggling to get up and down stairs, and her appetite's off. She'll be nine years old in March but she won't admit that it's time to slow down yet. Maybe this will convince her, but I doubt it.
Well, the vet didn't see any broken bones (radiologist confirmation pending) but our dog has some pretty ugly bruises from behind her front leg all the way up her side on the rib cage that we weren't seeing because we were focused on the big swollen lump on her side just a few inches from her backbone. We got some doggy anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling and pain but the main treatment is just rest. $400. Since it's right next door, I stopped at my dentist's office to pay off my balance from the extraction. $560 bucks. The only place I lose money faster than the vet and dentist is the casino.
And the dentist doesn't even have free drinks 🙁
Picked up TurboTax over the weekend and did a preliminary run-through. Oops, maybe should have adjusted a little for the end of the Recovery Rebate program. Oh well, always better to owe than give a big tax-free loan.
As long as the amount owed doesn't trigger interest or penalties....
Particularly when inflation rose to levels not seen since early in Reagan‘s first term. You’re paying less for income that was previously worth more! (This is not an endorsement of high inflation rates.)
On a positive note, GM has accepted our electric car order, and hopefully soon we'll know our target production week. We just may get it by March and hopefully get the full tax credit.
Can you ask them if they can throw in a front subframe for a 2002 Buick? I’ll happily drive down to pick it up. Apparently mine didn’t get the Tru-Coat at the factory.
On an additional positive note, state of MO also kicks in a $2500 tax incentive
As expected after a wild weekend, St. Cloud checks in at #1 with the U of M #2 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey polls, but the Gophers edged out the Huskies in the PairWise rankings. Never mind. There's a couple of months of great hockey ahead.
Looks like the Twins are getting a backup outfielder?
The Minnesota Twins are acquiring centerfielder Michael A. Taylor in a trade with the Kansas City Royals, sources tell me and @kileymcd.
3.2 WAR is nothing to sneeze at, we need better Buxton backup options, and it only cost a couple of question mark arms. Seems like a decent deal.
He bats right and is very, very good in center too. He's a free agent after this season so I can't imagine the arms amount to much.
If he's very, very good in center, I'd imagine his arms are pretty decent.
UZR rates him as above average for most of his career, including the past several seasons.
Evan Sisk is a reliever who had an excellent season split between AA and AAA. On the other hand, he'll be 26 this year, this was his first good year above rookie ball, and it was his first experience above AA. Steven Cruz will be 24 this season and had a poor year in AA. Sisk is a lefty, Cruz a righty.
Aw man, we have to have an emergency podcast before I've edited the last emergency podcast...
I wonder if the DH position will rotate between Buxton, Kepler (if he isn't traded), and one of the 1stbasedudes with Taylor getting the majority of time rotating in the OF
It'll be Shohei on his off days
I like the way you think.
I need edibles to think like that.
This Wolves game has been yugly. Rockets are turrble, and Wolves are playing to their level.
COVID check-in: several of my family members who had COVID a year ago are now on their second go-around. My parents picked it up in Egypt at the beginning of the month and both had very mild cases. My sister, who hadn't been in contact with my parents, tested positive Saturday morning. And the peperoncino's ukulele teacher apparently just got it for the first time (!), so his lesson this week will be via Zoom. Feels like another surge is upon us...
Cases and deaths have been increasing since early December, though slowly for now. Of course, it’s unclear to me how reliable the case numbers are, as I expect home tests are now the most common source of positive tests, and reporting those is certainly less consistent than tests done elsewhere.
My 11-year-old is the only one in our household to get it so far. Hopefully our good luck continues.
My guess is that the most reliable testing for prevalence in the population is wastewater surveillance, since most folks are unlikely to opt out.
The data isn't really showing that yet.
Nationwide, it looks like we had an early spike for flu, RSV, and COVID. It looked like it could go very bad but thankfully, cases have overall trended down since then. Influenza B could still make that part worse; apparently it tends to spike later.
IA bro (who is a teacher) is on his third COVID go-round, and it's a very light case. Mrs Runner and I have still dodged COVID, although not the standard mid-winter sinus cold (no, I tested twice).
mrsS is back to work today after a week of isolation. She took four (FOUR!) tests yesterday afternoon (all negative) to confirm she was ready to go again.
My parents, son and I all avoided catching it from her. But I was very, very happy to sleep in the bed again after a week on a pull-out.
After two positive tests last weekend, the wife is now clean from COVID. One day she slept most of the day with a headache; I never tested positive. Homemade chicken soup seemed to have been a factor (also Paxlovid).
I have expanded the Nation's investigative programming with "CSI: Andalusia" over the weekend. The location on a listing for a flat didn't jive with what I was seeing in the pictures, so I set out to investigate.
The flat was listed as being in Zaidín, a neighborhood in southern Granada, but Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Granada and the Torres Baremejas were visible in the pictures, from the balcony and back window, respectively. Both of those locations are closer to city center.
So using those locations I eyeballed the rough area of where the flat is in reality and started looking around.
I decided that the balcony picture would be the best to work from, and I identified the two features of the Iglesias, the wrought iron balcony railing and a uniquely angled rooftop to help narrow it down.
After a few minutes, I was able to find a Google Earth view that approximated the view from the listing
Then I went to street view to see what else was visible, where I found a balcony with the same wrought iron pattern
It's in a neighborhood called Realejo, more than a mile from the listed location
Nice sleuthing.
This needs to return as a recurring feature.
Impressive! The jalapeno recently started playing an online geography game that reminds me a bit of this. You get dropped down in a random location in what looks like the Google Maps street view and have to figure out where you are. The goal is to guess as close as possible to the actual location.
Geoguessr? That game is very fun.
I doubt I could have done this in any town with which I wasn't as familiar, but having spent a lot of time there it pinged my "somthing's not quite right" radar.
I did find the exact street address, but I didn't put that out there here or twitter
Yes, that’s it!
I assume jalapeno is familiar with Rainbolt's videos?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Rainbolt
He said, "I've seen him before! He's really cool."
I'm taking my dog to the vet today to find out if she broke a rib. She took a real hard spill on some ice the other day and her side is swollen and very tender, she's struggling to get up and down stairs, and her appetite's off. She'll be nine years old in March but she won't admit that it's time to slow down yet. Maybe this will convince her, but I doubt it.
Well, the vet didn't see any broken bones (radiologist confirmation pending) but our dog has some pretty ugly bruises from behind her front leg all the way up her side on the rib cage that we weren't seeing because we were focused on the big swollen lump on her side just a few inches from her backbone. We got some doggy anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling and pain but the main treatment is just rest. $400. Since it's right next door, I stopped at my dentist's office to pay off my balance from the extraction. $560 bucks. The only place I lose money faster than the vet and dentist is the casino.
And the dentist doesn't even have free drinks 🙁
Picked up TurboTax over the weekend and did a preliminary run-through. Oops, maybe should have adjusted a little for the end of the Recovery Rebate program. Oh well, always better to owe than give a big tax-free loan.
As long as the amount owed doesn't trigger interest or penalties....
Particularly when inflation rose to levels not seen since early in Reagan‘s first term. You’re paying less for income that was previously worth more! (This is not an endorsement of high inflation rates.)
On a positive note, GM has accepted our electric car order, and hopefully soon we'll know our target production week. We just may get it by March and hopefully get the full tax credit.
Can you ask them if they can throw in a front subframe for a 2002 Buick? I’ll happily drive down to pick it up. Apparently mine didn’t get the Tru-Coat at the factory.
On an additional positive note, state of MO also kicks in a $2500 tax incentive
As expected after a wild weekend, St. Cloud checks in at #1 with the U of M #2 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey polls, but the Gophers edged out the Huskies in the PairWise rankings. Never mind. There's a couple of months of great hockey ahead.
Looks like the Twins are getting a backup outfielder?
3.2 WAR is nothing to sneeze at, we need better Buxton backup options, and it only cost a couple of question mark arms. Seems like a decent deal.
He bats right and is very, very good in center too. He's a free agent after this season so I can't imagine the arms amount to much.
If he's very, very good in center, I'd imagine his arms are pretty decent.
UZR rates him as above average for most of his career, including the past several seasons.
Evan Sisk is a reliever who had an excellent season split between AA and AAA. On the other hand, he'll be 26 this year, this was his first good year above rookie ball, and it was his first experience above AA. Steven Cruz will be 24 this season and had a poor year in AA. Sisk is a lefty, Cruz a righty.
Aw man, we have to have an emergency podcast before I've edited the last emergency podcast...
I wonder if the DH position will rotate between Buxton, Kepler (if he isn't traded), and one of the 1stbasedudes with Taylor getting the majority of time rotating in the OF
It'll be Shohei on his off days
I like the way you think.
I need edibles to think like that.
This Wolves game has been yugly. Rockets are turrble, and Wolves are playing to their level.
Also, Rudy really sucks offensively.