62 thoughts on “October 12, 2015: Snags”

    1. I just saw his second line. I work next to k-Paul's, and let me tell you that they can make normally healthy dishes totally delicious by deep frying them and adding sausage.

  1. apropos of yesterday's digression on Abita, this list of "best beers".

    Like all such lists, it's a hubris-filled effort, but it also provides an opportunity for the reader to identify things he/she might want to try. I've had around 28 or so of the beers listed, so I've got some work to do.

    1. I remember Carson when he was in 4th or 5th grade from when I coached baseball. Everyone talked about how weird it was that he and his brother were average sized kids and then their dad would show up and he was huge. I coached his older brother Zach in flag football. Coached is a strong word because Zach did most of the work. He was a really mature and nice kid who went out of his way to get all his teammates involved. He pitched for NDSU and walked on to play football too, I think. Seems like a good family.

      1. Wentz made some mistakes in that game, but both of his TD throws to Shepherd were gorgeous and once again, he got the job done when it counted. I spend a fair amount of time in Carson's hometown and I have heard nothing but praise for him. He is outstanding.

  2. The players' union apparently intends to delay the appeal of Chase Utley's suspension until after the ALDS, thus allowing him to play in the rest of the series.

  3. apropos of yesterday's digression on beers,
    Leinenkugel's Harvest Patch Shandy is unpalatable.
    I grabbed one out of curiosity for one of those "build yr own 6er" things liquor stores do.
    I poured more than half down the drain. Sweet and clingy and the spices were weird and kindof artificial-tasting.
    But I also got a 4-pack of Surly Wet. I haven't had that in years.

    1. For me, pretty much any Shandy=Don't Bother. On our trip to Seattle, though, I had my first Alaskan Amber Ale. We stopped on the way home from the airport for a six pack of it. Also tried a couple of local brews, the Sweetwater 420 (EPA) was really good with ribs.

      1. I've had good luck with a bunch of the Alaskan products. White, Icy Bay IPA, Free Ride IPA were all pretty good.

  4. Here's this week's Invisibles Quiz.

    By far a new personal best for me. Most I've ever had is 5, but this week somehow I managed 7 out of 8:

    'All of them except number 1' SelectShow
      1. Never even heard of number one, so no wonder I didn't figure it out...

        'Regarding #1' SelectShow
  5. Thanks to bS for the recommendation of veggie burgers from Costco. Picky 12 y.o. hasn't liked the black bean veggie burgers but liked these quinoa and kale varieties.

    Added bonuses: I could split the pound of beef into four burgers instead of five. And the 9 y.o. had fun saying, "It's a queen-o."

    1. I got some of those quinoa and kale ones myself recently. I haven't tried them yet, but the non-meat-eaters at our cookout loved them.

    2. Thumbs up. I like when veggie burgers taste like real food. Those are really good, even without bacon.

  6. Long distance move is tough. We ended up moving here from Chicago but we're both able to keep working for our same companies. Plus, we were only three years out of school so right at that sweet spot of experienced but still cheap.

    1. Long distance move is tough. We were so desperate to get back that I ended up in a horrible, horrible job for 5 years.

  7. Hey Pepper,

    This week is the next ballot for the half-baked hall. I know you're not voting, but I was wondering if you'd care to write the blurb on Pie Traynor

  8. So, Today is Dr. Chop's birthday, and we're headed out to Shaya to celebrate. A few minutes before I left work my boss came into my workshop and gave me two tickets to see Leon Bridges tonight. Man, tomorrow is going to be rough.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTrKkqE9p1o

    1. That sounds fantastic. One year, we went to Domenica for a Passover Seder (he had a five-course Seder menu for the week) and it was ridiculous. Sheenie's sister got to be pretty close to Shaya, so he gave her his matzah recipe. Phenomenal. We've used his recipe every year since.

        1. I don't have the recipe, the Mrs. does. Also, I'm pretty sure his only condition for giving it to the s-i-l was not to make it too publicly known. If I can get it, I'll send it your way privately.

          1. Dude, shaya was everything it was cracked up to be. We split about 4 small plates and a bunch of small bits plus the best bread I may have ever eaten. Yeah, worth the (relatively low) price of admission.

  9. So, I was at Carlos Creek Winery's Grape Stomp 3 weeks ago, and started to feel some pain in my right calf. The next day, it started throbbing as I lazed around watching football. Went to work that Monday and it was swollen and I could barely walk on it. The wife tells me to go to the doctor. Ultra sound reveals Deep Vein Thrombosis, which is a deep vein blood clot. Frankly, I was lucky the pain got so bad that I went to the doctor. The clot easily could have broken free and travelled to my lungs and it would have 86'd me. Seems everyone I know, knows someone who has died or almost died because of DVT. Hmmm.

    Now I am on blood thinner (Xarelto) for the next 3 months, to clear up the clot. After that, tests to see what caused it. If it's genetic, then I am on a life long treatment and watch cycle. Yikes. 47 years old seems too young to be dealing with this type of health issue. Or, maybe I am just delusional. So, re-thinking diet, exercise, lifestyle, beer and wine drinking, etc. Luckily, I had lost 30 pounds through the summer simply due to over-work and stress with starting my own business.

    Looking at all of this like a blessing in disguise. My grandparents never really got to meet their grandchildren before they passed. My Mother died before any of us had kids. My Dad died when the grandkids were all pretty young. I need to break this cycle and do what it takes to live a long, healthy life, so I can enjoy watching my kids and future grandkids grow up.

    Anyway, sorry to be a stranger, and thanks for putting up with this long post. Needed to put some thoughts out there, and this seems like always a good forum to vent/ponder/self-examine.

      1. speaking of veggie burgers, we had a small party at our house for the good dr.'s birthday that included burgers and sausages etc on the grill. I made up a batch of wild rice burgers for the veggie inclined, and they were more popular than the real deal. I use a cup of wild rice cooked in 3 cups of stock until tender (about 45 minutes), then drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl I lightly beat two eggs, and add a bunch of crushed up a bunch of saltine crackers (almost an entire sleeve will be necessary, but start with a third of a sleeve or so). To this add the wild rice and mix well. I season the burgers with regular old burger seasoning - chili powder, black pepper, cumin etc, and 5 or six (or ten or twelve) dashes of hot sauce and a dash or two of Worcestershire - and begin to mix in more crumbled crackers until the mixture resembles the texture of ground meat, and add 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Form patties and fry in bacon fat (or a spray or two of olive oil if you're really into health).

        1. Picked up a lb of wild wild rice on the way back from Duluth a few weeks ago. May have to reduce the wild rice soup in order to give this one a shot.

    1. Yikes--I'm so glad you're okay.

      Almost the exact thing happened to my dad 2 weeks ago. He thought he'd sprained his ankle and fortunately went to see the doctor. He's on a blood thinner now and the clot appears to be clearing up. He got approval to go on a previously planned trip--he and my mom are flying to Turkey tonight.

    2. Glad that you are still with us, zoomy. Also, wine is an excellent blood thinner. Keep that in mind for down the road!

    3. Glad to hear you're ok.

      If it makes you feel any better, I was the lucky winner of a blood clot in my leg about seven years ago when I was a mere 26. Drove from Madison to St cloud in a Chevy prism without stopping to get to my brother's wedding. We didn't really have time to stop because we got a late start due to significant flooding around here. Mine was up near the top of my leg, so I felt some pressure on bathroom visits. Eventually it hurt enough that I went to the emergency room that Sunday night.

      Of course, being. 26 meant a clot wasn't even considered. They thought it might be a hernia so they have me some ibuprofen and sent me ok my way.

      The pain on my leg was gone in a couple days, but then I started having problems with feeling tired all the time and a bit winded from just walking around. Mowing the lawn that weekend was brutal and made me think I was getting pneumonia, or something. Early the following week after work I started having difficulty breathing, so I went to the emergency room again, this time here in Edgerton. They did xrays and thought I had pneumonia and an inflamed diaphragm and sent me on my way. I had to sleep sitting up in the couch and ended up going back to the emergency room the following night. More xrays and the same diagnosis and I was on my way back home.

      I think I was home for about fifteen minutes before I had to go back again. I couldn't even go more than one step on the stairs without stopping. They finally did a ct scan and found embollisms in both lungs. I spent about three days in the hospital on hardcore painkillers and blood thinners.

      So that all sucked and I lost thirty pounds because I couldn't exercise for a month. I got to spend a week jamming a needle in my stomach to administer blood thinners, then spent six months on warfarin. I haven't had any problems since, but I definitely don't trust the Edgerton hospital.

      1. Wow! You definitely were fortunate, to get through that. I passed on the jamming a needle in my stomach, and went with the Xarelto. Fun seeing the lawyer commercials about Xarelto on TV, but my doc says he still recommends it for my case. The doc who did surgery on my knee last fall was surprised I had the clot, since I work on my feet all day long. Makes everyone think it my be a genetic disposition to clotting.

        1. My dad and two bros have both had dealings with clots, so I got tested for Factor V, which turns out I didn't have. If it's not genetic, it's coincidental. Hope you get a handle on it and kick its butt.

    4. No experience with this though a good friend at work has a daughter in the hospital every 8 or 10 months due to clotting issues. Good to hear you are on the mend.

    5. Good show on the blood thinner. Makes me think about all of the stuff I consume, diet, exercise, etc, i.e. what is in my control vs. not.

    6. Glad you caught it, best wishes for the adjustments.

      I was just thinking this morning that Philosofette and I should take a trip up to Alex some night to dine out...

    7. I strained my calf in my match on the 10th. It still hurts. I'm like 99.99% it's just a muscle strain since it really only hurts when I try to point my toes, but the thought that it might have spawned a clot has always kinda been in the back of my mind.

      1. Also, I'm so glad you're getting better. Totally didn't mean to make that all about me. I'm sorry for that.

    8. Uffda; glad you caught it when you did, zooomx. If your phone has a medical information app accessible to emergency personnel, be sure to indicate you're on blood thinners.

      I was diagnosed with hypertension in my twenties (when I was in peak shape, no less) & have been on medication for over a decade. On the one hand, I wonder what the long-term downsides are of taking that medication. On the other hand, the long-term downside could be more immediately permanent if I don't. So, I take it.

      Here's hoping you get double your 47 years, plus some.

    9. Thanks to all for the well wishes, and sharing of similar experiences. I did listed to brianS and thinned my blood a bit last night with some red wine.

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