I took an unplanned four day vacation from the WGOM. Nothing's wrong, just didn't check in for a few days.
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Cup of Coffee: November 30, 2009 This entry was posted by SBG
on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 8:28 am and is filed under Cup of Coffee. It is one of 3096 entries by the author.
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57 comments to Cup of Coffee: November 30, 2009 |
Cup of Coffee Wolves lose again by 22, Kevin Love down to 17 minutes. This is the worst possible situation for the Wolves. They are driving what is left of their fan base with a tremendous stretch of terrible basketball. Their best, or second-best, player has checked out and is getting buried on the bench. I doubt that Love is in their long term plans. How's that O.J. Mayo deal looking now? Citizens Online28 Users Online WGOM Sign InLog InRetired WGOM Jokes
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Race to the Bottom: Highest Loss Totals in T-Wolves History67: 1991-92 Recent Letters to the EditorIn Response to Cup of Coffee: March 18, 2010, SBG wrote: I got in! I selected the favorites in every single game! Just wanted to see how that "strategy" would work out. Go overdogs!!!!! SBG wrote: Right. He's always one step ahead of the law. I happened to catch a few minutes of a Kentucky game (or was it highlights on ESPN?) and there was your dream girl. nibbish wrote: Jeter leaving for the Royals would be the greatest thing in baseball history, especially if it started with a huge Brett Favre-style controversy. SBG wrote: Dangerous territory you are treading in here. Do you think the odds of you scoring some ungettable babe are better than hers of getting with some star that comes through town? The karma… nibbish wrote: **checks list** Yes. I am in agreement with this. This is a good plan. SBG wrote: Time for a celebration! Might I suggest that she pony up a set of four Twins season tickets to be divided among the top 50 LTE writers at the WGOM? Beau wrote: I had a girlfriend once where we had mutual exemptions. At the time, I think hers was for Siddig El Fadil, and mine was Moira Kelly. Jeff A wrote: I was with you right until the end. You know Punto is still going to be in the Twins infield in 2012. hungry joe wrote: let us know when she becomes your special lady friend. Andrew wrote: Also, I got the Zooey Deschanel Exemption in there. If Zooey ever decides to leave her husband for me, she's been forewarned and accepts this fact. In Response to Nightmares at WGOMville, DK wrote: Whatever. Trading nothing for nothing isn't a victory, it's shuffling deck chairs. Pavano and Rauch (probably) were good trades, but they don't make Cabrera good by proxy. Jeff A wrote: Mauer to the Yankees? Ridiculous. We know how this story turns out. Just read Luke 4. Milt on Tilt wrote: And not that I'm a small sample guy, but there was … Milt on Tilt wrote: Come to think of it, I don't think I did either. My buddies and I just kept reminding of him of his excellent play on Mark Kotsay's single … SBG wrote: I didn't even boo Torii Hunter, despite his year long find a new team tour. Milt on Tilt wrote: Well at face value, it doesn't appear that it would. But then when you consider the alternatives were Alexi Casilla (.260), Matt Tolbert (.278), and Brendan Harris (.295) it looks a little better. Unless… DK wrote: I don't believe Cabrera's .310 wOBA and -15.3 UZR does much to get anybody in the playoffs. nibbish wrote: If the Twins ever truly disgusted me to the point of no longer maintaining interest in them, I don't know if I could ever really get into another team. They'd eventually play the Twins, and… Milt on Tilt wrote: It wasn't a barn burning move, but it wasn't bad either and it showed he wasn't willing to sit on his hands. And it did just enough to get into the playoffs, did it… nibbish wrote: I'd boo Bueheurleigh until he cried. In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 17, 2010, Moss wrote: The old "you can't have your coke and snort it too" … can't get a conviction on a … test...and is possession of any amount of coke a felony?? hungry joe wrote: tell me about it... brianS wrote: It is hard to consume if you do not possess. Jeff A wrote: The people we tried to give a break to came forward and sought help, too--after they got caught. They also didn't try to deny or place blame somewhere else--that's partly why we were inclined… SBG wrote: What are you talking about? You can't get pregnant the first … Popular Recent Posts
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Well, I saw a deal I couldn't resist Friday and I broke down and got an HDTV. Walmart had a great deal for a 46-inch LCD. I originally was going to buy it at the story, however I waited in line behind at least 30 people in electronics for 20 minutes and didn't move. So, I figured I could find a similar deal online and left. Walmart had 97 cent shipping, so we went that way. Should be here by the end of next week.
We're going to have to rearrange our living room, since we've been using an entertainment center for years, but we'll have to wall mount this TV. The nice thing is we've been using an HD DVR and I didn't even realize it, so we won't need knew equipment. Can't wait to watch Target Field's first Twins game in High-Def.
I got lucky and got a very nice TV in the Circuit City liquidation last February. No warranty, but almost 70% off. Cheers to HD Twins broadcasts... I did the HD thing until my cable company jacked up the rates in July.
boo to Sunday afternoon games on HDTV. Near the end of the season, I specifically went to Sunday games just so I wouldn't have to watch that crap.
Yeah, like we all have that option.
For a while, I was using a converter to watch HD broadcasts on SD. Even with the letterboxing on a 20-inch SD TV, I actually liked having the 16:9 aspect ratio, considering that the over-the-air signal was so clean in digital. Obviously it's nicer when you can watch it at the full resolution and in a larger size, but I didn't mind it much even when it was pretty small.
I suppose they might be just cutting off the edges and sending out the broadcast over cable at 4:3, which is indeed kind of nasty. I watched some soccer games that way last summer, and at times the player playing the ball would be off the edge of the screen--perfectly visible in 16:9, but off the picture in 4:3.
I've been trying to convince my father to purchase a modest 32 inch HDTV cause I know he'd love it to death, but I haven't succeeded.
I love the fact that a 32" tv is now considered a modest size.
With the change in aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 32 inches isn't what it use to be.
Yep, the change in aspect ratio totally messes with the Pythagorean.
Especially when you have to show some content at 4:3 with pillar-boxing.
Window-boxing is the worst, though. Between my roommates' hdtv and dvd player, some stuff won't show right. As an example, the House Season One DVDs are in 16:9 aspect ratio, but the dvd player can't recognize that for some reason, so it outputs a signal that is 4:3 with letterboxing. And the only way for the television to show that in a reasonable aspect ratio is to pillar-box the signal from the dvd player, giving us a nice black border surrounding the picture. Brilliant stuff.
Although, what baffles me the most is when commercials on otherwise full-HD stations wind up windowboxed. My suspicion is that it only happens during the local commercial time, when the local commercial time happens to be sold to a company showing an ad in 16:9. Still, one would think that it's not that hard to get that right.
Apparently, there must be a fairly significant cost difference in having the equipment to film in 16:9 instead of 4:3 since I notice local commercials here being pillar-boxed as well. Of course, I mostly barely notice it as I'm fast forwarding through them anyway.
DVR is definitely next on the wish list.
I took a nice four-day break from law school for thanksgiving, which was exceedingly poor planning given that exams are next week. The law school Gods immediately decided to punish me by making me spill coffee all over my laptop about five minutes into my class this morning. However, the laptop gods had my back, and let me shut it down before it did that wonderful smoking/shutting itself down thing. I dried it out the best I could while sitting in class, but when I get home I'll have to take it apart and see if any of my water damage indicators I placed on the motherboard are triggered, indicating I will be in the market for both a lot of notes from friends and a new laptop in the next week or so.
So, cross your fingers for me.
Hopefully the Laptop Gods will smile upon you. I've always had exceptional luck with the electronic gods as a whole, so I'll put in a good word.
And if not, there's always the possibility the hard drive escaped in a functional manner.
this would be a good time to remind Citizens that backups are Good Things.
I do a full backup pretty much every time I hear about somebody else losing all their data.
I took an unplanned four day vacation from the WGOM.
Did Lucy take a 5-iron to your car window? Will you talk to the police? And, most importantly, did you use Mark's Towing in Eagan?
You've got me confused with someone else. Happens all the time.
After inexplicably losing the MVP to Mauer, all is right once again in the sports world:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Al_gow_DnZkDYTG5LP9k0Xo5nYcB?slug=ap-jeter-sportsmanaward&prov=ap&type=lgns
Sportsman of the Year wouldn't have ruined Jessica Alba.
Pfft.
It's official: I have a torn ACL and need surgery.
Darn it. Get through your exams and try not to think about it for a while.
Right, I have the surgery scheduled for January 7, and I experience no pain so getting through exams shouldn't be a problem. The problem is getting it paid for on one income, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
The problem is getting it paid for on one income
I feel your pain there. Dr. Chop and I still don't have health coverage due to a 90 day waiting period that has been lengthened because of some misfiled paperwork. If anything this is a minor inconvenience, but we've already had to pay out of pocket for office visits and full price on some hefty prescriptions.
Good luck with the surgery, here's to a speedy recovery.
The problem is getting it paid for on one income
Oh man, do I know how that feels. Here's hoping that your insurance is kinder/more reasonable/better than our worthless PPO. Best of luck with your exams, surgery, and your recovery.
You don't have VA coverage, CH?
Only for service-related issues*, and even then you have to deal with the bureaucratic headaches for which the VA is famous.
* Shortly before discharge you meet with a VA rep who goes over your health records, then refers you to an independent doctor for evaluation of your medical claim(s). After the evaluation the VA rates your disability level based on no disability or a certain percentage of disability, 0-100%. A 0% disability rating isn't the same as no disability because it confirms the existence of a service-related condition which may deteriorate and result in the need for treatment and reevaluation at a later date.
So, for example, despite being in an artillery unit, I very narrowly missed out on a 0% rating for hearing loss, which means the hearing aids I'll almost certainly need later in life won't be come from the VA. My hypertension, however, is rated at 0%, so if I have a cardiac issue at any point, I can reasonably expect the VA to take care of at least some of the treatment.
Thanks for the explanation...Moss' brother is a partially disabled Desert Storm vet, and a frequent customer of the VA. He also recently took a job there processing claims, although he works on cases of deceased vets.
I hope your brother has never had difficulty gaining VA recognition of any health condition related to his Desert Storm service. Everything I've read related to post-war medical treatment of Gulf War vets makes me mad enough to spit nails.
His issues are related to a jump (he was an Airborne Ranger) and would be pretty tough for the Army to deny. Can't remember if he was actually disabled in the Middle East or of it was before/after that. He seems to be OK otherwise.
DPWY, if you don't need to have the surgery, you could consider putting it off until sometime after you are on insurance. (But it's possible they wouldn't cover it then as a pre-existing condition.) Unless you want to do basketball, football or skiing, most other things can be done with a torn ACL and a brace.
Oh no, I'm on insurance, it's just that the deductible is a little large. In fact, we discovered that it's about $1000 less if I have the surgery in 2009, so I just got off the phone and am first in line if there is a cancellation on New Year's Eve (apparently the only day I can get on the list this year).
The other problem is that my main exercise during the past year has been basketball.
Convenient how those fiscal year/calendar year things work.
/sarcasm
basketball is for punks. You are a married man, Will. It's time to face up to that fact and resign yourself to treadmilling/stairmastering/ellipticalling and hoping that some hot young thing takes the machine in front of you, like the rest of us old farts.
Old farts? Heck, I started doing that right after I got out of college. (Now I do it in my basement, so no chance of even having a machine in front of me.)
We have a Nordic Track (free on craigslist) and a Health Rider (free from the sister-in-law) in the basement, which is apparently not a destination for hot young things. The bikes will have to be mothballed as soon as the snow flies, but I was riding mine as recently as last week. We have a decent outdoor rink just a couple of blocks away, so I'm thinking of getting some used hockey skates and taking a few turns around the boards for some outdoor winter exercise this year. And I'd like to try x-country skiing, too. I guess they rent skis at Elm Creek Park and have some really nice trails, so the wife and I may give it a try this year. You'll notice, though, that I limit myself to low impact activities, and my knees thank me for that. Yours will, too, after the surgery.
I envy the idea of taking laps along the boards. /living in hell
Best wishes, Will. Good luck both with the exams and the surgery.
Good luck with the surgery. Glad to hear it's not too pressing and you can put it off until after exams.
Brett Favre notched his 500th touchdown on Sunday and now has 502 (488 passing, 14 rushing). I didn't know that throwing a touchdown pass counted as a touchdown, but regardless, Favre is the first player to get to 500 TDs, if you count them in this manner. With 5 games left, he has an outside chance to reach 500 passing TDs for his career this year. That's pretty good.
they are like RBIs, duh. Runs and RBIs, TDs and passing TDs, those things matter.
unlike made-up statistics like yards and interceptions.
Football outsiders have explained to me that yards and interceptions are not useful counting stats and the situation needs to be considered. (I.e. 23 yard pass looks good most times, but not if you're on 4th & 29.)
naturally. Getting tons of yards in garbage time means nothing to me (but everything to my fantasy team). Quarterback rating can me manipulated too, by taking a sack instead of throwing the ball away to keep it up.
That Favre guy is sure fucking up the Tarvaris Jackson era.
Tarvaris Jackson is f*ck*ed = Favre antics sours Kid Jack
It should come as no surprise to anyone that most
Americanshumans don't get satire.Well, that would account for all the blank stares I get.
As the husband of a redhead, this news concerns me greatly.
Every.Single.Chalkboard. Ever.
My prudish grandparents on my mother's side loved The Simpsons during the first season. But shortly it became too "immoral" for them.
My grandmother on my dad's side, however, and a broader sense of humor. One time we actually sat down to watch South Park together. I was scared she'd be disgusted, but she loved the episode where the elephant makes love to Cartman's pig Fluffy.
That's great. Man, season 5 was epically awesome.
I know that some of you may be interested, so I figured I'd give a heads up. DeepDiscount.com has the complete Homicide series boxset for $59.99 with free shipping. Mine came in the mail on Saturday, and I can't wait to watch it. I loved the Wire, probably my favorite TV show ever (neck and neck with the criminally underrated The Shield), so my expectations are very high.
CC to bs: I've got myself a perfect roast for carnitas, what's your method to the madness?
meat: I hope it is a bone-in pork butt (shoulder). I think that is the best cut for this. Cheap and flavorful. (a fresh ham also works, although you have to figure out what to do with the bit o' skin -- fried pork skin!)
If you've got the energy and time:
dry rub, wrap in foil and refrigerate over night (this step _can_ be omitted; real carnitas doesn't involve dry rub). Brown well on all sides, then into a crock pot on low for 6 hours or so (deglaze the pan with a cup or so of water or stock; add to the crock). Transfer the meat to a roasting pan (reserving and defatting the juices from the crock) and pop in a medium oven (~350) for at least an hour, but closer to two. The fatty bits should be crispy and the smell of the roast should be driving you insane. Defat the roasting pan; add the reserved juices to the roasting pan to deglaze the pan. Let the meat cool a while, then shred with two forks.
For a more carnitas-like product, leftovers can be fried in a non-stick pan until crispy.
a less labor-intensive and almost as good approach is to leave it in the crock on high all day and omit the roasting. Remove the meat from the crock, defat the juices and transfer to a saucepan to reduce by about half. I then add the juices back into the leftovers.
If you don't have a crock pot, well, WTF? Uh, I mean, you _can_ do the whole thing in the oven or _even_ on the stove. More conventional carnitas involves braising big chunks of pork butt in water with a few seasonings until the water all boils away and you end up frying the pieces in the rendered fat. And that's good eats too.