August 28, 2008

Barack Obama pretty much hit it out of the park. The event was a success. I guess that's no surprise.

Meanwhile in Oakland, the Twins can't buy a hit against a struggling team which has rid itself of its best starting pitchers.

I tuned in tonight. Didn't plan on staying long, but ended up watching the speeches to their conclusion.

For the first time in recent memory, the sight of Bill Clinton didn't make me gag. He was on tonight. It was the best speech I have ever heard him give. He cleaned up all the mess from the primaries and put to rest any doubts that he's on board the Obama train. Combined with Hillary's graciousness last night, the Clintons have teed things up for Obama in masterful fashion.

Then, Kerry. I've never liked him, either. I didn't find him a compelling candidate. He never got off the ground. He failed to beat Bush--that alone should get you in some sort of hall of shame. But tonight? Kerry gave the best speech I have ever heard him give. It hit hard and did the job.

It was like the adults of the party finally popped in to give the new kid on the block their approval.

Then, Biden. I have had little patience for Biden's carrying on in the past, but as he is investigated by the press now, he becomes more compelling. He was presented well tonight by his son, the attorney general of Delaware. And he did well enough. I didn't think his speech was a home run, but it did the job. Although he was overshadowed by the the party lions, there was a sense that Joe's a good guy, and a smart guy, and a guy who has put in his years, and a guy who has undergone personal tragedy and a guy who hasn't lost his blue collar touch--it's Joe's turn.

Now. This decision to hold the Obama speech at the big field down the street was just plain crazy, I think. The risks outweigh the rewards. The pundits are making fun of the Greek pillars of the set, although Greek pillars are exactly what George W. Bush used as a backdrop for his acceptance speech four years ago.

In my mind, everything could go wrong with the speech and nothing could go more right because of the large crowd. However, I thought the trip to Europe was crazy, and Obama pulled it off with aplomb. Maybe he has one more trick up his sleeve.

The more that comes out about McCain, the more trouble he has. For crying out loud, he's still trying to say that Obama is an elitist. Obama was raised by a single mom and made his own money. McCain married money, and those many millions were inherited by his wife without either of them lifting a finger. An ad which defends McCain for not knowing how many houses he owns say he is being "unfairly punished for pursuing and achieving the American Dream."

Really! What is the American Dream today? Ditching your first wife and marrying one with a few hundred million in the bank? Or pulling yourself up in the world by your own intelligence and determination as Barack Obama has done?

Okay, who should get the vote of the righteous--somebody who courted a rich woman while still living with his present wife, or somebody who has a solid nuclear family unit and has never strayed?

McCain uses foul language commonly. Obama doesn't so much as swear. For whom should the people who count personal righteousness as important vote?

What I am getting at is that there are millions of people in this country that assume that a Republican is inherently more Christian (as they interpret the word)--no matter how much the evidence to the contrary!

August 27, 2008

Quite a day yesterday. We jogged west a bit from Rapid City in order to take Route 83 north to Highway 94. Eighty-three crosses a slice of the Great Plains. Because it is a back road, it has no billboards, and not many wires. I love the scenery on this route. Here is a typical scene, a lone bin. The wind was blowing so hard that it was hard to hold the camera still for this picture.

There were hay bales everywhere! I can't imagine that there will be a market for all the alfalfa we saw yesterday.

And... there's something about lone farm buildings.

August 26, 2008

This scene is pretty representative of what we saw yesterday in our trip from Estes Park, CO to Rapid City, SD. Oceans of prairie. Those who have traveled the route will notice the green. There has been plenty of rain in this usually arid region. They hay stacks are high.

The Twins made a good move yesterday, trading for veteran lefthander Eddie Guardado. I go back aways with Eddie: In 2002 when I was in the right-field stands in Baltimore during a game there against the Twins, I started a one-man chant of Ed-die! Ed-die! when he came in to pitch. I think two others joined me, and Eddie turned and looked in our direction from the mound!

Guardado is a great pickup. He fills a big hole in the bullpen right now. All the criticism of the bullpen is missing the point: The Twins haven't been scoring enough runs. The stress on the bullpen is a function of some poor performances at the plate in tie games.

Watched about thirty seconds of the convention. As usual, a nauseating circus. The pundits get on and evaluate every move--as if these things matter. They don't. Very few people are watching. It is one big commercial, and a tiresome one at that.

Word to Barack Obama: Gosh, I wish you didn't have to parade the normality of your family in front of us all. Are we that stupid as a country? I am afraid we are, and I am afraid that in many people's minds, no black man could possibly have one wife and two kids who live under his roof. But this looks desperate! Let the media find out about your family life through leaks and snippets. They're more effective than video feeds and stagecraft.

August 24, 2008

After we boarded the light rail to head back to the hotel--you can't even drive downtown during the convention, and they are shutting down the rail system as well later in the week for security reasons--we saw a commotion on the platform. There were a lot of guys and girls in suits and uniforms with dogs. Suddenly the guys and girls with the dogs burst into the train car. A camera man followed.



The camera man chases the suits with the dogs as Lance tries to maintain calm. He had just been sniffed over by the dog. The news crew was pushy, unapologetic and rude.



Behind the camera man came the sound man. The dogs furiously sniffed all of us while the news crew filmed away. Kids were scared by the furious hurry of the dogs and the whole commotion.



As the train started to move, the security circus paused for a moment. The dogs sat quietly.



This father asked the ATF agent if his boy could pet the dog. Sure thing. They aren't trained to kill people, just sniff out explosives.

The ATF agent, so identified by his badge, was from Boise, ID. He had a gun. The little boy asked, "Is that a real gun?" His father assured him that it was. "And it's loaded!" the father said, obviously thrilled.

The ATF man was a few inches from me. His cell phone rang.

"Hey, John! What's up?"

Pause.

"Oh, we're a little busy at the moment. We're on a train doing a thing for FOX News."

I should have known. It was all a show. The ATF agents, as well as several suits with Democratic Party tags and a couple with "Convention Staff" badges were putting on a show for the benefit of a cameraman and sound man from FOX News. For this, we were sniffed over. For FOX, the little boy was scared out of his wits by the urgent commotion and the conspicuous guns on the ATF agents.

Do you feel more secure? Isn't it good to know that our security forces are in cahoots with FOX News to produce footage of us being sniffed and protected? Isn't it great that kids get to experience police-state drama at an early age?

The Dad of the little boy was thrilled. "Gosh, I hope they have this place nailed down," he said, before relating a story about a cop friend of his who found bombs in a dumpster in the Denver suburbs yesterday. Really. Nothing in the news about it, but hey, they're trying to maintain calm.

Then Dad looked at a hole in the window of the train. "That's a pellet gun hole," he said, confidently. "That's what they're using now."

There was an identical hole in every one of the windows of the train. Now, I don't know what the holes are for, but they certainly weren't put there by terrorists using pellet guns. But, when I pointed out that every darn window on the train had such a hole in the exact same location, the Dad just said, "I can't imagine why they'd shoot pellet guns at trains."

So there you have it: A paranoid Dad, the moronic network that makes billions stoking his paranoia, and the government agencies that are all too happy to put on dog and pony shows to humor the fearful.

Thanks to Cousin Shawna, we had free tickets to a Colorado Rockies game today at Coors Field. It good to see a real outdoor game on grass.



The modern ballparks allow you to walk around the entire concourse without missing any of the game. It was fun to walk out by the bullpens and see a couple of Cincinnati pitchers shooting the breeze.



Behind the centerfield fence is an attempt to recreate a mountain scene with spruce, pine and running water.



Like most modern ballparks, Coors Field is spacious enough for fans of all sizes.

I suppose it is no surprise that I would find this article interesting. The history of American trees...anything which provides a window into that murky past is of interest to me.

August 23, 2008

At first, I wasn't sure what Obama was thinking. Biden has always been a loose cannon. The best thing about him is that he speaks his mind in no uncertain terms--and the worst thing about him is that he speaks his mind in no uncertain terms.

Biden is blue collar. He is engaging. He is likable. He also has gray hair and 36 years in the Senate under his belt. His Senate record, unlike Obama's, dwarfs McCain's, for Biden has been in the majority most of his career.

If they have a vice-presidential debate, which is just stupid if you ask me, but if they do--Biden will thrash any opponent I can imagine, even the articulate and engaging Tim Pawlenty.

But I can see it already: Biden making some stupid remark that the media will feast on for a week. Biden saying what he really thinks about John McCain. Biden inadvertently bringing up race. Biden wading into some issue he should just leave alone. Biden getting mucked up defending his extensive and complicated legislative record.

If nothing else, this will be very, very interesting.

After finishing at the waterpark, Lance, his sister Thelma and I drove west on I-70, hoping to see the mountains. There were thunderclouds, but they can disperse so quickly here that we decided not to let them affect our trip.

When we got to the town of Georgetown, in a cozy mountain valley, we stopped at the visitor's center. Sure enough, we were a few blocks from the base of a hairy drive over the Guanella Pass. Even though the road was partly gravel and sometimes one lane, we decided to give it a go.

It was rainy and dark. The road climbed quickly. It was raining heavily at times. When we looked back, we could see distant mountains which were snow-covered and sunlit. As we reached the 11,300 foot pass, we emerged from the forest into the tundra, which was covered with hail and snow.



At the pass, we had a great view of Bierstadt Mountain and a beautiful meadow below.



In the opposite direction, a bald mountain of tundra was frosted with fresh snow and hail. The scene changed as the fog came and went, but only for a moment did the sun peek through.

Today was a beautiful Saturday in Denver, an ideal time to head out to a small waterpark in the western Denver metro area with cousins Chad, Shawna and their small children.



The waterpark is a city facility, and it is well-used. We couldn't find any spare lawn chairs out of the hundreds available, so we sat on the lawn.



The skies darkened as a storm cloud rolled in. Inner tubes gathered under the big waterslide.



Dad Chad and three-year-old Madison had a little fun before everybody was kicked out of the water due to the lightning.



Madison got cold once out of the pool and became contemplative.



Meanwhile, Madison's brother Silas, eight months, hung out with Mom onshore. Mom is Thai and Dad is dark, but Silas is a redhead--thanks to some stubborn Bergeson genes which came through.

Despite many disappointing setbacks in the last two months, including about six games they handed to the other team which they should have won, the Twins have had the best record in the major leagues since June 13. The reason? When you have five solid starting pitchers, you are always going to be in pretty good shape, and the Twins have the most consistent starting rotation top to bottom that they have had in my memory.

True, there is no ace, no Johan Santana, Frank Viola or Bert Blyleven. But when you have five pitchers that are real good, you don't need an ace to stop your losing streaks. Everybody in this starting rotation is capable of being the ace. Every single one. I don't think people realize quite yet what the Twins have here.

Other positives: Carlos Gomez is showing a little life after taking the past two months off; Delmon Young is showing good pop with the bat; Mauer is Mauer; the team is doing fine even though Morneau is in a little funk; third base is producing some offense, something which didn't happen all last year. Kubel is hot.

I don't see how this string they are on can long continue, but it is sure fun to watch this team, even when I am on the road and have to be satisfied with internet updates.

Denver has a good light rail system which allowed us to get from our suburban hotel into the downtown. We no more than had a meal before we jumped on the train and went back out. It is already busy downtown for the Democratic National Convention.

Above is the Nine Mile station, nine miles from downtown and the end of the line.

August 22, 2008

Wow. I watched the end to tonight's game by pressing "refresh" on my browser in the hotel room. The Twins won in twelve innings, a huge victory over the talented Angels.

This is a long, tough road trip for the Twins. Fourteen games in a row. This will test their mettle. It is good to see them get a nail-biting win to start things off.

Bid on a hotel room in Denver this morning and got in for cheap at the Red Lion. The room was so nice that we decided to stay a couple of more nights. I went down to the desk to ask. We could, but the price for the same room would triple for the next two nights. It has something to do with some sort of convention that is happening here next week, not sure what that's about. But the delegates are already arriving.

Anyway, I went upstairs, got on my computer, put in a bid...and got a room for two more nights in this same hotel for less than half of what was quoted to me downstairs at the desk ten minutes before. So, I walked right down to the desk, told the same lady about my odd luck and asked her if I might get the same room for the next two nights. She was sheepish, and said she was about to suggest that I do just that––go up to my room and bid online––for she knew I would get a better deal. In the end she got me the same room.

Strange.

August 21, 2008

Took the back roads from Taos into southern Colorado. Beautiful, beautiful scenery. On the way, we stopped at tiny Fort Gardner, CO. Above is a little wild garden behind the tiny post office. Included are some real hollyhocks and some painted plants.



These lava rocks keep vehicles from getting too close to the visiter center in Fort Gardner.



Three of the town's icons: The church, the ice cream cone, and a 14,500 foot mountain.


If you don't like pictures of mountain ranges, skip these links. Mt. Blanco is the highest peak in this range. On the way towards this impressive range, we passed many lesser mountains in ranching country. The floor of the high desert is at about 7,200 ft. elevation. Thus, the ranges, although they are high, are only seven thousand vertical feet above the floor of the beautiful agricultural valleys which separate them. Just before we hit the freeway, which pretty much means an end to spectacular scenery, we passed one of the Spanish Peaks. What a beautiful valley in the foreground!