February 08, 2010
My 13-year-old friend Cynthia is always full of encouragement. About this week's column, she wrote: Fantastic column this week. The reason why you are sore is 1) you're over 40 and 2) you're really out of shape. This week I read the column instead of deleting it from my inbox after reading the first sentence. This week it appealed to readers of all ages, not just old people. Best column yet. Thanks, Cynthia!
February 07, 2010
 Back up to Gate's Pass this evening with friends Bruce and Mary from Fertile. The sunset was beautiful, but it was the coldest I've felt it in Tucson since I got here. Earlier, we drove up towards the Catalina mountains north of town.
Aunt Olla called yesterday to check in. Things are fine back at the Hilton. Her health is fine. Her memory is going, but she's ordering some new memory pills to fix that. Olla has decided that one of her problems is "interference of learning." That is, when you are taking too much in, the facts all start tripping over each other and you get mixed up or start forgetting. I think it is a term she heard in graduate school. Anyway, she had a coffee date down in the dining hall coming up in a few minutes with a woman who just lost her husband and has a touch of Alzheimer's. She's lonely and wants to talk. So, we didn't talk too long on the phone. The time has gone so fast that, as Olla put it, "it's not like we didn't miss you, but..." In other words, my being away for three months didn't turn out to be any problem, which is good. There is yet another winter storm back home. Here in Tucson, it rained much of the morning, creating rivers in the streets. But now, in mid-afternoon, the sun is poking through.
February 05, 2010
Drove up to Mesa today to give an "author's talk" at Venture Out RV Park. It is the nicest park I have seen yet. It has 1800 trailers and 3500 palm trees. I was a little trepidatious going in. After I accepted the gig, I was informed that not only would I not be paid, but I couldn't sell books! Funny deal, I thought. I decided to accept anyway, since I have nothing better to do. The lady said to expect anything from six to twenty-five people. I think there were at least 50-60, several of whom I knew. That was fun. At least three couples who are customers at the nursery showed up. Five people in attendance had read Pirates on the Prairie. And several piped up to say nice things about the nursery. Plus, at the end, I said I would sell books out at my car and I sold enough to make the 240 mile round-trip well worth while. It was a fun day. I feel like I worked. All of these parks have shows where the people pay a lot of money to get in. I suspect the performers cost in the $3000 range. The people who attended today said I should return and do one of those shows. I would love to, and that has been my goal, but it is a tough gig to break into. The activities directors have their set bunch of acts and they stick with them. However, I asked this bunch today to see if they could bombard the Activities Office with requests so that I could do one of their Monday night shows, high cost affairs which, according to the grumblers, aren't worth the price of admission. After the gig, I went into the main commons area. They were getting ready for karaoke. There were 100s of people. And wine at every table. At 2:30 in the afternoon. Yes, the shackles fall away when these people leave the Central Time Zone.
February 04, 2010
Against right-handed pitchers, this lineup would be pretty tough. CF-Denard Span 2B-Orlando Hudson C-Joe Mauer 1B-Justin Morneau RF-Michael Cuddyer DH-Jim Thome LF-Jason Kubel SS-J. J. Hardy 3B-Nick Punto or Brendan Harris Against lefties, things would seem a little grim if it weren't for Mauer and Morneau's excellent success against lefties.
Received this email forward a couple of days ago showing a palatial prison which the email claims is the Cook County Jail in Illinois, the funding for which was arranged by Senator Barack Obama. It concludes with a baleful moan: "Nothing makes sense anymore!" Except, the whole thing is a lie. And it took me all of five seconds to find out on the Internet that the email was completely and totally false. Yet people forward these things. When it is so easy to check them out, and these people refuse, you know what's going on: The crazy stuff fits their beliefs, so they assume it is real. When informed that it is not real, they don't quit believing. Evidence matters not when people choose to believe in fantasy! At the same time we hear that a majority of Republicans polled were either convinced that ACORN stole the election for Obama, or weren't sure. A majority. Now, even if all of the charges against ACORN are true, there wouldn't be enough voters involved to swing a single precinct.. Yet these people continue to believe their wildest fantasies, assisted by irresponsible wind bags in the media. Oh, and 31% of Republicans polled were sure that Barack Obama "hates white people." Thirty-six percent don't think he was born in the United States. And 53% are certain that Sarah Palin is more qualified to be president of the United States. Yikes!
What are the Twins up to? Seems like they want to improve. Tonight, it looks like they have signed an All-Star second baseman, Orlando Hudson, most recently of the Dodgers. It should be noted that both J. J. Hardy, the Twins' new shortstop and Hudson, who would be their new second basemen, have recent injury histories. But both are veterans and solid hitters. And both offer superior defense. Pretty soon, the only black hole in the lineup is going to be Delmon Young. I am really amazed at what the Twins have done this offseason. If they sign Mauer to a long-term deal, they will be off and running. Look at the veterans added since last year at this time: J. J. Hardy, Orlando Hudson, Jim Thome, Carl Pavano. Not bad.
There's a little crazy going on in this country!
Harold Newman is putting up billboards promoting Roger Maris as the legitimate single season home run king. I agree. However, the sign is badly edited: By putting quote marks around the word "legitimate" on the sign sends the message that Maris is not really legitimate. Quote marks pop up in the weirdest places. Put some white-out on them, Harold! They're worse than an asterisk. UPDATE: An email I sent to Newman Signs this morning was immediately answered by the president of the company, Kari Ness, who is mortified by the mistake. Others have pointed it out on the Forum comment board. Knowing the company, it will be quickly corrected. This is as good a time as any to point out that quote marks are never used for emphasis. Emphasis can be accomplished with italics, underlining or bold. Quotes denote irony, and even in ironic usage they should be used very sparingly. Overuse of ironic quotes gives the impression that one is too smart to be blunt about anything and has to make sure that everybody knows they use common-sounding words and phrases only to be funny. Such vulgarities would otherwise never slip past their pure lips.
February 02, 2010
Nice view of the Santa Rita mountains in Madera Canyon today.
Acorn Woodpecker, Madera Canyon 
February 01, 2010
The buzz right now is about Joe Mauer. Although a final deal hasn't been announced, it appears that it will be a matter of time. It seems the Pohlad family is utterly determined to get the deal done. They know what's on the line. Jim Pohlad talked of a "legacy contract," which means he realizes the value of Mauer to the franchise. The talk of ten years is beyond my expectations. I just looked back at my predictions for the 2009 season. I was smart. I didn't make any. The season was an exercise in frustration for the first five months. Only in the last month did the Twins get on a roll, enough of a roll so they ended up winning what was a very weak division. Since the end of last season, the Twins made some improvements. The improvements, in order of importance: 1) Signing Jim Thome. Thome and the Twins have been trying to get together for years. The Twins even tried to get him out of high school. Now 39, Thome is a sure Hall of Famer and has been labeled the best teammate in the league. The veteran leadership that was utterly lacking last year might be supplied by Thome. Thome has long been a friend of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Expect him to fill the role of mentor to many of the younger Twins. Thome's a winner. Oh, and I almost didn't mention: He gives the line-up an amazing pop from the left side of the plate. Mauer, Morneau, Thome, Kubel. You don't get much better than that against right-handed pitchers. 2) Trading for J. J. Hardy. Few teams win without a solid shortstop. Hardy had a bad year last year, but he is healed up this year and has some good years under his belt. Hardy, too, has connections with the Twins. He and Mauer have been friends for years. 3) Keeping Carl Pavano. Pavano has been a mystery over the years. He signed a $40 million contract with the Yankees and then won something like 9 games over the next four years. However, he had a good season last year and was solid after coming over to the Twins late in the season. Last year, the Twins lacked a solid veteran starter. This year they have one. 4) The return of Pat Neshek. The guy was lights out three years ago. With him gone, I would argue the Twins lost five to eight extra games due to weak eighth inning relief. If Neshek is as strong as he claims on his weblog, the Twins will see an upturn in their middle relief. 5) The loss of Carlos Gomez. One of my favorite players, Gomez simply didn't do it at the plate last year. I still like him and wish him well in Milwaukee. He is one of the game's characters. But removing him from the line-up will allow an adult to take over the position. Other issues are less clear-cut. Both Francisco Liriano and Alexi Casilla played winter ball. Both did well. Reports are leaking north that Liriano was unhittable. The Twins aren't depending upon him, and they have a lot of people competing for the starting pitching slots, but if he stepped up again, it could make a huge difference. Casilla is less likely to make an impact. He is as enigmatic as Luis Rivas. I don't think the Twins would go wrong by cutting him loose. Will Kevin Slowey come back? Will pouty Glen Perkins come back? If one of the three returns to form, the rotation would be solid. The Twins let Mike Redmond go to Cleveland, thinking Jose Morales would take over the back-up catcher role. Now Morales is injured and unlikely to start the season. That is a bad deal. Redmond was solid offensively and defensively. He also was a favorite on the bench. He will be missed. Third base is still unoccupied. Brendan Harris made an argument for starting their late last season, but he has yet to do well for an entire season. Crede is still on the market, but he is so hobbled by injuries that he muddles up the roster by being healthy for two weeks, unhealthy for a week, healthy for a week, and so on. Do you put him on the DL or let him just sit out a few games? Not a good way to use a roster spot.
The old sage Lloyd Omdahl saw it coming.
The best news of the New Year If this is true, it is a red letter day in Minnesota sports history.
Former Reagan aide Bruce Bartlett discovers what Minnesotans learned a long time ago: Tim Pawlenty, once thought of as a serious policy-maker, has sold his soul to the mindless right.
Deep thought overheard at Border's coffee shop: The woman at the next table was talking about her sister-in-law, clearly not her favorite person. "Yeah, I guess she's a medium," she snorted. "Can you imagine how awful it must be to float around out there in the great beyond waiting for somebody like her to dial you up on the Ouija board?"
Conservative scholar Norman Ornstein looks at the accomplishments of this very unpopular Congress.
A sane and constructive criticism of the approach of the Obama administration in its first year.
An interesting article on the gardening-in-the-schools movement in California. The writer shows condescension towards people who do manual labor. She also gives short shrift to the value of acquiring practical skills. But her conclusion: When the kids ain't learnin, get back to the basics, seems valid.
January 31, 2010
I don't get it: The very same people who jump on every little verbal mistake Obama makes then get all worked up when, by using the teleprompter, he attempts to reduce the inevitable gaffes. The sneer and mock about "his beloved teleprompter." Well, watch his interchange with the House Republicans. No teleprompter. Worked fine. A friend writes: I don't see why the teleprompter is an issue either. We live in an age where any mistake you make can be made instantly viewable across the globe. I don't have a problem with his attempts at tightly controlling his message by using the best tools available. Using a teleprompter doesn't mean he's stupid, or insincere - it means he completely understands the power of technology, the media, and the presidency, for good or bad.
 The weather suddenly turned absolutely stunning today in Tucson after a couple of weeks of moodiness. So, I took a walk. Ran across this beautiful garden as well as the gardener, David. He reports that he grows annuals in the winter only. In the summer, the beds are empty. It has always puzzled me why more people don't do the same thing in Tucson. The color of the annuals in the wintertime is stunning.
Canadian Appreciation Dinner  Entertained at Eastgate RV Park in Mesa tonight as a part of a Canadian Appreciation Dinner. About 160 people showed up for supper and entertainment. It was a lot of fun. Met some interesting people, including several people from the Northwest Territories in Canada, someplace I have always wanted to go. I called Aunt Olla on the cell phone just before I performed to ask here where the Bergeson connection was in Alberta. It was a city called Leftbridge. So, that helped buy me some credibility with the Canadians. Also met a man whose team, the 1952 Grafton Spoilers, appeared in my book Pirates on the Prairie. He had read the book, which was fun.  In the end, everybody seemed to have a good time.
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