N's blog-journal thing

and completely unrelated...

2009-11-20T20:35:20Z

Looking for an immigration lawyer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with experience with dual citizenship and overseas births to US military personnel. Or, at the very least, how to look for such a lawyer without calling the entire phonebook.

OW MY NOSE

2009-11-20T20:24:05Z

Surgery successful, but my nose hurts. So bad. I'm all pilled up but it hurts so I'm going to have to take off my glasses and listen to the radio or check out some audio downloads from the Hennepin County Library. Ow. Ow. Ow.

week in review

2009-11-16T06:12:07Z

For those of you who commented on my entry on Dreamwidth, I can finally answer the comments. The cable dude was here this afternoon to fix my dodgy connection. It should be resolved but I need some more power strips as return and forward amplifiers are currently taking two of the strip's spots.

I'm currently watching some classic games on MLB Network. The 1998 Brewers had some awful uniforms. The 1990s Brewers had some awful, period. I hadn't seen any Brewers games in this period before. At least this recording has the comforting and familiar voice of Bill Schroeder. Unfortunately this game features Randy Johnson and assorted Astros pounding the crap out of the Crew. The last time I saw Randy Johnson pitch, in '08, he gave up two hits to Seth McClung (former AL pitcher, who also bats left--this would predict a bad matchup) so he's definitely slipped a bit XDXDXD

I'm going in to see a surgeon on Friday--I don't know if they're actually going to perform the surgery then or if it's just a pre-surgical consultation. (Mole and bump removal, on face and nose. Nothing to immediately worry about.) The problem is that I'm supposed to be doing my first weekend editor rotation for Brew Crew Ball this weekend. I didn't think when I made the appointment. The surgery won't impair my ability to post a Weekend Mug unless I can't wear my glasses, in which case I'll end up hooking up my Eee at somewhere with free wifi and push my face right against the screen while I write a short Mug.

I hate the Metrodome, but...

2009-09-08T05:07:50Z

This gallery is making me not look forward to Target Field, either.

First off, it's got that sort of moated seating around the infield that is in the New Yankee Stadium. That's fine for during the game, but it's going to be trickytricky trying to get good pictures during batting practice. I don't do the pestering players for autographs thing but that's going to be impossible there, it looks like.

The outfield seating looks like it sucks, too, compared to the Dome.

Also, where are the bullpens located? This is very important to me. I enjoy watching relief pitchers in their natural environment about as much as I enjoy watching the game.

I already had a feeling that I would take in 99% of my NL and interleague action at Miller Park in 2010 and beyond anyway, but now I'm thinking I should check out Chicago and KC by car as well so I can see if they'll meet my AL-viewing needs. (I love Comerica Park, but getting to Detroit is an expensive proposition, and not something I want to do every year.)

After looking at these pics? I miss Coors Field SO MUCH. If only I didn't hate downtown Denver....

this is an ex-refrigerator

2009-07-08T04:09:22Z

The fridge finally bit the dust. The compressor is bad and expensive to fix, so I must obtain new fridge.

A new fridge comparable to old fridge is about $900.

I guess I shouldn't have went to Detroit. >_

cleaning the basement

2009-07-02T18:09:58Z

Is anyone interested in some old Windows 3.1/DOS games and programs? I'll ship, no worries. The highlights of the collection are an Infocom fantasy text adventure CD and a 1994 Sports Illustrated almanac.

I'm also trying to sell off a bunch of clothes, most new with tag, sizes 16W-18W, and I'll be taking pictures of those later. (will give eBay feedback link on request to show that I really do ship out my stuff.)

one of the reasons I no longer identify as "fannish"

2009-06-06T05:02:03Z

My only response to this post is that if I've learned to expect anything in fandom, it's that expectations are frequently proved to be wrong.

camera = $300 device for producing fuzzy pictures of people

2009-05-29T22:58:53Z

All the pictures I took of Ryan Braun and Corey Hart (and that one of Seth McClung) were bad or fuzzy.

All the found object/skyscraper/urban photography shots I took at the same time are perfect.

(All the pictures of Angela and rather_dashing turned out perfectly normal, except for some Angie red-eye.)

See, I knew I shouldn't have taken those pictures!

my introversion is going to destroy me

2009-05-25T07:32:20Z

So, some of you may know my not-often-updated baseball blog Warm Summer Days Indoors is named after a line in the Smiths song "Ask."

There are other lines more appropriate to me, such as

Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You'd like to

I just finished Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim's The Eternal Smile a couple of days ago and the third comic really hit a nerve. All the comics in that collection are about the same thing, really, the taking of personal responsibility where one didn't believe one had any, but the one about the put-upon ISP worker trying to get a promotion but couldn't be assertive enough until she ran into a 419 scam was the one that I felt applied to my life the most.

Yesterday, if not for the presence of a friend, I would not have done something because my introversion would have forced me away from doing it. I'm still not sure it was the right thing to do, but it's something I may have needed to do.

I may also change my reservation for the 10th anniversary MetaFilter meetup from "maybe" to "yes." If I could do that, I can handle a MeFi meetup. (I've been a MeFi member for over 9 years, too.)

tentative pitchers for games I'll be attending

2009-05-10T15:33:52Z

Today (if we manage to get out of house), Seattle at Twins: Bedard vs. Blackburn
Next week, Milwaukee at Twins: Suppan vs. Slowey, Parra vs. Perkins, Looper vs. Baker
Red Sox at Twins, in 2 Mondays: Penny vs. Liriano (this is the one I'm unsure about; I think Matsuzaka is coming off the DL)

I've never seen Liriano pitch, but I've seen every other guy in the Twins rotation at least once. After this next series, the only current Brewers starter I won't have seen pitch at any time is Gallardo. (I missed Sabathia and McClung last year, but saw McClung pitch in relief this year.)

today's link special

2009-05-04T20:08:15Z

Kerry Ligtenberg attempting comeback with St. Paul Saints: man, unemployment sucks, doesn't it? At least he managed to escape Cottage Grove.

How Not to Price Your Tickets: analysis of the secondary market for baseball tickets indicates that, surprise of surprises, expensive seats at Yankee Stadium are overpriced in regards to demand

what the Seibu Lions did with Matsuzaka's posting fee--so the Red Sox basically paid the Lions $25 million to update the Seibu Dome, making Lions fans a bit happier. Sox fans, however, are stuck watching a declining pitcher. (I will not complain about Jeff Suppan...much; at least he was what it said on the box.)

The Fickle Twitterer: "The half-life of a microblog, it turns out, is even briefer than the half-life of a blog."

stuff I should be posting on other blogs dept.

2009-04-30T16:30:56Z

...blogs I can't update right now, that is.

a) What is with this rash of pitchers getting hit with batted balls? Chris Young and Nick Blackburn got hit last year, and so far this year Joe Martinez, Cole Hamels, and Koji Uehara have been hit. Something Must Be Done.
(note: sarcasm, because someone in the media is going to write a srs bsns article about it eventually)

b) Baseball comics, the sort featuring real players. I'll be on the way to Milwaukee during Free Comic Book Day, which is what brought this to mind--last year one of those sorts of comics was a stadium giveaway, but of course I've never seen any of that sort of thing turn up in a comics blog post. The closest thing I've seen was that Tropicana Field trip page with pictures of that art depicting some of the 2008 Rays as superheroes.

Testing Dreamwidth crossposter

2009-04-29T18:55:40Z

This post is exactly what it says on the tin. So, in short, content-free post.

back from Worldcon

2008-08-15T04:48:47Z

Ha, I probably should have posted to the effect that I had left in the first place.

In any case, I need to be working on something in the apazine sort of line right now but I've been too worn out for the past 3 days. I'm having the opposite problem writing up a trip report as I did with Boskone, as this time I didn't like the city much but thought the con was a blast.

Also made a bit of an overambitious ass of myself at a fanzine panel about starting a new zine. I suppose I could, it would give me a place to dump all the baseball talk (hey, it's fandom. sort of.)

Going to Mariners at Twins this Sunday. Sitting in left field. Wondering how many pictures of Ichiro my mom will want. XD

TwinsFest and other fan gatherings

2008-01-27T04:47:38Z

I attended TwinsFest today (explanation on my ephemera blog.) Had fun, am now sick, discovered that dealers' rooms make me agitated even if the ceiling of the room is really really high.

Also, I'm still waiting for people to explain to me the whole Nick Punto thing. The guy has massive quantities of squeeing fangirls. He's like...Craig Counsell (who I like, because the guy can field like nobody's business) but tiny and worse at hitting. I mean, Twins, can you find a third baseman who can hit more than .210? Pls?

In other news, 18 days before I leave for Boston. I know I'll be seeing serendip (will email soon, promise.) ckd, you go to Boskone, right? I assume I'll be seeing you around then, if I don't get hopelessly overwhelmed with the amount of new people met.

what airline sucks less?

2007-11-18T07:20:25Z

I'm planning on going to Boston in February. I'm leaving out of the Twin Cities.

what non-Northwest airline that flies out of the Cities to Boston sucks the least? I don't mind having a short layover. I just don't want to touch Northwest with a 39.5' pole.

attn Twin Cities people

2007-08-02T00:51:30Z

please refrain from making unnecessary phone calls.

"all circuits are busy" is not a fun, friendly message from your telephone company, especially if someone needs to be making an important call.

desk cleaning

2007-06-22T02:36:53Z

I moved to a new pod at work, and thus had to clean my desk.

I found a Serenity (the Firefly movie) keychain in my desk. If no one on my flist wants it, I'm bringing it to the Stipple-apa collation, and if nobody there wants it it's going into our garage sale next Thursday.

i has a tickit

2007-06-15T23:54:42Z

Due to last-minute goodie distribution, I'll be going to a Twins game tomorrow night. The problem is I haven't been to the Dome for about 5 years and I'll be sitting in unfamiliar territory.

So:
How far before the game should I get there if I want to park relatively close?
What are the concessions like in the suites? (Yeah, it's my first time too.)

new review

2007-05-27T18:18:00Z

Finally got around to recycling Stipple-apa content by putting up this review of Sarah Monette's Mélusine. Yes, I know it's been three years since I've put anything up there. I'm slow.

inquiry re Craigslist (Twin Cities only)

2007-01-27T01:27:32Z

Anyone local on the flist have any success either buying or selling things on the Minneapolis Craigslist? I've got a load of stuff to clear out of the house Right Now and can't wait for the garage sale I had planned for this fall.

possible panel idea?

2007-01-26T22:34:19Z

This post on Lackey's Magic's Pawn makes me wonder if there's ever been a convention panel/discussion relating to adult sf and fantasy that one reads as a teenager and likes but can't be reread and enjoyed as an adult.

I've got a lot of ideas on this one....

con blather

2007-01-13T03:31:45Z

a: Was unable to get April 6th off. Wondering if it is still worth it to go to Minicon if I miss one day of the con. Last year, of course, I had the Ear Infection from Heck and missed about half the con due to general feeling meh; I know I missed a lot and thus didn't enjoy it. Also, wondering if they'll ever bother to get the prereg form up on the website. I've been waiting on that thing to be up since the last Minicon. XD

b: I suppose I need to send in the prereg for Anime Detour now, or at least when I get paid next week. I did get March 23rd off. Still thinking about that con in Eau Claire, which was at least an enjoyable drive for the one day of it I got in last year.

c: saw rant by adult about "how much anime cons suck these days" due to rowdy behavior, etc. Refrained from commenting that the problem isn't anime, it's that a lot of people under 18 still seem to require adult supervision (judging by their behavior both with and without parents) and sure as heck aren't getting it at the anime con.

interesting

2006-12-26T19:27:37Z

I saw the Mystery Machine in Cottage Grove today, right at the corner of Point Douglas and 80th.

In other news, spent Christmas sick...no big deal. At least I wasn't working sick.

things that make you go hmm

2006-11-08T07:33:13Z

Election results for my neighborhood (select Cottage Grove, P-06; it doesn't like direct links)

...if anyone can explain why 60% of my neighborhood voted for Klobuchar and 51% voted for Kline, I'd like to know.

(This is assuming that it's actually 9% of people who'd normally vote Republican who ended up voting for Klobuchar...I doubt it, but wtf anyway?)

As for the District 57 race, perhaps it's because Katie Sieben and Karla Bigham had more signs. Who knows?