Annie Oakley Redux and Bonnie Too

Posted on July 17, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

A great week of summer weather in SE Minnesota ended with a Friday afternoon of fierce thunderstorms, totaling nearly 5 inches of rain and accompanying flash flooding. At home we had many small branches downed by the storm and significant soil erosion around the garden.  The weatherman’s view is the following days will be hot and steamy; with that forecast we entered the all too few summer weekend.  For Saturday the major task for Linda (the Missus), daughter Rachel, her fiance John and myself became a game of “pick up sticks” that were strewn across our yard during the storm. We created a huge pile of sticks to fuel our next bonfire, which in turn created a huge thirst as the weatherman was right about hot and steamy. How hot?  Amber, our golden retriever was panting more than a locomotive ascending a 7% grade. Linus the cat  had taken cover under the shade of the hostas, while Bonnie the cat had retired to a deck chair with no noticeable movement for a couple hours.

Our outdoor pets were heeding the heat index emergency warning and had ceased all unnecessary physical activities.  Our physical activities had left us parched. We finished up the “pick up sticks” and joined Bonnie on the deck for some cold drinks. Linda served up root beer floats and watermelon to cool us down (I placed a special order for a Diet Cherry 7-UP soda, that hit the spot too).  The deck was breezy and we were recuperating nicely when an interloper appeared who brought a “tension” to the scene.  It was a bushy tailed brown squirrel (of small stature) helping himself to Linda’s ground feeder for the birds. The squirrel immediately drew our attention, along with Bonnie’s.

A backyard squirrel is not a unusual sighting, but this squirrel had established a modus operandi of devouring bird seeds and knocking the grape jelly jar (intended for feeding Baltimore Orioles)  to the ground, spilling its contents or allowing Amber to lap up the jelly.  A squirrel pilfering bird seeds is a petty crime, but spilling the jelly jar is a capital offense; and this squirrel was a repeat offender! The mystery was the culprit would strike when no one was watching; except on this day when Linda and Bonnie both witnessed him in the act. Bonnie sprang to action.

Bonnie chose to confront the intruder directly and stealthily approached the squirrel, halting at a distance of about 12 feet awaiting her chance to pounce. The squirrel was on alert, but at no time slowed its pace at devouring bird feed. Their face-off continued for about 10 minutes, Bonnie waiting,  the squirrel chowing down ravenously  and showing utter contempt towards the backyard authorities. The four of us were spectating from the deck. Finally the gluttony had gone on too long for Linda and she decided to offer back up for Bonnie.

The climax to this scene came quickly.  Linda took a position on the deck behind Bonnie, ready to help. Bonnie closed the gap another 4 feet. The squirrel’s defense system rose to DEFCON 3 and sprang to a nearby tree.  At that split second, a violent retort was heard and justice was administered from the business end of Linda’s .22. Bonnie pounched when the squirrel hit the ground, but that squirrel’s life of crime had already come to an end.

Lesson Learned –  Gluttony is a deadly sin when Oriole Jelly is involved.

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Honey Crisp Chronicles – 7/2/2011

Posted on July 2, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

I have whipped myself into a frenzy over a potential bumper crop of Honey Crisp apples. My assigned responsibility is insect control, accomplished by spraying the two trees every couple weeks. I noticed some leaves have already been devoured by a leaf-chomping intruder. I researched apple tree pests and learned that the #1 enemy of the crop is the apple maggot, who arrives on the scene in July. I also learned that Bonide Fruit Tree spray is formulated to control those nasty little bugs intent on laying eggs in our growing crop of Honey Crisp. I applied the first of several planned applications today. One gallon of mix covered the two trees. I could not hear any screaming from the little critters who mean ill towards our apples, I will assume they died quietly. I have to make a decision whether to hang some sticky traps in the trees to see what flying marauders return to our orchard.

The week provided favorable growing weather for the apples; rain early and late in the week bookended some warm (even hot) days in the middle. Last night provided a scare when a storm rumbled through that broke off many small tree branches; and even a few trees as we witnessed on the Root River trail this afternoon. Our two Honey Crisp trees though weathered the storm well.  I found one small branch was snapped with no effect on the apples. Even better there was no apples laying on the ground. The East tree has a perceptible lean to the North, but it is hard to attribute that just to this storm.

Another warning for a growing crop is to prevent branches from being damaged by bearing the weight of too many apples.  Alas, to have such a problem! I’m not in a mood to thin this crop (yet), after waiting several years to see any apples growing.  I need to add that concern to the watch list, along with seeing if  the leaf damage continues; requiring a different insecticide to combat the foe.  Here is what the  crop looked like this late this afternoon.

 

 

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Sid on Sports – Hope and the AL Central

Posted on June 30, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

The 2011 Twins have tried numerous times to shake off those fans holding only a loose grip on the bandwagon. Their brutal losses during the months of April and May, the long absences of favorite players, and the unaccustomed feeling that we are watching the worst team in baseball; it took a toll on the weak-hearted and blew away the chaff.

On June 2nd the Twins started a remarkable 15-2 run and climbed out of the abyss to within 6.5 games of Detroit. This run climaxed with an 8 game winning streak, culminating in a 9-2 beat-down of the World Champion Giants at AT&T Park.  A whisper campaign erupted over Twitter,  triggered by 1500ESPN’s Phil Mackey, rallying Twins Territory to  “#itshappening”.   The Twins bandwagon loaded up so fast that both axles broke. What followed was a bitter 6 game losing streak where the team at times looked worse than in April; trashed in an unexplainable 0-15 loss to the Dodgers at Target Field. The bandwagon  being cleared of riff-raff, the team moved forward to win the last two against the Dodgers.  June  finished with a 17-9 record, 8.5 games behind Detroit, and 11 games under .500. The Twins move into July with its All-Star break, plenty of home games, and the looming July 31st trade deadline.

I’ve already emptied several bottles of Maalox this season,  including a full bottle after the disastrous Friday night loss to the Brewers, where a loss was snatched from the jaws of victory by the scatter-arm pitching of Jose Mijares.  It should have been a Glen Perkins moment (like yesterday’s shut-down performance against the Dodgers). Instead it is Jose going 3-0, 3-2 and then leaving one over the plate. Instead of sulking off in the corner, he complains about Mauer’s pitch selection.  Dissention raises its ugly head, the press and embittered fans start railing about Mauer as a catcher and the team drops 3 more games before stopping the bleeding. Open another Maalox: glug, glug, glug!

I was unhappy with Gardy bringing out Mijares against the best RBI guy in the NL.  It was foolish. Mijares fell way behind in the count as he always does, and then instead of missing wide on 3-2 ,  he grooves one. Please note  one of our needs is a 2nd reliable left-handed reliever.

The tailspin over the last week sent me running to Jimmy the K for a clearer outlook. His message was plain and simple – “there is Hope, never lose Hope, better days are coming – for we compete in the AL Central.”  He is right in that we’ve done well against the AL Central, sans Detroit, and with the exception of Detroit it looks like the rest of the division is heading our way.  This whole season probably comes down to two goals: 1) get back to .500 and  2) win the remaining series against Detroit.  If both of those happen – we might see a playoff game at Target Field.

Here are a few swats at the flies buzzing around the Twins bandwagon:

Joe Mauer -  is our everyday catcher and should remain so.  We don’t need Mauer at 1B – we need Justin Morneau at 1B.  We don’t need Mauer at 3B, we need the 2010 version of Danny Valencia.  All this complaining and hand wringing about Joe boils down to resentment over his contract.  People need to forget about it – he is our catcher. Joe needs to take a lot better care of himself – maybe he needs to spend a few weeks with Carlton Fisk to learn how a big man can stay at catcher into his 40s.

The bullpen – Let’s hope Joe Nathan is mended well enough to be the right-handed set-up man. Add in  lefty Glen Perkins and a more commanding Matt Capps, and maybe the Burnett’s, Dumatrait’s, Mijares’s and Swarzak’s won’t see the light of day.  If there is any place where the Twins brass made a mistake that should be rectified,  it is the bullpen.

The running game – it’s been the primary reason we’ve survived while most of the team is flirting with the Mendoza line.  Repko, Nishi, Revere, Casila – that has a piranha feel to it.  Even Cuddy and Valencia are moving on the base path.  I fear a return of station to station base-running.  It should indicate that the trade-bait for the Twins is :  Delmon, Kubel, Thome or possibly Cuddy  (if we fade).

We have about one month of baseball where Hope is still the operative word. If we are still considering the playoffs on August 1st, then that means the Twins will have played great ball in July and we didn’t sink the ship at the trade deadline.  Let’s stick with Hope.

 

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Pedal Power

Posted on June 30, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

The Missus and I just finished rigging up our new “bike computers”; that measure and display: speed, distance, cadence, times and temperature. Afterwards I was surveying my bike accessories which include: a topo GPS mount, LED lights that can strobe flash like an emergency vehicle,  and an accessory bag that carries tools, cell phone, and even an IPOD nano. The handlebar is looking like a car dashboard.  I have a different theme though for this post. I want to take a sentimental look back at my first of two bicycles  (that’s right,  in my 50+ years of bike riding I’ve owned only two bikes).

Upgrading from a tricycle to a bike was a big deal for me. I loved that trike, but when I rode it off the side of a ramp, crashed and burned, and permanently realigned my nose – it was time for the upgrade.  My first bike was a Christmas gift, circa 1960, a great looking AMF  ”Silver Streak”. It was black with plenty of chrome.  My Dad had added training wheels and blocks to the peddles. Unfortunately with its “24 inch” frame I wasn’t able to climb up on my ride unattended. Dad took the bike and me to the (gravel) street in front of our house, placed me on the seat and headed me off to the East on my first ride.

There were several variables of “dynamics” working against me that day. Let me list the most significant constraints that contributed to the ultimate failure of my first bike ride:

  • Inertia – the fully equipped bike probably weighed as much as I did; and a body at rest wants to stay at rest (and a body in motion wants to stay in motion).  Initiating and sustaining any forward momentum required me to stomp on the “wood-block enhanced” pedals with all the force my puny body could muster. That results in pedaling while “standing” on the pedals.
  • Frictional forces – the gravel road surface is crowned from grading, the gravel is “loosy-goosy” and scattered unevenly, and the rolling resistance of the gravel added to the force I needed to overcome.
  • Terminal distance – the street in front of our house ran ~200 feet to the East and then ended, requiring a turn to the North or South.

To quickly summarize the first ride.  Dad pushed me off – so I am pedaling faster then I can manage myself.  I try to keep going and have to stand on the pedals. I wobble down the street trying to steer and pedal while standing. I travel ~210 feet due East, where at that point I tumble through the ditch and up against a barb wire fence. My first ride was complete, unsuccessful, and I did not see the bike again until summer vacation.

Lesson  Learned: Newton’s Laws of Motion can be verified using a bicycle.

That summer I got the hang of biking, mostly by rumbling through the yard and into my folk’s garden or flowers.  We all survived.  I grew up in a small town, but with short legs the distance across town to school was daunting.  My bicycle cut that distance down to maybe 5 minutes; I could ride home for dinner if I wanted and certainly I would tool around town after school with my friends. We did that alot: racing and skidding tires, jumping ditches, riding up dirt piles from basement excavations and rumbling down the back side, venturing out to the local fishing ponds. In a small town you can do that – it offered amusement for the retired folks sitting on their porch watching those fool kids trying to break their necks.  I remember one day we were all racing down to the ball park for a pick up game.  Someone had strung a single thin cable between the gate posts to stop cars from entering. I didn’t see it – stripped me clean off the bike – ouch! Our Moms may have cringed from our derring-do, but the rest of the town-folks tended to shout encouragement. I think they figured the pain would do us good.

We would decorate our bikes with streamers, flags, and arrange playing cards to rattle across the spokes. There were gadgets that would make motor-like sounds when engaged against our turning wheels.  The big deal was to decorate our bikes in red, white and blue for a ride in the annual Veterans Day parade.

I rode that bike until I could drive a car.  It grew small in the last year or two, and working on farms changed my summers from fishing to baling hay. It was a great bike.  I could haul groceries home for my Mom.  A friend could hitch a ride on the handlebars.  I could go anywhere in town or return home in 5 minutes.  I remember Mom had a curving path to Dad’s workshop lined with cannas.  I would streak home, rumble down that path like a moto-cross rider, skid to a 180 degree stop and store the bike away in the shop before supper.  The next day – go do it all over again.

Lessons Learned: Bicycle = thrills, spills, speed and freedom = Great fun.

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Honey Crisp Hope

Posted on June 26, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

Minnesotans are rightfully proud of the Honey Crisp apple.  Released in 1991 by the University of Minnesota, it is arguably the most popular apple variety.  Several local nurseries offer Honey Crisp apples at harvest time, but alas the popularity keeps the price high and supplies are scarce.  For that reason and because it is our favorite apple by a wide margin, we planted two Honey Crisp apple trees seven years ago.  This was our 2nd go-around with planting apple trees; an earlier planting basically never thrived.

Growing apples is a mystery to me.  Our Honey Crisp trees are entering their 7th growing season.  Most years the two trees have been bare of apples. A good year would at best have about 5 apples on one of the trees. A fairly discouraging history;  but hope springs eternal. This year (2011) the trees have apples! My very unofficial count has the east tree with ~100 apples and the west tree with ~20 apples.  Hopefully this is the first of many years with a big crop of Honey Crisp apples.  I’m excited for this year’s crop;  my specific responsibility is spraying for insects, but I will report on some of the other variables that will determined the final fate of those ~10 dozen apples.  I am filing these posts under the “Grub” category; with apples being one of the simplest foods to prepare.  You just pick them off the tree or from a basket at the orchard, polish them up and eat’em.

The dilemma is “Why is it so hard to grow apples?”   I’m no expert, but simple observation lists a number of reasons why a couple trees may not provide a crop.

  • Trees are too young – you wait  or too old – you prune.
  • A killing frost when the apple blossoms are blooming – end of season
  • Poor pollination – where’s the bees when you need them?
  • Poor weather – too dry, too hot, too windy – apples end up bruised on the ground.
  • Insects – the Missus has already punished the tent caterpillars. I will continue the good fight.
  • Birds – the Missus runs a bird sanctuary here, so our apples are at risk of being bird-pecked
  • Deer –  the trees are fenced in and our dog is good at chasing deer, but we aren’t deer proof.

Plenty of reasons to be worried about the apple crop,  but most of the risk are out of our control.   On the bright side though the weather has been good this season and the bees must have done their job.  I need to spray the trees every two weeks until right before harvest and we will try to keep the wild animals at bay. By late September the results should be available, stay tuned for updates.

Posted in Grub

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da Missus is Jammin’

Posted on June 18, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

Jammin’, she be Jammin’

Missus Jammin’,  Rhubarb Jammin’

(sang to a reggae beat, with sweet tooth excitement)

I like the summer months when garden produce starts to arrive. With that happy occurrence comes the Missus’ interest in trialing new recipes, and my eager enlistment as the food tasting judge. Our most recent trial involves rhubarb jam. The rhubarb, whose toxic elephant ear leaves hide tender stalks,  is fresh cut from the garden of our friend Karen, and hurried back to our kitchen.

 

At this point comes the dilemma. Rhubarb itself makes a fine base for the jam, but rhubarb flavor is an “acquired” taste  (Cyclone likes it, many think it has a “tang” that needs to be reduced with a mix of other flavors and sweetners, certainly nothing wrong with that either). This is the Missus’ recipe quest for the day; to find a mix that satisfies the broadest audience.

Cyclone has some dietary restrictions when it comes to carbohydrates (sugars), so our experiment consists of two variables – artificial and natural sweetners, strawberry and red raspberry flavor.  I told you this was an experiment!  The Missus put in all the labor of cutting the rhubarb, preparing the rhubarb stalks, determining the recipe mix, cooking the jam, and laying out the spread. Like the friends of the “Little Red Hen”  I contributed nothing until it came time to judge the results, but in her magnanimous nature (not because of my discerning taste buds) I was allowed to judge the results.

It was a tightly controlled experiment. The Missus purchased Honey Whole Wheat bread (yum) from the Great Harvest Bakery (our favorite bakery) for the test base. Each jam sample was served fresh, warm from the stove top. My sample size was as much as I could slop on a 1/2 slice of bread (I say slop because I have a tendency to get jam all over my fingers in the excitement of the testing phase). I consume my test sample, provide my report to the Missus, and then consume another sample to verify my results. Here are my test results for the rhubarb jam trials:

Rhubarb Jam Recipes:
Flavor test results
Artificial Sweetners
Natural Sweetners
Red  Raspberry
Cyclone’s favorite:
- Tastes Great, less filling
- Raspberry with hint of rhubarb
- A little tangy  (I like that)
– Good for Cyclone
If you like a little tang:
- Tastes Great, still a little tang
- Raspberry with hint of rhubarb
– Not good for Cyclone
Strawberry
Great for the diet conscious:
- Tastes Great, less filling
- Distinct strawberry flavor
– Good for Cyclone
Probably the people’s choice:
- Tastes Great
- Distinct strawberry flavor
– Not good for Cyclone

 

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The Basics

Posted on June 17, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

We had fun the last two days celebrating IBM’s 100th anniversary. I’ve got a little more to say on the topic of being an IBMer.  IBM produced a 2nd video They were There which captures the IBM experience of working on some of our greatest accomplishments.  It points out that what is unique about working for IBM is not the tangible results, rather it is the culture that has been established that our employees work within each day to attain those results.  IBM’s basic beliefs , which established this culture, reflect how the founder T.J. Watson Sr ran the business:

  • Respect for the Individual
  • Service to the Customer
  • Excellence Must Be a Way of Life

When I joined IBM late in 1975 these IBM basic beliefs had been codified for many years by Watson Jr.  What was most important though was they were ingrained in every work relationship and in every work task.  You just knew you were going to be treated fairly, that we would do anything to help out a customer, and that we were out to be the best provider of product and services.  It is still true today. We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs as a company and as co-workers, some of the downs were very hurtful to individuals;  yet working for IBM remains an exciting experience because IBMers are a team in hot pursuit of excellence in products and services.

IBM has published an essay that reads well in capturing the scope of our corporate culture. What I believe is as telling, are two observations that have not changed:  1) When IBMers or IBM customers are thrown asunder by earthquakes, tsunamis, floods; there are IBMers there to help pick up the pieces. 2) When there is something to cheer about, we do it as a team.  During the Jeopardy – IBM Challenge involving Watson,  there were thousands of employees at the plant sites cheering (and sometimes moaning) each answer of the 3 day competition.

IBM’s stated values have changed over time – but in a sense I think they are a restatement of what has always been true.  The current statement is the result of  an on-line jam (dialogue) amongst employees in 2003.  You can see the apple does not fall far from the tree:

  • Dedication to every clients’ success
  • Innovation that matters – for our company and the world
  • Trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships

IBM has used many marketing themes to convey our current business focus. Watson Sr’s ubiquitous “THINK” became the IBM motto. Recent themes established e-business and envisions a Smarter Planet.  On January 4, 1949  Watson Jr posted this ad in the New York Daily Mirror  -  IBM Means Service.  If that reads like a “definition” to you;  then I’d say you understand the fundamental value statement of IBM.  After 100 years, 100′s of thousands of IBMers,  products lines that came and went,  through good times and bad times;  IBM Means Service.

I get asked (alot) if I still work at IBM. I guess I am showing my age.  I usually respond in one of two ways:

  • IBM keeps paying me twice a month, so I keep coming in.
  • I work for a company that spends millions of dollars to be the best on work I enjoy doing.

That’s a little over-simplified because I really don’t think about it much; the basics of my answer though are intertwined with those basic beliefs that have structured my work life for 35+ years.

Lessons Learned – A business is structured around a set of basic beliefs.  A successful business demonstrates those beliefs in action.

Posted in Engineer's Log

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One of a Hundred

Posted on June 16, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

IBM is celebrating its 100th anniversary today (June 16, 2011). I have been an IBMer for 35 of those years. As part of the company’s celebration a video 100 x 100 was created to recognize 100 IBM accomplishments; one per year of  IBM’s existence. I have been privileged to be part of the IBM engineering team  (along with many of my friends) for a few of those accomplishments.  The video has stirred up memories of working on those projects , especially remembering some of the breakthrough moments in the lab; where months of planning and design activity culminates in seeing the product work.

Here is one of my System/36 memories – the accomplishment mentioned for 1983 in the video.

I was one of a group of young engineers hired by IBM to work on the System/34 in the late 70s. Our engineering team at the time numbered around 80. We were assigned a lot of  technical responsibility early in our careers. The payoff came as we applied what we had learned to the design of our next product, the System/36.

My department was responsible for disk drive attachments. Our early 80s disk technology was on the verge of scaling down from 8″ and 14″ platters, but was not there yet. For disk I/O operations our System/34 disk attachments wasted a lot of system I/O bus bandwidth waiting to transfer data.  Our attachment buffers were smaller than one 256 byte disk sector, so we had to dedicate the system I/O  bus to a single disk read or write operation to avoid data overruns. In addition the system I/O bus was assigned to the data transfer at the beginning of the disk write or read operation, which on average waits one half revolution of the disk surface (latency) before arriving at the disk data sector(s) you want to transfer.  All disk I/O operations (because of dedicating the system I/O bus ) were then waiting for the requested disk sector to spin under the read/write head and then transfer one or more sectors of data across the system I/O bus to main memory.  At worst a disk I/O operation would grab the system I/O bus for about ~40 milliseconds to transfer the data (256 bytes) that should only take ~50 microseconds to complete.  Pretty inefficient and a big opportunity to gain system performance in the next generation product.

I cannot emphasize enough the value of having this engineering team  (of my friends working together for 3 plus years) experiencing the problems; and then seizing the opportunities to be gained from a new disk attachment design. Our design grew in scope to include the save/restore devices on the machine – we called it the “System/36 magnetic media subsystem”.  It gained us a bunch of invention disclosures and 1 (important) patent  (US Patent # 4571671)

What was patented was the ability to overlap disk operations and interleave disk data transfer with a logic design we called the Buffered File adapter.  I don’t need to describe how it operated; it allowed disk  I/O operations to two separate devices be issued at the same time with the disk data moving across the system I/O bus (interleaved) without experiencing a data overrun.  System performance was gained when overlapping the long running disk seek, latency and multiple sector data transfers (measured in milliseconds) on multiple devices, and with no pacing of the data transfer to prevent overruns (ie, we could transfer disk data as fast as possible – at disk rotation speed  - for multiple consecutive sectors).

I believe it would have been in the Spring of 1981 that the hardware design was complete and prototype parts were in the lab.  I was on the bring up team and it came  time one evening to see if the overlapped disk operations /interleaved data transfers worked.  I hooked up a logic analyzer to signals that would show the interleaved transfers.  On the analyzer screen was captured the evidence that it all worked.  It took only milliseconds to demonstrate what was a big leap forward for disk I/O performance for the System/36.  It is a gross understatement to say it was an exciting moment  (for an engineer).

Lessons learned – Engineering combines experience with real-life problems, teamwork, and seizing opportunity with the solution.

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Sid on Sports – Will the Sun Return to Shine over Target Field?

Posted on June 9, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

My post at the end of April was full of gloom and most of May was so filled with doom that I couldn’t bring myself to add to the mix.  Looking back at May the only good things I remember was Frankie’s remarkable no-hitter and Nick Blackburn’s complete game victory. Otherwise it was Harmon’s death, an unending list of players on the DL, an abysmal bull-pen, the meltdown of Trevor Plouffe and batting averages that make Mendoza look like Ty Cobb.

As we entered June a disastrous away series in Detroit seemed to be the final straw.  Out of no-where though comes a 4 (away) game sweep of KC and winning 2 out of 3 against 1st place Cleveland at Progressive.  Meanwhile the rest of the Central was taking the heat, especially from the Texas Rangers. The storm clouds hanging over Twins Territory are starting to part. Will the sun return to shine over Target Field?

I’m not convinced we won’t see a return of the May version of the Twins, but there have been some significant differences in the play of this current Twins roster that is leading to Twins Wins – so let’s consider those first:

  • Starting Pitching has been excellent.  Mostly quality starts and often pitching deep into the game. Anthony Swarzak is to be singled out for a couple great efforts, but our everyday rotation has really done nicely and it is easy to say they have been the primary cause for the current “feel-good” atmosphere.
  • Small ball – In a turn away from my criticism of April, Gardy has taken advantage of the speed on the current roster to steal bases, start runners to avoid DPs, and use the bunt as an offensive weapon. That is the Piranha ball that was so much fun in 2006 and which disappeared in 2010. So this has been a fun team to watch this week.
  • Fewer defensive lapses –  I do feel for Trevor Plouffe because I think there is some long-term talent there – but it has been many years since we have had a SS air-mail throws to the 1st base bleachers. The fans needed to wear batting helmets to avoid concussions from his throws. The mix of Lexi Casila (hard to believe), Matt Tolbert and Luke Hughes has return a semblance of order to the middle infield, and Valencia and Morneau are not suffering from the jitters of watching Plouffe.

Yeah!  For one week the Twins have returned to playing Major League Baseball.

While the clouds have parted, there are still not clear skies over Target Field.  From where might the storm return?

  • The Disabled List – Some of the players on the DL could actually drag the team down as they displace our current speed burners.  We risk Thome replacing Ben Revere. Nishi has the speed – but will he outperform the current middle infielders – there seems to be some doubt there.  I await eagerly the return of Mauer – even if he bats no better than the .235 he sports right now – it is still ~.100 better than the Butera/Rivera combo  (it is so painful to see the LOB stats that these two are accountable for).  Even the Butera heroics of Weds should be put in the light of his predictable two LOB from two innings earlier.
  • The Bullpen – very hard to find confidence in this group. Let’s face it,  everyone is cheering for complete games from the starters. Pavano was in shutdown mode yesterday, but can only go seven. Enter the clowns.  $7M Capps surrendering a tying homer with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th was almost expected.  $12M Nathan might be done for the year.  The remainder led by Mihares, Hoey and Burnett seem destined to walk the bases full before they find the strike zone.  If there is any blame in this 2011 Twins fiasco to lay at the feet of the Front Office it is the bullpen staffing decisions. There was probably no way that Nathan could earn his pay in 2011. At least 2 of the departing bullpen (Crain, Guererre, Rausch, Fuentes) needed to be retained or equivalent substitutes found.  The bullpen will be the weak link that breaks this season.
  • The trade deadline (Aug 1) – The Twins are apt to be sellers this year, and you can expect some of the current “stars” to be gone before any push for a game 163 can be made. All indications are the cupboard is bare in the minors, and there is some trade value in a few of our “stars”.  July 31 might be the high water mark for 2011, as the team morale will dive when it is obvious that management has declared 2011 a lost cause and starts looking at the ledger.

Until then though we can celebrate that the team on the field in some ways looks like our Twins.  I do think Gardy and Andy started earning their pay over the last couple weeks  (so I will not hang the MOTY tag on Gardy during this post). The front office and the handlers for Mauer (maybe even Joe himself) have botched Joe’s injury situation and have hurt his asset value for the team. Foolishly they didn’t face the reality that Joe was hurt at the end of 2010, certainly showed in the playoffs, and at best there was this “hope” that he would just get better by the start of the season.  In hindsight – Joe was not put on a  track to be back until after the All-Star break . If all could have put aside the albatross of his $23M salary for this year,  they would have told everyone who would listen that it would be a miracle for Joe to be ready in April;  better plan on July. Then in the off-season we could have either retained Jose Morales or found a backup catcher who could bat above the Mendoza line.

Sid and family, including our new grandson,  will be watching our mystery team play at Target Field Friday night,  against the reigning AL champion Rangers – who beat the AL Central silly over the last couple weeks. This will be a good measuring stick for where this team is really at – and if things look good next up is the White Sox.

 

 

 

Posted in Sid on Sports

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Carrying a Tune

Posted on May 27, 2011 by cyclonecharlie| Leave a comment

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. (Psalm 96)

This post considers the enjoyment of music, especially the enjoyment of music performance.  I want to make the case that while we may feel it is a gift in which all have not been equally blessed;  I strongly believe it is a gift of God’s creation that we all share and with surprising latent ability.  Music itself is a clear indication of the divine image revealed in man. Music can express a single emotion or transcends the individual and incorporate a theme as large as creation. I can appreciate a bird or whale song;  but I stay away from a comparison that would diminish the marvel of our music composition and performance, especially that which is used to glorify the Creator.  My point here is that if music is a gift given us to praise God, why shouldn’t we expect that we have that talent?

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.

(Psalm 150)

My desire is to offer encouragement and may be a prod; to stretch your vocal chords, fingers or chops and offer a song of praise. My encouragement is based off three generations of our family’s experience. The Missus and I encouraged our children to learn the piano and participate in our church’s youth music groups  (vocal and bell choirs, instrumentals). The Missus is a piano and alto sax player. Grandpa Z picked up the guitar  and harmonica . Grandma Z played trumpet in school. Inspired by their grandmother, each of our children became solid trumpet players by high school.

  • Matt played 1st trumpet in jazz band, concert band and orchestra. He later attained a degree in music business and spent eight years in digital marketing for Christian music recording companies. He continues to play piano for the praise band at his church.

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  • Josh probably holds the record for the number of pit orchestras he played in for high school musicals (7). He enjoys strumming guitars now, and he sings well too (when encouraged).

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  • Rachel has gone the furthest, besides similar high school experiences she went on to earn a 5 year degree in music education, logging the most trumpet playing time with her college concert and jazz bands and brass ensembles.  She continues to play the trumpet and piano, and is nearly finished with her 1st year of elementary music teaching.

I also observe that each continues to enjoy listening to a variety of music styles and performers including happily, Christian music and traditional hymns.

I’m convinced that God knitted the ability for music performance into our fabric and it exists in all of us.  I fear I am in the minority on this view. I hear many people make a strong denial that they have any musical talent, but I think that has more to do with reluctance to perform (the same as giving a speech in front of an audience) than with lack of ability.

To make the case that we can all go much farther in music performance than we give ourselves credit I’d like to provide this personal testimony.  My parents enjoyed music, but neither performed. My mother would have my sister and me sing along with popular Christmas carols on the record player – that was the extent of my training at home. We just didn’t have the opportunity to learn an instrument.

We did sing though. It started in earnest with youth choir in our church. My first vocal solo performance was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”.  I’m guessing around 5th grade. It had to be the shakiest performance ever given; at least it was in my mind.  I was obviously nervous and once that gets going it reverbs like microphone feedback.  Strangely it was the only time I remember that happening.  It did take me a while to climb back in that saddle though.

I enjoyed performing with our Junior and Senior High choirs.  The director became a good friend through the years, although we tested his patience mightily.  I would say I started as an adequate tenor.  I certainly enjoyed singing, but with a changing voice and very little knowledge of  ”music theory”,  I felt my contribution was to make a joyful noise.  I picked up that piece of godly advice from our Junior High Sunday School teacher; who wasn’t too impressed with our mumbling efforts one morning and gave us a spiritual kick in the pants.

In the 2nd semester of my sophomore year it all changed.  I was unexpectedly given the opportunity to backfill for a student to attend a vocal music clinic at a local college  (I still can’t believe I was deserving, but…).  A considerable amount of time was spent on vocal coaching.  I’m still amazed how much I improved from the beginning to end of that one 8 hour day.  After that single experience I had improved enough to later be selected for small groups, sing solos and eventually audition into a very talented urban church choir.

I would say that Matt had a similar experience playing trumpet. The elementary band director wanted him to switch instruments, but the coaching of a music teacher friend revealed all he needed to do was “blow” harder. That turned the trick and over the next 7 years he became an accomplished young trumpet player.

My final appeal.  We have more musical talent within us than we either realize, give ourselves credit, or utilize. That talent is a gift and we should feel compelled to use it to extol the glory of God.  What holds us back may be no more than a word of encouragement or some coaching similar to what we have received in the classroom, in sports or at work.  Have faith and judge your talent from where you begin, and how much effort you have put into improving (practicing); rather than comparing yourself to others who are currently more accomplished because they started the journey earlier.

Posted in Circuit Rider

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