Another fun win. Enjoy it even for a moment.

Mahtfire14 … there are a couple of Mahtomedi HS grads (mid-20s) pitching in the MLB.

Sean pitches for SF, but seems to struggle and moves back and forth I suppose based on injuries to the regular pitching staff, etc… He did not appear to be on the roster this week.

Michael pitches for the Orioles and should be here end of June. He appears to have secured a spot as a reliever. His stats continue to improve year over year.

Both are really good “kids”.

Twins still sit 3rd in overall pitcher rankings in MLB.

Long, long season to go.

Automatic – electronic pitch calling is creeping its way towards MLB pretty quickly.

So do you go without a home plate ump. Or do you hook the home plate ump up with an electric stimulation. Shock one …

We all can hate Pagan, but look at his stats in the last 6-8 games.

His Earned Run given up on May 15th was the first since getting shelled in late April. First earned run in May (7 innings pitched). His ERA went from over six to a touch over 1 ..

Then again only an inning away from ___

A few threads ago (well longer than that). I posted a comment on buy, borrow, and die.

It is a strategy that allows one to avoid a lot of taxes. It is often why very wealthy (generational wealth) liberals press on higher taxes. Does not apply to them.

Much of the social agenda changes the DFL has led through Minnesota appears to be left of most Minnesotans. That said, the damage has been done.

If the MN Republicans realized that they are the minority party, but a MODERATE Republican can win state office or take back districts that are full of independents … there is a chance. Strategies are important when you are the underdog.

I rarely order burgers dining out in the Metro. My favorite is off the grill at home.

Shamrocks, Parlour, and RedCow (don’t like the one with the bacon) all do a burger pretty well. Shamrocks is probably the best value.

I have stopped in at plenty of small MN, Dakotas, and WI small town cafes. My choice there is the patty melt. Most deliver a great burger at a fair price. Patty melt or eggs over easy with hashbrowns … decisions, decisions.

MN Twins are currently #3 in the MLB on team pitching ERA. Only 0.02 behind MLB leading Rays.

Long season to go, but …

Most all Twins batting averages took a dip today. Ugh.

Not needed for turkeys.

The Journal idea is a good one.

Pictorial stamps started with the US Duck Stamp. States started adding pictorial duck stamps in the late 70s and into the 80s. At one time most all states had a pictorial duck stamp. Then add in pheasant, trout, turkey, walleye … The market became absolutely over saturated about the same time stamp collecting largely became a rare past-time. With an occasional exception to a first issues and a few rarities most state stamps have collector value of $1 or less. So buy them to help conservation or have fun with them like eel pout.

On top of the stamps many states sponsored corresponding art work … again completely over saturated the market …

I have spoken with a few stamp dealers in the Twin Cities … one guy told me every week that people come in with dad’s or grandpa’s big stamp collection. On US postage stamps you need to drop back a century to find any collector value. Most say 1960 – 2000 have value below face value unless you lick them and put on envelopes yourself.

I have killed MN birds in deep woods and woodlots along corn and bean fields. My experience is birds living along corn fields tend to be about 3 pounds heavier than deep woods birds – for the same age class.

Over the past 2-3 years or so … I actually reviewed, visited dealers, and drove many mid-size or trying-to-be mid-size SUVs … Toyota, Honda, Kia, Nissan, Hyundai, VW, Subaru, GM, Ford, and even a Jeep. Some were test drives – others rentals. We went Honda last fall. Could not be happier. Daughters Subaru appears to be increasing in value daily… that little SUV is pretty nice too.

A little misdirection I guess … somewhat on topic I suppose …

The Nissan CVT has been flawless for us. We have 120K on our Nissan and the ONLY issue was the headlamp assembly which Nissan replaced in 2022 as part of a class action settlement. Altima has been all over the US.

With the VW we owned (bought used). Great runner – one son had it at college for 18 months. Once a year synthetic oil change. Headlight or headlamp change on the post above ? The Jetta headlight replacement was the easiest of any car I owned. As it approached 14 years of age though – “suggested” repairs mounted … finally found a mechanic that did it all for about 18% of the dealer quoted cost. It was rear-ended and totaled last fall. The other thing with that VW. Car showed some minor paint delamination … VW repainted almost the entire vehicle at their cost…

Two very good coaches looking to get that monkey (1st title) off their back.

Quiny coach went new school aggressive and pulled the goalie early.

Gopher coach went old school … play not to lose. Heck they were not even defending the neutral zone.

The balance between these two teams was too close. Playing on your heals vs. playing on your toes – likely would prove disastrous and it did.

In hockey the best defense is a strong offense. Keep the puck out of your own zone.

Or were the Quiny skaters in better condition ?

VW is fine, but if you plan to keep it longer – the issue will be finding a mechanic (besides the dealer) willing to work on it.

Need a third seat ? That third seat determines much in your decision making process.

Plastic is a key component in light weighting cars which in turn improves gas mileage or EV mileage per charge.

Thinsulate and other synthetic insulation fibers are plastic.

Rubber and plastic come from the same barrel of oil or natural gas derivative. Rubber = neoprene, butyl, etc… Most rubber materials are cured (cross-linked) so they are less recyclable.

Plastic is fine in a recycling plant or landfill. Plastic could likley be incinerated in cement kilns as fuel.

Plastic dumped into the ocean by people, ships, and poor governments is not fine. The plastic does not decompose, but it does break down into microspheres – in there is the basic problem.

Most of our garbage is contained in grocery store t-shirt bags (repurpose). Eliminates the need to buy and use plastic bags except when the larger size is truly needed.

Never ever have I feared technology and using new advances in technology.

That said I am OK with setting “limits” on technology on certain game and fish issues.

While I do not fear the change, I am often not the first to jump in – I wait for the price impact to reach my value proposition.

Zalatorus withdrew.

Tiger’s ability to even play competitive golf after that car wreck is amazing. Playing and winning are quite different though.

LIV Golf Princess Koepka is playing well (great golfer when healthy).

Goalies and goalie selection tend to scare many head coaches no matter what the level of play.

Seen multiple Toms strutting around town this week.

Long ago … Melrose used to despise college hockey. He has come around.

1 more to go … Go Gophers.

Marucci now has alcohol for $10 – $12 a can or so.

Line for men’s bathroom is insanely long because of all the beer sales … men;s bathrooms with their troughs had little in the way of lines before beer sales started.

End of period one and there is a mad rush out of the stadium. We wonder down to the concessions to get some food and find it strange – where is everyone.

End of period two – we get up and follow the red wave … down another flight of stairs below the ice sheet. Huge beer garden with a ring of kegs and taps. People down beers … then some says one minute to start of period 3 … taps shutoff and everyone rushes back to their seats.

Seemed like a dream.

The old Badger arena (late 80s or so) was even better … for beer.

Some 30+ years ago we road-tripped to Milwaukee, but stopped in Madison to go to the Gopher-Badger game. We tried to get visitor tickets from the U (but they said nope none available).

We went to the arena and unlike Mariucci … no scalpers. If was absolutely fricken cold and we went into the arena lobby to warm up and decide if we wanted to go to State Street (bars) or head on to Milwaukee.

U lied. The ticket window pops up a sign – visitor comp tickets availabe now. We bought two tickets and found our seats. A few UofM parents (I sat next to Paul Broten’s dad) and girlfriends, but most of the comp tickets went Red

OK – where am I going with this …

Swans …

There are two wild species of swans in North America.

Tundra Swans
Tundra swans breed in (well the arctic tundra) and migrate through the Dakotas on their way to their wintering area (mainly the Carolina coast). This diagonal migration results in many staging on parts of the Mississippi River – south of Lake City or so.

Tundra swans (massive flocks) migrate through MN in November and now (March-April) … I hear them on my deer stand. I am hearing them often when outside the past week or two. It is possible some of the larger flocks being seen now are Tundra Swans – listen to their call …

Tundra swans are the species hunted in the Dakotas and North Carolina.

Trumpeter Swans
Trumpeter Swans are the common species in much of Wisconsin and Minnesota. They were “reintroduced” and now are prolific breeders across Minnesota. I wonder sometimes if their aggressive territorial ways push Canada geese and even ducks off some of their nesting ponds.

Trumpeter Swans seem pretty dang hardy and I will see them in fields near the St Croix River almost any month of fall, winter, spring.

Trumpeter Swans sound like – a trumpet. Trumpeter swans are measurably larger than Tundra Swans.

Everyone here can search Tundra and Trumpeter swans on google or youtube and listen for themselves.

I have shot plenty of sandhill cranes. They are fun to hunt especially if they are decoying. Pass shooting is often used too. Cranes are extremely agitated by truck headlights. If (when) headlights hit a roost area the entire flock usually busts and they fly around in the dark – eventually shifting to another area. Something to keep in mind if you are hunting them … I guess kind of like a gobbler in a tree. Get close, but if you get too close – oh well.

Minnesotans by in large tend to vacation and own property on the west side of Florida. Nice enough.

Florida panhandle is a great area to visit. Fishing can be solid.

East side of FL is also nice. Fishing can be phenomenal.