Ramblings of Sarge

30AUG10 Rat Dogs

30AUG10 Rat Dogs Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Today's daily pic is of the rat dogs, my name for these guests. Day 1 of 3 for the visitors, reminding why I don't have my own pets. We love to help out Cindy, occasional visits are enough for me. When my wife's sister leaves town, these two gals frequently land at our place. They are a good reminder of the freedom I have to pick up and go without pets. I have no desire to tend to the needs of animals except in the service to others. For some people the work is worth the companionship and the emotional bonds grow stronger over time. I have had my share of pets over time from my youth through my twenties. Now at fifty-one, I have no desire of pets. The last pets I had were a pair of collies, Barney and Clyde. I have many very good memories of those dogs and the enjoyment they provided for me. I also remember the time of bankruptcy in the early eighties when I had to choose whether to feed them or my two daughters. It was a very difficult day as I gave my friends away for the sake of my family. I think that is when my desire for pets ended.

Not The Place To Be

16AUG10 Dealer Shop Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

On a Monday during the prime mid-morning production time, sitting at the dealer shop is not the place that I want to be. The truck may now be paid off, but 4 years later it still demands a payment of some sort. I noticed that it was turning over a little more on the stiff side on Friday and wondered if it was misperception on my part, the heat getting to it or if there was a developing issue. Today the truck seemed to crank even slower and I became concerned about eventually being stranded somewhere. Of course we know that wouldn't happen unless I had three deliveries on board, two of them rushes and far away from the shop. I decided to take preventive action and sacrifice the morning for peace of mind. The electrical checked out perfectly so it is a mystery to me. Now the mechanic wants to check the engine side to see about some noise. It is possible that an injector is going out yet again and the somewhat loss of power the past week was more than the heat, lack of additive to the fuel and the A/C compressor being fully engaged which also turns on the fan and draws down on the power. Well, if it's not one thing, it's another. If it's not another, then it's something else. And if it's not something else, then it must be something completely different. And doesn't it always happen right after the disposable income has been spent? Timing is everything.

09AUG10 Humidity

09AUG10 Humidity Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

The thick humidity with this heat is oppressive without a breeze or A/C. We went to the OCB for dinner to sit in the air conditioning and as usual, I ate more than I needed to. So now it is like post Thanksgiving dinner with the external pressures knocking me down. bllllaaaaahhhhh!

27JULY10 Rainbow

27JULY10 Rainbow Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

On the golf course tonight I knew that a full round would not be completed. Although I did not know if I would get wet, I did know that at some point there would be lightning in those clouds. The wind was picking up as the front approached with a varying degree of darkness in the clouds that trailed. I teed off and hit the ball a little higher than I desired and the wind actually stopped it's forward progress and pushed it back before it returned to terra firma. Then came the sound of the horn, the blast that signals us to clear the course. Sure enough, lightning had shown itself. Game Over! After a bite to eat, we rushed through the downpour and splashed through the parking lot to our cars. On my way home which was against the flow of the storm, I emerged on the backside to see a double rainbow. It was quite bright and the vibrant colors had me wishing that the camera was in the car. By the time I got home, this was the best shot that I could get of the rainbow's remains. The humidity of the 94 degree day made it quite obvious that storms would be bubbling up at some point. They came about a hour to early for my game, or an hour too late the way I was playing. In any case, there is a tornado watch for the next two hours. Another day of turbulent summer weather in Minnesota.

20JULY10 Canned Carp

20JULY10 Canned Carp
Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Today on a delivery from Buffalo to Albert Lea in Minnesota, I stopped at a rest area just south of Owatonna on I35. I read the historical marker about the history of canneries in the area. Look at the bottom of the sign and ask yourself WHY? Canned Carp? Was this experimental or was there a market for it?

Procrasination Pie Chart

[caption id="attachment_315" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Procrastination Pie Chart"][/caption] Credit to Demitri Martin

18JULY10 Calling Me

18JULY10 Calling Me Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

You can't hear it in the photo, but it is calling me. I could break out the Couch Potato Championship t-shirt, but the long sleeves are unnecessary today. I woke up this morning at 5:45 when the wife went to work, but groggily rolled over returning to lala land. I awoke again at about 8:30 and got out of bed. Through about 10:00 I had that drug hangover feeling. It was a feeling of grogginess that comes from using pain killers or sleeping pills. The odd thing is that I hadn't used any. I got dressed to a level appropriate for the morning's church attendance and then headed downstairs for a breakfast of leftover bread sticks and a slice of pizza. As usual, I ingested the handful of daily meds. As I contemplated the time frame between my point of readiness and the service start time, I heard it. I heard it calling to me. "Hey groggy, I'll be here waiting for you after church. Come lay on me. The Twins game is on 29 at 1:00." Certainly I could justify heeding the call as I have been dealing with exhaustion for weeks now and this hung over feeling was no sign of relief from it. I could even multitask I reasoned. I had blogs to update and photos to upload. Who knows, I could even find something more profitable to do. Or possibly I could just take a nap and hope that it would promote bodily healing. The quality of the Twins performance would probably dictate the role I would undertake.

17July10 Thanks Nate

17July10 Thanks Nate Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

Thanks to Nate who called me this afternoon to offer me his tickets. While I am sorry that he had a conflict, I am happy to be at the game. He knows that Sue and I are big sports fans and that we would appreciate his offer and put the tickets to good use. Thanks Nate. We had a great time! This time I finally saw a Twins win after 3 losses in the previous games that I had attended. Whereas the game on Thursday night had Slowey falling behind virtually every batter and causing the game to drag on for over three hours, tonight Pavano pitched quickly and effectively in a 1 hour 52 minute complete game performance. The Twins bested the Whit Sox 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the 4 game series. The photos from tonight are some of the same as before from around the park, but they also reflect the weather situation of the night. The weather took enough of a break in Minneapolis for the quick game to be played, but the ride home was a bit of an adventure. It was good to find that our home was spared any ill effects from the area's tornadoes and straight line winds and we made it home safely. The pictures and a ride home video can be seen on my Flickr page, or the video alone can be seen on YouTube.

Minnesota Twins Night Game

15JULY10 Night Game Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

This was my first experience of a night game at Target Field. I have attended two games already but they were both day games. See more photos on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdshnzr/sets/72157624393014253/ I show a great parking spot, a preview of Hrbek's for dining and some shots of the ball park. The unfortunate thing is that in the first game back after the all star break, the Chicago White Sox beat the home team 8-7. Jim Thome was the winning run at the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth but he could not stick it to his former team on this occasion. The Twins let numerous opportunities pass them by in a game of terrible pitching and questionable defense. This is not the usual fundamentally sound Twins team that we have grown accustomed to seeing over the past two decades. We joined Stacy and Aaron for dinner at Hrbek's as they were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. They had lower level seats behind home plate while we were in row three of the third deck just beyond first base. The third deck really are pretty good seats. If possible though, sit down the third base line and get the view of the downtown Minneapolis skyline.

16JULY10 Homeward Bound

16JULY10 Homeward Bound Originally uploaded by Sarge Jan08

There is a bill board downtown Minneapolis for a beer. The caption is, "Hell is waiting. But it's a dry heat." Today was another hot and humid day and I was glad to be done working. Even though there was still money to be made on this busy day, the discomfort from the weather and the pain from health issues provoked me to say enough is enough. By the time I exited the truck, I had put in ten hours so I didn't have any reason to feel guilty. The display tells the story. Sirius NFL Radio at 4:18pm with the fan on full blowing the A/C in a bi-level fashion sparing me the exterior temperature of 93 degrees Fahrenheit. A caring wife at home was ready to make my evening as comfortable as possible. Now it is time to head to the bedroom where our little window air conditioning unit will allow me to sleep tonight. I'll pop in a movie and pass out before it ends.