Auto Annoyance

Yesterday was a fun day in the auto world for us yesterday.

I got up for work early and was at work at 9am. Katy was off yesterday and I thought about taking the truck because I'm kind of nice once in a while and let her take the car on her errands and activities. But as usual, I only leave 7 minutes to get to work and just rushed to my car. I got in it and reminded myself I needed air in my tire on the drivers side.

At about 2:15 I went to lunch to chat with Katy for a few minutes and find her stranded, luckily, in the mall parking lot. Her serpentine belt blew out; oh great. Didn't we just take this truck in not more than 10 days ago and fill it with $380 dollars of hard earned, unexpected money? Well, we're due for more and that was pretty frustrating. It sits at J&B Eurotech at this moment with a bill due soon, once they get a look at it tomorrow. She saw the truck off as it was towed away and took my car home, only to pick me up later.

Well, at 5:30pm another adventure ensued. Katy picked me up and somehow I had been driving what would be a screw in my tire for a few days. I noticed it slowly deflating but just figured it was just time to fill them up again. Great! Another how much money down the tubes? Ugh. Well, luckily Katy was off today and took it in to be repaired. Luckily it was only about $30 to repair it and we're 1/2 way back in business.

Those autos, no wonder why my dad never spent much money on cars. One moment it's the last thing on your mind and the next they're at you again for half a thousand dollars.

So Dad, does anyone have a good car for sale at Elim Park? I'd like to start the looking.

An Expensive Christmas Present

I have been interested in this DVD set of the World Series Film Collection since last year. It is a 20 disc set of Major League Baseball World Series' over 105 years.

It might be a Christmas idea for me. Or maybe you get it for me and Eric. (Yeah, I'm going to throw Eric under the bus/nominate him for a potential gift he didn't ask for and say he'd like this.)

Here is the link to take a closer look at it.

Official Major League Baseball World Series Film Collection

(It happens to be on sale now too.)

The Ultimate Winter Coat? Columbia's Carabineer Parka

I enjoy going on a quest to find the best and most useful winter coat in town. Last year, I went on a quest to find what I wanted: a down filled jacket I can use most of the time on its own while also providing a shell if I'm out in the snow or sleet or just outside for a long time.

I searched and searched last year-went to Columbia stores and anywhere that sold Columbia. I went to the North Face store on Grand Avenue and any number of Macy's stores all around the metro. I explored Land's End and any number of websites that sold winter jackets.

This year, I jumped onto Columbia.com from an email and started to dink around the website. Well, I found what I was looking for last year.

Only a year too late since I bought a down jacket last year.

It is the Carabineer Parka II. It's a down jacket with a shell over that. The down jacket is a 700 fill of down (the higher the better) and the shell is weatherproof, meaning it's breathable and waterproof.

Carabineer™ II Parka

$280.00

This super-lightweight yet warm down parka is a study in both technology and value. The Carabineer keeps the pounds down with a sleek 2.5-layer shell and a 700-fill goosedown insulated liner. Despite its ultralight weight, it's a master heat retainer thanks to Omni-Heat® thermal reflective technology.more

An attention-grabbing jacket in its own right, the liner also features Omni-Shield® advanced repellency to keep you dry from trail to slope to campfire. It’s armed with Omni-Tech® waterproof breathability, and every seam is sealed against the outer elements. Barely-there security pockets at chest and lower torso feature Invizzip™ technology for cleaner, more refined style. Underarm vents can be zipped open to disperse excess heat. Also, down makes this jacket extremely packable, just roll it up into a pint-sized package and slip it the side pocket of your backpack.

FEATURES:

• Fabric: Shell: 100% nylon 2.5L enthuse riptstop. Lining: 57% recycled polyester/43% polyester mesh. Liner: 100% Tactel® nylon ripstop. Lining: 100% polyester taffeta. Insulation: 90% goosedown/10% feather
• Omni-Tech waterproof-breathable and fully seam sealed
• Omni-Heat thermal reflective
• Omni-Shield advanced repellency liner
• Zip-in Interchange system
• Underarm venting
• 700 fill power down insulation
• Pocket zippers feature Invizzip
• Zip-closed hand and security pockets
• Interior goggle pocket
• Center back length: 29.5”
• Imported

Restaurant Review: Axel's Bonfire

Photo Credit

Katy and I went to Axel's Bonfire last night on Grand Avenue for Deb's birthday dinner. We were also joined by Bob, Josh and Laura.

Who: Joel and Katy, Bob and Deb, Josh and Laura
What: Dinner
When: Saturday October 16 6:30pm
Where: Axel's Bonfire, Grand Avenue
Why: Deb's Birthday

I ordered Cioppino for $21.95.

I saw Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network where the challenge was who made the best cioppino, Bobby Flay or local San Francisco guy he visits out of the blue to have the challenge to make the signature dish.

Well, that's been on my mind since that episode months ago, about how I wanted to give that dish a try so I finally did since I saw it on the menu.

Cioppino is a fish stew that originates from San Francisco, California. It is derived from various regional fish soups and stews from Italian cuisine. It was usually a bunch of seafood that was the catch of the day; any sort of combination of crabs, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish. That combines with fresh tomatoes and a wine sauce and paired with a baguette or bread.

Axel's version was shrimp, scallops, walleye, clams, mussels and crab claws in a spicy tomato broth. I asked the server if it was truly spicy, and if it was asking if it was feasible to back off of it some. He said that it was not too spicy so I didn't ask for them to back off any of the heat, though once I put it on my mouth I wish I had! It was plenty spicy, I wish I knew what was actually causing the heat. What were the spices and was it made more prominent because of the acid from the tomatoes?

However, the seafood in there was outstanding. There was a ton of shrimp, the walleye was delicious and the bits and pieces of chopped up crab, clams and mussels was awesome with plenty of nicely sized scallops. The heat from the dish stayed there for the whole meal so after every bite I washed it down with some Coke or water and put down the roll that they gave with it as well.

Overall, the dish was hot. Too hot for my taste so if they could have backed that down a few notches my palate would have enjoyed it a little bit more. However, the amount of seafood in there and the tomatoes made it a delicious meal. There was also a leftover effect; without being able to eat it all because of the heat I saved some of it and made it for lunch today.

Cioppino, give it a try and I'll keep you updated when I get to taste test it again!

Quick Column: Twins Territory

Photo courtesy of Joel Dischinger





















Photo courtesy of MinnPost.com





A number of topics to come in no particular order and none will come to real fruition. It's just the times. Essentially, it's just that I have to get a long tweet out without researching too much further.

As we all know, a Minnesota favorite, Randy Moss was traded back to the Vikings. That stomped all over the air waves and the print media and the broadcast media all morning and afternoon; squashing much of the productive and intelligent Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees playoff chatter. Well, that's the second time an NFL story has put the hammer to a significant day in Minnesota Twins history. The first, back in the middle of August was Brett Favre coming back via private plane in handcuffs with Ryan Longwell, Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson. That was the same day that Jim Thome (is my homey) drilled a game winning home run, defeating the White Sox and making a statement in the American League Central versus the White Sox.

So, let's bury the "lead" story. The Minnesota Twins are the lead story, it is just that this American society needs something newer than a game that hasn't even happened yet! That is amazing, when talking about Americans.

I'm here to say to Minnesotans that they best get their priorities straight. These guys coming from New York are giants! They have taken you out in the playoffs three straight times. They are not afraid of you. The Twins can't have the state overtaken by Moss talk. Not on game one of the ALDS vs. a historical giant in the game of baseball. It takes huge amounts of focus to beat these guys, just ask the Boston Red Sox. So, all of you Minnesotans and media members; please refocus your energies to put the Twins in the lead story.

It was just surreal listening to the Twins get buried all day long as I listened on my KFAN app on my phone. And granted, I was listening to play-by-play man for the Vikings, Paul Allen. However, Dan Cole was all over football too. However, once I flipped it to 1500 ESPN Radio with Patrick Reusse and Phil Mackey, most of the conversation centered around the Twins. Though they happened to be broadcasting live from Gate 29 at Target Field.

You have the rest of the NFL season to talk about an aging superstar and a guy who plays when he wants to. Minnesota, and Minnesotan sports fans, the Twins need you! Don't drop out of the marathon at mile 23 when there's a good chance of finishing and finishing 26.2 miles well!

Twin Cities 10 Mile v. 2010

Well, Twin Cities 10 Mile v. 2010 went off without a hitch Sunday morning.

Katy and I were up and heading to Minneapolis at 6:00am with the start time coming at 7:09am. It was chilly, about 40 degrees, but clear with a high of about 60 degrees expected. We arrived downtown and I just sat in the car near the start line for a half hour or so before heading into the dome, using the bathroom before running a half-mile warm up before the start. By the start of the race it was getting lighter and I was ready to race in my tights, sleeveless shirt, arm sleeves, gloves, watch and hat; and of course a pair of socks, my silicone or rubber toe caps and a new pair of Nike Lunarglide +2's.














As always the first couple miles of competition requires some mental fortitude to hold back and be sure you're not breaking the bank so mile one and two were 6:09 and 6:14.

I must have been concerned about pace at that point as I slowed to a 6:28 for mile three, though there was a small hill at that point. I regained some pace and tempo going through four miles in 25:03, running 6:14.

Now, miles five, six and seven; I wish I could have those back. I do remember feeling a bit tired but more so, I think I wondered about my ability there. I thought to myself "this is only half way, I'm kind of tired, let's stay consistent and be conservative." Well, I sure was tired and too conservative. On the flip side I was pretty consistent as those miles were 6:32, 6:38 and 6:29. Sheesh. That was coming off of Cretin Avenue and onto Summit Avenue where there is a long gradual hill; but I should have kept moving better.

At that point, I knew I had three miles left, processed that as just at 5K race and thought about how short that really was. I clicked off a 6:12 and 6:19 while maintaining some contact with a couple people who were moving pretty well. I pushed but I didn't over exert myself. Maybe I should have pushed just a little bit more in those two miles. I went through eight miles in 50:53, was at nine miles at 57:12.

Mile 10 was 5:39 and my best mile of the morning though I didn't go crazy at any one point during that mile. I kept accelerating as steadily as I could, clicking off each tenth of a mile while waiting for the Cathedral so I could see Katy, Bob and Deb and Laura.

So, Twin Cities 10 Mile v. 2010 had me finish in 1:03:16.

That's good for 90th out of 7017 runners. I was 32nd of 458 in the 22-29 age group and 86th out of 2708 males.

I was satisfied, but as always thought there could have been more in the tank with a drop in time. I am happy with staying consistent in time for the last two years and always hope for more next year.





































This is me going by the Cathedral with a quarter mile left.














Josh finished in 1:24:33, 8:28 pace for the TC 10. Good job Josh! (We were both just a few seconds slower this year vs. last year. Darn. We'll do better next year.)













Just us. :) Too bad this was the best shot of us. We must improve on that.













And Segways!! I really wanted to see who brought these to the course so I could go ride up and down the course. Right Eric, Dad and Katy? That would be awesome!

Twin Cities 10 Mile v. 2010

TWIN CITIES IN MOTION

Twin Cities Marathon

Well, tomorrow morning is the Twin Cities 10 Mile. And I'm finally nervous. I would like to do sub-60 minutes but that's not going to happen judging my mileage and workouts.

*It appears that you can follow me run online now too via the website or texting. This link will take you there...

I've put in a decent amount of miles over the summer without getting a great deal ahead with workouts. So, decent mileage but a lack of workouts and even lack of mileage lately, doesn't give me too much confidence with the morning run. Not that I ever really have a huge amount of confidence. (Can't get a job, not a great (fast) decision maker, never really stand for what I believe or want...)

So, tomorrow morning might be a challenge. I'm putting alot of pressure on myself to get back to 1:02:54 like I did last year but at the same time I'm not sure that's going to happen. I'd love for it to happen though. Somehow, I've got to find a spot in my mind, maybe just for a few hours where I'm confident and feel good for the run.

I'm aiming for 1:05:00 this year with the chances of hitting that. Last year I had 1:08:00 in my head so we will see how that matters. I'm not sure that I'll be able to do 1:03 this year but I didn't think I would do that last year.

Anyway, last year I ran 63 minutes on a goal of 68 minutes. This year I'd like to hit 65 minutes on a goal of 65 minutes. I'll have to feel it out as they miles come, it's just that I haven't been all that confident with sub 6:45 pace nor has my stomach been cooperating with me for quite some time on longer or more workout type days.

Who else do I know that's running...

Josh, Nick, Rachel Karel in the 10 mile.

Dan Greeno, Brian Anderson, Amanda Ericson all in the marathon.

We'll see how it goes...this sappy blog is over. Maybe I will call this blog just "for my records." (Right Em?)