Greetings and Happy Holidays!

A quick post since there's been a lack. Christmas was great. Got to spend ample time with both Hennig's and Teece's. I got a sweet softball bat, a new wallet, and Season 1 of the The Office on DVD. The church services were excellent. We get the honor of hitting both ends of the spectrum during Christmas: contemporary @ Five Oaks and and total old school @ Mount Olive. Both were totally awesome as each really served as a reminder of what and why we celebrate the way we do this time of year.

Barry Zito for $18 million a year? Call me crazy, but that is a little out of hand. He's good, don't get me wrong. But that contract is equal to the 6th highest in MLB history. Merry Christmas to him I guess. More awesome analysis later

I've got two posts in the works right now: the promised one of Yosemite pictures and a Top 10 list style recap of 2006. Jump back after the new year and check me out!

Say It Ain't So

Today Brad Radke retired from baseball and from the Twins. I think we are truly to thank Brad for the position we are in today as Twins fans (well, him and Terry Ryan too). Radke stayed with our team through the really really crappy years and helped solidify a contending pitching staff. He also helped Johan develop his changeup and mentored much of our young starters in the rotation. He's always been above the 200 inning mark and in 2005 could have been a Cy Young contender if Johan was being Johan. Last year he pitched through a stress fracture in his shoulder blade and helped us clinch the division. Few pitchers have been as much of a horse as Radke. Take a minute to check the man out:

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061215&content_id=1761754&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061219&content_id=1764047&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061219&content_id=1764202&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min

An interesting article

I found this to be an interesting and quick read. I don't agree with everything that the authors suggest, but it is along the same line of thinking that I agree with. Politics and Christianity are a terrible mix if humility, love, and self-sacrifice are not the main ingredients. If Christians are the ones least willing to admit they may be wrong, refuse to be open-minded, and are antagonistic, how can they expect others to want to trust in Jesus. Food for though I guess.

In the mean time, Kevin Malone rocks

San Fran Trip #2

OK, I decided that since this blog is partially about baseball I would post on baseball. Especially as it was part of our San Fran trip. We were able to get some sweet tix to a Giants/Cardinals game at AT&T ballpark. What a beautiful place to watch a game. If the new Twins stadium is half as good as that place we'll be in good shape. We got to see the infamous Barry Bonds play and were very close to him sitting in left field. I also got to see Albert Pujols jack a dinger which was just awesome. I also got to see my good buddy Ryan who is studying at Berkley to be a really smart person (the picture of the two of us is next to a pinball machine we used to have in our old youth group house that belonged to our youth pastor.....we found it in a 50's diner). The whole experience was awesome

Our San Francisco Trip

I've probably given most of the the run of our pictures, but I thought I'd share them here because frankily the pictures we took were awesome. Actually it was probably more Luke's camera than me, but still.

We spent 4 days in the city, wandering between neighborhoods and eating lots of yummy food. We hit all of the tourist spots and other spots that were not so crowded. We biked across the Golden Gate Bridge and we ate in the middle of China Town. We toured Alcatraz at night and went through the Ghiradeli Chocolate line a couple of times for some free chocolate. My favorite part of this part of the trip was probably our walk through Gold Gate Park because Kate and I had a nice, long talk along with a long walk through this huge park on the west side of the city. There was also a nice conservatory, it really reminded us of the Chanhassen Arboretum. I was rewarded at the end as we reached our goal of the Beach Chalet that brewed its own beer. They offered each brew in a lazy-Susan sampler fashion

Come back in a few days for the best part of our trip, Yosemite National Park. You don't want to miss this one!

Best Fight Scene Ever

Are you serious? If you have 3 minutes a 15 seconds, please watch. I love the sound. Listen to how intense they are! The poor guy, fighting a woman who has her arm in a sling is probably pretty tough, especially when she owns you with a towel. Oh man, this is excellent.

Sing It Eddie

Soooooooooooooo ....... ...... it's been about.... 7 months. Uh, sorry about that I guess. I don't know where the time went. In the time since the last post I've been to 5 weddings, been a part of 3 of them, been to San Francisco, Yosemite, got a new job, and the Twins posted their best season since winning their World Series in '91, with the Cy Young, Batting Champ, and AL MVP. Wow... I have a lot to catch you up on. This is brief because its meant to let you know that this thing is still alive....not kicking yet, but still alive, and I'll be posting a lot more often.

I've changed the format a little and updated the links. Seeya back here soon!