RobertR

A large contributing factor is that many of the sanitary sewer systems leak/have illegal stormwater connections as well. So when it rains, MMSD has to deal not only with the combined sewers, but large inflows of rainwater where there shouldn't be any additional loading. There's probably a lot to be gained by fixing joint seals on existing sanitary systems. Robert

I enjoyed Inception a lot. Spoilers The important thing to me is not whether Cobb is in reality, stuck in dreaming, or a dreamer about to awaken after undergoing a catharsis, but the fact that Cobb has undergone a catharsis and can see his children's faces again is what is most important. And, personally, I think Inception is much more a film about cinema than it is about dreams. It really doesn't have much to say about dreams, IMO. But, about cinema and movie making as a shared dream, I think it has a lot to say. The various levels of dreaming all play like their own heist film. Level one is a gritty, urban film. Level two is something out of Oceans 11, an upscale caper film. Level three is flat out Bond. You can very easily map it out as Ariadne is the screenwriter. She passes her test with Cobb with a pad of paper and a pencil, and really impresses him when she breaks free of the rigid, box structure. Yusuf is the technical guy. Arthur the producer, who researches, finds people places to sleep, etc. Saito the money man/studio. Eames is clearly the actor, even brought home when he literally changes faces before an old school makeup mirror. Cobb is the director, the guy who's ultimately in charge, who plans, and who's demons threaten to derail everything. Fischer is the audience. And, in this case, he's asked to be an active participant, to let down his defenses, and participate in the story being told for him. And, arguably, Inception is a film planting an idea in th audience. Even if it's from an outside influence, the catharsis and journey are no less meaningful. And it's more difficult to plant an idea that changes the way we perceive ourselves or the world, than to simply extract money. At least that's my armchair reading. Robert

I don't think we should discount the effect of injury on Bush in 2009. Before he took a ball off his arm, he was putting up these types of numbers. ERA: 4.38 WHIP: 1.19 H/9: 8.2 BB/9: 2.54 K/9: 6.36 HR/9: 1.84 SO/BB: 2.5 Nothing spectacular, but it's certainly is arguable that those numbers are representative of what he can do when healthy, while Bush's 2009 numbers in total need to consider that he just wasn't healthy after May, through no fault of his own. That said, he's going to turn 31 this year and he lives on the edge due to questionable velocity, so it's certainly caveat emptor for a long term deal. He'd probably be a really good fit for a team like the Padres due to their big ballpark. He's certainly an ideal player to flip. Robert

I've had the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast in rotation for a while now. I'm working my way through one of his collections, so it's been, finish a story, listen to the podcast on the story. Robert

There are rumors of a lost, Japanese King Kong. There's also the Spanish language Dracula made by Universal, which isn't quite the same as a remake. The Japanese are currently remaking Ghost. And, while not a remake, there have been plenty of foreign movies based on source material that also has English versions. Kurosawa's Shakespeare movies, for instance. Not remakes, per se, but obviously similar. And, to be a completist, Turkish Star Wars. Robert

The White Hell of Pitz Palu Quentin Tarantino referencing this in Inglourious Basterds is the reason for this rental. Well, combined with Northface and an interest in seeing an historical "berg" picture. The first thing that needs to be said is that much of the cinematography is flat out spectacular. The mountain images are great. Like Kurosawa, they knew the trick to making a potentially static shot dynamic is to film it with wind, shadows, clouds, etc. And if you happen to catch an avalanche in action, all the better. The second thing that needs to be said is that it's easy to see why Leni Riefenstahl was a star before becoming an infamous director. She's a good actress, albeit the style is very melodramatic, she's very attractive, and she's very athletic. Sigourney Weaver is probably a good comparison. The story though is really melodramatic. And the pacing is quite slow at times. The majestic mountain shots are a mixed blessing as the movie is peppered with them to the extent that it hurts the story. A skilled editor probably could shave off a good 20 minutes or more and help the movie. Certainly worth a watch as a good example of the genre, but there are definitely some caveats here. Robert

To echo brettac1, the pitchers don't belong in that sentence. They're above average compared to the rest of the league. As far as Cain goes, I don't see the point of accumulating service time if he's not playing. I'm not even sure why you'd call up Cain to replace a pitcher. Robert

The Brewers do have 3 All Stars. Their offense is fine. They won't be relying on a 42 year old closer. They should have some money to play with, with Hall, Suppan, Davis, Bush, Riske, and Hoffman off the books. And the division doesn't project to be particularly tough. So, I don't think it's farfetched to say that the Brewers could contend in 2011 with some shrewd moves. But, I agree, they would need to add an impact starter, not mess around with the Doug Davis types. Robert

I have to say though that of the teams left, Germany has been easily the most entertaining to watch. They're really brilliant counter-attackers and they're too young to hold grudges against. And I get the feeling that their best days are ahead of them, which is a scary thought. The Spain - Germany match is really going to be something. Spain's only real weakness is that they're enamored of the short crisp passing so much that they don't really open up the field creating space. They give defenses time to regroup. They'll probably win if they can keep the match low scoring though, that's their game. I kind of have mixed feelings on Uruguay and Netherlands. I believe that every player for every team would have made the same handball penalty to save the game. It's taking a pass interference penalty to save a sure touchdown. But I can certainly see being annoyed that they advanced because of it. I like the Netherlands, but they really like to flop. I think the Netherlands are a better team, but they've been more efficient than fun to watch so far. Robert

I don't like the way Macha handled Gamel at all. And he's probably been too deferential to some of his veteran pitchers. But, overall, I don't think Macha's been particularly egregious in that area. He's been far more patient with Escobar and Gomez than I'd probably be. Frankly, Gomez is lucky he hasn't been sent down. Honestly, I think I'd rather see Cain in centerfield at this point than Gomez or any of the other options. Robert

One I forgot to include: Shutter Island Most of the faults in this one I think are in the source material, although the final line from DiCaprio is an addition that I think elevates the ending. But, it's basically Scorsese channeling Hitchcock's Vertigo and Fuller's Shock Corridor into his own concoction. Well acted. Gorgeous to look at. And heavy on atmosphere. It's basically just a fun, gothic entertainment, with some ideas but nothing that's going to have you debating long into the night. Robert

While I can see that, I think what the Coen's are getting at is summarized with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. While the questions may matter, don't expect a concrete answer to really know where you stand. As well as the idea that things are a matter of perspective, with the contrast of the two brothers lives. I also think there's a case of cosmic irony at play. Most significantly in the line of dialogue, paraphrased "In this office, actions have consequences. Always." Robert

I can probably get you a definitive answer on Hwy 41, but survey work and inspections are possibilities. I do know that there's some survey work coming up verifying existing clearances of the bridges. Robert

Texas catchers are hitting .209/.307/.324 for the season. So, it's no wonder they're looking elsewhere as that's a position that could use an upgrade. Probably CF as well, but at least Julio Borbon is young and good defensively. (Although asking them if they're interested in Jim Edmonds at the deadline might be a good idea.) When the division may very well come down to a game or two, an incremental upgrade can make a difference. I'm not sure that Molina is that big an upgrade, although going from SF to Texas should help his numbers. I'd probably expect about an 80 OPS+ out of him the rest of the season, a little heavier on SLG and light on OBP. Robert

Been much too long for me. Catching up. A Serious Man Loved it. My wife is Jewish and explained some of the finer points, which made it all the better. The Coens are a national treasure. Moon 2009 is going to go down as a great year for science fiction movies. This might be the best of the bunch. A fairly simple idea carried out with tremendous skill. Paranormal Activity The stuff going bump in the night was effective. The characters, especially the macho D.I.Y. male lead, weren't especially sympathetic though. It's a nice change of pace for the usual horror stuff, but nothing really memorable, IMO. Sin Nombre Terrific. A tale of hope and redemption, against long odds. Well shot and acted. Fantastic Mr. Fox It's nice to see animation with character. Heck, it's nice to see any movie with character. Every bit as quirky as Wes Anderson's live action stuff. I enjoyed it a lot. An Education Well acted. Carey Mulligan is terrific and was well deserving of her best actress nomination. Alfred Molina is very good as well. The period details are very nice to look at. At the same time, it's a very slight movie which goes in some fairly obvious directions. I'm kind of surprised it was a Best Picture nominee. Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown Good, but fairly routine and surficial look at H.P. Lovecraft and his writing. Skips over his Dreamlands stuff in favor of his more horrific material, which is certainly understandable but is a significant omission. Some nice art and some A-list talking heads, John Carpenter, Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Straub, and Neil Gaiman, among others, helps a lot. My Dinner With Andre An experiment in minimalism. Visually. The dialogue is as ambitious as any movie has attempted full of big philosophical ideas. And a bit of pomposity on the part of Andre to boot. Well worth checking out though if you're in an experimental mood. The Informant! I enjoyed it, primarily for Matt Damon's atypical turn. I don't know if it really brings home its themes and ideas about the lies we tell others and ourselves, but its generally fun. Next up: The White Hell of Pitz Palu Robert

Maybe we should wait until Ben Sheets has an actual good year, instead of a good 4 starts in a row, before we lump that in as a mistake on Melvin's part. (Really, there's not much difference between Wolf and Sheets on the year. Wolf 80 ERA+, averaging 6.0 IP/start. Sheets 82 ERA+, averaging 5.5 IP/start.) Especially since Ben Sheets certainly didn't seem eager to come back. Melvin certainly hasn't been perfect, but not signing a pitcher that didn't want to come back and hasn't been much better than his de facto replacement doesn't seem to be one of the issues. Pitcher drafting and development is a much bigger issue than Ben Sheets. Heck, given recent results, perhaps not willing to go with Braddock and Axford initially rather than going with "proven" veterans could be laid at Melvin's door. Robert

Slept on it overnight and turned the finale over in my head a few times. There's much that I could say embodies LOST at its best. The Island stuff pretty much all worked for me last night, right down to the final shots. Jack. Vincent. The sky. The plane. The eye closing. I found all of that very satisfying. The conclusion of the alt timeline, less so. The reminders of why we cared for these characters in the first place were all well done, but Christian Shepherd almost literally opening the doors to heaven? That pretty much sucked all the drama out of the Season 6 alt timeline stuff. And came down way too heavily on the faith side of the equation. Faith in your fellow man, in all his complexity/contradictions, perhaps, but for a show that revolved around questions that seemed fairly literal minded. Ultimately, the mythology of Lost with tropical polar bears, mysterious "infections", magical donkey wheels, Walt's specialness, Dharma air drops, the island not allowing children to be born, and the arbitrary rules set forth, led to more dead ends than answers. I get that they were trying to grapple with big issues, but there's no question that much of the mythology was muddled and inconsistent. THE PRISONER is still the gold standard for perhaps not answering the minutae of the mythology, but still being internally consistent. THE WIRE is still the gold standard of the decade as far as character work, big ideas, and internal consistency. Overall, I'm satisfied with the series and the ending, although there clearly are plenty of flaws in the series. At its best, it was a model of terrific character work and acting, twisty, mind bending plots, interesting layers, and big philosophical ideas. But, in retrospect, there's no reason that many of the details needed to be handled in a sloppy manner. I certainly believe that the strengths of LOST could have been married to a tighter narrative and I can't fault the people that grew frustrated with that aspect of the series. Still, I'm going to miss it, especially since there doesn't seem anything of ambition on the networks to replace it with all the Doctor and Cop procedurals lined up for the new season. Hopefully Scorsese's BOARDWALK EMPIRE lives up to the terrific trailer as the fall season looks bleak to me otherwise. Robert

I thought it was quite clear, but whatever happened on the Island happened. It wasn't purgatory. Now, that side universe could be interpreted as purgatory.... I thought that was emotionally satisfying and brought a fitting conclusion to most of the storylines. The themes and questions of Lost always were more interesting than the "mythology". And when they could mesh that with good, character driven storytelling the show was at its best. Now, the threads of the mythology I don't think hold together. Frankly, I suspect Jacob was hitting that bottle of his while making up the rules. As a model of a tightly constructed fictional universe that holds up to logical scrutiny, there are plenty of criticisms to direct Lost's way, all the way up to the end. Edit: It's probably useful to think of it as them playing on the "Island is purgatory" theories floating around during the first season. They put a spin on that for the final season. It also was kind of a play on the "Live together or die alone" idea. Robert

There was something about last night's episode that rubbed me the wrong way too. Frankly, I found it kind of sloppy for something so late in the show's run. You don't want to answer a question because you think the thematic and character moments are more important? Fine, but why write yourself into having characters ask questions and then trip all over yourselves avoiding the answers? It's one thing to explore the gray area between faith and rationality. It's another to cop out entirely in favor of faith. We're six seasons in, and while Lost definitely has themes, whether it has a thesis/point is still up in the air. We have free will vs. no choice referenced again. We have blind faith (Jacob in this case) against rationality (MiB). We have biblical/mythic references. (Heck, the island might actually be Eden and Allison Janney might equal Lilith. That might even make sense.) We have a mother raising children not her own. We have supposedly good characters doing bad. We have a complicated plot and mythology. And are they going to bring all of this together? This episode certainly didn't make me very confident as Jacob is still pretty much a cipher to me. And that's a much bigger issue to me than whether they adequately explained the donkey wheel or not. And what a way to kill the momentum. Lost frequently shifts focus among the cast, but at least we know them. After last weeks event, we cut to three people we don't know very well and they're still mysterious at the end? And I've complained about the Pacific's momentum killing shifts in focus, but Lost takes the cake this week. Robert

While there's really no measure for pitching inside, effectively retaliating, etc. the idea that other teams are picking on the Brewers disproportionately seems like more a myth than a reality to me. Let's look at the 2009 totals: Brewers HBP: 71 Other Teams Hit by Brewer Pitchers: 65 Is 6 HBPs over the course of 162 games something to get riled up about? Heck, even the infamous LaRussa 2009 Cardinals HBP: 61 Other Teams Hit by Cardinal Pitchers: 53 I tend to think this is more myth than reality. Robert

I'd like to see more information than just the location, but the addition of a parking structure across the street seems to make sense to me. Lots of questions still to be answered, including cost, exact route, time, etc. Still, stopping at an actual destination is an enormous plus for this route. Robert

Bumping this up as the endgame draws near. There's been much to criticize Lost for since Season 1. But this was the kind of episode that really hits home. Sawyer acts like Sawyer. Sayid redeems himself. Sun and Jin stick together. Poor Lapidus. And Hurley breaking down at the end really hit home. If they can approach or even top this episode in the few remaining, we're in for a solid ending. Robert

Guaranteed multi-year contracts aren't a union requirement. They're a result of market conditions. And that's why they're not going away. There are all sorts of non-guaranteed contracts in baseball. The first 6 years basically. But, there's no guarantees for contract incentives. And, of course, option years. The only thing preventing teams from having a contract 50% guaranteed and 50% tied into incentives/options is competition from other teams. And, heck, sometimes it works out in the club's favor. Do you think Braun would have been more or less likely to sign the contract he did without the guarantee that he would be paid all of it? What's the incentive to lock in at a low rate if you're not even guaranteed the low rate? Yeah, the Brewers have been burned on Hall and Suppan. They've also made out like bandits on Braun and they're hoping to do the same on Gallardo. Heck, all sports have guaranteed multi-year contracts. You give out a big enough bonus in football and the hit you take to the salary cap is guaranteed to keep a player around for years. Robert

I kind of think that there's also a bit of redundancy to the narratives. Introducing characters to the horrors of war and then, midway through the series, introducing a new set of characters to the horrors of war. I also think that they've been flat out terrible at making the secondary characters distinct and interesting. Sledge's childhood friend Phillips is still a cipher to me. And I actually remember his name. It kind of undercuts the emotion when the characters get all worked up about a character getting wounded/killed when I don't even know who they are. But the leads have been pretty good. The period detail and production show that no expense was spared. There's a very good sense of geography and climate to every location. And the action has been appropriately exciting and brutal. It's definitely worth at least a rental if you're a fan of Band of Brothers, but I doubt it's going to be a perennial in the same way. Robert

FWIW, I think MLB Media and the internet is going to go a long way in the long term to even out some of the revenue disparities. (Also, I think people have a distorted idea of capitalism. Guaranteeing a profit for an owner, regardless of competence, isn't a part of free market capitalism. Heck, fans deserting the Brewers like a sinking ship under the reign of Wendy Selig-Prieb is part of capitalism that protects the fan. The NFL also has the Bidwell, Brown, and McCaskey families entrenched for decades.) And, I'll put forth that the first 6 years of a baseball player's career in the majors are a massive restriction on his free market rights. That also seems to be conveniently forgotten. I will agree that there are certain things that could be done though to help. More revenue can be shared. The draft could be tweaked to ensure that the best prospects go to the worst teams. Perhaps it could be permissable for some of the worst teams to pool their resources in forming Latin America academies. Baseball is unique in many ways and there's more to building a team than free agency. And, heck, I'm not sure competitive balance in football is as much cap related as it is that the career of most NFL players is extremely short due to injuries and wear and tear. How many NFL players even make it 6 years? The NBA has a cap too, and it has competitive balance problems simply because roster turnover is very limited. Robert