TBWAIN - AKA Jeff Svare's Blog

Why is it always windy on the days the garbage is picked up? Saddam Hussein ended his hunger strike , citing concerns for his health. I'm sure that he had the health and best interests of the 148 Shiite muslims in mind when he ordered their execution . And now for something completely different. The Minnesota Twins have selected Zoilo Versalles for inclusion in the Twins Hall of Fame . This is sorta mixed news, as Versalles was one name that sticks in my early memories of the Twins. While I recall the great heights and lofty promise Zoilo had, I also remember how horribly disappointing he became. If you'd like, the Hardball Times has dubbed Zoilo the Sultan of Flops . The Baseball Almanac has Zoilo's stats . And now for something completely different. The London Natural History Museum is putting a giant squid on display . The beastie is 20 ft long, with an eye that is 10 inches across. Yuck.

According to Hennipin Distrct County Judge Charles Porter Jr., the Twins' lease on the Metrodome expired in 2003 . This means the Twins owner, Carl Pohlad has a considerable bit more leverage to exert on moving the team to a new facility. Since the lease has expired, the judge ruled that selling tickets for seats in the Dome indicates an intent to play, which causes and annual renewal of the lease. Why the Twins want a new stadium is beyond me. One of the reasons they opted to join the Vikings in the Metrodome is the unpredictable weather. There were too many rainouts, delays, and postponements when they were playing in Metropolitan Stadium . And now they want to go back to playing outside? Interestingly, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission has an article on Life Before the Dome . Another problem is that if the deal to build a stadium in Hennepin County falls through, the Twins could be on the contraction block again .

Tonight I had a dining experience unlike any I have ever had. My wife and I don't like to go fight the crowds dining out on Valentine's Day, so we usually go out some other night around the 14th. So tonight we decided to go out and get it over with. I say "get it over with" because so many times you go out to eat and it's no big deal. Most places the food is tasty, the wait service adequate, the Muzak too loud, and the conversations going on around you far too personal to be comfortable overhearing. All in all, pretty overwhelmingly average. That's probably why I hate eating alone when I'm on the road. It's boring. Not tonight. We decided to go to this little Italian place on Main Street in Bountiful. As soon as we walked in, it was wonderful. They had a great buffet spread laid out, with homemade food. Sure, the salad bar had iceberg lettuce in it, but it wasn't poured out of a bag. And there were no reheated preprocessed meatballs here,...

In his State of the Union address last night, President Bush said that "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world." I don't suppose that this comes as a surprise to anyone. If it does, where the heck have you been for the last 50 years? The President deserves to get some credit for stating something no one else before him has had the guts to say. I noticed with some amusement that Senator John Kerry afterwards tried to pin the blame on America's dependency on foreign oil on the Bush administration. Funny, I don't recall that during Bill Clinton's eight years in office that he did all that bloody much to change things. Interestingly enough, back in 1984 the Carl Pope of the Sierra Club applauded John Kerry's Goal To Decrease Oil Dependence . From everything that I can see, the Sierra Club is doing everything it can to increase our dependence on foreign oil by trying to stifle every attempt that's made to in...