A few simple command lines, the power cord from my hair-dryer, some other odds and ends and I had my dream camera.

You may be wondering what a dream camera is??  In my world it's very simple - a device that takes pictures of your dreams while sleeping.

I woke up this morning, checked my phone, and amazingly, it worked on the first try.  I was surprised how well I was able to dream with electrodes hooked up to my temples.  See for yourself - 

Now I know that it's early in the baseball season and everything but sometimes I just can't help but think about deer hunting in the fall. 

If this doesn't get the hunting juices flowing...nothing will

Perk

I am going to take attempt to take a picture from my room out the window of every hotel we stay in this year.  I will then make comments- whether positive or negative- about the hotel, city, view, and whatever else I can come up with.

My first picture is from the Westin in the Boston cities.

I suppose you all were thinking you would see Fenway huh?  First, I have no clue where the field is (a) because the streets are all messed up here, and (b) because it's foggy/rainy/sleety and Second after checking my iPhone map, I realized the field is on the other side of the hotel...

The only remotely interesting thing about this photo is the white tent.  I think it's a (half torn down) medic tent from the Boston Marathon.

I don't have much else from Boston as it is not one of my favorite cities.  Tune in next time for an even worse view from Cleveland!!!

Perk

First things first, one of my favorite players growing up announced his retirement via blogosphere earlier in the week.

As I said, due to my extremely busy schedule these days, I have been unable to update as much as I would like.  After all, us baseballers are ALWAYS busy while at the field.  See below evidence for visual proof.

While not busy at the field I have found many things to occupy my time, including but not limited to; mini-golf (Castle Golf, Smuggler's Cove, Jungle Golf), semi-mini golf (Cross Creek), and real golf (Plantation, Raptor Bay).  Also our latest team fad- shark fishing.

For all you readers, I'm sure that last activity may have piqued your interest.  I will not tell you where or when we catch said sharks, but I will show you pictures and you can draw your own conclusions.  Observe below:

I am still looking for that one that'll bite my arm off put up a real fight, but these are still fun.  Special thanks to Tony Leo, Dave Pruemer, and Steve Liddle for showing me the ropes on hunting the shark.  They are the real pros.

That's all for tonight, I promise I'll be back soon...

Perk

At first glance you may think that this is a joke- I am here to tell you that it is indeed NOT a joke.  Though it has yet to show up at my house, I find myself counting the minutes until my doorbell rings and that package is on the front step.  

I can tell that you think I am still kidding, here is proof of product right here.  That foreign language video does not lie!!!

*- If and only if you have a wife like mine, this product works great probably doesn't work.

To keep the privacy of my lackey secretary I will not reveal his name, but you certainly can see a picture of him here.

Today I headed into the Metrodome to pay him one last visit before I head off to Spring Training.  When I arrived at his career station something seemed just a tad off.  Unable to initially draw my own conclusion, I moved in for a closer look.  Take a gander for yourself:

My first thought upon closer inspection was that he may have gotten a haircut.  Then it hit me.  This was not my assistant/secretary/lapdog at all!!! It was an impostor!!!  Who is this man do you ask?  How could I tell?  One thing gave it away- the Full Windsor knot on his tie.  My secretary would never be caught with no-less than the always impressive Shelby Knot.

The next question I would ask myself is why on earth someone would attempt to impersonate my secretary?  Let's be honest, being a secretary to a fledgling bloggist is not the most glamorous job.  I had to get to the bottom of this mystery and go in for an even closer look.  At this point I am practically on top of his desk peering into his eyes.  Here is what I saw:

It turns out my secretary was out for the day with a "sore back" so he thought he could trick me with a mannequin.  He should have told his accomplice his tie-knot preference and he would have snuck it right by me!!  Pity the fool who thinks he can fool me!!

-Perk

I am somewhat excited about this book as I, along with everyone else plugged into America, have heard some very controversial and also interesting tidbits from the pages within.

Please allow me 1-2 weeks to read this book and then I will let you all know if it's worth purchasing.

That is all.

Perk

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Thursday night I had the privilege to go to the Minnesota Gophers Basketball Game.  I have (not so) closely followed them since I left campus in 2004.  We all know how well they have been playing this year so I decided to check them out.

They played Illinois who they had failed to beat in any of their previous twenty attempts.  My expectations were low as I am used to being let down by certain Minnesota sports (ahem- Vikings/Gopher Football, etc.) but they handled the Illini from the first tip.  

To make a long story short I made the rather simple decision, along with many other fans I'm sure, to jump on the Men's Basketball bandwagon.

I am fully aware that this may draw some criticism from a certain scribe who attended U of I but that doesn't concern me in the least.

Thank You for taking the time to read my useless post and I'll see you on the bandwagon.

Perk

p.s. Go Gophs!!!

I figured the best way to kick off my new blog/writing career would be to share with you my tour of our brand new ballpark, Target Field.  

I stopped in to Kevin Smith's office today and talked him into giving me a tour.  I met him over at the field at 12:30 - but not before getting lost on the way.  Before you say anything- yes I am from Minnesota- it was a little confusing to find the construction offices.  I ended up circling the block and then found the right spot.  

The first thing on the tour was the Mortenson Construction office where I saw the new seats (not blue).  There are five different seat styles going in the stadium.  Some have wood backs and some have plastic backs.  The seats behind home plate have like a 5" cushion.  I asked if they were putting those in the dugout but got nowhere with that.

From the building we went across the player's parking lot into the stadium area/clubhouse.  I was surprised to find that it is mostly all heated in there (It was still probably quite cold last week anyway).  There are a ton of workers who all seemed to have something fairly pressing to be doing so there was no chatting with them.

We made our way through the clubhouse and out onto the field.  We saw the dugouts and also the pitchers mound and home plate.  My initial impression when I got on the field was how HUGE this place is!  It definitely does not seem small in any way.

We walked across(t) the field and up into the left field bleachers.  From there we made our way around the double wide concourse - from which you can see the field the entire way - to the first base sides where some of the suites are.  

The suites are pretty cool.  I thought the lack of bathrooms was interesting but apparently studies show that people are more comfortable using the restroom in a different location.  It looked to me that about every two suites would share a bathroom so it probably shouldn't matter.  We made our way from the suites to the press box and then to the restaurant in the right field corner.  All these places looked amazing.  I am looking forward to watching the progress of Target Field throughout the summer and also continuing to bring you all updates.

Thanks for tuning in.  See you next time!!!

Perk