Well, here we are at the All-Star break, with the Twinkies at 47-39, which is far better than I would have predicted at the beginning of June.  Santana has allowed five runs in each of his last two starts, but we all know that the second half is when he truly shines.  Mauer and Morneau have never been hotter, and Liriano leads the American League in ERA.

Still, I don't see the Twinks going anywhere, especially with the competition in the Central this year.  The White Sox had a pretty poor second half last season, but played well enough in the first half to survive the pennant race.  The wild card could definitely come out of the Central this year, but it won't be Minnesota.  Still, I'd just like to see them play some good ball and finish well above .500.  Then I can start dreaming about next year.

After a little work-related camping trip this weekend (which will be fun in its own right), the three weekends after that are going to be super fantasgreat.  First there will be an epic trip to Lane County to find a place to sleep this fall, which will most likely include a stop at Bluesxman's.  Weekend after that is Oregon Brewfest and a concert featuring some band called Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  Weekend after that....you're going to be hearing the noise from T Square, regardless of where you live.

It's an exciting time to be this blogger.

Remember when they usually just had midnight showings of the truly important, "nerdy" movies?  It seems like they have midnight showings of just about everything that comes out now.  I mean, do you really need to be the first person on your block to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 2"?

Following through to my commitment to Steve to follow his work through good times and bad, I watched "The Pink Panther" this morning.  Pretty bad.  Although not entirely.  Just mostly.

Don't forget to order "Highway Companion."  (In stores July 25, and already #19 on Amazon.com)