Sunday, May 31, 2015

Yay! Rain!

I'm pretty certain I heard my lawn sigh.

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The Red Sox are in a world of hurt right now and no one can explain why. I keep saying that it's time to take a long hard look at Farrell and his managerial skills but I also want to bring up young Mr. Cherington.

He has put together a team that no one really understands.

I'll never understand why Hanley Ramirez, a third baseman, is playing left field. They keep saying, "he's a work in progress" but they are 50 games into a 162 game season and he hasn't shown much progress in becoming an outfielder.

Why are they paying a kid with little or no major league experience $11 million a year? Castillo has trouble catching fly balls fer cripes sake. When I coached fifth and sixth graders, they could at least catch pop flies.

As for David Ortiz, he has one job on that team and he isn't doing it. He took a few days off and last night he announced that he discovered he was "pulling off his back foot to soon". What the hell kind of bullshit is that?

Farrell and Cherington keep saying that things will click, the offense will come alive, the pitchers will get back their "stuff" and the defense will become a wall but if it doesn't happen soon, they can pretty much write the season off as a "rebuilding season" and figure out what to do about 2016.

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Here's a couple of links:

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Time for a puppy update.

She has grown a bit but not a lot. It is my suspicion that this critter, when full grown, will not exceed 15 pounds. She has long legs but tiny paws which means she is pretty close to her maximum size.

Oh, and she still likes to fall asleep next to me when I'm sitting on my couch.


This happens only when my daughter is not around.

When my daughter is around, the pup sticks with her like, well, a puppy.

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So let me see if I got this straight -

Two girls come up with a great idea for their senior prank, which is to put alarm clocks into some empty lockers. They spend a lot of time setting it up and even tell their parents about it.

Once the clocks are in place, some paranoid little coward hears a ticking sound, throws his hands up in the air and runs around the hallways screaming like a little girl. The administration decides that the only thing that makes a ticking sound is a bomb and they alert the authorities.

The authorities agree with the administration that the only thing that can possibly make a ticking sound is a bomb so they evacuate the school and terrorize everyone with tales of bombs and explosives

At some point, they decided that the two girls, who are the only ones in this entire story that have not used the word "bomb", are guilty of perpetrating a hoax by means of a false bomb and they lock them up.

What the hell is wrong with us? Why do we react this way? When did we lose our collective balls and our sense of humor?

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You might like these links:

Friday, May 29, 2015

It was a shitty start to the day

Seems that my septic tank has shifted somehow and the pipe from the house to the tank has separated from the tank. Some dirt and rocks found there way into the gap and plugged it up just enough to cause a backup.

My wife, who is my hero, said to me, "Go to work. I got this."

And got it she did.

The tank has been pumped and evaluated. A makeshift connection is in place and on Monday, some guys who know what they are doing will show up at my house and hopefully fix things permanently.

I can't wait to see what this is going to cost us.

*

Here are today's links:

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Busy day.

Besides work, there was a retirement gig for a friend and then a meet-up with Pat.

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On the upside, my lawn got some much-needed rain yesterday and it looks like it might get some tonight.

Yay!

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Here are some links:

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Not watching them play baseball did not help.

They still lost.

Twice.

They lost last night and again this afternoon.

Basically, they suck when I watch and they suck when I don't watch.

I might as well watch them.

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My friends are going through the most difficult thing I can imagine and I wish I knew what to do for them. They are in a courtroom in Boston listening to the evidence the BPD Homicide detectives accumulated in the investigation into their daughters murder.

Mom actually was called to testify yesterday and she did it with more dignity and grace tham I could have ever shown.

The monster that took her little girls life sat a mere 10 feet away from her but all she ever did was look at her husband and answer the questions.

As for dad, he told me he is struggling with not saying anything at all. He knows that if he says or does anything, there will be a mistrial and the trial process will have to start all over again. I told him that they spoke volumes about themselves and their family when they wrote a letter to the South Boston community days after her murder.

These folks are some of the best neighbors we have and they don't deserve this. They are kind people with an air of great dignity who have never done anything to hurt or disparage anyone.

The monster that is Edwin Alemany is nothing more than pure evil and he should die for what he did.

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Try these links:

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

I'm not even going to try and watch baseball tonight.

It's on at 8:00 and I'm freakin' tired.

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By the way, Sally Ride would have turned 64 years old today. Her trip on the space shuttle as the first female American astronaut took place in 1983.

That was 32 years ago.

I don't know about you but that makes me feel old...

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Here are some links:

Monday, May 25, 2015

Man, they kinda suck.

They managed to get their ass kicked today by the Twins.

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I spent my day today installing air conditioners and straightening out my mother-in-law's computer.

She seems to run into problems with the internet. And I'm not talking about malware, I'm talking about the internet itself.

She seems to click on things that change the settings on her operating system and browser. This causes much concern on her part and I have to periodically reset things so she can once again click on stuff that she probably shouldn't be clicking on.

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Here are today's links:

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Two in a row.

I still think the Red Sox need to take a long hard look at John Farrell and his approach to managing the Red Sox, They should be playing a lot better than they are and the only common denominator is Farrell.

Don't get me wrong, I like the guy and I'm sure he has a far better understanding of baseball than I ever will but the big difference between him and me is that I'm not being paid to manage the Red Sox, he is.

And don't get me started on that $72 million kid from Cuba...

I understand why they brought Castillo up from Pawtucket but the guy isn't ready to play at the major league level. He makes dumb mistakes and isn't learning how to not make dumb mistakes.

Thankfully Napoli has started hitting the baseball again and they've won their last two games.

I'm really hoping they continue to play well as they head out to the mid-west and play three games against the Twins.

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Here are some links:

Saturday, May 23, 2015

We need some rain.

I mowed my backyard and it was awful. It wasn't just dust, it was almost like talcum powder.

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The Red Sox have gone into full suck mode and are faltering at an alarming rate. They were soundly beaten last night and I don't have high hopes for them tonight.

I realize this may be blasphemy, but it might be time to consider Farrell's role in all this.

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These links are for you, and you alone. Don't tell anyone else about them:

Friday, May 22, 2015

Our youngest is home for the weekend...

...and he brought laundry.

Lots and lots of laundry.

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This is why I never eat sushi.

Have I ever told you about my theory that the Japanese have been playing a giant practical joke on us since the end of World War Two?

I imagine a Japanese family - a mom, a dad and two children - sitting around the family dinner table.

There is a beautiful meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, peas with onions and maybe some green beans because the little one doesn't like peas.

They are all using forks, knives and spoons to eat their meal off of normal 12 inch round dinner plates. They all have on shoes and are seated in normal dinning room chairs at a table that is a normal 32-36 inches from top to floor.

After the meal is finished, the father tells his children to sit quietly while he explains something to them. He reaches under the table and comes up with a rectangular piece of wood. On it are four globs of something the children have never seen before.

He says, "Children, as you are aware, the United States defeated Japan in a war back in the late 1940s. We suffered terribly in that defeat but our emporer remained strong and proposed a new strategy to help us overcome the sting of their victory."

"He secretly ordered that all Japanese must forever tell any American that they happen to meet that we never wear shoes indoors, we always sit on the floor to eat and we use little sticks to shovel food into our mouths."

"He also dictated that we convince the Americans that we eat seaweed wrapped around cold rice and raw fish. He told us to tell the Americans that we dip the disgusting mix of seaweed, rice and raw fish into a substance that is made up of industrial waste and corn starch. He said we should tell the Americans we call it wasabi and we use it to 'add extra flavor'."

"Children, as a society, we have been following the emporers dictate for the last 70 years and in that time we have convinced the Americans that this is how we live."

"Since they are a gullible people who like to follow the latest fad, they have adopted most of these so-called 'Japanese practices' and they are now paying exorbitant prices to our countrymen for this thing called sushi. It has reached a point where the stupid Americans will pay $20.00 for twenty five cents worth of seaweed, rice and raw tilapia."

"Our plan is to drain the U.S. economy and continue to buy all of their properties until one day we will own their country outright without ever having to fire another shot."

"That, my children, is how we will win the war and it is your duty as subjects of the emporer to pretend that we all live that way."

*

You might like these links:

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Busy day today.

I didn't have time for a lot of newsing today but I do have something to say:

Can someone please just shoot this asshole.

The trial for the cowardly asshole that murdered my 24 year old neighbor is starting and they are trying to make him out to be some poor maligned soul who was abused and rejected by society.

This, my friends, is pure unadulterated bullshit.

He is nothing more than a putrid piece of cat puke stuck to the bottom of our collective shoe and he needs to be gotten rid of.

Since we are so against the death penalty, I vote we put him in a very small row boat, tow it three or four miles out to sea, anchor it and leave him there.

Someone can fly over every few days and drop some food in the general area so he doesn't die of starvation because, hey, that would be cruel....

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Here are some links:

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

I'm busy watching baseball

You should be busy doing something other than surfing the interwebs.

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Try these links:

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

There is baseball tonight

The Red Sox are back in Boston and they are playing the Rangers tonight. I'll be watching the game with my usual rapt attention right up until I fall asleep in my recliner.

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You can visit these:

Monday, May 18, 2015

No baseball today.

Actually, the Mets are playing the Cardinals on ESPN so maybe I'll watch a few innings of that...

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Here's a link or two to satisfy your linkage cravings:

Sunday, May 17, 2015

We really need some rain...

My lawn is already looking kinda brown.

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Well, the Red Sox lost this afternoon but they won last night. This means they still kinda suck.

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You can click on these links:

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Tonights game is at 9:00

I'm not sure I'll actually make it past the first inning but I'm going to try.

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I hope you folks that live in my town got out and voted today.

As I type this, it's only 6:30 and the polls have just closed so there is no information. I'm hoping the police station debt exclusion passed and I'm hoping Bob Russel was re-elected selectman.

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Here are today's links:

Friday, May 15, 2015

I didn't make it....

I tried to stay awake to watch an inning or two but at some point during the evening, I nodded off in my recliner. I woke up when my daughter came home around 9:30 and that was when I decided to go to bed.

Turns out they didn't need my sage coaching advice because they won the game without me.

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We need some rain.

I mowed my lawn yesterday and I suspect that it was a lot like what the Oaklahoma Dust Bowl of the 1920s and 30s was like.

Giant clouds of dust blowing all through the neighborhood...

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You can click on these:

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Once again, late baseball.

And since I spent some time consuming adult beverages with John last night, I probably won't be able to stay up to catch even an inning of tonight's game.

I'm not saying I was hung over but I was definitely a little tired today....

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You can click on these links if you want to:

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

I finally got to watch some baseball.

And they end up winning by a couple of runs.

But before I forget, it's definitely time for Masterson to take a trip down to Pawtucket and re-learn how to pitch. I realize that pitching doesn't win games, hitting wins games but when the other team scores 7 runs in the first 2 innings, the hitters don't really stand a chance.

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Here are a few links:

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Once again, late baseball.

Fortunately, tomorrow's game is at 3:30.

I figure I might be able to stay awake for that one.

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Here are today's links:

Monday, May 11, 2015

No baseball until 10:00 tonight.

Who the hell schedules baseball games for 10:00 at night. And don't give me any of the west coast crap, they can play at 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon so we can watch the game at 7:00 or 8:00.

Don't these people know I fall asleep by 9:00....

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Feel free to click on these:

Sunday, May 10, 2015

They finally won a game

The Red Sox are no longer in last place in the AL East.

They are tied for last place in the AL East...

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Here are some links:

Saturday, May 9, 2015

THis is getting bad.

The 2015 Red Sox are looking a lot like the 2014 Red Sox and it's beginning to depress me. I'm really hoping that this isn't going to be what the remainder of the season is going to be like.

It's like the 1980s all over again.

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Here are some links:

Friday, May 8, 2015

Once again, not much to prattle on about.

Here are some links you can visit.

Or not.

Your choice.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Not much to say.

I'm running a little later than usual and there is a baseball game on right now so you get no words, just links:

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Yesterday kinda sucked.

Like I said, I was in an all-day meeting that extended a lot longer than it needed to. And we accomplished almost nothing...

What an incredible waste of time and resources.

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Man, the Red Sox are not playing well at all.

They are now officially in last place in the AL East and in 9th place in the American league. That is not where they wanted to be.

All the Boston sports writers are blaming the pitching or the offense but none of them are blaming the manager.

Why is that?

Why is it that the lead-off batter (Betts) is still the lead-off batter even though he is batting .223?

Why is it that the DH (Ortiz) is still the DH even though he is batting .250?

How come the batter with the .312 average (Sandoval) is the number five batter in the line-up?

How come the batter with the .358 average (Holt) is the number seven batter in the line-up?

Those are manager issues. I understand wanting to "stand behind your guys" and letting them work things out but when you plummet from first to last in your division and you are on a losing streak (yes, 4 losses in a row is a losing streak), you need to make the moves that will pull the team out of the slump and back on track to start winning series.

That my friends, is what John Farrell needs to do and he needs to start doing it now.

If Napoli isn't hitting, sit him and put Nava at first.

If Ortiz isn't hitting, bench him and put Holt in as the DH.

In other words, do what you need to do to get wins and stop worrying about pissing off David "Big Baby" Ortiz.

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Here are a few links:

Monday, May 4, 2015

Really long day

I spent my entire day at a meeting that went from 8:00 until 7:00.

I need to retire....

Soon....

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Houston Astros?

I find it hard to believe that the Houston Astros have the best record in the American League. They are traditionally one of the worst teams, usually down the bottom of the pack with the Twins and the Mariners.

We'll have to see what happens over the next few months.

As for the Red Sox, they are tied for third in the AL East with the Orioles. They've lost two out of three games against the Yankees and they are playing the third game in the series tonight at 8:00.

Hopefully they get a good game out of Joe Kelly and they win.

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The Large Main Dog and The Small Emergency Backup Dog have bonded nicely and they are having a great time chasing each other around the back yard. I haven't seen The Dog have this much energy as long as we've had him. I think she brings out the puppy in him.

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Here are some links you can visit while I fall asleep in the second or third inning of tonight's ball game:

Saturday, May 2, 2015

They really need some pitching.

They are hitting the ball but so are all of their opponents.

Last night, they ended losing by one run when Alex Rodriguez hit a home run, putting the Yankees up 3 to 2 and that was how the game ended.

Today they ended losing by 2 runs but not because Alex Rodriguez hit the ball. They ended up losing by 2 runs because they didn't hit the ball.

So now the Yankees are in first place and the Red Sox are in third place.

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Here are some links:

Friday, May 1, 2015

No post today.

Long day at work and I need to pay attention to the baseball game.

The interwebs is full of links. You can use google to find them.