I forget a lot

Presenting my excuse for forgetting yesterday's posting:

Back in 1975, my father wrote me a note stating that he had taken moms car. My mom was at work and he wanted me to call her to find out if she needed a ride home.


Several things to point out here:
• My dad had great handwriting.
• We always had a paper shortage at our house so we wrote notes on whatever was handy. In this case, it was the back of my sister Karen's report card.
• My sister Karen was prompt in repaying her debt of 50 cents back to my father.
• My father ended the note with the line:
Don't give me that "I forgot" crappola. O.K.
 
So even as a youngster, I had a shitty memory.

This has been my excuse for yesterday's lack of posting.

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No, I have not yet purchased any lottery tickets.

When it gets over a billion, I'll think about it.

And speaking of gambling...

Those kinds of stories piss me off because they are a bald-faced lie. That gambler did not spend $1.50 to win a jackpot. They probably spent a several hundred dollars to win that jackpot. As a matter of fact, if you add up all the money they gambled this year, they probably spent thousands of dollars before they won that jackpot

Gambling is an addiction and like all addictions, it can ruin you. I've seen people sitting in a bar spending their entire weekly paycheck on Keno. As a matter of fact, I once saw a woman ask Tommy to loan her money so she could keep playing her numbers.

If you are taking out a loan, or even using a credit card, to pay for your gambling, you are addicted and you need to get some help.

Don't fall for those newspaper stories about how exciting and fun gambling is. They are really just advertising for the casinos.

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Yesterday the Patriots beat the Buccaneers 28-23, firming up their lead in the AFCEast.

In the AFC, they are currently in third place:

Actually, they are in a three-way tie in the AFC but I'm pretty sure that in the event of a tie, the NFL uses net points to determine standings.

Their next game is this coming Thursday against the Jets. Kickoff is at 8:15pm and the game will be streamed on Amazon Prime. That means I'll be watching it on my laptop.

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Today was my monthly lunch meeting with Jim and The Bill's.

Once again, we spent a couple of hours not only identify everything that is wrong with the world but also solving all of those problems.

If only we could convince the world to listen to us, everything would be great.

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Here are some links:

• Key line in this story: "The pardons are largely symbolic — none of those identified were charged with federal crimes."



• If you own a Honda Civic, you might want to get another car.



• Defending the nation for 250 years.



• Socialists: Learning about reality one promise at a time.



• I'm pretty sure that Rudy doesn't understand that he was convicted at the state level and Trump can only pardon federal crimes.

I forgot

I'll try to remember tomorrow

95 days

The Red Sox pitchers & catchers, and any other players that feel like it, will report to JetBlue on February 11, 2026. That is 95 days from today.

As things stand, it looks like either Duran or Abreu will be on the trade block because they have plenty of outfielders while being in need of starting pitching, a 3^rd baseman and probably a 1^st baseman.

My guess is Duran will be the trade simply because A) he has a higher salary than Abreu and B) he has been sought after for a few years now. Numerous teams have expressed interest in him so he may bring the best price.

And the reason I say they may need a 1^st baseman is because Casas went down hard this year and there is no guarantee that he'll be ready to go this February. Also, he had become a little streaky with his bat, striking out a lot.

It's going to be an interesting 95 days...

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For the record, my lawn looks beautiful.

My wife got all the leaves out of her gardens while I used my lawn tractor to clean the lawn. My neighbor did his lawn as well so I won't have his leaves blowing over here for a couple of days.

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Here are some links:

• If you live on the west coast, you might want to move inland a bit.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, just wants to lick your face and love you to death.



• Psycho Vlad is 3½ years into his "special military operation"



• Key line in this story: "Defendant is a serial and prolific adulterer..."



• Assholes: They're all around us.



• This is not good. Not good at all.

Another OT win

The Bruins damned near blew it last night but they managed to finish regulation in a 2-2 tie with the Senators. They scored the winning goal in sudden-death OT and picked up two points in the standings.

They are now one point ahead of the Maple Leafs, in third place in the Atlantic division.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Maple Leafs so a win then will put them 3 points ahead in the standings.

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The Red Sox did not make a qualifying offer to Lucas Giolito which, initially, seems like a smart idea to me.

The qualifying offers this season are roughly $22 million and I'm pretty sure Giolito would have taken it because it's more than what he earned in 2025. It's also more than he might be worth.

By not making the qualifying offer, he becomes a free-agent which means the Red Sox are free to negotiate a contract with him if they are still interested in his services.

I'd like to see him back with the Red Sox next season but I understand why that might not happen.

In other Red Sox news, the so-called "experts" in the media keep claiming "this guy is a perfect fit" for just about every team in the league and that includes the Red Sox.

The problem with that is that a signing from Japan is a crap shoot at best. These players have not been through the MiLB and they have not received the training/coaching that kids coming up through the MiLB get.

I'm not saying they are a bust I'm just saying that their first season in the major leagues could be a waste of time and effort. Then again, they could also turn out to be another Ohtani...

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Here are some links:

• She's crazy as a loon. She actually makes The Very Stable Genius look stable.



• I wonder if the citizens of New York City will stop paying federal taxes.



• When you vote for Trump, you get Trumped.



• One upside of the government shutdown is The Very Stable Genius wont have to hear how poorly the jobs market is doing.



• Key line in this story: "...an armored casket mounted on an ATV frame..."



• Nothing like a good old fashioned skewer fight.



• This is not good. Not good at all.



• I guess Jon Stewart feels the same way about the democrats that I do.

Still breezy

The wind just doesn't want to slow down and as a result, my lawn is covered with my neighbors leaves.

One of these days, the winds will abate and I will have a clean lawn. Until then, you are going to have to deal with my bitching about it.

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The Bruins and the Senators go at it this evening and I'm really hoping it's not a repeat of their last meeting when the Senators beat the crap out of the Bruins.

The Bruins have been pushed back down to 4^th place by the Maple Leafs so they need to win tonight just to get back to where they were.

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The washing machine saga continues.

The repair guy was here this afternoon and found that there are some bearing/motor issues. This means ordering more parts and waiting until they arrive.

Once he has the new motor and drive belt, he seems more than confident that the repairs will be complete and we can once again wash our clothes like normal people.

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Here are some links:

• Finally, our long national nightmare is over.



• Looks like Antonio is gonna get his day in court.



• You want to know why Trump is president? This is why Trump is president. The democrats are all socialists/communists.