I hate the time change

My brain is trying to figure out what the hell is going on right now so this is going to be short.

I'm groggy, I'm hyper, I'm tired, I'm awake, I'm hungry, I'm not hungry.

This sucks and as far as I'm concerned, the first candidate for president that says he will eliminate the twice-yearly clock change will get my vote.

⧫
The Pirates beat the Red Sox 9-7 this afternoon.

The Penguins beat the Bruins 5-4 in overtime this afternoon.

⧫
Here are some links:

• Is this the same idiot who said, "I'll end all the wars and lower gas prices when I'm president!"



• I have no doubt that this may be true.



• I heard someone say, "Guess they forgot to change his diaper..." which I thought was a pretty funny line.

Many sports

We ran errands and then I setled in to watch many sportings.

It started with a combination of baseball and hockey with the Bruins going up against the Capitals at 12:30 and the Red Sox vs. the Rays at 1:05.

The Red Sox game ended in the 6^th inning because of rain with the Red Sox won 2-0.

The Bruins beat the Capitals 3-1 in regulation. They remain in the second wildcard slot but are now 3 points ahead of the Blue Jackets

After that it was the Arnold Palmer Invitational followed by USA vs Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic.

Now you know why this is late.

⧫
Here are a couple of links:

• I have a lot of family in Western Pennsylvania and I can assure you that they have been pissed off at the Pirates organization for many years.



• I'm not going to live long enough to see humans set foot on the moon again.



• They are less than 3 weeks from the start of the season. They need to start working on their positions.

Not looking good

The Predators beat the Bruins 6-3 last night.

The Bruins looked a little lost on the ice while the Predators looked like they had actually practiced their game play recently.

So now the Bruins are holding on to the second wildcard slot by one point over the Blue Jackets.

Fortunately the Blue Jackets are also off tonight so it doesn't look like the Bruins will slip backwards on an off night.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Capitals. Puck drop at 12:30pm and it will be carried by those boobs at ESPN.

⧫
In the world of baseball, the Tigers kicked the crap out of the "double-A" Red Sox team.

Connelly Early started and he pitched pretty well. He faced 13 batters over 3⅓ innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, striking out 4 and giving up 0 runs.

Tomorrow they take on the Rays. First pitch is at 1:05pm and the game will be streamed on NESN360

⧫
Let me start by saying I am not an expert on the middle east. I don't pretend to be an expert on the middle east. I'm just an old guy who has seen the various kingdoms/nations/tribes of the middle east continue to defy the alleged "logic" of western thinking.

Having said that, I want to point out that the key line in this story that displays of a complete lack of understanding of the tribal mindset in the middle east:

"Frankly they don't have a lot of people to say that for them."

Trust me, there are plenty of people wandering around Iran who will be more than happy to proclaim themselves as "supreme being" and continue the fight. For every dictator in a funny hat that we kill, there are 10 more waiting in line to take control and do more damage than the guy before them.

This is likely to go on just as long, if not longer, than our involvement in Afghanistan.

⧫
Speaking of Trump blowing shit up...

The DJIA has not done well over the last month.

⧫
Here are some links:

• This could be interesting.



• Keep in mind that Iran is a nation that has been blowing up civilian ships since they mined the Persian Gulf back in the late 80s.



• This story reminds me a lot of this movie scene from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.



• Apparently Psycho Vlad hates everybody.

Another loss

The Red Sox lost to the Phillies this afternoon but since I knew more players on the Phillies roster than I did on the Red Sox roster, I assume that this was another case of the minor league Red Sox playing a MLB team.

For the record, we are now 21 days from the start of the Red Sox's season. They will start their season in Cincinnati with three games against the Reds. After that they will be heading over the Houston for three games against the Astros.

Their home opener at Fenway is April 3 when the Padres coem to town.

There are still a lot of spring training games to watch but I'm looking forward to the start of the professional baseball season.

⧫
I am actually shocked he did this although I have no idea what a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas" is.

Maybe he's planning on invading Canada...

⧫
I've been reading up on something called "balcony solar".

Turns out that in Europe, it is a thing where people buy two or three small solar panels and plug them into an inverter that in turn is plugged into their house. This system generates around 400 watts and that extra 400 watts can usually results in a monthly electric bill that is around $50 less.

They cost the average homeowner about $300.

That means the system pays for itself in six months as opposed to the giant systems here in the US that cost in the $20,000 - $30,000 range and have a return on investment length measured in decades instead of months.

I'm thinking about looking for one and see what it can do for me. I don't mind spending $300 if I can repay it back to myself in six months.

Then again, I'm not entirely sure how I can feed electricity into my home without affecting the public electric grid.

Guess I better do some additional reading...

⧫
Here are some links:

• Key line in this story: "Merz sat next to Trump and remained mostly silent..."



• I'm pretty sure we will not have a power outage but I have full gas containers just in case.



• How the hell is this nutcase still free to roam around with the rest of us. Only a matter of time before she kills someone.



• I'm betting that a lot of alcohol and a liberal dose of stupidity were involved.

Baseball is an odd business

Last night, the Red Sox played an exhibition game against the Puerto Rican National Team. You need to keep in mind that all the national teams going into the World Baseball Classic are basically made up of MLB players. That means that the major league teams, like the Red Sox, are currently made up of minor leaguer players and prospects while the national teams are made up of actual veteran playerss.

As to be expected, the Red Sox lost their game but since it was an exhibition, it doesn't matter.

It turns out that it doesn't even matter who you were playing for duing the game because at one point in the game, the Red Sox sent one of their players across the diamond to play for Team Puerto Rico. He actualy pitched for them against the Red Sox, his own team.

That's right folks, the guy you see in red standing on the mound is Red Sox prospect Erik Rivera who up until yesterday evening was assigned to the Red Sox affiliate Greenville Drive. Then, at some point in the evening, the Red Sox announced that he was now assigned to the Puerto Rican National Team and he went out to pitch. I have no idea if he is still assinged to Puerto Rico or if he is once again assigned to Greenville.

Baseball is a weird sport and I really like it.

As for today, not only did the Red Sox lose 4-0 to the Yankees, I had to listen to those idiots on ESPN. Since when did ESPN start covering spring training games?

Regarding the game itself, Crochet did okay but not great. He seemed a little off so Cora pulled him in the 3^rd inning for a break and then put him back in the 4^th to get him to 53 pitches. He faced 11 batters, struck out 3 and gave up 3 earned runs.

One high note for the Red Sox was Tolle. He came in in relief and threw 3 really good innings, facing 10 batters, striking out 7 and giving up 0 runs.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Phillies and there is no tv coverage. Guess I'll be listening to the game on WEEI.

⧫
The Bruins held their own last night and managed to squeak past the Penguins, winning the game 2-1 in regulation and picking up the two points.

This still leaves them in the second wildcard slot but now the closest team to them is three points away.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Predators. Puck drops at 8:00pm

⧫
Because I made a trip to Boston last week, my gas tank was below a half full. So on Friday, I ran over to BJ's and filled my tank for $2.49 per gallon.

Yesterday I noticed that it's up to $2.59 per gallon.

I didn't drive by there today so I have no idea what it is up to currently but I can tell you that according to Gas Buddy, the cost of a gallon of gasoline at most gas stations in my area is between $2.80 and $3.10 per gallon which is slightly more than what it's been for the last year.

I guess what I'm saying is the news media keeps telling me that gas prices are going through the roof because of the attack on Iran but I'm not really seeing it.

This is another case of fear mongering by the news. It ranks right up there with the national news starting their broadcast with, "Millions in the path of a a winter storm!" like it's the end of the world.

⧫
Here are some links:

• It's tough to shoot down those little drones.



• This might be the right move. He can play football but he's a bit of a problem off the field.



• Apparently someone is blowing up the weed in New Jersey.



• If I rent a car, I can take my EZPass transonder off my car and use it on the rental. How am I going to do that with a sticker?