Tie-breaker will be played tonight.

The Rays and the Rangers ended the regular season with identical records. Since that record was good enough to qualify for the wild card, they need to hold a tie-breaker to determine which one of them will be the second wild card team in the American League.

I hope it's the Rangers.

I would like to see the Rangers take on the Indians because of their managers. It would be fun to watch either Ron Washington or Terry Francona play against John Farrell in the ALDS.

Having said that, I fully expect the Red Sox to beat whomeever they play amd move on to the ALCS against the winner of the ALDS "B" series (probably going to be Oakland but who knows).

As for the National League, I'm kind of hoping the Pirates win wild card game tomorrow night and move into the NLDS. Pittsgurgh hasn't had a team in the playoffs in a long time and it's kind of nice to see them starting to make a come back. I seriously doubt they have the where-with-all to make it into the World Series but if they do, I would be happy to sit back and watch a Pirates / Red Sox matchup.

*

I have a feeling that when we wake up tomorrow morning, we're going to find that the federal government is shut down.

Wait, that's a lie. Let me rephrase that:

I have a feeling that when we wake up tomorrow morning, we're going to find that the federal government has stopped providing services to the citizens of the United States.

The government itself is, amazing as this sounds, exempt from the shutdown. The President will still get paid, the congress will still get paid and the senate will get paid.

Isn't it funny that the group of morons we elected to run this country have somehow managed to exempt themselves from everything they do.

Wait, that's a lie. Let me rephrase that:

Isn't it funny that us morons are shocked by the fact that the slime-balls we elected to run this country have somehow managed to exempt themselves from everything they do.

Maybe a true government shutdown would be the best thing for this country.

*

I don't have much in the way of links but the few I do have are here:

• I'm going to try this...



• I don't think this is quite what Apple had in mind when they put a fingerprint reader on their new phone.



• Do you know why this story is interesting? It's interesting because there are morons that will shop there. It will be the same morons that bought "Pet Rocks" back in the 1970s...



• Key photo caption in this Only in Florida story: "Not the actual Miss Johnson in question."

Final game of the regular season

Despite their losses last night and today, the Red Sox managed to clinch the best record in all of Major League Baseball when the Athletics lost to the Mariners yesterday evening. This means they will maintain home field advantage during the playoffs.

I notice that Farrell continues to play some of the Triple-A guys. Today was Quintin Berry and John McDonald. These are two guys who got the call up when the rosters expanded and they've managed to make it clear they know how to play. I doubt they'll be in any of the playoff games but it's nice that Farrell is giving them a chance play in the majors.

And speaking of the playoffs, the Red Sox will play in the ALDS "A" series which means they will play the winner of the American League Wild Card game. The first ALDS "A" game will be next Friday, October 4th. They have yet to announce a start time but I suspect it will be at 8:00 pm.

*

During a time when a large number of Americans are out of work the largest employer in the United States of America is about to shut down.

The reason it's about to shut down is because we elected two idiots who are incapable of sitting down with each other and working things out so that we, the customer, get the services we pay for.

Attention Obama and Boehner: It's a matter of simple customer service....

*

Here are some links:

• Attention ladies - here's some female health advice from a completely unbiased and intellectual individual.



• Only in Florida.



• This is why you should play the piccolo or the flute....

Still no resolution.

Our two esteemed leaders are still puffing out their chests and swinging their dicks around like two kids in school yard shoving match.

And you know what's going to happen? We're going to end up in worse shape than we currently are.

Assholes...

*

You might like these:

• Wait. Are they saying there is a market for this?



• Only in Florida.



• Only in Japan (and on the Mass Pike)



• Am I the only one that thinks this is unattractive? It's freakish is what it is.

Three more games.

The Red Sox are in Maryland for the next three days, playing the Orioles, and they are striving to maintain the best record so that they go into the playoffs with home field advantage. They are currently 2 games ahead of the second place team, the Athletics but the Red Sox are playing against a team that has a winning record against them.

The Red Sox and the Orioles have played 16 games against each other this season and the Orioles have beat the Red Sox 9 times. I'm hoping the scales are tipping in the Red Sox favor...

*

That's pretty much all I have for you today. I didn't have time for links....

Not much to prattle on about today.

The Red Sox won last night, giving them a 2 game lead over the Athletics.

The predictions are starting to roll in. ESPN has the Tigers winning the World Series while BleacherReport has the Red Sox winning the World Series.

I'm hoping for a Red Sox win but I find that predictions are usually wrong. They are most often the result of a mixture of "gut-feel" and poorly interpreted statistics.

Maybe the Pirates will win...

*

These links may provide you with some form of entertainment:

• Only in Florida.



• Are they saying that it's not against the law to shoot invisible gorillas in your own home?



• Oops.



• Willie Wonka is gonna be pissed.



• That is one seriously happy baboon.

So much for 100 wins....

The Red Sox just couldn't do it last night and as much as I'd like to blame Lackey for all the home runs he gave up, I can't. He actually pitched a pretty good game but the gods of baseball sometimes smile on the hitters and the Rockies were hitting last night.

He was picking the corners of the strike zone pretty well but they were simply swinging away and making good contact.

Oh well, they are still a full game ahead of the Athletics for best record. Hopefully they can hold on to that and start the post season with a few days off.

*

Attention website designers:

The current dumbest thing you can do on your website is have video that automatically starts playing when the page is loaded. Autoplay is just plain stupid.

Stop it.

*

I think we should vote for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands to be the next President of the United States. Unlike our current (and previous) president, he seems to have his head firmly located outside of his ass.

He seems to be paying attention to what is going on in the world. His phrase "participation society" is a great line and we should all embrace it. It clearly states we are a social species and if you want to be a member of it, you must participate.

In other words, get off your ass and do something to help yourself because it's not up to everybody else to support you.

*

Here are some links:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminals of the Month.



• 'Unrepentant Beavers' would be a great name for a 1980's porno movie.

Late game.

The Red Sox are in Colorado to play the Rockies and the game doesn't start until 8:45 tonight. That means I might get to watch 3 innings before I fall sound asleep.

Oh well.

*

While I struggle to stay awake, you can click on these links:

• Only in Florida.



• Here's your Naked Guy in the News story.



• It's been a while since we had one but here's a Drunk on a Lawnmower story!

Thank goodness for baseball.

It's nice to have something to pay attention to that makes me happy because without it, I'd be ready to go off on some rampage against my own government.

I made the mistake of reading up on the whole "debt ceiling / unfunding obamacare" thing and the first thought that crossed my mind was, "Once again, we have elected idiots to run our nation."

Obama is an arrogant prick who is convinced that the citizens of the United States are morons, incapabale of taking care of themselves,

Boehner is a mouth-breathing dipshit who is convinced that the citizens of the United States are morons, incapable of taking care of those less fortunate.

But that's not why I came here.

I came here to remind you that the Red Sox still have the best record in all of Major League Baseball and, with only 5 games left in the season, it looks like they stand a really good chance of retaining that lead.

I also came here to point out that the Indians are on the cusp of securing a playoff spot for themselves and proving that Terry Franconia is probably one of the greatest managers of our generation.

I also came here to point out that the Cubs are in the basement, proving that maybe, just maybe, Theo Epstein isn't the genius he was made out to be when he was in Boston.

*

These are some links:

• Ouch!!!



• Imagine that, a naked woman laying one her back at 2:30 in the morning. I'm betting a lot of alcohol was involved.



• And speaking of alcohol, it seems to me they drink a lot of it in Flathead County....

Well, they lost last night but they won today.

Today's win puts the Red Sox at .605 and a full one and a half games over the Athletics for the lead in not only the American League but also in Major League Baseball.

With only 5 games left in the season, they still have a chance of 100 wins but they will have to win every one of the remaining games. I'm thinking that's not gonna happen because they are playing everybody and they are playing them in weird places. For instance, Middlebrooks, the third baseman, played first base in yesterdays game because they want him as a backup first baseman during the playoffs.

*

So here's a weird bit of information for you if you happen to be having some unexplained problems with Windows 7.

My laptop started having problems on the 19th. It would boot up but it was almost as if none of the drivers it needed were being load. I had no network connection, no wireless mouse, no bluetooth and no antivirus.

My first thought was I had acquired a virus and I set about trying to decipher the collection of "stuff" running on the computer. I spent a few hours poking into every corner of the machine checking for any new files, any new folders and looking for processes that were running in the background.

I couldn't find anything so I rebooted the machine into safe mode and ran the system recovery back to the previous recovery point. The machine came back up just fine and I thought maybe I was lucky.

The next morning, I booted the machine up and had the same problem - no internet, no bluetooth, no antivirus, etc...

I rebooted into safe mode and started system recovery. That was when I noticed that there was a new recovery point created after a "critical update" the day before. I went back to the previous recovery point and all was well.

This went on for a few days and each time, I noticed a new recovery point being created by "critical update". Since the only process I let create new recovery points on my machine is Windows Update, I came to the conclusion that it was a Microsoft update that was causing my problems.

I started digging into the updates and found that the only updates I was getting everyday were the updates to Microsoft Security Essentials.

I uninstalled Security Essentials and rebooted the machine. I left it running for an hour and then shut it down.

It came back up with no problems. Yes, it was squawking at me for not having an antivirus program but it was working just fine.

I created an artificial recovery point, downloaded and installed a fresh copy of Security Essentials and rebooted.

I am happy to say that after three days of having significant issues with my laptop, I seem to have solved the issue by uninstalling and then reinstalling Security Essentials.

At least I hope that's the solution.

Man, I hate computers....

*

Try these links if you are interested in these kinds of things:

• Wait. Are they saying there is a town named "Goofy Ridge" in Illinois?



• I've said it before and I'll say it again: You need a license to own a dog, you need a license to drive a car but they'll let any asshole be a parent.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.



• This is a great television commercial from Britain called "Good Dog / Bad Dog"



• Yu have got to love dogs. It takes very little to bring them to a level complete joy that us humans envy.

Now they need to maintain their record

The Red Sox won the AL East division title last night when the beat the Blue Jays.

Considering they were in last place at this time last year, it's a hell of an indication of what a team can do when they have a good manager and players that want to be a team of friends instead of a collection of statistical "winners".

With a record of 94 - 61 and seven games left in the season, they still have a chance at getting 100 wins but that's a tough call. Having clinched the division, Farrell will probably be giving some of his players some much-needed time off before they start the post-season and giving some of his AAA call-ups a chance to play in the big leagues.

Then again, the team with the best record in the league gets home field advantage in the playoffs and there are two other teams in the AL, the Tigers and the Athletics, that could surpass the Red Sox. That means Farrell may be putting the regulars on the field just so he maintains the number one spot in the AL.

Either way, it's a good time to be a Red Sox fan.

*

Try these links:

• Some people are stupid. Some people are morons. Some people are stupid morons.



• Jimi Hendrix? They defaced Jimi Hendrix?



• Yes, alcohol (lots of alcohol) was involved.



• I will not be buying a Samsung Galaxy S4....

Clinching is good

Yesterday, the Red Sox clinched a playoff spot. They haven't clinched the division yet but they are close.

Very close.

If they win tonight, they will clinch the division because there aren't enough games left in the season for anyone to catch them.

Hopefully they win tonight.

*

So we went out to Malden to see our eldest offspring and his new apartment. He's doing well and settling in nicely. Hopefully he cleans it up a little bit but since I don't have to live there, I don't really care.

On our way home, we decided to take a look some appliances and we ended up buying a new washing machine and a new dishwasher.

These were essential purchases because the washing machine no longer agitates our clothes and the Dishwasher suddenly developed a leak.

Delivery and installation is scheduled for this coming week and we will once again have clean clothes and clean dishes.

*

Here are a few links that I managed to scrape up:

• Stay classy Hoboken. Stay classy...



• Here's your Naked Guy in the News story.



• Arrrggh....

They picked a bad time to slump.

I hope the recent losses the Red Sox experienced against the Orioles aren't an indication that they have finally hit a slump.

I realize that the Orioles seem to have the ability to beat the Red Sox this season and I realize that the pitching staff is starting to get tired but still, the Red Sox cannot continue to leave the bases loaded without scoring any runs. Leaving the bases loaded means that the team is capable is hitting the ball but not capable of finding a way to step on home plate.

And we all know that the only way to win baseball games is to step on home plate more times than the other team.

*

There are more and more stories coming out about companies dropping health insurance benefits and telling employees to go to the federally-mandated health care exchanges. Some companies are providing a fixed amount of dollars to their employees that they can use to purchase their health insurance plan.

So let me see if I understand this: The biggest positive impact of ObamaCare is to companies who no longer have to provide health insurance. They simply provide a fixed amount of dollars to the employees who then use that money to purchase access to our nations new "socialized medicine" process.

And if the dollars the companies are providing are fixed expenses, are they also considered capital expenses? If so, the companies can write those dollars off at tax time as capital expenditures (cost of doing business).

Where is the benefit to the working stiff who has had decent health insurance over his career and now suddenly is thrust into the social medicine pool? He probably has less coverage and no tax advantage. He also has to choose his insurance plan without the benefit of anyone providing clear answers to his questions.

Traditionally, companies hired experts who waded through the insurance swamp to find plans that provided the best care while saving the most money. Now it's up to your Average Joe to learn what questions to ask, figure out what might happen in the future and calculate the actual costs to his families budget.

This crap is going to end up costing the working family a lot of money while opening up a whole new raft of tax breaks for businesses.

*

You might like these links:

• Key phrase in this story: "Man, what kind of idiot spends $143 on 43 McDonald’s sandwiches?"



• Yes, alcohol was involved. And probably kilts.



• We need the death penalty in this state.

Good news is always good.

The company I work for has been going through a fairly significant modification of work habits and culture over the last few years. The implementation of the process is very regimented and it is being rolled out through the organization in waves.

There have been four waves so far and they are starting on the fifth wave this month. My area was involved in both waves three and four but it never reached my little corner of the world.

We got word yesterday that due to the complex nature of the work we do, we would not be impacted by the new methods. They felt that we (my team) were already as finely tuned as we could be but that we might benefit from some of the tools they are providing.

What this means to me is they are leaving me to continue doing the job I like to do the way I like to do it while at the same time providing me with some tools that might help me do it better.

Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield.

Today we are the windshield...

*

Here are some links you might want to click on:

• Gotta love dogs.



• Presenting the worst team in the MLB - The Houston Astros.



• Only in Florida.



• I can't help but wonder if alcohol might have been involved.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.

It's late...

...and I have nothing to say.

*

Here are two links:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Week.



• You might want to think twice about buying an iPhone 5S.

What the hell happened to the Red Sox organization?

Mariano Rivera is recognized as probably the greatest closer in baseball. He is a highly respected and well-liked man who works his craft with true skill and sportsmanship. No one has a bad thing to say about Mo.

During spring training, he announced that this would be his last year pitching in the major leagues. During his announcement, he asked that each team make some time for him to meet with the non-baseball people in each park because he wanted to say thank you to people like the grounds keepers, the food vendors, the security people, etc...

When the season started, the teams obliged him by scheduling meetings with people before the first game where the Yankees were at their respective parks. They even went a little further and each team put together a tribute/gift for Mariano before the last game where the Yankees where at their respective park.

I'm pretty sure the best gift he got was from the Twins.

Mo' is known as a broken bat pitcher because he threw the ball a bit inside and so hard that when the batter made contact, the bat usually shattered. The Twins put some thought into their gift, took a bunch of broken bats and put them together in the form of a rocking chair. They called it the Chair of Broken Dreams.

Last night was the last regular season game between the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Red Sox did their tribute/gift thing.

I don't know who planned the gifts but they sucked.

They gave him a shitty painting of himself (didn't even look like him), a piece of the score board with his number on it, a crappy blue chair from the stands and the old pitching rubber from the bull pen.

That must have cost them all of $200.00....

I don't know who planned the tribute but it sucked.

They played the scene of him stepping out onto the field at the start of the 2005 season. For those of you that don't know, he gave up a home run to the Red Sox at the end of the 2004 season that pretty much got them into the World Series. At the start of the 2005 season, during the ring ceremony where the Red Sox received their World Series rings, the Boston fans gave Mariano a standing ovation when he walked on to the field.

So the tribute the Red Sox put together for him was basically a video of him losing.

Way to rub salt in the wound....

*

You can try these links:

If I lived in Boston, I'd vote for this guy. Whoever designed that building should be dragged from their bed and dipped in pig snot.

North or South, it doesn't matter. Those Koreans are all krazy.

Key phrase in this story: "...soaked in bear saliva that reeked of fish."

501

Turns out that yesterday was my 500th post on this site.

Not sure if that means I have a lot to say or I talk too much.

*

Long Day today. We went to Keene to deliver some goodies and have lunch.

Our eldest was with us and since he is outfitting a new apartment, he took advantage of having his mom and her good taste along with the New Hampshire "no sales tax" thing. We came home with a bunch of stuff that he needed.

*

So anyways, we didn't get home until late this afternoon and I didn't have any internets time.

While I watch some baseball, you can visit these links:

• Here is some sciencee stuff for you.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.

And they just keep on rolling

The Red Sox won last night.

They also won again today.

I suspect they'll win again tomorrow.

It is a great time to be a Red Sox fan.

*

This is me in 10 years.

I am absolutely going to get one of those three-wheeled cycles with the big baskets and the orange flag. And I'm going to wear a Hawaiian shirt, white shorts, black socks and sandals when I'm riding it.

*

I found these links:

• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.



• Only in Florida (and Massachusetts).

Have we bombed Syria yet?

No?

Do you think that maybe President Obama was a little too quick with the whole threatening to open a can of whoop-ass thing?

The man has looked like a real bumbling fool to most of the world ever since he became President of the United States. Now he's gone and confirmed everyone's beliefs.

If I ever travel abroad, I'm going to claim to be from Canada, eh.

*

Not much else to say so how about some links:

• This is why we make our sidewalks out of cement.



• Hah!



• Key entry from my favorite police log: "8:57 a.m. The owner of a stolen vehicle called in stating that an officer had contacted him about his vehicle yesterday, but he had been too inebriated to remember what they had talked about. He hoped someone would re-explain the situation."



• I have nothing to say about this.



• Yes, sometimes dads do dumb things but we do them because we love you.

I guess Putin is just as screwed up as Obama.

Vlad decided that he had something to say so instead of doing what most politicians do, which is go on television and spew a lot of nonsense, he wrote a letter to the New York Times. The NYT decided that it was a slow news day and they published the letter that Vlad wrote.

On the one hand, Obama should give some thought to what Putin is saying and on the other hand, Putin should just shut the hell up.

*

What can I say about the Red Sox other than, "Wow".

They have a nine and a half game lead in the AL East, a four game lead in the American League and a one game lead in Major League Baseball. In other words, they are in the lead.

There are only 15 games left in the regular season and with a nine and a half game lead, it's unlikely that they will lose the AL East. In order for that to happen, they would have to lose 8 games and the Rays would have to win 7 games.

*

Try these links:

• There is something to be said for revenge....



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Key phrase in this story: "...turns out it was..."



• Do you know why I don't go to sporting events? Because they are filled with drunken idiots, that's why.

Get Shorty.

Since I ranted yesterday, I thought I'd keep it short today.

You might like these links:

• Key phrase in this story: "...key to the business’ success."



• Where's the TSA when you need them....



• Like I said yesterday, I've been drunk but never this drunk.

Time for a rant.

Yesterday, as a result of a law suit brought by a group known as EFF as well as the activity of a guy named Edward Snowden, the federal government agreed to release documents regarding the operation of a special federal court called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court which, despite it's name, deals primarily with domestic surveillance.

This is a secret court that was established by Congress during the administration of James "Peanut" Carter to be used as a rubber stamp for warrants when the government wants to stomp all over our Fourth Amendment rights.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States says:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

What that means is that the government of the United States cannot just go grabbing up your stuff all willy-nilly without due process. And by 'due process', it means the government must make a request that provides facts to the courts that a crime has occurred and evidence of the crime is more than likely located in specific place. The warrant is then written by the court to identify what can be searched and what can be seized.

Mr. Snowden released documents that showed that this court has been issuing warrants that are not specific in either the location or the evidence. Hell, they aren't even specific about a crime or a person. They are issuing warrants that give the government the right to seize generic data from non-specific individuals located in non-specific places without any evidence that a crime occurred.

In other words, they can seize whatever they want from anyone in anyplace.

I realize that most of us could care less if the government is reading our email to grandma thanking her for the fresh baked cookies but it should worry most of you that what is currently legal may very well become illegal one day.

What you consider a perfectly innocent email to your brother-in-law asking if you can have that antique german rifle grandpa brought home from the war could very well result in you being arrested for possession of an illegal firearm. What you consider a legal purchase fertilizer from agricultural-supplies.com could result in you being arrested for possession of bomb-making material.

Pay attention to this stuff folks. These are your constitutional rights that are being messed with.

This is not about "some terrorist who wants to blow us up", this is about you, your mom, your kids and everyone that you know.

It's about what you say on the phone, what you write in emails and what you look at on the internet.

It's about what you spend, what you earn, where you go, who you meet with and what you buy.

It's about our incredibly stupid and short-term belief that the current administration is 'good' and they would never do anything bad while never once giving thought to what the next administration might be like.

Once you give a power to the government, the government never willingly gives it back.

*

You can visit these links if you would like but remember, the NSA is paying attention....

• Only in Florida.



• This guy makes all gun owners look like idiots. Can someone please take his guns away from him....



• Yes, the japanese are crazy....



• I've been drunk in my life but I don't think I've ever been this drunk.



• We all need superheroes.

I was ready for my day to end at 7:00 this morning.

It was one of those days where I had a tough time getting started. Once I managed to get it started, I couldn't wait for it to be over with.

I'm not sure why I was tired all day but I was. I got plenty of sleep and I had a nice mellow weekend so I don't understand why I had such a hard time staying awake at my desk. I honestly think that if I had put my head down for a few minutes, I would have fallen sound asleep.

*

The Red Sox are off tonight while they travel down to Tampa to start a three-game series againsst the Rays. They took 3 out of 4 against the Yankees and I'm really hoping they can take two out of three against the Rays.

Right now the "magic number" for the Red Sox is 12. The Rays are in second place and they are 12 games away from elimination in the AL East. What that means is that if the Red Sox win 6 more games and the Rays lose 6 more games, the Red Sox will clinch the AL East.

As I said yesterday, it's a good time to be a Red Sox fan.

*

Here are some links:

• What a loving family...



• Yes, alcohol was involved. Also, religion.



• Anybody got any spare toes?



• "Bricking Bad!" Get it? Hah!



• Key phrase in this story: "...I wanted to give them a twelve pack of beer."

Once again, we are kidless

Our daughter filled her car with "stuff", including a load of food, and headed back to college this afternoon. It's a four hour ride but it's a nice ride.

Specially when I'm not the one making it.

*

The eldest called this morning to fill us in on how his new life as an adult is going. He has determined that his best route to work is via bus and then the "T". He has met a few of his new neighbors and formed a "frisbee league" over at the hospital.

He also said that he really, really likes his job. A lot.

*

As for the youngest, hey, he's a sophomore in a cool college town with all kinds of things to do. The last thing he's going to do on a weekend is call his 'rents and chat.

I'm jut happy that he keeps us up to speed via text messaging.

*

Here are a couple of links for you:

• The Japanese have won the rights to host the Olympics. This is going to get interesting....



• I'm all for the Second Amendment and all but even I think this is a bit over the top.

I failed to stay awake

I made it until almost 9:30 last night but that was as far as I got. I never got to see the rocket as it climbed into space.

*

When I fell asleep, the Red Sox were down by 2 runs and it did not look promising. When I woke up at 5:00, I checked the internets and found that they had managed to rally and beat the Yankees 12-8.

This puts the Red Sox back up above .600, they hold a seven and a half game lead in the American League East, a three game lead in the American League and they are only half a game behind the Braves in all of MLB.

Not bad for a team who at this time last year was below .500, in last place in the AL East and pretty much eliminated from any possible post-season play.

As for today, the took a commanding lead but the Yankees weren't going to be ignored. At one point, the score was 12-3 in favor of the Red Sox but the Yankees made a run, scored 6 runs and the score was 12-9 going into the ninth inning.

Fortunately, the Red Sox decided they weren't going to be ignored either and that was how the game ended.

It's a good time to be a Red Sox fan.

*

Since my daughter is home for the weekend, my wife decided she wanted fried clams for dinner so we went out to a little seafood joint nearby.

Now we all have food babies.

*

Here are today's links:

• Key phrase in this story: "She got pesto and pepper jack cheese."



• Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr is my new favorite judge.



• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.



• Here's another Naked Guy In The News story but it's also Only in Florida.

I'm going to try and stay awake.

At approximately 11:28pm, I would like very much to be outside, on a hill, looking towards the southeast. The problem is that approximately 11:28pm is approximately 2 hours and 28 minutes past my bed time....

*

Has President Obama bombed Syria yet? And if he's willing to attack Syria over a few hundred deaths, what is he planning on doing about this?

*

These links are interesting:

• Key phrase in this story: "...a direct hit right through the helmet."



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Idiot of the Year.



• The internet is a truly amazing place....



• Key phrase in this story: "...swarm the bodies of the fallen comrades for a cannibalistic feast."



• And it's name was 'Snookie'....



• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.

Not much going on today.

I more than made up for my lack of sleep last night. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep around 9:15 or so and I didn't wake up until 4:30. It was nice.

*

So I managed to watch the Tigers and the Red Sox trade the lead through 5 innings last night before I went into a deep and peaceful state of unconsciousness. Imagine my amazement when I woke up this morning to find that the Red Sox pummeled the Tigers 20-4.

It must have been my inspiring coaching skills during the first 5 innings.

Tonight they play the Yankees. And the Yankees are on a roll. They are trying their best to make a run at the post season and it's beginning to look like they might make it.

It's going to be an interesting game tonight.

*

Here are some links:

• It's kind of sad that I believe the President of Russia before I believe my own government.



• Wait, are they saying it's against the law to swing a dead rabbit over your head?



• He always was a real downer....



• A drunk defending a drunk.

I hate being woken up at 2:00am

I was called at 2:00 this morning to resolve a problem at work. It took me about a half hour to fix the problem and that appears to be just long enough for my brain to say, "Well, we're up now! Might as well do something..."

I emptied the dishwasher, made the coffee, let The Dog out, watched bad television and basically wandered the house until 4:30 when my brain suddenly announced, "What the hell are we doing awake! Get your ass into a horizontal position right now!"

I fell asleep and the next thing I knew it was 8:00 and I was going to have to battle the damned school buses going to work.

I hate school buses.

*

It's been a couple of weeks since the CATO Institute released it's white paper that shows that welfare recipients in Massachusetts receive more money than the average median salary. For those of you that don't care for big words like "median", what they are saying is that in Massachusetts, welfare pays better than work.

So anyways, I've noticed that the media has stopped talking about this so I figured maybe I could bring it up again. Just to make sure we don't forget about it.

Key phrase in this story that explains the situation with a certain amount of clarity is: "Absent reform, this won’t end well."

*

I'm going to watch the Red Sox play the Tigers and fall asleep early. I'm hoping to make it to the fourth inning before I go unconscious but hopes are not high....

While I do that, you can click on these links:

• Excellent! This will save the tax payers millions of dollars.



• Good for them. The murderous hypocrite didn't have, or need, a beard until he was put on trial.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.



• Only in Florida.



• Just what we need - cranky old drunks with stingers.

Long Day = Kinda Short Post

Today was a long day.

Not a stressful day or a tough day, just a long day.

*

So President Obama has decided that he should let congress have some say in any possible attack on Syria. I think that's a good idea. I thought it was a good idea when President Bush went to congress before he invaded Afghanistan and I thought it was a good idea when President Bush went to congress before he invaded Iraq so I think it's a good thing that President Obama goes before congress before doing anything to Syria.

I still think getting involved in Syria is a dumb idea. I thought it was a dumb idea to invade Afghanistan and I thought it was a dumb idea to invade Iraq so I think it's a dumb idea to attack Syria.

As a matter of fact, I think we should be encouraging dictators over in the middle-east because they seem to be the only people with the wear-with-all to bring any stability. Let's face it, the most stable country over there is Saudi Arabia and they have one of the most dictatorial forms of government in existence - a kingdom passed from father to son.

The House of Saud has ruled that particular stretch of desert since the 1700's. They have ruled it because they were the meanest SOBs in the area and they pretty much killed anyone that stood in their way. Oh sure, there was a stretch of trouble during the late 1800's when some guy named Faisal managed to wrest power from them but by 1902, they were back in the game, kicking ass and taking names.

So for the last 112 years, the Saud's have managed to control and stabilize the area known as Saudi Arabi. During that entire time, other than the whole binladen thing, things have been pretty damned quiet over there.

Why is that bad?

*

Try these links:

• And this is why we love dogs.



• Damn. I was kinda looking forward to a dynamite fishing trip.



• If you think that anyone with a third grade education knows that a curved reflective surface concentrates sunlight, let me be the first to tell you that you are wrong.

A little air conditioning is a good thing.

I managed to make it through the day yesterday without any air conditioning but by 9:00 this morning, I'd had enough. The doors were starting to stick, the rugs were damp and The Dog was wet.

There is nothing worse than a wet dog...

This lasted until 3:30 or so when the temp dropped and the humidity lowered itself to a tolerable level. That was when we turned the AC off and went au' naturel.

*

The Red Sox managed to get shut out by the Tigers this afternoon. Lackey pitched a great game and it went 0-0 into the seventh inning when the Tigers managed to score 2 runs. they scored a third run in the eighth and that was how the game ended.

They are still five games ahead of the Rays but that will change tonight when the Rays play the Angels. If the Rays lose, the Red Sox will be five and a half games in the lead. If the Rays win, the Red Sox will be four and a half games in the lead.

Either way, they are still in the lead.

*

Here are a few links you might enjoy:

• Thanks goodness I never hit my golf ball into a sand trap.



• Key entry from my favorite police blotter: "6:29 p.m. Someone called in to talk about cats in Columbia Falls."



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Week.

Everything is damp.

It's a little humid today but I managed to avoid turning on my air conditioner. I found that if I turned my fan on and pointed it right at me while I sat on my ass and watched the Red Sox, it was plenty comfortable.

*

Speaking of the Red Sox, they managed to sweep the White Sox and take all three of the games. And since the Rays lost this afternoon, the Red Sox now hold a five and a half game lead in the AL East. With only 24 games left in the regular season, I'd say they were doing alright.

The Tigers roll into Boston tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 and they have also been having a stellar season. They are currently one and a half a games behind the Red Sox in the American League so both teams are pretty well matched.

You can bet I'll be watching them.

*

Today's links are here:

• Key phrase in this story: "That gun, however, was loaded."



• Key phrase in this story: "We don't actually know what took place there."



• Key phrase in this story: "One might wonder why a person would do such an act."