Windows 10 is running on my machine

I never went to Windows8 because I hated the whole "tile" thing and Windows7 did what I wanted it to do. Windows10 seemed like a pretty decent compromise because they included some Windows7 stuff, some Windows8 stuff and some new stuff.

The one thing I'm not too happy about the fact it really, really wants me to log into my one drive account.

I have a Microsoft one drive account but I don't want to use that. I figure Microsoft has enough information about me, they don't need to start collecting information about my web surfing habits.

*

Roddy has left us...

Hopefully he is in heaven, chewing bubble gum and kicking ass.

*

You can jump on these links while I try and figure out how to use this new operating system:

• How did this guy not get shot...



• I love the promotions run by minor league baseball teams but this one is a bit much. What's next? Armpit Hair Night?



• Gotta love the tactic of ignoring him.



• Beer: Is there anything it can't do.

Why is John Farrell still employed?

Is it possible for the Red Sox to suck any more than they already do? The only way they can suck more is if they start losing two games a day instead of the one game a day they are losing now.

This is not going well and I expect to see them make an announcement any day now saying, "Effective immediately, the Boston Red Sox are forfeiting the remaining games of the season and will purge all mention of this 2015 season from the team archives."

*

Try these links:

• What is the difference between archaeology and grave robbing?



• Only at McDonalds.



• Squid Egg Mass would be a great name for 1980s European head-banger band.



• I don't really see a problem with this...



• Here's your Naked Guy In The Nude story. (I could have done without the picture...)

Things just keep getting worse.

The Red Sox lost to the White Sox 9-4 last night.

And that is all I have to say about that.

*

To all of those people that are against the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline, can you please tell me two things:

1. Why is it bad to build the pipeline?
2. Is natural gas a cleaner burning fuel than wood, oil or coal?

I keep hearing that the pipeline is bad because it's dangerous but no one can tell me why it's dangerous. I also keep hearing that we should look into cleaner sustainable sources of fuel but no one can tell me what those sources are.

I heat my house with LNG, I cook my food with LNG and I dry my clothes with LNG. Hell, if I could power my car with LNG, I would. It's cleaner than most other petroleum fuels like oil or gasoline.

Tell me again why this pipeline, which will bring more LNG to New England while creating more jobs for the area is a bad thing.

*

Here are some links:

• Key phrase in this story: "...covered himself with a grill cover, apologized and went into his house."



• Only in Florida.



• Not really only in Florida but it's a coincidence that that's where it happened.

So long Shane, we hardly knew ye...

Shane, Shane! Come Back!

The Red Sox traded Shane Victorino to the Angels today and I'm not sure how to feel about that.

The guy had a lot of injuries over the last few years but he played the game hard and he played it well. Also, his replacement is going to be that multi-millionaire Cuban, Rusney Castillo, who doesn't really grasp the concept of catching with two hands and tends to drop them out of his glove instead of holding on to them.

I'm also wondering what they are going to do with Mike Napoli, Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly.

*

Enjoy these links...

...or not.

Your choice:

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



• Here's your Semi-Naked Guy In the News story.



• She dropped the baby!

Let's see if they can win again tonight.

They managed to beat the Tigers last night but it's not looking good right now. So far they are down two runs and Napoli got himself ejected for bouncing his helmet off the umpire.

Oh, and they traded Victorino to the Angels for a second baseman named Rutledge. This gives them the opening to bring up Castillo and run him through the grinder to see if he has what it takes to play in the majors.

Then again, what the hell do I know...

*

So today was a long day and I'm tired. That means I'm going to turn on the Red Sox and fall asleep in my recliner.

You can visit these links if you would like:

• Do you know how every time you read about one of those mass killings, the family of the killer comes out and says, "He was suffering from (insert name of mental problem here) and no one would help him!" Well, let me introduce to one of those people that should be locked up in a mental asylum for the rest of their natural life.



• Good for Marty Walsh...

I had a nice trip yesterday

Last Thursday, my cousin sent me a text informing me that he and his brother had decided to go to the family reunion out in the Pittsburgh area. He wanted to know if I was interested.

We left at 9:00 in the morning and we were home by 7:00 in the evening. We got to spend several hours with our cousins, aunts and uncle.

It was a good time and having a generous cousin with his own aircraft is what made it possible.

*

The Red Sox have moved beyond "suck" into "really suck" and I suspect there is very little that can be done about it.

The trade deadline is this Friday and unless they manage to find several miracle players and a bunch of teams willing to take on some of their expensive dead weight like Porcello and Sandoval, they might as well call this season a "rebuilding season" and start figuring out what to do about 2016.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still watch them and all but you can bet I won't be happy about it.

*

Here are some links:

• Attention criminals: If you are going to wander around carrying 5 ounces of pot and an illegal handgun, you should probably go to the bathroom before you leave the house.



• Apparently golf is a shitty game in Norway.



• Are they saying this is illegal?



• Only in Pennsylvania.



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

Long Day = No Post

I spent my day at a family reunion out near Pittsburgh PA so you get no post. Just this picture of my cousin Bob and I on our way out there this morning:

Now I'm home and I'm ready to take a nap.

Nice day to for a day off.

Today was one of my Fridays off and it was a pretty damned good day to take off. I didn't get a nap in but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I managed to get some things done and it didn't rain on me.

*

So I'm not sure what to do about the Red Sox other than burn it to the ground and start over.

I'm pretty sure that the team stopped listening to Farrell last year and the four supposed "big bats" that Cherington provided are not only miserable failures, I'm pretty sure three of them are poison in the club house.

They need to bring in someone like Mike Scioscia or Buck Showalter. Someone who won't tolerate any crap, instills a sense of team and drives athletes to perform at their peak. Farrell doesn't really seem to do that.

Then again, my baseball experiences are limited to playing when I was a kid and coaching little league as an adult when my children were kids.

I'm pretty sure I don't know anything about actually dealing with professional athletes and teams.

*

Here are a few links:

• That's because they're all old & blind and from Massachusetts or New Jersey.



• This should not shock anyone.



• Only in Pennsylvania.



• Only in Pennsylvania.



• Just in case no one has ever told him, I'd like to point out that Mitchell Crawford is a moron.

Tell me again why Joe Kelly is back with the Red Sox?

I'm not saying he pitched terrible but I am saying he is not pitching like a major league pitcher.

He gave up six hits over 5 innings, three of which were home runs (two to the same guy!). His one saving grace was he struck out 6 batters. It's not easy to strike guys out so I'll give him that but to give up 3 home runs in 5 innings is never a good thing.

Also, tell me again why David Ortiz is still the DH? The man had four plate appearance and he got zero hits.

Some other folks managed to get hits:

• Dustin Pedroia got a hit.
• Brock Holt got a hit.
• Xander Bogaerts got a hit.
• Hanley Ramirez got a hit.
• Shane Victorino got a hit.
• Mike Napoli got a hit.
• Blake Swihart got a hit.

But the one guy who is designated as the "hitter" didn't get a hit.

Can someone explain that to me?

*

These links are for you:

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



• Only in Florida. (Watch the video. It's great.)



• Not that clothing would have helped....



• Only at a Walmart in Florida.

What can I say....

They lost again last night and John Farrell is still employed.

Joe Kelly is returning to the team tonight and based on his history, we can expect to be disappointed. If we aren't disappointed, that will be good. What I can tell you is that I am prepared to not watch them lose.

I am prepared to not watch them lose because I'm planning on falling asleep early again.

I'll find out what the score is tomorrow morning when I wake up and check my phone.

That's when I'm prepared to be disappointed....

*

As for now, You can click on these links while I fall asleep:

• Only in America.



• Key phrase in this story: "The father and victim do not have a good relationship."



• Wait just a darned minute... Are they saying they let her continue taking the test AFTER she had already hit the two cars?



• Oh Canada.

I wonder what tonight's score will be...

The Red Sox are once again deep into full suck mode. They can't win a game no matter how hard they try and it seems like they aren't really trying very hard right now.

I can't help but wonder when John Farrell will get his walking papers...

*

Here are some links:

• This is what happens when idiots suddenly get rich.



• "Yah! Get him! Yah!"



• Drunk Man Did A Poo would be a great name for a 1920s children's book.



• Have I mentioned that the Japanese are freakin' crazy?

Double header today.

I was all excited because last nights game ws scheduled to start at 8:00 and I figured I might get to watch most of it before falling asleep in my recliner. Unfortunately, the weather gods had other plans and for the first time in 20 years, there was a rain-out in Los Angeles.

So they rescheduled the game to today, making this a double-header day.

The first game started at 5:00 and is being played as I type. Currently, they are in the 8th inning and the score is 11-1 in favor of the Angels.

The second game is scheduled for 10:00 and you can bet I will be sound asleep by then.

*

Whilst I watch this exciting yet disappointing baseball game, you can click on these few links:

• Only in Florida.



• I'm betting there might be a lot of people sweating this one out....



• Yes, alcohol (or drugs) was involved.



• There are some real slimeballs in this world...



• Key phrase in this story: "I can't believe I did this. I can't believe I did this."

Long day in the car.

My youngest is on tour with his band so last week, my wife and I drove up to Keene, picked up his car and brought it back here to have a safety inspection done on it. They found some problems and fixed them and we drove the car for a few days to make sure all was well.

Today, my wife, my daughter and I drove back to Keene to return his car so it's at his apartment when he returns from tour. We also took advantage of our family outing to enjoy a nice lunch and get some New Hampshire shopping done.

Now we are home, the dogs are fed and I'm happily seated in my recliner in front of my air conditioner.

*

Speaking of the dogs, The Large Main Dog was, as always, a good boy and probably spent the entire day asleep on the couch.

The Small Emergency Backup Dog however decided to spend the day finding shoes and pillows to drag around the house and chew on. She also managed to get into a small bag of straw that is used as bedding for the chinchilla. All of this was scattered throughout the various rooms she has access to and required some cleanup.

Fortunately, mischief was her only sin today and she had no accidents. I can deal with mischief. It's the other thing I don't like.

That makes this a good day.

*

Here are some links:

• Only in Florida.



• What the hell was he doing with a flame thrower? Are those things even legal?



• I've never understood this. Seems to me it's nothing more than a bunch of over-heated, sweaty people wandering around.



• To all my family and friends in the law enforcement community: Be Aware.

I like having good timing.

I managed to mow my lawn, get my haircut and get home before the skies opened up and dumped an inch or so of rain on us.

*

So the Red Sox managed to lose to the Angels last night by a score of 1-0. That one point was a home run in the ninth inning by Mike Trout.

I gotta admit, I like Mike Trout and I enjoy watching him play ball. He plays it with a passion and a skill that makes him one of the best in the game.

I'm going to try and stay awake to watch them play again tonight. Unfortunately, Porcello is pitching and his performance in the last several games has been less than stellar.

*

Here are some links:

• You have no idea how many water fights happened between my brothers and myself because of this device.



• We used to have a fish tank but the tank heater accidentally got turned way up and we awoke to "fish soup" one morning.



• Maybe Microsoft should have hired her before they released Vista.

Hey! I actually got a vacation day!

Well, almost.

I did spend a half hour on the phone in a meeting but that was because I needed to kick some managers in the butt and get them moving on something they have been ignoring for the last three months.

Other than that, I got to spend my day not working.

I like not working.

*

My youngest and his band are on tour. They are covering a fair chunk of the eastern half of the United States by playing gigs in New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Personally, I think they are out of their minds but they are young and if you are going to travel the country with a band, you need to do it when you are young....

 ...and stupid.

*

Baseball has finished it's mid-season break and games start back up today. Unfortunately, the Red Sox are playing the Angles out in California and the game doesn't start until 10:00 tonight.

I doubt I'll make it.

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

• Bobby Dube and the Alleged Turtle Molester would be a great name for 1950s rock-a-billy band.



• Yay!



• Keep your putter in your pants.



• Here's a politician I can vote for.

Not a long day and no all-day meetings

For the first time in a week, I had a normal work day and it was kinda nice.

I still had the usual requests  from people for assistance or support and I still have my project battles to fight but those are nothing compared to the load of crap I've been going through for the last week.

*

Here are some links to click on:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Month.



• I want to know how Boston managed to beat out the other six.



• Key phrase in this story: "The box contains free wooden skewers, to defend yourself from your food..."



• Giant Testes would be a fantastic name for a professional wrestler from the 1970s



• Apparently the Russians are almost as crazy as the Japanese,

No all-day meetings today.

I did, however, have to take care of all the stuff that got overlooked for the last several days.

*

Here are some links:

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



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Week.



• Key phrase in this story: "It's got tits hanging off all over it!"



• What does "aggressively disputing" mean?

Long day

Today was spent in a small room with several folks trying to figure out how to solve a problem that was at least 30 years in the making.

And I'll be doing it again tomorrow.

And Thursday.

And not Friday.

I'm taking Friday off and that's the end of that conversation.

But like I said, it was a long day and I really don't have anything for you.

Maybe tomorrow.

I almost had a day off.

It started out nice. I had to run a few errands this morning and then talk to one of my coworkers about what happened this weekend but other than that, this was looking like an actual vacation day. I even managed to take a nap. In the past, I may have mentioned that I like naps so I was kinda pleased with my nap.

Then, at 6:00 pm, just after I finished eating a nice light dinner, my phone rang and I ended up in the office from 6:30 til 10:00.

My four day weekend turned out to be more like a none day weekend.

*

While I fall asleep watching the end of the Home Run Derby, you can try these links:

• Key phrase in this video: "I'm not anti-gun but I'm anti-idiot-carrying-a-gun."



• Welcome to Massachusetts.



• Wait, isn't that the whole point of wearing a kilt?

So much for my four-day weekend...

I ended up in three different teleconferences that lasted for at least an hour. One of them lasted for two and half hours.

Between yesterday and today, my only day off has been Friday and that wasn't even a complete day off.

And I suspect I won't be taking tomorrow off either.

*

I'm tired and I didn't have time to do much of anything on the internet today. And now I need to go to New Haven to meet my daughter who missed her train to Windsor Locks.

That means no links for you.

My phone won't stop ringing.

At 5:30 yesterday afternoon, my vacation day, my phone rang and it was an executive from my work. He asked me to "help him with a problem".

Then I got roped into a teleconference.

Then I got roped into an email thread of epic proportions.

This morning, my boss, who seems to be unable to keep his nose out of things, started calling me.

He called me while I was at the mechanics, he called me while I was at Costco, he called me while I was mowing my lawn and he called me while I was cooking dinner.

I'm watching the ball game right now and I anticipate at least three more phone calls from him before I finally stop answering my phone and he gets the hint that I really don't want to chat with him all night long.

*

Like I said, I'm watching the ball game right now.

You can visit these links:

• It has been my experience that the use of a baton will usually get a subject to comply.



• I don't know who applies his makeup but they need to lighten up a little bit.



• Only in Florida.



• Sometimes a banana is just a banana.

This is a four-day weekend.

I took today and Monday off.

I like four-day weekends even more than I like three-day weekends.

*

I spent most of my day driving around.

This morning I took my daughter to Windsor Locks where she caught the train to New York City where she will spend a fun weekend with her friends.

This afternoon, my wife and I went up to Keene NH to pick up my youngest sons car so we could get it in for some much-needed service while he is off on some kind of musical tour with his band.

*

Now I am watching the Red Sox play the Yankees.

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

• Benny's got a lead foot...



• No, no it's not.



• I've got to get me some minions.

My laptop died

Well, not MY laptop, the one I bought and use to update this fantastic spewage. It was my laptop at work, the one the company bought for me to use.

When I got to work this morning, I set my laptop into the docking station and started it up. It ran for a minute and then popped up a message that said, "You are logged on with the default profile" which is another way of saying, "I have no idea who you are so I'm going to act like I care but not really..."

I took it over to the kids that do our PC work and in their usual pleasant and helpful manner, they told me I was screwed. Then they told me they were going to pass the machine on to another kid who knows a lot about this stuff.

So my laptop was placed into the black hole known as PC repair and I went to my desk and mourned it's loss.

Then I got a call from my main man in PC repair and he said, "The hard drive is dying but we're going to install a new one and copy everything we can off the old one. I'll have it for you around 4:00 this afternoon."

And sure as shit, he was at my desk at 3:30. We booted it up and he asked me what was missing. I identified the few missing items and he was able to go find them. Due to their size, it took almost an hour for them to copy over so he missed his 4:00pm promise.

At 4:30, it was done and I was once the proud possessor of a functional work-based laptop.

Then I went home.

*

You can click on these links:

• I'm pretty sure that emergency services really doesn't care about your chinese food order.



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



• Wasn't Shooting Snails into the Sky a song from the 70s by Norman Greenbaum? 

No working from home today.

Today was a long day filled with meetings and discussions and the more I think about, the more I realize that I don't really remember what we talked about.

Seems to me that means I wasted my day blabbing about nothing substantial...

*

Here are some links:

• I'm guessing that he won't be complaining about the food again.



• People are stupid....



• Key phrase in this story: "...if it weren't for the trampolines."

I worked from home this afternoon

There is a small project going on in my area that involves three or four folks who like to meet and talk.

A lot.

And they like to meet and talk a lot right across the aisle from me.

All morning I got to listen to these people talking about their project while I was trying to write code to help move my project along a little faster.

Those of you that write code know that having a quiet environment helps with the concentration and allows the logic to flow properly. I'm not saying I need perfect quiet but listening to a bunch of contractors prattle on about, "How great their product is and the reason it's not working is because we didn't implement it correctly!" makes it a little more than difficult for me to concentrate.

So I decided that I could do what I needed to do a lot faster and a lot better without listening to those people talk.

A lot.

*

I'm gonna watch some baseball while you click on these links:

• I'm not saying he is a child porno freak but he does look like the kind of guy who might enjoy checking out little boys...



• I'm not saying he is a sick rapist but he does look like the kind of guy who might occasionally slip a girl a roofie.



• Key phrase in this Darwin Award: "There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there."

No Red Sox today.

As a matter of fact, there is no baseball for me at all today. MLB, FOX and TBS are not showing any games and ESPN's Monday Night Baseball is on at 8:00 which means the game won't start until 8:30.

That is way too late for me.

*

Here are some links:

• And this years winner of the Darwin Award is....



• Or perhaps the Darwin Awards winner is....

Another nice win today.

They are now 6 games out of first place. They are still in last place but only 6 games behind the first place team, the Yankees.

They are on a day off tomorrow so I'll have to find something else to watch.

*

Chris sent me this text this morning:

He's a funny guy.

*

Here are some links:

• Man, you women wear some expensive underwear. This works out to $15.00 per panty and $50.00 per bra.



• "Weed The People" is a great name for a bunch of stoners.

Tough loss last night, nice win this afternoon.

The Red Sox lost last night in what was a great game of baseball. They lost in the tenth inning but managed to hold their own against what is probably the best team in the American League right now.

This afternoon, there was no mistaking who was going to win that game and the Red Sox held the Astros to just one run over all nine innings.

The Astros were in first place in the league and right now they are tied for first. The Red Sox are still in last place in the ALEast but they are not in last place in the American League.

It's beginning to look like the Red Sox might actually be playing baseball.

*

It's the Fourth of July which means we, as Americans, get to celebrate our nations Declaration of Independence from the British Crown.

Here in Massachusetts, where John Hancock, Sam Adams and John Adams all committed treason by signing that declaration, we aren't really allowed to celebrate it like Tom Jefferson suggested we celebrate it - with fireworks.

Oh well.

*

Here are some links:

• Feuding Ukulele Bands would be a great name for a bad 1970's World War II movie.



• Only in Florida.

I'm impressed.

A month ago, the Red Sox were 10 games behind and in last place in the American League.

Today, the Red Sox are 6 games behind and they are no longer in last place in the American League.

They are, however, still in last place in the ALEast.

*

Here are some links you can click on while I watch some baseball:

• I wonder if this guy is related to this woman.



• While I admit to smiling at the two 8:31am entries, I found this one to be the key entry from our favorite police log: "4:48 p.m. A “citizen of the United States” called from Old River Bridge Road in West Glacier claiming that he was “visiting this beautiful area” but, according to him, people in this area have “issues.” "



• Only in Florida.



• Party on, Wisconsin.

Hello three-day weekends!

Starting this week, I will be enjoying three-day weekends during the entire month of July.

I may have mentioned this before but let me repeat it because it bears repeating:

I like three-day weekends.

And speaking of three-day weekends, whatever you do this weekend, do not light off any of those illegal and deadly fireworks.

The only people in New England that are smart enough and competent enough to handle fireworks are the people in Connecticut and New Hampshire. We here in Massachusetts are too stupid to know how to use fireworks and the state is protecting us from ourselves.

Remember: It's for our own good.

*

You may, or may not, enjoy these links:

• Maybe it was it built by Cyberdyne Systems...



• I have a sense of humor and I know what funny is. Trust me when I say, "This is not funny."



• Seems to me that the country of Turkey has bigger things to worry about than this.



• Who the hell thinks to study this kind of thing???



• Do not mess with Josefina Tometich's mangos...



• Only in Florida.



• Attention criminals: Do not use a three-wheeled bicycle as your getaway vehicle.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.

No post today

Deal with it....