Happy Halloween

Our children are grown and no longer go "trick or treating" on Halloween. Hell, they don't even live here anymore. This means I don't get to rummage through their bags and eat all the candy they don't want. Or even some of the candy they do want.

In order to overcome this loss of my candy supply, we only buy candy that we like and we buy a lot of it so we have plenty left for for us.

I realize that Halloween is for kids but hey, I need my Twix and Butterfingers fix.

•

The Indians just couldn't pull it off last night. They had 1-0 lead until the 4th inning when the Cubs scored 3 runs. The Indians got one more run in the 6th but that was it and the game ended with the Cubs winning 3-2.

They are on a day off today. They'll be back at it tomorrow at 8:00pm.

•

My flight plans have been approved so as long as the weather behaves itself, I should be able to put the cross-country requirements behind me.

I'm getting close to finishing this thing.

Very, very close.

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No baseball tonight means I guess I need to find something else to watch while I hand candy to cleverly disguised youngster. I'm pretty sure I have a Gold Rush on DVR so I guess I'll put that on and see what those nutcases are up to.

While I do that, you should click on these:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant (and uncoordinated) Criminal of the Day.



• Man, he must really like bacon.



• You gotta love The Sun. They get all the cutting-edge stories.



• Thank goodness we have a highly distinguished panel of judges with nothing better to do than this.



• According to this article, I should have hot women swarming all over me.



• Only in New York City.

Happy Birthday young lady

I hope you didn't spend your entire day studying.

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I'm having withdrawals. I have not flown for almost two weeks because of the weather or my schedule and I miss it.

I've scheduled a plane for Tuesday in the hopes that the weather will allow me to complete my final cross-country flight. Once that is done, I can concentrate on the night flying and the remaining few hours of instrument time.

I keep thinking about a saying we have in my line of work:

The first 90% of a project takes 10% of the time.
The last 10% of the project takes 90% of the time.

I'm in the last 10% of this project and it seems like it's taking forever to finish it.

•

The Indians whooped the Cubs last night and the Patriots managed to run over the Bills this afternoon so I'm having a pretty good sports experience.

The Patriots are going into a bye week with a 7-1 record which is the best record in the NFL.

As for the Indians, if they beat the Cubs again tonight, they go home as the World Series champions.

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While I'm watching baseball, you can click on these:

• Only in Florida.
  (Yes, I am aware that Window Masturbater would be a great name for 1970s porno movie)



• Only in Florida.
  (If mom is still supporting you at 52, you've made poor life decisions.)



• Only in Florida.
  (I'm betting lots of alcohol was involved.)



• Only in Florida.
  (Key line in the story: "...officers found a crack pipe stuffed up his anus.")

Oops.

Guess I forgot to post something yesterday.

Oh well.

•

I managed to watch 4 innings of baseball last night and thanks to the internets, when I woke up on the couch at 1:00 this morning, I was able to learn that the Indians won.

If they win one more game in Chicago, they will return to Cleveland with a one game lead. If they win two more games in Chicago, they will return to Cleveland as the World Series champions.

I'm hoping for the latter but I'll take the former.

•

We are now ten days away from an election where most normal non-fanatical people are afraid to vote.

Oh sure, some of you have made up your mind to vote for the lesser of two evils or have accepted the inevitable but lets face it, neither one of those is what can be considered a "good choice". In my opinion, if there was a legitimate third choice, I'm willing to bet that person would win.

So anyways, since I live in western Massachusetts and I understand how the electoral college works, I know that my vote doesn't matter one bit. All eleven of the electoral votes from this state will go to Rodham, no matter who I vote for.

My focus is going to the state and local stuff. Things like funding for charter schools or state senator.

At least my vote counts when it comes to those things.

•

Does anyone know how the new toll system will notify you if your transponder isn't working correctly?

Currently, the system in place uses green and yellow lights to indicate that you are either okay, your balance is running low or your need to contact the DOT because something is wrong with your transponder.

With the elimination of the booths, those lights are going away.

So how do I know if my transponder is still working?

The only reason I'm wondering this is I understand those things have a ten year life span and I've had my transponder for just about nine years and I'm betting it's just about ready to call it quits.

•

Go Indians!

You can click on these if you want:

• Key line in this story that is proof we don't pay cops enough: "Police also found a bag of marijuana hidden inside the driver's butt."



• Double Sapphire, a bit of tonic and a kiss of lime....



• Brilliant Criminals of the Month.



• Sometimes I guess you just gotta punch a lawyer.

Going to Chicago tied at 1-1

I've been to Chicago. It's a flat place with what can best be described as "a shitload of traffic" and a lot of wind.

•

The Indians played a pretty good game of baseball last night but they just couldn't overcome Arrieta and his command of the strike zone. The man is a machine on the mound. He threw the only no-hitter during the 2016 season and he won the Cy Young back on 2015.

The guy is great.

They play again on Friday and I'm hoping that the Indians continue to play great baseball. I'd like to see them win at least two of the three games in Chicago.

It would be nice to win all three and end the series right there but hey, I like to keep my hopes at a reasonable level.

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I'm a bit busy today so you don't get a lot of links.

The ones you do get are here:

• Only in Florida.



• If you've ever wondered what happens when you pour molten copper onto a Little Caesar's pizza, wonder no more.



• Key phrase in this story: "...keys to certain Subarus can work in different cars."



• Pfffttttt..... College students...

Baseball is on at 7:00 tonight

I managed to watch 5 innings of last nights game and I'm glad I did. It was a pretty damned good game with Kluber and Lester pitching their hearts out. Fortunately for the Indians, Kluber was just that much better than Lester and managed to hold the Cubs to seven hits and no runs.

Because of the expected rain in Cleveland tonight, they decided to start the game at the much more reasonable hour of 7:00pm. That means I might be able to watch more than 5 innings.

Or not.

We'll just have to see what happens.

•

See if these links do anything for you:

• Key phrase in this story: "...he wanted to get home and eat his burger and chips while they were still warm."



• We haven't had a Drunks on Lawn Mowers story in a while.



• I guess it's pretty easy to get drugs in New Hampshire.



• Followup to yesterdays post about the idiot dressed as a tree blocking traffic in Portland Maine: It was 'art'.



• Best campaign ad ever!



• Hah!

Go Indians!

The game is scheduled to begin at 8:00 tonight which means we probably won't see the first pitch until 8:30. I'm hoping to watch at least four innings but we'll see how that goes.

I'll find out who won tomorrow morning when I wake up and check the interwebnettubes.

•

The election is fast approaching so remember - Vote Early, Vote Often.

•

You might like these links.

If not, feel free to go find your own:

• Only in Florida.



• Hey, at least he filled the tank.



• What else would you do with a self-driving truck...



• He's lucky no one ran him down.



• They should have used the Benny Hill theme song as it's soundtrack.



• I give up....

Snow in the Berkshires

Fortunately for us, no snow made it here.

I like snow but not at this time of the year. Last time we had ssnow in late October, we were without power for more than a week.

I don't want that again.

•

Attention football people:

The Patriots have the best record in the NFL!

Thank you for your attention, football people.

•

Here are some links:

• Wait. What is "pot laced candy"? Why have I never heard of this



• And this is why you should never put a wig in your backseat.



• It's a mark of respect...



• Well, I have the "don't sleep too much" part down to a science.

The Cubs are on their way to Cleveland.

I never liked Joe Maddon and I always liked Terry Francona so I really hope Francona kicks Maddon's ass.

The first game is scheduled for Tuesday @ 8:00 and this looks to be an interesting series because both teams are based in the north where sometimes it snows in late October. Fortunately, it appears that the ten day forecast (take that for what it's worth...) for both cities is temps in the mid-50's.

Still, I will not be surprised if one or two games are postponed due to snow or freezing rain.

Go Indians!

•

In football land, the Patriots defeated the Steelers and I'm sure all my relatives out in western Pennsylvania are ranting and raving about "Belicheat" and "deflategate".

I love them all but they just can't seem to let go of that 55-31 loss a few years ago in a game that the Steelers were supposed to win as well as the headset failure the Steelers experienced last year while playing at Gillette.

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So anyways, here are a few links:

• Only in Florida.



• Only at a Walmart.



• Somebody needs to tell these people that clown is not a race.

Lots of stuff got done today.

We got a lot done around the house today and right now, I'm watching the Cubs whip the Dodgers.

I'm pretty sure you can live with any links today.

I complained to Kaitlyn

I gave Charter a call to complain about the fact that my blocked channels were now appearing in my guide. A nice young lady with a southern accent named Kaitlyn answered my call and agreed with me that it was kind of dumb to display channels I want blocked.

She checked in with some folks in her office and found out that I wasn't the only one complaining about that. She also said that Charter was in the process of rolling out a new guide that would allow me to remove channels from the guide.

I told her that I felt she was pretty damned helpful & informative and that I would await the arrival of the new guide.

Personally, I think she sounded more like a Lurlene than a Kaitlyn but I don't care, she was nice, she heard me out and she got me some answers.

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The Cubs managed to take a 3-2 lead in the NLCS series last night.

Today they are on a travel day back to Chicago to play game 6 tomorrow. I'm hoping the Dodgers take game 6 and tie the series 3-3. Then, I don't really care who wins because they'll be tired and the Indians should have no problem beating them.

At least, that's what I'm hoping...

•

You can visit these links if you would like:

• It's only a matter of time before the feds get involved.



• Stay classy London. Stay classy.



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



• Oh Canada.



• Who knew that garden snails have bigger problems than most human beings.



• Meet Angela Ferguson, the newest member of the A-Team.



• Our massively overpaid government is blaming the Russians for haking the DNC accounts when in reality, the DNC accounts got hacked because they are stupid.



• It's always Rodham supporters that are trying to squelch free-speech and they can't even get it right.

I'm beginning to dislike Charter

Once again, Charter has decided to upgrade it's system and my television viewing experience has gone in the shitter.

I spent the last few years working my way through their convoluted menu system, blocking channels that I either don't subscribe to or I simply don't want to watch. I have a list of 110 blocked channels that I never have to see when I scroll through the guide.

At least until last night.

This morning I noticed that when I scrolled through the guide, it is displaying all of my blocked channels.

Now why would they do that? I don't subscribe to the NFL Red Zone channel so why should it be displayed on the guide? I purposefully put the NFL Red Zone to my list of skipped channels years ago but suddenly it's being displayed on the guide.

Why?

•

Looks like Terry Francona was able to muddle through without my sage coaching advice yesterday afternoon and the Cleveland Indians will be playing in the World Series. And on top off that, they'll do it with home field advantage because the American League won the All Star game last July.

The NLCS is tied 2-2 and it's beginning to look like it's going to go all the way. Both teams are playing their hearts out but I'm leaning towards the Dodgers.

Like I said before I like Dave Roberts. Also, I don't like Joe Maddon.

•

I probably should have gone flying today but I didn't.

I have a feeling that next week is going to be a terrible week weather-wise and I probably won't get a chance to fly.

I hate it when I don't get to fly.

•

Here are some links I managed to dig up:

• Only in Detroit. And probably Chicago.



• Key line in this story: "It offers free pizza on weekends."



• This is one lucky kid.



• Guys in action. (Watch the video)

A lot got done today

I managed to get all the leaves off my backyard so now I see the dog poop to clean it up.

Trust me, cleaning up dog poop when you can't see it is kinda like being the first guy to walk through a mine field - you know they are there and you really hope you don't step on one.

Also, I went and got myself a flu shot today. I hate needles but I hate the flu even more.

•

Game five of the ALCS was played at 4:00 this afternoon and I'm not watching it.

Hopefully Terry Francona will be able to lead them to victory without my sage advice.

•

You should visit these links:

• And I thought Massachusetts had some ridiculous fines.



• Man, they never had these kinds of courses when I was in college.



• North Korea - It's not anything at all like where we live.



• I like caramel and I like M&Ms.



• Key phrase in this story: "“He’s just lucky I wasn’t pruning."



• There is nothing I can say about this.

Glad I didn't fly today

It was a bit windy today so I'm glad I flew yesterday when there was almost no wind.

Landing in a cross-wind is like going to the dentist - it's no fun but you gotta do it.

•

So the Indians are up three games on the Blue Jays and as I type this, they are tied 0-0 in the third inning of game four. If the Indians win this game, they take the ALCS and move on to the World Series.

As for the NLCS, the Cubs and the Dodgers are all even at one game each. Game three in their series is scheduled for 8:00 tonight.

•

I was a little busy doing "stuff" today so I didn't spend a lot of time surfing the internets.

What I did find is here:

• This should be entertaining...



• "No evidence colleges train kids to be liberal" says the liberal college professor.



• Apparently kids these days are smarter than we think they are.



• Only in Florida.



• Only in Chicago. And probably Detroit too.



• At some point, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry need to retire.



• "If whenever things are going badly for you, you start blaming somebody else, then you don't have what it takes to be in this job" says the man who continually blamed George Bush for everything.

I changed my mind

I decided to go fly this morning and I'm glad I did. It was a beautiful morning and visibility was fantastic.

I had originally planned to fly to Keene NH and back just to continue my quest to land at different airports but there was a line of clouds to the north and west. Since I'm not allowed to, nor do I want to, fly through clouds, I decided to limit myself to the upper valley and the Quabbin.

Oh, for the record, it appears that Quabbin is starting to fill back up. I noticed there were fewer sand bars and small islands poking out of the water.

I spent about an hour cruising around Pelham and Sunderland, with periodic returns to the the airport to land because, as I've said before, you should practice landing as much as possible.

After my final landing, I took a walk over to the maintenance hanger and asked if they had looked at the tire that went flat on me when I landed in Westfield on the 5th. They told me they found a hole in the tube on a seam and it appears that there was a slow leak. They said the air pressure with the tube reached a point where it finally let go when I landed that day. That caused the tire to spin off the hub.

So the bottom line is it wasn't anything I did that caused the tire to go flat.

I feel vindicated.

•

I thought this was an interesting commentary on our current society

•

I am going to try and watch some baseball just to see what uniforms the Indians will wear.

While I do that, you can visit these links:

• College students aren't too bright.



• Key phrase in this story: "Police believe alcohol was involved..."



• Take away their guns and they'll find something else to use.

Like I said, we still have the Patriots.

They managed to beat the Bengals this afternoon, putting them at 5-1 and leading their division.

Gronk seemed to take exception to some things that were going on during the game and he became a little vocal about it. As a matter of fact, he got called for "taunting".

I'm sorry but right about now I imagine guys like Jack Lambart, Joe Greene, Deacon Jones, L.C. Greenwood and Alex Karras are thinking to themselves, "What did you ladies do to my game! Are you seriously telling me that telling the other guy he sucks is now a punishable offense?!!!! What's next - no more tackling???"

They sure got a lot of rules in football now-a-days.

•

I did some intertube wandering while I was watching football.

Here are the results:

• Seems a bit contrived to me. Funny, but probably fake.



• Only in Florida.



• Pavlov got nothing on DailyHaHa.

I love fried clams

Every once in a while, we up and decide to run over to Donovans Pub in the mall and order up some fried whole clams.

Today was one of those days.

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Well, the Indians are up 2-0 in their best of seven series against the Blue Jays and I couldn't be happier.

Well, I guess I could be happier.

I'd be a lot happier if the Red Sox where up two games against the Blue Jays but that didn't happen so I'll have to settle for Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians.

•

Here are a few links for you to enjoy:

• Hopefully someone will oblige them.



• Only in Florida.



• This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?



• Jeorg may have gone a bit overboard on this one.



• Holy Crap! The captain of the US Navy's newest ship is Captain James Kirk!

Busy morning for me.

My friend John had to go in for some minor outpatient surgery this morning and I offered to drive him. I got up at 5:00, made the coffee, took a shower and was at his door by 6:15.

I'm pleased to report that all is well with him but I'm pretty tired.

•

There is baseball this evening but it's on at 8:00 so I'm pretty sure I won't see much of it. In case you're wondering, in the ALCS, I'll be rooting for the Indians.

I like Terry Francona and I hope he makes it to the World Series.

As for the NLCS, I'm hoping that the Dodgers make it because I like Dave Roberts. He's a genuinely nice guy who deserves a shot at a title.

I like the Cubs but I'm a bigger fan of Roberts than I am of Joe Maddon. I hated Maddon when he was coaching the Rays and the crappy way he quit on them and left them hanging made him look even worse in my eyes.

•

Here are some links of merit:

• I guess he was upset with them.



• You have got to be shitting me...



• Thank goodness they got that cleared up.



• Only in New York.



• Only in Florida.
  I like the way she tosses the vacuum hose and closes her trunk.



• Based on how much of this stuff is bought in my house, I suspect this particular boycott will fail.

Time to start picking up leaves.

I took this picture yesterday afternoon as the sun was setting. It's my neighbors maple tree.

That tree always has the most vibrant colors.

•

John Farrell has one more year left on his contract and the Red Sox have an option for 2018. They did not pick up his 2018 option but they also did not release him. He will be the manager for the 2017 season.

I'm torn on that decision because it seems to me that Farrell is now what is known as a lame duck. He is in his last contract year with no future with the team.

I'm not entirely sure that Farrell is the right guy to manage the Red Sox because when he was out for half a season in 2015 and Torey Lovullo took over as the manager, the team played better than anyone could have imagined.

I'm not sure Lovullo is the right guy but I'm pretty sure he's proven he's better than Farrell.

On the other hand, if the team is going to stay with Farrell, they should pick up his 2018 option and then extend him for another 3 or 4 years. That would at least eliminate the whole lame duck thing.

•

While you contemplate the fate of John Farrell, I'm gonna watch some bad television.

If you are so inclined, you can click on this while you are contemplating:

• Key line in this story: "Williams is heard sighing before hanging up."



• "Unsettling" isn't the word I would use to describe it.



• I'm pretty sure "pimp up unwanted spuds" isn't a good description either.



• Only in Florida.

Planning, planning, planning.

The FAA requires that student pilots complete the following before they are eligible to take the checkride:

The student pilot must complete 5 hours of cross country flight that includes 1 solo cross country flight of at least 150nm total distance with full stop landings at 3 points and one segment of at least 50nm between T/O and landings.

I currently have 2 hours of cross country flying and my plan is to get the remaining 3 hours in one flight.

I'll leave Northampton and fly to Westfield Regional where I'll land, wait a few minutes and then take off.

From Westfield, I'll fly out over the Berkshires to Saratoga County in upstate New York where I'll land and wait a few minutes before taking off.

After that, I'll fly out over the Green Mountains to Lebanon New Hampshire. I'm not a big fan of Lebanon because the pattern takes you around a rather high hill that actually hides the airport runway from you just as you are getting ready to land.

From Lebanon, it's back to Westfield and finally back to Northampton.

That is a distance of more than 250nm with three legs of that flight in excess of 70nm. It should also take me around 3 hours to complete it.

After that, I need to do 5 hours of night flying with my instructor that includes one flight of at least 100nm and I think I will be able to schedule my checkride. That decision will be up to my instructor because he needs to make sure I've crossed all my "T"s and dotted all my "I"s before I schedule the FAA inspector.

Soon my friends.

Soon....

•

Enjoy these links while I try to figure out what I want to watch this evening:

• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• Even more proof that the fashion industry is insane.



• Only in Australia.



• They're a little weird in Seattle.



• Escaped Cows would be a great name for a 1970's pop music band.

They went home.

The Red Sox are now on vacation and the Indians get to play baseball at least 4 more games. I'll watch the Blue Jays and the Indians but not with the same vigor or commitment I did when the Red Sox were playing.

At least we still have the Patriots.

•

No flying this week. Instead I think I'll do the planning for my long cross country and send it off to my instructor. I want his input before I head off on some aimless 200 mile jaunt around the north east.

•

While I hunt around for something to watch, you can enjoy these links:

• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story



• Then again, maybe this is your Naked Guy In The News story.



• I've come to the conclusion that as a species, we are idiots.



• You gotta love Bad Lip Reading.

Win or go home.

Game 3 of the Red Sox / Indians series is on at 6:00 this evening and if the Indians win, the Red Sox will pack their bags and go on vacation. If the Red Sox win, they get to play again tomorrow at 2:00pm.

As for the other series, The Blue Jays managed to beat the Rangers in 3 straight games and are just waiting to see if they are playing the Red Sox or the Indians.

As you can imagine, I'm hoping they are playing the Red Sox.

•

No, I didn't watch the debates last night. I have no desire to watch two spoiled little brats taunt each other, call each other names and rant about how much betterer they are than that stinky head over there.

I live in the bluest state in the union and I know that no matter how I vote, Rodham will get all 11 of this states electoral college votes. That's because the good people of Boston and Cambridge are fully indoctrinated by the Borg that is known as "The Kennedy Clan" and they only vte for who the democrats tell them to vote for.

This election is a joke and as far as I'm concerned, both political parties should be ashamed of themselves for failing us like this. I find it hard to believe that neither one of those parties could come up with a candidate that I could vote for..

If this is the best the two party system can do for us, it's time to get rid of the two party system.

•

I'm going to watch some baseball.

You should click on these:

• I miss WKRP in Cincinnati. I'm glad someone is keeping that memory alive. Les Nessman would be proud.



• Well, I guess that's one way to stop a wedding.

No baseball today

They postponed today's Indians - Red Sox game because of rain.

The Patriots did play today and they managed to trounce to Browns 33-13. They got this new quarterback named Brady who did a pretty good job.

•

My wife finished up her semi-annual cleaning binge and it is now possible to eat food off the floors.

Well, if you're my dog it's possible to eat food off our floors.

Since you're not my dog, you should probably ask me for a plate or something.

•

This has got to be the best presidential election I've ever seen.

I haven't been this entertained since Pat Paulsen ran for president back in 1968.

•

Here are a few links:

• Due To Snitches would be a great name for a Dr. Seuss book.



• Key phrase in this story: "Metal can be a difficult item to steal; mainly because it's heavy and hard to carry."



• Sounds like a fun party.

What is Pete Rose's job?

I was watching some National League baseball today and I was a little surprised to see that not only is Alex Rodriguez doing commentary on the Fox Sports, they still have Pete Rose doing commentary on Fox Sports.

As near as I can tell, Alex's job is to sit there and sweat. Periodically he'll interject some comment about how he remembers so-and-so from game four of the such-and-such World Series doing the same thing as what's-his-name just did.

As for Pete, I'm pretty sure that his job is to sit back & scowl and he's really, really good at it. Also, I'm not sure if Pete has become a full blown alcoholic or if it's just that his necktie is too tight.

•

You might like these:

• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• Key line in this story: "You know she really must love me if she came out with me."

Things are not going well

They lost the first game last night and then they went and lost the second game this afternoon. Now they are going back to Boston two games in the hole.

I've tried to remain positive throughout this season, even when they were down and I anticipated that they would make that strong comeback after the All Star break. I even thought that Porcello would overcome the aberration that was last season and turn into the great pitcher he is.

But right now, it's kind of hard to remain optimistic and positive so I'll just recite my baseball mantra that I used to tell my players when I was a coach:

Baseball is a very simple game. Don't complicate it.

Catch the ball.
Throw the ball.
Hit the ball.
Cross home plate more times than the other team.

Got it? Good.
Now go have fun.

•

Had lunch with an old friend today and we talked about our kids, our wives and our selves. We talked about the company we worked for and how it's changed over the years. We talked about all kinds of things and it was an enjoyable two hours.

I think we'll do it again.

•

Not much else to prattle on about so I'll just leave with these links:

• Presenting a collection of people who have made poor life decisions.



• Key event name in the story: "Electile Dysfunction"



• Key line in this story: "She smoked for 75 years and when she was told to quit, she took up drinking."



• Tim Horton and the Loose Llamas would be a great name for a 1950's rock-a-billy band.



• Only in Florida.

Who the hell scheduled these games....

Why is the game in Texas, which is in the central time zone, on at 4:30 while the game that is in Cleveland, which is in the eastern time zone, on at 8:00? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

They obviously don't care about my sleep needs.

•

So anyways, the Red Sox will be running their Ace, Rick Porcello, out to the mound this evening in the hopes of handing Terry Francona and the Indians a loss in game one of their best of five series. If they can win both of the games out in Cleveland, they come back to Boston with a lead.

But I'm getting ahead of things so let's just focus on tonight's game.

•

You can visit these links if you would like:

• Key line in this story: "Emma wants to warn people not to be afraid of getting help in embarrassing situations."



• I wish our elected officials did this rather than passing laws that restrict our freedoms.



• I don't know what these things are but they can keep them there, along with that zika thing.



• Key line in the story: "It is likely one of those things that the federal government never ever imagined they would need to ever regulate."



• Best tombstone ever.

I don't care for the Blue Jays

And I certainly don't like the Toronto fans.

The line in Vegas has at least two bench clearing situations and one full on brawl when the Rangers play the Blue Jays in Toronto.

The general view we folks in the USA have of Canadians is that they are general congenial, kind-hearted folks who are always quick to extend a helping hand. At least until you look at the folks from Toronto.

They are, generally speaking, assholes.

As for tonight, all I can say is "Go Mets!" (I'm not a fan of the Giants)

•

Had a little incident today.

My flight plan this morning called for me to leave Northampton and fly to Westfield where I would do one full stop landing before departing and heading back north to practice some maneuvers.

I left Northampton and contacted the Westfield tower.  I received my landing instructions and they asked if I could do a short final because there was a flight of three F-15s right behind me.

I said sure and turned to the runway.

I touched down in a perfect landing and I was damned proud of myself, for about a second or so.

Then my world went to shit and the plane took a sharp turn to the right.

Fortunately, I was able to stop it before it went into the weeds and get it off the runway onto a taxiway before the fighters landed.

Trust me, it was an interesting moment in my short flying career.

•

You should click on these while I watch baseball:

• Only in Florida.



• We don't pay cops enough.

Let the games begin

Baseball playoffs begin tonight and I will be watching, at least for a little while. They don't start until 8:00 tonight and once TBS / ESPN finishes up with all the pregame hoopla they like to show, we probably won't see any actual baseball until 8:30 or so.

Tonight is the American League wild card game that determines who will be playing the number one seed, the Rangers. Like I said the other day, I'm hoping that it's the Orioles because I like Buck Showalter. He's a grumpy old guy like me.

Tomorrow is the National League wild card game and I would like the Mets to win that one only because, well, they're the Mets. I like the Mets.

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Before this goes away (and trust me, it will go away), I want to post this direct quote from a story on NBC News:

"The current system works fine if you're eligible for Medicaid, if you're a lower income working person. If you're already on Medicare or if you get enough subsidies on a modest income that you can afford your healthcare."

"But the people that are getting killed in this deal is small business people and individuals who make just a little too much to get any of these subsidies ... So you've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have healthcare and then the people are out there busting it sometimes 60 hours a week wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half."

Just to be sure this is clear to everyone, let me repeat the meat of the quote:

So you've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have healthcare and then the people are out there busting it sometimes 60 hours a week wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half.

For the record, the person who spoke that is named William Jefferson "Bubba" Clinton and he said it at a campaign stop for his wife.

You know his wife. She's the former member of the administration that foisted this fiasco known as The Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare, on us.

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You can visit these links is you are so inclined:

• Oh Canada.



• Only in Florida. (Love the mugshot.)



• Key line in this story: "It seems someone changed the sign as part of the celebrations."



• Now Al Walton Jr., a bicyclist, understands how we all feel when we see him on a busy road.



• Maybe she should buy a vacuum.



• Only in Australia.

Max Burgers gets a thumbs up.

We decided to go to Max Burgers over in Longmeadow this evening and I gotta say, it was pretty damned good.

Expensive, but good.

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No baseball until tomorrow when the two AL wild card teams face off up in Toronto. Id' kind of like to see the Orioles win it simply because I like Buck Showalter.

Once that game ends, the AL will be set for the divisional playoffs, which start on Thursday at 4:30 when the winner of the AL wildcard plays the Rangers down in Texas. Then, at 8:00, the Red Sox and the Indians will start their series out in Cleveland.

Somewhere in there, the National League will be doing stuff a well and yes, I'll be watching that when there is no AL game.

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While I'm watching American Pickers, you can visit these links:

• Don't be shocked but this happened at a Chuck E, Cheese.



• Finally, Springfield is in the top ten for something.

No home field advantage for the Red Sox.

They are going into the playoffs as the number three seed and will play in Cleveland against the Indians this coming Thursday.

They have yet to announce the game times but I'm hoping it's not any of that 9:00pm start time crap.

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I'm hoping to get some flying in this week, I need to do some more flight planning and take another cross country trip. I'm not entirely sure where I want to go so I probably should figure that out before I get into the plane.

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The Partiots are no longer undefeated and as my brother said, Pretty sure this will end the "it's time to think about replacing Brady talk".

Still, I'm pretty impressed with Garoppolo and Brissett. They stepped up and did a pretty damned good job, leaving Patriots with a 3-1 record as they step back into their backup roles. It's nice to know that if Brady gets hurt or is having a bad day, someone else is capable of stepping up.

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Here are some links I found for you:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.



• My father did it by working hard, having fun and taking care of us.



• I suspect this fad will pass after six or seven of these idiots get shot by some heavily-armed soccer moms protecting their kids.



• You gotta love dogs.

They got a chance

There are two games left in the regular season and if the Rangers lose both of their and the Red Sox win both of theirs, they will end the season in a tie for best record.

If I recall the league rules correctly, the tie is broken by the differential of runs scored for and against. And no one in the American League has a better differential than the Red Sox.

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Here are a few links for you to visit while I watch this evenings baseball game:

• Here's an interesting headline.



• Now that it's October, you should get yourself an Oktober Fist.



• Follow up to a link from yesterday:
  Turns out the "Sorry I Tased You" cake is real, just not the story behind it.



• Only in Florida.