Started the second wall.

Today I managed to clean half of the second wall and I only smacked my head on the ceiling once.

My bald spot is gonna have a hell of a scar by the time this project is over with.

⧫

So the voters of Massachusetts were asked if they wanted to legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes and we said, "Heck yea! Let's do that! It'll be fun!"

That was back in November.

Despite the fact that this state has had processes on the books for providing liquor licenses, they can't seem to figure out how to license pot shops.

They also seem to think that the voting public is a bunch of morons and we really didn't want to legalize marijuana when we voted to legalize it. They have been talking about how to rescind the measure and make sure that no one ever gets any marijuana legally ever since it passed. In the states opinion, the only people that should get marijuana should be criminals.

Since it looks like they can't really rescind the legally-binding vote, they are now going to stall it by overwhelming it with their bureaucracy.

Welcome to Massachusetts where the state motto is: Never mind what you think, the state knows what is best for you.

⧫

The Red Sox game has been cancelled due to rain. That means I need to find something else to watch this evening.

While I do that, you should enjoy these links:

• Don't tell any little kids about this but Florida just arrested Santa.



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



• I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you haven't already done so, you should watch all of the videos put out by Colin Furze.



• When the other inmates ask hi what he's in for, does he say, "For stealing dirt"?



• All the other deer probably made fun of him.

One wall done

I have completely cleaned all of the paste and sizing of of one wall. It takes a lot of time to steam the paste, scrape it and move on but I managed to figure out how to eliminate the juggling part.

I took a piece of wood and attached it to my ladder with a c-clamp. Then I hung a small plastic bucket off the wood. When I need to clean the paste off the scrape, I scrape it off on the piece of wood and it drops into the bucket.

No more juggling.

⧫

I am going against the norm here by saying this but I gotta give Charter / Spectrum kudos for the work they did today on my cable setup.

For the last month, I've had some pretty bad pixelation going on as well as audio drop out. I contacted Charter and they sent a technician to my house this afternoon.

He showed up on time and found the problem within about 5 minutes. He found that one of my coax cables was worn through and rubbing against a baseboard heater. This was acting like a big antenna and introducing a lot of noise into my system.

He replaced the line and then proceeded to go through my entire system, replacing the cable ends with new ones and removing all the splitters that fed all the various network-connected devices. He replaced all those splitters with a single powered signal amplifier with 8 ports.

After several hours of watching the channels that were the worse, I can honestly say things are fixed.

Good job Spectrum.

⧫

This evening was dinner at Outback followed by a Costco trip.

While I digest, you can click on these:

• Australia: What doesn't kill you will probably still kill you.



• Some people have too much free time.



• Only in Florida.

The saga continues

I tried once again to use the TSP to remove the paste. I worked on the same spot I worked on yesterday thinking to myself that maybe it would work the way everyone said it should work the second time around.

It didn't work any better than the first time around.

Then I tried using the steamer to remove the paste from the walls and as luck would have it, it actually worked. There were no caustic skin burns and when the wall dried, it was clean & smooth, ready for paint.

So now that I have an approach to removing this stuff, I hope to have the walls clean and ready for paint next week. Or maybe the week after. We'll see.

The steamer only covers an area of about one square foot so I steam for a bit, move the steamer and hold it in a new spot while I scrape the steamed area with the scraper. Then I clean off the scraper, move the steamer to a new spot and scrape the steamed area.. Like it used to say on a shampoo bottles - Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

And just so you know, this is all a juggling act. I have to hold the steamer against the wall with one hand while I scrape the paste and then wipe the scraper clean with the other hand.

This is gonna take a long time but since I'm not working, I have plenty of time to do this job the right way.

⧫

You should click on these:

• The shooting didn't bother them but they were upset about the wasted food?



• If they're members of the Illuminati, we don't have anything to worry about.



• Yea, that would probably frighten me a bit.



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



• Only in Florida.

I still have paste on my walls.

I talked to a friend yesterday about removing wallpaper paste and he recommended plain old elbow grease. I squeezed my elbow as hard as I could but I failed to get any grease out of it.

My wife talked to some folks and they recommended a product called TSP (TriSodiumPhosphate).

I read up on it and all of the folks writing about it said it would work well. There were, however, a few caveats: Don't get it on your skin or in your eyes. Oh, and don't get it on any bare metal. Oh, and protect your floors with rosin paper and plastic sheets. Oh, and you'll still have to scrub/scrape the walls.

So I went to Home Depot, bought some rosin paper, a few plastic drop clothes and some TSP. I went home, put on some rubber gloves and a long sleeve shirt. Then I mixed the stuff up as directed and proceeded to spend a few hours scrubbing and scraping.

Guess what? There is still paste/sizing on the walls.

Next up will be trying the streamer. At least with that thing I won't have to worry about caustic burns or dissolving anything made of metal.

Something tells me this is going to be a long project.

⧫

For the record, I make damned good french fries:

Just sayin'....

⧫

While I watch the Red Sox play the Pirates, you can visit these:

• Either it was a very, very small gun or he's got a weird medical condition...



• Key phrase in this story: "Escalation is bound to happen."



• Can't they just run the plates to find out who owned it?

Long Day = Short Post

I spent several hours trying to remove wallpaper paste/sizing and then I met up with some guys who want to start a business.

The wallpaper paste is still on the wall and the business isn't for me.

But no matter what, I'm tired and ready for bed.

You, however, might like to spend some time looking at these:

• If you live in Arkansas and you're looking for a job....



• Only in Florida.



• Badger! Badger! Badger!

Let the fun begin

I was going to paint the edges of the ceiling today but when I poked at a piece of wallpaper to peel it back away from the ceiling edge, the whole sheet came down. I moved to the next sheet and it also peeled right off.

So I decided to strip the walls and bag up all the paper for trash day.

The guy that hung the paper in that room 25 years ago did an outstanding job. The walls were patched, painted and sized correctly which made removal a simple act of picking at an edge and then peeling the paper off.

Oh, and the guy that did it was Johns dad. He was retired and doing side jobs to keep busy. He offered to do the job while at the same time keeping an eye on my extremely pregnant wife who was carrying our daughter.

I sent John a text this afternoon telling him to thank his dad for making my life easy.

So anyways, the wallpaper is down and the ceiling is painted. Next up will be washing the walls to soften and remove the sizing/paste that was left behind. That little task is probably going to take several days but when I'm done, I expect the walls to be ready for a nice coating of paint.

⧫

You should click on these links:

• Supermassive Black Holes would be a great name for a 1970s porno movie.



• We don't pay cops enough.



• Well, guess I better never visit Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.
  (Warning: Autoplay.)



• It's the crocs that make the outfit.

You may not know this but I suck at working with plaster

Prior to today, I only had two problems working with plaster:

1. I never know when to stop working it with the putty knife.
2. I always put more on than I need and then spend more time than I need to trying to sand it down to a reasonable level.

Today I found that I have a third problem working with plaster:

3. I hold the ceiling sprayer way too close to the ceiling.

As you can see in that picture, I got a little too aggressive with the spray. I'm hoping that after it dries and I roll it with a paint roller, it'll "calm down" a bit and blend in better than it does now..

If it doesn't, I can always take a scraper to it and start over again.

⧫

Today was a split squad day for the Red Sox with half the team staying home and playing the Phillies and the other half heading 40 miles up the gulf coast to play the Rays.

They managed to beat the Rays but tied the Phillies.

And Remy was in the booth so I guess he's feeling pretty good after his treatment.

⧫

Enjoy these links:

• Key phrase in this story: "She can't even trick-or-treat there."



• Parent of the Month.



• It's the old "Bigfoot made me do it!" defense.



• This is the kind of guy who is going to one day kill several people and the first words out of his families mouths will be, "He was a good boy but he was a little light in the head, bless his heart. We tried to get him help but the state wouldn't do nothin!"

Remember those ice dams we all had several years ago?

Well I'm still suffering those damned ice dams.

I had a couple of spots on my bedroom ceiling caused by those freakin' ice dams. At the time, I let them dry, treated them with some Kilz and finally some ceiling paint.

Today I started my work on our bedroom project and noticed that both of the spots seemed to be a little different compared to the rest of the ceiling. The paint I applied was just a little different and they weren't quite right.

I took a scraper and started scraping the paint off one of the spots. The paint flaked off pretty easily and I ran a thin skin of plaster over the drywall in preparation for applying some ceiling "popcorn" spray.

The second spot, however, wasn't fine. It wasn't fine at all.

I touched it with my finger and quickly discovered that it was just a layer of dry paint. There was no drywall whatsoever and my finger went clean through it.

After picking at it for a bit, it wasn't long before I was left with a hole about two inches in size.

Since I'm pretty sure my wife does not want to look up into the attic, I had to do something about that hole.

I applied an edging of plaster that brought the hole down to less than one inch in size. Once the plaster dries and I check to be sure it's solidly adhered to the edge of the hole, I'll apply some more plaster to close it off completely. Then it will hopefully be a matter of applying a thin skin to smooth it, followed by some fine sanding to finish it and then the ceiling spray.

After those two spots are ready, I can paint the entire ceiling and start stripping wallpaper.

⧫

The Red Sox played the rays this afternoon and it wa carried by the MLB network.

They managed to lose to the Rays but that's okay because we've reached that part of spring training where "the kids" are being played by the manager so he can figure out who to put on the 40-man roster.

The regular guys on the 25-man roster are playing fill-in games just to make sure they are ready for the season opener on April 3rd.

⧫

While I pray that my plaster repair holds and dries completely by tomorrow morning, you can visit these links:

• Hey everybody! It's National Cheesesteak Day! I love cheesesteak...



• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• In the US, they would have arrested mom and put the child into the care of DCS.



• He should remain in jail until the Kagans get their money returned in full.

The next project has been redefined

After much consideration, my wife has decided that instead of stripping all the wallpaper off the hallways and painting them, she would rather strip all the wallpaper off our bedroom and repaint it. The master bath does not have any wallpaper but we'll repaint it and put up new fixtures.

I find this to be a good thing because doing the bedroom/master bath is going to be a lot simpler than doing the hallways. The hallways consists not only of the first floor and the second floor but also the stairwell between them.

There is no simple way for me to get a ladder on the stairs to reach the ceiling. I wasn't looking forward to doing that.

⧫

I lied yesterday when I said there was no baseball. Turns out the MLB World Classic final was held at 9:00 last night so I watched some of that.

The US played Puerto Rico which is something I don't get. That's like saying the US played Virginia in the world championships. Isn't Puerto Rico part of the United States?

Basically, the US played itself.

And for the record, the US won.

⧫

Things are moving along pretty well with John and his pending acquisition of The Tap Room Grill. Hopefully at some point in mid-April, all the licenses and permits will be transferred over to him and he will become the sole proprietor.

You should all feel free to go dine and imbibe there. If you see John, tell him I said hi. If you see me, stop and say hi.

⧫

These links might contain some interesting information.

Or not.

You can click on them and decide for yourself:

• Ratings are down by 8% because no one likes what Goodell or players like Kapernick are doing.



• Pffffttttt.... College students.....



• Key phrase in this story: "Two words: big purses."



• This is actually a pretty good idea.



• This is also a pretty good idea.



• Apparently the Waffle House and Chuck E. Cheese have the same ambiance.
  (Caution: autoplay)



• Putin is getting more like Tony Soprano every day.

Not much to say today

There was a terrorist attack n London today but there isn't a lot of information about it. It appears that someone ran a car into a crowd of people and then into the fence at Parliment. he got out, stabbed a police officer to death and was then shot & killed by the police.

Maybe there will be more news tomorrow.

⧫

All of the old guns I recently acquired are no longer in my gun safe. The Wilbraham Police Dept. was glad to take them along with a bunch of old ammunition.

This officially ends my involvement in the whole "We don't know what to do with these guns!" thing that has been going on with our family.

⧫

There is no baseball tonight so I guess I'll be watching bad television.

While I do that, here is a link or two:

• Only in Florida.



• Key phrase in this story: "We had no idea where it originated."



• Fortunately it was Bud Light.



• Someone is going to hell.

Quiet day

I'm trying to start a new project at our house and that means some prep work. I've been touching up some stains on the ceiling below our master bath that are the result of a small leak we had in our shower. The best thing for that job is an oil-based stain-blocking paint and the best one for this particular job is Kilz.

Kilz is a great product but when you are using it on your ceiling above your hardwood floors, you have to be careful about drips. The last thing you want to have happen is to get Kilz on a oak floor. It won't come off cleanly and if it happens to penetrate the wood, even sanding won't get rid of it.

So that means I'm in take-your-time mode with the prep work. Once the stains are completely obliterated, I'll paint the ceiling and then I'll rip down the wall paper. Unless my wife changes her mind again and we decide to leave the wall paper up.

Either way, I'm taking my time with the ceiling.

⧫

Here is the video from yesterdays full-stall landing:

As you can see, Pat got bounced around a bit while filming that.

For the record, my next landing was just fine. As a matter of fact, my instructor was with a student waiting in the keyhole (the semi-circle at the end of the runway) when I landed and he said, "That was a pretty good landing. You must have had a great instructor!"

He's a good guy. If you decide to take flying lessons, let me know and I'll introduce you to him.

Also, here's a picture Pat took while we were searching for the tornado scar.

That is Mt Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts.

⧫

The Red Sox are playing the Yankees at 6:30 and NESN is carrying the game.

While I watch that, you can do whatever you want:

• Key line in this story: "I chose to fly a chair; not because it is easy but because it is hard."



• Would that be assault with a deadly weapon or just simple assault?



• While not specifically mentioned, I'm betting alcohol was involved.



• Key phrase in this story: "...one of the horses even defecated inside the store."



• Some people have smart kids that they are proud of and brag about, others have dumb kids that they wish would get a job and their own place.

They found Tom Brady's jersey

I guess some Mexican with press credentials took the jersey and brought it back to Mexico with him.

I'm thinking this is probably going to result in President Trump wanting to speed up the construction of his wall.

⧫

I managed to get some flying time in today. Pat, my official flight photographer, went with me for a little sight seeing. We tried to find the tornado scar out in Conway but no luck.

I did two full-stop landings at the start of the flight and the first one was less than spectacular. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking Pat might have had a small heart attack when the plane suddenly stalled and slammed onto the runway.

After that, we all decided (the other planes in the pattern) that maybe the wind favored the other runway and we switched over to that one.

The second landing was better but still a little rough. No matter which way we landed, we were in a cross-wind and that made for some interesting landing configurations.

After that is was a quick jaunt over the Quabbin and then our search for the tornado scar in Conway.

We made our way back to the airport at the same time as another aircraft so I opted to do a quick 360 over the city of Northampton to give him some room. Our third and final landing was a lot better than the first two. I managed to find the center line of the runway and touched down with only a little thump.

It was a little bumpy today but not terrible and the sky was crystal clear. All-in-all, not a bad to spend in the air.

Pat sent me the pictures and videos he took today. If I decide I want to be embarrassed by my crappy landing, I'll post them for your viewing pleasure.

⧫

Here are some links that you should consider looking at:

• One day some crazy woman is gonna catch this guy and shoot him on the spot.



• Key line in this story: "The shopper was given a new pair of pants, the manager said."



• Not something I'd like to run across walking out to my front yard.

Trying to catch up on my sleep

I made it until 9:00 last night which is later than my wife did. I don't suspect that I'll make it much past 9:00 tonight either. Between the time change and getting my daughter to the airport so early, my hours of sleep seem to have shifted 9:00pm to 3:30am.

I need to change that and get myself on a reasonable schedule.

⧫

The Red Sox managed to lose today and I wasn't able to spot Walt. He was there and we chatted a bit about the players but there were no camera shots of his seat today.

Pomeranz was the starting pitcher and he didn't pitch very well. He left the game after two innings with some tightness of some kind.

I'm thinking the term "tightness" is just an excuse used by John Farrell when one of his players isn't doing very well. Terry Francona used to use the excuse, "his hammie is barking at him" when someone wasn't doing well.

Hopefully Pomeranz isn't busted and he can pitch this season but we all have to remember that Pomeranz is the guy that San Diego was less than forthcoming about when they traded him to Boston.

⧫

Here are a few links for you to enjoy:

• Bummer. He was good at what he did.



• He may have been a creepy, peeping tom pedophile but, damn, he could play a guitar.



• Only in New York City.



• Well, I guess it's official: I'm over the hill.



• This is why I prefer my skin to be rough and dry.

She has arrived back in Iowa

After a minor delay in Chicago, my daughter has arrived safe and sound back in Iowa.

She made it to Chicago just fine, got to her gate to board her flight to Des Moines without a hitch. Got on board the plane and found that she was sitting next to the happiest kid in the world who loved The Small Emergency Backup Dog.

The plane backed away from the gate on time and it looked like things were going smoothly until the pilot announced that there was a problem with the steering and they were returning to the gate.

Fortunately this was not one of those insane situations you hear about where the passengers were held on board the plane for several hours. They hooked back up to the jet bridge and told the passengers that they were more than welcome to get off the plane and wait in the terminal.

An hour later, the steering was repaired, the passengers were back on board and the plane took off for Des Moines.

⧫

The Red Sox managed to beat the crap out of the Twins this afternoon and I had the pleasure of watching it on NESN.

Sandoval is definitely making himself known and as long as he keeps playing the way he is playing, the Red Sox will have a spot for him. Also, they acquired Mitch Moreland over the winter and I'm under the impression that he is a hell of a good ball player.

If they can keep playing this way during the regular season, there's a good chance I'll be watching them in October and hopefully November.

⧫

So we had to be at the airport at 5:30 this morning which means we were up at 4:00 this morning. It also means that I am freakin' exhausted.

While I fall asleep in my recliner, you should click on these links:

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



• Mom of the Year.



• He was just trying to deliver a document.



• In my opinion, Tom Scocca is a little too concerned about onions.

I finally managed to get an actual picture of Walt

During yesterday's Red Sox / Pirates game, I managed to get a picture of my buddy Walt sitting with his wife in the stands at Jet Blue Park when the camera panned their seats while Benintendi was chasing a ball around down in the left field corner.

Walt is in the yellow shirt and his wife is in pink. I sent him the pic and he confirmed that yes, that was him and yes, he was probably replying to one of my text messages when this picture was taken.

Walt is a good guy who I've known for almost 45 years. He joined the Coast Guard right out of school and when his enlistment was over, he joined what used to be called the Metropolitan District Commission Police. At some point in the early 1990s, the state decided to merge the MDC, the RMV, and the Capital Police with the Massachusetts State Police and Walt became a state trooper.

He retired a year or two ago as a sergeant with the MSP and now he spends his winters in Florida and his summers back up here.

He is one of the good guys.

⧫

Speaking of the Red Sox, Eduardo Rodriguez toss four runless innings today and when he left the game, they were up 1-0. The game ended with the Red Sox losing 6-2 but that was because Joe Kelly and Noe Ramirez did not have stellar innings.

I'm hoping Rodriguez stays healthy and gets back to his 2015 form. He was a great pitcher that season but suffered last season with something called a "subluxation of the patellar tendon", whatever the hell that means.

I'm hoping his luxation stop subbing and his tendon is no longer pateller this season.

⧫

You can click on these if you would like:

• Key phrase in the Florida story: "Bring your punk a-- back to my shop and pay for your (expletive) tattoo!"
  (Warning - autoplay)



• Yes, alcohol in Florida was involved.



• What? Are they saying that's illegal?



• Cody Gribble has got balls.



• Sure and Begorrah.



• For the love of God, someone make them stop!

Do Not Disturb

For the last couple of days I've noticed a tiny little crescent moon at the top of my cell phone screen. Since I'm not really a iPhone aficionado, I didn't know what it was so I chose to ignore it.

Today I decided to find out what it was and thanks to Google, I quickly discovered that my phone has been in "Do Not Disturb" mood for the last few days.

If any of you have been trying to call or text me, sorry about that. I wasn't ignoring you, I just never got the message.

⧫

Last night I decided to go meet John for a few adult beverages.

If you've never been to  The Tap Room Grill, you should go. They serve some pretty outstanding meals and the folks that work the restaurant & bar are good people. Also, they have live entertainment on the weekends so you should "Like" their Facebook page to find out what's happening and when it's happening.

And since my friend John is going to own it pretty soon, you should patronize it.

⧫

You can click on these:

• Don't stand too close to the train.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminals of the Year.



• Only in Florida.



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



• Key phrase in this story: "...the cooler contained 3.75 pounds of pot."

Good job DPW

I ran some errands today and I gotta tell you, the town did a great job on the roads. The side streets are a little slushy but the main roads are clear and dry.

Can't say the same for Springfield. This is what one of their main roads looked like:

I'm not sure if they decided to plow at 4:00 in the afternoon during the middle of the storm and then call it a day or if their plows are set to leave three or four inches of snow on the road.

⧫

Here are a few links you can visit:

• Only in New Jersey.



• The heated seat should have been the first thing he added.



• Key phrase in this story: "...memorabilia related to General Douglas MacArthur were used by the participants in sexual acts."



• Some people have too much free time.



• Only in Florida.



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

Back-breakingly heavy snow

The Small Emergency Backup Dog loves the snow. The Large Main Dog however, thinks the snow sucks and hates going out in it. I think he is a southern dog. When it snows like this, I have to clear some space in the backyard for his latrine.

Fortunately I did a good thorough cleaning yesterday afternoon so I wasn't throwing dog crap all over the place with my snowblower. Which, when you think about it, is both a gross and a convenient way to clean the dogs latrine.

I'll close off this section by saying the same thing I always say when we get a lot of heavy snow:

Thanks goodness I have a giant snowblower.

For those of you that had to shovel this crap, you have my sympathies.

⧫

While I take two ibuprofen and try to get my back to stop throbbing, you can click on these links:

• I bet he gets re-elected.



• Only in Florida.



• Yes, alcohol in Florida was involved.



• This is why students love it when they have a substitute teacher.

I think the bathroom is finally done.

I'm pretty sure I have finally completed the bathroom project. I thought it was done until my daughter told her mother that she didn't like the towel hook. She said the towel kept slipping off it. My wife suggested that we replace it with a towel ring.

That meant removing the hook, patching the wall and putting the ring up. Once the plaster dried, I skin-coated the spot, smoothed at and this afternoon I painted it.

This finishes the bathroom project until something else needs to be replaced.

⧫

When we went shopping the other day, I picked up some sliced corned beef and meant to get some thousand island dressing but I forgot. Today, when I ran over to Home Depot to return a towel rack we decided not to use, I figured I would run to the grocery store really quick to get my thousand island dressing.

That was a mistake.

When snow is predicted, everybody and their brother goes to the grocery store to get stock up on stuff like it was the 1800's and they're gonna be stranded for months like the Donner party.

It took me about a half hour but I got my thousand island, dammit.

⧫

You can click on these links while I make sure The Beast is ready to go:

• This explains my in-depth analysis of current events after I've had several adult beverages with friends.



• Dammit! I missed it!



• Belgian scientist have a sense of humor.



• I didn't know you could use paint thinner to clear a toilet clog.



• Yes, Florida and alcohol were involved.

They lost today

The Phillies beat the Red Sox 5-6 today but it was a pretty good game. I didn't get to see all of it because there were errands to run and things to do but I did manage to watch the first 5 innings.

I gotta tell you that I'm pretty sure Sandoval got the message. He is hustling, he is playing hard and he is hitting the ball. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that he just might win back third base and once again be a regular player.

As for Alan Craig, he's trying but just not succeeding. His hitting seems to be haphazard and without that, he's just another first baseman on a team with two or three guys who can play first.

Opening day is just about 20 days away so there is still time for decisions and announcements to be made.

I think the last week of March is going to be kind of interesting.

⧫

We did some grocery shopping today and the primary item was seafood. The closest thing my daughter gets to seafood out in Iowa is maybe some frozen shrimp. With that in mind, we picked up some lobster and steamers that I'll prepare for tonight's dinning experience.

She likes her seafood.

⧫

Here are a few links you might enjoy:

• Key phrase in this story: "...Doidge began to develop beads of sweat on his forehead."



• Key phrase in this story: "...Thompson admitted to inserting about a half-pound of cocaine into her vagina."



• I think I'll just spend my summer here in Western Mass.

And she's home.

My daughter and the small emergency backup dog have arrived home for the week. The large main dog is happy to have his little friend home and we are happy to have our little girl home.

All is well with the world.

⧫

I finally managed to spot my buddy Walt in the stands at Jet Blue Park.

For those of you that know Walt, here's a picture of him watching baseball:

I'm betting he'll autograph it for you if you print it off and ask him.

⧫

While I enjoy my dinning experience and then some quiet evening laziness, you can enjoy these links:

• Only in Florida.



• My dog is not subtle. Not subtle at all. He stands in front of me and nudges me towards the cabinet that holds his cookies.



• I'm not saying it's dumb but I could do without it.



• Texas moms: Don't mess with them.



• Come on, admit it, you'd want to do the same thing.



• Only in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

NESN is carrying the game

The Red Sox are on NESN at 6:00.

Just thought I'd let you know that.

⧫

The bathroom is almost done. It was done until my wife asked me if I could put some white caulking along the backsplash for the sink and when I removed the tape, all the paint that was on the old caulking peeled like a sunburned Irishman in July.

That meant scraping all the old caulking off, including some spots where I had to go into the wallboard. Than patching the holes with plaster and waiting for that to dry. Then I had to sand it and caulk it.

Now I'm waiting for the caulking to dry so I can tape a line and paint the wall. I'll remove the tape at the same time I'm painting so the paint won't dry even a little bit. That should prevent any peeling.

Fortunately, the deadline of my daughters arrival is tomorrow in the early afternoon. That means I can wait until tomorrow morning, giving the caulking a fair amount of time to harden before I tape it and paint.

Once the paint dries, I can declare the project complete.

⧫

While I watch some baseball, you can click on these links:

• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Best interview ever.



• Only in Walmart.



• Only at a Walmart in Florida.

You are hereby summoned to appear as a trial juror....

My first response when I got that notice yesterday was, "These aren't the droids you are looking for." but I doubt that'll help.

I hate jury duty.

Oh well, maybe I'll get put on a nice murder trial or something.

⧫

The bathroom is almost done. I finally got the toilet to stop running and tomorrow I'll put up the towel racks and the toilet paper holder. After that, it's just a matter of vacuuming and putting all the "stuff" back on the shelves and counter.

It is my understanding that my next project will involve the removal of some wallpaper in various locations throughout our abode.

That's always fun...

⧫

Here are some links that you can click on if you would like:

• Only in Florida.



• Florida is filled with weird. Key West is the heart of the weirdness.



• But Miami is just as weird.



• And they are trying hard to overtake Key West for weirdness.



• But as it turns out, no matter where you are in Florida, you will find weirdness.

This has been your Florida news.

We now bring you news from other parts of the world.

• Key phrase in this story: "I was being stupid, those damn chicken nuggets."



• New York: Not my kinda town.



• Key phrase in this story: "And I drool more than I used to."

They lost.

MLB TV carried the Red Sox / Mets game today so I was able to watch the Red Sox lose, I was also able to watch Tim Tebow make an ass out of himself trying to be a DH for the Mets.

He kinda sucked.

The man struck out looking, then hit into a double play and finally managed to make it to first base by getting hit by a pitch. Unfortunately for him, he then stepped into a double play when the next batter hit a line drive to second and he was so far off the bag, they were able to double him up.

I think he is a good guy but he's a terrible baseball player.

⧫

I have a link or two for you here:

• Man, they got a tough drunk test in Arkansas.



• Uhm, water?



• How, exactly, do you threaten them?I've dealt with them and they don't strike me as the kind of creature that feels "threatened"....

And the painting is no longer done.

I finished the walls and after they dried, I spent several moments scanning them with a squinty eye. I found several spots that I failed to adequately apply a liberal coating of paint. I also found several places where there were defects in the wall that I failed to repair with plaster.

Also, I took the old light down at the start of the project but I didn't remove the hardware that attached it to the wall box. I decided to take that old hardware down this afternoon and wouldn't you know it but there was some old dried paint on it that ripped off a chuck of the wall when I pulled it down. I had to patch that hole as well as two small nail holes I found.

I smoothed the plaster with a damp sponge so I don't have to sand it when it dries. That means that tomorrow I can paint over the plaster spots and the places with old paint showing through.

I'm not going to put the new light up until Friday because I want the paint to harden so it doesn't adhere to the fixture.

⧫

Fortunately WEEI FM carried the game today so I was able to drag my old portable radio up from my workbench and listen to the Red Sox beat the Nationals.

Unfortunately, they aren't carrying tomorrows game so I'm back to checking the score on the internets by looking at cartoon characters. Which is too bad because they are playing the Mets and Tim Tebow will be the Mets DH.

⧫

While I search for bad television to watch this evening, you can click on these links:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Month.



• Key phrase in this story: "...one of the workers noticed the object inside his bag was quite bendy."



• This is why I don't live near the ocean. Well, that and hurricanes.

I'd forgotten how "cool" the Rat Pack was.

The Sundance Channel has been running both version of the movie Oceans 11. Last night was the recent one with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts and this afternoon was the original one with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Angie Dickinson.

I'd forgotten how "hip and cool" the rat pack was. They drank like fish, wore fancy suits, burst into song at a moments notice and they all smoked unfiltered cigarettes with style.

Frank wore sport coats and drank scotch.
Dean wore fitted suits with a handkerchief in the breast pocket and no tie.
Sammy wore loose fitting suits and danced on tables.
Angie was along for eye-candy and she knew it.

While I like the one from 2001 better than the one from 1960, I do think the characters were much cooler in the first one.

⧫

I had to re-caulk the tub because upon further review, using clear caulk was a mistake. I had to strip it out, go to the store to buy some white caulk, re-tape the seams and finally caulk them.

Once that was done, I was able to start the painting. I taped all the trim & edges and set about doing the part of any painting job that I hate doing - edging and trimming.

I called it a day once all the edges were done and decided that I would attack the walls tomorrow. Since I'll be using a roller and all the edging is already done, it should take me about 2 or 3 hours to finish the painting.

If I hold true to my prediction, I should have all the new fixtures up, the tank back on the toilet bowl and the shower doors all cleaned and back up on their rails well before my Saturday deadline

⧫

While I try to get my back straightened out, you should click on these:

• If I was gonna try to scam a restaurant, I'd pick one that wasn't called "Casa Nostre".



• Only in Florida.



• This is why I never went into management.



• Apparently it's hot in Australia.

The painting can begin

The plaster has been sanded and the caulking is in place. That means tomorrow The Dog and I can paint.

So far, he's been quite helpful by sprawling full out on the bathroom floor, making it impossible for me to move around without stepping over him.

He also seems to think the caulking smells wonderful because he keeps sniffing it like it was another dogs butt.

If he manages to keep his tail to himself tomorrow, I might actually finish this project ahead of schedule and under budget.

⧫

I managed to watch the Red Sox beat the Braves today. My buddy Walt was once again in the stands and he sent me a message about sitting behind a sign that read "Dex Dex Dex". He claimed he was behind the first "Dex".

Not only did I not see him, I never saw the alleged sign.

I'm beginning to think Walt is messing with me.

You know how those retired state guys can be...

⧫

You can visit these links if you would like:

• Attention Alanis Morissette: This is ironic.



• Why do some parents take their little kids to violent places.



• They are making it harder and harder to be a cop....



• Key phrase in this story: "It’s more time and effort than I want to put into something that won’t benefit me a lot right now."



• Key phrase in this story: "I wouldn't use that much to kill him, but just enough to make him not have an erection."

I'm in full "honey-do list" mode

My wife has decided that it's time to re-do the room we call "the kids bathroom" That means I need to scrap, patch, paint, caulk and then replace all the fixtures. She would like this project completed before my daughter comes home on spring break.

That's next Saturday.

So today we spent a good three hours staring at paint chips and light fixtures at Home Depot until my wife was able to finally say those magic words, "Okay, I like this one". This afternoon, I removed all the fixtures, scraped all lose paint, patched the holes in the walls and scraped all the old silicon caulking from around the bathtub.

I'll give the plaster a day to harden and tomorrow afternoon will be spent sanding the walls and caulking around the tub.

Once I'm happy with the walls and the caulking has dried, I'll have four days to paint the walls and put up the new fixtures.

You would think I would be able to complete this project well within that four day time frame but you might be wrong.

I have The Dog and he likes to help.

He likes to help by running his tail up against the freshly painted wall.

I love my dog.

⧫

The Red Sox lost to the Pirates today but it was still a pretty good game because it was on NESN which means I got to watch some of it.

Tomorrow they're playing the Braves again and NESN will be carrying that game as well.

⧫

You can visit these links if you want to:

• The key phrase in this story: "A Florida man was arrested after being found naked in a Steller Transportation work van with a fire extinguisher."
(I wonder what the fire extinguisher was for?)



• Send him to Washington.



• A masters degree from Sizzler University.



• Damn. I missed it.



• Oh Canada.

Another win.

The Red Sox managed to beat the Braves 9-1 today and thanks to MLB gameday, I was able to watch a cartoon baseball character stand at a cartoon home plate and stare at little dots appearing in the strike zone in front of him.

I love the internet.

⧫

Here are some links that you can click on:

• The guy loved his pron.



• Only in Florida.



• That's a big bomb...



• It's the old "it was a joke" defense.

March came in like lamb. Or a lizard. Or maybe a wallaby. I have no idea.

March has been designated as Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

Well, I have a gambling problem.

My problem is that I never freakin' win!

And that, my friends, is a problem...

⧫

Here are some links:

• Only in Florida.
  (Also, what kind of weirdo keeps their underwear in the garage???)



• Only in New York City would people stand in line for 3 hours for something they can buy at the grocery store. And I'd bet they're probably paying upwards of $7.00 for each scoop.



• I'm not sure where Kolkata is but if you ever go there, don't order the fries.



• There is something very wrong with some people.



• Let me repeat that: There is something very wrong with some people.

Kind of a dreary day.

I need to go pick up a bag of grass seed and hopefully grow some grass in the spots on my lawn that didn't recover from last years drought. I don't like having bare spots in my lawn,

Then again, who really cares. It's just grass after all.

⧫

At one point today, the DJIA was up more than 340 points. This is a good thing because I'm not working and I'm drawing on my investments. If my investments can grow faster than I'm withdrawing, I will be a very happy guy.

Please allow me take this opportunity to say thank you to President Trump. The DJIA is up more than 3,000 points since the November election and I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence.

⧫

These links may bring you some pleasure:

• It might be time for a departmental barbecue.



• Researchers: Contributing to the betterment of society or a complete waste of perfectly good oxygen? We report, you decide.



• Key line from this PSA from the Indiana State Police: "It may require that you put down your coffee..."



• At first I thought this was Florida but it's not, it's Australia.



• Only in Florida.
  (caution: Autoplay...)



• Oh, and by the way, there is a great movie being released in the near future.