I've removed all of my favorite candy from the bowl.

I've discovered something called caramel M&Ms. My wife brought them home in a mixed candy bag for halloween and I tried some. That was when I looked at her and said, "You are not giving these to those little monsters. These are mine! MINE I TELL YOU!"

Then I gave a little maniacal laugh and hoarded the little bags of caramel M&Ms.

⧫

My neighbors are sitting in their driveway giving out candy because they don't have a door anymore. The tree pretty much destroyed the entire entrance to their house. Hopefully things get repaired soon for them because it's bad. Really bad.

The ridge board is shattered, the rafters are smashed, the drywall ceiling is busted up and the front wall is damaged.

⧫

I'm going to watch game six of the World Series.

Well, actually, I'm going to watch a few innings of game six of the World Series.

While I do that, you can do these:

• TaTas for Tacos.



• How the hell long was this flight??



• Winner of the Headline of the Year award.



• Only in Florida.

My neighbors got hit hard.

We had a major wind storm hit our area last night. The dog was pacing back and forth because of the wind and rain and we lost power around midnight. Right around 1:00, I heard a loud crash but I couldn't see what caused it.

This morning when I was leaving for work I noticed that my neighbors were in a world of hurt. Seems that the loud crash I heard was caused by a 75 foot oak tree falling over and crashing through the roof of their family room.

Fortunately they were all upstairs in bed and not sitting in their family room when the tree came through.

Unfortunately, it looks bad. Personally, I think that side of the house is uninhabitable. The rafters are smashed, the roof itself is gone and I'd bet the joists and ceiling are also destroyed.

⧫

Since my dog and the crashing tree kept me awake most of the night, I'm freaking tired.

There is no baseball or football tonight so I'll be falling asleep soon. You can click on these if you want:

• I'm a dead man.



• Don't screw with a mom.



• Pffftttt.... College students....

It must suck to be a Browns or 49ers fan

Half way through the football season and neither the Browns nor the 49er's have won a game. And it's not looking like they are going to suddenly improve and start winning during the second half of the season.

The Patriots, however, are now 6-2 for the first half of the season and are well on their way to appearing in yet another post season.

Oh, and by the way, Dion Lewis can run like the wind.

Just sayin' is all.

⧫

Now I'm going to watch game five of the World Series. As much as I don't really care about either team, I gotta admit that this series is pretty good.

⧫

I used to say that the internet was closed on Sundays. I think I'm going to start saying that again because it's hard to find interesting stuff.

What I managed to find is here:

• Maybe it was Bring Your Daughter To Work Day.



• And so it continues.



• Pretty soon we're going to go back to the moon just so we can remove the plaque.



• Key phrase in this story: "...a woman who arrived home after a long day and was in no mood to have her car stolen..."

Time to disband the MIAA

Title IX is a section of the 1972 Civil Rights Act that states:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

In my non-legal mind, that statement is very, very clear. What is says is that everyone who lives in this country should expect to be treated just like everyone else who lives in this country when it comes to any educational program or activity.

Over the years, the Supreme Court and other federal courts have been asked to define what that really means and one of the decisions handed down says that it is permissible to separate male and female athletes in sports that involve physical contact or high skill levels but once one is allowed to participate in the other's sport, that individual must be allowed to participate fully. In other words, once you let a girl on to a boys team, she must be treated equally.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is the official sports representative for high school sports in Massachusetts. It was formed in 1978 to better align the sports programs at Massachusetts high schools so everyone played under the same rules.

Unfortunately for the student athletes of the 21^st century, the MIAA does not appear to review it's rules on a regular basis and it does not appear to be in any hurry to review them in the near future. As a matter of fact, the association appears to be made up entirely of old men wearing dark suits with stiff collars, monocles, top hats and spats who say, "Haarrumph" a lot.

Seems that Emily Nash has an athletic skill that very few of us have - she can hit a golf ball with one of those effed-up sticks called a golf club and she can do it very well. So well in fact that I am jealous of her ability because I've only ever broken 80 once in my life yet she does it all the time. And she's only 16...

All that aside, this kind of sucks and the MIAA should be ashamed of itself. It should be disbanded and a new organization put into place that at least realizes our society has changed and matured. For instances, we now allow women to vote, we now allow them to own land, we now allow them to drive cars and we allow them to play sports.

And when one of those women is better at a sport then most men, we damned well better recognize that woman with the same vigor and respect that would give to a man.

⧫

The Astros are up two games to one and they seem to be unstoppable. If they can maintain their offensive dominance, they will win the series before it heads back to Los Angeles.

I managed to watch two innings last night and I'm going to try for another two innings again tonight. I'm still trying to recover from the long night at the ER the other night.

⧫

Here are some links:

• Chocolate Covered Heroin would be a great name for a 1960s psychedelic rock band.



• Around here we only have to worry about birds, rabbits and deer.



• Key line in this story: "...eating an entire bottle of mustard."



• Proper anus cleaning is a must.



• Here's the video of the month.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya comes with special instructions on how to avoid being killed.

Fun night at the ER

My mother in law had an incident last night and since my wife is an only child, it's up to her to take care of her. And since my wife is an only child, I'm right there with her because I'm not going to leave my wife to deal with this alone.

So we ended up at Baystate Palmer at 6:00 last night and they ended up shipping her over to Baystate Springfield around 10:00. We took the opportunity to stop at home, get changed, let the dog out and grab a snack.

We got to Baystate Springfield around 11:30 and finally got home around 1:00am.

Then we got up and went to work at our normal time.

Oh, and for the record, she's fine. We, however, are exhausted.

⧫

So the World Series is tied at one game each. The Astros managed to take the second game in Los Angeles which is a good thing for the Astros because the next three games are in Houston. The Astros usually win when they are the home team.

Maybe the World Series will be over before it has to head back to Los Angeles.

⧫

In other baseball news, the Yankees decided that they are tired of having a manager with the best record in MLB so they fired Joe Girardi. I can't wait to see who they end up with because it's going to be hard to top Girardi's record.

Sometimes I think the Steinbrenner boys are idiots.

⧫

I'm going to try and watch a little baseball before passing out on my couch.

You can visit these links if you would like:

• Australia: What doesn't kill ya makes you squirm and clench up.



• Of course he did. What the hell did they expect him to do?



• Only in Florida.



• Um, Dracula?

No post tonight

Way to much going on tonight.

I’ll fill you in tomorrow.

Dodgers 1, Astros 0

The Dodgers took a one game lead in the World Series last night and I managed to watch four innings of the game.

As I said the other day, I don't have any feelings one way or the other about the series because neither team appeals to me. But it is baseball and I'll watch it.

It's what I do...

⧫

I'm going to watch some of game two.

While I do that, you should click on these:

• Only in New York City.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya goes to Florida and shoves you around.



• Only in Florida.



• I love this.



• Admit it, you did this to a little brother or sister when you were a kid.

There is baseball tonight.

The World Series starts tonight at 8:00 and I could care less about either one of the teams. I suppose I'll watch a few innings but I won't be offering any of my sage advice.

⧫

We spent an hour on the phone with our youngest going over his benefit options. It's hard to be a young kid starting out.

When I was starting out, there was no 401(k) to think about, there was only Blue Cross/Blue Shield for health insurance and only rich people had dental insurance. We had no decisions to make, it was what it was and we were happy to have it.

Now you have to think about contributions to retirement accounts, contributions to health savings accounts, what level of health insurance, what level of dental insurance and what level of prescription coverage.

So anyways, we got him all squared away and he is now adulting on a full time basis.

⧫

Not much else to prattle on about so I think we'll just get to the links:

• Bummer. I always liked him and his acerbic wit.



• Only in Florida.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya makes you think it's gonna kill ya.



• Anti-Magpie Helmet would be a great name for a 1980's punk band.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya makes great fishing bait.

Foggy night for football.

I only watched the first half of last nights game because, well, I'm old and I fall asleep early.

The fog started rolling into Gillette just about 5 minutes before the half and it was looking a little eerie. I understand that at one point, the distant sideline cameras were basically written off and only the flying overhead camera was used. It must have been weird to watch a game from that angle.

⧫

I've been judiciously ignoring the recent spat between John McCain and Donald Trump because, to be honest with you, I think our President was a real asshole when he disrespected John McCain, and all POWs, during the campaign and I didn't feel like digging out that cesspool. But I guess neither Trump or McCain can keep their mouths shut so here we go...

I'm not a fan of Crazy Donald. I think he, like most CEO's, displays psychopathic tendencies. He treats people like they don't matter, he disrupts the norm and he refuses to accept that he might be wrong. Those are all traits displayed by psychopaths. I didn't vote for him in 2016 and so far, he's done nothing to make me want to vote for him in 2020.

I'm not a fan of Senator McCain but I certainly respect him. While I look at him as a lifelong politician who fails to understand what it's like to be middle-class American, I also look at him a hero in a war that no one wanted. When he returned home from that war, he could have crawled into a bottle but he didn't. He devoted himself to a life of public service and as far as I'm concerned, that is a far better thing than running your own company and making yourself a millionaire on the backs of others.

⧫

You can click on these if you want:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Month.



• Police Report of the Year.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya runs you over.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya has babies that will eventually grow up to kill ya.

Electricity is a fickle mistress

We lost power around 1:00 this afternoon but fortunately for us I have a generator and several gallons of gasoline.

The big problem for me is we also lost cable. That means no football games or cooking shows. It also means I'm forced to access the internet via my cell phone's hotspot. I can only imagine what that is going to do to my data usage this month...

National Grid claimed that our power would be restored sometime around 6:30 or 7:00 and it turns out they lied. It was restored around 5:40.

Good job National Grid.

⧫

Well, the Astros beat the Yankees last night and I managed to stay awake for the entire game.

The Astros will be playing the Dodgers in the World Series and the first game of the best of seven series will be played in Los Angeles on Tuesday at 8:00.

I'll watch some of it but since it is being carried by Fox, Joe Buck will probably be the announcer.

I can't stand Joe Buck. He's a turd.

In other baseball news, it looks like Alex Cora will be the newest manager of the Boston Red Sox.

He's not in Boston yet because he's a bit busy right now seeing as he's the bench coach for the Astros and they're still playing baseball. Hopefully they win the World Series and he shows up in Boston with a World Series winning attitude.

⧫

You can visit these links while I spend my evening watching bad television:

• Only in Florida.



• No, it's not ridiculous.



• Apparently monkeys aren't the only ones throwing poop in Africa.



• This is why most people use logs.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: “2:24 p.m. A Columbia Falls woman said someone at Microsoft called her and asked to access her computer and bank account.”



• Australia: What doesn’t kill ya goes dormant for a decade & then comes to life and kills ya.



• I've never tried their cake. Maybe I should.

Perfect day to fly

I spent an hour and a quarter doing pattern work and a little sightseeing today.

I took off, flew once around the pattern and did a touch & go. The reason I did the touch & go is that there were two other planes in the pattern with me and they were doing touch & go's. Rather than mess with the flow, I decided to keep pace with the other two.

My second time around there was only one other plane in the pattern with me so I did a full stop landing and then taxi'd back. I repeated that two more times and then departed the pattern to make a short flight up to Montague and back where I made my fifth and final landing.

Here's a picture I took looking south down the river from Sugarloaf towards Northampton.

I tried to find some fall colors. This is the best I could do:

It was a little busy in the sky but no one was being a dick and we all stayed out of each others way.

I love flying.

⧫

The final game of the ALCS will be played tonight.

This has been an interesting series because so far, the home team has won every game. That's why it is tied at 3 each. If the streak holds, the Astros (the home team) will win and move on to the World Series.

I'm actually hoping the Yankees win and move on but in all honesty, I don't really care.

⧫

Here are some links that you can visit:

• A cake apology is always a good idea.



• Good advice.



• Key phrase in this story: "...embarrassing moment for ICE."



• I'm betting he's no longer a police cadet...

Will they do it?

If you had told me 3 months ago that the Yankees would be one game away from winning the American League pennant and getting into the World Series, I would have told you that you were crazy.

The Astros host the Yankees at 8:00 this evening and the Yankees lead the series three games to two so it's do-or-die for the Astros.

I think I'm going to try and watch some of that game.

⧫

While I struggle to stay awake for a couple of innings, you can click on these:

• Key phrase in this story: "...it’s not known if she returned to her dorm room."



• It's the old "I don't have to listen to you!" defense.



• Fashion: I don't get it.

No baseball tonight

That means I'll probably go to bed at a decent hour.

⧫

Here are a few links you can visit:

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



• He's 186 years old. Let him get it any way he can.



• Bend over....



• It's the old "You Can't Smell Me!" defense.

Once again, quiet day.

I watched a bit of the Yankees / Astros game today but I'm finding it difficult to get into this series. I'm not a fan of either team so I don't really care which one wins.

I did, however, manage to reserve a plane for this Saturday afternoon so I got that to look forward to.

⧫

I haven't had any interesting spam lately so I've pretty much been deleting whatever comes in. This morning I got a good one:

Great write-up, I'm regular visitor of one's blog, maintain up the excellent operate, and It's going to be a regular visitor for a long time.

Don't worry regular visitor, I will make every effort to maintain up the effort.

⧫

I found these links for you to visit:

• Key phrase in this story: "We will not be there to save you if your intended target defends himself or herself."



• Peyton Manning is a pretty funny guy.



• This is why I have my pilots license.



• Hey, at least he brought donuts.



• Yes! I knew my lack of exercise would eventually pay off!

Cold this morning.

I broke out the coat this morning and turned the heat on in my car but I still had the window open a bit as I drove in.

I love this time of the year. - cool, crisp air and no humidity. That makes for good flying weather.

Maybe this weekend I can squeeze a short flight out over the Berkshires and upper valley to see what the foliage looks like.

⧫

Not much else to chat about.

Here are some links:

• I've only heard two rap songs I like: The first one is Run-DMC & Aerosmith doing a remake of Walk This Way and the second one is Jon LaJoie rapping out his song, Everyday Normal Guy.
(Caution: Very, Very Bad Language)



• Whoever is running the Yankee's Twitter account is a funny guy.



• Fans used to go to car races to see the wrecks. Now they go to see the tasings.



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



• Fashion: I don't get it.

A bit chilly today

Fortunately, we have a dryer and my wife was able to wash all of my long sleeve shirts. This means I was not walking around campus in short sleeves freezing my butt off.

I was, however, walking around campus with sore legs and a stiff back. Doing plumbing in a closet is hard on us old guys.

⧫

Not much else to prattle on about. I think I'll take a coupe of ibuprofen, try to watch a few innings of baseball and fall asleep early.

You can click on these:

• Here in the United States, we have hipsters. In Mexico, they have these....



• Some people have too much free time.



• And this is why face tattoos are a bad idea.

We have clean clothes.

It took me a good chunk of the morning but the dryer is up and running.

Moving a 28¼ inch dryer through a 28¼ doorway is not all that easy. It requires removing some of the door frame without doing any irreparable damage.

Connecting a gas dryer to the gas line and venting it properly is also not all that easy. It requires a knowledge of plumbing, some good pipe dope and a little bit of duct tape.

Connecting a gas dryer and venting it properly while working in a space that is basically a closet is freaking hard. It calls for flexibility and dexterity that is normally found in someone who is substantially younger than me.

But all that aside, I managed to get it hooked up and running nicely. This means we have clean, dry clothes.

It also means that I'm hoping the ibuprofen does its job soon.

⧫

The Patriots started out todays game looking pretty bad and I was genuinely concerned that they were going to lose to the Jets. That would have been a very bad thing in my opinion.

But as they tend to do, they overcame a 14-0 deficit and ended the game beating the Jets 24-17

Tom Brady is looking a lot like Skeletor lately. I'm thinking his TB12 diet of nuts and berries might turn out to be a bad move on his part.

Also, the CBS announcers, Eagle, Fouts and Washburn, are definitely Jets fans. They were amazed that the Patriots won and they would not stop talking about a Jets TD that was overturned upon review.

⧫

I'm sore and tired so I think it's going to be an early night for me.

You can visit these if you would like:

• We have these at my house but it's not hydraulic fluid, it's the dog.



• Attention wanna-be's: Imitating a cop never turns out well.



• Pfffttttt.... Rednecks....



• Only in Florida.

Waiting for a dryer

According to the dispatcher who called my wife yesterday afternoon, the delivery window for our dryer was between 3:00 and 7:00 today. They showed up at 7:05.

I was going to give the guy a little crap about being late until he told me they had four more deliveries tonight.

Sucks to be them.

So I guess tomorrow morning I'll be connecting everything up and testing the new dryer. Then I'll turn it over to my wife because I'm not actually allowed to do laundry. It's been made clear that I really don't know what I'm doing...

⧫

So here are some links for you:

• Key phrase in this Brilliant Criminal story: "But he didn't change his backpack."



• Oh Canada.



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



• Apparently there is no fresh air in California.

Long day

I met up with some guys I haven't seen in a couple of months so I don't have anything for you.

Stop complaining and go find your own links...

Our appliances are slowly dying.

We recently had to repair our refrigerator, our dishwasher has decided to stop rinsing the soap off the dishes and our dryer died last weekend.  It was a collection of one problem after another.

I'm happy to report that the fridge is functioning perfectly, the dishwasher thing is remedied by using less soap and we are currently awaiting delivery of a new dryer.

But all things considered, if one more appliance dies, I'm thinking we should just sell the place and move to a condo.

⧫

Here are some links for you to click on:

• Only in Florida.



• Excess Cheese would be a great name for a 1960's rockabilly band.



• This is why I don't eat sushi.



• Key phrase in this story: "He did not want to explain why he had had his penis stuck in a wrench."



• Well, it's not on my bucket list...

And so it ends.

John Farrell's tenure as the manager of the Red Sox came to an end today when Trade 'em Away Dave announced that he had made a the decision to move on.

I'm betting that Farrell will find a new position somewhere because he's not a bad manager but I'm not entirely sure Dombrowski made the wrong decision. Farrell never seemed to get control of that team and it showed when he missed most of the 2015 season and Torey Lovullo took over.

Yes, the Red Sox will survive & move forward and John Farrell will survive & move on but it's going to be an interesting off-season watching & waiting to see what Dombrowski does with the team.

I'm not entirely sure I have a lot of faith in his baseball decision-making skills...

⧫

Now I'm going to watch a couple of innings of the Yankees/Indians game.

While I do that, you can click on these:

• I'm thinking this is going to turn out to be a very bad idea...



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, flies at you and tries to kill ya.



• Australia: Where even the women are Australian.

No baseball tonight

The NLDS game between the Nationals and the Cubs that had been scheduled for this evening has been postponed until tomorrow due to rain.

Guess I'll have to watch DVRs again.

⧫

Today was a nice busy day with no stress or panic on anyones part. Nothing at all like my old job where everybody was certain that there pet project was the most important thing in the world and there were at least 10 or 15 pet projects that needed your immediate attention.

This is a place where there aren't 15 bosses and 5 workers, this is a place where pretty much everyone is both a boss and a worker and we all have the same goals.

I like it.

⧫

Here are a few links:

• Best reader comment: "Cue Yakety Sax."



• It's the old, "I was practicing my mad ninja skillz!" defense.



• This used to be against the law. Now it's a degree program.



• How very Irish.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, fools you and then kills ya.

And so it ends.

Well, time for me to root for the Indians. Hopefully they blow out the Yankees this evening.

The Red Sox took a one run lead in the fifth but just couldn't hold on to it. In the eighth, the Astros pushed two across the plate to take a one run lead of their own. Then in the ninth they added another run to take a two run lead. The game ended with the Astros winning 5-4 and the Red Sox are now on a nice long winter vacation.

I'll be curious to see what changes will be made to the team this off-season.

In the meantime, GO INDIANS!

⧫

I'm going to watch some DVRs and a little of the Indians / Yankees game.

You can visit these:

• Here's proof that even stupid people can be rich.
  Or maybe it's proof that rich people can be stupid...



• I'm honored.



• This strikes me as a very Colorado kind of thing.



• Fortunately, this one is head east instead of west.



• Attention re-enacting-nutcases: Give people a heads up if you're gonna re-enact WWII.



• That Jesus guy needs to stop telling people to do stupid things.

The Red Sox get to play again tomorrow.

It was a win-or-go-home game today and they managed to win. And it was a butt whoomping. This means they stay alive to play again tomorrow. If they win tomorrow, the series is tied 2-2 and they go back to Houston.

If they lose tomorrow, the series is over and I start rooting for the Indians.

⧫

While I watch the Indians play the Yankees, you can click on these links:

• When they said, "A picture is worth a thousand words", this is the guy they were talking about.



• Seems like a real stable family.



• Something tells me this is a Japanese idea.



• More proof that there are a great many stupid people living amongst us.

The Red Sox did not lose today

Because they didn't play today.

I suspect that tomorrow will be a different story...

⧫

We're trying a new dog food. He's reached that point in his life where he needs the dog food for "mature dogs", which is another way of saying, "old fur bag".

I'm hoping the new food is easier on his digestion.

Actually, I'm really hoping the new food minimizes his intestinal emissions, if you get my drift.

⧫

Here are some links that you should consider visiting:

• Oh Canada.



• Amazingly enough, it does not appear that any alcohol was involved.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, tries to have sex with ya...



• Oh Canada, the sequel.

This isn't going well at all

The Red Sox managed to get beat badly by the Astros this afternoon and they are now down 2 games. The Astros will be coming to Boston to play on Sunday afternoon. If the Astros win, the series is over and the Red Sox go on vacation. If the Red Sox win, they play again on Monday.

If the Red Sox win both games at Fenway, they go back to Houston for the final game of the series on Wednesday.

Right now, things don't look good but if the Red Sox lose, I'll throw my support behind the Indians because I like Francona.

⧫

Here are a few links that you can take a look at:

• Only in Walmart.



• Twenty Eight? Holy Cow! Where is Guiness Book of Records when you need them.



• Key phrase in this story: "She said her husband has killed about 30 of them."



• He's a Happy Guy.



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

Not a great start

The Red Sox managed to fall to the Astros this afternoon. This means they need to win tomorrow if they want to come back to Boston with a chance at winning the series.

Sale is worn out and it showed. The guy was focused and ready but his arm just isn't what it was before the All Star break. He gave up two home runs in the first inning and then one more in the fifth. In between, e gave up a couple of doubles and a few walks.

I still think he's one of the best pitchers in the league and he should be considered for the Cy Young but he won't win it. He simply gave up too many hits in the second half of the season.

Tomorrow's game is at 2:00 so I'll be listening to it on a radio. At least I hope I'll be listening to it. I'm not entirely sure what kind of radio reception I'll get in my office.

⧫

Enjoy these links:

• How did this become a thing? Were two or three drunks sitting around one day and one said, "Hey! You know what? I bet I can put on more underwears than you can!"



• I could have used this in high school when they were trying, and failing, to teach me Spanish.



• He had it coming to him.



• There is a deli in New York that will probably be going out of business soon.



• Key phrase in this story: "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience."



• Rich people have problems that you and I will never have.

The Yankees will be playing the Indians

They managed to beat the Twins last night and are on tap to play the Indians tomorrow evening.

Tonight is the NL Wildcard game between the Diamondbacks and the Rockies. I'm kind of hoping the Diamondbacks win because of their coach, Torey Lovullo. He was the Red Sox bench coach that took over when Farrell was diagnosed with cancer and out for treatment.

I like Lovullo and I think he deserves a shot at the World Series.

As for the Red Sox, they play they are currently in Houston and tomorrow they start their 5 game series against the Astros. The game starts at 4:00 so I'll have to watch some of it using GameDay.

⧫

According to Google, the distance from the base of the Mandalay Bay tower to the center of the concert venue is 1200 feet. That's 400 yards.

This guy managed to fire a .223 (5.56) over 400 yards into an enclosed arena and hit more than 500 people, killing 59 of them.

In his warped mind, he probably didn't even think of them as people. He probably thought of them like bugs or something. He had no idea who he was shooting or where he was hitting them. He hit people in the head, the back, the side, the arms, the legs,

This means that of the 400 plus injured, some number of them are now permanently maimed.

This was one sick son of a bitch.

⧫

While I watch a little baseball, you can click on these:

• Only in Florida.



• So I guess this means Santa Claus is dead.



• I'm betty Charles Keenan was a bully when he was in school.



• It's the old, "I'm from the future!" defense.

Late meeting

I had a late meeting with my finance guy this afternoon and now I'm watching the news.

⧫

Can someone tell me why bump-fire stocks are legal? Anything that turns a semi-automatic weapon into a fully-automatic weapon should be illegal to manufacture or own.

⧫

While I try to watch a few innings of baseball, you can click on these:

• When I die, bury me in Taiwan and enjoy the show.



• Is it pronounced Nu Orleeeens or NOrlens?



• The Japanese are extremely weird.



• I can see the resemblance....

I've stayed at the Mandalay Bay hotel

It has a nice view of the strip and last night it became a perfect snipers nest.

I'm not entirely sure what is wrong with our society or why someone would do something like that. It's like shooting fish in barrel.

It was not only evil, it was cowardly. This was a man with no testicles and no sense of decency.

On the other hand, there are more decent people in this world than there are evil cowards.

⧫

Pat sent me some of the pictures he took.

This is a picture of the Connecticut River as it goes over Turners Falls in Montague:

This is a picture of the river as it cuts between Sugarloaf on the right and Toby on the right:

This is UMass:

And finally, this is a picture of the bald eagle that was flying over the northern end of the airport:

And that, my friends, is why I love flying that loop over the upper valley. It is very pretty country.

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You can visit these links if you want:

• Only in Florida.



• The video made me laugh out loud.



• Wasn't this how the Planet of the Apes started?

Beautiful day to fly

Pat and I took off at 3:00 and landed at 4:00. It was a nice day to be flying and we weren't the only ones that felt that way.

Pat was in charge of two things today. He was the official flight photographer and I'm hoping he managed to get some nice shots.

His second job was to use my iPad to keep an eye on the other planes around us because it was a little crowded up there today.

First there was a lot of traffic at the airport with students doing touch & gos and pattern work. We ha to wait a bit before the runway was available for us. One arriving pilot was kind enough to wait in the keyhole after landing while we took off.

Then I discovered that it was crowded in the sky with several other planes flying in the same area we were in. At one point Pat spotted a plane on the screen that was half a mile behind and 200 feet below us.

Then there was the five or six bright yellow helium balloons tied together in a bunch that passed a few feet off my left wing while we were flying over the river near Sugarloaf.<

Finally there was the bald eagle flying over the north end of the airport when we landed.

All things considered, it was still a great day for flying. I stayed between 2,300 and 3,300 during the flight, depending on how bumpy the air was. It wasn't really bumpy at all so we stayed as low as we could for most of the flight.

And my landing was spot-on. Hopefully Pat manage to get some video of it so I can post it.

There was no ATC record of the flight so here's a Google maps view I created using their measuring tool.

I know that I fly that route a lot but it's beautiful country and seeing it from 3,000 feet is something not a lot of people have ever seen.

Trust me, it's beautiful. The Quabbin to the east, the Berkshires to the west and the Connecticut river down the middle. I'll be flying the route until I can no longer fly.

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While it was a beautiful day to fly, it was a crappy day to be a New England sports fan. The Patriots managed to lose to the Panthers and the Red Sox manage to lose to the Astros.

Not the best of showings from the two sports teams I follow.

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I'm going to watch some Storage Wars.

While I do that, you can click on these:

• Only in Texas.



• Oh Canada.
  (Actually, my daughter, the vet student, might find that kinda interesting)



• Shenanigans is not a word you hear very often in todays society.