Well, it wasn't a good night

The Red Sox beat the Angels but the Rays beat the Indians and the Athletics beat the Yankees. This means the Red Sox held at five and a half.

On the upside, the Yankees beat the Athletics this afternoon so as of now, the Red Sox are five games out of the wild card. If they win tonight, they will be four and a half games out.

I'm still hoping they can pull this thing off but I won't be watching. The game starts at 9:00 and that means I will probably be able to watch 3 innings at the most.

⧫

Today was spent tackling the third, and largest, dirt patch. This one was created when a giant pine was taken down on the side of our garage. We weeded it and turned the dirt. Then I raked it and seeded.

As for the first two patches, they are growing grass quite nicely and I'm hoping that by the end of September, I'll have to mow it.

⧫

Looks like my wife's cousin down in Cocoa Beach, FL isn't going to experience a category 4 hurricane. The storm is now predicted to stay offshore. They'll still get high winds but not like the original prediction. They will also avoid any massive storm surge.

This is a good thing.

⧫

While I enjoy some bad television and some baseball, you can enjoy these:

• First it's the hurricane, now this. They are having a shitty day.



• Some people are miserable cusses. Fortunately, other people are good guys.



• This is what frightens the people that fish the Quabbin.



• Only in Florida.



• A dog would never do this....

This could be a good night for the Red Sox

The Red Sox are playing the Angels and the last time they played the Angels, they split the four game series with them. I say a good night because when they split that series, the Red Sox were playing some of the worst baseball of their season. I am saying that they stand a very good chance of wining at least 2 of the 3 games in this series.

If they can win tonight, the goodness comes in with the fact that the Yankees are playing the Athletics and the Indians are playing the Rays. That means the Athletics and the Rays both stand a good chance of losing tonight.

My hopes are that tomorrow morning, when I wake up and check the scores, I discover that the Red Sox are four and a half games behind the Athletics in the wild card.

Like I say, I can dream.

⧫

I apologize for not providing a grass update yesterday. I know it's important to you.

And so, without any further ado, it's time for your Daily Grass Update:

WE HAVE GRASS!
Granted, it's little tiny shoots of grass just barely
sticking out of the dirt but it's grass none-the-less!

This has been your Daily Grass Update.

⧫

No, I will not be watching any baseball this evening. The game isn't on until 10:00 and I expect to be sound asleep by then.

Here are a few links for you to enjoy:

• There will be no remake of Rhoda.



• I pretty sure this is from India.



• Don't mess with a rhino.



• Yes, we have relatives in Florida. Yes, they are on the east coast. Yes, I think they are nuts for staying down there.

Wow. They picked up half a game.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox beat the Rockies and the Royals beat the Athletics. This put the Red Sox five games out of the wild car. This afternoon, the Athletics beat the Royals and the Red Sox are on a travel day as they make their way to Los Angeles. This means the Red Sox gave back half a game and are now five and half games out of the wild card slot.

All of that took them from a 6% chance of making the playoffs to almost an 8% chance!

Hey, I'll take any increase in their chances, no matter how small.

⧫

There is may not be baseball but there is football.

Yes, I know it's pre-season football and yes, I know it doesn't really count and yes, I realize that the Patriots will probably be playing second string guys but I don't care, it's still football.

I'd much rather watch pre-season football than bad game shows or reruns on the History Channel.

While I do that, you can do these:

• This is a very New Jersey kind of problem.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, probably kills ya.



• Giant's Erection would be a fantastic name for a 1970s porn movie.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, gets ya a little worked up.



• I may have posted this before but that's okay because it deserves to be posted again.

Still six games behind

They won last night but so did the Athletics so they remain 6 games behind in the wild card race.

It's looking bleak.

⧫

I was wondering why my water tasted funny.

⧫

Time for your Daily Grass Update:

Still no grass.
There is, however, plenty of rain.

This has been your Daily Grass Update.

⧫

I managed to watch 4 innings of baseball last night and I'm shooting for four innings again tonight.

While I prepare myself to stay awake past my bedtime, you can click on these:

• I'm not shocked by this. Are you shocked by it? You shouldn't be shocked by it.



• Something tells me drugs may be involved.



• Maybe they aren't draining the swamp fast enough.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant and Unlucky Criminal of the Year.

Six games behind

They are currently listed as having a 6% chance of making the playoffs. That is not what I consider good odds.

Tonights game is on at 8:40pm so I figure I'll be able to give them my sage coaching advice for at least three or four innings. After that, they'll just have to figure things out on their own.

⧫

I had lunch with the retirees today and to a man, they are all really, really happy being retired.

One of these days, I'm going to have to give that a try.

⧫

Time for your Daily Grass Update:

Nope, no grass yet.

This has been your Daily Grass Update.

⧫

Here are a few links to click on:

• I needed this when I was playing golf.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• I bet that this is going to turn out poorly for him.



• Only in Florida.


• Key line in this story: "...if a shooting would have happened, she wouldn't have been able to respond."

And they lost yesterday.

I'm about ready to concede that fact that the Red Sox are not going to be playing baseball in October.

Make note that I did not say I concede the fact, I said I'm about ready to. If they sweep the Rockies and the Angels, I'll be very impressed and really happy.

If the Rays and the Athletics go on a losing streak, I'll be really, really happy.

⧫

Time for your Daily Grass Update:

Nope, no grass yet.

This has been your Daily Grass Update.

⧫

No baseball tonight. This means I need to find some bad television to watch.

You can click on these if you want:

• Which leads me to wonder if he tried to smoke his cell phone...



• Here's something you will probably never see again.



• Never bring a didgeridoo to a gun fight.



• I have a feeling that either alcohol or drugs were somehow involved in this.

They won last night.

They beat the Padres 5-4 when Holt hit a home run in the ninth inning and then Workman came in to close and held the Padres hitless.

This afternoon isn't going quite as well but it's still early. Right now it's 3-1 Padres in the seventh inning.

Hopefully they manage to turn it around and score at least 3 runs to take a lead.

Hey, I can dream, can't I.

⧫

My wife and I busted our collective asses this weekend.

Yesterday, we planted two trees - one Japanese red maple to match one we already had and a horse chestnut. The chestnut is on the side of the garage so all those buckeyes that fall out of it over the years will end up in the side yard, not the front yard. I hear deer and squirrels love buckeyes.

Today, we pulled all the weeds out of the topsoil that was put down where the crabapple trees used to be, turned the soil to break it up and finally spread some grass seed.

Now if the grass seed actually sprouts and the grass actually grows, I'll be an actual happy guy.

⧫

Try these links if you want:

• Key phrase in this story: "The horny man in Japan is spoiled for choice when it comes to sexy entertainment."



• Key phrase in this story: "There’s no way to sugar coat that or put it nicely."



• Yuck.



• Yea, someone is going to be in trouble over this.



• Damn health nuts are ruining everything!

They won last night...

...but so did the Rays.

That means the Red Sox remain six and a half games out in the wild card race.

It's now or never for the Red Sox. There are about 33 games left in the season and the Red Sox need to go on a winning streak while the Rays, the Athletics and the Indians all need to go on a losing streak.

Hey, I can keep on dreaming.

On the other side of the baseball coin, Louisiana won the Little League U.S. Championship and will now play the Caribbean in the Little League World Series tomorrow at 3:00pm.

I'll watch that game.

⧫

The Red Sox are on at 8:00 tonight. That's still too late for me to watch the whole game but it's way better than 10:00. Maybe I'll get to watch at least half the game.

Here are some links to click on:

• Yea, it was... uh... Bad seafood! That's what it was. Bad crabs! Yea, that's the ticket.



• Add this to the list of fads we don't need to revisit.



• Be on the lookout for Smeagol.

I spent the day in Boston

I was at a conference today so not a lot of time for webbing or surfinating.

And by the way, I had forgotten what the traffic on the pike was like. I left my house at 6:15 this morning and it took my 2+ hours to get there this morning. The drive home was even worse. I left there at 2:00 and didn't get home until after 5:00. For those of you that don't want to do the math, that's 3 hours.

It was a good conference and I'm glad I went but the drive sucked and I'll probably pass when thye hold another one in 3 months.

⧫

While I whine to The Dog about the fact the baseball game isn't on until 10:00 tonight, you can visit these links:

• Australia: They take their coffee very seriously.



• Key phrase in this story: "The swings were impressively forceful and resulted in extensive damage."



• When they start ringing the doorbell, it's time to get a different doorbell.



• Did anyone look to see if the bishop from Caddyshack was anywhere near there?

And they lost again last night...

...but they won this afternoon.

The Red Sox took an early 2 run lead against the Phillies last night but they couldn't hold on to it. They ended up losing 5-2, dropping them seven back in the wild card race.

This afternoon they played a 12 minute game against the Royals.

Today was the day they resumed play of the 10 inning tied game from August 7th and initially, it looked like maybe it was going go a few more innings. The game started 4-4 in the top of the 10th with the Royals at bat. The first three Royal batters stuck out or hit into an out.

The Red Sox came up to bat and Benintendi promptly struck out.

Up came Vazquez and he promptly hit a double.

The Royals got a little nervous and decided that rather than pitching to Travis, they would put him on first base and try to get Holt to hit into a double play.

Holt had other idea and he hit a screaming line drive into left field that scored Vazquez and won the game.

It took all of 12 minutes and they gained back the half game they lost last night. They are now six and a half games behind the Rays and the Athletics in the wild card race.

Unfortunately, the Rays are playing a four game series against the Orioles and will probably win all of four of those games.

⧫

I'm going to watch bad television. You can click on these:

• When I read this, all I could picture are those images of slaves picking cotton with their babies strapped to the backs.



• San Francisco is run by idiots.



• The Daily Star has the best stories.



• Well, she is a biology teacher.

They lost last night

It was a good game but they still lost 3-2.

They are still six and a half games out of the wild card and it's getting closer to the end of the season for them. Right now, there are 35 games left in the season and being behind by six and a half games means the Red Sox need to win 7 of those 35, the Rays need to lose 7 of their 35 games and then they need to match each other in the remaining wins and losses.

In other words, they have a tough job ahead of them.

⧫

I'm going to try and figure out something for dinner. Then I'm going to see if the baseball game is on or if it's rained out.

While I do that, you can do these:

• And I thought it was kind of odd that so many of you follow my ramblings....



• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• And still only in Florida.



• I bet this never happens in Florida.

Just got home

We had a work thing that went from 5:00 to 7:30 this evening and now the baseball game is on.

That means no post tonight.

No baseball tonight

The Red Sox are on an off day while they await the arrival of the Phillies for a two game series.

The Rays are playing the Mariners tonight and based on the standings, I don't think the Rays are going to lose that game.

That means even without playing, the Red Sox stand to drop half a game in the wild card. Or maybe the gods will smile they'll gain a game!

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

⧫

I spent an hour today listening to a presentation by the federal government about China.

Man, those people are seriously concerned about China.

The presentation was not open to the public so I won't bother you with the details but I will say that when the feds don't want anyone doing business with Huawei, they have some pretty damn compelling reasons. And evidence.

And Huawei isn't the only one they think we should stay away from.

⧫

Well, I'm going to watch some bad television.

You can click on these:

• Another reason I only drink Budweiser.



• Only in Ireland.



• Researchers: Contributing to the betterment of our society or a complete waste of perfectly good oxygen.



• Key phrase in this story: "If I can ski across Lake Michigan, I can do anything."

And she's home

Sorry for the late post but I was at the airport.

My wife has been in Iowa hanging out with our daughter for the last week and she returned home this evening.

Both The Dog and I are happy to have her back.

⧫

Tomorrow there will be links and stuff.

The Yankees beat the Indians this afternoon.

Tonight, the Red Sox need to beat the Orioles and the Tigers need to beat the Rays. If that happens, the Red Sox will be one game closer to getting back into the wild card slot.

Hey, I can dream, can't I.

⧫

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

• The implication here is that the people in Wales are having sex on the toilet.



• A Thousand Rotting Corpses would be a fantastic name for a 1990s grunge band.



• New Jersey. Need I say more?



• What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

I stopped for beverages

And now I'm watching baseball. Yes, the Red Sox are winning but that could change.

I'll have more tomorrow.

No baseball tonight

They are off while they travel back to Boston. Tomorrow they start a three game series against the Orioles. I'd like to say that they are going to take all three games during this series but the Orioles have been known to vex the Red Sox.

Oh, what the hell, I'll just say they are going to win all three games and hope I don't jinx them.

⧫

The stock market took a hell of a hit the other day when it fell 3%. That's a lot of percents and it means my retirement account is lower than it was on Tuesday.

I do not like it when my retirement account is lower.

⧫

You can enjoy these links while I grill up some dinner and figure out what I want to watch on television:

• Wow. Just Wow. I thought Massachusetts judges were too lenient but this judge makes them look like the Captain from The Shawshank Redemption.



• If you've ever wondered what happens to you when you have the same name as someone who is famous, wonder no more.



• I guess this is one way to make sure you don't lose your keys.



• Too bad she had a medical issue. I would love to see her mug shot.



• Trust me, when you mix two bad tasing things together, you do not get a good tasting thing.

Once again, sorry about that.

I did another 1.5 hours in the air today and I got my complex endorsement. I can now fly complicated fast airplanes.

After that it was baseball watching (they won) and then helping out a friend with his infected computer.

That means I got home late and you get only this blather.

Trust me, tomorrow will be better.

Another day, another loss

The Red Sox lost to the Indians last night 6-5. It was tied in the ninth 5-5 and in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians scored their 6th run.

That was all it took.

Hopefully they get back to winning tonight.

⧫

Despite the low clouds and rain, I managed to do an hour+ with my instructor working on complex / high power aircraft today. I'm going to try and get another hour in tomorrow.

It's interesting flying a plane with retractable landing gear and enough horse power to make it go really fast. I wasn't intimidated and it was pretty intuitive. The big trick is to remember to put the gear down before you land. That's important. Very, vey important.

I was able to do seven landings in a mild crosswind (maybe 6 knots from the right) and during all seven of them, I remembered to not only put the gear down, I also managed to keep the plane on the centerline in the aforementioned crosswind and still land smoothly.

Smoothly is important because a plane with retractable landing gear isn't quite as robust as a plane with fixed gear. It likes to roll onto the runway, not slam into it.

As I always say, good landings are important.

⧫

Well, time for me to settle in for some baseball.

Enjoy these links:

• Keep your speed down when you are in Muff.



• Someone is in trouble...



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• I did a YouTube search for "train race" and while I did not find what I was looking for, I was not disappointed.



• This is one of those things I kinda hope they figure out.

Sorry.

I got home on time but I wanted to get some stuff done in the yard before tomorrow's rain. That means you get no post today.

I'll try harder tomorrow.

They lose more than they should

It took them 10 innings to lose todays game but lose it they did.

Now they get to spend three days in Cleveland facing the streaking Indians.

That will be a tough 3 game series...

Oh, and by the way, it's time for them to release the experiment that is known as Cashner. He sucked today and that seems to be the norm for him.

Other than one game, he has sucked since he game to Boston,

⧫

Here are todays links:

• Some people have too much money.



• You people need to shut the hell up.



• Life and death in third world countries...

They win some, they lose some.

Unfortunately, there are too many losses and not enough wins.

The Red Sox won last night but lost this afternoon. They are now 6 games behind the Rays in the wild card and the Rays aren't scheduled to play until 10:00. If they win, the Red Sox fall 6 ½ behind.

On the upside, the Yankees lost this afternoon so we got that going for us.

⧫

So the rich guy that was diddling little girls killed himself this morning. At least they claim he killed himself.

Not a great loss to our society.

My concern is that he was a friend to a lot of very powerful people and some of those little girls are making noise about being passed around to his friends.

If one or two of those girls winds up dead in the near future, I would like to think our law enforcement community would start looking at those powerful people.

⧫

Here are some links:

• We live in interesting times.



• Six Pound Frogs would be a fantastic name for a 1990s punk rock band.



• Key phrase in this story: "...please try to exercise as much caution and restraint as possible..."



• Don't screw with Grandma Bunny's birds.

They are creeping back in

The Red Sox are now only 5 ½ games out of the wild card race with 45 games left in the season.

That means they stand a chance.

Hey, I can dream if I want to.

⧫

I'm going to get some dinner and watch tonights game.

You should click on these:

• Only in Florida.



• Emergency Air Fresheners would be a fantastic name for a 1980's big hair band.



• Another reason I don't like to fly commercial.



• This is not my idea of a "sport"



• Now they tell me. I always wanted ice cream for breakfast when I was a kid!

Well, they didn't lose last night

The game was suspended in the 10th inning when storms rolled in.  The score was 4-4 and they will resume play on August 22nd.

They should have won.

When I went to bed, it was the 6th inning and the Red Sox were in the lead, 4-2. All the bullpen had to do was hold those 2 runs.

They couldn't do it.

At least they didn't lose.

The Angels are in Boston for a four game series and Sale gets the ball tonight. I'm hoping that he pitches like the Sale of last season.

⧫

I've judiciously avoided talking about the mass shootings recently. I avoid talking about them because I do not view guns as the problem. I view people as the problem.

I do however want to link to this tweeter-twiter-thingee from deGrasse-Tyson:

In the past 48hrs, the USA horrifically lost 34 people to mass shootings.

On average, across any 48hrs, we also lose…

500 to Medical errors
300 to the Flu
250 to Suicide
200 to Car Accidents
40 to Homicide via Handgun

Often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) August 4, 2019

⧫

Here are todays links:

• Key phrase in this story: "The employee said Marr was hissing to himself while he was searching at the computer."



• If you have recently had sex with Brandy Lasiter, it's all okay now.



• Only in Florida.

Well, they had a one game winning streak

Like I said, this is beginning to feel a lot like 2014 all over again.

Oh well, this is what us old Red Sox fans are used to. Let's face it, most of us still haven't gotten over the 1975 and 1986 world series losses....

They may actually get tonights game in since rain isn't predicted to hit Boston until after 9:00. That gives them 2 hours to get 5 ½ innings in. For those of you that don't know, once 5 ½ innings have been played, the game is considered in the record books.

⧫

Here are a few links:

• There are some great team names in the minor leagues.



• Why would you call the police for this?



• Key phrase in this story: "This was not a good idea."



• Face tattoos are an indication of poor life decisions.

They won last night

I'm hoping they win again tonight.

⧫

Not much to prattle on about.

Here are some links:

• I'm betting "Kenny" is a first class idiot.



• No one told me we need to do this when Jesus shows up.



• Key phrase in this story: "I'm just glad none of us were on the toilet."



• This is why I just run them over.

The suckage continues

The Red Sox continued their losing streak last night when they let the Yankees sweep them in their four game series.

This is starting to feel like 2014 all over again. For those of you that don't remember 2014, that was the year they went from first to worst - they won the world series in 2013 and had a sub-500 season in 2014.

They are still above .500 but only by four games.

That's not a lot of games.

⧫

Yes, I'm going to watch tonights game.

Yes, I expect them to win.

Yes, I know they will probably lose.

Yes, you can click on these:

• West Sussex England must be a pretty boring town if this is their idea of excitement.



• This isn't creepy. No sir, it's not creepy at all....



• Based on how some people drive, this may not be the best idea.



• Well, if I ever have a heart attack, I know what to do.

They really need to win tonight

If only to boost their self-esteem a little bit.

They have lost the last seven games and have fallen six games out of the wild card race.

This is not good.

⧫

My wife spent several hours ripping virginia creeper out of her back garden. After she got the last of it out, she sent me and my trusty sprayer of RoundUp into the fight and I sprayed the crap out of the whole area.

I'm pretty sure I've created barren ground.

⧫

While I agonize over tonights baseball game, you can click on these links:

• Germany is in mourning.



• Oh Canada.



• Jen Boonstra and the Therapy Chickens would be a great name for a present day country-western band.



• I just want to know who thinks this refusal to serve thing is a good idea? Exactly how much brain damage does one have to suffer to think this shit up?

They are in full blown suck mode

They lost last night and then they lost again this afternoon. That's a 6 game losing streak at a time when they need to be winning every game.

Since today is a double-header day, I guess we'll see what tonight brings.

⧫

We managed to get some yard work done before the rain rolled in. This includes getting the back yard mowed, cutting down a small bent over oak tree and my wife doing more weeding than necessary.

Tomorrow is supposed to be rain-free so I'm hoping to get the front lawn (what's left of it) mowed and my wife is hoping to finish up the weeding.

⧫

I've scheduled four hours of flying time with my instructor in the hopes of learning to fly complex, high-power aircraft. I also want to work on some instrument flying skills. One skill I really want to learn is how to land using only instruments.

I have this fear of taking off on a nice sunny day and while I'm off in the wild blue yonder, a bunch of clouds roll in making it impossible to see the airport. There are instruments and specific flight patterns that can get you close enough to the airport to see the runway and land safely.

That seems like a good skill to have.

⧫

I'm going to watch the Red Sox / Yankees game.

While I do that, you can do these:

• You gotta love The Sun. They got all the cutting edge news.



• We should do this with our politicians.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Week.



• Well, it's happened. Government spying is now out in the open.

Things are getting bleak.

The Red Sox are now three and a half games behind the Rays in the wild card. If they keep losing like they have been (four losses in a row now), I don't know if they'll make the playoffs.

They are in New York to start a four game series against the Yankees. It would be good if they had a repeat of last week when they took 3 out of 4 against the Yankees.

No matter what happens, I will be watching. Baseball is still baseball and I enjoy watching it.

⧫

I made the mistake of checking my investments today.

Oh boy, I'm screwed.

On the upside, one of my funds issued a dividend yesterday. Since the value of the funds are down, I was able to buy more shares.

I'm just hoping that when I decide to retire, I have enough to live better than a Chinese peasant.

⧫

You can click on these if you want:

• I would never go to a third world country for medical care.



• Here is todays safety tip: Don't buy any beer in Mexico.



• Key phrase in this story: "...he and six bikini-clad women, all half his age..."



• It's the old, "That's not mine!" defense.



• Attention everyone thinking of doing something stupid: There are cameras everywhere.

They lost their last three games

They are now two and a half games out of the wild card race.

That needs to change.

They really need to get their act together and start winning. Particularly now because they have a three game series coming up against the Yankees starting tomorrow.

⧫

I was all excited this morning when I checked the stock market and saw that all averages were up about 1%.

Then I checked the stock market this afternoon and saw that Trump, in his infinite wisdom, decided to throw some gasoline on the fire that is his presidency and announced a 10% tariff against another chunk of Chinese products.

Not only did the market plummet almost 600 points and close down 1%, the tariffs he announced will have a negative impact every electronic device, appliance, Christmas toy, etc... we buy.

He just increased the cost of your Christmas list by 15% while knocking 1% off the value of my retirement account.

Thanks pal...

⧫

Here are a few links for you to ponder:

• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, kills ya.



• Only in Florida.



• Why are they making them? Don't we have enough real ones?



• Also only in Florida.



• I bet this kind of thing happens in Alaska all the time.