We are routing and meshing!

The replacement new router arrived this afternoon! I have successfully installed and configured both the primary and the satellite so that we are all connected.

There is only one thing left to connect and that is an old HP DeskJet color printer. The Brother laser is up and running without a problem because it is hardwired to the network. The HP however only connects wirelessly so I need to dig out my old USB-A to USB-B cable and connect directly to it so I can configure it for the new network.

As long as we can print, all is good.

Also, I am happy that I still know how to do all this networking crap because I was starting to lose faith. After the battle with the first router, I was beginning to think maybe I was the problem.

And for the record, I am also pretty happy with the speed:

⧫

Since I spent some time reconfiguring everything, I didn't have a lot of time to webbernate.

Here are the few links I did manage to find for you:

• You gotta love The Sun. They get all the breaking news.



• From what I can tell (thanks to google translate), this bird and its owner were caught shoplifting. Since the bird is a minor, they are protecting its identity.



• Celebrate Nigelness.



• Key phrase in this story: "Tickets will cost $175 per couple, where in past years the FOP lodge building has hosted the party and tickets have been $35."

The Patriots are now 4-0

Todays game was an interesting one. The Bills don't suck so the Patriots had to work at it. They ended up winning the game 16-10. It would have been 17-10 but Gostkowski missed the PA after the first touchdown.

As Belichick likes to say after every game, "We did a good job on some things, we've got some things to look at and work on. Now we're on to Washington."

⧫

The Red Sox managed to win their final game of the season and now they are all on vacation.

Well, not all of them. Some of them will be playing winter ball to work on their skills and others will be looking for new jobs because they are free agents. The guys you probably won't see back in Boston next year are:

Rick Porcello

Andrew Cashner ($10m team option)

Jhoulys Chacin

Mitch Moreland

Steve Pearce

Brock Holt

Chris Owings

I doubt the Red Sox will pick up Cashner's $10 million option so I don't expect to see him back.

I really hope they offer Holt a contract. He is a good ball player and I really like watching him play.

Mookie Betts is arbitration eligible next season and he is going to want a lot of money. A big old giant pile of money. A lot more than the Red Sox are willing to pay.

I'm not entirely sure how arbitration works but I do know that at some point in mid-December, the team will offer him a one year contract. He has until mid January to negotiate with the team.

It's at this point that I get fuzzy on the whole thing. Both parties have to submit to arbitration and the arbiter decides what salary the player gets.

However, if the team decides they don't want to go through arbitration, they can release the player and I think he automatically becomes a free agent. This means he can negotiate with any team.

Then again, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

⧫

Here are a few links:

• Maybe she just wanted a nice quiet soak.



• Pfffttttt.... Rednecks.....



• Key phrase in this story: "...over several hours."



• Yea, like deciding to exercise too much

I am impressed.

So I went to Amazon and clicked on my past orders. I found the order for the router I bought and it had two buttons. The first button said, "Track package" and the other said, "Return item".

I clicked on the "Return item" button and was asked to tell them why I was returning the item. I picked, "Item is defective" and a window opened that asked what was wrong with it. I said, "It won't connect to the internet".

Next screen asked how I wanted to return and it gave three choices: Drop it off at UPS (Free), have UPS come to my house and get it (Free) or mail it on my own (Not free). Since I'm not stupid, I picked one of the free ones. And since I drive past a UPS store everyday, I picked "Drop it at UPS".

Next thing was a screen with a link to a pre-paid shipping label, a notification that my replacement router will arrive on Monday and a notice that said I had to make sure I returned the defective one before October 28.

I factory reset the defective one so it didn't have any of my information on it and boxed it up in it's original box. On Monday evening, I will use the shipping box that the new one comes in, put the old one in it, tape it up, affix the shipping label and drop it at UPS on my way home from work on Tuesday afternoon.

That was probably the easiest merchandise return I've ever done.

I am pretty damned impressed.

⧫

Well, the Red Sox have lost two in a row to the Orioles.

For the record, the Orioles are in second to last place in the American League, ahead of only Detroit.

Something tells me the Red Sox need to figure some things out over the winter.

⧫

Tomorrow at 1:00, the Bills will host the patriots out in Buffalo.

Since both teams are 3-0, it should be an interesting game. Either the game will end in a rare tie or one of those teams will have its first loss of the season.

I'm hoping the Patriots fly home 4-0.

⧫

Here are a few links:

• Only in Florida.



• Key phrase in this story: "...a seventh-grader bought the marijuana-infused Rice Krispie treats online..."



• You gotta love The Sun. They get all the breaking news.



• Key phrase in this story: "...wearing nothing but a hot pink thong."

Very disappointing

My brand new router appears to be defective and I have to return it.

Very frustrating and very disappointing.

I've had to return something to Amazon in the past so I know they make it fairly easy, it just takes a few days to get the replacement. Hopefully I have the replacement by the end of the week.

Until then, we continue our limping along over our old router.

⧫

Here are some links that you might enjoy:

• Watch SpaceX build its new rocket.



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



• There are some interesting people in our society. And by "interesting", I mean creepy little turds.

The Red Sox lost this afternoon

Not that it matters.

They have three games left in their season, all against the Orioles.

I'm kind of hoping they sweep the Orioles and end their season with a nice string of wins.

⧫

Tomorrow afternoon I'm going over the Charter and replacing my modem. Hopefully I will have my new router up and running shortly after that. If not, I'll go to plan B and return the router.

I'm hoping to avoid plan B.

⧫

You should consider clicking these links:

• Only in Florida.



• There are a lot of things I would do for money. This isn't one of them.



• This actually a great idea.



• Only in Pennsylvania.
  (Further research indicates these things are pretty nasty.)



• Vegas is kind of a shitty place.

Impeachment, impeachment, impeachment

I am freakin' sick and tired of listening to people talk about impeachment.

There are currently 29 active investigations of Trump. There have been at least 10 others that have ended after reaching the conclusion that he did nothing wrong.

How much money have we spent on this shit? How much time has been spent on this? They hired a special investigative counsel and several committees have conducted internal investigations, yet he is still the president and Rodham is still a whiny little bitch. Nothing they do is going to change that.

They need to stop focusing on Trump and start focusing on running the country.

God-Effin-Dammit, SHUT THE F' UP!

⧫

Thank you, I feel better now. I still hate all politicians but I feel better just letting off some steam.

⧫

My daughter was at a dairy farm today and now she wants a cow.

I have always told my children, "No Farm Animals".

They have had fish, rodents, reptiles, cats, dogs, birds, etc... but I drew the line at farm animals. That included the request for the pot belly pig, the miniature goats and the chickens.

I take that back, they did get chickens when my wife brought home an incubator & several eggs. That got set up in our basement and they all watched in awe as the chicks hatch. That lasted about a week when the chicks went from cute little fuzzballs to the ugliest looking things on the planet and the cage started to stink to high heavens. I told them to get those damned things out of basement and so she gave to a friend who promptly fed them to hawks by letting them run around in her yard like some damned free-range hippy farmer.

See, I spent a lot of time on farms and I know what farms are like. There is always work to be done and that work is not easy. As for the creatures, horses will go out of their way to kill you, cows are dumber than horses, chickens stink so bad your nose hair will burst into flames and pigs make chickens smell good. Cutting the poison ivy off the electric fence is a tedious and itchy job but mucking out the barn and laying fresh hay is a shitty job.

Speaking of hay, there is nothing quit as back-breaking as bailing it, catching the 40 pound bale off the bailer and stacking it on the trailer for four or five hours straight.

No farm animals.

⧫

Here are a few links you might enjoy:

• The Onion is still one of the funniest sites on the internet.



• Here's a tip: If the police are chasing you, it's a good idea to stop and ask what they want.



• I'm betting he came up with this brilliant idea after sitting at a bar for four hours with his brother and two of his buddies.



• I'm not entirely sure this is a good idea. I am, however, partially sure it's a good idea.



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

Sorry for the late post.

I tried installing my new mesh router today and it turns out I might have a modem problem. The only router I can get connected through the modem is my very old router.

I suspect it is because the modem is retaining some information about that router and won't let anything else connect. The solution is to get a new modem from Spectrum, which I will do on Friday afternoon.

Until then, we will limp along on my old router.

⧫

Not only could the Red Sox not get themselves into the playoff, they couldn't get the Indians into it either. They lost to the Rays last night.

As it stands right now, the Indians are half a game behind the Rays.

The Indians are playing the White Sox so hopefully they will win that game.

The Rays are playing the Yankees so hopefully they will lose that game.

If both those things happen, the Indians will take wild card slot by half a game.

⧫

I'm going to watch the Red Sox play the Rangers and ponder my modem issues.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Christmas is coming...



• They needed a judge to tell them that? Hell, I could have told them that back in the early 70s



• Wasn't this a Star Trek episode?

My mesh router has arrived

I have no intentions of installing it and configuring it tonight because I know it's going to take me longer than an hour and I will more than likely get very frustrated if something goes amiss.

Last thing I want to do after a long day of work is to get all frustrated by a new router configuration.

⧫

Right now I'm going to watch the Red Sox try to beat the Rays and hopefully move the Indians back in to a tie for the second wild card slot.

While I do that, you can visit these links:

• Man, they got more rules than the Catholics.



• This sounds like an extremely Wisconsin kind of thing.



• Whatever....



• I've always said that I've never seen a sad millionaire.

The Patriots are now 3-0

They beat the Jets today, 30-14.

They brought Stidham in for a set of plays and unfortunately, the Jets defense finally woke up and they intercepted one of his passes for a touchdown.

I still think he is a pretty damned good quarterback. He just needs some time.

⧫

In other sports news, the Red Sox beat the Rays today and if the Indians win their game tonight, Cleveland will move back into a tie for the second wild card slot.

I would like to see the Indians get into the wild card and maybe make a run at a World Series.

⧫

You can click on these links if you want:

• Key phrase in this story: "...she confronted him and he told her that they were actually divorced."



• Trust me, the IRS does not want Target gift cards in lieu of cash.



• This is the best play any Marlins player has made this year.

New router is purchased and on its way to my abode.

After talking to my oldest offspring, I decided to buy a mesh WiFi router and gateway.

Mesh WiFi means there will be a primary WiFi router in my basement and a secondary WiFi repeater in the middle of my house. The difference between a mesh and the old router/access point configuration is that the two devices work together to present a single network.

This means we will remain connected to the network no matter where we are in the house.

At least that's what I'm hoping.

⧫

The Red Sox are officially eliminated from post-season play.

I'll let you know who to root for in the next week or so.

Until then, I'm going to continue watching the Red Sox.

⧫

While I watch tonights game, you should enjoy these links:

• The Onion continues to be one of the funniest websites on the internet.



• Oh Canada.



• Another reason to legalize marijuana.



• You just know this is going to result in a bunch of 75 year old Mormons wandering around with their boobies hanging out.



• Yes, I remember. It's my wedding anniversary.



• People the live in the Keys and in New Orleans are kind of "not very bright".

Another half day off

We had the huge oil tank in our basement removed this afternoon so I took half a day off because I needed to fix the holes in my house where the oil fill pipes came out. That meant pulling off the old shakes, patching the holes in the sub-wall, sizing & painting the replacement shakes and finally putting the new, freshly painted shakes on the house.

We now have a hole-free house and a lot more room in my work area in the basement. It's kind of nice being able to reach the circuit breaker panel without squeezing between my workbench and an oil tank.

My wife informs me that I am not allowed to fill the new space with my crap.

I guess we'll just have to see how that goes....

⧫

My internet went out right after I typed the previous paragraph.

I've been having issues with Spectrum's internet service lately and I thought it was all me. But today, when I called them, they had an automated message that said, "Multiple clients in your area are experiencing problems".

In other words, I wasn't the only one that was kinda pissed off at the internet monopoly in my area named "Spectrum".

So until my internet comes back, this is all you get.

←→←→←→←→←→←→

And I'm back...

Turns out my saving my old router was a good thing because it turns out my "new" router decided it was done playing nice and it's now a brick with antenna sticking out of it.

My old router is up and running and we once again have access to the interwebbinator.

The speed is not as good and the distance isn't all that great but I managed to get all of my widgets connected to it and we can once again tell Alexa to turn on lights or remind me when a sport I like is about to be played.

⧫

Since I had no internet, I didn't find many links.

Here are the few I did find:

• Some people are kinda nuts.



• Only in Florida.



• Key phrase in this story: "They said my penis would die"

Yes, it was another busy day

I took a half day off today to go flying. I spent an hour in the pattern working on my landings.

I like being able to land.

⧫

I didn't get home until late so I didn't have a lot of time for webernizing.

The few links I did have time to find are here:

• From now on, I'm going to drink nothing but beer.



• Politicians and their staff are all arrogant pricks.



• This is why I don't go hiking.

Another busy day

We are preparing to roll out some new software to the students and it's taking up some of my time. Nothing major or overwhelming but it is necessary and I want it to go well.

I don't have a lot to say tonight other than Bernie Sanders just assured himself that every conspiracy-theory nutcase in the US will vote for him.

Not a bad strategy.

⧫

Enjoy these links while I watch some baseball:

• Say what you will but you have to admit it's an effective disguise.



• Only in Russia.



• Trust me, they can be a problem at other times too....



• Apparently the Amish have gone wild.



• Watch the video.



• Only in Pennsylvania.

The Giants are in town

I'm going to watch tonights baseball game.

While I do that, you should think about clicking on these links:

• This seems to be happening a lot lately.



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, kinda weirds you out a bit.



• Only in Florida.



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



• Key phrase in this story: "Wait... why is there shampoo in the background?"



• Oh Canada.



• Throw your old dictionary away and rush out to buy brand new or else you won't be hip to the new lingo.



• They have pork reserves? How long can you keep that stuff for? Do they have gigantic refrigerators or freezers? 

I like lunch meetings...

...when the other guy buys.

Busy day today so I didn't have a lot of time for interwebbing. That means limited prattling and almost no links.

⧫

I do have one thing I want to prattle about.

I went to grade school and high school with Mike. I've known him since the mid 60s. He lived about a mile from me when we were kids. We played pickup baseball and football together. When he took up racing as a career, I went to Riverside to watch him race.

He was a good person. I never heard anyone say a bad thing about him. He lived life to the fullest.

This is a damned shame. He was a good guy.

⧫

Here are the few links I managed to dig up:

• There has got to be a better place to hide your drugs...



• Only in Florida.



• Better safe than sorry, I guess...

Good day for Boston sports

I'm not sure if the Dolphins decided to field a second-string team or if they just really suck because they lost to the Patriots today, 43-0.

It was awesome to watch and Brady is playing like a 30 year old. He actually carried the ball over the line for one of todays touchdowns. The addition of Brown paid dividends because he proved why he is considered one of the premier wide receivers in the league.

It was awesome to watch.

⧫

The Red Sox managed to beat the Phillies today, taking both games of their two game series.

I know their season is almost over but it's fun to watch them play good baseball. Porcello pitched pretty damned well and by the 3rd inning, it was 5-1 Red Sox. The Phillies scored two more times but that was all they got and the game ended with the Red Sox winning 6-3.

They are off tomorrow and on Tuesday, the Giants will be in Boston. The Giants being in town isn't really all that interesting. What is interesting is that one of the Giants outfielders is named Mike Yastrzemski. He is the grandson of Carl Yastrzemski, famed Red Sox outfielder.

It should be fun to watch him play in the field where his grandfather played for all those years.

⧫

Here are a few links that you might find interesting:

• If my father had lived to see what this world has become, he would have a heart attack.



• Sometimes it's easier to just put yourself under arrest.



• She had no idea she was missing.



• He doesn't look anything like Captain America.



• It was only a mater of time.

Got a few things done.

Get ready for a heat wave because I put my air conditioners away today!

I also managed to clear the area around the old oil tank in my basement because after 25 years of sitting there with a few inches of sludge in the bottom, we are finally having it removed.

This means I will now have a lot more room for my collection of vital and important crap like wood scraps, pipes, old windows, etc...

You can never have enough vital crap.

⧫

Get ready for a steep increase in gas and oil prices.

The Iranians managed to get a drone into Saudi Arabia and blew up a fairly good chunk of their production facilities.

For the past 40+ years, the Iranians have been doing things to piss me off. I really wish they would stop.

⧫

Here are some links:

• Trust me, if you believe you have a curse on you, no amount of money is going to make you believe otherwise.



• Key phrase in this story about our military readiness: "Out were military priorities of readiness and lethality. In were fried chicken, pickles and buttered buns."



• Elusive Yak would be a fantastic name for a 1970's bubble gum pop band.

No baseball

But that's okay because I've kind of moved on to football season. And in about 3 weeks, I'll also be on to hockey season when on October 3rd, the Bruins open their season in Dallas against the Stars.

Between watching whatever baseball is on, the weekend football games and the start of the hockey season, I will be in sports nirvana.

⧫

Here are some links you may enjoy:

• Well, guess I won't be going to England.



• Are they saying this is something people need to be told?



• For some reason, I don't feel bad for her.

My internet connection kinda sucks lately

I'm not entirely sure what's wrong but the internet basically goes away every once in a while. I don't know if it's my router, the cable modem or my service provider but it's getting kind of annoying.

And that, my friends, is what is known as a first-world problem. If that's all I have to complain about, things are going pretty damned well.

⧫

The Red Sox lost last night and they'll probably lose again tonight. It's almost as if they have given up but they haven't. What they are doing is giving the youngsters some big league playing experience and that may pay off next season.

As for who I'll be rooting for moving forward, I told my buddy Bill, the devoted Yankee's fan, that I was going to root for them. He seemed pleased.

Maybe my wife will wear her Mickey Mantel shirt during the playoffs.

⧫

Enjoy these links:

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



• In my opinion, assholes like this should be arrested and charged with attempted murder.



• The guy is talented. Weird, but talented.



• Only in Florida.



• This is why I prefer to dine indoors.

Another loss, another game closer to the end of the season

They lost last night but since the odds of them getting into the playoffs were at 0.1%, they couldn't go any lower and they are still at a tenth of a percent.

Oh well.

Look at it this way - Pitchers and catchers report in 157 days and it will be a whole new season.

Yay!

⧫

As for the Patriots, things have gotten even more interesting. Seems that Mr. Brown had a relationship with a woman who is now claiming he raped her several years ago.

Things like this always make me wonder, why did she come out now? What changed that made her decide now was a good time to accuse him of attacking her?

⧫

Yes, I'm going to watch tonights game.

Here are todays links:

• The parents are out almost $1,500 and their daughter.



• It's the old, "Trump owes me a trillion dollars!" defense



• Another reason to not go on Facebook.



• What does it want with cats?

Looks like they only have 18 games left to play

The Red Sox lost last night and that eliminated any chance of them winning the ALEast. It also moved their elimination number for the wild card to eight. That means any combination of eight losses by the Red Sox or eight wins by the Athletics and they are done.

It's a pretty good bet that the Red Sox will finish their season on September 29th and go on vacation. I, on the other hand, will be forced to pick a team to root for.

Guess we'll have to wait and see who my choices are.

Maybe I'll root for the Yankees.

⧫

The Red Sox are playing the Blue Jays at 7:00 and there really is nothing else on so, yes, I will be watching the game.

While I do that, you can do these:

• This is pretty normal for the Pike. I'm just shocked they aren't in the left lane.



• Just what every little girl wants.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "4:34 p.m. A Kalispell man couldn’t find his daughter. Turns out she was studying at the library."

Things are changing in New England.

The Patriots have signed Antonio "I want it my way or no way!" Brown to a one year contract. This is right after Brown threw a major hissy fit and threatened to beat up his boss out in Oakland.

Look, I could care less about Brown as a human being. If he wants to act like an asshole, so be it but I do care about him as a player. If he plays half as well as the talking heads predict, the Patriots will win their seventh Superb Owl next year. If he acts like an ass, Belichick will unceremoniously dump him like day old bread and Brown will then be in a very bad position.

Next year he is a free agent and if he blows things this year, no one will want to sign him.

⧫

The Red Sox have fired Dave "The farm system is nothing more than chattel!" Dombrowski after he failed to replenish the bullpen. At the end ofletting two significant reliever walk away last year.

Dombrowski knows how to find veteran players but he gets them by trading away the youngsters. He pretty much destroyed Detroit when he was with them and he's depleted the Red Sox farm system to the point where they have only two or three good players. What was once rated as the number one farm in the league is now rated 22 out of 32.

I'm sure Trade-Em-Away Dave will find a new spot somewhere and I have faith that the Red Sox will find a new GM who maybe, just maybe, will get them back into winning form but right now, it's all kind of up in the air.

⧫

So now I'm going to watch some baseball.

You can click on these:

• Here's another reason why dogs are way better than cats.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "7:43 a.m. Someone reported seeing a creepy old truck with a camper attached to it."



• Key phrase in this story: "People really looked forward to the SPAM contest."



• Key phrase in this story: "Police took him into custody with the help of employees and a 40mm tear gas projectile."



• New York City - Where even the plants will kill you.

I think I'll watch football

ESPN is carrying the Red Sox game tonight. That means a long game hosted by three people that I can't stand listening to.

Guess I'll watch the Patriots host the Steelers instead. I'm not sure I'll make it past the half but it'll be way better than listening to Vasgersian and Rodriguez hit on Mendoza while she drools all over Aaron Judge.

⧫

Not much else to prattle on about so here are some links:

• Boeing isn't having a good year...



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "12:40 p.m. A man that had been kicked out of a Kalispell establishment on several occasions was asked to leave again."



• Hey, that stuff is expensive!



• I you're hiding you best not be farting...

They won last night but it doesn't matter

The Rays also won last night and the Red Sox now have a 2.6% chance of making the playoffs.

As for today, they are currently down 4-0 in the eighth inning and it doesn't look good.

Oh well, there's always next year!

⧫

Time for an update on the grass:

We have successfully grown grass on all three large dirt patches. Hopefully it gets nice and thick before the snow flies because it will suck to have dead grass there in the spring.

This has been your grass update.

⧫

Here are some links you might find educational:

• Oh Canada.



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



• No, no. Go right ahead. If you're stupid enough to believe this, it's best that you never procreate.



• Looks like CNN has run out of actual news.



• "There was an odor that extended across parts of D.C." Yea, it's called politicians. They all stink.



• I'll leave you with this excellent "Only in Florida" link.

I stopped for beverages

That means you get no links and no ramblings.

Maybe tomorrow.

They gained 1.2 percentage points

The Red Sox won last night but they are still 5 ½ games behind. What did change was the odd of them getting into the playoffs. They are now listed as 6.1%

Still pretty crappy odds but better than 4.9%

⧫

I have dinner to make and some baseball to watch so I'll leave you with these links:

• I was going to say something about rednecks but then I realized this kind of thing happens up here in Springfield on a daily basis.



• This is actually a pretty good idea.



• They stole a whole roller coaster?



• Only in Florida.



• Pffffttt..... Rednecks......

Time is running out for the Red Sox.

According to the people that calculate these things, the odds of the Red Sox making it into the playoffs are down to 4.9%

I'm thinking those odds are pretty crappy and they don't really stand a chance of making it.

Oh well. As we used to say back in the bad old days, "We'll get 'em next year!"

⧫

After all the yard work we've been doing over the last few weekends, I realized this morning that I have more mosquito bites on me than I think I need to have. I'm talking 10 or 12 really itchy ones.

Sure hope I don't have that Eastern West Nile Encephalitis thing they keep talking about.

⧫

For a very brief period this afternoon, we were under a tornado warning. Fortunately the rotating storm bits stayed south of us in Connecticut.

Good for Connecticut. They can keep those rotating storms.

⧫

Once it stops raining in Boston, I'll be able to watch tonights ball game.

In the meantime, you can click on these:

• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• This is why I don't jog. Well, that and the fact I'm old.



• Hopefully he washes it periodically.



• It's the old, "My dog did it" defense.

I feel bad for the people in the Bahamas

Pictures are starting to come out of the Bahamas and man, that hurricane scrubbed those islands clean. There is very little left standing and what is standing has been flooded.

Those people are going to be a long time getting their lives back in order.

⧫

Well, I had a lengthy day today and the baseball game is about to start.

Let's just get to the links:

• YES! They have the best "news".



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, gets killed by ya.



• Only in Florida.

The odds have jumped to 8½

After yesterdays win, the Red Sox are now only 5 games behind the Indians and their odds of getting into the playoffs have gone up to 8½.

The Red Sox are off today but the Indians are playing the White Sox at 7:00 this evening. If the Indians lose, the Red Sox will be 4½ games behind so even though I like Terry Franconia, I'm really hoping the Indians lose.

⧫

Verizon sent me an email yesterday telling me that with 0 days left on my billing cycle, I only had 10% of my data plan remaining and I should buy additional data from them.

Hey Verizon, thanks for letting me know that I'm getting what I pay for!

⧫

The MLB channel might carry tonights White Sox/Indians game at 8:00. Or they might cary the NL game. They aren't really saying.

I guess I'll watch some DVRs until then and if the Indians are on, I'll watch an inning or two before falling asleep.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Only in Florida.



• Holy crap!



• Keep them up there.



• Some people should be forced to live as hermits.

Things are looking bleak

They had a chance to gain a game in the wild card yesterday but the bullpen managed to give up too many runs and they lost.

Hopefully they win this afternoon because the the Rays have already beat the Indians. Fortunately, the Yankees beat the Athletics, moving the Rays into the first wild card slot and the Indians into the second slot. If the Red Sox lose today, they'll be six games behind in the Indians and on the cusp of being eliminated from post season play.

As it stands right now, they have a 5½% chance of making it into the playoffs. That's kinda slim.

⧫

In other sports news, we are one week away from the start of the patriots season. They open their season at home against the Steelers.

The Patriots have released Brian Hoyer and it looks like he might just end up with the Colts as the backup to Jacoby Brissett, who used to be the backup to Tom Brady.

Those Colts sure like ex-Patriots...

⧫

I had a thought: If Labor Day if supposed to honor labor, how come the gas station, the grocery store and the restaurant are all open but the government is closed?

Just wondering.

⧫

While I watch this baseball game (the Red Sox are currently up 4-2 in the 7th), you can click on these links:

• Between the Running of the Bulls and this, it's possible that Spain is crazier than Japan.



• New Zealand: All the danger of Australia but way more sheep.



• This is why it's called Death Valley.



• Now you know what the Vatican has in common with a run-down New York City tenement.