No sports today

It looks like the Red Sox have an opening day roster lined up. It's still not official but from what I can tell, the 26 man roster for opening day is:

Catchers	Christian Vázquez
	Kevin Plawecki
1st base	Bobby Dalbec
2nd base	Kiké Hernandez
ShortStop	Xander Bogaerts
3rd base	Rafael Devers
Utility	Marwin Gonzalez
	Christian Arroyo
Outfield	Franchy Cordero
	Alex Verdugo
	Hunter Renfroe
DH	J.D. Martinez
Starters	Eduardo Rodriguez (on the DL)
	Nathan Eovaldi
	Garrett Richards
	Martín Pérez
	Nick Pivetta
	Tanner Houck (until Rodriguez comes off the DL)
Relievers	Matt Barnes
	Adam Ottavino
	Hirokazu Sawamura
	Darwinzon Hernandez
	Josh Taylor
	Matt Andriese
	Garrett Whitlock
	Austin Brice
	Phillips Valdez

That is a pretty good roster and as long as they can keep the injuries to a minimum, they should be a pretty formidable ball club.

And yes, I know I've listed 27 players but that's because I'm betting that Rodriguez will start the season on the DL. He has a "dead arm", whatever the hell that is, and that means Houck will be brought up to take that slot in the rotation until Rodriguez gets his arm back in shape.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's 2:10 start.

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The Bruins managed to beat the Devils in a shootout last night, so that was nice. With that win, they managed to stay in fourth place in the east.

Despite the game having three regular periods, two overtime periods and finally a shootout, I'm happy to say I managed to stay awake for the whole thing.

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I'm going to feed the critters, set about making dinner for the humans and then find something to entertain me this evening.

While I do that, you should see if any of this stuff interests you:

• Massachusetts new state motto: "Massachusetts! We're more corrupt than Illinois!"



• Admit it, there are times when a politician pisses you off and you secretly wish you could do this.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, is sick and tired of your crappy hairstyles.



• Did they hand out a bunch of little tiny condoms?



• There are some seriously screwed up people living in our world.



• This is actually a pretty damned good idea.

They lost their final game

The Red Sox and the Braves played their final spring training game today and the Braves won 5-3.

I assume that the players headed across the highway to Southwest Florida International Airport and boarded a flight to Boston. That gets them to Boston this evening where they can get settled, take tomorrow as a light workout day or maybe even a day off and be ready for opening day against the Orioles on Thursday.

Then again, I checked the weather for Thursday and it's looking like rain almost all day. That means the game will probably get postponed.

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Hockey will be played this evening and I will watch it.

The Bruins will play the Devils at 7:00 and after last Sunday's fiasco of a game, I suspect this game will be a little physical.

Just the way I like it...

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Here are some links that you may find interesting:

• Attention criminals: If you are hiding from the law, don't make youtube videos.



• Disc jockeys come up with the most interesting promotions.



• This is not hard to believe.



• I didn't know they could drive.



• I'm beginning to think that the Scots are just screwing with the rest of us.



• Only in Florida.

I got nothing for you

I spent my day working, watching the Red Sox and playing with my mainframe. That means I didn't read any news, watch any funny youtubes or find any funny meme things.

I did get to listen to the wind howl all day today.

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The Red Sox beat the Braves this afternoon 4-0 in a seven inning game.

Tanner Houk pitched through 4 & ½ innings and he did a pretty good job. After his last appearance, where his control was non-existent, I was a little concerned that maybe last season was an aberration. But today he showed that he is still the pitcher he was last year.

He's going to start the season in triple A but that's okay. Historically, Boston loses at least one pitcher early in the season so I expect we'll see him back in Boston soon.

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They finally got the ship out of the Suez canal but not before someone came up with this:

That right there is some funny shit.

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You should visit these:

• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Key phrase in this story: "Town Pump says the man can come back, but only if he leaves the horse outside."



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• I guess it's mud season in Vermont.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "2:05 a.m. A woman walked into her teenage daughter’s room and found a boy there."



• I gotta ask, Why would you pay for a fake card when you can get the vaccine for free?

We needed the rain

After yesterday's yard work, today was a lazy day of watching baseball and now hockey. It started raining before noon today and it was a good rain. Not so heavy that it was running off the lawns and straight into the storm drains but heavy enough that it was soaking into the lawns.

I also spent some time doing nerdy stuff, trying to relearn everything I've forgotten about JCL, the standard utilities like IEBGENR, IEFBR14 as well as the compilers/linkers for assembler, cobol and fortran.

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The Red Sox are now four days away from the start of the season and I suspect they are ready for the grind to begin. They beat the Twins today by hitting the shit out of the baseball. The first two batters, Hernandez and Cordero, each hit home runs to start the first inning and then they both hit triples during the remaining eight innings.

Opening day at Fenway will start a six game home stand, with three game series against the Orioles followed by three games against the Rays but before that can happen, they need to play two more spring training games against the Braves.

I'm looking forward to the season.

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As far as the Bruins, they have been winning lately. They are currently playing the Devils (the game started at 5:45) and are down 1-0.

They are still in fourth place in the east but that has a lot to do with the fact that they ave only played 30 games versus everyone else with 34 or 35 games. I'm not entirely sure when those postponed games will be made up. A look at their April schedule and it sure looks pretty busy to me. Hopefully the six guys out on covid or injury will be back by the second week of April because that schedule is going to wear guys down and they'll need every player ready to go.

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Here are some links:

• This is why I use TurboTax.



• Oh Canada.



• Key catchphrase in this application: "Enjoy the wait!"



• If I had a spare $5million, I'd buy this.



• Key phrase in this story: "Ezquerra's daughter admitted that her father might be difficult to get along with."

Winning day

The Red Sox managed to overcome a 4 run deficit and beat the Pirates 7-4 today. Also, the Bruins managed to overcome a 1 goal deficit and beat the Sabres 3-2 today.

I didn't watch either game because I spent my afternoon with my wife, working in the yard.

And since it was a very nice day, working in the yard seemed like a batter thing to do than sitting on my hungover ass watching television.

I'll do that this evening...

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I have a mainframe running in my basement!

Actually, I have a mainframe emulator running on a raspberry pi in my basement:

Yes, I'm a bit of a nerd but that's okay. Who else do you know that can connect to a TSO session and run jobs on a tiny mainframe?

I'd forgotten how much I missed working on the mainframe.

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As I mentioned previously, I'm a little hungover today. I suspect it might have something to do with the number of adult beverages I consumed at Tommy's last night.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't drink a lot but I'm not 25 anymore and it doesn't take a lot of beers to give me a headache the next day.

Once I get two or three good nights sleep in me, I'll be right as rain.

And if any of you understand why rain is considered right, let me know because I've never really understood that folksy saying.

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I'm going to watch some DVRs and fall asleep early.

Here are some links:

• Since it's too big to fit in my wallet, I keep a picture of mine on my phone..



• This is not going to end well.



• Key phrase in this story: "...felt he shouldn't be held responsible for his actions because he was drunk."



• Keep the couch off the street...



• First it was the Fourth of July that was going to cause a spike. Then it was Thanksgiving that was going to cause a spike. Then it was Christmas/New Years that was going to cause a spike. Am I the only one that is getting a little sick and tired of hearing about these possible spikes?



• Key phrase in this story: "I saw a raven in the parking lot with a steak in his mouth."

They lost

The Red Sox lost last night, the Bruins lost last night and the Red Sox lost today.

It's been a couple of days of losing for us fans.

On the upside, I finally got to see Franchy Cordero play and it looks to me like he knows how to hit a baseball. This is a good thing because hits generate runs and runs win games.

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I'm going to cut this short because I just found out a friend of mine is in town from Florida and I'm going to meet him for some adult beverages.

Here's a link or two:

• Key phrase in this story: "...holding up an estimated $400 million an hour in trade."



• To all my law enforcement family and friends: Keep your head on a swivel, watch each other's backs and wear your damned vest.



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

One week to opening day

I was incorrect yesterday when I said Chavis would be playing at first base. He was the designated hitter and he didn't really fair that well.

All things considered, I'm thinking Christian Arroyo might have a better chance of making the team than Chavis does.

There is another 6:00 pm game today and it will be on NESN+. The Bruins will be on NESN at 7:00 so once again, I'll either do the picture-in-picture thing or flip back and forth between them.

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In order to get everyone into the spirit of spring, here is a picture of the traditional "first flower" in my yard:

For the 30 years we have lived here, it is always the first flower. That particular little plant (my wife tells me it is a "crocus") grows in that spot every year and it always blossoms at this time of the year.

Also, when I say it is "in my yard", I mean just that. It is not in a garden, it is in the grass. Well, at least what's left of the grass after last years drought.

It is one of the most reliable plants I have ever seen.

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I'm going to enjoy some baseball and some hockey.

You can enjoy these if you want:

• This just keeps getting worse.



• I love it when we do cool stuff.



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



• Key phrase in this story about why some people should not try to do things around the house: "...a sharp spike from the three-step ladder to become lodged in the top of his head."



• Well, I guess that's one way to incent people to get vaccinated.



• Only in Florida.

There is baseball this evening

The Red Sox are playing the Orioles at 6:00 this evening and the game is being televised by NESN. This makes me happy.

It should be a good game because there is now only a week and a day until the season opener and there are several guys battling for jobs. One of those guys is Chavis and he will get the start at first today over Dalbec.

Last season, Chavis's hitting was less than stellar. Basically, he sucked at it. So far, this spring training, he's hitting the cover off the ball. The problem is all that hitting has been against pitchers that are just starting to get into the swing of things.

He's gonna play hard over the next few days because he's one of the few guys with minor league options available to the team. That means he is one of the few guys that can be sent down to the minors.

Over the next week, Cora and Bloom will have some difficult decisions to make.

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I'm going to watch some baseball.

You can visit the links:

• This sounds like a problem.



• I think I'll just make some cheeseburgers for dinner.



• The last time the Dolphins were in New York, they beat the Jets 20-3.



• Only in Florida.



• People are stupid.



• Oh Canada.

WEEI is full of shit

So I pointed my browser to TuneIn.com, located WEEI AM 850 and clicked the little "play" arow on the screen.

I turned the sound up on my laptop and...

...listened to Glen Ordway telling Lou Merloni how to play baseball. That would be the WEEI FM afternoon radio show, not the Red Sox on WEEI AM.

I quickly switched over to the WFOM stream. They are the Atlanta station that carries the Braves games and listened to Atlanta guys tell me what was happening on the ball field.

I was a little upset but the Red Sox won so that tempered my pain a bit.

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We had another mass shooting the other day and the first thing Biden did was say, "We need to ban the sale of those guns!"

He didn't say anything about the scumbag that murdered those 10 innocent people but I think maybe he didn't say anything about the shooter because his name is Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa. Wouldn't want to offend anyone...

Sounds to me like Biden is saying, "It's not Ahmed's fault, it's the guns fault. The gun did the shooting, not Ahmed. It's another clear case of gun violence."

Why are we so afraid to look into the real cause of these shootings? Why are we so quick to blame the tool, not the one using the tool? What caused that guy to go into a grocery store and start shooting people?

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Okay, the lawn is thatched and the leaves are gone. Now all I need to do is get some grass seed, rake it into the dirt and pray that we get rain this year.

While I atch bad television (The Bruins game is postponed due to covid), you can visit these:

• Criminal name of the year: "Badlands Justice McNally".



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Oh Canada.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "11:01 p.m. Someone at a bar called 911 and burped."



• This is how I want my obituary to be written.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, just wants a ride in your boat.

Nice day today

I can live with temps in the 60s and a light breeze. And tomorrow is going to be even nicer.

Maybe I'll try to get a start on some yard cleanup tomorrow. Since my lawn suffered through last years drought, there as some places that need to be raked and seeded. Plus all of my neighbors oak leaves are in my yard so I've got to get those cleaned up.

That sounds like a job for my lawn tractor and the thatching attachment.

Sure hope it starts after sitting all winter.

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The Red Sox beat up on the Rays (10-4) this afternoon and thanks to the Tampa Bay radio station being streamed on the interwebs, I was able to listen to the game.

I have no idea why WEEI FM isn't carrying the games. If they were, I could listen to a local station carry the game instead of whatever radio station is streaming the opponent's version of the game.

What I did discover this afternoon, well after the game was over, is that WEEI 850 AM is on tunin.com.

Tomorrow's game against the Braves will be carried by both WEEI AM and the Atlanta radio station, WFOM, which I know is streamed on radio.net.

I'll try tunein to see if I can stream WEEI. If not, I'll just listen to the Atlanta guys on radio.net.

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NASA is getting ready to deploy the mars helicopter and I'm kind of excited about that.

The helicopter is stored under the rover and today, the shield/cover that has been protecting it was discarded, exposing the stowed helicopter to the elements.

Sometime in the next few days/weeks, the helicopters legs will be extended and the helicopter will be lowered/dropped to the surface of Mars. Then the rover will drive away, leaving the helicopter sitting there, ready to go.

I love this kind of stuff.

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No sports tonight but I have several Last Man Standing DVRs ready to go.

While I enjoy those, you can enjoy these:

• They seem like a loving couple.



• I'm sorry but if you are stupid enough to buy $4,000 worth of gift cards because someone called you claiming to be your boss, you should be demoted to french-fry cook.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, crawls out of the ground and rides the waves into your house.



• I hate to admit it but I scrolled through all of the pictures.



• I'm not anxious about it. I'm looking forward to it.



• Only in Florida.

Busy day

Our youngest and his girlfriend decided to come visit us today. Since we all already had covid, he decided it would be okay and we were glad he felt that way.

So anyways, they just left and I didn't have a lot of time to surf the internets.

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The other day, The Small Dog was in the backyard and she started barking like a maniac. Since we have fox living in our backyard and coyotes have been known to come visit, I felt I should go see what was happening. When I went out, she was on the patio, barking and staring up into the trees.

This is what she was barking at:

In case you can't tell, that is one of the biggest hawks I have ever seen.

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Here are some links for you:

• Someone should tell the Irish that those things are freakin' delicious.



• Maybe the cow was armed.



• Key phrase in this story: "For the layperson, the lungs are not in the top ten list of places you'd expect to find a condom."



• Only in Florida.

Happy Vernal Equinox

Enjoy the day where we have equal periods of day and night!

Also, if you happen to be a druid, please do not sacrifice any virgins.

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I had a busy day doing some woodworkee stuff.

One of the pets The Vet possesses is a chinchilla. For those of you that don't know this, a chinchilla is a rodent. For those of you that don't know this, rodents chew on things, For those of you that don't know this, wood is one of the things rodents really like to chew on.

So the other day, The Vet asked if I could do some repair work to a wooden "house" that the chinchilla likes to sit in, sit on and chew on. Seems she managed to chew enough wood to expose most of the nails.

Actually, that is not an accurate description. What she had done was this:

So I made two new ones. When we placed them in her enclosure, she promptly started chewing on them.

I give it 6 months, maybe a year, and I'll be making two new ones. That's fine by me, I like doing things with wood.

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The Red Sox managed to get stomped this afternoon which is okay. I like to think of it as they aren't using up all their wins during spring training.

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You can enjoy these if you want:

• When your lawyer comes out with the, "This entire incident is very uncharacteristic of John. He is a loving husband and father and successful businessman" defense, you know you really screwed up.



• People in our society are worried about the most idiotic things.



• Something tells me the Chinese buy these for dinner.



• Oops.



• Only in Russia.

It was a pretty good game

The Red Sox started out playing like crap and the Rays jumped into a 5-0 lead in the second inning.

Evoldi wasn't pitching like Nasty Nate, he was pitching more like Mellow Marvin and the Rays hit him pretty good through those first two innings. He got back into form for the third and fourth innings, so that was nice to see.

In the end, the Red Sox won the game 11-7 and I was a happy guy.

And my happiness is all that really matters in these situations.

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The Bruins / Sabres game has been postponed because several players/coaches/staff members have tested positive for covid.

The NHL doesn't really say a lot about who may have covid. We know for sure that Kuraly tested positive the other day but now it looks like Pastrnak, Krejci, DeBrusk and Smith are now all "on the protocol".

Because of covid, they also postponed Tuesday's game against the Islanders.

Add to this the fact that Rask is out indefinitely with an "undisclosed injury", the Bruins may be in a world of hurt.

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I'm going to find something for dinner and then watch some DVRs.

While I do that, you can visit these links:

• I'm feeling pretty vindicated in my opinion that New Yorkers are arrogant, self-centered pricks.



• I am not confident he will be successful.



• Where is Chevy Chase when we need him.



• Attention friends and relatives in the law enforcement world: Don't believe what you see.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "11:38 a.m. Someone urgently needed a permit for chickens."

No baseball

The Red Sox are on a day off today.

Fortunately, the Bruins are in Buffalo to play the Sabres at 7:00 this evening so I got that going for me.

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Speaking of the Red Sox, according to Vegas Insider, the current odds of the Red Sox winning the 2021 World Series are listed as 50 to 1.

If Massachusetts ever gets its shit together and passes a law allowing sports book betting in this state, I'll put $10 down on 50 to 1 odds. That's not a bad bet on a team that I think looks pretty damned good.

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Because I showed you a picture of one of The Sisters the other day, I wanted to show you the other one today.

This is Willow:

She's a psycho.

She wants attention but she doesn't want to be touched. She climbs into my lap , purrs like small dirt bike and shoves her head under my hand looking for me to pet her. But as soon as I pet her, she jumps off my lap and runs away.

I'm pretty sure she is either psychotic or bipolar.

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Time for an update on who is governor of New York.

Andrew Cuomo is still the governor of New York.

This has been your update on who is the governor of New York

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Since I went out for beverages yesterday evening, I suspect I will be asleep on my couch by the middle of second period this evening.

Then I will wake up to see the end of the third period.

Enjoy these links:

• You can pretty much buy anything on Amazon.



• Personally, I think the FCC should be allowed to impose the death penalty.



• I love The Onion.



• Salmon Chaos would be a fantastic name for a Highlights magazine article.



• Something tells me that this is not his first mugshot.



• I believe this is the opening scene to almost every 1960's sci-fi horror movie.

Short post

The Red Sox managed to beat the crap out of the Twins today, beating them 9-1 with Rodriguez going 5 innings, striking out 6, giving up 2 hits and 1 run.

Since NESN, WEEI and MLB aren't carrying the games, I have to continuously refresh the box score and trade texts with my buddy Walt to see what's going on.

Speaking of Walt, he was at today's game and he sent me this picture of the section where his seats are:

They zip-tied all the seats except for Walt's two seats. He has the entire section to himself. The person you see in the lower right corner is his wife. Every other seat is shut off.

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I got a call from some friends who said they were stopping for beverages. I asked if this was a St. Patricks Day thing and was told, 'No, it's a it's going to snow on Friday so we're going to stop today thing".

So I went to Tommy's and had beers with the boys.

Now I'm going to fall asleep early.

While I do that, you can visit these:

• Safety tip of the day: Don't let your dog drive.



• This is why The Onion is the best satirical publication ever.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Pickle-Packing Perv would be a fantastic name for a 1970s porn actor.

The Bruins lost badly last night

The Penguins simply outplayed the Bruins and they lost 4-1.

There is something wrong with that team and I can't figure it out. Apparently, neither can Bruce Cassidy because not matter what he does, it just doesn't seemn to be enough.

Hopefully they will overcome last nights loss and win tonight, splitting the series with the Penguins.

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Meet Sage, one of The Sisters. She is the queen of all she surveys:

I'm trying to convince everyone to change her name to "Grace" because she is the most ungraceful cat I've ever seen.

You might not be able to tell but she is about to fall off the pedestal. She falls off it about once a week.

She very affectionate but not very graceful. No sir, not graceful at all.

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Remember what I said about Tanner Houck yesterday? Well maybe it's a good thing he starts the season in the minors. His pitching was less than stellar today. He pitched 2 & ½ innings, gave up three hits, walked four and had three earned runs.

Spending some time in the minors to get the yips out and get back into a groove will do him a world of good. If things go as they always do, Evoldi will end up on the DL in a few months and there is no guarantee that Sale will be back any time soon (although he is working out and throwing from a mound).

Despite being in a 3-2 hole, they overcame and ended up beating the Braves 5-3. I know this because unlike WEEI, I was able to stream the game from the Atlanta radio network that carries Braves games.

It pisses me off that the Red Sox and WEEI won't stream the games or broadcast them on the FM network. They only broadcast them on the AM station out in Boston so us non-Bostoners can't listen to them.

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Time for some dinner and then some hockey.

You should click on these:

• The Bexar County (Texas) Sheriff's Department needs to review its hiring practices.



• Only in Flori-duh.



• Personally, I prefer to eat at a table.



• I'm not entirely sure "wandering" is the correct word to use.



• Large Barge would be a fantastic name for a 1960's "professional wrestler".



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, rummages around your kitchen at one in the morning.

The Red Sox lost this afternoon

Pivetta had a pretty good game and just may have set himself up to be the fifth starter. I have to admit that I'm kinda torn here. I think Pivetta is a decent pitcher but that leaves Tanner Houck in the minors.

Houck proved he is a hell of a pitcher at the end of last season so I think it's kind of a waste to keep him in the minors.

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The Bruins are in Pittsburgh for a two-game series against the Penguins. Puck drops at 7:00 this evening and I probably won't be awake long enough to watch all three periods.

This time change is kicking my ass.

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While I watach hockey, you can click these:

• The arrest of the fanatics that attacked and invaded the US capital are still going on.



• Well, I guess we now know where the $1.9 trillion is coming from.



• Butt Drumming Bee Larva would be a great name for a 1990's Russian punk band.



• I've been to Pittsburgh. Trust me, the last thing any of us want to see is those people walking around naked.



• If you want to get fired from your job, this is how you do that.



• Continued proof that the Japanese are kind crazy.

No win today

The Red Sox and the Twins played eight innings and the game ended in a 5-5 tie.

I thought Evoldi did okay through four innings before running into some problems and giving up three runs.

Tomorrow is Pivetta's turn on the mound. I'm not sure if he's proven that he can be a reliable starter yet so tomorrow may be a "go big or go home" kind of day for him.

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I'm glad it's daylight savings time but this changing the clocks twice a year is a pain in the ass.

Why do we do it? What good does changing the clocks do for us? I'm trying to figure out what good it does.

We should stop doing it right now and make today the last day we change the clocks.

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I'm going to probably fall asleep early on my couch.

You should fall asleep early on your couch as well.

Before you do that, check these out:

• I've come to the conclusion that Cuomo is a lot like Trump.
  Must be a New Yorker kind of thing.



• Let's face it, people are sick and tired of not socializing. College kids are simply doing what we all want to do and sending in cops to stop them is going to result in more problems than it will solve.



• No they didn't...



• Has everyone in England gone nuts?



• Key phrase in this story: "What are you going to do? Arrest me? That’s hilarious."

50/50 kind of day

The Bruins and the Red Sox both played at 1:00 today. Normally, when that happens, I use the picture-in-picture thing but since there is nothing on this evening, I decided to record the Bruins and watch the Red Sox. I will watch the Bruins game this evening.

The Red Sox beat the Braves 7-2. They look like a good team and I anticipate they will be competitive this season. As a matter of fact, they will have some agonizing decisions to make over the next three weeks because they can't keep everyone on the roster. I really hope they keep Dalbec and Chavis.

As for the other sporting event, I know the Bruins lost, I'm just not sure what the score was. I'll still watch the game but I'll probably fast forward through most of it.

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Time for an update on my injuries:

My back is back to normal (normal = dull pain) and the burn on my hand has scabbed over a little bit.

This has been your update on my physical maladies.

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Remember a couple of weeks ago when I said that Cuomo will probably need to step down?

Well, he might not have to because it's beginning to look like they might just throw him out.

Then again, democrats don't have a good track record when it comes to impeachment. They tried it with Trump, twice, and it didn't go to well for them either time.

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I'm going to watch the Bruins get shut out by the Rangers.

You can visit these links if you like:

• Tom Garvey knows how to live a good life.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Oh Canada.



• Raffaela Spone is a seriously frightening woman.



• Key phrase in this story: "...the infestation has been a problem for the past year."



• Alright people, listen up for your vehicle assignments!
  Johnson, you got the Dodge Interceptor.
  O'Brien, you got the Ford Explorer.
  Smythington-Barrows, you got the golf cart.

I bit the bullet

While I was washing my cars this morning, realized that today would be the perfect day to replace the carburetor on my snowblower.

I pulled The Beast out into the sun, siphoned as much gasoline from the tank as I could, clamped off the fuel line and drained as much gasoline as I could from the old carburetor.

I removed the old carburetor and proceeded to spill what seemed like a gallon of gas all over the place. In reality, it was probably one or two ounces but a little gas goes a long way. I made note of all the linkage positions, disconnected the primer line, the fuel line and the linkage. Then I poured another gallon of gas on the floor when I turned it upside down and whatever was left in the float bowl poured out. Again, it was only an ounce or two but when you're pouring a flammable substance on your garage floor, even small amounts look like gallons.

Since I was fortunate enough to remove the fuel and primer lines without damaging them, I did not have to replace them. I plugged them into the new carb, hooked the linkage up, set the high power jet and the idle jet to about 1 & ½ turns and bolted the carb onto the intake.

I released the clamp on the fuel line, added some gasoline to the tank and was pretty happy to see that no gas was pouring out of the carb. This meant all the seals and the gasket were in good shape.

I tried to get the frame that connects the carburetor choke to the control knob but the screws holding it were in no mood to release their grip. I set the choke manually and fired it up.

It chugged and coughed while I adjusted the high power jet until the machine was purring nicely. I turned the power to idle and adjusted the idle jet and the idle screw until it had a nice gentle idle. I put it back into full power and engaged the drive and the auger to make sure it was going to maintain the power level. I let it run for about 10 minutes and shut it down.

Thanks to my strategic use of vice grips, I was able to loosen the screws holding the choke frame on the old carb and when I tried to put it onto the new carb, I noticed I had adjusted the jets while the carb was fully choked.

So I started the machine up, again, turned the choke off and adjusted the jets, again. I let it run for another 10 minutes, again, and when I was satisfied that everything was working like I wanted it, I shut it down so I could install the choke frame.

I started to put the choke frame onto the new carb when I discovered that running a snowblower for 20 minutes causes the muffler to get hot. Like really hot. Like freakin' hot enough to cause blisters when you touch it.

So now that the carburetor is installed and adjusted properly, I am a happy guy with a burn on his hand and a sore back from being bent over for an hour.

I'm hoping we don't get anymore snow this season but if we do, I think I'm all set.

Well, I hope I'm all set.

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The Patriots re-signed Newton today and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. The guy has what it takes to be a good quarterback but last season didn't go too well.

He had a reasonable start, winning about 50% of the games. Then he got covid and that seemed to do some damage to him. Once he returned, he played like crap and the patriots finished the season with a losing record having won less than 50% of their games.

I'm hoping this year goes a lot better.

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The Bruins won last night, shutting out the Rangers 4-0.

They played like the Bruins - aggressive and smart. They were beating the Rangers to the puck and their shots on goal were well placed. The Rangers out-shot them but Halak was a wall, stopping everything that came to him.

It was a fun game to watch.

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As for the Red Sox, they won this afternoon but I didn't learn that until after the game was over because it appears both NESN and WEEI are boycotting the weekday games. They'll carry the games tomorrow and Sunday so I got that to look forward to.

The season opens in less than one month and then I'll be in baseball nirvana. Well, maybe not nirvana. If the Red Sox play like they did last season, I'll just be in baseball mode. If they win, I'll be in nirvana.

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I just wrote a lot of words. If you read all of them, you have too much time on your hands.

Enjoy these few links while I wait for the ibuprofen to kick in:

• This is the kind of thing that would get me to go to church.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kil ya, hides under your trampoline.



• Of course he included the porn section.

Red Sox are using up all their wins.

The Red Sox beat the Twins 5-4 today and I was able to listen to the game thanks to the intelligent people at the Twins radio station, The Treasure Island Baseball Network.

Apparently almost every MLB team on the planet except the Red Sox have contracts with radio stations that utilize internet streaming services. WEEI 850 AM doesn't stream so unless you live in the city of Boston, you don't get to listen to the game.

I know that when the regular season starts, WEEI and NESN will carry the games but until then, I'm stuck listening to the game being called by announcers who are less than knowledgeable about the Red Sox players.

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Anyone got a spare $1,900,000,000,000 that Biden can borrow because he just signed that stimulus bill into law.

My great grandchildren are going to be paying for this. I will not be surprised to see the federal tax rate to begin rising and eventually cross 40% in order to repay this hit to the coffers.

Oh well, hopefully I'll be dead before that happens.

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I need to go flying soon. The winds are a bit too blustery but they are predicted to tone down next week. Maybe I can get my instructor and a plane for a nice refresher. Besides, I need to get my biennial flight review done before April 30th.

While I hockey, you can look at these:

• I'm curious. Did they asked Trump to participate and he declined or did they not ask him?



• I believe the first 4 or 5 women but I get the impression that this one just might have invented her "story" in an attempt to jump on the bandwagon. This comes from someone who was told by someone that there had been “inappropriate encounters with the governor”. It's that or the guy is a genuine slimeball.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, stows away and invades other countries.



• Key phrase in this story: "Police now have some suspects in mind."



• Meet Dustin Allen Bushnell, Dad of the Year.



• I've decided that I will do everything I can to not go back more than two days a week.

The Bruins lost and the Red Sox won

The Bruins lost to the Islanders in a shootout last night. The final score was 2-1 and even though they lost, the Bruins still picked up one point. That was enough to keep them in fourth place in the east. This is important because the top four teams in each division will make the playoffs.

They are one point ahead of the Flyers and if they continue to lose, the Flyers will take the fourth spot from them, their season will end on May 8th and they will watch the playoffs from their couch.

They need to start winning. Soon...

I'm thinking since shit flows downhill, Jeremy & Charlie Jacobs are leaning on Cam Neely to right the ship. Neely is giving Don Sweeney the "win or walk" talk and Sweeney is telling Bruce Cassidy his job is on the line. That means Cassidy is gonna start benching guys until they all start to play like champions.

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As for the Red Sox, they beat the Braves this afternoon 5-3.

That kid Bobby Dalbec is a monster. He hit a grand slam this afternoon and if memory serves, it's the fifth or sixth homerun he's hit during spring training. If he can keep that up once the season starts, he'll put that team on his back and drag them into the playoffs.

Of course, once the season starts, the pitchers and scouts usually figure out pretty quickly what pitches will beat a batter. Maybe he can't hit a changeup or a slider or a high fast ball. Whatever his achilles heal, he better learn to hit it because the pitchers will quickly figure it out and start throwing only that pitch to him.

Devers also seems to be in much better shape. He has lost that little belly and put a few pounds of muscle on his frame. I think he'll do just fine this season.

I love watching the youngsters play. They all play the game like it's a game, not some factory job.

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No sports for me to watch tonight so I'm going to enjoy my Last Man Standing DVRs.

Here are some links for you:

• They need to change the words "college men" to "all men".



• Malaysia has just taken a giant leap forward into the middle of 17th century.



• Oh Canada.



• If you are really, really bored and have a desire to watch a bunch of idiots, this website is for you.



• Key error in this story: "The District Attorney says there were no drugs or alcohol found in the man's system.

Long day today

I spent my day at the covid clinic where I volunteer.

It's not hard work but someone has to do it.

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The Red Sox lost, again, but that's okay. Like I said, I like the fact they aren't using all their wins up in spring training.

We are now officially 3 weeks and 1 day away from opening day when the Red Sox will open their season at home against the Orioles.

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My arm hurts from yesterday's vaccination and I have a minor headache which, in my opinion, is a small price to pay to be fully vaccinated against that shitty virus.

Now I just need to get my wife, children & grandchild vaccinated so we can get back to being a family.
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Now I need to eat something and then watch the Bruins at 7:00. I really hope they beat the Islanders tonight.

Here are some links:

• Only in Florida.



• New Jersey: The classiest state in the union.



• I'm pretty sure those researchers may have been drunk.



• Naked chicks need electricity.



• Key phrase in this story: "That’s my dick."

Not a good day

My sister-in-law passed away last night.

Well, she's not actually my sister-in-law since my wife is an only child. She is my wife's cousin but they acted like sisters. She always referred to me as "her brother-in-law" when she introduced me to others. She was taken too young by a shitty disease.

I'm not really in the mood for witty repartee but I do have some links.

Here they are:

• I was not aware that we had a Medal of Honor winner named Dick "Bing" Bong.



• Key phrase in this story: "...merely to leave peaceful, political commentary on the Senate dais."



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, hides in your inhaler and tries to kill you.

Excellent ball game today

The Red Sox and the Braves played a full 9 innings of baseball today that ended with the Braves winning 5-4.

I love baseball. Today's game was played under a blue Florida sky, the grass is green, the clay is brown and, if I used my imagination, I could smell the grass & leather. The only thing that would have made it better is if the Red Sox had won.

I do like watching the young players. Jeter Downs, Michael Gettys, Jonathan Arauz, Yairo Munoz and Connor Wong all made impressive appearances in todays game. Add in Alex Verdugo and Raphael Devers and you've got a group of youngsters who can make watching baseball exciting.

There is no game tomorrow and it looks like no broadcast of games until next Saturday. Fortunately I'll have hockey to watch on Tuesday and Thursday.

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Speaking of hockey, the Bruins are playing the Devils at 5:00 this afternoon and I want to watch the game. That means I'm making this a short post.

Enjoy these links:

• Aside from living in a city the most interesting name, the residents of Phuket also have interesting crimes.



• If you decide to go to Florida, stay out of the water.



• I wonder what his annual income is...



• They should charge him with attempted mass murder.



• Yes, alcohol was involved. Apparently, a lot of alcohol.



• I thought we were calling them Guardians of the Galaxy?

No baseball today

The Twins / Red Sox game got cancelled due to rain today which I found to be a little upsetting.

For the first time since last Monday, the game was going to be carried by NESN. I was all happy and stuff to watch it and I actually got to see 2 innings before the rain hit.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day and NESN will carry the Braves / Red Sox game at 1:00. Then at 5:00, they will carry the Bruins / Devils game.

Tomorrow is the day I will get my sports fix.

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There is a movement to remove certain movies because they depict racist or sexist scenes.

I think that if you are encouraged to become a racist because you see Fred Astaire dancing across a stage while wearing black face, you were a racist to begin with and Fred didn't push you in that particular direction.

I think if you are encouraged to be a sexist pig because you see John Wayne spank Maureen O'Hara and then march her into the bedroom, you were a sexist pig to begin with.

I think if you are offended by a movie from 1946 because it depicts the Japanese as slant-eyed murderers or the Germans as evil Nazis, you should not watch that movie.

I think everyone needs to remember that movies are created in the time and judging them as good or bad using our particular societal norms is a terrible idea.

This afternoon, I watched a movie from 1969 called Support Your Local Sheriff. It depicted James Garner as the witty hero, Walter Brennan and Bruce Dern as blundering thugs, Harry Morgan as the sneaky yet well-meaning town mayor, Jack Elam as the comedic foil and Joan Hackett as the attractive yet ditzy love interest. I enjoyed it thoroughly. You should watch it if you ever get the chance.

Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll be watching the follow-on from 1971 called Support Your Local Gunfighter.

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Baked cod crusted with bread crumbs, a side of rice and a side of mixed vegetables make for a decent dinner.

Now that I've finished it, I'm looking for some links for you.

Here's what I found:

• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• There are some incredibly stupid people living in our world.



• The Sun has all the cutting-edge news.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "3:27 p.m. Bob has been asked to leave several times but is not getting the message."

The Red Sox won

Despite the media not covering the game, I was aware of the fact the Red Sox beat the Rays 6-5 today.

Today was opening day for Eduardo Rodriguez and he had a pretty good day.

I'm getting a excited about this season.

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Not much else to prattle on about.

The Bruins as playing the Capitals right now and I'm gonna watch that.

Enjoy these links:

• I wish I had seen this.



• Oh Canada.



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

The Bruins are in the hole

They lost to the Capitals in a shootout last night, putting them in 3rd place in the east and 12th place in the league.

Rask had a hell of a game, stopping shot after shot but the team can't put it all on the goalie. They need to control the puck, make good passes and put their shots on net. When you shoot at the goal and the puck sails up over the glass, you aren't shooting at the goal, you are flipping the puck up in the air.

They've played 20 of their scheduled 56 games, leaving 36 left in the season. That's still a fair amount of game to play and if they play like they should, they can take back first place. As a matter of fact, the Bruins are predicted to win the east and maybe the league but not if they keep playing like this.

As for the Red Sox, not only did NESN and WEEI not carry the game against the Orioles today, MLB did not have a gameday feed for me to look at every once in a while.

Turns out the Red Sox lost to the Orioles which means they aren't using up all their wins during spring training.

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Watching the news stories about the process for scheduling a covid vaccination is fascinating. It's almost like an online auction where you have to be first in line in order to get an appointment.

Personally, I think the whole "giant vaccination center" is a bad idea. Herding thousands of people through a large facility is, at best, dehumanizing. Seems to me that numerous small sites taking care of small groups of people would mean less waste, easier appointment scheduling and shorter wait times.

Then again, what the hell do I know. Maybe huge sites are the best way to do this even if it is dehumanizing.

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Here are some links for you to look at:

• If you ever wanted to go to the moon, here's your chance.



• This is the most New York thing you will see today.



• I don't blame her. Playing disco should be a felony



• I had this idea 15 years ago.



• Key fashionable outfit in this story: one sock, boxers, and an undershirt.



• I wonder if she gave a shit the next day...

Another win

The Red Sox ran all over the Twins this afternoon, beating them 14-6.

I hope they aren't using all their baseballing up during spring training. I hope they are saving some of it for the regular season.

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No matter what he does, Andrew Cuomo keeps stepping into huge piles of dog crap.

Personally, I don't think some guy hitting on some woman constitutes sexual harassment. What I do think is that when a boss or other person in a position of power hits on a woman within his sphere of influence, he is forcing himself on her by virtue of his power and that, my friends, is not only sexual harassment, it's a shitty thing to do.

What I also find a little disturbing is the hypocrisy being displayed by the esteemed governor. He was among the first to state publicly that any elected official accused of sexual harassment should step down. He said it about two New York assemblymen, he said it about the New York Attorney General and he said it about Trump.

I have a feeling that Kathy Hochul may become the governor of New York in the very near future.

And since she is not within my sphere of influence, I can say publicly that she is not an unattractive woman.

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I have just returned home with pizza and there is hockey tonight.

While I enjoy my evening eating pizza and watching the Bruins play the Capitals, you can click on these:

• I agree.



• This is clear and blatant negligence on the part of our incredibly arrogant and ignorant elected officials. I don’t blame the contractors, I blame the government that decided to hire the the lowest bidder to feed the troops.



• The Irish: They know how to party...



• Apparently the new cool-kid term for sex is "Rumpy-Pumpy".

That's how you play baseball

The Red Sox ran roughshod over the Rays this afternoon, beating them 9-3 over nine innings.

They played like they meant it and I'm hoping that's what we see come April 1st when they open their season against the Orioles.

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Normally, when the Springfield Police department announces that it is going to run a new academy, they get around 500 applications from people who want to become a cop.

This year, they announced a new academy and they have received a total of 50 applications.

I'm not surprised at the decline in interest. I would not want to become a cop in this society.

Politicians are calling cops racists and treating them like criminals when they do their job, the media is giving a megaphone to every loud-mouthed scumbag who hates cops and wants them all fired and society is putting more demands on what a cops job is supposed to be.

If they get called to intervene in a domestic dispute that involves a mom with three kids in a car and a father with a violent criminal record, they should not be second-guessed about why they shot the slimeball when he opened the car door while holding a knife.

If they get called to make sure little Eugene behaves himself in class, they should not be second-guessed when they end up using force, including pepper-spray, to put the violent little bastard in handcuffs and lock him in a cell until he calms down.

If they get a call from a McDonalds about a guy passed out in his car in the drive-thru lane, they should not be second-guessed when they end up shooting him because the drunk got out of his car, put up a violent struggle against them and grabbed for one of their guns.

But they are second-guessed. All the time. And some of them are going to jail for doing their job. Who the hell wants a job where you might end up in prison when you do it.

Here's my advice to you: Arm yourselves and be prepared to protect you and yours because one of these days, when you need them most, there may not be any cops available to answer your call. Trust me, the politician, the protestor and the talking head from the news aren't going to rush to your aid. You are on your own.

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There is no hockey tonight but I have a shitload of Last Man Standing on the DVR. I also have a few Resident Alien but what was a promising television show with potential for for some great comedy has turned out to be a bit of a bust. I keep recording it and I watch it but if it doesn't improve soon, it'll lose its spot on my "scheduled recordings" list.

You can check out these links if you want:

• I realize this isn't to the level of "book burning" but, in my opinion, it comes damn close.



• I have added the Youtube channel There, I Ruined It to my list of subscribed channels. Listen to We Will Rock You and you'll understand why.



• I know that Ford Expeditions are huge but how the hell do you jam 25 people into one?



• Australia: What doesn't kill ya, hides from you for more than 100 years. Then it probably kills ya.



• Key romantic phrase: "All Hail The Chicken".



• I've heard of bad school districts before but nothing as bad as Baltimore schools.



• I suspect that either drugs or alcohol are involved.

Baseball is back baby!

The Red Sox made 5 errors today and ended up losing to the Braves but I don't care. It was so nice to actually sit back and watch a baseball game that had fans in the stands.

There is something wrong with a baseball game being played with no fans in the stands. Hell, the cardboard cutouts made it even worse because it was a joke. They only allowed a few hundred people in the stands but it was great to hear them cheer.

It's nice but it will be even nicer when the Red Sox get their baseball skills back on track and start playing like they mean it.

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I guess some talking head on Fox said something bad about Springfield and it has our brain-damaged elected officials up in arms.

Springfield is an old city that has a long manufacturing history. It was, at various times, home to some large and significant manufacturers like Smith & Wesson, The Springfield Armory, Milton Bradley, Chapman Valve, Moore Drop-Forge, American Bosch, etc...

Now, it has three large businesses - MassMutual, Bay State Health and the MGM casino, none of which produce tangible goods. Of those three, one has begun the process of moving to Boston, the other has been trimming staff and the third is basically shut down until covid is over with.

The city has the highest unemployment rate in the state, the highest per-capita crime rate in the state and the highest truancy rate in the state. Basically, the city hasn't quite reached the depth of shit that places like Detroit and Flint have stepped in but it's close. Let one of those three businesses I previously mentioned leave the city and you can stick a fork in it, it's done.

Here in Massachusetts, instead of talking about what is wrong and how to fix it, our elected officials talk about stuff that happened in the distant past and tout that as how great the city is.

Our elected officials are very good at doing nothing to help. What they are also very good at is redirecting our attention away from their ineptitude.

Ed "I have no idea what I'm doing" Markey does not want anyone to ask him what he is doing to help Springfield so he says, "Springfield is diverse and beautiful, full of vibrant neighborhoods!". He might as well look at the crowd and shout, "Look over there!" while he sneaks off stage when everyone turns around to look over there.

Richie "I'm Irish!" Neal is to busy polishing the woodwork at the Union Train Station he claims to have built with his own two hands as well as trying to get those grubby little hands on Trump's old tax forms to do anything to bring jobs into the city.

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The wind is ramping up and it looks like we can expect an interesting night around here. They are predicting 40-50 mph winds overnight so I anticipate power outages.

I fired up the generator this afternoon just to make sure it is fully functional and I have at least 10 gallons of gasoline. That should power it for at least a day, maybe two.

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There is no hockey this evening but I've got some good DVRs to watch.

Here are today's links:

• You gotta love dogs.



• Cats, however, are trying to kill us all.



• I would buy booze from a place named Herbie's Speakeasy.



• I'm pretty sure we can all guess why he doesn't have a girlfriend.



• I would like to remind you all that the Japanese, as a nation, are crazy as loons.