Two down, two to go

The Red Sox and the Royals swapped leads over all nine innings last night but in the end, it was the Red Sox who came out on top. They defeated the Royals 7-6, taking two games of their four game series.

I only made it through seven innings of the game before going to bed around 10:00. It was like watching a Yankees/Red Sox game: slow as molasses in January. It seemed like the pitchers were contemplating every pitch like it was a life and death decision.

Speaking of the Yankees, Stephen King is a Red Sox fan and he tweeted this "memo" to Robert Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, the other day:

Funny guy, that Stephen King.

Tonight's game is at 7:00 and if the pitchers can speed things up a bit, I might just get to watch the whole game.

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There is something seriously wrong with a society that drops their infectious dead into a river that supplies most of their drinking water.

We are never going to get this virus under control as long as there are places on this planet where people are doing shit like that.

And for the record, the "delta variant" was originally going to be called the "Indian variant" since that's where it originated but people started complaining that naming the variants after the geographic region of its origin, like the UK variant, was "racist".

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Time to get dinner and then watch some baseball.

You should click on these and then watch baseball. Or whatever you want. It makes no nevermind to me.

• I think he just might have grounds to sue the state for false imprisonment.



• New York City changed the way the vote and this is what they ended up with.



• Key phrase in this story: "I can confirm that the village is being renamed."



• Only in Florida.



• Key phrase in this story: "...even the soft parts of nuclear submarines."



• Oh Canada.

One down, three to go

Despite the fact that Garret Richards came out and stunk the place up during the first few innings and the Royals took an early 5-2 lead, the Red Sox managed to get their collective shit together and somehow come from behind to win the game 6-5, taking the first in the four game series.

Richards is a heart attack for me, and most Boston fans. He came out and gave up one home run (three runs scored) in the first inning. It got worse in the second inning when he gave up two home runs. By the time the second inning ended, the Red Sox were down 5-2.

In the third innings, Richards seemed to get himself in order and started striking batters out. He ended up going 5 1/2 innings and not allowing any more runs.

If Richards ever learns how to warm up properly and starts pitching well right out of the gate, he will do okay. Until then, giving up five runs in the first two innings sucks and he needs to stop doing that.

First pitch will be at 7:10 this evening and Pivetta will be on the mound. As far as I'm concerned, Pivetta is doing okay. Hopefully that continues this evening and the Red Sox take the second game in the series.

⧫
There is an old saying in my line of work: Everything is great until it's not great anymore. Then it really, really sucks.

I say this because I heard from an old friend the other day that he had a problem. Seems someone had installed ransomware on his desktop & laptop and he had lost everything. He wanted to know if I could take a look at his hard drives to see if there was any chance of recovering any of his photos or documents.

The short answer is: No, there is no way of recovering anything from any of his hard drives.

I asked him if he had any backups and he said, "I backup the laptop to the desktop. The desktop gets backed up to the attached external drive." For the record, he never unplugs the external drive from the desktop so to the ransomware process, it was simply another hard drive to encrypt.

I feel bad for him. He does have a fair number of photos on some thumb drives but his documents are gone, never to be seen again.

Heads up people: Backup your computers. And when the backup is done, disconnect the backup drive from the computer. My wife, my daughter and myself all use external drives to backup our machines and those drives are disconnected when the backups are done.

Also, stop installing "free games" on your computers. Nothing is free. They all come with a cost that can be measured in either money or data. No one writes computer games and gives them away for free.

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Still on the hunt for ammo. No one, and I mean no one, has any ammo for sale. Well, that's not entirely true. They have ammo for sale but nothing that I need or want.

If ever find any, I'm going to buy as much as they'll sell me. I'm no conspiracy theory nutjob but I'm beginning to think that maybe there might be some kind of government move to limit ammunition.

The democrats have been trying to limit gun ownership for years now but the second amendment to the constitution keeps getting in their way. The problem is, the second amendment only enumerates the right keep and bear arms, it doesn't say anything about the right to own ammunition for those arms.

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I'm gonna eat some food and watch some baseball.

Yo should check these out:

• Just one more reason I don't like to fly commercial.



• Looks like Walmart might just do some good.



• Other than Norman Rockwell, I can honestly say I don't understand "art"...



• I also do not understand "fashion".



• Only in Florida.



• More proof that some people have too much free time.

Gary Larson predicted this

I was watching the news this morning and they had a story about the "vaccination bus" rolling into Western Massachusetts.

As I was watching it, the first thought that popped into my brain was, "Hey! I'm pretty sure Larson did a cartoon about this!" so I went looking:

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Earlier this year, the MLB announced that due to all the rumors about pitchers using tacky substances to improve their grip on the ball they would begin inspecting all pitchers during the game. The inspections started last week and so far it's been kind of a joke between the pitchers and the umpires. The pitchers walk off the mound, hand their hat and glove to the umpires and then take their belt off to show there is nothing on the belt. The umpires inspect & smile, the pitchers smile & wait and in the end, everyone goes back to playing baseball.

Until yesterday.

During a game between the Mariners and the White Sox, relief pitcher Hector Santiago became the first pitcher to get caught with something.

Santiago came into the game in the 3rd inning, pitched 2 innings and at the end of the 5th inning, the umpire stopped him stopped him on way to the dugout and inspected his glove. Inside the palm of the glove, the umpire found something sticky. He showed the glove to the other umpires and they all agreed that it was something that shouldn't be there.

They confiscated the glove, ejected Santiago from the game (he was probably done anyways) and informed the Mariners that the glove would be sent for testing.

Now here's the thing: If the MLB determines the glove has some illegal substance on it, Santiago will be suspended for 10 days and the mariners will not be allowed to replace him on the roster.

More than likely, this means some young player who has minor league options available will be sent down to the minors so the Mariners can call up a relief pitcher.

Santiago not only screwed himself, he also screwed some kid who who is now going to spend time down in the minors earning 10% of what he was earning in the majors.

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I managed to find a few links for you to click on while I watch some baseball.

Here they are:

• Yea, I'm sure all those over-fed citizens of North Korea are shocked by his "emaciated appearance".



• Rectal Mushroom and the Fossilized Carpenter Ants would be a fantastic name for a 1960’s satirical rock and roll band..



• Key phrase in this story: "Fuller described the pair as ‘idiots’."



• I thought the worst thing to ever happen to Venezuela was Hugo Chavis. Then along came Maduro who has spent the last 8 years proving just how wrong I could be.



• Key phrase in this story: "No news on Barney Rubble’s role in the matter."



• I must be a freakin' genius.

Three down, none to go

The Red Sox defeated the Yankees last night. That meant they won two of the three games in the series.

The Red Sox defeated the Yankees this afternoon. That meant they won three of the three games in the series.

This, my friends, is what is known as "a sweep".

If the Rays ever get around to losing like I think they will, the Red Sox should be able to keep their heads above water during the second half of the season.

Checking the box scores tells me the Rays lost this afternoon which puts the Red Sox back in first place. That is great and all but the Ray's need to go on another one of those 7 game losing streaks. That will put the Red Sox well into first in the division.

Oh, and I also have a small suspicion that either Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone may be looking for a new job in the near future. Maybe both of them. Hal Steinbrenner cannot be happy about the way this season has gone for the Yankees and if things don't improve in the second half, I imagine some changes may be made.

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I found this on a website of fake products and thought it was funny:

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The Stanley Cup final between the Lightning and the Canadiens begins tomorrow evening.

I'll try to watch a little bit but it takes a back seat to the Royals / Red Sox game.

My prediction is that the Lightning will win the cup in six games. I base that prediction on the fact that I dislike the Lightning and every time I predict who is going to win a championship, they lose.

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I'm going to burn through some DVRs, fiddle with my linux camera stuff and then maybe fall asleep early.

You can visit these links if you want:

• Key phrase in this story: "...inject some reality into this situation."



• Looks like Thanksgiving just got more expensive.



• Oh Canada.



• My guess is the driver was either drunk or following a GPS.



• More proof that some people have too much free time.



• Only in Florida.

One down, two to go

The Red Sox took game one of the three game series against the Yankees last night. Unfortunately, the Ray's also won their game against the Angels last night so the Red Sox remain half a game behind them in the ALEast.

Perez could have pitched better and maybe gone more than 3 innings but I guess it just wasn't to be. He seems to have a problem going more than 3 innings and that's not good because it taxes the bullpen. Last night the Red Sox used four relievers which means tonight, those four guys are probably not available.

Hopefully Eovaldi puts on a show tonight and the bullpen gets the night off.

⧫
In other sporting news, apparently some moron decided they needed their 15 minutes of internet fame and they stepped out into the roadway holding a large cardboard sign just as the Tour de' France cyclists came roaring up. He (or maybe she, hard to tell) took out at least 20 riders with several of them suffering serious injuries like broken arms, head/face injuries, broken ribs and broken legs.

I could give two shits about the tour de france because I don't care about bike racing. Guys wearing spandex shorts and brightly colored shirts do nothing for me. But as far as I'm concerned the person who did that needs to be made an example of. There needs to be a message sent to the people who think it's okay to do whatever they want in order to get internet fame.

People that interrupt sporting events should suffer a financial penalty. It costs a lot of money to put on a professional sporting event and any attempt to interrupt it should result in compensation to the team owners, the players and the spectators.

People that interrupt sporting events and cause injuries to the participants should suffer a financial penalty as well as a criminal penalty. Negligence on that level deserves prison time.

⧫
The heat and humidity are getting ready to roll back into my little piece of the planet.

The weather dweebs claim we can expect temps in the 90's over the next four days with humidity in the "oppressive" range.

Guess I'll be camping out in my house with my air conditioning.

⧫
First dinner and then Red Sox / Yankees.

You should check these links out:

• Remember when Biden was vice president and he would say things that Obama would have to "clarify" the next day? Yea, well Obama isn't around to clean up Goofy Joe's messes anymore.



• Key phrase in this story: "McCarthy said she was looking forward to a life of easier breathing and a straighter nose.."



• Yes, some people have a little too much free time.



• First Epstein and now McAfee.



• Most colleges used to be killing it but now they all seem to be having financial difficulties. I'm not sure why but I'll take a shot at it: I think that most colleges, as a general rule of thumb, have gone off the reservation.



• Well this looks expensive.

Busy afternoon

After work this morning, I spent some time working on my little linux / video camera project.

The software I'm using as the display console / web server is called Motion and it works great. It will take in several feeds from cameras and display them in a nice little webpage. The problem I'm having is getting the individual cameras to feed over the network to the motion server.

The one camera I was able to get to feed the server happened to be plugged in to a Raspberry Pi that was running Motion and using that process to feed the server. The problem is, a Pi isn't known for its ability to run several resource intensive processes like the ones that are built into Motion all at once.

Ideally, I want to use a linux tool called FFMpeg that will take the data from a camera and convert it to a video stream that can be either stored on the hard drive or fed directly to the network interface as a stream the the Motion server can ingest and display.

I'm having trouble getting that process to work correctly but hey, it's a work in progress and I'm doing it more for the learning than the results.

⧫
The Red Sox lost to the Rays last night, which means they lost the series 2-1. They are no longer in first place and their lead over the Yankees is down to three and a half games.

Tonight starts a three game series against the Yankees so I really hope they manage to overcome whatever ails them. They need to win this series. Ideally, it would be great if they swept the Yankees again.

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Speaking of the Yankees, that game starts right now so I need to stop typing and start watching.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.



• If you ever wondered why lawyers have a bad reputation, wonder no more.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, scares the shit out of you.



• When you gotta go, you gotta go.



• Would-be Wood Exorcists would be a fantastic name for a 2010's goth band.

Still in first place

Despite playing like crap and losing to the Rays last night, the Red Sox remain in first place in the ALEast. Granted, it's only half a game lead but it's still first place.

I have always been skeptical of Garrett Richards and genuinely concerned that Tanner Houck was playing baseball in Worcester while Richards was pitching in the majors. The job of the GM is to field the best team possible and keeping guys like Houck, Downs and Chavis in Worcester means they are not fielding the best team.

Then again, I'm no baseball expert so take what I say with a grain of salt. Or the whole salt mine. Your choice.

⧫
So half of a 12 story apartment building in Miami fell to the ground last night and it might have taken a bunch of sleeping people with it.

They are still unsure who was home at the time but I'm betting a fair number of those 51 missing people were home, asleep in their beds.

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I spent an hour teaching my daughter the finer points of handling and discharging firearms this afternoon.

She has always wanted to learn how to shoot and I've had her shooting a pellet gun so I know she knows enough to figure out which way to point the thing but today we actually spent time getting her educated in how a gun works and what rules need to be followed to be safe.

Oh, and we also sent a shit load of lead downrange.

It was fun and we both enjoyed the time together.

⧫
Hopefully I get to see the Red Sox beat the Rays this evening and hold on to first place.

Enjoy these links:

• Seems to me that for $1.2 million, it should come with some kind of theft prevention device like, oh, I don’t know, maybe an ignition switch with a key.



• Soccer fans: They ain't too bright.



• I can hear the Secret Service radio chatter now, "Attention all units: Be advised - Celtic and Pioneer are meeting with Butthead in the west wing."



• The line, "...the wedding reception at the Richland County Fairgrounds..." is the most 'Ohio thing' I've heard in a long time.



• I actually find it hard to believe it took them as long as it did to suspend him. I'm still amazed they haven't disbarred him.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.

Perfect day

Today was sunny and dry with temps around 72°. It was the perfect New England day and the main reason most of us dingbats stay in this part of the world.

Tomorrow will be 80 & sunny and not overly humid during the day. Friday and Saturday will be warmer, cloudier and possibly a bit damp and the humidity will start to creep up.

Sunday however, the winds will shift out of the south west and start dragging all that hot, humid air back up here where it will remain for several days. Humidity is predicted to be what is called "oppressive". That means I'll be trapped in my air conditioning again.

So I guess all I'm saying is enjoy the next few days. Don't sit around wondering what to do, go do something. Go hit a bucket of golf balls, take a hike, mow your lawn, whatever you want to do as long as it's outside.

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Good for them because as far as I'm concerned, some of these school administrators and boards are nothing more than little Hitlers trying to jam their personal beliefs down students throats. They make it their personal mission to squash any dissent.

Students should have the right to speak their minds as long as it doesn't disrupt the educational process. If the parents feel the student is out of line, then it should be left to the parents to handle the situation, not the school board or school principal

And how much money did the school system have to spend to appeal the ruling? It can't be cheap to get a federal appellate court ruling pushed up to the Supreme Court. Any school system that has that much money to waste has too much money and should be required to return the surplus to the taxpayers. School systems should not have huge surpluses, they are a non-profit government entity.

⧫
I did not stay up to watch all of last night's Red Sox / Rays game but it was nice to wake up this morning, check the box scores and see that the Red Sox managed to put some runs on the board and hold off the Rays in the 11 inning to win the game.

With the win, the Red Sox are now one & a half games over the struggling Rays and five & a half over the Yankees.

We are fast approaching the All Star break (mid-July) which marks the half-way point in the season. That is usually when things start to fall apart for some teams and start picking up for other teams. If the Red Sox can go into the half-way mark with a division lead, they will at least start the second half with an advantage over the rivals.

For now though, things are holding steady for them. I'm still worried about their ability to overcome when they are behind but I'm happy when they prove me wrong.

⧫
Not sure what to do about dinner tonight but I am sure I'll be watching some baseball.

If you have nothing to do, you can visit these:

• Key phrase in this story: "They like have a life of their own. They’re so stiff from all that sweat."



• Illinois, with Chicago in particular, is the most corrupt state in the union.



• I always thought that his company slogan should be, "We'll make your computer so slow and unresponsive that there's no way it will be able to get a virus!"



• Key phrase in this story: "We were like ‘well, this doesn’t bode well for the weekend'."



• No, I can honestly say I never wondered about that.



• Key phrase in this story: "...one man grabbed his fishing pole and decided to try his luck on the lake."



• I suppose this means the price of a good steak is going up.

The humidity finally broke

At 6:00 this morning, the weather dweeb predicted that the humidity would break between 10:30 and 11:00.

At 10:15, I went onto the porch to let The Dog out and said, "Meh, it's still humid."

At 10:45, I went onto the porch to let The Dog in and discovered, much to my delight, that the temp had dropped a good 5°, maybe 10° and there was no humidity.

I guess those weather dweebs get it right every once in a while.

⧫
The Red Sox are in Tampa to play a three game series against the Rays starting at 7:00 tonight.

The Rays, in an effort to wrest first place back from the Red Sox, have called up their wunderkind, Wander Franco.

I'm not sure if this is a good move or a bad move.

This kid is supposed to be the best baseball player in the minor leagues and probably in MLB in general but he has never played in the big leagues. He may show up and discover that this is a whole new level and his abilities are equal to or less than most other big league players. He may also show up and tear the cover off the ball.

I guess we'll know soon enough because the Rays have him in their lineup at 3rd base, batting second.

⧫

For the record, I did not watch any DVRs last night. I put the Astros / Orioles game on and watched the Orioles get their ass kicked.

As for today, I'm going to figure out what to have for dinner and then watch the Red Sox.

You can figure out what to do with these:

• Some people exist simply to serve as a reason for the death penalty.



• How is this guy still alive?
  (Is that Eric chasing him?)



• Looks like Krazy Kim's little sister, Krazy Kim, might be in the process of taking over.



• In Thailand, they got some really big rats in their kitchens.



• Saskatoon Beaver and the Missing Pole would be a fantastic name for a 1970s porno movie.



• Maybe this is why they all call each other "Dude"...

I hate sticky

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it: Willis Carrier is my hero.

I can deal with heat but I cannot handle heat and humidity. Yesterday and today were just plain sticky but since I installed my little window units throughout my dwelling, I am cool and comfortable.

This is particularly important at night because I can't stand trying to fall asleep when I'm hot and sticky.

I hate sticky.

⧫
The Red Sox may have lost yesterday but so did the Rays so the Red Sox retained their first place position in the ALEast.

All things considered, I'm a bit concerned about them. I'm getting the feeling that their success is more a result of other teams failures instead of their winning ability.

I'm concerned about two teams in particular: The Yankees and the Blue Jays.

The Yankees are a good team who for some reason are struggling to win games. I have a feeling they will come to life soon and start winning. And by winning, I mean winning a lot.

The Blue Jays are also a good team and I have the same feeling about them that I have about the the Yankees.

⧫
The Red Sox are off tonight while they travel to Florida where they will start a three game series against the Rays tomorrow at 7:00.

Right now, I'm going to toss some burgers on the grill and then try to make. dent in all those DVRs I have accrued.

While I do that, you can see what these are all about:

• Maybe I will be able to retire one of these days.



• It has been conducting its mission for 30 years. If my memory is correct, it was supposed to only last 10 years.



• Just another case of truck violence.



• Maybe this is why I can't remember shit.



• Key phrase in this story: "...each driver called the police."



• These things were a complete pain in the ass.

It was good Fathers Day

I spent the day chillin' on the porch until it became too hot and then I spent the day chillin' in the AC.

We decided to do pinwheel steaks and since it was a warm day, I decided to do them on the grill.

Normally I cook these in the oven by putting down a heavy layer of spinach on a pan and then placing the steaks on the spinach. The spinach cooks nicely in the 325° oven and prevents the steaks from sticking to the pan. Clean up is easy and we have a nice bit of spinach to go with our mozzarella and spinach pinwheels.

So today, instead of heating the house up with the oven, I put my layer of spinach on the pan and put my steaks on the spinach. Then I put the whole deal on the grill and closed the lid.

The steaks cooked great but the spinach turned into brown parchment.

Trust me, never put spinach into a 500° grill.

⧫
The Rays lost last night so for most of today, the Red Sox were in first place in the ALEast by half a game.

Then the Red Sox went and lost to the Royals this afternoon, putting them into a tie for first place with the Rays.

The Rays are still playing the Mariners as I type this (tied 2-2 in the 9th) and if they lose, the Red Sox will once again be in first place. If they win, the Red Sox won't be in first place.

⧫
I'm going to enjoy the remainder of Fathers Day.

You can enjoy these links if you want:

• Of course they saved it. Those things are expensive!



• Key word in this story from Israel: "mysterious".



• What is it with New York politicians named Weiner?



• It's Ireland so I'm betting alcohol was involved.



• Only in Florida.



• It's another case of truck violence.



• It's another case of truck violence.



• It's another case of truck violence.

They all lost last night

The Red Sox lost, the Rays lost and the Yankees lost so, basically, the ALEast standings stayed the same - Rays in first, Red Sox half a game behind the Rays and the Yankees five & a half games behind the Red Sox..

As for today's games, the Yankees & Athletics played at 1:00 and the Yankees won, moving them to five games behind the Red Sox.

The Red Sox & Royals game started at 4:00 and it just ended. I'm happy to report that the Red Sox won 7-1.

The big news in that game are the hitters. The Red Sox batsmen hit the ball really well today and they did not strand runners on base. They moved the runners along nicely and managed to step on home plate way more than the Royals.

The Rays play the Mariners at 10:00 and I won't be conscious enough to pay attention to that game.

⧫
We made a stop at an iHop just after noon today.

As far as I'm concerned, breakfast is the best meal of the day. Even when it arrives at your table at 12:30 in the afternoon.

⧫
I went looking for ammo today and discovered that there is no ammo to be had.

Sure hope we don't have a zombie apocalypse any time in the near future.

⧫
I'm gonna watch some DVRs because my machine is back over 65% full.

While I do that, you can enjoy these links:

• Yet another "landslide victory".



• Key phrase in this story: "I'm trying to show them how to make lemonade out of lemons."



• Just another case of truck violence.



• Key phrase in this story: "...you don’t know who your f------ with, I’m from Carol City."



• Four. Not three. Not five. Exactly four.



• Oh Canada.

Late baseball

The Red Sox @ Royals first pitch is scheduled for 8:00 this evening and based on recent performances, I suspect this game will end sometime between 11:00 and 11:30. That is way too late for me.

I will make every effort to watch at least 6 innings, possibly 7 but the reality is I might not make it past 5 innings.

As I type this, the Red Sox are half a game behind the Rays and five & half games ahead of the Yankees. If things go the way I think they should go, the Red Sox will beat the Royals, (possible but not assured) the Rays will lose to the Mariners (not likely) and the Yankees will lose to the Athletics (highly likely). That would put the Red Sox in first place, half a game ahead of the Rays and at least six games ahead of the Yankees

Guess I'll know how it all turned out tomorrow morning when I wake up and check the interwebs for box scores.

⧫
Allow me to bring some clarity to the busted wheelchair saga from last night.

Over the last year or so, my mother-in-law has managed to mangle the brakes on her wheelchair and I would go over periodically to straighten them out and adjust them. After a year of her bending them (she uses the brake extension handles to lift herself out of the chair), the metal became so weak that stress fractures appeared and it was obvious that they were about to break off. So I ordered some replacements and installed them last week.

Now for the problem - anytime you order a replacement part, you never know what you are getting. Turns out that the brakes I installed were held together by bolts that didn't have any locking nuts on them and one fell out, leaving the brake in the locked position.

Today, I wen back over but this time I brought a tube of Loctite "permanent threadlocker" and made sure that every bolt/nut on those breaks got a liberal coating of that stuff.

I'm no genius but I do know that Loctite makes a pretty good product. If they say their threadlocker is permanent, I believe them.

⧫
I'm gonna watch a little bit of the U.S. Open and then switch over to baseball.

Enjoy these links:

• The name of this country that we live in is The United States of America. We're about to find out if these states have any rights left at all.



• Bears Breaking In would be a fantastic name for a Stan & Jan Berenstain book.



• So much for early retirement.



• Here's your Naked Guy in the News story.



• Key phrase in this story: "The driver then picked up his beer and handed it to the wardens."



• Seems like a pretty shitty incentive to me.

Late post

I was at Tommy's this evening, waiting for my daughters Hot Table order to be ready when my wife sent me a text that my mother-in-laws wheelchair was broken.

I grabbed the food, brought it home, grabbed my "go bag" of tools and headed over to my mother-in-law's place.

Turns out a bolt fell out of one of the brakes and it was nowhere to be found. I took the matching bolt out of the other brake and head home to look for a match.

I found a bolt of the correct diameter but it was too long so I took a hack saw to it, filed the edges to 45° and headed back to my mother-in-law's.

I rebuilt both brakes and headed back home to eat the panini I had brought home an hour before.

Now you know why this is late. And short.

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The Red Sox won last night, sweeping the Braves.

They are on their first day off in the last 17 days and are heading for Kansas City to take on the Royals tomorrow at 8:00.

⧫
Enjoy these links:

• Well, duh.



• Oh Canada.



• If you're in Maryland, don't go to the beach.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.



• Only in Florida.

Things are working

This is a screen shot of the camera monitor running on linux server:

There are currently two cameras. The first camera is in my basement (hence the lack of light) plugged directly into a USB port on the server. The second camera is plugged into a USB port on a Raspberry Pi that is pointed out a second floor window at my driveway.

I'm actually pretty happy with this little project. I'm considering buying a couple of cheap wireless IP cameras to add two more to the network and see how this platform handle it.

It only records when it detects motion and once it records, it send me a text message to let me know there was motion.

And for the record, this system is only accessible from my internal network and it's turned off until I'm doing some testing. I have no intention opening it up to the internet. Last thing I want is some creepy voyeur clown peeping on what's going on around my house.

⧫
So Goofy Joe and Vlad the Hacker sat down for a "historic summit" today.

I'm not entirely sure I would call it "historic". This guy has met with every president since Clinton which makes this more of a "routine summit" than a historic one.

But the media needs to make money so they sensationalize everything. They make every event seem as if it's the single most important event since man landed on the moon. I remember sitting in a bar with Pat, watching Wolfe Howitzer on the TV and I commented on the fact that CNN labeled every story as either "Breaking News" or "Ongoing Coverage of Major News".

Sensationalization is fine if you are working as a bit actor in a low-grade noire movie but if you are reporting the news, just report the damned news.

⧫
This is late because I went to a picnic at work today. It was a pretty good time with good food and good people.

It was nice to see a group of human beings sitting around tables, chatting and laughing with each other. It was also nice to catch up with some of the guys I haven't seen in a while. The facilities guys are always a fun group, along with the security guys.

⧫
The Red Sox are currently up 2-0 in the third inning.

While I watch the rest of this game, you can check these out:

• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, makes you shit your pants.



• Do they not have labels in India?



• Some people are assholes.



• Wait. They sell it by the 33 gallon baggie in New York?!?!



• With friends like that, who needs enemies.



• Yet another reason why I don't go to New York City.

They split the series

The Red Sox had a one run lead through 8 innings. Then in the 9th inning, with two outs, Vlad Guerrero Jr. hit a home run, tying the game 1-1.

Fortunately, in the bottom of the 9th, with Verdugo on second and Martinez on first, Devers stepped up and popped a wall scraper that scored Verdugo and ended the game with the Red Sox winning 2-1.

Tonight they are in Atlanta to play a two game series against the Braves.

I will be watching them.

⧫
Not a lot going on in my world that merits a lengthy treatise.

Let's just get to some links:

• Key phrase in this story: "You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that."



• Meet Abdolnasser Hemmati. He'll be dead soon.



• Next time I go to a Taco Bell, you can bet I'm going to order the steroid-free burrito.



• Trump is probably livid right now.



• I'll take a bunch of boxes of Do-Si-Dos.



• Presenting the winner of the Mug Shot of the Month.

Camera systems for everybody!

My project of turning an old PC into a linux based security camera system is moving along nicely. So far I have two cameras, one webcam plugged into a Raspberry Pi that delivers it's video over the network and the other webcam plugged directly into the server. I have one more Raspberry Pi that I'm thinking of using but not with a webcam. Instead I think I'll buy a Raspberry Pi cameras that plugs directly into the motherboard.

The server displays the feed from both cameras via a web page and when it detects motion of any kind, it starts an event and saves the video as an avi file. It also sends me a text message telling me what time it detected the motion. This is a handy little feature but I did my testing in the basement and every time one of The Sisters went down there, I got a text message. I must have gotten 20 text messages yesterday afternoon.

In the long run, this is just a fun little experiment and I'll probably never run a camera system at my home but if I do decide I want one in the future, I now know how to build one. And by building it myself, I know that it doesn't store the video in some cloud somewhere.

I am not a big fan of storing private information or videos on some internet service somewhere.

⧫
The Red Sox got busy yesterday and today trying to shore up their bats and their pitching.

Weber and Brennan have both been designated for assignment which means if no other team picks them up, they will be playing in Worcester for a while.

As for the guy they picked up from the Mariners, Rios, I've never heard of him. I looked at his stats and I'm not overly impressed. He's a reliever who has pitched a total of 3 innings with an ERA of 9. That kinda sucks.

I guess we'll just have to see how he does when the time comes.

It is good to see Chavis back because when he's hot, he hits the ball well. And trust me, they need guys who can hit the ball.

⧫
Let's hope the Red Sox play well this evening and win. That will split the series with the Blue Jays.

While I watch them play, you can click on these:

• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, tries to swallow you whole.



• We are half the way through 2021 and I believe this is number thirteen.



• I think this is exciting.



• Key phrase in this story: "Last month we accidentally sold the water tower. What should we do today?"



• Oh Canada.



• If you leave your $1,000 cell phone and your wallet filled with $1,000 in a shopping cart and walk away from it, you are an idiot and you deserve what you get.

Well, that didn't go well

The Red Sox lost yesterday and today.

The Blue Jays hit 5 home runs yesterday and 8 home runs today. They are hitting home runs like they are free of charge.

Well, if there is one thing I know about baseball, it's this:

Every team will go through a slump or two during the season.
Every team has one or two teams that they just can't beat, no matter how well they play.
The Red Sox are a good team and this is an anomaly. They will play better soon.

Oh, and one more thing I know - Chris Sale is getting close to throwing off a mound and possibly entering the rotation in early July.

⧫
Several days ago, a young man who was a police officer in Worcester died when he dove into a pond in an attempt to save a drowning child. It was a tragedy for all concerned because not only did the thoe officer drown, the child drowned as well.

In keeping with tradition, whenever a police officer dies in the line of duty, hundreds of fellow officers turn out for the funeral and to provide some much-needed support for the family. In this case, the officer had a young wife and two little kids while the parents of the 14 year old boy are now without their son.

One of the things that has happened over the last several years is that politicians with socialist leanings have been slamming the police at every turn, claiming they are racist, they are thugs or, in the case of Obama, they are stupid.

Well, Officer Familia's wife is now the widow of one of those "racist, thuggish, stupid" cops and she decided that she didn't want certain members of the city government to attend the funeral service.

Those politicians were asked to respond to why they weren't at the funeral and they all basically said, "Well, I was asked to not attend even though I am an avid supporter of police." They said some other things about not understanding but they essentially played it off as a misunderstanding.

Familia's wife, Jennifer, felt she was put into a position where she had to explain why those members were not welcome at the funeral.

So she did...

Manny Familia is a hero who went forward to save someone. He didn't look back, he didn't think twice, he simply did what he could to save someone. This is something every cop I know would do. It's in their DNA.

Jennifer Familia is a hero who defends her husbands honor and his memory in his absence. She accepts no bullshit from bullshit artists and she is unafraid to make her thoughts known. It's what the spouse of a cop does.

⧫
I'm going to tackle my DVRs in an attempt to relieve the strain on the overloaded hard drive.

You can visit these if you want:

• Key phrase in this story: "He's stealing from a 9-year-old kid who is going through Leukemia treatment."



• Yea, I'm also of the belief that he might be full of shit.



• They still sell DVD players?



• In Massachusetts, the state legislature spends most of its time coming up with new ways to restrict what we can do. In New Hampshire, the state legislature tackles to real issues.



• Apparently America is not the only country with nutcases.



• Only in Florida.

Oops

I forgot to post last night.

I guess I'm getting old.

Who am I kidding, I forgot because I stopped at Tommys for beers with the boys.

On the upside, it means you get extra links today.

⧫
The Red Sox managed to pull last nights game out of their ass.

They trailed the Blue Jays through eight innings, tying the game 5-5 in the bottom of eighth inning. Then, in the ninth inning, Hernandez hit a single but managed to get to second base on an error. Santana was put on second base to pinch run for Hernandez and Verdugo hit single that drove Santana in to win the game 6-5.

It was a crappy win but a win none-the-less and I'm happy with it.

Todays game started at 4:00 and as I post this, it's the 4th inning and the Blue Jays are up 2-0.

I'm kinda hoping today goes like last night and the Red Sox pull another one out of their ass.

⧫
It's time for me to throw a "london broil" on the grill and continue watching baseball while trying hard to not burn the shit out of the steak.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Ten years... The idiot is going to prison for 10 years over a face mask.



• First the 'rona, now monkey pox.



• More proof that there are some real idiots living among us.



• I have none of these.



• I don't know, looks to me like he's just relaxing.



• Hey, $100 seems like it covers it.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• From the country that gave us the games of golf and curling comes "gnome-napping".



• She never took her eye off the ball.

The Bruins are on vacation

Despite my best advice and cajoling, the Bruins got their ass kicked last night, losing to the Islanders 6-2.

So much for a shot at the cup...

I guess I no longer have to do the flip-back-and-forth thing trying to watch both hockey and baseball. Now it's just baseball.

⧫
Speaking of baseball, the Red Sox just can't seem to beat the Astros.

Again, despite my sage advice and cajoling, they got beat 8-3 last night.

They need to win tonight so they can avoid the sweep. No one likes to be swept. Just ask the Yankees...

⧫
I'm going to cook some burgers and then watch some baseball.

Here are some links:

• Key phrase in this story: "...it was an uncomfortable, pepperoni-scented sensory overload."



• Well, this is a genuinely shitty thing to do.



• Only in Florida.



• Key phrase in this story: "...finally admitting he shot himself while cleaning his gun."



• Apparently there is a shortage of naked chicks.



• Why do they show pictures of criminals with their faces blurred?

Bad night for the Red Sox

The Astros beat up on the Red Sox pretty good last night and it sucked to be them.

Let's hope tonight's game goes a bit better for them.

⧫
The big deal this evening is the Bruins @ Islanders game.

This is a "win or go home" game for the Bruins so I hope they win. Trust me, I will be yelling my sage advice to them via my special coaching TV if they aren't playing to win.

⧫
Okay, enough sports, let's talk about nerdee stuff.

One of my recent goals with building a linux box was to create a homemade security camera system using a couple of old webcams I have lying around.

So far, things work but not well. I'm having difficulty tuning the system so it makes sense. For instance, I'm pretty sure having it snap a still picture every tenth of a second while storing video of an event is a bit much and will probably fill the hard drive with stuff I don't need.

Another item is the sensitivity to motion. It seems to think that every time a cloud goes over and casts a shadow on the ground, that's motion and it starts snapping pics like crazy and storing video.

Basically, I'm creating something that should only store video when it detects actual motion. I don't want the pictures. I also want it to send a notification to my phone that it has detected motion.

So far, the motion thing is too sensitive, the picture thing is unnecessary and the notification thing doesn't work.

Also, I'm trying to figure out how to take one of the camera's apart so I can remove the IR filter. With the IR filter removed, the camera essentially becomes a night vision camera.

Yes, I'm a nerd but it keeps me out of the bars.

Well, it "kinda" keeps me out of the bars. If it wasn't for doing stuff like this, I'd probably be hanging out at Tommy's way more than the every other week I do now.

⧫
I'm going to spend my evening swearing and yelling at an old Dell computer turned into a linux video security system as well as the Bruins & the Red Sox.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Key phrase in this story: "...he laughed and said 'I got one'."



• Key phrase in this story: "I like to play sports that people don’t consider sports."
  That's because they aren't sports! If you're gonna call them sports then pinball is a sport and I want my damned letterman sweater for the hours of time I spent playing pinball and smoking cigarettes at the Wilbraham 10 Pin Bowling Alley.



• I would go to a petting zoo if they did this.



• Key phrase in this story: "Maybe next time, Yankees fans should pick on someone their own size.."



• Only in Florida.



• After reading this, I'm surprised the only thing to come out of there was covid-19.

Not a good night for the Bruins

The Red Sox made quick work of the Marlins and swept their rain-delayed series. That gives them 2 series sweeps in the last week.

Tonight the Astros are in town and hopes are high that the Red Sox will continue hitting the ball. The last time they played the Astros, they lost two of their three games, losing the series. I'm hoping they win this series (another sweep would be sweet!) and move back in to first place.

⧫
As for the Bruins, what can I say. I thought they might win it when they scored two quick goals in the third period, narrowing the gap by one goal but it just wasn't to be and the game ended with the Islanders winning 5-4 and taking a 3-2 lead in the series.

They are back in New York tomorrow and the Bruins need to win or they go home and start their vacations.

⧫
I'm settled in and I'm going to watch the Red Sox.

Assuming of course the game doesn't get rained out...

While I do that, you can visit these:

• Looks like the democrats don't even get along with each other.



• Only in Florida.



• I'm thinking this jusst might be some of that fake news Trump kept talking about.



• Key phrase in this story: "I Don’t Stop 4 Cops."



• Scrolling through the Instructables website is always fun.



• We don't pay cops enough.

They caught the scumbag

I realize that in this country you are considered innocent until proven guilty but in this case, I'm willing to make an exception...

This, my friends, is the disgusting low-life douchebag who decided to fire a bullet into the back of a car and killed an innocent little boy:

The police started tracking him and his girlfriend, the driver of the car he was in when he shot the baby, several days ago and today they arrested both of them when they arrived home after enjoying a nice breakfast.

I've never believed all those stories about how child molesters/rapists/killers are treated in prison but in this guys case, I really hope those stories are true.

⧫
My youngest is attending tonight's make-up game between the Marlins and the Red Sox. His first venture to Fenway was on a rainy, cold day last week. His second venture to Fenway is on a hot humid day.

He did tell me that "lots of sunscreen will be applied" so he's smart enough to avoid the burn.

Tonight's game is a make-up of the May 30th rainout and hopefully the Red Sox will keep their winning streak alive. If I recall (and thanks to the internet, I do recall) correctly, they won the first two games in this three game series so a win tonight gives them another sweep.

Meanwhile the Yankees are storming mad about a call by the home plate umpire that they claim cost them the game last night.

Personally, I don't see how a single call can cost you the game but okay, if that's what you want to believe, you go right ahead and believe it. The rest of us will believe that you lost the game because your hitters aren't hitting the ball. Your team is built on the home run and none of your hitters are hitting home runs.

⧫
The Bruins / Islanders drop puck at 6:30 this evening so at some point, I'm going to be switching back and forth between the end of the Red Sox game (which starts at 5:00) and the first period of the Bruins game.

That series is currently tied 2-2 and tonight's game is in Boston. The Bruins need to win while they have home ice advantage so when they go to UBS Arena in Queens on Wednesday, they go with a series lead.

⧫
I'm posting early so I can watch baseball.

You can click on these early if you want:

• Only in Florida.



• New best reason for claiming something illegal that you did is not your fault: "Maybe it’s because I’m from Switzerland."



• Key phrase in this story: "...three adults and two small dogs who had been recreating in the ocean on a giant inflatable pink flamingo."



• Of course the aliens are playing baseball. Everyone loves to play baseball.



• Mormon Crickets would be a fantastic name for a religious Buddy Holly backup band.



• Key phrase in this story: "...get ready for the next pandemic..."



• So does this mean gas prices will go back down?

It's D-Day

I just wanted to remind you that 77 years ago, a bunch of youngsters were storming a beach in France in an attempt to gain a foothold and begin the process of freeing Europe from a nasty little bastard. They eventually succeeded in establishing a beachhead but not before thousands died in the sand and water.

⧫
The Bruins lost to the Islanders last night ain a game that was, as I predicted, a little violent. There was some slashing, some spearing and some hooking. I'm not sure that there was any blood on the ice but there were a lot of players being tended to by the training staffs of both teams.

The series is no tied 2-2 and tomorrow they return to Boston where hopefully the Bruins will take advantage of being on home ice and take a 3-2 lead before they head back to New York.

⧫
The Red Sox managed to once again defeat the Yankees and I have a feeling the Yankees are starting to get pretty depressed about their current state of play.

It looked like the Yankees were going to dominate when they took a 2 run lead in the 4th inning but the Red Sox came back, tying and then taking the lead in the 8th. The game ended with the Yankees losing at home, 7-3.

It's going to be depressing for the Yankess if they get swept at home tonight...

⧫
Donald I'm the smartest man in the world! Trump has started campaigning for 2024 on the premise that we were so much better off with him than we are with Goofy Joe Biden.

Listen, Biden is a boob who is screwing things up faster than a chicken pecking for seed but we're no worse off now than when Trump was in office, screwing things up faster than a cabinet secretary quitting or getting fired.

If Trump wins in 2024 it will be solely because Biden screwed things up, not because Trump is better than Biden. We will once again, end up with the lesser of two idiots running our country.

And that, my friends, is a damned shame. We deserve better than what the republicans and the democrats are throwing at us. We deserve a president who gives a shit about us, all of us, a senate that at least tries to get along with itself and a congress that remembers they are there to serve as the people's representatives in government. Instead we have bickering, infighting, lies, slander and a genuine desire to do whatever gets them the most money & recognition.

⧫
I went to Tommy's last night to watch both games at once but the air conditioning wasn't working very well. I had one beer, told my buddies, "See ya!" and headed home to the comfort of my own couch. Which is where I'll be sitting tonight to watch the final of the Red Sox / Yankees series.

While I do that, you can do these:

• That must be one hell of a roller coaster.



• Sounds to me like he couldn't live outside of prison.



• This sounds incredibly uncomfortable.



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



• Australia: You gotta do what you gotta do.



• Key phrase in this story: "Lill said he remembers the bales of marijuana rolling down the hill hitting him during his run."

Things are looking good.

Eovaldi pitched a great game and the Red Sox hitters took an early lead on the Yankees. They ended the game beating the Yankees 5-2.

Tonight Rodriguez will take the mound and hopefully the hitters will still be hitting the damned ball & touching home plate.

As for the Bruins, they take their 2-1 series lead into tonight's game against the Islanders. If the officials continue to "look the other way" and limit the calls, I suspect the Islanders will come on strong and we will have a genuine "old time hockey" game on our hands. I also suspect there will be blood on the ice at some point.

So anyways, both games start at 7:15 and that means flipping back and forth.

Unless I decide to go to Tommy's and watch both games at once on two seperate TVs....

That actually sounds like a plan. Maybe I'll get some of that free Biden Beer that Goofy Joe was talking about.

⧫
The AC is on, the rain gutters have been cleaned, the Costco run is done and dinner has been consumed. I guess it's time for baseball & hockey.

While I watch that, you can click on these:

• Apparently Cody Demmitt takes game night very seriously.



• Hey, rules is rules.



• I'm betting there was more than a little ribbing when they got back to the barracks.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Only in Florida.

Bruins are up 2-1 in the series

They led the Islanders 1-0 through most of the game last night but the Islanders tied it near the end of the third period. That meant overtime and no matter how hard I tried, I could not stay awake any longer. So I went to bed not knowing the outcome of the game.

When I awoke this morning and finished up my morning routine, I checked the interwebs and was pleasantly surprised to see the Bruins scored about three minutes into the first OT period.

While I could have stayed awake for the extra three minutes, it was the extra twenty minutes of "studio expert" bullshit beforehand that I wouldn't have made it through.

So anyways, they now lead the series 2-1 and the next game is at 7:15 tomorrow (Saturday) evening.

⧫
The Red Sox are in New York to play the Yankees this evening and I will be watching them. This, in my opinion, is the series that will make or break the Red Sox.

If they lose to the struggling Yankees, they will lose confidence and begin to falter like they did last season. If they beat the Yankees, they will continue playing like they have and will be well positioned come the All-Star mid-season break.

It will be nice if they take at least 2 of the 3 games.

⧫
I managed to get my lawn mowed just before the downpour hit.

Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield...

⧫
Tonight there will be Chinese food and then American baseball. We here at the Daily News™ are multi-cultural.

Enjoy these links:

• Oh Canada.



• Key phrase in this story: "Paid intern to test it's products."
  (pretty much the dream job of every college student)



• This must be the place they modeled the Dukes of Hazard after.



• Since she's Irish, is it safe to assume alcohol might have been involved?



• Key phrase in this story: "...they were headed to California because they wanted to 'swim in the ocean'."



• Seems like this guy might actually be a brilliant criminal.

They did not get swept

The Red Sox discovered their bats and managed to beat the Astros this afternoon 5-1. This was the fourth game in their four game series and after losing the first three games, they needed this win to avoid a sweep.

Tomorrow evening they open a three game series against the Yankees in New York. Hopefully they take advantage of a struggling Yankees team and win all three games.

As things stand right now, they are two games behind a streaking Rays in the ALEast. Personally, I don't think the Rays are built to sustain the level of play they've had recently so I'm not too worried about them but it would be best to get ahead of them.

⧫
We went grocery shopping this afternoon and discovered they had replaced the "Masks Required" sign with one that said, "Masks Required for Unvaccinated customers".

I gotta admit, it was kind of weird to see everyone walking around without masks. I told my wife, "When we all started wearing masks a year ago, we thought it was weird for the first month or so. Give it another month and we'll be used to seeing people without masks."

I'm looking forward to the day when we don't think it's weird that people aren't wearing masks.

⧫
I went shooting for the first time in almost two years yesterday.

My neighbor and I went to a local club and ran a few hundred rounds through various handguns and long guns. My neighbor is new to shooting and he's only fired rim fire (.22 cal) pistols. When I asked him if he wanted to try my 9mm, he said "Absolutely!"

After loading it, showing him how the safety worked and letting him know that unlike his brand new "Massachusetts Castrated" handgun, this one was double action and it will go off if you just touch the trigger. He said, "Okay, I got it". He raised the weapon, pointed it downrange and proceeded to rapid fire three shots before managing to get his finger off the trigger.

He put the safety on and set the gun down on the bench, looked at me and said, "That's enough of that. I think I'll stick with my .22"

So anyways, it turns out that I can still hit the broad side of a barn with my handguns. I can also hit a target the size of an orange at 100 yards using my .243 rifle. I know this because we were using clay pigeons (skeet targets that shatter when hit) as our targets and I shattered several of them at that distance.

One of them I hit dead center which blew out just the middle of the target:

Not bad for an old guy who hasn't been at the range for a long time.

⧫
The Bruins / Islanders game starts at 7:30 this evening.

While I watch hockey and swear at my linux server, you can click on these:

• I can't help myself, I have to say it: Everyone around Trump oozes a slimy, shitty aura. They all seem to be dirty in one way or another. You may not agree with me but I feel better having said it.



• There is something very wrong with some people.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, kills all the mice.



• I'll pass.



• For the record, He's an 'ethics' teacher.



• Key phrase in this story: "...and it's another sign of how strange the past year has been."

They are giving away beer!

The Biden administration is partnering with Budweiser to give away free beer to anyone getting vaccinated. I believe the phrase Biden used was, "Get a shot and have a beer."

He's a "folksy" guy that Biden. He likes to sound like he's a good old boy. I can picture him saying, "Get yerself a shooter and have a brewsky on me! Then lets grab the old shotgun and go make some noise out back!"

⧫
I can't seem to get a remote desktop connection running on my linux machine which means every time I want to try something with it, I have to go downstairs into my basement and log directly on to it instead of just opening a connection over the network from my laptop.

I should fire up ssh so I can at least open a terminal to it. That would at least make it easier to check system and error logs when I break something.

⧫
The Red Sox lost again last night and it's not because of the pitching. The hitters just aren't getting hits.

They have two more games (tonight and tomorrow) against the Astros and then they go to New York to face the Yankees. It would be nice if they won these two games against the Astros and split the four game series at two games apiece and go into New York on a high note. The Yankees might suck right now but they are still a formidable team.

I guess we should worry about what happens tonight before we start worrying about the weekend.

⧫
Enjoy these links:

• Key phrase in this story: "Go dress up well, and then join us back later."



• Oops.



• Key phrase in this story: "What the hell is the Department of Juvenile Justice doing sending these kids to places that can’t handle them?."



• Am I the only one that thinks it's a bit odd that a lawn care company is conducting sex surveys?



• The last time this guy tried to express his love for a woman, Reagan ended up in the hospital with a bullet in his lung and James Brady ended up in the hospital with a bullet in his brain.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "10:27 a.m. A man with his pants halfway down was looking in car windows."