Well, that sucks

Jerry Remy died.

As a player, he wasn't really a standout because he was on a team that was made up of some of the best players to play the game but he held his own.

As a broadcaster, he was one of the best in the business. I'd rate him right up there with Bob Uecker.

⧫
The Bruins broke the Panthers winning streak last night.

It was a pretty good game to watch with the Bruins scoring first. The Panthers tied it and regulation time ended with the game tied 2-2.

The sudden-death overtime period ended with the score tied 2-2.

They went in to a shootout and Charlie Coyle sent the fourth shot of the shootout into the net, giving the Bruins a 3-2 win.

They needed that win. Not only for the standings but for the confidence.

⧫
Right now, the Patriots are in Los Angeles, playing the San Diego Chargers.

The Patriots are down 10-14 in the first quarter and so far, Jones is playing pretty damned well. The defense needs to get its act together and stop the Chargers from scoring.

If the Patriots win this game, they will enter the .500 club with a record of 4-4.

⧫
While I hand out candy, watch football as well as some of the World Series and try to stop The Dog from barking like a maniac, you can click on these links:

• Only in Florida.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "3:38 a.m. A man in a ditch was waving his arms."



• I'm old so I guess I just don't get it.



• Someone should have grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out into the parking lot.

Busy day

I went to the gun show this morning, spent about 15 minutes going up and down the aisle, found what I wanted and got my ass out of there.

At some point, this drought will come to an end and retail stores will once again carry the stuff we want but until then, I'm all set.

I don't want to say I'm a hoarder so let's just that I don't have to worry about projectiles for a long time. As a matter of fact, I might not ever have to buy them again.

Now if I can find some primers, I'll never have to worry about ammo again.

After I got home from the show, it was grocery shopping, then house cleaning, then lawn mower repair (more on that later) and finally a great meal at Center Square Grill to celebrate our daughter's birthday.

⧫
As for the lawn mower, I started mowing my lawn on Friday and the idler pulley that keeps tension on the drive belt for the cutting blades decided it was quitting and basically fell apart.

That meant the blades no longer spun or cut the grass. Essentially, my lawn tractor became a very slow go-cart.

Fortunately, Amazon sells everything and I was able to locate a replacement. I ordered it and it arrived today. I dropped the cutting deck, removed the busted parts and then called it quits because, well, I didn't feel like replacing it today.

Tomorrow morning I'll install the new pulley, put the cutting deck back on the tractor and be ready to mow my lawn once things dry out.

⧫
The Bruins are playing the Panthers right now and so far, they are dominating the Panthers. They haven't put the puck in the net yet but they're making shots on goal and it seems like the puck is in the Panthers end more than the Bruins end.

Hopefully one or two of those shots make it into the net soon.

⧫
I'm going to fall asleep on my couch watching this game. I might flip over to the World Series every so often just to see if the Braves are continuing their beat-down of the Astros. They are up 2-1 in the series and they are playing like a championship team.

Here are some links for you to take a look at:

• For the record, Chambersburg is a suburb of Cheesetown.



• Well, this sounds awful.



• According to the internets, these things cost anywhere from $25.00 to $100.00. No one is going to give them out at Halloween.

Not sure about the Bruins

After last nights loss to the Hurricanes, Cassidy gave his post-game interview and he did not sound optimistic. As a matter of fact, he sounded like maybe he was genuinely concerned about the quality of play the team is capable of.

Now maybe I'm reading a bit more into his words than he intended but he definitely wasn't happy.

In my opinion, they actually played a pretty good game. Yea, they got some offensive kinks to work out and Hall needs to become the shooter he used to be but all-in-ll, I thought the defense was outstanding. Swayman held his own and made some decent saves.

Today was a travel day and they're off tonight. Tomorrow, they will be hosting the Panthers in Boston. Hopefully they make up for that loss the other night.

⧫
Several years ago, my eldest and I went to a "gun show" to see if there was anything worth buying. We spent about 20 minutes there before leaving as fast as we could.

The shear volume of body odor alone was enough to drive us away but it was more than that. It was the level of craziness that we saw. People wandering in off the street wearing their firearms like it was Dodge City in the 1800s. People driving trucks with 4' x 8' signs in the back proclaiming that it was time to force Obama from office. Guys waving guns around with their fingers on the trigger like there was no possibility that the weapon might be loaded.

I swore I would never set foot in one of those "shows" again...

Well, tomorrow I'm setting foot in one.

Due to the shortage of reloading components, I have no choice but to go and see if any one of those nutcases might be selling primers and bullets. It is my intention to get there at opening and make one sweep of the floor. If I find what I'm looking for, I'll buy it and leave. If I don't find what I'm looking for, I'll leave.

Those people are the reason I think firearms licenses are a good idea...

⧫
Time to make some dinner and crash on my couch to watch a little bit of the World Series.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Apparently the Koreans are just as whacky as the Japanese.



• Only in Florida.



• I said it before and I'll say it again, "Someone is going to prison over this." Here's a sound piece of advice for you: If you don't know how to handle firearms, stay the hell away from them.



• Joe, I'd like to point out that most of the things you do can be described as "clumsy".



• Facebook's new motto should be, "Zuckerberg: Pfffffttttt."

Zuckerberg is a slimy guy

They could change their name to "WeAreNiceGuys" and I still won't trust them or their boss.

For those of you that don't know, I stopped using facebook several years ago when I decided to see what they know about me. I downloaded all of my information and discovered that they had somehow managed to grab all of my contact information, including my mom's phone number, email address and home address.

I was kind of shocked to see that and after giving it some thought, I recall that years ago I bought a cell phone that came with the Facebook app preinstalled. I never used the app but that is the only way I can think of that they managed to grab my contact information.

There is no reason that Zuckerberg needed any information at all about my mom or any of the other people in my contact list. Screw him and his piece of shit company.

Also, the word "meta" means "data about data". In my world, it's used to refer to the information about a database. The metadata for a database is the information about the rows/columns/fields that make up the database.

Kind of ironic that a company that makes all its money by collecting and selling data about its "customers" has changed its name to "data about data".

⧫
The World Series is tied 1-1 with last night's win by the Astros. Fortunately, I don't care.

What I do care about is that the Bruins lost to the Panthers, pushing them down in the standings.

Yes, I know it's early in a long season. Yes, I know that things change all the time and teams move up and down in the standings.

Tonight the take on the undefeated Hurricanes so I don't anticipate an easy win for the Bruins. What I do anticipate is a strong showing and some excellent hockey.

⧫
Time to make some food and then watch some hockey.

Here are today's links:

• I predict that his definition of "rich" will eventually include everyone making more than $80,000 a year.



• Members of the federal and state governments should not be allowed to buy or sell stocks.



• This will probably be the last you'll hear about this. That guy is coated in teflon - nothing sticks to him. He'll just fade away and live out his life, quietly fondling any woman who makes the mistake of wandering within his arms reach.



• Just another case of car violence. I'm kind of surprised the Massachusetts Legislature hasn't banned those things.



• Are you shitting me? Connecticut is in the top 10 best drivers? These "researchers" have obviously never driven I-91 through the I-84 interchange. Those people are crazy.

Little rain, little wind

So much for that nor'easter that was supposed to kick our ass.

My aunt and uncle need to stop watching the news because everytime the national news starts up with the whole, "New England is getting massacred with [insert your favorite storm type here] and everyone is going to die!" they call me. They are genuinely concerned we are all dead.

I wish the news people would recognize that we live in New England. It rains here. It snows here. The wind blows here. We have nor'easters, we have tornados and we have hurricanes. We not only know that the weather sometimes sucks, we know how to deal with it.

We aren't California, where apparently any weather phenomenon other than "sunny and pleasant" catches them off guard and causes major problems.

⧫
Yes, I watched some of the World Series last night and I was pleased to see the Braves kick the crap out of the Astros.

Unfortunately for the Braves, their "ace" got hit in the leg with batted ball traveling over 100mph and he suffered a fracture fibula.

As for tonight, I probably won't watch any of it because...

⧫
...the Bruins are playing the Panthers this evening and I'll be watching that.

A win for them would be good because they'll pick up the two points and move into third place.

⧫
At some point in the very near future, either Alec Baldwin or someone on his movie set will probably be going to prison for murder.

I'm going to watch some hockey and fall asleep on my couch. You should click on these:

• Illegal Sperm Whale Vomit would be a fantastic name for a 1950s rock-a-billy band.



• Call me crazy but I'm pretty sure four year old kids shouldn't be driving.



• This seems like it might be a bit of an over-reaction.



• Okay, the guy is a thief but I can't help but think that maybe the state cops overreacted just a bit.



• Key phrase in this story: "...giant beaver to be enshrined..."

Lots of rain, little wind.

Not sure when these 40mph wind gusts are supposed to be here but I know they aren't here now. Oh well, I'm still ready for whatever this alleged storm throws at us.

And for the record, I'd like it to throw nothing at us.

I'd like to keep my National Grid electricity and my Spectrum cable/internet, thank you very much.

⧫
I was looking at the NHL standings today and I noticed that the Bruins have only played four games while most other teams have played six and some have played seven.

I wonder why that is?

⧫
I was driving behind a car the other day that had a "PZEV" logo on it and that got me wondering, "Who the hell is the genius that came up with that mathematical impossibility and sold it to the government as a real thing?"

If you don't know, PZEV stands for "Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle".

Also, if you don't know, "zero" is the only mathematical number that cannot be broken down into parts. Every other number can be divided into parts but not zero.

If you have 1 of something, you can cut it in half and you will have ½, or part, of 1. If you have 0 of something and you cut it in half, you will still of 0. You cannot cut 0 in half hence you cannot have a part of 0.

In other words, you can never have partial zero of anything. That means the PZEV is either a "Zero Emissions Vehicle" or it is a lie.

I'll let you figure out which it is.

⧫
No hockey tonight so I get to continue plowing through DVRs.

While I do that, you can do these:

• I predict they'll close down within two months.



• This is one very lucky dog.



• If you ever wondered what Kermit The Frog does after the show ends, wonder no more.



• My guess is the mullahs will have someone executed for this.



• I'd say she's far better off.



• Must have been the anti-fun police.

We're gettin' a Nor' Easter!

Hopefully it doesn't become one of those snowy nor'easters. The last time we had snow in October, I had to run my generator for 8 or 9 days (maybe more. I don't remember) because we had no power.

They are saying we might get some 30-40mph wind gusts so, just to be safe, I checked the oil and filled the gas tank.

I'm as ready as I can get.

⧫
Facebook is in the news again because some ex-employee came out with a bunch of internal memos that basically said Facebook is run by money-hungry dweebs with no ethics or moral standards.

Let me show you my shocked face...

Of course it's run by money hungry dweebs with no morals.

Besides, I'm not sure the rocket-scientists at Facebook can tell the difference between news and lies.

They just don't seem that smart to me.

⧫
Time to fall asleep early.

Enjoy these links:

• This is a terrible idea.



• Here's a thought: How about we stop calling it "gun violence" and start calling it what it is - Human Violence. Stop blaming the tool and start blaming the scumbag using the tool.



• On the other hand, there are a lot of people out there that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a firearm.



• I wonder what the dead woman's family thinks of those.



• I can't wait to see this.



• This is why you should never have sex with your car.

Good day for sports

The Braves beat the Dodgers last night, finalizing the World Series as Braves v Astros and that makes me happy. For reasons unknown to me, I don't like the Dodgers. In my opinion, they are the Yankees of the west coast.

For the record, I dislike the Astros but I like their manager, Dusty Baker. It would be nice to see Baker win a world series.

Other than that, I don't really care about either team so, meh...

⧫
The Patriots ran all over the Jets this afternoon, beating them 54-13.

Jones and the Patriots offense played a great game, making the Jets defense look kinda bad. As for the Patriots defense, they were all over the the Jets quarterback, Wilson. They had two turn-overs-on-fourth-down, two interceptions and a fumble.

The patriots needed this win just to build their confidence. They are a good team with a mediocre record which doesn't reflect just how good they are.

Next week will be a bit more difficult when they go to Los Angeles to take on the San Diego Chargers

⧫
At the same time the Patriots were running roughshod over the Jets, the Bruins were giving the Sharks a hard time and beating them 4-3.

They held a 4-1 lead until the third period when the Sharks scored two goals and giving me a bit of concern. Fortunately, the Bruins held them off and picked up two points. This puts them four points behind the Panthers and one point behind the Sabres.

This looks like yet another good season for the Bruins.

⧫
Now that all of the sports are over with for the day, I have time to burn off some DVRs. My machine says the hard drive has only 25% free space which means I need to kill off some shows or it'll start deleting the older shows.

While I do that, you can see if there is anything here you might want to check out:

• This has got to be the most original lie I've ever seen.



• As long as they don't bring back polyester leisure suits...



• Ally Leggett and the Acidic Vomiting Buzzards would be a fantastic name for a 1980s German techno-punk band.



• I, uh, never looked at it that way.



• If you thought the computer chip shortage was bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

The baseball season is over for me

With last nights loss to the Astros, the Red Sox are officially on vacation.

All things considered, they were a hell of a good team that did way better than predicted.

In March, they were predicted to finish the season in 4th place, just ahead of the Orioles. Instead, they got a wildcard slot, beat the Yankees in the one-game wildcard playoff, then they beat the Rays in the ALDS and finally, made a hell of a good showing against the Astros in the ALCS.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Next year, I think they will be better than this year. They have three free agents: Eduardo Rodriguez, Adam Ottavino and Jose Iglesias.

Rodriguez is going to want too much money for his skill so they'll probably pass on him. I suspect he won't be terribly hard to replace.

Ottavino may want to come back just because he seemed to like it here and I suspect they may get him to sign for a reasonable salary.

What I really hope happens is they sign Iglesias to a two year deal.

Pitchers and catchers report in about 115 days...

⧫
We went pumpkin picking today and man, the pumpkin patch is kinda bare. I guess the crop yeild this year wasn't all that great because of the rain.

My wife and daughter were able to find some satisfactory pumpkins to decorate our front porch. That means that when all the little neighborhood ghouls and goblins make their appearance on Halloween, our house will appear appropriately festive.

⧫
No hockey and no football tonight but the golf channel is replaying the LPGA BMW Championship. Maybe I'll watch that. Or maybe I'll burn through some DVRs.

While I do that, you can do these:

• This is why people hate lawyers: "...no other parents or children will have to go through this nightmare." Jebus Cripes Elmo, lighten up a bit.



• Add this to the list of things I don't care about.



• More proof that there are stupid people moving freely among us.



• This is a protest I agree with.



• You should not be shocked by this.

Painting got done today

For the last several weeks I have been putting off painting the porch railing. Today I bit the bullet and painted the railing & the deacons bench.

I hate painting. I would rather walk barefoot over salted broken glass than paint.

Why do I hate painting? Two words - My Back.

Right now my back is killing me and it'll probably be killing me tomorrow.

It sucks getting old...

⧫
The Red Sox are in a win or go on vacation situation.

Eovaldi is on the mound and hopefully he has his best stuff. Hopefully the Red Sox hitters are on fire and we see the Red Sox base runners step on home plate more than the Astros.

The game is starting now so I'm out of here.

Here are some links:

• Weird Al did a song called, "Amish Paradise."



• Seems to me that more than one person should check those weapons.



• Some people are odd. This guy is a f'n nutcase.



• I personally would not be hanging out near that doorway.



• Attention Alanis Morissette: This is ironic.

Oops.

I got tied up doing some yard work and then went down to the basement to work on some reloading. I completely lost track of internetting.

Tomorrow may be better. Or not. We'll see.

Series is tied 2-2 and game 5 is on at 5:00

The Red Sox managed to lose last night, tying the series 2-2. When I went to bed in the sixth inning ,they were up 2-1 but apparently they fell apart in the ninth and the Astros won the game 9-2.

Let's hope they win tonight because after this they lose home field advantage. Going to Houston with the Astros up three games to two will be bad...

Tonight's game is on at 5:00 so now, instead of typing drivel, I'm going to watch baseball.

Here are some links:

• If someone can give me one reason why he should not be put to death please enlighten me.



• I give it 2 months before there are no cops or firefighters in New York or most other large cities.



• Only in Florida.



• Call me "weird" but I think I'll stick to buying my food from the shelves.



• No shit, I could of told them that. All they had to do was observce my daughters dog when chipmunk or mole comes along.

Game 4 tonight

I read a comment from an Astro's fan on the Astro's sub-reddit. They wrote:

We are 1-0 when they don't hit a grand slam.
We are 0-2 when they do hit a grand slam.
We just need to stop them from hitting grand slams!

The Red Sox kicked the Astro's ass last night and I ws awake to see most of the kicking. I made it through six innings and when I went to bed, the score was 9-3 Red Sox.

When I woke up, I found out the final score was 12-3 Red Sox.

Rodriguez was on fire last night, going six excellent innings. He was striking out batters and making some of the best hitters in the MLB look like little leaguers. I didn't see any of the bullpen but a check of the box score shows that Robles, Perez and Sawamura came in and gave up zero hits.

For the record, anytime the bullpen gives up zero hits, it's a good thing.

Pivetta takes the mound tonight. Hopefully he is also on fire and stops the Astro's from stepping on home plate.

⧫
I'm going to get into my sweats and settle in to watch some baseball. As a matter of fact, I'm so happy with the way the Red Sox are playing, I'm going to watch those blathering baseball guys on NESN talk for the half hour before the game starts.

Here are some links:

• Portland has been on the forefront of the whole “defund the police” idiocracy. Looks like they may have succeeded.



• Butt Tattoo would be a great name for crotchety sidekick in a 1970s western movie.



• I'm pretty sure I didn't need to see this video.



• And now this from the Bureau of Mislead Headlines.



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

UPDATE!

Apparently my youngest is at tonight's game:

I am, as always, the proud dad.

Game 3 is on at 8:00 tonight.

Rodriguez is on the mound and that kinda worries me. He doesn't have the best history against the Astros. Then again, his last outing against the Rays was outstanding so maybe I'm just worrying for no reason.

Besides, even if he does run into some issues, there's always Pivetta or Houck in the bullpen who can step in and pitch multiple innings.

⧫
About 19 days ago, I killed myself running a slice seeder over my lawn. Today the new grass reached the point where it was time to mow.

Man, going 19 days without mowing a lawn that had been gi en a generous amount of starter fertilizer is not a good idea. I don't want to say the grass was long but I have a feeling if I waited another day or two, small animals and birds would have begun setting up overwintering nests in it.

So anyways, I finally go around to mowing it today and, so far, I'm pretty damned happy with the results. Hopefully in the spring I have nice healthy lawn.

⧫
I'm going to get into my sweats and settle in for some baseball. Chances that I will make it through all nine innings are slim and none. And none is looking like the safe bet.

While I do that, you can do these:

• Damn. I always liked him. I thought of him as an honorable and intelligent man. If he had run for President in 1996, I would have voted for him.



• On the other side of the spectrum, we have this dishonorable and intelligent man. And yes, I called him intelligent. Anyone that thinks he's not intelligent is sadly mistaken.



• Oh Canada.



• Based on the behavior of some people in public places, this sounds like a terrible idea.



• When I gotta go, the last thing I'm going to do is complex math to help me decide where to go. Hell, I'm a guy who grew up in the 60s. Any tree will do.



• Speaking of nuclear power... Why are we not building nuclear reactors.

Busy day

I spent a few hours at the range with my daughter and her shiny new firearm.

Time for me to brag - My daughter is a hell of a good shot.

This is a 10 round magazine from about 40 feet:

Those rings have diameters of 7 inches, 5 inches, 3 inches and the center bullseye is 1 inch. If you zoom in and count the shots, you'll find all ten found the target in a grouping of about 3 inches.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

After we got home, I charged and seated bullets in 50 rounds of 9mm so that when we decide to go again, I have ammo available.

And speaking of reloading, I met a guy who tells me he has small pistol primers. Since he no longer reloads pistol, he's willing to pass them on to me. When I asked him what he wanted for them, he said, "Nah, don't worry about it."

So if he comes through, I may end up with a component that is almost impossible to find right now.

All-in-all, it was a good day at the range.

⧫
The Patriots lost a hell of a game today.

The Patriots led through most of the game but the Cowboys managed to tie it up in the fourth, sending the game into sudden-death overtime.

The Patriots won the toss and took the ball to start the 10 minute period. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything with it were forced to punt. The Cowboys took over and with a few minutes left in the period, they scored a touchdown, ending the game with the Cowboys winning 35-29.

Like I said to Pat the other day, I'm not expecting wins, I'm expecting them to play well and they did.

Jones continues to impress me and since I look at this season as his "learning" season, I anticipate that the Patriots will lose but not get blown out. And so far, they haven't gotten blown out. Every loss has been a 3-5 point loss.

Next season will be their winning season.

⧫
Now I'm going to sit back and watch some 60 minutes simply because I want to hear what Robert Gates has to say about Goofy Joe.

While I do that, you can do these:

• I believe the phrase, "Read The Room" would apply in this situation. The man is either a moron or senile, I'm not sure which.



• Key phrase in this story: "It speaks to where we are in society..."



• I have only one question: What the hell is an "anal acupuncturist"?



• Keep your snake at home.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "2:15 a.m. A man who reported his truck had been stolen at 2 a.m. realized later that his truck was at the bar he’d been at before getting a ride home."

They are currently kicking ass

Last night, the Red Sox had a lead through the sixth inning. The Astros tied the game in the sixth, took the lead in the seventh and the game ended with the Red Sox losing 5-4.

Today, however, is a different story.

Martinez hit a grand slam in the first inning, Devers hit a grand slam in the second inning and Hernandez hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.

Eovaldi pitched a hell of a great game. He made it into the sixth inning at 81 pitches when Cora pulled him and put Ottavino in. He did his thing and sent the Astros packing. Next up was Whitlock, who I love watching pitch. I bet every time Whitlock pitches, Cashman throws up in his mouth a little bit.

It's currently the eighth inning and the score is 9-3 in favor of the Red Sox.

⧫
If you've ever wondered what the reloading process is like, let me tell you, it's tedious.

Today I deprimed, resized, reamed the primer hole and washed & polished one hundred .243 cases and one hundred & fifty 9mm cases.

That took me just about 2 hours and this is the result:

Now they sit and dry for several days. Once I'm satisfied there is no water inside them, I will put new primers in all of them. The .243 will then sit and wait until I acquire some bullets for them. The 9mm, however, will get charged and the bullets will be seated so they will be ready for a trip downrange.

Like I said, it's tedious but given the cost of factory loads, it's time well spent.

⧫
I'm going to watch the rest of this game and then fall asleep early.

You can do whatever it is your little heart desires. If clicking on links is what you want, then here they are:

• Things you rarely hear someone say: "I have been shot before..."



• If you recently ordered a new car, it might be delayed...



• Pffffttttt.... Seagulls.....



• I'm pretty sure that once the FAA says it's okay, it's okay.



• Until someone creates a 35 foot long pocket, it's just a folding knife.

Nope, no posting today

No post today but not because I was busy. I was at Tommy's enjoy the company of several individuals who I only see every few months.

You'll just have to find your own entertainment.

Busy day

Many things needed my attention today so I didn't get around to any internetting.

Perhaps tomorrow will be better.
⧫
Here are a few links:

• Key phrase in this story: "...the bride smacked her husband in the groin..."



• Imaginary Girlfriend would be a great name for a 2010 boy band.



• Oh Canada.



• Even the mob has problems with it's employees.



• First they ran out of beef, then they ran out of gasoline. Now they are out of Harry Potter books.

No sports tonight

The next game is the Dodgers/Giants tomorrow at 9:00pm when they face off in their final game of the series. It's a winner-take-all game for them.

I'm kinda hoping the Giants win just because their manager, Gabe Kapler, is an ex-Red Sox player who is kinda nutty. It's a good kind of nutty but nutty nonetheless.

Either way, it's a pretty good bet that I won't be watching much of that game simply because it starts at 9:00. I'm probably going to watch two inning before going to bed.

⧫
Time for an update on my grass seed:

I just wanted to let you know that the grass seed I put down using the slice seeder has begun to sprout and grow.

This has been your update on my grass seed.

⧫

Time for me to eat some dinner and then fall asleep early.

Here are some links:

• He looks like he's worth every penny.



• Key phrase in this story: "Novak was then seen licking the knife while maintaining eye contact..."



• Key phrase in this story: "It was like Old Faithful."



• It's a case of bow and arrow violence...



• Seems to me that if you find 100 rattlesnakes in your house, you have a problem.

They have at least four more games to play

The Red Sox scored five runs in the third inning and it looked like they were going to cruise to an easy win over the Rays. The Rays, however, had different plans and over the next five innings, they score five runs, tying the game in the eighth inning.

It really looked like the Rays, who had the momentum and were on a roll, were going to score a go-ahead run in the ninth but Whitlock held them off and the Red Sox came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with the score still tied 5-5.

Vazquez came up to bat and drove the ball through the infield for a single. Next up was Arroyo who laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving Vazquez over to second. Then Shaw came in to pinch hit for Dalbec and he hit a sharp single that moved Vazquez over to third base. That was when Cora took Vazquez out and put in Santana as a pinch runner.

So with one out, the speedy Santana on third and Shaw on first, Hernandez stepped up to the plate.

He swung and missed the first pitch but Shaw stole second base, eliminating the possibility of Hernandez hitting into an inning-ending double play.

He didn't miss the second pitch and he hit a deep fly ball that was caught by the center fielder but was deep enough for Santana to tag up and fly home, scoring the winning run and moving the Red Sox on to the best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS).

Yes, I managed to stay awake through all nine innings and when the game ended, I thought to myself, "This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Red Sox. They were predicted to be a mediocre team with no chance they were going to make it into the post season. I guess all the talking heads over at ESPN were wrong."

Suck it ESPN.

Your precious "New York Aaron Judges" didn't make it past the wildcard game and your predicted World Series winners, the "Brooklyn Dodgers", are currently down 2-1 in the NLDS. You have no idea how happy I am you aren't carrying any of the remaining playoff games.

⧫
So today was kind of a busy day. Add to that the fact I was up past my bedtime last night and you get a guy who doesn't have a lot to say. You also get a guy who is falling asleep early.

Here are a few links:

• Key phrase in this story: "Laura thought she was hallucinating..."



• I've been to Hoboken. Trust me, this is an improvement.



• Yes, both Florida and alcohol were involved.



• This guy is a shithead of the highest magnitude.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• I can't imagine the damage that gasoline is doing to his brain, nervous system, sinuses and lungs.

One game away

It took them 13 innings but the Red Sox managed to beat the Rays 6-4 last night and now lead the series two games to one. If they win tonight, they win their leg of the ALDS and move on to the ALCS.

Thank goodness last nights game started at 4:00 because it lasted 5 ½ hours. If it had started at 7:00, there is no way I would have made it to the end.

First pitch for tonight's game is at 7:10. If the score is close, I'll try to make it through all nine innings. If it's a blow out, one way of the other, I'll probably only make it through six or seven innings.

The problem is that both teams went through a lot of pitchers last night so I have no idea who is available to pitch. Rodriguez is the starter tonight and as I said last time he pitched, he is on a short leash. Cora will pull him if he starts giving up runs. The question is, who will Cora have ready to go if Rodriquez falls apart?

Of course, the Rays pretty much have the same problem.

This game is hard to predict. It's either going to be an major blowout, a nothing/nothing tie or they'll be trading leads through all nine innings.

⧫
I've been reading up on all this crap about facebook and the woman who is doing the whistle-blower thing. It's pretty interesting and highly complex.

In a nutshell, there is no human, or group of humans, at facebook that is pushing misinformation, lies or falsehoods on to you. There is, however, a set of computer programs called "the algorithm" that is pushing misinformation, lies and falsehoods on to you.

When Zuckerberg says that facebook is not intentionally repeating false or misleading stories, he's telling the truth. Sorta. The company has created these algorithms that track what you like and present you with more of it. The problem is, you like bullshit.

You like to read about how cops are all thugs who beat people, that democrats stole the election or that mask mandates violate your constitutional rights.

You like those little cartoons that compare Trump to Hitler, call Pelosi "Obama's lap dog" or show border patrol horse riders whipping little black babies.

You love the bulleted listings that show the dangerous chemicals in the MRNA covid vaccine or that "prove" the fifth generation (5G) cell towers cause autism.

You are addicted to the rush you get when you open up facebook and read all the things facebook is showing you. It's like a drug to you.

The big problem in all of this is that Zuckerberg refuses to admit that his process is flawed and it is as addictive as nicotine. He has created a whole new type of addict and he's is getting rich off it.

The bigger problem is that much like cocaine in the 1960s, the government hasn't caught up with it and has no idea how to control it. The government is always at least 5 years behind any new drug that comes along and this is no different. They aren't equipped to handle digital addiction so Zuckerberg just keeps peddling his goods and claiming that he is doing nothing wrong.

The problem with what I just wrote is that I personally don't think the government should be in the business of controlling what you see on facebook, or any other particular piece of information. If we're stupid enough to believe any of the lies being driven by "social media" then I guess we get what we deserve. We get leaders like The Donald or Goofy Joe.

My recommendation to you is to stop using facebook. Delete it from your phone, delete it from your computer and make an attempt to delete your account all together.

When you try to delete your account, you'll discover that Zuckerberg is like any other drug dealer. He'll tell you, "Sure! No problem! Just click here and in about 2 weeks, your account will go away. If you want to stop the deletion, just open your account up and we'll stop the deletion!" Then he'll send you all kinds of notices in an attempt to get you to click on something and open your account, cancelling the deletion process.

I tried to walk away from facebook a year ago and as far as I know, my account is still out there. It's still there because facebook cancelled my delete request when someone attempted to log in as me. They didn't succeed mind you, they just tried to log in but that was enough for Zuckerberg to say, "Oh look! He wants to keep his account!" and cancel my deletion request.

⧫
I'm going to feed some four-legged creatures, make some dinner and then watch some baseball.

You can check these out of you want:

• This is the second or third time this year a low cost airline has had "scheduling" issues.



• I don't understand why Ford didn't make the electric Mustang look like the gasoline Mustang. That thing looks nothing at all like a Mustang. Mustangs everywhere are embarassed by that thing.



• Even after a thousand years, the vikings are still messing with Scotland.



• I love dogs but the last thing I want is a talking dog.



• Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse...



• They'll let anyone become a pastor.

Nice win by the Patriots.

It looked like the Texans were going to run over the Patriots. The Texans led 22-9 in the third quarter and seemed to be on a roll.

Then the Patriots kicked two quick field goals, making the score 22-15 at the end of the third.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Patriots scored a touchdown, making the score 22-22.

With less than 30 seconds left on the clock, Nick Folk came out and made up for the missed field goal he had against the Buccaneers last week. He thumped a nice little kick slightly left of center of the posts, making the score 25-22 Patriots.

Their record is now 2 wins - 3 losses, which puts them just behind the Bills in the AFCEast. Next Sunday, the Cowboys will be in Foxboro. That should be an interesting game...

⧫
Now I'm watching the Red Sox play the Rays and it's not going like I want it to go. It's the second inning and Rays are up 2-1.

Let's hope the Red Sox get their shit together and start outscoring the Rays.

⧫
So anyways, all the sports going on today means I'm busy and don't have time to type a lot of crap.

Here are some links:

• I'm assuming there wasn't a second date...



• Ruth Hamilton should play the lottery.



• Lebanon: Where getting two hours of electricity is considered a good day.



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



• Key phrase in this story: "...trying to identify the rightful owner of the property is the very least we can do..."

Nice win and a day off

The Red Sox decided to make up for their game one loss by taking a win in game two. This ties the series at one game each.

Today is a day off as they travel to Boston to play games three and four at Fenway.

I'm not sure how much of an advantage home field gives the Red Sox but I do know that the Rays are used to playing in a closed, climate-controlled, domed stadium with very few fans in attendance. The Red Sox are used to playing in an open park, exposed to the elements and filled to the brim with loud, obnoxious fans who aren't afraid to mess with the opposing team in the worst way possible.

Guess we'll see if that has any effect on the Rays.

⧫
For the record, I conducted a successful snow blower test this weekend. I'm pleased to report that all seems well and I am prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws our way.

While I relax and watch the rest of the early NLDS game (the Braves are currently leading the Brewers 3-0), you can visit these links:

• I've said it before and I'll say it again: Businesses should not be responsible for enforcing government mandates.



• I guess there are some songs that'll set a person off.



• A good reason to never fly commercial: There are usually other people on the plane with you.



• Well, this certainly doesn't sound good for the Patriots.



• Mystery Chorlton Bush Trimmer would be a fantastic name for a 1970s soft-porn slasher film.



• Oh Canada.

I thought I'd given them the shake

Several years ago, the Old Folk Gang (aka "AARP") started pursuing me in an attempt to extort money from me. They would send me flyers and "special offers" to entice me to join their gang but I refused to get involved. I told them to stop harrassing me because I don't do gangs or cults but they persisted.

Finally, about 5 years ago, they stopped hitting me up for money and after a year or two, I figured I had given them the slip.

Turns out I was wrong:

This time they are trying to entice me with an offer of a "Free 4-piece Organizer Set", whatever the hell that is.

I tell ya, getting old is tough enough without the addition of being hunted by gangs.

⧫
The Red Sox played like shit last night and lost to the Rays 5-0. As I predicted, Rodriguez didn't make it through two innings before Cora pulled him.

But I can't blame Rodriguez for the loss. Hell, I can't even blame the batters for not scoring any runs. They hit the ball hard quite a few times but in every case there was a Ray standing there to catch the ball.

At one point, I watched Dalbec scorch a 100+ mph line drive right into the third baseman's glove.

Hopefully tonight goes better and they even the series. It will suck if they come back to Boston down 2 games.

⧫
I've got some busy-ness to attend to and then some baseball to watch. I also want to eat some dinner.

While I attempt to juggle those things, you can visit these links:

• Jeff Dunham is a funny guy.



• Let me just pull up a chair and grab some popcorn. This is going to be more fun to watch than a Bruce Willis action movie.



• Here's a guess - maybe a Chinese submarine?



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Month.



• Seems like at that speed, it might do some damage to the lawn.

The divisonals are set

Last night, the Dodgers beat the Cardinals and advanced from the NLwildcard to the NLDS. This means the best of five divisionals are now set.

Eduardo Rodriguez will be tonights starter and Cora has indicated that he is under no obligation to go 6 innings. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cora take him out of the game after 2 or 3 innings.

Playoff baseball is different than regular season baseball.

During regular season baseball, the managers are trying to keep their guys healthy and rested. This is playoff baseball. This is balls out, full steam ahead baseball. These guys can rest when the World Series is over, right now they need to put everything out on the field.

In other words, no "Stantonian Home Runs". You run out every hit and you run like your life depended on it.

The first pitch of game one of the Red Sox / Rays divisional series is at 8:00 tonight and the game will be on Fox Sports One (aka, FS1). The Announcers will be John Smoltz, Joe Davis and Ken Rosenthal.

You will notice that the name Alex Rodriquez does not appear in the list and for that I am grateful. The last person I want to ever hear call a Red Sox baseball game is Alex Rodriguez. The man is a putz.

⧫
I my town, there is a group calling themselves "Friends of Wilbraham Seniors, Inc" who are pushing hard to have the town build a new senior center.

As a guy who has lived in this town for 55 of my 63 years and is a bonafide "senior", I would just like to say, "WTF, who the hell is the fool that decided we need to spend $10,900,000.00 on a building where people can go play bingo?"

That's a lot of money for something that a lot of us don't really think we need. I would rather they fund a local van service that drives us old guys to the bars for a few beers with our friends and then drives us home again.

And that, my friends, is my humble and worthless opinion on our need for a Wilbraham Senior Center

⧫
Right now, the Astros, who I don't like, are leading the White Sox 6-0 in game one of their ALDS series.

Here are some links that you might find entertaining:

• Gordon Sumner turned 70 the other day and he still wants his MTV.



• Attention criminals: If you are going to drive around with weed and illegal guns, don't drive like an idiot.



• As much as I dislike Goofy Joe and I'd like to say this is another stupid thing he's done, I'm pretty sure the commander and chief is under no obligation to notify congress about troop movements unless we are invading a sovereign nation as an act of war.



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "6:46 p.m. Someone was going house-to-house telling people their internet was leaking.."

They live to fight another day

Despite all of the predictions from ESPN, FOX and CBS, the Red Sox made quick work of the Yankees last night. When I went to bed at 10:00, it was the sixth inning and the Red Sox were up 3-1.

And they were playing like they were about to score more runs.

When I woke up this morning, I discovered the final score was 6-2 in favor of the Red Sox. Trust me when I say that I was pretty damned happy but not really surprised because after watching the first six innings, I expected them to win.

Here's what I saw last night:

The Yankees went into that game assuming they would beat the Red Sox with little or no effort. Stanton hit a ball off the wall that he assumed was a home run so he didn't run. Since it failed to leave the park and he didn't run, he ended up at first base with a look on his face like, "What the hell! I'm important! I'm supposed to hit home runs!"

The Yankees should be ashamed by how they played. I'm thinking both Cashman and Boone should be very concerned about their jobs.

So now that the Yankees are behind them, the Red Sox need to think about how to take three out of five from the Rays.

I honestly think the Red Sox are going to take the series and move on to the ALCS but it's not going to be easy. The Ray's are a team that you just can't predict what they will do or how they will play. I've seen them step up to the plate and hit every pitch thrown to them and I've seen them collapse like a house of cards.

I guess this is going to be a watch-and-see kind of series.

⧫
One of the largest employers in western Mass is moving out of the state because of politicians.

Hundreds of people in western Mass are losing their jobs because of politicians.

Despite that, this is what our politicians are focused on.

We just keep voting for idiots...

⧫
I have an FAA presentation to listen to tonight.

While I do that, you can click on these if you want:

• This is why I watched the game on ESPN2.



• Key phrase in this story: "...assist a tarantula..."



• Key phrase in this story: "...about five kilos of cocaine and I'll be good to go."

All or nothing

Tonight is the AL wildcard game. One team will move on to the ALDS and the other team will go on vacation until next February.

As you can imagine, I'm hoping it's the Red Sox that move on and the Yankees that go on vacation.

⧫
I was watching some Bruins pre-season last night and I gotta tell you, that kid Swayman is a hell of a goalie.

The Bruins went to Philadelphia without most of their front-line players. As a matter of fact, the team they took down there was mostly the Providence Bruins but they still put on a hell of a show. Swayman stopped just about everything that came at him.

I think it might be a good season for them.

⧫
Time for me to reheat some leftovers and watch some DVRs until the game starts. I'm not sure how many innings I'll make it through tonight. I'm hoping to see at least five or six but since the Red Sox / Yankees games are notoriously slow and long, I expect I'll only make it through four before I start falling asleep.

On a high note, I discovered that ESPN2 is carrying tonight's game as a "statcast" game. Not sure exactly what that means but I do know it means Rodriguez and Vasgersian won't be the talking heads. I'll gladly listen to some mathematicians prattle on about bat speed, exit velocity and distance the fielder had to cover rather than listen to those two ESPN idiots.

Here are some links you can enjoy:

• I'm confused. I thought the democrats had a majority in both the House and the Senate with Harris as the tie breaker. Why is Schumer blaming the republicans for anything?



• Apparently when it rains in Arizona, monsters come out to play.



• I can't help but wonder how much money Facebook and it's employees have donated to Fast Eddie over the years?

Pretty good Sunday for sportings

The Red Sox won and took the first wildcard seeding. That means they will be playing the Yankees at home in Fenway tomorrow night.

My hopes are high they will beat the Yankees but my logical brain likes to remind me about the last six games they played against the Yankees - They lost all six.

But then my hopeful and optimistic brain kicks back in and says, "Yea, but that just means they are due for a win!"

Unfortunately, ESPN is carrying the game and that means I get to listen to those two idiots, Rodriguez and Vasgersian. It also means the game doesn't start until 8:00.

I hope they beat the shit out of the Yankees just so I can listen to Rodriguez make up lies about what he would do to win.

⧫
As for the Patriots, in my opinion, Jones played a better game than Brady, despite losing the game.

The Patriots were up 7-6 at the half and both teams traded leads a couple of times in the second half. At the end of the fourth quarter, with less than a minute left on the clock and the score 19-17 in favor of the Buccaneers, the Patriots tried to kick a 56 yard field goal that sailed just a bit left, hit the left goal post and bounced out.

They literally missed winning the game by an inch.

⧫
No football or baseball tonight but there is hockey. The Bruins will play the Flyers in a pre-season game in Philadelphia.

While I watch that, you can visit these links and see if they entertain you:

• Has it occurred to them that the reason it didn't happen was because there was a keeper monitoring them around the clock...



• Sometimes, out of the clear blue sky, someone asks a very interesting question...



• Wait. Are they saying that Canada has dildo pharmacies? Man, their health care system is way more comprehensive than ours...



• You just know that their real names are Bubba and Billy-Ray.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Apparently, for the first time in more than 100 years, they had a hurricane in the middle-east.

Finally, not a busy day

It's time for our biannual septic cleanout so I had some digging to do this morning before the rains came in. Then I ran over to the store to pick up some foods for my weekday lunches.

Right now, I'm watching the Red Sox struggle to win their game against the Nationals.

It's currently the eighth inning and the score is tied 5-5.

Now here's the thing - If the Red Sox lose, the Yankees lose, the Mariners win and the Blue Jays win, the season will end with a four-way tie for the American League wildcard. That should be interesting.

Guess we'll see what happens in the next hour or so.

⧫
Yes, the Patriots are playing the Buccaneers tonight. Yes, I will watch a bit of the game but since it's starts at 8:30, I suspect I'll just make it to half time before falling asleep.

As for the hype about Brady playing against Belichick, all I have to say is, "Shut the hell up!"

Brady is a hell of a quarterback and Belichick is a hell of a coach, particularly when it comes to defense. I have no idea who is going to win but with Brady playing against Jones, I give the advantage to Brady.

Now if Belichick can rally the defense and they run over the Buccaneers offensive line, things may go the Patriots way. Brady can't run for shit but he's rock solid in the pocket. It the Patriots can collapse that pocket and force Brady to ground the ball, Jones will stand a chance.

If the game is a blowout, I'll know who wins tonight. If the game is close at the half, I guess I'll know who won tomorrow morning.

⧫
You should consider looking at these links:

• Yes, I bought a Powerball ticket. No, I did not win.



• Key phrase in this story: "...suspicious movement..."



• Nutcase of the week.



• Speaking of nutcases.



• I wonder if Goofy Joe has a plan for this?



• Bernie, you are just like Trump. An arrogant prick who thinks anyone that disagrees with you is "wrong".

Once again, busy day

Today was not busy because of work or chores.

It was busy because we headed out to Barre to watch our youngest and his band perform at the Barre Harvest Fest. Then we all went for a late lunch/early dinner at the Stone Cow Brewery. If you are ever out that way, take a trip over to the Stone Cow and get the local BBQ they put on. It's worth the money.

On our way home, we stopped and did our weekly grocery shopping and now we are home, comfortably situated on our respective couches.

⧫
The Red Sox won last night and right now, they are leading the Nationals 5-1 in the bottom of the 9th.

The Yankees lost this afternoon so the Red Sox are only half a game behind them. If the Red Sox win today, they will go into the final game of the season tied in the wildcard, half a game ahead of the Blue Jays.

All games start at 3:00 tomorrow so it should be an interesting afternoon.

⧫
While I watch the rest of this game, you can enjoy these few links I just dug up:

• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, kills your expensive drone.



• Key phrase in this story: "You can’t just be half-naked up there."
  The implication being that she expects her to "just be fully-naked up there".



• Only in Florida.



• Evil Rooster and the Queens Residents would be a great name for a 1960s British Invasion band.

Welcome to October.

Sorry about the lack of post last night. I was busy.

And today looks busy as well so you might not get one tonight.