We have a special guest

The Small Dog had surgery yesterday and since the incision is in a spot that prevents the wearing of the cone of shame, The Vet asked if we would dog-sit for a couple days while she was at work.

We immediately said, "Absolutely!"

So we are once again graced with her presence:

She spent most of the day napping and getting reacquainted with Graceless, one of The Sisters. The other Sister, BitchFace, spent the day hiding, like she always does.

⧫
With yesterday's defeat of the Ohtani's, the Blue Jays are one game away from winning the World Series.

The Blue Jays beat the Ohtani's 6-1 last night and are now up 3 games to 2 in the series. They are off tonight while they travel back to Toronto.

⧫
The Bruins take on the Sabres this evening.

I was looking at the standings, being all disappointed in how the season is going for the Bruins when it suddenly dawned on me that I am an idiot.

Yes, they are in second-to-last place in the division but looking at the points, they are only 2 points out of the wild card!

A win tonight puts them right back into contention!

⧫
The washing machine saga continues.

The repair guy showed up at 9:30 this morning and installed the new pump. He then turned the washing machine on and sonovabitch if it didn't present the same error code.

Turns out it needs a new control board, which he ordered and will be arriving here on Saturday.

So now we wait. Again.

⧫
Here are some links:

• As I've said before, The Very Stable Genius really likes blowing stuff up.



• Good luck everybody!



• I'm pretty sure Arlo Guthrie wrote a song about this.



• Why is it that when someone dies, the family fires up a go-fund-me page. That just seems odd to me.



• Randy Andy is homeless.

We have a pump

The washing machine repair guy must have used some magic or something because a new washing machine pump showed up at our house this afternoon.

It was immediately followed by a text message from the company saying they see the pump is in and they have scheduled the repair guy come over and install it tomorrow.

To be honest with you, if tomorrow ends with us having a repaired washing machine, I'll be a happy guy.

Apparently it does not take much to make me happy...

⧫
The Bruins had me very concerned when the islanders went up 2-0 in the first period. But then they got their shit together and ended up beating the Islanders 5-2.

They are still in last place in the Atlantic division but they are no longer in last place in the Eastern conference.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Sabres. Puck drops at 7:00pm.

⧫
The Ohtani's and the Blue Jays played only 9 innings last night and the Blue Jays won, beating the Ohtani's 6-2.

This ties the series up at 2 games each

Tonight is the final game in Los Angles. Tomorrow they will travel back to Toronto where they will finish the series and one of those teams will be crowned World Series Champions.

If I recall, the good people of Toronto have a tendency to riot when things go poorly for their teams. Or maybe it's when things go well for their teams. I don't remember what the trigger is.

Either way, there is a pretty good chance we will see a riot in Toronto this week.

⧫
Key load of crap in this story: "I can attest that double poles are a priority for every community that I discuss."

I'm sure that the number one thing on the agenda for every town is the old double-pole problem. It's not school funding or cherry sheet imbalance. It's not taxes or unsafe roads/bridges.

No sir, it's none of those things.

The number one thing that towns want to discuss with the state government is having two utility poles next to each other...

Our state government is so full of shit I don't understand how any of them can form coherent sentences.

⧫
Here are some links:

• Massachusetts: We're more corrupt that Illinois!



• I'm thinking that The Very Stable Genius might actually be an extremely unstable moron.



• This has me more than a little concerned.



• This guy is crazy as a loon. He calls everything "aliens", including the Shoemaker-Levy comet that hit Jupiter back in 1994.



• I always liked Brian Setzer. I hope he's okay.



• You gotta admit that "Why did a helicopter land on me?" is a pretty damned good question.

They lost. Again.

The Bruins, a team I had such I hopes for this season, can't seem to get out of their own way. They took an early 1-0 lead over the Senators but that was pretty much it for them and they ended up losing the game 7-2.

They are now not only in last place in the Atlantic division, they are also in last place in the Eastern conference.

Man, this is shaping up to be one of those disappointing seasons...

But I'll still watch them and I'll still root for them. As a matter of fact, they are back at it again tonight, taking on the Islanders. Puck drops at 7:15.

⧫
The Ohtani's and the Blue Jays played two baseball games last night and no, it wasn't a double-header.

This is the box score from last night's World Series game 3:

I want you to know I had to copy/paste/align two separate images to get the entire box score onto a single image...

Eighteen innings is a lot of innings but you want to know what's really interesting? They play again tonight!

That's right folks, after playing six and a half hours of baseball last night and into early this morning, they are back at it again tonight.

Those guys are gonna be tired...

⧫
My lawn is covered with leaves and I've decided that today, I don't give a shit.

Tomorrow I will probably feel different but today, I don't care.

⧫
We had a visit from a washing machine repair guy today and his exact words were, "Yea, it's broken. You need a new pump. I'll order one."

That means we are still without a washing machine while we wait for the new pump to arrive.

⧫
Here are some links:

• This deer is looking from some help. Trust me, stay the hell away from it.



• Australia: Oops.



• I'm guessing he was in first class because us peasants in coach don't get silverware. Hell, we don't even get food.



• I guess The Very Stable Genius won't be getting the noble peace prize.



• Not in Massachusetts.



• My wife and daughter like this place. I am not a fan.

Yes, I cleaned my lawn up

At 4:00 this afternoon, my lawn looked beautiful. Nice green grass with nary a leaf on it.

I suspect that tomorrow will bring a different story.

⧫
The Bruins are in Ottawa tonight to take on the Senators.

Let's hope they continue playing like they did against the Avalanche the other day.

⧫
Here are some links:

• I gotta be honest with you, it's looking more and more like we are better off without him on the force.



• Back in May, I said, "I really hope the Steelers stay far away from this nutcase."
  Today I am saying, "I was right, he's a nutcase."
  



• Here's a more accurate headline: "Boy is shot and murdered while driving stolen car and the car crashes into tree."



• Key line in this story: "...surveillance video from the incident showed the couple having sex in the restaurant’s patio before the break-in."



• You wanna get shot? Because if you wanna get shot, this is one of many ways that can get you shot.

Excellent game

The Patriots started out looking lost and the Browns took a first quarter 7-3 lead.

Then things got interesting and the Patriots started playing some great football.

It was at this point that my wife announced the washing machine was not working so I left the couch, and my tv, to look at the damned washing machine.

By the time I got back to the game, the score was 23-7 in favor of the Patriots.

By the time the game ended, the Patriots had beaten the Browns 32-13. They are no 6-2 on the season and in first place in the AFCEast.

Their next game will be against the Falcons this coming Sunday. It will also be the first day of Eastern Standard Time and I will probably fall asleep on my couch because that damned time change screws me up.

Oh, and no, I was not able to repair the washing machine. It needs a new drain pump or something and that goes beyond my skillset. We will call someone tomorrow to fix it.

⧫
Amazingly enough, the Bruins beat the Avalanche 3-2 last night.

They are still in second-to-last place in the Atlantic Division but at least they aren't in last place.

They need a winning streak to pick it back up and start climbing the ladder.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Senators. Puck drops at 7:30 so I shold be able to watch the entire game

⧫
Back in May of this year, The Very Stable Genius announced a 'historic' trade deal with China.

Back in June of this year, The Very Stable Genius announced a trade deal with China.

Today, The Very Stable Genius announced a trade deal with China.

I'm beginning to think he has alzheimer's or something because he keeps repeating his lies.

⧫
This 11:00 this morning, my lawn looked like this:

At 4:30 this afternoon, my lawn looked like this:

I'll be glad when the trees finally get around to dropping all their leaves.

⧫
Here are some links:

• Oh Canada.



• Apparently it's a quiet news day in Minneapolis.



• No thanks. It's cold in the winter and there are ticks in the summer.

The World Series has begun

As I may have indicated, I don't really care about the World Series since the Red Sox aren't in it. Having said that, I did watch some of the game last night.

The game was tied 2-2 in the 5^th inning when I went to bed and apparently I missed an exciting inning because in the 6^th, the Blue Jays decided to score 9 runs, putting them up 11-2.

The Ohtani's scored 2 more runs in the 7^th making the score 11-4 and that was it for scoring during the rest of the game.

They are back at it again tonight and I'll probably watch a few innings.

⧫
The Bruins are currently playing the Avalanche. Puck dropped at 3:00 this afternoon.

As I post this, it is the second intermission and the Bruins are up 3-1 with a period left to go. The problem is they usually blow it in the third period and end up losing the game.

Let's hope they don't blow it again...

⧫
Here are some links:

• The term "blasting mishap" makes me think someone is trying hard to cover up someone's screw up.



• She will lose again.



• Am I a bad person for hoping that his next interaction with police ends with him being shot in the face.



• Looks like we'll see Bailey Zappe tomorrow afternoon.



• It's pretty good bet that anyone who calls themself "Mr. Crafty Pants" might be a little off the rails...



• This actually sounds like a really good idea.



• Don't let BrainWorm Bobby know about this.

The leaves are falling

I broke out my leaf blower yesterday to clear off the back yard.

I probably should have done it again today but I didn't feel like.

I went and got my flu shot instead.

⧫
All of the talking heads in the media are in a tizzy about The Very Stable Genius tearing down the East Wing of The White House but they aren't really saying anything other than, "HE'S TEARING DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!". So I got a little curious about what was happening and here's what I found.

I went on to google maps and found that there is a nice street view of the White House. This is the street view of the East Wing:

I guided my street view inside the building (yes, google street view went into the White House) and found this:

That commemoration plaque states that the East Wing was constructed in 1942. For the record, the United States was deeply involved in World War II while this was being constructed.

The bottom line here folks is that Trump is knocking down a small piece of what is formally known as "The White House Complex" and replacing it with god only knows what.

No, he is not tearing down a major portion of the White House and it certainly isn't a cultural or historical piece of the White House. It's basically extra office space that is used by the First Lady.

Everybody needs to relax and get over it. It's not the end of the world. Once it's done and we finally see what it looks like, then we can get all up in arms but until then, just relax.

⧫
I've decided that if the Bruins lose tonight, it's because Lindholm is still out.

The way I look at it, he went down on the 9th while playing the Blackhawks. They won their next game against the Sabres (who really suck, by the way) but they've lost every game since then.

No Hampus, no win.

He is a very good defensman and they need him back.

⧫
Here are some links:

• If they offer him a contract that makes him a Red Sox for the rest of his career, I'll be happy with that.



• Spiders: They aren't dumb.



• Maybe this is why I'm getting a lot less spam lately.



• If this kid is let back out on the street, we should all prepare to defend our homes and our families. There is no reason this kid should be walking around free.



• Their slogan used to be, "No One Out-Pizza's The Hut!"



• I have never been to Wyomissing PA and now I definitely don't want to go there.

They aren't doing well

The Bruins are not doing great.

They were down 2-0 going into the third period and made a great comeback, taking a 3-2 lead. Problem is the Panthers also made a great comeback and beat the Bruins 4-3.

They played great hockey but the hockey gods are not smiling on them.

Their next game is Thursday against the Ducks. Puck drops at 7:00.

⧫
Last year at this time the Patriots were 1-6 and in last place in the AFCEast. Today they are 5-2 and in first place in the AFCEast.

Quite a change from last year.

Hopefully the alleged experts are right and the Patriots roll over the Browns this Sunday.

Sorry about the mid-week football update but the Patriots are really the only sports team I follow that is doing good right now.

⧫
Here are some links:

• Once again, The Very Stable Genius lied about his intentions.
  (Why do I have a feeling it's going to be some gaudy gold-leaf embarrassment when he's done.)



• I also hope his best friend makes a come back next season.



• Can you people please stop using "AI" to make decisions. It's great at being artificial but it sucks at intelligence.



• If I recall correctly, when Biden was in office this happened at least once a month.



• If you're planning a trip to Seaside Oregon, don't plan on going swimming.



• Psycho Vlad is blowing up kindergartners.

It's a wonderful time of the year

It's that time of the year for us Medicare people to figure out what plan we want to sign up for. Yay!

If there is one thing I know, it's that I don't know shit about health insurance options. And neither does anyone else. We are all just grabbing whatever insurance is going to cost us the least amount of money while giving us the coverage we want.

I am fortunate in that my previous employer offers me several retiree health care options so I have choices. My wife is also covered under that retiree offering so we both have the same options.

I go for the Medicare Advantage plans because I don't really have any medical issues. Yes, that will change in the future but right now, I don't have any prescriptions and I don't have any chronic problems.

In 2024, my plan of choice was a PPO that was free to me. In 2025, they added a $19 monthly premium and I didn't think that was too bad so I stuck with them. This upcoming year (2026) they have increased that premium to $29. That's $348 per year and it seems kind of excessive to me because the same carrier offers a HMO plan that offers all of the same coverage as long as I stay in-network with a zero dollar premium.

Since the "in-network" includes my current doctor, my wifes current doctor and all the hospitals in the area, I guess we're leaning towards the HMO.

All I really know is that my wife, The Professor, spent a large amount of time doing compares on all the options available to us and that was very helpful. Add to that a Zoom session with the insurer and we have finally made up our minds.

⧫
After that it was a two hour presentation at the library called "Mysterious Massachusetts" that my wife talked me into going to.

It was supposed to be an hour but no one told the woman doing the presenting and she went on for two hours.

You want to know what I know? I know that there is nothing "mysterious" about Massachusetts and all of the odd things about Massachusetts, like Lizzie Borden or the Salem Witch Trials, don't warrant a two hour lecture.

⧫
Once we were home and settled in, I flipped on the ALCS game and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Mariners beat up on the Blue Jays.

Then, in the 5th inning, when the score was 3-1 in favor of the Mariners, I went to bed, thinking that all was well with the world.

When I woke up this morning I found out that the Blue Jays won the game 4-3 because Springer hit a 3-run homer in the 7th.

Oh well.

So now the World Series is set. The Ohtani's will be going to Canada to play the first two games against the Blue Jays.

I'm not really rooting for either team...

⧫
Today I spent an hour resetting and reloading software onto a corrupted AppleTV device for The Vet and her animal clinic. That was followed by lawn mowing and leaf clearing. Once the lawn as mowed, I set about attempting to add a drive to my online server that I could use as a timemachine backup device.

That did not go well at all.

I actually got it to work and was very pleased with myself until I saw that the estimated time to backup my laptop was going to be 20 hours.

That seemed like an excessive amount of time so I'm guessing I screwed something up.

I'll probably play with it again tomorrow because I've reached my "messing with technology" limit.

⧫
Yes, the Bruins are playing tonight.

No, I don't want to talk about their recent losses.

⧫
Here are some links;

• All you 25 year old guys should stay out of Michigan.



• Researchers: Please just stop with the research.



• Good job everybody.



• I'm betting Musk is pissed.

Busy

We had several things to do today that took up all of my time.

It is now 8:40 and I'm watching baseball.

That means no posting for today.

Excellent win

The Patriots played a good game of football today. Maye threw 23 passes for 21 completions and 2 touchdowns. That's a completion rate a little better than 90% which is a pretty good completion rate.

Oh, and he also ran 8 times for a total of 62 yards.

And Rhamondre Stevenson must have gotten some pretty good coaching over the last few weeks because he had a death-grip on the football whenever he got it in his hands and did not fumble once in 18 carries.

In the end, the Patriots beat the Titans 31-13 and are now 5-2 on the season.

⧫
The Louvre started its life as a fortress built in the 12th century. In 1793, it became a museum. That was 232 years ago.

You would think that after 232 years of operation, they would know how to stop three guys with a ladder from breaking in during business hours and stealing stuff.

Just proves that arrogance, overconfidence and stagnation will absolutely cause you to screw up.

⧫
The Mariners and the Blue Jays will play game six tonight at 8:00.

The Mariners are up 3 games to the Blue Jays 2 so if the Mariners win tonight, they move on to the World Series and will play the Dodgers.

That means the World Series will be a west coast world series and I probably won't be staying awake to watch very much of it. And what I will be awake for kinda is in direct competition with the Bruins game.

Go Mariners!

⧫
Speaking of the Bruins, they are playing the Mammoths (formerly known as The Utah Hockey Club) at 7:00 tonight so I should be able to watch the entire game.

I find it kind interesting that they decided to stop calling themselves the Hockey Club and went with the Mammoths. Are there a lot of mammoths wandering around Utah?

⧫
Here are some links:

• It's only a matter of time before we have no allies.



• I wonder what Liberty was singing?



• Between Musk's exploding rockets and Bezos flying penis, I won't be surprised to find out one of them has something to do with this.



• Speaking of Musk and Bezos...



• What are they going to do with 200 stuffed animals?

Dammit

The Ohtani's beat the Brewers last night, sweeping the NLCS and moving on to the World Series.

And yes, Ohtani had a hell of a game last night. As the only pitcher/hitter in the MLB, he faced 22 batters over 6 innings, giving up 0 runs, striking out 10, walking 3 and giving up 0 runs. On the offensive side of his game, in 4 plate appearances, he walked once and hit 3 home runs.

That is a fairly impressive game of baseball.

Immediately after the game, they were awarded the NLCS trophy. Here is a picture of them accepting the trophy:

I wonder what position the woman in the sweatpants and glasses plays?

⧫
In the ALCS, the Mariners beat the Blue Jays last night and are now up 3-2 in their best-of-seven series. There is no game tonight as both teams travel to Toronto for game 6 tomorrow. First pitch is at 8:00

Go Mariners!

⧫
The Very Stable Genius has commuted the sentence of Tommy Flanagan, calling him "somewhat of a 'rogue' " instead of an admitted fraud who committed identity theft, stole money from people and lied to the public about himself during his campaign.

Then again, The Very Stable Genius is a bit "roguish" himself...

⧫
The Bruins take on the Avalanche tonight. Puck drops at 9:00 so I might make it through the first period.

They need this win because as of right now, they are in 4^th place in the Atlantic division and 8^th place in the Eastern conference.

Yes, it's very, very early in the season so tracking position is kinda pointless but I feel like the better a team plays at the beginning of the season, the easier it is for them to maintain a playoff position as the season winds down in March/April.

⧫
No, I did not go protest today.

I don't protest in large groups. I protest by myself. For instance, the other day a clerk charged me $2.99 for a $1.59 bottle of water. I protested that mistake and he said "Oops, sorry" and charged me the correct price.

I thought that was a pretty successful protest.

⧫
Here are some links

• Boy, those Trump tariffs have got our trading partners right were he wants them....



• Yet another idiotic prediction about the future. I just want to know where the flying cars are we were told about in the 1960s...



• Only in Florida.



• I think I'll just stay out of Chester County, PA.

Bad sportings day

Yesterday was not a good day for my sports teams.

The Brewers lost 1-3 to the Ohtani's.

The Mariners lost 2-8 to the Blue Jays.

The Steelers lost 31-33 to the Bengals.

And the final blow was the Bruins losing 5-6 to the Golden Knights.

Like I said, not a good sports day for me...

⧫
On the up side, we had a very nice dinner over at the Hampden House last night.

About once a month we go out to dinner with our neighbors and last night seemed as good a night as any. We have three or four restaurants we rotate through and we all decided it was the Hampden House's turn.

If you go, I recommend the Crazy Alfredo. It's got a good spicy flavor without that "burn the crap out of your sinuses" heat that some people seem to like.

⧫
For the British, this is a fairly big deal. Not just because he's a member of the royal family but more so because he's associated with Jeffery Epstein.

You see, over here in America, it appears we don't give a shit that our officials are raping underage girls but the Brits don't like it. No sir, they don't like it one bit.

I wonder when we'll actually see those files. And if we do ever see them, how many words/names will be blacked out.

The Very Stable Genius likes to use Sharpies for a reason...

⧫
Here are some links:

• Look who's back!



• Key line in this story: "It honestly gets funnier the more you watch it."



• Thank God. This woman is full-tilt bozos.



• And this is why I often think about moving to New Hampshire.



• Man, we're just blowing people up on a daily basis.



• Holy crap!



• This is why I always put my cash in my pocket.



• It might be time for someone to invade and take care of that little problem.

Too soon...

The other day I walked into Home Depot and was greeted by this:

This shit is happening earlier and earlier every year.

Maybe they should just leave it out year round and save themselves the trouble of setting it up every year...

⧫
Speaking of Home Depot...

The reason I was there was to purchase some mouse killer.

As you may recall, I had a sprinkler system installed this year. The system has eight zones being controlled from two manifold boxes set into the ground in my backyard. When the company came to blow the water out of the lines the other day, they opened the box covers and found a rather sizeable mouse family living in the boxes.

The solution to the problem is to simply kill them with D'Con which is why I was at Home Depot. For the record, D'Con works just fine and with the help of my shop vac, my manifold boxes are now pest free.

Personally, I think the solution to the problem is figuring out how the rodents are getting in there and blocking it off so no more of the little bastards can get in.

⧫
I'm still messing around with servers and such on my microcomputers. The Raspberry Pi camera project was a success so I've moved on to working with my Zima board.

I'm building a Apple TimeMachine backup system that my wife and I can use to backup our laptops without ever having to plug in an external hard drive. I want the laptops to back themselves up automatically without us worrying about it.

Don't get me wrong, we're both pretty good about plugging our external hard drives into our laptops to back them up every so often but having it happen without us even thinking about it would be far better.

Of course, I'll need to buy a new hard drive because the Zima only has enough space for the linux system I installed, not for backups, but once I get that installed, mounted, formatted and shared out on the network, we should be good to go.

Yes, I know, I'm a nerd.

But none of that is what I came here to tell you...

In the process of installing and configuring linux on the board, I included a webserver instaltion because who doesn't want a webserver running in their basement!

After clearing some muck from my brain and trying to figure out how to code in php again, I remembered enough to code a quick little website that does nothing except display the word "Success!" on the browser. Well, it actually does more than that. It stores the IP address of the computer that visited. Then, because I am a wild and crazy guy, I decided to see how long it would take for someone to find my website so I opened up port 80 on my router and pointed it at the webserver.

I opened the port up around 3:15 or so and within 2 minutes, I had someone from China find the webpage. Then, 14 seconds later, someone else from China found it. Then, 54 seconds after that, someone from the Netherlands found it.

Man, that was fast. Those Chinese hackers are speedy little devils. The people from the Netherlands are a little slower.

Trust me, anyone that is scanning for open ports on individual ip addresses is up to no good. People who spend their time and resources looking for open ports are really looking for ways to break into small networks and take control of whatever they can find.

⧫
Here are some links:

• The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over & over again and expecting different results.
  Psycho Vlad owns him...



• I can tell you right now, they aren't going to win.



• Looks like Lindholm won't be available this evening.



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



• Cops: We don't pay them enough.

Double Damn

The Brewers lost to the Ohtani's last night. They are now down 2 games in the NLCS best-of-seven series.

I'm still hopeful.

Go Brewers!

⧫
This week is a sports drought for me.

There are no sports for me to watch this evening. Tonights baseball game between the Blue Jays and the Mariners is on at 8:00 so I might get in an inning or two of that. The problem is I'm not overly interested in either one of those teams.

That means I have to fire up the DVR and watch some of the many Bering Sea Gold's I have accrued over the summer.

The Bruins are back tomorrow but that game doesn't start until 10:00 at night. And the game after that on Saturday doesn't start until 9:00pm.

Like I said, I'm in a sports drought.

⧫
Here are a few links:

• Sources say...



• I thought maybe I should start using stevia. Then I read the whole thing. Guess I'll just stay bald.



• Key line in this story: "No further comment will be provided until it has been completed."
  "And by then you will have forgotten all about it."

Damn

The Ohtani's beat the Brewers 2-1 last night, which I find very disappointing.

I was really hoping the Brewers were going to win that game.

They are back at it again tonight. First pitch is at 8:00pm.

Go Brewers!

⧫
Not much else to prattle on about.

Here are some links:

• Key phrase in this story: "It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions."



• Remember when the middle-east was a peaceful place? Me neither.



• Cops: we don't pay them enough.



• Apparently The Very Stable Genius isn't the only one who is pissed off about not winning the big prize.

Good game with a loss

The Bruins let the Lightning score three quick goals in the first period, giving themselves a significant deficit to overcome.

And they almost overcame it but they just couldn't do it, losing to the Lightning 4-3.

Their power plays kinda sucked and they should have scored at least one goal during the 14 penalty minutes that the Lightning got.

Well, they are now 3-1 and are heading out on a west coast trip. Fortunately, one of the three games they are playing out there is at 7:00 so I only two games.

Next game is Thursday against the Golden knights. Puck drops at 10:00pm

⧫
The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 last night, taking game one on the best-of-seven ALCS series.

They are back at it again this afternoon. First pitch was at 5:00pm and the game is on FOX. Right now it is 3-2 Mariners in the 2nd inning.

Game one of the NLCS is this evening. The Ohtani's are in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. First pitch is at 8:00pm and the game is on TBS.

Go Brewers!

⧫
The Very Stable Genius managed to get all the living Israeli hostages freed today and that, my friends, is a good thing.

Yes, he's still an egotistical, self-centered, spoiled, arrogant snot who loves the sound of his own voice and he didn't get it done within his self proclaimed "24 hours after I take office" deadline but hey, he did get it done.

Well, actually, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Little Marco negotiated the deal but since Trump is president, he gets the credit.

Now we wait to see what happens between Israel, Hamas and the US.

Based on the last 2000 years of the people in the middle-east trying to slaughter each other over whatever flavor of religion they practice, I have a feeling this isn't over with yet...

⧫
Here are some links:

• My generator is ready to go.



• If he becomes a free agent, the Red Sox should make him a respectable offer.



• This coming Sunday, the Patriots will play the Titans.



• I don't like Vance but I also don't like Stephanopoulos. I didn't like him when he was Bubba's press secretary and I don't like him now.



• I feel bad for them but unless this was some sort of "life-or-death trip", there was no reason to fly in this weather.



• I thought 7-11's were all franchises owned by Indians.

A win and a win

The Bruins beat the Sabres 3-1 last night but in all honesty, if it wasn't for the Sabres goalie, the score would have been 10-1.

The puck spent more time heading towards the Sabres net than anything else. The Bruins took 31 shots on goal last night and a lot of the saves made by the Sabres goalie were kinda miraculous. Particularly in the first period when the Bruins took 17 of those 31 shots.

They are off today. Tomorrow they take on the Lightning. Puck drops at 1:00.

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The Patriots managed to beat the Saints 25-19 this afternoon. I'm kind of surprised they won because at one point in this game, I said to myself, "I wonder how much the Saints paid the refs?"

There were some calls in the Saints favor that were clearly a non-violation.

On call was particularly bad to the point where the CBS commentators said it was a bad call. Maye passed the ball 50+ yards to Douglas who caught it and promptly ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. After the play was over, while the Patriots were celebrating in the end-zone, a flag was thrown and Diggs was called on pass interference for putting his hand onto the shoulder of a Saints defender BEFORE THE BALL WAS THROWN! Two guys who weren't even in the play or near the ball.

Two of the bad calls were overturned on challenges from Vrabel which kinda proves there were calls being made that were flat out wrong.

But all that aside, the Patriots are now 4-2 and as they are playing very, very well.

Next up for them will be the Titans.

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With the Cubs 3-1 loss to the Brewers last night, the penant races are now set:

The ALCS starts tonight with the Mariners @ the Blue Jays. First pitch is at 8:00 and the series will be carried by FOX.

The NLCS starts tomorrow with the Dodgers @ the Brewers. That game will be at 8:00 and that series will be carried by TBS.

Go Brewers!

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Here are some links:

• If they are not damaging the place, I'm not seeing a problem.



• I'm pretty sure I would never fly on Ryanair.



• How much of an asshole do you have to be to do this.



• I'm betting there are a lot of pissed off people on Cape Cod.

Long baseball game

It took the Mariners 15 innings to finish off the Tigers and move on to the ALCS.

For the record, 15 innings is a lot of innings. And no, I did not stay awake to watch them. I recall seeing the 7th but that's about it.

So now the ALCS series is set with the Mariners @ Blue Jays. The NLCS will be determined tonight with the final game of the Cubs / Brewers series.

Go Brewers!

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Gotta be honest with you, this is a relief because when he left the game and did not come back, I thought for sure it was going to be a repeat of last season.

Looks like he will not be on the ice tonight and maybe Monday but he should be back soon.

Which leads me to remind everyone that the Sabres are in Boston for a game against the Bruins this evening. Puck drops at 7:00.

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Here are some links:

• I'm guessing that The Very Stable Genius is still having a hissy fit.



• If I were in the military, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that check.



• This sounds awful.



• And this is why I moved my generator to its useful location.



• Apparently NASA is littering.

Bruins win

Man, that was a chippy game.

At one point there was a full-on brawl on the ice. It reminded me of the movie Slap Shot. Personally, I'm thinking the problem was the ref's consistent failure to see cheap shots being taken by the Blackhawks.

For instance, it was clear that Pastrnak had taken a stick to the face (high sticking) right in front of a linesman but there was no call. Pastrnak got pissed and slashed the Blackhawk player which resulted in an immediate call. It was things like that that were rasing the temperature on the ice.

So anyways, regulation play ended in a 3-3 tie and the Bruins won the game 4-3 in sudden-death overtime.

They are off tonight and tomorrow they take on the Sabres. Puck drops at 7:00.

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In the baseball, world...

The Ohtani's beat the Phillies and won their best-of-five series, moving on to the NLCS.

The Cubs have come back, winning the last two games against the Brewers and that series is now tied 2-2. The final game in that series will be played tomorrow night.

Tonight is the final game of the ALDS when the Tigers take on the Mariners in Seattle. The winner of that game will move on to play the Blue Jays in the ALCS this Sunday.

Here's were things stand as of this morning:

Go Brewers!

⧫
Back on October 2nd, I alluded to my struggles to get a new camera installed on a raspbery pi. Trust me, it was really being a pain in the ass because there is nothing simple about dealing with a linux server.

Well, guess what? I got it working yesterday! And it's a beauty. It takes very nice pictures, shoots great video and it doesn't suck all the power out of the pi like the damned webcam did.

Next year, when the hummingbird feeders are up and the little hummers are back, I'll set this thing out and see what pics I can get.

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Here are some links:

• The Very Stable Genius wanted that Nobel prize. I bet that within the next few days, he will start talking about 100% tariffs on Sweden or about the US taking them over for security purposes...



• He's firing Cybersecurity and Infrastructure people. CISA is the group tasked with protecting our data.



• He was Just a Singer in a Rock & Roll Band.



• I don't know if this is real or not but Holy Shit!

Bruins win, Judges lose

Swayman had an excellent game last night, stopping 35 of 36 shots on goal. That's a save percentage of 97%.

On the ice, the Bruins managed 3 goals by shooting the puck at the net 21 times. I'm pleased to report that I did not yell "Shoot the puck" once last night.

It was a good opener for them and I really hope it is an indication of how they are going to play for the remainder of the season.

Tonight they have their home opener when they take on the Blackhawks. Puck drops at 7:00.

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The Blue Jays sent the Judges on vacation last night, beating them 5-2 and winning the best-of-five series 3-1.

For what it's worth, I don't really care because I'm not a fan of either the Blue Jays or the Yankees.

Here is where things stood as of this morning:

The Phillies / Ohtani's game is at 6:00 this afternoon and the Brewers / Cubs game is at 9:00 tonight. If the Bruins game ends early enough, I might watch an inning or two of the Brewers.

Go Brewers!

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Want to know what pisses me off about the MLB? A lot, that's what pisses me off.

This is just one of the many things that pisses me off about the MLB

That is the list of headlines on the website MLB.COM this afternoon. The only mention of the Milwaukee Brewers is the fact they are playing baseball this afternoon. There are two stories about the Yankees/Judge and there is one story about the fact the Red Sox need some improvement.

The Brewers were the best team in all of major league baseball this past season and they are currently only one game away from eliminating the Cubs and moving on to the NLCS. You would think that would be news in the MLB but apparently it's not. Judge, a guy who has never won a world series, is their number one news target. Ohtani is number two, by the way.

There are 9 guys on a baseball team but according to MLB, the Yankees only have 1 guy. The other 8 guys are just standing around picking their noses.

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Here are some links:

• Three hundred and fifty foot drop? Sounds like Tortilla Flat isn't so flat.



• Republicans are complaining about The Very Stable Genius.



• Sounds like England understands what people will spend their money on.



• Welcome to Massachusetts where we've introduce a new system that let's us fine you even more than ever!



• Key phrase in this story: This is a trend that can’t end soon enough.



• Damn. I always liked him.



• Boy, we're just pissing everyone off.



• Next week he's going to say that breathing causes autism.

The sportings continue

Yesterday was opening day for the NHL but the Bruins did not play.

Tonight is opening night for the Bruins when they go to Washington to take on the Capitals. Puck drops at 7:30 so I should be able to watch most, if not all of the game.

I will be watching and probably yelling at my tv, "Shoot the f*****g puck!"

⧫
In the baseball world, the Judge's managed to overcome a deficit and beat the Blue Jays last night, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Today is the big day for baseball with all four series being played today.

The Mariners / Tigers game kicked off at 3:08 (currently tied 3-3 in the 6th), the Brewers / Cubs game kicked off at 5:08, the Blue Jays / Judge's game will kick off at 7:08 and the Phillies / Ohtani's game kicks off at 9:08.

I'm pretty sure I won't be watching the Judge's or the Ohtani's because I will be watching the Bruins.

⧫
You should bring in your plants.

We are about to get a reminder that we live in New England and that it gets cold here. The so-called experts are saying that it will be below 43° tonight and below freezing tomorrow night.

⧫
Here are some links:

• Remember when The Very Stable Genius said he would negotiate a peace deal within 24 hours of taking office?



• Key load of bullshit in this story: "...street takeovers, which are large gatherings where car lovers look at cars..."



• She ain't dead yet.



• Key line in this story: "That’s right, he put it up the exit ramp. You know what I mean..."



• Apparently the European Union doesn't have a lot to worry about.

Golf was played

and my lawn was mowed.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do for dinner.

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The Mariners / Tigers game is delayed because of rain which has kinda screwed things up.

The game was scheduled on Fox Sports at 4:00 and the Blue Jays / Judges game was scheduled on Fox Sports at 8:00. Now the Mariners / Tigers game has started at 7:00 on the MLB network.

I guess I'll watch an hour of that game before switching over the the Blue Jays / Judges game.

Go Brewers!

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Here are some links:

• Well this kinda sucks for them.



• Do you know why I never became a cop? Because I would shoot the assholes in the face, that's why I never became a cop.



• This is why I don't turn off my phone.



• Only in Florida.

Couple of big wins

When I went to bed at halftime last night, the Patriots were up 6-3 over the Bills. When I woke up this morning, I discovered that the Patriots had turned the ball over fewer times than the Bills had and they won the game 23-20.

The first half of that game was a disaster for both teams with fumbles on both sides and no one able to get the ball over the goal line. All the scoring I saw was field goals.

But none of that matters. What matters is that the Patriots won and they are now in second place in the AFCEast:

Unfortunately, the win cost them.

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In the baseball world, the Judges got their ass handed to them again when they lost 13-7 to the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays lead that series 2-0 and are looking at sweeping the Judges.

The Mariners beat the Tigers to tie their series 1-1

There were no NL games yesterday so those series are unchanged.

Here's where things stand right now:

Go Brewers!

⧫
I mowed my lawn 4 days ago.

Looks like I need to mow it again.

I guess I have something to do tomorrow after golfing with Pat and Willie.

⧫
Here are some links

• Maybe The Very Stable Genius should send the National Guard to Boston instead of Portland.



• Better yet, maybe he should just lock down everything inside the 495 loop.



• I just think they need to cover his hands with some 3M Super Spray-On Adhesive.



• Wow. That kinda sucks for both of them.



• Personally, I think this should result in at least a year in jail.



• If it was jazz, I can understand.

Busy sports day for me

The Judges got their ass handed to them this afternoon, losing 13-7.

The Rangers / Bruins game from last got replayed this afternoon so I watched the last two periods of that. The Bruins won 4-1.

Now it's time for the Patriots to hopefully make the big brained prediction people look like the fools when they are and beat the Bills. Personally, I don't know if the defense can stop Allen from scoring but we'll see what happens.

All that means I didn't spend a lot of time looking for stuff to chat about.

⧫
Here are a couple of links:

• Apparently I'm not the only that thinks gambling is bad for everyone.



• The more a government tries to stop people from smoking, the smarter smokers get.

Go Brewers!

The Brewers beat the Cubs 9-3 this afternoon.

The Blue Jays are up 6-1 over the Judges after 7 innings.

This has been your baseball update.

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Between the gaudy gold-painted ballroom, the gold paint all over everything in the Oval Office and these little baubles, it's safe to say that this is the tackiest presidency in the history of the United States.

I wonder if you can refuse to accept these as change since they are a "commemorative coin"?

⧫
The Bruins played their final preseason game this afternoon, beating the Rnagers 4-1.

Now they finalize their roster and get ready to kick off the season this Wednesday.

Here are some links:

• Remember Rexall Drug Stores? RiteAid has joined them.



• Why do I have a feeling they are going to execute them and "release" their bodies.



• Fashion: I don't get it.
  Fashion and AI: I definitely don't get it.



• Cops: We don't pay them enough.

The Red Sox are on vacation

The Red Sox lost to the Judges last night, ending their season sooner than I would have liked.

My youngest is now rooting for the Cubs and I am rooting for the Brewers. He's rooting for the cubs because I guess he kinda likes them and I am rooting for the Brewers becuase they need to win the World Series for Bob Uecker.

And now, my friends, in addition to football season, it is also hockey season. The Bruins start their regular season schedule on October 8th when they go to Washington DC to take on the Capitals.

There is also the occasional golf tournament I should be able to watch. Also, the Winter Olympics are being held in Italy and you all know that means...

Curling!

So I guess what I'm saying is that there is plenty of sportings for me to watch until next February when pitchers and catchers report to camp down in Fort Meyers.

Oh, and I'm a happy guy because this is the last season I'll be forced to watch baseball on ESPN, the worlds worst sports network.

⧫
I have some things to complain about:

Dear Google, I don't want to "sign in to a website using my google account". I don't sign in to websites unless it's to conduct business and then I use an account that I created with the business. Please stop popping up that annoying message.

Dear Google, please stop telling me you can find results closer to me. When I type an address into the maps search field, just show me the address.

Dear television news, please stop showing us commercials disguised as a news story. It's disengenuous of you and it kinda sucks.

Dear Governor Healy, please stop being shocked by the high cost of liquified natural gas. Your Department of Public Utilities approves the rates and Massachusetts pays the highest rate sin the country.

Dear neighbors, please stop yelling goodbye to your visitors at 1:00 in the morning. You are loud and your voice carries all through town. Just wave and send them on their way.

That is all for now. Trust me, there are many more things I want to complain about but I'll stop here.

⧫
Here are some links:

• Psycho Vlad uses flattery to control The Very Stable Genius.



• I'm willing to bet that hamas ain't gonna do shit and the Israelies will continue their destruction of gaza.



• I thought that by an Act of Congress back in 1866 only dead people can appear on US currency and coins.



• It has been my experience that anything "good for the industry" is usually bad for the fans.