Another busy day

Got some thing done around the house. One in particular is one that I hate doing but I do it every spring and that is getting the gas grill cleaned and ready for the summer.

It takes me about an hour to empty the crud from the bottom of the cooking box, the crud from the flame spreaders and the crud from the grills. I usually end up using my grill brush, a large putty knife and a shitload of paper towels.

Once the crud has been removed, it's time to bring the cooking grills into the kitchen and scrub the crap out of them in soapy water.

Then I put it all back together, put a new catch tray into it and fire it up to burn off all the dampness from the aforementioned soapy water scrub.

So now the grill is ready for the summer. The traditional first grilling of the season is cheeseburgers but I'm thinking maybe steaks.

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My sister sent me this picture that was taken in her front yard of the Artemis II on it's way to the moon.

One of the benefits of living in Daytona Beach is that she gets to see almost every launch from the Kennedy Space Center.

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I spent a few hours with my brother and nephew sending copper/lead objects 100 or 200 yards downrange.

My nephew recently acquired a M1 Garand and he really wanted to go shoot it. He sent me a text message and asked me to meet him to try this firearm out.

I'm pleased to say that I can still hit a target at 100 yards with an iron-sight rifle. No scope, just a circle and a post. The magazine of the M1 holds 8 round and I was pleasantly surprised to hit the 10inch steel 7 times.

On thing I did learn about the Garand that I did not know about is that the bolt connects to the gas-piston operating rod on the outside the forestock circled in red in this picture:

Trust when I say that if you put your finger there, it will pinch the crap out of it. I have a small blood blister on the pad of my left middle finger...

As for my shoulder cannon, I was hitting a steel at 200 yards with no problems.

Now I need to replace my ammo stock...

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No links tonight.

Busy day

I was supossed to go golfing today but that didn't happen.

Instead I helped a buddy out with some computer stuff.

Now I'm home and there are mutliple sportings on. The Stars/Bruins game started at 7:00 and the Red Sox/Astros start at 8:00. I'm kinda hoping the Red Sox don't lose again tonight...

So anyways, that means no drivle tonight.

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Here are some links:

• "It will be the most beautiful building ever built. Many people have told me they they wish they had built it. I have been told by ex-presidents that they wish they had built it. It will be huuuuge and more people will enjoy it that any other enjoyable place ever."



• Hey! My town is famous!



• Am I the only one that thinks he has no idea what he is talking about?

Holy crap! They won!

I would love to have been in the Bruins locker room during the second intermission because whatever the coach said to them sure got them fired up.

They came out in the 3^rd period and scored 3 unanswered goals. Regulation ended with a 3-3 tie.

Neither team scored during the 3-on-3 sudden death period so they went to a shootout. The Bruins managed to put 2 out of 3 pucks into the net while the Blue Jackets only put 1 in. That gave the Bruins a 4-3 win and 2 points.

That means they remain in the first wildcard slot and they are 4 points ahead of the Blue Jackets who are in the second wildcard slot. With only 8 games left in the regular season, it's a pretty good bet they will make the playoffs.

Their next game is tomorrow when they take on the Stars. Puck drops at 7:00.

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Once again, The Very Stable Genius is making an ass of himself:

At the very least, someone should proofread his posts before he posts them...

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The Red Sox take on the Astros this evening and Ranger Suarez is making his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform.

They have kind of hyped him up a little bit so I'm hoping he does well in his first outing.

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Here are some links:

• I'm betting he's in the Oval Office just throwing a full-blown hissy fit over this. He's probably pounding his fists on the desk and stomping his feet like an 8 year old brat.



• I have an image in my mind about these two kids and, no, it's not an image of race. It's an image of hereditary stupidity.



• NEVER - And I'll repeat that because it bears repeating - NEVER bring an axe to a gun fight.



• The short answer is, "No". The long answer is, "What the hell is wrong with you, you sick f**k!"

Dammit

The Red Sox lost the game and the series this afternoon. The Reds beat them 3-2.

Early had a great start, facing 21 batters over 5⅓ innings. He struck out 6,  gave up 1 run and walked 2.

The batters, however, just can't seem to get it together. Abreu and Story seem to be the only two guys hitting the ball well.

Tomorrow they start a three-game series against the Astros. First pitch is at 8:10 which means I probably won't be watching the entire game.

And by the way, I've decided that I really like the ABS challenge system. It brings a new level of excitement to the game.

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The Bruins are currently playing the Blue Jackets and they also suck huge.

They just started the 3^rd period and the Blue Jackets are up 3-0.

I'm pretty sure the Bruins, as a team, were not aware that the game had started when the puck dropped because the Blue Jackets scored their first two goals within the first few minutes of the game. It kinda looked like the Bruins were standing there watching them score.

I'm going to continue watching this game but I suspect I'm not going to be happy with them...

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Oh, and when I'm done watching hockey, I'm going to watch the final round of the LPGA Ford Championship.

When last I looked, H.J. Kim had a two stroke lead over Nelly Korda and both were playing some pretty damned good golf.

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Here are some links:

• Every time I read or see something like this all I can think of is Baghdad Bob.



• I have a feeling they're not leaving ever.



• Somehow or another, this is going to cost me money.



• If there is no video, of long lines, there must not be any long lines.

Tough game

The Reds and the Red Sox went at it pretty hard today.

Gray did not impress me with his start. He only made it through 4 innings having faced 20 batters and giving up 4 runs. Cora pulled him and the bullpen took over in the 5^th.

The Red Sox were down through 8⅔ innings when they managed to tie the game 5-5 when Abreu hit a beautiful home run.

They were 5-5 after 9 and they were 5-5 after 10. Then, in the 11^th, the Reds scored and the game ended with a Red Sox 6-5 loss.

Tomorrow is the final game in their series. First pitch is at 1:40pm.

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In the world of hockey, the Bruins beat the Wild 6-3 and remain in the first wildcard slot.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Blue Jackets. Puck drops at 5:00

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It took me a while but I managed to get my ancient 30 year old push mower running today.

I pulled on that rope for about 5 minutes before giving up and putting it away. I went into the house and said to my wife that I thought I would be buying a new push mower this year.

Then, after thinking about it for a bit, I decided to try one more thing.

My thinking is the carb might have a bit of something blocking one of the jets and maybe, just maybe, if I got the engine running, it would pull enough of a vacuum to suck whatever it was out of the jet.

I found my old can of starting fluid, took the aircleaner off the carb and sprayed a good amount into the machine.

When I pulled the rope, it started right up and then sputtered a bit before settling into a nice smooth purr.

Don't get me wrong, it's still burning oil and the frame is falling apart so I will still look around for a new one this summer but at least I don't have to rush out and buy the first thing I see. I can use this one while I look for a new one that fits my needs.

My wife, who occasionally enjoys mowing the lawn with a walk-behind mower, has suggested that it would make her happy if I got a self-propelled one.

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Here are some links:

• Poland is going to experience a KitKat shortage.



• If there is anybody crazier than Trump, it's Jesse Ventura but in this case, he's right when he says, "Do something your father didn’t have the courage to do. Do something your father didn’t have the patriotism to do. I want to see a Trump in the military."



• I built and launched a lot of Estes rockets when I was a kid.

Nice win for the Red Sox

The Red Sox played some pretty darned good baseball yesterday and they beat the Reds 3-0.

Crochet had a great start, facing 24 batters over 6 innings, striking out 8 and walking 2 while giving up 2 hits.

He was follwed by Slaten, Whitlock and Chapman who each went 1 inning and holding the Reds to zero runs.

It's a nice way to start the season.

Game 2 of the 3-game series is tomorrow. First pitch is at 4:10pm

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I just want to say that this sucks:

The economy is in the shitter, inflation is getting worse and the DJIA has dropped almost 8% over the last month.

Trump bankrupted almost every business he was involved in and now he's doing the same to us.

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I have always been of the opinion that the Massachusetts State Legislature should be a part-time job.

By paying our state senators and legislators to work full-time, we encourage them to create new laws, most of which are stupid or meaningless.

We already have too many laws. We do not need any new ones.

Keep in mind that I'm not talking about making the bureaucrats part-time, just the legislators. We need the government to continue to function and that's what bureaucrats do - keep the government running. What we don't need are people whose only job is to make new laws.

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Here are some links:

• I thought Tiger Woods had learned his lesson and was avoiding booze & pills. Turns out I thought wrong.



• Bright-Eyes is already a perpetual embarrassment to the United States. Now he's an even bigger embarrassment.



• I have yet to develop a strong opinion one way or the other but, so far, ABS is looking like a good thing.



• If your chocolate is sexy, now you know why.

That was a close one

The Bruins were down 3-2 in the third period and with 5 minutes left in the game, they managed to tie it up. Regulation ended in a 3-3 tie and then 38 seconds into the sudden death overtime peroid, the Bruins put one into the net and won the game 4-3.

They remain in the first wildcard slot and are once again tied in points with the Canadiens.

The Canadiens take on the Blue Jackets this evening and if they lose, the Bruins will move into third place. With only 10 games left in their regular season, this puts them in a very good spot to make the playoffs.

The Bruins next game is Saturday when they take on the Wild. Puck drops at 5:00pm.

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The MLB season officially kicked off yesterday when the Yankees took on the Giants. The Yankees won 7-0 so the Red Sox have an uphill battle ahead of them.

The Red Sox opening day game against the Reds starts at 4:10 this afternoon which is why this post is kinda early.

There will be an update to this post at some point this evening with the results of the game.

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At one point, I thought she was kinda smart. I mean, she speaks several languages, she got out of a shitty life using the tools that her god gave her and then she married a rich married guy for his money. That's some pretty smart thinking.

Then she goes and does something like this...

This is probably one of the dumbest ideas floated by a first lady since Nancy Reagan came out and told teenagers to, 'Just Say No'.

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Here are some links:

• Seems that the City of Brotherly Love knows how to make the best out of a bad situation.



• I'm pretty sure we've seen enough of this self-driving shit and it's time to end it.



• We were promised flying cars...



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, just wants to snuggle up with you and then kill ya.



• Australia: blah, blah, blah.



• The "Big Present" has been revealed.



• Then again, maybe it wasn't so much a "big present" as it was a "Big Purchase"...

That didn't go well

The Bruins needed to win last nights game and they did not win.

The Canadiens needed to lose last nights game and they did not lose.

The Bruins are still in the first wildcard slot but now they are two points behind the Canadiens.

Tonight they take on the division-leading Sabres so I don't have high hopes for them. It's going to be a tough three periods.

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Either The Very Stable Genius is hallucinating or he's lying.

My guess is he's lying because that's what he does. He lies.

He lied when he said an ex-president told him he wished that he (the ex-president) had done what Trump did to Iran.

He lied when he said the US was in talks with Iran.

He lied when he said he had proof that he won the 2020 election, inciting his cult to attack and take over the US Capital for the first time since the War of 1812.

He lied when he said more people attended his inaguration than any other presidential inaguration.

I suspect that pretty much every word out of his mouth is a lie and it's been that way since he was a little kid.

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The annual MLB predictions are out and it appears that the one thing everyone can agree on is that the Rays will suck this season.

As alawys, I'm pretty sure these people are all full of shit. They make up a prediction because their boss tells them to make a prediction. There are no brain cells devoted to making their choices.

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Herre are some links:

• All those college students who thought AI was going to be a boon for them are screwed if this becomes the norm.



• Free The Weed!



• If your nickname is "The I-5 Flasher", you have spent to much time waving your woohoo around in public.

They got whooped

The Red Sox played their final spring training game today and they got their ass kicked.

The Twins beat them 15-6.

I am currently do not know if Ranger Suarez sucks or if he just had a bad day. He pitched 4⅓ innings and gave up 8 earned runs. When you give up 8 runs over 4 innings, that's not good.

So now the season begins. They will play their first game on Thursday when they start a 3-game series against the Reds.

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The Bruins take on the Maple Leafs tonight and as I've been saying for the last few weeks, it's a must-win for them.

The Canadiens take on the Hurricanes this evening and as I've been saying for the last few weeks, it's a must-lose for them.

Both games start at 7:00.

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Here are some links:

• This headline pretty much sums up the Trump presidency.



• We should take away their retirement package and put them on social security as well. Then see how fast they fix that system...



• The Red Sox opening day roster is set.

Good game.

The Red Sox played a pretty good game today with what I suspect will be the opening day lineup.

They ended up losing 9-6 to the Twins but that was because Cora pulled the starters in the seventh/eighth innings and put in players that aren't even AAA guys.

They play their final game tomorrow. This will also be against the Twins and first pitch is at 1:05.

And yes, NESN will be carrying the game.

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Here are some links:

• At some point in the very near future, Iran is going to attack the US.



• Why are people afraid?



• In my opinion, if you can't get your vote in by elections day, it shouldn't count.



• I wake up at 3:00am because I have to pee.

Good win but no advance

The Bruins beat the Red Wings 4-2 in regulation last night but since the Canadiens also won their game, the standings are unchanged.

During last night's game, the talking heads on ABC made an interesting statement. They said, "The Bruins have the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL".

That doesn't sound good but it has been my experience that teams tend to play better when they are up against a tough opponent.

Their next game is this Tuesday, the 24^th when they take on the Maple Leafs.

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The Red Sox beat the Pirates 6-3 this afternoon.

They will play two more spring training games, both against the Twins. One game tomorrow and one game on Tuesday.

On Wedensday, they will fly to Cincinatti where on Thursday, they will open the 2026 season against the Reds.

That's when things begin to matter.

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Here are some links:

• Trump is a bratty little kid with a stick and he's using that stick to poke the hornets nest that is the middle-east.



• Key problem with the Massachusetts prison system: "Despite Snow being considered a high risk to reoffend, three parole board members voted to grant parole..."



• Fifty days of higher prices sucks and it's pretty shitty of the administration to suggest it will be worth it.

Busy day

We spent the day in Boston hanging out with the newest member of our family.

For the record, she is still doing just fine. Her mom and dad are also doing just fine.

They are a happy family.

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There is an old saying: "Never speak ill of the dead".

Apparently Trump never heard of that saying.

I imagine there are a lot of people who will say the same thing about him when he dies.

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Ran a quick speed test this afternoon.

I remember when we were all excited to get 56k dialup speeds.

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Here are some links:

• I don't have to eat less. I just need to take smaller bites.



• The TSA is part of DHS. ICE is part of DHS. TSA is not getting paid. How is ICE getting paid?



• Oh Canada.

Merry Vernal Equinox

Today is the day when we can expect the number of hours of daylight to equal the number of hours of darkness.

Considering that this was all figured out by a greek guy named Hipparchus about 2,200 years ago who probably wrote his calculations with a burnt stick on papyrus and had no functional timepiece, he wasn't too far off.

Today we will have 12.1 hours of daylight and 11.9 hours of darkness. Not quite equal but pretty damned close.

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The Bruins beat the Jets 6-1 last night, tying the Canadiens at 84 points. The Canadiens held on to third place in the Atlantic division because they have played fewer games and have a higher win percentage.

If the Canadiens can lose their next game, the Bruins stand a real good chance of moving into the divisional race. Their next opponent is the Red Wings and a win against them will put them two points ahead of the Red Wings and two points ahead of the Canadiens.

They play the Red Wings tomorrow. Puck drops at 8:00.

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The Rays beat the Red Sox 2-0 this afternoon. The Red Sox starting pitcher was some kid named Wenhunt who faced 15 batters over 4 innings, striking out 3, walking 1 and giving up 1 earned runs. The other four pitchers were guys named Moran, Rivera, Gamboa and Keller.

In other words, the Red Sox pitchers were guys that not only did I not know who they were, I'm thinking Cora probably wasn't certain who they were either.

This evening the Red Sox prospects will take on the Orioles prospects. It should be an interesting game to watch.

Tomorrow, the Red Sox will take on the Braves. First pitch is at 1:05 and NESN360 will be streaming the game. It is currently unknown who will be pitching.

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Here are some links:

• He doesn't have a single clue about dealing with people. Continuously calling them names will not get them on his side.



• If he does this, the Iranians will just blow the whole place up, killing all the Marines.



• And speaking of Iran, might be a good idea to hold off on visting any crowded places.



• I didn't know he was still alive. Now who's gonna make shitty karate chop movies?



• Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Palm Beach Pete.

Bring out yer dead

We are apparently still counting the number of people that died during the 'rona. Looks like the official counters didn't do a very good job and they missed quite a few people.

Look, I get that people want to continue to focus on covid but does it really matter how many people died from it? Does the volume outweigh the reason?

It's time to put the whole "it killed a bazillion people!" behind us and instead try to figure out how to prevent the entire shutdown of our economy the next time we get sick.

That whole, "You can't go to work or go out to eat! Lock yourself in your house because you are under house arrest!" thing kinda sucked and it did a lot of damage to our society in general.

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I'm busy listening to Joe Castiglione call the Red Sox game.

That means I'm done typing.

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Here are some links:

• I'm pretty sure we can't afford this.



• I did a lot of programming in COBOL over the years and I agree with this story.



• Key line in this story: "...she expected the meeting with Trump to be 'very difficult'."

Not much to say

We started our day meeting with our finance guy and it appears we can remain retired if we are so inclined.

For the record, we are so inclined...

Then we made a Costco run so we could stock up on some of life's little necessities. You know, like the rotisserie chicken, the peach & cream pastry and that one necessity that I personally can never live without, cinnamon rasin bread.

Man's got to have his cinnamon raisin toast...

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The Red Sox lost to the Yankees 1-0 this afternoon but, man, what a hell of a game.

Connelly Early face 19 batters over 5 great innings. He struck out 7, walked 2 and gave up zero runs. It's a damned shame that kid is probably going to be in Worcester to start his season next week because he's a major league pitcher if ever I saw one.

Next game for the Red Sox is tomorrow against the Twins but NESN will not be carrying that game. Thankfully WEEI AM streams over the internet so I can at least listen to the game.

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The Bruins lost in OT last night.

Again...

Here's what I don't understand about the standings. The Bruins and the Red Wings have the same number of points and the same win percentage but the Bruins are listed as being in the first wildcard slot now.

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

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Because I like to remind people that The Very Stable Genius isn't very stable, here is an image I ran across recently:

Because I like Pink Floyd and I like funny things, here is an image I ran across recently:

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Here are a few links:

• I realize that this is probably boring as hell for most of you but this is important. All hacks involve attacks on software but this guy actually hacked the hardware.
  To me, that is pretty damned amazing.



• This seems to be going well...



• I guess there is a second time for everything.

No, I'm not Irish.

I like corned beef but that particular meal is not Irish, it's Jewish.

I like beer but not guiness.

I don't own a heavy wool sweater or a "flat cap".

I don't like parades, clover or hurling.

In other words, Happy St. Patricks Day to all you self-proclaimed Hibernians but don't expect me join you in your drunken debauchery.

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At 2:15am this morning, I was awoken by what sound like a airliner taking off in my yard. I looked out the window and saw the line of arborvitaes in my side yard bent over at a 45° angle.

I decided to do a house patrol and I went downstairs to see what I could see. Just as I walked into the kitchen, the lights went out. I grabbed a flashlight and looked out all sides of the house just to be sure I didn't have a tree down.

Then I went back to bed.

At 6:30am, I came downstairs and started my generator. Having lights is nice but having coffee is more important. Especially to my wife who had been sitting patiently for more than an hour, waiting for me to drag my ass out of bed and start the generator.

At 10:00am, National Grid got my house re-energized and I was once again enjoying their very, very expensive electricity.

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Last week I signed up for the USPS Informed Delivery Service that gives you a heads-up on what mail is being delivered to your house. Then they notify you when your mail has been delivered to your mailbox.

Normally I would say something like, "This is a nice service because now I know when my mail is in my mailbox".

Instead I'm going to say, "The USPS is unreliable and does not deliver all your mail."

I say that because there have been at least 3 occasions when I got a notice saying that I would be receiving "X" items. That notice includes pictures of the items to be delivered.

When my mail arrived, there were only "X-1" or "X-2" items, not the "X" items that they said I would be getting.

This was particularly disconcerting the other day when I was notified I had 1 item being delivered and the image of that item showed it to be a bill from Baystate Medical Practices. I know the only thing I owe Baystate is the copay from a trip I made to the Convenience Care Center at Baystate Wing when I had the flu back in January. Their computer system was having a bad day and they couldn't collect the copay so they said they would bill me.

Look, I don't care if some junk mail from Renewal by Anderson gets lost but when a bill gets lost, I have a problem with that.

And more importantly, what else has gotten lost prior to my signing up for this notification service? What don't I know about? What if some long lost uncle left me a million dollars and I don't know about it because I never received the notice?

I'm torn now. Do I call the postmaster to complain or do I cancel the service and return to my state of blissful ignorance regarding my mail?

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The Bruins and the Devils had a hell of an active hockey game last night. Regulation ended in a 3-3 tie and about 20 minutes in penalty time for each team. Neither team was giving an inch and they were beating each other up pretty good. The announcers kept saying, "Man, they sure got a lot of penalties."

The game went into sudden death OT and with only 7 seconds left in the period, the Devils snuck the puck past Korpisalo to score the game winner.

The Bruins are back at it again tonight when they take on the Canadiens. Puck drops at 7:00.

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As for baseball, the Red Sox beat the Twins 4-3 this afternoon.

Tomorrow they take on the Yankees. First pitch is at 7:00.

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The final game in the WBC takes place tonight with the USA taking on Venezuela for all the marbles. The winner of this game takes home the poorly named but very modern looking World Baseball Championship Trophy.

Go USA!

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Here are some links:

• Turns out world-famous "graffiti artist" Banksy is a dumpy old guy who looks like he hangs out in the neighborhood dive bar and bitches about the economy with his buddy Stan.



• Key line in this story: "...saw a 2 inch by ½-inch piece of shrapnel on the hood, which left a small dent or scratch."
  So in other words, nothing...



• Wait till these clowns keep catching their shirt sleeves on the cord, yanking the earphone out of their ears...



• Maybe this explains why I have a lot of "Only in Florida" stories...



• The Very Stable Genius is either experiencing hallucinations, talking to ghosts or talking to himself.

I forgot

Oh well.

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So the USA beat the Dominican Republic 2-1 last night and will play either Italy or Venezuela in the Finals tomorrow evening.

It was a pretty damned good game to watch with Henderson (of the Baltimore Orioles) and Anthony (of the Boston Red Sox) both launching homeruns. I would like to point out that Judge (of the New York Aaron Judges) did not hit any homeruns.

In spring training news, the Red Sox / Orioles game scheduled for this evening has been cancelled due to rain.

Fortunately the Bruins are taking on the Devils this evening. Puck drops at 7:00

Unfortunately, ESPN will be carrying that game so I have to listen to a bunch of talking heads who love the sound of their own voices when I could be watching hockey.

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Here are some links:

• Remember last year when The Very Stable Genius was constantly insulting and threatening our allies? That might explain why none of them are rushing to help him?



• And speaking of Trump and his war, his minions are threatening to cancel the first amendment unless the news organizations say only what Trump wants them to say.



• Those people are screwed.



• This is not good.



• I do not see a problem with "big storage".

The WBC is fun to watch

The US beat Canada 5-3 yesterday and have moved on to the semifinals where they will take on Dominican Republic tomorrow evening.

In all honesty, I don't know if the US will win the final but I do think they stand real good chance of beating the DR tomorrow and move on to the final.

Right now, Puerto Rico and Italy are going at it to see which one of them will make the semi-finals. Italy has a 8-6 lead in the 8th inning

The remaining teams, Venezuela, Japan, Dominican Republic and the USA, are all really good teams so it's anyone's guess right now as to who will win the final.

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In the other sports...

The Bruins and the Capitals went at it pretty good this afternoon. Regulation and overtime ended in a 2-2 tie so they had to go into a shootout.

The shootout went 9 rounds before the Bruins put one into the net and won the game.

As for the Red Sox and the Braves, they started play at 6:00 this evening. Bello and Rafaella are back on the roster after their stints in the WBC.

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The Very Stable Genius seems to think that every nation on the planet will be sending warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help with his war on Iran.

This is a guy who spent the last year insulting most these countries and applying tariffs to their goods. These countries will more than likely tell him to stick it up his fat ass.

Oh, and I would like to reply to his last sentence, "One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!"

I would say, "Uh, it was open and free until you decided to bomb the shit out of the assholes that love to attack the shipping lanes that run through it."

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This made me laugh.

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Here is some sound advice: Never scan a mysterious QR code.

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Here are some links:

• Remember when I said there isn't 24 hours of news in a day? I'm not alone in my thinking.



• We were promised flying cars...



• A blowgun?

Just a thought

Anyone else noticed that since I got my new snowblower, we haven't had any snow to speak of?

You are welcome.

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Key line in this story: "Cuba’s going to fall, too."

Trump is going after everyone that has ever been a problem for the United States.

Seriously, it's beginning to look a lot like that scene in The Godfather where Michael Corleone tells his brother-in-law, Carlo Rizzi, "Today I settled all family business" just before he has him garrotted.

Here is my problem with Trump: He is not wrong...

But for a guy who claimed to be the "president of peace", he sure is threatening and attacking a lot of people.

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The Bruins failed to play hockey last night and they lost 4-2 in regulation to the Sharks.

I'm not in the habit of making excuses for the any of the players on the Bruins but I will say that Pastrnak's wife had a baby yesterday morning so I'm thinking his head wasn't really in the game.

It also appears that McAvoy got hit in the face with a puck for the second time this season and is once again missing teeth. That man needs to stop using his face to block the puck.

Next game is tomorrow against the Capitals. Puck drops at 3:00pm.

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I was reading up on some of the moves made by the Patriots recently and I'm not entirely sure what they did to improve their offensive line.

If there was one thing that needed to be improved, it was the offensive line. Those guys spent a lot of time watching Maye scramble and/or getting sacked.

Guess I'll just shut up now and pay attention to what they look like in August.

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I wasn't going to say anything about this because the "news" is hyping it up a little bit but...

The government in Iran, an avowed terrorist organization, has had 50 years to put people in places to do their bidding. With the porous borders the US has had for the last 30 years, it's more than likely that some of those people may have successfully established themselves in the US.

I'm not telling you to live in fear or terror but I am telling you that you should trust your instincts and your eyes.

If something doesn't look right or doesn't feel right, walk away. If it's more than a "bad feeling" and you saw something that caused you concern, you should look for a cop and tell them what you saw.

In other words, remember that old saying, "If you see something, say something" because those assholes spent the last 50 years making it their religion to kill as many people as possible

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Here are some links:

• We were promised flying cars...



• Of course he's going to be playing in Worcester. He can't hit, his infield skills kinda sucked and there is no room for him in the outfield.



• Key line in this story: "...rendered him no longer alive..."

Short post

We are still blowing up people in Iran and the Iranians are still blowing up oil tankers.

The DJIA dropped by 1½% today and it is down more than 5% over the last four weeks.

Gasoline prices are now over $3.00 a gallon.

The Red Sox blew a 1 run lead in the ninth and lost to the Twins 8-5 this afternoon.

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Here are a few links:

• Every once in a great while, someone in the Trump administration actually says something that makes sense.



• Massachusetts: We won't pass this unless we can get some graft out of it.



• I feel bad for all those TSA officers doing their job and not getting paid.

Nice win

The Bruins beat the Kings 2-1 in OT last night which is a good thing because the Blue Jackets won their game.

This means the Bruins remain in the second wildcard slot.

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

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Looks like 2 of the 3 gas stations near me have joined the price-gouger and have raised their prices quite a bit:

I give it another week and we'll see prices over $4.00 a gallon.

Oh, and something else that could prove to be really bad this summer: Fully 33% of all of the fertilizer used in the world passes through the Straits of Hormuz. Get ready for significant increases in food prices.

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Here are some links:

• Key line in this story: "Because every day I can’t promise success, but I can promise I play with my hair on fire." Believe me, the kid plays hard. Real hard.



• Oh good. Another vital piece of our infrastructure that will be owned by a foreign national.



• Dear Boston, If you don't want a bunch of drunks running around your streets, stop celebrating St. Patricks Day.



• We were promised flying cars...



• Why the hell does anyone need thirty five guns?

Kinda normal sleep schedule

I managed to get back on my normal sleep schedule last night and I'm really hoping it stays that way.

Now if I could only figure out how to stop eating so many of those damned "Fun Size" candy bars so I can lose a few pounds...

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The Red Sox lost 7-2 to the Tigers this afternoon.

They are off tomorrow but that's okay because at night I have been watching the WBC.

Tonight the undefeated USA takes on undefeated Italy, which, I would like to point out, has no one named Anthony on their team.

The game is being shown on FOX Sports (FS1) and the first pitch is at 9:00pm

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The Bruins take on the Kings this evening and the Bruins really need to win this game.

They are still in the second wildcard slot but are now only 2 points ahead of the Blue Jackets who are playing the Lightning tonight.

A win will either push the Bruins 3 or 4 points ahead or leave them at 2 points ahead. A Bruins loss and a Blue Jackets win will push the Bruins out of the wildcard.

Puck drops at 7:00pm.

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Gas is $3.18 a gallon at 3 of the 4 the stations down the road from me. The price-gouger charging $3.39 can kiss my ass.

Honestly, I should probably give credit to The Very Stable Genius because gas prices were actually going down over the last 3 months.

If he hadn't blown up the ayatollah, we might have eventually seen gas prices below $2.50.

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Here are some links:

• Am I the only one who is a little concerned about the privatization of space?



• What do they expect to find after seven years and two different owners?



• Add this to the list of "Things I Won't Be Doing Any Time Soon".

Still hating the time change

Why do we do this? Why do we, as a collective society, voluntarily throw ourselves into a bi-annual sleep-deprivation period? Someone once told me it was so the farmers had more daylight to work the fields but I call bullshit. To a farmer, daylight is daylight. They don't care what the clock says, only if they can see what they are doing. They can do it in the morning just as well as they can do it in the evening.

This is bullshit.

Pat says that I'll be voting for Trump because he's promised to eliminate the time change during both his terms.

Let me change me previous statement a bit: "...the first candidate for president that truthfully says he will eliminate the twice-yearly clock change will get my vote."

Like he always does, Trump lied when he said he was going to eliminate the time change. The only time Trump does anything is when he thinks it will make him and his family a lot of money. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to figure out how his family is planning to make money off the Iran war...

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And speaking of The Very Stable Genius, he should probably stay away from saying things on his "truth" thingee.

Here's a quote he spewed out on August 5, 2024 during the presidential campaign.

You could change the date of that statement to 3/9/26 and it would still be true...

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Let me start by saying, out loud and with gusto, I DO NOT LIKE FOX NEWS.

As a matter of fact, I don't like FOX, CNN, MSN, NewsNation or any of the 24 hours "news" networks.

I don't like 24 hours news networks simply because I personally believe that there isn't 24 hours worth of news. That means these outfits all make shit up to fill the time and make their verbal sewage seem exciting.

They should not be allowed to use the word "news" in their name. They should legally be required to call themselves "FOX Opinion" or "Cable Opinion Network" or "OpinionNation".

So having clarified that, I have something to say about this line from yet another outraged person:

"Fox would lead the chorus of criticisms and faux-outrage, and people would lose their jobs."

Don't blame FOX for people getting fired. FOX has nothing to do with someone from CNN losing their job.

People lose their jobs because companies like NBC, CBS, ABC, MSN, CNN, etc... seem to enjoy firing people who say, or do, something that offends easily offended people.

British comedian Stephen Fry said it best:

"It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what."

And if any of you are offended by that quote, do yourself a favor and read it again...

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I found this on the interwebs and it made me laugh.

If you don't know what movie that scene is from then I suggest you find a copy of GoodFellas.

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The Red Sox beat the Phillies 5-3 this afternoon but I didn't get to see it because NESN did not carry the game.

Crochet pitched 4⅔ innings and he did okay. He face 19 batters, gave up 3 earned runs, struck out 2 and walked 0. Not the best but he'll get there.

Tomorrow they take on the Tigers and, no, NESN will not be carrying that game either. They have to run an important episode of "Jenny & Billy Go To Lunch"...

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Here are some links:

• Has anyone started a death pool on this guy yet?



• This will piss off my friends who are Dolphins fans.



• Well, people do indeed lose weight when they have cancer.



• I call bullshit. This should never be allowed to happen. Speed cameras are abused by municipalities all the time. It's a way they generate income and has nothing to do with public safety.



• Trust me, no one wants to listen to your shitty music, your crappy movie or your ignorant phone conversation. Get a set earbuds.

I hate the time change

My brain is trying to figure out what the hell is going on right now so this is going to be short.

I'm groggy, I'm hyper, I'm tired, I'm awake, I'm hungry, I'm not hungry.

This sucks and as far as I'm concerned, the first candidate for president that says he will eliminate the twice-yearly clock change will get my vote.

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The Pirates beat the Red Sox 9-7 this afternoon.

The Penguins beat the Bruins 5-4 in overtime this afternoon.

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Here are some links:

• Is this the same idiot who said, "I'll end all the wars and lower gas prices when I'm president!"



• I have no doubt that this may be true.



• I heard someone say, "Guess they forgot to change his diaper..." which I thought was a pretty funny line.

Many sports

We ran errands and then I setled in to watch many sportings.

It started with a combination of baseball and hockey with the Bruins going up against the Capitals at 12:30 and the Red Sox vs. the Rays at 1:05.

The Red Sox game ended in the 6^th inning because of rain with the Red Sox won 2-0.

The Bruins beat the Capitals 3-1 in regulation. They remain in the second wildcard slot but are now 3 points ahead of the Blue Jackets

After that it was the Arnold Palmer Invitational followed by USA vs Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic.

Now you know why this is late.

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Here are a couple of links:

• I have a lot of family in Western Pennsylvania and I can assure you that they have been pissed off at the Pirates organization for many years.



• I'm not going to live long enough to see humans set foot on the moon again.



• They are less than 3 weeks from the start of the season. They need to start working on their positions.

Not looking good

The Predators beat the Bruins 6-3 last night.

The Bruins looked a little lost on the ice while the Predators looked like they had actually practiced their game play recently.

So now the Bruins are holding on to the second wildcard slot by one point over the Blue Jackets.

Fortunately the Blue Jackets are also off tonight so it doesn't look like the Bruins will slip backwards on an off night.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Capitals. Puck drop at 12:30pm and it will be carried by those boobs at ESPN.

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In the world of baseball, the Tigers kicked the crap out of the "double-A" Red Sox team.

Connelly Early started and he pitched pretty well. He faced 13 batters over 3⅓ innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, striking out 4 and giving up 0 runs.

Tomorrow they take on the Rays. First pitch is at 1:05pm and the game will be streamed on NESN360

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Let me start by saying I am not an expert on the middle east. I don't pretend to be an expert on the middle east. I'm just an old guy who has seen the various kingdoms/nations/tribes of the middle east continue to defy the alleged "logic" of western thinking.

Having said that, I want to point out that the key line in this story that displays of a complete lack of understanding of the tribal mindset in the middle east:

"Frankly they don't have a lot of people to say that for them."

Trust me, there are plenty of people wandering around Iran who will be more than happy to proclaim themselves as "supreme being" and continue the fight. For every dictator in a funny hat that we kill, there are 10 more waiting in line to take control and do more damage than the guy before them.

This is likely to go on just as long, if not longer, than our involvement in Afghanistan.

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Speaking of Trump blowing shit up...

The DJIA has not done well over the last month.

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Here are some links:

• This could be interesting.



• Keep in mind that Iran is a nation that has been blowing up civilian ships since they mined the Persian Gulf back in the late 80s.



• This story reminds me a lot of this movie scene from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.



• Apparently Psycho Vlad hates everybody.

Another loss

The Red Sox lost to the Phillies this afternoon but since I knew more players on the Phillies roster than I did on the Red Sox roster, I assume that this was another case of the minor league Red Sox playing a MLB team.

For the record, we are now 21 days from the start of the Red Sox's season. They will start their season in Cincinnati with three games against the Reds. After that they will be heading over the Houston for three games against the Astros.

Their home opener at Fenway is April 3 when the Padres coem to town.

There are still a lot of spring training games to watch but I'm looking forward to the start of the professional baseball season.

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I am actually shocked he did this although I have no idea what a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas" is.

Maybe he's planning on invading Canada...

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I've been reading up on something called "balcony solar".

Turns out that in Europe, it is a thing where people buy two or three small solar panels and plug them into an inverter that in turn is plugged into their house. This system generates around 400 watts and that extra 400 watts can usually results in a monthly electric bill that is around $50 less.

They cost the average homeowner about $300.

That means the system pays for itself in six months as opposed to the giant systems here in the US that cost in the $20,000 - $30,000 range and have a return on investment length measured in decades instead of months.

I'm thinking about looking for one and see what it can do for me. I don't mind spending $300 if I can repay it back to myself in six months.

Then again, I'm not entirely sure how I can feed electricity into my home without affecting the public electric grid.

Guess I better do some additional reading...

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Here are some links:

• Key line in this story: "Merz sat next to Trump and remained mostly silent..."



• I'm pretty sure we will not have a power outage but I have full gas containers just in case.



• How the hell is this nutcase still free to roam around with the rest of us. Only a matter of time before she kills someone.



• I'm betting that a lot of alcohol and a liberal dose of stupidity were involved.

Baseball is an odd business

Last night, the Red Sox played an exhibition game against the Puerto Rican National Team. You need to keep in mind that all the national teams going into the World Baseball Classic are basically made up of MLB players. That means that the major league teams, like the Red Sox, are currently made up of minor leaguer players and prospects while the national teams are made up of actual veteran playerss.

As to be expected, the Red Sox lost their game but since it was an exhibition, it doesn't matter.

It turns out that it doesn't even matter who you were playing for duing the game because at one point in the game, the Red Sox sent one of their players across the diamond to play for Team Puerto Rico. He actualy pitched for them against the Red Sox, his own team.

That's right folks, the guy you see in red standing on the mound is Red Sox prospect Erik Rivera who up until yesterday evening was assigned to the Red Sox affiliate Greenville Drive. Then, at some point in the evening, the Red Sox announced that he was now assigned to the Puerto Rican National Team and he went out to pitch. I have no idea if he is still assinged to Puerto Rico or if he is once again assigned to Greenville.

Baseball is a weird sport and I really like it.

As for today, not only did the Red Sox lose 4-0 to the Yankees, I had to listen to those idiots on ESPN. Since when did ESPN start covering spring training games?

Regarding the game itself, Crochet did okay but not great. He seemed a little off so Cora pulled him in the 3^rd inning for a break and then put him back in the 4^th to get him to 53 pitches. He faced 11 batters, struck out 3 and gave up 3 earned runs.

One high note for the Red Sox was Tolle. He came in in relief and threw 3 really good innings, facing 10 batters, striking out 7 and giving up 0 runs.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Phillies and there is no tv coverage. Guess I'll be listening to the game on WEEI.

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The Bruins held their own last night and managed to squeak past the Penguins, winning the game 2-1 in regulation and picking up the two points.

This still leaves them in the second wildcard slot but now the closest team to them is three points away.

Their next game is tomorrow against the Predators. Puck drops at 8:00pm

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Because I made a trip to Boston last week, my gas tank was below a half full. So on Friday, I ran over to BJ's and filled my tank for $2.49 per gallon.

Yesterday I noticed that it's up to $2.59 per gallon.

I didn't drive by there today so I have no idea what it is up to currently but I can tell you that according to Gas Buddy, the cost of a gallon of gasoline at most gas stations in my area is between $2.80 and $3.10 per gallon which is slightly more than what it's been for the last year.

I guess what I'm saying is the news media keeps telling me that gas prices are going through the roof because of the attack on Iran but I'm not really seeing it.

This is another case of fear mongering by the news. It ranks right up there with the national news starting their broadcast with, "Millions in the path of a a winter storm!" like it's the end of the world.

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Here are some links:

• It's tough to shoot down those little drones.



• This might be the right move. He can play football but he's a bit of a problem off the field.



• Apparently someone is blowing up the weed in New Jersey.



• If I rent a car, I can take my EZPass transonder off my car and use it on the rental. How am I going to do that with a sticker?