Random Thoughts On A Sunday Morning Updated To 7-28

[Slydude3129]

When other people post their opinions in here it makes this thread so much more enjoyable. So for that I thank you. This thread is all about random thoughts and opinions of just one person. They are things that I noticed throughout the week and I write down my opinions on them. A lot of times I like to try to get a laugh out of what I write down and some of my favorite targets are anything that happens in Florida and the politically correct. And baseball. 

............

Thanks for the welcome. Upon reading the first few I managed to get that feeling from them.

Its to "easy" to get involved in the, "Oh you vote, blah, well fuck off," mentality, but who does that help? No one, atleast not in my book. You are right, the parties are not really that much different. Sure the things they do differ on, get blown up into huge things, but that seems to be the norm for today.

"Little Jimmy had tears, sues Johnson and Johnson, details at 10."

Yea I'm not one to subscribe to conspiracy theory, though I do find some of them interesting and ask valid questions, I some times wonder if these "social networks" were made as an easier way to monitor us. Hell the new Terminator movie even hints at that as *SPOILER* Skynet uses a social network like device as his way to take over."*SPOILER* Maybe that is just me being paranoid, I kind of am. I think to an extent its healthy. I mean all that necessary info, Name, ID, Location, Time of, Associates, is there to build up a profile. I mean hell that is what they call it, a freaking profile!

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 9-13

...Ok, here we go. NFL week one. Nothing can compare to Opening Week in baseball and the NFL even knows this but they do a good job nonetheless. Any of you that have the Sunday Ticket again this year will be in football heaven. I had it for a few years and there was no way I wanted to be bothered on a Sunday from September to December. There's a free preview for everyone this week thanks to DirectTV with the important game naturally being played out in Oakland at 4:30 p.m. as the Raiders host the Bengals. I just hope it's a better year than last year for the Silver and Black.

 ...Just wonderful. Nathan Eovaldi will miss the rest of the regular season thanks to inflammation in his right elbow. The way these pitchers get injured so easy is mind-boggling.

...There is a Dunkin' Donuts shop up in the state of Maine is offering free coffee for life to Richard Berman, the federal judge who lifted New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's suspension. I'm sure this won't be the first perk thrown at this guy. Pretty soon he won't be paying for anything when he steps in New England in the future. I don't know though, if they made me that same offer I would pretend he was innocent too.

...Because of her refusal to serve alcohol in accordance with her Islamic faith, a Muslim flight attendant has been suspended by ExpressJet airlines and will not be allowed to return to her job until she can deliver whiskey upon request just like she has done in the past. When she first was employed by the airline she wasn't a Muslim and that meant she could serve drinks over and over again like any other normal flight attendant. A couple of years ago she converted to Islam and immediately started looking for ways for her new religion to get her out of every day assignments. When she found out her new faith not only prevented her from having a little nip from time-to-time but also forbade her to serve it too, she ran to her employers and they allowed her not to serve it provided it did not get in the way of her other duties. That worked out for awhile until she started passing off her other work on her co-workers. All of a sudden getting a bottle of water was going against the Islam faith. Same for getting a blanket for a tired passenger. She had no problem sitting down and reading a magazine. Her co-workers said she got pretty good at that. That must be one of the requirements to convert to Islam. To be as lazy as possible in every way possible. She may just have whined herself out of a job.

...David Ortiz hit his 499th and 500th home run down in Tampa last night and he did it in typical Ortiz-like style. With his gold jewelry purposely on the outside of his uniform these two home runs helped lead the Red Sox to a 10 - 4 victory over the Rays. Both of the home runs he hit off of Matt Moore were practically identical. Two meatball pitches that to his credit he did not miss and when he hit them he made sure he posed at home plate so the photographers could capture the moment because someone in Boston will buy those shots so they can sell 8 x 10 photos of it. Then he ran around the bases so slow that if you were there you would have had time to buy a hot dog and use the facilities, not necessarily in that order. The guy that caught the ball in Tampa said he wants to remain anonymous and has not decided what to do with it yet. Good for him. Make Ortiz stew a little bit. You don't want to know what I would have done with that ball had I caught it.

...If any of you out there had any bets about Mark Teixeira not playing an entire season it's time for you to collect because we won't be seeing his face in a Yankee uniform until next February. That's because a new MRI revealed a fracture in his leg and it will take up to three months to heal. Fantastic! He should be good to go some time in December. That should be just perfect for him because that will give him plenty of time to slip and fall on the ice and get hurt again. 

...There is one thing that puzzles me about this. Teixeira had a few MRI's done on him before this last one and the Yankees have been saying for weeks that it was just a bone bruise. How the hell can their medical staff miss this?

...I don't know who Roberta Vinci is but I want to thank her. I actually had to google here because as of two days ago I have never heard of her. She is the forty-third ranked women's player in the world but on Friday she beat the number one ranked Serena Williams on her first appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal. Williams had this match won in her mind before she stepped on the court. Too bad for her Roberta Vinci thought otherwise.

...This may have happened in Texas but two San Antonio high school football players gave an official in one of their games last week the Boston treatment as they blindsided him from the back and knocked him to the ground all because they thought he was making a few bad calls against their team. High school football is a religion down in Texas just like cheating and bending the rules are in Massachusetts but this time those kids went a bit too far as they were suspended from both the team and the school and in all probability will be facing criminal charges because the referee that they leveled is actively searching for a lawyer. When he finally delivers his hit to them at least they won't be blindsided.

..The Patriots just can't get a break, not that they deserve one. They finally skated away from Tom Brady's suspension at the last minute and even if they came out and admitted what everyone knows about them deflating footballs, who's going to touch them now? Thousands of school children across New England learned a valuable lesson this summer as their favorite team and player taught them how to screw the system and influence judges. But these guys just can't get a moments peace, again, not that they deserve one. Last week ESPN (reluctantly of course because this is a New England team) had a story about how more involved Spygate was with the Patriots a few years back and considering what we already knew about it that's saying something. During pre-game warmups the Patriots would send an employee into the visiting locker room to steal the play sheet that had the first twenty or so plays that the visiting team planned to call on offense. They'd also have employees go to the visiting team's hotel and look around for their playbooks or scouting reports. Most people would consider these actions disgraceful and reprehensible. In Boston they consider this commendable.

...If I were John Farrell of the Boston Red Sox I would be a little worried right now. Since he's had to leave the team for the rest of the year to deal with his lymphoma, which is a cancer of the immune system, the Sox have been playing better baseball under bench coach Torey Lovullo. Since the Red Sox have always been known as an organization that cares only for themselves Farrell could find himself without a job to go back to after the doctors clear him to return to work and if this happens it would not bother them one bit.

...Free agent pitcher Johnny Cueto may be pitching right now in Kansas City but his attitude is fourteen hundred miles to the east in Boston and by the time the year is over with his body should be there too. Last Tuesday there was a much publicized and talked about event that Cueto said that he would attend.  Among the main attractions was to be a Cueto look-alike costume contest where people were to dress up as Cueto going so far as to wearing his signature long dreadlock hair. The winners were supposed to get the opportunity to meet Cueto one-on-one but it didn't turn out the way they wanted to. Instead they all looked at each other and realized how ridiculous they looked dressed as Bob Marley if he were a baseball player. Cueto could not even apologize to the fans directly, he had to have his agent do his talking for him. He explained that his client regretted not being there but obviously not enough to take the time to say it directly. If this guy wasn't made for Fenway Park no one was.

...50 cent filed for bankruptcy two months ago but in the history of anyone who has filed for chapter eleven, he has bounced back quickly and with a vengeance. He is just about finished adding the final touches to the brand new home he built over in Africa and from the looks of it it would put any Hollywood mansion to shame. I'll tell you one thing if I ever file for bankruptcy I wish I end up as broke as this guy.

...Sarah Palin called the Black Lives Matter protesters 'dogs.' She was a hell of a lot more generous than I was. I am someone who believes in All Lives Matter even though somehow that remark will get turned around and viewed as racial.

...I have been blown away and at the same time impressed with all the kids around my niece's age (twenty) who just don't say they like 80's music - they actually love it. I didn't think they would with all the garbage (well, mostly) that is out there today. She listens to everything like Motley Crue, Ratt, Def Leppard, Dokken, etc, etc and she tells me her friends do the same thing. Last year I gave her all my LP records and just the other day I found out she is a minor celebrity now because of the albums I gave her. I had one hell of a collection of LP's including imports from Australia, Japan and England that I got from a world-wide known record store around here called The House of Guitars.

For example I have the Australian albums of the early AC/DC albums. They are quite different that the ones released here in the States. Along with these albums I gave her imported 45's from Japan and albums that came out on picture disc. For example here is the picture of Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast on picture disc that she has. 

Now the reason why I bring this up now is that the kid is actually listening to these albums instead of listening to the songs via MP3 or CD. From what I gather vinyl records have recently come back in style and I really don't know why. I may be showing my age here but the reason why I like 80's music is because I actually lived through that decade to really appreciate it. CD's came out in the early 80's and by 1984 were getting very popular. They were more expensive then they they are today because they were brand new and you also had to have a CD player to play them on, something many people did not have. The selling point for CD's back then were that they were supposed to sound "crisper and clearer" than the vinyl records and I suppose they did because in a few years no one was making and selling vinyl anymore. Now I hear that people are saying they prefer the sound off of the vinyls.

I don't get it. All I know is that my godchild is going nuts over my record collection that I had when I was her age. Good for her.

...I can't wait until later this year when Concussion is released. It stars Will Smith as the neuropathologist who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which is a degenerative brain disease brought on by repeated head trauma. He discovered this literally by accident when he was doing the autopsy on former Steelers center Mike Webster. This ought to make the suits in the NFL offices very nervous.

[Slydude3129]

Updated to 9-13

........................cut for space

Yea nothing beats "The Opening Day".

I had to explain to my father why there was this asshole on the field with Tom Brady's jersey on playing QB Thursday. He was not pleased. He doesn't even hate the Pats, or Brady.

Those two "kids" should be shot. Anyone 5'8"+ 160lbs+ is no longer a child. They could have very easily seriously hurt this guy. I'm not a lawsuit fan, but this guy should sue this "kids" for so much, that they have to forfeit what little chance of Social Security they may have for their age, and be forced to work every day at Pilgram's Pride till they are 97. I come from a "religious love of football" town. In fact in the movie "Friday Night Lights", my home town, Lufkin, plays the movie team. I think its just mentioned, but yea, football big in my home town. I don't wonder at all why I love baseball so much more. Nothing pissed me off more than 3 whole "front pages" worth of high school foolball grab ass when other far more important shit went on the day before. But because it was Friday, well good luck, The President might get shot, and a nuke dropped, but how bout dem Panthers. The players of the ilk of Dez Bryant, yea he's from Lufkin, were all failing students who were passed, so they could play on Friday night. I'm not saying they are dumb, I'm saying, they never had the incentive to give one flying fuck. And I'm not talking about white students here, to those people who still wrongfully think that the south is where racism is at. These student are all black. Hell back when I was in High School, one called himself, "Super Nigger", I shit you not. Even had a "superman" like costume done up for himself. Didn't wear it to a game obviously, but out drinking, and partying, well yea. Also, underage drinking bust, by white cops, swept under the rug, because football. And all white cops want to do is kill a black dude? Give me a break.

I'm a fellow All Lives Matter believer, welcome to the world of being a "racist" even though you aren't. This is the 21st century we live in.

I like seeing kids listen to older music too. There was this younger girl that attended the college I used to work at. She was getting into the Beatles right when I was going through another huge kick with them. For some stupid reason, I had entirely to much fun talking with her about them, instead of you know, getting her number. I really should have done that, she was damn cute. Anyone that knows those "petite" "Texas" girls, knows what I mean.

 

[Kccitystar]

....my lady's birthday is coming up soon and I do not know, other than a cake designed by yours truly (yes, kccitystar bakes), what to surprise her with. I'm out of ideas. I thought about taking her to New York's Comic Con event, but the price of the tickets are through the roof. I'd rather plan for San Diego's Comic Con than this one. I don't know. I'll just take her to a fancy restaurant instead.

....Ortiz hitting 500 homeruns, while I do not give a shit, I think we need "characters" in our sport.

Boston loves the guy, and he's just charismatic. Sure, things he does on/off the field might look like he's bigger than the game, but to be fair, there have been a LOT, a LOT of players who can be perceived that way. Some guys understand that it's a sport and they try to make it as entertaining and as fun as possible for the fans who pay to see them play. Ortiz won't be the last beloved baseball "character" that's come out of Boston, that's for sure.

...I'd love to pick up the Dell XPS 13" laptop. Just like the critics say, I think it's a fantastic laptop with amazing battery life, solid performance (core i5, 8gb ram) and built with Ubuntu 14.04.3 which I'm happy about, but most importantly to me, it's also super thin and light, which makes it a perfect daily driver. I don't need anything specific for gaming since Steam is able to stream games, which, speaking of, why the hell are "gaming laptops" designed like trash? What is this monstrosity? A small form factor gaming PC will be almost as cheap, powerful, and upgradable as a full size PC and much better than a laptop in those regards.

...I'd also love to pick up this device called the Intel Next Unit of Computing, or the "NUC". It's small enough to hold on one hand, with a fast processor, memory and enough space for a small form factor hard drive. Ridiculous power in a pocket sized case.

[Slydude3129]

....cut for space

Can't help you with the lady issues. Just be glad you have those issues.

I'm surprised any of the outed HGHers have the testicular fortitude to show their face in a public arena. I'd have them all shot, including Mr. Ortiz here. But at least you can say, he is a true and pure DH. They do nothing, other then getting up and swinging the bat, and make a big show of it. I hate the DH, but it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Sounds like a nice machine other than the 13" screen. Jesus Iphones are about that big, I know I exaggerate but really? 13"? That might have been acceptable in 2005 when I bought this one, but this one came with 18". Yea yea 5" makes all the difference ha ha ha. When I do get my new gaming rig, it will have to be atleast 18". Sadly with the ipad craze and Microsoft doing its very best to make the most powerful computers into rinkydink little touch pads (Again I come from the generation where touching the screen, was a death sentence.) so they can say see we are like Apple. It seems like most of the laptop screen I have seen are all 15" and smaller.

When I do get my new rig, I might have them uninstall the monitor it comes with, and buy a bigger one. I don't have room for some 20"+ monstrosity but 13" is way to small for me to stare at for long periods of gaming.

Sadly I am so out of the loop on Intel and all the tech stuff these days. The last I can remember the duo was the biggest thing since Jesus Christ. Yea its been about 10 years. 

[Kccitystar]

Can't help you with the lady issues. Just be glad you have those issues.

I'm surprised any of the outed HGHers have the testicular fortitude to show their face in a public arena. I'd have them all shot, including Mr. Ortiz here. But at least you can say, he is a true and pure DH. They do nothing, other then getting up and swinging the bat, and make a big show of it. I hate the DH, but it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Sounds like a nice machine other than the 13" screen. Jesus Iphones are about that big, I know I exaggerate but really? 13"? That might have been acceptable in 2005 when I bought this one, but this one came with 18". Yea yea 5" makes all the difference ha ha ha. When I do get my new gaming rig, it will have to be atleast 18". Sadly with the ipad craze and Microsoft doing its very best to make the most powerful computers into rinkydink little touch pads (Again I come from the generation where touching the screen, was a death sentence.) so they can say see we are like Apple. It seems like most of the laptop screen I have seen are all 15" and smaller.

When I do get my new rig, I might have them uninstall the monitor it comes with, and buy a bigger one. I don't have room for some 20"+ monstrosity but 13" is way to small for me to stare at for long periods of gaming.

Sadly I am so out of the loop on Intel and all the tech stuff these days. The last I can remember the duo was the biggest thing since Jesus Christ. Yea its been about 10 years. 

Not using the 13" for gaming whatsoever. I'm pursuing linux sysadmin work and I need something fast and most importantly, light, that I can use as a daily driver, plus Steam can stream games if I ever had that itch to play something on the laptop. The general neighborhood of most laptop computers are 14" though, so 13" is just fine with me. Anything bigger and I outright refuse to carry it with me.

[Yankee4Life]

....my lady's birthday is coming up soon and I do not know, other than a cake designed by yours truly (yes, kccitystar bakes), what to surprise her with. I'm out of ideas. I thought about taking her to New York's Comic Con event, but the price of the tickets are through the roof. I'd rather plan for San Diego's Comic Con than this one. I don't know. I'll just take her to a fancy restaurant instead.

 

You get her something special that you can afford and that comes from the heart. That shows you care and you are thinking about her. But I am sure you already know this.  Sometimes the expensive thing isn't the right thing.

[Kccitystar]

You get her something special that you can afford and that comes from the heart. That shows you care and you are thinking about her. But I am sure you already know this.  Sometimes the expensive thing isn't the right thing.

Of course, man. 

Both her and I are swamped with debt, so a majority of our relationship has been just paying bills and more bills, but we make due with Netflix and the occasional night out once in a while. I'm glad she is very introverted, very understanding/pragmatic and not high maintenance. In a couple of years from now I'm considering marrying this woman (once all of our debt is taken care of, it's been a joint effort on our part).

Edited September 14, 2015 by Kccitystar

[Guest]

all woman are high matiance. my gilr is for sure.

 

[Slydude3129]

Not using the 13" for gaming whatsoever. I'm pursuing linux sysadmin work and I need something fast and most importantly, light, that I can use as a daily driver, plus Steam can stream games if I ever had that itch to play something on the laptop. The general neighborhood of most laptop computers are 14" though, so 13" is just fine with me. Anything bigger and I outright refuse to carry it with me.

I missed that I guess. The only thing I use this thing for is gaming or entertainment. It practically is a desktop, as it never moves unless I want to sit somewhere else with it.

They do make manly satchels you can put it in. Mine came with one for free, well, after I bought 4 years worth of insurance on it.

But hey good luck on your endeavors!

[Kccitystar]

I missed that I guess. The only thing I use this thing for is gaming or entertainment. It practically is a desktop, as it never moves unless I want to sit somewhere else with it.

They do make manly satchels you can put it in. Mine came with one for free, well, after I bought 4 years worth of insurance on it.

But hey good luck on your endeavors!

first thing I thought of, sorry LOL



I have this crafty Timbuk2 bag that carries a shitload of gear, like my current Chromebook, charger and a couple of comic books i read along with my coffee in the morning

[Yankee4Life]

Of course, man. 

Both her and I are swamped with debt, so a majority of our relationship has been just paying bills and more bills, but we make due with Netflix and the occasional night out once in a while. I'm glad she is very introverted, very understanding/pragmatic and not high maintenance. In a couple of years from now I'm considering marrying this woman (once all of our debt is taken care of, it's been a joint effort on our part).

I'm very happy for you. Seems to me you got a good plan and goal you are striving for. Best of luck always!

[Slydude3129]

first thing I thought of, sorry LOL


I have this crafty Timbuk2 bag that carries a shitload of gear, like my current Chromebook, charger and a couple of comic books i read along with my coffee in the morning

You got it! Nice! A bit more manly than that obviously, and that color? Ack! Lol.

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 9-20

 

...So much for being excited for week one of the NFL season. I had the Raiders game turned off before halftime even arrived and I didn't turn it back on for the rest of the day. Nothing seems to change. I've never seen one team drop so many balls that consistently over the years and this year should be more of the same. The only good thing? At least Derek Carr's injured throwing hand that knocked him out of the game against Cincinnati is not as serious as they thought and he should be able to play today against the Ravens.

 

...How's that saying go again? You can take the player out of Boston but you can't take the Boston out of the player? Well, something like that anyway. Jonathan Papelbon's last year as a member of the Red Sox was in 2011 but after listening to him viciously tear apart his ex-Philadelphia Phillies teammates last week during an interview it would have been understandable for anyone who doesn't follow roster moves as closely as most people to think he was back in Boston instead of Washington. That's how they do it in Beantown. It's always somebody else's fault. Everything's perfect when you are winning but when you're not you start to point fingers. Blame others but not yourselves. If that isn't the motto of the city of Boston it should be. Papelbon placed the blame for Philadelphia's recent struggles on the field on their front office all the way down to the bat boy. Maybe he can make a case for the front office where he can point out moves that they should have or should not have made but the bat boy? What did he do, forget to bow in front of Papelbon before he walked into the clubhouse each day? Well whatever it was Papelbon says the bat boy was part of the problem why the Phils were not winning. He learned well when he was in Boston.

 

...Checking in on old friends, Dept: A lot of times the Yankees are accused of giving up the wrong people in trades or not working hard enough to keep the players they have when they lose them to free agency. I am as guilty of this as anyone else is, probably more. So before the season winds down to a close I decided to look up some of the people we lost recently and after looking at what they have been doing I am glad they've done it someplace else instead of in the Bronx.

 

          Phil Hughes: After an impressive 16 -10, 3.52 ERA season that he had last year Hughes lately has been pitching as if he were suddenly back with the Yankees. He has allowed eighteen runs over his last 16 2/3 innings covering four starts and has lost his last three decisions. He's 10 -9 with a 4.58 ERA this year, something that shouldn't surprise anyone from New York.

 

         Joba Chamberlain: He's in Kansas City now and is along for the ride as the Royals prepare for their second straight season playing in October. Chamberlain won't be on the post season roster because the Royals are trying to win and they feel he can help a lot if he goes home to Nebraska and stays there. He's 0 - 2 this year with a 5.11 ERA with no saves. The Royals will probably end up releasing him just like the Tigers did.

 

        Shane Greene What the hell happened to this guy? He was one of the few bright spots in the Yankee rotation last year. Good young arm, not afraid of anything, just the kind of pitcher you want to see develop for your team. But the Yankees traded him and this year he has gone 4 - 8 with a 6.88 ERA. He must have hung around Joba Chamberlain too much when they were both on the Tigers.

 

        Lazy Robinson Cano: I couldn't help that. Every time I say Cano's name I first say the word lazy. It just fits. And people in Seattle are beginning to understand what Yankee fans have known for years. The only time Cano gets his uniform dirty is when it rains during the game. You can't help getting dirty then. He's hitting .279 with 16 home runs and 65 runs batted in. That's a steal for twenty-four million dollars a year.

 

...Cheers for Jered Weaver of the Angels for beaning Kyle Seager of the Mariners for not being ready to hit and constantly calling time. I never saw Bob Gibson in his prime but I would have paid good money to see Gibby deck this punk.

 

...Remember those two juvenile delinquents who used that referee as a tackling dummy right before a play during that high school football game in Texas earlier this month? They are in some pretty serious trouble now and when kids get in trouble they play the blame game and these guys are making sure everyone gets some except for themselves. First they are turning in their assistant coach because he was upset because the referee was making bad calls against their team and he was so mad about it that he made the remark that the ref should pay for his terrible officiating. Right, because in every football game from high school to the pros the officials have never blown a few calls. Only in this game because it was such a rarity. And what if the coach said the referee should pay? If he told them to jump in front of a train would they do it? And they went after the referee too. They made the guy sound like Archie Bunker with a whistle. He used the "N" word. He insulted their Latino heritage. And what's worse is that he called two holding penalties that took ten points off the board. He had to go down. Besides being kicked off the team and thrown out of school these two gridiron soldiers are facing a criminal investigation. But that's still some time down the road. That gives them plenty of time to think of more people to blame.

 

...The NFL reinstated the two criminals that the Patriots employed to deflate those footballs back in January because what else would you expect them to do? I am confident that those two guys will never be involved in any more wrong doings from here on out because the Pats probably have other people already prepared to take their place. Now what's next? The loss of a first-round draft pick in 2016, a fourth-rounder in 2017 and a one million dollar fine, all sanctions imposed on them by the NFL will disappear soon. That will be about as easy to predict as snow in January.

...I'd like to give my take on the Republican debate that was on last Wednesday night but I didn't watch it. I care about that almost as much as I care about the well-being and happiness of the people from Boston.

 

...I kind of feel bad for that fourteen-year-old boy from Texas who was arrested last Monday because he brought in a digital clock that he made from a pencil case and when his teacher saw it she thought it looked like a bomb and that's when all hell broke loose. She called the police and they came and took the kid away in handcuffs. On the surface you may think that the teacher completely over-reacted here but this homemade clock had a lot of wires going in and out of it and it had the look of a bomb. To top it off this kid was a Muslim and if there's any group of people who know how to make a bomb out of anything it's Muslims. Yes, the kid didn't have a bomb, he shouldn't have been arrested or suspended from school for three days but I could understand why the teacher got so nervous that fast. Muslims are always going to be mistrusted in this country because of what they have done and what they are currently doing. That kid may be very intelligent and had no intention of causing any trouble but going to school with something that looks like an explosive was just asking for trouble. And that's what he got.

 

..One thing I noticed about Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses when she was working was how much support she received when she was let out of jail. I could care less about same-sex marriages since I have no plans to be a part of one in this lifetime or the next but it is always nice to see people going against the heavy-handed control of the PC group, even if it is for this.

 

...Last week a couple in Missouri were having a meal in a restaurant when they noticed two other patrons at the table next to them with a boa constrictor. That right there would have been enough for me to have the waitress bag everything up and produce the check as quickly as possible because I would have been in my car before anyone knew where I went. But these people were braver than I was and they actually held their ground until the snake began to slither down into the booth behind the woman. That's when they notified the manager of the restaurant and when he asked the people about the snake they insisted the snake was a service animal for the man because he has depression and having the snake around him helps him. Of course it helps him. It makes people around him scatter and that alone cheers him up. And besides he said, the snake is a service animal and that means he gets to stay. Not so fast. The only animal that is a recognized service animal is a dog and nothing else but the restaurant owner was so concerned about violating anybody's rights, including the snake, that he allowed it to stay. You could almost see what was going through the guy's mind when he let it stay. He'd get his name plastered on CNN because they'd be calling him a racist towards reptiles.

 

This reminds me of a time some years back when I was walking around the mall and I noticed some guy approaching me from the other direction with something wrapped around his neck. It was the middle of summer so I knew he couldn't be wearing a scarf. As he walked past me I saw that he had a snake around his neck and because of that everyone that was near him gave him plenty of distance. Whatever I was shopping for that day suddenly became unimportant because I did a quick U-turn and headed out to my car but not until I went up to the first security guard that I saw. I pointed out the guy, told him what was going on  and what direction he was headed in. What did he do? He turned around and walked as quickly as he could in the other direction.

 

...Of all the things I wrote about this week this one is the toughest for me to get down. I don't have children of my own and I don't know if that makes me lucky or not. Lucky because I don't have to worry about my child being abducted or hurt or even killed. Or am I unlucky that I never had the joy of watching my kid grow up?  I always wanted a little girl but it wasn't to be. The closest I got was with my niece, whom I spoiled since the day my sister brought her home from the hospital. So when I read about a little baby girl found dead in a trash bag on a Boston Harbor island back in June my heart just broke. Who the *&%$ would do something like that? And how do you sleep at night? There was a composite sketch made of her and when I saw that I just lost it. She had chubby little cheeks and brown eyes, eyes that seemed to me so full of curiosity and wonder. This was a baby and someone put her in a garbage bag and dumped her like she was this week's garbage! The police got a tip like they somehow always seem to do in cases like this and the little girl's mother and her boyfriend were charged with her murder. Her name was Bella Bond. The word bella means beauty. And she was. She was almost three years old. She should have spent this summer swimming in pools and playing and eating ice cream. Instead she was found in a hefty bag on Deer Island in Winthrop, Massachusetts by a woman walking her dog. Sometimes you just can't hold back the tears.

[Slydude3129]

Updated to 9-20

 

...I kind of feel bad for that fourteen-year-old boy from Texas who was arrested last Monday because he brought in a digital clock that he made from a pencil case and when his teacher saw it she thought it looked like a bomb and that's when all hell broke loose. She called the police and they came and took the kid away in handcuffs. On the surface you may think that the teacher completely over-reacted here but this homemade clock had a lot of wires going in and out of it and it had the look of a bomb. To top it off this kid was a Muslim and if there's any group of people who know how to make a bomb out of anything it's Muslims. Yes, the kid didn't have a bomb, he shouldn't have been arrested or suspended from school for three days but I could understand why the teacher got so nervous that fast. Muslims are always going to be mistrusted in this country because of what they have done and what they are currently doing. That kid may be very intelligent and had no intention of causing any trouble but going to school with something that looks like an explosive was just asking for trouble. And that's what he got.

There is no doubt in my mind that child did not build that by himself. His father helped him. I think it was done to get attention and they damn well knew how people would react. With the way things appear to be going, or atleast the way some people would want you to think, I'm "surprised" the police didn't just shoot him.

[Yankee4Life]

There is no doubt in my mind that child did not build that by himself. His father helped him. I think it was done to get attention and they damn well knew how people would react. With the way things appear to be going, or atleast the way some people would want you to think, I'm "surprised" the police didn't just shoot him.

I have to admit that I never even thought of this and it wouldn't surprise me to find out it was true.

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 9-27

...The Mets wrapped up their first division yesterday since 2006 and they deserved it. Not that I'm a Mets fan by any means but to have them win it besides Washington was just fine with me just because I can't stand Bryce Harper. That "where's my ring?" quote is coming back to haunt him and it couldn't happen to anyone more deserving.

 

...I have hated every bit of change that they have done to the game of baseball. You name it and I am against it. The designated hitter, interleague play, "this one counts" for the All-Star game, expanded playoffs and instant replay. I can't stand any of them. Call me a conservative baseball traditionalist if you'd like. But the one I probably dislike most of all is the almost religious devotion every team has to the pitch count. Take last Monday night in Toronto for example. The Yankees had Adam Warren on an eighty-five pitch limit. The guy hasn't thrown eighty-five pitches in a month and they had a limit on him? Warren struggled in the first inning as he gave up three runs but then settled down until Joe Girardi yanked him with one out in the fourth inning. He had to use five pitchers to finish the game. I honestly think the fear of letting these pitchers go out and pitch leads to a lot of these injuries that they get. The Baltimore Orioles had four twenty-game winners on their pitching staff in the early 1970's. You'll never see that again. And it's not because pitchers were "better" back then or anything like that. The only difference is that during that era they let the pitchers pitch. Do you think that Earl Weaver ever went up to Jim Palmer and told him that because he's thrown seventy-nine pitches by the fourth inning he was going to take him out of the game? At the most Warren could have gone a few more innings. He would not have required assistance to return to the dugout at that time.

 

...Directions to Boston, please. Dept: The Detroit Tigers have sent home their closer Bruce Rondon for the remainder of the season for his "effort level."  I've never heard this one before. It's a polite way of saying that this guy hasn't been trying and basically doesn't care if he is or not. There's only a week left in the regular season and they could have made him sit out in the bullpen until it was all over without ever having him take his jacket off but they wanted him gone so bad they told him to get out of town. When that happens you know you won't be a Tiger next year. Fortunately David Ortiz said he wanted to take an active role on who would be on next year's roster for the Red Sox and Rondon would be a perfect pick-up for them once Detroit throws him away along with the rest of the unsold hot dogs. Rondon's from Venezuela which is not too far from the Dominican Republic. And besides, he has the perfect attitude for Boston. Stay tuned.

 

...Bobby Valentine, a man who has made a career out of saying stupid things, said another one just the other day when he said that he thought PED's were "good for sports" because they let you see the best out of an athlete and that they will eventually be legal. No wonder why this guy was David Ortiz' favorite manager.

 

...Someone raised a good point last week about Bella Bond, the little girl who was found in a trash bag over the summer. The police artist that did the rendition of her did it so well that it was practically the spitting image of her. Which brought up this question? Why didn't any of the neighbors after they saw the little girl's face on TV each day call up and say they recognized her or at the very least looked kind of familiar to them? Say, doesn't that kid look a little like that little girl across the street? But this never happened. Even child services is getting part of the blame - and rightfully so. Little Bella was the subject of two prior child welfare investigations that in the end went nowhere but yet no one who worked there recognized the child. Or maybe because they knew they screwed up royally they didn't want to recognize her. The point is there is a lot more blame to go around here than on her drug addict mother and psycho boyfriend who insisted this kid was the devil and had to die.

 

...I pay attention to politics in passing. By that I mean I always have one eye on something else any time anything political is brought up. But last week a comment by a Republican candidate named Ben Carson actually made me stop keeping tabs of the baseball scores for a moment and take notice. Carson said that Islam is antithetical to the Constitution, and he doesn't believe that a Muslim should be elected president. Well thank you very much. If a Muslim was elected president the only places that would be safe from bomb attacks would be 7-11's because they're employed in every one of them from coast to coast. Well, you don't have to guess what happened after. Muslim civil rights leaders demanded an apology. How can he say such a thing? Easy, it's called the truth. You elect a Muslim as president you may as well sell real estate to ISIS here in the U.S. Ben Carson, whoever he is, just won himself a lot of support.

 

...A few days after Carson made these comments a twelve-year-old Muslim boy from Minnesota with the encouragement of his parents made a video telling Carson that his words inspired him to want to be the first Muslim president of the United States. Sure he will. He'll be singing a different tune in a few years as soon as he becomes a teenager and runs off to Syria to fight for ISIS.

 

...The police department of Childress, Texas, a small community of six thousand or so that is located at the southern edge of the Texas Panhandle has found itself under fire from some PC watchdogs because they placed large "In God We Trust" decals on its patrol vehicles. The reason why they did this was in response to recent violence against law enforcement officers. Naturally that is not a good enough reason for their detractors because they are saying that the decals on the patrol cars amount to an illegal government endorsement of religion. Never let it be said that the people who spend their time searching for new ways to be offended miss any opportunities to do just that. Nothing gets past them. It makes me wonder if they have an office somewhere staffed with volunteers who scour the internet headlines in search of things to kick up a fuss about? There is a huge difference between that police department down there stating their beliefs and forcing it on people. That's something that they've conveniently overlooked here.

 

...And isn't "In God We Trust" on all our currency? I bet that doesn't offend them when they have to go out and buy something.

 

...Pete Rose met with the commissioner of baseball last Friday to plead his case for reinstatement. The meeting took about two hours, which was not enough time for Rose to whitewash everything that he has done that lead him to be banned and during his time away from the game. When the meeting was over the only thing that was announced to everyone was that the commissioner would give his decision by the end of the calendar year and both parties have agreed to refrain from further comment on the matter. The latter is what is going to do in Rose before the former does because there is no way Rose can keep quiet about anything especially when he is told to. As many hits as Rose accumulated over his career it equals the amount of brain cells that he has. This should be the easiest decision Rob Manfred has had to make since he entered office.

 

...Well this is something you don't hear about every day. A woman gave birth to a baby boy at Petco Park in San Diego while game between the Padres and Giants was going on. If this kid ends up playing for the Padres in twenty years that would be a hell of a story. If by chance this same thing would have happened in Fenway Park the Red Sox would have tried to charge the baby admission.

 

...Welcome back Scorpion, Hawaii Five-O and all three NCIS shows. And that new show Limitless looks like a keeper too. Thank God for DVR's.

 

...David Ortiz filled out a questionnaire recently on Derek Jeter's Player's Tribune website and one of the questions he was asked was what his dream job would be if he wasn't a baseball player. His response? He wanted to be a porn star. That answer surprised me probably as much as his fans. I thought he'd say something like if he were not a ballplayer he would be able to devote all his time into his drug trafficking career. But porn star? Now because he said that the porn industry is suddenly going to be a respectful one in Boston? What do you want to do when you get out of high school Johnny? I want to be a porn star Mom and Dad. Oh yeah? That's fine. David Ortiz said he wanted to be one too so that's ok. Good luck!

 

...Actress Kim Cattrall made a very odd comment last week that I thought was kind of interesting. If you don't know who she was she was on HBO's Sex and the City. She said that even though she has not given birth she still considers herself to be a parent because she mentors young actors and actresses along with her nieces and nephews when they need advice or someone to talk to. Yeah ok, if you say so. And I consider myself to be a millionaire even though I don't have the money to back it up.

 

...R.I.P. Yogi Berra, who died late last Tuesday night. It wasn't surprising to me at all to read and hear so many good things about this man last week because as many people said, he was one of a kind. I've been to Cooperstown a few times in my life and each time I have visited the museum I would always stop by and read Berra's plaque. I never saw him play but thank God there were a lot of film clips of him that I watched over and over. How could someone be that successful as a bad-ball hitter? To try and imitate Yogi Berra would have been a mistake because he really was one of a kind. I first saw him as manager of the New York Mets and I was pulling for him to win the '73 World Series against Oakland. He almost made it as the Mets took Oakland to seven games. They weren't even supposed to win one.

 

A lot of quotes and stories were told and re-told last week about him. Not to make fun but to show respect. One thing that never escaped me about any Berra quote was if you stopped to think about it they really made sense. When he said 'no one goes there anymore. It's too crowded,' he was talking about a restaurant that was hard to get reservations for because it was so popular that everyone wanted to go there. When he said 'it ain't over till it's over' it was self-explanatory. But he said it in such a simple and direct way that it became a battle cry for sports teams everywhere.

I'll sign off this week with my two favorite Berra stories. A man was carrying out his grandfather clock that he just picked up from a clock repair store and while he was bringing the clock out to his car to bring home he accidentally bumped into Yogi, knocking him to the ground. Berra got up and growled at him, visibly annoyed. "Why can't you wear a watch like everyone else," he exclaimed.

 

The Yankees had a rare off day in Philadelphia one time during a series with the Athletics and someone on the Yankees thought it would be a good idea to take anyone who wanted to go on a tour of the famous sites of the city. Quite a few Yankees signed up and they were taken to places like Carpenter's Hall, the Declaration House, where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell. Yogi was one of the Yankees that decided to go on this trip and for the entire trip he was very quiet but paid attention to everything that was said. Finally after the trip was over and the Yankees were being driven back to their hotel Berra turned to Phil Rizzuto, who was with him that day. "Hey Phil, when did all this take place?" he asked.

 

R.I.P. to a great man.

 

[Gordo]

I've got to add to the Ben Carson comment.  I didn't hear the original statement (though I'm sure there's 8,453 sources that I could go to), though I've heard him make re-clarification statements since then.  His point was not against Muslims, in general.  His point was about anyone presenting with a radical or religious tenet that would supercede the Constitution.  In general, Carson does not believe that Islam is in concert with the Constitution.  Carson went on to say in subsequent interviews, and I'm not naive enough to think that this isn't damage control (believe me), that this would apply to anyone who promoted their religious beliefs that may be antithetical to the Constitution. 

I've seen Carson speak numerous times now and he's not a black and white guy.  First and foremost, his training is in science/medicine, so he aspires to think within the gray areas (no pun intended). Keep in mind, that this country had a great number of people who had great reservations in voting John F. Kennedy to the Presidency at the time because some feared that his Catholic influences would affect his ability to lead properly (many people don't realize that to this day, JFK has been our only Catholic president).

So everyone should be careful about their sources and what they are told to think or believe about any of these candidates about any given points.  Take the time to listen, should you care, to what they are saying and try to get it directly from their mouths. Don't let some biased internet site guide your thinking.

Lastly, I don't think Carson is going to win, but he makes a number of great points in trying to get this nation out of the dependency state it has developed and his interest in having it return to the greatness and status that it once had.  I think he would make a tremendous cabinet appointment.

Edited September 27, 2015 by Gordo

[DJEagles]

...A few days after Carson made these comments a twelve-year-old Muslim boy from Minnesota with the encouragement of his parents made a video telling Carson that his words inspired him to want to be the first Muslim president of the United States. Sure he will. He'll be singing a different tune in a few years as soon as he becomes a teenager and runs off to Syria to fight for ISIS.

 

What the Hell???? Could you sound anymore bigoted?

[Yankee4Life]

...A few days after Carson made these comments a twelve-year-old Muslim boy from Minnesota with the encouragement of his parents made a video telling Carson that his words inspired him to want to be the first Muslim president of the United States. Sure he will. He'll be singing a different tune in a few years as soon as he becomes a teenager and runs off to Syria to fight for ISIS.

 

What the Hell???? Could you sound anymore bigoted?

 

I thought that comment was just fine. I tried to put a little humor in the post while at the same time trying to make whoever read this stop and think and say to themselves you know what? This kid could end up doing just that. The way the world is now I am not really stretching the truth here all that much am I?

Besides I owe Muslims absolutely nothing but the back of my hand. I realize that it's been a slow week for them and they haven't made the news by killing someone in some horrendous way but that doesn't mean you forget what they have done. Setting a pilot on fire while he was still alive? Can you imagine that? Cutting people's heads off? Not just Americans but Japanese too and some were women also. The Charlie Hebdo affair in France? I could go on but I don't feel like typing for the rest of the day.

No apologies from me here DJ.

[DJEagles]

I have to respectfully disagree. Christians have killed people in the name of religion. Not all Muslims are bad people. Not all Christians are bad people, and to persecute a whole religion because of some nut jobs is bigoted. I've known you on these boards for over 10 years now, and you have strong beliefs and opinions....mostly on New England and new Englanders, but shit , this is wrong. I'm sorry, but it is. Hate speech as far as I'm concerned, and something should be done about it.

[Yankee4Life]

I have to respectfully disagree. Christians have killed people in the name of religion. Not all Muslims are bad people. Not all Christians are bad people, and to persecute a whole religion because of some nut jobs is bigoted. I've known you on these boards for over 10 years now, and you have strong beliefs and opinions....mostly on New England and new Englanders, but shit , this is wrong. I'm sorry, but it is. Hate speech as far as I'm concerned, and something should be done about it.

 

Of course Christians aren't completely innocent. You can go back in history and find some of them that have done some serious killing all in the name of God. And yes, not all Muslims are bad people. i never said that and not once have I ever written those words. If you want you can go search through some back pages in this thread about something I talked about back in February. Some guy in North Carolina shot to death a Muslim couple over what turned out to be a parking space dispute. Go read what I wrote.

You may have known me for that period of time but the reason why you say I have strong beliefs and opinions about things is because of a thread like this. I wrote about New England and Boston a lot around here. They were a punching bag because of the Red Sox and a source of jokes. While I won't go as far as saying I like Red Sox fans I can honestly say I do not hate that region of the country as much as I have let on.

[Gordo]

I think the bottom line is that the radical side of ANYTHING is just bad news.  There are people today who are contending that they are doing the work of Jesus Christ, but they run their churches with a cult-like appeal and just cause all kinds of havoc.  In essence, anyone or group acting in this fashion aren't truly keeping to the faith as it was intended.  Man can really screw things up when we want to.

[Jim825]

I think the problem here is the use of generalities that label an entire group of people rather than a subset of the group.  That may not have been the intent (although I will not make any assumptions on this), but I can see how some would see it it that way.  Rather than saying "Muslims", it would have been better to say "Muslim Extremists", because in my mind, that is who you were really talking about.

As for badmouthing New Englanders, you and I have had plenty of conversations on that, as I fall squarely in that group.  I've learned to just filter out those comments.  

[Gordo]

Very true Jim.... unfortunately for some reason, some people in this ultra-PC country that we've become will not use the term Muslim extremist or radical Muslim.  I'm a Christian and have no trouble calling Christians who really don't purport the tenets of Christ, but instead get into all kinds of ultra-legalism as radical Christians.  Crazy, crazy times.