The Neil Blog continues.
Into the middle of October: Summer is coming to an end. We need a real cold front. The changes that come with a real cold front: They’re good. Life is better. The power bill will drop 400% when the air conditioner isn’t running anymore and that lasts six months.
The world continues to spin. The Devil Rays, moving forward, trying to get to the World Series. A Stanley Cup. A World Series? Then there’s football, at 2 and 3 will they be good too? The only time of year I watch baseball. Umpires. Umpiring is the best I have ever seen it. The young guys, turning in good plate jobs. The older guys: Getting it done. Up 3 to 0, Houston made a series of it. Over-managing: The Devil Rays manager, playing the stats game. Remove your best pitcher. The Devil Rays game. Remove your best pitcher. The guy that comes in gives up three runs. Then the next guy two more. That’s nice. Glad I’m not a fan. Got to watch Timmons. Got to watch Ted Barrett. But I’m impressed with the work of the younger guys. Jeff Nelson, crew chief. Not sure how they name him crew chief over Ted but it doesn’t really matter. At the start of the series, the hatred of the Astros was interesting. I have never seen such a dislike. They fought back good. How about Atlanta putting the Dodgers on the chopping block? The Devil Rays win game seven even though their manager took out their star pitcher again. The soccer team, quietly goes into the championship games.
On the internets: People eating catfish. Sail cats. We kept them one time and gave them to my brother’s work crew. First fish ever they said “Don’t bring us those again.” No thanks. On this note: Congrats on turning your nine-year-old into a poacher.
The football pool, I finished a game out. It may be a week before this one is decided with the postponements. My decision: Those games count and the final outcome depends on those outcomes. Seven people one game out that can’t catch up. Two people that can catch up have to have Tennessee beat Buffalo. Tennessee wins. Now that final game matters. New England/Denver. A Denver win would cap off one of the greatest comebacks in pool history. It will be a headache if they keep jerking with the schedule every week. I printed out sheets for the whole year. This week, two games were the change (one an addition) so it wasn’t a major ordeal. Those guys made a deal and split up the money. I had to do a lot of revisions on the sheets for this week’s games. It looks like I may have to do that every week. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have printed the sheets ahead of time.
The things that haven’t made the Blog. I have had some showdowns. I don’t always talk about it. Floored by some things in this world. Things aren’t done the way I would do things. And that’s fine. I have to shake my head at some of it.
Improvements pending. Lots to do. Fishing trips: Got in two of four already. Hoping to add a couple more. The fishing has been EASY. I took two guys from Georgia. They broke away from work, a project they are doing in Tampa. They will be down regularly and keep booking. They got into them strong. Ladyfish and trout mostly but some small grouper. Nonstop for a few hours. Solid action.
Another trip, postponed. That, a trip of four people: Bad wind forecast, just better to move it to a better day and they had a conflict for that day so it worked out fine.
Fisherman’s Night resumed. Not a huge turnout but whoever shows up enjoys it. The grill going, it isn’t long but the guys enjoy each other. Took five months off from it because of the virus but things normalized enough that I started it back up again. Ryan here for it this time.
Lost a client to quarantine. He will reschedule in a few weeks. He and his wife were exposed.
The trip he missed out on: Great action. Life is always interesting. It’s losing. Five times. Five: Loosing. The English language continues to take a beating. Substituting an S for a Z doesn’t work, by the way.
A good week: Ryan’s here. Fisherman’s Night. Absent charters. I have three to book, just don’t know when they will fall in.
Critical election. I did my numbers. 95% of the people I know support Trump. I think the Polls are fiction. The average American is smart enough to know: Biden isn’t a presidential candidate. He wasn’t even good at vice president. He’s awful in general. I think this election goes right. Trump got elected: He’s re-elected. Hopefully four years later: Pence. The other side doesn’t have anything good to offer. My friends: Business is very good under Trump. I don’t see him losing. I laugh at the Polls. Same polls that said Hillary was winning.
Like other election years, I have reached the point: It just needs to be over. The ads. The arguments: It’s all gotten really old. Finish the election and move on.
On the internets: What fish is this. You have to ask; you need to stop fishing.
A new computer: A great change. The old one was dying. I’m back to full speed. Got a desktop instead of a laptop. The monitor is over twice the size of the screen on a laptop. Nice for a guy who is getting old.
This Blog: Harder to do. I’m just kind of battling to get this one going. I just don’t have that much to say. I really need a break from my regular life. I’m not going to get one but it would be good for me to change it up.
I dabbled in the insults last night. Man, do people want to be offended. Being offended is interesting to me. I find that most of them aren’t really offended, they just want to say that they are offended. I took a poke intentionally and I touched some nerves. I will likely continue my insulting behavior. I feel like I just reached a point where I understand Donald Trump. I’m amused that people are upset with me. I don’t care. The one person I should take more care with: Her husband will straighten that out. I quit. You want to be offended, go do it over there. To those of you in that category: You need to toughen up. Being a crybaby is no way to be in the adult world.
I’m out. I don’t want to participate anymore. Those that undercut me, you are definitely out. You can’t do that to me. You can get away with it with others but you can’t do it to me. Take it somewhere else. You are not welcome here. I have earned my respect. If I don’t get it, I move on and you are really lucky if I do it without swinging back. Lost some serious respect for some people. Oh my how the times have changed. The choices people make.
Onward and upward: The fishing is outstanding. Why is the schedule not filling? The action SO easy, people should want to go. It will happen. It always does. Getting cold up north, people heading south. I expect I will be busy in November.
The football pool: I need to win it again. Week 7, I have a beat on it now. I should be in contention a lot the rest of the way.
Strawberries on pizza? I saw this one not just once but twice. Not for me. Pineapple is OK but a strawberry on a pizza doesn’t work.
Another loss: 74 years old, Derryl Cousins. Long major league career. Got his job during a labor issue situation. Gained acceptance. Drinking issues toward the end of his career. That ended in his retirement. I met him in Baltimore, I believe when I was in A ball. He was with Joe Brinkman. They spent some money on us. He was good to other umpires. I read it was a blood clot issue.
Winter is not here yet. It’s still warm. Cold fronts should start hitting any time now. It is after October 20th, when I predict the change of seasons starts here. Ready for it. Jackets are not out yet but that should happen shortly. Hurricane, still possible.
Wearing a mask. Oddest thing. Didn’t happen to me in the beginning but now if I put one on, my whole face itches. Including my ears.
Neil: Why don’t you push more for the election results? It was posed. I replied that adult humans have already made up their minds. It wouldn’t be worth the effort. No one is going to change me, I’m not going to try to change someone else.
So, my new computer. It decides to underline things. It decides to change to italics. It decides to do things I don’t want. What to do? It’s like when I’m typing I “hit the wrong two keys” at the same time?
I don’t know. Left that in italics because it decided to make it italics. I think I need a break from all things computer.
Great week. Ryan Bell in town. Progress. I get so much more done when he is around. If only you knew.
Los Angeles Dodgers against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Who wins? I think it will be interesting. I’d say, as LA’s best pitcher goes, so goes the series. Kershaw gets beat, the Devil Rays win the series. It will be interesting.
Title Town people are calling it. The Stanley Cup. The World Series? The soccer team is in the finals. The football team is developing. How will their year turn out. As a former umpire: I don’t care. It’s good for the local sports fan. For me: The hockey team was the only one I was really following and they already won it all. I only watch baseball at season’s end. I have only watched the Devil Rays. It’s all I can stomach. So, I guess it’s good they kept on winning. I do like seeing the low budget teams beat the rich teams. The Yankees losing? Always a good thing. Always.
It costs two cents to make one penny. So, I think about that one. Why do pennies still exist? The copper is worth more than the penny. The cost in production, a losing cause for that part of our government. If I were president, pennies would be gone. I understand tax issues. But I say, get past that, move into a “nickel” world. Move up to five cent increments and do away with the penny. But, what do I know?
The things I don’t touch on. Being homosexual: I don’t care. I have no opinion. I wonder why people do care. What does it matter to them what other people do? I don’t necessarily understand it. But I don’t think about it. Like I said, I don’t care.
Stimulus checks for illegal aliens. Now that one, I will get involved in. The rights given to illegals was already stupid. The healthcare given to aliens, criminal. But stimulus payments to illegals? How about deportation instead? You aren’t legal. We have enough on you to give you a stimulus payment: How about save the money and deport them back to where they’re from?? I believe in America as a land of opportunity. But those opportunities should be for the people who move here LEGALLY. Study that word. Legally. The people that spend four years jumping through hoops to become LEGAL citizens are fine. The people that crossed a creek to get here: You need to be sent back. Period. Pelosi and company trying to socialize America, it’s time we took it back. She needs to be gone. Others: Their political careers need to be over.
The politics of the world: Disturbing. How did we get this bad? The bend on people it has had, I’ll never understand. Vote for what’s best. A vote for some people is pure poison. Why? Because of your political affiliation. That’s stupid.
Boy Scouts of America victims. On TV all the time. Just how much of it happened and how much are people pretending to be a victim? Just curious.
Never a trick or treater at my house. I still have the candy from two years ago. The virus year, I’d say low odds on getting my first trick or treater here.
Criticized. I said that the St Pete mayor should jump off the Skyway bridge. I was told I am heartless. I said I was a fair guy: He should have a good meal first. Just a total example of everything that’s wrong with politics. He needs to be out.
People wearing their mask, alone inside their car. Not sure I get that one. Me with a mask, my whole fact itches including my ears.
The Devil Rays are on the rocks. Charlie Morton losing, that’s not good. It is going to be tough to come back with Morton not coming through.
Until next time: Don’t let the election get you down. It’s almost over. Go fishing! Be nice to others. Drink responsibly. Don’t eat yellow snow (for those where there is already snow).
- The Neil Blog… - July 26, 2023
- The Catfish - July 26, 2023
- update - July 22, 2023
