New Shoes in the Rain

It's Friday, my friends, and I'm as happy about that as you probably are!  Lots going on for me personally and elsewhere, so let's get right into some stuff, shall we? Starting with baseball (naturally), as my Cincinnati Reds cannot win their division (the St. Louis Cardinals have eliminated the Reds mathematically) but they can at least host the single-game wild-card playoff they'll most certainly have with the Pittsburgh Pirates by winning two of three games this weekend from those same Pirates.  The games are in Cincinnati, so my son and I are trekking north to lend our support tomorrow. While we're in town we plan to visit the world-famous, legendary Montgomery Inn.  Haven't heard of this?  Then I'd guess you aren't from the midwest.  This place is so well known that Bob Hope actually did their radio and television commercials years ago.  The ribs are baked, not smoked, but slathered with a unique sauce that contributes heavily to many other item...

Greetings, one and all.  I have the usual mixture of comments and observations.  Nothing to rant about, but, hey, it's early. If you have an iPhone or an iPad, as I do, you can now download the NEW iOS 7 from Apple.  It's been pretty well publicized, so if you hadn't heard, you're probably smarter than the rest of us!  Anyway, the idea behind this was to give your Apple devices a totally new look and feel.  I downloaded the software for both devices last night, and, even though I had only a couple of hours to play with it, I have to say that Apple appears to have pulled off something that I didn't know would be possible.....improving their existing user interface.  New backgrounds, ring tones, etc., but the old standbys are all still available, too, in case you're really attached to the former "default" Marimba ring tone (I hear that one ALL THE TIME).  I'll let you be the judge if you have a device that can and will accept this update, but I think...

I know that most of what I write here is pretty light-hearted, and it should be, given what this blog is.  But I want to begin with a somber note of recollection of the events of this day in 2001.  I don't think I'll ever forget, and you probably won't, either.  A writer whom I like and read regularly (he writes for a newspaper in another city) cited the Bruce Springsteen song "Nothing Man" as a fitting summation of today and what it means.  That song's lyrics say it better than I can. I was fortunate in that I knew no one who was lost, met someone who was at Ground Zero that morning but escaped unharmed but forever changed.  But we all lost quite a bit that day.  And in our family, today's date has a different meaning, as I think I've mentioned here before.  Our daughter and son-in-law were married on this date in 1999, so it's definitely a day of mixed emotions for all of us. -----------------------------------------------------------------------...

Got a little of this and that today, friends.... I'm a little bleary-eyed today, as I attempted to watch my Cincinnati Reds play the St. Louis Cardinals last night, but the game ran to 16 innings and I had to give it up after 14.  Reds lost 5-4 after winning the first two over the hated Cardinals.  One more try tonight, and the home crowd in Cincy will be fueled by $1 hot dogs.  It's been a frustrating season this year, as there have been numerous injuries and other issues, and while Reds management will have you believe that their best baseball is ahead, time is running out for that to happen!  As it stands now, the Reds will qualify for the one-game wild-card playoff, so I suppose that's better than the alternative of no postseason play. In case you missed it, Keith Olbermann has returned to television, hosting a late night sports commentary and interview program on ESPN2.  It's been kind of a mess finding that show each night (I DVR it) because of ESPN's cove...