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Post by epaul on Jun 24, 2024 11:45:36 GMT -5
Apparently, they moved the 24th, from Tuesday to Monday. Hate it when they do that.
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Post by epaul on Jun 24, 2024 11:43:53 GMT -5
Slight correction:
THE GAME IS TONIGHT!
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June 24
Jun 24, 2024 9:35:00 GMT -5
Post by epaul on Jun 24, 2024 9:35:00 GMT -5
Morning!
Rainy morning. I'm going to play a couple games of Gin Rummy with my daughter, Anna Claire (Care Bear), who's up visiting. Took two out of three from her last night. No Mercy. She might be my darling daughter, but Gin Rummy is Gin Rummy!
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Post by epaul on Jun 24, 2024 9:30:40 GMT -5
Good morning. I have to spend sometime on a dispute that has arisen with some neighbors over the flood irrigation system. It's the first time we've had any major friction in the neighborhood in the 36 years we've been here. My years of litigating have made me very conflict-averse. I'm even more averse to conflict with people we'll see every day... Pro Tip: Send the wife. |
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Post by epaul on Jun 23, 2024 21:46:47 GMT -5
Hey, that's three regards!
Ok, another cool thing about this game, from a, oh, call it a traditional perspective. When you think of Canada, you think of three things: beer, Sorels, and hockey. And the order doesn't matter, they could be in any order. But for now, consider the hockey part of the holy three.
Hockey is Canada and Canada is hockey. And the plains of Alberta have as much claim to being the heart of hockey as any place on earth. Hockey could have been born there and it thrives in every town and village, anywhere there is a pond or rink. And the Stanley Cup, the Holy Grail of Hockey, was birthed from the beating heart of Hockey Canada.
But, a team from Canada has not won the cherished Stanley Cup in over 30 years. And if the Panthers should win on Tuesday, that would mean three out of the last five NHL Hockey Championships in NHL Hockey have been won by teams from Florida.
FLORIDA! What the Tim Horton is up with that, Eh! Hockey is the frozen plains and potholes of Alberta. Not the sandy beaches of Florida. Or the desert dunes of Las Vegas. Or scorching South Carolina, Dallas, or Los Angeles or Anaheim. Hockey was born in Canada. And Edmonton is playing for Canada.
Tuesday night. Make popcorn.
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Post by epaul on Jun 23, 2024 11:55:13 GMT -5
Sheesh, that guy was in a rush to post his stuff.
"We lost a plane..."
He couldn't wait a couple hours and get the names of two pilots who died and mention them? Couldn't wait until the photo was confirmed as authentic or there was some confirmed accident data?
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Post by epaul on Jun 23, 2024 11:22:56 GMT -5
Sorry, LJ. And to all the knew him. Stuff can pile up and get you down. That's ok. Just let stuff get you back up again later.
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 21:23:01 GMT -5
I was in the car off to get milk or something. I turned on Sirius radio. The Beatles channel. Sirius was running their (new to me) annual Beatles countdown of the 100 most popular songs as chosen by listeners of the Sirius Beatles channel. The song playing was #88, "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". I kept listening. And driving. And listening. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I decided I would just keep listening to the Beatles countdown until they finished up with #1. So I went to Culvers and got an order of fries and a large chocolate malt, parked the car and listened all the way down to this year's #1 vote getter (Hey Jude). It was wonderful.
Later, I caught the countdown at the beginning and listened to the ones I had missed, 100-89. And more.
I love the Sirius Beatles channel.
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 20:15:29 GMT -5
There's a highway connecting Newfolden to the outside world?! Who thought that was a good idea? 😂 Hmm... my descriptions of my home town have been more effective than I had thought. |
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 18:29:00 GMT -5
For perspective:
Only one NHL team in the history of the league has ever come back from an 0-3 hole to win the Stanley Cup, and that was the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. (or is it the Toronto Maple Leaves?)
Once in baseball. In 2004 the Red Sox came back from a 0-3 hole and beat the Yankees four straight games to win the American League Championship (Happy Coach!). But the ALCS isn't the championship, that's the World Series. And it has never happened in the World Series.
And it has never happened in basketball. No team has ever come back from a zip-3 deficit in the NBA Finals.
So, it has only happened once in history. 1942. The Toronto Maple Leaves.
Ok. Canadian rules. The Toronto Maple Leafs.
It's a big deal if Edmonton pull this off.
And it's a big deal if the Panthers are to regroup, lace up their skates, hold the fort, withstand the charge, stand tall, turn the tide, and, like true hockey champions, take the Stanley Cup home to the warm, sandy beaches of Florida.
Tuesday night. Make popcorn.
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 12:52:59 GMT -5
it's time (even past time, but starting now will work just fine). It is one of those special sports moments.
Edmonton just barely squeaked into the playoffs. Skin of the puck. And against expectations and all odds, those underdog young Oilers made it all the to the NHL finals... where they had to face the powerhouse Florida Panthers, one of the very, very best teams in professional hockey; from top to bottom, line to line, a powerhouse.
And the powerhouse Florida Panthers rolled over those young Oilers game one, game two, game three. It looked like it was going to be a powerhouse 4 game sweep by the powerhouse. 3-0 Panthers!
But, the young Oilers managed to win game four, staving off the noose. 3-1 Panthers! Then the Oilers won game 5, staying alive. 3-2 Panthers! And against all the odds and turning the NHL abuzz, Oilers won game 6! Yikes! 3-3! Series tied! Those upstart Oilers just won three do or die games in row while facing the Hangman's Broom!
In the words of Moses, HOLY MOLY! Teams up 3-zip always win the 4 game series. Teams down zip-3 always lose. Or very nearly nearly always. But now? It is 3-3. And those young, underdog Oilers are hot and brimming with confidence. While the powerhouse tip to blade invincible Panthers have found themselves wearing a tight collar and wondering, "What the hell is going on!"
AND GAME 7, FOR HISTORY AND ALL THE MARBLES, IS THIS TUESDAY ON FREE ABC TV!
This is a special sports moment. Make some popcorn.
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 12:13:24 GMT -5
Have you thought about hanging out a sign, "Marshall's Guitar Repair and Restore". A little fun and cash on the side deal?
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 12:01:57 GMT -5
"North Dakota has its challenges." epaul, I think we once discussed that you knew (or knew of ) Clay Jenkinson. He used to do a program here every year and we always wound up seated next to each other at dinner. I once asked him why he lived in North Dakota. His answer was "quality of life." Despite the challenges, he found it a better place to live than anywhere else. Yep, I loves my North Dakota. I just hope it doesn't get too crowded. Lately, all kinds of people from Montana have been moving here (to get away from Californians). Nice people, but they are getting to be a little pesty. They keep driving around in circles asking where the mountains are. "30 miles that way" we say pointing off in some direction or other. And off they go, to a new set of directions. |
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 10:42:32 GMT -5
A couple fellows I know that raise beef cattle purchased a no-longer productive gravel pit from the county, basically 80 acres of ridge land, with scattered trees, meadows, and several nice waterholes (end result of gravel extraction). Horrible for farming, but great for grazing cattle. Which is what they do with it. The land is along the Great Eastern, a highway connecting Newfolden to Warren, so quite often you can see the herd grazing from the road. And amongst the cattle you can spot two long gray ears poking up... ears connected to gray head... which is connected to the rest of the donkey, which sometimes you see, sometimes you don't.
The land is four miles or so away from their farm, so several years ago they picked up a "watch donkey" to protect the remote herd. Using "Watch Donkeys" to protect a herd is not an uncommon practice. I don't know how effective it is, but these fellows haven't lost any cattle to wolves, coyotes, or dogs since they got their donkey. They swear by their "watch donkey, and they know more about it that I do. It is a cute little bugger and I enjoy seeing those gray ears poking up from amongst the cattle.
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Post by epaul on Jun 22, 2024 10:19:26 GMT -5
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tBob?
Jun 21, 2024 13:59:03 GMT -5
Post by epaul on Jun 21, 2024 13:59:03 GMT -5
That explains that. I was wondering why the heck you weren't interested in that Harley Davidson XL1200 my English auntie wanted to give away to a local chap. It's been awhile, but, I'll check to see if the looney old bat still has it.
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Post by epaul on Jun 21, 2024 13:08:51 GMT -5
I agree the withdrawal from Afghanistan was botched. As was the beginning and the middle. Botched, Botched, Botched. And I don't believe there was any way to have done it un-botched, any of it. The botching was inevitable. Unavoidable.
Go back in time and put any group of second-guessers you want in charge and the end result would be the same, Botched!
Give us a second chance down the road to act in a similar situation knowing what we know now and the result would be the same, Botched!
There are some things that just can't be done well. Trying to forcefully change a group of people you don't understand into something they don't understand is one of them.
Banjo orchestras is another.
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Post by epaul on Jun 21, 2024 12:58:18 GMT -5
Many Semites practice antisemitism. Which is ironic.
Se·mit·ic
/səˈmidik/
adjective
1.
relating to or denoting a family of languages that includes Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic and certain ancient languages such as Phoenician and Akkadian, constituting the main subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic family.
2.
relating to the peoples who speak Semitic languages, especially Hebrew and Arabic
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Post by epaul on Jun 21, 2024 11:14:14 GMT -5
North Dakota has its challenges.
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Post by epaul on Jun 21, 2024 9:46:33 GMT -5
Biden didn't pull the guys with guns out before the civilians. At the beginning of the Trump administration there were approximately 13,000 American troops in Afghanistan. By the end of the Trump administration in January, 2021, there were 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan. Due to the rapid advance of Taliban forces, Biden began expanding the number of American troops in Afghanistan, bringing the total up to 7,000 by August 15, 2021. The last American military plane left Kabul on August 30, 2021. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%932021_U.S._troop_withdrawal_from_Afghanistan#:~:text=At%20the%20start%20of%20the,withdrawal%20symbolically%20by%2011%20September. It was chaotic. As was the final withdrawal from Vietnam. As was the final withdrawal from any failed military campaign in the history of the planet. As with Vietnam, the native troops we had spend years training, equipping, and supporting disappeared into the woods and mountains the moment the paychecks stopped. And the bad guys advanced without opposition. Ten times faster than our intelligence had projected. Was it botched. Yes. Dunkirks are rare. The 13 killed was the result of a terrorist action, not bad guy military action (small group bomb planting). Terrorist casualties have marked several administrations, including Reagan and Bush. There is an unaccountability factor to terrorist attacks. Argue the above as you will, it is not true to say the Biden pulled the guys with guns out before the civilians. He increased the guys with guns over the level Trump had left in country. |
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