I just watched a baseball game from (nearly) start to finish for the first time since June… and the Yankees won it.

The universe just took a great big crap onto my heart.

Friggin’ Yankees.

I just noticed that I haven’t posted anything today.

Ms Patches says, “Good night.”

Not literally, of course, because she’s a cat. Just figuratively. You get it.

I put a pot full of water on the stove and turned up the heat.  The plan was to boil the water and then hard boil some eggs.  I also put the dishwasher on at the same time.  Once that was done I turned on my computer and signed in to work.  I got pulled into an issue and lost track of time.  After a while I went out to the kitchen to get a soda.  Oops.

Because the dishwasher was on, I couldn’t hear when the water started to boil.  Here we were an hour or so later and the water was gone and the bottom of the pot was burned to a crisp.

I am a bad cook.  I even screwed up boiling water.  Literally the easiest culinary process known to chefdom.  Robert: Rocket Scientist.

Hipstamatic classic with the John S lens and the Kodot Xgrizzled film…

Hipstamatic X with the John S lens and the Kodot Xgrizzled film…

Interesting.

Not really, but whatever. Apps are fun.

What do you do when you are stuck behind a school bus that has stopped for the fifth time in 0.7 miles?

Enjoy the surrounding nature.

Or some such horse shit.

Yesterday when I left for work the temperature was in the mid 40’s.  I wore a jacket.

Yesterday when I went home from work the temperature was in the high 50’s.  I forgot all about my jacket.

Today when I left for work the temperature was in the mid 30’s.  I sure has hell remembered all about my jacket, which was still at work.

I miss summer.

I forgot to post my LCS predictions.  Given that the Nationals are going to complete the sweep of the Cardinals tonight (they are up 3-0 in the series and 5-0 in the first inning of game four) it seems as though I am a little late.  I did make my predictions before the games started, but I just forgot to post them.  I’m also not looking backward at the Division round to see how I did there.  The Yankees advanced so I sucked regardless of the other series’.

So, as I said the Nationals are about to sweep the Cardinals.  I could lie and say I picked them, but I picked the Cardinals.  I do in fact suck at this.

As for the American League, It’s Houston against the Yankees.  Go ahead and guess who the Red Sox fan is picking.  Fortunately for me my new favorite team, the Astros, won game three today to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

So I’ve got that going for me.

Strings.

I’ve been using Dean Markley guitar strings since the dawn of history.  They were the first strings I bought for myself and in the 33 or so years that followed, any time I tried a different brand they felt wrong and I hated them and immediately went back to my binky.

Over the last decade or so it seems like they have been getting harder and harder to find.  Music stores near my home don’t seem to carry them, or at least not the specific model/gauge that I prefer.  Online retailers do, but even their stocks seem to be getting smaller and I’ve been back ordered a few times.  This morning before work I went shopping online and noticed that my usual go-to sites seem to have far fewer options available than the last time I bought a bulk of Lite 9-42 gauge Signature strings.

I’m taking that as a sign.  The universe is telling me I need to start looking into an alternative.  Ernie Ball still makes strings.  D’Addario still makes strings.  I could go with one of them… but when I tried them back in the 80’s I was really unhappy.  I need to try something new.  Well, thinks I, I’ve gone off the deep end on boutique pedal companies… why not try the same thing with strings?

There are two companies that come to mind.  Stringjoy and Curt Mangan.  I’ve heard good things about both companies, but didn’t have any idea which to try first.  To solve the problem, I flipped a coin.  Stringjoy won.  I ordered two sets of strings, with about the same gauges I’m used to.  Their site made a case for using a slightly heavier B and a slightly lighter G and I figured what the hell.  I’ll put a set on my Les Paul and a set on my SG and see how they feel.  When the next gig comes along at the end of November I’ll put Dean Markley’s on both guitars out of paranoia.  I still have a few left and I want to save them for the gig, just in case the new brands don’t cut it for me.  After the gig I’ll get a couple of packs from Curt Mangan and try those.  After that, if the two newbies don’t sufficiently WOW me, I’ll go online and look for more options.

While I was shopping online I also bought a couple of packs of picks.  I might be crazy enough to try new things, but I’m not that crazy.  Fender Heavy it is.