Sunny Sunday. Surprise!

So, since I wrote yesterday afternoon, the NY Mets have suffered a no hitter (Max Scherzer's second of the season in which he tied Nolan Ryan's 17 strikeout record for a no-no) and went 7 + innings without scoring a run on the final regular season game of the year. Lucky for them, the Mets' pitchers were almost as good as Scherzer today. They held Washington hitless into the 7th inning and tossed a shutout punctuated by Granderson's solo home run in the bottom of the 8th.

The last day victory gave the Mets 90 wins for the season, put them 7 games ahead of second place Washington, and sent them into the post season with a wee bit of momentum.

The Mets begin their post season play at Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Friday, October 9th. Jacob deGrom, who started today's game and threw 4 hitless innings while striking out 7, will be on the mound. Noah Syndergaard will start game two. Mat Harvey will start game 3 back in New York.

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Oh yeah, the Jets (3-1) and Giants (2-2) won today.

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I spent a couple of hours this morning over at the range. It was the Sportsmen's Club's annual work day. Guys were there to repair shooting tables and rails, weedwack around the target pits and do general repair and maintenance. I have been a member for a couple of years but have never taken advantage of the range. It's got rifle targets out to 200 yards as well as a pistol area and a rim fire area. They have sponsored pistol competitions and various types of rifle competitions. (A running deer competition will start on November 1.)

In the past, I would take my rifles up the Bolt Hole and shoot on the 50-yard  lane that I created. Now that we've sold that place, I need to find some other place to shoot. Besides. I couldn't take my pistols up north into New York.

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Today's weather was surprisingly nice. The last couple of days were cold, rainy and dreary. We had 0.45 inches of rain in the gauge this morning. Today, contrary to the forecast earlier this week, we had clear, sunny skies with a high going up to 65 degrees. All with Joaquin heading further and further out to sea. I bet there are lots of folks in the journalism community who are very disappointed. Except for the exceptional monsoon-like rainfall in South Carolina, they have no "disaster" to write about.

Sunday's 8 PM prediction fr Joaquin

Good News!

Got the word today that the closing on the Bolt Hole went without a hitch and that the checks are in the mail. Along with no longer paying town and county taxes (spring), school and library taxes (fall), phone bill, electric bill, and insurance bill, I'll no longer have to worry about mowing the grass, maintenance, rebuilding the garage, repainting the barn and finishing the painting of the roof, or any of the myriad number of things a neglected piece of real estate really, really needs. Which is mainly some TLC.

Yeah, I'll miss it a little. But the extra $$$ and the time will free me up to make some additional trips in the travel trailer to places near and far.

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Did some further declutering today making a quick run to the dump with a few bags of assorted trash and half a dozen half empty paint cans. Still sorting through some of the stuff from Terry's Mom and the Bolt Hole. If I ever get around to doing inventory, I might have more stuff in my shop than Mr. Burns had in his hardware store when I worked there 50 years ago. (Some of it might be as old, too.)

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I was notified that the ATV--a Yamaha ProHauler--was repaired and ready for pickup. All, that is, except for the tail light cover which is backordered. Okay. I can't pick it up until Monday anyway, how 'bout if I call you Monday morning to see about that light cover? (I've no immediate need to use the Hauler, anyway. AND I've still got to clean out a spot for it in a cluttered garage!)

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Mets swept the Nationals in a three game series. They had to come from behind in all three games bit opened a 7 game lead in the NL East. Then they went and beat the Braves to make it a 7 1/2 game lead. Things are looking pretty good for some post-season play!

Oh! And the Jets and Giants open their NFL play on Sunday.

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My Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0) will be playing the Washington State Cougars (0-1...they lost to he Portland State Vikings for crying out loud!) on Saturday at 3:30 PM EDT.

It will be interesting to see how the Scarlet fair in the running game (last week they had something like 280 yards on the ground) and who the quarterback will be. Both did well last week against Norfolk State, but the second half combo of Chris Laviano and receiver Leonte Carroo (three complete passes for 129 yards and three TDs) have earned Laviano this week's starting assignment.

Go R U!

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[Added]
Almost forgot we harvest more acorn squash today. That brings the total to nine. Pretty good considering I didn't plant any. These are volunteers that grew in the compost heap from seeds dumped there last year. Guess I need to distribute the compost to the growing beds of the garden!

Thoughts on the Giants-Vikings Game

1. Can’t anyone here play this game? Injuries have plagued both offenses and it showed last night. During the third quarter, Jon Gruden pointed out the obvious: “We’re watching two terrible football teams tonight.”   It was a debacle of magnificent proportions.
2.  The Vikings’ best plays were kickoff and punt returns. One of the latter went for the only score they got against the G-Men who can’t seem to cover kicks reliably. (See below for one time they DID cover well.)
   3.       Unfortunately, a Viking punt return miscue also led to a Giant touchdown when the return man slipped and fell without being touched and the ball squirted loose. The Giants recovered that fumble and a short time later scored.
   4.       Could be that Coach Schiano of Tampa was right about cutting Josh Freeman loose. He certainly didn’t himself or the Vikings any good last night. Then again, he only had one week to prepare with his new team. Was he really their best option last night?
   5.       The best part of watching on ESPN was the halftime tribute Chris Berman paid to two men who passed away last week: Bud Adams and Bum Phillips. Adams was the owner of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. Phillips was the long-time coach of the Oilers and took them to two AFC Championship Game in 1978 and 1979. (They lost both games to the Pittsburgh Steelers who went on to win the Super Bowl.) Phillips also served as head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1981 through 1985. Berman quoted Phillips (a colorful character in his day) as having said something to the effect: “You may not win or succeed but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming someone else.”
   6.       Oh yeah, Eli Manning didn’t throw an interception. (Not for lack of trying. He hit a couple of defenders right in the hands. One defender had the ball hit him in the hands and then the chest on a throw out into the left flat. That could have easily been returned for a pick-six as there was nothing but grass between him and the goal line. This was the same guy who slipped and fumbled the punt return. But, that’s why they play on defense.) And the Giants won 23-7. Coincidence? There’s no such thing as coincidence.
   My TV service cut out near the end of the third quarter. Thank God! I took it for a sign and went to bed

Giants vs Eagles

So. I'm watching the Giants-Eagles game last night--you know, the one where they scored a gazillion points each?--and I'm amazed at the way each team's offense can move the ball so freely up ad down the field. Heck, back in the days before the shot clock, Princeton U. would score fewer points than either of these teams--and win! The final last night was 45-38. That's the most total points scored in a game featuring these two teams ever--and they've played 105 times.

Actually, the Giants should have won this game. They had a 512-374 advantage in offensive yards. Except for giving up a 60-yard fumble return for a TD (Brandon Jacobs got stripped of the ball, Sheldon Brown carried it the distance) and a 72-yard punt return for a TD (DeSean Jackson) and a 60-yard pass play for a TD (DeSean Jackson--again), the Giants did real well. Elli Manning threw a TD pass of 68 yards to Hakeem Nicks and another of 61 yards to Domenik Hixon. Even with those three plays, the Giants still could have won the game if there had been just one guy--ONE!-- polite enough to pick up the damn ball and hand it to an official during that freak play in the second quarter.

What? You didn't see it? Heck, NBC replayed it several times. The Eagles had the ball on their own 42 yard line. McNabb dropped back to pass but the Giants rushed him hard with someone on the right side coming in from behind him and knocking the ball lose as McNabb raised his arm to throw. The ball trickled to a stop on the turf near the line of scrimmage--and sat there--all alone. Two or three Giant defenders wandered slowly past the forlorn pigskin on their way back to the line for the next play without bending over to pick it up. Finally, the Umpire had to blow his whistle to end the play. Philly got to keep the ball back where McNabb had been stripped of it--the 32 yard line and the Giant defender got credit for a sack. But if just one of those defenders had bent over to pick up the damn ball, it would have been the Giants' ball around the 42 of Philly. Of course Philly went on to score a TD on that drive. What else?

Be polite for Christ's sake! Even when you're playing football. It could win you the freakin' game!

And Eli? Next time slide feet first so when the ball gets away it won't be a fumble. Okay? (Happened in the second half.)

Oh, and play until your hear the freakin' whistle jerks!

Aerie Report, October 11, 2009

Terry came home yesterday from her travels to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh for the SAGA and EGA conventions. She came home with a much emptier Jeep. Boxes of magazines and other stuff belonging to SAGA went with her and stayed in Indianapolis or was sold to convention participants.

She had a great time at both conventions and passed the presidential gavel to the next in line. She says the feeling of relief was palpable. Currently, she has no official position in any capacity in the Smocking Arts Guild of America, not so in the Embroiderers' Guild of America. She's been asked to become the president of one of the local chapters (Treasured Stitchery) in December and is another chapter's (Corning) representative to the mid-east region for which she will become secretary next April. And to think, one of her cabinet asked her in Indianapolis if, now that she is no longer national president, she would be bored!

On a side note, she reports the Jeep Compass was exceptionally comfortable and got around 28 mpg when it was carrying a load of magazines and scissors. Once those were gone, it improved to 30+ mpg.

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It was just 39 degrees at the Aerie this morning when we got up. Terry says she saw frost in the valley when she went to church. There's not much of a breeze blowing and the sky is mostly clear. The weather quacks say we are in for a very cold night and the temperatures may even drop into the 20s by Monday morning.

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We took a ride this afternoon out west of Wellsboro for lunch and then to PA's Grand Canyon at Leonard Harris SP for a little leaf peeping.

My Lord! The park was packed! I guess we should have expected it. After all, it's a three day weekend, the weather is great--if chilly, and the leave color is closing in on the absolute peak.

We managed to find a parking space for the Tundra and walked in to the observation area. There were tables selling maple products (fried dough, ice cream, syrup, etc.) and hot dogs and hamburgers (a Girl Scout fund raiser) set up on either side of the entry.

The Pine Creek Gorge (The Grand Canyon of PA) looking north
from the observation area at Leonard Harris SP

I was a little disappointed with the colors. Many trees down in the gorge had already lost their leaves in the winds and heavy rains last week and the pines and hemlocks are so abundant that there was an awful lot of green still present on the hills.

The view west from the observation area.

Perhaps I was disappointed because on the way over, we had seen some hills with much more color. Heck, those hills I can view from the Aerie's deck seem to have more color.

The view to the west from the Aerie's deck.

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We got back to the Aerie around 3:30 PM and I tuned in the Giants vs Oakland football game--if you can call a 44-7 shellacking a game. Eli played less than one half and left having helped the G-men put 28 points on the board and to a 5-0 record. It's good to see he was able to play with the bad foot. But then again, it was Oakland.

I was also able to pick up the end of the Dallas vs KC game. It was 13-13 when I tuned in but then it was 20-13 Dallas with just 2:12 left. Then 20-20 with just seconds on the clock. In OT it went back and forth until some guy named Miles Austin made a catch on the sidelines and sprinted 60 yards for a Dallas TD. (Heck of a name for a WR playing for Dallas, BTW...Miles Austin.) Austin had 10 catches for 250 yards. Not a bad afternoon. But I was hoping the Chiefs could have pulled this one out.

Aerie Report, October 5, 2009

A beautiful, if chilly and deer free, day here at the Aerie. The thermometer says the low was a mere 40 degrees soon after sunrise at 7:30 AM. The "high" at 4:30 PM was just 53 degrees despite the sun's rays shining between the scattered clouds. The wind blew steadily out of the north-northwest all day and would have had those windmills atop the ridge spinning happily if they had been up and online. If the clouds stay widely scattered, we could be in for a cold--not chilly, COLD--night.

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Not seeing hide nor hair of any white tails, I spent some time in the workshop again today. I managed to cut the final pieces for the square and dry fit everything together satisfactorily. Oh, it took a little tweaking here and there, a little sanding of edges, and a little "there, that doesn't look so bad" but it got put together. Once I was satisfied, I glued everything to the backboard. Piece by piece. There are the eight large diamonds; 32 small diamonds, 16 small squares, and 16 small triangles for the corners; four larger triangles along the edges; and 16 angled pieces for the interior trim. That's 88 pieces all together. And there's still eight more to from the frame. But those are a piece of cake to cut and install.

Dry fitted pieces on the backboard.

Sorry about the poor picture, but, for obvious reasons, I couldn't tilt the board for a better angle without having to play pick-up-pieces. Maybe tomorrow after I get the frame on it I can tilt the bloody thing without having everything slide off. The wood looks exceptionally pale here but when it gets a coat of spry-on Verathane on it it will change appearance. The walnut in particular will darken considerably.

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Well, the Giants won, and the Jets lost. The outcomes were pretty much as I expected, but who could have predicted that it would be the New Orleans DEFENSE that would beat the Jets? Come on! An interception returned 99 yards for one TD and a Jets' fumble recovered in the endzone for another. That's ridiculous when you think about it. Two plays of 99 yards and zero yards produced two TDs, while the NO offense produced just 10 points--the same as the Jets' offense. *sigh*

Okay, time to go watch some old guy in a purple jersey try to throw the football around. He's 40-freakin years old? How good can he be with that wet noodle dangling from his shirt sleeve. What? His team is 3-0? he won last week's game with a hail Mary on the final play? No way! That guy retired at least twice...didn't he?

Later.

Another Excellent Football Weekend...

...at least as far as I'm concerned. Your mileage may vary.

On Saturday, the Rutgers' Scarlet Knights defeated the Maryland Terrapins 34-13. RU now has a 3-1 record. Their only loss, unfortunately, came in their opening game against Big East rival Cincinnati.

Sunday afternoon saw both the Jets and Giants extend their records to 3-0.

The Jets jumped out to a very early lead (14-0 before Tennessee ran a second play from scrimmage! The first was an interception returned for a TD) and then held on as the Titans attempted a comeback. They failed due to the Jets D and some an offense able to take advantage of forced errors. The final: Jets 24, Titans 17. I can't recall the Jets D looking this strong since the Namath Jets beat Baltimore in Super Bowl III.

The Giants demolished Tampa Bay shutting out the Buccaneers 24-0 in a game that wasn't even that close. (I have to take the word of the reporter and the talking heads on TV for that. I was busy watching the Jets. This was one of the very few times I can recall when you had to make a choice as they usually schedule one NY area team for the 1 o'clock time slot and the other for the 4 o'clock game.)

All three teams now have three-game winning streaks. Rutgers has the week off; next playing at home against Texas Southern (who?) on Oct 10. The Giants should breeze past Kansas City in KC on Sunday at 1 PM. The Jets will have the toughest game at New Orleans against the high scoring Saints in the 4 PM slot.