Guard Dog

The debate on steriods players in the HoF rages on: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2017/08/24/mark-mcgwire-hall-of-fame-steroids/597971001/ Enough already. They are going to get in. They should get in. Baseball has had ugly episodes in the past. Just put them on your ballots, send them in, and get over it. Close your eyes, take a shot of whiskey, whatever you have to do but just get it over with. After the first one goes in the rest are easy. What? Do you seriously mean Barry Bonds does not go in? The home run king? So if he gets in McGuire, Giambi, Caminite, even (shudder) A-Rod can't be left out. Just do it. It will be easier then second time you vote.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/25/san-francisco-dog-owners-plan-to-leave-a-gift-for-right-wing-protesters-poop/?utm_term=.a66977f10ee8

I like this one too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_West_Florida

And another thing... Drogan was sitting on the ground, still... not far away and weighted down but the night king picks out Viserion who is flying and further away. Either he was showing off by passing up an easier shot for a harder one or Viserion was wearing a red shirt. Seeing as how Drogan was a more developed character and Rhegal and Viserion are not we know the answer. If I were Rhegal I'd be a little worried. He's got a red shirt on too.

This just happened... give it a few days

Wow... we're in f-----g trouble

I've been looking for this book for a long time. Amazon kept saying they had sellers with used copies, I'd order it then get the "We're sorry but..." email. But I found it on ebay. You gotta love ebay. It covers the story of the Panthers from expansion to the '96 Stanley Cup. Fortunately it stops there because it was all downhill after that! Also reading: This one has been on my to-do list for a long time.

This one has got to burn: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/250122390/harrisons-walk-off-hr-ends-hills-no-hitter/?topicId=27118122

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has issued a warning to the US over events in Charlottesville. Previously this committee has gone after Burundi, Nigeria, Rwanda and Ivory Coast where the military has engaged in mass murdering specific ethnic groups. So, CNN estimated the total amount of protesters, Antifi, miscellaneous white supremacists, and spectators at Charlottesville to be around 2k people. None of whom are affiliated with the government of the US or the state of Virginia (except the cops who backed off at the first sign of trouble). 2k people in a country of 323M who protested no one that day. And one SOB in a car whose best case prospects is the rest of his natural life in state prison. Sure I could see the UN issuing a warning because genocide and a handful of radical right racists marching and shouting and 1 murderer are totally the same thing right? https://www.yahoo.com/news/un-racism-committee-issues-warning-over-us-tensions-103644308.html

Geez, sounds like something out of the Onion. Actually ESPN is such a precarious place to work right now Mr. Lee is probably thinking his lucky stars they didn't fire him.

Today I'm fact checking a study on using synthetic radionuclides as markers for soil sedimentation tests. I hate to admit it, but it's a little over my head. Oh I can do the math no problem. But I'm missing the educational foundation to really understand it. I've got some reading to do it seems.

Rays & Marlins in a late season rally! https://youtu.be/DnVrSZHnvYY

And just like that we've gone too far: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/espn-moves-announcer-named-robert-lee-off-virginia-game/ar-AAqz0tG?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

I appreciate that Grom but the truth is we are all reading the same books. The folks who revise history tend to be the ones who didn't read about it first. Lee did not leave a published memoir behind but there are many letters and eye witness accounts of him. As for the statues, one would be forgiven for wondering if it were all billows in a ladle. Just a distraction from other things.

Prediction: A lot of people in the US will need new cell phones after today. Because they are going to take punctures of the eclipse and don't know what UV does to camera lenses.

I'd have to agree with everyone who thought the whole "mission imposible" to capture a wight was a little.... whats the word.... stupid. Definitely a problem of poor plot thinking. But, it is a TV show so that is to be expected I guess. The books are better. Not perfect, but better. If I had been advising Danerys I'd have told her about Sun Tzu and his opinion on what to do with two battles looming: fight the easy one first. She has the means to bring the fight to an immediate conclusion with the Lannisters. Yes, it sucks about the collateral damage but with the Night King and the Walking Dead coming how much collateral damage will they cause? Besides, six months after Kings Landing burns just have some of your people start a row about pulling down a statue of Robert Baratheon somewhere and everyone will get into such a snit about it they will forget the whole dragon attack thing. I mean it worked here right? We've forgotten about that who Russia something election something thing.

That genuinely sucks. My deepest sympathies.

Quick, think of three things that are completely different yet sort of the same:

So get this. I drive all the way to Florida to go fishing. I spend three days there and catch a few but nothing legal or desirable to keep. I'm not complaining, make no mistake. I learned long ago the real point of gong fishing is not to catch fish. Anyway I came home on Thursday and caught up work around the house and garden. Yesterday I walked down to the river in the afternoon and within a few hours caught two nice size stripers and six bream. I kept the two stripers and baked them in tinfoil on the grill with turnips, onions and jalapeno peppers. I had fun on the trip but I'd have caught more fish if I'd stayed home!

I think that sums it up perfectly

How cool is this? https://sports.yahoo.com/robots-solution-reducing-football-concussions-204457879.html

But it's not that simple. 90% of men who made up confederate armed forces didn't own any slaves. The popular support confederacy enjoyed was not for the benefit of a few rich men but to defend the system. And frankly speaking I think history is pretty much always an art of reinterpreting the past to push modern political agenda. Keep reading... I addressed that too

I've read a good bit about Lee. He has been the victim of historical revisions himself. What erroneous information you hear depends on who you are hearing it from. Like Jackson he was opposed to Virginia seceding. But he never considered not fighting for his home State. He was not opposed to slavery as some have said. His attitude towards "africans" in general was paternalistic and condescending. He thought slavery was their lot because that was God's will for them. He also saw their servitude as an "instructional" period for their race that future generations would learn from. And he actually meant that in a benevolent way if you can believe that. He was a man of his time. Those views were hardly unique. That we find them ridiculously backwards and offensive now says more about us than it does about him. Even his prowess on the battlefield has been subject to some revision. While his abilities as a commander are unquestioned he was a lot better in defense than in the attack. If he were a chess player he would be tough to beat if he were playing black. Playing white it's even money when he has to make the first move. His failing, as Gromnir and I have discussed before is failing to adapt to changing technology. He was not one to romanticize the war. He thought it's symbols should be put away and left to history. I think he would have been mortified at his role in the events of the past week.