Got It In One

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About a year ago, I subscribed to the New York Times Games with a seven-day trial. Santa Fe Sally got me started with Strands and I wanted to try out some of the other games as well. I liked the Strands so much I went back and did every one in the archives, and my count now stands at 785 with a 100% success rate. I’ve been doing the Mini crossword, and now the new Midi crossword as well. I’ve been playing with Connections too, although this one is pretty hard; I’ve done 199 with a 63% success rate.

I also started doing the granddaddy of their games, Wordle. Everyone has their favorite starter word; mine is STAND, and my second word, if nothing in STAND hits, is COVER which has worked out pretty well. I’ve finished 218 with a 95% solve rate; well, last Sunday this happened. –>

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 46.6%

 

Down The Dharma Hatch

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Since the last post 2 days ago, I have watched 6 7 8 more episodes of LOST. That quote below is from episode 5 (or 6) where some of our castaways move from the beach to a cave where there is shelter and a fresh waterfall.

“If we can’t live together, we’re going to die alone.”

Since the last post 2 days ago, the Red Sox have lost 10-3 and won 17-1. Oh, and they fired manager Alex Cora and five of the staff.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 39.1%

 

LOST Again

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LOST Character Poster

I’m not sure how far I’ll make it, but I’ve started to rewatch LOST. Today I watched both of the 2-episode pilots. Two down, 119 to go. The last time I tried this, I don’t think I made it past these first 2 episodes.

If you have several days and want to see what I posted here about my original watching of the whole show, and any subsequent rewatching of the show, hit this link to the tag TDTVS. It is annoying, though, because it comes back with the most recent posts and goes chronologically backwards. I used to have a plugin that made it start at the beginning, but that ship sailed a long time ago.

We missed the show’s whole first season and only got turned on to it towards the end of the second season, so we had to go back, and watch season one on DVDs and then caught season two when those DVDs came out. Here is my favorite post from those early days of LOST, The Lost Weekend.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 43.8%

 

Going To Be A Long Season

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I have sat helpless for the last two afternoons watching the Red Sox lose 2 games to the Evil Empire, aka the New York Yankees. Yesterday they were shut out, and today they managed to score one too-late run in the bottom of the ninth. They currently sit on the bottom of the AL East with 9 wins and 15 losses. In the last 6 games they have scored 1, 1, 2, 8, 0, and 1 runs. I know it’s early and all, but I’d bet that their chances of making the playoffs five months from now are less than 30%.1

Back in the day I would add tidbits of info to the bottom of a post, like convertable top transistions or Moss Motoring Challenge points. Maybe I should add that Wild Card Chance percentage to the bottom of my posts going forward.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 44.2%

 

Headwind Avoidance

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Got on the real bike today, and it was a few days past the first time I rode last year. I can’t remember the last time I rode, but it was probably near the end of October. So before I could go anywhere, I first had to wipe the cobwebs off the Trek and put a bunch of air in the tires. While I was doing that, I was also charging the flashing taillight; for whatever reason, the headlight still had some juice.

After all that, I set out on the path to my favorite coffee shop, Stomping Gounds, for a muffin and the usual latte. As soon as I turned east on Sandy Blvd, I was met by a mean ol’ headwind. I guess it was 10-12 MPH, so I quickly rethought my usual route, which involves a little over 3 miles of a paved trail going due east. Instead of getting on that, I just rode around some neighborhoods and through a wooded section of a local park before riding back uphill (traveling south) to breakfast.

When I got to Stomping Grounds, I checked my weather app, and sure enough, it was showing 10 to 12 miles per hour winds from due east.

Witchy Woman

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I think this started after I sent my immediate neighbor to the left a postcard for a thank-you card. She and I have been trading cutesy postcards in a flirty manner since the beginning of the year. This is what I was referencing in the This Is Tricky post from a couple weeks ago. I mailed her a postcard with the following sentiment last Monday.

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, on my way by your house to go check my mail, I sensed movement. I looked up at your left street-side window, and there was a black cat sitting there, watching me. For my next few steps we eyed each other suspiciously. Then the cat winked, not blinked, at me!

How many people in the community know you are a master of the occult and a shape-shifter?

We briefly crossed paths at yesterday’s CCC (community coffee clatch), me leaving and her going to; her first words to me were, “You’re the only one.”