A Cry for Help

So Em and I had to take a class to learn about being landlords, and we heard the damnedest thing. Apparently, in RI at least, it's illegal for your landlord to ask you for more than the first month's rent and a deposit when you move in. All this prepaying the last month stuff, which I have done in every place I've ever rented, is not within the landlord's rights to ask for. Who knew?!

Well, my plan to get Barack Obama the Democratic nomination by ignoring the election on bil.com seems to be going well. However, this being election day in Rhode Island and since I'm flush with civic pride, let me take a quick moment to ask you to go out and vote for Obama. The conventional wisdom is that Hillary Clinton will win here in the Biggest Little, but if all the volunteers I've been seeing the last few days are any indication, I think it's totally possible for Obama to pull it out.

Find your polling place here (it might be different than last time you voted!)

Here's the view from downtown East Greenwich at 8:15am (according to Em, who pays attention to these things while I just try to get the whole "connect the arrow" thing right): traffic was steady but no wait time, more younger men than younger women, more older women than older men, and we overheard one guy mention this was his first time voting (in a primary, no less!)

OK, now go and exercise your America muscle.

I saw this at my coffee shop on Tuesday:

That was my strategy, too. And that's all I'll say about that. (Please, though, note the crying flowers)

I've been trying to avoid the presidential election stuff as much as possible. Luckily we don't have cable, so this hasn't been too hard. But since it's the actual year of the election, I figure I can start paying attention (a little). As many of you old skoolers may remember, I got majorly burned by the Howard Dean Iowa flameout, so my heart really hasn't been in this political season.

However, a lot of people ask me who I'm rooting for to get the nominations. Like many college-educated young white males, I have a big old man crush on Obama (not Tom Brady level man crush, of course. Speaking of which, is there any doubt that Brady could get Ahmadinejad to make nice with Isreal with an aw, shucks wink and a nice dinner with Gisele? MVP and Nobel Peace Prize winner!). I don't hate Hillary and John Edwards seems fine, but Obama is getting my vote (not that it will matter by the time RI gets to vote)

Bonus pick: I'm pulling for Mitt Romney to win the GOP nom. Sure he's a crazy unprincipled immigrant lover, but wow, that hair!

UPDATE: ah, my plan to ignore my preferred candidate completely seems to have worked!

I subscribe to one of those credit score monitoring services, and apparently Christmas has not been good to my FICO score. I didn't go overboard or max out any cards, but just my one day shopping spree seems to have lowered my score by 5 points. So if you're shopping for a car loan, mortgage or car insurance this January, make sure you pay off all that Christmas cheer!

Man am I glad I'm not out in this mess…

Yesterday was my last nⁿ birthday, and if you know what that means then you're a huge nerd (like me and Em). If my memory serves, that means today is bilherron.com's 6th birthday. I think my first blog post ever, in typical navel-gazing blog fashion, was a complaint about who forgot to wish me a happy birthday. This year I'm moderately more well-adjusted, so I'm just happy about all the nice emails, myspace comments, calls and text messages I got. Thank you guys!

Here's the card I got at work today (click for larger version):

(If you can reach way back to middle school math, you'll remember that nⁿ means I'm 3³ = 27. I'm going to try to shoot for 4⁴ (256), but I'll admit I might not get there)

Em and I have a thing where we try to make it to October 15th before we turn the heat on. October 15th has been balmy the past couple years, so we've pushed it back to November 1st. This year we were perfectly content to pull on the sweaters and do some extra cuddling, so we pushed our deadline back again, this time to November 15th.

So today is the 8th and next week is looking awfully far away, especially when there's frost on the grass in the mornings. Think we can make it, in our third floor apartment with no insulation? There's nothing like fighting global warming by freezing your ass off…

I know this is kind of old, but I just saw it today, and it's pretty cool:

Yup, that's Providence's skyline in the background and the terrible soulless blank wall of Brown's Life Sciences building. Em's dad's company worked on the project, which I would imagine was quite an engineering feat.

Is it just me, or did the world just now learn that there can be an apostrophe in Hallowe'en? I've never seen that spelling in my life before this year and now it's everywhere I look.

Back when the JesusPhone iPhone came out in June, I decided it was a little too rich for my blood. Well, four months and one controversial price drop later, look what I got:

A big part of my decision to go for the iPhone can be seen in the upper left corner of the image (also my $30 ebay phone had picked up a nasty habit of inexplicably beeping every 9 seconds). No expensive AT&T contract means I can keep my cheap T-Mobile plan and still get in on the iFun.

And after only three days of playing with it, I can definitely say it's better than advertised. This little gadget is pretty awesome.

I also mentioned last June that my AAPL stock might cover the cost if the phone was a hit. If you had bought 8 shares of AAPL the day I posted that, you could have sold it today and netted an iPhone in profits (before taxes). Not too shabby.

12:03 - Is there anything better in sports fandom than watching Manny and Papelbon give interviews. Manny said "it's like I always say, man, you play hard and see what happens." What?! And Manny looks directly into the camera when he talks. It's great. Then Good Paper starts yelling at Ken Rosenthal. Dude is insane. The footage of him after the final out is classic, I hope it goes on youtube this week.

11:54 - The crowd is officially belligerent, giving K-Lo shit. Papi is wearing goggles already. Jacoby is diving… DID YOU SEE THAT CATCH COCO MADE?! I love it.

11:51 - You know those Dan in Real Life commercials, where the girl is pulling out onto a main road and almost causes an accident? That's a block over from our house, and it is kind of a hard street to pull out of sometimes.

11:50 - Our signal dropped out while Youk was up. Did anything happen?

11:44 - Lugo didn't get it done, but that didn't stop Pedro from dropping a ball in front of Kenny Lofton to remind him what he won't be doing next week! 9-2 Sox!!

11:38 - I hope Pap's not freezing up in the dugout. Though a long ball from Lugo with the bases juiced could make it a moot point. We could bring in Gagne, let him give up 7 runs and still win it.

11:32 - Signs in the crowd: "JD Drew Fan Club: New members welcome" and "Champagne tastes just as good at home" (Thank you Ryan Garko)

11:30 - Beckett's gotta be the MVP if we pull this thing off, right?

11:28 - I feel like the percussion section in the bullpen hasn't gotten enough play these past two games. Good stuff.

11:26 - During the last inning, Fox showed the Sox outfielders close up, one by one. Bil (with Ellsbury on the screen): "He looks like he's 13!" Em (with JD Drew on camera): "He looks like a corpse"

11:24 - Sweeeeet Caroline, OH OH OH…

11:21 - The real question is, who do I love more? Tom Brady or Jonathan Papelbon? It's tough. After striking out Pronky out (who didn't see that coming? He's been terrible this series. I mean, bad.) he gets out of the inning. Three more outs, baby!

11:14 - Em and I call Papelbon "Good Paper" in a mesh of spanish and french. I'm hoping for some really good paper here.

11:12 - Noting kills the comfort of a three run lead in the eighth than bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs. I just pounded the last of my beer. Oh, what do you know, time for another one.

11:06 - Ahhhh… a three run lead, I feel a lot better. What a dagger in the hearts of the Indians after coming so close to tying it up in the top of the inning. Now Papelbon can come in and Riverdance us to the World Series.

11:04 - There are few things better than watching the Sox dugout after a home run. Julian Tavarez is just delightful, and Papi almost took Pedroia's head off.

11:02 - and just like that, Pedey goes yard. See?!

11:00 - I don't have stats to back this up, but whenever we start an inning playing small ball (like here in the seventh, bunting Ellsbury to third with no outs), the offense ends up piling it on.

10:57 - Has this been a crazy game or what? So much happening, so exciting. I hate it. Is a nine-run Sox seventh too much to ask?

10:54 - Unbelievable double play! Boneheaded call by the third base coach holding Lofton. If I were an Indians fan I would be ripping my hair out right now.

10:49 - You know who was good? Alex Gonzales.

The funny thing is that Lofton got robbed of a double in the fifth, and now he gets a gift two bagger.

10:46 - Let's get Gagne into this game.

Yes, I've gone insane.

10:43 - After that poor display of "batting" in the bottom of the sixth, Em is starting to get angry. I am starting to pour another beer.

10:40 - Remember the girl in the Red Sox dress that used to come out with the grounds crew and sweep off the bases and mess with the umps? What happened to her? She was awesome. (I'm thinking happy thoughts because Jake Fricken Westbrook is making me sad)

10:36 - Japan 3, Cleveland 2 after 6. That was a big inning for Okajima, broke the Indians momentum. If we can add even one run to the lead here we'll be in great shape.

10:31 - We have an HD TV but no cable, so we get the game in HD but it comes over the air via antenna. This gives us crystal clear picture interspersed with the occasional pixellated freeze frame when the signal goes wonky. Of course this only happens right after the ball is hit and never during commercials.

10:25 and 30 seconds: Wrong. We're experiencing some momentum problems here.

10:25 - Manny is due to launch one. Right?

10:24 - Westbrook has some incriminating pictures of Big Papi. That's the only way to explain what he's done to Ortiz this series.

10:20 - This is one of the many reasons I love Emily. She just handed me some super tasty hot apple crisp. Unfortunately I scarfed it down in a bout of anxiety eating last inning and barely tasted it.

10:18 - All things considered, good game from Dice-K. The bullpen is primed to put it away. I'm cautiously optimistic.

10:17 - I just exhaled. Who knew a dude could hold his breath for 12 minutes…

10:05 - That was a huge out at second. Daisuke is done. Getting tight. Argh. Chest… tightening…

10:03 - Do not mess with Manny. (ooh, bad call. Bad break for Cleveland. We know how it feels)

10:00 - At this point, I'm kind of surprised don't ground into a double play every inning. Four in the books, Sox up 3-1. Now that our "one run per inning" thing has ended, I'm getting a little antsy.

9:56 - I love how the Sox call Pedroia "Pedro" and "Pedey" in the clubhouse. Also, I love his uppercut slap swings over the infield.

9:54 - I probably should have washed this Ellsbury shirt, Em is slowly moving across the room. I believe wearing it will allow him to steal. OR MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN ON THE BASES. Wow, Jacoby just got a hit for Lugo.

9:47 - I had to wait for that inning to end before posting that. I would have thrown myself out the window if Dice blew the lead there. Now he's ready to cruise.

9:46 - I'd say that Matsuzaka has pitched better than expected so far in this game, though it's fitting that he'd give up a run in the fourth. Remember earlier in the season when Dice-K would start out looking good and then completely lose it in the fourth inning, only to refind it and pitch well into the seventh? It was like clockwork. I kept saying they should have had him switch uniforms with Okijima for the fourth, who would know the difference?! (I had a Japanese roommate in college which I take as license to make insensitive jokes like this)

9:34 - Sox pitching coach just said Beckett could be available for 2 innings. Cleveland fans just threw up. Beckett for 2, Pap can pitch 2, Okajima is good for at least one… if Daisuke can get two more outs that's the rest of the game.

9:30 - Is it just me or was Jacob's field in Cleveland miked up for more crowd noise. Fenway can get loud, and none of these games have sounded half as loud as games 3 and 4 did. The crowd there was so loud, with those effing towels, I don't think I've been that angry all year. I had to listen to game 5 on WEEI.

9:24 - Youk is batting .500? Imagine what he could do with a sweatband around his knoggin (credit: Em's dad)

9:21 - Just polished off a Paulaner Oktoberfest. That is an awesome beer, and one that almost everyone will like. I'd pick up a sixer next time you see it at the liquor store.

9:18 - Huge. HUGE strikeout for Dice-K. He's looking great so far. I have a story to share once he gets through the fourth.

9:16 - Little known fact: if the batter steps out while asking for time, doesn't get it, and the ball is pitched anyway, it's a strike no matter what.

9:13 - OK, I knew it was too early to hint at a no-hitter…

9:12 - Dice-K is pitching, um, good. Just a normal statement there. Nothing potentially special going on here.

9:09 - I forgot to check whether or not Westbrook threw a strike on pitch #1. I'll assume he did and that we're going to win.

9:06 - OK, 1 run every inning is ok with me.

9:03 - Millar said Pedroia is "borrowing" his number. That's kind of sad, if you think about it. Can't you just picture Kev-Kev telling his stuffed Wally that someday Theo is going to bring him back?

9:01 - Hold on, I have to go dig my #46 Ellsbury shirt out of the laundry and put it on.

8:59 - Varitek is my mom's favorite player, and if that rocket he just hit had gone over the wall she would call me up and yell "Jaaaassssssoooooooon!!!!" and hang up. The monster giveth and the monster taketh away.

8:57 - I'm not a huge Dane Cook fan, but I don't have a problem with all these playoff commercials he's doing. The way some people talk about him, you'd think he's killing puppies or something.

8:55 - How can you not love Mike Lowell. The Marlins FORCED the Sox to take him when we picked up Beckett. That's like your girlfriend forcing you to make out with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannsen at the same time.

8:52 - Dice-K drives me crazy with that face. He can overpower someone or give up a three run homer and he always makes that same goofy face.

8:47 - That's more like the JD we know. My boss only refers to him as "Soft-as-cream-cheese-JD-Drew"

8:47 - If JD Drew hits another granny, my brain may explode. It will be worth it.

8:43 - Wow, big break for the Sox on Manny's shot to short. Jhonny Peralta is getting eaten up these past two games. That's what happens when you spell your name J-H-O-N-N-Y.

8:40 - It would be so, so huge to take an early lead and give Dice-K some room to breathe. Papi goes down, but there's a bad man coming up…

8:38 - Yoooouuuukkkk!!! God I wish I was there. Speaking of Youk, I didn't watch NESN this year, so I didn't know how much he sweats. I mean, wow.

8:35 - Pedroia was huge yesterday. With him, Pap, Ellsbury and Youk it's a good time to be a PawSox fan. And Peddy keeps it going with a leadoff hit! Do I smell another Drew grand slam?

8:31 - Pronk strikes out! Daiskuke is DEALING.

8:30 - Travis Hafner, who has been A-Rod-esque this series, is called "Pronk" by his teammates. It's a cross between "The Project" and "Donkey," and most likely the worst nickname in the majors.

8:27 - I have a theory that is easily testable and probably wrong, but if our pitcher starts by throwing a ball and the opponent starts with a strike, we win. Daisuke throws pitch one for a ball but gets the first two easily.

8:25 - Rob joins in.

8:24 - Kevin Millar throwing out the first pitch… brilliant! He is a weird, weird dude. I miss him. (Jacob Ellsbury?)

8:22 - I've never been so jealous of 37,000 people at once. There's absolutely nothing like being at Fenway during the playoffs.

8:20 - Tim McCarver: "Scoring runs is important to winning baseball games." (not an actual quote, but would you be surprised if it was?)

8:17 - Just checked the fridge, we've got Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale, Smuttynose Brown, and Paulaner Oktoberfest. There's ONLY ONE OKTOBERFEST!

8:14 - Crap. Fox "analysts" are picking the Sox to win.

8:10 - Let's do some predictions. Matsuzaka goes 6 shaky but effective innings, gives up 3. Westbrook turns into a pumpkin and gets knocked around for 5 or 6 runs. Papelbon pitches 2 innings and gives up a run, which will be bad for my heart.

8:08 - Did the Pats win today?

At Rob's suggestion, I'm going to try to post a bunch while watching the Sox play themselves into the World Series. Dice-K, Jacoby, the Large Father, Tim McCarver… come along for the ride!