DEPRESSION

I fear my Arizona Diamondbacks season may be nearly over.  Yes, they still have nearly 40 games left to play and they are in reach of their division leaders.  But.  They seem to have lost the will.  Tonight they were thrashed by the lowly San Diego Padres, 5 to nothing. 

Earlier today it was announced that their color announcer, Mark Grace, had taken a leave of absence for personal reasons.  That came after he was busted in Scottsdale for Driving Under the Influence (of alcohol).  That was the second time in two years for Mr. Grace.  He was driving a vehicle that did not have one of those interlock devices that doesn't let you drive if your alcohol content is too high.  Supposedly that was part of his terms for his last bust a year ago.

This compounds the mystery of where is Daron Sutton?  And why?  The broadcast voice of the Diamondbacks has been missing from the microphone for over two months.  The club says he's been suspended for an unexplained reason.  Sutton early said he hadn't been suspended but needed some time to work out a personal problem.  Neither of these two explanations hold water.  Rumor is it that he was suspended because he insisted on wearing a suit and tie to broadcast numerous games and the club wanted him to wear a team polo shirt.  Is that ridiculous?

Another rumor is that Sutton is trying to negotiate a contract with a new team.  Vin Scully is very near retirement with the Dodgers and that position would tempt Sutton, whose father pitched for them for many years.  But, as we've already said - who knows?

So, the Diamondbacks stumble along.  Manager Kirk Gibson is pissed, reportedly, about his team's uneven performance.  But in this type of environment, who can tell?

There are way too many who's with this ballclub.

HELP WAS THERE!

When I posted a call for help with a printer problem earlier today . . that help arrived promptly from a reliable source.  I should have known just to email him first.  But, hell, I needed something to blog about anyway and I hate to bother him as he is busy in his new career.  Where once he was an IT professional (and you'll have to ask someone what that means because I've forgotten) . . he made an early life course correction and is now heavily engaged in the culinary industry.  I expect someday he will become a captain of industry.  But thank you, Tombo Check, for taking time from your busy day to help out an old friend.

Mr. Check

HELP!

Okay, calm down.  It's not like there's a dragon at the gate.  Or for my Republican readers (are there any???) that a hurricane is expected to strike Tampa the same day the Republican National Convention is scheduled to start there.  God's will?  (Heh-heh.)

No, my problem and need for help is much easier than that.  It's about my printer.  I have an HP Officejet 6300 All-in-One machine.  It does faxes, it makes copies, and occasionally, it prints.

You will notice, I said occasionally.  I have found through days and days of experience that each time I want to print I have to go into the software, find Printer Preferences and reset nearly every page.  It always says "Custom Printing" on the Printing Shortcuts page.  I have to change that to "General Everyday Printing".  Most of the other pages have "Type New Quickset Name Here".  I have to change that to "Default Print Settings."

Once I've made the changes, I tell the machine to print something and it usually works like a charm.  But the next time I want to print something, I have to go in and make all those changes again. 

Seems to me there ought to be a way for me to lock those changes in so I wouldn't have to change them every time.

Any wizards out there with a solution?

RANDOM CLOUDS

Just a variety of photos, most taken from our driveway.  Feel free to put your own names or dreams on them.



SUNDAY DINNER

SWMBO outdid herself tonight.

First, chopped veggies.

Then, a spice rub.



And a Julia Child.  That is, lots of butter.



The veggies were for a Cajun rice recipe.

The spice rub coated both sides of a couple of catfish filets.

Next, to the barbecue grill, to heat up a black iron skillet.

And then the fish get blackened.



By the way, do NOT try to do this part on your stove.  I don't think any fan, other than an industrial kitchen fan, can keep your smoke detector from going off if you do.

And, at last, it's on the plate and on the table, accompanied by a large ear of corn on the cob, a salad and a nice glass of wine.  Bon appetit!

Lest anyone be surprised, it was all delicious.

A NEW VISITOR

Just when you think it's safe to go out in your backyard, a new face appears on the scene.



I suspect she is trying to catch a bird.  The other day when we first spotted her, she was lying in the shade directly under the bird bath.

As to the he/she determination, could any critter with a face as sweet as this be a guy?  I think not.

I had just read that a cat with rings around its tail is a trait tracing back to its feral ancestors.  This cat is beautifully marked all over.

But she will NOT become part of our family.  Enough is enough. 

However, she is welcome to the back yard.

IT'S FRIDAY . . . HERE'S BRUCE'S BLUES JAM!

Just to show you that not all blues music has to be blue, here's the master himself, B.B. King.



Then there's sort of a mixed blues.  Hard to tell whether this one is happy or sad.  From a long time back, Loudon Wainwright III.



Then there's a virtuoso performance by a great Texas blues shouter, Miss Janis Joplin.  I warn you . . some of you may not like this.  She is definitely over the top on this one.



And finally, one of my favorites - Miss Francine Reed - performing with the Lyle Lovett Large Band.  Wild Women Don't Get the Blues.



It kind of reminds me of the motto embroidered on a throw pillow in the office of Helen Gurley Brown at Cosmopolitan magazine - "Good girls go to Heaven, Bad girls go everywhere!"

Have a good weekend, folks.